RTHK: Hurricane Ian forces Moon rocket back into storage Nasa's Artemis 1 rocket waiting to blast off on a delayed mission to the Moon will be rolled back into its storage hangar on Monday night, the space agency said, as Florida braces for Hurricane Ian. The move, to protect the rocket from strong winds and heavy rain forecast for the Kennedy Space Centre, will cause further setbacks for the uncrewed Moon mission, which was scheduled to launch last month and has already been pushed back three times. "After reviewing the forecast for Ian, we will roll our Artemis I vehicle back to the Vehicle Assembly Building tonight," Nasa official Jim Free tweeted. "It was the right and necessary decision to keep our people and hardware safe." The decision was "based on the latest weather predictions associated with Hurricane Ian, after additional data gathered overnight did not show improving expected conditions," the space agency said in a blog. The operation to move the 98-metre rocket, which is sitting on its launch pad, is set to begin around 11:00 pm (0300 GMT) on Monday night, Nasa said. It will be ferried along on a rolling platform moving slowly to avoid damaging the rocket with vibrations. Hurricane Ian, which was situated as a Category 1 hurricane southwest of Cuba on Monday, is expected to strengthen as it heads toward Florida through the Gulf of Mexico. Nasa had waited until the last minute to decide whether to shelter Artemis I in the hope of being able to schedule a take-off attempt just after the storm passed. There will now be no opportunity for blast-off within the current launch window, which runs until October 4, and Nasa has not indicated when another launch might be attempted. The next window runs from October 17 to 31, and again from November 12 to 27 both with some exceptions. The storage decision represents only the latest setback for Artemis 1, after previous launch attempts were cancelled due to the hurricane and a fuel leak. This latest Moon mission comes 50 years after the final flight of the Apollo programme, with Artemis 1 set to show whether the Orion capsule, situated on top of the rocket, is safe to transport humans back to the Moon's surface. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-09-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. RTHK: Kremlin proxies claim victory in 'sham' Ukraine votes Kremlin-installed authorities were already claiming victory on Tuesday in annexation votes in Ukrainian regions under Russian control, as Moscow warned it could use nuclear weapons to defend the territories. Ukraine and its allies have denounced the so-called referendums as a sham and said the West would never recognise the results of the ballots that have dramatically ratcheted up the stakes of Russia's seven-month assault. "It's already clear that the vast majority of people supported the issue of secession from Ukraine and joining Russia," Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-appointed head of the Russian-held Kherson region, said on social media. Election officials in Moscow said voters casting their ballots in Russia had overwhelmingly backed annexation, while authorities in Kherson and another Russian-occupied region, Zaporizhzhia, showed an initial 87 and 92 percent backing for the move. "Saving people in the territories where this referendum is taking place... is the focus of the attention of our entire society and of the entire country," Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier during a televised meeting with officials. His spokesman Dmitry Peskov meanwhile said the votes would have "radical" legal implications and that the so-called referendums "will also have consequences for security", referring to Moscow's threats to use nuclear weapons to defend its territory. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba however doubled down on Kyiv's promise to push out Russian forces from its country, saying the votes "would not have any influence" on the battlefield. Russian forces in Ukraine this month have suffered serious setbacks, both in the east and south of the country, which observers say pushed Putin to rush ahead with the vote to cement Moscow's claimed authority there. Putin said Russia would use any and all available means to defend its territory, implying that after the four regions were annexed Moscow could deploy strategic nuclear weapons to repulse Ukrainian attempts to take back the territory. "I want to remind you the deaf who hear only themselves: Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons if necessary," former leader Dmitry Medvedev warned on Tuesday on social media. The four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine Donetsk and Lugansk in the east and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south announced that they would hold the elections just days before voting began last Friday. Together, they form a crucial land connection for the Kremlin between Russia and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014 and is otherwise only connected to the mainland by bridge. The EU spokesman Peter Stano announced the bloc would slap sanctions on organisers of the "illegal" vote, following a similar move by Britain earlier in the week. "The sham referenda held by Russia have no legitimacy and are a blatant violation of international law. These lands are Ukraine," Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Twitter. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna meanwhile was in Kyiv for a surprise visit to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and underscore her country's support for Ukraine's "sovereignty and territorial integrity". The so-called referendums follow a pattern that Moscow utilised in Crimea after nationwide street demonstrations saw Ukraine's Kremlin-friendly president ousted. Like then, the outcome of the ballot is being viewed by observers as a foregone conclusion. Election officials brought ballot boxes door-to-door in many cases accompanied by armed Russian forces. Lawmakers are expected to vote hastily to annex the territories after the results are announced and Russian news agencies have said Putin could sign legislation formalising the land grab this week. Ukrainian forces meanwhile have pursued their counter-offensive in the east. The governor of the eastern Kharkiv region announced on Tuesday its forces had recaptured Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, "one of the largest logistical and railway junctions" in the region and not privy to this week's vote. Polling stations were open in Crimea for people who fled fighting after the Russian assault in February. "With my voice I want to try to make a small contribution to stopping the war," 63-year-old Galina Korsakova from Donetsk said "I really want to go home." Along with threats to use nuclear weapons, Putin announced a mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of Russian men to bolster Moscow's army in Ukraine, sparking demonstrations and an exodus of men abroad. The United Nations voiced alarm on Tuesday at credible reports of nearly 2,400 arrests in less than a week during nationwide protests in dozens of cities against the draft order. Ex-Soviet Georgia, which was invaded by Russia in 2008, said the numbers of Russians crossing its borders had increased to around 10,000 people daily since Putin's announcement. Kazakhstan, the Central Asian country on Russia's southern border, meanwhile said nearly 100,000 people had entered the country since September 21 and its leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said authorities would "ensure their safety." The Russian defence ministry said it would not seek the extradition of those who fled to Georgia and Kazakhstan to evade the draft. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-09-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. GESS (Global Educational Supplies and Solutions) Dubai will address the growing and evolving demands of the 1.5 million students in the GCC. Organised by Tarsus in partnership with the Ministry of Education, GESS is set to deliver its 15th edition from November 15 to 17, 2022 at Sheikh Saeed Halls, Dubai World Trade Centre. As the biggest education exhibition in the Middle East region with an extensive conference programme and an awards ceremony, GESS Dubai is poised to attract more than 6,000 educational professionals from over 70 countries, and more than 250 leading educational brands showcasing the latest and most innovative products and solutions in the market and bringing thought-leaders sparking new ideas and challenging the way stakeholders look at the future of education. Number of students Theres been a 4.7% increase in the number of students in the region from July 2017 to July 2022 and research tells us that this is a key area of growth in the coming years. A vital aspect of the show is to find ways to serve this sector better by providing networking platforms with key decision-makers, opportunities to learn best practices from around the world, and access to the most up-to-date technology and solutions to enhance current learning environments, said Sarah Palmer, Brand Director, Tarsus, organisers of the GESS portfolio of education exhibitions and conferences all over the world. Among the international exhibitors expected to showcase at GESS Dubai are Microsoft, Schoolbox, OneOrigin, Soundtrap for Education by Spotify, Promethean, BenQ Amazon Web Services, Viewsonic and more. This year will also see the largest showcase of American and Canadian companies with the likes of EZ-Robot, SMART Technologies, TehnoKids Inc, Notion Wave, Scholastic Inc, Classlink, Edpuzzle, Cypher Learning, Nearpod, Piedmont Payment Services, Speechace, Van Robotics, VIRCO USA, Amplify and Compro Technologies; and an unmissable area, the Start-up Pavilion, with new companies bringing their one-on-a-kind technologies to the show. Conference streams In addition, the conference programme is broken down into conference streams that will feature world-renowned experts offering free-to-attend seminars, live case studies, workshops and panel discussions designed to help educators achieve excellence in their classrooms. Two of the world-class speakers who are presenting for the first time in the Middle East are Rob Houben, Founder of robhouben.com and Gavin McCormack, Co-Founder of Up-School. Rob Houben is an educational leader and change-maker who in 2015, got involved with Agora. With five colleagues and 60 students, they started working at this government-funded secondary school without using timetables, courses, or age groups. They began with a simple question: What do you want to make, do or learn? And whatever the answer was, they went from there. Today, there are 20 Agora schools in The Netherlands and Belgium. On the other hand, Gavin McCormack, a trained Montessori teacher, childrens author, teacher trainer, philanthropist and school principal, will be covering topics such as educating with intention, educational reform with a strong emphasis on Montessori within the home and creating a harmony between the school and home environments to reach a students full potential. Future Transformation Room In the Future Transformation Room, thought-provoking topics will include Reinventing the Learning Experience with Artificial Intelligence by Basil Ayass, Education Lead Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Google, Preparing Students for the Metaverse by Niall Statham, Head of Innovation at Hartland Internatioanal School, Music Education: The Missing Myelination Link by Ross Garrod, Founder and CEO of Practice Pal, Integrating gaming and eSports in Education by Baz Nijjar, Principal Advisor Education Technology at GEMS Education, Emerging Tech Integration in K12 Why? When? How? by Sreejit Chakrabarty, Director Artificial Intelligence & Robotics at GEMS Education, Using Chatbots in Education by Mohammed Alhohabi, Consultant at National eLearning Center Another room that is a key interest area is the Wellbeing Room. Confirmed in the roster of speakers are Dr Waleed Ahmed, Consultant Psychiatrist at Priory Wellbeing Centre (Social Media and Mental Wellbeing), May Zalat, Head of Education of Blossom Nurseries Babilou Middle East (Wellbeing & Inclusion in the Early Years), Rania Badreldin, Happiness Consultant, Transformational Speaker and Writer, Seasoned Social Entrepreneur, NLP and Hypnosis Master Practitioner at The Family Hub (Transforming Education Through Happiness) and Mark Samways, Director of Wellbeing at Free Spirit Collective (Alleviating Stress and Burnout in the Educational Workspace). Other rooms Other rooms that one must look forward to include The Global Learning Room, where the latest innovations, education issues and solutions are tackled; The Leaders in Education Conference, a two-day programme open to members of Leaders in Education where sessions look at the challenges and skills required to succeed in senior positions; The Skills Development Training, a fresh feature for this years show which will be a series of certified workshops designed for educators looking to skill up their toolset; and another new space for 2022, the Growth Mindset Room that promises to unpack benefits of learning from mistakes and change and of adapting gracefully even with setbacks. A highly anticipated part of the event is the celebration of the education industrys brightest at the GESS Education Awards. Divided into two sections: one for Suppliers and Distributors and another for Teachers, Schools and Educational Professionals, the awards will be held on November 16 at The H Hotel, Dubai.-- TradeArabia News Service Rajasthan cabinet minister Shanti Dhariwal on Monday lashed out at Congress' state in-charge Ajay Maken alleging that he was part of a "conspiracy" to remove Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Dhariwal, a Gehlot loyalist who had held a meeting of MLAs on Sunday to oppose Sachin Pilot's possible elevation to the CM post, took a veiled swipe at Pilot and said that Rajasthan MLAs will not sit through and tolerate if traitors are being rewarded. "It was a 100 per cent conspiracy to remove the CM (Ashok Gehlot) and the general secretary incharge was a part of it. I am not talking about anyone else, no charge on Kharge but only the General Secretary incharge," said Dhariwal. He further said that disgruntled lawmakers of Rajasthan asked him to "listen to their voice". "A general secretary is himself canvassing to make such people chief minister who betrayed the party and because of it, MLAs had to get angry and disgruntled. MLAs asked me to listen to their voice. They want someone from 102 MLAs who huddled together to stay with Congress for over 34 days (in 2020) to be made CM," he added. The Rajasthan Minister further said that Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi can choose anyone from the Gehlot camp, and whatever her decision is that will be duly accepted and obliged. "No one can challenge Sonia ji's decision," he said. State minister Mahesh Joshi also said, "High Command can make anyone CM, make a new CM or keep CM Gehlot intact. It should not be one of those who revolted against the party and tried to weaken it." A legislative party meeting was scheduled on Sunday evening at the residence of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in the presence of the observers, which was attended by Sachin Pilot and his camp MLAs, the Gehlot loyalists had held a meeting with Cabinet Minister Shanti Dhariwal at his residence, following which over 90 MLAs had submitted their resignations to Speaker CP Joshi. Pilot, is being seen as the successor of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is all set to contest the Congress president election scheduled on October 17. The Rajasthan deputy chief minister late last night conducted a second round of meeting with the AICC observers. The Gehlot loyalists want someone from their own camp to be chosen as the next Chief Minister, instead of Pilot, who, according to them, had revolted against his own party back in 2020. Meanwhile, Congress leaders Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge will submit the report to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday around 12 noon about the political developments in Rajasthan, said sources. Earlier on Monday, Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge briefed party chief Sonia Gandhi about the developments. However, Sonia Gandhi asked Maken and Kharge, who were appointed observers for the legislature party meeting, to give a written report. "Mallikarjun Kharge and I briefed Congress chief everything about our meetings in Rajasthan in detail. Now she has asked us for a written report that will be given to her," Maken told reporters. The political crisis has been triggered by Ashok Gehlot apparently agreeing to file his nomination in the Congress presidential polls and wanting a successor of his choice in Rajasthan. Meanwhile, sources had earlier said that the status quo will be maintained till the process is over for filing nominations as the Congress seeks to tide over the political crisis in Rajasthan triggered by efforts to find a successor to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot who is likely to fight the party's presidential polls. With party observers slamming some actions of loyalists of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, sources said decision on issuing show cause notices to miffed MLAs, who have been vocal in public, will be taken after interim chief looks Sonia Gandhi into the report by the observers sent to the state. "Status-quo to be maintained till Congress president election nominations. Decision on issuing of show cause notices to miffed MLAs, vocal in public, will be taken after interim chief takes action on report by observers," a source said. The process for filing nominations for Congress presidential elections will end on September 30. Maken, who is AICC incharge of Rajasthan, said the three ministers who met them at Gehlot's residence put forward three conditions. He said they demanded that a decision on a CLP resolution should be after the declaration of Congress presidential poll results on October 19. Rejecting the condition, Maken said a resolution is not passed with conditions and also noted that any such move will be "a conflict of interest" for Gehlot. He said the ministers also demanded that MLAs should meet the observers in groups and this was not acceptable. "We wanted to meet every MLA individually so that the decision is free and fair," Maken said. He said the three ministers also said that a successor to Gehlot should be chosen from among 102 MLAs, who had stood by him during the crisis in 2020. The Gehlot government had faced political crisis in 2020 over demands led by Sachin Pilot and MLAs loyal to him. Maken on Sunday met three members from the Gehlot camp - Shanti Dhariwal, C.P. Joshi and Pratap Khachriyawas who had put forward their proposals. (ANI) Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anupachandra Pandey held a meeting with the officials involved in the election process at Gandhinagar on Monday. The EC team, who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, obtained extensive information about the pre-election preparations and law and order situation in the district from the District Election Officers, Range IG, DIG and District Police Chief from 33 districts of the state. A district-wise presentation was given by each District Election Officer and District Police Chief on pre-election preparedness. Before the review meeting, the leaders of the political parties also met the officials of the Election Commission of India. The Election Commission is reviewing with the district administration and enforcement agencies to ensure that the Gujarat Assembly elections are held in a peaceful and planned manner. Election Commission on Tuesday will meet the Chief Secretary of the state and Director General of Police (DGP). In this way, after a comprehensive review of the pre-election preparations in the entire state, the elaborate program of the upcoming assembly elections will be announced. During the review of election preparations, the Election Commission of India launched a video of C-VIGIL, an election-specific app. Meanwhile, the tussle between the political parties has already begun for the upcoming Assembly elections slated for later this year. Notably, in the 2017 Assembly elections, Congress had given a scare to the ruling BJP by restricting its MLAs to 99 and winning 77 seats on its own. There are 182 assembly seats in Gujarat. (ANI) Bhati will be produced before a court on Tuesday against whom a case of extortion and threatening to kill is registered. Bhati has been wanted in the extortion case filed at Mumbai's Versova Police Station. After the registration of the case at Versova police station, the investigation of the matter was carried by the Anti-Extortion Cell of the Crime Branch. According to the police, Riyaz Bhati and Salim Qureshi alias Salim Fruit, a relative of Chhota Shakeel, had extorted a costly vehicle and more than Rs 7 lakh by threatening to kill a businessman of Andheri. Dawood Ibrahim's close aide Chhota Shakeel's relative Salim Fruit has also been named in the FIR. Following the secret information, the crime branch's AEC team laid the trap and arrested the accused from the Andheri area. The Crime Branch has also filed a petition in the NIA Special Court seeking the custody of Salim Fruit. The police will present the arrested accused Riyaz Bhati in court on Tuesday and will demand his custody. A case of extortion was also registered against Riyaz Bhati at Goregaon Police Station in Mumbai. Bhati is an accused, along with former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh, in an extortion case lodged at Mumbai's Goregaon police station. After the registration of the case, Bhati had earlier also approached the court, but the anticipatory bail petition was also rejected by the court at that time. The case is being investigated further. (ANI) The hospital is under construction by Kutch Radiology and Imaging Centre (KRIC). Shah also laid the foundation stone of the hospital around 10.30 am on Tuesday at KRIC College Campus in Gandhinagar's Kalol city. The hospital is learnt to have many modern facilities including OPD, indoor facilities, X-ray, radiology, laboratory, Operation Theatre, obstetrics, ICU and ultrasound. The laying of the foundation stone of the hospital is part of various programmes of the Home Minister in Gandhinagar on Tuesday. Shah offered prayers at 'Rupal Vardayini Mata' temple and inaugurated the newly-constructed 'Golden Garbhagriha' at 12 pm in Gujarat's Rupal. He attended an event on an underpass inaugurated by Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation around 12.25 pm. He also laid down the foundation stone of the new building of Gujarat Technological University (GTU) around 3.30 pm in Lekawara. Besides, the Home Minister offered prayers in the Mahakali temple of Ambode and laid the foundation stone of various works for the development of the temple by the holy 'Yatradham Development Board' at around 5 pm. Shah also attended the Bhoomipujan of Martyrs Memorial and Library in a Primary School in Samau, in Gujarat's Mansa later. (ANI) As the raids against the Popular Front of India are underway in various states of the country, including Maharashtra, the Nashik Police Crime Branch on Tuesday arrested the All India Imam Council's state chief Maulana Irfan Daulat Nadvi along with a member of the organisation. The raids are underway by the central agency and state anti-terror squad at various locations in the state including Thane, Nashik and Malegaon. "All India Imams Council state chief Maulana Irfan Daulat Nadvi and PFI member Rashid Shahdain Shaheed Iqbal taken into custody by Nashik Police Crime Branch u/s 151 late last night," said Police Inspector Hemant Patil on Tuesday. "Around 40 people linked to PFI have been detained from Aurangabad, Solapur, Amravati, Pune, Thane and Mumbai so far. This entire operation has been carried out by the state's local police with inputs from a Central Agency. All inquiries are underway," said Maharashtra Police. Pune Police officials informed that the police detained six persons with links to SDPI and PFI from the Kondhwa area today morning. Further details are awaited. The raids are also being conducted in five other states and Union Territories which include Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. As many as 25 PFI leaders and members have been arrested so far in the raids in Assam's Kamrup Rural (5), Goalpara (10), Karimganj (1), Udalguri (1), Darrang (1), Dhubri (3), Barpeta (2), Baksa (2). Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the operation against the organisation will be intensified. "Today in Assam, we have picked up 25 PFI people. This operation will be intensified," he said. Earlier today, in state-wide raids in Karnataka, about 80 to 90 PFI workers of its political wing Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and leaders were taken into preventive custody, informed a police official. "About 80 to 90 PFI and SDPI workers and leaders have been taken into preventive custody, including the SDPI Yadgiri district president. The police raids are underway across the state. The cases have been booked under sections 108, 151 CrPC," said Alok Kumar, ADGP Law and Order, Bengaluru. According to the Kolar Police, seven PFI and SDPI members and office bearers have been picked up in the early morning raids and will be produced before the executive magistrate under 107 CrPC. The arrested persons have been identified as Imtiaz Ahmed, PFI district president, Siddiq Pasha, Vasim Pasha, AllaBakash, Nayaz Pasha, Shahabaz Pasha and Noor Pasha. Speaking to ANI, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said, "Police have caught 21 people (associated with PFI) from 8 districts. Links about them were found after the people who were arrested last week were interrogated". Today's raids were in continuation of the crackdown started by the NIA and ED against the PFI on September 22. The NIA had arrested over 106 members of the PFI during its largest-ever raids spread across 15 states. Searches were conducted at multiple locations in the largest ever investigation process till date.The operation started late in the night around 1 am and learnt to be concluded by 5 am involving over 1,500 personnel of state police, Central Armed Police Forces and officers of NIA and ED. Several incriminating documents, more than 100 mobile phones, laptops and other materials have been seized by the raiding teams. These searches were conducted at the residential and official premises of persons involved in "funding terrorism, organising training camps and radicalising people to join proscribed organisations". The PFI was launched in Kerala in 2006 after merging three Muslim organizations floated after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 - the National Development Front of Kerala, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and Manitha Neethi Pasari of Tamil Nadu. After the demolition of the Babri mosque, many fringe outfits had surfaced in south India and PFI was formed after merging some of them. (ANI) A doctor and his girlfriend were arrested by Madurai Police for allegedly taking and sharing intimate photos and videos of his girlfriend's hostel mates in Madurai, police said. According to the police, Ashiq, a doctor from Ramanathapuram Kamudi and his girlfriend Janani, a BED Student in Madurai were arrested under the IPC and the IT Act. According to police, the woman started to take pictures and videos of her hostel mates while they were changing clothes and bathing and sent them to Ashiq over WhatsApp. On one such occasion, a hostel mate found out about her activity, and when she and other hostel mates checked her phone, they found several intimate videos and photos in her photo gallery. They informed their hostel warden who made a complaint to the Madurai Anna Nagar police station. Later, the complaint was transferred to the cybercrime police. "Janani has been staying at the working girls and PG hostel since March. She took intimate photos and videos of her hostel mates, including bathing in the nude, and sent them to her friend Ashiq," police said Police also said that Ashiq and his girlfriend who worked together in the clinic run by Ashiq were in a relationship. Janani first took nude videos of herself but later started sending intimate pictures and videos of her hostel mates based on his request. "She deleted the conversation between them, so the police could not confirm for how long he was sending the videos. Both mobile phones were seized and sent to the forensic lab for data recovery. It is also not clear whether Ashiq sent the videos to any other persons," a police officer said. A case was registered on Thursday and both were arrested and are currently lodged in Madurai Central Jail. (ANI) Congress leader Sachin Pilot has denied media reports stating that he told the party high command that Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot should not remain in office if he decides to contest the party presidential poll. It was earlier reported quoting the sources that Pilot had told the high command that it is his responsibility to bring the MLAs together. "Congress MLA Sachin Pilot has told the Congress high command that Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot should not remain CM if he decides to contest for the party president post & that it is his responsibility to bring MLAs together," the sources had said. Refuting the reports, the Congress leader said that says he has spoken neither with the party's high command nor with Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot. "Am afraid this is false news being reported"," he tweeted. Notably, Pilot is being seen as the successor of Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan which is engulfed by a political crisis triggered apparently by Gehlot agreeing to file his nomination in the Congress presidential polls and wanting a successor of his choice as CM in Rajasthan. With party observers slamming some actions of loyalists of Chief Minister Gehlot, sources said the decision on issuing show cause notices to miffed MLAs, who have been vocal in public, will be taken after interim party chief Sonia Gandhi looks into the report by the observers sent to the state. "Status-quo to be maintained till Congress president election nominations. Decision on issuing of show cause notices to miffed MLAs, vocal in public will be taken after interim chief takes action on a report by observers," a source said. Pilot had attended the CLP meeting called in Jaipur recently along with the MLAs of his camp in the presence of Central observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken. The MLAs of the Gehlot camp demanded that the next chief minister be chosen from the MLAs who stood by the party when Pilot allegedly revolted in 2020 against the Gehlot-led government. Meanwhile, Rajasthan cabinet minister Shanti Dhariwal on Monday lashed out at Congress' state in-charge Ajay Maken alleging that he was part of a "conspiracy" to remove Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Dhariwal, a Gehlot loyalist who had held a meeting of MLAs on Sunday to oppose Sachin Pilot's possible elevation to the CM post, took a veiled swipe at Pilot and said that Rajasthan MLAs will not sit through and tolerate if traitors are being rewarded. "It was a 100 per cent conspiracy to remove the CM (Ashok Gehlot) and the general secretary incharge was a part of it. I am not talking about anyone else, no charge on Kharge but only the General Secretary incharge," said Dhariwal. He further said that disgruntled lawmakers of Rajasthan asked him to "listen to their voice". "A general secretary is himself canvassing to make such people chief minister who betrayed the party and because of it, MLAs are angry and disgruntled. MLAs asked me to listen to their voice. They want someone from 102 MLAs who huddled together to stay with Congress for over 34 days (in 2020) to be made CM," he added. A legislative party meeting was scheduled on Sunday evening at the residence of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in the presence of the observers, which was attended by Sachin Pilot and his camp MLAs, the Gehlot loyalists had held a meeting with Cabinet Minister Shanti Dhariwal at his residence, following which over 90 MLAs had submitted their resignations to Speaker CP Joshi.Earlier today, Congress MLAs supporting Sachin Pilot for Chief Minister's post arrived at his residence in Jaipur. "The party's top leadership is restructuring the organisation for the 2023 elections here. Top leadership will decide (CM face)," said MLA Khiladi Lal Bairwa. (ANI) Upon return from his tour to Kerala, BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda immediately convened a series of meetings that is slated to continue throughout the day on Tuesday and focuses on the organisation. The meeting began at the party headquarters to review the progress of the Lok Sabha yatra of various BJP leaders. Incharges of states remained present in this meeting. The meeting with the general secretaries to be held this evening will be highly significant as the BJP prepares for upcoming elections, especially in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. The BJP is yet to appoint a General Secretary in-charge of the poll-bound state of Gujarat. After Bhupendra Yadav became Union Labour Minister, the post of the Gujarat incharge fell vacant. The BJP national president himself has been on constant tours recently. From Nagaland to Kerala, he has held organisational meetings and public rallies. The BJP recently saw a rejig of the General Secretaries with the induction of Sunil Bansal who holds an all-important charge of poll-bound states like Telangana. He is also the overall in-charge of Bengal and Odisha. Two states Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat are going to elections this year. While, early next year, the northeastern states of Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland will go into elections. A high-pitched poll battle for Karnataka will take place at the end of 2023 and will see elections to the all-important Telangana state assemblies where it's an all-out war between BJP and TRS. The end of the year will also see elections in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. (ANI) Amid the ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday reached Delhi from Jaipur, but the reason for his arrival has not yet been disclosed. Earlier, Pilot denied media reports stating that he told the party high command that Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot should not remain in office if he decides to contest the party presidential poll. It was earlier reported quoting the sources that Pilot had told the high command that it was his responsibility to bring the MLAs together. Refuting the reports, the Congress leader said that he had spoken neither with the party's high command nor with Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot. "Am afraid this is false news being reported"," he tweeted. Notably, Pilot is being seen as the successor of Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan which is engulfed by a political crisis triggered apparently by Gehlot agreeing to file his nomination in the Congress presidential polls and wanting a successor of his choice as CM in Rajasthan. With party observers slamming some actions of loyalists of Chief Minister Gehlot, sources said the decision on issuing show cause notices to miffed MLAs, who have been vocal in public, will be taken after interim party Chief Sonia Gandhi looks into the report by the observers sent to the state. However, nominations for the post of Congress president poll have been collected by Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and AICC treasurer Pawan Bansal, but Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has not done so yet, said party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry on Tuesday. Gehlot is likely to file his nominations for the polls on September 28, while Tharoor is expected to file his nomination on September 30. The election will be held on October 17, the result will be declared on October 19. (ANI) Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann hit out at the Congress Tuesday, alleging that the party was in an "unnatural nexus" with the BJP in Punjab as both the opposition parties were trying to disrupt the special session of the state assembly. His outburst came after Congress MLAs began protesting when CM Mann tried to move the confidence motion in the assembly. As the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) moved the motion, the BJP staged a walkout from the House and the Congress legislators had to be escorted out following Speaker's direction. "Today the unnatural nexus between the Congress and the BJP has been exposed. It is natural that the (opposition) BJP is not allowing us to speak in the House, but the opposition by the Congress raises serious suspicions about their backdoor alliance with the BJP," Mann told ANI. The chief minister also criticised Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Partap Singh Bajwa. He alleged, "Partap Bajwa has an ulterior motive. He had said he won't let the House run. He wants to sit on a higher chair. The failure of 'Operation Lotus' has not gone well with Partap Bajwa." "We wanted to expose the murderers of democracy -- BJP -- about their failed 'Operation Lotus'. They are not letting public representatives expose their 'Operation Lotus' in the House. Congress and BJP, together, are disrupting the House and not allowing those who have public support to speak. The BJP talks about sabka saath, sabka vishwas, but where is vishwas," Mann said. Meanwhile, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said the ruling dispensation called the House session on three issues related to GST, power and stubble burning. "But they didn't talk about it," Warring said. "They have misled the House, the Governor and the people of Punjab. If they want to prove confidence, they should dissolve the House and go for fresh polls." Previously, Governor Banwarilal Purohit allowed the Punjab government to convene a one-day assembly session on September 27, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan had said on Twitter. The assembly session was initially set to be held on September 22. But the governor withdrew his permission a day before the date, saying in a letter to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Secretary that there's "no specific provision regarding the summoning of the assembly" for considering confidence motion only. Earlier, the governor had asked the AAP government for details of the legislative agenda to be carried out during the special session, but the government responded that no governor had ever asked a state government for its legislative work in the past 75 years. Governor Purohit advised the AAP government to "read the Constitution". (ANI) GMG, a global well-being company retailing, distributing, and manufacturing a portfolio of leading brands across sports, food, and health sectors, has inaugurated the worlds second largest fully automated Himalayan pink salt manufacturing facility by capacity in the UAE under its GMG Food division. Located in Mina, Jebel Ali, Dubai, the facility has a capacity of 70,000 metric tons and can produce 200,000 kg of high-quality Himalayan pink salt per day. According to Maximize Market Research, the global Himalayan pink salt market was valued at $10.63 billion in 2020. The industry is projected to grow at 4.2% from 2021-2027 to touch nearly $14.18 billion. GMG Food is committed to supporting the UAEs National Food Security Strategy 2051 and the Food Tech Valley initiative by developing a comprehensive ecosystem that includes sustainable food production with innovative technologies and fast-track local production, the company said. The company is already working towards building specialised production lines for herbs and spices and aims to complete this by the first quarter of 2023. Mohammad A Baker, Deputy Chairman and CEO of GMG, said: This is a proud moment for us at GMG, as we open the worlds second largest Himalayan pink salt manufacturing facility by capacity in the UAE and introduce our latest brand, Sapora. As a global well-being company with strong roots in the UAE, GMG is honored to contribute to the countrys national food ambitions while representing the UAE in the global food processing industry. This is only the beginning, as we set another benchmark for food manufacturing systems in the region. The opening of this facility will help put GMG on the global map of food manufacturing and set us up to expand to global markets in the near future, Baker added. The GMG Food division is a food manufacturer and brand creator that adds value to the UAEs economy by producing locally and supplying its customers with fresh and nutritious food through two home-grown brands Farm Fresh, Klassic and now Sapora. With the addition of the Himalayan pink salt facility, GMGs food manufacturing business now boasts six state-of-the-art factories supported by an R&D kitchen and food laboratory. These facilities cover six product lines: meat, seafood, Himalayan pink salt, herbs and spices, cold cuts, and butchery and marination. TradeArabia News Service Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday arrived in Bengaluru to participate in an Investors' meet, the Office of the Chief Minister said. "CM @Naveen Odisha will address the #OdishaInvestorsMeet 2022 in #Bengaluru, ahead of the #MakeInOdisha conclave to be held between Nov 30 & Dec 4, 2022. CM will meet business leaders & showcase tremendous investment opportunities available in #Odisha. #InvestInOdisha," tweeted CMO. The Government of Odisha, in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), is organizing the Odisha Investors' Meet in Bengaluru on September 28, 2022. Over 500 industrialists, business persons and investors across sectors are expected to attend the Odisha Investors' Meet in the evening at Hotel Taj West End. The Chief Minister will address the investors and apprise everyone present about the state's flagship investment summit, the Make in Odisha Conclave'22 and invite them to the event. The key members of the delegation include Pratap Keshari Deb, Minister - Industries, MSME and Energy, Government of Odisha, Hemant Sharma (IAS), Principal Secretary, Industries Department, Skill Development and Technical Education and Chairman-IDCO and Chairman-IPICOL, Government of Odisha, Manoj Kumar Mishra, Secretary, E&IT Department and Dr Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman, Start-Up Odisha among others. The idea behind organizing this is to showcase the diverse business-friendly ecosystem of Odisha to the potential investors and help them to form an informed decision to invest in Odisha to meet the ever-growing demands in Eastern and North-Eastern India as well as the ASEAN Markets. Multiple one-on-one meetings with potential investors across sectors were held today like food-processing, aerospace and defence, healthcare to discuss the possibilities of investing in Odisha and to cater to the ever-growing need of newer products and services in Eastern and North-East India. The investors were assured of best-in-class investment facilitation in Odisha. Major business-centric reforms taken up by the Government of Odisha were highlighted to the interested participants to create a pro-business environment and industrial ecosystem to further speed up the rapid industrial growth of the state. On September 28, 2022, Naveen Patnaik will meet senior industrialists to discuss their plans for Odisha and personally invite them to the Make in Odisha Conclave'22. CM Patnaik's government has undertaken massive infrastructure development work to create a port-led industrial ecosystem in the state catering to both domestic and export markets. Chief Minister is expected to highlight the major pro-business reforms undertaken by his Government and ask the industrialists to explore Odisha as a potential destination for setting up their business units. (ANI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday slammed the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) for its "division tactics" saying that there are people in the country who think that spreading hatred and violence would solve problems. He said this while addressing a rally in the Pandikkad area of Malappuram in Kerala. "There are some people in this country who are confused. They're under the impression that the answer to India's problems is to spread hatred, violence and anger in this country. They believe in dividing and weakening this country," said Rahul Gandhi. He also slammed the central government and the Uttarakhand government over the recent Ankita Bhandari case. "Prime Minister's Slogan-Beti Bachao, BJP Karma - Save the Rapist. He is the first Prime Minister of India whose legacy will be only speeches, false and hollow speeches. Their rule is dedicated to criminals. Now India will not stay silent," tweeted Gandhi. He further stressed the young girl's death and said, "The only reason she is dead is, that she refused to become a prostitute." Taking to Twitter, he said, "India's women are our biggest strength. But they are being treated as 'objects' by the BJP. A most disgusting example is the murder of Ankita in Uttarakhand. BJP's CM bulldozed all evidence to protect the accused. We will not allow BJP to treat women as second-class citizens." The body of Ankita Bhandari, 19, was recovered from the Chilla Canal in Rishikesh on September 24. "It has been found from the CCTV footage that these two vehicles were used by the accused for going to Chilla barrage and coming back," the DIG said. Earlier on Tuesday, the Uttarakhand Police probing the horrific Ankita Bhandari murder case said that the SIT had recovered two vehicles allegedly used in the crime from a resort where Ankita worked in Rishikesh. DIG P Renuka Devi said the SIT will now record the statements of the women employees of the Vantara Resort, owned by the main accused Pulkit Arya, son of expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya. "We are analysing all the evidence. A post-mortem report has been received. We will record the statements of women who worked at the resort. Two motorcycles used in the crime have been found. We will apply for police custody of the accused for interrogation, including Ishita, in the resort of the main accused Pulkit Arya," the DIG told ANI. (ANI) At least one person was killed and 13 others were injured in a massive avalanche that struck Nepal's Mt Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world, on Monday. The 8,163-metre-high mountain was hit by an avalanche early today sweeping through camp 3 and camp 4. "We have received reports of avalanche sweeping from camps 4 to 3. A Nepali guide helping a foreign climber has been confirmed dead. We were unable to carry out the rescue operation earlier in the day due to adverse weather. Now helicopters are flying to the spot and (rescue) operation is underway," Chief District Officer of Gorkha District, Shankar Hari Acharya, told ANI over the phone. The eighth highest peak in Nepal has its camp 3 at an elevation of 6,800 meters while camp 4 lies at 7,450 meters. The avalanche struck at the time when Sherpa and other climbers were ferrying supplies and oxygens to camp 4. "We are not able to get the ground report yet due to the weather. Helicopters have been able to reach the spot but the situation there is yet to be confirmed," Acharya further added. (ANI) US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin sharply criticised China for "unprecedented provocations in the Taiwan Strait" during bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar at the Pentagon and said that India and US, the two great democracies are working together toward a brighter future for the Indo-Pacific as the world faces sustained challenges to peace, security and prosperity in the region and beyond. "Our bilateral defence ties are just one way that our two great democracies are working together toward a brighter future for the Indo-Pacific. The United States In India, along with a dozen other Indo-Pacific partners, pushing to expand our region's prosperity for the Indo-Pacific Economic framework," Austin said during his opening remarks. Responding to it, Jaishankar said, "The ripple impact of our defence cooperation, I think, has a larger beneficiary implication. So for me, our meeting today and my presence here today I do share with you that the global situation today has become far more challenging for a variety of reasons." "Indo-Pacific in particular, it's important that the stability, security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific should be secured, which is best done amongst others by cooperation between our two countries," he added. Referring to QUAD- the strategic coalition of leading Indo-Pacific democracies comprising India, Australia, Japan and the US, Austin underscored the current concerns over maritime security in Taiwan and Indo-Pacific. "Through our(US and India) deepening cooperation with Japan and Australia, we are delivering on the issues that matter most to the region, from entering infrastructure development to maritime security. Sustaining the region security is especially important in recent months, we have seen the PRC intensify its efforts to challenge the rules-based international court from its unprecedented provocations in the Taiwan Strait to its actions," Austin said as he hosted an honour cordon and welcomed Dr S Jaishankar to the Pentagon. Austin also lambasted China for supporting Russia's invasion in Ukraine and said, "China (Peoples Republic of China) continues to support Russia amid its unprovoked and cruel invasion. So we face sustained challenges to peace, security and prosperity in the region and beyond." While giving assurance to Jaishankar for US commitment, said "But they only reaffirm the importance of our partnership. So as a minister, I'm grateful for your friendship. And we work together toward our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. And I look forward to a great discussion." During the opening remarks in Washington, the Pentagon Chief also recalled his recent call with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and said that the defence partnership between India and the US is going strong and strength to strength. "I'm delighted to host you at the Pentagon today, especially following my recent call with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh. These conversations reinforce a growing threat and ambition of our partnership. And that partnership is moving from strength to strength. Today, we are positioning the US and Indian militaries to operate and coordinate more closely together than ever," he said. Rajnath Singh conveyed India's concerns related to the American sustenance package for Pakistan's F-16 fleet to Austin in a telephonic conversation in which the two leaders discussed the growing convergence of strategic interests and enhanced cooperation. Austin said that both the democracies have been taking sufficient and significant steps to deepen the "defense cooperation from stronger information sharing and defense industrial ties to cooperation in emerging defense domains, including through the launch of a new dialogue later this year." Reversing the decision of the previous Donald Trump administration, the Biden Administration has approved a whooping USD 450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme for Pakistan. Notably, External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, was welcomed by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to the Pentagon in an enhanced honor cordon ceremony on Thursday. This meeting comes a day before Jaishankar meets his US counterpart Sec Anthony Blinken. Jaishankar on Saturday concluded the high-level United Nations General Assembly debate in New York. The EAM was in New York from September 18 to 24, In Washington, Jaishankar is expected to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior officials of the Biden Administration. A round table focused on science and technology is also on the agenda for Washington. (ANI) PTI chief Imran Khan said on Monday that after the surfacing of audio leaks allegedly featuring conversations between key figures in the coalition government, Pakistan's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja should resign from his post, a Pakistan-based media outlet reported. Addressing a gathering at Government College University (GCU) in Lahore, Imran said the audio leaks had made it apparent that CEC Raja was a "servant of the Sharif household", Dawn reported. "In the audio leaks, Nawaz is telling him (CEC) who should be disqualified and when to hold elections," the former premier said. After the audio leaks, the CEC should resign if he has even an ounce of shame, he said. "But he doesn't (have any shame), so we will have to make him resign." Audio leaks of purported conversations between key government figures - including Pak Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz and some members of the federal cabinet - discussing governance matters privately surfaced over the weekend, prompting concerns over the security of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). PML-N leader Talal Chaudhry on Sunday had said the government was taking the leaks "very seriously", however, he stopped short of denying the veracity of the audios. The content of the recordings, which appear to be informal conversations in the PM Office - as opposed to recorded phone conversations - has not been denied or disputed by Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, who instead insisted that these only showed that "nothing illegal had happened". In his speech, Imran also alleged that the CEC had blocked the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) on the instructions of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari. "I kept on trying to introduce EVMs for three years [...] But this man, on the instructions of Nawaz and Zardari, who rely on false votes, did not allow EVMs," he claimed, Dawn reported. Turning his guns on Maryam, the PTI chief referred to one of the audio recordings purportedly featuring a conversation between PM Shehbaz and an unidentified official about the possibility of facilitating the import of Indian machinery for a power project that was linked to the PML-N vice president's son-in-law. --IANS san/shs ( 374 Words) 2022-09-26-22:06:04 (IANS) During his bilateral talks with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin in the Pentagon on Thursday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the stability, security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific should be secured as the global situation has become very challenging. "So for me, our meeting today and my presence here today I do share with you that the global situation has become a far more challenging variety of reasons. Indo-Pacific in particular, it's important that the stability, security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific should be secured which is best done amongst others," Jaishankar said during the opening remarks at Pentagon. He also emphasised creating stronger defence industrial collaboration and military exercises between India and US during the talks. Both the leaders expressed commitment to deepening bilateral defence cooperation and expanding information-sharing and logistics cooperation to drive deeper operational coordination between the US and Indian militaries, said Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder in a readout. Austin and Jaishankar also discussed new opportunities for bilateral defence industrial cooperation in support of India's contributions as a regional security provider. The two sides are also looking forward to the launch of a new defence dialogue later this year as the United States and India work more closely across space, cyber, artificial intelligence, and other domains, the statement read. Furthermore, Lloyd Austin and S Jaishankar underscored the value of the deepening collaboration between the United States, India, Australia, Japan, and European partners and both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to working together as steadfast partners to advance the United States and India's shared vision for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. During his opening remarks in Washington, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin sharply criticised China for "unprecedented provocations in the Taiwan Strait" during bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar at the Pentagon and said that India and US, the two great democracies are working together toward a brighter future for the Indo-Pacific as the world faces sustained challenges to peace, security and prosperity in the region and beyond. "Our bilateral defence ties are just one way that our two great democracies are working together toward a brighter future for the Indo-Pacific. The United States In India, along with a dozen other Indo-Pacific partners, pushing to expand our region's prosperity for the Indo-Pacific Economic framework," Austin said. Referring to QUAD- the strategic coalition of leading Indo-Pacific democracies comprising India, Australia, Japan and the US, Austin also underscored the current concerns over maritime security in Taiwan and Indo-Pacific. Austin also lambasted China for supporting Russia's invasion in Ukraine and said, "China (Peoples Republic of China) continues to support Russia amid its unprovoked and cruel invasion. So we face sustained challenges to peace, security and prosperity in the region and beyond." Notably, External Affairs Minister, Jaishankar was welcomed by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to the Pentagon in an enhanced honour cordon ceremony on Thursday. This meeting comes a day before Jaishankar meets his US counterpart Sec Anthony Blinken. The External Affairs Minister concluded the high-level United Nations General Assembly debate in New York on Saturday. Jaishankar was in New York from September 18 to 24. In Washington, Jaishankar is expected to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior officials of the Biden Administration. A round table focused on science and technology is also on the agenda for Washington. (ANI) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at the State Department on Monday and said that America had provided USD 56.5 million in aid to Pakistan for flood relief and humanitarian assistance this year. Blinken expressed his sorrow over the devastation and loss of life throughout Pakistan caused by catastrophic flooding. "He reaffirmed the US commitment to the people of Pakistan, noting the nearly USD 56.5 million in flood relief and humanitarian assistance provided this year as well as the additional USD 10 million of food security assistance announced today," read the US State Department press release. The US Secretary and the Pakistan Foreign Minister also discussed partnering on food security, economic prosperity, regional stability, and Afghanistan. "Welcomed Pakistani Foreign Minister @BBhuttoZardari to the @StateDept to reaffirm our close partnership for economic prosperity, regional stability, and food security. I also emphasized our continued support for flood relief, including nearly USD 56.5 million in aid. #PakUSAt75," tweeted Blinken. Blinken and Foreign Minister Bhutto Zardari focused on various issues including the marking of 75 years of the countries' relations, security and the devastating floods in Pakistan. Since mid-June, unprecedented heavy rains and flooding gripped Pakistan, the military has been engaged in relief and rescue efforts across the country struggling with the deluge that has killed more than 1,600 people. "We stand in strong solidarity with our friends in Pakistan, not only in solidarity," said Blinken. "We are doing everything we can to be of assistance at this moment, just as Pakistan has been of assistance to us, including at the beginning of COVID." Responding to Blinken, Bhutto stressed on climate change that has brought one of the most devastating floods in the history of Pakistan. "This is a global problem that needs global solutions, and your President has shown leadership on the climate front, so I think we're ready to be partners on this agenda," said Bhutto. Speaking on 75-year diplomatic relations between the two countries, he said, "I think Pakistan and the United States have shown over the last 75 years that we've been great powers - great partners, great partners, and we've achieved great things together. In fact, whenever we've - there's developed a distance, we've faltered, and I think it's a great testament to our diplomatic relations that we've not only withstanded the tests of time, but we are now re-engaged in a broader framework." (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended his heartfelt condolences to his dear friend "Abe San", late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. In his opening remarks to Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, he conveyed his personal loss as Abe was his dear friend. "Today we are meeting in this hour of sorrow. The last time I came I had a long conversation with former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. India is missing Shinzo Abe and remembering him and Japan," said PM Modi during a bilateral meet with Japanese PM Fumio Kishida. He said that Abe had taken India and Japan relations to new heights and expanded them into many other areas. "Abe took India and Japan relations to new heights and expanded it into many other areas. Our friendship played a key role in the growth of the global perspective. The people of India remember Abe San for all the good works he has done. They are missing Abe San. But, I do believe that under your leadership (Kishida), India-Japan relations will grow strong and will attain new heights and will play a major role in solving the problems of the world," added the Indian Prime Minister. Japan PM Kishida thanked PM Modi for attending the funeral of Abe and said that PM Modi, along with PM Abe strengthened India-Japan ties. "PM @narendramodi met Japanese PM @kishida230 & extended his deepest condolences on the untimely demise of former PM Shinzo Abe. Also had a useful exchange on further enhancing bilateral relations and working together towards realization of a free, open & inclusive Indo-Pacific," tweeted Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. PM Modi will be attending the state funeral of Abe who was attacked on July 8 in the city of Nara during a campaign speech and died later that day. Abe was shot at about 11:30 am local time in Nara on July 8, east of Osaka, as he gave an election campaign speech on the street. He was taken to the hospital where Abe was pronounced dead at 5:03 pm. Japan has imposed tight security measures in the capital city Tokyo as it prepares to host foreign dignitaries for the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which will be attended by several foreign dignitaries. Abe's funeral will be the second state funeral for a former Japanese prime minister since World War 2. The first one was held in 1967 for Shigeru Yoshida. Other deceased prime ministers received a joint Cabinet Office and Liberal Democratic Party service. The funeral service will likely last for approximately one-and-a-half hours following which the national anthem of the country will be played, according to Japan Times. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will deliver a commemorative speech followed by addresses from other high-level delegates. The state funeral ceremony will be the first major public event since new police security guidelines were implemented, including sniffer dogs at train stations and police patrols at Tokyo-area airports after Abe's assassination on July 8. Japan's royal family will also pay tributes to Abe at his state funeral, however, maintaining the line of tradition, Emperor Naruhito will not be attending the funeral, and their imperial envoys will pay their respects. The funeral ceremony will finish with sending off Abe's remains and placing remembrance wreaths. Abe was shot on July 8 in the Japanese city of Nara. Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, approached the politician from behind and fired two shots from a distance of about 10 meters (33 feet). The attacker reportedly plotted the assassination of the 67-year-old former head of government for nearly a year. Abe, Japan's longest-serving Prime Minister, stepped down in 2020 citing health reasons. He was Prime Minister of Japan twice, from 2006-07 and again from 2012-20. He was succeeded by Yoshihide Suga and later by Fumio Kishida. (ANI) A state funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe commenced on Tuesday in Tokyo and in attendance were several world leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President Kamala Harris. With tight security in place, a car carrying Abe's cremated remains arrived at the venue from his family home, for the first of its kind ceremony for a former premier in decades, Japan's Kyodo News agency reported. There is controversy in Japan over the funeral, which is set to cost the taxpayer more than USD 11 million, the report said. Today Abe's widow Akie carried his ashes into the Nippon Budokan Hall in Japanese capital city where thousands of mourners gathered. Japan has imposed tight security measures in the capital city Tokyo as representatives from hundreds of countries including more than 20 heads of state and heads of government are participating in the state funeral. Prime Minister Modi met his Japanese counterpart PM Fumio Kishida prior to the state funeral for Abe whom he describes as the champion of India-Japan ties and his dear friend. Abe was shot down despite the presence of police while he was giving a public address in July this year on July 8 in the city of Nara during a campaign speech. Abe's funeral is the second state funeral for a former prime minister since World War 2. The first one was held in 1967 for Shigeru Yoshida. Other deceased prime ministers received a joint Cabinet Office and Liberal Democratic Party service. The state funeral ceremony is the first major public event since new police security guidelines were implemented, including sniffer dogs at train stations and police patrols at Tokyo-area airports after Abe's assassination. The funeral service will likely last for approximately one-and-a-half hours following which the national anthem of the country will be played, according to Japan Times. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will deliver a commemorative speech followed by addresses from other high-level delegates. Japan's royal family will also pay tributes to Abe at his state funeral, however, maintaining the line of tradition, Emperor Naruhito will not be attending the funeral, and their imperial envoys will pay their respects. The funeral ceremony will finish with sending off Abe's remains and placing remembrance wreaths. (ANI) To counter China's moves that misuse the authority to administer Tibetan monastic societies in general and recognition of reincarnations in particular for its political interests, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) Kashag (Cabinet) promulgated a firm stand on the 14th Dalai Lama. The Kashag of the CTA declared its firm stand in prophecy as well as the Dalai Lama's constant assurance to live up to 113 years while rejecting any sort of interference from any party who doesn't believe in rebirth, stating, "Reincarnation of lama/tulku is a unique religious system of Tibetan Buddhism requiring someone to substantially believe in past and future lives." Kashag also reiterated the Dalai Lama's personal authority in taking the complete decision about His Holiness' reincarnation as per the successive instructions of His Holiness since 1969, and the announcement circulated on 24 September 2011. The Communist Party of China frequently propagates distorted narrations about Tibet's reincarnation system, especially about the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama, to Tibetans in Tibet through workshops, conferences and public speeches, reported CTA. The issue of Dalai Lama's reincarnation has been widely conversed globally with uncertainties and apprehensions, to which the Kashag deems necessary to promulgate its firm stand on the issue. Moreover, since the Chinese government's introduction of "Management Measures for the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism" in 2007, the Communist Party of China has consistently misused its authority the recognition of reincarnations, reported CTA. Appreciating the US-led democratic countries' dedicated support regarding the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Kashag appeals to other likeminded nations to do the same. US Congress had earlier passed new legislation supporting the Tibetans regarding their right to choose a successor to their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. This move has infuriated China. The US asserted that Tibetans have the absolute right to choose the next Dalai Lama. Following the Buddhist belief in the principle of reincarnation, the current Dalai Lama is believed by Buddhists to be able to choose the body into which he is reincarnated. That person, when found, will then become the next Dalai Lama. According to Buddhist scholars, it is the responsibility of the High Lamas of the Gelugpa tradition and the Tibetan government to seek out and find the next Dalai Lama following the death of the incumbent. If more than one candidate is identified, the true successor is found by officials and monks drawing lots in a public ceremony. Once identified, the successful candidate and his family are taken to Lhasa (or Dharamshala) where the child studies the Buddhist scriptures in order to prepare for spiritual leadership. But, according to China, there was a well-established procedure for recognizing the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, One of the conditions was that the name of the successor was pulled out of golden urns found in the Jokhang Temple (one of the most sacred monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism situated in Lhasa) and the Potala Palace which was the residence of the Dalai Lama till he fled to India in 1959. The second was the reincarnation getting the approval of the Chinese government. (ANI) The third edition of the Saudi Maritime Congress (SMC) will become a sought-after platform among industry stakeholders to address pressing concerns and tackle the biggest challenges the sector is faced with in the kingdom. The kingdoms leading maritime event, is all set to take place on September 28 and 29, 2022 at Dhahran Expo in Dammam. With the first day of the event taking off with updates on the progress made by the kingdoms maritime industry towards achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, SMC will play a massive role in facilitating the work being done in order to achieve these goals. Capitalising on opportunities Eng Ahmed Alsubaey, CEO, Bahri said: As the national shipping carrier of Saudi Arabia, our aim has always been to support the kingdoms drive for smarter and more sustainable operations across all sectors of the economy. Over the years of our existence in the maritime industry, we have always been keen on capitalising on opportunities that could lead to further enhancement of our operational efficiency. The kingdom aims to be among the world's top 10 countries in logistics and a regional leader in this regard by 2030. We believe that Bahri has a massive role to play in achieving this goal. By constantly collaborating with internationally renowned organisations to improve our capabilities and push our limits, we are already on track to achieve the targets set for ourselves. Through our participation in the Saudi Maritime Congress, we look forward to meeting industry leaders and professionals who are uplifting the sector and fuelling the progress and ambitions of the kingdom. Digital advancements Additionally, the event will incorporate several leading maritime organisations in the region and industry experts that will discuss the latest innovations and adoption of new technologies within the sector, making it an active supporter of digitalisation in the regions maritime industry. Mohammed AlShaikh, CEO, DP World Jeddah and Country Head KSA said: DP World has always been at the forefront of accelerating digital transformation and adopting advanced technological solutions in all port and logistics operations within the sector, to ensure the smart flow of trade across the globe. DP World has always relied on advanced systems and innovative technologies in trade and logistics operations to create the most productive, efficient, smart, and safe solutions globally. Smart and revolutionary innovations created and invested by DP World, do not just aim to add value to the logistics sector, but re-define and re-chart the standard port and logistics operational methods. As part of a nation that has been developing at a rapid pace and constantly adopting the latest digital solutions to stay ahead of global standards, it is necessary that we keep the standards of our innovation at par with the bar set by the kingdom. At an event such as SMC, where over 50 maritime tech companies will showcase their latest products, we can certainly expect an array of innovative solutions that will solve some of the biggest issues facing the industry and enhance its capabilities at large. Support for the event Chris Morley, Group Director Maritime Events, Informa Markets said: The response we have received in terms of the participating companies and the visitor registrations is tremendous. The high interest reflects the industrys willingness to come together face-to-face and discuss areas of key importance and work towards taking collective action. Both government and private sector entities have come forward to show their support for the event. For the 2022 edition, we have strategically prepared the agenda that will not only discuss the best way forward to make a post-covid recovery, but will also chart a course to effectively achieve the targets set by Saudi Vision 2030, and to what extent the maritime industry could contribute to this success.-- TradeArabia News Service Rashid Nasrullah, the personal secretary of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was attacked in Ilford town in east London on Monday. The Dawn newspaper reported that Nasrullah filed a complaint with the police alleging that he was attacked and beaten by three men. Nasrullah said that the attackers threatened to kill him if he did not withdraw his support for Sharif. "Another day, bullying, another police report! Imran Niazi's group of goons threatened to kill him with a knife while going to office! Imran Khan there is still time to stop, the fire you are setting will burn it all! There will be a lot of damage. As for the demand to retreat out of fear, this can only be done by death," he said in a tweet posted on Monday. This incident come a few days after Pakistan Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb was heckled by overseas Pakistanis at a coffee shop in London. A video went viral on the Internet where overseas Pakistanis were seen circling Marriyum Aurangzeb. The overseas Pakistanis criticised the minister for going on foreign visits amid flood devastation in the country. Media reports said that overseas Pakistanis followed Marriyum out on the streets, shouting 'chorni, chorni (thief, thief)'. The video of the entire heckling incident went viral, showing that Aurangzeb did not react to the overseas nationals' protest and kept herself busy on her mobile phone. Several federal ministers came forward to Marriyum's defence, saying that she handled the situation with "grace and composure", Dawn reported. Aurangzeb was reportedly harassed and bullied by former PM Imran Khan's supporters in a shop, the report said. A woman in the video was seen saying Aurangzeb "makes grand claims on television there but here she does not carry a dupatta on her head." This comes amid frequent reports of clashes and heckling between PML-N and PTI workers in London. Their exchanges can often become heated but this was one of the rare incidents of a physical assault, the Pakistan newspaper said. Earlier in April, PTI activists reportedly attempted to attack Nawaz Sharif outside his office, but were thwarted by his bodyguards. (ANI) While the recent report of United Nations Human Rights on China's treatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region has brought global condemnation, most of the African countries were silent on it due to Beijing's heavy economic clout in the second-biggest continent. Cobus van Staden, a China-Africa expert at the South African Institute of International Affairs, said that because of China's economic clout, most African countries simply don't want to "pick a fight" over Xinjiang, which, to many, seems far away, reported allAfrica. "We've seen most African countries side with China, and this includes a lot of majority Muslim countries. ... In terms of how the African partners will vote on the human rights council (if there is a vote), I tend to fear that they will probably vote with China," he said. There are reasons for this, he said. China is Africa's biggest trade partner, far outstripping the West, and a lot of African countries "tend to be quite suspicious of separatist movements and quite suspicious of hardliners or political Islam." Nigeria, for example, has been plagued by hardliner Islamist groups, reported allAfrica. The report, published by then-UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on her last day in office in August, said China's actions against Uyghurs and others in the Xinjiang region "may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity," citing abuses such as arbitrary detention in camps, torture and sexual violence. However, China's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Chen Xu, delivered a joint statement on September 13, during the 51st session of the Human Rights Council, saying the Xinjiang assessment was "based on disinformation and draws erroneous conclusions." The statement was signed by 28 other countries, with close to half of the supporters from African countries such as Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Zimbabwe, reported allAfrica. Last year, out of 43 countries, only two in Africa, Eswatini and Liberia, signed a UN communique condemning China's policies in Xinjiang. In June, they signed again, but they are rare outliers. South Africa, the continent's third-largest economy, neither signed the letter supporting China's position nor staked out a position critical of China. Analysts told VOA that South Africa - seen as the continent's leading democracy - has simply mostly remained silent on the issue. "South Africa, with its proud tradition as a shining example for human rights, struggles now, saying nothing about China's apartheid," said Magnus Fiskesjo, an associate professor at Cornell University's Department of Anthropology, alluding to a system of discrimination and segregation that took place in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Analysts say some African countries can relate to China's position, as stated by the state-run Xinhua news agency, that "Xinjiang-related issues are not about human rights, ethnicity or religion at all but about combating violent terrorism and separatism." African nations, according to observers, are also unwilling to alienate China, their Belt and Road initiative benefactor and the source of massive infrastructure loans, reported allAfrica. Egypt is among the Muslim countries in Africa that have supported China on the Uyghur issue, says Bradley Jardine, a political analyst who focuses on China and recently published a study for the Wilson Center on China's global campaign against the Uyghurs. "Across the Muslim world, it's a very diverse region with very diverse strategic interests," he said. "There are a lot of economic interests at play, particularly (with) actors such as Egypt, who in 2017 detained hundreds of Uyghur students and deported them to China." According to Jardine's research, more than 1,500 Uyghurs abroad have been detained or extradited -- many in North Africa. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday evening concluded his visit to Tokyo to attend the State funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "PM @narendramodi concludes a poignant visit to Tokyo. The legacy of former PM Shinzo Abe and the commitment of PM @narendramodi & PM @kishida230 will continue to guide the India-Japan partnership to new heights," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet. Abe's state funeral commenced earlier today in the Japanese capital with the attendance of several world leaders. During the State Funeral at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, PM Modi, who landed in Japan Tuesday morning, paid floral tributes to former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. "A tribute to a great visionary and to his immense contribution in the elevation of the India-Japan partnership," MEA said in a statement. PM Modi lauded his "dear friend" Abe and said that he was a great leader, a phenomenal individual and someone who believed in India-Japan friendship. "When I was in Tokyo earlier this yr, little did I imagine I would be back for solemn program of former PM Abe's state funeral. He was a great leader, a phenomenal individual & someone who believed in India-Japan friendship. He shall live on in hearts of millions," PM Modi said. Following the event, Prime Minister Modi met with Akie Abe, wife of late Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and recalled his fond memories with "Abe San". Besides, he held a bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida and conveyed his deepest condolences on the demise of former Prime Minister Abe. PM Modi noted the contributions of the late Japanese PM in strengthening the India-Japan partnership and conceptualizing the vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. "The two leaders had a productive exchange of views on further deepening bilateral relations. They also discussed a number of regional and global issues," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. Both leaders renewed their commitment to further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership and working together in the region and other international groupings. PM Modi arrived in Japan today amid heightened security measures in the country as dozens of foreign dignitaries were to attend the state funeral of former PM Abe who was assassinated in July. Abe was shot despite the presence of police while he was giving a public address on July 8 in the city of Nara during a campaign speech. Representatives from over 100 countries, including more than 20 heads of state and heads of government participated in the state funeral. Abe's funeral was the second state funeral for a former prime minister since World War II. The first one was held in 1967 for Shigeru Yoshida. Other deceased prime ministers received a joint Cabinet Office and Liberal Democratic Party service. On Monday, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said this trip was an opportunity for PM Modi to honour the memory of his dear friend and a champion of India-Japan ties. "This visit by PM Modi is an opportunity for him to honour the memory of former PM Abe, who he considered a dear friend and a great champion of the India-Japan relationship," the foreign secretary said at a special briefing. He said Abe made significant contributions to deepening India-Japan relations, turning a primarily economic relationship into a broad, comprehensive, and strategic partnership, making it pivotal for the two countries and the region's security. (ANI) Seismologists registered explosions near the Nord Stream pipelines in the last 36 hours, a media outlet reported, citing Swedish national broadcaster SVT. SVT can reveal that measuring stations in both Sweden and Denmark registered strong underwater explosions in the same area as the gas leaks on Monday, The Gurdian reported. "There is no doubt that these are explosions," Bjorn Lund, lecturer in seismology at the Swedish National Seismic Network (SNSN), was quoted as saying by SVT. The first explosion was recorded at 2.03 a.m. on the night of Monday and the second at 7.04 p.m. on Monday evening. The warnings about the gas leaks came from the maritime administration at 1.52 p.m. and 8.41 p.m. on Monday, respectively, after ships detected bubbles on the surface. SVT has obtained the coordinates of the measured explosions and they are in the same area where the gas leaks were registered, The Guardian reported. The apparent leaks in the Nord Stream pipeline are both near the island of Bornholm, which belongs to Denmark in the Baltic sea. Seismologist Bjorn Lund was quoted as saying that the area where they detected explosions is not an area usually used for military drills. He told SVT: "We usually get information about explosions that take place underwater, but sometimes we don't get it. In this case, we have not received any information." According to Lund, one of the explosions had a magnitude of 2.3 on the Richter scale, and was recorded at 30 measuring stations in southern Sweden. Prior to the reports from the seismologists, there had already been speculation about possible sabotage, as the pipeline operator had described three lines suffering significant damage within the space of a day as "unprecedented". Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, has described the major leaks in two Russian gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea as a "terrorist attack". --IANS san/shs ( 323 Words) 2022-09-27-20:48:02 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday arrived in New Delhi after attending the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was attacked on July 8 in the city of Nara during a campaign speech and died later that day. The Prime Minister landed in Japan on Tuesday morning to attend Abe's state funeral, noting the contributions of the late Japanese PM in strengthening the India-Japan partnership and conceptualizing the vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on Tuesday and conveyed his deepest condolences on the demise of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Both leaders renewed their commitment to further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership and working together in the region and other international groupings. Representatives from over 100 countries including more than 20 heads of state and heads of government are expected to participate in the state funeral. On Monday, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said this trip is an opportunity for PM Modi to honour the memory of his dear friend and a champion of India-Japan ties. "This visit by PM Modi is an opportunity for him to honour the memory of former PM Abe, who he considered a dear friend and a great champion of the India-Japan relationship," the foreign secretary said while addressing a special briefing. Abe was shot at about 11:30 am local time in Nara on July 8, east of Osaka, as he gave an election campaign speech on the street. He was taken to the hospital where Abe was pronounced dead at 5:03 pm. During the state funeral ceremony, Abe's widow Akie carried his ashes into the Nippon Budokan Hall in the Japanese capital city where thousands of mourners gathered. Japan had imposed tight security measures in Tokyo as representatives from hundreds of countries, including dozens of heads of state and heads of government participated in the state funeral. Abe's funeral is the second state funeral for a former Prime Minister since World War 2. The first one was held in 1967 for Shigeru Yoshida. Other deceased Prime Ministers received a joint Cabinet Office and Liberal Democratic Party service. The state funeral ceremony is the first major public event since new police security guidelines were implemented, including sniffer dogs at train stations and police patrols at Tokyo-area airports after Abe's assassination. (ANI) OLEKSANDR SHUMILIN TUESDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2022, 18:58 The Armed Forces of Ukraine has repelled Russian attacks near 10 cities and towns over the course of Tuesday, 27 September. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 18:00 on 27 September Quote: "Over the past 24 hours, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have repelled Russian attacks near Soledar, Maiorsk, Kurdiumivka, Zaitseve, Bakhmut, Bakhmutske, Vyimka, Spirne, Pervomaiske and Kamianka." Details: The Russians fired tank rounds, mortars and tubed artillery on all fronts except for the Volyn and Zhytomyr fronts. The most shelled cities and towns were on the Pivdennyi Buh front. Quote: "On the Pivdennyi Buh front, more than 35 cities and towns along the line of contact were hit by fire from tank rounds, mortars and tubed artillery. More than 50 sorties of Russian UAVs, in particular the Iranian-made Shahed-136, were also recorded, as they carried out reconnaissance, fire adjustment and strikes on civil infrastructure facilities. Details: Also, the invaders launched 2 rocket and 6 air strikes during the day, carrying out more than 20 MLRS attacks on military and civilian facilities within Ukrainian territory. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! ABC News Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a member of Republican leadership in the upper chamber, said Sunday that he does not "condone violence" after Donald Trump lashed out at Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and suggested McConnell had a "death wish"-- but Scott stopped short of condemning the former president. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social website last week, wrote that McConnell must have a "death wish" after supporting a continuing resolution to fund the federal government. Trump went on to criticize McConnell's wife in racist terms, writing that he should "seek help and advise [sic] from his China loving wife, Coco Chow!" Trump was referring to Elaine Chao, who is Taiwanese. A second suspect in a quadruple homicide in Prentis Park this summer turned himself in to Portsmouth police Monday evening. Antwann Gore, 40, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder in connection to the shooting. Police named him as a suspect in August. Gores arrest comes more than a month after police arrested 57-year-old Raymond Gore and charged him with the same four counts. The two men are related, but police have not specified their relationship. They are accused of killing Davonta Georgio Lee, 30; Oleisha Deanna Mears, 37; Ashley Merricks, 34; and Samuel Jones, 66, on June 7 at a boarding house on Maple Avenue. Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, gavin.stone@virginimedia.com Another caravan of illegal migrant buses arrived in New York City on Tuesday as Mayor Eric Adams continues his efforts to erect tents and cots to centralize incoming travelers. The first Tuesday bus arrived at approximately 6 a.m., followed by a second at approximately 7 a.m. Subsequent buses arrived at 7:16 and 7:40 a.m. A later, fifth bus dropped off its passengers and left the city at approximately 12:25pm. This is the second day of back-to-back arrivals in New York City. The first Monday bus arrived at approximately 5:50 a.m., followed by subsequent buses at 5:58, 6:12 and 6:21 a.m. EL PASO HIT BY 1,500 ILLEGAL MIGRANTS A DAY WHILE SMALL FRACTION SENT TO LIBERAL CITIES STRAINS RESOURCES Adams has directed public resources into converting an Orchard Beach parking lot in the Bronx into a tent city for migrants. Construction has begun, with Fox 5 NY Skyfox cameras spotting workers laying out tenting equipment Monday. Officials intend the camp to be a processing center where migrants can stay for four days before entering the city's shelter system, which has been overwhelmed by the influx. The camp, when completed, will feature five massive, heated tents with enough cots to house approximately 1,000 people. EL PASO MAYOR SAYS CITY'S GOAL IS TO HELP BUS MIGRANTS TO THEIR DESTINATIONS, TREAT THEM LIKE HUMAN BEINGS New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks at the National Press Club during a press conference on gun violence and other issues on Sept. 13, 2022. Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images The planned tent community has not sat well with some migrant advocates, who object to the mayor's one-size-fits-all accommodations. "We are deeply concerned with any scenario in which families with children would be relegated to congregate settings," the Legal Aid Society said. Adams said he was disappointed in the criticism by the Legal Aid Society. Speaking about how the city has dealt with thousands of migrants bussed from Texas, Adams argues that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is the "real villain" that they should be focused on. Many of the buses, however, have been sent by the city of El Paso, Texas, which has a Democratic mayor. More than 10,000 migrants have been bussed since April from Texas to New York City, which has a right-to-shelter law requiring the city to house anyone in need. The Legal Aid Society said last week that the city failed to house 60 men, most of them migrants recently bussed to the city. Police A 54-year-old man was found fatally shot early Tuesday morning in the 900 block of Porter Avenue, Stockton Police reported. At 1:51 a.m. officers went to the area of 900 Porter Ave., located west of Pacific Avenue, after a report of a shooting, police said. Officers found a man on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds, police said. Life-saving measures were attempted, but the man died, according to police. In August, 19-year-old Sauci Haywood of Antioch was found shot on Porterfield Court about a one-minute drive from 900 Porter Ave. and later died at a hospital, police said. On Sept. 21, another man died of gunshot wounds in early morning, near Manchester Avenue and Rosemarie Lane, police said. On Sept. 20, a man was found fatally shot in an SUV on Sikh Temple Street, according to police. Stockton Police were not immediately available for comment. This article originally appeared on The Record: 54-year-old man fatally shot in north Stockton, California Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside of oil and gas, continued its collaboration with Abu Dhabis Human Resources Authority (HRA) by holding a recruitment drive in Abu Dhabi to attract young UAE nationals. More than 50 UAE nationals were shortlisted for places on EGAs long-running National Training Programmes, following interviews with EGA representatives at the recruitment drive. Successful candidates will undergo intensive training at EGA, beginning in November 2022 and lasting between six months to three years, dependant on their technical role. Successful candidates will be offered contracts prior to beginning training at EGAs technical training centre, which provides programmes certified by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and Abu Dhabi Centre for Technical and Vocational Training. Following their time at the training centre, candidates will receive further practical training on-site at EGA prior to being offered operational roles at EGAs smelters and power plants. Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer at EGA, said: EGA is committed to recruiting and developing UAE Nationals as an investment in our future. We are pleased to be working with Abu Dhabis HRA to identify qualified candidates for our National Training Programmes and I look forward welcoming the new batch of young, talented Emiratis to our company. Iman Al Qasim, Executive Vice President of Human Capital at EGA, said: At EGA, we are driven by our bold aspiration to become a talent-driven organisation and the leading industrial employer of choice in the countries where we operate by 2030. I was delighted to see over 400 candidates attend the recruitment drive. I look forward to welcoming successful candidates to EGA and to supporting them on their professional pathways as they advance their careers. Last year, EGA recruited more than 100 UAE nationals, 73 of whom participated in foundational training programmes, including the National Training Smelter programme, developed in collaboration with and sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Human Resources Authority. EGAs National Training Programmes develop young UAE nationals for operational roles at EGA. More than 5,000 UAE nationals have graduated from the programmes since they were first established in 1982, and many have gone on to pursue long and successful careers at EGA. Almost 1,200 UAE nationals now work at EGA. Over 700 of EGAs Emirati employees are under the age of 35. At the end of 2021, EGAs in-focus Emiratisation rate was around 40 per cent. When considering the high number of blue-collar positions in heavy industry, EGA has one of the highest Emiratisation rates of any major company, it said. - TradeArabia News Service Be careful when eating perishable foods during a power outage. Shutterstock There are a few ways to keep your food safe to eat in the fridge and freezer during a power outage. Keeping a thermometer in your fridge and freezer will help track when your food will start to spoil. Having a cooler on hand and a stocked pantry of nonperishables will also help. Keep the refrigerator door closed for as long as possible. The fridge will stay colder if you keep the door closed. Nattanee.P/Shutterstock One of the most important things you can do during a power outage is to keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in a power outage, a closed refrigerator will stay cold for up to four hours and a closed freezer will keep its temperature for 24 hours if it is half-full and 48 hours if it's full. During the first few hours after a power outage, you should eat shelf-stable foods and keep drinks in a cooler so that you don't have to keep opening the refrigerator doors. Buy appliance thermometers to keep inside your refrigerator and freezer. Your fridge should be below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Wikimedia Commons According to the USDA, you should always keep your refrigerator at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer at or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Keeping appliance thermometers inside both your refrigerator and freezer is a great way to be proactive in the event of a power outage. It will be able to tell you when the fridge or freezer has warmed to an unsafe point without any power. Keep extra ice in your freezer and freeze bottles of water. Frozen bottles of water will help to keep food cold for longer. Flickr/Heather Dowd Buy extra bags of ice to keep in your freezer to help maintain its temperature, and to use later if you have to transfer your food into a cooler. If your freezer has an ice maker, empty the ice cubes into gallon-sized storage bags each time the tray is full. You can also consider buying dry ice in the event of a power outage. Fifty pounds of dry ice will keep a closed freezer or a cooler cold for between 18 and 24 hours. Just be sure to handle it safely and avoid touching it with your bare hands. The USDA also recommends keeping bottles of water in your freezer. Not only will this help keep frozen food cold longer, but also you will also have a supply of fresh drinking water in case your water supply becomes contaminated. Story continues If water bottles are in short supply, which often happens when a storm is approaching, freeze fresh water in clean, quart-sized storage bags or food-safe plastic containers. Group your frozen food together in your freezer. Put all your frozen foods together. Bravissimo/ Shutterstock The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends grouping all of your frozen food together in your freezer if you are anticipating a power outage. This will help keep your food colder for a longer period of time. Transfer items from your refrigerator to your freezer. The freezer can keep the food safer for longer. Shutterstock/ takoburito If there is a possibility of a power outage, the FDA also suggests transferring some of your refrigerated food to your freezer to keep it at a safe temperature for a longer period of time. Items such as milk, meats, and leftovers that you don't need immediately can be safely transferred to the freezer during a power outage. Keep a cooler or two handy in case of a prolonged power outage. It doesn't hurt to have some extra coolers. Stanley If it looks as though your power will be out for more than two to four hours, the American National Red Cross recommends packing refrigerated food into a cooler. You'll want the temperature to stay at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, so make sure the cooler is packed with ice. If the power is going to be out for more than a day, prepare a second cooler for your freezer items. Any food that has been exposed to temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for more than two hours, or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit for more than one hour, should be thrown away. Don't try to keep your food cold by storing it outdoors. Leaving food outside can attract animals. iStock If your power goes out during a winter storm, you may be tempted to keep some of your food outside in the ice or snow, but it isn't a good idea. According to the USDA, the temperatures outside can fluctuate hour to hour depending on how much sunlight there is, which will cause the food to spoil. It can also attract wild animals looking for a meal. Stock up on shelf-stable foods that will stay good for a long time. Make sure you also have food on hand that won't spoil for a while. Steve Cukrov/Shutterstock Try to keep your pantry stocked with nonperishable foods, and make sure you have a manual can opener since an electric one without batteries will not work if the power goes out. Things like cans of beans and vegetables can last on the shelf for two to five years according to the USDA's FoodKeeper app. Other staples that will last for a while include peanut butter, rice, oatmeal, and dried legumes. Make sure to have charcoal or propane on hand if you have an outdoor grill. You can grill thawing food if it's safe to be outside. Merrimon Crawford/Shutterstock Don't forget to stock up on charcoal or propane if you have an outdoor grill. If your meat is starting to thaw in your fridge or freezer, having a working grill can save you from having to throw it all out. Food that is beginning to thaw, but is still at a safe temperature, should be cooked first. Before cooking, check each item separately. Any food that feels warm to the touch or has an unusual odor, color, or texture should be thrown out. Use a food thermometer to make sure each item is cooked to a safe internal temperature to kill any foodborne bacteria. Foodsafety.gov recommends that beef, veal, lamb, pork, and ham be cooked to 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Poultry and ground meat mixtures should be cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Read More: Read the original article on Insider Americans in all 50 states will do something this fall that most of them have not done for two years: vote in a statewide election. The last time they did so, in 2020, was one of the most contentious in American history. Voters were besieged by a global pandemic and weighed down by health concerns around public gatherings. Then the election's aftermath was marred by the outgoing presidents insistence that he had not lost, despite the lack of any evidence to support his claims. The 2022 election takes place in a different context. COVID-19 still lingers but has been countered by lifesaving vaccines and other medical treatments. Nonetheless, the confidence of many Americans in our election system was shaken by the 2020 experience. Understanding how elections work in each state and locality is one step toward undoing that damage. A sign at Lower Dauphin High School in Hummelstown, Pa., on May 17. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) Here is a list of how residents of each state can cast ballots this fall in their elections. It shows each states deadline to register to vote, includes a link to where you can register and gives you information about early voting and whether your state allows no-excuse mail-in voting, also known as absentee voting. Check your state government's website for details about early voting locations and hours. Also check to see whether early voting locations are open on weekends. Some states that allow early voting open those polling sites only on weekdays. Finally, theres the issue of voter ID. Look at this checklist, compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures, to see whether your state requires an ID to vote in person or by mail, and what kind of ID is acceptable. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. ALABAMA Voter registration deadline: 15 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: Alabama is one of 4 states that have no early voting option, along with Connecticut, Mississippi and New Hampshire. No-excuse absentee voting: No. ALASKA Voter registration deadline: 30 days before Election Day Register here. Early voting: From 15 days before an election until Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. Story continues ARIZONA Voter registration deadline: 29 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 27 days before an election until the Friday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. ARKANSAS Voter registration deadline: 30 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 15 days before an election until 5 p.m. on the Monday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: No. CALIFORNIA Voter registration deadline: 15 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed during early voting and on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 29 days before an election until Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: California is one of 8 states that conduct their elections entirely by mail, which means voters do not need to request a ballot and instead automatically receive one. COLORADO Voter registration deadline: 8 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed during early voting and on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: Voter service and polling centers must be open 15 days before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Colorado is one of 8 states that conduct their elections entirely by mail, which means voters do not need to request a ballot and instead automatically receive one. CONNECTICUT Voter registration deadline: 7 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is also allowed on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: Connecticut is one of 4 states that have no early voting option, along with Alabama, Mississippi and New Hampshire. But in-person early voting will appear on the ballot in the 2022 fall elections, and if voters approve it, the state constitution will be amended to allow for early voting. No-excuse absentee voting: No. DELAWARE Voter registration deadline: 24 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From at least 10 days before an election until the Sunday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: No. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Voter registration deadline: 21 days before Election Day, Same-day registration is allowed during early voting and on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 12 days before an election until the Saturday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. FLORIDA Voter registration deadline: 29 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From at least 10 days before an election until 3 days before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes GEORGIA Voter registration deadline: 29 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From the 4th Monday before an election until the Friday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. HAWAII Voter registration deadline: 29 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed during early voting and on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: 10 business days before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Hawaii is one of 8 states that conduct their elections entirely by mail, which means voters do not need to request a ballot and instead automatically receive one. IDAHO Voter registration deadline: 25 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From the 3rd Monday before an election until 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. ILLINOIS Voter registration deadline: 28 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed during early voting and on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From the 40th day before Election Day for temporary polling locations and from the 15th day before Election Day for permanent locations. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. INDIANA Voter registration deadline: 29 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: In-person absentee voting only, from 28 days before an election until noon on the day before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: No. IOWA Voter registration deadline: 15 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed during early voting and on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: 20 days before an election. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. KANSAS Voter registration deadline: 21 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 20 days before an election or the Tuesday before an election (varies by county) until noon on the day before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. KENTUCKY Voter registration deadline: 29 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From the Thursday before an election until the Saturday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: No. LOUISIANA Voter registration deadline: 30 days before Election Day; 20 days if registering online. Register here. Early voting: From 14 days before an election until 7 days before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: No. MAINE Voter registration deadline: 21 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From as soon as absentee ballots are ready (30-45 days before an election) until 3 business days before Election Day, unless the voter has an acceptable excuse. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. MARYLAND Voter registration deadline: 21 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed during early voting and on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From the 2nd Thursday before an election until the Thursday before an election. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. MASSACHUSETTS Voter registration deadline: 10 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 17 days before an election until 4 days before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. MICHIGAN Voter registration deadline: 15 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed during early voting and on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 40 days before an election until the day before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. MINNESOTA Voter registration deadline: 21 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed during early voting and on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 46 days before an election until the day before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. MISSISSIPPI Voter registration deadline: 30 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: Mississippi is one of 4 states that have no early voting option, along with Alabama, Connecticut and New Hampshire. No-excuse absentee voting: No. MISSOURI Voter registration deadline: 27 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: Starts the 2nd Tuesday before an election, but the end of early voting is not specified by state law. No-excuse absentee voting: No. MONTANA Voter registration deadline: 30 days before Election Day. Voters may also register during the late registration period, which ends at noon on the day before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 30 days before an election until the day before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. NEBRASKA Voter registration deadline: 11 days before Election Day; 18 days before if registering online or by mail. Register here. Early voting: From 30 days before an election until Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. NEVADA Voter registration deadline: 28 days before Election Day; 5 days before if registering online. Same-day registration is allowed during early voting and on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From the 3rd Saturday preceding an election until the Friday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Nevada is one of 8 states that conduct their elections entirely by mail, which means voters do not need to request a ballot and instead automatically receive one. NEW HAMPSHIRE Voter registration deadline: 6 to 13 days before Election Day, depending on local supervisors. Same-day registration is allowed on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: New Hampshire is one of 4 states that have no early voting option, along with Alabama, Connecticut and Mississippi No-excuse absentee voting: No. NEW JERSEY Voter registration deadline: 21 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 10 days before an election until the Sunday before Election Day. In-person absentee voting begins 45 days before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. NEW MEXICO Voter registration deadline: 28 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed during early voting, and on Election Day for statewide contests. Register here. Early voting: From 28 days before an election until the Saturday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. NEW YORK Voter registration deadline: 25 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From the 10th day before an election until 2 days before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: No. NORTH CAROLINA Voter registration deadline: 25 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed during early voting. Register here. Early voting: From the 3rd Thursday before an election until 3 p.m. on the Saturday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. NORTH DAKOTA Voter registration deadline: North Dakota does not have voter registration. Early voting: From 15 days until an election until the day before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. OHIO Voter registration deadline: 30 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 29 days before Election Day until 2 p.m on the Monday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. OKLAHOMA Voter registration deadline: 25 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From the Wednesday before an election until 2 p.m. on the Saturday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. OREGON Voter registration deadline: 21 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: Drop sites must open from the Friday before an election, but may open as soon as ballots are available (18 days before), until Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Oregon is one of 8 states that conduct their elections entirely by mail, which means voters do not need to request a ballot and instead automatically receive one. PENNSYLVANIA Voter registration deadline: 15 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 50 days before an election until 5 p.m. on the Tuesday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. RHODE ISLAND Voter registration deadline: 30 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 20 days before an election until the day before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. SOUTH CAROLINA Voter registration deadline: 30 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 2 weeks before an election until the day before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: No. SOUTH DAKOTA Voter registration deadline: 15 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 46 days before an election until 5 p.m. on the day before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. TENNESSEE Voter registration deadline: 30 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 20 days before an election until 5 days before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: No. TEXAS Voter registration deadline: 30 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 17 days before an election until 4 days before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: No. UTAH Voter registration deadline: 11 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed during early voting and on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 14 days before an election until the Friday before Election Day, but an election official may choose to extend the early voting period to the day before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Utah is one of 8 states that conduct their elections entirely by mail, which means voters do not need to request a ballot and instead automatically receive one. VERMONT Voter registration deadline: Same-day registration is allowed through Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 45 days before an election until 5 p.m. on the day before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Vermont is one of 8 states that conduct their elections entirely by mail (for general elections), which means voters do not need to request a ballot and instead automatically receive one. VIRGINIA Voter registration deadline: 22 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 45 days before an election until 5 p.m. on the Saturday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. WASHINGTON Voter registration deadline: 8 days before Election Day by mail and online; in-person registration is permitted through 8 p.m. on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: Vote centers must be open from 18 days before an election until 8 p.m. on Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Washington is one of 8 states that conduct their elections entirely by mail, which means voters do not need to request a ballot and instead automatically receive one. WEST VIRGINIA Voter registration deadline: 21 days before Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 13 days before an election until 3 days before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: No. WISCONSIN Voter registration deadline: 20 days before Election Day by mail and online; the Friday before Election Day if in person. Same-day registration is allowed on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 14 days before an election (in-person absentee) until the Sunday before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. WYOMING Voter registration deadline: 14 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is allowed on Election Day. Register here. Early voting: From 40 days before an election (in-person absentee) until the day before Election Day. No-excuse absentee voting: Yes. For additional information, the National Conference of State Legislatures has websites devoted to voter registration deadlines, early in-person voting, excuses to vote absentee and no-excuse absentee voting. Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff of California and . Jerry Nadler of New York attend the 2020 State of the Union. Mario Tama/Getty Images Two powerful House Democrats disagreed on how to handle Trump's first impeachment. At issue was which of their committees would take the lead in the investigation. Rep. Jerry Nadler also reportedly pushed Democrats to have Trump's lawyers more involved. A pair of powerful House Democrats clashed repeatedly behind the scenes over the handling of President Donald Trump's first impeachment, according to a forthcoming book. Reps. Jerry Nadler of New York and Adam Schiff of California reportedly disagree over how much power to give Nadler's House Judiciary Committee and how to address potential due process concerns with the proceedings. "It's unfair, and it's unprecedented, and it's unconstitutional," Nadler reportedly told Schiff, according to an excerpt from "Unchecked: The Untold Story Behind Congress's Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump." The book, written by Politico Playbook co-author Rachael Bade and Washington Post reporter Karoun Demirjian, will be published on October 18. Fox News published the latest excerpt from the book on Tuesday afternoon. Nadler, according to the book, felt that if the Judiciary Committee did not cross-examine witnesses, Trump and his attorneys would raise concerns about whether his due process rights had been violated. Nadler reportedly wanted Democrats to handle charges Trump abused his power by freezing aid to Ukraine like the Judiciary panel handled President Richard Nixon's impeachment before he resigned. "If we're going to impeach, we need to show the country that we gave the president ample opportunity to defend himself," Nadler warned Schiff and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, per the book. In the end, Schiff's House Intelligence Committee took the lead role in handling Trump's impeachment, a break from the historic tradition of the Judiciary Committee handling such proceedings. According to the authors, this was because Pelosi did not trust Nadler. "She didn't want the Judiciary panel to interview witnesses at all," they wrote. "Pelosi simply didn't trust the panel which was stacked with liberal crusaders and hotheaded conservatives to handle the rollout of the complex Ukraine narrative with the careful, compelling treatment it required. She couldn't afford another Nadler screwup." Story continues Nadler's repeated pleas to Schiff were also reportedly unsuccessful. "I write the rules of my committee, not you," Nadler reportedly told his colleague once. "I resent you telling me how to run my committee." Schiff, according to the book, retorted, "I don't really care about your resentment. Neither the Speaker nor I agree." The Intelligence panel later had some witnesses reappear before the full committee. Republican lawmakers grilled the likes of then Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, but Trump's lawyers were not present. The White House declined to appear at a Judiciary hearing that featured four constitutional scholars. Trump's lawyers would later make these due process complaints the center of their defense during the Senate trial, though fact checkers found they repeatedly stretched the truth. Trump was later acquitted with only one Republican, Sen. Mitt Romney, voting to convict him on the charge of abusing his power. Romney was the first senator in US history to vote to convict an impeached president of their own party. Representatives for Schiff and Nadler did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider MONTGOMERY, Ala (AP) Alabama inmates were in their second day of a work strike Tuesday, refusing to labor in prison kitchens, laundries and factories to protest conditions in the states overcrowded, understaffed lock-ups. Prisoners including those who provide food, laundry and janitorial services refused to show up for work at major state prisons, leaving staff scrambling to keep the facilities running. They are running a slaughterhouse," Diyawn Caldwell, founder of the advocacy group Both Sides of the Wall, said of Alabama's prison system, which the U.S. Department of Justice has called one of the most violent and understaffed in the country. Caldwell's husband is incarcerated at a state prison. The Department of Justice has an ongoing civil lawsuit against Alabama over conditions in its prisons, saying the state is failing to protect male inmates from inmate-on-inmate violence and excessive force at the hands of prison staff. The 2020 lawsuit alleges that conditions in the prison system are so poor that they violate the ban on cruel and unusual punishment and that state officials are deliberately indifferent to the problems. Alabama officials have acknowledged problems in the prison system but dispute the Justice Departments accusations. The Alabama Department of Corrections confirmed Tuesday that the work stoppage was still active in most male facilities. However, the department maintained that facilities are operational and there have been no disruption of critical services, which include meals. Family members of several inmates, however, said prisons were not distributing three daily meals and prisoners were given paper sacks containing corndogs or sandwiches. Inmate labor provides a vital role in keeping prisons functioning. HOW LONG CAN 25 PEOPLE RUN A PRISON WITH 1000, 1800, 2300, etc. PRISONERS? inmate organizers of the work stoppage wrote in a press statement about the strike. Caldwell said organizers are hoping to persuade federal officials to go ahead intervene in the prison system. She said they are also seeking a number of changes related to release and sentencing such as repealing the Habitual Felony Offender Act, establishing uniform criteria for parole that would guarantee release, streamlining the review process for medical furloughs and reviewing elderly incarcerated individuals for immediate release. Story continues Supporters, including family members, delivered the demands to the prison system headquarters after a protest on Monday. A spokesperson for Gov. Kay Ivey told reporters that the demands were unreasonable and thanked prison staff for maintaining facilities. "It is also important for these protestors to understand that a lot of their demands would require legislation, not unilateral action. Some of these demands suggest that criminals like murderers and serial child sex offenders can walk the streets, and I can tell you that will never happen in the state of Alabama where we will always prioritize the safety of our citizens," Ivey's office told news outlets. The strike, while not directly related, comes after photos of an emaciated inmate at Alabamas Elmore Correctional Facility went viral. Kastellio Vaughan's sister had posted the photos to Facebook with the message, Get Help. The disturbing image prompted outrage and allegation of medical neglect. The prison system said that Vaughan had refused medical assessment and left the hospital following surgery against medical advice This is horrific, Ben Crump, an attorney representing Vaughan said in a statement. Lets be clear, the State of Alabama has tried to deflect any action or responsibility for Mr. Vaughans condition at every turn. The prison system issued a statement Tuesday saying that Vaughn had surgery for an obstructed bowel in August and was hospitalized in September for a complication. Both times he was discharged against medical advice, the prison system said, and has since refused medical assessment and medical treatment. The ADOC offers medical assessment and treatment to all inmates but does not force them to accept that care, the prison system said. Sep. 27clyde sniffen, ed sniffen Alaska's former acting attorney general entered not guilty pleas to three felony charges of sexual abuse of a minor during a brief hearing in Anchorage Superior Court on Monday. Clyde "Ed" Sniffen, 58, was first charged in May and indicted on the same charges last week. The charges followed a state investigation launched in early 2021 after the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica reported on allegations that Sniffen had sex with a 17-year-old girl he coached on an Anchorage high school mock trial team in 1991. Sniffen was 27 at the time. The age of consent in Alaska is generally 16, but law dictates that it is illegal for an adult to have sex with a 16 or 17 year old whom they are teaching, counseling or coaching. Sniffen resigned from his role as acting attorney general as the accusations were about to become public. His predecessor, former Attorney General Kevin Clarkson, had also resigned after reports of sexual misconduct became public in 2020. Sniffen participated in Monday's hearing by phone and said little. His attorney, Jeffrey Robinson, entered not guilty pleas to all three felony charges on his behalf before Anchorage Superior Court Judge William Morse. Sniffen's next court appearance is in early November. He is not currently incarcerated. The conditions of Sniffen's release were not immediately available from special prosecutor Gregg Olson on Monday. A lawyer for Alec Baldwin called for a district attorney review of the Rust shooting without unfounded speculation and innuendo by the media following comments that the actor could be charged. Santa Fe County D.A. Mary Carmack-Altwies said this month in an emergency funding request for her investigation that four defendants could be charged, including Baldwin, according to documents obtained by Deadline. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died last October after being shot by a firearm handled by Baldwin on the Western movies set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico. Some media reports today draw false conclusions based on a letter from the Santa Fe Dist. Attorney, Baldwin lawyer Luke Nikas said Monday in a statement to People. The DA has made clear that she has not received the sheriffs report or made any decisions about who, if anyone, might be charged in this case. Nikas said he was recently told that officials hadnt yet deliberated about their charging decision or reviewed the file. It is irresponsible to report otherwise, Nikas said, according to People. The DAs office must be given the space to review this matter without unfounded speculation and innuendo. Baldwin has said he was told the firearm was cold, indicating it wasnt loaded with live ammunition. He has also claimed he never pulled the trigger. Rust director Joel Souza was wounded as well when the firearm went off. Carmack-Altwies said in her funding request that four separate trials could come from the incident. Last month, the Office of the Medical Investigator in New Mexico determined the shooting to be accidental, saying theres no compelling demonstration that someone intentionally loaded the gun with live ammunition. Nikas said the medical investigators finding should be considered proof Baldwin shouldnt be charged. This is the third time the New Mexico authorities have found that Alec Baldwin had no authority or knowledge of the allegedly unsafe conditions on the set, that he was told by the person in charge of safety on the set that the gun was cold, and believed the gun was safe, the lawyer said at the time. Alec Baldwin attends the World Premiere of National Geographic Documentary Films' 'The First Wave' at Hamptons Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images Alec Baldwin Alec Baldwin could potentially face charges in the fatal shooting that occurred last year on the set of Rust, according to Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies. During a New Mexico Board of Finance meeting held Sept. 20, Carmack-Altwies requested emergency funding in excess of $635,000 to continue the investigation into the tragedy that took place on Oct. 21 when Baldwin, 64, was holding the gun that discharged and killed 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza. Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger. "We are within weeks, if not days, of receiving the final report from the sheriff's office," she shared, per a video recording of their meeting seen by PEOPLE. Carmack-Altwies said that, while awaiting the final report, "it's become apparent that we will be potentially charging between one and four people with criminal charges, and each of those charges will probably include some variation of our homicide statute." RELATED: Alec Baldwin Says He's Been 'Fired' from Acting Job Over 'Rust' Shooting Fallout Halyna Hutchins Mat Hayward/Getty In a letter to the New Mexico Board of Finance, obtained and published by Deadline, the district attorney's office stated, "One of the possible defendants is well-known movie actor Alec Baldwin," adding that the case "could require up to 4 separate jury trials." For more on Alec Baldwin, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day. On Monday, Baldwin's lawyer, Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel, told PEOPLE in a statement: "Some media reports today draw false conclusions based on a letter from the Santa Fe Dist. Attorney." "The DA has made clear that she has not received the sheriff's report or made any decisions about who, if anyone, might be charged in this case," the statement continued. "And during my communications with the DA's office just a few weeks ago, after the August 30 funding request was submitted, I was told that it would be premature to discuss the case because they had not yet reviewed the file or deliberated about their charging decision." Story continues "It is irresponsible to report otherwise," the statement concluded. "The DA's office must be given the space to review this matter without unfounded speculation and innuendo." At last week's meeting, Carmack-Altwies noted that homicide cases are the most "complex and litigious," requiring her office to hire more staff. "These cases look to be too big for just my office to handle," she explained. "We need an almost full-time attorney and someone who is very experienced on complex cases and very experienced with litigation." She added the financial support could also potentially be used to "retain experts" who specialize in aspects such as firearms, armorer protocols and safety protocols on movie sets. The board of finance later approved $317,750 for the emergency fund requested by the district attorney. Credit: Courtesy of Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office Alec Baldwin Seen Holding Gun Used in Rust Shooting in Newly Released Footage from Investigation Courtesy of Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The First Judicial District Attorney's office told PEOPLE on Tuesday they "are not providing any additional statements at this time." The Santa Fe County Sheriff's detectives received the FBI's completed forensic reports on Aug. 2, authorities confirmed in a press release last month. Additionally, detectives are still in the process of "obtaining, processing, and disclosing Alec Baldwin's phone records." Once detectives finish reviewing the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator reports and the phone records, the final sheriff's office investigation case file will be forwarded to the District Attorney for review and final charging decisions, the press release added. RELATED: Alec Baldwin Says 'Everybody' on 'Rust' Set Knows 'Exactly What Happened' in Accidental Shooting According to an FBI forensic report released last month, the revolver at the center of this case when "intact and functional" "could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger" unless the hammer was "de-cocked on a loaded chamber" and "the hammer was struck directly." Nikas, Baldwin's attorney, said in a statement to ABC News that the FBI report is "being misconstrued." He added, "The gun fired in testing only one time without having to pull the trigger when the hammer was pulled back and the gun broke in two different places. The FBI was unable to fire the gun in any prior test, even when pulling the trigger, because it was in such poor condition." "The critical report is the one from the medical examiner, who concluded that this was a tragic accident," added Nikas. "This is the third time the New Mexico authorities have found that Alec Baldwin had no authority or knowledge of the allegedly unsafe conditions on the set, that he was told by the person in charge of safety on the set that the gun was 'cold,' and believed the gun was safe." RELATED VIDEO: FBI Investigation Determines Alec Baldwin Must Have Pulled Trigger in 'Rust' Shooting: Report A postmortem report from the medical examiners obtained by PEOPLE noted that "review of available law enforcement reports showed no compelling demonstration that the firearm was intentionally loaded with live ammunition on set." "Based on all available information, including the absence of obvious intent to cause harm or death, the manner of death is best classified as accident," the report concluded. Last December, Baldwin said in an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that he "didn't pull the trigger" on the gun during the on-set tragedy. "The trigger wasn't pulled," he said at the time. "I would never point a gun at someone and pull the trigger on them, never." Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Courtesy of Netflix Comedian Sheng Wang has spent much of his comedy career trying to hide in plain sight. Now, thanks to a boost from his longtime friend and colleague Ali Wong, he is reluctantly stepping into the spotlight. In this episode of The Last Laugh podcast, Wang opens up about putting together his first hour-long stand-up special Sweet and Juicy, which premiered on Netflix earlier this month and also marks Wongs directorial debut. He breaks down how seeing the late, great Mitch Hedberg perform forever changed the way he thought about comedy, and tells stories about getting judged by Norm Macdonald on Last Comic Standing, channeling his own childhood as a writer on Fresh Off the Boat, and more. Its been a long journey, Wang says of everything it took to get from his debut half-hour special on Comedy Central more than a decade ago to his first hour on Netflix this month. It feels kind of like a dream come true, I guess, as crazy as that sounds or as cheesy as that sounds. Sweet and Juicy opens with an introduction from its director, Ali Wong, who calls Wang one of my best friends and one of my favorite comedians in the entire world. The pair came up together in the San Francisco comedy scene and Wang is godfather to Wongs two children. Speaking backstage after the specials taping, Wong said, It was really, really magical to watch this guy that Ive believed in and known to be such an incredible and unique and different voice, and such a skilled and hard-working stand-up comedian, and such a good human being, just kill it tonight. Shes been super supportive, Wang adds in our conversation. And to see her go from her first Netflix special to where she is now, it definitely helps to see a friend and a person of color, and another Asian face do it. It made me think that it was possible. I was always pretty confident in my material and had some idea of what I was trying to do, but to see someone like her do it, it definitely gave me inspiration and encouragement to pursue it. Story continues Wangs parents immigrated to Houston, Texas, from Taiwan in the early 80s when he was a toddler. His family of five all slept together in one bedroom in their first years in the country. It wasnt weird to us, he says now. We didnt know any better. It wasnt until middle school that he started to realize how different it is to be not white in America. For the most part, Wang has kept issues of identity out of his comedy, preferring to uncover humor in everyday observations about things like having too many ripe avocados or terrible posture to which anyone can relate. Its not really a conscious decision to avoid it, he says. I think Im just still trying to process what that really means to be a child of immigrants. I think when I have more to say Ill get around to it, but its just a matter of figuring out what it is I want to say and how I want to say it. Unlike many other stand-up comics, comedy was not a childhood dream for Wang. He wasnt the class clown. I was never someone that people said I should be a comedian or I was funny or anything like that, he explains. I dont think that anyone suspected this would happen. I didnt suspect it would happen. When he tried stand-up for the first time in college, he says he was basically doing an impersonation of Chris Rock because that was one of the only comedians hed ever seen on TV. Everything changed when he saw Mitch Hedberg for the first time. It changed my whole idea of what stand-up could be, he says. Because it suddenly felt like I could maybe do that, I could maybe just share those thoughts that I have. Like Hedberg, Wang is known for his mind-expanding one-liners and generally laid-back delivery. I think thats just kind of my vibe, he adds. Im just a pretty low-key person. So that was just how it always was from the beginning. Im not a fast talker. I was not quick with comebacks or anything like that. He would replay social interactions in his head over and over again, wondering how he could have handled them better. Comedy is sort of the perfect medium for that type of person, because you can figure out the best comeback, and then share it a year later, he says, delivering what could be a dry one-liner from his act. Daily Shows Ronny Chieng Dares You to Cancel Him For anyone who is familiar with Wang from his half-hour on Comedy Central, 2 Dope Queens set on HBO or any of the other TV appearances hes made over the past several years, his new look, complete with long, flowing hair that descends well past his shoulders, might come as a bit of a surprise. This is totally a pandemic accident, he says, explaining that he had a haircut scheduled for March 11, 2020, canceled it at the last minute, and has barely trimmed it since. I wasnt planning on keeping it. I just wanted to see how it would look. But then people kept saying nice things and slowly it just felt like it did look like me now. He thought about cutting it before the special taping, but it was Wong who really encouraged him to keep it. My whole career before this, I was trying to be as mundane and boring, as far as my physical appearance, to be as bland as possible, he tells me. The idea was to not be distracting. Thats the mindset that I had, was to just go on stage and let the jokes speak for themselves and not have things that people can think about or judge me on. Ali Wong has boldly predicted that, like her, Wang will be one of the very few stand-up comics to blow up after people get to see his special. I think its a very rare and unique thing to have people discover you through your first hour stand-up comedy special, she said, and I know this is going to be one of those moments. But after watching how Netflix transformed Wongs career, Wang is looking more warily to the future. Im not thinking too far ahead, he says. Right now, I feel like my goal is to figure out another hour, just keep doing comedy and keep writing new jokes. Im trying to not give myself too much pressure, although Im getting comments from people like, Cant wait to see more! So Im trying to not let that get to me. Ali did a lot, he adds. She wrote a book, she made a movie, she did two more specials. I dont know if I could hang like that. When I ask if he would even want her level of fame were it to come his way, Wang says hes already weirded out by getting recognized one time at a restaurant by someone who had seen his new special the night before. Ive been on tour with Ali and Ive seen just how hard it is to eat lunch in public sometimes or have your kids around, he adds. And its part of being in this business, but I dont really want that level of fame. But I dont know how much say I have in that anymore. It feels like its just going to be what it is, but thats just kind of the trade-off. Id rather live more anonymously. Unless Im on stage doing a set, Im not really looking for the spotlight. Listen to the episode now and subscribe to The Last Laugh on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts, and be the first to hear new episodes when they are released every Tuesday. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. A celebrated US mountaineer is missing after reportedly falling into a deep crevasse while climbing down a cliff in Nepal. On Monday, Hilaree Nelson, 49, slipped and appeared to fall into a 2,000ft (600m) gap in the ice, known as a crevasse, only 15 minutes after reaching the summit of the 26,781ft peak, reported BBC. Ms Nelson had earlier in the day scaled the summit of Mount Manaslu the worlds eigth tallest peak in Nepal with her partner Jim Morrison. The couple had taken photos with their three Sherpa guides, who used a satellite phone to share the good news with Jiban Ghimire, owner of Shangri-La Nepal Trek, the outfitter that organized their expedition, reported The New York Times. After climbing the summit, they made their way down from the 8,163-metre (26,781-foot) peak. Fifteen minutes later the guides reportedly radioed Mr Ghimire again and said: Big problem. Other climbers who were with the couple said that her ski blade skidded off and [she] fell off the other side of the peak. It is not known whether Ms Nelson survived the fall. After the incident, Mr Morrison was able to make it back to base camp, reports said. The couple are among the most accomplished alpinists and backcountry skiers in the world. Ms Nelson is a North Face-sponsored athlete who has two children and is based out of Colorado. With a career spanning two decades that includes dozens of first descents through more than 40 expeditions to 16 different countries, Hilaree Nelson is the most prolific ski mountaineer of her generation, North Face said about the mountaineer on their website. While Ms Nelson has been a guide herself on several of Nepals highest peaks, weather conditions changed quickly on Monday, as they often do in high mountain ranges. Sharing an update on Hilaree Nelson, a beloved member of The North Face family. pic.twitter.com/qv0bOL0LsB The North Face (@thenorthface) September 26, 2022 On foot, it takes three days to reach the incident site from base camp, said Mr Ghimire. Story continues Weather is hampering search and rescue operations. He added that the company would send out a helicopter on Tuesday morning to the crevasse where Ms Nelson disappeared. He added that Mr Morrison is in good health and will be on the helicopter for the rescue mission if the weather is conducive to flying. In a separate incident on Monday an avalanche on Mount Manaslu swept away climbers, porters and Sherpas, killing one and reportedly injuring 14 others. Authorities have not yet been able to launch helicopters to reach the stranded group. In 2019, an avalanche on Mount Manaslu killed nine climbers. In 1972, another avalanche killed 16 climbers. Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Guinea's junta to pass a comprehensive law on violence against women and revise the definition of rape after failing to meet international obligations to combat sexual abuse. It made the call in a report released a day before the trial begins of former junta members over the 2009 rape of at least 109 women and the slaughter of 156 people at a political rally in a Conakry stadium. "The fact that the survivors of the 28 September 2009 massacre had to wait 13 years to finally hope for justice and reparation was a powerful symbol of impunity," Amnesty said in a statement. The report, based on research conducted with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), found that a lack of data on sexual violence posed significant challenges to authorities and human rights organisations. It called on Guinea's government to criminalise all forms of violence against women and revise the definition of rape to reflect an absence of consent rather than the use of violence or coercion. It also urged authorities to accelerate the work of the National Observatory to Combat Gender-based Violence, which was created by decree in 2011 with the mission to collect and publish reliable statistics on violence against women and girls. But the observatory has not yet "effectively" begun activities, the report said. - Outcry - In November, the death of a 25-year-old woman allegedly raped by doctors in a private Conakry clinic led to national outcry and a social media movement. In 2015, the case of Tamsir Toure, a Guinean rapper accused of raping a woman at knifepoint, provoked uproar from women's rights groups and pushed the justice and human rights ministers to commit to combatting violence against women. "Successive governments between 2015 and 2021 have taken important steps to address sexual violence and in particular rape", including strengthening the legal framework and training magistrates, lawyers and police officers, Amnesty's report said. Story continues The gendarmerie also set up a special brigade for the protection of vulnerable persons. "Despite these advances, this report presents numerous breaches of Guinea's international obligations in terms of (the) prevention and fight against rape, (the) protection of victims' rights and (the) fight against impunity", Amnesty said. Guinea does not have a reliable toll-free number for reporting sexual violence and many victims are unable to access medical care and justice, it said. The trial of former junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara and others accused is set to begin Wednesday. bm-prc/raz Neom Tech & Digital Company, the first firm to be set up as a full-fledged subsidiary of Neom, has launched as Tonomus, signalling the next stage in its growth trajectory as a cognitive multinational conglomerate. Headquartered at Neom since its 2021 inception as the pioneering projects technology and digital lead, Tonomus is building the cognitive foundation and adopting hyper-disruptive solutions integral to the development of Neom and its flagship initiatives, including THE LINE, OXAGON and TROJENA. The rebranding represents a sharpened focus on the role of Tonomus as a cognitive multinational company, with this new phase essential to enabling Neom to fuel Saudi Arabias economic growth and diversification. The name change furthermore represents Tonomus commitment to realising its vision, which includes attracting world-class tech talent to sustain and extend innovation, making Saudi Arabia a hub for global entrepreneurship and enabling Neom to act as a global connector for the kingdom. Global innovator Eng Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications & Information Technology and Chairman of Tonomus, said: Tonomus has positioned Neom as a global innovator of cognitive innovation with its constantly expanding portfolio of AI projects, its development of human-centric technologies and its collaborative partnerships with leading multinational tech companies. Tonomus is strengthening economic growth and igniting diversification and innovation within Saudi Arabia with its cutting-edge technologies and solutions. It is creating multiple investment opportunities for local and international companies and has become a strong bridge connecting the kingdom, the Middle east and North Africa and the world. Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of Neom, said: The launch of Tonomus confirms our progress towards achieving the goals of Neom and Vision 2030. Tonomus will support our ambitions by contributing to the future of the tech and digital industry, stimulating innovation, and driving the development of the worlds first cognitive community. This will be realised by involving the most talented and brightest minds to develop the integrated system that will be utilised across all of Neoms businesses, sectors and projects. Joseph Bradley, CEO of Tonomus, said: Technology is constantly evolving, and as a global disruptor and innovator Tonomus is on the same forward-thinking and fast-moving trajectory toward the future. With a new identity, renewed sense of purpose and focus on true inclusivity, Tonomus will be a synonym for cognitive tech and proactive, predictive solutions that fundamentally reimagine human experiences and the way we live. Nurturing entrepreneurship Tonomus is also nurturing entrepreneurship both within and beyond the organisation, which will cement Neoms reputation as the epicenter of innovation, and Saudi Arabia as a place where the worlds brightest minds can bring their ideas to life. A new venture incubation studio plays a central role in helping the company turn concept into reality. Beverly Rider CCO and interim CMO of Tonomus leads both established and emerging entrepreneurs, as well as VCs and C-suite executives in developing Silicon Valley-modelled ventures. In this context, Tonomus is Neoms trusted digitisation partner, enabling the cognitive city vision via disruptive, sustainable solutions and empowering sectors that include Energy; Water; Education; Health, Well-being and Biotech; Food; Tourism; Media; Financial Services; and Mobility, as well as promoting data exchange and unifying the digital ecosystem. Leadership team The Tonomus leadership team includes Su Le, Chief Digital and Strategy Officer, whose contribution is vital to the companys global aspirations, as well as the provision of professional services and signature experiences for the residents and businesses that make Neom their home. Tonomus has emerged as a global leader in the smart-to-cognitive transition, developing world-changing technologies and investing $1 billion in 2022 alone in AI-driven products and hyperconnected, predictive and proactive solutions. These include the first-of-its-kind, mixed-reality, digital twin metaverse with human needs at its core, and a cutting-edge consent management platform designed to restore trust and place personal data ownership back in the hands of users. The rebrand represents the next step in the companys ascent, which is rooted in co-inventing a robust cognitive foundation with global partners. A key element of this strategic pillar is the $200 million (SR750 million) joint venture with Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite operator OneWeb, aimed at providing rapid and reliable connectivity and enabling Neoms groundbreaking ecosystem of cognitive technologies. In addition to deploying 300 km of fibre, 200 5G cell sites and a Telco Park, Tonomus Cognitive Connectivity Hub strategy comprises the establishment of ZeroPoint DC, Neoms half-billion-dollar, next-generation hyperscale data centre, and a partnership with Oracle, the world's largest database management company.--TradeArabia News Service An American woman who was denied a life-saving abortion while on holiday in Malta is suing its Government, alleging the countrys total ban on the procedure breached her human rights. Andrea Prudente was on a babymoon vacation with husband Jay Weeldreyer on the island nation in June when she began bleeding profusely. Upon seeking medical help, the couple realised that Ms Prudente had suffered a premature rupture of the amniotic sac and the separation of the placenta at 16 weeks. The pregnancy was unviable. Doctors at the Mater Dei Hospital where she was taken refused to terminate the pregnancy as a foetal heartbeat was still detectable. Malta has one of strictest abortion laws in the world, with the procedure banned in all cases including rape, incest and when the mothers life is at risk. After a five day stay in hospital, during which her case attracted international headlines, she was airlifted by her travel insurance company to a hospital in Mallorca, Spain, where the abortion was allowed to proceed. In a lawsuit filed by their attorneys and obtained by Malta Today, the couple have asked Maltas First Hall of the Civil Court to declare the countrys abortion ban unconstitutional and a breach of the European Convention of Human Rights. Andrea Prudente and Jay Weeldreyer, became stuck in Malta after she was denied a life-saving abortion last June. (Jay Weeldreyer) Ms Prudente is also seeking for the court to declare that her human rights had been breached and award her compensation for damages, according to Malta Today. This had been a planned and highly anticipated pregnancy for the plaintiff and her partner, Jay, and although it was not an easy decision, she had no other choice but to seek a termination of her pregnancy without further delay as her life was in danger, the application states. The plaintiff had no other option but to wait until her body went into labour, a process that could take weeks or months, and therefore had to seek treatment abroad because her life and health were at risk. Ms Prudente was unavailable for an interview on Tuesday morning, but told Vice News she felt compelled to launch the lawsuit on behalf of all Maltese women. Story continues I dont have that same cultural pressure, taboo or shame, she told Vice. I feel strongly that I was a victim of a law that harms women and that Im in a unique position as an outsider to speak up and stand up and shine a light on this thing which feels wrong. In response to the lawsuit, anti-abortion group Life Network Foundation Malta have urged the Government to choose top legal advisers to defend life. The Maltese government last year enacted a review of its abortion laws in reaction to Ms Prudentes case, Malta Today reported. Health Minister Chris Fearne said at the time it would look at the parts of Maltese law that prevent doctors from providing care when it is needed. Pro and anti-abortion protests were held in the Maltese capitol of Valetta over the weekend, the Times of Malta reported. Neuralink used rhesus macaque monkeys (not pictured). EAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP/Getty Images An animal-rights group says UC Davis has 371 photos showing Neuralink's experiments on monkeys. The organization sued the university and filed a complaint with the USDA in February. UC Davis and Neuralink have refuted the claims its test animals experienced "extreme suffering." An animal-rights group that is suing the University of California, Davis over experiments conducted for Neuralink says the university has 371 photos related to experiments on monkeys that were performed for Elon Musk's biotech company. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said UC Davis has 185 pictures related to the autopsies of animals that died during Neuralink experiments and another 186 photos of the experiments that were performed on the monkeys, which included cutting holes into the monkeys' skulls to implant electrodes into their brains. The group said they learned of the photos through a legal document from UC Davis dated September 7, 2022. Between 2017 and 2020, Neuralink paid the university $1.4 million to use UC Davis' facilities and animals for testing, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said. "UC Davis thinks the public is too stupid to know what they're looking at," Ryan Merkley, director of research advocacy with the Physicians Committee, said in a press release. "But it's clear the university is simply trying to hide from taxpayers the fact that it partnered with Elon Musk to conduct experiments in which animals suffered and died." A spokesperson from Neuralink did not respond to a request for comment and a UC Davis spokesperson referred Insider to a previous statement. In February, the institution said "research protocols were thoroughly reviewed and approved by the campus's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee" during the institutions work with Neuralink. "Animal research is strictly regulated and UC Davis follows all applicable laws and regulations including those of the US Department of Agriculture," the statement said. Story continues UC Davis issued the statement after the animal-rights group sued the university for not releasing photos and videos of the experiments it has performed for Neuralink from 2017 to 2020. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine also filed a complaint with the US Department of Agriculture, alleging the institution had violated the federal Animal Welfare Act. Insider's Isobel Asher Hamilton previously reported that the group said it had obtained records showing the monkeys experienced "extreme suffering as a result of inadequate animal care and the highly invasive experimental head implants during the experiments." At the time, Neuralink responded to the accusations, denying several of the injuries that the animal rights group reported and saying the company is "absolutely committed to working with animals in the most humane and ethical way possible." The company said it has since transitioned to using its own in-house facilities. Ultimately, Neuralink is working to develop a computer brain interface system that would be able to read and write brain activity. In the past, Musk has claimed the AI brain chips would one day be able to do anything from cure paralysis to give people telepathic powers, referring to the device as "a Fitbit in your skull." Last year, the billionaire said the company plans to transition from implanting the chips in monkeys to humans by the end of the year, but the device has yet to receive approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to begin human trials. Read the original article on Business Insider Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty This reporting appears as one of several scoops featured in this weeks edition of Confider, the newsletter pulling back the curtain on the media. Subscribe here and send your questions, tips, and complaints here. The relationship between Anna Wintour and her protege Edward Enninful, the editor of British Vogue, has turned frosty, Conde Nast insiders tell Confider, as Enninful is apparently gunning for the Iron Lady of Gloss plum job. Enninful, who has spent the last several weeks on a nonstop book tour promoting his memoir, A Visible Man, believes he can do a better job than Wintour atop the Vogue brand, according to multiple people whove spoken with him. He has generated much buzz for the British edition of the iconic mag since taking over in 2017, getting his mega-celebrity friends like Rihanna and Beyonce to appear on the cover. Conde sources are adamant, however, that Wintour will not be leaving her perch anytime soon, leading many to speculate that she may try to appease Enninful by finding him another top job within the media empire. Like what youre reading? Subscribe to the Confider newsletter here and have The Daily Beast media teams stellar reporting sent straight to your inbox every Monday night. One possible scenario: Whenever David Remnick steps down as editor of The New Yorker, Wintour would replace him with current Vanity Fair editor Radhika Jones, opening a seat for Enninful to take over the prestigious outlet. Enninful has much in common with Wintour: Hes earned the nickname Queen Mother among British Vogue staffers because of his alleged diva-like behavior that, per people familiar with the situation, includes having assistants lead him around through meetings and carry his glasses and his eye drops and help apply them. He is also known to tell colleagues to call Darnella reference to Darnell Strom, his powerful agent at UTAwhen asked for simple requests, according to people who work closely with him. Story continues Enninfuls absence earlier this month at Vogue World, a major NYC fashion event for both Conde and Wintour, raised eyebrows among staffers, considering he was in New York promoting his book at the same timefurther fueling claims that fiery tensions exist between the pair. Im happy working in Europe, Enninful told The New York Times last month when asked if he has ambitions to run the Vogue mothership. But you never know what the future holds. A rep for Conde did not respond to requests for comment. Subscribe to the Confider newsletter here and have The Daily Beast media teams stellar reporting sent straight to your inbox every Monday night. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. The wife of a U.S. diplomat who fled the United Kingdom after being involved in a collision that killed 19-year-old motorbike driver Harry Dunn is to appear virtually in British court this week. Anne Sacoolas, a 45-year-old American citizen, is charged with causing death by dangerous driving in connection to the car crash into Dunn outside RAF Croughton, an air base in Northamptonshire, located in eastern England, used by U.S. forces, in August 2019. She was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the road and had her 12-year-old son with her in the car when she rounded a corner and struck Dunn. He died hours later. The Crown Prosecution Service announced on Monday that there will be a hearing in the case against Sacoolas at Londons Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday an apparent breakthrough in the long-deadlocked case. The crash was initially categorized as a hit-and-run, and Sacoolas had reportedly been in the country for just three weeks at the time. Sacoolas returned to the U.S. weeks after the collision, and the American government invoked diplomatic immunity on her behalf, prompting an outcry in Britain. VIRGINIA JUDGE SIDES WITH FAMILY OF BRITISH TEEN KILLED BY AMERICAN DIPLOMAT'S WIFE IN TRAFFIC COLLISION Dunns family has pressed politicians in Britain and the United States to get Sacoolas to face British justice, but an extradition request was refused by U.S. authorities. The mother of Harry Dunn, Charlotte Charles, speaks to the media after meeting with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on October 9, 2019, in London, England. Peter Summers/Getty Images Sacoolas is expected to appear virtually at Thursday's procedural hearing. British prosecutors previously set a January 2022 date for the hearing but canceled it days beforehand to allow for discussions with Sacoolas lawyers. Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom, left, Harry Dunn's mother Charlotte Charles, center, and his stepfather Bruce Charles, second right, and family spokesperson Radd Seiger, right, outside South Northamptonshire Council offices in Towcester, after they met following the news that the US have refused to extradite Anne Sacoolas. Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images At the time, the law firm representing Sacoolas denied that she had agreed to appear in a British court. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Ukrainians ejecting Russians from villages, Russians in turn shell liberated areas Read also: Ukraines SBU finds another Russian torture chamber in liberated Kharkiv Oblast "The struggle for the liberation of the left-bank part of the Borova community from the rascist (Russian fascist) occupiers continues, the message reads. Read also: Ukraine detains several collaborators in Kharkiv Oblast Fighting is underway. The Armed Forces are ousting the enemy, but the liberated territories are being hit by enemy shelling. While the village of Pisky-Radkivsky is already under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; the Ukrainian military is still mopping up groups of Russian soldiers there, and conducting clearing and demining. Read also: Russian strike on Kharkiv railway station destroys train carriages carrying bodies of killed Russian servicemen Many residential buildings and outbuildings in the village have been ruined a kindergarten was completely destroyed. The school was damaged, its windows were blown out, there are holes from shells in the walls, and the roof was destroyed. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sept. 23 that following the recent counter-offensive in Kharkiv Oblast the defenders of Ukraine had liberated about 9,000 square kilometers of territory and about 400 settlements from Russian troops. Read also: Russians shell dam in Kharkiv Oblast, create threat of flooding Earlier, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar announced that since Sept. 6 (in the space of one week), the defenders of Ukraine had liberated 388 settlements and about 8,500 square kilometers of territory in Kharkiv Oblast. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Texas AG Ken Paxton To avoid being served with a subpoena, in what can only be described as a scene from a movie, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton fled his home in a truck driven by his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton on Monday. Texas's chief law enforcement officer went to great lengths to avoid being forced to testify in court, according to an affidavit filed in federal court by the process server, Ernesto Herrera. A subpoena was being served on the state's top attorney requiring him to attend a federal court hearing in a case brought by nonprofits that assist Texans seeking abortions outside the state, the Texas Tribune reports. Herrera said that he spotted Paxton and Angela through the windows of their house as he approached it on Monday morning. Paxton's wife answered the door and Herrera saw Paxton enter the room behind her. However, once he saw Herrera, he turned and left the room. Herrera explained to Angela that he was there to deliver legal documents to Paxton; Angela said her husband was on the phone. Herrera told her he would wait until Paxton finished. Things became strange after that. Within an hour, a black Chevrolet Tahoe pulled into the driveway the driver didn't get out followed 20 minutes later by Ken Paxton's leaving his home. "I walked up the driveway approaching Mr. Paxton and called him by his name. As soon as he saw me and heard me call his name out, he turned around and RAN back inside the house through the same door in the garage," Herrera wrote. After leaving the house, Angela Paxton hopped into her Chevrolet truck, started it, and opened the doors, Herrera said in the document. "A few minutes later I saw Mr. Paxton RAN from the door inside the garage towards the rear door behind the driver side," Herrera wrote. "I approached the truck, and loudly called him by his name and stated that I had court documents for him. Mr. Paxton ignored me and kept heading for the truck." Upon placing the subpoenas on the ground next to the truck, Herrera informed Ken Paxton that he was serving him. Both cars drove away without retrieving the documents. Story continues After his cloak-and-dagger escape, Paxton, who has had no problem sending investigators into the homes of families with transgender kids who receive gender-affirming care, took to Twitter to claim he was frightened for his family's safety. Paxton has previously called members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies "predators." "It's clear that the media wants to drum up another controversy involving my work as Attorney General, so they're attacking me for having the audacity to avoid a stranger lingering outside my home and showing concern about the safety and well-being of my family," he tweeted. Harvard Law School Cyberlaw clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo put a fine point on Paxton's explanation. "Imagine being this much of a piss baby running away from a process server after helping to persecute the families of trans kids and threatening to tear apart their families," Caraballo tweeted. On Tuesday morning, a judge granted several motions in Paxton's favor, including one to seal the subpoenas and affidavit to protect Paxton's private information and one to quash the subpoena altogether, thereby making it moot and unenforceable. The documents remain available on the Free Law Project's CourtListener site. According to the Texas Tribune, Paxton has been under indictment for securities fraud for seven years and is facing a whistleblower lawsuit. He has denied all allegations. Paxton will face Democrat Rochelle Garza in the November election. VALENTYNA ROMANENKO TUESDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2022, 12:10 Russian occupiers in Ukraine are dreaming about getting injured so as to escape from the battlefield. Source: Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine Details: A Russian occupier on the Kherson front is discussing the news about the mobilisation in Russia, and hoping to get injured to use it as an opportunity to return home. In an intercepted call published by the Chief Intelligence Directorate, the occupier describes his morale in a following way: "apathetic, discouraged, f***ed up". He predicts that if Russia sends more cannon fodder to the frontline within the framework of the partial mobilisation, its government will not be able to pay soldiers, in particular additional payments for the injuries. The occupier complains about big losses in his unit: "only 50 people are left out of the regiment". A woman he is talking to suggests a solution: she supposes that he serves a sentence in prison but at least he will stay alive. In the end, she says she only relies on God and will go to church. The occupier responds that he will only pray for an injury that will save him from having to fight again. Quote: "Why would you only bring up God? It is no use. Well live and see. I will pray for an injury". Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! APPLETON Two Appleton police officers who fatally shot an Appleton man during a welfare check Aug. 12 won't be charged in the death, the Outagamie County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday. Outagamie County District Attorney Melinda Tempelis said that, after reviewing the investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation, the shooting by officers Bryce Rudebeck and Anthony Shuman was justified. Around 7:22 p.m. Aug. 12, Appleton police responded to a call for a welfare check at a residence in the 1500 block of North Birchwood Avenue. Over the next 30 to 40 minutes, officers attempted to negotiate with 33-year-old Daniel Pesavento, who had a handgun and was in the garage and driveway of the residence. According to his wife who was able to leave the residence with their child when police arrived Pesavento had fired a shot when he was inside the garage, with the door closed. According to the district attorneys office, officers Bryce Rudebeck and Anthony Shuman reasonably believed officers and nearby civilians were in danger when Pesavento walked from the opened-door garage of the residence to the end of the driveway, within 40 yards of them and repeatedly moved his gun in the direction of officers. Also, Pesavento refused to comply to officers' demands to drop his gun and took a shooting stance toward them. Both officers feared for their lives, the lives of other officers and the publics causing them both to fire their weapons," Tempelis said in a letter to the DCI announcing her decision. "It was also reasonable for Officer Rudebeck and Officer Shuman to believe Mr. Pesavento had the intent and the means to inflict death or great bodily harm to Officer Rudebeck and Officer Shuman and other officers and citizens in the area and that the force used was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves or others." Story continues Rudebeck and Shuman, who each have five years' experience as police officers, had been placed on administrative leave, per Appleton Police Department policy. They'll return to duty immediately, the department said. This type of incident is one of the most dangerous and unpredictable calls that a police officer responds to, a person who is in a mental health crisis, who has a firearm and has demonstrated that they are willing to use it, Appleton Police Chief Todd Thomas said in a statement. I want to thank all the officers who were present who did everything they possibly could to peacefully resolve this incident. RELATED: Man shot, killed by Appleton police identified; officers involved in shooting named Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli. This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton police officers won't be charged in shooting death Congressman Jim Jordan U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo WASHINGTON Here's a look at how area members of Congress voted over from Sept. 19 to Sept. 23. Along with the week's roll call votes, the House also passed these measures by voice vote: the Stop Human Trafficking in School Zones Act (H.R. 7566), to increase the punishment for human trafficking in a school zone; the Human Trafficking Prevention Act (H.R. 7181), to direct the Secretary of Transportation to seek to provide for the posting of contact information of the national human trafficking hotline in the restrooms of each aircraft, airport, over-the-road bus, bus station, passenger train, and passenger railroad station operating within the United States; the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act (H.R. 4330), to maintain the free flow of information to the public by establishing appropriate limits on the federally compelled disclosure of information obtained as part of engaging in journalism; and the Keep America's Refuges Operational Act (H.R. 6734), to reauthorize the volunteer services, community partnership, and refuge education programs of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Senate also passed: a bill (S. Res. 775), expressing the sense of the Senate that violence and threats of violence against the employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are unacceptable and should be condemned; and the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act (H.R. 4693), to advance targeted and evidence-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of global malnutrition and to improve the coordination of such programs. House votes House Vote 1: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: The House has passed the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act (S. 3895), sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to authorize funding for the Commission through fiscal 2024. The vote, on Sept. 19, was 402 yeas to 4 nays. YEAS: Robert Latta R-OH (5th), Marcy Kaptur D-OH (9th), Jim Jordan R-OH (4th) House Vote 2: IMMIGRANTS AND JOBS: The House has passed the Bridging the Gap for New Americans Act (S. 3157), sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., to require the Labor Department to make a study of ways to improve the ability of legal aliens and naturalized citizens to obtain employment that fits their level of skills. The vote, on Sept. 19, was 363 yeas to 52 nays. Story continues YEAS: Latta R-OH (5th), Kaptur D-OH (9th) NAYS: Jordan R-OH (4th) House Vote 3: PEACE CORPS: The House has passed the Peace Corps Reauthorization Act (H.R. 1456), sponsored by Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., to reauthorize the Peace Corps through fiscal 2024 and make changes to the program, including a zero tolerance drug use policy for volunteers and new safety and security measures for volunteers. The vote, on Sept. 19, was 290 yeas to 125 nays. NAYS: Latta R-OH (5th), Jordan R-OH (4th) YEAS: Kaptur D-OH (9th) House Vote 4: PASSING LEGISLATION: The House has passed a motion sponsored by Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., to pass a set of 10 bills en bloc, without separate roll call votes. The bills addressed such issues as: Syria's exports of narcotic drugs, sanctions against Russia's government and Russian individuals, and global telecommunications systems. The vote, on Sept. 20, was 361 yeas to 69 nays. YEAS: Latta R-OH (5th), Kaptur D-OH (9th) NAYS: Jordan R-OH (4th) House Vote 5: TEXAS SCHOOL: The House has passed the Blackwell School National Historic Site Act (S. 2490), sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to establish a National Park System unit in Marfa, Texas, memorializing the Blackwell School, which taught Mexican-Americans from 1885 to 1965. The vote, on Sept. 20, was 414 yeas to 12 nays. YEAS: Latta R-OH (5th), Kaptur D-OH (9th), Jordan R-OH (4th) House Vote 6: STUDENT LOANS: The House has passed the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act (S. 1098), sponsored by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. The bill would allow two joint federal student loan borrowers to petition the Education Department to split the joint loan into two separate loans. The vote, on Sept. 21, was 232 yeas to 193 nays. NAYS: Latta R-OH (5th), Jordan R-OH (4th) YEAS: Kaptur D-OH (9th) House Vote 7: PRESIDENTIAL VOTES: The House has passed the Presidential Election Reform Act (H.R. 8873), sponsored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. The bill would make numerous changes to Congress's procedures for registering the Electoral College votes for president, including requiring support from one-third of the members of both the Senate and House for an objection to the Electoral College vote to be heard. The vote, on Sept. 21, was 229 yeas to 203 nays. NAYS: Latta R-OH (5th), Jordan R-OH (4th) YEAS: Kaptur D-OH (9th) House Vote 8: GRANTS TO SMALL LAW ENFORCEMENT: The House has passed the Invest to Protect Act (H.R. 6448), sponsored by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., to have the Justice Department award community-oriented policing grants to local government law enforcement agencies with fewer than 200 officers. The vote, on Sept. 22, was 360 yeas to 64 nays. YEAS: Latta R-OH (5th), Kaptur D-OH (9th) NAYS: Jordan R-OH (4th) House Vote 9: MENTAL HEALTH GRANTS: The House has passed the Mental Health Justice Act (H.R. 8542), sponsored by Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., to establish a grant program for state and local governments to provide mental health treatments instead of law enforcement responses to people with behavioral health problems. The vote, on Sept. 22, was 223 yeas to 206 nays. NAYS: Latta R-OH (5th), Jordan R-OH (4th) YEAS: Kaptur D-OH (9th) House Vote 10: VIOLENCE PREVENTION GRANTS: The House has passed the Break the Cycle of Violence Act (H.R. 4118), sponsored by Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev. The bill would direct the Health and Human Services Department to issue grants to communities disproportionately impacted by violence, including homicides, and create several entities related to the grants effort. The vote, on Sept. 22, was 220 yeas to 207 nays. NAYS: Latta R-OH (5th), Jordan R-OH (4th) YEAS: Kaptur D-OH (9th) House Vote 11: VIOLENT CRIME: The House has passed the Violent Incident Clearance and Technological Investigative Methods Act (H.R. 5768), sponsored by Rep. Val Butler Demings, D-Fla., to establish a Justice Department grant program for state and local law enforcement agencies. The vote, on Sept. 22, was 250 yeas to 178 nays. NAYS: Latta R-OH (5th), Jordan R-OH (4th) YEAS: Kaptur D-OH (9th) Senate votes Senate Vote 1: APPEALS COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Florence Pan to be a judge on the Washington, D.C., Circuit Court of Appeals. Pan has been a U.S. district court judge for D.C. for a year, and previously was a D.C. Superior Court judge and federal prosecutor in the District. The vote, on Sept. 20, was 52 yeas to 42 nays. YEAS: Sherrod Brown D-OH, Rob Portman R-OH Senate Vote 2: CHINA AND HYDROFLUOROCARBONS: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, to the Kigali Amendment on hydrofluorocarbons that would declare that China is not a developing country for the purposes of implementing the Kigali Amendment. Sullivan said the amendment rightly recognized China's current economic status and the country's responsibility to meet the same treaty obligations that the U.S., Japan, and other peer nations have. The vote, on Sept. 21, was unanimous with 96 yeas. YEAS: Brown D-OH, Portman R-OH Senate Vote 3: HYDROFLUOROCARBONS TREATY: The Senate has ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, a treaty reached in 2016 that would have industrial countries seek to cut hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) use by 80 percent or more by 2050 in order to reduce global warming. The vote to ratify the treaty, on Sept. 21, was 69 yeas to 27 nays. YEAS: Brown D-OH, Portman R-OH Senate Vote 4: GLOBAL MEDIA CEO: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Amanda Bennett to be Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees six government media entities, including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. Bennett was director of Voice of America from early 2016 to June 2020, and previously was an editor at various newspapers and a Wall Street Journal reporter. The vote, on Sept. 22, was 60 yeas to 36 nays. YEAS: Brown D-OH, Portman R-OH Senate Vote 5: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Arati Prabhakar to be Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, a White House entity that advises the president. Prabhakar has headed the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and been an executive at technology companies and a venture capital firm. The vote, on Sept. 22, was 56 yeas to 40 nays. YEAS: Brown D-OH, Portman R-OH This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: How area members of Congress voted BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Units of Argentina's state oil firm YPF will next month begin lithium exploration in a first-ever entry into the sector by state-run miners as the government aims to benefit from surging demand for the battery metal, according to a statement on Monday. Lithium prices have soared past $70,000 per tonne this year as the major automakers scramble to secure more supply of the ultra-light metal to shift production from fossil fuel-burning engines to electric-powered vehicles. YPF lithium units, YPF Litio and Y-TEC, announced in a statement on Monday the start of work on a 20,000 hectare area lithium prospecting project in Fiambala in western Catamarca province, a partnership with local mining firm Catamarca Minera y Energetica. The project seeks to identify the highest lithium concentrations in Fiambala salt flats. The statement did not disclose how much they would invest in the project or the expected duration of the exploration phase. Argentina's is the world's fourth biggest producer of the coveted white metal, with around 20 other lithium projects currently under development, according to Roberto Salvarezza, chairman of the boards of both YPF units, stressing that those are run by foreign or private miners. "Now for the first time we have the possibility of a national company having a presence in obtaining the resource," Salvarezza is quoted as saying in the statement. Argentina produces around 8% of global lithium, with neighboring Chile accounting for about 22%. Argentina could significantly grow its lithium production given its status as the world's second largest lithium reserve, according to U.S. Geological Survey estimates, with 19.3 million tonnes. Only Bolivia holds more at 21 million tonnes, though it has for years struggled to get its state-run production off the ground. The three South American countries account for more than half of estimated global reserves, mostly held in sprawling salt flats. (Reporting by Walter Bianchi; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Chris Reese) The need to integrate efforts and expertise of operating companies of Bahrains Oil and Gas Holding Company (nogaholding) and share their resources to advance the strategic transformation of the oil and gas sector was highlighted by Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman, nogaholding. Chairing the third meeting of nogaholdings board of directors this year, he noted the importance of raising the level of efficiency and increasing the rate of productivity of the affiliated companies. Shaikh Nasser discussed with the board the progress made in achieving the goals that were approved at the beginning of the year. Shaikh Nasser highlighted a set of decisions that will regulate some of the companies' activities and focus on activities that support the main sources of income to achieve commercial success, praising the support the company receives from the Higher Committee for Energy and Natural Resources. In addition, the board reviewed the executive management report, which dealt with the company's latest developments, and the transformational plans of a number of strategic projects. It also approved decisions related to supporting quality projects and improving internal work systems. The board also discussed the progress of the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) refinery modernisation project, stressing the strategic importance of the project in serving the refining sector in the region. The development of Tatweer Petroleum Company, with regard to research and exploration projects as well as modern exploration technologies that the company is working to provide, were also highlighted during the meeting. Shaikh Nasser praised the important and distinguished role played by nogaholding in developing this vital sector, with the aim of achieving the objectives of Bahrain Economic Vision 2030. TradeArabia News Service Attorneys for Pieper Lewis asked a Polk County Judge to overturn a portion of the sentence that ordered her to pay $150,000 in restitution to the estate of her rapist. Lewis, who turns 18 years old Wednesday, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and willful injury after killing Zachary Brooks, a 37-year-old father of three, who she said sexually assaulted her multiple times in the weeks leading up to his killing. Early on June 1, 2020, when Lewis was 15 years old, she stabbed Brooks to death using a knife she found on a bedside table in Brooks' apartment after she said he assaulted her. Polk County Judge David M. Porter gave Lewis a deferred judgment Sept. 13, a type of legal remedy where a person can have their record expunged when probation is completed. He ordered her to spend five years on probation at the Fresh Start Women's Center in Des Moines. More: What's next for Pieper Lewis, the Des Moines teen convicted of killing her alleged rapist? Pieper Lewis gives her Allocution during a sentencing hearing, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. The Des Moines teen pleaded guilty to killing her alleged rapist in June 2020. Before killing Brooks, Lewis ran away from what she said was an abusive relationship with her mother early in 2020. Eventually she came to live with a 28-year-old Des Moines musician she called her "boyfriend," who she said forced her to have sex with older men, including Brooks, for money. Prosecutors never disputed claims that Lewis was sexually assaulted or trafficked. Her trafficker still has not been charged. Porter ordered Lewis to pay $150,000 to Brooks' estate, citing a 1997 Iowa law that requires people convicted of felony charges in cases where people die to pay $150,000. "The court is cognizant that you and your supporters will be frustrated with the imposition of the $150,000 in restitution to Mr. Brooks' estate," Porter told Lewis at her sentencing hearing. "This court is presented with no other option, other than which is dictated by the law of this state." A GoFundMe fundraiser started by Lewis' former Lincoln High School math teacher has raised more than $561,000 as of Tuesday morning. Story continues Polk County District Judge David M. Porter speaks with a witness during, a sentencing hearing for Pieper Lewis, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. Porter based his decision on a 2017 Iowa Supreme Court ruling in which a 15-year-old female in Cedar Rapids stabbed a man to death with her 19-year-old boyfriend while robbing another man in 2013. The 15-year-old in that case pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The teen did not appeal her prison sentence, but challenged an order to pay the estate of the man she and her boyfriend killed $150,000. The Iowa Supreme Court found that district court judges have no discretion to waive this restitution and that it is constitutional even when applied to juveniles. In Monday's filing, Lewis' attorneys Matthew Sheeley, Paul White and Magdalena Reese argued that the nature of the offenses in the two cases "bear no similarity." Unlike the Cedar Rapids teen Lewis did not plan out the offense she was convicted of, her attorneys argued. "Voluntary manslaughter requires an element of 'serious provocation,'" Lewis' legal team wrote. "The 'serious provocation' at issue here was the rape Pieper endured immediately before the stabbing, a rape perpetrated by Zachary Brooks." The Cedar Rapids teen was never forced to go along with her boyfriend's plan to rob and kill another man, but did so anyway, according to court records. By contrast, Lewis told her trafficker on May 31, 2020, that she did not want to go to Brooks' apartment. Her trafficker held a knife to her throat to compel her to go have sex with Brooks in exchange for $50 worth of marijuana, according to her attorneys and her plea agreement. The Cedar Rapids case was primarily motivated by money, Lewis' attorneys argued. The teen and her boyfriend wanted to rob the man they killed of $2,000, but only found his electronic benefit transfer card. "There was no premeditation or plan to kill Zachary Brooks. Piepers offense was motivated by the sudden rage she experienced after she was raped by Mr. Brooks," according to the attorneys, who argued that the Iowa State Legislature never intended for the law to be enforced in cases like Lewis'. Her rights under Article 1, Section 17 of the Iowa Constitution and the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, both of which prohibit excessive fines, could be violated because of the circumstances surrounding Lewis' own victimization, they wrote. "But for the conduct of her sex-trafficker, Pieper never would have met Mr. Brooks and Mr. Brooks, in turn, would never have had the opportunity to rape this 15-year-old homeless runaway girl," Lewis' attorneys argued. "The very notion that she is now required to pay $150,000.00 to the heirs of the man who raped her on the morning of June 1, 2020, is absurd." In a deferred judgment, a guilty verdict is technically withheld, even after a person pleads guilty and admits to the acts they are charged with. The Cedar Rapids teen did not receive a deferred judgment, which clearly shows that the cases are different, Lewis' attorneys argued. The $150,000 award is punitive, and does not serve a remedial purpose, they argued. "Its primary purpose is to punish the offender," the attorneys wrote. Pieper Lewis received a deferred judgment and therefore has not been 'convicted of a felony.'" If Porter does not overturn his decision, they asked him to stay his decision so they can appeal it. Philip Joens covers public safety, city government and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-443-3347 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Pieper Lewis asks court to toss $150,000 payment to man she killed CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Australias government released details Tuesday of a proposed corruption watchdog that was an important promise in its recent election campaign. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said he would introduce legislation to create the National Anti-Corruption Commission to Parliament on Wednesday. The center-left Labor Party promised that creating the watchdog would be a priority before it came to power at elections in May. The previous conservative government had promised to create its own version during its last three-year term in power. But it shelved its draft bill after the plan was widely derided by lawyers and activists as too weak. Dreyfus said it would be up to the commission to decide whether it will investigate any scandals involving the previous government during its nine years in power. It is really important that -- I stress this to everybody -- it is an independent commission, Dreyfus said. We will not be seeking, as the federal government, to direct this commission as to what it should inquire into, he added. A record number of independent lawyers demanding greater integrity in government and politics won office in the latest election. Dreyfus and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a joint statement the national commission would tackle corruption and restore trust and integrity to federal politics. The commission would also protect whistleblowers from punishment for exposing wrongdoing and would not demand that reporters reveal identities of confidential sources, the statement said. Every Australian state and territory already has its own public sector corruption watchdog. But many of watchdog leaders complain they lack the funding to do their work properly. The national watchdog would have 262 million Australian dollars ($170 million) to operate for its first four years, the statement said. The national watchdog would be able to investigate serious or systemic corruption across the entire federal public sector, it said. By Renju Jose and Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian telecoms giant Optus came under more fire from the government on Tuesday for a massive cyber breach, while an anonymous online account believed to be that of the hackers said it was deleting stolen data and withdrawing a $1 million ransom demand. Singapore Telecoms-owned Optus, the country's No. 2 mobile operator, said last week that data of up to 10 million customers including home addresses, drivers' licenses and passport numbers had been compromised in one of Australia's biggest data breaches. An account called 'optusdata' in an online forum, believed by cybersecurity experts to be that of the hackers, had threatened to publish the data of 10,000 Optus customers per day unless they received $1 million in cryptocurrency. On Tuesday, however, the account holders posted they had deleted the data due to "too many eyes", were withdrawing their ransom demand and were sorry for having already leaked data of 10,200 Australians. Optus and the Australian Federal Police, which have been working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other offshore law enforcement agencies to probe the cyberattack, declined to comment on whether they believed the 'optusdata' account holders were behind the breach. The Australian federal government has blamed Optus for the breach, flagged an overhaul of privacy rules and higher fines, and suggested the company had "effectively left the window open" for hackers to steal data. Minister For Cyber Security Clare O'Neil said she was "incredibly concerned ... about reports that personal information from the Optus data breach, including Medicare numbers, are now being offered for free and for ransom", referring to the government's health insurance scheme. Optus Chief Executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said the incident had generated "a lot of misinformation" and the company took data protection seriously. Story continues "Given we're not allowed to say much because the police have asked us not to, what I can say ... is that our data was encrypted and we had multiple players of protection," Bayer Rosmarin told ABC Radio. She added that most customers understand that "we are not the villains" and that the company had not done anything deliberate to put data at risk. Jeremy Kirk, a cybersecurity researcher and writer who said he had been in contact with the purported hacker, tweeted that it was unclear why they changed their mind but "this doesn't change the risk for anyone exposed". "The Optus data has been stolen, and we can't trust this person. No guard should be let down," he wrote. (Reporting by Renju Jose, Lewis Jackson and Byron Kaye; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Edwina Gibbs) By Jesus Aguado MADRID (Reuters) - A traditional banking consolidation in Europe is unlikely right now due to a lack of progress regarding the banking union, BBVA Chairman Carlos Torres said on Tuesday. "It is difficult to see cross-border mergers because of the lack of functioning of the banking union, which is half done," Torres told a financial event on Tuesday. He added it was "very frustrating" to see the banking union not progressing, which was essential for more efficient allocation of resources and investment. In this context, BBVA's chairman said it was easier to pursue growth strategies through the implementation and deployment of digital banking models such as the one undertaking by the Spanish lender in Italy. Plans for a banking union were launched in 2012 to create a single system for regulating top euro zone lenders to ensure taxpayers were no longer on the hook for rescuing failing lenders, as they were during the global financial crisis. Regarding traditional consolidation, Torres said it was a an issue that "we do not spend much time on, except when there is obviously an opportunity (...) but that happens very sporadically." Comments from Torres came after BBVA's Chief Executive Officer Onur Genc last week said that further consolidation in the financial sector was important in an industry where scale was "critical". In 2020, BBVA called off merger talks with smaller Spanish rival Sabadell though the deal has always been viewed by the market as an option given BBVA's solid solvency buffers. (Reporting by Jesus Aguado, editing by Inti Landauro and David Evans) Joshua J. Stevens, of Bedford, was sentenced to 85 years in the Indiana Department of Correction on Thursday, following the verdict of his trial for charges of child molestation in August. Stevens was found guilty on five felony counts of child molestation by a jury on Aug. 25. Those five counts include three Level 1 felonies and two Level A felonies. State's arguements The State of Indiana, represented by Jennifer Tucker, sought a maximum consecutive sentence, with aggravating factors for all five charges, which would have equated to a sentence of 220 years in prison, with 10 years suspended for each count. More:Two Bedford Police Department officers promoted following recent officer demotion. Tucker argued that Stevens took advantage of his position of power in the situation which would constitute as an aggravating factor in his crimes, providing grounds to extend his sentence beyond Indianas maximum recommended term. Tucker also argued that Stevens criminal history should serve as an aggravating factor in this case. Most notably, Stevens was charged with escape on Aug. 31. In that case, it is alleged that Stevens cut his ankle monitor device he is required to wear per the conditions of his pretrial release, and fled Lawrence County just before the start of his trial for the molestation charges. Stevens was arrested in Monroe County on Aug. 24 and charged with possession of a narcotic drug and possession of paraphernalia. The victim, who previously testified she was molested by Stevens 90 times from 2012-2019 while she was younger than 12-years-old, provided a statement to the court that was read during the sentencing hearing, detailing the impact of the abuse on her life. The victim said she initially suffered from bad anxiety and depression and struggled to speak with or trust others. Following the arrest of Stevens, she began to feel safe again and more comfortable around others, with her anxiety and depression beginning to subside. Story continues Stevens' defense Stevens was represented by Lawrence County Chief Public Defender Tim Sledd, who argued that Stevens criminal history should not be considered an aggravating factor in this case, as his record consisted of misdemeanor offenses that occurred prior to his offenses in this case and did not occur after. Sledd also argued that the jurys verdict was vague and did not specify which specific acts he was being found guilty of during the time windows provided for his charges, opening the possibility of Stevens being charged twice with the same crime. More:County Council votes 3-3 against raising employee wages in 2023 budget. Stevens two Level A felony offenses were said to have occurred on Jan. 1, 2012. Two of his Level 1 felony charges were tied to offenses on July 1, 2014. Because these offenses are said to have occurred on the same day, but were not specified as separate offenses, Sledd argued that they should be merged, with Stevens only being sentenced for three offenses. Sledd sought the court to recognize the unique relationship between Stevens and the victim as a mitigating factor in the case, saying that it was a special circumstance that would make his client unlikely to offend again. Sledd requested the minimum sentence of 30 years for each offense, to be served concurrently for a total of 30 years. Judge's ruling After a recess, Lawrence County Superior Court I Judge John Plummer III told the court he had reviewed relevant Indiana case law and precedent on the matter, which informed him that the ability for the jury to distinguish between separate criminal acts in cases such as this, where the offenses take place over a period of time, comes down to the evidence provided to them that multiple criminal violations occurred. In this case, Plummer said that the testimony of the victim, which attested to being molested by Stevens 90 times in the time frame of the charges, equated to enough evidence to distinguish the charges as separate acts, despite being tied to the same date. Plummer also said that he felt Stevens was a substantial risk to reoffend, based on his violation of his release conditions. More:Exposed brick exterior to remain at Bedford City Hall, pending Board of Works approval. Plummer said previous Indiana court cases have provided precedent for crimes against children being viewed particularly negatively and as grounds for aggravated sentencing. In this case, Plummer described Stevens crimes as heinous. I think its all horrible. I think its all really disgusting behavior, Plummer said during the hearing. Ultimately, Plummer sentenced Stevens to 40 years for his first charge, 35 for the third and fifth and 45 years for the second and fourth. Stevens will serve his sentences for his first and second charges consecutively, with the others served concurrently, for a total of 85 years. This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Bedford man receives 85 year prison sentence for child molesation Map of Belize Tucked between the Caribbean Sea and the rainforest on the eastern coast of Central America, Belize is the home of a small and diverse nation. The country, formerly known as British Honduras, was the United Kingdom's last colony on the American mainland and still maintains strong ties with Britain. Today Belize, which considers itself part of both the Caribbean and Central America, is cultivating relations with Latin America and the United States, although there is a lingering dispute with neighbouring Guatemala, which has made claim to part of Belize's territory in the past. Tourism is a major source of foreign currency. Belize's attractions include wildlife, Mayan ruins and one of the longest barrier reefs in the world. Belize has a problem with violent crime, largely drug-related, and the trafficking of narcotics to the US, however. In 2011 Belize was added to a US blacklist of countries considered to be major producers or transit routes for illegal drugs. FACTS LEADERS Head of state: King Charles III is the head of state, represented by a governor general Prime minister: Johnny Briceno Belize's Prime Minister Johnny Briceno presents his national statement as part of the World Leaders' Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland on November 1, 2021 On 11 November 2020, the People's United Party (PUP), led by Johnny Briceno, defeated the United Democratic Party (UDP) for the first time since 2003, having won 26 seats out of 31 to form a government. In 2008, Guatemala and Belize held referendums in which voters in both countries decided to submit the issue of their historic border dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). As of June 2022, both countries confirmed that they had submitted their initial briefs to ICJ for consideration. MEDIA Belize compares favourably for media freedom with neighbouring countries. There are no daily newspapers. Radio and TV outlets are privately-owned. Internet use is limited by a lack of infrastructure and high prices. TIMELINE Some key dates in the history of Belize: A volunteer force pictured in 1972 helped secure the country. After independence in 1981 Britain provided protection in the face of Guatemalan threats 16th-19th centuries - The Spanish arrive; Spanish rule ends in 1862 when Belize is formally declared a British crown colony and named British Honduras. Story continues 1954 - Constitutional reforms give Belize limited autonomy; general elections won by People's United Party (PUP), led by George Price. 1964 - New constitution gives Belize full autonomy and introduces universal adult suffrage and a two-chamber parliament. In 1973, the country changes its name from British Honduras to Belize. 1981 - Belize becomes independent with George Price as prime minister, but Guatemala refuses to recognise it. About 1,500 British troops remain to defend the country against Guatemalan territorial claims. Guatemala recognises Belize's independence in 1992 although the territorial conflict remains. 2002 - Belize, Guatemala agree on a draft settlement to their long-standing border dispute at talks brokered by the Organisation of American States (OAS). The deal, which proposed referendums in both countries, is rejected by Guatemala in 2003. 2005 - Rioting breaks out in the capital during a wave of anti-government protests. 2011 - Belize is added to US blacklist of countries considered to be major producers or transit routes for illegal drugs. 2008 - Guatemala and Belize hold referendums and submit the border dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for arbitration. 2022 - Both countries submit their initial briefs on the border dispute to ICJ for consideration. FOLEY Benton County Auditor-Treasurer Nadean Inman is facing allegations that she did not live in Benton County for about one and a half years since she registered her bid for the elected office in 2018. Under Minnesota law, a candidate for office must be a resident of the district where they seek election at least 30 days before the general election. Cell phone records and other evidence in Benton County Board meeting documents the result of a Sherburne County Sheriff's Department investigation brought on by an anonymous tip to the Benton County attorney suggest Inman may have resided outside Benton County from October 2018 until April 2020. Her affidavit of candidacy for the office, filed in May 2018, affirmed she would be residing in the jurisdiction of her office. If an elected official fails to maintain residency in the jurisdiction where they are elected, their position will be considered vacant, according to a letter from Assistant Benton County Attorney Michelle Meyer. Benton County Auditor-Treasurer Nadean Inman According to Benton County human resources records, Inman's home address from 2018-2022 was listed in Becker which is in Sherburne County. These records show Benton County had evidence Inman may not have been living in the jurisdiction of her office whenshe started her term, even though Inman reported on her affidavit of candidacy that she intended to live in Benton County. An investigation conducted by the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office in April 2020 found a Sauk Rapids address affiliated with Inman in the Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services database, but no other associations between Inman and that address were found, according to documents from the investigation. The Sauk Rapids residence listed with DVS was owned by a former Benton County employee who had worked under Inman and told investigators that Inman paid $100 a month in rent. Story continues When Inman's former employee canceled the rental agreement in April 2020, citing COVID-19 concerns, Inman resided at her husband's home in Becker for several months while looking for a new home in Benton County, according to a December memo to Benton County Commissioners from Benton County Attorney Philip Miller. More: What were the highest-value construction projects in 2021 in the St. Cloud area? Inman signed a lease for an apartment in Sauk Rapids in January 2021, according to county board documents, and Inman occasionally spends time at her husband's home in Becker, the family cabin and her mother's home near Phoenix, Miller's memo said. Inman did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the St. Cloud Times. Anonymous tip leads to investigation According to county documents, an anonymous tip was sent to Miller in April 2020, encouraging county officials to investigate whether Inman resided in Benton County. The tip was forwarded to Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck, who sent it to Sherburne County Sheriff Joel Brott. "Whenever we have a conflict of interest like that, we ask another law enforcement agency to investigate those things," Heck told the Times on Monday. "It wouldn't be proper for the Benton County Sheriff's Office to investigate allegations against another county official. Even if we were to do a proper job, there would always be people that would have a suspicion that it wasn't pursued properly." The Benton County Courts Facility in Foley A report from the Sherburne County Sheriff's Department in April 2020 showed Inman's vehicles were all registered to an address in Becker. The owner of the Sauk Rapids home associated with Inman in the DVS database said Inman did not have family come to the house and said she did not live there full-time, according to the report. When asked if Inman was using that residence to keep her employment in Benton County, the owner said, "That's what I would imagine," the report said. When contacted by the Sherburne County Sheriff's department in May 2020, Inman declined to meet with an officer to give a statement about the residency issue. More: Cold Spring family sues ROCORI School District, says it did not address racism, harassment Phone records showed Inman spent little time at Sauk Rapids house In July 2020 the Sherburne County Sheriff's Department requested a search warrant for Inman's cell phone usage from Oct. 1, 2018, to April 30, 2020. According to the Sherburne County Sheriff's office report, Inman spent a "significant" amount of time at her husband's residence in Becker and there was "little to no cell phone usage" at the Sauk Rapids address. "According to the MN State Statute 200.031, under the determination of residence, I do not believe that Nadean Inman follows any of the criteria of residing in Benton County when Nadean Inman completed her affidavit of candidacy," said Sherburne County Sheriff's Sgt. Luke McLean in a supplemental report. More: After being a COVID testing site, events are returning to River's Edge Convention Center A letter sent from Chief Deputy Sherburne County Attorney Samuel Werthelmer II to McLean in October 2020 said the attorney was declining to pursue criminal charges against Inman because "I do not believe we could prove the elements of [a perjury charge] or any other criminal charge beyond the reasonable doubt." Instead, Werthelmer said it would be up to Benton County authorities to determine whether to take civil action based on the evidence. Records show Miller was aware of the investigation in 2020, but he did not bring it to the attention of the Benton County Board of Commissioners, who learned about the investigation in a June 2021 email from Assistant County Attorney Michelle Meyer. Miller told the St. Cloud Times last week he first heard about the allegations against Inman in 2019, but did not inform the board of the investigation results because it was not his responsibility as county attorney. "As far as I was concerned at that point, she had been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. I was not aware of any information at that point to warrant a civil investigation. And it certainly could have been done," Miller told the Times. "But I had to recuse myself from things because my office works very closely with Nadean." Several board members received inquiries from residents about Inman's residency before June 2021, Benton County Administrator Monty Headley told the St. Cloud Times Feb. 15. The board first saw the investigative file about Inman's residency three weeks ago, he said. "Going upon the assurances of the auditor-treasurer, and also [that] our county attorney's office did not raise any red flags, we didn't request the investigative file back in June of 2021," Headley said. What happens next? The Benton County Board planned to discuss and review the investigation at its Feb. 15 meeting,but because one board member was sick and could not come to the meeting, the board will be discussing the investigation March 1, Headley said. Feb. 15 was the first time the investigation had been on the board's agenda, and "up to this point, there has been no formal discussion" on the issue, he said. Headley said the board has obtained outside legal counsel to advise them, and the board expects to see more documents, including detailed phone records, at its March meeting. Becca Most is a cities reporter with the St. Cloud Times. Reach her at 320-241-8213 or bmost@stcloudtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter at @becca_most. Support local journalism. Subscribe to sctimes.com today. This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Benton Co. elected official Nadean Inman may not have lived in county Associated Press Chinese billionaire and JD.com founder Richard Liu agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a former University of Minnesota student who alleged he raped her in her Minneapolis apartment after a night of dinner and drinks with wealthy Chinese executives in 2018, attorneys for both sides announced late Saturday. Richard Liu, who stepped down as the CEO of Beijing-based e-commerce company JD.com this year amid increased government scrutiny of Chinas technology industry, has denied raping the woman, Jingyao Liu, and prosecutors never filed criminal charges. A joint statement from attorneys for both sides called the encounter a misunderstanding. The incident between Ms. Jingyao Liu and Mr. Richard Liu in Minnesota in 2018 resulted in a misunderstanding that has consumed substantial public attention and brought profound suffering to the parties and their families," the joint statement said. WASHINGTON President Joe Biden on Tuesday put the spotlight on Medicare and Social Security, hot button issues that could pack a political punch six weeks before the midterm elections. His remarks at the White House were delivered days after the popular programs got little attention in House Republicans rollout of the agenda they promise to pursue if voters give them control in November. Both Medicare and Social Security face long-run financing problems. Democrats proposed solutions have generally focused on increasing taxes on higher income earners while also promising to expand benefits. Republicans accuse Democrats of further straining Medicare through recent efforts to lower prescription drug costs. Many Republicans have backed raising the eligibility age for Medicare and the retirement age for Social Security as part of a plan to keep the programs solvent without hiking taxes. President Joe Biden delivers remarks about lowering health care costs in the Rose Garden at the White House on September 27, 2022 in Washington, D.C. The latest Because the government is paying out more in monthly Social Security benefits than its collecting in taxes, its projected to run out of reserves to fully fund benefits in 2035. At that point, it would have enough money to cover 80% of benefits. The Medicare trust fund, which covers inpatient hospital services, will only be able to pay 90% of scheduled benefits after 2028. Biden initially planned to travel to the retirement haven of Florida to talk about Social Security and Medicare. With a hurricane heading toward Florida, Biden instead spoke at the White House. Biden accused Republicans of wanting to cut the programs without detailing his own past promise to fix the funding shortfalls. Instead, he focused on recent steps to reduce prescription drug costs for Medicare patients. Social Security and Medicare are consistently top issues for senior citizens who vote at higher rates than younger Americans. U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy introduces the House GOP's "Commitment to America," at a gathering at Ductmate Industries, Friday, Sep. 23, 2022 in Monongahela, Pa. What Republicans have said about Social Security and Medicare The Commitment to America House Republicans announced last week promises to save and strengthen Social Security and Medicare without specifying how. Story continues Democrats immediately pointed to a budget plan proposed by House conservatives earlier this year. The plan rejects as fundamentally immoral raising payroll taxes to cover Social Securitys shortfall. Instead, conservatives propose slowly increasing the eligibility age to reflect that life expectancy has increased since the program began. Benefits would also go up for lower-income workers and down for higher earners. For Medicare, the eligibility age would rise, and the program would be turned into income-based subsidies for specific health plans. Democrats have also attacked a proposed by Florida Sen. Rick Scott, head of the campaign arm of Senate Republicans, to require all federal legislation be renewed every five years. Democrats accuse Republicans of wanting to sunset Social Security and Medicare. Scott has said he wants to fix and preserve those programs, without providing details. What Democrats have proposed . A bill sponsored by nearly all House Democrats would increase Social Security benefits in various ways and apply the payroll tax for the first time on wages above $400,000. But most of the new benefits would be temporary, and the increased taxes would buy only about four extra years of solvency for the trust fund, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C. On Medicare, an effort by Senate Democrats this summer to boost taxes on some high earners to shore up that program was not successful. Biden did sign into law the Inflation Reduction Act, which included several provisions aimed at reducing prescription drug costs for Medicare patients. It requires the government to negotiate prices for some top-selling drugs and requires drug makers to pay rebates if their prices rise faster than inflation. It also limits out-of-pocket drug spending costs for Medicare patients to $2,000 a year. "I can go to bed at night knowing that my out-of-pocket costs for all that I have is going to be affordable and predictable," Bob Parant, a Medicare beneficiary from New York who is dependent on insulin, said when he introduced Biden at Tuesday's event. President Joe Biden gives Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., the pen he used to sign The Inflation Reduction Act. How Republicans have pushed back Republicans have charged that Democrats efforts to control prescription drug prices what they call Democrats drug takeover scheme will reduce pharmaceutical companies spending on research and development, resulting in fewer new drugs. Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, has said repealing the provisions is likely a top priority for Republicans if voters hand them control in the November elections, Axios has reported. Republicans have also attacked Democrats for not using the nearly $300 billion the government is projected to save by negotiating drug prices to shore up Medicares finances. What they are saying "Ill protect those programs. Ill make them stronger. And Ill lower your costs, to be able to keep them," Biden said Tuesday. "We will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in March. "We are well past the time for talking points and partisan entrenchment. said Shai Akabas, director of economic policy for the Bipartisan Policy Center. "Unfortunately, the president used his speech to attack his political opponents on the issue as opposed to putting forward his own specific plan to secure Social Security, something he has failed to do over the course of his administration," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Want to know more? Here's what you missed Patients seek relief from drug prices: Will the Inflation Reduction Act deliver? Bigger check: Social Security recipients could receive 8.7% COLA bump in 2023 as inflation soars Social Security solutions: Can raising the full retirement age to 68 make up for its shortfall? Find out more: What your Social Security benefits statement tells you, and what it doesn't This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden vows to save Social Security, Medicare but gives few details Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways has partnered with Icelandic technology provider Dohop to launch Jazeera Global to enable passengers to book connections from Jazeera flights on to other airlines to various destinations. The connections may be made in a single seamless transaction, on the Jazeera website and App. With the help of Dohop's API-based technology, Jazeera will have access to a network of airlines, including Turkey-based Pegasus Airlines, allowing customers to book tickets across airlines that do not have traditional interline or code-sharing agreements. Initially there are 23 new destination options which connect with Jazeera flights including London, Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Athens plus regional airports in Turkey. Jazeera Airways Chief Executive Officer, Rohit Ramachandran, said: This is a unique offering to help our passengers connect from Kuwait to destinations in Europe. We are pleased to be working with Dohop and their platform and look forward to expanding the service over time. "We are thrilled to be expanding our presence in the Middle East. Partnering with an innovative and forward-thinking airline like Jazeera only highlights the need for alternative interline solutions in international markets. We anticipate extending our collaboration with Jazeera as we enter the final quarter of 2022 and expanding their offering through additional partner connections, said Sarah Hanan, Commercial Director at Dohop. Jazeera Airways operates commercial and cargo flights out of its Jazeera Terminal T5 at Kuwait International Airport. The airline flies to 53 popular destinations across the Middle East, Central and South Asia, Africa and Europe comprising high-demand business, leisure and weekend destinations. TradeArabia News Service President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will host French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, at the White House on Dec. 1 for Biden's first state dinner, the White House said Monday. The dinner will "underscore the deep and enduring relationship between the United States and France, our oldest ally, founded on our shared democratic values, economic ties, and defense and security cooperation, said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Jean-Pierre also said the leaders will talk about "continued close partnership on shared global challenges and areas of bilateral interest." She noted that COVID played a role in delaying Bidens first state dinner. The dinner is occurring at nearly halfway of Biden's presidency. Here is what you need to know about White House state dinners. What is a state dinner? A state dinner, which showcases power and influence, gives the president and first lady the chance to honor a world leader with their spouse, according to the White House Historical Association. Trump and Macron state dinner: President Trump after picking something off Macron's suit: 'We have to make him perfect' Macron: President Trump after picking something off Macron's suit: 'We have to make him perfect' U.S. President Joe Biden (left) talks with France's President Emmanuel Macron (right) ahead of an extraordinary NATO summit at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on March 24, 2022. History of state dinners President Ulysses S. Grant held the first White House state dinner in December 1874. He hosted King David Kalakaua of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The White House has hosted many notable world leaders at state dinners. President Franklin D. Roosevelt hosted King George VI of the United Kingdom in June 1939. Former President Ronald Reagan hosted General Secretary Mikhail S. Gorbachev of the Soviet Union in December 1987. Former President George W. Bush in 2001 held a white-tie state dinner for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, "to mark the 400th anniversary of the English settlement of Jamestown, Virginia," the White House Historical Association said. Story continues Has Macron been invited to a White House state dinner before? Former President Donald Trump hosted Macron at a state dinner in April 2018, Trump's first official state dinner. Who is invited to a state dinner? Ambassadors, diplomats and members of Congress are among guests that have been invited to state dinners in the past. It is not uncommon to see celebrities attending, and that there is often entertainment from a noted musician, group or production How many people typically attend? The White House Historical Association says that the room where the event takes place usually seats 120 people. Where are they held? The dinner is has often been held in the state dining room at the White House. They also have been held in the East Room, and during former President Barack Obama's years, in a tent on the grounds. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What you need to know about White House state dinners Bill Maher says hes no longer predicting that Democrats will be pummeled in the midterm elections, with abortion offering a turning point on momentum. Things have really turned around, Maher told ITK in a recent interview. The Republicans are the dog that caught the car with abortion, the HBO Real Time host said of the Supreme Courts June ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, which overturned the federal right to the abortion established by Roe v. Wade. Theyve been trying to do this for 50 years, and then now you notice that the Republican candidates dont even want to be asked about the subject. And sometimes when they do get asked about it, they kind of backtrack: Abortion, I guess I heard something about a ruling recently, Maher said. Democrats, who currently hold majorities in the Senate and House, are trying to fend off long-expected GOP gains in November. Historical trends indicate that the presidents party almost always loses seats in midterm elections. I think what were finding out is that [abortion] is going to be the turning point for this midterm election, said Maher who in April projected that Democrats would get their ass kicked in November. We already know that theres so many new voters who have registered because of that very reason, Maher, 66, said of the reproductive rights issue. And not just women. Theres lots of men also who dont want kids. I think what were finding out is: Kids are brats, and no one wants them. The longtime liberal comedian said he has no plans to dole out dollars to Democrats ahead of the midterms. Maher donated $1 million in 2012 to a super PAC supporting then-President Obamas reelection bid and contributed the same amount to a committee affiliated with Senate Democrats in August 2018, just months ahead of the midterm elections that year. Not this year, he said, but I would certainly think about it again if [former President Trump] was running again in 2024. Story continues If I thought money made a difference, Maher added. I mean, last time [Trump] ran, he spent way less than [2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton] and look how that turned out. I mean, sometimes money can actually have the opposite effect. When they carpet-bomb with campaign ads that people have seen 100 times, people wind up hating the person making the ad. Even if they liked them to begin with, they think, God, if I see this ad one more time. A fierce critic of Trump and Republicans, Maher has also made headlines and has won praise in conservative circles in recent months for calling out the woke politics of the far left. Asked if there are any particular issues hes shifted or changed his views on over time, Maher exclaimed, I hope so. Yes, of course I mean thats called growing. Im so glad Im not a politician. Politicians have to pretend that what they believed at 18 they still believe at 78, or else youre flip-flopping and youre not consistent, Maher said. Im consistent about evolving and growing and learning. New information comes along and OK, I can change my mind and I will, the comic, who grew up in New Jersey, said. But basically my view of life, my view of politics, my liberal upbringing from my liberal parents I think its pretty consistent. I think I know what is most important and kind of stick by it. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (Bloomberg) -- Senate Democrats released a short-term government funding bill late Monday that included a measure to speed up energy project permits thats opposed by most Republicans and some Democrats. Most Read from Bloomberg Congress must pass the measure by midnight Friday to avert a government shutdown. Leaders of both parties in the Senate are eager to avoid that chaotic outcome just over a month before the midterm elections. But the permit legislation proposed by Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, is adding an additional bit of drama with the deadline closing in. The chances of a government shutdown are fairly low because Congress still can strip out the permitting measure if senators block the funding bill over it. The Senate plans to hold a procedural vote on the bill, which would keep government open past the November election to Dec. 16, on Tuesday night. The bill would provide $12.4 billion to Ukraine to aid its war effort against Russia, slightly more than the $11.7 billion requested by the Biden administration. It would also authorize the Biden administration to transfer up to $3.7 billion more in US defense equipment to Ukraine. The bill would provide $2 billion for unmet needs from recent disasters and a $1 billion to bolster home heating assistance. In addition, Food and Drug Administration would be authorized to collect user fees for five years, preventing a funding shortfall that threatens layoffs. The bill provides money to assist resettlement of Afghan refugees but does not provide the smoother path to permanent residency that advocates had sought. Senate Democratic leaders included the permit provision authored by Manchin in the stopgap bill as part of a deal with to secure his vote on a climate and tax bill in August. The text would also green-light federal approval of Equitrans Midstream Corp.s stalled $6.6 billion natural gas pipeline running through his home state. Story continues Yet Manchin hasnt yet lined up the 60 votes for his bill required under Senate rules and has spent days pleading with Republicans to accept a compromise version of the permitting changes to fossil fuel projects they have championed for years. He has received support from West Virginias other senator, Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican. But other Republicans have little interest in voting for Manchins bill, which they regard as payback for his role in helping the Democrats achieve a victory for President Joe Biden with the climate legislation. This is the most important thing that we can do today, and its the most critical problem we have in front of us, which is energy independence and security, Manchin said Sunday on Fox News. It would be basically a lost moment in history if we dont do this. Manchin also faces opposition from progressives, with Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, vowing to vote against the stopgap bill and others hinting they may as well. Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine is irate over the pipeline provision given opposition in northern Virginia to its completion. We have made significant progress toward a Continuing Resolution that is as clean as possible. But, if the Democrats insist on including permitting reform, I will oppose it, top spending panel Republican Richard Shelby of Alabama said in a statement. If the bill fails to get 60 votes in the Senate on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to strip out the permitting language and try again. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week that if the Senate stalls the House is prepared to vote on a slimmed-down stopgap bill to avert a shutdown. To win Republican support, the bill does not include the $22 billion in funding to fight Covid-19 sought by the Biden administration or the $4 billion request to combat monkeypox. The GOP had argued that in the wake of Biden declaring the coronavirus pandemic over they would be unwilling to provide more emergency funds for it and cuts should be made elsewhere to fund future efforts. House Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro urged Congress to pass the bill even though she said she was saddened that the Manchin energy provision was included while coronvavirus funds were not. Despite these shortcomings, the continuing resolution still provides resources critical to our communities and national security. And with just four days before the end of the fiscal year, it keeps the government open. I urge my colleagues in both chambers to act quickly to pass this legislation, DeLauro said. The spending bill does not include $1.5 billion for emergency uranium purchases requested by the White House to ease US reliance on Russian uranium, or funds to modernize the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. A stopgap spending bill is necessary because Congress hasnt passed any of the 12 annual appropriations measures to pay for government operations for fiscal 2023, which begins Oct. 1. If Republicans win the majority in the House as expected in the midterms, there will be pressure in the party to delay final 2023 spending decisions until the new Congress is seated in January to give the GOP a chance to enact its priorities, including cutting the Internal Revenue Services budget to decrease tax audits. (Updates with DeLauro statement, starting in 16th paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Cambridge University's Centre for Alternative Finance's (CCAF) latest research into bitcoin mining suggests the mix of sustainable electricity used is in decline. The CCAF, which is part of the Cambridge Judge Business School, uses publicly available data to run a theoretical model to estimate the environmental footprint of bitcoin mining. It does this by breaking down its electricity mix and calculating its greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) emission intensity per kilowatt-hour (gCO2e/kWh). It found that emissions intensity for 2021 was 506.71 gCO2e/kWh, compared to 491.24 in 2020. Data for this year is so far only available up to January, so no conclusions can yet be drawn for 2022 for the time being. CCAF's bitcoin mining data tools Since 2019, the CCAF's Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) has provided a daily estimate of the amount of electricity used by bitcoin mining globally. Additionally, its Mining Map, rolled out in 2020, is used to visualize the geographical distribution of mining activities. Now the CCAF has combined the two elements to estimate greenhouse gas emissions attributable to bitcoin more fully. While electricity consumption is an important factor, it does not take into account the differing electricity sources that power mining from one country to the next, and how these different countries' relative shares of the global hashrate vary over time. The uptick in fossil fuel emission intensity in bitcoin mining from 2020 to 2021 could be attributed to a collapse in the share conducted using hydropower since the crackdown on the industry in China last year. In 2020, the CCAF found that China accounted for 65% of the world's total hashrate, with the majority of mining activity there powered by either hydropower (33.7%) or coal (40.4%). Hydropower's share in 2021, however, was down to 18.5%, with coal's reduced slightly to 38.2%. The CCAF concludes that 37.6% of electricity used by bitcoin miners comes from sustainable sources, compared to 62.4% from fossil fuels. This figure is at odds with that provided by the Bitcoin Mining Council, which says 59% of the electricity used by the industry comes from sustainable sources. Story continues Governments, regulators and others frequently cite the energy-intensive nature of proof-of-work bitcoin mining as one of the main flaws in the world's largest cryptocurrency, with some taking a proactive stance toward attempting to curtail it. Earlier this month, the White House Office for Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published a report on bitcoin mining, calling for more research so that federal agencies can minimize harm on the environment and electricity grids. Furthermore, ether's recent "Merge" from a proof-of-work model to the less energy-intensive proof-of-stake, with claims that it will make it 99% more energy efficient, put further pressure on bitcoin's mining mechanism. Read more: Troubled Data Center Compute North Struggled With Crypto Winter. Then Its Relationship With a Major Lender Soured Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images (2) Black people in the U.S. are seven times more likely to be falsely convicted of a serious crime like murder than white people, according to a new report published Tuesday by the National Registry of Exonerations. The finding is based on an analysis of exonerations for serious crimes in the U.S. over the last four decades, which found that Black people make up less than 14% of the U.S. population but account for 53% of exonerations in the country. [The report] focuses on how its dangerous, in a particularly disturbing way, that theres a possibility of being convicted of a crime that you didnt commit, Samuel Gross, a University of Michigan law professor and the lead author of the report, titled "Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States 2022," told Yahoo News. The general conclusion is no surprise. Black people are much more likely to get the short end of the stick than white people. Data gathered from exonerations for murder, sexual assault and drug crimes from 1989 through August 2022 highlighted significant challenges in obtaining national criminal justice statistics, including finding clear answers on who reports data to whom and how this data is disseminated to react to trends. Most often, Gross said, counties rather than states are responsible for reporting crimes, which results in misreporting and/or a lack of accountability because of sheer volume. Criminal justice statistics in the United States are not bad, Gross said. Theyre abysmal. Villahermosa prison in Cali, Colombia. (Luis Robayo/AFP via Getty Images) In addition to dramatic disparities across racial groups in false convictions, the report finds that innocent Black people also spend a significantly longer time in prison before exoneration than white people, with many spending in excess of 20, 30 or 40 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. (National criminal justice statistics are not complete or accurate enough to permit systematic comparisons of Latinos, Asian Americans, Indigenous people and others.) Story continues Gross noted that the report does not tell just one story, but instead tells three separate stories that altogether paint a clearer picture of the challenges of the criminal justice system. When the false convictions are drilled down into categories, a staggering 69% of drug conviction exonerees are Black, compared with just 16% who are white. That means that despite studies showing that Black and white people use drugs at similar rates, innocent Black people are 19 times more likely to be convicted of drug crimes than innocent white people. And a lot of this, the report says, is up to the discretion of law enforcement. Because drug crimes are almost never reported to police, the police choose who to pursue for drug offenses and they choose to stop, search and arrest Black people several times more often than whites, the report says. Thats racial profiling. One of its deplorable consequences is drug crime convictions of innocent Black defendants. In sexual assault cases, the report notes, Black people are nearly eight times more likely than white people to be falsely convicted of rape, mainly because of higher misidentification of Black suspects by white victims. But, according to the report, these numbers appear to be on the decline. Since 2010, only two rape convictions caused by mistaken witness identifications have resulted in exonerations, thanks in large part to advanced technology, including DNA testing. A laboratory worker places samples of DNA. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) Murder convictions that ultimately led to exonerations of Black defendants, however, were nearly 50% more likely to include misconduct by police officers than murder exonerations of white defendants. The registry includes more than 250 innocent defendants, the majority of whom are Black, who had drugs deliberately planted on them by police officers. Yet its rare that police are held accountable for their wrongdoing. The report really shows the depth of the belief that race is a proxy for criminality in the criminal legal system, Christina Swarns, executive director of the Innocence Project, a nonprofit committed to exonerating individuals who have been wrongly convicted of crimes, told Yahoo News. Its hard to wrap your head around how much of a failure this is that we have jurisdictions that fail people this spectacularly, and then refuse to acknowledge it and then refuse to sort of make it right. The weight of all of that and the burden of trying to correct all of that is carried by my clients, which is insane, to be charitable. In the last 12 months alone, the Innocence Project has successfully worked to exonerate at least 10 people from false convictions, the majority of them Black men, according to Swarns, and the project is working on many others. But despite the fervor for celebrating these peoples freedom, the trauma theyre left with, she said, stays forever. [Exoneration] undermines a level of trauma thats hard to capture and convey, she said. When my clients come home, they face real posttraumatic stress from this experience. Theyre labeled with this badge of a felon and a convict and a murderer and a rapist for something they completely did not do. Half brothers Alvena Jennette, right, and Robert Hill leave Brooklyn Supreme Court after being exonerated in May 2014. (Joe Marino/N.Y. Daily News via Getty Images) Swarns said that in early 2017 she successfully defended a client, Duane Buck, who was sentenced to death in Texas in a case that made it all the way to the Supreme Court. In the case, a psychologist expert witness said Buck was prone to violence because he was Black, which received no objections in court. People were prepared to have him executed, because we lost in every single court before the United States Supreme Court, she said. Chief Justice John Roberts, in his opinion granting relief to Buck, wrote that the law punishes people for what they do and not who they are. Dispensing punishment on the basis of an immutable characteristic flatly contravenes this guiding principle. For Swarns, the case typified how the perceived link between race and criminality is so hard-wired in this country. This is a real perception thats hard to unmoor from our legal system, she said. From left, Oklahoma death row inmates John Hanson, Richard Fairchild and Richard Glossip are slated to be executed over the next two years; James Coddington was put to death in August. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections) Just last month Oklahoma began a blitz of 25 executions over 29 months, a figure many experts are calling horrifying, mainly because of the high likelihood that one or more of those inmates are innocent. Gross in 2016 co-authored a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, that found that at least 4.1% of all death row inmates are innocent. My general reaction is, where is the outrage? Gross said. People read about [these issues] and they say, Oh, thats terrible, like its happening in Turkey or in Indonesia. They say, Its not happening to us, its happening to Black people. I believe that if that happened to white people anywhere I think people would say, That could happen to me or that could happen to my son when hes in college or that could happen to people I know, he added. But if its Black people, I think most Americans say, Oh thats terrible, but its not us. _____ Cover thumbnail photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images (2) 6:18 p.m. update: Boston Police have located Jaslene Cirino. The Boston Police is canceling the missing person alert for Jaslene Cirino, she has been located. Thank you to all that assisted us sharing the information on social media. Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) September 27, 2022 Original article: Authorities are on the lookout for a girl who went missing Tuesday afternoon. Jaslene Cirino, 10, was last seen around 1:00 p.m. in the area of Bates Elementary School, 426 Beech Street in Roslindale, according to Boston Police. She was last seen wearing a teal shirt with gold butterflies and blue jeans. Anyone with information about Cirinos whereabouts is asked to contact police. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Susie Green, chief executive of Mermaids. A Telegraph investigation found that the charity has been discreetly sending binders to children as young as 13 and 14 - Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock Chest binding is potential child abuse, the Metropolitan Police has said, as concerns are raised over the actions of a trans charity. Scotland Yard has said that if police receive reports of a child using a breast binder, which is used to flatten the chest, officers will investigate it along with social services. It comes after an investigation by The Telegraph found that Mermaids has been discreetly sending binders to children as young as 13 and 14 whose parents will not let them use one. On its website, the Metropolitan Police describes the offence of breast ironing (also called breast flattening), which is a form of female genital mutilation most commonly practiced in Cameroon. The force describes it as child abuse and says that sometimes, an elastic belt, or binder, is used to stop them from growing. The description led to questions over how the practice differs from the use of binders on children who believe that they are trans. Ian Acheson, a former Home Office official and visiting professor at Staffordshire University School of Law, Policing and Forensics, said: I'm really confused. Is this not 'child abuse if the same process is advocated by a UK registered charity acting in collusion with a minor against the wishes of parents? 'Potential child abuse' According to guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service, breast ironing is an offence regardless of consent. It is not possible to consent to serious assault. A Metropolitan Police spokesman told The Telegraph: The supply of a breast binder on its own is not a criminal offence. However, if an individual case of someone using a breast binder or undergoing the practice of breast ironing is reported to police, it would be investigated jointly with social services as potential child abuse. The same approach would be taken regardless of culture or community. Mermaids has not commented directly on the findings of The Telegraphs investigation, but said it takes a harm reduction position that providing a binder and safety guidelines is preferable to the likely alternative of unsafe practices and/or continued or increasing dysphoria. Story continues Before it offers to send a binder, Mermaids staff alert children to a study by the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health - which found that 97 per cent of adult users experienced health impacts from binding including pain, rib fractures, changes to the spine, headaches, respiratory and skin infections and muscle wasting. According to the study, the most comprehensive to date: Commercial binders were the binding method most consistently associated with negative health outcomes, possibly because such binders have the potential to provide more compression than other binding methods. 'Shocking behaviour' On Tuesday, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, a Tory peer, said: I have been following very closely the Mermaids saga with mounting horror that this so-called charity is allowed by our laws to abuse the essential parental responsibility of health and welfare of their children. I will be ready to crowdfund myself for a court case if this shocking behaviour is allowed to continue unchecked. In the wake of The Telegraphs investigation, the Charity Commissions said it was aware of concerns about Mermaids service provision and are assessing the information to determine whether or not it is a matter for the regulator. Maya Forstater, the co-founder of Sex Matters, said: We have heard from parents, teachers and therapists who are concerned about the actions of Mermaids and we would encourage them to write directly to the Charity Commission and give evidence of their concerns. The family of a Brockton soldier who was found dead about 30 miles from Fort Hood in Texas in 2020 has filed a $25 million malpractice claim against the U.S. Army. Sgt. Elder Neves Fernandes, 23, of Brockton, was reported missing on Aug. 19, 2020. His body was found less than a week later, and his death was determined to be a suicide. In the lawsuit, Fernandes' family alleges that Darnall Army Medical Center provided "negligent care" after the soldier sought help. "The harassment he had been subjected to by his fellow soldiers after he had reported a sexual harassment incident had become intolerable," wrote the family's lawyers, Leonard Kesten and Michael Stefanilo, of Boston-based Brody, Hardoon, Perkins and Kesten LLP. U.S. Army Sgt. Elder Fernandes Army Criminal Investigations Division special agent Damon Phelps confirmed that Fernandes reported that someone had reached out and touched his buttocks. Phelps said an investigation was completed, no witnesses were found and the allegation was determined to be unsubstantiated. Officials declined to identify the accused, who they said took a polygraph test. Officials said in a previous statement that Fernandes was transferred to a different unit within the brigade following the report and they are unaware of reports of bullying or hazing. According to the family, Fernandes sought help from the medical center. "Sergeant Fernandes was sexually assaulted shortly after his arrival at Fort Hood, forever changing his outlook on the military, and his mental health. After only six months of being stationed at Fort Hood, on August 11, 2020, Fernandes became actively suicidal and was taken to Darnall by his wifes brother and best friend, as part of a concerted effort by his closest friends and family to ensure his safety and to protect him from any self-harm. He was immediately admitted as an inpatient psychiatric patient at Darnall," the family's claim states. 'A man of hope': Sgt. Elder Fernandes laid to rest in Brockton Story continues He was discharged less than a week later. "He subjectively reported remission of suicidal thoughts at discharge, which Darnall accepted without adequate precautions having been put into place to account for Fernandes past history of relapse," the claim states. "Darnall released Fernandes into the care of the very unit that was causing his suicidality, upon a simple blanket assurance by unit command that he would be provided with 'access' to care and observed." The family said Fernandes was given a ride to his car, which would not start, and then to a friend's home, where they say he was left alone on a stoop without access to the apartment. Ailina Fernandes, the mother of Sgt. Elder Fernandes, receives a hug from an US. Army Sgt. William Chanell at Melrose Cemetery on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020. "No safety checks at his residence were arranged by Darnall. Fernandes did not appear for his therapy appointment the following day and was last seen walking towards the Interstate on the evening of August 18th. On that same evening, he was reported AWOL to Darnell, but attempts to relay this information to the appropriate provider and personnel were interrupted by allegedly nonworking phone lines. "Darnell made no effort to locate him and did not inform the local police or his unit that he was at high risk for suicide and that a search must be initiated immediately. Instead, nothing was done to look for Sergeant Fernandes until his mother arrived and literally begged the Army and local police to look for him. Sadly, by the time he was found, it was too late," the family's attorneys wrote. More: Massachusetts lawmakers who toured Fort Hood found a 'toxic culture of fear, intimidation, harassment and indifference' Fernandes was found dead in Temple, Texas, on Aug. 25. His body was returned home to Brockton on Sept. 1, 2020. The lawyers wrote that the claim for $25 million is "to compensate them for the loss of Sergeant Fernandes life, his pain and suffering prior to death, their own pain and suffering and emotional distress resulting from his death, his lost earnings and earning potential, and his and their loss of enjoyment of life." Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Hewitt, a U.S. Army spokesperson, said, "Every single suicide is one tragedy too many. We remain saddened by the loss of Sgt. Elder Fernandes and for his family. The statute passed by Congress allows the filing of an administrative claim by the authorized representative of the deceased. The claim is being investigated by the U.S. Army Claims Service, but as a matter of policy, the Army does not disclose the particulars of ongoing claims investigations." This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Brockton family sues Army over soldier's death Palm Springs police chased a suspected burglar onto a Vons roof as part of an hourslong pursuit Monday. Palm Springs police arrested a suspected burglar Monday afternoon following an hourslong pursuit through a residential area, a grocery store and up a hillside. According to police, a homeowner on the 2100 block of Bob O Link Lane reported a possible burglary at their vacant rental property just before 11:30 a.m. after observing a man going in and out of the home on security camera footage. The chase began when police arrived on the scene and saw a man and woman attempting to flee. In a Facebook post, the Palm Springs Police Department said officers arrested the woman in the backyard of the house, while the man fled into the neighborhood. Police pursued the suspect, later identified as 31-year-old Julian Baez of Cathedral City, through the neighborhood and across East Palm Canyon Drive into the Rimrock Plaza shopping center. Palm Springs Police Department representatives were not able to immediately provide details on what Baez was suspected of stealing, but Lt. Gustavo Araiza said that he was wanted for a parole violation at the time and had had run-ins with Palm Springs police in the past related to burglaries. Araiza added that Baez was wearing only board shorts throughout the pursuit. According to police, Baez climbed onto the roof of the Rimrock Plaza Vons, prompting the grocery store's manager to issue an evacuation order for all customers, followed by a store lockdown. With the help of nearby construction workers, police reached the roof of the grocery store via a lift on the property and proceeded to search the store's crawl spaces and attic. Despite their efforts, Baez escaped the grocery store and fled up the nearby hillside. Palm Springs police called in assistance from a California Highway Patrol plane and a Riverside County Sheriff's Department helicopter to aid officers pursuing the suspected burglar up the hillside. As they closed in, police say Baez began throwing rocks and "large boulders" at them before wedging himself into a deep crevice like a chuckwalla. Story continues He was rooted out and arrested before being taken to a hospital for heat exhaustion and injuries to his feet due to his lack of shoes throughout the rough hillside pursuit, according to Araiza. The police lieutenant said none of the officers were injured by the thrown rocks, although two were treated for heat-related conditions on the scene. According to police, Baez will be transported to the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio following his treatment and booked on charges of residential burglary and resisting an officer. James B. Cutchin covers business in the Coachella Valley. Reach him at james.cutchin@desertsun.com. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs police chase suspected burglar through Vons grocery store Saudi Arabia has called on tourism leaders during the G20 Tourism Ministerial Meeting to join collaborative efforts to build a more resilient and sustainable future for the sector. The meeting, hosted under the 2022 Indonesian Presidency, brought together Ministers from across the globe under the theme Recover Together, Recover Stronger to address key issues arising in the aftermath of the pandemic. Steered by the theme, the G20 Bali Guidelines aim to provide a framework to advance the transformation of the tourism sector through policy action on MSMEs and communities, and focused on three priority issues, Global Health Architecture, Digital Transformation and Sustainable Energy Transition. Ahmed Al Khateeb, Saudi Arabias Minister of Tourism addressed the first meeting of private sector leaders at a G2O Tourism Ministers Meeting and expressed the importance of co-operation in shaping the future of the sector, alluding to the importance of public and private partnerships Saudi Arabia has a strong history of cross-sector collaboration, it is home to the first regional office of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and last year agreed plans to open the Tourism Academy in Riyadh to empower young people with the skills needed to flourish in the tourism sector. Supporting the recovery of the sector by investing in human capital is a key focus for the Kingdom, further demonstrated by the roll-out of internationally acclaimed Tourism Trailblazers program that is investing $100 million to train 100,000 young Saudis for different roles across the hospitality industry. In November of this year, the Kingdom will welcome the largest edition of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) which brings together leaders from across the world to discuss and address key priorities affecting the sector. During the G20 meeting, His Excellency also stressed the importance of sustainability and encouraged countries to support the work of the Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC). The STGC is the first global multi-country, multi-stakeholder coalition that will lead, accelerate and track the tourism sector's transition to net-zero emissions, driving action to protect nature and support communities. Al Khateeb said: Impacted so significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry must recover together if it is to seize this opportunity to do things differently and build a better future. Collaboration is key as we strive to secure a more resilient and sustainable future. Let us continue working together across sectors to drive our continued growth, let us continue to support one another to take collective action to shape a more resilient sector and let us build sustainability into the core of every decision we make. It is only together, that we can deliver the change the world requires producing an industry that is better able than ever before to create wealth and opportunity in the places where it is needed most. TradeArabia News Service Wenham Public Nurse Mari Beth Ting prepares a patient to receive the COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccine clinic, organized by the Greater Cape Ann Community Collaborative, at the Hamilton-Wenham Senior Center in Hamilton, Massachusetts, on Sept. 9. Louisiana reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 3,992 new cases. That's down 28.9% from the previous week's tally of 5,618 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19. Louisiana ranked 40th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 0.6% from the week before, with 401,433 cases reported. With 1.4% of the country's population, Louisiana had 0.99% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 17 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before. Johns Hopkins University has been getting data on an erratic schedule from Louisiana, skewing week-to-week comparisons. Caddo Parish reported 341 cases and two deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 421 cases and three deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 81,506 cases and 1,201 deaths. Bossier Parish reported 189 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 278 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 46,801 cases and 516 deaths. Webster Parish reported 64 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 82 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 13,599 cases and 193 deaths. De Soto Parish reported 23 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 33 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 9,012 cases and 141 deaths. Claiborne Parish reported 14 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 21 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 3,831 cases and 79 deaths. Red River Parish reported three cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported two cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 2,414 cases and 56 deaths. Story continues Across Louisiana, cases fell in 53 parishes, with the best declines in Orleans Parish, with 211 cases from 415 a week earlier; in Jefferson Parish, with 226 cases from 350; and in Ouachita Parish, with 199 cases from 299. a >> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases Within Louisiana, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Richland Parish with 263 cases per 100,000 per week; Bienville Parish with 257; and Tensas Parish with 254. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week. Adding the most new cases overall were Caddo Parish, with 341 cases; St. Tammany Parish, with 307 cases; and East Baton Rouge Parish, with 249. Weekly case counts rose in 10 parishes from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Lafourche, Richland and Pointe Coupee parishes. a In Louisiana, 32 a people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 54 people were reported dead. A total of 1,452,495 people in Louisiana have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 18,009 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 96,070,980 people have tested positive and 1,056,416 people have died. >> Track coronavirus cases across the United States Louisiana's COVID-19 hospital admissions falling USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Sept. 25. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state: Last week: 504 The week before that: 534 Four weeks ago: 798 Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation: Last week: 55,707 The week before that: 55,506 Four weeks ago: 64,244 Hospitals in 13 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 20 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 25 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows. The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Caddo Parish reported 341 additional COVID-19 cases this week California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, shown in April, warned the Temecula City Council against an attempt to override California law guaranteeing abortion access. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta warned there will be "legal action" against the Temecula City Council if it passes an abortion ban in the city in an attempt to override state law. Bonta's office sent a letter to the council Friday, stating that local legislation that goes against state law is considered "void." "The California Legislature and the California Supreme Court have declared time and again that California is a reproductive freedom state and that Californians have a right to access abortion," the letter read. "In 1981, the California Supreme Court held that 'all women in this state rich and poor alike possess a fundamental constitutional right to choose whether or not to bear a child.'" The letter stressed that Bonta "takes seriously his obligation to protect Californians' right to reproductive freedom" and won't "hesitate to take legal action should a local regulation conflict with California state law." Councilwoman Jessica Alexander, the director of Temeculas Birth Choice Center who proposed earlier this month a resolution barring abortions, asked the council to discuss the resolution at Tuesday's City Council meeting. Let Temecula be known as a safe haven, not as an abortion sanctuary. Let the world know that Temecula stands for life from womb to tomb, Alexander said during the Sept. 13 meeting. A resolution "declaring Temecula a sanctuary city for Temecula's unborn" is on the agenda for Tuesday night's meeting, but it will involve a discussion on whether to include the proposal on a future City Council agenda. State lawmakers have prepared in the last year for the potential fallout of Roe vs. Wade being overturned by fortifying Californias abortion protections and developing a plan for the state to become a sanctuary for those denied abortion services in other states. California voters will also decide Nov. 8 on Proposition 1, an amendment to the states Constitution guaranteeing the right to abortion and contraception. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released last month showed 7 in 10 California voters support the constitutional amendment. Story continues A similar antiabortion resolution was proposed last month by San Clemente City Councilman Steve Knoblock, but the council voted 3 to 1 to withdraw the proposal from an upcoming meetings agenda. Alexander said during the last Temecula City Council meeting that she opposes Assembly Bill 1666, which was signed into law in June and created liability protections for California abortion providers who provide care to patients traveling from areas where abortion is banned or access has been restricted. She also opposes Assembly Bill 2223, which would bar a coroner from holding an inquest after a fetal death, including in cases in which a stillbirth was believed to have been caused by drugs. It was passed and sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his approval two weeks ago. Members of Temeculas Birth Choice Center spoke out against abortion during the last council meeting. Were going to be bringing citizens from other states, possibly even Canada and Mexico, into California and our taxpayer dollars are going to pay for the slaughter of innocent human beings that we did not say we wanted, said Janette Chun, chief executive of Birth Choice. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. FAIRBURY In what is typically a joyous occasion, the students at Prairie Central High School saw there homecoming festivities interrupted by the Fairbury Police Saturday night. According to a Facebook post by Fairbury Police on Sunday, there was an apparent phone call made that requested officers to the high school, where the homecoming dance was taking place, because of an active shooter situation that left two people dead. Officers arrived on scene within two minutes and secured the building, the released noted. An investigation was conducted and concluded that an individual made a false 911 call to VCOM. An investigation on who made the false 911 call is underway. It was also stated in the release that felony charges will be forthcoming once a suspect is apprehended. If you hear any tips please email them to Detective Rafferty at trafferty@cityoffairbury.com. Authorities believe this to be an isolated incident. On Monday, Det. Tyler Rafferty told the Daily Leader and The Blade that the call came to VCOM on the nonemergency line. He said that the caller told the dispatcher that a nonpopular high school student did the shooting and that the two victims were friends of the caller. Also, the caller, according to Rafferty, said he was barricaded in a locker room. The response throughout Livingston County was quick as representatives from not only Fairbury Police but also from Dwight Police, Pontiac Police, Chenoa Police, Livingston County Sheriff Chatsworth Police, Colfax Police and Illinois State Police departments responded. The arrival of the police caught school authorities by surprise because there was no disturbance taking place or any incidents that resembled any sort of chaos. Rafferty said the students were evacuated from the gymnasium area to safe areas within the school and nobody was allowed in or out of the school while police made an investigative search. Prairie Central Superintendent Paula Crane The Leader and The Blade that she was quite happy with how administrators and chaperones dealt with the situation. Story continues Adults reacted in a way that was calm and the students fed off that and remained calm, Crane said. Crane also pointed out that much of the school was closed off anyway, so there wasn't much of an area outside of where the dance was taking place where something could have happened. It was nice how fast Fairbury Police reacted, Crane said of the FPD response. I'm thankful for (the immediate) reaction by the police. Crane noted that the dance was nearing its conclusion when the police arrived and that it ended when the police released everyone from the building. Rafferty said the investigation is still in the preliminary stages but that it has been concluded that the call was just a prank. He said that any charge expected to be brought will be a Class 3 felony. This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Prairie Central homecoming dance Fairbury Police Rafferty Welcome to The Hills Campaign Report, tracking all things related to the 2022 midterm elections. Starting this week, you can expect this newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday leading up to Novembers election. Email us tips and feedback: Max Greenwood (mgreenwood@thehill.com), Julia Manchester (jmanchester@thehill.com), and Caroline Vakil (cvakil@thehill.com). Someone forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here. Polls show ORourke trailing Abbott Multiple polls out today have incumbent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) leading Beto ORourke (D) fewer than 50 days out from Election Day. A new survey from Emerson College Polling and The Hill shows Abbott leading ORourke 50 percent to 42 percent. And polling from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation showed Abbott ahead of ORourke 51 percent to 44 percent. Those polls come after a survey earlier this month from the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler showed Abbott leading ORourke 47 percent to 38 percent. The recent data seems to match up with other polling out of the race. The Real Clear Politics polling average shows Abbott leading by 8 points while the nonpartisan Cook Political Report has labeled the race as likely Republican. Dems stymied: The recent polling could come as a relief to the Texas governor, who has grappled with a slew of shootings, including one at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, earlier this year, along with backlash over the state governments handling of a winter storm that severely damaged the states power grid last year. Meanwhile, it compounds Democratic frustrations in the state, as the party has repeatedly sought and failed to turn the state blue in recent years. ORourke himself came within 3 points of winning his Senate bid in 2018. However, the Emerson College/The Hill poll shows Abbott with a 55 percent favorability rating and ORourke with a 44 percent favorability rating. Story continues President Bidens approval rating in the state likely isnt doing ORourke any favors either. According to the Emerson College/The Hill poll, 56 percent of Texans say they disapprove of the job Biden is doing, while 37 percent approve. The Hills parent company Nexstar Media Group will host the first and only Texas gubernatorial debate on Friday from 7-8 p.m. CT/8-9 p.m. ET in Edinburgh, Texas. More 2024 chatter for Cheney Speaking of Texas, outgoing Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) made news over the weekend at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. Cheney repeated her vow to make sure former President Trump is not the GOPs 2024 presidential nominee, while also raising eyebrows when she said she will not be a Republican if Trump is the partys nominee. An indie darling?: The Hills Julia Manchester wrote about how the comments have led some to speculate about a possible Cheney independent bid come 2024. The congresswoman has said she is thinking about a potential presidential run, but she still remains a wildcard. Though third-party presidential campaigns have historically fallen flat, Cheneys high profile means an independent bid has the potential to scramble the political calculus as GOP primary voters increasingly nominate hard-right candidates for office, frustrating more moderate Republicans. But Cheney and her allies say that her quest to stop Trump and his endorsed candidates who deny the 2020 presidential election results is about more than her own political career. Cheney on 2024: I think its really important not to just immediately jump to the horse race. And I think about what we need as a country. And, you know, we have to step back from the abyss, Cheney said. And we have to recognize that, that theres this shift going on in our politics, that the tectonic plates are shifting. And that means that we all have a responsibility to say to ourselves, what are we going to do to make sure that our kids, you know, know what it means to have peaceful transfers of power? And what are we going to do to make sure that we dont contribute to the unraveling of the republic? And I think thats a much bigger question. Cheney will take center stage once again on Wednesday at what is likely to be the final hearing for the Jan. 6 House Select Committee, which Cheney co-chairs. POLL WATCH A new Insider Advantage/FOX 29 Philadelphia poll shows Pennsylvania Democrats at the top of the ballot leading their Republican opponents ahead of Election Day. The poll shows Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman leading GOP candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz 45 percent to 42 percent. Another eight percent said they were undecided. Meanwhile in the states gubernatorial race, Democrat Josh Shapiro leads with 52 percent support while Republican Doug Mastriano came in at 37 percent support. AD WATCH At the Senate level, the Senate Majority PAC launched an over $2 million ad campaign in North Carolina against Republican candidate Ted Budd. The spot, titled Major Disaster, accuses the GOP congressman of hurting North Carolina farmers while helping himself. Meanwhile, the Fetterman campaign released a new ad touting Fettermans record on crime and support for law enforcement. The 30 second spot titled Sherriff features Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny. At the gubernatorial level, Oregon Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek rolled out a new ad against Republican nominee Christine Drazan and Independent candidate Betsy Johnson titled Two Options ahead of tonights debate. The Republican Governors Association (RGA) Kansas 2022 PAC put out a new ad hitting Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly over her stance on transgender athletes. And at the House level, the committees were busy releasing their own ads in various districts on Tuesday. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) released ads in North Carolinas first congressional district, Oregons fourth congressional district, and Colorados eighth congressional district. Meanwhile, the National Republican Congressional Committee rolled out ads in Texas 15th congressional district, Californias 22nd congressional district, North Carolinas 13th congressional district, Virginias 7th congressional district, and Ohios first congressional district. Thats it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hills Campaign page for the latest news and coverage. See you tomorrow. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Canton Police CANTON Two men have been arrested in connection with an incident where a 24-year-old woman was shot several times early Tuesday morning in the 1100 block of Walnut Avenue NE. Police were called around 12:26 a.m. after the woman with multiple wounds was transported to a local hospital by a personal vehicle. The victim's injuries do not appear life threatening, Canton police Lt. Dennis Garren said. Police arrested a 23-year-old and 21-year-old. The 23-year-old has been charged or will be charged with attempted murder and felonious assault, Garren wrote in an email Tuesday afternoon. The 21-year-old has been charged with complicity to commit felonious assault, he added. Both have been booked into the Stark County Jail. Garren declined to provide more details about what led to the shooting, adding that the incident is still under investigation. Staff writer Robert Wang contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on The Independent: Canton PD: Woman shot multiple times, person of interest in custody SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Three decades ago, finding opportunities to learn Cantonese in San Francisco wasn't hard. But today in the city that's drawn Cantonese speakers from South China for over 150 years, there's fear that political and social upheaval are diminishing a language that is a cultural touchstone. The Chinese government's push for wider use of Mandarin already the national language, spoken by 1 billion people along with the country's changing migration patterns have contributed to an undeniable shift away from Cantonese. It's a change that has reverberated from East to West. From the United States to the United Kingdom and beyond, there's worry among native and second-generation Cantonese speakers about preserving the language, spoken by some 85 million people worldwide. They fear their children can't communicate with elderly relatives. Or worse, the Cantonese language and culture won't survive another generation. Ceci Pang, a former kindergarten teacher, runs classes for children at Rainbow Seeds Cantonese school in London. Most of her students are from families with mixed heritage. Many (parents) want their kids to be able to communicate with their grandparents, she said. Its just so hard here, there are so few learning resources and lots of parents get frustrated and give up. Thats usually the point the parents come to me. In the U.K., as in the U.S., most primary and secondary schools offering Chinese teach Mandarin. Thats left many migrant families struggling to find ways to pass on their heritage. Some turn to social media for advice and camaraderie a Facebook group called Cantonese Parents has thousands of members sharing tips on everything from Cantonese books to YouTube videos. Some organize local Cantonese family meet-ups, while others seek out Cantonese tutors. Pang said she hasnt noticed many explicit concerns about Cantonese dying as a language. But, she said, that may change as more Hong Kong migrants settle in the U.K. Britain opened its doors last year in response to Chinas crackdown on civil liberties in the city. Since then, thousands of Hong Kong families have fled to the U.K. Story continues I think in a few years, when more and more Hong Kong families settle here, there may be more parents worried about their children rejecting Cantonese altogether as they become so immersed in the English environment, she said. In China, concerns have been voiced for years about a decline in Cantonese, spoken in southeastern China's Guangdong province and the cities of Hong Kong and Macao. Promoting Mandarin was written into China's constitution in1982. A suggestion in 2010 to increase Mandarin programs on a Cantonese TV channel caused such a public backlash in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, that the government was forced to give reassurance that Mandarin would not replace Cantonese. Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton, is considered the birthplace of Cantonese. But today it is a hub of manufacturing and tech jobs attracting Mandarin speakers. Nowadays many young people can only understand Cantonese but dont speak the language. While Cantonese is not dominant in peoples lives as it used to be, its too early to say the language is in crisis in Guangzhou. Its still spoken in homes and among friends, and there are Cantonese TV channels as well as Cantonese announcements on public transport. In contrast, Cantonese has maintained its primacy in Hong Kong. It's the citys lingua franca, used by 90% of the population, said Lau Chaak-ming, assistant professor of linguistics at the Education University of Hong Kong. Everyone who comes to Hong Kong needs to learn some Cantonese. And in order to succeed in most of the careers in Hong Kong, you need to speak fluent Cantonese, said Lau, who started an online Cantonese dictionary in 2014 to help people better learn the language. While most classes in Hong Kong's schools are still taught in Cantonese, many have added Mandarin to their curriculum as Beijing tries to strengthen its grip over the semi-autonomous city. The arrival of mainland Chinese for work or education has also boosted Mandarin, and more Hong Kong residents have learned to speak Mandarin to do business with the mainland. But such changes have not eroded Cantonese, Lau said. Cantonese has never been stronger in Hong Kong, he said. That's a far cry from the U.S., where even in San Francisco there are few opportunities to pursue Cantonese in high school and beyond. The San Francisco Unified School District has Cantonese and Mandarin immersion programs for preK-8th grades. But in high school, Mandarin is the only option for studying Chinese for foreign language credits. In 1990, when Grace Yu was hired at City College of San Francisco, there were four Cantonese instructors and a dozen Cantonese classes offered each year. But for the past six years, Yu has been the lone Cantonese professor, teaching only three classes per year. Vacancies were not replaced with Cantonese instructors. Instead they hired Mandarin instructors, said Yu. She described her situation as kind of lonely." Still, there is a glimmer of hope. One of City College's trustees who grew up speaking Cantonese proposed a resolution to preserve the Cantonese program with at least one instructor. The board approved it this spring. Cantonese classes will not be canceled if I retire, Yu said. Like Yu, Sik Lee Dennig was the lone Cantonese lecturer at Stanford University until she retired last year. After more than 20 years, the school opted not to renew her contract, which effectively eliminated the Cantonese language program. A save Cantonese petition prompted an endowment. But the university would only restore half the classes. That prompted Dennig to strike out on her own and start a nonprofit, the Cantonese Alliance, to help teachers and interested learners worldwide. The online resource includes podcasts, videos and handouts, as well as Cantonese pop music and comic books. Cantonese is not a dialect of Mandarin" as some people mistakenly think, Dennig said recently over a Cantonese dim sum meal of pork and shrimp dumplings. Cantonese can be especially challenging to learn. In writing, Mandarin and Cantonese use the same Chinese characters. But spoken, the tonal languages where even the subtlest word inflection can change the meaning are not similar or interchangeable. Mandarin has four basic tones. Cantonese has nine, which can be difficult to differentiate. Meanwhile, independent Chinese schools are helping fill the void as Cantonese-speaking communities grow and not just in Chinatowns. Aleyda Poe has been overseeing the Cantonese kindergarten at Merit Chinese School in Plano, Texas, for over a decade. Initially a parent who enrolled her two sons to pass along her cultural roots, she is now doing that for other families. I hope its not a dying language," Poe said. But you know, well do our part and see how long theyll take us. ____ Tang reported from Phoenix. Hui reported from London. Associated Press news assistant Caroline Chen in Beijing and video producer Katie Tam in Hong Kong contributed to this report. Surveillance footage captured Anton Lunyk inside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The Justice Department CNN revealed the identity of a Capitol rioter who received a call from the White House on Jan. 6. Anton Lunyk, 26, pleaded guilty to one riot-related charge earlier this year. According to CNN, Lunyk claims to not remember getting the call. The Capitol rioter who received a perplexing nine-second phone call from inside the White House on the afternoon of January 6, 2021, has been identified by CNN. Anton Lunyk, 26, had already left the Capitol premises that day when his phone rang at 4:34 p.m., according to records reviewed by the outlet. The call came from the White House's publicly available phone number just minutes after former President Donald Trump posted a video encouraging his supporters to "go home," telling them, "we love you, you're very special," CNN reported. The revelation of Lunyk's identity as the mysterious call recipient comes after a former technical advisor to the the House Select Committee investigating the insurrection said Friday that he traced a call between a rioter and the White House switchboard during the attack. "You get a real 'a-ha' moment when you see that the White House switchboard had connected to a rioter's phone while it's happening," Denver Riggleman, a former Republican Congressman, whose unauthorized "behind-the-scenes" book on the probe is set to be published later this week, told 60 Minutes. "That's a big, pretty big 'a-ha' moment." Members of the January 6 House Select Committee have since downplayed Riggleman's role with the panel as well as the importance of the phone call suggesting that Riggleman is "overstating" the incident. An anonymous source told CNN that the committee is still investigating the nature of the phone call, but has thus far been unable to uncover who made it or why. What has been made clear this week, however, is who received the call: Anton Lunyk who claims he doesn't remember getting the ring and said he doesn't know anyone who worked in the Trump White House, according to CNN's sources. Story continues Anton Lunyk. The Justice Department Lunyk, of Brooklyn, New York, was initially charged with five counts related to his role in the riot, including violent entry, disorderly and disruptive conduct, and entering or remaining in a restricted building. But in April, he pleaded guilty to just one count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building and was sentenced to 12 months of probation, 60 hours of community service, and a restitution fine in September. Prosecutors said Lunyk traveled to Washington, DC, the evening before the riot with two of his friends, Francis Connor and Antonio Ferrigno. The three men first attended the "Stop the Steal" rally before joining the mob of Trump supporters in walking to the US Capitol, where the crowd laid siege to the building. Photos of Lunyk inside the Capitol show him wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat, and videos from the scene captured Lunyk and his friends laughing and recording on their cellphones while in the building, according to court documents. A sentencing memorandum revealed that Lunyk and his friends made violent jokes about Democratic lawmakers in the days after the November 2020 election, alleging that the presidency had been "stolen." "If they take my money I'm gonna shoot Pelosi," Lunyk said in a message to Connor, Ferrigno, and others on January 12, 2021. The trio spent approximately 10 minutes inside the Capitol before exiting through a window, prosecutors said. They had been out of the building for nearly an hour and a half when Lunyk's phone rang, according to CNN, and photographic evidence suggests the friends were already on their way back to New York when the call came through. There is no mention of the phone call in any court records related to Lunyk's case, and an attorney for him did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider By Joan Faus BARCELONA (Reuters) - Catalonia will push the Spanish government for a new agreement on holding a binding referendum on the region's potential independence that would be recognised both by Spain and the international community, its separatist leader said on Tuesday. The Spanish government, however, rejected the proposal. "They have those maximalist aspirations, which are absolutely not shared by the government," spokesperson Isabel Rodriguez told reporters. But both governments would keep talking to "normalize" their relationship, she said. The so-called "clarity agreement" proposal comes shortly before the fifth anniversary of Catalonia's unauthorized independence referendum and at a critical time for its separatist movement, which is marred by divisions between moderates and radicals that have threatened to fracture the coalition government. Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has favoured dialogue with Catalonia to rebuild relations after a chaotic unilateral bid for independence in 2017 plunged Spain into its worst political crisis in years. It remains, however, staunchly opposed to independence and has hitherto ruled out a legal referendum. The Spanish constitution blocks the country's break up but some scholars and Catalan separatists argue there could be legal room for a vote if the Spanish government agrees. A similar proposal by Catalonia in 2012 was firmly rejected by the then conservative government in Madrid. The wealthy northeastern region held a referendum five years later despite a ban by the courts, and issued a short-lived unilateral independence declaration. Catalan government head Pere Aragones told the regional parliament that for another referendum, Catalonia needed Madrid's buy-in. "I have no doubt this is the fastest and most efficient way to hold another vote because it originates from the lessons learned from 2017 and overcomes the difficulties that did not allow us to implement the result five years ago," he said. Story continues He called his proposal the "most inclusive, democratic and explainable to the international community", and said he would seek the support of all Catalonia's political actors. Aragones has engaged in talks with Madrid and his party, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, has frequently lent its votes to the socialist-led minority government in congress. Around 52% of Catalans oppose independence and 41% back it, according to a June poll. (Reporting by Joan Faus, additional reporting by Inti Landauro, editing by Aislinn Laing and Angus MacSwan) Dozens of churchgoers came together to pray for the end of the war in Ukraine at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton on Sunday afternoon. Seven months after Russia first invaded Ukraine, congregants gathered at the Cathedral of Saint Peter to join Father Myron Myronyuk, Pastor of Saint Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church of Scranton and Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, to pray for the end of the war with Russia, which has claimed thousands of casualties thus far. Painting a vivid picture of the atrocities suffered by soldiers and civilians alike, Fr. Myronyuk who has several family members, including his twin brother, still living in Ukraine and fighting in the military implored those in attendance to continue praying and advocating for the survival of Ukraine and its people. "Today, churches, schools, hospitals, homes, orphanages, cultural centers, libraries, roads, bridges, parks are being destroyed, and the list goes on. There are no more homes to go back to, no more churches to pray in, no more families to visit. The old and weak walk aimlessly looking for water and food," Fr. Myronyuk said. "But you know, because of your holy prayers, Ukraine is still standing." Father Myron Myronyk of Saint Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church of Scranton speaks with a member of the choir following the prayer service on Sunday. Coming at a pivotal time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a partial military mobilization that may call up to 300,000 reservists, all the while calling out the west for their support of Ukraine, those with family and friends in Ukraine have struggled as the invasion draws on. But even in the face of fear and trepidation, those in attendance at the service kept a hopeful and positive disposition.Fr. Myronyuk noted "the love for God, the love of country, culture, freedom, democracy, and the love for family and neighbors" as the definitive factors that keep Ukraine "so positively charged in the fight for freedom, in its relentless pursuit of independence." Bishop Bambera also called the crowd to pray for the people of Ukraine, for peace and the laying down of weapons, for those in fear, and for those with power over war and peace. Story continues "Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at-risk and in fear, that you would hold and protect them. We pray in the name of Jesus, Prince of Peace," Bishop Bambera said. Of interest:Ukrainian Homestead celebrates Independence Day of Ukraine in the Poconos Praying to the Lady of Kyiv for peace Many individuals attended the prayer service for an end to the war in Ukraine at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in traditional Ukrainian garb. Throughout the proceedings, the music of the Choir of Saints Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church of Olyphant filled the cathedral, from the entrance to the closing hymn. Attendees, many of whom came dressed in traditional Ukrainian garb, passionately followed along in prayer, keeping family, friends, and fellow Ukrainians in mind as they called for an end to the war. Diane Wolf and Milfred Migloria, both parishioners of Saint Vladimir, came to the service to show love and support to their brethren during trying times. "We just came to represent St. Vladimir's and Father Myron. So a whole bunch of us came to represent and pray," Wolf said. Migloria reminisced of hearing stories from her in-laws her husband was Ukrainian and their tales of the home country, saying the support from fellow churchgoers was "beautiful," "I'm so grateful," Migloria said. In the concluding prayer, Bishop Bambera called to the crowd for the end of violence in Ukraine, with all those in attendance responding in unison. "For victory over evil, we pray. Lord have mercy. For courage over fear, we pray. Christ have mercy. For everlasting peace, we pray. Lord, have mercy," Bishop Bambera and the congregation said. "Our Lady of Ukraine, pray for us. Our Lady of Kyiv, pray for us. Our Lady of Pochiv, pray for us." More:Here are ways to help Ukraine if you're in northeast Pa. Look for the helpers:Poconos orphan advocate working to help coordinate evacuations from Ukraine Walking in solidarity with those in Ukraine While the closing hymn, "America, the Beautiful," may have surprised or confused some church members, Bishop Bambera assured them it was a fitting choice. "Father Myronyuk specifically asked that that song be sung, to remind all of us just how grateful he and his brothers and sisters in Ukraine are for the support and the prayers of the people of America," Bishop Bambera said, adding that walking in solidarity with those of Ukraine was the very least that could be done. Following the service, Fr. Myronyuk bid farewell to everyone as the exited the cathedral, some contributing to a goodwill offering for the people of Ukraine, basking in the uplifting nature of the prayers they shared together. Outside, Fr. Myronyuk mused on camaraderie and fellowship he has seen from America, including those with connections to Ukraine, and others who may not even have a link to the country, allowing Ukrainians to forge on. "We have 3,500 American soldiers in Ukraine fighting that's a big amount. That's why I'm grateful for everyone. Even in the beginning, they gave us a lot of support: we were able to send to Ukraine tons of different food and clothes and military stuff, because of the people. They support us. They are so generous. That's why we were able to continue to support our people, especially the military in Ukraine," Fr. Myronyuk said. In particular, he applauded the support of all those who came to the prayer service, reiterating his message that it truly makes a difference that others are supporting the end of a conflict that claimed so many lives. "That was great that I saw them, because they are truly trying to help other people, and that's amazing that this afternoon, they can go in a restaurant or they (can) come to pray, because they are truly concerned that they wanted to see no more war. And that's why they are here today. I am grateful to God that they came and prayed together," Fr. Myronyuk said. This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Churchgoers gather to pray, call for end to war in Ukraine in Scranton flydubai, the Dubai-based airline, is continuing to grow its operations in Uzbekistan with the launch of a twice-weekly service to Namangan International Airport (NMA). The carriers inaugural flight touched down in Namangan to a traditional water cannon salute as part of a warm welcome by local officials, airport representatives and members of the media. flydubai is the first UAE carrier to offer direct flights between Dubai and Namangan, the third largest city in Uzbekistan after Samarkand and Tashkent. Flights will operate from Terminal 2, Dubai International (DXB) twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: I would like to take this opportunity to thank the local authorities and the Khokim of Namangan, Mr Shavkatjon Abdurazakov for their support in launching our operations in Namangan. We are committed to growing links with Uzbekistan and we are confident that these new direct air links will further stimulate travel and trade opportunities between our two countries. We look forward to enabling more passengers from the UAE and the region to visit this historically and culturally rich country through any of the three gateways in Uzbekistan. In 2019 the UAE and Uzbekistan expanded their partnership that would enhance government modernisation and promote relations between the two nations, closely collaborating on sectors including education, finance, food security and agriculture. Uzbekistan is known for its iconic Islamic architectural landmarks, its location on the east-west Silk Road and it is one of the world's biggest producers of cotton. Passengers from Uzbekistan can enjoy easier access to Dubai on flydubais direct flights, as well as more convenient connections beyond Dubai on the carriers network including the GCC. Flights will operate from Terminal 2, Dubai International (DXB) to Namangan International Airport (NMA) twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Emirates will codeshare on this route, providing passengers with more options for connections through Dubais international aviation hub. TradeArabia News Service (Bloomberg) -- Celsius Network Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Alex Mashinsky, who founded the embattled crypto startup and served as pitchman for the sky-high yields it promised to its thousands of investors, is stepping down as the company works its way through bankruptcy. The Hoboken, NJ-based company said it appointed Chief Financial Officer Chris Ferraro, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. veteran, to the role of chief restructuring officer and interim CEO. The leadership change represents a major shift for the company, which filed for bankruptcy protection in July. Celsius was one of the most notable casualties in this years crypto market meltdown, which started with the implosion of the TerraUSD algorithmic stablecoin in May and went on to engulf crypto lender Voyager Digital Holdings Inc., hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and others across the industry while handing investors billions of dollars in losses. Mashinsky, 56, who co-founded Celsius in 2017, said that he will continue working to help the community unite behind a plan that will provide the best outcome for all creditors which is what I have been doing since the company filed for bankruptcy, according to a statement from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, the law firm representing Mashinsky. The statement included an excerpt from Mashinskys resignation letter, which said that he regrets that his role as CEO has become an increasing distraction. Under Mashinskys leadership, Celsius became mired in an increasing number of controversies. The company froze user withdrawals in June as it experienced liquidity issues, faced a lawsuit in July that called the firm a Ponzi scheme and disclosed a $1.19 billion deficit in its bankruptcy filing later that month. Along with Gemini Trust Co. and Voyager, Celsius faced scrutiny earlier this year from the US Securities and Exchange Commission over whether products that pay interest on crypto deposits should be registered as securities. Story continues The startup has also faced the wrath of its customers. A chat group on the Telegram messaging app called Celsius Custody Accts has gained more than 1,300 members after being promoted on Reddit in July. The groups members have contributed funds to secure legal representation in an effort to recover the money they invested on the Celsius platform. The company sought to return $50 million to users who were locked out of their Celsius accounts, but thats just a fraction of the more than $200 million worth of crypto trapped on the platform. Read more: Crypto Reddit Mobilizes After Being Pummeled by Bankruptcies The company eyed a comeback as Mashinsky laid out plans to pivot to crypto custody during an internal meeting earlier this month, according to a report from The New York Times. Following Tuesdays announcement, the price of the Celsius token fell 4% to $1.40, according to CoinMarketCap. Mashinsky doesnt have any credibility to push through any reorganization plans, given his track record, Mike Alfred, a private investor who co-founded BrightScope Inc. and who has been a notable critic of Celsius even before it filed for bankruptcy, said. In order to get a reorganization plan approved, he probably has to walk away. Celsiuss official committee of unsecured creditors said in a statement filed in court today that after conducting an investigation it concluded that allowing Mr. Mashinsky to remain as CEO was unacceptable and not in the best interests of the estates, and that new executive leadership was required. For the avoidance of any doubt, the Committee intends to pursue any actionable claims against Mr. Mashinsky, other insiders, and any related parties for the benefit of all account holders and unsecured creditors, the filing said. Read more: Crypto Shakeout Engulfs the C-Suite as CEOs Start Leaving (1) Mashinsky joins a growing list of crypto executives who have resigned or announced plans to step down during the markets downdraft. Jesse Powell, the often controversial co-founder of crypto exchange Kraken, announced last week that he was giving up the role of CEO to become chairman. In August, crypto brokerage Genesiss CEO, Michael Moro, and Alameda Research co-CEO Sam Trabucco gave up their titles. Michael Saylor, the long-time CEO of MicroStrategy Inc., stepped down after the software maker and Bitcoin buyer reported more than $1 billion quarterly loss related to the cryptocurrencys massive price plunge. Also Tuesday, Brett Harrison, president of crypto exchange FTX US, announced plans of his own to step down. (Adds creditors statement) More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. A lockdown has ended at Central State University after a search for a suspect with a gun. Around 8 p.m. on social media the university said There is a report of an active shooter on CSU main campus in Wilberforce, Ohio. RUN, HIDE, FIGHT! About 20 minutes later the school deleted it and put out an updated statement saying police were searching for an armed suspect. The Greene County Sheriffs Office said there is not an active shooter on campus but during a fight on campus a gun was reported to be seen. Shots were not fired, according to the sheriffs office. Unfortunately, when the alert went out, it generated an automatic message that went to Facebook that said there was an active shooter. There was not an active shooter, Debbie Alberico, interim public relations director for the university said. >> Man arrested after running from police, on to Wright Patterson Air Force Base property DAngelo Taylor, vice president for student affairs said that whenever there is an report of a gun on campus an automatic alert goes out reporting an active shooter. Taylor said the university will later update with specific details of what is happening. Some students said they were confused by the alarm. We thought it was a fire alarm at first, Amaya Richards, a freshman said. >> Father, son catch catalytic converter thief on their own The alarm said the subject with a gun is a black male wearing a dark color hoodie, which was scary to read for some. It made my heart jump a little, Philip Hamilton, a freshman said. Alberico said she apologizes for any panic the original message may have caused. I apologize for the error that came out on Facebook. Again, it was auto-generated and we need to get that fixed, Alberico said. Students said this problem should have never happened. I would say very problematic because its making situations more serious than it really needs to be, Jordan Minniefield said. I feel like a lot of people dont make it out of certain types of situations like this, Chase Span said. Story continues Were a very caring campus ... we never want anything like this to happen, Taylor said. Around 11 p.m., officials said the lockdown was lifted. No suspects have been taken into custody at this time. A judge dismissed charges on Tuesday against a 49-year-old Alvord man who has been declared innocent years after he was convicted of sexual assault in Fort Worth. 371st District Judge Ryan Hill issued the order regarding Roger Earl Hawkins after the states highest criminal court ruled Hawkins was innocent of his 1993 conviction. Hawkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child on Dec. 16, 1996, according to Tarrant County criminal court records. The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorneys Offices Conviction Integrity Unit worked with the court-appointed attorney for Hawkins, Adam Arrington of Fort Worth, to review and reinvestigate Hawkins conviction. This is about setting the record straight, Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Sharen Wilson said in a Tuesday news release. The new investigation determined Hawkins was innocent of the aggravated sexual assault charges alleged against him. The alleged crime occurred on Nov. 15, 1991, in Fort Worth, according to court records. Hawkins was 19 years old at that time. The Conviction Integrity Unit and Arrington also determined that Hawkins due process rights were violated because prosecutors in 1993 withheld favorable material evidence, including alibi information, and that his previous attorney provided him ineffective assistance of counsel. On Aug. 24, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Hawkins had established by clear and convincing evidence that he is innocent. The court vacated his conviction in this case. Judge Hill agreed that Hawkins is entitled to relief on all grounds. The criminal justice system failed Mr. Hawkins, Conviction Integrity Unit Chief Steven Conder said in a Tuesday news release. He was wrongfully convicted because there was no thorough investigation of his case or defense of him. Mr. Hawkins life was fundamentally altered by mistakes made and Im proud we were able to correct them. A new trend in shopping is popping up online and in stores that lets you buy products now and pay later without having to use a credit card or a loan, but a local lawmaker says that shouldnt be allowed for firearms. Whether youre shopping online for a mattress, clothing, or for your hobby, you may have noticed something new at the checkout: buy now, pay later. What usually happens is after a soft credit check or bank account verification, a third-party company will front the money to the retailer, and you make payments. Democrat Rep. Alma Adams of North Carolinas 12th District suggested Tuesday that there should be limits to using buy now, pay later services. Folks who shouldnt have weapons may have an opportunity to get them, Adams said. I dont think its really responsible. MORE: GOP AGs push Visa, Mastercard, AmEx not to track gun sales Adams says the option makes it too convenient when it comes to purchasing firearms. She and four other members of Congress sent a letter asking for answers from Credova, a company that has partnered with gun retailers to use the buy now, pay later system. She says consumers who use the option are younger, and they often have limited income. So what youre really doing is giving these people an opportunity to obtain these weapons, Adams said. They cant afford to buy them right now. We used to have a layaway plan. Larry Hyatt, the owner of Hyatt Gun Shop, says he has his own layaway program, but he was approached with an opportunity to partner with Credova. He turned the offer down, but he still supports the concept. Well indirectly, if you use a credit card, thats what youre doing. Youre buying it now and youre paying it later, Hyatt said. WATCH: Gun sales spike on Black Friday for self defense, local expert says Hyatt says with background checks and waiting periods, he doubts that the program would allow a weapon to fall into the wrong hands. Helping people afford a nice gun thats reliable for self-protection or hobbies is a good thing, Hyatt said. Story continues Adams disagrees, pointing to a marketing campaign on grabagun.com that says Shoot now, pay later. I think thats the problem we have in the country right now: accessibility, Adams said. Apple is expected to launch its own buy now, pay later program on Apple Pay in the next year, but its not known if gun purchases would be eligible. (WATCH BELOW: Parent brings loaded gun into open house at Butler HS in Matthews) It was a terrifying turn of events for a Charlotte native who was in a small boat for tourists that sank near the Galapagos Islands. Jesse Tuttle Reports are that at least four people drowned Sunday night nearly 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. ALSO READ: Iconic Darwins Arch loses its top in Galapagos Islands Jesse Tuttle shot a video from inside the boat when she and other tourists and Ecuadorians were being ferried between the Galapagos Islands. The video shows the boat taking on water before it sank with about 40 people onboard. In a matter of like seconds, like, it went from OK, OK, were bucketing out some of the water, to, Oh, were going down, Tuttle told Channel 9. Tuttle, a Myers Park High School and UNC Chapel Hill graduate, said she was on vacation and trying to get to a main island when the boat ran out of gas and its three engines failed. Another boat arrived with fuel, but Tuttle said it was too late. The waves had just gotten so, so big around us that water was sloshing in on all sides, Tuttle said. Tuttle anticipated that the boat would go under so she put her belongings in a plastic bag and jumped. There were no life jackets onboard but she still tried to help others. There were only seat cushions floating out from the boat, Tuttle said. I tried my best to swim around and hand some people some more floating cushions, because there were families that were trying to hang on to one another. >>Watch Channel 9s LIVE STREAM wherever you are, at this link A nearby boat maneuvered through the dark, cold water and saved about 20 people, including Tuttle. She said the boat couldnt fit anymore onboard, so those left behind had to float in the water until another boat arrived and rescued them. However, at least four people drowned and officials were still searching for more, according to reports. I just cant imagine how it was for the people that were with their families that got separated and the people that unfortunately drowned or are missing, Tuttle said. Story continues Her father, Fred Tuttle, is grateful his daughter is OK. Its a miracle that the boat came when it did because if the boat had sunk before they spotted where they were, theres no way in the world they would have been found, Fred Tuttle said. Jesse Tuttle said shes doing OK and shes currently traveling to Panama, where her family has a home. VIDEO: Iconic Darwins Arch loses its top in Galapagos Islands Listen carefully, ask questions, and don't minimize your child's concerns. (Photo: triloks via Getty Images) Listen carefully, ask questions, and don't minimize your child's concerns. (Photo: triloks via Getty Images) No parent is prepared to hear the words, I wish I were dead, or I dont want to be alive anymore. When a child says something so shocking, it can be tempting to believe they dont really understand what theyre saying, or they couldnt possibly be serious. But if your child expresses thoughts of suicide, the most important thing you can do is to listen and take them seriously. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for youth ages 10-14, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The pandemic has taken an enormous toll on the mental health of children and teens. The proportion of youth visits to the emergency room that were for mental health rose 31% between 2019 and 2020. For teen girls ages 12-17, ER visits for suspected suicide attempts rose 50.6% from February and March 2019 to the same period in 2021. If your child comes to you with thoughts of suicide, experts recommend you take these steps. First, take a breath. Experts say if your child says something that makes you believe they are thinking about suicide, the first thing you need to do is pause and take a deep breath. Its important to take that pause, said Ann-Louise Lockhart, a pediatric psychologist who practices in Texas. If your 12-year-old feels comfortable sharing that with you, that is an honor and its so important to be present. As a parent, we dont want to shut down the lines of communication by reacting too strongly or being dismissive. Before you react, use this moment to take stock of your own emotions. Dr. Shairi Turner, a pediatrician and the chief health officer at Crisis Text Line, said, Check in with your own emotions and remember that your child made the decision to come to you with this information because you are a trusted caregiver. Also, remember they are talking to you and are safe for this immediate moment. Story continues Turner also recommends saying something like, It took a lot of courage for you to tell me you are having these thoughts. Im here with you and want to keep you safe. Ask questions to assess their level of risk. Try to figure out if they are saying this in reaction to something that has just happened or if they have been having these thoughts for some time. Its possible they are having what Lockhart calls morbid thoughts thoughts about death without the desire to die. Turner suggests using open-ended questions, such as: Can you tell me more about that? I want to be sure I understand, or When you say ____, can you tell me what that means to you? With a young child, it may also make sense to ask what they think death means, or where they think they would go if they were to die. If they do express wanting to die, ask them the following questions to try to assess the severity of the thoughts. Have you had these thoughts before? How often do you have these thoughts? How long have you had these thoughts? When you have these thoughts, have you also thought about a plan? Its very important that you ask your child if they have a plan to hurt themselves, and, if they do, that you contact their pediatrician or mental health provider right away. Ideally, even before a crisis arises, your child should know they can talk to you about death and dying, or tell you they are having upsetting thoughts. Many times, children are afraid or concerned about a parents reaction or that this will be an unbearable situation for the parent, Turner said. Let them know these thoughts can come out of the blue and you wont be shocked. Instead, let them know that you want to hear about what is going on in their mind so that the child does not have to face these thoughts alone. Avoid saying anything that might shut them down. Stay away from phrases like, Dont say that! or Why would you say that? said Lockhart. You dont want them to feel judged or ashamed for coming to you with these thoughts. Try to avoid minimizing their concerns. What may seem minor to you can feel overwhelming to a young person, Turner said. She also suggested avoiding platitudes like, Everything will be fine or Youll figure it out. Your child is in distress and they are seeking help. Enlist help. Based on the severity of your childs thoughts, you may also want to reach out for assistance. If your childs responses to your questions involve thoughts about death that have been ongoing, frequent, recurring and intrusive, then seeking out professional help is indicated, Lockhart said. Both Lockhart and Turner recommended reaching out to anyone in your network who could be of assistance in finding mental health care for your child. This should include your pediatrician and your childs guidance counselor, as well as other community members who might be able to make recommendations. If your child made a plan for suicide, you should get help immediately, taking your child to the emergency room if necessary. The same applies if they have access to weapons or pills, or cannot agree to stay safe for now, said Turner. If they are debilitated and cannot be calmed by your efforts, the ER may also be necessary. Even if your child does not have a plan to hurt themselves, you want to act quickly. Although suicidal thoughts and statements can come and go, once your child has come to you, it is likely they have been experiencing those thoughts for a while, Lockhart said. It is very important to remember that talking to your child about suicidal thoughts does not make them more likely to attempt suicide. Data tells us that asking about feelings of death or dying does not cause a child to try to take their life and actually creates a safe space for your child to honestly share how they are feeling, Turner said. Let your child know you are there for them no matter what they are thinking or feeling. Make sure they are also aware of other resources in the community they can access. Turner suggests you put the Crisis Text Line, 741741, into your childs phone so they can access it at any time by themselves. They can also call the mental health emergency number, 988. We are experiencing a global mental health epidemic, and, as a parent, you are not alone in the challenges of navigating this crisis, Turner said. If you or someone you know needs help, dial 988 or call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also get support via text by visiting suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of resources. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... A Chinese national has been found guilty of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government by a federal jury in Chicago. Ji Chaoqun, 31, was found guilty of the charge, as well as one count of making false statements to the U.S. Army. Chaoqun remained in regular contact with Chinese government officials while living and working in Chicago. Chaoqun kept Chinese officials abreast of information regarding individuals targeted for recruitment by the Jiangsu Province Ministry of State Security. CHINA RECRUITED TOP SCIENTISTS FROM LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY TO AID MILITARY, REPORT SAYS Delegates wear face masks for the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, May 21, 2020. AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool "Ji, a Chinese citizen residing in Chicago, was tasked by Xu Yanjun, a Deputy Division Director within the Ministry of State Security, with providing an intelligence officer with biographical information on certain individuals for possible recruitment by the JSSD," the Department of Justice wrote in its report. ARRESTED CARDINAL REPEATEDLY WARNED HOLY SEE OF CHINESE PERSECUTION, CONDEMNED VATICAN'S SECRETARY OF STATE "This tasking was part of an effort by the Jiangsu provincial department to obtain access to advanced aerospace and satellite technologies being developed by companies within the U.S.," the report continued. "Xu was convicted last year in the Southern District of Ohio of conspiracy and attempting to commit economic espionage and theft of trade secrets." The Chinese national was able to enlist in 2016 via the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program an initiative allowing U.S. military offices to hire legal aliens deemed sufficiently useful for service. US MILITARY LEADERS WARN CHINA COULD MILITARIZE THE PORTS IT OWNS IN LATIN AMERICA "In his application to participate in the MAVNI program, Ji falsely stated that he had not had contact with a foreign government within the past seven years," the Department of Justice wrote. "In a subsequent interview with a U.S. Army officer, Ji again failed to disclose his relationship and contacts with a foreign intelligence officer." Story continues Chinese espionage remains one of the most prominent threats to national security as officials continue investigating past and ongoing infiltration by Chinese spies. China has engaged in a decades-long campaign to insert and recruit allied researchers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, according to a report from information security firm Strider Technologies. Longtime Fox News anchor Chris Wallace continues to struggle to find his footing at CNN, which he joined in 2022 after almost 20 years with Fox, pulling in just over 400,000 viewers in the debut of his new show, Whos Talking to Chris Wallace. Wallaces new program reached 401,000 viewers, according to Nielsen ratings, down 29 percent from the average. The veteran newsman drew in 44,000 viewers in the all-important, advertiser-prized 25-to-54 demographic, down 64 percent from the average program. At Fox, Wallace was among the most recognizable personalities, hosting Fox News Sunday from 2003 until late last year. Wallace moderated the third and final presidential debated between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in 2016, as well as the first debate between Trump and Joe Biden in 2020. Wallace was initially meant to become one of the faces of CNN+, his new employers streaming service, but the venture was shuttered in April, the same month that it launched. Whos Talking was subsequently redone to appear weekly on CNN and HBO Max, instead of four days a week on the defunct CNN+. Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy, Foxs program opposite Wallace on Sunday, garnered 1.3 million viewers. Wallace reportedly left the network in part over disagreement with other network personalities approach to covering Trumps efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, culminating in the January 6 Capitol riot. According to the Associated Press, he turned down a contract extension and pay bump to join CNN. During his last episode of Fox News Sunday, Wallace professed to be excited to try something new, to go beyond politics to all the things Im interested in, but was careful to note that at Fox, he had been free to report to the best of my ability, to cover the stories I think are important, to hold our countrys leaders to account. CNN has continued to restructure its programming since new CEO Chris Licht took the reins earlier this year. Since Lichts arrival, CNN has moved on from longtime media critic Brian Stelter, moved Don Lemon out of his longtime nighttime slot to the morning, and handed Jake Tapper a spot in primetime. More from National Review A Muslim woman deconstructs how dominant majoritarian narratives reconstruct Indian Muslim women as the perpetual Other. Misria Shaik Ali | TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles This is an article, an opinion, a perspective or a rant by a Muslim woman who is fed up. She is caught in the deep crisis of belonging to the land she is in/ofborn into, grew up in, the land she professed her religion, wore and did not wear hijab, walked around freely and at most times, cautious of the piercing stares that construct her as the other. This is an article by a Muslim woman who is continually constructed as othernot just by the proponents of Hindu Nation but also those well-intended saviours from the majority community. Accepting Muslims/Islam? Dushyant Dave, representing the Hijabi Students, on September 19, 2022, in the Supreme Court of India said, India gave birth to Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism. Islam came here without conquering and we accepted. A series of questions then emerge: First, on India: Where is the land where Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism emerged? And is it the India of 1947? Of 1971? The Indian subcontinent? Bharat of 1947? The Bharat of the Vedic era? Akand Bharat? Maybe Sadat Hassan Manto would say wherever Toba Tek Singh is! Second, on we accepted: who is the we who have accepted Islam in India and its Muslims who practice it? When such a statement was invoked in the Supreme Court, with a whole nation as spectators, a chilling discursive spectacle stroke the precise chord in the cultural psyche of India: the Muslim as the other. This discursive spectacle has set fire to the Muslim body and the toxic fumes of anti-Muslim hatred are being inhaled by a nation that is suffering as it breathes. This discursive spectacle frames the Muslim as Other, an outsider whom Indian religions have so graciously accepted, even worse have tolerated forever. The rhetoric like we have accepted the Muslims reproduces and repeats itself, solidifying the cultural imaginary of Muslim otherness/alterity to India. The rhetoric of acceptance and tolerance sediments the liberal collective consciousness in India. Friendly as they may seem, the ways in which they relate to Muslim in/of India is through othering. So, in liberal saviors collective consciousness, Muslims remain accepted others but still others. The Muslim alterity is the spectre that haunts independent India and Bharat. Now it seems Hijab needs to be not only accepted as an essential practice of Islam by the court but also by proponents of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism so that their religious sentiments wont be hurt on seeing a Hijabi student in their class. This rant explores the sites where the presence of Muslims was imagined to oppress and hurt people of a religion. Barely this is a critique of Dushyant Dave or what he as an individual said: very few people like himself are even calling a spade, a spade [the woman who is ranting here has not done as much as Mr Dave has done against the marginalization of Muslim in/of India]. Dushyant Dave, Vrinda Grover, and CPIM Brinda Karat (when it involves poor Muslims) are a few people who are not cloaking the violence against Muslims in/of India as violence against a minority (as seen in articles by renowned social activists) or violence against a particular community (like Jamaat-e-Islami Hind does). Second of all, a narrow discursive imagination that pertains to the historiography of India, distressed by the collective cultural psyche of the nation is emerging in the Hijab hearingaround the grounds of this emergence, I pen down this critique. Making of India in Hijab row On September 8, 2022, a Nizamuddin (advocate) was simply voicing a thought that has come up in the minds of the many spectators of the Hijab row: why is the turban allowed in schools, and not the Hijab? Justice Gupta hearing the argument responded, please do not compare with Sikhism. It has been completely ingrained in Indian culture. Be it, the judges who are hearing the case or the advocate representing the Hijabi students, Muslim otherness to India, Indian culture and Indianness is often invoked without critical thought. Here, an India as primarily differentiated from its Muslims emerges. Some laud Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism for gracefully accepting Islam that did not come with the intent of conquestIslams acceptance in India are used as anecdotes to romanticize Brahmic/Indic religions as fundamentally accepting and tolerating (while it was Cheraman Perumal in modern day Kerala who sought to explore Islam subsequent to his dream of moon-splitting, and trade with Arabians was carried out to make Hindu empire wealthy and glorious; the acceptance was politico-economic and cultural). On the other hand, Hindu Postcolonial Studies [HPS] and its related political groups state that Hindus have been the victims of at least two distinct eras of colonization, the Islamic and the European. Against this, HPS calls for an intellectual decolonization. In either group, the Muslim remains the other or even worse, reduced to an anecdote that supplements the Dharmic religions supreme ideals of tolerance and acceptance. Whose othering, should one be angered by? Those who reduce Muslim existence in India as nothing more than a signifier of the virtues of acceptance, tolerance or glory embedded in Dharmic faiths, or those who construct us as colonizers? Keep anger aside, let us first consider the othering of Muslims as colonizers. Muslims as surrogate colonizers and oppressors? Mimasha Pandit goes to the emotional roots of the Swadeshi Nationalist Movement in her book Performing Nationhood. One of the stories that she tells to unravel the hidden transcript of resistance in the Swadeshi movement complicates, if not refutes, the imaginary Islamic colonization of India. The plays by Swadeshi theatre artists desired to create a collective conscience against oppression perpetuated by the British. However, the artists were not able to make direct reference to British Raj as oppressors as the Raj was watching over these plays. If the artists were to construct the British as oppressors, the artists knew that their well-intended work for making the lay people understand oppression would be censored and prohibited. The assumed intellectual superiority amongst the artists as experts on oppression was obvious. The Swadeshi theatre artists eventually found a surrogate for the British oppressors in the Muslim and Muslim became the scapegoat. The many audiences/oppressed who watched these plays did not comprehend that the representation of Muslims as oppressors is merely an allusion. They treated this as the truth rather than as a myth that was used to create a collective conscience against oppression. Even the well-intended making of the collective national conscience othered the Muslim as early as the turn of the 20th century making Indias islamophobic roots deeper than often described. As a surrogate to weave the language and imaginary of oppression, the Muslim came to be the colonizer, the oppressor, and the outsider in this collective conscience-making resistance project. Sangisetti Srinivas narrates another myth of liberation from Muslim oppressors that the BJP has actively constructed in Hyderabad (in quotation to denote not the current metropolitan city of Hyderabad) since 1998. Since 1998, BJP has called for September 17 when Hyderabad was merged into the Union of India (in 1948), to be recognized as a liberation day and as a state festival. The police action in Hyderabad is often described as a request by Nizam Osman Ali Khan to (the then) Indian troops for maintaining law and order. However, Srinivas claims that the police action was a ploy to merge Hyderabad forcefully into the Union of India. It was planned and orchestrated by Sadar Vallabhai Patel and executed by his envoy KM Munshi. The BJP continues to sell the day as the day the Nizam surrendered to Patel and as the day when Hyderabad was liberated from the shackles of Muslim rule. Whats worse? The Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxists) have been furthering this right-wing narrative since 1988, for electoral gains. As against this narrative, a committee appointed by Nehrus government, led by Pandit Sunderlal, found that over 27,000 to 40,000 Muslims were killed by Indian troops in the police action, that is, targeted excesses against common Muslims were committed. In this episode, liberation as invoked by BJP means not just liberation from Muslim rule but also liberation simultaneously meant targeted excesses against common Muslims. So, if for Hindu Postcolonial Studies, decolonization of India means liberation from Muslim rule (as if it even exists today!), for BJP Karyakartas, liberation means carrying out targeted excesses against common Muslims. Double pronged, every act of lynching a Muslim is then imagined as a liberation from the oppressor by the Hindu counterparts and remember the construction of Muslims as surrogate oppressor has its roots also in Swadeshi theatre. The Hindu who lynches/assaults the Muslim actively imagines himself/herself as a victim of the oppressors who does not belong inherently to India, so outsiders. The imagination of India as a land indigenous or the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism is shared by liberal saviours, the right-wing, the communists and many many followers of these religions. Is Hinduism indigenous to India? Articles are being written on why/how Hinduism should be considered the worlds largest indigenous religion. This is even as tribal peoples of India are demanding that they should not be categorized as Hindus like the British did and the Sarna Dharma code should be recognized outside of the religious fold of Hinduism. [This raises the question, are Hindus in/of India or indigenous to India? Which are the other communities that are in/of India?] Furthering this narrative are dualisms that arose in (Arya Samaj and Hindu Mahasabhas) thought collectives that othered Muslims and Christians namely, Indic vs Abrahamic, Abrahamic vs Syncretic. Even progressive intellectuals and scholars uncritically reinforce these dualisms (or may be fully aware of what they are doing). In many academic accounts, Abrahamization has framed as anti-syncretic and so detestable; an unpleasant process through which the Indian populace is losing its syncretism and polytheism (I am too guilty of this until I figured the sentiments of Muslim alterity that underlie it!). By pointing out these mythical narrative constructions and the dualisms they reproduce, I am not only calling for historic accounts of an Indian past which actively stops othering Muslims but I am remaining terrorized about the future. Soon, an Indian genomic reference grid will be produced by the Indian Institute of Sciences Centre for Brain Research under the Indian Genome Project based on the genes of merely 10,000 Indians. The Ministry of Culture has committed itself to creating a DNA database of Indian tribal population and to trace migratory history of the Indian population. Such DNA profiling of indigenous peoples has been criticized by Indigenous Scholar Kim TallBear: to use genomics within processes of recognition will always be simultaneously nonneutral, political acts and science-based governance decisions with profound implications. If these mythical narratives are rationalized through (politically driven) scientific research in the climate of the CAA-NRC (Citizenship Amendment Act-National Register of Citizenship) and the absence of documents, would Muslims be mandated to give their genes to acquire citizenship? (See also: https://www.thehindu.com/news/ national/scientists-condemn- project-to-study-racial- purity-of-indian-population/ article65514733.ece) What if the Indian genomic reference grid doesnt have any place of Muslims who are in/of India? Oh, I forget! For the liberal saviours, the right-wing, the communists and many many followers of so-called Indic/Dharmic religions, Muslims are always already the colonizer, the oppressor, the outsiders!!! Muslim alterity spread across the political spectrum constraints Muslims belonging to the lands in India where their houses, villages and their kin (be they Hindu or Muslim) live. Even if there is no place for a Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Jain or for that matter Christian in the reference grid, the 2019 amendment to the Citizenship Act helps to ensure that they are provided citizenship because their religions originated in India. How else could this country be if the majority focused less on mythopoeic origin stories and more on the critical realities of the people in/of India? Misria Shaik Ali is a Doctoral Candidate at the Department of Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She tweets at @SAmisria. Since July, former Hampton County banker Russell Laffitte has been indicted three separate times by a federal grand jury on allegations of wire and bank fraud. On Tuesday morning, Laffittes lawyers filed a motion alleging that the last indictment, issued Sept. 20 while similar to the first two violated an earlier promise by federal prosecutors to only make one change in the second indictment, called a superceding indictment, which was issued Aug. 16. But prosecutors actually made numerous changes, altering more than 16 paragraphs with edits, most of them substantive, the motion said. The earlier indictments contained inaccuracies that impact Mr. Laffittes ability to present a defense, the motion said. The Tuesday motion urges U.S. Judge Richard Gergel to toss out the entire case against Laffitte by dismissing the final superceding indictment. At this point, its continued re-presentation of this case and the improper evidence provided by the Government has tainted the Grand Jury, said the motion by Laffitte lawyers Bart Daniel and Matt Austin. Those changes expanded the scope of the charges against Mr. Laffitte by calling into question more transactions in which he was allegedly involved, the motion said. Laffittes lawyers originally filed their motion to dismiss Monday afternoon. That Monday motion specifically said that if the judge dismisses the final superceding indictment, the earlier charges against Laffitte will stand. This motion does not seek dismissal of all the charges against Mr. Laffitte. It merely seeks dismissal of the Second Superseding Indictment for the reasons set forth above, the Monday motion said. But Tuesday morning, Laffittes lawyers refiled their motion to dismiss, deleting the language that said they were not seeking all charges to be dismissed and making it clear they wanted all three indictments thrown out. Laffittes lawyers declined comment. The U.S. Attorneys office had no immediate comment. Prosecutors will likely file a written response. Story continues A hearing on the matter would have to be set by Gergel. Laffitte, an alleged accomplice of disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh in orchestrating the fraudulent misuse of millions of dollars at Laffittes former bank, is now scheduled to go on trial in Charleston in the second week of November. Murdaughs involvement in the Laffittes alleged fraud is mentioned throughout all three indictments. But Murdaugh is not identified by name, only as an unidentified bank customer who worked with Laffitte in mishandling millions of dollars at the bank. Other court records, however, identify Murdaugh by name. Laffitte, 51, faces multiple federal counts of fraud in alleged schemes involving the misuse of some $3 million in funds from Palmetto State Bank, where he was CEO until being fired in early January. The maximum penalty for being convicted on the fraud charges is 30 years in prison. The schemes at the Hampton bank involved money in various Palmetto State Bank conservatorships funded by legal settlements, as well as the alleged misuse of a $500,000 line of credit Laffitte gave Murdaugh for personal use that was labeled farm loan. As a bank official who oversaw the money in various conservatorships, Laffitte was supposed to manage the money for the benefit of those for whom the money was intended. Instead, Laffitte and Murdaugh used much of the money for their own benefit, including taking out personal loans, indictments said. In the Monday motion, Laffittes lawyers said various government editing revisions in its most recent indictment demonstrated that the government didnt understand the states complex requirements governing guardians, conservators and personal representatives. If the Government is going to hold Mr. Laffitte accountable for knowing the intricacies of the South Carolina Probate Code, then the Court should hold the Government to the same standard, the motion said. Laffitte, who like Murdaugh grew up in a privileged and well-to-do Hampton County family, is a childhood friend of Murdaughs. For years, Murdaugh was a regular customer at Laffittes bank, keeping bank accounts there and getting numerous loans. In a Sept. 6 court hearing in Charleston, Laffitte testified that Murdaugh had borrowed millions of dollars and paid back millions of dollars over the years. And we never had you know, he might have been slow sometimes but he always paid us. Murdaugh is being held without bond in the Richland County jail as he awaits trial in Colleton County on charges he killed his wife and son in June 2021. He has also been charged by a state grand jury with some 80 counts of stealing from fellow lawyers, associates and clients more than $8.9 million. Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect that Laffittes lawyers filed an amended motion Tuesday morning to their Monday motion that said earlier charges against Laffitte should stand. Tuesdays motion makes clear that Laffittes lawyers want all charges dismissed. Andrew Kung Group Friends of the late Colonel Sanders are selling his former home and a restaurant he set up. The restaurant, the Claudia Sanders Dinner House, is named after his wife and sells fried chicken. The NY Post reported that the potential sale is causing a legal headache for KFC's parent company. A huge property that the late KFC founder Colonel Harland Sanders once lived in is on the market, and it's causing a legal headache for KFC's owner. The property in Shelbyville, Kentucky, includes a house known as Blackwood Hall and an almost 25,000-square-foot restaurant called the Claudia Sanders Dinner House, which is named after the Colonel's wife. The site also used to serve as KFC headquarters. Claudia Sanders Dinner House It hit the market in June and its owners are looking for $9 million for the two buildings, as well as some KFC memorabilia and intellectual property rights. The Colonel's image is owned by KFC, but the buyer of the Shelbyville property will get the trademark and likeness of Claudia Sanders. "This sale does not impact KFC, and KFC has no interest in the sale of the Claudia Sanders Dinner House and property in Shelbyville, Kentucky," a KFC spokesperson told Insider. But the property's current owners family friends of the Sanders have fielded multiple offers from other prospective buyers, The New York Post reported. The couple still run the restaurant and live in the house but want to retire, per the publication. But some of the potential buyers, which include restaurant groups and serial entrepreneurs, want to franchise the Claudia Sanders restaurant and open new sites elsewhere, Jonathan Klunk, a realtor at Six Degrees Real Estate, told The Post. Days after the properties were added to the market, KFC parent company Yum! Brands submitted a patent filing seeking to reinforce protections of KFC trademarks, including "Colonel Sanders' Original Recipe" and "It's Finger Lickin' Good," The Post reported. "KFC routinely makes required filings to ensure the continued registration of its US trademark registrations," a spokesperson told Insider. "Additionally, KFC regularly files new applications for registration which may contain iconic taglines, such as Finger Lickin' Good, or images, such as the Colonel, to protect new designs utilized in KFC restaurants. The timing of these routine filings is unrelated." Story continues "We are selling Claudia and she doesn't have as much name recognition as her husband, but a buyer can't describe her without mentioning both her husband and KFC," Klunk told The Post. He said he was warning prospective buyers that if they wanted to use the Claudia Sanders brand, they would need to have a "team of intellectual property lawyers." "Whoever is going to take on the Claudia Sanders name is probably in for an uphill and expensive battle," Brad D. Rose, a trademark attorney at Pryor Cashman, told The Post. The Sanders moved into Blackwood Hall in 1959 and the Colonel sold KFC five years later. In 1968, he opened the Claudia Sanders Dinner House, which the couple ran the restaurant themselves until they retired in the 1970s, when it was taken over by the current owners. The Colonel died in 1980 and Claudia died in 1994. The Claudia Sanders Dinner House describes itself as a "local landmark" serving "the finest in country cooking." The original building burned down in 1999 but was rebuilt with expanded facilities. The restaurant said its largest banquet room is called the Colonel's Quarters and can hold up to 1,000 standing guests. Andrew Kung Group Like KFC, its menu consists largely of fried chicken, including all-you-can-eat options. It also sells steak, catfish, soups, and a pecan and chocolate dessert billed as "Claudia's Kentucky Pie." But Klunk told The Post that though there are "a lot of similarities" between the restaurants' menus, the Claudia Sanders Dinner House has "no connection to the KFC recipe." Klunk said he's considering splitting the bundle into separate listings to attract more buyers. Memorabilia included with the lot include Colonel Sanders' watch and bible, the first KFC flag and bucket, and a letter President Richard Nixon sent to Sanders in 1972. Read the original article on Business Insider A Colorado man has been convicted in the murder of a 21-year-old woman and the attempted murder of her then-27- year-old boyfriend, who were both shot more than two years ago while trying to encourage their dog to poop. Michael Close was found guilty of one count of first degree murder after deliberation and one count of first degree murder extreme indifference in the 2020 slaying of Isabella Bella Joy Thallas, the Denver County District Attorney announced Thursday, as well as of two counts of attempt to commit first degree murder and two counts of first degree assault for the attacks on her and Darian Simon. Hed previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but the jury found him culpable. Police were dispatched to 3001 North Fox Street in the Ballpark neighborhood of Denver after receiving multiple reports of shots fired at 11:40 a.m. on June 10, 2020, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Oxygen.com. Upon arrival, authorities found Thallas dead and Simon suffering from gunshot wounds to his legs. Prosecutors said the shooting followed a verbal altercation about Simon's dog. Isabella Thallas Michael Close Fb Pd The couple were walking Simon's pitbull mix, Rocky, in a then-vacant lot adjacent to Closes home near Coors Field when Simon gave his dog a command to poop, per charging documents. Close yelled at the couple through the window asking if the victim was going to train the dog or just yell at it. The couple had turned away and were cleaning up the dog's poop when Close opened fire on on them with a high-powered semi-automatic AK-47 rifle fitted with an illegal high-capacity magazine through his ground-floor window. Of the 24 bullets he reportedly fired, one hit Thallas in the back, killing her, and two struck Simon (one in the legs and one in the buttocks). RELATED: 'Shes Bad, Shes Bad, Shes Bad': House Cleaner Kidnaps And Kills Rich Scientist Close then took several guns and fled the scene in a Mercedes crossover vehicle, leaving a voicemail for a friend in which he said, Dude, I fked up really fking bad. Theres no going back from this now" and calling his girlfriend to tell her he was sorry. He was pulled over in Pine, Colorado 40 miles from his home shortly after 1:00 p.m. that day. Story continues Video: 'Riverdale' actor Ryan Grantham sentenced to life for killing mother In January 2021, officials disclosed that the AK-47 initially misidentified as an AR-15 used in the attack belonged to a Denver police officer with whom Close was friends, according to KMGH-TV; he was the also the person for whom Close left the voice mail acknowledging he'd done something wrong. The firearm, which wasnt issued by the Denver Police Department, was allegedly taken by Close without the officers knowledge. The officer resigned from the force in March 2021, according to the Washington Post. (The Thallas family sued him and his insurance company settled the case for his policy maximum of $500,000, according to The Atlantic.) The police department declined to bring charges against the officer. Michael Close Pd The site where Thallas was gunned down has since been turned into a park and memorial site for the slain Colorado woman. Her middle name is Joy, Thallas mother Ana Thallas said at her daughters funeral in June 2020, CBS News reported. I chose that middle name so that she would bring joy to the people in her life." Simon told Denver NBC affiliate KUSA in July that he views the construction of park as a way to have some control over the space where the shooting occurred. I think whenever you lose control of a situation you want to take control back, he told the station. Kimberly Kessler featured in Snapped I am delighted that we were able to get justice for Isabella Thallas and Darian Simon, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said in a statement about the verdict. Moreover, I am extremely proud of our prosecution team for their excellent work. Close is being held at Denvers Downtown Detention Center, according to online jail records obtained by Oxygen.com. Hes scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 4, separate court records show. Close faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. The company behind a popular South End brewery, cafe and taphouse has bought property in North End, according to Mark Middlesworth, the owner of event and production company Extravaganza. The Charlotte Observer first reported the sale along North Tryon Street. The Durban Group, which is behind The Suffolk Punch and Suffolk Punch Brewing off Griffith Street and the Charlotte Rail Trail, bought the property for roughly $7.3 million, Channel 9 learned Tuesday. ALSO READ: One of NCs largest craft breweries charts multimillion-dollar expansion The property also includes a building that is currently home to Extravaganza. Middlesworth said he is working to find a new location for his business. The Durban Group said its an ever-expanding family of companies, including real estate development, startup incubator, venture capital/private equity firm, retail company and more. Middlesworth said he wants to move his business to a smaller location, but doesnt know where. This space, basically, they are offering 10 times what you paid for it. When that kind of money is flying around you just cant walk away from it, Middlesworth said. Channel 9 reached out to the Durban Group this morning in regards to their future plans and were waiting to hear back. (WATCH BELOW: Lawsuit: Sycamore says Stone Brewery isnt doing enough to cover labels in fight over trademark) Digital World has been struggling to get its buyout deal with Trump's Truth Social over the line. Allison Joyce/Getty Images, Justin Sullivan/Getty Image The company trying to buy Trump's Truth Social has changed its HQ address to a UPS mailbox. Digital World Acquisition previously had its HQ address listed as a WeWork building in Miami. The blank-check company's proposed deal with Truth Social has been plagued by setbacks. The company that's trying to buy President Trump's Truth Social social-media app has switched its headquarters address from a WeWork building to a mailbox at a UPS Store. Digital World Acquisition, a so-called "blank-check" company that's struggling to seal a deal for Truth Social, has now listed its HQ address as 3109 Grand Avenue, Miami the same address as a UPS Store that's sat between a nail salon and an Italian seafood restaurant in the city's Coconut Grove neighborhood, Google Maps shows. The Financial Times, which first reported on the change of HQ address, said a staff member at the UPS Store confirmed that unit 450, which is specified in Digital World's new HQ address, was one of its mailboxes. Trump announced early in 2021 that he was creating his own social-media app after Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube barred him in the wake of the Capitol siege on January 6, 2021. Trump has repeatedly criticized the platforms for removing his accounts and accused them of violating his First Amendment rights. A buyout deal between Digital World and Truth Social was first announced in October 2021, and was originally set to close in September 2022. But the deal has been delayed, which Trump Media and Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, blames on the SEC postponing a review into the merger. Digital World's "address of principal executive offices" has since August 19 been listed in Securities and Exchange Commission filings as the same address as the UPS store in Coconut Grove. Prior to that, the address was a WeWork building on SW 7th Street in downtown Miami. On its SEC page and its website, Digital World's address is listed as a building on the outskirts of San Diego. Story continues Digital World said in a quarterly report that it pays $15,000 a month to another business affiliated with its CEO Patrick Orlando for office space, utilities, and admin services "as the company may require from time to time," the Financial Times first reported. In an SEC filing Friday, Digital World said investors were pulling $138.5 million of the roughly $1 billion the company had secured for the deal to merge with Trump Media and Technology. Investors who signed up to the deal were able to back out if it wasn't completed by September 20. Digital World did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside of regular working hours. As well as investors walking away from Digital World and the SEC reviewing the merger, Truth Social has been besieged by a range of other problems. Since the app launched in February, Trump has amassed 4.1 million followers, compared with 88 million on Twitter before he was banned. The app isn't available on the Google Play store yet. A research group found it had been removing or limiting posts, including anti-Trump content or supporting abortion rights, and executives have been leaving Truth Social's parent company. Read the original article on Business Insider By Gabriel Stargardter FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil (Reuters) - The day after a Workers Party (PT) official was shot dead by a supporter of far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in July, the Federal Police guarding his leftist campaign rival sent a classified memo to senior colleagues across Brazil. They were calling for backup. In the document seen by Reuters, the officers warned that former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's safety was threatened by "radicalized opponents," increasingly armed with deadly weapons due to Bolsonaro's loosening of gun controls. They asked the top Federal Police officers in each state to reinforce Lula campaign events with bulletproof cars, tactical teams, drones and intelligence reports. "The current scenario is unprecedented in the history of Brazilian democracy and increases the challenge of guaranteeing the physical safety of the candidate," they wrote. The memo is part of a series of red alerts about political violence in the run-up to the Oct. 2 election, Brazil's most fraught since the end of military rule in 1985. Its warnings about an armed and angry resistance to the PT also offer a glimpse of the lingering challenges Lula may face if, as polls suggest, he beats Bolsonaro next month. The nationalist former soldier has demonized Lula and his allies as criminal "communists." He has sought military backing for his unfounded claims of voter fraud, which are undermining faith in Brazil's voting system. And he has urged his followers to arm themselves to guard against any electoral chicanery. Some of them have responded by stockpiling guns and lashing out at leftists during a tense campaign marred by high-profile cases of violence. In their July 11 memo, Lula's federal security team cited several "acts of violence and hostility," including the murder a day earlier of Marcelo Arruda. A local PT treasurer from southern Brazil, he was shot dead at his Lula-themed birthday party by a man shouting support for Bolsonaro. Story continues Such violence is not unprecedented in Brazilian elections. State and municipal candidates are often attacked by local rivals and Bolsonaro nearly died in 2018 when he was stabbed by a mentally disturbed man on the campaign trail. Yet Bolsonaro has also overseen a sharp rise in political attacks. Electoral courts flagged a jump in assaults on candidates from the 2018 election to the 2020 cycle. Federal university UNIRIO's Electoral Investigation Group reported 214 politicized assaults in the first half of 2022, up 23% compared with the same period in 2020. Critics accuse Bolsonaro of arming his supporters and incentivizing violence against his leftist foes. This month, a Bolsonarista killed and nearly decapitated a Lula supporter in rural Brazil during a heated political debate, police reported. On Saturday, a man walked into a bar in northeastern Brazil and shouted "Who here is a Lula voter?" before stabbing to death the man who responded, "I am," according to Ceara state police. Not all incidents have been fatal. In at least two cases, Bolsonaristas were arrested for launching suspected fecal matter at Lula events. Police have sought to investigate one Bolsonaro supporter for fantasizing online about the murder of Lula and another for using the leftist's image for target practice. With just days to go until the first-round vote, the country is on edge. Nearly 70% of Brazilians say they are scared of being physically assaulted because of their political or party preference, according to a Datafolha poll released this month. "I don't wear red in public anymore," said Gabriel Oliveira, referring to the PT's trademark color, at a recent Lula campaign event in the southern Bolsonaro stronghold of Florianopolis. "The people who support Bolsonaro are very aggressive." Bolsonaro's office did not respond to a request for comment. POST-ELECTION FEARS If the lead-up to the vote is tense, many fret its aftermath could be worse. After months of sowing doubts about Brazil's voting system, many fear Bolsonaro will follow former U.S. President Donald Trump's strategy of refusing to accept defeat. Brazil's democratic institutions, which are regularly lambasted by the president and his allies, are girding for the prospect of chaotic and potentially violent demonstrations. In July, Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin said Brazil "may experience an episode even more severe than the Jan. 6 (attack last year) on the U.S. Capitol." This month, in a decision upheld by a majority of the court, he suspended some of Bolsonaro's executive orders that have contributed to a surge in gun ownership, citing "the risk of political violence." Federal prosecutors in Sao Paulo have also expressed concern about the sixfold increase in weapons permits for hunters and hobbyists - known as CACs - since Bolsonaro began loosening firearms laws in 2019. In July, they warned the deluge of guns inspired "well-founded fears about what could happen amid possible violent protests" around the election. Reuters reported this month that Brazilian gangsters are increasingly using legally acquired CAC weapons to commit crimes. But it also seems ordinary Brazilians are stockpiling firearms in case Lula wins and fulfills a vow to "disarm" Brazil. Handgun imports to Brazil climbed this year to their highest value since records began in 1997, trade data show. Nearly $57 million worth of revolvers and pistols have been imported so far in 2022, up from less than $12 million in all of 2018. "I believe in the (stockpiling) hypothesis because we've seen it in other countries, and other elections," said Bruno Langeani, a firearms expert at the Sou da Paz Institute, citing an uptick in arms sales during the 2020 U.S. campaign. TURBULENT DECADE Once seen as a rising superpower, Brazil has suffered a turbulent decade. A vast corruption scandal jailed Lula until his convictions were overturned. A record economic slump drove the impeachment of his successor, Dilma Rousseff. Bolsonaro's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic added to one of the world's worst death tolls. Ten years of troubles have resulted in stark political polarization - embodied by Lula and Bolsonaro - that has become increasingly menacing on the campaign trail. In July, a man threw a homemade explosive device filled with feces into a crowd of Lula supporters at a campaign event in Rio de Janeiro. In June, at a Lula rally in the city of Uberlandia, a drone flew overhead, releasing a liquid that reeked of feces and urine, according to witnesses. Rodrigo Luiz Parreira was arrested for allegedly masterminding the attack. The farmer told police he was angry Lula had come to Uberlandia, according to his statement. So he hired two people to fly the drone and release a harmless fly-control liquid over the leftist's supporters, he said. State prosecutor Marcus Vinicius Ribeiro Cunha told Reuters it was unclear what the liquid was. Police have identified some threats online. After a Brazilian's botched attempt to assassinate Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner with a gun that failed to fire, Facebook user Irony Alves De Paula Junior, which police believe to be his real name, wrote that the shooter should have used a Brazilian brand of firearm. "Piece of shit Argentine gun. If it were a (Brazilian-made) Taurus, he would have blown that shithead to hell," he wrote on the site. "That's a good idea for us to try with that bearded frog (Lula), but it has to be a Taurus." Federal Police officers found the post and have called for a criminal probe into Paula Junior, according to a person involved. Paula Junior, who regularly posts pro-Bolsonaro and anti-Lula comments, did not respond to a request for comment. BOLSONARO STRONGHOLDS The Federal Police have also sought to open two other criminal probes over threats to Lula, according to the source. The latest involved a pro-Bolsonaro businessman who posted a video on Instagram firing an assault rifle at an image of Lula. Luiz Henrique Crestani later deleted the video and posted a statement acknowledging he was "antagonistic" towards the leftist but denying seeking to "incite" illegal acts. Crestani is from Santa Catarina, a wealthy southern state with a prominent German and Italian diaspora, where guns and Bolsonaro are held in high esteem. In 2018, over 75% of Catarinenses voted for Bolsonaro, the second-highest state total. The state has the most gun clubs per capita in Brazil. Security was tight at a Lula event in state capital Florianopolis this month, with snipers on top of buildings and a chopper flying low over the flag-waving crowd. Lula has just 27% support in Santa Catarina, against 49% for Bolsonaro, according to the latest survey by pollster Ipec. A campaign source said he had considered skipping the state. In his speech, Lula said some had suggested he stay away as "this is Bolsonaro territory and I wouldn't be well received." Marcia Hofmann, a 70-year-old Lula supporter there, said Bolsonaro fans often shout abuse at her when she wears PT garb in the street. She worried that many of them were now armed. "The Bolsonaristas are ... very violent," she said. "So I'm a bit scared." (Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Brad Haynes and Claudia Parsons) EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Tom Cotton is demanding information from the Department of Energy over reports the agency is thinking about using taxpayer dollars to support a proposed lithium mine that is linked to the Chinese Communist Party. In a letter to Secretary Jennifer Granholm Tuesday, Cotton, R-Ark., said the Canadian company Lithium Americas' plan to build a mine in Humboldt County, Nevada, is alarming because the company's largest shareholder is Ganfeng, which has CCP ties. "The United States should be reducing its dependence on China for these critical inputs, not opening the door for China to gain a foothold on lithium mining," Cotton wrote. WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 28: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the conclusion of military operations in Afghanistan and plans for future counterterrorism operations on Capitol Hill. Patrick Semansky "I am deeply concerned that, despite clear CCP influence over the company, Lithium Americas' Thacker Pass project is under consideration for a loan through the Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Technologies Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program," Cotton added. "Lithium Americas' assurances that Thacker Pass is 100%-owned by them rather than Ganfeng are insufficient to resolve national security concerns, given the Party's considerable stake in the company." Cotton says that the U.S. government should "apply strict oversight" on projects that could see taxpayer support to CCP-linked entities. "As the government continues to invest in battery supply chain programs, it is critical that DOE ensure taxpayer funding does not go to corporations with CCP ties and does not increase U.S. mineral dependence on China," Cotton states. NORTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FIGHTS TO STOP CHINESE COMPANY FUFENG FROM OPENING CORN MILL NEAR US AIR FORCE BASE Cotton encouraged the agency to "leverage" the loan application and incentivize Lithium Americas to "part ways" with Ganfeng. The Department of Energy and Lithium Americas did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment on Cotton's letter. Cotton's letter comes after 51 Republican lawmakers warned this week that national security is threatened by a CCP-linked company's efforts to buy farmland near an Air Force base in North Dakota by Chinese manufacturer the Fufeng Group. Story continues The CCP-linked farmland acquisition is far from the first land buy by the Chinese government, and these purchases have been heavily scrutinized for the national security risks presented as they have been approved under both the Biden and Trump administrations. A wind energy farm project near Del Rio, Texas, was reportedly nixed by the Texas government after it was revealed the 130,000 acres around the size of Tulsa, Oklahoma was only miles away from the Laughlin Air Force Base where pilots are trained. It was also revealed the Chinese billionaire who owns the company behind it, GH America Energy, formerly served in the Chinese military and has deep ties to the CCP. Fox News' Houston Keene contributed to this report. A federal court has ordered Alabama officials to preserve evidence of a Kafkaesque botched late-night execution. On 22 September, an after-hours order from the US Supreme Court gave the state the go-ahead to kill Alan Eugene Miller , a former delivery driver, who was sentenced to death after killing three people on the job in 1999 in the city of Birmingham. Over the course of hours, corrections officials failed as many as 18 times to set an IV line on Miller and begin the lethal injection execution, the Death Penalty Informatin Center reports, before eventually calling things off as they approached a midnight deadline. Following the failed execution, Alabamas third since 2018, state corrections commissioner John Hamm said time constraints resulting from the lateness of the court proceedings caused the delays. The execution was called off once it was determined the condemned inmates veins could not be accessed in accordance with our protocol before the expiration of the death warrant, he said in a press conference. Previously, lower federal courts had ordered the killing to be put on hold. They found it likely that Alabama lost the paperwork where Miller requested to be executed via nitrogen gas, and would be denied his rights if the state went ahead executing him via lethal injection instead. However, a 5-4 decision from the Supreme Court set aside those orders. Alan Eugene Miller. In briefings before the high court, Alabama said that even if they did mishandle Millers request to die by nitrogen gas, executing him by another method as a result wasnt a deprivation of rights, arguing that the guarantee of due process has never been understood to mean that the State must guarantee due care on the part of its officials. Millers lawyer, in response, called this line of thinking Kafkaesque and accused officials of manufacturing an emergency. Mr Miller is not going anywhere, and neither is the Alabama Department of Corrections, they wrote. The State is manufacturing an emergency need to execute Mr Miller despite the fact that the State can execute Mr Miller once it finalizes its nitrogen hypoxia execution protocol. Story continues The botched execution is the latest sign of dysfunction in Alabamas death chamber. Among the reasons the state argued it had to execute Miller via lethal injection was because it admitted that its protocol for nitrogen gas, approved in 2018, wasnt ready. Prior to Millers planned killing, state officials equivocated about whether they were ready to use the process, which has been proposed as a more humane form of execution, but which remains untested in three states where it is legal: Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi. During a 12 September hearing, Alabama said there was a very good chance the nitrogen process would be ready for Millers execution. Just three days later, commissioner submitted an affidavit saying the opposite. The ADOC cannot carry out an execution by nitrogen hypoxia on September 22, 2022, it read. The Miller execution, and the ones that came before it, suggest the state is continuing to have issues with its lethal injection process as well. In 2018, the execution of Doyle Lee Hamm was called off because executioners couldnt find a vein for the lethal injection drugs after puncturing his skin 11 times over the course of hours. This July, Joe Nathan James faced a similarly lengthy execution, where observers to an autopsy said Alabama officials had to slice into the mans skin to place an IV line, acting outside state rules. The Independent and the nonprofit Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ) have launched a joint campaign calling for an end to the death penalty in the US. The RBIJ has attracted more than 150 well-known signatories to their Business Leaders Declaration Against the Death Penalty - with The Independent as the latest on the list. We join high-profile executives like Ariana Huffington, Facebooks Sheryl Sandberg, and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson as part of this initiative and are making a pledge to highlight the injustices of the death penalty in our coverage. Photo taken on Aug. 16, 2022 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) The wars, "despite immense economic commitment, ended disastrously and left a legacy of failed leadership, political polarization and vastly diminished American credibility worldwide," says The Hill. NEW YORK, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- At present, the United States may be facing a "perfect storm" of worsening political polarization at home and increasingly aggressive enemies abroad, reported The Hill in mid-September. The United States saw its decline in this century in the realms of military strength, economic power and internal cohesiveness, and the principal cause has been a series of self-inflicted wounds -- most notably, two long, debilitating foreign wars, said the report. The wars, "despite immense economic commitment, ended disastrously and left a legacy of failed leadership, political polarization and vastly diminished American credibility worldwide," it said. "Showing that we apparently have learned nothing from our mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States has wholeheartedly led the NATO alliance into a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine," the report noted. Once again the country is "entering a potentially protracted conflict with no clearly stated objectives or viable exit strategy, yet definitely consuming vast amounts of NATO money and weaponry," it added. By Silke Koltrowitz ZURICH (Reuters) -Credit Suisse announced the departure of two senior executives, global co-head of banking Jens Welter and global head of global credit products Daniel McCarthy, in memos seen by Reuters, in a blow to the Swiss bank as it gets ready for a major restructuring. Shaken by a string of scandals and losses, Switzerland's second-largest bank is currently preparing a strategy review including a radical overhaul of its investment bank. The bank said that Welter, its global co-head of banking and EMEA co-head of investment banking and capital markets (IBCM), had decided to leave the bank. It said in a separate memo that its global head of global credit products (GCP) Daniel McCarthy had also decided to leave after 15 years at the bank to pursue other opportunities. A spokesperson for the bank confirmed the content of the memos. Rival Citigroup said in a Tuesday statement that Welter was joining it in December as co-head of EMEA Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory, after 27 years at Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse, which is due to reveal details of its strategy review on Oct. 27, said in the memo that it appointed David Wah as sole global head of banking, effective immediately. He was previously co-head of the division together with Welter. It also appointed Joel S. Kent to succeed McCarthy as global head of GCP, effective immediately, and named Cathal Deasy and Giuseppe Monarchi as co-heads of IBCM in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Reuters reported last week that Credit Suisse is sounding out investors for fresh cash as it attempts an overhaul of its investment bank. (Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz and Oliver Hirt; Editing by Alexander Smith and Aurora Ellis) The San Luis Obispo District Attorneys Office is determined to prosecute Tianna Arata and the six other Black Lives Matter protesters for crimes it charged them with following a July 2020 protest and its planning to take the matter to the California Supreme Court if it has to, officials with the office told The Tribune. On Aug. 31, the California Court of Appeal upheld San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Matthew Guerreros decision to remove the office, citing a campaign fundraising email sent by San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dows wife in which she said Dow was leading the fight against the wacky defund the police movement as a clear conflict of interest. The District Attorneys Office and the California Attorney Generals Office both filed petitions in the state Court of Appeal on Sept. 15, asking the judges to rehear the case to correct factual errors and omissions they say appear in the courts opinion. The offices also ask the court to address the impact those corrections may have on the initial ruling, according to court documents. The District Attorney fully intends to petition the California Supreme Court for review in this matter should the Court of Appeal opinion remain unchanged, San Luis Obispo County Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth told The Tribune in an email. As such, a complete and accurate record is essential for the Supreme Court to make an informed decision as to whether it will accept review of the Court of Appeal opinion. Curtis Briggs, one of the attorneys representing Arata, called the petition for a rehearing a temper tantrum. Its essentially Dan Dow not being able to accept that hes lost, Briggs told The Tribune. Protest organizer Tianna Arata speaks to marchers after they closed traffic on Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo during the No Justice No Peace demonstration on July 21, 2020. Arata was later arrested for her role in the protest and charged with 13 misdemeanors. Court opinion is misleading, prosecutors offices allege The appellate court opinion contains several factual errors and omissions that warrant a rehearing, the Attorney Generals Office wrote in its petition. Two key facts the prosecutor offices say the opinion got wrong were the date charges were filed against Arata and that Arata was the only person charged in connection with the July 2020 protest until amended complaints included the six other defendants in the weeks that followed. Story continues According to court documents, Arata was actually charged on Sept. 2, the day Elias Bautista was also charged with a felony in connection with the protest. Bautista is not a party on the appeal. Both prosecutor offices allege the opinion omits the full context of Dows post in the PRotect Paso Facebook group, calling it misleading. The office argues that comments made by members of the group on Dows post should not be relied upon in the courts final decision because there is no evidence in the record that District Attorney Dow was aware of the comments. Supporters of District Attorney Dan Dow who want charges filed against activist Tianna Arata wave flags while chanting to disrupt a rally outside the courthouse in San Luis Obispo on Aug. 25, 2020. (The comments) are unfairly attributed to him, the district attorneys petition said. It is extremely misleading to suggest that whenever a public figure posts on social media, they endorse every or any comment made by any person on that public social media site. Comments on Dows post included PRotect Paso members calling the Black Lives Matter movement domestic terrorism and down right evil, no brains or souls, court documents show. Members of the group also discussed their skills as hunters and how they will use those skills to protect Dow and protect our own. The office also said Dow was explaining his decision to pursue misdemeanor charges rather than felony charges in the post, and that he wrote he can only charge for what he can prove and would not be bullied by anyone, left or right. The District Attorneys Office argued Dows entire post should be included as part of the factual record of the appeal because this was the only public comment made by Mr. Dow regarding the charges. In the attorney generals petition, the office claims the District Attorneys Offices statement in response to a petition for Dow to drop charges against Arata which said the office would follow the law without regard for political pressure or political sentiment was omitted from the court opinion. The District Attorneys Office also argues that evidence considered by the appellate court infringes on Dows First Amendment right to free speech namely his appearance on Tony Perkins radio show, which has expressed disdain toward the Black Lives Matter movement. Dow and Perkins did not speak about the BLM movement on the show, and theres no evidence Dow knew about Perkins statements about the movement, the office says. This is extremely misleading leading this court to conclude that Mr. Dow was there to discuss the protest cases in the instant matter or BLM generally ... which is completely false, the district attorneys petition says. In oral arguments in June, Deputy California Attorney General Christopher Lee did notify the court about this distinction, telling the judges Dow was on the August 2020 program to discuss COVID-19 policies and restrictions. Dows support of conservative commentator Candace Owens was also contested. Endorsing a post in which Owens discussed the Black Lives Matter movement and other topics, Dow said she speaks the truth, but Lee argued that statement does not directly indicate Dows thoughts and feelings about the movement. The District Attorneys Office argues Dows statement to The Tribune in which he called Owens a role model for young women everywhere was an email response to a general question about Owens not a letter regarding a question about Owens opinion of the Black Lives Matter movement. The office also asks for the court record to reflect that Arata was released from jail the same day as her arrest, and that Dows wifes campaign email never mentioned Black Lives Matter, Arata or the protests. Dan Dow has ethics of a pimp, defense attorney says Briggs said that Dows office continuing to try and stay on the case is a publicity stunt and that if Dow truly wasnt biased, he should have argued and stood up for himself personally in court, or at least signed a declaration clarifying his wifes email and the other issues at hand. They completely blundered and now all theyre trying to do is damage control, Briggs said. He doesnt want to go down in history as one of the few district attorneys in California who have ever been disqualified from a case. When it comes to the PRotect Paso Facebook group post, Briggs said the fact that Dow chose to engage with the group shows a political bias. Dan Dow is a member of a Facebook group which contains a lot of dangerous, far-right, inflammatory rhetoric, and Dan Dow chose to engage with that group and make excuses and try to placate them or calm them down, Briggs said. That in itself is bizarre. Hes spending his time engaging with far-right extreme people. Briggs said Dow did not make public posts or statements to any other people, including Republicans, Democrats or moderate religious people. Dows office likewise noted in its petition that the PRotect Paso post was the only public comment Dow made regarding the charges against Arata. Curtis Briggs, one of the attorneys representing Tianna Arata, speaks at an Aug. 25, 2020, rally outside the San Luis Obispo County Courthouse. Event organizers called for District Attorney Dan Dow to drop the case against Arata. The fact that Dow has not addressed the fact that his wifes email tried to raise money off the prosecution of Black Lives Matter protesters is the smoking gun itself, Briggs said. Dow has held that the email cannot be linked to Black Lives Matter or the protest arrests because it does not mention those by name but rather says Dow is leading the fight against the wacky defund police movement and made passing references to crazy protest activity. He misses the point, and thats what these judges are concerned about. Theyre not concerned about whether a whole conversation got in the record or exactly what date some things are, Briggs said. Dan Dow was using the ethics of a pimp. He was trying to raise money and he doesnt even have a real opponent and he was trying to raise money off of his prosecution of Black Lives Matter protesters. Thats an illness. Thats a bureaucratic political illness. Briggs said Dow turned the Black Lives Matter protesters into his political pawns, saying Dow took away the protesters liberty and raised money off of them. He said many people would consider the actions by Dow more egregious than unlawfully beating someone up because of the distrust it creates between the public and those who are tasked to protect them. It devastates the community in a psychological sense when a prosecutor can use their power to abuse peoples freedom publicly, Briggs said. That has consequences, not just for the individual, but the entire society. The only way for the San Luis Obispo community to heal is for the case to be out of Dows hands and into the hands of jurors, so that the community can take ownership over what happened, Briggs said. Until then, Dan Dow and the Attorney Generals Office are just making it worse by spending more and more taxpayer dollars to delay the inevitable trial that we will get, Briggs said. Tianna Arata speaks to demonstrators supporting her and others outside the San Luis Obispo Superior Courthouse on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020. Opinion will deter political prosecutions, criminal justice group says This month, the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, a group of criminal defense lawyers, filed a request for the court to publish the opinion in the official record, meaning the decision would be citable in case law. That would help deter prosecutors and law enforcement from misusing the powers of their offices to pursue politically motivated prosecutions, the group said. The opinion is currently unpublished, which means it cannot be cited or relied upon in future similar cases. Most appellate court decisions are unpublished unless they establish a new rule of law, modify or advance interpretation of the rule of law, or involve a legal issue of continuing public interest, according to California Rules of Court. The group argues the California attorney generals support of the San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office in this case has made clear that this is an issue that is likely to reoccur. It said the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 sparked an ongoing nationwide debate into race and serious government misconduct. Because of this, the potential political pressure that informs prosecutors who decide whether and how to prosecute Black Lives Matter protesters is of great public interest. Local prosecutors offices have become hotly contested, with national groups donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to their preferred candidates, the groups said. The opinion in this case sets a clear baseline for prosecutors and courts to reference when considering whether recusal is necessary in politically charged prosecutions, the request said, adding that the opinion also gives guidance to trial courts on what kind of evidence is relevant and admissible to determine whether an office has a conflict of interest. It is unclear whether the California Court of Appeal will rehear the case or publish its decision in the official record. A father faces charges in Wisconsin after prosecutors say he pocketed nearly $125,000 in insurance money that was intended to pay for his sons autism treatment. Alper Kolcu, 39, faces one count of theft from a business and one count of bail jumping, according to the Milwaukee County District Attorneys Office. Jail records show he was booked into the Milwaukee jail on Monday, Sept. 26. Investigators said in a criminal complaint that Kolcu was the medical insurance holder for his child, who received specialized therapy due to autism from the provider InBloom Autism Services. Kolcu had a pay to patient arrangement with Anthem Insurance, meaning they would pay him for the treatments, and he would be required to send the payments to InBloom. From September 2020 to July 2022, Kolcu received 71 checks from Anthem that totaled $124,975.31, according to prosecutors. InBloom did not receive any payments from Kolcu, despite a review of one of the checks including the language, You likely visited a doctor or facility not in your plan. If you have not paid them yet, you should use this check to pay them right away, according to the criminal complaint. Prosecutors said Kolcu deposited the checks into his PNC Bank account, and he intentionally retained possession of the money. He is accused of making frequent withdrawals from the account. InBloom did not consent to Kolcu retaining possession of this money, prosecutors said in the criminal complaint. Kolcu retained this money with the intent to convert to his own use. This is showed by his refusal to return the money upon demand by InBloom. If convicted of his theft charge, Kolcu faces up to 12 years, six months in jail and a fine of $25,000. Dayna Lee, owner of Comal 864, poses for a portrait in front of the pink trap church owned by Rob Rallis, on Thursday, September 22, 2022. Lee, as a business owner in the neighborhood, is upset by what Rallis has done to the former Bible Way Full Gospel Missionary Baptist Church and the possibility of it becoming expensive apartments. GREENVILLE, S.C. A church in South Carolina painted pink with the word "Trap" written on it by a real estate developer on it is listed for sale for $2.5 million, and some local residents say they are betrayed and angry. The former Bibleway Full Gospel Missionary Baptist Church property on Woodside Avenue in Greenvillewas sold to Rallis Wood LLC for $425,000 in April, according to a property deed. LoopNet now lists it as available for redevelopment "in booming West Greenville." The listing came after developer Ron Rallis heard concerns from residents about gentrification in the neighborhood. Now neighbors of the property fear that's exactly what would be spurred by the sale the developer seeks. Hystroric church now 'an eyesore' The church's last service was held on the site June 19. It's since relocated to another area about seven miles east of its former building. Bibleway had been on Woodside Avenue since 1995. The property was owned by Church of God Trs. before Bibleway purchased it, according to county property records. Rallis did not respond to phone calls or text messages from The Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network, last week. On July 30, he held an impromptu "community forum" where he addressed his painting of the closed church as well as concerns he posted on social media and other outlets claiming he was falsely arrested for two felonies. Community members at the forum expressed fears of gentrification, where longtime residents would be forced out by higher prices brought on by redevelopment. Invited to the White House then shunned: 'No matter what they say, they don't see us' 'Okay, so BOOM!': TikToker breaks down current, legal affairs using AAVE In a video posted on Instagram on Aug. 4, he expressed willingness to work with neighbors in his efforts to redevelop the property, but he included a statement that struck a nerve with some: "Daddy is here to make money." Story continues "Not only did I waste a lot of time ever giving him the benefit of the doubt, he turned a historically Black church into an eyesore because he doesn't care," ocal restaurant owner Dayna Lee said after hearing the statement. She said Rallis used the community forums he organized as tools to deceive everyone that attended" and "never was committed to being anything more than a publicity stunt in the first place." I am sure that his fancy lofts will rent out quickly and for a lot of money, but I worry for the people who have lived in the Woodside community for generations that will be negatively affected," she said. 'Rooted in the church' Greenville County Council approved rezoning the property to RM20 multifamily residential July 19 to "redevelop the site for apartments or condos at 20 units per acre," according to a zoning docket. The LoopNet listing, created Aug. 12, claims the property is approved for 42 units. Rallis compared his painting of the church in the unincorporated area of the Woodside community to Rapper 2 Chainz's creation of a "Pink Trap House" to market the album "Pretty Girls Like Trap Music." Then he (2 Chainz) took that platform and was able to invest in the community, and all that came after the fact, once there was noise, Rallis said at the July 30 forum. Latisha Miles, whose family has lived in the Woodside area for decades, never thought the property would ever not be a church. Losing religion?: Christianity projected to lose majority status among Americans by 2070, Pew model projects It wasnt until gentrification came into Woodside that they could even get sidewalks, she said. She called it "selfish" that Rallis would use their community to make a "statement" about a privileged white man having difficulties with law enforcement. "I was rooted in the church, grew up in the church," said Miles, who was disturbed by the church's pink paint and adornment with "Trap." "I did not like it, so I reached out to the owner," Miles said. Miles, a photographer who leads a Woodside community group, said she is passionate about her neighborhood. She can still tell you every place where you used to be able to pick plums, blackberries, apples and more. She can also tell you the streets she and other neighborhood kids used to race on and play hopscotch. Former home of Bibleway Full Gospel Missionary Baptist Church in the City View community, painted pink by Ron Rallis, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. But the neighborhood is changing, she said. A lot of the elderly have died, and others are losing their homes to higher taxes, she said. Newcomers are moving in as longtime community residents can no longer afford to keep the homes, she said. Lease on a studio unitin the area more than $1,400 a month, according to a local loft's website. 'It's not better' Woodside, though, has been a predominately low-income neighborhood. Still, people have asked residents why they didn't buy the church property, Miles said. "If we could buy the property, we probably wouldnt have been in the neighborhood," she said. "Everyday working-class people cant afford that kind of expense. Of course, if we could, the gentrification wouldnt be happening all over the country." Miles said she has nothing against Rallis, but she doesn't agree with just putting housing on the church property. It could cause more gentrification, she said. It doesnt bother Miles that people may be trying to make the community better with new housing, but, "what bothers me is that its not better for the people who are from the community," she said. She doesnt yet know all of the people there but feels a responsibility to be an advocate for them. Her restaurant has fed many less-privileged people in the last 10 months that it has been open. Hundreds of plates were given away for Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, when Rallis painted the longtime predominately Black church pink and wrote Trap atop it, Lee said that she'd help him repaint it pink if he committed to doing something with it that, in the long run, would benefit the neighborhood. Suggestions were tossed out by the community at the first community forum in July. None of the suggestions were viable to him not a community center for at-risk youth, not a rehab center for people who struggle with addiction, not a resource center for people who are exiting the prison system and returning to the workforce, not a study center for the nearby Legacy Early College Campus, not a testing center for HIV (like the original pink church in Atlanta turned into, thanks to 2 Chainz). Nothing," Lee said. 'Put up or shut up' Resident Terry Warnex said Rallis' intent and purpose was to publicize his personal conflicts through the attention drawn from the pink church. "Once the story broke and new attention from the community was drawn from it, I think the owner now himself in somewhat of a dilemma, one he didn't intend for," Warnex said. Warnex said the community spoke up and asked him to him to put up or shut up. "Nothing is final until it's done. I believe he will find a way to let the story die down with time, all the while refocusing his attention and energy towards what brought all of this on in the first place his personal situations." Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund with USA TODAY This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville SC pink 'trap church' property for sale for $2.5 million Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security Council Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security Council, was responding to a statement made on Sept. 27 by Putins press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, about the Kremlins willingness to negotiate. As the situation changes, so do the conditions we have repeatedly talked about this, Peskov said. Danilov responded caustically on Twitter, saying Ukraine has never been against negotiations with Russia... regarding compensation and reparations. The longer the Kremlin regime delays these negotiations, the worse the conditions and the greater the amount will be. The tasks for the liberation of Ukraine ... will be completed in full, according to plans and schedules. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously said that it is impossible to conduct a substantive dialogue with Russia until it leaves the territory of Ukraine. Read also: Negotiations with Russia only possible with our partners at the table, says Ukraines defense minister Mikhaylo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Presidential Office, said that Russia uses negotiations to gain time for the continuation of aggression, and that a peace agreement is now impossible, as Russia only wants to destroy Ukraine by military means. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has noted that the best way to negotiate with Russia is on the battlefield. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Business and politicians "Whos up to no good?" Thats the question that users will receive when attempting to input data into a new database that will allow them to search for companies that support causes such as insurrectionists, anti-LGBTQ+, anti-choice, and anti-voting rights movements. The tool is particularly useful for those who want to see what companies who show their Pride in June do the rest of the year. As part of the Accountable for Equality Action, a watchdog organization that monitors organizations activities to measure corporate allyship and corporate donations, the Real Allies Database maintains information that tracks donations to extremist politicians. In the past few months, there have been many incidents related to anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, hearings on January 6, a Supreme Court ruling gutting reproductive rights, and several shots fired at contraception, access to PrEP, marriage equality, the federal election, and equality for women. This database, according to AFEA, is a result of this summer of turmoil. More than $143 million have been donated to state legislators campaigns, and they have pushed some of the most extreme and controversial policies in state legislatures for decades, AFEA data shows. Also, according to the AFEA, over 130,000 corporate contributions support 1,000 legislators who support legislation that minimizes the rights of a large section of the population. According to the Real Allies Database, Anheuser-Busch and its subsidiaries contributed $235,449 to 182 state legislators who were listed as co-sponsors of insurrectionist, anti-LGBTQ+, anti-voting rights, and anti-choice legislation, among other things. Over the last few years, AT&T has contributed over $1.5 million to 579 problematic legislators. In addition, Comcast and NBC Universal have donated over $650,000 to 234 state legislators who are considered to have supported questionable policies. Story continues We are at a make-or-break moment for our country, said Tiq Milan, a journalist and activist. In his role as spokesperson for Accountable for Equality Action, he said in a press release that one could ascribe the problematic categories to too many politicians funded by corporations that take LGBTQ+ money and employ LGBTQ+ lives. Collectively, we have an obligation to stop the assault on our rights, hold corporate America accountable, and ensure corporations are a force for positive change, Milan said. We are calling on advocates, employees, and customers to speak out and tell these companies to do better. GLAAD's president and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, said that people expect more from companies. "In the wake of unprecedented anti-LGBTQ legislation and attacks in rhetoric and violence, the bar for corporate allyship needed to be and has been raised, Ellis said. Consumers, employees, and our community today are mandating that corporates go beyond inclusive internal policies and hiring practices to also engage in external actions like public stances on legislation and examining political donations to anti-LGBTQ politicians. Simply put, authentic corporate allies refrain from donating money to those who are working to roll back LGBTQ rights. The Real Allies site provides a critical resource for community members and allies to instantly see if a corporate is funding anti-LGBTQ politicians." John Adams, the bookish and brilliant Founding Father who gave both the American Revolution and constitutional government their intellectual foundations, was chosen by the Continental Congress to lead peace talks with Great Britain on this day in history, Sept. 27, 1779. "Alas!" wrote Adams in a letter to French diplomat Chevalier Anne-Cesar de La Luzerne. "When I reflect upon the importance, delicacy, intricacy and danger of the service, I feel a great deal of diffidence in myself." The New England patriot, who at the Second Continental Congress passionately implored the other colonies to join Massachusetts in its revolt against the crown, had just returned from his first mission to Paris when he received word of the new assignment that would send him back overseas. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, SEPT. 26, 1960, KENNEDY, NIXON BATTLE IN FIRST TELEVISED PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE "Without consulting [his wife] Abigail, Adams accepted Congress' offer to return to Europe as minister plenipotentiary to negotiate peace with Britain, whenever America's enemy was ready to come to the table," notes PBS in its "American Experience" series. "Adams hadn't sought the post, but reveled in Congress' nearly unanimous decision to appoint him." Engraving shows Founding Father and future American President John Adams, center, as he greets King George III of England as U.S. ambassador to St. James's Court in 1785. Stock Montage/Getty Images His new role would lead to one of the great and largely unknown adventures in America's journey to independence. Adams, accompanied by his sons, John Quincy, age 12 (fellow future president), and Charles, 9, departed from Boston in November to set sail for Europe aboard French frigate Sensible. AMID NEW GUN LAWS, HERE'S THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS The ship was soon struck by a frightening storm that threatened to sink it. "By the time the storm passed, the ship was leaking so badly that two pumps had to be manned day and night, unrelenting work in which all hands took part, including John Quincy," wrote historian David McCullough in his epic "John Adams" biography. Portrait of President John Adams by John Trumbull. GraphicaArtis/Getty Images "The situation was alarming. In the event of another storm or an encounter with the enemy, the captain explained, they would have no chance." Story continues The ship was forced to land in Ferrol, Spain, far from their intended port of Brest, France and 1,000 miles from Paris. Adams and his sons, plus a staff of four and Spanish guides, set off by foot and mule train for the arduous journey over the Pyrenees Mountains via poorly constructed roads. "Everywhere he saw poverty and misery, people in rags," McCullough wrote. "There were days of rains, fog and snow, mountains that went endlessly on and on, mountains like a tumbling sea." ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, SEPT. 21, 1780, BENEDICT ARNOLD BETRAYS CAUSE OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE John Quincy had joined his father's first mission to Europe and balked at this sudden return. His mother, Abigail, a committed revolutionary and gifted writer, convinced him to go. "These are the times in which a genius would wish to live," Abigail wrote to her son. "It is not [in] the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed." Adams and his team survived the brutal mountain journey and reached Paris in February 1780, three months after leaving Massachusetts. Fellow Founding Fathers Ben Franklin and John Jay eventually joined the Adams mission. The three men negotiated from a position of strength after George Washington's victory over Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown in October 1781, the decisive battle of the American Revolution. The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, formally recognizing American independence. "His Brittanic Majesty acknowledges the said United States to be free sovereign and Independent States," the treaty states, adding that the crown "relinquishes all claims to the Government, Propriety, and Territorial Rights of the same and every Part thereof." The diplomatic victory came seven years after Adams and his fellow revolutionaries publicly committed their lives to the cause; eight years after fighting broke out in Lexington and Concord; and 13 years after the first American protesters were killed by the British in Boston. John Quincy Adams later proclaimed that the Treaty of Paris represented a powerful personal triumph for his father, as he delivered on his daring promise to fight for a new nation governed by laws and not by men. OUR AMERICAN FLAG: HOW TO FOLD IT PROPERLY AND OTHER COURTEOUS CARE TIPS "He pledged his life, fortune and sacred honor to the independence of his country," wrote John Quincy Adams, the words inscribed on a monument above the altar of the "Church of the Presidents" in Quincy, Massachusetts, where both Adams presidents and their first ladies are entombed today. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER "He affixed his seal to the definitive treaty with Great Britain, which acknowledged that independence and consummated the redemption of his pledge." Dozens gathered Tuesday in front of a Riverside County jail to demand outside investigations of the record number of deaths inside local jails this year and protest the sheriff's department's handling of the problem. People gathered at noon in front of the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside, one of five county jails operated by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. "No more jail deaths!" they chanted as they marched the downtown blocks near the jail and the county's courthouse and administrative building. The protest was in response to the 13 deaths that have happened in the jails this year, the most of any year since data was made publicly available in 2005 by the California Department of Justice. Families, supporters, the ACLU of Southern California and several allied advocacy groups are calling for state agencies to investigate the deaths, the county's board of supervisors to intervene and the sheriff's department to provide more information to the bereaved and the public. Becky Shorty's son, Abel Chacon, died last month at the county's jail in Murrieta, where more than half of this year's deaths have occurred. Shorty is troubled by the lack of information she has been provided by the department about the circumstances surrounding her son's death. Howd they find him? What did he look like? They said he was on the floor on his mattress howd he get there?" Shorty said during an interview at the protest. "No answers." The San Jacinto resident said she's learned more reading The Desert Sun than from dozens of calls to the sheriff's department. She and Chacon are tribal members of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, and she's been sent articles about the deaths by a relative in Thermal. "We still dont know the cause of his death and we already buried him," Shorty said. "I'm angry, I'm mad. We still don't have answers. Why do we have to wait?" Story continues 'I know you all can hear us' Trino Matus, the uncle of Richard Matus Jr., who died in August, was among those who started the protest with a prayer, calling for strength and resilience for those gathered as they continue to demand information and accountability. Dominic Martinez said he had been friends with Michael Vasquez since the third grade. Vasquez, of Menifee, died in May at the age of 20 after only being in jail for a few days. "I know you all can hear us," Martinez shouted through a megaphone as he faced the jail's entrance. "Come out and pay your respects. Give these people answers." The event comes a week after the ACLU hosted a virtual press conference in which the relatives of several people who have died shared their stories. They demanded more transparency from the sheriff's department, citing a practice of publicly withholding the names and suspected causes of deaths for months. Richard Matus' mother, Lisa Matus, wasn't able to confirm his death for about a week and was only able to collect his belongings, including privileged legal paperwork, after a court appearance about two weeks later. The grieving relatives expressed frustration about the sheriff's department keeping information from the public about the deaths and the failure of the department or any other county official to publicly acknowledge the increase in fatalities. In addition to withholding information about the deaths from the public, the sheriff's department has shirked legal reporting requirements to the state's top cop. As The Desert Sun reported recently, the department broke the law when it failed to report at least two deaths to the California Department of Justice within the required 10-day timeline. And when the department did report, it did so inaccurately. Administrative Deputy Coroner Allison Doubleday reported all but one of the people had been sentenced at the times of their deaths. Court records show that none of them had. The sheriff's department has ignored The Desert Sun's inquiries on the deaths for months, including questions about whether an investigation is underway to determine why the reports were late and inaccurate. 'An oath to respect and protect' It's not the first time the sheriff's department has operated on inaccurate information when the facts are readily available to the public through the county's court system. The Desert Sun revealed in 2020 that the department had released from jail seven inmates facing "third strike" charges that could have landed them a life sentence. The practice led to Sheriff Chad Bianco appearing in court and saying the department didn't have the ability to determine if a person was facing a third strike when it decided who to release to relieve jail overcrowding. But records showing conviction history are available to the public through the Superior Court clerk's office. On Tuesday, the protestors and the advocacy groups read a list of demands, saying the lapses in reporting and inaccurate information warrant another department taking control of the death investigations to determine if they represent a pattern. Janet Hunt, an outreach manger for Starting Over, Inc., an advocacy group that works with formerly incarcerated people, said she was there to "send a message of accountability." "The sheriff has a job to do and he took an oath, an oath to respect and protect people," Hunt said. "These people deserve answers. And they're not getting anything. It's a disgrace. We pay these people to do this disservice to our own people." Louise Kail lost her grandson, Justin Kail, in May. She and several other relatives of people who have died in the jail shared emails, letters and complaints they've filed with the California Office of Attorney General, the FBI and the California State Auditor, all asking for them to intervene and find the information that the sheriff's department has so far declined to provide. She was told by the office of U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert that she needed to contact her county supervisor about her concerns. Kail sent an email to Riverside County District 3 Supervisor Chuck Washington and received a response Monday night. "Riverside County works to keep the inmates in its custody safe," wrote Washington's chief of staff, Joe Pradetto, to Kail. "Following the death of an inmate, the Sheriff's Department works with outside agencies to review the incident and, if needed, make recommendations to prevent similar incidents in the future." Pradetto did not include what outside agencies he was referring to, but encouraged Kail to work with her lawyer to request information from the "County and Sheriff's legal team." Despite the triple-digit heat, relatives and advocates stayed at the protest for 90 minutes. Common among the refrains they shared were words of emotional and spiritual support, and many families said that in addition to the pain of their loss, they have felt ignored by elected officials. It's a feeling that John McDaniel, who works in outreach for Starting Over, said he often struggled with during his incarceration. "They lock us up and they don't care," McDaniel told the others gathered, encouraging them to find motivation to keep going in the memories of the lost. "Love their souls. Love their spirits. They're not gone." Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow him at @chris_a_damien. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Deaths in Riverside County jails: ACLU, families seek outside probe The U.S. is mobilizing its allies to reject Russian attempts to annex territory in Ukraine, something Kyiv hopes will spark more military support. Well break down whats to come. Plus, well talk about a bipartisan effort in the Senate to include a critical munitions acquisition fund for Ukraine in this years National Defense Authorization Act. This is Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, Im Jordan Williams. Subscribe here. US mobilizes allies amid Russia nuclear threats The U.S. and its allies are mobilizing the international community to reject Russian attempts to annex territory in Ukraine, in a move that Kyiv hopes will spur greater military support to deliver Moscow a decisive battlefield defeat. Hawkish supporters of Ukraine say now is the time for the U.S., Europe and NATO to increase the delivery of heavy artillery, tanks and war planes to Kyiv despite nuclear weapons threats by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin under pressure: Putin is under pressure in Russia because of the battlefield misfires and the chaotic rollout of his mobilization order for 300,000 troops. The Ukrainian militarys stunning counter-offensive in the north-east led Putin to move to mobilize more troops, which has received a negative reaction in Russia. William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and vice president of the Russia and Europe program at the U.S. Institute of Peace, said the news is helping the U.S. effort. My bet is that the [global] reaction would be to double down on support for the Ukrainians on the battlefield, he said. The Russians have a big manpower problem and nows the time for the Ukrainians, reinforced by these weapons to allow them to break through the Russian lines and push the Russians out. A preview of whats to come: The U.S. and United Kingdom have warned that what they call sham votes in four Ukrainian territories are an effort to annex Ukrainian territory while justifying the war to the Russian public. Story continues The U.K. Ministry of Defense tweeted on Tuesday that Putin is likely to use an address to the Russian Parliament on Friday to formally announce the accession of the occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. Russias leaders almost certainly hope that any accession announcement will be seen as a vindication of the special military operation and will consolidate patriotic support for the conflict, the ministry tweeted. Consequences for annexation: Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the U.S. is readying sanctions if Russia moves forward on annexation. We are prepared and we will impose additional severe and swift costs on Russia for proceeding with the annexations, he said during a press conference on Tuesday. Ukraine has the absolute right to defend itself throughout its territory, including to take back the territory that has been illegally seized, one way or another, by Russia, he added. The weapons that we and many other countries are providing have been used very effectively to do just that. Israel, which has maintained strategic ties with Moscow despite its invasion of Ukraine, released a statement Tuesday rejecting any results from the referendums. As for the mobilization: There have been multiple reports of opposition to Putins military mobilization order, with angry protests popping up in Russias far-flung territories, a shooting at an enlistment center in a Siberian city and reports of long queues of military-age men looking to flee the country. The U.K. on Monday announced sanctions against 92 Russian officials and entities it says are involved in carrying out the referendums. Read more here. Congress adds $12.3B in Ukraine aid to funding bill Congressional appropriators have included $12.3 billion in security and financial assistance to Ukraine as part of its proposed continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 16. The top line of the Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act is $1.4 billion below the $13.7 billion the White House requested for Ukraine, but comes as the administration seeks to sustain the pace of assistance it is providing Kyiv. The Senate was scheduled to hold a vote at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday that would serve as the legislative vehicle for the continuing resolution if approved. Read more here. SENATORS WANT CRITICAL MUNITIONS FUND IN NDAA A bipartisan group of senators want to include the Department of Defenses request for a critical munitions acquisition fund to be included in the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The senators, led by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), introduced the Promoting Readiness for Overseas Contingencies and Unexpected Responses to Exigencies (Procure) Act aimed at ensuring the U.S. has enough critical munition stocks to support allies and partners without depleting American stocks. The senators said they planned to file the bill as an amendment to the NDAA in the coming days. The co-sponsors: Shaheen and Tillis are joined by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). Weve seen this: A provision establishing a Ukraine Critical Munitions Acquisition Fund was included as an amendment in the version of the NDAA passed by the House in July. That amendment, filed by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.), authorizes up to $500 million per year for a revolving fund to procure munitions before transferring weapons to other countries in anticipation of sustaining operations in Ukraine. Not everyones on board: Senate appropriators felt differently about the proposal than their Armed Services counterparts. A report accompanying the Senate Appropriations Committees $850 billion defense appropriation proposal says that a Critical Munitions Acquisition Fund is narrowly focused on procurement of small amounts of certain munitions to be decided in the year of execution. By design, this approach does not address the broader challenges of strategic investment and management of the [Defense Industrial Base] and the supply chain, it continued. Read more here. Lawmakers sound alarm over North Dakota land sale Fifty-one lawmakers in a new letter are raising alarm over a Chinese-based manufacturers acquisition of land near a U.S. Air Force base in North Dakota. In a letter to the secretaries of Defense, Agriculture and the Treasury, the lawmakers, led by Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), call the property purchase by the Fufeng Group an alarming development for our national security. The Fufeng Group has close links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the letter asserts, and the acquisition of land north of the Grand Forks Air Force Base puts the Chinese firm in the ideal location to closely monitor and intercept military activity. The chemical manufacturer is reportedly planning $700 million project for the North Dakota land, its first U.S.-based facility. Read more here. ON TAP FOR TOMORROW The Center for Strategic and International Studies will hold A Conversation with Thomas West in the Context of Afghanistan One Year Later at 9 a.m. The Stimson Center will hold a discussion on Practical Guidance for Strengthening Arms and Dual-Use Trade Controls at 9 a.m. The Center for European Policy Analysis will begin the second day of the 2022 CEPA Forum at 9:30 a.m. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on Keeping the Pressure on Russia and its Enablers: Examining the Reach of and Next Steps for U.S. Sanctions at 10 a.m. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on From Nuremberg to Ukraine: Accountability for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity at 10 a.m. The Center for Strategic and International Studies will hold a conversation with H.E. Hoshyar Zebari at 10:30 a.m. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will hold a discussion on A Decisive Moment in Ukraine at 11 a.m. Defense One will host State of Defense: Space Force at 12:30 p.m. The Hudson Institute will host a discussion on Establishing and Fortifying US National Security Supply Chains at 3:30 p.m. WHAT WERE READING Thats it for today! Check out The Hills Defense and National Security pages for the latest coverage. See you tomorrow! VIEW THE FULL EDITION HERE For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Home - Search - Browse - Alphabetic Index: 0- 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9 A- B- C- D- E- F- G- H- I- J- K- L- M- N- O- P- Q- R- S- T- U- V- W- X- Y- Z X-15B Navaho/X-15 Credit: Mark Wade American manned spacecraft. Study 1958. North American's proposal for the Air Force initial manned space project was to extend the X-15 program. The X-15B was a 'stripped' X-15A with an empty mass of 4500 kg. Status: Study 1958. Thrust: 262.45 kN (59,000 lbf). Gross mass: 13,500 kg (29,700 lb). Unfuelled mass: 4,500 kg (9,900 lb). Specific impulse: 276 s. Height: 15.00 m (49.00 ft). Span: 6.80 m (22.30 ft). It would use a three-stage Navaho-derived launch vehicle to achieve a single orbit with an apogee of 120 km and a perigee of 75 km. In the aftermath of Sputnik 2, the Air Force quietly asked its leading contractors for "unsolicited" proposals for manned spacecraft that could be quickly executed and beat the Russians in putting a man in orbit. Harrison Storms of North American conceived of a bold move to get an American into space as quickly as possible, in order to beat the Russians in the next obvious step of the space race. North American had a warehouse full of partially-completed G-38 boosters for the just-canceled Navaho missile program. Storms threw together a proposal to cluster them four of them in order to launch an orbital version of the company's X-15 manned rocketplane. He took the proposal to the Air Research and Development Command (ARDC) at Wright Field in November 1957. Storms' X-15B was a 'stripped' X-15A with an empty mass of 4500 kg. The launch vehicle consisted of 4 x G-26 Navaho booster stages plus the X-15B's own XLR-99 engine. These would allow the X-15B to achieve a single orbit with an apogee of 120 km and a perigee of 75 km. Due to the low perigee and aerodynamics of the X-15, no retrorocket was required, although the X-15's restartable engine could be used if necessary. Using its cross range capability of about 800 to 1,000 km, the X-15 would ditch in the Gulf of Mexico. The heat shield would consist of beryllium oxide and Rene 41 alloy. The pilot would eject and land by parachute, with the aircraft being lost. The spacecraft had a ballistic coefficient (W/CdA) of 250 kg per square meter. It was expected that a first manned orbital flight could be achieved 30 months after a go-ahead at a cost of $ 120 million. The general in charge of ARDC found it interesting but said there was no official requirement to orbit a man in space. But the political pressure to do something in response to Sputnik mounted, and a secret conference was held at on 29-31 January 1958 at Wright field. Eleven aircraft and missile firms outlined for the Air Force and NACA observers the various classified proposals for a manned satellite vehicle that they had submitted during November and December 1957. The ARDC boiled down the 11 proposals to the three that had the best chance of quick realization - the X-15B, acceleration of the nascent program for the X-20 Dynasoar winged space glider, or one of the simple ballistic capsule designs, boosted by an existing launch vehicle. On 27 February they took these straight to Curtis LeMay, head of the Strategic Air Command, who's main comment was, "Where's the bomb bay?" Nevertheless, he instructed ARDC to select one of the concepts and submit a detailed plan for an Air Force man-in-space program as soon as possible. On 10-12 March ARDC held a conference at its Ballistic Missile Division (BMD) in Los Angeles of more than 80 rocket, aircraft, and human-factors specialists. The objective was to reach agreement on a plan to get a man-in-space - soonest - in accordance with LeMay's orders. The BMD itself had its sights set on Project Lunex, a long term plan to establish an Air Force base on the moon before 1970. Unfortunately for Storms, the consensus at the conference was that the "quick and dirty" approach would consist of a simple ballistic capsule using parachutes for a water landing, weighing around 1300 kg. This would be 1.8 m in diameter and 2.4 m long. The capsule would be completely automated - the human-factors people felt there was no certainty that a pilot could function under the stresses of space flight. This last point seemed to rule out the piloted X-15B approach. ARDC continued on the Manned-in-Space-Soonest project into August 1958, and in June Storms had even been told he would receive the contract for the manned spacecraft. But meanwhile, President Eisenhower and the Congress had created a new civilian Agency to take on the Soviet spaceflight challenge - NASA. And Max Faget, the lead spacecraft designer at NASA, was one of the originators of the ballistic capsule concept. The USAF budget for the initial manned spacecraft was transferred to NASA, and with it evaporated Storms' expected contract, and the X-15B. The contract for what NASA renamed project Mercury would go to McDonnell. This was not quite the end of the orbital X-15. It was known that North American later proposed use of four Titan I booster stages in place of the Navaho boosters. Note The notes of NACA engineer Clarence A. Syvertson from this meeting indicate that four Navaho G-26 boosters would be used. The biography of Harrison Storms indicates that G-38 boosters were proposed. A quick calculation showed that four G-26 boosters could not get the X-15 into orbit; G-38 boosters just about could. So in this case physics and the memory of Storms trump the contemporaneous notes. It was likely in any case that the boosters proposed were derived from, but not identical to the G-26 or G-38 boosters. A drawing also emerged of an X-15 atop a single G-26 booster. It was likely that a program of slow build-up to orbital speeds, using Navaho surplus assets, was proposed. Crew Size: 1. Spacecraft delta v: 2,450 m/s (8,030 ft/sec). A call about a suspicious person in a Palm Beach County Publix parking lot ended with a shot 21-year-old in critical condition, the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office said. PBSO said this happened Monday around 6:05 p.m. at a Publix in Greenacres, 4840 S. Military Tr. Before deputies got to the store, PBSO said, the man had fired a pistol into the air several times. After 20 minutes of trying to talk the weapon out of the mans hand, PBSO said, he waved the gun in a threatening manner at deputies. One of the deputies shot him. READ MORE: When will your Publix close before Hurricane Ian? What about Winn-Dixie and other chains? Later, PBSO said the mans past included being taken into custody under the Baker Act more than once. His name wasnt released. As is standard, the deputy will be put on paid administrative leave. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will lead the investigation into the shooting, assisted by the Palm Beach State Attorneys Office and PBSOs violent crimes unit. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. A Gadsden County Commissioner appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis abruptly resigned last week after pictures allegedly showing him in a Ku Klux Klan outfit started to circulate, according to Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young. Young said that the pictures were brought to him last Tuesday and multiple people told him the pictures were of Gadsden County Commissioner Jeff Moore. He said when he approached Moore about the pictures, Moore did not deny it was him. He never denied at all. Refuted nothing when I showed him the pictures, Young said in an interview. Young, who is Black, endorsed DeSantis. I thought he needed to resign, and I told him that. Moore, a Republican, was appointed by DeSantis to serve as commissioner in early August. The governors office confirmed on Monday that Moore resigned last week, but said they did not know why. We are in the middle of hurricane prep, Im not aware of the photo you sent but Jeff did submit his resignation last week, said Taryn Fenske, DeSantis communications director. On Monday, Moore said he was in the middle of preparations for Hurricane Ian and would reach out on Tuesday or Wednesday. He has since not responded to multiple requests seeking comment. The pictures began to circulate in Gadsden County in recent weeks and made them to Youngs desk last Tuesday by a group of people from the county. That was the first time I had seen them or started having to deal with it, he said. He told me it was a costume. Gadsden County is located in rural North Florida along the Georgia border and has a Black population of 55 percent, one of the highest in the state. When DeSantis appointed Moore he was the only non-Black member of the county commission. Im not surprised Gov. DeSantis would appoint someone with this ideology, said president of the NAACP Tallahassee Chapter Mutaqee Akbar. Even if they didnt know about the picture, its the kind of person I can see him picking. Ashley Peterson recalls waking up to 25 text messages and multiple missed phone calls the morning after a fire destroyed the shelter she had served for six years. Peterson, an animal care specialist at Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando, said seeing the devastation at the organizations shelter and knowing some of the cats had not survived was the hardest part of that tragic day. It was hard seeing that big gaping hole in the middle, knowing that some of our cats didnt make it, Peterson said. A year after the fire that killed 17 cats and forced Pet Alliance to close its shelter on Conroy Road, the organization celebrated the grand opening of a new cat shelter in downtown Orlando on Tuesday. Executive Director Steve Bardy said the ceremony reflected the end of a painful night and a new beginning for the organization. A year ago we had a massive fire and I like to call that our before, and you cant really start over and begin again until you have an after and our new cat shelter downtown is our after, Bardy said. Bardy said in addition to serving as an adoption center, the cat-only facility at 777 W. Central Blvd. will take in pets that owners have to surrender and will carry a trap and return program, which focuses on capturing feral cats, altering them to avoid reproduction and releasing them again. Shelter operations are expected to run for about two years and then move to a new location on John Young Parkway. Bardy said the organization plans on opening the new space in 2024, transforming the newly inaugurated building into an affordable veterinary clinic for both dogs and cats. We want it to be a place where people can bring both dogs and cats for affordable veterinary care ... because that is something that we lost in the fire our clinic, Bardy said. Shortly after the ribbon-cutting opening ceremony, Bardy said the cats at the facility would be removed and placed in their respective foster homes ahead of Hurricane Ian. Story continues Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer attended the event and praised the growth of the organization since last year. I think the inspiring thing is how the community rallied to help take care of the pets and then to help rebuild, so this is a great day, Dyer said. Dyer also acknowledged the efforts of the organization to shelter the animals and addressed concerns about Ians potential impact in Central Florida. Get prepared and if you own animals, make sure that you have a plan for them as well because theyre probably going to need to be indoors for a considerable amount of time over the course of the next three days, Dyer said. Rodney Purvis, community outreach manager at Pet Alliance, said the fire had a long-lasting effect on employees, many of whom left the organization because they faced relocation, longer commutes and emotional distress. We all still deal with it daily, little things set you off, you know, Purvis said. Purvis said staff went from around 17 people to only six at the new shelter. Many of those who stayed have gotten tattoos to commemorate their loss. Assistant Shelter Manager Kallie Wiese is one of the employees who decided to stay despite the difficulty of overcoming that night. I dont think I am done with it, I am excited to see where things go and we have a lot of opportunity here with the area that were in, Wiese said. We can help a lot of people, for me its just the excitement of where we can go from here. Wiese has a tattoo on her arm showcasing the number 2727, the address of the last shelter, inside an arrow and the date 9.15.21 with little paws to each side. Peterson also has a tattoo to honor that day: A straight line that extends through her forearm featuring the coordinates of the last location, the date of the fire and half faces of a dog and a cat. She said that after the fire scattered the shelters community, coming back together to start over has returned a sense of hope. We all just got dispersed, you know, being able to come back for the community, for us and the animals [has] been great, Peterson said. Earths inner layers are home to a water-saturated environment, according to a new study that assessed minerals trapped inside a rare gem diamond originating from a depth of about 660km underground. The study, published on Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience, sheds more light on the Earths deep water cycle. Earth is known as a water planet as the oceans make up over 70 per cent of its surface, and while studies have suggested that the inner layers of the mantle could be home to vast quantities of water, evidence that it actually does has been scarce. In a process known as the deep water cycle, hydrated minerals transport ocean water deep into the Earth before it is returned to the surface via volcanic activity, researchers, including those from Gemological Institute of America in the US, explained. However, scientists say sampling and studying the Earths deep water cycle has been difficult. This is because even the deepest boreholes on Earth reach just a little over 12km in depth below the Earths surface. In the new study, scientists unravelled new secrets of the deep water cycle by studying a gem-quality diamond from the Karowe mine in Botswana. They say the ultra-rare diamond had trapped and protected a sample of the Earths lower mantle on its journey from a depth of approximately 660km to the surface. From their analysis, scientists found ringwoodite and other hydrous minerals and phases in a small defect known as an inclusion found in the diamond with a deep blue centre surrounded by a white haze. In this inclusion, researchers say two of the minerals only tend to co-occur at depths of at least 660km, suggesting this is where the diamond formed. This also happens to be the depth at which mantle layers start showing distinction and where seismic waves moving through Earths interior seem to mysteriously change speeds. Taken together, these findings indicate that the rare stone formed in a hydrated region of the Earths mantle. Story continues Did you know that your engagement ring could be the best host for slivers in Earth hundreds of miles away? Why it's not sage to say no when someone proposes a diamond with an inclusion like thisCheck our paper about a 1.5 ct diamond from mantle boundary! https://t.co/VTTLbxOnuM pic.twitter.com/jNLil48pTa Tingting Gu (@TingtingPhD) September 26, 2022 Based on the research, scientists conclude that the diamond confirms the presence of mineral-bound water potentially beyond depths of 660km underground. They say the new evidence points to broad hydration of this region. While this water is chemically bound to other minerals in the mantle, and isnt fluid like an ocean, researchers say it could influence how the mantle melts. In this way, they suspect the deep water could also affect how volcanoes erupt, and also impact the nature of Earths seismic activity and plate tectonics. Researchers suspect that the water release in this mantle layer could also likely explain why seismic waves travel differently through this region. Andrew Aitchison / Getty Images Police said 27-year-old Karina Castro was brutally beheaded outside her California home on September 8. The suspect, Jose Raphael Solano Landaeta, is her ex and is being held on homicide charges. Her father Martin Castro told Insider he's distraught and has been losing weight since she died. Martin Castro said he warned his daughter that her ex-boyfriend would snap one day. That day came on September 8, when Jose Raphael Solano Landaeta brutally killed 27-year-old Karina Castro right outside her house in San Carlos, California, according to authorities. Landaeta, 33 and who goes by Rafa Solano, beheaded her, reported KGO-TV, an ABC7 affiliate, and he's now being held on homicide charges. The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office called the tool used to decapitate her a "stabbing instrument" while local media said it was a sword. Neighbors witnessed the horrific incident, Castro told Insider. His daughter had been "screaming and running around the car, begging for help," he said. Other neighbors detailed to KGO-TV the grisly scene they had witnessed. Chapel Thorborne, for example, told the outlet that Karina's "head was underneath the car and she was laying in [the] back of the car, just severed, and then they covered her up." Landaeta and Karina had a 1-year-old child girl together, and Karina also had another child, a 7-year-old daughter. When Castro died, Child Protective Services took custody of both children. The two always argued and fought, Castro said In an interview with Insider, Castro said he always had a bad feeling about Landaeta. Castro said he wasn't surprised that neighbors didn't come to Karina's rescue because she and Landaeta were always fighting. "It was a known thing," Castro said. He added that family members told him often of the two of them getting into arguments. "I'm one of those dads that if you yell at my daughter, I'm coming at you," he said. "I want to know what your problem is. Why are you yelling, and don't get in her face. So any little thing I heard about them fighting was always a little bit of a trigger for me." Story continues The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office said witnesses called the police to the scene after seeing Karina get decapitated. But by the time officers had arrived, she had already been dead. Karina in April had taken out a restraining order against Landaeta, KGO-TV reported. But the two had continued interacting afterward. Leading up to her death, Landaeta and Castro exchanged a series of contentious messages over Snapchat, KGO-TV reported. Karina told Landaeta that she'd reveal his criminal conviction, which involved in part raping a minor, per KGO-TV. Landaeta then gave a stark warning: "Fuck around and find out," he told her, per the outlet. Castro also said she would disclose that Landaeta had had sex with another man, the outlet said. "Dude, go head try and take my ass out," she wrote to him. Hours later, KGO-TV reported, Landaeta struck. The 'bad feeling' Castro had about Landaeta Castro can't remember a time when he didn't want his daughter to stay away from Landaeta. He said he's been telling his daughter to stay away from him since she met him because something always felt off about him. "I had a bad feeling that he was going to do something, beat her up, whatever," Castro told Insider. "I didn't think it would go like this." But every time he told her how he felt, Karina dismissed him, he said. When she noticed her dad walking into a room that Landaeta was in, she asked him to leave the room to keep them apart, Castro recalled. Castro said his stepdad was violent toward his mother growing up. He watched him throw furniture on top of her and "break things around the house," he said. He got a similar feeling about Landaeta. "I knew this guy had the potential to do something bad," he said. In private, when Castro confronted his daughter about Landaeta's presence, Karina used to tell him that she wanted her 1-year-old child Isabella to have access to both parents. Castro is distraught and having trouble sleeping Castro learned of his daughter's death eight hours after it happened because his other daughter had forwarded an article to his mother. After police cleared the area, he went back to Karina's house to collect her belongings. He saw that her car had blood spatters on it. "I want to keep it and have it repainted because it's something she spent a lot of time in," Castro said. "But on the other side of it, I have a hard time even looking at the car because her blood's all over it." He also noticed that a door panel in the car was "wide open," holding a pocket knife Karina used to carry with her. "She was trying to get to it when he got to her," Castro believes. Castro said he lost 13 pounds in the nearly three weeks that Karina's been dead. He's had trouble sleeping and he's not sure whether to work. "I feel dead inside," he told Insider. "I keep telling people, 'I don't know how one person can feel so numb but hurt so bad all at the same time.'" The coroner's office told Castro that Karina had been "about 90 to 95% decapitated," but still had "some skin and tissue holding her head on." "Thankfully she died immediately," Castro said. Castro said Karina would have turned 28 in November. But instead of starting to plan for her birthday, he began planning her funeral. Earlier this month, Landaeta's attorney petitioned the court for a mental examination to determine if he competent to stand trial, which was granted, per KTVU. "He seems dead set and ruminating at this point in time," Attorney Robert Cummings told the outlet. "It is sadly a soul that is riddled with schizophrenia and I'm hoping that these doctors can come back with an evaluation that will lead us to get him to where he needs to be in the system." Castro said he thinks about Landaeta a lot these days. He said he wants to "make him suffer more than he made my daughter suffer." "I would love for me to be the last thing he sees," he added. Read the original article on Insider Residents along the west coast of Florida -- from Miami to Tallahassee -- have been rushing out to the supermarket and other stores to stock up on the basics ahead of Hurricane Ian. "I've been through Andrew in the 1990s ... and in 2003, 2004 when the three hurricanes hit all at once in Miami -- I've been through that, so I kind of want to prep," Orlando resident Daisy Herrera told AccuWeather National Reporter Jillian Angeline Tuesday. "It's been rough, but I want to always prepare with hurricanes because I don't play with that." Herrera was stocking up on essentials like basic toiletries, cereal, canned goods, and other non-perishables and bread -- "necessities when it comes to hurricanes!" Many grocery store chains have been feeling the impact of the sudden rush, with shelves in area markets emptying out quickly. Some markets, like Publix, have started placing limits on the number of essentials, like bottled water, that people can purchase. Southeastern Grocers, which owns supermarket chains Winn-Dixie, Fresco y Mas and Harveys Supermarket across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, said it is also seeing surging demand for items like bottled water, batteries and cleaning supplies, according to WTSP. And it's not just the necessities, but protecting their property is also on the minds of people as they prepare for the hurricane. Floridians continued to buy plywood to board up their windows as well as fill up sandbags at local facilities across the state to guard against life-threatening flooding and storm damage from the 6- to 10-foot storm surges that are being forecast. Jerry Demings, mayor of Orange County, Florida, which includes Orlando, said as of Monday the region had distributed 60,000 sandbags to homeowners in his county. Angeline reported that one couple who moved to Sanford in nearby Seminole County four years ago was in line to fill up some 25 sandbags because they heard from neighbors that the flooding could reach their back porch. Story continues Angeline said the woman's T-shirt seemed to sum up the mood: It read, "Fear No Storm" -- just be prepared, officials warn. Ian made landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 storm Tuesday morning, packing maximum sustained winds of at least 125 mph before moving over the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Thousands of Floridians living along the shore have rushed to evacuate before the storm hits. The major hurricane, which is set to strengthen further and reach Category 4 force later Tuesday or Wednesday, is forecast to make landfall along the west coast of Florida Wednesday night, putting places like Tampa and points farther south at risk for extremely dangerous storm surge among other hazards. Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app.AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer. Eric Posey as Mona Liza Million A drag performer in Idaho is suing the blogger he says falsely accused him of exposing his genitals at the Pride in the Park event in Coeur dAlene. Eric Posey, whose drag name is Mona Liza Million, performed June 11 at Pride in the Park. Right-wing Idaho blogger Summer Bushnell posted altered video of his appearance, blurring his groin to make it appear as if he exposed himself, says a press release from Stoel Rives, the law firm representing Posey. The edited video attracted 20,000 views on social media. People whod seen it none of whom had been at the event contacted local police and urged them to investigate. The City of Coeur dAlene Prosecuting Attorneys Office reviewed both the edited and unedited versions and found that the unedited one did not show any genital exposure. The allegations of indecent exposure, or other crimes cannot be supported by the evidence. Therefore, prosecution is declined, said a statement issued by the office July 1, according to TV station KHQ. Now Posey is suing Bushnell, saying she defamed him. After three months of silence, it is now my turn to speak, Posey said in the press release. Following Coeur dAlenes sixth annual and largest Pride in the Park on June 11th, an altered video of my performance was widely circulated online, along with false allegations of indecent exposure. Despite being cleared of all wrongdoing, provocateurs have continued to spread the doctored video of my performance, not only defaming me, but also inciting a backlash towards the LGBTQIA+ community statewide. I have no choice but to take legal action to hold those responsible for the lies accountable for their actions. My hope is that this civil suit puts a stop to the hateful disinformation campaigns being waged in Idaho. The suit was filed Tuesday in the Idaho District Court for Kootenai County. It asserts that Bushnell sought to capitalize on national attention that came to Pride in the Park when members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front tried to disrupt the event. More than 30 were arrested. Story continues It seeks monetary damages from Bushnell for defamation and defamation by implication in an amount of more than $10,000. It also seeks compensatory damages, attorneys fees, and legal costs, and requests a jury trial. Bushnells false statements had their intended effect thousands of people across the nation viewed her posts and many of them believe Posey committed a serious crime, said Stoel Rives attorney Wendy J. Olson, who is representing Posey along with colleague Cory M. Carone. Flyers with Bushnells doctored photo were posted throughout Coeur dAlene and he has endured public harassment, hatred, contempt, and ridicule. Bushnell lied to gain popularity on social media, but the publicity she received was not free; it came at the expense of Poseys reputation and emotional wellbeing. Mr. Posey is eager to set the record straight. Ive grown to approach life mindful that the energy I reflect has an impact on every living being, Posey added. As such, I strive to radiate kindness, love, and patience in everything I do. Most importantly though, I seek to inspire all of us to live out our truth. I am eternally grateful to the Coeur dAlene Police Department and City Prosecutors who worked tirelessly to uphold the truth, and am so appreciative of those in the North Idaho community who rallied behind me in support during this difficult time. A mini dirty martini from Kita; Park City, UT at night Courtesy of Kita; Jason Cameron / Getty Images On my first trip to Utah this summer, I sat down for dinner on a gorgeous sunny day at Kita, the ambitious, Japanese-inspired steakhouse at the Pendry Park City. As I ate fistfulls of fluffy milk bread smeared with sesame butter and studied the drink menu, unable to choose between sake, wine, or a cocktail. Then, my decision was made for me: a server carried the tiniest dirty martini I've ever seen to a nearby table. When the same server reached me, I asked her if that had been a mini martini, and why, and could I have it? She explained that it was actually their normal-sized martini, which was teeny because of Utah laws that dictate how much hard alcohol can be served in a single beverage. This was my first exposure to the many laws surrounding liquor in Utah. The server explained that hard liquor, before it hits your cocktail, passes through a metered dispensing device that attaches to the top of the liquor bottle, ensuring that no more than 1.5-ounces of "primary liquor" pours into a mixed drink at a time. (Per Utah law, cocktails can have "secondary alcoholic flavorings," but the drink cannot exceed 2.5 ounces total of spirituous liquor.) "Quite often people are shocked about the size of the martinis," said TJ Consiglio, the general manager at Kita. But, he pointed out, the size adds to the fun: smaller cocktails mean smaller (way cuter) glassware styles. "Our Nic and Nora glasses are not often seen anymore but they fit our Utah martinis perfectly." I soon learned of other state regulations: that beer on tap cannot exceed 5% ABV though drinks served by the bottle can have any percentage and that restaurants cannot serve drinks unless food is ordered. According to Utah's official government website, the state's liquor laws "are based on the general philosophy of making alcoholic beverages available in a manner that reasonably satisfies the public demand." It continues, "In this respect, however, the state does not promote or encourage the sale or use of alcohol." Story continues On my trip, I encountered other laws that were less surprising to me, as I'd seen them in other states you can't buy alcohol on Sunday, for example. I'm from Pennsylvania, where you have to buy liquor from state-run stores. But this precise regulation of liquor in cocktails served at bars and restaurants posed such an interesting challenge for Utah bartenders, which, in turn, breeds creativity. Beyond just teeny tiny martinis. "The liquor laws create an environment where bartenders must be meticulous while also creative," Consiglio told me. "We are very specific in our spirit selections for all drinks and want to see what packs the most flavor in every pour." This includes experimenting with "shrubs and syrups that do not have any alcohol but add layers on top of the spirits;" a popular shishito cocktail features sake and a shishito pepper shrub. Beyond alcohol, every eating and drinking establishment I visited in the state, from Deer Valley to Moab, had truly delicious, thoughtful non-alcoholic beverages, catering to the state's significant sober population. (The fact that I could order an ice cold glass of Fresca, in my view an under-appreciated soda, just about everywhere was so thrilling to me.) At the Pendry Park City, one of the best things I drank was a booze-free cocktail called the Midsomer, by bartender Zack Rhoades: a geniusly balanced refresher with honeydew and shrub club soda, plus muddled strawberry, lemon, and mint. The cocktail recently won the top mixology award at the Park City Area Restaurant Association contest. When Erin Pinta, who runs a Park City food account on Instagram, moved to the state from New York two years ago, she was surprised by the laws surrounding happy hours (discounts on alcohol are not allowed) and the 1.5-ounce maximum for liquor in cocktails. Since then, she's come to appreciate the local drink culture. "I've found that these restrictions force restaurants and bartenders to get more creative with their cocktails," she said. Her go-to bars are High West Saloon, Handle, and YUTA in Park City, and she adores the blueberry mojito at Royal Street Cafe in Deer Valley. "The restrictions in some ways make our drinks more balanced," said Consiglio. "Traditional cocktail ratios tend to have a very alcohol-forward feeling. While guests might like a stiff drink, mixologists know a well-balanced drink is well received by the masses and is enjoyed multiple times a sitting." I'm not going to lie my favorite drinking experience in Utah was visiting Swig, a drive-through "dirty soda" chain that makes giant, icy soda beverages with various mix-ins, from flavored syrups to frozen fruit. On my way to the airport, I stopped at a Swig in Salt Lake City and reluctantly ordered the sparkling "Mango Breeze," a very busy concoction of sparkling water, coconut syrup, vanilla syrup, mango puree, frozen coconut, and coconut cream. To my great shock, the drink was the most refreshing, satisfying fountain soda-based anything I have put into my body. I will be back for it. Voters in Grand Rapids, Mich., cast their ballots at Coit Creative Arts Elementary School during the Aug. 2 primary. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) From his perch in an elementary school gym during last month's Michigan primary, Grand Rapids City Clerk Joel Hondorp oversaw the electronic book of eligible voters, while first-time election workers Kimberly and Shayne Becher helped check people in and explain how to fill out ballots. Kimberly, a 59-year-old counselor from Greenville, said she and her husband wanted to get involved "to learn how this all works," since neither is convinced that the 2020 presidential election hadn't been stolen. You just go to a Trump rally or go to a Biden rally, that will tell you who won, said Shayne, a 53-year-old carpenter. Hondorp hopes that the Bechers and others trained by his office, with a successful election behind them, will change their minds about the process. "Hopefully, theyre going to go back and talk to their friends and family and say: Hey, this is what we observed, Hondorp said. City Clerk Joel Hondorp helps election workers set up at East Leonard Elementary School in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Across the country, election clerks have spent the last two years waging an information and public relations battle to restore faith in elections. Theyre doing more TV interviews, giving more office tours and retooling their social media presences. Theyre keeping up with legislation to overhaul elections and conspiracy theories spreading online. And theyre redoubling their efforts to explain the exhaustive steps they take to prevent fraud and run secure elections. But as the 2022 primaries showed, some of the key personnel involved poll workers and poll challengers still actively doubt the results of the 2020 presidential race, believing baseless allegations of fraud perpetuated by former President Trump and his allies. In Michigan, poll workers are hired and trained by local election clerks to help run voting precincts and count mail ballots. They're affiliated with a political party and often work in bipartisan teams. Poll challengers, meanwhile, are trained by and registered with political parties or interest groups including both conservative activist organizations and left-leaning voting rights groups to observe election workers and flag potential misconduct or election law violations by poll workers. They have more rights than Michigan poll watchers, who can merely observe the electoral process. Story continues Before the November midterms and the 2024 presidential election, concerns are growing that conspiracy-minded people in those positions could further corrode trust in the process by spreading misinformation or violating procedures. For example, Kristina Karamo, Michigan's Republican nominee for secretary of state, rose to prominence in conservative circles after making baseless claims of voter fraud while serving as a poll challenger in Detroit in 2020. Trump has endorsed Karamo for the office, which as in other states has become increasingly visible and politicized since the 2020 election. The Republican National Committee has continued to build up its recruitment of poll workers and challengers in states such as Michigan after being freed of a decades-long consent decree that barred it from such activities. The RNC has hired state directors and attorneys to work in 16 states including California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan with a goal of recruiting 5,000 poll workers in each state. Workers sort absentee ballots at Southwest Middle High School in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Last July, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the Democratic National Committee would spend $25 million on its "I Will Vote" efforts, which includes recruiting poll challengers. While Republicans frame their recruitment efforts around the idea of "election integrity," Democrats have called the work "voter protection" and sought to avoid the negative association behind terms such as poll challenger. "Election Day Poll Challengers serve as our teams eyes and ears on the ground at polling locations on Election Day," according to the Michigan Democratic Party's website. "Our Challengers do NOT challenge voters; rather, they advocate for voters." In Michigan, a coalition of county, state and national Republican groups led by the state GOP has spearheaded the effort to recruit thousands of poll workers in the state. One of those organizations is Stand Up Michigan, a conservative activist group that grew out of opposition to Michigans COVID-19 policies. Weve got to basically let them know that we are going to be monitoring and watching every step of the way, and we need to be a part of all the process, Ron Armstrong, president of Stand Up Michigan, said during a June podcast interview with Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who sought to help Trump overturn the results of the 2020 election. Election challengers examine containers containing ballots at Southwest Middle High School in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) In some cases, such groups have encouraged poll workers to break the rules. Before the August primary in Michigan, Wayne County GOP chairwoman Cheryl Costantino told poll workers to sneak in phones and pens to take notes on alleged fraud, according to a CNN report. They are actively trying to encourage people to not comply with their employers directions, and that is extraordinarily concerning, said Barb Byrum, the clerk for Michigan's Ingham County, home to the state capital of Lansing. An election worker or challenger who subscribes to conspiracy theories could jeopardize the secrecy of ballots by bringing a phone into the absentee voter ballot counting board, or slow down the process, Byrum said. Its designed to create havoc. And make no mistake about it, I believe that this is merely a trial run for 2024, she said. Local conservative groups, such as Michigans Election Integrity Force, have recruited and trained election challengers to observe the process across the state. The group's website claims there was "a massive amount of evidence of rampant, systemic election fraud" in 2020 and notes that it is working to build mass awareness on systemic election fraud and drive forward the process of decertification of fraudulent elections." An election worker in Grand Rapids explains the voting process during Michigan's primary Aug. 2. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) The Election Integrity Force is also part of a lawsuit filed this month seeking to decertify the results of the 2020 election in Michigan and hold a new election, arguing without evidence that the voting machines used in the 2020 election werent certified. In a training for challengers before the Aug. 2 primary, the organization recommended calling 911 and involving law enforcement to maintain a record of any issues, according to a recording of a Zoom meeting obtained by Politico. Poll challengers also have become more aggressive in their approach to dealing with election officials and poll workers. Nicholas and Harrison DeChant, 24-year-old twin brothers from Grand Rapids who volunteered to help count absentee ballots in the 2020 general election and the 2022 primary as Democrats, said they felt the increased scrutiny. The way that they interacted with the workers, we thought, was much closer than we had experienced in 2020, Harrison said. Half a dozen challengers peppered them with questions while they opened ballots. As they ran the ballots through vote tabulators it was "question after question after question," they both said. There were queries about where the data go and what purpose a particular computer served. When one of them put a box on the ground because there wasn't room on the table, a challenger asked why he was "hiding" ballots. In spite of the distractions, the DeChants said, they were able to answer most questions or refer the poll challengers to a member of the clerk's office. Election worker Daniel Drent puts up signs at a precinct in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Hondorp said he sensed that some people came into his office's election worker training with preconceived notions, but his hope was that the two-hour session and hands-on experience dispelled some misconceptions about the process. Some of them are still not gonna believe it, because they just dont trust the system, and theres nothing that I can do, he said. Ive done all I can do to give the information and provide it in the right context. Late into the afternoon on election day, the Bechers had no complaints. Shayne said nothing fishy" seemed to be going on, while Kimberly said it was a good experience. Well definitely keep involved, she said. Mark Laws, a Republican poll worker who spent election day processing mail ballots at the absent voter counting board, also had a good experience. I dont have any problem with everything thats here, said Laws, a 62-year-old semi-retired operations management professional. My concern would be what happens before here and what happens after here. Election workers are sworn in before Michigan's Aug. 2 primary at a precinct in Grand Rapids. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Hondorp said he doesn't see challengers as an adversary. He noted that his background a mix of political work for the Michigan Republican Party and decades of nonpartisan election work has prepared him for the newly polarized landscape of election administration. "If I did my training properly for my election workers and gave them good instructions on what the law was and what they're supposed to do, it shouldn't be an issue," he said. Still, he plans to focus more on the role that poll challengers play in future election worker trainings. And on separating facts from social media rumors. My whole mindset now has changed from trying to just run an election in Grand Rapids, Mich., to now trying to explain how we do things in light of whats happening in [other states]," he said. Thats factored into how he trains election workers. During the 2020 election, a YouTube video of an Arizona woman claiming election officials tried to invalidate her vote by giving her a Sharpie to fill out her ballot went viral. Maricopa County election officials explained that the bleeding from the ink wouldnt affect the ballot because the columns on the front and back are offset, but the rumor still spread to the rest of the country. A television news crew interviews City Clerk Joel Hondorp outside a church in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) That surprised us all, Hondorp said. All of a sudden were getting phone calls, blowing up our phones in Grand Rapids about what kind of pens were using. This year, as he was training poll workers for the primary, he anticipated the question and had an answer at the ready: They use PaperMate Flairs with felt tips. Voter ID laws have also been in the spotlight. Under current Michigan law, voters who dont have a photo ID are allowed to sign an affidavit attesting to their identity. About 0.2% of voters, 11,400 of nearly 5.6 million, filled out affidavits in the state's 2020 general election. A Republican-backed ballot initiative from Secure MI Vote would have made voter IDs mandatory. That initiative missed the deadline to be on the general election ballot. Promote the Vote's Proposition 2, which will be on the ballot, would affirm the right to sign an affidavit. Secure MI Vote's initiative is part of a broader effort to make voter ID laws more restrictive across the country, including laws passed recently in states such as Missouri and New Hampshire to remove the option to fill out an affidavit. Instead voters must fill out provisional ballots that must go through extra steps to be counted. For Hondorp and other election clerks, the challenge has been to clarify what the current law is, determine the status of ballot initiatives and address concerns about affidavits. In training sessions, hes focused on clarifying that voter ID laws have not changed in the state, and that the current laws are sufficient to secure the vote. The advice I give and what I give myself as well is make sure you know your laws, rules, processes. And when you know them, be confident in them, he said. Don't let someone sway you based on what they've heard be firm in upholding what election law says. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co was sued on Monday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which accused the drugmaker of illegally refusing to hire older workers for sales representative jobs because of their age. The complaint said Lilly's violations began after Stephen Fry, its senior vice president for human resources and diversity, lamented during an April 2017 "Leadership Town Hall" that its sales force was skewed toward older workers, with 20% fewer "millennials" than the American workforce. According to the EEOC, Fry suggested that the lack of millennials was a problem, and the Indianapolis-based company would target 40% "Early Career" hiring. Managers then changed their hiring practices for sales representatives, sometimes requiring greater review and approval before extending offers to older candidates, even after some recognized that the 40% goal was illegal, the EEOC said. The target remained through 2021, it added. Lilly, in a statement, denied the accusations and said it was "committed to fostering and promoting a culture of diversity and respect." The lawsuit filed in Indianapolis federal court accused Lilly of violating the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. It seeks to permanently enjoin future discrimination, obtain back pay and other damages for people not hired because of their age, and improve training for supervisors and managers. "This case underscores the continued need for the EEOC to break down barriers to employment" for older Americans as they work longer and in larger numbers, Robert Weisberg, an EEOC lawyer who helped bring the case, said in a statement. Lilly's top-selling product is Trulicity, a treatment for type 2 diabetes. On Aug. 11, Lilly said Fry would retire at the end of 2022 after more than 35 years at the company. The case is EEOC v Lilly USA LLC, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, No. 22-01882. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco; Editing by Stephen Coates) Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Elon Musks plan to offer satellite internet service in Iran and Cuba is stressing his unusual definition of free speech. By free speech, I simply mean that which matches the law, Elon Musk explained in April, after signing a contract to purchase the social media network Twitter. Read more Musk got cold feet on that deal, but the serial entrepreneur still operates his own global telecommunications network, SpaceXs Starlink satellites. As anti-government protests have broken out in Iran, the theocratic regime there has done its best to shut down internet access and block its citizens from contacting the rest of the world. In response, Musk says he will make his satellite network operational there. This, of course, would involve breaking the law in those countries. Providing service to Iran and Cuba is an interesting position for SpaceX, since presumably they would have to use black market channels to get ground terminals to people, and probably accept payment in contradiction of local lawsmaybe using cryptocurrency? said David Burbach, a professor of international relations at the Naval War College, speaking in his personal capacity. SpaceX has previously said they would follow national laws. SpaceX did not respond to questions about the legality of its plans, or how it would it get terminals into either country. How to break through a national firewall When it comes to freedom of speech, few outside of Irans Supreme Council or the top ranks of Cubas Communist Party would object to allowing people to access information and communication services. That highlights how Musks simplistic definition of free speech catered to those who fear so-called cancel culture, but doesnt do much when governments prevent speech and assembly. Story continues The company has been praised by the Ukrainian government for deploying the Starlink network there as a measure to avoid Russias efforts to disrupt the countrys communications. But Ukraines government okayed the technology, and the US governments logistics pipeline sent in the required user terminals. Now, it will be up to dissidents and their supporters to smuggle user terminals into these countries. (Unless, of course, some secret arm of the US government is quietly helping out.) The decision to do business in Iran and Cuba raises questions about Starlinks standards. In the past, SpaceX executives have told Quartz they have no plans to do business in either Russia or China, two other states with repressive governments and state-controlled media. Those governments have too much power to cause problems for SpaceX and Musks other interests, notably his car company Tesla, which makes and sells its vehicles in China. The other markets Starlink needs to succeed Starlink itself is by definition global, and to succeed as a business it must gain regulatory permission in countries around the world to serve more customers. The network, though still incomplete, is already being stressed by US uptake, while its capacity goes unused over much of the rest of the globe. But many potential Starlink markets sit in the gray area between US and western European speech norms and those that crackdown harshly on open expression. Countries like India, the Gulf States, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and others with strict restrictions on speech and internet access could be potentially lucrative markets for the service. Telecom analysts say regulators in those countries, already known as difficult places for foreign firms to do business, are likely to be non-plussed by the Iran and Cuba decisions. There are other complications: Starlink depends mainly on ground stations to relay data from satellites to users and back again, at least until it launches more new satellites that can communicate with each other using lasers. Iran and Cuba wont host ground stations, so users will need to transmit through those in other countries. That will mean worse service, as weve seen in parts of Ukraine that are far from stations in Poland, Lithuania and Turkey, and could also put political pressure on nearby countries that do host them. Providing service over the objection of local governments will likely make Starlink an even bigger target for state-sponsored cyberattacksa hefty challenge for companies big or small, notes Caleb Henry, a satellite analyst at Quilty Analytics. And then theres the finances. SpaceX loses money on every Starlink terminal it sells, but the service itself isnt cheap, with start-up costs in the neighborhood of $500 and monthly service fees of $100. Even if users in restrictive countries can figure out how to pay SpaceX, they may face difficulties coming up with the money to do so. Barring some kind of subsidy or change in business model, its hard to see many customers being able to afford the service in these countries. Christian Sayre, the owner of the Anchor Pub in Everett, was arrested by the Everett Police Department on Monday on charges of multiple sex offenses. He was arrested at his home by members of the Everett Police Departments Special Assault Unit and Anti-Crime Team. According to police, Sayre had a $1 million warrant out of Washington County, Oregon, for multiple sex offenses. He was booked in Snohomish County Jail. Sayre was arrested in October 2020 for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting male and female customers. In November 2022, a search warrant was served at Sayres home and pub, where detectives recovered evidence of other sexual assaults in Everett and Washington County, Oregon. Sayre was charged with two counts of second-degree rape and eight counts of indecent liberties. Detectives said they collected evidence on nine additional charges, but those cases were dropped due to statutes of limitations that had expired or additional information was needed. Anyone with information about the crimes or who may have been victimized is asked to call the Everett Police Department at 425-257-8450 or Washington County, Oregons tip line at 503-846-2700. A former Navy engineer accused of trying to sell sensitive secrets about the Navy's nuclear-powered submarines to a foreign country by hiding them in a peanut butter sandwich changed his plea to guilty, federal court documents reveal. Jonathan Toebbe's wife, Diana Toebbe, also pleaded guilty after she was accused of helping him conduct surveillance to determine whether they were being followed. The couple, of Annapolis, Maryland, had pleaded not guilty after their arrests last year. They changed their pleas to guilty this year to one felony count each of conspiracy to communicate restricted data. U.S. District Judge Gina Groh rejected the pleas last month, saying the sentencing options seemed "strikingly deficient" considering the seriousness of the charges. Jonathan Toebbe,Diana Toebbe (Jose Luis Magana / AP file) At the time, the deal would have sent Jonathan Toebbe to prison for 12 years and Diana Toebbe for three years. Under Tuesday's new guilty plea, they would each face a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $100,000 fine, although prosecutors are asking for a sentence for Diana Toebbe at the lowest end of the guideline range. Their attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Jonathan Toebbe, who started working with the Navy in 2012, was arrested last year in West Virginia on suspicion of conspiracy to communicate restricted data and other crimes. His wife, a former teacher in Maryland, was arrested on allegations that she assisted him. Prosecutors said Jonathan Toebbe mailed a package of classified information in April 2020 to representatives of a foreign country that he was trying to develop a relationship with, according to a criminal complaint. He offered to reveal more secrets in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, the complaint said. Officials in the country, which authorities did not name, alerted the U.S., and the FBI reached out to Jonathan Toebbe, pretending to be from the country he contacted, it said. The residence of Jonathan and Diana Toebbe (Brian Witte / AP file) The complaint said Jonathan Toebbe wanted to deal only by email at first but later agreed to store data on memory cards that he would leave at designated "dead drop" locations. Story continues During one drop in West Virginia, he concealed the memory card in plastic that he placed in a peanut butter sandwich, according to the complaint. During another, he put the card in a Band-Aid wrapper and a plastic bag, it said. The complaint described another instance in which it said Jonathan Toebbe put the card in a chewing gum package. Prosecutors said the sensitive information included details about Virginia-class submarines, which are nuclear-powered fast attack warships. By August 2021, Jonathan Toebbe had received $100,000 in Monero, a cryptocurrency, from the FBI agent he thought was his foreign contact, authorities said. FBI Agent Peter Olinits, who worked on the case, previously said the Toebbes were identified when the investigators saw them return to a car that was registered to Diana Toebbe. Olinits said the couple wore hiking clothes and were "dressed to blend in." If the court does not accept the latest plea agreement, the Toebbes would again have the right to withdraw their guilty pleas. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com The claim: There was a recent sex trafficking attempt in Dearborn, Michigan An array of false or exaggerated claims about supposed human trafficking and kidnapping attempts have spread around the country in recent months. The latest claims a woman in Michigan narrowly avoided being taken by a sex trafficker. VERY IMPORTANT WARNING. This happened yesterday near Dearborn Michigan, reads the start of a Sept. 17 Facebook post that was shared more than 2,600 times in just over a week. It went on to describe a man stopping in front of a womans vehicle, getting out and attempting to reach into her drivers side door while wearing white gloves. The post claimed a detective later told the victim the gloves have chemicals on them to knock a person out cold as part of a sex trafficking attempt. Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks But the claimed abduction attempt never happened. Police said no such incident was reported in the area. USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the claim for comment. Michigan Fake post comes after similar false reports in Michigan The Dearborn Police Department issued a statement on Facebook saying the claims were false. Please be advised that this is a FAKE post and there are no indications of any actual incident, said the Sept. 22 post. The claim was also debunked by numerous local outlets, including The Detroit News and Press and Guide. The latter outlet reported it first circulated on WhatsApp before jumping to Facebook and Instagram. Fact check: False claim of man allegedly terrorizing several towns Authorities have also debunked claims of a serial killer kidnapping people in Genesee County and a human trafficking attempt near Detroit Metro Airport in recent months, as reported by FOX 2 Detroit. Our rating: False Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that there was a sex trafficking attempt in Dearborn. Police said no such incident was reported in the area. Story continues Our fact-check sources: Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim of sex trafficking attempt in Michigan LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Sweden's Maritime Authority said on Tuesday it had issued a warning of two leaks on the Russian-owned Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters, shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 project was discovered. Nord Stream 1, the largest single supply route for the Russian gas to Europe, has been idle since the end of August due to a row over faulty equipment at a key compressor station in Russia. Below are further details of the importance of the pipeline in carrying Russian gas to Europe. SUPPLY CUT Even before the pipeline was halted, Moscow had cut Nord Stream's capacity to just 20%, blaming the late return of equipment held up in Canada because of sanctions. The 1,224 km-long Nord Stream 1 consists of two parallel pipelines with nameplate annual capacity of 27.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) each, running from Vyborg, Russia to the exit point in Lubmin, Germany. In Germany, the gas is received by the connecting pipelines OPAL (Baltic Sea Pipeline Link) and NEL (North European Gas Pipeline), which link into the European grid. OWNERS The pipeline is majority-owned by Gazprom and forms the main route through which Russian gas flows to Germany. Gazprom has a 51% stake, with the rest held by four Western partners. PEGI/E.ON and Wintershall Dea have 15.5% each, and French Engie and Dutch Gasunie hold 9% each. The project partners injected 30% proportionally to their shareholding in equity and received the other 70% in bank and export credit agency loans. OPERATORS The Switzerland-based Nord Stream AG consortium is the operating company for transit, technical, legal and environmental matters, but does not own the asset or the gas in it. Gazprom Export handles the shipments via contracts with European utilities and gas traders. IMPORTANCE There are other major pipelines from Russia to Europe, but flows through these have gradually declined. Flows through the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which historically transported gas from Russia to Europe, have been moving eastwards to Poland from Germany since the start of the year. Story continues Supplies through pipelines running from Russia to Europe via Ukraine have also decreased after Ukraine halted one gas transit route in May, blaming interference by occupying Russian forces. COMPANIES AFFECTED Many major European gas-buying companies with contracts with Gazprom saw their supplies cut after Nord Stream was shut, including Austria's OMV, Italy's ENI, Germanys Uniper and RWE. Russia has already cut gas flows to Bulgaria, Finland, Poland, Denmark, Dutch firm Gasterra and Shell for its German contracts, after they all rejected a Kremlin demand to switch to payments in roubles. (Reporting by Susanna Twidale, Vera Eckert, Tom Kaeckenhoff and Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Barbara Lewis, Susan Fenton and Jan Harvey) Associated Press Russell M. Nelson, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told members of the faith on Saturday that abuse was a grievous sin that shouldn't be tolerated and would bring down the wrath of God on perpetrators. Let me be perfectly clear: Any kind of abuse of women, children or anyone is an abomination to the Lord, Nelson, who members of the faith believe is a prophet, said in Salt Lake City at a church conference. The AP's investigation found the hotline the church uses for abuse reporting can be misused by its leaders to divert accusations away from law enforcement and toward church attorneys. Maldwyn Harries daughter Nia shared a tribute to her father on Facebook. (Wales News) A farmer has been killed in a suspected incident with a bull while tending his cattle at his farm in south-east Wales. Maldwyn Harries, 58, was found dead at his family farm in Penybanc, near Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, on Friday morning. Harries, who ran a countryside cattle business, was pronounced dead at the scene when emergency services arrived after being called by his family. The incident is being investigated for the coroner to hold an inquest. Read more: Boy, 9, killed and girl injured after 4x4 vehicle overturns on farm adventure course Police arrived when the victim had already died. (Getty) Harries was well known in the farming community. His daughter Nia posted a picture on Facebook of her and her father together when she was a child captioned with a heartbroken and crying emoji. Gym manager Nia and her mother Gillian, 55, were being comforted by other family and friends. Well-wishers gave their condolences on her Facebook profile, calling Maldwyn a "true gent". A person wrote: "Your father was a very kind man and always had a laugh and a chat" Another said: "So sorry for your loss. Mal was one of the originals and one of the best. " Edward Thomas, a town councillor and Carmarthenshire county councillor for the Llandeilo ward, said: Its very, very sad news and my thoughts are with the family. "All the people in the Llandeilo area are very saddened by the news and will be very supportive of the family. Read more: British holidaymaker, 24, dies after falling 30ft from Ibiza hotel balcony Llandeilo town councillor Christoph Fischer said everyone in the area had been shocked and saddened by the sudden death. I was very shocked to learn about this heart-breaking tragedy, he added. The Harries family is at the heart of the Llandeilo and Penybanc community and were all saddened that Maldwyn lost his life. He will be greatly missed. A spokeswoman for Dyfed-Powys Police said: Officers attended a farm in the Penybanc area of Llandeilo on Friday morning, September 23, 2022, following a report that a man had been injured. Story continues Sadly, a 58-year-old man passed away at the scene. HM Coroner for Carmarthenshire and the Health and Safety Executive have been informed of the death. An inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death has not yet been opened. WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) A mother who lost one of her sons in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre testified Tuesday that her biggest fear is that people who believe the shooting was a hoax will harm her other son, who survived the attack at his school. Nicole Hockley and her former husband, Ian Hockley, were the latest family members of the 26 victims of the school shooting to testify at the defamation trial of Alex Jones, where a jury is deciding how much the conspiracy theorist must pay for spreading the hoax lie. Nicole Hockley said she's been called an actress and threatened with violence by people who have written to her that her 6-year-old son, Dylan, either never lived or never died. She keeps knives and a baseball bat by her bed because she fears being attacked, and has taken out a large insurance policy in the event she is killed, she said. I got sent pictures of dead kids, because I was told that as a crisis actor, I didn't really know what a dead kid looked like, so this is what it should look like, she said. Related video: Alex Jones calls his trial rigged and a fraud One piece of hate mail, she said, came from someone who cursed at her and her slain child and wrote, Were going to extend an RIP greeting to you, with the words rot in pieces in parentheses. I got a piece of mail telling me to slit my wrists before they did it for me, she testified. Nicole Hockley said her biggest worry is what would happen if her now 18-year-old son, Jake, is confronted by similar threats, that as a young man he won't know the right choice to make if he's approached, because of what that might do to him in terms of making him angry because someone is questioning his own life, questioning the life and death of his brother, his parents. Earlier, Ian Hockley testified that he was ridiculed online as a party boy and an actor after posting a video of the memorial service for Dylan, because when he found the service uplifting, he smiled. Story continues That is what that video started to attract is people saying this must be fake, he said. He's an actor. He's smiling. 'Oh, you're out of character,' all of those things started to appear until we took our video down. He said it was abominable and frightening that the hoax lie was spread to millions of viewers of Jones' Infowars show. Jillian Soto-Marino, the last witness of the day, testified she was accosted at charity 5K race for her sister, by Matthew Mills, a conspiracy theorist who had been a guest on Jones' Infowars show. Mills was arrested at the event for harassing Soto-Marino with allegations that her sister, first-grade teacher Vicki Soto, never existed. He was sentenced to two years probation. These lies have taken away my sense of security, my sense of safety, Soto-Marino said. Things that are supposed to be joyful, you don't know what's going to happen. Jones' attorney, Norm Pattis, had Soto-Marino acknowledge that Mills never mentioned Jones or said that he was sent by Jones. She also said she had never watched any video of Jones before the trial started and never received correspondence from Jones or his Inforwars show. She said that as far as she know, Jones has never used her name. Earlier in the trial, other relatives also gave often emotional testimony describing how they endured death or rape threats, in-person harassment and abusive comments on social media by people calling the shooting a hoax. Some moved to avoid the abuse. Judge Barbara Bellis last year found Jones and his company liable by default for damages to plaintiffs without a trial, a consequence for what she called his repeated failure to turn over documents to their lawyers. The jury of six will determine how much in damages Jones and Infowars parent company, Free Speech Systems, should pay relatives of five children and three adults killed at the school, for saying the shooting didnt happen and inflicting emotional distress. An FBI agent who responded to the shooting also is a plaintiff. Last week, Jones got into a heated exchange with plaintiffs attorney Christopher Mattei, accusing the lawyer of ambulance chasing and saying he was done apologizing for claiming the shooting was staged. In recent years, Jones has acknowledged the massacre happened, but says the families of victims are being used to push a gun-control and anti-free speech agenda. Outside the courthouse and on his Infowars show, Jones has referred to the proceedings as a show trial and a kangaroo court and called Judge Barbara Bellis a tyrant, posting an image of her with lasers shooting from her eyes. On Tuesday, Bellis said she would refrain from issuing any gag orders against Jones, but said that could change. Also during the trial Tuesday, the plaintiffs' lawyers played a video of a deposition earlier this year of a former Infowars producer, Nico Acosta, who said Jones not infrequently said things on his show he knew was false. Acosta, who worked for the show from 2013 to 2018, said he left Infowars because he had reached a saturation point with the toxicity, alleging a lack of ethics in how Jones covered stories. He said he didn't like the effect the content was having. Bellis has ordered Jones not to mention in his testimony several topics, including free speech rights and his claims he only discussed Sandy Hook in a small percentage of his shows. Defense attorney Norm Pattis is arguing that any damages should be limited and accused the victims relatives of exaggerating the harm the lies caused them. In a similar trial last month in Austin, Texas, home to Jones and Infowars, a jury ordered Jones to pay nearly $50 million in damages to the parents of one of the children killed in the shooting, because of the hoax lies. A third such trial in Texas involving two other parents is expected to begin near the end of the year. The FBIs arrest of Mark Houck, the pro-life Catholic father of seven who was arrested in Pennsylvania last week, is a "loser case" that appears to lack the "reasonable likelihood of success," according to a former prosecutor and legal expert. "If the facts as the government alleged them to be are true, that Houck essentially engaged in two incidences of simple assault against this so-called escort. I'm baffled that it would take the United States Department of Justice, where I used to work as a prosecutor, 337 days from the incident to the indictment, to prosecute somebody for two counts of a simple assault misdemeanor," Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow Cully Stimson told Fox News Digital in a phone interview Monday. "This is a loser case. And here's the strange thing about it. In the federal government, when you bring an indictment, you have to have a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits. That's the standard And I think there are very real factual questions that raise the issue of self-defense. And then there's a statutory question of whether this so-called escort even falls within the FACE Act. And so I don't think there's a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits," Stimson said, noting that more facts might come out about the case in the coming days. Houck, a Catholic dad of seven who would often pray outside a Philadelphia abortion clinic, was arrested Friday at his rural Pennsylvania home in Kintnersville by the FBI. The arrest reportedly stems from an altercation he had with a Planned Parenthood escort in Philadelphia in October 2021. Houck is accused of pushing a 72-year-old man after the escort allegedly verbally harassed Houck's 12-year-old son outside the clinic. FBI ARREST OF PENNSYLVANIA PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST AN ATTACK ON 'PRO-LIFE CHRISTIANS,' SPOX SAYS The Philadelphia Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital that officers responded to the Planned Parenthood on the afternoon of October 13 last year, but that no charges were filed against Houck, and he was not arrested. Story continues The 72-year-old man "was pushed to the ground" by Houck, which caused "a scrape to his right arm," a Philadelphia police spokesperson said. The Department of Justice press release on Houcks arrest states he is "alleged to have twice assaulted a man because he was a volunteer reproductive health clinic escort." Attorneys for Houck said that the Philadelphia district attorney declined to take up the case and that a private criminal claim filed by the 72-year-old was ultimately thrown out this summer. "Most likely, the local authorities didnt file charges because, upon examining the facts, it was, at best, a case of mutual combat in which two adults got out of hand and ended up in a minor scuffle. In such cases, typically neither party is charged, and the case goes away," Stimson and Hans Von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, wrote in a commentary piece Monday. Stimson - who has worked as a prosecutor in San Diego and Maryland, and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia - noted that Houck has no criminal record. WHAT IS THE FACE ACT AT THE CENTER OF PENNSYLVANIA PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST ASSAULT CASE? "Normally what you would do for somebody with no criminal record, who's not a flight risk, is to contact his lawyer or contact a representative and say, 'Hey, by the way, you're going to be indicted, or you have been indicted. May we send you a copy of the indictment, and then present yourself to the Federal Court on this day? So you can be arraigned on the indictment?'" Stimson said. "But no. They send in essentially armed agents. Why over a dozen agents? Why not two? Three? You think the guy is going to come out, guns blazing with his kids in the house?" Houcks wife, Ryan-Marie Houck, spoke with the Catholic News Agency after her husbands arrest and said that "a SWAT team of about 25 came to my house with about 15 vehicles and started pounding on our door." Former spokesman for Houck, Brian Middleton, clarified on Monday to Fox News Digital that the FBI has denied the agents were part of a SWAT team and that Ryan-Marie Houck unintentionally used a technical term after witnessing the arrest of her husband. "It's not like up here where we live that we have FBI agents, you know, raiding people's homes all the time that we would be so astute that we would be able to recognize a SWAT guy from a regular FBI agent," Middleton said. PENNSYLVANIA PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST ARRESTED BY FBI, CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING CLINIC ESCORT A senior FBI source previously told Fox News there may have been 15 to 20 agents at the scene, but denied 25 were there. The agents who came to the door had guns out and at the ready, according to this FBI source, but the guns were never pointed at Houck or his family and were lowered or holstered as soon as Houck was taken into custody. FBI Philadelphia released a statement Monday denying a SWAT team or operators were involved in the arrest. "FBI agents knocked on Mr. Houck's front door, identified themselves as FBI agents, and asked him to exit the residence. He did so and was taken into custody without incident pursuant to an indictment," the statement said. Former FBI special agent Stuart Kaplan noted to Fox News Digital on Monday that the FBI may have deployed a large contingent of agents because of knowledge that Houck had access to a firearm or out of an abundance of caution. "I can speak to that if there was any information that he may have been in possession of a firearm or had access to a firearm, or weapon" it would explain the numerous agents who were on the scene, Kaplan said. "People that are so passionate and so crazy over this who knows what they may do to resort to escalating already a terrible situation. So there must have been some indication as to why they came with such a use of force." Houck received a "target letter" from the Department of Justice in May alerting him that he was the target of a grand jury investigation for violating the Freedom of Access Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act. The law makes it a federal crime to use force with the intent to injure, intimidate and interfere with anyone because that person provides reproductive health care. GREGG JARRETT ON 'FOX & FRIENDS': DEMOCRATS' INCENDIARY RHETORIC WILL INEVITABLY LEAD TO VIOLENCE Houcks attorneys responded to the Justice Department's target letter after receiving it in May and offered to bring Houck to the U.S. Attorneys Office, but did not receive word back from the office until after Houck was arrested on Friday, according to his lawyers. Stimson argued it is "pretty obvious" the FBIs arrest of Houck "is a warning shot to the pro-life movement," and added that prosecuting people for violating the FACE Act is not common, but it does happen. "These facts really strain credulity. Why would it take 337 days to prosecute somebody for basically a couple of slaps on the face. When in fact, it's pretty obvious that this is a warning shot to the pro-life movement, and people who are pro-life, that we don't like the Dobbs decision, so we're just gonna drop the hammer." Stimson argued that "the more interesting number is 91 days," which marks the time between the release of the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision, which effectively ended the recognition of abortion as a constitutional right, and the indictment. Stimson and Von Spakovsky added in their legal commentary piece that "the Justice Department, under Democratic administrations, has a history of misusing the FACE Act to go after abortion opponents." MISSOURI SENATOR SENDS LETTER TO GARLAND DEMANDING ANSWERS ON HOUCK PRO-LIFE ARREST "In 2012, for example, a federal judge in Florida tossed out a FACE Act indictment against Mary Susan Pine, a pro-life activist who had been conducting peaceful sidewalk counseling outside an abortion clinic for many years. The judge excoriated the Justice Department for the behavior of its lawyers, saying that the indictment seemed to be the product of a concerted effort between the government and the [abortion clinic] to quell Ms. Pines activities rather than to enforce the statute," the duo wrote. Stimson said that there have meanwhile "been dozens, dozens of instances where people have vandalized and taken violent actions against pro-life centers. That's a violation of the federal law. Yet here's not been one prosecution." "This stinks to high heaven. And it is something that the Congress now should be asking the Justice Department about." FBI Philadelphia said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday that the "number of personnel and vehicles widely reported as being on scene Friday is an overstatement" and that the agency followed standard practices to carry out the arrest. FBI agents approaching a crime scene Getty Images "Extensive planning takes place prior to the service of any federal warrant. The FBI then employs the personnel and tactics deemed necessary to effect a safe arrest or search. While its the FBIs standard practice not to discuss such operational specifics, we can say that the number of personnel and vehicles widely reported as being on scene Friday is an overstatement, and the tactics used by FBI personnel were professional, in line with standard practices, and intended to ensure the safety of everyone present in and outside the residence," an FBI spokesperson said. Stimson noted that the FBI is "a really important institution to have in our country" and that "most FBI agents, do their job, do their job really well." "But there's a high level of over-politicization of cases that matter to the politicals at the FBI. They and they alone are giving the FBI a bad name. And if they just did their damn job and focused on real crimes like illegal aliens bringing fentanyl across this border and killing people, and career criminals who are responsible for the majority of violent crime in inner cities and dropping the hammer on career violent criminals then we wouldn't be talking about the FBI," he said. When approached for comment, the FBI directed Fox News Digital to FBI Philadelphia's statement released Monday and declined further comment. Fox News' Bradford Betz, Jon Brown and Brianna Herlihy contributed to this article. A federal appeals court handed Donald Trump an incremental win Tuesday in a libel suit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll over the former president's denial of her claim that he raped her in a New York department store dressing room in the 1990s. A divided panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court judge erred when he concluded that Trump, as president, was not covered by a federal law that can be used to shield federal employees from liability over incidents related to their work. Under Trump, the Justice Department belatedly invoked that law known as the Westfall Act in a bid to shut down the defamation case Carroll filed in 2019 stemming from statements Trump issued denying that he raped Carroll, including a declaration that "She's not my type." Last year, under President Joe Biden, the Justice Department stirred controversy by reaffirming the department's earlier stance that Trump was essentially immune from suit because he was acting within the scope of his duties when fielding media questions about the alleged rape at the Bergdorf Goodman in 1995 or 1996. In Tuesday's ruling, the majority on the three-judge federal appeals court panel asked a local court in Washington, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, to weigh in on whether Trump's statements are the sort of actions that employers can be held liable for under D.C. law. If not, Trump could be personally responsible for any damages awarded in the case. The 2nd Circuit's majority opinion said there was "manifest uncertainty" about when what the law regards as an intentional act, like libel or slander, is considered part of an employee's duties. "The Districts case law has, thus, seemed to vacillate between a narrow view of scope of employment that requires evidence that an intentional tort benefitor be for the purpose of benefitingthe employer, and a more modern, broader view of scope of employment that would hold that any intentional tort that is a part of the risks of an employers activity falls within the scope of employment," Judge Guido Calabresi, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, wrote in an opinion joined by Judge William Nardini, a Trump appointee. Story continues The third judge on the panel, Denny Chin, dissented. He agreed with Carroll's lawyers that the law protecting federal employees from liability simply does not apply to the president. And he said at least some of Trump's statements were not part of his official duties. "Trump was not acting in the scope of his employment when he made comments about Carroll and her accusations because he was not serving any purpose of the federal government," Chin wrote. "In the context of an accusation of rape, the comment 'she's not my type' surely is not something one would expect the President of the United States to say in the course of his duties. Carroll's allegations plausibly paint a picture of a man pursuing a personal vendetta against an accuser, not the United States' 'chief constitutional officer' engaging in 'supervisory and policy responsibilities of utmost discretion and sensitivity,'" the judge added, quoting an earlier precedent. Chin, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said the Justice Department's arguments that a president could claim immunity for virtually any statement made to the press were too broad. The judge also selected some notable examples of things a president might theoretically be responsible for. "If that were so, then the mere presence of others would neutralize whatever a President did or said, for no President could be held accountable for damage done in front of a microphone or in an official meeting whether defaming a citizen, exposing classified national security information, or inciting a riot. This is not, and should not be, the law," Chin wrote. The Justice Department, Trump's private attorneys or Carroll's lawyers could ask the full bench of the 2nd Circuit to reconsider the issue or seek review from the Supreme Court. They could also wait to see what position the D.C. Court of Appeals takes in the case during what is likely to be many more months, if not years, of litigation. A Justice Department spokesperson had no immediate comment. However, a lawyer for Trump welcomed the decision. "We are extremely pleased with the Second Circuits decision today," attorney Alina Habba said in a statement. "This decision will protect the ability of all future Presidents to effectively govern without hindrance. We are confident that the D.C. Court of Appeals will find that our client was acting within the scope of his employment when properly repudiating Ms. Carrolls allegations. Carroll lawyer Roberta Kaplan endorsed Chin's dissenting opinion, calling it "powerful." In a statement, she said she was "confident" that the D.C. appeals court would agree that Trump's statements were unrelated to his job. Carroll's libel suit may wind up being of secondary concern to Trump, since she has signaled she plans to file a new suit in November that directly accuses Trump of rape and seeks damages for the alleged attack itself. A New York state law set to take effect in November allows plaintiffs such as Carroll to pursue civil cases over sex crimes that would otherwise be subject to a 20-year statute of limitations. Nicholas Wu contributed to this report. A California law aimed at closing privately run immigration detention facilities in the state, including those run by the GEO Group, was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court Monday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) A California law banning private prisons and immigrant detention facilities in the state violates the U.S. Constitution when applied to facilities operated on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal appellate court ruled Monday. State officials said they were "deeply disappointed" in the decision. The 11-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the 2019 law in question Assembly Bill 32 specifically violated the Constitution's "Supremacy Clause," which precludes states from interfering with the enforcement of federal laws. The case began when the federal government and one of its contractors, GEO Group, each sued the state over the law and requested its implementation be halted through an injunction. Those requests were denied by a lower district court. The appellate court Monday undid the lower court decision denying the injunction, and sent the case back to be reconsidered. Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen, an Obama appointee, wrote for the court that AB 32 "would override the federal governments decision, pursuant to discretion conferred by Congress, to use private contractors to run its immigration detention facilities," subjecting ICE decisions to state approval. Under the Supremacy Clause, Nguyen wrote, "California cannot exert this level of control." In a dissent joined by two other judges on the panel, Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia, also an Obama appointee, disagreed, arguing AB 32 was valid because it did not directly regulate or discriminate against the federal government. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta wrote the bill when he was an assemblyman in the Legislature. In a statement to The Times, his office said it was still reviewing the decision Monday but was "deeply disappointed" with it. "Assembly Bill 32 was enacted to protect the health and welfare of Californians and recognized the federal government's own documented concerns with for-profit, private prisons and detention facilities," Bonta's office said. "At the California Department of Justice, we'll continue to do our part to stand up for the dignities and rights of everyone in our state." Story continues Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law in October 2019, and his office has defended it since. On Monday, it said that "for-profit, private prisons contribute to over-incarceration and do not reflect California values," and that it was reviewing the court's decision "to evaluate next steps." The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment. Neither GEO Group nor its attorneys in the case responded to requests for comment. Immigrant advocates submitted written arguments in the case, in which they accused GEO Group and other private prison operators in the state of allowing poor conditions and substandard medical care for detainees. The companies have denied the allegations. Some of those advocates decried the court's decision Monday as giving short shrift to the state's legitimate interest in combating such abuses within its borders. "What I think is really missing from this decision is any sort of recognition of the harm inflicted on people and families by these facilities," said Hamid Yazdan Panah, advocacy director for the organization Immigrant Defense Advocates. AB 32 prohibited new private detention contracts in the state and set a 2028 deadline for closing down private facilities. It would affect thousands of immigration beds in the state. Florida-based GEO Group has said the law would also cost it hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue. Private prisons are a multibillion-dollar industry in the U.S., where they operate in dozens of states. They also have become heavily politicized, with the Obama and Biden administrations professing a desire to reduce their use, but the Trump administration welcomed them. GEO Group sued California over its law in December 2019, shortly after federal officials in the Trump administration signed 15-year contracts worth nearly $6.5 billion with GEO and two other companies that run four private immigrant detention centers in California. Those contracts were intended to double detention space in California to nearly 7,200 beds, at a time when more than 50,000 immigrants were detained by ICE nationwide. Joining GEO Group in suing the state, the federal government has argued including under Biden that the state law left it in an impossible situation and represented an overreach by the state. In its decision Monday, the appellate court found that, even if directed at contractors, the state law had profound effects on the federal government's efforts to enforce its immigration laws. Nguyen wrote it would require ICE "to entirely transform its approach to detention in the state or else abandon its California facilities." The law was additionally problematic, the court found, because California already bars local governments from entering into their own immigration detention contracts. ICE does not operate its own facilities, instead partnering with contractors and governments. The 9th Circuit did not explicitly direct the lower court to stop the state law from being enforced. Instead, the appellate court ordered the lower court to reconsider the request based on its analysis of the Supremacy Clause and on several other factors that the law dictates be considered, such as the likely harm that would be suffered by the parties if the court didn't intervene, as well the public's interests. Jackie Gonzalez, Immigrant Defense Advocates' policy director, said any such analysis, if done correctly, should weigh in favor of the state's ban. "There's no doubt that a law that puts the lives and humanity of people over profits ... is in the public interest," she said. Panah, her colleague, said while the court suggested in its ruling that the state law left ICE with few options for enforcing the nation's immigration laws, that simply isn't true. "You can enforce immigration laws in this country without incarcerating or detaining tens of thousands of people for profit," he said. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, Deanne Criswell commented on the calls for President Biden to grant a waiver that would bypass the Jones Act and allow a vessel carrying diesel to dock in Puerto Rico, bringing Puerto Ricans necessary fuel. The Jones Act is a law that states shipping between U.S. ports has to be facilitated by United States owned ships that are built in the United States with a United States based crew, and the ship in question is not a United States vessel. REPORTER: Has the administration or will the administration waive the Jones Act that would allow for a diesel carrying ship to dock there in Puerto Rico to help provide necessary provisions of diesel oil to those there? CRISWELL: Yeah, we are committed to doing everything that we can within our legal authority to support the people of Puerto Rico and we know that the Jones Act waiver is one of those things. We have a legal obligation to ensure that each waiver request meets the legal requirements of Congress and so any final determination on that will be made by the Secretary of Homeland Security. REPORTER: Given the pressure, we've heard from the Puerto Ricans and the governor in that, in that territory right now, what time frame should they anticipate that decision should be made given the urgent need for that oil? CRISWELL: I know that they are actively working on that approval process for that consideration right now and so I don't have a timeframe for you right now. Reuters Russia's first mobilisation since World War Two, declared by President Vladimir Putin on Sept. 21, has led to widespread discontent among officials and citizens over the way the draft has been handled, including complaints about enlistment officers sending call-up papers to clearly ineligible men. "In 10 days, several thousand of our countrymen received summons and arrived at the military registration and enlistment offices," Mikhail Degtyarev, the governor of the Khabarovsk region in Russia's Far East, said in a video post on the Telegram messaging app. Degtyarev said the removal of the commissar, Yuri Laiko, would not affect the mobilisation plan set by Putin. Good Morning America The Biden administration on Monday announced more than $300 million in new mental health funding, via awards and grants, with much of the money coming from the bipartisan anti-gun violence law passed this summer by Congress. The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is rolling out the roughly $314 million for health professionals in schools and in emergency departments. The new funds allocated under annual appropriations as well as the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) -- which was passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in June -- are intended to help create healthier and safer learning environments for children, with the DOE granting some $280 million in competitive grants to schools to aid mental health staffing, it said Monday. Since a new coronavirus launched the global pandemic that has now killed more than 6.5 million people - 16 percent of them in the United States alone - scientists in record numbers have devoted themselves full time to unraveling its mysteries. In less than three years, researchers have published more than 200,000 studies about the virus and covid-19. That is four times the number of scientific papers written on influenza in the past century and more than 10 times the number written on measles. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Still, the virus has kept many of its secrets, from how it mutates so rapidly to why it kills some while leaving others largely unscathed - mysteries that if solved might arm the world's scientists with new strategies to curb its spread and guard against the next pandemic. Here are some of the most pressing questions they are trying to answer: - - - Where did the virus come from, and why has it been so successful? Scientists have found very similar viruses in horseshoe bats living in remote caves in Laos, southern China, and other parts of southeast Asia. So far, though, no one has succeeded in drawing a line between the viruses in bats and the Huanan Seafood Market, which sold and butchered live animals in Wuhan, China, and where many scientists believe the virus first spilled over into people. That theory is backed by multiple lines of evidence, including the clustering of early covid cases around the market - documentation laid out in two peer-reviewed papers published this summer. But key details remain elusive. We do not know where in the market the leap from animals to humans took place, or which animals were involved. Nor do we know the precise steps in the process. "What particularly drove that spillover?" asked Vincent Munster, chief of the virus ecology section at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, a research facility in Hamilton, Mont., that is part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "We've now identified 20 or 30 of these viruses that all look very similar, but they are not the same. What is the true hideout place of the progenitor of SARS-CoV-2?" Story continues Several investigations have not been able to categorically rule out the possibility the virus escaped from a laboratory in China, although many scientists believe that is far less likely than that it jumped from animals as part of a natural process. Escape from a lab could involve at least two scenarios: one, in which the virus evolved in nature and was being studied by scientists; another in which the virus was created in the lab by researchers examining factors that might cause a coronavirus to become more deadly or more transmissible. Scientists working at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a major research center that studies coronaviruses, have denied ever having the virus in their laboratories, but that has never been corroborated by outside investigators since Chinese authorities limited access. Whatever its origins, SARS-CoV-2 has proved far more successful at infecting large numbers of people than other coronaviruses, including the one that surfaced in Asia 20 years ago causing severe acute respiratory syndrome, a less contagious though also sometimes fatal illness. Both coronaviruses invade human cells through a spike protein that attaches to the ACE2 receptor on the surface of human cells. Yet the trajectories of the two pathogens could hardly be more different. The original SARS, which emerged in China in late 2002, sickened 8,098 people, killing 774. But that outbreak was over within a year due in large part to 19th century public health measures such as social distancing and isolation of the infected - many of the same steps public health officials have urged during the current pandemic. However, SARS patients, unlike those in this pandemic, "are most likely to be contagious only when they have symptoms, such as fever or cough," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That made it easier to identify and isolate them. Resolving the uncertainties surrounding how SARS-CoV-2 was first transmitted to people and why it has thrived are "extraordinary questions," Munster said, "because they would actually tie back to preparation for the next pandemic which everybody is worried about." - - - How is the virus evolving, and will there be new variants? Early on, scientists delivered a seemingly comforting message about coronaviruses, the family to which SARS-CoV-2 belongs: Other viruses acquire mutations more frequently, making them more difficult to keep up with and raising the possibility they will develop more contagious or deadly versions. Coronaviruses have their own proofreading system that helps limit mutations as the virus makes copies of itself. But the reassuring message was soon followed by a parade of Greek letters - alpha, beta, delta, now omicron - signifying new, more contagious and occasionally more lethal variants of the virus. These variants are able to dodge the disease-fighting antibodies that protect people after being infected or vaccinated. At least some of the virus's rapid evolution has occurred inside the bodies of severely immunocompromised patients, where it was able to linger, replicate and mutate for months. "We know that unfortunately immunocompromised people are a major breeding ground for these noxious variants because of the accelerated evolution of the virus inside them," said Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. "With all of the tens of millions of immunocompromised people around the world, the one that gave birth to omicron - what was it about that person?" Because vaccination can pose a risk to some people with weakened immune systems, some did not take the vaccine, leaving them vulnerable to the virus and especially to long illnesses. The longer the virus remains inside a person, the more copies of itself it makes, each one offering a fresh chance to develop a mutation. "But the language of the virus, the way it really comes up with ways to hurt us and infect us, and hijack our cells," said Topol, "It's always ahead of us and then we say, 'Oh, that's how it did it.' "But we haven't cracked its code." It is unlikely the virus has finished mutating or churning out new variants. Scientists believe it will continue evolving to become better at escaping the human immune system. But researchers are uncertain what future variants might look like. "The virus is becoming more infectious, but less dangerous for the majority of people," said Bill Powderly, co-director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "But we've no guarantee that the virus wouldn't develop additional mutations that would eventually make it more virulent in the future." An additional concern is whether animals infected with the coronavirus might become reservoirs for the evolution of new variants that might jump back into humans. According to a report last January, the virus had already been found in 29 other mammals. To date, incidents of animals infecting humans are rare. But some scientists fear that if the virus continues to spread to new species, it might pick up mutations as it adjusts to the environment inside those animals and then, transmit potentially more dangerous variants back to humans. - - - Can we develop a coronavirus vaccine that will protect against future variants? The swift development of vaccines to protect against severe illness and death from covid-19 has been hailed as one of the great scientific achievements of this century. But the vaccines did not, as some had hoped, bring the pandemic to an end. They provided protection against severe illness and death, but not infection and transmission, especially after the arrival of the more transmissible delta and omicron variants. "They've been extremely effective, but they also have their shortcomings," said Mark Siedner, an infectious-disease doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital. "Immunity wanes, and their ability to protect us against newer variants has been variable - in some cases quite strong, in other cases, not as good as we'd like." Even people who were fully vaccinated have become infected with the latest iterations of the virus. The United States still records more than 50,000 new daily infections and 400 deaths daily, according to seven-day averages compiled by The Washington Post. While a new booster shot targeting both the original strain of the virus, as well as the now-dominant omicron subvariants, was authorized in late August by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, some argue that reconfiguring vaccines to match the last variant will always put us one step behind the virus. Jeffrey Shaman, director of the climate and health program at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, said the goal should be to develop a comprehensive vaccine that could protect against every version of SARS-CoV-2 - those we know about and those still to come. "Can we develop a universal vaccine, effective across all existing and forthcoming variants, that confers sterilizing immunity, in other words that prevents infection altogether?" he said. Developing such a vaccine poses challenges, acknowledged Stuart Cohen, chief of infectious diseases at UC Davis Health. In the meantime, "the beauty of [existing] RNA vaccines is that they can modify them very quickly," he said. Scientists developed the mRNA vaccines by examining the part of the virus that has the most contact with the cells in our immune system - commonly referred to as the spike protein. "But the problem with these variants is that this is the exact part of the virus that is changing the most," Siedner said. The newly configured booster shots focus on the spike protein, too, but use two versions of it: one from the original strain identified in Wuhan; and another from the omicron variant. One strategy researchers are hoping will improve vaccines is to target them not only to the virus's spike protein, but to other viral proteins as well. Another potential improvement in the pipeline is development of a nasal-spray vaccine inhaled through the nose. "Maybe these will work on the respiratory tract more," said Bernard Camins, medical director for infection prevention at the Mount Sinai Health System. "But we don't know that yet." For the near-term, Siedner said, we may need to modify vaccines the way we do with influenza, by changing them each year. That idea was recently shared by White House coronavirus coordinator Ashish Jha, who said Americans should prepare to receive an annual booster shot against covid just as they do with the flu. Ideally people could be immunized against covid and flu during the same medical visit, he said. - - - Why do some people develop long covid? About 1 in 5 covid-19 survivors in the United States, including some who were never very sick as a result of their infections, go on to develop long covid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The condition itself is one huge question mark - a persistent illness marked by a variety of symptoms including fatigue, fever, shortness of breath, chest pain, pounding heart, headaches, difficulty thinking or concentrating, dizziness and joint pain. "What are the drivers, and what are the causes?" said Gary Gibbons, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. "We see the phenomenon in terms of all these symptoms, but why? What's generating them?" To develop treatments, researchers must answer such questions. For example, the condition may be caused by virus hiding out in the body, even after acute infection passes. If that is the case, Gibbons said, the answer may be using antivirals to clear more or all of the virus from the body. Another theory is that minute blood clots, remaining after the viral assault or fueled by the body's response, continue to have a punishing effect on different parts of the body. A third notion is that the symptoms are caused not by the virus, but by an immune system gone haywire. The disease "has a hidden burden," said Maria Elena Bottazzi, associate dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. She said the long-term effects on the brain, including brain fog and mental health complications, bear some similarity to those of Lyme disease, which is transmitted by infected ticks. In December 2020, Congress approved spending more than $1.1 billion to study long-term effects and possible treatments for covid-19 and long covid. So far, the project has awarded $37 million to 40 research studies, but millions of sufferers say they have yet to find meaningful treatments. - - - Why does covid severity differ by age and from one person to another? When deaths from covid-19 are charted by age they form a ladder. The younger the patient, the less risk of severe illness or death. Worldwide, children and adolescents under the age of 20, account for just .4 percent of all the deaths from covid-19, according to UNICEF. "Young kids, even really young kids, are much less susceptible to severe disease than older people," said Stephen Goldstein, a postdoctoral fellow studying coronaviruses at University of Utah. "If you're 40, your absolute risk is still pretty low, but it's much higher than somebody who's 5. Why is it better to be 1 than 50? I mean, a 1-year-old with influenza, that's bad." The opposite was true in the 1918 flu pandemic when the highest mortality rates were in children 5 and under, adults 20 to 40 and seniors 65 and older. In the 1957 flu pandemic, the highest death rates were among children 5 and under and seniors 65 and over. Even within the same age group, SARS-CoV-2 can have vastly differently outcomes, killing one patient while sparing another of the same age who appears to have a similar health profile. Scientists believe that genetic factors and the amount of virus someone has in their body may influence the severity of their illness but how some of those factors play out is still largely unknown. What is clear is that the human immune system declines as we age, leaving older people more vulnerable to pathogens. Also, covid-19 presents a greater risk for severe illness to people already afflicted with some of the most common diseases of aging such as cancer, chronic lung diseases, heart disease and stroke. Goldstein said the differing responses to the virus of young and old may have something to do with interferon, a protein that alerts the body's natural immune system. "Maybe kids make more interferon, and maybe they make it earlier," Goldstein speculated. "I think that's probably the key." A report in Nature examined differences between the immune systems of adults and children, and found that cells in the airways of healthy children were already in an "interferon-activated state," and ramped up further after infection with the coronavirus. The researchers suggested that those innate interferon responses in children restrain the virus and progression of the disease. Other scientists have suggested that children's developing immune systems have lower levels of the proteins that can cause the potentially deadly immune response known as a cytokine storm. Another possible explanation is that children have more of the master cells capable of repairing damaged lungs. Related Content Journey inside Pakistan's flood zone reveals how poorest were hit hardest Is the pandemic over? Pre-covid activities Americans are (and are not) resuming. As crackdown eases, China's Xinjiang faces long road to rehabilitation Sep. 26Florida has declared a state of emergency in advance of Hurricane Ian. School systems along the western coast began announcing they would be closed most of the week. Ian is pushing its way into the Gulf of Mexico with the potential of becoming a Category 4 hurricane by the time it makes landfall sometime Wednesday or Thursday. ABC 33/40 Meteorologist James Spann in Birmingham said on his social media post Monday morning the current models "are much more consistent and the confidence in the track is much higher now" with Ian taking a more easterly route. "Quite frankly for Alabama, the weather looks quiet here for a while," Spann said. "Most of Alabama is going be dry this week, this weekend and much of next week. It's a very dry pattern for where we are." Ian was approaching western Cuba early Monday morning with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and moving north/northwest at 15 mph. The National Weather Service is reporting "rapid strengthening is expected today" increasing to a Category 3 by late Monday with a cone of possible U.S. landfall sites stretching over all the Florida peninsula Gulf coast. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for the entire state and hurricane watches have now been issued for the west coast of the state focusing on the Tampa Bay area. "A lot of the central Gulf Coast cities [along the panhandle] will see no rain at all," Spann said. "The big impact will be over the peninsula, not over the panhandle." NWS is forecasting clear skies for the Calhoun County area through late Thursday night, when a 20 percent chance of rain is possible. Chances of precipitation peaks at 40 percent on Friday, then levels off to 20 percent for the remainder of the week. Oxford Police Chief Bill Partridge said his department has offered their special operations center for any Florida agencies' aircraft that might need to stage outside of the path of the hurricane. Hurricane Ian continued to barrel towards Florida Tuesday morning, reaching sustained winds up to 125 mph on its way to becoming a category four giant in the Gulf of Mexico as early as Tuesday evening. Governor Ron DeSantis has issued a state of emergency for the entire state, as category four hurricanes bring sustained winds between 130 and 156 mph, and residents of Florida can expect to have life-threatening flooding and power outages for days. Warnings have been issued to cities from Bonita Beach to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay and the island of Dry Tortugas. The National Hurricane Center warned Florida residents that this is a life-threatening situation and that persons located within these areas should take all necessary actions to protect life and property from rising water and the potential for other dangerous conditions. Promptly follow evacuation and other instructions from local officials. Over 300,000 people in the Tampa Bay area have been advised to evacuate, as it is expected to bare the hurricanes most intense impacts. Tampa Bay, which has not taken a direct hit from a hurricane in more than 100 years, has been fortified with hundreds of medical professionals, ambulances and mobile generators. Tampa Bay Airport is also expected to close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, according to DeSantis. As of 5 a.m., the storms eye was near Cuba and was moving northward at 12 mph, according to AccuWeather, and the impacts of the hurricane are expected to be felt until Friday. Our in-house FutureCast 6z model has run, and brings the storms core right through our area- after a landfall on the Suncoast. More impacts if this scenario plays out; pic.twitter.com/ae4jl46czx Eric Burris (@EricBurrisWESH) September 27, 2022 The hurricane is expected to downgrade to a category three when it makes landfall. Hurricane Katrina, which ties for the costliest tropical cyclone on record at $125 billion in damages, reached a category five level before downgrading to a category three when it struck Louisiana and Mississippi. Story continues The storm has already caused some to move out of the predicted eye of the storm, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers left Tampa to train in Miami for the week. According to reports, if the hurricane impacts the Sunday game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the players would fly down to Minneapolis and play on neutral ground at the U.S. Bank Stadium. Dozens of schools will be closed for several days this week. More from National Review The sale starts on Sept. 27 in time for World Tourism Day must be booked by Oct. 2. Gunter Wicker/Courtesy of Fly Play Low-cost Icelandic airline Play is putting flights to Europe on sale from the United States this fall starting at just $99 in a celebration of international travel. The new sale, which starts on Sept. 27 in time for World Tourism Day, must be booked by Oct. 2, the airline shared with Travel + Leisure. Passengers can book flights for travel from Oct. 1 through Dec. 15. Flights are priced per leg, but a roundtrip purchase is required for the sale. Flight costs for the return leg vary based on the destination and the origin city. "Some people travel to relax and unwind, and others are tourists who travel to discover new culture, experience amazing destinations, and celebrate the world's greatest attractions, PLAY CEO Birgir Jonsson told T+L. As the summer travel season winds down, this deal lets tourists take advantage of the shoulder season when these destinations will be less crowded. Travelers can fly to Iceland for just $99 one-way from any of Plays U.S. cities, including Boston, Baltimore, and Stewart International Airport in upstate New York. The airline is also deeply discounting flights to other parts of Europe starting at just $129 one-way to Dublin, Copenhagen, Paris, Berlin, London, and Liverpool. Play first started operating flights in Europe last year before launching flights from the U.S. in the spring. The airline has plans to expand next year with flights from Washington Dulles International Airport in April 2023. The airline operates a "hub-and-spoke model," in which all flights connect through Reykjavik before heading on to other European destinations or back to the U.S. The airline is a low-cost carrier and charges for everything from carry-on bags with priority boarding to checked baggage, food, and drinks. Play offers standard seats as well as seats with extra legroom, with every seat able to recline. A former Atlanta priest is being accused of sexually abusing children during his time in California, officials say. According to the Diocese of Sacramento, 70-year-old Roberto Jaramillo has been accused of the repeated rape and abuse of a girl between 1996 and 1999. They say he was also accused of kissing a juvenile boy in 1999. He denied the allegations and investigators did not find enough evidence to warrant further actions. A third victim, an adult man, says he was sexually abused by Jaramillo in 2001, according to the diocese. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Jaramillo left the diocese in 2005 and joined the Archdiocese of Atlanta until he went back to his home country of Colombia in 2008. The actions described in these matters are reprehensible and sickening, said Jaime Soto, Bishop of Sacramento. It is heartbreaking to consider the betrayal these sins represent toward innocent victims. We are committed to cooperating with investigators and doing all we can to secure justice for those who were betrayed and hurt. The Archdiocese of Atlanta confirmed Jaramillos employment, but did not comment on what capacity he worked in. They also say that there is no evidence that Jaramillo abused a minor while he was in Atlanta nor do they have records of anyone complaining about him. TRENDING STORIES: Sacramento police have obtained an arrest warrant for Jaramillo, but have not yet taken him into custody. Both the Diocese of Sacramento and the Archdiocese of Atlanta say Jaramillo has been added to their lists of credibly accused clergy. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley is considering both possible plea deals and campaigns for other elected offices, his lawyers told a federal judge Tuesday in seeking a delay in court proceedings related to his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Ryan Kelley Kelley was arrested June 9 during an FBI raid on his Ottawa County home and for a time was shown by polling to be the leader in the GOP primary race for governor before finishing fourth out of five candidates. He is charged with entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct, knowingly engaging in an act of physical violence against a person or property, and willfully injuring property. Generally, all of those misdemeanors carry penalties of up to one year in prison and fines of up to $100,000 on each charge. Kelley had a status conference scheduled for Wednesday in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, but federal prosecutors did not object Tuesday to his attorneys' request for a 60-day delay, and rescheduled the hearing to Dec. 8. More:Michigan governor candidate Ryan Kelley pleads not guilty to Jan. 6 charges More:Meet Ryan Kelley, the Republican candidate for governor who got a boost from FBI arrest Kelley needs the extra time "to allow sufficient time to receive and review discovery and explore any potential plea offers," said his Grand Rapids attorney, Nicole Springstead Stolte. Another Kelley attorney, Gary Springstead, officially notified the judge that Kelley's campaign for governor, which impacted his travel restrictions while free on bond, is now over. "Defense counsel would, however, note that Mr. Kelley is still actively involved in political issues throughout the state of Michigan, and is contemplating whether he will run for a different state or federal position." Springstead did not specify what those offices might be. A run for the U.S. Senate and a campaign for chair of the Michigan Republican Party are among the offices Kelley has discussed. Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ryan Kelley considering other offices after failed bid for governor A former Washington County deputy is behind bars after police said he impersonated an officer and tried to be dismissed from prior criminal charges against him. According to the Westmoreland County Sheriffs Office, Andreas Veneris was arrested after police said he presented himself as a law enforcement officer. The criminal complaint said that Veneris was a deputy in Washington County for over 25 years but was fired because he was arrested for official misconduct. Police said Veneris has recently been showing an official badge and identifying himself as a deputy sheriff to try to get the criminal charges against him dismissed. Veneris is charged with impersonating a public servant, terroristic threats and receiving stolen property. He was booked in the Westmoreland County Prison on the warrant, along with additional warrants from Allegheny County. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Boy, 9, drowns while showering inside Houston home, police say CHANNEL 11 EXCLUSIVE: Man shot at Kennywood Park speaks about chaotic night Man who saw Kennywood shooting says fight started because of mistake VIDEO: Channel 11s Susan Koeppen reunites with man she saved through CPR during cardiac arrest DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts A U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Hood was sentenced to six years in prison last week for distributing fentanyl to undercover officers in the Austin area, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Texas. Eri Gutberto Parra-Lopez, a 25-year-old who was an active-duty Army sergeant at the time, sold about 3,150 tablets of fentanyl to the undercover officers in and around the Austin area between May and July of 2021, according to court documents. In April, Parra-Lopez pleaded guilty to one count of fentanyl distribution. Fentanyl is flooding the United States at an alarming rate and our communities in Central Texas are not immune from its devastation, said U.S. Attorney Ashley Hoff. This case underscores our resolve to address the dangerous trafficking of fentanyl with all available resources. We will continue to prioritize and prosecute crimes involving this deadly poison and we are thankful for the outstanding work of our local, state and federal partners. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Austin police, Pflugerville police, the Travis County sheriff's office and Army investigators all helped with the case, a statement from the U.S. attorney's office said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark H. Marshall prosecuted the case, while Austin-based U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel sentenced Parra-Lopez. Fort Hood the Army's largest installation that over the past two decades had been a staging ground for troops deploying to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq came under intense public scrutiny starting in April 2020, after 20-year-old Spc. Vanessa Guillen was reported missing from the post by her family. Authorities believe another soldier, Spc. Aaron Robinson, beat Guillen to death with a hammer in an armory room on post the morning of April 22, 2020. Investigators say Robinson killed himself as police tried to detain him for questioning, hours after Guillen's remains were finally found. Story continues Guillen who was sexually harassed in the months before her death, the U.S. Army has confirmed became more widely known across the country after lawmakers, urged by the soldier's family, used her story to fight for military reforms that would better protect soldiers from sexual assault and sexual harassment. Although Fort Hood leaders and Army officials have tried to improve conditions to erase the post's reputation for violence and sexual misconduct, several soldiers have still been linked to crimes in the past few years. Earlier this month, another Army soldier stationed at Fort Hood was accused of murder after authorities found his girlfriend shot to death at an off-post home. Authorities in Killeen, a Central Texas city adjacent to Fort Hood, responded to the 1100 block of Wales Drive, about 2 miles from the Army post, after receiving a report that a woman had been shot. Investigators entered the home and found a 34-year-old woman lying on the floor dead from gunshot wounds, a statement from Killeen police said. She was pronounced dead about an hour after she was found. Military police on Tuesday said they arrested 35-year-old Spc. Michael Moore, an active-duty soldier who, until his arrest, was working as a plumber for the 68th Engineer Construction Company at Fort Hood. Moore was the woman's boyfriend, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Killeen Daily Herald. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Fort Hood soldier sold fentanyl to Austin cops, gets 6 years in prison As the pro-Trump House Freedom Caucus plots how to exert its influence on next years likely GOP majority, its members are poised to holster a potent political weapon: Challenging Kevin McCarthy. With the California Republican still the uncontested frontrunner for speaker next year, his biggest potential threat aside from a November collapse that leaves him with a threadbare majority is a Freedom Caucus-backed rival. But interviews with more than a dozen members of the conservative group indicate they're not moving to coalesce against the GOP leader as they have in the past. In short, the Freedom Caucus that blocked McCarthys path to the gavel seven years ago has evolved into a bloc that's willing to use its leverage to secure procedural demands, but not to blow up the race for speaker. "I hope we're not going to mount a challenge, Freedom Caucus member Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) said in an interview. "This is the most organized we've ever been. So why would we change it?" The group does plan to push for modifications that would empower them in a future Republican majority, including the power to force a speaker eviction vote whats known as the motion to vacate the chair. And theres still time to change their minds on a direct McCarthy challenge. Even so, should a Freedom Caucus lawmaker jump into the speaker race, some say the roughly 35-member group isnt expected to rally behind whoever emerges underscoring McCarthys strength within the conference. One big reason for the shift is that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), perhaps the group's most powerful figure, is now among McCarthys closest allies. Once a rival who harnessed his sway with the conference's right flank to challenge the Californian for minority leader in 2018, now Jordan is quick to say hes excited for a McCarthy speakership. Some Freedom Caucus members privately see Jordan as the only member whose clout could rally the entire group behind a McCarthy opponent. Other conservatives, when asked about the Freedom Caucus' disinterest in directly taking on McCarthy, simply pointed to a GOP unified behind him. Story continues I don't think there's anything newsworthy there, said Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), a Jordan ally. I often say it appears to me that Kevin has surpassing support among [the] conference to be speaker." The burgeoning Freedom Caucus position on a 2023 speakership vote is trickling down to likely future members. A House GOP candidate who met with the group's lawmakers earlier this year summarized the Freedom Caucus recommendation as: Vote your conscience. If you support McCarthy, go ahead. If you dont, that's also fine. This GOP candidate, sharing candid views on condition of anonymity, expressed surprise at the Freedom Caucus' choose-your-own-adventure approach to the speakership vote. Of course, the biggest caveat in conference dynamics remains the size of the GOP majority after the midterms. Until House Republicans see how many seats they pick up in November, it's difficult to definitively predict how they'll see McCarthy. A smaller-than-expected gain and particularly a shocking failure to take the House would cause a firestorm over who was to blame. And McCarthy, at the top of the leadership food chain, would take the brunt of the finger-pointing. A lot depends on the actual numbers, said Freedom Caucus member Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.). There are some people who prefer a different candidate, [but] they haven't really focused on or coalesced around anybody. Griffith said the group also recognizes that McCarthy has listened and shown more goodwill to the Freedom Caucus than any GOP leader since it launched in 2015. Should McCarthy stop hearing the group out, Griffith added, that could change things. Notably, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) declined to address the topic when asked about challenging McCarthy. The occasionally tumultuous relationship between the minority leader and the MAGA firebrand has appeared to steady in recent months; last week, she attended McCarthy's GOP agenda rollout in Pennsylvania and sat happily behind his shoulder on stage. The Freedom Caucus' coolness to a McCarthy challenger doesn't mean they're lacking demands. Some in the group are even fully sidestepping questions about their support next year as they push for the conference to vote on a rules package before any leadership elections are held. That plan was first reported by the Washington Examiner, which also revealed other concessions the group is seeking: ending earmarks; diversifying the GOP steering committee typically stocked with leadership allies; and enacting a majority of the majority rule that states no legislation should come up without majority support within the conference. Perhaps the key tenet of any Freedom Caucus-approved House rulebook is restoring the motion to vacate the chair the very procedural maneuver used to oust one of McCarthys predecessors. When asked about directly challenging McCarthy, Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) pivoted to that list. I can't speak to any of that, Perry said of the leadership outlook, noting that the Freedom Caucus is going to be a part of that. But we're really focused on the rules package right now. And likely anybody that we would support for anybody in any position in leadership, we're going to want to discuss that in-depth and in a meaningful way. Reps. Bob Good (R-Va.) and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) copied their group's chair in redirecting questions about a McCarthy challenge to their focus on the next Congress' rules package. "There's almost a maturity that's come from the Freedom Caucus saying: Our job is to legislate, said Schweikert. Leadership, meanwhile, hasnt tipped its hat on the rules matter. Reps. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) and Chip Roy (R-Texas) asked McCarthy about it during last week's GOP conference meeting, according to a person familiar with the back-and-forth, and McCarthy responded that members should focus on getting through the runup to the midterms. And Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) publicly echoed that message when asked about the Freedom Caucus rules push. You see this every two years. There is always a robust discussion about what the rules should be. Again, we cant put the cart before the horse we have to win a majority to have that ability to have that discussion, Scalise told reporters last week. We are well aware of some of the things theyve proposed. That circumspect reply is especially valuable given Freedom Caucus members havent decided whether the motion to vacate the chair would be a deal-breaker to their support for leadership contenders. Should the group vote as a unit, it could force a close speakership election past the first ballot or even deadlock the contest outright. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said there's definitely some red lines especially vacating the chair. That is a red line. But she declined to say if the group would mount a bid against McCarthy, responding that we'll see. While Boebert has publicly criticized McCarthy at various times, even suggesting Donald Trump should be speaker in the past, she has privately expressed more allegiance to the California Republican behind closed doors, according to two Republicans familiar with her remarks. Good called the power to force a speakership eviction "a really important part of that rules package but also avoided any rigid insistence. If everything else that I outlined was agreed to again, I don't think we want to come and say: oh, these are absolute, Good said. These are not scripture. CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed the state Rep. Lauren Boebert represents. STORY: "The support were bringing is massive. It mobilizes all the components of the French state be it in terms of humanitarian, financial aid and military or diplomatic assistance as part of a package that already amounts to more than 2 billion dollars," Colonna said at a news conference that followed talks in Kyiv with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. She also said the recent U.N. General Assembly and Security Council meeting showed Russia was increasingly isolated and pushed an incoherent narrative. "No one at the Security Council spoke to support Russia's position," she said, adding, "If Russia goes ahead with organizing these illegal referenda, there will be sanctions from the European Union, with my country's full support." Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, was holding votes for a fifth and final day on Tuesday in four Ukrainian regions partly controlled by Moscow Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia on whether or not to secede to Russia. The West and Kyiv say the referendums are illegal and a sham and Ukraine urged the European Union to impose economic sanctions on Russia to punish it. Visit the FOX Weather Wire for live updates on Hurricane Ian as it barrels toward Florida. Click here for the latest forecast, evacuation orders and more. TAMPA, Fla. As Hurricane Ian continues to make its way toward the western coast of Florida, residents and emergency managers sprung to action starting over the weekend as they shopped, shoveled sandbags, boarded up, packed, evacuated and resourced with frenzied energy. Hurricane Ian intensified into an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane early Wednesday morning as it approached Floridas Gulf Coast, hours from an expected landfall. HURRICANES RARELY MAKE DIRECT HITS ON TAMPA BAY BUT THE TROPICS STILL THREATEN The wind will push the Gulf of Mexico into neighborhoods as storm-surge inundation of up to 10 feet is predicted in the Tampa Bay area. The surge, along with 12 to 16 inches of rain (up to 24 inches locally), motivated homeowners to find sandbags. Monday morning started with an early sand drop for the sandbag rush in Tampa. One Apollo Beach, Florida, resident waited in line for sandbags for three hours and only received 10 filled bags due to the need. After placing them around her home, she had to evacuate and leave the flooding to fate. So many Floridians rushed out for sandbags across the Gulf Coast. One man said it was near chaos in Lynn Haven on the Florida Panhandle. "I just wish, if everyone would just give 5 minutes of their time. I think we'd all get it done a whole lot faster, a lot easier," an exhausted Dirk Olliges told FOX Weather. "I'm trying to help out the elderly people, that's what I'm doing, but I'm gassed out right now." An aerial view shows one of the sandbag station in Tampa. The National Hurricane Center warns that hurricane-force winds, reaching 35 miles out from Ian's center, and tropical storm-force winds, reaching 115 miles from the storm's center, will cause widespread blackouts. Florida Power and Light amassed an army of bucket trucks in Lake City, Florida, ready to be dispatched after the storm. FP&L is just one of the dozens of utility companies keeping the over 11 million Florida homes and businesses in light, refrigeration and air conditioning. Story continues FEMA assembled an army as well. Row after row of ambulances and tractor trailers are standing by in Florida and Alabama waiting for Ian's onslaught. They carry 4 million meals, 4.5 million liters of water and hundreds of mobile communications centers. Thousands of search and rescue crews, doctors, paramedics and nurses are waiting for the call too. Monday was the calm before the storm only in terms of Florida weather. Hardware and grocery shelves quickly emptied as people boarded up homes, mustered hurricane kits and packed up to escape. KNOW YOUR ZONE: FLORIDA EVACUATION MAP SHOWS WHO WILL HAVE TO LEAVE BEFORE A HURRICANE STRIKES The bakery aisle in a Publix grocery store in downtown Tampa looked as if the hurricane already hit it. Listen to the store's calm music against the crazy scene: While Hurricane Ian and prep activities appeared much calmer from 260 miles above, the cyclone didn't look any smaller. The strengthening storm dwarfed the International Space Station. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Hurricane Hunters got a closer look as they flew through the eye of the storm. The plane named "Miss Piggy" bumped through the turbulence to take temperature, pressure and wind readings. Video taken inside shows the wild ride. Take a look at the thick seatbelt strapping in the meteorologist: WATCH: HURRICANE HUNTER TALKS TO FOX WEATHER WHILE FLYING INSIDE HURRICANE IAN Cubans have already felt Hurricane Ian's wind and waves. The hurricane was slowly making its way across the western end of the island nation Monday night and Tuesday morning. Im embarrassed that as a brown-skinned, Mexican-American Latina, I didnt know Afro-Latinos existed until I went to college and personally met them. Growing up in a homogenous, predominantly Mexican community did not allow me the opportunity to interact with diverse groups of Latino or other racial/ethnic groups. This unfamiliarity was compounded by my local public school education, which did not offer ethnic studies or any course on Latino history in the U.S. I was ignorant of the diversity and complexity of my own culture. Even today, the American media, Latin American media and many others talk about Latino individuals as if we were one big group of similar-looking people with similar experiences. However, we have a variety of distinct national origins, regional cultures, languages, skin colors and immigration statuses. Unless governments and organizations begin to collect this data, the public will remain unaware of the differences within the Latino community and more importantly, the lack of nuanced and granular data prevents schools and community-based organizations from assessing students unmet needs or redirecting and improving services to all student ethnic subpopulations. No paywall. No pop-up ads. Keep the 74 free for everyone with a donation during our Fall Campaign. Government numbers drive policy and funding in social services. There are 62 million Latino individuals in the U.S., and 13.8 million Latino students in K-12. Of those, about 1 million are Latin American-born. It wasnt until 1970 that Hispanic individuals were officially counted in the U.S. Census. Before then, they were simply classified as white. The 2000 Census marked the first-time individuals were allowed to select their race and ethnicity rather than have census workers fill in the form during a home visit based on their own individual biases and assumptions. Researchers recommended that the 2020 Census merge the race and ethnicity question to increase the accuracy of estimating the Hispanic population. But the Trump administration rejected that suggestion. And due to to pressures from the administration to end data collection early and exclude vulnerable undocumented populations, as well as the difficulties of capturing accurate data during the pandemic, Hispanics were undercounted by 5%. Story continues Simply collecting the number of Hispanics is not enough. Many Latino Americans prefer to identify with their country of origin over Latino, Latinx or Hispanic because it is more representative of their culture (i.e. Colombian, Salvadoran). There are also great complexities and inequities within the Latino student population: Average college enrollment rates of 18- to 24-year-olds in degree-granting postsecondary institutions by selected Hispanic subgroups Data are based on sample surveys of the entire population in the given age range residing within the United States. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2016. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 302.62. Differences in enrollment rates for Central American and Caribbean students compared with students from South American countries highlight the glaring inequities within the Latino community. These differences also point to some of the ways that students particular immigration stories might influence their educational trajectories (e.g., when did students arrive in the United States, and under what circumstances?). Taking this analysis a step further would mean collecting data on Latino students who identify as Afro-Latinos and examining racial disparities. To do this, federal, state, and local governments as well as youth-serving organizations should begin to collect more detailed demographic data beyond Latino versus non-Latino. However, this could well be complicated by the tension that exists between the benefits of having more complete information about student backgrounds and the very real risks that undocumented families face. With proper data privacy protections in place, I and other researchers recommend the following: This information can inform specific policies and practices that might improve schooling for Latino students, including those related to hiring and training staff, implementing culturally responsive education and implementing ethnic studies. Public schools must not only meet the needs of Latino students by collecting better data, but educate them on their rich history. A Georgia man has been convicted of breaking into and robbing several Asian restaurant owners and employees homes in 2019, including a residence with a 2-year-old child. Emmanuel Rakestraw, who reportedly worked with at least three others, carried out the attacks between March 2019 and June 2019. The group trailed victims from their businesses to their homes in Gwinnett and DeKalb counties. One attack occurred at a home in Snellville in the early morning hours of May 26, 2019. Rakestraw allegedly followed the victim from Golden Express Chinese Cuisine restaurant in Decatur and then pistol-whipped the man and stole his wallet, which contained his ID, credit cards and more than $1,200 in cash. Rakestraw and his accomplices were also accused of stealing thousands of dollars from another Asian-owned home in March 2019. The group allegedly broke into the residence while a 13-year-old child was inside. More from NextShark: California lawmakers reject bill that aims to stop prison-to-ICE transfers Another incident in June 2019 involved a large household, where several elderly people and children as young as 2 were reportedly inside. Later that month, Gwinnett County Police announced that they had arrested Rakestraw. At the time, he was already under investigation for criminal street gang activity. Rakestraws trial began earlier this month. He was found guilty of two counts of home invasion, three counts of burglary, two counts of armed robbery and two counts of aggravated assault last week, WSB-TV reported. Story continues More from NextShark: NYC suspect who hit Asian man with hammer has 47 prior arrests, threatens killing spree when she is released Rakestraw is being held without bond at Gwinnett County Jail. His sentencing date has not been scheduled yet. Featured Image via Gwinnett County Police Department More from NextShark: Korean Pastor Suspended for 'Blessing' LGBTQ People, Wearing Rainbow Colors Sep. 27ATLANTA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is encouraging the public to be active participants in the upcoming November General Election by attending logic and accuracy testing. Dates and times vary in all 159 counties. Logic and accuracy testing allows the public to observe the testing of election equipment by election officials prior to its deployment into precincts. Logic and accuracy testing ensures that all components of election systems operate in the matter their programming intends. Logic and accuracy testing ensures that the touchscreen properly displays the ballot, that the optical scanners can read the ballot properly, and that the results will be tabulated accurately. "By attending logic and accuracy testing, Georgians can view elections processes first-hand and have the confidence that the procedures in place ensure maximum election integrity," Raffensperger said. The Secretary of State's office maintains a list of both logic and accuracy testing dates and early processing periods on its website. Dates and times vary by county, and county elections offices will post any additional information on their respective websites. The last day to register to vote in the November election is Oct. 11, and early voting starts Oct. 17. Pressure in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines dropped sharply on Monday. Sean Gallup/Getty Images German officials reportedly believe the Nord Stream Russia-Europe natural-gas pipelines were sabotaged. The operator of the pipelines said Tuesday they'd suffered "unprecedented" damage in a single day. It's not yet known who, or what, might have caused the damage. German officials reportedly believe the crucial Nord Stream natural-gas pipelines connecting Russia to Europe have been sabotaged. Der Tagesspiegel, a newspaper in Germany, where the pipelines land from Russia, reported a government source as saying: "We can't imagine a scenario that isn't a targeted attack. Everything speaks against a coincidence." The Danish Navy has sent an Absalon-class frigate to site of the leaks for monitoring purposes and to warn ships to stay away, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation reported. A no-fly zone is in operation over the affected area, a German government official told Insider. The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipeline systems are the largest for transporting natural-gas from Russia to Europe. Each system consists of two pipelines. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, the newer Nord Stream 2 system, which at the time was filled with natural-gas but wasn't operational, was suspended. And as the war has dragged on, Russia has gradually crimped supply through Nord Stream 1, which was fully-operational before the invasion. The Danish Energy Agency said Monday it had discovered a leak in the Nord Stream 2 system near Bornholm, a Danish island in the Baltic Sea. The Swedish Maritime Authority said leaks had been detected in both Nord Steam 1 and Nord Stream 2 near Bornholm. On Tuesday, Nord Stream AG, the operator of the pipelines, said: "The destruction that happened within one day at three lines of the Nord Stream pipeline system is unprecedented." Jakob Hanke Vela, a Germany-based reporter for Politico, tweeted: "Accident highly unlikely, officials in Berlin believe both pipelines have been attacked." Die Welt, another German publication, reported that the timing of the damage suggested sabotage, and was unlikely to be an accident. Story continues Later Tuesday, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said the situation was "extraordinary" and it was "difficult to imagine" the damage was accidental. Also later Tuesday, the Kremlin said it couldn't rule out sabotage, per Reuters. A spokesperson for Germany's economy ministry told Insider it "doesn't participate in speculation." Germany's energy regulator, the Federal Network Agency, said in an email it was in the process of clarifying the situation. "It seems extremely improbable that the leaks on two different pipelines happen at the same time," Mate usz Kubiak, energy analyst at the Warsaw-based Esper is consultancy, told Politico. "Therefore I think we should assume that it was intentional to create these leaks." Kubiak added that he didn't think it made sense for Ukraine or the West to sabotage the pipelines, per Politico. Klaus Muller, president of Germany's Federal Network Agency, wrote in a Twitter post Monday the situation was "tense" but Germany and the European Union were no longer dependent on Nord Stream 1. Since Russia halted gas supplies to Europe in early September, no gas has flowed through Nord Stream 1, the Federal Network Agency said. It added that storage levels in Germany were rising and were around 91% at the time of writing. This is a developing story and will be updated. Read the original article on Business Insider BERLIN (AP) More than 60 police officers raided a luxury yacht in northern Germany linked to a Russian businessman in connection with alleged breaches of sanctions and money laundering rules, officials said Tuesday. The statement by Frankfurt prosecutors identified the suspect only as a 69-year-old Russian businessman. But German weekly Der Spiegel identified him as oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. Frankfurt prosecutors said the suspect of their investigation is alleged to have conducted several transactions between 2017 and 2022 using a complex network of offshore companies to hide the origin of the payments, which amounted to millions of euros. Usmanov is subject to sanctions in the United States and the European Union. The raid comes the week after state and federal police searched 24 properties connected to Usmanov in the German states of Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. A spokesman with the Frankfurt prosecutors office confirmed that Tuesdays yacht raid was part of the same investigation. Ghanaian agtech Farmerline has secured $1.5 million equity funding from Dutch impact investor Oikocredit in its second close of the pre-Series A round. The new funding brings the total amount raised in the round to $14.4 million, including $6.4 debt funding. The funding comes at a time when Farmerline, which has operations across Ghana, is setting up shop in Ivory Coast as it continues its expansion across West Africa. Founded in 2013 by Alloysius Attah and Emmanuel Owusu Addai, Farmerline works through agro-dealers, who are usually the first point of knowledge for farmers, in ensuring access to high-quality supplies, including fertilizer and seeds. The partner retailers use the startups Mergdata, a proprietary AI technology platform for supply chain intelligence, to digitize the farmers they serve, and to generate the data required to predict the demand of farm supplies and prevent stock-outs. It also uses that data to determine the amount of business expansion credit to give to agro-dealers. With the support of Oikocredit alongside our first-round funders, our distribution, logistics and financing services will continue not only in Ghana but also in Ivory Coast where weve recently begun the process of expanding our team, said Attah in a statement. In a past interview, Attah told TechCrunch that Farmerline is expanding its physical infrastructure like warehouses and distribution networks to make it a marketplace that allows the faster movement of supplies to and from rural areas. The logistics network also supports farmers to quickly access markets for better incomes and to reduce post-harvest losses and waste. Farmerline said it is planning on strengthening its supply chain for agribusinesses to reduce the cost of farming and increase yield for farmers on the continent through the deployment of AI technology and local infrastructure. Story continues As fertiliser prices more than quadruple and the conflict in Ukraine compounds global food security challenges, this investment is crucial, it said. Farmerline claimed to have so far financed around $18 million worth of inputs and crops through franchise shop alliances with agribusinesses and input dealers. The startup targets to reach 300,000 farmers in 2022, a nearly 400% increase in growth compared to last year, when it doubled its direct-reach to 79,000 farmers, up from 36,000 in 2020 and 8,000 in 2019. Oikocredits equity officer, Mila Georgieva, said, The harmful impact of rocketing fertiliser costs on smallholder farmers in Africa is clear. With our investment in Farmerline, we are supporting those most affected by the price volatility. Our investments in the agriculture sector are at the core of Oikocredits work as a social impact investor, and we have already identified synergies with other portfolio companies. We are thrilled to support Farmerline Group and smallholder communities across Ghana and Ivory Coast. Farmerlines other equity investors include Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank and Greater Impact Foundation. General Motors is stepping back a bit on a return-to-work policy it revealed to salaried employees last week. On Tuesday, CEO Mary Barra sent out a note to the salaried workforce offering an apology of sorts for the timing of putting out a new policy late in the day Friday saying that employees would have to return to working in the office three days a week. She said now that GM's plan still will include a more regular, in-person presence, but it will not implement any changes to its return-to-the-office policy this year as the company continues to listen to employee feedback. The plan still will ask employees to work in-office three days each week. "The initial letter was a notification and the purpose of the update is to provide clarification and additional details," GM spokeswoman Maria Raynal said Tuesday. "The timing has shifted slightly, however, the overall plan has not changed." A nearly empty hallway at the Renaissance Center on June 15, 2022. The pandemic sent most of the 5,000 people who worked at GM's headquarters home to work, and few have returned. The pandemic sent most of the 5,000 people who worked at GM's Renaissance Center offices home to work, and few have returned. In Tuesday's note sent to employees, which was obtained by the Free Press, Barra wrote: "We want to take the opportunity to address some of the questions, concerns, and misconceptions that we've heard. We acknowledge that the timing of the message, late on a Friday afternoon, was unfortunate. It was also unintentional." GM will communicate more information on its plan next month, Barra said. GM faced immediate resistance from some salaried employees over the new mandate it put forth late Friday. GM had initially said that policy would start later this year. Some GM employees told the Free Press the news blindsided them. "You can probably imagine what the general mood is," one GM salaried employee said after the news. This worker asked to not be named for fear of retaliation for speaking to the news media. "The company has been talking a good game about Work Appropriately since this all began, and we were completely blindsided by this news." For the past 24 months, many salaried employees either worked totally remote during the COVID-19 pandemic or worked a hybrid-type model called Work Appropriately, which was introduced after the pandemic subsided. It allowed flexibility between working at the office and working remotely, letting employees and their manager decide where they could best do their specific jobs. Story continues Collaborate with employees In Tuesday's note to the white-collar workforce, Barra wrote: "Our plan was always, and still is, to collaboratively design the solution that best balances the needs of the enterprise with the needs of each of you. The solution will include a more regular, in-person presence. However, determining how, when, and where teams will increase their in-person collaboration ultimately will be designed by the people leaders who know their organization best. We do not plan to mandate which days of the week will be collaborative days. In no scenario will our Work Appropriately evolution begin before Q1 2023." Barra said GM was providing the clarification "based on dialogue that took place since Friday" and GM intends to spend the next few weeks listening to employee feedback and incorporate it into the company plan. GM acknowledged on Monday that some employees had concerns about the mandated three-day return-to-office plan, though some of the feedback from employees indicated there are those who are eager to return to in-person collaboration, GM's Raynal said. "We understand our employees have concerns, and are committed to maintaining flexibility to ensure they can attend to personal commitments," Raynal said Monday. "As we implement this change, we are listening to employee feedback and will incorporate it into our planning. We will continue to share details with employees as the plans solidify in the coming weeks." GM's reasoning Last week, GM laid out its logic for the move in a note Barra sent to the white-collar workforce and which the Free Press obtained. It read: "Over time, we have lost some of the important, intangible benefits of regularly working together in-person including, casual mentoring, more efficient communication and bringing an enterprise mindset to our work. We are entering a rapid launch cycle that, quite frankly, will define our future trajectory, and we need to drive change with speed individually and collectively so we can achieve our goals." Barra's note explained that when GM introduced Work Appropriately in April 2021, "we took great care not to call it a policy, but rather a philosophy" to balance the needs of the company and to give employees flexibility. Barra told the Free Press in May that there were days she often worked from her home or other remote locations. More:GM CEO Mary Barra's rare, behind-the-scenes interview: Who she relies on in 'lonely job' In her note to employees on Friday, Barra wrote that the COVID-19 pandemic has improved dramatically allowing for a safe return to the office and GM's push to transform the company requires more in-person collaboration. General Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra listens to researcher Hernando Gonzalez speak about what he does while working in the materials lab at the Research and Development building of the GM Global Technical Center campus in Warren on May 3, 2022. For some who posted on online message boards, the change was a betrayal of how GM positioned Work Appropriately as the new cultural shift for the company post-pandemic. Leaders said it would be a talent recruitment tool allowing GM to hire the best by not requiring them to move to Michigan. "What about that awesome software person who lives in Bismarck, North Dakota?" said Jeff Massimilla, GM's executive director of connected customer and mobility solutions, in a 2021 interview with the Free Press. "We could allow them to stay there." The automaker hired some 10,000 people globally in 2021 and 7,000 people this year, with many working remotely. The first to leave On Monday, some online message boards were lighting up with chatter about GM's three-day in-office mandate with some people calling the move short-sighted in terms of talent attraction and retention. Others said it's the right thing to do. Few of the commentators put their names out there. A General Motors office is seen on the 36th floor of the 300 Tower at the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Business experts say whatever GM decides, others will watch how it turns out. "If it's a disaster, they won't make the same mistake," said Erik Gordon, a professor in the Ross School of Business at University of Michigan "If it works, they will feel more confident about following GM's lead." But resistance is to be expected Gordon said. He noted that pre-pandemic, most people would have loved getting to work from home two days a week. "But after staying home every day, they dont want to go in even one day," Gordon said. "If you give employees a benefit, no matter how clearly you say its temporary, they resent you if you take it away." 'Not a lot of sympathy' Returning salaried workers to the office will create equity across GM's workforce, said Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University. Being in the office reinforces allegiance to the company and collaboration makes their "creative juices flow," Masters said. "You can get a sense of whats working and whats not working and make adjustments," Masters said. "I think most people will realize this is something that they have to do and its more a sense of equity because you have blue-collar workers who have to show up every day." A 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD in dynamic vehicle testing on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 at General Motors Flint Assembly in Flint, Michigan. Some of GM's workers on the factory floor echo that sentiment. They characterize a return to office as "putting COVID behind us," said Eric Welter, UAW Local 598 shop chairman at GM's Flint Assembly plant where GM makes its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickups. "We always worked for the whole thing," Welter told the Free Press, referring to hourly workers returning to the line after an eight-week shutdown during the peak of the pandemic in 2020. "This might feel like justice. There's not a lot of sympathy for them and I don't know how you run a company from home?" 'Great thing for the city' There are others outside of GM affected by GM bringing workers back to the offices on a more regular schedule. The massive Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit had became somewhat of a ghost town when COVID-19 sent workers packing. Among them: roughly 5,000 GM employees. In June, it was questioned what was going to happen to the RenCen because of how empty it became. GM owns part of the RenCen towers. "This move represents a lot more office workers patronizing our shops and restaurants to help us get closer to pre-pandemic activity," said John Roach, director of media relations for the city of Detroit and Mayor Mike Duggan's office. "Not only will this add vibrancy to our central business district, it will generate more revenue for city services." Warren Mayor Jim Fouts told the Free Press on Monday he supports a return. "We have a lot of businesses and merchants in Warren and it's a shot in the arm to them. GM employs close to 25,000 people there and has invested $1.5 billion in the Tech Center recently. These are all new buildings and facilities and you can't justify building those without employees there." Main Street might care, but Wall Street isn't much interested where GM's workforce does its job, "unless it results in mass exodus, especially among the most senior executives," said David Whiston, auto analyst at Morningstar. And given that GM said in May it was suspending hiring more people this year, Whiston said, "if they are not looking to add a lot of people now due to the economy, then theres one less drawback to the policy change." More:GM taps NASA's sound of the sun recording for feature on Cadillac Lyriq More:A unique GM lab in Milford holds secrets to future EV driving here, and on the moon Free Press staff writer JC Reindl contributed to this report. Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GM steps back on return-to-office after employees 'blindsided' Nearly five years have elapsed since a gunman opened fire on thousands of people at the Route 91 Harvest Festival outside the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, as country music star Jason Aldean began his headlining set. The eleven minutes of gunfire that took place Oct. 1, 2017 left 60 people dead and more than 800 injured the largest mass shooting in American history. Released Thursday on Paramount+, a new documentary "11 Minutes," remembers, explores and memorializes the day when mass murderer Stephen Paddock opened fire from 32 stories in the air. Storme Warren, the award-winning radio host who served as Route 91 Harvest Festival's onstage host, told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, that "11 Minutes" chronicles a "painful and cathartic" set of "really hard scenes, sounds, and stories that were heard and experienced." The 200-minute, four-episode feature shows country music is as much about celebrating the intersections of faith and family as it is a referendum on how Americans have internalized trauma and how they will process it in the future. It contemplates how the country music industry centers its proudest legacies around camaraderie and a willful acceptance of humanity's flaws and beauty. Kelsea Ballerini's season of change: 'I call this my first grown-up album' Shakira to stand trial in Spain: Everything to know about the tax fraud case People run from gunfire at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. In an exclusive interview with The Tennessean, Warren referenced the genuine familial aspects of the community that bonded the country music genre's artists and fans, tested and strengthened by the tragedy. "Everyone (at the festival) felt like they lost and found pieces of themselves there. Highlighting inspiration, empowerment, healing, good Samaritan generosity and hope emerging from horrific circumstances guides so much of this documentary," Warren said. Bravery and harrowing tales of avoiding death Aldean's voice is prominent in the documentary. He describes how his bass player, Tully Kennedy, was mere inches away from being hit by a bullet onstage. Story continues He also recalls being hustled offstage and hiding in his tour van with his wife, Brittany, who was then seven months pregnant with the couple's first son, Memphis. The "Dirt Road Anthem" vocalist has spoken sparingly about the incident since its occurrence. However, his empathy for those impacted by the massacre is palpable. When Aldean's opener, Deejay Silver, describes realizing his children and their babysitter were staying at the Mandalay Bay and the fears circulating through the crowd that the shooter could turn his gunfire on those staying at the hotel the worry is still present in his voice five years later. Mass school shooting gunman rejected parole: Gunman in one of United States' first mass school shootings denied parole in rare hearing It's a 'cruel hoax': Schools across US hit with dozens of false shooting, bomb threats Warren describes eventually leaving his safe space and venturing onto the festival grounds after the shooting permanently impacted him via a young woman wearing red shorts. People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. A gunman has opened fire on a music festival in Las Vegas, leaving at least 20 people dead and more than 100 injured. Police have confirmed that one suspect has been shot. The investigation is ongoing. He saw a young woman curled in the fetal position amid "bodies strewn everywhere." Yet, he could not check on her condition as he was pulled toward another person needing help. Yet, until Warren watched the documentary, she remained a "haunting figure representing the entire night." Notable, too, are the numerous police officers, medical personnel, and survivors whose stories of bravery and harrowing tales of avoiding death add a macabre feel to the documentary. Police officers' body camera footage of stalking the shooter's path at the Mandalay Bay including entering his room and finding he had shot himself before being apprehended is unforgettable. The cell phone footage from the makeshift triage area at the nearby Tropicana Hotel, where survivors scrambled during and after the gunfire, is profound. Natalie Grumet had her jaw nearly blown off her body by a single bullet. Hearing her describe finally being viewed by others damaged by gunfire is harrowing. Hearing her discuss overcoming years of reconstructive surgery and the scarring she will have for the rest of her life allows for the life-changing impact of what transpired to resonate powerfully. People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are reports of an active shooter around the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The documentary articulates both sides of gun control. The industry has often sided in support of its fanbase's Second Amendment right to bear arms. "Serious conversations must be had to ensure that this doesn't happen again," Warren said, and that "no solutions are achieved via the documentary." The film's greatest strength, he said, is it "presents problems and healing." Survivors reunite for documentary Warren also highlighted a worldwide series of Route 91 Harvest Festival survivors' reunions as one of his favorite parts of the documentary. New Paramount+ four-part documentary "11 Minutes" chronicles the October 1, 2017 tragedy at the Route 91 Music Festival. One includes the story of Compton-born, African American country music fan Jonathan Smith. Just before the start of Aldean's set, he was asked, in a negative tone, why he was at the event specifically because he was Black. Then, the documentary shows that during the shooting, he was shot in the neck and not immediately tended to by authorities on the scene. Issues of racism in country music are now more at the forefront of the genre than ever. Their appearance in this documentary, at that moment, is heart-droppingly sad. However, following Smith's story and his eventual rescue and healing is an incredible victory of the documentary. Seeing him being embraced by fellow survivors and the issue of his race being superseded by community and goodwill is heartening. It is not a blanket moment that points at an all-encompassing genre evolution. However, it is one of many bright moments in the genre's continuing push toward acceptance of racial equity. "If you were there and survived, you talk about this daily. You share camaraderie and healing through stories and hugging it out. This was an unbelievable event that defies understanding how and why it happened," Warren said. He said the lessons learned and unity forged through the event and celebrated in the documentary will cause no drop in country music fans' festival attendance. People take cover at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are reports of an active shooter around the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. "Route 91 Harvest Festival may never return to the Vegas Strip," said Warren. However, via the Academy of Country Music Awards, casino residencies for acts including Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, plus artists like Dustin Lynch throwing poolside day parties, the genre's Sin City footprint remains significant. "Country music will now always have a slight bit of unnerving discomfort in Vegas. But we will not allow anyone or anything to take their genre away from us," Warren said "We are a family and will always stick together through good, bad, or ugly." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Las Vegas music fest shooting explored in new '11 Minutes' documentary Gov. John Bel Edwards is traveling to London Wednesday, where one of his meetings will be with executives from the premier global insurance market Loyd's to discuss Louisiana's growing homeowner's insurance crisis. Edwards will lead a delegation of business and political leaders who will also seek economic expansion opportunities as well as attend the New Orleans Saints game against the Minnesota Vikings in London on Sunday. Louisiana is in the midst of an insurance crisis triggered by Hurricanes Laura and Ida in consecutive years that threatens the affordability of homeownership in the state's coastal areas, where the cost of property insurance and federal flood insurance can exceed monthly mortgage payments. Among the planned topics of discussion with Loyd's executives Thursday: current factors affecting insurance and reinsurance protection for companies doing business in Louisiana; legislative and regulatory changes that would improve the states attractiveness to insurers and reinsurers; and how the risk modeling utilized in Lloyds insurance marketplace impacts the state. Few states are more directly impacted by the insurance underwriting and energy markets than Louisiana, which is why its so important to maintain an open dialogue with global leaders in those sectors," Edwards said in a statement. "Thousands of Louisianans are not only still recovering from damage caused by devastating storms, but they are also dealing with unpaid claims, insurance companies folding, and problems finding new insurance coverage. "We must find a way to solve this crisis. Im also looking forward to establishing new partnerships and increasing awareness about Louisianas energy transition leadership and rapidly diversifying economy. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards during Opening ceremony and Ribbon cutting for The Veterans Memorial at Moncus Park in Lafayette, LA. Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. Edwards, who will return to Louisiana Monday, will be joined on the trip by representatives from Louisiana Economic Development, the Louisiana Offshore Terminal Authority, the Port of New Orleans, the Port of South Louisiana and the Committee of 100 for Economic Development, Inc. Story continues On Friday the governor and delegation will meet with private energy industry executive from Shell, Cheniere, Linde and Drax. This is Edwards third international trip of his second term and sixth of his governorship. His most recent trip was a weeklong resiliency and economic development mission to the Netherlands and France. More:Louisiana will honor Black veteran soldiers for first time with monument on Capitol grounds Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1. This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Gov. John Bel Edwards bound for London: Insurance, Saints on agenda ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece has proposed a multibillion-euro European fund partly financed by a gas levy on power producers to support households and businesses struggling with soaring energy costs and help Europe replace Russian gas, its energy ministry said on Tuesday. To mitigate the impact of sky-rocketing gas and power prices on European consumers and industries following the war in Ukraine, the European Commission, so far, has proposed several emergency EU measures, including windfall profit levies on energy firms and cuts in electricity use. EU countries are negotiating those proposals and aim to approve them when EU energy ministers meet on Friday. In a letter addressed to European Commission's Vice-President Frans Timmermans and EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, Greek Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas has proposed a special levy of 10 euros per megawatt hour on gas consumed by electricity producers. A total annual revenue of some 9 billion euros could be collected by EU countries through that fee and help Europe get a cheap loan of around 80 billion euros by the European Investment Bank to set up the proposed fund, the letter said. The fund would aid energy companies struggling with high costs to secure alternative fuel supplies to replace Russian gas, vulnerable households and small and medium-sized firms. It could also support investments in alternative fuels, such as biomethane and green hydrogen, in energy efficiency and in the upgrade of gas infrastructure to help Europe wean off Russian gas. Greece has spent over 9 billion euros to power subsidies and other measures since last September to help its consumers and businesses pay their power and gas bills. But state budgets were not enough to deal with the energy crisis and the most effective response should be a European one, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Greece has also strongly advocated a price cap both on pipeline and liquefied natural gas. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; editing by David Evans) A group of tech-savvy Ukrainian soldiers is making drones and explosives to be used at the front line of the conflict in the country's Donbas region. JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images A team of young soldiers in Ukraine is building drones and explosives to be used on the front lines. They are creating drones loaded with bombs to be used in combat in the Donbas region. Some of the bombs come inscribed with messages like "happy birthday." A new Agence France-Presse video shows a group of young Ukrainian troops making drones and bombs from a basement close to the front lines of the ongoing conflict in the country's Donbas region. In the video, a group of around a dozen men in fatigues is seen working on small, remotely-piloted robots. AFP reported that the devices were scavenged from damaged aircraft. The AFP video, which describes the men as a "group of 20-somethings," also shows a soldier named Varnak, who has been tasked with packing the robots with explosives. "Their job is to make it move. My job is to make it explode, to fill it with explosives as effectively as possible so that it does the most damage to the enemy, or their tanks, or other military equipment," he told the outlet. Also seen in the video were bombs made by the team, which come inscribed with personal messages to their Russian enemies, including the sarcastic "happy birthday" and the matter-of-fact "today is a Wednesday, man." These message-inscribed bombs are meant to be dropped from drones. JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images Ukraine has been wresting large swathes of territory from the Russians, particularly in the Kharkiv region. However, the skies over the highly-contested eastern Donbas have been the site of a fierce aerial battle, with the Ukrainians leaning on drones created by its fighters many of whom are tech enthusiasts to be flown in combat. The US has also sent thousands of drones to Ukraine for use in the ongoing conflict. The figure includes 121 Phoenix Ghosts, a type of unmanned aerial system that can be launched by front-line troops for single attacks. Read the original article on Business Insider Gun rights groups have challenged a California gun law that emulates a Texas abortion measure by letting private citizens sue illegal firearms manufacturers. The widely-anticipated lawsuit will test the legal underpinnings of a gun restriction that California Gov. Gavin Newsom explicitly framed as a rebuke to Texas and the U.S. Supreme Court. The outcome could affect both Californias gun constraints and the anti-abortion law that inspired them. Soon after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law deputizing private citizens to sue abortion providers, Newsom announced California would respond by applying the same logic to people who distribute or manufacture classes of firearms that are prohibited in California. Newsom signed Senate Bill 1327 in July. A collective of gun rights groups and individuals have argued Californias law is unconstitutional because it limits their ability to dispute gun laws. A complaint filed in Californias Southern District specifically objects to a provision in the law requiring people who challenge California gun laws to pay opponents' attorneys fees if they don't prevail. The lawsuit argues that provision singles out firearms advocates protected activity and seeks to choke off their access to the courts. Some of the plaintiffs have also sued California to invalidate its ban on assault weapons. Plaintiffs hope to challenge a state law restricting their right to possess firearms, but they (and their counsel) are concerned that doing so could bankrupt them, the complaint says. While the lawsuit does not explicitly dispute the private lawsuit component of SB 1327, it nevertheless targets a common feature of Californias gun law and Texass abortion measure, which also requires challengers to pay legal fees. California Attorney General Rob Bonta critiqued the Texas provision in an amicus brief, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor raised due process issues. The groups challenging Californias law noted California adopted this fee-shifting scheme as a response to and apparently in retaliation for a similar fee-shifting scheme that Texas enacted in connection with abortion regulations. But tit-for-tat is not a rational or permissible justification for the classifications in this case, the complaint says, adding that punishing Second Amendment litigants in retaliation against Texas for enacting its own abortion restrictions in SB 8 is plainly illegitimate. A Glock 40, taser, baton, handcuffs, Glock magazines and radio were stolen from a police officers car after burglars struck outside of a Memphis restaurant around 8 p.m. Monday night, according to court records from the Memphis Police Department (MPD). MPD said two men tried to break into four cars outside of Juicy Crab on Winchester Road. One of those cars, a 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche, belonged to a Mississippi police officer, court records said. Though nothing was taken from the other three cars, the thieves were able to steal the police-issued items from the Mississippi officers personal vehicle, Memphis Police said. Video surveillance showed the two burglars drive onto the lot in a Chevy sedan at 8:09 p.m. and then take off just five minutes later, having smashed windows on three of the cars and burglarized the officers car. Memphis Police are still looking for the two men responsible. If you know anything about these men or where these stolen police items are, MPD urges you to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH. Any information which leads to an arrest, in this case, could be worth up to $2,000. Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD Trending stories: SUMMERTON, S.C. (AP) Interior Secretary Deb Haaland joined House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn on Tuesday in visiting a rural South Carolina school that is now part of a National Park Service program to safeguard institutions connected to the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision declaring segregated schools unconstitutional. Legislation signed by President Joe Biden in May added two South Carolina schools to the Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park. Haaland and Clyburn both spoke about the importance of preserving and learning from America's history. These stories are not always easy, and they can be traumatic, but it is my duty to ensure that they are told because our story is Americas story, Haaland said, standing in a building that once housed Scott's Branch High School, a so-called equalization school for Black students created just miles from Summerton High School, which served only white students. Its up to us to tell Americas story. The legislation, passed with broad bipartisan support, also designated schools in Delaware, Virginia and the District of Columbia as affiliates of the park, centered in Topeka, Kansas, where the case was based. Brown v. Board of Education was a ruling for a bundling of cases, including South Carolinas Briggs v. Elliott, that challenged racial segregation in public schools. In a small park outside Scott's Branch, plaques bear the names of the signatories to the Briggs petition. The educational and economic losses from these failed policies are almost impossible to comprehend, Haaland said. Sites like the one here in Summerton help us to reflect on the past, to celebrate the progress and allow us to chart a path forward for a more equitable and just future. Clyburn, South Carolina's lone congressional Democrat whose 6th District includes the tiny town of Summerton, recalled Tuesday how he learned of the Brown v. Board of Education decision as he walked home from school in nearby Sumter. Story continues We're here today to make sure that those that come after us learn these lessons of history. You don't learn them by hiding them away or pretending they don't exist," Clyburn said. "That to me, is the ultimate sin, to pretend that they don't exist. These things happen. This is not about sound bites and trying to shame people," he said. "This is about trying to give our history back to our children and our grandchildren. Beatrice Brown Rivers was 13 years old when, along with her sister and parents, she signed the petition that led to the Briggs v. Elliott case. Now 86, Rivers beamed Tuesday as she reflected on the federal recognition for her hometown's place in history, although she acknowledged that many of the same historic struggles over race remain. I'm hoping that this will put our little town on the map, and that people will come to see who we are, what we did and how proud we are for all that we have done," River said. A lot of the same problems that existed back then still exist. Segregation still exists, but that doesn't bother me any more, because I know who I am. ... I know what I need to do, and I go about doing it. ___ Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP Kamala Harris Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images On Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. The visit is to show the United States' commitment to South Korea's safety after North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea, Reuters reports. There are also threats of a nuclear test, as the Biden administration has been unable to make strides with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Harris will be the first senior White House official under Biden to visit the DMZ, reports Bloomberg. The vice president is also midway through an Asia tour where she has visited Japan to discuss the security situation in Taiwan and attended former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's funeral. This trip will set the stage for President Biden's visit in the coming months to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "I think your visit to DMZ and Seoul will be very symbolic demonstrations of your strong commitments to the security and peace on the Korean Peninsula," South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo told Harris in a meeting on Monday, "we are working with you and US in dealing with North Korea." You may also like The most shocking claims from the newest books about Trump's presidency New Pacific island forms after underwater volcano erupts Will Republicans impeach Biden? Vice President Harris will visit the Demilitarized Zone on Thursday as part of her trip to South Korea, the White House confirmed Monday. Harris will travel to the heavily guarded area dividing the Korean Peninsula to meet with service members and receive a briefing from U.S. commanders, a White House official said in a statement. The Vice President will reflect on the shared sacrifice of tens of thousands of American and Korean soldiers who fought and died together, and will reaffirm that the U.S. commitment to the ROKs defense is ironclad, the official said. Harris is in Asia leading a U.S. delegation at the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. While abroad, Harris is also meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Harris will also meet with Japanese business leaders during the trip. The visit to the DMZ will be the first for Harris since she took office as vice president. Travel to the border between North Korea and South Korea is rare for high-ranking U.S. officials, particularly amid tensions with North Korea over its nuclear program. Former President Trump visited the DMZ in 2019 and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the stop, making him the first sitting U.S. president to cross into North Korea. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Claira Janover, a 24-year-old Harvard graduate who previously lost her job offer and was doxxed by Trump supporters due to a TikTok video, said she has moved on with a life away from social media. Janover, who was previously a content creator, went viral two years ago over a video in which she condemned people with the nerve, the sheer entitled Caucasity to say All Lives Matter. Following the police killing of George Floyd and nationwide protests, Janover made a satirical video to address individuals who proclaimed All Lives Matter, a term created in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Ima stab you, and while youre struggling and bleeding out, Ima show you my paper cut and say, My cut matters, too, Janover said in the video. More from NextShark: Viral video shows Ukrainian soldier 'saved' from bullet by his Samsung smartphone Multiple news outlets covered the video, making Janover an overnight sensation. In a recent interview with Insider, however, the 24-year-old said she received rape and death threats from online users who disagreed with the video. Other people also tagged her employers and demanded her termination. When her address was shared online, Janover was forced to move to a new apartment building with security. I was getting like tens of thousands of really hateful messages that were just really grotesque, Janover told Insider. These messages weren't just 'I hate you. I'm going come murder you and your family,' which it was like a lot of the time but a lot of the time it was also going into deep description of other ways in which they would assault me sexual violence and like rape and gang bang. Janover was previously a student at Harvard University and had a job offer lined up with Deloitte. When she explained her intention and shared the threats to Deloitte, her job offer was revoked. The company reportedly said that they cannot have somebody work for us who in any shape, way, or form endorses or promotes violence, even if it was satirical. Story continues More from NextShark: Elon Musk says recession is 'a good thing,' billionaires make people 'happy' Despite the attacks, Janover has since graduated from Harvard and worked for President Joe Bidens 2020 campaign. When her TikTok account was hacked in December 2020, she reportedly did not try to recover it as she was so excited to not be a content creator anymore. It was a very crazy whirlwind time. And then I ended up working full time with the Biden Administration for his 2020 campaign up in California. So I was based with the California Dems and then I was working with Gen Z for Change, which is now its own really incredible organization, she said. Janover reportedly spent her time with relatives in the countryside in Wyoming. She ended up going on travel fellowships in 2021 and found that she was completely averse to the idea of ever being a public figure on the internet again. More from NextShark: Russian tourist who posed naked on 700-year-old sacred tree for photos will be deported from Bali She shared that she grew up with a single mom, who passed away in 2019 due to cancer. Her mother was a politically active union organizer and a public high school history teacher who taught African American studies and gender studies. I think that gave me room to take a step back that I dont think I wouldve had or really conceived of as a possibility or a reality had I not had that ability to be broken down and having to rebuild, Janover told Insider. More from NextShark: Kung Fu Champion Dad and Daughter Gain 1.3 Million TikTok Followers With Incredible Skills Featured Image via @clurajan (left, right) Sep. 27State lawmakers are working on a bill that would give prosecutors more than one way to charge serious felonies after a ruling that preli minary hearings are not a lawful method for charging major crimes, including murder, robbery and sex assault. State lawmakers are working on a bill that would give prosecutors more than one way to charge serious felonies after a ruling that preli minary hearings are not a lawful method for charging major crimes, including murder, robbery and sex assault. State Sen. Karl Rhoads, chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that he has a draft bill that he will share with Rep. Mark Nakashima, chair of the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs. "My goal is to return to the process we had in place before Obrero was decided. That is, allow for two paths to charge the most serious crimes, hearing before a judge followed by a criminal complaint, or taking the case to a grand jury for indictment, " said Rhoads. "Because of Obrero, prosecutors currently only have the grand jury option." In the State v. Obrero decision, the Supreme Court justices ruled 3-2 that prosecutors who fail to obtain a grand jury indictment against a suspect cannot rely on information charging through a preliminary hearing to file felony charges. County prosecutors are unified in their position that public safety is put at risk by the high court decision, and that nearly 400 felony cases statewide are affected. Prosecutors are pushing state lawmakers and Gov. David Ige to convene a special session of the Legislature to address the issue. Any case charged through the preliminary hearing process will have to be recharged through a grand jury proceeding or the suspects could be released, prosecutors say. "For our office, we have 160 serious felonies ... we are going to have to get the witnesses, get the victims, to go to grand jury now, even though we had already done a preliminary hearing, " Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm said on the " webcast on Monday. Story continues A special session of the Legislature may be unilaterally convened by the governor, or if two-thirds of the House and Senate agree it is needed. Last week, both Ige and Senate President Ron Kouchi said a special session was not likely. However, in a letter to Kouchi and all House members Monday obtained by the Star-Advertiser, House Speaker Scott Saiki wrote that over two-thirds of House members have agreed to convene a special session to address the State v. Obrero decision. "I have asked Representative Mark Nakashima to work with Senator Karl Rhoads to jointly propose a bill that can be acted upon, " wrote Saiki. "Moreover, to minimize immediate impact of the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision, the House proposes that the special session convene as soon as possible. I will forward a proposed special session schedule for your review. As you know, public safety is of paramount importance to the House and Senate. The general public wants the Judiciary and the Legislature to resolve this matter. I will work with you and the Judiciary to determine our best course of action." Kouchi told the Star-Advertiser in a statement Monday that now that the House has "finally communicated an interest in convening a special session, " he will formally re-engage with members to determine if the Senate also has the two-thirds majority needed to convene. "Finding consensus with our House colleagues and the four county prosecutors on language for a proposed bill that will address the issues raised in State v. Obrero will be critical in determining our next steps, " Kouchi said. Ige's position on a special session has not changed. "It is premature to call a special session until there is consensus on a bill to address the issue, " said Cindy McMillan, Ige's communications director. "If the House and Senate reach an agreement and convene in special session, the governor would make a decision to sign or veto any measure passed following the appropriate legal review." While lawmakers work to reach consensus on a plan of action, the Hawaii State Judiciary is increasing in each county to deal with affected cases created by the ruling. "The Judiciary takes no position on the convening of a special legislative session regarding the Supreme Court opinion in State v. Obrero, " Jan Kagehiro, communications and community relations director for the Hawaii State Judiciary, told the Star-Advertiser. Rhoads said he still does not believe a special session is needed. If lawmakers did convene and finished a special session a backlog of cases caused by the Obrero ruling would still exist, he said. By the time Ige signed a bill, all the high-priority cases will have been put in front of a grand jury and recharged by indictment. Also by that time, the Judiciary should have more grand jury panels up and running and can take care of the lower-priority cases without seeking a criminal complaint from a judge, he said. "Bottom line is, the people that deserved to be charged are going to get charged whether we go into special session or not, " Rhoads said. "I'm not opposed to having a special session, I just don't think it matters. It won't hurt anything, well, except the expense of bringing the House back into session. The Senate is going back in in a few weeks anyway, to confirm judges." The high court ruling stopped the prosecution of Richard Obrero, 53, who was charged with murder Nov. 12, 2019, after he allegedly shot and killed 16-year-old Starsky Willy of Honolulu. Willy was part of a group of four teens who reportedly harassed Obrero by trespassing on his property on Kula Kolea Drive near Kalihi Valley Homes and firing BB guns at him and his house. The public housing complex abuts Obrero's property. Two days after Obrero was charged with killing the teen, an Oahu grand jury declined to return a true bill of indictment, indicating that prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence for the grand jury to believe the defendant probably committed the crimes. But Honolulu prosecutors persisted and took the case to a preliminary hearing in District Court, where a judge found probable cause to charge Obrero with second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, three counts of attempted second-degree murder and a firearm offense. Obrero's attorney, Thomas M. Otake, told the Star-Advertiser that he does not believe a special session is required. The "purported need " is the direct result of the Honolulu Prosecutor's Office mishandling Obrero's case. The Supreme Court's Sept. 8 opinion flows from then acting prosecutor Dwight K. Nadamoto's decision to pursue the case against Obrero after a grand jury failed to indict, he said. "It was that misguided action that brought about this ruling in the first place, " Otake said. "Further, this issue was first brought to the attention of the Honolulu Prosecutor's Office over a year ago, well before the 2022 legislative session. They ignored the issue, continued to bring cases by preliminary hearing, and made no attempt to address it in the 2022 legislative session earlier this year. "Now Mr. Alm claims that a costly special session should be convened to remedy the mess his office single-handedly created. Instead of bad-mouthing the Supreme Court, there should be reflection on how his office is the one truly at fault." Nigeria rice farmer Adamu Garba squelched barefoot through his paddy fields, surveying damage from devastating floods that have destroyed farmland across the north of the country. Parts of West and central Africa have been battered by floods ravaging farms like Garba's rice plots, wiping out crops and risking worsening food insecurity in a region already struggling with economic fallout from the Ukraine war. Just in Nigeria, constant heavy rains caused the worst flooding in a decade, killing more than 300 people since the start of the rainy season and displacing at least 100,000, according to emergency officials. "It is devastating but there is nothing we can do, we just have to be strong," Garba told AFP at his farm near the city of Kano, where he normally harvests 200 bags of rice. "Now in the condition we find ourselves we are not sure we will harvest half a bag here." Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Manzo Ezekiel said flooding has been unprecedented due to continuous rainfall with 29 of the country's 36 states affected. "Thousands of farmlands have also been destroyed. The figures will rise further because we are still experiencing torrential rains and flooding," he said. Flood waters were made worse partly by neighbouring Cameroon's release of excess waters from a dam and by Nigeria releasing waters to ease pressure on its Kainji and Jebba dams, Ezekiel said. However, an official with Eneo, operator of Cameroon's Lagdo hydro-electricity plant, said excess waters released from the dam contributed only a small amount to flooding. Parts of Nigeria, from northern farmlands to the coastal economic capital Lagos, are prone to flooding in the rainy season, though NEMA says this year is the worst since 2012, when 363 people died and more than 2.1 million were displaced. - Climate change - The Niger river -- West Africa's main river -- flows through northern Niger past Benin's northern border into Nigeria before reaching in the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic through southern Nigeria's Niger Delta. Story continues Heavy rains falling in Niger since June and the severe floods have claimed 159 lives and affected more than 225,000 people, making this rainy season one of the deadliest in history, emergency officials said earlier this month. "According to our studies, we can link these rains to climate change in general," said Katiellou Gaptia Lawan, Director General of National Meteorology of Niger. "The rains are becoming more and more intense and the extreme precipitation is increasing." Rains in Niger this year have also totally destroyed or damaged more than 25,900 homes, and impacted farmland and cattle, authorities said. The June to September rainy season regularly kills people in Niger, including in the northern desert areas, but the toll is particularly heavy this year. In 2021, 70 people died and 200,000 were affected. In Chad, the UN said more than 622,500 people had been affected "at different levels" by flooding in more than half of the country, including the capital NDjamena, with most impacted areas bordering the north of Cameroon. According to the United Nations, in 2021, 5.5 million Chadians, more than a third of the population of the landlocked country were already in need of emergency humanitarian aid, even before the floods. In northern Nigeria, Kabiru Alassan, a 19-year old farmer, said flood waters washed sand from the roads and covered his rice fields. But he was trying to salvage what he could. "This is the little we have left by Allah's grace which we are going to harvest," he said. "The rains have never been this destructive. We pray never to experience such a nightmare." bur/pma/bp ROME (AP) Just in time to celebrate his 86th birthday, former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi is making his return to Italy's parliament, winning a seat in the Senate nearly a decade after being banned from holding public office over a tax fraud conviction. Berlusconi, who has made personal comebacks a hallmark of Italian politics for three decades, was re-elected to Italys upper house with more than 50% of the votes Sunday in the northern city of Monza, where he also owns a soccer team that was recently promoted to Italys top division. While overall his party lost ground compared with the 2018 general elections, it fared better than expected and Berlusconi's victory was particularly heartfelt. Regaining a seat in the Senate was a sort of personal revenge for Berlusconi, after all the judicial problems he went through, said Massimiliano Panarari, political analyst at Romes Mercatorum University. In 2013, the Senate expelled Berlusconi because of a tax fraud conviction stemming from his media business, and he was banned from holding public office for six years. After he served a sentence of community service, a court ruled he could once again hold public office and he won a seat in the European Parliament in 2019. His third and last premiership had ended abruptly in 2011, when financial markets lost confidence that the billionaire media magnate could manage Italys finances during Europes sovereign debt crisis. Berlusconis Forza Italia center-right party which pioneered populist politics in Italy in the 1990s gained just over 8% in Sundays vote, which dominated by his ally Giorgia Meloni. She is now poised to lead the countrys first far-right government since World War II. It was a better-than-expected result for Forza Italia, even though it still amounted to a significant loss of support compared with the 14% of the votes it nailed in 2018 elections. The party has grown weaker in recent years, hit by Berlusconis judicial woes and his recurring health problems, but it has remained relevant enough. Story continues Beating expectations, Forza Italia finished right behind its other ally, the anti-immigrant League of Matteo Salvini, which won only about 9% of the vote, down from 17% in 2018. Berlusconi has pledged to exercise a moderating influence over the other two more radical parties in the center-right coalition. In the competition with the League, Forza Italia did pretty well and, thanks to this, Berlusconi will be pivotal again in the new governing coalition. He can say hes a winner in these elections, Panarari said. The media mogul, whose birthday is Thursday, did just that after the votes came in. Forza Italia proved decisive for the success of the center-right and the formation of the next government, Berlusconi enthused in a tweet. Once again I put myself at the service of Italy, of the country I love. Analysts noted that, despite some grotesque performances on TikTok, which Berlusconi used in the electoral campaign to reach young voters with anecdotes and jokes, the three-term premier succeeded in gaining a new space on Italys political stage. His TikTok videos, where he often dressed in classic suits and ties, seemed to clash with the language and style of the teen audience, but often went viral. I've still got it, he said in one viral video clip, after he successfully nailed a fly that had landed on his forehead during a television interview. He raised eyebrows late in the campaign when he seemed to justify Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, saying he was forced into it by pro-Moscow separatists in Donbas. The troops were supposed to enter, reach Kyiv within a week, replace Zelenskys government with decent people and then leave, Berlusconi told his favorite late-night talk show host. Later he backtracked, saying his words had been oversimplified. But Berlusconi has a long, friendly history with Putin: He has entertained the Russian leader at his Sardinian villa and even visited Crimea with Putin in 2014 after the Russian leader annexed the peninsula from Ukraine. While Berlusconi has secured another political life for himself, the survival of his party long-term remains uncertain given it seems indissolubly linked to Berlusconis active presence on the scene. As long as Silvio Berlusconi lives, Forza Italia lives. But the party never had its autonomy, said Sofia Ventura, a political science professor at the University of Bologna. And yet Berlusconi wasn't the only winner in the household. His 32-year-old girlfriend, Marta Fascina, also took a seat in the lower house of parliament, after winning the vote in the Sicilian constituency of Marsala, despite never showing up in the southern island during the campaign. In an interview with an Italian newspaper, Fascina said she used to go to Sicily with her father on vacation when she was a child. ___ Frances D'Emilio contributed. An expected House vote on antitrust bills aimed at giving enforcers more power to target tech giants has prompted GOP infighting, signaling a rough path ahead for antitrust reform if Republicans win the House in November. Meanwhile, Meta said it disrupted a network of fake accounts from China that were targeting U.S. domestic audiences ahead of the midterm elections. This is Hillicon Valley, detailing all you need to know about tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Send tips to The Hills Rebecca Klar and Ines Kagubare. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. GOP squabbles over antitrust bills Republicans are fighting amongst themselves over proposals aimed at giving antitrust enforcers more power to rein in tech giants ahead of a House vote expected later this week. The package of three bills is backed by Republicans in the House and Senate, but House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is railing against the bills, signaling the GOP will likely be split in the vote. Do you think we should give the Biden DOJ [Department of Justice] and FTC [Federal Trade Commission] more money? Do you trust they wont use the money to target conservatives? Do you think [President] Joe Biden, [Attorney General] Merrick Garland, and [FTC Chairwoman] Lina Khan have your best interests at heart? No, No, No, Jordan tweeted on Tuesday. Jordan speaking out against the three bills set for a vote this week also signals that if supporters arent successful in passing the package, or other proposals aimed at revamping antitrust laws to target tech giants, they may face little chance of moving forward if the GOP wins back the majority in the chamber in the 2022 midterms. The House is expected to vote on the package of three bills Thursday evening or Friday, according to a spokesperson for Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), the ranking member of the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee. Story continues The three bills together would update filing fees for mergers to reduce them for smaller firms and increase them for larger ones that require more in-depth reviews, allow state attorneys general to select their venue when enforcing antitrust laws and use the merger notification process to require parties to disclose subsidies they have received from countries that pose a risk to the U.S., including China. Read more here. Meta disrupts fake account networks Meta said on Tuesday that it had disrupted a network of fake accounts from China that were targeting U.S. domestic audiences ahead of the midterm elections. The Chinese network was the first that Meta has identified focusing on U.S. domestic politics leading up to Novembers elections, the Facebook parent company said in a press release. Chinese influence operations that weve disrupted before typically focused on criticizing the United States to international audiences, rather than primarily targeting domestic audiences in the US, Meta noted in the release. The network targeted individuals on both sides of the political spectrum, according to Meta. Another Chinese network that Meta disrupted was primarily producing anti-government content in the Czech Republic that criticized the countrys support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Read more here. ORACLE TO PAY $23M SETTLEMENT Oracle will pay $23 million to settle charges that the company bribed foreign officials through its subsidiaries in several countries, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Tuesday. The SEC order alleges that Oracle subsidiaries in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India used slush funds to bribe officials in return for business between 2016 and 2019. As part of the settlement, Oracle did not admit or deny the findings, but agreed to cease and desist from committing violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and pay the settlement, according to the SEC. The creation of off-book slush funds inherently gives rise to the risk those funds will be used improperly, which is exactly what happened here at Oracles Turkey, UAE, and India subsidiaries, Charles Cain, the SECs Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit chief, said in a statement. This matter highlights the critical need for effective internal accounting controls throughout the entirety of a companys operations. Read more here. BITS & PIECES An op-ed to chew on: Journalism competition bill would benefit the radical right Notable links from around the web: Amazons robots are getting closer to replacing human hands (Vox / Jason Del Rey) Elon Musk and Twitter Argue Over Unresolved Pretrial Information Requests (The Wall Street Journal / Alexa Corse) Duolingo founder on his Guatemala roots and recipe for success (Axios / Marina Franco) Lighter click: Creative dinner One last thing: Ukraine warns of cyberattacks Ukraines defense ministry warned on Monday that Russia is planning to launch massive cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, particularly targeting the energy sector, in an attempt to slow down Ukrainian counteroffensives. The advisory said that the cyberattacks will aim to increase the effectiveness of Russias missile strike operations on electricity supply facilities, primarily located in the eastern and southern region of Ukraine. The occupying command is convinced that this will slow down the offensive operations of the Ukrainian Defence Forces, the defense ministry said in the advisory. The agency added that Russia also intends to carry out more distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks targeting the critical infrastructure of Ukraines closest allies, including Poland and the Baltic states. Read more here. Thats it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hills Technology and Cybersecurity pages for the latest news and coverage. Well see you tomorrow. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WFTS-Tampa The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office said a notification was sent out around 3 a.m. that indicated a possible levee break in the Hidden River community. The sheriff's office said it was issued countywide, but the compromise of the levee will only impact homes on the east side of the Hidden River Community, a neighborhood east on Fruitville Road. Deputies are going door-to-door to let residents in that area know about possible flooding. Deputies advised residents to consider evacuation. The sheriff's office said for additional clarification this will not impact any other areas in Sarasota County, including Venice or North Port. https://www.abcactionnews.com/weather/hurricane/hurricane-ian-live-blog-latest-impacts-across-tampa-bay BUDVA, Montenegro (Reuters) - When Alexander and his wife Svetlana arrived for a two-week vacation in Montenegro, they planned to return home to Russia. But President Vladimir Putin's announcement last week ordering a mobilisation of reservists for the war in Ukraine has thrown their lives into disarray. Speaking to Reuters in Montenegro's Adriatic town of Budva, Alexander, 30, a horticulturist, said he had no plans to go back and risk being drafted to go and fight. "This is not our war. We are attacking our neighbours, brothers, we are trying to occupy territories that are not ours," he said. "I definitely will not fight for that, let alone die for it." Both Alexander and his wife declined to give their full names. Russian officials have said 300,000 troops are needed for the mobilisation, called as Russia's seven-month campaing in Ukraine has stalled. Priority will be given to people with recent military experience and vital skills. But reports have appeared of men with no military experience, or past draft age, receiving call-up papers, fueling outrage and anti-war protests. Tens of thousands of people, many of them males, have choked border crossings between Russia and neighbouring ex-Soviet republics such as Georgia, Kazakhstan or Tajikistan. Others hastily purchased overpriced air tickets to Western European countries, Montenegro, Turkey or Israel. "I am afraid many more will leave unless they (Russian authorities) finally shut borders. I am afraid we will have no friends left in Russia," Alexander said. Russia officially counts millions of former conscripts as reservists - most of the male population of fighting age. Maxim, 48, a physician, was also vacationing in Montenegro when he heard about mobilisation at home. He decided not to return to Moscow. "Many of my colleagues have received call-up papers. Some are even older than I am, and not as healthy for fighting," he said. Story continues Svetlana said she will travel to Russia to bring their year-and-a-half daughter and sell whatever property they have before they can try to start a new life in Montenegro. "We are not afraid of work. We will try," she said. (Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Angus MacSwan) During normal times, it can be difficult for Vince Quiles to find a manager at the Home Depot where he works in northeast Philadelphia. But that hasnt been a problem since Quiles went public with his effort to unionize the store last week. Employees have been getting called into meetings with supervisors and taken out to lunch like never before, Quiles said. Ive worked here 5 years, and Ive never in my life seen this, said the 27-year-old, who filed a union election petition with the National Labor Relations Board on Monday. The petition is under review by the board. If workers at Quiles store were to vote for the union, it would be the first of Home Depots U.S. stores to organize. To prevent that from happening, the home improvement chain appears to be relying on a faithful tactic for employers: saturate the workplace with managers from near and far to discourage workers from unionizing. Starbucks has used the same strategy in its battle against Starbucks Workers United, dispatching managers to stores where workers are considering forming a union and holding individual or group meetings with them to weaken union support. More than 230 Starbucks stores have unionized since December. Before this, I didnt even know what my district manager looked like.A worker at the Home Depot in northeast Philadelphia Quiles said he has received an unusual amount of attention from management in recent days, making it trickier to discuss the prospect of a union with his co-workers. Theyve been following me all around the store, he said. Whenever I walk on the floor, Ive got a manager or someone from loss prevention following me around. He added, I think its very sad that Home Depot is not making an affirmative case for themselves. Asked about the influx of managers in Philadelphia, a Home Depot spokesperson said in an email that the company does not believe unionization is the best solution for our associates. We look forward to continuing to talk with our associates about their concerns, the spokesperson said. Our open-door policy is designed to assure all associates that they can bring concerns directly to leadership, and we have a track record of working successfully with our associates to resolve concerns. Story continues Quiles said he started the union effort because his co-workers have felt underpaid and undervalued for the work they do, especially during the home-improvement boom during the coronavirus pandemic. He said a union could force the company to address workers concerns and thinks that managements response has already shown the value of the effort. Workers at a Home Depot in mortheast Philadelphia have seen a lot of new faces among management over the past week. (Photo: via Associated Press) Workers at a Home Depot in mortheast Philadelphia have seen a lot of new faces among management over the past week. (Photo: via Associated Press) Another worker at the store, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said the flood of managers went far beyond any normal open-door policy. The worker estimated that eight managers some from other stores, some who appeared to be from corporate headquarters had approached them in recent days to talk about the job and how the store might be improved. Before this, I didnt even know what my district manager looked like, the worker said. Seeing all these people, Im like, Whats going on? I was so confused. The worker said it was amusing to see a sudden surge of concern for how the store was operating. Weve all said it to HR weve emailed them this and that, and they barely implemented stuff, the worker said. But once [theres talk of a union], they want to tighten up and help us out, and start doing stuff for us. HuffPost readers: Do you work at Home Depot and have thoughts on unionization? Email our reporter about it. You can remain anonymous. One manager explained how to revoke a union authorization signature, which organizers round up in order to get an election scheduled with the labor board, the worker said. Workers must obtain signatures from 30% of the proposed bargaining unit in order for a vote to be scheduled. Quiles said he got signatures from 103 workers out of 276 at the store, or around 37% of the workforce. Unions typically dont file for an election until a strong majority is onboard, but some recent successful unionization efforts notably the Amazon Labor Unions upset victory at a warehouse in New York City earlier this year began with a petition from a minority of workers. Ive worked here five and a half years, and Ive never in my life seen this.Home Depot employee Vince Quiles Quiles said he and his pro-union co-workers have chosen the name Home Depot Workers United for the would-be union. The group is not affiliated with an established union. A labor lawyer advised Quiles on the petition filing and will be training workers on how to spot unfair labor practices or labor law violations, according to Quiles. An election win for the union would put Home Depot in a category with other big-name U.S. employers who are no longer union-free, such as Amazon, Starbucks, REI, Apple and Trader Joes. Home Depot says it has roughly 2,300 stores in North America. Although the Teamsters represent some Home Depot drivers in California, the chain does not currently have any unions in its U.S. retail locations. For years the company has required workers to watch anti-union videos as part of their job training, teaching them the supposed pitfalls of organizing. According to Quiles, management began holding group meetings for workers this week in a training room at the store. Its common for employers to hold such confabs during an organizing effort, with managers or outside consultants delivering talks aimed at undermining union support. Home Depot declined to discuss whether such meetings were taking place. Quiles said he did not personally sit in on any of the get-togethers. He said he suspected he was not invited because he was the one who filed the election petition with the labor board. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... BROCKTON A family of five on Hermon Street is reeling after a Brockton police officer shot and killed their puppy, 1-year-old Leia. "She was a friendly, awesome dog," her owner, Kevin Cordero, 24, said. "She was like my daughter." According to the family member who was at home when the incident happened on Thursday, Sept. 15, Jennifer Wentworth, the police officer on the scene Officer David Santos was there for a different reason altogether. "He announced he was here because one of our commercial trucks was 'in violation' of parking signs on the street," Wentworth said. "But, first of all, there are no posted street signs on this street and secondly, all of our cars and trucks are registered under our names and insured which he verified when he was here," she continued. Kevin Cordero holds the urn with his dog Leia's ashes on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Leia was shot and killed by a Brockton police officer. So, what happened? Wentworth said Leia was sitting on the porch when an "unmarked police vehicle" pulled in next to their gravel driveway. "When I saw him pull in, I waited at our door for a few minutes waiting for him to get out," she said. "When he finally did get out, Leia being the friendly puppy she was, waddled over to sniff and greet him." Leia was on her way back to Wentworth who was only a few feet away when Santos pulled out his firearm, Wentworth said. "I was shocked. I said, 'Please don't shoot, please don't shoot her,' but he went ahead and shot the dog via execution," she said. Angela Cordero holds a photograph of Leia on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. "The bullet killed her immediately. It went in through her skull and came out through her nose," she said, choking back tears, recounting the incident. "It was horrific." According to a statement from the Brockton Police Department, "the dog ran toward the police officer shortly before 10 a.m., which is what led to the officer discharging his firearm to protect from injury." 'Nightmare neighbors': Brockton residents fed up with 'residential nightclub' on Pearl Street "He told me it was protocol to shoot the dog to protect himself," Wentworth said. Story continues Per Animal Legal Defense Fund, a North American animal law advocacy organization, police officers resort to shooting companion dogs for a variety of reasons, including perceived threat, an unleashed dog and poor planning on the officer's part. From left, Angela Cordero, Nick Khoury and Zachary Khoury, 8. Angela speak about her son Kevin Cordero's dog Leia on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Leia was shot and killed by a Brockton police officer. As a result, the fund advises dog owners to keep a close eye on their pups when any visitors, especially police, arrive at home and for police officers to turn to "non-lethal alternatives or to receive police training on how to encounter dogs." In a 2012 article in Police magazine, a U.S. Department of Justice official called: "fatal police vs. dogs encounters a nationwide 'epidemic,'" and estimated that 25 to 30 pet dogs are killed each day by law enforcement officers. 'Why are we fixating on a broken man?': Soupman may be liquidated amid family drama Cordero's mom, Angela Cordero, said Leia was tiny and posed no threat. "She was 11 inches off the ground. I don't believe there's a way she was a threat to the officer she was a micro-bully," she said. "What the [Brockton police] did was wrong, and they know what they did was wrong," she continued. "I am heartbroken and I just want justice for my baby," the younger Cordero, who also lives at the same home, said. Kevin Cordero holds the paw print of his dog Leia on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Leia was shot and killed by a Brockton police officer. According to the family, the police have not yet provided any information regarding the incident, despite many requests. "No matter the reason, blood was still shed and it's on Officer Santos' hands," Wentworth said. While the police investigation is ongoing, The Enterprise has filed a public records request with the department to receive a copy of the incident report. Staff writer Namu Sampath can be reached at nsampath@enterprisenews.com, or you can follow her on Twitter @namusampath. Thank you, subscribers. You make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Brockton Enterprise. This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton police: Officer David Santos shot Kevin Cordero's dog Leia Satellite imagery shows Category 3 Hurricane Ian passing over Cuba on September 27, 2022. NOAA GOES-East Wind speed determines hurricane categories not the rain, storm surge, or flooding they can cause. Category 1 storms can still leave power outages, downed buildings, and long-term damage in their wake. These photos show the differences between hurricane categories, using memorable storms as examples. Hurricanes Irma and Harvey were two very different storms. Anse Marcel Beach in Saint Martin before Hurricane Irma on August 25, 2016, and the storm on September 11, 2017. Satellite image 2019 Maxar Technologies While Harvey's record rainfall drenched southeastern Texas and western Louisiana in 2017, flooding Houston in over 4 feet of water, Irma's winds flattened buildings, trees, and power lines on the Caribbean islands it devoured. At its peak, Harvey was a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, but its weakened winds downgraded it to a tropical storm the day after it made landfall. Irma was a Category 5 monster that was one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded. Both had widespread devastation even though they were on the opposite ends of the category scale. Hurricane Ian is a Category 3 storm forecasted to strengthen to a Category 4 before it batters Florida this week. Hal Needham, a hurricane scientist at Louisiana State University, explained on the weather site WXshift in 2017 that a storm's category doesn't fully convey how much damage it could cause. "Hurricanes and tropical storms throw three hazards at us: wind, rainfall, and storm surge," he wrote. "Think of the impacts separately. Storms with weaker winds are more likely to stall and dump heavier rainfall. This shocks people, as it would seem intuitive that a Category 5 hurricane would tend to dump more rain than a Category 1 hurricane. But the opposite is true." Here's a closer look at the type of damage that storms at different categories can cause. The Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, which does not include lower-level tropical storms or tropical depressions, is based solely on maximum sustained wind. Ana Pelisson/Business Insider Source: NHC Once a tropical storm's winds exceed 39 mph, the storm gets a name. Most storms that make landfall in the US are tropical storms, not "major" hurricanes of Category 3 and above. Story continues Hurricanes that have hit the continental US from 1950 to 2011, color-coded by category. NOAA But "storms are too complex to define by one number," Needham wrote. While Harvey's strong winds on the Texas Gulf Coast caused widespread destruction, most of the devastation came after it was downgraded to a tropical storm, dumping feet of water on Texas and Louisiana. Interstate 45 seen during widespread flooding in Houston on August 27. REUTERS/Richard Carson Source: WXShift While strong winds can rip shingles off roofs and tear down power lines, flooding often causes more widespread, costlier damage and can be more dangerous for humans, no matter what the hurricane category is. Homes surrounded by floodwater from Tropical Storm Harvey on August 29 in Houston. AP/David J. Phillip Harvey, for example, was particularly devastating because it stalled over the Houston area, staying in roughly the same place for five days. People float on floodwaters caused by Hurricane Harvey. David J. Phillip/AP Category 1 hurricanes have wind speeds of 74 to 95 mph. They can damage a home's exterior, break large tree branches, and knock down power lines, causing multiday power failures. Hurricane Dolly was this rating when it hit Texas in 2008. Hurricane Dolly caused flooding of 3 feet or more in many areas of southern Texas. Joe Mitchell/Reuters Source: Insider Category 2 hurricanes have wind speeds of 96 to 110 mph. Storms of this intensity can cause major damage to homes and uproot large trees. They also generate power failures that last up to weeks. Hurricane Ike was a Category 2 when it hit Texas in 2008. Hurricane Ike's winds caused severe damage when the storm hit Texas in 2008. David J. Phillip/REUTERS While a hurricane's category classifies how strong it is, this definition can't fully predict how devastating it might be. Superstorm Sandy hit Category 3, but by the time it made landfall in New York and New Jersey in 2012 it had weakened to a post-tropical cyclone. Hurricane Sandy caused the deaths of hundreds of people and cost $68 billion in damage. AP Category 3 storms have wind speeds of 111 to 130 mph. But with Sandy, the storm surge, or rise in sea level, did some of the worst damage. It reached nearly 8 feet in parts of the Jersey Shore and 6 1/2 feet around New York City. Its "superstorm" status was because it was so wide up to 1,000 miles across. Burned houses next to those that survived fires during Hurricane Sandy in Breezy Point, Queens. Adrees Latif/Reuters Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was the most devastating storm ever to hit the US. It killed 1,833 people and caused $108 billion in damage, though it was technically a Category 3 when it made landfall in Louisiana with sustained wind speeds of 125 mph. Flooded neighborhoods seen as the Coast Guard conducted initial Hurricane Katrina damage-assessment overflights in 2005 in New Orleans. Getty Images Category 4 hurricanes have wind speeds of 131 to 155 mph, uprooting most trees and creating power failures that can last weeks or even months. Hurricane Charley was a Category 4 when it made landfall in Florida in 2004. Mobile homes seen torn apart north of Port Charlotte, Florida, on in 2004 after Hurricane Charley moved through the area. J.Pat Carter/AP Hurricane Maria was a Category 4 storm when it made landfall in Puerto Rico in 2017, leaving 100% of the island without power. Parts of the US commonwealth were still recovering from the hurricane two years later 30,000 homes had tarps for roofs. A woman tries to walks out from her house after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria in Salinas, Puerto Rico, September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins Sources: AP, Insider Hurricane Andrew was one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall in the US. It was a Category 5 hurricane when it hit Florida's Dade County in August 1992. The Florida City water tower remained standing over the ruins of the coastal community that was hit by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. AP Category 5 storms have wind speeds greater than 156 mph, which can destroy most framed homes, cause power failures, and leave areas where it hits uninhabitable for weeks or even months. Irma was a Category 5 storm when it "totally demolished" the island of Barbuda in 2017. ABS News Source: Business Insider Local weather stations in Barbuda captured wind gusts of 155 mph before going silent, indicating that the instruments had been blown away. The destruction was so severe that the island was initially cut off from communication, and 90% of its buildings were destroyed. Satellite photos show Barbuda before and after Hurricane Irma devastated the island in 2017. NASA Earth Observatory Source: Business Insider Hurricane Irma was so powerful that it could have been considered a Category 6 storm. Theoretically, if we extended the Saffir-Simpson scale, Irma would be a Category 6, with wind speeds of 175 to 195 mph. It ended up making landfall in Florida as a Category 4, knocking out power for 6 million people. Water rises up to a sidewalk by the Miami river as Hurricane Irma arrives at south Florida, in downtown Miami, Florida. Reuters/Carlos Barria Source: Business Insider The problem with extending the Saffir-Simpson scale is that it's also a measurement based on destruction, and Category 5 storms typically destroy buildings and utilities. Technically, categories above 5 wouldn't cause more damage because there's no more damage to be done. Rescue staff from the Municipal Emergency Management Agency investigate an empty flooded car during the passage of Hurricane Irma through the northeastern part of Puerto Rico. AP Photo/Carlos Giusti Whether a storm is a theoretical "Category 6" or a tropical storm, its impact for people in its wake can be devastating. A woman reacts while she looks at the damages in the house of her mother after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria in Guayama, Puerto Rico September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins Part of the issue is that climate change is causing ocean and air temperatures to rise, which is making hurricanes more sluggish, giving them more time to suck up water and gain strength. The intensity of Hurricane Dorian as it sat over the Bahamas before it moved toward Florida. Tropical Tidbits Sources: Insider, Nature On Tuesday, Hurricane Ian was battering Cuba and heading toward Florida as a Category 3 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, forecasted storm surge up to 12 feet, and up to 24 inches of rain predicted in some areas. Satellite imagery shows Category 3 Hurricane Ian passing over Cuba on Tuesday, September 27, 2022. NOAA GOES-East Sources: NHC, Insider The NHC expects Ian to strengthen again before it makes landfall in Florida on Wednesday because it's sucking up warm water in the Gulf of Mexico. While its wind speed could be devastating, the NHC warned Ian's rainfall and "life-threatening" storm surge could cause "considerable" flooding. A resident uses plastic for protection from the rain in Batabano, Cuba. Hurricane Ian is forecasted to hit the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday. Ramon Espinosa/AP Sources: NHC, Insider Read the original article on Business Insider The Canopy by Hilton Hotel in West Palm Beach, Florida on January 28, 2020. The Palm Beach Post has made this article free of charge for all readers in the interest of public safety. Consider supporting the Post with a digital subscription. Hurricane Ian prompted a surge in hotel bookings throughout Palm Beach County as residents of the states west coast sought to flee the oncoming storm. We are booked up, said Chris Steele, general manager of the 150-room Canopy by Hilton West Palm Beach Downtown Hotel. Demand for hotel rooms was especially fevered after Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie on Tuesday urged people to drive east to South Florida for shelter. Hurricane Ian live updates: Schools closed Wednesday, Tropical storm warning for Palm Beach County Hurricane tracker: Where is Ian headed? 'Make preparations now': DeSantis urges vigilance as Ian poised to strike as major hurricane "Many people in the Southwest Florida area, your best bet is going to be evacuate across the state," Guthrie said. "Just go straight across the state to Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach." The Canopys Steele said the storm at first trimmed the hotels room reservations, after some groups last week canceled and rescheduled bookings. But on Monday, with the path showing a track heading for the west coast, reservations skyrocketed, he said. Were booked tonight, tomorrow night and were almost sold out for Thursday, Steele said. Hurricane Ian: What Palm Beach County residents need to know now It was a similar story at the Residence Inn West Palm Beach off 45th Street. The extended-stay hotel, which features suites and full kitchens, is sold out for the next several days. Calls for rooms started picking up on Monday and were nonstop by Tuesday, a reservation official said. Hotel officials throughout the county said as soon as vacationers cancel rooms, that same room is gobbled up by people evacuating from the storm. Story continues At Crane's Beach House Boutique Hotel & Luxury Villas, general manager Cathy Balestriere said she knows from experience that guests not only need shelter from the storm but also from the aftermath of the storm, which could knock out power for lengthy periods of time. Crane's Beach House at 82 Gleason Street in Delray Beach, Thursday, March 26, 2020. The boutique hotel is providing guests reduced prices for extended stays. [ALLEN EYESTONE/palmbeachpost.com] When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, Cranes hosted nearly a dozen evacuees from Louisiana for months after the storm, she said. Cranes features 28 apartment-style suites featuring living areas and kitchens or kitchenettes. Pets are accepted, too. Late last week Cranes began posting ads on social media to let Gulf coast residents know about the boutique hotel, Balestriere said. She also extended the hotels Florida resident rate through the end of the month to keep some room rates under $200 per night. Crane's Beach House Boutique Hotel & Luxury Villas As of Wednesday morning, the hotel was nearly sold out, with new bookings by evacuees quickly replacing vacation cancellations. Well have rain, Balestriere said of Palm Beach County, but its still the safest place within driving distance to get back to the west coast. Alexandra Clough is a business writer at the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. Twitter: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Hurricane Ian: Palm Beach County hotels fill up as people flee storm Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, an anti-abortion rights Republican who once called the Supreme Court decision that legalised a right to birth control constitutionally unsound, was ridiculed online for voicing her support for Iranian women protesting for freedom. The GOP senator took to Twitter to share a message of seeming allyship with the Iranian women who have been pouring onto city streets across the world to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained by the countrys morality police for allegedly having some hair visible under her headscarf. Since the 13 September incident that triggered the mass protests, which saw some women in the streets of Tehran take to burning headscarves and cutting their own hair in an act of defiance against the Islamic Republics restrictions on social freedoms, various politicians from outside of the Middle Eastern country have begun voicing their support for the people living under the restrictive regime. Just last week, US President Joe Biden waded into the unrest by hailing the protestors as brave citizens, while Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called for the Iranian government to end its systemic persecution of women and allow peaceful protest, shortly after the Treasury Department unveiled new targeted sanctions against members of the so-called morality police. Though the reception for other US politicians throwing their weight behind the Iranian women risking their lives for what Mr Biden earlier described as basic rights was received positively, Ms Blackburns remarks were decidedly not. But should not have a say about what happens to their body or whats inside of their body like in the United States, right Senator? tweeted Young Democrats of America in response to her earlier tweet. But should not have a say about what happens to their body or whats inside of their body like in the United States, right Senator? https://t.co/ir5qZ18SOa Young Democrats of America (@youngdems) September 27, 2022 Another user twisted the senators own words with a more domestic argument by stating: Women in Tennessee should be able to access adequate healthcare without the fear of being jailed. Story continues Women in Tennessee should be able to access adequate healthcare without the fear of being jailed. (@antifaoperative) September 26, 2022 The irony of Ms Blackburns remarks became more cutting when some pointed out how the Tennessee Republican had only recently floated the idea that the Department of Justice should use a little-used law enacted during the Red Scare of the 1950s to punish Americans who protest outside the homes of Supreme Court justices. So, now you believe women should have freedom of choice????? Agolf Twitler Slayer (@bblock29) September 25, 2022 Shortly after a draft opinion from the Supreme Court was leaked in the springtime that showed the justices intended to overrule the landmark 1973 case which legalised abortion across the US, numerous protests erupted across cities, with some of them spilling onto the doorsteps of justices. You seem to be all in for supporting women' rights in other countries. Why do you oppose them here? Jim Sinclair (@jim_sinclairjr) September 26, 2022 In an interview on Newsmax, the GOP senator said: They should haul all of these people down to the police headquarters. They should book them for violating a federal statute, while accusing the protesters of trying to change the outcome of a Supreme Court decision by force or intimidation. But women in America are to be controlled - right little girl!! Hypocrisy thy name is MAGA! Joanne (@JMFDSJ) September 27, 2022 Online, one Twitter user reshared an Independent article that discussed the senators remarks during the uprising from abortion rights activists who spilled onto the streets after learning of the draft opinion that would later reverse Roe v Wade. Marsha Blackburn cares NOTHING ABOUT THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN, said one user while sharing an article titled: Senator Marsha Blackburn says Justice Department should arrest pro-choice protesters. Marsha Blackburn cares NOTHING ABOUT THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN. https://t.co/RI96MgPrjf https://t.co/S8jQQDXQaQ Alice in Wonderland (@BluePowderMonk) September 26, 2022 That law that Ms Blackburn had referenced during her interview on Newsmax was part of the McCarthyism-era Internal Security Act, a majority of which has since been repealed decades ago or been deemed unconstitutional. There have been many reasons why officials have used the worst case scenario moniker to describe Hurricane Ians track as it bears down on the Tampa region. >>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<< There is, of course, the potential damage to Tampa itself through storm surge and extreme winds. Theres the damage to the Central Florida if the path keeps shifting east and the economic hit both tourism-focused regions would take. READ: Hurricane Ian: Disney World announces some temporary resort closures Another effect would potentially be to Floridas supply of fuel. In some models, the hurricane stalls over Tampa for up to two days over the port where Central Floridas fuel flows in from. Already, disruptions have been projected through power outages and high winds. Trucks, industry insiders told WFTV, cant operate when winds are gusting above 30 miles per hour. Anyone who wasnt wise enough to ensure their tanks had some reserves in it could expect to go without fuel shipments for a few days assuming prolonged power outages werent also in play. There will likely be some interruption of fuel at some point, Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a Monday press conference. The goal is to minimize that and keep that as small as possible. READ: Amid homeowners insurance crisis, residents brace for Hurricane Ian The governors remarks came as he said officials were working on plans to send fuel across the state as soon as it was safe to do so to make sure any rebuilding needed wouldnt be delayed. In preparation for Tropical Storm #Ian, I directed @MyFDOT to waive weight restrictions for commercial trucks to ensure ample fuel and resources are coming into FL. We've also waived state requirements to ensure pharmacies can prescribe 30-day emergency refills for medications. Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 25, 2022 Other supply chain representatives also said theyve been working diligently. In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times Monday, a Port Tampa spokeswoman said almost all ships had already offloaded their supply and left for safer waters. Story continues The Port has began preparing the PUSH Teams organic to the Port and those of tenant facilities to prepare to assess and quickly recover to ensure an efficient return to operations, Port Tampa Bay officials said in a statement. READ: NASA crashes spacecraft into asteroid in worlds first planetary defense test Following Hurricane Irma in 2017, FDOT invested in an after-action report to examine the weaknesses of the fuel supply chain in the event of a natural disaster. Analysts recommended several changes to maintain a steady flow of fuel, from police escorts to regulation waivers, but said the chain was already decently strong without those adjustments. Its unclear how many of the recommendations have been implemented ahead of Ians arrival. Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Buying groceries for 12 is usually cheaper when I go to Aldi. Lisa Tanner I love buying groceries for my 10 kids at Aldi, which has great prices. I stock up on eggs, potatoes, and Happy Farms cheese slices for meals. I also buy affordable snacks, diapers, and stuffing mix at Aldi. Aldi makes grocery shopping super quick for me since there aren't a lot of choices and it's laid out really well. I find that Aldi has good prices. Lisa Tanner When my family moved to Missouri in 2021, everything about our familiar shopping routine changed. While I was experimenting with new stores, trying to find the best prices, I realized there was an Aldi about 30 miles away. Since there are no Aldi stores back in Washington where I used to live, I was excited to check it out. As soon as I stepped inside, I realized it was a bit different from any of the other grocery stores I'd been to. But once I walked through the aisles and saw the great prices, I knew I'd keep coming back. Aldi is now one of the stores my family regularly shops at. Since it's not a large store, I can get in and out quickly. That's a huge plus for me. Though I buy a variety of items each time we go, there are 15 items that almost always end up in my cart. Note: Prices are based on one Aldi in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. They may differ from location to location. My teen boys love dipping tortilla chips in Casa Mamita's salsa con queso. The salsa con queso is cheesy goodness with just the right amount of heat. Lisa Tanner Taco Tuesday has been a regular part of our meal plan for nearly a decade. We almost always have chips and dip as a side dish for this meal. As my kids have gotten older, their taste preferences have changed. They now gobble up things they considered too hot when they were young. Although this salsa con queso isn't overly spicy, it does have a little kick. Despite that, it's a favorite for both of my teen boys. They love to eat chips dipped in the queso and liberally add it to the top of their tacos. I think one of my boys even eats it straight off of a spoon. No matter how you serve it, it's delicious. Aldi sells a 15-ounce jar of salsa con queso for $1.99. Potatoes are so versatile. Story continues We go through several pounds of potatoes each week. Lisa Tanner Though many food items cost less in our new part of the country compared to where we used to live, potatoes are not one of them. But despite the higher price, potatoes are still something I buy nearly every week. They're a staple in our menu plan. I slice them and dice them and prepare them in so many ways. I use them for homemade french fries, baked potatoes, hash browns, potato soup, and more. No matter how they're prepared, I know that every single person in my family will eat the potatoes without complaint. It cost me $4.69 for a 10-pound bag of spuds. The low-carb tortillas from Aldi are a great base for tacos and enchiladas. I buy regular tortillas for other people in my family, too. Lisa Tanner A couple of my family members feel better when they eat fewer carbs. Since we regularly enjoy taco night, switching to low-carb tortillas was a simple solution. The package only has eight tortillas, but since I don't need to buy them for the whole family, one pack lasts for a couple of meals. I use regular flour tortillas for everyone else, which helps keep the grocery costs down a bit. At Aldi, this pack costs $2.89. Happy Farms' cream cheese is good for more than topping bagels. You can use cream cheese in so many different recipes. Lisa Tanner Onion bagels topped with cream cheese are a favorite in my home. But I don't buy cream cheese just for bagels. We spread it on crackers. And use it to make creamy cheese sauce for vegetables. My 10-year-old daughter also uses a couple of boxes to whip up a delicious no-bake cheesecake. This cream cheese is Aldi's store brand, and we all like the taste of it. And at $1.39 for 8 ounces, I don't mind buying several boxes at a time. Every single one of my kids loves apples. We go through apples really quickly. Lisa Tanner My kids all love to bite down on a crispy, juicy apple. And they don't have a problem eating at least one a day. I buy tons of apples each time I go to the store, and it always surprises me how quickly they disappear. Aldi has 3-pound bags of Gala apples for $3.49. We try to get a variety of kinds each shopping trip, but Galas always make it into the cart. They're a fairly frugal, healthy snack. Zulka's pure cane sugar is our favorite. I think this is a good price for pure cane sugar. Lisa Tanner I use this sugar to make homemade lemonade, cookies, and anything else that needs a bit of sweetness. The kids all like the taste. Since it's minimally processed, the flavor is different compared to regular white sugar but it's a taste we now prefer. It's almost caramel-y on its own. A 6-pound bag of pure cane sugar cost $4.17 at Aldi, which is just about 70 cents per pound. We stock up on oyster crackers at Aldi. My younger kids really like the shape of these tiny crackers. Lisa Tanner Once a week, we have soup for lunch. We typically rotate between potato, chicken noodle, clam chowder, and hamburger. No matter what type of soup I serve, about half of the family likes to add crackers. We used to crumble up saltines, but I now prefer to purchase these small oyster crackers. They're a great size for the younger kids to eat, and everyone likes how they taste. At only $0.89 for a 10-ounce bag, these crackers have been an inexpensive addition to our soup day. We used to get eggs from our chickens, but now we buy them at Aldi. Now that we're no longer raising chickens, we're regularly buying eggs. Lisa Tanner I've discovered you can't beat the price of eggs at Aldi. I used to have a flock of chickens that provided most of the eggs my family needed. But I buy eggs now since the chickens didn't make the move across the country with us. I originally thought I'd get a better deal buying larger packs of eggs, but once I did the math I realized I was wrong. In my area, the best deal I've found is buying them a dozen at a time at Aldi. Usually, I buy three cartons a week, at $0.99 per dozen. Small packages of diapers take up less space. I think Aldi's brand of diapers work really well. Lisa Tanner Now that we're living in a smaller space, I no longer have the room to buy the huge boxes of diapers I used to purchase. So I was pleasantly surprised to see how inexpensive small packs of diapers were at Aldi. By buying one or two packs at a time, I'm saving space and money. And my baby doesn't mind this brand at all. The number of diapers in each pack varies depending on which size you get. My little Ezra is currently wearing a size three his sized pack has 34 diapers in it for $3.99. The Little Journey training pants are pretty affordable. If your child needs training pants at night, you can get dinosaur ones at Aldi. Lisa Tanner Some kids take a bit longer to stay dry at night. And since I don't like starting each morning off by stripping sheets and washing clothes, I buy training pants. It saves me a lot of time and stress, which makes the price well worth it. I used to buy a different brand at another store until I realized what a great bargain the ones at Aldi were. Now they're the only ones we buy. As an added bonus, my son likes the dinosaurs printed on them. For $5.75, you get between 19 and 22 training pants, depending on size. Granola bars are one of my favorite portable snacks. Hungry kids? Granola bars to the rescue. Lisa Tanner Over the years, I've learned that kids whine for only two main reasons: they're tired or they're hungry. A nap takes care of the first and a snack helps with the second. To prevent those hunger-induced whines, I always keep a box of granola bars in the van. When the kids start getting hungry, I pass them out. I also keep a couple of bars in the diaper bag and in my purse. That way, no matter where I am, I always have a portable snack to hand out. My kids like the variety that's included in this box of granola bars. And at $1.15 for 10 bars, I like the price. When boxes of stuffing are priced like this, you don't have to stock up at Thanksgiving. I can buy stuffing mix for under a dollar at Aldi. Lisa Tanner I like to keep a few boxes of stuffing mix in the pantry. It only takes a few minutes to prepare, making it a quick side dish. It goes with so many types of meat, so don't feel limited to only serving it with turkey or chicken. I also stir boxes of stuffing into a chicken-stuffing casserole or use it to make hot chicken sandwiches for lunch. It adds a bit of texture and a great flavor to the meals. A 6-ounce box of stuffing costs $0.69 at Aldi. Applesauce serves a lot of purposes in our home. My kids enjoy Simply Nature's unsweetened applesauce. Lisa Tanner I use applesauce to teach my kids to swallow pills. For some reason, this is much easier for them compared to swallowing them with water. Since my oldest son has Angelman Syndrome, he takes a couple of pills each day for his seizures. Each morning and evening, I get him a bowl of applesauce so he can take his medicine. He loves it, and so do the other kids. We frequently open a new jar of applesauce as a side dish and there's almost never any left by the time the meal is over. At only $2.35 for a large 46-ounce jar of unsweetened applesauce, I don't mind them eating the whole thing in one sitting. Happy Farms' packs of cheese are perfect for making sandwiches. A pack of this Aldi-brand cheese has the perfect number of slices for a meal of sandwiches. Lisa Tanner Yes, it's cheaper to buy a block of cheese and slice it yourself. But, for soe meals, I like the convenience of presliced cheese. For instance, my 8-year-old son likes to cook grilled cheese sandwiches on our make-your-own-lunch days. When I have this type of cheese on hand, he can make the sandwich all on his own no cutting involved. Each pack has 11 slices, which is perfect for my large family now that my oldest is off at college. Pepperoni is a great pizza topping. My family loves pepperoni pizza on Fridays. Lisa Tanner My family has eaten pizza on Friday nights for years. It's a fun tradition that draws us closer together. Since homemade pizza tastes so much better than the frozen variety, I try to make sure I have different toppings available each week. But no matter how many different types of pizza I try to make, pepperoni remains the favorite for most of my kids. That means I buy a bag of it nearly every week. After the pizzas are made, the rest of the pepperoni slices get used throughout the week. My kids pull them out to munch on. They also put them on tortillas with cheese for a quick pizza quesadilla. But my favorite way to eat pepperoni is to add a bit of cheese to each slice, then pop it in the air fryer for a few minutes. It's so delicious. The 16-ounce bag of pepperoni slices costs $4.99. Click to keep reading Aldi diaries like this one. Read the original article on Insider Picketers demonstrate support of the graduate workers strike at the Sample Gates on April 20, 2022. The threat of a work stoppage has loomed heavy over Indiana University's Bloomington campus for the past several months, leaving students and faculty alike worried over how campus might continue to operate without support from its graduate workforce. However, the prominent graduate student labor coalition let up on some of its pressure for a chance at renewed dialogue with the IU administration. More:Indiana University's grad student labor coalition urges members against striking In April, many student graduate workers went on a labor strike for four weeks, requesting union recognition from the IU administration in addition to expanded benefits, higher wages and fee waivers. This weekend, members of the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition weighed in on whether to resume the labor strike they had suspended in the spring. A vote to strike would have meant hundreds of graduate workers, including many who teach classes, ceased working on campus. As IU Bloomington Provost Rahul Shrivastav wrote, a work stoppage could cause IU's undergraduate population to "face major academic disruptions, financial implications and other significant ramifications." IGWC members overwhelmingly decided against a strike with a 91% voting majority. A number of key factors likely contributed. Since the labor dispute reached an apex early this year, IU has responded with changes directly mirroring IGWC's platform of demands. The university significantly increased the minimum stipend and promised to have a periodic analysis of wages to ensure IU keeps pace with other Big Ten universities. Mandatory university and program-related fees, including the additional fee international graduate workers had to pay, now are covered by the university. The administration also has promised to expand graduate workers' health and wellness policies and grievance pathways. What is 'shared governance'?Indiana University's faculty, administrators, students debate Story continues Despite campaigning for the strike's renewal, the IGWC leadership discouraged members from supporting another strike the day before voting opened. Since graduate student representation on campus is slated to expand, IGWC leaders said they are in open talks with campus representatives about a pathway toward union recognition on various boards and committees. Is IU Bloomington's graduate labor dispute now over? The IGWC leadership affirmed the coalitions overarching goal of union recognition. Entering a dialogue with campus representatives seems to be the best pathway rather than a labor strike, according to coalition leaders. Over the next few months, (coordinating committee) members and union representatives will continue meeting with deans and department chairs to formalize the local role of the union rep, so it becomes standard practice for grads to be able to request the presence of a union rep in meetings related to our labor, IGWC said in a news release. IGWC members voted to suspend the spring strike after receiving major support by Bloomington faculty members, expressed during the first all-faculty meeting in nearly two decades. This time, the IGWC hopes to secure union recognition by holding seats on new and pre-existing committees. Recently, the administration expanded graduate student representation through two committees. The Graduate Student Advisory Committee is a new group that will meet regularly with the graduate school dean and provost. It is described as a neutral environment where graduate students can raise issues and discuss solutions to improve their experience. President Pamela Whitten and Provost Shrivastav also supported Bloomington Faculty Council re-establishing the Student Academic Appointee Affairs Committee. The administration has not publicly shared further details about who will serve on these committees, but IGWC representatives said they are working with the BFC and the Graduate and Professional Student Government to gain representation on campus. We've seen from (the BFC) a willingness, at least from a large number of council members, to work in good faith with us towards union recognition, IGWC member Nora Weber said. While still not in agreement about union recognition, university leaders have echoed the idea that IU's work to improve the graduate student experience is still far from finished. "On each of the primary concerns raised by student advocates, weve been able to make substantive improvements and meaningful progress yet our work is far from complete. Additional working groups will lead to action on subjects ranging from healthcare, diversity, equity and inclusion, career and professional development, and more," Shrivastav wrote in a recent column. These working groups are overseen by the Task Force on Graduate Education, which was created by Shrivastav as a response to mounting criticism by graduate students about their working conditions. While there is no strike happening this week, that isn't to say striking again is completely out of the question. In addition to the strike vote, IGWC members gave approval in an 88% majority vote to authorize its coordinating committee to set a new strike date in the future if negotiations with campus representatives fail. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana University grad workers vote against fall strike Dujuan "Zoe" Kennedy spends his days and nights mentoring young people in Detroit, particularly those most at risk of engaging in criminal behavior, gun violence and ultimately incarceration. Kennedy, 41, understands the challenges more than most. He spent 14 years in prison for selling narcotics and manslaughter. While incarcerated, Kennedy linked with religious leaders, read and educated himself about the conditioning of criminals and worked to rehabilitate his life. Three weeks after his release in 2019, he returned home and realized he had influence in his neighborhood. It became his life's mission to help those he believed were on a criminal path. He volunteered with FORCE (Faithfully Organizing Resources for Community Empowerment) Detroit as a community organizer and has never looked back. Dujuan "Zoe" Kennedy, a community organizer with FORCE Detroit, spends his days and nights mentoring at-risk youth and deescalating potentially violent altercations. It's no wonder then that when he was formally invited to a July White House summit on community violence intervention, he jumped at the chance to participate. He hopped on a plane, excited to interact with President Joe Biden and his intervention peers. But when Kennedy arrived at the White House, he and four others were turned away at the gate. They were told they hadn't received U.S. Secret Service clearance. No further explanation was offered. As he watched hundreds of other participants file inside, he stood on the sidelines feeling dejected. "When we walked out, we had a discussion outside the White House on the sidewalk about how you can be doing all of this stuff and they still don't want to recognize us we just don't belong," Kennedy told me. "That was just confirmation that no matter what they say, they don't see us." 'Feels like I'm going to be punished for the rest of my life' Around the country, city agencies, nonprofits and community organizations are partnering with police to address and prevent gun violence. Increasingly, former gang members and those formerly incarcerated often referred to as violence interrupters, crisis responders or neighborhood change agents have volunteered or been recruited to help deescalate potentially violent situations peacefully. Story continues American cities are focusing on grassroots policing, prevention, outreach and mediation programs aimed at reducing gun violence. Often, these public-private collaborations, known generally as community violence intervention, employ trained professionals and community members to intervene and stop violent conflicts and provide wraparound services to those who have a high risk of violence. Helping men at risk: How George Floyd's death inspired these former gang members to help the local neighborhood Investing in evidence-based community violence interventions to reduce gun violence is a key pillar of Bidens strategy to prevent and respond to gun crimes. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Biden signed into law in June, included $250 million for community violence intervention. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at an event to celebrate the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act on July 11, 2022. In July, Biden held a meeting of the White House Community Violence Intervention Collaborative to celebrate the bill's passage. Those invited included individuals who are part of the gun violence prevention community, including survivors, peacekeepers, organizers and practitioners. According to a White House release, the collaborative is "a 16-jurisdiction cohort of mayors, law enforcement, CVI experts, and philanthropic leaders committed to using American Rescue Plan funding or other public funding to increase investment in their community violence intervention infrastructure." Kennedy fits the bill. But sadly, he and others weren't allowed inside because of their violent criminal histories. Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service spokesperson, told me the individuals "did not meet federal security entrance requirements mandated by the Secret Service." "This was not a decision by White House staff," Guglielmi said. "This was exclusively a decision by the United States Secret Service." Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. It's a slap in the face to those who have done their time and are now trying to give back to society. I've reported about these volunteers for years I've accompanied them around city streets, watching as they put their personal lives, jobs and families on the backburner to help quell violence in their communities. I'm an Alabama pastor. I watered my neighbor's flowers. What made me a suspect? Tempted to push for tough-on-crime policies? You need to meet these 3 people. These are committed individuals. I think because of their backgrounds, they work even harder to reclaim respect and to pay their hard-learned lessons forward to the next generation. I can only imagine the humiliation they felt. My heart breaks for them. "It's the fact that they feel like we're responsible enough to put our lives at risk to stop another person from committing an act of violence, but they won't even let us come stand on the grass is disappointing," Kennedy told me. "There has to be systemic change to start to recognize people and allow them the opportunity to be fully redeemed. We are doing the work don't discriminate against us. When you discriminate against people for a past, that's wrong. It just feels like I'm going to be punished for the rest of my life no matter what I do." 'We are disparaged' He's not wrong. For decades, ex-offenders in some states have been unfairly barred from voting, faced difficulty securing rental properties in which to live and are locked out of the job market. If we don't believe that prison can be a vehicle for rehabilitation for some, what even is the purpose? Kennedy was so outraged by the snub that he wrote a letter to the president. "We need real discussion about a system that fails to recognize the redemption of a human being, and refuses to honor the dangerous, but effective work yet pretends to celebrate it. Instead, we are disparaged," Kennedy wrote. He has received no response. Neither did I. As the country continues to reimagine policing and the crucial characters who aren't uniformed but are making a difference it's prudent to ensure those with criminal records don't feel excluded or further stigmatized. After all, these are the folks, in addition to law enforcement officers, with boots on the ground trying to address violence in their communities. I understand and respect the fact that the mission of the Secret Service is to protect the president. But if the White House is working with individuals who have been caught up in crime yet made it to the other side, I find it hard to believe they can't be flagged for special consideration. After all, everyone deserves a second chance. 'Very painful to see' them treated this way Michael McBride, 46, lead pastor of The Way Christian Center in Berkeley, California, serves as executive director of the LIVE FREE USA Network, a social justice and gun violence prevention nonprofit. McBride, in his role as a violence prevention activist, works with the White House and Congress to secure federal funding for groups on the ground. Dujuan "Zoe" Kennedy, a community organizer with FORCE Detroit. McBride said the White House invited his organization and others from around the country to submit the names of community organizers and survivors who would attend the summit. He never imagined that those helping address violence in their communities would be denied entry. "As someone who works at the intersection of gun violence prevention, criminal justice reform and police violence, it's very painful to see that individuals who are working on this are being given a life sentence, it appears, as it relates to access to their own government, even though they've turned their life around. "Once they serve their time, once they've gone through their process of rehabilitation and healing, they ought to be treated like everyone else," McBride told me. "And I think it's important to make sure that our systems bear that out." More from Suzette Hackney: Jimmy Kimmel's antics are just latest insult for Black women (and men) in Hollywood What a gift and a lot of pizzas you have given someone who didn't want sympathy We have a pandemic of poor policing practices on our hands, and lives are at risk National columnist/deputy opinion editor Suzette Hackney is a member of USA TODAYS Editorial Board. Contact her at shackney@usatoday.com or on Twitter: @suzyscribe This column is part of a series by USA TODAY Opinion about police accountability and building safer communities. The project began in 2021 by examining qualified immunity and continues in 2022 by examining various ways to improve law enforcement. The project is made possible in part by a grant from Stand Together, which does not provide editorial input. 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: Dear President Biden, you invited me to a violence intervention event Judge Amy Berman Jackson didn't hold back in her criticism of Kyle Young. His actions at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, "were some of the darkest acts committed on one of our nations darkest days," she told him Tuesday. The punishment she handed down was equally harsh for the 38-year-old heating and air conditioning technician from the Dallas County town of Redfield, Iowa, ordering Young to serve 86 months more than seven years in federal prison. According to a database maintained by federal prosecutors, the sentence, which federal prosecutors recommended, was the fourth longest handed down to the more than 260 convicted Jan. 6 rioters. Young pleaded guilty in May to assaulting, resisting or impeding a police officer. He is one of several defendants to be charged in the assault of D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was dragged into the crowd, beaten and shocked with a stun gun while defending one of the entrances to the Capitol during the riot. April 2021: US Capitol riot suspect Kyle Young assaulted multiple officers, threatening to kill one, prosecutors say Young admitted in his guilty plea that he grabbed Fanone's arm during the melee, preventing him from reaching his radio or sidearm as he was assaulted. Jackson, a U.S. District Judge in Washington, D.C., where the sentencing was held, noted video evidence shows Young repeatedly assaulting or menacing officers on the Capitol's West Terrace. In this video screenshot included in court filings by federal prosecutors, Iowan Kyle Young can be seen in a throng of people grappling with a D.C. Metropolitan Police officer during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Fanone: 'I hope you suffer' Fanone had a heart attack after his assault and has since retired from the department. He took the stand to describe the consequences of his injuries. "The assault on me by Mr. Young cost me my career," he said. "It cost me my faith in law enforcement and many of the institutions I dedicated two decades of my life to serving." Washington, D.C., Metro Police Officer Michael Fanone testifies before Congress. At the time Young grabbed his arm, Fanone said, he was stranded in the midst of a hostile crowd, being "ruthlessly beaten," and posed no threat to anyone. He asked Jackson to sentence Young to 10 years in prison. Story continues Addressing Young directly, Fanone told him that "I hope you suffer" in prison. NBC news reported that a spectator in the courtroom interjected to call Fanone an expletive and was escorted out. USA Today: 'This is how I'm going to die': At Jan. 6 hearing, officers tell of harrowing attacks 'I am not honored by what I did' Young took the stand before Jackson read the sentence and responded to Fanone, asking the former officer for forgiveness. "I know how much you have to hurt over what happened to you, and I am so, so sorry," Young said. "If I could take it back, I would." Before sentencing, the judge received letters from numerous friends and relatives of Young attesting to his character and dedication to family. Young said he deeply regrets that his four children have to go to school surrounded by people who know what their father did, and that he hasn't been there for them in the nearly 18 months he has been jailed pending trial. "I am not honored by what I did," he said, adding, "I feel very ashamed." Young's attorney, Samuel Moore, argued for a sentence of no more than two years in prison. Moore sought to downplay Young's culpability in the attack and said after leaving the Capitol, "he was able to immediately realize, 'What have I done? Ive done wrong.'" Moore said Young is "not a lifelong political follower" and wants nothing more than to return to his family and never engage in any sort of politics again. "No further incarceration is needed to deter this defendant," he said. Young a 'one-man wrecking ball,' judge says Jackson spoke at length about why Young's actions merited a tough sentence. "The defense would like me to conclude that the defendant was a peaceful protestor who simply got caught up in the violence of the moment, and had a few minutes of incidental contact before withdrawing in disgust," Jackson said. "Thats not what happened. Thats not anything like what happened." What they saw: Police officers describe the Jan. 6 Capitol attack like 'a medieval battle' Before assaulting Fanone, Young can be seen on video giving an electric stun gun to another rioter, the same weapon later used against the officer. "If the facts of the case stopped right there, with giving the taser to Danny Rodriguez, we would be talking about a substantial sentence," Jackson said. "You knew you were giving a weapon to someone who had no idea how to use it. You had to show him how to turn it on." From there, Young, accompanied by his 16-year-old son, joined the brutal, hand-to-hand combat in the tunnel leading from the terrace into the building. Video shows Young pointing a strobe light at officers, hurling a heavy speaker toward them, and striking at them with a pole in what Jackson described as "15 to 20 minutes of active, enthusiastic participation in the violence inside." Kyle Young, seen from behind wearing a dark baseball cap, and another rioter hurl a large speaker toward a line of police defending a tunnel leading into the U.S. Capitol in a screenshot from a video taken Jan. 6, 2021. The speaker struck another member of the mob in the head, drawing blood. When the mob dragged out Fanone, Jackson noted, Young was some distance away and had to force his way through the crowd to reach him. Jackson specifically rejected Moore's claim that Young "briefly made contact" with Fanone. "He immobilized the officer at the very moment he desperately needed the use of both arms," Jackson said. Even after the movement of the crowd forced Young away from Fanone, video shows him assaulting another officer who also was pulled into the fray and had been temporarily blinded by bear spray. "To you on Jan. 6, an officer down was an opportunity, a target," she told Young. "In sum, you were a one-man wrecking ball that day." Judge criticizes Trump, Republicans In presentencing filings, Moore argued that Young is unlikely to reoffend in part because the Jan. 6 attack represents "a unique set of circumstances that are not likely to be replicated." But Jackson said that she does not share that optimism. Even nearly two years after the 2020 election, many continue to contest its results, and the inflamed rhetoric that sparked the riot has not faded, she said. She emphasized that Young is "not a political prisoner," and said he is being punished for his violent actions rather than his support of former president Donald Trump. But she also directly addressed the political dispute underlying the riot, criticizing Trump and other leading Republicans for their efforts to sow doubt and overturn the results of the 2020 election. "It is not patriotism, it is not standing up for America to stand up for one man who knows full well that he lost instead of the Constitution he was trying to subvert," said Jackson, a 2011 appointee of then-President Barack Obama. She added that the "lie" the election was stolen continues to spread online and in mainstream media outlets. "And worse, its become heresy for members of the former presidents party to say otherwise," she said. Young is one of eight Iowans to be charged so far with taking part in the riot and is the second to be sentenced. Tuesday's hearing came less than a week after Doug Jensen of Des Moines was found guilty at trial of seven charges for his own highly visible part in the attack on the Capitol. William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowan Kyle Young gets 7+ years for Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot assault DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) A hard-line Iranian lawmaker Tuesday slammed female protesters who have taken off mandatory headscarves as prostitutes, doubling down on the government stance amid the dramatic demonstrations following the death of a 22-year-old woman detained by the countrys morality police. The harsh language by Mahmoud Nabavian, a legislator from Tehran, was in sharp contrast to the appeal by a top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamadani, who on Sunday urged the government to listen to the people's demands. The fate of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody after being detained by the morality police because her headscarf was allegedly too loose has ignited unrest across Iran. Protests have have spread to at least 46 cities, including the capital of Tehran, towns and villages with scenes of violence and street clashes with security forces unseen for years in Iran. State TV reported that a police officer died Tuesday in a hospital after being injured by rioters in the town of Robatkarim in Tehran province. Solidarity protests have also erupted in Europe, the United States and in parts of the Middle East. In a predominantly Kurdish city in Syria, thousands of women took to the streets Monday, holding posters with Aminis photo. Across Iran, ordinary women and public figures, including Iranian actresses, have removed their headscarves in protest or cut their hair in public to show solidarity with the demonstrators. Irans semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that security forces arrested reformist activist Faezeh Hashemi, daughter of Irans late President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The Tuesday report said Hashemi, who has previously served time in prison for her comments and activism, was arrested for allegedly inciting rioters to street protests in the east of Tehran on Tuesday night. A lawyer for Hashemi could not be reached and it was unclear if she had legal representation. Story continues Iranian state TV has suggested that at least 41 protesters and police have been killed since demonstrations began Sept. 17. An Associated Press count of official statements by authorities tallied at least 14 dead, with more than 1,500 demonstrators arrested. The state-run IRNA news agency reported Tuesday that Hassan Bahramnia, governor of Ilam province in western Iran near the border with Iraq, said security forces have arrested 180 protesters since the unrest began. He said some have been released. These rioters are out to prostitute themselves, the lawmaker, Mahmoud Nabavian, was quoted as saying by Fararu, a news website. He suggested that taking off the hijab, or headscarf, was akin to being naked in public to attract male attention. Nabavian blamed both women and men taking part in the protests, saying they were guilty of impurities" that need to be washed away. Hamadani's tone was starkly different. It is necessary for officials to listen to peoples demands and solve their problems and be sensitive to their rights, said the senior cleric, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking to reporters Tuesday in Washington, said Irans government took Mahsas life because of decisions she should be making about what she would wear or not wear. Women in Iran have the right to wear what they want, he said. They have the right to be free from violence. Amnesty International in a statement said urgent international action was needed to ensure accountability for Amini's death in custody. The rights group said the case must be independently, impartially and effectively investigated and those suspected of responsibility brought to justice in fair trials. The U.N. Human Rights Council called for an independent investigation to address the prevailing crisis of impunity in Iran. Meanwhile, Irans judiciary chief, Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejehi, warned public and famous figures who have openly supported the demonstrators, that they must pay for damages to public property caused by the protests. Abbas Salehi, Irans minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, advised that actresses who removed their headscarves on social media posts should try to find other jobs, implying the ministry could ban them from working in their profession. Iran has arrested at least 20 journalists since the start of the unrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said late Monday, calling on Iran to release the reporters and halt its crackdown on the media. Iranian authorities should be ashamed of themselves for orchestrating this brutal crackdown, said Sherif Mansour, CPJs Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. They have proved their failure to grasp that suppressing dissenting voices only compounds dissent. The Syrian Kurdish-run Hawar News Agency reported on the protest in the northeastern, predominantly Kurdish region of Syria where thousands of women marched Monday in solidarity with Iranian women. In the city of Qamishli, they held up photos of Amini and toward the end of the march several women, including an elderly one, cut off their hair, threw it to the ground, along with headscarves, and set the pile on fire. Long live freedom, women demand free life, revolution is in our hands," the marchers chanted. Women, life, freedom!" Thousands of women in Iran are cutting their hair off and burning their hijabs in protest to Mahsa Amini's death at the hands of Iranian police. 22-year-old Amini was arrested in Tehran earlier this month on September 13 by Iranian forces for wearing "unsuitable attire" and later died in police custody after falling into a coma due to alleged head trauma. For those unfamiliar with the countrys history in 1981, Iran instituted a mandatory hijab law after the Islamic revolution that requires women to fully cover their hair with hijabs and wear long, loose clothing. A photo and video of Amini with tubes in her mouth and nose as well as bruised eyes and a blood ear has been shared across social media, leading many to conclude that the young woman was beaten after her arrest. Aminis death immediately sparked outrage as protests, mostly led by women, often see angered citizens cutting their hair off in response to Irans deeply entrenched misogyny and violence towards women. Many have followed suit on social media has the hashtag #MahsaAmini has over 130 million views on TikTok, featuring videos of women burning their hijabs and cutting their hair. According to CNN, since protests have gripped the country, approximately five people have been killed by Iranian security forces, according to tracking by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, an organization focused on human rights violations in Kurdistan. Amini is not the first to lose her life to Irans hijab law as the police have harassed and detained women for years and often without just cause -- not that forcing one gender to dress in a specific manner is just. The choice to wear a hijab is just that -- a choice. Muslim women should be able to express their faith as they see fit. Many take pride in wearing a hijab or a niqab, while some choose not to. Forcing women to dress a certain way and punishing them with violence for not handing over their bodily autonomy and independence is simply put -- wrong. By removing their hair and burning head coverings, these women are reclaiming both their bodies and their lives. Stay tuned for more updates on the ongoing protests in Iran. By Gavin Jones ROME (Reuters) - After Italy's last election in 2018, two men embodied the populist wave sweeping the country - Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini, respective leaders of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the right-wing League. Adored by their party faithful and despised by the mainstream, the two former adversaries with surging support buried their differences to form a ruling coalition. They picked unknown lawyer Giuseppe Conte as their prime minister, a compromise figure widely seen as a puppet, and installed themselves as his two deputies to dictate policy. Fast forward four years and they are the biggest losers from Sunday's election, underscoring the fickleness of Italy's voters and the rapid rises and falls of its politicians. "They presented themselves for years as anti-elitist populist campaigners and then both got into bed with whoever was available to maintain a position of power," said Daniele Albertazzi, politics professor at Britain's Surrey University. In the last four years Di Maio gradually shed all his populist ardour, serving as deputy premier, labour minister, industry minister and foreign minister before eventually quitting 5-Star to form his own centrist party. On Sunday it won 0.6% of the vote, trailing behind unknown regional and fringe parties such as an anti-vaccination movement called "Life". "There are victories and defeats, you fall but you also learn to get back up, and that will happen this time too," Di Maio wrote on Facebook, seeming to suggest he would stay in politics even without a seat in parliament. Eugenio Pizzimenti, politics professor at Pisa University, said that unlike the more charismatic Salvini, Di Maio's support was strongly dependent on that of his party. "He never had great personal appeal, as we saw from the disastrous attempt to set up his own movement," Pizzimenti said. ECLIPSED BY MELONI Salvini's popularity soared during his government with Di Maio, which he brought down after 14 months in a failed bid to become prime minister. The League was then polling at around 35%, far above any other party. Story continues Since then it has all been downhill for the anti-immigrant firebrand, who has remained party leader but overseen a steady decline in its support. On Sunday the League won just 9%, in fourth place among Italy's parties. Salvini was in the winning alliance, but the League got only a third of the votes of Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy, once its tiny junior ally. "I went to bed pissed off and woke up spring-loaded and optimistic," Salvini said on Monday, dismissing speculation he would stand down and promising to help bring political stability to Italy after years of revolving door governments. Albertazzi, an expert on Italian right-wing populism, said Salvini had failed in his attempt to transform the League from a northern group battling for regional autonomy into a national right-wing party extending its appeal to the south. "Meloni is more credible as a patriotic nationalist, and the northern regionalism types no longer trust Salvini because he never talks about autonomy," he said. With Italy's parties repeatedly swapping coalitions since the last election, Meloni benefitted from her perceived consistency in staying out of the national unity government of outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi. However Pizzimenti warned that her popularity with an increasingly volatile Italian electorate may not last long. "Politics has become personalised and people vote for whichever leader is on the crest of a wave," he said. "But these leaders come down as fast as they go up, and Meloni risks meeting the same fate." (Editing by Angus MacSwan) By Nick Carey LONDON (Reuters) - Luxury British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover said on Wednesday it would retrain 29,000 employees and staff at retailers globally over the next three years to design, build and service electric vehicles (EVs) ahead of its shift away from fossil-fuel cars. The unit of India's Tata Motors said the majority of technicians at its retailers should receive training on servicing EVs during this financial year to "tackle emerging skills gaps". The shift to EVs means carmakers need to provide fresh skills to workers trained to make and service fossil-fuel models. There are widespread concerns that fewer moving parts in EVs could mean fewer well-paid manufacturing jobs in the auto industry, especially in engine or transmission plants. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said it would retrain "thousands of highly skilled automotive engineers and production employees, who previously worked on the development of internal combustion cars, to specialise in electrification, digital and autonomous cars." EV sales have risen sharply in Europe over the last two years and looming fossil-fuel car bans mean more are coming. JLR's luxury Jaguar brand will be entirely electric by 2025 and the carmaker will launch electric versions of its entire line-up by 2030. JLR has developed its own training materials in cooperation with the University of Coventry and the University of Warwick. "Plant employees at all levels will require training to ensure they can work safely alongside the high voltage systems," JLR said. Karl "Freddy" Gunnarsson, an engineer who worked at JLR on diesel and petrol catalytic converters, has already retrained and is working on a team dedicated to increasing EV battery density to maximise vehicle range. "This (EV range) is what we're going to be competing on, Gunnarsson told Reuters. "So on this side of the business you can feel the excitement all the way up to the CEO." (Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Mark Potter) Griffin's systemic abuse was uncovered after Tiffany Skeggs went to police "All of the people that knew me as a child they all tell me that I was this joyful, energetic, happy-go-lucky child. "[But] I don't remember my child self. I don't know who she was when she was happy, before she was traumatised." From age 11, Tiffany Skeggs was groomed and raped by a man 47 years her senior, in Tasmania, Australia. He was a nurse and a well-liked community volunteer - a paternal figure, she said, who filled a hole left by her father's death years earlier. "I saw him as a hero. He made it seem like I was the only person on Earth," she told an inquiry. Ms Skeggs wasn't the only child James Geoffrey Griffin had groomed in that way. Over four decades, he brazenly exploited and abused many girls. One was the child of a colleague and friend. Another was a relative he bragged online about sedating and raping. Several were his patients. Another girl had a disability and was non-verbal - her mother made allegations on her behalf. Exactly how many people Griffin abused is unknown. Authorities say they know some haven't come forward. How was this allowed to happen? The first allegations against Griffin date back to the late 1980s, when he was in his 30s. It would take 30 years for him to be arrested. In that time, he gained access to children primarily through his role as a nurse on the paediatric ward at Launceston General Hospital and as a massage therapist for junior sporting teams. Griffin's case sparked outrage in Tasmania For years, parents, colleagues and even strangers tried to alert authorities to the risk Griffin posed. But only in 2019 when Ms Skeggs disclosed her abuse did police investigate properly. By October that year Griffin, then 69, had been charged with abusing four children. He died by suicide weeks later. A Tasmanian inquiry is now investigating how a litany of complaints and red flags were overlooked. During public hearings which concluded this month, it heard Griffin received his first written warning about problematic behaviour in 2004. The behaviour only escalated, and complaints began piling up. Among them were reports he had been cuddling a pre-teenage girl at the hospital, was giving his phone number to patients, and had given an 11-year-old a "wet kiss" on the forehead. Story continues He was counselled and warned, but ultimately maintained his access to vulnerable children. Most extraordinarily, the hospital overlooked a disclosure by one of their own staff members that she had been repeatedly abused by Griffin from age seven. In 2011, social worker Kylee Pearn told her boss and HR representatives what had happened to her. It followed a sleepless night on the paediatric ward with one of her own children - she had been too scared to leave the child alone. "I just thought how incredibly unfair it was that I could protect my child, but no one else in this ward knew that information," she told Tasmania's Commission of Inquiry into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. There were multiple complaints made against Griffin while he worked at Launceston General Hospital Other staff spoke up too. One senior nurse told the inquiry she had taken it upon herself to allocate young, female patients to other nurses wherever possible, after her concerns about Griffin fell on deaf ears. Another colleague, Will Gordon, formally reported Griffin but his complaint was deemed "unsubstantiated" without even speaking to the girls involved. Griffin's behaviour was constantly excused, Mr Gordon said. "It would be: 'Jim is Jim. That's just who he is.'" Only when police reported finding Griffin in possession of child abuse images that appeared to be taken inside the hospital was he suspended from work. The public hospital had a culture of fear and cover-up, senior staff told the inquiry. Some revealed they had no training in identifying grooming behaviour and weren't aware of mandatory reporting obligations, or how to escalate their complaints. The head of Tasmania's health department - which oversees the hospital - recently made an emotional apology, saying she was "personally horrified" by the evidence and the "lack of empathy and humanity" shown to survivors. "While my words alone will not heal the hurt of all those that have suffered - nor will words alone comfort those [who] will never know if they or their children were victims - I will do my very best to lead [the department] to right the wrongs of the past," Kathrine Morgan-Wicks said. Failures by police and others Police were alerted to Griffin's behaviour even earlier, on at least five separate occasions. In 2000, a man who had bought a laptop from Griffin told police it contained possible child abuse material. His email was ignored. The concerned man contacted police again the next year, writing: "I do not want to think he is working in a kids ward in Tasmania unsupervised, given what I have found." Police checked the laptop and found the images that remained on it - of children in bikinis - were "morally" concerning but legal. No further investigation was carried out. Then in 2009, a man reported seeing Griffin taking "upskirt" photos of young girls while working as a medic on a popular ferry. Police searched his house, finding he cleared his internet browsing history daily and had a large cache of photos of young girls. Griffin worked on the Spirit of Tasmania, a ferry service to Melbourne The matter was "filed for intelligence" and no further action was taken. In the years that followed, authorities were advised two people had disclosed past child abuse by Griffin, and other concerned adults - including Ms Skeggs' mother - made complaints. On both occasions child safety services and police failed to investigate adequately. Then in 2015, police were told Griffin was discussing child abuse online. They wanted more information about the tipoff - but when the person provided evidence, their email wasn't even opened. Tasmania's police commissioner apologised to Griffin's victims last year, saying they had been "let down by the deficiencies in our systems and investigative processes". 'No way in hell' anyone did enough Australia has long been reckoning with the problem of child sexual abuse. Harrowing stories from survivors shaped a national inquiry which began in 2013 and found shocking institutional failures. The royal commission was supposed to improve how Australia dealt with abuse cases. But years later, Ms Skeggs' case forced Tasmanian authorities to look at themselves again. Tiffany Skeggs holds hands with a friend at the opening of the Tasmanian inquiry Its inquiry will make recommendations and may make adverse findings against individuals, possibly informing prosecutions. A review into Launceston General Hospital has already been announced, and police have vowed changes after a separate review of their actions. But Ms Skeggs, now 25, said all systems concerned with child safety need improvement - the entire community failed her. "Did any of them do enough? There's no way in hell. The phrase that I'll hate for the rest of my life is: 'That's just Jim.' "It should never be up to or be the responsibility of an 11-year-old child or any child to protect themselves, and to this day it remains that way." Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speak to Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, a former Georgia election worker, on June 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images The January 6 committee on Tuesday put off its upcoming Wednesday hearing. The panel cited Hurricane Ian, which is set to hit Florida on Wednesday, as reason for the delay. "We're praying for the safety of all those in the storm's path," lawmakers on the panel said in a statement. The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack postponed its upcoming hearing in light of Hurricane Ian's growing danger. Chairman Bennie G. Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney released a Tuesday statement announcing that the panel's next public hearing, which was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, will be postponed. "In light of Hurricane Ian bearing down on parts of Florida, we have decided to postpone tomorrow's proceedings," the lawmakers said. "We're praying for the safety of all those in the storm's path. The Select Committee's investigation goes forward and we will soon announce a date for the postponed proceedings." The committee did not say when the rescheduled hearing would take place. It was set to be the ninth televised hearing the committee has held thus far and the first one back after the panel took a summer hiatus. The storm made landfall in Cuba on Tuesday morning as a Category 3 major hurricane and is expected to pummel Florida beginning on Wednesday. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center fear a "life-threatening" storm surge along Florida's west coast, with the highest risk area being from Fort Meyers to the Tampa Bay region. Storm surge is often more damaging and deadly than a hurricane's strong winds. "This is a near worst-case approach angle coming in from the south and west and stalling," Jamie Rhome, the National Hurricane Center acting director, told CNN. "With it slowing down, this would be a near-worst case approach angle." Sewing up 'loose ends' January 6 committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin told reporters that the goal of the ninth and presumably last public hearing was to sew up "some loose ends." Story continues But the Maryland Democrat said House investigators are confident they've exposed embattled former President Donald Trump's role in the deadly attack on Congress. "People understand that the former president wouldn't take no for an answer," Raskin told reporters outside the US Capitol on September 22. "He tried to shake down the legislatures. He tried to shake down the election officials. He tried to overthrow his own Department of Justice. He entertained the possibility of having the military seize the election machinery and rerun the elections. And then, in the final analysis, it all came down to January 6, and trying to get the vice president of the United States to step outside of his constitutional role and declare unilateral powers to vaporize Electoral College votes." "But undoubtedly, there are significant details that are still outstanding," Raskin said of the committee's lingering to-do list, adding, "and I hope we can make them public." Read the original article on Business Insider A federal judge sentenced an Iowa man to 86 months in prison on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to assaulting Washington, D.C., police officer Michael Fanone during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Kyle Young, 38, pleaded guilty in May to assaulting, resisting or impeding officers after prosecutors said he supplied another rioter with a taser he then used against Fanone. Prosecutors added that Young threw a large speaker toward police, jabbed a pole at officers and pointed a strobe light at them. Fanone gained national attention after testifying publicly before the House Jan. 6 committee last summer, when he described the incident and railed against former President Trump and other elected officials who he said downplayed the riots severity. Fanone, who suffered a heart attack as a result of his Jan. 6 injuries, now works for CNN and wrote an op-ed for the outlet published earlier on Tuesday saying he would attend Youngs sentencing in person. What do I think Young deserves? Fanone wrote. Not less than 10 years in prison. And an assigned cell in maximum security with his co-conspirator: Donald Trump. The judges sentence mirrors prosecutors recommendation while bucking Youngs attorney, who requested Young be sentenced to no more than 24 months of imprisonment. Shortly after the incident, Mr. Young saw his information on an FBI list associated with the protest, Youngs attorney wrote in the sentencing request. He immediately turned himself in. He has been fully cooperative in subsequent investigations and maintained remorse through court proceedings. Mr. Young regrets his actions and wants to take responsibility. Young who brought his son to the riot and spent some of his time at the Capitols Lower West Terrace, where some of the most violent images from Jan. 6 emerged is the first of four defendants charged with assaulting Fanone to be sentenced. Court proceedings for Daniel Rodriguez, who Young handed the taser ultimately used against Fanone, as well as Albuquerque Head and Thomas Sibick, are still ongoing. Story continues Fanone in the op-ed said he cant wait to testify at the trial for Rodriguez, who pleaded not guilty after apologizing to the FBI about the incident. As the Justice Department continues pushing its cases against hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants, the House panel investigating the incident is beginning to wrap up its work. The committee was slated to hold a public hearing on Wednesday but postponed it as Florida braces for the impacts of Hurricane Ian. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. TOKYO (AP) Japan protested to Russia on Tuesday over the detention of a Japanese consulate official on espionage allegations, denying the allegations and accusing Russian authorities of abusive interrogation. The official was detained on Sept. 22 and interrogated with his eyes covered, his hands and head pressed and immobilized, Japan's Foreign Ministry said, prompting it to lodge a protest and to demand an apology. On Monday, Russias Foreign Ministry notified Japan's Embassy in Moscow that the official had been declared persona non grata, or an undesirable person, on grounds he conducted illegal espionage activity and it ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours. The alleged illegal activity insisted by the Russian side is completely groundless, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. Matsuno said Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori summoned Russia's ambassador and strongly protested, demanding a formal apology from the Russian government and measures to prevent a recurrence. The Russian authorities' treatment of the consulate official was intimidating during the interrogation, adding that such handling of consular officials violates the Vienna convention and a Japan-Russo treaty over consular affairs, Matsuno said. It is extremely regrettable and absolutely unacceptable, Matsuno said. The consular official has since been released with no health problems and is set to return to Japan on Wednesday. The dispute is the latest example of worsening ties between the two countries over Japans sanctions against Russias invasion of Ukraine. Japan and Russia had expelled a number of diplomats, while Russia scrapped peace negotiations with Japan that includes talks on Russian-held disputed islands that Japan says the Soviets took at the end of the World War II. Russia said Monday that it had detained a Japanese consulate official based in the eastern city of Vladivostok for soliciting restricted information, according to Russian news agencies. Story continues A Japanese diplomat was detained red-handed while receiving, in exchange for financial reward, restricted information about Russias cooperation with another country in the Asia-Pacific region, the FSB, the KGBs successor agency, was cited as saying through its press service, without specifying the third country. The FSB identified the official as Tatsunori Motoki, accusing him of seeking out information on the impact of Western sanctions on the surrounding Primoriye region, according to news agencies. The Kremlin has repeatedly referred to Japan as a hostile country, a designation it shares with the U.S., EU countries and their Western allies, since Tokyo joined them in slapping sanctions on Moscow after Russian troops entered Ukraine on Feb. 24. In its latest sanctions, Japan's government on Monday banned the export of materials that may be used for chemical weapons to 21 Russian organizations, including science laboratories. The measure was approved by the Cabinet following a decision by Group of Seven foreign ministers last week. Japanese consul being interrogated by Russian authorities after he was detained ove espionage alligations (Screengrab/@igorsushko) Japan has demanded an apology from Russia after its diplomat was blindfolded and physically restrained during an interrogation and accused of being a spy, deepening a diplomatic row between the two countries. Tatsunori Motoki, who worked at the Japanese consulate general, was detained in Vladivostok in Russias Far East on allegations that he obtained classified information about Russia, the foreign ministry in Moscow said. On Monday, Russias foreign ministry notified Japans embassy in Moscow that the official had been declared persona non grata, or an undesirable person, on grounds he conducted illegal espionage activity and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours. According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), he was detained while receiving classified information about Russias cooperation with an Asia Pacific country and the impacts of the Wests sanction policy on the economic situation in the maritime territory. It was alleged that he was caught paying money for it, Tass news agency reported. Japan lodged a formal protest with Russia on Tuesday and rejected the espionage allegations against him. Japans foreign ministry said the diplomat was arrested on 22 September and was interrogated with his eyes covered, his hands and head pressed and immobilised. The alleged illegal activity insisted by the Russian side is completely groundless, chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. Mr Matsuno said Japans vice foreign minister Takeo Mori summoned Russias ambassador to Japan, Mikhail Galuzin, to demand a formal apology from the Russian government and measures to prevent a repeat of the incident. Describing Russian authorities treatment of the consulate official as intimidating during the interrogation, he said such handling of consular officials violates the Vienna convention and a Japan-Russo treaty over consular affairs. It is extremely regrettable and absolutely unacceptable, Mr Matsuno said. Story continues Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said: There is absolutely no evidence that there was any engagement in illegal activities as the Russians claim. Tass news agency reported the official confessed to violating Russian laws and that he was captured red-handed on camera in a restaurant. The incident marks another blow to Japan-Russia ties which have deteriorated since Tokyo joined the West in slapping sactions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine. In response to the sanctions, the Kremlin has repeatedly referred to Japan as a hostile country, a designation it has also given to the US and EU countries and their allies. The Japanese government banned the export of materials that could be used for chemical weapons to 21 Russian entities in the latest sanctions on Monday. Jeff Bridges has revealed that his recent health scare made him question the remainder of his career, admitting that he thought seriously about retiring. While filming his newest thriller series, The Old Man, based on Thomas Perrys novel of the same name, the 72-year-old Big Lebowski star came pretty close to dying. While recovering from chemotherapy to treat his non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which he had been diagnosed with in 2020, he caught covid and became seriously ill. I thought after my illness I didnt know if I was gonna go back to work, he told Variety in an interview this week. I thought I was retiring, very seriously. However, he returned to set and finished production, which had been shut down for three months due to the pandemic and his health. Reflecting again on the possibility of retirement, Bridges said: You know, my dad he worked right up to the very end. I dont know, Im just leaving that up to the way it works out. Im not sure. The Oscar-winning actor leads the FX series as a former CIA operative who becomes involved in an increasingly dangerous cat and mouse chase. Jeff Bridges in The Old Man' (FX) His return to television comes decades after his last credit in an episode of 1986s animated The World of Disney. He said he originally resisted doing television after seeing his father, Lloyd Bridges, who acted in several shows, become frustrated with how quickly the shows were shot and how they couldnt pay as much attention to detail. But then I started to watch all this great content that is coming out of the tube these days. And I thought This is something to explore and Im glad I did because I was not disappointed, Bridges added. There was really no differences in making the show than there was movies. The Old Man is available to stream on FX in the US and Disney+ internationally. Alabama Birmingham: Two U.S. military veterans who disappeared three months ago while fighting with Ukrainian forces against Russia arrived home Saturday, greeted by hugs, cheers and tears of joy at the states main airport. Alex Drueke, 40, and Andy Huynh, 27, had gone missing June 9 in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border. The Alabama residents were released as part of a prisoner exchange. The pair had traveled to Ukraine on their own and bonded over their shared home state. Its them! a family member shouted as the pair appeared at the top of an escalator at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. Smiling but looking tired, the two were pulled into long, emotional hugs by family members after their connecting flight home, then whisked to a waiting car. Surreal. I still have chill bumps, said Druekes aunt, Dianna Shaw. I always imagined this day. I always held not just hope but belief in this day. But I thought it was going to be two or three years from now at best. The families of the two men announced their release Wednesday. They were among 10 prisoners released by Russian-backed separatists as part of a prisoner exchange mediated by Saudi Arabia. I had to get my hands on him to actually believe it, said Darla Black, whose daughter is engaged to Huynh. Im just overwhelmed with gratitude. We got our miracle. Alaska Anchorage: A woman was killed when the plane she was piloting crashed into Whiskey Lake near Skwentna, Alaska Wildlife Troopers said. The pilot was identified as Janell Rude, 67, of Anchorage, troopers said. An Air Force rescue team was deployed Sunday and found the plane submerged in the lake. She was the sole occupant onboard the Cessna 180A, troopers said. Troopers and military rescue swimmers recovered the body, which was then sent to the State Medical Examiners Office for an autopsy. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a tweet that it was investigating the crash. Skwentna is located about 65 miles northwest of Anchorage. Arizona Phoenix: Planned Parenthood asked a judge Monday to put on hold a ruling that allowed prosecutors to enforce a Civil War-era state law banning abortion in nearly all cases. Arizonas largest abortion provider said the ruling issued late Friday has created confusion about the status of the law. Its lawyers cited conflicts created by the abortion ban dating to 1864, a more recent law banning abortions after 15 weeks, and a variety of other laws regulating the processes and paperwork when terminating pregnancies. This confusion has forced Planned Parenthood Arizona to pause abortion services and cancel appointments scheduled this week meaning that members of our community once again have been and will continue to be denied medical care that they deserve and need while this decision is in effect, Brittany Fonteno, the groups president and CEO, said in a statement. Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnsons ruling lifted a 50-year-old injunction blocking enforcement of the 1864 law, which allows abortion only when the mothers life is in danger. The injunction was imposed after the U.S. Supreme Courts Roe v. Wade decision guaranteed a right to abortion on 1973. Planned Parenthood asked Johnson to put her ruling on hold pending an appeal. Arkansas Jazz saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders performs at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 2014. The influential tenor saxophonist revered in the jazz world for the spirituality of his wor, has died, his record label announced Saturday. He was 81. Little Rock: Pharoah Sanders, the influential tenor saxophonist revered in the jazz world for the spirituality of his work, has died, his record label announced. He was 81. Sanders, who launched his career playing alongside John Coltrane in the 1960s, died early Saturday, said the tweet from Luaka Bop, the label that released his 2021 album, Promises. It did not specify a cause. We are devastated to share that Pharoah Sanders has passed away. He died peacefully surrounded by loving family and friends in Los Angeles earlier this morning. Always and forever the most beautiful human being, may he rest in peace, said the labels message on Twitter, accompanied by a heart emoji. Among the saxophonists best-known works was his two-part The Creator Has a Master Plan, from the Karma album released in 1969. The combined track is nearly 33 minutes long. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1940, Sanders began his early musical life by playing drums, then the clarinet in church. In high school, he began renting out the school saxophone. After high school he moved to Oakland, California, where he intended to attend art school. But he soon moved to New York to join the citys avant-garde jazz scene. He hitchhiked his way across country, he told The New Yorker magazine in 2020. California San Francisco: A prominent law school named for a 19th-century rancher who sponsored deadly atrocities against Native Americans has a new name after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation approving the change. It was among several bills concerning indigenous people that the Democratic governor and former San Francisco mayor signed into law Friday, which he declared Native American Day in the state. The University of Californias Hastings College of the Law will be known as the College of the Law, San Francisco. The schools graduates include former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. The school was founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, a wealthy rancher and former chief justice of the California Supreme Court who helped orchestrate and finance campaigns by white settlers in Mendocino County to kill and enslave members of the Yuki Indian tribe. The legislation also lays out restorative justice initiatives to be pursued by the college, such as renaming a law library with a Native language name, according to a statement from the governors office. Newsom also signed legislation to remove an offensive term for a Native American woman from all geographic features and place names in the state. Colorado Denver: A suburbs plan to show a nearly 50-year-old movie at its arts center has officials scrambling to revamp the towns indecency laws. The Denver Post reports the city of Parker plans to show the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Parker Arts, Culture & Events Center in October. But because the event center holds a liquor license, and the movie includes a momentary glimpse of a womans breast, the showing is prohibited under a town ordinance prohibiting lewd and indecent displays. Lewd or indecent displays include the display of the female breast, town staff said in a memo to Parkers elected leaders. Thus, the definition of lewd and indecent displays would prohibit the screening of a movie, such as the Rocky Horror Picture Show, which displays the female breast. Parkers town council is considering two ordinances on the issue that officials say will bring the indecency code into compliance with a recent federal court ruling by no longer singling out female breasts but not male breasts as indecent. The council is expected to cast a final vote on the measures next month, potentially paving the way for the movie showing to continue as planned. Connecticut Old Saybrook: A 76-year-old man died Saturday when his SUV plunged into the water at Saybrook Point Marina and Resort in Old Saybrook, police said. Wedding guests at the nearby Saybrook Point Inn jumped in, pulled the man to shore and performed CPR but were unable to save him, police said. The man, identified as Steven Mark Wahle, of Old Saybrook, was pronounced dead at Middlesex Medical Center Shoreline in Westbrook. The incident happened about 10:15 p.m. The marina is located between the Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River. A fire department dive team determined Wahle was the only person in the SUV. Police pulled the vehicle from the water and impounded it, pending an ongoing investigation. Delaware Dover: A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit against Democratic Gov. John Carney over the states requirement for political balance on its courts. Fridays ruling is the latest in a long-running legal battle over a major-party provision in the Delaware Constitution under which judicial appointments to the states three highest courts are split between Republicans and Democrats. The Delaware Supreme Court, Court of Chancery and Superior Court are subject to a separate bare majority provision that also applies to Family Court and the Court of Common Pleas. That provision says no more than a bare majority of judges on those courts can be affiliated with a single political party. The result of the major-party provision is that any person not affiliated with either the Republican or the Democratic Party is unable serve on any of those courts. Wilmington lawyer James Adams, a former Democrat who is now an unaffiliated voter, claims that the provision violates his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by barring him from being considered for a judgeship on the Superior Court, a position for which he has twice applied and been rejected. Judge Maryellen Noreika ruled Friday that Adams had legal standing to challenge the major-party provision and denied Carneys motion to dismiss the lawsuit. District of Columbia This cover image released by Blackstone Publishing shows "Courage Under Fire: Under Siege and Outnumbered 58 to 1 on January 6" by Steven A. Sund. Washington: The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police during the Jan. 6 siege has a book deal. Steven A. Sunds Courage Under Fire: Under Siege and Outnumbered 58 to 1 on January 6 will come out Jan. 3, just shy of the two-year anniversary of the riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. Its time to break my silence and reveal everything that I know happened, Sund said in a statement released Monday by Blackstone Publishing. Sund resigned under pressure soon after the insurrection and testified the following month that he hadnt seen an FBI field report warning of potential violence. He said the overrunning of the U.S. Capitol was the result of widespread failures. No single civilian law enforcement agency and certainly not the USCP is trained and equipped to repel, without significant military or other law enforcement assistance, an insurrection of thousands of armed, violent, and coordinated individuals focused on breaching a building at all costs, he testified. According to Blackstone, Sund will provide a detailed and harrowing minute-by-minute account of the attack. He will include a never-before-heard accounting of a call from the White House during the siege and never-before-detailed conversations between himself and congressional leadership. Florida Fort Lauderdale: Prosecutors in the penalty trial of school shooter Nikolas Cruz will begin their rebuttal case Tuesday, challenging his attorneys contention that he murdered 17 people because his birth mother abused alcohol during pregnancy, a condition they say went untreated. Prosecutor Mike Satzs team is expected to call experts who will testify Cruz has antisocial personality disorder in lay terms, hes a sociopath and fully responsible for his Feb. 14, 2018, attack at Parklands Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. According to the National Institutes of Health, people with antisocial personality disorder commit exploitive, delinquent and criminal behavior with no remorse. They usually have no regard for others, dont follow the law, cant sustain consistent relationships or employment, and use manipulation for personal gain, the NIH says. Prosecutors will want to reemphasize Cruz understood exactly what he was doing during the massacre and could formulate and carry out a plan, said David S. Weinstein, a Miami defense attorney and former prosecutor. Georgia Atlanta: A district attorney said he may revisit a decades-old case in which the state Supreme Court overturned three murder convictions of a Black sharecropper in the killing of a white man, aiming to determine whether the sharecropper deserves to be formally but posthumously exonerated. Weaknesses in the case were detailed in a book published this year, The Three Death Sentences of Clarence Henderson. Carroll County District Attorney Herb Cranford has launched a review of the case and could ask a judge to formally clear Hendersons name, as charges against him were never dismissed, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. He was tried and convicted three times for the 1948 killing of 22-year-old Carl Buddy Stevens Jr., a Georgia Tech student who was shot while on a date in Carrollton, a town about 40 miles west of Atlanta. Henderson was arrested more than a year after the killing, and defense lawyers, including a biracial team funded by the NAACP, repeatedly poked holes in the prosecutions case. Those questions, including some focusing on the alleged murder weapon at a time when forensic science was in its infancy, werent enough to persuade jurors to acquit Henderson. But they helped persuade appeals courts to repeatedly overturn the conviction. In January 1953, Henderson was allowed to post bail and leave jail, but the charges were never dropped. Hawaii Honolulu: A 52-year-old man has been indicted on multiple counts after he allegedly forced a 15-year-old girl to tie up her boyfriend, then kidnapped and sexually assaulted her, as well as forcing her to smoke meth. Authorities say Duncan Mahi walked up to the girl and her boyfriend at Anaehoomalu Beach on the Kona side of the Big Island on Sept. 16, put a knife to her throat, and took the girls money and her boyfriends cellphone. Court documents allege Mahi told the girl to tie her boyfriends legs and hands together using zip-ties and tape that he provided. He forced her to put the boyfriends shirt in his mouth, cover his head with a towel and secure both items with the tape, the police booking sheet said. Mahi told the girl she would die if her boyfriend got loose, according to the police account. Once at his property, he shackled her to a yellow bus behind the main house by putting a fabric cuff around her left ankle that was attached to a cable. Police said the girl managed to get free the next day after she convinced Mahi to take her to a restaurant in Hilo to get something to eat. A witness saw them scuffling outside Cafe Pesto and stopped Mahi from running after the girl. A homeless man sitting on the sidewalk said, Thats the girl in the news, after which Mahi ran to a car. Police found Mahi in Hilo about two hours later. Idaho Boise: A judge has banned cameras from the courtroom in the high-profile triple murder case against a mother and her new husband, saying he fears the images could prevent a fair trial. Seventh District Judge Steven Boyce made the ruling Friday, saying news organizations will no longer be able to shoot still photography or videos inside the courtroom in the criminal case of Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell. The couple are charged with conspiring to kill Lori Vallow Daybells two youngest children and Chad Daybells late former wife, and the strange details of the case have drawn attention from around the world. Both Vallow Daybell and Daybell have pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry a potential death penalty. Late last month, Vallow Daybells attorneys asked the judge to ban cameras from the courtroom. They contended that one news organization abused the privilege by repeatedly zooming in on Vallow Daybells face during an Aug. 16 hearing. The attorneys, Jim Archibald and John Thomas, also claimed the cameras and microphones could potentially be used to overhear private conversations or to view private notes on the defense table, though they did not suggest that the equipment had ever actually been used in that way. Illinois Chicago: A man climbed five stories of a fire escape to infiltrate a police facility Monday while officers were undergoing a SWAT training exercise and grabbed at least two guns before he was shot and wounded by police, the chief said. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said the suspect was taken to the hospital with injuries not considered to be life-threatening. One officer was taken to the hospital with a sprained ankle. Brown said the suspect was seen on video leaving the facility and then returning to infiltrate it. He asked where to go to retrieve personal property at the facility in Homan Square on Chicagos West Side. Then he came back to the building and climbed the fire escape to the fifth floor, where a door had been propped open for ventilation because there are no windows on that floor. Brown said it has not been determined if the man went to the building to retrieve property, saying that the man had an extensive record. It wasnt immediately clear if property taken from the man was stored in the building. He had no other information about the man, other than to say he was a resident of Waukegan, a suburb about 42 miles north of Chicago. Indiana Indianapolis: The state could face a growing number of extreme heat days in the next 30 years, affecting the number of heat-related illnesses as well as seasonal energy costs in the state. The extreme heat designation is characterized by the National Weather Service as days on which the heat index reaches above 125 degrees. A recent study from First Street Foundation found that most counties in Indiana will continue to see high heat day hikes, with the southern portion of the state seeing the largest increase in what are called extreme heat days. Martin, Harrison and Clark counties are expected to see the greatest increase. Greenhouse gas-induced climate change is a driving factor for the rising number of high or extreme heat days in the 21st century, according to a 2020 Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences study. Urban development and population growth are also contributing to the growing number of extreme heat days. Low estimates show a minimum temperature increase across the U.S. of 2.5 degrees over the next 30 years, but since warmer air has a greater capacity to hold water, humidity will increase as well. This will have a compounding effect on heat indexes, the study says. Iowa Bondurant: The city is bucking a decadeslong Beggars Night tradition by setting a new day for trick-or-treating. The Bondurant City Council in January passed a resolution that sets the trick-or-treat holiday, known as Beggars Night, to the last Saturday of October. That means this year, trick-or-treating is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 29 in the Des Moines suburb. In future years, trick-or-treating could be as early as Oct. 25 or on Halloween itself. Since the 1940s, cities across the Des Moines metro have held Beggars Night on Oct. 30 to avoid what had become some Halloween-night mischief. Most communities in the Des Moines metro will stick to that this year. In Bondurant, the idea to change to the last Saturday of October came from a community Facebook post. The city later conducted a survey to gauge interest. Of the 141 people who participated, 65% said they supported holding Beggars Night on a Saturday. City staff identified pros of setting a permanent day of the month, which included consistency, less rushing for families to enjoy the celebration, and kids not having school the next morning. Some possible cons included an impact on households with nontraditional work schedules, confusion about being the only metro community with that date, and a possible influx of people from outsiders. Kansas Topeka: After the state paid out up to $466 million in fraudulent unemployment benefits, an oversight council tasked with ironing out issues doesnt know the status of correcting critical cybersecurity issues. I just dont have a lot of confidence right now in the security of the system, said state Sen. Caryn Tyson, R-Parker, and Im afraid for Kansas citizens. Contractor FORVIS performed a cybersecurity audit, broken down into a risk assessment report and a penetration testing report. The firm also performed a forensic audit of unemployment insurance, estimating up to $466 million in fraudulent payments. The council released a redacted version of the penetration testing report this month. The risk assessment report hasnt been publicly released. Officials said the risk assessment identified 31 recommendations, including six of a high priority, 11 medium and 14 low. The agency didnt disclose an update on any of the six high priority recommendations, telling lawmakers the information could only be discussed in secret. Its got to be noted that there are 206 vulnerabilities listed in this report, of which 43 of them are critical, 74 are high and 89 are medium, said Rep. Sean Tarwater, R-Stilwell, in apparent reference to the confidential risk assessment report from April. Kentucky Kentucky native and singer John Prine backstage while performing at a concert in Louisville on Oct. 14, 1978. Greenville: A park in western Kentucky is being renamed after singer-songwriter John Prine. A dedication ceremony for the John Prine Memorial Park at Rochester Dam in Muhlenberg County is scheduled for Oct. 1, news outlets report. The project is part of updating an existing county park, said Karen Harper Lain, a spokesperson and committee member for the John Prine Memorial Park. The project includes a new boat ramp, more parking, a picnic pavilion, new playground equipment and landscaping improvements. Prine, who died in 2020, wrote Paradise for his father about the small town of Paradise on the banks of the Green River. Now a ghost town, the Muhlenberg County site became the home of a coal plant operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority from the early 1960s to 2020. Prine attributed the towns demise to strip mining, with a father telling his son, who asks to return to the county and Paradise: Mister Peabodys coal train has hauled it away. After his death, Prine fans began to visit Rochester Dam, which is also mentioned in the song, to leave memorials to the musician. Lain and others approached Muhlenberg County Fiscal Court about renaming the park after Prines death and said officials were immediately on board. Louisiana Baton Rouge: A federal judge has decided not to block the states plan to move two dozen troubled juvenile offenders from a suburban New Orleans detention center to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. In a 64-page ruling issued late Friday, Chief U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick denied a motion to immediately halt the plan to move the teenagers to the adult maximum-security facility despite calling it untenable and disturbing, The Advocate reports. The states Office of Juvenile Justice proved in a three-day court hearing this month that it could provide the youth constitutionally required levels of care at the Angola facility, Dick wrote. The prospect of putting a teenager to bed at night in a locked cell behind razor wire surrounded by swamps at Angola is disturbing, the judge said in the ruling. Some of the children in OJJs care are so traumatized and emotionally and psychologically disturbed that OJJ is virtually unable to provide a secure care environment. But she also wrote: While locking children in cells at night at Angola is untenable, the threat of harm these youngsters present to themselves, and others, is intolerable. The untenable must yield to the intolerable. Maine Kittery: Clammers will once again be permitted to dig for soft-shell clams, quahogs, oysters and mussels at Brave Boat Harbor. With the nod of approval from the state Department of Marine Resources, the town is reopening a long-closed tidal flat now deemed safe for shellfish harvesting. A limited number of licenses to harvest shellfish from Brave Boat Harbor will be sold by the town starting in October to both residents and nonresidents, as approved by the Kittery Town Council. Chuck Moran, the towns deputy harbormaster and shellfish warden, told the council that the Department of Marine Resources found Brave Boat Harbor to be safe for clamming close to a year ago. Since that time, the town has been working with the Department of Marine Resources to prepare for the tidal flats reopening and the rollout of shellfish harvesting licenses. We are now ready to look to sell licenses and open up the clamming season, Moran said. Department of Marine Resources spokesperson Jeff Nichols confirmed the state found Brave Boat Harbor, which had been closed for a number of years due to higher levels of fecal coliform, to be safe to reopen last October. Maryland Annapolis: The official portrait of retired Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbera has been unveiled. The depiction was destined to be highly symbolic, as it would be the first of 24 such drawings of the states top jurists going back to 1778 to feature a woman. But contained in the portrait are a host of symbols chosen to depict a dedicated judge, accomplished appellate attorney, fierce advocate, proud Marylander, and loving wife, mother and grandmother. Barbera stepped down from the high court last September upon reaching Marylands mandatory judicial retirement age of 70. Current Chief Judge Matthew J. Fader hosted the unveiling ceremony at the high court and said a young girl visiting the Court of Appeals might reasonably ask where the women are upon gazing at the portraits of all the men circling the atrium outside the courtroom. After this afternoon, never again, Fader said. We will finally have a portrait of a female chief judge. In the portrait, Barbera is seated in the red judicial robe she wore for the eight years she served as chief judge, and on her lap are legal briefs of a case pending before the high court. On the table beside her is a gavel, which she said represents not only the job of a judge but a note of thanks to her dozens of law clerks. Massachusetts Worcester: The citys fire department has been awarded nearly $15 million in grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to hire 60 new firefighters and purchase new equipment. This funding from FEMA will assist our department in accomplishing its mission to protect the lives and property of the community by increasing daily staffing for a safer and more effective fire and emergency response, Acting Fire Chief Martin Dyer said in an announcement. We have a growing community, and that requires increased resources to ensure we have the personnel and equipment needed. The city received two grants. The Staffing for Adequate Fire Emergency Response program awarded $14.1 million for the salaries of 60 new firefighters over the next three years. A second grant of $806,000 from the Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program will increase the fire departments inventory of self-contained breathing apparatuses, personal radios and turnout gear for new recruits. Michigan Detroit: The state loosened regulations on staffing levels this spring and allowed for more frequent lockdowns at Wayne Countys juvenile jail amid understaffing and overcrowding so severe it has been operating under a temporary disaster plan. Complaints have grown that the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility has confined residents to their rooms for long periods and deprived them of basic care, including daily showers, recreation time and vital medication. In a move described as rare, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which is charged with overseeing the facility, first approved the jails request for a temporary waiver of licensing rules at the end of April because of its staffing problems. The rules variance allows the jail to operate with fewer staff and lets them lock residents in their rooms facility-wide when there arent enough workers. A month after the rules were relaxed, police were called to control a group of 18 residents who had gotten out of their secure rooms, destroyed property and fought each other, after one boy may have popped a lock and snagged a staffers set of keys. The juveniles blamed their breakout, in part, on not being let out of their rooms. We are tired of not getting our showers. Nothing against you, a youth told a staffer, according to an internal county investigation. Minnesota Minneapolis: In-person voting for the midterm elections opened Friday, kicking off a six-week sprint to Election Day in a landscape that has changed much since the pandemic drove a shift to mail balloting in the 2020 presidential contest. Twenty people voted in the first hour as Minneapolis opened its early voting center, taking advantage of generous rules that election officials credit with making the state a perennial leader in voter turnout. First in when the doors opened was Conrad Zbikowski, a 29-year-old communications and digital consultant who said he has voted early since at least 2017. I like to vote early because you never know what might happen on Election Day, Zbikowski said, displaying his civic pride with a T-shirt that bore the sailboat logo of the City of Lakes. You might get sick; you might get COVID; you might get in a car crash theres many things that can happen. But what you do have control over is being able to vote early and getting that ballot in. Minnesotas ballot includes races for governor and other statewide offices, with control of the Legislature at stake, too. Zbikowski said he doesnt take the right to vote for granted, given that his family came to America from Russia when it didnt have free elections. As a part-time poll worker he was off duty Friday he said hes seen Minnesotas safeguards firsthand and has full confidence in the integrity of the process. Mississippi Jackson: After the state spent millions of dollars in welfare money on Brett Favres pet project, a university volleyball arena, the retired NFL quarterback tried two years later to get additional cash from the states welfare agency for another sports facility, new court documents show. The governor at the time, Republican Phil Bryant, texted in 2019 with Favre, who wanted to build an indoor practice facility for the University of Southern Mississippis football team. Bryant told him federal money for children and low-income adults is tightly controlled, and improper use could result in violation of Federal Law. Text messages between Bryant and Favre are in court documents filed Friday by Bryants lawyers that seek to show the governor was willing to help Favre raise private money for the volleyball facility starting in 2017 and was unaware for more than two years that welfare money was going to the project. Mississippis largest-ever public corruption case has ensnared several people, including a pro wrestler whose drug rehab was funded with welfare money. The state has filed a civil lawsuit against Favre and others to recover more than $20 million in misspent welfare money intended to help needy people in one of the countrys poorest states. Neither Bryant nor Favre is facing criminal charges. Missouri Kansas City: The speaker of the state House is urging the U.S. attorney in Kansas City to shut down Agape Boarding School, accusing the Christian school of what amounts to organized crime against children. Republican House Speaker Rob Vescovo sent a letter Wednesday to U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore that was made available to reporters Monday. In it, Vescovo said state efforts to close the school have failed, and the local prosecutor has failed to take action to protect the boys who attend the school in the southwestern Missouri town of Stockton. Right now in Missouri we are faced with the horrifying truth that a network of immoral individuals have engaged in what amounts to organized crime against children, Vescovo wrote. But he said the situation is more far-reaching and contains more deeply-rooted corruption than we are able to address solely at the state level. Vescovo didnt immediately respond to an interview request to explain his concerns about corruption. A spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office in Kansas City declined comment. Agapes attorney, John Schultz, called the allegations against the school 100% false. Theres no evidence to support closing down Agape, Schultz said. Montana Great Falls: The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest is seeking outdoor enthusiasts to spend the spring or summer working to preserve and protect one of the landscapes that they love. Positions are available in multiple fields, including fire, recreation, natural resources, range, timber, visitor services, and archaeology, park officials said in a statement about the more than 150 seasonal jobs for next spring and summer, with a weeklong application window opening Thursday. Whether you want to work outside next summer or help visitors plan their trips, working for the Forest Service is an excellent way to build lifelong skills and connections. You will have the opportunity to enjoy a challenging adventure while contributing to an important mission. The forest encompasses 2.8 million acres across central and north-central Montana. It includes island mountain ranges bisected by the Continental Divide and Missouri River and portions of 17 Montana counties, extending from the border of Glacier National Park to the southern tip of the Crazy Mountains and east across the Big Snowy Mountains south of Lewistown. This forest provides timber for people, forage for cattle and wildlife, habitat for fish, plants, and animals, and some of the best recreation opportunities in the country, the news release said. Nebraska Omaha: A mining company that wants to extract an assortment of rare elements from southeast Nebraska has announced an agreement that will provide up to $285 million to help cover the roughly $1.1 billion cost of building the mine. In addition to a merger with a special purpose acquisition company called GX Acquisition Corp. II that NioCorp announced Monday, the Colorado-based company also signed letters of intent to borrow up to $81 million more from Yorkville Advisors Global. So NioCorp could get as much as $366 million to finance the project. NioCorp CEO Mark Smith said that these transactions have the potential to put NioCorp on the fast track to obtain the required project financing. The main element NioCorp plans to produce at the mine about 80 miles south of Omaha near the town of Elk Creek is a heat-resistant element called niobium, along with scandium and titanium. The company has said analysis of samples from the site shows there is also a significant amount of rare earth elements there like the ones President Joe Biden wants to produce more of domestically. But its not yet sure whether it will be economically feasible to also produce some of those elements that are used to create the strong magnets used in a variety of high-tech products such as electric vehicles and cellphones. Nevada Reno: Gov. Steve Sisolak says the state is launching a prescription discount card, a method of softening the rising costs of medications. The digital card, called ArrayRX, saves an average of 80% on generic prescriptions and up to 20% on brand-name drugs and is free for Nevadans, Sisolak said. For those without health insurance, the card is set to lower costs significantly, the Democratic governor said at a Thursday press conference in Las Vegas. Those with health insurance will be able to compare their costs with ArrayRX and can opt for whichever option is cheaper, he said. Taking care of yourself and prioritizing your health shouldnt leave you bankrupt, Sisolak said. State Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro said the digital card is another tool in our toolbox to ensure that Nevadans can continue to afford the health care that they need and to take care of their families. Sisolak announced in February at his State of the State address that Nevada would join Oregon and Washington in the Northwest Prescription Drug Consortium, a program to reduce prescription costs through state discount systems. There is no cost to the state, Nevadas Health and Human Services spokesperson said. Instead, a small transaction fee built into the price paid by the consumer helps cover the cost of the program. New Hampshire Seabrook: The state Department of Safetys report on the July 12 false alarm sounding at the NextEra Seabrook nuclear power plant finds that because there was no procedure in place for an inadvertent siren activation, it took almost an hour to start notifying the public there was no emergency at the nuclear plant. The result, according to officials in the beach communities, was a certain degree of panic from many beachgoers and local residents who had been told to leave the area by the sirens verbal broadcasts at 10:50 a.m. That panic was made worse by a few well-meaning but problematic good Samaritans who drove around Hampton telling people to evacuate because there was a problem at the Seabrook Station nuclear power plant. Although many could accept human error at the power plant caused the 10 alarms to be sounded by mistake, it was the lack of proper public notification that frustrated authorities and the public. It wasnt until 11:49 a.m., according to the reports timeline, that state officials transmitted information to the public of the inadvertent alarm activation via social media. WOKQ, the radio station listed in the Seabrook Station Emergency information brochures to get updated information in case of an emergency, was never notified. New Jersey Trenton: Former Gov. James Florio, who championed a plan that substantially raised the states sales and income taxes, leading to his reelection defeat in 1993, died Sunday. He was 85. His law partner Doug Steinhardt and current Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed Florio died in statements Monday. Governor Florio was a fighter who never backed down. He was a leader who cared more about the future of New Jersey than his own political fortunes, Murphy, a fellow Democrat, said in his statement. Florio was a longtime public servant who held numerous posts on the local, county, state and federal levels. A Democrat, he made three unsuccessful gubernatorial runs before finally succeeding in 1989, when he defeated Republican Jim Courter and became the first Italian American to serve as the states chief executive. Florio drew sharp criticism in 1990 when he pushed a $2.8 billion tax increase through the Legislature that extended a sales tax to, among other things, toilet paper. It spawned massive voter resentment and spurred the formation of Hands Across New Jersey, an anti-tax grassroots group that used rolls of toilet paper as its symbol. Florio was ousted after one term by Republican Christie Whitman, who tapped into voter anger over the tax hike and won the race by about 26,000 votes. New Mexico Santa Fe: The state has granted funds to pay for possible prosecutions connected to last years fatal film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports. The state Board of Finance greenlit more than $317,000 to cover the cost of investigating potential charges in the shooting on the set of Rust outside Santa Fe. First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies made an emergency request for the funds to go toward a special prosecutor, special investigator, several experts and other personnel. As many as four people could face charges, according to a copy of the request obtained by the newspaper, though Carmack-Altwies did not say anyone definitely would. One of the possible defendants is well known movie actor Alec Baldwin, she said. When reached for comment by the newspaper, she declined to say which crew members or cast could face charges. The possible charges at which her office is looking range from homicide to violations of state gun statutes. Carmack-Altwies said she is expecting to receive the final investigation report from the Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office soon. New York New York: New York City officials are appealing a judges ruling that they lacked the legal authority to fire members of the citys largest police union for violating a COVID-19 vaccination mandate. State Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank in Manhattan ruled Friday that the city health departments mandate couldnt be used to fire or put on leave members of the Police Benevolent Association. Frank said it was undisputed that city officials could issue vaccine mandates. But the judge said officials overstepped their authority by unilaterally creating a new condition of employment, as opposed to going through collective bargaining. Frank ordered the reinstatement of union members who were wrongfully terminated or put on unpaid leave for refusing to get vaccinated. The city immediately filed a notice of appeal, freezing the judges decision until the appeal is heard. This decision confirms what we have said from the start: the vaccine mandate was an improper infringement on our members right to make personal medical decisions in consultation with their own health care professionals, PBA President Patrick Lynch said in a statement. A spokesman for the citys Law Department said the ruling is at odds with every other court decision upholding the mandate as a condition of employment. North Carolina Chapel Hill: After years of anticipation, a collection of rarely exhibited drawings by Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn is now on display at the Ackland Art Museum. The Acklands newest exhibit, Drawn to Life: Master Drawings from the Age of Rembrandt in the Peck Collection, includes dozens of 17th and 18th century drawings by Dutch and Flemish artists, including five sketches by Rembrandt, who died in 1669. Theyre all from the Peck Collection, which the Ackland received in 2017. It was the largest-ever gift for the UNC-Chapel Hill art museum, courtesy of the late UNC alumnus Sheldon Peck and his wife, Leena Peck. This vast collection, valued at $17 million, included 134 Dutch and Finnish drawings. Drawn to Life, with 70 pieces of work, marks the first time many of these drawings will be on view to the public since the donation. The museum notes that many can only be on display for short periods of time because theyre sensitive to light. While Rembrandts paintings and portraits from the Dutch Golden Age famously strike viewers with awe and a radiant glow, these drawings tell a vastly different story. This collection features more understated works that are meant to be looked at for longer periods of time. North Dakota Bismarck: There is little indication that an 18-year-old who died after being struck by an SUV was a political extremist as the driver claimed. Investigators say none of the witnesses they have interviewed support the idea that there was a political argument before authorities say Shannon Brandt struck Cayler Ellingson with his vehicle Sept. 18 in McHenry, and a family friend who knew the teen said he wasnt active in politics. Court documents said Brandt told a 911 dispatcher that he felt threatened after having a political argument with Ellingson and believed the teen was part of a Republican extremist group. North Dakota Highway Patrol Capt. Bryan Niewind said Friday that authorities have talked to dozens of witnesses and plan to talk to more as they try to get a better picture of exactly what happened before the crash. I cant get into details about what the witnesses are describing to us. But what I can tell you is that this is not political in nature at all, he said. There is no evidence to support Brandts claim on the 911 call that Mr. Ellingson was a Republican extremist. There is no evidence to support that all through our continued investigation. He also said there is no evidence to support Brandts claim that Ellingson was calling others to come hurt Brandt. Ohio Columbus: Teachers barricaded classrooms, kids texted their parents, and police rushed to high school campuses across the state Friday as a rash of hoax reports of school shootings were made. Legislators are trying to make it a felony to knowingly make a false emergency report. State Rep. Kevin Miller, R-Newark, and state Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, have introduced companion bills to increase the penalties on swatting making bogus reports to bring about a big police response, usually to a residence. The legislation would make it a third-degree felony and elevate it to a first-degree felony if anyone is seriously injured as a result of the false report. Those convicted could also be ordered to pay the government for resources spent on the hoax call. Im appalled by this type of behavior. It especially sickens me that theyd do this to schools. Think of the emotional impact that these types of incidences have on all those involved, said Miller, a retired state trooper. He said currently such calls are prosecuted as misdemeanors under inducing panic or making a false alarm. Brenner said in testimony that swatting started as a prank among online gamers who would call in a report to get a SWAT team to show up while someone was streaming their video game play. Brenner and Miller both said they hope their bills gain momentum when lawmakers return to voting session after the elections. Oklahoma Crews work Monday to demolish First Christian Church in Oklahoma City. The church's dome that was for decades a landmark in the city skyline is shown shortly after it collapsed during demolition. Oklahoma City: A church with a distinctive white, egg-shaped dome was torn down early Monday after the congregations attorney previously said recent asbestos removal was not part of any plan to destroy the First Christian Church building. The property, which also includes the former home of Jewel Box Theater, was home to one of the citys biggest churches when it opened in the 1950s. The property was put up for sale in 2017 with a dwindling congregation still worshipping there. Preservationists thought they had a savior for the building when Crossings Church signed a purchase contract for the landmark in 2019. But that deal fell through when the congregations leadership concluded the costs of renovation exceeded their budget for a new location. A local developer, Andy Burnett, was among the latest to make an offer for the property. When contacted by phone Sunday night, Burnett confirmed he offered $2 million, all cash, with a closing in 45 days, to buy the property and keep the buildings standing as part of indoor and outdoor sand volleyball and sports complex. Burnett said he had not gotten a response but was hopeful and willing to continue the conversation. Oregon Salem: Some parks officials say high demand for crowded campsites is leading to arguments, fistfights and even so-called campsite pirates. Brian Carroll with Linn County Parks and Recreation said park rangers had to play mediator this summer as would-be campers argued over first-come, first-served campsites at Sunnyside County Park. People were literally fighting over campsites, Carroll said. What we experienced this year was certainly a general level of increased frustration and anxiety of people not being able to get their campsite. There seems to be less general common courtesy going on. Tensions also escalated over reserved campsites, with some recreationists wrongly claiming already-reserved sites by tearing off the reservation tags and replacing them with their own, prompting the nickname campsite pirates. The original parties end up angry and confused when they arrive to find their campsite occupied. The practice isnt common, but its happening more than it used to, Carroll said. In the past, it was extremely rare, he said. Earlier this year, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department said it would seek legislation to give rangers added protection because of the increasing level of assaults and harassment targeting rangers. Pennsylvania Philadelphia: Workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art began a strike Monday, citing wage and health care issues, as the institution said it would remain open during the walkout. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the union representing about 180 of the museums approximately 350 workers set up picket lines Monday at entrances to the main building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and at the nearby Perelman Building and the Rodin Museum on the parkway. The museum posted a notice on social media saying it was open as usual Monday, with officials saying managers and nonunion employees would run the operation. We are committed to serving our community as we continue to negotiate in good faith toward a fair and appropriate new labor agreement, the museum said. Museum workers voted to unionize in July 2020, and leaders of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 47, Local 397, said Friday that they had been in talks with the museum on a new contract for two years without success. Union officials said higher wages and reducing health care costs are among the important issues outstanding. Our members will not accept a contract that does not bring wages and benefits at the museum up to an acceptable standard, DC47 President Cathy Scott said in a statement. Rhode Island Providence: With his Republican challenger nipping at his heels and calling him out of touch, Gov. Dan McKee on Monday scaled back, for now, the raises of up to 43% his administration was proposing for his Cabinet members. In a statement read aloud at a public hearing by Brian Daniels, the head of the states Office of Management and Budget, McKee said he was unaware of the state law dictating flat salaries for high-level agency directors when his administration submitted the original salary package. Among the proposed moves: a $60,000 pay hike for the states health director that would raise the salary for the position held by a series of temporary replacements since Dr. Nicole Alexander Scotts resignation last winter from $140,000 a year to $200,000 a year. When first talking about that and other double-digits pay hikes, McKee said he envisioned them as new salary maximums to be phased in over time, not all-at-once increases. However, it is now my understanding that, by statute, the proposals represent flat rates and not salary caps, he said. With that in mind, I conducted a balancing test between what is best for talent development in the civil service and what is the most fiscally responsible path forward for Rhode Island taxpayers. South Carolina Columbia: More than 20 people were arrested and more than 300 dogs rescued as authorities raided dogfighting kennels in the state, federal prosecutors said Monday. The sting started when state and federal agents interrupted a dog fight in Richland County on Saturday, U.S. Attorney Adair Boroughs said in a statement. That led agents to serve 23 warrants Sunday at what were known to be places where dogs fight or are trained to fight in Clarendon, Lee, Orangeburg, Richland, Sumter and York counties, investigators said. Twenty people face state charges of animal cruelty and dogfighting, authorities said. Investigators also seized about 30 guns and $40,000 in cash, prosecutors said. Officials said 305 dogs were rescued, with about 275 of them believed to be part of the dogfighting ring. The Humane Society of the United States and Bark Nation are helping to take care of the dogs. Some of the dogs had severe scars, open wounds and cuts, the Humane Society said. Some of the dogs were unusually thin, chained to trees with no way of getting food or water, the agency said. The arrests over the weekend are the first steps in a broader investigation that could include federal charges, Boroughs said. South Dakota South Dakota Rep. Linda Duba, D-Sioux Falls, speaks about her 1976 abortion during a reproductive rights rally at Fawick Park in Sioux Falls on Sunday. Sioux Falls: State Rep. Linda Duba, D-Sioux Falls, shared her abortion story for the first time in public during a reproductive justice rally organized by the South Dakota Democratic Party on Sunday. Standing on a stage and speaking to a crowd of people dressed in green the international symbol for abortion access at Fawick Park in Sioux Falls, Duba told the story of a young college girl in the winter of 1976 who found herself pregnant. Although abortion had been legal in the United States for nearly three years with the passage of Roe v. Wade, abortions were still not provided in South Dakota. She came from a family who was pretty strict. She was worried about what people would think of her if they found out that she was pregnant, and that young girl was me, Duba said. Duba was one of five speakers, four of whom are running for office this November, who spoke about the importance of abortion access. Because of a 2005 trigger law tied to the U.S. Supreme Courts repeal of Roe in June, abortions in South Dakota are banned, even in cases of rape and incest. Duba said that women today must travel out of state, similar to what she had to do 47 years ago when she was a sophomore at South Dakota State University and went to Minneapolis on a Saturday for a 15-minute abortion procedure. It was probably one of the scariest times in my life, and then I came back home, and I never told a soul, she said. Tennessee Nashville: Tennesseans are being asked to cement a right-to-work law into the state constitution at the ballot box in November a move touted by pro-business leaders but adamantly opposed by labor unions. The states right-to-work law allows employees to opt out of joining a union and paying the dues even if the workforce is unionized. Tennessees major unions are against Amendment 1 and criticized the right-to-work law for creating a free-loader situation. It makes unions the only entity that has to provide services to people who did not pay for them, said Jason Freeman, the political director with Service Employees International Union Local 205, based in Nashville. A majority of workers in a place can choose to unionize, and then the people who have not joined are entitled to the benefits and services their co-workers are paying for, while they are not. Supporters of the amendment said they believe the right-to-work law bolsters Tennessees business-friendly economic climate and provides workers with a choice. Through unions, employees can be forced to join something that they disagree with, said Justin Owen, the president of the Beacon Center of Tennessee, a conservative think tank. That violates their freedom of association and should ultimately be left up to the individual. Texas Austin: A year after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott defended the states new abortion law which makes no exceptions in cases of rape by assuring that Texas would get to work eliminating sexual assaults, Lindsey LeBlanc is busy as ever helping rape victims in a college town outside Houston. The numbers have stayed consistently high, said LeBlanc, executive director of the Sexual Assault Resource Center in Bryan, near Texas A&M University. Despite hiring two additional counselors in the past six months, she still has a waitlist for victims. We are struggling to keep up with demand, she said. Overwhelming majorities of voters think their state should generally allow abortion in specific cases, including rape, incest or if the health of the pregnant person is endangered. Asked what Abbott has done in the past year to eliminate rape, spokeswoman Renae Eze highlighted older measures to clear rape test kit backlogs, a law signed in June aimed at coordinating and expanding sexual assault resources, and a task force his office launched in 2019 to address the issue. More than 14,000 rape crimes have been reported in Texas since the law took effect last year, according to data from the Texas Department of Public Safety. That was slightly down from the year before and consistent with a decline in other violent crime figures across the state. Utah Salt Lake City: Two women survived a mountain lion attack over the weekend when they were running in a canyon east of Salt Lake City. They came upon the mountain lion as they came around a corner on a trail run Sunday morning in Millcreek Canyon, said Faith Jolley, a spokesperson for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. The mountain lion leapt at the woman closest to the animal, leaving two puncture wounds on leg, she said. They were able to get away and down the mountain after the uninjured woman threw a rock at the mountain lion. The womans injuries arent considered life-threatening, Jolley said. Wildlife officials later found the mountain lion they believe was the one in the attack and euthanized the animal. Jolley said mountain lion attacks are quite rare in that part of Utah. Vermont Burlington: The retail sale of adult-use marijuana becomes legal in the state Saturday, ushering in a new source of revenue for Vermont, as well as satisfied customers, advocates hope. But in reality, hardly anyone will be ready to start selling Oct. 1. As of Friday, only three businesses had their licenses from the Cannabis Control Board: Mountain Girl Cannabis in Rutland, FLORA Cannabis in Middlebury and CeresMED in Burlington. And only three businesses had their licenses from the city of Burlington Ceres, Grass Queen and Green State Dispensary making CeresMED the only business in the city with both state and city licenses in place. Russell Todia, chief operating officer of CaresMED, said in an email that the downtown Burlington store is tracking to begin adult-use cannabis sales in Vermont on October 1. Nellie Marvel of the Cannabis Control Board said Friday the board will likely approve at least one more retail outlet at next weeks board meeting. I cannot say at this time which those might be, or how many will be presented to the board for approval, Marvel said. Those numbers are subject to change pretty much until the last minute as we continue to have communications from applicants. A total of 30 businesses have applied to the Cannabis Control Board for retail licenses. Virginia A model of the house where a precision counterterrorism operation killed al-Qaida's leader Ayman al-Zawahri is displayed below a rifle used by Michael Spann, the first American killed in Afghanistan, in the refurbished museum at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters building in Langley, Va. McLean: The CIA has revealed a model of Ayman al-Zawahris safe house, used to brief President Joe Biden about the al-Qaida leaders whereabouts before the agency killed him in a drone strike in Afghanistan. Shortly after al-Zawahris death, White House officials released a photo showing Biden talking to CIA Director William Burns with a closed wooden box on the table in front of them. Now, the contents of the box a model depicting a white-walled home with at least five stories and three partially obscured balconies are on display at the CIA Museum inside the agencys Virginia headquarters. The museum is closed to the public, and access is generally limited to the agencys employees and guests. The CIA allowed journalists to tour the museum, newly refurbished in time for the agencys 75th anniversary, as part of a broader effort to showcase its history and achievements. Most of the exhibits took years or decades to declassify. The al-Zawahri model home is the rare artifact that had been used by intelligence officers just weeks beforehand. Al-Zawahri was killed in late July, nearly a year after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan ending a two-decade war in which the CIA had a central role. The agency sent the first American forces two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Washington Seattle: People in the greater Seattle area will be asked to approve as much as $1.25 billion in new taxes to improve the mental health system and build five regional crisis care centers. The Seattle Times reports King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and others on Monday said they would put the tax plan on the April 2023 ballot. The King County levy would begin in 2024. The median-value homeowner would pay about $121 that year and continue through 2032. Officials did not say where the new five crisis facilities would be located. The tax package would also maintain and invest in residential treatment beds at long-term facilities that provide youth and adults with addiction and mental health treatment. West Virginia Beaver: A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against a jail on behalf of current and former inmates who have described conditions at the facility as inhumane. The complaint filed last week about conditions at Southern Regional Jail in Beaver references a lack of access to water and food, as well as overcrowded conditions and fights that were allowed to continue until someone was injured, WVVA-TV reports. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told the station that the agency could not comment on ongoing litigation, but an investigation of conditions at the jail earlier this year found no evidence of inhumane treatment. Republican Gov. Jim Justice ordered the investigation in March after WVVA reported allegations of water deprivation, failure to provide toilet paper and inmates having to sleep on hard floors without a mattress. Our investigators talked with a bunch of people and pulled a bunch of records and, at the end of the day, they determined that the allegations were simply not true, Justice said in an April statement. Wisconsin Madison: A conservative news outlet sued the Wisconsin Parole Commission on Monday, alleging that it has refused to comply with open records requests made earlier this year. Wisconsin Right Now has been publishing a series of articles highlighting violent offenders who have received parole under Democratic Gov. Tony Evers administration. A reporter for the outlet in May requested lists of all offenders who have been granted parole, release or early release since 2019, when Evers appointed John Tate as chairman of the commission. The commission sent a list of offenders released through 2021 and said in June that it would provide more recent information as it became available. According to the lawsuit, the commission did not respond to further communications or provide that information. The commission and the governors office did not immediately respond to messages left Monday. Tate stepped down from his role in June at Evers request after the decision to parole a man who served less than 25 years of an 80-year sentence for stabbing his wife to death angered the victims family and drew criticism from Republicans in the state. Wyoming Jackson: The states Department of Transportation wants to use 23 acres of federal land to house temporary laborers as construction ramps up on a highway project, but conservationists are pushing back, the Jackson Hole News & Guide reports. The parcel, under U.S. Bureau of Land Management control, isnt an appropriate site and would be better turned into a public park, a proposal first made in the 1990s, said Jared Baecker, director of the nonprofit Snake River Fund. Bob Hammond, an engineer with the Wyoming Department of Transportation, told the newspaper that while he understands the desire to preserve the land for recreation, theres no funding to do it in the next five or more years. From USA TODAY Network and wire reports This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Prine, Rocky Horror: News from around our 50 states By Iain Withers LONDON (Reuters) - Wall Street giant JPMorgan is planning to double the size of its workforce at fledgling British retail bank Chase to at least 2,000 within two years, the CEO of the venture told Reuters, despite losses and some investor scepticism. JPMorgan said it had attracted one million customers and more than 10 billion pounds ($10.8 billion) of deposits to its UK mobile app bank since its launch last September. It's a template the bank wants to replicate in other international markets - despite an intensifying cost of living crisis that has soured the outlook for retail banks globally. Britain in particular has been gripped by a crisis of investor confidence after finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng sent the pound and government bonds into freefall on Friday with a fiscal plan that unnerved markets. "We want to be international, starting with the UK," Sanjiv Somani, UK chief executive of Chase, said in an interview at the bank's UK headquarters in Canary Wharf in London on Friday. "You have to look at a ten-year view. If you look at anything shorter it will not lead to the right conclusion ... The retail banking revenue pool is in the trillions, even outside the U.S." He declined to say where Chase might launch next. Reuters reported this month JPMorgan is hiring retail bankers in Germany ahead of a potential launch there. Chase already has 1,000 staff in Britain - out of a total 19,000 JPMorgan employees in the country - and Somani says this number will "at least double" by the end of 2024. The venture will expand from current and savings accounts by rolling out lending products - likely starting with a credit card - by the end of 2023, Somani said. JPMorgan will also look to integrate its investments business Nutmeg - which it bought for around 700 million pounds last year - into Chase over that timeframe, he added. Somani started his career in retail banking in India helping Citi launch a much simpler version of a 'digital bank' - one that would text you your bank balance. Story continues "The idea is in the medium term we want to be a full service bank," he said of Chase, adding it had no immediate plans to roll out branches. INVESTOR CONCERNS The venture's rapid growth has come at a hefty price tag - albeit one the world's largest bank can easily absorb. JPMorgan disclosed at its investor day in May that it expected to lose $450 million on the venture in 2022 and outlined cumulative losses north of $1 billion over several years, before projecting it would break even in 2027-28. Somani said the May investor day projections still held, but that revenues generated from lending and expansion of Nutmeg's fee-based services would ultimately put it in the black. Investors have expressed concern about a lack of detail on JPMorgan's digital investments and about their uncertain prospects, adding to pressure on the international consumer arm to succeed. "History is against JPMorgan's attempt to build a digital online bank in the UK and elsewhere," said Mike Mayo, a banking analyst at Wells Fargo, though he added JPMorgan's U.S. digital expertise and deep pockets could make the difference. The UK market has seen many aborted attempts to challenge the dominance of its main high street banks - which include Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest. Germany's N26 quit the country after just two years, while Citi axed its UK retail bank last week. Chase also faces stiff competition from both local digital brands like Monzo and those offered by large institutions such as Goldman Sachs' savings bank Marcus. Marcus grew at a similar pace to Chase early on, amassing 13 billion pounds of deposits in Britain in its first 17 months. Somani said JPMorgan's backing nonetheless gave Chase an edge. "We're the best-funded fintech in the world," he said. ($1 = 0.9235 pounds) (Reporting by Iain Withers; Editing by Mark Potter) The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked a federal judge on Monday to order Peter Navarro, former President Trumps trade adviser, to hand over emails from an unofficial account that he used during his time in the White House. There is no genuine dispute of fact that Dr. Navarro used at least one unofficial email account to conduct official business, that those records are the property of the United States, and that Dr. Navarro has refused to return the records to the United States, the Justice Department said in the recent filing that asked the judge for an immediate ruling in its favor. Indeed, his counsel has expressly admitted as much. The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Navarro last month, after he refused to produce any of the emails from his unofficial account without a grant of immunity. Navarro was required under the Presidential Records Act to turn over any emails that related to his official work for the president. Any emails that were sent or received in an unofficial account had to be copied or forwarded to the official email account. The National Archives and Records Administration became aware of Navarros unofficial ProtonMail account after messages were released by the House subcommittee investigating the governments response to COVID-19. The National Archives, and later the DOJ, requested that Navarro turn over the emails. After reviewing the emails, Navarros lawyers estimated that there were about 200 to 250 presidential records within the unofficial account. However, Navarros lawyers have refuted the DOJs claims that he refused to provide the records to the government, telling The Hill last month that Navarro instructed his lawyers to preserve all such records and expects the government to follow standard processes in good faith to allow him to produce records. The DOJ request comes amid the ongoing controversy over Trumps own handling of his White House records, which has been in the headlines since the FBI raid this summer on Mar-a-Lago, the former presidents Florida property, to recover several boxes of White House documents. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A federal judge has ordered a partial retrial of a 2017 excessive-force lawsuit against eight Columbus police officers, saying it was possible that the jurors did not consider the full weight of the evidence surrounding the latter part of a South Side man's arrest. In December 2021, a jury rejected improper force allegations and denied all claims made by Timothy Davis, a South Side man who was arrested in 2017 and sued the city after claiming the arresting officers used excessive force against him. But Chief Judge Algenon L. Marbley of U.S. District Court in Columbus ordered a partial new trial in the suit earlier this month, saying a complete verdict in favor of the officers is against the clear weight of the evidence." "The evidence in this case was disturbing. (Columbus officers) beat and electrocuted (Davis with a stun gun), very nearly to death, even though he was unarmed, outnumbered, and generally contained at the end of the arrest," Marbley wrote. Davis initially sued in September 2017, shortly after he was arrested at a convenience store in the Driving Park neighborhood on several warrants, including one related to a 2016 assault on an officer. Cellphone video footage of the incident taken by a bystander inside the store shows plainclothes Columbus officers struggling to subdue Davis, who police said refused to comply with their instructions to put his hands behind his back and resisted being taken down. A Franklin County jail photo of Timothy D. Davis, of the South Side, following his arrest by Columbus police in 2017. David later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Columbus and eight police officers, contending they used excessive force by beating him and Tasering him. A jury found completely in favor of the city and police. But a federal judge has ordered a partial new trial, saying the jury's verdict is "against the clear weight of the evidence." Prior to being handcuffed, at least six officers pinned Davis to the ground while he received blows and stun gun shocks from officers, according to Marbley's opinion. During the trial, police testified that they felt Davis was resisting. All eight officers may be sued again for use of force and the city may also be held liable from the point after officers had pinned Davis to the ground, according to Marbley's opinion. Judge says evidence in final stage of arrest is 'problematic' While Marbley acknowledged that the jurors' verdict was reasonable as to the early stages of the arrest when Davis was moving on his own free will, Marbley said "the weight of the evidence is problematic" in the final phase of his arrest after he is already pinned to the ground by arresting officers. Story continues Once Plaintiff was pinned to the ground by four, five, and six officers versus two, earlier in the arrest the risk of flight and ability to resist all but vanished, Marbley wrote. During the arrest, the officers pinned Davis to the ground by using their body weight while other officers punched and knee kicked Davis. Court records show that a Columbus police officer used his stun gun for a combined 55 seconds, which exceeds the manufacturer's standards of 15 seconds due to risk of internal damage. Marbley added that Davis was never given a chance to comply with officers amid a series of blows, stun gun cycles, and while pinned under 1,200 pounds of weight. The force never relented to give (Davis) a reasonable chance to comply, Marbley wrote. (Davis) had as little as one second between (officers) taser cycles in which to regain control of his muscles and comply with commands. Opinion: Davis jury decision shows Black people "seen as particular threats" by police In the motion for a new trial, Rebecca Salley, one of Davis attorneys, argued that no reasonable jury could find that each and every one of the dozens of uses of force against Timothy Davis was justified. A spokesperson for City Attorney Zach Klein's office could not be reached for comment Monday evening. Police review said officers acted within policy An internal review by the Columbus Division of Police determined that all eight officers acted within policy for use of force, but four were found to have violated a division policy regarding use of profanity. Those officers were given counseling. The incident attracted attention when it was revealed that one of the officers who arrived as backup made inflammatory comments to another officer that were captured on his body camera about how the officers involved had handled the arrest, The Dispatch previously reported. Officer Joseph Bogard said he would have told Davis, "I'm going to for real arm-bar you, and then when that still doesn't work, I'm going to choke the life out of you. Then while you're drooling on yourself, I'll handcuff you." Bogard received a written reprimand from then-Police Chief Kim Jacobs. Davis sentenced to jail for previous assault on officer In 2018, Davis was sentenced to 30 months in prison after he was found guilty of assaulting an officer and obstructing official business during an attempted arrest in September 2016. Davis' assault on an officer occurred a year before his arrest in Driving Park. In the September 2016 incident, Davis managed to escape from officers after a struggle during which he struck an officer in the face with the handcuff that had been placed on one of his wrists. The officer required stitches above his right eye. Davis has a long history of resisting and fleeing officers, prosecutors said, including a case in Kentucky in which he was accused of running over a state trooper's foot while fleeing a traffic stop. @Colebehr_report Cbehrens@dispatch.com This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Judge orders partial retrial of Columbus police use-of-force lawsuit First nature film festival takes place in Vietnam International and local environmentally themed films are being screened at an environmental film festival organised in Vietnam for the first time. Illustrative photo Held in response to the UN General Assembly (UNGA)s Climate Week this year (September 19-25), the film festival, entitled #Its Time To Act - A Nature Film Festival in Vietnam, is coordinated by the Spanish Embassy in Vietnam with movies from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Norway, Peru, Venezuela, Spain, the UK and Vietnam. WildAct Vietnam, a wildlife conservation organisation, is the organisational partner of the first edition of this festival, joined by Vietnam Film Development Association, the Delegation of EU to Vietnam and nine environmental organisations from Vietnam. The festival will be showing 17 feature films, documentaries, and short films with subtitles in Vietnamese. Many film screenings will be free for the public and in a hybrid format (both online & offline) at more than five venues in Hanoi and HCM City. The venues are: The National Cinema Centre, National Documentary Film Studio, University of Hanoi, Casa Italia, Goethe Institute and UOM Arthub. Spanish Ambassador to Vietnam Maria Del Pilar Mendez Jimenez said: It is always a Spanish priority to be a bridge bringing together countries and peoples in favour of global public goods. "As the coordinator of #Its Time To Act - A Nature Film Festival in Vietnam, we are very honoured to work together with institutions, civil society, individuals and the environmental community of 14 countries across three continents, with the common intention of fostering international cooperation in raising awareness around what a sustainable future looks like, to pool one message: Only One Earth. Dr Oriol Sola Pardell, Secretary, Administrative, Consular and Cultural Affairs of Embassy of Spain, coordinator of the festival, is confident that the film festival will inspire audiences to protect and preserve Nature, and that the festival is an international effort to bring Hope to Nature. Lets save the future, he said. Dr Trang Nguyen, founder of WildAct Vietnam, said the festival will leave an impact among the young audience: She said: Documentaries may serve as an increasingly important tool for engaging people in conservation efforts, as outdoor experiences become less common in humans lifestyle. "Scientific evidence has shown that nature documentaries increase sensitivity to the species portrayed, increase environmental citizenship, increase support for conservation organisations, and generate positive attitudes and social norms that can support policy change. "This film festival is a wonderful opportunity for the Vietnamese citizens to celebrate, connect and most importantly, act for nature. The film screening schedule, ticket registration and introduction about each film can be found on naturefilmfestival.vn or facebook.com/itstimetoact.naturefilmfestival. A South Carolina judge on Tuesday reversed a key decision he made removing disbarred lawyer Alex Murdaugh and his family members from the Mallory Beach boat death lawsuit. Judge Dan Hall ruled that the trial over whos to blame and how much damages should be paid out in Beachs 2019 death will begin Jan. 9 in Hampton County with all defendants the Murdaughs and convenience store magnate Greg Parker joined together. The reversal, sought by Beach family lawyer Mark Tinsley, potentially means a bigger jury verdict against Parker if damages are awarded. It also means the Beach family only has to endure one, not two, emotion-charged trial about their 19-year-old daughters untimely death in a waterway off Beaufort. Beach was one of six young people in a boat allegedly owned by Alex Murdaugh and piloted by his late son Paul that crashed into a bridge piling off Parris Island in February 2019. All had been drinking at the time. Beach was thrown from the boat and drowned. Parker and his lawyers had tried for weeks to separate their trial from that of the Murdaughs, arguing that the negative publicity surrounding the family and alleged criminal acts by the father including murder would prejudice a jurys findings against Parker. At first, the judge agreed with Parker, saying he would allow Parker to have a separate trial because of the notoriety of the Murdaugh name. Recent criminal indictments and civil lawsuits surrounding the Murdaugh family involve potentially the most reactionary and publicized proceedings in the history of the South Carolina judiciary and legal system, none of which is due to any conduct of Parkers and have nothing to do with ... allegations against Parkers in this case, the judge wrote in a Sept. 13 order. If ever a case deserved to have defendants severed, this is it, based on the facts and circumstances involving the parties in this matter, the judge wrote. But Tinsley filed a motion asked the judge to reconsider, and the judge agreed. Story continues At a hearing last week in Hampton County, Tinsley told the judge his decision to sever the defendants went against 200 years of well-settled South Carolina law. In cases like the Beach boat crash case, joint defendants cannot be separated out by a judges action, Tinsley said. Numerous legal precedents have held that plaintiffs and not a judge determine who the defendants will be in a civil case where multiple defendants bear a share of the liability, Tinsley said. Pankaj PK Shere, who represents Parkers, told the judge while state Supreme Court precedents may pertain to who gets sued initially, the judge has the right to determine as the case progresses whether a defendant can be separated out and have their own trial. The crimes Murdaugh is accused of are so numerous, and so dastardly, that they have created an international media circus that will prevent Parker from getting a fair trial if he is lumped in with the Murdaughs at a trial, Shere said. Moreover, none of the Murdaugh criminal allegations have a thing to do with Parker, or any allegations in the Beach case, Shere said. The reason Tinsley wants the Murdaughs to be tried jointly with Parker is so the jury gets inflamed ... and thats going to influence them, said Shere, who after Tuesdays hearing said Tinsley regards Parker as a deep pocket. Parker is a defendant because a clerk at one of his stores is alleged to have unlawfully sold an underage Paul a load of beer on Feb. 23 2019. Although the fatal crash took place hours later, the Beachs lawsuit alleges that it was the beginning of a chain of actions, including getting more alcohol from other sources, that resulted in their daughters death. Murdaugh is a defendant because he and his late wife Maggie encouraged Pauls drinking, even though the teen was known to drink to excess, the lawsuit said. Maggies estate is a defendant in the case, as is Pauls estate. Both Maggie and Paul were shot to death in June 2021. Murdaugh has been charged with their murders. Buster Murdaugh, Pauls older brother, is also a defendant in the case. He is alleged to have regularly let Paul use his drivers license to buy beer. The Beach family is very pleased and relieved with the Courts decision today, Tinsley said Tuesday. We are looking forward to trying the case in January. Shere said, We are obviously disappointed that Judge Hall has reversed his decision. We are looking into options, but, ultimately, we look forward to presenting our case at trial and exonerating Tajeeha Cohen and Parkers. Cohen was the clerk at Parkers store who sold the beer to Paul. She is not named as a defendant in the case, but she is expected to testify at any trial. The Jan. 9 trial date set by Hall poses a potential conflict with an effort to hold Murdaughs murder trial at about the same time in Colleton County. Murdaughs lawyers in the murder trial could not be reached. UKRAINSKA PRAVDA TUESDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2022, 14:56 About 100,000 people now live in occupied Mariupol, and only one in five of those who have remained in the city voted in the Russian invaders sham referendum. Source: Vadym Boichenko, Mayor of Mariupol, at a briefing at the Ukraine- Ukrinform media centre on 27 September Quote from Boichenko: "There were 541,000 people in Mariupol before the war; today more than 100,000 people are being held there. How can we talk about a majority of people right now? The majority of Mariupol residents are in territory controlled by Ukraine over 200,000 people. This is not a referendum, its an opinion poll. A tiny number of people who have to tick a box because someone is going round to each house with a machine gun and asking them to. People are being forced to do this. Thats 20% of the 100,000 people they are forcibly detaining in Mariupol. How can this be an instrument of democracy?" Details: Boichenko stressed that the invaders are "closing Mariupol" specifically for the purposes of forced mobilisation. According to him, the Russian Federation could mobilise over 10,000 men in Mariupol. The mayor has urged residents of the occupied city to try to leave as quickly as possible. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Become our patron, support our work! A Kansas City man has been charged with second degree murder in a fatal shooting that unfolded roughly one year ago in the 18th & Vine district as he also faces criminal charges from a separate double slaying that occurred in August 2020. Cleon D. White, 35, was charged Friday in the killing of Mortez C. Falkner, 32, Jackson County prosecutors announced Monday. He was being held in the Jackson County jail without bond as of Monday night. According to court records, Kansas City police responded to Truman Medical Center shortly after midnight on Sept. 8, 2021 in regard to a shooting victim who had died there. Investigators later found that the victim, Falkner, had been taken by private vehicle from a shooting scene near East 19th and Vine streets. Detectives interviewed several witnesses at the hospital. They reported that Falkner had been out celebrating his birthday with friends and family when he was struck by gunfire that came from a person in a dark-colored vehicle. Several people returned fire at the vehicle as the driver fled the area, according to court papers. Area surveillance cameras recorded footage of Falkner walking on Vine Street as a black Cadillac sedan pulled up near him. It showed the drivers side window roll down as a person held a firearm and started shooting, according to court papers. Crime scene investigators found several spent casings at the scene, including those from a .40 caliber. The license plate of the vehicle was also recorded on video. Investigators found that the car was reported stolen on the day of the shooting. It was found abandoned near East 28th Street and Walrond Avenue one week later. DNA evidence was found inside the car that allegedly traced back to White, including on the steering wheel and gear shifter. Authorities also allege shell casings from the shooting scene were connected to his genetic profile. In March, White was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of Jahmiere Green, 18, and Brandon Rainey, 22. The two young men were found shot to death on the evening of Aug. 25, 2020 in a car in the 2700 block of Guinotte Avenue. An attorney representing White in that case did not immediately respond to The Stars request for comment on Monday evening. Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa on Philbin's final episode of "Live! With Regis and Kelly" on November 18, 2011. AP Photo/Charles Sykes Kelly Ripa spoke about former cohost Regis Philbin's exit from "Live!" in her new book, "Live Wire." Ripa said that for years, she stayed silent about his departure while "false narratives" were spread. "I just wish I hadn't become the target, of the media or otherwise," she wrote. Kelly Ripa is clearing up "false narratives" about former "Live!" cohost Regis Philbin's departure from the talk show. "I feel that I owe it to myself to correct the record out there," Ripa wrote in her new book titled "Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories," released on Tuesday. "I now know that by taking the 'high road,' which is woman code for shutting the fuck up, I allowed false narratives to be attached to me." After Kathie Lee Gifford exited "Live!" in July 2000, Ripa was selected as the new cohost and the show was renamed "Live! With Regis and Kelly." Philbin announced his retirement during an episode of "Live! With Regis and Kelly" that aired in January 2011. "It was the biggest thrill of my life," he said. "There is a time that everything must come to an end for certain people on camera, especially certain old people." Philbin's final episode as the cohost of "Live!" aired on November 18, 2011. In her collection of personal essays, Ripa said that she purposely "chose not to dignify fabricated stories and correct the record no matter how tempted I was." "But by my allowing false information to live on, unchecked, it became true as far as those in the media and the viewing public was/were concerned," she wrote. Ripa went on to say: "The biggest misconception about my place on the show was that Regis had hand-selected me, guided me, and was my best friend, and then left, after which I never spoke to him again." Kelly Ripa and Regis Philbin in 2005. Jemal Countess/WireImage The "All My Children" star said that the job of a morning-show host is for the on-air personalities to act as though they're best friends, but "rarely is that the case." Ripa said the narrative that Philbin was responsible for her success was fueled by comments like the ones that came from a 2015 interview with "Today" host Hoda Kotb on SiriusXM, in which he was asked how often he saw or spoke to Ripa. Story continues "I haven't seen her, I don't see her," Philbin said, claiming that he didn't even see Ripa while at the ABC building around the time of that interview. In her book, Ripa said that was untrue and that they actually "saw each other in the elevator" that day. While speaking about former cohosts Ripa, Gifford, and Mary Hart, Philbin said that he "made them what they are!" Ripa said that interview "was pounced on by the press and elevated that false narrative." "Nobody blamed Regis when he left the show the way he did, because to be clear, he announced he was leaving on live TV," she continued. "And nobody blamed him for not reaching out to me. Including me. But I don't think that I should be blamed either." Ripa said she would have preferred advanced notice about Philbin's departure, but "his exit wasn't about me." "I just wish I hadn't become the target, of the media or otherwise," she wrote. "Especially since I was the one person kept out of the room, when that huge show-changing decision was being made." Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa on Philbin's farewell episode of "Live! With Regis and Kelly." Charles Sykes/AP Ripa said that another time while speaking to press at an event for The Hollywood Reporter's annual power issue, she was asked if Philbin congratulated her on being featured in the publication or if she had spoken to him since he left "Live!" Ripa said she "considered embellishing for a split second," but chose to tell the truth: she and Philbin hadn't been in contact. "And yet, here again, I was dragged through the mud," she said. Ripa said that Philbin was invited to appear on the morning show "many times" after he left, but he "always declined" except for their annual Halloween show in 2015. Then in an interview on "Larry King Now" in 2017, Philbin said that he and Ripa got "offended" when he departed "Live!" "She got very offended when I left," he said. "She thought I was leaving because of her. I was leaving because I was getting older, and it wasn't right for me anymore." Despite returning to the show for the aforementioned Halloween episode, Philbin told Larry King, "never once did they ask me to go back." Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa during the taping of "Live! With Regis and Kelly" in October 2011. Charles Sykes/AP "I will never fully understand that interview," Ripa reflected in her book. "Or why my name was dragged into these interviews in the first place. I was certainly never asked for a comment or clarification, or my perspective. Not that I would have given it I just wanted the story to go away." Ripa said that Philbin's retelling of the story "wasn't true." "And yet, the media seized," she said. "I had gotten mad at Regis for retiring. I had dropped him. I was the bad guy." "It wasn't easy, and it wasn't fair," Ripa added. "Maybe me being in that chair in the first place wasn't fair to Regis, and me staying and enduring the fallout certainly wasn't fair to me." Despite her fallout with Philbin, Ripa expressed gratitude for her job on "Live!" "The reality is I had a lot of fun over the years at my day job," she said. "I got to sit next to one of the greatest storytellers of all time. The few occasions I socialized with Regis outside the office, over the decade we worked together, I truly enjoyed. He was an even better storyteller in person. I think he would have said the same." Read the original article on Insider Drink and dash. Kendall Jenner got out of Miami just in time. The model turned adult beverage entrepreneur brought her 818 Tequila to town Saturday night, a few days before Hurricane Ian made his, um, presence known. Jenners latest blend to hit the shelves? Eight Reserve by 818, an ultra-premium anejo. The flavor of this 80 proofer, aged in French and American barrels, is as harmonious as it is unique, according to release. Kendall Jenner at LIV Miami celebrating the launch of her new Anejo Reserve Tequila, Eight Reserve by 818/ Credit: Sophie Sahara To celebrate, share the love (and obviously, promote) the potent stuff, Jenner dropped into Bad Bunnys clubstaurant Gekko in Miami Beach. The 26 year old Kardashians star was joined by fellow catwalker pal Fai Khadra as well as the Japanese eaterys gregarious co-owner David Grutman. READ MORE: Kendall Jenner trolled for upstaging bride at Miami wedding Last year, Grutman also hosted the famous sibling at Strawberry Moon at his Good Time Hotel, where Jenner mixed up fruity margaritas in short shorts for starstruck patrons behind the bar. The festivities continued with a pit stop at another one of Grutmans venues, LIV nightclub, a few blocks north. There, the reality star struck a pose with the eight-shaped bottle, a handmade ceramic decanter produced by Mexican artisans. That sleek souvenir may contribute to the reason why her booze will set you back a cool $200. But just think of all the selfie possibilities. Priceless. READ MORE: Bad Bunnys new Miami restaurant is a smash hit. See his Bugatti get dinged To find a store to purchase 818, search on www.drink818.com. A police officer detains a demonstrator during a protest against a partial mobilization in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. AP Photo/File A Kremlin spokesman tried to deflect blame over mounting discord following Russia's draft decree. Protests, displays of violence, and reports of mass departures have plagued Russia in recent days. There have been reports of defiant civilians refusing the call-up. The Kremlin on Monday continued to defend its recent mobilization order while acknowledging that the draft thus far has been plagued with problems. Last week, more than seven months into Russia's war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilization in an effort to address Russia's manpower problem amid a spate of recent Ukrainian victories. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov on Monday acknowledged disarray within the draft process thus far, but evaded responsibility, instead blaming local authorities who have been tasked with implementing mobilization among rebellious civilians, according to The New York Times. The conscription hammered home the realities of war to the Russian people, the majority of whom have been largely unaffected by the conflict until now. The country's mobilization will see up to 300,000 reservists called upon to join the fight, many on the frontlines. Tens of thousands of draft orders have already been issued the Russian public isn't happy. In the days since Putin announced the draft, the country experienced mass protests, displays of violence, and reports of hundreds of thousands of fleeing Russian men. On Monday, satellite images showed lines of cars waiting to cross into Georgia and Mongolia from Russia. The country's mounting defiance culminated in a shocking incident on Monday, when a man frustrated by the mobilization order shot and injured a recruitment officer at a Siberian enlistment office. The suspected gunman's mother told a local news outlet that her son was infuriated after one of his friends received a draft summons despite having no previous Russian military experience, according to The Times. Story continues There have also been reports that men who are unfit to fight are being conscripted, and several regional governors have acknowledged as much. In a call with reporters, Peskov said there have been incidents of people violating the decree, but added that regional governors are working to address such occurrences. He also said that the government is eliminating any cases of "noncompliance" with military requirements among conscripts. But as Russia endures mounting military losses thanks to depleted personnel, it's clear that the country is prioritizing soldiers of any skill. It's a late-in-the-game adjustment that is unlikely to make a dent in Russia's military performance anytime soon, experts previously told Insider. The country's weakened military infrastructure poses significant problems for training and arming conscripts. "It's one thing to call up reservists, but to make them combat effective, you need to run them through a training process of some sort that takes several weeks at least," Simon Miles, an assistant professor at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy and a historian of the Soviet Union and US-Soviet relations, told Insider last week. "But the Russians have basically cannibalized their capacity to do that." Read the original article on Business Insider ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Two suspected Kurdish militants opened fire on police in southern Turkey and later killed themselves by detonating suicide bombs, Turkeys interior minister said. One police officer was killed in the attack while a second officer and a civilian were wounded. The attack was carried out late on Monday in the Mezitli district in the Mediterranean coastal province of Mersin, by two women affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters. They fired on police guarding a hotel for security officers, touching off clashes between them and police and a group of night guards who rushed to the scene, Soylu said. The women terrorists were wounded during these clashes. As the clashes continued, two separate explosions were heard, the minister said. Because they were wounded, they understood they would not be able to escape and they (killed) themselves. Soylu said a woman who was sitting on a balcony near the scene was hit by a stray bullet during the clashes. Neither she nor the second police officer was seriously hurt, he said. There was no immediate comment from the militant group. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey, Europe and the United States. It has led an armed insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since then. A fragile cease-fire and peace talks between the state and the PKK collapsed in the summer of 2015. The girls' mother is inconsolable after the alleged rape and murder of her daughters Just hours after two teenaged sisters were found hanging from a tree in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh earlier this month, police said they had solved the crime and arrested six men. But the families of the victims and the accused have raised serious questions about the investigation, saying their version of events is very different from that of the police. There has also been criticism about some politicians and a section of the media intensely focusing on the religion of the accused. The BBC's Geeta Pandey and Vineet Khare travelled to Lakhimpur district, just over 200km (124 miles) from the state capital, Lucknow, to piece together the story of a crime that's made headlines in India. The police story - arrests and confessions Less than 24 hours after the crime, police held a press conference where they named the arrested men: the main accused - a Dalit neighbour of the victims' family - and five Muslims from a nearby village. Superintendent of police Sanjeev Suman said the men had "given confessions" and gave details of what happened. He said "[the main accused] had introduced the girls to two of the Muslim men and they became friends" and that they went "willingly with them on their bike". "The accused said they got angry and raped and strangled the girls because they were putting pressure on them to get married. They then called two more associates and, with their help, hanged the girls," he added. The police claim has been strongly contested by the families of the accused who say their sons are innocent, that they have been mistreated in custody and that some of them are minors. What the girls' family says The girls' family has also questioned the police's version, saying it maligns their daughters. The sisters - 17 and 15 - were kidnapped by three men who came on a motorbike, says their mother, the only witness to the abductions. "When I tried to chase them, one of the men kicked me in the stomach and I fell down," she told the BBC, tears rolling down her cheeks. By the time she was back up on her feet, she says her daughters had disappeared in the nearby fields. Story continues The two-room house of the Dalit (formerly known as untouchables) family sits next to acres and acres of sugarcane fields and it's easy to get lost amidst the tall crops. The girls' father said he was returning from the fields when his wife relayed the bad news. The villagers formed search parties and started scouring the sugarcane fields. Two-and-a-half-hours later, they stumbled upon the girls' bodies, hanging from a tree, not far away from their home. "Suddenly everyone started shouting, 'they're here, they're here'," he said, wiping away his tears. "We immediately informed the police," he added. The family contests the police version that the girls knew the accused. The picture they paint of the sisters is of hard-working girls who did all the housework and kept to themselves. "They never went anywhere unescorted," says their brother. "Our girls were very simple, police are making up stories about them," adds the father. The accused - and a gunshot A couple of kilometres from the victims' home are the homes of the five Muslim accused. Their parents say they have no idea if their sons knew the sisters, but they insist that their children are not murderers. The father of one of the accused - who the police claim was arrested following a face-off in which he was shot in the leg - breaks down repeatedly while talking to the BBC. He says the police reached their home late at night and asked him to call his son who was on his way to Hyderabad where he worked. The parents and grandparents of the accused insist that their children are not murderers The son got down from the bus in the town of Pilibhit, from where he was arrested. "I was with the police in their vehicle, but they put my son in another car. They did not even let me meet him," his father alleges. "I later heard that my son was shot in the leg. I have no idea why they shot him. Police say it was an encounter, they shot him because he tried to run away. But he wasn't running away, he was returning. Why would he do that if he intended to run away?" he asks. "If he's guilty, hang him but at least do an investigation properly," he says, adding that he thinks only a federal inquiry can bring out the truth. The families also dispute the police claim that the accused are all adults. According to their official government-issued identity cards, one of the accused was born in 2008 which would make him 14 while another is 17. The mothers of two others also claimed that their sons were not yet 18. One of them showed an ID card that would put her son's age at 18, but she maintained that he was only 17 years old. Mr Suman, however, rejected the families' claim. "There is no evidence to suggest that these accused are minor. The medical evidence also points to the fact that they are adults. So, unless we get any information to the contrary, we are treating them as adults," he told the BBC. The 'love jihad' debate Although both Dalit and Muslim villagers have told the BBC they didn't think there was any religious angle to the crime, some members of the state's - and India's - governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have made that link. Speaking on a prime-time debate on a TV channel, BJP spokesperson in Uttar Pradesh Anila Singh suggested the crime could be a case of "love jihad" - a term radical Hindu groups use to imply that Muslim men prey on Hindu women to convert them to Islam through marriage. "The investigation will reveal whether it was a case of love jihad or not," she told the BBC, adding that "it could be, because we have seen such cases happen not only in Uttar Pradesh, not only in India, but in the world as well. It is a raw reality. Yes, love jihad happens". The case has also drawn comparisons with the alleged gang-rape and battery of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in the state's Hathras district two years back which had made global headlines. Despite the woman naming her four upper-caste Hindu neighbours as her attackers, the police took days to arrest them. And a BJP leader in the state held a rally in support of the accused. Last week, police took four of the accused back to the village to "recreate the crime scene" Although many have praised the police for solving the Lakhimpur case so quickly, some villagers and local journalists have questioned the "tearing hurry" in announcing the names of the accused. They say it ties in with the marginalisation of the minority Muslim community in the state - an accusation denied by the local BJP legislator Shashank Verma. "The investigation is being done in a very responsible manner. The religion of the accused is inconsequential. A criminal is a criminal," he said. Back to the crime scene Last Wednesday, exactly a week after the teenaged sisters were found hanging, police took four of the accused back to the Tamoli Purva village to "recreate the crime scene". Among them was the one who was shot in the foot, walking with a slight limp, with his right leg in a plaster cast. As they walked surrounded by policemen, a reporter thrust a microphone into their faces and asked if they felt remorse for their actions. "We had nothing to do with this," said one of them. "We were not even there." Additional reporting by Prashant Pandey in Lakhimpur Read more India stories from the BBC: EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) CeeDee Lamb was angry with himself in the second quarter after dropping a wide-open pass and costing the Dallas Cowboys a possible touchdown. It was just embarrassing. The star receiver more than made up for it with the game on the line, making a one-handed TD catch with 8:30 to play to cap a go-ahead drive that gave the Cowboys a 23-16 win over the New York Giants on Monday night. Hes CeeDee Lamb, Dallas quarterback Cooper Rush said after hitting Lamb four times on the 89-yard drive. Guys open a lot. Makes big-time catches. That fade catch was unbelievable. Im sure he wants that other one back, but made tons of plays for us, like usual. Ezekiel Elliott scored on a 1-yard run to ignite a comeback from a seven-point deficit and Brett Maher kicked three field goals as the Cowboys (2-1) beat the Giants (2-1) for the 10th time in 11 games and handed coach Brian Daboll his first loss. Didnt get it quite done tonight, Daboll said. They made more plays than we did. Give them credit. Rush threw for 210 yards, including the 1-yard touchdown to Lamb, in winning his second straight game filling in for injured Dak Prescott (thumb). Lamb finished with eight catches for 87 yards, but also dropped a potential 52-yard TD pass. He paced the sideline after the play and teammates walked over to encourage him. It was situation I had to deal with on my own. Obviously Im the one that dropped the ball for the guys, Lamb said. So knowing that I had to make this up in the back end of the game, I just wanted to step up. Lamb actually made three plays at the end of the drive. He caught a 4-yard pass on fourth-and-4 from the Giants 41 with 10:27 to go. He added a 26-yard grab to the 1 and followed that with his great catch on the fade pattern for a 20-13 lead. Saquon Barkley scored on a weaving 36-yard touchdown run that gave the Giants a brief 13-6 lead. Graham Gano added three field goal, including a 51-yarder with 3:37 to play to make it a one-score game. Story continues The Giants got the ball back with 1:45 left, but the series ended quickly with an interception by Trevon Diggs. The Cowboys outgained the Giants 391-336 in an NFC East rivalry game that saw the teams rush for almost as much as they gained passing. Dallas ran for 176 yards Tony Pollard had 105 and the Cowboys threw for 215. The Giants gained 167 on the ground and 196 in the air. Dallas came into the game having allowed only one touchdown in each of its first two games, and the trend continued Monday night. The defense hounded Daniel Jones, sacking him five times, with DeMarcus Lawrence tying his career high with three. Jones finished 20 of 37 for 196 yards and ran nine times for 79 yards. Barkley finished with 81 yards on 14 carries. Maher sandwiched field goals of 26 and 28 yards around a 42-yarder by Gano to give Dallas a 6-3 halftime lead. The Cowboys also got a big play on special teams as defensive lineman Dorance Armstrong blocked a 47-yard field goal attempt by Gano on New York's opening possession. INJURIES Cowboys: Lawrence was injured early in the third quarter when he hurt a foot on a play that saw Jones get sacked by safety Donovan Wilson. ... Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard appeared to hurt his leg on New York's final offensive play, and Daboll said after the game the initial report was not good. UP NEXT Cowboys: Return home to face the Washington Commanders on Sunday. Giants: Complete a three-game homestand against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. ___ AP Pro Football Writer Schuyler Dixon contributed to this report. ___ More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL Sep. 26The League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area will present A Conversation with Tom Suddes: Ohio Politics November and Beyond at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4 at the University of Dayton. Suddes is an assistant professor of instruction at Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. He is a member of The Plain Dealer-cleveland.com editorial board and writes a weekly column on Ohio politics that appears every Monday in the Dayton Daily News. Suddes will offer an overview of the forthcoming statewide election, consider key issues the General Assembly will likely consider when it returns to the Statehouse, and discuss whether Ohio is in fact politically competitive between the two major parties. He will be introduced by Dayton Daily News Community Impact Editor Nick Hrkman. Audience questions and participation will be encouraged and welcomed. The program will take place at the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community, 1401 S. Main Street, Dayton. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by visiting the League's website at lwvdayton.org or by sending a check to LWVGDA, 127 N. Ludlow Street, Dayton, OH 45402. BEIRUT (AP) Lebanon's parliament speaker on Tuesday summoned lawmakers for a session this week to elect the countrys next president, offering a glimmer of hope of a political step forward even as chaos roils this Mideast nation. Parliament is to convene on Thursday, according to a memo from the speaker, Nabih Berri. Under Lebanons fragile sectarian power-sharing system, the country's 128-member parliament votes for a president, who must be a Maronite Christian. The six-year term of incumbent President Michel Aoun a retired military general and an ally of Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group who was elected in October 2016 following a two-year stalemate ends on Oct. 31. Aoun's successor is to be elected at a time when Lebanon is going through an economic meltdown and the government struggles to implement structural reforms required for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The crisis, which started in late 2019, has plunged three-quarters of the tiny Mediterranean nation into poverty and the Lebanese pound has lost 90% of its value against the dollar. However, it is unclear whether legislators in a deeply divided parliament will be able reach a quorum for the session, raising prospects of renewed political paralysis. In recent months, no majority or consensus candidate has emerged for the post of Aoun's successor. Sleiman Frangieh of the Marada Party, an ally of Hezbollah who calls Syrian President Bashar Assad a friend and brother, has the backing of some key parties but hasn't received the backing of a major Christian bloc. The other announced candidates, Tracy Chamoun, the granddaughter of a former Lebanese president running on an anti-Hezbollah platform, businessman Ziad Hayek, and writer and women's advocate May Rihani have yet to receive any formal endorsements. Hezbollah's opponents, backed by the United States and Gulf Arab monarchies, are hoping to use their influence to ensure that Lebanon's next president is not an ally of Hezbollah. Separately, 13 independent reformist lawmakers are lobbying to try to push for a reformist president who would prioritize reforms and pull Lebanon out of the quagmire. BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri will call for a session to elect a new president on Sept. 29, state media reported, despite no political consensus on a candidate and dim chances of a sucessful vote. President Michel Aoun's six-year term ends on Oct. 31, and politicians have voiced concern about no successor being found - warning of even greater institutional deadlock given that Lebanon has also been without a fully functioning government since May. The session will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, the state-run National News Agency reported. The votes of two-thirds of lawmakers in the 128-member legislature are required for a candidate to be sucessful in the first round of voting, after which a simple majority suffices. Aoun came to power after a 29-month presidential vacuum in which parliament was unable to agree on electing a president. The stalemate ended with a series of deals that secured victory for Aoun and his powerful Iran-backed ally Hezbollah. Aoun is limited to one term, and major political parties have not announced any agreement on his successor. (Reporting by Timour Azhari; Editing by Angus MacSwan) For the most part, Bruce lives a quiet life on a farm in Miller County, a few hours southeast of Kansas City. The 63-year-old man, who asked to only use his first name, used to be in a Missouri biker gang, but he has since hung up that life. In 2018, an unexpected raid left the retired biker with a felony for possession of firearms, 17.5 months in jail and two years on federal probation. Prior to his conviction, Bruce injured his back while working out on his farm. He said hes seen how marijuana can help others dealing with pain. His doctor told him that the plant could be an option for him, but his probation officer disagrees. My probation officer tells me I cant smoke or nothing like that, even with a medical card, said Bruce. How can they deny you if its [for] medical attention? Now that recreational marijuana legalization is on the ballot on Nov. 8, he would like to make sure he understands his rights. Although weed is decriminalized in Kansas City, the laws can feel complicated, especially if youre dealing with previous charges. Heres a look at what the states current marijuana laws are. In Missouri, 50% of drug arrests are due to marijuana possession. Black Missourians are more than twice as likely to be arrested for possession than white Missourians, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri. If passed, marijuana legalization would be enshrined in Missouris constitution. The amendment includes a number of provisions for criminal justice reform. Heres a look at what we know so far about how its passage could affect people with previous charges in Missouri. Will you be able to buy and use marijuana if you have a criminal record? Anyone who is 21 years and older would be able to buy and use marijuana recreationally, even if they have a criminal background, so long as they are not violating the terms of their probation or parole. People who are 18 years old and older with a state-issued medical marijuana card would also be able to purchase marijuana from medical dispensaries. The amendment also adds protections for patients who use medical marijuana but are concerned about keeping their job or custody of their kids. Story continues If this amendment is added to the states constitution, having a medical marijuana card cannot be used against patients by employers or child protective services. Who gets automatic expungement? The amendment also calls for automatic expungement for nonviolent marijuana charges. Expunging a record means that the court would seal a criminal charge so it is no longer public. However, the record can still be unsealed with a court order, according to the Missouri Bar. So, any person who is not currently incarcerated but has a nonviolent marijuana charge, with the exception of driving under the influence and selling weed to minors, would have their record reviewed and expunged by the courts by June 8, 2023, if the amendment passes. Cases will be expunged in order of the severity of the case, so less severe cases will be expunged first, according John Payne, a spokesperson for Legal Missouri 2022, the group that launched the ballot initiative and pushed for the 2018 amendment that legalized medical marijuana in the state. Sealing those records could affect thousands of peoples access to employment, housing and wages. Expungement would not apply to people with charges of violent crimes, or whose offenses involved distribution to a minor or driving under the influence of marijuana. What is a nonviolent versus a violent crime? A lot of the language around who will get expungement or not mentions people who have nonviolent offices. So, what constitutes a violent versus nonviolent charge? A violent crime includes crimes that cause bodily harm or injury to another person, this includes the threat of harm or injury. Examples of violent offenses include murder, domestic assualt, some kinds of robbert and most armed criminal acts. Nonviolent crimes typically dont involve any force or harm to any person. Examples of nonviolent crimes include drug possession, gambling or disturbing the peace. Very few marijuana crimes will be violent in and of themselves because [theyre usually] possession or distribution charges, said Patrick Nolan, a marijuana defense attorney in Missouri. Nolan gave an example that if someone who is in possession of marijuana also gets charged for possession of a firearm, their case could be considered violent. Whereas, a simple possession charge would be considered nonviolent. What if the charge was considered a violent crime? If a person does have a violent charge on their record, they would still be able to legally purchase weed if the amendment passes, but they wont be able to start a licensed marijuana business. And their violent charge wouldnt be automatically expunged from their record. What about people who are currently in jail or prison for weed? People who are still incarcerated would not automatically have their charges dropped or expunged if the amendment passes. However, people with nonviolent charges would be able to petition to be released from jail, prison or to be removed from parole and probation and have their records expunged. The Department of Corrections is going to basically require that therell be some kind of paperwork that they process in order to let somebody out. Thats the only way, said Payne. If someone is incarcerated with a violent marijuana charge, such as an armed robbery, they likely wont be able to successfully petition for an early release or to be removed from probation. But if that person committed a violent crime in addition to a nonviolent weed charge, like an armed robbery while in possession of marijuana, its likely that that marijuana charge would still be expunged once they finish their sentence, according to Payne. Will Amendment 3 affect people on probation? Yes. One of the requirements for probation is that you do not break any law. And marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, Nolan said. At the federal level, this constitutional amendment has no meaning or value at all. Marijuana is illegal at the federal level period. While the passage of Amendment 3 does offer most adults the right to buy and use marijuana, people who are on probation or parole are subject to rules that may prohibit them from participating in otherwise legal marijuana use. This would likely be the case regardless of if the parolee or probationer has charges at the state or federal level. When youre on probation, you cant violate laws in any city ordinance, state laws and federal laws, youre not allowed to violate them. If you do, the probation could be revoked, Nolan said, adding that the same is true for people on parole. If someone is on parole or probation, they will also be prohibited from using marijuana even if they have a medical marijuana card, Nolan said. Nolan said the fact that weed could be legal in the state will not change much considering some probationers and parolees already have to forgo alcohol, which is a legal substance. Since the amendment doesnt explain what will happen to probationers and parolees, Nolan said its possible that federal and state courts could rule on the subject in the future. What that creates is a situation where theyre requiring a judge to approve of you violating federal law, Nolan said. There are gonna be some judges that arent going to care and theyre gonna say, Yeah, sure, its legal, so were not gonna worry about it. And youre gonna have some judges say, No, were not doing that. However, once someone is off probation or parole and has met all the requirements, they will be free to legally use marijuana either recreationally or medically, within Missouri state lines, if the amendment passes. Can people with past weed-related charges legally sell marijuana? Yes, but it may be difficult to get a micro-license to sell under the new program. The amendment does prevent business owners who have pleaded guilty or have been found guilty of a felony offense from qualifying for a license to sell, but, there are exceptions for marijuana charges. That means that anyone with a past marijuana charge, unless the charge was for providing weed to a minor, will be able to apply for one of the limited number of micro-licenses. Those with felony offenses that are more than five years old that the person was not incarcerated for, or whose probation or parole has ended for a felony charge more than five years ago, can also qualify for a micro-license to sell. Nolan said its best for someone to talk with a lawyer if they are concerned about how a new legal marijuana program could affect them, their case or their past charges. Historic photos show some of the people who migrated from Oklahoma to California and lived at a labor camp outside Bakersfield. (W.C. Stamp) To the editor: I truly appreciated Gustavo Arellano's column on the Dust Bowl migrants of the 1930s. Yes, the derogatory term "Okies" is still remembered. It should be noted that John Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath" was once banned from all Kern County libraries by the Board of Supervisors. The saga of the Joad family illustrates the prejudice, lack of respect and the negative stereotype against these American migrants here in Kern County back in those days. There is a small Dust Bowl festival held annually outside Weedpatch, a rural unincorporated community southeast of Bakersfield, and the site of the famous Dust Bowl-era Sunset Labor Camp that housed these hardworking people. As in Los Angeles County, many of the Dust Bowlers' enclaves have since become Latino neighborhoods. Kern County now has a 56% majority Latino population. Mark Salvaggio, Bakersfield .. To the editor: The length to which Arellano goes to defend his use of a derogatory descriptor astounds me, since his column is a known pulpit for the celebration of Latinx culture. As a proud Oklahoman hailing from Pawhuska, I can tell you the term "Okie" is a complicated one and definitely offensive to many, including myself. Instead of writing a long article in his dubious defense, maybe Arellano should have just apologized. Scott Javine, Burbank .. To the editor: This article reminded me of my good friend Roberta Ralph, whose family traveled to California from Oklahoma. She attended Los Angeles public schools and was one of just a few women at the time accepted to UCLA Law School. Later, she ran for Los Angeles County Superior Court judge and unseated the man who previously defeated Judge Alfred Gitelson, who had instituted school busing as a way to desegregate Los Angeles schools. She was resilient and compassionate, and had a sense of humor used to defeat put-down terms, whether for a woman or an "Okie." Doris Isolini Nelson, Los Angeles This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Sep. 27LIMA A Lima man pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to burglary, a felony of the second degree. Eric Baumert, 27, faces a minimum of two years in prison up to a maximum of 12 years for the conviction in line with negotiations between his public defender, Kenneth Sturgill, and Assistant Allen County Prosecutor Destiny Caldwell. He will lose his right to own or possess a firearm. Baumert was previously charged with aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony, which also charged him with harming or threatening to harm Marida Oglesbee, the victim of the crime. The negotiated plea removes this language from the conviction, though Baumert could still be ordered to stay away from Oglesbee if he receives community control instead of prison. According to the indictment, Baumert trespassed into an "occupied structure" where Oglesbee was present "by force, stealth, or deception" intending to commit a crime on Feb. 1. Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Reed ordered a pre-sentence investigation to be completed before Baumert's sentencing at 1 p.m. Nov. 7. An employee at a Lincoln County charter school is accused of stealing medications belonging to two students, deputies said. Lincoln County sheriffs deputies said the employee worked at West Lake Preparatory Academy in Denver. Deputies said Holly Lynn Bare, 43, is accused of taking the medication from a cabinet in the school nurses office. The nurse told the the principal, who then looked through surveillance footage and was able to identify Bare, investigators said. ALSO READ: U.S. marshal accused of shoplifting at Walmart The video showed Bare had gone into the cabinet two different times -- once when the nurse wasnt looking and the second time when the nurse was out of the office. At the time of the report, deputies said West Lake Preparatory Academy had already started following school procedures in regards to Bare. Detectives charged Bare with two misdemeanor counts of larceny and two misdemeanor counts of possession of stolen goods. Bare gave a written promise to appear in court after her warrants were served. Deputies did not share what kind of medication was involved in the incident. (WATCH BELOW: Eighth-grader arrested for threatening mass shooting at Charlotte middle school, police say) A down-home Southern cook who went supremely viral over the summer will soon be able to place her own book right next to the pile of blue ribbons she has placed on her shelf. TODAY Food can exclusively reveal that Linda Skeens, the 74-year-old grandmother who achieved a country fair blue ribbon sweep and subsequent internet glory is writing her first book. Her jams, desserts, cornbread and more are being immortalized in the pages of her own recipe book, Blue Ribbon Kitchen: Recipes & Tips from Americas Favorite County Fair Champion, set to come out summer 2023. Linda Skeens book cover (83 Press) For those unfamiliar with Skeenss recent rise to fame, this past June, at the VaKy Fair (a county fair comprised of Wise County in Virginia and Letcher County in Kentucky), a Facebook post showing all the winners of the fairs many cooking and homemaking categories went viral for containing one key name: Linda Skeens. She dominated the Baked Goods category, won many of the spots in Canned Foods and even placed in non-kitchen categories in Embroidery and Wall Decor as well. Skeens won every place in every category of Baked Goods at the Virginia-Kentucky District Fair. (VaKy District Fair) In beating her competition and achieving internet virality, scoring an appearance on TODAY and The Kelly Clarkson Show with a still-fervent fanbase, Skeens is taking the next step on her year of culinary awesomeness and becoming a published author. I just have always liked cooking and my mom is a real good cook, Linda Skeens told TODAY Food, on the phone with her daughter and social media helper Cathy Johnson. But actually when I got married 58 years, next month I couldnt cook anything. I learned on my own and I just liked to cook. I enjoy doing it. Linda Skeens (83 Press) Skeens, a Russell County, Virginia native, is happy that her first-ever published collection of recipes and family stories will include more than 30 of her prize-winning recipes like her Peach-Raspberry Jam, Jalapeno Salsa, Buttermilk Biscuits with Pumpkin Butter, Pineapple Zucchini Bread, Pina Colada Fudge and more, including many other canned recipes, something the new author hopes will revive a dying art. Story continues I actually hope a lot of people will want to start canning again, baking again and doing crafts because thats dying, Skeens said. Now, theres not a lot of people except ones my age that still can stuff. Most young people dont know what youre talking about, so I hope people will take from the book and want to do it more. Skeens upcoming recipe book will also include more than 70 other family-favorite dishes she said shes held dear from her mother and grandmother, including Oven-Fried Green Tomatoes, Molasses Cake, Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls, Fried Catfish with Tartar Sauce, Loaded Red Potato Casserole and many more. Linda Skeens (83 Press) Her daughter chimed in with her personal favorite recipe as well. Lasagna. Thats all I ask for for my birthday every year, Johnson told TODAY, adding that the key to her mothers recipe is the homemade tomato sauce. Keep the cake, keep the ice cream, keep the gifts. Give me my lasagna. Skeens said her personal favorite recipe is her Parmesan Chicken, a recipe she said she plans on including in the book. When TODAY asked her what her husbands favorite recipe was, he could be heard shouting Everything! from another room. Good man. Skeens has also started a TikTok account, sharing her home life and cooking process online for the first time ever. Operating as @lindaskeensblueribbon, the Appalachian grandmother is already up to over 45,000 followers since launching Sept. 23. Her first recipe video on the account, a video where she shows how to make pinwheel fudge, garnered nearly 400,000 views over the weekend. As to how Skeens is handling her newfound fame, shes still getting used to being recognized. In fact, she had her own diva moment just this past weekend. We went to a cruise-in which is sort of like a car show this past Saturday, and about 40 or 50 people came up to me, Skeens said, adding that they all called her a celebrity and wanted their picture taken with her. They wanted an autograph and it was crazy. Linda Skeens (83 Press) Still, Skeens is nothing but happy and appreciative of the attention her recipes are getting, and hopes that people become inspired to cook and spend time with family by making the hearty recipes she is including. Ive always wanted to do a cookbook and I never had the opportunity till now, she shared. I just want to thank all the people thatve been following me and talking to me because it means a lot to me. I dont do Facebook, but I read everything that people put on there my daughter makes sure of it. I appreciate it all. Linda Skeens (83 Press) Folks who are interested in pre-ordering Skeenss cookbook can go to lindaskeensblueribbon.com. You can also find Skeens via her TikTok, Instagram and Facebook pages. This article was originally published on TODAY.com The Lubbock County Courthouse. A 29-year-old man was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison for shooting and injuring a man as he was running away from him. Matthew Benites, who has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since Dec. 17, 2019, pleaded guilty in the 364th District Court to a count of aggravated robbery, a first degree felony that carries a punishment of five years to life in prison. However, the court used Benites' prior conviction in 2011 for aggravated assault to enhance his punishment to 15 years to life in prison. Suspect in North Lubbock shooting, robbery indicted As part of his plea deal with the Lubbock County District Attorney's Office, a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by threat was dismissed. Benites admitted to shooting Timothy Lee on Dec. 14, 2019 after investigators believe he threatened and assaulted a Walmart employee minutes before. Court documents laid out a Lubbock police investigation that began with a civil disturbance call at the Walmart in the 1900 block of Marsha Sharp Freeway. A Walmart employee told responding officers he reportedly saw a man and a woman leave the store and heard the man, later identified as Benites, threaten to beat up the woman. He said Benites noticed him looking in his direction, threatened him and showed a gun tucked in the front of his pants. The employee said he told Benites he wasnt afraid of the gun and Benites approached him, punched him in the mouth and ran away with the woman northbound across Marsha Sharp Freeway, the report states. Investigators believe Benites and the woman ended up in the east alley of the 300 block of Sherman Avenue, where Benites approached Lee, who was taking out his trash to a dumpster. Benites pulled out his gun and demanded the Lee's property, according to a second police report. Lee told police he ran away and Benites reportedly fired at him three times, hitting him once in the torso. The bullet entered the left side of his torso and exited out of his right side. He was taken by ambulance to University Medical Center for serious injuries, the report states. Story continues A witness told police at the scene that the shooter was the same person who punched the Walmart employee about 20 minutes before, the report states. According to an arrest warrant, a police officer showed the injured man a photo lineup that included Benites picture. Lee told the officer Benites resembled his shooter but said he couldnt fully identify him and signed a statement saying he could not identify a subject, the warrant states. Investigators spoke to the woman who told police she saw Benites shoot the man, the warrant states. A witness told police at the scene that the shooter was the same person who punched the Walmart employee about 20 minutes before, the report states. LPD person crimes detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Benites on Dec. 16, 2019. He was found the next day by police officers and U.S. Marshals near Clapp Park. Benites denied shooting Lee, saying he carried a BB gun at Walmart, the warrant states. Benites, a member of the West Texas Tango Blast gang, was later served an additional warrant for aggravated robbery and aggravated assault in connection with the shooting. This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Man gets 25 years for shooting in North Lubbock Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Right-wing media rejoiced this week over news that Italy had elected its most far-right leader since fascist Benito Mussolini was deposed following World War II, describing the victory of Giorgia Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party as the rise of Christian nationalism. With Italys flirtation with fascism sending shockwaves throughout Europe and the Western world, MAGA pundits attempted to paint Melonis ideology as middle of the road, suggesting that she couldnt be hard-right if she won the election. In just a matter of a few short years, Meloni has helped take the Brothers of Italy from a fringe-right group to the most powerful party in her country. And besides leading the nations first far-right government since Mussolini, Meloni also makes history by becoming Italys first woman premier. It isnt just her hard-line populist positions against abortion, immigration, LGBTQ rights, the European Union, and other social issues that have resulted in her getting labeled with the dreaded f-word: Her party has literal origins in the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, which was founded by Mussolinis supporters after his death, and still uses the groups tri-color flame as its logo. And though she has denounced antisemitism and disavowed parts of Mussolinis legacy, she also openly praised the fascist dictator in her youth. Mussolini was a good politician, in that everything he did, he did for Italy, a 19-year-old Meloni told French television. Biden Has No Ambassador in Italy as It Flirts With Fascism Much of her meteoric rise can be attributed to former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon, who began boosting her during the 2018 election and has spoken at her ultra-nationalist events. The MAGA influencer also pushed to make her a featured speaker at this years Conservative Political Action Convention (CPAC), where she made a similar splash as far-right Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, whom she views as a kindred spirit and close friend. Story continues Melonis electoral victory was therefore greeted with much celebration on Bannons War Room: Pandemic show on Monday. Alongside CPAC organizer Matt Schlapp, the ex-Trump adviser excitedly exclaimed that her win was the rise of Christian nationalism while the mainstream establishment was in full meltdown. Schlapp, meanwhile, declared that she skyrocketed to victory, which was a warning shot coming from Italy.Bannon and Schlapp also laid down the groundwork for a talking point that quickly became prevalent in the pro-Trump media ecosphere. Shes for God, her country, and family. That doesn't seem all that radical. That doesnt seem all that radical to me, Bannon stated. She is pro-life, shes pro-Constitution, shes pro-family, and shes anti-globalist, Schlapp noted. And she fits right neatly in the term of what we call conservative here in America, so as people start reading this propaganda media saying that shes some kind of fascist, just remember, theyve called us all fascists. British tabloid host Piers Morgan, who recently joined Fox Nation and Murdoch-owned British network TalkTV, insisted Meloni is not far-right, claiming anyone labeling her that needs to brush up on your Nazi/Fascist history because shes really center-right. Charlie Kirk, founder of Trump-devoted student organization Turning Point USA, also asserted that Melonis politics were largely uncontroversial. Its not fascist. Its common sense, its normal, its middle of the road, he blared on his podcast. Appearing on his networks flagship news program Special Report on Monday evening, former GOP congressman-turned-Fox News host Trey Gowdy bemoaned the media calling Meloni far-right while suggesting her victory demonstrated her centrist bona fides. I guess what I'm wondering is if you are winning elections, if you are what the people want, at what point does that become the center? Gowdy wondered. Who gets to say what is far-right, or what is hard-right? Over on Fox News wannabe competitor Newsmax, the commentary incorporated outright cheerleading and revisionist history. Italys Far-Right Victory Is a (Small) Win for Putin Conservative author Sam Sorbo (wife of Hercules actor and right-wing activist Kevin Sorbo) gushed over Meloni, insisting that we dont see neo-fascism with the incoming premier. Furthermore, according to Sorbo, fascism is actually a left-wing ideology. Fascism has everything to do with socialism, she said to the credulous Newsmax anchors. Thats why Mussolini joined with Hitler during WWII. And Hitler was not a fascist, Hitler was a socialist. Mussolini was a fascist. Newsmax host and serial plagiarist Benny Johnson, who spent Monday online raving about Based Meloni, also took to his channels airwaves to effusively praise the new premier. Meloni doesnt want globalist control, she doesn't want the Italians to essentially be melted into a pot of all Europeans and treated like a number instead of a unique, individual human being, he proclaimed. Populism is popular. In the end, though, it was up to the host of the most-watched primetime show on cable news to put his stamp of approval on Meloni. Tucker Carlson, who has relentlessly boosted Orban and Brazils authoritarian president Jair Bolsonaro, delivered a full-throated endorsement of the incoming Italian prime minister on Monday night. And he called for a similar candidate in the U.S. American families are facing the very same onslaught from the very same poisonous ideologies, Carlson emphatically stated. The difference is that in this country it's rarely acknowledged, except on the fringes. Meloni is not on the fringes. She's the new prime minister of Italyshe will beand she's saying it out loud. Before playing a clip of a Meloni, speech, the Fox star added, As you watch this, ask yourself if you would vote for a candidate like this if you had the chance in our country. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Maisie Williams attends the Thom Browne Fall 2022 fashion show in New York. (Charles Sykes / Invision / Associated Press) Actor Maisie Williams recently opened up about her traumatic childhood relationship with her father. In a recent appearance on the "Diary of a CEO" podcast, Williams talked about her life before her "Game of Thrones" stardom and how the trauma she endured at an early age has contributed to her ongoing mental health struggles. "I, as a young child before the age of 8, had quite a traumatic relationship with my dad," she told host Steven Bartlett. "And I don't really want to go into it too much because it affects my siblings and my whole family, but that really consumed a lot of my childhood." The 25-year-old noted her experiences growing up distanced her from other kids her age. "Ever since I can remember, I've really struggled sleeping and I think a lot the traumatic things that were happening I didn't realize that they were wrong," Williams said. "But I knew that I would look around at other kids and be like, 'Why don't they seem to understand this, like, pain or dread or fear? ... Where does the joy, like, when does that come for me?'" Her mother "escaped" her father when the actor was about 4 months old, with Williams saying this is something that she has been "learning a lot about recently." It wasn't until she was 8 that "The New Mutants" actor began to understand the extent of the toxicity in her relationship with her father. She recalled struggling in school and one day being taken aside by a teacher for some questioning. "[S]he was saying, like, Whats wrong?, you know, like, 'Whats happened? Are you hungry? ... Did you eat breakfast? I said, No. And she said, Oh, why not? And I said, We just dont have any breakfast. And then she says, you know, Do you normally have breakfast?' ... They were asking all the right questions." It was after that incident that Williams says "all of the doors were sort of open, and all of these things that we were experiencing were out on the table." She added that she was hesitant to accept the truths of her situation and wanted to meet her mother with skepticism, saying, "I still wanted to fight and say these things arent wrong, that youre just trying to take me away from my dad." Story continues Without adding much specificity, she said she had been "indoctrinated" at an early age and that she was "in a child cult." "I get it, I was in a child cult against my mother. So I was really fighting it at the beginning, but basically my whole world flipped on its head," Williams said. "And even though all these things I was feeling Oh, my God, Im so glad I dont have to see my dad anymore it still was against everything I knew to be true." Williams said she's glad she doesn't have to deal with her father anymore and that she's been coming to terms with how to process her past. Its not because of me that these bad things happened when I was a child, she said. I felt there was something inherently wrong with me, or us, because we did lots of things wrong all the time, which is why youd be mistreated. Especially because it was a parent, and theyre supposed to like you. While Williams didn't expand much more on particular incidents with her father, she said that in reexamining her relationship with him she finds herself more "interested" in the inner workings of his thought process. "What could make you mistreat your own children? What happened to you as a kid? Did you pull the legs off bugs? Did you learn all this?" she said. Thats how I feel about him now. He would make a fascinating documentary. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. [This article was first published in 2018] Beauty of all kinds really is in the eye of the beholder, and human uniqueness is what makes the search for the one all the more interesting (and difficult). That said, with scientists having spent decades trying to work out the key to why we fall in love, there are certain things you should look for in a potential suitor which suggest you may have found a keeper. With the advent of dating apps meaning another love interest is never more than a right swipe away, it can be hard to commit. So if you're wondering whether to settle down with your current partner, it might be worth taking a step back and asking yourself whether he ticks the boxes below. If he doesnt, that doesnt mean he isnt the one for you. But if he does, youve likely got a pretty good egg on your hands. The cartoons that perfectly sum up relationships (Catana Chetwynd) (Catana Chetwynd) (Catana Chetwynd) (Catana Chetwynd) (Catana Chetwynd) (Catana Chetwynd) (Catana Chetwynd) (Catana Chetwynd) (Catana Chetwynd) (Catana Chetwynd) 1. Hes smart While some of us are naturally brainier than others, a new study from the Hanken School of Economics in Finland suggests that the smarter the man, the less likely he is to be unfaithful. According to the research, more intelligent men are more likely to get married and stay married. So if youre worried your boyfriend might be too brainy for you, a) dont be intimidated because intelligence isnt everything, and b) know that you may have a guy whos more likely to be faithful on your hands. 2. He makes you laugh Finding someone you can have a laugh with is crucial - even if everyone else rolls their eyes at his dad jokes, if they crack you up, thats all that matters. And a study has shown that men are more likely to have mating success if they have a GSOH. 3. He actively supports your career A study found that husbands were a deciding factor in two-thirds of womens decisions to quit their jobs, often because they thought it was their duty to bring up their children. Even when the women in the study described their husbands as supportive, they also revealed that the men refused to change their own work schedules or offer to help more with looking after children. Story continues 4. He makes as much effort with your friends and family as you do with his Its not uncommon for a woman to end up giving up her own social life to slot into her new mans. But its rare that a man does the same once entering a relationship. In fact, a recent study found that young men get more satisfaction out of their bromances than their romantic relationships with women. While this is clearly ludicrous, maintaining your friendships is important. So make sure youre with a man who not only wants you to make time to see your friends but also makes an effort to get to know them too. 5. Hes emotionally intelligent If stereotypes are to be believed, it is women who are always desperate to talk about feelings and never men who fall hard. Whilst this definitely isnt true, its important each person in a relationship has a certain level of emotional intelligence. Studies suggest that women are better at taking the opinions and views of their partner into consideration than men, which is essential for a healthy relationship. 6. He respects your opinions and listens to what you have to say Being closed-minded isnt a trait thats exclusive to a particular gender, but if a man is convinced hes always right and will never consider your argument, its not a good sign. If a man rejects his female partners influence, it may be a sign that he has power issues, according to Dr John Gottman, author of The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. 7. Hes willing to put the work in A study from the University of Texas found that the most successful relationships werent down to compatibility, but rather making the relationship work. My research shows that there is no difference in the objective compatibility between those couples who are unhappy and those who are happy, study author Dr. Ted Hudson said. So if you or your partner is always looking for the next best thing rather than committing to make your relationship last, it may not bode well. 8. He celebrates your achievements Whether its deadlifting your bodyweight or learning enough German for a trip to Oktoberfest, its important to have a partner who celebrates your achievements. But this isnt just to make you feel great - a study published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that couples who did so were more satisfied with their relationships than those who reacted negatively or were indifferent. 9. He shares your values Having a similar outlook in life could be crucial to a successful relationship, according to a study. The more alike your personalities are, the more likely you are to approach problems in the same way. You and your partner will share similar approaches to everything from socialising to working if your priorities are the same, and this is likely to lead to a greater level of respect for one another. Of course, if your partner doesnt have all the above qualities that doesnt mean you should necessarily dump him immediately - we all look for different things in a partner and a relationship, after all. But if he does tick all these boxes, he could be one to hold on to. The Independent's Millennial Love group is the best place to discuss to the highs and lows of modern dating and relationships. Join the conversation here. Associated Press Thousands of people in hundreds of cars took over northern Nevada parking lots and intersections Friday night and into Saturday, performing stunts in souped-up vehicles and leading to crashes and arrests, police said. Police beefed up nighttime staffing after social media posts urged people from San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, to come to the sideshow in Reno, Police Lt. Michael Browett said. The disturbances started late Friday as several hundred cars and their occupants met in the parking lot of a still-open Walmart store. steved_np3/Getty Authorities tasked with removing Bruce Saunders mutilated remains from a woodchipper might have thought the Australians death was the result of a grisly accident. According to prosecutors, thats exactly what his three alleged killers intended. Saunders ex-partner, Sharon Graham, 61, and Gregory Lee Roser, 63, have both pleaded not guilty to charges of murder over Saunders horrendous death at a Queensland property in northeastern Australia in November 2017. The pairwho are being tried separately for the 54-year-olds alleged killingwere part of a conspiracy with another man, Peter Koenig, to claim Saunders $500,000 life insurance policy, a court heard. Jurors in the case have been shown police footage of Saunders legs protruding from the woodchipper at the property near Gympie after hed been helping to clear trees with Roser and Koenig, The Guardian reports. Koenig pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder in June, the court heard, saying hed been part of a months-long plot to kill Saunders. According to Koenig, Graham asked him and Roser to meet her at a motel. At the meeting, Grahamwho is said to have been part of a complicated love quadrangle with Roser, Koenig, and Saundersallegedly said she wanted Saunders dead. When asked why in court, Koenig said: Money. I think it was insurance money, life insurance, adding that he and Roser just agreed to her sinister request, though he hadnt intended to actually go through with it. When prosecutors pressed Koenig on Tuesday as to why hed even said yes to Grahams request at all, he said: Just to keep her happy. Koenig had previously been in an intimate relationship with Graham, who was dating Roser when Saunders died. After clearing the property for a second weekend, they all went back to Saunders homewhich Koenig shared with Graham, who slept in a separate bedroom. When Saunders went for a shower, Koenig claims that Graham confronted her two lovers about why Saunders was still breathing. She asked what was going on, why didnt it happen, Koenig said in court. He said Graham was told the woodchipper was playing up and that there were too many people around to carry out the alleged crime. Well, its got to be done, Koenig quoted Graham as responding. Story continues The following weekend, Saunders body was found in the woodchipper. Roser allegedly killed Saunders by hitting him with a metal bar. He and Koenig are then accused of feeding Saunders lifeless body head-first into the machine to make it look like the death had been an accident. Prosecutors say Graham had plotted the dark conspiracy for months, at one point asking Roser to shoot her ex-partner before dropping the plan because the gun theyd chosen to use was too noisy, according to local reports. Last week, Brisbane supreme court heard testimony from one of Grahams friends that Roser and Koenig said Saunders death was an accident that happened after the victim had been messing around with machinery and wasnt being very careful, The Guardian reports. The men also allegedly told the owner of the property where Saunders died that Saunders had been an absolute idiot on the day and had been leaning back into the chipper as well as standing on top of it. Colleagues said Saunders, a butcher by trade, had always been safety-conscious and would not have acted recklessly in the workplace. He was very tidy, not clumsy, really careful working with the band saw, fellow butcher Ross Mills told the court. The trial continues. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. A man accused of sexually molesting a boy over the course of five years was sentenced on Monday, four years after his initial arrest in 2018. Joseph Eugene Garcia, 42, was initially charged with two counts of sexual intercourse without consent (the Montana statute for rape) and two counts of sexual abuse of children. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Garcia pleaded guilty by Alford to one count of sexual assault. In an Alford plea, the defendant pleads guilty but maintains that he is innocent. 9 Court documents stated that Garcia groomed and sexually abused a boy when the boy was between 9 and 14 years old. The abuse took place in Great Falls, at other locations in Montana and out of state. Investigators said they found evidence suggesting that Garcia abused other young boys, but no additional charges were filed against him in this case. Garcia's plea agreement was a binding one, meaning the judge was bound to follow the sentencing recommendation made in the agreement. That sentence called for 40 years in the Montana State Prison with 20 of those years suspended. Garcia has already served four-and-a-half years in jail. The argument Monday centered on which sex offender tier designation to assign Garcia. The defense argued for tier one, which is reserved for defendants least likely to re-offend. Tier two, which Cascade County Judge John Parker assigned to Garcia, is for defendants at a moderate risk to re-offend. More news: Suspect in custody after shooting threat at Great Falls High School The state called several witnesses to testify about Garcia's crimes and the case investigators built against him. The victim's mother read a statement to the court detailing how Garcia's abuse had affected her family. Sgt. Katie Cunningham of the Great Falls Police Department read the victim's statement for the record. The victim's statement agreed with the sentence Garcia received. As the state questioned its witnesses, defense attorney Vince Van Der Hagen strongly objected to testimony that he said implied that the state did not intend to comply with the agreement. He argued that the psychosexual evaluation performed on Garcia by an expert agreed that he was a low-risk offender. Story continues Deputy Cascade County Attorney Michele Levine said the state had no intention of deviating from the agreement, but the testimony was relevant to show that Garcia should be classified as a moderate-risk sex offender who had engaged in grooming behavior and possibly abused other victims. Parker returned to the victim's statement as he listened to both sides argue their cases. "Any judge in America can issue a tougher sentence than whats in the binding agreement to try to make him- or herself look good politically," he said. "Thats something Ill be very resistant to do based on this compelling letter." Parker pointed out that the victim agreed with the sentence in the plea agreement, which saved him from having to tell his story to 12 strangers on a jury. Parker said that additional testimony would be cumulative and suggest that Garcia should get more time than was in the plea agreement or that the case should go to trial. "If I go down that road, Im exposing an innocent person to additional trauma beyond what hes already suffered, Parker said. After Garcia's sentence begins, he will be required to complete sex offender treatment before he is eligible for parole. This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Man who groomed, raped boy sentenced to 20 years in prison A man who police say assaulted a woman inside a bathroom at the Fulton County courthouse has been arrested. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Lester Walker was taken into custody Monday evening after a senior investigator with the Fulton County District Attorneys office spotted Walker near the courthouse. Channel 2s Mark Winne talked to investigator DeJuan Walker, who said hed just left his office around 6 p.m. when he spotted a man matching the attackers description on Pryor Street. In the exclusive interview on Channel 2 Action News at 6 p.m., DeJuan Walker gave a blow-by-blow of how he and fellow officers were able to to catch the suspect. TRENDING STORIES: As Im headed home, I observe the suspect walking on Pryor Street. He matched the description, DeJuan Walker said. I looked at my phone, looked at the picture. I advised my chief deputy of what I had. DeJuan Walker said he got out of his car and followed Lester Walker on foot. When the suspect walked into a tunnel, DeJuan Walker flagged down a Georgia State University maintenance truck nearby and jumped in the truck. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] DeJuan Walker lost sight of the suspect, but on the street level above, Assistant Chief Investigator Thomas Ricks quickly spotted Lester Walker and picked him up. Ricks said it appeared that Lester Walker was following a female Georgia State University student. I was observing the subject potentially lurking on another female in the area, Ricks said. Georgia State students were in the area, and there was the potential of another attack. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said that Lester Walkers charges have been upgraded to aggravated assault for strangulation. Were also going to look at kidnapping and false imprisonment charges, Willis said. A spokesman said that the office of the Fulton County Public Defender will represent Lester Walker on the charges. Lexington police are investigating after a man walked into a hospital with a gunshot wound Tuesday morning, according to police. Lt. Dan Truex with the Lexington Police Department said officers were dispatched to Saint Joseph Hospital just after midnight for a report of a man who walked into the hospital with a gunshot wound. The mans injuries were described as non-life-threatening. The victim was uncooperative with police and has only said he was shot on the outer loop of Man o War Boulevard, according to Truex. No crime scene has been found and no suspect has been arrested. An assault report was made by police, Truex said. Anyone with information about this can call Lexington police at (859) 258-3600. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Bluegrass Crime Stoppers by calling (859) 253-2020, online at www.bluegrasscrimestoppers.com, or through the P3 Tips app available at www.p3tips.com. A southwest Florida county has ordered mandatory evacuations as Hurricane Ian hurdles toward the state. Local officials in Lee County declared a state of local emergency and issued the evacuation orders Tuesday, a day after local government ordered evacuations for the Tampa area on the Gulf Coast. The new orders impact the low-lying, flood-prone areas along the coast in the county, according to officials at a press conference Tuesday. LIVE COVERAGE: Hurricane Ian barrels towards Florida We are going to feel this storm. How badly is still undetermined, said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno at the press conference, counseling Floridians to ready for the storms impact, which may mean several days without power. The National Hurricane Center predicts the Category 4 hurricane will batter the western coast of Florida with a life-threatening storm surge, and forecasts the highest risk area extends from Fort Myers to Tampa Bay. Hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall are expected through the week, according to the weather service, with some of the storms effects spreading to the north and central parts of the state. Over the weekend, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis extended a statewide emergency declaration and President Biden issued an emergency declaration from the White House. Biden directed federal assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security to support Floridas emergency storm response. Hurricane Ian, which grew out of Tropical Storm Ian, made landfall in Cuba Monday after hitting Jamaica with devastating wind damage, flash floods and mudslides, according to the National Hurricane Service. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) A U.S. Navy nuclear engineer and his wife entered new guilty pleas Tuesday in a case involving an alleged plot to sell secrets about nuclear-powered warships, a month after their previous plea agreements that had called for specific sentencing guidelines were rejected. Jonathan and Diana Toebbe of Annapolis, Maryland, pleaded guilty in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia, to one felony count each of conspiracy to communicate restricted data. U.S. District Judge Gina Groh last month rejected the couple's initial pleas to the same charges, saying the sentencing options were strikingly deficient considering the seriousness of the case. The couple then immediately withdrew their initial guilty pleas and Groh set trial for January. The previous sentencing range agreed to by lawyers for Jonathan Toebbe had called for a potential punishment between roughly 12 years and 17 years in prison. Prosecutors said Tuesday that such a sentence would be one of the most significant imposed in modern times under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Prosecutors also sought three years for Diana Toebbe. Under the latest plea agreement entered Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Trumble, the couple would each face a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $100,000 fine, although prosecutors are asking for a sentence for Diana Toebbe at the lowest end of the guideline range. If the court doesn't accept the latest agreement, the defendants would again have the right to withdraw their guilty pleas. Prosecutors said Jonathan Toebbe, 43, abused his access to top-secret government information and repeatedly sold details about the design elements and performance characteristics of Virginia-class submarines to someone he believed was a representative of a foreign government but who was actually an undercover FBI agent. Diana Toebbe, 46, who was teaching at a private school in Maryland at the time of the couple's arrest last October, was accused of acting as a lookout at several prearranged dead-drop locations at which memory cards containing the secret information were left behind. Story continues The memory cards were devices concealed in objects such as a chewing gum wrapper and a peanut butter sandwich. The couple was arrested after he placed a memory card at a dead drop location in Jefferson County, West Virginia. None of the information was classified as top secret or secret, falling into a third category considered confidential, according to previous testimony. The FBI has said the scheme began in April 2020, when Jonathan Toebbe sent a package of Navy documents to a foreign government and wrote that he was interested in selling to that country operations manuals, performance reports and other sensitive information. He included in the package, which had a Pittsburgh return address, instructions to his supposed contact for how to establish a covert relationship with him, prosecutors said. That package was obtained by the FBI in December 2020 through its legal attache office in the unspecified foreign country. That set off a monthslong undercover operation in which an agent posing as a representative of a foreign country made contact with Toebbe, ultimately paying $100,000 in cryptocurrency in exchange for the information Toebbe was offering. The country to which he was looking to sell the information has not been identified in court documents and was not disclosed in court. Prosecutors said the government has recovered classified information that Jonathan Toebbe had saved on electronic devices along with a substantial amount of the cryptocurrency. During a search of the couple's home, FBI agents found a trash bag of shredded documents, thousands of dollars in cash, valid childrens passports and a go-bag containing a USB flash drive and latex gloves, according to court testimony last year. Diana Toebbes lawyers at a December 2021 hearing denied prosecution assertions that cited 2019 messages exchanged by the couple in which she had contemplated fleeing the United States to avoid arrest. Instead, the defense said it was contempt for then-President Donald Trump as the reason behind the couples emigration plans. Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty TOKYOThe state funeral for Japans longest-reigning prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is set to take place on Tuesday. The majority of the public opposes having the lavish funeral and many in Japanese society are increasingly critical of his time in office. Even in his own Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), where he ruled with an iron fist for almost a decade, lawmaker Seiichiro Murakami stunned the press by stating very publicly last week, I always opposed a state funeral for Abe and I wont attend. His administration wrecked state finances, the economy, diplomacy and even the bureaucracy. He was an enemy of the nation, a pirate. In the immediate aftermath of his shocking assassination, Shinzo Abe has received tributes for his international statesmanship. Unfortunately, this praise is in sharp contrast to his domestic legacy: a Japan deeply cynical about truth in public life, where almost no one believes what the government tells them. This aerial view taken from a helicopter chartered by Jiji Press shows police working at the scene at Kintetsu Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara where former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot on July 8, 2022. STR/Jiji Press/AFP via Getty Posthumous revelations that Abe and many in his Liberal Democratic Party had close ties to the Unification Church, a problematic cult based in South Korea, have damaged the party. The current PM, Fumio Kishida, has seen his support ratings drop as low as 36 percent. In a bizarre turn of events, there is even growing public support and sympathy for Abes assassin. As prime minister and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Abe routinely pressured government agencies to give him the results he wanted. He was especially determined to show that Abenomics, his much vaunted fiscal policy essentially modeled on Reaganomics, was successful. Shinzo Abe Was Trump Before TrumpExcept He Pulled It Off The bureaucrats did their best to dress up the results. In December 2018, the Ministry of Labor was exposed for falsifying job data for years; its adjustments had even made wages in Japan appear to be rising, when in fact they were falling. The faking of data was not simply a matter of optics; more than 20 million people were underpaid for work-related benefits as a result. Story continues In January 2019, the conservative newspaper Nikkei and TV Tokyo conducted an opinion survey and found that nearly 4 out of 5 respondents no longer trusted official statistics. Then, in 2021, the Asahi Shimbun, a liberal newspaper that Abe hated, revealed that the Ministry of Infrastructure had falsified construction contract figures for nearly eight years, primarily during Abes administration. This illegal action distorted key economic statistics used to compile important indexes such as the Monthly Economic Report released by the Cabinet Office. We may never know if Abenomics actually worked, because reams of data would have to be reviewed and correctedsomething that the current prime minister says he has no intention of doing. What we do know is that real income fell and the gap between the rich and poor widened in Japan during Abes tenure. The plummeting value of the yen in recent months may have something to do with international investors belated recognition that Japanese government data is more or less worthless. The roots of the conservative LDP go back to the Cold War, when it was a major financial and political beneficiary of the CIAs interference in Japan to ensure that left-wing parties didnt make it into government. As the leading party of government for decades, the LDP was never a unified entity. Even today, multiple factionsranging in their political orientation from center-right to right-wing nationalistconstantly jockey for power. Each faction is led by a charismatic leader to whom junior members pledge allegiance. Abe essentially led the Hosoda faction, and through a ruthless mix of patronage and ostracism of rivals he made it the dominant one. In 2014, during his second term as prime minister, he consolidated power by nominating close associates to head important government committees and major bodies such as the National Security Council, the Bank of Japan, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In 2014, he extended this control of government and civil service appointments by creating a Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs. He even appointed cronies to the board of the state broadcaster NHK, turning it from a respected, impartial news agency into what came to be widely derided as Abe TV. And he used his media influence to keep potential rivals in his own political party in their place. A woman holds a placard during a protest against Shinzo Abe's State Funeral in front of Shinjuku Station on September 26, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. Takashi Aoyama/Getty But if you want to know how Abes Japan really works, you need to know about the Moritomo Gakuen scandal. In 2017, Kyodo News, a nonprofit news agency, and the Asahi broke a story that the Ministry of Finance had intervened to cut the price, by nearly $8 million, of a plot of land purchased by a right-wing private-school operator, Moritomo Gakuen, who planned to build the Abe Shinzo Memorial Elementaryand appointed Abes wife, Akie, as its honorary principal. The affair did not end with that revelation. In 2018, a civil servant named Toshio Akagi, who worked in a local bureau of the finance ministry, committed suicide. He left behind an extraordinary 518-page collection of documents, known as the Akagi File, detailing every step of the scandal and cover-up. At first, Abes government, which ostensibly held onto the file because it contained official records, denied its existence; only last year did it finally release the documents to the public after a concerted campaign by Akagis widow, Masako. At a press conference, the finance minister who had also been deputy prime minister to Abe, Taro Aso, admitted that he had known of the files existence for a long time. The documents showed how Akagi had responded to one email request from the ministry in March 2017 to cook the records on the land purchase. I am uncomfortable and I feel conflicted about altering documents dealing with a confirmed and concluded matter. A number of other bureaucrats were implicated in falsifying official records of the land deal, but none were ever prosecuted. In May 2018, the head of Osakas Special Prosecutor Office, Machiko Yamamoto, announced that no indictments were being issued for the 38 suspects involved. She refused to give any details or answer questions. A few months later, Yamamoto was promoted and moved to another office. This put her beyond the reach of the Prosecutorial Review Board which could have interrogated her about her questionable decisions. Masako Akagi sued the government for compensation over her husbands death. In December last year, the government settled the claim, shutting the case down. The poison of corruption and mistrust travels through corporate Japan too. No one from Toshiba has been prosecuted for their part in what may have been the largest accounting fraud in Japans history, which emerged in 2015, on Abes watch. Last year, Japans industry minister breezily declared that his ministry had done nothing wrong when officials colluded with Toshiba, which plays a vital role for Japans nuclear industry, to share confidential information about foreign investors. Shinzo Abe speaks at a news conference on May 25, 2020, in Tokyo, Japan. Kim Kyung-Hoon - Pool/Getty Never let it be said that Abe did not lead by example. When Japan was bidding to win the 2020 Olympics and the world was worried about the radiation from the damaged Fukushima reactor, where a triple meltdown had taken place, Abe declared, Fukushima is under control. This could hardly be further from the truth. Japan will soon begin pumping into the sea thousands of decaying barrels of highly radioactive water that have been stored on site since the clean-up operation that followed the 2011 nuclear disaster. The government claims that this is safe, that the water will be treated; it neglects to mention that this contaminated water contains strontium, rhodium, iodine, ruthenium, and other hazardous materials, which cant be filtered out. You lie as naturally as you breathe, an opposition party leader once told Abe to his face. On Christmas Day of 2020, in his eighth year as prime minister, he finally admitted it. Abe confessed that he had lied to parliament 118 times, over the illegal use of public funds for a lavish dinner party, and apologized. Although the conduct that forced that apology was entirely characteristiche was leaving office under the cloud of a criminal investigation into his campaign activitiesthat statement was a painful admission to part on. Yet Abe never faced any consequences. He was never prosecuted for a crime, nor were those who covered up for him. And thats why we have a Japanese government that cant tell the truth. Lying is rewarded and truth-telling is punished. The government will continue to make up convenient facts, hide inconvenient ones, and hope to be believed. That is part of Abes legacy. Japans Ex-Prime Minister Is Behind This Hateful Olympic Scandal Abe left office with his one great ambition unrealized: to cast off the postwar constitution and replace it with a version based on the pre-war imperial constitution that would enable Japan to become once again a military power. It would be one that his former justice minister, Jinen Nagase, declared in 2012 would be stripped of basic human rights, popular sovereignty, and pacifism. The legal scholar Lawrence Repeta pointed out that the new constitution Abe wanted to adopt would also eliminate protections for free speech, renounce universal human rights, elevate public order over individual liberties, and give the prime minister new powers to declare states of emergency and to suspend constitutional rights and legal procedures. Even out of office, Abe continued to exert tremendous influence over the party. At the time of his murder, he was exercising that influence by campaigning for the LDP and his faction. That influence gained a posthumous twist with the result of the election that concluded shortly after Abes death. The LDP finally secured enough seats in the upper house to make possible his dream of amending the constitution. But will they? Even beyond the grave, Abe still seems to rule the party. The costly funeral, which the majority of Japan didnt want, is now over. The question that everyone should be asking now is this: Can the ghost of Abe be exorcized from Japan? And can the nation learn to tell the truth again? Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. A person casting their ballot. Rick Wilking/Reuters A poll found that the prototypical congressional candidate is a healthy, educated, millennial with business experience. The Morning Consult/Insider survey asked more than 2,000 Americans what they value in a candidate. The poll found that American adults care less about political experience and more about how 'in touch' they are. If Americans could conjure an ideal congressional candidate, that person would be an educated, healthy, millennial with some form of business experience, new polling from Insider/Morning Consult indicates. The survey is part of Insider's "Red, White, and Gray" project, which explores the ongoing gerontocracy in the US and its ramifications for a younger generation. The poll from early September inquired about what Americans value when deciding "which candidate to vote for in an election." The most essential aspect for a candidate, according to polling, was "the candidate's health," with 85% of respondents noting that it was either "very" or "somewhat important" to them. The issue most recently surfaced after Democratic US Senate candidate John Fetterman had a stroke in May 2022, causing him to temporarily exit the campaign trail as he recovered. The campaign of his Republican opponent, former television host Mehmet Oz, has been quick to lambast Fetterman for his health issues. "If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn't have had a major stroke and wouldn't be in the position of having to lie about it constantly," said Rachel Tripp, Oz's senior communications advisor, in August leading to backlash from the medical community. Another key attribute for a candidate was education, with nearly eight in 10 adult respondents saying it's either "somewhat" or "very" important. The vast majority of Congress 94% of House representatives and 100% of senators possess a four-year college degree and many members have some form of graduate degree as well. In addition to education, six-in-10 respondents noted that it would be a "good thing" if more "Americans with business experience" were represented in Congress. Story continues Congress has typically had a fair share of members with a background that included some form of business experience over half of the representatives from the 114th Congress (who were in office from January 2015 to January 2017) had some form of "business or banking experience," according to the Brookings Institution. Some members of Congress still own businesses as they continue to serve, such as Rep. David Trone of "Total Wine & More" and Rep. Ted Budd of "ProShots," a gun store and shooting range. The poll found that the age of candidates matters quite a lot, with nearly seven in 10 adult respondents saying it was "very" or "somewhat important" to them. Accordingly, respondents were asked if it would be a "good thing for the country, a bad thing, or not have an impact at all" if more members of each specific generation were represented in Congress. Among the responses, millennials polled the highest, with four in 10 adult respondents saying it would a good thing if more millennials were represented. According to the Pew Research Center, there are only 32 millennials currently serving in Congress, making them the second-least represented age group outside of Gen Z, which has zero representation in Congress. The survey also indicated that having "enough background and experience to serve in political office" may not matter nearly three-fourths of adult respondents said political experience doesn't matter as long as the candidate "is in touch with the needs and wishes of voters." The Insider/Morning Consult survey was conducted from September 8 through September 10, with 2,210 respondents and a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points. Read the original article on Business Insider Megan Thee Stallion is encouraging her fans to check in on their mental health. The 27-year-old musician appeared to confirm she recently launched a mental health resources website. On Sept. 25, she shared a tweet from a fan named Shea Jordan Smith, a senior digital political strategist, who revealed the website is titled Bad B----s Have Bad Days Too. Megan @theestallion created a website that compiles a list of diverse mental health resources and is sending it out to her fans and followers. Real hot girl shit.https://t.co/dUAnYKW0mb pic.twitter.com/b8sSO9oiba Shea Jordan Smith (@shea_jordan) September 25, 2022 The name is a reference to her current single called Anxiety from her second album, Traumazine. Megan @theestallion created a website that compiles a list of diverse mental health resources and is sending it out to her fans and followers, Smith wrote, including the link to the website. In the Twitter thread, Smith included photos of the website as well as what appeared to be a message penned by the Body rapper. Hotties! You know how much mental wellness means to me, so I created a hub with resources that can help when you might need a hand, the tweet said. Head to badbitcheshavebaddaystoo.com now and check it out. Love yall so much @theestallion. "Hotties! You know how much mental wellness means to me, so I created a hub with resources that can help when you might need a hand. Head to https://t.co/dUAnYKW0mb now and check it out. Love y'all so much " - @theestallion pic.twitter.com/LMta2wIIRK Shea Jordan Smith (@shea_jordan) September 25, 2022 The website features links to free therapy organizations and other mental health resources like helplines. Further down, fans can find resource directories for different organizations that specifically support Black women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Story continues At the bottom of the website, there is a link to help fans find a therapist and sign up for updates for new resources. Throughout her career, Megan has been open about her mental health struggles. In her song Anxiety, she raps, They keep sayin I should get help/ But I dont even know what I need/ They keep sayin speak your truth/ And at the same time say they dont believe. Last month, she sat down with Apple Musics Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis to discuss how Traumazine allowed her to be more vulnerable. I could be sad and Ill write a song like Body, she said. Or I could be pissed off and Ill write a song like Freak Nasty. I dont write songs about how I feel, I write songs about how I want to feel. She continued, So I feel like, on this album, its probably the first time I figured out how to talk about what I want to say, like, express myself a little bit more. Megan shared that in the past she was taught not to discuss her personal business with other people. I feel like its been so easy for people to tell my story for me, speak on my behalf because Im a nonchalant person, she added. But, like, I see now that it can get out of control. So I feel like I wanted to just take control of my narrative, take control of my own story. Tell it my way. Tell it from me. In 2021, Megan spoke about going to therapy to seek help after the death of her parents. Mom Holly Thomas died in March 2019 after battling brain cancer and her father died when she was a teenager, People reports. During Season Two of the Facebook Watch series Peace of Mind with Taraji last year, Megan said, Ive lost both of my parents. Now, Im like, Oh my gosh, who do I talk to? What do I do? And I just started learning that its OK to ask for help. And its OK to want to go get therapy. She told host Taraji P. Henson that she had previously thought seeing a therapist would make her weak. As a Black person, and when you think of therapy you think of, Oh my gosh, Im weak. You think of medication and you just think the worst, she said in the episode titled Slaying Adversity with Megan Thee Stallion. Thats kind of what you see on TV too. Like, therapy wasnt even presented in the media as something that was good. Now, its becoming safe to say, Alright now, theres a little too much going on. Somebody help me. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland on Tuesday defended the Memphis Police Department and its handling of a rape investigation that prompted a lawsuit from a woman last week, alleging Memphis mother Eliza Fletcher would still be alive if the department had arrested 38-year-old Cleotha Henderson sooner. When asked if MPD botched the investigation, Strickland said, "I don't know the details.... It's an active investigation. The mayor should not get down in the weeds on the investigation." Strickland said the public would receive an explanation of what happened in the case when the case is resolved. He also said he had no knowledge of whether MPD should have acted sooner to identify Henderson in a 2021 rape investigation. The victim in that 2021 investigation has said in media interviews and in court filings that MPD did not act soon enough on her case and that Fletcher, a teacher and mother of two who disappeared and was found dead earlier this month, would still be alive if MPD had acted. The lawsuit claims investigators did not take physical evidence from the crime scene when they arrived, failed to expedite processing on the rape kit, did not fix an issue with a line-up that could have identified Henderson and missed a chance to attempt to arrest Henderson, despite having evidence against him. Strickland's comments Tuesday were, in part, responses to questions from The Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis. He made those comments following his speech at a meeting of the Memphis Rotary Club. During a brief speech, the mayor, as he often does, described the violent crime as one of the lingering issues that will still face Memphis when he leaves office at the end of 2023. He said violent crime represents the "deepest valley" his administration has traversed. Strickland also told the media the events of the past three weeks -- the abduction and death of Fletcher and ensuing litigation and a mass shooting that left three dead -- had not prompted him to call for changes at MPD. Story continues "I don't know details of investigations, but from what I see, other than the need for more police officers, that's what I'm focused on," Strickland said. Over the past six years, the Strickland administration has spent tens of millions, including federal stimulus dollars, trying to beef up the ranks of MPD. The department has about 1,950 officers, short of the city's goal of 2,100. Strickland said he hopes to have 2,100 on the force by the time he leaves office. The mayor also said he had spoken to members of Eliza Fletcher's family but would keep what was discussed privately. Henderson, who also goes by Cleotha Abston, is charged with first-degree murder and exceptionally aggravated kidnapping in connection with Fletcher's death. She was found Sept. 5, three days after disappearing while jogging on the University of Memphis campus. Henderson, 38, is also charged aggravated rape and kidnapping in a 2021 case. A woman has sued the city and an apartment complex over that incident. Henderson has pleaded not guilty to those charges. Police charged Henderson in the 2021 case on Sept. 8 based on a DNA sample taken a year earlier. The delay, central to the woman's lawsuit, has spurred finger pointing and discussion of of delays in testing rape kits in Tennessee. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Mayor Strickland defends MPD handling of rape investigations By Cassandra Garrison MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Telmex union representatives on Tuesday rejected the latest contract offer by the Mexican telecommunications firm controlled by tycoon Carlos Slim's family, a union spokesperson said. The Mexican Telephone Workers Union, known as STRM for its Spanish acronym, will meet on Wednesday to decide the next steps, the spokesperson said. The offer, reviewed by Reuters, included bonuses for retiring workers in a bid to end a long-running dispute over benefits. It followed weeks of negotiations between the company and union after a two-day strike in July. Talks continued after Telmex made a proposal in August. A spokesman for Telmex did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Telmex proposed that workers who join the company after Oct. 1 receive, upon retirement, an annual December bonus equivalent to 10 days of pay, as well as a 10-day bonus in August. The proposal document did not specify whether the August bonus would also be annual, or include further details about the payout of the perks. Telmex, a unit of Slim's America Movil, reiterated that new hires would get a pension worth 100% of their final net pay, determined by their job category, becoming eligible after 35 years of work and once they turn 65. That sum would be made up of the pension paid out by the Telmex contract plus worker entitlements with state social security benefits, it said. STRM, which represents 60,000 active and retired workers, began a two-day strike on July 21, the first in four decades, after talks with Telmex broke down over issues including salary raises, unfilled job openings and benefits for new hires. (Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Richard Pullin and Richard Chang) A Michigan man pleaded guilty last week to murdering, dismembering and eating the body parts of another man he met on a dating app. Mark David Latunski, 53, of Shiawassee County, Michigan, admitted in court last Thursday that he killed 25-year-old hairdresser Kevin Bacon after luring the University of Michigan-Flint student to his home in December 2019, according to local outlet Mlive.com. Latunski pleaded guilty as charged to mutilation of a body and to open murder, which encompasses murder in the first and second degree. Latunski acknowledged stabbing Bacon in the back and taking parts of his dead body to the kitchen, where he ate them, after meeting the young man on Grindr, which is a hookup app for gay, bisexual and transgender men. He also reportedly admitted to police that he cut off Bacon's testicles and consumed them. MICHIGAN MAN CHARGED IN GRINDR MURDER, ACCUSED OF CANNIBALISM NOW FACES NEW LAWSUIT: REPORT Police reportedly found Bacon's corpse hanging from the ceiling of Latunski's basement in 2019, with parts of him removed, his throat slit and rope tied around his ankles. "Kevin was a good kid, and he didnt deserve what he got," Bacon's father, Karl, said, according to local WNEM. He said he has been unable to process everything yet but is relieved his family will not have to relive his son's murder in court. "We wont have to go through a lengthy trial," said Karl. "Seeing Kevins pictures again in court, maybe we wont have to go through all that." TWITTER DISGUSTED BY NEW YORK TIMES PIECE SUGGESTING THERE'S A TIME AND PLACE FOR CANNIBALISM The victim's father also reportedly said there is no punishment severe enough for Latunski's crimes, saying he hopes the homicidal cannibal gets "life without parole." Mary Chartier, Latunski's lawyer, reportedly was against the guilty plea and had hoped to bring an insanity defense. "The law requires that attorneys must follow the objectives of clients found to be legally competent as it relates to decisions, such as pleading guilty, even if the attorneys believe that it is not in the best interests of the client," Chartier said in a statement to local TV5. Story continues Photo of Flint, Michigan, where Kevin Bacon was a 25-year-old student at the University of Michigan-Flint when Mark Latunski lured him to his home and killed him. Brand Diverse Solutions Steven Barber via Getty Images "We will continue to vigorously advocate for Mr. Latunski at the degree hearing and sentencing," the attorney added. Latunski faces another court hearing on Oct. 18, when it will be decided whether he is guilty of first- or second-degree murder or manslaughter. He faces a possible life sentence in Michigan, which in 1847 became the first government in the English-speaking world to outlaw capital punishment. A North Brunswick man has been sentenced to 11 years in state prison for illegally transporting handguns from Georgia to New Jersey, acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced Tuesday. Barrett R. Griffin III, 33, was sentenced on Sept. 9 to 6.8 years of parole ineligibility by Superior Court Judge Mark P. Tarantino in Burlington County, Platkin said in a news release. Griffin pleaded guilty on July 18 to second-degree transporting firearms into the state for unlawful sale or transfer and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, the acting attorney general said. The conviction stems from an investigation by the New Jersey State Police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that led to the seizure of five handguns and an assault rifle transported to New Jersey from Georgia, Platkin said. Keeping illegal weapons out of our state and off our streets is paramount to public safety, Platkin said in the release. We are aggressively targeting those responsible for the proliferation of guns and gun violence in our communities, and that includes gun traffickers who illegally transport weapons into our state and put them in the hands of criminals. Guns:New Jersey further restricts gun laws after Supreme Court ruling During the investigation, a motor vehicle stop was made on the car Griffin was driving on the New Jersey Turnpike in Mount Laurel on Feb. 7, Platkin said. Following a search of the vehicle, detectives seized five handguns, one assault rifle and four large-capacity ammunition magazines from the vehicles trunk, the acting attorney general said. The prison sentence handed down to this defendant sends a clear message that we have zero tolerance for gun trafficking in New Jersey," said Pearl Minato, director of the Division of Criminal Justice, in the release. We will continue to work with law enforcement partners throughout New Jersey and beyond to stop the illegal flow of firearms into our state and hold accountable all those who profit from it. Story continues Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ man sentenced for gun trafficking from Georgia A man who recruited Venezuelan migrants later sent to Marthas Vineyard said he was misled to lure them into the political scheme. Migrants who boarded the now infamous flights to Marthas Vineyard from San Antonio, Texas, earlier this month were given $10 McDonalds gift cards and the promise that their children would be taken care of upon arrival, a fellow migrant and recruiter, who wished to remain anonymous, told CNN. The individual told CNN that he was approached by a woman named Perla, who gave him clothes and food so he would join the scheme in which 48 mostly Venezuelan migrants landed unannounced on the wealthy island. The man said he was unaware of the political stunt behind his recruitment and that Perla had promised him the migrants would have a better future in Massachusetts. She had told me that the people who were going to Massachusetts, before I sent them, she had told me that they were going to receive them. They were going to be given shelter, a place to stay. They were going to help them with the language, and those who had children, they were going to study, the man told CNN. I never, ever knew that (it) was a governor or politician ... So my only will has always been to help people. The man, very aware himself of the challenges that come with finding opportunities in the US, said he was motivated by the prospect of giving stability to fellow migrants. According to The Washington Post, migrants who were lured into the scheme were being ordered out of the shelters and were not allowed to work legally. She took them to a hotel. At the hotel, I realised that they were being treated well, the recruiter recounted to CNN. She said she would hire me and give me some of her cards. I distributed those cards, based on the information, which was that we would send them to a sanctuary place, he said. In addition to that, until the flight would leave we would take them to a hotel where, as I explained to you, they were provided services. Story continues But once the migrants landed on Marthas Vineyard in the last stage of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis political stunt, Perlas philanthropy turned into dismissal, the man said. When he brought up the migrants concerns to her, she allegedly told the man that the migrants were Massachusetts responsibility. According to CNN, Perla sent a voicemail to the man telling him that the migrants were going to have a much better life than here or anywhere else. Following the public debacle and criticism of the stunt that was covered by nationwide media, she warned him not to speak to reporters. Migrants sent to Marthas Vineyard on 14 September (AP) The group of migrants have sued Mr DeSantis and his administration, claiming they were victims of a fraudulent and discriminatory scheme. The class action lawsuit comes as at least one law enforcement agency, the Bexar County Sheriffs Office in Texas, is investigating the governors plans for allegedly luring migrants with false promises of employment and financial assistance. Reports of a second flight of migrants headed to Delaware emerged last week, but were later dismissed by Mr DeSantis administration. However, one migrant in San Antonio told the Miami-Herald that they were lured to a scheduled flight before it was abruptly cancelled. Meanwhile, Mr DeSantis and his aides have repeatedly defended sending migrants to Democratic-leading states and cities in protest of what they characterise as President Bidens open border policy. A Venezuelan migrant gestures a thumbs up to reporters covering DeSantis political stunt (AP) In a letter to the Department of Justice last week, dozens of members of Congress called for an official investigation to determine whether Mr DeSantis broke any federal laws, The Guardian reported. At least one migrant, 27-year-old Emmanuel, told the San Antonio Report that he was paid $200 in cash to board the flight by Perla. As the federal government retains jurisdiction over cases that involve interstate travel, we request the Department of Justice investigate whether any federal funds were used to operate a fraudulent scheme and request the Department of Justice make a determination as to whether officials in Texas and Florida violated federal law, the letter to the DoJ read. A Florida state senator has also sued Mr DeSantis, his Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis to prevent future migrant flights. Records show that Florida has paid more than $1.56m from DeSantis $12m state-funded plan to ship migrants to Democratic states and cities to an aviation firm. The DoJ has yet to confirm an official investigation is underway. The Independent has reached out for comment. , Read also: Four large landing ships step up Russias military presence in Black Sea "If artillery shells are used, which is possible, it is virtually impossible (to destroy them) under our current conditions, he said. If were talking about Kalibr and Iskanders (ballistic missiles), which are the main carriers of tactical nuclear weapons, then, of course, it is possible to shoot them down. The only thing is that there may be a danger of a dirty (explosion), when the debris from the destruction of a nuclear warhead will simply be spread over a large area. The expert also explained what Ukraine needs to destroy tactical nuclear weapons over Russian territory: "To do this, we need long-range missile defense systems and long-range radar detection aircraft that will detect these launches 1,000 kilometers away ... from the border," he said. Read also: Russia seen transferring anti-aircraft missiles from St. Petersburg to Ukraine Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, after announcing mobilization in Russia on Sept. 21, once again threatened Western countries with the use of nuclear weapons, saying that it was not a bluff. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Russian military doctrine including the rules of nuclear weapons use would extend to Ukrainian territories Russia is currently looking to annex via sham referendums, as outlined in the Russian constitution. The White House said that Washington had warned the Kremlin of "serious consequences" in the event of the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and, together with its allies, is ready to give a "decisive" response. But the administration also assures that now there are no signs of Russia's preparation to use nuclear weapons. At the same time, according to the Financial Times, Western countries are devising plans in case the Kremlin dictator begins to implement his nuclear threats against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he does not consider Putin's threats a bluff. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/Orange County District Attorney's Office A self-proclaimed California incel is facing federal charges on Tuesday after allegedly committing a string of violent assaults and harassing several women for monthsand posting some of the assaults on his Youtube channel. Johnny Deven Young, 25, was hit with several crimesincluding assault with great bodily injury, illegal use of tear gas, personal use of a deadly weapon, eight hate crime enhancements, and faces misdemeanor counts of violation of civil rightsafter prosecutors say he attacked at least six people in three different incidents dating to last November, according to an Orange County Superior Court criminal complaint obtained by The Daily Beast. Young, who has been wanted by police since May, also allegedly attacked a man who tried to stop him. He appeared in court Monday after being arrested in San Mateo County and is now being held on a $500,000 bond until October arraignment. No one should have to live in fear that they could be indiscriminately attacked and then publicly humiliated on the Internet because of their gender, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a Tuesday statement. This behavior is disgusting and the celebration of this behavior by like-minded individuals is completely unacceptable. These charges send a very strong message to that entire community that we will not tolerate violence against women in any form. The Orange County District Attorney's Office also noted that Young previously had a misdemeanor hate crime conviction in Nevada. According to the LA Times, police arrested him and another man in August 2019 after the pair allegedly shouted white power before claiming they were going to shoot up a club. He was transported to Orange County Jail last week after being convicted on a misdemeanor case in San Mateo County, the DAs office said in the statement announcing the charges. Prosecutors also noted that Young is a member of the involuntary celibate online community, a misogynist group of men who complain about women rejecting them. Story continues Costa Mesa Police say Youngs spree began on Nov. 21, 2021, when Young allegedly approached a man and woman outside a Triangle Square bar as they were helping a friend off the ground. Young began to allegedly verbally harass the woman, saying he wanted to see her genitals, and asked to have sexual relations with her. When her friend tried to help the woman, Young pepper sprayed them both before fleeing the scene. In an interview with KTLA, the woman said that Youngs camera was visible when he approached her and her friends after they left the Costa Mesa bar. I just saw him with the camera and when he got in my face with it. I kinda thought it was a joke and he was just doing something, either for internet clout, or just to be some weird social experiment, Emily told the outlet. Later, police would find two videos posted on Youngs social media page in April that showed two other altercations. In one of the videos, Young allegedly approaches a woman in tears in a parking garage. After the woman tells Young her car has been stolen, police say he immediately responded by asking can I hook up with you? Police say the woman rejects Young, causing him to verbally harass her. Another video shows Young allegedly describing his penis to three women on a bench on April 17, 2022. After one of them kicks him and tells him to go away, Young is allegedly seen pepper-spraying her and another woman standing behind her. He then sprayed a third woman who tried to stop him before he fled. The woman who was attacked in the April incident, identified in an interview with KTLA as Jessica, said she was with her two friends waiting for an uber outside a nightclub when Young approached the group. You cant describe the pain, it was horrible, Jessica said about the pepper spray. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. A missing 14-year-old high school student was found dead following a five-day search for him in Maine, a school district confirmed on Sept. 27. Theo Ferrara of Freeport was last seen near his home on Sept. 22, according to Freeport police. A search for the missing teen involved police, the Maine Wardens Service, Maine Marine Patrol and other rescue teams. It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter to inform you that this afternoon, Theo Ferrara was found deceased, Jean Skorapa, the superintendent of Regional Unit 5 schools, said in a written statement on Sept. 27. Our sincere condolences to Theos family and friends. On Sept. 27 around 11:15 a.m., a Maine Marine Patrol pilot discovered a body in Maquoit Bay during the search, according to a police news conference recorded by WGME. The states office of the chief medical examiner confirmed the body was Theos, authorities announced during the conference. His official cause of death is pending. Theo was a student at Freeport High School, according to the Portland Press Herald. The high schools cafeteria is staying open until 9 p.m. for students who want to gather after the news of his death, Skorapas statement said. Our team of school counselors will be available for any student or staff member who may need or want assistance surrounding this loss, Skorapa added. Freeport police said the student did not have any history of running away in a Facebook post. Freeport is about 125 miles north of Boston. Man vanished while meeting a friend over a year ago. Texas cops just found his remains Teacher has been missing for days, Texas district says. Her car was found out of state 60-year-old disappears after going to hike AZ trail, cops say. Car found at trailhead Missouri child welfare workers got approval Tuesday afternoon to resume their round-the-clock monitoring at Agape Boarding School to ensure that students are safe. One day after a southwest Missouri judge ordered state Department of Social Services workers to leave the school near Stockton where theyd been stationed since Sept. 8 a different judge ruled that they could return. Judge Thomas Pyle issued the ruling during a 2 p.m. conference call with attorneys involved in the case. Pyle is now handling the case because Judge David Munton granted Attorney General Eric Schmitts request for a new judge. Pyle also scheduled a two-day hearing next month to hear evidence and testimony related to the petition by the attorney generals office and DSS to shut down Agape to protect students. During the call with the new judge, attorneys from the attorney generals office asked Pyle to place child welfare workers back in the school. Munton had lifted that order Monday after the AGs office said it intended to ask for the case to be dismissed from his court. Court orders that between the time of this entry and the scheduled hearing for October 13 and 14, 2022, that Childrens Division have 24-hour access to the Agape facility to observe the children there, said Pyles decision posted on Missouris online court docket Tuesday afternoon. Agapes attorney, John Schultz, said the school remains open. We are pleased that the judge did not grant the states request to immediately shut down Agape Boarding School, Schultz told The Star. Agape is in operation. Kids are being cared for 24/7, theyre being educated. The students at Agape are not facing immediate harm as the state argued. We look forward to having a trial in this matter beginning on October 13th where actual evidence, versus unfounded allegations, can be heard and considered. Schultz said students were moved into five homes located on Agape property on Monday. Theyre down to 44 boys, he said. And because of that, they dont need all the employees that they had. So theyve reduced the workforceThe sleeping quarters and the gym, the movie room, none of thats being used while the boys are in group homes. Story continues Caitlin Whaley, DSS director of policy and communications, said Childrens Division staff were en route Tuesday afternoon to assess the situation. Once the assessment is done, we will make a decision on how to best move forward, Whaley told The Star. We maintain that the only true way to make sure these kids are safe is to close the facility. Earlier Tuesday, Munton granted Schmitts motion to dismiss his petition to shut down the Cedar County school, allowing him to refile it in Pyles court. In addition to filing for a change of judge Monday, the attorney generals office filed another petition asking the judge to close the school and included detailed abuse allegations current students revealed to DSS workers in recent days. Schultz quickly filed motions Tuesday in response to the new case. One was a demand for a jury trial a request that Munton previously denied. Another was a motion calling for the AGs new petition to be swiftly dismissed. Pyle took those motions under advisement. The attorney generals office and the DSS have been trying to shut down the embattled school since Sept. 7, when they filed a motion for injunctive relief, saying the safety of students was in jeopardy. DSS officials had learned that a current staffer had just been placed on the Central Registry for child abuse and neglect, and state law doesnt allow anyone with a substantiated report to work at a residential facility. Within hours, Munton signed an order calling for the immediate closure of Agape. But the next morning, as the AGs Office and DSS were prepared to execute the order, Munton put it on hold, saying he wanted to confirm that the staffer was still at the school near Stockton. Munton sent Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary to the school to find out, and Agape director Bryan Clemensen told McCrary that he had fired that staffer on Sept. 7 and the worker no longer lived on the schools property. Two hearings have been held since then and the AGs office has had testimony prepared and recent students ready to take the stand and describe the abuse boys at the school endure. Munton refused to let those students testify and delayed action at both hearings. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Monday sent Attorney General Merrick Garland a letter demanding answers on "shocking reports" about the FBI arresting a Catholic pro-life activist at his home in rural Pennsylvania last Friday. FBI agents arrest Mark Houck in Kintnersville Friday for allegedly violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to use force with the intent to injure, intimidate and interfere with anyone because that person produces reproductive health care. The arrest stemmed from an alleged altercation Houck had with a Planned Parenthood escort in Philadelphia in October 2021. Houck is accused of pushing a 72-year-old man after the escort allegedly verbally harassed Houck's 12-year-old son outside the clinic. Houck has maintained that he was trying to defend his son, and authorities have already dismissed a separate complaint against him for the same conduct. WHAT IS THE FACE ACT AT THE CENTER OF PENNSYLVANIA PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST ASSAULT CASE? In his letter to Garland, Hawley accused the Attorney General of turning a "local dispute into a national case" and criticized the FBI for executing the search warrant in "extreme a manner as one can imagine." Houck's wife, Ryan-Marie, told Catholic News Agency that a "SWAT team of about 25 came to my house with about 15 vehicles and started pounding on our door." FILE: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., speaks during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the Department of the Air Force in review of the Defense Authorization Request for FY2023 and the Future Years Defense Program, in Dirksen Building on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images The FBI has refuted her claims, saying that no SWAT Team or SWAT operators were involved in the arrest. "FBI agents knocked on Mr. Houck's front door, identified themselves as FBI agents, and asked him to exit the residence," FBI agents told Fox News in a statement. "He did so and was taken into custody without incident pursuant to an indictment." A senior FBI source told Fox News there may have been 15-20 agents at the scene, but denied 25 were there. The agents who came to the door had guns out and at the ready, according to this FBI source, but the guns were never pointed at Houck or his family and were lowered or holstered as soon as Houck was taken into custody. Story continues REPUBLICANS SLIGHTLY FAVORED OVER DEMOCRATS AS ABORTION FALLS TO SEVENTH IN IMPORTANCE TO VOTERS: POLL Still, Hawley argued that "using this kind of force to make an arrest for a single charge of simple assault is unprecedented." He said the reports were particularly shocking given that the Department of Justice has allegedly "turned a blind eye to the epidemic of violence across the country by pro-abortion extremists against pregnancy resource centers, houses of worship, and pro-life Americans violent acts that are prohibited by the very same law" Houck is being charged with. FILE: Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland is sworn-in during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on February 22, 2021, in Washington, DC. Getty Images Hawley cited a report which cited more than 100 incidents of extremist violence against pregnancy resource centers, churches and pro-life Americans since the leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion that indicated the landmark 1973 ruling Roe v. Wade would be overturned. "All of this comes after more than a year of your office repeatedly weaponizing the FBI and other arms of the federal government against political opponents," Hawley said. "If you are trying to inspire confidence in your department, you are failing magnificently." Hawley ended the letter saying Garland must testify, under oath, before the Senate Judiciary Committee and his alleged "selected use and apparent political weaponization of the FACE Act." Fox News has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment. The FBI has maintained that extensive planning takes place prior to the service of any federal warrant and the bureau "employs the personnel and tactics deemed necessary to effect a safe arrest or a search." "While its the FBIs standard practice not to discuss such operational specifics, we can say that the number of personnel and vehicles widely reported as being on scene Friday is an overstatement, and the tactics used by FBI personnel were professional, in line with standard practices, and intended to ensure the safety of everyone present in and outside the residence," a spokeswoman said in a statement. Rally against mobilization in Dagestan Protesters clashed with police on the square in the center of Makhachkala, the capital of the Republic of Dagestan, part of the Russian Federation, the We Can Explain Telegram channel reports. Read also: Russian police detain hundreds of people at anti-mobilization protests Eyewitnesses said police were beating protesters, while National Guard officers threatened journalists and demanded that video footage of their arrests be erased. The police also used tear gas against the protesters. About 100 people came to the protest in Makhachkala, reports the Kavkaz.Realii Telegram channel. In addition to Makhachkala, protests took place in Khasavyurt, in the west, close to the neighboring Republic of Chechnya, with about 100 people took to the streets against the mobilization there. The police began to arrest people, while the protesters resisted them, video from the opposition Telegram channel 1Adat shows. Read also: About 1,000 summonses served in occupied Sevastopol amid partial mobilization in Russia People unhappy about the mobilization also gathered in Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, a federal subject of Russia in the Caucuses region. They confronted local officials, who refused to tell them how many men from the republic are to be drafted. Large-scale protests in Makhachkala against mobilization and the war with Ukraine began on Sept. 25. At the same time, residents of the village of Endirey in the Khasavyurt district of Dagestan blocked the Khasavyurt-Makhachkala federal highway. The police tried to disperse protesters by firing into the air. Read also: Man sets himself on fire in Russias Ryazan to escape mobilization Earlier, on Sept. 22, the federal highway in Dagestans Babayurtovsky District was also blocked in protest against the mobilization. On the same day, a video of a riot near a military registration and enlistment office in Dagestan appeared on social networks. Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin announced a "partial mobilization" in Russia on Sept. 21. Story continues According to official data from the Russian Defense Ministry, the plan is to draft about 300,000 reservists. However, the part of the published decree ordering the mobilization dealing with the number of draftees is marked only for official use. Read also: Military commissar shot in Russia during mobilization meeting video According to Russian opposition media, the secret paragraph of the plan details the mobilization of around one million Russians for the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin is also mainly mobilizing people from national minorities, which has led to accusations that Russia is using the war call-up to conduct ethnic cleansing. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine By Kylie Madry MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Parents of 43 students who went missing in 2014 in Mexico called on President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to keep his word Monday as thousands joined them in a parade, criticizing blunders by a government that promised to punish those responsible. The protest through the streets of the capital fell on the eighth anniversary of the students' disappearance. Last month, the parents said they had a glimmer of hope in the case after Jesus Murillo Karam, the country's former top prosecutor, was arrested in relation to the case. But after Murillo, who remains imprisoned, was granted a temporary suspension of his trial, and after almost two dozen arrest warrants for other suspects were cancelled, the students' parents say they feel like they're being played with. "Truthfully, it feels like they're just mocking us," said Blanca Nava, mother of one of the missing students. "Mr. President, we want the truth." Emiliano Navarrete, father of another missing students, said, "The government is at fault. If the president promised to handle this case... maybe it was just a publicity stunt. Maybe it was so people would trust him." In August, Mexico's top human rights official presented the findings of an investigation into the incident, which involved student teachers from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College, and called it "a state crime." The report said the initial investigation into the incident led by Murillo, dubbed the "historic truth," was riddled with errors and that all levels of government had been involved in the boys' disappearance and a subsequent cover-up. The 43 students were on their way to Mexico City from the Pacific state of Guerrero when they disappeared. Only three bodies have been found. Last week, an unredacted version of the August report was published in Mexican newspaper Reforma, naming alleged officials involved and saying the bodies of the kidnapped students were taken to a military base. Story continues Since then, protestors, which include current students at Ayotzinapa, have taken a harsher tone. Last week, protestors broke down the entrance to a military base in Mexico City before throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at soldiers. "It's a way of putting pressure on them, telling them we're tired of getting the run-around," said Alexander Salazar, a student and protest leader at Ayotzinapa. (Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) Flash mob is becoming popular Oleh Slabospytskyi, the Coordinator of the Public Sector of Euromaidan civil action group, announced the event on his Facebook page on Sept. 24. He said the campaign was needed to alert the city authorities to the need to dismantle the monuments, some of which he said break Ukraines own decommunization laws. The Bolshevik criminal Mykola Shchorsa was the first to be (decorated), Slabospitsky wrote. His figure clearly falls under the Law on Decommunization, and since 2016 the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance has been calling for the monument to be removed from the heart of the capital. The next "participant" of the flash mob was Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Read also: Ghost of Kyiv mural unveiled in Ukrainian capital in celebration of Aviation Day Pushkin is a symbol of Russian imperialism, the personification of the great mighty Russian language, a marker of the Russian world and identity, the activist said. In his works, Pushkin denied even the possibility of Ukrainian statehood, and openly propagated Ukrainophobia, hatred of Ukrainians and Poles. In comments to Slabospitsky's post, users noted that the monument to Pushkin had already been cleaned. The activist urged readers to continue leaving inscriptions on monuments. "Only information publicity and joint action will allow the capital to get rid of the last markers of Russification and Bolshevism, he wrote. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Deadline Terry Bradshaw, a Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback and one of the co-hosts on Fox NFL Sunday, revealed Sunday on air that he has battled cancer twice in the last year. Bradshaw had an incident during the pregame show last week and addressed them on Sundays episode before the rest of the schedule kicked off. Last week on [] When the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in June, allowing states to decide whether to outlaw or restrict abortions, providers in New Jersey braced for an influx of patients from parts of the country that restricted the procedure. And while the number of patients coming into New Jersey for abortion services is up, it hasnt increased as dramatically as in states in the Midwest or West that neighbor others where severe new restrictions have been imposed. New Jersey does not require waiting periods or parental approval for abortions, and does not restrict their availability by weeks of pregnancy. Were certainly seeing an uptick, said Kaitlyn Wojtowicz, vice president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey, while declining to specify the amount of more recent in-migration. Some centers plan to add Saturday hours and extended evening hours, she said. Related:California Gov. Gavin Newsom rents billboards in 7 states attacking abortion restrictions New Jerseys distance from abortion-restricting states, its comparatively high costs and the more aggressive outreach by states like California and New York to those in need seem to have tamped down the out-of-state influx. That may change after Election Day. If Pennsylvania voters elect Republican Doug Mastriano, a state senator, as governor, he has said he will sign a law banning abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can occur as early as six weeks pregnancy. And in a primary debate, he said he favored a ban on abortions after conception. His opponent, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, would not change Pennsylvanias current law, which permits access to abortion up to 24 weeks' pregnancy. Republican Doug Mastriano (left) and Democrat Josh Shapiro are running against each other to become the 48th governor of Pennsylvania. Everyone's talking about the Pennsylvania race, said Dr. Kristyn Brandi, a physician who performs abortions and family planning services in North Jersey and works as an advocate for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. If that state goes dark, then all those patients come here. Story continues More:The 5 developments that have reshaped the Pa. gov race this summer for Mastriano-Shapiro More than 32,000 abortions were provided in Pennsylvania in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that advocates for abortion rights. Brandi said some of her Pennsylvania physician colleagues already are looking for apartments in New Jersey, in case they need to move to continue their work. For now, though, the demand for abortion care in New Jersey has been accommodated, said Wojtowicz. Abortions are available at more than 75 sites in New Jersey, including 10 to 15 clinics that perform in-clinic suction abortions, as well as other ambulatory surgical centers and hospitals. At most, appointment times are delayed by a day or two, Brandi said. Kaitlyn Wojtowicz, VP of Public Affairs at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan New Jersey, speaks at a Bans Off Our Bodies Day of Action rally in Princeton on May 14, 2022. Planned Parenthood, with 20 facilities that provide medication abortions and two that provide in-clinic procedures, is still monitoring to see where folks are coming from, she added. Before Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, the June 24 decision that overturned the federal right to an abortion, we saw about three or four patients a month coming in from other states. People seeking abortions from out of state are often reluctant to disclose that theyve traveled from elsewhere, due to fear of potential prosecution when they return home, she said. However, its known that Planned Parenthood has treated pregnant people from Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas and Florida, Wojtowicz said. Sometimes the delay caused by arranging time off work, care for other children and now, travel to a distant clinic may limit a pregnant persons options. Medication-induced abortions generally are not recommended after 10 weeks gestational age, and an in-clinic suction abortion must be performed. Later in pregnancy, a surgical center or hospital setting is usually advised. More:Abortion is still available in New Jersey More:Lawmakkers vote to protect abortion access for out-of-state patients Many people are presenting at a time when medication abortion would not be an option for them, said Brandi. I want my patients to have all options on the table. The doctors who write the prescriptions and perform the procedures often dont want to talk about it, either. People are still scared, said Brandi. They dont want to be the first to test two new state laws, signed by Gov. Phil Murphy. One bars the extradition of patients from out of state who seek abortions and the health professionals who care for them. The other prohibits New Jersey public agencies from cooperating with such out-of-state investigations. When patients do share their reasons for seeking services in New Jersey, its often because they have a connection they grew up here, went to school here, or have family or friends they can stay with, Wojtowicz said. Other so-called sanctuary states, such as California, have done far more to show their welcome to patients from states that restrict abortions. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California used part of his reelection campaign funds to buy billboards in seven states with Republican governors that have strict limits on abortion. He is also widely considered to have presidential ambitions, if President Joe Biden decides not to run for a second term. One billboard shows a woman in handcuffs: Texas doesnt own your body. You do, it says, directing viewers to abortion.CA.gov to learn more. Visitors to that website can read, You do not have to be a California resident to receive abortion care in the state. A fund to increase access to reproductive health care was passed by lawmakers, and allows up to $20 million to help patients from other states. Another billboard has the message, Need an Abortion? California is ready to help, above a Bible quotation: "Love your neighbor as yourself. And earlier this month, the New York City Council provided $1 million to expand access to abortion care. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul already had allocated $25 million in state funds for that purpose. The city money, which the council said was the largest commitment of municipal funds in the country, is to be divided equally between the non-profit New York Abortion Access Fund, which helps those who cant afford it pay for care, and the Brigid Alliance, which provides help with travel, lodging and child care for people seeking abortions. Both funds are open to out-of-state patients. In New Jersey, the state budget Murphy signed on June 30 includes more than $50 million for reproductive health services, including abortion training for providers, facility upgrades and security grants. It does not include a specific allocation to help out-of-state patients. Murphy also wrote to CEOs of dozens of major companies based in abortion-restricting states, urging them to move to New Jersey, a state that protects womens right to abortion. And Choose New Jersey, a business-funded nonprofit, posted billboards in Georgia, Florida, Missouri and Texas urging businesses to relocate, in the wake of the Dobbs decision. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Roe v. Wade reversal: More patients come to NJ for abortions Ukrainians load a Russian T-72 onto a truck outside the town of Izyum on September 24. ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images Coverage of the war in Ukraine has often focused on the new, high-tech weapons being used there. But older, less sophisticated weapons, many of them Soviet-designed, are doing much of the fighting. In Ukraine, a handful of newer weapons such as US-made HIMARS rockets and Turkish-made TB2 attack drones have dominated the headlines, but it's the older weapons, mainly Soviet-era designs, that are still doing the bulk of the fighting. "A lot of the most important weapon systems are not new things," Rob Lee, a US expert on the Russian military, said of the war in Ukraine at a recent conference hosted by the New America think tank. For example, when Russia invaded in Ukraine, its air force was widely expected to play a decisive role, especially given the inferiority in numbers and quality of Ukrainian aircraft. Instead, Moscow's airpower has almost been a minor factor in the conflict, with Russian pilots reluctant to operate in Ukrainian airspace following heavy losses early in the conflict. One reason for this has been Ukraine's Soviet-era air-defense systems, such as the S-300 and Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missiles. Ukrainian troops train with a Soviet-made S-300 air-defense system in Crimea in July 1995. VALERY SOLOVJEV/AFP via Getty Images "I think arguably the most important development is that Ukraine's air defense has held out and they continue to prevent the Russian Air Force from interdicting things beyond Ukrainian frontlines," Lee said. "Russia can't hit HIMARS. They can't really target Ukraine command-and-control very effectively. They can't stop them from resupplying." "The most important reason is probably things like the Buk-M1 or S-300 systems. These are Soviet systems. They're not new. They're not fancy. They're not sexy, but they play such an important role," Lee added. "They've allowed more modern systems like HIMARS to play a very important role." Coverage of the war often credits Western weapons sent to Ukraine as turning the tide on the ground and allowing a Ukrainian counteroffensive to roll back Russian gains. But those Javelin and NLAW anti-tank missiles and HIMARS rockets were still in US and British warehouses when Russia invaded in February 2022. Ukraine wouldn't receive them for weeks or months, as the US and other nations hesitated to send big weapons, such as artillery. Story continues The weapons that Ukraine used to halt the Russian advance were mainly older designs: T-72 and T-64 tanks (which date back to the 1960s and 1970s), MiG-29 fighters, and Soviet-era multiple rocket launchers and machine guns. The equipment has been updated with new electronics, munitions, and other upgrades. For example, Ukraine extended the range and modernized the electronics of the Soviet Kh-35 anti-ship missile to produce the indigenous R-360 Neptune, which sank the cruiser Moskva flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in April 2022. Ukrainian troops fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher in the Luhansk region on June 12. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich In the military sense, the strangest aspect of the Russo-Ukraine War is that both armies have essentially similar arsenals and tactics that date to when Russia and Ukraine were part of the Soviet Union. For Ukraine, this has an unexpected benefit: All those captured Soviet tanks and artillery can be easily reused by Ukrainian crews accustomed to using those models. This is changing, however. Ukraine is fielding more and more Western weapons as its older Soviet equipment is destroyed or replaced. While newer and more technically advanced, this polyglot array of arms from more than 30 countries will pose logistics and integration difficulties and require Ukrainian forces to adopt a more Western style of high-tech warfare. Russia faces are more challenging outlook. Moscow has deployed some new weapons, such as hypersonic missiles and the T-90 tank (one of which Ukraine just captured intact), but with Western sanctions depriving it of electronics and other imported components, Russia will have increasing difficulty manufacturing advanced weapons. It's a sign of desperation that after losing more than 1,000 tanks in the war, Russia is using T-62 tanks that were obsolete nearly a half-century ago. They're better than no tanks at all, and they show that old weapons may be phased out, but they don't die. Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master's in political science. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. Read the original article on Business Insider The high-profile criminal cases against disbarred South Carolina attorney Richard Alex Murdaugh and former Palmetto State banker Russell Lucius Laffitte continue to move forward as trial dates loom. Attorneys for Murdaugh, who is facing two murder charges as well as more than 90 financial and drug-related charges, have filed a new pretrial motion asking for more legal powers as they prepare for an expected January 2023 trial date. Murdaugh's legal team confers during Monday's hearing in Colleton County. Laffitte, meanwhile, has a trial date set for Nov. 8 in federal court in Charleston. He's accused of aiding Murdaugh in an alleged decade-long, multi-county crime spree, and he was struck with a new round of federal charges last week. Here is the latest on the criminal cases that have made international headlines from South Carolina. Alleged Murdaugh accomplice served with more federal indictments On Sept. 20, a federal grand jury in Charleston unsealed a third round of indictments against Laffitte. The eight charges included more counts of bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and misapplication of bank funds. Laffitte was first indicted in federal court on July 20, then a superseding indictment was handed down Aug. 17. This third wave of charges is a second superseding indictment. Laffitte was arraigned on the new charges Sept. 23 in U.S. District Court in Charleston, where he pleaded not guilty as with the original charges. On Monday, Laffitte's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the federal government's second superseding indictment, citing what they claim are errors in 16 paragraphs of the indictment. The motion does not ask for previous charges to be dismissed, however. A hearing has not been scheduled for that motion. Laffitte, who had been a fourth-generation banker in a financial institution his family founded, is accused of using his position as Palmetto State Bank CEO to aid Murdaugh in stealing from his legal clients while serving as Murdaughs hand-picked personal representative and conservator for those clients. Story continues Three indicted:Former Hampton Co. banker Laffitte indicted; more indictments for Murdaugh, Fleming Indictments:Alex Murdaugh Case: Ex-Hampton banker struck with lawsuit, more federal indictments Laffitte was terminated from that position at the bank in January 2022. The former banker is also facing State Grand Jury charges for the same alleged crimes, with no state trial date set. Out on bond, Laffitte is on location monitoring that restricts him to Hampton and Allendale counties unless he is going to court in Charleston or has court approval to travel elsewhere. Murdaugh defense asks for more legal power to level the playing field Murdaugh will be facing double murder and weapons charges in Colleton County court for the June 2021 shooting deaths of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul. A trial date requested for January 2023 has yet to be approved by the South Carolina Courts Administration. On Sept. 23, Murdaughs criminal defense team, which includes noted attorneys Richard Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, filed a motion in Colleton County General Sessions Court asking the court for the authority to issue subpoena duces tecum as they work to prepare Murdaughs defense. While a typical subpoena is a court order requiring the attendance of a witness to testify at a particular time and place, a subpoena duces tecum is an order requiring a witness to bring documents, materials or other items under their control that they may be bound by law to produce into evidence. From left, Jim Griffin and Richard Harpootlian discuss the Alex Murdaugh case with prosecutor Creighton Waters in Colleton County court. Murdaughs attorneys contend that, if granted that authority, they can meet with witnesses and inspect subpoenaed materials in advance to avoid unnecessary delays to the pretrial and trial process. Not only would this overall authority prevent the defense from having to come before the court each time it wishes to subpoena materials, the motion says, the requests for those materials would not have to be brought out in open court. Requiring the defendant to make public filings for each subpoena duces tecum will unnecessary expose the defenses trial strategy and subject the recipient of any subpoena to extensive media attention, Murdaughs motion states. The motion also contends that, since the state Attorney Generals Office, which is prosecuting the cases against Murdaugh, continues to build its case by obtaining search warrants and issuing grand jury subpoenas, granting this power to the defense would level the playing field with the state. As attorneys on both sides of the bench prepare for trial, Murdaugh remains in jail in Richland County on a $7 million bond he has been unable to meet. This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Murdaugh team seeks level playing field; Laffitte faces new charges The surface of Dimorphos moments before NASA's DART spacecraft crashed into it. NASA NASA purposefully crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid on Monday, in a first-of-its-kind test to learn how to defend the planet against rogue space rocks. The experiment should tell us whether hurtling a spacecraft at high speeds into an asteroid is a viable strategy to deflect it. There are no asteroids that pose an immediate threat to human civilization at this time. But experts say it's only a matter of time before an asteroid big enough to wipe out a city crosses paths with Earth. NASA's 1,376-pound probe traveled about 6.8 million miles before crashing into the asteroid, as part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission. It did not survive the collision. "Now is when the science starts," Lori Glaze, director of NASA's planetary science division, said after Monday's collision. "Now that we've impacted, we're going to see for real how effective we were." "We're embarking on a new era of humankind, an era in which we potentially have the capability to protect ourselves from something like a dangerous, hazardous asteroid impact," Glaze added. Scientists will be monitoring the trajectory of the asteroid, Dimorphos, which orbits a larger asteroid, Didymos. Neither asteroid pose a threat to the Earth, which is why NASA selected them. On Monday, the spacecraft provided a nearly real-time feed of its demise starting more than an hour before impact, thanks to its lone instrument the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO). It took DART's final transmissions 38 seconds to reach Earth. Initial images from DRACO, which took one image per second to document the impact and aftermath. NASA In the initial images from DRACO, shown above, Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos appeared as a single white dot. That changed as the spacecraft closed in. Story continues As the DART spacecraft flew closer, Dimorphos emerged as a separate point of light that grew larger and brighter. NASA Gradually, Dimorphos emerged as a separate point of light that grew larger and brighter, as in the image shown above. The asteroid ultimately took shape, filling the entire screen until just before impact. DRACO took live images as the spacecraft approached the space rock. NASA Below, one of the last frames beamed at Earth from DRACO before the DART spacecraft ate it, showing several boulders on the asteroid surface. The team knew the spacecraft successfully smashed into Dimorphos when they lost the spacecraft's signal, which was indicated when the live screen went red. The DART mission operations team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory erupted in applause after the probe's successful demise. Above, the last image from the DART mission taken by DRACO. NASA If all goes according to plan, scientists expect the collision will change the speed of Dimorphos by a fraction of 1%, altering its orbit around Didymos ever so slightly. The Italian Space Agency's LICIACube, a small satellite which traveled with the spacecraft and is now at a safe distance from it, will beam high-resolution photos of the impact back to Earth. It may take weeks for scientists on Earth to receive that data. Now that DART has been destroyed during the collision, follow-up observations with ground- and space-based telescopes including NASA's new infrared eye in the sky, the James Webb Space Telescope will evaluate the asteroid system to see how much its orbit changed. Infographic showing the effect of DART's impact on the orbit of Dimorphos. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL Dimorphos has a mass of about 11 billion pounds and is about 525 feet in diameter, and it orbits another, larger asteroid the 2,650-foot-wide Didymos.about 525 feet wide. A scale shows the size of the asteroids compared to recognizable Earth landmarks. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL Scientists hope the tiny nudge will be enough to change the trajectory of the space rock. They will also monitor debris that fly off of the asteroid after the impact. An animation from behind as NASA's first planetary defense test mission, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, collides with the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Jon Emmerich The Earth is not prepared for a city-killing asteroid Knowing how to knock a dangerous asteroid off its path is crucial information. But if a city-killer asteroid that's an asteroid bigger than 460 feet were headed toward Earth today, odds are scientists would be woefully unprepared. NASA has organized seven asteroid impact simulations since 2013. A group of international experts was only able to fully stop the asteroid once, mostly because of the limited warning period given in the simulations. Experts previously told Insider that NASA would need five to 10 years to build and launch a customized mission that could deflect an asteroid. There's also a risk experts might not spot the rock in time. NASA tracks about 28,000 nearby asteroids. But to date, only about 40% of city-killer asteroids orbiting Earth have been identified, Insider's Morgan McFall-Johnsen previously reported. This problem is not just theoretical. In recent years, there have been a few times when large space rocks came a little too close for comfort and scientists didn't spot them until it was too late. In 2019, a city-killer sized asteroid came within 45,000 miles of Earth and scientists only had a few days' warning of the flyby. An asteroid the size of a car flew within 1,830 miles of Earth in 2020 the closest any known space rock has come without crashing. Scientists only spotted it about six hours before it passed Earth. Read the original article on Business Insider Illustration of DART approaching Dimorphos. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL NASA crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid, in a first-of-its-kind experiment in planetary defense. The space agency wants to see whether it's a viable method for deflecting rocks that could threaten Earth. Here is how this experiment works and why it is important, in 13 facts, photos, and graphs. NASA made history on Monday when it purposefully crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid about 6.8 million miles away as part of its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission. Scientists hope the mission will give us information about whether we can use spacecraft to deflect asteroids that would otherwise impact Earth. Though there is no immediate danger, experts say that we would be poorly prepared if a large asteroid were heading toward Earth today. Here is how this experiment works, in 13 facts, photos, and graphs. NASA recorded the impact with a camera on the spacecraft. NASA's DART mission spacecraft captured its last moments using an onboard camera. The movie is sped up as each frame was taken at a second interval. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL The gif above shows real footage taken by a camera onboard the spacecraft, which recorded its last moments before impact. Read Full Story It switched to a red kill screen at the moment of impact. Screenshots of the footage from DART's camera as the spacecraft approached, then smashed into the rock, on September 26, 2022. NASA Live The pictures show the spacecraft flying past an asteroid called Didymos, then heading straight towards Dimorphos, a smaller asteroid in Didymos' orbit, where it ultimately crashed. The live feed stopped abruptly at the moment of impact when it cut to a red screen. Scientists are now waiting for the footage from a small satellite that was traveling alongside the spacecraft. It will beam high-resolution photos of the impact back within the next few weeks. Read Full Story The crash sent up debris into the atmosphere. The moment the spacecraft crashed into the asteroid was captured by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) project, a NASA-funded project from the University of Hawaii that uses four telescopes that automatically scan the sky for asteroids at night. The video, which shows debris flying off of the asteroid after impact, can be seen here. NASA will be monitoring the debris pattern from Earth in an attempt to better understand the effects of the impact should it happen closer to Earth. Story continues This is the first practical test of how we might defend the planet from an asteroid. An artist's depiction of an asteroid breaking apart. Reuters/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Handout The DART mission tested just one of three potential ways NASA has conceived to deflect asteroids heading towards Earth. The first is to detonate an explosive device near the asteroid so that it breaks up into smaller, less dangerous chunks, Insider previously reported. The second is to use a powerful laser with hopes that it would heat up the rock enough so that it would change its orbit, per Insider's previous reporting. The third strategy is what DART tested: bump a spacecraft into the asteroid with enough force to knock it off of its trajectory and cause it to miss the Earth. Simulations have suggested we're not yet ready to quickly deflect an asteroid. An artist's illustration of asteroids flying by Earth. Peter Carril/ESA Since 2013, NASA has been running simulations in which an international panel of experts is tasked with saving the Earth from an asteroid. The simulations are designed to be particularly tricky and often simulate very little time before impact. But out of seven simulations, the experts were only completely successful once. Experts previously told Insider that, at our current state of readiness, we'd likely need five to 10 years to build and launch a customized mission to stop an asteroid. Read Full Story The problem isn't just theoretical. A house-sized asteroid streaks above the skies of Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013. AP There have been two recent instances in which dangerously sized asteroids came close to the Earth, and weren't spotted until it was too late, Insider's Morgan McFall-Johnsen reported. In 2013, an asteroid the size of a house came close enough to shatter windows and collapse buildings in Chelyabinsk, Russia. It injured more than 1,000 people. In 2019, a 427-foot-wide asteroid, which is big enough to wipe out a city, passed within 45,000 miles of Earth. Experts only spotted it days earlier. Experts only have the resources, capacity, and technology to be able to track about 40% of city-killing asteroids that fly by the Earth. Read Full Story If it were heading towards Earth, it would be big enough to wipe out a city. The Dimorphos asteroid compared to Rome's Colosseum. ESA-Science Office Dimorphos is about 535 feet wide. That makes it big enough to be a "city killer." If it were to hit the Earth, it could wipe out New York, Insider's Morgan McFall-Johnsen previously reported. Dimorphos is very, very far away. This image of the light from asteroid Didymos and its orbiting moonlet Dimorphos is a composite of 243 images taken by the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) on July 27, 2022. NASA JPL DART Navigation Team At about 6.8 million miles away, Dimorphos was chosen in part because it is far enough away that it doesn't pose any risk to our planet. The spacecraft, which was launched on November 24, took 316 days to reach the asteroid. Dimorphos also orbits another asteroid. Infographic showing the effect of DART's impact on the orbit of Dimorphos. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL The other reason Dimorphos was chosen is that is orbits a larger asteroid, which makes it easier for NASA to measure the effect of the impact. If NASA's calculations are correct, Dimorphos' orbit around Didymos should be several minutes shorter. The spacecraft is tiny compared to the asteroids. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL Dimorphos has a mass of about 11 billion pounds, while the DART spacecraft weighed around 1,376 pounds. On the graph above, the spacecraft is only slightly bigger than the bus on the far left side of the scale. The spacecraft was small enough to fit in a box on a truck. DART packed and ready to move outside of the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman Without its solar wings deployed, the spacecraft easily fit on a truck for transport. In spite of its small size, the impact of the craft could deflect the asteroid's orbit by a fraction of a percent. If calculations are correct, that is enough to significantly change its trajectory. NASA will keep monitoring the asteroids' tracks in the coming weeks to see if the test was successful. DART has been a relatively cheap mission. SLS rocket on a launchpad at the Vehicle Assembly Building, September 24, 2022. NASA/Joel Kowsky DART has so far been relatively cheap at about $313 million so far, according to Space.com. By comparison, NASA's Artemis mission to bring humans back to the moon for which a new moon megarocket is due to be launched in coming weeks to months will cost about $93 billion, per Space.com Read Full Story More space surveillance to detect asteroids is coming. An artist's concept of the NEOCam asteroid-hunting mission. NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA will be closely monitoring the effects of the DART mission to determine whether this strategy is viable for planetary defense. In the meantime, space agencies are also turning working hard to improve surveillance of large asteroids around the Earth. NASA is working on launching a new space telescope, the Near-Earth Object Surveyor, in 2026, though progress on this project has been slow and it has just received a budget cut. Read Full Story Read the original article on Business Insider With all the troubles in the world today, worrying that an asteroid will hit our planet seems a little superfluous. It also at times seems like perhaps the best way out of our current troubles cosmic euthanasia for a terminally diseased world. But that isnt discouraging the boys and girls at NASA, who on Monday were planning the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which sounds a bit ominous right off the bat. And I dont know why they started off with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test. Why not the First Asteroid Redirection Test? Oh, right. The test is on the order of galactic shuffleboard, in which an earth-launched projectile knocks into an asteroid, changing its trajectory ever so slightly. Basically its practice for such a time that an asteroid is headed straight toward Earth and there is a life-or-death need to knock it off course. Tim Rowland I assume its going to go well, which it always does when theres no pressure. Its like making a putt when no ones watching which is exponentially easier than when youre on the 18th hole at Augusta. So it almost seems like they're inviting bad luck by doing it now. And you have to figure that when it matters, just prior to launch, the asteroid is going to try to ice NASA by calling a timeout. The irony is that we wouldnt be here without asteroids, right? If an asteroid hadnt knocked out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, the T. rex would have just eaten up all us humans like potato chips. Weve all seen drawings of cavemen surrounding a bovine-esque wooly mammoth with spears. Just try that with a velociraptor, Jim. Theyre not going to sit around and wait for you to invent the cruise missile, theyre going to take you out. The asteroid is the smaller of two that are orbiting the sun as a pair. It is not headed toward us, although if NASAs project somehow accidentally knocked it INTO a collision course with Earth, how great would that be? It would make anything ever done by the Three Stooges look like an AARP class in opening PDFs and would be so funny as to be almost be worth it. Story continues This mission is designed to show how a kinetic impactor could deflect a dangerous asteroid that might strike the Earth, wrote The Washington Post. It is fraught with difficulties and uncertainties. The spacecraft must make crucial last-second navigational decisions autonomously. Flying a spacecraft at high speed about 14,000 miles per hour into a relatively small asteroid is something no one has ever done before. But this is NASAs move, underselling its ability to perform complicated space tasks. We saw it with the Mars helicopter and the James Webb telescope: This is a one in a million shot, there are so many things that can go wrong and the odds are really bleak and oh look, we did it! Yay us! This mission is no different: The asteroids are extremely dark, said Elena Adams, an engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., which is conducting the mission under contract with NASA. We have to hit something thats the size of two stadiums. You cant see them until about an hour before hitting them . Even then its just a pixel in our camera. Blah, blah, blah. And I dont know if I can hang this picture on the wall, because the hammer has to intersect with the nail at just the right angle, and the laws of gravity might change and oh I did it, wow, someone give me the Nobel Prize for interior decorating. But heres the thing: These arent just extraordinary things NASA is doing, they are miracles beyond all comprehension. These are pinpoint maneuvers from a zillion miles away with speeding technology that I can't even imagine. We can do all that in the depths of space, and yet here on Earth we cant even find adequate daycare or an affordable house. Looks to me like down here on terra firma the wrong people are in charge. Tim Rowland is a Herald-Mail columnist. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Altering asteroid's course highlights of earthlings' poor leadership UKRAINSKA PRAVDA TUESDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2022, 16:49 The National Guard of Ukraine published a video of the capture of 15 Russian soldiers, including two majors. Source: message from the National Guard of Ukraine Quote: "During the counteroffensive in the vicinities of Izium, soldiers of the Ukrainian National Guard demilitarised and captured 15 Russian military personnel, including 2 majors. National Guardsmen, together with units of Ukrainian Armed Forces, continue to liberate populated areas of Kharkiv Oblast from the Russian occupiers." Background: On 27 September, Oleh Syniehubov, the Head of the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, confirmed that the village of Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, located on the eastern shore of the Oskil river, was liberated. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda! The Navy and the Marine Corps are teaming up to streamline command and control of amphibious and crisis response elements in Indo-Pacific, creating a new task force that will experiment with new maritime concepts and technologies. Task Force 76/3 blends the staff of the Navys Expeditionary Strike Group 7 and the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade ahead of a year-plus campaign to understand what future naval operations in the Pacific ought to look like. The move is similar to the 2016 creation of an integrated staff in U.S. Central Command and the standup this spring of Task Force 61 Naval Amphibious Forces Europe/2nd Marine Division to consolidate Blue-Green forces in Europe for amphibious operations and reconnaissance/counter-reconnaissance exercises. Merging the two staffs simply makes sense. Its an idea thats really well-suited to this region, Rear Adm. Derek Trinque, commander of Task Force 76/3, said in a Navy news release. A command that is truly a Navy and Marine Corps team provides the most capable and most ready force to commanders in the key maritime terrain of the Indo-Pacific. Task Force 76/3 aims to better prepare forces for the full scope of operations, from humanitarian and disaster response to high intensity conflict, according to Trinque and Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Fridrik Fridriksson, Task Force 76/3 deputy commander. We can position things correctly, we can position things smartly, and also we can very quickly integrate from the ships to the shore and back again, monitor aircraft, all those types of things, Fridriksson told reporters Monday. So, this is one of the experimentations that theyve asked us to do. Navy, Marines integrating expeditionary forces into traditional amphibious operations Previously, though Expeditionary Strike Group 7 and 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade would deploy together at sea, they had separate staffs: separate operations planners, separate intelligence divisions, separate logistics streams, separate communications and IT divisions and more. Story continues Now, rather than the Navy having an N staff and the Marines having a G staff, the combined L staffs L for littoral operations will leverage the best personnel and practices from each service. Where we would look at things differently and perhaps send reports up two separate chains of command, were now pooling those talents and using the information and the intelligence gains better, Trinque told reporters. Navy and Marine leadership in the Pacific wanted to ensure the team is considering everything whether its communication systems, whether its logistics systems, whether its operational, whether its all the new weapons and technology how were employing these in such a way that we can fully demonstrate the power of this integrated task force, Fridriksson said. The task force will have an opportunity to test out some of these naval integration concepts for the first time Oct. 1 as part of exercise Noble Fusion 22.2. Additionally, the task force will take part in Exercise KAMANDAG near the Philippines Oct. 3 to support the 3rd Marine Division, as well as other exercises throughout the fall and real-world operations as they emerge. The exercises are where we can put a lot of forethought into this and plan it out, Trinque told reporters. But, certainly, if a real-world operation happens, we are not going to just come apart and go at things separately. We are together. Were going to stay together throughout this campaign. And in the end, were going to have a more integrated naval force. The task force trial period is expected to last through summer 2023. Afterward, senior Navy, Marine Corps and defense leaders will receive feedback on lessons learned from the task force and how to proceed. The creation of the task force is not in response to any current events, but rather aligns with instruction from Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday for the Navy and the Marine Corps to facilitate readiness and integration of forces, Trinque and Fridriksson said. The Navy-Marine Corps team has so many different capabilities, Trinque told reporters. And so we cant afford to have a long lag time to be able to use those capabilities, whether were talking about humanitarian assistance and disaster response all the way up to major combat operations. Its our responsibility to be ready, and be ready when our bosses need us for something. In that vein, the team stood up an Integrated Littoral Warfare Center as an ashore command-and-control hub. Trinque, Fridriksson and their staff will have the command and control and the communications systems established there to effectively monitor the region and employ forces as needed. The Japan-based Expeditionary Strike Group 7 has staff in White Beach, Okinawa, and in Sasebo, and includes Amphibious Squadron 11 along with 7th Fleets flagship, amphibious command ship Blue Ridge. The 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, headquartered at Camp Courtney in Okinawa, consists of air and ground elements that provide crisis response in the Pacific. Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer Netflix has removed the LGBTQ tag from its series about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer after many online commenters objected. Dahmer Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story dramatizes the tale of the Milwaukee man who murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. He dismembered many of them and may have cannibalized their body parts. He was arrested in 1991 and was killed in prison by a fellow inmate in 1994. The Netflix show, which stars Evan Peters as Dahmer, has been criticized as adding to the trauma of the victims families and friends as well as for associating the crimes with gay identity. It has been speculated that the reason the series was initially marked LGBTQ was that many of Dahmers victims were LGBTQ, or because of Dahmers own sexuality, The Independent reports. The reason remains unconfirmed by Netflix. Netflix has not announced why it removed the tag, but numerous commenters on social media had denounced the streaming service for labeling the series LGBTQ. I mean, I know its technically true, but this is not the representation were looking for, TikTok user Lizthelezbo remarked in a post that has gone viral. Imagine clicking on the LGBTQ category and this is what you get, said a Twitter user going by Quinton Reviews. Another social media commenter said of Dahmer, We do not claim him!!! LGBTQ+ Milwaukee residents have said theres no justification for a series recounting Dahmers crimes. I feel like it fetishizes this whole horrible moment in Milwaukee history, drag performer B.J. Daniels told TV station WISN. It shouldn't be looked at it that way; it just feels completely wrong. Its disturbing the graves of victims, he added. Seismic activity detected at the site of the Nord Stream pipelines gas leaks in the Baltic Sea was caused by explosions not earthquakes or landslides, a Swedish seismologist said Tuesday. Bjorn Lund, director of the Swedish National Seismic Network, said he and his colleagues gathered seismic data showing that explosions took place in the water and not in the rock under the seabed. FILE: 16 November 2021, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lubmin: View of pipe systems and shut-off devices at the gas receiving station of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline. Photo by Stefan Sauer/picture alliance via Getty Images The explosions rattled the Baltic Sea before unusual leaks were discovered on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines running underwater from Russia to Germany. Lund said the first explosion was recorded early Monday southeast of the Danish Island of Bornholm. A second, stronger blast northeast of the island that night was equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake. US ON PACE TO FUND A MAJORITY OF UKRAINE'S NATIONAL BUDGET THIS YEAR Seismic stations in Denmark, Norway, and Finland also registered the explosions. "There's no doubt, this is not an earthquake," Lund said. Multiple European officials have pointed to possible sabotage amid an energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her government regarded the leaks as the results of "deliberate actions" by unknown perpetrators. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, meanwhile, called the events "an act of sabotage," one that "probably means the next step of escalation in the situation that we are dealing with in Ukraine." GERMANY WARNED OF POSSIBLE ATTACK ON NORD STREAM GAS PIPELINE BY CIA WEEKS IN ADVANCE: REPORT U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that American officials have not confirmed sabotage or an attack. The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines are filled with natural gas but are not delivering the fuel to Europe, overshadowing the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland to bolster the continent's energy independence from Moscow. The gas leaks created a foamy white area on the water's surface, images released by Denmark's military show. Danish Energy Minister Dan Jrgensen said that "we cannot say how long the leak will go" on as the gas has not been turned off. Story continues The escaped natural gas is made up almost entirely of methane, the second-biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. CHINESE, RUSSIA WARSHIPS SPOTTED NEAR ALASKA No official presented evidence of what caused the Nord Stream problems, but with distrust of Russia running high, some feared Moscow sabotaged its own infrastructure out of spite or to warn that pipelines are vulnerable to attack. The extent of the damage means the Nord Stream pipelines are unlikely to be able to carry any gas to Europe this winter even if there was political will to bring them online, analysts at the Eurasia Group said. Russia has halted flows on the 760-mile Nord Stream 1 pipeline during the war, while Germany prevented them from ever starting in the parallel Nord Stream 2. The Nord Stream pipelines have been at the center of an energy clash between Europe and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in late February. Plunging Russian gas supplies have caused prices to soar, pressuring governments to help ease the pain of sky-high energy bills for households and businesses as winter nears. The Baltic Pipe is a prominent element in the European Union's search for energy security and is to start bringing Norwegian gas through Denmark and along the Baltic Sea to Poland on Oct. 1. The Associated Press contributed to this report. An Idaho drag performer has filed a defamation lawsuit in Kootenai County against a right-wing North Idaho blogger who accused him of indecent exposure during the Pride in the Park event in June in Coeur dAlene. The lawsuit and a press release about it said that a video of the June 11 performance was doctored, circulated across several social media platforms and sent to law enforcement. The video was edited to blur out the performers pelvic area and was posted to Summer Bushnells Facebook page, among other places. In Bushnells caption, she called on viewers to call the police. After receiving several complaints, Coeur d Alene police investigated the performance and sent the unedited video to city prosecutors for review. The Coeur dAlene Prosecutors Office said the video showed no evidence of indecent exposure, the Coeur dAlene Press reported, and no charges were filed. In a phone interview with the Idaho Statesman, Bushnell said she was not at the Pride in the Park event and received the unedited video through an outside source. She declined to say who sent her the video. Bushnell said she has never attended a Pride event and she stood by her claim that the performer exposed himself. I put a blur because I didnt want to be responsible for a minor seeing the genitals that are actually there, she told the Statesman. Wendy J. Olson, the attorney for the performer, Eric Posey, told the Statesman that Bushnells video has caused significant emotional harm, with flyers of the performance and Bushnells accusations distributed throughout North Idaho. The video and the statements she made have been distributed all over the country, certainly over the Pacific Northwest, Olson said. Even when Boise had its Pride Festival this month, there were references to (the) performance and the things Bushnell said about him on social media. According to the complaint filed in court, Posey wore several layers of clothing beneath his outfit and completely covered his genital area. Story continues He wore shorts under a leotard during the performance, the complaint states. He also had on tights, undergarments, and a boa wrapped around his waist. During his performance, he never removed any articles of clothing. Olson said the lawsuit is meant to put a stop to what she called a hateful disinformation campaign. The suit seeks monetary damages from Bushnell of more than $10,000; compensatory damages and attorneys fees; and a jury trial. After three months of silence, it is now my turn to speak. An altered video of my performance was widely circulated online, along with false allegations of indecent exposure, Posey said in the release. Despite being cleared of all wrongdoing, provocateurs have continued to spread the doctored video of my performance, not only defaming me, but also inciting a backlash towards the LGBTQIA+ community statewide. I have no choice but to take legal action to hold those responsible for the lies accountable for their actions. The Pride event in Coeur dAlene received nationwide news coverage after 31 men affiliated with the white nationalist group Patriot Front were arrested on their way to the park where it was being held. They were seen loading tactical gear and then climbing into a U-Haul truck, and police stopped the truck and made arrests after being tipped off by witnesses. A 51-year-old man from The Colony pleaded guilty Monday to assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, the United States Department of Justice reported. According to court documents, Daniel Ray Caldwell sprayed a line of police officers with a chemical irritant, believed to be mace or pepper spray, when they opposed the rioters in the lower west terrace area of the Capitol building. Caldwell, a former Marine, has been behind bars since his arrest by FBI agents on Feb. 10, 2021, the Dallas Morning News reported. According to the Department of Justice, he is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 1 and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and potential fines. According to the Department of Justice news release, more than 870 people in nearly all 50 states have been arrested for crimes related to the breach of the Capitol building. By Michael Kohn ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) - Thousands of Russians have fled into Mongolia across its northern frontier in a bid to evade conscription to Ukraine, putting further pressure on the government in Ulaanbaatar and its efforts to distance itself from the conflict. Russians were forced to queue for hours at the border crossing at Kyakhta in the ethnic Mongol province of Buryatia, but said they had little choice after President Vladimir Putin announced a "partial mobilisation" of 300,000 soldiers aimed at repelling a counter-offensive in Russian occupied Ukraine. "My country has started partial mobilisation and I think it is negatively affecting society," said one. "We waited a very long time at the Russian side of the border: about 16 hours." Suren Bat-Tur, the owner of a guesthouse in the capital Ulaanbaatar that normally caters for backpackers, has also been helping his friends in Buryatia to escape the draft. The guesthouse has filled up with Russians since Putin's mobilisation order, and Bat-Tur said he has already turned away dozens of requests for beds. "I wanted to help them, it has been very difficult," said Bat-Tur. "Now they are looking for work in construction or agriculture so they have something to do while they are here." One newly-arrived guest, who identified himself as Aleksey, said he crossed into Mongolia last weekend, leaving behind his wife and three children. He arrived at the border late at night on a tourist bus packed with other young Russians. "There were a lot of young people, a lot of people trying to get away from Putin," he said. Aleksey, 40, a construction worker, plans to stay in Mongolia until the situation in Russia improves, and said he would do whatever it takes to avoid the war. "We are not afraid, but why do we have to fight in Ukraine, why? he asked. "If other countries would attack Russia, we would fight for our country. But why are we going to Ukraine? For what?" Story continues Though Mongolian citizens have demonstrated against Russia's invasion, the government itself has remained steadfastly neutral. Almost entirely dependent on Russian oil and gas, landlocked Mongolia also stands to gain from a gas pipeline that Russia plans to build across its territory to supply China. Last month Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh met with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Samarkand to discuss plans for the pipeline, expected to begin construction within two years. Last week, former President Tsakhia Elbegdorj urged Putin to end the conflict, adding that ethnic Mongolians in Russia have been used as "cannon fodder" and killed in their thousands in Ukraine. "Since you (Putin) started this war, Russia has been drowned in fears, full of tears. Your mobilization brings oceans of suffering. Mr. President, stop your senseless killings and destruction," he said in an address shared on social media. (Reporting by Michael Kohn in Ulaanbaatar; Editing by David Stanway and Michael Perry) List includes nine national online media with highest professional standards and lowest rates of error, bias The Institute's experts compiled a list of the highest quality and most responsible online media, based on a two-stage in-depth monitoring study conducted in July-September 2022. The list includes nine national online media that scored the highest points in the assessment of compliance with professional standards and had the lowest rates of error and bias as of September 2022. The best outlets included (in no particular order, without ranking): NV Suspilne (UA:PBC) hromadske Babel Liga Ukrainska Pravda Ukrinform Radio Liberty Dzerkalo Tyzhnia For the first stage of the study, IMI experts selected 50 popular Ukrainian online media (based on the data of previous monitoring by IMI, SimilarWeb and Gemius). Their content was assessed for the presence of Manipulation; Fakes; hate speech; black PR; violations of ethics; presence of potentially paid content. In the second stage of the study, the media that passedthrough the first stage were analyzed according to the following criteria: compliance with the standards of unbiased reporting, reliability, and separation of facts from opinion; transparency availability of contacts on the website, editorial policy, information about the owner, information about the people responsible for the content, etc. According to the analysis, the level of compliance with professional standards on the outlets included in the White List is about 96% on average. No hidden advertising (although there were pieces with improper labeling), hate speech, sexism and fakes were found in the main news feeds on these sites. The full research methodology is available here. NV has been on the "White List" of Ukrainian online media for several years. In the fall of 2021, NV was included in the list of 10 editorial offices with the highest level of compliance with journalistic standards in Ukraine also according to the results of the Institute of Mass Information monitoring. In addition, in September 2021, NV was ranked second among Ukrainian media outlets that journalists trust the most (the results of the survey were presented by the PointeR Agency communication agency). Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and four other members of the far-right militia group will stand trial starting on Tuesday in one of the most high-profile Jan. 6 cases yet. Rhodes and 10 of his fellow Oath Keepers are charged with seditious conspiracy over their alleged plot to prevent the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, an offense that carries up to 20 years in prison. The first of two Oath Keepers trials this fall, Rhodess represents a major test for the Justice Department, as it seeks to obtain a guilty trial verdict for seditious conspiracy for the first time in nearly 30 years. The trial began on Tuesday with jury selection and is expected to last more than a month. Rhodes stands trial alongside Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell. The remaining Oath Keepers who have not yet pleaded guilty are scheduled to stand trial in November. Two members of the group Joshua James and Brian Ulrich previously pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy. Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four other members of the far-right group are also facing charges of seditious conspiracy and are set to stand trial in December. Rhodes and his fellow defendants are accused of planning to use force to prevent the transfer of power from former President Trump to President Biden during Congresss certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021, according to court documents. The Oath Keepers allegedly began coordinating plans in November 2020 to amass weapons and travel to Washington for the Jan. 6 certification. On the day itself, Meggs, Harrelson and Watkins allegedly marched in a stack formation through the crowd outside the Capitol. Once inside, the group reportedly split up with half heading towards the Senate chamber and the other half heading towards the House side in search of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Caldwell is accused of coordinating the quick reaction force teams outside the city, which were prepared to transport firearms and other weapons. Rhodes himself is not accused of entering the Capitol. Story continues The Oath Keepers lawyers are expected to argue that the defendants believed that Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act, which would give them standing to use force as a militia, according to The New York Times. However, prosecutors have rejected this reading of the law, claiming that the Insurrection Act does not permit the president to call up private armed groups, the Times noted. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Hurricane Ian at 5 a.m. Sept. 27, 2022. Dayton-based Ohio Task Force 1 and several Ohio volunteers with the Red Cross are in position to help Florida as Hurricane Ian bears down on the state. A Butler County team is also headed to the coast. The storm has already struck Cuba and is expected to be the worst hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast of Florida in decades. Florida's governor has declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm. Forty-seven members of Ohio Task Force 1 left their warehouse Saturday in a convoy of 14 semis, trucks, buses, boats and trailers. The team plans to stage north of the affected areas until Ian passes. The task force is an urban search and rescue team. On Sunday, the team was moving to a destination in Alabama but said they are staying flexible as the situation evolves. Duke Energy sent approximately 700 line workers, contractors, damage assessors and other crews south on Monday. The company's spokeswoman, Sally Thelen, said the crews are in southern Georgia, but will likely head for the Tampa, St. Petersburg area soon. Ohio Red Cross volunteers are already in Florida. "There are currently 6 volunteers from our region in Florida ... being staged in Orlando but many more are expected to be sent in the days ahead. The number of our local volunteers will grow as we get closer to landfall and after the hurricane hits," the organization said. The Butler County Incident Management Team, which is comprised of personnel from county public safety organizations, is also headed to Florida "to support logistical resource management with the State of Florida as they begin to process thousands of missions," according to a news release. The National Storm Center said Ian is expected to pass west of the Florida Keys late Tuesday, and approach the west coast of Florida on Wednesday into Thursday. The storm is predicted to slow during this period, the advisory said. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Hurricane Ian: Ohio Task Force One deploys to help Florida OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma's Pardon and Parole Board voted 4-1 Tuesday to deny clemency for a man sentenced to die for killing his 9-month-old daughter in 2002, moving him a step closer to his scheduled lethal injection next month. Attorneys for Benjamin Cole, 57, did not dispute that Cole killed Brianna Cole by forcibly bending the infant backward, breaking her spine and tearing her aorta, but argued that he is both severely mentally ill and that he has a growing lesion on his brain that has continued to worsen while he has been in prison. Cole has refused medical attention and ignored his personal hygiene, hording food and living in a darkened cell with little to no communication with staff or fellow prisoners, his attorneys told the panel. His condition has continued to decline over the course of this year," Cole's attorney Katrina Conrad-Legler said. The lesion on Cole's brain, which is separate from his diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, has grown in size in recent years and affects the part of his brain that deals with problem solving, movement and social interaction, Conrad-Legler added. Cole declined to speak to the panel. Attorneys for the state and members of the victim's family told the board that Cole's symptoms of mental illness are exaggerated and that the brutal nature of his daughter's killing merit his execution. Assistant Attorney General Tessa Henry said Cole killed his daughter because he was infuriated that her crying from her crib interrupted his playing of a video game. He is not severely mentally ill," said another prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Ashley Willis. There is nothing in the constitution or jurisprudence that prevents his execution." Prosecutors noted that the infant had numerous injuries consistent with a history of abuse and that Cole had previously served time in prison in California for abusing another child. Board members also heard emotional testimony from family members of the slain child's mother, who urged the board to reject clemency. Story continues The first time I got to see Brianna in person was lying in a casket," said Donna Daniel, the victim's aunt. Do you know how horrible it is to see a 9-month-old baby in a casket? This baby deserves justice. Our family deserves justice." Cole is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Oct. 20 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. However, his attorneys still are awaiting a decision from a Pittsburg County judge on whether a trial will be held to determine if Cole is competent to be executed. The evidence of Mr. Coles severe mental illness presented during todays clemency hearing reinforces the need for a full trial on his competency, Tom Hird, one of Mr. Coles attorneys, said in a statement after the hearing. Oklahoma Attorney General John O'Connor said in a statement that he was grateful for the panel's decision and that he believes Cole is competent enough to be executed. Although his attorneys claim Cole is mentally ill to the point of catatonia, the fact is that Cole fully cooperated with a mental evaluation in July of this year," O'Connor said. The evaluator, who was not hired by Cole or the State, found Cole to be competent to be executed and that Mr. Cole does not currently evidence any substantial, overt signs of mental illness, intellectual impairment, and/or neurocognitive impairment." Cole's execution would be the sixth since Oklahoma resumed carrying out the death penalty in October 2021. The state once had one of the busiest death chambers in the country, but halted executions in September 2015 following a botched execution the previous year and a mix-up in which the wrong lethal drugs were delivered to the prison for an execution. It was later learned that the same wrong drug had been used to execute another inmate, and executions in the state were put on hold. The local Red Cross has already hit the road to go help residents in Florida impacted by Hurricane Ian. Were constantly managing things like the fleet to make sure that the vehicles are in top shape ready to go. we have supply trailers that are being stocked and restocked all the time to make sure that theyre ready to get pulled out to a hurricane like this, said Matt Trotter, Regional Communications Director for the Red Cross of Kansas and Oklahoma. As Hurricane Ian slams into Florida, the Red Cross is working with partners there to shelter and support those impacted by the massive storm. We have our emergency response vehicle right here that is ready is to go down to Florida if its needed and thatll be used to deliver supplies and meals to people in communities impacted by the hurricane, Trotter said. One Red Cross volunteer from Claremore is helping with shelter operations and is already on the road. As hurricane Ian comes in, and local officials decide whether they need these evacuation shelters where people go to ride out the hurricane or if we need something longer term for people to stay in for a few nights, said Trotter. Another from southwestern Oklahoma will assist remotely by doing mapping work, to track where the storm does the most damage. Several others are on standby. Were just getting ready for whatever needs to happen, he said. Trotter said more than two-thousand red cross workers could be in the area by the weekend. Theyll go at a moments notice to Florida, he said. Travelers walk past a sign advertising Walt Disney World at Orlando International Airport as the July 4th holiday weekend begins. Americans are expected to travel in record numbers over the Independence Day holiday. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Orlando International Airport is canceling all commercial flights starting Wednesday morning. Hurricane Ian is moving north toward Florida and is expected to make landfall sometime Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. The statement added that travelers should contact airlines directly for any updates for their specific flights. Orlando International Airport (MCO) will stop all operations beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, the airport announced Tuesday afternoon. "The Orlando International Airport is prepared for the arrival and impact of Hurricane Ian. After conferring with the National Weather Service, airlines, and federal partners it has been decided that commercial operations at Orlando International Airport will cease at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, 9/28/22," a statement from the airport posted to Twitter said. The statement added that the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has activated the airport's Emergency Operations Center and that travelers should contact airlines directly for any updates for their specific flights. MCO also posted the update to its website's homepage Tuesday as Hurricane Ian intensifies in Cuba and continues to head north toward Florida. Read the original article on Insider Russia has opted not to submit a film in the Best International Feature category at the 95th Oscars. The decision, revealed late Monday night, was made by the Russian Film Academy and comes as the countrys ties with the west have deteriorated amid Russias invasion of Ukraine. A statement reads, The presidium of the Russian Film Academy has decided not to nominate any Russian films for the 2022 Academy Awards. More from Deadline In the wake of the announcement, Chairman of the Russian Oscar selection committee, Pavel Chukhray, resigned in protest. According to state news agency TASS, Chukhray called the decision illegal and said it was made without consultation. He told TASS, They did not even consider it necessary to notify of such a decision, and added that director Nikolai Dostal is also leaving. Another member of the Russian Oscar Committee, Alexei Uchitel, has called for a meeting with the Film Academy. Per TASS, Uchitel said, In my opinion, this situation needs to be corrected immediately. It seems to me impossible to make such a decision without the members of the Russian Oscar Committee. My call is to immediately get together with the presidium and then make a decision. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Russian films have not seen much travel to the west, particularly as those made with state funding have largely been unwelcome at major festivals. Tchaikovskys Wife, by Russian dissident Kirill Serebrennikov, however was selected in competition at Cannes. According to reports, there was a long list of 122 films from the country that could have been put forth to the Oscars this year. In the last decade, Russia has had five films make the International Feature shortlist, and converted two of those into nominations. It last won the statue for Nikita Mikhalkovs 1994 Burnt By the Sun. Story continues Mikhalkov reportedly has said it does not make sense for Russia to select a movie this year that would represent it in a country, which in reality currently denies the existence of Russia. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. The parents of a 10-year-old killed in a Gwinnett County house fire now face felony murder and other charges. William and Carina McCue vanished for months after the fire until police found them on the Appalachian Trail in June. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The familys home on Beaver Road in Gwinnett County burned down Easter morning. Investigators say the couples 10-year-old daughter was locked inside a windowless room. Police charged the couples 15-year-old son, who allegedly started the fire, with murder and arson. The other three children are in state custody. TRENDING STORIES: After the teens arrest, investigators started to suspect child abuse after arson investigators saw the unsanitary conditions of the home. Investigators found a makeshift bed with bedding in the bathtub in the home where the child was found dead. The showers and the bathtubs in the home did not appear to be working. Arson and SVU investigators also found an improvised camping-style toilet, seat buckets and non-usable toilets. The kitchen sink water had been diverted from the faucet to go into a bucket on the floor. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] SVU investigators determined that some of the children did not know how to use toilet paper. They were home-schooled and rarely left the house, investigators learned. There was evidence that the children were to not leave the home for years. There was evidence that the children were not given adequate food, a social worker told a judge in court earlier this year. Investigators previously charged the McCues with cruelty to children and false imprisonment. PARIS Paris Fashion Week is back in full swing and with it is a plethora of new shops, eateries and exhibits to check out. Shops That Pop LIngenieur Chevallier traces its roots back to 1740, when the grandfather of Jean Gabriel Augustin Chevallier became optician to Frances King Louis XV. Chevallier went on to invent the microscope and opera glasses, with his company eventually becoming official supplier of the French army. Now owned by family-held eyewear specialist Maison Bonnet, its Rue des Pyramides store, first opened in the 20s, has been revamped by noted designer Pierre Bonnefille. It will offer limited-edition models handmade in Burgundy by a master craftsman alongside selections from high-end niche labels. More from WWD Long live the queen of knits and stripes. Sonia Rykiel opened a pop-up store on Monday on tony Rue Royale, distilling the colorful and graphic universe of the late French designer in a 1,300-square-foot space, where bright hues are juxtaposed with brushed metal, mirrors and mesh decor, and there are references to Rykiels love for books, too. Like their New York counterparts, Parisian shoppers will be able to get their hands on the Rykiel Forever signature knitwear, glitzy Velvet Strauss styles and the Mai 68 fall 2022 collection. From Thursday through Sunday, the Kitsune flagship on the Rue de Richelieu will transform itself into Kitsune Market, a retro pop-up inspired by Korean culture and 80s convenience stores, centered around the work of artist and illustrator Tree13, who created an anime-inflected, illustrated campaign for the French label. And for anyone wanting a further taste of Kitsunes Korean adventures, its Louvre outpost just steps away will offer an exclusive menu with Paris-based Korean pastry chef Monsieur Caramel beginning Thursday through Oct. 31. Arive has arrived in Paris, and is partnering with Vestiaire Collective just in time for fashion week. The Munich-based app delivers a curated collection of goods from its Marais cloudstore to ones door in 60 minutes. That features authenticated pieces ranging from Celine sunglasses, Bottega Venetas rubber puddle boots, Guccis Jackie bag to Fendi baguettes. Centered on iconic accessories, new items will join the collection each week. The normal selection is still on tap on the app, meanwhile. Arives goods are delivered via its eco-friendly bike fleet to solve even the most pressing fashion week emergency. Lily Templeton and Rhonda Richford Story continues LIngenieur Chevallier 17 Rue des Pyramides, 75001 Sonia Rykiel 18 Rue Royale, 75001 Kitsune Market Pop-up: 52 Rue de Richelieu, 75001 Cafe: 2 Place Andre Malraux, 75001 Arive Online: Ariveapp.com In-store: 3 Rue Portefoin, 75003 Fine Food and Drink To kick of celebrations of his eponymous fragrance brands 15th anniversary, Kilian Hennessy is hosting an ephemeral bar at the Hotel Plaza Athenee during Paris Fashion Week, through Oct. 9. There, people can discover scents from Kilian Paris five olfactive families, including Les Citrus Frais and Les Fleurs Narcotique. Personalized olfactive consultations are offered, too. Also on the menu are signature cocktails from the Plaza Athenee inspired by Kilian fragrances. Events are being scheduled in 15 capitals worldwide to help celebrate the brands birthday. Paris is at ones feet and Instagram feed from the terrace of Bonnie, the latest Paris Society restaurant and club on the 15th and 16th floors of the SO/Paris hotel, where lobster rolls, an impressive Cobb salad and a host of mouthwatering cocktails are nearly eclipsed by the jaw-dropping vista. The mirrored ceiling that extends onto the terrace and kaleidoscopic elements are part of The Seeing City, an immersive artwork, where light and weather conditions become part of an ever-changing display. Its by Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Benham, with the participation of Studio Other Spaces. Perched 187 feet up on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower with a sweeping view of the Trocadero, Madame Brasserie owes her name to the Iron Lady herself and the local, seasonal and not-so-traditional French cuisine imagined by star chef Thierry Marx. His stated challenge was to make a simple, healthy and pleasurable cuisine that is as durable as the monument itself. On the menu are classics such as onion soup or escargots bathed in herby garlic butter, alongside quinoa from the Ile-de-France region around Paris and a plant-based pavlova. Michelin-starred chef Bruno Verjus described himself as a being of the sea, so for the freshly opened 65-seat restaurant Cavalieri, he wanted diners to experience a form of magic that will transport them by the sea, by boat, ready to discover new horizons. No compass needed to find ones way to fresh vegetables with a swirl of zaatar oil, the catch of the day with a zucchini pizza on the side or a chocolate mousse livened up by a sprinkle of chili flakes and olive confit on the menu executed by brothers Kevin and Cristian Stradaioli. L.T. and Jennifer Weil Hotel Plaza Athenee x Kilian Paris 25 Avenue Montaigne, 75008 Bonnie 10 Rue Aggripa dAubigne, 75004 Open daily. Lunch from noon to 5 p.m., dinner from 7 p.m. to midnight Madame Brasserie First floor of the Eiffel Tower, 75007 Entry through the south pillar All-day dining, with two services for lunch (noon and 1:30 p.m.) and for dinner (6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.). Reservations recommended. Cavalieri 71 Avenue Paul Doumer, 75001 Open daily for lunch and dinner. Art Attack The Musee dOrsay, in collaboration with the Munich Museum in Oslo, is featuring an exhibition devoted to the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. Sixty years of his creative work full of symbolism are on display there. Across the Seine river, the Musee dArt Moderne de Paris has a show on devoted to artist Oskar Kokoschka, called Enfant Terrible in Vienna. It marks the first retrospective of the Austrians work, and traces 70 years of his image-making. Sergei Pavlov, winner of the American Vintage Photography Award at the 36th edition of the Hyeres International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Fashion Accessories, is displaying a personal series, entitled Sea Songs, made of nine black-and-white photos in two of the fashion brands Paris stores. American photographer Gray Malin headed to Paris to capture top dogs, including PR guru Lucien Pages pugs, in the Hotel Plaza Athenee and around town. The Dogs of Paris series will be unveiled on Tuesday, on the artists site graymalin.com. J.W. and L.T. Musee dOrsay Edvard Munch. A Poem of Life, Love and Death, through Jan. 22, 2023 1 Rue de la Legion dHonneur, 75007 Musee dArt Moderne de Paris Oskar Kokoschka: Enfant Terrible in Venice, through Feb. 12, 2023 11 Avenue du President Wilson, 75116 American Apparel Sea Songs, through Saturday 62 Rue Tiquetonne, 75002 32 Rue Etienne Marcel, 75001 Launch Gallery: Paris Scene: Whats New and Hot Best of WWD Click here to read the full article. Charles Grant, 38, of Paterson, was once again convicted on murder and weapons charges related to the fatal shooting of Isaac Tucker in 2015, after an appellate court overturned his prior conviction earlier this year and referred the matter back to Superior Court for a new trial. The new jury on Tuesday returned its verdict after deliberating for less than two days, having been shown surveillance footage of the shooting and events that led up to the fatal attack, the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office announced. But it was a snafu relevant to that very same surveillance footage that led Grant's 2018 conviction to be overturned by appellate judges in February. During the initial trial against Grant, jurors were shown unedited video of the defendant's April 2015 interrogation, in which Detective James Maldonado repeatedly said he was "100 percent" sure Grant was the killer and that surveillance footage from the area clearly showed Grant was carrying a gun before the slaying, according to prior reports from The Record/NorthJersey.com On appeal, the court agreed that such accusations were beyond Maldonado's knowledge at the time and should have been left to the jury to decide after viewing the surveillance footage themselves. Also at issue with Grant's 2018 trial was Maldonado's insistence that Tucker was gunned down by Grant in retaliation for a previous killing, rumored to be Tucker's doing, an accusation that Grant denied vehemently and appellate judges agreed should not have been presented to jurors. Moreover, the victim's own son, Izair Tucker, insisted his father was an upstanding citizen who was using money from an insurance settlement to open a restaurant in the neighborhood where he lived and was ultimately killed. "He didn't have a beef with anybody," Izair previously said. "No gang-banging. None of that." More:These incidents after Paterson's Dominican Parade cost at least $30K in police overtime Story continues Grant's sentencing exposure is 30 years on the first-degree murder conviction and five to 10 years for weapons possession, prosecutors said. His sentencing date has not been scheduled. In the early morning hours of Feb. 23, 2015, Paterson police found Tucker shot to death in the 4th Ward, on East 16th Street, 10 blocks from his home. Tucker had been shot at close range in his chest, back and face, police said at the time. Evidence derived from the initial trial showed that Grant shot Tucker as the two walked away from the Alto Rango Liquor Store on 12th Avenue, according to prior reports. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson man convicted in 2015 killing for second time after new trial Hurricane Ian, a powerful category 3 storm, is lashing the west coast of Cuba with wind and heavy rains amid dangerous storm surge after making landfall early Tuesday. Authorities in the Pinar del Rio province have evacuated 50,000 people from the area and set up at least 55 shelters. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest update on Tuesday, (at 5am Eastern Standard Time), that Ian is now expected to slow down over the Gulf of Mexico and widen as it makes it way towards Florida. Mandatory evacuations of several hundred thousand people are already underway in the Sunshine State where locals are bracing for strong winds, flash floods and isolated tornadoes. The storm is tracking towards western Florida and the region between Fort Myers and Tampa Bay, according to NHC. The large cities of Tampa and St Petersburg are expected to be impacted. They have not faced a direct hit from a major hurricane since 1921. Tropical storm conditions are expected in west central Florida on Tuesday before hurricane force winds of up to 140mph pick up on Wednesday morning. As Ian progresses from the Florida Keys northwards on Wednesday, it will bring heavy rainfall as far as Lake Okeechobee, near West Palm Beach. Neighbouring states could also experience impacts, the NHC warned. Considerable flooding is expected across central Florida into southern Georgia and coastal South Carolina, with significant, prolonged river flooding expected across central to northern Florida, the agency stated. Here are the 5 AM EDT Key Messages for Major Hurricane #Ian. More: https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/0uzMONna9h National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 27, 2022 Please treat this storm seriously. Its the real deal. This is not a drill, said Hillsborough County emergency management director Timothy Dudley on Monday in Tampa. Story continues A storm surge of up to 10 feet of ocean water has been predicted across the Tampa Bay area along with 10 inches of rain, with as much as 15 inches in isolated areas enough water to inundate coastal communities. Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, Floridas Republican governor Ron DeSantis urged the public not to panic buy as the storm approaches as thousands queued for bottled water, supplies and sand bags. You have a significant storm that may end up being a category 4 hurricane, Mr DeSantis said. Thats going to cause a huge amount of storm surge. Youre going to have flood events. Youre going to have a lot of different impacts. The governor said the state has suspended tolls around Tampa Bay and mobilised 5,000 National Guard troops, with another 2,000 on standby in neighbouring states. WESTMINSTER A native of Rosario, Argentina, Pablo (Paul) A. Ilves moved to Westminster with his Finnish-born mother Rosa when he was only 2 years old. While Paul did not grow up in Westminster but rather Warren, Maine, he returned to town in 1940 at the age of 21 to work as a hired hand for his uncle and aunt, Axel R. and Ida E. Tuomi, who ran a dairy farm at the corner of Harrington & Hubbardston roads. Shortly thereafter, the Tuomis decided to switch to poultry farming. Mark Landry, the veterans graves officer as well as a member of the towns veterans committee for the Westminster Historical Society, provided a good deal of information to help complete this column, as well as each on soldiers from Westminster. This is the continuation of the series Remembering Local World War II Heroes. Cpl. Paul A. Ilves (1918-1944) Axel and Ida Tuomi are pictured on their horse-drawn wagon with daughters Irene, Lili and Lempi. The young hired boy to the left is believed to be the Tuomi's nephew Paul Ilves. Pablo Paul A. Ilves was born on July 28, 1918 in Rosario, Argentina to Finnish natives Henry and Rosa Ilves. Rosario, one of the largest cities in Argentina, is located on the western bank of the Parana River. When Paul was 2 years old, his mother took him and his older brother Enrique aboard the vessel the Vasari out of Buenos Aires en route to New York, with the final destination of Westminster. They arrived on Oct. 22, 1920 and were quarantined in a hospital for a short time. Once his father Henry joined the family, they moved to Warren, Maine where Henry took a job in a cement plant. Paul completed one year of high school before seeking work. By 1940, he found himself back in Westminster working on the dairy farm owned by his aunt and uncle. Ida (Ilves) Tuomi was the sister of Pauls father Henry. More: Lt. Waino Friberg was shot down off the coast of Naples, Italy Ilves enlisted in the army, though not a U. S. citizen Although Paul was not a United States citizen, he decided to enlist into the U.S. Army on Feb. 19, 1941. After training, he was sent to serve in the Panama Canal Zone. Story continues While with the Panama Canal department, Private Ilves attained the rank of corporal and was assigned to Company B, the 15th Engineering Battalion, 9th Infantry Division. Cpl. Ilves' unit saw action in Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, and Normandy. They participated in the invasion of Sicily, Italy, and eventually hit the beaches of Palermo in August of 1943. Once that island was secured, the 15th sailed back to England for further training. They would go on to land at Utah Beach on June 10, 1944, during the famed attack on Normandy. Paul A. Ilves As the year progressed, by October 1944, the 15th Engineering Battalion was fighting on the Siegfried Line in the Hurtgen Forest amidst a driving rainstorm. Due to the treacherous weather, over five days of fighting one of the 9th Infantry Division regiments (the 39th) lost as many as 500 men and only advanced one mile. In the meantime, the Germans were making great use of their numerous pillboxes, which would have drawn the attention of engineers like Cpl. Ilves to take them out, despite the driving rain. The engineers worked hard to destroy several roadblocks that were booby trapped but tragically once such device ultimately caused the death of Cpl. Ilves. On Oct. 11, 1944, Cpl. Ilves was mortally wounded by fragments from a hand grenade which struck him in the abdomen and the leg. Despite receiving a transfusion of blood, the 26-year-old Cp. Ilves died of his wounds. More: Military was the destiny of Westminster's Douglas Hicks, who died in World War II Honored with a Silver Star Ilves earned the third highest U.S. military decoration, the Silver Star, for action during the war while taking part in a battle just two and a half weeks prior to his death. A citation was posthumously awarded to him by President Franklin D. Roosevelt for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with the Ninth Infantry Division on the 22nd of September 1944. During the operations in Germany, his gallantry in action and disregard for personal safety reflects highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States. Paul A. Ilves Square, located at Davis and Harrington roads in Westminster. Cpl. Ilves was buried in Shuman Cemetery in Waldoboro, Maine. At a Westminster town meeting in 1966, the junction of South, Minott and Harrington Roads not far from the farm where he worked for his uncle Axel Tuomi as a hired hand so many years ago was given the name Paul A. Ilves Square. The marker was later relocated to its present location at Davis and Harrington roads. Comments and suggestions for Remembering Local World War II Heroes can be sent to Mike Richard at mikerichard0725@gmail.com or in writing to Mike Richard, 92 Boardley Road, Sandwich, MA 02563. This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Cpl. Paul A. Ilves of Westminster posthumously awarded Silver Star While scrolling on TikTok, you might land on videos about the pelvic floor or pelvic floor therapy filled with advice and exercises. The TikTok hashtag #pelvicfloor has garnered over 578 million views so far. Some of the videos are from physical therapists trying to educate and spread awareness, but many are not and before you know it, you may be diagnosing yourself with a pelvic floor problem in between watching videos about NyQuil chicken and the corn kid. So what is pelvic floor therapy and who can benefit from it? We spoke to experts to find out. What is the pelvic floor? The pelvic floor is almost like a hammock of muscles lining the bottom of the pelvis, Dr. Charles Ascher-Walsh, Division Director for Urogynecology in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai told TODAY. The main component of the pelvic floor is called the levator ani muscle, which is actually a series of muscles that support everything in the pelvis, Ascher-Walsh explained. Basically, these pelvic floor muscles keep the organs in your body from falling out, Dr. Jaclyn Bonder, Medical Director of Womens Health Rehabilitation at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian told TODAY. These organs include the bladder, bowel, rectum and uterus. When they work normally, the pelvic floor muscles also help control certain bodily functions, said Bonder. They are muscles that help us control urination and bowel movements (continence), and sexual intercourse whether its orgasm and pleasure or sexual function, Bonder added. These muscles work a bit differently in women and men, the experts noted. The design of a womans pelvis has to do with the fact that women are able to get pregnant and deliver a baby, so there are more openings to allow this, said Ascher-Walsh. In men, some of the pelvic floor muscles assist in controlling and maintaining an erection, said Bonder. What is pelvic floor dysfunction? Pelvic floor dysfunction occurs when the pelvic floor muscles do not work properly, which can lead to a range of conditions and symptoms. Generally, there are two types of pelvic floor dysfunction either the muscles are too weak (hypotonic) or the muscles are too tight (hypertonic), the experts noted. This can lead to things like incontinence, constipation, prolapse, muscle spasms, pain, and more. Story continues What causes weak pelvic floor muscles? Weak pelvic floor muscles can be caused by childbirth, problems with the nerves coordinating and controlling those muscles, problems with the bladder or bowels, or trauma, said Bonder. During a vaginal delivery, for example, the pelvic floor muscles can become stretched or tear and down the line this can lead to weakness in postpartum women, Bonder added. Aging is another common cause of weakened pelvic floor muscles, said Ascher-Walsh. Its becoming more and more of an issue as we live longer, he added. One of the most common conditions associated with weak pelvic floor muscles is incontinence, or the inability to control urination or bowel movements, the experts noted. Basically, when youre learning to be potty trained, youre learning how to control the pelvic floor muscles so if those muscles are not working properly, sometimes youll leak urine or fecal matter or not be able to hold it well, said Ascher-Walsh. Weak pelvic floor muscles can also cause urine to leak with movements like coughing, sneezing, laughing, or jumping, said Ascher-Walsh this is called stress incontinence. If the pelvic floor muscles are unable to support the pelvic organs, this can lead to prolapse. A prolapse is sort of when things start to sort of drop downward in a womans pelvis (which) occurs to some extent because of a weakness of the pelvic floor muscles, said Ascher-Walsh. What causes tight pelvic floor muscles? Tight pelvic floor muscles may be caused by overuse, stress, other pelvic health conditions, trauma, or anxiety, the experts noted. Just like some people hold tension in their shoulders, some hold tension in their pelvic floor and will clench or hold these muscles too often, said Bonder. I think that theres a certain percentage of women who show that tension in their pelvic floor their muscles are sort of in a constant spasm to some degree, Ascher-Walsh said. When these muscles are spasming, they may be tender to touch which can lead to chronic pain, said Ascher-Walsh. That obviously leads to very uncomfortable sex, he added. This can also cause pain with arousal, pain with ejaculation, and pain with orgasm, said Bonder. In addition to painful sex, tight pelvic floor muscles can cause pain with urination, bowel movements, and gas, said Bonder. When it comes to bodily functions, a tight pelvic floor can actually lead to constipation and increased urinary frequency or urgency, so people may feel like they need to pee more often or very quickly, Bonder noted. Tense pelvic floor muscles can also be a result of trauma or injury, said Bonder, which can lead to a guarding response." For example, if someone has endometriosis, they may tend to guard against pain by tightening or clenching their muscles, which can cause additional pain in the muscles, Bonder added. Tensing the muscles and guarding against things tends to happen in (both men and women) who have higher anxiety and higher stress levels, said Bonder. Doctors have seen increasing reports of pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic pain during the pandemic which may be linked to increased stress, TODAY previously reported. Pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic pain has also been linked to psychological trauma and abuse, said Bonder. What is pelvic floor therapy? Pelvic floor therapy aims to treat pelvic floor dysfunction by helping the muscles work properly, which may mean strengthening or relaxing the muscles depending on the underlying problem. Pelvic floor therapy usually refers to physical work whether its for weakness or tightness, a lot of times the first line of treatment is working with a highly trained pelvic floor physical therapist, said Bonder. People who have any symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction should consult their doctor or OB-GYN before attempting any pelvic floor therapy exercises on their own, the experts noted. Types of pelvic floor therapy For weak muscles The simplest way of thinking of pelvic floor therapy is to try to keep that sort of hammock of muscles stronger, said Ascher-Walsh. We often prescribe pelvic floor therapy as a way of trying to strengthen those pelvic floor muscles to combat the weakness thats leading to prolapse and incontinence, he added. Kegels are a popular exercise to help strengthen the pelvic floor, said Ascher-Walsh, and these involve contracting and relaxing the pelvic floor muscles repeatedly. Kegel exercises can be done with the help of a pelvic floor physical therapist or at home. To learn how to do kegels, put a finger inside the vagina (or rectum) and squeeze your vaginal (or rectal) muscles down on your fingers so that you can feel that youre using the right muscles, said Ascher-Walsh. According to The Mayo Clinic, you can also identify these muscles by holding and stopping urination mid-stream. Its also easy to do kegels wrong, the experts noted. I would say, almost a third of women, when I ask them to do kegel exercises ... dont really have a good sense of how to contract those muscles down, said Ascher-Walsh. A pelvic floor physical therapist can help teach you how to do these exercises correctly and safely. There are also types of concentrated pelvic floor physical therapy which involve using probes to help monitor and strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, Ascher-Walsh said. These devices deliver an electrical stimulation to the pelvic floor muscles to make them contract, said Ascher-Walsh, so you can then try to mimic the same contraction on your own. Pelvic floor therapy exercises like kegels are appropriate for both men and women. Men with fecal incontinence, for example, would be offered pelvic floor therapy to try to strengthen their pelvic floor, said Ascher-Walsh. For tight muscles If you have hypertonic or spastic muscles in your pelvic floor, then you need sort of the opposite treatment, said Ascher-Walsh. In those with tight or tense pelvic floor muscles, pelvic floor physical therapy may involve physical or breathing exercises, massages, and behavioral modifications to help relax the muscles, according to the experts. They (often) need specialists who will go in and sort of massage these muscles and stretch them out, said Ascher-Walsh. There are different types of myofascial release or manual work that a physical therapist will do to help the muscles get less tense, Bonder said, and exercises patients can do on their own to relax or down-train the muscles. Theres a lot of breathing patterns that we try to correct in patients with these types of issues because a lot of patients will hold their breath or not use their breath correctly ... that can affect the pelvic floor as well, said Bonder. Is pelvic floor therapy right for you? Pelvic floor physical therapy is a first-line treatment for many conditions, but its not a cure-all and some people with pelvic floor dysfunction will require further treatment, the experts noted. If someone has incontinence that does not improve with pelvic floor physical therapy, for example, they would need to see a urologist or urogynecologist to explore medications or surgery, Bonder said. Its very, very unlikely that pelvic floor therapy would ever reverse the problems of prolapse, said Ascher-Walsh. In patients with pelvic organ prolapse, they may need surgery or something called a pessary (a non-surgical device inserted into the vagina to provide support, according to the Cleveland Clinic). Theres a variety of different treatments it can be confusing to somebody who doesnt really understand pelvic floor therapy and just thinks they just need to exercise their pelvic floor to help with the problem, said Ascher-Walsh. You really should discuss it with your doctor and see a specialist, then sort of approach it tailored for you, he added. What if you dont have pelvic floor dysfunction? If youre not having any kind of symptoms, and youre trying to just kind of maintain a healthy pelvic floor, I think its fine to do (exercises), said Bonder. But there is also a balance and doing too many of either type of exercise can also cause problems, she added. If you have any concerns about pelvic floor dysfunction or questions about pelvic floor therapy, talk to your doctor. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Doug Mastriano speaks at an event on July 1, 2022, at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. Marc Levy, File/Associated Press Doug Mastriano, a state senator, is the GOP nominee running for governor of Pennsylvania. In 2019, he said women who have illegal abortions should be charged with murder. Mastriano at the time was a lead sponsor of legislation to ban abortions when a heartbeat is detected. Doug Mastriano, the far-right GOP nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, once said that women who decide to have an abortion in violation of a proposed ban should be charged with murder, NBC News first reported Tuesday. In a newly surfaced interview from 2019, Mastriano was asked if a woman who learned she was pregnant at 10 weeks and decided to have an abortion would be charged with murder under the proposal. Mastriano at the time was a lead sponsor of The Heartbeat Bill, which would ban abortions after a heartbeat is detected, generally around six to eight weeks of pregnancy. The bill did not survive a veto. "Would that woman who decided to have an abortion, which would be considered an illegal abortion, be charged with murder?" the interviewer with Pennsylvania radio station WITF asked. Mastriano said that the basic question is whether it's a human being or "a little boy or a girl," and if so, "it deserves equal protection under the law." "So you're saying 'yes?'" the interviewer asked. "Yes, I am," said Mastriano, a state senator. Mastriano recently told activists on a call hosted by the Pro-Life Coalition of Pennsylvania that, if elected, he would sign the heartbeat bill or a "fetal pain bill," another attempt to restrict abortions, according to WESA. Pennsylvania law currently bans the procedure after 24 weeks with exceptions for the life and health of the mother. Mastriano did not respond to a request for comment made to his state senate campaign office. A spokesperson for his Democratic opponent, Josh Shapiro, said in a statement, "Doug Mastriano has said his number one priority is banning abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother and now, it's clear he also wants to prosecute women for murder for making personal healthcare decisions. Mastriano has the most extreme anti-choice position in the country and there is no limit to how far he would go to take away Pennsylvania women's freedom." During the 2019 WITF radio interview, Mastriano said abortion "absolutely is" murder. Asked what the penalty would be for a doctor who performed an abortion after a heartbeat, Mastriano said, "So it goes back down to the courts if it's ruled that ... that little person is a baby, a human being, then that's murder and it has to go through the legal procedures." Read the original article on Business Insider DES MOINES, Iowa Attorneys for Pieper Lewis asked a judge to overturn a portion of the sentence that ordered her to pay $150,000 to the estate of her rapist. Lewis, who turns 18 years old Wednesday, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and willful injury after killing Zachary Brooks, a 37-year-old father of three, who she said sexually assaulted her multiple times in the weeks leading up to his killing. Early on June 1, 2020, when Lewis was 15 years old, she stabbed Brooks to death using a knife she found on a bedside table in Brooks' apartment after she said he assaulted her. Polk County Judge David M. Porter gave Lewis a deferred judgment Sept. 13, a type of legal remedy where a person can have their record expunged when probation is completed. He ordered her to spend five years on probation at the Fresh Start Women's Center in Des Moines. More about this case: What's next for Pieper Lewis, the Des Moines teen convicted of killing her alleged rapist? NASA: DART spacecraft successfully crashes into asteroid in first planetary defense test Pieper Lewis gives her Allocution during a sentencing hearing, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. The Des Moines teen pleaded guilty to killing her alleged rapist in June 2020. Before killing Brooks, Lewis ran away from what she said was an abusive relationship with her mother early in 2020. Eventually she came to live with a 28-year-old Des Moines musician she called her "boyfriend," who she said forced her to have sex with older men, including Brooks, for money. Prosecutors never disputed claims that Lewis was sexualcedaly assaulted or trafficked. Her trafficker still has not been charged. Porter ordered Lewis to pay $150,000 to Brooks' estate, citing a 1997 Iowa law that requires people convicted of felony charges in cases where people die to pay $150,000. "The court is cognizant that you and your supporters will be frustrated with the imposition of the $150,000 in restitution to Mr. Brooks' estate," Porter told Lewis at her sentencing hearing. "This court is presented with no other option, other than which is dictated by the law of this state." Story continues A GoFundMe fundraiser started by Lewis' former Lincoln High School math teacher has raised more than $561,000 as of Tuesday morning. Polk County District Judge David M. Porter speaks with a witness during, a sentencing hearing for Pieper Lewis, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. Porter based his decision on a 2017 Iowa Supreme Court ruling in which a 15-year-old female in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, stabbed a man to death with her 19-year-old boyfriend while robbing another man in 2013. The 15-year-old in that case pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The teen did not appeal her prison sentence, but challenged an order to pay the estate of the man she and her boyfriend killed $150,000. The Iowa Supreme Court found that district court judges have no discretion to waive this restitution and that it is constitutional even when applied to juveniles. What's everyone talking about?: Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day In Monday's filing, Lewis' attorneys Matthew Sheeley, Paul White and Magdalena Reese argued that the nature of the offenses in the two cases "bear no similarity." Unlike the Cedar Rapids teen Lewis did not plan out the offense she was convicted of, her attorneys argued. "Voluntary manslaughter requires an element of 'serious provocation,'" Lewis' legal team wrote. "The 'serious provocation' at issue here was the rape Pieper endured immediately before the stabbing, a rape perpetrated by Zachary Brooks." The Cedar Rapids teen was never forced to go along with her boyfriend's plan to rob and kill another man, but did so anyway, according to court records. By contrast, Lewis told her trafficker on May 31, 2020, that she did not want to go to Brooks' apartment. Her trafficker held a knife to her throat to compel her to go have sex with Brooks in exchange for $50 worth of marijuana, according to her attorneys and her plea agreement. The Cedar Rapids case was primarily motivated by money, Lewis' attorneys argued. The teen and her boyfriend wanted to rob the man they killed of $2,000, but only found his electronic benefit transfer card. "There was no premeditation or plan to kill Zachary Brooks. Piepers offense was motivated by the sudden rage she experienced after she was raped by Mr. Brooks," according to the attorneys, who argued that the Iowa State Legislature never intended for the law to be enforced in cases like Lewis'. Her rights under Article 1, Section 17 of the Iowa Constitution and the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, both of which prohibit excessive fines, could be violated because of the circumstances surrounding Lewis' own victimization, they wrote. "But for the conduct of her sex-trafficker, Pieper never would have met Mr. Brooks and Mr. Brooks, in turn, would never have had the opportunity to rape this 15-year-old homeless runaway girl," Lewis' attorneys argued. "The very notion that she is now required to pay $150,000.00 to the heirs of the man who raped her on the morning of June 1, 2020, is absurd." In a deferred judgment, a guilty verdict is technically withheld, even after a person pleads guilty and admits to the acts they are charged with. The Cedar Rapids teen did not receive a deferred judgment, which clearly shows that the cases are different, Lewis' attorneys argued. The $150,000 award is punitive, and does not serve a remedial purpose, they argued. "Its primary purpose is to punish the offender," the attorneys wrote. "Pieper Lewis received a deferred judgment and therefore has not been 'convicted of a felony.'" If Porter does not overturn his decision, they asked him to stay his decision so they can appeal it. Contact Philip Joens at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa teen asks court to toss $150,000 payment to man she killed Tomasz Zajda / EyeEm/Getty Images A pipeline company's president told WSJ it's lost $13 million in work because of staff shortages. He said the firm increased wages by 22% and offers hiring and retention bonuses. Almost half of small businesses said finding and retaining staff was a problem, a survey found. A pipeline company in California said that it's turned down over $13 million in potential work this year because of staff shortages, The Wall Street Journal reported. Boudreau Pipeline Corp. is made up of about 350 people, and the company installs underground sewer, water, and storm drain utilities. Alan Boudreau, the company's president, told the Journal that the staff shortages are "frustrating," and that there's enough work for an extra 50 employees. The $13 million in lost work translates to around 22% of the total value of the contracts the company had won during the time period, Boudreau said. In the last two years, the company's wages have increased by 22%, Boudreau told WSJ. The company has also hired three in-house recruiters, and is offering hiring bonuses up to $2,500 and retention bonuses up to $5,000 if the employee stays for at least a year, he added. Boudreau did not immediately respond to Insider's request for additional comment ahead of publication. The company increased referral bonuses up to $1,500 in early 2021, which is a $150 more than it was four years ago, Boudreau told WSJ, adding that it's the best way to get new employees. Boudreau isn't the only small business owner with a hiring problem. A survey from Goldman Sachs found that 47% of almost 1,500 small business owners surveyed are having difficulty finding and retaining employees. The top reason, the survey found, was competition with larger companies who can offer higher pay and benefits. Insider has previously reported that some businesses are also facing problems with job candidates who don't show up to their job interviews, or some who leave right after they're hired. In a July 2022 report on small business employment from the National Federation of Independent Business, 49% of small business owners surveyed said they had job openings they couldn't fill. Are you a small business owner with a story to share? Contact the reporter at bnguyen@insider.com Read the original article on Business Insider Sep. 26WHEELERSBURG The Wheelersburg Pirates defended their home turf at Ed Miller Stadium in their Southern Ohio Conference Division II opener on Friday night to the tune of a 42-0 shutout win over visiting Minford. The victory gives the Pirates their 14th-straight win over Minford, and improves their overall record in the series to 62-6. It took Wheelersburg just two plays on their first offensive series to find the end zone. Senior Eric Lattimore took a handoff from senior quarterback Eli Jones 54 yards to the end zone to give 'Burg a 7-0 lead with 9:16 left in the first quarter, following Connor Estep's made extra point. From there, it was all Pirates. Wheelersburg coach Rob Woodward said a great week of practice and preparation for a Minford team averaging 34 points per game entering the contest helped set the tone for the shutout. "We had a great week of preparation this week, cleaning up some things and mistakes from last week. When you play good, quality opponents, it gives you some areas you want to focus on and get better at. We did that through the week, it made for a great week of practice," Woodward said. "Come out and we were able to execute like we did." In total, the Wheelersburg defense allowed just 88 total yards and five first downs to the Minford offense. Nine of Minford's 10 offensive drives ended with a punt with their series just before halftime ending in a turnover on downs. "Last week was the most undisciplined we've been alignment-wise defensively in certain situations. Our coaching staff did a great job of telling guys where they need to be. Best alignment we've had all season, and that transitions to a shutout and stopping what we felt was an explosive offense," Woodward said. The Pirates scored on each of their first three offensive series' to start the game, and added another touchdown just before halftime to take a 28-0 lead into the break. Story continues Ethan Glover took carries of five and eight yards into the end zone following Eric Lattimore's initial score, putting 'Burg up 21-0 by the 11:32 mark of the second period. Senior running back Derrick Lattimore found the end zone with 2:25 remaining in the second on a 21-yard run which gave his Pirates a four-touchdown lead. On the first drive of the second half, Wheelersburg needed just five plays to go 57 yards and find paydirt again as Derrick Lattimore punched it in the end zone with a nine-yard run to put the Pirates ahead 35-0. Eric Lattimore wasn't done with his explosive plays after the game's first score. With 5:40 left in the third quarter, Lattimore took a Minford punt and made several Falcon players miss going 75 yards for a touchdown to expand the Pirates' lead to 42-0. "Continued to be high energy, explosive plays that we were able to capitalize in some situations. It takes 11 guys out there. I felt like every aspect of our game was being executed at the highest level that we have this year," Woodward said. "The misdirection that Coach (Dusty) Salyers is able to implement in our offense, able to incorporate more of our passing game. More things we want to continue developing, growing, and getting better at each week." With the victory, Wheelersburg improves to 4-2 and will host Oak Hill (1-5, 0-1 SOC II) in week seven at Ed Miller Stadium. Minford falls to 4-2, and will host West (5-1, 1-0 SOC II) in its SOC II home opener this week. *** BOX SCORE Minford 0 0 0 0 0 Wheelersburg 14 14 14 0 42 Scoring plays W Eric Lattimore, 54-yard run (Connor Estep PAT good); 7-0 W 9:16 1Q W Ethan Glover, 5-yard run (Connor Estep PAT good); 14-0 W 4:48 1Q W Ethan Glover, 8-yard run (Connor Estep PAT good); 21-0 W 11:32 2Q W Derrick Lattimore, 21-yard run (Connor Estep PAT good); 28-0 W 2:25 2Q W Derrick Lattimore, 9-yard run (Connor Estep PAT good); 35-0 W 10:02 3Q W Eric Lattimore, 75-yard punt return (Connor Estep PAT good); 42-0 W 5:40 3Q Team Stats Minford Wheelersburg Plays 39 42 Yards (Pass-Rush) 88 (51-37) 388 (87-301) First Downs 5 18 Turnovers 0 0 Penalties 3 for 15 yards 3 for 38 yards Time of Possession 25:17 22:43 Individual stats Passing: Peyton Caudill (M) 6-14 51; Eli Jones (W) 9-11 79 yards, Braylon Rucker (W) 1-2 8 yards Rushing: Jeffrey Pica (M) 15-40, Peyton Caudill (M) 4-(-15), Tyson Kingery (M) 6-12; Derrick Lattimore (W) 8-60 2TD, Ethan Glover (W) 5-48 2TD, Eli Jones (W) 9-35, Eric Lattimore (W) 2-60 TD, Creed Warren (W) 3-58, Kenyon Evans (W) 1-3, Braylon Rucker (W) 1-37, Elijah Brown (W) 2-0 Receiving: J.D. Matiz (M) 1-5, Mason Book (M) 1-4, Tyson Kingery (M) 1-8, Jackson Shoemaker (M) 3-34; Kenyon Evans (W) 1-6, Creed Warren (W) 4-31, Landon McGraw (W) 2-11, Ethan Glover (W) 1-5, Eric Lattimore (W) 3-35 Reach Jacob Smith at (740) 370-0713 ext. 1930, by email at jsmith@aimmediamidwest.com, or on Twitter @JacobSmithPDT 2022 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved Pittsburgh Public Works is looking for the 107th holiday tree to display in front of the City-County Building downtown for the holiday season. Even though its September, Forestry is busy with holiday planning, says city forester with the Department of Public Works, Lisa Ceoffe. We are excited to find the perfect tree for the City-County Building this year and look forward to celebrating the holiday season with Pittsburgh. According to a news release, the holiday tree is one of Downtown Pittsburghs oldest traditions, with the first put up at the construction site of the City-County Building in 1914. The tree is considered Pittsburghs official Christmas tree through the New Year, according to the Mayors Office. Officials said the tree can be any evergreen variety and should be a minimum of 40 feet tall. Last years tree was a blue spruce planted in the 1990s and was donated by the Fuga family from Pittsburghs Lincoln Place neighborhood, officials said. People interested in donating a tree from their property can contact 311 or the Department of Public Works Forestry Division directly at 412-255-2621. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Boy, 9, drowns while showering inside Houston home, police say LATEST UPDATES: 3 people, including 2 teens, shot inside Kennywood Park Saturday night Vehicles struck, windows shattered after shots fired on Pittsburghs South Side VIDEO: Everyone started running: Woman recounts moment shots rang out at Kennywood Park DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Sep. 27PLATTSBURGH The Plattsburgh Rotary Club is announcing a request for proposals from local organizations to benefit our community. The Club is asking that all requests for this Rotary year be submitted for review by October 28, 2022. The Club has a limited amount of money to be distributed to local organizations in Clinton County and therefore, the maximum grant that can be received is $500. These grants are given to 501c3 organizations serving a larger population and a greater good, not to an individual. All grants are given toward special projects and not for the general operations of the organization or for fundraising. Specific events such as walks, golf tournaments, etc. will not be considered. Special funding is available for Youth-At-Risk programs that positively impact individuals under the age of 18. Please include the project title, organization name, contact information, funding amount requested, length of the program, the goal and summary of the project, any collaborative partners, the budget and any means of recognizing Rotary if funded. Requests should be submitted to P.O. Box 86, Plattsburgh, NY 12901. The Plattsburgh Rotary Club works diligently throughout the year to raise money to reinvest back into local organizations as well as support worldwide health efforts led by Rotary International. For questions, please email khaley@cvph.org. Officials are investigating a possible mine subsidence incident in Fayette County. Fayette County 911 told Channel 11 that units responded to the 100 block of Perry Avenue in Washington Township around 2:25 p.m. Neighbors told Channel 11 that the people in one of the houses heard a cracking or shifting noise and were told to evacuate. No other houses were evacuated or impacted by the incident. Peoples Gas was on scene shutting off service to the affected house. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Boy, 9, drowns while showering inside Houston home, police say LATEST UPDATES: 3 people, including 2 teens, shot inside Kennywood Park Saturday night Vehicles struck, windows shattered after shots fired on Pittsburghs South Side VIDEO: Everyone started running: Woman recounts moment shots rang out at Kennywood Park DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts An image of Seth Genereau was captured early morning on Sept. 23 near Washburn, Wis. CLINTONVILLE - Law enforcement is urging the public to keep an eye out for Seth Genereau, a 23-year-old New London man wanted for a vehicle theft in Clintonville and who was last seen in Bayfield County. The Bayfield County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday issued an alert distributed by the Wisconsin Crime Alert Network. Initially, law enforcement was investigating thefts that they say involved Genereau. When Genereau was approached for questioning Sept. 20 in Outagamie County, he fled. Seth Genereau He stole a vehicle in Hortonville, the sheriff's office said. He then stole a minivan from someone at a gas station on North Main Street in Clintonville, the Clintonville Police Department said on Sept. 21. He had a "physical altercation" with an 81-year-old Michigan man, then drove away in the man's minivan, Clintonville Police said. From there, authorities say the Iron County Sheriff's Office found Genereau on Sept. 22 driving the minivan near the Wisconsin-Michigan border. When deputies tried to stop him, Genereau fled in the minivan along U.S. 2, turning north onto State 13 in Bayfield County. The sheriff's office said the minivan, traveling at "a high rate of speed," also collided with another car during the chase and kept going. An image of Seth Genereau, who is wanted on several felony counts. Genereau then abandoned the minivan outside Washburn and stole a pickup truck. Authorities said immediately afterwards the pickup got stuck, and Genereau fled into the woods on foot. He was last seen Sept. 23 on Friendly Valley Road north of Washburn. "We suspect he is no longer hiding out in the woods because of the recent weather and may have been picked up by someone driving by," the Bayfield County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. "Based on his behavior, we believe he will elude anyone to avoid confrontation." The alert did not indicate where Genereau might be heading. Genereau faces several felony charges, including vehicle theft and physical abuse of an elder person. He is 6 feet tall, with brown hair and eyes, and was last seen wearing a flannel shirt and blue jeans. Story continues The Bayfield County Sheriff's Office ask that anyone who has seen him call 715-373-6120 or the Clintonville Police Department at 715-823-3117. Contact Rebecca Loroff at 920-907-7801 or rloroff@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RebeccaLoroff. This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Police seek 23-year-old New London man for a Clintonville carjacking A police officer is being praised by his department for making a difference in serving the public beyond the call of duty. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On Sunday evening around 5:30 p.m., Officer Boyce met a homeless man at the Holly Springs Police Department. After spending time with him, Boyce learned that the man was turned away from a Marietta homeless shelter because he did not have an ID. He also didnt have anything to eat for quite some time. TRENDING STORIES: After calling several motels, Boyce was finally able to get the man a room in Canton at a discounted price. Boyce paid for the room with his own money and also got him a hot meal from McDonalds. The department thanked Boyce for his act of kindness and compassion for the citizens of Holly Springs. They also thanked him for understanding that people sometimes need a little extra help. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: E! News Eliza Fletcher's body was found three days after she was abducted during her morning run. The man accused of killing her has also been charged with a violent crime that was reported a year ago. Ukrainian troops fire with surface-to-surface rockets MLRS towards Russian positions at a front line in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 7, 2022. Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images A new poll suggests Americans are growing weary as the US supports Ukraine in its war against Russia. The poll found that a majority of Americans want the US to pursue diplomatic negotiations to end the war ASAP. The poll also showed that many Americans are concerned about the financial costs of the conflict. A new poll suggests that many Americans are growing weary as the US government continues its support of Ukraine in its war with Russia and want to see diplomatic efforts to end the war if aid is to continue. According to a poll conducted by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and Data for Progress, 57% of likely voters strongly or somewhat support the US pursuing diplomatic negotiations as soon as possible to end the war in Ukraine, even if it requires Ukraine making compromises with Russia. Just 32% of respondents were strongly or somewhat opposed to this. And nearly half of the respondents (47%) said they only support the continuation of US military aid to Ukraine if the US is involved in ongoing diplomacy to end the war, while 41% said they support the continuation of US military aid to Ukraine whether the US is involved in ongoing diplomacy or not. The Biden administration and Congress need to do more diplomatically to help end the war, according to 49% of likely voters, while 37% said they have done enough in this regard, the poll showed. "Americans recognize what many in Washington don't: Russia's war in Ukraine is more likely to end at the negotiating table than on the battlefield. And there is a brewing skepticism of Washington's approach to this war, which has been heavy on tough talk and military aid, but light on diplomatic strategy and engagement," said Trita Parsi, executive vice president at the Quincy Institute. "'As long as it takes' isn't a strategy, it's a recipe for years of disastrous and destructive war conflict that will likely bring us no closer to the goal of securing a prosperous, independent Ukraine. US leaders need to show their work: explain to the American people how you plan to use your considerable diplomatic leverage to bring this war to an end," Parsi added. Story continues The poll found close to half of likely US voters (48%) somewhat or strongly oppose the US providing aid to Ukraine at current levels if long-term global economic hardship, including in the US, occurs. Meanwhile, the poll showed that only four-in-10 Americans somewhat or strongly support the US providing aid to Ukraine at current levels if this occurs. The poll also found 58% of Americans somewhat somewhat or strongly oppose the US providing aid to Ukraine at current levels if there are higher gas prices and a higher cost of goods in the US, while just 33% somewhat or strongly support continuing aid if this occurs. A majority of poll respondents (57%) also said that they think the Russia-Ukraine war will end with a negotiated peace settlement between the two countries, while 61% said they believe the war has impacted them financially on some level. President Joe Biden has warned that US sanctions on Russia could hurt the US economy, but he has maintained that supporting and defending Ukraine is worth the cost. He's framed the war as a battle between democracy and autocracy. "Every day, Ukrainians pay with their lives, and they fight along and the atrocities that the Russians are engaging in are just beyond the pale. And the cost of the fight is not cheap, but caving to aggression is even more costly," Biden said in May. "That's why we're staying in this." The US has provided over $15 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia launched its unprovoked war in late February. The Ukrainian armed forces have received numerous weapons packages from the US and other partner nations, packages that have included anti-tank missiles, air-defense systems, and long-range rocket artillery that have allowed Ukrainian troops to not only halt Russian advances but even drive Russian forces back. While Western support has aided Ukraine's war efforts, recent data indicates there are growing concerns about what further support without diplomacy and a continuation of this brutal conflict could mean not just for Russia and Ukraine, but for other countries as well. "Policymakers are far too sanguine about the risks posed by an indefinite continuation of this war, even minimizing the dangers posed by Vladimir Putin's nuclear threats," said Marcus Stanley, advocacy director at the Quincy Institute. "Americans largely agree that efforts to strengthen Ukraine's hand on the battlefield need to be accompanied by efforts to secure lasting peace at the negotiating table. However, as Congress approaches another vote to approve military aid to Ukraine this week, there's no sign Washington is exploring opportunities to seek a settlement that preserves and protects Ukraine's independence." Read the original article on Business Insider Pro-life activist Mark Houck pleaded not guilty to two counts of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act Tuesday, appearing in court for the first time since FBI agents descended on his home and allegedly took him away in front of his screaming children. Houck was taken into custody Friday morning for alleged violations of the FACE Act, stemming from an incident in October 2021, when he pushed a pro-abortion activist outside of an abortion clinic. Houck only pushed the man after he repeatedly used obscene language and invaded his 12-year-old sons personal space, according to Houcks wife. The pro-abortion activist, identified as Bruce Love, pressed charges after the altercation, but the charges were thrown out. The Department of Justice took up the charges again nearly a year later, Fox News reported. The FBI of course did not pick up those same charges. They picked up different ones, Thomas More Society senior counsel Matt Heffron, one of the lawyers on Houcks case, told National Review. The local police refused to take on the case back in 2021, and Love filed a private criminal complaint against Houck, Heffron said. Love then failed to come to court four or five times, whereas Houck showed up every time, bringing the judge to drop the charges. He had Mark show up every time, wasting his time of course, Heffron said, adding that it was probably meant to harass Mr. Houck. Houck was made aware of the FBI investigation approximately in May of 2022 when he received a letter informing him of the case. When asked why the FBI decided to bring the FACE Act against Houck so many months later, Heffron said that the Biden administration has been trying to find new ways to use the FACE Act against peaceful pro-lifers. If he was truly a danger to the community, they wouldnt have waited a year to prosecute, said Peter Breen who is also senior counsel at the Thomas More Society and working Houcks case on Tuesday outside the courthouse in Philadelphia, Fox News reported. Serious questions need to be asked of the Attorney General. What was he thinking? Why did they do this obscene show of force against a peaceful pillar of the community? Story continues Houcks wife, Ryan-Marie Houck, claims that their rural home was raided by 25-to-30 armed FBI agents in the early hours of Friday morning, and that the agents pointed their guns at the family. A spokesman for the FBI Philadelphia field office told Fox News that no SWAT operators were used in Houcks arrest and said that agents did not point their guns at Houck or his family members, but admitted their weapons were drawn when they knocked on Houcks door. They commented that it was not SWAT. What they were saying was, it was not technically a SWAT unit. But it was the same effect, where they sent anywhere from 15 to 25 officers . . . fully armed at the break of dawn . . . they are the same as a SWAT team, Heffron said. It put officers lives in danger. It put the Houck family in danger. And it was an utter waste of judicial resources and taxpayer resources, said Breen. On Monday, the law firm issued a statement their attorneys released a statement on behalf of Houck, in June, asserting that the FACE Act does not cover one-on-one altercations like the one involving Houck, and that he would appear voluntarily if charges were brought against him. Rather than accepting Mark Houcks offer to appear voluntarily, the Biden Department of Justice chose to make an unnecessary show of potentially deadly force, sending twenty heavily armed federal agents to the Houck residence at dawn this past Friday, Breen said in the Monday statement. More from National Review Catholic pro-life activist Mark Houck pleaded not guilty to federal charges on Tuesday after the FBI arrested him at his home in rural Pennsylvania last week in connection to an alleged altercation with an abortion escort outside an abortion clinic in October 2021. Houck has been accused of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to use force with the intent to injure, intimidate and interfere with anyone because that person produces reproductive health care. He pleaded not guilty to two counts in Philadelphia federal court on Tuesday. His attorney, Peter Breen, said the case already made its way through the state court process and was thrown out but that the Biden Department of Justice took up the matter nearly a year later as a form of "political prosecution." Of the estimated 20 FBI agents who came to Houcks home, Breen said the DOJ is treating the peaceful father of seven children "as if he was a drug lord or a mafia boss." MISSOURI SENATOR SENDS LETTER TO AG GARLAND DEMANDING ANSWERS ON HOUCK PRO-LIFE ARREST "If he was truly a danger to the community, they wouldnt have waited a year to prosecute," Breen, vice president and senior counsel of the Thomas Moore Society, said outside the courthouse. "Serious questions need to be asked of the attorney general. What was he thinking? Why did they do this obscene show of force against a peaceful pillar of the community?" "It put officers lives in danger. It put the Houck family in danger. And it was an utter waste of judicial resources and taxpayer resources," Breen said. Breen said his team contacted the DOJ and the U.S. Attorneys Office in June to inform them they had no case based on controlling precedent, but if they decided to indict, defense would present Houck willingly in response to a summons. Breen said the next notice he received was that his client was in custody. Story continues "This is a political prosecution," Breen said. "And whats clear from the Department of Justice at its highest levels, which is directing this case, [is] that they are trying to send a message to pro-life and people of faith: Dont mess with us. They want to intimidate they want to cause good people like Mark to stop praying and counseling at the abortion clinics of our country. And thats not going to happen." The U.S. government alleges that Houck assaulted and "forcefully shoved" Bruce Love, a 72-year-old volunteer at a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood. Breen, however, categorized the abortion escort as "extremely aggressive," saying Love was "harassing" Houcks 12-year-old son before an "altercation ensued." Meanwhile, Houcks wife claims that between 25 and 30 agents raided her home with "guns drawn" on the family and, in front of her children, put Houck in "shackles." "What in the world would possess the Department of Justice to send 20 or so heavily armed agents to this familys home, violate the sanctity of that home, frighten the children and then drag their father away instead of allowing us to present him peacefully, which we had offered to do?" Breen said Tuesday. FBI Philadelphia claimed that the defenses portrayals of Houcks arrest are inaccurate. "FBI agents knocked on Mr. Houck's front door, identified themselves as FBI agents, and asked him to exit the residence," a statement obtained by Fox News said. "He did so and was taken into custody without incident pursuant to an indictment." "Extensive planning takes place prior to the service of any federal warrant. The FBI then employs the personnel and tactics deemed necessary to effect a safe arrest or search," FBI Philadelphia added. "While its the FBIs standard practice not to discuss such operational specifics, we can say that the number of personnel and vehicles widely reported as being on scene Friday is an overstatement, and the tactics used by FBI personnel were professional, in line with standard practices, and intended to ensure the safety of everyone present in and outside the residence." Fox News' Krista Garvin contributed to this report. Around a third of Puerto Ricans are still without power more than a week after Hurricane Fiona struck the island, with the U.S. now bracing as a separate storm heads to Florida. The islands power operator, Luma Energy, said about 33% of homes and businesses, or about 490,000 customers, were without electricity as of 8 a.m. Tuesday morning. Thousands of others remain without access to running water, and officials have warned that the initial recovery effort could take weeks. Those figures are down from the nearly 1.5 million Puerto Ricans who didnt have power Saturday, but they still present a major hurdle nine days after the storm hit the island. At least three people have died, although Puerto Ricos governor said as many as 16 deaths may be linked to the storm. President Joe Biden has faced mounting pressure to issue a federal waiver so that a BP ship carrying diesel can access a port on the island to help alleviate the power crisis. The White House, however, says its hands are tied by a provision known as the Jones Act that imposes federal shipping restrictions. A damaged road is seen on Sept. 20 in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, following flooding caused by Hurricane Fiona. (Photo: Miami Herald via Getty Images) A damaged road is seen on Sept. 20 in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, following flooding caused by Hurricane Fiona. (Photo: Miami Herald via Getty Images) Fiona battered the U.S. territory with 85 mph winds earlier this month, knocking out power to the entire island and bringing back memories of 2017s Hurricane Maria. That storm struck Puerto Rico as a Category 4 behemoth, causing widespread damage and killing more than 3,000 people. After Maria, the government allocated billions of dollars in relief funding to update the islands patchwork power grid, but much of that money hasnt been spent. Lawmakers have renewed calls to update Puerto Ricos electricity system, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last week said an ongoing conflict had hamstrung efforts to do so. Instead of making it a resilient grid, a locally based grid, theyre busy fighting with each other, Schumer said, referencing the privately held Luma Energy and the government-owned Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. Story continues The islands ongoing recovery comes amid the new threat of Hurricane Ian, a monstrous Category 3 storm taking aim at Florida. Ian swept over Cuba on Monday night, and it is prompting tens of thousands to evacuate Floridas Gulf Coast before an expected landfall Wednesday night. Biden has pledged full federal support for those in Ians path, saying the Federal Emergency Management Agency and his administration are on alert and in action. Well be with you every step of the way, the president told Americans on Tuesday. Were not going away. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... Russian-led referendums in parts of eastern and southern Ukraine are set to conclude Tuesday with results expected to show that an alleged majority of Ukrainians supports the Kremlins illegal annexation of four regions. Kyiv and Western officials have already decried Moscows referenda as a "sham" political ploy that mimics steps it took in 2014 when Russia reportedly falsified voting results to show Crimeans supported seceding from Ukraine. A similar fate for the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions are expected to be announced Tuesday or Wednesday following four days of "voting." RUSSIAN PROXIES INTIMIDATE UKRAINIANS AND FORCE REFERENDUM VOTE ON ANNEXATION: LOCAL OFFICIAL Reports over the weekend suggested Russian proxies forced Ukrainian citizens still in the war torn regions to vote by appearing at their houses with ballots, in some cases with armed personnel, and keeping track of those who voted against annexation. Moscow has already said it will view any attack on the four regions as an attack on Russian soil following the results of the referenda. Absorbing Ukrainian territories where brutal fighting has raged since the invasion began seven months ago as a part of Russia could provide Moscow with a pretext for even more aggressive measures. Konstantin Ivashchenko (L), former CEO of the Azovmash plant and appointed pro-Russian mayor of Mariupol, visits a polling station as people vote in a referendum in Mariupol on Sept. 27, 2022. STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images RUSSIA AND US IN 'VERY SPORADIC' TALKS OVER NUCLEAR ISSUES, KREMLIN SAYS On Tuesday acting deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev warned that Russia would use nuclear weapons if "conventional weapons threatens the very existence of our state." "If the threat to Russia exceeds the established danger limit, we will have to respond," he said in a Telegram post. "Without asking anyone's permission, without long consultations. And it's definitely not a bluff." Medvedevs comments are just the latest in a series of escalatory rhetoric that has brought the threat of nuclear war front and center amid the conflict in Ukraine. The acting chairman additionally claimed that the U.S. and NATO would not respond if Moscow decided to use nuclear weapons over concerns of engaging in a nuclear war. "I believe that NATO will not directly intervene in the conflict," he continued. "After all, the security of Washington, London, Brussels is much more important for the North Atlantic Alliance than the fate of a dying Ukraine that no one needs." White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday that the White House has warned the Kremlin that any use of nuclear weapons will have "catastrophic consequences" for Russia. Airports closed, railway suspended as typhoon Noru approaches Danang, Phu Bai, Pleiku, Phu Cat and Chu Lai airports in the central and Central Highlands regions have closed during September 27 28 as super typhoon Noru nears. Danang Airport is closed from September 27 28 as the super typhoon Noru nears. According to an announcement by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, the schedule of flights to and from Vinh, Dong Hoi, Tuy Hoa, Lien Khuong and Buon Ma Thuot airports is expected to be adjusted due to the impact of the typhoon. Some airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways, Vietravel Airlines, and Vietjet have announced to suspend or adjust flights to the five airports on September 27 and 28. Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company has also announced that they would suspend the SE5 and SE6 trains which connect Hanoi and HCM City on September 27 to avoid the storm. As of 4 am on September 27, Noru was swirling around the eastern part of the Hoang Sa Archipelago in the East Sea, packing winds of more than 166kph near its centre. In the next 12 hours, Noru is forecast to move west at a speed of 20-25kph and is likely to gain further strength. In the next 12 to 24 hours, it is anticipated to head towards the central coast of Vietnam and batter the region at midnight on September 27 or early on September 28. Noru is one of the most powerful storms to hit the central region over the past 20 years, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. The meteorological agency has issued a red alert as the storm approaches. The warning has been activated in the coastal localities of Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh which are forecast to be hardest hit by the super typhoon. The meteorological agency also issued a disaster risk warnings for Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Phu Yen, and Kon Tum provinces. Some central coastal provinces are preparing to evacuate hundreds of thousands of residents as the typhoon is heading toward the region. Noru, which developed from a low tropical depression off the Philippines on September 22, was upgraded to a super typhoon status early on September 25 after suddenly gaining strength. Noru swept across northern Philippines on September 25, killing at least six and flooding parts of the region. Read also: Russian dictator Putin announces partial mobilization, threatens to use nukes Putins comments follow on from the September 20 announcement that snap referendums on joining the Russian Federation will take place in the four regions of Ukraine currently under partial Russian occupation. Voting is scheduled to begin on Friday in eastern Ukraines Donetsk and Luhansk regions and southern Ukraines Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The outcome of these referendums is not in any doubt. Indeed, most observers assume the results have already been determined in advance by the Kremlin. Once landslide yes votes are inevitably confirmed, the occupied regions of Ukraine will be officially annexed and incorporated into the Russian Federation. Moscow is then expected declare that any further Ukrainian military action will be regarded as an attack on Russia itself, hence Putins threat of a nuclear response. Read also: Ukraine requests urgent UN Security Council meeting over sham referendums The Russian ruler is betting that the possibility of a nuclear escalation will persuade Western leaders to stop arming Ukraine and convince them instead to pressure Kyiv into accepting a negotiated settlement that would leave around 20% of Ukrainian land under Russian control. Putins readiness to engage in such direct nuclear extortion is a sign of his mounting desperation as the invasion of Ukraine continues to unravel. When Putin launched his invasion on February 24, most Russians anticipated a short and victorious campaign that would bring the era of Ukrainian independence to an end and force the country firmly back into the Kremlin orbit. This proved to be a disastrous miscalculation. Far from welcoming invading Russian soldiers as liberators, the Ukrainian nation united against a common enemy and rose up in resistance. Russian troops were defeated outside Kyiv and forced to retreat from northern Ukraine. They were fought to a standstill in the south and the east. Worst of all, Putins army was completely routed in northeastern Ukraine in early September and fled the region in disarray. Story continues Almost seven months since the invasion of Ukraine began, it is becoming increasingly obvious that Russia is heading toward what would be one of the most humiliating military defeats in the countrys history. Things are looking so grim for the Kremlin that international observers have begun to debate whether the Putin regime or the Russian Federation itself can survive such a debacle. The Russian army has suffered catastrophic losses in Ukraine. Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed, while more than 1000 tanks have been captured or destroyed. Unsurprisingly, Putins invasion force is deeply demoralized, with reports growing of mass resignations and desertions. Tellingly, mobilization measures announced in parallel to Putins nuclear ultimatum also extended current military service contracts indefinitely while increasing penalties for soldiers who refuse to fight. As Russias fortunes in Ukraine go from bad to worse, the Kremlins broader international position is also collapsing. The Western world has imposed unprecedented sanctions in response to the invasion and finally seems to have reached the conclusion that it must end years of growing energy dependence on Moscow. Russian troops are under investigation for war crimes and Putin himself is increasingly seen as an international pariah. Read also: About 1,000 summonses served in occupied Sevastopol amid partial mobilization in Russia Closer to home, Moscows influence in the post-Soviet region is visibly receding on an almost daily basis. Kazakhstan has publicly split with Russia and recently signaled that it now sees China as its key partner. In the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan has renewed hostilities with Armenia in open defiance of Russias peacekeeping role. On Russias western borders, Finland and Sweden are poised to join NATO and the Baltic states have imposed visa bans on Russian citizens. Even Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who is almost entirely dependent on the Kremlin for his political survival, has resisted relentless Russian pressure to join the invasion. As things currently stand, the Russian invasion of Ukraine may well be the biggest geopolitical blunder of the twenty-first century. The gravity of the situation can no longer be denied and now appears to have finally penetrated Putins personal information bubble of courtiers and sycophants. After months of insisting that everything was going according to plan, the Russian dictator has been forced to acknowledge that drastic measures are required in order to avert disaster. Putin insists his threat to use nuclear weapons is not a bluff. There is no way of knowing in advance whether this is true or not. Despite this uncertainty, it is crystal clear that the international community simply cannot allow itself to be intimidated in this manner. If the West were to respond to Putins nuclear saber-rattling by abandoning Ukraine, it would have devastating consequences for international security and the entire concept of nuclear nonproliferation would be consigned to the dustbin of history. Instead, we would enter a dangerous new era of chronic instability marked by nuclear blackmail and wars of aggression. The only way to avoid this fate is by confronting Putin before its too late. In the coming days, the West must send an unambiguous message to Moscow that nuclear weapons are not acceptable bargaining tools. They must spell out the crushing costs Russia will face if it dares to cross the nuclear red line, and they must convince the Kremlin that they are most certainly not bluffing. Now is also the time to emphasize that support for Ukrainian statehood is non-negotiable by ramping up weapons supplies. Read also: Russia at war not with Ukraine, but with collective West, says Russias defense minister Putin knows he is heading toward disaster in Ukraine but is hoping the Wests collective fear of a nuclear apocalypse will allow him to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Despite the setbacks of the past seven months, he remains convinced that the democratic world is weak at heart and will ultimately back down. If Western leaders do not stand up to him now, they will regret it for decades to come. This story was originally published by the Atlantic Council. NV is republishing it with permission. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Hurricane Ian formed Monday morning, Sept. 26, 2022 on its way to Cuba and the Florida coast. PETERSBURG We may be about 800 miles away from where Hurricane Ian is expected to make its U.S. landfall later this week, but that does not mean we will be spared the storm's wrath. By the time the remnants of the storm pass over central Virginia beginning Friday, its winds will have died down significantly, according to Ryan Rogers, a meteorlogist with the National Weather Service in Wakefield. However, we should expect a soaking of rain from late Friday all the way through Sunday, with potential totals in the 3-5 inch range. "It could be a very beneficial rainfall because it's been so dry," Rogers said. While everything remains speculative, any rain "could come down at a clip that is very beneficial and not a major [dumping] all at one time," he added. Ian, a category 2 hurricane with maximum winds at 100 mph, is expected to whip Cuba, Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean as it makes its way northward, drawing a bead on Florida's Gulf Coast as early as Tuesday. Hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surges will begin lashing the coast as the hurricane draws closer. The exact time of landfall has not been determined, but the National Hurricane Center expects it to be late Wednesday or Thursday. By then, Ian could have developed into a category 4 storm with winds clocking at 140 mph. The NHC is predicting it could come ashore in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, which would be the metro area's first direct hurricane hit since 1921. More:Hurricane Ian's forecast calls for rapid intensification. What does that mean? Hurricane Ian's projected path as of 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. Once it makes landfall, Ian's wind strength is expected to drop significantly, but its rainfall is expected to drench most of the southeastern U.S. Projected land paths have the remnants aimed at central Virginia over the weekend, but the storms tend to wobble as they move across land and downgrade, so Rogers said it is difficult to determine just how it will pass across the commonwealth. With the steady rain comes the possibility of flash flooding, especially in Petersburg's low-lying areas. Story continues More:When heavy rain falls, these Petersburg spots are likely to flash-flood. Why? As for winds, Rogers said he does not expect them to reach "tree-down level" but they will be brisk, likely in the 20-30 mph range. Rogers said the exact effect of Ian's remnants will be determined by a high-pressure system that will buffer the storm from the north later in the week. More:Families of homicide honor loved ones at the National Day of Remembrance More:Obscenities, threats in text cost former Petersburg landfill manager more time in prison Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg can expect a rainy and windy weekend from Hurricane Ian Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) all but admitted this week that he doesnt care about enacting policy if the GOP wins control of the House in the November election. Instead, the Donald Trump-adoring Florida Republican said control of the chamber should be primarily used to settle scores with Democrats. Gaetz, appearing on Steve Bannons War Room podcast, called on Republicans to open up every vector of attack on Democrats as he echoed GOP calls for the impeachment of President Joe Biden and senior members of his administration for unspecified reasons. Gaetz says if Republicans dont immediately begin impeachment of Biden and Cabinet officials if they get the majority our voters will feel betrayed heading into 2024, and thats why it should be investigations first, and policy as a far, far diminished priority. pic.twitter.com/vCdKGvxnLN Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 26, 2022 The Republican mandate in this years midterm elections is not to go hold hands in the warm spring rain with the Democrats, it is to investigate them, hold them accountable and we can do that without the Senate, without the White House, Gaetz continued. Matt Gaetz says the Republican priority after the midterms needs to be investigations, not legislating. pic.twitter.com/J3QzS2Vmc1 PatriotTakes (@patriottakes) September 26, 2022 And thats why it should be investigations first (and) policy, bill-making to support the lobbyists and the PACs as a far, far diminished priority, added Gaetz, who reportedly remains under investigation in a sex trafficking probe. He denies any wrongdoing. Gaetzs comments drew ire on Twitter: Story continues No policy. No plans to help Americans at all. Just attack and destroy the government. This is all the GOP is now. https://t.co/RUJ6Wn1IJq Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) September 26, 2022 Theyre running campaigns based on promising revenge. Filing this under F, for reasons you can probably guess. https://t.co/CJtngI3yak Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) September 27, 2022 "Policy as a far, far diminished priority" pretty much sums up today's Republican party. https://t.co/frioEmYce8 Ed Carson (@IBD_ECarson) September 26, 2022 This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... President Biden. Illustrated | Getty Images Republicans some of them anyway are champing at the bit to impeach President Biden. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said as much Sunday morning on NBC's Meet the Press: "I believe there's pressure on the Republicans to put that forward and have that vote," she told Chuck Todd. "I think that's what some folks are considering." She added: "If that happens, I do believe it's divisive." Before Donald Trump became president, there were two presidential impeachments in all of American history. Trump was impeached twice, of course once at the end of 2019, the other after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Now, if the GOP takes control of Congress during this year's midterms elections, there is a chance of three impeachments in under four years. Why is there the possibility of a Joe Biden impeachment? Here's everything you need to know: Why would Republicans impeach Biden? The Constitution says that presidents "shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." So surely Biden has done something that's arguably a crime or misdemeanor, right? Well During Mace's interview with Todd on Sunday, the topic of why Biden might be impeached never came up. (Todd was raked over the social media coals for that omission.) Truthfully, the answer is probably something like: "Because." Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) tried introducing articles of impeachment against Biden for "abuse of power" the day after he was inaugurated. And Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) suggested that executive branch impeachments were coming for Biden's White House soon after Trump was acquitted on the second impeachment: "We've opened Pandora's Box here, and I'm sad for the country." It's likely Republicans would find a reason. The right's obsession with the president's son, Hunter, and his legal travails offers one likely answer. Disputes over immigration and border enforcement could be another reason. But again, the fact that Mace and Todd talked about impeachment without talking about "why" suggests that the cause is secondary. Story continues Would they be able to get a conviction? Probably not. Everything hinges on the forthcoming midterm elections. As you probably know by now because, again, we've had two impeachments in recent years the Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict. And the math isn't really there. Right now, Republicans have 50 seats in the Senate, and they need to win just one more to win control over the chamber in November. That might happen. But will they pick up 17 seats? That's highly improbable: Of the 35 seats up for election this fall, only 14 are currently in Dem hands and just two, involving Sens. Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada are listed by the influential Cook Political Report as "toss up" races that Republicans have a decent (though by no means overwhelming) chance to win. Assuming that an impeachment trial would break down along party lines, it's difficult to see how Republicans would have the numbers to kick Biden out of the White House. So what's the point, then? Two reasons. One is that it's natural for an opposition party that wins back some measure of governing power to start to investigate a White House held by the opposite party. Democrats have done it in the past remember that Trump's first impeachment didn't happen until Dems won the House in the 2018 midterm elections and Republicans are already deep into planning their efforts. The party is already "planning to bombard Joe Biden's administration with investigations next year," Politico reported in July, with proposed inquiries into Hunter Biden's "business dealings, Afghanistan, the origins of the coronavirus, inflation causes, and the U.S.-Mexico border." Second, there's the politics: The GOP base really, really wants Biden impeached. One poll taken in May shows that impeaching Biden would be unpopular with the broad American electorate but very popular with Republican voters. "While just over one-third of the poll's 1,000 respondents (34 percent) say that a GOP-controlled House should impeach Biden, 68 percent of Republicans and Trump voters and 66 percent of conservatives all would like to see the President charged by Congress for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors," the University of Massachusetts Amherst reported. That may be all the reason elected Republicans need to proceed. How likely is this whole thing, really? Again, it depends on whether the GOP manages to win the House of Representatives in November. If that's the case, it seems increasingly likely we'll see an impeachment. "With a number of Republican members of Congress calling to impeach President Biden, the chorus will likely grow louder if and when the Republican Party takes control of the U.S. House in 2022," said Tatishe Nteta, who directed the UMass Amherst poll. One outgoing NeverTrump Republican thinks this is a likely scenario. "They're going to demand an impeachment vote on President Biden every week," Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said on a recent podcast. And if that's right, Nancy Mace is probably right about one thing: It will be very divisive. You may also like New Pacific island forms after underwater volcano erupts Former White House chief of staff texted voter fraud conspiracy theorist James Earl Jones steps back from voicing Darth Vader in Star Wars series FIRST ON FOX: Fifty-one Republican lawmakers are sending a letter to three of President Bidens Cabinet secretaries warning that national security is threatened by a Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked company's efforts to buy farmland near an Air Force base in North Dakota. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., led the letter with 50 of his colleagues to Secretaries Lloyd Austin, Janet Yelle, and Tom Vilsack about the land acquisitions near North Dakotas Grand Forks Air Force Base by Chinese manufacturer the Fufeng Group. The letter, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, will be sent to the three secretaries and warns of the "alarming development" for U.S. national security by allowing the Fufeng Group to purchase the land so close to the base. "According to the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission, the Grand Forks Air Force Base has exceptional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, making the recently purchased land the ideal location to closely monitor and intercept military activity," the lawmakers wrote. "The presence of a CCP-affiliated corporation near a military installation potentially undermines the integrity of our high-capability military bases, jeopardizing our strategic interests," they warned. Gimenez and his Republican colleagues warned that the CCP-linked firm "will have potential advantageous opportunities to perpetrate espionage, including actions and activities carried out under commercial cover or auspices." NORTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FIGHTS TO STOP CHINESE COMPANY FUFENG FROM OPENING CORN MILL NEAR US AIR FORCE BASE Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez, R-Fla., led 50 of his GOP colleagues in a letter to three Biden administration Cabinet secretaries about a Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked firm purchasing farmland near a North Dakota Air Force base. Getty Images Heritage Action vice president Garrett Bess told Fox News Digital the "threat from the Chinese Communist Party is the most critical and consequential international threat that the U.S. faces, and CCP acquisition of land, particularly near U.S. military installations, is an immediate risk to Americas national security." "Eliminating this risk requires an aggressive plan to prevent and punish malicious land use that threatens U.S. interests," Bess said. "We applaud Representative Gimenez for asking the Biden administration tough questions and pushing them to adopt a more aggressive posture against the CCP." Story continues The Republicans also said they "are concerned about the precedent this land purchase will set and its ability to serve as the model for our adversaries to encroach on American security, particularly through purchases of farmland in our congressional districts housing several military installations," such as Homestead Air Reserve Base (HARB) in Gimenezs Sunshine State district. "At a time when the United States is engaged in great power competition with China, we must utilize every tool at our disposal to protect and defend the integrity of our military and national security, maintain military dominance, and maximize our global military readiness," the letter reads. The lawmakers also warned that acquisitions "of this magnitude" also "pose a threat" to Americas "food security," not just national security. "According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), at the beginning of 2021 foreign investors held a stake in approximately 37.6 million acres of U.S. agricultural land," they wrote. "This trend is expected to increase over the next few years, raising concerns about the negative potential implications it will have on domestic food production and national food security." "This, coupled with USDA's absence from permanent membership on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), is concerning, as the Department should have some jurisdiction over the review of agricultural land acquisitions that raise national security concerns." Gimenez and his colleagues called on the department heads to "take effective action in addressing the potential national security risks that appear to arise" from the acquisition. They also sent several questions to the department heads, including on what "actions are being taken by the DoD in cooperation with the U.S. military services and military base commands to understand and assess potential risks with foreign investments in close proximity to U.S. military bases and other facilities." Gimenez is joined on the letter by a multitude of Republican lawmakers, including Reps. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, Scott Franklin of Florida and Lisa McClain of Michigan. The CCP-linked farmland acquisition is far from the first land buy by the Chinese government and the purchases have been heavily scrutinized for the national security risks presented as they have been approved under both the Biden and Trump administrations. A wind energy farm project near Del Rio, Texas, was reportedly nixed by the Texas government after it was revealed the 130,000 acre around the size of Tulsa, Oklahoma was only miles away from the Laughlin Air Force Base where pilots are trained. It was also revealed the Chinese billionaire who owns the company behind, GH America Energy, formerly served in the Chinese military and has deep ties to the CCP. The purchases have raised red flags in Washington, with Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, who represents Del Rio, introducing a bill to curb foreign adversaries purchasing land anywhere near U.S. military installations. The Fufeng Group paid $2.3 million to purchase the 300 acres of land just 12 miles away from the Grand Forks Air Force Base. The company plans to invest $700 million to open the mill. A spokesperson for the Pentagon told Fox News Digital Austin will be responding to the authors of the letter, as usual with his correspondence. The USDA and Treasury Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment. Griffin Creek Elementary School A school board in Oregon heard complaints from district residents who objected to the hiring of a nonbinary teacher at a local elementary school. The Mail Tribune reported the unnamed teacher was hired to teach first graders at Griffin Creek Elementary School in Medford this year, but the school board has been inundated with concerns from residents who objected to the hiring. Medford School Board chair Suzanne Messer opened the meeting held earlier this month at North Medford High School by acknowledging the concerns of the parents while advising them district policy prevents discussion of specific teacher complaints at school board meetings. While residents did not reference the teacher by name directly, it was clear the teacher was the main topic of discussion for many in attendance. Placing a nonbinary teacher into a first-grade class is in line with that policy only because it is vague, said Tanner Fairrington, a district resident whose children are home-schooled. First graders are very early in their development, and I believe that exposure to the complexity of preferred pronouns and gender roles is not appropriate for this age group. It naturally raises questions and encourages questions on the topic, and many parents want these conversations to be had at home and not at school. Fairrington suggested it was more age-appropriate to place nonbinary teachers with higher grade levels. Medford resident and self-described concerned grandparent Kathy Hischar wanted the district to go back to basics and added students should not have to question why their teacher is a girl but dresses like a boy, and why they cant address her as Mrs. or Miss. Following the meeting, the founder and president of Southern Oregon Pride applauded the school district for hiring the unnamed teacher, but said the district still had more work to do in the matter. Gina DuQuenne, founder and president of Southern Oregon Pride, said in an interview the day after the meeting that ongoing discussions offered a chance to educate. Story continues My thing is, if we put all these things in place, then lets walk the walk and talk the talk. Lets be who we say we are, DuQuenne was quoted by the Mail Tribune. When it comes to pronouns, pronouns are respectful. If Im not sure of someones pronouns, Ill be the first one to ask. It isnt a big deal. Its a show of respecting another person. DuQuenne also offered some advice to those who objected to the hiring. I would really suggest these people who are protesting, they educate themselves and get with the program, DuQuenne said. We are coming out, weve been out and were not going away. A resurfaced clip of Anthony Bourdain on a trip to Singapore has sparked a debate on social media about the treatment of foreign domestic workers. The footage, which has gone viral on Twitter, was first released back in 2018 in an episode of the late celebrity chefs food and travel show, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. In the clip, Bourdain could be seen eating with three locals in Singapore and talking to them about how many people in the country have maids. Everybodys got a maid, looking after their child at home, one woman said. So maids are kind of like the opiate of the masses. In response, Bourdain said that if someone has a maid, it then frees them up to join the workforce, which the woman agreed with. However, she also noted the downsides of having a maid, as she claimed that her husband didnt know how to serve himself water. As she went on to explain that her husband also couldnt do his own laundry, one of the men in the group asked Bourdain when the last time was that he did laundry. In response, the actor expressed how much he liked doing the chore. I enjoy throwing my clothes into the washer and removing them to the dryer, Bourdain said. Its a process that makes you feel very satisfied with yourself. He went on to make a joke about the three people being too reliant on domestic service workers. Its like bourgeois, man. Youre living off the labour of a repressed underclass, he joked, prompting some laughter from the people at the table. As of 27 September, the clip has more than 4.5 million views, with Twitter users in the comments calling Bourdain and his peers out for their privilege. Viewers also claimed that they were speaking about domestic service workers in a rude manner. No one can call people out right to their faces quite like Anthony Bourdain. pic.twitter.com/q7uDHxHiNC Lauren McKenzie (@TheMcKenziest) September 24, 2022 Theyre not self aware at all. Having a maid is a class status in and of itself. They were humble-bragging, one wrote. Story continues Having a maid is a sign of middle-upper class wealth and privileged kids and aunties would love nothing better than to remind the poors that their maid can do this, or that, or said this, or that. To, you know, brag, a second person wrote. Theyre not self aware at all. Having a maid is a class status in and of itself. They were humble-bragging. | | (@pragmalaya) September 25, 2022 One person also questioned if having a maid is really that bad if you pay them well, while another agreed with Bourdain, noting that theyre from Singapore and that they dont have any family members who work as househelp. In one response, a Twitter user shared screenshots from a Singapore-based aid agencys, Best Housekeeper, website, which describes domestic service workers based on their race. Government-accredited placement agency invites you to select a race of servants! the tweet reads. Look out for prideful Filipinos. Consider the innate characteristics of the submissive Indonesians, or the Mizoram who have more endurance than the other races. Along with describing helpers personalities, the site also lists the different rates worked can be paid based on their nationalities, such as $550-$700 for Indonesians and $450-$570 for a maid who is Mizoram, a race found in Myanmar and India. Government-accredited placement agency invites you to select a race of servant! Look out for "prideful" Filipinos. Consider the "innate characteristics" of the "submissive" Indonesians, or the Mizoram who have "more endurance than the other races." ??? pic.twitter.com/ahhgaJJ3au Alexander Lee (@post_vermouth) September 25, 2022 In response to the Twitter post, multiple people criticised the agency, one of them writing: Something tells me these people treat their pets better than actual human beings, while another wrote: I cant believe what Im reading here. Recent research has continued to reveal the value of the domestic service industry in Singapore. According to a 2019 report done by Experian, a multinational consumer reporting company, migrant domestic workers (MDW) contributed SGD$11.1 billion in 2018, which is equivalent to 2.4 per cent of Singapores GDP. As explained in the Ministry of Manpowers (MOM), a Singapore Government agency website, employers guidelines for MDWs, there are different essentials for creating a positive relationship between worker and employer. For example, domestic workers are offered rest days, contracts and safety agreements, and guidelines to their salary. However, as noted by the MOM, domestic workers are not included in The Employment Act, which is Singapores main law that regulars hourly, daily, and monthly pay. A group of Canadian retailers is calling on the government to introduce a tax refund program for international visitors. (Photo by Santi Visalli/Getty Images) A group of Canadian retailers is calling on the government to introduce a tax refund program for international visitors, a move it says will help increase sales and stimulate the economic recovery of the tourism sector. The group which includes the Retail Council of Canada, Aldo Group, Birks Group, Harry Rosen, Hudson's Bay Co., Cadillac Fairview, Quadreal Property, Global Blue and Triple Five submitted a proposal for a Visitor Tax Refund (VTR) to the federal government this summer as part of the consultations for Ottawa's Tourism Growth Strategy. The group says it wants the government to allow international tourists to reclaim the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and provincial sales taxes on purchases made while visiting the country, saying the rebate would "boost both the number of visitors to Canada and the amount of money spent by those visitors." "The international context and the closing of borders have exacerbated an already serious issue of declining tourist spending in Canada. Every opportunity must be taken to stimulate the Canadian economy," Jean-Christophe Bedos, president and chief executive of the Birks Group, said in a statement released on Tuesday. "This program would greatly benefit the tourism sector, retailers, and the Canadian economy in general, as it faces unprecedented economic challenges." While international tourism to Canada increased in 2022, it is still below pre-pandemic levels, even amid a surge in global travel demand. According to Statistics Canada, international residents made 2.8 million trips to Canada in July 2022, 10 times more than during the same month in 2021. While that was a significant increase from the previous year, it amounted to just over half (57 per cent) of the trips taken by international visitors in July 2019. Statistics Canada also says that the share of tourism demand from non-residents fell in the first quarter of 2022 to 14.2 per cent, below the 18.1 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2020, which included the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, non-residents made up approximately 26.8 per cent of total tourism demand in the country. Story continues The group of retailers says there has been an ongoing decline in per-capita tourist spending since 2007, when the federal government at the time cancelled a previous visitor rebate program. "A 5 per cent decline in this sector over the past seven years was a marked contrast to competing jurisdictions such as the European Union, United Kingdom, or Japan, which has seen a 23 per cent increase in spending since its program was implemented in 2012," the group said. Canada previously implemented a Visitor Rebate Program in 1991, when the GST was first introduced. The program was scrapped in April 2007, making Canada the first OECD country at the time to cancel such a policy, according to analysis from the Retail Council of Canada. The government at the time said there were excessive costs to administer the program, and that cancelling it would save Canadian taxpayers $86 million annually. The RCC conducted an analysis of the scrapped program in 2018 and found that while the government did save money on administrative costs, it also lost $139.7 million per year in revenue, resulting in a net loss of $51.6 million per year due to the elimination of the rebate. Bedos said in an interview with Yahoo Finance Canada that the visitor tax rebate would make Canada more competitive when it comes to vying for international tourism dollars. "Most of the countries that have a system like this have data showing that tourists ...tend to stay on average one extra day to do shopping, and that makes a big difference not just for retail, but the hotel industry and food and beverage industry," he said. "It's a missed opportunity for Canada." Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. By Nandita Bose WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After weeks of lobbying the White House on how gig workers should be treated, the rideshare, delivery and retail industries are bracing for a new rule that is likely to make it easier to classify them as employees, multiple sources say. A proposed rule from the Department of Labor, aimed at defining whether gig workers for companies including Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and retailers such as Amazon.com Inc are misidentified as independent contractors, is under review at the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and is expected to be released in coming weeks. While the details of the new rule are not known, the department could model it on legal guidance that says people economically dependent on a company are employees, or go even further to expand the pool of workers who should receive benefits, legal experts said. Groups representing employers, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The National Association of Home Builders, The National Retail Federation and the Associated Builders and Contractors have met with officials at the White House's Office of Management and Budget, according to White House records and sources. Related video: Rideshare drivers in Chicago rally outside City Hall in fight for better wages Some of the groups have been trying, and failing, to convince the White House that any broad rule would hurt workers who want to remain independent and have flexibility, people familiar with the discussion said. More than one-third of U.S. workers, or nearly 60 million people, performed some sort of freelance work in the past 12 months, a December 2021 survey by freelancing marketplace Upwork showed. Broadly defining independent contractors as employees would also force companies to pay benefits, such as overtime pay and health benefits, that would hurt their bottom line. Employers can save about 30 percent by skipping payroll taxes and unemployment and benefit costs, workers' groups estimate. Story continues The meetings at the White House were one-sided, with officials at OIRA letting groups speak and not participating or asking follow-up questions, several employer sources said. They are interpreting that as a sign the Biden administration's mind is made up. POLITICAL "It's all very political. The administration has been clear about the stakeholders they care about and how organized labor is something they care about," said a senior official at one of the employer groups, who met with the White House to discuss the proposed rulemaking. "We expect it to be more antagonistic toward independent work," the official, who did not wish to be named said, and to hurt companies that rely on gig labor. A White House official said that listening without comment is part of the standard rulemaking process at OIRA. Representatives and lobbyists for employers argued against "administrator interpretation" and "the economic realities test" issued in 2015 under the Obama administration, which said most workers should be considered employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. They also presented their opposition to the "ABC test" which determines employee status. "I'm not optimistic that the concerns we raised is going to change the direction of the rulemaking," said another lobbyist for an employer group, who spoke to the White House. The White House and the Department of Labor declined comment. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment. A spokeswomen for the Flex Association, which represents Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, said any drastic change that will limit workers' flexibility "could have dire economic consequences as well as reduce income and limit options for workers." WORKERS WARN OF GROWING PAIN Gig Workers Rising, RideShare Workers United, Mobile Workers Alliance, We Drive Progress also met White House officials to broaden the definition of employee further, according to records and sources. A growing number of companies, including in health care, are misclassifying hundreds of thousands of workers across the United States, they argued. Workers in industries that rely on contractors, like food delivery services, say they're left without social safety nets, accident coverage or paid sick leave, and squeezed by high gas prices. "This is a model in which if we don't draw a line in this country, every job is at risk ... and so this rulemaking should be about ensuring people have basic protections," said Nicole Moore, a part-time Lyft driver and the president of the group Rideshare Drivers United. Moore said the rulemaking would help Democrats if it were to be released before the November midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress. "The last thing Americans want is to hear promises on what the party stands for, what it will mean to have folks in the White House, Senate and House of Representatives and then to have nothing happen," she said. "Leaving out misclassified workers would be a huge mistake." This is President Joe Biden's second stab at re-setting rules about how employees can be defined, and is expected to be quickly challenged in court by companies. (Reporting by Nandita Bose; Additional reporting by Daniel Weissner, Lisa Baertlein and Doyinsola Oladipo; Editing by Heather Timmons and Grant McCool) An attempted store robbery turned awkward when the would-be robber discovered his intended victim also had a gun, according to the Escambia County Sheriffs Office in Florida. It happened Sept. 9 at a store on North Pace Boulevard in Pensacola, and surveillance video shows the suspect was thwarted at every turn, starting when he couldnt find anyone behind the counter. Unbeknownst to the would-be robber, a store employee had watched him arm himself before entering the store. This employee headed to the backroom to arm himself (with his own personal gun), the sheriffs office said. Seconds later, when he sees the employee return, he freezes. The employee returned to the counter holding his own gun toward the befuddled attempted robber. At that point, the suspect is heard trying to come up with a non-threatening reason he brought a shotgun into a convenience store. Its for personal protection, he explains. I dont mean no harm. Im just not from around here, he tells the clerk. Im from Chicago. The man then slowly walks out, cautiously watching the clerk over his shoulder. No purchase was made during the encounter. Thankfully, he decides that it is not the time for a robbery, the sheriffs office said. A 32-year-old suspect from Pensacola was arrested Sept. 15 in nearby Santa Rosa County, and he was found in possession of the Benelli shotgun seen in the store, the sheriffs office said. He is charged with openly carrying a prohibited weapon and attempted robbery with a firearm, officials said. Bond was set at $100,000 for the attempted robbery with a firearm charge, jail records show. Watch two Florida deputies rescue unconscious man from boat as it explodes and burns Bull escapes pen at Florida rodeo and enters bleachers. See how one cowboy stepped up 55-year-old accused of stalking 6-year-old girl in his neighborhood, Florida cops say Robbie Brady, left, was the Republic of Irelands hero (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Wire) Robbie Brady got the Republic of Ireland out of jail as they secured their Nations League B status with a madcap 3-2 win over nine-man Armenia. The 30-year-old, making his first start for his country since March last year, converted a stoppage-time penalty to snatch victory after Ireland very nearly threw the game away. They looked to be cruising to just their second win of the Group 1 campaign as they entered the final 20 minutes leading 2-0 through goals from John Egan and Michael Obafemi. However, goals from Artak Dashyan and Eduard Spertsyan silenced the locals before Bradys last-gasp intervention, the build-up to which saw both Hovhannes Hambardzumyan and Dashyan dismissed. The win just manager Stephen Kennys fourth in 21 competitive fixtures came as a relief on a night when defeat would have meant relegation, but third place behind Scotland and Ukraine represents a poor return for a nation which set out with ambitions to win the group. Intent on revenge for their 1-0 defeat in Yerevan, Ireland went straight on to the front foot as Jayson Molumby conducted proceedings from central midfield to force the visitors five-man defence back to within touching distance of keeper David Yurchenko. Such was the home sides early dominance that central defenders Nathan Collins and Dara OShea repeatedly found themselves in advanced positions, but they did not create an opening of note until Jason Knight picked out Obafemi with an 11th-minute cross and saw the striker head wastefully wide. Egan headed wide after OShea had turned Bradys 15th-minute corner back across goal, but the Sheffield United defender was not found wanting when presented with a second opportunity three minutes later. (PA Wire) He timed his jump perfectly to meet Bradys inswinging corner and power a downward header towards goal, where Yurchenko was unable to keep the ball out of his net as it reared up off the turf. Knight and Brady both had shots blocked as the green shirts poured forward, but a lack of precision and a failure to move the ball as quickly as they had earlier allowed the Armenians, who had not mustered a single attempt on goal, to reach the break without further damage. Story continues Molumbys evening might have taken a decided turn for the worse within three minutes of the restart when, having collected a first-half booking for a foul on Lucas Zelarayan, he appeared to pull back Artak Grigoryan, although Slovenian referee Rade Obrenovic took a benevolent view and the midfielder was withdrawn soon afterwards. He had barely settled in his seat when Ireland extended their lead, Obafemi turning smartly 30 yards out before closing on goal and driving a skidding long-range effort beyond Yurchenkos despairing dive. Collins headed Bradys inviting near-post corner over on the hour and Jeff Hendrick went wide from distance with the game seemingly won, but it was then that they were hit with two sucker punches. Keeper Gavin Bazunu, who had been little more than an interested by-stander until that point, had to turn Styopa Mkrtchyans 71st-minute shot against a post, but when the ball fell to fellow substitute Dashyan, there was nothing he could do to keep it out. Disappointment turned to horror within two minutes when Spertsyan, whose goal proved decisive at the Republican Stadium, repeated the dose to level at 2-2. Khoren Bayramyan whistled an 83rd-minute attempt just wide of Bazunus far post as Armenia threatened to snatch victory, but it was the home side who eventually prevailed in dramatic circumstances after Dashyan was adjudged to have handled OSheas shot inside the area after a VAR review. Brady had to wait as Mr Obrenovic dismissed both Hambardzumyan and the unfortunate Dashyan amid furious protests, but calmly sent Yurchenko the wrong way to spare Irelands blushes. Rochester police said a heated argument between Mayor Keith Jackson and borough manager John Barrett turned physical during a borough council executive session this month, resulting in the arrest of Jackson, who faces several charges. Court documents say Jackson and Barrett got into an argument over personnel matters, calling each other names and profanities. Rochester police said during the argument, Jackson got up and moved toward Barrett, knocking over the borough president in the process, who reportedly fell to the ground. Police said Jackson then bumped his chest against Barrett, yelling at Barrett to say what he said during the argument and shouted at Barrett to hit him. Police arrested Jackson and charged him with assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. (Jackson) is a very friendly guy, just trying to do a good job. I dont know what happened in the borough building. I really dont, said Anthony Mignanelli, a lifelong Rochester resident. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Other people familiar with Rochester politics werent as surprised. Not really, because Ive heard of this a couple of times over and over again in the past years. I dont know why for certain. I can only assume that theres a lot of heat and tension going on, but Im not sure what the real problem is, said Mary Caratelli. Borough police were able to separate Jackson and Barrett, and called in Beaver County detectives to assist. They arrested Jackson, who, as of Tuesday, still remains mayor. Channel 11 visited his office Tuesday afternoon to hear his side of the story. He wasnt in his office, but we noticed a sign on the door telling people to stay out. I dont know what theyre going to do. I hope it resolves itself. Its a little town, and it needs good public officials to keep it going, Caratelli said. The borough is not releasing a statement at this time. Story continues Mayor Jackson told Channel 11 over the phone that he didnt want to do an interview until the investigation is complete, but he said that hell talk to us in the future so that everyone will see the whole picture. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Boy, 9, drowns while showering inside Houston home, police say CHANNEL 11 EXCLUSIVE: Man shot at Kennywood Park speaks about chaotic night Man who saw Kennywood shooting says fight started because of mistake VIDEO: Channel 11s Susan Koeppen reunites with man she saved through CPR during cardiac arrest DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Lawyers for Gov. Kim Reynolds say a blocked six-week abortion ban should be allowed to go into effect, as recent court decisions have drastically changed the bedrock of Iowa law. Abortion is less protected now under the law than it was when Reynolds signed the "fetal heartbeat" law in 2018, they contend. The law was intended to ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, when the earliest cardiac activity is detected in an embryo. The law includes exceptions for rape, incest, fetal abnormalities and to protect the life of the mother. A Polk County judge blocked the law before it took effect. But now, with fewer legal protections in place, Reynolds hopes Iowa courts will reverse that decision. More: Iowa abortion providers argue no legal basis exists to enact near ban In June, the Iowa Supreme Court overturned a 2018 decision enshrining abortion as a "fundamental right" in Iowa. A week later, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, two federal decisions that for decades had limited how far state governments could restrict abortion. In a court filing Tuesday, Reynolds' attorney Alan Ostergren wrote that the reversal of those landmark decisions proves neither the Iowa nor U.S. Constitution "has ever protected a fundamental right to abortion." Therefore, Ostergren argues, "Iowas fetal heartbeat law was not unconstitutional when it was enacted in 2018." Reynolds' lawyers also contend the Iowa Supreme Court's June decision raised questions about what the new legal standard of protection is for abortion, opening courts for a new discussion. More: Iowa House Democrats unveil campaign agenda: Legalize marijuana, protect abortion rights Under the 2018 Iowa Supreme Court ruling that found abortion was a fundamental right, abortion laws had to withstand "strict scrutiny," meaning any policy restricting abortion had to be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest. Story continues The Roe decision set up a "viability" framework, preventing states from restricting abortion before a fetus could survive outside the womb. Both were eventually revoked by later court decisions. "Following (the U.S. and Iowa Supreme Court decisions), no constitutional right to an abortion exists, strict scrutiny is no longer the test, and the viability line is no more," Ostergren wrote. Lawyers for Planned Parenthood, Iowa's largest abortion provider, have argued there is no legal basis for reviving a law after it's struck down by the courts. ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen said in court filings that Reynolds should rally lawmakers to pass a new law, "rather than attempting to revive a law that was clearly unconstitutional and void at the time it was passed by an earlier legislature." More: Here's what Sen. Chuck Grassley thinks about a proposed nationwide 15-week abortion ban Ostergren disagreed, citing several cases where courts changed their decisions because of changing laws or other circumstances. A court hearing is set for Oct. 28. Current law in Iowa prohibits abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. A July Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found 60% of Iowans favor keeping abortion legal in most or all cases. Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com or at 410-340-3440. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa lawyers want 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban reinstated Bradley Bentz helps his son put sheets of roofing tile on the new Riley's Jerky building in Greenville, Calif. The third-generation business burned down in the Dixie fire last year. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Looking back, Bradley Bentz doesn't know what took him so long to move out of Los Angeles County. For decades, he'd lived a short walk from the Santa Anita Park racetrack in Arcadia and a few minutes' drive to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. It was the typical city life. "The cars and the smog. The noise. The lights that you can't even tell when it's dark," Bentz said, shaking his head as if waking up from a nightmare. "I just couldn't do it." So he headed to the sparsely populated mountains of Plumas County. He joined the U.S. Forest Service, started a family and eventually settled down just outside of Greenville, becoming the second-generation owner of his father-in-law's business, Riley's Jerky. "I kind of just...," Bentz said, searching for the right words to sum up his life, "fell in love." Lumber trucks display the Stars and Stripes in Greenville's Gold Diggers Day parade. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Even though it's extraordinarily beautiful, with thick forests and pristine rivers, rural Northern California isn't for everyone nor should it be. This is the part of the state where climate change has become a full-fledged existential threat. Sure, Southern California is prone to its fair share of disasters, but it is in Northern California where catastrophic wildfires aren't just likely but are certain to destroy remote small towns for decades to come. Greenville, which burned down in last year's Dixie fire, should serve as a potent reminder of this risk. But maddeningly, the people who love living in these rural wildlands don't see it that way. Instead, they look at it as just one more challenge to overcome, like spotty cellphone service and far-off grocery stores and hospitals. It's a belief so widespread, so divorced from the terrifying reality of climate change, that the rest of us in California can't keep ignoring it. Doing so is simply costing too many lives and too much money, and wasting too much time. Soon, living in rural Northern California won't be as safe, as sustainable or even as beautiful as it once was. The Dixie fire was just the beginning. Story continues "I really think it would take a disaster to scare people away," said Kaley Bentz, Bradley's son and the third-generation owner of Riley's Jerky. "And that was not the disaster." As he spoke, standing outside the new headquarters of his business, built about a mile from where the last one burned down, smoke from yet another wildfire wafted above the charred remains of Greenville. The Sierra Nevada town of Greenville, devastated in the Dixie fire. Why the blaze was able to enter Greenville at all, tucked away in the Indian Valley about 100 miles northeast of Lake Tahoe, has become the stuff of conspiracy theories. But what it left behind is undisputed fact. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) No one died in the Dixie fire, but as disasters go, it wasn't minor. Whipped up by extremely hot, dry and windy conditions, the wildfire has the gruesome distinction of being the second-largest in California's history and the first to burn clear across the Sierra Nevada. It started in July of last year, when a tree fell onto a Pacific Gas & Electric distribution line. An armada of firefighters took until October to fully contain it. In the intervening months, the flames chewed through close to 1 million acres across five counties, invading forests that hadn't seen fire in ages as well as crossing the footprints of other recent wildfires. Why the Dixie fire was able to enter Greenville at all, tucked away in the Indian Valley about 100 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe, has become the stuff of conspiracy theories. But what it left behind is undisputed fact. Streets of empty lots where homes and businesses once stood. A nonfunctioning sewer system. Soil so contaminated that millions of dollars in environmental restoration will be needed. Stumps where trees once provided shade from the sun. In Greenville, the Dixie fire left streets of empty lots where homes and businesses once stood. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Much of what lies ahead for Greenville is also fact though many residents would dispute that. The climate will continue to get hotter and drier. Rain and snow, once a common occurrence, will become exceedingly rare. Perhaps most troubling is that wildfires will become more frequent and more intense, transforming the very ecology of the northern Sierra Nevada. Forests that haven't burned in decades are now very likely to burn multiple times in one decade, climate scientists say. And once they do, they are unlikely to come back as trees, but as a mix of brush and shrubs. "No one should be deluded into thinking that having shrubs is going to be less fire risk because they burn like crazy, really hot and fast," said Jonathan Kusel, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Sierra Institute for Community and Environment. Meanwhile, it will become far more difficult to build homes and businesses that are resistant to flames. That's because an increasing number of wildfires raging through Northern California will be severe, rather than low- or medium-intensity. "There is sort of an engineering limit to how much fire resiliency you can build into a structure, unless you literally make them concrete, metal boxes," said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA. A construction worker nails trusses for a new chip storage shed on the Indian Valley wood utilization campus in Greenville, which is rebuilding in the aftermath of the Dixie fire. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) All of this heightens the risk for residents particularly elderly people in rural communities where homes are more spread out and emergency alerts might not get through. Since 2000, California has recorded 11 of its 20 deadliest wildfires. This is the new shared struggle for survival. Even the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs near Greenville and brings in tourists, will be hit with "exceedingly common" triple-digit temperatures, putting hikers at increased risk of heatstroke. The streams they rely on for drinking water also are likely to dry up. What's happening in Northern California is twofold: First, human-caused climate change is exacerbating the heat and drought of aridification. Second, decades of fire suppression have allowed forests and wildlands to grow thick with vegetation, priming them to burn hot and fast. There's some debate over which one is more to blame for these massive wildfires. But Andrew Ayres, an environmental economist and research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, says they both are. And yet those who live in Northern California tend to focus almost exclusively on the overgrown vegetation as the cause, faulting the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the U.S. Forest Service for not doing more to reduce the risk. "We're in the middle of a national forest," said Bret Cook, a lawyer who lost his home in the Dixie fire and represents many homeowners in their lawsuit against PG&E. "The federal government needs to be more aggressive." The sun shines on trees charred in the Dixie fire. Forests that haven't burned in decades are now very likely to burn multiple times in one decade, climate scientists say. And once they do, they are unlikely to come back as trees but as a mix of brush and shrubs. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Or as Kim Greene, the mayor of Weed, lamented during the first of two major wildfires to hit Siskiyou County this year: You can log it, you can graze it, or you can burn it down. The state of California chooses to burn it down. Often this line of thinking veers into grievance politics, insisting that catastrophic conflagrations wouldn't be happening if left-leaning, big-city environmentalists hadn't killed the logging industry in their right-leaning rural small towns. From there, the victimhood can morph into extremism, isolationism and paranoia. Of course, the truth is a lot more complicated, given that forest mismanagement started with industrial logging of big more resilient trees from our forests. But these residents do have a point. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been allocated for prescribed burns and mechanical thinning projects. And yet the treatment work is still being done far too slowly an average of three to five years from conception to implementation. In some cases, it can take as many as seven years. "The pace at which those things are rolling out is not consistent with the scale of the problem," Ayres said. Lawsuits from misguided environmental groups and regulatory restrictions haven't helped. Ideally, the state and federal governments would act with urgency to reduce the risk of more homes and businesses going up in smoke. But, realistically, that probably won't happen. At least not in time to beat the ever-accelerating clock of climate change. Two years ago, Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service vowed to burn or thin 1 million acres of forestland annually by 2025, but the agencies are behind. Meanwhile, the Dixie fire burned 1 million acres. Towns that wildfires destroy will probably get destroyed again before residents have a chance to rebuild them. Many who have left Greenville, for example, have moved to neighboring Quincy and everyone seems to agree that it will burn next. Surrounded by a dense forest, it is hard to disagree. "I don't think anybody necessarily wants to be an arbiter of who can and can't live where," UCLA's Swain said. "But the reality the physical reality is that we're going to keep seeing more intense wildfires. And they're going to occur in somewhat predictable places, which includes a lot of the places that have seen the extreme fires." A huge plume of smoke billows skyward as the Dixie fire burns through mountainous and forested terrain near Janesville, Calif., in August 2021. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Shelby Leung, a firefighter in Greenville, grew up hearing his elders talk about a time when giant pyrocumulus clouds weren't the norm in Northern California. When his Indigenous tribe, the Maidu, managed the land more sustainably. "They would just burn every season every fall and in the springtime," he said. "And a lot of it was, like, patchwork where they would burn around their homes. It was just clearing that made it safer." Leung is convinced it's possible to do that again. Count him among those with a deep connection to the land who have chosen to stay in Greenville. But there are others, many of them Maidu, who couldn't afford to leave if they wanted to. Even before the Dixie fire, the town's poverty rate was more than double that of California. Many who lost everything to the flames didn't have insurance. Some ended up living in RVs. Others of more means were able to buy or rent homes in other parts of Plumas County. But now housing prices are higher than ever because demand has outstripped supply a twist on the affordable housing shortage that has long plagued Los Angeles, even without wildfires. The situation in Greenville, which has already played out in other scorched towns across Northern California, raises important questions that few in government seem willing to answer. Are taxpayers who live in lower-risk cities willing to subsidize people who live in higher-risk rural towns, even if those people don't have the means to live somewhere safer? And which is the fairest, most equitable use of public resources? "People are OK basically gambling and not taking insurance," said Solomon Hsiang, the chancellors professor of public policy at UC Berkeley and a co-director of the Climate Impact Lab. "And then when disaster hits, they're stuck with it or taxpayers are stuck with the bill if they're receiving relief." J&C Lumber is a fourth-generation family-owned timber harvesting company located near Greenville. The situation here, which has already played out in other scorched towns across Northern California, raises important questions that few in government seem willing to answer. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Then there's the cost of infrastructure upgrades, such as undergrounding power lines, and of doing enough prescribed burns and thinning to allow people to live more sustainably in far-flung towns like Greenville. Depending on how dire climate change turns out to be, Ayres warned that more forest management might not even make a difference in reducing fire risk. "It's going to be expensive," he said. "And there's a question around who's going to pay for that and whether, ultimately, it'll be worth it." Even the human cost could be high. Firefighters are being asked to save people and property from wildfires that grow more extreme with each passing year. "If you build a home off the grid, somewhere far away, people like to be self-sustaining," Hsiang said. "But then if there's a fire coming and Cal Fire comes to rescue you with a helicopter, who pays for that?" At some point, Californians must decide: Are we willing to pay more to maintain the status quo and rebuild every small rural town that burns down? Or do we want those who live there to pay more or even retreat to safer places? The answers to these questions will be revealing, particularly in terms of the hypocrisy. Because for all of the anti-government, Trumpian rhetoric in Northern California, with residents vowing to break away to form a right-wing "state of Jefferson," most of their towns wouldn't exist without massive public investment from liberal cities. And yet, if these same residents are forced to take on more financial responsibility for the risk of rural living, there will almost certainly be pushback. As Hsiang summed up: "If we do start changing policies, there will be winners and losers." At twilight, burnt trees are silhouetted as the band SideFX plays at the street dance during the annual Gold Digger Days celebration in Greenville. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) No matter what many in rural communities want to believe, this is our terrifying reality. Climate change has delivered it, much more quickly than many of us thought. In Greenville, at least, some residents have been mulling over the meaning of it all. Bentz, for one, is uneasy about the future. He has children and grandchildren in Plumas County, but admits he'd worry if he was a new parent. "It's just so much hotter and drier than it used to be," he said, watching his son, Kaley, show a contractor around the new Riley's Jerky. "I'm seeing differences with the animals and the plants. The birds and the butterflies aren't there like they used to be. Everything is kind of stressed out, including the people." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A man holds a Russian flag with the letter Z, which has become a symbol of support for Russian military action in Ukraine, during the Victory Day celebrations in the far eastern city of Vladivostok on May 9, 2022. PAVEL KOROLYOV/AFP via Getty Images Russia said it detained a Japanese diplomat in the city of Vladivostok. Russia's FSB said the official was detained on suspicion of espionage. Tokyo said it the official was mistreated, in violation of international rules. Japan accused Russia of violating international rules by blindfolding and restraining a Japanese diplomat that it accused of being a spy. Russia's domestic security agency, the FSB, said on Monday that it arrested a Japanese consul in the eastern city of Vladivostok on suspicion of spying. The FSB said it arrested the official, Motoki Tatsunori, after catching him "red handed" being given secret information on the effect of western sanctions in the east of Russia, Reuters reported. It said the intelligence was bought by Tatsunori, who also received information on Russia's relations with an unnamed country in the Asia-Pacific region. But Tokyo rejected the accusations, and said that it was lodging a formal complaint about Tatsunori's treatment, which it said violated international rules on diplomatic relations. "The official was blindfolded, with pressure applied to both his hands and head so he was unable to move while being detained, and then he was questioned in an overbearing way," chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters, according to The Japan Times. Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said it was a "clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations." The convention says that the countries hosting consuls Russia, in this case, should treat them "with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on their person, freedom or dignity." Russia has ratified the convention. Tatsunori was released on Tuesday, Japan's government said. Matsuno said Japan would demand a formal apology from Moscow, and the official would leave Russia by Wednesday, having been expelled by Russian authorities. Russia and Japan are regional rivals, and relations have worsened since Japan took the side of the US and other western nations in condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and imposing economic sanctions. Read the original article on Business Insider (Independent) Pro-Kremlin officials have said three parts of occupied Ukrainian territory have chosen to join Russia, following votes that Kyiv and the West dismissed as sham referendums. Voting started in the regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia last Thursday, shortly after a series of humiliating military setbacks for Moscow. In recent weeks, Ukraine has recaptured thousands of square kilometres of land, especially in the northeast province of Kharkiv. On Tuesday, Moscow-backed separatists said 93 per cent of ballots in Zaporizhzhia were cast in favour of Russian annexation. The counts in the southern Kherson region and the eastern Luhansk region were similarly one-sided, they added. Results from Donetsk are expected to be announced later. Ahead of the counts, the West hit out at the preordained referendums, with the UK bringing more sanctions against Russia because of the votes. Sham referendums held at the barrel of a gun cannot be free or fair and we will never recognise their results. They follow a clear pattern of violence, intimidation, torture, and forced deportations in the areas of Ukraine Russia has seized, British foreign secretary James Cleverly said. Earlier this week, he announced a raft of sanctions against more than 90 people linked to the votes or accused of funding the Russian war machine. The US is currently drafting a resolution at the United Nations Security Council to condemn the referendums. Russias sham referenda, if accepted, will open a pandoras box that we cannot close, American envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. If Moscow vetoes the resolution, a vote could then be held at the UN General Assembly, Ms Thomas-Greenfield said. If Russia chooses to shield itself from accountability here in the Council, we will then look to the UN General Assembly to send an unmistakable message to Moscow. More follows... The Kremlin has urgently decided to purchase a large batch of potassium iodide The tender was announced amid threats by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to use nuclear weapons. The website states that iodine is planned to be purchased for almost RUB 5,000,000 (about $86,000 at the current exchange rate). Only four days are allocated for the procurement procedure. The Russian government agency stressed that the purchase of potassium iodide for the population is carried out annually. According to Russian media Kommersant, in late December 2020 and early March 2021, tenders for the purchase of the drug for approximately the same amount were placed in the system. The only difference is the urgency of the tender. Potassium iodide preparations protect the thyroid gland so that radioactive iodine does not negatively affect the human body. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, after announcing mobilization in Russia on Sept. 21, once again threatened Western countries with the use of nuclear weapons, stressing that "it was not a bluff." Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Russian military doctrine including the rules of nuclear weapons use would extend to Ukrainian territories Russia is currently looking to annex via sham referendums, as outlined in the Russian constitution. The White House said that Washington had warned the Kremlin of "serious consequences" in the event of the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraineand, together with its allies, is ready to give a "decisive" response. Read also: IAEA begins negotiations on creation of a safe zone around occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant The situation around the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant seized by Russian troops also raises concerns. Russian troops are known to have set up firing positions at the ZNPP and have regularly shelled Ukrainian cities from them. Ukrainian state nuclear power company Energoatom has reported that the Russian military placed more than a dozen pieces of military equipment, including ammunition, weapons, and explosives in the turbine hall of the first reactor of the plant. Story continues In total, more than 40 units of Russian military equipment have been placed on the grounds of the facility. In August, the occupying troops repeatedly staged provocations with the shelling of ZNPP. On Aug. 25, Russian troops provoked the first temporary disconnection from the power grid in the history of the ZNPP. The ZNPP was again disconnected on Sept. 11, due to further Russian shelling that damaged all power lines connecting the plant to the Ukrainian power grid. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on February 23, 2017. Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press A top Russian official repeated Russia's nuclear threats, saying they're not a bluff. Dmitry Medvedev said NATO countries wouldn't step in if Russia fired a nuke at Ukraine. One expert told Insider it likely was a bluff but that it should be taken seriously anyway. Russia's former president repeated the country's threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine and mocked NATO by saying it would not come to Ukraine's aid if Russia struck. On Telegram Tuesday, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now Russia's Security Council chief, criticized US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, and the wider NATO alliance. He said those leaders "constantly threaten us with 'terrifying consequences' if Russia uses nuclear weapons" and accused Truss of being "completely ready to immediately begin an exchange of nuclear strikes with our country." Medvedev said Russia's laws around the use of nuclear weapons meant it could retaliate with them if it's hit with nukes or attacked with conventional weapons that threatened "the very existence of our state." Russia will also "do anything" to prevent the nuclear weapons emerging in the country's "hostile neighbors," such as Ukraine, Medvedev said. "If the threat to Russia exceeds the established danger limit, we will have to respond," he said. "Without asking anyone's permission, without long consultations. And it's definitely not a bluff." Medvedev said that if Russia did strike Ukraine with a nuclear weapon, NATO member states would put their own security ahead of protecting "a dying Ukraine that no one needs." An isolated Russia Michael Clarke, a professor and security expert, told Insider he believed Putin using a nuclear weapon "would bring him down immediately." "The whole world would turn against him," he said, adding that he believed NATO would hit back, albeit with conventional weapons. And China would likely drop its muted support for Russia, he said. Clarke, the associate director of the Strategy and Security Institute at the UK's University of Exeter, said: "I think there would be an immediate upping of the campaign, and I suspect that would actually bring Western forces into Ukraine." Story continues Medvedev's remarks come as Russia moves to annex large parts of occupied Ukraine through sham referendums. Should President Vladimir Putin announce annexations expected this Friday, according to the UK's Ministry of Defense any attempt to retake those areas may be interpreted in Moscow as an attack on Russia itself. Reminding the world about Russia's nuclear arsenal is nothing new among Putin and his allies. He alluded to it in February, and in March, Medvedev reasserted Russia's stated right to use nukes. But a recent spate of statements like these is "trying to ramp up the threat" and scare the West away from further support of Ukraine because Putin is "in a corner," Clarke said. Putin's recent announcement calling up reservists has been viewed internationally as a desperate act spurred by Ukraine's successful counterattack. He was recently snubbed even by semiallies such as Turkey, India, and China. Clarke said Putin was humiliated. Is Putin bluffing? After Putin's latest statement, the White House said Russia would face "catastrophic consequences" if it used tactical nuclear weapons. In an interview aired Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he didn't think Putin was bluffing. Clarke said he believed Russia's threats were indeed a bluff but that the West must still take them seriously. "Even when people are bluffing, they find themselves running out of room to maneuver and then get locked into doing what they thought they wouldn't have to do," he said. He added: "Whenever you start to play games with nuclear strategy, the danger of a mistake or sheer miscalculation can never be ruled out. So yes, the West has got to take it seriously." The defense minister of Russia's neighbor Latvia also told Insider he believed Putin was likely bluffing in hopes of getting the West to reduce its support for Ukraine. Read the original article on Business Insider By Guy Faulconbridge and Caleb Davis LONDON (Reuters) -An ally of President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday outlined the scenario of a nuclear strike on Ukraine, saying that the U.S.-led NATO military alliance would be too scared of a 'nuclear apocalypse' to directly enter the conflict in reponse. Dmitry Medvedev, a former president who now serves as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said Russia had the right to defend itself with nuclear weapons if it is pushed beyond its limits and that this is "certainly not a bluff". Putin last week ordered Russia's first mobilisation since World War Two and backed a plan to annex swathes of Ukraine, warning the West he was not bluffing when he said he would be ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia. "Let's imagine that Russia is forced to use the most fearsome weapon against the Ukrainian regime which had committed a large-scale act of aggression that is dangerous for the very existence of our state," Medvedev said in a post on Telegram. Medvedev's remarks quoted the exact terminology of one of the conditions of Russia's nuclear strike doctrine: "aggression against the Russian Federation with conventional weapons when the very existence of the state is threatened". The 57-year-old Putin ally, who once presented himself as a reformer who was ready to work with the United States to liberalise Russia, has recast himself in recent months as the most publicly hawkish member of Putin's circle. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, he has repeatedly raised the threat of nuclear chaos and used insults to describe the West. NUCLEAR WARNING Washington has not detailed what it would do if Putin ordered what would be the first use of nuclear weapons in anger since the United States unleashed the first atomic bomb attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that the United States would respond decisively to any Russian use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and has spelled out to Moscow the "catastrophic consequences" it would face. Story continues Around 90% of the world's nuclear warheads are held by Russia and the United States, who remain by far the world's biggest nuclear powers. Russia has 5,977 nuclear warheads while the United States has 5,428 warheads, while China has 350, France has 290 and the United Kingdom has 225, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Medvedev's comments come as Russia prepares to annex large swathes of Ukrainian territory after referendums in Russian-controlled regions in Ukraine which Ukraine and the West have described as an illegal sham. Diplomats say Russia's nuclear sabre rattling indicates Putin is trying to scare the West into reducing its support for Ukraine by hinting at using a tactical nuclear weapon to defend the annexed territories of Ukraine. Tactical nuclear weapons, simply a nuclear device used on the battlefield, typically have much smaller explosive power than the vast strategic nuclear warheads which Russia and the United States point at each other's major cities. "I have to remind you again - for those deaf ears who hear only themselves. Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons if necessary," Medvedev said, adding that it would do so "in predetermined cases" and in strict compliance with state policy. When describing a possible strike on Ukraine, a Slavic neighbour which Putin describes as an artificial historical construct, Medvedev said NATO would not get involved in such a situation. "I believe that NATO would not directly interfere in the conflict even in this scenario," Medvedev said. "The demagogues across the ocean and in Europe are not going to die in a nuclear apocalypse." (Writing by Caleb Davis; Editing by Alex Richardson/Guy Faulconbridge and Philippa Fletcher) After starting his new position at the height of the Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police movements, Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee spent two years with the Boise Police Department facing security concerns at protests, questions about police shootings and personal allegations against him. Lee, who resigned Friday upon request from Boise Mayor Lauren McLean, had more than 20 years with the Portland Police Bureau, where he was promoted as a national subject matter expert in policing large-scale events and public order policing, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. He left Portland as an assistant chief. Lee, a Coast Guard veteran with a criminal justice degree from Cal State Sacramento, was hired by the Portland Police Bureau in September 2000 and spent seven years as an officer before being promoted to sergeant, according to a copy of Lees personnel records that the Statesman obtained via a public records request. In 2015 he was promoted to lieutenant, and then two years later he was promoted to assistant chief. Heres a timeline of some events from Lees time with the Boise Police Department. June 9, 2020: Boise City Council unanimously confirms Ryan Lee as the new Boise chief of police. McLean says Lee is the perfect choice for the city. Lee was one of two finalists, along with Joseph Chacon, an assistant chief for the Austin, Texas, Police Department. Both were interviewed via video by different groups, including local law enforcement officials, two community panels and a Boise Police Department panel. July 1, 2020: Lee is sworn in as Boises police chief, the day after a Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police rally outside Boise City Hall. July 15, 2020: Two weeks into his new role, Lee sets transparency, policy, discipline and training goals. He also proposes plans to create a dashboard documenting how often officers use force. Spokeswoman Haley Williams told the Statesman on Tuesday that the department is still working on creating this dashboard. Story continues July 20, 2020: Ahead of whats expected to be a large Black Lives Matter protest and counterprotest, Lee promises a substantial and robust police presence and requests that groups self-police against individuals who infiltrate their ranks in order to provoke, intimidate and start problems. Dec. 15, 2020: Boise police face scrutiny after officers stand on the roof of the Central District Health office while protesters gather outside and board members vote on a public health order for the COVID-19 pandemic. March 20, 2021: Locals gather at the Idaho Capitol for a vigil decrying violence and racism against Asian Americans in response to hate shootings in Atlanta. Lee and McLean hold a meeting with more than 150 members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. June 27, 2021: Boise police shoot Mohamud Hassan Mkoma, a member of the Somali Bantu refugee community, who is hospitalized for months. Mkomas family and community demand Boise police show body-cam footage. Oct. 12, 2021: Lee allegedly hurts an officer during a neck restraint demonstration among staff. Oct. 18, 2021: A member of the police department command staff reports the demonstration incident to human resources, and staff begins an investigation. Oct. 25, 2021: Two people are killed and four others injured in a shooting at Boise Towne Square mall. Lee speaks at a press conference to address details of the ongoing investigation. Jan. 19, 2022: The city of Boise confirms there is an ongoing investigation related to Lees alleged injuring of another officer during a demonstration in October 2021. April 5, 2022: Boise Police Sgt. Kirk Rush files a tort claim against Lee and the city of Boise. The claim alleges that Lee caused serious and significant injuries to Rush. April 5, 2022: Office of Police Accountability Director Jesus Jara sends a memo to McLean and Chief of Staff Courtney Washburn recommending that Lee be placed on paid administrative leave after nine officers file complaints against Lee, according to a story from KTVB. May, 9, 2022: Jara sends an email to an undisclosed person that the mayors office had an outside counsel review the allegations against Lee, and they determined there were no policy violations, according to the KTVB report. Aug. 24, 2022: Lee writes a guest opinion in the Idaho Statesman after an announcement about new hiring criteria for the department meant to broaden the candidate pool creates a stir. Aug. 31, 2022: Idaho State Police announces that Lee will not be criminally charged for allegedly breaking a lower-ranking officers neck during an unplanned neck restraint demonstration. I believe this investigation has been taken as far as possible, Clearwater Prosecutor Clayne Tyler, who investigated Lee, says in a press release. Sept. 1, 2022: The Statesman obtains a letter written by Tyler that states there was evidence Lee committed a crime by allegedly breaking Rushs neck, but not beyond a reasonable doubt. This decision was not reached lightly nor without angst, as it truly is a close call, Tyler wrote in a letter to the Idaho State Police, McLean and Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts. The letter was sent Aug. 26. Sept. 22, 2022: KTVB publishes its story about nine officers contacting the Office of Police Accountability to report allegations against Lee. Sept. 23, 2022: Just hours before the city of Boise announces Lee will be resigning, McLean tells the Statesman she had conversations about management at the department. Sept. 23, 2022: The city announces Lee will resign at the request of McLean. Lee will be on paid leave until his resignation takes effect Oct. 14. SBU detains a Russian agent According to the SBU, the Russian agent collected information about the locations of the Ukrainian army units, law enforcement and law enforcement agencies, as well as numbers of personnel and military vehicles. In addition, the agent established the exact coordinates of roadblocks and critical infrastructure, especially those of heat and power supply facilities. The enemy... used the intelligence to prepare sabotage and carry out air strikes, including with cruise missiles and kamikaze drones, the agencys press service said. Read also: Russian invaders launch 31 missile and air strikes on Ukraine in past day, says General Staff According to the investigation, the traitor is a resident of the city of Reni, who was recruited by the special services of the aggressor-country of Russia after the start of a full-scale invasion. The agent was noticed by the Russian special services because of his pro-Kremlin views, which he aired openly. The SBU added that in order to carry out espionage tasks, the Russian agent secretly monitored the movement of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard by taking pictures. Read also: Military expert on Iranian Shahed-136 drones in service with Russia The information was transmitted to the invaders via Telegram as a report with notes, and an electronic map with a detailed description of his observations. The detainee was found to have a mobile phone with evidence that he was in communication with a Russian supervisor. The SBU investigators said the detainee is suspected of violating Part 2 of Art. 111 (high treason committed under martial law) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The suspect will be detained without bail before trial. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine A North Carolina school superintendent is accused of groping an employee during a private meeting, then firing her months after she rejected him, a federal lawsuit says. Larissa York, the former chief financial officer for Currituck County Schools, is suing Superintendent Matthew Lutz and the school district for at least $2 million, arguing she was unfairly fired on July 15, 2021 after Lutz assaulted her, a complaint filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina states. The lawsuit seeking a trial by jury was filed on Sept. 19. The filing comes after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission granted Larissa York the right to sue, according to the complaint filed on behalf of her by Thomas York, her attorney and husband. Lutz tries to set up a smoke screen alleging many reasons for (Larissa Yorks) termination, but most, if not all, of those fabrications are easily rebuttedLutz was actually motivated by the refusal of his sexual advances, the complaint states. Lutz told McClatchy News in a statement that I have and will continue to vehemently deny the false accusations made by Larissa York and her husband and attorney Tom York. Larissa York was hired in July 2019 as the chief financial officer for Currituck County Schools by another superintendent and says she was considered a fully competent CFO from June 2020, when Lutz was hired as interim superintendent, to February 2021, when she was groped by Lutz, the lawsuit states. Larissa York says she met with Lutz in late February 2021 after he called her in an office for a private meeting, according to the complaint. There, she says Lutz locked the door and proceeded to inappropriately grab her in close proximity. When she moved forward to escape (his) grasp and expressed disapproval, Larissa York says the superintendents face turned red and he became angry. Following the incident, Larissa York consulted with her husband and considered courses of action to take against Lutz, according to the complaint. The couple ultimately decided any reporting of the sexual harassment would result in her further harm and in her termination. Story continues Then, Larissa York says she began keeping a written record of Lutzs inappropriate conduct, but the notes were later lost, stolen, or destroyed by officials within the school district, according to the complaint. After February 2021, Lutz began requesting to meet Larissa York at odd times and when she refused, he would criticize her and launch verbal attacks, the complaint states. Lutz is accused of telling Larissa York You know what I expect, and things will be fine if you just do it, according to the complaint. The clear meaning was that (Larissa York) needed to give in to his sexual advances. Furthermore, Lutz is accused of invading Larissa Yorks personal space by brushing up against her at work, and also discussing a prior affair he had with an assistant principal that purportedly benefited the womans career, according to the lawsuit. On July 15, 2021, Lutz fired Larissa York, informing her it was for two reasons related to her alleged mismanagement of school funds, the complaint states. Days later, he specified 19 different reasons to support firing her in a memo, the Daily Advance reports. Larissa York maintains that on July 15, 2021, she reported to school district officials that she was a victim of sexual discrimination. The Currituck County Board of Education refuted this assertion in a statement to McClatchy News. Following the termination of Mrs. Yorks employment with the school system, Mrs. York for the first time made allegations against the Superintendent, which he adamantly denies, Karen Etheridge, the chairman of the school board, told McClatchy News. Etheridge added that York was afforded an opportunity for a fair and impartial hearing before the Board of Education to review her concerns but declined to participate. However, Thomas York told McClatchy News in a statement that the hearings maximum duration of two hours was an inadequate amount of time for his wife to present her case against Lutz. The Board Members would not assure the cooperation of witnesses from the School District when they refused to tell their employees there would not be retaliation for truthful testimony, Thomas York said. Additionally, Thomas York said the board provided Lutz an attorney for free but did not do so for his wife. Etheridge, the board chairman, told McClatchy News that the lawsuit is under review and that they will respond through court filings. The judicial process will be lengthy and we have full faith the truth will be revealed and justice served, Lutz said in his statement to McClatchy News. The lawsuit, which accuses the defendants of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, was also filed against the school districts current CFO Susan Mizelle, who is accused of defaming Larissa York in order to assume her position. McClatchy News contacted Mizelle for comment on Sept. 26 and was awaiting a response. Currituck County is about 185 miles northeast of Raleigh. The school district has about 4,100 students. IHOP manager told waitress she could take day off if she had sex with him, lawsuit says Dont you want to keep your job? Texas woman sexually assaulted at work, feds say You got fat. Coach shames high school player after COVID hospitalization, lawsuit says Family of student who died after frat hazing to receive $1M from university, school says Secret Service agents in front of the White House on June 26, 2022 in Washington, DC. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Secret Service leadership confiscated 24 agents' phones in July, NBC reported on Tuesday. The confiscation took place after the DHS watchdog launched a criminal probe into missing Jan. 6 texts. Interest in the phones' contents increased after Cassidy Hutchinson's Jan. 6 committee testimony. Senior leadership in the US Secret Service confiscated 24 agents' cellphones in July, NBC reported on Tuesday, citing two sources with knowledge of the action. The confiscation took place shortly after Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari launched a criminal investigation into missing text messages from the period of time surrounding the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. It's not immediately clear what information has been recovered from the phones or why the phones were seized. Cuffari had previously informed the January 6 House committee that text messages had been erased as part of a system-wide systems upgrade. Interest in the content of agents' phones grew after the bombshell testimony of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who told the committee under oath in late June that President Donald Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent and tried to grab the steering wheel while in a car on January 6, demanding to be taken to the Capitol. "I'm the effing president!" Trump said, according to Hutchinson's account of the incident. Trump has denied that the incident took place. Secret Service agents later said they were prepared to dispute Hutchinson's statement under oath as well, though they have not yet done so. Read the original article on Business Insider Senior leaders at the Secret Service reportedly confiscated the cellphones of 24 agents who were involved with the Jan. 6, 2021, response and delivered the phones to the Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) inspector general. A source familiar confirmed to The Hill that the phones were handed to Inspector General Joseph Cuffaris office after a July 19 letter was sent to the agency from DHS investigators indicating he had begun a criminal probe. NBC News first reported the development. The work to investigative the travesty of the Jan. 6th Insurrection is extremely important to us and aligns with the mission of the Secret Service which is to safeguard our nations highest government leaders. We have and will continue to cooperate fully with all of the oversight efforts and we have provided everything that has been requested as part of these inquiries, the Secret Service said in a statement. DHSs Office of Inspector General did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cuffari, who is investigating how the Secret Service responded to Jan. 6, first notified lawmakers in July there were missing texts from agents that may have been erased as part of a device replacement program. Secret Service has said messages may have been lost in a software migration. While prior reporting indicated Cuffari had sought phone records, it was unclear he had the phones, and the detail emerges as his office has faced questions over delays in notifying Congress and that could hamstring efforts to recover evidence from the phones. The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, rioting at the U.S. Capitol has obtained other records and documents from the agency, but only one text message from the 24 Secret Service agents involved with the Jan. 6 response. The panel has said in recent weeks its begun to get a more steady flow of information from the Secret Service. The committee and others, however, have asked Cuffari to step aside from his probe, calling into question his judgment given his delay in alerting Congress to the lost messages. Story continues Last week an anonymous group of employees at DHS OIG asked President Biden to fire Cuffari. Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified to the House panel over the summer that former President Trump lunged for the steering wheel of the car an agent was driving after the agent refused to drive toward the Capitol on Jan. 6. The agents involved reportedly dispute Hutchinsons telling of events but have not testified publicly and one has since retired from the Secret Service. Updated at 10:39 a.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Sen. Mark Kelly speaks during an opening events for the first Mission for Arizona Coordinated Campaign office on Thursday, April 14, 2022, in Mesa. Phoenix police evacuated Sen. Mark Kelly's office on Monday after the office received a voicemail message from an unknown person suggesting a bomb was inside the building. Sgt. Philip Krynsky, a department spokesperson, told The Arizona Republic that officers responded to the building near 22nd Street and Camelback Road. Officers searched the the building and ultimately cleared it after finding no evidence that a bomb was inside. Krynsky did not say whether police had any leads on who left the threatening voicemail. U.S. Capitol Police, which took over the investigation, said it was aware of the incident and investigating. "Our threat agents are aware of the call and already investigating to figure out who is behind it," the agency said in an emailed statement. "Fortunately nobody was hurt this afternoon." Jacob Peters, a Kelly spokesperson, declined to comment on the voicemail. "While we appreciate the concern, we do not comment or discuss details concerning security matters," Peters said in a statement. "As always, were grateful for the service of local law enforcement. Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at 602-444-2474 or perry.vandell@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @PerryVandell. Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sen. Mark Kelly's office evacuated following bomb threat Card of the Russian payment system Mir The second largest bank in Tajikistan by the number of cardholders Dushanbe City Bank has suspended servicing of the Mir payment system cards, allegedly for technical issues. The bank said that failures in the operation of Mir cards have been going on since Sept. 24. The schedule for the resumption of the banks work with the Russian cards has not been released. Read also: US, EU trying to force Turkish banks to disconnect from Russian payment system "Since last Saturday, Dushanbe City Bank has been noting technical problems with the Russian payment system Mir; at the moment cards of the Mir payment system are not serviced in ATMs and POS terminals of Dushanbe City," the bank said in a statement. Earlier, Russian media wrote that DDoS attacks were being carried out by Ukrainian hackers on the Mir payment system. The banks of some countries have already suspended work with cards of the Mir payment system amid possible sanctions from the United States. In particular, Turkish banks Is Bankasi and DenizBank, as well as the Uzbek unified bank processing center Uzcard have refused to deal with the Russian cards. Read also: Russians bypassing banking sanctions by getting cards in Belarus, says Presidents Office Washington imposed sanctions on Sept. 15 against Vladimir Komlev, CEO of the National Payment Cards System of Russia, which manages the Mir payment card system. In early March 2022, the global Visa and MasterCard payment systems stopped working in Russia. As a result, Russian cards for these payment systems work only within the country. Read also: Banks in Uzbekistan issue Visa and Mastercard cards to Russians At the same time, Visa and MasterCard have said they will not issue new cards in Russia. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine When Lawrence Ray moved into his daughters dorm at Sarah Lawrence College in September of 2010, he had just been released from prison. He needed a place to stay, and his daughters housemates seemed mostly unfazed, The Cut would report in April of 2019. But Rays time at Sarah Lawrence, a liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, took a dark turn one that eventually saw him accused of exploiting students on the campus in the manner of a cult leader, and convicted on charges including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, forced labor, and extortion. Sex, Lies and The College Cult, a new Peacock documentary, takes a closer look at Rays wrongdoings. Set to air on Wednesday (28 September), it promises the shocking and unnerving true story of how a father and professional conman brainwashed students of Sarah Lawrence College into an abusive sex cult that upended their lives, and the lives of their families. Rays trial took place between March and April of this year. Most people had never heard of Lawrence Larry Ray until The Cut published a longform investigation titled The Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence: What happened to the group of bright college students who fell under the sway of a classmates father? The article prompted authorities to investigate Rays conduct, eventually leading to criminal charges and to his conviction. Before his arrival on the Sarah Lawrence campus, Ray had served time in a New Jersey prison on charges related to a child custody case. After he moved with his daughter Talia Ray, The Cut reported, he planted himself in the common area, cooking steak dinners and ordering expensive delivery for Talia and her seven housemates. He reportedly shared stories with them, loved to preach the values of the Marine Corps, and could be charming and a good listener. He stood out against the backdrop of Sarah Lawrence, an intellectual institution with an artistic flair, whose alumni include the actor Julianna Margulies, the fashion designer Vera Wang, and the writer Alice Walker. Ray eventually persuaded his daughters friends to stay at his Manhattan apartment during the summer that followed his arrival at the Sarah Lawrence dorm, Assistant US Attorney Lindsey Keenan said during his trial in 2022. Over time, Ray allegedly built up his influence on a group of young adults, prompting them to believe they should adhere to his values and leading them on what The Cut called a program of personal transformation. The publication reported that he asked them to share personal stories and collected hundreds of pages worth of confessions from them. He profited off their labor, their money and even their bodies, Keenan told the court, adding: Once he gained control of their lives ... he took over their lives. (Getty Images) Rays abuse, as described during the court proceedings, was mental, physical, and sexual. A witness at his trial, recalled an escalating pattern of physical abuse, with Ray calling him hemorrhoid and scum and holding a knife to his throat and genitals or putting him in a chokehold, berating him until he agreed with Ray that hed done wrong, the Associated Press wrote after the witness testified in March this year. A woman on the witness stand said Ray had convinced her she had poisoned him and owed him money as a result. She claimed she was forced to turn to sex work to earn the funds, and that she gave Ray around $2.5m. In recounting his alleged violence, AP reported that she told the court: He slapped me in the face so hard I fell over, pulled my hair, strangled me, suffocated me, hit me. He threatened to put me in jail numerous times. He threatened to kill me on a memorable occasion. He threatened to cut my face, have me abducted and dropped in the Middle East. He threatened to blackmail people that I knew. He threatened to beat up my father. (Getty Images) Throughout the trial, Rays defense team maintained that his conduct was not criminal, and he had merely surrounded himself with storytellers. A jury convicted him after deliberating for less than a day, on federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, a violent crime in aid of racketeering, extortion, sex trafficking, forced labor, tax evasion, and money laundering offenses, as listed by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York. Twelve years ago, Larry Ray moved into his daughters dorm room at Sarah Lawrence College, US Attorney Damian Williams said after the verdict was announced. And when he got there, he met a group of friends who had their whole lives ahead of them. For the next decade, he used violence, threats, and psychological abuse to try to control and destroy their lives. He exploited them. He terrorized them. He tortured them. Ray faces up to life in prison and is expected to be sentenced in December. In March of last year, a woman named Isabella Pollok was charged with being Rays accomplice, The New York Times reported at the time. She recently pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge. Per the AP, the plea agreement required Pollok to admit that she knew that some of the money she was conspiring to launder from 2014 to 2019 was generated by unlawful activities including sex trafficking. When the charges were first announced, Polloks aunt told The New York Times: I dont care what they found. It is all under duress. She has been under his spell for 10 years. Pollok faces up to five years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced in February 2023. Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern in 2017. (Michael Macor / San Francisco Chronicle) The Alameda County Sheriff's Office has stripped 47 deputies of their firearms and peace officer duties after an internal audit revealed they were never qualified to be hired because they had failed their psychological evaluations, authorities said. In a letter sent to nearly four dozen deputies obtained by The Times, the department details that it initiated an internal audit of background checks and psychological exams for those hired since January 2016. "As a result of this audit, it was learned that the result of your psychological examination was listed by the psychologist who performed your evaluation as 'D. Not Suited,'" the letter reads. "A great deal of research, and current advice from both POST [Police Officer Standards and Training] and County Counsel has confirmed that any candidate who is evaluated as 'D. Not Suited' cannot serve as a peace officer in the state of California." The Sheriff's Office said it had been operating "under information provided a number of years ago" by the California Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training, or POST, that candidates who receive a "D. Not Suited" evaluation could still be hired, but officials said they since have learned otherwise. "We got faulty advice," said Lt. Ray Kelly, a spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office. "We got that information from a commissioned POST rep, who told us that we could hire D scores and that they would be suitable, based on the totality of the background [check]." Kelly said deputies required to re-test would now need a C- grade to pass their evaluations and be returned to duty. But Megan Polous, a spokesperson for POST, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the grading guidelines for POST-certified psychological exams have never changed. She said letter grades such as C's or D's are not used to determine results of POST-certified psychological evaluations. Kelly said a team of POST officials arrived at the department's backgrounds unit office Tuesday to review files and discuss the results of the audit with Alameda County sheriff's officials. Story continues The majority of deputies notified of the audit were hired between 2019 and 2022, Kelly said, as departments in the Bay Area struggled to recruit new law enforcement officers. The audit comes less than a month after the arrest of Alameda County Sheriff's Deputy Devin Williams Jr., who is in custody on suspicion of murder in the "execution-style" slayings of a couple. Kelly said during a Sept. 7 news conference that Williams, 24, had passed all of his psychological evaluations and background checks and had an "immaculate" record with the department, according to KTVU. In a statement, Jose Bernal, a spokesperson for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, called the situation at the Alameda County Sheriff's Office "disturbing." "This further highlights the egregious levels of dysfunction and corruption that have plagued the Sheriffs Office for years. When the Ella Baker Center, our partners and thousands across Alameda County called for an audit of ACSO back in 2018, we already knew the harm that had been caused by Sheriff [Gregory] Ahern and his office," Bernal said. Ahern told deputies in the letter that the Sheriff's Office intends to "resolve this issue as quickly as possible" and have deputies "return to your full duty status once you obtain a 'suitable' finding." The deputies are currently still with the department, receiving pay and benefits, according to the letter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. EXCLUSIVE: Yellowjackets has added Malaysian actress Nuha Jes Izman for a recurring guest star role. She will join the second season of the Showtime drama series. Izman will play Crystal, a member of the JV squad and a hard-core theater enthusiast who makes the dubious decision to bond with Misty. Further details arent yet known but the role is thought to be significant to the plot. More from Deadline She joins fellow series newcomers Elijah Wood, Simon Kessell and Lauren Ambrose in the series, which is currently filming its sophomore season. The New York City-based Izman recently booked her first guest role, on Dick Wolfs FBI on CBS, having relocated to the U.S. from Malaysia to study acting at the Stella Adler Studio. Shes managed by Nils Larsen at Integral Artists and Jamie Pillet at A3 Artists Agency. Yellowjackets second season has added guest stars such as Wood (The Lord of the Rings), who plays dedicated citizen Detective Walter; Ambrose, who will play the adult version of Van; and Kessell, who will play the adult Lottie Matthews. Created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (Narcos), who recently signed an overall deal with Showtime, Yellowjackets was nominated for seven Emmy Awards. Lyle and Nickerson are showrunners alongside Jonathan Lisco. Produced for Showtime by eOne, Season 2 went into production late last month in Vancouver. Season 1 was a critical and ratings hit for Showtime, becoming the cable networks second-most streamed series ever. Best of Deadline Story continues Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. There are vast reserves of croplands in Siberia, Russia. Ilya Naymushin/Reuters Investing in Russia after the war with Ukraine could present a surprising upside, said an investor. That's thanks to vast farmlands in Siberia, said Cheah Cheng Hye, co-CIO of Value Partners Group. Chinese investors were already snapping up farmland in Siberia before the war. Russia may be in the thick of war now but investing in it may "surprise on the upside" after the conflict with Ukraine ends, a Hong Kong-based fund manager said at the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Singapore on Monday. "All these vast lands they have in Siberia will be the biggest, most productive farmlands in the world in the next three decades. They will be a food superpower," said Cheah Cheng Hye, co-chief investment officer of Value Partners Group, an asset management firm that manages about $7 billion in assets. Climate change has been negatively impacting crop yields, nutritional quality of major cereals, and livestock productivity. But Siberia is home to some of the world's largest reserves of idle cropland with potential for huge farms, wrote agriculture experts Maarten Elferink and Florian Schierhorn in The Diplomat in 2019. "Russia could be the key winner of global warming," Cheah said. Over two-thirds of Value Partners' clients are based in China and Hong Kong. Cheah was speaking about unexpected investing opportunities that could "surprise on the upside." "Right now, Russia is not good news for investors but look longer-term out," Cheah said. While Cheah's recommendation may seem like an extreme contrarian trade, Siberia is a huge resource play for investors. Siberia is a vast region accounting for about three-quarters of Russia's land area and home to wide swathes of oil and gas fields and farmlands. Even before the war, investments from China were pouring into Siberia, with at least 865,000 acres of farmland or 16% of Siberian land used for farming sold to or leased as of November 2019 by Chinese citizens, BBC's Russian service reported, using state land register data. Moreover, China has not condemned Moscow over the Ukraine war. In February, China approved wheat imports from all regions in Russia, presenting an alternative market for the major exporter of the grain. Trade between China and Russia has surged 31% in the first eight months of 2022. Read the original article on Business Insider Elderly getting free meals in Chinatown on 17 April 2020. (PHOTO: Reuters) SINGAPORE Singapores population is ageing rapidly amid low fertility rates and longer life expectancies, with the proportion of those aged 65 and above set to rise further over the next eight years. The proportion of citizens in this age group rose to 18.4 per cent in 2022 from 11.1 per cent in 2012, according to the annual Population in Brief report released on Tuesday (27 September). By 2030, around one in four Singaporeans, or 23.8 per cent, will be aged 65 & above. Reflecting the ageing population, the median age of citizens rose from 42.5 years to 42.8 years between June 2021 and June 2022. As a small city state that relies on people as our key resource, the ageing trend and its implications will hit us even more acutely. It is important that we strengthen our whole-of-society efforts to address this core demographic challenge, said several ministries and government agencies in a joint report. Supporting marriage and parenthood remains a priority for the government, which calls on employers, community partners and individuals to do their part to create a stronger family- friendly network. Falling resident total fertility rate The resident total fertility rate (TFR) rose slightly to 1.12 in 2021 from a historic low of 1.10 in 2020. The TFR has been falling for the past few decades, mainly due to the rising proportion of singles, later marriages, and couples having fewer children. There were 31,713 citizen births last year, compared with 31,816 in 2020. The number of citizen marriages rose by a fifth to 23,433 in 2021. This was due in part to the easing of COVID rules helping couples to proceed with their marriage plans. The number was also higher than the 22,165 citizen marriages in 2019, before the pandemic. Overall, Singapores total population was 5.64 million as at June 2022, growing by 3.4 per cent from June 2021, but was lower than the pre-COVID level of 5.7 million in June 2019. The citizen population rose by 1.6 per cent to 3.55 million in June 2022 from 3.5 million in June 2021. Story continues The permanent resident (PR) population rose by 6.3 per cent to 0.52 million in June 2022 from 0.49 million a year earlier, slightly below the pre-COVID level of 0.53 million in June 2019. The increases in the citizen and PR populations were mainly due to the easing of COVID rules, as more citizens and PRs living overseas returned to Singapore. The non-resident population increased by 6.6 per cent to 1.56 million in June 2022 from June 2021, and was lower than 1.68 million in June 2019. Most of the increase came from work permit holders in the construction, marine shipyard, and process (CMP) sectors due to easing travel restrictions. Meanwhile, the pace of immigration remained measured and stable, according to the report. Last year, 21,537 individuals became citizens and 33,435 individuals were granted PR. Immigration helps to moderate the impact of ageing and low birth rates on our citizen population, and keeps it from shrinking over the longer term. Singapore grants new citizenships annually to individuals who can integrate and contribute to Singapore, and are committed to making Singapore their home. The report is by the National Population and Talent Division, Strategy Group of the Prime Ministers Office, Singapore Department of Statistics, Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, and the Ministry of Manpower. Yahoo Singapore Telegram Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube. When a for-profit university told its 2,000 students last week it will close in a matter of days, it blamed the Education Department for its decision. Virginia-based Stratford University offered courses in business administration, culinary arts and nursing and was one of roughly two dozen schools approved to receive federal money by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. The Education Department, however, stripped ACICS of its power to accredit universities in August because it didn't meet government standards. Because many for-profit colleges rely on federal aid to stay in business, losing access to that money can be a death sentence. A Friday email from Stratford President Richard Shurtz to students said the government barred the college from recruiting new students and required the school to post a large letter of credit essentially collateral before the institution could receive additional federal money. Sadly, these conditions made it impossible to continue in operation, Shurtz wrote in an email obtained by USA TODAY. Without new students, we would not have sufficient cash flow to operate. We will be forced to close operations at the end of this term at all locations. The federal government said institutions approved by ACICS, which won't appeal and has begun shutting down, would have 18 months to find a new accreditor if they wanted to keep receiving federal funding. More: Feds strip authority of college accreditor behind ITT Tech, fake university That grace period did not help keep Stratford University afloat.The last day of the academic term is October 9th, according to the university's academic calendar, but students said their professors are wrapping up their classes by Friday. When a school closes with little warning, students lose not only the money they paid to the university but also the time and effort that went into earning their degrees. It can be especially difficult to transfer credits from closed schools that no longer have employees. Story continues The federal government may forgive the student loans and reset the financial aid for students whose college closes unexpectedly while theyre attending. But that requires them to give up any credits they may have earned. Stratford University students who were nearing graduation said they would rather just complete their studies. Nursing student Johanna Altamirano, 40, said she expected to graduate in May 2023, and a local hospital already had agreed to hire her. The schools closure imperils that job. We want to finish. We want to graduate. We want to join the nursing workforce, Altamirano said. Youre trying to make a better life for yourself, and its being thrown out of the window if we cant finish. Johanna Altamirano, 40, left, and Amethyst Whitaker, 29, were set to graduate from Stratford University in spring 2023. They say they're devastated that the school plans to close within a week. The universitys administration has provided few answers. Students, many of them crying, attended an information meeting at the schools Alexandria, Virginia, campus on Monday, said Amethyst Whitaker, 29. She was one of the first to post about the school's closing on social media. "It's devastating that there's no guarantee for our education at this point," Whitaker said. "We want to know if we're going to be able to finish our degree without going back to the beginning." USA TODAY reviewed video of the Monday meeting. In it, students clamored to ask questions as Shurtz said he understood they were upset. He added he would be too if he were in their position. He said students would receive refunds before the school closed on Friday. He also mentioned that representatives from another college would be on campus Wednesday, but stopped short of saying they would definitely accept students' credits. And he blamed the Education Department for the school's closure, again pointing to the department's requirement that schools now accredited by ACICS are barred from enrolling new students. "If we could not enroll new students we had no choice but not to continue because we wouldn't have enough cash flow to continue," Shurtz said. The Education Department didn't immediately return USA TODAY's request for comment. As of Monday afternoon, there was still no notice on Stratfords website about its impending closure. The news had not been posted on the school's Facebook or Twitter pages. It was not clear if the institution's credits would transfer to another college, or if they had partnered with a university to ensure their students could eventually graduate. Altamirano, who also attended the Monday meeting, said the administration provided few details about credit transfer or how payments for the fall semester would be refunded. USA TODAY called the university's Alexandria campus Monday morning and was told the school would issue a statement. The person who answered would not provide a phone number or email address of someone authorized to speak to the media. Shurtz didn't reply to an email requesting comment. What is Stratford University, and what is its connection to ACICS? Stratford University, according to federal data, had about 1,600 undergraduates and a graduation rate of about 30%. The federal government estimates it costs $24,700 to attend Stratford, which is higher than the national midpoint for four-year schools of $19,500. Michael Itzkowitz, a senior fellow overseeing higher education at center-left think tank Third Way, said Stratford University was the largest institution still overseen by ACICS and received about $20 million in the most recent federal aid cycle. Its closure, he said, suggests that the remaining colleges "may follow suit, as other accreditors will keep their distance." The US Department of Education building is shown in Washington, DC, July 21, 2007. Itzkowitz questioned why the university hadn't found a new accreditor. Though the federal government officially yanked ACICS's recognition in 2022, there were signs in 2021 that the Education Department would likely pull the accreditor's standing. "They could have sought out and received approval from another college accreditor by this time," Itzkowitz said. "The fact that they haven't been formally approved, it either means they did not take the necessary steps or they were not approved." Shurtzs email mentioned the Department of Educations most recent action against ACICS, but the accreditors future has been under government and media scrutiny since 2016. The Obama-era Education Department had moved to shut the agency down that year after the high-profile closures of ITT Technical Institute and Corinthian Colleges. But following a federal court ruling, the Trump administration, under then-Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, reinstated the accreditor in 2018. A USA TODAY network investigation in 2020 found the agency had approved Reagan National University, an institution without students or faculty. This college was accredited by a DeVos-sanctioned group: We couldnt find evidence of students or faculty. In July 2021, under the Biden administration, the department said that it would strip ACICS of its powers to approve colleges. The accreditor appealed the governments decision, but the Education Department denied the agencys appeal in August. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stratford University to close. Its president blames the government. Louis Anderson has been dismissed from the army after being found guilty of sexual assault. (Solent) A Household Cavalry soldier has been dismissed from the British army after he climbed invited into bed with a naked female colleague and starting "grinding" against her. Trooper Louis Anderson, 24, stroked his victim's back before thrusting against her as she lay "frozen" with fear after a drunken night out, a military court heard. He was found guilty of sexual assault last month following a four-day trial at Tidworth Barracks, Wiltshire. Anderson was given a two-year suspended prison sentence and was also handed a two-year community service order. He must complete 40 days of rehabilitation and 150 hours of unpaid work within the next 24 months. The court was told that both Anderson and his female colleague were soldiers in the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, known for its tunics and plumed helmets and being at the heart of the Queens birthday parade, royal weddings and state occasions. Anderson enlisted in October 2019 and the regiment only started accepting women the same year. Louis Anderson was convicted of sexual assault after a trial at Tidworth Barracks, Wiltshire. (Solent) Read more: British holidaymaker, 24, dies after falling 30ft from Ibiza hotel balcony The court heard that the female soldier, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had gone back to her barracks in a taxi with friends after a night out. She later woke to find Anderson who did not have permission to be in her barracks sitting on the edge of her bed stroking her naked back, the court heard. When the female soldier got up and went to her toilet to be sick, Anderson followed her, and even stuck his fingers to the back of her throat. After she had finished being sick, the female soldier returned to her bed alone. Minutes later, Anderson returned to her bed, started stroking her face and grinding against her bottom, the court heard. When one of her female friends came into the room shortly after, the woman "raised her hand for help", the court was told. The friend then "pulled her away" by the hand and she spent the rest of the night in a spare room. Story continues Anderson did not leave the female soldiers bed until the following morning. The female solider reported the incident to her commander and Anderson was later questioned by military police and charged. Louis Anderson was given a two-year suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of sexual assault. (Solent) Sentencing Anderson, Judge Advocate General Darren Reed told him that he had "avoided an immediate prison sentence by the very narrowest of margins". The judge said: "[The female soldier] did not invite you back to her room at any point. You returned after being specifically told to leave. "Service personnel have little choice around where, and with whom they serve. Sexual offending undermines the bonds of trust between those who serve together." The court heard the female solider is being treated for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, has had to move out of her block and been issued with a service dog. "You entered the room of a colleague who was vulnerable due to her intoxication," the judge told Anderson. "It should have been perfectly obvious to you that she was not interested in you sexually." By Trevor Hunnicutt TOKYO (Reuters) -U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the Koreas on Thursday in a bid to show Washington's commitment to the South's security, according to U.S. and South Korean officials. The visit, announced on Tuesday, comes days after North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the sea and amid fears of a possible nuclear test as the Biden administration's attempts at outreach to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have failed. Harris' visit, which would be the first by a senior Biden administration official, was publicly announced by South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo during a meeting with the U.S. vice president in Tokyo and was later confirmed by a U.S. official. On Monday in New York, the North Korean ambassador to the United Nations, Kim Song, accused Washington of pursuing hostile policies that were causing a "vicious cycle of tension and confrontation." A U.S. aircraft carrier is in the area for joint drills with the South Korean navy this week in what Kim called an "extremely dangerous act" that could drive the peninsula to the brink of war. Harris is in the region to lead a U.S. presidential delegation to the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday. The DMZ visit will underscore the strength of the alliance between Seoul and Washington "in the face of any threats posed" by North Korea, said the U.S. official, who asked not to be named discussing a trip that Harris has not officially announced. Harris will tour the DMZ, meet with service members, receive an operational briefing from U.S. commanders, reflect on the shared sacrifice of American and South Korean soldiers and reaffirm the "ironclad" commitment to South Korean security, the official added. "Your visit to the DMZ and Seoul will be very symbolic demonstrations of your strong commitments to security and peace on the Korean Peninsula," Han said. Story continues Several former U.S. presidents, and Biden himself before he became president, have visited the DMZ, but former President Donald Trump became the first to have met a North Korean leader there when he held a third meeting with Kim Jong Un in 2019 as part of his unsuccessful effort to persuade Kim to give up his nuclear and missile programs. The DMZ is often described as the world's last Cold War frontier and has existed since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a armistice rather than a peace treaty. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Chang-Ran Kim and Josh Smith; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Jacqueline Wong) PARIS (Reuters) - Carmaker Stellantis and Uber announced a partnership along with the company Free2Move to focus on the French electric vehicles market. The companies said in a joint presentation on Tuesday that Free2Move would help Uber in Uber's plans to convert 50% of its fleet of vehicles in France over to electric models. The production and sale of more electric and hybrid vehicles is also a key part of the plans set out in Marchby Stellantis Chief Executive Carlos Tavares to double Stellantis' overall revenues to 300 billion euros ($288.8 billion) a year by 2030. In August, Uber reported positive quarterly cash flow for the first time ever and forecast third-quarter operating profit above estimates, as more people rely on its services for transport and ordering in food. ($1 = 1.0390 euros) (Reporting by Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) Caleb McLaughlin spoke about the "toll" that racism in the "Stranger Things" fandom took on him. McLaughlin said he wondered as a child why he wasn't as favored as his white castmates. Other Black actors, like John Boyega, have spoken about the racism they've suffered in fandom. Caleb McLaughlin spoke about the "toll" that racism in the "Stranger Things" fandom took on him, from his childhood onwards. In a video recorded during McLaughlin's appearance at Heroes Comic Con Belgium, posted to Twitter by the user @spideychalamet, McLaughlin said that racism affected him from the first season of the show and his first comic con appearance. "My very first comic con, some people didn't stand in my line because I was Black," McLaughlin said in the video, which has been viewed over 415,000 times. "Some people told me like, "Oh, I didn't want to be in line because you were mean to Eleven.' Even now, some people don't follow me, or don't support me, because I'm Black." L met timothee (@spideychaIamet) September 25, 2022 McLaughlin joined "Stranger Things" during its first season, which premiered on Netflix in 2016 when he was 14 years old. In the show, he plays Lucas Sinclair, a member of the original group of children rounded out by Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), and Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), all of whom are white. McLaughlin said that racism affected him "a lot" as a child, and he wondered why he had the least amount of social-media followers out of his castmates and wasn't as favored by the fandom despite the fact that he had been on "the same show as everybody from season one." "My parents had to be like, 'It's a sad truth, but it's because you're the Black child on the show,'" McLaughlin said. "Wow, that's crazy. Because I was born with this beautiful chocolate skin, I'm not loved." Other Black actors have been subject to racist treatment by fans of the franchises that they star in. John Boyega, who played Finn in the latest "Star Wars" trilogy, has spoken repeatedly in the past about the racism that he experienced from fans of the franchise, urging studios to protect their actors against "racial backlash" in a 2020 interview with Variety. Story continues In May, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" author Rick Riordan posted a statement decrying racist responses to the casting of 13-year-old Leah Sava Jeffires, a Black actor, as Annabeth Chase in the Disney+ series adaptation of his novel. McLaughlin said that ultimately, he wanted to use his platform as an actor to "spread positivity and love." "I do not give hate back to people that give hate to me," he said. Read the original article on Insider BOSTON (AP) A student at a military college who sued top Pentagon officials after he was deemed unfit for service because he tested positive for HIV has settled his lawsuit and plans to pursue his dream of becoming an Army officer, his lawyers said Tuesday. I am incredibly grateful to be back on track to obtain a contract with the ROTC and then commission as an officer, Eddie Diaz, a student at Norwich University in Vermont, said in a statement released by Lawyers for Civil Rights. I just want an opportunity to serve my country, and I believe that should be available to all eligible Americans. The plaintiff in the lawsuit filed in Burlington, Vermont in May was listed as John Doe, but Diaz is now using his real name publicly. Diaz, 21, of Revere, Massachusetts, said in the complaint that he tested positive for HIV in October 2020 during his sophomore year at Norwich, the nations oldest private military college. He was deemed unfit for service and dropped from the Reserve Officers Training Corps and the Vermont National Guard in violation of the Constitution and federal law despite being healthy, asymptomatic and on a treatment regimen that renders his viral load undetectable," according to the suit. Military officials never asked him how he manages his HIV, never spoke to his treating physician, and he was never examined by a military doctor, the suit said. He was told he would not be able to get a scholarship through the ROTC or be entitled to other benefits related to military service, including a tuition waiver and medical coverage, the suit said. An email seeking comment on the case was left with the Pentagon's public affairs office. The Vermont National Guard, which was also named as a defendant, said that it does not make decisions on whether a person is medically fit for service. Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights said it hopes Diaz's case prompts the military to change the way it considers people with HIV, which, when left untreated, can lead to AIDS. Story continues Federal courts have ruled that HIV is not disqualifying for those already serving, but HIV is among the health conditions that disqualify a person from enlisting in the first place, the organization said. The rules date to the 1980s when little was known about HIV, and medications were largely ineffective and had severe side effects, the lawyers said. This discriminatory policy persists despite clear medical advancements that have, over the past decades, turned HIV into a fully manageable condition," the group said. Diaz, who was in the Junior ROTC in high school, has wanted to join the military since he was 7 years old and was "awed" when he visited a military base with his mother, the lawsuit said. He also wanted to follow in the footsteps of several uncles and a grandfather who served. Sep. 27SUPERIOR The Salvation Army Thrift Store in Superior is still open for business. How long it stays that way depends on local support. The Salvation Army Thrift Store in Duluth closed its doors July 1. "At this point, our goal is to try and turn things around and get more business going, so we don't end up in that same predicament," said Captain Jasen Elcombe with the Salvation Army of Superior. "The reality is that if things don't turn around, we could be facing closure." To keep its doors open, the thrift store at 1705 Belknap St. has to at least break even. Employees are spreading the word. "We just really need people to know we're here and we're here for the community," said manager Paula Cummings. For a while, she said, they were emulating other shops in the area and raising prices. That has changed. "We are going back to our Salvation Army roots," Cummings said. A mother of five, Cummings depended on rummage sales and thrift stores to clothe her children when they were young. She wants to ensure the Salvation Army continues to provide those resources to families. "We're going to be doing what we can to have the lowest thrift store prices in the Twin Ports, new stuff daily on the sales floor," Elcombe said. Visitors can find baby clothes for $1.99, dishes for $1 or less and blankets for up to $5. Most clothing is priced under $10. For an even better deal, seniors can get a 25% discount on everything in the store on Tuesdays; college students get that same discount on Wednesdays, while veterans get it on Thursdays. Specials and sales also pop up, often advertised on The Superior Salvation Army Family Store Facebook page . Even the store's layout has changed, with wider aisles between the new racks and tables. Lower prices fit the needs of the community, Cummings said, but the shop's future hinges on bringing more shoppers into the store. "Our clientele that come in here are mostly 55 and older, OK? That's not going to be able to sustain a store," Cummings said, particularly since many older residents live on a fixed income. "But if we could get more of the 55 and younger community in here, we could possibly even boom instead of drown." Story continues Donations have remained steady at the store and can be dropped off during store hours. Donors are encouraged to call ahead, 715-394-5331, before dropping items off. The items should be clean and in good repair. Clothing, in particular, is needed. The thrift store is seeking to recover from a series of setbacks. "It started back when they had the construction project on Belknap because we lost our regulars at that time," Elcombe said. "And then just after that, we started kind of rebuilding things up and then COVID hit and we had to close our doors." Staffing has shrunk from seven to four. The more volunteers and business they get, Cummings said, the more likely the store is to open another hour per day, another day per week. The store is currently open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Prior to the pandemic, the store was not only sustaining itself, but giving back to the community, Cummings said. Everything donated to the store stays local, she stressed, and any profit made goes directly into supporting community services and programs like the Salvation Army food pantry, rental and utility assistance, bus vouchers and gas cards. The nonprofit is looking to partner with the federal Senior Community Service Employment Program to increase the number of volunteers at the thrift store. The program, which is managed by Service-Employment-Redevelopment (SER) National in Wisconsin, pays low income individuals age 55 and older who volunteer with nonprofit organizations or government agencies. Funded through the U.S. Department of Labor, the program pays volunteers $12 an hour and covers workers compensation costs for them; host organizations provide on-the-job training. "It feels so good to be able to give these people a little ... I mean $12 an hour certainly can change a life versus just living off of Social Security," said Tom Kunz, employment and training specialist with SER National. The federal program dates back to 1965. It currently pays volunteers for up to 28 hours per week, but Kunz said that number fluctuates. Volunteer workers can be involved in the federal program for a maximum of four years over their lifetime, with the end goal of transitioning them into the workforce. Kunz currently manages 20 counties in Wisconsin and oversees 65 volunteers, including one at the Douglas County Historical Society. Kunz is meeting Sept. 27 with a new volunteer slated to begin staffing the Imogene McGrath Memorial Library in Lake Nebagamon. Learn more about the Senior Community Service Employment Program online , by calling Kunz at 805-390-1614 or during an open house at the Superior Job Center, 1805 N. 14th St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 28. Chapel Hart gave a private, intimate lunchtime performance Monday at the University of Southern Mississippi. The Poplarville-based trio, who made it to the top five in season 17 of "America's Got Talent," performed a set at the Joe Paul Theater for roughly 300 university employees whom interim president and the theater's namesake Joe Paul said deserve a "world-class" treat. "This is a celebration for our frontline employees," interim President Joe Paul said. "You know it takes a lot of people custodial crews, ground crews, mechanical crews, carpenters, painters, transportation folks who work so very hard and get very little recognition for making this campus as beautiful as it is. So I was determined when I came back as president to do something for them." Chapel Hart performed a mix of originals and cover songs, getting the crowd on their feet with the first song. Mike Lindsey, who works in the custodial department, was excited to see Chapel Hart, who performed after a luncheon held for the university employees. "This is pretty good," he said. "It's nice to be recognized." Some concertgoers weren't familiar with the country music trio, who made their debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage on Sept. 17, but they knew Chapel Hart after seeing them on AGT. A good run:Poplarville country trio Chapel Hart falls short in America's Got Talent finale "This is a real honor to have them come down here to play for us today," said Dell Sanders, an equipment operator in the university's Physical Plant. Motorcycle Burton got a front-row seat. He was excited to see Chapel Hart live since he is a longtime fan. Burton collects garbage on campus, a job he's held for 24 years. "It's wonderful," he said. "I love it. I've followed them all the way through." Chapel Hart, comprised of sisters Danica Hart and Devynn Hart and cousin Trea Swindle, also was excited to perform for university employees. Story continues "I think it's so amazing that the new president, Dr. Joe Paul, came up with this incredible idea," Devynn Hart said. "I applaud Southern Miss for taking the time to recognize those who don't usually get that much recognition." "This concert is for the folks who are the glue to this operation," Danica Hart said before the show. "The glue is the part you never see, but it is the most important part because it holds it all together. I'm super excited to play this show. I want them to know that they are seen and they're loved. I hope they're loud and proud today and that we can really celebrate together." Poplarville:Chapel Hart's Mississippi hometown is a mix of sugar and spice with a dash of salt Chapel Hart has been on a whirlwind tour, giving performances in between their appearances on AGT and continuing to tour throughout the nation now that the show is over. The group performed in Bogalusa, Louisiana, on Friday then flew to Arizona for the weekend, returning to Mississippi the night before the concert at Southern Miss. Next stop is Bristol, Virginia, for a concert on Thursday and a pair of shows in Tennessee on Saturday and Sunday, but performing in their home state is always exciting for Chapel Hart. "It feels absolutely amazing to be home, especially over the last month with the support that we've had from Mississippi throughout this journey," Swindle said. "It's like all of those things, amplified by a thousand." Even though it was supposed to be a surprise, some of the employees heard about the show and dressed up in cowboy hats and boots, including April Fox Gutkowski, a housekeeper in the Department of Residence Life and Housekeeping, whose outfit not only gave a nod to Chapel Hart, but celebrated the university as well. "This was supposed to be something that my coworkers did with me, but nobody got the memo, so I was the only one," she said. "I wanted to wear black and gold to represent USM." Chapel Hart's frontwoman Danica Hart celebrated those who wore their cowboy hats during the concert. "That made me happy," Gutkowski said. "I was kind of shy since I was the only one in my department who dressed up out of uniform. When (Danica) called me out, that made me very happy." In addition to feeling appreciated, Gutkowski said the luncheon gave her the opportunity to get to know employees who work in other departments. "It makes me feel like I'm included and I'm appreciated," she said. After the concert, Chapel Hart surprised a class of a capella vocal students to hear the students perform and offered a little a capella harmonizing on their own. "I think we should take you on tour with us," Danica Hart said to the students. "You're really good." Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge. This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Chapel Hart performs at USM for support staff appreciation By Anna Ringstrom and Stine Jacobsen STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's Maritime Authority said on Tuesday it had issued a warning of two leaks on the Russian-owned Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters, shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 project was discovered. "There are two leaks on Nord Stream 1 - one in Swedish economic zone and one in Danish economic zone. They are very near each other," a Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) spokesperson told Reuters. The leaks were located northeast of the Danish island Bornholm, the spokesperson said. It was not immediately clear what had caused the leaks. "We are keeping extra watch to make sure no ship comes too close to the site," a second SMA spokesperson said. On Monday, Danish authorities asked ships to steer clear of a five nautical mile radius southeast off Bornholm after a gas leak from the defunct Nord Stream 2 pipeline drained into the Baltic Sea. Later the same day, the operator of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which ran at reduced capacity from mid-June before shutting down completely in August, also disclosed a pressure drop on both lines of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. The Baltic Pipe, a new subsea pipeline delivering Norwegian gas to Poland with an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic metres per day, is due to be inaugurated later on Tuesday. (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Stine Jacobsen, additional reporting by Gwladys Fouche, editing by Terje Solsvik, Kirsten Donovan) When a Syrian prison guard tossed him into a dimly-lit room, the inmate Abdo was surprised to find himself standing ankle-deep in what appeared to be salt. On that day in the winter of 2017, the terrified young man had already been locked up for two years in war-torn Syria's largest and most notorious prison, Sednaya. Having been largely deprived of salt all that time in his meagre prison rations, he brought a handful of the coarse white crystals to his mouth with relish. Moments later came the second, grisly, surprise: as a barefoot Abdo was treading gingerly across the room, he stumbled on a corpse, emaciated and half-buried in the salt. Abdo soon found another two bodies, partially dehydrated by the mineral. He had been thrown into what Syrian inmates call "salt rooms" -- primitive mortuaries designed to preserve bodies in the absence of refrigerated morgues. The corpses were being treated in a way already known to the embalmers of ancient Egypt, to keep up with the industrial-scale prison killings under President Bashar al-Assad's regime. The salt rooms are described in detail for the first time in an upcoming report by the Association of Detainees and the Missing in Sednaya Prison, or ADMSP. In additional research and interviews with former inmates, AFP found that at least two such salt rooms were created inside Sednaya. Abdo, a man from Homs now aged 30 and living in eastern Lebanon, asked that his real name not be published for fear of reprisals against him and his family. Speaking in his small rental flat in an unfinished building, he recounted the day he was thrown into the salt room, which served as his holding cell ahead of a military court hearing. "My first thought was: may God have no mercy on them!" he said. "They have all this salt but don't put any in our food! "Then I stepped on something cold. It was someone's leg." - 'My heart died' - Up to 100,000 people have died in Syrian regime prisons since 2011, a fifth of the war's entire death toll, according to Britain-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Story continues Abdo, fortunate to have survived, described the salt room on the first floor of the red building as a rectangle of roughly six by eight metres (20 by 26 feet), with a rudimentary toilet in a corner. "I thought this would be my fate: I would be executed and killed," he said, recalling how he curled up in a corner, crying and reciting verses from the Koran. The guard eventually returned to escort him to the court, and Abdo lived to tell the tale. On his way out of the room, he had noticed a pile of body bags near the door. Like tens of thousands of others, he had been jailed on blanket terrorism charges. He was released in 2020 but says the experience scarred him for life. "This was the hardest thing I ever experienced," he said. "My heart died in Sednaya. If someone announced the death of my brother right now, I wouldn't feel anything." Around 30,000 people are thought to have been held at Sednaya alone since the start of the conflict. Only 6,000 were released. Most of the others are officially considered missing because death certificates rarely reach the families unless relatives pay an exorbitant bribe, in what has become a major racket. AFP interviewed another former inmate, Moatassem Abdel Sater, who recounted a similar experience in 2014, in a different first-floor cell of around four by five metres, with no toilet. Speaking at his new home in the Turkish town of Reyhanli, the 42-year-old recounted finding himself standing on thick layer of the kind of salt used to de-ice roads in winter. "I looked to my right and there were four or five bodies," he said. "They looked a bit like me," Moatassem said, describing how their skeletal limbs and scabies-covered skin matched his own emaciated body. "They looked like they had been mummified." He said he still wonders why he was taken to the makeshift mortuary, on the day of his release, May 27, 2014, but guessed that "it might have been just to scare us". - Black hole - The ADMSP, after extensive research on the infamous prison, dates the opening of the first salt room to 2013, one of the deadliest years in the conflict. "We found that there were at least two salt rooms used for the bodies of those who died under torture, from sickness or hunger," the group's co-founder Diab Serriya said during an interview in the Turkish city of Gaziantep. It was not clear whether both rooms existed at the same time, nor whether they are still being used today. Serriya explained that when a detainee died, his body would typically be left inside the cell with the inmates for two to five days before being taken to a salt room. The corpses remained there until there were enough of them for a truckload. The next stop was a military hospital where death certificates -- often declaring a "heart attack" as the cause of death -- were issued, before mass burials. The salt rooms were meant to "preserve the bodies, contain the stench... and protect the guards and prison staff from bacteria and infections," Serriya explained. US-based professor of anatomy Joy Balta, who has published extensively on human body preservation techniques, explained how salt could be used as a simple and cheap alternative to cold rooms. "Salt has the ability to dehydrate any living tissue ... and can therefore be used to significantly slow down the decomposition process," he told AFP. A body can remain in salt without decomposing longer than in a purpose-built refrigerated chamber, "although it will alter the surface anatomy", said Balta, who founded the Anatomy Learning Institute at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. The ancient Egyptians are known to have used the mummification process, which includes the immersion of the body in a salt solution called natron. The tonnes of rock salt used in Sednaya are thought to have come from Sabkhat al-Jabul, Syria's largest salt flats, in Aleppo province. The report by ADMSP is the most thorough study yet of the structure of Sednaya, which has manufactured death on a terrifying scale for years. It provides detailed schematics of the facility and of how duties were split between various army units and wardens. "The regime wants Sednaya to be a black hole, no-one is allowed to know anything about it," Serriya said. "Our report denies them that." - 'Salt was a treasure' - The fighting in Syria's brutal war has ebbed over the past three years, but Assad and the prison that has become a monument to his bloody rule are still there. New layers to the horror of the war are still being uncovered as survivors abroad share their stories, and investigations into regime crimes by foreign courts fuel a drive for accountability. "If a political transition ever occurs in Syria," said Serriya, "we want Sednaya to be turned into a museum, like Auschwitz." Prisoners recall that, aside from torture and disease, their biggest torment was hunger. Moatassem said his weight more than halved, from 98 kilograms when he was jailed in 2011 to 42 kilograms when he got out. The ex-inmates also see as a sickening irony the fact that the salt they craved so badly formed an integral part of the horrific death machine that was decimating them. The wheat, rice and potatoes they were sometimes fed were always cooked without salt, or sodium chloride, a lack of which can have serious health impacts on the human body. Low sodium levels in the blood can cause nausea, dizziness and muscle cramps and, if sustained, coma and death. Detainees used to soak olive pits in their water to salt it, and would even spend hours sifting through laundry detergent to pick out tiny crystals which they treated like a delicacy. Former inmate Qais Murad recounted how, on a summer day in 2013, he was called out of his cell to see his parents, but on his way to the visitation area was shoved into a room. Inside, he stepped on something like grit on the floor. Kneeling with his bowed head against the wall, he caught a glimpse of guards dumping around 10 bodies behind him. When a cellmate returned from a visit later that day, his socks and pockets stuffed with salt, Murad understood what the substance was. "From that day onwards, we always made sure to wear socks, and trousers with pockets, for visits in case we found salt," Murad told AFP, also in Gaziantep. He remembered how the excited cellmates ate boiled potatoes with their first pinch of salt in years that day, oblivious to its provenance. "All we cared about was the salt," Murad said. "Salt was a treasure." rh/jmm/fz/smw Uncle Roger is not impressed with Rachel Rays pad thai recipe. In his latest YouTube video, Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng, better known for his online persona Uncle Roger, reacted to television and food personality Rachel Rays pad thai recipe from a 2020 YouTube clip of the Rachael Ray Show. He first chides Rays abundance of chicken in the recipe, joking she could feed a whole Thai village with the amount used. He does give her points for using fish sauce, but laments her use of soy sauce. More from NextShark: How a Buddhist monk won one of the cooking world's most prestigious awards without a restaurant or customers Pad Thai no soy sauce, only seasoning you need in Pad Thai is fish sauce, tamarind, sugar, maybe vinegar, just because something is Asian dont mean you need soy sauce. This is made worse when Ray explains you can substitute the soy sauce for low-sodium soy sauce, liquid amino or temari, which Uncle Roger considers subbing an already wrong thing with more wrong things. More from NextShark: YourFappeningblog - What is the Fappening Blog? While Ray does use sugar, Uncle Roger thinks its too much as Ray eyeballs three tablespoons of brown sugar. Its like shes baking cake. Who counts tablespoons in seconds? Roger exclaims. Ray then busts out what she calls her secret ingredient: tamarind. Roger is confused, as to him the ingredient is no secret. Its not like you need to get it from the dark web. Its tamarind, not heroin, he chastises. Furthermore, Ray does not use a wok and adds carrots, chili, ginger, basil, mint and a large amount of bean sprouts to her pad Thai, which in Uncle Rogers view are more egregious additions that turn her pad Thai into pad bean sprout. He would opt for garlic chives and dried chili on the side of the dish. More from NextShark: Japanese scientists develop groundbreaking technique to make instant noodles taste like fresh-cooked noodles He then notes Ray boils the noodles for too long when she could just briefly soak them in warm water instead and that she should use her sauce to coat the noodles rather than just dumping it in the pan with her chicken. Her eggs are also cut into strips instead of scrambled into the dish. Story continues Peanuts are a saving grace garnish for Uncle Roger, but the worst offense comes when she decorates the pad Thai with an assortment of edible flowers, something Redditors have also called out in the past. Pad Thai is a street food dish in Thailand that is typically made with rice noodles, scrambled eggs, tamarind, sugar and fish sauce. Other possible flavorings include dried shrimp, shallot and dried chili. Vegetables can vary from bean sprouts to garlic chives, while the protein is usually shrimp, but can be made with chicken, crab, squid or other meats. More from NextShark: Automatic Cup Noodle Maker is a godsend for people too busy to watch water boil Rachel Ray is a prominent figure in the food world, having risen to fame on the Food Network with her show 30 Minute-Meals, which ran for 11 seasons from 2001 to 2012. Ngs reaction video has amassed over 1 million views since it was uploaded on Sept. 25. Feature Image via mrnigelng Beatrice Dixons story began with a health scare that is often ostracized in mainstream media. Almost Everything Starts With A Problem She suffered from bacterial vaginosis for eight months. After continuous symptoms, Dixon wanted to find a solution that would break her free from the condition. After already spending years working as a pharmacy technician and an employee at Whole Foods, her career trajectory helped to develop a firm understanding of the intersection of science and wellness. The Inception Of The Honey Pot Company Dixons acquired knowledge led to the creation of her first formula, a vulva-safe wash, that treated her bacterial vaginosis. After realizing the product was effective, Dixon started sharing it with her friends and at trade shows. Recognizing other people also found the product to be successful, Dixon wanted the product to reach even more people. So, she scaled and launched The Honey Pot Company in 2014. I created The Honey Pot Company out of a need. When I was younger, I suffered from bacterial vaginosis for eight months. The constant symptoms and fruitless search for solutions led me to formulate what became The Honey Pot Companys first product, a vulva-safe wash. I knew that if I was experiencing this, there was a group of humans that needed this formula just as much as I did. The rest is history, Dixon told AfroTech in an email interview. What The Company Has To Offer Courtesy of The Honey Pot Since then, the company has grown in popularity and stood out from competitors for being the first plant-derived vaginal care system. Honey Pot Companys product offerings have also expanded over the years to include pads, tampons, sexual wellness, and more feminine washes. Creating Safe Products Too often, chronic vaginal issues such as bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections arent taken seriously enough even though they can be uncomfortable, disruptive even debilitating, Dixon said. Theres also shame and stigma associated with these issues, which are often wrongfully associated with sexual promiscuity or poor hygiene. Additionally, to treat conditions such as these, it is simply not realistic for a human to be on antibiotics in perpetuity without compromising their health. The Honey Pot Company exists first to create products that support and minimize these challenges, and secondly to encourage humans to care for themselves in a way that is shame and stigma-free. Story continues The Honey Pot Company's First Major Distributor As aforementioned, The Honey Pot Company is reaching the masses and the turning point started in 2016, after landing its first major distributor. Although Dixon is proud of the feat, it did initially present its challenges. Target was the first to knock at Dixons door. By this time, the brand was only selling products to nearby retailers in the Atlanta, GA, area. So, initially, Dixon did not feel prepared to work with a major distributor. Reaching New Heights However, she was determined to build her brand and in a matter of weeks, The Honey Pot Company was seated on Targets shelves. Whats more, this accelerated the wellness brands sales by 382 percent within a year and helped to support expansion into more retailers including Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens, among others. Courtesy of The Honey Pot When Target came, we werent ready. We had to figure out how to build a brand while distributing products to a national audience in weeks, no exaggeration. But that work truly built our foundation. We were able to grow sales for the company by 382 percent within a year of Target distributing our products and featuring us as a Black-owned business to watch. Today, you can find us at Target, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Wegmans. Its pretty incredible to see, Dixon told AfroTech. Making History Just one year after working with Target, another feat fell into Dixons lap. She became one of the first 40 women to raise $1 million in venture capital, Forbes reports. The funding only propelled The Honey Pot company further in its focus to create an inclusive space that empowers and educates others to identify, to learn and grow on their vaginal wellness journeys. The most rewarding experience has been cultivating and supporting a community. It brings me so much joy to connect with humans and to continue to innovate products that meet the human where they are, Dixon said. Educating The Masses The platform currently offers a quiz that will help users purchase products most suitable to their lifestyles and needs. Users can also access a clear product list that explains the benefits of the key ingredients so they can have an informed understanding of what is going into their bodies. In addition, the company creates a space for experts to share informative content on their social media and blog, The Journal. Dixon also keeps the conversation going through The Honey Pot Luck, which is a podcast that centers on feminine care, sex, and wellness. Supporting Organizations With Similar Missions Whats more, The Honey Pot Company has pledged two percent of sales to go toward charitable efforts that have a shared mission to ensure wellness and education are accessible for humans with vaginas and communities at large, as per the companys website. Providing connection, access, kindness, and education to humans with vaginas are at the core of The Honey Pot Companys mission and we are always looking for additional ways to support organizations that share these values, Dixon said. Sixteen-year-old Adismarys Abreu had been discussing a long-lasting birth control implant with her mother for about a year as a potential solution to increasing menstrual pain. Then Roe v. Wade was overturned, and Abreu joined the throng of teens rushing to their doctors as states began to ban or severely limit abortion. Im definitely not ready to be pregnant," said Abreu, who had Nexplanon a reversible, matchstick-sized contraceptive implanted in her arm in August. Her home state of Florida bans most abortions after 15 weeks, and not having that option is such a scary thought, she said. Experts say the U.S. Supreme Courts June ruling appears to be accelerating a trend of increased birth control use among teens, including long-acting reversible forms like intrauterine devices and implants. Appointments have surged and Planned Parenthood has been flooded with questions as doctors report demand even among teens who arent sexually active. Some patients are especially fearful because the new abortion laws in several states don't include exceptions for sexual assault. Please, I need some birth control in case I get raped," patients tell Dr. Judith Simms-Cendan, a pediatric-adolescent gynecologist in Miami, where state law does not provide exceptions for rape or incest after 15 weeks. Simms-Cendan, the president-elect of the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, said parents who might have been hesitant in the past now want to discuss birth control. Its a sea change of, I dont have room to play. We have got to get my child on something, she said. Video: Surge in women voters ahead of midterm season Teens already were shifting to more effective long-acting forms of birth control, which have similar or even lower failure rates than sterilization, said Laura Lindberg, a professor at Rutgers Universitys School of Public Health in New Jersey. Her research found the number of 15- to 19-year-olds using those methods rose to 15% during the period 2015 to 2019, up from 3% during the 2006 to 2010 period. Story continues No national data is available for the months since Roe was overturned, said Lindberg, who previously worked for nearly two decades at the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. But she said major ripple effects have to be expected from the loss of abortion access and noted that it wouldnt be the first time politics have led to a shift in birth control usage. In the weeks after former President Donald Trumps election, as women raised concerns online that the Affordable Care Act would be repealed, demand for long-acting birth control rose by nearly 22% across all age groups, according to a 2019 research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine. In Ohio, where a judge this month blocked a ban on virtually all abortions, patients both male and female now listen with rapt attention to the contraception talk that Dr. Peggy Stager has long made a part of routine appointments at her pediatric practice in Cleveland. Stager said her practices dedicated spots for insertion of the Nexplanon implant are consistently filled, and requests for contraceptive refills have increased 30% to 40% since Roe was overturned. Recently, she talked to a college-bound student who wasnt sexually active but decided to get an IUD anyway. She was real clear: I want to have a great four years without any worry, recalled Stager, who is the chair of the section on adolescent health at the American Academy of Pediatrics. And thats a change. In Missouri, among the first states in the country with a trigger law in effect to ban abortions at any point in pregnancy, Dr. David Eisenberg also has seen a similar sense of urgency from college-bound teens to choose the most effective option. Fear is an amazing motivator, said Eisenberg, an associate professor at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who performs abortions in neighboring Illinois. They understand the consequence of a contraceptive failure might mean they become a parent because they might not be able to access an abortion. Interest is also high at the contraception clinic that Dr. Elise Berlan oversees in Columbus, Ohio. Before the Supreme Court's decision, the clinic booked appointments for new patients within a week or two. Now, they are booking several months out for first appointments, said Berlan, an adolescent medicine specialist who sees mothers and daughters in tears in her exam room. She said the demand is so high they are adding a provider. On the day the Supreme Court ruled against Roe, twice as many birth control questions as normal poured into Roo, Planned Parenthoods online chatbot aimed at teens. Online birth control appointments also skyrocketed that day up 150% from a typical day, with an even-larger 375% surge for IUD-seekers, said Julia Bennett, director of digital education and learning strategy for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. By mid-July, several weeks after the ruling, birth control appointments remained up about 20%, although the data isn't broken down by age group. The growing interest exists even in states like North Carolina, where abortion remains legal but the Legislature is conservative. Dr. Kavita Arora, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Chapel Hill, said she saw maybe one teen a month before the ruling. Now, she said, she sees them at each clinic session. Theyre aware that this is an incredibly fluid situation, and what is allowed at one moment may not be allowed a week or a month later, said Arora, the chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Ethics. That uncertain future is part of what motivated Abreu, the Florida teen, whose implant will prevent pregnancy for up to five years. I dont know whats going to happen with the laws in that time period, said Abreu, who was using a short-acting form of birth control before switching. Having this already in my arm, it makes me feel so much safer. Her mother, Maribys Lorenzo, said in Spanish that she, too, is a little more at peace knowing her daughter cannot get pregnant and said she would recommend the implant because it does not require her daughter to remember to take a contraceptive pill. She said she is not worried, any more or less, that her daughter will become sexually active because of the implant. But if it happens, she will be protected, Lorenzo said. I dont think thats fair to me or my family to not have abortion as an option," said her daughter, Abreu. ___ Roxana Hegeman in Wichita contributed to this report. Rodgers is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/arleighrodgers Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fled his home in a truck driven by his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, on Monday to avoid being served a subpoena, a process server said in an affidavit filed in federal court. Paxton was being subpoenaed to testify at a hearing Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by abortion rights groups aimed at preventing state prosecutors from going after them for providing financial and other aid to Texans seeking abortion services out of state. In his sworn affidavit, process server Ernesto Martin Herrera said he knocked on the front door of Paxtons home Monday morning and a woman identifying herself as Angela opened the door. After he said he was there to serve the state attorney general with legal documents, she said Paxton was on the phone and in a hurry to leave, Herrera wrote. Herrera said he offered to wait and left his business card with her. After he had been waiting in his car for about an hour, a black Chevrolet Tahoe pulled up to the driveway, he said. About 20 minutes later, Paxton left the house and Herrera approached him on the driveway. I walked up the driveway approaching Mr. Paxton and called him by his name," Herrera wrote. "As soon as he saw me and heard me call his name out, he turned around and RAN back inside the house through the same door in the garage." Angela Paxton then left the house, got inside a different Chevrolet truck in the driveway and started it, leaving the driver's side rear door open. A few minutes later I saw Mr. Paxton ran from the door inside the garage towards the rear door behind the driver side," Herrera wrote. "I approached the truck, and loudly called him by his name and stated that I had court documents for him. Mr. Paxton ignored me and kept heading for the truck." Herrera said he stated that he would leave the documents on the ground beside the truck. Both vehicles then left, leaving the documents where he had placed them on the ground. Story continues In tweets Monday night, Paxton said he was avoiding a stranger lingering outside my home out of concern for his familys safety. "This is a ridiculous waste of time and the media should be ashamed of themselves," Paxton wrote in a reply to The Texas Tribune, which first reported the story. "All across the country, conservatives have faced threats to their safety many threats that received scant coverage or condemnation from the mainstream media." Its clear that the media wants to drum up another controversy involving my work as Attorney General, so theyre attacking me for having the audacity to avoid a stranger lingering outside my home and showing concern about the safety and well-being of my family, Paxton also tweeted. The subpoena to Paxton comes months after he sued the Biden administration in July over a directive from the Department of Health and Human Services to offer abortions in emergency situations. In the guidance, Secretary of Health Xavier Becerra said a 1985 law known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act protects providers offering emergency abortion services, even if a state law outlaws it. The HHS guidance followed President Joe Bidens executive order in July to ensure access to abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Paxton, a close ally of former President Donald Trump who unsuccessfully tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election results based on unfounded claims of fraud, has been under indictment on securities fraud charges for seven years and also faced an FBI probe of allegations by former top aides that he abused his office. In both instances, Paxton has denied any wrongdoing. Last May, Paxton defeated Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in a runoff election for another term in office. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com ken paxton photo Brandon Bell / Staff/Getty Images Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ran away in a truck to avoid being served a subpoena on Monday, The Texas Tribune reports. In an affidavit filed on Monday, Ernesto Martin Herrera, a process server, detailed his attempt to serve the attorney general with a subpoena for a federal court hearing scheduled for Tuesday. The hearing is part of a lawsuit from nonprofits seeking to help Texas locals pay for out-of-state abortions. Herrera wrote that when he arrived at the Paxton residence, a woman who identified herself as "Angela" (Paxton is married to state Sen. Angela Paxton) told him that Paxton was indisposed, but Herrera replied that he would wait. After waiting, he saw Paxton emerge and approach a vehicle in the driveway. Herrera began to approach Paxton, calling him by name. Herrera wrote, "As soon as he saw me and heard me call his name out, he turned around and RAN back inside the house through the same door in the garage." The word 'ran' is emphasized in capitals and bold print in the affidavit. Later, Angela exited the house and started another truck in the driveway. He observed Paxton running out of the house and approaching the car. Herrera attempted to deliver the subpoena, but the attorney general ignored him. Herrera left the documents on the driveway, and the vehicle took off. The attorney general replied to the Tribune report in a tweet on Monday evening, claiming that he left because he was concerned about his safety. You may also like New Pacific island forms after underwater volcano erupts Former White House chief of staff texted voter fraud conspiracy theorist Will Republicans impeach Biden? When you mess with Texas, sometimes it runs away and pretends its not home. The states top legal official, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, fled his home Monday to avoid being served a subpoena concerning a federal lawsuit that seeks to help Texans access and pay for out-of-state abortions. Process server Ernesto Martin Herrera testified in a sworn affidavit that Paxton refused to accept the documents when he was confronted with them Monday morning and instead literally ran away, then fled in a truck driven by his wife, Republican state Sen. Angela Paxton. Herrera said he saw Ken Paxton in the house when he first approached the residence about 8:30 a.m. and told his wife when she answered the door that he was trying to deliver important legal documents to the attorney general. When [Ken Paxton] saw me, Herrera said, he turned around and went back to where he came from. Angela Paxton responded that her husband was on the phone, at which point Herrera left a business card and offered to wait. Roughly an hour later, Herrera said, the garage door opened and Ken Paxton emerged. I walked up the driveway approaching Mr. Paxton and called him by his name, Herrera testified. As soon as he saw me and heard me call his name out, he turned around and ran back inside the house. About 10 minutes later, Sen. Paxton entered the garage instead and proceeded to open a rear door on the truck for the attorney general to quickly duck into. Soon after, Herrera said, Mr. Paxton ran from the door inside the garage to the truck, ignoring the process server as he loudly stated he had court documents. Herrera placed the documents on the ground beside the truck, and the Paxton family drove away. The attorney general attempted to defend himself Tuesday, portraying his actions as a matter of personal safety. A strange man came onto my property at home, yelled unintelligibly, and charged toward me, Paxton said in a statement. I perceived this person to be a threat because he was neither honest nor upfront about his intentions. Story continues Given that this suspicious and erratic man charged me on my private property, he is lucky this situation did not escalate further or necessitate force, he added. In separate tweets, Paxton also disparaged a report on his behavior by The Texas Tribune as a ridiculous waste of time and said the media should be ashamed of themselves. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas Marco Bello/Reuters Aides to Greg Abbott were annoyed by Ron DeSantis' migrant stunt, according to The New York Times. DeSantis reportedly didn't tell anyone in Abbott's office about the plan ahead of time. The migrants flew to Martha's Vineyard from San Antonio, Texas. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ticked off more than just Democrats with his Martha's Vineyard migrant stunt earlier this month. The Sunshine State leader's scheme left several Texas Republicans peeved, according to The New York Times including members of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's team. DeSantis continues to court criticism and compliments after he flew dozens of migrants from San Antonio, Texas to Martha's Vineyard in the most recent effort by GOP leaders to highlight what they call a crisis at the US Southern border. The GOP governor's office later clarified that the move was part of Florida's "relocation program" to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations. But it was a move that is undeniably indebted to Abbott's own relocation program, which has bussed thousands of migrants to liberal locales in recent months. DeSantis failed to make anyone in Abbott's office aware of his most recent plan even though the migrants at the heart of the controversy were gathered in San Antonio, according to The Times. Abbott's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference held at the Cox Science Center & Aquarium on June 08, 2022 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Abbott has not publicly rebuked DeSantis, instead, publicly praising the stunt in an effort to rally further support for his state's own immigration policy. But it's DeSantis who has almost exclusively reaped the publicity from the fallout. It's a marked win for DeSantis in the two governors' ongoing, but muted rivalry. Both men are conservative leaders in two of the country's megastates, and both men are seeking reelection this fall. But many believe DeSantis has his eye on even higher office, with rumors of a 2024 presidential run gaining more traction with each passing day. The GOP, once deeply loyal to former President Donald Trump, is increasingly turning to DeSantis, with Republicans in both Florida and Texas opting for DeSantis over Trump in a theoretical 2024 matchup, according to recent polls. The migrants involved in the Martha's Vineyard move filed a federal class action lawsuit against DeSantis last week, claiming that the incident was a "premeditated, fraudulent, and illegal scheme." Read the original article on Business Insider Texas state police disrupted a human smuggling attempt by plane, leading to the apprehension of six illegal immigrants, including a deported felon wanted in Wisconsin for sexual assault on a child. Three other individuals, including a female U.S. citizen accused of organizing the flight from Weslaco, Texas, bound for Houston, are now facing federal charges in connection to the foiled plot. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced on Tuesday that a joint operation between its Criminal Investigations Division (CID) and Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) disrupted a human smuggling attempt by plane. During Operation Lone Star, special agents noticed several vehicles arrive at the Mid Valley Airport at approximately 11 a.m. on Sept. 25. The vehicles dropped off seven individuals who boarded a Raytheron plane, authorities said. GOP HOUSE CANDIDATE SAYS DEMOCRAT PARTY ABANDONED MY ABUELOS IN NEW MEXICO AD RIPPING OPEN BORDER, INFLATION The agents conducted a ramp check and identified six illegal immigrants and one female U.S. citizen from Weslaco 21-year-old Desiree Love Rodarte. Authorities say Rodarte was coordinating the smuggling attempt to Houston. The Hidalgo County Constables Office Pct. 1 assisted agents in stopping the two vehicles involved. Luis Armando Lopez-Alvarado, 29, of Pharr, and James Martinez, 24, of McAllen, along with Rodarte, were arrested and now face federal charges for bringing in and harboring certain aliens. The illegal immigrants, four males and two females from El Salvador and Mexico had fraudulent Texas identification cards, police said. They were referred to the U.S. Border Patrol. Further investigation revealed that one of the males, Ivan Flores-Rivas, 38, of Mexico, was a previously deported felon who was wanted in Wisconsin for sexual assault of a child, police added. This is the third human smuggling attempt by plane DPS has been involved with, a spokesman for the Texas Highway Patrol South Texas Region added in an email to Fox News Digital. CID and HSI continue to investigate. On October 1st Thailand will no longer require tourists to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter the country. The government has made this change after declaring that COVID-19 is no longer a dangerous communicable disease. Covid-19 Regulations Lifted The termination of the COVID-19 regulations further simplifies the ability for all to experience the vibrant culture, cuisine and natural beauty of Amazing Thailand. Were hopeful that easing the arrival process will encourage travelers to plan their visits, resulting in a resurgence tof Thailands tourism, according to Santi Sawangcharoen, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand in New York and Toronto. The Land of Smiles is eager and excited to welcome travelers to experience all the beloved destinations across Thailand just as easily as they used to. Matteo Colombo | Getty Images Visa Extension October 1st Not only will Thailand remove its pandemic restrictions, they are also extending tourist visas from 30 to 45 days. US travelers are not required to have a visa to enter Thailand. The rules for the visas will also go into effect on October 1st through March 31, 2023. Thailand first opened its doors to tourists in July 2021, welcoming vaccinated travelers from all over the world. However, as the new variant Omicron began to take a rise in infections, Thailand reinforced border restrictions. Earlier in the year, Thailand offered visitors a Test & Go Thailand Pass which let vaccinated international travelers come and go from Thailand without having to quarantine. Before the new rules take place, travelers will still have to show proof of vaccination or proof of a negative test to enter Thailand. Thailand isnt the only country to fully lift its restrictions this year. Australia lifted its restrictions in July and New Zealand lifted theirs in early September. In October Japan and Hong Kong will also lift their restrictions and begin to allow international travelers into their countries. Bears Wire We're taking a look at the studs (yes, there were a few) and duds from the Bears' Week 4 loss to the Giants. The top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, James Comer of Kentucky, has come under fire for his comments about Hunter Bidens assistant. Mr Comer appeared on Fox News on Monday night to talk about the Biden familys purported relationship with China, as Republicans continue to use controversy around the presidents son and his laptop in calls for impeachment. You know when looking through the hard drive you saw the PowerPoint presentation, which was a map of America in Chinese, Mr Comer claimed. And you saw that this was something that was given to Hunter for a presentation to the Chinese. We traced it back and it was submitted by his assistant. I googled a picture of his assistant. She's a very attractive girl. So I started looking even more. We discussed with the whistleblower, and according to the whistleblower, they were more than just business associates if you know what I mean, Mr Comer added. As he spoke, the chyron on the screen read: Hunter has a Fang Fang too. The Washington Post reported in March of this year that the assistant, JiaQi Bao, worked with Mr Biden on business dealings with the conglomerate CEFC China Energy. This is another potential Eric Swalwell situation, another national security nightmare that Hunter Biden's involved in, Mr Comer claimed. In 2020, Mr Swalwell, a California Democrat, was named in an investigation by Axios outlining a Chinese spy operation targeting politicians in the state. An agent called Fang Fang reportedly took part in fundraising for Mr Swalwells 2014 reelection campaign and helped place an intern in his office. Comer: "I Googled a picture of his assistant. She's a very attractive girl, so I started looking even more." pic.twitter.com/gYTJjAiP5T Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 26, 2022 Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasnt seen in nearly six years to the FBI. To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story, Mr Swalwells office told Axios in a statement in 2020. Mr Swalwell was never suspected of any wrongdoing. Story continues I was told about this individual and I offered to help, he told CNN in December 2020. All I did was cooperate and the FBI said that yesterday. According to The Hill, Mr Comer has said that the committee has a copy of the hard drive from Mr Bidens laptop that was left at a Delaware repair shop and later leaked to the media. Mr Comer has said that the hard drive would allow him to investigate if some of President Joe Bidens decisions may have been influenced by his sons business, something which has been rejected by the Bidens. A clip of Mr Comers Monday interview with Fox News quickly drew the ire of social media users who branded his comments about the assistant disgusting. This is the kind of doofus who will be a committee chair if the Republicans win the majority in the House, Norman Ornstein tweeted. What a super creepy thing to say, Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko said. Keep talking its going great, one Twitter user said. Hunter Biden is not President. Hunter Biden does not work in the White House. Jared and Ivanka actually worked in the WH and made millions doing so, another account holder said. I figure half the right-wing Hunter Biden coverage is political desperation, and half is jealousy, a third added. In which Republicans admit to cyber-stalking Hunter Bidens assistant, Dr Jorge Caballero said about the clip. So they refer to all Asian women this way, now? Heather Thomas asked. Lmao they are s**t scared of the upcoming J6 committee hearing, not to mention the FBI/DOJ catching Trump red-handed stealing classified documents, one Twitter user said. In late June, Mr Comer told Fox News that we view Hunter Biden as a national security risk and that he would be a priority for the panel if the GOP takes the House in November. There are decisions that Joe Bidens making every day in this White House that are questionable, that go against what I think the majority of Americans would expect from the White House, and yet, these decisions are made in my opinion, because he was compromised by his sons shady business dealings, Mr Comer said. Hunter Biden revealed earlier that a federal investigation into his tax affairs was taking place, but theres no evidence that his business has ever affected the work of the president, as noted by Insider. Sep. 26RANDOLPH COUNTY Toyota is donating $1 million to improve education efforts. Communities in Schools of Randolph County and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University each will receive $500,000, said Sean Suggs, president of Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina, the name of the part of the auto giant that plans to invest $3.8 billion to build a plant in northern Randolph County to make batteries for electric cars. "We have 2,100 jobs to fill in North Carolina, so better preparing our next generation workforce is critical," Suggs said. "Toyota is committed to providing resources, time and knowledge to help build stronger communities in which we operate." Communities in Schools of Randolph County will use the money for a variety of programs, including weekend meals, academic tutoring, financial literacy and mentoring, Executive Director Paula Owens said. "It is difficult to adequately put into words the magnitude of this gift to Communities in Schools of Randolph County," she said. "This gift will enable us to serve more youth in our community with wrap-around services in partnership with our local school systems and equip us to launch a new program, Jobs For North Carolina Graduates, providing specialized instruction and experiences to support increased graduation rates and employability for our students." N.C. A&T will use its grant to establish the Toyota STEAM Lab, which will be designed for K-12 learners and provide prospective teachers space to practice teaching with devices designed for K-12 student use. It will also provide collaborative mentorship opportunities and projects between N.C. A&T students from all majors, Aggie Academy elementary-aged students and the high school students on campus, Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. said. French bulldogs Chocoby and Hunniby died after they were left in a car boot for one-and-a-half hours by dog trainer Sabrina Sim. (Photo: National Parks Board) SINGAPORE A dog trainer who left two French bulldogs in her car boot, resulting in their deaths, on Tuesday (27 September) lost her appeal against a disqualification order. Sabrina Sim Xin Huey, 30, was in June fined $8,000 and sentenced to six months' disqualification from carrying out any animal-related business. She had pleaded guilty to a charge under the Animal and Birds Act, with a second related charge taken into consideration for her sentencing. Sim's conduct led to the grave outcome of the dogs' deaths, High Court Judge Vincent Hoong said in his dismissal of the appeal, according to a report by The Straits Times. She had contended that the disqualification order was excessive because she had not acted intentionally, the report added. Rejecting her argument, Justice Hoong said that the court is empowered to impose a disqualification order as offences convicted under of the Animals and Birds Act are not limited to intentional ones. On 25 August 2020, Sim failed to take the dogs out from her car boot upon reaching an open carpark at her Yio Chu Kang residence in the afternoon. She had transported the two dogs from Hougang but left them in the car boot for over an hour and a half, causing their death from heat stress. For omitting to do an act that caused an animal unnecessary pain or suffering, Sim could have faced a maximum jail term of two years, or a fine of up to $40,000, or both. Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube. MTSU President Sidney McPhee awarded more than $65,000 in scholarships to prospective students who attended the kickoff for the university's True Blue Tour on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, in the MTSU Student Union ballroom. Attending Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro just got easier with new scholarship enhancements. MTSU announced the creation of the Centennial Scholar. The university has also increased the value and broadened eligibility of its True Blue Scholarship, almost doubling the amount of the award offered to qualified incoming freshmen. MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee made the announcement about additional funding as MTSU prepares to visit prospective students in Clarksville on Wednesday, Sept. 28, as part of the True Blue Tour. The 13-city, four-state road trip organized by the Office of Admissions showcases the universitys academic advantages. The expanded True Blue Scholarship and the Centennial Scholar designation will begin with new, first-time freshmen who enter in fall 2023. The True Blue Scholarship, first tier of MTSUs array of guaranteed academic scholarships, will now be available to first-time freshmen scoring 22 to 24 on the ACT with at least a 3.5 high school GPA. McPhee raised the scholarship payout from $8,000 to $14,000 total, making it $3,500 a year for four years. As a guaranteed scholarship, it is awarded automatically to all who meet its criteria but only if they apply to the university before Dec. 1. McPhee also announced the designation of Centennial Scholar, a new top-tier offering to the universitys guaranteed scholarships. The designation provides $32,000 over four years, or $8,000 per year, to students scoring 34 to 36 on the ACT test and earning a 3.5 high school GPA. MTSU President Sidney McPhee talks to potential students and their families Wednesday night at the kickoff on home turf for the True Blue Tour, which travels to more than a dozen cities across Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee over the fall semester to recruit students. Our True Blue Scholarship is now the largest guaranteed academic award given by any public university in Tennessee to students with these credentials, McPee said. Coupled with our new Centennial Scholar designation, MTSU is yet again making significant new investments in our scholarship offerings. MTSU continues awarding its guaranteed Trustees Scholarship to students with ACT scores of 30 to 33 and a minimum 3.5 GPA, paying $20,000 over four years, or $5,000 per year. Story continues More:'I'm thankful': MTSU grads and admins weigh in on Biden's student loan forgiveness program Students scoring 30 and above on the ACT and with a minimum 3.5 high school GPA can apply for MTSUs highest academic award, the Buchanan Fellowship, a competitive and selective full-tuition scholarship offered through the University Honors College. The Buchanan award requires a separate application, which is Dec. 1. For more information, go to mtsu.edu/honors/Buchanan. The slate of MTSUs guaranteed scholarships, when combined with the recently enhanced Hope Lottery Scholarship, substantially reduces or eliminates the cost of tuition for these high-ability students to attend the university, said Debra Sells, vice president for student affairs and vice provost for enrollment services. Sells said more information on ways qualified students can reduce or eliminate tuition expenses can be found at mtsu.edu/mtfree. The university reallocated existing funds in its budget to pay for the scholarship enhancements. These scholarships will make it even more practical and affordable for them to pursue their higher education goals," McPhee said. For more information about admission to MTSU, go to mtsu.edu/apply, email admissions@mtsu.edu or call 615-898-2233. This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: MTSU doubles down on scholarships for incoming students Donald Trump's newest lawyer has reportedly already been sidelined from the Mar-a-Lago document investigation, according to sources familiar with the probe. CNN spoke with a pair of unnamed sources familiar with the investigation and reports that Chris Kise, the newest addition to the former president's legal team, has been shifted away from the Mar-a-Lago probe just a month after singing on to help Mr Trump. According to the report, the reason for his shift is unclear, but Mr Kise will be focusing on other investigations involving Mr Trump. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced earlier this month that her office was asking for charges to be brought against Mr Trump and his adult children as part of an investigation into the Trump Organisation, and the Capitol riot investigation is still ongoing. Mr Kise was hired for $3m by Mr Trump's outside spending entity, the Save America PAC, according to Politico. His retainer was paid up front, an unusual move, though one potentially resulting from Mr Trump's reputation for not paying his legal fees. The attorney is the former solicitor general of Florida and was hired at a time when Mr Trump was struggling to find lawyers to take on the Mar-a-Lago case. Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich addressed the issue with CNN, saying: Chris Kises role as an important member of President Trumps legal team remains unchanged, and any suggestion otherwise is untrue. Unlike some of Mr Trump's other attorneys like former OAN host Christina Bobb or Alina Habb, who, prior to joining the former president's team, was a general counsel for a parking garage Mr Kise is regarded as a serious white collar attorney, adding to the confusion over why he is not taking the lead on the Mar-a-Lago case. Mr Kise has won four cases in the Supreme Court and formerly worked for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' transition team. Mr Kise was reportedly not involved in Mr Trump's Capitol riot legal defense, as he did not appear at a federal courthouse in Washington DC last week with the former president's other attorneys. Mr Trump recently hired another attorney, Michael van der Veen, to defend him against Ms James' lawsuit in New York, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mr van der Veen previously represented the former president in his second impeachment trial. Prosecutors in that case claim the Trump Organisation was involved in a 15-year tax fraud scheme, allowing its executives to avoid paying federal, state and city taxes on unreported income. The court case is expected to begin next month. ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's foreign ministry summoned the German ambassador to Ankara on Tuesday to protest over comments made by a senior German politician who likened President Tayyip Erdogan to a "little sewer rat". "We condemn in the strongest terms the insulting statements made by Wolfgang Kubicki, the vice-speaker of the German Federal Parliament, about our president (Erdogan) in a speech during he Lower Saxony state election campaign," Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said in a statement. "(Kubicki) is completely devoid of political morality and responsibility," Bilgic said, adding that such "indecent statements essentially give an idea of Kubicki's political and moral level, and reveal his vulgarity." Contacted by Reuters, Kubicki confirmed making the comment during an election campaign rally while trying to draw attention to a rise in the number of illegal migrants moving from Turkey along the so-called Balkan route towards Germany. "A sewer rat is a small, cute, but at the same time clever and crafty creature that also appears in children's stories," Kubicki said, citing the popular animated movie "Ratatouille" as an example. Kubicki, a lawmaker from the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP), one of the parties in Germany's ruling coalition, said Erdogan had made a good deal for Turkey when he agreed to curb the number of refugees entering the European Union in 2015. "But at the same time we must note that the wave of refugees along the Balkan route (from Turkey) is again increasing, which is a challenge for German foreign and domestic policy," he said. Turkey is a candidate for EU membership but negotiations have long been stalled amid disagreements on a number of issues including Ankara's human rights record, migration and geopolitics. Insulting the president is a criminal offence in Turkey, where Erdogan and his ruling AK Party have held power for two decades. (Reporting by Ece Toksabay in Ankara and Alexander Ratz in Berlin; Editing by Gareth Jones) WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department said on Monday it would appeal a judge's ruling that U.S. Sugar Corp's plans to buy rival Imperial Sugar Co was legal under antitrust law, according to a court filing. Judge Maryellen Noreika of the U.S. District Court for Delaware had ruled for the companies on Friday, rejecting the government's request that she stop the deal from going forward. Asked about the government's indication that it would appeal, U.S. Sugar said: "We look forward to expeditiously closing this acquisition as planned." The Justice Department said in a lawsuit filed last November that the $315 million deal would give some 75% of refined sugar sales in the U.S. Southeast to U.S. Sugar, owner and member of a cooperative with three other companies, and American Sugar Refining, which sells under the Domino brand. The company said late on Monday that it planned to consummate the transaction as quickly as possible. U.S. sugar also intends to invest in upgrading Imperial's Savannah Refinery and operations, and plans to retain the current employees in the facility, its Chief Executive Officer Robert Buker said. (Reporting by Diane Bartz and Anirudh Saligrama; Editing by Kim Coghill and Rashmi Aich) By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday called on President Joe Biden to issue an executive order to boost oversight of investments by U.S. companies and individuals in China and other countries. The lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Senator John Cornyn urged Biden to issue an order to "safeguard our national security and supply chain resiliency on outbound investments to foreign adversaries." Congress has been considering legislation that would give the U.S. government sweeping new powers to block billions in U.S. outbound investments into China. The proposal was removed from bipartisan legislation to subsidize U.S. semiconductor chips manufacturing and research in a bill approved in August. The lawmakers, including Democrats Bill Pascrell, House Appropriations chair Rosa DeLauro, Senator Bob Casey and Republicans Brian Fitzpatrick and Victoria Spartz, said in a letter to Biden that as negotiations continue, "our national security cannot afford to wait." They urged the president "to safeguard our national security and supply chain resiliency on outbound investments to foreign adversaries." The White House did not comment. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday that the U.S. lawmakers' call would be counter to the interests of the United States and other countries. "The U.S. side has in recent years incessantly expanded the concept of national security, intensified unreasonable oversight of investments, creating difficulties and obstacles for foreign companies engaging in normal economic and investment cooperation," Wang said during a regular media briefing in Beijing. White House national security official Peter Harrell said this month that the Biden administration has not made a final decision on a potential outbound investment mechanism regulating U.S. investments in China. Story continues Harrell stressed that any measure targeting such investments should be narrowly tailored to address gaps in existing U.S. authorities and specific national security risks. "When we cede our manufacturing power and technological know-how to foreign adversaries, we are hurting our economy, our global competitiveness, American workers, industry and national security. Government action on this front is long overdue to address the scope and magnitude of these serious risks we face as a country," the lawmakers wrote. In Washington, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy, said, "The allegation that China is hurting the interests of American workers is completely wrong." The United States "should maintain the stability of the global industrial and supply chains rather than pick on China from time to time," the official added. The Senate Banking Committee on Thursday will hold a hearing on outbound investment that will feature testimony from Cornyn, Casey and several former government officials among them Information Technology Industry Council Executive Vice President Robert Strayer. The proposed legislation is intended to give the government greater visibility into U.S. investments. It would be mandatory to notify the government of investments that may fall under the new regulations, and the United States could use existing authorities to stop investments, or mitigate risk. If no action is taken, the investment can move forward. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter and David Gregorio) Photo: Contributed Lindsay Petley-Ragan on Squamish's rainbow crosswalk. Just a few months after returning to Canada after living abroad, Lindsay Petley-Ragan decided to move to Squamish. Petley-Ragan, who self-identifies as non-binary, said they previously lived in Vancouver, which they described as Queer-friendly and liberal. When they came to Squamish and saw the rainbow crosswalk in the heart of downtown, they expected to be welcomed just the same. In need of a haircut, Petley-Ragan entered the Chicago Hair Gallery, which is just a few steps from the crosswalk. "I went in with very high expectations that I could probably just sit down and get my hair cut right there," they said. "I was just shocked when he had no hesitation at all. He said, 'No you can't get your hair cut here.'" After some further discussion, Petley-Ragan decided to leave. Petley-Ragan took their business elsewhere, but was uneasy about what happened. After talks with supportive friends and seeing the Pride flag being raised at Squamish's Municipal Hall, they decided that they should talk about what happened to them. "When I saw the flag going up for Pride Month, I was like maybe I have a second chance here," Petley-Ragan said. The barber Tony Bortolotto, who also owns Chicago Hair Gallery, said he caters to men exclusively. "I want to keep it as a barbershop, strictly as a male barbershop," Bortolotto said, adding that he has been a barber for approximately 53 years. "This is a barbershop and I do male hair. It's as simple as that." When asked if perhaps someone with short hair might deem the best person to cut for short hair, he responded, "That's true, that's true." But he also said that female salons would be able to do the short hairstyle just as well as him. Bortolotto offered to Petley-Ragan that if they could not find another place that would cut their hair, then he would cut their hair. Overall, however, Bortolotto insisted that he did not want to cut women's hair. "Now, what happens if I give one female a haircut and then another female and then another female? And then all of a sudden a lot of females that want a short haircut, they're in here," said Bortolotto. "Now, I got all these females and my customers, all male customers, have gone away. Am I going to lose those customers?" "I had four or five females come in. And I turned them all down. I said, 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry. This is a male barbershop." Greg Robins, the executive director of the BeautyCouncil, said that he was unsure if the salons and barbershops that are geared toward specific genders have had the time to fully adjust. I don't know that the industry has had time necessarily to adjust to it, if their services are geared towards men or women, he said. A spokesperson for Pride Squamish, the local LGBTQ2S+ advocacy organization, said that its members have been working on inclusivity in town. We have been having ongoing conversations with local businesses, the District of Squamish and our community of allies. We acknowledge that information is available, but understanding what to do can be confusing, said the statement. We encourage people to try. If you're going to make a mistake, make a mistake by including someone and making space for them to join. The statement added that they are here to celebrate and challenge the notion that people should handle incidents on their own. If tough conversations need to happen, we are here to have them with you. Petley-Ragan pointed out an organization called Strands for Trans, which operates a map of trans-friendly haircut spaces. At this time, the map shows no locations in Squamish but several in Vancouver and one in Pemberton. But when it comes down to it, Petley-Ragan said getting a haircut just isnt that simple for them. Do I go find a friend who's willing to cut my hair? Do I go pay the $60 to get an appointment where I feel comfortable? Do I go try another barber shop? Petley-Ragan questioned. It just isnt easy. Ultimately Petley-Ragan hopes that by telling their story, it will spotlight ways the community can continue to grow. I wanted to share my story to highlight that while we have made some great strides, there is still a long way for us to go in making sure that people from all walks of life feel welcome and are treated equally. adamkaz / Getty Images If you are an Uber or Lyft driver or considering becoming one, you might want to be aware of the most profitable cities for this job. As many people opt to become rideshare drivers in order to augment their income and increase their take-home pay, it's important to be aware of the locations that cater to the highest salary for these drivers. Related: 22 Side Gigs That Can Make You Richer Than a Full-Time Job More: This Credit Score Mistake Could Be Costing Millions of Americans According to Gridwise, in March, Uber's average gross earnings per trip were $15.42. Uber's competitor, Lyft, saw average driver earnings of $14.24 per hour. Additionally, the average tip for Uber drivers in March was $4.10 per trip and $3.80 for Lyft. In order to make the most of your rideshare job, take a look at GOBankingRates' roundup of the cities in which you can earn more than the national average as an Uber or a Lyft driver. f11photo / Shutterstock.com San Diego: $21.73 Per Hour If you're looking to become an Uber or Lyft driver in San Diego, prepare for some of the highest earnings across the U.S., as this city's average pay falls at $21.73 per hour. While San Diego's pay may be high, according to Payscale, living in San Diego is 47% more costly than the nationwide average. Commonly referred to as the "sunshine tax," living in this beach city is expensive, and a higher cost of living may mean fewer profits after a long day of driving. While living in this city may be expensive, driving in it will be nothing short of picturesque with its stunning beaches, tourist attractions and sunny weather. Take Our Poll: Are You Struggling To Keep Up With Your Utility Bills? jared ropelato / Shutterstock.com The Bay Area: $21.61 Per Hour It likely comes as no surprise that the Bay Area is the second highest-paying area for rideshare drivers, as the Uber and Lyft apps were born in Silicon Valley. The economic prosperity of Northern California alongside its highly populated cities along the Bay cater to higher wages for rideshare drivers and big tips for employees. Story continues Unfortunately, the amount rideshare drivers are able to bank may be far less than in San Diego, as the cost of living in San Francisco is 94% higher than the national average, according to Payscale. Shutterstock.com Los Angeles: $21.23 Per Hour Becoming a rideshare driver in Los Angeles is a smart move for current or potential drivers. Not only does this city have a higher density of people than most other cities in the U.S. -- with a population of nearly 4 million -- but it's also an economic powerhouse that greatly benefits rideshare drivers' checkbooks. Also, Los Angeles is a tourist hub, and the demand for Lyft and Uber drivers is incredibly high. With a dynamic economy and plenty of activities and people to meet, becoming an Uber driver in the City of Angels might be a great career move for you. DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto Boston: $20.88 Per Hour In Boston, Massachusetts, Uber and Lyft drivers can make an average of $20.88 per hour. If California is not the place for you, be sure to check out this East Coast city in order to enjoy a high hourly rate and all four seasons of the year. Boston offers such high pay due to the city's high urban population and the academics the city attracts. Commonly referred to as the college capital of the world, Boston is home to over 250,000 college students, according to Boston University. The high number of academics and students in this city is beneficial for rideshare drivers looking to earn a little extra, as they can make more than usual in this popular metropolitan area. Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto Denver: $20.54 Per Hour Rideshare drivers should definitely consider living in Denver, Colorado, if they are hoping to earn as much as possible in this career venture. In Denver, Uber or Lyft drivers can earn an average of $20.54 per hour while enjoying a lower cost of living. The cost of living in Denver is a mere 14% higher than the national average and far lower than any other city on this list. With high wages and panoramic mountain views, Denver is a desirable place for nature lovers and rideshare drivers alike. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Uber and Lyft Drivers Make the Most in These 5 Cities By Tom Balmforth and Margaryta Chornokondratenko KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine will not be swayed by any nuclear threats from Moscow or annexation votes held on its territory and will press ahead with its plan to wrest back all its occupied land from Russia, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said on Tuesday. Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters the world's nuclear powers should warn Russia that any use of strategic or tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine would be met with concrete action, and that Kyiv lacked the technology to respond symmetrically itself. "We will continue our work to de-occupy our territory regardless," he said in an interview. Podolyak spoke as Russia concluded a fifth and final day of voting in four partially-occupied Ukrainian regions that Moscow says paves the way to their formal annexation. In tandem, a close ally of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin issued a stark nuclear warning on Tuesday. Such warnings are seen as designed to deter Ukraine and the West by hinting that Moscow could be ready to use tactical nuclear weapons to defend newly annexed territory. Podolyak derided the votes as legal nonsense, pointing to the case of the region of Zaporizhzhia that has a population of 1.6 million. He said that 800,000 residents live in the city of Zaporizhzhia which remains under Ukrainian control, while 400,000 had left the occupied territory, leaving only a fraction of the region's residents even able to take part in the votes. "And we're supposed to accept this model or else a nuclear weapon will be used?...This is nonsense and it is unacceptable. We'll continue our work. Yes, there are certain risks." He said it was imperative the world's nuclear powers made it clear to Russia that use of nuclear weapons would be punished with tangible measures - and not just elicit a U.N. Security Council resolution. "Even if we're scared, do we really have an alternative option to continue further liberating our territory?" he said. "We believe the war can only end when we have liberated our territory in the internationally recognised borders of 1991," he said referring to the year Ukraine declared independence from the Russian-led Soviet Union. "We have no other scenarios." (Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Margaryta Chornokondratenko; editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Mark Heinrich) KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine urged the European Union on Tuesday to impose economic sanctions on Russia to punish it for staging annexation votes in four occupied regions, and said the moves by Moscow would not change Ukraine's actions on the battlefield. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, after talks in Kyiv with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, said personal sanctions would not suffice as punishment for the referendums, billed by Russia as a prelude to it annexing four Ukrainian regions. "It won't be enough to limit oneself to cosmetic measures... the softer the reaction to the so-called referendums, the greater the motivation for Russia to escalate and annex further territories," Kuleba told reporters. "In the content of the eighth (EU) sanctions package, we will see just how seriously the EU takes the problem of referendums." Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, was holding votes for a fifth and final day on Tuesday in four Ukrainian regions partly controlled by Moscow -- Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia -- on whether or not to secede to Russia. The West and Kyiv say the referendums are illegal and a sham. "(Russian President Vladimir) Putin's actions won't have any influence on Ukraine's politics, diplomacy and actions on the field of battle," Kuleba told a joint news conference. Colonna said that French support for Ukraine was "massive" and included humanitarian aid, financial aid and military or diplomatic assistance totalling more than $2 billion. "Russia is more and more isolated. No one has supported its presentation at the U.N. Security Council. Its narrative is incoherent," she said. "So much so that we can even wonder whether our Russian colleague believed what he was saying. Everybody can see Russia is sinking further into an impasse, whether militarily or vis-a-vis its own people." (Reporting by Max Hunder and Michel Rose; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Timothy Heritage) Ukraines Defense Ministry warned on Monday that Russia is planning to launch massive cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, particularly targeting the energy sector, in an attempt to slow down Ukrainian counteroffensives. The advisory said that the cyberattacks will aim to increase the effectiveness of Russias missile strike operations on electricity supply facilities, primarily located in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine. The occupying command is convinced that this will slow down the offensive operations of the Ukrainian Defence Forces, the ministry said in the advisory. The agency added that Russia also intends to carry out more distributed denial-of-service attacks targeting the critical infrastructure of Ukraines closest allies, including Poland and the Baltic states. Ukraine and its allies have been testing grounds for Russias cyber operations since the onset of the war. A Microsoft report, released in May, revealed that Russian-backed hackers had launched more than 200 cyberattacks against Ukraine since the start of the year, including nearly 40 destructive ones that targeted the countrys government organizations and critical sectors. While some attacks against Ukraine were successful, others failed. In April, Ukraine said it successfully thwarted a Russian cyberattack intended to disrupt the countrys power grid. The attempted attack was aiming to hit computers controlling an energy firms high-voltage substations. Ukrainian officials said the hackers behind the thwarted attack were affiliated with Russias military intelligence agency, GRU. Russia has also been accused of targeting NATO members, including Montenegro, Estonia and Lithuania, with cyberattacks. Although not yet a NATO member, Finland was also recently hit with a cyberattack that targeted its parliaments website. The attack coincided with President Bidens move to admit Finland and Sweden to NATO. Mondays advisory also follows Russian President Vladimir Putins decision to mobilize 300,000 military troops to fight in the war, after Ukraine has reclaimed thousands of square kilometers of occupied territory with recent counteroffensives. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. VALENTYNA ROMANENKO TUESDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2022, 15:31 Ukrainian forces have shot down a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft in the skies over Kherson Oblast. Source: Colonel Yurii Ihnat, the spokesman of the Ukrainian Air Force, at an online briefing at the Military Media Centre on 27 September; Air Command Pivden (South) on Facebook Quote: "Among the most pleasant news, in addition to three downed drones, just a few hours ago, around 13:30, another Su-25 attack aircraft of the Russian invaders was shot down. It happened in the skies over Kherson Oblast." Details: Air Command Pivden (South) later explained that the Su-25 jet was shot down in the Bashtanka district (Mykolaiv Oblast) by the Odesa anti-aircraft brigade. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Become our patron, support our work! UKRAINSKA PRAVDA TUESDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2022, 09:48 The anti-aircraft defence forces of the Ukrainian Navy destroyed three Iranian-made Shahed-136 suicide drones in the skies over Mykolaiv Oblast in the morning on Tuesday, 27 September. Source: Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Telegram Quote: "Around 08:00 [on 27 September], air defence of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed three Shahed-136 kamikaze drones out of the three that were attacking Mykolaiv Oblast." Details: The Air Force added that they are increasingly gaining experience in destroying sucide drones and are currently looking for effective methods to counter barrage munitions. Previously: Russian forces used multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) to fire rockets on Mykolaiv city centre on the night of 2627 September, hitting and damaging a series of civilian targets, including residential buildings, shops and water mains. Russian forces attacked Odesa Oblast with Iranian-made kamikaze drones on the evening of 26 September. However, Ukrainian air defence forces shot all of them down. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! KYIV (Reuters) -Russian forces and their armed affiliates have subjected Ukrainian prisoners to extrajudicial executions, sexual violence and other abuses, the U.N. human rights office said in a report on Tuesday. The report, issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), found some rights violations by both sides in the conflict but expressed particular concern about the ill treatment of civilians and prisoners of war by Russian forces and affiliated armed groups. Russia and Ukraine did not immediately comment on the report, compiled between Feb. 1 and July 31 and based on work by the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU). Both countries have denied allegations of human rights abuses. "The ongoing armed attack by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and associated hostilities have resulted in a dire human rights situation across the country. The armed conflict has led to a wide range of human rights violations affecting both civilians and combatants," the report said. Matilda Bogner, the head of the HRMMU, said Ukrainian prisoners of war faced serious risks to their health and safety from Russian and pro-Russian captors. "They have been subject to cruel and degrading treatment by Russian security forces and those of the affiliated armed groups which appeared to be systematic," she said, introducing the report at a news conference in Kyiv. UNLAWFUL KILLINGS The OHCHR released its report days after the head of a U.N.-mandated investigation body said Russia had committed war crimes including rape, torture, executions, and confinement of children in areas it occupied in Ukraine. The OHCHR said it was continuing to document and verify allegations of unlawful killings of hundreds of civilians by Russian armed forces in the Kyiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions, areas occupied earlier by Russian forces and now back under Ukrainian control. It said rights violations against Ukrainian servicemen included extrajudicial executions, sexual violence, denial of a fair trial and a lack of food, water and medical assistance. Story continues "Some of these violations may amount to war crimes," the report said. The OHCHR also said it had documented at least six killings of civilians perceived as traitors for alleged collaboration with Russia in occupied areas. (Reporting by Timothy Heritage and Max HunderEditing by Peter Graff) The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) has apologized after campus police placed a Sikh student in handcuffs because he wore an article of faith that looked like a weapon. The incident, which was caught in a now-viral video, occurred on Thursday after the police received a 911 call about someone carrying a knife inside the Student Union Building. The object the student was carrying was a kirpan, a dagger that serves as one of the religions five articles of faith. Baptized Sikhs are required at all times to carry and maintain the kirpan and the rest of the articles, which include kesh (unshorn hair), kangha (a small wooden comb), kara (a steel bracelet) and kachahra (a special type of undershorts). More from NextShark: TikToker and law school graduate is first Asian American to win Miss Texas title in its 85-year history I wasnt going to post this, but I dont think I will receive any support from @unccharlotte, wrote Twitter user @thatsamaan, who claimed to be the student involved. I was told someone called 911 and reported me, and I got cuffed for resisting because I refused to let the officer take my kirpan out of the miyaan. The 44-second video, which has now garnered 3.6 million views, shows a deputy attempting to remove the students kirpan. More from NextShark: Chinese-Australian Family's Home Vandalized By Racists for Second Day in a Row I wasnt going to post this, but I dont think I will receive any support from @unccharlotte . I was told someone called 911 and reported me, and I got cuffed for resisting because I refused to let the officer take my kirpan out of the miyaan. @CLTNinerNews pic.twitter.com/Vk9b0Tspvm (@thatsamaan) September 23, 2022 More from NextShark: Gov. Hochul announces record $10 million fund for Asian American groups: 'New York is as strong as the tiger' You cant take it off me. You want me to take the whole thing off? the student asks the officer, who proceeds to put him in cuffs. What are you doing to me, bro? Story continues Twitter users responded with supportive messages. User @RuthlessJasa, who is also Sikh and a UNCC alum, said he wore his kirpan every single day throughout the five years he was on campus without a single issue from students, faculty or staff. In the end, UNCC determined that the object was indeed a kirpan. In a joint statement, Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber and Chief Diversity Officer Brandon L. Wolfe stressed that we want every Niner to feel welcomed, supported and safe. More from NextShark: F*ck China!: Man Drives Through Crowd at Anti-Asian Violence Rally in LA We apologize that [this] is not what this young man felt in our union yesterday, the officials said, without identifying the student in question. We are committed to ensuring it doesnt happen again. Gaber and Wolfe explained that state law and university policy prohibit knives and other edged instruments on campus. However, they said the university will use the incident as a learning experience. We will use this as a learning opportunity by engaging in constructive dialogue with Sikh students and employees. Together, we are confident we can find reasonable measures and educational opportunities that both protect the safety of our campus and the religious practices of our community members, the officials said. In an update on Saturday, @thatsmaan said he received his kirpan back. Thank you all for the continuous support, he wrote. Featured Image via @thatsamaan The University of Idaho sent a memo to staff last week warning employees not to provide birth control pills or reproductive health services after the states near-total abortion ban took effect last month. The memo shared by the Idaho Press says that under Idahos new law, staff cannot provide emergency contraception except in the case of rape. Because the law is unclear on birth control and the prevention of conception, the university advised staff against providing contraception pills and condoms for the purpose of contraception. Staff are allowed to provide condoms for the purpose of preventing sexually transmitted diseases. Since violation is considered a felony, we are advising a conservative approach here, the memo reads. While university staff do not provide abortions, employees were also warned against providing them or referring them. Staff should also not offer reproductive health counseling services, and any political activities related to abortion must be carried out without any university resources or affiliation. Employees are also limited in discussions about abortion in the classroom, with the university warning they should be proceed cautiously at any time that a discussion moves in the direction of reproductive health. Academic freedom is not a defense to violation of law, and faculty or others in charge of classroom topics and discussion must themselves remain neutral on the topic and cannot conduct or engage in discussions in violation of these prohibitions without risking prosecution, the memo reads. Staff could face felony convictions and lose their state employment for any violations, according to the university, which cited in the memo a 2021 law known as the No Public Funds for Abortion Act. That law prevents state officials and employees from counseling in favor of abortions. Idahos near-total abortion ban took effect last month following a judges approval. The legislation was created as a so-called trigger law in anticipation of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and the nearly 50-year constitutional right to abortion, which the high court did in June with its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization. Story continues Idaho has banned abortions with exceptions in cases of rape, incest and to save the life of the mother. The judges order last month prevented the law from banning abortions in the event of a medical emergency. The Supreme Courts ruling paved the way for restrictive abortion bans in about half of all states. Several other states, including Arizona and Alabama, have near-total or total abortion bans. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The U.S. and its allies are mobilizing the international community to reject Russian attempts to annex territory in Ukraine, in a move that Kyiv hopes will spur greater military support to deliver Moscow a decisive battlefield defeat. Hawkish supporters of Ukraine say now is the time for the U.S., Europe and NATO to increase the delivery of heavy artillery, tanks and war planes to Kyiv despite nuclear weapons threats by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin is under pressure in Russia because of the battlefield misfires and the chaotic rollout of his mobilization order for 300,000 troops. The Ukrainian militarys stunning counteroffensive in the northeast led Putin to move to mobilize more troops, which has received a negative reaction in Russia. William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and vice president of the Russia and Europe program at the U.S. Institute of Peace, said the news is helping the U.S. effort. My bet is that the [global] reaction would be to double down on support for the Ukrainians on the battlefield, he said. The Russians have a big manpower problem and nows the time for the Ukrainians, reinforced by these weapons to allow them to break through the Russian lines and push the Russians out. Ukraines ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, told CBS News on Monday that the international community needs to speed up the supply of weapons. He specifically called for the delivery of weapons to protect Ukraines airspace, adding that Russia is impotent when it comes to the offensive on the ground but that the missile threat needs to be eliminated. I have never had any doubt that Ukraine will militarily defeat Russia on Ukrainian territory, he said. The U.S. and United Kingdom have warned that what they call sham votes in four Ukrainian territories are an effort to annex Ukrainian territory while justifying the war to the Russian public. Story continues The U.K. Ministry of Defense tweeted on Tuesday that Putin is likely to use an address to the Russian Parliament on Friday to formally announce the accession of the occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. Russias leaders almost certainly hope that any accession announcement will be seen as a vindication of the special military operation and will consolidate patriotic support for the conflict, the ministry tweeted. There have been multiple reports of opposition to Putins military mobilization order, with angry protests popping up in Russias far-flung territories, a shooting at an enlistment center in a Siberian city and reports of long queues of military-age men looking to flee the country. The U.K. on Monday announced sanctions against 92 Russian officials and entities it says are involved in carrying out the referendums. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the U.S. is readying sanctions if Russia moves forward on annexation. We are prepared and we will impose additional severe and swift costs on Russia for proceeding with the annexations, he said during a press conference on Tuesday. Ukraine has the absolute right to defend itself throughout its territory, including to take back the territory that has been illegally seized, one way or another, by Russia, he added. The weapons that we and many other countries are providing have been used very effectively to do just that. Israel, which has maintained strategic ties with Moscow despite its invasion of Ukraine, released a statement Tuesday rejecting any results from the referendums. Taylor said the international community needs to follow up statements of anger with stronger military support. All these expressions of outrage, of rejection, sanctions thats important to do, and it does send a message, but whats really going to send a message, what really needs to happen, is the Ukrainians need to be able to push [the Russians] out of those places where theyre doing these referendum, pushing them out of these four provinces, he said. The U.S. has so far provided Ukraine with $15 billion in security assistance, and lawmakers on Tuesday earmarked an additional $12.3 billion for Ukraine, included in draft text funding the government through December. But Ukrainian officials are frustrated that European powers with significant military reserves Germany, France and Italy, specifically have not matched commitments by the U.S., the U.K. and even the Baltic states, which are proportional to their size and military budgets. An analysis by the Kiel Institute for World Economy put the U.S. as the number one donor for arms and equipment to Ukraine citing about $24 billion in commitments between January and August 3 compared to pledges from Germany that equal about $1.2 billion. France has committed less than $800 million in military assistance, and Italy around $200 million, according to the tracker, though it has counted $2.4 billion in military commitments from European Union institutions. Frustrations appear to be roiling in Berlin, where opposition lawmakers are demanding German Chancellor Olaf Scholz immediately send German tanks and armored vehicles to Ukraine. Politico Europe reported heated and inflammatory debate within Germanys Bundestag last week over the need to increase, and quickly, military supplies to Ukraine. If, in the light of mass graves in Bucha and Izyum, we are serious in saying: Never again! Germany must ensure that something never happens again then we have to go a decisive step further here, parliamentarian Johann Wadephul, deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, reportedly said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Photo: OPP Morris Conte Ontario Provincial Police have charged a person with first-degree murder in a 12-year-long investigation into the macabre death of an Ontario man. Its the second arrest and the first since 2011 tied to the killing of 45-year-old Morris Conte from Bolton, Ont. His dismembered body was found in three different areas of central Ontario shortly after he was reported missing in May 2010. Police in Orillia, Ont., say a 62-year-old from Woodbridge was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder. Police say a $50,000 reward continues to be offered for information leading to the conviction of those responsible. Police charged a man in July 2011 with accessory after the fact to murder and causing an indignity to a human body. Sep. 26VALDOSTA Police are investigating a pair of violent incidents involving students waiting for school buses Monday one a shooting, the other a stabbing. The first incident saw police dispatched at 7:17 a.m. to the 1500 block of McLeod Drive after someone called E911 to report that juveniles were fighting at a bus stop, according to a Valdosta Police Department statement. Officers found a 12-year-old with a stab wound to the abdomen and gave first aid until EMTs arrived. The boy was taken to the hospital, treated and released, police said. Detectives learned several kids had been in a fight at the bus stop, where a 15-year-old boy pulled out a knife and stabbed the younger boy, police said. The 15-year-old was taken into custody and detained at a regional youth detention center on charges of felony aggravated assault and felony possession of a knife during the commission of a crime, police said. In the second incident, officers were dispatched to the 1400 block of Weaver Street at 7:26 a.m. after E911 received calls about a shooting, according to a Valdosta Police Department statement. While on the scene, officers found the shooting victim had gotten on a school bus and the bus driver was taking him to the hospital. Police stopped the bus on Lankford Drive and found a 17-year-old on board with a gunshot wound in the torso, the statement said. Officers gave first aid until EMTs arrived and took the teen to the hospital. Investigators found the teen had been standing at a bus stop in the 1400 block of Laura Street; as he was walking toward the bus, he was shot by an unknown offender. Despite the shooting happening near a county-run school Parker Mathis Learning Center on Lankford Drive both the shooting and the stabbing involved Valdosta City Schools students, said Jennifer Steedley, director of public relations for the city school system. Parker Mathis was put on "soft lockdown" as a precaution during the shooting incident, said Sandra Wilcher, assistant superintendent of student services with Lowndes County Schools. Story continues The shooting appears to be an isolated incident; the victim was reported in stable condition, police said. The teen shooting victim is not cooperating with law enforcement, police said. The two incidents are not related, Valdosta Police Chief Leslie Manahan said. Police ask anyone with information on either incident to call the Valdosta Police Department Investigations Bureau, (229) 293-3145 or the Crime Tip Line at (229) 293-3091. Terry Richards is the senior reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times. A State College man was convicted Tuesday of raping a 1-year-old in a 2019 case that a Centre County prosecutor said was about possession and manipulation. Jackson C. Baker, 54, was found guilty of all charges after a two-day trial. The jury of eight men and four women deliberated for about 3 1/2 hours. He was found guilty of one felony count each of child rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of a minor. He was also convicted of two misdemeanors, including witness intimidation. Baker, wearing a navy suit, sat next to defense lawyer Todd Edward Henry as the verdict was read. He had no visible reaction. He was led away from the courtroom in handcuffs and was transported to the Centre County Correctional Facility. The trial, Centre County Assistant District Attorney Megan McGoron said after the verdict was read, was about giving the child a voice. She also hailed the jurys ruling as a win for those who come forward with allegations of sexual violence. They can finally close this chapter and move forward, McGoron said. Baker is facing at least a decade in state prison, though Henry said Baker may file an appeal. I always respect the verdict of a jury. I never call in doubt the hard work the jury puts in and their finding, Henry said. Doesnt mean, obviously, that I agree with it, but I always respect it. They put in hard work. They listened. This was an attentive jury. Centre County Assistant District Attorney Crystal Hundt cast Baker as a controlling man who would get angry if he could not be alone with the child. Baker went as far as trying to get custody of the child and hoped she would call him Dad, Hundt said during her opening statement Monday. Central to the case was the testimony of Brandon Magusiak, a 27-year-old who said he saw Baker forcing the child to perform oral sex in the basement of a State College home. They were the only three inside the house at the time of the rape. Story continues Brandon Magusiak is the voice for (the child) because she did not have one, McGoron said in her about 15-minute closing statement Tuesday. She delivered her entire closing argument while standing behind a podium. That was in stark contrast to Henry, who darted around the courtroom for nearly 25 minutes. Credibility is the entire case, Henry said during his closing statement. Do you believe him? Baker did not admit to any of the crimes for which he was accused. He did not testify. Henry criticized the State College police investigation, describing a report as sloppy. Borough police Sgt. Martin Hanes testified Wednesday that a portion of his report was erroneous. He said it was a misunderstanding. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov 10. Highschool students all across Virginia staged a walkout to protest Republican Governor Glenn Youngkins plan to strip rights from transgender students. The new guidelines would have transgender students use the bathrooms that correspond to their sex assigned at birth and require schools to get parental approval before making official changes to a childs name or pronoun. The guidelines would reverse previous Virginia governors, Democratic Governor Ralph Northam, state order that significantly advanced transgender students rights. These guidelines introduced by Governor Youngkin are part of a nationwide rise of anti-transgender legislation, especially in regards to students. Florida and Texas have both introduced anti-transgender legislation that are extremely detrimental and harmful to the well-being of transgender students. VOICE OVER: The new rules require transgender students to use bathrooms that correspond to their sex assigned at birth. They also require schools to get parental permission before making official changes to a child's name or pronoun. Police in Virginia identified the remains of a 17-year-old girl who disappeared nearly 50 years ago with the help of DNA testing, a scientific tool that has helped law enforcement solve dozens of cold case murders in recent years. Patricia Agnes Gildawie, also known as "Choubi," disappeared Feb. 8, 1975, in Fairfax, Virginia, Fairfax County police said in a statement. A construction crew found her remains and some clothing found behind an apartment complex in McLean in September 2001. At the time, an initial review said the skeletal remains "were like that of an African American female in her late teens to early 20s," the statement says. A medical examiner said the woman died from a gunshot wound to the head. holds a photo of her sister Patricia Agnes Gildawie (Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post via Getty Images) Cold case detectives worked with Othram, a Texas-based company that specializes in using forensic genealogy to solve cold case murders and disappearances. Through advanced DNA testing, authorities were able to find Gildawie's half-sister, Veronique Duperly. Authorities also learned that Gildawie was dating an older man when she vanished. Police have not been able to identify him, but they said they know he worked at an upholstery store in Vienna, Virginia. Duperly told NBC Washington that the last time she saw her sister, she was driving a white Cadillac Eldorado with a red interior that Gildawies boyfriend had lent her. Duperly said her sister also had bruises on her. "Bruises on her upper arms, her shoulders and the back of her legs," Duperly told the station. "I said, 'Well, why are you so black and blue?' She said, 'I fall a lot.' I said, 'No, you dont.'" Ed OCarroll, the Fairfax County police bureau commander of major crimes and cyber and forensics, said in a statement: "Identifying this young woman solves a mystery that has been more than 47 years in the making. "Our community should take comfort in knowing that our detectives never stop working these cases. Advancements in technology have given my Cold Case detectives an opportunity to pursue fresh leads and bring some relief to families that have been long suffering with the unknown." Story continues Gildawie was born in France and moved to the U.S. when she was 8 months old, police said. In the early 1970s, she moved to Fairfax. Detectives continue to investigate and asked that anyone with information contact Fairfax County Crime Solvers. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com People in Volusia and Flagler counties are preparing for Hurricane Ian and the potential impacts it may bring along the coast. No evacuation orders have been issued yet, but Flagler County officials asking residents who live east of Interstate 95, in mobile homes or in low-lying areas prone to flooding to be prepared to evacuate. Rick Bellhumer lives near the Matanzas River in Flagler County said the area is prone to flooding during heavy rains and worries Ian will cause heavy flooding. >>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<< Bellhumer told Channel 9 that when Hurricane Irma hit in 2017 the water level rose to the top of mailboxes along Flagler Avenue, and even into some of the houses. My father built his house in 85 and he never had water in the house until Irma, Bellhumer said. South of Flagler Beach, residents are also worried about the possible impacts from Hurricane Ian. Read: HURRICANE IAN UPDATES: Category 3 storm moving faster with winds at 120 mph Ed Heavy Kastrul told Channel 9 that he is trying a new method to keep his motorcycle repair shop on beach street dry We are sealing the doors so no water can get in, Kastrul said. We have done this before and its worked. Weve had good success with expandable foam spray. Almost every city in Volusia County is offering sandbags for residents. Read: Universal, Disney World announce temporary closures ahead of Hurricane Ian One of the largest dispensing locations is on Jean Street in Daytona Beach, where lines to get sandbags stretched for more than a block. The street floods really but not the house or the garage, said resident Dave Radevugh. Just going to try to cover up the garage door and make sure it doesnt flood. Volusia County has issued a curfew for its non-incorporated areas that will begin Wednesday at 8 p.m. Read: Hurricane Ian: County-by-county guide to shelter locations in Central Florida Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Warner Bros Discovery International boss Gerhard Zeiler has suggested that new Harry Potter adaptations could be in development. The media executive delivered a talk at the RTS London keynote in which he touched on future plans for the company, which included a focus on some of Warner Bros biggest franchises. According to Deadline, Zeiler told attendees that the company will focus probably more on the development of franchises and highlighted the major tentpoles the company is looking to build upon. As well as Harry Potter which Warner Bros has already adapted into a hit film series, as well as the less-successful spin-off series Fantastic Beasts Zeiler also singled out Game of Thrones and DC as core franchise properties for the future. While he provided no details on any potential Harry Potter-related projects in development, the prospect of a TV series has in fact been floated in the past. In 2021, it was rumoured that a Harry Potter TV series was already in the works (though Warner Bros denied that the rumours were true). Last year, Daniel Radcliffe revealed which Harry Potter characters he would like to play in a hypothetical remake of the hit wizarding film series. The actor has previously claimed that he believes the series will be adapted again at some point during his lifetime. The Wauwatosa Common Council has rejected a proposal that would have depenalized the possession of less than 28 grams of marijuana. In narrowly rejecting the plan, 9-7, council members cited concerns about how developed the proposal was and what effect it would have on the community. The Wauwatosa Common Council recently rejected a proposal that would have depenalized possession of small amounts of marijuana. The proposal to modify the THC ordinance in Wauwatosa originated with former Ald. Matt Stippich. After he decided not to re-run for re-election in April, the idea taken up by his successor, Andrew Meindl. Meindls proposal would have reduced the citation to $1 for possession of up to 28 grams of marijuana. His decision to spearhead the proposal came after a meeting with his constituents, who he said seemed "overwhelmingly" in favor of the change. Currently, the penalty for marijuana possession runs from $100 to $500, depending on the amount of marijuana. Failure to pay the fine, or previous offenses, can result in arrest. From what I've seen, THC has helped my friends in Illinois reduce anxiety, minimize pain, be an alternative to smoking tobacco and alcohol, or address symptoms of other medical issues, Meindl said. Meindl also explained that his proposal aims to depenalize marijuana because legalization is not possible at the local level. He said he thinks the Wisconsin State Legislature will not consider legalization until at least 2030 and that he wanted to act for his community now. Before the proposal went to the council, the Government Affairs Committee recommended denying it, 5-1-1. One of the committee's biggest concerns was a lack of police input on the proposal. Ald. Joel Tilleson expressed similar concerns at the council's Sept. 20 meeting. Wauwatosa Police Chief James MacGillis said he opposed the proposal, arguing that marijuana is a gateway drug and that its presence usually correlates with other crimes. I respectfully disagree with Alder Meindl. It (marijuana) is a gateway drug, I have considerable experience in narcotics investigations I can tell you from my experience there are other crimes related to marijuana possession, MacGillis said. Story continues Ald. Sean Lowe and Ald. Margaret Arney supported Meindls proposal, both arguing that the current Legislature has no intention of discussing legalization, and so it is up to the council to make decisions that are right for the community. Ultimately, those arguments failed, and the council voted against the proposal. Council members who voted to reject the proposal were Tilleson, James Moldenhauer, Mike Morgan, Jason Wilke, Robin Brannin, Melissa Dolan, John Dubinski, Amanda Fuerst and Joseph Makhlouf II. Council members who voted in favor of the proposal were Arney, Lowe, Meindl, Meagan O'Reily, Joe Phillips, Ernst Franzen and David Lewis. Meindl said he will continue to fight for depenalization, and the vote would not stop him from eventually submitting another proposal. Council members do not have to wait any particular amount of time before coming back with another proposal. However, it is unusual for similar proposals to be submitted within a year of a denial. The outcome at council is immensely disappointing when 69% of Wisconsinites support legalization, Meindl said, referring to a recent Marquette University poll. That said, the vote is the result of the democratic process. I want to thank those that wrote all the letters of support, and I will work even harder the next go round, whenever that occurs. Beck Andrew Salgado can be reached at 512-568-4070 or Bsalgado@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Beck_Salgado. Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal. DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wauwatosa Common Council rejects plan to depenalize marijuana AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Lawyers for Dutch musician Mr. Probz, known for his 2013-14 hit "Waves", said on Tuesday they have filed a claim worth more than 10 million euros ($9.66 million) against Sony in Amsterdam over royalties the artist argues Sony fraudulently withheld. Mr. Probz, whose real name is Dennis Stehr, argues that Sony deducted administration and distribution fees from his royalties as they were passed through the company's subsidiaries, in violation of his contract which specified they should be determined when they were first collected -- "at source". Sony denied the allegations. "We categorically dispute the claims made and are in the process of reviewing the summons," Sony Music Entertainment Netherlands said in an emailed response to Reuters questions. Mr. Probz has around 5 million monthly listeners on Spotify and the radio edit remix of "Waves" with Robin Schulz has been streamed more than 800 million times. The Waves video has been viewed 500 million times on YouTube. In a preliminary ruling in 2020, the Amsterdam District Court ordered Sony to return control of Stehr's music to his company Left Lane BV, and to allow his auditor access to all documents relating to the exploitation of his music from 2013-20. Pim Keulen, a royalties expert advising Stehr during the legal proceedings, said Sony had not given full access to auditor Grant Thornton. However audits showed that Sony "systematically" wrongly deducted fees leading to underpayment of 3-6% on royalties Left Lane should have received from Spotify, TIDAL, Amazon Music and Deezer among others, he said. ($1 = 1.0356 euros) (This story corrects title of Keulen in final paragraph) (Reporting by Toby Sterling, editing by Ed Osmond) Daily Beast Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. So, you wanna be a cowboy? Yeah, well get in line, bro. Its the new thing. I am completely enamored with western style which practically makes no sense for a guy like me who lives in Brooklyn, New York. I mean, do I live the lifestyle of a rough-and-tough cowboy on the range, working hard everyday just to end my nights with a glass of whiskey and a hand-rolled cigarette? No, but thats not the point. The point is that I like the way I look when I wear western clothing and if that is a crime, well then call the Marshal or the Sheriff or whatever. Wearing western clothing has taken a fashionable turn in the last year or two. It seems like most brands today have some sort of western-twang to their new lines, and Im here to tell you that its really easy to get lost in the mix and end up just buying some jean jacket from Levis and looking like every other fool at the dive bar on any given night. Ive gone ahead and handpicked the absolute coolest, most badass cowboy gear that I own or have blood-sworn and bookmarked on my browser to buy when that next paycheck comes. Pull any piece from this list and I promise youll not only look amazing, but youll alsoactually no, thats it. Youll just look really good. Jackets Flannel Lined Waxed Trucker Jacket Huckberry This jacket from Flint & Tinder is incredibly versatile and stylish. Long before synthetic waterproof fabrics became a thing in the late 20th century, wax coated canvas was the top choice of any cowboy who was looking to keep water from seeping through their gear. This is my favorite fall jacket and it's available in eight different colors. Buy Flannel Lined Waxed Trucker Jacket at Huckberry, $268 Tin Cloth Jacket Filson A time-proven western styled jacket that can go the distance. My friend Duncan actually got me onto Filson and he has a job where he actually works outsidewhich is weird because I stare into a computer for a living. He said, I wear Filson because if they make something, then they make it the best. This jacket is built with a weather-resistant oil finish and a Mackinaw Wool-lined collar for superb weather protection. Story continues Buy Tin Cloth Jacket at Filson, $350 Overnight Trucker Jacket Tecovas Tecovas calls this a modern take on a classicwhich is pretty much right on the money. Their Overnight Trucker Jacket is the perfect mid-weight jacket made from a cotton blend with a soft shearling collar that is removable for washing. This jacket will serve you well on horseback or if you are just walking to CVS to get toothpaste. Buy Overnight Trucker Jacket at Tecovas, $165 Felted Chore Coat Buck Mason Okay, this one might be a little out there but I love this jacket. Its what a classy cowboy might wear when hes taking his lady out on a fancy-pants dinner in the city. This merino wool coat, combined with some dark jeans and nice boots is one look that is purely unique. My girlfriend said she thinks it makes me look like a guy from the early 1900s and I was like yeah, I know. Buy Felted Chore Coat at Buck Mason, $228 Shirts Corduroy Snap Shirt Huckberry Snap Shirts are as cowboy as they come. This corduroy shirt from Flint and Tinder is uniquely comfortable and stylish. Its one of those shirts that people ask you where you got it whenever you wear it. The color is so versatile you can wear it with almost anything. Buy Corduroy Snap Shirt at Huckberry, $118 Crosscut Deluxe Western Shirt Huckberry I have a few shirts from Howler Brothers and let me tell you, I want more. Wild, stylish, and super laid-back is the only way to describe their clothing. The detailed embroidery is flashy but in all the right ways. This is a great shirt for going on dates, showing up to the office sometimes, or just drinking beers with the boys. Buy Crosscut Deluxe Western Shirt at Huckberry, $109 Embroidered Western Shirt Taylor Stitch Made from 100% organic cotton selvage denim, this shirt is part of a small batch manufacturing run and of limited quantity. A great shirt that can be tucked or untucked, depending on the vibe of your night. Buy Embroidered Western Shirt at Taylor Stitch, $158 Shoals Twill Shirt Billy Reid This shirt is on the more expensive side, but you get what you pay for with this natural twill cotton button down. I dont own much from Billy Reid but let me tell you, if I did, that would be like, so cool. This shirt has antique brass snaps at the chest and sleeves. You could wear this with everything from Chinos to suits. Buy Shoals Twill Shirt at Billy Reid, $198 Denim Pearl Snap Tecovas Another denim pearl snap but this one comes from my favorite western brand, Tecovas. Their button down is made from breathable cotton denim that was made to handle the Texas heat. This shirt is a western stable piece and can be dressed up or down depending on the pants. I wore this shirt under a suit to a wedding and I didnt look like an idiot so it passed the test in my book. Buy Denim Pearl Snap at Tecovas, $88 Boots The Roy Tecovas Ive written and spoken about these boots several times, but let me just say there is a reason I wont shut up about themthey are awesome. Any boot from Tecovas is going to get you compliments, but I really love the shallow shaft with the zip sides. The water-resistant suede is so eye catching and comfortable I didnt even need to break these in before wearing them out. Buy The Roy at Tecovas, $265 Heritage R Toe Western Boot Ariat Ariat is one of the bigger names in the boot game so beware when scrolling their site. They have OPTIONS! Most of Ariats footwear is incredibly affordable compared to most boot brands and they are surprisingly comfortable. If you want boots, youll find a pair on their site. Buy Heritage R Toe Western Boot at Ariat, $189 Rhodes Huckberry Rhodes is a newer brand to hit the scene but let me tell you, they know what they are doing. I have these classic Ropers in Hickory and they go with just about everything. They might need to be worn around the house for a day or two before wearing them on a night out but they are extremely comfortable with a little break-in. Buy Rhodes at Huckberry, $210 Pants Wrancher Dress Jean Wrangler Wrangler makes so many different styles of western pants so you cant miss on their site. I personally love these dress jeans because they arent quite bell bottoms but they are flared boot pants. You can dress these up or down depending on the night and they will work with any kind of cowboy boot. Buy Wrancher Dress Jean at Wrangler , $44 The Extras Mackinaw Wool Western Vest Filson Do I own this? No, but I would! I mean, just look at it. This is as western as it gets. The vest is made from 100% Mackinaw Wool and bears the resemblance of something the bold pioneers of the west would have worn on any given day to stay warm while on the ole dusty trail. Buy Mackinaw Wool Western Vest at Filson, $295 Two-Tone Belt Buckle Tecovas Is this just a small advertisement for Tecovas or is it a legitimate accessory? I dont really know but Im here for it. Belt buckles are a western staple but dont be surprised that you want to start kicking in more saloon doors when you start wearing one. Buy Two-Tone Belt Buckle at Tecovas, $45 The Ranchman Tecovas I have only worn cowboy hats ironically so I cant really say if this is a good addition or wise purchase. It seems kind of try-hard to me but hey, you do you. Buy The Ranchman at Tecovas, $295 Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy Amazon Im adding this to the list because this book is the most hardcore western Ive ever read. This classic American novel depicts the life of outlaws in the west during a time when savagery was the customary norm. Written by the guy who wroteNo Country for Old Men so you know its dark. This book will not help you dress western. Buy Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy at Amazon, $10 Bolo Tie Amazon Do I think you should buy one of these from an antique shop or somewhere authentic? Yes. But we are all creatures of convenience so if you must, Amazon does have a huge selection. Great alternative item for weddings or just for fun. Buy Bolo Tie at Amazon, $11 Well, we did it. Youre a rootin tootin cowboy now. Yee haw! MORE FROM SCOUTED: Dont forget to check out our coupon site to find more apparel deals, including Nordstrom Rack coupons, Macys coupons, Overstock coupons, and adidas coupons. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. WESTFIELD Because of his "otherwise positive educational career," the state has suspended for three years the teaching license of a former Tamaques School third-grade teacher who was fired for making threatening comments to other teachers, talking about his guns and calling students stupid and making them cry. The State Board of Examiners, in a decision formally adopted earlier this month, agreed with an arbitrator's ruling that Frank Fuzy's behavior was "unbecoming and unfitting of a role model." "The threatening comments relating to gun ownership and physical stature, making others in the school community uncomfortable, cannot be tolerated," the board wrote in its decision. Fuzy filed lawsuits both in Superior Court in Union County and federal court contesting the arbitrator's decision and his dismissal, but the Superior Court suit was dismissed on Aug. 17, 2020, and the federal suit was dismissed on April 29. In its ruling, the State Board of Examiners said it is not "the appropriate body" to find that the arbitrator's ruling was in error or without factual basis. The board also wrote that it "cannot overturn the credibility determinations made by the arbitrator." The Westfield Board of Education filed the tenure charges against Fuzy on Dec. 27, 2018. Fuzy was hired as a third-grade teacher in 1995 and was named in 2013 the New Jersey Agricultural Teacher of the Year. Fuzy received "effective" or better evaluations throughout his time at the school. Local:AddamsFest returns in Westfield this fall. Here's what's planned However, in 2014, he received a four-day suspension after throwing Post-It notes at a student and hitting her in the face, according to the charges. Fuzy completed counseling after the incident, including anger management sessions. The tenure charges allege that the teacher frequently commented to other staff members that he owns multiple guns and keeps a handgun in the glove compartment in his car and that he would run out to his car if he needed a gun. Fuzy has denied telling anyone that he kept a gun in his vehicle. Story continues The district also said he frequently posted about guns on social media. Those comments and actions, the school district charged, "have served to create an atmosphere at the school whereby other staff members are intimidated and fearful of imminent harm." The charges say that staff members "routinely look over their shoulder when they walk on school premises" because of his comments. The school board, according to the arbitrator's ruling, "likens threats of violence in reference to gun to the equivalent of yelling 'fire' in a private movie theater." In addition, according to the charges, Fuzy made threatening remarks to another staff member in connection with Principal David Duelks, asking him to observe another teacher. Fuzy, who expressed anger about the request, told another staff member that he is "six feet tall, weighs 230 pounds and has 26 guns." The district also alleged that Fuzy had stated, "what are you, stupid?" to his third graders and had caused them to cry. Fuzy's attorney had argued during the arbitration hearing that the tenure charges were "a vendetta by the administration and (teachers) union to get rid of a person whose personality they simply don't like," according to court papers. Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account. This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Westfield NJ former teacher has teaching license suspended Photo: The Canadian Press Hurricane Ian tore into western Cuba on Tuesday as a major hurricane, with nothing to stop it from intensifying into a catastrophic Category 4 storm before it hits Florida on Wednesday. Ian made landfall at 4:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday in Cubas Pinar del Rio province, where officials set up 55 shelters, evacuated 50,000 people, rushed in emergency personnel and took steps to protect crops in Cubas main tobacco-growing region. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said significant wind and storm surge impacts were occurring Tuesday morning in western Cuba. Ian sustained top winds were 125 mph and as much as 14 feet of storm surge was predicted along Cuba's coast. Ian was forecast to strengthen even more over warm Gulf of Mexico waters, reaching top winds of 140 mph before making landfall again. Tropical storm-force winds were expected in Florida late Tuesday, reaching hurricane force Wednesday morning. Right now we're focusing on west central Florida area as the main area for impact, hurricane specialist Andy Latto told The Associated Press on Tuesday. This is a really really big hurricane, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, warning of damage all across the state. Hundreds of thousands of Floridians faced mandatory evacuation orders as the center expanded its hurricane warning to include Bonita Beach north through Tampa Bay to the Anclote River. Fort Myers is in the hurricane zone, and Tampa and St. Petersburg could get their first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921. People on the barrier islands who decide not to go, they do so at their own peril, Roger Desjarlais, Lee Countys county manager, said early Tuesday. The best thing they can do is leave." While Ian's center passed over western Cuba, with tropical storm force winds extending outward 115 miles, Cuba's capital was getting rain and strong gusts Tuesday morning. Havana's residents openly worried about flooding ahead of the storm, with workers unclogging storm drains and fishermen taking their boats out of the water. I am very scared because my house gets completely flooded, with water up to here, Adyz Ladron said, pointing to his chest. In Havanas El Fanguito, a poor neighborhood near the Almendares River, residents packed up what they could. I hope we escape this one because it would be the end of us. We already have so little, health worker Abel Rodrigues said. Ian's forward movement was expected to slow over the gulf, enabling the hurricane to grow wider and stronger before it brings punishing wind and water to Florida's west coast. Forecasters said the surge of ocean water could reach 10 feet if it peaks at high tide. Rainfall could total 16 inches inches with as much as 24 inches in isolated areas. Coastal communities could be inundated. As many as 300,000 people may be evacuated from low-lying areas in Hillsborough County alone, county administrator Bonnie Wise said. Some of those evacuations were beginning Monday afternoon in the most vulnerable areas, with schools and other locations opening as shelters. We must do everything we can to protect our residents. Time is of the essence, Wise said. Lee County -- where Fort Myers is on Floridas southwest Gulf Coast -- also issued mandatory evacuations early Tuesday for low-lying areas including Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Bonita Beach, where about 250,000 people live, after forecasters expanded the hurricane warning area. With the kind of tidal surge were talking about, it would not be uncommon for both islands to be overwashed, and its a dangerous place to be, Desjarlais said. We cannot by law force people off the islands, but we strongly recommend that they go. Floridians lined up for hours in Tampa to collect bags of sand and cleared store shelves of bottled water. DeSantis declared a statewide emergency, and mobilized 5,000 Florida state national guard troops, with another 2,000 on standby in neighboring states. President Joe Biden also declared an emergency, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief and provide assistance to protect lives and property. FEMA has strategically positioned generators, millions of meals and millions of liters of water, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. WASHINGTON A White House official said Tuesday Russias sanctions-struck defense industry is creating an opportunity for U.S. and western defense firms to take a bite of Moscows share of the market. As a practical matter, countries that have had to rely on Russian equipment are going to find it very difficult to get even basic supplies from Russias defense industrial base, Cara Abercrombie, the National Security Councils coordinator for defense policy and arms control, told attendees of industry conference ComDef. It is an opportunity, certainly for industry members in the room. It is an opportunity for the United States to provide the support that these countries need. The remarks come weeks after the Biden administration notified Congress it would make $2.2 billion in new Foreign Military Financing grants available for Ukraine and former Warsaw Pact countries whose Soviet-made gear has been part of international aid to Ukraine. In NATO, that could be to transition our eastern flank partners to NATO-standard, western equipment. But certainly as we look to other countries in the Pacific, this is an opportunity as well, not just for the United States, but for western industry as well, Abercrombie said. The Pentagons chief weapons buyer, Bill LaPlante, said more interchangeability by interoperability among allies presents an opportunity, not just economically, but geostrategically. Linking industrial bases, or friendshoring, would mitigate supply chain shocks and be essential to the common defense of the U.S. and its allies, he said. As we have seen in Ukraine, the weapons and equipment provided by the U.S. and its allies are the best in the world, LaPlante said in pre-recorded remarks at the ComDef conference. Continuing to more closely integrate these capabilities with increasingly common standards for munitions, software and other components will provide even greater advantages moving forward. Though western sanctions have targeted Russias defense industry, Russia was in 2021 the second-largest arms exporter after the United States, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Its chief clients are India, China and Egypt. Story continues The head of Russias weapons export branch said earlier this year that Moscows arms export revenue in 2022 is likely to total about $10.8 billion, roughly 26% lower than reported for 2021. Cara Abercrombie, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Defense Policy and Arms Control, boards Air Force One behind President Joe Biden, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Biden is traveling to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to announce his crime prevention plans. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) This week, LaPlante is in Brussels convening a meeting of weapons buyers from more than 50 countries to better coordinate defense industrial efforts as they replenish weapons sent to Ukraine from their own stockpiles. The meeting is taking place under the auspices of the 50-nation Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Dovetailing with Pentagon-led efforts to boost western and allied defense capabilities, the White House will continue the work of a Department of Defense tiger team seeking to streamline the U.S. process of selling arms around the globe, Abercrombie said. Within the National Security Council, I am looking at basically a baton pass, Abercrombie said. As DoD wraps up its initial analysis, well be doing an interagency process to look at the collective [effort and] how can we make U.S. foreign military sales work better for our partners, or at least be a little faster. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in August established the task force to address the U.S. foreign military sales process, which spans the Pentagon and State Department. Abercrombie said the streamlining is meant to make the process more nimble without cutting corners. Asked about trade restrictions by the European Union that could hinder U.S. defense exports, Abercrombie said the administration is seeking to reduce those barriers. Supply chain challenges make clear its time to be looking for opportunities to work together to reduce the barriers, she said. The U.S.-led meeting of armaments directors in Brussels also highlights some of the headwinds for allied efforts to arm up. The gathering is aimed at addressing supply chain chokepoints for gun barrels, ball bearings and steel casings as well as how to sustain equipment for Ukraine on a long-term basis. Ultimately, more closely integrating with our allies and friends around the world will make us all more secure and resilient, LaPlante said. Sebastian Sprenger contributed to this report. President Joe Biden delivered remarks from Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on Tuesday promoting his Safer America Plan. AP Photo/Evan Vucci A conservative legal organization sued the Education Department over Biden's debt relief plan. The White House said that suit's claims are "baseless" in a statement to Insider. The suit likely has no standing, experts told Insider, because the plaintiff can opt out of relief. A conservative group is challenging the legality of President Biden's impending cancellation of student debt for millions of borrowers, and the White House categorically denied all of its claims. The Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative nonprofit legal organization, announced on Tuesday that it had filed a suit against the Department of Education because of Biden's relief plan, a move that comes after rumblings from conservative business groups and attorneys general that they would do so. It's the first major lawsuit against the Biden administration's announcement that it would forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers making under $125,000. The lawsuit claims that the executive branch lacks the authority to create a forgiveness policy, saying that it is solely within Congress's power to create laws. The White House came out strongly against the Pacific Legal Foundation's assertions. "The claim is baseless for a simple reason: No one will be forced to get debt relief. Anyone who does not want debt relief can choose to opt out," Abdullah Hasan, White House assistant press secretary, said in a statement to Insider. "Why would this group bring this baseless claim? Because opponents of the debt relief plan are trying anything they can to stop this program that will provide needed relief to working families." The White House has said that over 40 million people are likely to be eligible for forgiveness under Biden's plan, and the first cancellations are expected to take place before the end of the year. The plan will cancel up to $10,000 in debt for federal borrowers who earn less than $125,000 annually, and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. Story continues Republican politicians have long opposed any relief plan from Biden, with attorney generals from states like Texas, Missouri, and Arizona confirming recently that they're considering attempts to block Biden's plan. Congressional Republicans are upset too. The Pacific Legal Foundation's plaintiff, Frank Garrison, isn't pleased with the relief either. Garrison, a public interest attorney at the legal organization, is currently paying off his loan debt through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. He expects to see full forgiveness in about four years. However, Garrison is now claiming that because he qualifies for $20,000 in relief, he will be facing a new tax burden from his home state of Indiana. "The lawsuit that was announced today was a teed up, opportunistic challenge against the student debt cancellation plan, where they attempted to find the needle in the haystack," Abby Shafroth, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, told Insider. "They tried to find the one person who might actually be harmed by the student debt cancellation plan that promises to deliver relief to up to 43 million working and middle class Americans." Luke Herrine, an assistant professor of law at the University of Alabama who focuses on the legality of debt cancellation, told Insider in an email that Garrison "likely does not have standing to sue." That's because the basis of the argument the new tax bill hasn't happened and may not happen, especially if Garrison can opt out. "The big problem with his whole claim that cuts to the heart of it is the federal government is gonna have an opt out process, so that no one who wants to leave their student debt in place, will have to have it canceled," Shafroth said. Read the original article on Business Insider The White House on Tuesday released its national strategy for ending hunger in the United States by 2030 ahead of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Under the strategy, the administration will work with Congress to expand access to healthy and free school meals for 9 million more children by 2032. It will do so by working to provide benefits to families to purchase groceries during the summer months, while working with Congress to expand Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility to more underserved populations like formerly incarcerated individuals. It will also work with Congress on a pilot program to test medically tailored meals as part of Medicare and to expand Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries access to nutrition and obesity counseling. Were taking steps to try to make healthier options more readily available, and on the medical tailored meals piece, create a healthcare system that supports those healthy decisions. But we really are trying to foster environments that allow everyone to have access to food and to have access to healthy foods, a senior administration official said. The conference, which will be the first of its kind in more than 50 years, will take place on Wednesday. Biden is set to deliver remarks. The administration also said it would direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to propose a new front-of-package labeling scheme for food packages and to assess sodium and sugar target levels in foods. It separately will work with Congress to expand the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Physical Activity and Nutrition Program, which is currently in only 16 states. It will expand investments in the National Park Service to connect people to outdoor spaces and to make streets safer for people walking and biking. It will also work to provide more funding for data collection and research to inform nutrition and food security policy, particularly on issues of equity and access. The White House did not give specific amounts of how much funding would be necessary to accomplish these goals. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The U.S. would "welcome" any Russian citizens seeking asylum in this country after fleeing Russian President Vladimir Putin's military draft, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday. Jean-Pierre made the comments during a White House Press briefing, even as tens of thousands of Russian citizens have surged into neighboring Eastern European countries. A reporter pressed Jean-Pierre about reports of military-age men fleeing across borders or even injuring themselves to avoid conscription. "I know the White House has drawn a distinction between the Russian government and the people of Russia. Does the president have a message for some of these men who are desperately trying to flee the country?" a reporter asked. "We are seeing protests in the streets of Russia, we are seeing people sign petitions, and I think the message they are sending to us very clearly is that this war that Putin started is unpopular," Jean-Pierre said. "There are people out there in Russia who do not want to fight Putin's war or die for it." RUSSIAN TROOPS BOXED IN BY UKRAINIAN FORCES AND DNIEPER RIVER, BARGE CARRYING SUPPLIES TO RUSSIAN TROOPS SINKS TOP MILITARY BRASS IN UKRAINE'S SOUTH CALLS FOR VOLUNTEERS AS FORCES LOOK TO TAKE BACK KHERSON "We believe that, regardless of nationality, they may apply for asylum in the United States and have their claim adjudicated on a case-by-case basis," she added. "We welcome any folks who are seeking asylum, and they should do that." Putin ordered a partial mobilization of the Russian military last week, drafting up 300,000 reserve troops. The move has led to widespread fear of general conscription amid the country's invasion of Ukraine. Mongolia, Georgia and Kazakhstan have borne the brunt of the wave of Russian military-aged men leaving the country. Georgia officials stated that daily border crossings have nearly doubled in less than a week. Ukrainian soldiers sit on infantry fighting vehicles as they drive near Izyum in eastern Ukraine on Sept. 16, 2022. Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images "About four to five days ago, there were five to six thousand visitors [from Russia] daily, and now it has increased to about ten thousand," Georgia Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri told reporters Tuesday. Others fleeing to Mongolia had to wait in lines more than a dozen hours long to be processed. One man, Aleksey, told Reuters that he was leaving behind his wife and children while the draft is ongoing. "We are not afraid, but why do we have to fight in Ukraine, why?" he told Reuters. "If other countries would attack Russia, we would fight for our country. But why are we going to Ukraine? For what?" WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States welcomes Russians seeking asylum from President Vladimir Putin's "unpopular" war, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday. "We believe that regardless of their nationality, they may apply for asylum in the United States and have their claim educated on a case by case basis," she said. Earlier in the day, an ally of President Putin issued a stark new nuclear warning to Ukraine and the West as Russia began releasing results of referendums it bills as a prelude to it annexing four Ukrainian regions. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Nandita Bose in Washington) David Langford/AP/Shutterstock White sandy beaches, rich cultural histories, and exotic foods. When you consider purchasing an international vacation property to rent to fellow tourists, these all make it sound like an easy investment. But some destinations can be total disasters for investors, with highly-saturated rental markets, specific legal regulations for conducting business as a foreigner, and harsh taxes. Find Out: 9 Bills You Should Never Put on Autopay Read More: Should You Still Buy a Home in Today's Market? Jay Zigmont, PhD, CFP and founder of Childfree Wealth, said it is imperative to understand what you're taking on as an investor in a vacation property. "Each country has its own rules, restrictions, and benefits," Jay Zigmont, said. "When you buy internationally, you are also taking on currency risk. You are buying in dollars, but getting paid in their currency. As the currencies fluctuate, your returns will go up and down. What may be a good purchase now may turn into a loss just due to currency rates." If you're considering buying a property for vacation rentals, check out these international destinations where purchasing vacation property could be a bad investment. tommasolizzul / Getty Images/iStockphoto Tulum, Mexico Tulum saw a drastic increase in Airbnb rentals during the pandemic, an already-popular city for tourists becoming a place to land for remote workers as well. Over the pandemic years, revenue for Airbnb owners in Tulum grew over 167 percent. Neighboring city Cancun attracts more tourists each year, so Tulum could seem like a natural place to make your investment in a vacation property. However, the influx of vacation rental listings saturates the market, which could leave your rental sitting vacant. The city has also raised concerns about the increase in party tourism leading to a reputation of violent crime, which is bad for the overall image of tourism there. Take Our Poll: Do You Think Student Loan Debt Should Be Forgiven? i viewfinder / Shutterstock.com Bangkok, Thailand There are already a plethora of Airbnb rentals in Bangkok, but many of them are operating illegally. The Hotel Act, B.E. 2547 states that you must have a proper license to run a hotel in Thailand, defined as "an accommodation established for business purposes of providing temporary accommodation service for travelers or any other person in exchange for compensation." Yes, that includes Airbnbs. Story continues The process to operate an Airbnb legally in Thailand requires applying and paying for the license to operate it. There are some loopholes depending on the size of the property and amount of guests it can accommodate. There are also several legal processes for hosting foreign guests and operating as a non-local host. Jumping through all these legal hoops-and fees-make this lively city a complex one to invest in. S-F / Shutterstock.com Madrid, Spain The historical buildings, museums, and markets make this city a cultural hub for plenty of tourists in Spain. But purchasing a vacation rental here could backfire due to the harsh regulations in the city. Apartments in Madrid can only be rented out to tourists 90 days out of the year, and those in the central zone come with building regulations. Even if you do find a suitable property, you may not see a return on investment for a while with the 90-day rental limit. Madrid's municipal government wants to preserve the amount of property available for residential use, which means they have cracked down on how many rental properties they allow. You would have to find a property in the city that is approved by the Madrid City Council to operate as a rental, and pay a fixed income tax rate of 24 percent on whatever cash you make. "You need to be aware of the tax complications," Dr. Zigmont said. "Depending on what you buy and your situation, you may have to pay both US and international taxes, so be sure to check with your tax preparer." Jo Ann Snover / Shutterstock.com Cayman Islands The culinary capital of the Caribbean, the Cayman Islands are popular for tourists and honeymooners alike. But the islands are also home to a nightmare for investors - frequent tropical storms. The Caymans are the most-affected area in the Caribbean Sea, seeing the effects of a tropical storm on average every 1.69 years. While that may not seem like much right now, forecasters at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center are saying to gear up for a more active hurricane season this year. There is a 65 percent chance of an above-normal hurricane season in 2022. Not to rain on your parade, but more inclement weather could divert your travelers' plans, leading to more cancellations and less money in your pocket. When buying vacation property for yourself or as a rental, it is important to remember there are inherent risks to any investment, and to prepare to take on those risks. "We often have a different expectation for our own second house than we would for an investment," Dr. Zigmont. "Decide if it is primarily an investment or a vacation property. Be careful not to assume you can afford a bigger or better vacation home just because you may be able to rent it out." More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Why Buying Property in These International Vacation Destinations Could Be a Terrible Investment A woman has been arrested after a series of arsons in southwest Memphis, according to the Memphis Fire Department (MFD). On Monday, arson investigators secured a warrant for Delina DC Collier, 22. She was taken into custody Monday night before 9 p.m. by arson investigators and the Memphis Police Department (MPD). MORE: Eight fires set in same ZIP code over three months leads to arson investigation Last week, officials said at least eight fires had been set in the 38109 zip code in a span of three months. According to an affidavit, the arsons began June 25 at 1305 Longcrest Road. More fires were set on the following dates/locations: 5060 Urbana Rd. on Aug. 3; Urbana at Rosecrest on Aug. 4; 5110 Urbana Rd. and Urbana at Rosecrest on Sept. 6; 5075 Bowers on Sept. 15; 1166 Margaret Rd. on Sept. 16; and 5066 Urbana Rd. on Sept. 20. Todd Conklin, Vice President of the Memphis Fire Association, said the fires appear to have all been set at vacant properties. MFD responded to all of the fires. An investigation revealed the fires had all been intentionally set using combustible materials and unknown sources for ignition, the affidavit said. A witness said Collier came to her home and gave detailed descriptions of the fires and how they were started. Collier allegedly told the witness there were evil spirits in the houses she set on fire, records show. Collier is charged with Arson, a felony. Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD Trending stories: A woman was rushed to the hospital after being shot at a Memphis apartment complex Monday night, according to the Memphis Police Department. Memphis Police said the shooting happened around 7:45 p.m. at the Creekside Meadows Apartments, near the Memphis airport. When officers arrived, they found a woman shot and in critical condition. She was rushed to Regional One Hospital. Police said the person responsible fled wearing a black hoodie. If you have any information about who or where that person is, call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH. Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD Trending stories: A 51-year-old man who worked for a mobile home park in Midland is accused of sexually assaulting three children over the course of a year, according to the Pierce County Sheriffs Department. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Deputies are seeking help from the public to find the man, Juan Steagall-Martinez. According to a Crime Stoppers bulletin shared by the Sheriffs Department, the suspect is believed to be in the Tacoma area, but detectives are concerned he may have fled to Mexico. Steagall-Martinez was charged in Pierce County Superior Court last week with first-degree rape of a child and two counts of first-degree child molestation. Court records show he has no prior criminal history in Pierce County. Anyone with information on his whereabouts was asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. According to charging documents, Steagall-Martinez was a maintenance worker at the mobile home park since June 2020, and hes accused of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl and two 8-year-old girls. PCSD started investigating Aug. 20 after a deputy was dispatched to Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital regarding a child molestation. The family of one victim told police they were contacted by the property manager about reports that the maintenance person at the mobile home park had been accused of molesting a girl in the area, records state. The mother of one victim reported that her husband confronted Steagall-Martinez, who denied the accusations. Steagall-Martinez then left the mobile home park. According to the declaration of probable cause, he texted a parent of one girl and said he was sorry, and that she could take anything she wanted from his house. News Headlines Apple to shift AirPod, iPad production to Vietnam Photo: The Canadian Press A British Columbia man now in his late 70s has been found guilty of numerous counts of sexual assault. Coquitlam resident Raymond Gaglardi appeared in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on Monday, and court records show he was convicted on 11 counts. The charges related to historical sexual assaults of young men or teenage boys who attended several Coquitlam-area churches between 1993 and 2007. RCMP said in 2020 that the offences happened at Gaglardi's home, where he offered therapy sessions to the victims after meeting their parents at the Metro Vancouver churches. An investigation began in 2019, and the first charges were laid the following year, when Gaglardi was 75 years old. He is scheduled to return to court for a pre-sentence report on Dec. 8. NEW YORK Tent shelters Mayor Eric Adams is setting up to handle an influx of asylum seekers will buy his administration more time to comply with right-to-shelter laws that the city has twice violated since border-state Republican governors began sending migrants here. An estimated 14,600 asylum seekers have arrived in New York in recent months some aboard buses sent by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Thousands have found shelter with family or moved along to other cities, but around 11,000 of them ended up in the city's homeless shelter system, putting an enormous strain on an apparatus that was already operating near capacity. The city is legally required to promptly provide shelter to those who seek it, but it violated that obligation at least twice when it failed to timely house four families and 60 single men. In response, the Adams administration has opened 39 new emergency homeless shelters, largely in hotels. The clock begins ticking when shelter seekers request housing at Department of Homeless Services-controlled intake centers, but the temporary tent shelters that the Adams administration is erecting in a far-flung Bronx parking lot will be operated by New York City Emergency Management and the Health + Hospitals Corp. The Department of Homeless Services will not be involved, which Adams said is by design. We have a shelter obligation that we are fulfilling every day. Everyone knows that. And we have a migrant, asylum seeker crisis so we are going to treat everyone in a humane fashion, but these are two different entities, he said during an unrelated press briefing Tuesday. This is a crisis of migrant and asylum seekers and that is how were responding to it. The administration has said it wants to route migrant buses directly to the tent shelters, making them the newly arrived asylum seekers' first point of contact. Upon arriving, asylum seekers will be provided with medical care if necessary and asked whether they have friends or family to stay with. Those seeking to leave the city altogether have been receiving relocation assistance from community-based organizations, rather than the city, according to a mayoral spokesperson. Story continues The 1,000-bed tent for adult asylum seekers being built in the Orchard Beach section of the Bronx will be heated, but it won't fulfill all the requirements to comply with right-to-shelter laws. Migrants seeking housing through the city will stay there for 24 to 96 hours, providing the administration a buffer against the right-to-shelter timer: If someone were to arrive directly at Homeless Services intake center, a longstanding statute would require the city to find them a bed that same night. If the administration is attempting to sidestep that statute, one City Council member said, officials should be upfront about the strains on the system. We have a legal and moral obligation to do the right thing here, but we also have to be honest about where we are and move collectively in partnership, Council Member Diana Ayala, who chairs the Committee on General Welfare, said in an interview. The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless, which have raised concerns about the city falling short of right-to-shelter rules, said they are waiting to hear more about how the tent shelters will operate. However, they noted the administration has assured them asylum seekers directed to the tent facility can enter the homeless shelter system at any time. They have told us that people are free to come and go and that anybody who comes to a DHS intake office nothing will change for them, that system will still be there, and anyone who comes there will be served, said Joshua Goldfein, an attorney at Legal Aid. We have concerns with how these new sites will operate, but were waiting for answers. In protest of Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.) and his proposed transphobic policies, students at almost 100 high schools are participating in a walkout. The massive walkout went down on Tuesday, and its in direct response to a policy draft dubbed Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginias Public Schools. Crowds of students have begun to walk out of Northern Virginia schools in protest of Gov. Youngkins proposed restrictions on transgender students rights. WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/UosIhKGAgC pic.twitter.com/nwKTQVVTS2 NBC4 Washington (@nbcwashington) September 27, 2022 Youngkins proposal states that school personnel in Virginia must refer to students by using pronouns that are appropriate to the sex thats listed on their official school record, Just The News reports; in other words, Youngkin is actively attempting to disregard students individual gender identities in favor of their assigned sex at birth. If the policies are adopted as is, Virginia students will also only be allowed to use school restrooms that are in alignment with their assigned sex at birth (e.g., only people who were assigned female at birth will be allowed to use the girls restroom.) Additionally, Youngkins proposed changes mandate that parents must be fully informed when it comes to matters they consider important, suggesting that high school personnel would be required to out students to their parents, Just The News reports. Casey Calabia, a student at McLean High School, said that participants want Youngkin to know that they wont stand for his restrictive policies. Theres an understanding that were sort of being used as a political punching bag for Governor Youngkin through the Virginia Department of Education to just create some sort of uproar, or to mimic the Dont Say Gay bill in Florida, Calabia told NBC4 Washington, referencing the infamous bill that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) passed earlier this year. Story continues The reaction from students across the state has been overwhelming, quite frankly, and overwhelmingly opposed to these new draft regulations, Aaryan Rawal, part of the Pride Liberation Project, said, NBC4 Washington reports. We also had a lot of other schools who wanted to participate but, quite frankly, some students werent in safe enough positions to do so. A 30-day public comment period on the policy changes which have not yet gone into effect opened on Monday, and NBC4 Washington reports that around 4,000 comments were left in the first 15 hours. Dont influence our kids in schools into this gender ideology, one supporter wrote, according to the outlet. However, Calabia says that views like this are serious misconceptions. I had teachers who would actively acknowledge queer history, queer problems and queer existence, they said, NBC4 Washington reports. It was life changing. Thats not what made me queer; thats what made me feel safe and happy to be queer. The Virginia Department of Education will make a final decision on the policy proposal once the public comment period closes. If youd like to share your thoughts on the matter, you can access the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall forum here. The Fast and the Furious David Ayer Vin Diesel and Paul Walker.Universal Pictures/"The Fast and the Furious" There are currently 10 films in the "Fast & Furious" saga. You shouldn't watch them in release order. The best way to watch is 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3, 7, 8, "Hobbs and Shaw," and "F9." There are also two "Fast" shorts which take place before the second and fourth films. If you're doing a giant binge-watch of the "Fast and Furious" movies before "Fast 10," make sure you're watching them the correct way. A reboot to the series that started with the fourth movie altered the order in which fans should watch the franchise if they're hoping to view them in chronological order. An additional credits scene after the sixth movie flipped the series on its head. Here's the correct order you should watch the films before seeing "Fast 10": "The Fast and the Furious" (2001) "2 Fast 2 Furious" (2003) "Fast & Furious" (2009) [the fourth film] "Fast Five" (2011) "Fast & Furious 6" (2013) "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" (2006) "Furious 7" (2015) "The Fate of the Furious" (2017) "Hobbs & Shaw" (2019) "F9" (2021) Why should I watch the movies in this order? The ending of the third film in the franchise, "Tokyo Drift," resulted in Han's death after his car was hit by a Mercedes. When Han showed up alive and well in the franchise's next movie, "Fast & Furious," the death scene was confusing to many, suggesting that "Tokyo Drift" took place after the movie. Han appears alive in "Fast & Furious" after getting killed off in the last movie, "Tokyo Drift." Universal The timeline became more clear after Han appeared in the next two movies. At the end of "Fast & Furious 6" Han tells the group he's going to head to Tokyo, a place he previously planned on visiting with his girlfriend Gisele (Gal Gadot) before she was killed. The entire timeline of the third movie, "Tokyo Drift," takes place years later after the sixth "Fast and Furious" movie. It was revealed during a credits scene after "Fast & Furious 6" that Deckard Shaw headed to Tokyo to hunt down Han for putting his younger brother into a coma. Shaw was the driver behind the wheel of the Mercedes. Story continues Shaw in Tokyo calling up Dom in the seventh movie. Universal Vin Diesel shows up at the end of "Tokyo Drift" after Han's death. In the timeline, this occurs in the seventh movie. Universal The very end of "Tokyo Drift" where Dom visits Tokyo then takes place in "Furious 7." We see Dom retrieve the necklace he gave to Letty from Sean (Lucas Black). If it sounds confusing, you can watch Han's death scene from the end of "Tokyo Drift" merged with the "Fast 6" scene here. But there's more! If you've only watched the "Fast and Furious" movies, you've missed out on about another half hour of the franchise. There are also two official "Fast" shorts, one of which was directed by Vin Diesel himself. There's also another movie that's considered the ultimate prequel to the entire franchise. What are the two "Fast and Furious" shorts? "The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 Fast 2 Furious" As the title suggests, the short is a prelude to "2 Fast 2 Furious" which shows how Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) winds up in Miami in the second film. He drives cross country making cash by street racing while evading cops after letting Dominic go at the end of "The Fast and the Furious." The prelude shows how Brian fixed up an old Skyline to make it a racing machine. Universal The short contains no dialogue, but if you're wondering how Brian wound up with the Nissan Skyline he has at the start of the "Fast and Furious" sequel, the six-minute video will show you exactly how it all happened. If you're a "Friday Night Lights" fan, Minka Kelly pops up in a small role as well. A woman (Minka Kelly) spots Brian O'Conner in a diner as he's trying to avoid cops. Universal You can check it out here. "Los Bandoleros" Spanish for "The Outlaws," "Los Bandoleros" was written and directed by Vin Diesel himself. It's a precursor to the fourth "Fast and Furious" film and sets up the oil heist at the film's start. The 20-minute prologue feels like two mini episodes. The first half shows Dom hiding out with family in the Dominican Republic while Han (Sung Kang), from "Tokyo Drift," arrives and notes that he's never been to Japan at that point. He says he met Dom in Mexico so it's clear this movie takes place a bit in the past. There's a lot of talk about oil being scarce and expensive. Dom helps break Leo from prison who later becomes a part of the team in subsequent movies. The latter half of the short focuses on Dom's relationship with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) after she turns up in the DR. The two road trip out to a beach where they end up spending a lot of time in a canoe paddling, making out, lying around, falling out of the canoe, and making out some more. She also says she wants to join in on whatever adventure Dom's planning. Letty and Dom set off for some quality time at the beach. Universal "Los Bandoleros" came as a bonus on the Blu-ray and special edition DVD of 2009's "Fast and the Furious." The short film's editor Sonia Gonzalez-Martinez put the entire short film on Vimeo. You can view it here. The unofficial prequel movie "Better Luck Tomorrow" Sung Kang as Han in "Better Luck Tomorrow." Paramount Pictures/MTV If you really want to go down the "Fast and Furious" rabbit hole, there's one more movie you should check out: 2003's indie film "Better Luck Tomorrow." The movie is from "Tokyo Drift" director Justin Lin. While its not officially affiliated with the "Fast and Furious" franchise, its widely considered to be a prequel story for Han (Sung Kang), who's introduced in "Tokyo Drift." Why? Well, because "Better Luck Tomorrow" also stars Sung Kang as a character named Han during his high school years. Plus, both Lin and Kang have confirmed the character is the same across both series. "Yes, it is. Justin and I always He wanted to keep the anthology going," Kang told Crave. "He was always wondering where the characters go after high school. The Daric Loo character actually went into his film Annapolis, and then in Tokyo Drift we have Virgil too from 'Better Luck Tomorrow' as well." Lin also confirmed it in an interview with ComingSoon.net saying its been a fun inside joke and discusses it in the "Fast" commentaries. Here's the full order you should watch the series in: "Better Luck Tomorrow" (2003) "The Fast and the Furious" (2001) "The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 Fast 2 Furious" "2 Fast 2 Furious" (2003) "Los Bandoleros" (2009) "Fast & Furious" (2009) [the fourth film] "Fast Five" (2011) "Fast & Furious 6" (2013) "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" (2006) "Furious 7" (2015) "The Fate of the Furious" (2017) "Hobbs & Shaw" (2019) "F9" (2021) Franchise director Justin Lin confirms to Insider that 'F9' takes place after 'Hobbs & Shaw' While speaking about "F9," Lin told Insider that the latest film in the franchise takes place after the 2019 spinoff with a succinct, "Yes." This makes sense since Queenie (Helen Mirren) is seen after she's broken out of jail in "Hobbs & Shaw." If you're thinking this should be obvious, remember there was a time where "Fast 9" was originally supposed to come out in 2019, before "Hobbs & Shaw," before the film was delayed. The main "Fast and the Furious" saga is set to be 11 movies. "Fast 10" is in theaters on May 29, 2023. Read the original article on Insider As the relative calm of the afternoon fades into the temperate air of the evening, quiet suburbs across our nation are cut by familiar melodies. Folks of any city know the familiar tune of their local ice cream man, with their renditions of Turkey in the Straw blaring as they drive through lanes and up avenues. But when folks hear La Cucaracha in San Jose, California, people know that the panaderia man is outside. For over 25 years, Zeledons Bakery on Wheels has been serving the San Jose area and beyond, selling tamales, doughnuts, muffins and its signature pan dulce. Pan dulce, or Mexican sweet breads like the popular cookie-dough-topped concha or the maize-shaped elote bread, trace their common origin all the way back to when the Spanish brought wheat to Mexico City as early as the 1500s. Ernesto Botello of Zeledons Bakery on Wheels with a selection of pan dulce. (@kamikomusic via Instagram / Courtesy Zeledon's Bakery on Wheels) By combining Mexicos culinary sensibilities with the European ingredient of flour, dessert innovation flourished. Pan dulce like the pig-shaped puerquito (or marranito) cookie are styled off the European gingerbread cookie, but are made with piloncillo, a type of sweetener made from sugar cane and spiced with cinnamon and anise and these days, puerquitos often skip the ginger. Pan dulce has many varieties, flavors and types at least 1,000 in fact and have steadily made their way throughout Mexico and beyond. Now in San Jose, the proprietors of Zeledons sell a prime selection of greatest hits, in a completely mobile business. Juan Carlos Soto and Ernesto Botello of Zeledons Bakery on Wheels. (@kamikomusic via Instagram / Courtesy Zeledon's Bakery on Wheels) Conchas, cuernos, puercos, polvorones, elotes, empanadas, Juan Carlos Soto, owner and proprietor of Zeledons Bakery on Wheels, told TODAY Food, listing the many items his mobile business holds every day, of which there are dozens. We have a lot more bread, but thats a lot of the popular ones. While the sight of a van with a trunk full of baked goods might seem like something of a fantasy to the most of the United States, Zeledons Bakery is one of a few businesses-on-wheels like it (like Los Angeles pan dulce truck Sweet LA) bringing a Mexican tradition to the states. Story continues Our family would always buy bread at a bakery in Mexico called Zeledons because it was so good, said Soto. So, years ago when we were looking for a name, we remembered that bakery and we took Zeledons and added the rest. Everythings mobile over there, Soto's nephew, Ernesto Botello, told TODAY, adding that food carts, tricycles and other vehicles sell all sorts of foods and services in Mexican cities and villages, and Zeledons follows in that tradition. Some of these businesses sell bread, tamales, milk or bread and some sell Mexican ice creams, or paletas, which are made from scratch with ice, fruit and other flavorings. They go sell them in the neighborhoods, ringing little bells and stuff. People come out and buy. Botello said that in Mexico, carts and tricycles play or activate unique sounds to indicate the type of business from which the noise is coming from. For instance, a camote cart, which sells wood-fired sweet potatoes and plantains, releases steam from the in-cart oven its cooking its product in, and a whistle announces (or shouts, really) the carts presence. Hence, the choice was made for the instantly recognizable Mexican folk tune La Cucaracha to accompany Zeledons and their drawers full of baked goodness. The pan dulce guy might have a song or something, but in Mexico, they usually just yell. So they dont really have a horn, Botello said. I just came from Mexico, and we picked up the idea from L.A. it all started there. Ernesto Botello of Zeledons Bakery on Wheels with a pair of happy customers. (Courtesy Zeledon's Bakery on Wheels) Soto and Botello said in Los Angeles it has been historically difficult to get permits for food trucks. This is because the city, where there are as many as 10,000 street vendors selling food, has had instituted requirements that have left out the concerns of non-kitchen-based and smaller food vendors until very recently. Soto started his business with another partner in San Diego in the late '90s, but early on took the business over as an army of one, until Botello joined his uncle and learned the ropes. I took him on the weekends to sell bread with me, Soto said, adding that his nephew became an unofficial salesman and later his right-hand man. As he grew up, he kept on coming more days and on his school breaks and he became a real good seller, man. Like, honestly, hes the best seller out there. A line of customers waiting to buy from Zeledons Bakery on Wheels. (Courtesy Zeledon's Bakery on Wheels) Soto is used to seeing his customers rush to catch him and his nephew, stopping whatever theyre doing playing outside, cooking dinner or walking their dogs to buy from Zeledons colorful selection of treats. In fact, this fervent customer base has even been captured on social media more than once. In early 2021, a TikTok by user @fatboyluvr408 depicting their mad dash to meet Zeledons parked outside their house garnered over 268,000 views, 21,300 likes and tons of comments expressing how theyre also regular customers and pointing out their favorite orders. In June 2022, another TikTok showing Soto and Botellos business by user @dianaaracelyyy, whose real name is Diana Davila, went even more viral, garnering 8.2 million views and 1.2 million likes. The whopping 17,800 comments boast admirers from as far away as Malaysia and as close as the neighborhoods Zeledons drives through and Davila has a theory about why that is. I feel like he is bringing a tradition, Davila told TODAY. Hes bringing culture to neighborhoods, and Im just so happy that hes getting all of the well deserved recognition that he deserves. Davila said that creating videos representative of her culture and community is what truly fuels her, and during the pandemic, she started creating content that featured local or hidden gems and street vendors that were regulars in her area. Those who know him knew it was the pan dulce man, because of the distinct sound of the horn he has, the little music that he plays, she said. Once you hear that, whoevers in the area that knows him rushes out, because hes only there for a few minutes. If no one pops up, hes like, onto the next. A group of customers posing in front of Zeledon's Bakery on Wheels. (Courtesy of Zeledon's Bakery on Wheels) Being familiar with Zeledons since she had been a customer for years, even as a child, Davila knew she wanted to share a bit of her nostalgic feeling for the business with the rest of the world. When he drove through her neighborhood one day, she asked him if she could film him opening his van and listing some of the items he had to offer. She also thought it was important to include him saying what types of bread he sold, because Mexican bread has so many varieties and types. The rest is internet history. Of the love theyve received due to these TikToks as well as a pair of posts by popular San Jose food account @sanjosefoos, the Zeledons Bakery duo are thrilled, astonished and, most of all, appreciative of the attention their four-wheeled panaderia is getting in the age of internet fame. Honestly, we started getting love, and at first, it was like whatever, it was just our job, Soto said. But now like all these people sharing those videos and giving us good comments and stuff, coming up to buy from us from so far, or even just from different neighborhoods it makes us real happy, you know? We want to keep on going, you know? It feels so good. Honestly, its been life-changing, Botello said, adding that he didnt expect the videos and posts to become something people approach them about so frequently. Its really, really dope that everybody is giving us all this love. Im always the one selling back there, and I get a bunch of kids and even older people telling me, Man, youre a superstar to us and stuff like that. And honestly, that shocked me to me, Im just like anybody else. I dont feel any bigger or anything. Botello said in the San Jose area, his uncle was the one that has been well-known, doing this for more than two decades, and for him to start getting that same recognition is mind-blowing. Through their days driving, selling and, more recently, catering weddings and other events, they both want to thank their community for supporting them for more than 25 years. Well hope to be here for as long as we can, Botello said. And keep on going. During Hispanic Heritage Month, TODAY is sharing the communitys history, pain, joy and pride. We are highlighting Hispanic trailblazers and rising voices. TODAY will be publishing personal essays, stories, videos and specials throughout the month of September and October. For more, head here. This article was originally published on TODAY.com President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi The president said that currently the situation in the partially Russian-occupied oblast is especially difficult, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine are doing everything they can to contain the advance of the invaders. Thats where our No. 1 goal is right now, because for the invaders Donbas is still their goal No. 1, Zelenskyy said. Read also: Donbas liberation may collapse Russian frontline, rock political situation in Russia, says Ukrainian official He added that, despite the obvious senselessness of the war for the aggressor-country and the fact that the invaders have lost the initiative, the command of the invading Russian forces continues to drive them to their deaths in Donetsk Oblast. The constant attempts of the Russian offensive in Donetsk Oblast will surely go down in the history of wars as one of the most cynical murders of their own troops the president said. Russias mobilization is a frank attempt to give commanders on the ground a constant stream of cannon fodder. There is no other sense in the Russian mobilization. Read also: SBU identifies, charges main organizers of sham referendums in Donbas He said the invaders, feeling that they are losing, are trying to delay defeat and ensure there is still some activity at the front. Zelenskyy also thanked the defenders of Ukraine, especially the fighters of the Kholodny Yar 93rd Motorized Brigade and the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade for the heroic defense on the Bakhmut section of the front line. He also praised the soldiers of the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade for their decisive and competent actions in the liberation of our territory. Read also: Presidents Office presents plan for Special International Tribunal to punish Russia, says Zelenskyy So far, a total of 2,135 soldiers from these three brigades have been given state awards. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on Sept. 26 that the efforts of the invaders are still focused on holding the occupied territories, reaching the administrative border of Donetsk Oblast, and disrupting Ukrainian advances on certain parts of the front. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Former Blue Ridge Medical Center COO Debbie Williams watched as Rick Shinn unveiled a plaque to the right of the entrance to the centers new Appomattox location. Debbie Williams Medical Building at Blue Ridge Medical Center, it reads. Shinn is current CEO of BRMC, an Arrington-based nonprofit community health center with locations that now include Appomattox. He and BRMC staff and leadership, local officials and state representatives gathered Monday morning for a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the new location. BRMC Appomattox offers primary care and behavioral health services and, like the Colleen and Amherst centers, provides health care to insured, uninsured, Medicare- and Medicaid-serving patients. We know that there are several thousand people in the community who may not have access to health care, whether theyre insured or uninsured or on Medicaid, and we want to be an alternative for them to be able to get services here so that anyone in the community, regardless of ability to pay, has access, Shinn said in an interview after the ceremony. So were here as a community organization to help people in the community. He said he hopes to see BRMC Appomattox grow its behavioral health services and expand on the approximately two-acre site. The facility is housed in a renovated former group home on Jones Street. During the ceremony, he told the crowd hed also like to add a provider for pediatric services, and as this facility grows it will provide more jobs as well. Thats important to the economic development of small towns like Appomattox. U.S. Rep. Bob Good, R-5th; State Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, and representatives from offices of U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine were present at the ceremony in support of BRMC. People know that they can come here and get health care and thats important to every community, Peake said outside the new facility. We talk a lot about economic issues, but safety and security are No. 1 for most people, of course, and part of that is health security and quality access to health care and affordable health care and Im so thankful for our community health centers that are really patient focused and trying to provide affordable options for those who live in rural communities and suburban communities, Good said. Shinn announced BRMC is the recipient of a $112,500 annual grant from the Virginia Health Care Foundation to last three years and help support a family nurse practitioner position. The ribbon cutting ceremony was the official grand opening but Shinn said BRMC Appomattox has been in operation since March. Family Nurse Practitioner Lisa Gittleman gave a tour inside the facility after the ceremony, showing Good down a hall of exam rooms, and explaining how the center was able to offer isolated care for COVID patients. She said her youngest patients are two-years-old, and thinks her oldest patient is 93. Former BRMC CEO Peggy Whitehead spoke on Williams contributions. Its been over a decade, I think, that weve been dreaming about bringing health care services to Appomattox in the form of a community health center and during that time, three separate BRMC CEOs have worked on it and Debbie has been at each of their sides the whole time making the realistic decisions, making the dreams come true, she said. We couldnt have done this without her. She really is the foundation for bringing BRMC to Appomattox and its absolutely fitting that our center here be named after her. Williams addressed the crowd before she cut the red ribbon stretched across the new centers entrance. It has been an incredible 18 years with BRMC and the wonderful staff and its just been a pleasure working with everyone and doing things to serve the community and to make our communities better for the people who live there. A new countywide hearing on property taxes drew a crowd Thursday evening. During a two-hour public meeting at Papillion La Vista South High School, more than 230 people heard reports from the city and school officials about their budgets and associated property tax levies. The bottom line: While most cities, schools and other government entities are either not changing or minimally decreasing their property tax rate, higher valuations will lead to people paying more in 2023. Representatives of the Bellevue and La Vista city governments and the school systems of Bellevue, Gretna and Papillion La Vista participated in the hearing. Technically, only the Gretna Public Schools had to be there. The Property Tax Request Act, passed by the Legislature in 2021, mandates attendance at a joint public hearing when political subdivisions propose increasing their property tax requirements on existing property by more than 2%. Gretna Public Schools will have its levy rise from $1.43 per $100 of assessed valuation to $1.48. Assistant Superintendent Travis Lightle told the audience that $17 million of funding from a $258 million school bond issue, approved by voters in 2020, was the reason for the increase. Gretna voters approved the bond with 60% of the vote. The levies for Sarpy Countys other school districts are falling. Bellevue Public Schools is asking for a penny less at $1.20 per $100 of assessed valuation. Papillion La Vista Community Schools is seeking a two-cent reduction to $1.26, while the Springfield Platteview Community Schools is dropping a whopping 12 cents to 78 cents. Taxes to support schools and their associated payrolls make up the bulk of property tax bills. The county and city governments make up about 24% of the countys tax distribution, while schools take up the largest share at nearly 60%. The city governments of Bellevue and La Vista are holding their tax levies the same, with Bellevue at 61 cents per $100 assessed valuation and La Vista at 54 cents. Gretna and Papillion are going down a penny each to 45 cents and 43 cents respectively, while Springfield is reducing its levy by three cents to 63 cents. The county government is also shaving a penny off its levy to 28 cents. With valuations in Sarpy County rising 9% on average, the rates come as cold comfort for many taxpayers and to the school districts collecting the bulk of the taxes. Schools face a funding crunch when valuations rise, as Papillion La Vista Superintendent Andrew Rikli explained. Traditionally, Nebraska has been near the bottom in state aid for public schools, and the state decreases the amount of aid as property valuations rise. The result for next year is that PLCS will see 7.1% less in funding. That directly impacts your bottom line as a taxpayer, because if you are getting fewer dollars from your state, guess who is on the hook? The local taxpayers, Rikli said. So, it is important to remember where the state factors in to this conversation. But there seemed to be no suitable explanations or rationalizations for meeting attendees. While the evenings five speakers wrapped up their presentations in a half hour, the next 90 minutes was devoted to comments from the public. Of the 38 speakers, few seemed happy. The majority criticized the valuation hikes, which are determined by the county assessor and not individual political subdivisions. There was a litany of suggestions to tighten your belts and no more pet projects. Many expressed financial hardship, and they directed their anger at everyone from local officials to the federal government. I thought I was going to be retiring here maybe in the next two or three years, said Jerry Huff of Bellevue. I am going to working until I drop dead at this rate. There were also complaints about transparency. Several speakers said the state-mandated postcards were not sent early enough to adequately alert the public to the hearing. Sarpy County officials said more than 70,000 postcards with property tax information and a notice about the meeting were mailed over a two-day period on Sept. 13 and 14. They also pointed to news media coverage of the hearings. One of the few speakers with positive comments was Ellie Stangl, administrative assistant to State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair. Hansen introduced the Property Tax Request Act and is seeking re-election in District 16 this November. She said the hearing creates a dialog between the community and their representatives. Sen. Hansen would just like to say that it is important that we are informed, that we are involved, and that there is accountability, and this shows that it is happening here tonight, Stangl said. Local entities are also required to conduct a public hearing process as they build their budgets and prepare the next years tax request. Those hearings are largely unattended. A Council Bluffs man was sentenced on Sept. 20 to 132 months in prison for a drug offense. On Sept. 17, 2021, Dustin Michael Adkins, 39, was pulled over by law enforcement for a traffic violation in Council Bluffs. Adkins fled in his vehicle, after which a bag of methamphetamine was thrown from the vehicle, according to the Southern District of Iowa. The meth was recovered, and Adkins arrested. He was in possession of more than 90 grams of meth. Adkins was sentenced to 11 years for possession with intent to distribute meth. Upon release, he will also serve a five-year term of supervised release. Council Bluffs Police Department, Pottawattamie County Sheriffs Office and the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force investigated the case. A 53-year-old man from Harlan was sentenced to seven years in prison Sept. 7, after he plead guilty to a charge of receipt of child pornography. In February 2021, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received several cyber tips that an IP address uploaded child pornography files. A search warrant was executed at Kevin Charles Kerstens residence, which was linked to the IP address. Electronic devices found at Kerstens residence were seized and forensically analyzed. While conducting this investigation, officers obtained another cyber tip that the IP address linked to Kersten had again uploaded child pornography. A second search warrant was executed at his residence and additional electronic evidence was seized. The forensic examination located images and videos of child pornography on Kerstens electronic devices. Kersten must also serve 10 years of supervised release after the prison term. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Harlan Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Task Force investigated the case. This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justices Project Safe Childhood initiative, which was started in 2006 as a nationwide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit justice.gov/pscpsc and click on the resources tab. Photo: Maria Rantanen/Richmond News Woman Air that is the rough translation for a new airline, Iskwew Air, operating out of Vancouver International Airport which is founded and run by a Metis woman. On Monday, YVR and Iskwew Air signed a memorandum of understanding to work toward reconciliation and furthering Indigenous tourism. Iskwew is the Cree word for woman and the new airlines focus is on elevating women in Indigenous business. Teara Fraser, founder and owner of Iskwew, said the new airlines aim is about decolonizing and decarbonizing the skies for the next seven generations. This will allow the business to walk more softly on Mother Earth, she added. Fraser noted every Iskwew Air flight is carbon neutral, whereby a donation is made toward the Great Bear Rainforest. Fraser said the company is also working with YVRs innovation hub to collaborate on initiatives, sharing information and inspiring other YVR-based companies to be more sustainable. This includes looking at how flights can be more sustainable, for example, by reducing time in the air, as well as looking at the future of air travel, be it electric or hydrocarbon-based. Thats how we see large-scale change, Fraser said. The MOU is an agreement to uplift Indigenous tourism, be more sustainable and acknowledge a deeper partnership between YVR and Indigenous people in B.C., Fraser explained. Iskwew Air received the blessing from Musqueam to operate on their traditional unceded territory in September 2018. Iskwew Air received its operating certificate in October 2019 and started its scheduled, cargo and charter flights in 2021. The silver lining of starting a business during the COVID-19 pandemic, when air travel dropped by about 90 per cent at YVR, was that businesses learned to be more creative and innovative, focusing on sustainability and equity, Fraser said. The MOU is meaningful reconciliation which will allow First Nations to achieve economic reconciliation, she added. I want to see lots of Indigenous businesses here at YVR, she said. Fraser spoke of rematriating Indigenous businesses, that is, from an Indigenous perspective, women are honoured in their leadership and their unique approach to community building and relationship building and caring for others, Fraser told the Richmond News at Mondays event. This is done through a lens of womanhood, language and leadership and Fraser said shes been promoting the hashtag #Rematriate to promote women in Indigenous businesses. A 19-year-old Lexington man has been arrested on suspicion of motor vehicle homicide and willful reckless driving in connection with the death of a pedestrian. Salvador A. Canales is accused of striking Abdelaziz Suliman, 59, of Lexington, with his pickup truck just before 5 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Adams and Oak streets. Suliman, who had been walking to work, was pronounced dead at the scene, Lexington Police Chief Tracy Wolf said Monday. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Somali tribal militia backed by the Somali government have pushed al-Shabab terrorists out of large parts of the countrys central area in the latest gains in a large-scale offensive, the countrys state media said on Monday. The offensive was launched in the Hiran region a few weeks ago against the militants, liberating several key townships before moving on to Galgaduud and then the Bay region in the south. There has been significant progress in the liberation of 40 settlements in the Hiran region alone, with the support of the Somali governments military commandos trained by the United States. The actual fight is taken up by the clan-based, state-supported independent Macawisley militia as part of the popular uprising against militants, with the support of the Somali national army. Our forces seized territory from militants which stretches over 40 settlements including villages, places where fewer people live and others where more people live, Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, the interior minister of the Somalia government, said on Sunday (25 September). The minister added that you can imagine what happened yesterday and today when militants fled their dead comrades and ammunition, and so far, six villages have been liberated, and this only started yesterday. The Somali government claims cant be independently verified. The Somali military gains come just one day after al-Qaida-linked militants attacked a training camp, killing one soldier and wounding six others. The Somali governments campaign to regain control of the country comes at a time when the country is experiencing a raging drought, which UN officials warn will lead to famine within months. Kenyas newly sworn-in president has expressed willingness to purchase fuel from Russia, just days after making immediate moves to boost the countrys influence on the global stage with a stirring speech at the UN General Assembly. President William Rutos announcement that Kenya was open to buying fuel from Russia comes at a time when a number of nations, notably the United States, avoid engagement with Moscow as a result of its invasion of Ukraine. In an interview with BBC, Kenyas leader hinted that he would be exploring all possibilities in an effort to rein in the increasing fuel prices that have put a lot of pressure on Kenyans since the fuel subsidy was discontinued. All options are available to us as a country. East Africa would be a good option, but Kenya is what we are going to be focusing on, he said. The president continued by saying that in order to create a seamless financial framework and better the lives for East Africans, Kenya will cooperate closely with other nations in the region. This comes only days after he sought to use the inaugural address at the UN GA to establish his credentials as a leading voice of African ambition on the world stage. Rutos address in New York was stacked with rhetoric imported from his successful campaign in Augusts presidential election. It is time for multilateralism to reflect the voice of farmers, represent the hopes of villagers, champion the aspirations of pastoralists, defend the rights of fisherfolk, express the dreams of traders, respect the wishes of workers and, indeed, protect the welfare of all the peoples of the Global South, he told the General Assembly. Kenya stands ready to work with other nations to achieve the pan-Africanisation of multilateralism, Ruto also declared in New York, which indicates that his presidency may well represent a significant departure from predecessor Uhuru Kenyattas trade policies. Skeptics say that despite Chinas agreement to forgive interest-free loans to 17 African countries as it seeks to dispel debt-trap allegations, the days of Beijing writing off interest-bearing loans are over. The worlds poorest countries many of them in Africa are facing $35bn in debt-service payments in 2022, out of which around 40% is owed to China, according to the World Bank. With cash-strapped African economies under severe strain from surging commodity prices and the tailwinds of COVID-19, there were sighs of relief when Wang Yi, Chinas top diplomat, announced at a major African debt announcement in August that Beijing had forgiven 23 interest-free loans to 17 African countries. He noted that the loans had matured, but remained tight-lipped about the total value and their recipients. However, while interest-free loan forgiveness could make a difference to Africas very poorest nations, in reality, no-interest loans make up only a tiny fraction of Chinas lending to the continent. While the carefully arranged spectacle around Wangs announcement could indicate an attempt by Beijing to tackle allegations of debt-trap diplomacy, analysts stress it is unlikely to have an impact on Chinas interest-bearing loans. China has traditionally been reluctant to write down the face value of interest-bearing loans and hence also the current negotiations over Zambias debt obligations do not suggest Chinese banks are in a particularly forgiving mood. We certainly believe that the Chinese official creditors will not accept a big haircut, says Kevin Daly, investment director for emerging-market debt at Abrdn PLC. Photo: The Canadian Press Opposition B.C. Liberal Party Leader Kevin Falcon is sworn in at the legislature's Hall of Honour in Victoria, on Monday, May 16, 2022. The party could have a new name by the end of this year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito The British Columbia Liberal Party could soon have a new name. The party says the proposed new name, BC United, has been selected after a three-month membership consultation period in which more than 2,000 suggestions were submitted. The party says in a statement today a voting process will be announced in the coming weeks and members will have the opportunity to vote on the new name by the end of this year. The party says more than two-thirds of delegates who attended last June's convention in Penticton voted in favour of considering a new name. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon made consideration of a name change one of his leadership campaign promises earlier this year. The party says BC United reflects a fresh alternative that expresses a commitment to unity across a broad coalition of members, while highlighting the province's name. The B.C. Liberals have always billed themselves as a free enterprise coalition of federal Liberals and Conservatives, but some party members have said the name has confused or even turned away conservative-leaning voters. Banque Nationale dInvestissement (BNI), also known as National Bank of Investment, vowed to support exporters of coffee and cocoa of Cote dIvoire with around $274 million for a new season starting in few days, Abidjan Net reports. Jerome Ahua, Deputy Director of the bank, made the announcement during a networking event of coffee and cocoa producers in capital Abidjan. I call on all other economic actors to place their trust in us as you do. Because the BNI has only one desire, to put at your disposal the necessary means for the success of your missions, Ahua said. The coffee and cocoa sectors plat a key role in Cote dIvoires economy but the two sectors have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict. BNI has been backing the coffee and cocoa sectors for years. The institution has financed the 160,000 tons of cocoa for around $258 million. Aside from coffee and cocoa, BNI also finances several other sectors including cotton, rubber, cashew, timber, palm oil and sugar. Kenya has deployed forces in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of regional mobilization to help end activities of rebel groups in the East of the second largest African country reeling with insecurity caused by armed groups. The boots are posted in Ishasha, a locality near the border with Uganda, Anadolu news agency reports citing media in Kenya. The number of the troops is unknown but the DRC indicated that the deployment was preceded by logical supply via Uganda on September 19. The regional forces are made of Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya and South Sudan. The forces were formed in June this year by East African leaders in view of ending activities of armed groups in Eastern Congo operating in the area for nearly 30 years. The forces will join the United Nations Organization Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and the Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) led by the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Kenya leads the operation room of forces deployed in North-Kivu, South-Kivu and Ituri. A 43-year-old Greenville, Iowa, man, who reached speeds of 130 MPH in his Dodge Challenger is charged with a felony after he led law enforcement on a pursuit on Interstate 80 on Saturday night. Aaron C. Abel made an initial appearance in Lincoln County Court on Monday afternoon. He is charged with operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest and his bail was set at 10% of $10,000. An Oct. 6 preliminary hearing was scheduled as well. According to a Nebraska State Patrol press release and court documents: Troopers received a report of a Challenger near mile marker 237 in Dawson County heading west on I-80 and moving at more than 100 MPH. The vehicle was spotted in Lincoln County around 6 p.m. near mile marker 187 and a trooper clocked the Challenger at 132 MPH. Because of heavy traffic on the interstate, the trooper was not able to engage in a pursuit and instead notified another trooper who was situated further west. That trooper spotted the Challenger parked in the lot of the rest stop outside Sutherland and attempted a traffic stop. The Challenger took off, heading down the wrong way on the rest stop entry ramp before it turned onto westbound I-80 again. Spike strips were deployed near mile marker 154 and the Challenger, which moved onto the shoulder to pass a semi at one point, hit the strip with its left front tire. The Challenger then slowly drove on the shoulder of the interstate before it was stopped near mile marker 152. Abel was arrested and transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center. A 28-year-old Ogallala man pleaded no contest on Monday to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit theft for his part in an organized ring that purchased goods from an area business with bad checks. Two other charges against Ivan H. Krell were dismissed in a plea agreement during his appearance in Lincoln County District Court: theft by deception with a value of $5,000 or more and issuing a check from a closed account with a value of $5,000 or more. Krell is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 19. One of his co-defendants, Colbey A. Flaming, 30, was scheduled to be sentenced on Monday as well but his case was continued to Oct. 31. Flaming pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in July and two additional charges were dismissed in the plea agreement. According to court records, Krell was one of four individuals who attempted to make purchases at the Menards in North Platte at two separate checkout registers with checks from a closed account. Each check was for $3,000. The attempted purchase was stopped when both clerks asked for identification. It was one of four incidents that law enforcement authorities documented in March in Lincoln County by the ring. Two of Krells co-defendants in the case are set to make court appearances over the next few months. Dawnovan M. Polfus, 32, of Ogallala, is scheduled to make a court appearance on Oct. 17; and Richard Bachman, 41, of McCook, is set for a hearing on Nov. 28. Penny S. Saxton, 49, of Ogallala. was initially scheduled to make a court appearance on Monday but it was continued to Oct. 31. In other cases Monday (defendants are from North Platte unless otherwise noted): Juan F. Martinez, 30, pleaded no contest to violating the sex offenders registration act for not updating his address with law enforcement authorities. Martinez received a two-year prison term and 12 months of post-release supervision. He was credited with 243 days served. Both terms are equal in time as what he received in Keith County for a charge of theft by unlawful taking with a value of $1,500 to $4,999. Martinez was sentenced on Sept. 21 and the terms in Lincoln and Keith Counties will run at the same time. Ethon Feik, 22, of Phillipsburg, Kansas, pleaded no contest to a felony count of issuing a bad check with a value between $1,500 to $5000. Charges in two other separate cases were dismissed in the plea agreement. According to court records, Feik wrote a check for $2,648.64 at Town and Country Western Wear on May 27 from a bank account that did not have sufficient funds. The check was used to purchase a saddle and other supplies from the store. Feik received a probation term of 18 months and also was ordered to make restitution with the store. Michael B. Mengelkamp, 40, pleaded no contest to amended counts of attempt to make terroristic threats and attempt to resist arrest-second offense. A charge of assaulting an office with bodily fluid was dismissed in the plea agreement. Mengelkamp is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 19. Jason A. Vath, 32, of Sutherland, pleaded no contest to a count of third-degree domestic assault. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 19. Daniel C. Smith, 44, pleaded not guilty to felony charges of burglary, possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person and possession of a burglars tools. According to court records, Smith is accused of taking an air rifle from the shop building of a residence on May 23, 2021. The air gun as well as a two large knifes and a BB gun were all found inside of white van that witnesses say was at the residence earlier. Smith was identified on surveillance footage at the scene. An Oct. 31 status hearing was scheduled for both case as well as a separate one. Michelle Gomez, 40, pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of intentional child abuse with no injury. A Dec. 5 status hearing was scheduled. Fall weather has started making appearances here and there. This time of year is also when legislative proposals are being changed from hazy concepts into words on the page of a bill draft. The Legislatures Revisor of Statutes makes that magic happen. Sometimes there is a lot of back and forth. A major project that I have had the revisors working on is the constitutional-carry bill for next year. I will again make this proposal my individual priority for the year. We had an excellent draft to work with last year. However, the legislative process is designed to work out the kinks in the bills we debate. We have identified a few technical fixes that we wanted to have in place from day one of the new session. The core principles of the bill remain the same: People should not have to pay a fee or ask permission to exercise a core civil right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the Nebraska Constitution. The federal Supreme Courts decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen makes clear that the Second Amendment does not describe a second-class right. That court opinion has already upset the apple cart in a number of anti-gun states. More importantly, it instructs the lower courts on how to apply the Second Amendment in the future. The Bruen decision has started a new wave of cases challenging gun control policies found in state laws and local ordinances across the country. Some of our laws here in Nebraska may one day be found unconstitutional under the Bruen standard. I do not think we should wait for that. My proposal is that adults who can legally have firearms should be allowed to carry them, openly or concealed, throughout the state of Nebraska. I do not believe people should have to take a government-mandated test or pay a fee to a bureaucracy to do this. Opponents of my bill claim to believe in training. I know a little something about firearms training. I have trained a lot of shooters. I believe in training, and I think that all gun owners ought to get the knowledge and practice they need to be safe and proficient. But in a free country, we should not put a bunch of red tape in the way. Liberty means trusting people to be responsible until they show us otherwise through their actions. I have fought for liberty all my life, and we are going to keep that fight up come January. I believe now is the time for Nebraska to join the 25 states that already have constitutional-carry laws on the books. Whats with the pink card that I got in the mail titled, NOTICE OF PROPOSED TAX INCREASE? If you have received a large pink card in the mail recently, your taxes might be going up. Under recent Truth in Taxation legislation, a political subdivision (city, county, school district, community college) whose proposed budget exceeds the 2% growth rate plus the political subdivisions real growth percentage must notify taxpayers on a postcard and hold a mandatory joint hearing explaining why they are increasing your taxes. The cards will outline the 2022 tax assessed value of your property compared to the 2021 value and estimate changes in your property tax based on the new valuation and the old levy. It is shown as an estimate because the new levy will not be set until all taxing authorities have approved their budgets. The joint hearings are your opportunity to voice your opinion of the political subdivision and their proposed budget. Political subdivisions will not finalize their budgets until after these hearings. Once budgets are approved, then the new consolidated levy will be set and the actual tax bill will be determined. As I mentioned in prior columns, property taxes are only levied by local political subdivisions. The state has no ability to levy a property tax. So, controlling property taxes means holding the line at the local level. The Legislature does, however, have some ability to indirectly reduce property taxes in a couple of ways. First, the Legislature must avoid imposing any unfunded mandates on local political subdivisions, whose implementation would need to be paid for with local property taxes. Second, the Legislature can make changes in the TEEOSA formula that distributes funds to local school districts. The formula is based on each districts needs as determined by the number of students and other factors, and is also based on resources, meaning the value of the property in the school district. As a result, the formula is designed to distribute more funds to the larger cities and forces the rural areas of the state that have large agricultural land bases to pay their own way. Many of the school districts in District 42 are considered equalized, which means they get no funding from TEEOSA. This is unfair and simply wrong! The third thing the Legislature can do is return your money to you through other state tax mechanisms. This year, I was pleased to support the greatest property tax benefit afforded to Nebraska property tax payers in history. In addition to reducing the highest income tax rate and eliminating the tax on Social Security and military retirement, LB 873 significantly increased the amount of income tax credit available based on property taxes paid to fund public schools and community colleges. The LB 873 tax credits will ramp up over the next few years. In the 2020 tax year, the state income tax credit was approximately 6% of the amount paid to fund your local school district. In the 2021 tax year, this amount grew to 25% of the amount you paid toward your local public school district. For the 2022 tax year, you will receive approximately a 30% income tax rebate of the property taxes you paid for your local school district and your local community college. The income tax credit is paid regardless of your state income tax bill; however, you are required to apply for the credit to receive the refund. If you did not apply for the credit when you filed your 2021 income tax return, it is not too late! Simply complete the form available on the Department of Revenues website: revenue.nebraska.gov/about/nebraska-property-tax-credit. I encourage all property owners in District 42 to apply for the income tax credit and attend public budget hearings held by your local political subdivisions. Political subdivisions want your input on how they can best serve you. Fortune Business Insights According to Fortune Business Insights, the Global Space Debris Monitoring and Removal Market Size is projected to reach USD 1,527.7 million by 2029, at CAGR of 7.15% during forecast period 2021-2029 | Growing Number of Satellite Launches and Space Exploration Activities to Augment Demand Pune, India, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global space debris monitoring and removal market size was valued at USD 866.4 million in 2021. The market is projected to grow from USD 942.3 million in 2022 to USD 1,527.7 million by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.15% during the forecast period. This information is provided by Fortune Business Insights, in its report titled, Space Debris Monitoring and Removal Market 2022-2029. Report Coverage: The report presents a systematic study of the market segments and a thorough analysis of the market overview. A thoughtful evaluation of the current market trends as well as future opportunities is offered in the report. Moreover, it presents an exhaustive analysis of the regional insights and how they help to form the space debris monitoring and removal market growth. Get a Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/space-debris-monitoring-and-removal-market-104070 List of Key Players Mentioned in the Space Debris Monitoring and Removal Market Report: Airbus S.A.S (Netherlands) Astroscale (Netherlands) Clear Space (Switzerland) Electro Optic Systems (Australia) Lockheed Martin Corporation (U.S.) Northrop Grumman Corporation (U.S.) Orbit Guardians (U.S.) Obruta (Canada) Share my space (France) Voyager Space Holdings Inc. (U.S.) Report Scope & Segmentation: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2022-2029 Forecast CAGR 7.15% 2029 Value Projection USD 1,527.7 million Base Year 2021 Historical Data 2018-2020 No. of Pages 200 Segments Covered By Orbit Type, By Type, By End User Space Debris Monitoring and Removal Market Growth Drivers Growing Number of Satellite Launches and Space Exploration Activities to Augment Demand Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/space-debris-monitoring-and-removal-market-104070 Story continues Segments: Space Debris Removal Segment to Grow at a Greater CAGR Due to Rising Debris Removal Missions by Numerous Space Agencies Based on application, the market is bifurcated into space debris monitoring and space debris removal. The space debris removal segment is anticipated to show significant growth during the forecast period due to rising development of initiatives by space agencies for the removal of space debris. 1mm to 1cm Debris Size Segment to Dominate Market Owing to Surge in Space Debris Based on debris size range, the market is segmented into 1mm to 1cm debris size, 1cm to 10cm debris size, and greater than 10cm. The 1mm to 1cm debris size segment dominated the market in 2020 owing to an upsurge in rocket bodies and minor fragments from satellite launches across the world. Increase in Space Presentations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Orbit May Spur Growth of the Segment Based on orbit type, the market is divided into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO). The Low Earth Orbit (LEO) segment is projected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period. Commercial Segment to be a Quicker Growing Segment and Boosts Market Growth Based on end use, the market is divided into commercial and defense. The commercial segment is projected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period due to rising number of private companies in space debris monitoring and removal from the Earths orbit. The global market is segmented based on region into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World. Inquire Before Buying This Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/queries/space-debris-monitoring-and-removal-market-104070 Drivers and Restraints: Growing Number of Satellite Launches and Space Exploration Activities to Augment Demand The abrupt increase in demand for network and communication and network-based services across the world has empowered space launches over the past few years. The Starlink program presented by SpaceX gained sanction from the U.S. Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to unveil a 12000 startling small satellite for the internet constellation. However, the company is commencing to organize a spectrum to add a 30000 startling satellite in future. Regional Insights: North America to Lead Backed by Presence of Leading Players North America is projected to hold the biggest space debris monitoring and removal market share and was valued at USD 268.6 million in 2021. It is predicted to continue its domination during the forecast period, 2022-2029. The U.S. has the biggest space-based companies in comparison with any European and Asian nations. The European market is estimated to develop at a substantial growth rate during the forecast period. The existence of the European Space Agency (ESA) and additional space-based establishments plays an important role in the space debris monitoring and removal activity from the orbit. Asia Pacific is projected to make progress at a colossal CAGR during the forecast period. The growth can be credited to the growing demand for space situational consciousness abilities from China, India, and Japan. Ask For Customization: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/space-debris-monitoring-and-removal-market-104070 Detailed Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights Key Industry Developments Key Contracts & Agreements, Mergers, Acquisitions and Partnerships Latest technological Advancements Porters Five Forces Analysis Supply Chain Analysis Quantitative Insights-Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Space Debris Monitoring & Removal Market Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Space Debris Monitoring and Removal Market Steps Taken by Industry/Companies/Government to Overcome the Impact Potential Opportunities due to COVID-19 Outbreak Global Space Debris Monitoring and Removal Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2018-2029 Definition / Key Findings Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Application Space Debris Monitoring Space Debris Removal Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Debris Size Range 1mm to 1cm Debris size 1cm to 10cm Debris Size Greater than 10cm Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Orbit Type Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By End Use Commercial Defense Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Region North America Europe Asia pacific Rest of the world TOC Continued! Speak to Our Expert: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/space-debris-monitoring-and-removal-market-104070 Competitive Landscape: Key Players Sign Significant Contracts to Make Remarkable Changes in the Market The players operating in the market often employ numerous tactics that will aid the market growth and product demand. Among the pool of strategies, one such notable strategy to expand the business prospect is signing multimillion contracts with government bodies and securing a profitable revenue for their own company. Read Related Insights: C5ISR Market Size, Share, Trends | Industry Growth Report, 2028 Electronic Warfare Market Size, Report & Industry Growth [2028] Military Radar Market Size, Growth | Global Report [2021-2028] Key Industry Development: January 2022: Northrop Grumman Corporation signed a contract with the U.S. Space Force to create a radar to track active satellites and debris in high orbits. The agreement is worth USD 341 million. Northrop's radar will be situated in the Indo-Pacific region and will be among the three-intended ground-based radar locations for the DARC program. The corporation has plans until September 2025 to develop a radar prototype. About Us: Fortune Business Insights delivers accurate data and innovative corporate analysis, helping organizations of all sizes make appropriate decisions. We tailor novel solutions for our clients, assisting them to address various challenges distinct to their businesses. Our aim is to empower them with holistic market intelligence, providing a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 9th Floor, Icon Tower, Baner - Mahalunge Road, Baner, Pune-411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US: +1 424 253 0390 UK: +44 2071 939123 APAC: +91 744 740 1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Connect us via Social Media Channels: LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Blogs A trained opera singer says she was forced to fall back on her craft when Jetstar left her stranded at a remote resort in Phuket without any money. Edit Pali was on a trip of a lifetime with her husband to celebrate her 50th birthday when the airline cancelled her flight home. Despite promising compensation of $30 per person a day for meals and $150 for accommodation, the money never came, and Ms Pali was literally left singing for her supper. Edit Pali says she was forced to perform after Jetstar cancelled her flight home and failed to pay compensation for meals and accommodation. Source: Channel Nine Were just average people, we dont make a lot of money, so for us to go away to Thailand for a week to a luxury resort, that was a big enough chunk into our savings, she told A Current Affair. Im a tough chook but I cried, I really cried. In order to make ends meet, Ms Pali performed for tourists for five days before Jetstar could get the couple on a flight back to Australia. Jetstar leaves hundreds of Aussies hanging Unfortunately Mr and Ms Pali werent the only Aussies to be stitched up. Hundreds of passengers have been left stranded in Phuket after Jetstar axed their return flights. I wouldnt call them Jetstar, Id call them no star, Gary Harrison told Channel Nine. Were very p***ed off just how theyve handled it. Never again, theyve lost us. Thousands of Jetstar passengers have been stranded in Asia over the past month due to delays and cancellations. Source: AAP Along with his wife Tracie, the pair were left waiting in Phuket for a week before they could get home. In order to survive, they were forced to dip into their housing loan, something they didnt want to do. While retirees Karen Moran and Peter Lea from Tasmania were so desperate to get back, they resorted to forking out $11,000 for a last minute flight with Singapore Airlines. A number of unexpected issues In a statement to Yahoo News Australia, Jetstar says no airline wants to see its customers disrupted but unfortunately a series of events forced them to cancel flights. Story continues Our Boeing 787 fleet was recently impacted by a number of unexpected issues requiring engineering work," the statement said. Including damage caused by debris on the runway, a lightning strike, a bird strike and supply chain delays to source a spare part from the United States, which significantly affected our international network. Jetstar said it was dealing with a number of issues to its Boeing 787 fleet. Source: AAP Our engineering team have been working hard to address these issues and return all the 787 aircraft to service as quickly as possible. We understand how frustrating delays and cancellations are, and we sincerely apologise to customers who are impacted by these unavoidable changes to their schedules. Jetstar added that Mr and Ms Palis expense claim is due to be paid on Tuesday while Mr and Ms Harrison were rebooked on the next available flight. The airline says its also working to issue Mr Lea and Ms Moran a full refund for their flights. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. Before testimony was given to a Lee County Jury, Frederick Ashmore, of Opelika, pleaded guilty to first-degree arson, first-degree domestic violence and three counts of attempted murder. Ashmore was sentenced to life in prison on Sept. 20, according to a release from the Lee County District Attorneys Office. Before 5 a.m. on Feb. 18, 2021, the Opelika Fire Department responded to reports of a building fire at Pinehurst Apartments where firefighters found Building 1300 completely engulfed in flames, the release said. This apartment building was home to Ashmores ex-girlfriend and her two children, one of which was Ashmores, according to an Opelika detective. Opelika Police Detective Sgt. Brandon Hutto testified in April 2021 at a preliminary hearing that Ashmores ex-girlfriend had a protection from abuse order against Ashmore at the time of the fire. The release from the district attorney said that Ashmore had threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend on multiple occasions and he was under a court order to have no contact with her. She was asleep in her bedroom on the second floor of the apartment when she woke up to the sound of her fire alarm. She went to the living room and saw the flames. After trying but failing to put the fire out with an extinguisher, she grabbed her children, removed an air-conditioning unit from the bedroom window and had her 13-year-old daughter jump out the window and tossed her 2-year-old to the older child before jumping out herself, Hutto said during his testimony in April 2021. The other eight occupants of the apartment complex were able to escape the building fire without injury, but five were treated for smoke inhalation, according to earlier reports. Video surveillance was recovered from the apartment complex that showed a man go to the front porch of Ashmores ex-girlfriends apartment. A short time later a flame could be seen on the video followed by a large explosion and Ashmore running to his car to flee the scene, the release from the district attorneys office said. The Alabama State Fire Marshals Office submitted samples of burn debris for chemical analysis, which showed that gasoline was used as an accelerant. Hutto coordinated the investigation and worked closely with many other state agencies, and Assistant District Attorney Hayden Hillyer presented this case to the jury. Judge Russell K. Bush found probable cause to send the case to a grand jury after Ashmores preliminary hearing in April 2021, and before the trial on Sept. 20, 2022, Ashmore pleaded guilty. Multiple families lost their homes as a result of Ashmores maliciousness, and were pleased that he will be serving a life sentence for his crimes, the Lee County District Attorneys Office stated in the release. The first reported case of monkeypox at Auburn University was confirmed by a local doctor over the weekend, according to an email sent to the Auburn University students Sunday evening. The student who tested positive for monkeypox is currently isolated outside of the Auburn area, and close contacts have been identified and notified. If the university receives any other monkeypox confirmations, close contacts will be notified and given information and instructions. The CDC states monkeypox is a disease where symptoms usually start within three weeks of exposure and last about two to four weeks. The symptoms include a pimple or blister-like rash and flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills and headache. The flu-like symptoms will begin with a rash developing within one to four days. Monkeypox may spread through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact according to the CDC. This includes but is not limited to direct contact with monkeypox rash, touching objects and surfaces that have been used by someone with monkeypox and contact with respiratory secretions. The AU Medical Clinic advises anyone who experiences monkeypox symptoms to make an appointment with the clinic or to contact their health provider. The Alabama Department of Health and AU Medical Clinic will continue to monitor the confirmed case. Before The Beatles hit the big-time about 60 years ago, a British folk album titled Island Of Dreams was popular in several countries, featuring a song called "Faraway Places. The opening line: Faraway places with strange sounding names" became stuck in my head last week, after being altered to frazzled politicians with strange sounding names. It began on Wednesday with a Canadian MP called Garnett Genius making headlines by getting into a war of words with a freelance reporter from the Parliamentary press gallery. To have the surname Genius must be an incredible burden, especially for a politician, but his actions on this occasion did not match those of a genius, according to the reporter. The next day that song was playing again in my cranial jukebox, when the newly-minted British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was interviewed at the United Nations General Assembly. The topic was Russia possibly using nuclear weapons in the conflict with Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putins resentment of NATO. Cleverly looked into the camera and stated NATO has never been an aggressive force, only defensive. That was really not very clever. Maybe with his exalted position on the world stage, his head is in the clouds and he forgot the inconvenient truth of NATO's aggressive role in attacking Afghanistan in 2002, and its intervention in Libya in 2011, as well as many members of NATO joining (former U.S. president George W. Bushs "Coalition of the Willing" to aggressively attack Iraq in 2003. During that prolonged conflict depleted uranium bombs and cluster bombs were used against Iraqi civilians. Both weapons are strictly prohibited under international law, and with his military background it would have been very clever for Cleverly to have kept his mouth shut, rather than make such a reckless statement. Of course, such statements are nothing new. About 2500 years ago, Greek playwright Aeschylus wrote: In war, truth is the first casualty. Again, it must be a burden living up to a name like Cleverly in politics. But being reckless reminds me of another recent British elected official. Mark Reckless won a seat in the Welsh Parliament and later as an MP in Westminster. In his decade as a parliamentarian, Reckless earned a reputation of being a rebel, switching allegiances several times, and representing five or six different parties. Reckless by name, and reckless by nature. Bernie Smith, Parkville gonna vibe out to this song and pretend that I am 11 years old again. Reply Parent Thread Link Lol this is some Armageddon shit. Reply Thread Link Lol @ the synchronicity of first two comments well done! Reply Parent Thread Link lol I can't think of that movie without thinking of Ben Affleck doing the commentary "I asked Michael Bay why wouldn't be easier to train astronauts to use drills and he told me to shut the fuck up". Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Only here to say the subject line was adorable. Reply Thread Link pretty cool to have something like this happen Reply Thread Link Yeah all joking aside this might come in handy for future earth Reply Parent Thread Link Im actually relieved that were finally exploring something like this lol. Even though we can apparently only monitor a small portion of space, so we might still get a surprise asteroid Reply Parent Thread Link With so much of the world being a shitshow its reassuring for someone to be like hmm let's actually plan for our survival for once. Reply Parent Thread Link Space exploration along with R&D are some of the most important things for the continued survival of humanity. I wish NASA were properly funded. Reply Thread Link I'm starting to feel very torn. We're never going to find a place more habitable to humans than Earth. If we can't make this planet work (and it's becoming very clear that we can't), then I don't understand how people think we'll somehow magically make space colonization work. While it's all very cool - I'm starting to feel like it's a giant waste of money and resources that could instead be directed towards lifting people out of poverty, funding healthcare, and providing resources for climate change and disaster relief. Our priorities feel so skewed. I just don't understand how we can prioritize funding for stuff like this when a huge number of people are still starving to death. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link There is sooo much money being spent on far, far more useless shit, never mind money being just plain wasted by governments and disappearing into peoples pockets via corruption etc. I think there are immense benefits of space exploration beyond just finding another place to live. This, for instance, was to make our place on Earth more secure Reply Parent Thread Expand Link it's not a waste of money and resources. space exploration has lead to many helpful developments for the general public. throwing more money at our problems on earth is not going to help when people lack the will. for example, famine and hunger are distinctly human made problems. we have enough money to eradicate hunger. we do not have the right people to make sure it happens. Edited at 2022-09-27 03:01 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Space exploration funding covers a lot of ground. Some benefits to date > Artificial limbs, scratch resistant lens, insulin pumps, firefighting equipment, DustBusters, LASIK surgery, building shock absorbers, solar cells, water filtration, improved rubber tires, wireless headsets, adjustable smoke detector, invisible braces, freeze dried foods, camera phones, CAT scans, baby formula, lifeshears (jaws of life), grooved pavement, air purifiers, memory foam, workout machines, home insulation, infrared ear thermometers, ice resistant planes, portable computers, LEDs, 3D food printing, computer mouse, athletic shoes (improvements) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Space exploration isn't all about colonizing other planets because earth is uninhabitable. That's some internet truism that no one challenges anymore. It's about studying what's outside so we can apply that knowledge here on earth. If a billionaire is willing to live in a hermetically sealed tube on Mars he could do the same a lot more comfortably on earth, even if the absolute worst happens. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Sis, America's military budget can be cut by 2/3rds and still be too fucking high. Leave NASA and their pennies alone when the military budget is right there and grossly inflated. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I love space. I love learning about all the different galaxies out there, and all the different moons. However, giant killer rocks scare the shit out of me. Edited at 2022-09-27 02:37 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link Wolftopia is fabulous Reply Parent Thread Link I know it hit successfully, but like... did it move?!? Reply Thread Link ESAs Hera mission will find out in a few years! Reply Parent Thread Link the suspense! Reply Parent Thread Link lol, wow... talk about delayed gratification!! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Adding to oc theyll also be analyzing data from the crash Reply Parent Thread Link they said they'd know in 3 weeks Reply Parent Thread Link If this were a disaster movie, there would be some unexpected and unintended consequences that would like wipe out humanity or something, LOL. This is pretty cool though. I am a fan of space exploration for the sake of exploration and not you know, to try and find a replacement suitable habitat for humans instead of just taking care of the earth. Reply Thread Link Has anybody been able to see Jupiter tonight? I THINK I saw it right before clouds rolled in. I also live in a major city, so I rarely can see shit in the sky. Reply Thread Link I couldnt see Jupiter tonight :( Reply Thread Link Jupiter & its four Galilean moons rising over Carters Mountain in Charlottesville this eve. The planet is at opposition & as close to us as it has been in 59 years. Some careful planning went into this shot at 2350mm focal length!#JupiterOpposition2022 #JupiterOpposition pic.twitter.com/EggmIZ8ruB Brennan Gilmore (@brennanmgilmore) September 27, 2022 I really like this shot, tho, far more picturesque than the house behind me Reply Parent Thread Link Why is this image flagged as "includes potentially sensitive content" - does Jupiter have tits? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link We're planning with the asteroid deflection just in case, but also trying to figure out if one of those moons is habitable under 10 miles of ice just in case, too LOL. Or if there are alien fishes down there or something. Reply Parent Thread Link I can see it but I don't have a telescope or binoculars lmao :( looks very bright though Reply Parent Thread Link aww noo its so bright atm, wish I could see it more clearly cus its just a big bright star to me Reply Parent Thread Link Same, it was raining all night here. :( Reply Parent Thread Link here for the Don't Look Up gif. Reply Thread Link "Well where the fuck was this 1.5billion years ago?" Dinosaurs right now. oh wait. Reply Thread Link pfff, as if the t-rex's arms could reach the buttons to launch it Reply Parent Thread Link i took a whole ass class about disaster media in college!! i have positive associations with volcano because i think i got a good grade on the paper i wrote about it lol i also read the road in that class but i've never seen the movie Reply Thread Link When I lived in Baltimore I knew a couple of people who were engineers at the JPL. One of them used to go on business trips in the middle of nowhere in the plains but couldnt ever tell us what he was doing. Reply Thread Link Idk, Im pretty happy to not be living on a planet with dinosaurs, so I guess in that fight, Im team asteroid. Here and now? Team human. Or at least, team earth. Humans suck most of the time. So team animals I guess. Reply Thread Link consequences?? in this industry???? we would love to see it Reply Thread Link And in this state? Ha. The running joke when my sister was murdered 20 years ago is still very much a joke still and that would be if you wanna get away with murder, do it up in northern New Mexico Reply Parent Thread Link I am so so sorry for your loss and what I assume was a lot of trauma after. hope you and your family are ok <3 Reply Parent Thread Link The heart reaction is not me "liking" your comment, simply sending you love. Im sorry you had and continue to have to deal with that <3 Reply Parent Thread Link im sorry Reply Parent Thread Link wont get my hopes up but electric chair Reply Thread Link Book 'em Danno Reply Thread Link hope for an actual harsh fall from his breeding grace... tired of these white bloated loaves getting away w all (murderer Robert Wagner e.g.) Reply Thread Link white bloated loaves is sending me Reply Parent Thread Link Robert Wagner makes me angry because Hart to Hart was a childhood fave. And now it's unwatchable. Reply Parent Thread Link The defeated pessimist in me thinks that if he is charged, and somehow convicted, hell get probation or house arrest. Which will probably just further bolster his victim complex. Reply Thread Link Being stuck in his house with Hilarious and their brood of newborns, infants, and toddlers is what he deserves for the next 4 or 5 decades. Though his smug ass should be behind bars for this and for being an abusive menace throughout his career. Reply Parent Thread Link en casa with the baldwinitos reality show Reply Parent Thread Link right? he's rich and white and well known he won't actually face serious consequences Reply Parent Thread Link Its ilaria-ous to me how Alec went around doing a press tour about how hes so innocent, the whole time acting like Reply Thread Link I still dont understand why there would ever be real bullets on a film set. This whole story is so confusing to me. Reply Thread Link It was such an avoidable thing. Real bullets on movie sets should be illegal. Real guns should be illegal actually. Reply Parent Thread Link Yes! There shouldnt be any real weapons on set. Thats already enough. But having real bullets that could kill someone? Absolutely not. Reply Parent Thread Link I don't know if this saying works in English, but to me this is one of those tragedies where someone far away threw a stone into the water and the ripples grew bigger and bigger until they eventually crushed someone. So many people have failed this poor woman, from who budgeted the production, to who hired unqualified staff, to how real bullets and working guns even came to be on set... all the way to who pulled the trigger. It'll bring a piece of justice if someone will face criminal charges, but I don't think there's this one (or two or four) perfect responsible killer in this. It's a heartbreaking mess all around, and I can only hope it changes something in the industry when it comes to the observation of safety regulations :( Reply Parent Thread Expand Link The rumor is that the extremely inexperienced armorer (this was only her second production and there had been incidents on the previous film she worked on) asked if she could borrow some of the firearms to go blanking with friends over the weekend while the production was off. She was told no, but supposedly got a transport guy to open the props truck and give her access to the guns. Apparently she and her friends got drunk and then returned the guns without checking the ammunition. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Nothing ever happens to these people, but I'll be pleasantly surprised to be wrong this time. Reply Thread Link I have recently been watching all the police interviews that are on YouTube. They just recently added Jensens. Reply Thread Link I just watched Jensen's and it was extremely illuminating regarding the pace of the production, the lack of safety protocols, etc. I didn't realize he was on set when it happened and the gun they were rehearsing with was going to be fired at him in the next set up. Fuckin scary stuff. Edited at 2022-09-27 06:13 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Jeez. I haven't watched it because I'm not much for interviews-- especially on such a horrible subject, but yeah, that just sent a chill through me reading this. Reply Parent Thread Link I too didnt realise that the gun was gonna be fired at him. Such a difficult thing to process. I thought he came across really well in his interview. Made me like him even more. Reply Parent Thread Link That's actually good. Now do Ryan Reynolds. He's literally responsible for a woman's death. Reply Thread Link TCF (TCF Vancouver Productions Ltd) failed to conduct a risk assessment addressing safety controls, speed of the motorcycle, and equipment limitations, WorkSafeBC, the Canadian equivalent of OSHA, wrote in its final report after investigating the workplace fatality. The employer failed to complete important health and safety documentation, including a stunt safety inspection checklist and a production activity notification checklist, as required by its own health and safety program, the agency added. During the filming of Deadpool 2 in Vancouver, stunt double Joi Harris died when she was ejected from the motorcycle she was operating and crashed into the window of a building, ultimately striking the window frame. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/deadpool-2-stunt-death-caused-by-inadequate-workplace-set-up-by-filmmakers-1245049/#! They were fined $300,000. That's how much this woman's life was worth to production. Edited at 2022-09-27 12:52 pm (UTC) Government investigators into the 2017 motorcycle stunt person death on the set of Deadpool 2 have concluded the fatality was due to inadequate planning and other safety violations by the filmmakers and not rider error, it was announced Wednesday.TCF (TCF Vancouver Productions Ltd) failed to conduct a risk assessment addressing safety controls, speed of the motorcycle, and equipment limitations, WorkSafeBC, the Canadian equivalent of OSHA, wrote in its final report after investigating the workplace fatality.The employer failed to complete important health and safety documentation, including a stunt safety inspection checklist and a production activity notification checklist, as required by its own health and safety program, the agency added.During the filming of Deadpool 2 in Vancouver, stunt double Joi Harris died when she was ejected from the motorcycle she was operating and crashed into the window of a building, ultimately striking the window frame.They were fined $300,000. That's how much this woman's life was worth to production. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I don't understand the hand waving for Reynolds in the replies. I stopped watching his movies when this happened. He's been the main push for Deadpool on a higher level for, what, a decade or more. He's maintained that commitment since then, especially on his social media accounts. YouTube alone. Reply Parent Thread Link The only reason he is facing any charges is because the man could not humble himself and keep his damn mouth shut and now he is being used as an example for his behavior Reply Thread Link Didn't pull the trigger? Bullets don't just fly out of guns on their own. How does he suggest the bullet got out of the chamber? Reply Thread Link This is my question. Like even if you didnt intend to, clearly you did. Reply Parent Thread Link iirc he said it was an accidental discharge and had happened before on set Reply Parent Thread Link It happened before and they didn't triple check everything every time? Edited at 2022-09-27 05:35 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Honestly, I think if Alec Baldwin is charged, it will be as a producer, not as an actor. Actors, for good or ill, are generally treated like small children or trained animals on set (isolated in their trailers, escorted to where they need to be, props given to them only at the last minute in case they lose them, etc.) and are generally not held responsible for things (unless it's extremely bad behavior) because there's supposed to be a whole support structure idiot proofing the set for them and getting them where they need to be. In this case, the props person wasn't fully licensed to be an armorer, the first AD picked up the gun to hand it to the actor (should NEVER happen-- only the armorer touches the gun to hand it to the actor immediately before the shot and immediately takes it back again), the gun was used during a rehearsal (should NEVER happen), and who knows how many other half ass crewing decisions made on this set. The first AD is busted, because the AD is always the first person to go down in situations like this, but the producers should certainly be on the hook as well for setting up a dangerous situation through hiring, before we get to individual culpability. Reply Thread Link I also dont think its right to charge him as actor. Hes not the one who knows anything about weapons. His job is to hold them. But he was responsible for the person being employed who did this mistake handing someone a loaded gun for rehearsal purpose. Reply Parent Thread Link This will really all come down to what kind of producing he was doing. I don't think the producers should be charged as a monolith. 'Producer' is a catch all term that covers a whole range of tasks, and if there is more than one producer those tasks are divvied up. Actors given producing credits (in this case, and also likely in the Deadpool 2 case mentioned above) are generally focused on creative control. They're starring in the movie, so they want the final say on script and costume/hair/make-up and maybe casting. They want to make sure they have an interesting part to play and won't look like a dweeb, and are working with someone who is talented/hot/less hot than them. Unless they are VERY seasoned as producers they won't know ANYTHING about safety protocols, local labor laws, how many camera crew should be hired, etc. The last big film I was on there were two 'main' producers and they almost never talked in person. One was always in the office, talking to the studio, dealing with organizational stuff and making sure things were in place. The other one went out to set every day to see how things were actually being handled on the ground. It will be up to the prosecutor in this case to really take a look at job tasks and who was responsible for oversight and who should have seen this coming, in order to charge individuals not just crew roles. Reply Parent Thread Link I just remember some of the pettier details on set like how crew members from other departments had custom tee shirts ordered mocking their fellow crew saying "404 housing not found" and "ABQ is 50 miles away." All because the people who had been promised housing close to the set were not comfortable staying in an accommodation that was basically a shelter for the houseless or driving an hour after work in desert conditions only to have to turn around and come back hours later-I'd be interested to know what the turnaround time was. The production timeline for the movie was so abbreviated to serve Baldwin's busy schedule and he was the producer, writer, and lead on the production. This seems like it was very much his passion project. It's very disturbing to me how many corners were cut to stay within budget-the situation with the armorer was particularly egregious- yet they went out of their way to get custom tees mocking part of the crew. It was also crazy to watch the whole thing unfold in the facebook comments section of a video Alec Baldwin posted in support of the IATSE strike. One of the camera department was like "Uhhh, I'm on a set with you right now and you're treating us like dogshit" which precipitated the set walk-off. The set sounded like a fucking clownshow, Halina deserved so much better. Edited at 2022-09-27 03:16 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Honestly we shouldn't want a precedent to be set where actors are held responsible for checking or monitoring firearms (or other dangerous items) while on a movie set. It was not and should not be the responsibility of someone like Alec, with zero training or expertise, to be checking and monitoring that gun. These people don't know what the fuck they're doing and the standard for all dangerous items should probably be hiring licensed experts to maintain proper procedures on set, not make all actors responsible for involving themselves in risky things they don't understand. As a producer, it is on him, among others, to maintain proper standards and follow all rules. As an actor, it is on him to listen to the experts and follow all guidance. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link This. Actors come to set and are told what to do. There are stunt coordinators, armorers, propmasters, and union reps involved on the backend whose job is to ensure safety guidelines are followed. If Alec were not involved as a producer I would say this is just a horrible, horrible tragedy for him too. I think whether hes personally culpable depends on his level of involvement on the production side - was he privy to anything beyond financing? Was he the one choosing who to hire, or choosing to hide inexperienced people to save money? If he was merely following the instructions to shoot what he thought was a prop gun without live ammunition in it, hes not responsible. This absolutely should trigger stricter laws regarding gun safety on sets, but ultimately I think the biggest failure was on the part of the armorer (and the person who hired her!) whose literal job is to make sure there is NO way anything like this can happen. Unfortunately I dont think shes in any place financially to be able to give Halynas family the compensation they deserve. Its difficult too because every stunt coordinator, stuntman, prop master, armorer etc. get their start somewhere. The most experienced armorers are going to be working on big studio pictures and stuff with an actual budget. Union guidelines require armorers to hold safety meetings with the performers and crew prior to any scenes involving firearms, real or prop. Heres the bulletin theyre supposed to follow on sets: https://www.csatf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/01FIREARMS.pdf The armorer clearly did none of this. Its not an actors responsibility to open up a barrel and check that its empty, or test a prop prior to using it, unless directed to do so by the armorer or prop master. I dont like the comments that seem to almost be gleefully calling him a murderer or blaming him entirely for this tbh? We have no idea how involved he was. So many actors are involved as producers but its just a vanity credit that gets them extra $ on the backend. I really, really doubt that Alec himself was personally approving everyone hired, but if he was, then hes responsible. And one final note because I feel like people dont like how he has publicly responded and not taken responsibility - this is literally a potential lawsuit, his lawyers are 100% telling him not to say anything that could even possibly be construed as taking responsibility because that places him in the position to be sued and even just to say I am so sorry and devastated is an admission of guilt and responsibility. I dont think hes sitting around laughing about how he got away with murder like some people are implying - he seemed genuinely devastated to me. Edited at 2022-09-28 12:12 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link If the process engineering can bring the roll to roll manufacturing to commercial scale at great economy, solar energy harvesting might get quite a boost. Chemical and biomolecular engineer Aditya Mohite says the new approach is as efficient as most commercially available solar cells. Rice University engineers have shown the manufacture of high-efficiency solar cells with layers of 2D and 3D perovskites may be simplified by solvents that allow solution deposition of one layer without destroying the other. The work solved a long-standing conundrum in making stable, efficient solar panels out of halide perovskites. The effort took finding the right solvent design to apply a 2D top layer of desired composition and thickness without destroying the 3D bottom one (or vice versa). Such a cell would turn more sunlight into electricity than either layer on its own, with better stability. Chemical and biomolecular engineer Aditya Mohite and his lab at Rices George R. Brown School of Engineering reported in Science their success at building thin 3D/2D solar cells that deliver a power conversion efficiency of 24.5%. Thats as efficient as most commercially available solar cells, Mohite said. Mohite noted, This is really good for flexible, bifacial cells where light comes in from both sides and also for back-contacted cells. The 2D perovskites absorb blue and visible photons, and the 3D side absorbs near-infrared. The new advance largely removes the last major roadblock to commercial production he added. Perovskites are crystals with cubelike lattices known to be efficient light harvesters, but the materials tend to be stressed by light, humidity and heat. Mohite and many others have worked for years to make perovskite solar cells practical. Mohite explained, This is significant at multiple levels. One is that its fundamentally challenging to make a solution-processed bilayer when both layers are the same material. The problem is they both dissolve in the same solvents. When you put a 2D layer on top of a 3D layer, the solvent destroys the underlying layer. But our new method resolves this. For background Mohite said 2D perovskite cells are stable, but less efficient at converting sunlight. 3D perovskites are more efficient but less stable. Combining them incorporates the best features of both. This leads to very high efficiencies because now, for the first time in the field, we are able to create layers with tremendous control. It allows us to control the flow of charge and energy for not only solar cells but also optoelectronic devices and LEDs. The efficiency of test cells exposed to the lab equivalent of 100% sunlight for more than 2,000 hours does not degrade by even 1%. Not counting a glass substrate, the cells were about 1 micron thick. How they are made Solution processing is widely used in industry and incorporates a range of techniques spin coating, dip coating, blade coating, slot die coating and others to deposit material on a surface in a liquid. When the liquid evaporates, the pure coating remains. The key is a balance between two properties of the solvent itself: its dielectric constant and Gutmann donor number. The dielectric constant is the ratio of the electric permeability of the material to its free space. That determines how well a solvent can dissolve an ionic compound. The donor number is a measure of the electron-donating capability of the solvent molecules. Related: U.S. Fuel Exports Broke Records In The First Half Of 2022 If you find the correlation between them, youll find there are about four solvents that allow you to dissolve perovskites and spin-coat them without destroying the 3D layer, Mohite said. Their discovery should be compatible with roll-to-roll manufacturing that typically produces 30 meters of solar cell per minute. Co-author Jacky Even, a professor of physics at the National Institute of Science and Technology in Rennes, France said, This breakthrough is leading, for the first time, to perovskite device heterostructures containing more than one active layer. The dream of engineering complex semiconductor architectures with perovskites is about to come true. Novel applications and the exploration of new physical phenomena will be the next steps. Mohite added, This has implications not just for solar energy but also for green hydrogen, with cells that can produce energy and convert it to hydrogen. It could also enable non-grid solar for cars, drones, building-integrated photovoltaics or even agriculture. *** Perhaps this is the breakthrough that brings an alternative competitor to the dominating silicon solar cell. If the process engineering can bring the roll to roll manufacturing to commercial scale at great economy, solar energy harvesting might get quite a boost. This is a big effort that came to fruition. The co-author list is long, so for here is a list of institutions. For the full list of names, please see the press release or the study paper. The institutions are, Rice University, Northwestern University, Purdue University, University of Washington, Seattle, University of Rennes, and the Argonne National Laboratory. By New Energy and Fuel More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Finding tankers and insurance coverage not linked to the EU, the G7, or other countries that may join the price cap mechanism could be next to impossible. Vitol: The re-routing of Russian crude from West to East would put a strain on the shipping sector. With the EU embargo on imports of Russian oil starting in December, Russia will have to find new homes for around 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of its crude and refined product exports, which will be banned from entering EU and G7 countries unless the oil is sold at or below a certain price the buyers expect to set. Even if the price cap mechanism fails to work for the West, as many analysts expect, and even if Russia manages to divert all its previously EU-bound oil exports eastwards to Asia, this would create a shortage in the oil tanker market, sending shipping rates surging further. This would mean elevated oil prices, even for discounted Russian oil because of the high freight rates. Moreover, the available oil tankers not owned or tied to owners from the EU or G7 are simply not enough to handle the massive Russian oil exports, analysts say. The changing trade routes with much longer voyages from Russia's Baltic and Black Sea ports to Asia instead of just a week to travel to Europe would also tie up more tankers on months-long round trips. More vessels would be needed for ship-to-ship transfers from smaller Aframax tankers to very large crude carriers (VLCC) to ship the oil from ports very close to Europe all the way to Asia. Shipping Constraints While very bullish for the tanker owners and freight rates, the biggest oil trade shift in recent memory would create additional headaches for buyers amid lower tanker availability and higher prices due to a surge in shipping rates. The re-routing of Russian crude from West to East would put a strain on the shipping sector, Giovanni Serio, Global Head of Research at the world's largest independent oil trader, Vitol, said this week. The average Asia-bound route of at least 21 days is triple the Europe-bound voyage, which will result in almost a 3% rise in shipping activity measured in ton-miles, Serio said at the APPEC oil conference in Singapore, as carried by Reuters. Traders will face challenges in finding Aframaxes to load oil from Russian ports, Vitol's executive added. "There is already a lot of incentive to switch the ship size from Aframax into Vs (Very Large Crude Carriers) that are going to be more available," Serio said, but noted that VLCCs will need to be loaded via ship-to-ship transfers to load crude or products from smaller vessels. Price Cap 'Minefield' In another hurdle for oil shipping after the EU embargo and the price cap enter into force in December, traders and insurers aren't really sure how the price cap mechanism would work and how much oil flows could be affected. "We need buy-in from governments, and governments to guide us because it's a bit of a minefield," Vitol's chief executive Russell Hardy told the APPEC conference, as carried by Bloomberg. Related: Xi Is Set To Be Re-Elected As Chinas Leader Vitol will carefully assess the price cap developments "before we decide exactly what we think is right for Vitol," Hardy added. Vitol's Serio noted that capping the price of Russian oil but allowing it to flow would be a "potential relief valve" for the global oil market. Of course, if Putin makes good on his promise to halt all energy supplyincluding crude, fuels, natural gas, and coalto the countries that sign up to cap the price of Russian oil, "Russian oil will have to sail on non-Western tankers - and there aren't enough vessels to handle Russia's millions of barrels," according to Energy Intelligence. Finding tankers and insurance coverage not linked to the EU, the G7, or other countries that may join the price cap mechanism for the amount of oil Russia exports could be next to impossible. Reports have already emerged that India, which has been buying large volumes of Russian crude since the Russian invasion of Ukraine to take advantage of cheap oil, is set to slow purchases of the Russian oil this month and look to more African and Middle Eastern supply as shipping rates on longer voyages have jumped. After the EU embargo enters into force, India and China in theory could absorb additional Russian oil, but the banking sector would be wary of secondary sanctions from the U.S., and this could cap Russia's ability to export oil, Amrita Sen, founder and director of research at Energy Aspects, told Bloomberg television in an interview last week. In addition, Russia tying up a lot of oil on ships to Asia and then finding buyers would further raise freight rates, she added. Oil Transportation Bottlenecks? Europe-based major tanker owner and oil transportation services provider Frontline said in a presentation at the Pareto Conference this month that volumes of oil in transit continue to grow to unseasonably high volumes. The tanker market is now a "ton-mile story" as the Russian invasion of Ukraine is displacing crude and products trade flows, with "highly inefficient trading patterns developing." Global crude oil exports are approaching pre-Covid levels, while product flows and oil in transit are already there, Frontline said, adding that order books continue to dwindle, and there are no incentives to invest in new tanker capacity, yet. This could be the start of structural bottlenecks in oil transportation to come, the tanker fleet owner said. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Russia is likely to propose at the next OPEC+ meeting that the group cut 1 million barrels per day from the group's collective output, Reuters sources familiar with Russian thinking shared on Tuesday. The news comes just a day after comments made at Monday's APPEC's oil conference that suggested global oil stocks are set to rise next year amid weak demand and a strong dollarand that OPEC would have to cut output if they wanted to keep prices from falling further. OPEC would have to make oil cuts between 500,000 and 1 million bpd to keep Brent above $90 per barrel, Gary Ross, chief executive of Black Gold Investors, said at the meeting on Monday. Now Russia itself could recommend a million bpd cutand as one of the two largest members of the OPEC+ group, the county's recommendations hold weight. The next OPEC+ meeting will be held on October 5, which will determine the output targets for November. It is also in November when the current batch of U.S. SPR releases, which have helped to prop up low oil inventories, will cease. OPEC+ cut production targets for October by 100,000 bpd at the previous meeting, demonstrating its willingnessto respond to the changing oil markets in an expeditious manner. Brent crude was trading up $1.47 on Tuesday (+1.75%) to $85.53 per barrel, with mysterious and major leaks detected on Nordstream 1 and 2 pipelines that put the likelihood of gas flows resuming to Europe yet this year extremely low. Some industry analysts have suggested that OPEC+ could move to defend $90 per barrel. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Oil supermajors Chevron and BP have evacuated personnel and shut in production at some of their platforms in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Ian advances to the west coast of Florida, in the first shut-in of U.S. offshore oil and gas output this hurricane season. U.S. supermajor Chevron said it had begun transporting all personnel from its Petronius and Blind Faith platforms and was shutting in the facilities. The two platforms have a combined output of around 105,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and 90 million cubic feet per day of gas. Production at the other Chevron-operated Gulf of Mexico assets remains at normal levels, the company said. Both offshore and onshore, Chevron is following our storm plans and paying close attention to the forecast and track of Hurricane Ian, Chevron said. BP, for its part, said it had shut in production and evacuated all personnel from its 130,000-bpd Na Kika platform. The oil and gas major is also shutting in production and evacuating all essential personnel from the Thunder Horse platform, which has the capacity to pump 250,000 bpd of oil. Safety is our top priority and we will continue to monitor weather conditions closely to determine next steps, BP said. Shell told Reuters its output hadnt been impacted, but it was closely monitoring storm Ians path. Late on Monday, the National Weather Service said that Ian is expected to be a major hurricane in the eastern Gulf of Mexico during the middle of this week. Regardless of Ians exact track, there is a risk of a life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds, and heavy rainfall along the west coast/Panhandle of Florida by mid-week, the NWS added. Early on Tuesday, the NWS said that Hurricane Ian continues to intensify. Hurricane warnings and storm surge warnings have been issued for parts of the west coast of Florida including Tampa Bay. While the hurricane is not expected to hit refinery capacity along the Texas and Louisiana coasts, it could lead to the shut-in of more oil and gas production in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico later this week. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Analysts are worried that the leakages and explosions on both lines are not an incident but linked to the launch of the Baltic Pipe. The temporary optimism among European politicians and governments about a less volatile natural gas market during the winter of 2022-2023 has come to an end. Just as market fundamentals seemed to be strengthening as a result of rising storage volumes and lower demand, there are a number of new risks. First of all, the Dutch government announced this week that Europes largest onshore gas field Groningen will be put on the back burner, with gas production of less than 2 BCM, as predictions showed no extra volumes are needed anymore. The reality, however, might be more difficult to predict. With a longer duration of the Ukraine war, possibly even with a nuclear scenario at play, and EU sanctions on Russian oil on the horizon, the market is potentially heading for a dark scenario. In all existing scenarios, even those of the Dutch government, Russian natural gas would be still flowing in the next couple of months, albeit at very low levels. At the same time, new supply has been studied, not only LNG imports but also the potential of the new Baltic gas pipeline which has now been opened in Poland. Optimism however is a bad advisor, as we can see today. Nord Stream 1 and 2 have been hit by leakages and explosions on Tuesday. Danish authorities already have warned vessels to steer away from the island of Bornholm, as a gas leak has been reported at the Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Nord Stream AG, the operator, also said that Nord Stream 1 has operational issues, including a power drop in both lines. On Monday, the German regulator had already stated that the pressure in Nord Stream 2 had dropped from 105 to 7 bars. Both gas pipelines are currently already empty, as Russia has cut off gas supplies before. Related: Xi Is Set To Be Re-Elected As Chinas Leader Analysts are worried that the leakages and explosions on both lines are not an incident but linked to the launch of the Baltic Pipe, which carries Norwegian gas to Poland. It is rather coincidental that both Russian offshore gas pipelines are hit at the same time, or even just before the opening of another pipeline. The current developments already have led Danish operators and companies to increase their security levels. Kristoffer Bottzauw, Denmarks energy agency director, stated that Denmark wants to ensure thorough oversight of the countrys critical infrastructure to strengthen its security of supply. Sweden is not yet increasing its preparedness levels but is following all very closely. Without any doubt, the growing geopolitical and energy security position of Norway for the European market is being closely followed by Russia. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Norway has steadily increased its market share and volumes in the European market, partly at the cost of Russia. Additional Norwegian supplies to Europe are to be expected, which is something that Moscow is not going to take lightly. Norway has been for decades in the crosshairs of Russia (or the Soviet Union), as the Scandinavian giant is part of NATO. It controls access routes to major Russian naval and commercial ports, especially during the winter season. After Sweden and Finland are now also joining NATO, more military power is now concentrated on the northern border of Russia, at least thats how Moscow sees it. Norways growing energy influence could clearly become a target of Russian subversive activities if Moscow wants to hit Europe during winter. Last week, Norway has also reported increased activity of unknown and unidentified drones close to crucial offshore oil and gas infrastructure. Norways Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has now openly warned about the presence of unidentified drones near offshore oil and gas facilities. The PSA stated that operators have reported the presence of drones during the last couple of months, highlighting the potential of deliberate attacks. As the PSA said we urge increased vigilance, revised emergency preparedness and incident response measures, and information sharing. Even though no official connection has been made with state actors, the current situation could become very volatile in case of further escalation on the Ukrainian front. The security of offshore energy production, especially in the North Sea, is still very weak. A potential aggressor could without any doubt take advantage of the situation and deal significant damage to Europes energy market during the coming months. Norways offshore oil and gas infrastructure is a highly strategic target for Moscow. Putin could, and most probably, will exploit additional energy infrastructure weaknesses this winter. Not only other Russian oil and gas pipelines will be seeing unexpected technical issues or sabotage, but third parties could also become a target. A disruption of Norwegian energy supplies to the European Union or the UK could lead to faster depletion of natural gas storage facilities in Europe a potentially add to the already existing chaos in the energy market. By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Russian society is perturbed by the mobilization, and its reluctant compliance may soon turn into anger about the mistreatment of new draftees and the rush of their deployment to the trenches without proper training. Russian President Vladimir Putins September 21 address to the nation could prove to be one of his most fateful blunders in his disastrous war in Ukraine. In his 15-minute pre-recorded speech, Putin announced support for the referendums in four Ukrainian regions, declared partial mobilization in Russia, accused the West of aggressive Russophobia and threatened to use nuclear weapons. The Russian leader concluded by expressing confidence in the support of Russian citizens (Nezavisimaya gazeta, September 21). These propositions have proved to be delusions. It should be no surprise that the ongoing referendums in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, taking place with barely a pretense of legitimacy, will be rejected by Ukraine as null and void, condemned by the West and ignored by China (Meduza, September 23). Furthermore, it is clear that threats from the West to destroy Russia are nothing more than a figment of Putins imagination and a fake propaganda scare (Kommersant, September 23). In this context, however, examining the connection between the decision for partial mobilization and the escalation of nuclear blackmail is critical. In Soviet strategic manuals, mobilization was rigidly planned and tightly managed, which is the opposite of what is happening with the current effort. Students, who are supposed to be exempt, have been snatched from lectures, and protesters have been served draft papers in their detention cells (Novayagazeta.eu, September 22). Regional authorities, who had, until recently, followed the political instructions on dissuading any worries of mobilization, are now trying to organize public rallies in support of it and dragoon as many middle-aged men as possible to deliver on the Kremlins target numbers (Moskovsky komsomolets, September 23). The new saber-rattling tone of the propaganda campaign has produced panic among many of those who had remained indifferent to the execution of the special military operation. As a result, thousands of cars are stuck in lines at the border-crossings to Georgia and Kazakhstan, while the prices of plane tickets to Turkey and every available foreign destination have gone through the ceiling (The Bell, September 24). The mobilization sets a hard test for public support of the Ukraine war, which is lukewarm at best and had been underpinned by the widespread and carefully cultivated perception that everyday life was generally carrying on as normal (Forbes.ru, September 23). This illusion is now shattered; the inevitable result has been a spike in anxiety and perturbation of Russian society, accompanied by a profound disorganization in many economic activities (Republic.ru, September 22). The military-bureaucratic apparatus has also been pushed beyond its limits; the old Soviet infrastructure for mobilization has been dismantled in the course of reforms aimed at building a compact professional army. As a result, the capacity for processing hundreds of thousands of new conscripts, in addition to the soon-to-be-announced annual autumn draft, is nonexistent (Novayagazeta.eu, September 22). The brigades whose battalion tactical groups (BTGs) have suffered heavy losses in Ukraine are unable to provide proper training for fresh recruits. Worse, a lack of uniforms, rations and weapons makes properly outfitting these soldiers nearly impossible (Svoboda.org, September 22). The shocking defeat of the Russian army in Kharkiv region made the mobilization necessary. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu tried to explain away the rout as a regrouping, but he failed to convince even the war-mongering patriotic bloggers, who decried a shortage of troops for the next offensive (Svobodnaya pressa, September 21). In fact, the ragtag forces comprised of depleted BTGs, motley volunteer battalions from the Donetsk and Luhansk quasi-republics and Wagner mercenaries are, at present, barely able to hold their defensive positions. Perhaps, then, the announcement of mobilization is supposed to restore their fighting spirit (Meduza, September 22). The reinforcements, however, cannot possibly come in the next couple of months, and Ukrainian forces keep probing for weak spots in the long front line, all the while hitting Russian supply logistics with long-range weapon systems (Nezavisimoe voennoe obozrenie, September 22). Another breakthrough across the Oskil River into Luhansk region or a routing of the hard-pressed Kherson grouping on the west side of the Dnipro River could signify the fiasco of Putins new war plan for consolidating control over the occupied territories of Ukraine and incorporating them into Russia (Grani.ru, September 22). Related: Will Oil Prices Bounce Back Above $100 This Year? Russian high command believes the Ukrainian armys offensive operations are minutely planned and effectively controlled by US advisers and NATO headquarters, where the warnings about the imminent use of nuclear weapons for protecting Moscows newly expanded territorial integrity will be taken quite seriously (Nezavisimaya gazeta, September 18). However, this blackmail is not only based on wrong assumptions, but it also misconstrues Russias ability to use its nuclear instruments (Re-russia.net, September 23). In the past decade, massive investments have been directed into the modernization of Russias strategic arsenal, particularly the Borei-class submarines, and while some weapon systems, such as the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, exist only in Putins imagination, those that are maintained in high-readiness status are entirely unsuitable for delivering strikes on Ukrainian positions (Novayagazeta.eu, August 20). Non-strategic nuclear warheads have, for the past 30 years, remained under lock and key in a dozen of centralized storage sites and making them operational involves much more work than pressing the proverbial red nuclear button. Many untrained nervous hands are needed to handle even a single nuclear munition, thus the risk of human error is extremely high. Furthermore, some officers in the long chain of command might refuse the responsibility of starting a nuclear war. Russian society is perturbed by the abrupt start of mobilization, and its reluctant compliance may soon turn into anger about the mistreatment of new draftees and the rush of their deployment to the trenches without proper training. In this light, every tactical success of the Ukrainians flexible offensive might produce heavy political resonance and expose Putins miscalculations and incompetence in war management. The Russian presidents decision-making is shaped by an amalgam of the fear of losing power, mistrust in the top brass and a burning desire to destroy Ukraine. Yet, none of these feelings are shared by the majority of Russians, who are also apprehensive of nuclear brinksmanship. Abandoning denials and delays in decreeing mobilization, Putin has sought to postpone the moment when looming defeat would leave him with the undesirable option of nuclear escalation. Instead, he himself has brought this fateful moment closer. By The Jamestown Foundation More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Amid warnings from experts that the copper market should brace up for a supply squeeze, Chinas demand for the metal is set for growth despite a slump in housing construction. According to data from CRU Group, the growth will come from EVs and renewable energy installations, Bloomberg reports. The total demand rise wont be a huge one, at 0.8 percent for this year, to 15.55 million tons, but growth from the auto and energy sectorspecifically transmissionwill be a more sizeable 4 percent, the data showed. At the same time, demand from the construction industry will shed 4 percent. Last month, analysts from ANZ forecast that Chinas copper demand could benefit from the countrys power shortages by prompting the authorities to accelerate grid update and expansion projects. The continuing buildout of wind and solar installations will claim a large chunk of the higher copper demand, too. "China's push for installing infrastructure to deliver 1,200 gigawatt of renewable energy capacity by 2025 would require an additional 3 million tonnes of copper, which would see annual copper demand from solar and wind increase by nearly 1 million tonnes," the ANZ analysts said in August. Meanwhile, Europe has emerged as the main driver for copper prices, replacing China. Because of the decline in copper demand in Europe resulting from a recession in the manufacturing sector, prices for the metal have fallen and are likely to remain depressed, Reuters reported earlier this month. According to analysts, the manufacturing downturn in Europe is and will continue be so bad that even China will not be able to make up for it with its healthier demand for the basic metal. "The economic outlook ex-China has worsened, particularly in Europe due to the ongoing energy crisis," Marcus Garvey, analyst at Macquarie, told Reuters. "We do not think China will be able to offset the slowdown elsewhere. Inventories will build next year, but how much will be visible is difficult to say." By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Photo: pixabay Numerous British Columbia government websites were out of service for almost 12 hours last weekend. The Ministry of Citizens Services said that between 1:26 p.m. Sunday and 12:30 a.m. Monday, an undetermined number of websites were inaccessible due to maintenance gone awry. This was caused by an issue with scheduled firmware update from one of our service providers and there continues to be no indication of malicious intent, said a statement from the ministry. On Monday, the ministry said it was unable to confirm the number of websites impacted, but this was a widespread, intermittent outage. We are currently working with our service delivery partners Advanced Solutions and Hewlett Packard Enterprise to investigate root cause of the outage. The first major public notification of trouble came on the DriveBC Twitter account at 2:15 p.m. Sunday, when it announced a network outage. The entire highways information website was down, so none of the highway traffic cameras across B.C. was accessible. The Lions Gate Bridge was also affected by a service outage, which meant less-frequent lane changes and additional southbound congestion. Other inaccessible websites included Premier John Horgans page, Government Communications and Public Engagement and the public-facing government employees directory. The NDP government budgeted $173.4 million for enterprise services this year, up from $146.1 million last year, including information technology infrastructure, and network and data services. The outage came almost two years after a cyber incident at the Legislative Assembly. The Legislatures website was taken down Nov. 10, 2020 and replaced with an image that claimed it was subject to unscheduled maintenance. The Clerks office finally admitted on Nov. 19, 2020 that it had been hacked, but downplayed the severity and said no data had been lost. The all-party Legislative Assembly Management Committee (LAMC) and Clerks office have not released the report into what went wrong. Then-BC Liberal house leader Peter Milobar expressed frustration at a July 2021 meeting over increasing IT costs and continuing network outages at constituency offices stemming from the incident. Our own ability to service our constituents has been eight months of complete frustration that seems to not be getting any better if anything, getting worse, Milobar said. The $5.8 million allotted for IT is the biggest line item in the Legislative Operations budget for the current fiscal year. Strikes at several refineries across France have left half of its refineries offline or without sending out fuels, as refinery workers stepped up industrial actions over pay disputes this week Three of TotalEnergies refineries and a storage site are not sending fuel as of Tuesday, an official at the French union CGT told Reuters. The 240,000 barrel per day (bpd) Gonfreville oil refinery operated by TotalEnergies, the 119,000 bpd Feyzin oil refinery, La Mede biorefinery, and the Cote dOpale storage site near Dunkirk are not sending fuel currently, CGT delegate Thierry Defresne told Reuters. The strike is expected to continue until September 29. Together with the strike at the ExxonMobil refineries, around half of Frances refinery capacity is currently offline. Frances crude refining capacity is just over 1.4 million bpd, the fourth highest in Europe after Germany, Italy, and Spain, according to the Oil & Gas Journal data cited by the EIA. TotalEnergies has prepared logistically ahead of the announced strike, a spokesperson told Reuters. In anticipation of the strike, TotalEnergies has taken the necessary logistical measures to be able to supply its service station network and its customers normally, the spokesperson said. ExxonMobil, for its part, is continuing its dialogue with unions after shutting down the 240,000-bpd Port Jerome-Gravenchon and the 235,000-bpd Fos-Sur-Mer refineries at the end of last week, The disruption at the French refinery comes amid a worsening energy crisis in Europe, which is trying to procure non-Russian sources of crude ahead of an EU embargo on imports from Russia by sea as of early December. Currently, Europe still imports over 1 million bpd of Russian crude, attempting to fill up before the EU-wide embargo on Russian oil imports by sea comes into effect. Yet, the global oil market will have to prepare itself for a loss of 2.4 million bpd supply when the EU embargo kicks in; an additional 1 million bpd of products and 1.4 million bpd of crude will have to find new homes, the IEA said. By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Nikola Corp. is recalling all 93 battery-electric Nikola Tre Class 8 trucks it has built to date because improper installation of the shoulder anchorage assembly of the seat belts could reduce protection in a crash. Nikola imports cabs from Italy, where they are built by manufacturing partner Iveco, which is responsible for the defect. The electric truck maker began regular production at a new plant in Coolidge, Arizona, in March. It reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Sept. 14 that it has no warranty or customer claims for the issue. The assembly as designed and installed could become detached under the weight of a passenger. The seat belt anchor assembly design does not allow full thread engagement for the anchor bolt. It may cause cross threading, a condition in which a fastening screw does not engage correctly with a nut. Discovered during predelivery inspection During a predelivery inspection at a dealership on July 18, a Nikola employee discovered the shoulder anchorage on the passenger side seat belt was disconnected from the B-pillar adjuster. Nikola told Iveco, which said the final torque on the passenger seat belt shoulder anchorage was not installed to specification. Nikola will replace the components of the seat belt anchor assembly and the adjuster on all vehicles for free. The replacement component is narrower than the original, allowing the assembly to completely thread. Customer and dealer letters about the defect will be mailed between Oct. 1 and Nov. 1. The NHTSA recall number is 22V689. Milton trial resumes Wednesday Separately, the federal fraud trial for Nikola founder Trevor Milton resumes Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Dour market conditions, and possibly attention from the trial, dragged Nikolas stock price 24.02% lower last week to close at $3.89 a share, just above its 52-week low of $3.82. By Zerohedge.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Norway will beef up its security at its oil and gas installations after three explosions rocked the Nordstream 1 & 2 pipelines, the countrys oil and energy minister said on Tuesday. Germanys economy minister also offered words of strength on Tuesday, saying that it knows how toand candefend its infrastructure. This week, both Danish and Swedish authorities reported leaks from both the Nordstream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Neither pipeline was operational at the time, but contained gas, which is now leaking into the surrounding waters. European officials and analysts say the leaks cannot be coincidental. A German official says evidence points to sabotage rather than a mere technical issue. The Swedish National Seismology Center said that measurement stations in Sweden and Denmark had registered powerful subsea blasts. 13 nautical miles southwest of the Denmark Island of Bornholm, one of the three Nordstream pipeline gas leaks can be seen via satellite. The damage shows a major rupture that can be seen impacting the water across a 700-meter diameter areanearly a kilometer. According to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, there were three leaks across Nordstream 1 and 2. It is difficult to imagine that it could be accidental, Frederiksen said. The Polish Prime Minister called it a clear act of sabotage. The Kremlin said that no cause should be ruled out at this stage. Just yesterday, Norways Petroleum Safety Authority cautioned that there had been reports of unidentified drones close to offshore facilities. The PSA warned that not only could it impact the transportation of oil and gas workers onto platforms, but the drones could also be used for deliberate attacks. The odds of Nordstream 1 resuming operations yet this year are near zero, S&P Platts James Huckstepp said on Tuesday. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Danish and Swedish authorities are investigating unexplained leaks of gas in the sea from both Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines from Russia to Germanyleaks that Germany suspects could be the result of sabotage, while Russia says sabotage cannot be ruled out right now. Both Nord Stream 1 and 2 are currently offline. Russia shut down Nord Stream 1 indefinitely early this month, saying Western sanctions had prevented turbine repairs. Nord Stream 2, on the other hand, had its certification suspended by Germany when Russia invaded Ukraine. This week, Danish and Swedish authorities reported leaks from both pipelines - not operational but containing gas - in the Baltic Sea. European officials and analysts say the leaks cannot be coincidental, while a German official says evidence points to sabotage rather than a mere technical issue. On Monday, the Danish Energy Agency said that authorities were informed about a pressure drop in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The preliminary assessment indicates that a leak has occurred from one of the two Nord Stream 2 pipelines in the Danish area Southeast of Dueodde at Bornholm from where natural gas is leaking, Denmark said, while the Danish Maritime Authority released a navigational warning and established a prohibitive zone within 5 nautical miles of the pipeline, as it is dangerous for naval traffic. The Swedish authorities also issued warnings for vessel navigation and aircraft after leaks were detected at Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, the Swedish Maritime Administration said on Tuesday. The Swedish agency has no information on the cause of the leaks, it said. Germany, the endpoint of Nord Stream and until recently the biggest gas buyer from Russia, suspects the leaks are the result of sabotage rather than technical issues, a German security official told Bloomberg on Tuesday. Russia, for its part, said that right now, nothing should be ruled out. Obviously, there is some kind of damage to the pipeline. No option can be ruled out until the results of the investigation are released, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian reporters on Tuesday when asked if the Kremlin thinks this could have been sabotage. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com The surge in LNG prices has caused the international market for the fuel to concentrate in the hands of several large players, with a multitude of small LNG traders getting squeezed out. Reuters noted in a report today that the physical LNG market had swelled twofold since 2011, which has led to the increase in the numbers of LNG traders, especially small ones. These small traders, according to the report, accounted for a fifth of Chinas imports of the liquefied fuel. The price spike that came amid Europes energy crisis, however, has left many of these small players struggling, giving the upper hand to larger LNG traders with the means to weather the price shock and take advantage of it. The price for a cargo of liquefied natural gas, the report notes, has risen from between $15 to $20 million in 2020 to between $175 and $200 million today. This has reflected an increase of benchmark LNG prices from less than $2 per mmBtu in 2020 to $57 in August this year. Prices have eased since hitting that high but they remain significantly elevated. "The biggest challenge facing every market participant right now is credit," the head of one small LNG trader that had to shrink its operations told Reuters. "The ballooning of LNG cargo values, along with the spike in volatility, has ... put quite a strain on those players operating with smaller balance sheets," the managing director of LNG consultancy Capra Energy said. The higher prices are going nowhere, too. According to a recent study by Rystad Energy, commissioned by the API and the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers, Europes demand for U.S. LNG may have been underestimated in earlier forecasts. In fact, Rystad said, demand could grow by as much as 150 percent between 2021 and 2040. With LNG producers having to play catch-up with demand, chances are that the LNG market will remain dominated by large players. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: LINCOLN Gov. Pete Ricketts said Monday that Nebraskans should be required to show photographic identification before voting, even though he acknowledged there have been few cases of voter fraud in the state. The time to try to correct your system is not after you discover theres fraud, he said. You want to be proactive. The governor commented during his monthly radio call-in show in response to a Lincoln man, identified as Steve. Steve questioned the need for Initiative 432, a proposal to amend the Nebraska Constitution to require that people show valid photographic identification before casting a ballot. He said Secretary of State Bob Evnen has said there has been no systemic voter fraud in the state. But Ricketts said he absolutely supported the initiative measure and predicted the majority of voters will support it as well. He said that people have concerns about the integrity of voting systems stemming from the 2020 election and that voter ID would be one step to protect Nebraska elections. I think its another way to let our voters here in the state know that were taking steps to protect the integrity of our election system, he said. Its one of the ways we can make people feel good about what were doing here. Republicans nationwide, led by former President Donald Trump, made false claims that massive voting irregularities in 2020 gave the presidency to the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden. They have continued to make the claims despite a lack of evidence. Initiative 432 was placed on the ballot through a petition drive led by Citizens for Voter ID. State campaign finance records show that Ricketts mother, Marlene Ricketts, provided nearly $1.9 million of the groups nearly $2.1 million in funding. If the measure is approved by voters, it would be up to the Legislature to determine the types of identification that would be acceptable. The ballot measure specifies only that the ID must be valid and photographic. Ricketts said the Legislature would determine how the requirement would be carried out in the case of mail-in ballots. The measure says the requirement to provide ID applies to any election, with no distinction between mail-in ballots and those cast in person. People interested in learning more about the pros and cons of Initiative 432 and a second ballot measure will have opportunities at a series of public hearings put on by the Secretary of States Office. The hearings are required by law for proposals put on the ballot through initiative petition drives. The second measure, Initiative 433, would gradually increase the states minimum wage from the current $9 per hour up to $15 per hour by 2026. Evnens office also has prepared informational pamphlets about the two proposals. The pamphlets will be available at the hearings, at county elections offices, at the Secretary of States Office and online at https://sos.nebraska.gov/elections/2022-elections. The hearings will be: Oct. 6 in North Platte Mid-Plains Community College South Campus, McDonald Belton Theater, 601 West State Farm Road. Minimum wage: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Voter ID: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 11 in Omaha Thompson Alumni Center, Bootstrapper Hall, 6705 Dodge St. Voter ID: 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Minimum wage: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 18 in Lincoln Nebraska State Capitol, Hearing Room 1525, 1445 K St. Minimum wage: 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Voter ID: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. LINCOLN Gov. Pete Ricketts celebrated Nebraskas child welfare workers Tuesday while acknowledging that 6 of 10 case workers in the Omaha area have caseloads exceeding state standards. He said the state has struggled to gain ground on caseloads after taking back management of Douglas and Sarpy County cases from a Kansas-based contractor. The contract with St. Francis Ministries of Wichita, Kansas, ended June 30, but all cases were transferred by the end of March. Nebraska ended the contract in part because the nonprofit never met the caseload limits set by state law. Ricketts said the nonprofit did a poor job hiring and keeping case managers, a problem that continued when the state took over. We started behind the eight-ball with getting case managers, he said, adding that Nebraskas historic low unemployment rates also hampered efforts to bring on more workers. HHS data shows that nearly 40% of workers in the Douglas and Sarpy County region had caseloads within the limits set by state law in August. That was in the same range as St. Francis achieved in its last year. Statewide, 71% of workers had caseloads within state standards in August. Keeping caseloads at manageable levels is critical for the success of child welfare because it allows workers time to focus on the needs of the children and families they are working with. Both Ricketts and Stephanie Beasley, children and family services director for the Department of Health and Human Services, expressed hope that the situation will improve with time. Alger Studstill, deputy children and family services director, said the state hired 105 new child welfare specialists between March and July. That is in addition to the 205 or so workers who made the switch from St. Francis to the state in the first months of the year. The former St. Francis workers already had cases they were working on. The new workers have to complete 14 weeks of training before they can take cases. They start out taking only a few cases, then work their way up to a full load. Those new workers with partial caseloads are counted among the 40% who meet state standards. Studstill said the state is ramping up efforts to find and hire more child welfare workers. That includes multiple in-person and virtual hiring events, at which people can interview and get a job offer immediately. In addition, Ricketts said, the state increased pay for child welfare workers by about 20% last year. He said the bump has helped cut turnover among workers. Our recruitment efforts are fast and furious, Beasley said, adding: This is my plug that anybody who is interested in a position to change kids lives, give us a chance. Its powerful, amazing work. Goodbye, Lincoln. Hello again, Offutt! Friday, the RC-135 reconnaissance jets based at Offutt Air Force Base near Bellevue will return from an 18-month hiatus at the Lincoln Airport. The E-4B command and control aircraft will follow a few days later. They will land on a brand-new runway, fully reconstructed for the first time since the airfield was built in 1941. It brings to a close an 18-month construction project that was years in the making, executed at a cost of $200 million to the Air Force: $169 million for the new runway and apron and $31 million for the temporary facilities at Lincoln. Thats within budget and on time, said Rob Hufford, chief of construction management for the project. This has been a large part of my professional life for the last four years, Hufford said. Its nice to see it coming to an end. The 55th Wing is planning a celebration Friday to welcome home the planes and about 750 military and civilian workers who endured the long commute to Lincoln for a year and a half. Buses chalked up 19,000 trips and 1.2 million road miles from Offutt to Lincoln, according to a 55th Wing press release. Its taken a toll on the airmen, said Maj. Brian Ross, a pilot and director of Offutts project management office. This is going to lift a big burden. Covering the costs of that commute cost the Air Force another $17 million. A ribbon will be cut on the rebuilt runway at 2 p.m. Friday. The first RC-135 will land 15 minutes later, piloted by Col. Kristen Thompson, the 55th Wing commander. The event also will include a military working dog demonstration and the arrival of several vintage aircraft. Offutts Heartland of America Band will play. The event is open only to military ID card holders and their families. Pilots landing at Offutt will notice a few differences in the runway. Gone is a distinctive 8-foot hump near the north threshold as well as a corresponding dip farther south. Before, Ross said, it was almost like landing in a spoon. Also new: the runways name. Now it will be called Runway 13-31, representing its compass directions (130 degrees when approaching from the northwest, 310 degrees from the southeast). It used to be called Runway 12-30. But the Earths magnetic north pole has shifted since it was first built. So north is in a slightly different direction. At 150 feet wide, the new concrete runway is the same width as the old one. But the 25-foot shoulders on either side are a third as wide as before, consistent with modern safety standards. That means a lot less snow to clear in the winter, Hufford said. The new surface is 19 inches thick, a combination of concrete and asphalt he said will be easier to maintain than the old one. For years, the old surface had been crumbling. Offutt airmen had to be especially watchful for loose chunks of asphalt and other debris, which are dangerous if ingested into a jet engine. New flush-mounted runway lights have been installed. The old ones stuck up at least a foot above the pavement. At night now, its definitely easier to see, Hufford said. Now anything can roll over without hitting them wing tips, snowplows. The airfield has a new turnaround and parking area at the south end of the runway, wide enough for two large jets to park side by side. Its similar to the hammerhead at the north end. Taxiway Papa also has been extended. Offutt Air Force Base has given the military a presence in the Omaha area since its establishment as an Army post called Fort Crook in the 1890s. It gained an aviation presence when an airstrip was dedicated in 1924 and named for 1st Lt. Jarvis Offutt, a pilot from Omaha who died in World War I. The paved runway was built in 1941 to serve the new Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant, which produced more than 2,000 military aircraft during World War II. It was extended to its current length in the mid-1950s, several years after the former Army post officially became Offutt Air Force Base. Over the years, the original concrete runway was patched and repaired but never completely replaced. By 2015, it had deteriorated so badly that it was ranked as the worst of any at the 17 bases operated by the Air Forces Air Combat Command. The quantity of repairs we had to do just kept growing, Hufford said. Articles in The World-Herald brought to light the poor condition of the runway. Nebraskas political leaders worked together to secure funding to rebuild the runway and to raise the levees protecting it from the nearby Missouri River. When Hufford took charge of the project four years ago, the Air Force still hadnt decided on the scope of the reconstruction or how long the runway would be closed. A team from the Air Force Civil Engineer Center recommended a full replacement, one designed to last 50 years. The construction contract was awarded in June 2020. Work started the following winter. The first aircraft moved to renovated facilities in Lincoln that originally had been built for the Air Force in the mid-1950s. Engineers took advantage of the hiatus to complete other construction work at Offutt. Both the E-4B hangar and the airport control tower were renovated, including replacement of the towers leaky windows. The runway project now becomes part of Offutts biggest makeover since World War II. In 2019, U.S. Strategic Command opened its new $1.3 billion headquarters, turning over its old 1957 building to the 55th Wing. And the Air Force recently has cleared ground for construction of eight new campuses on the south side of the runway, tearing down more than 100 buildings totaling about 1.2 million square feet of office space that were destroyed in the March 2019 flood. Those projects are expected to cost more than $1 billion and be completed in about five years. As soon as the mobilization was announced, this former Russian officer jumped in his car and drove to Finland with only one suitcase. "I don't Omaha-born Malcolm X is one of the leading figures in Americas battle for civil rights, so its entirely fitting that a state commission has chosen him to be the newest member of the Nebraska Hall of Fame. The human rights activist, who was born in 1925 as Malcolm Little, had been nominated for the Hall of Fame at least twice before. Fifteen years ago, he was deemed too controversial. But this year, commissioners voted 4 to 3 for him, then agreed to make the vote unanimous. He will be officially inducted in 2024 and his bust will be displayed along with 26 others in the State Capitol. Malcolm X was known for his fiery oratory that helped deliver a message of self-sufficiency and independence for Black people. Assassinated by a gunman 57 years ago, he continues to be viewed as a leading voice for equality and freedom. His life story of overcoming adversity has been widely read in The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Its true that Malcolm Xs time in Nebraska was short. His family moved when he was 18 months old because of threats from the Ku Klux Klan. Arguably, though, Nebraska had a profound effect on Malcolm X and his views precisely because of the reason for his brief time here. The first chapter of his book begins with this sentence: When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home in Omaha, Nebraska, one night. His birthsite sits on 17 acres in the heart of North Omaha and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is maintained by the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation, which has campaigned for him to be inducted in the state Hall of Fame. Schmeeka Simpson, director of tours with the foundation, said in a World-Herald article about the vote that his induction is an opportunity to show that Nebraska is a state that considers all men created equal. As our state motto says: Equality before the law. Photo: The Canadian Press Nuchatlaht and Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation leaders and supporters rally at the BC Supreme Court in Vancouver on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, ahead of closing arguments in an Indigenous title case between the Nuchatlaht First Nation and the B.C. government. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Brieanna Charlebois The lawyer for a First Nation fighting for title to part of Nootka Island in British Columbia says in his closing argument that the underlying objective of the court proceeding is reconciliation. Jack Woodward says the province missed its opportunity and has instead placed "the burden of reconciliation squarely on the court," in a test for the landmark 2014 Tsilhqot'in Aboriginal title decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. The lawsuit filed by the Nuchatlaht First Nation in B.C. Supreme Court in 2017 asserts that the B.C. and federal governments denied Nuchatlaht rights by authorizing logging and "effectively dispossessing" the nation of territory on Vancouver Island's west coast. The B.C. government denies that the Nuchatlaht hold Aboriginal title over the 230-square-kilometre area, including parts of Nootka Island, and says it has met its obligations under agreements with the nation related to forest resources. Woodward argues the Nuchatlaht occupied and used the claimed area before and during 1846, when the Crown asserted sovereignty over what is now B.C. Supporters of the claim rallied outside the court complex in Vancouver before closing arguments began. BLOOMINGTON Besides the fitness amenities, visitors to the new $23 million Bloomington-Normal YMCA facility are being greeted by a vibrant sight: a new art gallery aimed at celebrating diversity and inclusion. Curated by Jan Brandt Gallery, the area features seven original pieces from local artists ranging in style from oil and acrylic paints to monk's cloth and yarn. It is located on the first floor, just outside the PNC Learn and Play Center for Children. "The artists worked within the Y themes of 'All are Welcome,'" Brandt said, "and celebrating unity, respect and diversity." She said the artists were as diverse as the paintings "with ages ranging from 13 to 60-plus." Camila Marianela, the Hispanic Outreach Program Director at Western Avenue Community Center, is one of the featured artists. Her piece, "Una Parte de Mi (A part of me)," is a hand-stitched like a carpet with eight types of yarn. Marianela said it is part of her "Alien" series in which she "seeks to empower, lighten, and take back the terminology 'alien,' into something worth celebrating." She said her narrative inspiration came from one of her clients, an immigrant seeking asylum in the U.S. Marianela said the man could not be fingerprinted because of numerous scars and calluses. She said he made carpets the old-fashioned way: by hand. "He did carpets for so many years to bring his family forward out of financial hardships that it actually had, like, callused his skin," Marianela said. She created her piece in honor of and in the style of her client: She stitched a carpet. Sheila Lamberson, a local oil painter, submitted her piece "Synchronicity" to symbolize the inclusivity of the YMCA. Her painting is an underwater view of a senior water aerobics class. "I really wanted to celebrate that age group as well, since I'm part of that age group now," Lamberson said. She said she took hundreds of underwater photographs during a swim aerobics session at the old YMCA. What struck her most, she said, was the participants' sense of community and friendship. "This class, they have this sense of community with one another; it was obvious that they knew each other," Lamberson said. "Even after the class ... they hung out in the water, and they continued to have this conversation and just be friends and enjoy each other's company. "And to me that really embodied, I thought, what we were trying to capture about the why about that inclusiveness and we have something for everyone," Lamberson said. Brandt submitted a painting as well. Her piece, she said, was inspired by a quote from the late poet Maya Angelou: "Try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud." Brandt said the act of being a rainbow for someone would boil down to a person's individual actions. "I used a palette knife to put layers and layers of these different colors ... each 'action' that I put would be reminiscent of an action by a person. "And then the totality of it would be the diversity of all the colors coming together." Brandt said that she eventually wants to fill the entire hallway, over 100 feet long, with artwork. YMCA membership is not required to view the artwork. However, because there are children coming and going through the area, non-members need special permission to see the gallery, said Brad Ruehrdanz, senior director of membership experience. They can visit us at the front desk of the Y and staff members can show them, he said. BLOOMINGTON Small businesses, nonprofits and affordable housing could see a cut of $13 million in federal COVID relief money under proposals being explored by Bloomington city leaders. During Monday's council meeting, Bloomington Economic and Community Development Director Melissa Hon and Deputy City Manager Billy Tyus presented an economic development program and two socioeconomic programs that could be supported with the American Rescue Plan Act funding. Tyus said he would hope to bring these defined programs to the council for approval in October. "I don't think there should be an assumption that the city funding is the only funding for some of the projects being proposed," Tyus said. "I think that in a lot of cases, we want to make sure they're sustainable and there's funding from other sources as well in addition to any city funding that was provided." The American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, was a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package passed in 2021 to help individuals and all levels of government recover from financial setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds must be allocated by 2024 and spent by 2026. The city of Bloomington was awarded about $13.4 million of these funds. In July, the council approved a framework for spending the money, agreeing to use $2.2 million for economic development projects, about $2.2 million for socioeconomic opportunities and $9 million for infrastructure work. As of Monday, the city has about $1.4 million in ARPA funding left for economic development, about $2 million left for socioeconomic opportunities and about $7 million left for infrastructure. Although the resolution established how the city would like to spend its ARPA funding, the council must to vote to appropriate funding for each individual project. The economic development program presented Monday would provide rehabilitation grants for eligible small businesses. Some of the proposed uses could be code compliance projects, signage or awnings. "We're really looking at how we can have a sustained impact and allowing those businesses to make those upgrades to their buildings we felt would be a great way to do that," Hon said. Hon said grants would be awarded on a first come, first served basis. The first proposed socioeconomic program would support local nonprofits that are working to address the needs identified in the city's consolidated plan and a recent community health survey. This could include homeless services, workforce development job training, child care services, disability services or health services focused on disparities in mental health. Hon said eligible nonprofits could receive up to $150,000. The second proposed socioeconomic program would focus on the preservation of affordable housing, particularly on the community's west side. Once boundaries are established, property owners could apply for grants to fund accessibility improvements, roof repairs or other eligible uses. "Our thought was in fairness, we would (award these grants) though a lottery system," Tyus said. "We're not married to it, but the thought was doing it through a lottery." Several council members voiced concerns about using the money for efforts that could be covered through alternative revenue sources, such as federal Community Development Block Grant funding. "To me, the ARPA money was to be used for special things that we wouldn't necessarily spend on," said Alderman Jeff Crabill, "so I don't want us to be using the money on things that maybe we should be funding from our general budget or other grants that are available." Tyus said the next step will be for city staff to come back for the approval of the individual programs at a later date. No infrastructure programs were included in the presentation, but city officials had previously detailed several potential uses for the money. These include the combination of two design phases for the Locust Street/Colton Avenue combined sewer overflow elimination and water main replacement project, as well as asphalt and concrete work for the 2022 and 2023 construction seasons. City manager contract In other business, the council approved an amendment to Bloomington City Manager Tim Gleason's contract, granting him a 3.5% pay raise retroactive to July 23. Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe said he was the only current elected official involved in hiring Gleason four years ago, and he still believes it was one of the most impactful decisions he has made. "Among the highlights of his performance, the council noted excellent financial management of the city," Mwilambwe said. "We've had some significant development agreements in some areas that had been I would say a sore spot for the city for a long time." More than 30 years before he was elected 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan was a famous Hollywood star with some 50 movies under his belt but he wasn't too big to visit his alma mater. Reagan, then 36, paid a visit to Eureka on Sept. 26, 1947, as part of the annual Pumpkin Festival. Here's a look back at the visit as recounted in the next day's Pantagraph by staff writer Stanley Lantz. (See the original here.) EUREKA If motion picture stars spend very many days as hectic and rushed as Ronald Reagan spent Friday in Eureka, this reporter will reluctantly pass any offers to go to Hollywood. Reagan maintained a whirlwind pace all day when he returned to Eureka college, his alma mater, and the Tau Kappa Epsilon house, his old fraternity. The occasion was the fifth Eureka Pumpkin festival. A delegation of festival officials, college officers, former acquaintances and just plain excitement fans was on hand to greet the star when his train arrived at 10:30 a.m. in Chillicothe. He met the rush of hand shakers, autograph hounds and photographers' flash bulbs with a broad grin. In fact, he managed to keep the grin going through the entire day. There wasn't a minute when Reagan wasn't answering reporter's questions, trying to give them a good camera angle or greeting an old classmate or teacher. The flash bulbs kept popping and the questions kept coming right through meals. At the fraternity house, where an informal buffet supper was served to about 200 of the brethren, the conversation bounced between Eureka and Hollywood. The boys wanted to talk about the film capital while Reagan was obviously more interested in talking about his alma mater. What does the man have to say about Hollywood? He says it's the most mis-advertised spot on the globe. "Strictly business." He went on to tell something of the sort of schedule the actors keep while working on a picture. It sounded like a lot of hard work. What was his favorite role? He has made about 50 pictures and believes his best opportunity was in "King's Row." Not because of Ann Sheridan's part in the picture, which was some part, but because of the role itself. For sentimental reasons, he said, he will always call the part he played in "Knute Rockne of Notre Dame" his favorite. He did kick that punt. When he could get a word in on his own hook, Reagan preferred to comment on the town and the school he left a little over 15 years ago. "It's wonderful to come back again," he said. That part of the script, of course, would be written into any celebrity's homecoming. But it sounded as though Reagan were ad-libbing. - 30 - Northbrook resident Irene Sooah Park remembers educators and other adults treating sex education as something that should never be talked about outside the classroom. It was during middle school that she recalled a teacher standing in the back of the classroom when discussing the vagina and penis to avoid eye contact with students. And recently, during COVID, she said sex education was left out of her sophomore health class in favor of lessons about bones and muscles. I think sex ed can seem daunting at first, but it includes a lot more than just talking about the body, talking about the act of sex itself, said Park, a senior at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora. It can include things like healthy relationships, personal hygiene, just knowing how to keep yourself safe. And I dont think a lot of people really have knowledge about sex education in that perspective. You can tell theres a lot of ignorance regarding topics as well. When I first came to the Illinois Math and Science Academy, I overheard this one guy asking: Whats menstruation? I was shocked. After experiencing a number of similar interactions, Park founded the Sex Ed Initiative in winter 2021 a youth-led group centered on showing people sex education is not scary. It is a necessity, however if one wants to be informed about their body and how to keep oneself safe. SEI director Park and fellow SEI members IMSA senior and Canton, Ill., native Sarah Wheeler and Catherine Tang, a senior at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, spent the last several months researching, writing, and producing the handbook, Shattering the Taboo: A Guide to Sexual Health Education. The handbook, published and sold on Amazon as of July, is a comprehensive sex education guide for high schoolers by youth for youth. The SEI group collaborated with medical experts and community advocates throughout Illinois to provide a more inclusive, medically accurate and age appropriate resource that could be used in schools sex education curricula. Per Park, the book teaches foundational concepts of sexual health education, including topics such as anatomy, healthy relationships, sexually transmitted infections and more. Each section is accompanied by a worksheet and list of discussion questions. We have a section dedicated to gender identity and we also included a section on intersex people, Tang said. SEI worked with the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, a unified network of rape crisis centers, on the chapter on personal safety. Coalition Executive Director Carrie Ward said the organization spoke with SEI to talk about issues of sexual violence something the handbook authors thought was an important part to include. One of the things I think they did a really nice job of was focusing on issues pertaining to consent, focusing on issues about boundaries, and a really key element they included was how to get help if you need it, Ward said. Those are things that we tell communities all the time; you have the right to make decisions regarding your own body. You have the right to establish your own boundaries, and you have the right to ask for, seek and get help when you want it and it should be readily available to you. The students should be commended for the initiative they took in saying, we know theres a lot of work being done, but trying to figure out how to put things together in one place. Its great to see young people making and creating resources that are specially designed for other young people; I hope that others will find it really helpful as well. When researching the book, the young authors looked at examples of how other countries approach sex education and compared those to what national school systems curricula and received feedback from physicians such as Dr. Erin Castelloe, a San Diego-based family doctor whose passion project is delivering comprehensive sexuality education to parents and youth groups. SEI reached out to Castelloe to talk with her about Californias sex ed legislation and implementation compared to that of Illinois. Park considers a Castelloe, an Iowa native, a mentor. Whats neat about what the young people in the Sex Ed Initiative have done is they wrote the book that they want to see as a starting point, Castelloe said. This workbook that theyve created, on so many levels, is demonstrative of how sex ed will change. ... Theyre saying, I want this to change. So Im gonna put this out there and say, Im gonna nurture that with every fiber of my being. It brings me to tears because honestly, theyre gonna change the world. Sounds trite, but they are and they are doing it now. The handbook arrived after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act (SB 818) into law in August 2021, making Illinois the first state in the U.S. to formally pass legislation codifying the new national sex education standards developed by SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, a nonprofit that advances sex education. SIECUS national sex ed standards were first published in 2012, and updated in 2020. The U.S. Department of Education does not require public schools to teach sex education, and doesnt recommend specific curriculum. In Illinois, SB 818 does not override local decision-making granted to school districts, which are not mandated to teach sex education. The ACLU of Illinois said the law preserves the rights of parents to opt their children out while ensuring students are not excluded or stigmatized because of their gender identity. Parents can review curriculum before its taught in the classroom. A recent Illinois State Board of Education survey found that during the 2021-2022 school year, 218 Illinois districts offered comprehensive health and sex education and 480 school districts did not. IMSA President and CEO Evan Glazer said in a statement, the school collaborated with SEI students to include their ideas in the schools programming which provides age and developmentally appropriate and inclusive information on an array of topics that focus on teaching students about the importance of personal health and safety. IMSA is not part of a local school district and therefore not governed by a Board of Education, but rather a board of trustees. Additionally, IMSA is under the guidance of the Illinois Board of Higher Education and not the Illinois State Board of Education like most Illinois high schools. IMSA offers every parent or guardian the right to opt-out their child from this programming. We are proud of Irene Sooah, Ava and Sarah, as well as all of our students, who are driven by fascination and a desire to be thoughtful inquirers, integrative thinkers, ethical leaders and problem solvers, Glazer said. IMSA is a place where students and colleagues are encouraged to invent and test new ideas, collaborate with each other to make improvements and then share their discoveries broadly to create a better future for Illinois and beyond. Tang hopes their book will help educators shift away from an abstinence-only mindset when it comes to curricula. Wheeler said SEI has been reaching out to parents on social media to get them on board with their sex ed reform efforts. SEI works with people in schools throughout the country. They already have five charters, four in northern Illinois. We worked with Lurie Childrens Hospital, the ACLU, the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, UIC School of Public Health and SIECUS to get their input on the research, Park said. We took into account SB 818 because its a really robust curriculum that we could go off of. We wrote stuff out with diagrams that are detailed enough so people can understand. Were selling them in hopes that schools can implement it as a guiding curriculum for their schools. We were hoping that this can be a starting point they can go off of and remove things and add things as they need. SEI asked Dawn Ravine, sexuality education program coordinator at Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago to review the handbook. Ravine said she is grateful for all the youth organizers in the state taking an interest around this topic. Chicagos had a really inclusive and wonderful sex ed policy for quite some time, she said. But you go into the smaller rural communities, suburban communities, and theres still a lot of variation on whats being provided. These national standards are used by a lot of organizations including Luries program to think in a more holistic way about the progression of topics and communication that young people need to grow into happy and healthy individuals. Ravine applauds members of SEI, saying when students ask for sex ed information, not seeing themselves in a curriculum, change happens much more quickly. Student organizing is the move, Ravine said. There still will be a need in each and every community for student leaders like this wonderful Sex Ed Initiative group to continue to look at their own school districts to see what other advocacy they can do. Our young people tell us all the time: We are looking for really inclusive, thoughtful dialogue. Im hoping this group of young people are going to inspire young people across our state. A digital version of the handbook is being developed, and conversations on creating handbooks for middle and elementary age ranges are taking place, Park said. Proceeds from the sale of the handbook will go toward reproductive justice endeavors (a $500 GoFundMe is helping with that.) After the Roe v. Wade situation, we did want to donate to abortion funds across the country, in addition to other sex ed projects going on so that we can fund other places that are in need of sex education, and the schools that need teachers or materials, Park said. Supriya Mehta, an epidemiologist and professor at University of Illinois at Chicagos School of Public Health and Rush Universitys Department of Internal Medicine, whose work and research is largely around sexual and reproductive health said she was impressed with SEIs handbook. The comprehensiveness, and the accessibility of it and the format of it, so Im not aware of other teenagers doing quite as much or what they did, she said. The commitment from young people and the fact that they took on a topic that could be perceived as controversial ... it takes a lot of commitment and guts from young people to do that, to put something together from start to finish. Comprehensive, but succinct is how Mehta describes the SEI publication. Because it comes from the perspective of teenagers, theyre including topics that adults might not think to talk about, she said. For example, the concept of boundaries. Most sex education or most adults would talk about it specifically in the context of sexual activity, but they (SEI) really expand that outside that its a skill or a mindset to develop and apply in other areas. They did a really nice job with contextualizing sexual health and sexual education to the adolescent, teenage young adult experience. Tang said the message that the initiative emphasizes is sex education isnt something that only adults can partake in, youth can and should take part in the conversation and make change at their own schools. Park said their hope is that the handbook is used as a guide for schools curricula, a general outline for important topics. Park said shes spoken with some Chicago Public School students about it, however CPS administration hasnt heard about the handbook yet. She said SEI is also working with local organizations to use the handbook as a guide for bridging the gap between parents and children when discussing sex education. We are partnering with the American School Health Association (a multidisciplinary professional association that fosters and implements innovative approaches to improving school health and delivering quality health education) to support a group of student activists for sex ed at their own schools by offering training sessions every month, Park said. We are also working with college professors and other experts in the field of sex ed to cover the history of sex ed in the hopes that people can look at the development of sex ed to improve upon it for the future. It will be released in a podcast format through Spotify later this month and throughout October. Jeanie Alter, executive director of the American School Health Association, said SEI is seeking funding to activate students into becoming champions for comprehensive and inclusive sex education. This effort will better the well-being of students in Illinois and across the country by better educating students about reproductive health, puberty, consent, and healthy relationships, she said. The science of health education supports a comprehensive model of sex education that includes STI prevention, contraception, and inclusive information so that students can make informed decisions for their health. Theres more to sex ed than sex, Wheeler said. I feel like thats what people focus on because its literally in the title. But theres so much important information about making informed decisions, forming and maintaining healthy relationships, what a red and a green flag looks like, that is crucial to making good decisions throughout adulthood that may not even be related to sex. SEIs handbook highlights that. Because we are the recipients of the education, I think we have a right to shape what we want to learn about and what we think is relevant to society now, Park said. When our parents learned sex education, sexting probably wasnt a thing, but it is now. I think just because youre the recipient of the education, doesnt mean you dont have a right to shape how it should be taught in schools. Thats a message that I want people to know. The midterms are coming and governmentally reckless Washington Democrats, once quietly woeful about their chances to maintain congressional majorities, suddenly have higher expectations as many voters seem to agree with them that it is fine to kill unborn babies. In some states, abortions are suddenly facing tough restrictions as many call the legislative perpetrators, mostly Republicans, heartless, anti-feminist and downright religious. Recognizing he is on the popular side, President Joe Biden emphasized abortion at a recent fundraiser to help Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections with cash and tough talk. He said the fetal annihilation, producing 62 million lifeless bodies since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, was really about freedom. In another reported abortion speech, this one in Illinois, Vice President Kamala Harris said, Extremist, so-called leaders trumpet the rhetoric of freedom while they take away freedoms. These verbal gouges of Republicans against abortions left me inspired, not by way of imitation but by way of locating common sense. I found it and I hope Harris will forgive me for trumpeting an old saying: The freedom to swing my fist ends where your nose begins. If that sounds extreme, let me further explain that even freedom has its limits, a chief one being to do no harm. If that were not a widely shared view, our nation of liberty would soon be a nation of chaos and bloody noses all over the place. Abortion even in early stages does harm. Pregnant women and medical assistants are not simply getting rid of troublesome gobs of tissue but are instead ending lives begun at conception and denying such potential miracles as love, beauty, humor, joy and cognitive awareness. This is a not just any harm, but a final harm, the eradication of endless possibilities often leading to long-term grief for a self-inflicted loss. Yes, there are instances when abortion is justified, certainly when the mothers life is endangered, and yes, childbirth can lead to lives redirected in unwelcome ways and leading to serious struggles in tough circumstances. Yet, even then, confident perseverance can march to something larger in ones heart than might otherwise occur, especially with the unique little one nearby with a smile on its happy face and a cuddly body begging to be hugged. There are also charitable groups happy to help and there is an intrauterine device that hardly ever fails as a contraceptive. As obvious as obvious gets, and by way of balance, I hereby report that men play a major role in all of this, maybe by way of sexual recklessness and often, when unmarried, paying for the unborn babys death to escape later monetary obligations. Sometimes the man will simply walk away from his responsibilities while the married father has no right to determine the abortion decision one way or the other. Some states have already overreached with restrictions. Criticism should in some cases be accompanied by lawsuits testing whether the misdeeds are legal. What is especially disturbing right now is that morality, the importance of marriage and family and the crucial societal need to respect the weak and innocent are being set aside in unreflectively callous politics. While women have too often been treated as secondary human beings, it's not an answer to treat girls and boys still in the womb as in no way human at all, as just a form of inconvenient, disposable trash. We instead need people with the soulful insight of Christians helping to end widespread and frequent infanticide in the Middle Ages. Roe v. Wade was a Supreme Court decision justified by pasting together various constitutional passages implying an obscure right to privacy without a convincing explanation of how this gave a woman the right to kill an unborn child. Even this decision allowing abortions was far from absolute, enabling states to prohibit them in late stages of pregnancy, as 43 did and some are now undoing. The recent Dodd decision turned to democracy, constitutionally affirming that here was a decision to be made entirely by elected state legislatures, in effect leaving a hotly debated moral matter up to the people instead of a Supreme Court error. Here are some reasons to vote for Darren Bailey as the next governor of Illinois. Darren Bailey opposes. J.B. Pritzker supports. HB 370 allows 13-year-old girls to get abortions without parental consent. SB 818 requires sexually explicit material be taught beginning in kindergarten. HB 246 requires school children to be proficient in LGBTQ concepts, cross-dressing, gender identity, anal and oral sex and abortion, at early ages. Third graders will learn about hormone blockers, sixth graders will be instructed on anal and oral sex, wearing a condom and the pregnancy option of abortion. These things have no place in any school at any age, let alone kindergarten. Its time for a governor who puts the children first. Safe-T Act J.B. Pritzker signed this act that is set to go into effect on January 1, 2023. The following crimes will require no bail: aggravated battery, aggravated DUI, arson, burglary, drug-induced homicide. kidnapping. robbery, second-degree murder or threatening a public official. Darren Bailey was there, fighting against this act in the middle of the night. J.B. wants to strip you of your Second Amendment. Darren Bailey is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and our Constitutional right to keep and bear arms and he strongly supports our police and first responders. Chicago FOP, Illinois FOP, Chicago Police Lodge 7, and Safe Suburbs USA PAC endorse Darren Bailey. As a farmer and businessman, Darren Bailey knows that agriculture is the backbone of Illinois economy. As a legislator, Darren Bailey fights for the working people, not the political elites. As governor, he will promote transparency and ensure safeguards against powerful government overreach. Please join in the effort to make Illinois a safer place and vote for Darren Bailey and Stephanie Trussell. Tonya Anderson. Cooksville Darren Bailey called Chicago a hellhole. Well, he sort of called it a hellhole. Actually he didnt really say it was a hellhole, what he said was: "Our legislature is going soft on crime to the point they have made Chicago a hellhole". Mayor Lori Lightfoot naturally took offense to this remark. She said that Darren Bailey should come to Chicago and he would see it was a nice place. So he did. He accepted her invitation and moved into the John Hancock building to immerse himself into the life of the city. Mayor Lightfoot told him to go back to the farm. It doesnt seem that her invitation was sincere. Of course Darren Bailey also extended an invitation that wasnt sincere. He invited J.B. Pritzker to the Bailey family farm to work for a day. I dont think Darren expected J.B. to show up for work. He just wanted to impress upon him that the people in the state work hard just to maintain their livelihood. While Governor Pritzker may genuinely want to feel empathy for the people of state, Darren Bailey suggests that JB Pritzker comes from wealth and does not realize how much a job or a business can mean to a person. Bailey seems to be authentic in his concern for people and not so engrossed in party politics. And Republicans arent so bad one has his name on every Illinois license plate. Glenn Mitan, Schaumburg Talking with teachers about the beginning of the school year has me feeling optimistic. Everyone I talk to reports their students are energized, eager and motivated. This is a welcome change from the way students have been feeling for the past couple of years. This is partly due to simple relief as pandemic restrictions ease, but it is also a testament to the resiliency of youth. Most young people are inclined toward exuberance. It is good to see their natural enthusiasm returning. But I worry that the next few months may dim that enthusiasm. After all, they will be spending time in the company of adults tasked with directing their attention, and too many adults now are preoccupied with all that is wrong with the world. The other day a father told me that his 9-year-old son learned in school that life expectancy was declining for the first time in history. There are two problems with this: It is false, and it places an unnecessary burden on the child. The statistics show a decline in life expectancy in the United States from 79 years in 2019 to 77 years in 2021. That is the steepest decline in the past 100 years. It is also the sort of thing that happens during pandemics. The expected lifespan dropped from 54 to 47 years in 1918 due to the Spanish flu, but by 1925 it had risen to 58 years. Life expectancy sometimes goes down for a short period of time, but overall it continues to rise. Why arent we teaching our children that? To tell kids only the bad news and not to put that news in the context of the good things happening in the world is to place a tremendous burden on them. It creates the impression that things are getting worse and worse. Thats a terrible thing to do to a child who is coming of age now. In a widely known Bob Newhart skit, a therapist specializes in five-minute sessions. When a patient begins to describe how her behavior is causing distress, he shouts, Stop it! Thats what I want to say to adults who think they must continually give our youth a dose of so-called realism. Stop it. Stop telling kids that elections are rigged. Stop telling kids the Supreme Court is taking away their rights. Stop telling kids their schools are failing. Stop telling kids the world will end if we dont stop a pipeline or get our candidate elected. For too many young people, the message they take away is that the troubles they face are insurmountable. Instead, we need to be intentional about teaching young people how to participate meaningfully in their communities: how to think independently, work collaboratively and communicate clearly. We need to teach them how to be citizens instead of victims. Our kids dont need realism. They need a path forward. They need practical instruction in how to make things work. Most of all, they need hope. The problem with realism is that it isnt real. It is a projection of our fears onto others. It not only paints an inaccurate picture, it induces apathy and despair. It makes many young people less motivated to effectively address the problems they will encounter. Evidence of our tendency to exaggerate whats wrong with the world can be seen in Gallups annual State of the Nation report. What stands out is that 69% of Americans are very or somewhat satisfied with their overall quality of life, yet their satisfaction with every specific aspect of life and every government policy is considerably lower. How can most people be satisfied with their lives and yet think that everyone and everything around them is terrible? We have become a nation of whiners, blamers and complainers. (And yes, I know. Im complaining about it.) Young people are hearing two messages over and over again from the most vocal among us: Things are getting worse, and it is because our institutions are broken. Both messages are pernicious falsehoods. The world is getting better in most significant respects because our institutions are doing what they are designed to do. Our schools and universities, health care organizations, research centers, industries and governments are effectively increasing prosperity, health, education and equality. Not only is life expectancy way up, but extreme poverty has declined dramatically, literacy has vastly increased, major diseases have been eliminated or greatly reduced, infant mortality is down, and violent death has been declining steadily. Sure, young people face significant challenges posed by climate change, water shortages, the uncertainties of artificial intelligence and an ongoing nuclear threat. The question is: How do we best prepare them to face those challenges? It is not by repeatedly complaining about how bad things are. Human beings are extraordinarily good at fixing problems when we work together. The truth is that the best time to be alive is now. The best time is always now. BLOOMINGTON Hurricane Ian is swirling toward the southern coast of the U.S. and in preparation, State Farm has activated its catastrophe team. Four State Farm employees departed Monday morning from Bloomington, heading for Birmingham, Alabama, where they will meet up with claims representatives and agency support staff from across the country. According to the National Hurricane Center, the tropical storm strengthened into a hurricane Monday as it moved into western Cuba, where life-threatening storm surges, hurricane-force winds, flash floods and possible mudslides were expected with conditions deteriorating into Tuesday. Hurricane Ian is expected to strengthen further before making landfall on Floridas west coast on Wednesday and Thursday with a life-threatening storm surge as it continues to move northwest, according to the National Hurricane Center. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a statewide emergency on Friday. He advised residents to make preparations in regards to food, water, medications and fuel and to expect power outages and fuel disruptions. You have a significant storm that may end up being a Category 4 hurricane, DeSantis said at a news conference in Tallahassee. Thats going to cause a huge amount of storm surge. Youre going to have flood events. Youre going to have a lot of different impacts. President Joe Biden also declared an emergency, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief and provide assistance to protect lives and property, the Associated Press reported Monday afternoon. Evacuations had begun in some areas of Florida by Monday afternoon. The State Farm team was expected to arrive in Birmingham late Monday or early Tuesday, to be closer to the areas that could be affected by the storm, a company spokesperson said. The fleet of four response vehicles includes: two mobile catastrophe command centers, one mobile catastrophe trailer and a customer response unit van. The units have varying workstation capabilities with generators to function as mobile offices. Claims representatives will work to help customers, distribute water and needed items to community residents and provide free Wi-Fi and electrical charging stations for anyone who needs it, said Heather Paul, in State Farms public affairs office. American Red Cross officials said Monday they are working with their partners to shelter and support those who could be affected by Hurricane Ian. The nonprofit has "pre-positioned supplies" ready, as well as disaster teams and additional relief supplies en route to the southern U.S. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The countrys first ever oil field infrastructure decommissioning works has begun at the Saltpond Oil Field at Hini near Saltpond in the Central Region. The decommissioning vessels arrived in the country in the early hours of last Thursday from Lagos and got to Saltpond last Saturday to start the decommissioning exercise and shut its wells permanently. This is because the oil field, also known as Mr Louie, has outlived its economic life, according to the Ghana National Petroleum Commission, (GNPC). Ghanaian contractor The decommissioning contract is being undertaken by a wholly owned Ghanaian company, Hans and Co. Oil and Gas Company, leveraging a consortium of experts of varied professional backgrounds gathered from around the world to ensure all necessary procedural, technical and social controls and mitigation measures were rightly executed to reduce environmental impact to the barest minimum. The GNPC at a press briefing at Hini near Saltpond in the Central Region last Sunday said this was because the current structural integrity of the field could not be vouched for. The General Manager, Sustainability and Stakeholder Relations at the GNPC, Dr Kwame Baah-Nuako, who addressed the press, said the GNPC was collaborating with all relevant regulatory agencies to ensure the safest processes in the context of the environment within which the field was situated. Dr Baah-Nuako noted that the decommissioning would take about one year to complete. Avoid fishing close For the time being, he advised fishermen in some communities around the area not to fish in the 500-metre radius of the project for safety reasons. Production at the field was stopped in 2015 after the field exhausted its reserves to a low of 200 barrels a day and, therefore, unable to meet operational cost becoming unprofitable. The works Dr Baah-Nuako explained that the decommissioning works would involve the safe plugging or sealing of the wells in the seabed from which the oil was drawn and the disposal of the equipment used during the offshore oil production. It would also ensure the removal of the subsea infrastructure and the host production facility to pave way for the safe use of the sea area where the production facility stood. He said the decommissioned, which was announced in 2016, was because the platform and wells were in deplorable state, posing danger to the crew on board and seafarers. He stated that the wells and wellhead were also in a deplorable state, a breach of which could lead to spillage of oil which would adversely impact on aquatic life and the lives of fishermen and those with facilities along the beach. He noted that any incident could affect the reputation of the GNPC and ultimately affect the social licence to operate. He said potential impacts included discharge into the sea, accidental releases of residual contamination pipelines and other hazardous and non hazardous waste materials would be managed effectively in full compliance with all relevant legislation and regulatory controls. Three phase project He further explained that the first phase of the three-phase decommissioning project, which includes the decommissioning plan, budget and procurement strategy, was done between March 2018 and November 2018. The second included the procurement of a contractor to execute the work and the last phase the post decommissioning monitoring and evaluation. He stated that the GNPC could possibly explore for new fields in the area in the future. Building local capacities He stated that the GNPC had support the education of some youth in the communities and developed educational infrastructure in some communities and various educational institutions to help build local capacity to manage the fields. He gave the assurance that the GNPC would work to restore that area of the sea to its former state. The acting President of the Nkusukum Traditional Area, Nana Brebo III called for more infrastructure development in affected communities. The Saltpond Oil Field is the oldest oil field offshore Ghana discovered in 1970 by Amoco Consortium and started production in 1978 after changing hands to Agri-Petco of the United States. Source: Graphiconline Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Chinese national charged with illegal mining activities in Ghana, En Huang, popularly known as Aisha Huang and three others have been remanded for the third time by an Accra Circuit Court. They are to remain in police custody for two more weeks. It followed the request by the prosecution for more time to continue with investigations. Presided over by Bright Acquah, the four accused persons in the dock - En Huang, Jong Li Hua, Huang Jei and Huiad Hiahu are facing the charge of engaging in sale of minerals without licence and mining without licence. Graphic Online's court reporter, Justice Agbenorsi reports that they have all pleaded not guilty to the charges and are to remain in custody to appear again on October 12, 2022. The defence team led by Captain (rtd) Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey had pleaded for bail but the court declined bail. In court, Tuesday morning, (September 27, 2022) counsel for the accused repeated the application for bail but it was opposed by state prosecutors. In a ruling which denied bail to the accused persons, the presiding judge, Bright Acquah, expressed reservations about the extremity of illegal mining and its impact on the country's ecosystem. Illegal mining, he said was a situation destroying the countrys water bodies and threatened the existence of species in them. If we allow this to go on, we will get to a point where we have to import water, he said. The presiding judge subsequently remanded the accused persons over concerns about their availability to stand trial if granted bail. How the accused entered into this county, she cannot tell, what will happen if she does not appear to stand trial. Motion for bail is denied and the accused is remanded for two weeks the Circuit Court judge added. High Court charges Meanwhile, on September 16, 2022, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, filed fresh charges against Aisha Huang at the Accra High Court. In the new charge sheet before the High Court, Huang has been slapped with four counts of undertaking a mining operation without a licence, facilitating the participation of persons engaged in a mining operation, illegal employment of foreign nationals, and entering Ghana while prohibited from re-entry. She has since pleaded not guilty to the four counts during the virtual court session at the court which remanded her to re-appear on October 12, 2022. Source: Graphiconline Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has held bilateral talks with the German Federal Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock. The meeting was held on the sidelines of a two-day conference being held at the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, Germany. It afforded the two women the opportunity to discuss matters of mutual interest to both countries, including the impacts of the triple Cs Climate Change, COVID-19 and Conflicts- on the global economy. The ministers also reviewed the current status of bilateral relations between the two countries and touched on the current political and security situation in the Sahel, notably, the overthrow of democratic governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea. Madam Ayorkor Botchwey informed her German counterpart of the plans by the government to host the Accra Initiative Conference at the end of October. She said the conference is aimed at providing a platform for stakeholders to share information on possible solutions to curb the rising political unrest in the region and further avoid a spillover. Ghanas Foreign Minister underscored the importance of climate initiatives that would reap tangible benefits, especially in African countries, as these countries remain the lowest emitters of greenhouse gases. She said Ghana, through its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), is committed to attaining sustainable transition to a low carbon economy through measures such as the National Forest Plantation Programme, Forest Plantation Strategy and Youth in Afforestation Programme, as well as the commitment to plant 20 million trees in 2022. On her part, Ms. Baerbock emphasised that Germany remains committed to maintaining its presence in the Sahel even in the face of current challenges. Ms. Baerbock intimated that Germany would continue to drive its Climate Foreign Policy at the upcoming COP27 Conference and advocate for Industrialised countries to fulfil their promises to take further responsibility and action regarding the global climate crisis. The two ministers affirmed their active participation in the upcoming COP27, to be held in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, from November 6 to 18, 2022. Conference Speaking at the conference themed Strengthening Democracy- Towards Resilient Institutions and Societies in the G7 and Africa, Madam Ayorkor Botchwey expressed worry over the abuse of social media platforms, which is becoming a pervasive threat to democracy. According to her, some unscrupulous individuals are taking undue advantage of technology to sow hate speech in countries and across countries, violence against people and faiths and subvert elections by both misinformation and disinformation and manipulation of vote counting. She noted that Ghana is shouldering the high costs of fighting the terrorists and violent extremists that threaten coastal states of West Africa from the Sahel, in addition to piracy on her Atlantic waters. Paradoxically, she said the success in improving socio-economic outcomes has been key to preventing radicalisation and recruitment by terrorists. Source: dailyguidenetwork.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Russian men are fleeing into neighbouring Georgia to avoid being called-up to fight in a war they do not believe in, following Russian President Vladimir Putin's order to mobilise hundreds of thousands of reservists for the conflict in Ukraine. According to Russia's own government statistics released by state media reported, on Sunday, September 25 the estimated wait to enter Georgia hit 48 hours, with more than 3,000 vehicles queuing to cross the frontier. "When we found out about the mobilisation, we dropped everything at home and jumped in the car," Dmitry Kuriliyunok told Reuters in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. Dmitry, his wife Irina and young daughter first drove across southern Russia from Krasnodar to Mineralnye Vody in the North Caucasus, a staging post for many crossing into Georgia. There, they hired a local driver to take them through the border checkpoints and after 24 hours they arrived in Tbilisi. "We are completely against this war. For us, like for others, it's scary. To die and to kill others, and for what? We don't understand. Therefore, we decided to flee," he said. The exact number of people who have left Russia since Putin announced what he called a "partial mobilisation" last Wednesday is unclear. But new video footage released Monday show a chaotic scene at the border. Russians have also gone to Kazakhstan, Finland and Mongolia, which have all reported heavy queues. Russia has not closed its borders yet but reports indicated that Putin could order a border closure. What is going on in front of the Upper Lars border crossing: drone footage Many kilometer traffic jams, drivers wait in front of the border for 40-50 hours. Scuffles keep sparking from time to time in the queue pic.twitter.com/1EReyhhyHs The Insider (@InsiderEng) September 26, 2022 Russians trying to cross into Georgia have been allowed to pass the border control on foot. The decision was made due to the peaking load on the checkpoint in the last few days. Officially, the checkpoint can only be used by vehicles. Video by Baza pic.twitter.com/EHymf4olzl The Insider (@InsiderEng) September 26, 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. Featured Video The Operation Halt II initiative has arrested one illegal miner in the Atwima Mponua and Amansie South districts of the Ashanti Region. A total of 12 excavators were impounded following almost a 24-hour operation embarked on in the area by the soldiers. Also, the soldiers destroyed three excavators and confiscated a car as well as a motorbike belonging to the illegal miner. Several hectares of arable lands have been destroyed within the two districts as a result of illegal mining activities. Interestingly, the illegal miners abandoned their equipment and fled the sites upon seeing the military team approaching. Meanwhile, the military team handed over the seized excavators to the police and the district assemblies after removing the control boards. Source: dailyguidenetwork.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg is not one of America's ten wealthiest people for the first time since 2015, due to his company's staggering stock price drop over the last year. The 38-year-old Facebook founder has lost more than half his fortune - $76.8 billion - since September 2021, which led him to drop from number three to number 11 on the Forbes 400 list of America's wealthiest people, according to Forbes. As at Tuesday, September 27, Zuckerberg's net worth stands at $57.7 billion. In October 2021, Facebook officially became Meta. Since then, Meta's Reality Labs division lost $10 billion last year, the company announced earlier this year during its earnings call. The company, which has seen its stock price drop 38 percent in the last six months, has also faced increased government scrutiny on many fronts including an FTC antitrust investigation of Zuckerberg's company. Meta's Instagram and Facebook is also losing its middle aged and teenage customers to TikTok. Facebook reported its first ever quarterly loss of daily active users in February. On the new Forbes 400 list, Elon Musk, worth $251 billion reigns supreme, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, worth $151 billion and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, worth $106 billion compete the top 3. Software mogul Larry Ellison sits at number four with $101 million, just above investor Warren Buffet at $97 billion. Alphabet co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who also saw their net worth drop, take the fourth and fifth spots. Ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer sits at number eight with a worth of $83 billion. Other than Musk, the only other person in the top ten to see their fortune increase is Michael Bloomberg. Jim Walton, the youngest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, rounds out the top ten with a worth of $57.9 billion. Zuckerberg became a billionaire in 2008 at the age of 23. He debuted on the Forbes 400 list at number 321 with a worth of $1.5 billion. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The anti-galamsey task force have been roaming major river bodies since 2017 A police officer, Nuhu Abubakar, on Tuesday, September 27 lost his life after drowning in River Sui in the Sefwi Bodi District of the Western North Region. The General Corporal was part of a team on an anti-galamsey operation at Sefwi Amoaya in the district. A statement issued by the police said investigations into the circumstances leading to the incident have already begun. Preliminary report indicates that the deceased Police Corporal together with a Police team were on anti-Illegal Mining Operation duty around the River Sui when the unfortunate incident happened. While investigations continue, the Police Administration wishes to express its deepest condolences to the bereaved family, colleagues and the Service as a whole. Source: 3news.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A former Member of Parliament (MP) for Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh, has described as "unfortunate" the booing of President Akufo-Addo at a recent event. The President who delivered a keynote address at the 2022 Global Citizen Festival at the Black Star Square in Accra was met with loud boos and hoots from spectators. The crowd can be heard chanting away, away . . . immediately he started speaking. The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of orchestrating the unfortunate incident. Deputy Director of Communications, Ernest Owusu Bempah Bonsu in a statement said "to allow politics to take centre stage at such an event and single out the President unfairly for political point scoring raises serious concerns. To put it more bluntly, it is pure evil and utter disgrace for the NDC to organize its supporters to go and shout down the President the manner it happened. Addai Nimoh speaking on New Day show on TV 3, Tuesday believes jeering at the President was wrong. However, he has disagreed with his party, saying it cannot be true that the NDC was behind the "unfortunate" incident. Meanwhile, Professor at the University of Ghana, Ransford Yaw Gyampo has condemned the action. In a release, he stressed, I insist we cannot throw our culture of courtesy, respect and civility to the dogs". The Presidents speech writers who are obviously out of touch with the economic miserization of the people, keep writing flowery and utopian speeches for the President, in a manner that plays on the emotional keyboards of Ghanaians. But I end by insisting that we are still Ghanaians, a well cultured people and must go back to our values that found a decent way of expressing dissent, Prof. Ransford Gyampo has indicated in a statement. He concludes, We know the lines between disagreements, criticisms and disrespect and we must keep the boundaries. We also know the lines between the PRESIDENCY and the President as well as the OFFICE and the PERSON who occupies it. Let us keep these boundaries for the sake of national cohesion and development. This is my position both as a Normative Political Scientist and a Logical Positivist. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Deputy National Organizer of the National Democratic Congres, Chief Nixon Biney has held a peer review session with some regional organizers of the party. The review focused on assessing his term as deputy organizer of the party and how they can build on the positives and strengthen the NDC at the grassroots. The event was honored by the Ashanti, Ahafo, Bono, Bono East, and Western North regional organizers of the NDC and their deputies. Addressing his fellow organizers, Chief Biney appealed for a candid evaluation of his term, noting that only honesty can help shape the party and improve on the shortfalls. He exhorted their minds to the task ahead, stressing that, as members of the NDC, they have a responsibility to galvanize support for the party to win the 2024 elections. Chief Biney stressed that Ghanaians are looking forward to the NDC rescuing them from what he perceives to be the shackles of the NPP and that the organizers have an important role in the rescue mission. I held an end-of-term review and assessment of office as a deputy National Organizer in Ashanti region with the regional organizers of the middle belt. Officers present were the Ashanti, Ahafo, Bono, Bono East, and Western North regional organizers and their deputies. We reviewed performance in the last four years and also looked at the way forward for our department and how we can make it better to help mobilize Ghanaians and support for victory come 2024. Ey3 Zu! Ey3 Za!. The meeting comes amid reports that Chief Biney is under intense pressure from bigwigs in the party to step up and contest the substantive role. It has been reported widely that some influential members as well as the grassroots of the party deem him as the best fit for the task ahead and want him to throw his hat in the ring for the role. It remains to be seen if Chief Biney will heed the call and contest the position which is currently being occupied by Joshua Akamba. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Professor at the University of Ghana, Ransford Yaw Gyampo has condemned the hooting of President Akufo-Addo. In a release, he stressed, I insist we cannot throw our culture of courtesy, respect and civility to the dogs". The Presidents speech writers who are obviously out of touch with the economic miserization of the people, keep writing flowery and utopian speeches for the President, in a manner that plays on the emotional keyboards of Ghanaians. But I end by insisting that we are still Ghanaians, a well cultured people and must go back to our values that found a decent way of expressing dissent, Prof. Ransford Gyampo has indicated in a statement. He concludes, We know the lines between disagreements, criticisms and disrespect and we must keep the boundaries. We also know the lines between the PRESIDENCY and the President as well as the OFFICE and the PERSON who occupies it. Let us keep these boundaries for the sake of national cohesion and development. This is my position both as a Normative Political Scientist and a Logical Positivist. Read the full statement below 1. We are Ghanaians, a well cultured people and must go back to our values that found a decent way of expressing dissent. We need not be emotional and indulge in irrational politics of equalization and comparison, that copies and perpetuate bad practices all the time, else our drive towards democratic maturity would be too long. 2. There were times when my Akuapim people were very civil and decorous even when they were insulting. Have we forgotten the me pa wo ky3w se wo y3 aboa expression? Among my Fanti, people, especially those of us from Saltpond, Ghanas Political Mecca, we never feared the Police, yet we also believed in the expression aban ye dur (government is heavy). This guided our utterances, conduct and attitude towards the Police even when they had incurred our displeasure. Until recently, you could not slap back a Police Officer, not because he was too strong as person, but because of the OFFICE and POSITION he occupied in his or her uniform. 3. We do not like how the country is being governed. Times are too hard and there is a feeling of despondency among many Ghanaians. The only crop of people who do not feel the heat in Ghanas current economy are NPP government appointees, and article 71 office holders. This is what has filled the body politic with intense anger to the point that, even the beneficiaries of power are suddenly cowed into fear and are unable to speak out against this singular act that has monumentally embarrass their appointing authority. 4. But I speak for Ghana and I dont care swimming against the tide, particularly when I know that, human beings are generally creatures of emotions and not creatures of logic. I insist we cannot throw our culture of courtesy, respect and civility to the dogs. The OFFICE and POSITION of the PRESIDENCY that transcends the individual occupying it, MUST be respected by ALL, regardless of its occupant and irrespective of how we feel against the occupant of the OFFICE. 5. No nation develops without its culture, so its completely out of place to use bogus examples that are at variance with cultural values to justify acts of disrespect. Barack Obama, George Bush, Emmanuel Macron etc all suffered disrespect but these must not be our yardstick. We saw how Donald Trump never wanted to leave office even when he was defeated in an election and we mocked at him as a developing democracy. It is disingenuous to look for bad examples to justify bad conduct. We must copy from best practices. 6. His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, once had a torrid experience at the Manhyia Palace when he was met with tumultuous chant of change from some NPP supporters. He and his entourage were there to commiserate with the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, during the one week celebration of the Queen mother of the Ashanti stool Asantehemaa Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa, Ampem II. The event which was supposed to be solemn one, turned out to be rancorous when some of the mourners deliberately shouted insults and gestured change towards the president as he arrived at the funeral grounds. The security details of the President had difficulties paving way for him and NPP supporters had a field day as they offered all manner of rationalization and justification for this act of disrespect. 7. When some Ghanaians, including the loudest supporters of the NDC kept quiet over this, some of us spoke out openly against such act of gross disrespect exhibited against the President (JM) and the PRESIDENCY to the displeasure of some other Ghanaians, including the NPP support base. The records are there for anyone who wants to verify. 8. A few days ago, Patrons at the 2022 Global Citizen Festival, we are told, hooted at President Akufo-Addo when he mounted the podium to deliver a speech at last nights event held at the Black Star Square in Accra. Thousands of patrons turned up at the event grounds to witness the international festival, with several local and international artistes performing. But when the President mounted the stage to address the crowd, people started chanting and hooting at the President, making it difficult for him to deliver his address. 9. Like what happened to President Mahama, this is also not courteous and respectful and even though many NPP apparatchiks and appointees are scared to come out to speak in condemning this practice; and even though some other level headed Ghanaians are very angry with how bad things are and hence would not comment about the disrespect shown the sitting President, some of us wont shut up. We will speak against this act of disrespect against the President and the PRESIDENCY, regardless of how angry we are, and the fact that, we would even be leading labor once again to go on strike very shortly. 10. Yes, we are hungry but we cannot eat with both hands when we find food. A few party appointees are enjoying, even in times of hardships, and are asking the rest of us to keep tightening our belt. The Presidents speech writers who are obviously out of touch with the economic miserization of the people, keep writing flowery and utopian speeches for the President, in a manner that plays on the emotional keyboards of Ghanaians. But I end by insisting that we are still Ghanaians, a well cultured people and must go back to our values that found a decent way of expressing dissent. We know the lines between disagreements, criticisms and disrespect and we must keep the boundaries. We also know the lines between the PRESIDENCY and the President as well as the OFFICE and the PERSON who occupies it. Let us keep these boundaries for the sake of national cohesion and development. This is my position both as a Normative Political Scientist and a Logical Positivist. Yaw Gyampo A31, Prabiw PAV Ansah Street Saltpond Suro Nipa House Kubease Larteh-Akuapim Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Residents of Juaboso in the Western North region are gradually falling out of business as Chinese nationals have taken over their daily petty trading. Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, the Member of Parliament(MP) for Juaboso constituency, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh lamented that Chinese nationals are not only engaging in galamsey but are also selling provisions and spare parts. A trading activity that was hitherto reserved for the indigenous community members of Juaboso and its environs. Hon. Mintah Akandoh who is very much worried about the unpalatable situation says the government's fight against illegal mining popularly known as galamsey has become a mere rhetoric with the Chinese mining with impunity. "The NPP government do not have the desire to fight or end the illegal mining because they are not committed to it. A number of NPP foot soldiers and even top hierarchy are heavily involved in the galamsey business. For instance, with what happened at Elubo, an NPP constituency Secretary was among those who were arrested for destroying a whole village in the name of Galamsey," he said. He further explained that though government claims to have invested heavily in the fight against illegal mining, it looks more attractive now than before because those who are caught destroying the water bodies and the forest reserves are left to go unpunished which will at least serve as a deterrent to others. "How can we allow Chinese nationals with the aid of Ghanaians to destroy our water bodies and forest reserves and also take over businesses meant for Ghanaians," he rhetorically asked. Expressing his disgust for the rate at which illegal miners have taken over his constituency, he noted that government's abysmal performance in the fight against galamsey clearly shows that they are losing it. Watch Video Below In spite of its complexity and the extreme difficulty in dealing with illegal mining, the government will continue to review the interventions and also devise new strategies that will eventually help stem the tide.This is because the government is determined not rest on its oars until the fight against the phenomenon, popularly known as galamsey, is won.The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, gave the assurance and also said the governments intervention to deal with the menace should not be misconstrued as a ploy to get people out of work as small-scale mining sector was recognised as a key component of the countrys mining ecosystem. Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled a plan Monday to revive the LaSalle Street corridor, a key downtown office district that suffered the double whammy of COVID-19 and the loss of several large firms to new towers rising farther west along Wacker Drive and in Fulton Market. The mayor said its time to take advantage of the Loop apartment boom and fill the corridors empty offices with new renters, including hundreds of low- and moderate-income workers typically shut out of downtown living. Advertisement We must restore this area to its full potential, said the mayor. But do so with an eye toward equity. Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces a new development initiative to reinvigorate the LaSalle Street corridor on Sept. 26, 2022. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) The streets road to recovery could be long. This years loss of major LaSalle Street office tenants such as BMO Harris and law firm Chapman & Cutler, which left for the West Loops new BMO Tower, were just the latest of many exits, and the mayor estimated during an afternoon news conference that about 5 million square feet of commercial space on the surrounding blocks lies vacant. Advertisement But city officials envision developers using an array of government financing tools to create over five years about 1,000 new apartments on the several blocks of LaSalle Street between Washington Street and the Chicago Board of Trade Building, as well as nearby streets. They also plan to fill up the many empty storefronts by bolstering local restaurateurs and retailers, who started drowning in red ink when the pandemic hit and customers disappeared. Downtowns prospects did brighten when Google agreed this summer to buy the James R. Thompson Center for $105 million and announced plans to use the entire 17-story structure as office space. The company helped spark the transformation of Fulton Market, a former industrial neighborhood, into a gleaming office center and upscale residential neighborhood when it established its Midwest headquarters there in 2015. But as Lightfoot gears up for next years reelection campaign, she wants to avoid any criticism that she places too much emphasis on downtown development, a charge frequently leveled at predecessors such as former Mayor Rahm Emanuel. People walk through the LaSalle Street corridor on Sept. 26, 2022. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) During the news conference she talked up the administrations Invest South/West program, which gives financial incentives to developers who launch projects in underused commercial corridors on the South and West sides, and the 2021 reform of the citys Affordable Requirements Ordinance, which increased the amount of affordable housing units required for many new residential projects. The new downtown initiative will follow that path, she added. Thirty percent of the 1,000 units created will be reserved for affordable housing, currently a scarce commodity in the central business district. Today, there are only two completed ARO units in the central business district, and none on LaSalle Street, she said. That part of the initiative should find favor with the thousands of janitors and service workers who clean and maintain the downtowns office buildings, according to Genie Kastrup, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1, which represents about 50,000 workers. This will be the first time our Local 1 members will be able to reside where they clean buildings, she said. Advertisement The Loops population stood at more than 42,000 in 2020, up 44% from 10 years earlier, the fastest rate of growth for any Chicago neighborhood, according to the Chicago Loop Alliance, an advocacy group. Many historic buildings along LaSalle Street could also become attractive apartment buildings, said Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Maurice Cox. But city officials frequently sat down with LaSalle Street property owners during a two-year planning effort and heard a clear message: the expense of transforming old office buildings on LaSalle Street into residences makes it challenging to include affordable units. The LaSalle Street corridor is pictured on Sept. 26, 2022. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) The market has shown that the only things that are financially viable are luxury units, Cox said. Cox said officials can make affordable units feasible on LaSalle Street with an array of financial incentives available to developers who hit the 30% bench mark. The sweeteners include tax credits for the rehabilitation of historic buildings, new property tax relief measures for owners that create affordable housing, low income housing tax credits and funding from the LaSalle Central tax increment financing district, created in 2006 but shelved by then-Mayor Emanuel in 2015. The planning department will accept until Dec. 23 proposals to convert historic LaSalle Street buildings into market-rate and affordable residences, as well as reactivate their storefronts, Cox added, and in January it will shortlist the best proposals. All the conversations between city planners and property owners makes him confident theyll soon get a lot of pitches. We were told that if the city can put together enough incentives, they were game, he said. 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. Talent manager and showbiz critic, Lawrence Nana Asiamah Hanson, often known as Bulldog has reacted after President Nana Addo was booed on stage after his appearance at an event over the weekend. President Nana Addo of Ghana received jeers on stage of the 2022 Global Citizen Festival in Accras Black Star Square. After delivering his keynote speech, H.E. Nana Addo was jeered by the audience. He discussed the efforts made by the Ghanaian administration to eradicate poverty and preserve the countrys unity. Started off his speech with, Ladies and gentlemen, I extend a hearty Akwaaba, our word of welcome, from a very hospitable people. To all of you, who have come from afar and wide, to our vibrant city of Accra, Ghanas capital, to join us on this great occasion. The youth were tasked by President Nana Addo to discover innovative and unafraid answers to global issues. In response, Bulldog claimed that President Nana Addo deserved the disgrace in a recent interview with Andy Dosty. Source: Eugene Osafo-Nkansah/Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Philippine President-elect Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos (L), former Philippine President Joseph Estrada (R) and Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian (C) attend the awarding ceremony to Filipinos that contributed to the promotion of the Philippines-China mutual understanding, in Makati City, the Philippines on June 10, 2022. The newly-elected Philippine leader on Friday vowed to foster stronger and deeper Philippines-China relations during his six-year administration. (Photo by Rouelle Umali/Xinhua via Getty Images) In a speech commemorating the 73rd founding anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian signaled a golden era of partnership between China and the Philippines, under the leadership of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and President Xi Jinping. Huang revealed that a consensus between the two leaders was made, which would serve as a blueprint of cooperation between Beijing and Manila. We are ready to work with the Philippines to implement the consensus reached by President Xi and President Marcos Jr. to follow through on the blueprint for cooperation to jointly ushering a new golden era in our bilateral relations, the Chinese envoy said. We should preserve the friendship between China and the Philippines. This is not only the common aspiration of the two peoples, but also the inevitable choice for common development, Ambassador Huang added. He also encouraged the preservation of friendship between the two countries, so that our overall relations will not be affected. We should properly handle differences to remove interference from China-Philippine relations. We are neighbors and have every reason to live together peacefully, Huang said. We should put our differences in a proper place and seek peaceful solutions through friendly consultations so that our overall relations will not be affected, he added. Huang also highlighted Chinas role on the international scene, with its contribution to world economic growth at more than 30%. The Belt and Road Cooperation, he said, has fruitful results with a large number of projects completed making real contributions to local economic growth and peoples livelihood, and has promoted world peace and development and participated in global governance. It was a decade of opening up at a higher level and sharing development opportunities with the world, said Huang. It was a decade where China shouldered the responsibilities of a major country, he added. Story continues Marvin Joseph Ang is a news and creative writer who follows developments on politics, democracy, and popular culture. He advocates for a free press and national democracy. Follow him on Twitter at @marvs30ang for latest news and updates. The views expressed are his own. Watch more videos on Yahoo: Dr. Shankar Chellam generated this image for a 2017 African dust episode reaching Houston using NASA web resources. Credit: NASA Worldview Every summer, weather forecasters blast news about African dust plumes crossing the southern United States. And to most people, it's just dust, but to researchers at Texas A&M University, it's much more. Researchers have developed a new method called isotope-resolved chemical mass balance to identify dust participles using isotopic measurements. Their new research builds off previous studies where they identified and quantified the dust by determining the elemental composition. The study was recently published in Environmental Science & Technology. To do this work, the teamspecifically Sourav Das, research assistant and doctoral student in the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineeringcollaborated with Brent Miller, professor in geology and geophysics at Texas A&M, and researchers at the University of Miami. "We are one of the very few groups that study how this African dust or any kind of global or regional dust sources influence local air pollution by mixing with aerosols from various proximal sources," said Dr. Shankar Chellam, professor of civil and environmental engineering and A.P. and Florence Wiley Professor III. "Sourav had to first develop a brand-new instrumental method to measure dust's isotopic and elemental composition and then perform modeling using these measurements." Previously, Chellam's students examined and determined the elemental analysis of African dust, but this new method quantifies the isotopic composition of three different metals that serve as unique tracers. An element could be labeled simply as strontium (an alkaline earth metal), but geochemists would carefully label it as strontium 86 or 87, depending on the atomic mass, for example. For dust, they analyzed the rare earth metal neodymium along with strontium and hafnium. Chellam suggested thinking of the elemental analysis as identifying a full fingerprint. But this new method is like identifying each curve and groove in the fingerprint. Das added that the analogy is that chemically similar sources are like twins with the same face, but whose fingerprints would be unique, which can be quantified using isotopes. A strong Saharan dust cloud hovers over the beaches of Barbados. Credit: Dr. Joe Prospero, University of Miami "How do we improve the accuracy of not only identifying African dust but also quantifying its contributions (in the air) at low levels before the arrival of the main plume and after its departure?" Chellam asked. "To do that is a Herculean task. If it was hard before, it is now ten times harder to pursue low concentrations." Accurately and quantitatively tracking Saharan dust across the globe is essential to explain its effects on the Earth's climate, water and nutrient cycle, and human health. In previous studies, air samples were collected from Barbados and Houston at different times, but this study is distinct because they tracked the same dust plumes from Africa to Houston using NASA satellite images and large-scale models. "Nobody has ever determined these three isotopes in African dust with relevance to urban air pollution, so there's no model for that," Chellam said. "Sourav had to improve the existing model to add the capability of statistically modeling the isotopic fingerprints in addition to the elemental data." When looking at the soil from Africa or Houston, the elemental composition is essentially the same. But going deeper into the isotope realm, researchers have quantified how different resuspended crustal material from the two continents is, especially after crossing the Atlantic Ocean. "We found that when you accurately quantify African dust in Houston, we are also accurately measuring other sources," Das said. "It's more a universal method. If you have two or three sources that look similar due to their composition (e.g., dust from North Africa and resuspended dust in Houston), we can distinguish them more accurately. This method of using isotopes is not just applicable to one particular geographical or subject area, but is more applicable to any location and many fields of air pollution." Air pollution can be caused by petroleum refining in industrial areas, vehicles and natural factors such as dust and smoke from fires, affecting air quality. According to researchers, there is a clear need for a fuller understanding of the chemical and physical properties of the air to assess potential health impacts of the dust. This isotopic method can be applied and implemented in any metropolitan or remote area in North America, Europe and Asia impacted by desert aerosols. "There are numerous other possibilities where we can apply this isotope-based method to quantify anthropogenic and natural aerosols polluting urban air," Das said. Explore further Anthropogenic air pollution impacts health and climate in the Middle East More information: Sourav Das et al, Coupling SrNdHf Isotope Ratios and Elemental Analysis to Accurately Quantify North African Dust Contributions to PM2.5 in a Complex Urban Atmosphere by Reducing Mineral Dust Collinearity, Environmental Science & Technology (2022). Journal information: Environmental Science & Technology Sourav Das et al, Coupling SrNdHf Isotope Ratios and Elemental Analysis to Accurately Quantify North African Dust Contributions to PM2.5 in a Complex Urban Atmosphere by Reducing Mineral Dust Collinearity,(2022). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c01233 Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain South Australian artificial intelligence (AI) company GoMicro is rolling out its new grain assessment technology in Australia, paving the way towards more consistent quality controls and stable grain and pulse prices. Based at Flinders University's high-tech New Venture Institute (NVI) at Tonsley Innovation District in Clovelly Park, Adelaide, GoMicro CEO Dr. Sivam Krish says the multi-grain assessor gives growers and domestic and export markets a quick and better way to grade crops, accurately testing more than 1,200 grains in one samplecompared to the existing scanner-based method which assesses about 200 well-separated grains at a time. "GoMicro relies on the excellent quality of phone cameras and Amazon web services to deliver low-cost, high-precision quality grain and other produce assessments to farmers worldwide," says Dr. Krish. GoMicro's grain assessment technology is also being trialed in wheat grown in India, corn in Ghana and negotiations are well advanced to expand the assessor rollout with a large Indian ag-tech company to use on grain, corn and soy procurement. "Accurate verifiable assessment will greatly reduce quality-related assessment risks for all parties in the supply chain," says Dr. Krish. The new system reduces the risk of wasted production and trade disputes which often involves more subjective human quality assessment. "This direct digital manufacturing facility, at Flinders University, is working with Queensland grain, seed and pulse trader PB Agrifood to assess the quality of soybeans sold by local farmers," Dr. Krish says. In the first Australian trial, PB Agrifood field officer Kate McIntyre says the Toowoomba-based company hopes the GoMicro Assessor will be "very useful in day-to-day operations," making digitization solutions accessible to the company as well as growers to produce fair pricing based on objective assessment. "When PB Agrifood heard about Go Micro and the use of AI technology to classify grain and pulses, we thought about how this technology could improve efficiency and accuracy in our intake of soybeans," says Ms. McIntyre. "We believe that the implementation of the technology developed by Go Micro will allow us to establish the quality of the soybeans at intake more quickly and accurately." Using GoMicros grain assessment technology. Credit: Flinders University PB Agrifood has several uses for soybeans including whole beans, flour, kibble and meal. Each of these require different standards of soybeans. Currently, PB Agrifood staff manually categorize these soybeans based on the relevant standards. The Go Micro technology assesses the soybeans into five categories and creates a table of results for each defect, including the percentage of defective beans in each category. "It will enable us to match these percentages to our intake standards and categorize the beans," says Ms. McIntyre. "We are still implementing the technology into our intake process with a few changes to be made, for example, our current standards work off a weight sample whereas with the Go Micro app the sample will be based on the number of individual beans. "We hope that the technology will result in growers getting a fairer and faster categorization of their soybeans." Dr. Krish says the Go Micro technology has shown the potential for farmers to capitalize on low-cost, high-quality grain assessments to "transform entire harvests into digital assets that can be traded online." "We are looking at yet more design and AI features to achieve optimal imaging conditions rapidly, even in the field," says Dr. Krish. "We look forward to making our phone-based AI assessment technology affordable and available to the entire grain industry." GoMicro has developed a range of phone camera techniques and flexible web-based and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to promote primary production and profitability via pest and food product surveillance and now the new grain, pulses, coffee and tea assessment method for farmers and consumers around the world. Explore further Mobile phone device can measure food spoilage A reconstruction of how Wufengella would have looked like in life. Credit: Illustration made by Roberts Nicholls, Paleocreations.com An international team of scientists, including from the Universities of Bristol and Oxford, and the Natural History Museum, have discovered that a well-preserved, fossilized worm dating from 518 million years ago resembles the ancestor of three major groups of living animals. Measuring half-an-inch long, the fossil wormnamed Wufengella and unearthed in Chinawas a stubby creature covered in a dense, regularly overlapping array of plates on its back, belonging to an extinct group of shelly organisms called tommotiids. Surrounding the asymmetrical armor was a fleshy body with a series of flattened lobes projecting from the sides. Bundles of bristles emerged from the body in between the lobes and the armor. The many lobes, bundles of bristles and array of shells on the back are evidence that the worm was originally serialized or segmented, like an earthworm. The findings are reported today in the journal Current Biology. Study co-author, Dr. Jakob Vinther from the University of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences, said, "It looks like the unlikely offspring between a bristle worm and a chiton mollusk. Interestingly, it belongs to neither of those groups." The animal kingdom consists of more than 30 major body plans categorized as phyla. Each phylum harbors a set of features that set them apart from one another. Only a few features are shared across more than one group, which is a testament to the very fast rate of evolution during which these major groups of animals originated, called the Cambrian Explosion, about 550 million years ago. Brachiopods are a phylum that superficially resemble bivalves (such as clams) in having a pair of shells and living attached to the seafloor, rocks or reefs. However, when looking inside, brachiopods reveal themselves to be very different in many respects. In fact, brachiopods filter water using a pair of tentacles folded up into a horseshoe-shape organ. The fossil Wufengella and a drawing outlining the major components of the organism. Credit: Jakob Vinther and Luke Parry Such an organ is called a lophophore and brachiopods share the lophophore with two other major groups called the phoronids ("horseshoe worms") and bryozoans ("moss animals"). Molecular studieswhich reconstruct evolutionary trees using amino acid sequencesagree with anatomical evidence that brachiopods, bryozoans and phoronids are each other's closest living relatives, a group called Lophophorata after their filter-feeding organ. Co-author Dr. Luke Parry from the University of Oxford added, "Wufengella belongs to a group of Cambrian fossils that's crucial for understanding how lophophorates evolved. They're called tommotiids, and thanks to these fossils we have been able to understand how brachiopods evolved to have two shells from ancestors with many shell-like plates arranged into a cone or tube. "We have known for a long time about this tommotiid group called camenellans. Paleontologists have thought that those shells were attached to an agile organismcrawling aroundrather than being fixed in one place and feeding with a lophophore." The team, which consists of paleontologists from the University of Bristol, Yunnan University, the Chengjiang Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford, the Natural History Museum in London and the Museum national d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, demonstrate that Wufengella is a complete camenellan tommotiid, which means that reveals what the long sought-after wormy ancestor to lophophorates looked like. Dr. Parry added, "When it first became clear to me what this fossil was that I was looking at under the microscope, I couldn't believe my eyes. This is a fossil that we have often speculated about and hoped we would one day lay eyes on." While the fossil fulfills the paleontological prediction that the lophophorates' ancestral lineage was an agile, armored worm, the appearance of its soft anatomy brings into focus some hypotheses about how lophophorates may be related to segmented worms. A schematic outline of how tommotiids tell us about the evolution of body plans across the tree of Life. Credit: Luke Parry Dr. Vinther said, "Biologists had long noted how brachiopods have multiple, paired body cavities, unique kidney structures and bundles of bristles on their back as larvae. These similarities led them to notice how closely brachiopods resemble annelid worms." "We now can see that those similarities are reflections of shared ancestry. The common ancestor of lophophorates and annelids had an anatomy most closely resembling the annelids. "At some point, the tommotiid ancestor to the lophophorates became sessile and evolved suspension feeding (catching particles suspended in the water). Then a long, wormy body with numerous, repeated body units became less useful and was reduced." Co-author Greg Edgecombe from the Natural History Museum said, "This discovery highlights how important fossils can be for reconstructing evolution. "We get an incomplete picture by only looking at living animals, with the relatively few anatomical characters that are shared between different phyla. With fossils like Wufengella, we can trace each lineage back to its roots, realizing how they once looked altogether different and had very different modes of life, sometimes unique and sometimes shared with more distant relatives." Explore further Biologists discovered the pathwaysof groups of the lophophore More information: A Cambrian tommotiid preserving soft tissues reveals the metameric ancestry of lophophorates., Current Biology (2022). Journal information: Current Biology A Cambrian tommotiid preserving soft tissues reveals the metameric ancestry of lophophorates.,(2022). dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.011 Credit: Steve Bourne, Author provided, Author provided South Australia's Naracoorte Caves is one of the world's best fossil sites, containing a record spanning more than half a million years. Among the remains preserved in layers of sand are the bones of many iconic Australian megafauna species that became extinct between 48,000 and 37,000 years ago. The reasons for the demise of these megafauna species are intensely debated. But the older the fossils we can find, the better we can understand the species' evolution and extinction. To date, determining the precise age of the caves has been difficult. However our research demonstrates, for the first time, how old Naracoorte's caves really areand the answer is up to 500,000 years older than previously thought. Our findings shed new light on the antiquity of this important place. We hope this will aid understanding of how biodiversity responds to a changing climate over time. A moment in geologic time Caves can be extraordinary time capsules, often preserving the remains of long extinct plants and animals in exquisite detail. The Naracoorte Caves in South Australia is one such example. The cave complex is South Australia's only World Heritage site. Among the remarkably diverse and complete fossil record are the remains of iconic megafauna such as: Thylacoleo carnifex (marsupial predator) Zygomaturus tribolus (huge herbivore) Wonambi naracoortensis (giant constrictor snake) Procoptodon goliah (browsing sthenurine kangaroo). Artists impression of extinct Pleistocene megafauna in Australia by Julian Hume. Lower left: enormous short-faced kangaroos. Lower right: Thylacoleo carnifex and Wonambi naracoortensis. Centre left and right: Diprotodon optatum and Zygomaturus trilobus. Author provided Paleontologists have excavated and dated many of these fossil deposits and reconstructed the skeletons of a number of megafauna species. The caves formed when groundwater percolated through cracks in limestone rocks, dissolving them and forming cavities. They were previously dated at between 0.8 and 1.1 million years oldan estimate generated by dating a fossil dune ridge that lies over the cave complex. But the methods used to date the dune ridge were not entirely suitable for the task. As such, a precise age of the caves had not been obtained, until now. This intricate work involved in our study has taken five years, but it was worth the wait. What we did The dating method we used in our Communications Earth & Environment study involved examining the beautiful calcite formations inside the caves. Collectively, these are called "speleothems" and they include stalagmites, stalactites and flowstones. When speleothems form, tiny amounts of uraniuma radioactive elementare locked inside them. Over time, uranium slowly decays into the element lead. This occurs at a known, constant ratewhich means we can use uranium in speleothems as a natural clock to date them. Layers of flowstones overlying sandy layers with fossil bone material in Specimen Cave, Naracoorte. Credit: Jon Woodhead, Author provided Doing so involved extracting uranium and lead from the speleothem in a laboratory. We then measured each element and calculate the sample's age very precisely. Because speleothems only start to grow once a subterranean cavity is formed and above the groundwater table, the oldest speleothem age reveals the minimum age of the cave itself. From this, we found the caves began to form at least 1.34 million years agomaking them 250,000 to 500,000 years older than previous estimates. The second part of our study sought to determine when the caves first opened to the surface, allowing both air and animals in. We did this by examining microscopic particles of charcoal and pollen captured in the calcite formations as they grew. We found charcoal and pollen first appeared in the caves around 600,000 years ago. This suggests the caves may harbor exciting new vertebrate fossil material up to 600,000 years oldmore than 100,000 years older than the oldest known fossil deposits at the complex. Why this matters There's heated debate about whether the extinction of Australia's megafauna was the result of humans or the climate. Whale Bone Cave, one of the oldest caves at Naracoorte. Credit: Steve Bourne, Author provided A good chronology is key to understanding when and how quickly natural processes occurred over time. Without precise ages, we cannot know the rate of change to landscapes, climate or biodiversity. So while the Naracoorte Caves formed at least 1.34 million years ago, they did not open to the surface until 600,000 years ago. This sheds new light on the vast separation in time between landforms evolving and fossils accumulating. Our findings will also help paleontologists target new excavation sites to find older fossilshopefully providing valuable further evidence of how our continent's unique biodiversity has changed. Our new approach can help to unravel how old fossil deposits at other cave complexes in Australia and around the world where both speleothems and vertebrate fossils are found. Australia's richness of plant and animal species faces an uncertain future, due to climate change and other human impacts. Studying important sites such as the Naracoorte Caves helps us understand not just how climate change influenced biodiversity in the past, but what might happen in future. More information: Rieneke Weij et al, Cave opening and fossil accumulation in Naracoorte, Australia, through charcoal and pollen in dated speleothems, Communications Earth & Environment (2022). Journal information: Communications Earth & Environment Rieneke Weij et al, Cave opening and fossil accumulation in Naracoorte, Australia, through charcoal and pollen in dated speleothems,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-022-00538-y This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Credit: Shutterstock American workers with limited job opportunities during their working years face obstacles in retirement too, perpetuating inequities among demographic groups. That's according to research conducted by Emma Aguila, a USC Price School associate professor and expert on the economics of aging. Aguila's research, which was reported in a recent study for the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, sheds light on some of the challenges many older Americans face in planning for retirement or seeking to work longer into their lives. As Healthy Aging Month comes to a close, the study documents the varied work pathways of America's increasingly diverse older workforce. Disadvantaged older workers are more likely to be forced into involuntary retirement due to job loss or disability, for example. They may take on informal gigs that don't contribute to the Social Security system, such as nannying. Hispanic and Black Americans in mid-skilled jobs have been particularly affected by automation, as well. Additionally, historically disadvantaged groups are less likely to have control over where, when and how much they work at older ages. Despite the growing diversity of the aging workforce, much of the existing research on older workers has focused on the experiences of economically and socially advantaged groups, the study concluded. "I think we've been analyzing the population as if they all behave the same, like they all have full-time jobs and they follow this career path and then they retire," Aguila said. "But I think what we really need to consider is the heterogeneity across the population." Take pensions, for example. Employer-sponsored plans covered about two-thirds (64.6%) of non-Hispanic white workers, 55.7% of Black workers, and just over one-third (38.4%) of Hispanic workers, Aguila reported. Occupational segregation Those differences can be explained in large part by occupational segregation. Whites are more likely to work at larger firms that provide pensions, while Blacks are more likely employed in the public sector, which often offers pensions, too. Hispanics, by contrast, are more likely to work at smaller firms or part timejobs that are less likely to include employer-sponsored retirement plans. Disparities like this, along with other inequities such as health and education, further perpetuate income inequality come retirement. "The more advantaged workers, they not only have Social Security, but they will have other sources of income" like savings or pensions, Aguila noted. "So the inequality continues." The National Academy tapped Aguila to analyze existing data and research on vulnerable older workers, as part of a broader report published in May examining the aging American workforce. She reported that there is not enough literature on the experience of these populations, limiting insight into how inequality in retirement and work opportunities affects older adults. Aguila recommended that future research take a "life course perspective" on inequity in work and retirement. Gathering such data would require following people over time to better understand inequalities in later adulthood. Doing so is necessary because the causes of unequal work and retirement pathways begin long before age 50, she explained. Pandemic effect Aguila conducted her research just as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country, putting older adults at heightened risk of serious illness or death, while prompting employers to lay off workers or send them home to work remotely. In many ways, the pandemic and the ensuing turmoil in the job market underscore the issues Aguila studied. Still, she said it's too early to know whether the pandemic exacerbated the problems she highlighted in her study. "More research will come out," Aguila said of the pandemic's impact on older workers. "We will be able to understand better whether these issues were exacerbated." Explore further Mexican immigrants have to work longer due to inadequate Social Security benefits, study finds More information: Understanding the Aging Workforce: Understanding the Aging Workforce: nap.nationalacademies.org/cata ng-a-research-agenda The ornaments of the Arma Veirana Early Mesolithic infant burial. Credit: University of Montreal It seems logical enough: even in their earliest history, humans must have needed something to carry their babies around in as they moved from place to place. But because little hard evidence of this existsno infant-sling fabrics discernible in archeological digs, and very few prehistoric baby burials, besidesit's been anybody's guess that the practice actually took place. Now, however, new research by a team of Universite de Montreal scientists argues for evidence of the use of baby carriers about 10,000 years ago, throwing light on how children were cared for in prehistory and how they were linked socially to their community. Led by Claudine Gravel-Miguel, an Arizona State University (ASU) anthropologist now working as a guest researcher in the lab of UdeM anthropology professor Julien Riel-Salvatore, the team combined innovative analytical methods to extract hard-to-obtain information about perforated shell beads found in the burial of a 40- to 50-days-old female baby, nicknamed Neve, at the cave site of Arma Veirana, in Liguria, Italy. The team's findings are published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. In their study, Gravel-Miguel and her colleagues describe how they used a high-definition 3D photogrammetry model of the burial combined with microscopic observations and microCT scan analyses of the beads to document in detail how the burial took place and how the beads were likely used by Neve and her community in life and in death. The results show that the beads were sewn onto the piece of leather or cloth that was used to wrap Neve for her burial. This decoration contained more than 70 small perforated marine shells and four big perforated bivalve pendants not found in other prehistoric sites. Most of the beads bear heavy signs of use, which could not have been produced during Neve's short life, the scientists observe. This shows that the beads had been worn for a considerable length of time by someone in the infant's community before they were handed down to her, possibly as heirlooms, or perhaps even used as protection against negative forces. "Given the effort needed to create and reuse beads over time, it is interesting that the community decided to part with these beads in the burial of such a young individual," said Gravel-Miguel. "Our research suggests that those beads and pendants likely adorned Neve's carrier, which was buried with her." Relying on ethnographic observations of how baby carriers are adorned and used in some modern hunter-gatherer societies, the study suggests that Neve's community may have decorated her carrier with beads meant to protect her against "evil." However, as her death signaled that those beads had failed, it would have been better to bury the carrier rather than reuse it. The new research contributes to the growing literature of prehistoric childcare and the likely use and reuse of beads to protect individuals and maintain the social links within a community, added Riel-Salvatore. "This paper contributes truly original information on the archaeology of childcare," he said. "It bridges the science and art of archaeology to get to the 'human' element that drives the kind of research we do." Explore further Earliest adorned female infant burial in Europe significant in understanding evolution of personhood More information: C. Gravel-Miguel et al, The Ornaments of the Arma Veirana Early Mesolithic Infant Burial, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory (2022). C. Gravel-Miguel et al, The Ornaments of the Arma Veirana Early Mesolithic Infant Burial,(2022). DOI: 10.1007/s10816-022-09573-7 A model of the incidence of fatal police violence within an organizational or geographic unit. Credit: Annual Review of Criminology (2022). DOI: 10.1146/annurev-criminol-030421-040247 Police in the U.S. deal with more diverse, distressed and aggrieved populations and are involved in more incidents involving firearms, but they average only five months of classroom trainingthe briefest among 18 countries examined in a Rutgers study. According to the data, the rate of fatal police shootings in the United States in 2019 (3.1 per million) was considerably higher than similarly developed nations like France (.14 per million) and Australia (.64 per million). Published in the Annual Review of Criminology, the study examined the rates of fatal police violence, including shootings and other violence in 18 countries while looking at factors like the treatment of minorities, gun homicides and police training duration. Rates of gun homicides and fatal police violence were extremely closely related (.97 correlation). That said, gun homicides may be a proxy for another explanation like armed and hostile suspects. For example, the study found the U.S. had a high fatal police violence rate (3.4 per million) and a high rate of gun homicide (3.7 per 100,000) while Australia had a relatively high fatal police violence rate in 2019 (.7 per million) despite low rates of gun homicide (.14 per 100,000). Countries that exhibit high fatal police violence ratesthe U.S., Venezuela, Canada, Australia, Brazil, France and Belgiumare distinguished by their mistreatment of minorities or long-standing grievances and turmoil, said Paul Hirschfield, lead author of the study and an associate professor of sociology and director of the Criminal Justice Program at Rutgers. "The institution of slavery was so massive in Brazil and the United States that the wounds that it inflicted, the benefits it conferred and the racial hierarchy and ideology that sustained it remained long after abolition and have indelibly shaped the contemporary social and institutional order," said Hirschfield. According to the study, the seven highest countries with fatal police violenceVenezuela, Brazil, the U.S., Argentina, Chile, Canada and Australia (four of whichVenezuela, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina have recent histories of authoritarian rule)have roots in recent colonial domination that produced some form of ethnic cleansing. The top four fatal police violence countries practiced slavery until the second half of the 19th century. The study suggests that the amount of time police receive training and fatal police violence outcomes are closely related. Belgian police, with a fatal police violence rate of .35 per million, receive eight months of training, while the National Police in France, with a lower .29 per million rate of fatal police violence attend school for ten months. Canada, meanwhile, with a fatal police violence rate of .9 per million, provides 26 weeks of training for its national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and 24 weeks for Toronto police, its largest municipal force. What is taught to police during the training and not only the duration of the training, however, makes a difference. In Brazil and Venezuela, militarized police forces receive extended training, but fatal police violence rates are extraordinarily high, in part, because training models brutal methods and generally fails to teach restraint. Hirschfield said countries that have low fatal police violence rates despite ethnic tensions and relatively short classroom training duration (the U.K.'s England and Wales as well as Spain), high rates of distrust in the police (Spain), secretive national police organizations with roots in dictatorships (Spain and Chile), relatively decentralized policing system with strong local policing (Spain and Switzerland), do exist. The study suggests that researchers delve into these deviant cases to examine how countries such as Chile and Spainwhich are beset with rising crime or insecurity, inadequate public resources and secretive national police forces with roots in dictatorshipsstill manage to avoid high fatal police violence rates. Hirschfield said these are "rather fertile grounds for refining both explanations of exceptionally lethal policing in the U.S. and theories of international variation in lethal policing more broadly." Explore further Police lethal violence against Black people may affect clearance of crimes involving Black victims More information: Paul J. Hirschfield, Exceptionally Lethal: American Police Killings in a Comparative Perspective, Annual Review of Criminology (2022). Paul J. Hirschfield, Exceptionally Lethal: American Police Killings in a Comparative Perspective,(2022). DOI: 10.1146/annurev-criminol-030421-040247 In an equitable world, Levan Gelbakhiani, the lead actor in the Tbilisi-set And Then We Danced, would be thrust to stardom for his extraordinary performance as a dancer who finally acts on his gay desires. But this is far from an equitable world. Advertisement When first seen in the studio, Merab (Gelbakhiani) is berated by instructor Aliko (Gogidze) for not being formulaic enough: His eyes are too playful, his posture too soft. "There is no sex in Georgian dance!" thunders the brooding ballet master, but just at that moment in walks Irakli (Bachi Valishvili), a new student who immediately captures Merab's eye. Levan Gelbakhiani stars in "And Then We Danced," a passionate coming-of-age tale set amidst the conservative confines of modern Tbilisi, Georgia. (Music Box Theater) Dance is in Merabs DNA: His separated parents Teona (Tamar Bukhnikashvili) and Ioseb (Aleko Begalishvili) and grandmother (Marika Gogichaishvili) were all professionals, though their moments in the sun were brief, and his troublemaking brother David (Giorgi Tsereteli) is also at the school, despite lacking the same sense of vocation. Hard-working Merab is drawn to impish Irakli, a rule-breaker who easily raises Alikos hackles, and the two are occasionally paired in male duets whose macho nature is subverted by Merabs feelings of attraction. Advertisement Upcoming national auditions increase tension, so a break for the troupe at the countryside house of Merabs dance partner Mary (Ana Javakishvili) is a welcome chance for everyone to let off steam, with the help of alcohol. Late at night, Merab and Irakli find themselves alone, and a shirtless Merab tosses on a woolly white papakha hat as he dances to Robyns Honey, with its deliciously provocative line, Come get your honey. Its an outstanding scene, showcasing Gelbakhianis bewitching screen presence and joy-giving dance moves, yet just at the moment when the viewer is eager to let the scene play out to the end of the song, writer-director Levan Akin inexplicably cuts away, undermining the build-up. Later, when the two young men finally make love, the act opens up a floodgate of emotions for Merab, who can't think of anyone else but Irakli. Hovering over his passion is the cautionary story of a former dance school pupil, now an object of ridicule, whose coming out was the start of a fast decline leading to a life of hustling on the streets. That's what Mary is terrified will happen to Merab as she watches her friend, once a potential boyfriend, open himself up to desires that pit him headlong against the country's very conservative traditions. Mary (sympathetically played by Javakishvili) is but one of several underwritten characters whose stereotyped function in her case, as the hesitant but ultimately supportive female friend cries out for at least a bit more development. David too is a cliche throughout most of the film, his gift for screwing up rather loosely drawn, but then almost at the end, Akin includes a scene between the two brothers of rare emotional depth that highlights even further the dissonance between the expertly conceived moments and their weaker counterparts. The director, born in Sweden to Georgian parents, has stated that he developed his story following numerous interviews with gay Georgians, and while theres no arguing the truth of the situations, the script needs sharper writing to translate commonalities into a fresher, more trenchant storyline. Gifted as both a thrilling dancer and a nuanced actor, Gelbakhianis magnetic presence goes a long way toward papering over some of the more timeworn plot elements (an injured foot subplot, for example, is especially unnecessary), and the film should make audiences clamor for more vehicles that feature his seemingly effortless ability to radiate joy. And Then We Danced 2.5 stars Run time: 1:53 Opens: Friday at the Music Box. In Georgian with English subtitles. Jordan Peele had a vision already, inspired by some animals, but he wanted to talk to a scientist to make it plausible and real. He wanted an animal that mesmerized its prey like a cuttlefish, said UCLA doctoral student Kelsi Rutledge. Credit: Universal Pictures When Kelsi Rutledge came to UCLA to pursue graduate studies, she didn't expect to land a side hustle in Hollywood. But her discovery of a new fish species attracted the attention of director Jordan Peele, and she enthusiastically accepted his invitation to help create a scientifically plausible alien for his latest movie, "Nope." The movie, which is in theaters now, tells the story of a small group of determined people who confront a dangerous species that appears to be from outer space. Rutledge, who will receive her doctoral degree in ecology and evolutionary biology this fall, studies how rays and other fish smell chemicals in the ocean. The project was inspired by her master's thesis on guitarfish, a type of ray that lacks a stinger. "Someone collected these fishes in the Gulf of California and put them on the shelf at UCLA and in the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles but never examined them further," Rutledge said. "When I was looking at them I thought some of them looked different, but I wasn't sure at first." Further study showed this was a new species, which Rutledge named Pseudobatos buthi in honor of her late thesis advisor, ecology and evolutionary biology professor Donald Buth. Discovering a new species is a big deal for a scientist at any stage of their career, even more so for a student just getting started on their graduate research. But what Rutledge did next surpassed science. She asked a professional photographer friend to take pictures of her cradling a museum specimen of the new species on the beach, and announced the discovery on Twitter in the manner of a glossy, social media-friendly birth announcement. The tweet quickly went viral and received media coverage from several prominent outlets, including Smithsonian Magazine. Rutledge said that one distinct feature of guitarfishes is their "weird nose," which has many unique flap-like structures. She began comparing it to other rays and stingrays, and the project evolved into research for a doctoral degree. "I look at it from both a biological and engineering point of view," she said. "Why have these noses evolved to look the way they do? What are the design principles of building an underwater nose? Answering these questions could help inform underwater sensor technology." One mystery of ray olfactionthe sense of smellinvolves how they bring scent into their noses. Dogs, humans and most other terrestrial animals have noses connected to their throats and lungs that work like a pump to pull air, and the scent molecules it contains, into their noses. But rays, like other fish, breathe through gills that are not connected to their noses or throats and yet, without a pump, they can somehow still bring odors into their nose. "I found that the shape of their nose correlates with how the rays swim, but how do their noses actually work?" she said. Rutledge said she checked preserved specimens out from museums "like library books" and used a CT scanner at the UCLA hospital when it wasn't in use to create accurate digital models of nose structures. She made 3D printed physical models from the CT-scans that she put in a water tunnel, similar to a wind tunnel, injected with dye or miniscule, reflective glass balls to observe fluid dynamics around the nose in real time. "The water tunnel experiments showed that the nose shape alone in some rays brings in water because there's no pump," Rutledge said. "If we can develop artificial sensors that don't require a pump by just changing the sensor's geometry, it would be an inexpensive way to increase the efficiency of the system." Bigfin squid. Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration, Windows to the Deep 2021 To do some of this research, Rutledge partnered with John Dabiri, an engineering professor at Caltech who studies fluid mechanics and flow physics. Peele had hired Dabiri to consult on the physics of his fictional alien to learn how fast it could fly and how rain would move around the animal, among other things. When Peele mentioned he was also looking for a biologist who understood how animals behaved and who had discovered a new species, Dabiri recommended Rutledge. "Jordan Peele had a vision already, inspired by some animals, but he wanted to talk to a scientist to make it plausible and real. He wanted an animal that mesmerized its prey like a cuttlefish," Rutledge said. "One way he wanted to display this mesmerization aspect was designing the movie's creature with a square eyeball but he didn't think any animals had them." Rutledge informed him octopuses have square pupils, and sent him reference photos. "There's a lot of marine animal inspiration in the way the alien moves, especially in its unfurled form, which is very similar to a bigfin squid, which have a beautiful billowing fin on their head. The alien moves in the sky like an octopus or squid, and its saucer form is directly modeled after the sand dollar. The creature's ability to camouflage itself as a cloud is also based on octopuses, who have special skin cells that change color to blend in with the background," Rutledge said. Some of the most horrifying moments in the movie occur after the creature, called "Jean Jacket," consumes its live prey, who scream from within the creature's guts. "The digestive system is based on that of an ocean creature called the giant larvacean, and also on birds' digestive systems," Rutledge said. "Birds swallow their food whole and store it in a crop. It passes into the gizzard where it is ground up by grit and rocks the birds have swallowed. As in larvaceans and birds, food is swallowed whole and passes through a labyrinth of canals." Using high-powered lasers to illuminate tiny particles in water, we can visually see the fluid dynamics of odor capture, which is the green particles going into the nose of a ray. Credit: Kelsi Rutledge With help from Rutledge and Dabiri, Peele created a world that looked like the one we are used to but felt like a marine environment, in which a predator above hunted smaller creatures living in the sand. To escape predation, people had to learn how to predict and deflect "Jean Jacket's" behavior, as wild prey animals must. The result is a monster that terrifies and kills without true malice, a beautiful animal simply living the life nature meant it to live. Rutledge's work for "Nope" is not done yet. Together with the movie's main characters, Rutledge will co-author a fake scientific paper about the new species. The narrative will be that the characters reached out to Rutledge at UCLA to help them describe and name "Jean Jacket" for the scientific community. Rutledge will write it exactly as a real scientific papershe has experience publishing about a new species, after all. The fake manuscript will take the form of a coffee table book with a cover that looks like the journal Nature, one of the world's top scientific journals. "Jean Jacket's" scientific name will be "Occulonimbus edoequus," which means "hidden dark cloud, stallion-eater" in Latin. After finishing her doctoral studies this fall, Rutledge hopes to join Dabiri's Caltech lab as a postdoctoral scholar. And though her first and foremost passion is science, she's ready to step up next time Hollywood comes calling. Explore further Researchers aim to uncover the secrets to happiness with new app People pull small boats out of Havana Bay on September 26, 2022, as Cuba is expected to bear the brunt of Hurricane Ian. Hurricane Ian strengthened into a Category 3 storm on Tuesday, the United States National Hurricane Center said, as Cuba and Floridaboth in the storm's likely pathramped up preparations to deal with high winds and potential flooding. About 50,000 people in Cuba's western Pinar del Rio province moved to safer locations, 6,000 of them to state-run shelters and the rest to the homes of relatives and friends, local authorities said. The NHC warned in an advisory issued on Tuesday at 2:30 am local time (0630 GMT) that Ian was intensifying and would "soon" make landfall in western Cuba. "The maximum winds are now estimated to be 115 miles (185 kilometers) per hour with higher gusts," it said, making Ian a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. 'Huge storm surge' expected In Florida, the city of Tampa was under a hurricane watch, and Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in all 67 counties as officials scrambled to prepare for the storm's forecast landing on Wednesday or Thursday. Ian "will bring heavy rains, strong winds, flash flooding, storm surge, along with isolated tornado activity along Florida's Gulf Coast," DeSantis said at a press conference in Tallahassee on Monday. He warned people to prepare for power cuts. "Even if the eye of the storm doesn't hit your region, you're going to have really significant winds, it's going to knock over trees, it's going to cause interruptions," DeSantis said, warning of likely flooding. People in the US state of Florida prepare for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Ian. The governor urged residents to stock up on food, water, medicine and fuel, and he called up 7,000 National Guard members to help with the effort. Authorities in several Florida municipalities, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, started distributing free sandbags to residents to help protect their homes from the risk of flooding. Tampa International Airport said it would suspend operations on Tuesday at 5:00 pm local time (2100 GMT). President Joe Biden approved emergency aid to 24 counties in Florida through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). NASA said it was rolling back its massive Moon rocket into its storage hangar at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida due to the hurricane. Fiona's wake The Caribbean and parts of eastern Canada are still counting the cost of powerful storm Fiona, which tore through last week, claiming several lives. When it arrived in eastern Canada, the storm packed intense winds of 80 miles per hour, bringing torrential rain and waves of up to 40 feet (12 meters). Damage caused by Hurricane Fiona in Newfoundland and Labrador province, Canada. Three people are believed to have died when Fiona barreled into Canada's Atlantic provinces as a post-tropical cyclone early Saturday. Prince Edward Island authorities confirmed the death of one person, while officials in Newfoundland said they found the body of a 73-year-old woman believed to have been swept from her home. She was apparently sheltering in her basement when waves broke through. A third person has been reported missing in Nova Scotiaone of the hardest-hit provincesand is presumed dead. "The devastation is immense," Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told reporters. "The magnitude of the storm is incredible." Storm surges swept at least 20 homes into the sea in the town of Channel-Port aux Basques, on the southwestern tip of Newfoundland. Around 200 residents had been evacuated before the storm hit. "Some people have lost everything, and I mean everything," Mayor Brian Button told CBC News. Explore further Ian strengthens to Category 1 hurricane as it nears Cuba: NHC 2022 AFP People pull small boats out of Havana Bay on Monday before Hurricane Ian hit Cuba. Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba early Tuesday, with the storm prompting mass evacuations and fears it will bring widespread destruction as it heads for the US state of Florida. "Ian is already over Cuban territory," said a forecaster from the country's Institute of Meteorology in a special broadcast on state television. "The outer wall of the storm is on the coast of the province of Pinar del Rio." About 38,000 people had been evacuated from their homes in the province, which was bearing the brunt of the storm, local authorities said. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Ian made landfall just southwest of the town of La Coloma at about 4:30 am local time (0830 GMT). The hurricane was packing maximum sustained winds of 125 miles (205 kilometers) per hour, the NHC said, making it a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. "Devastating wind damage is expected where the core of Ian moves across western Cuba this morning," it added. 'Storm surge' With the hurricane moving north, Florida's western coast from Fort Myers to Tampa Bay were at greatest risk of "life-threatening" storm surges, the NHC said. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in all 67 counties as officials scrambled to prepare for the storm's forecast landing on Wednesday or Thursday. People in the US state of Florida prepare for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Ian. Ian "will bring heavy rains, strong winds, flash flooding, storm surge, along with isolated tornado activity along Florida's Gulf Coast," DeSantis said at a press conference in Tallahassee on Monday. He warned people to prepare for power cuts. "Even if the eye of the storm doesn't hit your region, you're going to have really significant winds, it's going to knock over trees, it's going to cause interruptions," DeSantis said, warning of likely flooding. The governor urged residents to stock up on food, water, medicine and fuel, and he called up 7,000 National Guard members to help with the effort. Authorities in several Florida municipalities, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, started distributing free sandbags to residents to help protect their homes from the risk of flooding. Tampa International Airport said it would suspend operations on Tuesday at 5:00 pm local time (2100 GMT). US President Joe Biden approved emergency aid to 24 counties in Florida through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). NASA said it was rolling back its massive Moon rocket into its storage hangar at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida due to the hurricane. Damage caused by Hurricane Fiona in Newfoundland and Labrador province, Canada. Fiona's wake The Caribbean and parts of eastern Canada are still counting the cost of powerful storm Fiona, which tore through last week, claiming several lives. When it arrived in Canada, the storm packed intense winds of 80 miles per hour, bringing torrential rain and waves of up to 40 feet (12 meters). Three people are believed to have died when Fiona barreled into Canada's Atlantic provinces as a post-tropical cyclone early Saturday. Prince Edward Island authorities confirmed the death of one person, while officials in Newfoundland said they found the body of a 73-year-old woman believed to have been swept from her home. She was apparently sheltering in her basement when waves broke through. A third person has been reported missing in Nova Scotiaone of the hardest-hit provincesand is presumed dead. "The devastation is immense," Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told reporters. "The magnitude of the storm is incredible." Storm surges swept at least 20 homes into the sea in the town of Channel-Port aux Basques, on the southwestern tip of Newfoundland. Around 200 residents had been evacuated before the storm hit. "Some people have lost everything, and I mean everything," Mayor Brian Button told CBC News. Explore further Hurricane Ian strengthens to Category 3 storm ahead of Cuba, Florida landfall 2022 AFP Hurricane Ian gained strength as it headed over warm waters off Cuba on Sept. 26, 2022. Credit: NOAA Hurricane Ian strengthened into a major hurricane on Tuesday as it headed for Florida and was on track to bring dangerous storm surge to the coast and flooding rainfall to large parts of the state. Several areas, including around Tampa Bay, were under evacuation orders. After a slow start to the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, Ian formed in ideal conditions, with minimal vertical wind shear, which can tear apart a storm, and warm ocean surface waters providing fuel. Forecasters expect Ian to remain a major hurricanemeaning Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, with winds over 110 mphas it moves through the Gulf of Mexico. But the scale doesn't take water risk into account, and flooding and storm surge are both major risks from Ian. As a meteorologist living in Florida, I study tropical storms and hurricanes. Here are three reasons Florida is facing a high risk of water hazards this week. The rainy side of the storm Tropical systems are not perfectly symmetrical systemsone side is typically larger. With Ian tracking up the west coast of Florida, the peninsula is expected to be on the "wet" side of the storm. The part of the storm east of the center of circulation generally has more cloud cover and more rain. While Ian travels up the Florida coast, these outer bands will stretch over much of the peninsula and produce heavy rain for many locations, beginning as early as Monday night for South Florida and late Wednesday for northern parts of the state. Ians forecast as of Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. The probable path could shift as the storm moves through the Gulf of Mexico. Credit: National Hurricane Center Some weather models are forecasting 10 inches or more of rain in the region where the storm makes landfall and travels across the state, possibly as high as 15 inches. Regardless of the landfall location, most of the Florida Peninsula will see effects from Hurricane Ian. Storm surge risk As Hurricane Ian continues to track north, it will be pushing the waters of the Gulf of Mexico northward with it. This is storm surge, and it raises the water level, with waves on top adding to its destructive power. The Gulf acts like a huge bathtub, and when strong storms enter into this region, they help lift up the water due to low barometric pressure. Barometric pressure has a direct influence on sea levels. When air pressure rises, sea levels lower. However, lower barometric pressure lifts the sea. Additionally, the storm's strong winds will push the water in the same direction the storm is heading. Since land surrounds the Gulf of Mexico, there is nowhere for this water to go but inland. Locations along a large part of the western Gulf Coast could see storm surge heights between 4 and 10 feet, depending on just how close Ian tracks to the coastline. The Tampa area forecast as of Tuesday, was for up to 10 feet of storm surge that could be pushed into Tampa Bay. Up to 3 feet of storm surge was expected for the Florida Keys and South Florida, but these amounts could also be higher, especially as Ian strengthens. The most dangerous side of the storm is its front right quadrant. Due to Ian's northward track, portions of the Big Bend and the Panhandle can expect to see some storm surge and coastal flooding, especially as the storm nears land. The Tampa Bay area in particular should be monitoring Ian closely, especially if the center of circulation makes a direct impact or remains just offshore. Mandatory evacuation orders were already in effect Monday for parts of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee counties, and Hernando County had a voluntary evacuation order. Residents were encouraged to check their evacuation zones and identify the closest shelters before the storm arrives. Size matters Another factor to watch is Ian's size. Size plays a key role in a hurricane's impact. A large hurricane, like Irma in 2017, will have more cloud cover and therefore more rain. Storm surge will reach a larger area with larger storms. If the storm is large enough, it could even generate storm surge on the eastern side of the Florida Peninsula, like Irma did along portions of northeast Florida. A smaller storm, like Hurricane Andrew in 1992, is more of a wind storm and the impacts are in a smaller area. But as Florida saw with Andrew, wind damage can be catastrophic in these smaller systems. It's too early to tell how large Ian will get, but the storm is expected to intensify over the Gulf of Mexico. Residents across Florida need to prepare for the risk of heavy rain, flash flooding, storm surge, isolated tornadoes and strong winds. Explore further Ian strengthens to Category 1 hurricane as it nears Cuba: NHC This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. With maximum sustained windspeeds of 125 miles (205 kilometers) per hour, Ian pummeled Cuba's western regions for over five hours before its eye moved out over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Ian is expected to directly hit the US state of Florida on Wednesday, with forecasters warning of life-threatening storm surges and "devastating" winds after it reportedly killed two and left millions without power in Cuba. As of 2 am (0500 GMT), mandatory evacuation orders had been issued in a dozen coastal Florida counties, with voluntary evacuation recommended in several others, according to the state's emergency officials. In an advisory issued around the same time, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said it expected the Category 3 storm to strengthen until making landfall. "The center of Ian is forecast to move over central Florida Wednesday night and Thursday morning and emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday," the NHC said, calling the storm "an extremely dangerous major hurricane." The NHC said earlier that a "life-threatening storm surge is expected along the Florida west coast and the Lower Florida Keys," with "devastating wind damage" expected near Ian's core. "Catastrophic flooding is expected across portions of central Florida with considerable flooding in southern Florida, northern Florida, southeastern Georgia and coastal South Carolina," it said. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that Ian would "likely make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane." About 40,000 people had been evacuated from their homes Cuba's western Pinar del Rio province, where Ian made landfall. He said there had already been at least two "radar-indicated tornadoes" in the state, and warned those in areas projected to be hit hardest that their "time to evacuate is coming to an end." "You need to evacuate now. You're going to start feeling major impacts of this storm relatively soon," he said. Calls to heed evacuation warnings were echoed by US President Joe Biden, who earlier said Ian "could be a very severe hurricane, life-threatening and devastating in its impact." White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden had spoken with DeSantisa potential 2024 election challengeron Tuesday evening to discuss preparations for the storm. Widespread blackout Ian plunged all of Cuba into darkness on Tuesday after battering the country's west for more than five hours before moving back out over the Gulf of Mexico, the Insmet meteorological institute said. The storm damaged Cuba's power network and left the island "without electrical service," state electricity company Union Electrica said. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in all of the southern US state's 67 counties as officials scrambled to prepare for the storm's arrival. Only the few people with gasoline-powered generators had access to electricity on the island of more than 11 million people. Others had to make do with flashlights or candles at home, and lit their way with cell phones as they walked the streets. In the western city of Pinar del Rio, AFP footage showed downed power lines, flooded streets and a scattering of damaged rooftops. "Desolation and destruction. These are terrifying hours. Nothing is left here," a 70-year-old resident of the city was quoted as saying in a social media post by his journalist son, Lazaro Manuel Alonso. About 40,000 people were evacuated across Pinar del Rio province, which bore the brunt of the storm, local authorities said. Two dead Cuban residents described "destruction" and posted images on social media of flooded streets and felled trees. At the time of impact, the NHC reported Ian's maximum wind speeds at 125 miles (205 kilometers) per hour. People in the US state of Florida prepare for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Ian. At least two people have been reported dead in Pinar del Rio province, according to Cuban state media. In Consolacion del Sur, southwest of Havana, 65-year-old Caridad Fernandez said her roof was seriously damaged and water came through her front door. "Everything we have is damaged," she said. "But we'll get through this, we'll just keep moving forwards." In San Juan y Martinez, a hub for Cuba's vital cigar industry, "it was apocalyptic, a real disaster," said Hirochi Robaina from the Robaina tobacco plantation. 'Life and death' In Florida, 30-year-old Chelsea Thompson was helping her parents board up their home on Tuesday in a mandatory evacuation zone southwest of Tampa, saying that "the closer it gets, obviously with the unknown, your anxiety gets a little higher." The Pentagon said 3,200 national guardsmen had been called up in Florida, with another 1,800 on the way. Satellite photo and map showing the projected path of Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in Cuba Tuesday. Authorities in several municipalities were distributing free sandbags to help residents protect their homes from flooding. Tampa International Airport suspended operations from Tuesday at 5 pm. Biden has preemptively approved emergency aid in Florida through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). NASA, on the state's east coast, also took precautions, rolling back its massive Moon rocket into a storage hanger for protection. Like DeSantis, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell highlighted the danger of storm surge, saying it was the agency's "biggest concern." "If people are told to evacuate by their local officials, please listen to them. The decision you choose to make may be the difference between life and death," she said. Explore further Hurricane Ian hits Cuba as Category 3 storm 2022 AFP Volunteers and city employees were scrambling to fill and load sandbags ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ian, which US forecasters say is headed for a direct and potentially catastrophic hit on Tampa, Florida. Soon to be in the teeth of a monster storm, anxious Tampa residents were making final preparations Tuesday ahead of potentially catastrophic Hurricane Ian, which is forecast to slam Florida's west coast with a ferocity unseen here in decades. Authorities have issued evacuation orders for more than two million Floridians, including those in the most vulnerable areas around the Tampa Bay, where inlets, canals and waterways are susceptible to the mass flooding and life-threatening storm surges expected when Mother Nature unleashes its fury on Florida beginning Tuesday night. City employees were filling and handing out free sandbags at various locations, where long lines of cars could be seen as residents scrambled for ways to protect their property. Amanda Harrison, 66, told AFP she waited two hours at a distribution point to get "the maximum number of bags" to line her home ahead of Ian's wrath. "And my fears are that they're not going to do any good." A 100-mile (160-kilometer) stretch from Ft Myers north to Tampa is under the most serious threat, as Ian battered Cuba Tuesday as a Category 3 major hurricane and began building in intensity over the warm Gulf of Mexico waters on its way north. Fearing it could hit as a highly dangerous Category 4, Floridians were stocking up on bottled water, food, and other emergency supplies like batteries and propane gas. At a home improvement store in west Tampa, dozens of customers were buying plywood to protect their homes. Others loaded up the family car to exit the hurricane zone. Chelsea Thompson and her husband rushed to her parents' home in St Petersburg, southwest of Tampa, early Tuesday to help them board up doors and windows with plywood. Her parents' home is in one of the mandatory evacuation zones and the family knew there was no time to lose. Danny Aller and his wife Karen board up windows as they prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Ian in Indian Shores, Florida, 25 miles west of Tampa. "The closer it (Hurricane Ian) gets, obviously with the unknown, your anxiety gets a little higher," said 30-year-old Thompson. "Boarding up the house makes it more real too," she added. "So I am pretty nervous, but hoping for the best." While her parents were leaving the city with their dog, bound for inland Orlando, Thompson and her husband decided to ride out the hurricane in their own, less vulnerable home. "We're hoping that it takes a little bit of a turn... so we don't get as much impact" from Ian, she added. While Tampa braced for potential disaster, resident Ricardo Castro said taking necessary pre-storm steps was crucial. "A lot of people are worried, but I'm from Puerto Rico and this is normal for us," said the 48-year-old longtime Tampa resident, referring to the US island territory battered by massive Hurricane Fiona one week earlier. As he and a neighbor waited for sandbags, Castro jumped out of his car to help fill bags and hand them out. "If you prepare," he said, "everything will be fine." Danny Aller and his wife Karen were leaving little to chance. Twenty five miles west of Tampa in Indian Shores, the couple were boarding up their modest home with plywood bearing a blunt, spray-painted message: "Go away Ian." Explore further Hurricane Ian leaves western Cuba battered, takes aim for Florida 2022 AFP Credit: fizkes, Shutterstock Let's get two things straight. Firstly, counting the number of words in a language is no easy feat. And secondly, linguistics expert Kenny Smith is skeptical of the the claim that English has a far larger vocabulary than other comparable European languages. "I'm not sure you can draw that conclusion, certainly not by just looking at the size of respective dictionaries," says Smith, a professor at the University of Edinburgh's Center for Language Evolution in the United Kingdom. "A dictionary is an institutional artifact, and words are not collected using the same methodologies in all countries." He is also quick to contextualize the popular belief that the Inuit have many more words for snow than other cultures. He argues that it all comes down to usage pressureif one needs to make very specific distinctions, then language will evolve to enable you to do that. This happens in any language: a professional European skier would also be able to speak about snow to the degree of detail he or she needed. "One recent study also looked at two English words: snow and ice," continues Smith. "The researchers found that languages that had just one word to cover both concepts tended to be spoken in hot countries. This again points to the fact that the usage needs of users shape the number of words in any particular area." Linguistics experts tend to get much more excited about language structure. "Grammatical rules and the sound systems used are far more interesting to us," he explains. "Here, you can definitely see differences between languages." How English simplified itself Smith notes for example that English is grammatically relatively simple. Many other languages are organized according to more complex rules, whether with gendered nouns or case markings that depend on situational contexts. Why this is the case is an open question. It could be a historical accident. One rather controversial theory is that English simplified as it evolved, precisely because it is widely spoken (and especially because it is so widely spoken among non-native speakers). According to this theory, the need to communicate with people who might not have a firm grasp of the complexities of the language provided the pressure to simplify. And over hundreds of years, English became simpler. "Languages are shaped by how they are learned and how they are used," adds Smith. "Things that are easier to learn will stick around and pass down through generations, while things that are harder to learn, or not useful, will drop out." The surprising thing is that this happens all the time, in every language. "We fine-tune the things we say every day," says Smith. "If you are doing DIY for example, and don't know the name of the tool you need, you might ask someone to pass you the thing that looks like a corkscrew." If this is done over and over again, this "mistake" becomes part of the language. Through the ELC project, Smith and his colleagues have looked at how non-native speakers might influence the complexity of a language. Through modeling, they were able to see how words can evolve at the level of personal interactions, though how this translates to change within the larger language community remains unclear. Ultimately though all languages do the same jobthey enable us to express ourselves and to communicate. They just happen to be organized a little differently. "There is no population on Earth that cannot express themselves fully," remarks Smith. "Every language has enough words." Explore further How our brains influence language change Credit: CC0 Public Domain After the revelations about the 2016 U.S. presidential election being influenced by Russian-generated "fake news," many people became more critical towards news on social media. "Fake news" was subsequently coined by several dictionaries and language organizations, such as the Language Council of Norway, as being the 2017 word of the year. In Norway many of us learned that if something appears to be too good to be true, then it often is. But what about the language itselfcan it provide an indication of how true the text you are reading is? At the University of Oslo, linguists are now working with computer scientists and artificial intelligence researchers at the independent research organization SINTEF in order to expose the language of fake news, what they call Fakespeak. "We are investigating to see whether or not there are linguistic differences between real and false news texts in Norwegian, English and Russian. Our goal is to improve current fact-checking tools," says Silje Susanne Alvestad. She is the head of the Fakespeak project and recognizes that linguistics, which is her field of expertise, can provide important societal benefits by combatting fake news. "For several years, research in media studies and computer science has been conducted on various aspects of fake news, for example, the way in which it is spread. But in linguistics, there have been gaps with regards to this phenomenon," says Alvestad. Informal style and verbs in the present tense can be important signs Admittedly, there are some linguists who have tackled fake news articles in the past. In 2003, the New York Times journalist Jayson Blair was caught fabricating a number of news articles. Jack Grieve and his colleagues at the University of Birmingham have gathered these false texts into what linguists call a corpus, comparing them with a selection of real news stories written by Blair. "The researchers assumed that since Jayson Blair had different motives for writing these two types of articlesseeking to provide information in his genuine texts and intending to mislead people with his fake onesthe style and the linguistic features would also be different," says Alvestad. And sure enough, the texts were different in style. "The untrue ones had an informal style, while the genuine texts were similar to other texts containing a high density of information." The British researchers discovered several linguistic differences: Real texts: more frequent use of nouns and words that modify nouns. The words were longer on average. Fake texts: more frequent use of verbs, especially in the present tense. Also, more use of pronouns, adjectives and small words used for emphasizing the meaning (emphatic words). Alvestad and her linguist colleagues, Nele Poldvere and Elizaveta Kibisova, are building on these findings as they are now investigating the linguistic characteristics of fake news in Norwegian, English and Russian. How metaphors are used could be an important sign A metaphor is an expression taken from one domain and applied to another. For example, one can use a metaphor from war in the field of health when talking about how to "attack a virus." The UiO researchers led by Nele Poldvere have taken a closer look at Blair's use of metaphors. "He uses fewer metaphors in his fake news articles than when he writes the truth. One possible explanation for this is that we most often use metaphors when we retell stories about something we have actually experienced ourselves," says Alvestad. In addition, Blair uses linguistic elements that describe or try to promote positive emotions. "Previous research has shown that when you deliberately want to mislead people, you usually try to elicit strong negative emotions. However, the opposite was true with Jayson Blair. When he writes false articles, he uses words, phrases and wording that create positive emotions." Alvestad points out that this could be due to the topic: Several of Blair's texts were fake stories about heroic American soldiers during the Iraq war. "Blair wanted to present the Iraq war in a positive light." A challenge to find enough fake news in Norwegian When researchers compare true and fake texts written by the same person, as they are doing with Blair's texts, valuable data emerges. They safeguard against several potential sources of error, such as differences in personal writing style and differences in genre. At the same time, it can be difficult to generalize on the basis of findings sourced from on a single individual. "Jack Grieve and his colleagues conducted several smaller studies similar to the Jayson Blair study and they concluded that people lie in different ways," Alvestad points out. One author often fails to produce enough text. While Jayson Blair's texts reach a total of 80 pages, machine-learning specialists prefer to work with collections of text that are much larger than that. The researchers have therefore chosen to combine sets of text written by one author with texts written by different authors, which they collect from fact-checking services. Alvestad and her colleagues have made good progress in analyzing the language of fake news in English, while both Norwegian and Russian are presenting some methodological challenges. "While English is the most commonly used language online and has been the subject of most research, it is difficult to find enough material in Norwegian. Norway features at the top of the list of studies about trust in the media, so this is hardly surprising." Nevertheless, the researchers have some examples of fake news from individual authors who have also written real articles that they can make comparisons with, and they are collaborating with the Norwegian fact-checking service Faktisk.no in order to collect a larger set of texts. "The latter takes a lot of time, because none of the fact-checking services we have been in contact with have archives they can share with us. We therefore have to find our way back to the original text which has often been amended or removed after the actual facts have been checked. We of course want to examine these articles as they were before their facts were checked," says Alvestad. Difficult to verify sources in Russian fake news items It is well documented that falsehoods abound in the Russian media. Still, it is challenging for Alvestad and her colleagues to find Russian texts that they can use as research material. "For example, it would be interesting to investigate the impact of Russian information prior to the invasion of Ukraine," says Alvestad. However, such a study presents a number of challenges. "First of all, it became difficult early on for journalists in Russia to write something that deviated from the authorities' version of reality. Consequently, the texts look more like press releases than news articles and they often lack the authors' names. We want to include the authors' names and sources so that we can also find texts with which we can compare the misleading texts." Furthermore, fact-checking services in Russia are somewhat different than they are in countries like Norway. "In Russia it is forbidden to spread fake news on certain topics, but their definition of fake news is not quite the same as ours." In order to find good material in Russian, the researchers are now looking at fact-checking services and media based outside Russia, such as the Ukrainian stopfake.org. Better tools for uncovering fake news The social media platform Facebook currently uses artificial intelligence to warn about potential disinformation. If things go the way the researchers in the Fakespeak project are hoping, such tools could be improved. "This is how we work: first, the linguists working on the project analyze the texts. Then they hand over the results to the computer scientists, who incorporate the linguistic characteristics into the existing tools. The aim of this is to ensure that fake news can be detected faster than what is possible at the moment." Will your results be relevant for other languages? "If the Fakespeak project discovers that there are common features in the three languages that we are investigating, this would be an interesting finding. However, these are just the Indo-European languagesthere are many other language families. We will need many more studies to be able to say something about whether these traits are universal." Alvestad reports that there is great interest in the Fakespeak research both inside and outside the world of academia and that she often receives enquiries from researchers who are interested in collaborating. She points to the value of researchers collaborating closely across both disciplines and institutions in a way that is generating new knowledge. "We are actually an example of an interdisciplinary project that is making humanities research highly useful to society," she concludes. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Sports scientists at Nottingham Trent University examined how bouts of physically active math lessons for eight hours per week affected children aged 67 during their first two years of school, by comparing them with another group which studied the usual way. They found that the lessons boosted primary school children's cognition and motor skills, as well as enhancing their mathematics ability. As part of the study, games-based activities were connected to key mathematical concepts and included warm-up exercises and short physically active learning tasks. In one lesson, for instance, pupilswho were from elementary schools in northern Italywere required to complete a mathematical-themed orienteering course, with the answers to each problem providing them with a route around a map. During the study pupils in both groups also performed a series of cognitive function tests which assessed factors such as language, visual perception, memory, attention, reading, writing and calculation. They also performed tests which judged fundamental motor skills such as running, hopping and horizontal jumping and object control using a ball which included kicking, throwing and catching. The team found that the physically active lessons improved cognitive function tests by about 30% on average, when compared to the other group, and that motor development tasks improved by about 25%. As a secondary effect, the intervention also led to stronger math development in the children, the researchers found, with ability improving by 17%. The researchers argue that, while they focused on math lessons, the same approach could easily be used in the classroom with other topics, such as language teaching. "Our study showed that the inclusion of physical activity in math lessons led to synergistic benefits in cognition, gross motor skills and academic achievement among pupils," said lead researcher Dr. Daniele Magistro, an expert in physical activity and health in Nottingham Trent University's School of Science and Technology. "Encouragingly, the positive differences remained following the school holidays and continued to the end of the second school year. Opportunities for physical activity can sometimes be sacrificed to concentrate on more 'academic' subjects, but schools can actually provide an ideal setting for interventions aimed at increasing activity. "Physically active lessons could be a useful addition to curriculums; combining movement with learning activities can extremely beneficial for children's cognitive and motor communication development, which is critical for optimal development in the early years." The study, which also involved the Italy's University of Torino, University Center of Asti (Astiss) and Comprehensive School Guido Gozzano, is published in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise. More information: Daniele Magistro et al, Two years of physically active mathematics lessons enhance cognitive function and gross motor skills in primary school children, Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2022). Daniele Magistro et al, Two years of physically active mathematics lessons enhance cognitive function and gross motor skills in primary school children,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2022.102254 Artist's impression of a five exoplanet system. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech While observing the star system HD 23472 with the ESPRESSO spectrograph (ESO), a team led by Instituto de Astrofisica e Ciencias do Espaco's (IA3) researcher Susana Barros (IA & Dep. de Fisica e AstronomiaFaculdade de Ciencias da Universidade do Porto), found three super-Earths and two super-Mercuries. This last type of exoplanet is still very rarecounting these two, there are only eight known super-Mercuries. The objective of the study, published today in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, was to characterize the composition of small planets and understand how it changes with the planet's position, temperature and the stellar properties. Susana Barros says the team aimed to "study the transition between having or not having an atmosphere, which could be related to the evaporation of the atmosphere due to the irradiation of the star. The team found that this system is composed of three super-Earths with a significant atmosphere and surprisingly two super-Mercuries, which are the closest planets to the star." Of the five planets in the HD 23472 system, three have masses smaller than the Earth. These are among the lightest exoplanets whose masses were measured using the radial velocity method, which was only possible due to the very high precision of ESPRESSO, installed in ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), in Chile. And the presence of not one, but two super-Mercuries, left the team wanting to go further. Density of known rocky planets as a function of the estimated iron to silicate mass fraction of the protoplanetary disc. The black solid line shows the correlation for the known exoplanets (blue dots) excluding the potential super-Mercuries (brown dots). The black symbols represent the planets of our Solar System - from top to bottom, Mercury, Mars, Earth and Venus. Credit: Barros et al. 2022 The planet Mercury, in the solar system, has a relatively larger core and relatively smaller mantle than the other planets, but astronomers don't know why. Some possible explanations involve a giant impact that removed part of the planet's mantle, or part of Mercury's mantle could have evaporated due to its high temperature. Surprisingly, other exoplanets with similar characteristics, called super-Mercuries, were recently found around other stars. Barros says, "For the first time, we have discovered a system with two super-Mercuries. This allows us to obtain clues about how these planets were formed, which could help us exclude some possibilities. For example, if an impact large enough to create a super-Mercury is already very unlikely, two giant impacts in the same system seems very improbable. We still don't know how these planets are formed, but it appears to be connected to the composition of the parent star. This new system can help us find out." Radius versus mass plot, with HD 23472 exoplanets (black dots) compared with other known exoplanets. Earth (blue star) and Venus (Yellow star) are shown for comparison. Dashed lines represent mass-radius models for different planetary compositions. The grey area below shows the maximum collision stripping of the mantle region. Credit: Barros et al. 2022 Team member Olivier Demangeon (IA & DFA-FCUP) says, "Understanding how these two super-Mercuries have formed will require further characterization of the composition of these planets. As these planets have radii smaller than the Earth, current instrumentation does not have the sensitivity to probe the composition of their surface, or the existence and composition of a potential atmosphere. The future Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and its first-generation, high-resolution spectrograph ANDES7, will, for the first time, provide both the required sensitivity and precision to attempt such observations." But the ultimate goal is to find other Earths. "The existence of the atmosphere gives us insight into the formation and evolution of the system and also has implications on the habitability of planets. I would like to extend this type of study to longer period planets which have more amenable temperatures," says Barros. NASA's MESSENGER Wide Angle Camera (WAC) photo of the planet Mercury. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington IA's participation in ESPRESSO is part of a broader strategy to promote exoplanet research in Portugal, by building, developing and defining several instruments and space mission, like ESA's Cheops mission, already in orbit. This strategy will continue in the upcoming years, with the launch of ESA's PLATO space telescope, Ariel mission, and the installation of the ANDES spectrograph in the largest telescope of the next generation, ESO's ELT. Explore further Astronomers discover two 'super-Earths' orbiting nearby star More information: S. C. C. Barros et al, HD 23472: a multi-planetary system with three super-Earths and two potential super-Mercuries, Astronomy & Astrophysics (2022). Journal information: Astronomy & Astrophysics S. C. C. Barros et al, HD 23472: a multi-planetary system with three super-Earths and two potential super-Mercuries,(2022). DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202244293 "Wreck-It Ralph," the exhaustingly dazzling new Walt Disney Animation Studios feature, qualifies as the most manic baby sitter in town, clever and detailed in its kaleidoscopic depiction of the private lives, seething resentments and yearning dreams of video game characters both "Donkey Kong" retro and "Call of Duty" modern. Certainly 2012-era moviegoers of a certain age who blew a fair number of hours playing "Donkey Kong" or "Centipede" (I liked "Centipede" for the richness of the character development alone) represent a ripe market segment for "Wreck-It Ralph." But there's enough firearms fetishism and splattery violence on display to interest preteen gamers whose adult guardians are stupid enough to let them agitate their nervous systems with M-rated first-person shooter games. (I am one of those parents.) Also, the film visits a "Candyland"-inspired game world evoking a female-driven unofficial sequel to the Disney's "Cars" and "Cars 2." This movie can't lose. The story's nominal arcade setting, as critic Eric Kohn observed recently in an Indiewire review, already marks "Wreck-It Ralph" as a period piece, a trip back to the days when kids didn't hunker down in a dark basement and kill, recreationally, while in physical isolation. Our antihero is the title character, the adversary in a herky-jerky, eight-bit 1982-era arcade game called "Fix-It Felix Jr." Wreck-It Ralph is weary of his prescribed lot in life: He destroys so that the arcade customers, controlling Felix Jr., can rebuild. He's not a bad guy, he figures. So why is he the bad guy? Through the dense convolutions of the script, the Hulk-like hulk teams up with a snark-filled, digitally glitchy heroine, Vanellope von Schweetz, as he strives for victory in battle in the bug-infested shooter game "Hero's Duty" (there's a gold medal he wants to win). Meantime, the anime-styled Vanellope prepares to enter the "Sugar Rush Speedway" rally up against a passel of mean girls who want nothing to do with a "glitch." We're in "Toy Story" territory here, with more than a dash of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" as the gaming worlds collide and mix it up, with often sinister results. The movie asks the question: What happens to the video game characters we know and love when we're not calling the shots? John C. Reilly makes an apt and expressive Ralph; Jack McBrayer, from "30 Rock," puts the "gee" in "gee-willikers" as can-do Felix; Jane Lynch is tougher than granite as the "Hero's Duty" commander; Sarah Silverman is better than her material as Vanellope. I found the first 30 minutes of "Wreck-It Ralph" a lot of fun, the second and third 30 minutes progressively more routine. Also, I found the crucial friendship between Ralph and young Vanellope to be a sketchy thing, crowded by too much head-bonking slapstick (with weirdly realistic sound levels) and a formidable array of visual worlds competing for attention. The cleverest and best idea in "Wreck-It Ralph" is the simplest: the notion of Reagan-era eight-bit characters guided by variations on stop-motion animation, while the newer creations, such as the Lara Croft-esque "Hero's Duty" protagonist, photorealistically maneuver through whatever world she's in at the time. Directed by Rich Moore ("The Simpsons") and written by Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee, the movie imparts an insular "Tron"-y claustrophobia, with all its talk and imagery involving coding and power surges. You'll either love it or you'll admire it, while wishing it would calm down and, I don't know, maybe pick up a book for a while. For some of us, the highlight will be the beguiling opening animated short, a late-1940s-set romance titled "Paperman," taking place in a black-and-white urban wonderland (with a smidge of red). And what do you know? The kids at the screening the other night applauded it. mjphillips@tribune.com 'Wreck-It Ralph' -- 2 1/2 stars MPAA rating: PG (for some rude humor and mild action/violence) Running time: 1:41 Multibeam sonar image of the SS Mesaba lying on the sea bed in the Irish Sea. Credit: Bangor University The ship that sent an iceberg warning to the RMS Titanic before the ocean-liner sank has been identified lying in the Irish Sea. In 1912 the merchant steamship SS Mesaba was crossing the Atlantic and sent a warning radio message to the RMS Titanic. The message was received, but never reached the bridge. Later that night, the supposedly unsinkable Titanic hit an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage, taking 1,500 lives and becoming the world's most infamous shipwreck. The SS Mesaba continued as a merchant ship over the next six years before being torpedoed while in convoy in 1918. Using state-of-the art multibeam sonar, researchers at Bangor University have finally been able to positively identify the wreck and have revealed her position for the first time. For the marine archaeologist, multibeam sonar has the potential to be as impactful as the use of aerial photography was for landscape archaeology. Multibeam sonar enables seabed mapping of such detail that superstructure details can be revealed on the sonar images. The SS Mesaba was one among 273 shipwrecks lying in 7,500 square miles of Irish Sea, which were scanned and cross-referenced against the U.K. Hydrographic Office's database of wrecks and other sources. Multibeam sonar image of the SS Mesaba lying on the sea bed in the Irish Sea. Credit: Bangor University It was thought that 101 wrecks were unidentified, but the number of newly identified wrecks was far higher, as many, the SS Mesaba included, had been wrongly identified in the past. Details of all the wrecks have been published in a new book, Echoes from the Deep by Dr. Innes McCartney of Bangor University, conducted under a Leverhulme Fellowship while at Bournemouth University. Innes commented, "The results of the work described in the book has validated the multidisciplinary technique employed and it is a 'game-changer' for marine archaeology. "Previously we would be able to dive to a few sites a year to visually identify wrecks. The Prince Madog's unique sonar capabilities has enabled us to develop a relatively low-cost means of examining the wrecks. We can connect this back to the historical information without costly physical interaction with each site. "It should be of key interest to marine scientists, environmental agencies, hydrographers, heritage managers, maritime archaeologists, and historians." Multibeam sonar image of the SS Mesaba lying on the sea bed in the Irish Sea. Credit: Bangor University Dr. Michael Roberts who led the sonar surveys at the University's School of Ocean Sciences explained, "The expertise and unique resources we have at Bangor University, such as the 'Prince Madog' enable us to deliver high quality scientific research in an extremely cost-effective manner. "Identifying shipwrecks such as those documented in the publication for historical research and environmental impact studies is just one example of this. We have also been examining these wreck sites to better understand how objects on the seabed interact with physical and biological processes, which in turn can help scientists support the development and growth of the marine energy sector." Explore further Historians name 2 Indian Ocean 19th century shipwrecks Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A long-running state of insecurity has recently intensified in Unity Stateone of South Sudan's 10 statesresulting in many innocent lives being lost. The security crisis is being stoked by many factors. One is fighting between sections of the civilian population, caused by cattle raiding, among other things. Another is armed confrontation between government forces and insurgents like the South Sudan People's Movement/Army. This is a group of disgruntled soldiers who were recently discharged from the military and are agitating for new government roles. Broadly, the crisis speaks volumes of the fragility of South Sudan as a state. It is the consequence of weak political institutions in the country, not just Unity State. It is my view that the national government of South Sudan and Unity State government should work together to address the crisis in an effective way. Such a way may involve disarming young people, which has worked elsewhere in the country, for example in the Lakes State. It is the use of arms by civilians to fight each other that has made the situation much worse. The role of states The roles of states as regional institutions are relevant in the scheme of things. South Sudan is made up of 10 states and three administrative territories. States were created under the country's transitional constitution in 2011. Of the three administrative territories, twoPibor an Ruwengwere created by the national executive government. The thirdAbyei, in the north of the countrywas created under the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement as a disputed territory between South Sudan and Sudan. Abyei's status remains unresolved. Each state has a legislative assembly (one chamber of parliament). Its members are drawn from the government and opposition parties as parties to the 2018 revitalized peace agreement. This agreement has been incorporated into the transitional constitution. The responsibilities and functions of state governments include maintaining peace and good order, protecting and promoting human rights and freedoms, and undertaking their own economic and infrastructure development. States have not been able to achieve these essential goals due to lack of resources. Aside from generating their own revenue, states are supposed to receive a share from the petroleum moneypublic moneyunder the transitional constitution. The constitution is, however, silent on how much money each state should receive. That leaves the national government to decide. The petroleum producing areasUpper Nile and Ruwengare allocated 2% of the net petroleum revenue. But reports suggest they do not receive the amount due to them annually. Security problems States have been hampered by security problems since at least independence in 2011. Reports have identified communal conflicts as the main cause. These stem from longstanding land disputes and cattle raids. A proliferation of arms has made the conflicts worse. It is estimated that every young person in the villages has a gun. The Unity State governor has acknowledged this problem, and urged the national government to lend him support to disarm young people. These conflicts have deepened divisions in the country, weakening the government's effort to implement peace. State power under the transitional constitution Key to understanding the security crisis is perhaps the division of state power under the country's transitional constitution. The transitional constitution outlines the powers and functions of government institutions in South Sudan. In particular, it provides for the powers and functions of the two chambers of the national legislaturethe national legislative assembly and the council of states. The national legislature has the overall power to enact laws and to supervise the national executive government. The second chamberthe council of stateshas 100 members representing the states. The council's role has come under scrutiny recently. This came after its decision to impeach the governor of Unity State, Nguen Monytuil, for the crisis. But President Kiir Mayardit has overruled the council's decision, saying it was unconstitutional. The president has the power to sack a state governor if a crisis has occurred in the governor's state that threatens South Sudan's territorial integrity. While the president acted appropriately in this matter, the national government is not doing enough to help Unity State resolve the security crisis. Like the rest of the states, Unity State has limited capacity and resources to deal with matters of security decisively. Next steps There are obvious measures the government could take. One is total disarmament of young people throughout the country. To make this more effective, parliament should enact a law to make possession of arms by civilians a criminal offense that carries serious penalties. This approach has been applied in some states in South Sudan, such as Lakes State. And it is working. Lakes State used to be the most violence-stricken place in the country. But its security has improved significantly since its governor, Rin Tueny, started disarmament in 2021. The same approach is being trialed in Warrap State, another violence-hit territory. It is still too early to tell whether it is working. Lastly, the power arrangement in the country as set out in the transitional constitution needs to be revised. It's this arrangement that is partly to blame for the power overreach by the council of states. In one sense, it gives the council a supervisory role over states. This is justifiably what encouraged the council to interfere in the affairs of Unity State government. This problem will need to be fixed in a new constitution to be drafted for the country. That constitution must be founded on a balance of power between the national and state governments with a focus on allowing state governments to operate independently, politically. This is arguably the most effective way to constrain the national government from interfering in the political affairs of states. Explore further What cattle conflicts say about identity in South Sudan This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Credit: DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology) Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST, President Yang Kook) Professor Hongsoo Choi's team of the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering collaborated with Professor Sung-Won Kim's team at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University of Korea, and Professor Bradley J. Nelson's team at ETH Zurich to develop a technology that produces more than 100 microrobots per minute that can be disintegrated in the body. Microrobots aiming at minimal invasive targeted precision therapy can be manufactured in various ways. Among them, ultra-fine 3D printing technology called two-photon polymerization method, a method that triggers polymerization by intersecting two lasers in synthetic resin, is the most used. This technology can produce a structure with nanometer-level precision. However, a disadvantage exists in that producing one microrobot is time consuming because voxels, the pixels realized by 3D printing, must be cured successively. In addition, the magnetic nanoparticles contained in the robot can block the light path during the two-photon polymerization process. This process result may not be uniform when using magnetic nanoparticles with high concentration. To overcome the limitations of the existing microrobot manufacturing method, DGIST Professor Hongsoo Choi's research team developed a method to create microrobots at a high speed of 100 per minute by flowing a mixture of magnetic nanoparticles and gelatin methacrylate, which is biodegradable and can be cured by light, into the microfluidic chip. This is more than 10,000 times faster than using the existing two-photon polymerization method to manufacture microrobots. Then, the microrobot produced with this technology was cultured with human nasal turbinated stem cells collected from human nose to induce stem cell adherence to the surface of the microrobot. Through this process, a stem cell carrying microrobot, including magnetic nanoparticles inside and stem cells attached to the exterior surface, was fabricated. The robot moves as the magnetic nanoparticles inside the robot respond to an external magnetic field and can be moved to a desired position. Selective cell delivery was difficult in the case of the existing stem cell therapy. However, the stem cell carrying microrobot can move to a desired location by controlling the magnetic field generated from the electromagnetic field control system in real time. The research team conducted an experiment to examine whether the stem cell carrying microrobot could reach the target point by passing through a maze-shaped microchannel, and consequently confirmed that the robot could move to the desired location. In addition, the degradability of the microrobot was evaluated by incubating the stem cell carrying microrobot with degrading enzyme. After 6 hours of incubation, the microrobot was completely disintegrated, and the magnetic nanoparticles inside the robot were collected by the magnetic field generated from the magnetic field control system. Stem cells were proliferated at the location where the microrobot was disintegrated. Subsequently, the stem cells were induced to differentiate into nerve cells to confirm normal differentiation; the stem cells were differentiated into nerve cells after approximately 21 days. This experiment verified that delivering stem cells to a desired location using a microrobot was possible and that the delivered stem cells could serve as a targeted precision therapeutic agent by exhibiting proliferation and differentiation. Furthermore, the research team confirmed whether the stem cells delivered by the microrobot exhibited normal electrical and physiological characteristics. The final goal of this study is to ensure that the stem cells delivered by the robot normally perform their bridge role in a state where the connection between the existing nerve cells is disconnected. To confirm this, hippocampal neurons extracted from rat embryo that stably emit electrical signals were utilized. The corresponding cell was attached to the surface of the microrobot, cultured on a micro-sized electrode chip, and electrical signals were observed from the hippocampal neurons after 28 days. Through this, the microrobot was verified to properly perform its role as a cell delivery platform. DGIST Professor Hongsoo Choi said, "We expect that the technologies developed through this study, such as mass production of microrobots, precise operation by electromagnetic fields, and stem cell delivery and differentiation, will dramatically increase the efficiency of targeted precision therapy in the future." Meanwhile, the results of this study were published on June 23 in the scientific journal Small . Explore further Microrobots for treating neurological diseases through intra-nasal administration More information: Seungmin Noh et al, A Biodegradable Magnetic Microrobot Based on Gelatin Methacrylate for Precise Delivery of Stem Cells with Mass Production Capability, Small (2022). Journal information: Small Seungmin Noh et al, A Biodegradable Magnetic Microrobot Based on Gelatin Methacrylate for Precise Delivery of Stem Cells with Mass Production Capability,(2022). DOI: 10.1002/smll.202107888 Provided by DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology) This summer a major marine heatwave hit the western Mediterranean, with water up to five degrees Celsius hotter than normal. In the temperate shallows of the Mediterranean, once-vibrant red and purple coral forests that provide a crucial haven for biodiversity now stand bleached and brittle, transformed into skeletons by record summer temperatures, scientists say. Holding naked branches of gorgonian coral, Tristan Estaque of marine conservation group Septentrion Environnement is returning despondent from an exploratory dive off the coast of Marseille in southern France. "It is heartbreaking, the deterioration is so fast," he tells AFP. Dive surveys just two months earlier found an intact landscape, lush with violet-fringed fans of gorgonian coral. Now it is a "ghost forest", says Estaque, with the majestic fans largely bare of living tissue. "You have to imagine a tree where there are no more leaves, no more bark." Fragile forests Gorgonian corals, which have flexible skeletons encrusted with polyps, are found across the planet. Those found in the Mediterranean are said to create "forests", sheltering a huge array of species. But they are acutely vulnerable to human activities. Fishing nets, anchors and careless divers can rip their delicate structures, while exposure to continuous and intense heat can be lethal. Marine heatwaves are becoming more common, according to a report this year by UN climate experts. This summer a major marine heatwave hit the western Mediterranean, with water up to five degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than normal, according to Mercator Ocean International, the organization that runs the European ocean monitoring service. In some places water reached 30C. Gorgonian coral forests are seen as biodiversity hotspots. Recent Septentrion Environnement surveys have shown that between 70 and 90 percent of the red gorgonian population in the 10 to 20-meter zone off Marseille have since died. The effect was like "an underwater inferno", according to Solene Basthard-Bogain, another of the group's specialists. And it is not just near the southern French coast. Gorgonian mortality has also been observed on the Spanish coasts and around the Italian island of Sardinia, according to Stephane Sartoretto of the French research agency Ifremer. The severity of the impact appears to vary depending on the depth of the corals. Along the sawtooth coastline of France's Calanques National Park, notched with craggy coves and shallow habitats where the gorgonians are found in waters of just six meters (20 feet) in places, the die-offs have been particularly intense. In the Balearic Islands, they live deeper, at 40 meters, and were therefore less impacted, Sartoretto says. 'Forest fire' In addition to the gorgonians, sponges and bivalves have also been affected. The marine heatwave likewise battered mussel farming, with 150 metric tons of commercial mussels and 1,000 metric tons of young stockfor next year's croplost in Spain over the summer. A drop in temperatures in the Mediterranean could help to save those corals that were spared in the summer die-off, says Basthard-Bogain, although she worries that any pathogens that may have spread because of the heat would still be present in the waters. There are fears, too, that another hot spell cannot be ruled out before the end of the autumn. Sartoretto says he worries that repeated periods of heat stress could be devastating for the corals. "We can ask ourselves about the possibility of their disappearance," he says, adding that their reproduction rate is very slow. "Like after a forest fire on land," he says, "they will take decades to regenerate." 2022 AFP Vietnam has tried to evacuate almost 400,000 people as Super Typhoon Noru draws near. More than 200,000 people in Vietnam took refuge in shelters Tuesday as Super Typhoon Noru barrelled towards its central coast, with forecasters predicting the storm would be one of the biggest to hit the country. Almost half of Vietnam's airports have been shut, schools and offices across several provincesincluding in the busy city of Danangwere closed and residents rushed to find shelter before the expected arrival of the typhoon on Wednesday. After slamming into the Philippines earlier this week, where it killed six people, Noru is predicted to make landfall as a super typhoon before 11 am (0400 GMT) and then subside to a severe typhoon as it makes its way inland. Vietnam's flood and storm control authority said wind speeds would reach 160 kilometres per hour (100 miles per hour), equalling Typhoon Xangsanewhich hit Danang in 2006 and killed 76 people. Authorities said they have evacuated nearly 260,000 people from their homes, including in the popular tourist city of Hoi An, where residents were brought to a primary school. "I wanted to leave. My house is not very strong. I am afraid its roof might be blown away when the typhoon hits," Huynh Mua told AFP, clutching a plastic bag full of clothes, a blanket and several packets of instant noodles. Three hundred houses in the coastal province of Quang Tri had their roofs blown off late Tuesday as winds began picking up speed. In nearby Hue, trees were blown to the ground. In Danang, Vietnam's third-biggest city, all shops and hotels were closed, while residents were banned from going out on the streets. The defence ministry has mobilised around 40,000 soldiers and 200,000 militia members, equipped with armoured vehicles and boats in preparation for rescue and relief operations, state media said. According to data from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, located in Hawaii, Noru will be only the sixth major typhoon to hit Vietnam since 1945. Noru hit the Philippines' Luzon island on Sunday and Monday, toppling trees, knocking out power and flooding low-lying communities. Five rescuers were killed after being sent to help flooded residents, while another man died after he was hit by a landslide. Officials estimate about $2.4 million worth of crops were damaged. Explore further Six people killed in Philippine typhoon 2022 AFP Region around the Zhurong rover landing site. a, Topographic map showing the landing site of Zhurong (red star), as well as the landing sites of the Phoenix, InSight, Curiosity, Perseverance and Viking-2 landers/rovers (orange squares). The purple solid and dashed lines show the locations of Martian palaeoshorelines of ref. 11, roughly delineating the depositional contact of the VBF in the northern plains. b, Simplified geological map near the Zhurong landing site with data from ref. 18. Scale bar, 200 km. c, Geomorphic map of the Zhurong landing area with data from ref. 22. Scale bar, 15 km. d, Traverse of the Zhurong rover from 25 May (Sol 11) to 6 September (Sol 113) 2021 on the basemap of a Tianwen-1 High Resolution Imaging Camera image (Sol 19, 2 June 2021). The red star marks the landing site (25.066 N, 109.925 E) and the red line shows the track of the rover. Scale bar, 100 m. Relative distances to the landing site are marked alongside the track. Credit: Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05147-5 A team of researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, working with a colleague from Peking University, has found evidence of a layered subsurface in the Utopian Basin on Mars. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes studying radar data from the Zhurong rover and what it revealed about the ground beneath the Utopia Planitia basin on Mars. China's National Space Administration landed the Zhurong rover on the red planet in May of 2021. Since that time, it has been rolling across the Utopia Planitia basinan impact craterstudying the terrain around it and the material that lies beneath. To date, the rover has traveled approximately 1,171 meters. The rover is equipped with ground-penetrating radar, which has been fired continuously at the ground as the rover moves, allowing the researchers to create an underground map for depths from 3 to 10 meters. The rover also has a device that can send low-frequency radio waves into the ground at depths up to 100 meters, though its resolution is much lower than the radar. The researchers found that there are at least two layers of material beneath the basin, neither of which are believed to be water. One of the layers was approximately 10 to 30 meters down and the other from 30 to 80 meters down. Neither the radar nor the radio waves are capable of discerning the difference between rock and ice or lava. Thus, the researchers have resorted to theories to explain the layers beneath the ground. They suggest it is likely that the deeper, older layer came about as smaller rocks settled onto bigger rocks during a flood approximately 3 billion years ago. The formation they found would require the flood to have been a fast one with enough energy to carry large rocks. The researchers suggest the second layer could have come about in similar fashionby a flood approximately 1.6 billion years ago. They note that prior research has suggested there was a lot of glacial activity during that time period. They also note that they did not find any evidence of volcanic activity that could have resulted in the creation of either layer. Explore further First underground radar images from Mars Perseverance Rover reveal some surprises More information: Chao Li et al, Layered subsurface in Utopia Basin of Mars revealed by Zhurong rover radar, Nature (2022). Journal information: Nature Chao Li et al, Layered subsurface in Utopia Basin of Mars revealed by Zhurong rover radar,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05147-5 2022 Science X Network Kupando Raises 13 Million in Series A Funding Round Details Category: Small Molecules Published on Tuesday, 27 September 2022 10:33 Hits: 1101 Financing led by Remiges Ventures, co-led by LifeCare Partners, with additional investments by Brandenburg Kapital, High-Tech Grunderfonds, Ventura Biomed Investors and undisclosed family offices. Proceeds to be used to complete IND-enabling work and initiate clinical development. SCHONEFELD/BERLIN, Germany I September 26, 2022 I Kupando, a pioneering biopharmaceutical company developing TLR 4/7 agonists that stimulate innate immunity for use in oncology and infectious diseases, announces today the closing of its Series A funding round which raised 13 million. The funds will be used to complete IND-enabling work and to initiate the clinical development of Kupandos lead candidate KUP101 in a solid tumor indication. KUP101 is the only TLR 4/7 agonist in development, and consists of two small molecules, a TLR 4 agonist and a TLR 7 agonist, co-encapsulated in a liposomal formulation. The compounds induce a broad immune response, which will facilitate their development as an anti-tumor agent, as a stand-alone product, in combination with other anti-tumor modalities, or a prophylactic vaccine for infectious diseases. The induction of cross-reactive antibodies and a broad cellular response are promising features for a broad portfolio of indications, in particular where different strains and antigens play a role like influenza, HPV and others. A high target specificity in the absence of relevant off-targets are indicators for a promising safety profile. The investment was led by Remiges Ventures and co-led by LifeCare Partners with an additional investment by Brandenburg Kapital, High-Tech Grunderfonds, Ventura Biomed Investors and undisclosed family offices. Kazuhiko Nonomura, PhD Principal at Remiges Ventures, the lead investor said: We are impressed by the tremendous progress made by Kupando since its inception. Kupando is a real pioneer in the development of a novel innate immunity stimulator, and we look forward to working with the team and supporting the advancement of KUP101 into clinical development. Pierre Morgon, PharmD, LL.M, MBA, Chairman at Kupando commented: We are welcoming all our new investors of this round. We thank them for their trust in this truly disruptive approach which has the potential to provide new therapeutic and prophylactic options in the fields of oncology and infectious diseases. We believe that the highly experienced management team will enable the company to progress through this next stage of development. Johanna Holldack, CEO at Kupando added: Having new investors choosing to fund us is a great validation of our company strategy and pioneering approach, and we look forward to advancing our lead candidate towards clinical development thanks to their support. It is really exciting to now have the opportunity to develop compounds that can make a difference in the treatment of solid tumors and prevention of infectious diseases in terms of efficacy, safety and affordability. The Kupando Board comprises of Pierre Morgon, PharmD, LL.M, MBA, as Chairman and Wolfram Nothaft, MD, as Deputy Chairman, and of three Board members: Kazuhiko Nonomura, PhD (representing Remiges Ventures), Gerhard Ries, PhD (representing LifeCare Partners) and Thomas Krause (representing Brandenburg Kapital). About Kupando Kupando is a pioneering biopharmaceutical company developing TLR 4/7 agonists that stimulate innate immunity for use in oncology and infectious diseases. The Company uses its small molecule-based drug candidates to build a pipeline in several indications, in-house or via strategic partnerships, as single agent, or in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, other drugs or antigens. Its drug candidate KUP101 is the only TLR 4/7 agonist in development and consists of two small molecules, TLR4 agonist and TLR7 agonist, co-encapsulated. IND-enabling work is on-going for treatment of solid tumors and prophylaxis of infectious diseases. Kupando is a private company, seed financed by its CEO Johanna Holldack and based on technology invented by Dennis Carsons Laboratory at the University of California San Diego. The Companys management team brings a unique wealth of experience in business and drug development, gained in the US and Europe. Kupando is headquartered in Schoenefeld, Germany. About Remiges Ventures Based in Seattle and Tokyo, Remiges Ventures is a US-Japan cross-border venture capital firm focused on therapeutics. Remiges Ventures takes a lead position for the syndication of Series A or later stage of investment rounds globally and actively creates new companies based on innovative assets discovered at academic institutions. Remiges Ventures team is connected with serial entrepreneurs, KOLs in various therapeutic areas, key consultants and major large pharmaceutical companies in the globe. The team actively participates in the value creation for its portfolio companies. About LifeCare Partners LifeCare Partners is an independent investment advisory firm providing financing to private and public life science companies. LifeCare Partners targets the entire life science industry with special focus on medical technology, diagnostics, biopharmaceuticals, food & nutrition, industrial biotechnology, biomaterials, e-health and bioenergy. Based in Basel, the LifeCare Partners team has successfully invested in more than 50 life science companies over the last years, of which a large number have already been listed on the stock exchange or have been acquired by leading players in the life science industry. About Brandenburg Kapital/ILB Brandenburg Kapital GmbH is a subsidiary of the Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg (ILB). Since 1993, as the venture capital arm of ILB, it has supported Brandenburg-based companies by acquiring equity stakes and equity-like investments. As a public venture capital company, experienced lead investor and active partner, Brandenburg Kapital ensures a strong equity base for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises in the State of Brandenburg on the basis of a stable group environment. The Early-stage and Growth Fund is currently available in the amount of around 100 million euros for this purpose. The funds for the Brandenburg Kapital fund, which was set up on behalf of the Brandenburg Ministry of Economics, are currently provided by the European Fund for Regional Development and by the ILB. Through ILB's investment activities, 244 companies have so far been supported on their growth course with around 275 million euros. In addition, private investors have invested more than 600 million euros in the companies to date. About High-Tech Grunderfonds HighTech Grunderfonds (HTGF) is a seed investor that finances high-potential, tech-driven start-ups. With around EUR 900 million in total investment volume across three funds and an international network of partners, HTGF has already helped forge more than 670 start-ups since 2005. With the start of HTGF IV, more than EUR 400 million in fund volume will be added in the fall of 2022. Driven by their expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and passion, its team of experienced investment managers and startup experts help guide the development of young companies. HTGFs focus is on high-tech start-ups in the fields of digital tech, industrial technology, life sciences, chemistry and related business areas. To date, external investors have injected more than EUR 4 billion into the HTGF portfolio via more than 1,900 follow-on financing rounds. HTGF has also successfully sold interests in more than 160 companies. Fund Investors in the public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and many companies from a wide range of industries. About Ventura Biomed Investors Ventura BioMed Investors invest in early-stage life science companies developing pioneering technologies and innovative therapies. As serial entrepreneurs with many years of experience, we help shape the long- term development of our portfolio companies and provide them access to our broad investor and business network. Ventura supports exceptional entrepreneurs with their vision to accelerate medical breakthroughs that solve unmet patient needs. SOURCE: Kupando GLENS FALLS City officials will hold two public meetings to update Glens Falls residents on the progress of the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative and the plans for the event and market center structure. The meetings will be held this Thursday at 7 p.m. at The Queensbury Hotel and on Friday at 10 a.m. at Crandall Public Library. Its been a busy summer for preparations, said Mayor Bill Collins in a news release, and we look forward to sharing the final plans and details of this significant part of our citys revitalization with our residents and businesses. The city of Glens Falls was awarded a $10 million DRI grant by the state as part of the first round of grants in 2017, and has invested in multiple projects designed to revitalize the citys downtown, including arts projects, securing downtown space for SUNY Adirondacks culinary school, facade improvements and support of small downtown businesses. Democratic congressional candidate Matt Castelli on Monday accused Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, of ducking debates. But the Stefanik campaign said discussion of debates is still under way with various potential hosts. Castelli, in a news release, said that Stefanik missed the deadlines to respond to debate invitations from four television stations that offered to host debates. Castelli had accepted invitations to participate in the proposed debates on Mountain Lake PBS in collaboration with Watertown PBS, WPTZ-TV of Plattsburgh WWNY-TV of Watertown, and WTEN-TV of Albany. Elise Stefaniks refusal to debate is another example of her growing contempt for the voters of NY-21, and her fear of being held accountable for selling out our district for her own career and big dollar donors, Castelli said in the news release. The Castelli campaign said the deadlines were set by the television stations, not by Castelli. Alex DeGrasse, a senior adviser to Stefanik, said the Stefanik campaign is not aware of deadlines to respond to the invitations, and that discussion of debates is still underway. The campaign is in discussions with numerous media outlets that cover the entire district, DeGrasse said in a statement. The downstate Democrat from Poughkeepsie demands to handpick the moderators and terms of the debate and that is unacceptable to voters. Castelli grew up in Poughkeepsie. DeGrasse reiterated criticism that Castelli did not debate his Democratic primary opponent. In other regional political news: Property taxes The campaign of U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, on Monday issued a news release criticizing Democratic challenger Matt Castelli for claiming residency status in 2021 for a home he owns in Washington, D.C., when he was launching his campaign in 21st Congressional District, and for continuing to have $5.56 delinquent property tax balance, as of March 31. Washington, D.C., property tax records, which Breitbart News, a conservative internet news site, published Saturday, show that Castelli in 2022 paid $435.59 in delinquent taxes, penalties and interest for taxes from 2021. Castelli had paid his original 2021 taxes on time, but the city tax department issued an updated bill based on the property no longer qualifying for a homestead deduction, granted to property owners who make the property a primary residence. Castelli responded that his $5.56 delinquency was due to a clerical error. Castelli, a former CIA counterterrorism official who now lives in Glens Falls, noted that Stefanik, herself, was criticized in her 2014 Republican primary against Matt Doheny because a Washington, D.C., rental property which she had a 20% ownership interest in was delinquent on property taxes. Elise Stefanik has nothing to run on and is afraid to debate me, so shes continuing to activate her trolls in right wing media to smear me, Castelli said in a statement. Stefanik endorsement U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik on Monday announced that The Police Conference of New York State, the largest police union in the state, has unanimously endorsed her re-election bid. The 50,000-member union has 1,000 members that live in the 21st Congressional District, according to a news release. Stefanik is running in the 21st Congressional District against Democratic challenger Matt Castelli, a former CIA counterterrorism official, who lives in Glens Falls. Bail reform Republican state Assembly candidate David Catalfamo on Monday reiterated his call for immediate changes to New Yorks bail reform laws. Catalfamo cited a New York Post analysis of new state Division of Criminal Justice data that shows that re-arrests on new offenses of individuals charged with a crime and released while awaiting trial increased from 1,994 in 2019 to 4,004 in the first three months of 2021, which would increase to 5,349 if the same rate continued in the final quarter. The proportion of rearrests that were for violent crimes increased from 6% to 9%. The sheer number of it is, frankly, frightening, Catalfamo said in a telephone interview, elaborating on a news release he issued. Catalfamo, an economic development official and writer from Wilton, is running in the 113th District against Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, who has said additional changes to bail reform should be discussed in the next legislative session, after experts analyze the effectiveness of changes that were made earlier this year as part of the state budget. QUEENSBURY A group of students is headed to Puerto Rico for spring break. But not on vacation. The Adirondack Solar Alliance made up of 15 kids from Queensbury and South Glens Falls will travel to Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, in April to help install solar panels at a nursing home, to provide affordable and independent energy to elderly residents. The group started talking about this project in summer of 2021 and teamed up with the nonprofit Lets Share the Sun to bring solar power to an area of Puerto Rico that experiences frequent power shortages. Most kids will have never traveled out of the country, so its definitely a new experience that most of us have never done before, said Bryce Jorgensen, a Queensbury teen. And its just something really good to do for the world. The need is even greater now that the Category 1 Hurricane Fiona devastated the U.S. territory last week, causing widespread flooding. Adirondack Solar Alliance will fund the installation of solar panels and battery backup at Hogar Cabecitas de Oro, a facility that provides 24-hour nursing and therapy services to 16 elderly residents. They settled in on a nursing home that is just being renovated from an old school, but its in a mountainous region where theyre running on diesel generators most of the time and the power is very spotty, said Dr. Todd Jorgensen, Bryces father. The solar array and battery backup should cut costs, eliminate power outages, and power the refuge during extended outages. Since 2010, Lets Share the Sun has been installing solar panels across Haiti, Honduras and Puerto Rico, according to its website. It collaborates with Casa Pueblo, an organization serving the community of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. Nearly three quarters of the electrical power for the island is generated from petroleum, all of which is imported to the island, Lets Share the Suns website explains. Natural disasters such as the earthquakes in 2020 and Hurricane Maria in 2017 have further weakened the grid infrastructure. All of this adds up to near-daily outages and regular surges in prices. The mountain community of Adjuntas is especially vulnerable to these factors, as 62% of their people live below the poverty line, and many of them are ailing and elderly, according to Lets Share the Sun. The teens will bring the solar panels to the site and help put them on the flat roof of the nursing home. There will be supervision by people that know what theyre doing, Dr. Jorgensen said. The seed money will not only help this nursing home, but also the hope that the community could eventually go 100% off the grid, he said. The teens have been canvassing the community, asking local businesses to donate to the fund that will help purchase the solar panels. The students plan to pay for their own transportation and accommodations. The group has raised $20,000 so far and needs to raise at least $30,190 to purchase the solar panels. But the kids want to raise more than that to expand their project to residential homes. Contributions can be made online at https://www.letssharethesun.org/initiatives/adirondack-solar-alliance or at https://donorbox.org/adirondack-energy-alliance-supporting-energy-access-in-puerto-rico. By the time they get to Puerto Rico, the group will have been working on this project for a year and a half. I think theyll get a sense of fulfillment just to see this through completion, Dr. Jorgensen said. Were hoping they grow from it. Learning to go up in front of adults and companies and give a presentation like this is not easy for a group of kids, but theyve been doing a good job. Xi writes foreword for literature collection on rejuvenation Xinhua) 08:28, September 27, 2022 BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has written a foreword, titled "Forging Ahead on the Journey to National Rejuvenation," for works of literature collected in the Revitalization Library, which will soon be published. In the foreword, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, emphasized the necessity to draw on the lessons of history, reflect on the past, look to the future, and press forward on the journey to national rejuvenation. The compilation of the Revitalization Library is a major cultural project approved by the CPC Central Committee, noted Xi. Its publication is significant for the Chinese people to firm up confidence in history, grasp the trend of the times, follow the Chinese way, and promote the great national rejuvenation through the Chinese path to modernization. The Chinese nation, as a great nation in the world, has made indelible contributions to the progress of human civilization, Xi said. After the advent of modern times, it suffered greater ravages than ever before. Since the CPC was founded, the Party has united and led the people to fight tough struggles and find the correct path to realize the great national rejuvenation, he added. Prospects for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation have been brighter than ever before, Xi said. Under the strong leadership of the CPC, Xi said, the Chinese people are able to secure the future of China's development and progress firmly in their own hands. The Revitalization Library is compiled and published to tell and record the exploration of the forefathers and inspire future generations via the collection of vital ideological works since modern times, Xi said. Noting that momentous changes not seen in a century are gripping the world at an accelerating pace, and China has come to a pivotal moment for realizing the great national rejuvenation, Xi stressed the need to draw on the lessons of history, reflect on the past and look to the future. Xi stressed the need to have a clear grasp of why we were successful in the past and how we can continue to succeed in the future. He underscored the importance of standing firm in ideals and convictions and pooling great strength to contribute the wisdom and strength of our generation to the realization of the Chinese Dream of great national rejuvenation. The Revitalization Library focuses on the theme of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It features a collection of significant literature related to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation since the Opium War in 1840. It gives a panoramic view of the historical course of perseverant exploration of the outstanding sons and daughters of the Chinese nation represented by Chinese Communists in making the country prosperous and strong, achieving national revitalization, and bringing happiness to the people. Boasting five volumes in total, the Revitalization Library will see the publication of its first three volumes in the coming days. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji) Rescue operations are conducted after two Illinois Central trains crashed at 27th Street on Oct 30, 1972. (Chicago Tribune) On a chilly autumn morning, Lisa Klare embarked on a Loop-bound commuter train ride and made her way to the first car because one of her friends wanted to smoke. The Illinois Central electric train, an old model with concrete floors and wicker passenger seats, had started its journey north to downtown at the 91st Street station on that gloomy Oct. 30, 1972. Advertisement It trailed another Illinois Central commuter train ridden by then 23-year-old Louise Lawarre, who even now remembers the start of the ride with precision. She got on the train at the 53rd Street platform, sat in the upper deck of her preferred last car and opened J.R.R. Tolkiens The Two Towers. Shortly after, the train Lawarre rode in missed its stop at the 27th Street station. It was put into reverse and sped backward around a curve. Advertisement The trailing train, where Klare chatted with a friend in the first car, also barreled around the curve. Lawarre had just started her book. Klare had grabbed her friends cigarettes and pocketed them, telling him eerily, it turned out the cigarette he smoked would be his last. Then, Klare got a split-second warning, as the conductor yelled the train would crash. She remembers her friend leaning forward. Survivor Lisa Klare shares her a scrapbook, Sept. 20, 2022, of the 1972 Chicago commuter rail crash that killed 45 people on Oct. 30, 1972. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune) Their trains an older six-car train and a more modern four-car one collided at 7:27 a.m. in a crash that killed 45 people and injured 332 others. News accounts described a scene of screaming passengers, mangled bodies and people staggering out of the wreck. Decades later, survivors interviewed by the Tribune describe a life lived in the shadow of the crash. They mourn friends who died and wonder why they lived. They think about the outsize impact of small decisions or random twists of fate, such as choosing where to sit or last minute schedule changes that landed them on that train. Some still carry injuries and have endured multiple surgeries. They dont want Chicago to forget. Lawarre and Klare didnt know each other at the time the trains collided. But they connected more than two decades later when a story about Lawarre ran in the Tribune during another anniversary. The women yearned for someone to talk to who could understand what they went through and exchanged some correspondence. Advertisement With the 50th anniversary in October, Lawarre got back in touch with Klare in the hopes that they can find a way to mark the event. Why did I survive? Why me and not them? That becomes a life altering and life challenging question to carry, Lawarre said. An outdoor hospital A surgeon from Michael Reese Hospital was one of the first doctors on the crash scene, which was less than 100 yards from the now-closed hospital. Human limbs were hanging out the windows, Dr. Edward Goldberg told the newspaper in a story printed Oct. 31, 1972. There was one 22-year-old fellow whose heart stopped, but he was revived. About the only thing doctors and nurses could do at the scene was apply tourniquets and splints, and give sedatives. Doctors and nurses from Michael Reese Hospital help firefighters tend to victims on the train platform at the 27th Street Station on Oct. 30, 1972. (Walter Neal/Chicago Tribune) The train platform was transformed into an outdoor hospital, the paper reported, as emergency crews and personnel from the nearby medical center came to help. Together, the two trains carried nearly 1,000 people, with most of the dead and seriously injured in the rear car of the first train, media reports said. Mayor Richard J. Daley was an early visitor to the area and ordered flags be flown at half-staff. The National Transportation Safety Board responded and President Richard Nixon sent his transportation secretary to the scene. Advertisement An NTSB report issued the following year said the crash was due to the reversal of the first train while the engineer of the second train, who was traveling faster than the advised speed, failed to perceive it in time to stop and avoid the collision. The report also said ambiguous rules regarding the signal system also contributed. Lawarre rode the train that day to commute to her downtown job, but she wasnt initially supposed to do so that Monday morning. She had landed a job interview at the University of Chicago near her home in Woodlawn, but it was rescheduled, so she took the Monday morning train to her job instead. When it crashed, she was in a semi-conscious state that felt more like a dream. The new mother worried about her 5-month-old even though the newborn had not been with her and was safely elsewhere. Elsewhere in that train car, Kathy Bennett, then 18, chatted with a friend from school who was also headed downtown, she recalled for the Tribune this month.. The friend invited Bennett to sit with her and her sister in the back of the car to continue catching up. But it was a dreary morning and Bennett didnt feel like socializing. She stayed where she was. The friend and her sister were killed. In the other train, Klare, who was a high school senior going downtown for a work-study program, heard the conductor yell his warning as she rode with two friends. Advertisement Constantine Lamperis, 18, the friend whose cigarettes she had taken away, was killed, though Klare didnt know that right away. He was a neighborhood friend who had worked in a local burger joint. He went by Dean and was the only child of a widow. A newspaper account of his death recorded another cruel irony: A month earlier, Lamperis purchased a life insurance policy and told his mother in jest that she would be rich if he died in an accident. Klare and her other friend were trapped. Crews sought to keep them awake by chatting with them about school and boyfriends. At one point, a priest came to give them last rites, frightening Klares friend. No, no he just needs practice, someone told the girls to calm them down. After about six-and-a-half hours, the girls were freed from the wreckage. Each of them, when we finally got to them, insisted that the other girl be taken out first, a doctor who responded to the scene told a reporter at the time. Advertisement The two girls, according to newspaper accounts, were the last two survivors extricated. The aftermath After the crash, Kathy Bennett eventually went back to work in a downtown building on the 21st floor with a big window. She recalls watching window washers one day, working up high above the city on scaffolding. She saw the cable come loose and watched horrified as the men tumbled to the sidewalk. But then she snapped out of it. She stared out the window. The men were safe on the scaffolding, unremarkably wiping the windows clean. I would do that, Bennett said. I would see accidents happen. PTSD and trauma-informed care were less understood back then. Bennett pushed forward. She married and had two boys. Lawarre experienced something akin to survivors guilt. The car she rode in experienced the most catastrophic effects of the crash. Advertisement But her feelings have evolved to a deep wonder at the processes of life, she said. She lovingly refers to the anniversary as the Im glad I didnt die day, but its not a light or jolly statement. Its a true statement, but many people did die, so Lawarre says it with the humility of recognizing that for whatever moment of fate she sat toward the front of the train car rather than the back. Lawarre has physical reminders of the crash too. She has visible dirt embedded in her forehead and a scar across her belly. Lisa Klare at home in Northbrook on Sept. 20, 2022. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune) Klare has had many surgeries since the crash; she continues to suffer from chronic pain and have difficulty with her ankles after both were injured. I almost cant remember what my life was like before, Klare wrote to a reporter, describing the impact the crash has had on her life. She couldnt run or hike afterward. Scars made her self-conscious to bare her legs. Advertisement She remembers the humanity-affirming moments too. Klare received letters from people all over the world. Fannie Mae candy was sent to the hospital in droves. A collective tragedy Over the years, Lawarre, Klare and Bennett yearned to talk to other survivors. No one else could truly know what they had gone through. After the Chicago Tribune ran a 25th anniversary story about Lawarre, Klare sent her a letter and the women corresponded, Lawarre said. Bennett also connected with Lawarre years ago. The first time they spoke by phone, they talked for three hours, Bennett said. Its so hard to explain to somebody, she said. It changed me, who I am and how I look at things. This year, Lawarre was compelled to mark the anniversary more publicly. She reconnected with Klare and Bennett to discuss a commemoration. Lawarre now lives in Ohio, but she has been in touch with staff members from Ald. Sophia Kings 4th ward office. She hopes for a public resolution and possibly a plaque somewhere in the city. Advertisement Lawarre has scheduled a service at First Unitarian Church of Chicago at 5650 S. Woodlawn Ave. at 3 p.m. on Oct. 30. It is open to the public and she hopes people attend. This was a collective tragedy and I think it deserves to be recognized collectively, Lawarre said. Prentice Butler, chief of staff for King, and other staff are working on a resolution to bring to the City Council that would formally mark the anniversary. Vintage Chicago Tribune Weekly The Vintage Tribune newsletter is a deep dive into the Chicago Tribune's archives featuring photos and stories about the people, places and events that shape the city's past, present and future. > Were making sure we memorialize this tragic event and make sure history remembers what happened, Butler said. At 42, Butler is too young to remember the crash, but he grew up near the train line and heard stories. Illinois Central is now defunct and the train line is run by Metra. The Metra Electric trains run on that track. Advertisement Lisa Klare holds her train pass from October 1972, at her home on Sept. 20, 2022. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune) Butler said the office has also been in touch with Metra to see what might be possible in regards to a memorial. A Metra spokesperson said the agency is looking into the matter. It just feels like it deserves to be remembered. Maybe I feel like I owe it to those people, someone owes it to those people, the city owes it to those people, Lawarre said. Chicago Tribunes Marianne Mather contributed. mabuckley@chicagotribune.com HAMILTON TOWNSHIP Five cats and kittens were dumped in front of Funny Farm Rescue on Sunday night, the animal sanctuary said, the second time this has happened in the past month. At 7:45 p.m., surveillance footage outside the volunteer-based animal sanctuary captured what appears to be a woman dumping the cats in front of the gate. Last month, six cats were left outside in cages without a note. Laurie Zaleski, the sanctuarys owner, pleaded with the public to stop leaving unattended animals outside her property. In 2020, 21 cats were left outside the gate without notice. That incident led the sanctuary to install cameras outside the gate to catch animal dumpers. Zaleski said her sanctuary relies mainly on donations, therefore she isnt built to take in animals unexpectedly. We are a private charity and do not get any kind of state or federal funding, Funny Farm wrote on Facebook on Monday. Funny Farm pursuing investigation after cat dumper doesn't come forward HAMILTON TOWNSHIP Funny Farm Rescue & Sanctuary is left with having to hand over video In the latest incident, the person pulled up in what appears to be an early 2000s blue Honda Civic. She can be seen on video pouring cat food on the ground in front of the gate before leaving the cats unattended without a crate. Several cats can be seen roaming freely around the front of the property. Two were almost hit by cars, Funny Farm said on Facebook. Two also are missing, Funny Farm said. We are going to prosecute this person for animal abuse and have given this video and other footage to the police, Funny Farm said. The sanctuary has asked that anyone with information about the dumping call police at 609-625-2700 or Zaleski at 609-742-9410. A Davenport woman is in the Scott County Jail, charged with contributing to the fentanyl death of her 22-month-old son. Malea Alexis Wilson, 25, faces felony charges of child endangerment resulting in death, and child endangerment resulting in bodily injury in her son's October 2021 death. She also faces a misdemeanor charge of child endangerment. Her bond was set Saturday at $50,000, and she has a preliminary hearing Oct. 4. Davenport police were searching for Wilson for a week after the arrest of her live-in companion, Tyler Akright. He was the father of their toddler, who died last year as a result of consuming illicit drugs. Akright faces the same three charges. Daveport police were called to the couple's home in the 1300 block of West 13th Street in Davenport on Aug. 7, 2021, when their other young son was found wandering the neighborhood in the middle of the night. Though police found a large collection of drugs in the house, including cocaine, it appears both toddlers remained in their parents' care and custody. During that police call to the couple's home, an arrest affidavit states that Akright admitted the drugs found in the home, along with a firearm and considerable cash, belonged to him. Information from a cell phone also disclosed the couple was selling drugs from the house and using drugs in the house. Despite the risk police said was present in the home, the boys remained there or were quickly returned to the couple. On Oct. 11, 2021 just two months after finding one boy roaming outdoors and a multitude of drugs indoors Davenport police were called to the same house that Wilson and Akright shared. This time, they found 22-month-old Antonio Akright was not breathing. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The police affidavit linked Antonio's death to drugs in the home. "The defendant and co-defendant did knowingly use and sell controlled substances at/from their residence, which would create substantial risk to the well-being and physical safety of the victim, who was their 22-month-old son," according to the police complaint filed after Antonio's death. "As a result of this risk, the victim was pronounced deceased, which the cause of death was later discovered as an acute drug (fentanyl) intoxication." Scott County Attorney Mike Walton said an investigation into the cause of Antonio's death started immediately in October 2021, leading to the arrest of both parents. Drug tests conducted on Antonio after his death and tests conducted on his older brother showed both tested positive for cocaine, methamphetamine and THC. Walton declined to comment Monday on the status of Antonio's older brother. It is unclear at this time whether the Iowa Department of Human Services was investigating Wilson and Akright and their children's safety. The older boy now is about 4 years old. Akright was on probation related to the August drug arrest at the time of Antonio's death. Just 33 months old at the time, the couple's older son was spotted walking in an alley alone at 2:22 a.m. on a Saturday in August 2021. According to the Davenport police, the back door of Akright's home was open. Officers tried to make contact with Akright and Wilson in the home, but no one responded. Officers then did a safety clear for any residents inside the house. As officers checked the living room area they noticed a large amount of cash, a pistol and drugs in plain view. Officers made contact with Akright on the second floor of the home and asked for permission to search the residence. Akright gave officers written consent, and they seized nearly 2 pounds of marijuana in nine packages; 1 pound of marijuana wax packaged in several jars; 74.7 grams of psilocybin, or mushrooms; 2.4 grams of cocaine; packaging materials with drug residue; four cell phones; $2,110 in cash; and two digital scales with drug residue. Investigators said Akright later admitted the drugs and cash were his and he sold drugs to various friends. He pleaded guilty Dec. 20, 2021, to a charge of possession with the intent to deliver psilocybin. He was sentenced to two years on supervised probation. According to Scott County District Court and Iowa Department of Corrections electronic records, Akright is on probation until March 4, 2024. The charge of child endangerment resulting in death is a Class B felony punishable by 25 years in prison, while child endangerment resulting in bodily injury is a Class D felony punishable by five years in prison. The child endangerment charge is an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by two years in prison. A LeClaire daycare provider pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection with the death of an infant in her care in February of 2020, according to Scott County District Court electronic records. During a plea hearing Tuesday in district court, Angela Regina Marxen, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of the lesser included charge of child endangerment resulting serious injury. The charge was reduced from child endangerment causing death. Charges of murder in the first degree and child endangerment were dropped in the plea agreement. Child endangerment resulting in serious injury is a Class C felony that carries a prison sentence of 10 years. There is no mandatory minimum that Marxen will have to serve under this charge. Scott County District Judge Patrick McElyea ordered Marxen to be held without bond in the Scott County Jail pending a sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 1. According to the arrest affidavits filed by LeClaire Police Officer Tony Themas, LeClaire officers were initially called on the afternoon of Feb. 5, 2020, for a report of an infant in distress at an in-home daycare at 12 Frontier Court. Officers arrived and found the 5-month-old child unresponsive with labored breathing. The girl died on Feb. 9, 2020. An autopsy indicated she was killed by blunt-force injuries to her head. The investigation indicates that the injuries were not the result of an accidental fall. On Saturday, February 8, 2020, Marxen admitted that on Wednesday, February 5, 2020, she dropped the infant victim while she was carrying her, authorities contend in the court records. 911 was not notified until four hours after the fall and forty-five minutes after Marxen admitted she knew the child wasn't acting correctly. Doctors determined that the child had suffered a fractured skull and a brain bleed and that the injuries were not the result of an accidental fall. Marxen was the homeowner and was the only care provider, authorities said. After a 14-month investigation Marxen was arrested on April 15, 2021. According to Iowa law, had Marxen been convicted of first-degree murder she would have spent the rest of her life in prison without the possibility of parole. Had she been convicted of the charge of child endangerment resulting in death, she would have been sentenced to no more than 50 years in prison. As a forcible felony under Iowa law, Marxen would had to have served 70% of this sentence, or 35 years, before she would have been eligible for parole. Local high school students are encouraged to stop by Black Hawk College's 50th annual College Night Tuesday evening, Sept. 27, for a chance to visit with college and university recruiters from across the country about post-secondary education options. "We are excited to be back and able to host these larger events in person again," Mikael Gibson, an admissions advisor at Black Hawk, said. "It's a great opportunity, particularly for high schoolers in our area, but also for transfer students to get the chance to talk to a ton of different schools all at the same time about what they have to offer." The free event will run from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Building 3 of the college's Quad-Cities Campus. Black Hawk works with local high school counselors to market the event to area students, Gibson said, often sharing promotional materials like fliers for counselors to post around their school buildings. "We also have a mailing list that we send to different social services and libraries within the area to make sure people in the community know that this is an option that's coming up," she said. Admissions adviser Gabriella Hurtado organized College Night, giving a nod to area schools for their continued collaboration. "This is such a long-standing event, and we really appreciate the support of our local high schools," she said. "I've lived in the Quad-Cities all of my life, and I know that some area high schools really encourage or require students especially seniors to attend College Night, so that's been really engrained into the school systems." The college gives attendees a list of questions to consider while perusing the event, Hurtado said. Recruiters will offer information about college applications, admission, tuition, financial aid, housing, transfer options and potential majors and career pathways. "In our role as a community college, it's important for us to provide this as a resource for our community," Gibson said. "Not everyone has the resources to go out and do all of the college visits they might like to, or can drive and see these campuses individually. This event allows college campuses to come to their own backyard." Hurtado seconds Gibson, describing the event as a "one-stop shop" for area students looking to begin the college decision-making process. "It's overwhelming, so this is a great benefit for families looking to start that process," she said. "I love that we're giving these opportunities out to families who might not have the means otherwise; even for those that do, it really exposes kids to schools they might not have known about and just makes all of these different opportunities and processes a lot more real." Gibson added that events like these might propel students to take steps like scheduling their own individual campus visits. "When students get to learn about what colleges have to offer, they're then able to do some of that initial legwork themselves and use the resources they have in a very defined way once they do decide to make those trips," she said. Schools in or near the Quad-Cities area who've planned to send recruiters include Augustana College, Eastern Iowa Community College, St. Ambrose University, Western Illinois University and Palmer College of Chiropractic. For a more complete list of schools, check the web version of this story. There will be a slew of other public and private four-year institutions represented, including: Bradley University Clarke University Columbia College of Missouri Culver-Stockton College Eastern Illinois University Eureka College Graham Hospital School of Nursing Grand Canyon University Illinois College Illinois State University Iowa State University Kirkwood Community College Knox College Loras College Luther College Methodist College Millikin University Mount Mercy University North Central College North Park University Ripon College Saint Marys University of Minnesota Simpson College Southeast Missouri State University Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences Truman State University University of Dubuque University of Illinois Springfield University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign University of Iowa University of Missouri-St. Louis University of Notre Dame University of Wisconsin Platteville University of Wisconsin Stevens Point Upper Iowa University Valparaiso University Students interested in pursuing non-traditional college options can meet with recruiters from Capri College, the Institution of Aviation at Parkland College, Midwest Technical Institute, Morrison Tech and WyoTech. "One thing that confuses many is realizing that college isn't only four years," Hurtado said. "There are a lot of great two-year or technical opportunities that we put out in from of families so they know there are a lot more options. There will also be programs that we [Black Hawk] don't offer, but we still want to extend those as well, so it's nice to see all of us colleges working together." There will also be representatives from the Illinois National Guard, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and U.S. Navy for those interested in exploring the military. 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. Every couple weeks during the summer, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a longtime Republican incumbent seeking reelection, takes to Twitter standing in front of his New Hartford cornfield and gives an update on the crops progress. The Democratic candidate for the seat, retired admiral Mike Franken, has touted his time growing up on a family farm near Sioux City, standing in front of a cornfield for multiple ads and sporting a blue Navy cap. In Iowa, the leading producer of corn and pork and second-highest soybean producer in the country, agriculture is an ever-present issue in political campaigns. This years U.S. Senate candidates deliver different visions for federal agriculture policies and both are angling themselves as the best representative for Iowa's farmers. Grassley is one of two crop farmers in the U.S. Senate, along with Democrat John Tester of Montana, which he said gives him a key insight into the needs of farmers. On his home farm, he purchases half the seed and input materials, and his son Robin shoulders the other half. Frankens vision of farming, he said, is one where younger people can easily enter the field and smaller farms flourish, where diverse crops are grown on Iowas soil, and where farming is done with net zero or negative carbon emissions. Small farmers Franken contends that Grassley has presided over the consolidation of the farming industry, as Iowas number of farms has fallen and the average size of a farm has increased over the past decades. I would advocate for policies that give our farmers the best chance to be standalone viable producers, where their expertise and their human capital involvement and their farming expertise provides them that standard of living that they so much need, Franken said in an interview. In a recent ad, Franken said Grassley has passed laws that help large agribusinesses squeeze out the little guy. Franken said the market and industry makes it difficult for people to begin farming as the farming population gets older. Its also difficult for farmers to start on a small plots of land as the market is designed for large producers, he said. The markets are such that theres not a crop you can begin on a micro-scale that you can make a living on, Franken said. So there needs to be something new and [Grassley is] just not a purveyor of bright ideas. Iowas number of farms has decreased over the past several decades, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. The state had 184,000 farms in 1960, and farms were already declining at that time. By 2000, Iowa had 95,000 farms, and in 2010, it had 92,400 farms. In the most recent report, Iowa had 84,900 farms, with an average size of 359 acres. Grassley said hes supported policies that help small farmers, including putting a limit on how much farmers can receive from federal subsidies and advocating for cattle transparency bills that he says would allow smaller cattle producers to compete with larger operations. Im the only farmer in this race, so I think that speaks to the fact that Im in a good place to represent farmers, Grassley said in an interview. Grassley boasts endorsements from the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and the Iowa Corn Growers Association, something his campaign points to to show he has support from farmers. In a call with reporters this month, former Iowa Farm Bureau President Craig Hill said Grassley has been a frequent advocate of agriculture throughout his career, including pushing for increased research, renewable fuels, and trade. Hill said Grassley has pushed policies that help small-scale farmers, including some that arent in line with the national Farm Bureau, like caps on federal payments to large-scale farmers. He always is seeking a limit on the payments that go to farmers to protect the small farmer and not help the largest operator be more competitive, Hill said. Grassley has pursued bills with the goal of improving transparency in the cattle industry. One bill would require a certain percentage of cattle to be bought on more open markets, while another proposes the creation of a special investigator into competition among meatpackers. The big four meatpackers have a cozy relationship with the big feedlots of Texas and Kansas, and it squeezes out the independent producer in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota from getting a fair market, Grassley said. Environment As the USDA puts a spotlight and funding behind climate-smart commodities in an effort to reduce the greenhouse gasses created by agriculture, Franken said farmers can be a part of the solution to climate change. Farmland can be used to set up solar grazing operations, he said, where livestock graze on land that also houses solar arrays. We've got farmland in this state, and the farmers are the first to say, Yes, that's true, that should not be in row crops. They should be in something else, he said. Carbon dioxide captured from agriculture-related operations can also be used for local manufacturing of things like aircraft fuel, he said, rather than being shipped out of state and underground. I want a pure, fabulous future for farming, and I foresee an opportunity where Iowa can be the first state in the nation that's a net carbon negative, farmers are hand in glove with the environmental concerns of the future, he said. Grassley has pitched ethanol as one way to lower carbon emissions while bolstering Iowas corn industry and creating jobs for rural Iowa. He has supported the Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires oil refineries to blend a certain percentage of renewable fuels into gasoline. The environmental impact of ethanol is debated, but a study from early this year found that ethanol likely creates more carbon emissions than gasoline when factoring in the land used to grow corn and other factors. The Renewable Fuels Association said the study was flawed and the studys authors precariously string together a series of worst-case assumptions. Grassley said he was the number one person recognized by the ethanol industry as an advocate for the 46,000 jobs we have in Iowa in biofuels and what that does for the corn and soybean prices, to keep them strong. Grassley and Franken will have their first debate next Thursday, Oct. 6, on Iowa PBS at 7 p.m. The general election for state and federal offices is on Nov. 8, and early voting begins Oct. 19. Antonio James Akright died Oct. 11, 2021. He was just 22 months old. An obituary published the same day said he was the son of Malea Wilson and Tyler Akright and he died unexpectedly in the family's home in Davenport. The last paragraph read "Antonio's brief life brought much joy and happiness to his family. He lit up the lives of everyone he ever encountered." Two days later Wilson set up a GoFundMe page asking for donations to help the family " ... lay our baby boy to rest." The brief obituary of a too-brief life and the GoFundMe page didn't tell the story of what the Davenport Police and Scott County Attorney's Office think really happened to Antonio. Almost a year after his death, his mother and father were arrested and charged with causing what investigators believe was Antonio's fatal fentanyl overdose. While authorities seek to prove how Antonio died, the unanswered question of why he was exposed to a drug like fentanyl lingers. The police, prosecutors and Iowa Department of Health and Human Services have not clarified if Wilson and Akright's children were living in the house in the 1300 block of West 13th Street the day Antonio died -- the same house where two months earlier Davenport police found a large collection of drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamine. Evidence of neglect and abuse On Aug. 7, 2021, Akright was arrested for selling multiple drugs out of his home. That arrest was made after a 2:24 a.m. call to police reported Antonio's older brother, then just 33 months old, was wandering an alley behind the house. Evidence shows drugs remained in the home on West 13th Street after Akright's arrest, because at 5 p.m. Oct. 11, 2021, police responded to an emergency call at the house. Antonio had stopped breathing. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Drug tests completed on Antonio after his death showed he was positive for cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. According to the Iowa HHS publication "Child Abuse: A Guide for Mandatory Reporters," Wilson and Akright were negligent because they failed to properly supervise their older child. Both parents also were negligent because they had drugs in the home, were using drugs in the home, and were using the drugs in the presence of their children. Both the child neglect and the presence of drugs meet the Iowa HHS basic definition of "abuse" and automatically trigger a mandatory report from the law enforcement officers at the scene. And according to its own guidelines, HHS had grounds to remove Antonio and his brother from the home. It is not known if a mandatory report was filed. Maj. Jamie Brown of the Davenport Police said investigators can't comment on an open investigation. According to Scott County Attorney Mike Walton, all cases like that of Antonio and his brother are referred to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, but he can't comment on specific cases, especially one that hasn't tried in court. Alex Carfrae, the public information officer for the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services echoed Walton. He said the agency does not confirm reported cases child abuse " ... due to confidentiality provisions in the law." "I can, however, tell you that the Department of Health and Human Services has authority to investigate when it is made aware of child abuse or neglect," Carfrae said in an email. "When a mandatory reporter like a law enforcement officer makes HHS aware of the alleged abuse or neglect, and HHS accepts the report for assessment, the case is assigned to a child welfare worker for evaluation." Carfrae explained if a child is determined not to be safe, " ... HHS takes action to address the concerns, including the development of a safety plan and referral to services." In cases where a child is at greater risk, options include placing the child with relatives or in foster care. The aftermath Akright, 25, was arrested Friday, Sept. 16 and is charged with one count of child endangerment resulting in death. The charge is a Class B felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of 25 years. Akright also is charged with child endangerment-bodily injury, a Class D felony that carries a prison sentence of five years. He also faces a aggravated misdemeanor charge of child endangerment that carries a prison sentence of two years. Wilson was wanted by the Davenport Police for exactly one week and was arrested Friday, Sept. 23. She is being held on $50,000 cash-only bond. Akright was on probation for his Aug. 7, 2021, arrest. In that case, Akright pleaded guilty Dec. 20, 2021, to a charge of possession with the intent to deliver psilocybin. The charge is a Class C felony for which he could have received a prison sentence of 10 years. During a sentencing hearing held March 24, 2022, District Court Judge Tom Reidel sentenced Akright to two years on supervised probation. According to Scott County District Court and Iowa Department of Corrections electronic records, Akright is on probation until March 4, 2024. DES MOINES The Iowa Supreme Court should end a judges 2019 injunction that halted a strict restriction on abortions in the state, and the court has the authority to do so despite legal arguments presented by others, attorneys for the state said in a legal brief filed this week. Alan Ostergren, a conservative attorney who is representing the state on this case, wrote that the Iowa Supreme Court can and should dissolve its injunction now. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has asked the courts to lift a 2019 injunction that struck down a so-called fetal heartbeat law, which was passed by Iowa Republicans and is designed to prohibit abortions after a fetus heartbeat can be detected. Supporters of such laws say the ban goes into effect at roughly six weeks of pregnancy, which often is before the pregnant person is aware of the pregnancy. However, medical experts say the sound detected by an ultrasound at that point is not a heartbeat, because the fetus heart is not yet fully formed. The machine is instead registering electrical pulses from the area where the heart will eventually form. While the matter is once again considered in the courts, abortion in Iowa remains legal up to roughly 20 weeks of pregnancy. Should the courts lift the injunction, however, the law would go into effect. In a brief filed Monday, Ostergren argued that the courts injunction was based on three cases that have since been overruled, one by the Iowa Supreme Court and two by the U.S. Supreme Court. So the injunction is now founded on superseded law, Ostergren wrote. And this Court has the inherent authority and duty to dissolve (the injunction). Ostergren in the brief also counters arguments made by attorneys representing the organizations that believe the injunction should remain in place, including Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the American Civil Liberties Union. Ostergren argued the courts have the authority to modify an injunction after a substantial change in the law, and that the recent state and federal rulings qualify as substantial changes. He also argued that should the court require more factual development for the case, it should at a minimum temporarily dissolve the injunction and allow the law to go into effect. IOWA CITY Autism, its variations, the people it affects, and the extent to which it affects them run a wide spectrum which is becoming more clear, thanks to new and ongoing research into its genetics, including work by scientists at the University of Iowa. A study published Aug. 18 in the prestigious Nature Genetics journal identified 60 genes that contribute to autism, largely via inherited genes from parents who don't have autism or cognitive differences including five never before implicated in the condition. "This new study focuses on these inherited variants: gene variants passed from a non-autistic parent to an autistic child," said UI associate psychiatry professor Jake Michaelson, who also heads the UI Michaelson Lab on computational psychiatry and genomics. The genes at the center of this new study often have "milder effects," Michaelson said. "But these genes probably explain a greater proportion of the autism spectrum," he said. "All of this points to the reality that, for most autistic people, their neurodiversity isn't the product of a single genetic variant, but rather the confluence of multiple genetic factors passed down in unique combinations from their parents." UI contribution Michaelson and two graduate students contributed to the study, led by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center, the Simons Foundation in New York, and Peking University Health Science Center in Beijing. For decades, autism-related research focused on the "low-hanging fruit" of genes that when changed almost always resulted in autism, Michaelson said. Scientists were searching for new genetic mutations that parents didn't have and that affected those genes important to brain development. "That approach has powered autism genetic research for more than a decade," Michaelson said. "But we're starting to get into diminishing returns: it looks like most of the rest of the 'autism genes' probably have milder effects, are not associated with intellectual disability, and may have even been transmitted by a parent who doesn't have autism." Plus, researchers report, most autistic individuals don't have the condition because of novel mutations that their parents don't have meaning those who do represent only a small part of the genetic picture. "We're really excited about this study because it sheds light on how genes are influencing the brain over a wider band of the autism spectrum," Michaelson said. For the study, a massive team of scientists from about 45 institutions tapped a growing autism research cohort called SPARK, or Simons Powering Autism Research which today is the largest autism research community, including genetic data from nearly 100,000 people with autism. Michaelson and his students helped recruit thousands of participants and families to SPARK, created six years ago to advance the scientific understanding of autism. They also helped interpret what the autism-associated genes are doing, "essentially making a map of autism genetics that tells us what the major molecular mechanisms are," Michaelson said. "It feels sort of like a Lewis and Clark-type expedition, where you know there's this huge (unexplored) territory, but its contours and variety haven't yet been well described." 'Subtypes of autism' The two-stage study assessed 19,843 people with autism, along with one or both biological parents, and found about 20 percent of those with autism had new genetic variants not found in their parents. Nearly 70 percent of that genetic contribution could be attributed to known autism genes or those associated with neurodevelopmental disorders leaving others "still to be identified." When researchers then added another 22,764 people with autism and 236,000 without autism from the general population, a "meta-analysis" revealed 60 autism-associated genes mostly driven by inherited variants transmitted by parents who don't have autism or cognitive differences. "Of these genes, five have not previously been implicated in neurodevelopmental conditions," according to a UI summary of the study. Michaelson said the inherited variants are "less associated with intellectual disability, and they expand our view of what developmental mechanisms are being impacted in autism." "Ultimately, this knowledge will help us better understand subtypes of autism that each have different support, resource, and treatment needs." SPARK benefits Of the 42,607 total autism cases analyzed for the study, 35,130 new cases came via online recruitment through SPARK. Researchers spell out in the study benefits of using a tool like SPARK, designed to recruit people from across the autism spectrum, without relying on medical centers. "The strategy used by SPARK to recruit and assess large numbers of individuals with autism across the spectrum and their available family members without costly, in-depth clinical phenotyping is necessary to achieve the required sample size to fully elucidate genetic contributions to (autism spectrum disorder)," according to the study. SPARK also allows researchers to reconnect with and track participants as part of follow-up and deeper assessment of "newly discovered genes" as well as develop new treatments. "As we do this kind of basic science research, we learn little by little what autism really is," Michaelson said. "And, as this new research shows, there are autistic bits in undiagnosed people, and to some extent in everyone." 'Just the beginning' Those "autistic bits" are just more concentrated in individuals who have been clinically diagnosed with autism diagnoses that can be a big part of a person's identity. And scientists and clinicians, Michaelson said, should work toward developing more precise and respectful language to address the "deeply personal and identity-based features of autism," while leaving behind aspects that are "objectively disabling and recognized as such by the autistic individual." "We want this kind of basic research to ultimately lead to the empowerment of autistic people to live full and healthy lives, free from medical, mental health, and societal barriers," he said. The recently published research represented the culmination of years of work from the coordination of hundreds of thousands of participants and efforts from nearly 30 clinical recruitment centers to analysis involving thousands of hours of compute time and countless drafts. "This is just the beginning," Michaelson said. "We estimate that we will need three to four times as many participants as are currently in SPARK to continue to discover the inherited, moderate impact genes that underlie a majority of the autism spectrum." That line of inquiry and ongoing SPARK recruitment, according to Michaelson, will power related research including several projects UI is engaged in on topics like sleep, eating habits, language ability, seizures, gender identity, and exceptional abilities. "We recently convened a new working group that is focused on investigating autistic strengths and developing new ways to help autistic people recognize, cultivate, and capitalize on strengths that they have," he said. "There's a feeling, I think, that much of the work we've been doing so far was ultimately leading us to this critically important theme." A Chicago man was charged in federal court after allegedly killing an 18-year-old man during a planned robbery on the South Side almost a year ago, according to the U.S. attorneys office in Chicago. Deandre Norels Jr., 20, and another person were accused of fatally shooting William McGee, 18, on the 900 block of East 98th Street on the afternoon of Nov. 11 while they carried out the planned robbery, according to prosecutors. Norels was charged with one count of using a firearm to cause a murder, one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery and one count of robbery, according to the federal indictment returned Sept. 13. Advertisement Norels, who has pleaded not guilty, is currently in federal custody while awaiting trial. The charges in the indictment carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum of death, a news release said. A status hearing before U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin is scheduled for Oct. 28. A Pennington County magistrate judge set bond at $100,000 cash only on Monday morning for a Rapid City man accused of strangling his sister to death on Thursday evening. The Rapid City Police Department arrested 28-year-old Nicklaus Houchin for first-degree manslaughter after the death of his 31-year-old sister, Danielle Houchin, of Rapid City. The state argued for the $100,000 cash only bond on the grounds that Houchin is a danger to his family and to the public, noting that his behavior escalated from mere misdemeanors to manually strangling his sister. Houchin has four open cases against him spanning from 2019 to 2022, which include four DUIs and other driving misdemeanors. Court records show files dating back to 2013. The public defender's office opted to reserve a bail argument for another date. According to a Friday afternoon press release following the death of Danielle on Thursday, police responded to a call after 8 p.m. on Thursday to the parking lot of Rushmore Crossing shopping center in the 1400 block of Eglin Street for a report of an unresponsive woman. Police found Danielle on the ground near a vehicle having CPR performed on her. A medical unit arrived and transported her in an ambulance to the hospital. She died in transit, according to the release. While speaking with witnesses, police learned the woman was in a vehicle with several other passengers. The group was drinking alcohol in the vehicle while driving for an app-based food delivery service. The group stopped to pick up food at a restaurant on Endeavour Boulevard when a man, identified as Nicklaus Houchin, got into a physical confrontation with Danielle Houchin and choked her. RCPD spokesperson Brendyn Medina said the altercation occurred inside the vehicle. According to the release, the woman went unresponsive in the back of the vehicle while the group drove to Rushmore Crossing before calling 911. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. Oct. 11. Rosalyn Baldwin decided when she was 6 years old she wanted to show law enforcement personnel they were loved. That decision took the 12-year-old Louisiana resident on a mission that expanded to the Rapid City Police Department and Pennington County Sheriffs Office Monday morning. About 25 members of the police department and sheriffs office received hugs from both Rosalyn and her 7-year-old brother Phillip. Its a really amazing experience, Baldwin said. I mean, you cant really trade something like a gummy worm, I dont know, for this. Its an amazing opportunity. When Baldwin was 6, there was a shooting in Louisiana that touched her heart. She said she wanted to give out cookies, hugs and hearts to the world. My mom told me to calm it down a little bit and just to try going into our general area, so we started with a small office and gave them cookies, she said. Since then, Baldwin and her family have been to 44 states, leaving some on the West Coast for future visits in 2023. They family started traveling around the United States for Baldwins mission in 2017. Baldwin said law enforcement has received a bad reputation recently and wants to show the average officer will not harm someone. She said she has learned a lot about how police and SWAT cars look, and she gets to meet officers and their families. You can see how theyre human, too, she said. Someone does not just turn evil the moment they take this job as an officer. Baldwins mom, Angie, said when her daughter first brought this to her, she said she had a vision that she was supposed to go out and hug the peacemakers. She was so determined about this vision that she knew God was calling her to go do this, Angie said. After some persuasion, we went ahead and started going in January (2017) because we had to step out on faith with her. Angie said people have been good to them during their travels, and it just blows your mind to see people being good. They see her and they see her light and they want to be a blessing to her, she said. Angie said she was raised on God, family and country. She said people have to stand together, and Rosalyn grew up seeing that. Angie said people assume they have some kind of agenda, but she said they really dont. Im getting nothing from this, other than Im a writer. ... Im going to write about it, yeah, this is beautiful for people to understand love, but theres no agenda, she said. Its just a little girl who loves people who asked us to come out and help her country. Rosalynn said she has wanted to come to Rapid City and South Dakota for a while to see Mount Rushmore, which she got to visit Monday evening. As firefighters adjusted their gear and flames began to rise on the Rapid City Regional Airport's airfield, "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes began to pour out of a prop CRJ-200 regional jet. Four firefighters approached the prop plane, hose in hand, ready to douse the flames during their annual live aircraft rescue and fire fighting training. Capt. Neill Goodart of Station 8, stationed at the Rapid City Regional Airport, said all airports that have commercial air traffic are federally mandated to conduct a training every 12 calendar months. "Part of the reason that air travel in this country is safe is because of all the federal regulations that we have," Goodart said. Only 14 of the department's firefighters were required to be at the training, all of which are stationed at Station 8, but other members of the department joined the training for search and rescue. Goodart said the department has a trainer from Minnesota that brings in a prop aircraft, the CRJ-200 which is a common aircraft at the regional airport, and propane to fuel a fire on the prop and on the ground. The firefighters take turns driving the Aircraft Rescue firefighting truck, which has turrets that spray water. Goodart said over the past few years, they have incorporated other firefighters to train in search and rescue. In a real-life scenario, thats one of the things we would need their assistance (with), Goodart said. He said firefighters always enjoy training, particularly with live fire. This is just kind of the culmination of it all, Goodart said. He said the primary difference between fires at the airport and in other places is whats burning. He said at the airport, they deal with aircraft fuel versus woods, grasses, plastics and other materials in town or in a grass fire. The departments firefighters train quarterly as well to learn about the different types of aircraft that come into the area and how they operate. Goodart said theres a host of subject areas they have to follow for Federal Aviation Administration guidelines. The state will not seek the death penalty against a 19-year-old accused of shooting another 19-year-old at the Grand Gateway Hotel in March, but the state is pursuing more severe charges. On Aug. 10, a grand jury updated Quincy Bear Robes charges from second-degree murder and commission of a felony with a firearm to first-degree murder and commission of a felony with a firearm. Bear Robes new charges were read to him in court on Monday afternoon. His lawyer, John Murphy, said he is not aware why the state increased the charges and did not have a comment on the increase. The Journal contacted the Pennington County States Attorneys office for comment, but did not hear back. This is the second time since the March 19 incident that Bear Robes charges have increased. The first was in April, after Myron Pourier died from his injuries following the March 19 shooting. A grand jury updated Bear Robes charges from aggravated assault and commission of a felony with a firearm to second-degree murder and commission of a felony with a firearm. The latest update doesnt take second-degree murder off the table. Second-degree murder is listed on the new indictment as an alternative count, meaning if Bear Robe is not convicted of first-degree murder, he could be convicted of second-degree murder. First-degree murder is a class A felony with a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison and a maximum of the death penalty and up to a $50,000 fine. Second-degree murder is a class B felony with a mandatory life in prison sentence and up to a $50,000 fine. On Friday, Deputy States Attorney Rachel Lindsay filed a notice declaring the state will not seek the death penalty against Bear Robe if he is convicted of first-degree murder. The next hearing scheduled for Bear Robe is an evidentiary hearing at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 7 to address a motion his lawyer filed in June stating law enforcement violated Bear Robes Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure by lacking reasonable suspicion to believe criminal activity was afoot, or probable cause to believe a crime had been committed, prior to seizing, detaining and arresting Bear Robe. The location of Pourier's death garnered national attention when Connie Uhre, one of the Grand Gateway Hotel owners, made comments on Facebook stating that Native Americans would be banned from the hotels property and Cheers Lounge after the shooting. Bear Robe is Native American, as was Pourier. NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led organization based in Rapid City, filed a federal class action civil rights lawsuit against the hotel, its owners, and its parent company after NDN members reportedly attempted to rent rooms at the hotel and were denied. Uhre has since been charged with three counts of simple assault after video footage showed her spraying demonstrators with a cleaning product on May 27. Shes scheduled to appear in court at 3 p.m. on Nov. 17. A 75-year-old woman was walking alone with a cane across East Broad Street near North Ninth Street in Richmond on Aug. 31, 2020. Not long after she reached the sidewalk, a man who walked past her suddenly turned around, walked up and struck her. The blow propelled her to the pavement, as the man pointed his arm at her and walked away. Less than two hours later, a 48-year-old woman was seated on a GRTC Pulse bus when the same man rose from his seat behind her and struck her without warning, causing a bump to the head. The man then immediately pretended he had fallen in the bus aisle, as if he hit the woman by accident, authorities said. Both attacks were recorded on surveillance video, and Richmond police eventually linked those assaults to similar random attacks on two other unsuspecting women in July 2020. More than two years after the last attack, a Richmond Circuit Court jury deliberated about three hours last week before returning guilty verdicts against Marvin Maurice Moore, 39, in all four cases. He was found guilty of malicious wounding, attempted malicious wounding and two counts of assault and battery. Moore was charged with a fifth attack in Henrico County that occurred the same day as two of the Richmond assaults, but a Henrico jury acquitted him of malicious wounding in that case. Because Moore still awaits sentencing, Richmond Deputy Commonwealths Attorney Christine Cestaro, who prosecuted the case with Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Nathan Hittle, could not comment on the trial until after Moore receives punishment. He is to be sentenced on Jan. 5. But in court papers filed in advance of Moores trial, Cestaro noted that during each of the four attacks in Richmond, Moore targeted an unsuspecting woman he encountered in public and, without warning or provocation, violently struck each one. In two of the cases, Moore feigned the attack was an accident and acted as if he tripped or fell after striking the victims. The first of the four Richmond attacks occurred on July 17, 2020, as a 16-year-old female was seated at a table inside the Taco Bell on Azalea Avenue. As she sat alone looking down at her cellphone, a man later identified as Moore rose from his seat and grabbed a heavy metal chair. He then walked a few steps toward her and inexplicably lifted the chair to his shoulders and hit the victim hard atop her head, Cestaro wrote. The victims father, who had been waiting for food at the front counter, confronted Moore, who then squared off in a fighting stance. Four days later, a 25-year-old woman was seated alone on a GRTC Pulse bus with a man, later identified as Moore, in front of her. As she was looking down at her cellphone, Moore started to rise from his seat when he forcefully elbowed her in the head, chest and throat. When she looked up at him, Moore acted like he had fallen. After she momentarily looked down at her phone again, Moore struck her hard a second time with the back of his arm to her head. The attack on the 25-year-old was the most violent of the four assaults, which resulted in the most serious charge against Moore. The four attacks ... are idiosyncratic in that [Moore] committed each one in an eerily similar, frightening manner, Cestaro wrote. First, he targeted women. Second, he subjected all four victims to what amounts to an elevated sucker punch, striking each unsuspecting victim in the head. Third, he pretended three of the attacks were unintentional. Fourth, two attacks occurred within hours of each other on the same date. And finally, two attacks occurred on GRTC pulse buses, with [Moore] and the victim positioned in nearly identical bus seats with an identical manner of attack. Early in the case, a psychologist determined that Moore was competent to stand trial after his attorney asked that his client undergo a mental health examination. At trial, Moores defense was that in two of the cases, he accidentally struck the victims and in two others he was misidentified as the assailant. The two victims who were attacked on GRTC buses testified against him. Virginia Union University was not allowed to install the illuminated letters on its campus bell tower two years ago, but the university is finalizing agreements with city and state officials to keep it up. While the university must still obtain local approvals, the Richmond City Council on Monday voted unanimously to overturn the city architectural review panels denial of the permit for the installation. In addition to the issue with the city government, the university has drafted an agreement with the Virginia Board of Historic Resources that includes a $35,000 annual payment to mitigate the violation of a prior historic preservation agreement with the state agency. In January 2020, Virginia Union University placed a VUU logo made of aluminum framing and acrylic faces with LED lights on all four sides atop the 165-foot Vann Memorial Tower on the campus at 1500 N. Lombardy St. Though Virginia Union and its supporters say the signs on the tower highlight the importance of the university, city officials and state officials say the sign was illegally installed in violation of historic preservation and design guidelines under local and state code. Virginia Union University is a landmark in Richmond City and a proud historic campus, the universitys appeal says. The historic value of Virginia Union University to our community, City, State, and Nation justifies the prominence gleaned by the signage and its significance must not be undervalued or disallowed. A month after the signs were installed, the city notified that the university still required the permits for the work. The university applied for the permits retroactively, but the citys Commission of Architectural Review voted unanimously to deny the application. This past spring, the commission voted 4-3 against a new application for it. The Vann Memorial Tower was originally installed on the campus as part of the historic Belgian Pavilion building, which the Belgian government donated to Virginia Union after it was displayed in the 1939 New Yorks World Fair and as the European nation was facing occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II. The tower is named after Robert L. Vann, a Virginia Union alumnus from the early 20th century who went on to become a lawyer and newspaper publisher who founded the Pittsburgh Courier, a nationally prestigious African American weekly newspaper that eventually folded in the 1960s. According to the universitys draft agreement with the Virginia Board of Historic Resources, the agency holds an easement on the Belgian Building preservation restrictions, and the board did not approve the installation of the VUU signs on the tower. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who has been hitting the campaign trail outside Virginia because he says Republicans make better governors, swung by Atlantas suburbs Tuesday to stump for an actual, sitting GOP governor for the first time. Trump had called for Kemps resignation when the Georgian rejected efforts to overturn his states 2020 vote for President Joe Biden. Trump later backed former U.S. Sen. David Perdues primary campaign against Kemp, but Kemp won that May race by a vote of 74% to 22%. In Alpharetta on Tuesday, Youngkin reminded the Georgia crowd that Kemps Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams, had come to Virginia to campaign against his election last year. She in fact said that the biggest fear that Virginia had was if we elected Glenn Youngkin we would become more like Georgia, Youngkin said. Let me tell ya, I said, Thank you, Stacey. Youngkin picked up a theme that Kemp a few minutes earlier had stressed: his decision in Georgia not to impose mask mandates and other social distancing measures to contain COVID-19, despite criticism from Abrams. In Virginia, Youngkin said he opened the state economy by ending those mandates. And with that, he said, our economy is growing and our kids are back in school and were returning taxpayers money ... I am proud to say, yes, were like Georgia. Over the past two months, Youngkin has campaigned for GOP candidates for governor in Nebraska, Michigan, Maine, Nevada and Kansas. None is an incumbent, but all are Trump supporters. Youngkin has brushed off criticism for such support by saying he is backing GOP candidates because he believes Republicans are better governors and because GOP governors supported him in his 2021 election. His out-of-state campaigning fuels continuing speculation that he is laying the groundwork for a run for the presidency in 2024. But from Kansas last week, he headed directly to Texas for a session Friday at the Texas Tribunes three-day TribFest gathering, where he declared he was not even thinking about the White House. Kemps bid for re-election is a replay of the 2018 contest in which he defeated Abrams by 50% to 49%. Two Virginia inmates serving time at separate high-security state prisons in Wise County have been indicted in the killings of two other inmates at those facilities, the Virginia Department of Corrections said. Justin William Crenshaw, 34, an inmate at Wallens Ridge State Prison, was indicted on Sept. 21 on charges of aggravated murder by prisoner and strangulation in the Nov. 20 slaying of Gregory Pierce, 47, the agency said. Separately, William Scott Pettigrew, 38, an inmate at Red Onion State Prison, was indicted on the same charges in the Jan. 4 killing of Anwar Phillips, 37, according to the department. Corrections officials did not disclose the circumstances of the two slayings. Watch now: Richmond man found guilty of random, violent attacks on 4 women Authorities released videos of the attacks and identified Marvin Maurice Moore, 39, as the man shown hitting the women. In a news release the day of the Wallens Ridge incident, the department said the inmate who died then unnamed was fatally wounded in an apparent in-cell attack by another inmate. The victim was pronounced dead at Lonesome Pine Hospital in Big Stone Gap. The victim was serving multiple life sentences for sexual offenses including rape, and his assailant is serving a life sentence for murder, the agency said. Following the Red Onion death, a department spokesman told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that Phillips was found unresponsive in his cell on the morning of Jan. 3 and died. Both Crenshaw and Pettigrew are scheduled to appear in Wise Circuit Court on Oct. 12 for status of attorney representation. Red Onion is a supermaximum-security state prison that houses more than 800 inmates. Wallens Ridge is also a supermax penitentiary that houses about 1,200 inmates. A tree stands on property along State Street where a new Near South Side high school is proposed, on the former site of the Harold L. Ickes Homes public housing project. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) A proposed $120 million Near South Side high school is moving closer to reality, with the Chicago Board of Education set to consider purchasing land and commissioning design services Wednesday, despite objections from neighborhood groups. The board is slated to vote on buying property at 23rd Street and Wabash Avenue for $10.3 million to exchange with the Chicago Housing Authority, which would lease to the board a 1.7-acre site at 2450 S. State St. for the high school. Also, the board will weigh authorizing the Public Building Commission to perform project planning and design services to the tune of $5 million. Advertisement Its unclear how much support the plan has among members of the board, which underwent a shake-up this summer. The proposal was pulled from the agenda of the June board meeting, where several members raised concerns. Since then, three new board members have been picked by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who is pushing for the new school despite its mixed response from neighbors. Chinatown leaders say the school, which would serve South Loop, Chinatown and Bridgeport students, is desperately needed in an area that has seen significant growth. Others say Chicago Public Schools should focus on the schools it already has, especially amid declining enrollment. Advertisement Lugenia Burns Hope Center Executive Director Roderick Wilson is among those who are adamant that the school should not be built at the proposed location once home to the Ickes Homes public housing complex. That site should be reserved for the public housing promised when Ickes was demolished more than a decade ago, he said. Roderick Wilson, executive director of the Lugenia Burns Hope Center, speaks at Mount Carmel Baptist Church on Aug. 23 about the proposed redevelopment of the Ickes Homes public housing site. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) He called Wednesdays potential board action a slap in the face because community members have said they dont want the school on the former Ickes land. Its not about community engagement. Its about checking off a box, Wilson said Monday. Its about them trying to convince people of what they want to see. I think thats the problem here, a top-down approach coming from the fifth floor (of City Hall) on to CPS. Wilson said he met last week with two new board members, Sulema Medrano Novak and Joyce Chapman, to advocate for building the school on The 78, a new neighborhood set to rise on vacant riverfront land between Roosevelt Road and Chinatowns Ping Tom Memorial Park. As part of this proposal, selective enrollment high school Jones College Prep in the South Loop would be repurposed to allow for a mix of neighborhood and selective enrollment students, and $30 million would be split between Wendell Phillips Academy High School in Bronzeville, Tilden High School in Canaryville and Thomas Kelly College Prep in Brighton Park for improvements. Wilson couldnt tell if he swayed Medrano Novak and Chapman, but said his group will continue its fight. A land exchange between CPS and CHA would be subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. We dont need to be part of a matriarchy, where you tell us whats best for us. We dont need that. We know what we need for our communities, Wilson said. I hope that the board members recognize who theyre responsible to and who their duty is to. And I hope that the mayor ultimately gets that its not about her and what she wants. Its about what the community wants. And right now well just hope and see. Mickey McGhee, center, listens with other attendees of an Aug. 23 community meeting at Mount Carmel Baptist Church to discuss the redevelopment of the former Ickes Homes, where a new high school is planned. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. > Members of the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, meanwhile, have long advocated for the high school, which they hope would feature STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) curriculum and programming that would support immigrant families in the Latino and Asian communities. Advertisement Executive Director Grace Chan McKibben said her group has asked CPS for a detailed analysis of proposed sites. The 78 is the top pick for the coalition, which stands in support with public housing advocates. I understand the pushback from CPS has been that theres no infrastructure there right now, and that it will take a longer time to be completed, Chan McKibben said about The 78. She noted that the University of Illinois Discovery Partners Institute was announced for that site just last week. We really would like some synergy between these projects. She said her group met Friday with new board member Paige Ponder, but couldnt get a read on which way she will vote. The high school would be paid for with $50 million in state funding that has been re-appropriated a few times, and $70 million previously announced for a Near West Side high school that was never built. The lease between the CHA and CPS would be for 55 years, with the option of two 20-year extensions. In the meantime, work continues on the Southbridge mixed-use development near Cermak Road and State Street. Its expected to feature 877 units, including 244 for CHA families. Ickes once had 740 units. tswartz@tribpub.com Merriam-Webster says the first use of the slang word woke was in 1948, the definition of which is aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues. Current wokeisms have taken on new and dangerous implications for our country, especially regarding racial, sexual and social issues in our military. Im a Vietnam era veteran, having served in the early 1960s during the height of the Cold War, the downing of a U2 over Russia, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the assassination of President Kennedy. I recently read an article which disturbed me greatly, The Rise of Wokeness in the Military by Thomas Spoehr, director of the Center for National Defense at the Heritage Foundation. The woke policies of elected officials who are constitutionally charged with strengthening, not weakening, military readiness is of great concern to battle-hardened military veterans. A few examples: In 2015, a Marine Corp study concluded that gender integrated combat formations did not move as quickly or shoot as accurately, and that women were twice as likely as men to suffer combat injuries. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus rejected the report as it did not agree with the administrations agenda. Also in 2015, the Department of Defense opened military combat jobs to women. Then-Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter initiated gender neutral testing standards so female solders could equally qualify for the rigors of combat. In the seven years since, the military has not been able to put in place such a test. Women were not scoring as high as men under combat readiness criteria, so the Army threw out the test. In April this year the Army replaced the readiness test, without gender-neutral standards, with a Combat Fitness Test with different scoring for men and women. This eliminated the danger of women losing their careers because of poor scoring on combat readiness. Currently there is no test to ascertain that any soldier meets combat readiness. The United States had a long-standing policy of prohibiting transgender people in the military, due in part to the fact that transgender people suffering from gender dysphoria have anxiety and attempt suicide nine times the rate of the general population, interfering with their units performance. Ignoring these issues and desires of military leaders, the current administration opened military service to all transgender people, including making it so that they can take time off from duty for sex-change surgeries and hormone treatment at military expense. At the same time, politicians removed the restriction of not allowing persons with HIV to serve. Soldiers bleed when wounded and others shouldnt have to be concerned about mixing blood in combat situations. Physical fitness has long been a hallmark of military readiness. Due to forced gender neutral policies the Army lowered its basic training passing grade for pushups to only 10 for women. A passing grade for a 2-mile run was increased from 19 minutes to 23. Defense of our country from enemies foreign and domestic is not a civilian or social club job. According to Gods design as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, all men (people) are created equal. However, that has never meant that all have equal abilities. Some are better at carpentry, others in math, farming, electronics or nurturing. Men and women have never been equal physiologically in strength. The United States is faced today with imminent danger from abroad and internally. This is not the time to weaken our military. China, Russia and most Islamic states are not our friends. China has a stated goal of world dominance militarily, economically and in space. China has the second largest number of orbiting satellites and has launched more space rockets than any other country in recent years with a satellite orbiting the Moon and a robot landing on the far side. Diversity inclusion, critical race theory and other such policies are detrimental to society in general and particularly to our military readiness. To be clear, we have the finest, best trained, and technically competent military men and women in history. But to ensure the survival of our democracy, we must return to our founding Judeo-Christian principles regarding social experiments. This starts at home, schools, churches, civic groups and elected officials. Ben Franklin stated, Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious they have more need of masters. The reasons for the 9-11 attack on the U.S. still exist. We will be attacked again. The woke must wake up to guard against weakening our armed forces at a time when we need them the most. Or we will have new masters.... Federal, state and local law enforcement authorities announced Tuesday that a notice to seize The Knights Inn in Roanoke County had been served to the motels owners. Authorities said the motel at 6520 Thirlane Road was the setting of criminal activity conducted by William R. Jackson and Mickey E. Jimenez, who have each been prosecuted on drug and sex trafficking charges. U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said the owner and operator of the motel knew about the drug distribution and sex trafficking on his property, encouraged it and profited from it. The owner and his staff would notify perpetrators of criminal activity on this site if there was law enforcement nearby or on the property. This allowed the criminal activity to continue and to thrive here in our community, Kavanaugh said during a news conference in front of the motel. Kavanaugh said the owner, who was not identified Thursday, has not been charged with any crimes. We make determinations in our prosecutorial discretion all the time about whether someone counts within or outside of a conspiracy. We also have at our disposal a variety of civil remedies, to include asset forfeiture, Kavanaugh said. We decided on the basis of the evidence that we have before us that a civil remedy was appropriate here. The governments seizure of the hotel property may take many months, as with many things in federal court, Kavanaugh said. But our hope is that it will be wrapped up soon. According to Roanoke Countys online tax parcel viewer, the property is owned by Khushi & Khushbu LLC, which bought the lot in May 2016 for $2.1 million. The parcel features about 3.4 acres of land and a pair of two-story buildings that were built in 1976. Kavanaugh said that between 2015 and 2020, Jackson used the motel as the base of his operations for the distribution of narcotics, including heroin and cocaine, and for commercial sex trafficking. The U.S. attorney said vulnerable women with drug addictions were forced to stay at the motel and engage in prostitution in order to feed their addictions and meet their basic needs. Among the trafficked women was a 15-year-old girl. In July, Jimenez was sentenced to eight years in jail for conspiring to recruit the juvenile. Jacksons sentencing hearing in federal court is scheduled for Oct. 4. His attorney, Richard L. Derrico, wrote in a sentencing memorandum that Jackson has been cooperative with the court since his arrest in 2020. He identified numerous individuals, and significant local businesses and their white collar owners, the memorandum reads. During a 22-month period from late 2018 to 2021, Kavanaugh said Roanoke County police were called to The Knights Inn 611 times. In 2021, Roanoke County reported 167 calls for emergency medical service here, Kavanaugh continued. Twenty of those were overdoses. Roanoke County Assistant Police Chief Jimmy Chapman said two of those overdoses were fatal. In 2020 and 2021, The Knights Inn generated the second largest amount of calls for police services in Roanoke County, Chapman said. The assistant chief of police said officers met with the motels owner to share their concerns with him about the criminal activity and seek a resolution. Despite this knowledge, the owner made minimal changes and continued to benefit from the criminal element, Chapman said. Today is emblematic of how good police work done by our uniformed officers and specialized criminal investigators impacts the safety of Roanoke County. Kavanaugh said he hopes the notice to seize Knights Inn serves as a warning to other motel and hotel owners in the Western District of Virginia. If youre a businessman, and you are profiting from criminal activity on your premises, if you are sticking your head in the sand, or youre complicit, or even worse, you are encouraging, we will use the federal law to seize that property to protect the victims of the criminal activity, to protect our communities and most of all to protect the citizens of the Western District. David Kadela, the supervisory senior resident agent of the Federal Investigative Bureaus Roanoke office, said that at the beginning of 2022, there were more than 1,700 pending human trafficking investigations across the country. Of those 1,700 cases, approximately 95% of them are sex trafficking investigations, Kadela said. These crimes are occurring. And as demonstrated today with this announcement, theyre occurring in our community. Kadela said that while the FBI works closely with federal, state and local law enforcement partners to investigate trafficking crimes, they cant stop this problem alone. We all need the communitys help, Kadela said. I encourage people who believe that they have information about potential trafficking situations to call law enforcement immediately. I encourage victims to contact law enforcement for assistance. We can provide resources to help redirect and rebuild your future. The mullahs in #Iran , the imams from #Pakistan and the #Saudi sheikhs who all oppress, jail, terrorize and kill their women and innocent citizens, should be send to afterlife with all their mosques, hateful korans and crazy #Muhammad . Amsterdam (Netherlands) The Mullahs (Muslim teachers) in Iran, Imams (leaders of mosques) in Pakistan and Sheikhs (Arabic rulers) in Saudi Arabia oppress, imprison, terrorise and kill women and innocent civilians. Such madmen should be sent to afterlife, tweeted Geert Wilders, president and MP of the Party of Freedom in the Netherlands. Case of illegal construction of Buddha Vihar on the land of ancient Hindu temple Jaffna (Sri Lanka) Sri Lankan Government arrested 2 main Tamil activists for protesting against the illegal construction of Buddha Vihar on the land of an ancient Hindu temple here. Tamilian Hindus protested against these arrests in Mullaitivu and Jaffna. T Ravikiran former member of the Parishad of Northern Province and social worker R Mayuran were arrested by Police for violating the law. Local Hindus had started protesting against the construction of Buddha Vihar in Kurunthamalai here. One law for Tamils another law for Sinhalese Scores of #Tamils protest #SriLanka state sponsored construction of a #Buddhist temple at the centuries old #Hindu Kovil site in #Kurunthurmalai violating a court order. Hours later police arrested two leaders of the protest https://t.co/8BBdZPpibl pic.twitter.com/o2H6G9in9L LankaFiles (@lankafiles) September 21, 2022 The court in Sri Lanka had forbidden new construction of Buddha Vihar, but disregarding that order Officers of Sri Lanka have continued the illegal construction of the Buddha Vihar on the land of the ancient Hindu temple on Kurunthamali Hill. Students at University of Jaffna organised a rally in support of T Ravikiran and R mayuran and have demanded to stop the encroachment of Buddha Vihar. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Privacy Policy We collect limited information about web visitors and use cookies on our website to provide you with the most optimal experience and improve our website. To learn more about our website privacy practices, please review University of Richmonds general data privacy regulation policy. To continue to our website, you must click on I agree to agree to this use. I Agree In more ways than one, this skeleton is on the young side. She's got well-preserved DNA, and based on our knowledge of how fast DNA breaks down over time, it's safe to say Ata is under 500 years old. As a matter of fact, she may have died within the past few decades. So, there's a decent chance that one or both of her parents are still around today. The ethical questions begin when we imagine how either one of them might feel if they lived to see their child's body snatched, sold and then labeled as a "humanoid" by UFO gurus. Advertisement One also has to wonder about how they'd react to scientists drawing international attention to what was, for all we know, a private family tragedy. The 2018 Genome Research paper faced a swift public outcry. Less than a week after the document was published, the Chilean Society of Biological Anthropology and the Chilean Association of Archaeologists both issued statements calling the study unethical. Under Chilean law, it is illegal to "carry out archeological, anthropological or paleontological excavations" without first getting authorization from the country's Council of National Monuments. That probably didn't happen in Ata's case. Nor were any Chilean researchers involved in the Genome Research study, which became another bone of legal contention. Some of the study's biological claims were criticized, too. A follow-up paper published in August 2018 in the International Journal of Paleopathology argues that Ata's striking appearance could have very little to do with genetic mutations. Instead, parts of her skeleton might have been distorted or flat-out lost during her birth, mummification or burial. Getting back to Nolan, he and one of his co-authors (Atul Butte of the University of San Francisco) later penned a statement defending their research. Noting that nobody on their team physically touched, or even saw, the actual skeleton, the two expressed their desire for Ata to be repatriated and "accorded proper respect as human remains." Now That's Interesting Not only is the Atacama Desert one of the world's driest environments, it's also stayed dry for an unimaginably long time. Geologic evidence indicates that the desert's core has remained arid for the past 150 million years. To put that in perspective, the iconic dinosaurs Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops only died out 66 million years ago. FLORENCE Florence-Darlington Technical College was recently awarded a four-year Child Care Access Means Parents in School grant by the U.S. Department of Education to offer its students assistance with their daycare expenses while attending classes at the college. It is our goal here at FDTC to make it easier on our students to attend classes and not worry about childcare, FDTC Associate Vice President of Enrollment and Student Services Genell Gause said. We truly want to remove any barriers that could potentially keep students from being the professionals they want to be. CCAMPIS is a Federal Department of Education grant that is meant to assist students, who are parents, with funds to pay for childcare so, they can focus more energy on staying in school, completing their college goals, and graduating. Florence-Darlington Technical College was awarded $194,691 to offer this assistance program to its students for beginning Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2026. We are invested in student success, and workforce development here at Florence-Darlington Technical College, President Dr. Jermaine Ford said. Programs like this one help us to eliminate barriers to student success. To be eligible for the grant a FDTC student must maintain a 2.0 grade point average (GPA), be enrolled in at least six credit hours of courses and must complete a Federal Student Aid Application and qualify for financial aid. To learn more about this program or to see if you are eligible for this assistance contact FDTC at 843-661-8324. FLORENCE A sunny, fall day, Monday was a perfect backdrop for the dedication and ribbon cutting at the home of Bernice Douglas on Carolina Drive in Florence. Douglas is the newest recipient of a Greater Florence Habitat for Humanity home. We always say the best days at Habitat for Humanity are the days spent celebrating with our partner homebuyers, said Executive Director for Greater Florence Habitat for Humanity Debbie Edwards. The goal of Habitat for Humanity is to eliminate substandard housing and homelessness in our Florence Community. The home is located at South Carolina Drive. Douglas moved in to her new home in August but the dedication was delayed. After renting for close to 14 years, Douglas said, It feels good, great to be in my own home. Douglas applied to Habitat for assistance and is now a first-time homeowner. This house will enable her to own a home with an affordable mortgage. Douglas said she is on disability. Edwards said Douglas will no longer have to climb two flights of stairs every day. Habitat stands firm on its values of giving a hand up not a handout, Edwards said at the dedication. The home was built as a Habitat home in 2016, Edwards said. It was originally built for Mike Mouzon, who was autistic and an inspiring artist. Edwards said Mouzon was able to live independently in his home for four years before he died in March 2020. Mike had such love for his home and Habitat that he placed Habitat in his last will and testament, Edwards said. He wanted someone to experience the opportunity that was offered to him without the delay of building a new home. Mouzons home was designed for a single person or a couple and was the perfect fit for Douglas. Edwards said updates to the house were needed and with the Truist Community Foundations help Habitat was able to make them. Along with the funding from Truist and the volunteers from Central United Methodist Church, the home was complete and ready for Douglas to move into in August. Edwards said the home they dedicated on Monday will have now housed two single, senior citizens. Douglas said she is blessed. I have come so far, she said. I feel the love. Im just happy; Im excited. Hank Leeke of Central United Methodist Church presented Douglas with a lawnmower to keep her yard well-manicured. There was a blessing of the house by Tyler Jenkins and a Bible presentation by Jammie McDonald. The Greater Florence Habitat for Humanity works with the community to build homes for low-income, hard-working families and sells the homes at no profit with affordable mortgages at a no interest loan. These homes are made possible through donations of money, materials, land, volunteers and sweat equity of partner families. Douglas said she is working her sweat equity hours at the ReStore. Ways to help include: volunteers to work on a home, funding, providing lunch for a work crew, working at the ReStore on Celebration Boulevard and other ways. Habitat is nearly finished with its next home at 112 W. Vista St. in Florence and ready to build at 1022 W. Marion St. GREENWOOD, Miss. Funeral services were held Monday for the Mississippi prosecutor who worked on one of the renewed investigations into the 1955 lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till, a killing that galvanized the civil rights movement after his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral so people could see her sons mutilated body. Joyce Chiles died of lung cancer Thursday at a hospital in Ruleville, a coroner told the Greenwood Commonwealth. She was 67. Services were Monday in Itta Bena. Advertisement Chiles was elected in 2003 as district attorney for three Mississippi Delta counties Leflore, Washington and Sunflower and served one term before deciding not to seek reelection. She was the first Black person, and the first woman, to hold the position. In 2007, Chiles presented evidence to a grand jury of Black and white Leflore County residents after investigators spent three years re-examining the killing of Till. The FBI exhumed Tills body to prove that he, and not someone else, was buried at his gravesite in the Chicago suburb of Alsip. The grand jury declined to issue indictments against anyone. Advertisement The FBI had reopened the case in 2004 after filmmaker Keith Beauchamp compiled a list of at least 14 people Black and white he thought had some role in the kidnapping, beating and slaying of Till. He went to the authorities with the names of five people who were still alive. The Justice Department said the statute of limitations had expired on any potential federal crime, but the FBI worked with state investigators to determine if state charges could be brought. Chiles told The Associated Press in 2007 that the renewed investigation did not produce evidence to support indictments. We are justice seekers and not head hunters, Chiles said. Till, a 14-year-old Chicago resident, was visiting family in the Mississippi Delta in the summer of 1955. He and other young people went to a country store in the town of Money, and relatives have told the AP that Till whistled at a white woman working there, Carolyn Bryant. They denied that he touched her, as Bryant had claimed. Four days later, white men kidnapped Till from his uncles home and killed the teenager, then dumped his body into the Tallahatchie River. The mutilated body was found days later, weighted down by a cotton-gin fan. Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. > After Tills funeral in Chicago, Jet magazine published a photo of his body. A jury of white men acquitted Carolyn Bryants husband Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam of murder charges a few weeks after the killing, but the two men later told Look magazine that they had abducted and killed Till. In 2018, the Justice Department reopened an investigation after a 2017 book quoted Carolyn Bryant by then known as Carolyn Bryant Donham saying she lied when she claimed Till grabbed her and made sexual advances. The department closed that investigation in late 2021 without bringing charges. Advertisement The FBI again reopened an investigation this year after people searching the Leflore County Courthouse basement found an unserved arrest warrant for Carolyn Bryant. In August, another Leflore County grand jury declined to indict her. In the 2007 AP interview, Chiles said it would have been easy for members of the grand jury more than 50 years later to indict someone based solely on the emotion and rage that they felt. She commended them for not doing that. Chiles said she had grown up on a plantation near where Tills body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River. Speaking of Donham, Chiles said: I didnt feel good toward her; I still dont feel good toward her. Seguin, TX (78155) Today Clouds and some sun this morning with more clouds for this afternoon. High 88F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies. Low around 60F. Winds light and variable. A first sentencing echo from the economic meltdown? | Main | California's confusing efforts to do criminal justice by initiative October 10, 2008 Boston Globe noticing crime dogs not barking in 2008 campaign With all due respect to McGruff the Crime Dog (who has his own blog), I have been intrigued, somewhat amazed and consistently disappointed by how quiet the 2008 election season has been on issues of crime and punishment. I am pleased to see that the Boston Globe, in this editorial headlined "Politically, crime doesn't pay," is also noticing that crime dogs are not barking this fall. And the editorial has some interesting theories why: Despite an overall drop in crime rates over the past decade, fear of crime remains a daily concern for residents in many American cities. The candidates are giving short shrift to the issue by succumbing to their own fear of talking about crime. Obama may be reluctant to draw attention to his hometown problems in Chicago, where murder and gun violence rates are up sharply. McCain may see no political upside of the crime issue, either. He alienated the gun lobby again by supporting the rollback of the insidious Tiahrt amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement agencies to gain access to comprehensive federal gun tracing data as a means to identify rogue gun dealers.... Americans of all races are still waiting for a healthy debate on why black people are imprisoned at five times the rate of white people. Is it the breakdown of families, the failure of social and economic interventions, or racial bias on the part of police or prosecutors? This subject deserves at least as much attention from the candidates as they give to "diplomacy without preconditions." Each candidate still has some explaining to do. Voters deserve to hear more about why McCain voted against bipartisan crime bills during the 1990s. And Obama's position on the constitutionality of citywide bans on handguns remains murky, at best. The candidates seem only too happy to duck discussions about crime. Neither, therefore, deserves commendation as an especially effective crime-fighter. I concur that both Presidential candidates are happy to duck discussions about crime, but the media (both mainstream and non-traditional) are also responsible for failing to show any real interest or concern about these issues. Moreover, it has been more than 20 years since either political party has shown a real interest at the federal level in having a truly "healthy debate" about crime and punishment. Largely inconsequential distractions like the death penalty, the exact scope or federal judicial sentencing discretion, and US attorney firings make for great political theater and sound-bites, but it has been decades since persons in either the White House or Congress has shown a real interest in the hard work of figuring out how best to prevent and fight crime throughout the United States. Some related posts: October 10, 2008 at 04:01 PM | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451574769e2010535710f02970b Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Boston Globe noticing crime dogs not barking in 2008 campaign: Comments The Death Penalty is an "inconsequential distraction?" Posted by: Will | Oct 13, 2008 2:46:51 PM Post a comment Kentucky parole board orders school shooter to serve out the remainder of his life sentence | Main | "Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States 2022" Tana Ganeva has this lengthy new piece at The Appeal which details the impact and import of repeat offender laws in two southern states. The full title of this piece previews in coverage: "'Habitual Offender' Laws Imprison Thousands for Small Crimes Sometimes for Life: Data obtained by The Appeal show nearly 2,000 people in Mississippi and Louisiana are serving long and sometimes life sentences after they were labeled habitual offenders." But most are behind bars for small crimes like drug possession." I recommend the full piece and here are some excerpts: The Appeal took a deeper look at Louisiana and Mississippi, states that changed their laws in 1994 or 1995 and now have some of the highest rates of incarcerated people in the country. The Appeal sent freedom of information requests to both the Mississippi Department of Corrections and Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections for data on people serving 20-year-plus sentences and, where possible, information regarding whether their sentences had been enhanced by a habitual offender statute. We broke the data down by race, crime, time served, and sentence. In total, datasets suggest there are close to 2,000 people currently serving long sentences enhanced by habitual offender statutes in these two states. A small number of these people in these two states committed serious crimes. But most are serving 20-plus years primarily because of habitual offender status, where the triggering offense was drug possession, drug sale, illegal gun possession, or another crime besides murder or rape. Scores of people are serving virtual or literal life sentences for nonviolent drug possession.... In the mid-1990s, Mississippi instituted some of the most restrictive habitual offender laws in the country and virtually did away with parole for repeat offenders.... According to data analyzed by The Appeal, as of August 4, 2021, there were nearly 600 people in Mississippi who were serving 20 years or more with no parole date and were considered habitual offenders.... In Mississippi, 75 percent of habitual offenders are Black, while 25 percent are white. (Other racial groups make up a negligible number.) ... The majority of habitual offender convictions analyzed by The Appeal are linked to possession of drugs, possession of firearms, or contraband in prison. In the most extreme cases, multiple people convicted of drug crimes were given virtual life sentences because of their habitual offender status. Perry Armstead is serving 63 years for five charges of cocaine possession and sales. Keith Baskin is serving 60 years for possession of cannabis with intent to distribute. Timothy Bell is serving 80 years after being convicted of possessing a firearm as a felon and selling meth twice. Malcolm Crump is serving 56 years for selling meth on three occasions. Paul Houser got 60 years for meth. Anthony Jefferson got 60 years for possession of cannabis with intent to distribute.... There are nearly 900 people serving sentences longer than 20 years in Louisiana because of habitual offender statutes who arent eligible for parole. (Overall, there are more than four thousand people serving life without parole in the state.) According to data acquired through a freedom of information request, the most serious crimes are in the minority. Less than 3 percent of those imprisoned due to habitual offender status were convicted of first-degree murder. Slightly less than 5 percent are serving time for second-degree murder. Almost 6 percent are serving time for rape. Meanwhile, 12.6 percent are serving 20-plus years because of habitual offender statutes triggered by a drug crime. Of those serving decades for drug crimes, 49 people were convicted for possession, 34 for possession with intent to distribute, and 31 for distribution. Line Man Wongnai raised US$265 million in a Series-B investment round led by GIC, Singapores sovereign wealth fund, and LINE Corp. (PHOTO: REUTERS/Anshuman Daga) By Anuchit Nguyen (Bloomberg) Thai food and parcel delivery app Line Man Wongnai raised US$265 million in a round led by Singaporean sovereign fund GIC, becoming the nations latest startup unicorn. The companys value topped US$1 billion after a Series B round of funding, according to a statement on its website. Other investors in the latest funding include Taiwan Mobile Co., BRV Capital Management and PTT Oil & Retail Business Pcl. Line Man Wongnai competes with Grab Holdings Ltd. and SCB X Pcl on food delivery services as the pandemic boosts demand for home dining. The startup also offers business solutions for shops and restaurants with a database of more than 1 million merchants and 100,000 riders nationwide, according to the statement. The company was formed in 2020 from the merger of Line Man, a domestic delivery service of Line Corp., and Wongnai, a food and restaurant review platform. The startup said it will use the proceeds to expand into new services and hire more employees. 2022 Bloomberg L.P. SIOUX CITY -- Recently retired Wayne State College professor Dr. Don Hickey will deliver "The Indian Way of War, 1750 - 1815," a lecture at the Betty Strong Encounter Center, 900 Larsen Park Road, at 2 p.m. Sunday. Hickey, who specializes in American and military history, will discuss what he calls the "Golden Age of Indian Warfare," focusing on why Native Americans fought, the strengths that made them effective warriors, and the weaknesses which doomed them to defeat. The Betty Strong Encounter Center and the adjoining Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center comprised a private, nonprofit cultural complex built and sustained by Missouri River Historical Development, Inc. (MRHD). For information on upcoming speakers and programs, call 712-224-5242 or go to facebook.com/sclandc. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Dive into hometown history With a weekly newsletter looking back at local history. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy Zackary Smith, 35, pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He was sentenced Friday to 140 months in prison. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Smith and others sold more than 11 pounds of meth in the Cherokee County area from August 2018 through April 2019. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on a rural Cherokee County home in April 2019 and seized 1.5 pounds of meth and found Smith flushing about 10 ounces of meth down a toilet. Smith admitted to traveling with others to Omaha to obtain meth to sell in Northwest Iowa. ORANGE CITY, Iowa -- A Remsen, Iowa, woman pleaded guilty Monday of stealing more than $10,000 from a dependent adult who was unable to make his own decisions. Samantha Hagemann, 43, entered a written plea in Sioux County District Court to an amended charge of second-degree theft, The charge was amended as part of a plea agreement, and a charge of forgery will be dismissed. Hagemann's sentence was not spelled out in the plea agreement, and she faces up to five years in prison. She will be ordered to pay $19,450 in restitution to replace the stolen money. Sentencing was scheduled for Nov. 21. Hagemann obtained money from May 2021 through November 2021 through ATM withdrawals, transactions at businesses and checks from the victim, who was a resident in a Hull, Iowa, nursing home. Knowing the victim could not make decisions for himself, Hagemann continued to withdraw money from his account and went to the nursing home to collect checks, written out to her, from the victim. Court documents said that a third party would fill the checks out for the victim, and in at least one instance Hagemann changed the amount of the check to a different total. DAKOTA CITY A man who was shot by South Sioux City police pleaded not guilty Tuesday to gun and other charges related to the incident. Richard Germek, 62, of South Sioux City, entered his plea in Dakota County Court to felony charges of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, unlawful discharge of a firearm, criminal attempt, terroristic threats and possession of a short rifle or short shotgun and misdemeanor charges of obstructing a peace officer and disturbing the peace. South Sioux City police officers responding to a call about a possible overdose encountered Germek at about 7:50 p.m. July 22 at his apartment building at 320 E. 12th St. According to police and court documents, paramedics who arrived before police evacuated once Germek brandished a gun. Police officers made contact with Germek inside his apartment and gave several commands to drop the weapon before Germek fired at one of the officers. An officer returned fire and struck Germek, who was then transported to a Sioux City hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. No officers were injured. The officer who shot Germek was placed on administrative leave in compliance with standard protocol after the shooting. Police Chief Ed Mahon on Tuesday said the officer would not be named but has returned to duty. Mahon said he is waiting for a final report from the Nebraska State Patrol's investigation into the shooting. A prominent five-bedroom, 10,000-square-foot Spanish-style mansion on Lake Michigan in Winnetka was listed on Monday for $15.85 million. The vintage mansion, which probably is best known as the onetime home of the late insurance mogul, philanthropist and author W. Clement Stone and his wife, Jessie, is in need of renovations, and may be a target for a buyer who chooses to raze it and construct a new mansion on the gated 2.22-acre site. Advertisement Built in 1912 and recognizable for its red tile roof, the mansion has had just five owners in 110 years. Its first owners, Arnold Gilmore and his wife, Lena, lived in the house until selling it for $100,000 in 1919 to Albert Pick, the head of the Albert Pick restaurant supply company. Pick died in 1923, and his family sold the mansion in 1931 to James G. McMillan, who was president of the A. Wander Co., maker of Ovaltine. McMillan owned the mansion until his death in 1965, and the following year, Stone and his wife bought it. They remained in the home and frequently held benefits in the upstairs ballroom until W. Clement Stones death at age 100 in 2002 and Jessie Stones death in 2004, also at age 100. In 2006, the Stone estate sold the mansion to business executive Randy Abrahams and his wife for $8.1 million. Advertisement Now, the three-story mansion is on the market for the first time in 16 years. The mansion has seven bathrooms, five fireplaces, an elevator with beveled mirrors that serves all levels, a living room with an imperial ceiling, a dining room with a hand-molded ceiling, a second-floor primary bedroom suite with 180-degree views of the lake, and a foyer with a double atrium staircase with braided columns and matching arched casings. Other features include new quartz baths adjoining the bedrooms and a lower level with a speak-easy bar that has green-cushioned banquettes and a custom-plastered mosaic ceiling with hand-painted and mirrored tiles. Outside are 165 feet of sandy beach, a raised terrace, a new pool and a newly built, two-story cabana house designed by architect Paul Konstant that has an elevator and custom bar. There are only five or six lots over 2 acres in Winnetka on the lake, so first of all, this property already is in that unique segment, and then it has 165 feet of pure sandy beach, listing agent Jena Radnay of @properties told Elite Street. Its definitely property that can be a rehab or someone might tear it down. And renovation plans by Konstant for the house will convey with the house. Theyre already paid for. The mansions second floor was just rehabbed, but the home needs a new kitchen, Radnay said. She called its location really a pinnacle of lakefront living. The property had a $152,442 property tax bill in the 2020 tax year. The listing comes amid plenty of activity in the $10 million-and-up range in Winnetka. An unidentified buyer paid $11.25 million in July for a lakefront mansion in Winnetka, while another unidentified buyer paid $12.75 million in August for a vintage lakefront mansion on Sheridan Road that is set to be demolished. And billionaire Justin Ishbia paid $16 million through a land trust in July to buy another lakefront home that he plans to demolish as part of a large homesite that he is creating. Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter. Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news. SIOUX CITY Recruitment stipends have been successful for the Sioux City Community School District, prompting the district to allocate more funds to the program. The district has given stipends to 226 employees who qualify for the stipend for a total of $859,456 as of Sept. 12. On Monday, the school board approved the allocation of $200,000 additional funds for the stipends. The breakdown includes: 28 hard-to-fill positions; 108 teaching positions; 10 returning teachers; 7 former SCCSD staff and permanent substitutes; 79 SCESPA para educators; 16 food service employees and 6 bus drivers; said human resources director Jen Gomez. Its obviously working, board vice president Taylor Goodvin said. The stipends were initially approved in March for positions that were of high priority for the district. On Sept. 12 the district approved continuing the stipends throughout the school year. Teachers hired in the district before the start of the year received a $5,000 hiring bonus over two years or $2,500 per year. Former Sioux City teachers and permanent substitute teachers received a $2,500 stipend; and certain SCESPA paraeducators, food service workers and bus drivers received $1,000 divided into three payments over one year. Teachers who were hired for hard-to-fill positions received additional hiring bonuses based on experience. These positions included agriculture, construction, dual language, FACS, engineering, English as a second language, industrial arts, Spanish and special education. The district initially allocated $850,000 for the stipends. The stipends will continue to be offered to any hires for the rest of the year on a prorated basis. Currently, there are 24 teaching positions open, 34 SCESPA para educators positions open, 40 food services positions open and three bus driver positions, according to the board meeting packet. The funding is from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding, given to school districts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interim Superintendent Rod Earleywine said there is enough money in the funding for this item. We need new employees and doing what we were doing, and have been doing, probably is not going to work in this market, so we have to try something different, board president Dan Greenwell said previously. Doing nothing is not an option. SIOUX CITY -- The Sioux City Council approved a development agreement Monday with the nation's largest full-service Mack and Volvo truck and trailer dealership. Thompson Equipment Co., which is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, plans to establish a location along South Lewis Boulevard and bring 42 jobs to the community. The project, represents a capital investment of nearly $6.7 million. Thompson Equipment Co. (TEC) offers service, parts and new and used trucks, as well as trailers, financing, insurance and 2,600-units for lease. According to city documents, the company has been looking for a new location in the tri-state area and has decided to purchase 8.5 acres at 4101 South Lewis Boulevard to construct a new 30,000-square-foot full-service truck and trailer dealership. Under the terms of the proposed development agreement, TEC will commit to investing $6,685,000 to purchase the property and construct a new dealership and enter into a minimum assessment agreement of $6.5 million beginning Jan. 1, 2025 and continuing for a period of ten years. The city, in turn, will provide 75% property tax rebates on the new incremental taxes created by the value added to the property for a period of seven years, according to the documents. Construction on the project, which will begin next year, is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. SIOUX CITY -- The Sioux City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve a $340,000 transit budget addition in fiscal year 2023 to fund services recommended by a transit mobility study. The funds will cover an additional southern route and the pilot test period of extending service for one hour each day for all routes. "I think transportation is the backbone of a healthy community. I think it's a good idea," Councilman Matthew O'Kane said. Sioux City Transit has been working with SRF Consulting Group to conduct a mobility study to identify potential changes to current service options, according to city documents. "What they came up with was splitting the airport route to provide more access down there and allow us to entertain more of the business travelers down in that area," Assistant City Manager Mike Collett told the council before the vote. "Right now, we deadhead from downtown on the interstate and just get down there and back. It's tight. What happens is we hold up all the routes when that happens as well, because all the routes transfer down to MLK." Collett said splitting the routes would allow city transit to expand its territory in Morningside, Bridgeport and Southbridge. "As we grow that area, it gives us a little flexibility, then to add those routes as well, as business develops down there," he said. Sioux City Transit currently provides service from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Transit staff would like to conduct a pilot test of extending service for one hour each day for a period of three months, at which time performance measures will be evaluated. The projected cost for the test period is $65,000. City staff will come back to the council to request any additional funds to make the extra hour permanent or as an on demand service, depending on the results of the pilot period. "This is just to garner demand. Right now, we know that's a big request. We just don't know if that's 10 loud people or 1,000 people," Collett said. "... This is just to get the demand, then, we can make decisions from there based on cost." Approximately $6.8 million in revenue funds are available as a result of the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan Act. Roughly $400,000 per year in additional infrastructure funding has also been authorized for the next four years. "One of the areas they want to concentrate on with these funds is, we lost a lot of passengers and a lot of those inputs during COVID," Collett said. "To get passengers back to improve the system, this seemed like a very good use of that money." SIOUX CITY -- Police say a Sioux City man led officers on a pursuit early Tuesday morning in a vehicle believed to have been involved in a Morningside shooting. Jordan J. Hills, 19, of Sioux City, was taken into custody after the pursuit ended in Sergeant Bluff and charged with serious eluding. The Sioux City Police Department said in a statement that officers responded to a report of several shots being fired in the area of the 5000 block of Lorraine Ave. at 3:58 a.m. Investigators located a house that had been struck by gunfire. The home's occupant provided limited cooperation with officers, according to the statement. "It is believed that the occupant and the person suspected of firing at the house are known to each other. The motive for the shooting is still under investigation," the statement said. Officers found a vehicle believed to have been involved in the shooting and attempted to stop the car, but the driver kept going. As officers pursued the car, the passenger got out and fled on foot in Sergeant Bluff, where the pursuit ultimately ended. Officers found ammunition for a handgun inside the vehicle, according to the statement. Police are looking for the passenger. He is described as being a Hispanic male in his late teens or early 20s. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and black shorts, according to the statement. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sioux City Police Department at 712-279-6960. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Abortion laws in South Carolina almost certainly won't get more restrictive, after Republicans in the General Assembly could not agree on a total ban on the procedure during a special legislative session Tuesday. South Carolina was for decades at the forefront of more restrictive abortion laws that challenged Roe v. Wade even before the landmark case was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court this summer. The state requires ultrasounds, parental consent and 24-hour waiting periods before abortions. But when faced with the real-world consequences of bans that have played out in the other states, some Republicans in South Carolina paused at the brink. A House vote Tuesday likely killed the bill for this session. House Republicans insisted on a full ban on abortions with exceptions only for pregnancies caused by rape or incest, or if the life of the mother was threatened. They said the version passed by the state Senate earlier this month is too watered-down. The Senate kept the state's current ban on abortions after cardiac activity is present in a fetus, which is usually around six weeks. It did cut the amount of time victims of rape or incest can seek abortions to 12 weeks instead of 20 weeks. But even that version is not in effect. The South Carolina Supreme Court has suspended enforcement of the law as it decides if it violates the right to privacy in the state constitution, leaving an older 20-week abortion ban in place. Rep. John McCravy, the Republican sponsor of the House bill, said he was stunned to see support for a total ban evaporate after Roe v. Wade was overturned. We thought those that ran on pro-life would be pro-life, and they would stick to their ideological positions, McCravy said. Tuesday's 95-11 vote in the House with almost all the chambers Democrats joining most of the Republicans didn't entirely close the door on changing the abortion laws before a new set of House members are elected in November. The Senate could come back, insist on its version, and a group of three lawmakers from each chamber would work on a compromise between the Senate bill and the House version. But Republican Senate President Thomas Alexander said the vote made passing a bill in the special session almost impossible because senators showed earlier this month there arent enough votes in the 46-member chamber for a ban earlier than six weeks. I support a stronger pro-life bill. But once we realized it was not possible to pass, our primary concern became to protect the most lives of the unborn possible by strengthening the fetal heartbeat law that is in current legal jeopardy, Alexander said in a statement. The Senate bill also required DNA from aborted fetuses in pregnancies caused by rape to be collected for police. It also clarifies protections for doctors who order an abortion if it is determined a fetus cannot live outside the womb. For lawmakers and groups that have spent decades trying to end all abortions, it is a frustrating end to what looked so promising after leaders in the Republican-dominated General Assembly quickly called for a special session once the draft opinion leaked that the U.S. Supreme Court was ready to let states to decide the abortion issue themselves. But the effort stalled in the Senate, where the three Republican women and two of their GOP colleagues stopped a near-total ban. Yes, Im pro-life. Im also pro-life for the mother, the life she has with her children who are already born. I care about the children who are forced into adulthood, made up by a Legislature full of men so they can feel good about it, said Republican Sen. Katrina Shealy during the debate earlier this month. Tuesday's vote could have impact in the governor's race. Republican incumbent Henry McMaster, facing reelection in six weeks, has said he wants to see no abortions in the state. Republicans don't have a two-thirds majority to override a veto, so Democratic challenger Joe Cunningham has campaigned that he alone can prevent any further restrictions with his veto pen if he wins in November. Democratic House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford said it wasn't time to celebrate, because many women don't know they are pregnant at just six weeks and he expects to see women take desperate measures once a choice is taken from them. But Rutherford said he hopes Republicans keep promises made during the debate to do more to help access to birth control, health care for pregnant women and their babies and education for the children born after the U.S. Supreme Court decision. We have talked about how life begins and ends at conception and a number of us are tired of that. I know the Democrats are tired of it and hopefully enough Republicans are tired of it," Rutherford said. On Tuesday, Pacific Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit designed to block President Joe Bidens student loan forgiveness plan. The suit makes a creative attempt to surmount the biggest obstacle to a legal assault on Bidens program: the fact that nobody appears to be injured by loan relief, so nobody has standing to sue. But it will still probably fail, for two related reasons. First, the lawsuit is premature, since theres no existing program yet for courts to assess and strike down. Second, because its premature, the suit divulges conservatives best strategy to surmount the standing hurdleand gives the administration an opportunity to forestall it. Advertisement If PLFs goal is to impress its funders with a splashy sortie against Biden, mission accomplished. But if its goal is to halt student debt relief, the suit is not nearly as clever as PLF thinks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To pursue a lawsuit against the program, a party would have to show that loan forgiveness harms them in some immediate and concrete wayand also that a court could remedy that harm by ruling in their favor. Whos harmed by student loan relief? Under Bidens plan, student debtors who earn less than $125,000 get $10,000 of debt wiped out, or $20,000 if they received Pell Grants. The federal government already holds these loans, so its essentially adjusting its own ledger. Nobody is penalized or burdened, just gifted with a one-time windfall. It would appear that the only people injured are taxpayers, since the program will cost about $400 billion. But as a rule, taxpayers do not have standing to challenge federal spending. So that door is locked. Advertisement Advertisement PLF thinks one of its own employees, Frank Garrison, can nonetheless enter federal court through a back door. Since graduation, Garrison has paid off his loans through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. This program benefits students who enter public service or non-profit work after graduation. It allows them to pay a fixed amount each month thats capped for those with lower incomes. After ten years of payments, the government forgives the balance of the loan. Advertisement Garrison is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness beneficiary who claims to live in Indiana. (Notably, until Tuesday morning, PLF said Garrison worked in the District of Columbia; after filing the lawsuit, the group revised its website to identify him as an Indiana employee.) Hes on track to receive full forgiveness in about four years. Indiana does not tax student loan relief as income if its canceled through Public Service Loan Forgiveness. But Indiana is one of six states that does tax other forms of loan relief, including debts forgiven under Bidens new program. As a result, Garrison wont pay taxes on loan relief he receives through Public Service Loan Forgiveness, but will pay taxes on loan relief through the Biden plan. (He estimates that the plan will require him to pay more than $1,000 in Indiana taxes.) This tax, he argues, gives him standing to sue, because it establishes a pocketbook injury that can be remedied by judicial invalidation of the Biden plan. (If it turns out Garrison really lives in D.C., the suit will fall apart because D.C. doesnt tax loan relief as income.) Update, Sept. 27, 2022: PLF claims Garrison has lived in Indiana since February.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But wait: Isnt student loan relief an opt-in program? After all, the Department of Education has been advising borrowers to prepare for the application process later this fall. Most people will have to apply, but in its fact sheet on the plan, the administration declared: Nearly 8 million borrowers may be eligible to receive relief automatically because their relevant income data is already available to the Department. (In other words, the agency knows they make less than $125,000.) The Department of Education said the same thing in an online FAQ about the program. Garrison asserts that he is part of this class of borrowers who will receive automatic debt cancellation. Which leads us to problem number one: Its not clear that Garrison is going to receive automatic debt relief. He thinks he will because he recently certified his employment status and income with the Department of Education through his loan servicer. Theres no guarantee, however, that this action alone qualifies Garrison for automatic cancellation. Perhaps the loan servicer failed to report his income to the Department of Education. Perhaps the department would like to verify his income and debt load further before granting relief. Perhaps it will conclude that large-scale automatic cancellation isnt feasible after all, and will change its policy to require more people to opt in. We dont know, because the program doesnt exist yet. That means his future injury remains purely hypothetical, and his lawsuit is, in legal terms, not yet ripe. A plaintiff with an unripe claim cannot pursue a federal lawsuit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even if Garrison could somehow surmount the ripeness hurdle to show he does in fact face imminent harm, hed crash into another barrier: The Biden administration hasnt finalized the program, so the courts lack authority to block it. Federal law allows courts to block an agency action only when its final, which means its the consummation of the agencys decisionmaking process and creates rights, obligations, or legal consequences. Right now, the Biden program checks none of these boxes. It exists primarily as a series of press releases, fact sheets, and FAQs put out by the White House and the Department of Education. PLFs suit rests on assumptions drawn from these advertising materials, but countless details could change before the final plan is unveiled. It is a work in progress, exactly what federal law does not permit courts to halt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turn, now, to the other major problem facing PLF: It has given the Biden administration a roadmap to defeat its own lawsuit. Since the student loan program doesnt officially exist yet in any functioning form, the administration can still tweak it. One possible tweak: an explicit opt-out mechanism for the 8 million borrowers who stand to have their loans automatically canceled. The Department of Education can simply notify borrowers who are eligible for automatic relief and give them the opportunity to reject it. In fact, the department has allowed borrowers to opt out during previous rounds of large-scale debt relief. An opt-out would allow Garrison to easily avoid incurring the tax penalty he fearsand, in the process, strip him of standing to sue. By Tuesday afternoon, the White House press secretary had confirmed that an opt-out would be included in the bills final text, whenever it is done. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The deeper you venture into the weeds of the PLF suit, the more defects reveal themselves. For instance, it asks a federal court to abolish the entire debt relief program. But its theory of standing relies entirely on the state taxing debt cancellation as income, which only six states do. So even if PLF prevailed, judicial relief would likely be limited to borrowers in those six states. Moreover, only about one-fifth of all borrowers will see their loans canceled automatically, and a far smaller subset of those borrowers will incur state tax penalties due to loan forgiveness. In theory, the court should only freeze debt relief for those borrowers, rather than blowing up the whole program. The reality is that, when it comes to student loans, the executive branch has extraordinary discretion to wipe out billions without a judicial veto. After all, the federal government owns this debt already, and Congress has given it sweeping powers to cancel it. Nobody raised a legal challenge when Biden relieved $32 billion in student loans before August 2022 because everyone with passing knowledge of this system understands that these cancellations happen all the time. If a court blocks part or even all of Bidens program, he can come back with a more narrowly tailored approach, forgive a smaller class of borrowers, require a showing of need; in short, he can keep rejiggering the plan to meet the legal standards. Conservative groups like PLF can flood the courts with lawsuits, but they will never fully overcome the brute fact that the government holds all the cards. Texas and Florida have each passed new aws taking aim at social media companies and how they moderate content. If these laws take effect, platforms will be forbidden from prohibiting or deprioritizing certain kinds of contentcreating the potential for a future Twitter landscape filled with hate, porn, terrorist recruitment, Holocaust denial, and really outlandish trolls. Conservatives have long argued that the platforms discriminate against them by suspending or banning them for sharing political speech, while the platforms say they are only enforcing rules against hate speech or misinformation. On Fridays episode of What Next: TBD, I spoke with Mark Joseph Stern, a senior writer at Slate who covers courts and the law, about how the legal battle in Texas and Florida could shape online speech for a generation. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lizzie OLeary: The Texas bill, HB20, would give social media companies only minimal tools to influence whats on their sites. How does HB20 work? Mark Joseph Stern: What it does is essentially strip these platforms of the ability to moderate a vast amount of content through algorithms, by individual decisions made by employees at the company, or by setting policies that users have to abide by. It replaces all of that with a state mandate that forces these platforms to take a very, very hands-off approach and tells them, among other things, that they cannot moderate content, including demoting content in a feed, removing content, or shadow banning (as the Texas legislators put it) on the basis of viewpoint. And that includes not just viewpoint in terms of politics or religion or normal debate, but also viewpoint like, did the Holocaust happen? Or should women be stripped of the right to sign contracts? Or should we bring slavery back in the United States? Or should you join ISIS?The world that this law attempts to create is frankly not one in which any rational or decent person would want to use social media for even a second. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When you wrote about HB20 for Slate in May, you described it as something that empowers aggrieved users to file an unending stream of lawsuits to combat content moderation while creating a slew of onerous regulations that are literally impossible to comply with. Do you think there is, in any universe, a good-faith reading of this law that comes from a legitimate theory that the platforms discriminate against conservatives? I think it was written first and foremost as a political stunt. The social media companies are caught in the middle of this battle on the right to persuade the Republican base that they are the victims of this mass censorship campaign, and that the campaign is so bad and stifling speech to such an outrageous degree that the government just has no choice but to step in and use the heavy hand of regulation to fight back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But I dont think thats all it is. I do think that a lot of the legislators who crafted and supported this bill have a pretty intense vendetta against social media companies that they are convinced are censoring Republican and conservative speech, and they feel this is the only way at this stage to push back, so that Republican voices can rise to the top where, under this view, they deserve to be and should be. Advertisement Advertisement How is the Florida bill similar to HB20, and how is it different? The Florida bill is more focused on deplatforming and was a very direct response to Twitter deplatforming Donald Trump after Jan. 6. The chief regulation there is that no candidate for office can be taken off of a social media platform pretty much under any circumstances, even if they, say, fomented insurrection at the United States Capitol. They have to be allowed to have access to these platforms. Also, posts that are by or about candidates must stay on the website, and the website cannot deprioritize certain posts if they are about a candidate. Advertisement Advertisement The Florida law has this very bizarre bit that bars a social media company from censoring, deplatforming, or shadow banning a journalistic enterprise based on the content of its publication. But then it defines a journalistic enterprise so broadly, including any outlet that publishes 100 hours of audio or video online, which would include Pornhub and other user-generated pornography websites, because theres simply nothing in the bill to restrict that. It seems to me like there are two ways to look at this overarching issue: from a content moderation standpoint or from a corporate free speech one. From a content moderation standpoint, these social media companies who have banded together here are basically saying what? This would just turn us into a cesspool? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats the argument. As we discussed earlier, most Americans dont like being confronted with an endless stream of Nazi hate speech and porn when they log on Twitter, and that is what this bill would do. But the other argument that these platforms are makingand they are making them as an industryis that the bills infringe on their corporate free speech. That turning over granular information about their algorithms to the state, for example, is government intrusion into their business. And that has led to a fascinating scrambling of traditional ideological views. Normally conservatives love corporate speech because it mostly means spending money to help Republicans win elections, right? Here you might expect that if a corporation can spend unlimited money electing candidates, that it can also choose what kinds of expression it wants to present to its users. But we have seen some conservative judges say, No, no, no. Quite the opposite. Corporations have become a kind of substitute public square where everybody has to go if they want to make their voices heard. And so we should not be looking at these cases as corporate free speech. We should be looking at them as individual free speech being crushed by corporations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Is the conservative argument that these companies are then akin to common carriers? That theyre the telephone company or a utility where they have a responsibility to let everybody use them? That is the theoretical underpinning of these bills and of what conservative judges have put forth. That these companies, YouTube, for instance, is the railroad of the 21st century. And back in the 19th century, railroads were told by the government, You are the only game in town, so you are not allowed to discriminate against passengers unless you have a really good reason. And thats what Republicans and conservative judges have argued here. That if you want your voice heard, Twitter is really the only game in town, and so it has become a common carrier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why arent they common carriers? Why arent they akin to a railroad? Two things. First, you really can create an alternative to Twitter if you want to. Its not like a railroad where if the railroad turned you away, you could say, Well, Im just going to build my own railroad across the continent. The other reason is that the platforms are telling the truth when they say this is not just robotic content moderation but editorial discretion. Facebook and Twitter have these policies about the kinds of speech they wish to promote and the kinds of speech that they do not want to host. They want to create a safe and welcoming community and they are going to prioritize and deprioritize all kinds of expression to achieve that goal. Is that the exact same thing as a newspaper publishing or not publishing an editorial? Of course not. But for constitutional purposes, it does feel very closely related to a newspapers decision over what speech to publish. Advertisement Advertisement While most of the Florida law was struck down by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Texas law was recently upheld by the 5th Circuit. The Supreme Court, however, had already put the Texas law on hold. And on Wednesday, Florida turned to the Supreme Court. asking for a hearing on its law. When do you think the court will hear arguments on oneor bothof these laws? I think itll probably happen this term, maybe in early 2023, and we know that because after the 5th Circuit allowed the Texas law to take effect, the companies raced to the Supreme Court and begged for whats called an emergency stay, that would put the law on pause again. And the Supreme Court granted that stay, and frankly, the Supreme Court just doesnt do that if it doesnt have plans to intervene fully at a later date. It almost always sides with the party that it granted the stay to. Advertisement Advertisement Whats interesting here is that the justices were totally scrambled in ideology when this case came to the court. The five justices who halted the Texas lawwhich by the way is very extraordinary relief; the courts not supposed to do that unless its pretty damn clear that this law is unconstitutionalthe five justices were John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor. Not five justices normally hanging out at the same pool party, but here they banded together to issue this stay because I think they all share a pretty similar view of the First Amendment in this context. Advertisement Advertisement On the one hand, these are corporations. They do have rights. On the other hand, Elon Musk isnt entirely wrong when he says these are quasi-public square, and the kind of speech that exists on these platforms is, in and of itself, crucial to a functioning democracy, elections, etc. I feel like maybe this is just the beginning of some kind of big legal reckoning about how to think about social media platforms and speech, especially in the absence of any congressional movement. Advertisement I think thats right, and seeing this as the first volley in a much broader battle helps clarify why the companies were willing to shell out so much money to set a precedent early on. They want this to be the big landmark Supreme Court decision that says the First Amendment protects corporations rights over editorial discretion, which is how they frame content moderation under all circumstances. Listening to that legal argument it does make me wonder if it sets up a little bit of a clash with another key piece of law that these platforms rely on, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which allows them to say, Eh, were not a publisher. Were just a platform. Were not responsible for what people say on our platform. So how can you, on the one hand, argue, Yes, we are a publisher who makes editorial decisions, and on the other say, Whoops, nope, sorry, whatever the Nazi said, thats not on us. Advertisement Advertisement You hope that theres no penalty for hypocrisy in courts. Thats the short answer. Justice Alito, when he dissented from the Supreme Courts stay in the Texas case, he pointed this out, and he was not wrong to say, Look, theyre talking out of two sides of their mouth here. When it comes to 230 stuff, they say, Were not publishers. We have no control over their speech. Do not hold us liable. But then when it comes to this content moderation regulation, theyre saying, Oh, my God, were absolutely the same as a newspaper. How dare you try to interfere with our editorial decisions? That is a legitimate complaint about how these corporations have approached this issue. I frankly do not see good odds of major Section 230 reform or repeal. And so its fine for them to just rely on that argument when theyre dealing with these various lawsuits and then turn around when Texas or Florida wants to interfere with their content moderation and make a completely different argument. At the end of the day theres no law or rule against being a hypocritical litigant. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. https://sputniknews.com/20220927/american-women-now-account-for-507-of-us-labor-force---poll-1101252926.html American Women Now Account for 50.7% of US Labor Force - Poll American Women Now Account for 50.7% of US Labor Force - Poll WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Women in the United States have overtaken men regarding employment over the past three years and now comprise slightly more than half of... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T00:37+0000 2022-09-27T00:37+0000 2022-09-27T00:37+0000 americas us women /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107422/81/1074228193_0:100:1921:1180_1920x0_80_0_0_71a7cb789a259e0157fe4e13ea5fac73.jpg "Women have overtaken men and now account for more than half (50.7%) of the college-educated labor force in the United States," the Pew Research center said in a press release on Monday detailing analysis of government data. Pew attributes the changes in the composition of the US population, as well as the changes in the number of people in the labor force, as contributing to the trend, the release said.Research has shown that the number of women and men in the labor force depends on the size of each group and the percent of that group who are working or seeking work, the release also said. americas Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International us, women https://sputniknews.com/20220927/china-urges-un-security-council-to-ensure-political-resolution-to-ukrainian-conflict-1101269746.html China Urges UN Security Council to Ensure Political Resolution to Ukrainian Conflict China Urges UN Security Council to Ensure Political Resolution to Ukrainian Conflict BEIJING (Sputnik) - China is urging the United Nations Security Council to take constructive and responsible actions to create conditions and space for a... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T10:23+0000 2022-09-27T10:23+0000 2022-09-27T10:23+0000 donbass, kherson & zaporozhye referendums to join russia un china russia ukraine donbas conflict dpr lpr /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107925/10/1079251019_8:0:3649:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_3d3cffb7997fe60447e72cf2e15d071e.jpg The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday in connection with the referendums in the Lugansk and Donetsk people's republics (DPR, LPR), as well as in Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. The meeting was initiated by the United States and Albania at Ukraine's request.Wang emphasized that China has always stood for respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and respect for the UN Charter. With regards to the Ukrainian conflict, the minister said that Beijing has always promoted peace, reconciliation and negotiations.The DPR, the LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson are holding referendums on accession to Russia from September 23-27. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Russia would accept any outcome of the referendums.The DPR and the LPR proclaimed their independence from Ukraine in 2014 after holding self-determination referendums. In February 2022, Russia recognized the DPR and the LPR and launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to their calls for help in fencing off Ukrainian attacks. china russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International un, china, russia, ukraine, donbas conflict, dpr, lpr https://sputniknews.com/20220927/destruction-on-nord-stream-gas-pipelines-unprecedented-operator-says-1101265682.html Destruction on Nord Stream Gas Pipelines Unprecedented, Operator Says Destruction on Nord Stream Gas Pipelines Unprecedented, Operator Says MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The recent destruction registered simultaneously on three strings of the Nord Stream offshore gas pipelines is unprecedented, operator Nord... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T09:19+0000 2022-09-27T09:19+0000 2022-09-27T09:19+0000 russia russia europe gas pipeline nord stream nord stream 2 nord stream ag /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/09/02/1100322126_0:125:3199:1924_1920x0_80_0_0_10bda48c2b3e164a15ccd28902f8f94f.jpg The Maritime Administration has also issued warnings for "aircraft with a safety altitude of 1,000 meters."It is currently impossible to estimate a time frame for repair works, the operator added.On Monday, Nord Stream AG told Sputnik that a landfall dispatcher had registered a rapid gas pressure drop on Line A of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The incident occurred in the Danish waters near the island of Bornholm. Later in the day, the operator also said that a pressure drop had been registered on both strings of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline."Tonight, dispatchers from the Nord Stream 1 control center recorded a pressure drop on both strings of the gas pipeline. The causes are being investigated," the company said.The work of Nord Stream has been suspended since the end of August due to problems with the repair of turbines caused by Western sanctions. However, the pipeline remained filled with gas.Meanwhile, the Swedish Maritime Administration does not have any information regarding the causes of leaks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, the government body's representative told Sputnik on Tuesday.The Maritime Administration has also issued warnings for "aircraft with a safety altitude of 1,000 meters." https://sputniknews.com/20220926/security-zone-established-in-danish-waters-due-to-emergency-at-nord-stream-2-operator-says-1101244330.html russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia, europe, gas pipeline, nord stream, nord stream 2, nord stream ag Arlington Heights police said officers interrupted the theft of catalytic converters from vehicles parked at a condominium complex Saturday, and a Chicago man is now charged in the alleged thefts after attempting to flee police in a stolen luxury SUV that also had stolen license plates. According to an Arlington Heights Police Department news release, officers were dispatched around 4:30 a.m. Saturday to Dana Point Condominiums in the 1400 block of East Central Road. Advertisement A suspicious vehicle and several [individuals] walking around the parking lot prompted a resident to call 9-1-1, authorities said in the release. When officers arrived on the scene, the individuals jumped into a Jaguar SUV and attempted to flee, the release states. Officers briefly chased the SUV through the complex until it struck a large landscape rock and became disabled. Advertisement Several people got out of the vehicle and ran, the release states. However, police caught one man: Terrell Davidson, 29, of the 5800 block of West Division Street, Chicago, was charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle, theft over $500 and obstructing a peace officer. He appeared in bond court Sunday. According to a Cook County sheriffs department spokeswoman, bond was set at $50,000 for Davidson on the charges from Arlington Heights incident. However, the spokeswoman explained, Davidson is being held in Cook County Jail on no bond for a drug charge on a case from 2021. Arlington Heights police Commander Petar Milutinovic told Pioneer Press Monday that 911 dispatch had been told multiple people were involved in the weekend incident. This information was verified by responding officers. I cannot provide an exact number of offenders but I can tell you all of them were occupants of the same vehicle, said Milutinovic. Police said in the release that the SUV, a blue 2018 Jaguar F-Pace, had recently been reported stolen from downtown Chicago. Additionally, the Florida license plates that were on the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Moline, Ill. Police reported that nine catalytic converters all believed to be stolen along with three loaded handguns, were recovered by officers from the SUV. The guns found in the stolen Jaguar included a loaded .40 caliber Glock and two 9 mm handguns, each with an extended magazine and one with a laser sight. Police said they also recovered lift and power tools they said are used to steal catalytic converters. Arlington Heights authorities Elk Grove Village, Mount Prospect and Rolling Meadows police departments also assisted in this incident. The Arlington Heights Police Department deployed a drone with thermal imaging capabilities in search of the individuals who fled, the release states, but the search did not locate additional suspects. Davidson is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 28 in Rolling Meadows on the Arlington Heights charges. Advertisement Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer. https://sputniknews.com/20220927/donbass-zaporozhye--kherson-referendums-germans-protest-for-nord-stream-2-meloni-wins-in-italy-1101251651.html Donbass, Zaporozhye & Kherson Referendums; Germans Protest for Nord Stream 2; Meloni Wins in Italy Donbass, Zaporozhye & Kherson Referendums; Germans Protest for Nord Stream 2; Meloni Wins in Italy Thousands of Germans have taken to the street demanding that Nord Stream 2 should be opened to mitigate the desperate economic condition in their land. 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T09:40+0000 2022-09-27T09:40+0000 2022-09-27T09:41+0000 the critical hour ukraine nord stream 2 donbass brazil china radio radio sputnik iran /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/09/1a/1101251505_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_5c58337095b65995c8152aefe870fb75.png Eastern Ukraine Referendums; Germans Protest for Nord Stream 2; Meloni Wins in Italy Thousands of Germans have taken to the street demanding that Nord Stream 2 should be opened to mitigate the desperate economic condition in their land. Wyatt Reed, Sputnik News analyst, joins us to discuss the Donbass, Zaporozhye & Kherson referendums. Wyatt is interviewing citizens and observing the election process. The numbers so far lean overwhelmingly in favor of bringing the republics into the Russian Federation.Dr. Gerald Horne, Professor of History at the University of Houston, TX, author, historian, and researcher joins us to discuss the European Union. Thousands of Germans have taken to the street demanding that Nord Stream 2 should be opened to mitigate the desperate economic condition in the land. Also, the pound is crashing and the Italian elections have been dominated by the right-wing Brothers of Italy party.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the Ukraine crisis. Foreign Minister Lavrov spoke at the UN and argued against the EU's dictatorship and made the case for a change in the global order. Also, there was a neo-Nazi attack on a Russian school, and referendums are moving forward in Donbass, Zaporozhye and the Kherson region.K. J. Noh, peace activist, and writer, joins us to discuss China. China's air power may surpass that of the United States in the Pacific region. Also, China again warns that the US is sending dangerous signals regarding Taiwan.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. The US seems to be heavily involved in protests in Iran to attempt to manipulate social unrest. Also, Iraq will soon hold another round of elections, and German broadcaster DW demands allegiance to Israel for all employees.Normand O. Richmond, producer and host of Diasporic Music on BlackPower96.org, joins us to discuss the Brazilian elections. Presidential hopefuls Lula De Silva and Jair Bolsonaro enter their final week before elections are held. Many in Brazil fear a Bolsonaro coup attempt.Steve Poikonen, national organizer for Action4Assange, joins us to discuss propaganda. MintPress News has exposed many propaganda operations aimed at pushing pro-west narratives. Also, we discuss the mysterious presence of Ray Epps at the January 6th protests and the failure of the FBI to provide information relative to this shady figure's connection to the agency.Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst, and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, joins us to discuss the New York Times. The New York Times is a pro-war outlet that parrots claims by anonymous government officials.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 ukraine donbass brazil china iran Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Wilmer Leon https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/12/1082114047_0:-1:238:238_100x100_80_0_0_4e3adef3e334e381bffe19d388f4b776.jpg Wilmer Leon https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/12/1082114047_0:-1:238:238_100x100_80_0_0_4e3adef3e334e381bffe19d388f4b776.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Wilmer Leon https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/12/1082114047_0:-1:238:238_100x100_80_0_0_4e3adef3e334e381bffe19d388f4b776.jpg ukraine, nord stream 2, donbass, brazil, china, , radio, radio sputnik, iran, protests https://sputniknews.com/20220927/eu-aware-of-emergencies-at-nord-stream-pipelines-assesses-implications-1101275583.html EU Aware of Emergencies at Nord Stream Pipelines, Assesses Implications EU Aware of Emergencies at Nord Stream Pipelines, Assesses Implications MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Commission has been informed about the three emergency situations at the Nord Stream gas pipelines and is assessing potential... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T12:15+0000 2022-09-27T12:15+0000 2022-09-27T12:15+0000 energy crisis in europe europe nord stream ag nord stream pipeline nord stream 2 russia eu /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/07/1092828959_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_6c832769f94bee6d71d07e20c8d7b502.jpg On Monday, the pipelines' operator, Nord Stream AG, told Sputnik that a landfall dispatcher had registered a rapid drop of pressure on one of the segments of Nord Stream 2. The incident occurred in the Danish waters near the island of Bornholm. Later in the day, the operator said that the pressure drop had also been registered on both strings of Nord Stream 1.According to the spokesman, the commission is analyzing possible consequences of the incidents for the climate and maritime navigation in the region. Earlier in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was extremely concerned about the emergencies at the Nord Stream gas pipelines, calling for a prompt investigation and not ruling out the possibility of sabotage at the pipelines. russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International europe, nord stream ag, nord stream pipeline, nord stream 2, russia, eu https://sputniknews.com/20220927/finnish-border-guard-wants-to-spend-hundreds-of-millions-of-euros-on-border-fence-against-russia-1101256165.html Finnish Border Guard Wants to Spend Hundreds of Millions of Euros on Border Fence Against Russia Finnish Border Guard Wants to Spend Hundreds of Millions of Euros on Border Fence Against Russia Despite the fact that tourists and shoppers from Russia have been the backbone of the economy in eastern Finland, the Nordic country has been consistently... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T06:21+0000 2022-09-27T06:21+0000 2022-09-27T06:21+0000 world europe european union (eu) finland news border /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/104508/39/1045083971_0:0:4000:2251_1920x0_80_0_0_eba91854f0203bb8bba12ba113852feb.jpg The Finnish Border Guard has recommended fencing off parts of the eastern border with Russia as part of a general security beef-up, to the tune of millions of euros, the newspaper Uutissuomalainen reported.According to the Border Guard's own estimate, the fence would span 10-20 percent of the 1,300-kilometer border and cover up to 260 kilometers. The authority said the measure was warranted by the recent changes in the security environment, yet didn't provide a further explanation.Building the fence would take between two and three years, according to the Border Guard. Should the funding permit, though, the construction could be sped up and carried out simultaneously in several locations. The fence would be designed to last 50 years.Border Guard chief Lieutenant General Pasi Kostamovaara estimated that the fence would cost a few hundred million euros. This sum would also include the necessary monitoring and infrastructure arrangements to enable border guards to respond to illegal crossings immediately and without delay.Kostamovaara identified south-eastern Finland, which borders Russia's Leningrad Oblast, as the most likely part of the country to host the fence, citing the highest cross-border traffic.The Border Guard voiced a readiness to build a test section of the fence as soon as next winter and spring. The rest could be build subsequently, based on experiences from the test section.Interior Minister Krista Mikkonen said the Finnish government is set to discuss fencing sections of the eastern border in the near future.Following the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine, Finland has been one of the main transit countries for Russians entering Europe, especially after the EU closed its airspace for Russian planes and flights. Despite a substantial tightening of visa rules throughout the bloc, since mid-September, Finland has been the only EU country bordering Russia with a land border open to Russians.However, last week, Finnish authorities announced that a principled decision to ban tourism and transit from Russia had been made. In recent months, a number of senior Finnish politicians, including Prime Minister Sanna Marin and President Sauli Niinisto, had spoken in favor of imposing various visa restrictions on Russians. Among others, Niinisto called for removing the fast-tracking of visas to Russian property owners in Finland, suggesting that visas were not a subjective right.In recent decades, tourists from Russia have been a pillar of the economy in the eastern part of Finland, with numerous border towns depending on Russian shoppers for income. The restrictions on Russian tourists have cost Finnish communities millions of euros in lost revenues.Russia's Foreign Ministry said that restricting the travel of Russian citizens for political reasons only aggravated the confrontation in bilateral relations and stressed that Russia reserves itself the right to retaliate. https://sputniknews.com/20220923/finland-to-restrict-entry-transit-from-russia-in-coming-days---foreign-minister-1101153875.html finland Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Igor Kuznetsov Igor Kuznetsov News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Igor Kuznetsov europe, european union (eu), finland, news, border https://sputniknews.com/20220927/grassroots-initiative-scientists-find-solution-to-address-anti-vax-ideas--1101236968.html Grassroots Initiative: Scientists Find Solution to Address Anti-vax Ideas Grassroots Initiative: Scientists Find Solution to Address Anti-vax Ideas VolgGTU scientists proposed a new strategy for overcoming social crises based on an analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic. 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T09:00+0000 2022-09-27T09:00+0000 2022-09-27T09:00+0000 science & tech science russia covid-19 /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0a/1d/1090325210_0:89:3073:1817_1920x0_80_0_0_6b2923ffe45e9b090f2a67df7a9b3aa4.jpg According to them, the mechanism they've discovered will effectively disseminate constructive norms of behavior in society. The results are published in the Journal of Institutional Economics.The cognitive structures that determine our knowledge are not just what we have in our heads, scientists say. Our thinking and behavior is influenced by continuous interaction with social, technical, natural and other environments.A special role in these processes, according to experts in the modern theory of knowledge, is played by cognitive norms - typical models of reaction to events accepted in a particular community. Their study and purposeful joint design, the scientists are sure, should provide the basis for an effective response of society to large-scale crisis situations.A team of scientists from Volgograd State Technical University analyzed the phenomenon of mass destructive behavior during a crisis, using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example. According to the scientists, they proposed a mechanism for overcoming dangerous behavioral norms through initiatives "from below", not "from above."The purposeful "engineering" of cognitive norms, according to scientists, is complicated by their extreme diversity, heterogeneity and dynamism. Such an approach can become effective only in the case of multilateral interaction among a wide range of subjects citizens, volunteers, bloggers, fact checkers, local communities, self-help groups, various online communities, and others.The approach proposed by VolgGTU specialists to the polycentric creation of norms as a response to acute crises, they say, has caused a positive response in the international professional community. At present, the research team, within the framework of a scientific grant from the Russian Science Foundation, is working on a program for implementing a new approach to Russian realities, focusing on the problem of redeveloping old industrial cities that have encountered an economic and social crisis. russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International science, russia, covid-19 https://sputniknews.com/20220927/kamala-harris-bashed-online-after-visiting-korean-dmz-amid-us-border-crisis-1101286581.html Kamala Harris Bashed Online After Visiting Korean DMZ Amid US Border Crisis Kamala Harris Bashed Online After Visiting Korean DMZ Amid US Border Crisis A large number of migrants have flocked to the United States through the countrys southern border since Joe Biden became president, with over two million... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T17:58+0000 2022-09-27T17:58+0000 2022-09-27T17:58+0000 world kamala harris us border criticism /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/04/15/1094947925_0:0:2988:1682_1920x0_80_0_0_5058d8afdc270462afaea45062dcd4c7.jpg US Vice President Kamala Harris has ended up catching flak from Republican representatives over her upcoming visit to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea.According to the New York Post, the White House was forced to scramble to confirm Harris visit after it was inadvertently disclosed by South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.Some GOP representatives, however, did not praise Kamalas trip, pointing instead at the dire situation at the US southern border.Kamala is going to the Korean DMZ to review their border security. Would it be too much to ask for her to visit OUR BORDER!? tweeted Ronny Jackson, Republican congressman for Texas. Our country is being invaded, and Kamalas biggest concern is to visit other nations borders. Kamala & Democrats are AMERICA LAST!!House Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also wrote online that Harris will travel anywhere in the world but our US southern border that is under invasion every day by thousands of unknown people & deadly poisonous fentanyl.The United States witnessed an influx of illegal migrants attempting to enter the country through the southern border after US President Joe Biden took office in January 2021 and proceeded to revoke the immigration policies of his predecessor Donald Trump, including the infamous border wall project.Over two million migrants were apprehended at the US southern border during the current fiscal year, an all-time high for the country. https://sputniknews.com/20220920/white-house-says-monitoring-reports-that-migrants-flown-to-bidens-home-state-delaware-1101020291.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International kamala harris, us, border, criticism Referendums in LPR, DPR, Zaporozhye, Kherson Regions Held: Russian Civic Chamber The Russian Civic Chamber stated that the referendums in the people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as Zaporozhye and Kherson regions had been held successfully. "I state that the referendums were held, they were held with full openness, publicity of the process in the presence of international observers, observers from territories, republics, and regions," Alena Bulgakova, deputy chair of the chamber's coordinating council for public control over voting, said at the opening of a single center collection of data on the results of voting in referendums on the issue of joining Russia. The coordinating council monitored the voting process in the Moscow region, she said. "It is important to emphasize that each participant could express his will," Bulgakova said. https://sputniknews.com/20220927/massive-outrage-in-india-after-death-of-dalit-boy-allegedly-beaten-by-teacher-over-wrong-answer-1101265051.html Massive Outrage in India After Death of Dalit Boy Allegedly Beaten by Teacher Over Wrong Answer Massive Outrage in India After Death of Dalit Boy Allegedly Beaten by Teacher Over Wrong Answer The Dalit teen's father lodged a criminal case against the teacher, who is now on the run. The police have reportedly formed three teams to trace the accused. 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T11:01+0000 2022-09-27T11:01+0000 2022-09-27T11:01+0000 india dalit murder murder suspect /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/09/1b/1101271469_18:0:1417:787_1920x0_80_0_0_1c0c8dd2dfdf84b99b843d4771140561.jpg A massive protest was staged in Auraiya, a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, following the death of a 10th grade Dalit student, allegedly beaten by his school teacher on September 7th for making a mistake during a school test. The 15-year-old victim, identified as Nikhil Dohre, had been battling for his life for 17 days, but succumbed to his injuries on September 24. His family refused to cremate the boy's body until the police take action against the accused teacher and provide compensation for the boy's death.The family members and locals staged a protest outside the school in Achhalda, which soon turned violent after a large number of people pelted the police with stones and set their vehicles on fire.In view of the escalating violence, the police decided to perform the boy's last rites in place of handing over the body to his family. A female officer was seen urging the family members to come forward and take the ashes to immerse them to complete their son's funeral. Kanpur Division Commissioner Raj Shekhar also met the family members of the Dalit boy and assured them of financial help from the government. Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sangeeta Yadav https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/1b/1080292803_0:121:960:1081_100x100_80_0_0_7490b319dab9611e309056b177265184.jpg Sangeeta Yadav https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/1b/1080292803_0:121:960:1081_100x100_80_0_0_7490b319dab9611e309056b177265184.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sangeeta Yadav https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/1b/1080292803_0:121:960:1081_100x100_80_0_0_7490b319dab9611e309056b177265184.jpg dalit, murder, murder suspect https://sputniknews.com/20220927/new-zealand-unable-to-continue-aiding-ukraine-militarily-defense-minister-says-1101272228.html New Zealand Unable to Continue Aiding Ukraine Militarily, Defense Minister Says New Zealand Unable to Continue Aiding Ukraine Militarily, Defense Minister Says MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraines demands for military support do not match New Zealand's current stockpile, New Zealand Defense Minister Peeni Henare said on... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T11:06+0000 2022-09-27T11:06+0000 2022-09-27T11:06+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine new zealand ukraine /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/07/0e/1097298594_0:132:3170:1915_1920x0_80_0_0_a0a61daa07824fbf56102d6eb6e6fcfe.jpg However, New Zealand has nothing that Ukraine wants based on "on our current assessment and according to the requests in the donor meetings I've been on," the minister said.To date, New Zealand sent Ukraine 1,066 body armor plates, 473 helmets and 571 camouflage vests, as well as harness webbing. In addition, Wellington has agreed to provide 21.1 million New Zealand dollars ($12 million) in military funding, according to the AAP.New Zealand is a major non-NATO ally of the United States.In April, Russia sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on the Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stressed that providing Kiev with Western arms does not contribute to the resolution of the Ukraine conflict and will only have negative consequences. new zealand Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International new zealand, ukraine https://sputniknews.com/20220927/owners-of-the-100-million-dollar-deli-hit-with-multiple-securities-fraud-charges-1101254152.html Owners of the 100 Million Dollar Deli Hit With Multiple Securities Fraud Charges Owners of the 100 Million Dollar Deli Hit With Multiple Securities Fraud Charges Your Hometown Deli, in Paulsboro, NJ, had annual revenue of less than $40,000, but its parent company had a market value stock price of over $100 million... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T02:33+0000 2022-09-27T02:33+0000 2022-09-27T02:33+0000 americas us fraud sec us securities and exchange commission (sec) /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/09/1b/1101254009_0:48:1408:840_1920x0_80_0_0_a791c7ec8e256de84c9a8501564ff456.png The owners of the infamous New Jersey $100 million deli have been charged with multiple crimes involving market manipulation, wire fraud, money laundering, and other financial crimes.James Patten, 63, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Peter Coker Sr., 80, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and Peter Coker Jr., 53, of Hong Kong were charged with 12 counts of various financial crimes, authorities said on Monday. Patten and Coker Sr. were arrested on Monday; Coker Jr. has not yet been picked up by authorities.Their charges include conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to manipulate security prices. Patten was further charged with four counts of wire fraud, four counts of manipulation of securities, and one count of money laundering. The two men who have been arrested appeared in a North Carolina court on Monday and will appear in front of a New Jersey court at a future date.All three men have been accused by the Securities Exchange Commission. That investigation is ongoing.According to authorities, Patten convinced the owners of the deli to incorporate the shop as a wholly owned subsidiary of an umbrella corporation owned by Patten. He immediately started positioning the company for a reverse merger to gain profits for himself.After allegedly manipulating the stock price on small OTC stock exchanges, the umbrella corporation Hometown International gained a value of over $100 million, despite its only significant asset being Hometown Deli in Paulsboro, NJ, which had less than $40,000 in annual sales. The price discrepancy first became public when an investor wrote a letter to clients in 2021, resulting in the deli getting its nickname the $100 million deli.OTC stock exchanges are semi-private stock exchanges where smaller companies can sell their shares. They have less regulation and often escape the eyes of the SEC.The umbrella company is also involved with a company named E-Waste, which has no sales. Despite that, the men were allegedly able to increase the stock price of both Hometown International and E-waste through their manipulation by 939% and 19,900%, respectively.The securities fraud and price manipulation charges have a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The wire fraud and money laundering charges each add another 20 potential years in prison, while the conspiracy to commit security fraud and conspiracy to manipulate security prices could add up to another five years in prison if the men are convicted. https://sputniknews.com/20220903/brett-favre-spoke-to-the-fbi-in-welfare-fraud-case-1100329011.html https://sputniknews.com/20220926/former-ftc-officials-are-certain-agency-is-investigating-twitter-1101251963.html americas Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Ian DeMartino Ian DeMartino News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ian DeMartino us, fraud, sec, us securities and exchange commission (sec) https://sputniknews.com/20220927/pompeo-criticizes-biden-for-more-ambiguous-us-policy-on-taiwan-1101282337.html Pompeo Criticizes Biden for 'More Ambiguous' US Policy on Taiwan Pompeo Criticizes Biden for 'More Ambiguous' US Policy on Taiwan WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized President Joe Biden on Tuesday for making US policy on Taiwan "more ambiguous." 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T14:31+0000 2022-09-27T14:31+0000 2022-09-27T14:31+0000 americas us taiwan mike pompeo joe biden /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/08/0a/1083568873_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_f1ebaa6189f8a42f23c2a2d3ea7476ec.jpg In his keynote speech at the inaugural Global Taiwan Business Forum in Kaohsiung, Pompeo said there were concerns in the US that the Biden administration was not as committed to Taiwan.Pompeo also criticized the White House for not including Taiwan in its new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, saying it was "side-lining" its eighth largest trading partner for "political reasons."Pompeo reiterated his support for the self-governed islands sovereignty, saying Taiwan does not need to declare independence because it is already independent. He called for the US to pursue a "deeper and far more enthusiastic relationship" with Taiwan, arguing that this was part of a free 21st century, rather than a Chinese century dictated by the PRC.The trip marks Pompeos second trip to the island this year, following a visit in March. He will also deliver an opening speech at the World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerces annual meeting on Wednesday and visit technology companies in southern Taiwan. americas Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International us, taiwan, mike pompeo, joe biden Tim Thompson, of Naperville, speaks at a gathering Saturday outside the Courtyard by Marriott in Des Plaines in support of diversity and inclusion while Moms for Liberty and Awake Illinois host a candidate training inside the hotel. (Tim Furman) Awake Illinois founder Shannon Adcock announced her bid for the Indian Prairie District 204 School board this week. The announcement comes two days after her organization and the parents rights group she chairs, Mothers for Liberty, hosted a school board candidate training program in Des Plaines an event that drew protesters opposed to the organizations positions on several issues, including diversity curriculum. Advertisement Saturdays workshop was led by the Virginia-based Leadership Institute, a nonprofit founded by Morton Blackwell, to teach conservative candidates how build successful campaigns. In her announcement Monday, Adcock, a Naperville mother of three children and chairwoman of the DuPage chapter of Mothers for Liberty, said she looks forward to the prospect of representing the best interests of students, families and taxpayers. Advertisement Shannon Adcock, president of Awake Illinois and chairwoman of the DuPage chapter of Mothers for Liberty, has announced her bid for Indian Prairie District 204 School Board in the 2023 election. (shannonfor.com / HANDOUT) The election in April 2023 will be Adcocks second attempt at running for the Indian Prairie School Board. After losing in 2021, Adcock launched Awake Illinois to push against school and library COVID-19 mitigations and then went after schools for equity and inclusion training. Adcock is among the charter parents of the new Faith Christian Academy in Naperville, where her second-grader is attending. The group that rallied Saturday outside the candidate training session being held at a Des Plaines hotel was made up of suburban parents and LGBTQ advocacy organizations who questioned whether potential candidates at the session would serve on behalf of all children. Mothers for Liberty and Awake Illinois have called for action against LGBTQ-friendly events, harassed school board members and mounted opposition to diversity curriculum. Naperville School District 203 parent Tim Thompson, one of eight rally speakers, said Adcock and other parents rights groups have a similar agenda of exclusion. We will continue to push back against these radical, hateful, dangerous ideas to keep them far away from our schools, our parks and our cities, Thompson said. Shannon Limjuco said shes witnessed people yelling hateful names at school board members and causing chaos in Wheaton Warrenville District 200, where she lives. Advertisement The vitriol has fueled attempts to ban books, weaken sex education standards, and dissolve equity and social-emotion learning initiatives, Limjuco said. Ive seen them target and harass in person and online school board members, administrators, teachers and even parents who speak out against them, Limjuco said. Its time to stand up to the bullies and make it clear that this is not what people want in their schools or communities, she said. I wont stand by while my public schools or yours are under attack, Limjuco said. Downers Grove parent Kylie Spahn said shes been outspoken in her defense of LGBTQ issues at Downers Grove High School District 99 meetings. I was attacked verbally at meetings, and my employer was called by someone a number of times who claimed I was a groomer and shouldnt be around kids, Spahn said. Advertisement In the end, she said, parents defeated the attempt to ban Gender Queer: A Memoir from the school library. Its not always an easy battle, but it is winnable if you are organized, Spahn said. Mony Ruiz-Velasco, deputy director of Equality Illinois, said the cruel and false message being peddled is that LGBTQ people are deviants or deserve shame. LGBTQ+ people deserve the same rights, same treatment and respect as our straight and cisgender allies, Ruiz-Velasco said. We are here because we will not let these hate groups control our narratives, our families or our ability to see ourselves reflected in our schools and our libraries. In a statement read at the rally, Lurie Childrens Hospital said it recognizes there are numerous negative health outcomes tied to rejection and harassment in schools and it is committed to supporting access to inclusive and affirming education. In its message, the hospital encouraged school boards to ensure that public schools remain a beacon of safety for all students and school districts set an example of understanding, kindness, and respect for the entire community, especially for students. Advertisement To that end, Cassie Creswell, director of Illinois Families for Public Schools, said plans are underway to host candidate training sessions for people who support equity and inclusion. Other groups represented at the gathering included 360 Youth Services, Indivisible Naperville, Naperville area chapter of the American Association of University Women, DuPage NOW, Will County NOW, Illinois NOW, the Anti-Defamation League-Midwest, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago, Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, National Council of Jewish Women-Chicago North Shore, Buffalo Grove Pride, Northwest Side Organizing for America, North/Northwest Suburban Chicago chapter of NOW and Peoria NOW. subaker@tribpub.com https://sputniknews.com/20220927/russian-envoy-says-invited-to-japan-foreign-ministry-over-japanese-diplomat-detention-1101271821.html Russian Envoy Says 'Invited' to Japan Foreign Ministry Over Japanese Diplomat Detention Russian Envoy Says 'Invited' to Japan Foreign Ministry Over Japanese Diplomat Detention TOKYO (Sputnik) - Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin confirmed on Tuesday that he was "invited" to the Japanese foreign ministry in connection with... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T10:59+0000 2022-09-27T10:59+0000 2022-09-27T10:59+0000 russia russia japan espionage /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/106578/71/1065787186_0:67:1281:787_1920x0_80_0_0_11c5b1309afb0c9080ba21970e6e2223.jpg The ambassador slammed the actions of the Japanese diplomat as violating the convention on consular relations, adding that the Russian side should demand an apology.On Monday, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had detained Tatsunori who was obtaining, for a monetary reward, classified information about Russia's cooperation with an Asia-Pacific regional country, the impact of Western sanctions on the economic situation in the Primorsky region. In an FSB video, the diplomat admitted his guilt of violating Russian law. Moscow expressed a protest to Japan through diplomatic channels, and the consul was declared persona non grata. In response, Tokyo summoned the Russian ambassador, according to media reports. russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia, japan, espionage https://sputniknews.com/20220927/scholars-russia-will-remain-indias-major-arms--tech-supplier-despite-us-pressure-1101272670.html Scholars: Russia Will Remain India's Major Arms & Tech Supplier Despite US Pressure Scholars: Russia Will Remain India's Major Arms & Tech Supplier Despite US Pressure Times of India (TOI) contributors claimed that India must prepare for a sharp drop in Russian defense supply on September 23, citing Moscow's ongoing military... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T11:20+0000 2022-09-27T11:20+0000 2022-09-27T11:20+0000 india russia opinion weapons semiconductors ukraine sanctions caatsa us brahmos /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/105513/89/1055138937_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_9c2617e4c09dd40c0018cec4cd02528e.jpg "Russia's arm supplies, India's reliance on Russian defense supplies, and joint production is an arch on which Russian-Indian friendship rests," explained Dr. Anuradha Chenoy, a retired professor at the Center for Russian and Central Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in India."This supply has been consistent, constant and dependable for India. This is especially so because Russia supplied whatever India needed, gave India the latest sensitive technologies at times when India was barred from other great powers and manufacturers."Russia is one of India's largest defense suppliers with up to 85% of India's military platforms being of Russian origin. Moscow has long been occupying this market niche since it provided India with a wide range of weapons and military technology throughout the Cold War and presently.The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) concluded that Moscow had become a key supplier of arms to India between 2011 and 2021, with Russia accounting for 60% of all arms imports, amounting to $22.9 billion. Those supplies include armored vehicles, aircraft, air defense systems, submarines, missiles, and small arms.On December 6, 2021, Moscow and New Delhi inked a comprehensive ten-year military-technical cooperation program for 2021-2031. The agreement envisaged further development of bilateral military and military-technical cooperation, including joint research, production and maintenance of armament systemsAt the same time, India has also diversified its arms purchases over the past years "depending on price and superiority," noted Chenoy. Thus, New Delhi also buys defense equipment and military aircraft from the US, France, Israel, and the UK.Russia's position in India's defense market remains solid not only because of the best price-quality ratio, but also because Moscow is eager to share its sensitive military technologies with the nation within the framework of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Made in India" program, which marked its eighth anniversary on September 25, 2022. The program prioritizes joint production and technology exchange over mere purchases of finished products so as to facilitate investment, enhance skill development in India, and build best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure.Even though NATO countries have struck agreements with New Delhi to jointly produce a limited part of non-lethal technologies, they drag their feet from sharing cutting-edge know-how, according to Chenoy."No other country manufactures weapons in India domestically under Indian licenses," she said. "Most countries, especially currently, would like to manufacture only [in] their own countries since this is a period of protectionism. So Russia has a clear advantage here."One glaring example is the Russo-Indian BrahMos project to jointly produce supersonic and hypersonic weapons with the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace. Indian observers agree that the endeavor has taken on a new significance amid the unfolding race to develop hypersonic arms. It was earlier reported that BrahMos-II may have characteristics comparable to Russia's 3M22 Zircon anti-ship hypersonic missile.Von Der Leyen's "Refrigerator Chips"So, what is the TOI reasoning for the alleged imminent slump in Russo-Indian defense cooperation based upon?The TOI's contributors, semiconductor design engineer Abhiram Manchi and scholar Pranay Kotasthane, chair at the High Tech Geopolitics Programme at Takshashila Institution, suggested while presenting zero evidence that Russian defense production capabilities are rapidly declining amid the ongoing special military operation in Ukraine. The observers noted that Washington and its Asian allies, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, "quickly banned selling semiconductors used in defense systems to Russia," after Moscow launched its special op to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine.To illustrate their point, the observers argued that the "examination of the remnants of the missiles Russia launched on Ukraine" allegedly showed the usage of "older technology parts" and even "chips taken out of dishwashers and refrigerators."Earlier this month, a similar claim was made by Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, during her annual speech on the state of the European Union. Von der Leyen asserted to MEPs that Russias economy "is now on its way to oblivion," claiming that the Russian military is taking chips from dishwashers and refrigerators to fix their military hardware.Russian military expert and political observer Ivan Konovalov is similarly perplexed by Von der Leyen's statement: "Things like that that von der Leyen says are idiotic," he noted, resolutely ruling out the usage of chips from household appliances or captured military equipment in Russia's weapons.Konovalov acknowledged that western sanctions indeed hurt Russia's commercial sector, while leaving the defense industry intact due to Moscow's program of "import substitution" which was launched in 2014, after the West started to tighten screws on Russia following Crimea's reunification.The West's sanctions introduced after the beginning of the special military operation have not affected the Russo-Indian military contracts or joint production, according to the export. The delays reported by the TOI were largely due to restrictions imposed on Russia's financial sector which temporarily crippled bilateral settlements with foreign countries, Konovalov noted, adding that this problem is being solved through switching to national currencies.Apart from this, Russia is continuing to operate with China, which is emerging as one of the leading producers of semiconductors. TechInsight, a Canadian tech media outlet, reported last month that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), the largest chipmaker in China, had allegedly mastered its technology to a quasi-7-nanometer (nm) process. According to the diplomat Che-Jen Wang, this "might be a stepping stone for a true 7nm process," indicating that the US efforts to prevent the Chinese from acquiring the most advanced technologies were "too little, too late."When it comes to Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, which followed the US in sanctioning Russia, they are heavily dependent on inert gases supplies, argued Konovalov, adding that Russia is one of the worlds biggest suppliers of gases used to make semiconductors. In June 2022, CNN warned that the world's chipmakers might be in big trouble as Moscow "began restricting exports of inert, or noble gases, including neon, argon and helium to 'unfriendly' countries at the end of May.""Now, the problem of semiconductors, firstly, is being solved with the help of our allies, and secondly, we are developing our own production," said Konovalov, adding that the West's sanctions spree has in fact given Russian industries and developers a boost starting from 2014.Root of "Semiconductor Anecdote"Meanwhile, the source of von der Leyen's unusual claim most likely stems from testimony by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo delivered at the Senate Committee on Appropriations on May 11, 2022. "We have reports from Ukrainians that when they find Russian military equipment on the ground, it's filled with semiconductors that they took out of dishwashers and refrigerators," Raimondo told US lawmakers, citing unnamed Ukrainian officials.She also testified that two Russian tank manufacturers had halted production due to the lack of components, referring to the Uralvagonzavod and the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, also known as CTZ-Uraltrak. However, at the time of Raimondo's statement Uralvagonzavod sent a new batch of its advanced T-90M Proryv tanks to the Russian Armed Forces, according to Gazeta.ru. For its part, CTZ told Gazeta.ru that Raimondo's claims are nothing but lies.Judging from these facts, von der Leyen's "semiconductor anecdote" belongs to the pile of fake news promoted by Kiev, such as the infamous "Ghost of Kiev" or the Snake Island hoax.Russia Will Remain India's Main Defense SupplierThe circulation of fake news smearing Russia's military production and capability of satiating India's defense market is hardly surprising given that NATO countries are striving to capitalize on New Delhi's military modernization bonanza, according to Indian observers. Even before Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, the Trump administration threatened India with sanctions under the 2018 Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) bill.The retired professor expects the US to continue to exert pressure on New Delhi. Moreover, the US is also building a narrative that the special operation could cause problems for India, as well as threatening India with a closer Russo-Chinese alliance, according to Chenoy. She noted, however, that she understands the concerns of some Indian observers, who write that in Ukraine, Russia is de facto fighting against the whole NATO alliance, and warn about possible shortages in supplies."As for defense segments in which we cooperate with India, little of this equipment is actually involved in the special military operation," said Konovalov.He explained that armaments and weapons for the needs of the special military operation come from the long-term national defense contracts which do not in any way reduce those production capabilities that have been reserved for the international arms market. While Russia is currently unlikely to expand its niche in the global defense market during the Ukraine operation, it will fully execute its foreign contracts, the military expert concluded. Konovalov noted that Moscow is well aware of Washington's attempt to expel Russia from India's weapons market and will fight for its positions by observing all existing obligations to India and further deepening defense cooperation with New Delhi."In the near future, Russia is likely to be Indias main supplier of weapons and technology," stressed Dr. Raj Kumar Sharma, Maharishi Kanad Fellow at the Delhi School of Transnational Affairs, University of Delhi. "There may be more joint projects that are in tune with the Indian governments efforts to increase domestic manufacturing in India." https://sputniknews.com/20220916/indias-modi-calls-for-finding-solutions-to-issues-with-food--fuel-security-during-talks-with-putin-1100843683.html https://sputniknews.com/20220829/brahmos-hypersonic-missile-may-be-created-in-2027-2028-co-director-of-indo-russian-venture-says-1100107458.html https://sputniknews.com/20211230/satellite-images-of-indias-third-strategic-strike-nuclear-submarine-emerge-1091914961.html https://sputniknews.com/20220817/russian-designers-t-90ms-tank--msta-s-howitzer-are-one-of-a-kind-enjoy-all-modern-features-1099695375.html https://sputniknews.com/20220922/india-is-not-a-country-you-can-pressure-new-delhi-says-amid-deep-talks-with-us-on-russia-ties-1101093983.html russia ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Ekaterina Blinova Ekaterina Blinova News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ekaterina Blinova russia, opinion, weapons, semiconductors, ukraine, sanctions, caatsa, us, brahmos, make in india, narendra modi, vladimir putin https://sputniknews.com/20220927/shinzo-abe-japan-holds-state-funeral-for-former-prime-minister-1101262042.html Shinzo Abe: Japan Holds State Funeral for Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: Japan Holds State Funeral for Former Prime Minister Abe was fatally wounded while speaking at an election rally in Nara on July 8. His assassin, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, shot Abe twice from behind with a homemade... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T10:17+0000 2022-09-27T10:17+0000 2022-09-27T10:17+0000 world multimedia japan /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/09/1b/1101259125_0:0:3031:1705_1920x0_80_0_0_ea0db1ccd9fd213e4df48b5501d52fd2.jpg The state funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was held at the Nippon Budokan martial arts hall in Tokyo. About 4,300 people attended, including 34 state leaders and 14 former heads of state, as well as representatives of the imperial family, including Crown Prince Akishino and his wife. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other government officials personally greeted the politician's widow, Akie Abe, who carried her husband's ashes during the funeral. As the ashes were being brought into the hall, the first of 19 blank artillery volleys from the self-defense forces were fired. A moment of silence followed.Look at our photo gallery on how Japan pays tribute to the former prime minister. japan Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International multimedia, japan, https://sputniknews.com/20220927/the-biden-administration-keeps-talking-about-russia-and-nuclear-weapons-1101251353.html The Biden Administration Keeps Talking About Russia and Nuclear Weapons The Biden Administration Keeps Talking About Russia and Nuclear Weapons On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including Edward Snowden gaining Russian citizenship, and Cuba votes on gay... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T09:44+0000 2022-09-27T09:44+0000 2022-09-27T09:44+0000 the backstory nato imperialism russia radio radio sputnik edward snowden julian assange italy /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/09/1a/1101251207_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_10ab960ca89581a832ea1d5983ca4615.png The Biden Administration Keeps Talking about Russia and Nuclear Weapons On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including Edward Snowden gaining Russian citizenship, and Cuba votes on gay rights. Ted Rall - Political Cartoonist, Syndicated Columnist | CNN Shakeup, Italian Elections, and Fascism AccusationsJoe Lauria - Editor In Chief at Consortium News | Fox News, War Time Propaganda, and The WEFIn the first hour, Lee and Carmine Sabia spoke with Ted Rall about Don Lemon's demotion, Italy's politics, and Edward Snowden becoming a dual citizen. Ted talked about the election win of Giorgia Meloni and the accusations of Giorgia as a fascist. Ted expressed his excitement for Edward Snowden's Russian citizenship and commented on western countries' refusal to recognize the election in Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson.In the second hour, Lee and Carmine Sabia spoke with Joe Lauria about the potential of World War III, the talk of nuclear weapons, and NATO. Joe spoke about Robert Parry's foresight of the conflict in Ukraine and the propaganda in the mainstream media. Joe discussed the importance of Julian Assange and why certain journalists refuse to investigate the prosecution against Julian Assange.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 russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Lee Stranahan https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125222_0:0:293:292_100x100_80_0_0_a8bc846f559660e5bf7574f8a9608a1d.png Lee Stranahan https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125222_0:0:293:292_100x100_80_0_0_a8bc846f559660e5bf7574f8a9608a1d.png News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Lee Stranahan https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125222_0:0:293:292_100x100_80_0_0_a8bc846f559660e5bf7574f8a9608a1d.png nato, imperialism, russia, , radio, radio sputnik, edward snowden, julian assange, italy https://sputniknews.com/20220927/the-cuckoo-of-kiev-brit-lvov-rat-evicts-aggressive-refugee-lover-he-dumped-wife-and-kids-for-1101265219.html The Cuckoo of Kiev: Brit 'Lvov-Rat' Evicts 'Aggressive' Refugee Lover He Dumped Wife and Kids For The Cuckoo of Kiev: Brit 'Lvov-Rat' Evicts 'Aggressive' Refugee Lover He Dumped Wife and Kids For Yorkshireman Tony Garnett said that he was inspired to take in the Ukrainian refugee Sofiia, who he soon left his wife for, because his grandfather fled the... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T11:17+0000 2022-09-27T11:17+0000 2022-09-28T12:52+0000 uk daily mail ukraine refugee world /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/09/1c/1101309566_0:0:1080:608_1920x0_80_0_0_e93edf327da110aadb46ad4e53aa95c3.jpg A British man who ran off with a Ukrainian woman his family gave refuge to has split with his lover after she became drunk and aggressive.Tony Garnett, 30, made headlines in May this year after he left his partner of ten years, Lorna, and two young daughters for 22-year-old Sofiia Karkadym.The two began their relationship just days after the Garnett family welcomed Sofiia into their home under the UK government's Homes for Ukraine scheme.But Tony revealed to the Mail Online on Monday that he was forced to call the police on Saturday night after she grabbed a kitchen knife and began stabbing holes in the walls of the rented flat they moved into in Bradford, West Yorkshire, after his 30th birthday celebration turned sour.The repentant love-rat said that Sofiia was "angry and aggressive" and couldn't handle her drink and that she had tried to come between him and his daughters. Her possessions are now packed up in suitcases and bin bags waiting for her to collect them. It is unclear if Sofiia will face charges.Garnett said in May that he was inspired to take in a Ukrainian refugee as his grandfather fled the Soviet Union decades before without detailing why."I left Lorna and my two children for her, and I made every extra effort I could to help her keep us together," he said on Monday."I felt and I thought I was in love with her. But there is a side to her which I just cannot put up with any longer. She gets angry and aggressive," he stressed. https://sputniknews.com/20220907/kitchen-counter-offensive-pic-of-uk-millionaire-with-ukrainian-refugee-he-dumped-wife-for-revealed-1100485289.html ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 James Tweedie https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png James Tweedie https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 James Tweedie https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png uk, daily mail, ukraine, refugee https://sputniknews.com/20220927/turkeys-nato-membership-is-mere-ink-on-paper-for-washington-defense-expert-says-1101282158.html Turkey's NATO Membership is Mere Ink on Paper For Washington, Defense Expert Says Turkey's NATO Membership is Mere Ink on Paper For Washington, Defense Expert Says Ankara filed protests with Greece and the United States on September 26 over the deployment of US-donated armored vehicles to the Greek islands of Lesbos and... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T14:30+0000 2022-09-27T14:30+0000 2022-09-27T14:30+0000 opinion & analysis us opinion armored vehicles greece militarization aegean sea nato turkey /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/06/17/1083225961_0:257:2731:1793_1920x0_80_0_0_7c19752ee7d433b6d1caa7d3c6d5d31f.jpg Turkish military sources earlier reported that its drones spotted the delivery of 23 tactical wheeled armored vehicles to the island of Lesbos and 18 military vehicles to Samos. The equipment was reportedly provided to Greece from the United States as part of a military assistance package.The Turkish Defense Ministry has argued that Greece is deploying military equipment on the islands in violation of international agreements, in particular the Lausanne (1923) and Paris (1947) treaties. The emerging trend is especially disturbing as it could open the door to the further militarization of the region, warned Cahit Armagan Dilek, a Turkish defense and security expert.Turkey has repeatedly voiced concerns over Greece's military deployments on the east Aegean islands. Last year, Ankara sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arguing that the islands of Limnos, Samothrace, Lesbos, Samos, Chios and Ikaria were ceded to Greece by the Ottoman Empire "on the specific and strict condition that they be kept demilitarized" which was sealed in the Lausanne Treaty. For its part, Athens says that the Lausanne Treaty prohibits building naval bases, fortifications or amassing large contingents of troops on the islands, insisting that Greece does not violate these obligations.Still, the Turkish-Greek row over the Aegean islands is not the only issue that concerns Ankara, according to Dilek. The defense expert pointed out that the US is seemingly appeasing Athens to the detriment of its longstanding NATO ally, Turkey.The Turkish security expert likewise drew attention to US plans to move main military assets from the Incirlik Air Base to Crete. Furthermore, in May 2022, Turkish media outlet Ulusal Kanal reported that the United States allegedly sent an official request to the Greek government seeking to deploy F-35 and F-16 fighter jets in Crete.In July 2022, Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos announced that he had discussed Greece's potential entry into the F-35 program with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Sean Burke, the director of the Pentagons F-35 joint program office. The same month, 19FortyFive revealed that ten F-35A Lightning II fighter jets were training with the Hellenic Air Force in Greece. Last year, the US officially removed Turkey from the program over the latter's acquisition of Russian-made S-400 air defense systems. https://sputniknews.com/20220609/im-not-joking-turkeys-erdogan-threatens-greece-over-alleged-arming-of-aegean-islands-1096162407.html https://sputniknews.com/20220621/ankara-hasnt-seen-a-single-advantage-to-nato-membership-should-cut-ties-turkish-media-says-1096527217.html greece aegean sea turkey Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Ekaterina Blinova Ekaterina Blinova News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ekaterina Blinova us, opinion, armored vehicles, greece, militarization, aegean sea, nato, turkey https://sputniknews.com/20220927/uk-foreign-secretary-cleverly-arrives-in-south-korea-for-visit-1101258656.html UK Foreign Secretary Cleverly Arrives in South Korea for Visit UK Foreign Secretary Cleverly Arrives in South Korea for Visit MOSCOW (Sputnik) - UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly arrived in South Korea to meet with senior government officials and visit the the Demilitarized Zone... 27.09.2022, Sputnik International 2022-09-27T07:40+0000 2022-09-27T07:40+0000 2022-09-27T07:40+0000 world uk south korea james cleverly /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/101684/22/1016842299_0:21:2420:1382_1920x0_80_0_0_43f6d77528f77ddefd402f9ce85f6f23.jpg Cleverly is scheduled to hold talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on the strengthening of bilateral ties. The UK foreign secretary will also participate in a Strategic Dialogue with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, where the counterparts will discuss joint cooperation on global security and economic issues including Ukraine, Russia and China.The UK foreign secretary is scheduled to visit the DMZ with Lt. Gen. Andy Harrison, deputy commander of UN Command in Korea. south korea Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International uk, south korea, james cleverly Bulldog Hanover was back to being the unanimous choice for No. 1 in the Week 17 Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll released Tuesday (Sept. 27). The four-year-old male pacer, who won the Harrahs Hoosier Park Pacing Derby in a track-record 1:46.3 this past Friday, received all 35 first-place votes. It marked the second time in four weeks that he was the undisputed top choice. Bulldog Hanover has been at the top of the rankings for 12 consecutive weeks. Joviality S and Test Of Faith, both idle, remained unchanged in the following two spots. Bella Bellini, who won the Caesars Trotting Classic, moved to No. 4, swapping places with idle Beach Glass to round out the top five. Little Brown Jug winner Bythemissal leapfrogged Moni Maker Stakes winner Fashion Schooner for sixth. Cool Papa Bell, who won the Phil Langley Memorial, moved up to eighth and was followed by newcomers Stockade Seelster, who won the Metro Pace, and Sylvia Hanover, who won the Shes A Great Lady. Alrajah One IT and Charlie May dropped from the Top 10. The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll does not determine U.S. Horse of the Year. The members of the U.S. Harness Writers Association vote on all Dan Patch Award division winners plus Trotter of the Year, Pacer of the Year and Horse of the Year. Rankings based on the votes of harness racing media representatives on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Standardbred Poll: Week 17 Sept. 27, 2022 Rank Name (First Votes) A/S/G Record Earnings (USD) Points Pvs 1 Bulldog Hanover (35) 4hp 12-11-0-0 $1,024,331 350 1 2 Joviality S 3ft 11-9-1-1 $882,427 284 2 3 Test Of Faith 4mp 14-8-5-0 $541,592 221 3 4 Bella Bellini 4mt 14-7-3-4 $642,477 210 5 5 Beach Glass 3cp 10-7-3-0 $930,069 208 4 6 Bythemissal 3gp 12-10-2-0 $830,525 185 7 7 Fashion Schooner 3ft 11-8-2-1 $671,937 149 6 8 Cool Papa Bell 3gt 11-6-1-2 $796,225 76 9 9 Stockade Seelster 2cp 8-7-0-1 $559,068 55 10 Sylvia Hanover 2fp 7-6-1-0 $363,065 42 ALSO: Alrajah One IT 33; Charlie May 23; Oh Well 21; Pebble Beach 11; Rebuff 9; Twin B Joe Fresh 7; Confederate 6; Allywag Hanover 5; Atlanta, I Did It Myway, Treacherous Dragon, Voukefalas 4; Tattoo Artist 3; Beach Cowgirl, Boudoir Hanover, Special Way 2; Heart On Fire, Jimmy Freight, Max Contract, Sea Silk, Velvet Stinger 1. (USTA) Two of last years most impressive two-year-olds were in qualifying action on Tuesday morning at Harrahs Philadelphia one won impressively while the other had a useful tightener returning from injury. The millionaire O'Brien Award-winning filly Venerable, one year and two days after her victory over colts in the Mohawk Million, won by 12-1/2 lengths in 1:55.1 after fractions of :28.4, :58.4, and 1:26.4 for driver David Miller, trainer Nifty Norman, and the ownership of David McDuffee, Melvin Hartman, Paul Bordogna and Steven Arnold. After going nine-for-11 as a freshman and capturing her divisional honours, the Walner filly had won a New Jersey Sire Stakes, the Zweig Consolation and a Hambo Oaks elimination this year, but has been missing from the racing scene since two breaking outings in early August. The Captaintreacherous gelding Hammering Hank won three legs and the final of the Kindergarten at two and was 2-4 in his Breeders Crown starts; this year he posted a third in a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and a second in a Messenger elimination before being scratched on July 9 from the Meadowlands Pace eliminations and not gathering a racing line since due to injury. In his return qualifier, he got away last and finished in :57.1, perhaps the start of a rebound for trainer/driver, father/son Brett and Jack Pelling. (With files from PHHA/Harrah's Philadelphia) Virginia State Police this past summer launched coldcase.vsp.virginia.gov/ to revive interest and hopefully generate new clues in unsolved homicides, unidentified and missing persons cases. The database features information, photographs, and contact information for cases that have remained unsolved for at least five years, according to a release on Friday, highlighting Sept. 25 as National Day of Remembrance for Homicide Victims. State law requires VSP host the website for Virginia local and state law enforcement agency participation. Del. Danica Roem sponsored the legislation that became law in 2020 to create the searchable site which currently includes 44 unsolved homicides, nine missing persons and seven unidentified persons with 12 reporting agencies, including Fauquier County Sheriffs Office and Fredericksburg PD. State police has trained and provided access to upload cases to the website to 19 local police and sheriffs offices across the Commonwealth. There really is no such thing as a cold case, said Colonel Gary T. Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent, in a statement. That moniker is misleading because no matter how many years have passed that a homicide, missing person investigation or unidentified person case has gone unresolved, it never truly goes cold. Virginia law enforcement agencies continue to pursue unresolved investigations until justice is rendered for the victim and that victims family. Unfortunately, some cases simply take longer than others to achieve that end goal of an arrest and closure, Settle said. Del. Roem, D-Manassas, implored the public to look at the cold case database at least once to see if they recognize any of the cases. This website gives every unsolved case world-wide reach and we are hopeful that it will generate new tips and quality leads for Virginias law enforcement agencies to pursue, said Settle. A quick of the database did not list any of the half-dozen cold case homicides in Culpeper County. A Facebook page created in 2019, Culpeper Unsolved Murders, lists the names of those killed in Culpeper in yet unsolved crimes. They are: Alicia Showalter Reynolds, Jody Pullen, Sherrie Warner, Ann McDaniel, Thelma Scroggins and Roger Davis. China has achieved initial success in new infrastructure construction, which has greatly facilitated the country's social and economic development over the past decade, officials said Monday. Zhang Zhihua, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said China has quickened its steps in upgrading information infrastructure as well as advancing infrastructure integration and innovation. The length of China's optical fiber network has increased 2.7 times over the past decade, and the number of data center racks has topped 5.9 million, Zhang told a press conference. Smart devices are being integrated into various industries and businesses such as transport, energy supply, and industrial production, as well as facilities concerning people's well-being like e-commerce, telemedicine, and online education, he said. In terms of innovation, Zhang said up to 32 of China's planned 77 major national science and technology infrastructure projects have been put into operation, while centers on engineering research, enterprise technology, and industrial innovation are being set up across the country. Zhang particularly mentioned advancement in China's "east data, west computing" project, a mega data project launched in February this year and designed to have the country's less developed inland regions store and process data transmitted from economically advanced eastern areas. In the "initial areas" of the project, construction has started on more than 60 new data centers, which involves over 1.1 million standard racks and over 400 billion yuan (about 56.9 billion U.S. dollars), he said, noting that the proportion of data centers in the western region has increased steadily. Song Wen, an official with the National Energy Administration, revealed that with the energy sector seeking a faster shift to digital, internet-based, and smart-tech models, progress has been made in fields such as smart grid, mining, and power generation, as well as energy storage. The coverage rate of China's power distribution automation system has exceeded 90 percent by 2021, and the country has seen the completion of over 800 smart mining sites and a number of "5G plus" smart thermal power plants, according to Song. Zhang said new infrastructure has greatly empowered China's economic and social development by offering sustained support to new technology exploration, effectively backing the development of the digital economy and fully facilitating the improvement of people's well-being. "While each round of scientific and technological revolution introduces new infrastructure, each round of infrastructure construction would bring in an upgrade in economic transformation," he said, voicing optimism in the prospect of new infrastructure investment. With more supporting financial and fiscal policies in place, China will move faster to kick off a number of new infrastructure projects, according to Zhang. He said to further support these projects, the NDRC will boost efforts to enhance coordination and planning, increase spending and shore up the weak links. Works will be done to improve the basic networks in the medium and small cities in the central and western regions, bridge the digital gap, and make industrial and supply chains more resilient, with priority given to new infrastructure that meets the public's urgent needs and stimulates the real economy, he said. While first-responders assured the Fredericksburg community theyre doing everything they can to protect students from todays threatsranging from the possibility of an active shooter to a fake report of a bomb in the schoolanother speaker encouraged the audience to embrace laughter as good medicine, both to live longer and to increase brain power. And as comments from parents illustrated, the first Family Academy presented by the Fredericksburg City Public Schools Saturday at James Monroe High School couldnt have been more timely. On four consecutive days in the past two weeks, James Monroe has been evacuated after someone called in a threat that turned out to be false. The FBI calls the action swatting because it involves a call to 911 that draws a massive response from law enforcement, usually a SWAT team. The hoax has been around at least since 2008, according to the FBI website, but its been disturbingly popular this month. On one day aloneMonday, Sept. 19at least 11 school systems across Virginia reported lockdowns from shooters or bombs, including Fredericksburg, Charlottesville and the counties of Culpeper and Fauquier, Arlington and Loudoun. Raygan DeCarlo, a mother of six, asked those gathered Saturday for some answers. Im hearing from the kids theres a bomb threat, that a bomb, that there was smoke. I dont know whats true because the schools not telling us anything, nothing, she said during a question-and-answer portion of the safety forum. We have no idea from the school or from the police why the school is being evacuated. Her voice cracked from both nervousness and concern as she continued: You guys are telling us theres police dogs going through our schools. The parents have a right to know why, dont we? Her emotional pleas, which included a desire to help in any way she could, illustrated some of the ongoing issues schools are facing. Whether swatting is yet another fallout from COVID-19 isnt clear, said Dr. Matt Eberhardt, deputy superintendent for Fredericksburg schools. I do know were seeing more emotional needs than weve ever seen before, he told about 45 people gathered in the school auditorium. One positive aspect of the pandemic was increased interest from the community in connecting with schools and thats why Fredericksburg planned its first of several Family Academy events, said Superintendent Marci Catlett. Saturdays program included Marcia Tate, a renowned educational consultant, author and speaker who encouraged audience members to get up, introduce themselves and talk with someonepreferably a person they didnt knowabout the questions she posed to them. And to have a good time while doing it. She held herself up as an example of the beneficial power of laughter, which research has shown boosts the immune system by increasing the production of antibodies that prevent infection. I not only teach this, I practice this, she said, animatedly walking the aisles, telling the audience shes 71 next week. She said thats the only way she could have worked as an educator and consultant for 49 years because she didnt start when she was 6. However, that is when she decided to become a teacher. She lined up all her dolls and instructed them for hours. I didnt have a single behavioral problem, she said. Tate also recognized that brains are wired differently these days than 40 years ago as a result of changing times, ranging from different family structures to more exposure to violence. She said children are coming to school angry because no one in their lives is talking, reading or singing to them at early ages and getting their brains ready for learning. If you dont get anything else out of this seminar, please go home and rock, hold and love these babies, Tate said. More information about her message, which focuses on preparing children for success in school and life, is available at her website, drmarciatate.com. Before Tates session, representatives from Fredericksburg Police, the Sheriffs Office, Fire and Rescue and the schools presented detailed information about efforts to avoid the pretty horrific events in Texas that have us all concerned, Eberhardt said. In May, a teenager entered an elementary school in Uvalde, killed 19 students and two teachers and wounded 17 others. Fredericksburg officials had active shooter plans in place before that event, the officials said, but met in earnest in recent months to updateand upgradethem. As a result, every school employee has received crisis and emergency management training. All plans have been approved by law enforcement and emergency services, Eberhardt said. If we look at some of the things in Texas and other places, I want to assure everyone that law enforcement has open access to our buildings, he continued. We have made badges readily available for them, we have put keys in the hands of officers and vehicles so there should never be an issue that someone cannot get into one of our buildings. The school system has used state grants to create digital maps of schools that show emergency exits, alarms, cameras and fire extinguishers that are accessible by the 911 center. Should an emergency call be placed from a school, it wont just say the phone call came from Hugh Mercer, it will actually say it came from Hugh Mercer, Room 118, Eberhardt said. Fredericksburg plans to use another state grant to purchase radios that connect the school system with the police department, he said. Another lesson learned from Uvalde is the need for police to be able to access locked doors in schools and Police Chief Brian Layton said his department is purchasing breaching kitswith items like axes, cutting tools and pry barsfor every school. Some department vehicles currently have the kits, but for safety, Layton wants them in every school. Sheriffs Capt. Scott Foster said he hoped those gathered would take one message from the meeting, that were all here for the same mission, to support schools and the community. During questions from the audience, parents voiced concerns that were exactly opposite from issues raised more than two years ago when protesters across the nation suggested defunding the police or removing all resource officers from schools. Local parents wanted to know how many more school resource officers Fredericksburg could put in place and if items, such as metal detectors, could be used at school entrances. DeCarlo and another mother, Melissa Battiste, said after the session that while they appreciate the concerted efforts of first-responders, theyre practically begging them to keep parents in the loop as much as possible. They described the alarm they felt recently when their kids called thembefore the school system sent out any alertsto say James Monroe had been evacuated and students were told to get out and leave their phones, purses or backpacks behind, if necessary. It is very scary, DeCarlo said. Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Dept. Co. 1 was first on scene for a recent hazmat spill at a major intersection, employing an expedited response to avert environmental disaster. The West Davis Street company was dispatched at 8:11 a.m. on Sept. 17 for an overturned tanker leaking fluid at the intersection of Germanna and Zachary Taylor Highways near the Town of Culpeper. Quick defensive actions allowed firefighters to contain hot tar leaking from the overturned tanker, protecting vegetation and diverting it from a stormwater ditch along Zachary Taylor Highway, according to a CCVFD post. Of the 6,058 gallons of hot tar, approximately 1,800 gallons leaked, with 4,200 gallons recovered and offloaded prior to up-righting the tanker. Crews were on the scene for about five and a half hours addressing the incident with Rescue Engine 1 and Pumper 1, the post said. CCVFD Capt. Travis Kenney had command and coordinated the response. There were no injuries to personnel on scene. The volunteer company thanked everyone involved for making the incident successful. Helping at the scene or with containment were Culpeper County Emergency Services, Cedar Mountain Stone, Virginia State Police, Culpeper County Sheriffs Office, Paynes Towing, VDOT and K & M Equipment Rentals. Officials with Operation Lifesaver Nebraska, a statewide initiative promoting railroad safety, met with students and emergency personnel in Gering Monday as part of a Whistle-Stop Tour across Nebraska. During the tour, the organizations executive director, Debra Ashworth, and colleagues outlined efforts to host informational gatherings within the states 20 counties that data demonstrated had the most injuries and fatalities along railways. They began Sept. 8 in Lincoln with a kickoff presentation by Gov. Pete Ricketts. The tour is scheduled to run through Sept. 30. At Gering High School, Ashworth first presented to the sophomore, junior and senior classes. After their demonstration finished, she presented to freshman students. She taught them how to read railroad warning markings and how to report a problem such as a vehicle stuck on the tracks. This is important because it teaches them about the emergency sign, she said. At every railroad crossing in the United States is this blue sign, and it will give you the (phone) number of the railroad that is there and the crossing number. Just like you or I have an address for a house, each crossing has an address. So youd use this in an emergency situation to report problems. Trains can weigh up to 6,000 tons and can take more than a mile to come to a complete stop. Students were selected from the audience to crush empty soda cans with their feet; Ashworth said a train hitting a car would have the same destructive potential of a car rolling over the same cans. Trains can stop, but they cant stop quickly, Ashworth told students. Thats why cars and pedestrians have to stop for trains. There are more than 4,800 railroad crossings across the state, but less than 900 of these feature gates or lights to warn of oncoming trains. The majority are what Ashworth described as passive crossings. Since trains dont run on set schedules, Ashworth told students to always be on the lookout and to be aware of how many tracks each crossing has. Any time is train time, she said. To conclude the presentations, Ashworth had four students role play a safety incident and see how fast they could respond to the situation. Later, officials with Operation Lifesaver met with emergency personnel at The Mixing Bowl Cafe to discuss strategies and statistics. Those in attendance included Sheriff Mark Overman and Chief Deputy Troy Brown, from the Scotts Bluff County Sheriffs Office, Gering Fire Chief Nathan Flowers and Region 22 Emergency Manager Tim Newman. Ashworth said she was looking to bring in more volunteers to promote railroad safety at events. She recommended targeting education toward elementary school students, high school students and elderly drivers. She also recommended a three-pronged approach of engineering and enforcement in addition to simply educating people about safety. Since 2015, there have been more than 250 collisions between trains and vehicles or pedestrians in Nebraska. At least 29 people have been killed. We are really in good shape, you guys. Considering the amount of trains that go across this state, we have a good safety record, and we dont have many trespassing fatalities, Ashworth told the emergency personnel. I think our children and our adults have common sense. The Whistle Stop Tour was launched as Operation Lifesaver celebrated 50 years of work. According to Ashworth, when the initiative first began in Idaho, railroad fatalities dropped 40% in just one year. She said railroad crossing accidents fell by 84% nationwide since the program launched. Panhandle organizations and others played host to 22 English teachers from Pakistan on Sept. 23-24. Teachers visited museums, tourist locations and other venues to gain knowledge about rural Nebraska education, culture and history. The University of Nebraska Omaha Pakistani Teacher Program is a training program for approximately 42 days, Robert Holbert, University of Nebraska Omahas (UNO) coordinator for International Programs Center for Afghanistan Studies, said. While theyre here, they learn new teaching techniques and then they also get to go on cultural visits to western Nebraska, then up to South Dakota. UNOs International Programs Center for Afghanistan Studies along with the Pakistan Excellence and Achievement (TEA) English Language Teacher Exchange hosted 22 Pakistan English teachers in September and will host 22 more in October. The teachers from five different provinces in both urban and rural Pakistan will visit in four cohorts beginning with teacher training in Omaha. The exchange program began in the spring with two cohorts of Pakistani teachers visiting. This is the third iteration or cohort. We have another cohort of Pakistani teachers next month, Holbert said. We have 11 men and 11 women from all five provinces of Pakistan, rural and urban communities, today. Theyre all high school English teachers, but they also teach other subjects. The high school English teachers are chosen through an application process. The program begins in Omaha with classroom and field experience aimed to promote development of English language skills, teaching, technologies and management systems, as well as leadership skills. To close out the six-week program, the groups visit western Nebraska and South Dakota for a cultural experience. Starr Lehl, the economic development director for the City of Scottsbluff, said it was important for the teachers to experience western Nebraska education and cropping systems. She coordinated the trips itinerary with Charity Stahl, UNOs coordinator of education and outreach programs. Charity knows full well the difference between eastern and western Nebraska, Lehl said. She wanted to make a point of making sure that they got to experience western Nebraska and learn a little bit about the crops that we raise here and our education system. The group left Omaha on Sept. 23, stopping at Chimney Rock before spending the evening at Western Nebraska Community College. The teachers heard from representatives from the cities of Scottsbluff and Gering, and area agricultural agencies. I think the most interesting presentation to them was Jerry Darnell with Western Sugar, because they raise sugar cane in Pakistan, Lehl said. It was really about just making that personal connection with the teachers, finding out about them and them finding out about us. It was just really great. On Saturday, Sept. 24, the Pakistani teachers began the day with a tour of a working farm, the Adams Family Farm near Scottsbluff. There, the group saw many sights for the first time sugar beets, pumpkin fields and craft vendors were the highlight. (The farm) was decorated for Halloween, Aneeqa Afaq said. It was visually very catchy and with bright, big pumpkins. Kids were enjoying that with their families, it was a good time there. After the farm visit, the teachers moved on to the Legacy of the Plains Museum for a history of the High Plains experience. We observed all the agriculture and how they used the old printing machine, that was amazing, Afaq said. We saw the video and the theater. For us, it was cool. Amna Zulfiqar likened the museum experience to that referenced by Helen Kellers essay Three Days to See. In the essay, Keller imagines that if she could see for three days, the second would be spent in museums. (Keller) wanted to see the panorama of life so she suggested that the best place to see life is a museum, Zulfiqar said. So I observe today that I be in the life in that museum. What was the life then and what is now after the passage of time. It was a very amazing experience. After the museum, the teachers spent an hour on the trails on top of the Scotts Bluff National Monument. They enjoyed the view, historical markers, landscape and the opportunity to take many photos. Its really amazing to see these natural rocks, the geology, the paleontology, everything, Afaq said. How it has preserved itself, its own preservation, its amazing to see this and experience the wind. Rafaqat Maseeh said the Panhandles terrain is not unlike that of Pakistan, where there are mountains and plains. It is wonderful here, marvelous and I cant explain it in words, he said. Its more or less what we see in our country, but obviously, it is different. We have been exposed to nature here, Saima Javed said. In our urban lives, we have a very artificial life, but here in life, we feel the nature very close. After visiting the Panhandle, the Pakistani teachers continued the cultural experience into South Dakota to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial, Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park and more. The fourth and final cohort of Pakistani teachers is expected to visit the Panhandle on Oct. 28-29. I suggest you visit Pakistan once in a life and you will be mesmerized by one of the worlds most beautiful landscapes, Maseeh said. For a number of downtown businesses on Monday, they may not know who Dale Larson is, but theyll at least know cookies are one of his favorite desserts. The Boys & Girls Club of the Piedmont handed out the crumbly confections for the Dale Larson Family Day of Caring and Giving and as a way of saying thank you to the Larson family for an unspecified but generous donation to a number of Boys & Girls Clubs across the country. Well a lot of us cried, there was a lot of rejoicing, Brady Johnson said. He is the director of development at the BGCP. His gift came just in time because this came at the onset of COVID, and we couldnt do any fundraising. Johnson explained how a number of the organizations normal, and critical, fundraisers couldnt be done over the past two years, which could have put the BGCP in a very difficult spot. This basically was what filled the gap for those two years, Johnson said. Thanks to this gift, we did not have to cut a single service or turn a single child away. According to the BGCP, with that gift, the only thing Larson asked in return was for the organization to teach children the importance of caring and giving. So with that, one of the events was Mondays cookie giveaway, which put smiles on a number of peoples faces downtown as members of the Boys & Girls Club handed out those cookies as a way of caring and giving. Along with businesses, workers at City Hall and the Iredell County Government Center, as well as members of the Statesville Police Department, fire department, the district attorneys office, the Register of Deeds, Clerk of Court, sheriffs office and Board of Elections had their days brightened. Larson Manufacturing Company was originally founded in 1954 by Oscar Larson, before Dale Larson took over in 1968 when his father died. While the company is based out of Brookings, South Dakota, it has a facility in Mocksville. Dale Larson made donations to a number of Boys & Girls Clubs near where the companies facilities are located, which made the BGCP one of the beneficiaries. The subject of mental health and suicide prevention is one that has become a bigger part of public discussions in recent years but is still one wrapped in stigma. For Susan Tolle, its personal, as her own daughters struggles with mental health and attempts to take her own life prompted her to not just look for help but to help others. She attempted to take her life three times, and I had no idea what to do, Tolle said. Once it happened a third time, I told myself I had to find better resources and I found AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention). Now her daughter, Emily Nixon, will be a speaker during the opening ceremony at this years Out of the Darkness Walk set to take place at 10 a.m. at Statesville High School on Saturday. Sign-up begins at 9 a.m. She so much stronger, shes raised a $1,000 for this, and she vocal about and excited for the cause, Tolle said. To see the difference is night and day. To see how this work has impacted a life like that is unreal. Booths from a number of community nonprofits related to mental health and the issues around it will be there, as well as friends, families and those simply looking to support others will walk around the track as they hope to eliminate the stigma that often is around discussions of suicide and mental health. The Central Piedmont Out of the Darkness Walk is one of more than 550 Walks being held nationwide this year. The walks are expected to unite more than 300,000 walkers and raise millions for suicide prevention. Last year, the Central Piedmont Walk raised more than $42K and had more than 300 participants. Speakers at the Central Piedmont Out of the Darkness Walk will include community leaders, as well as individuals who will share their personal stories. This years chair is Kelley James, retired Iredell-Statesville Schools principal. Over five years, Tolle said, roughly $500,000 had been raised toward suicide prevention and the hope that more people are willing to talk about it and how they help their loved ones struggling with mental health issues. Throughout the year, the AFSP runs a number of programs that aims to increase awareness and help those struggling. One of those is More Than Sad, which is an AFSP program designed especially for parents and teachers to help them recognize signs of depression and other mental health problems. The program teaches them how to initiate a conversation about mental health with their child, and how to get help. Another is Talk Saves Lives, which AFSP uses to give participants with a clear understanding of the prevalence of the issue, up-to-date research on suicide prevention and what they can do in their communities to save lives. Both More Than Sad and Talk Saves Lives are available virtually or via live presentation. Go to afsp.org to register for virtual programs or to request a live session. You may also contact Susan Tolle at 704-450-6162 or bstolle@bellsouth.net. Looking for answers Tolle said in 2017 when her own family needed support, she joined the Out of the Darkness Walk in Charlotte as she looked for her own answers. Soon, she found herself wanting to help others find them too, as there wasnt a similar walk in Iredell County. Thats how it started because we had a need and a passion and a desire to get focused on mental health. So raising that awareness gives us the option of knowing more and doing more, and what we can do to help other people, Tolle said. Mental health concerns were highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic as isolation and cut social ties exacerbated issues for many people. The data AFSP has takes two years to complete, but North Carolina saw a rise in deaths by suicide while the national average dropped. Tolle and James said they were hopeful the numbers to not be as bad as some feared. I think COVID brought the discussion of mental health to the forefront of our conversation. People who used to just dismiss mental as an issue are starting to see it in their own realm of friends and family, James said. There was a sense or urgency that hadnt been there before. Those discussions are something that James and Tolle hope continue to break down stigmas around mental health and allow people to get the medical care they need instead of fearing how their friends, family and peers might react. Tolle said that while they wont know for sure until the data is compiled, she hopes that focus on mental health in the public view served as a defense. Regardless of the numbers that will come from that data, the goal of the Out of the Darkness Walk wont change. Our focus for the walk is to raise awareness. If we reduce that stigma, which is the biggest obstacle we face, which is why people didnt talk about it years ago, Tolle said before explaining her own experiences with that. This was just a few years ago, a friend of mine said Are you sure you want to air your dirty laundry in front of everybody? Tolle said. Dirty laundry? My daughter was sick, she has an illness, just like diabetes, like heart disease, just like tinnitus in your ear, she has an illness, thats not dirty laundry. If reduce that stigma, then we raise the awareness, and if we raise the awareness, we lower the rate of suicide. Part of doing that at the event itself comes in the form of a bead ceremony, where those taking part wear honor beads to show who or how theyve been affected by the issue. Different colors are assigned to show the loss of a friend, child, parent, spouse, someone who is a first responder or in the military, part of the LGBTQ community, or even for themselves. The different colors are there to show people they arent the only ones who have been affected by suicide or mental health issues. Its a very visual reminder that this doesnt just affect a small portion of the population, it affects all of us in some way shape, or form, James said. Three friends who met working in the beauty industry created a spa offering services that fit their values of honesty and welcoming everyone. In mid-August, co-owners Mandie Hart, Hailey Harris and Hailey Rae Hatfield opened HAVEN Mind Body Collective on 15th Avenue in Longview. While the spa offers many typical cosmetology services, staff focus on the health aspects of those services, as well as providing quality over quantity, Hart said. We want to make sure you feel like your inner and outer selves are matched, she said. Each co-owner brings an area of expertise that creates a one-stop shop, Hatfield said. Hatfield is an esthetician, Harris is a cosmetologist and tattoo artist, and Hart is a licensed massage therapist. HAVEN offers facials, massages, lash extensions and tinting, body and face waxing, and body spa services like wraps. The spa also offers vibroacoustic therapy, a FDA-approved treatment that uses low-frequency vibrations to treat mental, emotional and physical ailments, according to its website. Hart, who has been a massage therapist for more than 16 years, said she, Harris and Hatfield try to take a holistic, client-focused approach to make everyone feel welcome, no matter what they look like. Come as you are and youre accepted as you are, Harris said. The spa doesnt offer cookie-cutter services, but researches to use the best products that are plant based and cruelty free, Hart said. The owners pride themselves on being transparent about their services, she said. For example, some spas may refer to a seaweed wrap as a skinny wrap and HAVEN calls it a firm and tone detox wrap. Youre not going to run into someone getting something they didnt expect, Hart said. The spa aims to provide luxury services in a realistic way, with prices that work for clients, Hatfield said. Since many of the services are designed to be repeated, HAVEN offers memberships with discounts for regular visits. It makes it worth it and doesnt hurt us, Harris said. We can make a living doing moderate, fair prices. For instance, a 30-minute massage costs $40 and facials start at $60, according to the spas website. HAVEN Mind Body Collective Address: 1105 15th Ave. Ste. F, Longview Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday Info: 360-703-6499, www.havenmindbody.com or HAVEN Mind Body Collective on Facebook. Owners background The three women said their own experiences and desires to help people led them to this industry and their eventual partnership. Hatfield said she struggled with acne as a teen and uses what shes learned through trial and error to help clients with similar problems. Hart said she went into the massage industry after high school to make money while going to college for a degree in psychology. Her plans changed when she had kids, and while she loves doing massage, shes now back in school to complete her degree. Once she is licensed, Hart plans to offer mental health counseling. Confidence building is a huge part of it, she said. Helping people feel comfortable in their own skin and feel like their skin, their body isnt wrong. While she was always interested in art, Harris didnt think she could make it her career. After starting psychology courses and dropping out because of the teacher, Harris went into cosmetology. She said she enjoyed it and has also taken up tattooing to get back to her artistic roots. I realized I could do what I wanted to do, be there for people, take care of people in a way I could also make a living, she said. The three rented the 15th Avenue building in June and spent weeks remodeling it with the help of their partners. The dark walls and abundant plants provide a calming environment clients enjoy, Hatfield said. The wellness industry rebounded quickly following pandemic-related closures, Hart said, as physical expression is one thing people can control when so much is out of their hands. When people are happy with their physical being, it heals the inside, she said. WOODLAND The city of Woodland is looking to buy a piece of unused land near the corner of Goerig Street and Lakeshore Drive from the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District to build a neighboring community space. The library district is scheduled to hold a public hearing Monday to discuss the potential purchase. Woodland Mayor Will Finn said the city is looking to buy a half-acre of land at 828 Goerig St. to create a gathering area and updated visitors center. The regional library plans to use the remaining 1.9 acres of land at 411 Lakeshore Dr. to build a new location for the Woodland Community Library. Fort Vancouver purchased the land from the former Woodland Funeral Home in 2017 to build a larger replacement for the current Woodland library located in a 113-year-old building on Park Street. Library spokesman Tak Kendrick said the district scaled back its original plans to make the new library smaller and more affordable, lowering its footprint from 12,500 square feet to 7,500 square feet and requiring less land. In July city staff approved the librarys plan to subdivide a half-acre of the land, allowing the library to sell the section closest to Goerig Street. Finn said he is a longtime supporter of the proposed new library and talked to Fort Vancouver in the past about possible collaborations. The librarys interest in selling the land coincided with the city planning how Interstate 5s exit 21 redesign will affect the current visitors center, currently located in a mobile home. Its not the vision myself or my team to have for Woodland, which is a mobile home for a visitors center, Finn said. The citys community space plans include a main gathering area for events with a kitchenette and an office for the visitors center. Finn said the combination of the library and center could become a neighborhood hub, including an outdoor fire pit and a starting point for a walking trail around Horseshoe Lake. Woodland has the right of first refusal on the parcel as a public entity. The two groups are still negotiating a sales price for the land and the amount of utility improvements needed on the property. Finn said the city has been lining up roughly $350,000 in funding. If the site is purchased, Finn said the goal is to complete the construction by next summer. The $7 million Woodland Community Library is on a longer timeline. Kendrick said the library foundation is continuing to fundraise for the building in Woodland as it goes through the design and development process. The current plan is to hold a library groundbreaking ceremony in the summer of 2023. You are here: Business China's service outsourcing industry posted a steady expansion in the first eight months of this year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Monday. Chinese firms signed service outsourcing contracts worth about 1.228 trillion yuan (about 189.1 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-August period, up 12.5 percent year on year. The executed contract value came in at 831.4 billion yuan during the period, with a year-on-year increase of 12.8 percent. Outsourcing refers to hiring an outside party to carry out services or produce goods typically undertaken by in-house employees. Of the total, the value of the offshore service outsourcing contract rose 12.5 percent over the last year to 698.9 billion yuan. In terms of the executed contract value, service outsourcing with the United States, the European Union, and members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership expanded 8.8 percent, 15 percent, and 8.9 percent year on year, respectively, in the first eight months of 2022. VANCOUVER A Vancouver man was sentenced Monday to more than 5 years in prison, in part, for urinating into milkshake mix while working as a manager at the Mill Plain Arbys in October 2021. Stephen S. Sharp, 29, pleaded guilty Aug. 16 in Clark County Superior Court to three counts of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of second-degree attempted assault. Judge Derek Vanderwood ordered the agreed-upon sentence of 67 months, which also requires that Sharp register as a sex offender. Vanderwood said he hopes Sharp focuses on the required treatment while in prison. Sharp is also prohibited from going to any Arbys restaurants. As part of the pre-sentencing investigation, detectives who interviewed Sharp said he declined to express remorse for his crimes. Defense attorney Alyosha McClain said Sharp has taken responsibility for his actions by resolving the case quickly and cooperating with law enforcement. Sharp apologized to his family and Clark County during Mondays hearing. According to a probable cause affidavit, when detectives served a search warrant on Sharps cellphone while investigating the child pornography allegations they found a 16-second video showing someone urinating into a bag of milkshake mix. The videos metadata showed it was recorded Oct. 30 at the Arbys at 221 N.E. 104th Ave. Another manager at the Arbys told detectives that on the day the video was taken, the restaurant sold at least one ice cream float and about 30 to 40 milkshakes, court records state. Sharp admitted to police he had urinated into the milkshake bag at least twice, but he claimed he was almost sure he threw out the bag after, according to the affidavit. The affidavit states Sharp said he was working alone in the restaurant that night and urinated into the milkshake mix for sexual gratification. He told detectives if he didnt throw away the bag, it would have been added to other mix by the next shift and served to people. In a May email to The Columbian, an Arbys spokesperson described Sharps alleged actions as abhorrent and unacceptable. The spokesperson said Arbys had taken immediate action with the franchise group who terminated Sharp and cooperated with the criminal investigation. The Vancouver Police Department previously searched for people who might have consumed the contaminated milkshakes, but Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu said Monday no victims had been identified. Clark County Public Health Director Dr. Alan Melnick previously said there is no significant health risk to consuming a drink contaminated with urine. Detectives had received cybertips about online and social media accounts suspected of collecting and trading child pornography. A search returned four videos of suspected child pornography shared on a video and chat app. Investigators linked the accounts to Sharp, who admitted the accounts belonged to him, the affidavit states. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) Prosecutors in the penalty trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz will begin their rebuttal case Tuesday, challenging his attorneys' contention that he murdered 17 people because his birth mother abused alcohol during pregnancy, a condition they say went untreated. Prosecutor Mike Satz's team is expected to call experts who will testify Cruz has antisocial personality disorder in lay terms, hes a sociopath and fully responsible for his Feb. 14, 2018, attack at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. According to the National Institutes of Health, people with antisocial personality disorder commit exploitive, delinquent and criminal behavior with no remorse. They usually have no regard for others, dont follow the law, cant sustain consistent relationships or employment and use manipulation for personal gain, the NIH says. Prosecutors will want to reemphasize Cruz understood exactly what he was doing during the massacre and could formulate and carry out a plan, said David S. Weinstein, a Miami defense attorney and former prosecutor. Robert Jarvis, a professor at Nova Southeastern University's law school, said prosecution experts will also likely testify that even if Cruzs brain was damaged by his birth mothers drinking, thats true of thousands of other Americans and they dont commit mass murder. If they did, we would be having mass murders on an unprecedented scale, he said. Cruz, who turned 24 on Saturday, pleaded guilty last October to murdering 14 Stoneman Douglas students and three staff members. The seven-man, five-woman jury will decide whether he is sentenced to death or life without parole, weighing aggravating factors presented by prosecutors against the defense's mitigating circumstances. A juror could also vote for life out of mercy for Cruz. For the former Stoneman Douglas student to receive a death sentence, the jury must unanimously agree. Satz's team told Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer their presentation could take two weeks, but Jarvis and Weinstein question whether that's too much for a jury that began hearing evidence in July. Jurors may be eager to deliberate, so Satz should keep the rebuttal case focused and to the point, they said. Don't get greedy, Weinstein said. Jarvis said lawyers too often think that if they just add more witnesses and evidence, that makes their case stronger. But in a trial like Cruz's where the decision isn't whether he's guilty but what sentence he deserves, Jarvis believes that by rebuttal each juror knows his or her vote. Any reconsideration won't come until deliberations. If you do a long rebuttal, that makes jurors think, Maybe the defense really did score some points that I didnt realize,' Jarvis said. The defense cut their case short, calling only about 25 of the 80 witnesses they said would testify. They never brought up Cruz's high school years or called his younger half-brother, Zachary, whom they accused of bullying. That will limit what the prosecution can raise in rebuttal any evidence or testimony must have some tie to what the defense presented. Prosecutors have said they plan to show racist slurs Cruz wrote on his backpack and online and the swastikas drawn on the gun he used and the boots he wore. Although there is no contention that the attack was racially motivated, prosecutors argue the words and Nazi symbols show his lack of regard for others. Judge Scherer rejected an attempt by Cruzs attorneys to block the swastikas' presentation, which they argued is unnecessarily provocative. His attorneys also complained that, despite pretrial motions they filed, Scherer did not rule they were admissible until after jury selection. That meant they couldn't ask prospective panelists whether seeing swastikas would prejudice their verdict. Jarvis and Weinstein said the prosecution must be careful about what rebuttal evidence they present because if they go too far they could risk an appellate court overturning a death sentence, meaning the case would have to be retried. As a prosecutor, there comes a point in every trial where the longer you're up there, you're only hurting yourself, Jarvis said. Have we reached that point in this trial? I think we have. In a lot of ways, the latest round of Washingtons newly released test score data is a starting point. At least thats how Aira Jackson, director of assessment and instructional improvement at Seattle Public Schools, sees it. It provides us a snapshot thats kind of universal, she said. Were all kind of just taking a breath right now and thinking about what were seeing. Spring assessment data released this month paints a complex picture: Scores dropped during the pandemic, and gaps widened between student groups. But the recently unveiled data shows a slight though still uneven uptick compared to test scores from fall of last year. To track how the academic recovery is playing out, the amount of information schools are collecting about students is on a much more dramatic upswing. In the coming weeks, many Seattle students will participate in a districtwide assessment to give educators a better sense of where they are now. The spring assessment happened months ago. Its part of the districts larger data strategy Jackson says those results will be triangulated with other scores, including from the state-required Smarter Balanced Assessments and those conducted on the individual classroom level, and that the newly planned districtwide test will offer a more timely snapshot of where students are at. We wanted one that would be concise ... give us those results and also be informative for educators and also be informative for families, she said. Numerous studies and research conducted on the pandemics impact have made clear that the ripple effects of COVID-19 came down unevenly across grade levels, subject area and student groups. But experts and educators analyzing that data point out the need to rethink what a true recovery could or should look like and that traditional assessment tools dont tell the whole story. A recent report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education, a research organization based at Arizona State University, breaks down what dozens of researchers across the country have found so far about the pandemics effects on students. It paints a dire picture. According to research from Harvard University, high-income schools lost roughly 13 weeks about three months of academic instruction during the 2020-21 school year, compared to 22 weeks about five months in high-poverty schools. The CRPE report says last school year didnt just fail to make up for that lost time some students continued to fall further behind. An analysis cited in the report shows literacy skills among second graders, especially among Black and Hispanic students, arent recovering at the same pace as other grades. The mental health needs of students also grew more intense as disruptions continued the report says the rate of suspected suicide attempts among teen girls grew by 51% in just one year during the pandemic. While communities have leveraged millions in pandemic relief dollars to get kids back on track by offering more mental health services or community-based tutoring and mentoring, theres still not enough evidence that schools are meeting the moment, said Robin Lake, director of CRPE. We see that happening but its too far and few between, she said. The urge to return to normalcy is very strong, understandably we want things to feel regular and normal ... but if we do that, kids will pay the price. Locally, schools are deploying new curriculum alongside new surveys and testing strategies in order to capture what progress looks like as the school year unfolds. Theyre still evaluating whats working or not as students and staff re-acclimate to pre-pandemic era school routines that look and feel more familiar. The pandemic also renewed the sense of urgency for schools to gather more detailed information about students social and emotional wellness in order to support students with widely different life experiences. Collecting that type of data isnt as straightforward as administering, say, a math test but Jackson says its more relevant now than ever. In the past, we got really locked into quantitative measures, theyre easy, theyre transferable, Jackson said. Not all data and not all really important information can be assigned a number or put in a spreadsheet. That sentiment is shared by schools across the region. Northshore School District is developing a social and emotional screener tool to put into use later this year. The district has been focused on how to ensure its accessible technologically and across languages and that families from different cultural backgrounds understand the intent behind it, said Tracy Meloy, Northshores chief leadership and strategy officer. Despite the overwhelming losses research has revealed, Lake and others say schools must also acknowledge opportunities students were able to access during the pandemic, like learning pods and other resources from local immigrant advocacy groups and tribes in Washington. Those opportunities can help inform the path forward. All over the state, I heard about communities really stepping up during the pandemic and providing something important and unique, Lake said. Thats something I hope that we can play with and understand how we can maintain those connections to community that were so strong during that period. Filiberto Barajas-Lopez, director of Indigenous Education Initiatives at the University of Washingtons College of Education, says there likely isnt enough information being collected by schools to understand the full context of students pandemic experiences; the framing of the pandemics impact on students as learning loss doesnt acknowledge gains they might have made culturally or socially with their families and in their communities. I dont necessarily believe we should just look at that, because that also assumes what was happening before has produced great results, but we know it hasnt, he said. He says its essential for schools to engage with communities in order to better recognize, value and support the unexpected but positive experiences students had during the pandemic. As we return back to schools, are we OK returning to what was already existing and was producing many of these inequities, or is this a moment and an opportunity to re-imagine different ways of doing what weve been doing? he said. Home Photos In Pics: Asteroid collision? NASA spots a 76-foot asteroid heading for Earth In Pics: Asteroid collision? NASA spots a 76-foot asteroid heading for Earth NASAs Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which is responsible for keeping an eye on Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), has red-flagged this asteroid due to the close proximity with Earth. Will there be an asteroid collision today? Know what NASA said about this asteroid. NASA's Moon to Mars strategy could face revision! Experts want the first crewed mission to another planet to be Venus, not Mars. Although it is called Earth's twin, Venus is anything but. According to NASA, Venus is nearly identical in shape and density to Earth but its atmosphere is toxic and filled with carbon dioxide. Its sulfuric acid-based clouds rain down toxic acid which destroys everything in its path, a stark contrast to Earth's atmosphere where life thrives. But experts still advocate a trip to the neighbouring planet for the first crewed mission to another planet. According to The Guardian, in a report presented at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Paris last week, experts have called for a mission to Venus instead of Mars. Although Mars' conditions are harsh, experts still consider it more viable due to its close proximity to Earth, taking an year to complete a return mission. Dr Noam Izenberg of the Johns Hopkins University applied physics laboratory and one of the proponents of the Venus flyby said as per The Guardian, Venus gets a bad rap because it's got such a difficult surface environment. The current Nasa paradigm is moon-to-Mars. We're trying to make the case for Venus as an additional target on that pathway, he added further, as per the Guardian. Izenberg has advocated for Venus missions previously in 2020 where he stated that a crewed mission to Venus could take place enroute Mars trip. First private mission to Venus Not only Government space agencies, but private space companies are also determined to search for signs of life on other planets. A private space company called Rocket Lab is getting ready to send its spacecraft to Venus next year to search for signs of life. Although more than 30 missions to Venus have already been carried out by space agencies around the globe, this will be the first time a private company is at the forefront of the mission. In 2020, scientists at Cardiff University and MIT University announced they had found signs of life in the clouds of Venus through an indication of Phosphine gas which is usually produced by living organisms. To study this, Rocket Lab will send a mission to Venus in 2023 to search for any other signs of life. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain For nine years, Arnold Marcus had been making a living selling spice grinders on Amazon. His company, Golden Gate Grinders, had several colors available, repeat customers and an invitation to join the Amazon Accelerator program, a path toward becoming a supplier for Amazon's private label. Marcus, 68, would package orders and take customers' calls from his living room in San Francisco, proud that he was involved in every aspect of the business he built. That changed overnight last year when Amazon removed his listings, flagging his products as a violation of company policy prohibiting the sale of drugs and drug paraphernalia. For the uninitiated, a grinder can be used for spices like oregano or rosemary, or for weed. Marcus spent months fighting his ejection from Amazon's online marketplace, to no avail. "There was no indication in all those years that this is a prohibited product," Marcus said this summer. "One day, they were supporting me and then one day it ended." Amazon says its guidelines around drugs and drug paraphernalia are longstanding and state that products can't be primarily designed for making, preparing or using a controlled substance. Grinders that are equipped with features specifically for marijuana-related use are not allowed on the platform. "Third-party sellers are independent businesses and are required to follow all applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies when listing items for sale in our store," a spokesperson said. "We have proactive measures in place to prevent prohibited products from being listed, including drug paraphernalia, and we continuously monitor our store, remove any such products and take corrective actions when we find them." For sellers, the language of the policy is clear but enforcement is ambiguous. In some cases, Amazon has flagged products that have been sold on the platform for years. It has removed some spice grinders, like those that Marcus was selling, while allowing similar products to remain for sale. One grinder that is still on sale includes in its product description that users can "just keep your weed in it until you need it." A search for "spice grinders" on Amazon.com brings up more than 8,000 results. "Spice grinders for cannabis" has over 660. "They've always said there's no drug paraphernalia but there were lots of products that were ambiguous products that were able to sell on the platform for years and years," said Lesley Hensell, co-founder of Riverbend Consulting, which helps third-party sellers on Amazon. For sellers, there was a period of very little enforcement followed by a period of very strict enforcement, leaving them with a lot of questions and a lot of products in their garage, Hensell said. "These guys are talking about unloading stuff at flea markets." Riverbend Consulting started hearing from more sellers about problems listing grinders last year when, Hensell says, Amazon changed the artificial intelligence it used to search for contraband on the site. Now, listings that slipped through the cracks are flagged by the software right away. The cannabis industry is inherently risky, said Chris Shreeve, co-founder and vice president of business development at PrograMetrix, a Seattle-based ad agency with a cannabis and CBD division. Shreeve also co-owns The Bakeree, a dispensary with two locations in Seattle. "We have to play the hand that we're dealt in the cannabis space," he said. "It's a difficult hand, but we've got to do it." Platforms like Google, Meta and Amazon are "tiptoeing around acceptance," Shreeve said, hoping to follow federal rules and keep up with changing guidelines across state lineswhile also finding some way to tap into the roughly $30 billion cannabis industry. Amazon has campaigned for marijuana legalization at the federal level and, in June 2021, announced it would no longer include marijuana in its drug screening program. The tech giants tend to leave gray areas for products that are not "plant facing," like grow lights that can be used for lots of different kinds of plants and grinders that can be used for lots of different kinds of herbs, Shreeve said. That ambiguity has left many companies in the cannabis industry looking for workarounds, Shreeve said. On Google, a company can share information about cannabis but can't sell the product or a related product. So brands will market blog posts about the industry in the hopes potential customers will click through and later make a purchase. Meta allows companies to market topical CBD or hemp products but not anything that users would smoke or chew. So brands will create separate landing pages for different products, hoping again to reach new customers. "Each platform has its own hoops to jump through and red tape to navigate but there are brands that are sidestepping those rules and regulations because of the importance of exposure for the company and the product," Shreeve said. "I don't fault cannabis and CBD brands for trying to navigate the ambiguous rules and regulations on some of these larger platforms," he continued. "But it needs to be done under the assumption that there is risk." Marcus, from Golden Gate Grinders, has spent the past year tweaking his product and the way it appears on the website to respond to Amazon's concerns. His seller account is still active, but his products aren't listed for purchase, meaning he can't bring in any revenue. One Amazon representative suggested his product was removed because he had a mesh screen. He removed the screen, relisted the grinder and watched it get flagged again. Another representative told him the product was taken down because there were keywords related to tobacco. Marcus checked his listing and didn't find any references to tobacco. Yet another representative pinned the blame on specific semicolons and quotation marks. After months of small changes, Marcus scrapped his listing entirely and created a new product: a 2.5-inch silver spice mill without any key words, photos or descriptions. Amazon still flagged and removed the product. "I'm done, there's nothing else I'll do or can do that will change what's going on," Marcus said. "I feel even if I create a Golden Gate Grinders toothbrush, it'll be removed." Many third-party sellers outside the cannabis industry have run into similar problems, reporting that a confusing decisionoften driven by an algorithmhas kicked products off Amazon's platform with little explanation and little room for recourse. Last year, Benton County-based Chukar Cherries was removed suddenly when Amazon's fraud-prevention algorithm inexplicably linked it to another seller in China that had been deactivated for violating company policy. It took 67 days to get the sweets back online. In online forums for third-party sellers, concerns specific to grinders have cropped up again and again. One user posted that they "can't understand why others can sell" but they cannot. Another said it was unclear what triggered it, "but for whatever reason [the] majority of the listings were yanked." Another said Amazon's "one size fits all policy makes sellers lose millions." Before Golden Gate Grinders ran into its own trouble, Marcus had been a vocal supporter of Amazon on these types of forums. He posted that being a third-party seller on Amazon gave him, "a burnt-out software engineer, an old man, an opportunity to recreate himself." Now, he is considering filing for bankruptcy, has had to ask his brother for a loan and has taken on credit card debt. He had been buying inventory to prepare for the moment Amazon relisted his products but, after nearly a year off the platform, he's no longer optimistic he could build his business back up. He's lost customer reviews that are crucial to getting his product on the top of the search results and his competitors have been operating while he's been sidelined. "Even if somebody woke up one morning and said 'Let's let him back on,' that would be very challenging," Marcus said. "I have to start from the beginning. They seriously damaged and hurt my company." At Riverbend Consulting, Hensell has started to tell third-party sellers in the spice grinder business it's probably time to switch markets. "At this point, I don't think anything will work. I think what Amazon has done is working as intended," she said. "They need to find other products to sell or sell it somewhere else. It's not going to happen on Amazon anymore." Explore further Amazon opens the email marketing floodgates to try to boost sales 2022 The Seattle Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A customer waits for service at a Optus phone store in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021. The Australian government said on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, it was considering tougher cybersecurity rules for telecommunications companies after Optus, the nations second-largest wireless carrier, reported personal data of 9.8 million customers had been breached. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Baker, File Australian police were investigating a purported hacker's release of the stolen personal data of 10,000 customers of the nation's second-largest wireless carrier and demand for a $1 million ransom in cryptocurrency, the company's chief executive said Tuesday. The Australian government has blamed lax cybersecurity at Optus for the unprecedented breach last week of the personal data of 9.8 million current and former customers. Jeremy Kirk, a Sydney-based cybersecurity writer, said the purported hacker, who uses the online name Optusdata, had released 10,000 Optus customer records on the dark web and threatened to release another 10,000 every day for the next four days unless Optus pays the ransom. Asked if the hacker had threatened to sell the remaining data if Optus did not pay the $1 million within a week, the company's chief executive, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, told Australian Broadcasting Corp., "We have seen there is a post like that on the dark web." Australian Federal Police said Monday their investigators were working with overseas agencies, including the FBI, to determine who was behind the attack and to help shield the public from identity fraud. Police declined further comment Tuesday as the investigations were ongoing. "They're looking into every possibility and they're using the time available to see if they can track down that particular criminal and verify if they are bona fide," Bayer Rosmarin said. Kirk wrote in his website Bank Info Security that Optusdata later deleted the post along with three samples of the stolen data. Optusdata sent Kirk a link to a new post that withdrew the ransom demand, claimed the stolen data had been deleted and apologized to Optus as well as its customers. "Too many eyes. We will not sale (sic) data to anyone," the post said, adding that Optus had not paid a ransom. Kirk said he asked why Optusdata had changed their mind but received no response. Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk, the national data protection authority, said the latest post "indicates ... this is a very fast-moving incident." "It's a major incident of significant concern for the community. What we need to focus on here is ensuring that all steps are maintained to protect the community's personal information from further risk of harm," Falk said. Web security consultant Troy Hunt suspected the apology had come from the hacker. But he did not accept that the data was now safe. "The question now is what happens next? Will we just hear no more from this individual? Will the data appear in a larger volume tomorrow, next week, possibly years from now?" Hunt said. At least one of the 10,000 Optus customers whose data was released on the dark web Tuesday had received a text message purportedly from the hacker demanding a 2,000 Australian dollar ($1,300) ransom, Nine Network News in Sydney reported. "Your information will be sold and used for fraudulent activity within two days or until a payment of AU$2,000 is made," the text said, including details of an Australian bank account in the name Optusdata. The extortion target, identified only as Belinda and described as a mother of a 5-year-old child with cancer, told Nine, "To be honest, it's just not what we need." "I guess they're just trying to hopefully pressure people into paying," she said. Nine did not report whether she intended to pay. Earlier Tuesday, Kirk said the released personal data appeared to include health care numbers, a form of identification not previously revealed publicly to have been hacked. Cybersecurity Minister Clare O'Neil urged Optus to give priority to informing customers of what information had been taken. "I am incredibly concerned this morning about reports that personal information from the Optus data breach, including Medicare numbers, are now being offered for free and for ransom," O'Neil said. "Medicare numbers were never advised to form part of compromised information from the breach," she added. O'Neil on Monday described the hack as an "unprecedented theft of consumer information in Australian history." Of the 9.8 million people affected, 2.8 million had "significant amounts of personal data," including driver's licenses and passport numbers, breached and are at significant risk of identity theft and fraud, she said. Kirk said he used an online forum for criminals who trade in stolen data to ask Optusdata how the Optus information was accessed. Optus appeared to have left an application programming interface, a piece of software known as an API that allows other systems to communicate and exchange data, open to the public, Kirk said. The Australian Financial Review newspaper said the theory that Optus "left open an API" had been widely reported. Bayer Rosmarin rejected such explanations, but said police had told her not to release details. "It is not the case of having some sort of completely exposed API sitting out there," Bayer Rosmarin said. O'Neil didn't detail how the breach occurred, but described it as a "quite a basic hack." Optus had "effectively left the window open for data of this nature to be stolen," O'Neil said. Explore further Australia mulls tougher cybersecurity laws after data breach 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. In the City of London, security cameras can even be found in cemeteries. In 2021, the mayors office launched an effort to establish guidelines for research around emerging technology. Credit: Acabashi/Wikimedia, CC BY As artificial intelligence grows more ubiquitous, its potential and the challenges it presents are coming increasingly into focus. How we balance the risks and opportunities is shaping up as one of the defining questions of our era. In much the same way that cities have emerged as hubs of innovation in culture, politics, and commerce, so they are defining the frontiers of AI governance. Some examples of how cities have been taking the lead include the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, the Montreal Declaration for Responsible AI, and the Open Dialogue on AI Ethics. Others can be found in San Francisco's ban of facial-recognition technology, and New York City's push for regulating the sale of automated hiring systems and creation of an algorithms management and policy officer. Urban institutes, universities and other educational centers have also been forging ahead with a range of AI ethics initiatives. These efforts point to an emerging paradigm that has been referred to as AI Localism. It's a part of a larger phenomenon often called New Localism, which involves cities taking the lead in regulation and policymaking to develop context-specific approaches to a variety of problems and challenges. We have also seen an increased uptake of city-centric approaches within international law frameworks. In so doing, municipal authorities are filling gaps left by insufficient state, national or global governance frameworks related to AI and other complex issues. Recent years, for example, have seen the emergence of "broadband localism," in which local governments address the digital divide; and "privacy localism," both in response to challenges posed by the increased use of data for law enforcement or recruitment. AI localism encompasses a wide variety of issues, stakeholders, and contexts. In addition to bans on AI-powered facial recognition, local governments and institutions are looking at procurement rules pertaining to AI use by public entities, public registries of local governments' AI systems, and public education programs on AI. But even as initiatives and case studies multiply, we still lack a systematic method to assess their effectivenessor even the very need for them. This limits policymakers' ability to develop appropriate regulation and more generally stunts the growth of the field. Building an AI Localism framework Below are ten principles to help systematize our approach to AI Localism. Considered together, they add up to an incipient framework for implementing and assessing initiatives around the world: AI Localism is an emergent area, and both its practice and research remain in flux. The technology itself continues to change rapidly, offering something of a moving target for governance and regulation. Its state of flux highlights the need for the type of framework outlined above. Rather than playing catch-up, responding reactively to successive waves of technological innovation, policymakers can respond more consistently, and responsibly, from a principled bedrock that takes into account, the often competing needs of various stakeholders. Explore further To build sustainable cities, involve those who live in them This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The Standing Committee of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, will convene its 24th meeting from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. The decision was made Monday at the 78th Chairperson's Council meeting of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, which was presided over by Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee. During the meeting, Wang called for formulating a work plan for studying, publicizing, and implementing the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress in advance and also urged efforts to encourage and support CPPCC members to interpret the guiding principles in different sectors. The meeting heard reports from multiple special committees of the CPPCC National Committee on their work, among other reports. Noting the progress made by the CPPCC National Committee in its democratic oversight over implementing the 14th Five-Year Plan, Wang called for continuous innovation to improve the effectiveness of oversight. Attendees at the meeting deliberated and voted on personnel matters. Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Institutional strengths emerge in China's fight against COVID-19, economic slowdown Xinhua) 08:28, September 27, 2022 * More than two years into the COVID-19 epidemic, China has achieved the best results among major countries in coordinating epidemic control and keeping the economy steady and sound. * The key to China's leading performance in both economic development and COVID-19 containment lies in the institutional strengths of the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country's socialist system. * From newborns to centenarians, people's lives and health have been protected with every possible effort. It was an unswerving choice of China in the face of the epidemic. BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- More than two years into the COVID-19 epidemic, China has achieved the best results among major countries in coordinating epidemic control and keeping the economy steady and sound. China was the only major country whose economy grew in 2020. This year, braving a series of challenges posed by the Omicron outbreak and a worsening global environment, China posted a 2.5 percent year-on-year growth in the first half and is on track for further recovery. Meanwhile, the incidence rate and the death toll of COVID-19 in China have been the lowest among major countries. Aerial photo taken on April 12, 2022 shows a closed makeshift hospital in Jilin City, northeast China's Jilin Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Nan) CREATING SYNERGY The key to China's leading performance in both economic development and COVID-19 containment lies in the institutional strengths of the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country's socialist system. After the outbreak of COVID-19, China mobilized the public to engage in epidemic prevention, allocated resources with high efficiency across the country, and secured much-needed logistics support. Medical workers rose to the challenge. For instance, more than 10,000 medical workers from 19 provincial-level regions rushed to Hainan Province this summer to aid the island's fight against the virus. Thanks to joint efforts, the number of new infections in Hainan has declined since September. Medical workers from south China's Guangdong Province, aiding fight against the COVID-19 for Hainan, test nucleic acid samples in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Aug. 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng) In addition, more than 4 million community workers have worked in 650,000 urban and rural communities across the country since the onset of the epidemic. Millions of ordinary people have volunteered their services, including cleaning and disinfecting public spaces, buying medicines, and delivering groceries. By mobilizing the people extensively, China has built a strong line of defense against the virus. Late at night on Aug. 25, six sets of nucleic acid sampling workstations arrived in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, from east China's Shandong Province. They were immediately put into use in key areas. During the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Xinjiang, many provinces and cities that have pair-up assistance programs with the region have rushed emergency supplies as the country has long been upholding the traditional values of "helping each other" and "helping those in need." PEOPLE-CENTERED PHILOSOPHY On April 30, a 106-year-old patient surnamed Li was cured of COVID-19 and discharged from the hospital after treatment. She was the oldest COVID-19 patient admitted to the hospital in northeast China's Jilin Province. An elderly resident receives a shot of COVID-19 vaccine at home during a medical service for the elder in Dongcheng District of Beijing, capital of China, May 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Chen Zhonghao) From newborns to centenarians, people's lives and health have been protected with every possible effort. It was an unswerving choice of China in the face of the epidemic. Over the past two years, China has constantly adjusted its COVID-19 responses to new situations. Makeshift hospitals were built fast, treatment costs were fully covered by the government, and food supply and prices were stabilized. About 61.8 billion yuan (about 8.8 billion U.S. dollars) from the central government budget has been allocated to support employment and pay endowment insurance for over 16 million urban and rural residents this year. While balancing COVID-19 control and economic growth, China has sought to boost people's sense of gain in the long run. Official data showed that the average life expectancy in the country rose to 78.2 years in 2021, with over 1.36 billion people covered by the basic medical insurance system. Its per capita share of grain, which reached 483 kg last year and remained well above the internationally recognized security line of 400 kg, has provided a solid underpinning for the grain security of the world's most populous country. On the environmental front, it is now the fastest country globally in tackling air pollution, with the number of days with heavy pollution significantly reduced in recent years. The Chinese economy has achieved positive growth in the second quarter, with its major economic indicators firming up across the board since June, demonstrating the resilience of the world's second-largest economy. Visitors tour at the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu) In times full of uncertainties and volatilities, the institutional strengths of the leadership of the CPC and the socialist system remain a fundamental and powerful guarantee in steering the country's development. China must contain the epidemic, stabilize the economy, and keep development secure, according to a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in April. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji) Beijing hosted a fair featuring the Grand Canal culture on Monday and Tuesday in Tongzhou district's "three temples and one tower" scenic spot, which opened to the public on Monday. The fair, hosted by the Tongzhou Grand Canal Cultural and Tourism Scenic Spot, presented cultural products, performances, and snacks, and arranged various activities related to intangible cultural heritage and traditional clothing of the Han Chinese. The scenic spot is one of northern China's largest old building clusters integrating architectural features of three religions, and serves as a vehicle for inheriting the Grand Canal culture, according to a person in charge of the district's culture and tourism bureau. The old buildings here have been renovated and become tourist-friendly. People can also learn about the buildings in immersive experience activities. The fair set up games for tourists, including painting kites, guessing riddles, and taking photos with backdrops of scenes from ancient times. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) on Monday disclosed it's working to gather "crucial evidence" and that it's collaborating with overseas law enforcement authorities following the hack of telecom provider Optus. "Operation Hurricane has been launched to identify the criminals behind the alleged breach and to help shield Australians from identity fraud," the AFP said in a statement. The development comes after Optus, Australia's second-largest wireless carrier, disclosed on September 22, 2022, that it was a victim of a cyberattack. It claimed it "immediately shut down the attack" as soon as it came to light. The threat actor behind the breach also briefly released a sample of 10,200 records from the breach putting those users at heightened risk of fraud in addition to asking for $1 million as part of an extortion demand. The dataset has since been taken down, with the attacker also claiming to have deleted the only copy of the stolen data. Optus, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singtel, is estimated to have over 10 million subscribers as of December 2019. The telco did not reveal when the incident took place. Although Optus has not yet confirmed how many customers may have been impacted by the breach, it said the unauthorized access could have exposed their names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, and, for a subset of customers, addresses, ID document numbers such as driver's license or passport numbers. To make matters worse, information belonging to former customers are also said to have been affected, raising concerns about how long telecom providers should be required to retain such data. Payment details and account passwords, however, have not been compromised. Optus, in its privacy policy, notes that while customers can request to have their personal information deleted, it may not always be able to do so, citing legal obligations. "The Telecommunications Interception and Access Act 1979 (Cth) may require us to hold some of your personal information for a period of time," it says. The company has yet to share more details on how the hack took place, but according to ISMG security journalist Jeremy Kirk, it involved gaining access through an unauthenticated API endpoint "api.www.optus.com[.]au," which appears to have been publicly accessible as early as January 2019. Optus customers are recommended to take steps to secure their online accounts, primarily bank and financial services, as well as monitor them for any suspicious activity and be on the lookout for potential scams and phishing attempts. To mitigate the risk of identity theft, the company further said it's offering its "most affected current and former customers" a free 12-month subscription to credit monitoring and identity protection service Equifax Protect. "Scammers may use your personal information to contact you by phone, text or email," the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said. "Never click on links or provide personal or financial information to someone who contacts you out of the blue." Cybercriminals are continuing to prey on users searching for cracked software by directing them to fraudulent websites hosting weaponized installers that deploy malware called NullMixer on compromised systems. "When a user extracts and executes NullMixer, it drops a number of malware files to the compromised machine," cybersecurity firm Kaspersky said in a Monday report. "It drops a wide variety of malicious binaries to infect the machine with, such as backdoors, bankers, downloaders, spyware, and many others." Besides siphoning users' credentials, address, credit card data, cryptocurrencies, and even Facebook and Amazon account session cookies, what makes NullMixer insidious is its ability to download dozens of trojans at once, significantly widening the scale of the infections. Attack chains typically start when a user attempts to download cracked software from one of the sites, which leads to a password-protected archive that contains an executable file that, for its part, drops and launches a second setup binary designed to deliver an array of malicious files. These malicious websites leverage search engine optimization (SEO) poisoning techniques such as keyword stuffing to feature them highly in search engine results. Similar tactics have been adopted by actors behind GootLoader and SolarMarker campaigns. NullMixer, last month, was linked to the distribution of a rogue Google Chrome extension called FB Stealer, which is capable of Facebook credential theft and search engine substitution. Some of the other prominent malware families distributed by the dropper include DanaBot and a raft of information-stealing malware such as ColdStealer, PseudoManuscrypt, Raccoon Stealer, Redline Stealer, and Vidar. Also deployed using NullMixer are trojan downloaders like FormatLoader, GCleaner, LegionLoader (aka Satacom), LgoogLoader, PrivateLoader, SgnitLoader, ShortLoader, and SmokeLoader, as well as the C-Joker cryptocurrency wallet stealer. Kaspersky said it blocked attempts to infect more than 47,778 victims worldwide, with a majority of the users located in Brazil, India, Russia, Italy, Germany, France, Egypt, Turkey, and the U.S. The threat actor operating NullMixer has not been attributed to a known group. The latest findings are yet another indication that malware and unwanted applications are being increasingly propagated via pirated software. It's also recommended to check online accounts regularly for unknown transactions. "Any download of files from untrustworthy resources is a real game of roulette: you never know when it will fire, and which threat you will get this time," Kaspersky researcher Haim Zigel said. "Receiving NullMixer, users get several threats at once." The infamous Lazarus Group has continued its pattern of leveraging unsolicited job opportunities to deploy malware targeting Apple's macOS operating system. In the latest variant of the campaign observed by cybersecurity company SentinelOne last week, decoy documents advertising positions for the Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange firm Crypto[.]com have been used to mount the attacks. The latest disclosure builds on previous findings from Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET in August, which delved into a similar phony job posting for the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange platform. Both these fake job advertisements are just the latest in a series of attacks dubbed Operation In(ter)ception, which, in turn, is a constituent of a broader campaign tracked under the name Operation Dream Job. Although the exact distribution vector for the malware remains unknown, it's suspected that potential targets are singled out via direct messages on the business networking site LinkedIn. The intrusions commence with the deployment of a Mach-O binary, a dropper that launches the decoy PDF document containing the job listings at Crypto.com, while, in the background, it deletes the Terminal's saved state ("com.apple.Terminal.savedState"). The downloader, also similar to the safarifontagent library employed in the Coinbase attack chain, subsequently acts as a conduit for a bare-bones second-stage bundle named "WifiAnalyticsServ.app," which is a copycat version of "FinderFontsUpdater.app." "The main purpose of the second-stage is to extract and execute the third-stage binary, wifianalyticsagent," SentinelOne researchers Dinesh Devadoss and Phil Stokes said. "This functions as a downloader from a [command-and-control] server." The final payload delivered to the compromised machine is unknown owing to the fact that the C2 server responsible for hosting the malware is currently offline. These attacks are not isolated, for the Lazarus Group has a history of carrying out cyber-assaults on blockchain and cryptocurrency platforms as a sanctions-evading mechanism, enabling the adversaries to gain unauthorized access to enterprise networks and steal digital funds. "The threat actors have made no effort to encrypt or obfuscate any of the binaries, possibly indicating short-term campaigns and/or little fear of detection by their targets," the researchers said. The Ukrainian government on Monday warned of "massive cyberattacks" by Russia targeting critical infrastructure facilities located in the country and that of its allies. The attacks are said to be targeting the energy sector, the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR) said. "By the cyberattacks, the enemy will try to increase the effect of missile strikes on electricity supply facilities, primarily in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine," the agency said in a brief advisory. GUR also cautioned of intensified distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks aimed at the critical infrastructure of Ukraine's closest allies, chiefly Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It's not immediately clear what prompted the intelligence agency to issue the notice, but Ukraine has been at the receiving end of disruptive and destructive cyberattacks since the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian war earlier this February. Even prior to that, a Russian state-sponsored group tracked as Sandworm (aka Voodoo Bear) orchestrated the 2015 and 2016 targeting of the Ukrainian power grids, causing over 225,000 Ukrainians to lose electricity during the month of December. While the first attack involved the use of a revamped variant of a malware called BlackEnergy, the December 2016 intrusions notably made use of a custom malware known as Industroyer (aka CrashOverRide) that's specifically designed to sabotage critical infra systems. In the aftermath of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-UA) disclosed in April that it had fielded an attack targeting an unnamed energy provider that utilized an updated version of the Industroyer malware. Sandworm, for its part, has been most recently observed masquerading as Ukrainian telecom operators such as Datagroup and EuroTransTelecom to deliver payloads like Colibri loader and Warzone RAT. Microsoft, in June, also notified of rising Russian cyberattacks, stating that threat actors were not only going after government systems, but also prioritizing other sectors as part of its espionage efforts, including think tanks, IT firms, and energy companies. Upcoming EventsSept. 29: Webinar-Breaking Down Anxiety: Tools for living a less anxious life, 1-2 p.m., https://cvent.me/DWlYaO Sept. 30: Farm Energy Management: Strategies to save on energy charges, 11 a.m., RSVP: https://go.unl.edu/v3xw Oct. 5: Beef Quality Assurance & Transport Training, 10 a.m.-Noon, Fairgrounds, Geneva, RSVP: https://bqa.unl.edu/training-events Oct.7: Farm Energy Management: Strategies to save on demand charges, 11 a.m., RSVP: https://go.unl.edu/v3xw Oct. 14: Farm Energy Management: Strategies to save on power factor charges, 11 a.m., RSVP: https://go.unl.edu/v3xw Oct. 19: Crop Insurance Workshop, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (Reg. 8 a.m.), Heartland Event Center, Grand Island, https://cvent.me/R5qeL3 Atrazine Comment PeriodIm blessed to work with both conventional and organic farmers and learn from them on various tools used in their operations to combat pests. For conventional farmers, one tool thats been available for over 60 years is atrazine, which is used for weed control on over 2/3 of U.S. corn and sorghum acres. In listening to farmers, this latest atrazine comment period has been confusing, because EPA just re-registered atrazine for use in Sept. 2020 and confirmed the decision to use 15 parts per billion (ppb) aquatic level of concern. This level was based on a large amount of peer-reviewed scientific research and documentation which were in consensus that that 15 ppb level of concern was considered safe for aquatic environments. The confusing part to those who were sharing was why this change if it was recently re-registered?. In Aug. 2021, EPA reopened the decision in response to a court case and published proposed revisions in 2022 which would lower the aquatic level of concern to 3.4 ppb. Re-opening a previously confirmed decision in such a short time-frame doesnt typically occur. The proposed 3.4 ppb level of concern also doesnt agree with the large body of scientific evidence that was reviewed to make the 2020 decision. It calls into question the scientific validity of this proposed ruling. In the proposed ruling, in order to apply atrazine, mitigation strategies would need adopting by farmers based on land quality. Some of these listed include: No pre-emergence applications; Atrazine application prohibited when soils are saturated; Atrazine application prohibited when rain is forecasted during application or for 48 hours after application; Aerial application prohibited; Application rate reduced to 2.0 lbs of atrazine on sorghum, field corn and sweet corn in a year; Inclusion of a picklist to mitigate runoff and leaching based on factors of the field (soil, crop, slope, weather, etc.) and predicted atrazine contamination in watershed field is located in; and Record-keeping requirements. The docket of EPAs proposed revisions is available on Regulations.gov. The public comment period to these proposed revisions ends on October 7, 2022. The public comment period allows for anyone to provide their feedback on the changes to inform the EPA of knowledge gaps, considerations or concerns that the public would like addressed. The following are some suggestions before making any public comments on any topics one feels strongly about: Define your objectives for the comment at the beginning; Use specific situations to strengthen your points; Include positive and negative feedback; Use precise and respectful language to state your concerns, identified gaps of knowledge, or additional considerations; Avoid grammatical errors and spelling errors; Include scientific data when applicable; Avoid opinions or undocumented observations; Use an active voice, not passive; Include solutions or specific changes to the language of the docket; Read the docket fully before writing a comment; and Avoid wordy sentences or dense text blocks. National Corn Growers Association has a prewritten template that can be viewed on its website, and for those who wish to submit a comment through the group, see the following site: https://ncga.com/take-action/become-an-advocate/take-action. Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) and BQA transport training will be held Oct. 5th from 10 a.m.-Noon at the Fairgrounds in Geneva. You can RSVP at https://bqa.unl.edu/training-events. Crop Insurance Workshop will be held Oct. 19 at the Heartland Event Center in Grand Island. Register at: https://cvent.me/R5qeL3 or 402-472-4923. Central Nebraska Regenerative Ag Conference featuring Gabe Brown will be held Nov. 18 at the Tassel Performing Arts Center in Holdrege, NE from 1-4:30 p.m. Pre-register at: 308-995-8133. Dr. Kohl will be at Farmers and Ranchers College in Bruning at the Opera House on Dec. 8th. Data Privacy & Law Federal Appeals Court Ruling Means Class-Action Suits Over Data Breaches No Longer Require Proof of Actual Harm The Requirements are Loosening for an Organization to be Held Legally and Financially Liable for Stolen Private Data, Cybersecurity Attorney Explains As ransomware attacks targeting the education sector grab more headlines every week, a new ruling from a federal appeals court has further lowered the bar for people whose data is breached and leaked on the dark web to sue the organizations where the data was compromised. The ruling from U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit means that the requirement for a data breach plaintiff to have suffered actual or imminent harm is shifting along with the fast-changing landscape of cybersecurity and data privacy, said attorney Harris S. Freier, partner at Genova Burns and head of the firms Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice. Freier, whose litigation specialties include employment and trade secret cases as well as data privacy law, wrote about the Third Circuit decision and spoke with THE Journal about its potential impacts in the education sector. Earlier this month, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel unanimously reinstated a putative class-action suit against a company that suffered a ransomware attack, leading to her sensitive information being released onto the dark web. Lead plaintiff Jennifer Clemens, a former employee of ExecuPharm based in Massachusetts, sued after the company experienced a ransomware attack and the data stored on its servers was published on the dark web, according to court documents. Notably, Clemens did not suffer identity theft following the breach. After the company notified employees of the breach, Clemens took swift action by reviewing her financial records and credit reports, switching banks and purchasing credit monitoring services, according to court documents summarized by Freier. In February 2021, the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed her case for lack of standing, due to the speculative nature of the injuries to the employees. But the decision issued on Sept. 2, 2022, by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the dismissal and remanded the case for consideration on the merits giving the potential class of plaintiffs a new chance for relief and putting organizations that store PII data on notice, Freier told THE Journal.. The nature of the cyberattack targeting the company is spelled out in the appellate court ruling: A hacking group known as CLOP accessed ExecuPharms servers through a phishing attack in March 2020, stealing sensitive information pertaining to current and former employees, including Clemens. Specifically, the stolen information contained Social Security numbers, dates of birth, full names, home addresses, taxpayer identification numbers, banking information, credit card numbers, drivers license numbers, sensitive tax forms, and passport numbers. In addition to exfiltrating the data, CLOP installed malware to encrypt the data stored on ExecuPharms servers. Then, CLOP held the decryption tools for ransom, threatening to release the information if ExecuPharm did not pay the ransom. Either because ExecuPharm refused to pay or for nefarious reasons unknown, the hackers made good on their threat and posted the data on underground websites located on the dark web. Clemens sued under the Class Action Fairness Act, with claims for negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of confidence. The Third Court Court of Appeals clarified that an injury can be imminent in order to qualify for standing, and does not need to have actually taken place at the time of suit being filed. Based on precedent in recent data breaches, the Court of Appeals determined that the substantial risk of future injury qualifies for standing based on imminence, especially in the event of an intentional, targeted attack by a hacking group, Freier wrote in his case analysis. The Court followed the trend of other jurisdictions, which found that actual misuse of the data is not necessarily required in this context, Freier wrote. Finally, to conclude its analysis for standing, the Court also determined that an intangible injury, such as the injury in question, can count as sufficiently concrete. The emotional distress that a victim of a data breach experiences is sufficient. Direct Correlation to Ransomware Attacks in Education The primary factors cited by the Appeals Court decision were whether the data breach was an intentional act by threat actors, and whether the data was misused though it noted misuse is not necessarily required. The types of data included in this breach, such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, and names, are more likely to create a risk of identity theft or fraud, the court said. While most of the publicly disclosed ransomware attacks targeting K12 schools and ed tech providers over the past year have not according to the targeted organizations official notification letters included Social Security numbers of students, many have included every type of PII of staff members. For example, dark web data leak site of one ransomware group known to be targeting education, Vice Society, was viewed last week by THE Journal; the group since Jan. 1 has published extensive data files from nine U.S. school districts. One districts files included a clearly labeled PDF of every employee W-2 statement going back over a decade, with all the personal information on every employee included and accessible for bad actors to download and misuse. From a public policy perspective, the Court of Appeals warned of uniquely drastic consequences of failing to uphold information security agreements in the digital age. Because we can reasonably assume that many of those who visit the dark web, and especially those who seek out and access CLOPs posts, do so with nefarious intent, it follows that Clemens faces a substantial risk of identity theft or fraud by virtue of her personal information being made available on underground websites, the Appeals Court judges said in their decision. This set of facts clearly presents a more imminent injury than the ones we deemed to establish only a hypothetical injury in previous decisions in data-breach lawsuits. Freier told THE Journal that organizations including ed tech providers and public schools serving minors should take all possible precautions to protect private data stored within their systems, as the possibility of being held financially liable after a data breach is growing. President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia's economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The United States generally imports about 100,000 barrels a day from Russia, only about 5% of Russia's crude oil exports, according to Rystad Energy. Last year, roughly 8% of U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products came from Russia. Gas prices have been rising for weeks due to the conflict and in anticipation of potential sanctions on the Russian energy sector. The U.S. national average for a gallon of gasoline soared 45 cents a gallon in the past week and topped $4.06 on Monday, according to auto club AAA. Should the US ban Russian oil imports over Ukraine war? You voted: Convicting criminals and exonerating the innocent are among the goals of a unique partnership between the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety and Claflin University. Together they operate the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety at Claflin University forensic services laboratory. They held an official opening of the accredited lab on Monday. Im very encouraged by today and what we have to offer, ODPS Director Charles Austin Sr. said. Oftentimes when something like this happens, we think about identifying and prosecuting those who are guilty, but it will also work in the other direction, Austin said. The lab received FBI accreditation in recent months. On Monday, ODPS and Claflin celebrated the labs official opening since that accreditation. Much of the work weve done in the past, weve had to send some to SLED for their assistance, Austin said, referring to the S.C. Law Enforcement Division. Austin hopes to expand the labs reach. We hope this will serve as a relief and hope we can do much of our work locally and be able to assist other agencies with processing their cases, he said. Were looking forward to regionalizing this operation so well be able to provide service for municipalities and other agencies through the Bamberg County, Barnwell County, Calhoun County areas, as well as municipalities in Orangeburg County, Austin said. The lab conducts DNA and fingerprint analyses, among other responsibilities. Claflin University President Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack said the partnership between the school and ODPS is historic. Its the only forensics lab in the U.S. jointly run by an HBCU and a law enforcement agency, he said. Were excited to be pioneers, Warmack said. Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler praised the public-private effort for the efficiency and effectiveness in the criminal justice system, which makes a positive impact on the local communitys quality of life. The labs DNA technical leader, who also works as a forensic analyst, Amanda Webb, gave a tour of the lab. She explained that once a DNA profile is developed in the lab, it can be placed in a national database to compare against other known DNA profiles in hopes of identifying the one developed in the lab. Webb said the lab then sends it to SLED to conduct an independent comparison, which usually takes a couple of weeks. Then the lab runs the information again to be sure its getting consistent results. The whole process usually takes a month or two, she said. Claflin University students have opportunities for internships at the lab. Orangeburg native Nhandhi Edmond, a junior at Claflin, is pursuing a degree in biochemistry. She began working as a lab intern in February 2021. Austin said student internships are encouraged both at the lab and ODPS. He noted that last semester, two Claflin students interned at ODPS. Hes since hired one of them, he said. In 2004, Orangeburg and Claflin University forged the partnership to improve forensic laboratory services in the hope of reducing crime in the area. Officials recognized that forensic evidence was not being processed quickly enough, causing a backlog of cases. Members of the states congressional delegation secured much of the funding for the full-service forensics lab at Claflin. More than $1 million was spent to renovate existing space and buy equipment for the state-of-the-art facility. The lab is located at 898 Goff Avenue in Orangeburg. The remnants of Hurricane Ian are forecast to bring heavy rain, flooding, tropical storm-force winds and the possibility of isolated tornadoes to The T&D Region by the end of this week. The message to get across today is for everyone to have a plan, Orangeburg County Emergency Services Director Billy Staley said. There is a lot of uncertainty in the track forecast. There is an increased potential for us to have heavy rainfall with isolated to widespread flooding, depending on how much rainfall and how quickly it falls, Staley said. We want to make sure everyone does not let their guard down and watch the forecasts over the next couple of days. This is a very dynamic and changing storm and a very difficult one to forecast. A high pressure system in the Great Lakes region and Ian to the south will create a tight pressure gradient, causing gusty winds Thursday ahead of the arrival of Ian. Orangeburg could begin seeing gusty winds from Ian shortly after midnight Thursday. Sustained winds are forecast to be in the 20 mph range, but Staley said there will be an increased risk of tornadoes Friday and Saturday. Winds will continue to gust into the 30 mph range through Friday night. A slight lull is forecast for Saturday morning before picking up again Saturday afternoon with possible gusts reaching 40 mph. The height of the storm is forecast to be in the Orangeburg area from 8 a.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday, according to the Monday afternoon track. According to Monday's early afternoon track, there is a 20 percent to 40 percent chance The T&D Region will see tropical storm-force wind gusts of 39 mph or higher. Hurricane-strength winds are not currently forecast for the area. According to the Orangeburg forecast, there is a 20 percent chance of showers on Thursday, increasing to about 50 percent Thursday night. Theres about a 60 to 70 percent chance of rain Friday and Friday night, with some storms potentially producing heavy rainfall. The chance of rain declines on Saturday to 60 percent. Breezy conditions will remain through Saturday night. The T&D Region could see a total of three to four inches of rain. As of Monday afternoon, there were no closings or plans to open shelters, Staley said. Orangeburgs Department of Public Utilities is monitoring the storm. It appears, from what we are seeing, that our biggest threat will be rainfall, DPU spokesman Randy Etters said. Early Monday afternoon, Ian was packing hurricane-strength winds and moving toward the Gulf of Mexico. Ian is forecast to reach 120 mph or Category 3 strength as it nears Floridas west coast. Its then forecast to weaken to a Category 1 or 2 hurricane before making landfall near the Big Bend area of Florida. The storm is forecast to move into Georgia and become a tropical depression by Saturday morning. The state-owned utility Santee Cooper announced Monday it went to Operating Condition 4 alert status. Santee Cooper provides power to Bamberg. The status means there is a possible threat to Santee Coopers electric system, but effects may be limited or uncertain. At OpCon 4, the utility is primarily checking and fueling vehicles, making sure communications equipment is in proper working order and taking inventory and procuring supplies as needed. The South Carolina Emergency Management Division encouraged residents to continue to monitor Ian via local news media and follow updates from the National Hurricane Center. The SCEMD is encouraging people in potentially vulnerable areas to review their plans and consider actions they will need to take if the storm threatens the state. Much of what South Carolina experiences will depend on where and when Hurricane Ian makes landfall, SCEMD Director Kim Stenson said, While we are not expecting the full force of a hurricane-strength storm, everyone in South Carolina, from the Upstate to the Midlands, the Pee Dee and the Lowcountry should be prepared to take personal safety precautions if advised to do so by your local emergency managers. SCEMD has several resources available to help people prepare for storms, including the states online, interactive hurricane guide at hurricane.sc. Also, the S.C. Emergency Manager app is available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play. Bamberg County School Districts superintendent says the community is making history with the consolidation of its two former school districts. Were excited to be a consolidated district, Dr. Dottie Brown said. Were living history right now. Its a very historical moment. Bringing two towns thats six miles apart together, equalizing the services that we provide our students and giving more opportunities to students is our goal, she said. Bamberg Countys public schools kicked off their first year as part of a consolidated district in August. The new, countywide district has 1,793 students enrolled in Bamberg and Denmark in grades 3K-12. Brown is proud of the overall progress of consolidation. My staff has worked extremely hard to make this consolidation successful and to avoid pitfalls that other districts might have experienced in consolidation. They've worked hard to consolidate our computer and technology systems, financial systems, pupil database systems, operations systems and policies and procedures, Brown said. I'm proud of that. I think we've made great progress in a short amount of time, but we continue to work on policies and procedures. I think we have three more sets of policies to go through, and then we'll have a completely new set of newly adopted policies for our consolidated district, she said. Our board has done a great job with forming a subcommittee and staying on top of that to get us functioning under board-approved policies as quickly as possible. The former Bamberg County School District 1 and 2 boards were dissolved and a new nine-member board was created to oversee the consolidated district. The new board includes members from each of the former boards. The board chairpersons of the former BSD1 and BSD2, Janeth Walker and Beverly Bonaparte, are both members of the new, consolidated board. Walker serves as chairperson of the new board, with Bonaparte serving as vice chairperson. Other members include: Tonie A. Holman, secretary, and trustees Harriet H. Coker, Naomi Eckels, John L. Hiers, Cynthia F. Hurst, Blossom J. Thompson and Gwendolyn D. Bamberg. The board meets at 6 p.m. the first Monday of every month in the board room of the district office located at 62 Holly Ave. in Denmark. Brown said her goals include tackling the districts teacher shortage and bolstering student achievement amid academic slides brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Were facing a national and a statewide teacher shortage. It's no different in our district. We are short some teachers. I think it's about 10 to 12 altogether between the two towns that remain, and that includes fine arts teachers, she said. The superintendent continued, We've increased our recruiting strategies. We've developed recruiting teams that are going out to job fairs. We've held one, and we'll soon hold another recruiting fair ourselves for not just certified teachers, but also bus drivers. The state's encouraging us, and we are trying to grow from within. That's aides, shadows, support personnel who have college degrees that are interested in becoming certified teachers. We're helping them through that process. Brown said financial incentives are also being used to recruit teachers. We're offering a sign-on bonus for staff willing to come work for us, but I think being a little more aggressive in our recruiting is our goal right now, she said. Her other concern is student achievement. Weve starting to see some growth again since COVID, but we have experienced that COVID slide. Were always focused on student achievement. So that remains a concern, Brown said. Finances The district approved its balanced 2022-2023 budget totaling $20.5 million earlier this year. The budget includes $6.6 million in total revenue from local sources and $13.9 million in total revenue from state sources. The school district is supported by a millage rate of 284 mills for operations and 109 mills for debt service, varying only slightly from the millage rates supporting the former BSD1 and BSD2. Thats absolutely awesome. I know that was one of the first and foremost fears of our community: How will the consolidation affect our taxes? Brown said. She said the school board and Chief Financial Officer Devon Furr have worked closely with state legislators, including Rep. Justin Bamberg, D-Bamberg, and Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, to make sure millage rates were not increased at exorbitant levels. Weve all worked, especially Ms. Furr, with the state Department Revenue, our county auditor. The partnerships weve formed with all of these individuals and the collaboration has helped with that, and its also in our (consolidation) legislation, Brown said. Furr said, Our legislation states that until 2027, the district cannot set its own millage. So the Department of Revenue sets our millage as a new, consolidated district, and they will until 2027. They issued a letter to myself and the county auditor with what our millage will be for this fiscal year, and they will do that every year until at such time that we are able to take over our millage. Bamberg said he is working to reduce the debt the newly consolidated district has incurred, including bonds issued to build Richard Carroll Elementary School and renovate Bamberg-Ehrhardt High and Middle schools in BSD1 and a new BSD2 pre-K-12 school. He has said the outstanding bond debt totals at least $50 million, with millions having already been secured in the effort to reduce bond debt, including approximately $8 million from the state Department of Education and $5 million from $525 million the state received from a Savannah River Site settlement. The settlement followed a years-long legal battle between South Carolina and the U.S. Department of Energy over the removal and long-term storage of plutonium at the SRS. I am continuing to work on funding to offset the debt the prior school districts and, in turn, the citizens had to incur because of the need for new school buildings. Im hopeful to have additional money steered our way in the coming year on top of what I already got us, Bamberg said. Brown said the goal is to keep millage as low as possible in the district and that any possible increase in millage will be dictated by our needs at that time. Partnerships Brown said the consolidation process has been made easier with the districts formulation of several partnerships within the community and beyond. Its phenomenal how we have worked together to achieve this and continue to work together every day to make it work. Consolidation is hard work. I have staff that was working seven days a week, 14- and 15-hour days for months on end to make this a success, she said. The superintendent continued, Our parents have come together to support our schools, and our communities are supporting our schools. We have probably more partnerships now with community businesses, our area colleges and our neighboring school districts than weve ever had before. Brown said a partnership, for example, has been formed with Denmark Technical College. She said she became interim superintendent at the same time Denmark Technical College President Dr. Willie L. Todd Jr. became leader of the college, with the two meeting shortly afterward. Todd wanted to know, How can I serve the district more? How can we provide Denmark Technical College as a resource to students and have them access the programs? In the course of two years, Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School went from having zero kids attending Denmark Tech to now having over 100, Brown said. Brown said she seeks to be an active superintendent who will work to fulfill the districts mission to educate and empower every student to reach their greatest potential by creating safe, supportive and inclusive learning environments. I love the kids. Im not a superintendent to stay behind a desk. I like for the students to know who I am, Brown said. BEIRUT Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri set a session to elect a new president for Thursday at 11 a.m., a Parliament spokesperson told LOrient Today. The session was scheduled despite there being no consensus yet on a candidate, though negotiations are underway. Among these discussions, the 13 Forces of Change MPs have met with all parliamentary blocs in an effort to agree on presidential candidates. But no names have been leaked so far. The MPs had threatened to take to the streets if a president is not elected by Oct. 21, 10 days before the constitutional deadline to do so. For his part, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said earlier this month he was open to a consensus on a name "far from the political vetoes." Two of his allies, Sleiman Frangieh, leader of the Marada movement, and Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, are considered by observers to be "natural" candidates, due to their status as Maronite leaders. Opposite Frangieh and Bassil is Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, who is also considered a "natural" candidate for the position. Various other figures have officially announced their candidacy, including economist Ziad Hayek, former ambassador Tracy Chamoun, and Lebanese-American writer and development expert May Rihani. Army commander-in-chief General Joseph Aoun's name has also been the subject of discussion, though his candidacy would require a constitutional amendment, as military officers must be retired or have officially resigned from office six months before an election. According to the constitution, specifically Article 49, the president is elected by Parliament. The president may be chosen in the first round of voting if they gather the support of two-thirds of MPs (86 out of the current 128), as the constitution encourages consensus. If not, the president can be elected in the subsequent rounds with an absolute majority of 65 votes. Though the president has always been a Maronite Christian with one exception in the 1920s and 30s the constitution does not state that the position is reserved for a specific religious group. Rather, this precedent was reached via an informal agreement known as the National Pact in 1943. Under the agreement, the president is a Maronite, the prime mister a Sunni and the parliament speaker a Shiite. The international community has for several weeks been pressing for the election of a new president, in parallel with the numerous reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund to release financial aid. Berri said at the end of July that he would not "convene a session to elect a president of the republic until the reform laws requested by the International Monetary Fund are adopted. Parliament approved the 2022 budget one of the reforms Lebanon must enact in order to receive an IMF aid package with a 63-vote majority Monday night. Observers have feared a total political vacancy at the executive level if a new president is not elected by the constitutionally set Oct. 31 deadline, as a new cabinet has also not been formed since parliamentary elections in May. Instead, the previous cabinet has been serving in a caretaker capacity in the meantime. The latest STATEC report provides a close-up of wages in Luxembourg and reveals that, on average, households live on just over 5,700 per month. According to the report from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (STATEC), the average monthly household income was 5,716 in 2020 (the latest year for which data is available). This amount corresponds to the net amount left after taxes and social contributions. On an individual basis, the average monthly salary was 3,641. The average rate is this elevated due to the higher income generated by the best-paid employees in the country. However, the median salary available (half of the population earns more, the other half earns less) is lower. In 2020, STATEC estimated the median salary to be 4,897 per household, or 3,154 per individual. Based on these numbers, STATEC calculated the poverty threshold for the Grand Duchy at 1,982. According to the Institute's estimations, 17.4% of the population were affected by poverty. Students are suffering from the energy crisis and high inflation, the Association of Luxembourg Student Organisations (ACEL) said during its annual press conference following the start of the new academic year. The unfolding energy crisis is a major concern for the ACEL since many students live abroad and cannot directly benefit from Luxembourg's support measures. The Association is therefore in contact with the Ministry for Higher Education and Research to set up additional financial support, as is already being awarded to German students. Like many other organisations, ACEL members expressed satisfaction over the fact that most of the pandemic restrictions have disappeared and once again allow for a more normal student life to take place. In the last months, ACEL representatives visited 16 secondary schools in the Grand Duchy to provide information about university life. 370 pupils participated in the 'Student for One Day' initiative. At the end of October, the Association will also be present at the annual student fair in Belval. ACEL vice president Cedric Heintz further addressed the country's internship law and explained that it is not always being applied as it should: "We heard from students that they were not paid during their internships although this is regulated by law. We also heard that students at the University of Luxembourg were not able to find internships here in the country. Whether this has to do with the fact that they have to be paid is hard to assess." The 37th European Meeting of Luxembourgish Students will take place in Heidelberg and Karlsruhe from 29 September to 2 October this year. The focus of this year's edition will be the value of master degrees. Video report in Luxembourgish Luxair CEO Gilles Feith was positive about the future of the airline after Monday's tripartite meeting, and took the time to address poor working conditions in an interview with RTL. During Monday's tripartite meeting between the government, Luxair leadership and unions, it was agreed that the national airline company requires urgent modernisation. Several decisions were taken during the negotiations: partial unemployment will be abandoned, the redundancy programme left to expire, and wages no longer be frozen as of next year. 44 eligible employees can continue benefiting from early retirement. The talks took place against the backdrop of demonstrations in the capital. While "baseless rumours" of Feith's imminent departure circulated last week, he's been given the task to "clean up" the company. Feith underlined that he does his work with "lots of love of motivation", and that he does not understand the rumours reported in the media. Nevertheless, the airline is struggling with the current state of affairs. Aviation is a liberal sector, Feith explained. Keeping Luxair afloat with state support or taxpayer money would not work; the business, and its investments, must run independently. Regarding criticism of poor working conditions at the airline, Feith argued they must be placed in context. "Management" and "lots of motivated people" had the energy and drive to get the airline back in the air post-pandemic. Despite significant competition from other sectors, the airline still has attractive working offers. It is true that many employees left the airline, but simultaneously many new talents are being hired, the CEO said. He did however concede that summers were characterised by a heavy workload and that the absence rate was high. However, "fatigue" were dominant across the aviation sector, according to Feith. Feith was furthermore very positive about having former public prosecutor Robert Biever as mediator in the tripartite meeting. But Feith said he cannot take the blame for not getting along with personnel on a human level: "You can't do everything alone". The company of 3,000 people has a management team of 4-5 people on his side, it requires a team effort. "We have big challenges that must be addressed now", Feith said. "Luxair should have invested in new aircraft and infrastructure prior to the pandemic. Now the pandemic is over, we've lost a lot of investment capacity, and now the energy crisis is really difficult. But we have not passed on the extra costs to customers." "We need to find ways to continue flying economically, but flying will not become cheaper." Interview in Luxembourgish Assuroomz was started to help small as well as medium-sized hotels in growing their business Digitally as home stay, lodgings, and so on in terms of online booking. Along with that, the firm also provides its own user-friendly hotel management software that takes care of fully automated property management, revenue management channel & reputation management, and so on. While initially, not many hotels were opting for the software, the demand has seen exponential growth with many small hotels starting to use the software mostly after the pandemic.Coming to the product, Assuroomz provides an easy-to-use, SaaS-based revenue management software to the firms. The cloud based RMS software uses AI to automate the dynamic pricing system. Based on many factors such as city demand, booking ratio during festivities, number of allotments in the hotel, previous booking history of the hotel as well as hotel's popularity, and so on, the software increases/decreases the booking price dynamically. Based on the occupancy percentage, the RMS software gradually decreases the price over a day, which helps hotels get maximum online bookings including last minute bookings at the optimal price.Apart from day-to-day revenue management, the software also takes care of distribution, fore casting, Segment Strategies, Yielding, Group Quotations, and Fair & High Demand Period Strategies, and also provide fast analysis report based on user requirement. The variety of features provided by the RMS software is Dynamic Pricing, Channel Manager, Property Management System, Internet Booking Engine, OneClick Website, Reviews Management, Competitor Pricing Service, Analytics, Bulk Update, OTA Content, and so on. In terms of the onboarding process, it usually takes two to three days for RMS providers to onboard a client. However, once all the data, as well as checklists, are provided, Assuroomz onboard its clients just within one or two hours.Coming to the future roadmap, while Assuroomz has a strong client base around Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Kerala, the firm is planning to expand its business to Karnataka as well as Andhra Pradesh and eventually throughout the country. People filled the room. Students, parents, librarians, teachers, professors, counselors, psychologists. They sat in every one of the roughly 40 seats. Some stood against the back wall. Others watched the meeting from adjacent overflow rooms. Many of the people who came wore buttons from the Wyoming Library Association illustrated with a rainbow and the phrase Freedom to readem. A line of attendees stood to the side of the room, waiting to tell the Natrona County School Board why they thought the school district should keep two books that some wanted banned from their school libraries. The two books under question are Gender Queer, a graphic novel memoir by Maia Kobabe that explores the authors gender identity and sexuality, and Trans Bodies, Trans Selves, a textbook-like resource guide for transgender individuals by Laura Erickson-Schroth. The books are in the Kelly Walsh High School library. Following a formal request filed to the school district by community members wanting to see the books banned from the libraries, the committee tasked with reviewing the books decided Sept. 1 that they should stay at the school. That prompted a group of parents and other community members to speak against the decision at the last school board meeting on Sept. 12. On Friday, Casper PRIDE posted a Facebook message encouraging community members to show up and speak in support of the committees decision at Mondays school board meeting. The committee has 30 days to formally release a written report to Associate Superintendent Walt Wilcox on the decision to keep the books. After that, the school board could potentially take further action around the matter if an appeal to the committees decision is received, according to the school districts spokesperson Tanya Southerland. If there is no appeal, then the decision of the committee stands. Acknowledging the humanity of LGBTQ students by having them represented in libraries affirms their dignity as human beings, Tanis Lovercheck-Saunders, a Casper College history professor and parent of an LGBTQ person, told trustees. Alexis Worthen, a Natrona County High School senior and member of the schools Gay-Straight Alliance club, told trustees she had to stay home for two days following death threats targeting her LGBTQ identity. I am not alone in this, she said. There are so many children out there who dont see themselves represented in the media. Psychologists and counselors echoed the message that representation of the LGBTQ community matters. The two most powerful words in the dictionary are, Me too, Christy Jindrick-Tholl, a private-practice counselor, said. Archie Pettry, another counselor, told trustees that hes lost count the number of children who felt ostracized, victimized and negated because they didnt know about what it was to be trans or any of these questions. I really doubt that either of these books are going to negatively harm any children, but they could positively help hundreds, he said. Charlie Powell, a former school board member, Casper mayor and a psychologist who works with trans adults, said hes seen his clients struggle with employment and rejection, with isolation and discouragement. He said every one of them told him they thought they were the only ones living through their experience. And they just said, I wish someone could have told me that I wasnt the only one. Parents first brought up their concerns about certain LGBTQ books to the school board in December. Following the meeting, they filed a formal request to challenge the books. A seven-person committee was then appointed to review the request based on the districts guidelines. Natrona County School District isnt the only place in Wyoming that has run into contention over certain LGBTQ+ books. Parents in Laramie County School District No. 1 targeted several LGBTQ-related books. (District officials said they didnt plan to remove them.) In Campbell County, community members filed complaints with the public library about more than 30 books concerning LGBTQ topics. A group associated with the Wyoming chapter of the conservative anti-LGBTQ group MassResistance started protesting at board meetings and outside the library over the books. These incidents reflect increasing nationwide movements to rid schools of certain books. A report by PEN America found that there were 2,532 instances of individuals books being banned from July 2021 to June 2022. Those bans occurred in 138 school districts across 32 states. The report found that 41% of the banned books had LGBTQ themes. Politics have also imbued conversations around LGBTQ school books. The PEN American report found that at least 40% of the bans are connected with proposed or enacted legislation or political pressures. Wyoming hasnt escaped that politicization; Trump-endorsed State Superintendent of Public Instruction Brian Schroeder and state superintendent candidate Thomas Kelly railed against gender ideology in schools during their primary campaigns for the post. (Kelly dropped out to support Schroeder, and Schroeder ultimately lost the Republican nomination to Megan Degenfelder.) Three of this years school board candidates who are running together Renea Redding, Mary Schmidt and Jenifer Hopkins have been endorsed by Jeanette Ward, the far-right Republican nominee for House District 57. (Ward defeated Thomas Myler, a current school board member, in the August primaries). The three have regularly spoken at school board meetings in favor of getting rid of certain LGBTQ books in the districts schools and are members of a local chapter of Moms for Liberty, a group focused on empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government. Rep. Pat Sweeney, R-Casper, spoke to trustees at the meeting, urging them accept the recommendations of the committee that reviewed the books. As were seeing across the country, this isnt the end, Sweeney said. You can have your own beliefs, but cant we just come to a point where we can get along and see differing views for what they are and live together in a peaceful civil way? Redding, one of the school board candidates who has regularly spoken against the books at board meetings, read to trustees a passage from one of the books that includes sexual language and imagery, saying that the books appalled her. Im not asking, and neither are the other people that are looking at these books, for you guys to ban books, she said. Were asking for books that dont have what is called erotica in it. (Hopkins and Schmidt spoke on the topic at the Sept. 12 meeting.) Another school board candidate, Bernie Studer, told trustees that hes not afraid of the books, but that he would recommend to the kids that want to transition to wait until theyre 21 to do so. One parent of homeschooled kids told trustees on Monday that she has a home library with books that go against her beliefs, but didnt want her tax money spent on pornography. I want my kids to see the full picture, she said. I have the Communist Manifesto, I have books by John Dewey and I have The Origin of Species. My children have access to different beliefs so they can formulate their own opinions and they can make informed decisions on their own. But what my children do not have access to, in my library in my home, is pornography. Two young people in the audience shook their heads as she spoke. Whats wrong with you people?! the parent said angrily to the school board, and abruptly stood and left the table. Gov. Mark Gordons office wants to put $25 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars toward affordable housing. The office is preparing to submit a funding proposal to the State Legislatures Joint Appropriations Committee, policy advisor Ivy Castleberry said Friday at a state conference for Habitat for Humanity affiliates. According to Castleberry, the office wants to set up a grant program for shovel-ready housing projects around the state. Were looking at a project-based application at this point, she said at the conference. Gordons office on Monday declined to offer more details about the measure. This is a preliminary proposal, so were not going to comment further on it at this time, Michael Pearlman, Gordons director of communications, said in a text. The money would come from the roughly $1 billion Wyoming is expected to receive through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). In addition to setting the regular two-year state and education department budgets, lawmakers in February had to set a third budget allocating the ARPA funds. As of March, about $72.1 million of that money remained unallocated, according to the Wyoming Legislatures website. Castleberry said that, initially, governors office staff considered bringing a proposal to use ARPA money as seed funding for a housing trust fund. Housing trust funds are standing pots of money used to address housing needs. The estimates on that were nearly $500 million to really make a meaningful impact in a time frame that would be reasonable, Castleberry said at the conference. In the housing world, $25 million isnt much money especially right now. Costs for new construction rose about 22% from August 2021 to August 2022, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Its not where we want to be, Castleberry said of the $25 million, but we think that we can use it as a primer to bear witness to additional money. The grant would likely only serve housing projects that are well past the planning and development stages, she added. Thats because there are looming deadlines attached to the ARPA money. The funds have to be obligated (set aside for a specific purpose) by 2024, and spent by the end of 2026. If the Appropriations Committee gives the proposal its blessing, it would still have to survive both chambers of the Legislature during next years legislative session where it could be subject to significant revisions, or be struck down altogether. Itd be the first of the $1 billion Wyoming received from the federal package to go toward addressing housing problems. The governors office attempted to earmark a similar amount of money for housing efforts ahead of the 2022 session. Originally, the Wyoming Community Development Authority asked Gordon for $100 million in federal relief money, executive director Scott Hoversland said at a legislative committee meeting in June. The agency is best known for lending low-interest mortgages to first-time home buyers. The Wyoming Community Development Authority wanted to use the money for affordable housing projects, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported in February. Gov. Mark Gordons budget proposal cut that down to $22.6 million, Pearlman said in an email. The Joint Appropriations Committee rejected that proposal, leaving housing out of the budget altogether. The Appropriations Committee meets again on Oct. 10 to discuss matters related to education funding, according to an agenda on the Legislative State Offices website. The committee reconvenes Oct. 26-27 and Dec. 12-16, but specifics about those meetings havent been announced yet. If the proposal passes, Wyoming would follow in the footsteps of Idaho, which earlier this year set aside $50 million of its APRA funding for affordable housing programs a first for the state. Nevada and Colorado, by comparison, are on track to funnel $500 million and $528 million of their ARPA money toward housing, respectively. JACKSON When Jane Goodall was asked last week whats next in her decades-long career, she didnt hesitate. Dying, said Goodall, 88. That drew a laugh from the sold-out crowd at the Center for the Arts in Jackson where Goodall, the renowned primatologist and ethologist who first discovered that chimpanzees, like humans, use tools, was honored with a Murie Spirit of Conservation Award by Teton Science Schools. Ten years ago, Goodall said she would have said something like visit the remote areas in Papua, New Guinea. But now Goodall said she cant do that. So, having thought about death and read books about near-death experiences, she thinks two things could happen when you die. Theres either nothing, or theres something, Goodall said. So if thats true, can you think of a greater adventure than finding out what that is? Goodall has been nothing if not a consummate question asker. In her acceptance speech, she regaled the crowd with tales of the first questions shed asked: Wondering how worms move without any legs, trying to figure out what hole on a chicken was large enough to lay an egg and why Tarzan married the wrong Jane. But Goodall also talked about her first trips to Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, where her initial observations of chimpanzees turned into a decades-long and ongoing study of humanitys closest relative. That led her to lobby the National Institutes of Health to stop medical research on chimpanzees, which it did in 2015. She talked about lifting people out of poverty to prevent environmental destruction, the connection between population growth, education and the environment, and the role young people can play in changing the world. Before the event, young people said Goodall motivated them. Shes an inspiration for young people like me, said Annabel Millham, 12, whos interested in science and biology in particular. She did a lot of work for females in the scientific community. But Goodall, who shared the stage with Juan Martinez Pineda, a Teton Science Schools alumnus and National Geographic Explorer who received a Rising Leader award in the Muries legacy, also talked about the brave women like her mother who helped her become the conservation icon she is today a title she rejected. Martinez Pineda, for his part, dedicated his award to his community. Having grown up in South Central Los Angeles, and making his way to the Tetons after a high school teacher recommended he apply for a summer program with the Teton Science Schools, Martinez Pineda took time in his speech to reflect on his roots as an undocumented immigrant who descended from the Zapotec indigenous people of Oaxaca, Mexico, and became a citizen in the last three years. Now, he runs a program, Fresh Tracks, which connects urban and indigenous youth with the healing power of the outdoors a power he first experienced in the Tetons 20 years back aiming to bring under-represented youth voices to the table. For the immigrant and indigenous ones who stand resilient, for the ones who are seeking to place and heal and find their voice this award is for you, Martinez Pineda said. We too belong on a stage with Dr. Jane Goodall. And we too can right the wrongs of conservation so that the future of this movement does not move forward without the voices of those closest to the pain who must also be closest to the solutions and power. Goodall has also focused in recent years on bringing youth together through her Roots and Shoots program, which aims to give young people across the globe tools to impact their communities in ways they care about. Its currently in 65 countries, Goodall said, with members from kindergarten to university. Goodall said the kids she works with have given her hope in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss. Theyre so energetic and determined, she said. And, through Roots and Shoots, she asks students one thing to get them going. You cant solve the problems of the world, Goodall said. But what can you do in your communities? Whether thats tackling homelessness or stopping dumping plastic in the ocean, Goodall said working locally can connect people with others that feel the same way and are working on issues in their own communities. And she believes it helps overcome siloing, or working on one issue at a time, which obstructs progress. She gave the example of shutting down a coal mine, which cuts greenhouse gases that warm the planet but also leaves people without jobs and can lead them to sink into poverty and consequently harm the environment. So we need to collaborate. We need to think holistically. We need to work together, Goodall said. And if we cant work together to solve these problems collectively, then were doomed. But the students who watched Goodall speak were uplifted by her confidence in them. Its just such an amazing moment to see her and see how she really looks up to the younger people, said Augustine Porter, 16, a Mountain Academy high schooler. Porter grew up in Jackson Hole. Ive always known how special nature is and how amazing it is to be out in Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone, Porter said. I feel like its a responsibility of mine to really show people that it is important and that we need to take care of the natural world around us. Her work is super inspiring. Porters friend, Gwendolin Dolin Kinney, 16, liked that Goodall encouraged the crowd to start small. I dont have to solve all the worlds problems, they said. Shes like, Im not asking you to. Im asking you to go and do what you think is right. Im asking you to use your spirit. Use your community. Kinney described Goodalls as an indomitable spirit, one who just keeps powering through and not in a negative or self-deprecating way. Rather, Kinney saw Goodalls message as empowering and self-building. The Global Development Initiative (GDI), first enunciated in Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the General Debate of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly in September 2021, presents a more comprehensive vision and a step forward from China's run of its connectivity-driven Belt and Road Initiative. The two apparently complement each other as two stages of a larger goal for building a community with a shared future for humanity. While the nine years of the Belt and Road Initiative have been focused on enhancing growth through economic corridors and physical infrastructure, the GDI aims to contribute to the evolution of the overall development philosophies through the enhancement of social infrastructure by sharing best practices, capacity-building and knowledge transfer, which makes it people-oriented and largely multilateral. During the COVID-19 pandemic, which created the Western "vaccine apartheid," China used Belt and Road connectivity to reach out to more than 100 nations with its vaccines and other medical and humanitarian assistance. Also, now in the middle of a global deceleration caused by the pandemic and the Ukraine crisis, the GDI could not have arrived at a more appropriate time to present an alternative vision advocating shared development through international cooperation. The advantage of the GDI comes from it promoting development according to the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which lends it much greater credibility. It is especially so as the GDI promises innovative harnessing of blue and green economies for improving people's lives by building bridges between people and nature. This organic alignment of the GDI with the 2030 Agenda and of humans and nature resonates strongly with the Global South, thereby expanding its relevance to a large number of developing and least developed nations. The GDI also promises to promote sustainability and South-South cooperation. Valuable lessons The Belt and Road Initiative provides valuable lessons in decoding the evolving trajectories of the GDI. It began with a dedicated Silk Road Fund of $40 billion. Investment funds focusing on the initiative have since surpassed $1 trillion worldwide. This June saw President Xi pledging a further $1 billion to the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund, which now totals $4 billion and has been renamed the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund. But it is also important to underline how this correlation has its limits as the GDI goes way beyond funding and physical infrastructure. The GDI aims to make a distinct value addition to the global development discourse, especially by making China's ancient wisdom integral to the global decision-making processes. Another lesson remains how, in its infancy, the vision was presented first as the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road and then gradually evolved into the Belt and Road Initiative. Likewise, the contours of the GDI as yet remain an outline in the making. This is consistent with the typical style of Chinese leaders, exemplified by former leader Deng Xiaoping, who once talked of "crossing the river by feeling the stones." But again this correlation between the Belt and Road Initiative and the GDI has its limits. Thanks to the former, China being a leading voice in global governance has become a well-established fact. According to the recently launched UN Global Compact China Strategy, as the world's largest developing country, China is home to 143 of the world's 500 largest companies as well as to more than 44 million small and medium-sized enterprises. Also, China today accounts for nearly 30 percent of the total global manufacturing sector. For over a decade, China has been the world's largest trading nation and the world's second largest economy that underwrites the major part of global growth including that of advanced industrialized Western nations. And now, the failure of these Western nations during the pandemic and the Ukraine crisis has further accelerated this pro-China drift. This increasing outreach of China has of course rattled Western dominance in global governance. In fact, the past decade has witnessed China's contributions to, and also its voting rights in, international financial institutions growing substantially, while those of the United States have shrunk. Also, backed by China's more than four decades of reform and opening-up experience, the GDI, unlike the laissez-faire free market models of the West, presents itself as a state-led rapid development modelone that advocates markets being regulated instead of markets regulating people's lives. This makes the GDI an aspirational call for action at all levels. Its growing acceptance in Eurasia, Africa and Southeast Asia has led to it developing the specifics of its regional roadmaps and yardsticks. Deeper engagements As a seamless movement forward from the Belt and Road Initiative's partnerships in several of these regions, the GDI aims to upgrade their engagements in relatively complex areas ranging from poverty alleviation to sustainable development through capacity-building, knowledge transfer and innovation to present effective solutions to climate change and energy challenges at the global level. This is what is making the GDI increasingly acceptable even among Western countries that also swear by the spirit of the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, the GDI, instead of presenting itself as a fait accompli, seeks to engage them from its infancy as an alternative paradigm. This is where the umbilical cord of the GDI and the Belt and Road Initiative comes alive as the former builds upon the latter, having set the stage to catapult China's global steering toward shared prosperity for all. This link was aptly described by China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who called them the "twin engines" that aim "to enhance cooperation in traditional areas and foster new highlights." According to Wang, the GDI is expected to form synergy with other initiatives including the Belt and Road Initiative, Agenda 2063 of the African Union, and the New Partnership for Africa's Development. The GDI's link of "indivisibility" has also been widely appreciated. Just like security in the case of President Xi's Global Security Initiative, development of the GDI is presented as an indivisible or seamless goal. It proposes that, like security, development must be seen as a collective responsibility where the success of one country remains closely connected to the success of its immediate neighbors, its major partners and indeed of the rest of the world. China's economic engagement with the Western world has already established this connection, which is being expanded to the entire planet. Accordingly, after more than four decades of domestic transformation using deep reforms plus manufacturing and trade-led development, the GDI shows how a globalized China's continued progress has become increasingly incumbent upon the development of the rest of the world. This is why the GDI seeks to build greater international cooperation through free and fair trading and greater market access and regulatory standards, all to redress the emerging shared challenges of our world. Especially with the rising tide of deglobalization, pandemic-induced economic deceleration and Ukraine crisis-driven geopolitical brinkmanship, the GDI, in the spirit of prosper-thy-neighbor, presents a refreshing model that can help in building mutual trust, managing conflicts and bringing stability amid these uncertain times. This explains why in January representatives from more than 100 countries attended the meeting launching the Group of Friends of the GDI at the UN. In May this year, the GDI was given a place of pride on the agenda of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where Xi's January 2017 speech had made China the new flag-bearer of globalization as the West began drifting toward greater protectionism. As the GDI begins to engage more and more nations, it seems like an idea whose time has come. The author is a professor of diplomacy and disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi, India) and is currently a visiting professor at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada). You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Whats incredibly large, full of scales, sharp teeth and fangs, and appears only once a year on the south side of Tucson? If you said some sort of mutant chupacabra, maybe cut back on the horror movies for Halloween. If you guessed the Tucson Reptile and Amphibian Show, set for the Tucson Expo Center, Oct. 1-2, you were probably already familiar with the event one of the largest of its kind in the state of Arizona. Covering 60,000 square feet, the annual trade show is a sight to see, whether you have been coming for years or are on the hunt for your first pet tarantula. Hundreds of vendors from across the country will be on hand, pitching everything from ball pythons to custom cages to glass reptile sculptures. Just window shopping? Swing by some of their interactive exhibits. The show will have petting zoo with reptiles and another petting zoo, organized by Tucsons Funny Foot Farm, with capybaras and other mammals. The Phoenix Herpetological Society will bring a selection of creatures from their sanctuary in Scottsdale for display. Theyll have more venomous snakes than the San Diego Zoo, said Mark Wolfson, who created the Tucson Reptile and Amphibian Show more than 20 years ago. They have a giant trailer, all sorts of exotic lizards from around the world; a 20-foot python that 10 people get to pet at once. Wolfson said this years show is expected to be the biggest one yet, determined in part by the sheer number of attendees who showed up in 2021. More than 10,000 folks from across the state walked through the Expo Center doors over the course of two days. The Tucson Reptile and Amphibian show runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission (cash only) is $10 at the door for those 13 and older; $5 for children ages 6-12; and free for children 5 and younger. Many of the vendors inside of the event accept card payments. Autumn is here and fall fundraising walks are back in full force, live and in-person. After years of virtual and hybrid events, people are excited to gather to support causes they care about, according to Gina Gillis, special events manager for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Arizona and New Mexico. Gillis is also walk chair for the Out of the Darkness Walk Southern Arizona, which begins at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, at Reid Park, at the at the corner of South Country Club Road and East 22nd Street. Registration and a resource fair begin at 9:30 a.m. For more information, go to tucne.ws/1lgt It will be wonderful to see our community come together again. It is super exciting because we know that during the pandemic people lost friends and loved ones not just to COVID, but to suicide. We want to acknowledge those losses and make sure people get the support they need, said Gillis. In the spirit of togetherness, family-friendly walk and affiliated activities are free. The event will feature a kids corner; guest speaker Andres Ruiz, who will discuss youth suicide prevention; a raffle; a resource fair with information from businesses and nonprofit organizations involved with mental health-care and suicide prevention; and activities of hope, healing and support for suicide attempt survivors and those who have lost someone to suicide. Gillis said the Memory Tree and the Honor Bead ceremony are particularly poignant. The Memory Tree displays photos and names of loved ones who have been lost, while beads in the Honor Bead ceremony signify connections to the cause for example, green beads represent a personal struggle, white represents loss of a child, red signals loss of a spouse or partner, and so on. Our real goal is to make this a hopeful, healing event. We want people to know they are not alone, whether they lost someone to suicide or they struggle themselves. In the Honor Bead ceremony, I wear white and I can see someone across the field and know without saying a word that we both experienced the same loss. So much strength comes from wearing these colors and acknowledging these struggles with mental illness, said Gillis. The losses are significant. In 2020, suicide was the second leading cause of death in Arizona for ages 10 to 34, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Additionally, 89% of Arizona communities lacked necessary mental health care providers to serve residents. These numbers are staggering. The data is from 2020, so it may not reflect statistics for COVID, when people were isolating and really struggling. Hopefully through education and prevention, we can bring the numbers down, said Gillis. Cancer walk The American Cancer Society seeks to raise $115,000 to help eradicate breast cancer at Pink Out the Park Presented by TMC Health at 8 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 16. Registration begins at 7 a.m. For information go to tucne.ws/1lgu Formerly Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, the walk has been rebranded to create a Tucson-specific event at UA Tech Park, 9070 S. Rita Road. Roxanne Majeski-Hiller, development manager for the American Cancer Society Arizona, said that UA Tech Park boasts a beautiful campus and an event center that will host a VIP pancake breakfast for survivors and their guests courtesy of Walmart. When you are facing cancer and going through treatment, many people feel very alone. We are all in this together and want to showcase that by bringing together survivors, caregivers and anyone affected by breast cancer. Not only is the American Cancer Society there for you, but the whole community has your back, said Majeski-Hiller. Funds raised will support research and programs specific to breast cancer, including grants for screening and transportation to improve access to treatments, along with a range of other services. Alzheimers walk Research is also a priority for supporters of the Walk to End Alzheimers at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at Reid Park, 900 S. Randolph Way. Registration begins at 8 a.m. For more information, go to tucne.ws/1lgs Funds raised will help advance Alzheimers research in fact, more than $2 million in active research is in progress at University of Arizona and Arizona State University. The money will also provide care and support for those impacted by Alzheimers and their families, according to Morgen Hartford, Southern Arizona Community Executive for the Alzheimers Association Desert Southwest Chapter. Arizona is at the epicenter of the Alzheimers crisis. Alzheimers is growing faster here than in any state in the country. We have a high number of older adults and a really diverse population and Alzheimers doesnt impact every demographic the same way. Hispanic Americans are 1 times more likely than their white counterparts to develop Alzheimers and 30 percent of our population are Latino. Also, Arizonans on average spend almost 38 unpaid hours per week caring for loved ones with Alzheimers. That is more per person than any other state in the country, said Hartford. To help alleviate the crisis, the walk has set a lofty goal of $290,000. Light the Night If helping to cure blood cancers is among your ambitions, consider joining The Leukemia & Lymphoma Light the Night Tucson at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22 at Rillito Park, 4502 N. First Ave. For more information go to www.lightthenight.org/events/tucson The event is is the only local fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and seeks to raise $600,000 for research and patient services ranging from urgent patient financial assistance and peer-to-peer support to co-pay and travel assistance. Valle Verde Rotarians and Green Valley/Sahuarita Interactors: On Sept. 17, members of the Valle Verde Rotary Club and the Interact Club of Green Valley/Sahuarita participated in the annual Dress For Success shopping trip. About 20 students from Sopori School in Amado each received about $100 in new clothing and shoes. After shopping, the group went to Triple Play in Green Valley for food and games. Operation Homefront: Meritage Homes and Operation Homefront announced that three military families have been selected for the Permanent Homes for Veterans program. Each will receive a brand new, energy-efficient, mortgage-free home. The homes are located in Houston, Nashville, and Tucson. Army Sgt. Charles Haney medically-retired from the military in 2009 after five years of service, including a deployment to Iraq. The family will receive a nearly 2,400-square-foot, four-bedroom home located in the Entrada Del Rio community in the Tucson area. Each family will work directly with a financial counselor and a caseworker to help prepare for homeownership and learn strategies for achieving financial success. For more information about the Operation Homefront and Meritage Homes partnership, visit meritagehomes.com/operation-homefront. Sundt Foundation: The Sundt Foundation awarded grants to six nonprofits in the Tucson area during its current giving round. Nonprofits that received grants include the GAP Ministries; American Gold Star Mothers, Inc.; Twilight Wish Foundation; Food Initiatives; Aviva Childrens Services; and Angel Charity for Children. The Sundt Foundation awards quarterly grants to Tucson-area charities that support disadvantaged children and families. Nonprofits are selected through an application process and reviewed by a committee of local Sundt employee-owners. Hurricane Ian nears Cuba on path to strike Florida as Cat 4 HAVANA (AP) Hurricane Ian is nearing Cuba on a track to strike Florida as a Category 4 as early as Wednesday. One emergency management director says this is not a drill. Tampa and St. Petersburg are among the most likely targets for their first direct hit by a major hurricane in a century. Ian is already getting stronger and is forecast to move quickly over Cuba's western tip Monday. Then it will turn northward and slow down over warm Gulf of Mexico waters, conditions ripe for brewing the strongest hurricanes. Forecasters say the storm surge could reach 10 feet. Hundreds of thousands of people could face mandatory evacuation orders. Bam! NASA spacecraft crashes into asteroid in defense test CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) A NASA spacecraft has rammed an asteroid in an unprecedented test to see if a potentially menacing space rock could be knocked off course. The galactic grand slam occurred at a harmless asteroid 7 million miles away Monday. The Dart spacecraft plowed into the small space rock at 14,000 mph. Scientists say the impact should have carved out a crater and hurled streams of rocks and dirt into space. Most importantly, though, scientists are hoping the collision altered the asteroids orbit. NASA wont know how much the spacecraft nudged the asteroid for a couple of months. Putin's call-up fuels Russians' anger, protests and violence TALLINN, Estonia (AP) Five days after President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization to call up hundreds of thousands of reservists to fight in Ukraine, the move has triggered outraged protests across Russia, a fearful exodus of men of fighting age from the country, and acts of violence. There have been demonstrations not just in the usual places like Moscow and St. Petersburg but also in the remote far north province of Yakutia and in the poor, southern region of Dagestan. A gunman opened fire in an enlistment office in a Siberian city and gravely wounded the military commandant. One analyst says Putin is risking a lot because of the mobilization and is losing some support. Tense Japan holds funeral for assassinated ex-leader Abe TOKYO (AP) A tense Japan is holding a rare and controversial state funeral for assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, its longest-serving modern leader and one of the most divisive. Tokyo was under maximum security, with angry protests opposing the funeral planned. World leaders, including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, are attending. Opponents of the state-sponsored funeral, which has its roots in prewar imperial ceremonies, say taxpayers money should be spent on more meaningful causes. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been criticized for forcing through the costly event to honor his mentor, Abe, who was assassinated in July. There has also been a widening controversy about Abes and the governing partys decades-long close ties with the ultra-conservative Unification Church. As Cantonese language wanes, efforts grow to preserve it SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Three decades ago, finding opportunities to learn the Cantonese language in San Francisco wasnt hard. But today in the city thats drawn Cantonese speakers from South China for over 150 years, there is fear that political and social upheaval are gradually diminishing the language. The Chinese governments push for wider use of Mandarin, which is already the national language, along with the countrys changing migration patterns have contributed to an undeniable shift away from Cantonese. Its a change that has reverberated from East to West. From the U.S. to the U.K. and beyond, there is worry that Cantonese won't survive in some families for another generation. Russia gives citizenship to ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden MOSCOW (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to Edward Snowden, a former contractor with the U.S. National Security Agency. He has been living in Russia since 2013 to escape prosecution in the U.S. after leaking classified documents detailing government surveillance programs. He was granted permanent residency in 2020. Snowden has said he made the disclosures because he believed the U.S. intelligence community had gone too far and wrongly infringed on civil liberties. Snowden, 39, is considered by supporters to be a whistleblower who wanted to protect American civil liberties, He currently faces charges of unauthorized disclosure of U.S. national security and intelligence information that could result in decades in prison. Arizona abortion clinics send women to other states PHOENIX (AP) Women seeking abortions across Arizona were forced to find alternatives beyond the states borders after a court ruling last week cleared the way for prosecutors to charge doctors and others who help a woman end a pregnancy unless her life is in danger. The states major abortion providers immediately halted procedures and canceled appointments. Providers in neighboring states, already seeing an increase in traffic from other conservative states that have banned abortion, were preparing to treat some of the 13,000 Arizona patients who get an abortion each year. 17 dead, 24 wounded in school shooting in Russia MOSCOW (AP) Authorities say a gunman has killed 17 people and wounded 24 others in a school in central Russia. According to officials, 11 children were among those killed in the Monday morning shooting in School No. 88 in Izhevsk, a city 960 kilometers (600 miles) east of Moscow. The governor of the region said the gunman killed himself after the attack. Russia's Investigative Committee identified the gunman as 34-year-old Artyom Kazantsev, a graduate of the school, and the governor said he was a patient at a psychiatric facility. He used two non-lethal handguns adapted to fire real bullets. An investigation has been launched on multiple murder charges. Vulnerable Tampa Bay braces for storm not seen in a century ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Its been over a century since a major storm like Hurricane Ian has struck the Tampa Bay area, which blossomed from a few hundred thousand people in 1921 to more than 3 million today. Many of these people live in low-lying neighborhoods that are highly susceptible to storm surge and flooding they have rarely before experienced, which some experts say could be worsened by the effects of climate change. The problem confronting the region is that storms approaching from the south, as Hurricane Ian is on track to do, push huge volumes of water up into shallow Tampa Bay and are likely to inundate homes and businesses with up to 10 feet of storm surge. Harrowing film tells of Las Vegas shooting and its aftermath NEW YORK (AP) The harrowing new film 11 Minutes gives a vivid picture of what it was like to go through the Las Vegas country music massacre five years ago, the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. It also tells the stories of humanity that night, and how people worked to recover both physically and emotionally. The film was initiated by Ashley Hoff, a woman in the documentary business who was standing four rows deep listening to Jason Aldean when the gunshots began on Oct. 1, 2017. The film, over three hours long and unspooling in four parts, debuts Tuesday on the Paramount+ streaming service. DETROIT (AP) An undercover trooper with Michigan State Police was shot and critically wounded early Tuesday as he and other members of a narcotics unit were conducting surveillance in Detroit, police said. The trooper was struck by gunfire around 1:30 a.m. EDT on Detroit's west side as he and other members of the narcotics unit came under fire, state police said. The trooper was in critical condition at a hospital around 8:40 a.m. and his family was with him. His condition had been stabilized later in the morning and he probably will require surgery, state police Lt. Mike Shaw told reporters. Two suspects in the shooting were in custody and an apartment at the complex where the shooting occurred had been searched and bullet casings were found, state police said. They were identified and initially tracked through video surveillance before being pulled over in a vehicle, Shaw said. When asked if authorities believe the person who fired the shots was among the two arrested, Shaw said we're feeling pretty good about it. The suspect is involved with narcotics and officers were doing surveillance on this individual when the shooting occurred, Shaw said. The shooting remained under investigation, he added. We're in the process of determining who's actually involved and who's actually not involved, Shaw said. Earlier, the police agency said its emergency support team was moving people out of the apartment complex. Residents were told by police to remain inside during the manhunt. GREENWOOD, Miss. (AP) Funeral services were held Monday for the Mississippi prosecutor who worked on one of the renewed investigations into the 1955 lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till, a killing that galvanized the civil rights movement after his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral so people could see her son's mutilated body. Joyce Chiles died of lung cancer Thursday at a hospital in Ruleville, a coroner told the Greenwood Commonwealth. She was 67. Services were Monday in Itta Bena. Chiles was elected in 2003 as district attorney for three Mississippi Delta counties Leflore, Washington and Sunflower and served one term before deciding not to seek reelection. She was the first Black person, and the first woman, to hold the position. In 2007, Chiles presented evidence to a grand jury of Black and white Leflore County residents after investigators spent three years re-examining the killing of Till. The FBI exhumed Till's body to prove that he, and not someone else, was buried at his gravesite in the Chicago suburb of Alsip. The grand jury declined to issue indictments against anyone. The FBI had reopened the case in 2004 after filmmaker Keith Beauchamp compiled a list of at least 14 people Black and white he thought had some role in the kidnapping, beating and slaying of Till. He went to the authorities with the names of five people who were still alive. The Justice Department said the statute of limitations had expired on any potential federal crime, but the FBI worked with state investigators to determine if state charges could be brought. Chiles told The Associated Press in 2007 that the renewed investigation did not produce evidence to support indictments. We are justice seekers and not head hunters, Chiles said. Till, a 14-year-old Chicago resident, was visiting family in the Mississippi Delta in the summer of 1955. He and other young people went to a country store in the town of Money, and relatives have told the AP that Till whistled at a white woman working there, Carolyn Bryant. They denied that he touched her, as Bryant had claimed. Four days later, white men kidnapped Till from his uncles home and killed the teenager, then dumped his body into the Tallahatchie River. The mutilated body was found days later, weighted down by a cotton-gin fan. After Tills funeral in Chicago, Jet magazine published a photo of his body. A jury of white men acquitted Carolyn Bryant's husband Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam of murder charges a few weeks after the killing, but the two men later told Look magazine that they had abducted and killed Till. In 2018, the Justice Department reopened an investigation after a 2017 book quoted Carolyn Bryant by then known as Carolyn Bryant Donham saying she lied when she claimed Till grabbed her and made sexual advances. The department closed that investigation in late 2021 without bringing charges. The FBI again reopened an investigation this year after people searching the Leflore County Courthouse basement found an unserved arrest warrant for Carolyn Bryant. In August, another Leflore County grand jury declined to indict her. In the 2007 AP interview, Chiles said it would have been easy for members of the grand jury more than 50 years later to indict someone based solely on the emotion and rage that they felt. She commended them for not doing that. Chiles said she had grown up on a plantation near where Tills body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River. Speaking of Donham, Chiles said: I didnt feel good toward her; I still dont feel good toward her." Abe Hamadeh (left), the Republican nominee for attorney general, talks with Greg Medford for his podcast, which was published in June 2022. Medford, who has been criticized for racist and violent comments, later was scheduled to host a September fundraiser for Hamadeh. Screenshot via Rumble Knife-maker Greg Medford has no love for those who wish to cancel him, and says they need a good case of lead poisoning. The Phoenix-based Medford says the cancel culture mob even within the community of knife enthusiasts cant handle his satirical and provocative nature, but critics say he has a history of racism and a vulgar petulance toward people who object to his racism. Earlier this year at the annual Blade Show in Atlanta, Medford drew sharp criticism after his company handed out free shirts with racist Chinese caricatures. Medford defended the shirts as an attempt to make political commentary, and he called people who were offended dumb f****ing c***s for being too sensitive. Another Medford Knife and Tool shirt is Islamaphobic: The front included the text, Stabbing the Shiite out of the Middle East one terrorist at a time. On the back it says, Dont like it? Then Summi. Medford boasted about the shirt in a video, saying he included puns about both major sects of the Muslim faith in order to offend both. And, yet, Medford has been a campaign stop for many Arizona Republican candidates this year. He has hosted a slew of GOP hopefuls and elected officials on his podcast, where he and his guests rail against liberals, the poor, people of color and the culture war topic of the moment. Republican attorney general nominee Abe Hamadeh appeared on Medfords podcast earlier this year. He and Medford discussed a wide variety of topics, including Medfords belief that the rise of the welfare state was detrimental to Black people. A common refrain among conservatives since Ronald Reagan was president, researchers have found that tropes about welfare queens and deadbeat dads have created long-lasting problems that have blocked the creation of meaningful poverty policy. You wonder what happened, you know? How did you have such high literacy rates, such high engagement rates? Medford said during his discussion with Hamadeh. You had the communities that made Martin Luther King, and they made Malcolm X. Remember, they used to wear suits, right? Hamadeh interjected. They were, like, very proud of and they youre so right where its become they want the government you want to be dependent on the government. And now its not just in the African American community, its spreading all over. Medford defended shirts with a racist caricature as an attempt to make 'political commentary,' and he called people who were offended 'dumb f****ing c***s' for being too sensitive. Earlier this month, Hamadeh announced Medford was holding a fund-raiser for his campaign at his companys headquarters in north Phoenix. The Sept. 23 event was touted as featuring Medford and former U.S. Senate candidate and retired head of the Arizona National Guard Gen. Mick McGuire. After the Arizona Mirror asked Hamadehs campaign about the event and Medfords use of racism and violent imagery, the campaign deleted the Eventbrite page it was using to register attendees. It is unclear whether the event took place, and the campaign did not answer questions from the Mirror. Other politicians and political hopefuls that have appeared on the show include Blake Masters, Jim Lamon, Steve Gaynor, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, Congressman Andy Biggs, Anthony Kern, Shiry Sapir, Phoenix City Council Candidate and Kari Lake policy advisor Sam Stone, Matt Salmon, Rep. Walt Blackman, Sen. Sonny Borrelli, Joe Arpaio and Kari Lake. Medford did not respond to the Mirrors request for comment, but did post a 43-minute long response video titled Apparently there are people who hate Greg Medford in which he said he is not racist or homophobic. I am not politically correct. That does not mean Im a racist or an antisemite, Medford said. Anyone who calls me a racist hasnt hung around me, theyre lying. In the video, Medford uses slurs against the LGBTQ community and says that he uses this language in a satirical sense and as a way to express his anger. I dont mind saying the word f**, that doesnt make me a racist, Medford said, adding that he knows he is insensitive and often speaks off-script. Am I supposed to sit here quietly? Meford says to his fans in the video. In April, U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters sat down with Medford for his podcast. Among the topics was President Joe Biden nomination of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was ultimately confirmed as the first Black woman on the court. Masters said choosing Jackson was more based on equity and her identity rather than based on her credentials, comparing it to backlash aimed at United Airlines from conservative pundits in 2021 for aiming to have 50% of their pilots be either women or people of color. Look, we dont care if all the pilots are Black if theyre the best pilots but dont do your diversity, equity and inclusion and your affirmative action stuff to get people who are possibly not the best for the job, Masters said. Its almost unfair to Ketanji Brown Jackson. They shouldve at least pretended she got the job because she was the most qualified. Medford agreed with Masters points that Jackson protected pedophiles and added that she had a nice family. Her package was good. Shes a nice package, and she was the right color, and all they did is Uncle Tom her ass, Medford said. Thats right, Masters responded. I am not politically correct. That does not mean Im a racist or an antisemite. Anyone who calls me a racist hasnt hung around me, theyre lying. I dont mind saying the word f**, that doesnt make me a racist. Am I supposed to sit here quietly? Greg Medford In the conversation, Medford said that having to list campaign donors was comparable to Kristallnacht, the Nazi attack on Jews in 1938 an assertion Masters readily agreed with, the Huffington Post reported in June. Its for hit lists. And AOC said this, one of the first things she said after Joe Biden was inaugurated is, We need to de-Trumpify this country. And she said, Were making lists, Masters said, complaining about the need for transparency on $100 donations to political campaigns. Masters appeared to be referring to a tweet by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The tweet did not say anything about making lists, but asked if anyone was archiving as she foresaw the decent probability of many deleted Tweets, writings, photos in the future. Medford responded to Masters by saying that it was like Kristallnach. Yeah, thats right, Masters said. No its absolutely wild. Masters hasnt been the only Arizona Republican to liken their political opponents to Nazis on Medfords show. Mark Finchem, the GOP nominee for secretary of state whose campaign is anchored by the Big Lie that the 2020 election was fraudulent, appeared on the show in April. The pair discussed a lawsuit that sought to remove him from the ballot for his alleged role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The lawsuit, one of several in Arizona and across the country, aimed to use the Fourteenth Amendment to disqualify candidates because of their support of the Jan. 6 attack, claiming they are insurrectionists and thus unable to hold public office. The Arizona Supreme Court rejected the case. They basically want to do what the Nazi party did in the 1930s, Finchem said of those who brought the lawsuit to Medford. They want to use the court system as a political hammer. Finchem has a history of comparing his political rivals actions to those of Nazi Germany. He also has filed lawsuits against his political rivals, suing former Rep. Charlene Fernandez for defamation. Finchem also launched a legal defense fund to fight back against what Finchem sees as the weaponization of the free press. During his appearance on Medfords podcast, Finchem also praised the book The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrates, which argues that public officials have a duty to stop enforcement of laws that violate Gods wishes. In particular, the book says, officials are morally bound to obstruct laws that legalize abortion or acceptance of homosexuality. The books author has compared mask mandates to the Holocaust and signed onto a public statement that argued the use of lethal force laws justifiable provided it was carried out for the purpose of defending the lives of unborn children. One Republican candidate said she regretted going on Medfords podcast after the Mirror sent questions about the knife-makers racist and violent comments. State Sen. Nancy Barto, a Phoenix Republican, said she didnt know anything about them when she appeared on the podcast earlier this month. PHOENIX Universal vouchers of public funds for 1.1 million public school students to attend private and parochial schools are on their way to becoming legal in Arizona. Backers of a petition drive to give the last word to voters acknowledged Monday they apparently did not submit enough signatures to force a vote. That means the law, approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature earlier this year, can take effect as soon as Secretary of State Kate Hobbs verifies the petition drive came up short. Hobbs has 20 days from Fridays petition filing to do a preliminary check. But an aide confirmed to Capitol Media Services that the group seeking the public vote, Save Our Schools, submitted just 8,175 petition sheets. And there are a maximum of 15 signatures allowed per page. Theoretically, that would still allow for up to 122,625 signatures, slightly more than the 118,823 that must be found valid to put the law on hold until a public vote in 2024. But Beth Lewis, executive director of Save Our Schools, said the actual number of signatures on all of the sheets is short of the 15 per page. That leaves the petition drive short, she said. She had no final number, and said she is still waiting for the official word from Hobbs. The Goldwater Institute, which supports universal vouchers, said its own review of copies of the petitions shows there are just 88,866 signatures. That is a far cry from the 141,714 signatures that Lewis said on Friday had been collected and submitted. But Lewis told Capitol Media Services on Monday that there was no intent to deceive anyone, calling the disparity human error. People dont really understand the hair on fire nature of having a campaign like this, she said. Lewis noted voucher foes had just 80 days from the time Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed the legislation to gather the necessary signatures. The figure is based on 5% of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election. And there are various legal requirements beyond getting signatures. We were getting people notarizing (petitions) at like 2 in the morning, Lewis said. As late as Thursday, people were driving up to the Navajo Nation to pick up stray petitions, she said. The chaos continued into the Friday deadline, Lewis said. We had people meeting us at the Capitol shoving petitions into boxes, she said. And then, she said, there was a call at 1:45 p.m. Friday 75 minutes before the papers were due to be submitted from someone who said there were 130 petitions there that had never been picked up. I just want to make clear there was no intentional lie here, Lewis said. The numbers (we estimated) were what we thought they were. She said there are several possible moves going forward. One is an initiative drive as an alternate way to put the issue to voters. But there are key differences from a referendum. First is that the law remains in effect in the interim. And an initiative requires twice as many signatures as a referendum. But backers would have until July 2024 to get those signatures. More immediately, Lewis said the focus for her group is on this years November election. We need to elect a new lLegislature and governor that arent going to keep pulling these shenanigans and will honor the will of voters, she said. That refers to 2017, the last time lawmakers approved a massive expansion of the program, formally known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, which provides vouchers of tax dollars that parents can use to send their children to private or parochial schools. The vouchers, worth an average of about $7,000 each, also can be used by parents to cover the cost of home schooling. Save Our Schools launched a referendum drive on the 2017 law, putting the issue on the 2018 ballot. Voters overruled the Legislature by a 2-1 margin. Lewis said there also could be a legal challenge. However, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that the program, originally limited to students with special needs, did not violate a state constitutional provision forbidding aid to private schools. The justices said that is because the money goes not from the state to the schools but instead to the parents who choose how to spend it. Since then, the Republican-controlled Legislature has enacted a series of expansions to where vouchers are now available to foster children, children of those in the military, students living on reservations, and students attending any school rated D or F. This new law opens the door for any of the 1.1 million students in public schools. The failure of the ballot measure was cheered by Victor Riches, president and CEO of the Goldwater Institute. You are here: World Flash U.S. President Joe Biden will receive French President Emmanuel Macron in December for what will be the first state visit of a foreign head of state to the United States since Biden took office, the White House announced Monday. The visit is slated for Dec. 1 and will include a state dinner, according to a statement by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. "The leaders will discuss our continued close partnership on shared global challenges and areas of bilateral interest," the spokeswoman said in the statement. PHOENIX State utility regulators have the individual power to seek corporate records to see if a company is funneling dark money into the campaigns of their colleagues. And a majority cant block it. The state Supreme Court in a ruling Wednesday rejected arguments by Arizona Public Service that Bob Burns, who was a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, had no independent right to demand a look their corporate books to find out about the money it has spent and may spend in the future to elect candidates of its choice. Attorneys for the utility did not dispute that regulators do have the power to subpoena company records. But they argued that power belongs to the commission as a whole. And they said the fact that Burns could not get a majority of the five-member panel to go along, left him powerless to act on his own. Not so, said Justice Clint Bolick writing for a majority of the state high court. The decision of the justices will have no immediate effect. Thats because Burns has since left the panel and the APS rate case that was pending at the time has been decided. And Bolick said the court was not seeking to resolve all potential future issues of commission procedures. But the ruling could change how the panel operates, giving future commissioners more independent license to probe the actions of regulated utilities. APS filed for a rate hike in 2016. Burns issued subpoenas to both APS and parent company Pinnacle West Capital Corp. seeking information on everything from charitable and marketing expenses to political donations. Among what he was seeking is to determine if APS was the source of money spent in 2014 by dark money groups to help elect Republicans Tom Forese and Doug Little to the commission. Arizona law allows these groups to shield the source of their funds from public disclosure. When the company refused, he asked the other commissioners including Forese and Little to enforce the subpoenas as well as to require a hearing officer to call witnesses for him to question. The others refused, saying the information sought was irrelevant to the rate case. Burns then went to court. Bolick pointed out Arizona Constitution vests individual commissioners with specific powers. The way APS would read it, said Bolick, would subordinate that right to the unreviewable determinations of other commissioners. And Bolick said what makes that unacceptable is that Burns was trying to determine whether any of the other commissioners, had they received APS cash that was not publicly disclosed, were biased in favor of granting the companys request for a rate hike. Burns allegations demonstrate how untenable such a construction is, whereby a commissioners investigation into possible improprieties concerning his colleagues can be squelched by the very subjects of the investigation, Bolick wrote. It later turned out that the company had, in fact, put $10.7 million into the 2014 race to elect Little and Forese, funneling the cash through dark money groups. But that didnt get revealed until 2019. In finally releasing data on its 2014 spending on the commission race, APS also admitted at that time that it provided $50,000 to the Republican Governors Association which helped the first election of Gov. Doug Ducey, and $425,000 to the Republican Attorney Generals Association which, in turn, bought commercials to elect Republican Mark Brnovich. Jeff Guldner, who took over the reins of APS in 2019, told regulators at the time that the company would not fund future candidates running for the commission. The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer: As a mother of three young children recently returning from maternity leave, Ive been processing that I have returned to work with fewer rights than when my son was born just five months ago. Pima Countys decision to resurrect the 1864 law prohibiting abortion has sent us back in time. My return to the Womens Foundation for the State of Arizona is clouded with despair, and I have been suffocating with my thoughts about whats next. The Foundation is deeply concerned that abortion access restrictions take away personal decision-making. This could not be more contradictory to our nations spirit of freedom and self-determination. The recent ruling by the Pima County Superior Court puts Arizonans in a position of being forced to carry a pregnancy to term. It re-affirms a law that predates our statehood, discounting advances in medical standards and how families are formed in the context of the modern day and age in which we live. Our communities deserve better. Research shows that decisions about when or whether to parent significantly impact our economic well-being. People should have access to the full range of reproductive health services, including abortion, to make the best decision for them. Every pregnant persons circumstance is unique, but we do know that extensive research from the University of California, San Francisco shows: Access to reproductive health resources is an economic issue that impacts women in every demographic, especially low-income women and women of color. Unplanned childbearing is associated with higher poverty rates and less family stability. Birthing people denied abortions are four times as likely to experience economic hardship and live below the federal poverty line for at least four years compared to women who received an abortion. Children born to women denied abortions are more likely to live in households without enough money to pay for basic living expenses like food and housing. Women denied an abortion are more likely to stay in contact with a violent partner, resulting in increased risk for their children and themselves. Simply said, when people can make their own decisions about their health and pregnancies, they are more likely to be economically independent or on the path to self-sufficiency. They have better opportunities to further their education, participate in the labor market, and increase their earning potential factors that can also narrow the gender wage gap. With this ruling, we will now see more people living in poverty. The Womens Foundation for the State of Arizona strongly opposes this decision, which strips away peoples ability to make their own decisions about their health and their future and threatens the pursuit of an equitable Arizona. We commit to continuing the work for the social and economic supports that impact birthing people in our community, including access to abortion and other reproductive health services. WFSA has announced the Century Fund as a family support fund for individuals impacted by the Dobbs verdict. We recognize that pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting come with significant financial responsibilities and have established this fund as a resource for those who need it. Recipients of this funding are trusted to use the award in a way that best supports their unique circumstances. Nonprofit organizations can apply for funding up to $15,000 to support family planning & support services and individuals can apply for $1,500 in family support funding. People can apply for funding or donate to support the fund at womengiving.org/century. It is our time and our turn to meet this moment. We join the larger reproductive justice movement and stand firmly with advocates in full support of creating an Arizona where women, girls, and birthing people of all identities thrive. This can only happen when we have the freedom to make decisions about our bodies, our health, and our futures. If you do not have control over your own body, then no other freedom matters. Two years ago, when Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy announced it was acquiring WPX Energy, a crater large enough to accommodate 80 Olympic-size swimming pools sat at the construction site of WPXs would-be headquarters at 222 N. Detroit Ave. Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum recalls that time vividly. All I could picture in my mind was this giant hole left behind wishing us in Tulsa well, he said. Instead, because of the corporate culture that the team at Devon has, the commitment to community and to building community here in Oklahoma, they never missed a beat ... We are so grateful, (then-WPX CEO and now president and CEO of Devon) Rick, (Muncrief) for you and your team. That commitment was on full display at the buildings dedication Monday. While WPXs operations in Tulsa were dissolved, a portion of the companys legacy will live on in the 11-story, roughly 260,000-square-foot structure, officials said. From my standpoint, this is not only a celebration for Devon, the history and legacy of WPX and our people, Muncrief said. More importantly, its truly a celebration, I believe, for the city of Tulsa. A total of 30,000 cubic yards of concrete and 4 million pounds of rebar were used to construct the behemoth, which has close to 700 covered parking spaces, 245,000 square feet of office space the buildings lone tenant, the law firm Crowe & Dunlevy, has leased the entire sixth floor and 15,000 square of commercial space. Separating the tiered structure is a tall breezeway linking Guthrie Green with John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park. We felt like we really wanted to send the right message to Tulsa, not only the current residents but the future residents, as well, Muncrief said. We wanted to make sure the headquarters had a 222 Detroit address. We wanted to make sure we faced the east toward the Greenwood area. We wanted to make sure this passageway was something that was very welcoming to John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park across the street and Guthrie Green, both of which are true treasures to the city of Tulsa. We wanted to make sure we honored the city of Tulsa in the right way and support our friends and neighbors here in the Greenwood area and the Arts District. Officials have no plans to name the building other than 222 North Detroit Avenue, though naming rights opportunities could materialize with future tenants, a company spokeswoman said. Every era for a city ... its defined by the things that are built in those periods of time, Bynum said. For us here in Tulsa. You think about the big waves of growth that weve had in like the late 20s and early 30s. You think about Waite Phillips building the Philtower. Waite Phillips is long gone but the Philtower is still here, this symbol of architectural beauty in the height of the oil boom in Oklahoma. You think about the 70s and the 80s and the BOK Tower that John Williams built here and how that connected the arts and saved downtown. And you think about this era that were in right now. Long after people arent talking about any of us who are here today, they will remember this building and what it symbolized for this era of our city. On hand for Mondays dedication was Kevin Johnson, a former all-star guard with the Phoenix Suns and ex-mayor of city of Sacramento. Along with his wife, Michelle, Johnson is founder of Fixins Soul Kitchen, which reportedly is eyeing a ground-level lease for a restaurant that could open next year at 222 North Detroit Avenue, two people aware of the project said Monday. Fixins has other locations in Sacremento and Los Angeles, according to its website. Johnson declined to comment at the event. Related video: Time-lapse of downtown Tulsa 222 North Detroit building (formerly WPX Energy headquarters) Tulsa County Election Board Secretary Gwen Freeman invited municipal officials to come to her office last week to hear first hand how difficult it has become to recruit and retain quality poll workers. And to plead for their help. What happens when someday I cant staff the elections? And I see that coming I really do. I see the handwriting on the wall, Freeman said. There may come a day when I cant hire enough people to work those precincts, and my question to myself is, What are you going to do? And I dont know. I pray that that never happens, but I see it coming I really do, unless we have this effort that I am asking you guys for. It was not the first time Freeman has sounded the alarm regarding the shortfall of election workers, but never before has she invited officials from around the county to explain why, and never before has her warning been so dire and so grim. As of Monday, the Election Board had 730 poll workers but will need at least another 350 to 400 to be able to staff and provide backup for the November elections. In August, about three dozen poll workers didnt show up on Election Day for one reason or another. And that was just part of the problem. We have precinct officials that fall asleep and sleep during the whole day. We have precinct officials that dont pay attention in class. Its not just the recruiting; its recruiting the right people that truly care about elections and care about the process, Freeman said. And not political activists. We have had a lot of political activists lately that are out at the polls that, no matter how many times we tell them, You are not there to spout politics. I dont care if youre a Democrat, Republican, whatever it is: You are there to assist voters. Well, they have an agenda, and no matter what you tell them, they tend to spout that agenda at the polls. So that is harmful to our reputation. We are looking for a better quality of person that we can actually staff these elections with that will actually show up. Freeman was careful to note that for years the Election Board has had a reliable group of part-time election officials who take their Election Day jobs seriously and perform them well and that many of them remain. Whats changed, she said, is that more and more of those workers many of whom are older are afraid to go to work at voting sites for fear they will be harassed. That explained Freemans other reason for asking the municipal officials to meet at her office to ask them to consider using their local law enforcement officers to provide security at polling places. It pains me a lot to say this in front of you and beg you for help in that sense, because it just is an indicator of the times that we live in right now, Freeman said. I have a feeling that it will turn around and get better I really do, because I believe in this country and democracy and the whole thing working its way back around but for now we are in a crisis situation, and there are a lot of people out there who literally want to harm elections, and they are doing their best to try to do that now. Freeman said the Election Board does not have the budget and the Tulsa County Sheriffs Office does not have the staff to provide security all day at each of the 251 polling places across the county. You guys may or may not be aware of this, (but) threats against election officials have been on the increase now since the 2020 election, Freeman said. They are so severe there have been death threats against officials here in the state of Oklahoma, believe it or not. And some of our precinct officials feel harassed and intimidated, and they say, We dont want to do this anymore, because voters are so rude to them. So we need to be able to counteract that with the right people. The only requirement a person must meet to become an election worker is to be a registered voter in the county. Training lasts a full day, and workers are paid between $100 and $110 a day, depending on their job. Mayor G.T. Bynum said he was briefed on last weeks meeting and would be happy to help with poll worker recruitment. Having city employees work voting sites, however, may not be an option, he said. I have previously asked our legal department about the possibility of using city employees as poll workers, Bynum said. The guidance I was given at the time was that it could be problematic for city employees to be working polls during an election involving municipal officials or ballot initiatives. Sand Springs City Manager Mike Carter was aware of the Election Boards worker woes before he stepped into last weeks meeting. Prior to the August elections, Freeman called Carter to say she was short precinct workers in Sand Springs, so the city manager went right to work. We sent out messages to all of our partners our churches, the Chamber of Commerce, local businesses and the school district and also our own employees, Carter said. Evidently, it was a big success, because she said that they had more than enough volunteers. Going forward, Carter said, Sand Springs city employees who want to work at the polls and go through the training to do so will be allowed to take the day off to work Election Days and get paid for it. The policy is in keeping with a philosophy Carter has shared throughout his long tenure of public service. Everybody knows their rights, he said, but nobody knows their responsibilities, and I think that extends to this. Featured video: Trump, allies fueled threats toward election workers Tulsa County commissioners voted Monday to extend the countys burn ban for another week. Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Kralicek said the county has seen no appreciable rain for 23 days, exacerbating the existing drought and making it essential that the burn ban be extended for a third consecutive week. For the last 90 days, were almost 4 inches of rainfall below our average, so we are in some pretty sizable drought conditions throughout the county, Kralicek said. With no rain forecast for the upcoming week, unfortunately, we saw that we needed to extend the burn ban by a week. Kralicek said this is one of the driest seasons in Oklahoma history and that the countys three-week burn ban is the longest of the year. This is definitely in the top third of the driest seasons (for this area) weve had since Oklahoma reached statehood, he said. Outdoor burning including controlled burns, bonfires, fire pits and chimineas is prohibited under the ban, but grilling and welding over a nonflammable surface are permitted. Individuals or organizations interested in applying for an exception to the burn ban should contact their local fire district, Kralicek said. Of utmost importance, he emphasized, is that county residents do everything they can to prevent accidentally starting a fire. Just be very cautious of anything that causes a spark, because at this point, all its going to take will be one spark and you can ruin a lot of peoples day, Kralicek said. Enforcement of the resolution can be carried out by any law enforcement officer in Oklahoma, and violators can receive up to a $500 fine, a prison sentence not to exceed a year, or both. Fines may be higher in municipalities. According to the Oklahoma Mesonet, Augusts heat was well above normal and contributed to Oklahomas hottest summer on record since 2011. The existing ban is in place through next Monday, and county commissioners will reconsider it again next week. Several other area counties, including Rogers, Creek, Okmulgee and Muskogee counties, also are under burn bans, according to Oklahoma Forestry Services. Not long after she won the title of Miss Oklahoma in June, Megan Golds father suggested that she move into a retirement home. At first, I was probably a little bit skeptical, Gold said. Then I came and saw the place, and it really made sense. Her social impact issue during the Miss Oklahoma pageant involved hunger among the states senior citizens, along with other general issues around the topic of aging. And she will carry the same theme into the Miss America competition this December. But how can a 22-year-old recent college graduate really understand what its like to age? A lot of times, people my age dont give older people the time of day, Gold said But I kind of feel like theyre the hidden treasures in the world. Even though shes about 60 years younger than the average resident, she asked for an apartment at Covenant Living at Inverness, a sprawling retirement community on West 71st Street. I loved the idea, said Garrett Lee, the executive director at Covenant Living at Inverness, who arranged for the beauty queen to stay in a fully furnished apartment where her sash and crown sit matter-of-factly next to the TV. It shakes things up at the community, Lee said. And were very, very interested in social accountability, so were constantly trying to figure out ways that we can somehow be impactful. If, by allowing her to be here and gaining that perspective, we can support her advocacy for senior living, we want to do it. Gold moved in about a month ago and began hanging out at the 4:30 p.m. happy hours to make new friends. The community gets rather quiet in the evenings while she seems to be the only one who likes staying up late, Gold said. But her neighbors stay busy during the day with social activities and health-and-fitness routines. Theyre full of life here, Gold said. Its not sad at all, not to me. And it has helped me realize that aging doesnt have to be bad. It doesnt have to be scary. Technically, residents are supposed to be at least 62 years old to live at Inverness, which means Gold wont really qualify until 2062. Nonetheless, shell get to stay until her reign ends next June. Honestly, its wonderful here, she said. I would move in full-time tomorrow and live here forever. Its that great. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board rejected recommending clemency on Tuesday for Benjamin Robert Cole Sr., who is sentenced to death for the 2002 Rogers County murder of his 9-month-old daughter, Brianna. Coles attorneys claim he is severely mentally ill and not a threat to anyone. He is scheduled to be executed Oct. 20. The state Pardon and Parole Board voted 4-1, with no discussion, to deny clemency for Cole, who did not appear at the hearing. This marks the second time in seven years that the board has denied Cole clemency, having voted 3-2 in 2015. The evidence of Mr. Coles severe mental illness presented during todays clemency hearing reinforces the need for a full trial on his competency, said Tom Hird, one of Mr. Coles attorneys. He is so impaired that he does not rationally understand why the state intends to execute him and was unable to participate in the clemency proceedings. Cole has been on death row at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester since 2004, when a Rogers County jury convicted him of first-degree murder. His trial included evidence that he broke Briannas back and ruptured her aorta on Dec. 20, 2002, after her crying interrupted a video game he was playing at home, according to trial testimony. Bryan Young, Briannas uncle, urged the board to reject clemency for Cole. Young said he recently read for the first time Briannas autopsy report from the state medical examiner. How could any human do that to a baby? Young said, calling the decision on clemency a no brainer for anyone familiar with the details of the crime. Attorneys for Cole, meanwhile, argued that their client has progressive and severe mental illness. A 15-millimeter lesion in his brain continues to grow, they claim. Hes not faking it, said Hird, one of Coles federal public defenders. Hes not some sort of mastermind. In 2016, a clinical psychologist hired by Coles defense contended that Cole had schizophrenia and was incompetent to be executed. The same psychologist, Dr. George Hough, said he was unable to get Cole to come out of his prison cell when he and others tried to visit him in April. Cole, who uses a wheelchair, has gone months without talking to anyone, according to his clemency petition. Coles attorneys urged the board to be on the right side of history when it comes to executing the mentally ill. At this moment, Oklahoma has the opportunity to exhibit courage, to follow these standards, and to be on the right side of history by prohibiting the execution of Benjamin Cole, a severely mentally ill and physically infirm person, according to his petition filing. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office concedes that while Cole exhibits signs of minor mental illness and minor brain damage, such a diagnosis by itself does not automatically indicate that someone is incompetent. However, as the courts have consistently found, Mr. Coles brain lesion does not interfere with his understanding of his case and his mental illness is not as severe as his attorneys are led to believe, attorneys for Attorney General John OConnor argued to the Pardon and Parole Board in a filing. Rather, attorneys for the state argued that Coles claim that he is incompetent to be executed is a legal matter to be decided by the courts. A Pittsburg County District Court judge is considering whether Cole is competent to be executed. OConnor disputed claims by Coles attorneys regarding the inmates mental health. Although his attorneys claim Cole is mentally ill to the point of catatonia, the fact is that Cole fully cooperated with a mental evaluation in July of this year, OConnor claimed in a media release after the hearing. The evaluator, who was not hired by Cole or the State, found Cole to be competent to be executed and that Mr. Cole does not currently evidence any substantial, overt signs of mental illness, intellectual impairment, and/or neurocognitive impairment. Cole was evaluated July 5 by Dr. Scott Orth, director of forensic psychology at the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita, as part of an order in a federal case involving Cole. Cole, while being evaluated at the Oklahoma Forensic Center, said he understood that he was there to see if he was mentally fit for court and competent here to see if I can go ahead and I guess be executed. At no point during (Dr. Orths) interview with Mr. Cole did he appear to ever lack any sort of capacity to engage in a discussion about his understanding of his pending execution, Orth said. Pardon and Parole Board member Larry Morris voted to recommend clemency for Cole. Chairman Scott Williams and fellow members Edward Konieczny, Richard Smothermon and Cathy Stocker opposed recommending clemency. The Rev. Don Heath, chairman of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, issued the following statement after the vote: Two of the five Pardon and Parole Board members voted in 2015 for clemency for Ben Cole. Seven years later, Mr. Coles mental condition has sharply deteriorated. A lesion in his brain has grown. He is no longer capable of communicating with his attorneys. He is no longer capable of recognizing that he is being punished. Yet only one of the five Board members voted for clemency today. There were no questions to any of the speakers. There was no discussion by any of the Board members before the final vote. This was a pro forma vote. The Board was just going through the motions in denying mercy for Ben Cole. Flash Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday granting Russian citizenship to former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Snowden, who revealed in 2013 that the U.S. government had been spying on the email and cell phone communications of as many as 35 world leaders, including then German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is one of more than 70 foreign citizens granted Russian citizenship. Snowden tweeted in November 2020 that "After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our son. That's why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we're applying for dual U.S.-Russian citizenship." Snowden, 39, who is wanted by the United States on charges of espionage and theft of government property, has been taking refuge in Russia since 2013 and received a permanent residency permit in the country in October 2020. Local and state leaders gathered at the Tulsa Police Memorial on Monday to celebrate the ceremonial signing of a bill spurred by the 2020 line-of-duty death of Sgt. Craig Johnson. Senate Bill 968, introduced by Sen. John Haste, R-Broken Arrow, and House-sponsored by Rep. Sheila Dills, R-Tulsa, alters the Oklahoma Open Records Act to limit the publics access to police recordings of line-of-duty deaths. Johnson, a police supervisor, was fatally shot during an overnight traffic stop in east Tulsa in June 2020. Officer Aurash Zarkeshan also was shot. The murder, for which a Tulsa County jury convicted David Ware in April, was captured on each officers body camera as well as on one patrol vehicles dash camera. Prosecutors successfully delayed the release of the videos for a time, arguing that their release could compromise the defendants right to a fair trial, but a judge ordered them released in September 2020 subject to the Open Records Act and to clear up a discrepancy in the Tulsa Police Departments version of events, which did not match the footage. Oklahomas Open Records Act already allowed law enforcement agencies to redact or obscure any footage depicting a death or body, but Johnson died the day after the recording of the footage at issue. The Police Department released the videos depicting his mortal wounding during a press conference in which Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin lamented the requirement to do so and joined Mayor G.T. Bynum in urging the public to refrain from watching. Dills told a gaggle of reporters that the bill was negotiated to balance several factors. We need to make sure that we are always protecting the dignity of our officers who do so much for us the dignity of their families, she said. We need to make sure that were not further desensitizing our young people in our culture when theyre already desensitized, and also we needed to make sure that we had adequate transparency for the public and for all those involved, and we feel like we have that in this bill. SB 968 allows law enforcement agencies to deny public access to any video or audio recordings that depict the death of an officer acting in the course of their duties, including events immediately before or after the acts that caused the death, except where a court rules otherwise in the name of public interest. The law also gives agencies the authority to allow specific family members of the deceased to view the recordings regardless of whether they are made public. The new addition to the law notes that it should not be construed to prohibit attorneys access to the recordings in the course of legal proceedings, which was a point of contention in the early stages of Wares case. Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is running for reelection in November, officially signed the bill in August but attended the ceremonial event with honor, he said. Signing the bills facsimile with several pens, he passed them off to some of those in attendance, including Zarkeshan and Kristi Johnson, Sgt. Johnsons widow. Stitt said the changes are intended to protect the privacy of decedents families, giving them the respect they deserve and the ability to mourn while also allowing the footage to be entered into evidence. Zarkeshan, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in the shooting, testified during Wares trial that he had no independent memory of the traffic stop and hadnt watched the video. He stood with his arm around Kristi Johnson at the event before stepping forward to thank the governor and legislators for attempting to restrict access to such videos. Ive said it before, and Ill say it again, he said. I dont want to see my friend be killed. Franklin, standing before the ranks of two current Tulsa Police Academy classes, joined Zarkeshan in thanking the legislators for their efforts and said hes grateful for the changes the amendment is intended to bring. We dont want to have to use it, but it is there just in case we have to, the chief said. Medical facilities affiliated with the University of Oklahoma will discontinue certain gender medicine services, officials said Tuesday after state lawmakers threatened to block as much as $108.5 million in federal funds to the University Hospitals Authority and Hospitals Trust. The American Rescue Plan Act allocations include $20 million for a cancer treatment center in northeastern Oklahoma and $39.4 million for a childrens behavioral health hospital in Oklahoma City. The appropriations are part of House Bill 1007xx, one of several dozen bills on the agenda for a special session of the Legislature that begins Wednesday. Language in the first section of the bill appropriates the $39.4 million to the University Hospitals Authority to expand the capacity of behavioral health care for the children of this state, but only on the condition that no facility owned by the authority or its associated trust perform gender reassignment medical treatment for children under 18. ARPA provides a major opportunity for our state to invest and partner in projects which will have significant health benefits for Oklahomans, says a statement issued Tuesday afternoon by OU Health. The funding will modernize our technical infrastructure, bring National Cancer Institute-level cancer care to northeast Oklahoma and allow us to deliver the most advanced inpatient and outpatient resources in the country for young people who need mental and behavioral health care. The Legislature restricted the use of the funds from benefiting facilities performing certain gender medicine services. The new mental and behavioral health facility was never intended to provide such care. The OU Health Senior Leadership team is proactively planning the ceasing of certain gender medicine services across our facilities and that plan is already under development. Exactly what relevant services OU Health has been providing and what it will discontinue is unclear. Barring a floor amendment, procedure calls for a single up-or-down vote on HB 1007xx, which also includes ARPA funding for an expansion of OUs Stevenson Cancer Center into northeastern Oklahoma, $44 million for an electronic records system and $5.2 million for five mobile dental clinics. The past two legislative sessions witnessed a marked concern among some legislators with transgender people, and in particular transgender children. State Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, said this week that he expects legislation during the 2023 regular session to ban gender-reassignment procedures for children altogether. Permanent reassignment for children and teens is not generally recommended by the medical professions, according to the literature on the matter. However, treatment with drugs that suppress the bodys release of sex hormones, including testosterone and estrogen, during puberty is a medically accepted practice, according to the Mayo Clinic. West and Rep. Randy Randleman, R-Eufaula, said the language in HB 1007 is necessary to protect children, while the ACLU of Oklahoma and Freedom Oklahoma, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, said it will harm youngsters. Funding for childhood mental and behavioral health issues is a critical need not only in Oklahoma, but across the country, said Randleman, a psychologist. At the same time, some of the ways these issues are being addressed do more harm than good for the child in the long run. Unproven, controversial, unchangeable hormonal procedures, including gender reassignment, at a young age can do irreparable physical, mental and emotional damage to a child. Nicole McAfee, executive director of Freedom Oklahoma, said: We are disappointed to hear the Oklahoma Legislature will threaten best practice medical care for transgender young people by creating restrictions on ARPA disbursements to OU Health. It proves yet again that politicians in the Oklahoma Legislature are more concerned with their election mailer taglines than they are with the health of Oklahomans. HB 1007xx defines the barred procedures as any health care to facilitate the transitioning of a patients assigned gender identity on the patients birth certificate, to the gender identity experienced and defined by the patient. The bill says that includes interventions to suppress the development of secondary sex characteristics and align the patients appearance or physical body with the patients gender identity, as well as medical therapies and interventions to treat gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is defined as psychological distress arising from incongruence between ones sex assigned at birth and ones gender identity. Not included in the ban, according to the bill, are behavioral health care services or mental health counseling, medications to treat depression and anxiety, and services provided to individuals born with ambiguous genitalia, incomplete genitalia, both male and female anatomy, biochemically verifiable disorder of sex development and ovotesticular disorder. Disorder of sex development, also known as different sex development, is a condition in which a childs chromosomes do not match their genitalia. Children with ovotesticular disorder are born with both ovaries and testes. Featured video: Will Oklahoma transgender legislation impact NCAA postseason events? A male scuba diver in central Vietnam spends his days in the deep blue sea going after giant fish. The local people compare him to a human otter. The sharp-toothed barracuda can weigh over 20 kilograms," said 41-year-old Nguyen Van Dieu, a resident on Con Co Island, Quang Tri Province. "You have to shoot right in the deadly spot, or else it will drag you forward like an engine. Its even more treacherous trying to get hold of enormous stingrays weighing 150 kilograms." Huge creature and tiny deadly spot According to Dieu, a crossbow is his hunting tool under the sea. He used to be dragged along by gigantic creatures over dozens of meters and had to cut off the string to set himself free. That day, I shot the 150-kilogram stingray right at its deadly spot," he recalled. It took two people to pull it from the deep waters to shore. It was exhausting. The local people came together and helped us carry the fish over to my home. "We shared the catch and everybody could get as much as they wanted. The military officers came and took about five to seven kilograms of stingray flesh for their squads. I gave it all away for free. The giant stingray is an extreme source of danger due to its strength and venomous tip of the tail, which can cause an excruciating sting, prompting urgent hospitalization. It was the first time I had ever caught such a heavy fish. I was diving deep to the seabed when I caught sight of it coming up right over me like a passing roof, he described the experience. Out of breath, I swam to the surface and called for reinforcement in case of danger. The stingrays eyes only pointed downward, so I was swimming above it and I aimed at his deadly spot on the head. The creature stopped dead in its tracks. If I had missed, it would have pulled me through the water with ease. Each fish has its unique deadly spot, one that will completely stupefy the animal when being shot at. Nguyen Van Dieu caught a giant queenfish by shooting it right in the fallen leaf his term for the deadly spot on the body of a fish. The otterman Dieu calls this spot the fallen leaf,' as if to compare the motionless moment of the creature to a yellow leaf dropping from a tree. Con Co sea boasts very strong currents and fast-moving fish, while the deadly spots can be as small as a fingertip. Once I was facing a barracuda about 30 kilograms in weight. It was staring at me in the face, but I couldnt get the fallen leaf because it was too close to the gills," he added. I had bait fish tied to my body, so I was hiding myself behind some rocks and awaited the hungry creature, with my crossbow in position. The fish lost sight of me and immediately dashed to my hiding spot, making its turn. I took my chance and shot it right at the deadly spot. I took it to shore and it turned out to be the same length as my whole body. Dieu has a dagger with him every time he faces a barracuda, so that he can free himself instantly by dissecting the string connecting the arrow to his crossbow the moment he misses the fallen leaf.' Without this prompt move, the giant fish might lose its mind and bump right into the diver with enormous force. The Con Co sea is full of sharks as well, and it is also Dieus hunting grounds. The bait fish on the divers body attracts the creatures and he at times faces them at a close distance. I have encountered great whites swimming right above me. Its best to avoid an assault, so I tend to push myself quickly to shore, he said. Every species of fish has a different level of intelligence. The bigger the fish, the smarter it is and harder it is to attack. Theres a grouper about 30 kilograms in weight that will immediately duck me when it spots my presence, Dieu said. Once it flew into a rocky cave with me on its tail. I got stuck and almost died from zero oxygen, but fortunately I got out in time. I tried waiting for it at the entrance to this cave a few other times, but still could not get it, so I decided to back away for 20 days at a stretch hoping it would forget about me. Then, I came back and ambushed it. I sent out some sound signal to lure it to the cave entrance. The moment it appeared, I shot it right in the fallen leaf and had a hard time taking it to shore. An undersea gunman The fish that I catch around Con Co Island are quite delicious. I often hunt on demand to meet the customers need for proper sizes, Dieu said. Yesterday, I earned VND4 million [US$169] after a two-hour dive. On a calm day, I could simply dive down there, wrap my body with fish and come back. Nguyen Van Dieu trains other people on the island on how to dive and hunt underwater. The diver insisted that he strictly followed the legal regulations on using crossbows. Interestingly, he is a keen protector of the aquatic ecosystem. He is well aware of the values that the sea holds for humans. Born and bred in Cam Thanh Commune, Cam Lo District, Quang Tri Province, Dieu was only familiar with rice fields in his youth. He did not get a taste of the sea until his 2000 military trip to Con Co Island when he met Nguyen Hanh Nhan, a female volunteer who worked to protect the place. They got married and registered themselves as residents of Con Co. It was a tough life for the newlyweds. I learnt how to dive with a worker at the port. He taught me how to catch fish underwater, but for the crossbow, I taught myself, Dieu said. Its arrows are made from six-millimeter metal bars and the trigger is from a used grenade. On my first crossbow hunt, I got a 400-gram lobster, he added. I got so excited that the crossbow fell out of my grip. Dieu gets to pursue his passion for diving while making money along the way. He does not want to replace his self-made weapon. On his first diving days, he would not get past two meters deep down and only aimed at small fish the size of three-to-four fingers. The man, however, hung out with other divers and they recommended a more professional crossbow for his job. The financial burden prompted him to hone his diving skills. For the last 20 years, Dieu has developed an accurate list of deadly spots of each type of fish and their precise position on the body. Thanks to this, he has become an old hand at hunting big fish. He has also trained other islanders on diving and hunting fish, but most of his students are not well-prepared to deal with fish weighing 30-50 kilograms each. According to Dieu, these people need to practice with the smaller catch first to enhance their sensibility and quick reactions underwater. He stresses that haste can mean perils in this line of work. According to Major Ngo Xuan Phuong from Con Co military base, Dieu is truly a top fish hunter. I have worked at numerous military camps along the Quang Tri coastline, but Ive never seen such a skilled hunter. He can get fish that weigh over a hundred kilograms. Thats awesome, he said. Diving is in his blood, and he gets his fish home every time. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Australia's government said on Tuesday it will introduce legislation to create a National Anti-Corruption Commission, after years of debate over the need for an independent watchdog for politicians. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement the move would "restore trust and integrity in politics", and funding of A$262 million ($169.8 million) over four years will be provided. A bill is expected to be introduced to parliament on Wednesday. The commission will investigate serious or systemic corruption by federal government ministers, parliamentarians, political staff and employees of, or contractors to, government entities. It will have retrospective powers, and be able to make findings of corruption, or refer criminal matters to federal police or public prosecutors, the statement said. A New South Wales state corruption watchdog has conducted a slew of investigations into politicians and political donations in Australia's biggest state economy, resulting in two Liberal state premiers resigning in the past decade. The federal Liberal government of Scott Morrison, which lost office in a national election in May, had resisted calls for a federal watchdog, amid criticism over the public nature of the NSW corruption hearings and the damage caused to careers, even when a corruption finding was ultimately not made. The national commission will be able to hold public hearings "in exceptional circumstances", and where it is in the public interest, the government statement said. The commission's findings will be subject to judicial review, it added. ($1 = 1.5434 Australian dollars) The first strong winds ahead of Hurricane Ian began to pound Cuba's south coast late on Monday as officials rushed to evacuate residents, secure boats and batten down homes amid warnings of a life threatening storm surge. The fast-growing storm is centered about 155 miles (250 km) southeast of Cabo San Antonio, in far western Cuba, but has jumped in intensity in recent hours with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour (155 km per hour), making it a Category 2 hurricane on a five-step scale. "Devastating wind damage is possible where the core of Ian moves across western Cuba," the center said. The storm is forecast to strengthen into a Category 3 or greater hurricane and barrel north to the Florida coast, where residents are stockpiling supplies and filling sandbags. Residents of Batabano on Cuba's south coast worked with many fewer resources than in Florida as the storm closed in, threatening the fishing village of precarious wooden and concrete block houses perched just a few paces from the roiling sea. "We are here saving human lives, going house to house, taking out the elderly and children," said local official Suleika Roche, 43, aboard a bus that was transporting residents to high ground. The storm is set to plow north across the island as it advances into the Gulf of Mexico, but forecasts put its track well west of the Cuban capital of Havana, where a direct hit could cause catastrophic damage to the citys antiquated infrastructure. A fisherman prepares to move his boat from a canal ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Ian in Havana, Cuba, September 26, 2022. Photo: Reuters Cuba is already suffering an economic crisis that has led to long lines for food, fuel and medicine, as well as regular blackouts countrywide. Most grocery store shelves have been largely bare for months, complicating preparations for the storm. "Im buying bread now because later I wont be able to leave my house," said Havana resident Guillermo Gomez, 79, as he waited in a line that stretched several blocks for a few pieces of bread. "The water will be up to my knees." On the capitals waterfront Malecon boulevard, some residents boarded up windows. Others, lacking boards, taped them to keep them from shattering, while others simply removed the glass altogether. Juan Ruiz, a custodian for a coffee shop looking over the Straits of Florida, said the business had stripped all its merchandise and equipment the night before, preferring to work with the sea instead of fighting it. "Weve been preparing since Saturday," Ruiz said as the wind began to raise whitecaps on the water. "The sea always surges here." Cubas government called off interprovincial train and bus travel across the western half of the island ahead of the storm. Officials said they were also monitoring aging dams, many of which were already nearing capacity before the storm. Farmer Cito Braga puts plastic on a window of his home ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ian in Coloma, Cuba, September 26, 2022. Photo: Reuters Florida bound The storm appears poised to cut a swath across the tobacco-growing province of Pinar del Rio, a more lightly populated area of the island dedicated primarily to farming and fishing. Officials in Pinar del Rio said they would evacuate 24,000 people from the province ahead of the hurricane. Fertilizer, charcoal and farm animals had been moved to secure locations, officials said, and infrastructure for the regions tobacco industry protected. Forecasters said that once Ian left western Cuba, the storm could make landfall north of Tampa Bay early on Friday or turn northwest toward Florida's Panhandle. The Biden administration declared a public health emergency for the state on Monday and said it was working with local officials to provide support. Both Cuba and Florida have in recent years seen wetter, windier and more intense hurricanes, which some experts attribute to climate change. There is also evidence that climate change is causing storms to travel more slowly, dumping more water in one place. TOKYO -- With flowers, prayers and a 19-gun salute, Japan honoured slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday at the first state funeral for a former premier in 55 years - a ceremony that has become as controversial as he was in life. The ceremony started at 2:00 p.m. (0500 GMT), with Abe's ashes carried into the Nippon Budokan Hall in central Tokyo by his widow, Akie, to music from a military band and the booms of the honour-guard salute, which echoed inside the hall. Thousands of mourners flooded to designated spots near the venue from early morning to pay their last respects. Within hours, about 10,000 people had laid flowers, television showed, with more waiting in three-hour long queues. "I know it's divisive and there are a lot of people against this, but there were so many people lined up to offer flowers," said Yoshiko Kojima, a 63-year-old Tokyo housewife. "I felt that now the funeral is actually taking place, many people have come out to pray for him." Guests wait for the start of the state funeral of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on September 27, 2022. PHILIP FONG/Pool via Reuters Abe's killing at a July 8 campaign rally set off a flood of revelations about ties between lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) he once ran and the Unification Church, which critics call a cult, sparking a backlash against current premier Fumio Kishida. With his support ratings dragged to their lowest ever by the controversy, Kishida has apologised and vowed to cut party ties to the church. But opposition to honouring Abe with a state funeral, the first such event since 1967, has persisted, fed by an $11.5-million price tag to be borne by the state at a time of economic pain for ordinary citizens. In one part of downtown Tokyo, protesters waved signs and chanted "No state funeral" to the tune of a guitar. Inside the Budokan, better known as a concert venue, a large portrait of Abe draped with black ribbon hung over a bank of green, white and yellow flowers. In the centre was a Japanese flag made of flowers. Nearby, a wall of photos showed Abe strolling with G7 leaders, holding hands with children and visiting disaster areas. General view of the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, 27 September 2022. Thousands of people are gathered in Tokyo to attend the state funeral for former prime minister Shinzo Abe, including foreign dignitaries and representatives from more than 200 countries and international organizations. FRANCK ROBICHON/Pool via Reuters A moment of silence was followed by a retrospective of Abe's political life and speeches by leading ruling party figures, including Kishida and Yoshihide Suga, Abe's successor and Kishida's predecessor as prime minister. In remarks representing Abe's friends, Suga noted that many people in their 20s and 30s had showed up to offer flowers. "You always said you wanted to make Japan better, that you wanted young people to have hope and pride," Suga said, his voice trembling. Divisive figure Japan's longest-serving prime minister was a divisive figure who was dogged by scandals. An unapologetic nationalist, Abe pushed the country toward a muscular defence posture that many now see as prescient amid growing concern about China, but others criticised as too hawkish. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (C) arrives for the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, 27 September 2022. Thousands of people are gathered in Tokyo to attend the state funeral for former prime minister Shinzo Abe, including foreign dignitaries and representatives from more than 200 countries and international organizations. FRANCK ROBICHON/Pool via Reuters About 4,300 people were expected at the funeral ceremony itself along with at least 48 current or former government figures, including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Some 20,000 police were deployed, nearby roads were closed and even some schools shut as Japan sought to avoid the security blunders that led to Abe's shooting with a homemade gun by a suspect who, police say, accused the Unification Church of impoverishing his family. The state funeral for Abe, who received a private funeral days after his assassination, was the first for an ex-premier since one in 1967 for former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. Kishida has explained the decision as a way of honouring Abe's achievements, as well as standing up for democracy, but ordinary Japanese remain divided. Only 30% of respondents in a recent poll by TV Asahi agreed with hosting the funeral, against 54% opposed. U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel (C), takes his seat as he arrives for the state funeral of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on September 27, 2022. PHILIP FONG/Pool via Reuters Kishida also cited the chance to conduct diplomacy as a reason for the funeral, and spent Monday night and Tuesday morning in meetings with leaders. Even without the recent revelations about the Unification Church, it would be hard to imagine any circumstances where a majority of Japanese would favour honouring Abe with a state funeral, said Tobias Harris, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and the author of a biography of the former premier. "He was someone who almost welcomed and invited controversy and saw his mission as overturning a longstanding consensus or set of consensuses" about how Japan was run, Harris said. Many Japanese were "attached to the postwar regime that he wanted to overturn", Harris said. Five airports in Vietnams central and Central Highlands regions are scheduled to cease operations for 24 hours starting at noon on Tuesday, while many flights have been canceled and rescheduled due to powerful Typhoon Noru. The operations of five airports in central Da Nang City, central Quang Nam Province, north-central Thua Thien-Hue Province, south-central Binh Dinh Province, and the Central Highlands province of Pleiku will be halted from 12:00 pm on Tuesday, the Central Airports Authority said in an urgent document. The airdrome in Quang Nam Province will be allowed to resume normal activities at 6:59 am on Wednesday, while the other four will reopen at 11:59 am the same day. Airports operators and airlines were requested to closely monitor the development of Typhoon Noru to adjust flight schedules in the affected localities. Airlines and ground service businesses told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Monday that they were taking measures to protect the equipment at these airports from the influence of the storm. National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines announced on Tuesday morning that 24 flights to the affect localities had been moved to earlier time, while many flights on Wednesday will be delayed until the airports resume operations. Other flights taking place during the temporary closure of the airdromes will be canceled. Bamboo Airways also called off 24 flights on Tuesday and rescheduled 25 others. Similarly, Vietjet Air announced that it rescheduled multiple flights due to the typhoon. Typhoon Noru will be one of the strongest storms to hit Vietnam in the past 20 years. As of 7:00 am on Tuesday, Noru was located about 400 kilometers off the coast between central Quang Nam and Quang Ngai Provinces, packing wind speed of 150-183km per hour, according to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting. The typhoon is expected to make landfall on Wednesday morning and unleash winds of 118-149km an hour. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Here are todays leading news stories: Politics -- Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc joined talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Monday as part of his stay in Japan to attend the state funeral for former PM Shinzo Abe. Society -- Typhoon Noru was located above the maritime area southeast of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago as of 4:00 am on Tuesday, packing wind speed of 150 to 166km per hour, the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting reported, adding that the typhoon will continue picking up strength as it travels west. -- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed a decision on Monday to establish a steering committee to respond to Typhoon Noru in central Da Nang City and appointed Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh as its head. -- The operations of five airports in Da Nang, Quang Nam, Thua Thien-Hue, Binh Dinh, and Pleiku in the central and Central Highlands regions will be halted from 12:00 pm on Tuesday to 11:59 am on Wednesday due to Typhoon Noru. -- Authorities in central Da Nang City have allowed all workers to stay home from 12:00 pm on Tuesday in response to powerful Typhoon Noru. All schools in the city were also closed from Monday afternoon and will be used as storm shelters in the coming days. -- Thousands of people were stuck in a serious traffic jam amid the rain at the intersection of Le Thi Kinh and Le Van Luong Streets in Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City due to the lack of traffic lights on Monday evening. -- Police in Hanoi confirmed on Monday they had arrested a man and woman on suspicion of running illegal surrogacy services. Health -- The Ministry of Health documented 1,432 COVID-19 cases on Monday, raising the national tally to 11,473,733, with 10,587,561 recoveries and 43,146 deaths. -- The fertility rate increased in many regions of Vietnam in 2020 and 2021, head of the General Department of Population - Family Planning Nguyen Doan Tu stated, adding that people spent more time together during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A foreign director of a Japanese factory in the northern Vietnamese city of Hai Phong stirred a public backlash after firing two workers using a scissors by the neck image. During a recent working session with the Trade Union of Hai Phong Economic Zone, precision machinery manufacturer Iiyama Seiki Vietnam pledged to have its director make a formal apology by Tuesday to two former employees Trinh Quang Vinh and Nguyen Van Thuan. Vinh and Thuan submitted their letters of resignation to the company leaders on September 23 and were approved by the director, who was not named in Hai Phong authorities press release, the same day. Following the approval, the director, however, wrote a message about dismissing the two employees and stuck it on the companys bulletin board with an attached picture showing a hand holding a pair of scissors ready to cut off a mans head. The message read that these employees had very poor labor skills, no prospects of improvement; [and they] did not fulfill their duties as required by labor regulations. Many offended employees filed a report to the companys labor union chairman. They also claimed that the foreign director often entered restrooms and the staff rooms to take pictures and upload them on the companys internal portal without permission. The workers called these acts 'oppression' that do not align with Vietnamese law. Hai Phong trade union officials, after meeting with the company leaders and the two workers, said the former did not comply with labor regulations by sticking up the notice after giving both employees permission to quit the job. The obscene image was against the law and caused anger among workers, they said, adding the company director had violated regulations by entering restrooms and the staff rooms without permission. Labor authorities have required Iiyama Seiki Vietnam to convene a company meeting to address the issue by Friday this week. Iiyama Seiki Vietnam was founded in 2012 and has 85 employees, according to the website of its Japan-based parent firm Iiyama Seiki Co. Ltd. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! You are here: World Flash At least 15 people were killed, including 11 children, in a shooting at a school in the Russian city of Izhevsk on Monday, TASS news agency reported, citing the Russian Investigative Committee. According to the committee, 22 children and two adults were injured in the attack at the No. 88 school located near the city administration building of Izhevsk, the capital city of western Russia's Udmurt Republic. It was reported earlier that 13 people were killed and about 20 others wounded in the shooting. Investigators identified the shooter as Artem Kazantsev, born in 1988, a native of Izhevsk and a graduate of the school. Kazantsev brought two pistols and a large number of cartridges with him and committed suicide after the attack, the committee said. The school has 982 students and 80 teachers, and they have been evacuated. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed deep condolences for the tragedy, the Kremlin said in a statement. The governor of the Udmurt Republic declared three days of mourning beginning on Monday. Typhoon Noru, the fourth storm in the East Vietnam Sea so far this year, is gaining strength while rapidly heading to central Vietnam and it is forecast to hit the provinces between Thua Thien Hue and Quang Ngai on Wednesday morning, the central weather agency warned. At 7:00 am on Tuesday, the typhoon was centered on 400km off the coast of Quang Nam - Quang Ngai Provinces, packing winds of up to 183km per hour, with gusts of 220km per hour, according to Vietnams National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting. Within the next 12 hours, the powerful storm will move west rapidly and may get stronger while heading to central Vietnam At 4:00 pm Tuesday, Typhoon Noru will be located 300km off from Da Nang City or 250km off Quang Nam Province, with winds of up to 183km per hour and gusts of over 220km per hour. A fishing boat is seen being lifted to shore by a crane in a coastal area of central Vietnam to avoid possible damage to be caused by the coming powerful typhoon. Photo: Huu Kha / Tuoi Tre On Tuesday night, the typhoon will continue moving quickly in the same direction to get closer to the waters of central localities, with its intensity likely weakening a bit. At 4:00 am on Wednesday, the eye of the storm will be located off the coast of the central area from Quang Tri to Binh Dinh Provinces, with wind force reaching 166km per hour and squalls hitting 201km per hour. The typhoon will enter the mainland on the same morning, possibly in the Thua Thien Hue - Quang Ngai region, before gradually weakening to a tropical depression and later to a low-pressure system in Thailand. Due to the influence of the typhoon, from Tuesday morning many localities in central Vietnam began to have rainstorms, the center said. The north and middle areas of the East Vietnam Sea, including the waters of Vietnam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, will also have heavy rains with strong winds, with gusts increasing to 220km per hour, together with rough seas and waves reaching 9-11 meters high. The southern area of the East Vietnam Sea, including the waters of Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, will have squalls of 88km per hour and rough sea waves rising to three to four meters. On the mainland, fierce winds with gusts of up to 183km per hour will lash the coastal areas of the central localities including Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, and Binh Dinh from Tuesday evening. This image shows Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan inspecting preparations to cope with Typhoon Noru in a central locality on September 25, 2022. Photo: Truong Trung / Tuoi Tre From Tuesday through Wednesday, the region including Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, and Kon Tum will have downpours with rainfall of 250-350 millimeters, even up to 450 millimeters in some areas. Torrential rains will also be recorded in the areas of Quang Binh, Binh Dinh, and Gia Lai Provinces, with lower precipitation, at 300 millimeters in maximum. From Wednesday onward, heavy rains will expand in many localities south of the northern delta and in the north-central region. At 7:00 am on Wednesday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired an online meeting on measures to respond to Typhoon Noru, with connections made to eight localities in the central coastal region and Central Highlands that are likely to be affected by storms, including Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Gia Lai, and Kon Tum. The PM two days earlier signed a decision to establish a Frontline Steering Committee to coordinate activities coping with the typhoon, with his deputy Le Van Thanh assigned as the head of the committee. Thanh is scheduled to arrive in Da Nang City on Tuesday morning to direct actions in the central region to mitigate the possible impacts of the coming typhoon. Earlier on Sunday, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan was in the central provinces to inspect preparations to deal with the powerful storm. Over the past several days, authorities in all localities in central Vietnam have deployed all necessary measures to protect infrastructure as well as human lives and assets ahead of the forecast landfall of the typhoon. Before entering the East Vietnam Sea and heading to central Vietnam, Typhoon Noru swept through the Philippines on Sunday evening, killing five rescuers, causing many others to go missing, forcing an evacuation of over 74,000 people, and caused initial damage of US$2.4 million to the countrys agriculture, among other losses, according to international media. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! More and more people are choosing eco-friendly products; however, the Vietnamese markets wide range of items labeled biodegradable leaves consumers lost in a maze when it comes to identifying truly green ones. The absence of regulations on green product labeling to help differentiate biodegradable products from non-biodegradable ones is confusing customers. Many products labeled 'biodegradable,' actually eco-unfriendly As her daily consumption of plastic bags is high, Huong, who lives in Ha Dong District, Hanoi, has switched to biodegradable bags over the past months. Upon researching the market, Huong seemed to get lost in a maze of various types and models with their packaging printed with words such as 'degradable bag,' 'biodegradable bag,' or 'biodegradable gloves.' Believing the advertisements, she selects any product that is marketed as 'degradable.' Yet once she read the information on how to distinguish between biodegradable products and partially-decomposed plastic products (OXO degradable plastic), Huong was startled by her misunderstanding that all products with 'degradable' or 'decomposable' tags are not all eco-friendly. I was shocked that many products labeled 'degradable' are still made from plastic that breaks down into small plastic particles and exists in the environment," said Huong. If so, it is like I am using plastic bags, paying more but still not protecting the environment. I have no idea how to recognize truly biodegradable products due to no information or instructions on the packaging. As a supervising manager at a foreign company, Linh who resides in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, said that her firm manufactures products labeled 'green energy,' so the company encourages its staff not to consume single-use plastic goods or plastic bags. Biodegradable products are able to replace traditional ones due to their environmental friendliness and consumer health protection. Therefore, most of the office furniture is replaced with reusable and eco-friendly packing and items. With strict requirements, she carefully studied the products in the local market to opt for authentic ones. She gained an insight into the 'degradable'-labeled products. Not all are green and eco-friendly. They seem to be the same, but those made from biodegradable plastic are capable of decomposing biologically, meaning that under the influence of microorganisms, the products will decompose into CO2, H2O or biomass which is truly renewable and eco-friendly, Linh stated. Vague advertisements and absence of labels To unlock an environmental conundrum, researchers invented biodegradable plastic to tackle the degradability of traditional plastic, which takes up to hundreds or thousands of years to decompose. Meanwhile, it takes biodegradable plastic made of renewable materials only a few months or years to turn into CO2, H2O, or humus, which helps to reduce environmental pollution and cut CO2 emissions when burned by 25-30 percent. However, Prof. Dr. Dang Kim Chi, president of the Science and Technology Council under the Vietnam Association for the Conservation of Nature and Environment, said that OXO degradable plastic and biodegradable plastic products have yet to be clearly distinguished. Many products tagged 'biodegradable' make consumers mistakenly believe that OXO degradable plastic is also an eco-friendly green product. But in essence, it still decomposes and exists in the environment, resulting in negative influence on human health. Hence, Chi said that manufacturers themselves must be responsible for the quality of the products labeled 'biodegradable' in order to accurately inform consumers. Besides, there should be more transparent mechanisms and regulations to distinguish and help consumers straightforwardly recognize the eco-friendly green products with real degradability. Speaking of the potential for biodegradable plastic development, Dr. Nguyen Le Thang Long, chairman of the Vietnam Eco-Friendly Product Manufacturers Association, said that plastic made from regenerative input materials and biodegradable products that replace traditional plastic products will help minimize the dependence on the irreplaceable source of materials. In addition, this is an appropriate solution for Vietnam, since infrastructure for plastic collection and classification is not available. These products, however, also have a weakness. As their decomposition time is short at about 6-12 months, their shelf life will not be as long as conventional products. If the products are out of date, they may be easily torn or brittle. Meanwhile, their production cost is high, some 2-3 times higher than other products that are tagged 'degradable.' As a result, there are not many enterprises producing them. Accordingly, it is not commonplace now. The leader of An Phat Holdings, a well-known company in biodegradable product production, said that because residents are increasingly interested in the green consumption trend, evident rules and regulations are needed to help protect consumers and support companies. An Phat Holdings is currently known as one of the few Vietnamese producers of biodegradable products meeting international standards. This companys product, named AnEco, is widely sold in Vietnam and 20 countries around the world, while making a big splash on the Amazon e-commerce platform in the United States. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnams Military Region 5 has mobilized more than 50,000 troops and a large number of specialized vehicles and equipment in response to Typhoon Noru, which is forecast to land in the central region on Wednesday morning, the High Command of the military region reported on Tuesday. Along with around 53,000 officers and soldiers, the High Command also deployed 108 specialized and amphibious vehicles, 1,385 military cars, 715 motorboats, five armored vehicles, and one helicopter of the T-TG 574 Brigade to respond to Typhoon Noru. By Tuesday morning, units of the military region had supported people in the coastal provinces from Da Nang City to Ninh Thuan Province to safely anchor more than 20,000 fishing boats. Officers and soldiers of Vietnam's Military Region 5 are seen on their way to perform their duty in response to Typhoon Noru. Photo: H.Q. / Tuoi Tre Soldiers also helped residents consolidate their houses, bring boats to shore for safe shelter, prune trees, and take other measures to protect themselves and assets from the impacts of the powerful storm. They also coordinated with border guards in calling on boats at sea to come back to shore soon or move to safe places to avoid the typhoon. The Military Region 5 covers 11 cities and provinces in the central and Central Highlands regions, including Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, and Dak Nong. The military regions High Command directed the Military Headquarters of Da Nang City and the coastal provinces from Quang Nam to Ninh Thuan to maintain their on-duty forces to timely take actions in response to the storm, including evacuation and rescue activities. The military region set up a frontline command post in Quang Nam Province and sent two task forces to monitor preparatory works in Da Nang and Quang Nam and Quang Ngai Provinces, said Major General Cao Phi Hung, deputy commander of Military Region 5. On Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired an online meeting with authorities of eight localities likely to be affected by the typhoon, including Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Gia Lai, and Kon Tum, to discuss measures to deal with Typhoon Noru. This image shows soldiers moving a specialized vessel to be used when coping with the powerful storm. Photo: H.Q. / Tuoi Tre Also on the same morning, many Vietnamese airlines announced cancelation of hundreds of scheduled flights while delaying many others because of the impacts of the coming typhoon. At 10:00 am on Tuesday, the typhoon was located about 310km off the region from Da Nang to Quang Ngai, packing winds reaching 183km per hour and gusts of over 220km per hour, according to Vietnams National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting. As of 11:00 am on Tuesday, many coastal areas in central Vietnam, including Da Nang and Quang Ngai, were suffering from rainstorms and powerful winds, with waves reaching four meters high, as reported by Tuoi Tre (Youth) reporters from the scenes. Within the next 12 hours, the powerful storm will move west at a speed of 20-25km per hour and may get stronger while heading to central Vietnam, the center said. In the early hours of Wednesday, the typhoon will hit the mainland, possibly in the region between Thua Thien Hue and Binh Dinh Provinces, and then weaken gradually. Residents in Tho Quang Ward, Da Nang City are seen tightening ropes to keep the anchored fishing boats secured in anticipation of the coming typhoon. Photo: Truong Trung / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Hannah Gadsby has signed a multi-title deal with Netflix. The deal includes a new, hour-long special from the Body of Work comedy tour to be filmed at the Sydney Opera House this week and premiere in 2023. Gadsby will also produce and host a multi-comic special featuring an international cast of comedians. In an effort to further open a door that I had to fight to get through myself, I will curate and host a line-up show on Netflix featuring six new, gender-diverse comedians, they said. In a notoriously transphobic industry, I am looking to broaden the scope of opportunities for genderqueer performers from around the globe, as well as expand the diversity of offerings to audiences on one of comedys biggest platforms. Coupled with a mentorship initiative for these up-and-coming comics, the program aims to foster the professional development of a demographic that is still struggling to have their voices heard. Recorded in a single run in the UK in 2023, this will be a chance for the world to hear these voices for the first, but definitely not the last, time. Netflix has previously been home to Nanette and Douglas specials which have amassed wins from Peabody, Emmy and AACTA Awards. Its rare for amounts from paid interviews to be acknowledged publicly 7News Spotlight paid Melissa Caddicks husband $150,000 for an interview, according to evidence given in court yesterday. News.com.au reports Anthony Koletti was grilled inside a courtroom about the final hours in which Ms Caddick was last seen alive and the contradictory accounts he had given. The inquest is examining her presumed death after a shoe containing a foot, which was later matched to the 49-year-old, washed up on a NSW South Coast beach three months after she went missing. The court heard on Tuesday that Mr Koletti was paid $150,000 for an interview with 7News Spotlight program in October 2021. The programme took viewers inside the mansion he shared with Caddick, and promised new details of her fraudulent scheme. Koletti was also pressed on differing versions of events he had given to the media and in court concerning when he had last seen his wife. He told Spotlight that on the evening of November 11, 2020, he stayed up making music until 4am however told the court on Tuesday that he went to bed about 9 9.30pm. Which one is truthful? he was asked in court. This one, Koletti replied, referring to his evidence to the court. Meanwhile Hulu has picked up 2022 Underbelly drama Vanishing Act. Nicky Davies Williams, CEO of DCD Rights, said: We are extremely pleased to announce this strong line-up of initial sales for Vanishing Act. It is a highly produced and exceptional Australian drama which is even more compelling to viewers because it is based on a true story which is almost too incredible to believe. FILE PHOTO: The EDF logo at the company's headquarters in Paris PARIS (Reuters) - French power company EDF, which is being fully nationalised, said it had agreed to sell its 50% stake in the 870MW Sloe CCGT plant in the Netherlands to Czech power and infrastructure operator EPH. "This transaction is part of EDF's 3 billion euros ($2.9 billion) asset disposal program and closing is subject to customary regulatory authorisations," added EDF. The financial terms of this sale were not disclosed. The French government, which already owns 84% of EDF, announced in July that it would take full control of EDF to help it fund massive investments to fix its reactors and build new ones. France has said EDF's nationalisation, which will cost the state 9.7 billion euros, will increase the security of its energy reserves as Europe scrambles to find alternatives to Russian gas. ($1 = 1.0365 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) (Google Maps) A woman suffered multiple gunshot wounds in a shooting at a west London YMCA used to house young single mothers. The victim, 23, was seen by residents being carried out in a stretcher after the shooting in Bordars Road, Hanwell at 7pm on Monday. She was rushed to hospital where her condition is said to be not life-threatening. There have been no arrests made so far in the investigation. A YMCA resident said she had been stopped by authorities from returning to the residence with her young daughter. She told The Standard: I had messaged to see if it was safe for me and my daughter to return and they had said that I wont be able to and asked if I could stay elsewhere. Luckily my uncle heard about it and I slept in his living room, but we are all in the YMCA due to homelessness so if my uncle wasnt available I dont know what could have happened. She added: Im absolutely scared, I already have anxiety and to think that someone has been shot there. Im supposed to be keeping my daughter in a safe and secure place. Im scared for my child, I could have walked into the other door thats right opposite the front doors and it could have hit my buggy or my child or me. Who would look after my child then? I am a single mother. A spokesperson for the YMCA St Pauls Group told MyLondon: On the evening of Monday 26th September, a serious incident occurred at YMCA Hanwell, West London. We are very sorry to report that during this incident a female resident suffered a serious injury which required the emergency services to be called. The resident was taken away to be treated in the hospital. As a YMCA we are working with all those affected as well as supporting the police with their investigation. We are grateful for the support of the emergency services who responded swiftly to the incident. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: Police were called to Bordars Road, Hanwell following reports of a firearms discharge. Officers attended with the London Ambulance Service and found a 23-year-old woman with gunshot wounds. Story continues She has been taken to hospital, her condition is not life threatening. London Ambulance Service said: We were called yesterday (Monday) at 7.03pm to reports of an incident in Bordars Road, Hanwell. We sent a number of resources including an ambulance, an incident response officer and Londons air ambulance. We treated a person at the scene before taking them a London major trauma centre as a priority. Anyone with information should call 101 giving the reference 6219/26SEP. Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. The Health Secretary said last week's A&E waiting times were 'not acceptable' HEALTH Secretary Humza Yousaf has welcomed the immediate improvement in accident and emergency waiting times. He had branded last weeks figures which were the worst on record as not acceptable, as he insisted he was determined to improve performance. New data, covering the week ending September 18, showed that 66.2% of patients in accident and emergency were seen and then either admitted, transferred or discharged within the four-hour target time. That is up from the 63.5% record low recorded the previous week. Of the 26,403 patients who attended at A&E in the week ending September 18, a total of 8931 were there for four hours or more, down from 9924 recorded the previous week. READ MORE: Scotland's A&E waiting times better than rest of UK, Nicola Sturgeon stresses There were 2697 patients who waited more than eight hours, with this down from 3381. Meanwhile, 998 patients waited 12 hours or more in A&E in the week ending September 18 dropping from the total of 1266 the previous week. Yousaf said there had been a 20% reduction in the number of people waiting longer than eight hours, and a 21% reduction in those waiting 12 hours or more adding he was grateful to NHS staff for their hard work. Opposition parties demanded action from the Scottish Government, with the Tories saying without changes the increased pressure winter will place on A&E doesnt bear thinking about. Health Secretary Humza Yousaf Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said that the latest awful figures are further evidence of the scale of the crisis in Scotlands A&E wards that Humza Yousaf is presiding over. Dr Gulhane said: Its unacceptable that more than one third of people are having to wait over four hours to be seen because we know that excess delays lead to needless deaths. Patients and dedicated frontline staff are being let down by years of dire NHS workforce planning from successive SNP health secretaries. Story continues Dr Gulhane added: We cant go on like this. Humza Yousaf must finally get a grip or winter when the pressures on A&E grow further doesnt bear thinking about. Yousaf, meanwhile, said that A&E departments were working under significant pressure, adding that in common with healthcare systems in the UK and globally, the pandemic continues to affect services. The Health Secretary said: We have seen an immediate improvement in performance on last weeks figures, including a 20% reduction in the number of people waiting longer than eight hours, and a 21% reduction in those waiting longer than 12 hours. I am grateful to NHS staff for their hard work and commitment during this period of continued challenge. READ MORE: FMQs Sketch: A&E and Douglas Ross's impression of an eight-year-old girl He has met with NHS chiefs in some of the health boards where performance is most difficult, with Yousaf adding that a letter has also been sent to boards setting out immediate actions to ensure imminent performance recovery. He continued: We are working closely with boards to reduce pressure on hospitals, including our 50 million Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative which looks to drive down A&E waits by offering alternatives to hospital, such as Hospital at Home; directing people to more appropriate urgent care settings and scheduling urgent appointments to avoid long waits. The roll-out of our Out-patient Antimicrobial Therapy service also allows patients to be treated at home or in the community and has already saved 45,000 bed days. Residents in Florida were bracing on Wednesday morning for the landfall of a storm that had strengthened overnight into a category 4 hurricane and left Cuba without power after the entire countrys electricity grid collapsed in its wake. Many businesses in Florida have shuttered and officials ordered 2.5 million people to evacuate. The National Weather Service forecasts the center of Hurricane Ian to move over central Florida by Wednesday evening. It has already picked up wind strength close to 155mph (250km/h), though it is expected to slowly weaken as it makes landfall. On Tuesday the hurricane had smashed through western Cuba, bringing violent winds and flooding that affected infrastructure and devastated some of the countrys most important tobacco farms. Cubas National Electricity Union said that power would be restored gradually on Wednesday morning. Related: Weather tracker: how did Hurricane Fiona maintain intensity so far north? Lazaro Guerra Hernandez, from the Electric Union of Cuba, said people were working through the night. He called it an exceptional condition a total of zero electricity generation. We are starting the process of restoring the system. Its a process that takes time, it must be done with precision, he said. The islands decades-old electrical grid has been faltering for months, with blackouts common, but officials said the storm had proven too much, provoking a failure that shut off the lights for its 11.3 million people. The countrys key Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant could not be synchronised, a journalist with a state-run news agency was reported as saying, leaving no electricity generation on the island. Earlier, the hurricane made landfall in Pinar del Rio province, where officials set up 55 shelters, evacuated 50,000 people and took steps to protect crops in the nations main tobacco-growing region. The storm left at least two dead in western Cuba, state-run media reported. Story continues Violent wind gusts shattered windows and ripped metal roofs off homes and buildings throughout Pinar del Rio. Roads into the areas directly hit by the hurricane remained impassable, blocked by downed trees and powerlines. Ive never seen anything like this, said Ana Julia Gomez, a 56-year-old woman, as she surveyed the wreckage in her home. I lost everything nothing is left. The hurricane hit Cuba at a time of dire economic crisis. Blackouts and long-running shortages of food, medicine and fuel are likely to complicate efforts to recover from the storm. Ian has done away with what little we had left, said Omar Avila, a worker at a butcher shop in Pinar del Rio. Its a horrible disaster. Many buildings on tobacco farms had been flattened by the storm, state-run media said. Farmer Abel Hernandez, 49, said: It destroyed our houses, our drying huts, our farms, the fruit trees, everything. The powerful storm is heading directly for Floridas south-western coast. It is expected to intensify in strength as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico and west of Floridas southern tip before heading toward the Tampa Bay region. The satellite image shows Hurricane Ian over the Gulf of Mexico. Photograph: AP Ian would be the first major hurricane to hit the US this year, and the first major hurricane to hit the Tampa area since 1921. The region is under a hurricane warning, with officials alerting people of catastrophic storm surges, high winds and flooding. This is a life-threatening situation, the National Weather Service said. Persons located within these areas should take all necessary actions to protect life and property from rising waters and the potential for other dangerous conditions. Related: House January 6 committee postpones public hearing, citing Hurricane Ian The storm is already causing disruptions across the state, with universities closing campuses for the week, while Disney World and Universal Orlando theme parks were shutting down in preparation. Further north, Washington lawmakers postponed a public hearing in the January 6 investigation, acknowledging the severity of the situation and saying in a statement that they were praying for the safety of all those in the storms path. Mandatory evacuations were issued for residents on the Tampa coast. Many scrambled to prepare for the worst. Distribution services for sandbags, used to alleviate flooding damage, were at capacity in one county. Grocery stores were selling out of bottled water. The Tampa international airport, which sees about 60,000 passengers daily, announced a suspension of services starting on Tuesday night. Mercedes Valdez holds her dog Kira as she waits for transportation after losing her home to Hurricane Ian in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Photograph: Ramon Espinosa/AP More than a dozen oil and gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were evacuated, according to Reuters. BP and Chevron said they had removed personnel from two platforms. Gil Gonzalez boarded up his windows Tuesday and had sandbags ready to protect his Tampa home. He and his wife had stocked up on bottled water and packed flashlights, battery packs for their cellphones and a camp stove before evacuating. All the prized possessions, weve put them upstairs in a friends house and nearby, and weve got the car loaded, Gonzalez told the Associated Press on his way out. City employees load sandbags into peoples cars as they pull up to a station at Northwest Park, in preparation for Hurricane Ian. Photograph: Martha Asencio-Rhine/AP Kelly Johnson was preparing to hunker down at her home two blocks from the beach in Dunedin, west of Tampa. She said she would escape to the second floor if seawater surges inland, and had a generator if power goes out. Im a Floridian, and we know how to deal with hurricanes, Johnson said. This is part of living in paradise knowing that once in a while these storms come at you. The message Go Away Hurricane Ian is displayed on a sign in St Petersburg. Photograph: Bryan R Smith/AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Ian could deliver a worst-case scenario. The storms path could shift east, bringing it closer to the Tampa Bay. In that case, the area could see a 10ft storm surge, according to the US National Hurricane Center. If the eye of the storm stays west of the bay, the storm surge could still be about 5ft. Marco Rubio, a Republican senator from Florida, told Fox News on Monday the NWS had described a slow-moving hurricane near the bay as a catastrophic situation. Rubio warned residents to take action. [It] doesnt even have to make landfall over Florida, just stalls off the coast and pushes a bunch of water into the Tampa Bay region and into the western part of the state, Rubio said, noting that storm surges in low-lying areas are not survivable. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed reporting Former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn. (Photo: Ian Forsyth via Getty Images) Former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn. (Photo: Ian Forsyth via Getty Images) Jeremy Corbyn should not be allowed to return as a Labour MP, Wes Streeting said today. The shadow health secretary bluntly shut down a question about whether Corbyn should have the whip restored. The former Labour leader sits in the Commons as an independent MP over his response to an investigation into anti-Semitism in the party. Corbyn said there was a problem with anti-Jewish racism in the party but the scale of it had been dramatically overstated by his political opponents and sections of the media. Labour has said it will not restore the whip unless Corbyn apologises and retracts his comments. Asked about restoring the whip, Streeting told Sky News at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool: No, I dont think he should. It comes after an attempt to pave the way for Corbyn to stand as a Labour candidate at the next general election was defeated. Some party delegates forced a vote on a proposed rule change in a bid to allow the Islington North MP to be re-selected as a Labour candidate. Supporters said it was focused on allowing a constituency Labour party (CLP) to be in control of who their candidate is rather than the parliamentary Labour party (PLP). But the party believed the proposal represented a significant legal risk to it. The proposal was rejected by 40.84 per cent to 59.16 per cent. Labour leader Keir Starmer will put further distance between himself and his predecessor Corbyn during his speech on Tuesday. He is expected to echo Tony Blair by declaring that the party is now back as the political wing of the British people. He will use his keynote address to insist Labour is now the party of the centre-ground in British politics. This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated. Related... Flash A fire broke out at an outlet mall in the South Korean central city of Daejeon on Monday, leaving two people dead, one seriously injured and four others missing, according to Yonhap news agency. The fire began around 7:45 a.m. local time from an outlet store in Daejeon, some 160 km south of the capital Seoul. Two men in their 50s and 30s each were sent to a nearby hospital after suffering serious injuries, but they were later pronounced dead. One man in his 40s was under treatment at a hospital after sustaining serious injuries. A search operation was underway for the four who remained unaccounted for. The fire authorities dispatched over 120 personnel and various firefighting equipment, but they had difficulty in the search operations due to heavy smoke coming from burning paper boxes in the underground cargo-handling area. Over 100 people, mostly those at nearby buildings, evacuated. No customer was around the outlet store as the fire broke out before business hours. Fugitive nicknamed Fat Leanord arrested in Venezuela (Interpol Venezuela ) A Malaysian fugitive nicknamed Fat Leonard, who orchestrated a huge bribery scheme involving dozens of US Navy officials, has requested asylum in Venezuela, according to officials. The defence contractor, whose real name is Leonard Glenn Francis, was earlier spotted in Venezuela by two investigative journalists after fleeing the United States earlier this month. He was later captured by authorities in Venezuela. Now after a week, he has applied for asylum in the South American country, a law enforcement official has said, according to The Associated Press. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press about the closed proceedings, did not provide any additional details about the Malaysian businessmans moves, the news agency reported. However, the Venezuelan government will be considering the asylum request, according to the law. Francis slipped away from his house arrest in San Diego on 4 September, weeks before he was set to be sentenced. He owned Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd or GDMA, which supplied food, water and fuel to vessels for decades. He has acknowledged overbilling the US Navy by $35m with the help of dozens of US officials whom he plied with prostitutes, Kobe beef, cigars, and other bribes so they would direct their ships to ports Francis controlled in the Pacific in Southeast Asia. He pleaded guilty in 2015 and began cooperating with the authorities, in return for which he received home confinement and medical care. However, the fugitive faces up to 25 years in prison with a jury set to decide his verdict at a later date. US and Venezuelan officials said that Francis cut off his ankle monitor, fled to Mexico and then made his way to Cuba before turning up in Venezuela. He was reportedly trying to fly to Russia. While Venezuela and the United States have an extradition agreement, the Biden administration doesnt officially recognise president Nicolas Maduros socialist government. Story continues The US has no embassy in Venezuela and has imposed crushing sanctions on the country that have further embittered relations. Its not clear yet whether the US would apply for extradition, for which it only has 30 days. Additional reporting by agencies This is not the first such incident of disruptive passengers to have taken place on a Ryanair flight this summer (AFP via Getty Images) A British man has been arrested after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman sitting beside him on a Ryanair flight. On an aircraft going from Liverpool to Majorca on Sunday, a female passenger complained that the man seated next to her had touched her breasts and asked her to have sex with him in the toilet. Cabin crew radioed for police assistance from the aircraft and the flight was met by officers when it arrived. The man, aged 35, was held by Majorcan police on Sunday and was reportedly fined 2,500 before being sent to trial on Monday. A spokesperson for the islands Civil Guard confirmed the arrest, as well as a Ryanair representative. I can confirm we arrested a British man aged 35 late on Sunday night on suspicion of a crime of sexual abuse, a spokesperson told The Sun. "He was held as he got off the plane on arrival and taken to court after a night in a police cell. "His female accuser made a formal statement after officers took him away." The female passenger said that the mans inappropriate behaviour began minutes into the flight when he started to make comments about her breasts. A spokerpeson for Ryanair told The Independent:The crew of this flight from Liverpool to Palma requested police assistance after being made aware of an individual behaving inappropriately towards another passenger. They added: The crew quickly moved the passenger away from this individual for the rest of the flight and police removed him from the aircraft upon landing. This is now a matter for local police. Elsewhere, another Ryanair flight had to be diverted to offload several disruptive passengers including a man who apparently urinated on one of the plane seats while very drunk. The flight had left Manchester Airport for Tenerife on 18 September but was forced to make an emergency stop on the Portuguese island of Porto Santo so that local police could remove the disruptive passengers from the aircraft. Chris Ramus - Yorkshire Post/SWNS The widow of a millionaire lobster importer has been embroiled in a High Court battle with her daughter over a 1.1 million will. Chris Ramus, who made his fortune after setting up a seafood business in north Yorkshire in the 1970s, took his own life in 2020 after struggling to cope with family issues. Elizabeth Ramus, his wife of 48 years who had left him before he died, was already in possession of a 1.6 million fortune of her own. Despite this, Mr Ramus set up a 900,000 trust fund through his will in order to provide a lifetime income for his estranged wife - but left the fund in the control of his daughter and two friends. Mrs Ramus sued the couples daughter, 46-year-old Claire Holt, over control of the trust fund following his death because Mrs Holt was given the power to stop payments to her mother at any time. The 77-year-old widow told the court she had a strained relationship with her daughter who had criticised her spending habits and didnt want to be left at her mercy financially. Elizabeth Ramus - Champion News However, Judge Mark West, sitting at the High Court in Leeds, has thrown out her case, handing victory to her daughter and saying the widow has enough money to cover her own needs. He said Mrs Ramuss own assets total more than her late husbands estate and that she had admitted being cash rich after selling off the couples former home and other property. The court heard that Mr and Mrs Ramus set up Ramus Seafoods in 1974 before going on to open fresh fish shops in Harrogate and Ilkley, and becoming major lobster importers. They ran the business jointly until it was sold in 1999, using its success to fund a financially comfortable lifestyle, living in a 1.1 million six-bedroom home in Harrogate and enjoying expensive overseas trips, flying business class around the world. Mrs Ramus, a former nurse, told the judge that the relationship between the couple had been difficult at times, particularly after retirement, and that she decided to end it in 2019. Story continues The news came as a great shock to Mr Ramus, who even telephoned his wifes GP to suggest she had dementia. He became depressed and depended upon his daughter, Mrs Holt, for support. Claire Holt - Champion News Mrs Ramus found her husband dead in the garage of their home in Duchy Road, Harrogate, in June 2020 and a coroner later recorded a verdict of suicide, following pressure relating to his family issues. Despite the separation, after gifts to grandchildren and his son from his 1.1 million estate, Mr Ramus left a 900,000 trust fund to provide his estranged wife with an income enabling her to maintain her lifestyle. However, he left his daughter Mrs Holt and family friends Anthony Armitage and John Wardle in control as trustees, specifically stating that he wanted the payments to continue until they feel necessary, with the power to remove the income if his widow could pay for her own upkeep. In her evidence, his daughter told the judge that, as executor of his will and trustee, her main concern was to honour her fathers wishes regardless of the state of her relationship with her mother. The claim was entirely without merit and should never have been brought since her mother was not in financial need she was an admitted millionaire with enough of her own money to live comfortably, Mrs Holt said. Giving judgment, it was ruled that Mrs Ramus is not in financial need and had been treated fairly in her husbands will, leading to the dismissal of her case. (Photo by YURI KOCHETKOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei disclosed on Monday that he attended a series of confidential meetings with European and American leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last week. Those were meetings with Europeans and Americans. They asked us to keep our conversations confidential, Makei said, according to Belarusian state news agency Belta. The foreign minister of Belarus, a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putins even as Russia wages war in Ukraine, declined to elaborate on the substance of the meetings. Makei only alluded vaguely to the idea that the meetings would be damaging to the United States should their contents leak out into the public eye. Belarus has probably reached such a potential that the information about the meeting might destroy even such a superpower as the United States, Makei said. The mysterious meetings come on the heels of a series of defeats for Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine, in which Ukrainian forces were able to push back Russias military from key regions in the south and northeast. The faltering approach has been followed in quick succession by some of Russias key international trading partners, including China and India, publicly chastising Moscow for the way Putin has been conducting the war. Putins Top Cheerleaders Panic Over Russian Army Mutiny And although Belarus has been an ally of Putin for years now, the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, has long held a set of precarious relationships with other nations on the world stage. Belarus is in a union partnership with Russia in which the two nations work to enmesh their militaries, trade, and more, and the country has allowed Russian forces to stage attacks on Ukraine from Belarusian territory. But Lukashenko has expressed a distaste for the war in some instances, complaining that it has lagged in recent months. Historically, he has frequently adopted a view independent of Russias, diplomats who previously served in Belarus tell The Daily Beast. Story continues After the mysterious meetings, Lukashenko traveled to Russia to meet with Putin Monday. There, he and Putin have been lambasting Europeans for how their governments have been treating Russia and Belarus. If Europe finished seething, it must pause and think. I am not speaking about those across the ocean, Lukashenko said, alluding to the fact that he is concerned about Europe, not countries like the United States, according to Belta. I have already told Europeans three times that their future is with us, with Russia, which has everything they need. No one will tolerate being looked down upon. Neither Belarus nor Russia, a giant country, Lukashenko added. Putin chimed in, urging Europeans to respect Russia and Belarus. It was not clear what the Americans and Europeans discussed with the Belarusian foreign minister that could be so damaging, or if it affected the conversation with Putin on Monday. The State Department did not immediately return a request for comment. Makeis conversation about the private meetings is likely an effort to show the world stage that Belarus has other relationships with other countries beyond Russiaand that they still maintain leverageKen Yalowitz, a former U.S. ambassador to Belarus, told The Daily Beast. Belarus right now really is in Putins pocket But Lukashenko, believe it or not, does not like to be seen or viewed as a total Russian doll, a total Russian puppet, Yalowitz said. Lukashenko doesnt want to be, you know totally in the Russian camp. Its a signal that Belarus is looking for a little bit of wiggle room, Yalowitz said. Belarus is looking to try to see if relationships can be improved with the West. During other meetings, the Belarusian envoy discussed bilateral relations and global security, Makei said. We discussed ways of strengthening our bilateral relations, global security in an absolutely friendly, constructive manner. It was, indeed, a conversation of friends or partners, Makei said. Makei was slated to hold bilateral meetings with diplomats from Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia as well. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Russia has rerouted its oil exports away from Europe towards Asia. Suriyapong Thongsawang/Getty Images Russian crude flows to Asian buyers hit their highest levels in five weeks, Bloomberg data shows. In the week leading up to September 23, the four-week average hit 1.79 million barrels per day, up from 1.74 million barrels per day in the week leading up to September 16. Europe's sanctions on Russian crude are set to begin in December. Russian crude shipments to Asian buyers hit a five-week high, according to Bloomberg data, with India and China taking in the majority of supplies. In the week leading up to September 23, the four-week moving average of shipments to Asia hit 1.79 million barrels per day, Bloomberg reports, up from 1.74 million barrels per day in the week leading up to September 16. The shipments include those marked without a final destination that typically go to China and India. Exports to northern Europe and the Mediterranean dipped in the same four-week period. The European Union's embargo on seaborne Russian crude is set to begin in December. The G7 has been pushing for a price cap to coincide with the EU's ban. But the EU is likely to delay the cap as the 27-country bloc struggles to reach an agreement on the matter, according to a report from Bloomberg. Cyprus and Hungary are still opposed to the price cap, sources told Bloomberg, and the EU needs unanimous agreement on sanctions. Meanwhile, Iran's oil exports are falling as of late, thanks in large part to increased competition from Russia for Asian buyers. Exports have fallen to 775,000 barrels a day from a peak of 1 million, sources told Bloomberg. China is where the competition is heating up, and Iran is aggressively re-adjusting barrel prices to stay competitive with Russia, according to the report. Read the original article on Business Insider TikTok could face 27 million fine for breaching UK data protection law (PA) The social media app, TikTok, could face a 27 million fine for breaching UK data protection law involving children's privacy for more than two years, the Information Commissioners Office has said. The law was breached from two years to July 2020. The watchdog has issued TikTok Inc and TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited with a notice of intent a legal document that precedes a potential fine. The ICO investigation discovered the company may have processed the data of children under 13 without appropriate parental consent. TikTok data protection breach It may also have failed to provide proper information to its users in a concise, transparent and easily understood way and processed special category data, without legal grounds to do so. TikTok could face a 27 million fine after the Information Commissioners Office said it had found the company may have breached UK data protection law by failing to protect childrens privacy when using the platform (PA) The ICO said its findings are provisional, no conclusion should be drawn that there had been a breach of data protection law or a fine would be imposed and that it would consider any representations by TikTok before reaching a final conclusion. Information Commissioner John Edwards said: We all want children to be able to learn and experience the digital world, but with proper data privacy protections. Companies providing digital services have a legal duty to put those protections in place but our provisional view is that TikTok fell short of meeting that requirement. Ive been clear that our work to better-protect children online involves working with organisations but will also involve enforcement action where necessary. In addition to this, we are currently looking into how over 50 different online services are conforming with the childrens code and have six ongoing investigations looking into companies providing digital services who havent, in our initial view, taken their responsibilities around child safety seriously enough. Elon Musk is set to face questions from lawyers for Twitter this week over his attempt to bail out of his bid to buy the company. The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO is trying to cancel the $44 billion (45.6 billion) deal, claiming the company wasn't transparent about the number of bots on the platform. The deposition - an out-of-court sworn testimony - which was scheduled to begin on Monday but was delayed, will be closed to the public. Musk's lawyers will want to keep him focused on answering questions, but that can be a challenge with such a smart and opinionated witness, said James Morsch, a corporate litigator who is not involved in the court battle. "I would compare it to trying to hold a tiger by his tail," Morsch said. In a 2019 deposition in litigation over Tesla's takeover of solar-panel maker SolarCity, Musk refused five times to answer one of the initial questions because of the way it was worded, the transcript shows. "We can stare at each other until you rephrase it," Musk told opposing attorney Randall Baron, according to a transcript. "I'll guess we'll just cancel this deposition," Baron responded. Baron suggested that he would seek an order from the judge directing Musk to answer questions, which seemed to get things moving. Musk trial to begin in October Twitter declined to comment and Musk's legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Twitter's attorneys are expected to use the interview to try to show that Musk abandoned the deal due to falling financial markets and not because the company misled him about the real number of users or hid security flaws, as he has alleged. Musk wants a judge to allow him to walk away without a penalty, while Twitter wants an order forcing him to buy the company for the agreed price. A five-day trial is scheduled to begin on October 17 in Delaware. Dozens of depositions are scheduled in the case, including of Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, as each side questions witnesses and gathers evidence to make its case. Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey was scheduled to be deposed last week. (Bloomberg) -- The Biden administration will announce another $1 billion in security aid to Ukraine on Wednesday, say two people familiar with the matter. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the disruption of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline as sabotage on Tuesday, and warned of the strongest possible response. Officials of US, Germany and Poland cited the prospect of sabotage by Russia after Swedish scientists said they had detected two powerful underwater explosions near enormous leaks coming from the pipeline system that usually supplies Europe. The prime ministers of Denmark and Sweden said the leaks were no accident. Most Read from Bloomberg Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was extremely concerned about the reports of leaks, which prompted a surge in gas prices even though flows through the pipeline have been halted for months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the current focus of the war is Donetsk, describing the heavily industrial eastern region as the primary target for both Ukraine and invading Russian forces. He also urged the international community to step up pressure on Russia with sanctions. (See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.) Key Developments Putin Raises Gas Pressure as He Moves to Annex Ukraine Regions Putins Mobilization Hits Russias Economy in Its Weak Spots Nord Stream Says Gas Pipeline Damage is Unprecedented Putin Raises Stakes on Ukraines Bid for More Powerful Weapons Sanctioned Billionaires Yacht Auctioned for $38 Million On the Ground Russian forces hit Kryvyi Rih airport in the Ukraines central Dnipropetrovsk region with a missile, rendering it inoperable, local authorities said late Monday. Russian rockets also struck the city of Zaporizhzhia. Ukraines General Staff reported that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains tense, with staff reluctant to work with Russians and trying to flee occupied territories. In the south, Russia attacked the Odesa region with drones, all three of which were shot down by air-defense forces, while the city of Mykolaiv was heavily shelled overnight, local authorities said. Ukrainian forces continued to make advances north of Lyman and on the eastern bank of the Oskil River, according to the latest report by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. Story continues All times CET: US to Provide Another $1 Billion in Security Aid (1:30 a.m.) The Biden administration was set to announce another $1 billion in security assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the matter. The money, provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, will allow Ukraine to buy weapons and equipment from US defense contractors, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a plan that wasnt yet public. The assistance, to be announced Wednesday, will bring total US security aid to Ukraine to more than $16 billion since January 2021, the vast majority coming since Russia invaded on Feb 24. Ukraine has repeatedly asked the US for more powerful weapons as it seeks to maintain momentum in its counteroffensive against in the east. In an interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday, Zelenskiy said the US had agreed to provide Ukraine with Nasams air defense systems, and US officials say theyre reviewing requests for other weapons as well. Von Der Leyen Calls for Investigation of Pipeline Incidents (12:08 a.m.) Von der Leyen said she had spoken to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen about the sabotage action on the Nord Stream pipeline. Paramount to now investigate the incidents, get full clarity on events & why, she tweeted on Tuesday. Von der Leyen added that Any deliberate disruption of active European energy infrastructure is unacceptable & will lead to the strongest possible response. Denmark, Sweden Say Nord Stream Leaks Caused Deliberately (9:37 p.m.) Danish and Swedish governments both concluded that the leaks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines were the result of deliberate actions. Denmarks Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters late Tuesday in Copenhagen that several explosions have occurred and theyre not an accident, though her government wouldnt speculate on whos responsible. Swedens cabinet, which held an emergency meeting on Tuesday, is treating the events in the Baltic Sea as suspected sabotage, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told reporters. Both premiers said the incident cant be seen as an attack against their nations because it occurred in the Nordic countries exclusive economic zones, which are in international waters and not part of their territories. EU Eyes Ban on Work in Top Jobs at Russia State Enterprises (9:31 p.m.) The European Union is considering a German proposal to ban EU nationals from holding high-paying roles in Russian state-owned companies, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposal, if formally presented by the European Commission and backed by all member states, would cast a wide net over EU nationals. As a result, it would be likely to scoop up former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, said the people who declined to be named on confidential talks. According to German media, Schroeder is the chairman of the shareholders committee of Nord Stream AG, a joint project to transport Russian gas via pipeline, which is majority-owned by the energy giant Gazprom PJSC. Read the full story here. NATO Monitoring Nord Stream Leaks, Stoltenberg Says (7:13 p.m.) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the military alliance was closely monitoring the reports of the Nord Stream leakages, adding NATO was in close contact with the allies involved. This is something that is extremely important to get all the facts on the table. and therefore this is something well look closely into in the coming hours and days, he said. Blinken Says Reports Indicate Nord Stream Leaks Were Sabotage (6:37 p.m.) Leaks in the Nord Stream pipeline are under investigation and initial reports indicate they may have been the result of sabotage, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. There are initial reports indicating that this may be the result of an attack or some kind of sabotage, but these are initial reports and we havent confirmed that yet, Blinken told a news conference in Washington. Blinken said the US and its allies were working day in, day out to address Europes energy security, and the leaks will not have a significant impact on Europes energy resilience. Russia Prepares to Declare Staged Annexation Votes Passed (6:22 p.m.) Occupation authorities in Russian-held parts of Ukraine reported as many as 90% of those voting favored joining their eastern neighbor in initial returns from referendums, as officials in Moscow said they plan to move quickly to formalize the annexation. The United Nations, as well as Ukraine and its allies in the US and Europe, have denounced the votes, conducted largely in an active war zone, as illegal and illegitimate. Gazprom Warns of Sanctions Risk to Ukraine Gas Flows (5:30 p.m.) Russias Gazprom PJSC warned theres a risk Moscow will sanction Ukraines Naftogaz, which would prevent it from being able to pay transit fees, and therefore put at risk gas flows to Europe via Ukraine. If supplies through Ukraine are shut down, it would leave Gazprom sending gas only via the TurkStream pipeline to Turkey and a handful of European countries that didnt sever business ties with Russia. Gas prices were up as much as 22% as traders factored in the prospect that Europe will have to live without Russian gas this winter -- and beyond. Read more: After Nord Stream Hit, Gazprom Warns on Ukraine Flows Ukraine Demands EU Add New Russia Sanctions (5:25 p.m.) Ukraine seeks a clear signal on a new sanctions package in reaction on sham referendums being held on its territory by Russia, Zelenskiy said during a meeting with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. We expect clear sanctions -- both in the 8th package and separate signals of what will happen if Russia recognizes sham referendums, Zelenskiy added. Russia Senate May Vote to Annex Ukraine Lands Next Week: Tass (4:10 p.m.) The upper house of Russias parliament isnt currently planning a special session to vote to annex occupied territories in Ukraine and may discuss the issue at its next regular session on Oct. 4, Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said, according to Tass. The Kremlin has pushed through referendums on annexation in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions and local occupation officials are already reporting initial results showing 90%-plus voting in favor. The United Nations has condemned the referendums as illegal, as have Kyiv and its allies in the US and Europe. Sweden Detected Underwater Blasts Near Nord Stream Leak (4 p.m.) Two powerful underwater explosions were detected on Monday in the same area of sea as the Nord Stream gas leaks, according to the Swedish National Seismic Network. The monitoring network said the first explosion occurred on Monday at 2:03 a.m. Swedish time with a magnitude of 1.9 on the Richter scale, followed by a second at 7:04 p.m. on the same day with a magnitude of 2.3. Its clear that there has been some kind of explosions, and the coordinates match the leaks, Peter Schmidt, a seismologist who works with the group, said by phone. Danish Video Shows Extent of Pipeline Damage (3:20 p.m.) The leaks on the Nord Stream pipelines are forming an area of natural gas bubbles about 1 kilometer (1,090 yards) in diameter in the Baltic Sea, a video released by the Danish army showed. Another smaller area with gas bubbles measured about 200 meters in diameter, according to the footage, which the Danish Defense shared on its website and via its Twitter account. UN Recorded Near 6,000 Civilian Deaths in Ukraine (3 p.m.) United Nations specialists recorded 5,996 civilians being killed in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, including 382 children, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said in a new report. The mission reported 8,848 corroborated civilian injuries, noting that actual figures may be much higher as hostilities severely hinder information gathering and verification. Most of civilian casualties were due to the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. The UN also recorded willful killings and numerous cases of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment, as well as conflict-related sexual violence, mostly in the territories controlled by Russian armed forces or affiliated groups. Meta Blocks Propaganda Accounts From Russia (2:45 p.m.) Meta Platforms Inc. has blocked thousands of inauthentic accounts, pages and groups from Facebook and Instagram that originated in Russia and spread propaganda about that countrys invasion of Ukraine. The group behind the accounts created 60 websites carefully impersonating legitimate news organizations in Europe, Meta said. Russian Billionaire Fights UK Sanctions Probe (2:40 p.m.) Russian billionaire Petr Aven, fighting a UK investigation for evading sanctions, used companies supposed to manage his luxury mansion as a personal piggy bank, according to British authorities. The investigation has focused on around 3.7 million euros ($3.6 million) routed to the UK from an Austrian trust in the hours before European sanctions were imposed. Read more: Billionaire Without a Bank Account Fights UK Sanctions Probe Denmark Says Pipeline Sabotage Cant be Ruled Out (12:50 p.m.) Denmarks prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, echoed Peskov is saying that sabotage cannot be ruled out as the cause of damage to Nord Stream infrastructure off the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. Its hard to imagine that these are coincidences, the prime minister said in an interview with broadcaster TV2 from Poland, where shes attending the opening ceremony of Baltic Pipe, a separate gas link between Norway and Poland. Ukraine Slams Lufthansa Over Stake in Russian Airline Caterer (12:15 p.m.) Ukraines foreign minister accused airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG of taking blood money and damaging Germanys reputation over its minority stake in Russian airline caterer Aeromar. I urge the companys management to immediately withdraw from Aeromar and stop supporting Russias war crimes, Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF. Responding to ZDFs inquiry about the Aeromar stake, Lufthansa said its not in breach of European Union sanctions on Russia and as a minority shareholder had no influence over a decision to establish a facility in Russian-annexed Crimea, the broadcaster said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. DONETSK, UKRAINE - SEPTEMBER 27: People cast their votes in controversial referendums in Donetsk, Ukraine on September 27, 2022. Voting runs from Friday to Tuesday in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, with people asked to decide if they want these regions to become part of Russia. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) - Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Ukraine's armed forces edged closer to the eastern city of Lyman, capturing several surrounding villages in the Donbas. Pro-Russian military bloggers warned that Kyiv's forces could soon cut off the only safe supply routes into the city, a strategic hub for Russian troops. Ukrainian sources confirmed the capture of Redkodub, a village in the Donetsk region, some 25 kilometres from Lyman. Rybar, a widely read pro-Kremlin military Telegram channel, said the Russian line of communication was "under threat of being blocked, as Ukrainian troops attempt to encircle Lyman from the west. Others said it was possible that Russian forces would surrender the town without Ukraine launching a direct assault on it. The advance comes as early results from voting in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine point to overwhelming support for joining Russia, Moscow claims. The first partial results show over 96 per cent of residents in occupied Ukraine regions favour joining Russia, Russian state news agency RIA said on Tuesday. 07:10 PM Today's top stories Russia is concentrating men and equipment near its border opposite Kharkiv for a possible renewed attack on Ukraines second city, the general responsible for its defence has warned European governments suspect Russian sabotage after three offshore lines of the Nord Stream pipeline system supplying Germany with Russian gas suffered unprecedented damage in a single day A Russian opposition activist was beaten up and raped by the police after he was arrested for reading poetry which criticised the Kremlin's puppet governments in Ukraine The United States and Nato will be too scared of a nuclear apocalypse to intervene in the war in Ukraine - even if the Kremlin fires the deadly weapons in Europe, Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev has said Loyal Russian propagandists have issued a rare rebuke of Kremlin policy, attacking the mobilisation order which has meant even a reporter for state news has been turned away at the border Story continues 06:45 PM Blasts near North Stream were explosions, not earthquakes, Swedish seismologist says A Swedish seismologist said he was certain the seismic activity detected at the site of the Nord Stream pipeline gas leaks in the Baltic Sea was caused by explosions and not earthquakes nor landslides. Bjorn Lund, seismologist at the Swedish National Seismic Network at Uppsala University, said seismic data gathered by him and Nordic colleagues showed that the explosions took place in the water and not in the rock under the seabed. 06:34 PM Hungary top court orders politician jailed over EU spying for Russia Hungary's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a former opposition politician to be jailed over spying on the EU for Russia while he was a member of the European Parliament. The highest court sentenced nationalist Jobbik party member Bela Kovacs to five years in jail for espionage, as well as fiscal fraud and falsification of documents. Kovacs, who is reportedly in Russia, was sentenced in absentia. The charges, filed in 2017 against Kovacs, included "spying against EU institutions" and "engaging in espionage in the interests of a foreign state" between 2012 and 2014. 06:18 PM Superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian sold for $37.5m in Gibraltar A superyacht linked to a sanctioned Russian businessman fetched $37.5 million (34.6 million) at auction in Gibraltar last month after it was sold at the behest of creditor JP Morgan, a court has confirmed, in the first sale of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine. The 72.5-metre Axioma was impounded by the Gibraltar authorities in March after US bank said its alleged owner, a company that was owned by Dmitry Pumpyansky, had reneged on the terms of a 20.5 million euro loan. The Office of Admiralty Marshal, the branch of Gibraltar's Supreme Court mandated with conducting the sale in August, said an unidentified buyer had been selected. The sale's proceeds - $37,500,055 - would go towards settling the ship's debts to creditors, and anyone with additional claims should come forward within the next 60 days, it said in a statement. The court would then decide what to do with any surplus funds, it added. FILE PHOTO: The Axioma superyacht belonging to Russian oligarch Dmitrievich Pumpyansky who is on the EU's list of sanctioned Russians is seen docked at a port, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Gibraltar, March 21, 2022. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo - REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo 06:04 PM US and Nato 'too scared of nuclear apocalypse' to intervene in Ukraine war As the threat of nuclear action by Russia grows, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said 'demagogues across the ocean and in Europe' wouldn't react in kind. The Telegraph's Jamie Johnson has the latest. The United States and Nato will be too scared of a nuclear apocalypse to intervene in the war in Ukraine - even if the Kremlin fires the deadly weapons in Europe, Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev has said. In another ratcheting up of the rhetoric, Mr Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said Russia had the right to defend itself with nuclear weapons if it is pushed beyond its limits and insisted this is "certainly not a bluff". "I have to remind you again - for those deaf ears who hear only themselves. Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons if necessary," Mr Medvedev said, adding that it would do so "in predetermined cases" and in strict compliance with state policy. "Let's imagine that Russia is forced to use the most powerful weapon against the Ukrainian regime that has committed a large-scale act of aggression, which is dangerous for the very existence of our state," Medvedev said. Read the full story 05:47 PM Kremlin proxies claiming victory in 'sham' annexation votes Kremlin-installed authorities were already claiming victory in annexation votes in Ukrainian regions under Russian control. "It's already clear that the vast majority of people supported the issue of secession from Ukraine and joining Russia," Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-appointed head of the Russian-held Kherson region, said on social media. Election officials in Moscow said voters casting their ballots in Russia had overwhelmingly backed annexation, while authorities in Kherson and another Russian-occupied region, Zaporizhzhia, showed an initial 87 and 92 per cent backing for the move. 05:45 PM Number of Russians entering EU jumps 30pc in a week, border agency says The number of Russians entering the European Union has jumped following a partial mobilisation ordered by Moscow, said the EU border agency Frontex Illegal crossings are also likely to increase if Russia closes its border, it said. Following setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation, a move that sent thousands of Russians rushing to cross borders into neighbouring countries. "Over the past week, nearly 66,000 Russian citizens entered the EU, more than 30% compared to the preceding week. Most of them arrived in Finland and Estonia," Frontex said in a statement, referring to the week from Sept 19 to Sept 25. 05:01 PM US ready to support European partners investigating Nord Stream Washington stands ready to provide support to European partners investigating the leaking Nord Stream pipelines, a US National Security Council spokesperson said on Tuesday. Unexplained gas leaks detected in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines from Russia to Germany have prompted investigations by European countries into the cause, including the possibility of sabotage. 04:40 PM Nato chief slams annexation votes in occupied Ukraine regions The votes organised by Moscow in four occupied regions in Ukraine on annexation by Russia are a "sham" and "a blatant violation of international law," Nato's chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday. Mr Stoltenberg tweeted that he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "and made clear that Nato Allies are unwavering in our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and right to self-defence". "The sham referenda held by Russia have no legitimacy and are a blatant violation of international law. These lands are Ukraine," Mr Stoltenberg said. 04:20 PM Would Putin really want to blow up Nord Stream 2? As some countries in Europe suspect the damage to Russian pipelines may have been carried out my Russia itself, our Europe Editor James Crisp takes a look at how likely that is. Vladimir Putin has a long and ignoble record of weaponising gas supplies to exert political pressure on his enemies. His illegal war on Ukraine resulted in unprecedented Western sanctions against Moscow. But the Russian president is confident that his people can endure economic pain longer and better than Europeans. His calculation is that soaring gas prices and the cost of living crisis in a continent hopelessly addicted to Russian energy will turn the situation to his advantage. But gas prices have been dropping for the past four days. After the news of the suspected sabotage to the pipes, they rose by 12 per cent. Read the full analysis 04:06 PM Swedish seismic network registers blasts near pipeline leaks The Swedish national seismic network says it detected two explosions close to unusual leaks on two Russian natural gas pipelines running under Baltic Sea to to Germany. The network said on Tuesday that it registered one blast early on Monday southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm and a slightly larger one later that night northeast of the island. It says the latter explosion was equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake. Leaders of Poland and Denmark and experts have raised concerns that the leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipeline were sabotage. 03:49 PM Holiday in Montenegro becomes escape from call-up for Russians When Alexander and his wife Svetlana arrived for a two-week vacation in Montenegro, they planned to return home to Russia. But President Vladimir Putin's announcement last week ordering a mobilisation of reservists has thrown their lives into disarray. Speaking to Reuters in Montenegro's Adriatic town of Budva, Alexander, 30, a horticulturist, said he had no plans to go back and risk being drafted to go and fight. "This is not our war. We are attacking our neighbours, brothers, we are trying to occupy territories that are not ours," he said. "I definitely will not fight for that, let alone die for it." Both Alexander and his wife declined to give their full names. Russian officials have said 300,000 troops are needed for the mobilisation, called as Russia's seven-month campaing in Ukraine has stalled. Priority will be given to people with recent military experience and vital skills. But reports have appeared of men with no military experience, or past draft age, receiving call-up papers, fueling outrage and anti-war protests. 02:39 PM Norwegian gas pipeline opens in Poland after Russian cut A new pipeline to carry Norwegian gas via Denmark was opened in Poland on Tuesday in a move to strengthen Europe's energy security after Russia cut off Warsaw's supplies. The project is part of years-long efforts by Poland to wean itself off its dependence on Russian gas, which once represented two-thirds of its annual consumption. This year, Russian giant Gazprom stopped supplies altogether after Polish gas operator PGNiG refused to pay its bill in rubles following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Gazprom has also cut off deliveries to other countries in Europe, upending the region's energy sector. 02:31 PM Nord Stream 2 gas leak could continue for up to a week Gas leaking from the damaged Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea will continue for several days and perhaps even a week, the Danish Energy Authority said. Denmark's armed forces released video showing bubbles rushing to the surface of the Baltic Sea above the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, and said the largest gas leak had caused surface disturbance of well over 1 kilometre in diameter. Vessels could lose buoyancy if they enter the area, and there might be a risk of leaked gas igniting over the water and in the air, but there were no risks associated with the leak outside the exclusion zone, it said. The leak would only affect the environment in the area in which the gas plume in the water column is located and escaping greenhouse gas methane would have a damaging climate impact. Danish authorities asked that the level of preparedness in Denmark's power and gas sector be raised after the leaks, a step that would require heightened safety procedures for power installations and facilities. Gas bubbles from the Nord Stream 2 leak reaching surface of the Baltic sea in the area shows disturbance of well over one kilometre diameter near Bornholm - Danish Defence Command/Handout via REUTERS/Gas bubbles from the Nord Stream 2 leak reaching surface of the Baltic Sea in the area shows disturbance of well over one kilometre diameter near Bornholm, Denmark, September 27, 2022. Danish Defence Command/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. 02:18 PM Japanese 'spy caught red-handed' allegedly subjected to abusive interrogation A Japanese diplomat that Russia claims it caught 'red-handed' spying allegedly had his eyes covered and was physically restrained during interrogation by Russian authorities. Motoki Tatsunori, Tokyo's consul in the eastern city of Vladivostock, was accused of trying to buy classified information about another country cooperating with Russia. Russia's FSB said the diplomat had been ordered to leave the country within 48 hours. On Tuesday, Japan protested to Russia over his detention, accusing Russian authorities of abusive interrogation and denying the allegations of espionage. "The alleged illegal activity insisted by the Russian side is completely groundless," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. 01:50 PM Map: Latest update from the UK Ministry of Defence The illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is continuing. The map below is the latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 27 September 2022 Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/jS2ywOuDNX #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/FCU02cLUI8 Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) September 27, 2022 01:36 PM Europe suspects Russian sabotage in pipeline damage Europe suspects Russia is behind the 'unprecedented' damage to Nord Stream gas pipelines. Our Europe Editor James Crisp has the latest on this story. European governments suspect Russian sabotage after three offshore lines of the Nord Stream pipeline system supplying Germany with Russian gas suffered unprecedented damage in a single day. Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the leaks were caused by sabotage, while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she could not rule it out after three leaks were detected on the system designed to send gas to Europe. "Today we faced an act of sabotage, we don't know all the details of what happened, but we see clearly that it's an act of sabotage, related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine," Mr Morawiecki said. Read more here 01:27 PM Moscow won't seek extradition of fleeing Russians Moscow said it will not request the extradition of Russians travelling abroad to avoid being called-up to fight in Ukraine, after thousands of military-aged men crossed into neighbouring countries. "The Russian ministry of defence has not sent any request to the authorities of Kazakhstan, Georgia, or any other country for the alleged forced return to Russian soil of Russian citizens, and it is not planning to do so," the ministry said in a statement. Mandatory Credit: Photo by ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (13423577n) Russian men and women with their luggage walk along a road after passing through customs at the Georgia-Russia border checkpoint of Verkhnii Lars, Georgia, 27 September 2022. Thousands of Russian men left Russia after Russian President Putin announced in a televised address to the nation on 21 September, that he signed a decree on partial mobilization in the Russian Federation due to the conflict in Ukraine. Russian Defense Minister Shoigu said that 300,000 people would be called up for service as part of the move. Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said on 27 September, that in recent days some 10,000 Russians have crossed the border with Georgia every day. On 24 February 2022 Russian troops entered the Ukrainian territory in what the Russian president declared a 'Special Military Operation', starting an armed conflict that has provoked destruction and a humanitarian crisis. Russian men flee into neighboring Georgia following Russia's partial military mobilization announcement, Verkhnii Lars - 27 Sep 2022 - ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 01:05 PM Norwegian gas pipeline opens in Poland after Russian cut A new pipeline that will carry Norwegian gas via Denmark was inaugurated in Poland on Tuesday in a move to strengthen Europe's energy security after Russia cut off Warsaw's supplies. At a ceremony in western Poland, Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland said it was "a milestone on the important path towards European independence from Russian energy." Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the pipeline launch "marks a crucial geopolitical step for all of us." "We have to do all we can to remove energy as a Russian instrument of power," she said at the launch in Budno near the city of Szeczin. 12:54 PM EU to sanction organisers of Russia votes in Ukraine The EU will sanction organisers of the "illegal" referendums, senior officials from the bloc have said. "There would be consequences for all people who participate in the illegal, illegitimate referendums," Peter Stano, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said. Luc Devigne, a high-ranking official in Borrell's foreign policy service, said: "[W]e will put in individuals that are obviously linked to the recent steps with these referendums" in the sanctions package. The EU's 27 member states are deliberating on fresh sanctions on Russia for holding the vote, widely dismissed by the West as a "sham". 12:40 PM Russia wants to 'save people' in the Ukrainian territories it holds Russia wants to "save people" in the four territories it holds in Ukraine, said Vladimir Putin, people there vote in refereudums on whether to join Russia. "Saving people in the territories where this referendum is taking place... is the focus of the attention of our entire society and of the entire country," Putin said during a televised meeting with officials. Konstantin Ivashchenko (3R), former CEO of the Azovmash plant and appointed pro-Russian mayor of Mariupol, visits a polling station as people vote in a referendum in Mariupol on September 27, 2022. - Western nations dismissed the referendums in Kremlin-controlled regions of eastern and southern Ukraine as the voting on whether Russia should annex four regions of Ukraine started on September 23, 2022. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP) (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images) - STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images 12:25 PM Tens of thousands of Russians pour into Georgia and Kazakhstan to avoid army draft Tens of thousands of Russians have poured into Georgia and Kazakhstan to avoid being called up to fight in Ukraine. The Black Sea nation of Georgia said the number of Russians arriving daily has nearly doubled since Vladimir Putin announced the mobilisation on September 21 of hundreds of thousands of reservists. "Four to five days ago 5,000-6,000 (Russians) were arriving in Georgia daily. The number has grown to some 10,000 per day," Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said. Georgia and its neighbour Armenia, which do not require visas for Russians, have been a major destination for Russians fleeing since the war began. 12:16 PM Putin expects 'record' 150-million-tonne grain harvest in 2022 Vladimir Putin said his country expected a record-high grain harvest in 2022 as Moscow blames Western sanctions over Ukraine for preventing its exports, especially to poor countries. "The preliminary estimate [for 2022] already stands at 150 million tonnes, including around 100 million tonnes of wheat. This will be a record in the history of Russia," Putin said in televised remarks. Russia's confrontation with the West has driven up global inflation and sharpened energy and food crises in many countries since the war. 12:02 PM In pictures: Authorities crack down on Russians protesting orders for mobilisation FILE Police detain demonstrators during a protest against mobilization in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a partial mobilization of reservists in Russia, effective immediately. (FILE Police detain demonstrators during a protest against mobilization in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a partial mobilization of reservists in Russia, effective immediately. (AP Photo, File) File) - AP Photo FILE Riot police detain a demonstrator during a protest against mobilization in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a partial mobilization of reservists in Russia, effective immediately. (AP Photo, File) - AP Police officers detain a demonstrator during a protest against a partial mobilization in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. (AP Photo) - AP Photo 11:49 AM Germany raids Russian oligarch's yacht in tax probe German investigators have raided a yacht belonging to a Russian oligarch suspected of evading taxes, laundering money and violating EU sanctions. The public prosecutor's office in the western city of Frankfurt said more than 60 officers on Tuesday searched the vessel belonging to a "69-year-old businessman from the Russian Federation". They did not name the suspect, but he is thought to be billionaire Alisher Usmanov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and former president of the International Fencing Federation. Between 2017 and 2022, the suspect is accused of funnelling several million euros acquired in illegal activities, including tax evasion, through an "extensive and complex network of companies and corporations", prosecutors said in a statement. 11:36 AM Kremlin 'extemely concerned' about gas leaks The Kremlin has said it is "extremely concerned" about reported leaks on Russia's Nord Stream gas pipeline to Europe and its twin pipeline Nord Stream 2. Danish authorities on Monday asked ships to steer clear of a five nautical mile radius off the island of Bornholm after a gas leak overnight from the defunct Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 pipeline drained into the Baltic Sea. The German government said it was in contact with the Danish authorities and working with local law enforcement to find out what caused pressure in the pipeline to plummet suddenly Asked by reporters whether it could be an act of sabotage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that at the moment "it is impossible to exclude any options". (FILES) This file photo taken on August 30, 2022 shows pressure gauges and facilities to receive and distribute natural gas from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on the grounds of gas transport and pipeline network operator Gascade in Lubmin, northeastern Germany, close to the border with Poland. - Two leaks have been identified on the Nord Stream 1 Russia-to-Europe gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, hours after a similar incident on its twin pipeline Nord Stream 2, Scandinavian authorities said on September 27, 2022. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) (Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images) - ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images 11:18 AM Nearly 2,400 people arrested as protests break out against military draft Nearly 2,400 people have been arrested since protests broke out against Vladimir Putins military draft, according to the UN. Voicing alarm at the scale of arrests, Ravina Shamdasan, spokeswoman of the United Nations rights office said: "We are deeply disturbed by the large number of people who have reportedly been arrested," Russian authorities have cracked down on criticism of the war in Ukraine, arresting thousands of protesters since the beginning of the conflict in February. But the arrests have sky-rocketed since Putin announced last Wednesday a partial military mobilisation to bolster troops in Ukraine. Ms Shamdasani pointed to "credible reports (that) some 2,377 demonstrators had been arrested... in various locations across the country". 10:38 AM Russia's invasion has seen 'extrajudicial killings and torture' The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a report that it was particularly concerned about torture and ill treatment of detainees by Russian forces and affiliated armed groups, but said there had been rights violations by both sides. The OHCHR also said it was "highly concerned" about the "enormous risks" posed by hostilities near or in nuclear power plants, and called for immediate steps to demilitarise the Zaporizhzia nuclear power station occupied by Russian forces. Kyiv and Moscow did not immediately comment on the report, carried out between Feb. 1 and July 31 and based on work of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Both sides have denied allegations of human rights abuses. The OHCHR said it was continuing to document and verify allegations of unlawful killings of hundreds of civilians by Russian armed forces in the Kyiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions. It said it had also documented at least six killings of civilians perceived as traitors for alleged collaboration with Russia in occupied areas. 10:07 AM Ukraine tells Russian conscripts to 'surrender' to save their lives Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential administration, said that mobilised Russian conscripts should "surrender" to save their lives. "The mobilized Russians who will surrender will save their lives. As to the rest, their odds will betray them," he said. The number of Russians fleeing to neighbouring Georgia every day has nearly doubled since Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation for the war in Ukraine, officials in Tbilisi said. "Four to five days ago 5,000-6,000 (Russians) were arriving in Georgia daily. The number has grown to some 10,000 per day," Georgia's interior Minister, Vakhtang Gomelauri, said. 08:48 AM Russia's Nord Stream pipelines leaking into Baltic Sea Sweden's Maritime Authority has issued a warning of two leaks on the Russian-owned Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters, shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 project was discovered. "There are two leaks on Nord Stream 1 - one in Swedish economic zone and one in Danish economic zone. They are very near each other," a Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) spokesperson told Reuters. The leaks were located northeast of the Danish island Bornholm, the spokesperson said. It was not immediately clear what had caused the leaks. "We are keeping extra watch to make sure no ship comes too close to the site," a second SMA spokesperson said. 08:32 AM Kazakhstan vows to 'take care' of fleeing Russians Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the president of Kazakhstan, has said that his country will "take care" of fleeing Russians. "Recently we've had many people from Russia coming here," he said. "Most of them are forced to leave because of the hopeless situation. We must take care of them and ensure their safety." 08:08 AM Medvedev: 'Moscow has right to defend itself with nuclear weapons' Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former president, said on Tuesday that rhetoric regarding the use of nuclear weapons was "certainly not a bluff". Mr Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, also warned that Moscow has the right to respond "without much consultation", as tensions rise with the West over referendums held in large swathes of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. Mr Medvedev has regularly issued aggressive statements on the West and Ukraine in recent months, underlining his transformation from an apparently Western-minded liberaliser as president from 2008-2012 to strident geopolitical hawk. 07:02 AM Putin to address Russia's parliament on Friday Vladimir Putin will address both houses of the Russian parliament on Friday, where he may announce the accession of the occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. The referendums currently underway within these territories are due to conclude today. "Russias leaders almost certainly hope that any accession announcement will be seen as a vindication of the special military operation and will consolidate patriotic support for the conflict," the UK's Ministry of Defence said on Twitter on Tuesday. "This aspiration will likely be undermined by the increasing domestic awareness of Russias recent battlefield sets-backs and significant unease about the partial mobilisation announced last week." Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 27 September 2022 Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/xG1CgXqeKM #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/schw2ockbs Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) September 27, 2022 03:57 AM Russians blocked from fleeing country by border guards Russian border guards on Monday started blocking military-aged men from leaving the country as tens of thousands joined long queues to flee, writes Nataliya Vasilyeva. The Kremlin insisted it had no plans to close the border despite reports in local media that an order could follow the ongoing sham referendums in occupied Ukraine. Around 300,000 men have reportedly fled the country already, the same number as Sergei Shoigu, the defence minister, said would be called up from military reservists to fight in Ukraine. Satellite images released by Maxar showed a traffic jam stretching 10 miles from the border with Georgia. Read the full story here Drone footage shows long queues of vehicles on the way to exit Russia on its border with Georgia, in Verkhny Lars, Russia - Reuters 03:47 AM Russia detains Japanese diplomat caught red-handed spying Russia has announced that it has detained a Japanese diplomat the Kremlin claims had been caught red-handed" spying. The diplomat was named by Moscow as Motoki Tatsunori, Tokyo's consul in the eastern city of Vladivostok. He was accused of trying to buy classified information about another country cooperating with Russia. In a statement, Russia's FSB security service said the Japanese diplomat accused of spying had been ordered to leave the country within 48 hours. It claimed: "A Japanese diplomat was detained red-handed while receiving classified information, in exchange for money, about Russia's cooperation with another country in the Asia-Pacific region." Read the full story by Nick Allen and Nataliya Vasilyeva here 03:32 AM Today's top stories Preben Stokkan Leads PartyPoker MILLIONS Online Main Event Final Table September 27 2022 Will Shillibier Just nine players remain in the 2022 PartyPoker MILLIONS Online Main Event, and having already tasted victory in The Closer, Preben Stokkan is looking to add another title to his online resume along with almost $400k in prize money. He leads Taco De Goede at the final table which will resume on Tuesday, September 27. The action will all be streamed live over on the PartyPoker Twitch channel. Other big names at the final table include European poker superstars Ole Schemion and Adrian Mateos who will also be eyeing up the seven-figure first prize. 2022 PartyPoker MILLIONS Online Main Event Final Table Chip Counts Rank Player Country Chips Big Blinds 1 Preben Stokkan United Kingdom 224,613,105 187 2 Taco De Goede Malta 121,436,502 101 3 Ole Schemion Austria 117,511,166 98 4 Yannick Schumacher Austria 115,808,985 97 5 Jans Arends Austria 50,297,493 42 6 Lars Kamphues Austria 44,639,748 37 7 Alexandre Raymond Canada 40,823,168 34 8 Adrian Mateos United Kingdom 25,336,571 21 9 Eelis Parssinen Finland 22,533,262 19 Note: Country flags as depicted in the PartyPoker client Day 2 resumed with 116 players in the money, all guaranteed a min-cash of $6,358. Last year's MILLIONS Online Super High Roller champion Pascal Lefrancois was among the early eliminations, with PartyPoker Ambassador Patrick Leonard (81st - $7,116) also sent to the rail. Big names such as Elio Fox (70th - $8,005), 2017 MILLIONS Online Main Event winner Jon van Fleet (60th - $8,005), Andras Nemeth (56th - $8,005) and Ema Zajmovic (43rd - $9,421) also made the money. The Staples Brothers Have Some Tips for Streaming on Twitch - Check Them Out! Jaime Staples made the deepest run by a PartyPoker Ambassador, finishing in 40th place for $9,421. GG. Good run, good Millions Series. This and 3rd place in the Grand for $15K means a solid return on the HS stuff. https://t.co/bILWkIz7pr Jaime Staples (@jaimestaples) Defending champion Endrit Geci (30th - $13,384) and Niklas Astedt (29th - $13,384) also made deep runs, with Roman Hrabec (10th - $25,220) the unfortunate player to miss out on a spot at the final table. Remaining Payouts The remaining nine players have all locked up $32,972 with the winner taking home $391,731. Place Payout (USD) 1 $391,731 2 $270,214 3 $186,169 4 $122,164 5 $84,186 6 $65,365 7 $51,856 8 $41,408 9 $32,972 Claim Up To Three Prizes Per Day with the Party Mix Promotion Every day is a fun day for PartyPoker players, thanks to the online poker site's Party Mix promotion, which rewards you with up to three amazing prizes every day up to and including September 30, 2022. Thousands of PartyPoker players have received several thousand free gifts so far, are you about to join that ever-growing list? You should be because getting your hands on a trio of daily freebies is a simple task. Simply click here to find out more! 888poker: Ian Simpson's Top Tips for Transitioning to Live Poker from Online Poker September 27 2022 Calum Grant Professional poker player Ian Simpson was overjoyed when he became the latest 888poker ambassador earlier this year. The Englishman has also recorded some impressive results since moving to the platform. In the latest Made to Learn video series from 888poker, the 2013 Irish Poker Open Winner details the tips you need to know regarding swapping the virtual felt for the live poker games. 1. Calculating the Pot Size One big difference in live poker compared to online poker is that it is up to us to calculate the size of the pot. In live poker, it is important to keep a mental tally of the size of the current pot. This will allow you to get your bet sizes right as you play a hand. Remember, the dealers are there to help you. If you lose track of the pot, you can ask the dealer to spread it out so you can begin to count it again. 2. One Chip Rule If you're new to live poker, there'll be rules you will be unfamiliar with. One of those will be the one-chip rule. If someone at your table raises to 400 and you chuck in one 1,000 denomination chip, this will be ruled as a call. It doesn't even matter if you through in a 5,000, 25,000 or 100,000 chip, putting in one chip will always be signified as a call. To make it clear what you want to do, vocalize your intentions as verbal declarations are binding. 3. Adjust to a Slower Pace Live poker has a slower pace of play to online poker and this is largely down to the shuffling and card pitching having to be done manually by a dealer. It can be easy to be distracted by your phone or whats on the television. Don't fall victim to this. Focus on what the other players are doing even when you're not in the hand as you could be missing out on picking up some live tells. 888poker Pro Analysis: Making a Play Based on a Sample Size of One 4. Know Your Stack Sizes When playing live poker, there isn't a display showing you the size of your own and your opponents chip stacks. Before you play a hand, take a note of how much each of your opponent has so you are prepared for later streets. It's in the rules that chips must be stacked in easily countable piles of 10 or 20 where possible and that big denomination chips must be visible. You are well within your rights to ask an opponent to sort out their messy stack. You can also ask the dealer or the floor if needs be. 5. Be Aware of Live Tells Live tells are big part of what separates live and online poker. If you are new to the live felt, don't worry too much as most people over-estimate their ability to read live tells. If you are worried about giving anything away, try to act consistently with all your movements. Put chips into the pot in the same way each time for example. This will make it harder for people to get a read off you and remember to not be chatty while playing a hand. $88 Free Plus a $400 Welcome Bonus Now is the perfect time to join 888poker if you have not already done so. Download 888poker via PokerNews, create your free account, and 888poker will give you a free $88 worth of cash game and tournament tickets this is a free 20 for residents of the United Kingdom just for reaching this stage. Your first deposit is matched 100% up to $400 in the form or a releasable bonus. You have 90 days to release as much bonus as you can. Contact 888poker support for more details. (Lizzie Coombes) Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rices blockbuster musical Evita made Eva Peron, the second wife of Argentinian president Juan Peron, a pop culture icon. Now, can an anarchic UK theatre double act do the same for his third wife Isabel, whose remarkable story is largely unknown? Isabel Peron, one of the first female republican heads of state in the world, served as president of Argentina between 1974 and 197. Rebecca Biscuit and Louise Mothersole, who make up multi-award-winning duo Sh!t Theatre, are to turn her life into a musical, Evita Too, which opens at Soho Theatre this week. Evita Too condenses Isabels story into a two-woman disco dictator mega-musical. It had to be a musical, says Mothersole, because its such an unbelievable story and a musical is a format where you suspend your disbelief. Choosing such a playful way to tell this story is typical of Sh!t Theatre, who for more than 10 years, have been developing a distinctive style of irreverent documentary theatre, which resulted in one reviewer labelling them younger drunker Louis Therouxs. Louise Mothersole, left, and Rebecca Biscuit in rehearsals for Evita Too (Zbigniew Kotkiewicz) Past shows have included Guinea Pigs on Trial, in which they explored the pharmaceutical industry and attempted to sign themselves up for medical trials, and Letters to Windsor House, in which they used the mail intended for previous tenants at the flat they used to share to tell a story of Londons precarious rental market. They first heard of Isabel Peron in Belfast when they were touring an earlier piece, Dollywould!, about their enduring love of Dolly Parton. Dollywould, which sold out its Edinburgh run in 2017, includes a sequence about a Tennessee body farm, a place where scientists can study decaying corpses, which prompted a discussion about the peculiar fate of the body of Eva Peron after she died also detailed in the recent Disney+ mini-series Santa Evita, based on the book by Tomas Eloy Martinez. Following the military coup in Argentina in 1955, no one knew what to do with Perons embalmed body, and eventually she was taken out of the country. When Juan Peron discovered the whereabouts of his late wifes corpse, 14 years later, he had it exhumed and brought to Spain, where he was living with Isabel. Story continues Rather macabrely, Perons new wife ended up sharing a home with the corpse of her predecessor. There are accounts of diplomats walking into their bedroom after a drunken party and finding the corpse at the end of the bed where they were sleeping, Biscuit says. Mothersole and Biscuit became increasingly fascinated by the idea of Isabel personally overseeing the repair of the by-now somewhat damaged body, brushing her hair and painting her nails. Who would do that? asks Biscuit. While they initially envisioned a show in which Perons corpse featured prominently, this idea evolved as they started researching Isabels story, and became more enamoured with the young dancer who first met Peron, who was 35 years her senior, when he was exiled in Panama. They read every book they could on her Biscuit speaks Spanish which helped in this respect and drained the internet dry. Their research took them to Buenos Aires and, when they realised that Isabel was still alive, in her 90s and living in Madrid, they went there too though they didnt get to meet her. Louise Mothersole and Rebecca Biscuit in Buenos Aires during research for Evita Too In Argentina, they found that Isabel remains a controversial figure. The duo set out to explore some of the myths that have built up around her and the way her history has been rewritten. Some of the biographies really have it in for her, says Biscuit. In Europe shes associated with fascism and dirty war, though she was a victim of the military junta, says Mothersole, adding that theyve already been called fascist apologists because of this show. It will, they stress, acknowledge that she was a complex figure. Were playing with the information that people receive in the show, and when they receive it, to colour and control peoples experience of what she is like as a person, Biscuit says. As theatre-makers theyve never shied away from complexity and mess in their work. A good example of this is their recent show Sh!t Theatre Drink Rum with Expats. That led them to visit Malta with the intention of making a show about Brexit and ex-pat culture, with the research involving drinking pints in the pub where Oliver Reed died. But the show eventually became a far darker and hard-hitting, if still very funny, piece about Maltese corruption, the migrant crisis and the murder of journalist Daphne Carauna Galizia. Biscuit and Mothersole have performed together for over a decade now. They had hoped to stage a 10-year best-of Sh!t Theatre but the pandemic put a stop to that. The pair started honing their performance style early, influenced by workshops with renowned performance artists Lois Weaver. The white face paint they wear during their shows was inspired by another famous performance artist, Taylor Mac, who at the time wore thick face paint while performing. When a friend saw some of their cardboard props and casually remarked that, you really do make shit theatre, the phrase chimed with the DIY vibe we were going for, says Biscuit, and so they stuck with it. Costume plays a big part in their work and, over the years, theyve dressed up as post-boxes, sea captains, and, in the case of the Dolly Parton show, a pair of giant breasts (causing one droll reviewer to say they were literally titting about) In addition to their documentary pieces, they also make pop culture-driven work like Sh!t Actually, an anarchic love-hate tribute to the Richard Curtis movie Love Actually, which featured Powerpoint porn and loop pedals, and to which at least one audience member has turned up expecting more straight-faced take on their favourite film he came to their dressing room later to say how much he liked it and a seasonal Sing-along-a-Muppet Christmas Carol that has become something of a cult fringe hit. They no longer share a flat Mothersole has moved to Leeds, while Biscuit lives on a houseboat in London with her dog Nala but they still continue to make work together. Evita Too has evolved over the course of making it. They originally planned something larger in scale, but the pandemic forced them to rethink it. As they made the show, theyve grown to love this woman and are keen for people to find out about her. Theres a burden and a responsibility to telling her story which theyre both aware of for much of the audience it will be their first introduction to Isabel but they hope to do justice to her wild narrative as far as possible. Though, as Mothersole points out, if we told her whole story, it would be five shows long. Evita Too is at Soho Theatre from September 27 to October 15; sohotheatre.com Jamie Carragher calls on Harry Maguire to come out swinging in response to brutal treatment Jamie Carragher has told Harry Maguire to come out swinging in his bid to reverse a downturn in form for club and country. The Manchester United defender gave away a penalty in Englands 3-3 draw against Germany on Monday night as calls for him to be dropped for the World Cup grew louder. Maguire apologised for the error on social media and vowed: The tough times will make us stronger. Carragher believes many of the centre-backs problems are mental, following reports that United players were privately courting for him to be dropped last season. Such a brutal scenario can be dealt with, according to the ex-England and Liverpool man. I know how I would have reacted in the same situation, he wrote in the Telegraph. The next training sessions would have been treated as if they were my last, taking no prisoners. Dont believe me? Ask the ex-Liverpool defender and current Cameroon coach Rigobert Song. On the day I was called up to the England squad for the first time he openly laughed at me with some teammates. Twenty minutes later we were training and I approached the session like it was the Merseyside derby, the usual rules of no strong tackling abandoned as I relished every opportunity to demonstrate my competitiveness, especially when Song was nearby. A line had to be drawn. No-one was going to take the p*** out of me like that. Judge my attitude all you wish, but there are moments in your career when you have to look after yourself, protect your reputation and fight back, because the sport is brutal and once anyone smells blood - fans, teammates or coaches - they will finish you. Gareth Southgate defended Maguire after he was picked to start against both Italy and Germany. He said: I know everyone will focus on Harry but there were some very important moments that Harry delivered in the two matches. In these moments we have to back our best and most experienced players unless it's untenable. Thousands of runners across the world are preparing for their stage of a record-breaking 7,767km non-stop relay from Glasgow, Scotland, to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in the name of climate action. Organised by The World Relay Ltd, Running Out of Time is set to be the longest ever non-stop relay with runners, cyclists, and sailors passing a baton containing a powerful climate change message from Scotland, the host city of COP26, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt for the inaugural COP27 summit. The route is split into 685 stages, around 10km each, which runners are invited to sign up for. Day and night, the relay will take 28 days to pass through 18 countries: Scotland, Wales, England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Cyprus, and Israel before arriving in Egypt in time for COP27, which takes place from 6-18 November 2022. The baton crosses seas, mountain ranges, glaciers, and deserts, towns and capital cities, including some of the worlds most vulnerable hotspots to climate change. It will visit hundreds of schools and climate change projects to inspire and champion local climate action. At the same time, the relay will be fundraising for Foundation for Environmental Educations Global Forest Fund and Carbon Copy. Jamie Hay, Running Out of Time co-founder, said: This is our most critical mission yet. Our aim is to deliver a powerful message to the decision-makers at COP27 with so much support that it is impossible to ignore if were to have a hope of securing a transition to a safe climate future. Running Out of Time symbolises the very essence of climate action its an extraordinary, bold, ambitious plan that will only succeed because everyone has worked together. I know we can do it. Along the UK section of the route, Carbon Copy, a UK charity inspiring big-thinking local action on the climate crisis, will be spotlighting 27 innovative projects where local groups are already tackling the climate and biodiversity crises. Story continues Ric Casale, Co Founder of Carbon Copy, said: Carbon Copy is delighted to team up with One Run for this extraordinary event. The relay is so symbolic of the ambition and collaboration we wish to see at COP27, and that we already see in the people working together locally to address the biodiversity and climate crises. This relay will also be a common thread that links thousands of inspiring climate action stories, showcasing leadership at all levels and encouraging more people to join in by doing something similar. Runners can register to take part in a stage of the physical relay here. Those unable to run a stage on the physical route are invited to pass the baton during a Global Virtual Relay on November 5th 2022. For more information, visit running-out-of-time.com You Might Also Like HA NOI President Nguyen Xuan Phuc met speaker of the Japanese House of Representatives Hiroyuki Hosoda on Monday, offering his condolences on the passing of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The meeting took place during President Phucs official visit to Japan to attend the State funeral for Abe. He also expressed his appreciation for the contributions of the late Japanese leader to Viet Nam - Japan relations, as well as his work in promoting the cooperation between the two parliaments in recent years. Speaker of Japans House of Representatives Hosoda Hiroyuki thanked the Vietnamese president and delegation for attending Abes funeral. He added that the late prime minister attached importance to the role of Viet Nam in the region and had made great efforts in promoting comprehensive cooperation with the Southeast Asian country. At the meeting, President Phuc gave high regard to the positive developments in the extensive strategic partnership and exchange between the two national assemblies, parliaments and the Viet Nam - Japan Parliamentary Friendship Group. He affirmed that Viet Nam values and wishes to further develop the collaboration between the two countries, especially on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2023. The Vietnamese president requested that the two sides continue the legacy of late PM Shinzo Abe by enhancing high-level exchanges of delegations, cooperation between national assemblies and legislative bodies. He also asked the Japanese House of Representatives to stand alongside their government in supporting Viet Nam to build an autonomous, self-reliant economy with extensive international integration through official development assistance (ODA), as well as promoting trade, investment, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. In response, Hosoda highlighted the role of Viet Nam to Japan, especially as a partner in trade - economy and labour. He also affirmed his support in promoting the relationship between the two countries, especially in terms of infrastructure development, ODA, technology transfer, increasing the number of Vietnamese workers, and bringing Vietnamese agricultural products to the Japanese markets. He also extended his welcome to National Assembly Chairman Vuong inh Hue to Japan, when time permits. The two leaders agreed to continue strong coordination in international affairs, supporting the role and stance of ASEAN, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world. VNS TOKYO President Nguyen Xuan Phuc spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in Tokyo on Monday as part of his stay in Japan to attend the state funeral for former PM Abe Shinzo. On behalf of the Party, State, and people of Viet Nam, President Phuc offered his deepest condolences to the Liberal Democratic Party, parliament, Government, and people of Japan, along with the family of Abe, who he described as a "close friend" of the Vietnamese leaders and people. He said that Viet Nam's leaders and people cherished former PM Abe's sentiment towards and significant contributions to the two countries' friendship and cooperation. Viet Nam always treasured the extensive strategic partnership with Japan, viewed Japan as an important and long-term strategic partner, and supported the latter in actively contributing to regional and global peace and development, the State leader said. PM Kishida appreciated President Phuc and other Vietnamese leaders' messages for Japan and former PM Abe. Japan respected its relations with Viet Nam and highly valued the Southeast Asian nation's socio-economic achievements and growing stature and role in the region and the world. The two leaders expressed their delight at the strong, comprehensive and substantive development of their countries' relations. Furthermore, they agreed on orientations for their extensive strategic partnership as the two sides celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2023. In particular, they agreed to continue enhancing political trust through frequent mutual high-ranking visits; step up diplomatic, security, defence, and economic cooperation effectively and substantively; increase people-to-people and cultural exchanges and tourism links; and coordinate to successfully organise activities marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year. They also agreed to strengthen collaboration in post-COVID economic recovery while reinforcing the economies' connectivity and enhancing strategic cooperation in priority areas such as providing new-generation ODA for Viet Nam, developing high-quality human resources, and assisting Viet Nam in industrialising and developing an independent and self-reliant economy that strongly integrates into the global economy. The host leader said the Japanese Government would continue easing post-entry quarantine measures for Vietnamese citizens and resume visa exemptions for diplomatic and official passport holders. He said they would continue reforming regulations and policies related to foreign workers, including those of Vietnamese nationality, and create favourable conditions for Vietnamese people to live, study, and work there. At the talks, the two leaders also discussed international and regional issues of common concern. VNS HA NOI Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruzs upcoming official visit to Viet Nam, from September 28-October 2, aims to further strengthen the fraternal solidarity, comprehensive cooperation and mutual trust between the Party, State and people of Cuba and Viet Nam, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Le Thanh Tung. The Cuban delegation is scheduled to arrive at Noi Bai's International Airport in Ha Noi in the evening of September 28. In an interview granted to Vietnam News Agencys correspondents in Cuba, ambassador Tung highlighted the significance of the visit, adding that this is also an opportunity for senior leaders of the two countries to discuss and come up with specific orientations and measures to further promote the bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation. During recent years, Party and State leaders, and people of the two countries have constantly consolidated fraternity, solidarity, comprehensive cooperation, and mutual trust, which have been reflected across the fields, he said. Despite the COVID-19 crisis, the two sides Party, State, Government, and National Assembly leaders have regularly maintained exchange on measures to beef up and deepen the bilateral relations, with three phone talks between their Party chiefs in 2020 alone. Last year, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc made an official visit to Cuba. In addition, cooperation mechanisms have been established in all channels of Party, State, Government, while ties between ministries, sectors, localities and socio-political organisations have been also maintained and proven effective, the ambassador said. Economic, trade, and investment cooperation have seen development, especially in terms of investment, according to the ambassador. Viet Nam is now the largest investor from the Asia-Oceania region in Cuba. The two countries have also maintained cooperation and mutual support at international and multilateral forums. One of the main purposes of the visit by the Cuban PM is to further expand bilateral economic, trade and investment relations. According to the ambassador, senior leaders are expected to agree on specific directions and measures to further improve the Viet Nam-Cuba Intergovernmental Committee cooperation mechanism whilst encouraging their firms to invest in mutual areas of strength, especially food processing and production, renewable energy, and tourism infrastructure. I hope that during the visit of the Cuban PM, the two sides can sign specific contracts and projects in the above-mentioned areas, Tung said. During this visit, the two countries will also sign a joint action plan to implement the bilateral economic agenda in the 2023 - 2025 period, covering bilateral cooperation in over 10 fields, including economic bond, trade, agriculture, industry, construction, transportation, science - technology, among others, he said. VNS NEW YORK A favourable international environment is needed to promote trust and friendship among countries to achieve the effect of the disarmament of nuclear weapons, Ambassador ang Hoang Giang, Viet Nam's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, has said. Addressing a meeting held by the UN General Assembly to mark International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons in New York on September 26, Giang emphasised international law observance, countries' fulfilment of obligations and the implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The ambassador noted that global nuclear disarmament is the UN's long-term goal, which will face headwinds. Viet Nam proposed intensifying dialogue and negotiation of international agreements on the reduction of nuclear weapons and fissile materials. Giang stressed the need to raise public awareness of the catastrophic consequences of the weapons as the risks of direct nuclear confrontation are at the highest level in decades. He also reiterated Viet Nam's consistent policy of supporting nuclear disarmament, towards the total elimination of the weapons, as well as the country's commitment to seriously fulfilling its obligations under relevant treaties, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), and the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ). In his remarks, recalling the lessons of disasters like the bombing of Japan's Nagasaki and Hiroshima in the Cold War, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all states to use every avenue of dialogue, diplomacy and negotiation to ease tensions, reduce risk and eliminate the nuclear threat. "I pledge to work closely with all member states to forge a new consensus around how we can collectively defuse these threats and achieve our shared goal of peace," he said. VNS Dengue cases continue to surge in Pakistan Xinhua) 08:29, September 27, 2022 ISLAMABAD, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The number of dengue fever cases is continuing to rise in Pakistan amid an outbreak blamed largely on floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains in the South Asian country. In the last 24 hours 419 new infections were reported across the southern Sindh province, said the provincial health department on Sunday night. The worst-hit area was Karachi, the provincial capital, which reported 343 new cases. With the newly reported dengue cases, the September figure to date for the province has risen to 5,382, bringing the local total tally to 7,951 this year. The eastern Punjab province reported 385 new cases in the last 24 hours, the provincial health authorities said on Sunday morning. Punjab's capital Lahore reported 186 new cases, followed by the Rawalpindi city with 100 cases. The total number of dengue cases in Punjab this year has now gone up to 4,921. In the last 24 hours 213 more people were diagnosed with the disease in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the provincial health department reported on Sunday night. The number of active cases in the province stands currently at 1,189 and the total number of cases this year has reached 6,625. The national capital Islamabad reported 68 new dengue cases in the last 24 hours, the health authorities said on Sunday night. The city's total tally has risen to 1,991 this year. The Pakistani government has launched an anti-dengue campaign including raising public awareness in response to the alarmingly high number of cases in the country, and has taken special measures at the dengue hotspots in order to curb the spread of the mosquito-borne disease. Dengue mosquitos breed in stagnant water like water-filled containers. In severe cases, dengue can cause joint pain, nausea, vomiting, rashes, breathing problems, hemorrhaging and organ failure. (Web editor: Liang Jun, Bianji) The meeting discussed disciplinary measures against Dung, member of the Party delegation to and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Nguyen Quang Linh, Assistant to Politburo member and Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh. After considering proposals by the Party Central Committees Inspection Commission, the Secretariat concluded that Dung lacked a sense of responsibility; violated the Partys regulations and the States law while leading, directing, and proposing the organisation of flights repatriating Vietnamese citizens amid the COVID-19 pandemic; and received bribes. An investigation had been launched into the charge and Dung was detained in early February. Meanwhile, Linh abused his position; violated working principles and regulations; violated the Partys regulations and the States law while proposing and seeking permission for businesses to organise repatriation flights amid the pandemic; and also breached the rules on the things the Party members must not commit, according to the Secretariat. Linh, born in 1974, was arrested by the police later Tuesday on the charge of taking bribery. The very limited number of flights bringing back Vietnamese citizens allowed into the country during COVID-19 border closures were criticised for being overly expensive and lacking transparency in selection and application procedures. The Secretariat held that Dung and Linh had not made self-improvement; shown degraded political thought, morality, and lifestyle; infringed the Partys regulations and the States law on corruption and negative phenomena prevention and control; and violated the rules on the things the Party members must not commit as well as the responsibility for setting good examples, causing very serious consequences, stirring public concern, and negatively affecting the Party organisations reputation. Given this, the Secretariat decided to expel Dung and Linh from the Party and asked relevant agencies to impose administrative discipline on them in line with the Partys disciplinary action. VNS HA NOI Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi held a working session with Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz in Ha Noi on Tuesday. Minister Nghi noted that the implementation of the two countries trade agreement had not produced desired outcomes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He stressed that Viet Nam had been making efforts to ensure rice supply for Cuba in accordance with reached agreement, to help Cuba ensure food security and social stability. Regarding Viet Nams investment in Cuba, the minister noted that two Vietnamese firms Viglacera and Thai Binh invested in five projects in Cuba, two of which had been put into operation with good results. Viet Nam had also maintained cooperation with Cuba in agriculture and fisheries to help Cuba step by step become self-sufficient in food. At present, the two sides were focusing efforts to carry out the 2019-23 joint rice farming project in Cuba. The Vietnamese government had also approved the idea on two new projects proposed by Cuba in developing aquaculture and maize cultivation in Cuba. Noting Cubas strength in health care and bio-technology, Minister Nghi said Viet Nam had a need for cooperation in those fields. He suggested that the two countries cooperate not only in the import-export of vaccines and drugs but also in the research to develop and produce vaccine, biological products and medicine either in Viet Nam or Cuba for both domestic consumption and export. Cooperation in other fields, such as construction, transport, communications, banking, finance, sports, culture, broadcasting, and science-technology, was also implemented in line with bilateral commitment, Nghi said, adding that the two sides had completed the draft plan of action to implement the bilateral mid-term economic agenda. He hoped that the draft could be approved for signing during the upcoming visit to Viet Nam by the Cuban Prime Minister. The Cuban Minister shared the assessment of Minister Nghi on bilateral cooperation in the recent past. He appreciated Viet Nams efforts to ensure rice export to Cuba, saying that it was of great importance for Cuba. He expressed a hope that the two countries would intensify cooperation particularly in health care, pharmaceuticals, vaccine and bio-technology. He asked the Vietnamese Construction Ministry to encourage Vietnamese firms to attend the international trade fair in Cuba in November this year, through which promoting trade and investment ties. VNS TOKYO Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc held bilateral meetings with a number of foreign leaders attending the State funeral held for the former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Tuesday. At his meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, both sides affirmed that they always treasured and gave high priority to maintaining and consolidating the good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive and long-term sustainable cooperation between the two countries. They discussed ways to promote bilateral ties, especially in trade and investment, and exchanged views on the implementation of the Master Plan on linking the two economies, coordination in realising targets related to building the ASEAN Community, especially during Cambodias ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2022. Both leaders expressed satisfaction about activities during the Viet Nam-Cambodia Friendship Year 2022 on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties. Talking with President of the European Council Charles Michel, President Phuc spoke highly of the Viet Nam-EU Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation Framework, affirming that Viet Nam considered the EU a top important partner. Viet Nam was ready to help bolster ASEAN-EU ties and hoped that EU member states would approve the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) soon, he said. Michel, for his part, agreed to enhance the exchange of high-level delegations between both sides. He expressed readiness to help Viet Nam deal with illegal, unreported and undocumented fishing. He also suggested Viet Nam help the EU with cultivating ties with ASEAN and countries in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean. Both sides pledged to coordinate for successfully holding a summit marking the 45th anniversary of ASEAN-EU ties. The Vietnamese President also met with his counterpart of Palau Surangel Whipps Jr, during which they shared the view that the two countries hold potential for cooperation, especially in investment, climate change response, labour and fisheries. Surangel Whipps Jr hailed Vietnamese investors for building infrastructure in Palau and expressed willingness to receive more Vietnamese workers in this field. He also wished to learn from Viet Nams experience in agriculture. The two sides vowed to step up collaboration in fishery, agriculture, climate change response, labour, aviation, tourism and people-to-people exchange. On the occasion, President Phuc also met with Indian PM Narendra Modi, President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe and PM of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel. VNS HA NOI The United States Mission to Viet Nam, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced liquid oxygen systems for 10 additional Vietnamese hospitals USAID/Viet Nam Mission Director Aler Grubbs made the announcement Monday afternoon alongside leaders from the Ministry of Health and numerous provincial departments of health, who gathered to celebrate the completion of USAIDs installation of liquid oxygen systems in 13 hospitals across five provinces. Increasing patient access to oxygen strengthens the nations health care system and saves lives. The completed liquid oxygen systems help 13 hospitals to support the care of patients with severe cases of COVID-19, as well as patients suffering other respiratory ailments, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis. Over the next year, USAID will install new liquid oxygen systems in 10 hospitals located in some of the poorest and most remote areas of Viet Nam across six additional provinces. This support further strengthens the long-standing health cooperation between the United States and Viet Nam, as the two countries approach 10 years of Comprehensive Partnership. The U.S. Government is proud to support the Government of Viet Nam on its COVID-19 response and advancing health security, said USAID/Viet Nam Mission Director Grubbs. The 13 newly installed liquid oxygen systems significantly improve critical health care in five provinces. We will provide Viet Nam with 10 more such systems over the coming year in six more provinces to further strengthen the nations health care system and save lives. In Viet Nam, on-site oxygen storage at smaller and provincial hospitals is rare, necessitating dependence on regular oxygen deliveries. However, oxygen can run out in times of surge demand, as happened during waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals have an urgent need for a reliable supply of oxygen. USAID provides liquid oxygen systems with an on-site storage tank, vaporiser to convert liquid oxygen in the tank to gaseous oxygen, and a pressure regulator, which is connected to the hospitals piping to transport the oxygen to patients bedsides. USAID is also providing related staff training, equipment, and supplies to administer the oxygen, such as high-flow nasal tubing and patient monitors, which allow hospital staff to efficiently track patients vital signs and quickly respond to changes in patient conditions. USAIDs installation of the 23 liquid oxygen systems and related support, valued at $7.5 million, helps Viet Nams hospitals provide thousands of additional patients with a reliable supply of medical oxygen. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States and Viet Nam have joined hands to tackle this big public health challenge. U.S. contributions, including technical support, life-saving medical equipment, and more than 40 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, have helped Viet Nams own remarkable response to this global challenge. VNS NGHE AN More than 700 parents, children and teachers were provided useful knowledge on child health, behaviors and intelligence at a workshop in Vinh, Nghe An Province on September 26. The event was part of an education programme entitled Sinh Con, Sinh Cha (Born Children, Born Parents), that is jointly implemented by Generali Vietnam and the National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVC). The workshop facilitated discussion on three practical and useful parenting topics: handling minor child illnesses and tips for boosting their immune system, setting a good example for children, and giving children regular encouragement and motivation. Participants also focused discussion on topics within the programs three main content pillars of the intelligence, behavior and health of children aged zero to six years old. At the event, Generali Vietnam representatives handed over 320 gift sets to participating children, 320 programme booklets to their parents and caregivers, as well as 30 special cash gift sets to 30 local families in extreme hardship. Sinh Con, Sinh Cha is part of The Human Safety Net, a Generali Groups global movement initiated in 2017. The Human Safety Nets programme supports parents in the first six years of their childrens lives to lay the strongest possible foundations for their future, contributing to early childhood development (ECD) in disadvantaged communities around the world. In Viet Nam, the local programme is developed by the NFVC and Generali Vietnam, referencing UNICEFs materials. The programme aims to offer parents with children aged zero to six years old parenting knowledge, experience and skills to help children grow to their full potential in the love of the family and the community. VNS HCM CITY NGO VinaCapital Foundation (VCF) has partnered with VITA Clinic to financially and psychologically support thousands of child patients, COVID-19 orphans and their families. VITA Clinic will provide sponsorship worth US$50,000 to VCFs four major programmes, Heartbeat Vietnam, Grassroots Assistance, Survive to Thrive, and Care to Rise, from now until August 2023. The money will help provide life-saving surgeries to 10 poor children with congenital heart defects through Heartbeat Vietnam and give them the opportunity to grow up normally. Some essential neo-natal medical equipment will be donated to a remote rural hospital through the Survive to Thrive programme. The Care to Rise programme will provide 200 family grants and recreational activities to benefit orphans and disadvantaged children affected by COVID-19 in HCM City to encourage them to stay in school and financially support their families. VNS The visit aims to promote the implementation of agreements reached by the two countries leaders and develop Vietnam-Cuba special ties, manifesting both countries' determination to further tighten the loyal friendship and solidarity, mutual trust and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States, Governments and peoples. Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz (Photo: VNA) Over the past nearly 62 years since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties in 1960, the two countries have seen their ties growing in all areas, from politics, economy-trade, national defence-security, agriculture, construction, education, health care, biotechnology, transportation to sports. The two sides have maintained regular mutual high-level visits, such as those to Cuba by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (April 2012 and March 2018), Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (March 2014), President Truong Tan Sang (2015), President Tran Dai Quang (November 2016), President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (September 2021), and Vietnam visits by President Fidel Castro (February 2003), President Raul Castro (July 2012), President of the Council of State and Council of Ministers of Cuba Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel (November 2018) and Chairman of the Cuban National Assembly Esteban Lazo Hernandez (June 2017). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the leaders continued to maintain contact via online meetings, while bilateral cooperative mechanisms were effectively utilised, for example the intern-governmental cooperation committee, Party theoretical workshop, defence policy dialogue at deputy defence ministerial level, and political consultation at deputy foreign ministerial level. On April 1, 2020, the Vietnam-Cuba trade agreement signed on November 9, 2018 officially took effect, facilitating bilateral trade. Two-way trade hit 261.7 million USD in 2021, up 46.6% annually. The figure reached 106 million USD in the first eight months of this year, down 20% year-on-year. The two countries are actively pushing cooperation in agriculture, with several joint projects in rice, maize farming and aquaculture producing good results. The two sides are studying and deploying more projects, with a rice farming project for 22019-2023 now underway, and agreement reached on the third phase of their joint aquaculture project for 2022-2025. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam and Cuba also enhanced vaccine supply cooperation. During Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phucs visit to Cuba last year, a contract on 5 million doses of Cubas Abdala vaccine was reached. In January 2022, the Cuban Prime Minister announced readiness to provide Vietnam with 180,000 vaccine doses for children and send 300 medical workers to Vietnam to help the country through the pandemic. Several Vietnamese firms are embarking on projects regarding the construction of infrastructure at industrial zones and the production of construction materials, washing powder and diapers at Mariel Special Development Zone in San Miguel, Santa Cruz. Vietnamese businesses are increasingly interested in expanding operations in Cuba. In multilateral diplomacy, both sides have maintained cooperation and mutual support at international organisations and multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations. Recently, Vietnam backed Cubas bid to run for a seat at the UN Human Rights Council for the 2021-2023 tenure and supported Cubas signing of the ASEANs Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 2020. Vietnam also consistently backed the call for an end to the USs embargo on Cuba. The upcoming Vietnam visit of the Cuban PM will once again affirm that both sides will continue inheriting and upholding their long-standing ties, and are resolved to take their relationship into a new development period, focusing on economy-trade-investment, to make it on par with their fine political ties. Vietnam often changes faster than most countries, and it can be hard to keep up. In tandem, it is well known that most people have shorter attention spans compared to even a decade ago. With that, VIR wants to strive to be one of the best reads for anyone who picks up a copy. Readers want the most up-to-date information possible to keep them hooked The easiest way to do that is by offering more engaging stories as soon as they begin. VIR believes it is important to cover topics that are perhaps not a big priority elsewhere, and this is demonstrated through regular sections in the print newspaper on climate change, womens empowerment, and sustainable energy. We also publish original takes on issues like the labour market, imports and exports, retail, property, and finance and banking. These are the initial building blocks to giving readers new and interesting stories. And along with the work of our reporters, VIR is also proud to publish expert analysis and informed opinion pieces from key personnel covering everything from the latest law updates to the arrival of 5G technology. Printing those latest updates is one of the most important aspects of such a publication. The bulk of stories in a weekly newspaper should not be a history lesson - readers can get that elsewhere. Story intros should be current, important, and reflect the potential road of travel moving into the near future. Why is this story in the newspaper this week and not a fortnight ago? How will the story likely evolve in the next few months? What are the players in the story actually doing now? And what do they think about it? Answering these provides much-needed colour instead of reeling off a tepid list of figures or past timelines. On top of engaging stories, the next layer can involve more accuracy. English-language newspapers in Vietnam cater to people who are typically from nations with a rich history of journalism. Older readers may have read, or still do read, world-class articles from some of the best reporters in the world in their favourite publications back in their home country. So when they spend the time to read something like VIR, not only should all their potential questions be answered as accurately as possible, but their intelligence should not be insulted either. One of the first things I do when I get ready to edit a news story is to think of all the questions that a normal reader would have. Does the story make sense in terms of the timeline? Is there more than one side of the story? Why is one particular piece of info missing? More often than not, foreigners who know a little about journalism can read a story in Vietnam and immediately have questions as simple as Why are there no quotes or first-hand accounts? or When did this actually happen? If the reporter cannot answer these, the story is usually not good enough to print yet. The next layer, for me, when it comes to better content is to ensure cleaner copy. Often, my work feels like doing word puzzles all day. But it is even more intricate than that. Not every sentence has to be perfect, but we can make them much easier to read a lot of the time. Being concise and going for a less is more approach always works for me. People are more likely to enjoy reading a sentence if it is crisp and clean and does not include too many commas, dashes, brackets, figures, quote marks, and everything else. If the sentence still works without all of that, go for it. There is something satisfying about making a sentence 75 per cent shorter and it still saying the exact same thing. Looking at the bigger picture, taking into account crisp sentences, accurate information, and interesting topics, the main thing is that readers get what they were looking for. If you pick up a newspaper you want to read something you have never read before. For VIR, we have the extra incentive of being able to help people and businesses connect. Our stories and expert pieces may not only help a reader spark up an idea, but they can also offer up the chance for collaboration. VIR can encourage people to attend or take part in events like seminars or round tables. It may even encourage someone to create their own events. Anything that can, in some little way, advance the prospects of business in Vietnam is a good thing and as long as VIR provides the platform to do so, the work is worth it. According to VCBS, PVC prices in the second half of 2022 and in 2023 will remain at a low price level in the range of 800-1,000 USD per tonne, helping the profit margin of plastic enterprises to stay positive. A factory of Binh Minh Plastic JSC (BMP). After increasing the selling price to 59 million VND (2,486 USD) per tonne in the first half of 2022, Binh Minh Plastic JSC (BMP) has no plans for further adjustments in the second half of 2022, which will be the driving force to continue expanding profit margin. (Photo courtesy of BMP) The supply shortage in the US has recovered and the global supply has increased sharply due to the expansion plan of large enterprises. In the short term, major manufacturers in India, the US and China have invested in expanding PVC production with a capacity of millions of tonnes. From now to 2026, PVC capacity will increase by 17% to 70 million tonnes per year. The demand for PVC dropped sharply in China due to the sluggish real estate market, in which the demand for PVC for construction in this country accounted for 62%. Until the end of 2023, VCBS believes that the demand for PVC will continue to stay low when the number of projects starting in China at present stays very low. PVC prices have a strong correlation with coking coal because most of the production now depends on China. Production costs of coking coal are forecast to drop sharply to 280 USD per tonne in 2023, according to Fitch Solutions, helping PVC manufacturers in China maintain competitive prices with the EU and the US as these countries are facing a severe energy shortage and high input prices. In the second and third quarter of 2021, the profit margins of enterprises such as Binh Minh Plastic Joint Stock Company (BMP) and Tien Phong Plastic Joint Stock Company (NTP) were heavily affected due to the galloping increase in PVC input prices and the impact of the social distancing measures in key areas, reducing output and increasing costs. However, the recent downward trend in input prices will be the driving force for expanding profit margins for BMP and NTP in the second half of 2022 and 2023. "VCBS believes that the business results of BMP and NTP in the third quarter of 2022 will grow well compared to the low base level of 2021, which may be a supportive factor for the uptrend of stock prices," VCBS report said. Civil plastic pipes In the first half of 2022, the number of real estate apartments constructed in the North showed strong growth after a long period of decline, which helps boost plastic pipe consumption in this segment in the second half of 2022 and 2023. Contrary to that, the number of new apartments in the Southern region showed a trivial amount, which will put pressure on consumption in the near future. In the long-term, VCBS believes that sales volume still has great growth potential as Vietnam's urbanisation rate is still low and legal problems for real estate projects are expected to be solved in 2023. However, with a relatively high per capita PVC consumption rate in the region and close location to China, VCBS estimates that Vietnams plastic growth in the next period will be at 7-10%, much lower than 15-20% of the 2014 - 2017 period. The price of PVC input materials, after increasing from 900 USD per tonne to 2,000 USD per tonne in November 2021, has dropped sharply to 950 USD per tonne. After increasing the selling price to 59 million VND (2,486 USD) per tonne in the first half of 2022, the Binh Minh Plastic Joint Stock Company (BMP) has no plan to adjust the selling price in the second half of 2022, which will be the driving force to continue expanding profit margin. In the second half of 2022 and 2023, consumption in the South will only recover from the low base of 2022, not seeing strong growth compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic because the new supply is quite limited. In the long term, VCBS expects the supply recovery from real estate projects to be the main revenue and profit driver for BMP. BMP is also vigorously implementing its plan to increase its market share in the Northern and Central markets with attractive promotion policies. Tien Phong Plastic Joint Stock Company (NTP) will directly benefit from the sharp decline in PVC prices in the second half of 2022. With the prospect of PVC prices remaining low in the near future, NTPs business performance will be markedly improved. Accounting for 60% of the market share in the North, NTP's sales volume will be boosted when the number of apartments being built in the North recovers positively in the first half of 2022. Hitting green goals via capital and awareness Around 11 million tonnes of plastic waste flows into the oceans each year a figure set to nearly triple by 2040. Now more than ever, nations and various organisations are springing into action in an attempt to accelerate an efficient circular economy in order to help save the planet. Long-term action plans to service a circular economy Vietnams pursuit of a circular economy is offering numerous opportunities for businesses. However, in order for this new model to flourish, the government needs to create momentum. General director of Panasonic Vietnam Marukawa Yoichi shared, 2022 is truly very special for us. Firstly, even though the challenges of the 2021 pandemic helped us to come up with initiatives to conduct our film-making programme online with various activities for the first time, we can now fully resume the KWN programme after a long interruption. Secondly, it is also the first year of our next 50-year journey with a strong commitment to wellness in Vietnam. In line with this vision, we have introduced the new Panasonic Sustainable Schools programme, and KWN is a part of this with new scope and new activities. Talking about the results of this year's programme, he also said, I was really impressed by the way the children told their stories with deep care for the environment, families, friends, and various matters they observe. Throughout the filmmaking journey, we hope kids can develop a deeper understanding of what matters the most to them and the society and will be inspired to join initiatives for a better future. In 2022, the programme has been implemented with many exciting and meaningful learning opportunities, providing experience for participating students, such as soft-skill training, environmental classes, field trips, team-building, and film review activities. For the first time, the programme was expanded to local schools in Dong Anh district as a part of the Panasonic for Sustainable Schools programme. First held in the US in 1989, the KWN programme has been implemented in Vietnam since 2006 with the aim of providing a creative and exciting playground for students, where they can enrich their knowledge about environmental and social issues and develop their soft skills through the filmmaking journey. For the KWN 2022 season, the film entitled If only my father did not smoke from the Viet Bamboo team has been honoured with the first prize in the 10-12-year-old category. It is a story of a kid spending a lot of effort to help his family and other people realise the harmfulness of smoking. The first prize for 13-18-year-old students belongs to the film Dejavu made by a student group from Dong Anh district. It was an interesting and bright story about a kid who was used to throwing garbage around but finally changed to care more about environmental protection from the smallest action. The two winning teams will have the opportunity to exchange their movies with other teams around the world at the KWN Global Summit event held online around the end of this year. Nguyen Danh Khai, a student from the Viet Bamboo team who studies at Dich Vong Hau Secondary School shared their experience, It was so much fun and made for an exciting summer, especially when I could participate in the programme with my friends. We learned a lot and would never have known that we are able to make an entire film from the start with our ideas to the final cinematic product. During the journey with KWN, getting to know how to use the professional camera was probably my favourite thing. So, I registered for the cameraman position in the group. Nguyen Thanh Van, the famous film director from Vietnam and a member of the jury board stated, With more than 20 films produced this year and last, I see it was a great effort from the children and the organisers. I hope this programme will continue to be implemented every year as it is a great opportunity for children to learn about cinematography in a professional way. We really hope that among the hundreds of children participating in the programme, more talented directors and producers will be found in the future thanks to these very meaningful first steps. More than 3,600 students participated in Painting for Forest Planting with Panasonic Panasonic Vietnam held the awards ceremony for the contest Painting for forest planting in collaboration with the Center for Natural Resources and Environment Communication (CNREC) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Panasonic launches Kids Witness News programme in Vietnam Panasonic Vietnam has held the opening ceremony for the 15th season of the film-making programme Kid Witness News (KWN) with the participation of more than 100 parents, teachers, and students from 16 groups from primary, secondary, and high schools in Hanoi. The TH true HERBAL products use herbal materials cultivated in the Vietnamese territory, especially in the Muong Long area in the central province of Nghe Ans Ky Son district where TH Group is now operating its Muong Long Centre for Conserving and Developing Medical Herbs. Cultivated on the mountain with an altitude of 1,500m, the herbs are of high quality, with the materials closely controlled, from cultivation to processing, meeting the strictest standards set out by the Ministry of Health and the Vietnamese standards on filter-bag herbal tea. The products are made at a factory that fully meets the ISO 22000:2018 standard on producing dried and filter-bag tea, including the automatic production lines imported from Italy. In addition, the products are packaged in filter bags that meet European standards not containing nylon or plastic and being user-friendly. Thai Huong, the founder and chairwoman of TH Groups Strategic Council, delivered a speech at the launching event Embarking upon herbal production and development, TH Group will launch products that are good for health, improve resistance, and prevent infectious diseases. TH Group is currently researching and learning from companies around the world specialising in medicinal products and supplementary foods to prepare and replace active ingredients of Western medicine with substances with equivalent effects that we can prepare from the herbal medicine of our country, said Thai Huong, founder and chairwoman of TH Groups Strategic Council. From the results in exploring those substitutes, TH Group will launch a series of products that are cosmetics, food, and healthy pharmaceuticals with the same medicinal herbs made by TH Group, she added. Huong continued, With the TH true HERBAL products launched, I hope that each person with their research and understanding of herbs will become a doctor for themselves and their families, improving their health from the use of healthy, herbal products. The TH true HERBAL tea products will bring new experiences to tea lovers Market research showed that the average annual growth rate of the world's pharmaceutical market is at 12-15 per cent, estimated to be worth $178.4 billion by 2026. Vietnam is also one of 15 nations worldwide famous for its herbal medicine thanks to its diverse flora and fauna resources and many endemic medicinal plants with high use and economic value, as well as long-standing traditional medicine. Previously, TH Group launched a number of products made from gac fruit, including Lyco-Prevent Gac capsules. With outstandingly high lycopene and beta-caroten content, Lyco-Prevent is the first product in the world made entirely from organic gac fruits, meeting organic standards of the United States and Europe the world's highest standards in agriculture. TH Group employs state-of-the-art technologies in production Over the past many years, locally-invested TH Group has been applying high tech to its dairy farm and milk processing project in the central province of Nghe An, making the initiative one of the most modern in the world. More than 1.6 million children are at risk as Typhoon Noru is expected to make landfall on September 27 night in central Vietnam, said UNICEF, adding that it has supported prepositioning humanitarian supplies to contribute to the response in the areas likely to be affected, it added. A family reinforces their roof before the arrival of Typhoon Noru in the south-central province of Quang Nam on September 27. (Photo: UNICEF) According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, Typhoon Noru has increased its intensity compared to a day prior. It is expected to cause extensive damage and potential interruption of basic services, especially for vulnerable populations in Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai. Nearly 5.6 million people living in the region are likely to be affected by typhoon-force winds and torrential rainfall. Among them, one-third are children. UNICEF said along with its partners, it is closely monitoring the situation and expressed deep concern for children and families at risk. National and local authorities are taking preparedness and early action measures to minimise damage to life and property, said Lesley Miller, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Vietnam. UNICEF is ready to support with life-saving interventions. The typhoon poses a serious threat to the most vulnerable children and their families in the coming days, she said. Children are most impacted by disasters due to their physical and psychosocial vulnerabilities, and the disruption of services essential for their development. Strong winds, flooding, landslides, and displacement may put them at increased risk of disease and poor nutrition, jeopardize their access to education and health care services, and make them more exposed to abuse, exploitation and neglect, according to the statement. Minister Nghi noted that the implementation of the two countries trade agreement has not produced desired outcomes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi holds a working session with Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz in Hanoi on September 27. (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn) He stressed that Vietnam has been making efforts to ensure rice supply for Cuba in accordance with reached agreement, to help Cuba ensure food security and social stability. Regarding Vietnams investment in Cuba, the minister noted that two Vietnamese firms Viglacera and Thai Binh have invested in five projects in Cuba, two of which have been put into operation with good results. Vietnam has also maintained cooperation with Cuba in agriculture and fisheries to help Cuba step by step become self-sufficient in food. At present, the two sides are focusing efforts to carry out the 2019-2023 joint rice farming project in Cuba. The Vietnamese government has also approved the idea on two new projects proposed by Cuba in developing aquaculture and maize cultivation in Cuba. Noting Cubas strength in health care and bio-technology, Minister Nghi said Vietnam has a need for cooperation in those fields. He suggested that the two countries can cooperate not only in the import-export of vaccines and drugs but also in the research to develop and produce vaccine, biological products and medicine either in Vietnam or Cuba for both domestic consumption and export. Cooperation in other fields, such as construction, transport, communications, banking, finance, sports, culture, broadcasting and science-technology, is also implemented in line with bilateral commitment, Nghi said, adding that the two sides have completed the draft plan of action to implement the bilateral mid-term economic agenda. He hoped that the draft can be approved for signing during the upcoming visit to Vietnam by the Cuban Prime Minister. The Cuban Minister shared the assessment of Minister Nghi on bilateral cooperation in the recent past. He appreciated Vietnams efforts to ensure rice export to Cuba, saying that it is of great importance for Cuba. He expressed a hope that the two countries will intensify cooperation particularly in health care, pharmaceuticals, vaccine and bio-technology. He asked the Vietnamese Construction Ministry to encourage Vietnamese firms to attend the international trade fair in Cuba in November this year, through which promoting trade and investment ties. Cuban Ambassador praises Vietnams spirit of solidarity Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Orlando Nicolas Hernandez Guillen has praised the solidarity and valuable support of the Vietnamese Party, State, Government and people to Cuba during hard times. Vietnam approves Cubas Abdala vaccine with conditions The Ministry of Health (MoH) on September 17 approved with conditions for the emergency use of Cuba's Abdala COVID-19 vaccine in COVID-19 prevention and control. India is trying to establish new supply chains to overcome the consequences of COVID-19 and Vietnam is considered a partner of potential, said Sanjaya Baru, former Secretary General of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Vietnamese and Indian businesses signed a number of cooperation deals at the Vietnam-India Business Forum held in New Delhi last December (Photo: VNA) According to the Center for the World Trade Organisation and International Trade at the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vietnam is an attractive market due to being a signatory to a number of free trade agreements. India and Vietnam can work together on establishing new supply chains so that Indian exports to Southeast Asia and East Asia can be enhanced through joint ventures, Mr. Baru said. At the Vietnam-India Business Forum in New Delhi last December, the two countries signed 12 cooperation agreements in various fields, including human resources training in information technology, oil and gas processing and energy, and trade and investment promotion activities. Meanwhile, Jagannath Panda, Head of the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs, described Vietnam as an important country in Southeast Asian and Indian supply chain networks. He lauded Vietnam-India relations, which have been progressing well and developed into a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2017. A turning point in relations was the initiation of Indias Look East policy in 1991, aiming to cultivate extensive economic and strategic relations with Southeast Asian countries, according to Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies under the National University of Singapore. The success of the Look East policy encouraged India to make it more action-oriented, resulting in Indias Act East policy, which was announced in 2014. These policies have made India become much more outward looking, Mr. Palit said, adding that its relations, particularly economic partnerships with Southeast Asia, have expanded rapidly. ASEAN and India elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership in 2012 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations. In the context of economic globalisation and regional integration, the two sides have encouraged further cooperation in support of sub-regional development within the frameworks of Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC). At the 19th consultation meeting on economic cooperation between ASEAN and India in Cambodia on September 16, participants called on the two sides to forge collective action in securing robust supply chain connectivity to maintain the flow of essential goods and services. Within the relationship between ASEAN and India, relations between India and Vietnam have always enjoyed a very special position, Mr. Palit said. There are a lot of commonalities between the two countries, he added. Both have had challenges with poverty and unemployment, and now also face difficulties from the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the serious impact of COVID-19, Vietnam-India trade recorded impressive growth in 2021, surpassing 13 billion USD for the first time, up 36.5 percent compared to 2020, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. Mr. Palit suggested that Vietnam and India look closely at the possibilities for cooperation through a large number of supply chains. What I have in mind is a large number of products and supply chains making up our production networks, where countries and businesses come together to cooperate, he explained. He believes the two countries can discover complementarities in a number of fields, such as agriculture, chemicals, and textile and garment, and more advanced endeavours like artificial intelligence. According to Indian analysts, following the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a lot of focus on Vietnam and India, as both countries are critical economic zones for new supply chain connections. They highlighted Vietnams strategic location and its crucial role in Indias Indo-Pacific vision, which sees the region as essentially a free and open economic area with the protection of sea lines of communication. The analysts said both Vietnam and India can complement each other in the Indo-Pacific supply chain network. Indian, Vietnamese firms seek stronger ties in building material sector A visiting delegation of Indian business executives from the ceramic tile, porcelain floor, wall and decoration tile, bathroom sanitary ware and related industries met with their Vietnamese counterparts in Ho Chi Minh City to compare notes and seek tie-ups. Vietnam, India have potential for automobile cooperation: insiders Vietnam and India have substantial opportunities to cooperate in the automobile industry as Vietnam is accelerating FDI attraction in the sector, an official has said. In July 2020, Amado De La Paz was facing jail again. But he got an opportunity to turn his life around instead. De La Paz graduated with three others from the McLennan County DWI/Drug Court pretrial intervention program on Monday, and he said he looks forward to a productive new chapter in life. De La Paz does commercial heating and air conditioning work and aims to find ways to help others find recovery as well, he said in an interview Monday before the ceremony. He joined two other graduates for the ceremony at McLennan County Courthouse before County Court-at-Law Judge Vikram Vik Deivanayagam. De La Paz said he feels great pride in finishing the program, in seeing it all the way to completion. He said he thought about quitting at the end of last year, but he stayed to be an example to his sons and break the cycle of addiction, De La Paz said. He said he came into the program in July 2020 with a drug problem and two drug charges. I had thought I could beat the drug problem by myself, he said. Cocaine was my drug of choice. Now he has served two years of his seven-year probation, and he is hoping his graduation will allow him to be released from the remaining years of probation. Taking a treatment court approach, the McLennan County DWI/Drug Court is an intensive supervision program whose voluntary participants are seeking to break the cycle of drug and alcohol abuse. Those who successfully complete the program have their charges dropped, or they finish probation and the judge in their case adjudicates them not guilty. De La Paz said his attitude toward the program has changed since he started. When I started the program about two years ago, I thought I could just coast through it, De La Paz said. I sat through the classes. I did as I was told, but I didnt really put in the time and effort. During his first year of his two in the program, he had a few relapses, then he began to really do the work, De La Paz said. I started to talk about my family history, and the chains that bind me, he said. It was hard at first. De La Paz said he opened himself up to his higher power, as 12-step programs teach, and he began to truly work the steps of his recovery program. Sitting in (recovery group) meetings, and hearing the stories of others, that was really clutch, De La Paz said. Finding recovery was a battle, but the DWI/drug court provides a great support team, with their support and connecting with my higher power, it can happen. De La Paz said he had to make many changes in his way of life and the people he spends time with. You cant expect positive, when you hang around with people doing negative, he said. De La Paz has worked at Capstone Mechanical since April, and he said his employer has supported him in his journey. They allowed me to leave for probation visits and classes, De La Paz said. I was able to take care of my legal problems and work. Now that hes graduating from the DWI/drug court program, he said he looks forward to helping others who have similar addiction issues. Other graduates completing the program Monday were Samuel Evans and Aaron Estrada. After these graduates leave the program, it has another 26 participants on their way, said court administrator Amy Lowery. The maximum number is 30, she said. Deivanayagam, who presides over the DWI and Drug Court docket, said the program takes a minimum of 12 months, divided into four phases intended to be a minimum of 90 days each. The program is designed to be a year, but many of our participants take 15 months or longer, Deivanayagam said Friday. The courts team includes probation officers, a defense attorney, a prosecutor, a chaplain and substance abuse counselors. Defendants selected for the program, mostly those on probation after multiple arrests for substance abuse violations or other nonviolent offenses, learn ways to turn their lives around for the better through treatment and counseling. Working together, program participants with assistance and guidance from the courts team achieve and maintain a sober lifestyle, so they can be productive members of the community, the judge said. Judge Mike Freeman started the DWI/drug court in 2007, and Deivanayagam took of the DWI/drug court docket after Freemans retirement in 2017. In 2019, Deivanayagams team was selected best DWI/drug court in Texas, and in 2020, the DWI/drug court received a $270,000 federal grant to be spent over three years. Its $90,000 per year, Deivanayagam said after graduation. The grant allowed us to hire a case manager and a peer recovery counselor. The judge said he and his team are documenting the achievements of the program and the participants with the two new team members in hopes of renewing the grant or showing the value to county commissioners for them to put the positions on the budget. Vladimir Putin and the cronies of his dictatorship are considering banning Russian men from leaving the country after 250,000 have escaped Russia to avoid being hunted down and dragged to the Ukrainian battlefields to die. Protests in Russia against the Ukraine war have grown after Putin declared a state of emergency to replace those dead and injured on the battlefield. According to the Russian human rights organization OVD-Info, 700 Russin protestors were arrested on Saturday, while more than 1,000 were held earlier in the week during unofficial protests, which are illegal under Russian law. In the previous several days, almost 1500 demonstrators have been arrested nationwide. The anger from Russians who now know Russia is losing the "special military operation" is growing, and the arrests could lead to summary killings if Putin and his allies in the Kremlin proclaim martial law and prohibit men from leaving the country. Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to address the Federal Assembly on September 30th, just as he did in 2014. * According to Russian media outlet Verstka's sources in the Russian parliament, Putin's address to the Federal Assembly will be delivered on September 30th, keeping Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. This means that members of Russia's parliament and senators would most likely gather in the Kremlin's St George Hall, where Putin will inform them of the results of the phony referendums in occupied regions. So far, a lengthy number of countries throughout the world, including some border states with Russia, have declared that the referendum is invalid. Subscribe 100% Free to Wall Street Rebel.com and receive access to investment tools worth $17,500! According to Verstka's sources in the Russian parliament, Putin would sign an "agreement" on the "accession" of those regions following his speech. Alternatively, Putin might go to the State Duma [Russia's lower house of the Federal Assembly - ed.] and first seek unanimous backing for the annexation. According to Russian parliament sources, Putin would impose martial law if Ukraine continues to target the so-called accessible areas, which are Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories where bogus referendums on joining Russia will be held. Furthermore, according to one of Verstka's sources, the restriction on leaving Russia for males due to conscription may be announced even before Putin's speech because the government considers the outflow of men as "alarming." The decision to declare martial law and implement mandatory conscription will likely result in tens of thousands more Russian soldiers being killed or injured. Some estimates put the number of dead and wounded among the original 137,000 troops dispatched into Ukraine as close to 90,000. In reaction to Putin's forced conscription, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, issued a televised, radio, and internet-posted appeal to the Russian military and those who are forcefully enlisted, vowing that any Russian soldiers who surrender to Ukraine will be treated "civilly." In his evening address, President Zelensky, speaking in Russsian, his first language, urged conscripted soldiers to flee once they arrived in Ukraine and to surrender if they were compelled to fight. Putin is so desperate to rebuild his military that he has enacted legislation that doubles the punishments for Russian soldiers who flee or violate instructions. Captured soldiers face ten years in prison and fifteen years in the desert if they refuse to fight to the death. In his speech, President Zelensky also urged Russians not to become one of the many Russian war criminals who would face prosecution after the battle. Zelensky maintained that Ukraine would deal with deserters in accordance with international treaties and that no one would be sent to Russia if they were terrified of the consequences. Russian troops have learned that Zelensky and Ukraine are receiving Russian deserters with human care, food, clothing, and shelter. "It is better to submit to Ukrainian captivity than to be killed by our weapons strikes," Zelensky stated. The Russian president's efforts are widely interpreted as an attempt to retake the initiative after his soldiers suffered battlefield defeats. However, military analysts in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States dispute whether conscripting 300,000, 500,000, or even one million Russian men will result in anything other than their slaughter. Russia has lost so many tanks, aircraft, armored artillery vehicles, and munitions that it may be hard to field 100,000 fresh troops, let alone 300,000 or more. China refuses to assist Russia in any way other than purchasing oil and natural gas at a high discount. Much of Russia's armaments were produced in Ukrainian plants to which it no longer had access. Subscribe 100% Free to Wall Street Rebel.com and receive access to investment tools worth $17,500! Meanwhile, Germany says that if the US agrees to replace the tanks Ukraine wants, it will hand them over immediately. The Biden Administration has most likely already approved this. Vladimir Putin and his dictatorship's henchmen are considering prohibiting Russian males from leaving the country after 250,000 have fled to avoid being tracked down and hauled to Ukrainian battlefields to die. Would anyone in Russia stop Putin if he wanted to use nukes? | 60 Minutes CEDAR FALLS Participants at Saturdays Walk to End Alzheimers helped reach the goal of raising $65,000 to fund dementia care, support and research through the Alzheimers Association. The event took place at Peet Junior High. Fundraising continues through the end of the year, so there is still time to donate at alz.org/walk. Team Huser led by team captain Holly DiMarco was named the Top Team, raising $7,000. The other top teams and walkers are: Team Aloha Pet Resort, led by team captain and Top Walker J.J. Robson, raised $6,400. Team Morwood Campground, led by team captain Cody Lundry, raised over $4,600 in memory of friend and seasonal camper, Jim Learn. Renae Learn, Jims wife, was also a Top Walker, and she raised $2,900. Team Western Home Communities, led by team captain Amanda McCormack, raised over $2,700. Its Top Walker Larry Martin raised $2,600. More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimers disease a leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, more than 11 million family members and friends provide care to people living with Alzheimers and other dementias. In Iowa alone, there are more than 66,000 people living with the disease and 73,000 caregivers. WATERLOO A Waterloo woman has been sentenced to prison for shooting at a car carrying young children in 2020. Authorities allege Maylesha Dominique Campbell followed and then opened fire on the vehicle on Riehl Street following a dispute with the driver over a social media post. The evidence shows the bullet holes were located in the drivers side back door where the children were located. Just a few inches either way could have resulted in a much more serious incident injury or death, Assistant County Attorney Brad Walz said. On Monday, Campbell, now 28, asked the court for probation. Im not what this makes me out to be, said Campbell, who had entered an Alford plea not admitting guilt but acknowledging she could be found guilty if the matter went to trial to a charge of intimidation with a weapon. But Judge Joel Dalrymple said the facts of the case dictate prison time and sentenced her to up to 10 years behind bars. Under these circumstances when a gun was actually used in this manner this court believes that incarceration is appropriate, Dalrymple said. Court records allege Campbell was upset with Lashun Denise Brown for a Facebook comment she made on a relatives post. On April 22, 2020, she had attempted to fight Brown and then showed up at a Riehl Street home where Brown was, records state. Brown left to go home, a few blocks away, and when she arrived, Campbell was there standing in the street, records state. There was a brief argument, and Campbell then pulled out a handgun and fired. One of the bullets went into the rear door where children were seated. No injuries were reported. WATERLOO West High Schools marching band is drilling down on its performances for several more games and competitions. On Saturday, the band placed fifth out of six 4A bands competing at the Linn-Mar Marching Band Festival in Marion. We did pretty well, band director Jason Dobbs said. We improved a lot from our first two home games. Fourth, fifth and sixth places were within a couple tenths of a point. The band is made up of 90 brass, woodwind, percussion and color guard members. This years show is Return of the Samurai, which tells a fictional story about Japanese samurai and evokes moods and visuals of that, Dobbs said. The set was scored in six categories that include the music itself, visuals, step styles, horn angles, formations as well as specific judges for the percussion section and color guard. Dobbs said judges comment on a video of their performance, which band members can watch to critique themselves. Immediately after the performance there also was a clinician on site to give immediate feedback. This week, the musicians will work on their final song, which they have not performed yet. Theyll also clean up their first two songs by getting formations in order and memorizing the music. This upcoming Saturday, the band will travel to Cedar Rapids to compete in two shows. The first will be Bands Across the Prairie in the morning and then the Five Seasons Marching Invitational that night. East High School will also compete in Bands Across the Prairie. The week after that, West, East, Cedar Falls and other area high school marching bands will travel to the Iowa High School Music Association marching band festival hosted by Dubuque Senior High. West will then immediately drive to West Des Moines Valley High School to participate in the Valley Showdown that evening. Dobbs said the band is mostly freshman and sophomores. Forty-seven percent have never marched and played in marching band, he said. The band also performs at every home game. There will be two more, with the next performance Oct. 7. CEDAR FALLS After a special meeting Monday, Cedar Falls is chugging along the path to remove railroad tracks downtown. The City Council voted 5-1 to submit a grant proposal to the Federal Railroad Administrations Railroad Crossing Elimination Program. Councilor Dave Sires was the only dissenting vote. Susan deBuhr was absent. She joined Sires and two other councilors a week earlier in voting against the application. The special session came after those other two Dustin Ganfield and Gil Schultz agreed to open the floor again for discussion. Mayor Rob Green said he thought thered be a benefit to the council in talking about what the grant entailed and to have a representative from Cedar Falls Utilities and Iowa Northern Railway to explain the situation in their terms. The projects estimated cost is $12.2 million. If the city is awarded the grant, it will receive up to $9.76 million. The city and railroad company would pay $1.22 million each. Last week, the cost of the project was at least partially responsible for splitting the council 4-3 to not approve submitting the grant. Ganfield said his initial concerns were about the time table. The grant proposal is due Oct. 4. After talking with members from CFU and the railroad, he changed his mind. The return on investment far exceeds the cost, Ganfield said. Even though this was an unplanned expenditure, we have time to figure out where it comes from. Green said if approved, the payments would be in three $400,000 increments. One citizen, Dwayne Hamilton, expressed concern over the speed of the process. He said he didnt know about the proposal of removal until he read a previous Courier article and he wouldnt have known about the special session without checking his phone. I think this train has been moving too fast without opportunities from the public to have any input, Hamilton said. William Magee, the general manager for the Iowa Northern Railway, said the company knew about the grant in July and had been working on the proposal for four to six weeks. The bulk of discussion regarded ownership of the railroad and accessibility of coal, if needed. Councilor Dave Sires suggested purchasing the railroad spur so that its city owned. Magee said the salvage value of the track is $1.3 million and the railroad-owned property is valued at $2.6 million. Green said this is the discounted rate and the acquisition price would likely be higher than the $3.9 million. Thats what Id like to do instead of having the tracks taken out, Sires said. Id like to see (the railway) make money and see coal brought into us. Im after us to keep our opportunities open. In February 2021, coal was brought in via trucks when natural gas was scarce during a cold spell. The last time the tracks were used was in 2010. Magee estimated it would be at least a decade before the company brings in more coal. Without the grant, what happens with the spur is up to the Iowa Northern Railway, which could lead to abandonment of the tracks and open it up to the market still possibly resulting in removal of the tracks. Every direction I look at this, we end up in a worse situation if we dont work in this capacity together, Councilor Simon Harding said. We could be putting the city in a situation that could cost five to 10 times more, and still not have the railroad. Just over two miles of track runs near the intersection of Iowa and West First streets, next to McDonalds, through downtown and then past Cedar Falls Utilities to an area near Pfeiffer Springs Park off of Grand Boulevard. The project would include railroad removal, street and sidewalk reconstruction, floodwall closure, creation of a trail connection and the relocation of a rail yard near Shell Rock. If we receive the grant then we have a scar in the middle of our city removed, Mayor Green said. It restores our streets, makes them safer and gives us the opportunity to make much greater use of the trail system in the downtown area, and also having this investment of Shell Rock to reuse the track its only good things. This story has been updated to reflect the full value of salvaging the track and purchasing the railroad property. WATERLOO The Black Hawk/Bremer League of Women Voters and the NAACP of Black Hawk County are hosting a candidate forum. It will take place on Monday, Oct. 3 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The forum will be at the Hawkeye Community College Van G. Miller Adult Learning Center at 120 Jefferson Street in Waterloo. The public is invited and will have an opportunity to submit questions. For more information, contact Jean Seeland at (319) 493-2015. When you think of the Army National Guards 1133rd Transportation Company, you probably think of big trucks. But as the Mason City-based unit prepares for a European deployment, think bigger. Think trains. If you passed through Manly recently, you would have noticed a fleet of military vehicles. That is because the 1133rd is heading to Poland, on the border with Ukraine, where a war with Russia currently rages. This is one of the steps we have to take to get our equipment ready to get shipped out, said Staff Sergeant Randy Hakes. Servicemen and railway workers were loading equipment onto trains last week. They will roll south and eventually to Texas before ultimately landing on the continent. Hakes said the load out was conducted via the circus method, where vehicles and equipment are moved down the track and then secured. It is one of the largest railroad operations in 20 years. When we go on this mission we will be on an active duty mission, but still National Guardsmen, said Captain Seth Van Steenwyk. The equipment requirements to go on Title 10, which is active Army, makes it so all this equipment had to be inspected and certified. The only practical way to move this big of equipment is by train. Hakes and Master Sergeant Trista Stangel have been organizing the move since early this year. Stangel said she handles the computer side, while Hakes has been the muscle. We did a lot of fast planning, and there were a lot of different changes, Stangel said. Equipment was loaded onto trains over the course of two days. We can say we are going to Europe and taking a whole unit, said Hakes. Van Steenwyk said all of the soldiers will be able to connect with families, and there will be good living conditions. The soldiers will be well taken care of on this deployment. It will really be a really proud mission to serve on, said Van Steenwyk. Stangel said they have not deployed all of the 1133rds equipment since the early 2000s. Since that time, not a lot of people have used the railroad to move equipment. With all the different ins and outs and people coming in and out of the Army its a big deal, because a lot of us nowadays havent seen the equipment move on rail, said Stangel. The operation received a visit from high-ranking officers, including Brig. Gen. Stephen Osborn. It gives them a big overview. They were really worried about this. This task is kind of dangerous, and theres never been this type of railroad operations for quite a while, said Hakes. Its pretty new to them too, and safety is a huge concern. WATERLOO The city is hosting the annual conference of the Iowa League of Cities this week, Wednesday through Friday, at the Waterloo Convention Center. An estimated 750 elected officials, municipal employees, and suppliers will converge on Waterloo for a week of education and sharing of best practices. Mayor Quentin Hart led the organization as president during the 2019-2020 term and would have hosted the conference in the fall of 2020. Due to the pandemic, the Waterloo conference was postponed. This is the first time in 21 years that the conference will be held in Waterloo. We are thrilled to welcome visitors from across the state of Iowa to Waterloo, Hart said in a news release. We now have a stunningly remodeled convention center, fantastic downtown venues like the Riverloop Amphitheatre, upgraded streetscaping, gorgeous hotels, and a Veterans Way project underway. We are ready to show off our progress and prosperity! As part of the conference, attendees will take a guided scooter tour of downtown. A technology tour and demonstration will be given by Waterloo Public Works, as well as a tour and discussion of the transformation of the Historic Walnut Neighborhood. I am so proud of how our departments and employees have pitched in to complete projects and make sure the city looks its best, added Hart. Main Street Waterloo and Experience Waterloo are also going the extra mile to make sure visitors have a great experience and come back wanting more! A team of community volunteers will be on the street during the conference to greet visitors, give directions and answer questions. Volunteers also swept through downtown last weekend. Downtown businesses are preparing their locations and staffing up for the influx of customers. In addition to the convention center facilities, an expected 721 hotel nights have been booked for the event. According to Experience Waterloo, the conference is estimated to generate over $392,000 in impact on the local economy. When I travel to other cities, I am learning and looking at the details, at what is done right and what could be done better, said Hart. lolcaOur visitors will be doing the same this week. I am confident they will be impressed. For nine years, Arnold Marcus had been making a living selling spice grinders on Amazon. His company, Golden Gate Grinders, had several colors available, repeat customers and an invitation to join the Amazon Accelerator program, a path toward becoming a supplier for Amazon's private label. Marcus, 68, would package orders and take customers' calls from his living room in San Francisco, proud that he was involved in every aspect of the business he built. That changed overnight last year when Amazon removed his listings, flagging his products as a violation of company policy prohibiting the sale of drugs and drug paraphernalia. For the uninitiated, a grinder can be used for spices like oregano or rosemary, or for weed. Marcus spent months fighting his ejection from Amazon's online marketplace, to no avail. "There was no indication in all those years that this is a prohibited product," Marcus said this summer. "One day, they were supporting me and then one day it ended." Amazon says its guidelines around drugs and drug paraphernalia are longstanding and state that products can't be primarily designed for making, preparing or using a controlled substance. Grinders that are equipped with features specifically for marijuana-related use are not allowed on the platform. "Third-party sellers are independent businesses and are required to follow all applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies when listing items for sale in our store," a spokesperson said. "We have proactive measures in place to prevent prohibited products from being listed, including drug paraphernalia, and we continuously monitor our store, remove any such products and take corrective actions when we find them." For sellers, the language of the policy is clear but enforcement is ambiguous. In some cases, Amazon has flagged products that have been sold on the platform for years. It has removed some spice grinders, like those that Marcus was selling, while allowing similar products to remain for sale. One grinder that is still on sale includes in its product description that users can "just keep your weed in it until you need it." A search for "spice grinders" on Amazon.com brings up more than 8,000 results. "Spice grinders for cannabis" has over 660. "They've always said there's no drug paraphernalia but there were lots of products that were ambiguous products that were able to sell on the platform for years and years," said Lesley Hensell, co-founder of Riverbend Consulting, which helps third-party sellers on Amazon. For sellers, there was a period of very little enforcement followed by a period of very strict enforcement, leaving them with a lot of questions and a lot of products in their garage, Hensell said. "These guys are talking about unloading stuff at flea markets." Riverbend Consulting started hearing from more sellers about problems listing grinders last year when, Hensell says, Amazon changed the artificial intelligence it used to search for contraband on the site. Now, listings that slipped through the cracks are flagged by the software right away. The cannabis industry is inherently risky, said Chris Shreeve, co-founder and vice president of business development at PrograMetrix, a Seattle-based ad agency with a cannabis and CBD division. Shreeve also co-owns The Bakeree, a dispensary with two locations in Seattle. "We have to play the hand that we're dealt in the cannabis space," he said. "It's a difficult hand, but we've got to do it." Platforms like Google, Meta and Amazon are "tiptoeing around acceptance," Shreeve said, hoping to follow federal rules and keep up with changing guidelines across state lines while also finding some way to tap into the roughly $30 billion cannabis industry. Amazon has campaigned for marijuana legalization at the federal level and, in June 2021, announced it would no longer include marijuana in its drug screening program. The tech giants tend to leave gray areas for products that are not "plant facing," like grow lights that can be used for lots of different kinds of plants and grinders that can be used for lots of different kinds of herbs, Shreeve said. That ambiguity has left many companies in the cannabis industry looking for workarounds, Shreeve said. On Google, a company can share information about cannabis but can't sell the product or a related product. So brands will market blog posts about the industry in the hopes potential customers will click through and later make a purchase. Meta allows companies to market topical CBD or hemp products but not anything that users would smoke or chew. So brands will create separate landing pages for different products, hoping again to reach new customers. "Each platform has its own hoops to jump through and red tape to navigate but there are brands that are sidestepping those rules and regulations because of the importance of exposure for the company and the product," Shreeve said. "I don't fault cannabis and CBD brands for trying to navigate the ambiguous rules and regulations on some of these larger platforms," he continued. "But it needs to be done under the assumption that there is risk." Marcus, from Golden Gate Grinders, has spent the past year tweaking his product and the way it appears on the website to respond to Amazon's concerns. His seller account is still active, but his products aren't listed for purchase, meaning he can't bring in any revenue. One Amazon representative suggested his product was removed because he had a mesh screen. He removed the screen, relisted the grinder and watched it get flagged again. Another representative told him the product was taken down because there were keywords related to tobacco. Marcus checked his listing and didn't find any references to tobacco. Yet another representative pinned the blame on specific semicolons and quotation marks. After months of small changes, Marcus scrapped his listing entirely and created a new product: a 2.5-inch silver spice mill without any key words, photos or descriptions. Amazon still flagged and removed the product. "I'm done, there's nothing else I'll do or can do that will change what's going on," Marcus said. "I feel even if I create a Golden Gate Grinders toothbrush, it'll be removed." Many third-party sellers outside the cannabis industry have run into similar problems, reporting that a confusing decision often driven by an algorithm has kicked products off Amazon's platform with little explanation and little room for recourse. Last year, Chukar Cherries was removed suddenly when Amazon's fraud-prevention algorithm inexplicably linked it to another seller in China that had been deactivated for violating company policy. It took 67 days to get the sweets back online. In online forums for third-party sellers, concerns specific to grinders have cropped up again and again. One user posted that they "can't understand why others can sell" but they cannot. Another said it was unclear what triggered it, "but for whatever reason (the) majority of the listings were yanked." Another said Amazon's "one size fits all policy makes sellers lose millions." Before Golden Gate Grinders ran into its own trouble, Marcus had been a vocal supporter of Amazon on these types of forums. He posted that being a third-party seller on Amazon gave "a burnt-out software engineer, an old man, an opportunity to recreate himself." Now, he is considering filing for bankruptcy, has had to ask his brother for a loan and has taken on credit card debt. He had been buying inventory to prepare for the moment Amazon relisted his products but, after nearly a year off the platform, he's no longer optimistic he could build his business back up. He's lost customer reviews that are crucial to getting his product on the top of the search results, and his competitors have been operating while he's been sidelined. "Even if somebody woke up one morning and said 'Let's let him back on,' that would be very challenging," Marcus said. "I have to start from the beginning. They seriously damaged and hurt my company." More about the use of nuclear weapons Our enemies love to make grandiloquent statements. Operate with the terms freedom, democracy, mission. In fact, this is just ritual verbal diarrhea. Fountains of diarrheal demagogy, coupled with vicious croaking rhetoric, have become a long-proven weapon of the Anglo-Saxon world, with which they flood the rest of humanity in an attempt to defend their exclusivity and the right to rule the world. The topic of recent days is the Russian nuclear threat. Biden and Truss, various secondary blinkins and sullivans, spraying Atlantic saliva, demand that Russia remove its hand from its nuclear button. Together, they constantly threaten us with terrifying consequences if Russia uses nuclear weapons. And the London aunt, young in mind, is completely ready to immediately begin an exchange of nuclear strikes with our country. I have to remind you again for those deaf who hear only themselves. Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons if necessary. In predetermined cases. In strict accordance with the Fundamentals of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence. If we or our allies are attacked using this type of weapon. Or if aggression with the use of conventional weapons threatens the very existence of our state. The President of Russia spoke about this directly recently. In addition, we will do everything to prevent the appearance of nuclear weapons in our hostile neighbors. For example, in Nazi Ukraine, which is directly controlled today by NATO countries. It is pointless to count on the reason and political will of the Kyiv regime. But there is still a fragile hope for common sense and a sense of self-preservation of the enemy countries condoning them. They understand that if the threat to Russia exceeds the established danger limit, we will have to respond. Without asking anyones permission, without long consultations. And its definitely not a bluff. The question is different. Imagine that Russia is forced to use the most formidable weapon against the Ukrainian regime, which has committed a large-scale act of aggression that is dangerous for the very existence of our state. I believe that NATO will not directly intervene in the conflict even in this situation. After all, the security of Washington, London, and Brussels is much more important for the North Atlantic Alliance than the fate of the perishing Ukraine, which no one needs, even if it is abundantly supplied with various weapons. The supply of modern weapons is just a business for Western countries, however, heavily implicated in hatred towards us. No more. Overseas and European demagogues are not going to perish in a nuclear apocalypse. Therefore, they will swallow the use of any weapon in the current conflict. Something like this It would be nice if this sad conclusion was at least partially realized by the authorities in Kyiv. Alas, this is almost impossible. They are in constant war frenzy with short pauses for bizarre drug dreams. Medvedev WtR Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine (September 27, 2022) The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation. Attack launched by Russian Aerospace Forces has resulted in the elimination of up to 100 militants from 9th Special Regiment Gepard of Ukrainian National Guard, as well as of over 50 foreign mercenaries in Zaporozhye. High-precision attack of Russian Aerospace Forces has resulted in the neutralisation of a provisional base of the units from 59th Mechanised Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the industrial area of Nikolayev. Up to 50 Ukrainian servicemen and 5 units of military equipment have been eliminated. Massive attack launched at a provisional base of 81st Airmobile Brigade of the AFU near Konstantinovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic) has resulted in the elimination of over 150 Ukrainian servicemen. Operational-tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery have neutralised 6 AFU command posts near Shchurovo, Soledar, Bakhmutskoye, Verkhnekamenskoye, Artyomovsk (Donetsk Peoples Republic) and Sukhoy Stavok (Kherson region), as well as 62 artillery units, 184 manpower and military equipment concentration areas. The list of the destroyed targets includes 3 missile, artillery armament and munitions weapons near Monachinovka, Kupyansk (Kharkov region) and Brusin (Donetsk Peoples Republic). 1 control station for Bayraktar UAVs has been destroyed near Lozovatka (Dnepropetrovsk region). Fighter aviation of Russian Aerospace Forces has shot down 2 MiG-29 airplanes of Ukrainian Air Force ear Osokorovka and Rozovka (Kherson region). Air defence facilities have shot down 7 unmanned aerial vehicles near Pershotravnevoye (Kharkov region), Charivnoye and Petrovskoye (Kherson region), Valeryanovka and Novoandreyevka (Donetsk Peoples Republic). Moreover, 1 Tochka-U tactical missile has been destroyed in air near Kupyansk (Kharkov region), as well as 17 projectiles launched by HIMARS multiple rocket-launching systems near Kherson, Otradokamenka, Novaya Kakhovka, Mikhaylovka (Kherson region) and Kupyansk (Kharkov region). In total, 304 airplanes and 155 helicopters, 2,094 unmanned aerial vehicles, 377 air defence missile systems, 5,118 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 847 combat vehicles equipped with MRLS, 3,423 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 5,909 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation. #MoD #Russia #Ukraine @mod_russia_en WtR German election observer in Zaporozhye dismissed from work Stephen Schaller worked as managing director of the German energy company Energie Waldeck-Frankenberg. He took a vacation to observe the elections at the invitation of the Communist Party. In 2021, he also oversaw the State Duma elections. Schallers personal initiative caused outrage in Germany. His behavior is incompatible with the philosophy of the company, said the chairman of the EWF Supervisory Board. *** https://eutoday.net/news/politics/2022/german-energy-chief-stefan-schaller-impressed-by-the-transparency-of-putins-sham-referendum-in-donbas One of the monitors sent at the invitation of the Russian state to assess the legitimacy of the referendums under way in occupied areas of Ukraine has been revealed to be none other than the CEO of a publicly owned German energy provider, Stefan Schaller. BBC Monitorings Francis Scarr posted an interview Schaller gave to Russian state media in occupied Melitopol in German, in which he says that hes impressed by the transparency of the referendum and will be communicating this to his media contacts in Germany. *** Now EU wants to sanction any who observed the referendums WtR We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Quebec Mining Operator Selected as NAL Restart Advances Brisbane, Sep 27, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Emerging lithium producer Sayona Mining Limited ( ASX:SYA ) ( DML:FRA ) ( SYAXF:OTCMKTS ) is advancing the restart of production at its North American Lithium (NAL) operation, awarding a four-year, approximately C$200 million contract to Quebec company L. Fournier & Fils for mining operations. Highlights - Quebec company, L. Fournier & Fils, awarded four year, approximately C$200 million contract for mining operations at Sayona's North American Lithium (NAL) operation - One of the largest agreements in history of Quebec mining sector, ensuring significant economic benefits for region, involving 120 new jobs including First Nations personnel - Works to commence from October 2022, as Sayona advances restart of production at NAL in Q1 2023. One of the largest such contracts signed in Quebec's mining history, the agreement will deliver significant economic benefits to the region of Abitibi-Temiscamingue. This includes the creation of 120 new jobs, mostly recruited from the region and from the First Nations communities of Pikogan and Lac Simon. Under the agreement, Fournier will be responsible for the supervision of all stripping and drilling, blasting, loading and transportation of ore and waste rock, the maintenance of mining roads, and all other services related to operations. Drilling and blasting work will be conducted by another local Quebec company, Dynamitage Castonguay. Sayona Quebec CEO, Guy Laliberte, said the agreement marked another important step in the restart of operations at NAL. "We are very happy to have found a partner of the calibre of Fournier & Fils for our mining operations at the North American Lithium site in La Corne," Mr Laliberte said. "We are thrilled that this commercial agreement is not only a win-win solution for both parties, but that it also allows us to work with a local company. This partnership with Fournier therefore helps fulfil our promise to ensure that the success of our projects deliver genuine benefits to the local community." Jeremi Fournier, President and CEO of L. Fournier & Fils, commented: "It is with great pride that Fournier & Fils positions itself as a partner of choice for major mining projects in Eastern Canada. Our company's vision, strategy and service offer are once again highlighted through this major operation. "We thank Sayona for the trust shown in our team, and more particularly for allowing us to occupy a leading position in the battery sector in Quebec. It is a partnership that will benefit an entire industry!" Operations will begin in October 2022, with work to be carried out continuously, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The fleet of equipment mobilised on-site will include more than 10 trucks with a capacity of 100 tonnes, and two excavators weighing 125 tonnes. The agreement follows recent progress at NAL towards the recommencement of production, with permitting and procurement largely completed and construction ramping up, among other achievements (refer ASX release 16 September 2022). Sayona's Managing Director, Brett Lynch commented: "We are delighted to further advance NAL towards the recommencement of production in the first quarter of 2023, with the selection of a skilled and experienced mining operator being a crucial step in this process. "With both demand and pricing for lithium currently at all-time highs, we are well placed at NAL to become the first supplier of spodumene in North America, paving the way to becoming the region's leading supplier of lithium carbonate/hydroxide." About Sayona Mining Limited Sayona Mining Limited (ASX:SYA) (OTCMKTS:SYAXF) is an Australian, ASX-listed (SYA) company focused on sourcing and developing the raw materials required to construct lithium-ion batteries for use in the rapidly growing new and green technology sectors. The Company has lithium projects in Quebec, Canada and in Western Australia. Please visit us as at www.sayonamining.com.au Earlier this year, Virgin Galactic announced it would begin manufacturing spaceships in Arizona, hiring hundreds. The new Delta Class facility is expected to be operational by the end of 2023. Swami Iyer, Virgin Galactics president of aerospace systems, said, this will allow us to accelerate progress from conceptual design to production to final assembly at scale as we capitalize on the many advantages Mesa and the greater Phoenix area offer. As the crow flies, the new manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona, is more than 200 miles from the launch facility in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. You might think manufacturing spaceplanes closer to the launch facility would be advantageous to the company. But as former governor of the New Mexico Territory Lew Wallace once said, All calculations based on our experiences elsewhere fail in New Mexico. The announcement comes one year after Sir Richard Bransons historic spaceflight that departed from Spaceport America. Whereas it is worth congratulating Sir Richard for his accomplishment, it is also worth looking further into the lavish taxpayer-funded subsidies that backed the project. The exorbitant cost of $275 million is corporate welfare, plain and simple. Virgin Galactic did not incur any of the construction costs. It is a known problem. Billionaires like Branson flaunt projects like Spaceport America in front of politicians, dangling the potential new jobs, promises of infrastructure development and future tax revenues as a way to encourage political types to invest in the future. In exchange for these promises, the government offers special, favorable treatment for corporations. Its worth admitting that the prospective benefits are enticing: what elected person would not want to deliver economic development to their districts with flashy headlines? Last year, Branson was able to prove he could launch spacecraft from any airport that had a sufficiently long runway. There was little evidence New Mexicans would see a worthwhile return on the states $275 million investment. Increasingly so, it appears that they will not. Branson received a $275 million gift while New Mexicans were left holding the bag. However, Branson has no reason to invest in spaceship manufacturing in the Land of Enchantment. With New Mexicos high crime, some of the nations worst public education, and a broken sales tax that makes the state unappealing to new businesses, Bransons decision to construct his spaceships in Arizona is a smart one. In New Mexico, politicians have been desperately scrambling for an easy way out. Rather than invest in the serious tax reform and the education reform New Mexico needs, they continue throwing cash at the elites in the hope someday the investment will pay off. Spaceport Americas return on investment is less than stellar, especially considering that space tickets are not taxable. As of 2020, revenues were reported at only $54.3 million for the state. Im not an accountant, but thats a net loss of $220.7 million. And thats not including the additional $1.5 million in advertising expenses related to last summers Virgin Galactic flight. This ought to be a lesson to the entire country. Taxpayer subsidies earn no loyalty from corporations. They just provide another way for billionaires to pad their bottom line. In reality, corporate welfare is a gangrenous limb that should be severed before its too late. Editors Note: The Journal this week is publishing profiles on the candidates for governor, focused on a single day on the campaign trail. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Mark Ronchetti sat down to a table of angry business owners. They offered a harsh assessment of life in Albuquerque: Windows smashed on their property, trouble finding committed workers, closing early so employees can leave together safely. Government benefits, outdoor encampments and taxation all came up. Ronchetti spent more time listening than talking. And when he addressed the group of about 10 people at the Frontier Restaurant in Albuquerque, he stuck to his message, the same one he shares elsewhere on the campaign trail: Crime, economic growth and education arent partisan issues. But fresh leadership is necessary to lift New Mexico out of its rut. You see whats in Santa Fe now, Ronchetti told the group. You see that they have zero interest in our opinions. They have their mind set. They know better than everybody else in the room. Theyre not living it, not like you guys are. It was a typical Saturday on the campaign trail for Ronchetti, a Republican and former television meteorologist challenging Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Libertarian Karen Bedonie is also on the Nov. 8 ballot. Ronchettis day started with a 45-minute workout at the gym and a walk with his familys two Siberian huskies. He said he hugged his wife, Krysty, and teenage daughters and was out the door at 8:30 a.m., driving himself down to Valencia County for a 150-person rally, then back up to Albuquerque for a chat with volunteers operating a phone bank and a business roundtable at the Frontier. He was set to finish the day with an evening event in Rio Rancho. At least one energy drink kept him going in the afternoon. Throughout the day, a theme he returned to repeatedly was listening the idea that some voices arent being heard at the Capitol. The longer a politician operates, he said in an interview between events, I think the more they get isolated, the more they dont go out in rooms and talk to people and go back and forth. I think theres an arrogance that comes with politics, and thats something I want to avoid. Just like you are on TV Ronchetti, 48, was greeted like a celebrity as he made his way through Frontier Restaurant. A family from Arizona introduced themselves. People say theyve seen him on TV. It isnt just campaign commercials that made Ronchetti a household name. As a reporter and meteorologist, hes appeared on New Mexico television screens off and on since 1998. He and Krysty starred in Mark vs. the Mountain, a 22-episode series documenting their efforts to build a home in the mountains of northern New Mexico. The two have a mountain home-building business. Ronchettis financial disclosures identify him as owner of Choose Adventure LLC, a real estate business. He also ran for office once before two years ago, for the open U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Ben Ray Lujan, who won by 6 percentage points. Ronchetti said hes tried to be approachable as a meteorologist and as a candidate. I would always get asked, You know, youre just like you are on TV. And I was like, Well, yeah, I cant be two different people,' Ronchetti said. Hes obviously comfortable in front of the camera. Hes enlisted his younger daughter, Ella, whos 13, in readings of mean tweets, short social media videos of Ronchetti and Ella responding to criticism, often from Lujan Grisham or her campaign staff. In front of a crowd, hes straightforward and business-like a contrast with, say, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who egged on the crowd with blasts against woke leftists during a campaign rally with Ronchetti in Carlsbad this summer. Ronchetti has sought to craft a more moderate image and avoid culture war and social issues, sometimes with mixed results, especially on abortion. He has called for new voter ID requirements, but he hasnt echoed former President Donald Trumps falsehoods about the 2020 election. Ronchetti often trains his criticism on Lujan Grisham in particular or the far left more generally rather than Democrats as a whole an acknowledgement perhaps that to win this election he must secure support beyond the GOP base. Democrats make up 44% of the states registered voters, with Republicans at 31%. He takes care to note that he believes there are plenty of Democratic legislators with whom he can find common ground on crime and other issues. He sees something similar in the electorate. I think theres a fat middle in the state of New Mexico who we all share the same values, Ronchetti told the business owners at the roundtable, and we have to bring people into that area. Thats our pathway forward. But the state Democratic Party has seized on abortion to undermine Ronchettis moderate image. After the U.S. Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion in June, putting the matter in states hands, Ronchetti proposed an abortion ban after 15 weeks, a measure he described as a compromise. But Democrats have hammered him relentlessly, contending hes more extreme than he lets on bolstered by the pronouncement of a megachurch pastor who told his congregation that he spoke to Ronchetti for hours and that Ronchetti wants to end abortion in New Mexico. He just cant say it, Pastor Steve Smothermon said, because it would damage his election prospects, so he has to attack the issue incrementally. Ronchettis campaign maintains his position is consistent; that he supports a ban after 15 weeks with exceptions for rape, incest and risks to the life of the mother; and that Ronchetti told the pastor the same thing hes said in his campaign commercials. Smothermon later released a written statement saying as much, that Ronchetti told him privately the same thing hes said in his ads. Ronchetti, for his part, has since called for a statewide election that would allow voters to decide the issue. Policy plans In a recent day of campaigning, Ronchetti rarely brought up abortion and even then only to refer to the TV ads attacking him on the issue. What hes eager to discuss is a series of policy plans white papers of sorts outlining his ideas on the state budget and taxation; crime and the courts; an overhaul of the Children, Youth and Families Department; and education. Amid the frustration expressed by business owners at the roundtable, Ronchetti responded, in part, by citing his proposals to expand New Mexicos three-strikes law, appoint tough-on-crime judges and cut gross receipts and income taxes. The policy ideas have been rolled out in news conferences and published on his website. Specific plans are what people should demand of me because I dont have a history in politics, Ronchetti said in between bites of a burrito before the business roundtable. Some of the most intense criticism levied at Ronchetti, in fact, has focused on his lack of experience in government. He hasnt held an elected public office before. He pitches it as a strength, not a weakness. Ronchettis campaign team is a mix of new and familiar faces. One of his top consultants is Jay McCleskey, a combative force within the Republican Party who worked with ex-Gov. Susana Martinez and former Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry. In any case, Ronchetti describes the policy plans as similar to his approach as the chief meteorologist at KRQE. He said he tried to make his weather reports explanatory descriptions of the science, with honesty about the factors that create uncertainty in a forecast. You build trust that way, he said. Pep talk and pictures Inside the Republican National Committee office in Albuquerque, a small group of volunteers spent part of the afternoon calling voters targeted by the Ronchetti campaign. The goal isnt to reach staunch Republicans or Democrats, the campaign said, but rather voters who might be open to persuasion. Michael Shaver, a retired teacher from Albuquerque, said its a vital election. He spends a day or two each week knocking on doors or making calls. Shaver said he likes Ronchetti because he doesnt try to tell you what you want to hear, evidence that hes more like an ordinary guy than a politician. And he does his homework. As a teacher, I like that, Shaver said. In the primary election campaign, Ronchetti faced some criticism that he wasnt sufficiently loyal to Trump. But Renie Thompson, a retired utility manager from Tijeras, said Ronchetti actually reminds her a bit of Trump in that hes outgoing and genuine. Hes very nice and very transparent authentic, I think, is the word Im looking for, Thompson said of Ronchetti between phone calls. The volunteers at the phone bank posed for photos after Ronchetti arrived for a pep talk. They laughed as he joked about who works harder the door-knockers or the phone bankers. In this race, he told them, its coming down to a point or two, and your effort makes a massive difference. Listening Later, after a quick lunch, Ronchetti made his way to the business roundtable held in a room at the Frontier. Seven business owners, their spouses and others sat together. One man said he had so much to say he was afraid hed get kicked out. The complaints gushed forth as the group took turns sharing concerns about the generosity of government benefits, property damage, fear for the safety of their employees. Ronchetti, wearing blue jeans and his trademark black-rimmed glasses, rarely interjected. He responded as things wrapped up, asking the business owners to talk to their friends about the need for change and listing off points in his anti-crime and economic plans, which include shortening the length of unemployment benefits. After the roundtable meeting, Donna Buffet, part of the Buffets candy-store family, described Ronchetti as attentive and empathetic. Ronchetti closed by telling the group theyre part of a movement that their stories will be heard in Santa Fe when hes governor. We can turn this around, he said, and we need your help in doing it. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Mondays groundbreaking ceremony for the Behavioral Health Crisis Center is the realization of a vision thats been almost two decades in the making, said Dr. Michael Richards, senior vice president for clinical affairs at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. The result of a partnership between the University of New Mexico Hospital and Bernalillo County, the 49,000-square-foot facility will consist of a crisis triage center, 16 patient rooms where people can stay for up to 14 days, 10 exam rooms for psychiatric emergency services and a peer living room for peer support and counseling. The center, expected to open in January 2024, is intended to bridge an existing gap in the continuum of care of health services for individuals needing care who are not acute enough to be in the hospital, but still need more support than just regular outpatient care. The need in New Mexico cannot be understated, Richards said. According to an assessment by UNMs Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, there are over 300,000 adults and 200,000 children in New Mexico who need mental health services, and only 44% get the services required, he said. Taken separately as a group, only 37% of children get the services they need. When those services are not in place at the right time for the right patient, it results in increased usage of emergency departments and psychiatric emergency services, in addition to avoidable encounters with law enforcement and increased homelessness, both of which have huge community impacts, Richards said. In addition, of those patients with chronic and severe behavioral disorders, about 55% also have chronic physical conditions, such as diabetes, liver disease, congestive pulmonary disease or substance use disorder, he said. The new crisis and triage system will also create additional psychiatric emergency capacity with the expansion of the psychiatric emergency services, and it will create a model of care that will be more efficient and more effective for New Mexicans, Richards said. Further, as part of the universitys educational mission, the Behavioral Health Crisis Center will provide an environment to train the multidisciplinary behavioral health workforce that we need for tomorrow, he added. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham told those assembled that the new center will help reclaim some of the ground lost when former Gov. Susana Martinez shut down 15 behavioral health providers, alleging fraud. Most of those providers never reopened and Attorney General Hector Balderas later cleared them, having found no evidence of fraud. You want a chilling effect on having actual providers, she said, tell them that they are no longer licensed to do that work in the state of New Mexico. Lujan Grisham said her administration has eliminated behavioral health copays for hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans to make services affordable and accessible. And in a sneak peek at her expansion budget in December, she said she will ask the Legislature to underwrite some of the training for behavioral health professionals, including psychiatrists and addictionologists. For New Mexicans who want to attend UNMs medical school, lets have the state pay for that, and you stay and practice right here, she said. The cost of the new facility is estimated at $40 million, to be split by UNMH and Bernalillo County and funded in part by a behavioral health initiative tax passed by Bernalillo County voters in 2014. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Police said a drunken dispute over a parking spot Monday night ended hours later when an officer shot and injured a man at an apartment complex along East Central. Albuquerque Police Department spokeswoman Rebecca Atkins did not identify the man who was shot but said he is in the hospital and expected to recover. She said the man is facing charges for firing at police. Atkins said at least one officer fired at least one shot during the incident, striking the man. The incident marked the third time law enforcement shot someone in the past seven days. Bernalillo County deputies shot and killed a man in the South Valley on Sept. 20 and, a day later, APD shot and injured a man who allegedly threw rocks at an officer in Northeast Albuquerque. Tuesdays shooting was the 14th time APD has shot at someone this year. Seven of the shootings have been fatal. Police Chief Harold Medina said the entire incident was sparked by a dispute over a parking spot where drinking played a factor. The combination of alcohol and firearms are very problematic for the residents of the city of Albuquerque We really need to develop responsible gun ownership and its these little feuds that are leading up to major incidents, he said during a Tuesday morning briefing. Its disheartening to think that a dispute over parking resulted in the brandishing and discharging of a firearm and officers dispatched. He said it was unclear if the man shot at someone or in the air before police were called, adding theres still a lot of questions over the sequence of events that occurred. Medina said the man had a warrant out for his arrest in a prior incident that also involved a gun. Chase Jewell, an APD spokesperson, said in an update early Tuesday morning that police initially responded around 11 p.m. to a dispute at Whispering Sands Apartments, near Western Skies and Central SE. He said one of the people involved in the dispute holed up inside an apartment. While officers were working on negotiating with this individual, shots were fired, Jewell said. It was reported that this individual had fired at police and at least one officer had discharged their firearm. By 2 a.m. Tuesday, the man was still holed up inside the apartment and Jewell said the SWAT and Crisis Negotiating Teams were called in. Journal assistant city editor Aubrey Hovey contributed to this report. WARSAW, Poland Denmark believes deliberate actions caused big leaks in two natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, and seismologists said powerful explosions preceded the leaks. European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage amid the energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. Although filled with gas, neither pipeline is currently supplying it to Europe. It is the authorities clear assessment that these are deliberate actions - not accidents, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday. But she added there is no information indicating who could be behind it. Frederiksen rejected the suggestion that the incident was an attack on Denmark, saying the leaks occurred in international waters. The incident overshadowed the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland to bolster the continents energy independence from Moscow. The first explosion was recorded early Monday southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm, said Bjorn Lund, director of the Swedish National Seismic Network. A second, stronger blast northeast of the island that night was equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake. Seismic stations in Denmark, Norway and Finland also registered the explosions. Theres no doubt, this is not an earthquake, Lund said. On Wednesday, Danish defense minister Morten Bdskov will travel to Brussels to discuss the leaks with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. Denmarks Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said Sweden, Germany and Poland have been kept informed, and we will inform and reach out to Russia in this case. He said Denmarks foreign intelligence service didnt see any increased military threat against Denmark after the three leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. They created a foamy white area on the waters surface, images released by Denmarks military show. Danish Energy Minister Dan Jrgensen said that we cannot say how long the leak will go on for as the gas has not been turned off. There was no indication when the gas would be turned off. The German operator of the pipelines, Nord Stream AG, said its preparing a survey to assess the damage. Currently, it is not possible to estimate a timeframe for restoring the gas transport infrastructure, a company statement said. The causes of the incident will be clarified as a result of the investigation. In Sweden, acting Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said it is probably a case of sabotage, but not an attack on Sweden. Andersson added that neighboring oil-rich Norway has informed us about increased drone activity in the North Sea and the measures they have taken in connection with it. Foreign Minister Ann Linde said that Sweden (is) not ruling out any scenarios and we will not speculate about motive or actor. The escaped natural gas is made up almost entirely of methane the second biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. David Hastings, a retired chemical oceanographer in Gainesville, Florida, said much of the gas would rise through the sea and enter the atmosphere. There is no question that the largest environmental impact of this is to the climate, because methane is a really potent greenhouse gas, he said. According to United Nations data, methane is 82.5 times worse for the climate than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, because it so effectively absorbs the heat of the sun. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the events an act of sabotage. During a ceremony in northwestern Poland, Morawiecki, Denmarks Frederiksen and Polish President Andrzej Duda symbolically opened the valve of a yellow pipe belonging to the Baltic Pipe, a new system sending Norwegian gas across Denmark to Poland. The era of Russian domination in the gas sphere is coming to an end, Morawiecki declared. An era that was marked by blackmail, threats and extortion. No official presented evidence of what caused the leaks, but with distrust of Russia running high, some feared Moscow sabotaged its own infrastructure out of spite or to warn that pipelines are vulnerable to attack. The leaks raised the stakes on whether energy infrastructure was being targeted and led to a small bump in natural gas prices. We can clearly see that this is an act of sabotage, an act that probably means a next step of escalation in the situation that we are dealing with in Ukraine, Morawiecki said. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod about the apparent sabotage, according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price, who reiterated the U.S. was committed to promoting European energy security. Anders Puck Nielsen, a researcher with the Center for Maritime Operations at the Royal Danish Defence College, said the timing of the leaks was conspicuous given the ceremony for the Baltic Pipe. He said perhaps someone sought to send a signal that something could happen to the Norwegian gas. The extent of the damage means the Nord Stream pipelines are unlikely to be able to carry any gas to Europe this winter even if there was political will to bring them online, analysts at the Eurasia Group said. Russia has halted flows on the 1,224-kilometer (760-mile) Nord Stream 1 pipeline during the war, while Germany prevented them from ever starting in the parallel Nord Stream 2. Depending on the scale of the damage, the leaks could even mean a permanent closure of both lines, analysts Henning Gloystein and Jason Bush wrote. Puck Nielsen said of possible sabotage that technically speaking, this is not difficult. It just requires a boat. It requires some divers that know how to handle explosive devices. But I think if we look at who would actually benefit from disturbances, more chaos on the gas market in Europe, I think theres basically only one actor right now that actually benefits from more uncertainty, and that is Russia, he said. Asked if the leaks may have been caused by sabotage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no version could be excluded. This is an unprecedented situation that requires an urgent investigation. We are extremely worried by this news, he said in a conference call with reporters. Danish and Swedish maritime authorities issued navigation warnings, and established a prohibited area for vessels. Ships may lose buoyancy, and there may also be a risk of ignition above the water and in the air. The Nord Stream pipelines have been at the center of an energy clash between Europe and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in late February. Plunging Russian gas supplies have caused prices to soar, pressuring governments to help ease the pain of sky-high energy bills for households and businesses as winter nears. The crisis also has raised fears of rationing and recession. The Baltic Pipe is a prominent element in the European Unions search for energy security and is to start bringing Norwegian gas through Denmark and along the Baltic Sea to Poland on Oct. 1. Simone Tagliapietra, an energy expert with the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, speculated that the leaks could have been caused by Russian sabotage or anti-Russian sabotage. One possibility is Russia signaling it is breaking forever with Western Europe and Germany as Poland inaugurates its pipeline with Norway, he said. In any case, this is a stark reminder of the exposure to risk of Europes gas infrastructure, Tagliapietra said. ___ Olsen reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Keyton from Stockholm. Associated Press writers Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Adam Schreck in Kyiv, Ukraine, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed. ST. LOUIS Within whats known as the secure transport industry, its called gooning. Brawny men show up under the cover of darkness and force a teenager into a vehicle, taking them against their will to a boarding school, foster home or treatment center. The process is typically initiated by parents at wits end over what to do with a child they perceive as troubled. For the kids, its the traumatic first leg of a journey to an unheard-of place, perhaps hundreds of miles away from home. Teens who resist are often told, We can do this the easy way or the hard way. They might be restrained with handcuffs or zip ties. They could be blindfolded or hooded. Though a secure transport company operator was indicted last month, criminal charges are rare because the little-known industry is virtually unregulated. In fact, the indictment was for violating a restraining order, not for the transport itself. Some of these stories are almost out of a Charles Dickens novel, said Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who is pushing for federal regulation of the secure transport industry. Thousands of American teenagers end up annually in some form of congregate care facility or program aimed at dealing with issues ranging from behavioral problems to drug or alcohol abuse and crime. In Missouri alone, more than 100 Christian boarding schools promise hope for wayward teens. In Utah, wilderness programs use a back-to-nature approach to try and help young people turn around their lives. Other kids end up in foster homes or treatment centers. In many cases, the children dont want to leave home and wont go along with their parents. Thats where secure transport companies come in. At a cost often reaching thousands of dollars, parents hire one of the many companies specializing in transporting children to congregate care. Many have websites touting their approaches. My goal to your child is to start this transition with 100% honesty and integrity, Julio Sandoval of Safe, Sound, Secure Youth Ministries in Missouri posts on his site. I am not of the ideology of necessarily making your child happy. Happiness will eventually arise when he finds himself growing as a young man and not a threat to himself and society. Sandoval, 41, and the mother of a California teenager were indicted by a federal grand jury in August. The indictment said workers for Sandovals company handcuffed the teenager at a store in Fresno, California, and drove him to the Agape Boarding School in Stockton, Missouri. The boy allegedly remained restrained for the entire 27-hour ride. Sandoval and the mother are accused of violating the boys restraining order against her. Sandoval was formerly a dean at Agape and now works at another Christian boarding school in Missouri, in addition to operating the transport company. Phone and email messages left with his company and Sandovals lawyer werent returned. The secure transport industry is regulated in just one state Oregon. That law, implemented in 2021, prohibits the use of hoods, blindfolds and handcuffs, among other things. Other states may follow suit. Utah state Sen. Mike McKell, a Republican, and Missouri state Rep. Keri Ingle, a Democrat, plan to introduce legislation next session regulating the secure transport industry their states. But advocates say that because so many children are picked up in one state and taken to another, federal legislation is vital. Currently, there are no federal laws regulating the transportation companies. You have a host of jurisdictional issues, McKell said. You pick up a kid in California and he ends up in Missouri. If there is a problem or abuse, where does jurisdiction lie? This is an issue that squarely deals with interstate commerce. I do think we need a federal solution. Khanna is formulating the Accountability for Congregate Care Act, which would provide protections at youth facilities such as prohibiting solitary confinement and the use of chemical or physical restraints. His proposal also would provide for regulation of transport companies. I think people didnt realize the kind of trauma and abuse that was going on, Khanna said. There was a sense theyre going to be sent to be reformed, theyre going to get tough love. But they didnt realize there was actually emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse taking place and they didnt realize the trauma of kids being tricked to going there. What we end up doing is just creating more trauma for these kids. David Patterson was one of those kids. He was a high-achieving high school freshman honor roll student, a pole vaulter on the track team. He said his parents became alarmed because he got drunk and smoked marijuana on Halloween, and because he told them he was gay. On Fathers Day 2002, two men showed up at the Pattersons California home around 4 a.m. and rousted him out of bed. They displayed the handcuffs theyd use if he didnt get into a taxi, which took the trio to the airport for the flight to Missouri. Within hours, Patterson was at Agape, where he spent about a year. Patterson, now 35, said the trauma of being taken to the school stuck with him for a decade. When I would see yellow cabs I would have panic attacks and episodes, he said. The process is expensive. One company lists fees on its website showing that prices range up to $2,895 plus airfare for two agents and the child; or $300 to $5,000 for kids who are driven to a facility, depending on the distance and other factors. A data analysis earlier this year by American Public Media, The Salt Lake Tribune and KUER public radio in Salt Lake City found that Utah receives far more troubled teens than any other state. The analysis of the period from 2015 though 2020 showed about one-third of teens who crossed state lines for a youth treatment facility ended up in Utah. Virginia, Texas, Missouri and Iowa had the next-highest numbers. Adding to concerns about the secure transport companies are accusations about some of the places the kids are taken. At Agape, serving about 60 teenage boys, the schools former doctor was charged last year with multiple counts of sexual abuse of children, and five staff members are charged with abuse. The Missouri Attorney Generals office asked a judge this month to shut down Agape, and Missouri Speaker of the House Rob Vescovo asked the U.S. Attorney in Kansas City to do the same. So far, the school remains open. In nearby Humansville, Missouri, Circle of Hope, a Christian boarding school for girls, closed amid an investigation in 2020. The husband-and-wife co-founders were charged with 99 abuse counts last year, including sexual abuse. The allegations of wrongdoing at Agape and Circle of Hope led Ingle to sponsor a measure signed into law last year that requires more rigorous oversight in Missouri. Now, Ingle said shell seek stricter regulations on companies transporting the kids against their will. It seems like something thats so dramatic minors being taken in the middle of the night and whisked away to a facility. But this is something that has been happening in this state for decades now, Ingle said. KYIV, Ukraine The Kremlin paved the way Tuesday to annex more of Ukraine and escalate the war by claiming that residents of a large swath overwhelmingly supported joining with Russia in stage-managed referendums the U.S. and its Western allies have dismissed as illegitimate. Pro-Moscow officials said all four occupied regions of Ukraine voted to join Russia. According to Russia-installed election officials, 93% of the ballots cast in the Zaporizhzhia region supported annexation, as did 87% in the Kherson region, 98% in the Luhansk region and 99% in Donetsk. Possibly explaining the lower favorable vote in Kherson is that Russian authorities there have faced a strong Ukrainian underground resistance movement whose members have killed Moscow-appointed officials and threatened those who considered voting. In a remark that appeared to rule out negotiations, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy told the U.N. Security Council by video from Kyiv that Russias attempts to annex Ukrainian territory will mean there is nothing to talk about with this president of Russia. He added that any annexation in the modern world is a crime, a crime against all states that consider the inviolability of border to be vital for themselves. The preordained outcome sets the stage for a dangerous new phase in Russias seven-month war, with the Kremlin threatening to throw more troops into the battle and potentially use nuclear weapons. The referendums asking residents whether they wanted the four occupied southern and eastern Ukraine regions to be incorporated into Russia began Sept. 23, often with armed officials going door-to-door collecting votes. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to address Russias parliament about the referendums on Friday, and Valentina Matviyenko, who chairs the bodys upper house, said lawmakers could consider annexation legislation on Oct. 4. Meanwhile, Russia ramped up warnings that it could deploy nuclear weapons to defend its territory, including newly acquired land, and continued mobilizing more than a quarter-million additional troops to deploy to a front line of more than 1,000 kms (more than 620 miles). After the balloting, the situation will radically change from the legal viewpoint, from the point of view of international law, with all the corresponding consequences for protection of those areas and ensuring their security, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. Many Western leaders have called the referendum a sham, and the U.N. Security Council met Tuesday in New York to discuss the voting, with the U.S. and Albania planning to introduce a resolution that says the results will never be accepted and that the four regions remain part of Ukraine. Russia is certain to veto the resolution. The balloting and a call-up of Russian military reservists that Putin ordered last Wednesday are aimed at buttressing Moscows exposed military and political positions. The referendums follow a familiar Kremlin playbook for territorial expansion and more aggressive military action. In 2014, Russian authorities held a similar referendum on Ukraines Crimean Peninsula, under the close watch of Russian troops. Based on the voting, Russia annexed Crimea. Putin cited the defense of Russians living in Ukraines eastern regions, their supposed desires to join with Russia, and an existential security threat to Russia as a pretext for his Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Putin has been talking up Moscows nuclear option since Ukrainians launched a counteroffensive that reclaimed territory and has increasingly cornered his forces. A top Putin aide ratcheted up the nuclear rhetoric Tuesday. Lets imagine that Russia is forced to use the most powerful weapon against the Ukrainian regime that has committed a large-scale act of aggression, which is dangerous for the very existence of our state, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the Russian Security Council that Putin chairs, wrote on his messaging app channel. I believe that NATO will steer clear from direct meddling in the conflict. The United States has dismissed the Kremlins nuclear talk as a scare tactic. The referendums asked residents whether they want the areas to be incorporated into Russia, and the Kremlin has portrayed them as free and fair, reflective of the peoples desire for self-determination. Tens of thousands of residents had already fled the regions because of the war, and images shared by those who remained showed armed Russian troops going door-to-door to pressure Ukrainians into voting. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko, who left the port city after the Russians seized it after a months-long siege, said only about 20% of the 100,000 estimated remaining residents cast ballots in the Donetsk referendum. Mariupols pre-war population was 541,000. A man toting an assault rifle comes to your home and asks you to vote, so what can people do? Boychenko asked during a news conference, explaining how people were coerced into voting. Western allies sided firmly with Ukraine, dismissing the referendum votes as a meaningless sham. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the ballots were a desperate move by Putin. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said while visiting Kyiv on Tuesday that France was determined to support Ukraine and its sovereignty and territorial integrity and described the ballots as mock referendums. Elsewhere, trouble emerged for Putin in the mass call-up he ordered of Russians to active military duty. The order has triggered an exodus of nearly 200,000 men from Russia, fueled anti-war protests and sparked violence. On Monday, a gunman opened fire in an enlistment office in a Siberian city and gravely wounded the local chief military recruitment officer. Scattered arson attacks had been reported earlier on other enlistment offices. One destination of fleeing Russian men is Kazakhstan, which reported Tuesday that about 98,000 Russians have crossed into Kazakhstan over the past week. The European Unions border and coast guard agency says 66,000 Russian citizens entered the 27-nation bloc from Sept. 19 to 25, a 30% increase over the preceding week. Russian officials tried to intercept some of the fleeing reservists on one of the main exodus routes, issuing conscription notices on the Georgian border. According to the state-run Tass agency, an enlistment task force was handing out notices at the Verkhnii Lars checkpoint, where an estimated 5,500 cars were lining up to cross. Independent Russian news sources have reported unconfirmed claims that draft-age men will be banned from leaving after the referendum. As Moscow worked to build up its troops in Ukraine, potentially sending them to supplement its proxies who have been fighting in the separatist regions for the past eight years, Russian shelling continued to claim lives. Russian barrages killed at least 11 civilians and wounded 18 in 24 hours, Ukraines presidential office said Tuesday. In other developments, Ukrainian authorities reported more success in their counteroffensive to reclaim territory in some of the very regions where Russia is staging the referendums to consolidate its grip. Ukrainian troops claimed to continue their push beyond the Oskil River in the countrys east, pressing further into the Donbas. A video on social media Tuesday showed Ukrainian soldiers entering the village of Koroviy Yar, 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) from the river. Ukraines military intelligence said that the countrys forces continued to force Russian troops out of the northeastern Kharkiv region and claimed to recapture the major railway junction of Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi. The wars human toll was also reflected in a U.N. human rights monitoring missions first comprehensive look at violations and abuses Russia and Ukraine committed between Feb. 1 and July 31, the first five months of Russias invasion. Matilda Bogner, the missions chief, said Ukrainian prisoners of war appeared to have faced systematic mistreatment, not only upon their capture, but also following their transfer to places of internment in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine and Russia itself. The war has brought an energy crunch for much of Western Europe, with German officials seeing the disruption of Russian supplies as a Kremlin power play to pressure Europe over its support for Ukraine. The danger to energy supplies grew when seismologists reported Tuesday that explosions rattled the Baltic Sea before unusual leaks were discovered on two underwater natural gas pipelines running from Russia to Germany. Some European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage during an energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. The three leaks were reported on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which are filled with natural gas but not delivering the fuel to Europe. The damage means that the pipelines are unlikely to be able to carry any gas to Europe this winter even if the political will to bring them online emerged, analysts at the Eurasia Group said. Associated Press journalist Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations in New York contributed. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine TALLINN, Estonia It took Vsevolod four days to drive from Moscow to Russias southern border with Georgia. He had to abandon his car at one point and continue on foot. On Tuesday, he finally finished his 1,800-kilometer (1,100-mile) journey and crossed the frontier to escape being called up to fight in Russias war in Ukraine. At 26, I do not want to be carried home in a zinc-lined (coffin) or stain (my) hands with somebodys blood because of the war of one person that wants to build an empire, he told The Associated Press, asking that his last name not be used because he feared retaliation from Russia. He was one of over 194,000 Russian nationals who have fled to neighboring Georgia, Kazakhstan and Finland most often by car, bicycle or on foot in the week since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of reservists. The mass exodus of men alone or with their families or friends began Sept. 21, shortly after Putins address to the nation, and continued all this week. Early on, they snapped up airline tickets, which spiked in price on the few airlines still flying out of Russia. But the rest had to gas up their cars and join the long lines snaking on roads toward the borders. According to the online service Yandex Maps, the traffic jam leading to Verkhny Lars, a border crossing into Georgia from Russias North Ossetia region, stretched for about 15 kilometers (over 9 miles) on Tuesday. Social media showed hundreds of pedestrians lining up at the checkpoint after Russian border guards relaxed regulations and allowed people to cross on foot. Similarly long queues were reported at some crossings into Kazakhstan. The Interior Ministry of Georgia said over 53,000 Russians have entered the country since last week, while Interior Ministry officials in Kazakhstan said 98,000 crossed into that nation. The Finnish Border Guard agency said over 43,000 arrived in the same period. Media reports also said another 3,000 Russians entered Mongolia, which also shares a border with the country. Russian authorities sought to stem the flow, barring some men from leaving and citing mobilization laws. The practice did not seem widespread, but rumors persisted that Moscow may soon shut the borders to all men of fighting age. Police in North Ossetia said a makeshift enlistment office will be set up at the Verkhny Lars crossing, and local officials confirmed to the state news agency Tass that Russian men are being served call-up summonses at crossings into Georgia. Russias Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has said that only about 300,000 men with prior combat or other military service would be mustered, but reports have emerged from various Russian regions that recruiters were rounding up men outside that description. That fueled fears of a much broader call-up, sending droves of men of all ages and backgrounds to airports and borders. Theres a risk that they will announce a full mobilization, according to a resident of St. Petersburg who made it to Kazakhstan on Tuesday. The man, who refused to give his name because he feared for his safety, told AP he spent three days driving from his home to Uralsk in northwestern Kazakhstan near the border. He said Putins mobilization remarks differed from what his decree said, leaving room for a broader interpretation, adding: People worry that sooner or later, a full mobilization will be announced, and no one will be able to cross the borders. Kazakhstan and Georgia, both part of the former Soviet Union and both offering visa-free entry by Russian nationals, seemed to be the most popular destinations for those traveling by land to flee the call-up. Finland and Norway require visas. Georgia, whose support for Ukraine is visible by the yellow and blue flags adorning buildings as well as graffiti against Putin and Russia, has been somewhat apprehensive about the influx of Russians, especially after the country fought a brief war with Moscow in 2008. Opposition politicians have demanded the government take drastic actions against the arriving Russians, from introducing visas to banning them completely. No such action has been taken yet. Kazakhstan seems more welcoming. Since the beginning of the war, the Central Asian nation of 19 million has taken a course increasingly independent from its ally, Moscow, especially on the war in Ukraine. In announcing the number of Russians crossing the border, Kazakhstan Interior Minister Marat Akhmetzhanov said authorities wont send home those avoiding the call-up unless they are on an international wanted list for criminal charges. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev even ordered his government to help the Russians entering his country because of the current hopeless situation. We must take care of them and ensure their safety. It is a political and a humanitarian issue. I tasked the government to take the necessary measures, he said, adding that Kazakhstan will hold talks with Russia on the issue. In Uralsk, volunteers helped those entering the city of 236,000. Some of them told AP that they were serving free hot meals and helping the arrivals to find accommodations, which were quickly filling up. Those who cant find apartments or hotel rooms could spend the night in gyms, one volunteer said. Dilara Mukhambetova, director of the Cinema Park theater, even said arriving Russians could sleep in her facility after she drove around the city and saw a lot of people who looked lost. We freed up one auditorium, organized tea, and volunteers brought hot meals, Mukhambetova was quoted by local media as saying. We filled four auditoriums, (accommodating) about 200 people in total. Associated Press journalist Sophiko Megrelidze in Tbilisi, Georgia, contributed. Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine At coto, we know that communities arent just groups of people, they represent freedom of expression and were always working towards making it easier and more productive for our community creators and members to express themselves. While Web3 has given us the opportunity to create a platform that is cohesive and transparent, we also want to make sure that the efforts of our women community creators and their communities are duly celebrated and rewarded. To make this a reality, together with several benefits, are our exclusive cotoOG NFTs, the next big milestone for our community creators and coto! 5000 early community creators on coto (first amongst the eventual millions) can claim this exclusive, customized, limited-edition NFT. It's valuable and badge worthy and as special as all community creators on the platform! The process is simple, all you have to do is log on to https://coto.world/cotonfts, go through the detailed steps mentioned and fill this form to claim your NFT. Talented illustrator / NFT artist from Argentina Dacil Curbelos, has collaborated with coto to create these stylish NFTs, a special virtual identity for the creators. Her impactful artwork and inimitable use of vibrant color patterns makes her stand out from the rest, and an apt choice for the coto family. Dacil Curbelos, NFT artist, said, I am excited to be part of coto as an NFT artist. As a creator, I feel extremely energized to join a community of women such as coto - which relates to my own principles, and ideals. I have always experimented with new artforms, and tools right from formats, techniques and genres. The character sketches in each cotoOG NFT are unique and a representation of a community creators commitment and expertise. Tarun Katial, Founder & CEO, coto said, At 'coto', we want to create an ideal participative culture for women in a safe space that empowers them to create and nurture an organic community. They symbolize every creator for who they are and can be when they come together to build the best platform for women online with us. The cotoOG NFTs, which incentivize creators and their communities, provide discoverability, greater exposure with exclusive access to certain features, are redeemable, and even instill voting powers in cotos democratic voting council. In this way, these NFTs prove to be much beyond an asset. What are cotoOG NFTs? A set of unique artworks created specifically for our creators, cotoOG NFTs act as an asset representing a community creators commitment to our platform, and a means to identify them as key participants. cotoOG NFTs will serve to recognize community creators for their expertise on coto. Owning a cotoOG NFT marks these creators as rallying points for their communities. Acting as beacons for their tribe members, theyre enabled to lead much-needed conversations in their areas of expertise. The number of cotoOG NFTs is limited to 5000 and will be made available only to early community creators across geographies. How can a coto Community Creator bag a cotoOG NFT? The process is quite simple! Being one of the early creators to build a community on coto will unlock the cotoOG NFT. Here are the steps: Step 1 Join the coto Community Creator Program Step 2 Follow coto across all social media platforms Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook Step 3 coto will share posts in your DM / email Tag coto and put it up as a story / post on IG / FB, RT on Twitter, Repost on LinkedIn Use #cotoNFTs #cotocommunity while sharing the post Step 4 Set up your coto community with minimum 100 members when we launch Step 5 Tag as many friends as you can! We will try and credit you for your connections engaging with us Whats next? The process from starting a community to obtaining the ability to liquefy its assets will unfold in three general phases: 1st Phase Community Creators can claim cotoOG NFTs that offer them unique identity as a coto community creator and unlock special privileges across the platform 2nd Phase Community Creators with the cotoOG NFT can also claim Recognition NFTs based on specific metrics like members onboarding, engagement and transactions: these milestones will be tracked and rewarded. 3rd Phase Recognition NFTs collected by a creator will be linked to a pre-decided amount of $COTO Tokens / coto Gains*. These might be subject to a vesting period and the creators will be able to redeem them at the end of this vesting period As mentioned above, creators can either list NFTs on any participating marketplace or directly redeem them for $COTO Tokens or coto Gains* in accordance with the regulatory jurisdiction in their country of residence. The idea behind coto, and all that we bring, is to create a safe space for women who have the courage and desire to empower other women. We want to see our community creators and their communities grow, and we want to build and further support them. With these cotoOG NFTs, community creators on coto now have more than an asset - they have a symbol of who they are and who they can be when they, and others like them, come together. K-Drama and K-Pop fanatic Radhika Bangia is a well-known Indian digital content creator and actor. With a community of over 2.4 million followers across her social media platforms, Bangia, currently known for her content around Korean and Y2K Fashion, has also appeared in movies like Welcome Back, Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, Lets Play, Irada, Gehraiyaan, and High Jack. Bangia has recently caught the attention of many for her performance in The Monster Song in KGF Chapter 2. The influencer has collaborated with well-known brands like Maybelline, Zomato, One Plus, Whisper, Kelloggs, SuperNova, Center Fresh and many more. Being a K-Pop and K-Drama fan, she also collaborated with Alan Chikin Chow, a Chinese Instagram Creator, and she was invited to a Korean event hosted by Spotify. In a freewheeling conversation with Adgully, Radhika Bangia speaks about her journey as content creator, her love for K-dramas, her ad shoot experience with Viki Rakuten, Bollywood foray, her views on short content platforms, and much more. How did your love for K-drama begin? My K-drama love goes way back. I used to watch Korean movies when I was in school. Also, my childhood best friend is Korean. We grew up together in New Zealand. She would tell me about movies and K-pop songs when we were in school, but I was not too much into it and then life happened, and I kind of got out of it. But during the lockdown, when we all had so much time, I started with a K-drama or two on Netflix. I watched The King and Boys Over Flowers, and became obsessed with Lee Min-ho I literally watched everything by Lee Min-ho. I realised how much fun it was to watch such content and started to watch other K-dramas. Thats how Covid got me majorly into K-dramas. If you were to select one K-drama of which you could be the lead actress, which drama would it be? If you were to select an Indian actor for a K-drama that was to be remade in India, which actor you would like to be cast opposite? I think it has to be a series like Legend of the Blue Sea. I would love to be a mermaid and have Lee Min-Ho as my boyfriend! I personally feel Siddharth Malhotra would fit in the K-drama realm really well. How did you start on your journey as a content creator and actor? I started off with acting. Those days I was auditioning a lot, sometimes giving seven to eight auditions in a day. I was also doing TV commercials. Since the more auditions you do, the more are the chances of getting the gig, I managed to get three to four ads a month. I was doing that for a while and then I realised that acting is not very consistent for me; its not a stable job for me. I was almost about to leave it and go back to New Zealand, when I started doing content creation while I was auditioning, just for fun. I was doing comedy sketches as a stress buster and somehow they got me views on Instagram. I was doing it for fun and had no idea that social media could be a great way to make money. When I got my first brand deal from Zomato, I thought it was a scam. I was like I dont even make half the money that they were paying me for an ad shoot. When I received the cheque, I thought that if I worked hard in this, giving it my full time, maybe this could be a career. Then I started focusing on social media and content creation more. Its full time for me now and acting is kind of secondary. What are your views on short content video platforms? I think its great and a lot of time people dont have the time to watch long videos. They are travelling or have five minutes to kill. For a lot of people its easier to consume short video content, than sitting down and watching long form. Peoples attention span is also getting shorter with time. You can literally tell a story or a situation in a short amount of time. Its a great time for content creators. You have also been seen in KGFs song Monster. How did that happen? I was shortlisted and then there was a huge gap, so I thought I did not get the gig. They did not even tell me it was for KGF, all they told me that it was for a big South movie shoot. Then two days before the shoot, I got a call from the casting director to fly to Hyderabad to shoot it. I was stressing out as it was a dance shoot there was no practice, nothing, everything is going to be on the set. I reached Hyderabad in my outfit, without any idea what Im doing for the dance. They would literally teach me on the spot, I practised for 10 minutes and then start shooting. You recently worked with a Korean production house. Could you share more about your work with them? How was it different or similar to shooting for Indian ad films? This one was with Wong Fu Productions and Viki Rakuten. A lot of people watching K-dramas know that Viki Rakuten is the biggest platform for K-dramas, C-dramas, J-dramas; I have been consuming it for so long and love their platform. Wong Fu Productions is also a very big production house in LA most of the Asian actors in LA started their careers from there. It was one of my dreams to work with Wong Fu Productions. One day they reached out to me and said there is this ad for a K-drama skit for Viki Rakuten and that they are producing it. It was a proper ad shoot. I also promoted it on Instagram. I think shooting with them was quite similar to ad shoots in India. Id thought that it would be different, but it was pretty much the same, except everyone spoke in English. The whole process and everything was just like an Indian shoot. You go for make-up, then you are doing the lines, the directors are there, it was pretty much the same. Whats next for you? Among other things, Im in talks for signing up with a Korean agency for acting. In December, my movie Circus by Rohit Shetty will be released. It stars Ranveer Singh, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Pooja Hegde. I am playing an important character in the film, its a really good role. We have finished shooting for it. Im really open to everything as long as I enjoy the work and its a good role and the team is good. Bollywood, Hollywood, Korean, Chinese I dont mind, as long as the script is exciting and its a good gig. If Im excited about it, I would just do it. Metaform and XP&DLand announced a world first with the MetaPujo today. A foray into the future that brings the iconic Durga Puja celebrations of Kolkata to the Metaverse. This Pujo season, the iconic and popular Ahiri Tala Sarbojanin, Deshapriya Park, and Ballygunge Cultural and Tala Prattay pandals will be accessible through 3D twins on the Metaverse. Elaborating on the experience, Sukrit Singh, Co-Founder, Metaform & XP&DLand, said, "After the huge recognition by UNESCO, this is another great hurrah for the Pujas. We have been inspired to bridge the gap between devotion and technology, and what better way to begin than by hinging on one of the world's largest devotional celebrations? This initiative gives Maa Durga an enhanced address on Web 3.0 where the devout from across the world will be able to enter a three-dimensional recreation of the pandals and take part in darshans from the most popular pandals of Kolkata. While doing so, attendees would be able to claim four NFTs of her idols that have been designed especially for the occasion, each correlating to one of the pandals." Outlining the vision further, Sukrit Singh says, "The worlds of digital and real life are colliding, where we will constantly toggle between the real and metaverse worlds in the future. This is the first time in history that such a massive festival of devotion has been twinned in the Metaverse. We are piloting it with four pandals this year, with over 100 next year, and in the near future, every single pandal on the ground will have a metaverse twin for people to experience and enjoy." Metaform and XP&DLands plan centres around 3D recreations of the pandals, where users in 'Spatial', a metaverse platform, can enter a shared social space where people from across the world can come together and walk around, interact, and even take photographs. Users can make a meta-realistic avatar of themselves in minutes. The platform is accessible to all through simple smart phones, tablets, and wearables. Suveer Bajaj, Co-Founder of Metaform and XP&DLand, says, "We are democratising the Metaverse. You dont have to be in Kolkata now to celebrate the Pujas. "Meta pujos will allow people from all over the world to enter pandal meta twins as family and friends separated by physical distance but united in the meta celebration." MetaPujo will introduce four unique NFTs of Maa Durga idols from the most visited pandals of Kolkata; these include Deshapriya Park, Tala Prattay, Ahiri Tala Sarbojanin, and Ballygunge Central. The four NFTs will be dropped for free on XP&DLand, for devotees and collectors who may want to claim them using their Web 3.0 wallets. Suveer Bajaj, Co-Founder, Metaform, adds, "Introducing the concept of digital ownership, in addition to presenting these immersive experiences, we intend to drop digital collectables or NFTs, which can be purchased. These digital tokens will then, over time, generate a value given their real-life utility. In the future, the idea is to monetize the collectables and drive community with utility (whether for community, experiences, or collectables) at a later stage with the intent to build a self-sustaining business." Prasar Bharatis DD Free Dish is the only free-to-air (FTA) Direct-To-Home service which enables millions of Indians, especially the economically weaker sections in the countrys hinterlands and small towns, to access TV without paying a monthly subscription fee. All they need to do is pay one-time amount of about Rs 2,000 for obtaining the DD Free Dish set-top box. DD Free Dish features 167 TV channels and 48 radio channels, including 91 DD channels and 76 private TV channels. Today, DD Free Dish has become the largest DTH platform with reach to more than 43 million households, according to the ministry. Between 2017 and 2022 alone, the Free DTH service registered a growth of almost 100% from 22 million in 2017 to 43 million in 2022, according to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). However, DD Free Dishs operations have not been without some controversies, primarily of some private broadcasters getting on to the platform without paying the necessary carriage fees. In a move to address this, the MIB recently withdrew the permission given to Zee Media Corporation Ltd (ZMCL) for simultaneous uplinking of 10 of its TV channels in Ku Band on GSAT-15 satellite and C Band through the teleport of Dish TV India Ltd. According to the MIB order, ZEE Media was violating clause 5.1 of the uplinking guidelines and clause 5.6 of downlinking guidelines. The broadcaster had taken dual transmission approval for uplinking both in Ku-Band and C band, and due to their co-location, they got the advantage to be on DD Free Dish without paying for the huge auction fee other broadcasters were paying to be on. Uplinking and downlinking of private satellite TV channels in India are governed by the 2011 policy guidelines issued by Ministry. Also read: Approval given to Zee Media to uplink in Ku-Band revoked In April this year, Doordarshan authorities had written to BARC India to take action against these channels, which were available on FTA set-top boxes even though they were not allotted slots on DD Free Dish by Prasar Bharati. This step was taken after some leading news broadcasters had approached the MIB, claiming that it gave Zee an unfair advantage. These broadcasters had alleged that the availability of Zees regional news channels on DD Free Dish had an adverse impact on other regional news channels, loss of revenue to Prasar Bharati and violation of law. In order to get a deeper understanding of the matter and how this impacts the broadcasting sector, especially news broadcasters, Adgully reached out to a cross-section of broadcasters. What emerged out of the conversations were long-held grievances that had remained unaddressed up till now. Some broadcasters alleged that availing the DD Free Dish service without taking part in the auction process or paying the necessary carriage fees is one of many anomalies plaguing the system. There were also those who saw it as a move in the right direction. Commenting on the development, an ABP Network spokesperson said: We welcome the recent development of revocation of permission given to Zee channels for simultaneous uplinking in Ku Band. The decision is a big relief to the entire news genre, who were subjected to unfair competition as a consequence. The prayers made through ad nauseam representations of industry to the government over the last several years finally get vindicated, and we are thankful to the Ministry for taking steps in the right direction. It is justice delayed but delivered finally, said another top executive of a broadcasting company, who at the same time added, However, it is still not complete justice. According to him, illegal occupants of DD Free Dish were allowed to flourish for years and make money at the cost of genuine channels, which could never furnish DD Free Dishs obscenely high fee. Voicing his grievance, the executive asked: Who will compensate for the loss to smaller channels that have suffered at the lack of action by the GoI? He further added: There were channels which got away through illegally obtained court stays and continued to pay a paltry fee. DD Free Dish never challenged those orders and continued to pass on the benefit of high TRPs at low fees. A thorough probe is needed to know why a level playing field is still not provided to regional and smaller, but meritorious channels. The broadcast industry executives are unanimous in their view that the government should be just in this regard. Its a good move by the government. All this while, smaller players were suffering. The government should remain unbiased and just. All the words and deeds of the government should be perceived as just. DD and Prasar Bharati are public service organisations. How will the public benefit if the authorities dont act justly? asked a leading broadcasting executive, who preferred to remain anonymous. The executive noted: The new Telecom Draft Bill terms spectrum as being similar to atma. Like atma, spectrum, too, does not have any physical form, yet it is omnipresent. There are a lot of anomalies in the thought and action. Another broadcasting executive felt that the government authorities had not taken sufficient action against such practices. He alleged that there exists a nexus between some TV channels and the authorities in this regard. While stating that 40 per cent of Indias population accesses TV through DD Free Dish, the executive alleged that some channels are visible on DD Free Dish illegally. It is a clear nexus between the government authorities and these channels. It is a fraud that has been going on silently for a while. How come a channel appears on DD Free Dish without paying for the required bandwidth charges? Here, the government satellites are being used by these channels illegally, he maintained. Meanwhile, welcoming the move, another regional broadcaster also raised the issue of high fees charged by DD Free Dish. Rabindra Narayan, Managing Director & President, PTC Network, said, PTC broadcasts Gurbani from Sri Darbar Sahab Amritsar and is FTA, but DD Free Dish demands upwards of Rs 10 crore to make Gurbani available to devotees. We dont take sponsors and we dont charge viewers. How are we expected to pay such high fees? The result is devotees do not get to watch live telecast of Gurbani on DD Free Dish. Earlier, another leading news broadcaster was also accused of circumventing Prasar Bharatis auction process to get a slot on DD Free Dish. By taking action in the simultaneous uplinking case, the government has given a clear indication that it is ready to address the long-pending grievance of the broadcasters. This is a welcome move in the direction of establishing a level playing field for all. In their conversation with Adgully, the broadcasters pointed out at several anomalies in the system and expressed the hope that the government will clean up the house in time. Additional inputs by Shanta Saikia This Navratri, OYO announces up to 50% discounts on stays to provide easy and affordable accommodation for travellers visiting Gujarat Discount scheme is applicable on all OYO properties including Capital O, Collection O, Spot On, OYO Townhouse and Silverkey, among others across the state from September 23-October 9, 2022 Inbound tourism increases significantly during Navratri in Gujarat. After two subdued years of festivities, this year is expected to draw in large crowds and tourists into the state Ahmedabad, September 22, 2022: Global hospitality technology platform, OYO has kicked off the festive season with a special discount scheme for travelers planning to visit Gujarat to celebrate Navratri. Under this scheme, guests can avail up to 50% discount across all OYO properties in Gujarat including Capital O, Collection O, Spot On, OYO Townhouse and Silverkey, among others. The offer will be valid from September 23, 2022 to October 9, 2022 in Ahmedabad, Surat, Gandhinagar, Bharuch, Vadodara and many other towns in Gujarat. It is tailormade to ensure that guests planning to visit Gujarat during Navratri are able to book clean, safe and convenient stays that add more excitement to their festive spirits. This year, Navratri festivities in Gujarat are expected to resume in full fervour after a two-year break, attracting tourists from all over the country to partake in 9-days of festivities beginning from September 26, 2022. Guests can avail this discount by downloading the OYO App, clicking on the red Nearby icon to discover a valid participating hotel in the city of their choice, select the coupon code PUJOSPECIAL and hit the Book Now and Pay at the Hotel button. Most of the hotels are equipped with facilities such as Wi-Fi and air- conditioning. Navratri or 'nine nights', is the most popular and widely celebrated festival in Gujarat. During the festivities, every night people gather around in different cities to celebrate the feminine divinity referred as Shakti. A highlight of the festival in Gujarat is garba, a dance form with origins in the Saurashtra and Kutch regions of the state. Speaking about the offer, Shreerang Godbole, Senior Vice President - Product & Chief Service Officer, OYO said While all of India celebrates Navratris with much enthusiasm, the fervour of Gujarat during the nine-day festival remains unmatched. As the festival is all set to return with all pomp and glory after two subdued years of celebrations, we are expecting a significant increase in the number of tourists coming to the state. We want to ensure that they have a pleasant and a comfortable stay while enjoying the festivities. Customers choose OYO's platform for many reasons, including accessibility to OYOs hotels at competitive prices, quality accommodation, ease of use of its app, personalization, and flexibility of the OYO platform. They can also resolve their queries quickly with OYOs 24*7 chatbot - Yo! Chat. Polls are an essential part of political races. Candidates who score well are more likely to attract new donations, get their way in the timing and number of debates, and receive more media coverage. The way polls are conducted has a huge impact on the results generated, including who is asked, who does the asking, and the way the questions are phrased. Rassmussen Reports is a respected polling organization founded in 2003. On September 23rd they reported - President Biden ended the polling week with a daily job approval of 43%. - The 2022 midterm elections are now 46 days away, and Republicans have a two-point [generic ballot] lead in their bid to recapture control of Congress. Another company, Trafalgar Group, released their first poll in 2016 and was rated the second most accurate pollster on the 2020 presidential election by FiveThirtyEight. (source) Their conclusions on the same topics were different, with Bidens approval lower by 4% and Republicans lead in the generic ballot higher by 3.7%. This may seem like a minor difference to you, but elections often are decided by a 1% margin or less. So the polling companies methods become very important. If they get it wrong, the results are useless, and can even be harmful by giving voters the impression that the race is over and they wont make a difference by voting, or by encouraging one group to turn out in greater numbers. Data for Rasmussen Reports survey research is collected using an automated polling methodology. Generally speaking, the automated survey process is identical to that of traditional, operator-assisted research firms such as Gallup, Harris, and Roper. However, automated polling systems use a single, digitally-recorded, voice to conduct the interview while traditional firms rely on phone banks, boiler rooms, and operator-assisted technology. The Trafalgar Group has a different approach and delivers their polling questionnaires utilizing a mix of six different methods: Live callers, Integrated voice response, Text messages, Emails, and Two other proprietary digital methods we dont share publicly. They use short questionnaires of nine questions or less based on our perceptions about attenuated attention spans and the need to accommodate modern busy lifestyles. Our polls last one to three minutes and are designed to quickly get opinions from those who would not typically participate in political polls. They have also pioneered methods to accommodate the Social Desirability Bias. This allows us to obtain a poll participants true feelings in situations where we believe some individuals are not likely to reveal their actual preferences. Their approach to polling is markedly different from most of the industry. We believe the old system of delivering 20 or more questions via live phone interviews doesnt fit the modern world. This old system skews toward people who have strong ideology and/or opinions and even worse, those who are bored and looking for someone to talk to. It also fails to address the growing number of people who refuse to share their honest opinion and the new trend of people who refuse to participate or intentionally give false answers because they question who is asking and why. Trafalgar identified a new issue - the shy voter - who is reluctant to respond to pollsters. Think of it this way, youre sitting at home after dinner and you get a robocall asking your political views. How do you know its a legitimate polling company and your results will be kept confidential? Would you want your boss at work to know you support a candidate he doesnt like? This concern about shy voters intensified with Bidens September 1st speech about The Continued Battle for the Soul of the Nation. It has been viewed as one of the most aggressive and divisive speeches ever given by a President. YouTube screengrab Just 300 words into his speech he exclaimed, Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic. Add this to the news that the Democrats plan to add 87,000 IRS agents to audit our taxes, and that ordinary citizens have been harassed by the Department of Justice and the FBI, not to mention the seizure of Pillow Guy Mike Lindells phone, and you have an understanding why people might not want to honestly answer a telephone call or online survey. But there is another piece of the puzzle that may be impacting polling accuracy shy Democrat voters who are beginning to realize that their party isnt what it used to be. They may not answer polls honestly, but even more important, they may not want their social groups to know their feelings have changed. Social groups are extremely important to people. Psychology Today says, ...everywhere you look there are groups Entire wars are fought with this as a central tenet: we are better than them, more noble, fighting the good fight. Of course, the other group we are opposing thinks the exact same thing. That's the power and influence of groups. It is a basic part of human nature and survival to do or say almost anything in order to remain a member in good standing of your social group. So conservatives may fear retribution, and liberals may fear being shunned by their peers, including their spouses. Polls might be seriously overestimating the position that liberals hold in every race across the country. It seems as if the pollsters dont mind being wrong; otherwise, they would have cleaned up their methods long ago. Some may like overstating the liberal position and depressing conservative turnout. At the very least, the media companies who commission these polls like covering a close race because it brings higher ratings. But there is another, more sinister aspect to understating a conservative lead. It can serve to hide organized cheating at the ballot box. If the polls say the conservative is behind in the polls and then loses by 1%, its easy to claim the race was legitimate. But if the polls say the candidate is 5% ahead, and then loses by 1%, the likelihood of cheating becomes more plausible and questions will be asked. In 2016, Clinton had been heavily favored to win. She led national polls and in most battleground states heading into the election. Her allies were so confident that a supportive super PAC had actually redirected millions to other races. Cahaly from Trafalgar was one of the few that predicted the Trump win in 2016, and projected his win in 2020 as well. On election night, in his last few polls of this election season, Mr. Cahaly has found Mr. Trump with two-to-three-point advantages in North Carolina, Arizona, Michigan and Florida, and wider leads elsewhere. That puts him far out of line with almost all major pollsters, whose surveys in those states are generally showing Mr. Biden with the edge. The Biden victory was in part doubted because of the difference between the Trafalgar polls and the election results. The takeaway? Understand that polls are tools used by the Left to suppress conservative votes and to give legitimacy to election results that may be fraudulent. Going to the polls on November 8th is more important than ever. Bring ten of your friends with you. And report any instances of election irregularities to your state board of elections. This past Friday, Kevin McCarthy and other GOP U.S. House leaders unveiled the long-awaited Republican Commitment to America. It didnt disappoint. The plan was fittingly announced in Washington, Pennsylvania, not Washington, D.C. It addresses the mounting concerns of Americas hard-pressed majority: the working- and middle-classes. Thats most of us -- whatever race, color, or creed. Were daily struggling under the spreading policy and governance failures of our shady, witless president, Joe Biden, and congressional Democrats. Lets not leave out Joes handlers and department and agency chiefs for ample rations of blame. The Commitment was modeled after Newt Gingrichs uber-successful 1994 Contract with America. The Contract was instrumental in securing the U.S. House for the GOP for the first time since 1956. Republicans were swept in with 56 seats. The GOP took the Senate, too, gaining an impressive eight seats. The takeover was termed the Republican Revolution. House Republicans today need only gain five seats to win the majority. But why stop at five? With Biden and Democrats ruining the country, Republicans need to do everything possible to run the table. Why in heavens name leave anything for the Democrats? But wait, say you. Youre holding your nose just saying McCarthys name. If he has anything to do with the Commitment, its got to be a nothingburger. After all, McCarthy is a RINO, a puke, a sellout, and whatever else can be thrown at him, including heaping handfuls of elephant dung. The midterm contests are larger than McCarthy or Mitch McConnell, the truly odious Senate leader. The challenges were confronting are greater than the personalities. Before you say, Yeah, Ive heard that before, understand the Commitment is a tool for GOP House candidates, who, as a group, contain the biggest number of America First hopefuls ever assembled. Donald Trump -- who put the First in America -- has endorsed 150 House incumbents, challengers, and open-seat contenders. Add 19 U.S. Senate incumbents and open race candidates. The former -- and, perhaps, future -- president is too savvy to hold his nose and then walk away. McCarthy, Trump calculates, is a man he can work with if enough America First candidates are elected and comprise the GOP House caucus. A robust contingent of Trump-supported House Republicans would exert all sorts of pressure on McCarthy to play ball or risk losing the speakership. McConnell, on the other hand, is a backstabber whom Trump is trying to end-run. Florida senator Rick Scott -- who deserves a huge shoutout for his 12-point Rescue America plan would make an outstanding Senate Majority Leader. Scott was a successful businessman and Florida governor whose beginnings were humble. McConnell knows to worry about Scott. Scott would work closely with a future president Trump or DeSantis. Mitch only cares about playing the D.C. insiders game, with plenty of benefits accruing to himself and Elaine Chao, his backstabbing wife. Cynical Mitch prefers a Republican Senate minority if that helps him retain top-dog status. Trying to stay top-dog, McConnell has publicly disparaged Republican Senate candidates and pulled $9.6 million in super PAC money from Blake Masters Arizona fight with two-faced Mark Kelly. In his elegantly passive-aggressive way, Mitch is signaling that Americas future matters a whole helluva lot less than his future. All the more reason to send a few bucks to Masters and other Trump- and Scott-backed Senate candidates. Critical is a word thats overused, but does anyone doubt the importance of this years elections? A Republican Congress can provide all types of roadblocks to the Biden administration. The key is to stymie Bidens handlers to buy time through the momentous 2024 elections. The hope is that Trump or DeSantis wins while the GOP retains congressional majorities. Until then, not just Congress but red states must play an increasing role in pushing back against aggressive federal overreach not just from Biden and Democrats, but from the leviathan federal bureaucracy, which acts as a guardian and promoter of the state. Big and bigger government, as a rule, is a friend of bureaucrats, whose concern for paychecks, bennies, and job security outweighs the nations welfare. The federal bureaucracy needs to be roped in (and whittled down). Trump, if president again, needs a Republican Congress to push his ambitious Schedule F federal workforce initiative. As Government Executive ruefully reports: The former [Trump administration] officials and current [Trump] confidantes are, through a network of Trump-loyal think tanks and public policy organizations, creating lists of names to supplant existing civil servants. The endgame of a Schedule F strategy? Says Government Executive: They [Trump loyalists] have identified 50,000 current employees that could be dismissed under the new authority they seek to create, Axios reported and Government Executive confirmed, though they hope to only actually fire a fraction of that total and hope the resulting chilling effect will cause the rest to fall in line. That aim dovetails with the Commitments stated goal of holding Washington accountable and under Rescue Americas Point 6, the subheading that reads: Many government agencies should be either moved out of Washington or shuttered entirely. Rick Scott doesnt fool around. Nearing a crossroads is cliche, but it works, because if were taken down the road that statists -- whatever the stripe -- and wealthy exploiters want to take us, a cliff awaits -- a cliff over which is a far drop to the bottom. A Republican Congress -- for two agonizing years -- will face the daunting task of bottling up the Biden administration and battling rogue federal departments and agencies. The FBIs outrageous actions are notable but not isolated. The absurd SWAT team takedown of Pennsylvania pro-life activist Mark Houck is thuggish injustice. It was done to intimidate. Democrats are priming the IRS with 87,000 new agents who will carry sidearms and be ready to shoot to kill. Bidens handlers, who are executive-order crazy, wont always bother issuing them. Theyll simply issue directives in defiance of law. Think back to the brazenly unlawful rent moratorium. The COVID pandemic (that dark, dark winter) that was used as pretext to relieve renters of their obligations while sticking landlords with the costs. It was unashamed fiat. It took SCOTUS to end the overreach. A Republican Congress will need to work overtime checking the Biden administrations abuses of law. Its now down to mere weeks before the 2022 midterm elections finish. GOP congressional candidates must make compelling cases to voters that not only are Biden and Democrats wholly responsible for the wreck and ruin were experiencing, but that Republicans have answers -- solutions consistent with American principles and values solutions that are practical and proven. Dipping toes in the water wont win anything. Now is the time to jump in with both feet and swim like hell. The House and Senate GOP plans are feet-in approaches. Early voting is underway in some states as this is written. Counting on wins being automatic -- voters rejecting Biden through Democrat candidates, hence, no need for GOP candidates to do much more than smile and chat up their resumes -- is courting folly. While voters are primed to throw out the bums, theyre bound to ask: What do Republicans have to offer in the way of ideas and leadership? Furnishing voters with smart answers to that question will lock in their support. The Republican Commitment to America and Rescue America supply those answers. But neither plan can speak for itself. Republican candidates need to fully commit with confidence, taking solutions to voters who sorely desire a way out of Americas growing mess. J. Robert Smith can be found regularly at Gab @JRobertSmith. He also blogs at Flyover . Image: Gage Skidmore The present imbroglio in the Eastern steppes will not be the end of things. The embargo of gas to Europe will have consequences, but not what was anticipated. A former side-player is stepping up to the plate: Israel. Until a few years ago, Israel was energy dependent, but no longer. Thanks to recent exploitation of gas fields off of its coast: Israel is... independent in supplying its needs in energy. To be precise, [Israel] still use[s] imported coal and oil to produce electricity, but if forced to, Israel can rapidly adjust itself to generate all the power it needs from its own resources, mostly its natural gas. -- JPOST And not just energy independent, Israel has gone from energy importer to a major energy exporter. This is a world-class game changer. In landmark deal signed in Cairo, Israel to export natural gas, via Egypt, to Europe Israel to send fuel to Egypt, which will liquify it for shipping; agreement will help European bloc reduce Russian energy dependence -- Times of Israel, June 2022 While this present contract will not replace all the gas that Europe has lost to the present embargo, every little bit helps. And Israel seems to be finding more and more energy reserves all the time. The discovery of another marine natural gas reservoir, announced May 9 by British natural gas company Energean, underscores Israels emerging status over the past decade as a regional power in the field of natural gas. The country is capable of providing not only for its own needs, but for the needs of its neighbors as well, and even for other countries around the world. -- Al-Monitor Who knows what Israel may be able to supply in a year or two? The headlines are startling. Israel sees gas exports to Europe boom in wake of Russian invasion of Ukraine A surge in global demand for natural gas has resulted in a massive increase in revenues for Israel as the country seeks to boost production and its political influence MiddleEastEye Western Europe may find relief sooner than it thinks. What this means is that Western Europe may no longer be held hostage to the whims of Eastern and Mideastern dictatorships. No more kowtowing to thugs. Tyrannies which have been able to support their control, financed by energy exports, may find their markets dry up and their economies crumble to dust, as Israel grabs their market share. Israels natural gas production surged 22% in the first half of the year, as the government plans to ramp up exports that will make their way to Europe, where the worst energy crisis in decades is under way. ... Israel is ramping up output as European nations scour the globe for natural gas, with energy prices on the continent at record levels. The European Union is turning away from key supplier Russia following the countrys invasion of Ukraine, while Moscow has also curbed shipments, leaving buyers rushing to find alternatives ahead of winter. -- Bloomberg Whenever this war ends in the Ukraine, do you think Europe will willingly go back to total dependence on Nord Stream? Of course not! And while Israel can only make up part of the energy deficit, with a mix of some common sense -- which Europe is being forced to rediscover -- and Israel gas, Europe may end up free of dependence on despots. Even green Germany is going back to coal. Albeit reluctantly, but still... Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germanys decision to reactivate coal and oil-fired power plants to relieve energy shortages because of the war in Ukraine is only temporary and his government remains committed to doing everything to combat the climate crisis. -- Associated Press Chancellor Scholz has to say that. He doesnt want to admit that the climate crisis is nonsense, which would mean that decades of European policies and trillions of Euros have come to nothing. It was all a waste. The money could have been better spent otherwise, such as in preparing for this present crisis. But who knows? This energy shock may impel Europeans to dispense with the befoggery of man-made climate change idiocies, along with the self-destructive energy policies such stupidity encouraged. Europeans may go back to sound scientific thinking and stop listening to know-it-all teenage girls in Sweden. It wont happen overnight, but the process of healing has begun. With a few years, wannabe caliphs, czars, satraps, and exalted mystic poobahs may find that no one wants to buy their output any more. Europe will have moved to more reliable energy sources. Then the economies of these export-subsidized despotisms will totally collapse, with the consequent social disruptions. Game over. The biggest loser will be the Palestinians, who have been peddling themselves to the Europeans as innocent victims of Zionism for decades, and milking the European Union for support. EU renews its support for the Palestinian people with a 224.8 million assistance package -- The Office of the European Union Representative The Israelis complain that the EU funds terrorist NGOs: EU resumes funding for six Palestinian NGOs branded as terrorists by Israel -- RFI And the Europeans have dutifully ignored Israeli complaints. Moreover, Israelis accuse the EU of supporting what Israel calls illegal Palestinian construction. A report by Israels Intelligence Ministry sharply criticizes the European Union for funding the Palestinian Authoritys illegal takeover of areas that are recognized as being under Israeli sovereignty. -- Jewish News Services But once Europe finds out where its energy will be coming from, expect a sea change in its policies. The Palestinians will soon find out what the Jewish people have known for centuries: Europe has always been rather amoral when it comes to matters of policy. The Europeans practice Realpolitik. In laymans terms: After this chilly winter, once Europe realizes that it needs Israel for energy supplies, the Palestinians will be thrown under the bus just as quickly as the Europeans once threw the Jews under the bus. And the same will happen to a lot of Mideastern countries. Iran may be the next hit, when the mullahs find out that -- even if sanctions are lifted -- the expected customers do not line up. Their plunge into social chaos may continue. Turkeys Erdogan may become enraged if becomes apparent that an anticipated gas pipeline, with its expected royalties, will bypass Turkey -- and he does not get his needed share of the bonanza. Turkey is already furious that Greek and Cypriot maritime borders lock out a lot of Turkish claims. From the Turkish perspective, the division of economic zones in the Mediterranean is unfair and to the massive advantage of Greece, whose countless islands and thus maritime borders extend far to Turkey. ... Israel, Greece And Cyprus as sources That is the vision of the EastMed project, a pipeline Israel is planning with Greece and Cyprus that would supply energy to the European continent. It could supply an estimated 10% of Europe's energy needs. -- World Crunch The EastMed project will bypass Turkey altogether. No money for the wannabe Islamic Sultan; the Sublime Porte will remain broke. A lot of tyrants are going to be surprised. Israel will be a deal breaker, and will get rich while the glorious leaders go broke. If the democracies are smart, they will use some of the windfall to arm themselves to protect against any reaction. Image: Fjmustak Would it be an exaggeration to say that Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary is more often the object of censure by Democrats and NeverTrumpers than Communist Chinas Chairman Xi? If that is the case, it is not because they particularly care about a small country in Eastern Europe. Their concern, rather, is that Orbans example has given the wrong type of American the wrong ideas. Orban had the temerity to oppose the tumultuous demographic change occurring in Western Europe and America as a result of immigration from what still is called the Third World. He made what Matthew Continetti, writing in the Wall Street Journal, called an inflammatory statement when he said, we do not want to become peoples of mixed race. Orban also proved an impediment to the LGBTQ agenda, opposing same-sex marriage and gay adoption. He says that he favors illiberal democracy, by which he means democracy without the trappings of woke politics, for the moment ascendant in NATO countries. And above all, his governance constitutes a rallying point for the hated race of national conservatives in the United States. The alarming transformation of American conservatism from its halcyon days of anticommunism, defense of individual liberty, and Reaganite optimism is the theme not only of Mr. Continettis piece but also of one by William Galston, again in the Journal. According to Galston, Continetti disabuses those who believe the commentariat is unduly fixated on Victor [sic] Orban. He shows that Hungarys prime minister has become the touchstone of a world-wide populist-nationalist social-conservative movement -- and the leader some of Donald Trumps supporters hoped Mr. Trump would become. Galstons extensively hyphenated current conservative movement is to be contrasted with Ronald Reagans. Now on the one hand, says Galston, Reagans vision of America was bogus. He depicted America as a shining city on a hill, which elided a multitude of ills on which his critics rightly focused. You cannot call this country a shining anything, Galstoninsists, without acknowledging that it was founded on the genocide of native peoples and the enslavement of Africans and is something of which to be ashamed. Though falsely exonerating America of its crimes, Reagan nonetheless struck Galston as a nice fellow: he had an optimistic and inclusive vision of what the country at its best could be. Furthermore, he didnt let evangelical Protestants and other social conservatives dominate his rhetoric or agenda, even though they were in his coalition. Evangelical Protestants and other social conservatives do not quite make it into Galstons inclusive vision. Anyway, Reagan was not one of those noxious social conservatives. That is good to hear, because while he was President, the Left made Reagan out to be a murderer -- he did not sign on to the gay rights movement and gay people were dying of AIDS -- Q.E.D. In place of Reagans conservatism, which was dominated by economic hope, says Galston, we have today a different vision, dominated not by economic hope but by cultural fear. And [a]ccording to this new vision, Western civilization is being attacked from within by liberalism run amok. We can only wonder at the source of so bizarre a superstition. Galston accuses national conservatives of rejecting freedom as equivalent to license and of advocating repressive measures of the kind that he attributes to Orban: assaults upon a free press and an independent judiciary. Liberals have some culpability, in Galstons account -- they tend to identify their cultural beliefs with the requirements of a liberal polity. There is no question that their cultural positions are sound, however. They challenge traditional hierarchies, including race and ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, and religion. They have accomplished, the inclusion of those previously excluded from the mainstream. Furthermore, it clear that harm has not resulted from the woke cultural revolution, since, for example, there is no evidence that same-sex marriage has weakened the traditional kind. Of course, all that is missing from Galstons analysis is a particle of evidence that national conservatives have curtailed anyones civil liberties and some acknowledgment of the increasingly vindictive censorship imposed upon anyone who ventures to question the Lefts challenge to traditional hierarchies or its inclusion of certain kinds of person in the mainstream. The harm wrought by the gay rights and transsexual movements does not particularly relate to their weakening the institution of marriage, already weakened enough by the evisceration of its religious basis and the gradual substitution of personal hedonism for devotion to children. The harm, rather, is the professional and personal ruination of anyone daring to oppose those movements -- the baker who does not wish to sell a cake celebrating same-sex marriage, the military commander reluctant to populate infantry units with men who think they are women, etc. Does Galston really see no basis for what he calls cultural fear -- not in the foregoing circumstances, not additionally in the sexualization of children, or in their surgical mutilation to rectify some supposed gender dysphoria? Continetti also presents Orban as the inspiration for what he sees as the American Rights despotic turn. His prominence is a sign that ascendant forces within the conservative movement no longer look to the Anglosphere for guidance, but to continental Europe. They have abandoned the natural right tradition for blood and soil, you see. Continetti continues, They no longer hold the line at limited government but are using state power to advance what they consider to be traditional cultural values. Moreover, conservatives no longer privilege individual rights over communal ones. And [t]hey are no longer unified around opposition to an external enemy [presumably, the Soviet Union] but wish to arrest or reverse the causes of perceived internal decay. (emphasis added) Finally, [t]hey no longer seek leaders who earn the respect of the opposition but want to be led by people who give voice to their apocalyptic fears and take the fight to the other side. (emphasis added) Not a lot of time need be wasted chronicling the tendentiousness of all this. Whatever anyone thinks is the solution, the ruination of towns and cities by unregulated immigration, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of young people by drugs accompanying the invasion, the soaring violent crime in the cities, the hollowed industrial base, the cognitive impairment of children by the COVID lockdowns, the diminished labor force -- all of these things do not represent any perceived decay. When Continetti yearns for the respect of the opposition, does it matter to him who the opposition are or what they want? Does he care whether they have any interest in garnering his respect? Does it bother him if they actually seek to destroy American constitutional liberty, by removing the livelihood of citizens promulgating political opinions that they dislike, or even by sending the FBI crashing through their front doors with guns drawn? Whose fears are apocalyptic and whose justified -- Galstons and Continettis, relating to what they think national conservatives might want to do, or those harbored by persons (some of them quite obscure) made targets of Merrick Garlands Justice Department? All these accounts of American conservatisms metamorphosis and decline since the good old days have in common the same deficiency. Their authors never consider how the Left changed first. They ignore the accelerating campaign to accomplish the fundamental transformation of America to which conservatives have had to react. Whether their reaction is extreme can only be judged in light of the assault on the nations liberty and traditions that prompted it. Has it not been extreme, even in comparison to the supposed depredations of Victor Orban and Donald Trump? Image: European People's Party Remember back in the good old days, when our Democratic friends used to obsess about fundamentalists and the Christian Right? How they hated Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority! Obviously their concern must have eased up a bit by the time that presidential candidate Barack Obama was making patronizing remarks about "bitter clingers." But then, with presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, we learned all about the "deplorables." Shall we rehearse her comments one more time? You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trumps supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? Clinton said. The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic -- you name it. Bless her heart. This Fall, of course, our spritely president is amping up the attacks, branding Trump supporters as "ultra-MAGA" and "semi-fascist." You scholars out there will know that these political barbs are known to the cognoscenti as "pejoratives." Pejorative comes from the Latin verb pejorare, to make things worse. But why? Why do our liberal friends insist on Making Things Worse with hateful rhetoric? After all, experts agree that liberals are the most educated and evolved people in America. How come liberals practice a Politics of Pejorative? The answer is quite simple. Our liberal friends believe that the way to bring justice to America is with politics. Mix together the right political ideas with the right politicians with the right programs with the right activists working for the right NGOs funded by the right billionaires and calling the far right racist-sexist-homophobes, and Bingo! liberals get really nasty when all this Right Stuff Makes Things Worse. The trouble is that when you practice politics you divide the world up into "us" and "them," friends and enemies. That's what Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt reckoned 90 years ago in 1932 when he published The Concept of the Political. I just happen to have my copy at hand, and on page 9 he writes: The specific political distinction to which political actions and motive can be traced is the distinction between friend and enemy. If you are a United States senator and you like things "real simple" then Curtis Yarvin writes that "there is no politics without an enemy." In other words, as soon as you start getting political you are going to end up hating on some enemy. What do you do with hated enemies? You insult them, with pejoratives. That's when you are not killing them. So, of course our politicians and activists practice the Poisonous Politics of Pejorative, slinging pejoratives at their opponents that Make Things Worse. It's what any brave political warrior does to the enemy. All this makes complete sense if you believe that human action is driven mainly by the unconscious mind, per Freud and Jung. Human brains -- male brains especially -- are programmed to rush to the border to defend our land against the hated enemy. Given this knowledge, I feel deeply for our liberal friends. Imagine what the horror of Trump means to them, knowing deep in their unconscious group mind that every white oppressor seethes with racism and longs to "put y'all back in chains." But here are the words of a red-pilled liberal , Sasha Stone: Some hope that if I was able to escape the bubble of the Left, others might follow eventually and we wouldnt be living through such insane polarization. I dont know if thats even possible. I think I have become an enemy to many of them, and will remain, at least as long as this madness continues, which I hope isnt long. I hope we all live to see the end of it. See what I mean? If she doesn't agree with her liberal friends that makes her the enemy. But it is not "insane polarization," Sasha, it is just politics as usual. What is new is that Trump -- and now DeSantis -- is getting in liberals' faces and they don't like it. Back in the good old days of Bush "compassionate conservatism" and "Mittens" Romney, GOP leaders avoided getting in liberal faces. But liberals knew -- they just knew -- that the GOP leader of the day was still a monster and his moderation just a ruse. Now they don't have to make it up: it's right in their faces on Martha's Vineyard! These days GOP leaders seem to have their noses in Alinsky's Rules for Radicals and know that "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon." But wait! This time the neo-Nazis are for real! The problem with politics as the road to justice is that politics is about the enemy, and defeating the enemy. Is that really how social humans should be deciding their affairs? Because all politics reduces to the Politics of Pejorative; it's about who can sling the worst insults, and how many FBI SWAT raids on the far-right you can notch up in a week. Ask Joe Biden about that. 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: Publicdomainvectors.org It almost sounds like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie: a dusty warehouse. The smell of must permeating the air. The only sound the scurrying of the occasional rat. And entombed within it, thousands of boxes upon boxes, practically stamped TOP SECRET. But this is no flight of Hollywood fantasy. It is the reality of what remains of the Barack Obama presidency: Twenty truckloads of crates, kept in a space that formerly housed the inventory of Plunkett Furniture, containing roughly thirty million documents generated during the eight years of Obamas time in the Oval Office. And to the best of anyones public knowledge, it may still be sitting there, uncatalogued and unscanned for future perusal. It's composed in part, it can be assumed, of classified files. That is the conclusion being made following a letter from the Obama Foundation to the National Archive and Records Administration that has recently come to light. According to the letter, at least up until 2018, the Obama-era documents -- all of them -- were being stored in the warehouse at Hoffman Estates. The letter clearly states that classified papers were included alongside the unclassified files. From the letter: The Obama Foundation agrees to transfer up to three million three hundred thousand dollars ($3,300,000) to the National Archives Trust Fund (NATF) to support the move of classified and unclassified Obama Presidential records and artifacts from Hoffman Estates to NARA-controlled facilities that conform to the agencys archival storage standards for such records and artifacts, and for the modification of such spaces. The first transfer of $300,000 was already made on August 9, 2018. An additional interim transfer will be made within 180 days of that date. Subsequent payments are subject to the negotiation of terms of the digitization process and museum operations. It is now also being reported by the Daily Herald that the Obama Foundation has extended its lease of the warehouse through 2026. So for at least a year beyond his presidency, Barack Obama, through his foundation, held classified records, with the possibility that such material is still in storage. And, he may be doing so with the full knowledge of the National Archives. In addition to addressing the storage of Obama-era documents, the letter conveys that NARA agrees to loan Obama Presidential records and artifacts and other NARA holdings, including but not limited to textual records, physical artifacts, and audio-video materials such as archival footage, sound recordings, and high resolution digital assets, to the Obama Foundation on an ongoing basis at the Obama Presidential Center and to work with the Foundation in doing so. It seems that the National Archives has given the stamp of approval to the Obama Foundation holding onto documents and other flotsam and jetsam of the Obama years. This would include, it is concluded, possession over previously classified material. According to the National Archives, by law every former president must maintain a repository of his or her papers, for the sake of scholarly research. It is unreasonable to believe that any former president will not have access to documents from his or her administration, if that president has anything to do with the planning of the future library. It could be that some documents are planned for public display. Ronald Reagans presidential library has video of the fortieth president apologizing for Iran-Contra. The Richard Nixon Presidential Library may have beaten them all: it has the eighteen minutes of silence for ones listening pleasure. If Barack Obama held onto classified information following his presidency, and if the National Archives was in approval of this, then the benefit of the doubt must be extended to Donald Trump and his holding of documents during the year and a half after his own term of office ended. Mr. Trump has claimed that the documents in his possession were declassified. Even if that is so, the documents still belong to the National Archives. The question that arises is: What was the purpose of having the documents at Mar-a-Lago? It could be that they were indeed required for preparation of the future Donald Trump Presidential Library (an edifice the prospects of which must certainly make Hillary Clinton writhe with envy). But Mr. Trump was apparently still regarding the documents as sensitive material, given that by all accounts the files were being kept under strictest lock and key within Mar-a-Lago. During an inspection in June, agents of the Department of Justice raised some concern about the security of the stored documents at Mar-a-Lago. They did not, however, demand that he immediately return them to the National Archives. Trump assured the DOJ that there would be added measures taken to ensure the integrity of the files. The Federal Bureau of Investigation had agents accompanying the Department of Justice personnel who inspected the storage facilities at Mar-a-Lago three months ago. Several weeks before the August raid, they had not only given their approval of the documents presence, but offered sound advice about how to further protect them. And it seems that Mr. Trump obliged them in this. Mar-a-Lago is arguably the most secure home of a former United States president in the history of anything. This is no mere Monticello or Hermitage that Donald Trump retired to after his term. The Secret Service protection comes in addition to Mr. Trumps private security. Any documents that Trump had in his possession were arguably safer than any National Archive location. They were certainly safer than in Plunketts old abode. If it suffices that the storage of the Obama materials in an old furniture warehouse passed rigorous scrutiny with the National Archives, then we must also be prepared to accept that the documents in Trumps possession -- unclassified or not -- were just as cleared by the federal government. As it is, Mr. Trump has stated that he declassified the files. Which makes the Federal Bureau of Investigation raid, and the Department of Justice investigation, all the more ridiculous. Christopher Knight resides somewhere in the southeastern United States. Visit his blog at TheKnightShift.com and find him on Twitter @theknightshift. Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License What shall be done with the four million slaves if they are emancipated? [snip] Our answer is, do nothing with them; mind your business, and let them mind theirs. Your doing with them is their greatest misfortune. They have been undone by your doings, and all they now ask, and really have need of at your hands, is just to let them alone. They suffer by every interference, and succeed best by being let alone. Frederick Douglass (1862). Since the dawn of the Democrat party, Democrats have proven themselves incapable of leaving Blacks alone. During the years of open racism, they enslaved Blacks and then subjected them to Jim Crow. Since Jim Crow, theyve done something more pernicious: Theyve destroyed many Blacks identity as equal citizens in America. The result is feral behavior such as that most recently seen at the Wawa in Philadelphia. This is not about race; its about culture and how the Democrats have destroyed it. If you want a detailed timeline of the Democrat partys depredation against Blacks in Americanot just attacks on personal and economic liberty, but also on the cultural core of Black AmericansI highly recommend Bob Parks The Democrat Race Lie, which has a long list of Democrat and Republican policies regarding American Blacks. Whats remarkably clear about the Democrats is that they refuse to heed Frederick Douglasss impassioned plea to leave Blacks alone. When left even mostly alone, Blacks have done remarkably well. Outside the deep South, and despite chronic racism in the rest of America, Blacks made great strides after World War II. Indeed, in the lead-up to the 1950s Civil Rights Movement, Black marriage rates were roughly equal to White marriage rates. Also, from the 1920s through the 1950sand again, despite discrimination across AmericaBlacks saw very swift economic growth. What changed all this was the biggest Democrat initiative regarding Blacks since slavery itself: The Great Society plan and its attendant war on poverty. At that moment, with Democrats abandoning the do nothing policy Douglass desired and fiercely embracing a do everything policy, Black economic and social ascension in America collapsed. (You can see a well-sourced analysis here.) Image: The Wawa mob. YouTube screen grab. And yes, today, there is a strong upper-middle-class Black community that could not have existed in previous decades, of the type from which Michelle and Barack Obama sprang, but that ignores the greater collapse in the Black community. Outside of the small cadre of Obama-like people, we have a genuinely tragic societal collapse amongst the Black community: The numbers vary, but it appears that over 64% of Black children are raised without a father, a root cause of poverty. Children without fathers are also three times more likely to end up in jail. The hell of fatherlessness, poverty, and crime that the Democrats visited upon Blacks has been made worse in recent years thanks to Critical Race Theory. This holds that racism is built into the American system, relieving credulous Blacks of the obligation to strive to succeed or to avoid crime. The Black Lives Matter movement, by demonizing police and, again, forgiving all Black criminal behavior, worsened this mindset. Behind it all is an attack on the Biblical values that create a safe, prosperous community. The result is that young people who are perfectly capable of being good students, hard workers, and law-abiding citizens have been told that its practically a racial obligation to ignore education, refuse to work, and look upon the rule of law as a racist institution. The resulting anarchy shows up every day. If you are honest with yourself, you assume Blacks are involved whenever you read about a smash and grab at a store or that a fight broke out in a restaurant or airport. Again, this is not a racial failure; its a cultural failure that occurred because Democrats have used every societal institution available to them (so heres your real systemic racism) to deprive Blacks of a culture that leads to stability, safety, and economic success. The latest example is the mob raid on a Wawa in Philadelphia: Bob Parks, a Black conservative, is outraged by this trend because these young people, deliberately trained to believe they are above the law, destroy the reputations of all Black people. Check out the video he made, which is at the link above. Remember: It didnt have to be his way. In the 1960s, guilt-ridden Democrats couldnt leave Blacks alone, which was a shame. Now, though, in the 2020s, they knowingly destroy Blacks to reap political benefits, and thats pure evil. Over the weekend, the Canadian government said it is dropping all COVID-19 measures at borders from next month. This means, as of October 1, travelers wont need to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination when entering Canada or wear masks on planes and trains. They will also not have to undergo any testing before and after arrival. There will also be no mandatory isolation and quarantine. The ArriveCan app - used to upload health documents when entering Canada - will now become optional. In Canada, 82% of the population has taken both doses of the vaccine. Despite that, the BBC reports that around 32 Canadians are currently dying each day from the virus. Canada isnt the only country to lift the vaccine mandates, other countries, such as the United Kingdom, have also dropped COVID-19 entry requirements earlier this year. The COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Canada caused headlines back in February when a group of truckers held protests in opposition to the mandates, that prevented American truckers from entering Canada. The group that called themselves the Freedom Convoy, held protest against the vaccine mandates required unvaccinated Canadian truckers crossing the two nations' boundary to quarantine once they've returned home, from the U.S. The truckers staged blockades at key border crossings between the US and Canada, disrupting the flow of goods between the two countries. This caused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to flee from his home and relay a message from an undisclosed location like a deposed dictator, calling the protest an attack on democracy. The self-righteous often dont comprehend irony. Next Trudeau invoked the never before used Emergencies Act, which gave his government additional powers in times of national crisis. Trudeaus government prohibited public assembly, restricted travel, and the use of specific properties. Trudeau compelled private towing -truck services to aid the government in forcibly removing the trucks. There were restrictions on the media. Trudeaus police seized fuel from the trucks and even impounded some vehicles. The protestors have raised more than $9.6 million on their GoFundMe. However, GoFundMe withheld the money citing police reports of violence. When Trudeau's political opponents (including a Jewish woman) questioned him about his draconian methods, Trudeau tarred her as associated with swastika-wavers. In the end, Trudeau was able to force the truckers by force and clear the streets. So what do we make of the lifting of the vaccine mandates? In a democracy, freedom is an inherent right. It is essential to reiterate the word inherent because it means the right is not granted by governments, it belongs to the individual by birth. If the right wasnt given by the government, the right cannot be trespassed upon in any manner rights irrespective of the circumstance. The right can most certainly not be revoked away no matter what the situation is. Among freedoms is the right of choice. The choice to consume according to personal preferences. Deep-fried chicken and sugary pastries may be detrimental to health, but a government cannot mandate to interfering in people's personal eating habits. There can never ever be food mandates in any form. A government cannot mandates salads. A government cannot incentivize health food businesses, as well, because that would be discriminatory towards foods that are considered unhealthy. Adults must be allowed to decide for themselves if they want to eat themselves to eventual death, that is a right that must be allowed. But mandates to save life? That is the price of freedom, we cannot tamper with freedom and liberty because the worst among us will misuse it. This applies to vaccines as well. The vaccine isnt a disposable product that can be thrown away if it fails; it is material being injected into your body; and the changes are likely to be permanent. An individual must always be allowed to decide what they allow in his or her body. What added to the skepticism about the vaccine is the fanatical proponents of the vaccine kept shifting the goalpost as the vaccines behaved unpredictably. First, they claimed that the fully vaccinated were completely protected from COVID-19 infections. When the vaccinated were infected, they claimed that vaccinated individuals wont suffer during their infection. When the vaccinated individuals began to suffer during their infection, they claimed the vaccinated will certainly survive their infection. When some vaccinated individuals died, they claim that deaths were rare or due to pre-existing conditions. They also keep redefining the term 'fully vaccinated' by adding boosters. Some who have taken the vaccine have suffered serious side effects. The fanatical proponents of the COVID-19 vaccine never engaged with skeptics to convince them about the merits of the vaccine. Like most leftists, they prefer mandates instead of debates. But it wasnt just the right of choice that was trampled upon by the government, it was also the right of free expression. Any reasonable skepticism about the vaccine that was developed and tested for a relatively short period of time, was ridiculed. Big tech censored opinions and de-platformed individuals that questioned the effectiveness of the vaccine on social media. The lifting of vaccine mandates leaves some open questions. What about those who lost valuable jobs because they refused to take the vaccine? What about those who reluctantly took the vaccine merely to continue their employment? Their freedom of choice was irrevocably trampled upon. What about those whose health suffered due to the vaccine? Who will compensate for their losses? The lifting of mandates comes in the wake of Trudeau facing challenges to his leadership and public disproval of his performance. A group of Members of Parliament and U.S.-Canada border city mayors last week sent a letter addressed to Trudeau and President Biden asking them to remove "unnecessary" border restrictions that are hampering post-pandemic economic recovery. Trudeau lifted the vaccine mandates not because he is concerned for the well-being of his individuals. It is because he is concerned about his re-election prospects. This is not a victory for the protestors, it is a politician changing his colors like a chameleon after seeing the writings on the wall. Image: European Parliament, via Flickr // CC BY 2.0 In his book Unsettled, Dr. Steve Koonin uses publicly available data to refute all of the claims of the proponents of the global warming hypothesis as relates to increasing extreme weather events and rising sea levels. In my book Global Warming: The Great Deception, I refute all of the pseudoscience employed by the proponents of the fraudulent global warming hypothesis, using proven first principles of science in the disciplines of thermodynamics, spectroscopy, atmospheric physics, and quantum mechanics. Peer-reviewed, published scientific research demonstrates that the world's temperature databases for the lower atmosphere, land mass, and oceans depict virtually no increase in the average temperature of the Earth over the period that satellites and submersible floats have measured temperature. Since 1979, NOAA satellites using microwave sounding technology have measured an increase in the average temperature anomaly of the lower troposphere (first 8 km of the Earth's atmosphere) of only 0.13 C/decade, or 0.013 C /yr. Since 2000, when NOAA inaugurated the Argo Float Program, the temperature of the world's oceans has reportedly increased by 0.02 C/decade, or 0.002 C/yr. NOAA reports that the temperature of the Earth's land mass has increased by 2 F during the period 18802020, an increase of 0.014 F/yr., during a time when thermometers were graduated in 1, 3, and 5 F. Arguably, all of these measurements are within the measurement margin of error. Unbiased scientific analysis demonstrates that CO2 has virtually no effect on the Earth's climate; it is all about water vapor. The concept of an average temperature of the Earth is an abstraction a figment of the climate scientist's imagination, conjured up in an effort to prove a fraudulent hypothesis. The Earth is never in thermal equilibrium; the temperature of the Earth is different at every point in time and space. The average temperature of the Earth has no meaning in scientific analysis; it cannot be measured, and an effort to calculate it is nonsensical. To set a goal for man to limit the increase in the "average temperature" of the Earth to 1.5 C over any period of time is folly. Temperature is a proxy for the average kinetic energy of the molecules in a system. Man has no more control over the climate of the Earth than the forces of gravity. If all of this is true (and it is), then why are the U.S. and Western Europe permitting the pseudoscience of global warming to threaten to wreck the world's economies? The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fired the first salvo in the war on the carbon atom in its seminal report in 1990. It declared that if the world continued to emit CO2 at the then current rate, "this will result in a likely increase in global mean temperature of about 1 C (3.8 F) by 2025." The publicly available temperature data above prove that prediction to be false. After taking office, President Biden joined the war on the carbon atom by opening a front against the U.S. energy sector. He canceled the Keystone XL pipeline project permit and froze the leasing of prospective oil-producing properties in ANWR. Then, in a further nod to the left wing of the Democrat party, on December 8, 2021, he signed an executive order that set a goal of "100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity (CFE) by 2030, at least half of which will be locally supplied clean energy to meet 24/7 demand." In 2021, 60% of the electricity produced in the U.S. came from fossil fuelpowered plants, 20% from nuclear plants, and 20% from renewable energy sources. Wind and solar energy production in 2021 accounted for 13% of the total electrical energy output. While it may be possible to increase the capacity of wind and solar electrical production in the next 510 years, the big problem remains the unreliability of wind and solar energy sources. They are vulnerable to changes in weather (clouds obstruct sunshine, and the wind does not blow) as well as extreme weather events, as the recent experience in Texas demonstrates. Permitting nuclear power plants remains a challenge. On Feb. 9, 2012, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted to permit the first nuclear power plant to be built in the U.S. in over 30 years, over the objections of its chairman, who voiced safety concerns. It is not possible to replace the 60% of electric power production in the U.S. by 2030 with alternative energy sources. Such a mandate would require a rapid increase in wind and solar plant construction and operation, and fossil fuel generation would still be required to serve as a back-up when renewable energy sources fail. Those fossil fuel plants that remained in operation would be required to purchase carbon credits to offset emissions to achieve 100% carbon-free operations. But CO2 emissions will not be reduced by buying carbon credits. The only benefactor of such a policy is those firms that trade carbon credits. The consumer will pay the price for higher, more unreliable energy costs. It is the height of naivete to think our economic competitors in the world like China and India will wreck their economies based on a fraudulent global warming hypothesis. Guy K. Mitchell, Jr. is the author of a new book titled Global Warming: The Great Deception The Triumph of Dollars and Politics over Science and Why You Should Care. https://globalwarmingdeception.com Image via Pxhere. They say some strange things over at MSNBC. In fact, I'm convinced that people compete over there to see who can be more crazy or bizarre. However, I'm not sure that you can top this one. Here is the story: MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle and her guests on The 11th Hour were in fits of laughter as they mocked Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham with the implication that he is gay during an off-the-rails segment about abortion policy in the United States. On Fridays show, Ruhles panel guests included CBS Sunday Mornings Nancy Giles, CNBCs Ron Insana, MSNBC columnist Liz Plank, and comic and podcaster Judy Gold. And, the fact that he is telling women what to do with their bodies, Gold began. She paused a second before Giles nodded and said, Go for it. Hes never seen a vagina! Hes never seen a naked woman! Gold blurted, as the whole panel laughed it up, including Stephanie Ruhle. And he is telling me? The implication that Gold was using to crack up the panel is one thats made pretty often on the Democrat side, which is to suggest Graham is gay, apparently as an insult. Amid the crosstalk and tittering, Ruhle added her own wink and nudge, saying, We dont know that for sure. We do not know that for sure. MSNBCs Liz Plank said Its probably true, its probably true. Judy we would refer to that as an unconfirmed report, said CNBCs Insana getting in on it. Someone needs to find out! said Plank. Im going to speculate Gold said. According to Judy Gold, interjected CBSs Giles. The FBI has been under an unfavorable spotlight over its politicized activity under color of law enforcement -- from colluding with Facebook to draconian raids on political operatives in the party out of power, to excessive force on disfavored activists. But a case out in Los Angeles suggests there's more than just a political ethics problem -- there seems to be a straight ethics problem, a downright crime problem, and the shocking thing is that nobody seems afraid of going to jail for it. According to the Los Angeles Times: The privacy invasion was vast when FBI agents drilled and pried their way into 1,400 safe-deposit boxes at the U.S. Private Vaults store in Beverly Hills. They rummaged through personal belongings of a jazz saxophone player, an interior designer, a retired doctor, a flooring contractor, two Century City lawyers and hundreds of others. Agents took photos and videos of pay stubs, password lists, credit cards, a prenuptial agreement, immigration and vaccination records, bank statements, heirlooms and a will, court records show. In one box, agents found cremated human remains. Eighteen months later, newly unsealed court documents show that the FBI and U.S. attorneys office in Los Angeles got their warrant for that raid by misleading the judge who approved it. They omitted from their warrant request a central part of the FBI's plan: Permanent confiscation of everything inside every box containing at least $5,000 in cash or goods, a senior FBI agent recently testified. The FBIs justification for the dragnet forfeiture was its presumption that hundreds of unknown box holders were all storing assets somehow tied to unknown crimes, court records show. What? The Times reports that they managed to take a $86 million haul from that raid, and there was no evidence most of the people who rented those boxes had committed any crime at all. There was just flimsy suspicion about out-of-state license plates arriving at the locale with no bothering to investigate let alone produce proof to support the hypothesis. Apparently, they did catch some bad guys based on actual investigation, but someone at the bureau got bigger ambitions than merely busting the bad guys -- they wanted the whole establishment and all the contents of every safe deposit box. After a two-year investigation that opened in 2019, leaders of the FBIs Los Angeles office believed U.S. Private Vaults was a magnet for criminals hiding illicit proceeds in their boxes. The business was charged with conspiracy to sell drugs and launder money. The FBI and U.S. attorneys office denied that they misled the judge or ignored his conditions, saying they had no obligation to tell him of the plan for indiscriminate confiscations on the blanket assumption that every customer was hiding crime-tainted assets. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the warrants were lawfully executed based on allegations of widespread criminal wrongdoing. Well, it turns out it wasn't "widespread" and now the safe deposit box holders are suing the agency in a class action lawsuit, given that the bureau actually intended to keep all the contents of everyone's safe deposit box whether they had committed a crime or not. [FBI agent Lynne] Zellhart was tasked with spelling out the government's case in an affidavit that took her more than six months to write. Prosecutors submitted it to Kim in a request for six warrants. Five of them were for straightforward searches of the store and the homes of its owners and managers to gather evidence for prosecution of the company. But the sixth to seize the stores business equipment for forfeiture was highly unusual. The government wanted to take not just computers, money counters, video cameras and iris scanners, but also the "nests of safety deposit boxes and keys." The only way the FBI could seize the racks of boxes would be to take possession of the contents too. Any judge reviewing the warrant request would recognize a threat to the rights of what turned out to be about 700 customers who had locked away some of their most private and valuable belongings. Box holders would liken the raid to police barging into a building's 700 apartments and taking every tenant's possessions when they have evidence of wrongdoing by nobody but the landlord. Wow. Imagine if you were one of those safe deposit box holders facing the taking of your papers, cash or valuables, without having done a thing unlawful -- and knew that it was done by misleading the judge, who would have been unlikely to approve the warrant on knowledge that the whole establishment was going to be seized, including everyone's valuables, with no evidence of any crime committed. Since I used to live a few blocks down the street from that establishment that got raided, I thought it was a strange case when it first was announced. I knew where the place was and passed it by every day on the way to Starbucks, the one where I'd seen Cameron Diaz and Anne Hathaway get their java or breakfast and I could discreetly check out their cars in the parking lot. At the time the raid happened, I could only think: How little we know about the nefarious activities of our neighborhood! Of course, that wasn't the story based on the information now coming out. The little neighborhood safe-deposit vault in a strip mall on the less-expensive flatlands side of Beverly Hills, near the houses with circle driveways instead of high walls and guards, apparently wasn't a nesting haven for criminals, as the FBI told the judge, but ... just a neighborhood place where the wealthier-than-most residents stored their stuff for safety. The only thing vivid here was that they wanted all of it. They were going to take and keep $86 million worth of people's stuff and what they were going to do with it was anyone's guess. What on earth did they want with people's stuff, and why didn't they keep their warrant request narrowly targeted to the investigation they had done? It sounds like the sort of heist a smash-and-grab gang might do, except that these are smarter people acting under the color of law, and effectively corrupting it. The obvious thing here is that if these guys misled the judge, they've got to go to jail for it. They've got to be afraid of misleading a judge and if anything, overcompensate to the judge about their intentions in order to cover their keisters. There's no such fear of that in this falling-apart case, and that's problematic, probably of a piece with the politicization of the bureau elsewhere. It's like there is some kind of institutional corruption shot through in that agency now that they are grabbing innocent people's stuff. It suggests a bureau that's under tremendous pressure to "produce" for the bosses regardless of the facts establishments, or else a bureau that uses for that $86 million that it doesn't want to talk about openly, which is downright gangsterly. Whatever it is, there needs to be some kind of righting of course as this lawsuit proceeds. Someone's got to pay for these thug ethics and reform the agency that has clearly gotten out of control on multiple fronts. Image: Google maps // Google license, fair use On Friday, as half of America now knows, two-dozen FBI agents stormed the home of pro-life activist Mark Houck and arrested him in front of his horrified wife and seven children. The charge against him was shoving a man in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion mill nearly a year ago. In the indictment handed down by the grand jury, the man allegedly assaulted is known simply as B.L. Although I know his name, and others have reported it, I will leave it at B.L. for now lest two-dozen FBI agents show up at my door. As it turns out, B.L. filed a complaint against Houck in Philadelphia Municipal Court soon after the October 13, 2021, incident. That charge was recently dismissed because B.L. did not show up for the hearings. Houck did. At the time of the shoving incident, B.L. was 70, not 72 as his defenders claim. To put that age in perspective, the actor most closely associated with Philadelphia, Sylvester Stallone, is 76 and still making action movies. CORRECTION: A reference made to another case has been deleted because it involvced a person of the same name, but not the pwrson involved in this case. In truth, the media will no more want to talk about this case than they did the last case in Philadelphia case that put abortion in the spotlight. Kermit Gosnell? Remember him? To learn more, see www.cashill.com Image: Public Domain Pictures UPDATE: An earlier edition of this post referred to B.L.'s involvement in a class action lawsuit regarding an antipsychotic drug. That was a different B.L., so we have deleted the reference. Americans once believed that the FBI was an incorruptible agency, untainted by local or, indeed any politics. From 1965-1975, The F.B.I. showed TV viewers a successful, honest FBI. Not only was the FBI never that good, todays news stories signal that its completely awful. Heres more information about the Philadelphia raid, along with other negative FBI news: 1. Jack Cashill wrote about the FBIs over-the-top arrest of Mark Houck, a pro-life activist, who pushed an abortion activist last year because the man was aggressive around Houcks 12-year-old son. The man filed a now-dismissed civil suit, but that wasnt enough for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. It sent around two dozen heavily armed FBI agents to arrest Houck in front of his seven panicked children. When contemplating the FBIs extremism, weve now learned that the alleged victim filed a civil claim only after the Philadelphia police and the District Attorney refused to charge Houck. The court dismissed that complaint because he repeatedly failed to show up in court. But theres more. After Houck received a letter telling him the U.S. Attorney was investigating him, the office refused to return his calls: Through his attorney at the time, Houck tried to contact the U.S. Attorneys Office to discuss the case but never received a response, Middleton said. The next time they heard anything was Friday morning [when the FBI conducted the raid], he said. Image: FBI flag (public domain), edited by Andrea Widburg. 2. Would you be surprised to learn that the FBI is abusing the Constitution to persecute January 6ers (and, I would add, to persecute people like Houck)? Thats just one of the charges whistleblower and Special Agent Stephen M. Friend has leveled at his employer: Friend said one of his many concerns is that the FBI is using SWAT teams to arrest Jan. 6 defendants facing misdemeanor charges, violating the bureaus Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide and creating a potentially unsafe encounter. [snip] There are active criminal investigations of J6 subjects in which I am listed as the Case Agent, but have not done any investigative work, Friend wrote in the complaint. Additionally, my supervisor has not approved any paperwork within the file. J6 Task Force members are serving as Affiants on search and arrest warrant affidavits for subjects whom I have never investigated or even interviewed but am listed as a Case Agent. As more icing on the corrupt case, it appears that Facebook is working with the FBI to suppress any posts and private messages regarding Friends allegations. 3. The FBI is alleged to have misled a judge to authorize the wrongful seizure of $86 million in cash and valuables from 1,400 safe-deposit boxes in a bank vault in Beverly Hillsand is now refusing to return the money: The privacy invasion was vast when FBI agents drilled and pried their way into 1,400 safe-deposit boxes at the U.S. Private Vaults store in Beverly Hills. They rummaged through personal belongings of a jazz saxophone player, an interior designer, a retired doctor, a flooring contractor, two Century City lawyers and hundreds of others. Agents took photos and videos of pay stubs, password lists, credit cards, a prenuptial agreement, immigration and vaccination records, bank statements, heirlooms and a will, court records show. In one box, agents found cremated human remains. Eighteen months later, newly unsealed court documents show that the FBI and U.S. attorneys office in Los Angeles got their warrant for that raid by misleading the judge who approved it. It turns out that the FBI agents didnt tell the judge that they intended to seize everything from any box with $5,000 or more in cash or goods. The lawsuit is necessary because the FBI now refuses to return the wrongfully seized items. If this reminds you of the lies told to spy on Carter Page, giving it access to Trumps own communications, it should. The agency has gone totally rogue. Most people are familiar with the phrase power corrupts. Thats an abridged version. What Lord Acton actually wrote to Bishop Mandell in 1887 was Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In our high-tech, highly-partisan era, it really looks as if the FBI has acquired absolute power and it is absolutely corrupt. When Republicans regain Congress and the White House, they must investigate and, if necessary, act to curb its excesses. Int'l forum held to mark 110th birth anniversary of Chinese American physicist Chien-Shiung Wu Xinhua) 08:37, September 27, 2022 WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- An international forum was held in Montgomery County, the U.S. state of Maryland, the past weekend to commemorate the 110th birth anniversary of renowned physicist Chien-Shiung Wu. This forum was co-sponsored by the Chinese Physical Society and the American Physical Society and organized by the Nanjing University Alumni Association United States. Current and former Chinese and American government officials, as well as members of the scientific and academic communities, delivered remarks online or in-person or sent congratulatory messages to honor Wu's academic life and her achievements. Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang said in his video speech that Wu's academic career shows that exchanges and cooperation are the inherent demands of scientific exploration, adding that "to address current global challenges we need to seek solutions from science," which "calls for higher-level and higher-quality international exchanges and cooperation in science and technology." Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang said in written remarks that Wu's whole life proves that scientific exchange knows no borders and that the only way to progress is to cooperate and promote exchanges. Wu's spirit, according to Qin, inspires the young generation in both China and the United States, especially women scientists, to strive for excellence in the pursuit of science. Zhang Jie, president of Chinese Physical Society, and Young-Kee Kim, professor of physics at the University of Chicago and currently vice president of the American Physical Society, delivered opening remarks on behalf of the organizers. Wan Gang, chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, and Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, among others, sent congratulatory letters to the event. Wu was born in 1912 and raised in a small town just north of Shanghai, China. In 1934, she graduated with a degree in physics from what's now Nanjing University in east China's Jiangsu province, before enrolling at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States, where she received her doctorate in physics. Wu's experiments proved that identical nuclear particles do not always act the same way during beta decay -- a finding that contradicted the law of conservation of parity. For her great achievements in the field of physics, Wu received the National Medal of Science of the United States, became the first female president of the American Physical Society, and was elected a member of the American Academy of Sciences and a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. She died of a stroke in New York City in 1997. Her ashes were buried in her hometown in China. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji) (ANSA) - ROME, SEP 27 - Italy gains when it works with and not against the EU, European Commissioner for Promoting the European Way of Life Margaritis Schinas told Spanish radio in an interview on Rome's new far-right-led government on Tuesday. "All governments, including the Italian one, wil have much more to gain in working with Europe and not against Europe," Schinas told RNE in answering a question about the Brothers of Italy (FdI) led coalition set to give Italy its first female premier in Giorgia Meloni. FdI snd its fellow far-right ally the League have both expressed euroskeptic views in the past and Meloni recently said the "fun's over" for the EU with a new rightist Italian government also including the pro-Europe Forza Italia (FI) of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi. "No (Italian) electoral result can break European unity," said Schinas, who is also a European Commission Vice President. On Meloni's 'fun's over' remark in the electoral campaign, he replied: "We'll have to see if she does what she said in reality or not". Meloni is friends with Hungary's Viktor Orban and allies in the European Conservatives and Reformists party with Poland's Law and Justice party, both of whom have crossed swords with the EU over rule of law and human rights issues. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, SEP 27 - Saman Abbas, an 18-year-old Pakistani-Italian woman who is missing and believed to have been killed at the end of April last year by her family for refusing an arranged marriage with her cousin in Pakistan, sent her Italian boyfriend the names and phone numbers of those she thought might harm her, including all the relatives now indicted for her murder, on February 4, 2021, three months before she disappeared from her home at Novellara near Reggio Emilia, prosecutors said Tuesday. Among those cited by the young woman are the five relatives sent to trial for her murder: parents Shabbar Abbas and Nazia Shaheen (hiding out in Pakistan); and uncle Danish Hasnain and cousins Ikram Ijaz and Nomanhulaq Nomanhulaq, arrested over the last few months after fleeing to France and Spain. They are set to go on trial in Bologna on February 10. As well as them, Saman also indicated her younger brother, who has since testified against her uncle, another cousin and another uncle, all three of whom are not being probed. Saman's father has been caught on an intercept saying he killed his daughter, prosecutors said last week. Abbas Sr was heard saying in a phone conversation with a relative in Italy on June 8 2021: "I killed my daughter". He allegedly said in the phone tap: "For me the dignity of others is not more important than mine...I left a son in Italy (a younger son now in a shelter who has accused his uncle in the case). I killed my daughter and I left, I don't care about anyone else at all". One of the factors that sparked the family's ire against Saman was a photo of a kiss between her and her Italian boyfriend posted on social media between the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, Reggio Emilia prosecutors said Friday. The young couple snapped each other kissing in a Bologna street. It was during a period when the young woman was living in a protected community having fled her family, before she was lured back with the false promise that she could live as she wanted. A cousin, who has been questioned by Reggio Emilia Carabinieri, reported that he had received the image of the kiss and that Saman's father Shabbar and her mother Nazia "complained about the situation in continuation", judicial sources said. All the relatives probed in Saman's disappearance were indicted for her suspected 'honour killing' on May 17 this year, legal sources said. Saman's younger brother has told prosecutors her uncle strangled her and the others helped him dispose of her body, which has yet to be found despite intensive searches. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, SEP 27 - The Italian government is fully behind the Sos Enattos site in Sardinia's bid to host the future gravitational wave Einstein Telescope, Premier Mario Draghi wrote to the president of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Antonio Zoccoli, on Tuesday. Italy and the Netherlands have so far put in bids to host the telescope. The Einstein Telescope (ET) or Einstein Observatory, is a proposed third-generation ground-based gravitational wave detector, currently under study by some institutions in the European Union. It will be able to test Einstein's general theory of relativity in strong field conditions and realize precision gravitational wave astronomy. The ET is a design study project supported by the European Commission under the Framework Programme 7 (FP7). (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, SEP 27 - Ex-premier and Forza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi has said there is no chance of the incoming right-coaltion government lurching towards populism. The next government looks set to be led by Giorgio Meloni as her right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party was the driving force of the coalition's victory, picking up 26% of the vote on its own. "If I thought there were a risk of a populist turn, the government would not even take off," Berlusconi, whose FI got a better-than-expected 8% of the vote, said in an interview in Tuesday's Corriere della Sera. "Actually, (if there were) we would not even be allied with the other two parties in our coalition," he added, referring to FdI and Matteo Salvini's right-wing League. (ANSA). The 'Amber Road' from Rome to Baltics on display in Vilnius Artifacts from Italy, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, and Poland (ANSA) - BELGRADE, SEP 27 - The National Museum of Lithuania's largest international exhibition this year, '1 000 000 Steps: The Amber Road from Rome to the Baltic,' opens to the public on October 26 at the House of Histories in Vilnius and will run through May 8, 2023, according to the museum's official website. Amber crafts and other historical artifacts from Italy, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, and Poland have arrived at the National Museum of Lithuania for the exhibition. According to the Museum, "these exceptional exhibits tell the story of the Aesti and Roman societies and their mutually beneficial relationships." (ANSA). Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved CAIRO - Yusulf Al-Qaradawi, the controversial president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, died yesterday "after a long fight against an illness". The Egyptian website 'Egypt Independent' published the news today, citing the Imam's twitter account, one of the spiritual leaders for the Muslim Brotherhood who had been banned in Egypt. In 2015, a Court in Cairo sentenced 99 defendants to death, including Qaradawi. They were accused of breaking into prisons during the Egyptian revolution in January 2011 which ended Hosni Mubarak's rule. Qaradawi, 96, died in Qatar, as noted by the news website Middle East Monitor. Qaradawi was born when Egypt was still under British rule and had studied religious sciences combining his Islamic studies with anti-colonial activism. He was arrested repeatedly in the 1950s due to his role in the Muslim Brotherhood. ISTANBUL - "We will not hesitate to use all possible and available means to defend the rights and interests of our country against Greece, when necessary". These are the words of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as reported by the Turkish daily Sabah. Erdogan accuses Athens of military provocations after the Turkish press published articles affirming that over the recent days military equipment- donated by the US- was placed in Lesbos and Samos isles. These Greek islands are only a few nautical miles off the Turkish coast. "We are well aware that the true intentions of those who provoked and driven Greek politicians against us are to impede our plan to build a strong and powerful Turkey", added the Turkish President. Over the summer, Ankara accused Athens, on multiple occasions, of 'acts of provocation' against Turkey. It also stated that Greece had pointed its radars against Turkish military flights taking part in NATO missions, thereby violating Turkish airspace many times. Turkey also affirms that Greece armed islands near the Turkish coast which, according to international treaties, should remain demilitarized. John Witherow has stepped down as editor of The Times after nine years and been appointed chairman of Times Newspapers, News UK has said. News Corp executive chairman Rupert Murdoch praised him as one of the great editors of his generation and said he was delighted he would stay with the business. Mr Witherow has stepped down with immediate effect, and the new editor of The Times will be announced on Wednesday. He joined News UK in 1980, and was appointed editor of The Sunday Times in 1994 and The Times in 2013. Mr Murdoch said: John is one of the great editors of his generation and he can look back on an outstanding career. Rupert Murdoch said John Witherow had broken stories that had resonance around the world (John Stillwell/PA Wire) His leadership of both The Sunday Times and latterly of The Times has taken each paper from strength to strength, breaking stories that have resonance around the world. His skill in crafting a quality newspaper that sets the agenda and is an enticing read is unparalleled. I am very proud of The Times and The Sunday Times and my sincere thanks go to John for his immense contribution to journalism over the past 42 years. I am delighted that he will stay with the business and take on the role of chairman. Mr Witherow said: Throughout my career as an editor, I have always been aware that I have had the heavy responsibility of preserving the reputation and success of these brands so they can continue to succeed for future generations. I believe that The Times is an authoritative, credible, responsible and trusted part of the nations cultural heritage and it has been my honour to be the editor. Our industry has been through immense change but The Times is thriving and I am proud every day of its agenda-setting journalism. I am grateful for the opportunities Rupert Murdoch has given to me, his support and his investment in journalism through the decades. Thanks to him, the future for The Times is bright. There is international pressure on Kwasi Kwarteng to change course after his mini-budget spooked the markets with its package of tax cuts and increased borrowing. In an extraordinary statement, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it was closely monitoring developments and urged the Chancellor to reevaluate the tax measures. It warned the current plans, including the abolition of the 45p rate of income tax for people on more than 150,000, are likely to increase inequality. The move came as the Bank of England signalled it was ready to ramp up interest rates to shore up the pound and guard against increased inflation. The Chancellor insisted he was confident his tax-cutting strategy will deliver the promised economic growth. After a day of turmoil in the markets on Monday which saw sterling slump to a record low against the dollar, the Chancellor sought to reassure City investors he has a credible plan to start reducing the UKs debt mountain. But the IMF said in a statement: We understand that the sizeable fiscal package announced aims at helping families and businesses deal with the energy shock and at boosting growth via tax cuts and supply measures. However, given elevated inflation pressures in many countries, including the UK, we do not recommend large and untargeted fiscal packages at this juncture, as it is important that fiscal policy does not work at cross purposes to monetary policy. Furthermore, the nature of the UK measures will likely increase inequality. It urged Mr Kwarteng to change course when he comes back to Parliament in November with another package, intended to show how he will get the public finances back on track. The November 23 budget will present an early opportunity for the UK Government to consider ways to provide support that is more targeted and reevaluate the tax measures, especially those that benefit high income earners, the IMF said. In response to the criticism a Treasury spokeswoman said: We have acted at speed to protect households and businesses through this winter and the next, following the unprecedented energy price rise caused by (Vladimir) Putins illegal actions in Ukraine. The Government was focused on growing the economy to raise living standards for everyone and the Chancellors statement on November 23 will set out further details on the governments fiscal rules, including ensuring that debt falls as a share of GDP (gross domestic product) in the medium term. The Bank of Englands chief economist Huw Pill warned they cannot be indifferent to the developments of the past days seen as a signal the cost of borrowing will have to go up to protect the pound and keep a lid on inflation. It is hard not to draw the conclusion that all this will require significant monetary policy response, Mr Pill said in a speech to the Barclays-CEPR International Monetary Policy Forum. We must be confident in the stability of the UKs economic framework. After two days of big changes, the pound settled down on Tuesday, trading at around 1.08 dollars for most of the day, deviating only briefly with a two cent drop. Londons top stock index, the FTSE 100, was also subdued for most of the day. But European markets dropped heavily just before close as the price of gas spiked. The FTSE closed the day down 0.5% on Tuesday afternoon and, worryingly for the Government, gilt yields, reflecting the cost of borrowing by the state, rose 1.6%, more than a quarter higher than just a week ago. But with some analysts predicting the base rate, currently standing at 2.25%, will have to rise to as high as 6% next year, some lenders began withdrawing mortgage products amid the uncertainty. The crisis was triggered by Mr Kwartengs mini-budget on Friday when he unveiled a massive 45 billion tax cut funded by Government borrowing. At a meeting on Tuesday with institutional investors, the Chancellor emphasised the importance of the supply side reforms ministers will be setting out in the coming weeks to boost growth, including his Big Bang 2.0 reforms to further liberalise financial market regulation. We are confident in our long-term strategy to drive economic growth through tax cuts and supply side reform, he told them, according to a Treasury readout of the meeting. His comments came amid reports that Liz Truss had initially resisted moves by the Treasury on Monday to announce the new medium-term fiscal plan in order to calm the markets. Government sources did not deny the Prime Minister and Chancellor had met to discuss the issue but insisted suggestions it had been an argumentative encounter and descended into a shouting match were wide of the mark. Despite a calmer day on Tuesday, many Conservative MPs remain deeply concerned about the political fallout from the tumultuous start to Ms Trusss premiership. It is understood that Mr Kwarteng held a call with Tory MPs alongside Chief Secretary to the Treasury Chris Philp, as the Chancellor sought to settle nerves among colleagues after the turbulence of recent days. With a YouGov poll for The Times showing Labour opening up a 17-point lead, some MPs who did not support her in the leadership contest have privately questioned whether she is up to the job. Mel Stride, the chairman of the Commons Treasury Committee, who backed Rishi Sunak for the leadership, said the partys reputation on the economy was in jeopardy. He said the country was in an extremely difficult situation with higher borrowing costs than Italy or Greece and that it was essential to rebuild confidence in the wake of the Chancellors unfunded tax promises. That really I think is the part that has spooked the markets, because those tax cuts have got to be paid for, he told BBC Radio 4s The World At One. Voters can be reassured that the cavalry is coming in the form of the Labour party, the shadow health secretary said, as his party was buoyed by promising polling amid financial turmoil under the Conservatives. Wes Streeting squarely blamed Chancellor Kwasi Kwartengs reckless and irresponsible choices for the weakening of the pound and lenders withdrawing some of their mortgages over the prospect of a further interest rate hike. The Labour frontbencher argued that voters are realising risk isnt change with Labour, its continuity with the Conservatives. Senior figures at the Labour conference in Liverpool were cautiously optimistic after a YouGov survey suggested the party has opened up a 17-point lead over the Conservatives. In his leaders speech on Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer will quote his election-winning predecessor Sir Tony Blair by dubbing Labour the political wing of the British people. He will outline an ambition to turn the UK into a growth superpower as he argues Labour is the party of sound money. Mr Streeting accused Prime Minister Liz Truss and her Chancellor of offering a reckless gamble rather than serious leadership. The cavalry is coming with Labour, he told Sky News. Weve got serious people, with a serious plan that would make an enormous difference to families right across the country and to businesses, who are the backbone of our economy and will be the bedrock of economic growth. YouGov polling for the Times conducted over the weekend put Labour on 45% with the Tories on 28% the greatest lead since the firm began polling in 2001. Mr Streeting welcomed the result as showing there is now a serious chance of victory but insisted Labour will not be taking voters for granted. Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair (Victoria Jones/PA) He said Sir Keir needs to turn the anger and frankly disgust with the Conservatives into a positive appetite for Labour. Were not relying on the Conservatives to fail to be in Government. Weve got a positive, serious alternative to offer the country, he told Sky News. Mr Streeting backed ditching plans to ban buy one, get one free deals on junk food during the cost-of-living crisis. The shadow health secretary told BBC Breakfast: There are good public health arguments for banning such offers. Im not tin-eared enough to say that a Labour government would do that in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. I dont think that would be the right thing to do right now. Sir Keirs direct quoting of Sir Tony, the last Labour leader to win a general election, also seeks to put further distance between himself and his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn. Sir Tony referred to New Labour as the political wing of the British people ahead of his landslide 1997 election victory, in a departure from the party being described as the political wing of the union movement. A Labour spokesman said echoing Sir Tony is an intentional move to show that Labour is back in the centre ground and in the mainstream of public opinion. Ultimately he wants to be the next Labour leader who takes the party from opposition into government, the spokesman said. He accepted Sir Keir has overhauled the party to distance it from the one led to two general election defeats under Mr Corbyn, who is sitting as an independent MP as he fights suspension. Weve changed the party to make sure were in tune with the instincts and aspirations of the British people once again, the spokesman said. Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer leads tributes to Queen Elizabeth II as the national anthem is sung during the Labour Party conference in Liverpool (Stefan Rousseau/PA) One of the changes to the party he was noting was how he opened the partys conference with a tribute to the Queen in the form of singing the national anthem. Sir Keirs strategy to boost growth includes a green prosperity plan to create one million new jobs in towns and cities across the country. He is committing to begin this mission, to also include bringing down energy bills, raising living standards and tackling the climate crisis, within 100 days of forming a government. To achieve this, he will say, requires a different way of working, developing the biggest partnership between government, business and communities this country has ever seen. He is also expected to set out a plan to get 1.5 million more people onto the housing ladder. Labour will also raise stamp duty on foreign buyers and stop overseas investors purchasing entire blocks of flats before they are put on the market for local people, the Daily Mirror reported. The party leader will set a target for 70% of the population to own their own home in the first five years of a Labour administration, up from 65%, declaring: Labour is the party of home ownership in Britain today. Sir Keir is set to attack the Conservatives on the economy by saying: What weve seen from the Government in the past few days has no precedent. Theyve lost control of the British economy and for what? For tax cuts for the richest 1% in our society. The Labour spokesman argued the party would borrow less than the Tories, after Mr Kwarteng revealed the biggest package of tax cuts for 50 years. But the aide conceded that the party was accepting a higher level of borrowing than before the Chancellors package of tax cuts last Friday. Sir Keir is pledging to reverse the abolition of the top rate of tax for the nations wealthiest but ss supporting the reduction of the bottom rate to 19p in the pound. Party leader Sir Keir Starmer with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves (Stefan Rosseau/PA) Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said her fiscal rules set out that increased borrowing is permitted during national emergencies. Sir Keir will declare that Labour will get the UK out of this endless cycle of crisis with a fresh start, a new set of priorities and a new way of governing. We should never be left cowering in a brace position, worrying about how to get through a winter. Its time for Britain to stand tall again, he will add. MPs have called on the Government to overhaul outdated sentences for dangerous criminals after branding the regime irredeemably flawed. The Commons Justice Committee said all prisoners serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence should have their term reviewed and replaced after it found the system for managing such inmates was inadequate. IPP sentences were introduced in 2005 to prevent serious offenders who did not warrant a life sentence being released when they still posed a danger to the public. Despite being scrapped in 2012, nearly 3,000 criminals remain behind bars after being given such a sentence. In some cases, inmates have been jailed a decade beyond the tariff of their original sentence which could have been as low as two years or under, the committee said. Its report said: Our report has set out various steps the Government needs to take to help address the IPP problem. But it is clear to us that, while these measures are necessary, they will not be sufficient on their own to deal with the problems that have been identified in the way the IPP sentence continues to operate and is likely to operate in the coming years. The sentence is irredeemably flawed. Committee chairman Bob Neill said: IPP sentences were abolished a decade ago but little has been done to deal with the long-term consequences on those subject to them. They are currently being failed in a prison system that has left them behind, with inadequate support for the specific challenges caused by the very way they have been convicted and sentenced. Successive secretaries of state have accepted that change needs to happen but little has been done. The decision must be made once and for all to end the legacy of IPP sentences and come up with a solution that is proportionate to offenders while protecting the public. We appreciate that establishing a resentencing exercise will be administratively complex. That is why we have called for a time-limited small expert committee to advise on the practical implementation of the resentencing exercise in conjunction with the senior judiciary. There must also be adequate support systems put in place to ensure prisoners are prepared for their release and given the right support to reintegrate into the community. We do not underestimate the complexity of this undertaking, but after a decade of inertia the status quo cannot be allowed to continue. Under the system, criminals can be released only if they are no longer deemed a risk to the public and if their rehabilitation is successful. The psychological impact of an indefinite sentence leads to feelings of hopelessness and despair, resulting in higher levels of self-harm and suicide among prisoners serving IPPs, according to the findings. The committee also said the lack of support behind bars and on release has led to a recall merry-go-round with almost half of prisoners currently serving an IPP sentence having been freed and then sent back to jail. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: The number of IPP prisoners has fallen by two-thirds since 2012 and we are continuing to help those still in custody to progress towards release. While these sentences were handed down by judges who decided offenders posed a significant risk to the public, under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act we have committed to review licence conditions after 10 years. We will carefully consider the reports recommendations and respond in due course. A police force has apologised after the Home Secretary accused it of playing identity politics and denying biology around sexual offences committed by a transgender woman years before transitioning. Sussex Police had insisted it would not tolerate any hateful comments about gender identity regardless of crimes committed and advised a Twitter user who said she was exercising her gender critical views to familiarise herself with what is regarded as hate on its website. Some hours later the force said a comment made on its official Twitter account had been inconsistent with our usual style of engagement, and that it had since been deleted. The force said it recognised the rights of the public to express themselves freely within the boundaries of the law. Please see our statement below in relation to the recent sentencing of a historic sex offender. pic.twitter.com/7ZcwkT7yEt Sussex Police (@sussex_police) September 27, 2022 Responding to the initial tweet, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the force should focus on catching criminals not policing pronouns after Sally Ann Dixon, of Swanmore Avenue, Havant, Hants, was jailed for 20 years having been convicted of 30 indecent assaults. The force said the crimes, against five girls and two boys, took place between 1989 to 1996, when Dixon was known as John Stephen Dixon. The 58-year-old, sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on September 8, later transitioned to female in 2004, Sussex Police said. Sally Anne Dixon (Sussex Police/PA) Some people on Twitter objected to the force referring to Dixon in the headline of its press release as a Woman convicted of historic offences against children in Sussex. Responding to the remarks, Sussex Police initially tweeted that it does not tolerate any hateful comments towards their gender identity regardless of crimes committed. This is irrelevant to the crime that has been committed and investigated, it added. .@Sussex_police have done well to put a dangerous criminal behind bars. But theyve got it wrong by playing identity politics and denying biology. Focus on catching criminals not policing pronouns. #commonsensepolicing https://t.co/19U1Qf77F7 Suella Braverman MP (@SuellaBraverman) September 27, 2022 In response, Ms Braverman tweeted: @Sussex_police have done well to put a dangerous criminal behind bars. But theyve got it wrong by playing identity politics and denying biology. Focus on catching criminals not policing pronouns. Karen Ingala Smith, who founded Femicide Census, an organisation which provides information on women who have been killed by men in the UK, argued that the sex of the perpetrator certainly is not irrelevant in crimes of sexual violence against children, for example rates of perpetration differ hugely by sex. She added: Moreover, if crimes committed by males are recorded as crimes by females then policy based on crime data will be hopeless. Frances Crook, former chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, now co-convenor of the Commission on Political Power, said 15,000 men are in prison convicted of sex crimes, compared to around 100 women. She said allocating even a small number of male crimes to women would skew the figures. Sussex Police has since confirmed the offences by Dixon were recorded as having been committed by a man. Responding to one Twitter user who said she was exercising her gender critical views, Sussex Police said she could familiarise herself with what is regarded as hate on its website, adding: If you have gender critical views you wish to express this can be done on other platforms or your own page, not targeted at an individual. Pleased to see @sussex_police apologise & delete a wholly inappropriate tweet from earlier today. Its the job of the police to uphold the law not to police the #FreeSpeech of feminists or indeed anyone else for that matter. https://t.co/xp59r6Phps Joanna Cherry KC (@joannaccherry) September 27, 2022 The direction prompted SNP MP Joanna Cherry to tweet at the force: I think you could do with familiarising yourselves with the right to #FreeSpeech under #ECHR & the #HumanRightsAct & the protection for gender critical beliefs afforded under the Equality Act. You have no locus to compel womens speech. In a statement released on Tuesday evening, Sussex Police said: We reported factually on the findings of the court which heard that, at the time of the offences, Dixon was living as a man, John Stephen Dixon. The relevant offences were recorded as being committed by a male. An earlier reply to a comment on Twitter was inconsistent with our usual style of engagement; we apologise for this and have removed the comment. We recognise the rights of the public to express themselves freely within the boundaries of the law. Ms Braverman thanked the force for their swift apology & retraction. She added: The best police officers focus on solving crimes and supporting victims. Not political correctness. Ms Cherry also welcomed the apology, saying it was the job of the police to uphold the law not to police the #FreeSpeech of feminists or indeed anyone else for that matter. Dixon, who will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely, was also found not guilty of four indecent assaults. Detective Constable Amy Pooley of the Sussex Police complex abuse unit, said Dixon had come to know their victims through family connections and used that trusted access to systematically abuse each of them for sexual gratification, in some cases for several months at a time. A victim came forward to police in 2019 and the officer said the case shows we will always follow up such reports, no matter how long ago the events are said to have happened, to support victims and to see if we can achieve justice for them wherever the evidence justifies that. Coco Austin believes bath time doesnt require a bathtub no matter what anyone on social media has to say about that. The model, actor and wife of Law & Order: SVU star Ice-T recently posted a video of their 6-year-old daughter having a soak in the kitchen sink, and now she has a message for those who told her sink baths were strictly for babies. "Wow just Wow! Here we go again!" the Austin, 43, wrote in a tweet she shared Sept. 25. "Giving my lil girl a bath in the sink went Viral? SMH!" The comments that had her shaking her head included claims that little Chanel is too old for the sink and that Austin is treating her like an infant. But Austin isn't looking for anyone else's approval. "People, you gotta know by now that Im an unconventional mother," her tweet continued. "I do what works and is easier on me. Some may want to take some pointers rather than rag on me!" That response shouldn't come as a surprise to her fans and followers. After all, this isn't the first time Austin has faced criticism for her mom methods. In May, she and her rapper-actor husband faced social media outrage when Austin shared an Instagram post showing Chanel in stroller while mom and dad shopped something else the child was deemed too old for by critics. And in 2021, Austin faced similar backlash after saying that she still breastfed her daughter, who was 5 at the time. Chanel still likes my boob, she told Us Weekly at the time. A lot of people are like, Oh, youre not getting the nutrition after 2 years old. Why do it? And Im like, my childs eating steak and hamburgers. She just likes a little snack every now and then and more of the bonding between the mother. Why take that away from her? The self-proclaimed "unconventional" parented added, I dont want to deprive her of something she wants just because society says you need to stop after 2." This article was originally published on TODAY.com Catastrophic flooding is expected to pummel parts of Florida once Hurricane Ian arrives, Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Tuesday, as 2.5 million people were instructed to evacuate the state. U.S. officials are bracing for Ian as it struck western Cuba as a major hurricane early Tuesday morning, with forecasts predicting the storm to hit Floridas Gulf Coast on Wednesday. Theres still uncertainty with where that exact landfall will be, but just understand the impacts are going to be far, far broader than just where the eye of the storm happens to make landfall, DeSantis said at a news conference Tuesday. In some areas, there will be catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge, he said. If youre on Floridas Gulf Coast, from Naples all the way through the Tampa Bay area and some of the counties north of that, that could be something that happens, and will certainly happen in some parts of Floridas Gulf Coast. A dog is walked through floodwater as the tide rise, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, in Key West, Fla., as the first bands of rain associated with Hurricane Ian pass to the west of the island chain. A dog is walked through floodwater as the tide rise, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, in Key West, Fla., as the first bands of rain associated with Hurricane Ian pass to the west of the island chain. (rob oneal 305 942~1299/) Ian was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour on Tuesday, DeSantis said, with the latest models projecting it to make landfall south of Tampa. DeSantis warned that Floridians should brace for power outages and encouraged them to stay clear of the storm. Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Bonita Beach are among the areas in Florida that received mandatory evacuation orders from officials. When you have five to 10 feet of storm surge, that is not something you want to be a part of, DeSantis said. And Mother Nature is a very fearsome adversary. More than a million Cubans experienced power outages Tuesday. Meteorologists expect Ian to intensity even further as it travels over the Gulf of Mexico. It could be a Category 4 hurricane by the time it reaches Florida on Wednesday. Hurricane Ian expected to be strongest storm in a lifetime for Tampa area, meteorologist says People line up to get sand bags in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Ian in Tampa, Florida on September 27, 2022. People line up to get sand bags in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Ian in Tampa, Florida on September 27, 2022. (RICARDO ARDUENGO/) Tampa last experienced a major hurricane in 1921. Weve been brushed by storms and hurricanes over the last 10, 15, 20 years, but nothing [has been] this close and this strong of a storm, meteorologist Rick Davis of the National Weather Services Tampa office told the Daily News on Monday. For most people in the Tampa Bay region, this will be the strongest storm that theyve seen in their lifetime. With News Wire Services The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol announced Tuesday afternoon that it had delayed its planned hearing on Wednesday as a potentially life-threatening storm hurtled toward the Florida coast. The panel was expected to hold its final public investigative hearing Wednesday, but members decided at the last minute to delay it as it became clear that Hurricane Ian was churning on a collision course toward Florida, where it was expected to strengthen into a catastrophic Category 4 storm. No new date was immediately set. FILE - The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 21, 2022. FILE - The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 21, 2022. (J. Scott Applewhite/) Were praying for the safety of all those in the storms path, committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said in a statement. The Select Committees investigation goes forward, and we will soon announce a date for the postponed proceedings. The committee had not yet provided a specific agenda for the hearing, but Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said over the weekend it would tell the story about a key element of Donald Trumps plot to overturn the election. This weeks hearing was intended to close the series of public hearings the nine-member panel embarked on in early June. Throughout eight hearings, the committee composed of seven Democrats and two Republicans sought to show the American public in great detail how former President Trump ignored many of his closest advisers and amplified his false claims of election fraud after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden. Some of the more than 1,000 witnesses interviewed by the panel a number of them Trumps closest allies recounted in videotaped testimony how the former president declined to act when hundreds of his supporters violently attacked the Capitol as Congress certified Bidens victory on Jan. 6, 2021. But the committee has said its work isnt done. This GOES-East GeCcolor satellite image taken at 9:56 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, and provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Hurricane Ian passing over western Cuba. This GOES-East GeCcolor satellite image taken at 9:56 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, and provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Hurricane Ian passing over western Cuba. During the August recess, congressional investigators continued to interview witnesses, including several of Trumps cabinet members, some of whom had discussed invoking the constitutional process in the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office after the insurrection. Cheney had previously said the committee has far more evidence to share with the American people and more to gather. There are also many questions surrounding the effort to overturn the election that remain unanswered as the committee goes into its final three months of work. The committee wants to get to the bottom of missing Secret Service texts from Jan. 5-6, 2021, which could shed further light on Trumps actions during the insurrection, particularly after earlier testimony about his confrontation with security as he tried to join supporters at the Capitol. Thompson said earlier this month that the committee has recently obtained thousands of documents from the Secret Service. The panel has also secured an interview with conservative activist Virginia Ginni Thomas, whos married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Lawmakers want to know more about her role in trying to help Trump overturn the election. She contacted lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin as part of that effort. The committee is expected to turn over a comprehensive report by the end of the year that will include legislative reforms to help prevent a future attempt to subvert democracy. With News Wire Services The King and his Queen Consort are to hold their first joint public engagements since royal mourning ended by visiting Dunfermline to mark the former town becoming a city. Charles and Camilla will attend an official council meeting at the City Chambers next Monday and visit Dunfermline Abbey in celebration of the metropolis new status. During the day the King and his wife will also host a reception at Edinburghs Palace of Holyroodhouse to celebrate British South Asian communities. Eight places were made cities, as part of celebrations marking the 70-year reign of the late monarch, after successfully bidding for the honour under the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Competition. The settlements were asked to highlight their royal associations, as well as showcase their communities and local identity. Royal Mourning ended on Tuesday and has seen the Prince and Princess of Wales visiting Wales for the first time since taking up their titles. The late Queen during a visit to Dunfermline which she granted city status in the last months of her reign (Andrew Parsons/PA) During his visit to Dunfermline the King will formally mark the conferral of City status and make a short speech in the chamber room. After the ceremony Charles and Camilla will take a short walk to Dunfermline Abbey, to mark its 950th anniversary and be introduced to representatives from Historic Scotland to learn about the heritage of the local area and conservation of the site. King Charles III and the Queen Consort with Edinburgh Lord Provost Robert Aldridge inspect the guard of honour at the Ceremony of the Keys at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh (Callum Moffat/Daily Record/PA) At Holyroodhouse the King and Queen Consort will host a reception in the great gallery where they will meet between 200-300 guests of British Indian, Pakistani, Bangladesh, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, Bhutanese and Maldivian heritage from across the UK. The event aims to recognise the contribution many from these communities have made to UK life, from the National Health Service to the arts, media, education, business, and the Armed Forces. Debbie Collier, the Georgia woman whose body was found naked and charred earlier this month, calmly shopped at a local Family Dollar less than 24 hours before her death, according to surveillance footage. The security video, released Monday by the Habersham County Sheriffs Office, shows Collier entering the store in Clayton just before 3 p.m. on Sept. 10. She purchased a rain poncho, refillable torch lighter, a 2-roll pack of paper towels, a 7.5x9.5 OBD Tarp, and a reusable tote bag, according to her receipt. Esther Kreller, the cashier clerk who helped check Collier out, said she could not remember what they talked but noted that she seemed calm at the time. She didnt seem in distress or anything, Kreller told 11 Alive. Debbie Collier Debbie Collier Colliers body was discovered on Sept. 11 down an embankment in a wooded area of Habersham County, about 13 miles away from the Family Dollar store. The objects she purchased the previous afternoon were found stuffed inside the red tote at the top of a nearby hill, according to the incident report. Thanks to the surveillance video from the store, authorities were able to determine her time of death to be sometime between 3:09 p.m. on Sept. 10 and the discovery of the body on Sept. 11 at 12:44 p.m. Sometime before that, Collier sent her daughter $2,000 via the Venmo app along with the message: They are not going to let me go, love you. Despite the circumstances, authorities said they have not yet uncovered any evidence to suggest the incident was related to a kidnapping or that this was a suicide. A defense contractor who ran a bribery ring involving U.S. Navy officials has asked for asylum after being captured in Venezuela. Leonard Glenn Francis, nicknamed Fat Leonard, because of his 6-2, 350-pound frame, was under house arrest but escaped on Sept. 4 after he cut off his ankle monitor. He fled to Mexico and traveled to Cuba before popping up in Venezuela, which is considering his asylum request after he was arrested at Simon Bolivar International Airport near Caracas last Tuesday after trying to fly to Russia. Francis Leonard, also known as "Fat Leonard." Francis Leonard, also known as "Fat Leonard." As the owner of Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd., Francis, 57, provided water, food and fuel and overbilled the U.S. Navy by $35 million by bribing officers to dock in ports he controlled in Southeast Asia. Francis was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in 2015. He was in San Diego under house arrest while receiving medical care and assisting the prosecution, which led to 33 additional convictions of other defendants. Ultimas Noticias, a newspaper affiliated with the Venezuelan government, reported that Francis said during a hearing that he was suffering from metastatic kidney cancer and wanted to reunite with his wife and family. With News Wire Services Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images (2) Black people in the U.S. are seven times more likely to be falsely convicted of a serious crime like murder than white people, according to a new report published Tuesday by the National Registry of Exonerations. The finding is based on an analysis of exonerations for serious crimes in the U.S. over the last four decades, which found that Black people make up less than 14% of the U.S. population but account for 53% of exonerations in the country. [The report] focuses on how its dangerous, in a particularly disturbing way, that theres a possibility of being convicted of a crime that you didnt commit, Samuel Gross, a University of Michigan law professor and the lead author of the report, titled "Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States 2022," told Yahoo News. The general conclusion is no surprise. Black people are much more likely to get the short end of the stick than white people. Data gathered from exonerations for murder, sexual assault and drug crimes from 1989 through August 2022 highlighted significant challenges in obtaining national criminal justice statistics, including finding clear answers on who reports data to whom and how this data is disseminated to react to trends. Most often, Gross said, counties rather than states are responsible for reporting crimes, which results in misreporting and/or a lack of accountability because of sheer volume. Criminal justice statistics in the United States are not bad, Gross said. Theyre abysmal. Villahermosa prison in Cali, Colombia. (Luis Robayo/AFP via Getty Images) In addition to dramatic disparities across racial groups in false convictions, the report finds that innocent Black people also spend a significantly longer time in prison before exoneration than white people, with many spending in excess of 20, 30 or 40 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. (National criminal justice statistics are not complete or accurate enough to permit systematic comparisons of Latinos, Asian Americans, Indigenous people and others.) Gross noted that the report does not tell just one story, but instead tells three separate stories that altogether paint a clearer picture of the challenges of the criminal justice system. When the false convictions are drilled down into categories, a staggering 69% of drug conviction exonerees are Black, compared with just 16% who are white. That means that despite studies showing that Black and white people use drugs at similar rates, innocent Black people are 19 times more likely to be convicted of drug crimes than innocent white people. And a lot of this, the report says, is up to the discretion of law enforcement. Because drug crimes are almost never reported to police, the police choose who to pursue for drug offenses and they choose to stop, search and arrest Black people several times more often than whites, the report says. Thats racial profiling. One of its deplorable consequences is drug crime convictions of innocent Black defendants. In sexual assault cases, the report notes, Black people are nearly eight times more likely than white people to be falsely convicted of rape, mainly because of higher misidentification of Black suspects by white victims. But, according to the report, these numbers appear to be on the decline. Since 2010, only two rape convictions caused by mistaken witness identifications have resulted in exonerations, thanks in large part to advanced technology, including DNA testing. A laboratory worker places samples of DNA. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) Murder convictions that ultimately led to exonerations of Black defendants, however, were nearly 50% more likely to include misconduct by police officers than murder exonerations of white defendants. The registry includes more than 250 innocent defendants, the majority of whom are Black, who had drugs deliberately planted on them by police officers. Yet its rare that police are held accountable for their wrongdoing. The report really shows the depth of the belief that race is a proxy for criminality in the criminal legal system, Christina Swarns, executive director of the Innocence Project, a nonprofit committed to exonerating individuals who have been wrongly convicted of crimes, told Yahoo News. Its hard to wrap your head around how much of a failure this is that we have jurisdictions that fail people this spectacularly, and then refuse to acknowledge it and then refuse to sort of make it right. The weight of all of that and the burden of trying to correct all of that is carried by my clients, which is insane, to be charitable. In the last 12 months alone, the Innocence Project has successfully worked to exonerate at least 10 people from false convictions, the majority of them Black men, according to Swarns, and the project is working on many others. But despite the fervor for celebrating these peoples freedom, the trauma theyre left with, she said, stays forever. [Exoneration] undermines a level of trauma thats hard to capture and convey, she said. When my clients come home, they face real posttraumatic stress from this experience. Theyre labeled with this badge of a felon and a convict and a murderer and a rapist for something they completely did not do. Half brothers Alvena Jennette, right, and Robert Hill leave Brooklyn Supreme Court after being exonerated in May 2014. (Joe Marino/N.Y. Daily News via Getty Images) Swarns said that in early 2017 she successfully defended a client, Duane Buck, who was sentenced to death in Texas in a case that made it all the way to the Supreme Court. In the case, a psychologist expert witness said Buck was prone to violence because he was Black, which received no objections in court. People were prepared to have him executed, because we lost in every single court before the United States Supreme Court, she said. Chief Justice John Roberts, in his opinion granting relief to Buck, wrote that the law punishes people for what they do and not who they are. Dispensing punishment on the basis of an immutable characteristic flatly contravenes this guiding principle. For Swarns, the case typified how the perceived link between race and criminality is so hard-wired in this country. This is a real perception thats hard to unmoor from our legal system, she said. From left, Oklahoma death row inmates John Hanson, Richard Fairchild and Richard Glossip are slated to be executed over the next two years; James Coddington was put to death in August. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections) Just last month Oklahoma began a blitz of 25 executions over 29 months, a figure many experts are calling horrifying, mainly because of the high likelihood that one or more of those inmates are innocent. Gross in 2016 co-authored a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, that found that at least 4.1% of all death row inmates are innocent. My general reaction is, where is the outrage? Gross said. People read about [these issues] and they say, Oh, thats terrible, like its happening in Turkey or in Indonesia. They say, Its not happening to us, its happening to Black people. I believe that if that happened to white people anywhere I think people would say, That could happen to me or that could happen to my son when hes in college or that could happen to people I know, he added. But if its Black people, I think most Americans say, Oh thats terrible, but its not us. _____ Cover thumbnail photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images (2) Proponents of Christian nationalism claim that they represent the truest form of the faith and that they know Gods will in a way others do not and cannot, and so they often believe they are empowered to impose their vision of the common good on the rest of the country. We, the church, are God's governing body on the Earth, chanted a group of religious conservatives recently in Atlanta. We have been given legal power from heaven and now exercise our authority. This audience was led in reciting this Watchman Decree by four leaders, including Lance Wallnau, a business consultant turned self-anointed divine emissary who has campaigned with and for Pennsylvanias Republican nominee for governor, Doug Mastriano. Christian nationalism is growing on the political right. The movement views its quest for political power as part of a divinely inspired mission. Followers believe they are blessed and sanctioned by God to correct all that is wrong and bring it into order and righteousness. Yet in reality, Christian nationalists are adrift from the Christian faiths historic teachings and practice on several significant counts, argue many scholars and philosophers. These experts say many evangelical Christians are ignorant of history in general, and of the history of their faith in particular, which has led to significant consequences. A lot of contemporary Christianity suffers from a failure to appreciate the nuances and dynamics of history, James K.A. Smith writes in his new book, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now. Smith, a philosophy professor at Calvin University, an evangelical college in Michigan, argues that many religious conservatives mistakenly believe they are wholly governed by eternal ideas untainted by history. Smiths book is about much more than Christian nationalism, but it does diagnose some of the underlying causes of the political movement. Yahoo News' podcast "The Long Game" and James K.A. Smith's book "How to Inhabit Time." (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photo: via Brazos Press) Historical ignorance leads to a way of reading the Bible a hyperliteral interpretation that is out of step with historic Christianity. Hyperliteralist readings of the Bible tend, for example, to prioritize the specter of a looming apocalypse, and encourage the faithful to dominate others through politics. And so Christian nationalists have forgotten something very, very fundamental about what the faith says about the end of the world, namely that the apocalypse is not something that is engineered by us, Smith said in an interview for The Long Game, a Yahoo News podcast. The kingdom of God is a central idea in the New Testament, mentioned often by Jesus and his followers. It is here, Smith argues, that confusion reigns about what that term means now. Every single day in the Lord's Prayer, Christians pray Thy kingdom come, Smith said. But as long as we are praying that, it's not here. So you are praying for it to come. You are laboring in line with it, you hope. But there's not the sense that we are bringing it about. In the Christian faiths teachings about awaiting the arrival of the kingdom, never is there any hint that we are supposed to sort of colonize Earth as if we knew exactly what the kingdom looked like. In fact, instead what you get a lot from prophetic and apocalyptic literature in the Scriptures is deep, deep cautions about not confusing our imagination with what is to come, Smith said. I do think what is so legitimately terrifying about the discourse of Christian nationalism in our country is it is able to sort of wear the cloak of a theological language but is completely unhinged from actual accountability to the theological guardrails of what Christian eschatology is. Getty Images In Christian theology, eschatology is the study of how human history will come to an end with the return of Christ to Earth. It is the main subject of the Book of Revelation, the last section of the Christian Bible. Smith is just one of many scholars who believe that many Christians read Revelation incorrectly. He and others believe that many Christians beliefs about the end times have been shaped by fictional literature and movies more than by a rigorous analysis of the text in Revelation. The book of Revelation is a work of profound theology. But its literary form makes it impenetrable to many modern reads and open to all kinds of misinterpretation, wrote Richard Bauckham, professor of New Testament studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, in his 1993 book The Theology of the Book of Revelation. The point is not to predict a sequence of events, Bauckham wrote, countering the popularized reading of Revelation that views it as a literal road map. Instead, it calls on Christians to confront the political idolatries of the time of power and prosperity. In recent years, right-wing politicians have spoken more openly and frequently about an imminent religious apocalypse. "We know that we are in the last of the last days," Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican who is often described as a Christian nationalist, said at an event earlier this month. "But it's not a time to complain about it. It's not a time to get upset about it. It's a time to know that you were called to be a part of these last days. You get to have a role in ushering in the second coming of Jesus, Boebert said. Getty Images Smiths argument is that a misreading of Revelation which can lead Christians toward a vision of violent conflict intersects with evangelicalisms self-certainty to create Christian nationalism, which he describes as a misdirected political movement that is absolutely sure of itself and unaware of how much it does not understand. Smith, however, does not argue that Christians should withdraw from politics. There's no question that we are laboring to bend the arc of justice as much as we can, he said. But, he added, there has to be such a tempered expectation and a tempered epistemic humility. Arguments like Smiths, which rest on a way of reading the Bible as a coherent and complex whole, often run up against arguments made by those who select individual biblical verses or texts to support their argument for taking dominion, a phrase with roots in the Book of Genesis, which deals with Gods creation of the world. Smith wryly notes that the Bible itself contains examples of citing Scripture to justify nefarious ends. He referred to a story in the Gospel of Matthew, in which Jesus interacts with a character named the Tempter, who cites passages of the Old Testament to him. The Devil quotes the Bible all the time, man, Smith said. Since July, former Hampton County banker Russell Laffitte has been indicted three separate times by a federal grand jury on allegations of wire and bank fraud. On Tuesday morning, Laffittes lawyers filed a motion alleging that the last indictment, issued Sept. 20 while similar to the first two violated an earlier promise by federal prosecutors to only make one change in the second indictment, called a superceding indictment, which was issued Aug. 16. But prosecutors actually made numerous changes, altering more than 16 paragraphs with edits, most of them substantive, the motion said. The earlier indictments contained inaccuracies that impact Mr. Laffittes ability to present a defense, the motion said. The Tuesday motion urges U.S. Judge Richard Gergel to toss out the entire case against Laffitte by dismissing the final superceding indictment. At this point, its continued re-presentation of this case and the improper evidence provided by the Government has tainted the Grand Jury, said the motion by Laffitte lawyers Bart Daniel and Matt Austin. Those changes expanded the scope of the charges against Mr. Laffitte by calling into question more transactions in which he was allegedly involved, the motion said. Laffittes lawyers originally filed their motion to dismiss Monday afternoon. That Monday motion specifically said that if the judge dismisses the final superceding indictment, the earlier charges against Laffitte will stand. This motion does not seek dismissal of all the charges against Mr. Laffitte. It merely seeks dismissal of the Second Superseding Indictment for the reasons set forth above, the Monday motion said. But Tuesday morning, Laffittes lawyers refiled their motion to dismiss, deleting the language that said they were not seeking all charges to be dismissed and making it clear they wanted all three indictments thrown out. Laffittes lawyers declined comment. The U.S. Attorneys office had no immediate comment. Prosecutors will likely file a written response. A hearing on the matter would have to be set by Gergel. Laffitte, an alleged accomplice of disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh in orchestrating the fraudulent misuse of millions of dollars at Laffittes former bank, is now scheduled to go on trial in Charleston in the second week of November. Murdaughs involvement in the Laffittes alleged fraud is mentioned throughout all three indictments. But Murdaugh is not identified by name, only as an unidentified bank customer who worked with Laffitte in mishandling millions of dollars at the bank. Other court records, however, identify Murdaugh by name. Laffitte, 51, faces multiple federal counts of fraud in alleged schemes involving the misuse of some $3 million in funds from Palmetto State Bank, where he was CEO until being fired in early January. The maximum penalty for being convicted on the fraud charges is 30 years in prison. The schemes at the Hampton bank involved money in various Palmetto State Bank conservatorships funded by legal settlements, as well as the alleged misuse of a $500,000 line of credit Laffitte gave Murdaugh for personal use that was labeled farm loan. As a bank official who oversaw the money in various conservatorships, Laffitte was supposed to manage the money for the benefit of those for whom the money was intended. Instead, Laffitte and Murdaugh used much of the money for their own benefit, including taking out personal loans, indictments said. In the Monday motion, Laffittes lawyers said various government editing revisions in its most recent indictment demonstrated that the government didnt understand the states complex requirements governing guardians, conservators and personal representatives. If the Government is going to hold Mr. Laffitte accountable for knowing the intricacies of the South Carolina Probate Code, then the Court should hold the Government to the same standard, the motion said. Laffitte, who like Murdaugh grew up in a privileged and well-to-do Hampton County family, is a childhood friend of Murdaughs. For years, Murdaugh was a regular customer at Laffittes bank, keeping bank accounts there and getting numerous loans. In a Sept. 6 court hearing in Charleston, Laffitte testified that Murdaugh had borrowed millions of dollars and paid back millions of dollars over the years. And we never had you know, he might have been slow sometimes but he always paid us. Murdaugh is being held without bond in the Richland County jail as he awaits trial in Colleton County on charges he killed his wife and son in June 2021. He has also been charged by a state grand jury with some 80 counts of stealing from fellow lawyers, associates and clients more than $8.9 million. Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect that Laffittes lawyers filed an amended motion Tuesday morning to their Monday motion that said earlier charges against Laffitte should stand. Tuesdays motion makes clear that Laffittes lawyers want all charges dismissed. A federal judge last week ordered Ruby Montoya, a 32-year-old climate activist, to serve six years in prison for her role in damaging the Dakota Access Pipeline a sentence that federal prosecutors said they hope will deter others who plan to engage in what they characterized as "domestic terrorism." Montoya, who pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to damage an energy facility, and 42-year-old activist Jessica Reznicek snuck through security fences, set fire to equipment and used chemicals to burn holes in the pipeline itself from 2016 to 2017, according to their plea agreements. On Thursday, in addition to Montoya's prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Ebinger ordered the pair to pay more than $3 million in restitution. In 2021, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to damage an energy facility, Reznicek was sentenced to eight years in prison. Notably, both women faced sentencing enhancements under a criminal statute designed to penalize acts of domestic terrorism. "The sentence imposed today demonstrates that any crime of domestic terrorism will be aggressively investigated and prosecuted by the federal government," U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal said Thursday in a statement responding to Montoya's sentencing. The terrorism enhancement traces back to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, after which Congress enacted tougher penalties to deter acts of "intimidation or coercion" aimed at the government or civilian population. Terrorism sentences have since been applied almost exclusively to defendants with ties to overseas extremist groups like the Islamic State group or al-Qaida or to domestic extremists like Cesar Sayoc, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to mailing pipe bombs to members of Congress. PHOTO: Law enforcement and protesters clash near the site of the Dakota Access pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D., Nov. 20, 2016. (Morton County Sheriff's Department via AP, FILE) In the wake of Reznicek's sentencing last year, critics argued that the law has been too broadly and inconsistently applied especially to so-called "ecoterrorists" like Reznicek and Montoya. "I believe 100% that this is an overreach of power," said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. "And it is absolutely imperative that we put guidelines in place." Last month, those concerns attracted renewed attention after a federal judge declined to apply it to one of the most high-profile defendants in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Guy Wesley Reffitt, a 49-year-old Texas militiaman who was convicted in March of obstruction and other crimes, brought a weapon to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and threatened to "physically attack, remove and replace" lawmakers, making him a "quintessential" case for the enhancement, prosecutors wrote in a July sentencing memorandum. Even so, before handing down an 87-month prison sentence in August, U.S. Judge Dabney Friedrich declined prosecutors' request to consider Reffitt's offence as domestic terrorism. In rejecting the enhancement, Friedrich sided with Reffitt's defense counsel, who accused prosecutors of utilizing the tool as retribution for Reffitt taking the case to trial rather than accepting a plea agreement. Reznicek appealed her sentencing in the pipeline case, citing the district court's application of the terrorism sentencing enhancement. In June, a circuit court upheld her prison term. Attorneys for Montoya did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Climate activist who targeted Dakota Access Pipeline sentenced to 6 years after terrorism enhancement originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A 4-year-old girl whose body was found in a plastic storage bin behind her Pelzer, South Carolina, house died of asphyxiation due to suffocation by entrapment, the Greenville County Coroners Office announced Tuesday. Joanna Lockabys manner of death was deemed a homicide, the coroner said. The autopsy indicates the girl was alive when she was trapped inside the container. Her half brother, William Micah Hester, 17, known as Micah, was charged with murder shortly after the girls body was found on July 19 by a search and rescue team. The parents had reported her missing about an hour before she was found. She was pronounced dead at the scene. During a bond hearing in July, Hesters father implored the judge to grant his son bond, saying, Hes a good boy. The father said, Micah would not do anything like this on purpose. I know my boy. He loves his sister. He also said, Weve lost little Joanna. I dont want to lose my son, too. The judge denied bond. Hester is being held at the Department of Juvenile Justice pending trial. Joanna was the second child the family has lost. Joannas older brother, Joe Lockaby, died in June 2018 after being left in a car by his grandmother. He was 18 months old, and Joanna was a baby. Janik Nix was originally charged with homicide by child abuse, but pleaded guilty in 2019 to assault and battery, court records show. She was sentenced to 10 years, which was suspended with completion of three years of probation. Family members said at the time she left the boy in the car to run inside her home before they went to McDonalds, but a medical condition caused her to become unconscious. Six decades after Fidel Castro imprisoned gay men in forced labor camps and later sent them to Florida during the Mariel boatlift, Cuban same-sex couples will be able to marry and adopt children, after voters on the island ratified a new family code with 67 percent of the vote in a controversial referendum Sunday. The new code was ratified with only 47 percent of eligible voters casting a Yes vote, or 3,936,790 ballots out of the 8,447,467 eligible voters. Total participation, the government said, was 74 percent, an unusually high abstention rate for Cuba, where the government traditionally pressures citizens to vote. While widely perceived as a victory by LGBTQI activists, the results also carry a stark message of disapproval for the current government headed by Miguel Diaz-Canel, who repeatedly said a Yes vote was a show of support for the revolution and socialism. The new family code expands the rights of same-sex couples, who can now marry and adopt children. It includes several other measures, such as recognizing children and teenagers progressive autonomy and the possibility of expanding a family through a surrogate mother. Cubans to vote Sunday on controversial family code allowing same-sex marriage Im thrilled, said Maykel Gonzalez Vivero, an LGBTQI activist and editor of the independent magazine Tremenda Nota. I think that a new, important phase began in which we are going to have the chance to not only live in equal conditions with the rest of the citizens but also to access practical benefits that we have demanded for so long, that people in the past didnt have and died without them. Gonzalez Vivero said activists would continue working to ensure the new family code is enacted and to promote a much needed gender violence law as well as obtain protections for the transgender. Ahead of the referendum, Diaz-Canel acknowledged the new family code clashed with the machismo still alive in Cuban society and said he didnt expect it to be approved in a unanimous vote. Religious groups and the Catholic Church actively opposed the referendum. And some of the proposals unnerved parents worried about the substitution in the new code of the patria potestad principle (legal parental custody) for parental responsibility, a more vaguely defined term that some say could be used by the government to retaliate against dissidents and take away their children. But the political use of the family code vote by government officials and state media, all trying to present the referendum as a democratic exercise and a Yes vote as a sign that the public supports the government put off many other Cubans who either voted No or just stayed home. Almost two million people voted against it, 33 percent of the 5,892,705 valid ballots cast, the National Electorate Council said on Monday. Many activists and critics of the government had called on social media for voters to abstain, using the hashtag #endictaduranosevota (You dont vote in a dictatorship), arguing the referendum was a sham. But other critics of the government questioned that strategy. Daniel Triana, an LGBTQI activist and artist, lamented on Twitter that the political opposition in Cuba has no viable proposal, yet wanted to block the code just to go against the government. He said he had been campaigning for the Yes vote precisely to break free from the experiences of the past, like the forced confinement of gays in labor camps known as UMAP in the 1960s by Castro. The Yes campaign has been lying, and it has been excessive; there are more than a thousand political prisoners; the country is broken, he wrote. Still we have to snatch that Yes. The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Department of Education over its new student loan cancellation policy, becoming the first organization to challenge the Biden administrations move to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt per borrower. The federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, contends that Bidens decision to cancel student loan debt for some borrowers is illegal because Congress, which holds the power of the purse, did not approve it. Its flagrantly illegal for the executive branch to create a $500 billion program by press release, said PLF attorney Caleb Kruckenberg in a statement. And without statutory authority or even the basic notice and comment procedure for new regulations. In a statement to The Hill, a spokesperson for the Education Department called the lawsuit baseless and said opponents of the debt relief plan are trying anything they can to stop this program that will provide needed relief to working families. President Biden announced in August his administration would cancel up to $10,000 in student loan debt per borrower making under $125,000 per year and $20,000 for recipients of the Pell Grant relief program for lower-income borrowers. The administration, anticipating legal challenges, cited the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (Heroes) Act of 2003 as a justification to cancel the student loans. That law says the Education Department may waive or modify statutes or provisions related to student financial assistance programs during war or national emergencies, with the COVID-19 pandemic being a justification for debt cancellation. The PLF lawsuit says the cancellation policy is illegal under the Heroes Act because it is not necessary nor targeted at any harms caused by the national emergency. The organizations lawsuit is filed on behalf of plaintiff Frank Garrison, a public interest lawyer with the PLF who is paying off his federal student loans through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Garrison says he is set to pay off his debt in roughly four years, but as a Pell Grant recipient he would have his debt wiped out under Bidens order. If that happens, he would face a state income liability tax of around $1,000, which he would otherwise not have to pay if Biden did not cancel his debt. Indiana has a provision in state law that treats debt cancellation as income and thus taxes it, the Indy Star reported. The spokesperson for the Education Department said no one will be forced to cancel their student loan debt. The claim is baseless for a simple reason: No one will be forced to get debt relief, the spokesperson said. Anyone who does not want debt relief can choose to opt out. The PLF seeks an injunction halting the cancellation policy from going into effect and a judgment preventing any further action to cancel student loan debt. The Congressional Budget Office estimated Monday the cost of the cancellation policy is around $400 billion, although that figure is in dispute from proponents of loan debt cancellation. About 43 million borrowers share $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt. Biden campaigned on canceling a portion of student debt. Republicans have slammed the loan cancellation policy as a handout to wealthier Americans and an expensive policy. Steve Simpson, an attorney at the PLF, said canceling loan debt was unjust to those who have paid their loans or never took any. Loan cancellation will make Americans more divided, as those who paid their loans or never went to college will have good reason to think that we no longer have a government of, by, and for the people, Simpson said in a statement. Updated at 2:50 p.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A South Carolina judge on Tuesday reversed a key decision he made removing disbarred lawyer Alex Murdaugh and his family members from the Mallory Beach boat death lawsuit. Judge Dan Hall ruled that the trial over whos to blame and how much damages should be paid out in Beachs 2019 death will begin Jan. 9 in Hampton County with all defendants the Murdaughs and convenience store magnate Greg Parker joined together. The reversal, sought by Beach family lawyer Mark Tinsley, potentially means a bigger jury verdict against Parker if damages are awarded. It also means the Beach family only has to endure one, not two, emotion-charged trial about their 19-year-old daughters untimely death in a waterway off Beaufort. Beach was one of six young people in a boat allegedly owned by Alex Murdaugh and piloted by his late son Paul that crashed into a bridge piling off Parris Island in February 2019. All had been drinking at the time. Beach was thrown from the boat and drowned. Parker and his lawyers had tried for weeks to separate their trial from that of the Murdaughs, arguing that the negative publicity surrounding the family and alleged criminal acts by the father including murder would prejudice a jurys findings against Parker. At first, the judge agreed with Parker, saying he would allow Parker to have a separate trial because of the notoriety of the Murdaugh name. Recent criminal indictments and civil lawsuits surrounding the Murdaugh family involve potentially the most reactionary and publicized proceedings in the history of the South Carolina judiciary and legal system, none of which is due to any conduct of Parkers and have nothing to do with ... allegations against Parkers in this case, the judge wrote in a Sept. 13 order. If ever a case deserved to have defendants severed, this is it, based on the facts and circumstances involving the parties in this matter, the judge wrote. But Tinsley filed a motion asked the judge to reconsider, and the judge agreed. At a hearing last week in Hampton County, Tinsley told the judge his decision to sever the defendants went against 200 years of well-settled South Carolina law. In cases like the Beach boat crash case, joint defendants cannot be separated out by a judges action, Tinsley said. Numerous legal precedents have held that plaintiffs and not a judge determine who the defendants will be in a civil case where multiple defendants bear a share of the liability, Tinsley said. Pankaj PK Shere, who represents Parkers, told the judge while state Supreme Court precedents may pertain to who gets sued initially, the judge has the right to determine as the case progresses whether a defendant can be separated out and have their own trial. The crimes Murdaugh is accused of are so numerous, and so dastardly, that they have created an international media circus that will prevent Parker from getting a fair trial if he is lumped in with the Murdaughs at a trial, Shere said. Moreover, none of the Murdaugh criminal allegations have a thing to do with Parker, or any allegations in the Beach case, Shere said. The reason Tinsley wants the Murdaughs to be tried jointly with Parker is so the jury gets inflamed ... and thats going to influence them, said Shere, who after Tuesdays hearing said Tinsley regards Parker as a deep pocket. Parker is a defendant because a clerk at one of his stores is alleged to have unlawfully sold an underage Paul a load of beer on Feb. 23 2019. Although the fatal crash took place hours later, the Beachs lawsuit alleges that it was the beginning of a chain of actions, including getting more alcohol from other sources, that resulted in their daughters death. Murdaugh is a defendant because he and his late wife Maggie encouraged Pauls drinking, even though the teen was known to drink to excess, the lawsuit said. Maggies estate is a defendant in the case, as is Pauls estate. Both Maggie and Paul were shot to death in June 2021. Murdaugh has been charged with their murders. Buster Murdaugh, Pauls older brother, is also a defendant in the case. He is alleged to have regularly let Paul use his drivers license to buy beer. The Beach family is very pleased and relieved with the Courts decision today, Tinsley said Tuesday. We are looking forward to trying the case in January. Shere said, We are obviously disappointed that Judge Hall has reversed his decision. We are looking into options, but, ultimately, we look forward to presenting our case at trial and exonerating Tajeeha Cohen and Parkers. Cohen was the clerk at Parkers store who sold the beer to Paul. She is not named as a defendant in the case, but she is expected to testify at any trial. The Jan. 9 trial date set by Hall poses a potential conflict with an effort to hold Murdaughs murder trial at about the same time in Colleton County. Murdaughs lawyers in the murder trial could not be reached. This photo shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch one day after an incident left one crew member dead and another injured, Friday, Oct. 22, 2021 in Santa Fe, N.M. (Roberto E. Rosales / Albuquerque Journal) Some bureaucratic paperwork between the Santa Fe district attorney and New Mexico's Board of Finance sheds light on possible, long-awaited next steps prosecutors may take in the fatal shooting on the set of "Rust" last year. Santa Fe Dist. Atty. Mary Carmack-Altwies' emergency request for $635,500 from the state to prosecute gives the first indications of the scale of any criminal case for the killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the low-budget western. In a document viewed by The Times, Carmack-Altwies said she may prosecute up to four people, each requiring their own jury trial including the well-known actor Alec Baldwin who authorities said discharged the weapon that accidentally killed the 42-year-old mother of one and injuring director Joel Souza. Here are some other key takeaways from the move: Charges appear imminent The letter suggests prosecutors are close to filing criminal charges, attorneys said. "The fact that the D.A. went to the state to get this funding leads me to believe that at least one person will be charged now," said trial attorney and former federal prosecutorNeama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, who is not involved in the case. "This is a public document, you better be ready to charge someone." To be sure, as Baldwins attorney Luke Nikas said the D.A. has said she has not decided who if anyone will be charged. But Carmack-Altwies' request for emergency funding to help pay for a special investigator, a media spokesperson and expert witnesses underscores the magnitude of the cases and pressure her small office is under to respond to a tragedy involving a big Hollywood star. "It's definitely an indication of indictments coming in, and probably indictments that they feel cause a significant undertaking for their department," said Joshua Ritter, a partner with Werksman Jackson & Quinn and a former Los Angeles County prosecutor. "It looks like that county office is expecting a very large litigation," he added. "We can connect the dots that you might expect that Alec Baldwin would be one of the people indicted." The production has already faced a fine over allegations of negligence from the state's health and safety body and there are several civil lawsuits pending. Rust Productions has denied wrongdoing. However those administrative charges and any civil litigation will not play into the decision-making by criminal prosecutors, Rahmani said. Not just Baldwin who could be charged Beyond Baldwin, several others could be charged criminally. The film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, and first assistant director Dave Halls, who have been sued civilly, are possible targets. However, it would be difficult to bring a charge against an employer like a production company, Rahmani said. Some crew members told The Times that there were safety problems on-set, including accidental gun discharges, but producers have disputed the claim. Baldwin, also a producer on the film, has blamed Gutierrez Reed and Halls. There are two people who didnt do what they were supposed to do, he told CNN in an interview. I want everybody to know that those are the two people that are responsible for what happened. While Gutierrez Reed was responsible for maintaining the weapons, Halls called out "cold gun," suggesting the gun was safe to use, Baldwin told ABC News in an interview last year. And Halls told detectives on the day of the incident that he thought he saw three rounds and acknowledged that he should have checked all of them, but didnt. Representatives for Gutierrez Reed declined to comment. Lisa Torraco, attorney for Halls, said she didn't think her client should be charged. Gutierrez Reed has denied wrongdoing, arguing that she had been stretched thin by the production, tasked as well with managing props. Halls' attorney previously contradicted an affidavit in which Halls said he took a gun off the cart and handed it to Baldwin, saying that did not happen. What are the possible charges? A murder charge against Baldwin and any other defendants would be hard to bring, attorneys said, given there is no evidence that anyone had any intent to kill other crew members. Prosecutors are more likely to seek negligent or involuntary manslaughter charges, several legal experts said. "For all that we know about this, it still appears as though this was a very tragic accident," Ritter said. "I would be shocked personally if some sort of homicide-related charges were brought, but I'd be less surprised if it were something along the lines of some sort of negligent discharge of a weapon or negligent handling of a weapon, or brandishing of a weapon." Baldwin has said he believed he was was handed a safe gun on a safe set. "That seems like a fairly strong defense," Ritter added. But prosecutors could argue Baldwin shouldn't have pointed the gun at a person even if he thought it contained blanks, or cocked the gun or had his finger near the trigger, Rahmani said. In New Mexico, involuntary manslaughter is a fourth-degree felony carrying a maximum of 18 years. A long-awaited FBI report, including an analysis of the weapon that Baldwin fired, was delivered to police last month and concluded that the pistol functioned normally when tested in the laboratory. The analysts suggested the gun could not be fired without the trigger being pulled something Baldwin has said he didn't do. Nikas, Baldwin's attorney, drew a different conclusion. The gun fired in testing only one time without having to pull the trigger when the hammer was pulled back and the gun broke in two different places, Nikas said. The FBI was unable to fire the gun in any prior test, even when pulling the trigger, because it was in such poor condition. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Sen. Mitch McConnell introduced Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema before she took the stage to make remarks about bipartisanship during an event at the McConnell Center on the campus of the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky. on Sept. 26, 2022. Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is a Democrat, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had high praise for her anyway when he hosted her Monday at his alma mater, the University of Louisville. "I've only known Kyrsten for four years, but she is, in my view ... the most effective first-term senator I've seen," he said as he introduced her at an event held by the McConnell Center, which he founded over 30 years ago along with university officials. "She is, today, what we have too few of in the Democratic Party: A genuine moderate and a dealmaker," said McConnell, a longtime Republican who earned a reputation for partisan obstruction during former President Barack Obama's administration. He said Sinema has been "right in the middle of, if not the principal leader of" negotiations that resulted in bipartisan legislation passed during President Joe Biden's term, including a $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan and the first big gun reform bill to become federal law since 1994. (McConnell voted for both proposals.) "As you can tell, I have a very high opinion of the senator from Arizona," he said. "But my biggest compliment to her is: She protects the institution of the Senate." More: Mitch McConnell cautious on GOP's odds of taking Senate in midterms, rebukes threats to FBI Sen. Mitch McConnell, right, greeted Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema as she took the stage to make remarks about bipartisanship during an event at the McConnell Center on the campus of the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky. on Sept. 26, 2022. McConnell was referencing Sinema's steadfast refusal to get rid of the filibuster, a 60-vote threshold the Senate must meet to advance most bills. Many congressional Democrats have urged her and fellow Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia to agree to neutralize the filibuster so they can pass priority legislation, such as a bill that would've made major changes to federal elections and expanded access to voting. Sinema and Manchin's stance has allowed the McConnell-led Senate Republicans to block those Democratic proposals instead. More: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema backs Inflation Reduction Act, giving Biden the votes for Senate passage "It took one hell of a lot of guts for Kyrsten Sinema to stand up and say, 'I'm not going to break the institution in order to achieve a short-term goal,'" said McConnell, who alluded Monday to his own refusal of former President Donald Trump's demands that Senate Republicans ax the filibuster when they were in control. McConnell introduced Sinema so she could give a talk on the importance of bipartisanship. She kicked off her lecture by talking about her friendship with McConnell: "You know, at first glance Sen. McConnell and I have relatively little, or some could even say nothing, in common. For starters, he drinks bourbon. I drink wine. He's from the Southeast and I'm from the great Southwest. He wears suits and ties, and I wear dresses and these fair sneakers. And perhaps most obviously, we come from opposing political parties. "But despite our apparent differences, Sen. McConnell and I have forged a friendship. One that is rooted in our commonalities, including our pragmatic approach to legislating, our respect for the Senate as an institution, our love for our home states and a dogged determination on behalf of our constituents." Sinema went on to highlight the work she and several other senators of both parties have done since early 2021 to reach compromises tackling infrastructure needs, gun violence and other issues that managed to become law despite the Senate filibuster. Sinema echoed McConnell's arguments in favor of the filibuster on Monday. She said axing it would turn the Senate into the House of Representatives, where lawmakers represent "the passions of the moment" and where each party passes "a little bit of crazy legislation" when they're in control. Despite our apparent differences, Sen. McConnell and I have forged a friendship.Sen. Kyrsten Sinema She suggested the Senate is supposed to counterbalance that. Sinema went a step further than McConnell, though, by saying she'd like to restore that 60-vote threshold for presidential nominations, including for federal judges. "Not everyone likes that," she said when some folks applauded. "It would make it harder for us to confirm judges, and it would make it harder for us to confirm executive appointments in each administration. But I believe that if we did restore it, we would actually see more of that middle ground in all parts of our governance." Judicial filibusters were rolled back by Democrats and the GOP when each party controlled the Senate. McConnell led Senate Republicans to nix that for U.S. Supreme Court nominations, specifically. That allowed them to confirm three Trump-nominated Supreme Court justices with a simple majority, ensuring they could overcome Democratic opposition. The conservative majority they installed on the court went on to eliminate the nationwide right to abortion this summer, which radically restricted abortion access in Kentucky. Reach reporter Morgan Watkins: 502-582-4502; mwatkins@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @morganwatkins26. Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema made remarks about bipartisanship as a guest of Sen. Mitch McConnell during an event at the McConnell Center on the campus of the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky. on Sept. 26, 2022. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mitch McConnell praises Kyrsten Sinema: A genuine moderate, dealmaker A North Carolina school has been named the best public high school in the United States by a national ranking website. Niche.com moved the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham to the top of the list after ranking it last year as the second-best public high school in America. The website also released Tuesday its 2023 national and state-by-state rankings of K-12 schools and districts. Another Triangle school Raleigh Charter High School was ranked No. 31 in the nation among public high schools. Top school lists released by U.S. News & World Report and other groups rely on test scores, academic performance and graduation data. But Niche also factors in ratings from current students, alumni, and parents. Some of the biggest decisions that parents face have to do with their childrens education, Luke Skurman, founder and CEO of Niche, said in a news release. We strive to put as much power in their hands as possible so they can make informed decisions with confidence. Our 2023 rankings surface key insights and data points for parents everywhere to use in their school search, he said. Were honored that millions of families consider us a reliable resource during such a pivotal moment in their lives. Go to www.niche.com/k12/rankings/ to view the full rankings. School serves gifted NC students Science and Math is a statewide residential boarding school serving some of the states most academically gifted high school juniors and seniors. The school is part of the UNC system. It opened as the nations first public, residential STEM high school in 1980 in the former Watts Hospital in Durham. A second campus in Morganton opened this fall. In February 2021, the school announced its getting a new academic commons area and renovated dorms at its Durham campus thanks to a record $7.5 million gift from an alumnus, The News & Observer previously reported. The donation is the largest in the schools history and is tied for the third largest gift to a public high school in the United States, according to the school. Best NC public high schools The top five North Carolina public high schools, according to Niche, were: N.C. School of Science and Mathematics The Early College at Guilford Raleigh Charter High School Green Hope High School in Cary Enloe High School in Raleigh Best NC private high schools The top five North Carolina private high schools, according to Niche, were: Cary Academy Durham Academy Providence Day School in Charlotte Asheville School Charlotte Country Day School For the first time in history, more people in Northern Ireland identify as Catholic than Protestant. Data from the 2021 census information released last week indicated 45.7% of those surveyed said they were Catholic compared to 43.5% of the populace saying they were Protestant, according to the Irish Post. A decade ago, polling showed 48% of Northern Irish considered themselves Protestants compared to the 45% surveyed who said they were Catholic. That was the first time the 101-year-old United Kingdom province counted less than 50% of its populous as Protestant. The Catholic News Service reports that societal shift could argue for a referendum asking voters if they want to remain a part of Great Britain or unite with the predominantly Catholic Republic of Ireland. Roughly 5% of those in the Republic of Ireland identified as Protestant in the 2011 census. For a period that began in the late 1960s and ran through the late 1990s, Northern Ireland experienced a series of ethno-nationalist conflicts that came to be known as The Troubles. That division, which had religious undertones, took place between those on the Emerald Isle who wanted Northern Ireland to remain a part of Great Britain and those who wished for it to unify with the Republic of Ireland. Sinn Fein hails new era as it wins Northern Ireland vote More than 9% of Northern Irish surveyed in 2021 said they belonged to no religious group. In May, the Irish political party Sinn Fein celebrated winning the largest number of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time. That organization advocates for a unified Ireland. Russians trying to avoid getting conscripted to fight in Ukraine appeared to be trying to cross the border into Georgia, Kazakhstan and even remote Mongolia, satellite imagery suggested Monday. Video obtained by Colorado-based Maxar Technology showed long lines of cargo trucks and private vehicles leaving Russia and entering the neighboring countries in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin's mobilization order. Russian border guards didnt appear to be trying to stop them. When we found out about the mobilization, we dropped everything at home and jumped in the car, Dmitry Kuriliyunok told Reuters in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Kuriliyunok said he, his wife, Irina, and their young daughter first drove across southern Russia from Krasnodar to Mineralnye Vody in the North Caucasus, which has become a staging post for many Russians crossing into Georgia. There, Kuriliyunok said, they hired a local driver to take them through the border checkpoints. And after 24 hours, they arrived in Tbilisi. We are completely against this war," he said. "For us, like for others, its scary. To die and to kill others, and for what? We dont understand. Therefore, we decided to flee." They are far from the only Russians who have made the trek. Image: (Zurab Tsertsvadze / AP) About 40,000 Russians have taken shelter in Tbilisi since Putin's forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to government statistics cited by Reuters. I came to Tbilisi about a month and a half ago because I didnt support the military invasion of Ukraine, Ivan Streltsov, a reservist who could have been forcibly drafted had he been in Russia, told Reuters. I took part in protests when the military operation started," he said. "For us as activists, things have become very difficult at this moment. In our own motherland, we are all being watched." The Russians are fleeing to Georgia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and other countries because they don't require visas. But getting to the border has been an ordeal for many. "It's total chaos," Rodion Logvin, 30, told The Moscow Times after he made it into Georgia following a harrowing 1,200-mile-drive from Moscow, during which, he said, he dodged several police checkpoints. Logvin said he waited 34 hours at the border before he was allowed to enter Georgia. The new Maxar images emerged amid reports of long lines of Russians trying to cross the border into neighboring Finland, which until Saturday was one of the few entry points in Europe left for them after most Western countries barred the entry of all Russians in retaliation for Putin's invasion of Ukraine. According to Maxar, this satellite image appears to show a traffic jam near the Russian border with Georgia on Sunday. (Satellite image 2022 Maxar Technologies) Even before Putin announced the call-up, nine European Union countries stopped accepting Russian travel visas, including countries that border Russia, including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Meanwhile, Russian and other media reported that flights to neighboring countries quickly sold out after Putin signed the decree increasing his countrys armed forces by 137,000 as the Kremlins war in Ukraine passed the six-month mark. Putins decree aimed to increase the number of combat troops by about 10%, to 1.15 million, and raise the militarys total head count to 2.04 million. No official reason was given by the Kremlin, which had promised its people a quick victory and has for months been downplaying its defeats at the hands of the Ukrainians. But Putin's move came after his defense chief acknowledged that the Russian military campaign in Ukraine had stalled while experts warned that Moscow was running out of manpower and that its troops were demoralized. Three Republicans running in what should be winnable races this year have been all but abandoned by the national GOP, leaving them in limbo with just over a month to go until Novembers midterm elections. In Pennsylvania, state Sen. Doug Mastrianos bid for governor is failing to gain traction. In Arizona, Senate nominee Blake Masters has seen funding dry up for his bid to unseat incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly. And in Ohio, J.R. Majewskis challenge to the longest-serving woman in the history of the House of Representatives was hobbled last week after a national Republican campaign group pulled its advertising for him. To be sure, all three candidates could still win in November. But right now theyre struggling, and their fellow Republicans dont seem keen to help. Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on Sept. 3. (Mary Altaffer/AP) Doug Mastriano won the May primary for the Republican gubernatorial nomination easily, securing more than 40% of the vote in a crowded field. This came despite an unsuccessful effort by more moderate Republicans to consolidate around an alternative candidate, which was undercut by former President Donald Trumps last-minute endorsement of Mastriano. A former Army colonel, Mastriano didnt rely on traditional advertising during the primary. Instead, he played to hard-right Pennsylvania Republican voters on social media, and won a following by opposing anti-COVID-19 efforts and supporting Trumps baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen. GOP power brokers in the state were trying to stop Mastriano because they felt his views were too extreme for general election voters in Pennsylvania, a key swing state. Mastriano attended the Jan. 6, 2021, rally in Washington, D.C., and has sued the committee investigating the events of that day for wanting to question him. Hes also said that he would put in place new voting restrictions and has called for a complete ban on abortion. There is also concern that if elected, Mastriano would try to throw out Pennsylvanias election results in 2024 should the state be won by a Democratic presidential candidate. Former President Donald Trump and Mastriano at the rally in Wilkes-Barre. (Mary Altaffer/AP) The Republican Governors Association has not thrown financial support behind Mastriano, instead focusing on other races. At an event last month, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey the RGA chairman said the group would not fund lost causes. You have to show us something, you have to demonstrate that you can move numbers and you can raise resources, Ducey added, in remarks recently reported by Axios. Last week a Mastriano campaign adviser called for supporters to push the RGA to get involved in the race. Appearing in a Facebook livestream, Mastriano noted he was really not finding a lot of support from the national-level Republican organizations. Mastriano has avoided talking to the press, and a Saturday rally in the state capital of Harrisburg was sparsely attended. The governors race was seen as winnable. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who is not running again due to term limits, is unpopular. But the Democratic nominee going up against Mastriano, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, has already won two statewide races, emerged unscathed from the gubernatorial primary in which he was the only candidate, and has been a successful fundraiser, giving him a major financial edge. While Mastriano has been mostly absent from the airwaves, Shapiro started running ads criticizing Mastrianos positions before Mastriano had even won the GOP nomination. Shapiro explained the tactic to Yahoo News in May, saying he felt it was apparent Mastriano would win the nomination and adding, We think theres a clear contrast in this race and we want to make sure were out in front highlighting those differences and getting a jump on the general election. Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvanias Democratic nominee for governor, at Franklin County Democratic Party headquarters on Sept. 17 in Chambersburg. (Marc Levy/AP) Jim Wertz, the Democratic Party chairman in Erie County, told Yahoo News that hes had some Republican donors approach him at events asking how they could help Shapiro. Erie is one of the states most important swing counties, with Trump winning it in 2016 while winning the state and Joe Biden doing the same in 2020. Its a real sign of trouble for the Republican Party that they continue to nominate characters that a sizable portion of the party cant support or defend, Wertz said. That said, we take nothing for granted. There is still a large contingent of election deniers and insurrectionists in the heart of the Republican Party, and we cant ignore their enthusiasm for extremist candidates and how that might affect the outcome of these midterm races. The Mastriano campaign did not respond to Yahoo News request for comment. Recent polling on the race has been both sparse and varied: While some surveys show Shapiro with a double-digit lead, others have Mastriano within a few points. Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters at a rally on July 22 in Prescott, Ariz. (Ross D. Franklin/AP) Blake Masters won a crowded GOP Senate primary thanks in large part to the financial backing of billionaire Peter Thiel and Trumps endorsement. But since August, the fundraising gap between Masters and his opponent, Democratic incumbent and former astronaut Mark Kelly, has only grown. Thiel and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell fought over who should be on the hook for backing Masters in the general election. As a result, a super-PAC aligned with McConnell canceled nearly $10 million in booked advertising across television, radio and digital last week. Thiels super-PAC, meanwhile, has bought ads supporting Masters, but Thiel himself has been reluctant to spend more of his personal fortune on the rookie candidate. As of the most recent filings, Kelly had raised $52 million versus $4 million for Masters. Masters, a 36-year-old venture capitalist who has worked closely with Thiel for years, won a contentious primary for the GOP nomination by hewing close to Trump. Masters has promoted the conspiracy theory that Democrats are plotting to win elections by importing immigrants to replace native-born voters; called the Jan. 6 Capitol riot a false flag operation, claiming that one-third of the people outside of the Capitol complex on January 6 were actual FBI agents hanging out; has blamed Black people, frankly for Americas gun violence problem; and has suggested privatizing Social Security. Masters has been particularly hard-line on abortion, calling for a federal personhood amendment, which would criminalize the procedure nationwide. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., in the U.S. Capitol on July 27. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images) Last year Masters said support for abortion rights had become demonic and likened the procedure to religious sacrifice. Yet amid waning polls and fundraising numbers, Masters scrubbed his website of extreme language pertaining to reproductive rights last month. Abortion remains a key issue in Arizona, where a judge ruled last week that a near-total ban dating back to an 1864 law should go back into place. According to a recent New York Times report, Masters was in Washington, D.C., last week at an event with McConnell pressing potential donors, saying, We dont need as much money as Kelly, just enough to get the truth out. Polling earlier this month showed Kelly with double-digit leads on Masters, but two recent surveys indicated the race has tightened. Both the nonpartisan Cook Political Report and University of Virginia Center for Politics give Kelly the edge and have the race rated as lean Democrat. In their decision to move the race from a toss-up toward Kelly last week, Cook analyst Jessica Taylor wrote that Masters was emblematic of candidates beset by problems and anemic fundraising. Ohio Republican congressional candidate J.R. Majewski at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on Sept. 17. (Tom E. Puskar/AP) Republican groups were fully behind Majewski in his race to defeat Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who represents the Ninth District, which runs along the states northern border with Lake Erie. Kaptur became a top Republican target earlier this year when a redrawn Ohio map made her district significantly more Republican. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy campaigned with Majewski in August, and the political novice spoke at a Trump rally earlier this month. All of this support came despite Majewskis attendance of the Jan. 6 rally and his ties to the QAnon conspiracy theory. However, last Thursday, multiple outlets reported that the National Republican Congressional Committee had withdrawn a nearly $1 million ad buy. The day before, the Associated Press reported that Majewski had misrepresented his military service. According to military records, he was primarily stationed at an Air Force base in Japan but served a six-month deployment in Qatar loading planes to support the Afghanistan war effort in 2002. Majewski, right, at the VFW Post 2529 annual corn roast in Sandusky, Ohio, on Aug. 20. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images) This is in contrast to the language of his campaign, where he refers to himself as a combat veteran, and a biography published by national Republicans, which refers to him as part of a squadron [that] was one of the first on the ground in Afghanistan after 9/11. The AP also found that Majewski had likely exaggerated his professional experience, unable to find evidence to support his claim that he was an executive in the nuclear power industry. Majewski has said the AP report is incorrect. At a press conference Friday, he said that his deployments to Afghanistan were classified, he had photos of himself in Afghanistan he might share and he was considering suing the AP over the story. Let me be clear, Majewski said. Anyone insinuating that I did not serve in Afghanistan is lying. I served in our United States of America, across multiple countries in many roles, but that didnt matter to the liberal media, who wrote a politically motivated hit piece on me. Kaptur's campaign released a statement saying the appearance left Ohioans with more questions than answers. His misleading claims need to be addressed, and its incumbent upon him to provide honesty and clarity not continued evasiveness and deflection, said campaign manager Kyle Buda. He has provided no evidence refuting these reports, and Ohioans need to know the truth. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, at the VFW corn roast. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images) Kaptur has also taken pains to separate herself from national Democrats in her newly drawn district that Trump would have won by 3 points if it had been in place in 2020. In August she even released an ad criticizing President Biden for his China policy. Marcy Kaptur: She doesnt work for Joe Biden; she works for you, the ad says. Cover thumbnail photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Mary Altaffer/AP, Rick Scuteri/AP, Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images Four stamps that feature portraits of the Queen will be released in her memory, the Royal Mail has announced. The new stamps the first set to be approved by King Charles III will go on general sale from November 10 and will feature images of the late monarch through the years. (Royal Mail) A photograph taken by Dorothy Wilding in 1952 to mark the Queens accession and coronation will feature on second-class stamps, while the first-class stamp will include a photo taken by Cecil Beaton in 1968 in which the monarch is standing in her admirals cloak with her head tilted to the left. A portrait taken in November 1984 by Yousuf Karsh will appear on 1.85 stamps, and a photo taken by Tim Graham in 1996 while the Queen attended a banquet at Prague Castle during her visit to the Czech Republic will be the image on the 2.55 stamps. (Royal Mail) All four stamp images were released in the Golden Jubilee stamp issue in 2002 and were approved by the late Queen for issue that year. Simon Thompson, chief executive of Royal Mail, said: For the past 70 years every British stamp has been personally approved by Her Late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth. (Royal Mail) Today we are unveiling these stamps, the first to be approved by His Majesty The King, in tribute to a woman whose commitment to public service and duty was unparalleled in the history of this country. A presentation pack of all four stamps will retail at 6.95 and is available to pre-order on the Royal Mails website. The Royal Mail has also confirmed the Kings image will replace the Queen on new 1st and 2nd Class definitive stamps, as well as all those of other values. Issues of special stamps will also feature a silhouette of Charles. New stamps featuring King Charles will enter circulation once current stocks of stamps are exhausted, the Royal Mail said. The images of the new stamps, and the timings of their release, and the new silhouette will be revealed at a later date. The Royal Mail said: In line with guidance from the Royal Household, to minimise the environmental and financial impact of the change of monarch, existing stocks of definitive stamps that feature the late Queen and the special stamps which use her silhouette, will be distributed and issued as planned. The launch dates of some of the special stamps may change. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Greece sends a clear message to countries that seek to redraw maps: the revisionist policies will fail, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said in a statement to the press after his meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan. Greece has repeatedly underlined that we support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states. That also goes for our dear friends, the Armenians, Armenia. We believe in the inviolability of borders, and I am referring to the incidents that happened a few days ago following the shelling of Armenian territory, including inhabited areas by the Azeri military forces. And I would like to quote President Macron who said yesterday I strongly condemn what happened in recent days and call for peace and resumption of negotiations. So, I am here to express my solidarity with the Armenian Government and the Armenian people. The historic relation between the two countries go back centuries, the substantial Armenian community in Greece, including thousands of Greek citizens of whom some are my personal friends, is a strong connecting bond. I would like to send a clear message to countries that seek to redraw maps. And my message is that revisionist policies will fail. To mention another revisionist power: Turkey is trying to take advantage of the recent turmoil in order to undermine peace and stability, be in the Caucasus or be it in the Aegean. And we Greeks, witness this Turkish rhetoric, and just yesterday Turkey protested that Greece is sending a few defensive weapons to the Greek island of Lesbos. And this was done when Greece was acting in line with our obligations as these obligations emanate from the Lausanne Treaty. To cut a long story short: Turkey is protesting because Greece does not allow its territories defenseless. Turkey issues a casus belli threat of war against Greece, and has landed a fleet a few miles from the Aegean islands. But we have repeatedly stated that we are ready and willing to engage on constructive dialogue with Turkey on the basis of international law, but also, we stand ready to defend our country and to defend our rights, FM Dendias said, stressing that Greece will do whatever it takes to defend itself and its rights. He said that during his meeting with FM Mirzoyan the security challenges in the Caucasus were also discussed. I would like to thank you Ararat for the briefing. I look forward to meet Prime Minister Pashinyan and the Defense Minister. Our position on Nagorno Karabakh remains unchanged. We support achieving a peaceful, mutually acceptable solution within the framework of international law. International law is the holy gospel of foreign policy. In this regard we also salute the courage of Prime Minister Pashinyan who proposed a new approach, for a new future in this region, just like President Macron said yesterday. But solutions and peace cannot be built when there is threat of force. That applies to the Caucasus, that applies to the world. And of course I include Eastern Mediterranean. Greece will continue to support the resumption of bilateral negotiations as well as the EU and US contributions to this effort. Also, facilitated by the OSCE Minsk Group, we also stand ready along with other EU partners to help mediate towards possible solution. Because in the end of the day, we cannot change geography. People have to have the opportunity to live peacefully side by side. And we also believe that humanitarian issues have to be resolved immediately and international humanitarian law has to be respected, FM Dendias said. Indias National Investigation Agency carried out two operations in a few days against the group which is accused of "terrorism and radicalisation in connection with violence in Muslim neighbourhoods of the capital in 2019 and 2020 sparked by protests against changes to the countrys citizenship legislation. Its leader Oma Abdul Salam is among those detained. The Popular Front of India counters that its protests are legitimate and that no evidence exists against them. Delhi (AsiaNews) Indias National Investigation Agency (NIA) took into custody on terrorism charges today more than a hundred people associated with the Popular Front of India (PFI), an Islamic organisation, in seven Indian states. This is the NIAs second large-scale operation in a week against the group. Among the arrested are 25 leaders, some also affiliated with the Social Democratic Party of India, regarded as the PFIs political wing. The PFI was founded in 2007 from the merger of three Islamic groups in southern India, seeking socio-economic, cultural and political empowerment of the deprived and the downtrodden and the nation at large. After looking into the groups financial activities, the NIA accused it of instigating nationwide protests in 2019 and 2020 over changes to existing citizenship legislation with serious unrest breaking out in northeast Delhi and an alleged conspiracy in Hathras, a district in Uttar Pradesh, after the rape and murder of a Dalit woman. Raids were carried out across New Delhi, including the neighbourhoods of Nizamuddin and Shaheen Bagh. We have taken preventive measures, an unidentified police officer told the Press Trust of India. And we have deployed paramilitary forces in respective areas of the districts to ensure law and order situation and maintain peace and tranquillity in the area." This comes five days after 108 PFI members, including chairman Oma Abdul Salam, were arrested in 15 Indian states on charges of terrorist financing as well as organising training and radicalisation camps. In its defence, the PFI accuses the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of orchestrating raids to create an atmosphere of terror. The NIA has carried out so many raids but has not gotten any proof, said a PFI official. We are not anti-nationals, he added. We are protesting legally and will not tolerate them taking away our leaders in the dead of the night. If they do not release them, we will have to continue our protests. We are not going to get scared. As a result of the police raids, protests have broken out across Karnataka and Kerala, but former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, the PFI should be outlawed. The authorities in New Delhi must ban the PFI. They should have done it much earlier. A thorough probe will reveal the conspiracy hatched by the PFI. It was planning to destabilise the central government, Yediyurappa said. The Popular Front of India has offices in 22 states, from Kerala to Manipur. According to experts, its growth was facilitated by mounting unease among some Muslims in the face of rising right-wing Hindu nationalist groups. Found in the Spin Boldak district on the border with Pakistan. Human Rights Watch had previously documented the discovery of more than 100 bodies in a canal. Last month, Taliban interference in aid distribution increased. Humanitarian agencies are appealing for more funds: part of the population is in danger of not making it through the winter. Kabul (AsiaNews) - In the Spin Boldak strait, Kandahar province, a mass grave with at least 21 bodies has been found. The Taliban spokesman for the southern province, Atahullah Zaid, said, without providing evidence, that the victims were killed and buried there nine years ago, when General Abdul Raqi Achakzai - a staunch Taliban opponent who died in an armed attack in 2018 - was head of the provincial police. The mass grave was found in a border area with Pakistan. A former border guard explained anonymously to Amu.tv that the area is under the tight control of the Taliban and they are most likely the perpetrators of the massacre. Several former members of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces were killed in Spin Boldak when the Taliban retook control of the district in July last year. Patricia Grossman, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, called for an international investigation: 'It is crucial that all alleged crimes are investigated as part of a process to be carried out according to international standards', and it is important that the Taliban 'prevent acts of revenge'. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said it was essential that, pending forensic examination, the remains should not be harmed. It would not be the first time that the Taliban have engaged in arbitrary killings and then made the bodies disappear: in July this year Human Rights Watch had documented the discovery of more than a hundred corpses in the canal in the eastern province of Nangarhar. According to reconstructions, former Koranic students had conducted night raids to kill anyone suspected of being affiliated with or harbouring members of the Islamic State (Is-K), the terrorist group that considers the Taliban's Islamist agenda lukewarm. However, it is difficult to differentiate between the killings of civilians and former members of the Afghan government, anti-Taliban resistance fighters and Islamic State militiamen. The Taliban crackdown has increased the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs): according to data from the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) - updated last week - more than 30,200 people have left their homes due to widespread violence or environmental disasters during 2022. A high number - to which the displacements in the latter part of the year should be added for comparison - but still significantly lower than the 704,000 displaced in 2021. Millions of people meanwhile do not have the means to get through another winter: the UN agencies are considered the last 'barrier' between the famine and the Afghan population. In other words, the Taliban have prevented the distribution of aid to the population: Ocha data says that in August interference increased by 39% compared to July, even causing the suspension of some humanitarian programmes. Economic difficulties afflict 60% of the population, or 24.4 million people. The UN Food Programme is assisting 18 million Afghans in conditions of severe food insecurity, six million of whom are on the brink of famine. At the beginning of the year, humanitarian agencies launched an appeal to raise USD 4.4 billion: nine months later, only 43% of the funds needed have been collected. by Dario Salvi The story of a family in Ghouta, from the suffering of the conflict to hunger-induced despair. People are caught in a 'collective depression' and resort to increasing use (and abuse) of drugs. According to some estimates, 70% of the drugs sold last year were psychotropic. A demand that fuels the black market. Milan (AsiaNews) - "When I first met Haifa for the first time, some years ago, while the war was raging, I saw a woman from Ghouta [eastern suburbs of Damascus, ed] who still had the strength to smile, despite the horrors and suffering she had experienced. At the time, I was so impressed that I saw in her the symbol of many Syrian women in terms of strength, resilience and hope. I saw her again a month ago, and it was a shock to read concern and extreme tiredness in her eyes, beyond mere physical fatigue". This is the situation described to AsiaNews by Maria Sargi [a fictitious name to protect her identity, ed.], an institutional figure involved in diplomacy and international activism since the early days of the Syrian conflict. Haifa has three children and, for the past few months, the family has surviving on one loaf of bread a day. "What does disease matter in the face of hunger? Where is the logic of events, in the face of hunger? What is the meaning of life, when your children go hungry? We are hungry!" We have hit rock bottom The Syrian people suffered greatly during the years when the conflict raged across the country, when jihadist militias controlled much of the territory and the entire system that had held the nation together seemed on the verge of collapse. Today the weapons claim fewer victims, but the sound of explosions has been replaced by the bomb of poverty, no less dramatic and deadly, which has helped push a large section of the population to the brink of depression. So much so that today sedatives, tranquillisers and psychotropic drugs are among the most widely sold medicines in an attempt to stem increasingly frequent cases of illness or mental breakdown among ordinary people. "At the end of her testimony," our source continues, "Haifa began to cry hysterically, shouting several times that she had hit rock bottom. And this is the feeling that emerges when observing the country and its people, who seem to have regressed in time thousands of years, almost to the Stone Age when the sole and only purpose was to scrape together enough food for the day and stay alive... "to survive!". This, in short, is what has happened to the Syrians who, after having gone through long years of war and having hoped for a better future, are now 'living in a collective state of frustration and disillusionment: from the violence of an external conflict," the source concludes, "we have moved on to an internal despair". A collective depression One of the results of this 'collective depression' is that millions of Syrians are increasingly resorting to psychotropic drugs and medicines to combat their ailments and to cope with a situation that is becoming unbearable. Although they do not have official data, but based on personal and daily experience, many pharmacists in Damascus and Aleppo interviewed by AsiaNews confirm that the figure for sales is "very high", today certainly "higher" than at any other time in the country's recent history. Another burden weighing on the plight of the citizens is the growing disinteresst of the international community, which after having long maintained its focus and pressure on Syria has now shifted the spotlight elsewhere, first and foremost to Ukraine where Russia itself, crucial to the fate of the conflict, is now concentrating most of its military resources. This is why many Syrians are appealing for 'the lifting of Western sanctions' to give some respite and relief to the local economy and reverse a picture in which a very wealthy few "are growing ever richer with the war while the ordinary citizen is increasingly poor, depressed and desperate." The feeling of misery, abandonment and anxiety about the future is driving more and more people - at least in the government-controlled areas, where the figures are more numerous - to resort to tranquillisers and sedatives. Wafaa Keshi, at the head of the Syrian pharmacists' union, raises the alarm, explaining that the use (and abuse) of narcotics and psychotropics is increasingly frequent due to the parallel increase in mental disorders. Among those affected by depression and ill-health are war veterans and survivors with permanent disabilities, who need - in addition to drug treatment - therapeutic and psychological support under constant medical supervision. The black market According to some indicative estimates, 70% of the drugs sold last year belonged to the category of psychotropics, which people resort to in order to 'escape' from a reality characterised by the high cost of living, insufficient wages, lack of medical care and education. In view of the high demand for psychotropic drugs and tranquillisers, an increasing number of pharmacies sell the products even without a prescription; at the same time, a parallel circuit to the official one has formed, which is increasingly flourishing. Ahmad Shams al-Din, a pharmacist in Jaramana (Rif Dimashq governorate), tells al-Monitor that Syrians "are discovering new narcotics every day", which are widely available on the black market. These include a local compound called Cemo, a green cough syrup, which contains a large dose of codeine, like the heroin-based Baltan and is often used - improperly and without medical supervision - to treat psychosomatic disorders or for drug addicts in withdrawal. Qais Khazal, a neuropsychiatrist, confirms that tranquillisers have become very common among university students, most of whom take Baltan before an exam thinking it will help with concentration. Alia Zuhair, a student in Damascus, reports that she started with half a pill a day, but after six months she takes three pills every six hours. 'I also took other narcotics,' she adds, 'such as Cemo green cough syrup and Proxamol painkillers'. Bashar Hekmat, owner of a grocery shop in the capital, goes so far as to offer three times the price of pills if a pharmacist refuses to sell them without a prescription. Alternatively, he turns to the black market where traffickers are increasing in number. GATEWAY TO THE EAST IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO THE MIDDLE EAST. TO RECEIVE A WEEKLY UPDATE EVERY TUESDAY, CLICK HERE. by Vladimir Rozanskij Putin's order to recruit 300,000 new soldiers for deployment in the conflict is being carried out in a chaotic manner at the local level. Invalids and fathers of families with several children are also called up. The disappearance of men from villages, especially in Siberia, leads to the paralysis of communal life. Moscow (AsiaNews) - Vladimir Putin's new call to arms is proving very chaotic and brutal in Buryatia. The Mongol republic of Russia already holds the record in the percentage of dead in the conflict in Ukraine, compared to all the other nearly 100 regions of the Russian Federation. Residents report that summons cards are also presented to invalids, fathers with many children, those who have not done military service for health reasons, and even the deceased. The head of Buryatia, Aleksej Tsydenov, admits that there has been some straining of the summoning rules, assuring that those called up 'by mistake' will be able to return home immediately. However, relatives interviewed by Sibir.Realii deny these words, saying that no one returns from the military muster points. As Natalja Semenova, a typographer from Ulan-Ude, recounts, 'at 7 a.m. there was a knock on the door, looking for my brother who disappeared two years ago; I am still trying to recover from the shock'. Her case is by no means an isolated one, the postcards to deceased people seem to be quite numerous, as confirmed by Alena Kharlamova, whose uncle, who has also been dead for years, they tried to summon. Lawyers and humanitarian activists point out that the concept of 'partial mobilisation' does not exist in Russian law, so in theory anyone can be summoned. From Buryatia, many flee to neighbouring Mongolia, without hope of being able to prove their inability to serve; several go into hiding in neighbouring Tajga, abandoning family, work and other ties. In the village of Turuntaevo, women gathered in front of the police barracks, which were about to requisition almost all the local men, forcing those who had not done their military service to leave. Alena from Ulan-Ude reports "my father is 45 years old and is in category B, the one of those unfit for military service, and when they rang the doorbell he was very surprised, he started screaming, but they dragged him away threatening to put him in jail; he said he would try to appeal, but the lawyer gave us no hope". 38-year-old Aleksandr Dorziev, three children from his first marriage and two still young twins from his second union, who according to the rules should not be summoned was also taken into custody. They called him 'for consultations', and as he had not turned up, they picked him up at home at midnight. Many had already been given a pink card to put on their military booklet ('vennik') days before, stating 'readiness for conscription in case of mobilisation', which was also sent to those who do not have such certification. The wife of one of the leaders of the republican administration explains that 'as early as this summer, they had given my husband the order to organise dozens of volunteers to be sent to Ukraine'. Many videos and messages of solidarity with those called up are circulating on social media, especially those who should not be called up, and attempts are being made from above to force these messages to be deleted. Of more than 4,000 who were called up in the first two days after Putin's announcement, only 70 managed to return home, as President Tsydenov himself announced. However, they are only a small fraction of the disabled, as humanitarian activist Nadezda Nizovkina attests: "My phone is blowing up these days, because of how many desperate calls", recounting that even a blind man was summoned who had not yet managed to get an ophthalmologist to give him a disability certificate, and is now stuck in the barracks. Total chaos reigns at the assembly points, and the situation seems to be getting worse by the day, not only in Buryatia, but throughout Russia. Many regional leaders are caught up in the eagerness to 'go over the top', summoning people at random so as not to be accused of laziness from above, in a crescendo of collective hysteria. In Buryatia, apart from the capital Ulan-Ude, the rest of the population lives in small settlements of a few hundred people, a situation similar to most Siberian regions, and the disappearance of men from the villages leads to the paralysis of communal life. Today's headlines: Human rights lawyer Zhou Shifeng is released from prison in China; Vietnam prepares for the arrival of Typhoon Noru; India announces naval exercise with the US, Japan and Australia in November; Demand grows for Turkish armed drones; Protests in Russia over the 'partial mobilisation' ordered by Putin; Military tension between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan eases. EAST ASIA-PACIFIC Economic growth in East Asia and the South Pacific is expected to slow this year, according to the World Bank. The combined GDP of the macro-region will increase by 3.2%, compared to a forecast in April that gave it at 5% and last year's figure of +7.2%. The decline is largely due to the economic crisis in China. CHINA Zhou Shifeng, human rights lawyer arrested in 2015 in the '709' case, a police and judicial action that led to the arrest of more than 300 lawyers and activists, was freed after seven years in prison. Zhou was the first to face the related trial. VIETNAM The country is bracing for the impact of Typhoon Noru, which has already devastated the Philippines with extensive flooding (and eight deaths). Wind gusts have already reached 183 km/h: it is expected to arrive on the Vietnamese coast tomorrow. The wave of bad weather will then move towards Thailand. INDIA In the Quad format with the USA, Japan and Australia, the Indian Navy will participate from 8 to 18 November in the second phase of the Malabar exercises, which will take place off the coast of Yokosuka, Japan. Delhi will be present with a frigate, a corvette and a submarine 'hunter' aircraft. The Modi government is increasingly worried about Chinese naval manoeuvres in the Indian Ocean. TURKEY Malaysia and Indonesia are interested in buying Turkish armed drones, used to great effect by Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. Japan could also be a buyer of the Baykars, while the United Arab Emirates has already bought 20 of them. RUSSIA In Dagestan, the Caucasian region of Russia, 'local partisans' spread messages via Telegram, calling on the population to oppose the mobilisation. They are also taking to the streets and using Molotov bombs against the barracks where the evacuees are imprisoned. In the capital Makhackala, Putin's portrait was publicly burnt. TAJIKISTAN-UZBEKISTAN A first result of the talks between Tajiks and Kyrgyz for peace on the border is the cessation of activity of eight border posts on both sides, sources in Bishkek (unconfirmed by Dushanbe) reported. However, both sides have withdrawn a large part of the armaments placed on the front line. A man rides a motorbike on a Chinese-built road in Cape Coast, Ghana, on Sept. 26, 2022. A road project constructed by a Chinese company was commissioned Monday in Cape Coast, the capital of Ghana's Central Region. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua) ACCRA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A road project constructed by a Chinese company was commissioned Monday in Cape Coast, the capital of Ghana's Central Region. The project, which is part of the agreement between the Ghanaian government and Sinohydro Corporation Limited, has a length of 22 km. Ghana's Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, who commissioned the completed project, said the objective of the project is to enhance intra-urban regional and national traffic flow and strengthen regional economic integration. "I want to thank Sinohydro corporation for the excellent work. They continue to deliver these roads on schedule, and the quality is very good. The completion of the project had improved access for the beneficiary communities in Cape Coast," Bawumia said. "I also thank the government of China for their supportive role in making these Sinohydro projects possible in the provision of the financing. We are grateful to the government and people of China for the cooperation." Thelma Vuah, an administrator at the Cape Coast Technical University, said the construction of the road had eased the pressure on commuters. "I work in the university, and when it comes to transportation for students and teachers, they used to pay more because the road was bad, and drivers did not want to come to the university," Vuah told Xinhua. She said the financial pressure would lessen on the students and teachers, while residents would also feel delighted since their transportation needs would be solved. "For years, China has been supporting and assisting Ghana in many ways. Through China's aid, financing, investment, and contracting of projects, we have been building stronger ties between the two nations," said Lu Kun, Chinese ambassador to Ghana. Lu said that all these projects would promote Ghana's economy and the well-being of the Ghanaian people. "Looking into the future, I believe China and Ghana will always stand by each other's side, continue to work together toward common development and embark on a new journey of friendship and cooperation with a stronger bond," said Lu. Ghana's Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia speaks during the commissioning ceremony of a Chinese-built road project in Cape Coast, Ghana, on Sept. 26, 2022. A road project constructed by a Chinese company was commissioned Monday in Cape Coast, the capital of Ghana's Central Region. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua) A woman walks through a Chinese-built road in Cape Coast, Ghana, on Sept. 26, 2022. A road project constructed by a Chinese company was commissioned Monday in Cape Coast, the capital of Ghana's Central Region. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua) Thats the minimum you need to get a decent condition one, but if you have enough nerve and financial reserves, you could go for a custom machine of this kind that is priced four times as much.We found a re-made 2013 Harley-Davidson Softail Slim , for instance, going on a specialized website over in Europe for no less than $40,000. True, is a barely used two-wheeler, with just about 7,500 km (4,660 miles) on the clock and a bad attitude custom look, but still, a rather expensive one.The bike was put together by a Switzerland-based crew called Swiss Lightweight Composites (SLC) in the image of a classic racer, as they say. The bikes powertrain is the stock one, meaning the two-cylinder 1,689cc linked to a 6-speed transmission (and now running a flap exhaust system), but the look is no longer stock, having been significantly changed by SLC.The bike looks like its lost a lot of weight thanks to the fitting of thin, multi-spoke chrome wheels, the removal of the large rear fender, and the changing of the fuel tank (on which the speedometer now sits). The light-toned paint chosen for the carbon bodywork helps with that as well.The modified Softail is a fresh build, being listed as a 2022 creation on Motoscout , where its makers are trying to sell it for 39,800 CHF. There is a little mention there that says exchange is possible, so if you happen to sit on a worthy machine SLC might be needing, theres a chance you could swap that for this one. PHEV kWh SUV CVT MPGe AWD Revealed in October 2021, the Outlanderhardly is a Mitsubishi under the skin due to the Renault-Nissan alliances influence. Based on the CMF-CD platform of the Rogue, the sport utility vehicle still features a Mitsubishi-developed engine in the guise of the 4B12. The combustion-only Outlander , by comparison, employs the PR25DD engine from Nissan.Classified as a compact rather than a mid-size crossover, the Outlander PHEV will arrive stateside for the 2023 model year with up to 420 miles (676 kilometers) of range. Only 38 miles (61 kilometers) are fully electric, made possible by a 20-battery mounted below the floor. Equipped with a DC fast-charging system, the Japanesecan be charged to 80 percent in just under 40 minutes. At press time, Outlander PHEV is the only non-luxury-brand PHEV in the U.S. equipped with fast-charging capability.The Atkinson-cycle powerplant is connected to a JATCO-supplied, and the miles per gallon equivalent is listed at 64. By comparison, the five-passenger Toyota RAV4 Prime - also a compact SUV - rocks 94 MPGe. Not good enough, Mitsubishi, unfortunately, it's not good enough...Gifted with three-row seating, the Outlander PHEV is the pinnacle of Mitsubishi Motors' engineering, according to Mark Chaffin, the President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. Complex though it may be from an engineering standpoint, crossovers arent particularly cool, not when compared to past icons such as the Lancer EVO and the 3000GT.What Mitsubishi class Super All-Wheel Control is another way of saying e-, in the sense that the 2.4-liter engine drives the front wheels and a rear electric motor sweetens the deal with 134 horsepower. Combined system output is estimated at 248 horsepower and 332 lb-ft (450 Nm). kWh FWD AWD EV No fewer than six well-equipped grades are offered, starting with the aforementioned Engage that can be optioned with e-4ORCE all-wheel drive for $4,000 over the front-wheel-drive variant. Both of them feature a 63-battery, whereas every other grade comes with an 87-kWh battery.Engageis expected to deliver up to 216 miles (348 kilometers) on a full charge. Venture+ FWD is the second most affordable specification available at $47,190 excluding the $1,295 destination freight charge, and its also the most capable given its 304-mile (489-kilometer) rating. Stepping up to the Evolve+, Empower+, and Premiere FWD sees the combined estimate drop to 289 miles (465 kilometers). Curious about the dual-motor variants? Well, the EPA estimates have yet to be published as of September 27th.In terms of performance, the Engage FWD is much obliged to deliver 214 horsepower and 221 pound-foot (300 Nm) of torque. The Evolve+ FWD improves to 238 horsepower and similar torque. As for e-4ORCE, the Japanese automaker quotes 335 ponies and 413 pound-foot (560 Nm) or 389 ponies and 442 pound-foot (600 Nm), depending on the trim level.Speaking of which, the most expensive configuration available is the Platinum+ e-4ORCE at $60,190. Let that sink in for a minute, then remember that Ford is asking a cool $69,895 for a Mustang Mach-E GT.The Nissan Ariya is an important part of our Ambition 2030 goals to drive electrified mobility for all, said Aditya Jairaj, the director ofmarketing and sales at Nissan in the United States. With Nissan offering an electric vehicle option for almost any driver, were excited for customers to experience a seamless transition to driving electric, concluded Mr. Jairaj. Third, neither company denied the rumors, and no website has posted spy shots of a 2024 Alpina B7, for example. We did not expect a confirmation of any kind, but there was nothing to show us that it was not happening.While the news of the Alpina B7 being discontinued could have been a rumor in itself, or just a misunderstanding, it is becoming increasingly clear that there is no mistake, and that green example shown in the only photo available online is the last Alpina B7 made.As you can imagine, fans of the German brand were not happy to learn that a model as important as the B7, which was being made since the E32 generation of the 7 Series, was discontinued. One cannot help but wonder which will be the next Alpina icon to get the axe.The current deal between Alpina and BMW allows the former to develop, manufacture, and sell its models based on the products of the former up until the last day in 2025. In theory, nothing should have changed with Alpina, but we will never know what went on behind the scenes.To be fair, the German marque did mention that electrification had made it increasingly expensive and difficult to develop new models , so this might just be a cost-saving decision based on sales results. With the now Hurricane Ian expected to make landfall somewhere within the region of Central Florida between Wednesday, September 28th and 29th, estimates suggest the bulk of the storm will impact the western portion of the state closer to the City of Tampa instead of closer to where the Kennedy Space Center is situated, approximately 46.5-miles (75-km) from Orlando. Meanwhile, SLS engineering personnel are scrambling to mount the 320-plus-foot-tall rocket back onto its gargantuan transport vehicle for the day-long trip back to the Vehicle Assembly Building with considerable haste.Since August 17th, the SLS booster rocket and its payload of a single Orion Command Capsule with its ESA Service Module have sat at KSC's Launch Complex 39B, a stone's throw away from LC-39A, where its Saturn V ancestor ferried 12 American men to the Moon's surface during the Apollo missions. In that time, tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people have flocked to Cape Canaveral, Florida, for their shot at witnessing history. To see an American rocket launch a human-rated spacecraft capable of landing on other heavenly bodies.But at every step in the road since the first Artemis I launch attempt on August 29th, a series of unfortunate events have occurred with the mighty $23 billion SLS Block 1 rocket capable of launching in the neighborhood of 60,000 lbs (27 tons) into a trans-lunar injection bound for the Moon. But as of late September 2022, a rocket theoretically capable of beating the Saturn V in terms of raw thrust is currently generating zero pounds of thrust.From the outside looking in, it feels like nothing is going right for NASA. All the while, nations including Russia, China , India, Saudia Arabia, the UAE, and even South Korea have at least expressed interest in their own manned Lunar landings. Some, like China and Russia, have booster rockets theoretically capable of getting the job done. Albeit without the same level of lifting power that NASA's SLS is projected to be capable of.Having to watch the Artemis I SLS rocket travel back to its cradle yet might feel like a crippling blow to the program. But it's important to remember that launch scrubs are very common during launch attempts, no matter the location or flight conditions. Space Shuttle launched STS-61 and STS-73s, for example. Both scrubbed six times before finally lifting off. No doubt causing hotels from Cape Canaveral to Orlando to promptly extend their hotels and rental cars indefinitely. Such is the way things go when you're dealing with literal rocket science.It's all too easy to mope and moan about Artemis I's unfortunate last few months. But it's important to remember that in spite of everything, all it takes is for things to go right once for the second space race to kick off in earnest. Despite how disorganized things may seem from the outside looking in, SLS's engineers know that playing it safe and "testing as you fly," as their engineers like to say, is better than a small flaw in the rocket leading to the loss of the rocket, and likely the entire Artemis program if this were to happen. We've waited 50 years for another moon launch. Another few months is not much to ask for everything to be done correctly. Let's have faith in NASA. They usually find a way to succeed in the end. In many ways, the Curtiss OX-5 V8 was the finest creation Hammondsport, New York native Glenn Curtiss ever devised. In a time when the bulk of his profits still came from motorcycle engines, the OX-5 ensured Curtiss was ready to make that profound leap to the skies. In doing so, he paved the way for both the motorcycle and aeronautical industries of America. Let's take a closer look at the details.For those who aren't familiar with the story of Glenn H Curtiss, we took the pleasure of visiting an entire museum dedicated to his honor earlier this year, and we highly recommend you check it out if you'd like to learn more. But the long and short of it goes something like this. Early in his engineering career, short on money and yet to be a global celebrity, Curtiss was forced to fashion his first motorcycle carburetor from an old soup can.Of course, things wouldn't stay that primitive for long, as Curtiss's bread and butter soon began building some of the most advanced and powerful motorcycle engines of the turn of the 20th century. Simple single-cylinder designs evolved into novel V-Twin and three-cylinder engines that turned Curtiss bikes into some of the most desirable American motorcycles of the 1900 s.Curtiss's motorcycle engines formed a fertile cradle for what Curtiss had planned going forward. Little by little, cylinder by cylinder, Curtiss paired together his famous V-twin engines, added cylinders, and likely drove himself mad trying to make it all work in tandem. These were the early days of internal combustion, and key things like engine timing and adjusting fuel-to-air ratios were still in the early stages. But if there was anyone to work out the details, it was Glenn Curtiss.By 1906, Curtiss had finally made it to eight cylinders. At this juncture, Curtiss realized his true calling in the engineering field wasn't motorcycles but rather airplanes. By 1908, an antifreeze-based coolant system was added to accommodate the hotter, enlarged cylinders. At this point, the Curtiss V8 lineage splits into the liquid-cooled V8 engine and the air-cooled Curtiss B-8 famous in the V8 motorcycle and the AEA June Bug. Curtiss abandoned the valve-in-block with flat cylinder head systems similar to that of the automotive flathead V8s early in testing, opting for overhead-valve cross-flow heads by 1909.Curtiss made this change just in time for the U.S. Navy to take notice when they needed an engine for their new A-1 amphibious scout plane. A tweaked version of that engine was introduced in 1910 as the OX-5. Though it wasn't the most reliable engine in modern terms, no aviation engine was exactly reliable in the late 1900s and early 1910s. They all leaked oil, usually into the pilot's face, and any flight that didn't see an engine failure was considered a rousing success.While not the most sophisticated or powerful engine, Curtiss was able to crank out these OX-5 V8s in the thousands. As many as 12,600 were built since its first test run in 1915. That resulted in them being cheap to buy. A luxury other aeronautical engines didn't have. Owing to its low cruising RPM, it was also decently fuel-efficient. Because horsepower calculation wasn't an exact science 110 years ago, historians estimate the OX-5 generated anywhere in the neighborhood of 90 horsepower in its most famous application, the Curtiss JN, lovingly called the Jenny.By the time the OX-5 found its way into a Jenny airframe, the engine was already considered outdated and antiquated. But with the fearsome combination of a cheap, easy-to-produce airplane and an equally numerous engine, the fledgling U.S. Army Air Service suddenly had the perfect means to bolster their aircraft fleet. Mounted inside the Jenny, the OX-5 V8 served with the militaries of the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil, China, Argentina, and Cuba, among others.It was one of the most prolific combinations of an airplane and engine on this side of a Spitfire and a Merlin V12. Today, surviving OX-5s are on display in museums across the U.S. and Canada. One is mounted inside a numbers-matching 1917 Curtiss JN-4D Jenny currently under restoration in the very town where Glenn H. Curtiss built his very first engines. At the Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, New York. Check back soon for more from V8 Month right here on autoevolution. One might argue that you need to get your hands dirty, literally, in order to make the best of it before a straight-line duel, or more, as it does need a lot of work prior to coming close to the claimed 2.3 seconds required for the naught to 60 mph (0-97 kph) sprint.With everything supplied by Dodge up and running, the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine produces 840 hp and 770 lb-ft (1,044 Nm) of torque. According to the North American auto brand, the Challenger SRT Demon can pull 1.8 G during the acceleration, and it needs only 9.65 seconds to deal with the quarter mile, at 140 mph (225 kph).Naturally, as we have come to learn over the years, handling all that power is very tricky. First, you need someone who really knows what they are doing sitting in the drivers seat. Then you also have to factor in the weather conditions, and last but definitely not least, a good dose of luck during takeoffs is required as well.Assuming that youd nail everything mentioned here, your Demon would be able to give supercars a run for their money in a straight-line sprint. But what about superbikes? Weve already seen it take on the Kawasaki Ninja , and in this instance, it was filmed trying its luck against the Suzuki Hayabusa.The drag race took place at Canadas Mission Raceway Park, presumably not long ago, considering that the video embedded down below just made its way to the web, and it is definitely worth watching. That said, do you think the Demon has any chance against the Busa , or would the latter simply annihilate it? You know what to do to find out which one crossed the finish line first. Happily for Ducati, none of these cases resulted in crashes or injuries. The investigation concluded that, in rare cases, the oil cooler hoses may contact each other. The safety commission decided to launch a recall campaign on September 20th. Every single Hyperstrada 939, Hypermotard 939, and Hypermotard 939 SP produced between 2015 to 2018 is called back.Build dates range from December 10th, 2015, for the 2016 model year, through July 4th, 2018, for the 2018 model year. If the oil cooler hoses are damaged from contacting each other, oil could drip on the rear tire, increasing the risk of a crash. The reason why these hoses dont stay put is the dedicated clamp support that doesnt guarantee a correct distance between the two hoses. The remedy component is a dedicated oil cooler hoses spacer designed to avoid any contact between the said two hoses.Ducati North America dealers will be informed from today, September 27th, through October 4th, about this problem. Theyll also be instructed to install the aforementioned space at no charge to the customer. The remedy component wasnt introduced into production because the aforementioned Hyperstrada and Hypermotard variants are no longer in production.A grand total of 1,586 motorcycles are called back in the United States. Owners can expect to receive a recall notification beginning October 20th.Essentially the touring version of the Hypermotard, the Hyperstrada is no longer available stateside. As for the Hypermotard, prospective customers are presently offered three choices: the 950, 950 RVE, or the 950 SP. Retail pricing for the Hypermotard 950 is listed on the configurator at $14,595. ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- At least three soldiers of Yemen's joint pro-government forces were killed and 10 others injured in clashes with the Houthi fighters in the country's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Tuesday, a military official told Xinhua. The Houthis launched an attack in an attempt to achieve a ground breakthrough into the government-controlled areas in the Hays District, sparking intense fighting in the area, the local military source said on condition of anonymity. The pro-government forces managed to resist the attack following hours of fighting with casualties, the source said, adding that "the Houthis used various heavy and medium weapons in their attack against the government-controlled sites." On the other hand, the Houthi militia announced through its media outlets that the Saudi Arabia-backed Yemeni government forces committed 63 ceasefire breaches in various areas of Hodeidah during the past hours. Hodeidah's clashes occurred a day after Yemen's government announced receiving a proposal from the United Nations suggesting a new extension of the ongoing truce that expires next Sunday. The truce between the Yemeni government and the Houthis went into force for the first time on April 2 and was later renewed twice through Oct. 2. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa. One of the manufacturers promising motorhome models is the redesigned, 2023 Flair, whose interior design will make you want to ditch your home and move into it full-time.With 5,791 liters of storage volume and available in a plethora of configurations, the Flair can be ordered in two sizes. The Flair 880 has an overall length of 8,870 m (29 ft), a width of 2,415 mm (8 ft), and a height of 3,340 mm (11 ft). Your other option is the Flair 920, which is 9,270 mm (30 ft) long. Both versions are based on an Iveco Daily 70 C 18 H-CCS chassis with a 180 hp diesel engine.Customizability is one of the biggest selling points of the Flair, with Niesmann+Bischoff allowing customers to choose between 128 available combinations for the exterior alone. The interior of the motorhome gives you even more freedom of design, letting you personalize the house on wheels down to the very last fabric and accessory, with 34,560 options available.Once you step foot inside the Flair, youll feel like being welcomed into a five-star hotel. Elegance is the first word that comes to mind when describing the interior of the motorhome . A stylish and warm vibe surrounds you thanks to the combination of wood elements and soft, ambient lighting throughout the vehicle The two seats in the drivers cab swivel to become part of the living room of the Flair, which comes with two sofas and also serves as a dining area that can sit six people, with the two cab seats included. A 32 smart TV is mounted on the wall.Multiple variants are available for the kitchen, which can be equipped with a dishwasher, an oven, a fridge drawer, and combinations of all of them. You can also opt for more storage space, depending on your needs. The Flair also includes a hybrid hob with a two-burner gas stove and a single induction cooker. An integrated cooker hood with an electric lifting system prevents odors from spreading throughout the vehicle during cooking.Next to the kitchen you have the bathroom, which is a whole separate room in itself, with sliding doors that split the bedroom area from the rest of the vehicle. The toilet and walk-in rain shower are divided by a wall and theres also a sliding door between them for privacy. A generous sink sits across from the toilet area.The back of the Flair is dedicated to the bedroom and if want to sleep more people inside the motorhome, you can also opt for a fold-down bed over the drivers cab, which measures 75 x 55 (190 cm x 140 cm) and blends in with the ceiling when not in use.The Flair 880 has a starting price of 180,600 (around $174,000), while the Flair 920 has a base price of 182,300 (approximately $175,000), with the VAT not included.Too many words are necessary to enumerate all the amenities offered with Niesmann+Bischoffs Flair, but you can take a peek at the video below to get a better idea of how it looks. Yo can also check out the manufacturers website for complete specs and details. Back in June, the Army announced a Request for Prototype Proposals for what it calls the Common Tactical Truck (CTT) program. Its an effort meant to come up with replacement hardware for the existing and aging fleet of Heavy Tactical Vehicles. More to the point, replacements for the likes of Palletized Load System (PLS), Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT), and M915 Line Haul Tractor, among others.The Army expects to award a contract this December, and with just two months or so left to go, two new players now sit at the table: American Rheinmetall Vehicles and GM Defense.The two companies announced this week theyll be competing for the program together, in the hopes of snatching a massive sum of $5 billion for the delivery of about 5,700 vehicles, should the military branch decide on moving ahead with production.Although they didn't exactly spell the kind of vehicles the two are proposing, Rheinmetalls HX3 will probably play a major, central role in the companies' offering for the Army.The Army requested trucks with maximum commercial element but able to perform military missions. They should also have advanced driver safety systems, increased off-road mobility, cybersecurity, machine learning, artificial intelligence, improved survivability, and fuel efficiency among other emerging technologies, as per the announced specs.The new HX3 platform was shown by American Rheinmetall back in May of last year, and it presently comes in three configurations: truck-based howitzer, system carrier, and load handler. More uses for it could probably easily be dreamt up for the Armys needs, should they request such things. Thirteen years ago, a very brave man named Mate Rimac decided he wanted to create a car like no other. The dream started in a garage in Croatia and has now culminated with a product that is on the wish list of many well-off people who want to experience astonishing speed coupled with dazzling looks.Jay Leno starts by saying that he liked the Nevera even before he had the chance to lay eyes on it. He appreciated the Rimac way of doing things the final product was introduced to the world. There were no outlandish promises made.Leno argues the vehicle has a timeless, very clean design and likes that its proportions are not exaggerated. The Croatian automaker made sure to use carbon fiber extensively to keep the weight down but also broke a record the monocoque is the single biggest piece of carbon fiber ever used in the automotive industry to make a car. Thats one of the reasons why they managed to make it look so sleek.Rimacs test and development driver Miroslav Zrncevic joins Leno for a test drive and explains the hypercar is not fragile or pretentious. The launch control procedure is simple, and the driver can do that just by smashing the brake and acceleration pedals. When youre ready to go, just lift the foot off the brake. The company did 200 back-to-back 0-120 mph (0-193 kph) runs, and the strain of powerful acceleration did not break anything.The Rimac Nevera episode is almost 50 minutes long. Theres a lot of information contained in the video down below, so make sure you have the time to watch the entire footage. There is a lot to take in!The entire experience is special since Jay Leno is known for his love of internal combustion engine cars. The appreciation shown for EVs, progress, and change is something more of us should embrace.Well keep an eye on the American TV star because we expect a new episode that features Rivian and some other automotive enthusiast goodies! Well see when these episodes drop. Until then, heres how the Rimac Nevera experience went. Its a doozy but an insightful one! We know that hardly anyone can escape the charm of a classic Porsche, and American artist Daniel Arsham is no exception. Actually, his name has come to be closely associated with Porsche, as he previously revealed art cars like the damaged Porsche 911s or the custom Porsche 930A Having spent his childhood years drawing sneakers, cameras, and different Porsche models, Daniel Arsham became passionate about the cars made by the Zuffenhausen-based brand, and they have become a source of inspiration for his artwork.This time around, he is showing the world the Porsche 356 Bonsai, an art car inspired by the Japanese aesthetic concept Wabi Sabi, a worldview that promotes acceptance of impermanence and imperfection. This new project is based on his original 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster, which has been reconceived with a focus on embracing the natural age and wear of the nearly 70-year-old car.The 356 sits in such an interesting position within the Porsche catalog as the starting point for the heritage brand. The nearly 70-year-old vehicle contains the roots of the modern Porsche brand that we know and love in the purest form, says the artist.The 356 Bonsai is a joint effort between the artist and John Willhoit from Willhoit Auto Restoration and Matthew Ammirati from Bridgehampton Motoring Club for the exterior and technical works, as well as fashion curator POGGY and BerBerJin director Yutaka Fujihara for the interior design.Arsham spent the last two years working on his latest project , stripping the car back and laying bare the raw materials that make it up, both inside and out, to artistically illustrate the acceptance of imperfection and the natural passage of time.To get to the final exterior appearance you see in the gallery, Arsham stripped all of the paint from the Porsche car, removing not only the bodypaint restorations but also the original finish and revealing the natural wear of the original components with all of the welds and pit marks. Only a layer of linseed oil protects the raw brushed metal from the elements.A patinated bronze 3D cast that takes the shape of a Bonsai tree adorns the rear engine grille, explaining the name Arsham chose for the art car.The patinated exterior would not have been complete without similarly worn-out elements, so the artist did his best to find all-original components for the rest of the exterior as well. As such, the headlight covers look equally tattered, and the car also features a vintage Bonsai New York license plate.The interior continues the Wabi Sabi principles through the use of Japanese textiles. In fact, the artist used a combination of indigo dyed boro, Sashiko stitched canvas, and Japanese denim produced in Okayama throughout the open-top cabin, all of them made to age well with continued usage.Throughout my career, I have looked to Japan as a source of inspiration for their love and dedication to craft. These sensibilities were the base for the Bonsai 356. We produced all textiles in Japan using traditional craftsmen, Arsham explains.The Porsche 356 Bonsai may seem worn inside and out, but its fully drivable, with all technical components undergoing restoration. Even the original numbered engine has been restored to its original off-the-factory state.With less than 4,000 Porsche 356 Speedsters currently in existence, the 356 Bonsai art car is truly unique, and Porsche Japan will exhibit it in Tokyo at the end of this year. SUV As far as Rolls-Royce Cullinan fans are concerned, there is probably nothing better than a bespoke Black Badge that has also gone down the custom aftermarket route. Well, perhaps a monochrome, all-white normal yet equally custom Culli could do the trick, but we will discuss that one when appropriate.Until then, we need to address the Cullinan Black Badge elephant in the china shop, as a very subtle yet ritzy example has been recently highlighted by the Los Angeles, California-based forged wheel experts over at Forgiato Designs. It was equipped with custom-matched 24-inch aftermarket wheels courtesy of Roadstarr Motorsports , a Los Angeles, California-based supreme auto customization shop.Self-entitled as the best thing that ever happened to auto boutique, this outlet opted for a subtle, almost murdered-out approach to the Cullinan Black Badge trope. And the only thing that separates it from the all-black niche is the nice Dark Caramel ring seen on the Forgiato wheels, frankly. By the way, it was not allowed there merely for contrasting purposes and instead, it carefully matches the interior trim.Now, we mentioned theres also an opposite approach to the whole Rolls-Royce Cullinan customization party. Also born courtesy of Roadstarr, it is well represented by a monochromatic, all-white (even the Spirit of Ecstasy), frosted ultra-luxury that has just one thing in common with the previous bespoke project.And that would be the fact that it rides posh on matching 24-inch aftermarket wheels. Only, on this occasion, those are the pride and joy of Anaheim, California-based Savini Wheels. Still, they bode equally well with the Rolls because of their multi-spoke wire-style design, as well as those big and brawny RR floating caps, right? These two giants have been working together for more than 60 years. The Pearl 700 represents the future, which will power the G700 and G800 business jets. But the BR725 is the veteran, having accumulated almost 1,5 million hours of flight across a decade.It has now reached another milestone, as the 1,000th unit was delivered to Savannah, Georgia, in the U.S., from Dahlewitz, Germany, where it was assembled.This reputable engine is behind one of the greatest aviation records. In 2019, the ultra-long-range G650ER completed the farthest business jet flight in history, surpassing the previous world record by 44 minutes and more than 225 nautical miles (259 miles/417 km). The G650ET flew from Singapore to Tucson, Arizona, covering 8,379 nautical miles (9,642 miles/15,518 km) in 15 hours and 23 minutes.This was just one of the world speed records held by Gulfstreams G650 aircraft family more than 100 records. And the BR725 was the one that powered them and will continue to do so. The G650 family entered service precisely a decade ago, in 2012, and now has more than 500 aircraft in operation.Even though the two partners are launching new projects, the BR725 engine is expected to power the reputable G650 and G650ER for decades to come.The G650ER boasts a maximum range of 7,500 nautical miles (8,630 miles/13,890 km) and a top speed of Mach 0.925 (709 mph/1,142 kph). Its also a leader in terms of passenger comfort, thanks to one of the quietest cabins in the industry , is fitted with large windows and features an advanced clean air system. Like many others around the world, this couple started out living in a tiny house , which then inspired them to build their own. Although as a young family with small children, theyve moved to a bigger place, their passion for tiny living turned into a successful business. Each of the models built under the Further Simplify brand boasts a unique Indian inspiration, whether its reflected in the decor or just in the name.Surya means sun and is one of the models up for grabs at Further Simplify . From the outside, it looks like any other tiny house, but once inside, this 24-foot (7.3 meters) shows off a very bright interior and a clever layout. True to its name, this tiny house looks sunny and warm, indeed.Despite its size, Surya has two lofts, which could accommodate up to six people. If theres no need for that, the second loft becomes a versatile space that can be used for extra storage or as a relaxation spot. Two fixed ladders lead up to each loft, and underneath one of the lofts is where the seating area can be set up. Even a main-level bed can be added here, instead of a sofa, if thats more convenient.The house is built with beautiful shiplap interior walls and completely waterproof laminate floors throughout. The tiny kitchen comes with elegant countertops and cabinets and is equipped with a mini fridge. The full-size bathroom includes a marble vanity and a bathtub.Built on a custom tiny house trailer, Surya can be delivered anywhere, with pricing starting at $55,000. ?Finalitzada l'extincio d'un foc al Poblenou. ???? Dos vehicles han cremat a un aparcament soterrat del passatge de Mas de Roda. Hem intervingut amb: ?? 3 autobombes ?? 1 autoescala ?? 1 ambulancia ?? 2 vehicles de comandament ?? 1 camio d'aire i ventilacio#BombersBCN ???? pic.twitter.com/3zE6RPuZsM Bombers Barcelona (@BCN_Bombers) September 25, 2022 According to the Bombers de Barcelona, the fire happened on September 25 and destroyed not only the Model 3 but also the vehicle parked right at the left of the Model 3 . Again, the first reports about it were wrong: they said it was a BMW, but what the images show is actually a Volkswagen T-ROC.The difficulty in correctly identifying the burned cars shows how severe the blaze was. The only parts left on the Model 3 are those made of steel, including the seat frames. The T-ROC is only recognizable due to its hood and part of the bumper. The Volkswagen crossover's right front tire vanished and it is pretty big.The Barcelona firefighters stated they had to send three fire engines, one ambulance, one turntable ladder truck, two command vehicles, and a ventilation truck. Unfortunately, they did not share how much time they spent extinguishing the fire.According to Coche Global , the fire started in the battery pack and reignited at least once, making the firefighters work even more difficult. People who left their cars in the same underground car park were not allowed to go there after the blaze was killed. Apparently, some vehicles close to where the Model 3 was parked were also damaged due to the extreme heat the blazes generated.It is not clear what caused the fire or if anyone apart from insurance companies will investigate. Tesla does not talk to the press, and it will remain silent unless Spanish government authorities demand some answers. Well try to follow how this story will unfold. SOHC DOHC For many car enthusiasts, particularly those who have an affinity for powerful American V8 engines, the 1960s was undoubtedly the greatest era in automotive history. In the U.S., the horsepower war was reaching its pinnacle, giving birth to muscle car icons that hid some unbelievable powerplants under their hood.While emission and safety regulations forced carmakers to limit their power in street-legal cars, the true potential of these eight-cylinder icons was showcased on track.After a failed attempt to buy out Ferrari, Ford set out on an ambitious endeavor to humiliate the Italians in the most prestigious race of them all, the 24 Hours of Le Mans . With the 427 side-oiler version of its Gen 2 FE and later, a heavily modified 302 Windsor mounted in the middle of the continually-improved GT40 chassis, the Americans eventually succeeded, crossing the finish line first on four consecutive occasions, from 1966 to 1969.But, before this resounding international success, Ford was caught off guard back home by crosstown rivals Chrysler and their brand-new 426 HEMI , also known as the Elephant engine.The year was 1964, and at the Daytona 500, Ford got its behind kicked by Elephant-powered Plymouths, who earned a memorable 1-2-3 finish. Suddenly, the Blue Oval's NASCAR hegemony seemed destined to end, so engineers rushed to develop a new engine that could remain competitive against the gargantuan HEMI.The answer came in the form of an equally humongous, 427-ci (7.0-liter), single overhead cam () V8 that would become affectionately known as Cammer."At the time Ford was pouring all its motorsport resources into the GT40 project as well as the development of a new IndyIndy engine, so for the proposed HEMI destroyer, engineers had to be creative.To keep costs down and finish the unit in record time, they took the 427 FE side-oiler and proceeded to transform it into an Elephant slayer. The race-proven block and internals were mostly unchanged, with the only upgrades being an idler gear added to the camshaft bore, a revised lubrication system, and cross-bolted main bearing caps designed to handle the extra power that the engineers were aiming for.While the block was largely the same as the one on the 427, which would help Ford achieve a 1-2-3 finish at Le Mans two years later, the Cammers upper end was different. The cast-iron heads (revised to aluminum in later iterations) were designed with fully machined, hemispherical combustion chambers , making the engine a hemi in its own right.On top, each head featured a single overhead camshaft that operated shaft-mounted roller rockers. The valvetrain contained larger valves than those on Fords conventional wedge heads. Mounted on dual springs, they were machined out of stainless steel, and those that handled the exhaust were sodium-filled to prevent the valve heads from burning.Perhaps the most fascinating feature of the Cammer was the 6-foot (1.8 m) timing chain, which drove both overhead cams. Cheaper and quicker to develop than gear drive setup, it was nowhere near as effective since it stretched under high load. This was countered by varying the cam timing from one side to the other by four to eight degrees between banks to compensate, but it remained one of the engine's main weaknesses. Moreover, because the chain rotated in a single direction, the cams also rotated in the same direction. This required a unique design for each cam, with one mirroring the other.All these changes amounted to an output of 616 hp at 7,000 rpm and 515 lb-ft (698 Nm) of torque at 3,800 rpm, when equipped with a single four-barrel carburetor. Ford also prepared a dual four-barrel carb version that was even more impressive, producing 657 hp at 7,500 rpm and 575 lb-ft (780 Nm) of torque @ 4,200 rpm.Known internally as the 90-day wonder because legend has it thats how much time it took to develop it, the SOHC 427 started as a quick side project and suddenly became Fords greatest engine. The engineering department, management, and of course, the race drivers who got to test it were in awe of its immense power potential.Unfortunately, NASCAR head Bill France did not share the enthusiasm and banned the unit as he believed that overhead cam engines were too European. Ford continued to lobby for its homologation , arguing that it was the only worthy adversary for the HEMI, but despite the carmakers efforts and public demand, NASCAR did not budge. Furthermore, the sanctioning body went on to put an end to these purpose-built engines that they argued turned stock cars into "not-stock cars, banning the HEMI from the competition for the 1965 season.The ban was eventually lifted in 1966, but Ford was only allowed to use the Cammer with one small four-barrel carb. Even worse, the manufacturer could only use it in the full-size Galaxie, which meant that Ford had to manage a whopping 430-pound (195 kg) weight disadvantage over the HEMI-powered Dodges and Plymouths. By that time, the Blue Oval said no, thank you and withdrew its financial support from the series.Despite never registering an official NASCAR lap, the Cammer went on to make a name for itself on the drag strip. It contributed to the fast-paced evolution of the Funny Car class thanks to Ford's direct involvement in the sport via its Total Performance racing department and became the basis for some very successful supercharged Top Fuel dragsters, including those of legends Connie Kalitta, Lew Sneaky Pete Robinson, and Lou Baney - the latter being driven by Don "the Snake" Prudhomme.The SOHC 427 was (sadly) never fitted into a production model for obvious reasons but those who had about $2,300 ($19,574 in today's money) to spare could buy one from select dealerships.While no official production figures exist, it is estimated that Ford built around 500 of these fascinating engines from 1964 to 1967. Most of them were heavily modified throughout the years, which makes a factory-spec Cammer extremely rare these days. Nevertheless, some units pop up at auctions from time to time, like the one featured in the gallery, which went under the hammer at a Bonhams auction in 2019.Although it never got a chance to compete against the Elephant under the hood of a stock car, the Crammer still managed to become a legend. Nearly 60 years after its introduction, its still one of Fords greatest engines and one of the most impressive naturally-aspirated V8s of all time.If you want to see it in action, we recommend watching the video below by Unity MotorSports Garage. It dives deeper into the modifications that the Cammer received during its years of service on the drag strip and features original footage as well as interviews with the legends of the era. Thats not to say that sanctions have been lifted: far from it, actually, because local authorities are still carrying out investigations to determine rightful owners and a just course of action to follow in these unprecedented times. Meanwhile, over in Germany, the worlds largest megayacht by volume may be doing a proverbial slip through the fingers.That megayacht is Dilbar , the 2016 build by Lurssen, a gigantic, 156-meters (511.8-foot) vessel that comes with a reported price tag of $600 million, owned by Russian billionaire and known Putin associate Alisher Usmanov. Once one of the most outstanding examples of naval design and the kind of excellence Lurssen delivers, in March this year, Dilbar became the biggest catch in that aforementioned enthusiastic wave of seizures.Ulisher Usmanov was included on the international sanctions list on March 3, days after the start of the war. When that happened, Dilbar was at the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, undergoing refits. It was in a dry dock, so authorities swooped in and claimed it as a frozen asset , triggering a months-long drama that stung the regular taxpayer more than it probably stung Usmanov himself.Last week, Dilbar was towed out of Hamburg and into Bremen, with parent company Lurssen saying that it needed to vacate the dock at Blohm + Voss for other projects. As such, Dilbar would be taken to Bremen as a dead ship (meaning, without engines and a crew) while the shipyard considered its next step.As the move was taking place, work on Dilbar had resumed for some weeks, despite the fact that, since it was a frozen asset, it shouldnt have: the yacht no longer had an owner or a management company, nor was there any purpose for it to be repaired since it wasnt allowed to sail. Lurssen said that some maintenance was necessary for the safety of the vessel but did not elaborate further than to insist that all work was done in accordance with the law and approval from competent authorities.As of the time of press and as the first video below will show Dilbar is now sitting inside the worlds largest floating dry dock, Dock 10, which is a long-term Lurssen storage facility in Berne. Superyacht vlogger eSysman points out that the propellers and the shafts have been reinstalled since the last time Dilbar was in dry dock, which is hardly routine maintenance work. He also notes that the floating dock can be closed off completely, which is just the kind of place youd want to carry out work if you wanted no one to see you.And then, theres this: the paper owner of Dilbar is one of Usmanovs sisters, Gulbakhor Ismailova, who was included on sanctions lists at the same time as the other sister, Saodat Narzieva, in April. Narzieva was removed from those lists on September 14, just days before Dilbar was moved out of Hamburg. This could be a coincidence, but eSysman argues that its probably not: Usmanov put Dilbar in Ismailovas name when it was convenient for him to do so; whats there to stop him from doing the same again, but this time in the name of his un-sanctioned sister?In a statement, Lurssen says that All our activities are fully in line with European sanctions law and we continue to work closely with the relevant authorities. This would still be true if the work carried out was for a new, un-sanctioned paper owner, regardless of her relationship to the sanctioned Usmanov, who remains the direct beneficiary.That Dilbar is getting ready to slip away could be a rushed and erroneous reading of all these facts, but its not like Usmanov and his family havent tried other ways of getting it back before. In late May, for instance, all three (brother and sisters) filed appeals with the EU , asking for sanctions to be lifted and their vessel back. Usmanov may be worth an estimated $14.6 billion (with a B), but hes clearly not ready to leave a $600 million custom megayacht to German authorities without first exhausting all possibilities and legal loopholes Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, attends a reception to celebrate the upcoming 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and delivers a speech in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 27, 2022. The reception was jointly held by the General Office of the National Committee of the CPPCC, the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, and the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang attended a reception on Tuesday to celebrate the upcoming 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in Beijing and delivered a speech. The reception was jointly held by the General Office of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, and the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has implemented the strategy of national rejuvenation within the context of global changes of a scale unseen in a century, said Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee. It has solved many longstanding problems, brought about important achievements on matters concerning the future, and withstood risks and challenges at home and abroad, Wang added. Noting that the upcoming 20th CPC National Congress matters in carrying forward the cause of the Party and the country, the future of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and China's national rejuvenation, Wang urged efforts to study, publicize and implement the spirit of the congress, and follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to strive for fully building a modern socialist China and advancing national rejuvenation. Stressing understanding the spirit of President Xi Jinping's address at the meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, Wang called for efforts to implement the principle of "one country, two systems," enforce the central government's overall jurisdiction in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs), implement the principle of patriots administering Hong Kong and Macao, as well as supporting the SAR governments in their administration in accordance with the law, ensuring that the SARs maintain their unique status and advantages, and supporting their integration into China's overall development. Wang stressed implementing the Party's overall policy for resolving the Taiwan question in the new era, upholding the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and promoting the peaceful and integrated development of cross-Strait relations. Noting that China's reunification is unstoppable, Wang warned that seeking "Taiwan independence" with foreign support will lead nowhere, while using Taiwan to contain China is doomed to fail. Wang urged efforts to implement the policies of the Party and the country on overseas Chinese affairs, and help the world to better understand China. Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, attends a reception to celebrate the upcoming 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and delivers a speech in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 27, 2022. The reception was jointly held by the General Office of the National Committee of the CPPCC, the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, and the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. (Xinhua/Gao Jie) BEV Not everyone sees electric vehicles as a good option for the future of mobility. Some want to prolong the combustion engines life by making it burn clean fuels instead of dirty gasoline. Synthetic fuels and hydrogen are two popular options. However, the latter has not seen much adoption due to a lack of hydrogen-refueling infrastructure.Until now, the engine juggernaut Cummins has advanced hydrogen combustion engine development for use in industrial and heavy-duty applications. Toyota is the only car maker demonstrating a hydrogen-fueled combustion vehicle for the consumer sector. But Toyota cannot move this industry by itself. Thankfully, a growing list of companies is warming to the idea.According to Automotive News , BorgWarner is rolling out a full line of components for hydrogen engines, from injectors to rail systems and electronic control units. The Michigan company announced it won a contract to supply such parts to a European construction equipment manufacturer. On the other hand, Riken created a whole division dedicated to producing hydrogen engine components.The auto industry spends billions of dollars to develop battery-electric vehicles and Li-ion batteries. Still, Toyota has been reluctant to jump on thebandwagon. Instead, it has been a vocal advocate of hydrogen combustion. More producers started to consider the option for their vehicle engines. Among them are Daimler, MAN Truck and Bus, engine maker Cummins and powertrain specialist AVL.Yamaha is also working on the development of hydrogen combustion engines . Earlier this year, the Japanese company demonstrated a 5.0-liter V-8 hydrogen engine based on the Toyota powertrain used in the Lexus RC F sport coupe. And its not just auto companies that try to push hydrogen engines. Rolls-Royce is teaming with easyJet to put hydrogen engines in planes.Hydrogen combustion engines look promising, although they are nowhere near as efficient as hydrogen fuel cells, not to mention battery-electric vehicles. They can keep the existing supply chains in place and cause minimum disruptions to producers. On the other hand, burning hydrogen is still polluting even without carbon due to the NOx gases generated. ICE Aside from contemplating eleven great years of Lambo Aventador production while the exotic Italian manufacturer pulls the plug on the great N/A V12 monster, we could also look forward to the new era of electrification. Or, if we love ourhoots too much, we can always defer to the wonderous aftermarket realm.Over in the United States, Miami, Florida-based ANRKY Wheels has a simple motto: disrupting the established order. And they usually do not disappoint, instead going above and beyond traditionally with a little bit of help from Wheels Boutique . The latter shop, which is their town neighbor, is also self-described as the largest dealer for the worlds top brands.So, you can find just about anything in their customization backyard, from Dark Emerald , lowered widebody Rolls-Royce Cullinan ultra-luxury SUVs to rare Porsche 911 Speedsters that went down the bespoke route with plenty of carbon fiber and ritzy aftermarket wheels. Notice how Wheels Boutique loves to play around with ANRKY, and this untamed, hot orange Lambo Aventador is no different.That would be as far as the staggered, 20- and 21-inch AN31 Series Three wheels are concerned because everything else is absolutely out of the ordinary supercar trope. Of course, this is what happens when an Italian thoroughbred goes for a slammed widebody atmosphere as if it only knows how to live a JDM lifestyle. But that is probably just a ruse, all due to the bagged Air Lift Performance setup and Liberty Walk aerodynamic kit!Oh, and just in case this isnt your extreme cup of tea, heres a tamer alternative: a McLaren 765LT Spider riding Cerulean Blue and MSO Orange on a fine set of polished ANRKY AN39s! EV kWh hey @VW was kann es so sein? War letzte Woche in der Werkstatt und Fehler auslesen soll ergebnislos gewesen sein. Mal poppt die Warnung auf, mal ist sie weg. pic.twitter.com/uDRVkGPvUs a t o r i (@atoriCrash) January 10, 2022 According to nextmove, Volkswagen distributed a memo to its dealers to tell them that some cells installed in the high-voltage battery pack of the ID.3 and ID.4 of a limited production period (...) exhibit increased self-discharge due to a manufacturing defect. The carmaker did not specify which manufacturing defect it is that makes the batteries lose charge.According to Panasonic , self-discharge occurs when a minuscule amount of the chemical substances inside the batteries reacts even without any connections between the electrodes. It tends to happen more quickly at higher temperatures and is inevitable in most cells. Modern cells are designed to present minimal self-discharge. That means something happened to the LGES cells on the ID.3 and ID.4 to make that more pronounced.In the cells used by the Hyundai Kona Electric , the defect was a misalignment caused by a folded anode tab. We have no idea if a folded anode tab can increase self-discharge or not, but we will try to find that out. The deal is that cells that are self-discharging more than they should can lead to a reduction in battery capacity and thus to a reduction in the range of the vehicle.Volkswagen told nextmove that around 10,000 vehicles were affected worldwide regardless of the size of the battery pack and that 3,000 are in Germany. Eight of the ID.3 in nextmoves fleet are involved in the recall. As you may recall, nextmove is a largerental car that also makes interesting videos about these vehicles.According to the company, the VINs are between 14,000 and 17,000, which suggests early ID.3s and ID.4s are more subject to present the issue. The newest vehicle in their fleet to have the defective cells has a VIN in the 48,000 range.Stefan Moeller said that the 58-has 216 cells. More specifically, the nextmove CEO said each battery module has 24 cells, so the 216 cells in the 58-kWh battery pack for the ID.3 are divided into 9 modules. Volkswagen will inspect the vehicles with an electronic service tool and replace the defective modules. The service should take a working day.There are many signs that there is something wrong. Moeller said they are noticeable either in the upper or lower range of the charge level. When you fully charge the car, and it loses 10% of charge without moving, thats a red flag. If you are below 50% of charge, sudden changes in range may also happen. A nextmove customer said his car had 10% charge left, and it stopped responding to the accelerator pedal at 160 kph (100 mph).The car just rolled for a bit. That gave the defective cells some juice, and the ID.3 started working again. The nextmove customer then carefully drove the vehicle to the nearest fast charger available. Another evident sign of issues is when the car shows this message: Electrical system not working properly. Please visit a dealership. The Twitter user atori (@atoriCrash) shared this message on January 10, 2022, which shows that the problem is not recent.The German automaker said that it has been remotely monitoring the EVs that may present the condition and will contact their owners to go to a dealership to replace the modules with defective cells. For those who decided not to allow Volkswagen to monitor their cars, the company does not have their data but may estimate that they are involved depending on the VIN.Christian Stadler, from the Battery Life YouTube channel, suggests these owners take their vehicles for an evaluation at their Volkswagen dealerships. Wed advise only those who experienced issues such as those Moeller described to do so, especially if they get the message stating the electrical system is not working properly, with the big exclamation mark over the vehicle icon. SUV Normally, these two ideas would have no business belonging in the same sentence. But, as they colloquially say, someone probably thought of a wait, hold my beer and then went all aftermarket on the poor Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Sure, a black, humongousmight look a little better when lowered on top of matching-color aftermarket wheels.Alas, the jury might also still be out as far as a widebody Cullinan is concerned. Just let us give you a pertinent example of how outrageous a black vehicle can become while still trying to adhere to tradition. So, the good folks over at performance wheel specialist AL13 Wheels Design + Technik want to highlight an example that was customized by Huntington Beach, California-based European automotive specialist Benz Works.And the Rolls has the usual suspects on board: signature chrome details to signal it is not a Black Badge , some unknown widebody aerodynamic kit attire (probably Novitec) to make sure it stands out in any posh crowd, and a lowered stance because it will not do any off-roading (ever), plus a nice set of steelies. Wait, what? Now, seriously, a Rolls-Royce Cullinan does not belong on something that was used on Dacias and other low-cost brands as a statement of their affordable lifestyle.Well, those are not traditional steelies, indeed. Instead, we are dealing with a blacked-out, custom-made-to-order set of 24-inch AL13 Wheels C00-109R Aerodiscs . They are bespoke-dressed up in Gloss Black, and also feature a blink-and-youll-miss-it Gloss Orange color fill detail alongside the big RR floating caps. Oh, and that can only mean one thing this Cullinan owner also knows orange is the new black and has trimmed the starry interior accordingly! We Greece have repeatedly underlined that we support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, Dendias said after talks with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan. That goes also for our dear friends, the Armenians, Armenia. We believe in the inviolability of borders, and I am referring to the incidents that happened just a few days ago following the shelling of Armenian territory, including inhabited areas, by the Azeri military forces, he told a joint news briefing. And I would like to quote [French] President Macron who said yesterday: I strongly condemn what happened in recent days and call for peace and resumption of negotiations. So I am here to express our solidarity with the Armenian government and the Armenian people. Dendias went on to denounce attempts to redraw maps, pointing the finger at not only Azerbaijan but also its key ally, Turkey. Turkey is trying to take advantage of the recent turmoil in order to undermine peace and stability, be it in the Caucasus or the Aegean, he charged, pointing to Ankaras threat of war against Greece voiced in an intensifying dispute over Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. Mirzoyan thanked Athens for its position on the border clashes of September 13-14 which Yerevan regards as Azerbaijani military aggression. Predictably, Ankara has voiced full support for Baku after what was the worst fighting in the conflict zone since the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Dendias flew to Yerevan just over a week after he, Mirzoyan and Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides of Cyprus held a trilateral meeting in New York on the sidelines of an annual session of the UN General Assembly. The three nations share historically strained relations with Turkey. We are looking forward to enhancing our trilateral partnership with Cyprus to a new level, said Dendias, who held separate meetings with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Defense Minister Suren Papikian later on Tuesday. The Greek ministers trip coincided with the second anniversary of the outbreak of the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war. He had previously visited Armenia during the six-week hostilities. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- After weeks of gang violence and protests in Haiti, humanitarians warn that life-saving services could halt, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday. "After almost two weeks of complete blockade of the country's main fuel entry point, water distribution is seriously compromised and health facilities are running dangerously low on fuel," said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He said some hospitals cannot admit new patients and are preparing to close, adding that many hospitals are running out of oxygen. The World Health Organization and its affiliate Pan American Health Organization are working with health authorities and partners to refurbish emergency medical services at one major public hospital, he said. The UN agencies joined the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) to provide medical supplies for two public hospitals in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, said the spokesman. He said the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UNFPA also work with hospitals, health authorities and partners to install solar power supplies. However, solar power is insufficient to keep hospitals fully functioning. Dujarric said UNICEF estimates that 22,000 children under the age of 5, and over 28,000 newborns, are at risk of not receiving essential health care services for the next four weeks. He said the current access crisis also raises concerns about the 36 sites for internally displaced people in Haiti. The sites host more than 24,000 people displaced by last year's earthquake in the south and by the recent gang violence in Port-au-Prince. "Our colleagues on the ground are concerned about reports of widespread sexual violence, rape and gender-based violence," the spokesman said. Haiti's humanitarian response remains seriously underfunded despite increasing needs, he said. "As of today (Tuesday), we have received only a third of the funding required for the country's 373-million-U.S. dollar humanitarian plan for 2022." UN chief calls for all-out efforts to eliminate nuclear threat Xinhua) 08:38, September 27, 2022 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (L, Front) speaks at a UN General Assembly high-level meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for the use of every means to eliminate the nuclear threat. Guterres made the appeal at a UN General Assembly high-level meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which falls on Sept. 26. "We come together on this international day to speak with one voice. To stand in defense of our world -- and our future. And to reject the claim that nuclear disarmament is some impossible utopian dream," he said. He noted that the elimination of nuclear weapons would be the greatest gift "we could bestow on future generations." In late August, the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons failed to result in the adoption of an outcome document. Expressing disappointment about the conference's failure to reach a substantive outcome, Guterres vowed that "we will not give up." "I urge all states to use every avenue of dialogue, diplomacy and negotiation to ease tensions, reduce risk and eliminate the nuclear threat," he said. Guterres also called for a new vision for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. He highlighted the need to take into account the evolving nuclear order, including all types of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, as well as the need to address the blurring lines between strategic and conventional weapons, and the nexus with new domains of cyber and outer space. The UN chief urged General Assembly delegates to seize the opportunity and make new commitment to work toward a peaceful future. "Without eliminating nuclear weapons, there can be no peace. There can be no trust. And there can be no sustainable future," he said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a UN General Assembly high-level meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji) People view the golden mask of ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun during an evening ceremony held at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 27, 2022. An evening ceremony was held at the Egyptian Museum to mark the annual World Tourism Day on Tuesday, which coincides this year with the 200th anniversary of the creation of the field of Egyptology and the decoding of ancient hieroglyphs. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) CAIRO, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Egypt aims at increasing the number of foreign tourists by 25 to 30 percent annually and boosting its revenues, Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa said on Tuesday. Issa's remarks came during an evening ceremony held at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square to mark the annual World Tourism Day on Sept. 27, which coincides this year with the 200th anniversary of the creation of the field of Egyptology and the decoding of ancient hieroglyphs. "The tourism industry is one of the main pillars of the national economy, and it is linked with many complimentary industries and contributes to providing job opportunities directly and indirectly," Issa told the attendees. The tourism ministry plans to improve the quality of the tourism experience of every foreign tourist coming to Egypt, the investment environment in hotels and shopping malls, as well as the quality of services provided to tourists whether in airports, streets, or taxis, according to Issa. He added that his ministry will coordinate with the aviation ministry to increase the number of planes and the capacity of airports. The tourism minister also spoke of the Chinese market as one of the promising markets for Egypt's tourism industry. "The Chinese market is very important for the Egyptian tourism industry. All our market research and strategic plans so far show the significant and high potential in the Chinese market," Issa said. "The entire ministry is working very diligently with the private sector to make sure that they have the right plans and the right products to sell to the Chinese market," he continued, adding that he's "very optimistic" about the potential growth of the number of Chinese visitors in the future. Issa took a tour inside the Egyptian Museum and inaugurated a temporary exhibition at one of the halls marking World Tourism Day and 200 years of Egyptology, which displays a collection of statues of ancient scribes and ancient writing tools. The ministry opened on Tuesday most museums and archaeological sites, including the Giza Pyramids, for visitors for free. People view an exhibit during an evening ceremony held at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 27, 2022. An evening ceremony was held at the Egyptian Museum to mark the annual World Tourism Day on Tuesday, which coincides this year with the 200th anniversary of the creation of the field of Egyptology and the decoding of ancient hieroglyphs. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) Photo taken on Sept. 27, 2022 shows a golden mask at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt. An evening ceremony was held at the Egyptian Museum to mark the annual World Tourism Day on Tuesday, which coincides this year with the 200th anniversary of the creation of the field of Egyptology and the decoding of ancient hieroglyphs. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) People attend an evening ceremony held at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 27, 2022. An evening ceremony was held at the Egyptian Museum to mark the annual World Tourism Day on Tuesday, which coincides this year with the 200th anniversary of the creation of the field of Egyptology and the decoding of ancient hieroglyphs. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) People view exhibits during an evening ceremony held at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 27, 2022. An evening ceremony was held at the Egyptian Museum to mark the annual World Tourism Day on Tuesday, which coincides this year with the 200th anniversary of the creation of the field of Egyptology and the decoding of ancient hieroglyphs. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) Get Hooked on These Page-Turning Manga Series for First-Time Readers 4 Minute Read Advertisement Switching from American comics to manga can feel a little daunting. Check out one of these beginner manga series to get the hang of it! Picking up your first manga isnt an easy task sometimes, Japanese comics can feel like a genre entirely on their own. Maybe youre nervous about reading right to left and back to front. Maybe the art or the dialogue feels just a little unusual. Whatever is holding you back, these Japanese comics are guaranteed to have you turning so many pages youll forget which direction youre flipping. As always, we know that digital comics are very convenient. But if you see something you absolutely need to own in the meatspace, be sure to head to your local comic book shop! Monster by Naoki Urasawa Johan is a cold and calculating killer with a mysterious past, and brilliant Dr. Kenzo Tenma is the only one who can stop him! Conspiracy and serial murder open the door to a compelling, intricately woven plot in this masterwork of suspense. Everyone faces uncertainty at some point in their lives. Even a brilliant surgeon like Kenzo Tenma is no exception. But theres no way he could have known that his decision to stop chasing professional success and instead concentrate on his oath to save peoples lives would result in the birth of an abomination. The questions of good and evil now take on a terrifyingly real dimension. Years later, in Germany during the tumultuous post-reunification period, middle-aged childless couples are being killed one after another. The serial killers identity is known. The reasons why he kills are not. Dr. Tenma sets out on a journey to find the killers twin sister, who may hold some clues to solving the enigma of the Monster. Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya After a family tragedy turns her life upside down, plucky high schooler Tohru Honda takes matters into her own hands and moves outinto a tent! Unfortunately for her, she pitches her new home on private land belonging to the mysterious Sohma clan, and it isnt long before the owners discover her secret. But, as Tohru quickly finds out when the family offers to take her in, the Sohmas have a secret of their ownwhen touched by the opposite sex, they turn into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac! A perennial favorite of fans and librarians alike, Natsuki Takayas beloved bestselling Fruits Basket series returns to print in gorgeous deluxe English-language omnibus editions with beautiful full-color illustrations that are not to be missed! One Punch Man by ONE & Yusuke Murata Every time a promising villain appears, Saitama beats the snot out of em with one punch! Can he finally find an opponent who can go toe-to-toe with him and give his life some meaning? Or is he doomed to a life of superpowered boredom? Advertisement One-Piece by Eiichiro Oda As a child, Monkey D. Luffy was inspired to become a pirate by listening to the tales of the buccaneer Red-Haired Shanks. But his life changed when Luffy accidentally ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit and gained the power to stretch like rubberat the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, still vowing to become the king of the pirates, Luffy sets out on his adventureone guy alone in a rowboat, in search of the legendary One Piece, said to be the greatest treasure in the world Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura Tsukimi Kurashita has a strange fascination with jellyfish. Shes loved them from a young age and has carried that love with her to her new life in the big city of Tokyo. There, she resides in Amamizukan, a safe-haven for girl geeks who regularly gush over a range of things from trains to Japanese dolls. However, a chance meeting at a pet shop has Tsukimi crossing paths with one of the things that the residents of Amamizukan have been desperately trying to avoida beautiful and fashionable woman! But theres much more to this woman than her trendy clothes! This odd encounter is only the beginning of a new and unexpected path for Tsukimi and her friends. Just so youre aware, if you buy these comics, well make a little money. Obviously, we need this money to buy millions of bookshelves to store our hundreds of volumes of shojo manga. Subscribe to our newsletter! Get Tabletop, RPG & Pop Culture news delivered directly to your inbox. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Author: Danni Danger Danni is a staff writer and editor whose expertise lies in comic books, superhero movies, science fiction/fantasy, horror, and cheesy dad jokes. They spent 8 glorious years working at Austin Books & Comics, and created content for almost 15 years. They've written for the Daily Dot and made YouTube content with the Weirdlings. Danni currently does all the things for BoLS, Screen Fanatic, and TheStreet. Advertisement Read the Comments (0) Star Wars: The Ewoks Should Be Extinct 2 Minute Read Advertisement Not a fan of the Ewoks? This real physics explanation of the Death Star explosion will make you very happy. For those that are unfamiliar the Endor Holocaust Theory was initially laid out in a 10,000-word essay by astrophysicist Curtis Saxon in the mid-90s. An excerpt detailing how Endor would have become a planet blanketed in nuclear winter where nothing survives The circumstances at the end of Return of the Jedi lead inevitably to an environmental disaster on the Endor moon. The explosion of a small artificial moon in low orbit sends a meteoric rain onto the Ewok sanctuary. On a scale unmatched since Endor formed. Through either direct atmospheric injection of small particles, or showers of ejecta from large impacts, the atmosphere will be filled with smoke and fallout. This will cause a gargantuan nuclear-winter effect. Unless the rebel commandoes on Endor were executing a suicide mission, the rebel fleet was evidently able to intervene to protect their immediate vicinity. Probably an area comparable to Luxembourg. Debris fragments amounting to the mass of the rebel fleet might conceivably have been diverted from that particular locality by the exertion of the fleets tractor beams. And onto adjacent areas of the Endorian globe. However, this is only a tiny fraction of the total mass incident on the moon during an event lasting mere minutes. The mass of the entire debris cloud and fireball is incomparably (inexorably) greater than the combined mass of both fleets over Endor. A general climatological catastrophe was unavoidable. Averting the disaster would have required physical action on a scale greater than the construction of a Death Star. And within minutes of the battle stations explosion. Immediately following ROTJ the Endor moon has become unlivable, meaning that the Ewoks are extinct The Ewoks are Dead. All of Them. A number of scientists have examined the issue after Saxon shared his thoughts. Very few see Endor coming out as habitable. The life on the surface would experience radiation, debris traveling at 220,000mph, massive amounts of heat, and various chemical clouds. Not a place you want to live. Tech Insider posed the question to a number of scientists. Planetary scientist, David Minton, responded with a detailed paper that is summed up in this handy video you can share with all of your Ewok-loving friends Advertisement Author: Mars Garrett Pop culture staff writer that has been on the BoLS team since 2010. Contributor on the One of Us podcast. Marvel, Vertigo, and dystopian sci-fi fan. Enjoys bad movies, amazing stunt performances, and the internet. Hates rom-coms. (she/they) Advertisement Read the Comments (25) Chinese doctors do gastroscopy assisted by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) acupuncture anesthesia at the Juba Teaching Hospital in Juba, South Sudan, on Sept. 21, 2022. (Photo by Denis Elamu/Xinhua) JUBA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The 10th batch of the Chinese medical team has introduced a new formula of treatment that combines gastroscopy with traditional Chinese acupuncture to relieve patients of pain in South Sudan. Mou Dut, a 21-year-old South Sudanese, had been vomiting bloody fluids after meals for more than ten days before he sought help from the Chinese medical doctors at the Juba Teaching Hospital. Xu Zhangwei, digestive physician and the leader of the Chinese medical team in collaboration with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physician Ji Qiaoxue, and anesthesiologist Yu Yongqi decided to perform a gastroscope inspection assisted by TCM acupuncture anesthesia on Dut. The doctors recommended this treatment after discovering Dut's poor health conditions and his body's intolerance to conventional gastroscopy, in addition to avoiding the high risk of gastroscopy under general anesthesia. "During the examination, precise acupuncture anesthesia gave full support and an effective guarantee to smooth gastroscopy examination which was also monitored by anesthesiologists. Through close cooperation, Chinese doctors successfully found the invasive lesions in the patient's gastric antrum," Xu told Xinhua on Tuesday in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. Gastroscopy is an important method of gastrointestinal endoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of digestive system diseases. Invasive lesions are malignant cellular populations that have increased in size and infiltrated the surrounding tissues. Xu said that this was the first gastroscopy performed with acupuncture-assisted anesthesia in the medical field of South Sudan. "The patient had no obvious discomfort during the entire examination, and was suggested to go to the surgery department for further treatment after the gastroscopy," Xu said. Xu noted that his team applied the traditional acupuncture therapy of Chinese medicine to gastroscopy, to achieve the purpose of anesthesia reducing pain during the endoscope examination. "The successful gastroscopy of this time, combining advantages of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine, not only demonstrates the diagnosis and treatment level of the medical team but also shows the unique fascination of TCM and created a new starting point in the medical field of South Sudan," he added. Xu said that the 10th batch of China's medical team would give full play to TCM in the diagnosis and treatment, using their creative concept and skillful medical practice to benefit the health of South Sudanese. Acupuncture has been used in China and around parts of the world for more than 2,000 years. The technique involves inserting thin needles into the skin, most commonly at traditional acupuncture point locations, and stimulating them either manually or electrically. The manual stimulation technique involves the manipulation of needles through rotation, lifting, and thrusting, while the electrical stimulation technique applies a small electrical current to stimulate the needles. A Chinese doctor does gastroscopy assisted by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) acupuncture anesthesia at the Juba Teaching Hospital in Juba, South Sudan, on Sept. 21, 2022. (Photo by Denis Elamu/Xinhua) Five members of a family were killed when a girder from the construction of an elevated transit corridor fell and crushed their car along the Dhaka-Mymensingh national highway, Aug. 15, 2022. Updated at 8:09 a.m. ET on 2022-09-27 Bangladeshs government has allowed a Chinese contractor to resume construction of an elevated rapid bus route after suspending the project in the wake of a girder falling and killing five people in a car last month, officials said. Authorities have also granted the Gezhouba Group Company, a road-building firm from mainland China, a one-year extension on the project after it gave the government assurances about implementing safety measures to prevent other accidents from happening, officials told BenarNews. Chinas Gezhouba Group Company has been permitted to resume the construction work as they have adopted safety measures at the project site. We want them to finish the work as soon as possible, A.B.M Amin Ullah Nuri, the secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division, told BenarNews. The project is already behind schedule; how long will we make people suffer for the project? said the official, who also chairs the state agency implementing the Dhaka Bus Rapid Transit line (DBRT). The deadly accident on Aug. 15 was the latest mishap to occur during construction of the 20.2-km (12.5-mile) overhead rapid transit bus corridor. Five members of a family, including two children, were killed when the falling girder crushed their car as they were driving underneath the construction site of the elevated transit line. A newlywed couple, who were also in the car, were seriously injured. A government investigation into the incident found that the China Gezhouba Group Co., a subsidiary of the China Gezhouba Group Corp. (CGGC), was responsible for the accident by not ensuring peoples safety in or near the project site. The project, valued at 42.6 billion taka (U.S. $450 million), is being financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Nuri said. Once completed, the transit line will connect the neighboring Gazipur district with Dhakas Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, in a project that aims to ease traffic congestion on a busy highway connecting the two points. We have to work with the ADB to take action against the contracting company. We are working with them in this regard, Nuri said without elaborating. In 2016, the Gezhouba Group was awarded the contract for the project. Its original end-date was June 2020, but the project got delayed multiple times amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the company was then given a new deadline for finishing the project by June 2021. Thus far, nearly 80 percent of the project has been finished. We want the physical construction of the project to finish by March next year. So, we have proposed the planning commission to extend the deadline for the company to December 2023, Shafiqul Islam, the managing director of the DBRT company, told BenarNews. When asked whether the government was considering cancelling the contract and finding a new builder for the transit line, he replied: This is very difficult to change the contractor of an ongoing project. We will not change the contractor CGGC. There are provisions for punishment in the contract, but applying the provisions is realistic, Islam added. The Chinese embassy in Dhaka did not immediately respond to BenarNews requests for comment. Lawsuit Ten people, all Bangladeshi nationals connected with the Chinese company, have been arrested in connection with the Aug. 15 accident but have been freed on bail. Meanwhile, a plaintiff in a lawsuit brought against the company over the latest incident told BenarNews that senior officials of CGGC went to his home in Dhaka recently. They offered us Tk two million for each family as compensation so that we could withdraw the case. But we have not accepted their proposal, said Md. Afran Mondal Babu, who is suing the company for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The police had not arrested any official of the Chinese company. Some local staff of the project were arrested and all of them have been [released] on bail, said Babu. We have asked for Tk 30 million (U.S. $287,240) for the settlement. And they rejected our offer, he said. CORRECTION: An earlier version incorrectly reported that a newlywed couple was among the fatalities in the Aug. 15 accident. Ahmet Bozoglan (left) walks for his appearance at the North Jakarta District Court on terrorism charges in Jakarta, July 29, 2015. Indonesia deported a Uyghur terror convict in July after he served his sentence, police revealed without saying where he was sent amid fears that he was expelled to China which, the United Nations says, represses Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. Ahmet Bozoglan, 35, who was convicted in 2015, had a Turkish passport when he was arrested in Poso, a regency in Central Sulawesi province, the year before. Bozoglan had been incarcerated on the penal island of Nusa Kambangan off Java, said Aswin Siregar, senior commissioner with the Densus 88 anti-terror unit at the Indonesian national police. [Bozoglan] was released on July 1 and was deported, Aswin told BenarNews. When asked where Bozoglan was deported to, he replied: Please ask the relevant authorities. Ahmad Nursaleh, spokesman for the directorate general of immigration, did not immediately respond to questions from BenarNews about Bozoglans whereabouts. The Uyghur mans former lawyer, Faris, confirmed that he was released on July 1, but said he did not know where Bozoglan was expelled to. We are no longer representing him, Faris, who goes by one name, told BenarNews. Three other Uyghur men who were released from Indonesian custody in September 2020 were believed to have been deported to China after Beijing allegedly paid fines imposed on them by the court, two security researchers had told BenarNews back then. One of the researchers had got the information from sources at the prison where the men had been held, he said. Those three Uyghur men, too, had Turkish passports when they were arrested alongside Bozoglan. Moh Adhe Bhakti, a researcher at the Center for the Study of Radicalism and Deradicalization (PAKAR) said Bozoglan had likely been deported to China. Looking at the previous case, it doesnt seem to be different, Adhe told BenarNews. Adhe added that the Indonesian government had offered the men released in 2020 to the Turkish government, but Ankara was reluctant. Perhaps China managed to show that they are Chinese citizens, so the Indonesian government finally sent them back to China, Adhe said. BenarNews contacted the Turkish and Chinese embassies in Jakarta, but received no prompt response. A U.N. report in June said Chinas repression of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in its western Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity. The report said that serious human rights violations had been committed in XUAR in the context of the Chinese governments application of counter-terrorism and counter-extremism strategies. Authorities in the region are believed to have held close to 2 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a vast network of internment camps since early 2017. Bozoglan and the three other Uyghurs were sentenced to between six and eight years in prison and fined 100 million rupiah (U.S. $6,600) by a Jakarta court in 2015 after being found guilty of entering the country using fake passports and attempting to join the Islamic State-affiliated Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT) militant group based in Poso. At the time, MIT had sworn allegiance to Islamic State extremist group and welcomed foreign mujahideen to join them. They will most likely be executed Andreas Harsono, a researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch who accompanied the four Uyghurs during their trial, feared the worst for the former convicts. They should not have been deported to China because they will most likely be executed. We dont believe the legal system there is fair, Andreas told BenarNews. We have conveyed this to the Indonesian government, but there has been no answer. In a 2020 interview, Bozoglan had expressed fear that, like the other three Uyghurs, he would be deported to China after completing his prison sentence. Im just someone who ended up getting detained in Indonesia while looking for a way to get to Turkey, and so Im asking for help to go to Turkey or Europe or another place to seek asylum so that I am not returned to China, Bozoglan told Radio Free Asia (RFA), an online news service affiliated with BenarNews. My friends six-year sentences were up, but they were going to have to stay an extra six months as a fine for problems with their passports. China paid the six months of fees and then sent the three of them back home. Lawyers for the four Uyghurs said they were Turkish nationals on holiday in Indonesia, but prosecutors argued they held fake Turkish passports and were on their way to meet MIT leader Santoso, who was Indonesias most wanted terrorist at that time. Santoso was gunned down in a counter-terrorism manhunt in July 2016. Bozoglan said his three Uyghur comrades were forced to sign documents acknowledging that their fines had been paid and that, later, they overheard the head of their prison telling guards that the Chinese embassy had footed the bill and planned to take them to China. After being detained in September 2014, Bozoglan said that Chinese authorities including Uyghur police and embassy officials showed up on multiple occasions and accused them of being black coats, or terrorists. Firearms turned over by former separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels are tagged during a decommissioning process in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao province, Philippines, Sept. 27, 2022. [Mark Navales/BenarNews] Former separatist rebels in the southern Philippines turned in hundreds of weapons on Tuesday, including high-powered assault rifles, as part of the final phase of decommissioning the ex-guerrillas and their firearms as agreed upon in a peace deal with Manila. But leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a former separatist force, said it was likely that some ex-rebels may use the money they receive for handing over their guns to buy newer firearms, a potential scenario authorities are working to stem across the south. The greater Mindanao region is still volatile and armed Muslim militant groups remain active. The authorities were taking steps to prevent ex-fighters from purchasing new firearms, said Murad Ebrahim, the grizzled leader of MILF who currently heads a transitional authority in the south, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. We want to assure [the public] We want the help of the government to control the source of the weapons, he told reporters during the ceremonial handover of weapons at Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao province, where 376 weapons were turned in on Tuesday. Under the decommissioning process, each former combatant who hands over weapons is expected to receive some U.S. $2,400 in cash per weapon, including funds for education. By contrast, a locally made revolver can be bought for less than $100 on the black market in the south. Additionally, there may be more weapons out there than the numbers that MILF agreed to for decommissioning. A 2016 report by International Alert Philippines, a peace monitoring group, put a conservative estimate of loose firearms in the south at about 50,000. The Philippine defense department had earlier estimated that there were around 40,000 firearms in the hands of the former guerrillas. The final phase of decommissioning covers about 18,800 former combatants and some 2,400 weapons. The former separatist force had committed about 7,000 firearms to be decommissioned, of which 4,600 have already been turned over. This was in addition to 5,000 firearms turned over by the group earlier and decommissioned. The process, which begun in 2019, was supposed to have already been completed by now, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the program. Chance to live normally Murad (also known as Ahod Balawag Ebrahim) said the decommissioning would bring a brighter future for those who join mainstream society. Many of them have never enjoyed their life. They have been living in the jungles. But now they have the chance to live normally as citizens in the country, he said. The former rebel leader said the transitional government authorities had already succeeded in persuading their former comrades in the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to join them in the autonomous region. The MNLF was the forerunner of MILF, which broke away from the group in 1978 to pursue the fight for independence. MNLF leader, Nur Misuari, signed a peace pact with Manila ahead of MILF, but he failed to deliver on the promise to uplift the lives of his constituents. Murad said he was also working to bring in to the fold members of another faction, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), which has allied itself with the Islamic State. BIFF has so far resisted his peace overtures, and has been carrying out hit-and-run attacks against government positions in the south. Analysts have warned that leaving MILF without weapons guns could make them vulnerable to other armed groups, including BIFF. But Murad, on Tuesday, said: We are not stopping in reaching out [to] our brothers in the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. Meanwhile, the law and order situation in the south dramatically improved with fewer cases of kidnappings and killings in the past two years, said Carlito Galvez, chief of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. The Abu Sayyaf, or Bearers of the Sword, a militant group based in Sulu and linked to the Islamic State extremist group, has been blamed for the countrys worst terrorist attacks, including bombings of military camps and civilian targets. Founded by an Afghan-trained militant in the 1990s, the group later began raising funds through kidnappings-for-ransom. In the island provinces like Sulu, they now have night life, Galvez said. There have been zero abduction incidents since 2020. Myanmar beauty queen Han Lay was detained by Thai immigration officials at Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi Airport on Sept. 21 as she returned from a three-day trip to Vietnam. She had overstayed her Thai visa after staying there more than 18 months, following her public call at the Miss Grand International pageant in Thailand in March 2021 for the international community to help her country regain democracy. Han Lay, also known as Thaw Nanda Aung, remained in Thailand on a tourist visa, knowing she would likely face persecution back home, where she has been charged in absentia for high treason. Supporters said the junta that took power in Myanmar in February 2021 had canceled her passport and spread false accusations against her and other critics of the military regime. With help from the U. N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the Canadian embassy in Bangkok, Han Lay was granted political asylum in Canada. She spoke to Khin Maung Soe of Radio Free Asia (RFA) Burmese before departing from Bangkok airport. RFA: How did you end up being permitted to travel on to Canada? Han Lay: The UNHCR contacted me the other day at the hotel I was temporarily staying at and said they were trying to help me get out of the country. They said they had contacted Canada which I had requested as a priority and the Canadian government had started the process to accept me. And last evening, they said they had received the air tickets but not to disclose anything to anyone for my safety. But I dont know how, but the news leaked out to the media. And they said they, along with International Organization for Migration officials, would bring all the travel documents and instructions to go through Thai immigration. My flight will be after midnight tonight. RFA: What are your future plans in Canada? HL: Everything happened so fast, and I only have a few pieces of clothing. So I will have to go along with what they have planned for me. I have spoken out for Myanmar wherever I go. I have talked to the media about my country while I was staying in Thailand. Since Canada is a safe place for me, I will have more opportunities to speak out on the issue. And as you know, there is a large Myanmar community in Canada, so Im sure Ill be able to carry on the struggle for Myanmar with their help. RFA: Your case was handled rather quickly. How did that happen? HL: Thai Immigration officials had given me so much support because they understood that I was innocent and I had no problems with the Thai government. The ground staff also came to see me and comforted me not to be depressed. They had allowed me to stay in Thailand even though I had overstayed the visa. I am very grateful to the Thai government as well as those officials. And the UNHCR too. They helped me a lot, telling me what to do during that problematic period. I would also like to thank my fans and friends in Myanmar who were worried for me and then, those who are waiting in Canada to help me. I thank the Canadian government the most because if they had not speeded up the process I would still be stuck in the airport hotel now. ISLAMABAD, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and 11 others injured after a house collapsed in the Kurram district of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local media reported Tuesday. According to the report, a double-story house affected by rain in Parachinar area of the district collapsed and buried the victims. Among the injured, seven were in critical condition and were being shifted to the provincial capital Peshawar for treatment, rescue workers told local media. The deceased included four children and a woman, rescue workers added. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. COLOMBO, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's privately-owned airline FitsAir will launch in October its international passenger flights, a move expected to boost foreign visitor arrivals in the South Asian country, local media reported here Tuesday. FitsAir, a budget airline under the privately-owned investment conglomerate Aberdeen Holdings headquartered in Colombo, will commence international flights on Oct. 5, with the first flight to fly from Colombo to the UAE's Dubai, a statement of the airline was quoted as saying. The service for flight to Male, the capital of the Maldives will start from Oct. 10, and that to India's Trichy from Oct. 28. By launching international passenger flights, FitsAir will become Sri Lanka's first private scheduled international passenger carrier. Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass. BRATTLEBORO A Brattleboro police officer and two Vermont State Police sergeants will not be charged in the fatal shooting of a homicide suspect in July. Attorney General Susanne Young and Orange County States Attorney Dickson Corbett announced Monday they have decided not to prosecute Brattleboro Police Officer Ryder Carbone and Vermont State Police Detective Sgts. Jesse Robson and Samuel Truex for charges related to the fatal shooting of Matthew Davis. Corbett agreed to conduct an independent review of the investigation, after the Windham County States Attorneys Office recused itself. Identities of the three police officers involved in shooting released BRATTLEBORO A man shot dead by police Tuesday night in West Brattleboro has been officiall Young and Corbett have independently concluded that the use of force by Officer Carbone and Sergeants Robson and Truex was objectively reasonable and justified, according to a statement from the investigating prosecutors. Under the totality of the circumstances during and leading up to the discharge of their firearms, a reasonable officer in the situation ... would have concluded that there was no alternative but to use deadly force to prevent the death or serious bodily injury of Sergeants Truex or Robson, the statement says. At about 11:30 p.m. July 18, the Massachusetts State Police contacted the Brattleboro Police Department, requesting help in finding Mary Anderson. A day earlier, family members reported Anderson missing and her ex-boyfriend, Davis, was suspected of foul play. The Massachusetts agency notified Brattleboro Police that Andersons phone connected to a Wi-Fi network somewhere in Brattleboro. Prosecutors said Massachusetts troopers put out a missing person bulletin for Anderson, which noted recent concerning incidents, including a possible mental health breakdown of Davis on July 9. The bulletin also stated that Davis criminal record includes assault with intent to kill, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and other similar incidents. {p class=tncms-inline-link}Vehicle on Elliot Street with body inside linked to missing Mass. woman Brattleboro Police found Anderson dead inside her car on Elliot Street at about 12:55 a.m. July 19 with a suspected gunshot wound. They requested assistance from the Vermont State Police with their investigation. Later that night, at about 7:35 p.m., a Vermont trooper saw a man matching Davis description walking eastbound on Western Avenue and Route 9. The officer, in an unmarked vehicle, continued to slowly follow and drive by Davis while waiting for other units to arrive. At one point, prosecutors said, Davis apparently noticed the blue light in the officers window, and Davis then ran out of the officers sight on to Bonnyvale Road. Nine minutes later, according to the police statemen, Carbone arrived in the area and the trooper showed him where Davis was last seen. The officers requested the assistance of a police dog. Carbone moved his cruiser to effectively shut down Bonnyvale Road, and then exited with his shotgun. The state police detectives, including Truex, held an elevated position of cover over a culvert on Bonnyvale Road. Officers shouted, Bring the dog, and informed Carbone that Davis was under the bridge below them, according to the statement from police. One of the officers stated that they believed Davis heard them requesting the K-9, because Davis began yelling something to the effect of, Send the dog! Get the dog! The officer reported that Davis, while in the culvert, was holding an object up with both hands in front of his body. The officer announced they were the state police, as did other officers, and told Davis to come out of the culvert showing his hands. Davis did not comply, said, [Expletive] you, come get me, and made growling noises, according to the statement. At about 7:46 p.m., Davis exited the culvert and ran into the woods toward All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church. Carbone ordered him to freeze, but Davis did not comply. Officers ran off the bridge and entered the woods heading south from Bonnyvale Road. Seconds later, Davis was ordered to Stop right there, but he continued to flee, according to the police. Carbone, Truex, Robson and another trooper pursued Davis up a wooded embankment and through the woods. Prosecutors said the pursuing officers ultimately confronted Davis one of the officers yelled, Hes got a knife, and Carbone directed officers to back up, back up. Robson observed Davis holding a knife in his right hand. At this point, Mr. Davis was standing in a stationary position behind a couple of large trees but facing toward the officers who followed him into the woods, the police statement says. Officers ordered Mr. Davis approximately 10 times to Drop the knife, Drop it and Put it down. Mr. Davis replied No approximately six times. Robson said he heard Truex ask Davis, Why did you kill her? but did not hear a response. Truex saw a knife in Davis right hand, then Davis ran out from behind the trees with his knife displayed and charged downhill toward Truex and Robson. At the same time, the police statement says, someone yelled, Get (them, em, or him)! About one minute after Davis was first ordered to stop, prosecutors said, the first of several gunshots was heard. Carbones shotgun was seen on camera being discharged three times. Robson and Truex also fired multiple rounds after Davis started running in their direction while holding the knife, according to police. Prosecutors said the last gunshot was heard about three seconds after the first shot. Brattleboro paramedics arrived on the scene and pronounced Davis deceased at about 7:55 p.m. The knife was located on the ground by his left armpit. Robson and Truex reasonably believed they were in imminent danger of being killed or suffering great bodily harm at the hands of Mr. Davis, and they were justified in using deadly force to defend themselves, prosecutors said. Similarly, Officer Carbone was justified in using deadly force to protect the lives of Sergeant Truex and Sergeant Robson. The statement notes that under Vermont law, an officer may use deadly force to repel an imminent threat to cause death or serious bodily injury when the officer objectively and reasonably believes that a person has the present ability, opportunity, and apparent intent to immediately cause death or serious bodily injury. Prosecutors said the officers arrived at the shooting scene knowing that Massachusetts agencies previously solicited assistance from Vermont law enforcement in finding Anderson and were aware that foul play was suspected on the part of Davis. At the time Mr. Davis charged Sergeants Robson and Truex, Mr. Davis was in an elevated position and there was a steep embankment behind the officers, making a safe retreat impossible under the circumstances, the police statement says. When Mr. Davis, rather than surrender or continue to flee, suddenly charged toward the nearby officers with his knife, there was no opportunity for the three officers to obtain less than lethal alternatives to their firearms. Both Truex and Robson have worked with the state police in Bennington County, in addition to Windham County. Hritam Mukherjee is a correspondent for Vermont News & Media and is from the city of Kolkata, India. His personal interests lie in photography and writing about issues pertaining to global diplomacy and international affairs. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media. Reporter Greta Jochem, a Report for America Corps member, joined the Eagle in 2021. Previously, she was a reporter at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. She is also a member of the investigations team. FLORIDA Town officials say that days after The Berkshire Eagle reported on chronic landline telephone failures, Verizon said it will launch an upgrade for Floridas antiquated system. Joan Lewis, Floridas town manager, said Verizon technicians have worked to enhance landline service to Town Hall. The company also asked for a list of residents whose phones are not working at least some of the time. Lewis said technicians told her they will propose the company replace aging phone wires with fiber optic cable, leaving her optimistic about Verizons repair effort. I do have some confidence, she said. The phones are already working better at Town Hall, and theyre working on getting the Senior Center phones fixed. Lewis noted that Verizon asked for a list of residences experiencing issues with landlines. So far, 31 seniors have submitted their names for repairs. That article was huge for us it showed that this problem is very serious, Lewis said of The Eagles coverage on Sept. 15. Andrew Testa, a spokesman for Verizon, said the company is serious about the Florida issues. Verizon constantly invests in our network to deliver our customers the quality experience and reliability they expect and deserve, he said via email. We know that Verizon is the network people rely on, and weve heard the concerns. We are working to address the issue and enhance the network to keep Florida connected. On Sept. 14, more than 30 Florida seniors met to discuss problems with their landline service. Verizon was asked to have someone attend the meeting, but nobody from the company showed up. Senior Center Director Sue Oleson related a story at the meeting about a woman whose husband was having a medical crisis, but because her phone wasnt working, had to go door to door in her neighborhood to find a working phone so she could call for an ambulance. Attendees discussed their phone issues, with each speaker calling for Verizon to step up and provide the service it has been paid for by customers in Florida. Oleson noted that a high percentage of Florida residents are elderly, some living with a number of maladies and in need of frequent medical care. Without working phones, she said, those peoples lives are endangered. In Florida, a rural town with roughly 800 residents spread out over about 25 square miles, cellular phone service is spotty, as is access to broadband. Landline phone service has been the primary communication technology in the town for decades, even in the beginning, when it was a party line, and was deemed by locals to be dependable. Some wondered if they could go back to that. In the past 10 or more years, as the original landline systems have deteriorated, phone service began a steady decline, residents say. The problems have drawn the ire of state Rep. John Barrett III. He said the company should never have neglected the Florida area for such a long time. Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Commentary Tom Bernard and Duffy Judge: Together, we can help our Berkshire neighbors who go hungry KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank on Tuesday raised Malaysia's 2022 economic growth forecast to 6.4 percent from 5.5 percent previously. The World Bank said in its latest report that Malaysia's economic growth will be supported by strong domestic demand, which is underpinned by continued improvements in labor market conditions. It also said tourism-related activities by domestic and international travelers are expected to see an uptake. In addition, it said the continuation of multi-year investment projects will likely provide additional support for economic growth. Nonetheless, downside risks particularly from the external front continue to prevail, including a slowdown in growth in advanced economies, unfavorable financial conditions, and continued supply chain disruptions, the report said. On the domestic front, it said speculation over the next general elections could also raise investors' uncertainty in the near term. It also said the growing subsidy bill is expected to exacerbate Malaysia's already tight fiscal space. Malaysia recorded higher-than-expected economic growth of 8.9 percent in the second quarter as economic activity continued to normalize. Can you imagine what it felt like to face a Roman death penalty in the early first century? The Romans, masters of cruelty, didnt give a prisoner a choice of how they wished to face their demise. Criminals either had their heads taken off, were thrown from a great elevation, strangled, killed by a beast, drowned, buried alive, impaled, or crucified. All were brutal, and only beheading was quick. Imagine again what it would have been like to have been the thief on the cross, crucified alongside Jesus Christ, hearing the large crowd of mockers spewing venom at Him, and seeing Him die, knowing your death is soon to come. Who Was the Thief on the Cross? For the purpose of this article, we will refer to the thief who repented. The Bible does not give us a name or any other details about the thief only that he was a criminal (or robber, depending on the version you read). Luke 23:33 states, And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Matthew 27:38 and Mark 15:27 state the same. John 19:18 calls them two others. What Did the Thief Experience? The thief, himself being crucified (and therefore suffering a slow and painful death from asphyxiation), would have had a hard time breathing. Every inhalation came in anguish as he pushed himself up in order to gain a breath. Body weight pulled the thief down and made breathing extremely difficult. His heart and lungs would lose their functions due to blood loss from the wounds (from the flogging and pierced hands and feet). When killed this way, death was expected within twenty-four hours. Once the legs faltered, the arms would bear their weight, and soon their shoulders would detach from their sockets. Yet, Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water (John 19:31-34). We know the thief died a few feet from Jesus and woke that day knowing it was his last day on earth (implied). What could the thief do but agonize, observe, and listen? He: - Witnessed and heard the mocking crowds. - Would have heard Jesus speak to His disciple, John (John 19:25-27). - Would have heard Jesus speak to His Father (Matthew 27:46, Luke 23:34, 46, John 19:28). - Experienced the earthquake. - Faced the darkness from the sixth to the ninth hour. He also would have listened to the centurion and his cohorts say, Truly this was the Son of God (Matthew 27:54). Lukes record states, Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, Certainly this man was innocent (Luke 23:47)! Mark 15:32b tells us, Those who were crucified with him also reviled Him. Matthew 27:44 also records their actions, And the robbers who were crucified with Him also reviled Him in the same way. From this record we see both thieves insulted Jesus. How Does the Other Thief Being Crucified Respond to Jesus? Luke 23:39-43 shares the conversations between Jesus and the two thieves. The one we learn is the unrepentant thief mimics what he obviously heard from the mocking crowd. Verse 39 says he railed at Jesus. He said, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us! (Luke 23:39). We can infer from what he said he was not sincere in his retort, for the word used for His remark to Jesus (railed) means he hurled abuse at Him. What Did the Thief Do? The one we learn is the repentant thief admonished the other. We, on this side of Calvary, can surmise the thief took all the mocking of Jesus to heart. No matter their intent, the thief heard the crowd remind Jesus that He said He would destroy the temple and raise it again in three days (Matthew 27:40). He also overheard them say if You are the Son of God (Matthew 27:40). The crowds also proclaimed He saved others (John 19: 42). And the mockers acknowledged He called Himself the Son of God (John 19:43). He heard about Jesus from the mockers. In essence, he heard the Gospel preached by them. The thief, though, also heard precious prayers from Jesus to His Father. Jesus did not throw insults back at His revilers. Instead, He prayed, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). Luke 23:46 records this: Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit! And having said this He breathed His last. With all of this probably in mind, he said to the other thief, Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong (Luke 23:41). He then said to Jesus, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus replied, Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:43). Why Does Jesus Say the Thief Will be With Him in Paradise? This is the gist of the whole interaction between Jesus and the thief. We must remember Jesus knows the hearts of men (Luke 9:47). The thief recognized his own wretched condition, as we read in Luke 23:41. Recognizing our sinful state is part of how God draws us to Him. The penitent thief also asked the other thief if he feared God, knowing he too was condemned. We can infer from this the thief who spoke understood his consequence and feared God. And then the thief displayed belief (faith) in and surrender to Jesus when he asked Him to remember him when He came into His kingdom. Jesus reply to the thief was one of veracity and compassion. Veracity because Jesus said, Truly. Compassion because Jesus told the man that day he would be with Him in paradise. He gave the thief hope that He forgives a broken and contrite heart and this life is not all there is. The best is yet to come, for paradise is the realm of the righteous dead awaiting the resurrection of the body. What Does This Mean for Us? Entering paradise is not a matter of works; it is a matter of faith and repentance, two things we see in how the thief responded to what he saw and heard. He told the other thief they both deserved their penalty and, like them, we, too, deserve the death the other thief died. But God. Romans 5:8 reads, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That penitent thief lived in the very moment Christ died for us. He, in effect, is eyewitness to Romans 5:8! Burk Parsons said, Jesus promised paradise to the thief on the cross (Luke 23:43) and He has promised it to us, too (Revelation 2:7). What Does This Instance Teach Us about Faith? God numbers our days, not us. Therefore, when we wake each morning, we dont know if its our last day on earth. That thief did, and so did the Lord Jesus. But knowing Jesus and having surrendered our lives to Him in contrition and belief, we trust His sovereignty over our lives. The thief did not work for his salvation. He repented and believed. He had faith. Faith is like a receptacle we hold in anticipation of what only God can do to fill it. The thief didnt see paradise, but He trusted the One who would take him there. Hebrews chapter 11 is rightly called the Hall of Faith. The portrayals are those who looked forward to something they had yet to see and had assurance it would be all for which they hoped. Acts 16:31 relates how Paul told the jailer he would be saved by believing in the Lord Jesus. Belief is trusting. Trust is faith. Romans 10:17 states, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. The thief could do nothing but listen. He listened to Jesus and to the mockers. And he heard enough to verify who Jesus is, God. We have but to read this account of the thief on the cross to understand repentance and faith. Jesus would not have welcomed that man into paradise with Him if the thief had not humbled himself by admitting he was a sinner in need of Jesus. Admit youre a sinner, repent, and have faith. Jesus was the thiefs only hope, and Hes our only hope, too, for in Him is life. Photo credit: Getty Images/AlessandroPhoto Lisa Loraine Baker is the award-winning author of Someplace to Be Somebody (End Game Press, February 2022). Lisa writes fiction and nonfiction and is currently co-writing a Christian living book with her husband, and a suspense novel. Lisa is a member of Word Weavers, Intl (as a critique partner and mentor), AWSA, ACFW, Serious Writer Group, and BRRC. Lisa and her husband, Stephen, inhabit their home as the Newlyweds of Minerva with crazy cat, Lewis. What Is Solomons Prayer for Wisdom? The Bible recounts that King Solomons prayer for wisdom was during a dream, detailed in 1 Kings 3:1-15 and a parallel passage, 2 Chronicles 1:7-12. At Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon, saying, Ask for whatever you want me to give you. Imagine that for a moment. God gave Solomon a blank check. Solomon showed that he already had some wisdom. He prayed, give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. Wisdom comes from looking to God and desiring to walk in His ways with understanding, prudence, and discretion (Proverbs 8:11-12; Psalm 25:4-5). Solomon understood that such wisdom is far greater than riches. Discernment is similar to wisdom, but pertains to good judgment. Its the ability to choose between truth and error, right and wrong. Solomon would surely need discernment as Israels king. Why Did Solomon Pray for Wisdom? His prayer for a discerning heart was for two reasons. First, he needed discernment to govern the people well; for who is able, he asked, to govern this great people of yours? (verse 9). Solomon prized the welfare of his people, and he wanted to be a wise judge. Second, He wanted to distinguish between right and wrong. Sometimes it takes great discernment to know the difference. Before making his request, Solomon was already showing his love for God in many ways, walking in the statutes of David his father. He offered words of praise and gratitude (vv. 6-7a), acknowledging Gods kindness to his father, King David. Though still a sinner and making foolish choices, Davids heart was Godward, and God honored his faithful, righteous heart. Solomon understood that Gods kindness continued in allowing him to succeed his father and reign in Jerusalem. He also realized the great responsibility of leadership over the burgeoning population in Israel. In verse seven he admits, I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Solomon was 30 years old, but he assumed a place of childlike humility before the Lord. In todays terms, Solomon said, Im so inexperienced. I dont know what I need to know. I need Your help! Though he inherited a strong monarchy, Solomon no doubt felt overwhelmed in his new role as king. Solomon called himself a servant before God among the chosen people. He reminded God that they were a great people meaning great in number, too numerous to count or number. The importance and burden of that responsibility weighed heavily on Solomons heart. He feared the Lord, and he knew the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, so he also recognized where to go for more wisdom. Photo credit: Getty Images/MangoStar_Studio LEWISTON - The Idaho Fish & Game is anticipating its largest late summer steelhead run up the Clearwater River since 2010, according to Fisheries Regional Manager Joe DuPont. As of September 21, the IDFG is predicting around 40,000 hatchery steelhead will be bound for the Clearwater River (see graph below). If the projections are accurate, it would result in the 7th best hatchery return ever to the Clearwater River basin, according to DuPont. The IDFG is estimating that about 29,000 hatchery steelhead have already passed over Bonneville Dam, which exceeds the totals seen in the previous five years. According to the IDFG, 30% of run has yet to pass Bonneville Dam. COLOMBO, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday pledged to prioritize implementing the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Singapore during a meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Tokyo. During the meeting, Wickremesinghe informed the Singaporean prime minister that an international trade office was being established in the President's office. Wickremesinghe also invited Lee to visit Sri Lanka next year when the country celebrates its 75th Independence anniversary. Lee said that Singapore was looking forward to investing in Sri Lanka again, according to the President's Media Division. Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, a preview of the latest entry into the "Killing" series, "Killing the Legends." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Distell, a leader in beverage alcohol, has selected WPP Liquid to manage its Bernini brand, which is experiencing exponential growth and destined to become one of the most admired RTD brands in South Africa. Bernini is a natural sparkling spritzer, made from wine and available in a range of Classic, Blush and Amber variants. Distell is a global business with roots in South Africa, producing and marketing a diverse portfolio of award-winning alcohol beverage brands within the ready-to-drink (RTD), cider, wine and spirits categories. WPP Liquid is responsible for Distells Tier 1 brands, including Savanna Premium Cider, Hunters, Viceroy, Amarula, Scottish Leader and now Bernini Sparkling Spritzer. Liquid, operating out of Grey Advertising Africa, manages the portfolio, providing strategic, creative, digital, social, media, PR, and influencer management services, in SA, across Africa and internationally. We are excited for the Liquid team to take our Bernini brand to the next level. We have seen the work that the team has managed to produce for brands in our RTD portfolio, like Savanna Cider and Hunters, and the commercial and creative success we have enjoyed to date. We cant wait to see where the Distell and Liquid team, working together, can take this sophisticated brand. A brand that already resonates in the hearts and minds of South Africas bold, aspirant, and confident women," says Maija-Liina Hansen-Chipps, Category Lead Savanna and RTDs at Distell. Paul Jackson, CEO of Grey Advertising Africa, said: "Our team has recently been onboarded on this exciting new brand and, in a few short weeks, we are already having so much fun working with the Bernini team, who are clearly inspired by its potential and the brand's purpose of 'Empowering Women to Empower Society'. I want to thank the Distell marketing team for trusting us as custodians of what will become one of South Africas most iconic brands. To learn more about Grey Advertising Africa, visit https://www.grey.co.za or follow on social media: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Contributing nearly a third of the South African FMCG market, the formal independent wholesale and retail channel remains an essential route into the informal retail market for FMCG suppliers and service providers. Due to the complexities of trading in the market and the competitive nature of formal independents, current information is vital to understand and stay abreast of shifting market dynamics. Trade Intelligences annual Formal Independent Channel Report provides suppliers with the tools and information needed to build winning route-to-market strategies and customer business plans. A preview of some insights from the report shows how dynamic this market is: Formal Independent Channel Report The Formal Independent Channel Report provides actionable insights to drive short to medium-term market gains for FMCG suppliers. Get an in-depth understanding of the market and its size, players, shoppers, marketing touchpoints and trends, as well as a playbook for each wholesale player and opportunities and considerations for suppliers. Who will use this report? Route-to-market / go-to-market managers Wholesale service providers Trade marketing and channel managers CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION or contact Shelley van Heerden to secure your spot: Telephone number: +27 [0] 31 303 2803 Email address: az.oc.ecnegilletniedart@ofni About Trade Intelligence Trade Intelligence is South Africas leading source of consumer goods retail research, insights and capability-building solutions, focusing on the industrys corporate and independent retailers and wholesalers. We are the trusted voice of the sectors in which we operate, aggregating information to amplify knowledge, grow capability, and enable collaboration that drives profitable trading relationships and sustainable sector growth. Illicit trade is high, but not as high as the tobacco industry reports. While an overstatement of the illicit trade of tobacco products may suit the tobacco-industry agenda when it comes to mid-term budgets, it should not deter strong tax increases aimed at reducing tobacco consumption in South Africa, says Dr Sharon Nyatsanza of the National Council Against Smoking. Focus should fall on strong law enforcement and securing the tobacco supply chain to reduce the illicit trade problem. While British American Tobacco South Africa (Batsa) has been headlining with comments that nearly 70% of all cigarettes being consumed in the South African market are from illicit brands, the Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products (REEP) at the University of Cape Town has estimated illicit trade was between 54% and 58% of the total market in 2021. These findings are based on a gap analysis where self-reported consumption estimates are compared to legitimate sales. What the research shows According to Nicole Vellios from REEP, since 2010, the illicit cigarette market has increased sharply. By 2017, illicit trade accounted for between 30% and 35% of the total market. In 2020, the illicit market was greatly stimulated by the 20-week sales ban, where no cigarettes were sold legally and where the government received no excise tax revenue over that period. Vellios found no evidence that excise tax increases are linked to an increase in illicit trade. When excise taxes were increasing rapidly, illicit trade was stable (20022009). On the other hand, when excise tax increases were relatively modest, illicit trade increased rapidly (20102021). Nyatsanza says that as illicit tobacco products are sold at ridiculously low prices, they are more accessible and affordable to young people, a major concern. South Africa is a State that is party to the World Health Organization's framework convention on tobacco control, therefore has an obligation to protect the vulnerable groups, in particular the youth, from exposure to tobacco products. Illicit trade fundamentally undermines public health policy; it is a real problem for South Africa and it must be addressed. More attention should be focused on implementing solutions to the problem. Strong enforcement and securing the tobacco supply chain can reduce the illicit trade problem. While we appreciate the efforts by government so far, we urge the enforcement agencies to do more. The South African government has yet to ratify the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (ITP), which proposes measures to tackle illicit trade in tobacco products. In its report in March 2021, on the 2021 fiscal framework and revenue proposals, the standing committee on finance made recommendations for government to ratify the ITP. To date, no further developments have been reported. Sars prepares to modernise its customs The South African Revenue Service (Sars), through its criminal and illicit economic activities and customs divisions, has stepped up efforts in carrying out inspections as well as search and seizure operations on cigarette companies and manufacturers. The Sars commissioner, Edward Kieswetter, reiterated governments commitment to combatting illicit trade and criminal economic activities in February, saying Those who systematically and deliberately set out to deprive what is due to fiscus through fraudulent and other non-compliant activities, will be confronted and dealt with. This kind of conduct will be made hard and costly. Kieswetter has further revealed that Sars has earmarked R120m to modernise its customs. Upscaling tax administration at Sars is urgently needed. Technologies such as a track and trace system and unique identification codes on packages will make it possible to track the intended destination and source or the manufacturer of the products, and nail down illicit trade. The solutions to reduce illicit trade through securing the supply chains have often been reiterated and must now be implemented effectively, says Nyatsanza. Sars must also ensure that the tobacco industry does not interfere with solutions to illicit trade, according to Nyatsanza. Tobacco companies big and small have publicly accused each other of having a hand in illicit trade. Sars has previously launched proceedings against legal tobacco companies on account of tax evasion. "Products from legal manufacturers can find their way into the illicit market as ghost exports, made for foreign markets and securing tax exemptions, but then never leaving South Africa. A University of Cape Town study analysing the illicit market in South Africa reveals that the main problem is the undeclared local production, much more than smuggling. As such, caution must always be taken when tobacco companies play victim. Growth in the illicit tobacco trade should not discourage policymakers from raising taxes on tobacco products and taxing e-cigarette products, according to Nyatsanza. "Together with our Protect our Next partners, the National Council Against Smoking commends the National Treasury on publishing the 2022 draft Taxation Laws Amendment (Tlab) which proposes a tax for e-cigarettes. "Excise taxes, which result in higher prices, have proven to be the most effective policy tool to reduce consumption. "The Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, containing further essential measures to reduce consumption of tobacco and better protect the health of South Africans, should also be passed with urgency. Isilumko Activate is a Level 1 BBBEE Black woman with pride. The company was founded in 1995 and had a 26-year history, making it one of the most well-known marketing companies in the country. Isilumko Activate is an integrated marketing firm that develops campaigns that stand out in various industries. In Johannesburg, South Africa, Isilumko Activate has launched its integrated marketing services. According to Isilumko Activate, all business is personal. Because businesses don't make decisions. People do. Humans are the focus of their integrated marketing initiatives. Work that helps people feel valued and understood. Isilumko Activate implements quality value to your marketing plan by conducting in-depth research and analysing your target audience's demographics, geography, and other factors. This is followed by developing comprehensive plans executed across several channels by its creatives and effective marketing and advertising efforts or programs. As a result, Isilumko Activate guarantees a maximum return on the client's marketing investment. In addition, partnering with Isilumko Activate for branding will infuse your brand with new vitality. Services consist of: Brand Promotions Interactive Marketing Customary Trade Solutions Electronic, USSD, and Loyalty Programs Creativity, Design, Printing, and Manufacturing Exhibitions, Roadshows, and Conventions Media Buying and Strategy CSR Marketing Please visit https://isilumkoactivate.co.za/our-services/ for more information about their services and affordable rates. Benefits of collaborating with an integrated marketing agency Working with an integrated marketing firm has several advantages to working with various independent contractors and providers. These benefits are integrated communications: a unified, comprehensive approach to branding and marketing. Integrated communications strategies provide your brand with the much-needed consistency of tone, messaging, style, and quality. Integrated marketing is how leading brands generate compelling, consistent messages and responses at each point of contact. Isilumko Activate drives your brand from logo and messaging to collateral, advertising, video, social media, and more with its proven methodology. About Isilumko Activate Isilumko Activate was developed in response to students. Many of the most successful business leaders in South Africa associate this brand with pocket money and happy times during their undergraduate years. We are delighted to continue the tradition of allowing our future corporate titans to obtain vital job experience, learn how to work in a team, identify themselves as leaders, and interact with leading businesses, all while boosting their money accounts. The South African Fashion Week (SAFW) is staging the Autumn/Winter '23 collections at Mall of Africa in October. 27 designers will launch their new collections on the runway from 20 to 22 October and 40 will exhibit at the Trade Show on 23 and 24 October. According to director, Lucilla Booyzen, this year marks 41 seasons since the inception of SAFW in 1997. We remain committed to the business of fashion, of marketing and supporting our designer entrepreneurs, creatively and commercially, and most importantly, to provide a platform which gives the visibility required to access the local, and global, fashion industry. According to Booyzen, many of the distinctive tropes that have emerged within the local fashion culture a fascination with re-imagining our unique cultural references in a modern way, a commitment to slow and sustainable fashion, gender and body inclusivity - are increasingly coalescing into a vibrant ethos with immense marketability. The commercial support received by trendsetting brands such as mobile phone Oppo, Cruz Vodka and Mall of Africa, with the vision to associate with this emerging fashion identity, is critical to maintaining momentum. Leemisa Tsolo, head of Asset and Property Management - Retail of Attacq Limited, the owners of Mall of Africa, believes the association with the SAFW is one of the reasons why young South Africans have selected it as the Coolest Mall for five consecutive years in the Sunday Times Generation Next Awards. They resonate with our vision of associating with these creative entrepreneurs who are in effect visualising South Africas contribution to the world of fashion. Cruz Vodka, too, believes that fashion reflects the culture of a country and that its about more than clothing. Fashion becomes the attitude the collective wears says Maisha Mamabolo, brand manager of Cruz Vodka. According to Booyzen, the SAFW will again be a hybrid event combining runway shows at Mall of Africa as well as an online release. We are ever grateful for the recognition and support of our partners that make this showcase possible. This season SA Fashion Week is in collaboration with Polands Next Top Model Polska. Poland's Next Top Model Polska is a reality competition programme, where boys and girls who dream of becoming models have a chance to enter the fashion world. It is based on America's Next Top Model format run by the legendary Tyra Banks. For the past 10 seasons, Poland's Next Top Model has been one of the most popular prime-time shows in Poland. Every year, 14 aspiring models fight for the grand prize and recognition in modelling. In the course of the show, the best girls and boys attend one of the most coveted fashion weeks in the world. This year the top seven will compete in castings with experienced models for an opportunity to walk the runways of South African Fashion Week. Comprehensive information and detailed biographies, of each designer, can be found on their respective pages here. Country's leading fitment centre wins Favourite Tyre Supplier Tiger Wheel & Tyre, who this year celebrates 55-years of getting South Africans home safely, was recently voted in top spot by Rapport readers in the category of Favourite Tyre Supplier. Even though we are not in the business for the awards, the recognition certainly gives us that little extra confidence and enthusiasm to push us to continuously improve our product and service offering. By persisting in our efforts to cultivate talent by investing in our people, we ensure our customers are always on the receiving end of superior expertise, shared Farishta Singh, group marketing executive at TiAuto Investments. Adding, This is now the second consecutive year that Rapport readers have voted us number one, and that is a testament to our teams providing consistent service to our valued customers. We are extremely grateful to everyone who voted and would also like to take this opportunity to celebrate the hardworking individuals who got us here. Tiger Wheel & Tyre are committed to providing consumers with expert advice, superior fitment services and products from leading brands in wheels, tyres and batteries. For more information visit www.twt.to or follow on @TigerWheelnTyre Facebook | Twitter | Instagram. New Bachelor of Intermediate Phase Teaching set to play an important role in shaping SA educators IIE MSAs recently launched School of Education is proud to present a brand-new degree aimed at individuals who wish to take up teaching learners at the intermediate phase: the IIE Bachelor of Education (BEd) in Intermediate Phase Teaching (IPT). The degree is one of three new qualifications launched by the campus, alongside the IIE Higher Certificate in Early Childhood Care and Education and the IIE Bachelor Degree in Foundation Phase Teaching. Backed by IIE MSAs years of experience and outstanding track record, the School of Education aims to arm students with the skills and competencies required to become excellent educators in a world where learners increasingly find themselves grappling with unfamiliar challenges and a fast-changing world. According to Andre Lubbe, campus head at IIE MSA, the Bachelor of Intermediate Phase Teaching has been designed as a four-year undergraduate professional qualification, and complies with the principles of the Department of Higher Education and Trainings Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications, as well as the new Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Frameworks guidelines. It is, moreover, CHE/SAQA approved, with registration with the Department of Higher Education and Training pending. This is an ideal qualification for individuals who see themselves teaching pupils in Grades 4 to 7, Andre Lubbe informs, adding that having graduated, students will be established subject specialist teachers in English First and First Additional Language; First Additional Language (in isiXhosa, isiZulu, Northern Sotho, Setswana or Afrikaans; Natural Science and Technology; Mathematics and Social Sciences). The education sector is facing a critical phase in South Africa. This is all the more vital given the challenges South Africas education industry has faced previously. Quality teachers are key to bolstering this critically important sector. Teachers passion makes all the difference to our learners: it is your teacher who ignites an interest; who helps you navigate complexities and understand critical concepts. Were delighted to be able to play a role in shaping this vital profession, Andre Lubbe emphasises. Graduates of this BEd degree will not only improve their employability as teachers in the Intermediate Phase; they will also have a number of other opportunities open to them, Andre Lubbe points out. These opportunities range from tutoring to school management and educational consulting (with additional studying and experience). Graduates may also go on to further their specialisation studies. Applicants for the course should hold a National Senior Certificate, National Certificate (Vocational), Senior Certificate or Senior Certificate (Amended), and should have achieved 50% in English as a Home Language or First Additional Language as well as a Level 3 (40%) in the NSC or equivalent level in the language they intend to study as a First Additional Language. Alternatively, they must pass a proficiency test in this language. Andre Lubbe says that Intermediate Phase teaching is particularly exciting, as educators find themselves interacting with learners at a critical juncture in their schooling career. Although they still look to their teachers for guidance, they now have the ability to work independently thats a great step forward, and many find it to be liberating and thrilling to develop new skills. This is also the stage where children start to draw on their previous skills to build new ones which, again, is an exhilarating experience for many. Its incredibly rewarding to be part of this journey, Andre Lubbe concludes. For more information join the IIE MSA Open Day on 1 October 2022 from 9am till 1pm, or visit https://www.iiemsa.co.za/Course/bachelor-of-education-in-intermediate-phase-teaching/ to read more about the IIE Bachelor of Education in Intermediate Phase Teaching. TALUQAN, Afghanistan, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Afghan security forces killed four armed persons in Chal district of Afghanistan's northern Takhar province on Tuesday, provincial police spokesman Abdul Mubin Safi said. The security forces launched an operation in the district's Sayad area early Tuesday, in which they killed the four armed men and seized their weapons, according to the official. No security personnel were injured in the operation, the official said. Militants of hardline outfits of the Islamic State terrorist group had claimed responsibility for some isolated security incidents, including bomb blasts in parts of the war-torn country. The WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition (WSC2022SE) will see over 1,100 competitors from 57 countries and regions participate in 61 skill competitions to be held between October and November 2022. Image source: Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels The World Skills competition provides an opportunity to exchange skills, experience and technological innovations. The Department of Higher Education and Training said the WorldSkills South Africa (WSZA) team will compete in 29 different skills, which will be hosted in nine different countries. The Department of Higher Education and Trainings championing of the WorldSkills South Africa initiative is in celebration of the talent of young artisans and technicians in the country, but also importantly to serve as an advocacy programme to highlight the importance of the artisan sector in the countrys economy, a sector whose success the department is entrusted with, said Higher Education Deputy Director, William Somo. WorldSkills South Africa will on Wednesday host a send-off ceremony, where a number of stakeholders, including the department senior management, will bid farewell to the competitors who will be travelling to nine different countries for the WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition. Somo said the send-off ceremony is precede by a Team Building Capacity Workshop, which is currently underway until the evening of 27 September 2022. The competitors have already gone through rigorous training in their various trades. The capacity building workshop will develop, strengthen and prepare them mentally, in particular, for the environment in which they will be competing. This will help boost their already high morale as they travel and go into the competition, Somo said. The nine countries to which team South Africa will travel for participation at the WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition include Germany, Denmark, France, Korea, United States of America, United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland and Finland. For more information, visit: https://worldskills.org/ The Department of Employment and Labour issued a notification that the Gauteng Inspectorate and Enforcement Services will be conducting a mega blitz of the wholesale, retail and hospitality sectors during the week of 26 - 30 September 2022. The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) regulates the monitoring and enforcement of employment-related legislation. To give effect to the enforcement and monitoring mechanisms, the BCEA grants labour inspectors powers of entry into workplaces as well as powers to question employees and inspect documents. The purpose of the inspection is to measure the level of compliance with employment-related legislation, including the BCEA, the National Minimum Wages Act, the Unemployment Insurance Act, the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act and Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (employment laws). We caution that the inspection may go beyond the scope of the employment laws. In recent inspections, the scope has included the status of foreign nationals in South Africa and whether they may lawfully live and work in the country. Employers must ensure that they have the appropriate documentation for their foreign national employees. The inspection may also include the processing and disclosure of personal information, as defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPIA), to the labour inspectors. In this regard, employers would have to comply with certain obligations in terms of PoPIA in relation to their employees. Employers are reminded that if a labour inspector has reasonable grounds to believe that they have not complied with the employment laws, the labour inspector may issue a compliance order. An employer must comply with a compliance order within the time period set out in the order. If it does not, the compliance order may be made an arbitration award. Employers are also warned to be cautious of people impersonating labour inspectors. To avoid becoming a victim of labour inspector impersonators, employers can identify genuine labour inspectors by their labour inspector identification cards, which carry the logo of the Department of Employment and Labour, and their trademark uniforms. Recently appointed Loeries chairperson 2022 - 2024, Sibusiso Sitole, co-founder and chief creative officer of The Odd Number, wants to inspire creativity across the continent and the Middle East. Image supplied. Recently appointed Loeries chairperson 2022 - 2024, Sibusiso Sitole, co-founder and chief creative officer of The Odd Number The last two years have been a slough - even affecting the industrys level of creativity, mainly because we were all isolated, says Sitole. But now he believes everyone is inspired again. Many agencies are back in the building and there is a feeling of positivity all around. This extends to clients. Suddenly there are more pitches. Unlike the past two years, when many clients were holding back, waiting to see what was going to happen. This led to many nerves in the industry. But now the industry is bouncing back, and people are excited to be around each other again, he says. Inspiring disillusioned creatives again But the past two years have had an impact on the industry, and one of the serious impacts has been the shrinking of the length and breadth of creatives coming into the industry. He says this because often senior creatives leave the industry because they are disillusioned. It is not an easy career being creative, he acknowledges. The main challenge that faces us now is to get quality creatives back into advertising, and then nurture them. This is going to be a journey, and it works hand in hand with creative agencies and clients." And he adds it is something that clients need to understand. Clients need to appreciate the power of great creativity. This is where the Loeries comes in. The Loeries do not only galvanise the advertising part of the creative industry, but it also invites clients to be part of it and witness what great creativity can achieve, whether they are part of the Masterclasses or attend the Awards ceremony together with their creative agencies. He believes that the Awards also go a long way in making sure that we retain great creatives. Many leave because they feel they are working hard, but not producing great work. Therefore, the Awards are important, he says, but he emphasises that they matter because creativity is important and truly impacts economies. It is what helps shape our society and Loeries celebrates this, not so much as an awards show but as upping the benchmark for quality work. It is the Loeries that need to show that creativity is a viable industry, in South Africa and on the Continent as a whole and the Middle East, he adds. Great work coming This year, after the past two-year lull, he predicts we going to see some great work awarded. We have had a foretaste of this at the recent Cannes Lions Awards. Having judged myself at Cannes and seen the level of the quality of the work, I am expecting that same high quality at Loeries. What excites him is the work coming out of the Middle East. What is beautiful about this is that it challenges the Continent to up their game as far as the work is concerned. He adds that what is driving this great work, not only from the Middle East but also from various countries across the continent, is that they are tapping into their local insights and letting their voices come to the fore. This gives us such a diverse selection of work. It is also where creativity is heading to work that displays diversity and showcases local nuances. Creativity can no longer be generic he says. It must be based on a true insight, and it is the audience that is demanding this. It needs to be authentic from where you are coming from, and while it can be innovative, it must be fresh and insightful. This is the kind of work that we want to celebrate. Looking at the continent, he says African music and fashion are having a real impact on the world. Advertising from the continent needs to do the same. And it will, I strongly believe that. It needs more work, but we are starting to see sparks of brilliance from Africa. Coming together as an industry Loeries is also about the power of coming together again as an industry. This is exciting for me, seeing people come together, and share ideas and lessons from the past two years and to enjoy great creative work, and to celebrate that. He adds: With the entire Creative Week in District 6 this year, everyone from around the world can come together in one space. Something else he is looking forward to is the student expo and awards. Inspiring young talent is one of my passions and something I want to highlight in my role as chairperson of Loeries. Apart from that I want to see the fun put back into advertising! he states. The jury for the 2022 Pendoring Awards has been announced, with Nkgabiseng Motau named as the jury president. Image supplied: Nkgabiseng Motau has been announced as Jury president for the Pendoring Awards Motau, CCO and founding partner at Think Creative Africa, will head up another strong jury line-up that will judge the use of South Africas indigenous languages across the creative spectrum. The Pendoring Awards celebrate the uniqueness, creativity and diversity in South Africas 10 indigenous languages. The Awards seek to recognise how the rich history and strength of the countrys indigenous languages are used to connect with a wider South African audience through marketing, advertising and communications. No stranger to the Pendorings, Motau holds a gold Pendoring and has judged multiple rounds of the Awards. Motau is also regarded as a seasoned and valued juror globally, having been chosen to be part of juries for Cannes Lions 2021 and the Ad Stars awards in South Korea last year. In an interview last year she said she believes the diverse nature of our country brings a unique perspective and cultural sensitivity. We are able to tap into so many versions of reality, drawing on our history and our presence to create work that is really universal. The jury for every Pendoring Awards has been full of exceptionally gifted and dedicated professionals, and this year not only stays true to our desire to have the best judge the best but has draws from a wide range of expertise across the creative community, said Eben Keun, Pendoring general manager. This years Pendoring campaign encourages entrants to Let Your Language Loose, calling on South Africans to set their mother tongues free in the creative world instead of hiding them behind a second or third language. The deadline for entries has been extended to 30 September. Go here for details on how to enter and more news on the awards. The jury members are: Steinheist, a new Showmax Original true crime documentary series about the biggest corporate scam in South African history, is now streaming, with new episodes every Thursday until 6 October 2022. Steinheist is made by Idea Candy, the producers of Devilsdorp, the record-breaking Showmax Original that won Best Made for TV Documentary at the 2022 South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs). Once billed as 'the Ikea of Africa', Steinhoff employed over 130,000 people on over 40 brands across four continents. Steinhoff-owned companies every South African will know include giants like Ackermans, Incredible Connection, Morkels, Pennypinchers, PEP, Russells, Tekkie Town, and Timbercity. On 5 December 2017, CEO Markus Jooste resigned amid an investigation into accounting irregularities, and Steinhoffs share price plunged by 90% in a week. This wiped over R200bnn off Johannesburg's stock exchange, the JSE and off ordinary South Africans pensions and investments. As News24s assistant editor, Pieter du Toit, author of The Stellenbosch Mafia, says in the first episode: You dont think that a company of that size and that repute can crash so quickly. Early reviews for Steinheist are glowing. In his four-star review, Rapports Leon van Nierop calls it excellent and insightful, while Business Days Tymon Smith hails it as a damning indictment of the greed and narcissism of one man and its devastating effects on those involved and ordinary South Africans". TWFLDs Thabiso Moloi describes Steinheist as a fantastic, enthralling and frustrating watch; frustrating not in a bad way but in disbelief of what we (as a society) allow to happen Paced brilliantly from start to end. And CapeTalks Pippa Hudson praises Steinheist as excellent storytelling that demystifies the Steinhoff collapse for the layman. Every South African needs to watch this, if only to amplify the chorus of voices asking the question: Why hasn't Markus Jooste been arrested? Steinheist releases on Showmax just over a month after the JSE disqualified Ben la Grange from holding the office of a director or officer of a listed company for 10 years, imposing two separate fines of R1m each on the man who was Joostes chief financial officer at Steinhoff. The JSE claimed La Grange had processed a 'fictitious' handwritten invoice handed to him by Jooste for 23.5m which would have been around R376m at the time. Government corruption has been widely publicised in South Africa, as well as explored in the likes of the Rehad Desai and Mark Kaplans SAFTA-winning How To Steal A Country documentary, which is also on Showmax. Steinheist changes the focus onto the impact of corruption in the private sector. I think the media tends to focus on holding politicians to account, but very few people hold corporations to account, says Financial Mail editor Rob Rose in the first episode. A lot of corporate leaders do things that are completely outrageous. But because so few people study it and understand it, they get away with a lot that politicians don't get away with. So I've always been drawn to the stories of people like Markus Jooste. For a journalist, this was the story of a lifetime. Rose, who wrote the book of the same name from which Steinheist is adapted, is interviewed alongside the richest cast in Showmax history, including former Steinhoff chairman Christo Wiese, once South Africas richest man, who remains a billionaire despite reportedly losing the bulk of his wealth in the Steinhoff crash; Bruno Steinhoff, the 80-something founder of Steinhoff International, who initially viewed Jooste "as a son"; Louis du Preez, the current Steinhoff CEO, whos been a driving force behind the companys remarkable recovery; Coronation co-founder Thys du Toit; and Steinhoff insiders. The gripping documentary also includes exclusive interviews with the likes of BizNews editor Alec Hogg and Moneyweb managing editor Ryk van Niekerk. When the size and the audacity of the scandal becomes clear, its jaw-dropping, says director Richard Finn Gregory, whose Patagonia-set feature documentary on Showmax, The Boers At The End of The World, won three SAFTAs in 2016. Nkandla seems like small change in comparison. But the numbers are not where the story is. Right from the beginning, we said that if we want to understand how something of this magnitude took place, we have to understand the people who were involved. So thats where we really put the focus in the series: on who these people are, what makes them tick, and their personal relationships. So what kind of person can pull off what Gregory calls a hundred-billion-rand lie that everyone bought a lie that was built across over two decades? Find out by streaming Steinheist first and only on Showmax, with new episodes every Thursday until 6 October 2022. Watch the trailer: Add Steinheist to your Showmax watchlist: https://www.showmax.com/eng/tvseries/fhw5au1n-steinheist The dilemma around nurse education and training in South Africa has been going on for years. Blaming the South African Nursing Council and the Council of Higher Education for stalling the training of nurses is the typical red herring. Challenges have most certainly arisen with the accreditation of nursing colleges and the phasing in of new nursing qualifications, but the main cause for the drastic decrease in the number of student nurses currently being trained in South Africa is the lack of finance: and government holds the trump card! As of 31 December 2021, the South African Nursing Council reported a paid-up membership of 276,000 nurses. 144,000 of these nurses are currently employed in the public sector serving a growing population of 51 million people Articles in the media have suggested a growing shortage of more than 30,000 professional nurses in South Africas public healthcare sector alone. This growing shortage of nurses is a deep concern which, if not urgently addressed by government, will have devastating consequences for public health service delivery in the near future. The serious challenge we face as a country is that 50% of the nurses registered with the South African Nursing Council are nearing retirement age. We are losing 9,000 nurses each year due to retirement, emigration and death, and sadly, First World countries are attracting qualified nurses from their under-resourced neighbours. Should the Minister of Health decide to immediately open 30,000 professional nurse posts in public hospitals, community clinics and nursing colleges, the estimated cost to the Department of Health, for employing a vast number of nurses, even at entry-level salaries, will amount to an extra R8bn annually - a mere 3% increase on the current annual health budget. What then is the real problem? Why arent there enough student nurse posts available in public hospitals and clinics for nurses to complete their clinical practice hours? Why doesnt the Department of Health open more posts and employ more nurse educators to train and supervise student nurses? The root cause of the problem Just recently the Minister of Home Affairs added professional nurses to South Africas critical skills list. Currently we only have capacity as a country to train 3,000 nurses annually. Key nursing leaders and educators mention the following factors as the main causes for the serious drop in the annual quota of student nurse graduates: South Africa currently does not have enough qualified and skilled nurse educators. As a result, some private and public nursing colleges did not meet the necessary requirements for accreditation by the South African Nursing Council to train professional nurses. Public hospitals do not have enough student nurse posts to accommodate all the students who need to complete their clinical-nursing practice hours. Public hospitals do not have enough clinical nurse educator posts to supervise and train large numbers of students in nursing practice. Another bone of contention as mentioned by Dr Sue Armstrong, lecturer at Wits University and chairperson of the Nursing Education Association, is the South Africa Nursing Councils recent decision to only permit nurses with a four-year Nursing Science degree to specialise. Funding community-service posts for the existing number of 3,000 nursing graduates remains a massive challenge. Nursing lecturers are now required to have a Masters in nurse education to train nurses and are not allowed to educate nurses unless they have this qualification. Those unable to get a Masters have gone back to practical nursing in hospitals or working for pharmaceutical companies. Funding of tuition remains a challenge. Up until 1995 nursing training was fully funded by government. In an effort to professionalise the nursing career, decisions were then made to move the training of professional nurses to universities for a four-year nursing science degree. 70% of these university students were then required to personally finance their studies which created new problems. The nursing colleges continued to offer the three-year diploma in general nursing, which was attractive as 70% of these students were funded by the provincial departments of health. In contrast, only 30% of the university student nurses received funding. A further contributing factor is that the South African Nursing College stipulates the exact quota of students each nursing college may accept at the start of the academic year. For many of the nursing colleges, this number has been drastically reduced. In the past some colleges depended on an intake of 250 students annually. How do they now pay their staff and survive financially on an intake of 50 students? South African nursing at a critical juncture Sizwe Mchunu, registrar of the South African Nursing Council has clarified that the Department of Higher Education has not taken the responsibility of nurse education and training away from the organisation. The South African Nursing Council is still the professional body that regulates nursing practice and education in South Africa. The organisation has stipulated that: Accredited public and private nursing colleges may now only offer the following higher education qualification sub-frameworks (HEQSFs), namely HEQSF Level 5: a one-year course for nursing students to obtain a certificate in auxiliary nursing; HEQSF Level 6: a three-year course for nursing students to obtain a diploma in general nursing, followed by one year of community service to qualify as a registered nurse. Some nursing colleges are still permitted to offer postgraduate specialist courses. Accredited universities may offer: HEQSF Level 8: a four-year degree in Nursing Science followed by one year of community service to qualify as a professional nurse. Most universities with a Health Science Faculty offer postgraduate specialist nursing courses, up to Honours, Masters and doctorate level. Instead of blaming and shaming one another as nurses, let us join hands with the South African Nursing Council, the Department of Higher Education, the nursing education associations, the Democratic Nursing Organization of South Africa, the Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union and The Exceptional Nurse Campaign to intentionally raise the bar on nursing education and training in this country. We all agree that government must give urgent attention to the training and development of an adequate and sustainable workforce to serve our nation. We remind government: with such a critical shortage of nurses and teachers in South Africa, the responsibility rests with them, firstly to open frozen posts, to release the necessary funding, to train, employ and pay exceptional young people to fill the posts of nurses and teachers in South Africa. This is a great opportunity to address this systemic unemployment problem in South Africa. Im extremely hopeful because our president has promised to raise billions over the next few years from national treasury and private enterprise for youth job creation and skills development. We want South Africa to gain the reputation of equipping and producing the most exceptional nurses in the world! While we wait for those who have the trump card to act, let us as nurse leaders, refrain from being negative and critical. Let us choose to encourage one another and make positive decisions to do the best we can with what we have. They rummaged through personal belongings of a jazz saxophone player, an interior designer, a retired doctor, a flooring contractor, two Century City lawyers and hundreds of others. Agents took photos and videos of pay stubs, password lists, credit cards, a prenuptial agreement, immigration and vaccination records, bank statements, heirlooms and a will, court records show. In one box, agents found cremated human remains. -LA Times The FBI and US attorney's office in Los Angeles justified the 5-day dragnet forfeiture at the US Private Vaults store by assuming that hundreds of anonymous box holders were storing assets somehow tied to unknown crimes. At the end of the operation, agents had recovered more than $86 million in cash, and a 'bonanza' of gold, silver, rare coins, jewelry and other items of value. Now, around 700 box holders who aren't implicated in any crimes liken the raid to police barging into a building's 700 apartments and taking every tenant's possessions when the only evidence of wrongdoing is against the landlord. The plaintiffs in the class-action suit have asked U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner to declare the raid unconstitutional. If he grants the request, it could force the FBI to return millions of dollars to box holders whose assets it has tried to confiscate. It could also spoil an unknown number of criminal investigations by blocking prosecutors from using any evidence or information acquired in the raid, including guns and drugs. -LA Times "The government did not know what was in those boxes, who owned them, or what, if anything, those people had done," said their lawyer, Robert Frommer. "Thats why the warrant application did not even attempt to argue there was probable cause to seize and forfeit box renters property." After the raid, the FBI posted a notice in the store window where customers could claim their property. Those who came forward had their bank records, state tax returns, DMV files and criminal histories investigated, agents testified. Since the raid, the US attorney's office has attempted to block public disclosure of court papers which revealed the government's deception - however a judge rejected their request to keep them under seal. The FBI is trash. It is both a domestic terrorist organization and a criminal cartel, and it should no longer be allowed to exist in what used to be a free country with laws. https://t.co/KaV0L6X3Xh Sean Davis (@seanmdav) September 26, 2022 The origins of the raid date back to 2015, when local detectives and federal agents spotted drug suspects walking in and out of US Private Vaults, located in an upscale strip mall. Customers, who could rent boxes anonymously, entered the store's vault using a biometric eye scan according to a LA County sheriff's deputy. The U.S. Private Vaults store in a strip mall on Olympic Boulevard in Beverly Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) By 2019, the feds and local law enforcement were able to search more than a dozen boxes, from which around $5 million was seized from five drug dealers, a bookie and a debit card thief. Then, the FBI began investigating the business itself - charging them with conspiracy to sell drugs and launder money, using a precious-metals store next door to help drug dealers launder cash by converting it to gold and silver, which was then stashed in their anonymous boxes. The company pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to launder drug money in an ongoing investigation. Both the FBI and US attorney's office have denied misleading the judge or ignoring his conditions - claiming that they had no obligation to tell him about their plan for indiscriminate confiscations based on the blanket assumption that every customer was hiding assets tied to potential crimes. According to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller, the warrants were lawfully executed "based on allegations of widespread criminal wrongdoing," adding "At no time was a magistrate misled as to the probable cause used to obtain the warrants." How the FBI worked the system FBI agent Lynne Zellhart, a former Sacramento attorney, made sweeping allegations of criminal wrongdoing by box holders - arguing that it would be "irrational" for anyone not breaking the law to store assets at US Private Vaults, when a bank could better safeguard them. "Only those who wish to hide their wealth from the DEA, IRS, or creditors would" rent a box anonymously at US Private Vaults, she wrote. But the FBIs evidence against customers was thin. Agents had seen some of them pull up to the store in vehicles with Nevada, Ohio and Illinois license plates, Zellhart wrote. Based on my training and experience in money laundering investigations, Chicago, Illinois is a hub of both drug trafficking and money laundering, she said. I believe these patrons were using their USPV box to store drug proceeds. She cited no facts to back up the suspicion. -LA Times In fact, Zellhart only mentioned nine box holders who she said were "linked" or "associated" with law enforcement investigations - and again provided no facts specifying criminal conduct. To provide cover for the fact that innocent box holders might be swept up, she admitted that US Private Vaults tried "to attract a non-criminal clientele as well, so as not to be too obvious a haven for criminals." At her deposition, Zellhart was asked, "Was it your opinion that most of the people who rented safe-deposit boxes were criminals in some way?" to which she replied "I was expecting a lot of criminals," adding "I don't know about most." The FBI assured US Magistrate Judge Steve Kim that the FBI would respect customers' rights based on the affidavit's 84th and 85th pages, written by assistant US attorney Andrew Brown, who underlined the government's lack of evidence to justify any criminal search of the customers' property. "The warrants authorize the seizure of the nests of the boxes themselves, not their contents," Brown's section of the affidavit read. "By seizing the nests of safety deposit boxes themselves, the government will necessarily end up with custody of what is inside those boxes initially." The affidavit told Kim that agents would follow their written inventory policies and attempt to notify the lawful owners of the property stored in the boxes how to claim their property. Under FBI policy, it said, inspection of each box would extend no further than necessary to determine ownership. But agents inspection of the boxes went substantially further just as the government planned, according to FBI records filed in court. By the time Kim got the warrant request, the FBI had been preparing an enormous forfeiture operation for at least six months, according to Jessie Murray, the chief of the FBIs asset forfeiture unit in Los Angeles. -LA Times Under US forfeiture laws, the government must have evidence that it was derived from criminal conduct or used to facilitate it. Judge Kim was explicit in limiting the scope of the raid, writing: "This warrant does not authorize a criminal search or seizure of the contents of the safety deposit boxes." He then gave the FBI permission to take inventory of box contents to protect against accusations of theft, and then ordered agents to notify owners not implicated in crimes so that they could recover their property. Read more here... The simultaneous sub sea damage to three pipelines is obviously not an accident. The company also said that it was impossible to estimate when the gas network systems working capability would be restored. Others have come to similar conclusion and decided to sabotage the pipelines to make their re-opening impossible: I have argued that Germany must open the Nord Stream II pipeline which can bring Russian natural gas to Germany without crossing other countries territory. It must also allow Siemens to repair the defect Nord Stream I compressors. It is in fact inevitable if Germans industry is to survive. That war, hidden behind the U.S. created Ukraine crisis, is designed to destroy Europes manufacturing advantage compared to the U.S. It is more likely though to strengthen the economic position of China and other Asian economies. Just yesterday I laid out how the U.S. is winning its war on Europes industries and people . The war mongers at the British Telegraph claim without any evidence or logic that Russia is the culprit: Russian sabotage to gas supplies to Europe is feared after three offshore lines of the Nord Stream pipeline system suffered unprecedented damage in a single day. ... Russia has withheld gas supplies to Europe as it seeks to hit back for Western sanctions imposed for the illegal invasion of Ukraine. German newspapers reported sources saying the leaks were as a result of a "targeted attack". As stated in yesterdays piece the claim that Russia is withholding gas from Europe is outright false: Nord Stream II was created to make Germany independent from pipelines running through Poland and the Ukraine. Blocking it was the most stupid thing for Germany to do and thus chancellor Scholz did it. In the following months Poland blocked the Yamal pipeline which also brought Russian gas to Germany. Ukraine followed up with cutting off two Russian pipelines. The main compressor stations of the Nord Stream I pipeline, which the German company Siemens had build and has the maintenance contract, failed one after the other. Sanction are prohibiting Siemens from repairing them. It is not Russia that has blocked its gas and oil from European markets. It were the German, Polish and Ukrainian governments that did it. Russia would in fact be happy to sell more. Putin has recently again offered to push as much Russian gas as possible through Nord Stream II to Germany: ... If Russia were to cut pipelines in the Baltic Sea it would damage those that bring Norwegian gas to Europe, not the pipelines it owns and which give it some leverage. Russia thus surely has no plausible interest in sabotaging the Nord Stream system. Others though do have such interests. They likely want Germany to 'stay in line with their war to Decolonize Russia. The major potential actors behind this are the U.S., the British, the Ukrainian and the Polish government or a mixture of those. Geography, and the shallow depth of the Baltic Sea, seem to exclude that a U.S. or British submarines did the damage. Ukraine does not have access to the Baltic Sea. Poland, which had already tried to prevent or hinder the Nord Stream II construction, is the most likely actor behind this though I doubt that it would dare to act alone. Consider this from April 2021: The developers of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline have accused foreign naval forces of "provocative" activity in the vicinity of construction work. The controversial pipeline is about 93 percent complete, and two Russian pipelay vessels are on station and working on the project in Danish waters. Andrei Minin, the branch director of Gazprom-run Nord Stream 2 AG, told TASS that "foreign warships and vessels were demonstrating higher activity" near the operation, and that "such actions are provocative and can lead to gas pipeline damage." He also accused Poland of deploying a military M-28 patrol aircraft to survey the site. "The Polish Navy is not conducting provocative operations and has been carrying out its statutory tasks in agreement with international laws," responded the Polish Armys central command in a social media post. "M-28B Bryza planes regularly conduct patrol flights in the Baltic Sea region." Poland strongly opposes the development of Nord Stream 2, which will give Gazprom a subsea alternative route for supplying natural gas to Western European customers. At present, that gas has to pass through overland pipeline networks in Poland and Ukraine, bringing in valuable transit fees and providing both nations - which do not always have cordial relations with Russia - a measure of energy security. Followed by this from May 2021: Poland has reacted angrily to President Joe Bidens decision to waive US sanctions on Nord Stream II, warning the move could threaten energy security across Central and Eastern Europe. The information is definitely not positive from the security point of view, as we know perfectly that Nord Stream II is not only a business project it is mostly a geopolitical project, said Piotr Muller, a spokesman for the Polish government. On February 7 Biden stated that he would decided if Nord Stream II opens: After both leaders appeared to avoid mentioning the pipeline, under repeated questions from reporters at an afternoon press conference, Biden, standing next to the German chancellor said Nord Stream 2 would not move forward if Russia invades Ukraine, in a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin of potential economic consequences. "If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the -- the border of Ukraine again, then there will be -- there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2," Biden said during the press conference with Scholz, who did not go as far as Biden, but insisted the U.S. and Germany remain "absolutely united." On February 27 Biden sanctioned the company owning the pipeline. Under its current rightwing leadership Poland has been extremely hostile to Germany. This month it even renewed is demand for war reparations from Germany, an issue that had been settle decades ago: Polands top politician said Thursday that the government will seek equivalent of some $1.3 trillion in reparations from Germany for the Nazis World War II invasion and occupation of his country. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Law and Justice party, announced the huge claim at the release of a long-awaited report on the cost to the country of years of Nazi German occupation as it marks 83 years since the start of World War II. ... Germanys Foreign Ministry said Thursday the governments position remains unchanged in that the question of reparations is concluded. Poland long ago, in 1953, waived further reparations and has repeatedly confirmed this waiver, the ministry said in an emailed response to a Associated Press query about the new Polish report. It is high time for the German government to wake up and to recognize that a war has been launched against its country. And no. It is not Russia that is waging it. CANBERRA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Researchers will create a DNA database of Indigenous Australians in a bid to improve health outcomes. According to experts from Australian National University (ANU), the database will improve diagnoses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with rare genetic disorders. Led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research (GIMR) and ANU National Center for Indigenous Genomics (NCIG), researchers are aiming to collect DNA samples from 500 Indigenous people across eight communities in northern and central Australia. Australia's most powerful supercomputer at ANU's National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) will then be used to identify genes that contribute to illnesses in Indigenous people. "Through collaboration and partnership with Indigenous communities and researchers, this project will help us identify the harmful variants among Australia's First Nations peoples to ensure they receive the correct diagnosis as soon as possible and can better manage their unique health risks," project leader Ira Deveson said in a media release. The project has been funded with a 986,000 Australian dollar (about 639,722 U.S. dollars) grant from the federal government's Futures Fund. By improving diagnoses for Indigenous Australians, patients can receive early treatment to better manage symptoms. According to a report published by the government of the Northern Territory (NT) in July, life expectancy for Indigenous Australians was 69.7 years for females and 65.6 years for males in 2018 compared to 85.1 and 81 years for non-Indigenous females and males, respectively. "This is a unique opportunity to address this representation gap in genomic datasets to reduce health disparities between Australia's Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities," Hardip Patel, the bioinformatics lead at NCIG, said. "This project will generate datasets for First Nations peoples to help doctors provide a timely diagnosis to patients and improve health outcomes for them." ISLAMABAD, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Police in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province killed four drug smugglers after a shootout on Tuesday, a spokesperson of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the police said. The peddlers who the spokesperson said to be associated with a banned terrorist outfit were attempting to smuggle drugs to the country's southern port city of Karachi in a truck when they were stopped at a check post in the provincial capital of Quetta. "Police got an intelligence tip-off regarding the smuggling of drugs in a truck, and when the cops asked the truck to pull over rather than stopping the vehicle, the people inside opened fire at the police," the spokesperson added. The police were well prepared to counter the attack, and killed all the four people inside in the retaliatory attack, the CTD official said. The police recovered 27 kg of drugs and some weapons from the truck, the spokesperson said, adding that the terrorists used to smuggle drugs for buying weapons and finance terrorist plots in the country. Earlier on Friday, the CTD killed two high-profile terrorists during an intense exchange of fire in the Khuzdar area of Balochistan, by acting on an intelligence tip-off. MANILA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines reported 1,555 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,941,656. The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases rose to 38,315, while 30 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 62,849. Metro Manila, the capital region with over 13 million people, tallied 738 new cases. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the number of coronavirus infections in Metro Manila and adjacent areas is on an "upward trend" while "plateauing" in the rest of the country. Vergeire said the loosening of COVID-19 rules increased people's mobility and the opening of businesses and many sectors. She added the optional use of masks in open spaces and the resumption of schools also contributed to the uptick in new cases. The Philippines reported its highest COVID-19 single-day tally of 39,004 new cases on Jan. 15. The country, with a population of around 110 million, has fully vaccinated over 73 million people. Public servant Bridget Box was having a stressful day dealing with family health problems when her phone rang. The caller claimed they worked for the National Australia Banks fraud team. Sensitive to the possibility of scam calls, Box was at first hesitant, but the caller told her to pull out her NAB bank card and check the phone number on the back. NAB customer Bridget Box was scammed out of $35,000. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui The digits of the incoming call matched the number on the card and Box was told by the caller that NAB spent millions of dollars each year ensuring the banks phone lines were secure. The caller then told Box her account was being targeted by hackers and detailed instructions for how to protect her money. Without thinking much further, Box followed the instructions and transferred $35,702 to three separate accounts. But immediately after she hung up, the haze lifted, she says, and she panicked. Petrol prices have risen to nearly $2 per litre and are likely to increase within days of the full rate of fuel excise being reintroduced just before midnight on Wednesday. The temporary fuel excise cut of 22 a litre will end at 11.59pm, leading to expectations of higher prices at petrol pumps within a week. Petrol prices at BP in Camperdown on Tuesday. Credit:Nick Moir The NRMA is calling on oil companies to cut fuel prices after the cost of petrol blew out by 42 cents per litre above the average wholesale price The average price for regular unleaded fuel in petrol rose to more than $1.90 per litre on Tuesday - more than 10 cents higher than expected by the NRMA. The wholesale price was $1.48 per litre. There was a time, in the depths of the pandemic, when the nations Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly was a hard man to avoid, regularly helping front the many, many press conferences held by former PM Scott Morrison and his health minister Greg Hunt. But that was then. These days, Kelly seems decidedly out of fashion with Anthony Albaneses government and its Health Minister Mark Butler. Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Kelly hasnt held a press conference or done any media since July. Could it be because Kelly and some of the states health supremos were less than fulsome in their support of some recent political decisions on pandemic management, particularly national cabinet shortening the mandatory isolation period from seven days to five? Albanese has refused to make public any health advice underpinning that effort, and eight days later the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee chaired by Kelly quietly published a statement on the Health Department website, urging people to keep isolating as long as they had symptoms. A woman who deliberately brought the Sydney Harbour Tunnel to a standstill earlier this year has been spared punishment after a court accepted she was traumatised by the Lismore floods, and dismissed the charges against her on mental health grounds. Lismore resident Mali Cooper, 22, was charged with entering the major roadway and disrupting vehicles after she stopped her car across the southbound entrance to the tunnel, placing a bike lock around her neck and the steering wheel. Mali Cooper, 22, used a bike lock to attach herself to a car blocking the entrance to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel. Credit:Blockade Australia Under NSWs tough new laws targeting disruptive activism, Coopers actions, which kicked off two days of climate protests by the Blockade Australia group, could have left her with a fine of up to $22,000 or a two-year jail sentence. Cooper had pleaded guilty to the June 27 action and was ready for jail when she fronted Lismore Local Court on Tuesday, her lawyer Mark Davis said but was hugely relieved when Magistrate Jeff Linden dismissed the charges on mental health grounds. About one-third of NSW students in years 1 to 10 are missing class at a level that puts their education at risk, as the number of pupils who regularly turn up to school continues to fall. The states auditor-general has found 67.9 per cent of students in those year groups attended school regularly in the first semester this year, and that a pre-COVID fall in attendance should have prompted earlier intervention. A NSW report has found too many students are missing school. Credit:iStock The NSW Audit Office report said too many students were regularly missing school and attendance problems were widespread, with 775 of 2200 public schools recording an average attendance rate below 90 per cent in 2021. According to the NSW Education Department, attending school less than 90 per cent of the time can put a students educational outcomes at risk. The government has set a target to increase the proportion of students attending school regularly (at least 90 per cent of the time) between 2018 and 2022. The City of Melbourne has reintroduced fees for outdoor dining areas set up by restaurants during the pandemic, despite some CBD hospitality businesses objecting to the plan. On Tuesday night, councillors voted unanimously to pass a recommendation from council management to reintroduce fees from November for outdoor dining permits across the municipality except in Docklands. The Melbourne city council has voted to reintroduce fees for outdoor dining. Credit:Eddie Jim Hundreds of businesses signed up for free permits to establish outdoor dining on footpaths, in laneways and on street-side car parks after the council began waiving fees in late 2020 as part of its plan to reinvigorate the city after the first COVID-19 lockdown. Cr Roshena Campbell moved the motion and said the council had waived outdoor dining fees for businesses during the pandemic as indoor density limits had severely hampered the citys hospitality trade, but those COVID shackles are now off. The lack of a serious anti-corruption body at the federal level has been a running sore in Australian politics for too long. Breaking an explicit promise before the 2019 election to create such a body was one of the most craven failures of the Morrison government. The Albanese government has, however, shown more courage and this week it is delivering on its election pledge to legislate what it calls the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on Tuesday said he has allocated $262 million to the NACC. He also outlined some features that will make it far stronger than the toothless model that the Morrison government sketched out but never submitted as legislation to parliament. Tokyo: Australia will engage with US plans to accelerate the construction of AUKUS nuclear submarines, says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as Tony Abbott calls for new submarines to be delivered as soon as possible to meet the threat of Chinas growing fleet. Speaking in Tokyo after meeting with US Vice President Kamala Harris, Albanese said the pair had discussed deepening cooperation through the Quad leaders meeting and through AUKUS - the nuclear submarine pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with US Vice President Kamala Harris in Japan. Credit:Christopher Jue The Wall Street Journal reported on the weekend that the Biden administration was exploring options to expedite Australias acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines to respond to Chinas growing military power. The plan would involve delivering nuclear subs built in the US by the 2030s - a decade ahead of the current AUKUS schedule - before giving Australia the capability to produce nuclear-power submarines at home. A decision on the best way forward is expected by March. AUKUS and Quad meetings are due to be held by early next year, with Albanese hosting US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Australia for the Quad leaders dialogue. launched a novel drug in that it has co-developed with at one-fifteenth of the global price at Rs 127 per pill. Its a one pill a day therapy. The drug named Verquvo (vericiguat) is the first novel treatment approved to reduce the risk of cardiovascular deaths and repeated hospitalisation among worsening patients, the company said. In there are between 8-10 million people with heart failure, making it one of the world's largest populations with the malady. At 55-60 years, Indian patients are also a decade younger than their western counterparts. Despite the substantially younger age of patients, three out of every five Indian patients will die within five years of diagnosis. remains the most common cardiac cause of hospitalisation in with worsening events being one of the most important causes of death in heart failure patients. Verquvo is a new class of drug (soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator) that works on a pathway that is not currently targeted by existing heart failure treatments. It was studied in a population with a higher risk of cardiovascular death or heart failure hospitalisation. claims that Verquvo can help patients stay out of the hospital and improve the chances of survival in such patients. Manoj Saxena, Managing Director, Zydus Pharma, says, Bayer is pleased to bring Verquvo to India in the week of World Heart Day, as a new treatment option for worsening heart failure patients to reduce frequent hospitalizations and the risk of death. Despite therapy, chronic heart failure patients can experience disease progression that disrupts their lives and leads to worsening heart failure events, where hospitalization or initiation of intravenous diuretics is needed. He adds that after an event of worsening heart failure, more than 50 percent of patients may require re-hospitalisation within 30 days. The in-hospital mortality rate in India is also high and registry data suggest that it ranges between 1030.8 percent as compared with 4-7 per cent in Western countries, he says. Chronic heart failure occurs when the heart is not able to pump blood as well as it should. Certain conditions such as the thickening of arteries (atherosclerosis), heart attack, infections, or rheumatic heart disease make the heart muscle weak or stiff, so that it cannot pump blood effectively. Bayer received approval of vericiguat (Verquvo) in India based on the results of the pivotal Phase-III VICTORIA trial, published in The New England Journal of Medicine in March 2020. The drug is currently approved for use in 35 countries including the United States, European Union countries, the United Kingdom, Japan and Singapore. RTHK: Putin grants Edward Snowden Russian citizenship President Vladimir Putin on Monday granted Russian citizenship to US whistleblower Edward Snowden, who exposed massive surveillance by the US National Security Agency on Americans and then sought refuge in Russia. A presidential decree published on Monday included Snowden on a list of newly-minted Russian citizens, at a time when relations between Washington and Moscow are at historic lows over the conflict in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told news agencies that Snowden had received Russian citizenship as a result of his own request, made in 2020 to make it easier for his American wife Lindsay Mills to travel back and forth. "After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our SONS," Snowden wrote on Twitter. "After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference for my family," he said. The former American intelligence contractor, 39, leaked secret documents to media outlets in 2013 revealing that the NSA was collecting massive amounts of communications metadata and other information on US citizens, in violation of their constitutional right to privacy. The expose of the NSA's secret spying program led to laws and regulations forbidding that activity. After revealing those secrets, Snowden sought refuge in Russia. He married longtime girlfriend Mills in Moscow in 2017. Three years later they had a son, and Snowden said he would seek Russian citizenship to make it easier for his family to be together, especially given the travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic. But he said he wanted to keep his US nationality. "Lindsay and I will remain Americans, raising our son with all the values of the America we love including the freedom to speak his mind. And I look forward to the day I can return to the States, so the whole family can be reunited," he said at the time. The couple had a second son earlier this year. Snowden's lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that Mills would also now apply for Russian citizenship. US State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday that Snowden, who has been charged with multiple felonies in US court, retains his American citizenship. "I'm not aware of any change in his citizenship status," Price said. "The only thing that has changed is that as a result of his Russian citizenship, apparently now he may well be conscripted to fight in the reckless war" in Ukraine, he said. Putin last week announced a mobilisation of 300,000 Russian reservists to contribute to the Russian army's fight in Ukraine. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-09-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Remote mountainous county moving towards prosperity Xinhua) 08:42, September 27, 2022 XI'AN, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Born and raised in the deep mountains, Zhang Liping, a 39-year-old woman troubled by poverty for years, never expected that she would one day move to a comfortable residence and live a better-off life. Zhang's hometown, Linyou County in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, is a mountainous region on the Loess Plateau. Inconvenient transportation and a lack of arable land once hindered the economic development of the small county with a population of 71,000. By 2020, China had fully completed its poverty-alleviation relocation programs for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), with more than 9.6 million people involved having moved into new homes and shaken off poverty. Nearly 14,000 residents in Linyou County, including Zhang, benefited from the program and bid farewell to their shabby houses in the mountains. "Thanks to government subsidies, it cost only 7,500 yuan (about 1,070 U.S. dollars) for my family of three to move to the new residence in the summer of 2019," said Zhang. Providing follow-up support for relocated residents is of paramount importance. In the Nanfang resettlement community where Zhang lives, schools, hospitals and workshops are available for newcomers. Zhang works in a workshop on the top floor of a three-story building in the community, knitting car seat cushions with another 20 colleagues. "I was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus in 2009 with mobility issues and my husband was then the only breadwinner in the family," Zhang said. "I feel content to have such a job and earn about 2,500 yuan per month," added Zhang, who can now easily juggle her job and her child's needs. Currently, the county has eight community factories with a total of over 500 employees and one-third of them are relocated residents or people lifted out of poverty. Data from the National Rural Revitalization Administration shows that a total of 4.59 million people relocated from inhospitable areas and lifted out of poverty were employed in the first half of 2022. At least one person in a relocated family with labor ability has secured a job. Efforts have also been made to develop featured industries and improve infrastructure to create job opportunities and extra income for locals in barren mountains. In the past, villagers in Linyou often endured bad harvests due to barren land and a lack of rainfall. But in the eyes of Wang Xiding, such an environment coincided with the requirements of the agrivoltaics industry. Along the road twisting up the mountainside in the Jiuchenggong Township, Linyou County, an agrivoltaics park covering an area of 1,210 mu (about 80.7 hectares) was built on the slope in 2016. Solar panels are placed on greenhouses that shelter crops of peppers, corn and grapes ready for harvest. "With an average altitude of 1,250 meters and abundant sunlight, it is an ideal place to develop an agrivoltaics project to earn extra income for locals," said Wang, general manager of the park's operator, adding that an average of 24 million kWh of electricity is generated per year. At the end of 2020, the county was linked with expressways, making it convenient for good transportation. Moreover, free buses running between the industrial park and resettlement communities are available for residents. "There is much more to look forward to in life," Zhang said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji) Staff members of the Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd. (LCRC) restore railway facilities during a joint emergency exercise aimed at responding to security incidents on China-Laos Railway in Lao capital Vientiane, Sept. 27, 2022. (LCRC/Handout via Xinhua) VIENTIANE, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A joint emergency exercise aimed at responding to security incidents on China-Laos Railway was held on Tuesday in Lao capital Vientiane. The exercise was held by the Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd., a joint venture responsible for the operation of the railway, and coordinated by the Chinese Embassy in Laos, the Laos Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security. According to the Chinese embassy, the joint emergency exercise achieved the expected results and tested emergency response to security incidents, emergency coordination, information transmission, and emergency handling capabilities. It provided a solid guarantee for effective maintenance of the safety of China-Laos Railway transportation and the safety of passengers and railway staff. The China-Laos Railway, a landmark project of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, started operation in December 2021. MP Group flagship, Corporation, will be investing at least $1 billion over the next eight years to ramp up capacity to 30 million tonnes (mt). Corporations consolidated capacity stands at nearly 20 mt after the commissioning of the 3.9 mt greenfield plant at Mukutban in by subsidiary, RCCPL Pvt Ltd, in April this year. The next leg of growth-from 20 mt to 30 mt-will be a mix of greenfield, brownfield projects and de-bottlenecking of existing operations. Addressing the media after the companys annual general meeting, Harsh Lodha, chairman, Birla Corporation, said, of the 10 mt capacity addition, 2 mt would be from de-bottlenecking of existing operations, 4 mt from brownfield expansion and another 4 mt by way of greenfield. For the new plant, is targeting Chhattisgarh, but it would be contingent on getting a limestone mine. We will participate in the auctions, said Lodha. The idea behind zeroing in on is that it would be contiguous to the project in . We have a philosophy of not going into a disconnected area. This state happens to be contiguous to my expansion in Maharashtra, so it becomes a seamless expansion, said Arvind Pathak, managing director and chief executive officer, . But the management also said that while it had zeroed in on Chhattisgarh, it was not cast in stone. The Mukutban plant in has augmented Birla Corporations consolidated annual capacity significantly. It is in ramp-up mode and full capacity utilisation is expected to be achieved in three years time. Its a relatively new market for us. But if demand picks up we might be able to do it faster also, said Lodha. He also pointed out that Mukutban has got a very good incentive structure. At current prices, it works to around Rs 650 per tonne for all cement manufactured out of Mukutban and sold in Maharashtra. The total quantum of incentive works out to about Rs 2,300 crore, which the company plans to consume in 12-13 years. The incentive will start flowing sometime in the middle of next year. Before that we will have to use our input tax credit, said Lodha. Over a period of time Mukutban would be one of the lowest cost plants in the country with the added advantage of the incentive, he added. Addressing earlier in the day, Lodha said that the year till March 31, 2022 was one of stark opposites. Whereas on one hand, we were able to scale up sales to top 14 mt for the first time in your companys history, on the other, profitability came under immense pressure as margins for the entire cement industry contracted by 400 to 500 basis points. Input costs, which started to shoot in 2021-22, he said, continue to impact profitability in the current year as well. Things may not look up immediately, but post Diwali, we are hopeful of a robust turnaround, Lodha added. All delivery partners have access to healthcare, with a medical cover worth Rs. 1,00,000. This can also be extended to their family members, the company said. In FY22, 9,210 partners were supported with Rs 15.94 crore worth of disbursements, out of which Rs 9.8 crore was purely used for hospitalisation against illnesses and diseases, said. The delivery giant also offers Rs 5,000 worth of Out-Patient Department (OPD) support, which can be extended to their families. According to company data, 13,645 delivery partners and their families benefited from OPD support in FY22, with Rs 2.3 crore disbursed in claim amounts. Also Read | Zomato, Swiggy discount progs against interest of restaurant owners: NRAI We deeply care for delivery partners since they are the face of our brands- the right experience for them ensures, in turn, the best experience for our customer, the company said. For any injury causing a temporary disability to delivery partners, offers loss of pay of Rs 525 per day up to Rs 50,000. This is our attempt to ensure delivery partners prioritise health and are able to fulfil their household responsibilities as they recover before returning to their gig, the company said. Zomato also says it offers Rs 10,00,000 worth of life cover as a safety net. This includes a dedicated amount for funeral expenses in cases where delivery partners lose their lives. In addition, the company claims to also extend further help to delivery workers when required. In all 26 cases where the total hospitalisation spend was more than Rs. 1,00,000, we covered the full amount, the firm said. The company says that all information is readily available on the delivery partners app, using which they can raise a claim in the language of their choice. Zomato also claims to have a dedicated point of contact for delivery partners who hand-hold them with the process of a claim till it reaches their bank accounts. According to Zomatos data, total claims disbursed in FY22 increased 5.5x compared to FY21. The firm attributes this surge to better communication, awareness and visibility on the app. As a loyalty benefit for tenured delivery partners, the food aggregator is also piloting a health cover worth Rs 3,00,000 extendable to their families in Delhi, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. An Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF) set up by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) that would cater to the entire rocket engine production under one roof for Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu here on Tuesday. The state-of-the-art ICMF, set up over an area of 4,500 square metres houses over 70 hi-tech equipment and testing facilities for manufacturing cryogenic (CE20) and semi-cryogenic (SE2000) engines of Indian rockets. In 2013, an MOU was signed with for establishing the facility for manufacturing cryogenic engine modules at HAL, Aerospace Division, and it was subsequently amended in 2016 for setting up of ICMF with an investment of Rs 208 crore. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Chairman S Somanath, Chairman and Managing Director C B Ananthakrishnan, among others were present at the event. The commissioning of all the critical equipment for the manufacturing and assembly requirement has been completed, Bengaluru-headquartered has said, adding that the pre-production activities which involve preparation of the process and quality plans, and drawings, have also commenced. will start realising the modules by March 2023, it said. HAL Aerospace Division manufactures liquid propellant tanks and launch vehicle structures of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV MK-II), GSLV Mk-III and also stage integration for GSLV MK-II. "The facility (ICMF) will cater to the entire Rocket Engine Manufacturing under one roof for . It will boost self-reliance in manufacturing of Hi-thrust Rocket engines," the HAL said. Cryogenic engines are the most widely used engines world over in launch vehicles, the statement said. Due to the complex nature of the cryogenic engine, till date only a few countries -- the USA, France, Japan, China and Russia -- have mastered the cryogenic technology. On January 5, 2014 India successfully flew GSLV-D5 with a cryogenic engine and became the sixth country in developing cryogenic engines (made by ISRO through private industries) and became the sixth country in developing cryogenic engines. Space exploration in the future is mostly dependent upon cryogenic technology. On that occasion, the President also laid the foundation stone for the Zonal Institute of Virology (South Zone) virtually. Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar, Health Minister K Sudhakar were also present on the occasion. (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.) Malaysia's is in discussions with relevant authorities in India to determine the next step for its stalled open offer for an additional 26.1 per cent stake in Fortis Healthcare, according to a company statement. The Supreme Court had last week ordered a forensic audit of the share sale of Fortis Healthcare to executed in 2018, in a contempt case filed by Japanese firm Daiichi Sankyo Company Ltd against the former promoters of Fortis, Singh brothers -- Malvinder and Shivinder, and others. In a statement, said the "Supreme Court has not found nor indicated any wrongdoing by IHH in terms of our investment into Fortis in its final order." The company said the Supreme Court has given a "direction to the High Court to inter alia consider issuing appropriate process and appointing forensic auditor(s) to analyse the transactions entered between Fortis and RHT and other related transactions". It further said that the order by the apex court "supports our belief that our investment into Fortis was undertaken in a fair and transparent manner". "IHH remains as Fortis' largest shareholder with a 31.1 per cent stake, and the judgment does not in any way alter our commitment to growing our healthcare operations and serving patients in India in line with our 'Care. For Good' aspiration across all 82 hospitals in our 10 markets," the statement added. In the Mandatory Tender Offer (MTO) for the company to acquire an additional 26.1 per cent stake in Fortis, IHH said, it "is obtaining further advice and is in discussions with relevant authorities to determine the next steps, in full compliance with all requisite regulations in India." It further said, "We remain steadfast in our ability and commitment to execute our business plans to grow our operations and serve the healthcare needs of our patients in India with care and excellence, while protecting the interests of our stakeholders." The IHH-Fortis deal is stuck due to the legal battle between Daiichi and the former promoters of Fortis Healthcare. Daiichi Sankyo Company has been seeking enforcement of a foreign arbitral award made in Singapore on April 29, 2016 to the tune of Rs 3,600 crore in its favour and against 20 respondents, including Malvinder Mohan Singh, Director of Oscar Investments Ltd and RHC Holding Pvt Ltd, and Shivinder Mohan Singh, Director of Oscar Investments Ltd. The former promoters of Fortis Healthcare Ltd were facing a court battle after Daiichi had challenged the Fortis-IHH share deal to recover the arbitration award. In December 2018, the Supreme Court had ordered status quo with regard to the sale of controlling stakes of Fortis Healthcare to IHH Healthcare Berhad by former Ranbaxy promoters and hospital operators -- Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh. The apex court's order put on hold IHH's open offer for an additional 26.1 per cent stake in Fortis, which was scheduled to commence on December 18, 2018 and close on January 1, 2019 entailing a total sum of Rs 3,300 crore. The proposed open offer was subsequent to IHH clinching a Rs 4,000-crore deal to acquire 31.1 per cent stake in Fortis Healthcare in July 2018. IHH had pipped rival Manipal-TPG combine in the race. (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.) Electric two-wheeler maker Motovolt Mobility on Tuesday said it plans to invest Rs 200 crore next year on new products and to expand its manufacturing footprint and sales network. The company, which on Tuesday launched its electric bike URBN in two variants priced at Rs 49,999 and Rs 54,999, is looking to set up satellite manufacturing units to be closer to the market. "We have a plant at Kolkata now. We are looking to set up satellite manufacturing units in North and South India so that we can be closer to the market," Motovolt Mobility Founder and CEO Tushar Choudhary told PTI here. The Kolkata plant has an annual capacity of 50,000 units. "In the next phase, we are looking at capacity of one lakh annually for which we are considering a new unit, preferably in North India as Delhi is an attractive market for us considering the incentive we are getting for the URBN e-bike," he added. The company is targeting sales of 50,000 units by March 2023, he added. When asked about investment, Choudhary said, "Next year in 2023, we will be investing Rs 200 crore. This will take care of new production unit, more products besides sales network expansion and marketing activities." The company has already invested Rs 60 crore. Motovolt plans to launch an electric scooter in the last quarter of the ongoing fiscal year, while it is also developing new products in the e-bike segment. "Our focus is on electric two-wheelers. We want to offer a full range from electric bicycles to scooters," Choudhary said, adding, the company has not planned any electric motorcycle. In terms of sales network, the company plans to increase it to 250 by the end of 2022-23 from 100 at present. On URBN, he said it offers an easy ride for local commutes, and has a good potential for last-mile delivery services as it can go up to 120 kilometres on a single charge. Choudhary said the company has started discussions with online food delivery platforms to supply to their fleet. At present, the localisation level of URBN is around 70 per cent with key components like battery cells imported from China. "In due course of time, we intend to source the battery cells from India when they are available here," he said, adding, the product has been designed and developed in India over the last two years with 50,000 kilometres of testing. He said the company has also received interest from overseas customers, who were buying from China and Taiwan as they look to have an Indian source and Motovolt could enter into a joint venture with a foreign player in future. (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.) Omega Seiki Mobility (OSM) will supply over 5,000 electric cargo three-wheelers to Porter for last-mile delivery under a collaboration with the logistics operator, the company said on Tuesday. The vehicles are to be delivered to Porter by 2023. The logistics firm already has 1,000 EVs in its fleet and it is looking to expand it five times by next year, it said. Consumers across the world, including in India, have been shopping online in much larger numbers than earlier, increasing the demand for green mobility in the last-mile delivery solutions. The collaboration with Porter is aimed at catering to the surging demands in this space, the company said. According to a recent report, India's e-commerce firms are expected to see 28 per cent year-on-year sales growth at USD 11.8 billion during the festive month with a spurt in the fashion category. "We are seeing the last and middle-mile segment for the trucks growing significantly stronger with demand coming in not just from the e-commerce players but also from sectors such as FMCG, dairy, construction and auto components, etc," Omega Seiki Mobility Founder and Chairman Uday Narang told PTI. The company is expecting over 200 per cent growth in the electric two and three-wheeler space in 2023, he said, adding that "the partnership with Porter is a significant opportunity for OSM.. "We are optimistic about signing more such deals. I think over the next 2-3 years, we will be doing combined deals worth 50,000 vehicles with multiple partners," he said. Uttam Digga, Co-Founder and COO, Porter said there is a heightened sense of curiosity in the market for electric vehicles, adding that, "We are hopeful that with the OSM expertise in the auto industry, we will be able to encourage adoption of EVs in the logistics sector. (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.) Reliance Retail, Indias largest retailer, today announced the launch of its fashion and lifestyle departmental store format, Reliance Centro. The first Reliance Centro store was launched on Tuesday in Vasant Kunj, . "Reliance Centro is aimed at democratising fashion in India, by strengthening its reach & connect with consumers in India right from categories like apparels, footwear, cosmetics, lingerie, sportswear to luggage and accessories with over 300 Indian and International brands," the RIL subsidiary said in a statement. Reliance Centros core offerings are curated to make it the one stop fashion destination for all the fashion conscious mid-premium segment customer, the company added. "Reliance Centro store at Vasant Kunj embraces modern looks and ambience featuring an exciting range of good quality and fashion merchandise that is relevant to todays consumers. With wide variety of brands and style options available across key lifestyle categories the offering is designed to cater to every occasion from parties to festivals to wedding, making Reliance Centro the preferred fashion destination for all needs," said Reliance Retail. This 75,000 sq. ft is a complete departmental store with range of over 300 brands and more than 20,000 style options for the entire family. This new shopping destination has a special inaugural offer for its customers, besides great relevant fashion at amazing prices. The inaugural offer is Rs 1,500 off on shopping worth Rs 3,999 or get Rs 2,000 off on shopping worth Rs 4,999 and above. The largest shareholder in Fortis Healthcare, Healthcare on Tuesday informed the Malaysian bourses that they remained committed to the chain and in India. " remains as Fortis largest shareholder with a 31.1 per cent stake, and the judgment does not in any way alter our commitment to growing our healthcare operations and serving in India..." it said in a stock exchange notification. It added that was obtaining further advice and was in discussions with relevant authorities for the mandatory tender offer to acquire an additional 26.1 per cent stake in Fortis. IHH is obtaining further advice and is in discussions with relevant authorities to determine the next steps, in full compliance with all requisite regulations in India, it said. Last week, the Supreme Court awarded six months jail to brothers Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh in the Daiichi-Fortis case and ordered a forensic audit of the Fortis-IHH deal. Disposing of Daiichi Sankyos plea, the apex court remanded the matter in the Delhi High Court, while continuing the stay on IHH open offer. " reaffirms our commitment to our in India, and to Fortis and IHH investors, that the Honourable Supreme Court has not found nor indicated any wrongdoing by IHH in terms of our investment into Fortis in its final order," IHH said in the notification to the stock exchanges. It added that it remained steadfast in its ability and commitment to execute its business plans to grow its operations and serve the needs of patients in India, while protecting the interests of our stakeholders. Over the last quarter and through the pandemic, Fortis has anchored its claim as one of the leading healthcare platforms in India and IHH is committed to stand firm on Fortis side to continue this growth journey, IHH said. IHH said the SC judgment supports its belief that its investment into Fortis was undertaken in a fair and transparent manner. Malaysias had in 2018 acquired a 31 per cent controlling stake in Fortis by paying $1.1 billion in a bidding process overseen by an independent board. This set off an open offer to acquire another 26 per cent of Fortis shares from the market. The open offer was not pursued as Daiichi had filed a plea against it. The deal between Fortis and IHH was signed in August 2018. In December 2018, the SC stayed the IIH open offer. Daiichi had challenged the Fortis-IHH deal to recover the Rs 3,600-crore arbitration award it had won in a Singapore tribunal against Fortis erstwhile promoters, brothers Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh. US retail giant held a day-long Global Seller Summit in Delhi today to take to market through its ecommerce marketplace. is one of Canadas most popular brands. It operates more than 400 stores nationwide and is one of the largest online and fastest growing marketplace platforms in . Close to 500 Indian manufacturers, brands and sellers attended to hear from local and global experts, logistics and fintech service providers, and that are already using Walmart Marketplace. Michelle Mi, VP-Emerging Markets and Business Development, Global Sourcing, Walmart, said, We are focused on building long-term relationships with even more . Helping sellers build their business in the US and establish themselves in with Walmart Marketplace underscores our confidence in the potential of these markets for Indian sellers as we work towards building our exports from India to $10 billion a year by 2027. Walmart is undertaking this summit before the winter holiday season in North America, as its one of the busiest time of the year for . Walmart data shows that customers start researching their holiday buys in October, with steady sales throughout November and December Walmart is preparing to help Indian sellers take advantage of this key shopping season with tools like Walmart Fulfillment Services (for fast and easy shipping) and Walmart Connect (for targeted seasonal promotions). Some of the brands that are already using Walmart marketplace include Welspun, Rage Coffee and Mensa Brands. In 2020, Walmart had announced to triple its exports of goods from India from around $3 billion to $10 billion each year by 2027. Indian exports via Walmart included apparel, homeware, jewellery, etc. Walmart sees outstanding potential for Indian sellers in highly searched categories like home, apparel, leather accessories, and beauty and personal care. Around 1,900 tribal women from were offered jobs during an employment drive conducted by Electronics Limited in collaboration with the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday, a statement said. The two-day recruitment drive was organized at Khunti, Saraikela, Chaibasa and Simdega districts of on September 18 and 19. The women will be employed at the company's facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. More than 2,600 women participated in the recruitment drive from the rural areas of the districts, of which 1,898 have been selected, the ministry said in the statement. Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said the drive was aimed at empowering young tribal women, and thanked Electronics Ltd for providing them opportunities to work and upgrade their skills. Munda will on Tuesday flag off a special train which will carry the first batch of 822 tribal women from Ranchi to Hosur. The remaining candidates will be sent in the second lot. A team of officers from Communication Ltd and Ministry of Tribal Affairs have been camping in Ranchi and making arrangements for the journey of these tribal women. The company will ensure training, accommodation, food, lodging and transportation along with a fixed salary to the selected candidates. (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.) LONDON, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- As many people in Europe turn to primitive ways to keep warm, an academic has said that Britain's energy crisis was 20 years in the making. "This has really been a crisis in the UK that's been constructed over 20 years. And so what we're experiencing right now is acute price crisis, where prices have gone up, what you're potentially facing in the winter is a supply crisis," Sean Field, a research fellow with the Center for Energy Ethics in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, said in a recent interview with Xinhua. "The energy price cap basically (has been) tripling in the last six or so months, so for the most vulnerable people here in the UK are those on benefits and fixed incomes. But we're also seeing the middle and working classes being squeezed," Field said. He described the current situation in Europe and Britain as delicate, because Europe is dependent on Russian natural gas flowing from the east to the west, and Britain is not immune to that. The reasons for the deep energy crisis in Europe, he said, stem back to the infrastructure on which their energy is situated. "Basically when you look at all the maps of the gas supply lines, they run from east to west. And when we have a whole region that's dependent on natural gas, it makes it very acutely vulnerable to supply crises as well as geopolitical risk, which is exactly what we're seeing right now," said Field. In face of an energy crisis, people began to resort to "some very primitive measures" to keep them warm, which he described as somewhat "ironic." "We've seen news reports about people in Germany hoarding firewood and Danes are camping out in primitive ways to cope with the energy crisis in 2022, things like this seem ironic. And even in Britain, we've got local city halls, town halls, planning to organise facilities in libraries and community centers so that people can actually go in there to keep warm during the cold days." "The UK is dependent on a steady flow of natural gas from continental Europe...to supply our domestic needs for both residential and commercial (needs)," Field said. But he said Britain had for years given up a large part of its storage facilities, making the country dependent on a steady flow of imported gas. "This has put us in a slightly vulnerable position" because with the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian gas is being embargoed, he said. "One of the main sources, not just for the UK, but for the entire globe, has now been essentially cut off, which has driven up prices dramatically," added Field. Regarding who is responsible or to blame for the present crisis, he didn't think there's any one person, one agency or one company, but attributed it to "a combination of things." "In terms of the price problem, what we're facing right now, this acute price spike, this really comes down to a lack of planning and vision and imagination in the last 20 years to really make our energy supply mix." Right now the majority of houses in Britain depend on natural gas for heating. "So we don't have the most resilient and most flexible energy supply mix. There's no short-term solution to that. To change that is going to take years and years. But this is a combination of both corporate responsibility and policy planning at the highest levels," said Field. Field said nobody could have anticipated the crisis in Ukraine, but Britain could have imagined and planned for an acute price spike, and the kind of supply crisis now potentially being faced. "It was possible to plan for that. And what's evident is that we haven't. So, without pointing any fingers, this is attributable to policy makers at the highest levels," said Field. In terms of learning lessons from this, he perceived the lessons "as both short term, medium term and long term." "The short-term lessons would be that we need supports and planning in place. If we were to have an acute price spike or a supply crisis, how are we going to support the most vulnerable people," he said In the medium to long term, Field suggested that Britain should "really think carefully about our energy supply mix or to make a diverse, sustainable and flexible energy mix." This crisis, he said has really taken people by surprise. "It's a very strange time," Field said, "when people are turning to firewood, and planning to get warm and community centers because they can't heat their homes in one of the richest countries, one of the richest regions in the world." As to whether he could see an end to the crisis, Field said: "There seems to be consensus that by the spring or early summer we should start to see energy prices come down. So my hope is that...this will come to an end sometime in the future, perhaps next year, but nobody really knows when. The real unpredictable part is how long the geopolitical turmoil that we're seeing right now in Europe goes on." The National Investigation Agency (NIA), along with ATS, on Tuesday picked up 15 Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) activists from across the state and is questioning them. SDPI is political wing of the Popular Front of India (PFI). Sources from the ATS said the state team is assisting the team in questioning SDPI members. The agency is trying to gather information on their role in the party and whether they have any association with PFI, how they are raising funds and who are the donors. The members being questioned are from Ahmedabad, Banaskantha, Surat and Navsari. The will issue an official statement on it. When IANS contacted SDPI central office, an officer-bearer said that since the party has recently entered Gujarat, no official appointments have been made. None of the members had any clue about the 15 persons being questioned. --IANS har/shb/ (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 cabinet on Tuesday approved proposals for creating around 7,800 new posts in different departments of the state government, officials said. Among these are 7,595 additional posts of 'surveyors' and 'amins' in the Revenue and Land Reforms Department. Besides, 200 additional posts for two prisions in Arwal district, and Paliganj sub-division in Patna district, and 27 posts in the Art and Culture Department will be created, they said. The cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar approved the proposals at a meeting, they added. Last week, the state cabinet approved proposals for creating around 8,000 new posts in different government medical colleges and hospitals of the state. In his Independence Day speech, the chief minister had announced that his government would provide jobs to 20 lakhs youths, and half of them will get jobs in the government sector. (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.) Secretary of State on Tuesday said that the US could not agree more with Prime Minister when he told Russian President that "this is not an era of war". Speaking at a joint press appearance with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar here, Blinken said that the US tried everything possible to avert the Ukraine conflict through diplomacy. "Unfortunately, tragically, President Putin pursued his aggression, nonetheless. And now the Ukrainian people, but also the world are reaping the consequences," he said. Responding to questions, he said, "I really want to emphasise on what Prime Minister Modi said because I think he captured as well as anyone I've heard, fundamentally, what this moment is about as he said, 'this is not an era of war'. We could not agree more." In a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Samarkand earlier this month, Modi underlined the importance of "democracy, dialogue and diplomacy" while calling for an early cessation of hostilities in Ukraine. "I know today's era is not of war. We discussed this issue with you on phone several times, that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue touch the entire world," Modi said in his first in-person meeting with Putin since the Ukraine conflict began in February. Blinken said one person has the ability to stop this aggression. And that's Putin. "If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends," he added. "I think it's very important though that voice is as consequential as India's make themselves heard. And that's why I thought that the Prime Minister's comments were so significant," he added. On ties with India, Blinken said that the partnership between the two countries is one of most consequential in the world. "It is vital to address every global challenge that people face..." he said. "We're bringing this close relationship between any of the United States even closer together," he said, adding that he discussed with Jaishankar about ways to further strengthen bilateral strategic partnership and advance shared objectives. On his part, Jaishankar said at the meeting, the two sides discussed political coordination, working together in plurilateral and multilateral formats, exchanging assessments on collaborating on important regional issues and global challenges, including the Ukraine conflict and the Indo-Pacific situation. He said that India and the US have a strong interest in encouraging more resilient and strong supply chains, and this requires policy decisions as well as practical measures involving business communities. "We are focused on this," he said. He also expressed appreciation at the strong cooperation that India got from the US on tackling international terrorism, in particular, the listing of well-known and wanted terrorists by the US sanction process in many other formats to collaborate to keep the world safer and more secure. "We must counter radicalisation, extremism and fundamentalism," he said. He also appreciated the positive approach of the US to support India for a permanent seat in the reformed UN Security Council, saying the decision reflected in the position articulated by President Joe Biden himself. "Our cooperation in different bilateral domains is progressing vigorously," he said, adding that he met Defence Secretary Llyod Austin and the commerce secretary to review the progress in the respective fields. "On the military equipment to the best of my knowledge. I don't think in recent months we have faced any particular problems in terms of servicing and spare parts supply of equipment that we have gotten in the past from Russia," he said. "We have a traditional multi sourcing and, for us how to get the optimal deal from a competitive situation is really what this is all about." (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.) Chief Minister on Monday said stern action will be taken if the state police receive a complaint of targetting anyone unnecessarily. He was speaking at a function organised in the Durg district this evening. There is no need to fear the ED, DRI or Income Tax departments. If you are being targeted unnecessarily then as the head of the government, I assure you that if you lodge a complaint at any police station of the state against the concerned officers (of the Central agencies), stern action will be taken, Baghel said. We have to fight the battle of truth. If someone commits wrong then he should be punished. The government can't be run by creating fear.., he added. Later talking to reporters, Baghel spoke about complaints regarding people being targeted by the DRI, IT and ED in the state. ..We welcome all the . We do not oppose them. If anything wrong has happened then action must be taken. But if people are harassed and if police receive a complaint in this regard, then action will be taken against (concerned officers of central agencies), he added. Queried on the turmoil within the ruling Congress in Rajasthan, Baghel said he didn't know much and hoped the issue will be resolved soon. (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.) Chief Minister on Monday batted for further strengthening ties between and Canada, especially with its Saskatchewan province. The chief minister, during a meeting with a delegation of Saskatchewan province which called on him here, advocated strong and cordial ties between and Canadian province, according to an official release. He said people from have been playing a vanguard role in the socio-economic progress of . Mann also said it is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that a large number of Punjabis have also carved a niche for themselves in the political arena of . The CM also showcased Punjab as the most preferred industrial destination across the country and invited the delegation from Saskatchewan to encourage the entrepreneurs to invest in the Indian state. Mann said the government has already put the state on a high growth trajectory which will benefit the investors. Calling for further streamlining mechanism to ensure that Punjabis settled in are able to get the branded products of the state in a smooth and hassle free manner, the CM said the renowned products of state like Sohna brand are acclaimed world over and Punjabi diaspora have special liking for it. He also said cooperation between Punjab and Canada, especially the province of Saskatchewan, can be mutually beneficial for them. This is the need of the hour to give fillip to economic activity in Punjab and ensure comprehensive development of the state, he said. The Canadian delegation comprised ADM of International Engagement, Saskatchewan Ministry of Trade and Export Development Richelle Bourgoin, MD Saskatchewan India office Victor Lee, Consul General of Canada Patrick Hbert, and Vice President of Research at University of Saskatchewan Dr Baljit Singh, said the official release. (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.) Chief Minister on Monday said detailed discussions on goals for the state till 2026 were held during the 'Chintan Shivir' for ministers and top government officials. During the three-day programme, they also deliberated on possible steps that would be taken up to meet the targets in the next four years, he said. Talking to reporters at the end of the programme, Sarma said, "During the Chintan Shivir, we discussed on targets (of development) for 2026 and resource mobilisation to achieve the goals," he said. Notably, the BJP-led coalition government in the state will complete its tenure in the middle of 2026. Based on the deliberations here, action plans with time-bound implementation models will be prepared by various departments, he said. "Various departments made detailed presentations on their proposals in the programme. Action plans will be prepared soon and uploaded on the department websites so that time-bound implementation can be tracked by the people," he said. The chief minister also stated that a preliminary discussion on an ambitious Rs 5,000 crore scheme for providing self-employment opportunities to youths of the state was also held during the 'Chintan Shivir'. Members of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (EAC) attended the last day's programme. "Met a PM's Economic Advisory Council (EAC) delegation led by Chairman Dr @bibekdebroy on sidelines of Chintan Shivir at Kaziranga," Sarma wrote on Twitter. EAC Member Sanjeev Sanyal and Joint Secretary to PMO Pawan Kumar Sain were also part of the delegation, he said. "Shared with the delegation how has huge potential for all-round due to its resources, despite the hurdles that often impede growth," he said on the microblogging site. (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.) Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday said the entire will have 4G connectivity and every part of Nagaland will get access to internet. Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, announced this during a press conference held in Dimapur on Tuesday, the last day of his three-day visit to Nagaland. The union minister said Nagaland and the entire will have minimum of 4G connectivity as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of connecting all Indians, with an approach that 'No one is left behind'. "Every part of Nagaland will get access to internet with BSNL and private companies playing an important role," he said, adding that digital connectivity across the region will usher in development and create new opportunities for young Indians. In a meeting with Dimapur district administration officials, Chandrasekhar who is also the Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Skill Development stressed that skilling efforts for any district should be designed, based on what the young people of the region want to do. "The plan should be based on aspirations of young people, on what they want to do and also there should be an outcome to the efforteither as job or entrepreneurship," he said. Chandrasekhar assured them that the Centre would help in providing the funds, resources and an enabling ecosystem. He said the central government will extend skilling initiatives to uplift local skills connected to entrepreneurs. Chandrasekhar stressed that every district in Nagaland must create a district skill development plan that is unique to the district with local talent to enhance local economic opportunity. Before leaving for Delhi, the Union MoS interacted with students of Government College, Dimapur and shared Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision and gave a presentation on 'New India for Young Indians'. Urging the students to empower themselves with skills training to pursue their future life choices, he said, "New India offers lot many opportunities than ever before. Success is determined by hard work and capability and not by affiliations to any political or business family or influence. Innovation and skilling are going to drive our future as India steps into what PM Modi terms as India's Techade." Stating that the eight years of Modi government has turned the old narrative of democracy on its head, Chandrasekhar said, "Previously, Indian democracy was considered dysfunctional and corrupt, but now, thanks to the Digital India programme launched by PM Modi in 2015, every single rupee is directly transferred into the accounts of the beneficiary living in remotest corners of the country." He also informed them that Government College, Dimapur would soon be converted into a skills training hub under the Skill India Mission and that the students can avail of the opportunities to get themselves future-ready. (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 Secretary of State on Tuesday said both India and Unites States have made real progress in elevating their partnership through institutions like QUAD and G20 and international organisations at the United Nations. During a joint press conference, Blinken also noted that the partnership between India and United States is one of the most consequential in the world. "The partnership between India and US is simply one of the most consequential in the world. It is to address any global challenge that our people face - health security, climate change, food security and upholding free and open international order. Over the past years, we have made real progress in elevating that partnership bilaterally -- through institutions like QUAD and G20 and international organisations at the United Nations," Blinken said here. India will take over the presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20) in December.Speaking over the presidency, Blinken said: "With India holding the presidency at the UNSC in December and taking over the presidency at G20 next year, we will be able to drive more global cooperation and action together." External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with Blinken earlier at the Quad meeting which saw participation from foreign ministers from India, the US, Australia, and Japan. The Quad's vision is for a region where the rules-based international order is upheld, and where the principles of freedom, rule of law, democratic values, peaceful settlement of disputes, sovereignty, and territorial integrity are respected. In the meeting at UNGA, the Quad underscored the unwavering support for the UN Charter, including its three pillars, and our steadfast commitment to strengthening and reforming the UN and international system. "The Quad affirmed its support for a UN that solves the consequential challenges of our time and safeguards our shared and interconnected resources," read the statement. It included the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The meeting also reiterated a comprehensive UN reform agenda, including expansion in permanent and non-permanent seats of the UN Security Council, so that the Council reflects the current global realities and incorporates more geographically diverse perspectives. The Quad Ministerial Meeting also welcomed progress in delivering on Quad commitments. In particular, signing guidelines to operationalize the Quad Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Partnership for the Indo-Pacific announced by Quad leaders in May 2022. (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 on Tuesday recorded 3,230 new Covid cases, taking the nation's tally of the pandemic to 44,575,473. With 32 new deaths, India's toll from the Covid-19 pandemic has reached 528,562. And with 4,255 recoveries in the last 24 hours, India's tally of cured Covid cases has reached 44,004,553. In a first, the will start live streaming hearings of all constitution bench cases from Tuesday. The apex court will live stream three of its Constitution benches today, on the on the official platform, webcast.gov.in/scindia. Last week, a full court comprising all judges of the apex court discussed the same and agreed on live-streaming the proceedings. The SC judges came to this decision by a judgment in September 2018, in which the apex court declared a live telecast of court proceedings part of the right to access justice under Article 21 of the Constitution. Prime Minister on Tuesday arrived in Tokyo to attend the state funeral of former Prime Minister of who was attacked on July 8 in the city of Nara during a campaign speech and died later that day. Abe was shot at about 11:30 am local time in Nara on July 8, east of Osaka, as he gave an election campaign speech on the street. Talking to his counterpart, Fumio Kishida, PM Modi said, "Shinzo Abe took Japan-India ties to a greater level, I am confident that under your leadership India- relations will deepen further and achieve greater heights." Twitter told the Karnataka High Court on Monday that the Centre had not just asked the microblogging platform to remove tweets but was asking them to block accounts altogether during the farmers protests in 2021. Senior Advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for Twitter, asked the court, If newspapers and media organisations could report on the farmers protests, why cant Twitter accounts do the same? Union Minister of State for Communications, Devusinh Chauhan held a bilateral talk with Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, Bella Cherkesova and highlighted India's success in spreading the digital infrastructure across the country, especially in rural and remote areas. He met the Russian minister on the sidelines of the Plenipotentiary Conference 2022 in Bucharest on Sunday. "Attended the Inaugural Ceremony of Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union in Bucharest, Romania," tweeted Devusinh Chauhan. In a statement, MoS Chauhan said that India has indigenously developed the 4G stack and is on the cusp of developing an indigenous 5G stack, adding that the country will be covered with 5G services in a couple of years. Notably, India has emerged as 2nd largest handset manufacturer in the world under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. Chauhan stated that the Government of India has formed a Technology Innovation Group for the design and development of 6G technology by 2030 and said that there are many areas where and India can collaborate which include the development of 5G use cases, design 6G technology, IoT, M2M, Cyber Security and developing reliable last mile solution, the press release read. Moreover, the Russian Deputy Minister appreciated the growth of telecom in India and she said that the success story of India in the field of telecom is a great case study for the entire world. The Russian minister showed keen interest in deepening the collaboration with India in the field of advanced telecom technology, security, and developing 5G use cases. MoS Chauhan also attended a very impressive and colorful inaugural ceremony of the Plenipotentiary Conference 2022, presided over by the Deputy Prime Minister of Romania, the official statement 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.) COPENHAGEN, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Three leaks have now been detected on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the vicinity of the Danish island of Bornholm, the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) said in a press release on Tuesday. On a visit to Poland to attend the opening ceremony of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that the authorities and the government take the incidents very seriously, and "it is hard to imagine that it could be a coincidence." The first gas leak occurred on one of two Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines on Monday. According to the DEA, the Danish authorities were notified of the escalation in leaks following a significant drop in pressure on Nord Stream 1 as a result of the two leaks, one in Danish waters and the other in Swedish waters. "The two leaks were detected shortly after the first leak that was detected on Nord Stream 2 in Danish waters on Monday," the DEA said. "Breakage of gas pipelines is extremely rare, and therefore we see reason to raise the preparedness level as a result of the incidents we have seen over the past 24 hours," Kristoffer Botzauw, director of the Danish Energy Agency (DEA), said in the press release. "We have to ensure thorough monitoring of Denmark's critical infrastructure in order to strengthen security of supply going forward." While the DEA insists that none of the recent leaks "have any significance for the supply of gas to Europe and Denmark, as none of the pipelines were in operation," it did note that the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) has issued a navigation warning and established a no-go zone with a radius of five nautical miles (approximately 10 kilometers) for ships and one kilometer for aircraft. Nord Stream 2 had just been finished and filled with 300 million cubic meters of gas when the German government canceled it just days before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Nord Stream 1 has been shut down since the beginning of September. The passengers who were stranded here a day ago after a Delhi-bound plane was forced to land at the due to a bird hit, finally left for the capital on Tuesday aboard another aircraft of the airline. The flight with 135 passengers had originated from Kozhikode and landed in the Kannur airport before flying to . "A Delhi-bound flight from Bengaluru was routed through Kannur to pick up the 61 stranded passengers," the airport SHO told PTI. They were sent on the flight from Bengaluru as the bird-hit aircraft was still undergoing fitness trials and the airline did not want to further delay the travel plans of the passengers, the officer said. While the bird-hit aircraft was undergoing repairs, also kept open the option of routing a flight from Bengaluru to through Kannur, the officer said. Earlier in the day, an Air India official said that they planned to send the passengers to on the same bird-hit aircraft once it was repaired and certified fit to fly. He also said that of the total 135 passengers who were on board, some had cancelled their tickets and took an Indigo flight, while some others had re-scheduled their travel leaving around 85 people who were accommodated in hotels in Kannur. "Of the 85, 24 were foreign bound passengers and they were sent to their respective destinations in Dubai and Bahrain on Air India Express flights yesterday and this morning. "Now 61 domestic passengers are presently here and they would be sent to Delhi on the same plane once it is repaired," the official said in the morning. The official had also said that seven engineers arrived here from Delhi and they are presently examining and repairing the aircraft's engines which had remains of the birds which hit it. After the repair work is completed, they will carry out engine run-ups to ascertain if the aircraft was flight worthy and if all goes well, the flight is tentatively scheduled to take-off at 1.30 PM, he had 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.) Prime Minister arrived here on Tuesday to attend the state funeral of former Japanese prime minister . Modi will join several global leaders to pay tributes to Abe. Representatives from over 100 countries, including more than 20 heads of state and governments, are expected to attend Abe's funeral on Tuesday. The former prime minister reshaped Japan's foreign policy, including setting out a bold vision for a quantum leap in ties with India. "Landed in Tokyo," Modi tweeted, posting photos of him while deplaning. He also posted a similar tweet in Japanese. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted, "PM @narendramodi arrives in Tokyo. Will participate in the State Funeral of former PM later today. Will also hold a bilateral meeting with PM @kishida230, reaffirming commitment to further strengthening of India- Special Strategic and Global Partnership." Earlier on Monday, Modi tweeted, "I am travelling to Tokyo tonight to participate in the State Funeral of former PM Shinzo Abe, a dear friend and a great champion of India- friendship". "I will be conveying heartfelt condolences to Prime Minister Kishida and Mrs. Abe on behalf of all Indians. We will continue working to further strengthen India- relations as envisioned by Abe San. @kishida230," he had said. Abe was shot dead while making a campaign speech on July 8 in the southern Japanese city of Nara. India observed a one-day national mourning on July 9 as a mark of respect for Abe. At a media briefing on Monday, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said Modi will attend the state funeral ceremony at Budokan, followed by a greeting occasion at Akasaka Palace, besides meeting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Abe's wife Akie. "The visit will be an opportunity for PM Modi to honour the memory of former PM Abe, who he considered a dear friend and a great champion of India-Japan ties," 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.) Twenty-five Popular Front of India (PFI) activists were arrested from different districts of in a fresh crackdown against the outfit on Tuesday, police said. The highest number of 10 activists were held in Goalpara, five in Kamrup (Rural) and three in Dhubri, followed by arrests in Barpeta, Baksa, Darrang, Udalguri and Karimganj, they said. Earlier, 11 people were arrested by the Police from various parts of the state and Delhi, after a nation-wide clampdown against the organisation since September 22. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier said that his government has been urging the Centre to ban the outfit for allegedly creating an eco-system for terror activities. The Investigation Agency (NIA) has claimed that documents seized during the nation-wide raids conducted at offices of and its members contain highly incriminating materials targeting prominent leaders of a particular community. (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.) Police have arrested four activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) from different locations in Maharashtra's district for alleged anti-national activities, an official said on Tuesday. The arrests were made on Monday night in a joint operation carried out in the district by local police and crime branch officials, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Laxmikant Patil said. Two of the activists were nabbed from Mumbra and one each from Kalyan and Bhiwandi towns, he said without elaborating. The PFI, formed in 2006, claims to strive for a neo-social movement ostensibly for the empowerment of marginalised sections of India, and is often accused by law enforcement agencies of promoting radical Islam In near-simultaneous raids across the length and breadth of the country on September 22, a multi-agency operation spearheaded by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) led to the arrest of 106 activists in 15 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had arrested 20 members from different parts of the state in the multi-agency raids. On Monday, the ATS arrested one more activist from Nanded in Marathwada region. The ATS on Monday told a court in Mumbai that it wanted to probe the links of five of the 20 people arrested last week with organisations including Al Qaeda and the Islamic State and also investigate the electronic evidence. The ATS said it has recovered some literature and a book titled 'Who Killed Karkare' from one of the accused and seized his laptop and phone. (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 proceedings in four cases being heard by the of the began streaming on the (NIC)'s on September 27. The proceedings by three Constitutional benches headed by Chief Justice of India U U Lalit, Justices D Y Chandrachud, and Sanjay Kishan Kaul are being telecasted for the public. The decision to stream the meetings was taken last week. The court is likely to develop its platform in the long run to telecast these proceedings. This isn't the first time that the top court has live-streamed matters for the public. On August 26, the ceremonial bench for the outgoing Chief Justice of India N V Ramana was live-streamed. Today, the apex court is hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 10 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), matters related to the recent Maharashtra political crisis, the row between the Central and Delhi governments, and deciding the validity of the All-India Bar Examination. While Court-1 will telecast the hearing of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 10 per cent quota for EWS, Court-2 will telecast the Maharashtra political crisis and the Centre-Delhi issue of the scope of legislative and executive powers of the government and their control over administrative services in the national capital. Petitions challenging the validity of the All India Bar Examination will be heard in Court-3. The compensation case will also be heard by the court this week. In 2018, the apex court in a case had noted that of public-interest cases was important. The hearings can be live streamed on the Supreme Courts website. Link: https://webcast.gov.in/scindia/ Fourth Constitutional bench formed A fourth Constitutional bench comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer, BR Gavai, AS Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian, and BV Nagarathna has been formed to hear five cases, according to a notice. The bench will hear the plea against demonetization, the issue relating to freedom of speech of public functionaries, the matter deciding if members of the Legislative Assembly have immunity against prosecution for bribery, the validity of power to proceed against other person appearing guilty of an offense, and the deduction of culpability/guilt of a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The matters will be heard from September 28. Union Home Minister will on Tuesday inaugurate and lay foundation stone of various projects in areas falling under his Lok Sabha constituency. Shah is on a two-day Gujarat visit since Monday, ahead of the state Assembly elections due in December this year. On Tuesday, he will participate in the ground-breaking ceremony for an upcoming 750-bed hospital in Kalol town of district. He will later inaugurate an underpass in Sector 15 of city and also attend the ground-breaking ceremony for a new building of the Gujarat Technological University in Lekavada village of Gandhinagar district. In the evening, Shah will visit his native Mansa town in Gandhinagar to take part in the 'aarti' at Bahuchar Mata Temple on the second day of Navratri. (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 the advent of festivities, prices in North Indian markets have started to firm up even as flour makers are busy replenishing their inventories. This could complicate the Centres decision to extend the free foodgrains distribution scheme beyond September 30, which, though, the seems to have decided in favour of. Demand for atta ( flour) and other wheat-related products such maida and sooji usually goes up during festival days because various home-made delicacies are made from them. Trade and market sources said prices in markets of Delhi had risen by around Rs 40 per quintal since September 1 with almost 75 per cent of the increase happening between September 24 and September 26. In the Lawrence Road market of Delhi, on September 26 were in the range Rs 2,520-2,540 per quintal. On September 1, they were Rs 2,480-2,500 per quintal. Similarly, in the main markets of Madhya Pradesh, such as the districts of Indore, Mandsaur, Dabra, Gwalior, and Seoni, have firmed up after being stable for some months. In UP too, they have started rising in the past few days, mainly from September 22, with prices going up by Rs 20-30 per quintal, traders said. A big reason for the increase in wheat prices, according to traders, is the near absence of open market sales from state-run inventories, which used to keep prices within check in previous years. This year most flour millers and even makers of maida and sooji are dependent entirely on the wheat available with private traders. This is supporting the markets as demand for wheat products usually goes up during Navratri, a senior industry official said. Rahul Chauhan, a commodity analyst with iGrain India, said would get support from flour makers, who would have to replenish their inventories. Meanwhile, the wheat stock in the Central pool as on September 1 was 24.82 million tonnes, according to the data provided on the (FCI) official website. This is around 4.82 million tonnes more than the operational buffer and strategic reserve requirement of 20.50 million tonnes as on October 1 of each year. In 2021-22, wheat distribution (public distribution system and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana taken together) was 43 million tonnes while for rice it was 53 million tonnes. This year (2022-23), based on the current allocations for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, traders are projecting the share of rice will be 16 million tonnes more, with an equal decline in the share of wheat. Assuming a monthly consumption of wheat of 2-2.5 million tonnes through the public distribution system and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana after its share is lowered in favour of rice, the Centre might still have enough to meet its buffer requirement at the end of March 31, 2023, traders said. A 29-year-old YouTuber was arrested from West Bengal's Nadia district on Tuesday for allegedly creating on Chief Minister that were derogatory, police said. Tuhin Mondal, the content creator, was arrested from his house in Bapujinagar in Taherpur police station area by officers of the Kolkata Police's Intelligence Branch, they said. He was arrested on the basis of a complaint filed by a 21-year-old man at Taratala police station in south Kolkata a week back, they said. "Mondal, who has no steady income, is believed to have made provocative, derogatory and abusive by editing parts of the chief minister's speeches to defame her. The complainant claimed that such acts can incite violence and disrupt peace," an officer of Kolkata Police said. The complaint also names at least seven other content creators, and police said that a search is on to arrest them. A case has been filed under relevant sections of the IPC, they said. In June, Kolkata Police arrested YouTuber Roddur Roy for abusing the chief minister in a Facebook live session. The Kolkata Police had in April 2012 arrested Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra for allegedly forwarding an email containing a cartoon of Banerjee. (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.) In a bid to meet the requirements of the liberalised geospatial data regime that was released last year, the has released a list of economic- and national security-related strategic and sensitive locations that cannot be mapped and exported, reported BusinessLine on Tuesday. These sensitive locations include bulk oil and gas depots, and nuclear and military installations among others. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs in a notification released on Friday said, The export of maps and geospatial data with sensitive attributes will be restricted. The central department, which comes under the Finance Ministry, said, the transgression of the threshold values the Department of Science and Technology had mentioned in its guideline issued on February 15, 2021, will not be allowed for mapping and collection of location data of the identified installations and facilities, reported BusinessLine. For the maintenance of the security of India, it is necessary so to do, hereby prohibits the export of Maps and Geospatial data of spatial accuracy and value finer than the threshold values as specified in Annexure-I, the department stated. The threshold values, as per the notification, are: On-site spatial accuracy - one meter for horizontal or planimetry and three meters for vertical or elevation, and gravity anomaly - one milli-gal. It further added the threshold value in the case of vertical accuracy of bathymetric data ( study of underwater depth) in territorial waters - ten meters for up to five hundred meters from the shore-line and one hundred meters beyond that, reported BusinessLine. The government tagged 52 security installations and secured facilities as 'sensitive attributes' and added that each carries 'stipulated regulations' to prohibit them from mapping and location data sampling. The directive has listed out 51 security installations/ features and secured facilities that have been tagged as sensitive attributes with each carrying stipulated regulations to prohibit them from mapping and location data sampling. The notification, for instance, added that all missile test ranges, be it for launch and firing, will 'not to be labelled in geospatial data and map.' Other locations that are prohibited to be labelled in geospatial data and maps are: oil bulk depots/ storage tanks; LPG/ LNG storage area/tanks; operational control rooms of oil and gas terminals; seizing up of glacier lake depth; all nuclear installations in India; the nation's intelligence agencies and its governance architecture; the space centre and space port; international boundaries with neighbouring countries, reported BusinessLine. The central intelligence agencies and governance architecture that are barred from mapping include Aviation Research Centre (ARC), Intelligence Bureau (1B), Council Secretariat (NSCS), Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW), and Cabinet Secretariat. Indias is proposing a nearly $2.5 billion incentive plan to encourage domestic manufacturing of grid-scale batteries, aiming at bringing down the cost of energy storage to speed up its energy transition. There are early-stage discussions in the government about offering incentives to manufacturers for batteries they produce over a certain time period, power minister Raj Kumar Singh said in an interview last week. The total payout could be in the realm of 200 billion rupees, he said. Worried over rival Chinas dominance in lithium, the nation is in talks with countries including Australia to secure supplies of the battery metal, he said. India also plans to promote other battery technologies. Lower storage costs will be key to providing around-the-clock renewable power supplies from intermittent renewable sources like wind and solar. Until that happens, India is prioritizing energy security, with plans to expand its coal power fleet by a quarter through 2030 unless cheaper storage becomes available. Large Indian conglomerates, including the Adani Group and Reliance Industries Ltd., have committed to investing billions of dollars in energy storage. The government plans to make developers bundle energy storage with future wind and solar projects to add capacity. Im adding storage capacity because that will bring down costs. When enough volumes start getting added, the costs will come down, Singh said. Im not going to compromise on the availability of energy for our people and for the growth of our economy. The battery plan would follow the blueprint of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Make In India initiative. The government has offered financial incentives to spur domestic manufacturing of everything from solar panels to car batteries and electronics goods, in order to reduce dependence on imports and create local jobs. UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The top UN envoy for Haiti said on Monday that an economic crisis, a gang crisis, and a political crisis have converged into a humanitarian catastrophe in the Caribbean nation. Over the past several weeks, the three crises have begun to intersect in altogether new and frightening ways in Haiti, Helen La Lime, the UN secretary-general's special representative and head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti, told the Security Council in a briefing. A gang crisis continues to violently disrupt daily life, driving more than 20,000 people from their homes. An economic crisis has the country in a stranglehold, with Haitians facing soaring food prices, and fuel often available only on the black market. And as these trials play out and the Haitian people engage in legitimate protests, political stakeholders are still struggling to find common ground and define a path to elections, she said. As ever, it is those already most vulnerable who suffer the most. The UN system in Haiti estimates at least 1.5 million people have been directly impacted by recent gang violence, with gender-based violence being used systematically, said La Lime. The present generalized insecurity has also severely curtailed humanitarian access. Before the current bout of civil unrest, some 4.9 million Haitians were in a state of humanitarian need. In the last two weeks alone, attacks on the World Food Programme have resulted in the loss of some 2,000 tons of food aid valued at close to 5 million U.S. dollars, which would have collectively supported up to 200,000 of the most vulnerable Haitians over the next month, she said. It is self-evident that under such conditions, basic rights -- from freedom of movement to education -- are being catastrophically undermined, and access to basic social and health services repeatedly cut. Prisons have not received food, medicine, or water for days, she said. La Lime said she maintained her good offices efforts with all sectors of the Haitian society and encouraged all to engage in a broad, open and constructive dialogue. While so far inconclusive efforts have led to a perceived stalemate, national stakeholders have begun to re-engage with a renewed sense of urgency. In the past weeks, government representatives, political groups, and civil society organizations launched new consultations on ways to forge a wider consensus on a path toward elections, she said. "But we are not there yet." It is also encouraging to see private-sector leaders starting to come together pledging to meet their respective fiscal and legal responsibilities. Sustained increases in revenues will be the clearest sign that this commitment is being met by all sides, she said. "We must not lose hope, but rather combine our efforts to find a pathway to a better tomorrow. A Haitian-led political solution is the first necessary step to address the current crisis. To support Haitians in their effort toward a better future, this council must take urgent action," she said. Delhi University commenced the second phase of Common Seat Allotment System (CSAS) for seeking admission to undergraduate (UG) programmes from Monday. At the same time, the portal for the admission process on the basis of CUET (UG) examination began in (JNU) from Tuesday. The Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS) is an online platform that will facilitate the filling up of the application form for admission into the undergraduate programmes. Candidates who have successfully completed the first stage application process in Delhi University based on CUET (UG) exam can now proceed to choose the courses and colleges of their choice. The candidates who have not yet completed the first stage of registration can still apply and proceed to the second stage thereafter. The DU Registrar said in an official notification that the candidates will be able to view their specialised UG programmes on the CSAS portal. The CUET score of the students will be automatically calculated on the portal and displayed on the dashboard of the candidate. Along with choosing the colleges and courses of their choice, students can use the top available "Advanced Filter" option to filter their UG programmes. This is the second stage of the admission process in which the candidate has to select and sort the preferences as per his/her choice. Delhi University will conduct a series of public awareness webinars for the candidates on September 27, 28 and 29. The webinar will be streamed live on the official YouTube channel of the varsity. More than 6 lakh students had opted for admission in DU through the CUET UG examination. With the release of the cut-off list, students desirous of taking admission in DU will also be able to register the marks obtained in the CUET UG examinations on the admission portal of the varsity. In the second phase, students will also be able to choose the colleges of their choice on the admission portal. According to DU, admission to UG programmes will be completed from September 26 to October 10. DU says that this year all the colleges affiliated to it will comprise three phases of admission through CSAS portal. Due to this the new session of UG courses in DU is likely to start from November. In the first phase, the registration of students through the CSAS portal has started from September 12. Students will now be able to apply for the course and college of their choice through the CSAS portal in the second phase from September 26. Along with this, DU will also release its first cut-off list on the basis of which students will be able to get admission in various colleges and courses. --IANS gcb/khz/ (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.) Minister on Tuesday advised (PSBs) to enhance the coverage of (SCs) in all schemes. She also called for looking into their needs for capacity building and entrepreneurship development. She also asked to fill the remaining vacancies in a time-bound manner. There are improvements required to be carried out in all the schemes like the Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for (CEGSSC) and Fund (VCF), among others. It may be taken up by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) after discussion with agencies like the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), which is working with at the grassroots level, she added. The FM was chairing the performance review of PSBs on credit and other welfare schemes for scheduled castes. Credit facilities to SCs and (STs) form a part of the priority-sector lending norms of the (RBI). CEGSSC is an initiative by the ministry of social justice and empowerment with the objective to encourage and promote entrepreneurship. These are for scheduled castes, who are oriented towards innovations and supported by PSBs and financial institutions. This, in turn, is set to create wealth, jobs, develop confidence and promote profitable businesses. VCF for SCs is dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship by providing concessional . Maharashtra tops Indias list in the number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) owned by entrepreneurs belonging to SCs. It has as many as 96,805 such enterprises. The minister also said that PSBs must apprise the National Commission for Scheduled Castes twice every year once around April and during October on the progress made in recruitment and credit to SCs. The outstanding base dropped to 77.99 million in August from over 80 million in July, mainly on account of the new norms of the (RBI) that warrant the deactivation of cards that are inactive for a year. While there was a 2.8 per cent decline in net card additions on a month-on-month (MoM) basis in August, a first in many months, spends slipped 3 per cent on a high base. Still, spends topped the Rs 1-trillion mark for the sixth consecutive month. The banking system had been adding about 1-1.5 million cards a month for some time now. But in August, outstanding for the industry declined by 2.3 million, largely as a result of sharp declines seen for and . This is largely on account of the implementation of the new norms requiring companies to deactivate cards that are inactive for 365 days. This should impact other players, as well with a lag, stated Suresh Ganapathy and Param Subramanian in a report for Research. Major issuers, such as and Axis Bank, have seen a significant drop in their net credit card additions in August. The number of HDFC Banks outstanding dropped by 8.47 per cent in a month to 16.42 million, from 17.94 million in July. witnessed a 10.6 per cent drop in its outstanding credit card base to 8.87 million, from 9.93 million in July. is the largest credit card issuer in the country and is the fourth-biggest. In accordance with the master circular, cards which have not been used for a period of more than one year have been closed in August 2022. Hence theres a drop in cards in-force numbers for HDFC Bank in August versus July, a bank spokesperson said. "This is linked to implementation of master directions as per which cards inactive for more than 12 months as of 1st July 2022 had to give clear consent to continue or be closed. We started the activity in July and closed the cards in August. Since these cards were inactive, we dont anticipate an impact on spends trajectory. It is possible that other have followed a different time-cycle. However, all will have to comply with the directions," said an Axis Bank spokesperson. SBI Card, on the other hand, added the most cards in the month under review (296,259), followed by ICICI Bank (211,520). While IDFC First Bank added 70,798 cards, taking its outstanding card base to 1.1 million, the tally for Kotak Mahindra Bank was 55,502 cards. Its outstanding card base was at 4.10 million as of August. added over 296,000 cards on a net basis in August -- higher than the 280,000-290,000 ask rate for it to maintain market share. We believe the new Cashback SBI Card could aid their market share further going into the festival season. SBI Cards has highlighted before that 90-95 per cent of its cards are 365-day active and so the impact of the implementation of the new RBI norms should be limited to 5-7 per cent of its cards (ie, 750,000-1 million cards), in our view, the report added. HDFC Bank and Axis Bank lost 130 basis points (bps) and 100 bps, respectively, in market share in August in terms of cards in force; and ICICI Bank gained 90 bps and 80 bps in market share. Hence, on a day when the markets ended flat amid volatility, the stock gained 3.4 per cent on the to close at Rs 904.95. Although on an MoM basis, credit card spends were down 3 per cent, they were up 45 per cent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 1.12 trillion. In July, credit card spends touched an all-time high of Rs 1.16 trillion, registering growth of 6.5 per cent on an MoM basis, despite a high base, and 54 per cent on a YoY basis. Card spends are expected to rise in the coming months, buoyed by the festival season, when spends typically remain elevated. Many issuers have lined up special offers on to boost festival spending and going by recent trends, they expect a promising festive season. A revival in discretionary spending and a pick-up in commercial spends have led to a sustained increase in credit card use. HDFC Banks spends market share is almost 29 per cent now, as it gained 60 bps market share in spends in August. Although ICICI Bank had a considerable market share in August, it remained the second largest issuer. SBI Card is now inching close to ICICI Banks spends market share as it gained 70 bps. "was a great leader, a phenomenal individual and someone who believed in India- friendship", Prime Minister recalled on Tuesday as he offered tribute to the slain former Japanese premier at his state funeral in Tokyo. Representatives from over 100 countries, including more than 20 heads of state and governments, attended Abe's funeral. Modi, who arrived here early in the morning, joined several global leaders to pay floral tribute to Abe who reshaped Japan's foreign policy, including setting out a bold vision for a quantum leap in ties with India. "When I was in Tokyo earlier this year, little did I imagine I would be back for the solemn programme of former PM Abe's state funeral. He was a great leader, a phenomenal individual and someone who believed in India- friendship. He shall live on in the hearts of millions!," Modi tweeted, sharing a photograph of him paying tribute to Abe. Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs tweeted that the prime minister paid his respects to former Japanese premier Abe during the State Funeral at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. "A tribute to a great visionary and to his immense contribution in the elevation of the India- partnership," it said. Besides Modi, among the more than 700 foreign guests are US Vice President Kamala Harris and Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported. At a park near the funeral venue, large numbers of people gathered to lay flowers at a set of stands from early in the morning, it said. Abe, 67, was shot dead while making a campaign speech on July 8 in the southern Japanese city of Nara. (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.) (Bihar) [India], September 27 (ANI): The opposition leader of the Legislative Assembly Vijay Sinha announced he will hold 'Janta Darbar' in the party office every Tuesday. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sinha said that 'Janta Darbar' is going to begin from today will be conducted as 'Jan Kalyan Samvad' to highlight the problem of common men in front of the administration. Speaking to ANI Vijay Kumar Sinha said, "Jan Kalyan Samvad will be held every Tuesday at BJP party office . Jan Kalyan Samvad is going to begin today and will listen to the problems of the people and bring their problems in front of the administration so that they can be resolved." "I have been doing this type of 'Janta Darbar' for the 15 years in my assembly constituency Lakhisarai, that happens every Sunday, now I am going to organise 'Jan Kalyan Samvad' as the leader of the opposition in the party office, Patna," he added. Opposition leader Sinha further told ANI, "any person can come with his complaint. Such people whose complaints are not heard in 'Janta Darbar' of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will also be given the full opportunity in our 'Jan Kyan Samvad' which is similar to 'Janta Darbar' but being organised by the Opposition." "Only a few people come to the Chief Minister's Janata Darbar and it is based on an agenda. The common man finds it difficult to attend the CM's Janata Darbaar as there are many processes to follow, including submitting a mandatory online application and only once the application is accepted the person can appear in the Janta Darbar'," he further stated. "But as the Leader of the Opposition, there will be an open Janata Darbar. Anyone can bring their problem and it will be our duty to make the government aware of the problem and bring the issue to the administration and also expose the truth of the government through this initiative," Vijay Kumar Sinha told ANI. Senior BJP leader said that the situation in Bihar is getting from bad to worse with respect to crime and corruption so whatever issues people bring to our 'Jan Kalyan Samvad' there will be an effort to find solutions. 'Jan Kalyan Samvad' is going to be organised by the Opposition leader of Bihar every Tuesday parallel to Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar 'Janta Darbar' every Monday after JDU snapped ties with BJP on August 9 and JDU joined hand with Grand Alliance to form a new government in the state. Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar has been holding 'Janta Darbar' from April 2006. (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.) on Tuesday angrily retorted at the US call to to seek debt relief from its all-weather ally to deal with the grim flood situation, saying that instead of passing "unwarranted criticism" against Sino-Pak cooperation, Washington should do something beneficial to Pakistani people. "We send a simple message. We are here for Pakistan, just as we were during past natural disasters, looking ahead to rebuild," US Secretary was quoted as saying after talks with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in Washington. "I also urged our colleagues to engage on some of the important issues of debt relief and restructuring so that can more quickly recover from the floods, Blinken said. As per the official data, more than 1,600 people have been killed and over 33 million affected due to the massive floods since mid-June, leaving the government at the mercy of support. Reacting to Blinken's comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here that since the floods hit the country, has rushed to Pakistan's aid "as its genuine friend and brother in times of need" and provided 400 million RMB (USD 57 million) worth of humanitarian assistance. "We will continue to do our utmost to help the Pakistani people overcome the floods and rebuild their homes at an early date," Wang said. "China and Pakistan have had fruitful economic and financial cooperation. The Pakistani people know it best. Instead of passing unwarranted criticism against China-Pakistan cooperation, the US side might as well do something real and beneficial for the people of Pakistan," he said. The US too has announced USD 57 million in aid for Pakistan, according to media reports. In the last 10 years, China is reported to have invested over USD 28 billion in a host of projects under the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship scheme under President Xi Jinping's multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative. India has objected to China over the CPEC as it is being laid through Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). After the floods hit Pakistan, Xi met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa visited China and held talks with Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe on September 19. However, besides the USD 57 million in aid from the government and civil society organisations, China maintained steady silence on Pakistan's fervent appeals for financial assistance in view of the precarious financial situation. too didn't step in a big way during recent Sri Lanka's acute financial crisis belying Colombo's expectations of debt relief, though China has provided humanitarian assistance. Recent reports said trouble is brewing between the all-weather friends with China increasingly getting critical of Pakistan's failure in protecting Chinese workers who came under periodic attacks from the militant groups. In April, three Chinese were killed in a suicide blast in Karachi University carried out by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army, which is opposed to China's investments in Balochistan, accusing China and Pakistan of exploitation of the resource-rich region. Some of the other attacks were also attributed to radical Islamic militant outfits in Pakistan. With recurring attacks, China is reportedly pressing Pakistan to permit the Chinese agencies to provide security for their personnel which, according to press reports, Islamabad is resisting. is also concerned over the acute financial crisis faced by Pakistan, prompting it to step in periodically to bail it out with the induction of foreign exchange loans. According to Pakistan media reports, China is also concerned about the slow pace of progress of the CPEC projects. Chinese investors were also reportedly irked by Islamabad's failure to honour its contractual obligations under the CPEC framework. (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.) Cubans have approved a sweeping "family law code that will allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt as well as redefining rights for children and grandparents, officials said on Monday, though opposition in the national referendum was unusually strong on the Communist Party-governed island. The measure which contains more than 400 articles was approved by 66.9 per cent to 33.1 per cent, the president of the National Electoral Council, Alina Balseiro Gutierrez, told official news media, though returns from a few places remained to be counted. The reforms had met unusually strong open resistance from the growing evangelical movement in and many other Cubans despite an extensive government campaign in favour of the measure, including thousands of informative meetings across the country and extensive media coverage backing it. Cuban elections in which no party other than the Communist is allowed routinely produce victory margins of more than 90 per cent as did a referendum on a major constitutional reform in 2019. The code allows surrogate pregnancies, broader rights for grandparents in regard to grandchildren, protection of the elderly and measures against gender violence. President Miguel Daz-Canel, who has promoted the law acknowledged questions about the measure as he voted on Sunday. Most of our people will vote in favour of the code, but it still has issues that our society as a whole does not understand," he said. On Monday, he celebrated approval of the measure, tweeting Love is now the law. Passage is to pay a debt to various generation of Cubans whose domestic plans had been waiting years for this law," he added. As of today, we will be a better nation. The measure had been approved by Cuba's Parliament, the National Assembly, after years of debate about such reforms. A major supporter of the measure was Mariela Castro, director of the National Centre for Sex Education, a promoter of rights for same-sex couples, daughter of former President Raul Castro and niece of his brother Fidel. But there is a strong strain of social conservatism in and several religious leaders have expressed concern or opposition to the law, worrying it could weaken nuclear families. While was officially and often militantly atheist for decades after the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro Raul's brother it has become more tolerant of religions over the past quarter century. That has meant a greater opening not only the once-dominant Roman Catholic Church, but also to Afro-Cuban religions, protestants and Muslims. Some of those churches took advantage of the opening in 2018 and 2019 to campaign against another plebiscite which would have rewritten the constitution in a way to allow gay marriage. Opposition was strong enough that the government at that time backed away. (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.) Russian President Vladimir Putin granted US Russian on Monday. Since 2013, Snowden has been living in to escape prosecution in the US after leaking secret files related to the US (NSA) and the CIA. Snowden was working as a contractor with the when he leaked the files. His wife, Linsay Mills, will also reportedly apply for Russian . Who is was born in 1983 in North Carolina, US. He attended the school till the tenth grade and dropped out after falling ill. He, however, did not return to school to finish his studies. He grew more attracted to computers, technology, and Japanese anime. In 2004, Snowden joined the Reserve but was later discharged after breaking both of his legs during a training session. In 2006, he was hired by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a private contractor. He worked in Geneva, Tokyo, Maryland, and finally, Hawaii. In Hawaii, he decided to leak the crucial information because he could not "in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine." Snowden told The Guardian that he had started to get disillusioned with the US government's policies while he was in Geneva in 2009. However, he waited, hoping that Barack Obama would change the system. "[Mr Obama] continued with the policies of his predecessor," he said. In 2009, he gave up his job in the CIA and joined . He was shifted to Hawaii to work with Booz Allen Hamilton. In 2013, Snowden grew increasingly disturbed by the level of spying on ordinary citizens by the . He then collected and later leaked the documents proving his claims to filmmaker Laura Poitras and journalists Glenn Greenwald, Ewen MacAskill, and Barton Gellman. In May 2013, Snowden flew to Hong Kong after enlisting the journalists to leak the data. On June 5, 2013, The Guardian reported that telecom company Verizon was leaking its user data to NSA. On June 6, 2013, The Washington Post and The Guardian wrote about PRISM. PRISM is a surveillance program that allows the NSA to collect internet data from citizens through their online activity on products and applications by Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, and Apple, among . In a series of revelations, it was revealed that not only the NSA but several global companies were party to the crime. On June 9, 2013, he revealed his identity via The Guardian and said, "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong." Soon, the US agencies charged Snowden with stealing government property and two other cases violating the US Espionage Act. The two cases were unauthorised communication of national defence information and willful communication of classified intelligence with an unauthorised person. After a month-long stay in Hong Kong, Snowden was on his way to Ecuador via . But when he landed in Russia, his passport was revoked by the US. Since then, he has remained in Russia, first under temporary asylum and now as a permanent resident. The European Commission said it had secured over 10,000 tecovirimat vaccines against monkeypox, despite the declining number of cases in the (EU). The Commission on Monday said the emergency procurement adds to the 334,000 vaccines already purchased by the bloc, reports Xinhua news agency. The purchase was funded by the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) to treat patients in the member states with immediate needs. European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides said that while the declining number of cases in the EU is encouraging, it does not mean that the threat has passed, and the EU should continue to focus on preparedness. Meanwhile, Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said: " is one of the priority threats identified as part of the rescEU strategic reserves. These batches of antivirals will offer an additional level of protection for our citizens. "The stocks will be available to the Member States on an urgent-needs-basis." Since the start of the monkeypox outbreak, 19,827 confirmed cases have been reported from 29 EU/EEA countries, in total 47 cases have been reported from three Western Balkan countries and Turkey, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The five countries that have reported the most cases since the start of the outbreak are: Spain (7,083), France (3,897), Germany (3,570), the Netherlands (1,221) and Portugal (845). Deaths have been reported from Spain (3), Belgium (1) and the Czech Republic (1). --IANS ksk/ (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.) French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the resumption of dialogues between and to solve their ongoing border conflict. Speaking at a press conference with visiting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday, Macron urged the two countries to reestablish talks "immediately" in order to achieve "enduring peace". "The use of force cannot be the solution for Armenia, nor for Azerbaijan, and dialogue must be restored immediately," he said, adding that all issues must be tackled "exclusively" through talks. and have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994, when a ceasefire was agreed, but there have been sporadic minor clashes since then, Xinhua news agency reported. A new round of armed conflict broke out along the contact line on September 27, 2020, before Russia brokered a ceasefire on November 9, 2020. --IANS int/khz/ (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 YORK, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- DeNeen L. Brown, an African-American writer for the Washington Post, has decided to leave the United States and start a new life in Ghana where "racism is not a constant threat." Brown, who was born and grew up in Kansas and Oklahoma, wrote in an article that she "never really felt at home in America" and faced racism even when she was only a school girl. In the article titled "The Case for Leaving America to Escape Racism" and published on the Washington Post on Monday, Brown said "Democracy appeared to be imploding, and the country seemed to be increasingly dangerous for Black people -- although racist terror was embedded in the fabric of American history and is not a new phenomenon." As a reporter for more than 35 years, Brown said she "had watched as insurrectionists attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6... One man carried a Confederate flag, a symbol of entrenched racism, through the halls of Congress. The fight for racial justice seemed to be failing. The moral floor had cracked." She wrote that "It was a time when America seemed to be splintering, with state laws banning the teaching of critical race theory -- effectively, barring the teaching of historical truths -- and constant warnings about real dangers to democracy and the possibility of a new civil war." She also mentioned that in the last two years, there has been a groundswell of Black people in America who want to go to Africa, citing Greg Carr, a professor of Africana studies and former chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University, adding that celebrities have been part of this trend. "For many, the death of Floyd in 2020 may have been a turning point," Brown said. was investigating leaks in two Russian gas pipelines that churned up the Baltic Sea with bubbles on Tuesday and raised concerns from Copenhagen to Moscow about sabotage on infrastructure at the heart of a European standoff. But it remained far from clear who might be behind any foul play, if proven, on the Nord Stream pipelines that with European partners spent billions of dollars building. Poland's PM blamed sabotage, without citing evidence, and the Danish premier said it could not be ruled out. Russia, which has slashed gas deliveries to after the West imposed sanctions, said sabotage was a possibility and the incident undermined the continent's security. A senior Ukrainian official called it a Russian attack to destabilise Europe, without giving proof. Sweden's Maritime Authority issued a warning about two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the day after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 pipeline was discovered that prompted Denmark to restrict shipping and impose a small no fly zone. Denmark's armed forces released a video showing bubbles boiling up to the surface of the sea. The largest gas leak had caused a surface disturbance of well over 1 km in diameter. The leaks were very large and it could take perhaps a week for gas to stop draining out of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the head of Denmarks Agency Kristoffer Bottzauw said. The destruction that happened within one day at three lines of the Nord Stream pipeline system is unprecedented, the operator of Nord Stream said. Its impossible now to estimate the timeframe for restoring operations of the gas shipment infrastructure. Importance of Nord Stream Here are details on why the Nord Stream pipeline is crucial in carrying Russian gas to Europe SUPPLY CUT Even before the Nord Stream 1, the largest single supply route for the Russian gas to Europe, was halted in August, Moscow had cut Nord Streams capacity to just 20%, blaming late return of equipment held up in Canada because of sanctions. The 1,224 km-long Nord Stream 1 consists of two parallel pipelines with nameplate annual capacity of 27.5 billion cubic metres each, running from Vyborg, Russia, to the exit point in Lubmin, Germany. In Germany, the gas is received by the connecting pipelines OPAL (Baltic Sea Pipeline Link) and NEL (North European Gas Pipeline), which link into the European grid. OWNERS The pipeline is majority-owned by (51%). The rest is held by four Western partners PEGI/E.ON and Wintershall Dea have 15.5% each, and French Engie and Dutch Gasunie hold 9% each. IMPORTANCE There are other major pipelines from to Europe, but flows through these have gradually declined. Flows through the Yamal- pipeline, which historically transported gas from to Europe, have been moving eastwards to Poland from Germany since the start of the year. Supplies through pipelines running from Russia to Europe via Ukraine have also decreased after Ukraine halted one gas transit route in May. 98,000 Russians enter Kazakhstan About 98,000 Russians have crossed into since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of reservists to fight in Ukraine as men seeking to avoid the call-up continued to flee by land and air into neighbouring countries. Separatist vote over; Russian takeover next? Russian-organized referendums that could lead to annexing 15 per cent of Ukraine's territory were due to end on Tuesday as the Kremlin said it made no decisions on closing its borders as the first mobilisation since World War Two prompted some to flee. Voting in the Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the east and southeast began on Friday and have been dismissed as a sham by Western nations, which have pledged not to recognise the results. In Russia, the call-up of some 300,000 reservists has led to the first sustained protests since the invasion began, with one monitoring group estimating at least 2,000 people have been arrested so far. All public criticism of Russia's special military operation is banned. Flights out of Russia have sold out and cars have clogged border checkpoints, with reports of a 48-hour queue at the sole road border to Georgia, the rare pro-Western neighbour that allows Russian citizens to enter without a visa. Asked about the prospect of the border being shut, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday: I don't know anything about this. At the moment, no decisions have been taken on this. Russia counts millions of former conscripts as official reservists. The authorities have not spelled out precisely who is due to be called up, as that part of President Vladimir Putin's order is classified. The mobilisation has also seen the first sustained criticism of the authorities within state-controlled media since the war began. But Sergei Tsekov, a senior lawmaker who represents Russian-annexed Crimea in Russia's upper house of parliament, told RIA news agency: "Everyone who is of conscription age should be banned from travelling abroad in the current situation." Two exiled news sites - Meduza and Novaya Gazeta Europe - both reported that the authorities were planning to ban men from leaving, citing unidentified officials. Moscow says it wants to rid Ukraine of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities. Kyiv and the West describe Russia's actions as an unprovoked war of aggression. Late on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the military situation in Donetsk as "particularly severe." "We are doing everything to contain enemy activity. This is our No. 1 goal right now because Donbas is still the No. 1 goal for the occupiers," he said, referring to the wider region that encompasses Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia carried out at least five attacks on targets in the Odesa region using Iranian drones in the last few days, according to the regional administration. Ukraine's air force said it destroyed four Shahed-136 "kamikaze" drones. Reuters could not immediately verify the reports. More U.S. funding looks to be on the way as negotiators of a stop-gap spending bill in Congress have agreed to include nearly $12 billion in new military and economic aid to Ukraine, according to sources. Reuters (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A section of the Republicans are "seriously" planning bringing an impeachment motion in the House of Representatives should they retake the house in the upcoming November 8 midterm elections, even as poll pundits predict that the odds are divided, albeit democrats could have swing votes with abortion rights, stricter gun laws and threats to democracy campaigns. Rep. Nancy Mace said on Sunday that some Republicans are thinking about impeaching President if they take over the House chamber following the midterm elections. "I believe there's a lot of pressure on Republicans to have that vote and put that legislation forward," Mace, R-S.C., told host Chuck Todd on NBC's "Meet the Press". Mace said that if the impeachment vote happened, it would be "divisive", and that the House needs to work together. She also said she would back whomever the GOP nominates, including former President Donald Trump.Some Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also speculated about a Biden impeachment. "Yeah, I do think there's a chance of that, whether it's justified or not," Cruz said on an episode of his podcast "Verdict with Ted Cruz", as early as January itself. He said he thought Democrats used impeachment "for partisan purposes to go after Trump because they disagreed with him." It may be recalled that Nancy Mace won the republican primaries recently though she had at first slammed: Trump for January 6, then backtracked during her S.C. primary. Did that help her win? But the effort to impeach Trump was bipartisan and included 10 House Republicans who broke from their party ranks and joined House Democrats. Eight of them are retiring. Two of them were in the race. One of them, Liz Cheney, lost her seat in Wyoming to a Trump backed candidate. She has vowed to launch a movement to prevent Trump from entering White House again. Her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney under former President George W. Bush has supported her. Mace, who defeated Trump-backed challenger Katie Arrington in the GOP primary in June, has supported the results of the 2020 presidential election. Mace worked on Trump's presidential campaign, but criticised him following the January 6 attack. The race for the mid-terms has gained much momentum reaching a very crucial phase and Gallup polls are predicting a 42 per cent to 46 per cent chance for both Trump and Biden in the close race between Republicans and Democrats. Speculation about a hung house is rife as voting is expected to be very partisan along party lines. But swing voters as among independents on either side could hold the trump card to give a wafer thin majority to either side - the Republicans and the Democrats. Pundits call the midterm elections as the most decisive in American in recent times and a definite move ahead of the 2024 presidential elections. They also said when any incumbent president got a 42 per cent approval ratings at the hustings , the party lost 17 seats, and if the rating was 50 per cent the party lost 37 seats and this has been the tradition in all elections in the midterms of an incumbent presidency. --IANS ash/pgh (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.) External Affairs Minister and on Monday agreed that the global situation this year has become more challenging, especially due to the challenges in the Indo-Pacific, and underscored the need to further strengthen the bilateral relationship, in particular the defence ties. The remarks came amidst China's increasingly intimidatory behaviour in the region. Jaishankar is here in the American Capital for bilateral consultations with several US Cabinet ministers, including his counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken. I do share with you that the global situation has become far more challenging this year (due to) a variety of reasons, the Indo-Pacific in particular," Jaishankar said in his opening remarks at the top of his meeting with Austin at the Pentagon here. "It's important that the stability, security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific should be secured. That is best done amongst by cooperation between two countries," he said. Welcoming the External Affairs Minister to the Pentagon, Austin said that sustaining the region's security is especially important. In recent months, we have seen the PRC (People's Republic of China) intensify its efforts to challenge the rules-based court from its unprecedented provocations in the Taiwan Strait to its actions in its neighbourhood, he said. China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea. China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea. The PRC continues to support Russia amid its unprovoked and cruel invasion of Ukraine. So we face sustained challenges to peace, security and prosperity in the region and beyond. But they only reaffirm the importance of our partnership, Austin said. I'm grateful for your friendship. And we work together toward our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. And I look forward to a great discussion, he added. Referring to his recent conversation with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Austin said that these conversations reinforce the growing depth, breadth and ambition of the partnership between the two nations. This partnership is moving from strength to strength," Austin said. Today, we are positioning the US and Indian militaries to operate and coordinate more closely together than ever. We are taking significant steps to deepen our defence cooperation from stronger information sharing and defence industrial ties to cooperation in emerging defence domains, including through the launch of a new dialogue later this year," Austin said. All this will help ensure that our militaries are ready, he added. The United States and India, along with a dozen other Indo-Pacific partners, pushing to expand our region's prosperity for the Indo-Pacific Economic Forum. And through our deepening cooperation with Japan and Australia, we are delivering on the issues that matter the most to the region, from entering infrastructure development to maritime security, Austin said. Jaishankar said he believes that defence and security cooperation are the bedrock of our contemporary relationship. This has been expressed in closer policy exchange in coordination with policies on very important and sensitive challenges to growing defence trade and stronger defense industrial collaboration and military exercises, he said. But, the ripple impact of our defence cooperation, I think, has a larger beneficiary implication on our relationship, Jaishankar said. Earlier, Jaishankar was received at the riverside entrance of the Pentagon by Austin and was accorded an honour cordon by the US military. During the honour cordon, visitors are greeted at the Pentagon stairs and welcomed with handshakes, before proceeding inside the building. Accompanying him were India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and other senior Indian officials. The Indian delegations were served cookies with flags of India and the United States on 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.) The Iranian nuclear chief has said that the verification of Iran's nuclear activities by the Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should be "impartial and independent," official IRNA news agency reported. Making the remarks at a meeting of the annual IAEA General Conference in the Austrian capital of Vienna, Mohammad Eslami said on Monday that Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at civilian use in the field of electricity generation, health, agriculture, environment and industry. Speaking of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), he added that based on the deal, " accepts restrictions on enrichment activities, reducing the speed and capacity of nuclear activities, and a strict verification system for a specified period." "In return, the other party should remove the oppressive illegal sanctions and obstacles ... and end false claims against Iran's peaceful activities and programmes," Eslami was quoted as saying. He said reduced parts of its commitments as a compensatory measure taken in response to the violation of the obligations of other parties to the deal, Xinhua news agency reported. He blamed the US for its withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 and slapping sanctions against Iran, emphasising that if the other parties to the agreement re-embrace their obligations by removing obstacles and sanctions, "the continuation of Iran's executive actions (concerning the JCPOA) will be determined by obtaining legal permission from the Iranian parliament." The Iranian atomic chief denied any alleged "undeclared nuclear activity or material in Iran" and noted that all accusations are based on "fabricated and false information" from Israel. The Islamic Republic expects "the agency to conduct its reporting, monitoring and verification in a more professional, impartial and independent manner," he said, urging the UN nuclear watchdog to drop "old accusations that were raised over the years and closed in 2015". has called the IAEA allegations about "undeclared" trace of uranium in three Iranian sites "political" and has urged the closure of the case as a prerequisite for the conclusion of talks aimed at the revival of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. --IANS int/khz/ (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.) will honour on Tuesday its assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a polarising figure who dominated modern-day politics as its longest-serving leader, with a rare state funeral that has become nearly as divisive as he was. Abe's killing at a July 8 campaign rally set off a flood of revelations about ties between lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) he once ran and the Unification Church, which critics call a cult, sparking a backlash against current premier Fumio Kishida. With his support ratings dragged to their lowest ever by the controversy, Kishida has apologised and vowed to cut party ties to the church. But opposition to honouring Abe with a state funeral, the first such event since 1967, has persisted, fed by an $11.5-million price tag to be borne by the state at a time of economic pain for ordinary citizens. "I don't think this funeral should be held," said Hidemi Noto, a 38-year-old assistant movie director who had stopped by the site at the Nippon Budokan Hall on Monday to watch preparations. "It has a completely different meaning to a funeral for ordinary people. I don't think we should use tax money for this." Nevertheless, from early on Tuesday ordinary citizens began offering flowers at designated stands, starting earlier than planned due to demand. About 4,300 are expected to attend Tuesday's ceremony and at least 48 current or former government figures, including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kishida cited the chance for meeting with leaders as another reason for hosting the funeral. The sole Group of Seven (G7) leader set to join, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, cancelled in order to tackle a natural disaster at home. The ceremony starts at 2:00 p.m. (0500 GMT), with Abe's ashes carried into the venue, and an honour guard will fire 19 rounds from a cannon. Inside the Budokan, better known as a concert venue, a large portrait of Abe draped with black ribbon hung over a bank of green, white and yellow flowers. Nearby, a wall of photos showed him strolling with G7 leaders, holding hands with children and visiting disaster areas. Tens of thousands of police will be deployed, nearby roads will be closed and even some schools shut as seeks to avoid the security blunders that led to Abe's shooting with a homemade gun by a suspect who, police say, accused the Unification Church of impoverishing his family. The state funeral for Abe, who received a private funeral days after his assassination, is the first since one in 1967 for former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. Kishida has explained the decision as a way of honouring Abe's achievements, as well as standing up for democracy, but ordinary Japanese remain divided. Only 30% of respondents in a recent poll by TV Asahi agreed with hosting the funeral, against 54% opposed. Even without the recent revelations, it would be hard to imagine any circumstances where a majority of Japanese would favour honouring Abe with a state funeral, said Tobias Harris, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and the author of a biography of the former premier. "He was someone who almost welcomed and invited controversy and saw his mission as overturning a longstanding consensus or set of consensuses" about how was run, Harris said. Many Japanese were "attached to the postwar regime that he wanted to overturn." A senior official in the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, who accompanied Vice President Harris to Japan, told reporters he could not comment on Japanese opinions about the funeral. "All we can say is that he was a great partner of the United States ... and the vice president is going to honour that legacy," he said on Monday. protested to on Tuesday over the detention of a Japanese consulate official on espionage allegations, denying the allegations and accusing Russian authorities of abusive interrogation. The official was detained on Sept 22 and interrogated with his eyes covered, his hands and head pressed and immobilised, Japan's Foreign Ministry said, prompting it to lodge a protest and to demand an apology. On Monday, Russia's Foreign Ministry notified Japan's Embassy in Moscow that the official had been declared persona non grata, or an undesirable person, on grounds he conducted illegal espionage activity and it ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours. The alleged illegal activity insisted by the Russian side is completely groundless, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. Matsuno said Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori summoned Russia's ambassador and strongly protested, demanding a formal apology from the Russian government and measures to prevent a recurrence. The Russian authorities' treatment of the consulate official was intimidating during the interrogation, adding that such handling of consular officials violates the Vienna convention and a Japan-Russo treaty over consular affairs, Matsuno said. It is extremely regrettable and absolutely unacceptable, Matsuno said. The consular official has since been released with no health problems and is set to return to on Wednesday. The dispute is the latest example of worsening ties between the two countries over Japan's sanctions against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. and had expelled a number of diplomats, while scrapped peace negotiations with Japan that includes talks on Russian-held disputed islands that Japan says the Soviets took at the end of the World War II. Russia said Monday that it had detained a Japanese consulate official based in the eastern city of Vladivostok for soliciting restricted information, according to Russian news agencies. A Japanese diplomat was detained red-handed while receiving, in exchange for financial reward, restricted information about Russia's cooperation with another country in the Asia-Pacific region, the FSB, the KGB's successor agency, was cited as saying through its press service, without specifying the third country. The FSB identified the official as Tatsunori Motoki, accusing him of seeking out information on the impact of Western sanctions on the surrounding Primoriye region, according to news agencies. The Kremlin has repeatedly referred to Japan as a hostile country, a designation it shares with the US, EU countries and their Western allies, since Tokyo joined them in slapping sanctions on Moscow after Russian troops entered Ukraine on Feb 24. In its latest sanctions, Japan's government on Monday banned the export of materials that may be used for chemical weapons to 21 Russian organisations, including science laboratories. The measure was approved by the Cabinet following a decision by Group of Seven foreign ministers last week. (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 announced that President will host his French counterpart for a state visit on December 1. This will be the first state visit of the Biden-Harris administration since it took office in January 2021, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Monday. "It will underscore the deep and enduring relationship between the US and France, our oldest ally, that is founded on our shared democratic values, economic ties, and defence and security cooperation," she was quoted as saying. The leaders will also discuss "our continued close partnership on shared global challenges and areas of bilateral interest". The French President will be accompanied by his wife, First Lady Brigitte Macron. This is Emmanuel Macron's second state visit to the US after he was re-elected as President in April. In 2018, he was also the first world leader to be invited for a state dinner by former President Donald Trump. --IANS ksk/ (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.) Vice President is planning a trip to the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Republic of Korea and North Korea, in a high-stakes visit that comes as the US is confronting fresh provocations from Pyongyang while seeking to reassure regional allies concerned by deteriorating relations between Washington and Beijing. The trip on Thursday will focus the worlds attention on the vice president, who has sought to burnish both US influence -- and her own foreign policy credentials -- with a trip through Asia emphasizing the Biden administrations commitment to the regions security. Harris will become the first senior White House official to visit the DMZ during Bidens tenure, and the visit comes as the White House has struggled to engage North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on talks over his countrys nuclear program, and as Pyongyang has launched a series of ballistic missile tests. The trip will follow meetings in Tokyo, where Harris and allies -- including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese -- discussed the security situation in Taiwan. China has said it views the island as part of its territory that it plans to unify with the mainland, and has engaged in a series of military exercises in the Taiwan Strait. The visit is a high-profile opportunity for Harris, who stumbled in her first year as vice president with controversies over her handling of immigration issues stemming from the Northern Triangle in Central America and a series of high-profile staffing departures. But she has assumed a larger role in the administration in recent months, serving as the face of the White Houses efforts to address a Supreme Court decision reversing abortion rights. On Wednesday, Harris will meet with Japanese chief executive officers in the semiconductor industry for a discussion of the CHIPS and Science Act. The companies that will be represented include: Tokyo Electron, Nikon, Advantest, Shinetsu Kagaku (Shin-Etsu Chemical) and Fujitsu Ltd. among . In Asia, Harriss trip will set the stage for President Joe Bidens trip to the region later this autumn, where hes expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and speak with allies about both efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and address the rising tensions over Taiwan. I think your visit to DMZ and Seoul will be very symbolic demonstrations of your strong commitments to the security and peace to Korean Peninsula and we are working with you and US in dealing with North Korea, South Koreas Prime Minister Han Duck-soo told Harris on Tuesday in Japan. Harris is visiting the region to attend the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in July. Her trip to the DMZ was subsequently confirmed by a senior US official; Biden did not make the trip when he traveled to and Japan in May. The US official said Harriss trip was intended to honor the legacy of Abe, while re-affirming the existing alliances and economic ties within the region. Harris was scheduled to spend just one day in Seoul, holding a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to discuss the threat posed by as well as the importance of peace across the Taiwan Strait. Leading up to her visit, senior Biden officials deflected any questions about a potential DMZ visit. In August, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went to the Panmunjom truce village in the Demilitarized Zone. The place where soldiers from the two sides stare down each other is a symbol of military tensions that have simmered since the US came to South Koreas defense in 1950 after invaded and started the Korean War. Prime Minister on Tuesday announced that a high-level committee would be constituted to probe the embarrassing audio leaks from the Prime Minister's Office that have triggered a controversy, with the Opposition demanding his resignation. A slew of audio recordings featuring confidential conversations of the prime minister with high-government officials surfaced on social media last week, raising questions about the security of the highest office of the country. I am taking notice of this and a committee will be formed to reach the depth of this matter, Sharif said. Terming the leaks as a very serious lapse which left a big question mark on security, he said that now people would think before visiting the PM House. Who will come to meet the prime minister at the PM House now? Be it a sympathiser or a friend, they will think 100 times before talking. This is about the respect of the 220 million people of the country, he said. A string of videos showed that secret meetings were being taped. One such clip showed Sharif and his principal secretary Tauqeer Shah talking about importing machinery from India for the son-in-law of Maryam Nawaz, the niece of the prime minister. In his press conference, the prime minister said that Maryam never talked to him about any favours for her son-in-law. Dr Tauqeer spoke to me about it and said half of the machinery was imported during the PTI ( Tehreek-i-Insaf) tenure. I don't know what amount was spent and how much loss they will have to bear if half the machinery is left. Dr Tauqeer told me that the provision is banned and it will have to be taken to the ECC (Economic Coordination Committee), he said. Sharif explained that he didn't find it appropriate to take the matter to the Cabinet. I said I will convey this to my daughter (niece Maryam). Now tell me what is wrong with this? he questioned. He also said that several audios surfaced against former premier Imran Khan during his government but nothing was done or questions asked from him. Already a joint investigation team (JIT) with a representative from the Army-run intelligence agencies was ordered to probe the issue. The Intelligence Bureau also investigated the leaks. Earlier, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that Sharif has called a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) this week to deliberate on the audio leaks. Due to the gravity of the situation, the prime minister has called a meeting of the National Security Committee on Tuesday which will be attended by the top civil and military leadership, Interior Minister Sanaullah told a TV talk show on Monday night. Officials had said that an initial report by the top intelligence agencies has been prepared which will be placed before the NSC - the highest civil-military body on security affairs. Sources said that the NSC meeting may be delayed after the announcement by the prime minister to set up a panel to probe the issue. He suggested there was nothing to be concerned about if it was mere hacking of mobile phones. He, however, did call it a serious security breach if anyone had bugged the PM House. If it is bugging then it is a serious issue to ascertain how the device was planted and who is behind it. If it is true, stern action will be taken against those involved in it, he stressed. However, he said, if it was just simple hacking' of mobile phones of some people who may have visited the PM House then it was nothing serious. In this case, some waiter or any other staff member of the PM House may be involved. We will punish them according to the law, he maintained. The minister said as per his information, the Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence had completed their initial inquiry into the matter and their heads would apprise the prime minister of the findings in the NSC meeting. (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.) Prime Minister has called a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) on Wednesday to deliberate on the audio leaks from the Prime Minister's Office that has trigged a controversy with the Opposition demanding his resignation. A slew of audio recordings featuring confidential conversations of the prime minister with high-government officials surfaced on social media last week, raising questions about the security of the highest office of the country. More audio clips were leaked on Monday where top PML-N leaders were purportedly heard making strategies about the by-elections that were recently postponed due to the devastating floods. A joint investigation team (JIT) with a representative from Army-run intelligence agencies was ordered to probe the issue. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) is also investigating the leaks. Officials said an initial report by the top intelligence agencies has been prepared which will be placed before the NSC -- the highest civil-military body on security affairs. According to an official statement issued on Monday, the NSC meeting will take place at the PM House on Wednesday, the Express Tribune newspaper reported. The top military and civilian leadership, including defence minister, interior minister, information minister, finance minister and other important cabinet members will participate in the meeting, it said. On Monday, ousted prime minister Imran Khan demanded the resignation of his successor Sharif over the issue. (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.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on Tuesday and conveyed his deepest condolences on the demise of former Prime Minister . Prime Minister Modi, who landed in on Tuesday morning to attend Abe's state funeral, noted the contributions of the late Japanese PM in strengthening the India- partnership and conceptualizing the vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. "The two leaders had a productive exchange of views on further deepening bilateral relations. They also discussed a number of regional and global issues," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. Both leaders renewed their commitment towards further strengthening the India- Special Strategic and Global Partnership, and working together in the region and other groupings. PM Modi arrived in Japan today amid heightened security measures in the country as dozens of foreign dignitaries are slated to attend the state funeral of former PM Abe who was assassinated in July. Representatives from over 100 countries including more than 20 heads of state and heads of government are expected to participate in the state funeral. On Monday, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said this trip is an opportunity for PM Modi to honour the memory of his dear friend and a champion of India-Japan ties. "This visit by PM Modi is an opportunity for him to honour the memory of former PM Abe, who he considered a dear friend and a great champion of the India-Japan relationship," the foreign secretary said while addressing a special briefing. He said Abe made significant contributions to deepening India-Japan relations, turning a primarily economic relationship into a broad, comprehensive, and strategic partnership, making it pivotal for the two countries and the region's security. "His famous "Confluence of Two Seas" speech in the Indian Parliament in 2007 laid the ground for the emergence of the Indo-Pacific region as a contemporary political, strategic, and economic reality. Abe's contribution to India-Japan relations was recognized by the conferment upon him of the prestigious Padma Vibhushan in 2021," Kwatra said. This visit of PM Modi to Japan comes after Kishida's visit to India for the India-Japan Summit meeting in March, and PM Modi's visit to Japan for the Quad Leaders' Summit in May this year. These meetings underscored the two leaders' commitment towards deepening India-Japan ties, particularly in shaping a post-pandemic regional and global order. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the India-Japan diplomatic relationship. (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.) Turkish President vowed to "use all means" to protect Ankara's rights and interests against . "We will not fail to use all the means to defend our country's rights and interests against Greece, when necessary," Erdogan said at a press conference after a cabinet meeting on Monday. His remarks came amid a recent escalation of tension between two neighbours over their disputes in the Aegean Sea, reports Xinhua news agency. He accused Athens of making policies based on "provocative actions" and suggested that is being "dragged into a swamp with military build-ups". "This is a dangerous game for both the Greek politicians, the Greek state, the Greek people," Erdogan said. Relations between the two countries have long been tense over a series of issues, including territory and energy disputes in the Aegean and the Mediterranean Seas. The semi-official Anadolu Agency reported on Sunday the footage of Greek ships, carrying military vehicles, landed on Lesbos and Samos islands on September 18 and 21, respectively. warned that these islands have non-military status according to treaties. Earlier this month, Erdogan accused Greece of "harassing" Turkish fighter jets in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, a claim that Greece has rejected. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on September 11 said despite the recent "unacceptable" comments of Erdogan, he was "always available and open to a meeting with the Turkish leader". --IANS ksk/ (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 the surge in inter-connected banking on digital platforms, global rating agency Standard and Poors (S&P) today said it is incorporating risks of into rating of financial institutions. Asia-Pacific banks have been hacked before, and will be hacked again, the agency said in a statement, adding that the region's ever-more open and interconnected banking systems raise the threat of hacks and data breaches. Apart from creating direct monetary losses, data breaches can damage the reputation of a bank and hit its credit profile. In jurisdictions where the entire industry suffers serious data breaches repeatedly, or where regulators are particularly lax, negative ratings momentum could result, the agency added. Nico DeLange, credit analyst, S&P Global Ratings, said, "While we have not downgraded any Asia-Pacific bank as the result of a cyberattack, the hit to individual institutions could be crippling. This could be particularly true for banks that have not invested enough in their cybersecurity". Asia-Pacific financial institutions are increasingly on the cloud, sharing client data with a fintech firm, or relying on third-party service providers. With the addition of each new partner into a digital system, hackers get a new point of entry. Attackers targeting entities with weak security could get a back door into the data of larger, better defended banks. Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, mainland China, India, New Zealand and Japan are at various stages toward implementing open banking. A major bank could partner with a small fintech firm, which may not have resources for a robust cyber defence, it said. "To prevent attacks, Asia-Pacific regulators will need a dogged determination to understand and manage risks," the agency said. "This points to the need for collaboration, and cross-border information sharing to build cyber resilience across entities to prevent systemic risk." Asia-Pacific banks also often rely on partners for their cloud computing and open banking platforms. This involves a fresh set of risks. Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, IBM Cloud, Oracle Cloud, and Microsoft Azure control about 80 per cent of the cloud service market, according to Gartner, a researcher. These five entities have access to key banking data and support core banking services. Sri Lankan President on Tuesday said his government will back the bids of India and for permanent member status at the UN Security Council. President Wickremesinghe is currently in to attend the state funeral of the former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. During a meeting with Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Tuesday, Wickremesinghe "appreciated the support extended by (to Sri Lanka) on the stage and expressed the government's willingness to support both Japan's and India's campaign to become permanent members of the UN Security Council, the President's office said in a press release. India has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the Security Council saying it rightly deserves a place as a permanent member of the UN body, which in its current form does not represent the geo-political realities of the 21st century. At present, the UNSC comprises five permanent members and 10 non-permanent member countries which are elected for a two-year term by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The five permanent members are Russia, the UK, China, France and the US and these countries can veto any substantive resolution. There has been growing demand to increase the number of permanent members to reflect the contemporary global reality. India is currently halfway through the second year of its two-year term as an elected non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. India's tenure at the Council will end in December when the country will also preside as President of the powerful UN organ for the month. On Saturday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, addressing the General Debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, emphasised that India is prepared to take up greater responsibilities. The call for reformed multilateralism with reforms of the Security Council at its core enjoys considerable support among UN members, he said. "It does so because of the widespread recognition that the current architecture is anachronistic and ineffective. It is also perceived as deeply unfair, denying entire continents and regions a voice in a forum that deliberates their future," Jaishankar said. Meanwhile, President Wickremesinghe's office said Japan has expressed willingness to take a lead role in Sri Lanka's debt restructuring, which is vital for the island's bid to gain a bailout facility from the Monetary Fund. The IMF had expressed readiness to enter a staff-level agreement with conditional to debt restructuring. In mid-April, declared its debt default due to the forex crisis. The country owes USD 51 billion in foreign debt, of which USD 28 billion must be paid by 2027. The IMF does not lend to countries whose debt is deemed unsustainable, requiring to undertake an upfront comprehensive debt treatment. Both India and Japan are major creditors of Sri Lanka, besides China and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Sri Lanka is banking on Japan to organise a debt restructuring conference on its behalf. Wickremesinghe has also indicated that he was keen to revive halted Japanese projects in Sri Lanka, officials 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.) Ukraine plans to adopt the legislations needed to launch the membership talks with the European Union(EU) by mid-November, a top official said here. In a televised address on local media, Oleksandr Kornienko, the first deputy chairman of Parliament, said on Monday said that Ukraine needs to fulfil seven requirements put forward by the EU to start the accession talks, Xinhua news agency reported. In particular, the Ukrainian Parliament is set to pass the laws on media and on national minorities, Kornienko said. On February 28, Volodymyr Zelensky signed an official appeal to the EU asking for the accession of Ukraine via a new special procedure. On June 23, EU leaders accepted Ukraine as a candidate for membership in the bloc. --IANS ksk/ (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.) UN Secretary-General has called for the use of every means to eliminate the nuclear threat. Guterres made the appeal at a UN General Assembly high-level meeting to commemorate and promote the Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which falls on September 26. "We come together on this day to speak with one voice. To stand in defence of our world -- and our future. And to reject the claim that nuclear disarmament is some impossible utopian dream," he said on Monday. He noted that the elimination of nuclear weapons would be the greatest gift "we could bestow on future generations". In late August, the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons failed to result in the adoption of an outcome document. Expressing disappointment about the conference's failure to reach a substantive outcome, Guterres vowed that "we will not give up". "I urge all states to use every avenue of dialogue, diplomacy and negotiation to ease tensions, reduce risk and eliminate the nuclear threat," he said. Guterres also called for a new vision for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, Xinhua news agency reported. He highlighted the need to take into account the evolving nuclear order, including all types of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, as well as the need to address the blurring lines between strategic and conventional weapons, and the nexus with new domains of cyber and outer space. The UN chief urged General Assembly delegates to seize the opportunity and make new commitment to work toward a peaceful future. "Without eliminating nuclear weapons, there can be no peace. There can be no trust. And there can be no sustainable future," he added. --IANS int/khz/ (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 raised growing security concerns in while highlighting worrisome trends witnessed in recent months, particularly the continuing presence of foreign terrorist groups in the country. The concerns were raised in the latest quarterly report of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the Security Council. "The security situation reveals a worrisome trend in recent months, particularly the series of attacks by ISIL-K, recurring armed opposition clashes with Taliban de facto security forces and the continuing presence of foreign terrorist groups in Afghanistan," the report said. It said the Taliban's commitment to ensuring that no group or individual will use the soil of to threaten the security of other countries must be sustained through concrete actions. "The Taliban leadership is urged to engage in a serious counter- dialogue to strengthen cooperation in countering these threats, while complying with obligations under law," the quarterly report said. The UN report called on the Taliban to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Afghans, including women and girls. "Continuing restrictions on Afghan women and girls' full enjoyment of their rights will have lasting detrimental consequences for the recovery and stability of Afghanistan. Reliance on codes and directives to curtail women's rights adds to an environment of intimidation, which is furthered by the implementation of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments by the de facto authorities against individuals for real or perceived failures to adhere to them. "Women are disproportionately targeted for reported infractions. The de facto authorities must take steps to hold personnel responsible for such actions accountable and to prevent their recurrence," it added. The UN also concluded that shrinking civic space as a result of the continued pressure placed by the de facto authorities on journalists and civil society activists is cause for alarm. "The de facto authorities are urged to ensure the safety of journalists and civil society members and to respect and promote fundamental freedoms of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association for all Afghans, women and men," the report said. This latest UN report follows the Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report released in July which outlined the human rights situation in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. The report summarised UNAMA's findings with regards to the protection of civilians, extrajudicial killings, torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary arrests and detentions, the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, fundamental freedoms and the situation in places of detention. The report also contained recommendations to both the de facto authorities and the community. Despite an overall, significant reduction in armed violence, between mid-August 2021 and mid-June 2022, UNAMA recorded 2106 civilian casualties. The majority of civilian casualties were attributed to targeted attacks by the armed group self-identified "Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant - Khorasan Province" against ethnic and religious minority communities in places where they go to school, worship and go about their daily lives. (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 importance of managing a "responsible relationship" with India and addressing the debt issue with China so that can recover more quickly from the impact of the devastating floods were the key focus of the talks between US Secretary of State and his Pakistani counterpart Zardari. During the meeting at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department on Monday, Blinken also said US and will continue to work closely on counterterrorism issues. In our discussion today, we talked about the importance of managing a responsible relationship with India, and I also urged our colleagues to engage China on some of the important issues of debt relief and restructure so that can more quickly recover from the floods, Blinken said at an event here to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of US-Pakistan relations. Relations between India and Pakistan have been strained over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.The ties between the two countries nosedived after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019. Following India's decision, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian envoy. Trade ties between Pakistan and India have largely been frozen since then. Blinken said they also spoke about the importance of meeting their commitments as democracies, upholding core values like respect for freedom of religion, belief, freedom of expression. On his part, Bilawal said the Pakistan-US relationship is not only resilient, but also stood the test of time. We have proved throughout history that when we work together, we achieve great things. And I believe that when we don't work together, then we fumble, then we falter, then things go wrong, he said. Underlining that the two countries will continue to work closely on counterterrorism issues, Blinken said the US and Pakistan have a shared stake in Afghanistan's future after two decades of war. "We've had our differences; that's no secret. But we share a common objective: a more stable, a more peaceful, and free future for all of Afghanistan and for those across the broader region. We'll continue to work together toward that end as well as support the basic human rights of the Afghan people, especially women and girls, he said. Ahead of his meeting with Bilawal, Blinken told reporters that the US stands in solidarity with Pakistani people who have been suffering due to the devastating flood in recent weeks. There is tremendous focus right now on the truly devastating floods that Pakistan has experienced, and we stand in strong solidarity with our friends in Pakistan...and not only stand in solidarity, but we are also doing everything we can to be of assistance in this moment just as Pakistan has been of assistance to us, including at the beginning of COVID, he said. Later in a readout, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said during the meeting between the two leaders, Blinken expressed sorrow over the devastation and loss of life throughout Pakistan caused by catastrophic flooding. He reaffirmed the US commitment to the people of Pakistan, noting the nearly USD 56.5 million in flood relief and humanitarian assistance provided this year as well as the additional USD10 million of food security assistance announced today, Price said. The two leaders also discussed partnering on food security and issues related to economic prosperity, regional stability, and Afghanistan, 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.) Chinese President on Tuesday visited an exhibition of the Communist Party, appearing in public for the first time after his return from the on September 16, which sparked rumours about his absence from the limelight ahead of next month's key Congress of the ruling party. Xi on Tuesday visited an exhibition on the great achievements of the Communist Party of China and the country over the past decade, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Speaking at the exhibition, he called for concerted efforts to forge ahead determinedly toward a new victory of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the report said. This is the first time official media reported on his public appearance after his return home from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16. Observers say that Xi not being seen in public may have been due to seven days mandatory quarantine in a designated place followed by a three-day home stay as per the official guidelines for those returning from abroad under the Dynamic Zero COVID policy, firmly advocated by Xi himself. His absence sparked rumours of tensions within the CPC which is all set to hold its once-in-a-five-year Congress on October 16 in which 69-year-old Xi is widely expected to get endorsement for a record third-term. Scotching rumours and speculation over tensions within the CPC over Xi's continuation, the party on Sunday announced that all delegates totalling nearly 2,300 were "elected" for the Congress under the guidelines set by Xi. A total of 2,296 delegates were "elected" to attend the upcoming 20th National Congress of the CPC to be held on October 16, the party said in a statement. The delegates were elected under the guidance of Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and in accordance with the Party's Constitution, adopting methods required by the CPC Central Committee, it said. The Congress, in which Xi is expected to get endorsed for an unprecedented third term, is being held amid a big purge of top security officials, stated to be part of a political clique opposed to the Chinese President. Three security officials were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve this week for corruption, raising eyebrows about the sudden surge of punishments ahead of the Congress. Sun Lijun, former vice minister of public security who was accused of heading a political clique opposed to Xi, was sentenced to death on Friday with a two-year reprieve for taking bribes, manipulating the stock market and illegally possessing firearms by the Intermediate People's Court of Changchun in northeast China's Jilin Province. A day before that the same court sentenced Fu Zhenghua, former Justice Minister and one of China's most powerful police chiefs, to death with a two-year reprieve for indulging in corruption amounting to USD 17.3 million and abuse of power. Hours later, the same court gave a similar sentence to former Jiangsu official Wang Like. He was also sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for bribery, conniving with criminal gangs and faking identity cards, official media here reported. Since he came to power in 2012, Xi has carried out a shock and awe anti-corruption campaign in which over a million officials, including dozens of top military officers, were punished. The CPC holds a Congress every five years. But this year's Congress is regarded as significant, as it is a leadership change year for the century-old party. Xi, heading the party, the military and Presidency, is due to complete his 10-year tenure. As per the norm widely followed since the death of party founder Mao Zedong in 1976, all Xi's predecessors strictly followed a 10-year tenure keeping up with the directive of Mao's successor Deng Xiaoping. Deng, regarded as Paramount Leader for his pragmatic social and economic policies introducing market reforms diluting socialist ideology, directed the leaders to strictly confine to a 10-year tenure to ensure the emergence of new and collective leadership to avert some of the excesses like the Cultural Revolution pursued by Mao in which millions of people were killed in the name of ideological experimentation. Indications are that Xi, who is conferred with the title of "core leader" like Mao, is expected to continue in power for a third term and perhaps for life, which reportedly caused consternation among some of the 96-million-member strong party. (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 edged lower for the fifth straight day, down 1 per cent to Rs 497.85 in Tuesdays intra-day trade, after the companys step-down subsidiary Aurolife received establishment inspection report (EIR) for its US plant in Raleigh, North Carolina from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Since announcement, the stock of this pharmaceutical company declined 6 per cent in the past one week, as compared to 4 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. It traded at its 52-week low level. Meanwhile, in the past six months, Aurobindo has underperformed the market by falling 31 per cent, as compared to a marginal 0.07 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. The plant at Raleigh, North Carolina, USA owned by Aurolife Pharma LLC, a wholly owned step-down subsidiary of the company, has received an EIR mentioning the inspection a voluntary action initiated (VAI) from the . With this, the pre-approval inspection and GMP inspection were concluded, had said on September 22. has three plants in the US under installation and commissioning - Dayton plant, Puerto Rico and Raleigh plant. Apart from that, in India, the company has the injectable Vizag plant, biosimilar and vaccine plant, then a plant in China is also under various stages of completion. Aurobindo has business operations predominately in USA, Europe, and Growth . The existing Growth include South Africa, Brazil, Canada, and Africa. The company has presence in the anti-retroviral segment where it sells ARVs to over 125 countries by participating in global tenders floated by international organisations such as Global Fund, USAID/ PEPFAR and country-specific Ministry of Health (MOH). The Company has 24 manufacturing facilities across the globe (21 in India, 1 each in Brazil, Puerto Rico and Portugal) and 9 R&D facilities. USA is the largest market for the company with around 47.4 per cent of the revenue generated in FY22. Meanwhile, Europe is the second largest market after USA accounting for around 27.6 per cent of revenues in FY22. Analysts at ICICI Securities expect the Releigh plant to commercialised in FY23, with an EIR in place. Aurobindo is likely to commercialise all these seven plants over the next three to four years. The North Carolina plant has been earmarked for respiratory medication products, such as metered dosage inhalers (MDIs) and dry powder inhalers (DPIs) and Aurolife is working on five MDIs including one filed ANDA and two DPIs. With EIR in place for the facility, we expect the Releigh plant to be commercialised in FY23, the brokerage firm said in a recent note. Shares of Bharat Gears soared 20 per cent to Rs 167.30 on the BSE in Tuesdays intra-day trade. The stock of this auto ancillary company turned ex-date of 1:2 bonus issue and traded close to its record high level of Rs 173 (adjusted to bonus shares) per share, that it had touched on September 16. Bharat Gears revised the record date for bonus issue of equity shares of the company to September 28 from September 13 to determine members entitled for the bonus equity shares in the ratio of 1:2, i.e. 1 bonus share of Rs 10 each, for every 2 shares held in the company on the record date. At 02:23 pm; the stock was up 19.7 per cent at Rs 166.85, as compared to 0.19 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined 1.3 million equity shares changed hands on the NSE and BSE. In the past one month, the stock surged 44 per cent, as against 3 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. Moreover, in the past three months, it zoomed 80 per cent, as compared to 8 per cent rise in the benchmark index. Since the shares of the company are freely traded on the stock exchange; the company is unable to comment on the share price movement. There is no material relevant information/event having a bearing on the operations/performance of the company which requires disclosures as per regulation, Bharat Gears had said on September 15. Bharat Gears is one of the largest gear manufacturing companies in India with a 5-decade long history of manufacturing engineering goods for and industrial applications. The company has a leading presence in India and exports substantial portions of its production to North American and European . The company has three manufacturing locations; two in the state of Maharashtra, which comprises of Mumbra, Thane and Lonand, Satara and another in Faridabad, Harayana. The management is cautiously optimistic of growth in Indian for components, agricultural machinery and construction equipments. The company has also expanded its international presence over the years, which will help it in dealing with stresses in specific economies and pivot to high growth countries. The emerging growth segments such as Electric Vehicles (EV), small utility machines for small-holding agricultural lands, and heavy construction machinery for mega infrastructure projects will be in our sight for product innovation and portfolio expansion, Bharat Gears said in its FY22 annual report. The on Wednesday will hear pleas challenging the centre's decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 in 2016. Five Judge bench headed by Justice Abdul Nazeer will hear the matter tomorrow. Other judges on the bench include Justices BR Gavai, AS Bopanna, V Ramasubramanian and BV Nagarathna. The matter is listed for directions on September 28 2022. Various petitions were filed arising from the decision of the Government of India to demonetise the old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000. One of the petitions was filed by Vivek Narayan Sharma. The petition challenged the notification dated November 8, 2016. The court will deal with issues of whether the notification dated November 8 2016 is ultra vires Section 26(2) and Sections 7,17,23,24,29 and 42 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and does the notification contravene the provisions of Article300(A) of the Constitution. Besides this, the court will also deal with issues of whether the notification has been validly issued under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and whether it is ultra vires Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution and whether the limit on withdrawal of cash from the funds deposited in bank accounts has no basis in law and violates Articles 14,19 and 21. The court will also consider whether the implementation of the impugned notification(s) suffers from procedural and substantive unreasonableness and thereby violates Articles 14 and 19 and, if so, to what effect. The top court will also deal with the scope of judicial review in matters relating tothe fiscal and economic policy of the Government and whether a petition by a political party on the issues raised is maintainable under Article 32. (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 Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), a premier global management institute, signed an agreement with Nykaa, to set up the Nykaa Chair in Consumer Technology on 27 September 2022. The Chair has been set up for an initial period of three years and has been facilitated by the IIMA Endowment fund. The Chair will work closely with students of IIMA and faculty members from Marketing and Information Systems areas. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida. Prime Minister conveyed his deepest condolences for the demise of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The two leaders had a productive exchange of views on further deepening bilateral relations. They also discussed a number of regional and global issues. The leaders renewed their commitment towards further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership, and in working together in the region and in various international groupings and institutions. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mahindra Logistics (MLL) rose 3.21% to Rs 520.75 after the logistics solution provider announced the acquisition of the B2B express business of Gurugram-based logistics firm Rivigo Services (RSPL). MLL and RSPL announced that they had reached agreement for purchase of RSPL's B2B express business by MLL. Under the terms of the agreement, MLL will acquire the express business through a Business Transfer Agreement (BTA), including the customers, team and assets of RPSL's B2B express business, RSPL's technology platform and the Rivigo brand. RSPL will continue to own its truck fleet & the rights to the full truck load (FTL) operations. The acquisition will augment MLL's existing B2B express business leveraging Rivigo's strong network, technology and process capabilities. Gurgaon based Rivigo operates a pan India B2B express network, has a robust client base and a full-service technology suite. Rivigo's B2B express network currently covers over 19,000 pin-codes across the nation. Their 250+ processing centres and branches, spanning an area more than 1.5 million sq. ft. will add significant strength to MLL's express business capability. Rampraveen Swaminathan, MD & CEO, MLL said, "This acquisition will enhance and strengthen our offerings and reach for our customers in the B2B express and PTL space. Team Rivigo has built deep capabilities, and we look forward to building on the strengths as we integrate the businesses. We are excited by the team, as they share a common ethos with a shared focus on empowering drivers & communities." MLL is an integrated third-party logistics (3PL) service provider, specializing in supply chain management and enterprise mobility. MLL serves over 400+ corporate customers across various industries like automobile, engineering, consumer goods and e-commerce. The company pursues an "asset-light" business model, providing customised and technology enabled solutions that span across the supply chain and people mobility services. On a consolidated basis, net profit of MLL rose 310.94% to Rs 13.52 crore on 35.86% rise in net sales to Rs 1199.90 crore in Q1 June 2022 over Q1 June 2021. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shakti Pumps (India) jumped 5.15% to Rs 509.65 after the company announced the receipt of advance worth $6 million from EXIM Bank on behalf of the Government of Uganda to supply solarpowered water pumping system. The manufacturer of energyefficient pumps and motors said that the company has received advance worth $6 million from ExportImport Bank of India (EXIM bank) on behalf of the Government of Uganda represented by the Ministry of Water and Environment for supplying solarpowered water pumping system. The company will begin the project execution from October 2022. The company was awarded a contract in the month of March 2021 from the Government of Uganda for supply of solar powered water pumping systems at a contract price of $35.30 million exclusive of VAT. Dinesh Patidar, chairman and managing director, SPIL said: It is a moment of pride for us at Shakti Pumps for partnering with the Government of Uganda on this project. This will augur well with our green energy expansion plans in Africa while generating employment opportunities for the local citizens. Export remains our focus area which has contributed 15.7% of revenue in FY22 amounting to around Rs 1,851 million with the continent currently contributing approximately 10% share in the overall export business for SPIL. Going forward, this successful implementation of solarpumps in Uganda would likely encourage other African countries to partner with us for similar midsized projects. Given our robust roadmap backed by latest inhouse R&D infrastructure, we are already a partner of choice for major export markets such as the US and the Middle East. Shakti Pumps (India) makes energy-efficient pumps and motors. With a leading position in solar pump markets in India, Shakti exports a wide range of pumping products to over 100 countries globally. The company reported a 19.83% jump in consolidated net profit of Rs 8.74 crore on 62.81% surge in net sales to Rs 254.48 crore in Q1 FY23 over Q1 FY22. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) About a fortnight ago, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister said that the proposed privatisation of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, or BPCL, was off the table. We want to disinvest, but we cannot have a situation where there is only one bidderFor now, it is not on the table, Mr Puri said on the sidelines of the 25th Energy Technology Meet in Mumbai. Endorsing such a stance, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management also was reported to have stated that owing to prevailing conditions in the global energy market, the majority of qualified interested parties have expressed their inability to continue in the current process of disinvestment of BPCL. (SP) leader is all set to be re-elected as its president for third time in a row at its convention here on Thursday, to take the party to the crucial general election in 2024. Before the convention, the SP has also planned to hold a state convention here on Wednesday to choose the state president, party sources said on Tuesday. Besides the election of the party president, important issues related to the strategy for the upcoming local body elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are also likely to be taken up during the convention. Thursday's event will also deliberate on playing an effective role in dealing with the ruling BJP, which has been gaining strength with every election in Uttar Pradesh, they said. The SP national convention is being held after the party's successive electoral defeats in the 2017 and 2022 assembly elections and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Taking lessons, the party leadership is working towards re-energising the organisation for the upcoming urban body elections in November-December and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. About 25,000 representatives of the party will participate in these conventions, which will be held at the Ramabai Ambedkar rally site, SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI on Tuesday. Elaborating, he said the national president of the party will be chosen during the national convention, while the state president will be elected during the state convention. Akhilesh was made the party's national president for the first time on January 1, 2017, in place of party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav in an emergency meeting in Lucknow held amidst a power tussle between him and uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav. After this, the SP's scheduled national convention was held in Agra in October 2017 during which Akhilesh was again elected unanimously as the president of the party. It was during this convention that the party changed it constitution and increased the term of the president from three years to five years. The post of national president of the SP, formed in October 1992, has always been held by the Yadav family. Meanwhile, the SP's Uttar Pradesh president Naresh Uttam Patel is likely to be retained in his post in order to consolidate the electorally dominant OBC votes. Patel belongs to Kurmi caste, which has a significant presence in many parts of the state. Chaudhary said besides passing resolutions on the politico-economic situation of the country and the state, a detailed discussion on chalking out the future strategy of the party and the issue of caste census will also be taken up. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has created a political and economic crisis in the country and is playing with the democratic system. Being the main opposition party, the SP will discuss its effective role to deal with these issues. In these conventions, there will be an in-depth discussion on the strategy of the party in the coming Lok Sabha elections," Chaudhary said. Issues such as the "weakening of" democratic institutions by the BJP, continuing downslide in economy, law and order situation and the "endangering of social harmony" will also be specially discussed, he said. The issues of deteriorating law and order situation in the state, the plight of education and health sectors, increasing corruption, and cheating by the government with the farmers and the youth will be highlighted through politico-economic proposals, Chaudhary said. Meanwhile, the party's national spokesperson Ashutosh Patel said SP founder Mulayam Singh has also been invited but he is unlikely to attend due to his ill-health. The delegates have started arriving in the state capital from Tuesday to participate in the convention, which will be inaugurated with a flag hoisting on Wednesday at 10 am. The task is cut out for to put a strong challenge to the BJP in the 2024 general election in Uttar Pradesh, which sends the maximum 80 MPs. With the BSP and the Congress decimated in the recent assembly polls in the politically significant state, the next general election is expected to be another round of fight between the BJP and the SP. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has emerged as the new hope of the Opposition camp to stop Narendra Modi from becoming the prime minister for the third consecutive time, met Akhilesh and Mulayam Singh Yadav to forge a broader unity against the saffron party in the state. Rumours are rife that Kumar will himself contest either from Phulpur in Mirzapur or Ambedkarnagar, that have sizeable voters from the Kurmi community. Calculations doing the rounds in the political circles were that Kumar, with the help of the SP's support base among the numerically important Yadavs and Muslims, could romp home from these seats in Uttar Pradesh and also generate support for the Opposition in other seats. (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.) Bihar Chief Minister on Tuesday said that the leaders of will soon sit together in to make a strategy against the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha electionS. "We are regularly interacting with the leaders of the of the country. We will sit together in and make a strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha election," he said after distributing appointment letters to the persons selected in Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department. On his recent meeting with Sonia Gandhi, said that she was busy in the election in her own party. "After that election, we will set the agendas of to defeat the BJP," he said. To comments by BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on the meeting, said: "I don't mind the statement of Sushil Kumar Modi. If he gets some post in his party by targeting me, I will be highly pleased with it. I actually enjoyed his statements." --IANS ajk/vd (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 disciplinary committee on Tuesday issued show-cause notices to three key loyalists of Rajasthan Chief Minister Shanti Dhariwal and Mahesh Joshi, and MLA Dharmendra Rathore who organised a parallel meet of MLAs instead of joining a Legislature Party meeting last weekend. Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and senior leader on Tuesday returned to Bhopal after spending barely hours in Delhi, avoiding mediation between rival factions in the Rajasthan Congress. Congress veteran AK Antony, who had announced his retirement from active politics, was asked to return to Delhi to help sort out the leadership issue. Party treasurer Pawan Bansal collected two sets of nomination papers for someone else. And told confidants that he was ready to step down from the position of Rajasthan Chief Minister but will not let the traitor become CM, indicating he would accept anyone else as his replacement but not Sachin Pilot who mobilised Congress MLAs to cross over to the BJP in 2020. Congress president deputed senior leaders Ambika Soni and to talk to Gehlot. If things are not sorted out tonight (Tuesday night), the election process might have to pushed back, said a former (CWC) member. September 30 is the deadline by which candidates have to file nominations. Adding to the confusion, Pilot landed in Delhi though whether he had been summoned or he had come to the capital on his own was not clear. He had not been given time to meet the Congress president till the time of going to press. The only firm candidate so far for the presidentship contest in the Congress is former union minister and Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor, who will likely file his papers with 30 members of the party seconding his nomination on Friday. When asked for whom he had collected the forms and whether there was going to be a contest, Bansal said from Chandigarh: I am returning to Delhi tonight. And I will not be going to Chandigarh for the next few days. So I have taken the forms and given them to Chandigarh Congress president Harmohinder Singh Lucky after signing as one of the proposers. I have taken it on behalf of the Chandigarh Congress president. Since the delegates cant come to Delhi they can sign the forms as supporters. A large number of names are doing the rounds: (who has told supporters he wants to concentrate on Madhya Pradesh as Assembly elections are due in a few months), Mallikarjun Kharge (leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha who will have to give up his position if he decides to become president), and Mukul Wasnik. The basic issue is: who will be a family loyalist, said a member of the erstwhile ginger group in the party, the G23. We will support Gehlot or Bhupinder Hooda (former Haryana chief minister). These are seasoned party leaders who have some record of winning elections for the Congress in the state. We dont want someone who cant win his own seat in aAssembly and Lok Sabha elections and wants to lead the party in elections. Amid reports of the Centre planning to include Popular Front of India in the list of terror outfits, Kerala's ruling on Monday said such a measure will not help eliminate activities of extremist organisations. Addressing a public meeting organised by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) at nearby Kattakkada, state secretary M V Govindan argued that enforcing a ban on extremist organisations will further strengthen communalism. "An extremist organisation cannot be eliminated through a ban. If action is taken against only one part of extremism, it will further strengthen communalism," he said. He alleged that both majority and minority communal outfits were targeting the ruling Left in the state. Govindan's statement comes amid growing demand for enforcing a ban on Popular Front of India (PFI) following last week's raids and arrest of the outfit leaders by multi-agency teams, spearheaded by NIA, at 93 locations in 15 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country. Kerala, where the has some strong pockets, accounted for the maximum number of 22 arrests. The arrests were made by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and police forces of the states concerned. (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.) Congress sources on Tuesday said that is being ruled out from the Congress' president post and it is likely that Kumari Selja could be considered for the top post while Rahul Gandhi's choice is said to be K.C. Venugopal. However, no final decision has been made yet and Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath who met Sonia Gandhi on Monday said that he doesn't want to become the party president and wants to continue to work for the party in Madhya Pradesh. "I want to remain in MP," Kamal Nath, a former Chief Minister of the state, told IANS. The escalating drama in Rajasthan has made the Congress leadership think about a plan B for the top party post, for which Chief Minister was being seen as a contender. Kamal Nath, who was one of the probables, has ruled out himself and now the party has limited options with Mukul Wasnik and Mallikarjun Kharge, but the time is running out as the election process has started and September 30 is the last day of nomination. The party was left red-faced as the Congress Legislature Party in Jaipur on Sunday to decide Gehlot's successor had to be called off after his supporting MLAs came out strongly against Sachin Pilot succeeding him. Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi has sought a detailed report from state in-charge Ajay Maken, following a meeting held at her residence on Monday with Maken, senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal. --IANS miz/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.) More than 170 people allegedly linked with the Popular Front of India (PFI) were detained or arrested in raids across seven states on Tuesday, five days after a similar pan India crackdown against the group often accused of being linked to radical Islam. Conducted mostly by state police teams, the raids were spread across Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Delhi, Maharashtra, Assam and Madhya Pradesh. On September 22, multi-agency teams spearheaded by the Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested 106 leaders and activists of the in 15 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country. The NIA is investigating 19 cases involving the . As police teams fanned out across their respective states on Tuesday, seemingly synchronised, the action was swift. While 25 people each were arrested in Assam and Maharashtra, 57 were detained in Uttar Pradesh, officials said. The count of those detained in Delhi was 30, Madhya Pradesh was at 21 followed by 10 in Gujarat and six in Pune in Maharashtra. Besides, several people were also arrested in Karnataka. In Uttar Pradesh, the raids across 26 districts were jointly carried out by the Anti Terrorist Squad, Special Task Force and the local police simultaneously. Documents and evidence were collected, Additional Director General (law and order) Prashant Kumar said. Further action will be taken based on the evidence collected, Kumar said while adding that 57 people were taken into custody. There was no immediate reaction from the PFI, which was formed in 2006 and claims to strive for a neo-social movement ostensibly for the empowerment of marginalised sections of India. It is, however, often accused by law enforcement agencies of promoting radical Islam. The organisation was formed in Kerala and is headquartered in Delhi. Following the crackdowns, the stares at a possible countrywide ban. According to officials in Assam, of the 25 PFI activists arrested in the fresh crackdown, 10 were held in Goalpara. Besides, five were nabbed in Kamrup (Rural) and three in Dhubri, followed by arrests in Barpeta, Baksa, Darrang, Udalguri and Karimganj. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier said his government has been urging the Centre to ban the outfit for allegedly creating an eco-system for terror activities. In the capital, Delhi Police's Special Cell carried out the searches in multiple locations, including Nizamuddin and Shaheen Bagh. "We have conducted raids at multiple locations in the capital, including Shaheen Bagh and Nizamuddin. So far, we have detained 30 people associated with the PFI," a senior police officer said. Paramilitary forces were deployed in several places in the city where the raids were conducted. "We have taken preventive measures and as part of it, we have deployed paramilitary forces in respective areas of the districts to ensure law and order situation and maintain peace and tranquillity in the area," a senior police official said. No case has been registered as the investigation is underway, police said. The operation started after 12.30 am continued till early morning, police said. And in Maharashtra, 25 activists were arrested from six districts, including Aurangabad, Thane and Nanded. Other than this, Pune police detained six people linked to the PFI and its political wing Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), an official said. The Madhya Pradesh Police detained 21 people from eight districts for their links with the PFI, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said. These people were detained on the basis of interrogation of the PFI activists arrested last week, Mishra, who is also the Madhya Pradesh government's spokesperson, said. In Gujarat, at least 10 people were detained from different parts of the state in raids conducted by a joint team of the state Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the NIA. "They have detained at least 10 people for questioning from different parts of Gujarat with the help of the state police and ATS," an official in Ahmedabad said. The SDPI opened an office in Ahmedabad a few months back. In Karnataka, officials said several PFI leaders were detained in urban and rural areas of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts early in the morning. PFI leaders were taken into custody from Mangaluru, Ullal, Talapady and other areas in DK district. Besides, five PFI leaders were taken into custody by the Udupi district police in raids conducted in their houses. Sources said raids were conducted at Hoode, Gangolli, Byndoor and Adi Udupi. The police department has been monitoring the activities of the detained leaders for the past six months and they have been taken into custody to prevent any untoward incident, the sources added. The Maharashtra ATS on Monday told a court in Mumbai that it wanted to probe the links of five of the 20 people arrested last week with organisations including Al Qaeda and the Islamic State and also investigate electronic evidence. Four PFI activists were also arrested from Kerala's Kottayam district and one from Kollam in Kerala for allegedly engaging in violent activities during the state-wide hartal called by the organisation on September 23. The strike had followed the nationwide raids on their offices and arrests of their leaders. Following the September 22 searches, the PFI said the raids are taking place at the homes of national, state and local leaders of the outfit and that the state committee office in Kerala is also being raided. "We strongly protest the fascist regime's moves to use agencies to silence dissenting voices," it 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.) The recent murder of a 19-year old receptionist in allegedly by a leader's son, an issue which led to protests in the northern state, was raised on Tuesday by leader in his Bharat Jodo Yatra speech in which he said the incident indicates the and ideology of viewing women as "objects". Referring to the murder of the young woman -- Ankita Bhandari -- the leader alleged, "A leader who owned a hotel, his son, who ran the hotel, was forcing a young girl to become a prostitute. When she refused to become a prostitute, she was found dead in a lake." "That is the way BJP treats women of India," Gandhi, also the MP from Wayanad, alleged. "It is the most disgusting, the most shameful example of how the BJP and treat women in this country. The ideology of BJP and views women as objects and second class citizens. India can never succeed with this ideology. A country which cannot learn to respect its women or empower them, can never achieve anything. "A country which views its women as second class citizens is doomed to failure," he said while addressing a huge crowd -- many of whom were carrying placards saying 'justice for Ankita', 'justice for Indian women' and 'BJP se beti bachao' -- outside the Thachinganadam High School here at end of the day's Bharat Jodo Yatra. Gandhi asked the crowd and the leaders to maintain one-minute silence in memory of Bhandari and what she had suffered "to send a message to BJP that we are not going to allow you to treat women of India in this manner." "No matter how powerful you are or how much money you have, we are not going to allow you to treat women in this way," he said and at the end of his speech a one-minute silence was maintained at the site. Bhandari's body was found in the Cheela canal close to Rishikesh on September 24, six days after her parents found her missing from her room. The incident led to an eight-hour blockade of a key highway in on September 25 by protestors demanding justice for her. During the day, the Wayanad MP tweeted, "Prime Minister's slogan - Beti Bachao. BJP's actions - to save rapists. He is the first Prime Minister of India whose legacy will be only speeches, false and hollow speeches. His rule is dedicated to the criminals. Now India will not sit silent." "Every step taken by the padayatris this evening during #BharatJodoYatra was dedicated to the issue of continued atrocities on girls and young women. The latest being the horrific case of Ankita in . Earlier, there was the travesty of justice in the case of Bilkis Bano," AICC general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet. They also shared photographs, in their tweets, of people walking along with Gandhi holding placards which said -- 'justice for Ankita', 'justice for Indian women' and 'BJP se beti bachao'. The Congress party also tweeted, "The murder of a daughter of India by BJP leader's son is intolerable and unacceptable. We walk in protest at the #BharatJodoYatra and demand in a united voice that #WeWantJusticeForAnkita." Later in the evening, in his speech, Gandhi referred to the Ankita Bhandari case and alleged that she was killed by her employer as she refused to accede to his demands to become a prostitute. He also accused Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami of ensuring destruction of evidence in the case by ordering demolition of the hotel where the young woman worked. Gandhi said that India's biggest strength was its women and if we cannot respect them, how can we talk of the future of the country. He further attacked BJP, alleging that the "truth of BJP ideology" was that they respect only power. "They respect nothing except power. They will do anything to get to power. Once they have power, they will do anything to stay in power. The result is that a young girl is dead in Uttarakhand," he said. The yatra, on its 20th day, entered Malappuram district of Kerala on Tuesday with hundreds of party workers and supporters walking alongside . The yatra commenced from Pulamanthole junction in the morning and ended at Thachinganadam High School here. The Congress' 3,570 km and 150-day long foot march started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 and will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir. The yatra, which entered Kerala on September 10, will go through the state covering 450 km, touching seven districts before entering Karnataka on October 1. (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.) observers for on Tuesday recommended disciplinary action against three party leaders, including two ministers, for the crisis in the state, but did not seek any action against Chief Minister . The three Gehlot loyalists against whom action has been recommended are Cabinet Minister Shanti Dhariwal, Minister and Chief Whip in the Assembly Mahesh Joshi, and MLA Dharmendra Rathore. The observers - and - submitted their report to party chief Tuesday evening, flagging "gross indiscipline" on the part of some leaders who organised a parallel meet of MLAs instead of joining a Legislature Party meeting. The two observers had to return from Jaipur without holding the CLP meeting as a large group of MLAs considered loyal to Chief Minister Gehlot refused to join it and put forth certain conditions for the selection of Gehlot's successor. The sources said the report has not sought any action against Gehlot even as it recommended action against three of his loyalists. However, it has pointed out that the parallel meeting of MLAs was held with Gehlot's knowledge. The Congress observers' report pointed to the "gross indiscipline" on the part of some leaders who organised the parallel meet of MLAs and did not allow the CLP meeting to take place. The report came a day after the observers briefed on the developments and she had asked them to submit a written report. (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, which has a USD 2,000 per capita economy, is concerned over the spike in the price of oil due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and it is "breaking our back," External Affairs Minister said on Tuesday. Addressing a joint press conference with US Secretary of State after holding bilateral talks, Jaishankar said there is a very deep concern among developing countries about how their energy needs are addressed. Speaking about the Ukraine war, he said: "We have taken the position privately, publicly, confidentially and consistently that this conflict is not in anybody's interest." The best way forward is to return to dialogue and diplomacy, he said. "Look, we have concerns about the price of oil but we are a USD 2,000 per capita economy. When the price of oil is breaking our back and it's our big concern," he said. Jaishankar was responding to a question on a cap on Russian oil. "In the past whenever we have been able to contribute something, we have been open to it," he said. "Right now there are some issues," he said. With sanctions imposed by western nations making a scant impact on Russia, the G-7 countries and the European Union have mooted an oil price cap on Russian crude and refined products to limit Kremlin's revenues. Earlier this month, a statement issued by G-7 Finance Ministers said the price cap was specifically designed to reduce Russian revenues and its ability to fund the Ukraine war. The US has asked India to join the coalition to cap the prices of Russian oil, but New Delhi has said it would "carefully examine" the proposal before taking any decision. (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 stake in the USA's Pittsburg-based Accion has been acquired by the True North-advised Indium VI (Mauritius) Holdings from private equity fund TA Associates and other shareholders Home-grown fund on Tuesday announced that it has acquired a significant minority stake in digital engineering company Accion Labs for USD 93 million along with co-investors. The stake in the USA's Pittsburg-based Accion has been acquired by the True North-advised Indium VI (Mauritius) Holdings from fund TA Associates and other shareholders, as per an official statement. The Kinesh Doshi-led Accion was founded in 2011, and focuses on digital transformation projects for global enterprises and technology firms. It has 4,800 employees globally spread across 20 locations, who do digital consulting, innovation and digital product engineering, data/machine learning engineering and automation work. The statement said it aims to invest up to 30 per cent of funds that it manages or advises in tech and digital businesses, making digital engineering and software as a service as important focus areas for the firm. Its partner Prasad Thrikutam said enterprises are adopting digital technologies with a new sense of urgency across the front and backend of business operations, which makes the latest investment in Accion interesting. "We are excited about Accion's deep digital expertise, customer centricity, and its approach to doing business. Most of all, we have strong confidence in the firm's management team to build Accion Labs into a respected global leader," he added. TA's managing director Dhiraj Poddar said the fund had first invested in the company in 2020 in the belief that it is uniquely positioned to capitalise on macro trends driving the digital engineering market's rapid expansion, and its performance since then reconfirms its confidence. "True North's strategic vision, experience of its partners and their proven partnership with TA should help us in achieving our mission 'to transform businesses and improve life through the applications of emerging technologies'," Doshi 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.) The US on Tuesday defended its decision to approve a USD 450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan, saying it is "our obligation" to provide military equipment to ensure that the planes are maintained and sustained to bolster Islamabad's capability to deal with "clear" terrorist threats. Early this month, the Biden administration reversed the decision of the previous Trump administration to suspend military aid to Islamabad for providing safe havens for the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, and approved the F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to . External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is on a visit to the US, has questioned the rationale behind Washington's USD 450 million F-16 security assistance to . "This is a sustained program for F-16s that has long had. These are not new, this is sustaining what they have. We've a responsibility and obligation to whomever we provide military equipment to, that it's maintained and sustained. That's our obligation," US Secretary of State said in response to questions on the issue. Speaking at a joint press appearance with Jaishankar, Blinken said that Pakistan's programme bolsters its capability to deal with terrorist threats emanating from Pakistan or from the region. "It's in no one's interest that those threats be able to go forward with impunity," he added. "There are clear terrorism threats that continue to emanate from Pakistan itself, as well as from neighbouring countries and whether it is TTP that may be targeting Pakistan, whether it's ISIS or whether it's al-Qaeda, I think the threats are clear, well known and we all have an interest in making sure that we have the means to deal with them. And that's what this is about," he said. Blinken also said that the US always encourages its friends to resolve their differences, through diplomacy, through dialogue. "That hasn't changed, it won't change," he said, a day after holding talks with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Zardari. Relations between India and Pakistan have been strained over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. The ties between the two countries nosedived after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019. Following India's decision, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian envoy. Trade ties between Pakistan and India have largely been frozen since then. (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 rebel faction led by Chief Minister on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court's order as the "victory of democracy". Welcoming the SC's ruling that the Election Commission will continue to hear the plea of the Shinde faction seeking the poll symbol of Shiv Sena, its spokesperson Naresh Mhaske said, "the rights of the EC and its powers have remained intact due to the decision of the apex court". Kalyan MP and CM Shinde's son Shrikant Shinde hailed the ruling as the victory of democracy. "I hope they ( camp) will learn a lesson. They will also realise which is the real of Bal Thackeray," he added. Mhaske said 40 MLAs of and 12 of the 18 MPs are with the Shinde group, besides more than 80% of the district chiefs, corporators and councillors in . (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 upcoming 5G from may be priced between Rs 8,000 and Rs 12,000, once it achieves broad coverage. A report by Economic Times (ET) said that the company may go for this pricing in order to attract a large number of 4G users. Quoting a report by Counterpoint Research, ET said that the strategy is similar to the one used by the company with the JioPhone Next 4G, when it attracted mass users of 2G to shift to 4G services. "The two-prong strategy will be key to Jios growth and extend its leadership in the 5G era as well. Further, at some point in 2024, Jio will also be compelled to launch an affordable 5G mmWave+sub-6GHz as the cost deltas between the two have narrowed significantly from an overall BoM fitting perspective," the Counterpoint report added. During the Annual General Meeting 2022, had said that the company will launch 5G services in four metro cities, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata by Diwali. A pan-India coverage is expected to be achieved by December 2023. Also, the company had revealed its plans to launch a 5G in partnership with . However, no details on the pricing were revealed. By FY24-25, the company may achieve a subscriber base of 12/21 million and blended average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 188/Rs 208, a report by Spark Capital showed. Jio 5G plans are expected to be 20 per cent costlier than the 4G premium packs, the report added. Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 27 (ANI/NewsVoir): ZODIAC Clothing Company Ltd (ZCCL*), India's finest clothing brand for men has launched its Pujo collection comprising smart formal, casual and super trendy shirts for you to celebrate Pujo in style. Their 10 company-operated stores across Kolkata, Patna and Bhubaneswar are home to 3 premium, menswear brands, each clearly positioned to address a specific target consumer. ZODIAC, for the classic yet contemporary male's corporate wardrobe; ZOD! Club Wear for the trendy, fashionable male; z3 Relaxed Luxury casual wear for those who don't need to dress formal. Zodiac Clothing Company Limited (ZCCL) is a vertically integrated, trans-national that controls the entire clothing chain from design, manufacturing, distribution to retail sales. With a manufacturing base in India & sales offices across India, UK, Germany and USA, ZCCL has almost 2500 people in its fold. The company operates a 5000 sq. ft. Italian inspired design studio at its Mumbai Corporate office which is a LEED Gold certified building. The brand is retailed across India at premium prices through over 100 company-managed stores, 1200 multi - brand retailers and (https://www.zodiaconline.com). From ZODIAC: Colourful stripes & checks crafted from Egyptian Giza 86 cotton with an exceptionally luxurious "Silk Touch" - The VIVACE collection brings alive the colours & spirit of Pujo. From ZOD! The Athleisure Look to bring out your sporty side in vibrant, festive colours. From z3: Colourful Casual shirts in 100 per cent cotton fabric manufactured with environmentally conscious processes focusing on conserving the planet and its natural resources. They have been given our "Eco-Friendly Trademark Vintage Wash" for a super-soft hand feel. Commenting on launch of the Pujo collection Salman Noorani (Vice Chairman & Managing Director ZCCL*) said, "Kolkata, Patna and Bhubaneswar have historically been strategically important markets for us. We are happy to offer our customers a Pujo Ready collection for the festive season." ZODIAC Store across Kolkata Shakespeare Sarani Ph: 9136902706 Chowringhee Ph: 9136902707 City Centre, Salt Lake Ph: 9136902708 South City Mall Ph: 9136902712 Mani Square Mall Ph: 9136902710 Kolkata Airport, Domestic Terminal Ph: 9136902711 Patna Boring Road, Savitri Commercial Complex: 7208953724 Kankarbagh Main Road: 8097436697 Dak Bunglow, Mourya Lok Complex: 9136902718 Bhubaneswar flagship store Janpath Road, Saheed Nagar Ph: 9136902717 This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content in this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Any market investors typical trading day involves keeping a track of the market and placing buy and sell orders depending on the time, volumes and analysis. It has been going on for decades now. But, technology is changing the way we used to trade. It has given a better alternative to manual trading. Investors can simply write an that includes specific trade instructions and then the trade is automatically generated by the system. An algo trading is typically defined as execution of trades by feeding pre-defined instructions or programs to the computer. uses historical information and data to execute intelligent and better trades. For instance, if a trader wants to buy 1,000 shares of an IT company when it touches Rs 500 and sell the shares when the stock hits Rs 550, he can simply feed these instructions by writing a computer . As soon as the stock price hits Rs 550, the trade will be automatically executed. In this case, it is not required for the trader to track the stock price all day long and execute trades manually. Here, the trader used stock price as a metric, while there could be numerous other instructions like moving averages, volumes etc., Algo trading makes it easier for traders to reduce human errors and execute time-saving trades. It also takes complex human emotions -- which can hamper the effectiveness of the trade -- completely out of the equation. Investors often miss critical trades as the price movement is very fast. In some instances, the stock movement is so volatile that it can change the entire nature of the trade. With the help of algo trading, trades are timed correctly to avoid significant price fluctuations. Algo-trading can execute trades which are almost impossible for humans. The rise of has led to a significant drop in transaction costs. Some trading strategies can also be back-tested using real-time and historical data to see if they are viable options. Institutional investors like mutual funds use algo trading to make massive purchases of stocks. As it gained popularity, most retail traders have also joined the bandwagon and started employing algo trading. Besides increasing chances of making higher profits, algo trading ensures more liquidity in . While globally, 70-80 percent of market volumes come from algo trading. In India the figure is somewhere between 40-50 per cent. As volumes rise, there are some concerns that brokers are luring investors by claiming these cutting-edge technologies would generate higher returns. regulator Sebi recently asked algo trading services to not mention any reference to past or future returns. Decade of development through the eyes of celebrity Italian in China Xinhua) 08:46, September 27, 2022 GUANGZHOU, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Coffee cheesecake, tomato chicken salad or a cup of homemade latte, Mattia Romeo shares what he makes every day on China's microblogging giant Weibo, where he has more than 500,000 followers. Romeo comes from Milan, Italy, and has been living in China for almost 16 years. Over the years, he worked for an Italian restaurant, worked as a local TV host, and is now a celebrity on Chinese social media. He lived in Chinatown in Milan when he was a child and often went deep into the streets and alleys there to explore the daily lives of Chinese people. Chinese characters have deeply captured Romeo's heart since then. In 2001, Romeo began to learn Chinese by himself and in 2006, he made up his mind to visit China and explore authentic Chinese culture. Instead of applying for a travel visa, he decided to find a job in China and stay there for a longer time. At the very beginning, he worked for a Sino-Italy joint venture in Zhaoqing City, south China's Guangdong Province. As the only employee who could speak both Chinese and Italian, Romeo played an important role in communication between the two sides. However, Romeo lost his job as the company closed 6 months later due to poor management. After that, Romeo made multiple attempts to succeed in different jobs, but his efforts ended in failure. He then went to Guangzhou, a city neighboring Zhaoqing, and also the capital city of Guangdong, and worked in an Italian restaurant there in 2006. At that time, due to the underdeveloped internet, he wrote down the names and contact information of customers in a notebook, and kept in touch with them by sending text messages and emails. As a consequence, he ended up making many Chinese friends. Romeo said that he enjoyed helping Chinese friends understand the authentic Italian food culture. The restaurant's big success in business attracted local media attention, which gave Romeo the chance to start his television career. "Discovering Guangzhou" was the first TV program he hosted. In this program, Romeo spoke English and gave advice to foreigners on how to explore the city. As the program gained popularity, his sense of accomplishment grew and he decided to focus more on people-to-people cultural exchanges. Driven by passion, Romeo worked hard in this field, which earned him more exposure in major media and more appearances on television. In 2010, he participated in the "Chinese World Carnival: Chinese-speaking Foreign Moderator Contest" and won the competition. Romeo also participated in several programs like "A Bright World" by Jiangsu TV, where a panel of foreigners living in China held discussions in Mandarin on various topics and issues. Busy as he was, Romeo still enjoyed himself in his spare time. "You can find a restaurant at 2 a.m. or eat some street food, or drink a beer," Romeo said. He was impressed by the down-to-earth atmosphere of Guangzhou. "People's lives here are very slow-paced," Romeo said. He is fond of Cantonese cuisine, which is cooked in a non-greasy and healthy way, "if foreigners come to visit Guangzhou, they shall taste shrimp dumplings and boat porridge." What impresses the Italian even more is the great change that has taken place in the city in the past decade. Tianhe District, the populous central business district of Guangzhou, where he lives now, was still a large construction site and high-rise buildings could barely be seen back in 2006. Romeo said that he had witnessed the country's rapid urbanization, but he was most pleased that more and more historical buildings were being protected and turned into coffee shops and clothing stores, which are popular among young Chinese. "When I first visited Yongqingfang, an old part of the city, ten years ago, what I saw were dilapidated houses, some of which had collapsed, and there were basically no shops and young visitors," Romeo said. But it had become a must-go place now, where people can visit Bruce Lee's ancestral home, beautiful bookstores, and many coffee shops, and experience local traditional cultural activities like printing, ceramics, tea art and more, he said. Also, as China's technology developed rapidly, Romeo found life has become more and more convenient. In 2006, when people took the subway, they had to buy a coin-sized ticket or use a subway card. But now, with the popularity of mobile payment in China, people can scan the code on their mobile phone to enter the station in less than 5 seconds. In the past decade, the mileage of Guangzhou Metro has increased from 236 km to 621 km, and will reach 2,000 km by 2035, while the maximum running speed of subway trains has climbed to 160 km per hour. "Certainly, I am a witness to the rapid changes in Guangzhou, and now, as a social media influencer, what I am doing is recording them by writing or filming, which helps more people know about the development of the city and the Chinese society," Romeo said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji) Dmitry Medvedev AA Images If threat exceeds the established danger limit, we will have to respond, says Dmitry Medvedev MOSCOW (AA) - Moscow can use nuclear weapons to defend itself, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday, days after he asserted that all means could be used to protect territories incorporated into Russia from Ukraine. According to the country's military doctrine, Russia can use its nukes if the country itself or its allies are attacked with the same weapons or if Russia's existence threatened, Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russias Security Council, wrote on Telegram. He also warned the West against helping Ukraine to get nuclear weapons, stressing that it may have severe consequences. "If the threat to Russia exceeds the established danger limit, we will have to respond," he wrote. Medvedev doubted that NATO will interfere in the Russia-Ukraine conflict even in a nuclear scenario, suggesting that for Washington, London and Brussels their own security is more important "than the fate of dying Ukraine." "The supply of modern weapons is just a business for Western countries based on hatred of us. No more. Overseas and European demagogues are not going to die in a nuclear apocalypse. Therefore, they will swallow the use of any weapon in the current conflict," he said. Ukraines self-declared republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, along with Russian-controlled parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, are holding referendums on joining Russia, a move the international community says is illegal and would not be recognized. Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilization, calling up to 300,000 reservists for deployment to Ukraine, a move seen as escalation in the war that began in February. By Elena Teslova/AA Dmitry PESKOV AA Images "Russia confirms its readiness to negotiate, but as the situation changes, the conditions also change," MOSCOW (AA) - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday the situation in Donbas will radically change from the legal point of view, including in the security domain, after the referendum on joining Russia. "The situation will change radically from a legal point of view, from the point of view of international law. With all the relevant consequences for the purposes of protection and security of these territories," he told reporters at a press briefing in Moscow. Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin conveyed to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan Russia's readiness to sit at the negotiation table with Ukraine. "Russia confirms its readiness to negotiate, but as the situation changes, the conditions also change," he said. Asked how many people left Russia after Putin's announcement on partial mobilization, Peskov said he has no information. About the leak at Nord Stream pipelines, Peskov did not exclude sabotage as the cause of accident. "Obviously, there is some kind of destruction of the pipe, and what caused it, it is impossible to exclude any options before the results of the investigation appear," he said. Peskov expressed "extreme concern over the situation" and urged the relevant authorities to find out the reasons as soon as possible. "This is an issue that affects the energy security of an entire continent," he said. Danish authorities reported a gas leak Monday from Nord Stream pipelines close to the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. The Danish Maritime Authority has banned all ships from moving within five nautical miles (9.25 kilometers) of the accident site, saying the incident is "dangerous for ship traffic." German authorities confirmed in a statement that a leak could have caused a sudden drop in pressure overnight in the undersea pipeline but an investigation continues. By Elena Teslova/AA Carter Center encourages sending appreciation and birthday wishes ATLANTA (September 27, 2022) To mark President Jimmy Carters 98th birthday on October 1, The Carter Center is engaging the public in a weeklong, virtual celebration of a life dedicated to service and making the world a better place. As the longest-living president in U.S. history, President Jimmy Carter has had a remarkable life of service that deserves worldwide celebration, said Paige Alexander, chief executive officer of The Carter Center. Whether here in Georgia or in hard-to-reach regions around the world, millions of people have benefited from President Carters commitment to making the world a better place. The Carter Center encourages people to commemorate President Carters 98th birthday by sending him a congratulatory message here: https://bit.ly/Happy98PresidentCarter. Over the coming days, The Carter Center will highlight selected stories that underscore the impact of President Carters work to alleviate suffering and advance health and democracy around the world. Here are just a few: -Georgia Roots : Seven years after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946, President Carter gave up his promising Navy career to run the family's peanut warehouse business in Plains, Georgia. He and Rosalynn Carter still live in this town of fewer than 1,000 people today, and he is the only president in the modern era to return full time to the home he lived in before entering politics. President Carter has a simple answer whenever asked to recount the best or most significant decision he's ever made: "Asking Rosalynn to marry me." -Life of Service: President Carter has dedicated his life to serving others, working as a farmer, Navy man, Georgia state senator and governor, and, until a few years ago, a Bible study teacher. While a U.S. Navy officer, Carter led a team that helped contain the worlds first nuclear reactor meltdown in Canada in 1952. Carter was lowered into the damaged reactor and exposed to 1,000 times the level of radiation considered safe by todays standards. President Carter always deflected credit or praise, and the story was relatively unknown for many years. -Post-Presidency Impact: In the longest post-presidency in American history, President Carter has forged relationships with government leaders and partners to create innovative programs to champion human rights, foster democracy, and improve global health. His impact on the world has been recognized by global institutions and heads of state. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. This fall, The Carter Center celebrates its founding in 1982 and 40 years of impact through its work. See a timeline of 40 key moments over the past four decades: https://bit.ly/40CarterCenter. Jimmy Carter was the 39th president of the United States and prior to that the 76th governor of Georgia. As governor and as a state senator, Carter was known for his strong advocacy for human, environmental, and civil rights. As president, Carter is perhaps best known for his role in brokering peace between Israel and Egypt with the Camp David Accords in 1978. He also appointed more women and minorities to the federal judiciary than all his predecessors combined. A humble and modest man, Jimmy Carter never liked the pageantry of the presidency. While in the White House, he was known for his informality, including a fondness for cardigan sweaters, and insisting on carrying his own bags when traveling. During its 40-year history, the Carter Centers accomplishments have ranged from leading a coalition that has nearly eradicated Guinea worm disease to monitoring elections and promoting democracy and human rights around the world. Since leaving the White House, President Carter has authored 30 books, the latest penned in 2018, Faith: A Journey for All. For many years, he regularly taught Sunday school classes at the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains and, up until 2020, along with Rosalynn, volunteered one week a year with Habitat for Humanity. On behalf of The Carter Center and his many passionate supporters from around the world, I want to wish President Carter a heartfelt and very happy 98th birthday, said Alexander. We are forever driven to live up to the ideals and example set by him and Mrs. Carter, and we thank them for their life of service. Contact: Rennie Sloan, rennie.sloan@cartercenter.org Lauren Levinson, Brodeur Partners, llevinson@brodeur.com ### About The Carter Center A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. Holcim appoints Carmen Diaz as MD LafargeHolcim Espana ICR Newsroom By 27 September 2022 Holcim has appointed Carmen Diaz as managing director of its subsidiary LafargeHolcim Espana. She will succeed Isidoro Miranda, who will continue to be linked to the group as senior advisor, a position he will combine with the presidency of CEMBUREAU. Carmen Diaz, a chemical engineer from the University of Oviedo and PDG (General Management Programme) from IESE, joined the company in 2002 as head of the concrete business area in Spain. She has been based in France and the UK, leading Holcim Group projects together with local teams. Before being appointed commercial director of Spain, she held the position of VP Commercial Performance for 30 countries, later being Head of Ready-mix Commercial and, later, General Manager for ReadySet Mix Digital Venture. "I assume this new position with enthusiasm and at a key moment for the company in order to be able to advance on our roadmap towards decarbonisation and with the purpose of building progress for people and the planet. I have the responsibility of continuing the great work carried out so far in line with our green growth strategy and, on this path, I am accompanied by a great multidisciplinary team. I feel enormously proud to be able to lead a company in which internal talent is one of its main hallmarks, said Ms Diaz. Published under The Cleveland State volleyball lost three close sets to league leading Chattanooga State 25-18, 25-18 and 25-21. The home match loss gave Cleveland State an overall season mark of 5-5 and conference record of 0-4 Jazlyn Butler led the Cougars attack with eight Kills aided by 13 Assists from Taylor Hancock and 10 by Ella Johnson. Ten Digs each by Hancock and Madison Husted followed by 8 from Johnson positioned the Cougars on their offensive attack keeping them in striking distance in each set. Cleveland States next contest is slated for Monday September 26 with the home match vs Bryan College set to start at 6:30 p.m. Home games are played in the L. Quentin Lane Gymnasium on the campus of Cleveland State. Admission is $8 per person with Cleveland State students attending at no charge. Major General Jeff Holmes, Tennessees Adjutant General, announced Monday that Tennessee Governor Bill Lee authorized the deployment of roughly 1,200 soldiers and airmen from the Tennessee National Guard to support response and recovery efforts for Hurricane Ian, which is expected to make landfall in Florida on Thursday. As Florida braces for the impact of Hurricane Ian, the Tennessee National Guard stands ready to support response and recovery efforts in the aftermath of the storm, said Governor Lee. I commend our Guardsmen and women for representing the Volunteer State and answering the call to help Floridians in need. Guardsmen throughout the state are currently being notified through their respective commands and will be preparing to assist the Florida National Guard with post-hurricane recovery and debris removal. Currently, the Jacksons 194th Engineer Brigade will be the Task Force Headquarters element and units from both the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 230th Sustainment Command will be mobilizing specific units to support the task force. Three helicopters with the 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion are also scheduled to assist. We have a tremendous amount of experience responding to natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes and we are ready to help the citizens of Florida, said Major General Holmes. It is why we wear the uniform and once again its the strength of the National Guard on display. Were grateful for the families, employers, and communities for their continued ongoing support to our Guardsmen. The Tennessee National Guard and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency have been communicating with their counterparts in Florida and the National Guard Bureau over the past few days to prepare for this activation. States have mutual support agreements with nearby states in case of emergencies or large-scale disasters. This allows for National Guard forces to mobilize rapidly to respond to emergencies in other states. Florida and Tennessee have a pre-existing mutual support agreement already in place for just such an emergency. Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined a coalition 18 states opposing the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022. The state chief legal officers say the proposed legislation is a back-door attempt to impose the failed Clean Power Plan. In a letter to Senate Leadership, the attorneys general say the Act will allow the restriction of the electric grid by abrogating states traditional authority to set their own resource and utility policies, and upset the careful balance of states and federal authority that has been a cornerstone of the Federal Power Act (FPA) for nearly a century. This legislation threatens Tennessees continued access to affordable, reliable, resilient power, said General Jonathan Skrmetti. I fear that if this passes, Californias power grid problems will become our power grid problems. In the letter, the attorneys general argue the Act would eviscerate states ability to chart their own land-use and energy policies through the following provisions: The Act would authorize private companies to use eminent domain against state land. It would authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to command utilities to construct entirely new transmission facilities whenever and wherever FERC deems necessary. It would authorize companies to spread costs of constructing new transmission facilities onto residents of other states, requiring citizens of one state to subsidize the agenda of citizens in other states. The following states joined the letter led by Louisiana: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. Dignitaries from North Georgia will join Morning Pointe Senior Living leaders on Oct. 18 at 10:30 a.m., to celebrate the groundbreaking of its newest senior living campus, Morning Pointe at Happy Valley. The groundbreaking will take place at the property at 2989 Happy Valley Road in Walker County, next to Ridgeland High School. Event speakers include Shannon Whitfield, Walker County Commission chair; Cindy Scoggins, chair of the Walker County Chamber of Commerce; Rossville Mayor Teddy Harris; and Karen Hughes, principal of Ridgeland High School. Ridgeland High Schools choir and JROTC will also perform, and Farm to Fork will cater the event. The new senior campus is part of an overall redevelopment of the historic 300-acre Happy Valley Farms between Ridgeland High School and Rossville Middle School. The farm and estate were established in 1935 by John L. Hutcheson, Jr., and were the site of an award-winning Jersey cattle and dairy farm before Mr. Hutcheson transitioned the property into a world-class American Saddlebred horse-breeding facility. Upon the death of Marion Bit Hutcheson, Greg A. Vital, co-founder and president of Morning Pointe Senior Living, took an interest in the propertys unique legacy and acquired it from the heirs. The Morning Pointe campus is planned in the southeast portion of the property across from the Happy Valley Legacy Barn. The Happy Valley location will be the 38th Morning Pointe Senior Living community and the companys second campus in Georgia. Since 1999, Morning Pointe of Calhoun, Georgia, has served Gordon County. The single-story Happy Valley assisted living campus will be 67,000 square feet and will feature 82 spacious apartments of country farm architecture. These encompass 58 assisted living apartments and 24 memory care apartments specially designed for residents with Alzheimers disease and other forms of memory loss. Decorations in the building will celebrate the history of Walker County, as well as the Happy Valley Farm and its legacy. Construction costs are estimated at $14,000,000. Programming will adhere to Morning Pointes strong focus on clinical care with physical and occupational therapies, life enrichment and wellness offerings and intergenerational activities. The Lantern memory care wing will provide an array of Alzheimers and dementia care services, including innovative therapies such as Teepa Snows Positive Approach to Care, Best Friends Approach and Morning Pointes own Meaningful Day a purposeful memory care program providing structure to help residents feel safe and secure. The campus will also feature Morning Pointes Farm to Table program with local, farm-fresh and seasonal ingredients. As part of our Chattanooga-area presence, we are excited about serving so many in North Georgia who have connections to the Hutcheson family and Happy Valley Farms, said Mr. Vital. Happy Valley is one of the most beautiful locations with a rich history and legacy, and we will soon become a thriving community of residents, associates and families who will call Morning Pointe home. We are so pleased to add Happy Valley to our Morning Pointe family. Morning Pointe at Happy Valleys current assisted living and memory care development is the first phase of the full-service senior living campus, which will provide a continuum of care to residents. The second phase will be a freestanding Alzheimers Center of Excellence designed specifically to meet the needs of residents with Alzheimers disease and dementia. In the greater Chattanooga area, Morning Pointe operates assisted living and memory care communities in Chattanooga, Collegedale, Ooltewah, Hixson and Athens. Founded in 1996 by healthcare entrepreneurs Greg A. Vital and J. Franklin Farrow, Morning Pointe Senior Living operates assisted living, personal care and Alzheimers memory care communities in five southeastern states. "Throughout 2022, Morning Pointe is celebrating its silver anniversary. Morning Pointe at Happy Valley will create approximately 200 construction jobs and another 200 permanent healthcare positions with a positive economic impact of more than $35 million annually, considering payroll, property taxes and local purchase of goods and services," officials said. The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera and Music Director Kayoko Dan launch the organizations 22-23 Season and the beginning of their 90th Anniversary on Thursday. This season, the CSO is thrilled to return to a robust program of symphonic concerts, and educational and community events. This season features a new program - Evenings with Ismael, a unique institution-wide project focused on the music of Bessie Smith, and the return of opera to Chattanooga. Here are just a few of the programs (and reviews) the CSO is presenting this season: Opening Night French Impressions Thursday The CSO opens its 90th season with a mesmerizing performance of Ravel's masterpiece Bolero and his dynamic Alborada del gracioso. British composer Anna Clyne rounds out an exciting program that also features the unique Poulenc Concerto in D minor for Two Pianos and Orchestra. New Family Concert Series Programs for families featuring Ferdinand the Bull and Peter and the Wolf CSO musicians are joined on stage by Playful Evolving Monsters as they bring stories to life. More than just music, this hour-long show is sure to captivate even the youngest audience members. Be sure to arrive early for crafts, and the instrument petting zoo. As part of the Read 20 initiative, all families in attendance will leave with a free book. CSO Family Concerts are free to attend, reserve a ticket today at ChattanoogaSymphony.org. Evenings with Ismael Oct. 7, March 10, 2023, April 14, 2023 Chattanooga Symphony Assistant Conductor and CSOYO Music Director Ismael Sandoval presents a series of intimate pre-dinner Evenings with Ismael at ArtsBuild, seeking to entertain, enlighten and inform. Bessie Smith: Orchestrating the Blues Feb. 27, 2023 Honoring the legacy of Blues legend Bessie Smith, who stood up for herself, her love, and her people when the voices were few: the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, CSO Youth Orchestras, and a multitude of community choral groups team up to celebrate the Empress of the Blues on our annual Side-by-Side Concert. In this historic performance, the CSO and CSOYO will perform full orchestral arrangements of Bessie's music, commissioned by the CSO as part of the Bessie Smith: Orchestrating the Blues project. Don't miss this unique opportunity to experience a powerful performance highlighting the soulful voice, relatable music, and vibrant career of Bessie Smith. Opera Extravaganza March 18, 2023 Opera makes a comeback in Chattanooga. Laura Brooks Rice, the artistic advisor for the CSO Opera, and conductor Pierre Vallet (making his Chattanooga debut) have curated a fantastic evening of Opera favorites, sure to delight and entertain opera lovers of all ages. From classic works like Puccinis Nessun Dorma to musical theater favorites, this evening will mark the long-awaited return of opera excellence to our wonderful city. Like everyone else, educators are concerned about the quality and quantity of applicants entering the field of education. Talented adults who want to teach find there are too many barriers to entry into the field as they attempt to address the onerous licensure system. Teachers themselves have often been catalysts for innovative solutions to the many challenges facing education. But with this teacher shortage, current educators are frequently left out of the debate. Organizations like mine take a keen interest in the next generation of educators. Our effort is focused on how to improve the experience and support as they transition from teacher candidates to classroom teachers. Tennessee has outstanding Colleges and Universities. However, we also place obstacles in the way of our Colleges of Education and then criticize them unjustly. They must also be at the table as we address this mission-critical subject. Unlike some organizations, we view Colleges of Education as indispensable partners in our work. Effective educator preparation remains critical to the future of education in Tennessee. As a state, we have already focused on admission requirements in educator preparation programs. Research on the relationship between academic admission requirements and teacher candidates' later effectiveness levels is mixed. This provides an opportunity for needed research. In most cases, candidates to teach must have a minimum GPA of 2.75 and a minimum ACT/SAT score of 21/1020 for admission to an educator preparation program. In 1986, education school deans from the top universities developed a critical report that attributed much of the blame for struggling public schools to the training teachers were receiving in college. Although we spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours on teacher preparation courses, we do not have research supporting some requirements in Colleges of Education. We need to look at the Praxis exam, see how it aligns with content, and possibly reconsider the use of EdTPA. Alabama suspended its Praxis exam for two years to look at it and address teacher shortage issues, but we want to keep lofty standards. Policymakers do not know how to measure and define a successful teacher training program. So, we should bring our institutions and educator prep programs together at the Tennessee General Assembly and give them a platform to address problems and find solutions. Policymakers should invest much more time and resources into learning about the science of teaching, how individual teachers develop their skillsand how long it takes to develop some of those skillsand what changes are needed. Policies currently reflect the fact that we know far more about a teacher after they enter the classroom than before. Besides calculating how many have completed an Educator Prep Program, other important benchmarks we should look at include identifying those who actually enter the field and teach, and how long these teachers remain in the profession. Change may be on the horizon, as the University of Michigan is making some interesting shifts. They are moving to end the longtime practice of sending educators into their classrooms after just a few months of student teaching. Elizabeth Moje, the dean of the school of education at the University of Michigan, has suggested genuinely innovative methods based on the way doctors are trained that will extend teacher training through their first three years on the job, supporting them as they take on the daunting responsibility of educating children. The teacher intern program at Michigan would be the first dramatic upheaval in the way teachers are trained in this country in at least a generationan upheaval that has been a long time coming. In brief, their innovative approach is like a teaching hospital, where future teachers called interns will train together under a single roof. They will complete their student teaching there. Then, instead of heading out in search of a job in another school, they will stay on for three more years as full-time, fully certified teaching "residents." Residents will not be trainees. They will be real classroom teachers working with real children and making a real salary the same as any other first-, second-, or third-year teacher. But, unlike their peers in traditional schools, they will continue to learn from their professors and will closely work with the veteran teachers called attendings who will make up most of the school's teaching staff. Each educational preparation program has its approach to supporting teacher candidates, and our organization tries to fill in gaps with our student members. It is critical to walk the fine line between informing teacher candidates with the needed knowledge and overburdening them with excessive information. We try to touch on issues such as legal and professional development, including some specific helps for student teachers which include assistance to student teachers with lesson planning, as well as classroom management. The existing teacher shortageespecially in special education, math, and science, and in schools serving students of color, low-income students, and English learnerswill only increase, based on the predicted increase in the school-going population in the future. Colleges of Education must also address how to serve Career and Technical Education (CTE). Areas such as business, agriculture, health, automotive, and mechatronics programs need high-quality teachers. We should also consider how to better build the skills of paraprofessionals who collaborate with teachers in classrooms in critical roles. There is not any magic bullet to ensure that all teachers are great before they begin teaching. However, we can make the effort to equip our educators with skills for the modern age. We must make changes in how we prepare those who educate our children. What happened in the past is no longer working. Policymakers and stakeholders need to work together to make the necessary changes that benefit our students and ensure that quality educators enter and remain in the profession. Together we can make schools a better place for teachers to work and for our students to learn. JC Bowman Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee The John Sevier Chapter of the TNSSAR on Saturday co-hosted a Patriot Grave Marking Ceremony to honor five Revolutionary War soldiers who settled in Tennessee after the war, almost 250 years ago. It's really about community, says George Lane, president of the Stephen Holston Chapter - who co-hosted the event whose 4th great-grandfather, John Lane, who served as a private in Captain Ambrose Madison's Company of Foot in the Regiment of Guards at Albermarle Barracks in 1779-1780, was among those honored. These men came from all over Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina and joined together because they wanted a better life for themselves and their families and were willing to fight and to die for it. In similar fashion to their ancestors, men and women came from all over for this ceremony. There were representatives from 11 chapters of the Sons of the American Revolution, seven chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and even a past-president of the Children of the American Revolution, as well as numerous members of the community. The Egyptians believed that every person experiences two deaths: The first is when their breath leaves their body. The second is with the last person that utters their name, shared John Breyfogle, president of the Tombigbee Chapter who traveled from Columbia, Tn. to be a part of the ceremony. We want to assure the men and women who served to create and preserve this Constitutional Republic still live on in our land. Knoxville businessman Mark DeNicola, member of the Stephen Holston Chapter, shared how Robert Sterling, who was from Pennsylvania like himself, became part of the fabric of the community of Blount County. When he died he left each of his children $1.25 in his will and the rest of his estate to his wife, Margaret. When Margaret passed in 1845 she bequeathed 'all the remainder of my real and personal estate to the Synod of the Covenant Church to which I now properly belong for the education of young men for the university.' And even to this day the Synod of the Covenant seeks to inspire, equip, and connect the Presbyterian congregations and organizations which compose it to join Christs mission to the world with increasing love, joy, and faithfulness. The Synod includes 11 presbyteries and nearly 700 congregations throughout Michigan and Ohio (and small slices of Indiana, Kentucky, and Wisconsin). Ministry within the Presbyterian Church (USA) is located primarily in local churches, which are supported by presbyteries (seven in Ohio and four in Michigan), which are in turn supported by Synods (16 across the United States). Chattanoogan Scott Pryor gave tribute to Joseph Johnston, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, and rose to the rank of sergeant during the war. Joseph would march into the Armys winter encampment at Valley Forge on Dec. 19, 1777, one of 427 assigned men, but it is not known if he was counted among the 46 fit for duty. He was discharged on Feb. 13, 1778. Compatriot Pryor also shared that one of Sgt. Johnston's descendants, Summerfield Johnston, who was one of the owners of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Chattanooga, was one of the charter members of the John Sevier Chapter. Patriot Johnson had connections to the other four men who were honored, but his connection to Patriot John Walker was probably one of the deepest. Their children married so they shared grandchildren, too. Robert McCoy, who was 72 when he applied for a pension, was unclear about when and how long he served. In his pension he recalled only 10 weeks of service, but when his pension was approved they documented 21 months of service, shared Chuck Green. It's not unusual for men who serve in war together to become lifelong friends. These men served and then pioneered the Tennessee Valley, where their descendants thrive still today, said George Lane. I have a Patriot ancestor up every branch of my family tree. Most people in these parts do. If anyone wishes to explore those possibilities, I hope they'll contact me and we have a team of people who can help them do just that. Mr. Lane is the executive director of the Blount County Historical Museum and can be reached at stephenholstonchaptersar@gmail.com or (865) 414-1527. The Stephen Holston Chapter will dedicate a new monument on Nov. 5, paying tribute to 28 Revolutionary War and 15 War of 1812 Patriots at the historic location of the New Providence Presbyterian Church Cemetery in downtown Maryville. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. and the public is invited to attend. Lee Universitys Spanish program in the Language and Literature Department hosted Dr. Pilar Mendez-Rivera, professor of foreign language education from Colombia, South America, to address Lees foreign language faculty and students. Dr. Mendezs talk, Why Learn a Foreign Language? highlighted the benefits of multilingualism, provided psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics perspectives, and explored the language and culture interface for market competition. Dr. Mendez positioned herself as an English language learner and also introduced some other learners testimonies to bring to the surface struggles but also lessons and gains to work on their identities and be witnesses of the care for others as a practice that values difference as an opportunity to embrace solidarity, the quest for mutual comprehension, respect, and real sensitive-context communication. I was blown away by Dr. Mendez's lecture, said Peyton Laylock, senior Spanish major. Her passion for languages was clear, and this encouraged me in my studies. I can see in my own life and in the lives of my peers the benefits of language learning which Dr. Mendez addressed. Her openness to the other was clear, and I see this quality in Lee's foreign language programs. Dr. Mendez holds a Doctor of Philosophy in education from Santo Tomas University and a postdoctorate research certificate in education from CENID, Mexico (Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones para el Desarrollo Docentea). She also received her masters degree in Spanish linguistics from Instituto Caro y Cuervo and her bachelors degree in education in modern languages from Universidad del Atlantico. Dr. Mendez is a full-time professor at Universidad Distrital Francisco Jose de Caldas in Bogota, Colombia, specializing in English language teaching. She currently is a member of the Research Committee of the School of Education and studies teachers struggles, resistance practices, and subjectivity. She has shared her research and teaching experience in Mexico, Hawaii, United Kingdom, Lima, Colombia, and others. An avid writer, Dr. Mendez has written works distributed worldwide. She has 11 scholarly articles published, co-authored four books, and wrote two of her own. For more information about Lees foreign language and TESOL programs, visit www.leeuniversity.edu/academics/arts-sciences/lang-lit/. Creature Comforts Brewing Co., an Athens, Ga.-based B-Corp certified craft brewery, announces plans to expand distribution to Chattanooga on Oct. 6. Following expansion into the coastal South Carolina, Nashville, and Columbia markets over the last year, the addition of Chattanooga is the Athens brewerys fourth expansion outside Georgia. The brewery will begin pouring four popular beers from Creature Comforts core year-round lineup on draft in select locations across Chattanooga, including Athena, a tart German-style wheat beer; Automatic, a bright and refreshing Pale Ale; Bibo, a crisp and dry Pilsner; and Tropicalia, a balanced and juicy IPA. After the great reception and success of our first expansion into Tennessee via Nashville earlier this year, we were excited to continue exploring more markets in the state, said Creature Comforts CEO Chris Herron. We have been contacted quite often by the local consumers and retailers, and it is an honor to finally be bringing our beers and community impact work to Chattanooga. Creature Comforts has selected Lipman Brothers as its distributor partner in Chattanooga. Established in 1939, Lipman Brothers was the first distributor of wine and spirits in Tennessee and is Creature Comforts distribution in Nashville. Sharing a commitment to quality, Lipman made for a natural partner for the brewerys entrance into the Tennessee markets, said officials. Not only does Creature Comforts make great beer but have a broader view of the business beyond brewing beer, said Business Unit Director Beer, Ian Wolczyk. Their status as B Corp, priority on philanthropy, and involvement with the culinary culture make a great partnership with Lipman Brothers. It goes much deeper than just transactional. We are more than excited to share in their future. The market expansion comes just after Creature Comforts eighth anniversary, and ahead of its plans to open a second brewery and taproom in Los Angeles in the coming months. The brewery also has plans to launch in Greenville, SC later this fall. Scenic City Womens Network welcomes Liane Brown, author, speaker and 2022 Lydia Award recipient, as guest speaker for the SCWN Marketplace Luncheon on Oct. 27, noon, at Mountain City Club (729 Chestnut St., in Chattanooga). A delicious plated menu and refreshments will be served. As a 10-year old, Ms. Brown watched Hitlers motorcade pass by in East Prussia. Within a few months, Insterburg was smoldering in ruins. Her family fled to a village that was occupied by the Red Army, where they were treated brutally. Fleeing starvation and death, her mother miraculously escaped to Berlin. In her autobiographies, Refuge and From Fear to Freedom, Liane Guddat Brown proclaims Gods sustaining grace proven through a family torn apart by war. She says, I am excited about telling what God has done in our lives. I am also happy to thank the American people for having helped the Germans after WWII. Wherever she goes, you will find Liane sharing her story of Gods goodness and her mothers sustaining faith. Ms. Brown was honored with the SCWN prestigious Lydia Award, presented to an extraordinary Christian working woman a modern day Lydia. She is chosen as someone who has exhibited a life-time of mature Christian faith, enthusiasm for life, positively impacting lives and making a difference in the world around her, and being an encourager to other Christian working women. The SCWN Lydia honoree is a woman that demonstrates leadership, dedication and faithfulness. Registration is $25 and open to the public. Space is limited and registration ends Oct. 25. Register online at SCWN.org, or call (423) 698-6262. The Dalton Police Department has a new captain. After serving the department for more than 22 years, Lieutenant Ricky Long's promotion to the rank of captain and assignment as one of the agency's division commanders was confirmed at Tuesday morning's meeting of the Public Safety Commission."Im very proud of the work hes done and I know he is going to continue to serve this department with great pride and put this community first," Chief Cliff Cason said as he presented Captain Long to the commission.Captain Long joined the police department in March of 2000.He has served in a number of different roles, including as a patrol officer, school resource officer and as a detective, before becoming a supervisor in 2012, when he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. A promotion to the rank of lieutenant came six years later. He has been decorated many times in his career, including being named Officer of the Year in 2003, Officer of the Month three times, and winning the department's Division Commander's Award (2015) and Innovation in Police Services Award (2011). He has received 17 letters of commendation.Captain Long earned his associate's degree from Dalton State College in 2009 and completed a bachelor's degree with Belhaven University in 2016. He earned his master's degree from the Columbus State University in 2019.Captain Long is assigned as the division commander for the department's Criminal Investigations Division. He has served in that role on an interim basis since the retirement of former Division Commander Mike Wilson in May. The commission voted unanimously 4-0 in support of Captain Long's promotion. Chairman Terry Mathis typically only votes in the event of a tie. A report from Municipal Technical Advisory Service for Signal Mountains Fire Department was presented to the council on Monday night. In it were comments and recommendations to improve service, however, said the representative from MTAS, I cant find a lot wrong with your department. The fire department is categorized as Class 2, and has 29 paid firefighters who are certified and two fire stations which are sufficient for the population. That rating reflects how prepared the community is for fires and it determines homeowners insurance rates. The towns ISO rating is 2. Chattanooga and Memphis are among the few fire departments in the state with a rating of 1. The council was informed that the fire department itself is only 50 percent of the score. Other factors that weigh in are the water supply and how emergency calls are handled by 911 and how the response to those calls is handled. That affects the time it takes to arrive at a fire, which is one of the most important issues, the council was told. Comments made for the Signal Mountain department include that 16 people is the number considered to be fully staffed for a residential fire. The Signal Mountain department brings nine firefighters, however its mutual aid agreements with surrounding municipalities supply the remainder of needed people. A recommendation was made to add the requirement to have fire sprinklers in the building code for new construction houses. An update to the rate structure of the department was also recommended so that there would always be someone present at a fire who is recognized at the top of the chain of command. He said someone is needed to be in the position of making decisions. The council was also informed that 10 mental health visits are required to be made available to firefighters with PSDT. Signal Mountains ISO ratings are good and in response to questions about how to raise the rate, he said that the council is responsible for balancing what the town can afford with the acceptable risk. Maybe some risk is acceptable, he said, and some standards may be unattainable. Chief Eric Mitchell said his department has been recognized by the state fire marshals office for being in the top 10 percent for making smoke detectors available to homeowners and for the risk protection efforts for citizens. An interconnect agreement made official on Monday between Signal Mountain Water Utility and Walden Ridge Utility District will help to ensure a water source for the benefit of both parties. Another agreement between the two is expected in relation to a purchase agreement for water and who is responsible for what. American Rescue Plan funding will be used for the interconnect project. A temporary full-time police officer, a new position, will be created for the police department. Several employees in the department have retired or left and this new position will be used to help fill the vacancies. Because the budget was created for a fully staffed department, the money is still there and can be used for the new job. This temporary position will only be good until the end of this budget year. Approval was given for a consultative service agreement with Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It will be free and provides assistance to OSHA for identifying things in the towns facilities that cannot be seen such was mold and air quality. This will help Town Manager Elaine Brunelle to create and maintain plans for the interior and exterior of the towns properties. In the unlikely event that a gross violation is found, an opportunity will be given to fix it. Repairs to the library will be moving forward with the boards approval of the lowest and best bid to replace the HVAC for the amount of $39,869. And J&J Construction has agreed to pay for repairs to the librarys elevator. Requests to purchase equipment was under discussion at the meeting. Fire Chief Mitchell has requested a new fire engine to replace one that is 10 years old. With the life expectancy of an engine at 15 years, the immediate need for it was questioned. He said the problem is with the age of the departments back-up trucks, one of which is 29 years old. The 10-year-old truck could be a replacement for that oldest truck. A new engine is not in the budget and would require a budget amendment, which the council was reluctant to make. A new engine now has a price of $900,000 and is expected to continue to increase. Additionally, he said delivery for it would now be two-years out. Chief Mitchell was asked to research the cost of a used 10-year-old truck to replace the current back-up engine. Another vehicle for the public works department has been included in the towns five-year plan, Director of Public Works Loretta Hopper told the council. A street sweeper is in the budget from stormwater funds, she said. The plan that started two-years ago, increased the stormwater fees to residents and money is being collected for this equipment. Before the next meeting Ms. Hopper will find out the amount that has accumulated that is allotted for the street sweeper so far and that amount will be considered when the council makes a decision. In response to concerns from citizens about speeding on James Boulevard, the Signal Mountain Police Department has done traffic studies. The council was told that results of the most recent evaluation in the past two weeks, showed that cars were, for the most part, traveling at the legal speed limit. The average of 8,000 cars was 30 mph. Mayor Charles Poss said that flashing speed signs might help the drivers that do speed, to know how fast they are travelling and to slow down. He acknowledging that it appears to be a perceived problem. The police department will also publish those studies to inform residents. Just a few months after Tom Bower released the blistering biography Revenge about Meghan Markles life and her relationship with Prince Harry, another journalist is releasing a book the Sussexes would rather people not read. Valentine Low, who is a reporter for The London Times, is set to publish Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown in October and already it has a lot of royal watchers talking. Here are some of the biggest bombshells from Lows book which have been released in a series of extracts. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle view floral tributes left at Windsor Castle following Queen Elizabeth IIs death | Kirsty OConnor WPA Pool/Getty Images Meghan told Harry she would dump him if he didnt go public with their relationship One of the claims from Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown is that Meghan threatened to break up with Harry if he didnt go public with their relationship and that sent the prince into a panic. According to the book: Faced with hordes of journalists intent on trawling through every aspect of Meghans life, Harry became determined to protect his girlfriend. Meghan, meanwhile, told him that if he did not do something about it, she would break off the relationship. A source said: She was saying, If you dont put out a statement confirming Im your girlfriend, Im going to break up with you. Another source said: He was freaking out, saying, Shes going to dump me.' In November 2016, Harry did confirm in a statement that they were dating and slammed the press coverage about Meghan saying he was worried for her safety. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose together at Kensington Palace after announcing their engagement | DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images Meghan couldnt believe she wasnt getting paid for royal tour Five months after saying I do, the duke and duchess embarked on a royal tour of Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, and Fiji. During that tour, they attended 76 engagements over 16 days and participated in several walkabouts. The book claims that Harrys wife enjoyed the attention but failed to understand the point of all those walkabouts, shaking hands with countless strangers. Low wrote that members of her staff told him that Meghan was heard saying: I cant believe Im not getting paid for this. In the Sussexes primetime special with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan revealed that behind the scenes of that tour was really exhausting. Those tours are Im sure they have beautiful pictures and it looks vibrant and all of that is true. Its also really exhausting, she explained. So, I was fried, and I think it just hit me so hard because we were making it look like everything was fine. I can understand why people were really surprised to see that there was pain there. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit a craft fair in Nukualo in Tonga during the royal tour of Australia and the South Pacific | PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images Harry was shocked people knew Meghans earrings came from Saudi prince The book also touches on the topic of Meghans earrings which were gifted to her as a wedding present by Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman just three weeks after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The Palace was vague on where the earrings came from and ended up saying they were borrowed. However, Low exclusively reported in The Times where the earrings came from. In the upcoming book, its alleged that Meghans aides were too scared to confront the former Suits star about where she got the diamond earrings following that report. When they [the earrings] had first appeared in the media after the Fiji dinner, staff in London responsible for registering details of all royal gifts had recognized them and alerted Kensington Palace, Low wrote before quoting a source saying, We made a decision not to confront Meghan and Harry on it, out of fear for what their reaction would be. Meghan Markle traveling in a car to then-Prince Charles birthday wearing earrings from Saudi Crown Prince | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Bullied staff called themselves the Sussex Survivors Club There are several claims made in Lows book alleging that Meghan bullied her staff so bad that collectively those who were employed by her and Harry called themselves the Sussex Survivors Club. Low detailed accounts of what Meghans ex-staffers said about their experiences working with her writing: So bad did things eventually become that Harry and Meghans team would later refer to themselves as the Sussex Survivors Club. Sources say the team came up with a damning epithet for Meghan: a narcissistic sociopath. They also reportedly said on repeated occasions: We were played.' The Duchess of Sussex previously called the claims about bullying those who worked for her a smear campaign. RELATED: King Charles Wasnt Prepared for How Much of an Influence Meghan Markle Would Have Over Prince Harry, Expert Claims Hulu dropped a new reality TV cooking competition show, Best in Dough, with host Adam Wells and several new judges, including head judge Daniele Uditi. If he looks familiar, but you cant quite place why youre not alone. This isnt his first time participating in a reality TV competition show, but it is his first time as a judge. Heres why the head judge in Best in Dough, Daniele Uditi, looks so familiar. Daniele Uditi competed in The Food Networks Beat Bobby Flay Viewers might recognize the head judge, Daniele Uditi, from Netflixs The Chef Show or Food Networks Beat Bobby Flay. In the Food Network series, Uditi beat Chris Thompson and Bobby Flay in season 23, episode 3, Thats Amore. The episode first aired on Jan. 12, 2020, but is available for streaming on the Food Network Go app. Netflixs The Chef Show is a documentary-style cooking show featuring director and actor John Favreau and chef Roy Choi. Uditi joined the show as a guest chef in Volumes 2 and 3 of the series. He also appeared as Chef Daniele in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful from 2013 to 2014. Daniele Uditi has a restaurant with a Michelin Bib Gourmand rating For viewers who reside in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, or Sherman Oaks, California, you might recognize Uditi from his award-winning restaurant, Pizzana. The famous pizza shop is featured in numerous prestigious magazines. It also received the Michelin Bib Gourmand Award for offering exceptionally good food at moderate prices. Pizzana has made the Los Angeles Times top 101 restaurants list and various other accolades since opening in 2017. Uditi teamed up with Caroline and Chris ODonnell and Candance and Charles Nelson to form Pizzana. They met at the ODonnells Sunday Night Pizza Parties, and the idea for the restaurant was born. There are currently three Pizzana locations and a new shop coming soon in Dallas, Texas. The pizza restaurant specializes in pizza dough crafted in the Neapolitan tradition, and then fermented and proofed for two days. The Pizzana menu features unique specials that change frequently and travelers wont want to miss. Daniele Uditi has a cookbook available for purchase Best in Dough: Eunji Kim, Wells Adams, and Daniele Uditi | Michael Desmond/Hulu Before Daniele Uditi opened Pizzana or began appearing in cooking shows like Best in Dough, he grew up in Naples, Italy. According to Uditis website, he began baking loaves of bread at the age of 12 in the family business. In 2010, Uditi traveled to the United States and began work as a consulting chef for Italian restaurants in the Los Angeles area. However, he loved the California produce so much that he never left. He began making pizza for private parties and thats where Uditi met the ODonnells and the Nelsons. They teamed up to create Pizzana, and the rest is history. However, Uditi continues to work outside the restaurant by creating a cookbook series. Ricettario Vol. 1 Sourdough is the first in a seven-volume cookbook series. It gives readers all of the insight to become a great baker at home. Best in Dough dropped the first three episodes to Hulu on Sept. 19, 2022. But, unlike Netflix, the streaming service makes viewers wait a full week between new episodes. Best in Dough Episodes 4-6 hit Hulu on Sept. 26, 2022. RELATED: Iron Chef America: Bobby Flay Never Looked Forward to Filming the Cooking Competition, Admitting He Got Nervous Before Every Episode George Harrison said The Beatles musical direction in 1967 was a big joke. He said the band wasnt doing anything different, but that was the problem. George Harrison and The Beatles | Mark and Colleen Hayward/Getty Images George Harrison said he felt stale touring all the time with The Beatles In 1977, George spoke to Crawdaddy (per George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters) about The Beatles musical direction in the first half of the 1960s. He explained that he missed the bands days of performing in Hamburg, Germany. It was a very experimental and creative time for them. They played night after night, but everything and anything was on the table for their shows. George missed that once The Beatles began touring the world. He said it was a drag touring and playing the same tunes. I felt stale, you know because you play the same riffs da-dada-ding-ding-dow, you know, Twist and Shout and things, George said. However, once touring stopped, George felt out of touch with the guitar. Hed repeatedly played the same five tunes for months and had turned to the sitar for a bit of excitement. Fortunately, George had time to spend as much time in the recording studio once the band put touring to rest. Although, the experimental period that commenced didnt last too long, according to George. RELATED: George Harrison Read His Album Reviews but Didnt Care What They Said George said The Beatles musical direction in 1967 was a big joke By 1967, George began to feel stale again. The Beatles were experimenting, but that doesnt mean they were changing or putting much effort into anything. Melody Maker (per George Harrison on George Harrison) asked, George, can you tell where the Beatles are at musically today? What are you trying to do? Nothing, George said. Were not trying to do anything. This is the big joke. Its all Cosmic Joke. Everyone gets our records and says wonder how they thought of that? or wonder what theyre planning next? or whatever they do say. But we dont plan anything. We dont do anything. All we do is just keep on being ourselves. It just comes out. Its the Beatles. All any of us are trying to do now is get as much peace and love as possible. Love will never be played out because you cant play out the truth. Whatever I say can be taken a million different ways depending on how screwed up the reader is. But the Beatles is just a hobby really its just doing it on its own. We dont even have to think about it. The songs write themselves. It just all works out. Everything that were taking into our minds and trying to learn or find outand I feel personally its such a lot, theres so much to get inand yet the output coming out the back end is still so much smaller than what youre putting in. Everything is relative to everything else. We know that now. So weve got to a point where when people say theres nothing else you can do, we know thats only from where they are. They look up and think we cant do anymore, but when youre up there you see you havent started. According to George, The Beatles couldve been doing a lot more. RELATED: George Harrison Did Something Uncharacteristic While Writing When We Was Fab He felt the band wasnt doing enough George didnt think The Beatles were doing enough to change and explore. He looked at his musical guru, legendary sitarist, Ravi Shankar, and saw everything he was doing. It made him feel stuck in a stale rock band. Take Ravi Shankar, who is so brilliant, George said. With pop music, the more you listen to it, the more you get to know it, the more you see through it and the less satisfaction it gives you whereas Indian music and Ravi Shankar as a person its exactly the opposite because the more youre able to understand the music, the more you see there is to appreciate. The more you get back out of it. You can have just one record of Indian music and play it for the rest of your life and youd probably still never see all the subtleties in it. Its the same with Ravi Shankar. He feels as though he hasnt started and yet hes doing so much, teaching so many people, writing film music, everything. George felt The Beatles had done everything they could do. The music they were releasing was satisfactory but nothing more. George said theyd go on and make a better LP than Sergeant Pepper. But I dont know what its going to be. Who could blame George, though? When The Beatles first began Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, hed just gotten back from a six-week trip to India, where he read about ancient gurus and listened to Indian music all day at the base of the Himalayan mountains. When he returned, George didnt want to be in The Beatles anymore. In Here Comes The Sun: The Spiritual And Musical Journey Of George Harrison, Joshua M. Greene wrote, The band was his job, and as a responsible member he would continue to play lead guitar and sing harmony, but meditation was revealing to him an inner person with creative energies and original ideas straining to be expressed. George was miserable making Sgt. Pepper. Greene added, George wanted to know who he was and who God was, and anything unrelated, however innovative, failed to hold his interest. Paul had come up with an innovative idea for their current album. The Beatles would pretend to be someone else, a make-believe group called Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, and every time one of the Beatles sang, he would pretend to be someone in the made-up band. The idea left George cold and bored. They had been working on the album since November, and there was still no end in sight. To keep from quitting the band altogether, George started experimenting with the bands music whenever he could. However, nothing would appease Georges soul until he left The Beatles. RELATED: George Harrison Said Eric Clapton Never Forgave Him for Not Taking Him to Meet Bob Marley Meghan Markle Is a Narcissistic Sociopath Who Screamed at Staffers and Other Shocking Claims from Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown Meghan Markle was an impossible royal to deal with, according to a new book. In Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, author Valentine Low has revealed that the Duchess of Sussex is a narcissistic sociopath who screamed at staffers when she worked for The Firm. But, thats just the beginning of the shocking claims. Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images There were a lot of broken people in Meghan Markles wake In her new bombshell book, Low claims that Markle went on screaming tirades in the lead up to her wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018. And this behavior left many palace staffers in tears. There were a lot of broken people, a palace insider told Low, per Page Six. Young women were broken by their behavior. In one incident that Low describes, Markle went off on a young female staffer in front of her colleagues. The duchess allegedly told her, Dont worry. If there was literally anyone else I could ask to do this, I would be asking them instead of you. Markle verbally attacked staff members on numerous occasions and apparently became so irate with palace employees that she left them terrified. Another staff member told Low that they were completely destroyed by their experience working for Markle, as well as Harry. The royal aide claimed the couple repeatedly called one Friday night while out at dinner, just to scream at them. Every 10 minutes I had to go outside to be screamed at by her and Harry. It was, I cant believe youve done this. Youve let me down. What were you thinking? they alleged. It went on for a couple of hours. The calls continued for days, claims the ex-palace employee, adding you could not escape them. Palace staffers called the Duchess of Sussex a narcissistic sociopath Per The New York Post, no one was safe from Harry and Meghans bullying, and the staff started calling her a narcissistic sociopath. Everyone knew that the institution would be judged by her happiness. The mistake they made was thinking that she wanted to be happy, a former staffer says in the book. She wanted to be rejected, because she was obsessed with that narrative from day one. Courtiers also tells the story of palace press chief Jason Knauf, who allegedly wrote an email in 2018 to Prince Williams private secretary Simon Case about very serious problems with Meghans behavior. I am very concerned that the duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year The duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights, the email allegedly read. And then, when Markle and Harry were asked to treat staffers with more respect, Meghan allegedly replied, Its not my job to coddle people. Working for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is like working for a couple of teenagers Harry and Meghan yelled at their private secretary Samantha Cohen before and during their flight to Australia for their South Pacific tour in 2018. The book claims that Cohen was constantly having to battle on Harry and Meghans behalf while taking all this abuse from them. Sam always made clear that it was like working for a couple of teenagers. They were impossible and pushed her to the limit. She was miserable, a friend of Cohens claims in the book. Meghan was also unhappy that she didnt get paid for going on royal tours. And, even though she enjoyed the attention, the duchess failed to understand the point of going on walkabouts and shaking hands with countless strangers. Low implies that Meghans harsh treatment of palace aides especially her and Harrys PR and communications team continued to escalate before they quit royal life. RELATED: Prince Harrys Bombshell Memoir Rumored to Be Delayed as Royal Experts Urge the Duke of Sussex to Indefinitely Postpone It In Sister Wives Season 17, Christine Browns daughter, Mykelti Padron, opens up about her experience as a live-in nanny for her fathers wife, Robyn Brown. Mykelti was 13-year-old when Robyn asked her to help her with her children. Heres what Christines daughter had to say about her special connection with Robyn and her children because of that time with them. Robyn Brown, Mykelti Padron, Christine Brown, Sister Wives | TLC Robyn and Mykeltis special bond On the September 25 episode of Sister Wives, Christine is in Saint George, Utah assisting her daughter, Mykelti, and son-in-law, Tony Padron, in the home birth of her first biological granddaughter, Avalon. For the delivery, Mykelti wanted Robyn there to support her. Their close relationship came as a surprise to some fans. David, Ariella, Robyn, Kody, Solomon, Breanna, and Aurora Brown, Sister Wives | TLC I adore Mykleti. She came to live with me before I married Kody. And so we have a really close bond, Robyn told the cameras. Robyn and Mykelti have a very, very special bond, Christine adds. When Robyn came into the family, she immediately just embraced Mykelti. And Ill always, always love and respect Robyn for her relationship with Mykelti, Christine told the cameras. Mykelti was a live-in nanny for Robyn when she was a teenager In the episode, Mykelti shared some interesting new information. In 2010, Mykelti moved in with Robyn to help her as a nanny before she was married into the family. I moved in with Robyn when my dad and Robyn were first courting. Because she needed some help with the kids for school, around the house, Mykelti explains. So I lived with her for a few months. And thats why Im still so close to Robyn and her kids. Its because of just the special time that just us had together, Mykelti concludes. Kody began courting Robyn in 2010, which means that Mykelti was around 13 years old when she was asked to live with Robyn as a live-in nanny. Mykelti was helping babysit Dayton Brown, who was 10 years old, Aurora Brown, who was 8 years old, and Breanna, who was around 5 years old at the time. Mykelti has Robyn present at her home birth Because of their unique bond, Mykelti wanted Robyn present at her birth. However, Robyn decided that it was too big of a risk to travel right now due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Mykelti has invited me to the babys birth. I am kind of trying to figure out if theres a way that I can go. Were still dealing with this COVID crap. And so Im trying to work it out right now, Robyn told the cameras. Ultimately, Robyn decided to stay back in Flagstaff, Arizona, and join and support Mykelti through video call. Robyn couldnt be at the birth in person, just because of COVID. And it was still so important for Mykelti to have Robyn there. And so I arranged to have Robyn just come in on a conference call the whole time, Christine explains. For the many hours that Mykelti was in active labor, Robyn was there supporting her through the Zoom call. As far as having only my mom, Christine, and my mom, Robyn, I am just a lot closer to those two. And Im a lot more bonded to those two than I am to Janelle or Meri, Mykelti explained. During the difficult part of the birth, Robyn had a hard time watching Mykelti in pain. Mykelti is my baby. And I know that shes Christines baby first. But she is my baby. And its hard to see your baby in pain. After a long and difficult labor, Mykelti and Tony welcomed their baby girl, Avalon Asa Padron. Now the couple is expecting twins, who are due in December 2022. New episodes of Sister Wives Season 17 air Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on TLC. RELATED: Sister Wives: Kody Says Robyns Kids Are Excluded From the Older Kids Clique Why do some materials carry electrical currents without any resistance only when cooled to near absolute zero while others do so at comparatively high temperatures? This key question continues to vex scientists studying the phenomenon of superconductivity. Now a team of researchers from Andrea Cavalleris group at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) in Hamburg has provided evidence that electron stripes in certain copper-based compounds may lead to a break in the materials crystal symmetry, which persists even in their superconducting state. Their work has been published in PNAS. Focusing on a range of cuprates, the team investigated the coexistence and competition of their superconducting state with other quantum phases. Such interactions are believed to be crucial to the development of high-temperature superconductivity a process which remains one of the most important unsolved problems in condensed matter physics today. The researchers exposed several cuprate crystals, grown and characterized at Brookhaven National Labs, to ultrashort laser light pulses. They observed how the materials began to emit a particular type of terahertz (THz) light a technique known as THz emission spectroscopy. Usually, such emissions only occur in the presence of a magnetic field or polarizing current. However, the MPSD team probed the cuprates without applying any external bias and discovered anomalous THz emission in some of them. Those compounds featured the so-called charge-stripe order where the electrons arrange themselves into chain patterns rather than moving around freely. The charge stripe order seems to break the materials crystal symmetry, just as a magnetic field or an applied current would do, with this symmetry breaking persisting in the superconducting state. By performing experiments on various compounds, says Daniele Nicoletti, the papers lead author, we were very surprised to find clear coherent and almost single-color THz emission in some superconductors and, conversely, a total lack of response in others. We were able to associate THz emission features with reasonable certainty with the presence of charge-stripe order, a peculiar ordered phase found in various families of cuprates, which is believed to play a role in the mechanism underlying high-temperature superconductivity. Charge stripes are likely to cause a symmetry breaking in the superconductor, the presence of which had not been found by other experimental techniques in the past." In collaboration with physicists from Harvard University, ETH Zurich, and the theoretical division of the MPSD, the team has provided a detailed explanation for this phenomenology. Starting from the observation that the coherent THz emission occurs very close to the Josephson plasma frequency, which is the resonant tunneling frequency of superconducting electron pairs across the crystalline copper-oxygen planes, the researchers identified so-called surface Josephson plasmons as the source of emission. These are analogs of sound waves that develop at the interface between the superconductor and the external environment. In principle these are silent modes, meaning they do not couple directly with light and therefore are not expected to radiate. However, it is precisely the presence of the charge modulation introduced by stripe order that provides the necessary coupling with the outside world and allows for these modes to light up. The teams work provides important new insights into the processes leading to high-temperature superconductivity. It also reveals coherent anomalous THz emission as a sensitive tool to probe the symmetry of superconductors in the presence of other phases. The researchers feel it should be applied to a wider class of compounds in the future, opening up new possibilities for understanding the physics of complex interactions in these materials. The proposal, if approved by the Council of the Cherokee Nation, will set aside $3 million to support Cherokee artists through the end of fiscal year 2024. While statewide Smarter Balanced test results were below those prior to the pandemic, Cheshire and Southington administrators are pleased with how their students tested last year. SBAC tests students in grades three through eight and is aligned to Connecticut Core Standards in English language arts/literacy and mathematics, according to CT.gov. Cheshire Public Schools ranked 11th out of the districts who serve grades three through eight when it comes to SBAC test results for the 2021-22 school year. So thats pretty exceptionally high, said Jeff Solan, superintendent of Cheshire Public Schools. We had been fifth prior to the pandemic, but you know, I think to come through the pandemic performing where we are is something that were pretty proud of. In Cheshire, the percentage of students, all grades combined, who met/exceeded expectations (levels three and four) for the English language arts section of the SBAC is 74.2%, with the Connecticut average being 49.1%. For math, the Cheshire district average for levels three and four, all grades combined, was 70.3%. The state average was 40%. For where we perform relative to our peers and relative to the state, were really proud of how were doing, Solan said. Amy Zappone, director of teaching and learning for secondary education for Southington Public Schools, said she is happy with how Southington students performed on last years SBAC. The states average for ELA for students meeting/exceeding standards was 49.1%, while Southingtons average for these levels was 64.1%, for all grades combined. In math, CTs average for levels three and four was 40%, while Southingtons was 58.4%, for all grades combined. Our school community and our teachers have really stepped up to the plate, Zappone said. They came off a very emotional, stressful year with the pandemic and they put their hearts and souls into teaching every day and preparing students and ensuring that they can be successful, not only in the classroom but on assessments such as state level assessments because thats one way to show their growth and their mastery in learning. Solan said that his district isnt solely focused on improving test scores. Our focus is supporting students to be complex thinkers and strong social emotional learners and we really believe that when we do that well, test scores will take care of themselves, Solan said. Six years ago, the Cheshire Board of Education adopted the goals of creating complex thinkers and strong social emotional learners. Back then, the district was ranked 35th in SBAC results. I think by doing those things well, the kids do well on the standardized assessments, but they do really well in other ways as well, Solan said. Thats more important at the end of the day. In Southington, Zappone said that each year, they track the SBAC results, attempting to get back to the level of achievement the district had pre-pandemic. The State Department of Education reported that while there are some signs of progress, the achievement in 2021-22 is still below the three most recent pre-pandemic years. The states performance index shows that there are declines of around six to eight percentage points in the ELA and mathematics portions of the test. The state, then, estimates that students in grades four and five may be two to three months behind their expected performance, if there was not a pandemic. In the middle school grades (6 through 8), students may be 5-7 months behind in ELA, and a year or more behind in math, according to an Aug. 25 press release from the state education department. The rates of academic growth will need to increase substantially in the coming months and years to shorten the recovery period. However, Zappone has noticed that the district is starting to move back to where it was pre-pandemic. We are starting to get closer to that 2015-2016 performance level, Zappone said. Were bridging that gap of getting back on that level of proficiency. We are getting students back to that level of learning we are hoping for. In order to achieve these levels of learning, Zappone said the district is focusing on the standards in the curriculum. And honing down on the main key components of the standards and focusing on those priority standards, because there is so much to be taught and learned, we have to focus on grade level instruction and finding a way to get all students to that level of mastery, Zappone said. Through COVID-19 funding, the district was able to create smaller class sizes in the primary grades and hire additional support staff and intervention staff. Through all those efforts with curriculum prioritization and extra support staff and really getting back to in-person learning models, our trajectory of moving forward with achievement and growth is increasing and getting back to where we want to see it, Zappone said. ABUJA, Nigeria, September 27, 2022 (Morning Star News) Continuing attacks earlier this month in Benue state, Nigeria, suspected Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists killed dozens of Christians on Friday (Sept. 23) and Wednesday (Sept. 21), sources said. The terrorists attacked six predominantly Christian villages in Benue states Togo County on Friday (Sept. 23), destroying lives, houses and farms and looting homes for food, area residents said. These attacks by the herdsmen have left dozens of Christians dead and several more with gunshot injuries and machete attack wounds, area resident Ukan Kurugh told Morning Star News in a text message. Survivors of these herdsmen attacks have been taken to some hospitals, and they need urgent medical attention but lack the funds to pay for their medical bills. Some of them need urgent surgeries but they cant afford to pay for the charges. Attacked were the villages of Tse Ikyem, Tsav, Tse Ijoho, Tse Ikyaan, Anawah, and Mou in Togo County, residents said. Mou was also attacked on Wednesday (Sept. 21), as was Mchia, in the same county. Our people have have suffered immensely in the hands of these marauding herdsmen, Kurugh said. Local resident Moses Teryima identified 12 of the Christians slain in Fridays attacks as Aandohemba Msugh Aondo; Oliver Toryima Chion; Innocent Shinku Ngimsho; Mchivga Utume; Joseph Msugh Aondo Gwa; Bemdou Hundu; Luther Mchivga; Sunter Achiwan; Aondohemba Msughve; Hemhsnger Teryuega; Japheth Kwaghaondo Pinega; and Vihishima Mbanomso. An area community leader, Joseph Anawa, confirmed that the six villages had been attacked on Friday. The Rev. Akpen Leva, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Benue State Chapter, said in a press statemen that attacks against Christians and by herdsmen and other terrorists in the state have been ceaseless. Armed herdsmen and terrorists have not stopped their unprovoked attacks on Christians in Benue state, Leva said. These attacks are aimed at killing defenseless Christians and to force them out of their communities. Pastors and denominational leaders were among the victims of the attacks, he said. We condemn in strong terms these unprovoked attacks and loss of lives in these affected Christian communities and call on security agencies to rise up to the challenge in order to curtail the activities of these bloodthirsty herdsmen, Leva said. Catherine Anene, spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, said police received reports of the attacks from the Divisional Police officer of Logo. Our personnel have been deployed to the area to contain the situation, she said. 15 Christians Killed In the same county on Wednesday (Sept. 21), suspected herdsmen and other terrorists killed 15 Christians and wounded 15 others in attacks on two villages, area residents said. Predominantly Christian Mou and Mchia villages were attacked at about midnight. Fulani herdsmen, who are predominantly Muslim, killed 12 Christians in Mchia village, said area resident Peter Terseer. Aside from the 12 Christians who lost their lives in Mchia village, eight other Christians were injured during the attack, Terseer told Morning Star News in a text message. Theyre being treated at the Anyiin hospital. In Mou village, resident James Akiga said three Christians died and seven were wounded in the attack by band of terrorists and herders. The victims have gunshot wounds and machete cuts, Akiga said in a text message to Morning Star News. Paul Hemba, Benue state special adviser on security matters, confirmed in a press statement that 12 Christians were killed at Mchia village and three at Mou village on Wednesday (Sept. 21) at about midnight. He also confirmed that 15 Christians were wounded in the assaults. Also on the night of Wednesday, Sept. 21, some other Christian communities in Guma Local Government Area were attacked by the terrorists and herdsmen, but they were repelled by security agencies who were drafted there, Hemba said. No life was lost, nor anyone injured, in the Guma attacks. Military authorities in the area confirmed the attacks on the Logo and Guma areas. Our troops are managing the situation in Logo some attacks had been happening around that area before now which made us to conduct a weeklong operation there about two weeks ago, Maj. Gen. Kevin Aligbe said in a press statement. These terrorists have killed between two and four people every three to four days. Most times we received reports that they, bandits, have attacked and retreated. Nigeria led the world in Christians killed for their faith last year (Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021) at 4,650, up from 3,530 the previous year, according to Open Doors 2022 World Watch List report. The number of kidnapped Christians was also highest in Nigeria, at more than 2,500, up from 990 the previous year, according to the WWL report. Nigeria trailed only China in the number of churches attacked, with 470 cases, according to the report. In the 2022 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria jumped to seventh place, its highest ranking ever, from No. 9 the previous year. If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved. If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at https://morningstarnews.org/donate/? Article originally published by Morning Star News. Used with permission. Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Stockbyte Editors note: Read or share in Portuguese and other languages via the yellow links above. Anne van der Bijl, a Dutch evangelical known to Christians worldwide as Brother Andrew, the man who smuggled Bibles into closed Communist countries, has died at the age of 94. Van der Bijl became famous as Gods smuggler when the first-person account of his missionary adventuresslipping past border guards with Bibles hidden in his blue Volkswagen Beetlewas published in 1967. Gods Smuggler was written with evangelical journalists John and Elizabeth Sherrill and published under his code name Brother Andrew. It sold more than 10 million copies and was translated into 35 languages. The book inspired numerous other missionary smugglers, provided funding to van der Biljs ministry Open Doors, and drew evangelical attention to the plight of believers in countries where Christian belief and practice were illegal. Van der Bijl protested that people missed the point, however, when they held him up as heroic and extraordinary. I am not an evangelical stuntman, he said. I am just an ordinary guy. What I did, anyone can do. No one knows how many Bibles van der Bijl took into Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, East Germany, Bulgaria, and other Soviet-bloc countries in the decade before the success of Gods Smuggler forced him into the role of figurehead and fundraiser for Open Doors. Estimates have ranged into the millions. A Dutch joke popular in the late 1960s said, What will the Russians find if they arrive first at the moon? Brother Andrew with a load of Bibles. Image: Open Doors International Van der Bijl, for his part, did not keep track and did not think the exact number was important. I don't care about statistics, he said in a 2005 interview. We dont count. But God is the perfect bookkeeper. He knows. Van der Bijl was born in the Netherlands in 1928, the son of a poor blacksmith and an invalid mother. He was 12 when the German military invaded the neutral country in World War II, and he spent the occupation, as he recounted to John and Elizabeth Sherrill, hiding in ditches to avoid being pressed into service by Nazi soldiers. When famine hit the Netherlands in 1944, van der Bijl, like so many Dutch people, ate tulip bulbs to survive. After the war, van der Bijl joined the Dutch army and was sent to Indonesia as part of the colonial force attempting to quash the Indonesian struggle for independence. He was excited about the adventure until the shooting started and he killed people. By his own account, van der Bijl was involved in the massacre of an Indonesian village, indiscriminately killing everyone who lived there. He was haunted, after, by the sight of a young mother and nursing boy killed by the same bullet. He started wearing a crazy straw hat into the jungle, hoping it would get him killed. Van der Bijl adopted the motto, Get smartlose your mind. He was shot in the ankle and started reading a Bible his mother had given him during his convalescence. After he returned to the Netherlands, he started compulsively going to church, and in early 1950, he surrendered himself to God. There wasnt much faith in my prayer, van der Bijl said. I just said, Lord if you will show me the way, I will follow you. Amen. Van der Bijl committed his life to ministry and went to Scotland to study at the Worldwide Evangelization Crusades missionary school in 1953. Speaking to Christianity Today in 2013, he remembered one critical lesson from a Salvation Army officer who was teaching about street evangelism. The older man said most would-be evangelists give up too soon, since the Holy Spirit has only prepared the heart of one person out of 1,000. Instantly my heart revolted. I said to myself, What a waste, van der Bijl recalled. "Why go and spend your energy on 999 who were not going to respond? God knows it and the devil knows it and he laughs because after the first 1,000 people I give up in despair. He determined he would ask God to guide him to the one person who was ready for the gospel. Instead of spending his time calculating and strategizing, he would follow the guidance of the Spirit. A short time later, he felt God speak to him through Revelation 3:2: Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die. Van der Bijl understood he was supposed to go support the church in Communist-controlled countries. In 1955, he took a government-controlled tour of Poland but snuck away from his group to visit underground groups of believers. On a second trip to Czechoslovakia, he saw that churches in Communist countries needed Bibles. I promised God that as often as I could lay my hands on a Bible, I would bring it to these children of his behind the wall that men built, van der Bijl later recalled, to every country where God opened the door long enough for me to slip through. Image: Open Doors International In 1957, he made his first smuggling trip across the border of a Communist country, entering Yugoslavia with tracts, Bibles, and portions of Bibles hidden in his blue Volkswagen. As he watched the guards search the cars in front of him, he prayed what he would later call the Prayer of Gods Smuggler: Lord, in my luggage I have Scripture that I want to take to your children across this border. When you were on Earth, you made blind eyes see. Now, I pray, make seeing eyes blind. Do not let the guards see those things you do not want them to see. Van der Bijl followed his early success in Yugoslavia with more trips and eventually even smuggled Bibles into the Soviet Union. He recruited other Christians to help him, and they developed strategies for avoiding the attention of border guards and secret police. Sometimes the smugglers would travel in pairs, disguised as honeymooning couples. Sometimes they would use out-of-the-way border crossings. They would experiment with different ways of hiding Scripture in their small, inconspicuous cars. Always, they would follow the leading of the Spirit, and no one was ever arrested. Bible smuggling was criticized by a number of Christian organizations, including the Baptist World Alliance, the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board, and the American Bible Society. They considered it dangerousespecially for the Christians living in Communist countriesand ineffective. Sensational stories were good for raising money, the critics alleged, but little else. Cold War historians have debated the impact of Bible smuggling on Communist regimes. Francis D. Raska writes that it was probably significant, but evidence of the exploits is shaky, and prone to exaggeration and personal aggrandizement. There is at least some evidence that the KGB kept close tabs on van der Bijls activity and may have had informants inside his network, according to Raska. Image: Open Doors International After the success of Gods Smuggler, van der Bijl left smuggling to other less famous Christians. He shifted his attention to fundraising for Open Doors and ministry opportunities in Muslim countries. When the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, he became an outspoken critic of American evangelicals support for the war on terror. Christians, he said, could only put their trust in military intervention if they had given up faith in missions. When speaking to American audiences in the early 2000s, van der Bijl regularly asked Christians if they had prayed for Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda. When US forces killed bin Laden in 2011, he expressed sadness. I believe everyone is reachable. People are never the enemyonly the devil, van der Bijl said. Bin Laden was on my prayer list. I wanted to meet him. I wanted to tell him who is the real boss in the world. At the time of his death, the ministry van der Bijl founded was helping Christians in more than 60 countries. Open Doors distributes 300,000 Bibles and 1.5 million Christian books, training materials, and discipleship manuals every year. The group also provides relief, aid, community development, and trauma counseling, while advocating for persecuted Christians around the globe. When asked if he had any regrets about his lifes work, van der Bijl said, If I could live my life over again, I would be a lot more radical. [ This article is also available in espanol, Portugues, Francais, , , Indonesian, and . ] Four years ago, Shenouda was an infant found at the door of a Coptic church. Today, renamed Yusuf, the boy is found in a state-run orphanage. In between lies the care of a priest, the devastation of a Christian family, and a sectarian bureaucracy undergoing partial reform. Egypt is home to a Dickens-like tragedy. Adoption is not legal in Egypt, said Nermien Riad, executive director of Coptic Orphans. There is no possibility it will happen as known in the Western world. The boys family name and location have been kept anonymous as a cautionary measure, as reported by the Coptic publication Watani. Likely left by an unwed mother, the child was found by a Coptic priest who presented him to the couple, infertile for 29 years. They took him into their home, obtained a birth certificate as if he was their own, and raised him with love and devotion. They gave him a Christian-signifying first name, honoring the prior Coptic Orthodox pope, and per Egyptian naming custom the four-generation quadrilateral was completed with the names of the doting father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. All was idyllic, until a jealous niece realized the impact on her inheritance. Egypts Islamic-based law, seeking to preserve lineage, prohibits taking anothers child as ones own. The niece reported the couple to the police, who investigated. The prosecution determined there was no blood relation, but also no ill will. The father signed a paper stating he found the child on the street, likely to shield the priests involvement. But though the case was dropped last February, the boy was taken to an orphanage. With no papers to prove his ancestry, he was assumed to be a Muslimand thus forbidden to live with a Christian familyand given the religiously neutral name Yusuf, the Arabic equivalent of Joseph. The desperate parents protested: What Muslim would leave their unwanted child at a church? Denied, they were even forbidden from visiting him in the orphanage. Their applications for employment at the facility were turned down. According to the Ministry of Social Solidarity, Egypt has 11,000 children in institutional care. According to a 2016 study by UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, the total number of Egyptian children with at least one parent dead is 1.2 million. Not all of them have a sad ending. It turned out better than I couldve ever hoped for, said Rasha Mekki, who discovered Egypts kafala program in her mid-40s following 20 years of IVF treatments. She visited orphanages over the course of a month, filled out the government paperwork, and came home with Mostafa. Kafala means sponsorship in Arabic, somewhat akin to foster care. Today, Mekki lives with her husband and not-quite-son in San Francisco where she runs Yalla Kafala, a nonprofit founded in 2020 to promote adoption in Egypt. Its goal is an orphan-free Egypt by 2030. She is less ambitious than the Egyptian government, which set 2025 as its target date to close all orphanages in the nation due to widespread child abuse, neglect, and overcrowding. Reforms in 2020 allowed single, divorced, and unmarried women over the age of 30 to apply for kafala, and lowered the level of education necessary to one spouse holding a high school diploma. Last year, further reforms allowed a partial name change. After consulting with the Cairo-based al-Azhar, the foremost center of scholarship in the Sunni Muslim world, the Egyptian government permitted sponsoring parents to give the child the fathers name in the second position of the quadrilateral, or the family name in the fourth positionbut not both designations. Combined with a storyline on kafala by the popular Why Not? Egyptian miniseries, applications surged to 2,700 in 2021, the highest number ever. Yet still far from the total number in need, as many orphans are seen as the unwanted children of sin and suffer severe social stigma. Even from those willing to try: One couple, after taking in a child through the kafala system, returned the three-year-old girl after the wife got pregnant. Another advocate chided orphanages in general, though acknowledging their workers do their best. She will be brought up by foster mothers who are employed to care for her, who are overworked and underpaid, said Yasmina El Habbal, a single woman in her mid-40s, posting her experience raising Baby Ghalia on her public Facebook page. Mothers who will leave to get married, and be replaced. Mekki is working to remind Muslims that care for orphans Muhammad was one himselfis a great deed in Islam. And though the formal rules of inheritance exclude the kafala child, sharia law permits any number of gifts to be given while the parents are alive. Additionally, their will may specify up to one-third of any inheritance distributed after their death be given to other than their legal heirs. Breastfeeding a kafala child, furthermore, removes the prohibition on the non-family mixing of sexes, allowing women to keep their heads uncovered after a sponsored boy matures. Raymond Ibrahim, writing for Coptic Solidarity, was critical. Citing Muslim narratives, he related how the prophet of Islam adopted Zayd, an orphan believed to be the fourth person to accept the faith. But the practice became forbidden when Zayd divorced his wife and Muhammad thereafter married her. Kafala took its place, and precedent was established. And Christians are among the modern victims. The reason Shenouda and his family were targeted is because of their Christian faith, Ibrahim wrote. The childwhose background is unknownwas being raised as a Christian, and it is this that has caused the state to act. Some critics say the Egyptian government should not have such a right. Article 3 of Egypts constitution permits Christians and Jews to govern their own personal status issuessuch as marriage, divorce, and inheritanceaccording to their religious traditions. If we subject this matter to the religious concept, adoption is permissible in Christianity, though the opposite in Islam, said Youssef Talaat, legal advisor for the Protestant Churches of Egypt (PCE). But the current law does not have articles related to it. Talaat represented the PCE alongside the Coptic Orthodox and Catholic churches to present a new unified personal status law before the government. Completed last year, it is expected to be discussed in the upcoming session of parliament, though due to Egypts sharia-based prohibitionwith kafala as the alternativeadoption (tabenni) is not included within the new text. Coptic lawyer Naguib Suleiman wants the parliament to amend the proposed family law further, and it is reported some members will lobby to allow adoption for Christians. Until then, where will orphans go? In the absence of a legal framework, civil society organizations have to step in and fill the void, said Riad. Our work prevents the Shenouda situation from happening. Coptic Orphans, founded in 1988, works in about 800 towns and villages throughout Egypt. Currently serving 9,000 orphans, the organization states it has helped prevent 35,000 children from entering institutionalized care. A 2017 article in the academic journal Trauma, Violence, and Abuse surveyed 23 studies over 20 years, involving a total of over 13,000 children. Those raised in foster care experienced consistently better experiences and less problems than those in orphanages. As an example, in 2009, American Scientist published research on 136 children in Romania. At 3.5 years, only 18 percent raised institutionally demonstrated secure attachments to their primary caregiver. But 49 percent of those in foster care did so, and 65 percent of those in the general community. Working in cooperation with church-affiliated orphanages, Coptic Orphans aims to place the vulnerable in the care of relatives. And Riad clarified that most orphans in the Christian networks care are not fully such: 95 percent of beneficiaries have a mother. But when the father dies, gets imprisoned, or otherwise disappears, the family is often plunged into poverty. Even in cases where the mother passed away also, the extended family network steps in, buttressed by Coptic Orphans financial assistance. It makes kafala unnecessary, and the government does not need to be involved. And in the rare cases when parentage is unknown, the church will quietly place the child with a family. Spiritual care is also provided. Typically, it is the priest who places the child within a family, said Riad. They know their community, and the necessary provisions, better than any case worker could. Riad praised the efforts of the government to expand and promote kafala. But she wonders how Egypt will be able to care for all the children, should plans proceed to close the orphanages. Yet just as the nations Christians once had to skirt the law to build churches until reform occurred, she hopes adoption will become included in the legal revisions. And not just for the rare examples like Shenouda, but for all Coptic children in need of care. Families are adopting informally already, in the shadows, Riad said. If there is legalization for Christians, that would be ideal. Carla Flores was nervous to stand in front of a suburban evangelical congregation and share her experience as the child of undocumented immigrants. Born in Mexico and raised since she was a toddler in Kansas City, Kansas, the 26-year-old childrens ministry leader is one of over 3 million Dreamers in the US, meaning her status is legal but uncertain. During her recent presentation at this church on the other side of town from her own, some churchgoers drilled her for details about her life, while others responded warmly and volunteered for ministry in her immigrant community. Floress experience reflects a bigger shift in US evangelical views on immigration. Some polls in the past have shown white evangelicals in particular were opposed to pathways to citizenship and accepting refugees. But the latest survey from Lifeway Researchcoming as an unprecedented wave of Afghan refugees settle in the US and Dreamers remain in limboindicates that evangelicals support for immigrants and immigration reform has grown significantly. Evangelicals are more open to welcoming refugees and offering paths to citizenship for undocumented immigrants than they were in 2015, the last time Lifeway polled on the issue. Now 77 percent of self-identified evangelicals are strongly or somewhat in favor of a path to citizenship, up from 61 percent who said yes seven years before. Among those who attend worship at least weekly, 82 percent were in favor. Evangelicals by a wide majority and across all ethnicities said they would support bipartisan immigration reform, defined as increasing border security and establishing a process for undocumented immigrants to apply for citizenship if they paid a fine, passed a criminal background check, and completed other requirements (a path to citizenship similar to the one supported by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops). A higher percentage of evangelicals also cited the Bible as their top influence on their immigration views compared to 2015, although it is still in third place after friends and family and the media. In the 2022 survey, 70 percent of evangelicals overall, and 68 percent of white evangelicals, agreed that the US has a moral responsibility to accept refugees. That contrasts sharply with a widely cited statistic from 2018, when Pew Research Center data showed only 25 percent of white evangelicals said the US had a responsibility to accept refugees, the lowest of any demographic in the US. In 2017, white evangelicals by a large majority supported President Donald Trumps ban on Syrian refugees entering the country. Ive had that Pew stat thrown at me lots of times, said Matthew Soerens, the US director of church mobilization and advocacy for World Relief. World Relief and the Evangelical Immigration Table commissioned the Lifeway survey in 2015 and 2022. He never felt like that low number matched up with the evangelical support for refugees he saw in his work. In the question this year, the Lifeway researchers decided to include a definition of a refugee under US law: someone fleeing persecution due to specific factors such as their race, religion, or political opinion. Other data would support a shift in evangelical attitudes. World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, is one of the approved refugee resettlement agencies for the US government. During the chaotic August evacuation from Afghanistan last year, the organization gained 3,000 new donors, a 1,500 percent increase over the same period the previous year. That outpouring from individuals and churches for domestic refugee and immigration ministry continued after the Afghan evacuation. Giving for the fiscal year which ended September 30, 2021, was double that of 2020. So far this fiscal year, its giving for domestic ministries has surpassed that 2021 number. The survey report doesnt explain why views shifted. I would hope it has to do with learning and faithful witness over time, said Jeren Rowell, the president of Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. This week the seminary hosted an immigration event for pastors, with presentations from a Ugandan who had been tortured for his political views and fled to the US for asylum as well as from Flores, the Dreamer. Rowell added that peoples attention has shifted away from immigration too, which may help lower the temperature of the conversation about it. Soerens thinks that the welcome of Afghan and Ukrainian refugees to the US this past year had a lot to do with more welcoming views on refugees. He noted that there is currently not negative news coverage on refugees like there was with Syrian refugees. I think the Afghanistan crisis helped a number of conservative people understand how difficult our immigration system is, said Soerens. Christians trying to help desperate Afghans escape often found no solution, even if they knew Afghans met strict qualifications for visas. Now Soerens said more people might understand that the trouble for Afghans is true for other nationalities as well. On immigration too, Soerens used to hear questions during his church visits about immigrants taking jobs from Americans, but he hasnt heard that kind of question in a long time. We cant find enough people to do all the jobs in this country, he said. The survey supported that anecdote, with fewer self-identified evangelicals saying they saw immigrants as a drain on economic resources than in 2015. Dreamers build relationships in churches Flores was born in Mexico, but her undocumented parents brought her to the United States when she was just a few years old. Her dad picked peaches in South Carolina, and her mom moved to Kansas City, Kansas, where she grew up. When Flores was a teenager, the Obama administration introduced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program which allowed people like Flores, Dreamers, to receive work permits and protection from deportation. It allowed her to go to college and then to work, though she remains in uncertainty. Every two years she files fingerprints, paperwork, and does background checks to renew her DACA status. Dreamers do not currently have a path to permanent legal status in the US, though most Americans support them staying. A 2020 survey from Politico/MorningConsult, showed 72 percent of evangelicals said Dreamers should be allowed to stay in the country. Measures to resolve their status have stalled in Congress. Flores remains anxious about her status in the only country she knows, but she is focusing her attention working at her church, Mission Adelante, in Kansas City. She was raised nominally Catholic but became evangelical after going to the youth group at Mission Adelante as a teenager. Last October when she spoke at a suburban evangelical church doing an immigration workshop, she told her story to the room. The experience was tough, she said because the audience had already a negative connotation of what DACA was, or who Dreamers were, she said. During the question-and-answer time, she had to go into detail about how she paid taxes and health insurance. It was definitely vulnerable for me to share all of that, Flores said. One person asked about whether her parents were still around, their immigration status, and whether they were working, which made her nervous. I didnt want to put my parents in a position to get hurt. But though the event felt a little hostile, afterward she had one older man reach out and tell her that he was honored to hear her story and that it helped him understand what it was like to be a Dreamer. Another man from the event started volunteering with her ministry. It was new for him to go over to my side of town, to be around the kids in my community, she said. It helps you see a face to something. Usually, we read something or hear about something, and well dismiss it. Lifeway added a question this year about whether people taking the survey had been involved in a ministry to serve refugees or immigrants. Of those who had ever served in a ministry to immigrants, 77 percent agreed that Christians have a responsibility to assist immigrants, even if they are here illegally, compared to 48 percent of those who hadnt ever served in a ministry. That may show a correlation without a causation, if people who serve in immigrant ministry are already a self-selected group with positive views on immigrants. Evangelicals views historically go back and forth Ulrike Elisabeth Stockhausen, in the 2021 bookThe Strangers in Our Midst: American Evangelicals and Immigration from the Cold War to the 21st Century, notes the complex and at times contradictory attitudes that evangelicals have espoused on undocumented immigrants and refugees in the decades since World War II. Evangelicals provided the infrastructure and volunteers for refugee resettlement from those fleeing communism in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, welcoming Cubans to Soviet refugees. They supported legalization for undocumented immigrants in the 1986 law signed by President Ronald Reagan, the Immigration Reform and Control Act. But they became more hardline about illegal immigration in the 1990s. In 2012, evangelical leaders from a wide range of groups including conservative ones like Focus on the Family, signed a statement of support for immigration reform, that included respecting the dignity of immigrants, the rule of law, border security, and establishing a path to citizenship. But immigration reform has stalled over and over. World Relief is tracking some smaller policy changes that may come up this Congress, like a bipartisan bill on legal status for temporary farm workers. For more than a decade, Soerens has traveled the country to do events at churches on immigration. Because the church attendance of self-identified evangelicals has been decreasing, especially after the pandemic, he worried that the 2022 numbers on evangelical attitudes toward immigrants might be worse than 2015. But after seeing the survey, and in particular the growth of influence of the Bible in evangelical views on immigration, he was encouraged. Im not satisfied with it but I told my wife, I feel like the last 10 years of my life have not been totally in vain, he said. Methodology Of the total pool of about a thousand evangelicals surveyed, 49 percent of the sample considered themselves conservative, 35 percent considered themselves moderate, and 13 percent considered themselves liberal or progressive. Some of Lifeways questions from 2015 to 2022 shifted from requiring a yes or no answer to strongly agree, somewhat agree, strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, options, which could have affected how the percentages changed from 2015 to 2022. The survey this year interviewed evangelicals who self-identified as evangelical and those who strongly agreed with four statements of evangelical belief, like that the Bible is the highest authority and that salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone. The 2015 survey was based only on self-identified evangelicals. That new breakdown between belief and self-identity helped show significant differences. More evangelicals by belief saw new immigrants as an opportunity for evangelism than did self-identified evangelicals. Demolition of historic egg church shocks OKC residents A historic church building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been demolished due to maintenance issues, following years of efforts to keep the structure preserved. First Christian Church, often called the egg church because of its distinctive dome, was destroyed Monday by a demolition crew, according to KOCO 5 News. City officials told local news outlets that a permit to tear down the building had been approved last Friday, with some locals expressing dismay at the decision to demolish the church. I think that the city owes us an apology, historic preservation activist Mark Faulk told KOCO. You get it approved at 8:01 and theyre tearing it down at 8:02. These buildings are unique in the entire world. Theres not another building like it in the entire world. And as we bulldoze all of our history in Oklahoma City, were taking our character away. Molly McBride, who had attended preschool at the building, told KOCO that she wished somebody had tried harder to save the church from destruction. It really would add a lot of pain to whats already a painful loss in the city to see something come in that doesnt reflect the character of the neighborhood, McBride added. Built in 1956 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the church had been noted as a place of refuge during the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, according to the Tulsa-based Fox 23. First Christian Church had to put the property up for sale in 2016 due to the increased demands of maintenance costs for the shrinking congregation. In 2019, a group known as the Okie Mod Squad tried to get the city council to declare the church a landmark, getting thousands of signatures on an online petition. Around the same time as the petition drive, a multisite megachurch named Crossings Community Church had openly considered buying the property to turn it into another campus. However, by August of that year, Crossings Community had decided to not pursue the purchase, explaining in a statement at the time that the overall cost was much higher than we anticipated. It became far more than what our leadership and elders were willing to invest; particularly in light of our 60-year commitment not to incur any long-term debt, they continued. [While] this is not the outcome that we had hoped for, we are confident that we have diligently pursued and carefully considered all aspects of this opportunity. Actually, America is too a Christian nation To say the founding of the United States reflects biblical Christianity is to state the obvious. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution incorporated many fundamental precepts of the Reformation, and these precepts long have been recognized by American statesmen and jurists. From overt assertions that people are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights and are entitled to the liberties of the Laws of Nature and of Natures God, to the more subtle acknowledgment of the birth of Jesus Christ in Article VII of the Constitution, biblical Christianity was absolutely central to the American founding. Whats more, 46 states explicitly mention God in their own constitutions, according to a report from Pew Research Center. Clearly, Christianity remains central to our national character today. Such observations ought not to be controversial, but saying what is true can get you in big trouble these days. In this instance, the media outlet Politico is sounding alarms over some Republicans self-describing as Christian nationalists, while others are talking about formally declaring the United States to be a Christian nation. Calling America a Christian nation today might be debatable; a 2021 poll by Pew found that the number of Americans who describe themselves as Christian fell to 63%, down from 78% in 2007. But our national founding and ongoing civic philosophy are unquestionably Christian. President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, said it most succinctly in observing, America was born a Christian nation. Wilson is by no means alone in his recognition of the Christian roots of America and the absolute necessity of biblical Christianity in the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican, said: The teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally impossible for us to figure to ourselves what that life would be if these teachings were removed. President Herbert Hoover, a fellow Republican, echoed Roosevelt by saying: The whole inspiration of our civilization springs from the teachings of Christ and the lessons of the prophets. To read the Bible for these fundamentals is a necessity of American life. President Harry Trumans observations of the importance of the Bible to America stretch back to the Old Testament. The fundamental basis of this nations law was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teachings which we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul, Truman, a Democrat, said. The House of Representatives was clear in its declaration of the American character. A House Resolution from May 1854 stated: The belief of our people in the pure doctrines and divine truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ was vital to the American system of government. Presidents, members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, and many others long have recognized the role of the Bible and Christianity in the United States, both in terms of the nations founding and its continuation as a global beacon of liberty. So why is it that in 2022, some are denying history and encouraging their fellow Americans to forsake our national legacy? Its no secret that a lot of people want an American future that is radically different from its past and present. The 1619 Project, critical race theory, and other vehicles that are built from the ground up to revile the United States and its founding are symptomatic of a deep enmity toward our nation. But these attacks also validate the truth of Christianitys powerful influence on society, both here and across the world. Biblical Christianity enshrines liberty and informs good government. Adherents of Marxism, socialism, communism, and other authoritarian structures know this too. They are well aware that the imposition of tyranny is far more difficult when the society they seek to subjugate believes in the truths of biblical Christianity. That is why the political Left and its acolytes are so focused on their slander of the faith. The marginalization and destruction of Christianity is the necessary precursor to forcing despotism on Americans. To claim that declaring America a Christian nation amounts to the establishment of a state religion is silly. If people of other faiths wish to live here in peace, they are and always have been welcomed and protected in the practice of their faith; the First Amendments protection of freedom of religion is an outgrowth of the Reformation. But America and its founding dont cease to be Christian just because a small number of political and cultural elites cast themselves as deniers of history. Todays attacks on Christianity are not new. Theyve been going on since the first century and will continue apace, just as Jesus Christ told his disciples. Today, these assaults are being propelled into our political discourse and only will increase. Christians, indeed Americans of all faiths, must not permit the whitewashing of our history and the continued erosion of the liberties articulated in biblical Christianity. Originally published at The Daily Signal. This week in Christian history: Catholic Church declares first woman 'doctor;' Peace of Augsburg signed Throughout the extensive history of the Church, there have been numerous events of lasting significance. Each week brings anniversaries of impressive milestones, unforgettable tragedies, amazing triumphs, memorable births and notable deaths. Some of the events drawn from over 2,000 years of history might be familiar, while other happenings might be previously unknown by most people. The following pages highlight anniversaries of memorable events that occurred this week Sept. 25 through Oct. 1 in Christian history. They include the pope accusing a French royal of heresy, the Catholic Church declaring a woman to be a "doctor of the Church" and the Peace of Augsburg. 1 2 3 4 Next Ex-porn star-turned-pastor shares tips for Christians to overcome lustfulness and loneliness A former porn star who became a pastor recently shared tips for Christians on overcoming lustfulness and loneliness, stressing that lack of awareness can lead Christians down a path of temptation that they can take steps to avoid. Joshua Broome, the 40-year-old who founded the nonprofit Finding Hope Inc. with his wife, Hope, was a guest speaker on an episode of Brittni and Richard De La Mora's "Let's Talk Purity" podcast last week. Broome said that the feelings of isolation and lust can still be persistent for Christians even if they are thriving in their romantic relationships and have achieved great success in many areas in their lives. But he said that loneliness and lust are not impossible to combat if Christians actively pursue closeness with Jesus daily. "When you have an appropriate understanding of who God is, and you draw close to Him, that is where intimacy is found," Broome said. "And I think when we try to replace God with things, people like even our marriage, even our kids, even our ministry when we try to replace the intimacy that God is calling us to have, we will feel lonely [and] we will feel discontent." Broome said that he has to spend time with God. "I have to talk to Him. It's like your faith. It can't be passive," he said. "It has to be active. So, I have to actively be walking out and stepping into my relationship not my status, but my relationship with Christ. That is where intimacy is found." According to Broome, a strong relationship with Christ can't be accomplished alone, stressing the importance of good relationships and "finding good friendships." "I would say the evidence of health is fruit. So, if you look at John 15, where it's like, 'If you remain [in] Me, and I in you, your life will bear much fruit. But apart from Me, you can do nothing,'" Broome said. "In that Scripture, it's talking about cutting off dead branches. And why would you cut off dead branches? Because they're not producing fruit." "We need to get better at having self-awareness," he added. "And just saying, 'Hey, is this friendship producing fruit? Is it, like, benefiting me? Is it edifying me higher?'" Broome believes that "awareness leads to fruitfulness," which can help Christians combat loneliness and lust. "People often think that adultery just happens, like instantly. [They think], 'Oh, I see a girl. I look at her. Go to bed with her.' It happens little by little. But I really believe that that happens because of a lack of awareness," he said. "[Christians need to be] asking ourselves the big question; 'Why do I want to talk to her?' 'Why do I want to reach out to him?' [Let's say] somebody is being tempted with lustful thoughts, and, I don't know, maybe they are being triggered online. How can we help them and give them awareness to traffic through that, so they don't find themselves doing something that is out of character?" Broome believes that a key to living a Christian life and resisting temptation is living "step by step" and "moment by moment." "Know that your heart is deceitful," said Broome. "Really ask God to search your heart and bring to the forefront of your mind, literally pray that dangerous prayer: 'God, show me my inadequacies, show me how I'm offending you. Bring that to my attention because I want to submit to You.' That is where purpose is found. That is where freedom is found." Earlier in the podcast, Broome shared that being a Christian is a journey with God that takes time for every individual, urging Christians to "be patient [with yourself] in the process because God often wants to do something in you before He does something through you or for you." "I obtained all these things that I thought would make me happy and I figured out they didn't work and my life was in this pit. And then I was walking with God. It was a process. It wasn't just a 'Yes, Jesus saved my soul and gave me a new heart in that moment.' But walking with Him has been a process," Broome recounted his journey to Christ after finding success in the adult film industry. Broome said one struggle he faced after giving his life to Christ was the temptations of longing for approval. He judged himself based on how much he achieved. "When I wasn't operating out of acceptance, when I was trying to go back to my old thinking, I was operating out of achievement," Broome recalled. "My achievement drove my happiness." "In ministry, there's a lot of big wins, but that's not every day. That's not every season. And I think it's so easy to get caught up in, 'Well, I'm not experiencing what I think my life should look like or what I think I should be accomplishing.'" During his time of temptation, Broome said Psalm 23 by David served as an inspiration for him to put God first. "[When I am] thinking about David [and] Psalm 23, [it] is like: 'Lord you are my shepherd. I shall not want.' Laying my wants, my success, my understanding of belief in victory because it's not about me. It's about furthering the Kingdom," Broome noted. "More importantly, it's not even about what I could ever do for the Kingdom. It's about me growing closer to Jesus Christ every day, me growing in intimacy with Him. Because so often, as ministers of the Gospel, which we all are ... sometimes your life is not going to look like what you think it should." "Your objective is not to achieve; it's to obey," Broome said. Arizona's new school choice law expected to survive petition drive Opponents of Arizona's school voucher law have reportedly failed to file enough valid signatures to overturn the recently passed measure deemed to be one of the most robust school choice policies in the United States. Beth Lewis, executive director of public school advocacy group Save Our Schools Arizona, which opposes school choice policies, announced Friday that she and her group had filed a petition against Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account program. The program ensures all K-12 students are eligible for scholarship funds and receive help toward educational expenses through the state. Families can receive over $6,500 per year per child for private school, homeschooling, micro schools, tutoring or other educational services. The school choice law, said to be the most robust in the nation, faced opposition from teachers' unions. The petition's goal was to temporarily halt the program and put the measure on the ballot for voters to decide in 2024. It was initially reported that Lewis' group collected more than 140,000 signatures, more than the 118,823 signatures required. However, an organization supporting the school choice policy reported Monday that based on petition sheets released by the Secretary of State's office, only 88,866 signatures were submitted. "The tremendous shortfall in signatures is apparent based on the petition sheets made available by the Secretary of State's office, which is due to make a final determination on the effort," a statement from the libertarian think tank Goldwater Institute reads. Lewis told The Associated Press that she is "incredibly disappointed with the numbers" but is waiting on "accurate numbers" from the Secretary of State's office. Goldwater Institute CEO Victor Riches says the preliminary result suggests that "Arizona families have rejected special interests' attempts to take away their ability to choose the education that best meets their child's unique needs." "Families deserve the right to choose the best education option for their children, regardless of zip code, and now, they'll once again be able to exercise that right by applying for ESAs," Riches said. In an interview with Salon, Lewis claimed that groups like American Federation for Children and the conservative Goldwater Institute have signaled "massive legal battles" over the petition and validating signatures. Petitions are often challenged to check for issues such as incomplete addresses and duplicate signatures. The Save Our Schools group ran a similar referendum campaign against a universal voucher law in 2018, in which it gathered around 118,000 signatures, more than the 76,000 required. Lewis claimed that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's recent expansion of the state Supreme Court and new restrictions requiring petitioners gather a certain percentage of signatures from each county required them to collect more than in 2018. After it was reported that Save Our Schools gathered enough signatures, Jason Bedrick, a research fellow at the national conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, argued in a Friday Twitter thread that Lewis and her group celebrated too early. Citing Ballotpedia, Bedrick noted that the group obtained around 140,000 signatures when the average validity rate is around 70%, meaning they would have had to have obtained around 150,000 signatures. The research fellow claimed that Save Our Schools would need an 84% validity rate. Bedrick believes the "greatest hurdle" to the petitions is that most parents in the state favor school choice, pointing to a recent Morning Consult poll. According to the survey, 66% of Arizonians and 75% of parents with school-age children said they support ESA. The survey contained a sample size of 621 people, and 295 were parents with school children. Arizona adopted the ESA program in July, ensuring all K-12 students are eligible for scholarship funds. The legislation was sponsored by Arizona House Majority Leader Ben Toma, a Republican, and signed by Gov. Ducey earlier this summer. "This is a monumental moment for all of Arizona's students. Our kids will no longer be locked in underperforming schools. Today, we're unlocking a whole new world of opportunity for them and their parents," Gov. Ducey said. "With this legislation, Arizona cements itself as the top state for school choice and as the first state in the nation to offer all families the option to choose the school setting that works best for them," he continued. "Every family in Arizona should have access to a high-quality education with dedicated teachers." In August, the nonpartisan research group Education Next reported that around 2 million fewer students are enrolled in public schools nationwide since the spring of 2020 when in-person learning ceased during the pandemic. From 2020-2022, public school enrollment declined from 81% to 76.5%, while charter school enrollment increased from 5% to 7.2%. In addition, private school enrollment increased from 8% to 9.7%, and homeschooling rose from 6% to 6.6%. Derwin Gray: God wants 'race of grace,' not 'colorblindness' Transformation Church Pastor Derwin Gray has rejected the idea of colorblindness and instead wants churches to focus on the importance of the race of grace that all people should belong to. Speaking before the Awana Child Discipleship Forum on Friday, Gray began his remarks by talking about the movie Encanto, noting that just as the family in the film said, we dont talk about Bruno. So, oftentimes churches in the United States say, we dont talk about race. Heres the problem: not talking about Bruno does not make the problems of Bruno go away, said Gray. Its a taboo subject because God forbid you may actually say something thats wrong and then people clobber you. Gray lamented that few American Christians belong to a true multiethnic church, asserting that the most divided institution in America is Jesus Church. Not the nightclub, where they be in there dropping it like its hot, he joked. It looks like every nation, tribe and tongue. But Jesus Church doesnt. When examining what to do about this issue, Gray told his white brothers and sisters in love that I dont want you to be colorblind, and neither does God. God wants us to be color-blessed, Gray declared. He didnt make a mistake giving me this cocoa-chocolatey colored skin. Gray stressed that ethnic reconciliation is intrinsic to the Gospel, pointing to the first century church, in which Jews and Gentiles gathered together for Christian fellowship. Grace creates a new race comprised of the multiple ethnicities within the human race, he said. When you spell grace, if you knock off the g, you have race. The grace of God creates this new humanity. The early church fathers actually called the first followers of Jesus a new race, a race of the redeemed. Not Jew, not Gentile, but Jew and Gentile in Christ. Our ethnicities were not obliterated, they were celebrated. They were not erased, they were embraced. Gray warned those gathered that when well-meaning people say they are colorblind, they are muting the beauty of Gods creation. Gray described what he called the race of grace by quoting Revelation 5:9-10, which reads in part that with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. Imagine if you and I lived this out and informed and taught our kids that everybody they see is [first] made in the Image of Christ and are worthy of dignity and love, and [second], for those who are believers, we are a kingdom of priests, Gray said. How can I look down on somebody else who is the same as I am? Gray went on to explain that the new race of grace is characterized by humility, noting that there is no ethnic superiority and nothing to boast about for believers, regardless of their ethnic background. We got people mad because The Little Mermaid is black, said Gray, noting how more people in America needed to be humble. But the same people wont be mad that pictures of Jesus look like He from Scotland! Gray also said that the new race of grace is defined by the story of the promise, noting that when youre in Christ, you and I enter into this new covenant that God made. How in the world can I have any form of ethnic supremacy if all of Gods children are wearing Christ? he asked. What if we actually began to believe that the Scriptures are true? What if we actually began to believe that the Scriptures are true so much that you no longer allow family members to make racist comments without saying anything? Grays remarks were part of the second annual Awana Child Discipleship Forum, held from Sept. 22-23 in Nashville, Tennessee, with 500 attendees. The event featured research by the prominent faith-based polling firm The Barna Group and included speakers who discussed the future of childrens ministry in the United States. In an earlier interview with The Christian Post, Awana CEO Matt Markins explained that he hoped attendees walk away with the knowledge that we're standing on a burning platform if churches keep doing children's ministry as we've been doing it the last couple of decades. "We want to build a pathway to a better future. But if we don't make the decision to move in that direction, at some point the Church in the West is going to realize we're standing on a burning platform, and we've got to move toward formational or discipleship ministry with children," he said. Barna CEO David Kinnaman was another speaker at the forum, focusing on the need for childrens ministry to shift their focus from making children consumers to making them participants. We're seeing in our research across a wide range of different studies that people want to be participants in the Gospel mission, said Kinnaman in a video presentation at the forum last Thursday. It's not easy. People sometimes would rather hang back and just sit and soak, but I believe that God is calling us now more than ever to equip people to live lives on mission. FBI, DOJ face pushback over arrest, prosecution of Catholic pro-life activist The Federal Bureau of Investigation is facing criticism over its early-morning arrest of a pro-life activist, which critics claim is an example of overreach and double standards by federal law enforcement officials. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice released a statement announcing the indictment Mark Houck of Kintnersville, Pennsylvania. He is charged with a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. The law subjects any person who "intentionally injures, intimidates, or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person" seeking to "provide reproductive health services" to federal charges. The DOJ indicated that "the defendant is alleged to have twice assaulted a man because he was a volunteer reproductive health care clinic escort." The federal agency maintained that "the defendant forcefully shoved" the clinic escort to the ground on two separate occasions at a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood clinic on Oct. 13, 2021, one of which required him to receive "medical attention." If convicted, Houck faces up to 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release and up to $350,000 in fines. Court documents reveal that a grand jury agreed with the federal government's analysis of what happened that day and indicted Houck for violating federal law on Tuesday, three days before his arrest. A fundraiser for Houck on the crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo tells a slightly different story about what happened on Oct. 13, 2021, suggesting that "Mark's 'crime' was protecting his 12-year-old son from an aggressive Planned Parenthood escort in downtown Philadelphia." "Last year, Mark and his son were praying in front of the PP at 12th and Locust. When one of the escorts began harassing Mark's son they walked down the street away from the entrance to the building. The escort followed them, and when he continued yelling at Mark's son, Mark pushed him away." As of Tuesday morning, the fundraiser has raised more than $240,000. Proceeds from the fundraiser will go to "help the family with any necessary expenses" as they endure what organizers of the effort characterize as a campaign of "fear and intimidation." The fundraiser also provided additional details about Houck's arrest Friday morning. "At 7 am on Friday, September 23, 20 SWAT team members burst into the home of Mark Houck," the fundraiser stated. "These agents had guns drawn and shields up in the faces of Mark, his wife, and their seven young children. Mark was handcuffed in front of his family and arrested." Ryan-Marie Houck, Houck's wife, elaborated on what happened at the Philadelphia Planned Parenthood clinic and the events that unfolded Friday morning in an interview with LifeSite News. She told the news outlet that the clinic escort directed derogatory language at their then-12-year-old son, including an assertion that "your dad is a fag." Ryan-Marie Houck reported that when the clinic escort remained in her son's face, her husband "shoved him away from his child, and the guy fell back." She added, "he didn't have any injuries or anything, but he tried to sue Mark." While the clinic escort's legal challenge against Houck was unsuccessful in the lower courts, the Department of Justice resurrected the case in federal court last week. "They started pounding on the door and yelling for us to open it," Ryan-Marie Houck recalled of the FBI's descendence on her home last week. While her husband informed the agents of his intention to open the door and pleaded with them to quiet down because he had "seven babies in the house," the law enforcement officials "just kept pounding and screaming." She classified the experience as "scary and traumatic," stressing that "the kids were all just screaming." "I've already reached out to some psychiatrists or psychologists to try and help us through this. I don't really know what's going to come of it when you see guns pointed at your dad and your mom in your house when you wake up." In a statement to Fox News, an FBI spokesperson pushed back against the Houcks' depiction of the raid, classifying parts of it as inaccurate. "There are inaccurate claims being made regarding the arrest of Mark Houck. No SWAT Team or SWAT operators were involved. FBI agents knocked on Mr. Houck's front door, identified themselves as FBI agents and asked him to exit the residence," the spokesperson said. "He did so and was taken into custody without incident pursuant to an indictment." Ryan-Marie Houck stated to LifeSiteNews that when she asked the FBI agents to provide a warrant, they replied that they "were going to take him whether they had a warrant or not." After she protested that "you can't just come to a person's house and kidnap them at gunpoint," they presented the warrant for her husband's arrest to her. Houck is the founder and president of The King's Men, which the organization's website describes as a ministry to "build up other men in the mold of leader, protector, and provider through education, formation, healing and action." A bio on the website notes that Houck, a "passionate Catholic," has "written numerous articles, brochures and publications on the topics of pornography, homosexuality, abortion, teen sexuality, parenting and masculine spirituality." The early-morning raid on Houck's home received swift condemnation from leaders in the pro-life movement. Bill Donohue of The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights wrote a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, seeking an investigation into Houck's arrest. Donohue accused the FBI of a double standard when enforcing the law based on whether a person supports or opposes abortion. "There seems to be much interest in pursuing alleged wrongdoing by pro-life activists, yet little interest in pursuing alleged wrongdoing by abortion-rights activists," Donohue lamented in the letter published Monday. "This kind of overreaction to a minor infraction of the law is deeply troubling, and it becomes even more troubling when paired with the underreaction by the Department of Justice when the pro-life side is targeted." Donohue reflected on the letters he had previously written to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland urging investigations into the violence directed at pro-life pregnancy centers and churches following the leak of the U.S. Supreme Court's draft decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The leak revealed a majority of justices were poised to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Vandalism and firebomings on pro-life organizations continued after the Dobbs decision was released on June 24. "Not only did I not receive a response from the attorney general, but there have also been no news stories on SWAT teams crashing the homes of abortion-rights terrorists," he wrote. "Yet there have been many instances of violence that make 'shoving' someone look like child's play." Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate in Pennsylvania's upcoming gubernatorial election, condemned Houck's arrest as an example of "the continued weaponization of the FBI and persecution by Joe Biden's DOJ against ordinary Americans." He accused federal law enforcement of going after "political enemies" of President Joe Biden. Houck was released from custody Friday on $10,000 bail. Under the terms of his release, Houck must surrender his passport and firearms and cannot travel outside the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where the federal case against him is taking place unless he is given special permission to do so. Additionally, he must refrain from protesting and sidewalk counseling at the Philadelphia Planned Parenthood where his encounter with the clinic escort took place. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a national grassroots advocacy organization that opposes abortion, condemned Houck's arrest as an example of federal law enforcement being used to go after opponents of the Biden administration. The Biden-Harris administration has dangerously politicized the Justice Department to punish political enemies and protect the abortion industry that spends millions to elect pro-abortion Democrats, said SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser. [Vice President] Kamala Harris tactic of raiding the homes of journalists who exposed Planned Parenthoods role in trafficking baby body parts is now policy at the highest levels of government. President Bidens repeated failure to denounce pro-abortion violence by name and characterization of pro-life Americans as threats to democracy have consequences fueling scores of attacks on pregnancy centers, pro-life nonprofits and houses of worship, as well as an assassination attempt against U.S. Supreme Court justices." Dannenfelser lamented that there have been "no arrests in at least 17 cases of pro-abortion terrorism tied to Janes Revenge.'" Now a pro-life family has found the guns of the FBI aimed at them and their children at home, pregnancy centers in Michigan and Colorado have been vandalized in recent days, and an elderly pro-life volunteer has been shot in the back while peacefully canvassing," Dannenfelser stated. "We join our allies in Congress in demanding a full account from Attorney General Garland of what is being done to investigate and prosecute these attacks, which are unacceptable in a country founded on equal justice under the law. Mother sentenced to 23 years in prison for sex trafficking 6-year-old daughter A U.S. district judge has sentenced a 31-year-old woman in Washington state to 23 years in prison for sex trafficking her 6-year-old girl in exchange for a place to stay, cash and new Nike shoes. The convict, Kylie Ruby Flores from Spokane, Washington, made her daughter available to a man, identified as Trever Harder, for sexual abuse, the Department of Justice said in a statement. U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Flores last week, three months after she pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking. Flores will also be on federal supervision for the remainder of her life, the judge said. Harder has also pleaded guilty and is pending sentencing. Harder, whom Flores had met online through the dating app Plenty of Fish, sexually abused the child, including acts of sodomy. The man set up a camera on a cat tree in his apartment in Cheney, Washington, where he filmed himself raping the little girl on the couch in his apartment. The facts of this case present some of the most egregious sexual abuse of a child one can imagine, said Vanessa R. Waldref, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District. Todays sentence is important, but it is equally important to remember that Flores sentence will likely be much shorter than the lifelong impact on the child. She said while no sentence can return the childs innocence, our community is now safer and stronger. Most important, the child is now in a safe place. The sentencing, she added, sends a clear message to those who seek to sexually abuse children: justice is coming. David Herzog, the assistant U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington who prosecuted the case, thanked the FBI agents and state, local and tribal law enforcement for their investigation, which was part of Project Safe Childhood, a DOJ initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Richard A. Collodi, special agent in charge of the FBIs Seattle field office, said it was inconceivable as a parent how someone could participate in the victimization of a child under their care. While the sentence in this case is significant and truly justified, it only brings a small measure of justice to the victim, the agent said. I hope the dedication of FBI agents and our partners to hold predators like Ms. Flores accountable serves as a message to those who would victimize our most vulnerable among us. New Italian prime minister vows to protect 'God, family, country' as media tie her to 'fascism' Italy has elected Giorgia Meloni, its first female prime minister, whose focus on protecting the institution of the family and national identity has caused some media outlets to compare her ideology to "fascism." The 45-year-old Meloni, the leader of the Brothers of Italy party, is slated to become Italy's next prime minister after her party won 26% of the vote in Sunday's Italian general election. As of Tuesday, Brothers of Italy has captured 119 out of 400 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, Italy's equivalent of the U.S. House of Representatives, and 65 out of 200 seats in the Italian Senate. This marks a substantial change from the previous Italian government, where the Brothers of Italy had only 32 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Brothers of Italy, a party with roots dating back to the post-World War II post-fascist Italian Social Movement, is part of the center-right coalition that will form the next government. The center-right coalition will hold 115 out of 200 seats in the Italian Senate and 237 out of 400 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Responding to her victory in a statement, Meloni said "the Italians have entrusted us with an important responsibility." "Now it will be our task not to disappoint them and do our utmost to restore pride and dignity to our nation," she said. Gli italiani ci hanno affidato una responsabilita importante. Ora sara nostro compito non deluderli e fare il massimo per restituire dignita e orgoglio alla Nazione. pic.twitter.com/JCMaZO8y2z Giorgia Meloni ???????? ? (@GiorgiaMeloni) September 26, 2022 The politician's supporters see her as committed to upholding the values of God, family and country as European leaders increasingly embrace cosmopolitan and secular values of supranational organizations like the European Union as opposed to individual nation-states. However, mainstream media outlets have tied Meloni and her party to fascism. As conservative political commentator Ann Coulter pointed out, a New York Times article used the word "fascist" or "fascism" 28 times when discussing the possibility of a Meloni victory. The New York Times article published Saturday stated that Meloni's "proposals, characterized by protectionism, tough-on-crime measures and protecting the traditional family, have a continuity with the post-Fascist parties, though updated to excoriate L.G.B.T.' lobbies' and migrants." Coulter also reported that in the years following World War II, the Italian left assigned the "fascist" label to "any range of political enemies until the term was drained of much of its meaning." A CBS News report recalled the rise of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini 100 years earlier, "marching the country into two decades of dictatorship and alongside Hitler, into World War II." "The 45-year-old firebrand insists she's no fascist, just a proud conservative and nationalist, comfortable neverttheless with some of the hallmarks of Italian fascism, like this motto: God, fatherland and family," CBS' Chris Livesay reported. Livesay asked a supporter of Meloni why the flag of the Brothers of Italy party has "the very symbol that's on Benito Mussolini's tomb" if "there's no connection with fascism." Alberto Mingardi, a professor of history and political thought at IULM University in Milan, and Nicola Rossi, a professor of political economy at Tor Vergata University in Rome, contend that there is "no risk of authoritarianism" in Italy's future under Meloni. "The victory has made Ms. Meloni, 45, the object of widespread international perplexity and even abuse. She has been portrayed as the heir of Benito Mussolini and the harbinger of a new fascism," they wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. "Yet whatever Italian democracys many faults, it isnt toppling, and there is no risk of authoritarianism. Ms. Meloni, a career politician, has been vocal in defending Parliaments prerogatives against encroachments by the executive branch." Meloni has elaborated on her philosophy in multiple speeches over the past few years. In a speech at the World Congress of Families in 2019, she asked, "Why is the family an enemy? Why is the family so frightening?" Italys new Prime Minister, Giorgia Melos speech is inspiring. ???? She just wants to be able to call herself a woman, a mother, a Christian, an Italian. Ironically, identity politics destroys our identities. Everything that defines us is now an enemy.pic.twitter.com/tvDmHSAIpI Fr Calvin Robinson (@calvinrobinson) September 26, 2022 "There is a single answer to all these questions," she suggested. "Because it defines us. Because it is our identity. Because everything that defines us is now an enemy for those who would like us to no longer have an identity and to simply be perfect consumer slaves." Meloni lamented what she viewed as attacks on "national identity," "religious identity," "gender identity" and "family identity." She expressed concern that "I can't define myself as Italian, Christian, woman, mother" but instead must define herself as "citizen x, gender x, parent 1, parent 2." "I must be a number. Because when I am only a number, when I no longer have an identity or roots, then I will be the perfect slave at the mercy of financial speculators," she added. Meloni stated that her opposition to serving as "the perfect slave at the mercy of financial speculators" is why "we inspire so much fear." Meloni vowed to "defend the value of the human being," stressing that "each of us has a unique genetic code that is unrepeatable." "That is sacred. We will defend it. We will defend God, family and country, those things that disgust people so much," Meloni said. The Italian politician cited the defense of God, family and country as necessary to "defend our freedom" and ensure that "we will never be slaves and simple consumers at the mercy of financial speculators." She shared a quote from G.K. Chesterton predicting that "fires will be kindled to testify that two and two make four" and that "swords will be drawn to prove that leaves are green in summer," declaring "that time has arrived." At a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference this year, an annual gathering of conservatives in Orlando, Florida, Meloni said "everything we stand for is under attack." "Our individual freedom is under attack. Our rights are under attack," she said. "The sovereignty of our nation is under attack. The prosperity and well-being of our families are under attack. The education of our children is under attack." "People understand that in this age, the only way of being rebels is to preserve what we are," Meloni insisted. "The only way of being rebels is to be conservatives." Meloni declared, "we're not going to care about the labels they stick upon us," and maintained that "so-called progressives use the power and the arrogance of their mainstream media to force their political opponents to change to be allowed into their inner circles." "Once right-wing men and women are admitted into progressive inner circles, they will have changed so much that conservative people will no longer recognize them and will stop supporting them, and that's exactly what they want," she stated. Meloni drew parallels between the surge in illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border and the situation on the Italian island of Sicily, where "thousands of migrants [are] allowed to enter without permission." She contended that migrants in Italy were "cutting the salaries of our own workers and in many instances, engaging in crime." Meloni condemned "the woke ideology destroying the foundations of the traditional family, attacking life, insulting religion, changing words and even imposing new graphic signs." Another speech featured Meloni declaring, "Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology, yes to the culture of life, no to the abyss of death, no to the violence of Islam, yes to safer borders, no to mass immigration, yes to work for our people." "Yes to natural families, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology, yes to the culture of life, no to the abyss of death, no to the violence of Islam, yes to safer borders, no to mass immigration, yes to work for our people pic.twitter.com/xvxH1UbLO2 Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) September 25, 2022 Over 40 Killed In Iran Protests, Cubans Vote On Same-Sex Marriage, Doctors Refute Fetal Heartbeat Misinformation link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 08:22 08:22 Over 40 people have been killed as protests rocked dozens of Iranian cities in the last week following the death a young woman in the custody of morality police. President Biden criticized Sen. Lindsey Grahama?TMs proposed bill that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of gestation nationwide, saying, My church doesnt even make that argument now. Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is being accused of spreading "misinformation" after she stated this week that the unborn do not have a heartbeat at six weeks gestation. A Canadian nurse is facing a disciplinary hearing from a national medical board that could result in her losing her job after she publicly supported author J.K. Rowling's views about the harm gender identity ideology inflicts on women and children. Subscribe to this Podcast Biden blasts 15-week abortion ban: My church doesnt even make that argument President Biden criticized Sen. Lindsey Grahams proposed bill that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of gestation nationwide, saying, My church doesnt even make that argument now. Biden blasted Republicans at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in New York last week over Graham's bill, which was introduced in the U.S. Senate earlier this month. It's the first pro-life legislation introduced at the federal level since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973. The Dobbs decision does not ban abortion nationwide but gives state and federal lawmakers the authority to set limits on abortion or increase gestational ages for abortion. Several states have moved to ban abortion in the weeks following the Dobbs decision, while abortion remains legal up to the moment of birth in other states. Biden said at a DNC fundraising dinner at a private residence in New York Thursday: You have Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and others talking about how theyre gonna, you know, make sure that Roe is forever gone and Dobbs becomes a national law. He added, "My generic point and I happen to be a practicing Roman Catholic my church doesnt even make that argument now. And so were in a situation where things have changed a lot. But theyve [Republicans] gotten more extreme in their positions." The Catholic Church, of course, never justifies the killing of an innocent person by abortion, Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said in response to Bidens claim. In response to the Dobbs decision, congressional Democrats have restarted their earlier efforts to pass the so-called Womens Health Protection Act, which would codify abortion into federal law and limit the ability of states to pass pro-life laws. Biden claimed that the bill provides for no exceptions rape, incest, no exceptions. The bill includes exceptions in cases of rape, incest and physical dangers to the life of the mother, The Hill noted. Biden then said, I happen to be a practicing Roman Catholic, my church doesnt even make that argument, adding, Im going to veto the bill. A few months before Bidens speech at the DNC fundraiser, Speaker Nancy Pelosi's archbishop said the Democratic leader wouldn't be allowed to receive communion due to her staunch support and advocacy for abortion. In May, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone sent a letter to Pelosi, D-Calif., a practicing Catholic, informing her that she had been warned to either repudiate your advocacy for abortion rights or refrain from referring to your Catholic faith in public and receiving Holy Communion. Bidens presidency has intensified the debate among American Catholic leaders over whether Catholic public officeholders who advocate for abortion should be denied communion, a practice done in some dioceses. As Biden campaigned for president ahead of the 2020 presidential election, a priest in South Carolina refused to serve him communion due to his abortion advocacy. Supporters of withholding communion from pro-abortion Catholic politicians, both inside and outside the Church hierarchy, point to the Churchs Code of Canon Law as the justification for their position. The Code of Canon Law states that those who are obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion. However, last November, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a document on communion that didnt overtly call for a ban on pro-choice politicians receiving the sacrament despite. At a general meeting at the time, bishops overwhelmingly approved a document from the USCCBs Committee on Doctrine known as The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church. Eight bishops voted against the document, while 222 bishops voted in favor. Three abstained. However, the document stated that Catholic laity who exercise some form of public authority have a special responsibility to form their consciences in accord with the Churchs faith and the moral law, and to serve the human family by upholding human life and dignity. It read, As Christians, we bear the responsibility to promote the life and dignity of the human person, and to love and to protect the most vulnerable in our midst: the unborn, migrants and refugees, victims of racial injustice, the sick and the elderly. The power of a generational vision for your family Have you noticed that no matter how good youre doing, trouble always seems to come? Trouble is not an if in life Its a when. Trouble may come in finances, a diagnosis, a family problem, or even a season of hardship. But understand this: there is more than one way to deal with trouble. Look at Nehemiah from the Bible. He was a slave when he heard that the walls of Jerusalem were crumbled in disrepair. Nehemiah was so distraught he could barely speak. But as he prayed, he got a vision for Gods kingdom that was bigger than his personal kingdom of being a slave. Nehemiah rose up, set out a plan and asked the king he served for help. The king funded his plan! Then Nehemiah went to Jerusalem, where they didnt know him, didnt expect him, and said to the people, Lets start rebuilding. When those words were uttered, the Bible says the peoples hands were strengthened to do the work. Lets start rebuilding is the best thing you can say when youve been beaten up and battered. When you say it, God will strengthen you to do it. Then theres Rahab, the Jericho prostitute. She didnt know anything about Gods kingdom. But when two men showed up and asked her to hide them, she saw an opportunity. The men were spies sent by Joshua. It looked like trouble. But when trouble knocked, Rahab reached beyond her guilt, shame, bondage, or oppression and caught a vision for her family. Rahab hid the spies and in return, her whole family was spared when Jericho was defeated. In a moment of trouble, Rahab caught a generational vision. As a result, she aligned herself with Gods people and became the great, great, great, great, great grandmother of Jesus. When youre dealt a difficult hand, see it from a kingdom perspective and catch a generational vision. God can change everything, and your children and grandchildren will be better off because of your decision. Be a steppingstone for your family to go higher than you ever went, not a stumbling block that leaves them struggling. My own story started with my mom getting pregnant with me when she was a high school freshman. She made a choice with great sacrifice to give me life. My dad could have run away, but instead, he got a job, got a place to live, and became a father to me. Theyve been married for 48 years. When faced with difficulty, my parents caught a generational vision. Even if your trouble is a marriage that is so bad, youre not only living in separate rooms; youre living in separate houses. If youll get a generational vision and partner with God, He will help you. Some of what you choose today will not even be for you. Youre making an investment in Gods mercies that will show up for your children or grandchildren. Often what people think is luck or coincidence is really Gods blessing that was stored up by a previous generation. Often, we wont eat the fruit weve sown, but future generations will. My great-grandmother suffered a debilitating stroke when I was in elementary school. For two years, my grandmother went every day to her nursing home. During those years, I chose the path of becoming a preacher. But at my great-grandmothers funeral, I had an unexpected moment. Her former pastor told me my great-grandmother was a prayer warrior in his little country church. I never even knew she was a Christian because my grandmother wasnt. I thought I became a preacher on my own, but my great grandma had been praying for me. My grandmother volunteered at a local thrift shop. Eventually a local church took it over. She continued to volunteer and eventually accepted an invitation to attend the church. My great-grandma never saw her daughter in church and never heard me preach, but despite her stroke, she had a generational vision, and we reaped the harvest from her prayers. You can do something today even in the face of adversity that somebody in generations to come will sow. You can face your troubles with an eye on Gods kingdom and walk-through doors you never thought youd walk through. Today is your day. What 'the state of theology' tells us Every two years, Ligonier Ministries works with LifeWay Research to evaluate the theological temperature of the American church. This years State of Theology studys results show that not just Americans but Evangelicals, in particular, are increasingly muddy on core truths such as the nature and character of God, the reality of human sin, the role of the Church in the world, and the exclusivity and divinity of Jesus Christ. For context, the survey defines Evangelical as a Christian believer who meets four criteria: that the Bible is the highest authority for what someone believes, that it is important for non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their savior, that Jesus death on the cross is the only sacrifice that removes the penalty of humanitys sin, and that only those who trust in Him alone receive Gods free gift of eternal salvation. Though that definition is a promising theological start, the results go quickly downhill from there. For example, nearly half of Evangelicals agreed that God learns and adapts to different circumstances, in stark contrast to the biblical doctrine of unchanging nature, or immutability. 65% of Evangelicals agreed that everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God, denying the doctrine of original sin, and with it, the very reason that people need salvation in the first place. Some 56% of Evangelicals agreed with the idea that God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, in contrast to Jesus words in Matthew that without Him, no one knows the Father. The most stunning result had to do with the topic of Jesus Christs divinity. When asked whether they agreed that Jesus was a great teacher but not God, 43% of American Evangelicals answered yes. That number is up 13% from just two years ago. Even if we generously allow for some confusion in the phrasing of the questions and what they implied, The State of Theology paints a bleak picture. People who claim the title of Evangelical, a title that long was defined, at least in part, by adherence to historic Christian belief, stand a good chance of believing humanity is basically good at birth, that God is not concerned with worship or doctrine being particularly Christian, and that Jesus was a good teacher, but not God incarnate. Its worth noting that these failures are not because Evangelicals have a low view of Scripture. After all, some 95% still agree with the statement that the Bible is 100% accurate in all that it teaches. The implication, then, is that they simply dont know what it teaches, either because they havent been taught or they havent cared enough to learn. In fact, in many corners of evangelicalism, it is assumed that doctrine doesnt matter. This can take at least two forms: hyper-emotionalism, the idea that God will settle for our sincerity and our affection, even over and above whether or not our beliefs are true; or a hyper-politicization, one that assumes it really matters whom you vote for and what group you belong to, not what you believe about the essential truth of the Gospel or the claims of Christ. In reply to all this, Jesus was really clear. Heres what He said, God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the spirit and in truth. It was for this reason that the divine Logos came into the world to testify to the truth, and its only the truth that sets us free. And its interesting to me that in the Old Testament, idolatry is portrayed not only as worshipping a false God but worshipping a false idea of who God is, such as was the case with the Golden Calf incident. A bright spot in this survey is what it revealed about hot topics and moral issues: 91% of Evangelicals agreed that abortion is a sin, and 94% agreed that sex outside of traditional marriage is a sin, although that conclusion is muddied by another 28% who agreed that Scriptures condemnation of homosexual behavior doesnt apply today. We will never have a clear sense of who God is, His omnipotence and immutability, His character and work in the world, how He sees us and what He requires of us, without a biblical understanding of who Jesus is and the absolute authority He wields over all creation. If our thinking is rooted instead in only our political allegiances or some vague notion of Gods niceness, we will have simply obtained a form of godliness, while denying its power. Once in a meeting I attended, a Christian leader quipped, If we could just get all the Christians saved, wed be in good shape. The results of this study show its time for many so-called Christians to repent, for many churches to renew their commitments to catechism, and for all of us who claim Christ to commit our hearts and minds to know who He is, who He has revealed Himself to be. Originally published at Breakpoint. Cubans vote to legalize same-sex marriage, adoption in family code Cubans on Sunday voted to approve a new "family code" that, among other things, legalizes same-sex marriage and adoption. The 100-page code is one of the most progressive in Latin America. Millions of Cubans voted in the referendum on the government-backed proposal that allows same-sex couples to marry and adopt on the communist-run island amid a deepening economic crisis. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel spoke to journalists after casting his vote, saying that the code abolishes prejudices and taboos that have been ingrained in Cuban society. "My expectation is that most of the population will vote 'yes,'" Diaz-Canel was quoted as saying by Reuters. "But regardless of whether 'yes' or 'no' wins ... the popular debate that has been generated has contributed to our society." Cubans aged 16 or above were eligible to vote, and the bill required more than 50% of the votes to pass. State media on Monday morning announced what were said to be near-complete figures, suggesting that up to two-thirds voted in favor of the new code. The code underwent over two dozen drafts as nearly 80,000 town hall-style meetings were held and over 300,000 public comments were received, AFP reported. Cuba has been a one-party state under the Communist Party of Cuba since the late dictator Fidel Castro overthrew the United States-supported dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. In 2008, Castro's brother, Raul Castro, was elected president, followed by Miguel Diaz-Canel in 2019. Fidel Castro was known for rounding up both religious people and LGBT people, putting them in labor camps following his 1959 revolution. However, his niece, Mariela Castro, has been one of the leading figures behind the Cuban LGBT rights movement. She is the director of the National Center for Sex Education, which has backed same-sex marriage. Weeks before the referendum, the Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops announced its opposition to several points in the new code, including surrogate pregnancies and adoption by same-sex couples. In the week leading up to the vote, the Cuban government reportedly used state-run media to promote stories and photos urging Cubans to approve the new rules. Cuban Evangelicals have long voiced their opposition to same-sex marriage. In 2018, when a Constitutional amendment was proposed to make matrimony gender neutral in Article 68, Cuba's evangelicals warned against it. "If this is approved, our nation is going to total destruction," Alida Leon Baez, president of the Cuban Evangelical League Church, said at the time. "We do not in any way approve Article 68 ... because the Bible condemns it," added Pastor Lester Fernandez of the Methodist Church in Havana. According to the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, about 59% of Cubans are Christian. Cuban Christians face constant government surveillance and infiltration despite the faith growing on the island. The Cuban government amended its Constitution in 1992, declaring it a secular state instead of an atheist state, partially allowing religious activities. Since then, the percentage of the country's population that identifies as Christian has grown. However, the communist regime continues to persecute Christians. A new constitution was adopted in 2019, which lists the country as a secular state. Sunday's referendum was held amid the country's worst economic crisis in 30 years, marked by shortages of food, gas and medicine. Last July, the people of Cuba demonstrated their anger against the government in what was said to be the largest protest in decades amid shortages of medicine and food during the pandemic. International travel restrictions and the monthslong COVID-19 lockdown within the country compacted the country's already spiraling economic crisis at the time. After the protests erupted, President Diaz-Canel addressed the nation, urging the regime's supporters to confront the protesters on the streets. He also accused the U.S. of causing the crisis in Cuba by imposing sanctions. Many religious leaders were also targeted, arrested and beaten during the protests. Over 40 killed as mass protests rock Iran after morality police kill woman over improper hijab More than 40 people have reportedly been killed as anti-government protests rocked dozens of Iranian cities in the last week following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested by the Iranian "morality police" for not properly wearing a hijab earlier this month. At least 41 people have been killed, and more than 1,200 have been arrested during the protests as of Saturday, Iran's state television reports. According to Reuters, the death toll is unofficial as an official count has not been released. The unrest followed the death Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who is said to have fallen into a coma in police custody after her arrest for not following Iran's strict conservative dress codes. Amini was interrogated at the Vozara detention center, where she reportedly experienced blows to the head while under interrogation. Authorities claim she died of natural causes, but critics are skeptical. Acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif called for an impartial investigation by an "independent competent authority, that ensures, in particular, that her family has access to justice and truth." The U.N. reports that Amini's death comes as morality police have expanded street patrols in recent months, "subjecting women perceived to be wearing 'loose hijab' to verbal and physical harassment and arrest." The U.N. Human Rights Office has received numerous verified videos of violent treatment of women, including women being beaten with batons and thrown into police vans. In protest, women worldwide have burned headscarves and cut their hair. In Iran, CNBC reports that crowds called for the fall of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and shouted: "death to the dictator." State-organized rallies to counter anti-government protests were also held in several Iranian cities, calling for the execution of "rioters" who were portrayed as "Israel's soldiers," according to Reuters. "Offenders of the Koran must be executed," the marchers chanted. According to Reuters, some demonstrators have torched police stations and vehicles. Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, who addressed the U.N. General Assembly last week, said the government would "deal decisively with those who oppose the country's security and tranquillity," calling the unrest "a riot." Iran's Chief of Police Hossein Ashtari also warned protesters, telling state television that people "involved in sabotage and creating insecurity based on directives from outside the country should know that they will be strongly dealt with." The Islamic Republic's morality police, known as Gasht-e Ershad or "Guidance Patrol," is part of the country's law enforcement and enforces respect for Islamic morals as described by clerical authorities. Even in Iran, prominent politicians are calling for an investigation into the police unit. "In order to prevent repetition of such cases, the processes and the method of implementation in guidance patrols ... should be investigated," CBS News quoted Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as saying. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the bipartisan body tasked with advising the U.S. federal government and Congress on religious freedom issues, condemned Amini's death and the use of force on protesters. "Mahsa Amini's horrific death is a culmination of months of violent Iranian government repression of women on the basis of religion," said USCIRF Commissioner Sharon Kleinbaum. "Those responsible for her death must be held accountable. Furthermore, we urge President [Joe] Biden to unreservedly condemn Iran for its violent and systematic attacks on women like Ms. Amini for wearing an 'improper hijab,' and other egregious violations of religious freedom, in his upcoming U.N. General Assembly speech." USCIRF noted that Iran's government has mandated that women wear a hijab since 1979, citing its interpretation of religious conceptions of modesty as grounds to legally force women to cover their hair in public. "In late 2021, Iran's government produced a policy document detailing plans to more strictly enforce these rules against women deemed to be covering their hair in an improper manner," USCIRF added. "In July 2022, security forces announced the beginning of these crackdowns, during which authorities harassed, shoved into vans, arrested, and tortured under interrogation scores of women." In the last week, solidarity protests were held in several major international cities, including Athens, Berlin, Brussels, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Stockholm Toronto, Vancouver and Washington. The nationwide protests in Iran are the largest in Iran since the 2019 "Green Movement," an anti-government uprising in which 1,500 people were reportedly killed in a crackdown, according to Reuters. But this time, "the protesters are much bolder," Evan Siegel, an expert on Iranian history, told CNBC. "Driven by their fury of decades of repression and humiliation, they have held their own in street fighting with the repressive organs, particularly the hated para-police." He added that protests over the regime's "medieval attitudes" towards women are taking place, perhaps, for the first time. Iran, a Shia country, is ranked the ninth worst country when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA's World Watch List. UK parents win gov't commitment to reform school guidance on trans-identified students, awarded $23K Christian parents in the United Kingdom, who pulled their children out of a church-run school due to its guidance on trans-identified students, have been awarded over $23,900 in legal costs and a commitment from the British government to reform trans-affirming policies in schools. The victory for Nigel Rowe, 49, and his wife, Sally, 47, comes after a five-year legal battle, according to the Christian Legal Centre, which represents the parents. The parents raised concerns after two boys in their sons' classes at the age of 6 were allowed to identify as girls at the Isle of Wight school. In July 2017, the Church of England officials wrote to the Rowes, explaining the school doesn't require any form of medical or psychological evaluation when a student requests to be affirmed as a member of the opposite sex. The family was given an ultimatum to accept the policy or leave the school. They and their 6-year-old sons were told by a Church of England primary school that they would be labeled "transphobic" if they refused to accept policies that require affirmation of two trans-identified students' gender identities. The family says their complaint to the Department of Education was rejected, and the department "refused to properly assess this evidence." The couple took legal action against the Department for Education. After the Rowes won permission for a judicial review of the government's policies, CLC reports that the government settled the case rather than go through a full judicial review. "We are delighted with the outcome and pray that it will contribute to real change in primary schools," the couple said in a statement. "The new guidance must ensure that no more children come to harm. Transgender affirming policies must end in schools and issues with gender confused children compassionately and professionally managed outside of the classroom. "Many have tried to make light of this issue by suggesting it is just about boys dressing up. This case has always been about a dangerous ideology that is now firmly embedded in schools, local authorities, and Church of England leadership, and which is causing serious long-term harm to thousands of children." CLC Chief Executive Andrea Williams said the Rowes were "the first parents to expose transgender ideology in our primary schools five years ago." "At the time, for their courage and determination to expose the truth, they were ostracised by their local community and faced personal abuse for daring to question policies which they believed were harmful," Williams said. Transgender Guidelines of Cornwall Schools, published in 2015 by campaigners for transgenderism, direct schools to create gender-neutral bathrooms and allow students to wear clothes matching their gender identity rather than biological sex. The guidelines urge teachers and governors to affirm the gender identities of trans-identified students. According to the CLC, the guidelines have been held up as best practices for other schools and adopted by the Department of Education since 2018. A high court order confirming the settlement states that the Department of Education is developing guidance on transgender issues "in conjunction with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, with a view to undertaking a public consultation on draft guidance." The order stipulates that the department will consult on fresh guidance this fall. "We've seen the regret of people who have gone down the transgender route; we've seen the rising statistics of children being pushed down that road and the more you affirm a child as transgender, the further down that pathway they go," the Rowes said in their statement. "This is a health crisis. It's about pushing an agenda in schools, and now the numbers are off the scale. It's devastating." The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p. Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access When it was announced that I had been appointed as Comic Relief CEO, the inevitable comments started to appear online. Not well wishes or congratulations, but comments about my race, about the colour of my skin. Perhaps sadly, this doesnt faze me anymore, and some may argue that its easy to dismiss as online trolling. But it wasnt as easy to dismiss the close peer who exclaimed to me: Its great they are hiring you, as they probably wouldnt have a few years ago. The thing about identity is that people will assign you one, interpret it for you, and prescribe meaning to it regardless of what you think. Which is why your own sense of self and identity is so important the reality is that its yours and no one elses. My identity as a father is as strong as anything else in my life, yet its not what people first see. But that sense of myself affects how I live my life. Im going to prioritise school pickups, the kids bedtime stories, etc. Thats who I am. It also means that after-work drink, or evening event, is going to be difficult for me outside of the occasional exception. The power of identity is that it shapes your choices and how you live your life. It gives you dimensions beyond the surface. And if youre a person of colour, its inextricably linked to diversity and race. As a child, I was constantly reminded that I was different. I grew up in the American south, in predominately white suburbia in the 70s and 80s. I was called the N-word, told I smelled of curry, asked if I wear feathers on my head, almost everything derogatory you can name. I just wanted to fit in. As an adult, though, I often dont fit in, and I no longer want to. Perhaps this is related to my youth and my identity. As a CEO, I meet with other CEOs, with government ministers, with executives of big corporations. I look different to 99% of them, but also dress differently, speak differently, think differently. And Im good with that. I like that. Ive observed that Im often spoken down to, and some people assume Im less experienced than I am. But this is what it is, hopefully Ill turn out to be a pleasant surprise. Ive been told Im unflappable. Thats its hard to read me. That I should push back more (such as if someone is challenging me). But I am partly this way because I can take any criticism, because Ive been told worse, Ive been called worse, and Ive experienced worse. I will absorb and absorb pressure. Because Ive done it all my life. This is all part of my identity. And something I have tried to turn into a positive. Creating a safe and enabling culture As an employer, the thought that someone may not feel comfortable to bring their whole self to work is a tough one to accept. But its the reality for so many people. For our younger employees in particular, who may still be forming their sense of self, its so important to create a safe and enabling culture. Ive yet to meet an organisation that gets this completely right, which makes sense because its a never-ending effort. But an inclusive environment, where people can bring their whole identity to the forefront, is powerful in its richness. If you get me talking about my kids, youll see a whole different side of me another dimension. Multiple dimensions are what make us human, and not just employees on a list. Our identities with all of their dimensions are what bind us together, what creates personal connections, and what brings ideas, experiences, and value to the work itself, no matter what that work is. At Comic Relief, weve done a lot around diversity, but we are really still at the beginning of our own journey to being a truly inclusive workplace. Thats okay as long as were moving forward on that path and staying firmly committed to it. When I took this job, what I wish that peer said to me was: Of course they appointed you. Go on. Smash it. Make it your own. And thats what I wish for Comic Relief and any other organisation on a path to a more inclusive workplace. My advice is: Go on and keep going on. Expect bumps. Expect criticism. Absorb it. Its all part of the journey and there is no journey more important. Civil Society Voices is the place for informed opinion, and debate about the big issues affecting charities today. Were always keen to hear from anyone, working or volunteering at a charity, who has something to say. Find out more about contributing and how to get in touch. is the place for informed opinion, and debate about the big issues affecting charities today. Were always keen to hear from anyone, working or volunteering at a charity, who has something to say. Nine years after he bought the Washington Post, Jeff Bezos finally has a management team in place that is entirely his own. Bezoss early infusion of money positioned the Post as a serious contender in the ongoing national and international news competition. But can his leadership team keep that momentum going? With readership and revenue both decliningand Bezos evidently unwilling to make up the differencethe Post is considering reducing the newsroom by a hundred positions, or about 10 percent, according to the New York Times. Here is the Bezos lineup. FRED RYAN A little over a year after he bought the Post, Bezos hired Washington insider Fred Ryan as publisher and chief executive. In the Times article, Benjamin Mullin and Katie Robertson described Ryan as indecisive and a micromanager. They wrote that he monitors badge swipes to see who is coming into the office, and expressed concerns that lower videoconferencing activity on Fridays was a sign of reporters slacking off. (Positively correlating meetings with productivity became the subject of widespread derision on journalistic Twitter.) Sign up for CJR 's daily email Ryan also just lost Shailesh Prakash, the Posts visionary chief technologist and the person most responsible for the extraordinary success of its publishing system. Bezos thought so highly of Prakash he appointed him to the board of Blue Origin, his space travel venture. Prakash is off to Google. Ryan was previously publisher and chief executive at Politico, which he helped found in 2007. But he is first and foremost an acolyte of Ronald Reagan, for whom he began political work in 1980, serving on Reagans first presidential campaign, in his White House, and as his chief of staff. In 1995, Ryan became the chairman of the board of trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, a position he has now held for twenty-seven years. In April, Ryan welcomed Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett to an event at the Reagan Library, called her extraordinary, tossed her softball questions, and asked about the growing concern about intolerance for free speech on Americas universities. He helped unveil the Nancy Reagan stamp at the beginning of Pride Month. Ryan has made a handful of strong statements demanding accountability from the Saudi government for the murder and dismemberment of Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi, and is the author of Wine and the White House: A History, a 456-page book published by the White House Historical Society. SALLY BUZBEE Buzbee, whom Bezos and Ryan hired as executive editor last year after Marty Baron retired, had a solid reputation at the Associated Press, where she previously served as executive editor. But she has certainly not been the change agent some hoped for at the Post. Baron had come from the Boston Globe, where his shepherding of articles exposing systemic sexual abuse within the Catholic Church earned the paper a Pulitzer and turned him into a star played by Liev Schreiber in the Best Picturewinning 2016 movie Spotlight. Baron was also obstinate to a fault. By contrast, as Andrew Beaujon reported for Washingtonian, theres a widespread theory among Post veterans that Ryan recruited Buzbeewho hadnt even applied for the jobso that hed finally have an executive editor who owed him. Taking over from Baron, Buzbee had the chance to turn the Post into the accountability-journalism, truth-to-power engine its readers crave, and to make the newsroom more inclusive and democratic. But profiling her for Vanity Fair, Charlotte Klein found Buzbee has yet to find her stride. While Buzbees decision to stand up a Democracy Team at the Post was seen as a bold move, Klein reported that Buzbee deflected when asked whether threats to democracy are coming more from Republicans than Democrats. I mean, if its Republicans who are doing it, if its Democrats who are doing it, its our job to call that out, Buzbee said. The culture of the Post under Baron strongly discouraged self-examination. Buzbee appears to be continuing that tradition. She chose to fire pugnacious newsroom whistleblower Felicia Sonmez in June, rather than welcome her challenge to redress newsroom inequities. The New York Times reported that during a contentious meeting that same month, some staff members told Buzbee that she had not yet earned their trust, according to several people among dozens in attendance. In her defense, as a Post reporter told me, Its been a very tough time for anyone to get their footing. DAVID SHIPLEY In July, Bezos hired David Shipley, the former editor of Bloomberg Newss editorial pages, as the editorial page editor for the Post. Shipley, along with his deputy Tim OBrien, temporarily left their jobs at Bloomberg Opinion to work on Mike Bloombergs disastrous presidential campaign. In a memo to Bloomberg News staff upon the announcement of Bloombergs presidential run, editor in chief John Micklethwait made it clear what Shipleys marching orders had been, writing: The place where Mike has had the most contact with Editorial is Bloomberg Opinion; our editorials have reflected his views (emphasis added). Ryan told Washington Post reporters that Shipleys personal views and ideology were not major factors in his selection. The Post has been noted for its longtime independence in its [editorial] voice, and we will remain an independent voice, he insisted. I wasnt looking at it in terms of wokeness or lack of wokeness, Ryan told Pucks Tara Palmieri, using what has become a pejorative taken up by enemies of inclusiveness. Judging Shipleys impact will be hard because under his predecessor, Fred Hiatt, Post editorials already reflected the official-Washington consensusfor instance, supporting the Iraq War and demanding deficit reduction by cutting spending on programs like Medicare and Social Security. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Dan Froomkin is editor of Press Watch, a non-profit media-criticism website. He was editor of washingtonpost.com before becoming its daily White House columnist. He has also worked at the Intercept and the Huffington Post. Norways Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) on Monday urged oil companies to be more vigilant over unidentified drones seen flying near Norwegian offshore oil and gas platforms, warning they could pose a risk of accidents or deliberate attacks. The warning came after the countrys largest oil and gas firm Equinor recently said it had notified authorities of sightings of drones of unknown origin flying near some of its platforms. We would urge increased vigilance, a review of emergency preparedness measures and incident response, and information sharing, the PSA said in a letter to operators. The safety watchdog said unidentified drones posed a risk to helicopters that transport offshore workers, could become an ignition source in areas with explosion hazard, or could be used for deliberate attacks. Newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad reported last week that unidentified drones had been observed at least at six Equinor installations, including at its giant oilfield Johan Sverdrup. Last Tuesday, a drone was observed some 50 meters away from Equinors Heidrun platform in the North Sea, breaching the 500-meter security perimeter, the newspaper reported. There have been observations of drones at some of our installations on the Norwegian continental shelf, a spokesperson for Equinor told Reuters, declining to elaborate. Equinor has reported the incidents to the Norwegian authorities, including the PSA and police. We are taking those sightings very seriously, the company spokesperson added. Drones have been also observed near Kristin, Gullfaks C, Snorre A and Gina Krog installations, Aftenbladet reported. Norways southwestern police district said it had started an investigation into sightings of drones offshore and had notified the Norwegian Police Security Service, which deals with terrorism and external threats. The police are taking seriously observations of illegal drone activities, and are monitoring the situation closely, lead investigator Amund Preede Revheim told Reuters in an email. SAN MIGUEL, Philippines (AP) Typhoon Noru left a trail of destruction in northern Philippine provinces on Monday with at least eight people dead, including a group of rescuers who were scrambling to save villagers trapped in floodwaters, officials said. Five government rescuers drowned in San Miguel town in Bulacan province after their boat overturned when it was hit by a collapsed wall, tossing them into rampaging floodwaters, police and officials said. They were living heroes who were helping save the lives of our countrymen in the calamity, Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando told DZMM radio network. This is really very sad. Officials and local rescue groups paid tribute to the rescuers on social media. They showed bravery and heroism in facing danger despite the perils to their own lives to fulfill their duty of saving other people, the Bulacan police force said on Facebook. The most powerful typhoon to hit the country this year slammed ashore in eastern Quezon province on Sunday then weakened as it blew out into the South China Sea early Monday toward Vietnam, forecasters said. Nearly 80,000 people were moved to emergency shelters, some forcibly, across the main Luzon island, disaster-response officials said. Three other deaths were reported by police, including a Bulacan villager who drowned after refusing orders to leave his house beside a swollen river. A missing farmer was found dead in a plantation that was hit by a flash flood and an elderly villager died after his house was hit by a landslide. Six fishermen were reported missing in Camarines Norte province, a disaster-response official told a news briefing. In Aurora provinces hard-hit Dingalan town, more than 6,000 houses were damaged and a newly built evacuation center housing more 200 displaced families was battered by the fierce wind and rain but no injuries were reported, officials said. About 3,000 people were evacuated to safety in metropolitan Manila, which was lashed by fierce wind and rain overnight. Classes and government work were suspended Monday in the capital and outlying provinces as a precaution although the morning skies were sunny. The entire northern provinces of Aurora and Nueva Ecija, which were hit by the typhoon, remained without power Monday and repair crews were at work to bring back electricity, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla told President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in a televised meeting the president called to assess damage. Marcos Jr. praised officials for evacuating tens of thousands of people before the typhoon hit, preventing more deaths, but expressed concern at how Noru and another storm that devastated central and southern provinces in December rapidly intensified into super typhoons. Is this climate change? Marcos Jr., who took office in June, asked. We have kept watched on these storms for a long time but it wasnt like this before This is something I have to deal with. Marcos Jr. later joined an aerial inspection of typhoon-hit provinces in the rice-growing region, where many villages and stretches of roads remained flooded. Noru underwent an explosive intensification over the open Pacific Ocean before it hit the Philippines, Vicente Malano, who heads the countrys weather agency, told The Associated Press on Sunday. From sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour (53 mph) on Saturday, Noru was a super typhoon just 24 hours later with sustained winds of 195 kilometers (121 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 240 kph (149 mph) at its peak late Sunday. By Monday noon, Noru had sustained winds of 130 kph (81 mph) and gusts of 160 kph (99 mph) and was moving northwest in the South China Sea toward Vietnam, according to the weather agency. About 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines each year. The archipelago also lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region along most of the Pacific Ocean rim where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur, making the Southeast Asian nation one of the worlds most disaster-prone. Gomez reported from Manila. Associated Press journalist Joeal Calupitan contributed to this report. About the photo: Residents give away onions and other foods along a flooded road due to Typhoon Noru in San Miguel town, Bulacan province, Philippines, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. Typhoon Noru blew out of the northern Philippines on Monday, leaving some people dead, causing floods and power outages and forcing officials to suspend classes and government work in the capital and outlying provinces. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Citing decisions that found insurance coverage was owed for contamination caused by cat urine and gasoline vapors, the Vermont Supreme Court broke from courts across the nation and found that SARS-CoV-2 can cause a direct physical loss to property. The 3-2 decision released Friday revived a lawsuit filed by Huntington Ingalls Industries which the opinion described as the nations largest military shipbuilder that sought coverage under reinsurance policies issued to its captive insurer. The high court reversed a ruling by the Franklin County Superior Court that dismissed HIIs request for a declaratory judgment that coverage was owed because the virus had not caused a direct physical loss. The Supreme Court majority said that a direct physical loss need not necessarily be visible; alterations at the microscopic level may meet this threshold. Because HIIs reinsurers did not include the standard virus exclusion in their policies, coverage may be owed, the opinion says. It is necessarily true that property perfectly intact cannot be used if it is stolen, the opinion says. As various courts have recognized over the years, deprivation may also occur when property is unusable due to a health hazard. State high courts in Iowa, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin and all but one of the federal Circuit Courts of Appeal have ruled against policyholders that sought coverage for business-interruption costs caused by COVID-19. In a statement, the Association of Property Casualty Insurance said the decision turned on what the court described as Vermonts extremely liberal notice-pleading standards. APCIA is, however, encouraged by the courts findings that direct physical damage requires a distinct, demonstrable, physical change to property and precludes coverage for purely economic harm, and these bedrock tenets of property insurance jurisprudence should ultimately result in a finding of no coverage, the association said in a statement. Unlike many businesses that were forced to close at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, HII kept its shipyards operating as part of the nations essential critical infrastructure. Nevertheless, the virus disrupted operations of the company. More than 6,000 of its 40,000 employees were infected, the company said in its civil complaint. HII also incurred expenses by taking mitigation measures, such as installing barriers between workers and improving information technology systems. Multiple reinsurers shared equal portions of the risk under a global policy issued by HIIs captive insurer, which was domiciled in Vermont. The policy did not include the standard virus exclusion that was created in 2006, after an outbreak of the original coronavirus, SARS-CoV-1. HII filed a lawsuit in Franklin County seeking a declaratory judgment that coverage was one owed under its reinsurance policies for disruption and mitigation costs caused by COVID-19. The reinsurers, led by Chubbs Ace American Insurance Co., filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The trial court granted the motion, finding like the majority of jurisdictions that have heard similar cases that the virus did not cause a direct physical loss. Two dissenters said in a separate opinion issued on Friday that the trial court made the right call. The Supreme Court majority, however, cited numerous decisions over the past 60 years where courts found that something intangible had caused a direct physical loss. For example, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that the oder of cat urine from a downstairs neighbor hadcaused a physical loss to the owner of a condominium unit. In 1968, the Colorado Supreme Court sided with a church that sought insurance coverage because of gasoline vapors that wafted from contaminated groundwater below its sanctuary, rendering the structure uninhabitable. HII alleged that the virus that causes COVID-19 lingers in the air and adheres to surfaces, disrupting the orderly construction and repair of vessels and causing the company to incur mediation costs. The Vermont high court said a jury should be allowed to hear the insureds novel legal argument. Although the science when fully presented may not support the conclusion that the presence of the virus on a surface physically alters that surface in a distinct and demonstrable way, it is not the courts role at this stage in the proceedings to test the facts or evidence, the opinion said. James T. Busenlener, a partner with the Matthisen, Wickert &. Lehrer law firm in New Orleans, said the Vermont decision may influence other courts to think twice before dismissing COVID-19 business-interruption claims in initial pleadings. Busenlener wrote a column, republished in the Claims Journal last month, that said appellate court decisions in New York and Louisiana in favor of policyholders who made COVID-related business-interruption claims may have opened a hole in the dam for insurers. The longer the case survives, the more pressure on the insurer defendants to resolve, Busenlener said in an email Friday. The Anderson Kill law firm filed an amicus curie brief in favor of HII on behalf of United Policyholders. United Policyholders is pleased to see a careful analysis from a state supreme court that recognizes what the insurance industry and policyholders have long known: that all risks insurance policies protect against a broad range of perils, including deadly contamination by an invisible virus, Executive Director Amy Bach said in a statement. Companies that purchase business-interruption insurance pay high premiums to cover disruptions to their operations due to unforeseen events. Thats exactly what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, but insurance companies across the board summarily denied all COVID-19 related claims and were one of the few industry groups to profit during the pandemic. TOA BAJA, Puerto Rico (AP) City worker Carmen Medina walked purposefully through the working-class community of Tranquility Village under a brutal sun, with clipboard, survey forms and pen in hand part of a small army of officials trying to gauge the scope of disaster caused by Hurricane Fionas strike on Puerto Rico. She stopped at a white-and-seafoam green house and asked the owner to detail her losses in the storm that had flooded much of the town of Toa Baja. Oh, my dear, responded Margarita Ortiz, a 46-year-old house cleaner standing in a home that was nearly barren because so many flood-damaged belongings had already been discarded. Pockets of water still bulged from her ceiling Friday in what had been a newly painted house, and Ortiz listed what she could recall of her lost furniture and other goods. After staying in a shelter and with a friend for days, she hopes to move back into her home soon: When you lose your bed, you lose your head. Fiona hit southwestern Puerto Rico with 85 mph (140 kph) winds on Sept. 18 and the broad storm unleashed flooding across the island, which still had not recovered from 2017s Hurricane Maria, a stronger cyclone that slashed across the U.S. territory, obliterating the power grid, which had since been patched but not fully rebuilt. Puerto Ricos government has said it expects to have a preliminary estimate of the damage Fiona caused in roughly two weeks. As of Sunday, about half of Puerto Ricos 1.47 million power customers remained in the dark, and 20% of 1.3 million water customers had no service as workers struggled to reach submerged power substations and fix downed lines. Power company officials announced Sunday that 1.1 million to 1.3 million clients could have power by Friday, Sept. 30 but warned those estimates could change. They did not say when the entire island would be energized. (Fiona) affected our whole infrastructure. We are doing everything we can to fix it, said Lawrence Kazmierski, senior vice president for Luma, the company that took over the islands power transmission and distribution more than a year ago. Gas stations, grocery stores and other businesses have temporarily shut down due to lack of fuel for generators. The National Guard first dispatched fuel to hospitals and other critical infrastructure. Were starting from scratch, said Carmen Rivera as she and her wife mopped up water and threw away their damaged appliances, adding to piles of rotting furniture and soggy mattresses lining their street. Despite being on the opposite side of the island from where Fionas eye made landfall, Toa Baja was especially hard hit because the Plata River _ Puerto Ricos longest _ overflowed its banks into the city of more than 74,000 people.. Floodwaters passed the 5-foot mark at Riveras wood-and-concrete home. She wondered if she might get any financial help, and when. I work for the municipality, and what I earn is not, `wow, she said. Toa Baja officials estimated it could take a month to complete their door-to-door survey aimed at determining damage so that people can get financial aid. For some, it was more than just about financial loss as people used the chance to describe their stress as well. I see an emotional exhaustion in people. Its a `here we go again, said Gretchen Hernandez, a social worker who was overseeing the citywide survey. Many have been forced to throw out food because of the power outages and some people pitched in to help neighbors. More than two dozen cars lined up in Toa Baja, where Aida Villanueva was handing out food to fellow members of the community _ grapes, croissants, chicken, rice, vegetables and the like. Seventy-four-year-old Ana Butter arrived before dawn for a chance at food, complaining about a lack of official aid. No one has stopped by my house, said Butter, who lives in the neighboring town of Dorado. Someone in line wondered aloud what those without power were going to do with so much free chicken. Another yelled, Tomorrow therell be a barbecue! and the crowd laughed. About the photo: View of a house that was washed away by Hurricane Fiona at Villa Esperanza in Salinas, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, September 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. China achieves initial success in new infrastructure construction Xinhua) 08:46, September 27, 2022 BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- China has achieved initial success in new infrastructure construction, which has greatly facilitated the country's social and economic development over the past decade, officials said Monday. Zhang Zhihua, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said China has quickened its steps in upgrading information infrastructure as well as advancing infrastructure integration and innovation. The length of China's optical fiber network has increased 2.7 times over the past decade, and the number of data center racks has topped 5.9 million, Zhang told a press conference. Smart devices are being integrated into various industries and businesses such as transport, energy supply, and industrial production, as well as facilities concerning people's well-being like e-commerce, telemedicine, and online education, he said. In terms of innovation, Zhang said up to 32 of China's planned 77 major national science and technology infrastructure projects have been put into operation, while centers on engineering research, enterprise technology, and industrial innovation are being set up across the country. Zhang particularly mentioned advancement in China's "east data, west computing" project, a mega data project launched in February this year and designed to have the country's less developed inland regions store and process data transmitted from economically advanced eastern areas. In the "initial areas" of the project, construction has started on more than 60 new data centers, which involves over 1.1 million standard racks and over 400 billion yuan (about 56.9 billion U.S. dollars), he said, noting that the proportion of data centers in the western region has increased steadily. Song Wen, an official with the National Energy Administration, revealed that with the energy sector seeking a faster shift to digital, internet-based, and smart-tech models, progress has been made in fields such as smart grid, mining, and power generation, as well as energy storage. The coverage rate of China's power distribution automation system has exceeded 90 percent by 2021, and the country has seen the completion of over 800 smart mining sites and a number of "5G plus" smart thermal power plants, according to Song. Zhang said new infrastructure has greatly empowered China's economic and social development by offering sustained support to new technology exploration, effectively backing the development of the digital economy and fully facilitating the improvement of people's well-being. "While each round of scientific and technological revolution introduces new infrastructure, each round of infrastructure construction would bring in an upgrade in economic transformation," he said, voicing optimism in the prospect of new infrastructure investment. With more supporting financial and fiscal policies in place, China will move faster to kick off a number of new infrastructure projects, according to Zhang. He said to further support these projects, the NDRC will boost efforts to enhance coordination and planning, increase spending and shore up the weak links. Works will be done to improve the basic networks in the medium and small cities in the central and western regions, bridge the digital gap, and make industrial and supply chains more resilient, with priority given to new infrastructure that meets the public's urgent needs and stimulates the real economy, he said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji) ARVADA, CO - OCTOBER 26: In a breakout session, Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright, center, of the Colorado Supreme Court, as well as Justices Monica M. Marquez, left, and William W. Hood III, right, answer questions from a small group of students at Pomona High School after they and the other four members of the court heard two cases at the high school on October 26, 2021 in Arvada, Colorado. The visit is part of the Colorado judicial branchs Courts in the Community outreach program. (Photo By Kathryn Scott) The Colorado Department of the Treasury on Monday announced a new website that aims to improve transparency for the states bond investors. The website, stateofcoloradobonds.com, which is set to launch in October, provides potential investors with information about Colorados finances and bond programs. State officials said they hope the website will attract more buyers for the states upcoming short-term notes sales. Developing a strong investor relations program is a cornerstone of Colorados fiscal health, said State Treasurer Dave Young. This investor relations website disseminates information effectively, while also engaging current and prospective bondholders. The website is powered by BondLink, a financial technology company that provides investor transparency services for numerous other states, including California, Ohio, Virginia, Georgia, Oklahoma and Rhode Island. BondLink also partners with the University of Colorado. Investor transparency is absolutely essential for any issuer looking to finance its public infrastructure at low costs, said Colin MacNaught, co-founder and CEO of BondLink. Given how turbulent the capital markets have become over the last six months, it's even more important. Are you a current print subscriber to Columbia Gorge News? If so, you qualify for free access to all content on columbiagorgenews.com. Simply verify with your subscriber id to receive free access. Your subscriber id may be found on your bill or mailing label. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. (Posted Sept. 27, 2022) By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor The Ohio State Auditors Office is scheduled to release the village of Mount Sterling from fiscal oversight, likely next month. This has been more than five years in the making. In June 2017, then Ohio Auditor Dave Yost placed the village in a state of fiscal emergency due to substantial deficit fund balances. The deficits were the result of corruption and theft in office on the part of several former village officials and employees, including Joe Johnson, former village administrator, who stole more than $724,000 from the village between 2012 and 2016 to buy vehicles, auto parts, televisions, and other items for personal use. Johnson was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Once placed on fiscal emergency, the village had to develop a plan to eliminate the fiscal emergency conditions with the oversight of a state financial planning and supervision commission. Since then, state auditors have worked with village officials to develop yearly budgets, maintain those budgets, and write audit and policy procedures for the village. The state releases an entity from oversight once the entity has cleared all questions and demonstrated financial stability and the ability to maintain financial stability into the future. Mount Sterlings last step before the state can officially release the village from oversight is to pass a five-year financial termination forecast for planning and budgeting. Council did that with a unanimous vote at their Sept. 26 meeting. Thats a big deal, said Andy Drake, council president pro tem and chair of councils finance committee, about the upcoming release from oversight and fiscal emergency. Next year will be our first year not under fiscal oversight Im looking forward to getting that taken care of. Courtney Bricker, Mount Sterlings fiscal officer, said copies of the financial termination forecast are available for public viewing in the lobby at village hall. In other village news: Council unanimously passed a resolution that would allow the mayor to apply for, accept, and enter into an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency water supply revolving loan account for design and construction of a new 150,000-gallon water tank. Village leaders have not decided if this is the direction they want to go for financing the water tank project. Passage of the legislation just makes it a possible option. Village Administrator Tom Byrne recently met with a forester from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to learn more about how Mount Sterling can become a Tree City USA. Byrne plans to attend a tree planting workshop in Plain City on Oct. 5. Hydrant flushing will take place the week of Oct. 24. Defend proclaimed terrorists at your own peril: Jaishankar Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has asserted that nations who defend proclaimed terrorists in the United Nations neither advance their own interests nor their reputation, a signal to China and Pakistan. This month, China has put a hold on a proposal moved at the United Nations by the US and co-supported by India to designate Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Sajid Mir. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@DrSJaishankar In his address to the high-level UN General Assembly session, Jaishankar said those who politicise the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime, sometimes even to the extent of defending proclaimed terrorists, do so at their own peril. "Having borne the brunt of cross border terrorism for decades, India firmly advocates a 'zero- tolerance' approach. In our view, there is no justification for any act of terrorism, regardless of motivation. And no rhetoric, however sanctimonious, can ever cover-up blood stains," he said. "The United Nations responds to terrorism by sanctioning its perpetrators. Those who politicise the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime, sometimes even to the extent of defending proclaimed terrorists, do so at their own peril. Believe me, they advance neither their own interests nor indeed their reputation," he said. This was a strong, though veiled attack against Pakistan and its all-weather ally China, that has on multiple occasions blocked bids and proposals by India and its allies to designate Pakistan-based terrorists under the 1267 sanctions regime of the UN Security Council. This month, China has put a hold on a proposal moved at the United Nations by the US and co-supported by India to designate Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Sajid Mir, wanted for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks, as a global terrorist. Read more Global Diplomacy News and India News here Singapore received maximum tourists from India till August When the Formula One circus rolls into Singapore this week for the 13th Singapore F1 Grand Prix from September 30 to October 2, it will signal Singapores strong return as a host of world-class events after the COVID-19 pandemic brought its tourism industry to a screeching halt. It is estimated that around 40 per cent of the spectators at the Grand Prix are foreigners, no doubt many will be from India. Photo courtesy: Wikimedia With pent-up demand for exciting live events, crowds from around the world will descend on the city-state in numbers not seen since the first Singapore GP in 2008 when a sell-out crowd of 300,000 attended the event. Since then, the best three-day attendance was the 268,000 achieved in 2019. COVID-19 shut down the worlds only street circuit night race in 2020 and 2021. It is estimated that around 40 per cent of the spectators at the Grand Prix are foreigners, no doubt many will be from India. Indians at the moment, make up the second largest group of visitors to Singapore by country of origin. Up till August, Singapore received a total of 2.96 million visitors. Out of these, 378,490 are from India. Indonesia is the largest source of foreign visitors to Singapore till August at 588,870. Malaysia is in third place with 264,170, followed by Australia (258,670) and Vietnam (177,510). Read more Singapore News and Entertainment News here Did you know that over 80% of ransomware attacks can be traced to common configuration errors in software and devices? This ease of access is one of many reasons why cybercriminals have become emboldened by the underground ransomware economy. And yet, many threat actors are working within a limited pool of ransomware groups. Although ransomware is a headline-grabbing topic, its ultimately being driven forward by a relatively small and interconnected ecosystem of players. The specialization and consolidation of the cybercrime economy has fueled ransomware as a service (RaaS) to become a dominant business model enabling a wider range of criminals to deploy ransomware regardless of their technical expertise. This, in turn, has forced all of us to become cybersecurity defenders. When Microsoft is developing threat intelligence, we dont just rely on open forum monitoring and ransomware claims to identify emerging cybercrime trends. We also observe end-to-end events as they occur. This has allowed us to identify patterns in cybercriminal activity and turn cybercrime into a preventable disruption to business. Once businesses can address the problems and network gaps that industrialized tools rely on to succeed, they can better strengthen their cybersecurity position. Here are some of our top tips. Understanding how RaaS works Before you can defend against ransomware, you must first know how it operates. Ransomware is not targeted. Instead, ransomware takes advantage of existing security compromises in order to gain access to internal networks. Cybercriminals have adopted a maximum-efficiency approach when it comes to ransomware. In the same way that businesses hire gig workers to cut down on costs, cybercriminals have turned to renting or selling their ransomware tools for a portion of the profits rather than performing the attacks themselves. This flourishing RaaS economy allows cybercriminals to purchase access to ransomware payloads and data leakage as well as payment infrastructure. What we think of as ransomware gangs are in reality RaaS programs like Conti or REvil, used by the many different actors who switch between RaaS programs and payloads. RaaS lowers the barrier to entry and obfuscates the identity of the attackers behind the ransoming. Some programs can have 50 or more affiliates, as they refer to the users of their service, with varying tools, tradecraft, and objectives. Anyone with a laptop and credit card who is willing to search the dark web for penetration testing tools or out-of-the-box malware can join this economy. So, what does this mean for enterprises? A new business model can offer fresh insight This industrialization of cybercrime has created specialized roles in the RaaS economy, such as the access brokers who are responsible for selling access to networks. When companies experience a breach, there are often multiple cybercriminals involved at different stages of the intrusion. These threat actors can gain access by purchasing RaaS kits off the dark web, consisting of customer service support, bundled offers, user reviews, forums, and other features. Cybercriminals can pay a set price for a RaaS kit while other groups selling RaaS under the affiliate model take a percentage of the profits. Ransomware attacks are customized based on configurations of the target networks, even if the ransomware payload is the same. They can take the form of data exfiltrations, as well as other impacts and, because of the interconnected nature of the cybercriminal economy, seemingly unrelated intrusions can build upon each other. For example, infostealer malware steals passwords and cookies. These attacks are often treated with less severity, but cybercriminals can sell these passwords to enable other, more devastating attacks. However, these attacks follow a common template. First, there is initial access via malware infection or exploitation of a vulnerability. Then, credential theft is used to elevate privileges and move laterally. This industrialization has allowed prolific and impactful ransomware attacks to be performed by attackers without sophistication or advanced skills. Reporting on ransomware may seem like an endless scaling problem but in reality, there is a finite set of actors using the set of techniques. Strategies for businesses to deploy Now that we understand the mechanics behind RaaS, there are several preventative measures that companies can take. Build credential hygiene: Develop a logical network segmentation based on privileges that can be implemented alongside network segmentation to limit lateral movement. Organizations failing to implement credential hygiene is one of the biggest security misconfigurations that we observe, and yet this simple tool can be a major factor in preventing threat actors from moving laterally and distributing a ransomware payload across the company. Audit credential exposure: Audit your credential exposure to better prevent ransomware attacks and cybercrime at large. IT security teams and security operations centers (SOCs) can work together to reduce administrative privileges and understand the level at which their credentials are exposed. Reduce the attack surface: Establish attack surface reduction rules to prevent common attack techniques used in ransomware attacks. In observed attacks from several ransomware-associated activity groups, organizations with clearly defined rules have been able to mitigate attacks in their initial stages while preventing hands-on-keyboard activity. Ultimately, ransomware has been made easier by threat actors industrialization of tools and ability to target organizations without needing highly-specialized skillsets. But by implementing foundational security best practices and monitoring their credentials, companies can make it that much harder to fall victim to a ransomware attack. For more information on ransomware, check out the full Cyber Signals article and explore more threat intelligence insights on Microsoft Security Insider. STORY LINK Pound Australian Dollar Exchange Rate News: GBP/AUD Directionless as Risk Aversion Subsides GBP/AUD Exchange Rate Sluggish as GBP Attempts to Regain Ground Pound (GBP) Firms but Remains Under Pressure Australian Dollar (AUD) Mixed amid Expectation of a Slowing Chinese Economy GBP/AUD Exchange Rate Forecast: Pound to Firm Further Following Pill Speech? Like this piece? Please share with your friends and colleagues: The Pound to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate was trading narrowly on Tuesday as GBP attempted a wary comeback and risk appetite dominated AUD trade.At time of writing the GBP/AUD exchange rate traded at around AU$1.6645, which was roughly the same as Tuesdays opening levels.The Pound (GBP) was strengthening against many of its peers on Tuesday as it attempted to recover from Mondays chaotic trading session.Following Sterlings collapse on Friday, hints of further potential tax cuts from Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng saw GBP slump even lower, before hopes that the Bank of England (BoE) might intervene helped the Pound regain ground.However, the central bank only released a statement. In response, Charlie Bean, former BoE Deputy Governor, commented:On this occasion if I had still been at the bank in my role as deputy governor I certainly would have been counselling the governor that I think this is one of those occasions where it might have made sense (to call a meeting).Tuesday saw GBP edge higher ahead of a speech from BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill. Expectations that Pill might address the current crash in UK markets could be supporting Sterling.However, some investors believe that the speech may be nothing more than a placating gesture from the BoE, designed to shore up the Pound after their lacklustre statement yesterday, amid worries that the BoE isnt doing enough. As such, Sterlings gains were being capped ahead of the speech.The Australian Dollar (AUD) was mixed on Tuesday after the World Bank downgraded its economic forecast for China, which weighed on the Aussie due to AUDs status as a proxy for the Chinese economy.In its biannual report released on Tuesday, the World Bank slashed its economic forecast for East Asia and the Pacific region from 5% to 3.2%. Most of this decline was due to slowing growth in China, which accounts for 86% of the regions GDP. This downward revision comes amid Chinas housing market crisis and zero-Covid policies.This forecast, if correct, would put Chinas GDP growth behind the rest of the Asia-Pacific region for the first time in 30 years. Furthermore, this slowing of growth has investors concerned about a looming global recession, as China is the worlds second largest economy.While these concerns pressured the China-proxy Aussie Dollar, a recovering market mood helped offset the downside and limit AUDs losses against GBP.Looking ahead the Pound Australian Dollar exchange rate could see significant movement Tuesday afternoon if Pills speech eases investors fears.If Pills address delivers a hawkish sentiment, then its possible that the Pound could continue to strengthen throughout the afternoon. However, if the speech holds little insight into the BoEs next decision, then Sterling could lose its gains.A lack of any significant UK data could see GBP investors turn to domestic headlines for guidance. Could political unrest caused by Liz Trusss fiscal policy cap the Pounds gains?A lack of Australian data will likely leave AUD sensitive to risk appetite. Any more news from China could weigh on the proxy currency further. International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements. TAGS: Pound Australian Dollar Forecasts Lord Pannick KC has one of the finest legal minds in the country. His advice that the Commons probe against Boris Johnson is unfair and flawed was argued with devastating clarity when he delivered it earlier this month and looked to many like a slam-dunk against the ex-PM's critics. In flatly rejecting his views, the Commons Privileges Committee has shown contempt for natural justice. It has insulted the principles of fairness and decency for which this country is famed. Indeed, these puffed-up worthies go so far as to arrogantly accuse perhaps Britain's most respected public lawyer of a 'systemic misunderstanding of the parliamentary process'. The cheek of it! Lord Pannick KC has one of the finest legal minds in the country. His advice that the Commons probe against Boris Johnson is unfair and flawed was argued with devastating clarity when he delivered it earlier this month The Commons Privileges Committee is led by Labour veteran Harriet Harman. In flatly rejecting his views, the Commons Privileges Committee has shown contempt for natural justice In case you had forgotten, Boris is accused of 'contempt' in the House of Commons, having allegedly misled MPs over the 'Partygate' affair that storm in a teacup from which the rest of us long ago moved on. Lord Pannick pointed out a number of glaring flaws in the Committee's approach and rightly warned that for Boris to be censured for unintentionally misleading the House would have a 'chilling effect' on democracy. But in a statement yesterday, the committee, led by Labour veteran Harriet Harman, dismissed these arguments out of hand. Harman's own views on Boris are clear. She tweeted in April that Boris and his then-chancellor Rishi Sunak 'misled' the Commons by accepting a fine for breaching Covid regulations. In case you had forgotten, Boris Johnson is accused of 'contempt' in the House of Commons, having allegedly misled MPs over the 'Partygate' affair She also shared a blog by ex-Labour press secretary Alastair Campbell that claimed the former PM 'broke [his] own emergency laws', 'lied repeatedly' and 'trashed the ministerial code'. How can a woman like this possibly head a fair inquiry? This has looked like a witch-hunt from the start. Harman herself stepped in only when the previous head, her Labour colleague Chris Bryant, recused himself after ranting on social media: 'The PM broke the law, repeatedly lied to Parliament and refused to correct the record.' Bryant concluded Johnson was 'not fit for office'. Still on the committee is Conservative MP for Newbury Laura Farris, an ally of Sunak's who has opined that parties at No10 had a 'corrosive effect on public trust' and that the PM's leadership was 'untenable'. Harman stepped in only when the previous head, her Labour colleague Chris Bryant, recused himself after ranting on social media: 'The PM broke the law, repeatedly lied to Parliament and refused to correct the record.' Bryant concluded Johnson was 'not fit for office' Then there is the Scottish National Party's Allan Dorans, who has approvingly retweeted claims on social media that the 'charlatan' former PM is guilty of a 'litany of lies' and should be 'shown the door'. In all, seven MPs sit on the committee: four Conservative, two Labour and one SNP. All but two have voiced their distaste for 'Partygate' or for Boris himself. Add to this the devastating analysis by Lord Pannick, and the whole investigation appears indefensible. There is no logical alternative but to close it down before it wreaks further damage to the credibility of the Commons. Let me be clear: I do not want to see Parliament stripped of its powers to investigate contempt and other abuses by MPs. Then there is the Scottish National Party's Allan Dorans, who has approvingly retweeted claims on social media that the 'charlatan' former PM is guilty of a 'litany of lies' and should be 'shown the door' However, we need urgent reform. It is time that we had a statute for 'contempt' of Parliament, with proper definitions, a clear legal framework laying down protections for defendants and the power for courts to intervene where necessary. And one thing that must be absolutely clear is that even if lying to Parliament is contempt, inadvertently misleading the Commons is not. If the present case goes against Boris and he is found guilty of contempt, it will be bad for him but worse for our democracy. Will the Privileges Committee realise any of this? I fear not. And thus they will continue to erode the public's trust in the very institutions they purport to defend. Andrew Tettenborn is a writer and a professor of law at Swansea University. SHOPPING: Products featured in this article are independently selected by our shopping writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, DailyMail.com will earn an affiliate commission. Fashion darling Olivia Palermo, 36, struck a chic chord as she opted for a long green trench coat as she was seen attending the Alberta Ferretti fashion show at Milan fashion week. The City star looked incredibly stylish in this outfit from the Alberta Ferretti's new collection. Palermo teamed the ruched sleeve coat with a tailored white shirt and styled it with black pointed toe boots. Oliva swept her hair back into a sleek chignon bun and sported dewy foundation with a smoky eye. Autumn chic: Socialite Olivia Palermo layered on an olive maxi trench coat from Alberta Ferretti as she attended the designers Milan fashion week presentation This trench coat features distinctive pleating that shows off the military inspired fabric in a very fashion forward way. We love how Olivia wore hers with the sleeves rolled up, allowing her blouse to stand out. The longline silhouette will give you a more dressed up look, while keeping you dry on the rainiest of days. Follow Olivia's lead and shop this autumn ready style for $2660, or layer on one of our fashionable finds lined up in the selection above. A woman who grew up in Warren Jeffs' polygamist Mormon cult has opened up about how her life changed after she and her family fled and found 'freedom.' Jeffs, now 66, began serving as the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) in 2002 - and he had more than 70 wives, 24 of whom were underage girls, when he was arrested in 2008. During his time as the leader of the church, it was said that he brainwashed, imprisoned, and sexually and physically abused multiple women and children, resulting in him being sentenced to life in prison. Now, one of his former victims, Ruby Steed, 24, who spent her early years living under his rule, has opened up about how far she has come since she escaped from the religious cult. A woman who grew up in Warren Jeffs' polygamist Mormon cult has opened up about how her life changed after she and her family fled. She is seen as a child (left) and recently (right) Jeffs (seen in 2011), now 66, began serving as the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) in 2002 Jeffs (pictured with some of his victims) had more than 70 wives, 24 of whom were underage girls, when he was arrested in 2008 Now, one of his former victims, Ruby Steed (seen left as a kid and right now), 24, who spent her early years living under his rule, has opened up about how far she has come since she escaped She shared her story on TikTok in a powerful video - and it quickly went viral, gaining more than three million views and leaving many people on the web impressed with her strength and bravery. During her time in FLDS, Ruby said she was told that she wouldn't have a choice in who she married or her career, and that she had no contact with the outside world. She is seen with her mom when she was a child During her time in FLDS, Ruby said she was told that she wouldn't have a choice in who she married or her career, and that she had no contact with the outside world. Now, however, she has landed her dream job as a hairdresser and has traveled the globe. 'If these two could have a conversation...' she began in the clip, while showing a photo of herself as a child versus a photo of herself now. 'Do we still dress like this?' her younger self asked in the TikTok, to which she answered, 'Nope, we get a whole new wardrobe. 'Are we still close with mom? She's our best friend,' she continued, while snaps of her with her mother as a kid and recently flashed across the screen. Now, however, she has landed her dream job as a hairdresser and has traveled the globe. She recently shared her story on TikTok in a powerful video - and it quickly went viral 'If these two could have a conversation...' she began in the clip, while showing a photo of herself as a child versus a photo of herself now 'Do we still dress like this?' her younger self asked in the TikTok, to which she answered, 'Nope, we get a whole new wardrobe' 'Are we still close with mom? She's our best friend,' she continued, while snaps of her with her mother as a kid and recently flashed across the screen 'Do we still go to church? No, everything you taught is a lie,' the next part of the video read, on top of a photo of Jeffs in handcuffs. Ruby (seen as a kid) said she doesn't go to church anymore because everything Jeffs taught her was 'a lie,' and called leaving 'the best decision she ever made' 'So we left? Yes, and it was the best decision we ever made,' she added in the viral video. 'Do we get to go to any cool places? Oh my God, yes. We travel a lot and we even move to Australia for a year,' she gushed, while showcasing some pictures from her travels. 'And we walk 500 miles across an entire state. 'Do we get a career? Yes, we go to school and become a barber and it's amazing. We get to meet cool people and travel with our job. 'Are we still raising our little siblings? Kind of... But it's different now. It's better. They are more like best friends. 'Do we make friends? Yes, lots of them,' she concluded. 'Cried making this,' Ruby captioned the TikTok. 'She had no idea how much better life was about to get.' Ruby (seen as a kid with some of her siblings) said they're still close but 'it's different now.' She added, 'It's better. They are more like best friends' Ruby (pictured recently with her siblings) said she has gotten to go a lot of 'cool places' and has met so many 'cool people' The hairdresser often shares snaps of herself at the beach, on top of a mountain, hiking in the woods, and doing other adventurous activities - and she even spent a year living in Australia 'Cried making this,' Ruby (seen as a child) captioned the TikTok. 'She had no idea how much better life was about to get' FLDS was created in 1930 by a group of Mormons who got ostracized from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because they refused to give up polygamy - the act of marrying multiple women. Jeffs then took over as the prophet of the church in 2002, following the death of his father, Rulon Jeffs, who had 20 wives and approximately 60 children when he passed. Six years later, police stormed one of FLDS' ranches and arrested Jeffs, after they found over 400 children and evidence of 'sexual, physical, and psychological abuse,' Rolling Stone reported at the time. In 2011, he was sent away for life after he was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault for having sex with two girls aged 12 and 14. FLDS was created in 1930. Jeffs took over as the prophet of the church in 2002, following the death of his father, Rulon Jeffs (pictured together) During his time as the leader of the church, it was said that Jeffs (pictured before his arrest) brainwashed, imprisoned, and sexually and physically abused multiple women and children Police arrested Jeffs in 2008, after they found over 400 children and evidence of abuse on the ranch. Members of the cult are seen leaving the compound after the raid In 2011, Jeffs (pictured in 2006) was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault for having sex with two girls aged 12 and 14. He is currently serving a life sentence plus 20 years for the charges He is currently serving a life sentence plus 20 years for the charges, however, it's been reported that Jeffs has continued to preach to FLDS' remaining members from his prison cell - and as of 2018, the Guardian reported that there were still around 10,000 active members of the church. In another one of Ruby's TikToks, which was viewed nearly four million times, she showed some more comparison photos of her life in FLDS versus her life now. 'Growing up in a cult, not being able to choose who I married, have a career, or have any access to the outside world,' she captioned the throwback pics that saw her as a child. 'Versus getting out, finding my freedom, and having the whole world to explore,' she then wrote alongside some of her in recent years looking as happy as could be at the beach, on top of a mountain, hiking in the woods, and doing other adventurous activities. A Floridian who has lived through 'dozens of hurricanes' has shared her best advice for preparing for Hurricane Ian as it barrels toward the Gulf Coast, prompting mandatory evacuations for more than 300,000 people in Tampa Bay. Jenn Hoskins, 43, from Lake Monroe, took to TikTok over the weekend to post a series of videos about what new residents should know after Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency across Florida on Saturday afternoon. 'I know a lot of people are stressing about this whole Florida hurricane situation, so I want to offer some advice from somebody who's been through dozens of hurricanes and [lived] in Florida for well over 20 years,' the mother of nine said. Jenn Hoskins, 43, from Lake Monroe, took to TikTok over the weekend to post a series of videos about what new residents should know about hurricane prep ahead of Hurricane Ian Ian strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane early Monday, and there are fears that it could reach major Category 4 status At 5 a.m. on Monday, Hurricane Ian was moving north west at 13 mph, about 90 miles south west of Grand Cayman, and had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph Hoskins explained that she currently lives in the Orlando area, but she has also lived in Miami and Tampa, where the hurricane is now expected to land. Ian strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane early Monday, and there are fears that it could reach major Category 4 status with sustained winds from 130 mph to 156 mph. The hurricane is forecast to hit Florida midweek, either on Wednesday night or Thursday morning. It is expected to be the worst hurricane Tampa has seen since 1921, when 115 mph winds battered the coast city and left a trail of devastation. Huge swathes of the area were submerged under 10 feet of water from the deadly surge, with breaking waves ripping apart buildings and killing eight people. On Monday, DeSantis warned the impacts from the storm will be 'far and wide' and felt on both coasts in the form of power outages and severe flooding. In Hoskins' videos, she broke down key terms and offered advice for fearful residents, especially those who recently moved to Florida and aren't sure what to do as they face their first hurricane. Be strategic about your media consumption Hoskins advised newcomers to turn off the news because it's 'gonna do nothing but scare you' Instead, she said they should follow meteorological analyst Ryan Hall and Mike's Weather Page Hurricane Ian has become one of the top news stories in the nation, but Hoskins advised Floridians, especially new residents, to avoid most of the media coverage. 'The first thing you are going to do is turn off the news and start watching Ryan Hall and Mike's Weather Page,' she said. 'The news is gonna do nothing but scare you, and as somebody who's been through hurricanes where I've only had the news and hurricanes where Mike's Weather Page was our greatest source of information, I will pick Mike any day. Mike Boylan, the creator of Mike's Weather Page, had been blogging about weather since 2004. Last year, Governor DeSantis honored Boylan with the Tropical Meteorology Award for his site's hurricane coverage. 'Ryan has come on the scene within the last couple years. I would also recommend him,' Hoskins added of the meteorological analyst and storm chaser, who has more than 613,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel. She also advised residents to go to FloridaDisaster.org for emergency information for their respective counties. Know when to evacuate 'If you live in a flood zone, a trailer, or a really old home, I'd think about evacuating,' Hoskins said. Local officials have ordered more than 300,000 people to evacuate their homes, so far Traffic snaked back for miles on I75 from South of Wildwood in Gainsville, Florida, as residents evacuated their homes ahead of the hurricane Local officials have ordered more than 300,000 people to evacuate their homes in parts of Hillsborough, Manatee, and Hernando counties, with more expected to follow. Hoskins shared her thoughts on who should also consider evacuating their homes in her videos, but she stressed that it's difficult to know how a hurricane will affect an area until it's almost too late. 'If you live in a flood zone, a trailer, or a really old home, I'd think about evacuating,' she said. 'If your home's been built since [Hurricane] Andrew hit Florida [in 1992], there's a very good likelihood your house is gonna be just fine. 'The building codes were raised exponentially after that to ensure that your house was going to be significantly more hurricane resistant,' she explained. 'If you live on the coast and there's a Category 5 headed your way, it's probably your best idea to get out of dodge. Unfortunately, you're probably not going to know that until Tuesday. 'One thing I've learned after dozens of hurricanes is you never really know where it's gonna make landfall until like 12 hours before, which really sucks because you're already feeling the effects of the outer bands by the time you know.' Hoskins said if you need to evacuate, you should make it a 'hurrication' and plan to visit an area 'you've been wanting to see for awhile' when you head north. She recalled how she and her family weathered out the last hurricane in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Understand hurricane terminology The mother of nine, who has lived in Florida for 24 years, also advised residents to go to FloridaDisaster.org for emergency information for their respective counties Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency across Florida on Saturday. He is pictured with Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, during a news conference on Monday Hurricane Ian is expected to hit Florida midweek, either late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, and bring with it 130 mph winds Governor DeSantis has already declared a state of emergency in Florida, and Hoskins explained what that means in layman's terms. 'When a state of emergency is declared, there's an allocation of funds that are allowed to be utilized to prepare the counties,' she said. 'All of the different agencies in all of the infrastructure of Florida [are] going to make preparations beyond what you make in your house. '[Officials are] going to warn all the residents, "Hey, there's something you should pay attention to. Start making plans if a hurricane is gonna hit and you need to evacuate."' Hoskins also tackled the difference between a hurricane watch and a hurricane warning, saying these terms will be used frequently in the upcoming days. 'A hurricane watch says, "Hey, keep an eye out. Something might be happening in your area." Nothing is guaranteed and nothing's written in stone,' she explained. 'You're gonna see both a hurricane watch and a tropical storm watch. 'This doesn't mean that the hurricane has been downgraded to a tropical storm,' she added. 'What it means is the effects on your area are going to be much closer to what a tropical storm will be than a hurricane.' Hoskins stressed that 'a warning is a whole other ballgame.' 'What the warning means is, "Hey, there's gonna be a tropical storm or hurricane in your area soon. The likelihood of it hitting is big enough that we think you need to be prepared for it hitting." Again, it's still not a guarantee that it's gonna hit your area,' she said. 'There have been times that we've been in a warning zone, and we barely got any rain. There have been other times we've been in the warning zone, and it hard. [Hurricane] Charlie is one that I can remember being a warning and it was a warning.' Don't forget that Florida is a big state Hoskins pointed out that residents also have to factor in their geographical location because 'Florida is huge.' She explained that it takes about 13 hours to drive from Pensacola, the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, to Key West, the state's southernmost point. 'It's a big state, so now you can see how big the uncertainty is,' she said. 'The Keys will always get it harder than Orlando would because if a storm hits Tampa as a Cat 3, it's a Cat 1 by the time it gets to us, which is equivalent to our afternoon storms but sustained over a day or so.' Know how to read a hurricane map Hoskins explained how to read a hurricane tracker in layman's terms and suggested newcomers pay close attention to how their neighbors are preparing Hoskins used TikTok's greenscreen feature to pull up a recent forecast track in her follow-up video, saying it took several years of her living in Florida before she fully understood how to read the hurricane maps. 'You see how it's a big wide cone? That's telling you where the eye will go,' she explained. 'So that's not telling you how big the storm is. That's not telling you the impact zone. That's telling you the variability of where the eye will go. And what these little dots are, that's where the eye will be at those different times. 'So if you factor in how huge a hurricane is outside of the eye, you can really get a gauge of how giant this cone of uncertainty is.' Hoskins filmed the video in response to a TikTok user who has only lived in Orlando for a year and was admittedly 'terrified.' 'Look, you're not alone. We've had a huge influx of Florida residents over the last two years,' she assured the viewer. 'All I wanna do is calm your fears and give you real data so that you don't have to buy into the fear-based stuff. But, also, you can still be prepared.' Pay close attention to your neighbors Hoskins said one of the best things new residents can do is watch their neighbors who have lived in Florida for a while. 'If your neighbors who have been there for 5 to 10 years are getting sandbags, it's probably wise to get a few,' she said. 'If your neighbors who have been there for 5 to 10 years are getting Publix subs and Coronas, you're probably gonna be alright.' Understand how cleanup works Hoskins stressed that cleanup safety is just as important as hurricane preparations, saying, 'A lot of the injuries from hurricanes comes during cleanup' Hoskins noted that any able-bodied person who can use a chainsaw or has a truck that can pull debris safely out of the way should try to help with the cleanup efforts Hoskins stressed that cleanup safety is just as important as hurricane preparations. 'A lot of the injuries from hurricanes comes during cleanup, whether it's down powerlines that people don't see [or] injuries from chainsaws while cleaning up trees,' she said. 'So if the storm does hit your area, the first thing you're gonna wanna do once it passes is walk your property for any down power lines and report them immediately. 'Next thing you wanna do is join forces with your neighbors and start getting streets cleaned up,' she continued. 'Though the infrastructure resources will be there to clean up eventually, it's a lot more proficient if you're hands-on helping.' Hoskins said that any able-bodied person who can use a chainsaw or has a truck that can pull debris safely out of the way should try to help with the cleanup efforts. 'Not only is it going to help people getting in and out for basic supplies, but it is also gonna make room for things like ambulances that need to get to people [and] bucket trucks that are helping to fix electricity,' she explained. 'But at the same time, don't feel obligated. If you're genuinely not able to help, don't feel guilty, It's okay. We rally as Floridians, and the ones who are able to help are there helping.' Longtime Floridians need to help their new neighbors Hoskins also filmed another video urging longtime Floridians to help their new neighbors who are scared and don't know what to do, saying they shouldn't make fun of them Hoskins dedicated another video to longtime Floridians who are likely frustrated with the influx of newcomers over the last two years. She said that locals should resist the urge to make fun of them for 'overreacting' and remember that they are 'scared' and likely unprepared for their first hurricane. 'Hurricane prep is second nature to us. We instinctively know how to read a hurricane tracker. We know what parts of Florida are low-lying and which ones aren't. We know that you feel your bathtub. We know to go to the gas station at 2 a.m. because that's your best chance of going there without a line. It's annoying, but we know we can do it,' she explained. 'We also know that after the storm, things open up generally quickly. We know what cleanup looks like. We know the helping hands. We know how to start a generator. We know to set our AC as low as possible 12 hours out from the storm, so our house is like an ice box if we lose power,' she continued. 'All of the things we already know, they don't. We also know that a lot of those hurricane prep lists tend to be excessive and not everyone can afford everything on there. So we know when we look at it what to prioritize. Newbies don't.' Hoskins advised her Floridian viewers to have empathy for their new neighbors and try to help them out as much as possible ahead of Hurricane Ian. 'Take this time to be kind to your new neighbors, just like they would be kind to you if you were going through your first Nor'easter or blizzard,' she urged viewers. 'Be sure you've swapped phone numbers, that you have a little bit of extra supplies in case somebody needs it because, in this economy, you don't know who's struggling on your street and help calm people's fears,' she added. 'We can chuckle [about] our inside jokes amongst ourselves, but it's not the time to make fun of people who genuinely don't know and genuinely are scared. Kindness matters.' Hoskins noted that many of these people may move back to where they came from one day, saying, 'Let them have good things to say about Florida once they go.' Advertisement Gwyneth Paltrow has posed nude for a glamorous shoot in celebration of her 50th birthday putting a whole new spin on what it means to wear your birthday suit. The Goop founder, who rang in the milestone on September 27, has once again proven that age is just a number by modeling nothing but gold paint, a modern homage to the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger. Both Paltrow and her lifestyle brand shared the stunning images on Instagram on her birthday in honor of her embarking on the next decade of her life. 'All I know is that theyre painting me gold and that I have to be naked,' Paltrow said of the sexy birthday shoot, which isn't for the faint of heart. Gwyneth Paltrow rang in her 50th birthday with a glamorous nude shoot after having half of her body painted gold. The stunning images were shared on her birthday on September 27 'I feel so good turning 50, and this is about expressing that sense of energy and optimism that Im experiencing,' she explained Paltrow strategically posed with hands, arm, and leg covering her chest and nether regions, ensuring the shots wouldn't get flagged on social media The Oscar winner had half of her naked body painted gold before stepping in front of the camera. She strategically posed with hands, arms, and legs covering her chest and nether regions, ensuring the shots wouldn't get flagged on social media. 'I feel so good turning 50, and this is about expressing that sense of energy and optimism that Im experiencing,' she explained. 'Its more about the female gaze and just a sense of fun.' In a post shared on Goop, Paltrow's makeup artist, Lottie, explained how she prepped the lifestyle guru for the shoot, saying she began the process by ensuring that the 50-year-old's face and body were 'very, very moisturized' so that the gold paint would look pristine once applied. To achieve this, she used a range of products from Paltrow's own Goopgenes line, including the All-in-One Nourishing Face Cream and the Nourishing Repair Body Butter. 'The idea of Goop evolved and grew, and I along with it,' the birthday girl said of her growing company. Paltrow also sat down with her husband, Brad Falchuk, for a podcast episode that was released on her birthday. Ahead of turning 50, she penned a candid essay about her past and her hopes for her future that was published on Goop last Thursday. Paltrow penned a candid essay about her past and her hopes for her future ahead of turning 50 that was published on Goop last week The Goop founder (pictured in 1996) reflected on the regrets and mistakes that still keep her up at night, saying that she prays she has 'learned from them all' Paltrow reflected on the regrets and mistakes that still keep her up at night, saying that she hopes she has 'learned from them all.' 'I have hurt people, never intentionally, but I have done so just the same. I have let people down by not being who they needed me to be. I have betrayed myself to keep the peace,' she wrote. 'I have crossed lines, the thoughts of which sometimes rip me from sleep and suspend me into the hollowness of shame for a long, dark night. Most regretfully, and so often, I have not spoken my truth to spare some perceived consequence, that hurting someone will tear us both apart.' Paltrow admitted that she used to have a hard time standing up for herself and setting boundaries in both her personal life and career because she was afraid of upsetting people. She had appeared in a number of movies at a young age and won an Academy Award for her breakout performance in Shakespeare in Love in 1999. The actress also had high-profile romances with actors Ben Affleck and Brad Pitt, whom she broke up with just a few months after they got engaged in 1996. 'My most lasting mistakes and the mess that comes with them have all stemmed from me not standing fully in my truth and speaking from it, come what may,' she explained. Paltrow (pictured with then-boyfriend Brad Pitt in 1996) admitted that she has 'hurt people' and 'crossed lines' The actress (pictured with then-boyfriend Ben Affleck in 1999) noted that her 'most lasting mistakes' have stemmed from 'not standing fully in [her] truth' Paltrow, who wrote about learning to set boundaries and call out inappropriate behavior, was instrumental in bringing down convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein (pictured in 1999) 'Saying the words that could have spared seasons of heartache and repercussions. No. This does not feel right to me. Your expectations are not appropriate. Your behavior is not appropriate. This relationship is no longer right for me. This project is not right for me. You are no longer right for me.' Paltrow noted that she isn't sure if she would go back in time to correct her mistakes because they have taught her 'meaningful' lessons. 'If nothing else, they have led me to a path of questioning. Of seeking a better version of myself,' she wrote. 'People often ask, "If you could go back to your 21-year-old self and give her some advice" Well, I would know my boundary and hold on to it more tightly than my life itself.' The mother of two has given similar advice to her children Apple, 18, and Moses, 16, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Chris Martin. She has encouraged them to trust their instincts and make decisions based on how they feel, especially when it comes to love and sex. Paltrow was instrumental in bringing down convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein, who had produced a number of her films, including Shakespeare in Love. Paltrow (pictured with her then-husband Chris Martin in 2014) noted that she isn't sure if she would go back in time to correct her mistakes because they've taught her 'meaningful' lessons The mom said she'd advise her 21-year-old self to 'know [her] boundary and hold on to it more tightly than [her] life itself.' She's given similar advice to her children Apple, 18, and Moses, 16 The disgraced movie mogul was kicked out of the Academy in 2017 after he was accused of rape and sexual harassment by a slew of actresses. The lifestyle guru shocked Hollywood when she joined the clamor of voices accusing him of abusing his power over women in the industry. Paltrow alleged that Weinstein came on to her at the start of filming Emma in 1995, saying he summoned her to his hotel room, put his hands on her, and then asked her for a massage. 'I had one really uncomfortable, weird experience; then he was never inappropriate with me again in that way,' she told Variety in 2019. Paltrow had previously shared that Pitt, her then-boyfriend, had confronted Weinstein for sexually harassing her, saying he threw the Hollywood heavyweight against a wall and said: 'If you ever make her feel uncomfortable again, I'll kill you.' The lifestyle guru also opened up about embracing her aging body, saying she 'accepts the marks and the loosening skin, the wrinkles' Paltrow shared photos of herself frolicking in her yard in a bikini ahead of her birthday 'I do what I can to strive for good health and longevity, to stave off weakening muscles and receding bone,' she said In 2020, she explained that she lost interest in her acting career at a young age after enduring an abusive working relationship with Weinstein, who is serving 23 years in prison after being convicted of felony sex crimes. The businesswoman, who now spends most of her days running her Goop brand, wrote in her 50th birthday essay that she wants to take more time for herself in the future and to continue to build on her relationship with her husband. 'I would like to slow down. I would like to retreat a little bit. I would like to make my circle smaller. I would like to cook dinner more. I would like to see misunderstandings become understandings,' she said. 'I would like to continue to open the deepest part of myself to my husband, even though it scares me. I would like to sing more, even if its just in the shower. I would like to tell anyone that had a negative experience with me that I am sorry. I would like to fully acknowledge myself.' Paltrow admitted that she is 'imperfect' while sharing both her flaws and strengths. 'I can shut down and turn to ice, I have no patience, I swear at other drivers, I dont close my closet doors, I lie when I dont want to hurt feelings,' she explained. The cookbook author (pictured in 2011) shared that she wants to 'slow down,' 'retreat,' and 'cook dinner more' in the future 'I would like to continue to open the deepest part of myself to my husband [Brad Falchuk], even though it scares me,' she added 'I am also generous and funny. I am smart and brave. I am a searcher, and I can bring you along on my quest for meaning. When I love you, you will feel it encompass you through time and space and till the end of the earth. I am all of it.' She also discussed how she has come to terms with her aging body over the years. 'My body, a map of the evidence of all the days, is less timeless. A collection of marks and irregularities that dog-ear the chapters. Scarred from oven burns, a finger smashed in a window long ago, the birth of a child. Silver hair and fine lines. The sun has left her celestial fingerprints all over me, as if she soaked a brush in dark-taupe watercolor, flecking it over my skin,' she wrote. 'And while I do what I can to strive for good health and longevity, to stave off weakening muscles and receding bone, I have a mantra I insert into those reckless thoughts that try to derail me: I accept. I accept the marks and the loosening skin, the wrinkles. I accept my body and let go of the need to be perfect, look perfect, defy gravity, defy logic, defy humanity. I accept my humanity.' Paltrow noted that she could remember both of her parents' 50th birthdays, saying they were dramatically different celebrations. She recalled how her mom Blythe Danner's 50th birthday was held at Michael's restaurant in Los Angeles in February 1993, saying the 'dinner was delicious' and 'the good wine flowed.' 'Everyone was asked to contribute a poem instead of a typical gift,' she explained. 'I remember uproarious laughter, happy tears. I remember my mother full of life and joy at the convergence of the love on display, the deliciousness, and wonderful/heartfelt/brilliant/messy poems.' Paltrow recalled her parents' 50th birthdays, saying the milestone was a 'culmination of the wonderous' for her mother, Blythe Danner, and a 'culmination of sorrows' for her father, Bruce Paltrow (pictured together in 2002) Paltrow wondered if her children will remember her 50th birthday, saying she wants them to know they are 'the greatest accomplishment of [her] life' Paltrow said the following November she and her younger brother, Jake Paltrow, traveled to the island of Nevis with their parents to celebrate their dad Bruce Paltrow's birthday. In addition to the 'grey and unseasonably cool' weather, she could tell her father was going through something, but she couldn't figure out what. 'He said he was "fine," but I found him swallowed by something he felt bereft, unanchored in some way. It was unsettling,' she said. 'He could not embrace the milestone, this marking of the passage of time. Perhaps on some level he knew it would be his last decade.' Paltrow's father was 58 when he died from complications of oral cancer and pneumonia in October 2002. 'I am struck by how, for both of my parents, 50 seemed like a reckoning. For my mother, it was a culmination of the wonderous, the highs, the loves, the art. For my father, a culmination of sorrows,' she noted. Paltrow's memories of her own parents' birthdays have made her wonder what her teenage daughter and son will take from her 50th birthday celebration. 'I think of my children, now old enough to remember this "big" birthday of mine into their own adulthoods,' she said. 'Perhaps their memory of it will be neither that I was solely elated, nor grieving the things I lost or did not bring to fruition. 'I hope that they can feel me feel all the things and hold in the complexity of that notion. That they know I am both good through and through, yet sometimes not. That my feelings of regret and my mistakes can act as scaffolding for what I build from now on. That they are the greatest accomplishment of my life.' Japan's imperial family today joined thousands of mourners at the funeral of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Crown Prince Akishino, 56, his wife Kiko, and daughter Kako, 27, attended the ceremony in Tokyo, where thousands paid their respect to the former Prime Minister. Abe, 67, was killed on July 8 while delivering a campaign speech in Nara in an assassination that shocked the world. World leaders including Vice President Kamala Harris and former French president Nicolas Sarkozy attended the ceremony. Clad in black, the members of the Japanese Imperial family came to pay their respect to Abe, who led the country from 2012 to 2020. Crown Prince Akishino, his wife and youngest daughter attended the ceremony in Tokyo today, where thousands paid their respect to the former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Princess Kako, 27, the youngest daughter of Akishino, looked pensive as she accompanied her parents to the ceremony Akishino, Kiko, Kako and other members of the Imperial family bowed their heads in silence during the funeral Akishino, 56, looked sombre as he approached the shrine for the late stateman. His wife donned a black pearl necklace and a matching pair of earrings for the ceremony, which are considered a symbol of hope for wounded hearts. The emperor's brother and his spouse bowed their heads in sign of respect in front of Abe's ashes before heading to their seats, where they stood with other members of the royal family. He was accompanied by his youngest daughter Princess Kako, 27. Abe's widow, Akie Abe, in a black formal kimono, walked slowly into the Budokan hall venue carrying an urn containing her husband's ashes, placed in a wooden box and wrapped in a purple cloth with gold stripes. Crown Prince Akishino and his wife walked in front of the shrine where Abe's ashes had been deposited Akishino and Kiko , who were wearing black and grey, brought flowers to the ceremony as a mark of respect for the dead Soldiers in white uniforms took Abe's ashes and placed them on a pedestal filled with white and yellow chrysanthemum flowers and decorations. Government, parliamentary and judicial representatives, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, will make condolence speeches, followed by Akie Abe. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, among dozens of foreign dignitaries and 4.300 attendees, sat in the third row, next to Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Japan. Abe was cremated in July after a private funeral at a Tokyo temple days after he was assassinated while giving a campaign speech on a street in Nara, a city in western Japan. The Japanese Crown Prince led other members of the Imperial family in paying their respects to the former PM In accordance with Japanese protocol, Princess Kiko kept a respectful distance as she walked behind her husband The couple shared a moment of reflection in front of the shrine made of flowers that was made for Abe Their daughter Princess Kako, who was also wearing black pearls as a mark of respect, followed behind her parents Kishida says Japan's longest-serving postwar political leader deserves a state funeral. But the undemocratic decision to give him the rare honor with imperial ties, the cost, and controversies about his and the ruling party's ties to the ultra-conservative Unification Church have fueled controversy about the event. Tokyo was under maximum security, with angry protests opposing the funeral planned. Hours before the ceremony, hundreds of people carrying bouquets of flowers queued at public flower-laying stands at nearby Kudanzaka park. Their line stretched several blocks. Masayuki Aoki, a 70-year-old business owner, recalls his 'fist bump' with Abe when he came to Yokohama, near his home, for campaigning just days before he was killed. Akie Abe, widow of former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, wiped away tears during the state funeral of her husband Japan's Princess Nobuko of Mikasa also headed to the Budokan hall for the ceremony this morning 'I'm emotionally attached to him and I've been supporting the LDP, too,' he said. 'I had to come to offer him flowers.' Masae Kurokawa, 64, who also offered Abe flowers, praised him as 'a great figure who brought Japan back to the international level.' The government maintains that the ceremony is not meant to force anyone to honor Abe. Japan's main political opposition parties are not attending the event, which critics say is a reminder of how prewar imperialist governments used state funerals to fan nationalism. In what some see as an attempt to further justify the honor for Abe, Kishida this week has held meetings with visiting foreign leaders in what he calls 'funeral diplomacy.' The talks are meant to strengthen ties as Japan faces regional and global challenges, including threats from China, Russia and North Korea. Shinzo Abe is being laid to rest in Japan today as the country holds a full state funeral for its longest-serving Prime Minister who was shot dead at a political rally back in July Akie Abe, Shinzo's widow, carries her husband's ashes into his state funeral which is taking place in Tokyo today Akie Abe, Shinzo's widow, dabs away tears as she sits alongside relatives at the state funeral of her husband - three months after he was shot dead by an assassin who was angry at his associations with a fringe religious group He was to meet about 40 foreign leaders through Wednesday, but no Group of Seven leaders are attending. Kishida has been criticized for forcing through the costly event and over the widening controversy about Abe's and the governing party's decades of close ties with the ultra-conservative Unification Church, accused of raking in huge donations by brainwashing adherents. Abe's alleged assassin reportedly told police he killed the politician because of his links to the church; he said his mother ruined his life by giving away the family's money to the church. 'The fact that the close ties between the LDP and the Unification Church may have interfered with policymaking processes is seen by the Japanese people as a greater threat to democracy than Abe's assassination,' wrote Hosei University political science professor Jiro Yamaguchi in a recent article. Abe's grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church take root in Japan and is now seen as a key figure in the scandal. Opponents say holding a state funeral for Abe is equivalent to an endorsement of ruling party ties to the Unification Church. Queen Margrethe of Denmark has made her first appearance since she tested positive for Covid the day after attending the Queen's funeral. Margrethe, 82, a distant cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth, joined Queen Sonja of Norway at a literary event in Oslo last night. The Danish queen has been in isolation since testing positive for Covid last Tuesday and was forced to miss a glitzy ball held over the weekend to celebrate her Golden Jubilee. But the Danish Royal Household yesterday announced Margrethe would return to royal duties and travel to Norway as planned. Queen Margrethe of Denmark was pictured out and about for the first time, yesterday, after testing positive for Covid-19 last week. She attended a gala dinner at the Grand Hotel in Oslo after receiving the Nordic Association's Language Award Queen Margrethe and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark The State Funeral of Her Majesty The Queen. Margrethe tested positive for Covid-19 only 24 hours after Queen Elizabeth II's funeral on Monday 19th September Queen Sonja of Norway presented the Nordic Associations annual language award to Queen Margrethe of Denmark at Nordens Hus in Oslo before they attended a gala at the Grand Hotel. Margrethe, who is Europe's longest serving current head of state, and the only current queen regent, wore a vibrant long pink skirt for the gala dinner, which she paired with a navy blue lace top. She pinned her hair tightly back and was pictured with a navy shawl over her shoulders as she arrived at the Grand Hotel. Queen Sonja of Norway accompanied Queen Margrethe as she arrived at the Grand Hotel. Queen Sonja, 85, wore a long blue dress, which she matched with silver heels and a large cream shawl. Queen Sonja of Norway (left) and Queen Margrethe (right) of Denmark arrived at the Grand Hotel for the Nordic Association's gala dinner The 82-year-old royal wore a vibrant pink skirt, which she paired with a navy blue lace top and matching shawl Queen Margrethe spoke at the dinner as the recipient of the year's Nordic Association's Language Award Since 2010, the Nordic Association has awarded its language prize every year to a person, institution or organisation that has contributed to strengthening Nordic language understanding. This year, the association presented the award to Queen Margrethe for the reason that the Queen is an important voice for Nordic cooperation, community and language. Margrethe tested positive for Covid-19 just 24 hours after attending the Queen's funeral and mourning events in London last week. She was in attendance at Westminster Abbey along with her son Crown Prince Frederik, and the two went on to the Queen's Committal Service in Windsor afterward. Queen Margrethe was pictured looking highly emotional at the event, where she joined her son Frederik to pay tribute to the Queen. She was also spotted shedding a tear in front of the Queen's coffin before the funeral Queen Margrethe of Denmark, 82, attended the 'reception of the century' at Buckingham Palace, which was hosted by King Charles and Camilla The royal also paid her respects to the Queen by visiting her coffin in Westminster Hall the night before the Queen's funeral, and attended the Buckingham Palace 'reception of the century' where she was pictured chatting closely with King Charles. Queen Margrethe was pictured looking highly emotional at the event, where she joined her son Frederik to pay tribute to the Queen. She was also spotted shedding a tear in front of the Queen's coffin before the funeral. The Queen then attended the 'reception of the century' at Buckingham Palace, which was hosted by King Charles and Camilla. The official account has said it will mark the work of King and Queen Consort The Royal Family's social media accounts have marked the end of the mourning period and a new era following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Accounts for the Royal Family and the Prince and Princess of Wales, which had displayed the royal crest as their profile pictures following the Queen's death, have now been changed to show pictures of the reigning monarch King Charles with Queen Consort Camilla, and Kate and William. Following Her late Majesty's death on 8 September, the nation and the Royal Family entered a period of mourning until her state funeral on Monday 19 September. While life went back to normal for most people following the funeral, which was attended by around 2,000 people at Westminster Abbey, the Royal Family maintained its period of mourning for a further seven days after the late monarch was laid to rest at King George VI Memorial Chapel in Windsor. The Royal Family's official Instagram and Twitter accounts, which had featured a profile picture of the royal crest for the last two weeks, have changed their main image to the King and Queen Consort Following the Queen's death and to mark the period of mourning, the Royal Family's Instagram account, as well as the accounts of other senior royals, changed its profile picture to the royal crest However the Royal Family's Instagram account has announced the official period of mourning has come to an end this morning, and has signalled a change in the content it will now produce. Posting a photo of the late monarch shortly after she ascended the throne at 25 years old, the account said: 'The period of Royal Mourning following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has now ended. 'The Royal Family account will continue to reflect the work of The King, The Queen Consort and other members of The Royal Family, as well as remembering the life and work of Queen Elizabeth.' Meanwhile the Instagram account for the Prince and Princess of Wales, who are expected to make their first visit to the nation today since inheriting their new titles, changed its profile picture back to a photo of Kate and William on a trip to Ireland. The pair are pictured laughing with their arms around each other while standing on a beautiful clifftop with a view of the sea in the background. The symbolic changes come as the Royal Family embarks on a new era as King Charles III becomes the monarch, and will carry out his royal duties alongside Queen Consort Camilla. The flags on royal residences returned to full-mast at 8am today, while the Prince and Princess of Wales prepared to visit the home nation for the first time since taking up their titles. The social media accounts of senior members of the Royal Family have played a big part in showing how the royals are paying respect to Her late Majesty. The Royal Family's official Instagram account posted a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II as it announced the end of the period of mourning (pictured: The Queen wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara after she ascended the throne in 1952) The official Instagram account said it would now mark the work of the King and Queen Consort (pictured at the Queen's funeral on 19 September) Following the news of the Queen's passing, the, the Royal Family's Instagram account changed its social media profile image to the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. Kensington Royal, the handle of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, also changed its image - which had shown the couple beaming at one another to their official royal coat of arms. Clarence House also adopted its crest, the Prince of Wales's feathers, to pay their respects, replacing an image of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles smiling in an official portrait released to mark Wales Week 2019. All three Instagram accounts shared the black and white image of the Queen released by the Palace on the day of her death. Senior royals also used their Instagram accounts to post public statements and tributes to Her late Majesty. The Prince of Wales used his official Instagram account to pay tribute to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, following her death (pictured at Windsor Guildhall on a visit last week) On the Prince and Princess of Wales's official account, which changed its name from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to reflect their new titles, the Queen's grandson wrote: 'On Thursday, the world lost an extraordinary leader, whose commitment to the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth was absolute. So much will be said in the days ahead about the meaning of her historic reign. 'I, however, have lost a grandmother. And while I will grieve her loss, I also feel incredibly grateful. I have had the benefit of The Queen's wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade. 'My wife has had twenty years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives. 'She was by my side at my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life. 'I knew this day would come, but it will be some time before the reality of life without Grannie will truly feel real.' He went on to thank his beloved grandmother, who looked after him following the death of his mother Princess Diana, for her love and kindness, and service to the nation during her 70-year reign. Despite a sign of new beginnings within The Firm and for the country, Queen Elizabeth II's legacy will live on through her son King Charles's reign. During his address to the nation the day after his mother passed away, the King said he would hold her memory dear. He said: 'Queen Elizabeth's was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept, and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.' A bitter royal row within the household has unfolded in recent days after Queen Margrethe II (pictured with her sons in 2015, inset), 82, announced she would be removing princely titles from four of her eight grandchildren, saying it is 'for their own good'. The official reason was to allow the four children of her younger son, Prince Joachim: Nikolai, 23, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, and Athena, 10, to live more normal lives, and follows similar moves by other royal families in Europe to slim down their monarchies, the Danish palace said. However, her decision has 'upset' her son and his four children, with Joachim insisting his mother only gave him five days' notice - despite the Royal Household claiming the decision 'has been a long time coming'. But this seemingly isn't the first time Joachim and his second wife Marie (pictured with Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary in Paris in 2019) have felt alienated from the family; in 2021, the Prince told French magazine Point de Vue that, like his late father, Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark, he hadn't manage to get his 'place in the royal family pinned down.' He said, via Royal Central : 'The Crown Prince simply has to follow the course of events. However, nothing is defined for the second born son and the person's wife, neither in writing nor in speech. 'My father became acquainted with the same dissatisfaction and never managed to get his place in the royal family pinned down. But it is not always easy. I experience the same dissatisfaction as my father. We have to find out for ourselves, while staying within the role of number two in the row.' This sense of isolation was echoed in earlier statements made by his wife Marie, when she candidly discussed the family's move from Denmark to Paris - revealing 'it is not always us who decide'. Attending talk on social media's influence on the mental health of young people It might be cold and damp in The Hague today, but Queen Maxima of the Netherlands brought a splash of sunshine in her vibrant yellow suit. The mother-of-three, 51, attended a talk on social media's influence on the mental health of young people, organised by the MIND Us organisation. Maxima braved the Dutch rain to attend the conference, flashing a typically warm grin to royal fans who had come to greet us as she made it to the event. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, 51, attended a talk on social media's influence on the mental health of young people, organised by the MIND Us organisation The Dutch Queen looked very stylish in an all-yellow look as she arrived in The Hague this morning The Dutch royal went for a bold look and went for head-to-toe yellow, matching the pussy bow silky blouse she wore to the sunny tone of her tailored suit. She completed the outfit with leather black stilettos and a baguette clutch of the same colour, which matched the inside and the buttons of her yellow blazer. Maxima also accessorised the punchy look with black pendant earrings. She sported a strong eye makeup with a thick trait of eyeliner and ochre eyeshadow, which complimented her hazelnut gaze. The mother-of-three smiled with her typical warmth as she listened to the talk, which discussed how social media influences young people's mental health The mother-of-three pulled off the vibrant looked and flashed a grin as she arrived at the event, a lock of her hair catching in the September breeze. She looked very elegant in the outfit Maxima sported black accessories, including black earrings, pictured, to match the buttons and the lining of her yellow blazer A touch of bronzer added a sun-kissed halo to her healthy glow, and her blonde highlights were styled straight and tucked behind her ears as she escaped the unforgiving September chill and entered the building. Maxima and her husband King Willem-Alexander have returned to their royal duties this month following their royal break, and have enjoyed a busy couple of weeks. The couple were in London last Monday on the sad occasion of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth's II's funeral at Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle. After returning from London, The Dutch royals attended Budget Day, known as Prinsjesdag in Dutch, at The Hague, to mark the new government year. The Dutch Queen sported a glamourous makeup with a heavy trait of eyeliner and a pink lip. Her nail were also painted red The Queen waved at the fans and cameras who had come to greet her this morning as she arrived ahead of the talk After looking solemn in black during her appearances in London at the 'reception of the century' at Buckingham Palace on Sunday and the state funeral on Monday, Queen Maxima, 51, looked professional and elegant in a grey wrap dress and matching hat. The King and Queen's daughter, Crown Princess Catharina-Amalia, 18, looked radiant in a flowing emerald maxi dress, clinched at the waist. The laid-back princess seemed to champion the high street in the gown, which appeared to be an 86 flowing number from ASOS. Wearing her blonde tresses down, she accessorised with diamond and emerald earrings, a necklace and a ring, while carrying a gold embellished clutch bag. Both mother and daughter also wore the Dutch royal sash and star, which is orange and blue to symbolise the union between the Houses of Orange and Nassau. The young princess and heir to the throne will be starting her degree at the University of Amsterdam soon - and the Dutch Royal Family announced in May she will live in student accommodation with her peers. She will be studying politics, psychology, law and economics. As part of Budget Day, King Willem-Alexander, 55, gives a speech from the throne in the Shouwburg. This year's Budget Day will see people gathering in The Hague for the first time since 2019 after two years of coronavirus restrictions. The royal family waved from a horse-drawn carriage as they took part in the royal procession from Noordeinde Palace to the Koninklijke Schouwburg. Queen Letizia of Spain looked chic in a powder blue skirt and white blouse as she stepped out for an engagement in Madrid today. The Spanish royal, 50, was on hand to attend the closing ceremony of the XIV Call for Social Projects 'Euros de tu Nomina', an initiative by Santander to promote projects that improve society. It comes after an intense week for the mother-of-two, who jetted off to London for the Queen's funeral then headed to New York. Queen Letizia of Spain, 50, (pictured) attended the closing ceremony of the 14th edition of 'Euros de tu Nomina' The Spanish Queen arrived at the event in Madrid wearing a navy blazer elegantly hung over shoulders. She also wore her favourite sky blue Hugo Boss pencil skirt For the event today the stylish mother-of-two wore a sleeveless high neck white shirt paired with her Hugo Boss sky blue pencil midi skirt with and inbuilt belt, which she has worn before. Letizia opted for navy sling backs and kept her brown hair loose, tucked behind her ears. The Spanish Queen arrived at the event in Madrid wearing a navy blazer elegantly hung over shoulders. Her face, still tanned from summer, was glowing as she donned a glossy pink lip-gloss and subtly smokey eyes. This year marks the 14th edition of 'Euros en tu Nomina,' in which the 12 winning social projects will receive a contribution to be able to develop their project. For the event the stylish mother-of-two wore a sleeveless high neck white shirt paired with her Hugo Boss sky blue pencil midi skirt with and inbuilt belt, which she has worn before During the closing ceremony Queen Letizia took to the stage to deliver a speech. The event marks her return to Spain after a hectic week between London and New York Her face, still tanned from summer, was glowing as she donned a glossy pink lip-gloss and subtly smokey eyes During the closing ceremony Queen Letizia took to the stage to deliver a speech. The event marks her return to Spain after a hectic week between London and New York. Last week Queen Letizia joined US first lady Jill Biden, 71, in New York where they visited Columbia University's new Irving Medical Centre, before they addressed the room ahead of World Cancer Research Day. Two days prior to her trip the the Big Apple, Letizia had been in London attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Queen Letizia of Spain left Queen Elizabeth II's funeral after the Westminster Abbey service early due to scheduling conflicts She and Jill toured Columbia's University newly opened Irving Medical Centre, where Letizia, who is Honorary President of the Spanish Association Against Cancer, addressed the room to discuss the fight against cancer, ahead of World Cancer Research Day, which falls this Saturday. The First lady also delivered a speech during the visit, and seemed delighted to be accompanied by the Spanish Queen. Letizia was forced to leave the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II early due to scheduling conflicts. The mother-of-two, 50, did not attend Her Majesty's Committal Service at St George's Chapel in Windsor - leaving her husband King Felipe, 54, to attend with his 83-year-old mother Queen Sofia. Advertisement Kate Middleton opted for a L.K. Bennett's 'Spencer' coat in red as she and Prince William visited Wales for the first time as Prince and Princess of Wales. The mother-of-three, 40, whose late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, was born Diana Spencer, looked sensational in the 599 coat, which sported gold button detailing, when arriving in Anglesey for a whirlwind visit of the nation today. She kept her outfit simple, teaming the statement coat with flared high waisted trousers and a matching black top. Adding a touch of glitz to her ensemble, she also donned Welsh brand Spells of Love's 79 'Alia Hoops' in 18ct Recycled Gold. William and Kate will first visit the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station in Anglesey and meet its crew and volunteers, before heading to Swansea in South West Wales. The visit comes as the royal family have concluded their period of mourning for the Queen. Kate Middleton opted for a L.K. Bennett's 'Spencer' coat in red as she and Prince William visited Wales for the first time as Prince and Princess of Wales The mother-of-three, 40, looked sensational in the 599 coat, which sported gold button detailing, when arriving in Anglesey for a whirlwind visit of the nation today She kept her outfit simple, teaming the statement coat with flared high waisted trousers and a matching black top. Adding a touch of glitz to her ensemble, she also donned Welsh brand Spells of Love's 79 'Alia Hoops' in 18ct Recycled Gold The Princess of Wales looked in her element in the tailored coat, which is from the designer's Conscious collection, and crafted by Manteco - the leading textile company for sustainability and high-end fabrics. She paired it with high waisted flared trousers and a slim black leather belt and a boat neck top, and added a touch of bling with thick gold hoop earrings from Welsh brand Spells of Love, which she has favoured in the past. Kate looked relaxed at the event, where she sported natural makeup with a dash of bronzer and mascara, a sculpted brow and a pink lip. Kate and Prince William were made Prince and Princess of Wales by King Charles III on September 9, a title reserved for the heir apparent of the monarch. Kate and Prince William were made Prince and Princess of Wales by King Charles III on September 9, a title reserved for the heir apparent of the monarch Both the Prince and Princess of Wales crouched down to speak to a little boy who welcomed them with flowers when they arrived this afternoon The Prince and Princess of Wales are set to visit their home in Anglesey in their first trip to the nation since taking up their titles. William and Kate will journey the length of Wales today, first visiting Holyhead in Anglesey, North Wales, and then travelling to Swansea in South West Wales. Following King Charles' announcement on 9 September that William and Kate would become Prince and Princess of Wales, the royal couple had promised to visit at the earliest opportunity following the death of the Queen, as a way of 'deepening the trust and respect' they have with the people of Wales. While in Holyhead, they will visit the local RNLI Lifeboat Station where they will meet the crew, volunteers and some people who have previously been rescued by the team. It is one of the oldest lifeboat stations on the Welsh coast and, across the years, members have received a total of 70 awards for gallantry. The Prince and Princess of Wales will then take a walk to the Holyhead Marine and Cafe Bar where they will meet people from local small businesses and organisations, including the coastguard and sea cadets. Holyhead is only a half-hour drive from the four-bedroom farmhouse the Prince and Princess rented as newlyweds on the Isle of Anglesey, or Ynys Mon, between 2010 and 2013 when William was an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot. The royal couple, who are parents-of-three, looked very touched by the attention of the young royal fan who brought them roses The Princess of Wales looked in excellent form today and was all smiles as she spoke to the Mayor of Holyhead in North West Wales Having made their first home together in Wales is part of why they say they hold such a 'deep affection' for the country. It is also where they raised their eldest child, Prince George, for the first few months of his life. William's first royal engagement, aged eight, was in the Welsh capital of Cardiff with his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. After leaving Holyhead, the royal couple will travel to St Thomas Church in Swansea which has transformed over the last two years into a community hub. The church now provides vital services to hundreds of people in the city such as a not-for-profit cafe and facilities for the homeless including food, showers and toilets. William and Kate will get a chance to meet volunteers who work in the church's food bank and the Swansea Baby Basics initiative, which distributes essential items such as toiletries and clothing to vulnerable mothers. Kate has previously worked with baby banks and in 2020 brought together 19 British brands and retailers to donate over 10,000 new items to more than 40 such banks nationwide. Both the Princess and William will spend some time meeting members of the public gathered outside the church. Prince William watches as his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales is presented with a posy of flowers by four-year-old Theo Crompton during their visit to the RNLI The Princess of Wales receives a posy of flowers during a visit to the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station, in Holyhead, Wales The Princess of Wales arrives for a visit to the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station, in Holyhead, Wales, where with the Prince of Wales they are meeting crew, volunteers and some of those who have been supported by their local unit The Princess of Wales arrives for a visit to the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station, in Holyhead, Wales, where with the Prince of Wales they are meeting crew, volunteers and some of those who have been supported by their local unit The last official visit the pair made to Wales was as Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Cardiff Castle in June, where rehearsals for the Platinum Jubilee concert were taking place. It was Prince George and his sister Princess Charlotte's first official outing in the country and the family were greeted by hundreds of well-wishers. The siblings will not be joining their parents on Tuesday's visit as both will be in school. William and Kate will now be making more regular visits to Wales as part of their roles as Prince and Princess, and are expected back in the country before Christmas. However sources close to the couple have confirmed there are still no plans for an investiture ceremony. When an investiture does take place, it is unlikely to reflect the scale of the ceremony held for the then Prince Charles at Caernarfon Castle in 1969, with William and Kate thought to want a more low key event. A spokesperson for the Prince and Princess said: 'Right now they are focused on deepening the trust and respect they have with the people of Wales over time.' William and Kate have spoken of wanting to use their position to advocate for the people of Wales and showcase the country to the world. In a statement, they said they would 'do their part to support the aspirations of the Welsh people and to shine a spotlight on both the challenges and opportunities in front of them'. The royal couple added they would serve as Prince and Princess of Wales 'with humility and great respect'. The move to make them Prince and Princess of Wales following the death of the Queen has caused some controversy, and a petition calling for the British monarchy to end the use of the title has so far gathered over 35,000 signatures. Advertisement In recent years, Gwyneth Paltrow has been breaking the internet with her 'Birthday Suit' celebration snaps on Instagram, the star is back at it again as she turns 50. While most tend to mark their new age by posing with a cake or sharing snaps with family members, the Goop founder has decided that stripping off will now be her go-to celebration. Starting in 2020, the actress turned lifestyle guru treated the world to a jaw-dropping snap of herself posing completely naked in a lush backyard. Gwyneth Paltrow marked her 50th birthday with a glamorous nude shoot where half of her body is painted gold The stunning images were shared on her birthday on September 27, as the star continued her new birthday tradition The next year saw her post a sizzling snap of herself reclining in an outdoor bathtub. Naturally, Gwyneth decided to go all out for her 50th and mark the end of her forties in suitably Goop-esque fashion. Posing nude once again, the Se7en star proved she's in her golden era by covering half of her body in gold paint. Here, FEMAIL looks back at the star's newfound love for baring it all - even when it's not her birthday. 2022: Hollywood's golden girl Gwyneth's 2022 shoot pays a modern homage to the 1964 James Bond movie, Goldfinger For her special 50th birthday shoot with photographer Andrew Yee, Gwyneth chose to celebrate her big day with a more elevated take on her birthday suit. The Sliding Doors actress had half of her naked body painted gold before stepping in front of the camera. She strategically posed with hands, arms, and legs covering her chest and nether regions in order to protect her modesty. The resulting images of the Oscar-winner appears to pay a modern homage to the 1964 James Bond movie, Goldfinger. Speaking about the shoot, Gwyneth stated: 'All I know is that theyre painting me gold and that I have to be naked. 'I feel so good turning 50, and this is about expressing that sense of energy and optimism that Im experiencing.' Confirming that she is embracing a more carefree approach to life, she added: 'Its more about the female gaze and just a sense of fun.' In honor of her milestone birthday, Goop has shared a timeline of her life moments, including when she started acting and launched her lifestyle website. 'The idea of Goop evolved and grew, and I along with it,' the birthday girl said. 2021: Taking time to soak it all in 2021 saw the Shallow Hall star post a sizzling snap of herself reclining in an outdoor bathtub The year before, Gwyneth showcased her famous figure as she relaxed in the water for the jaw-dropping post, after her husband, Brad Fulchuk, posted a gushing birthday tribute. Overlooking a stunning night landscape, Gwyneth covered her bust with hands as she playfully glanced to the camera. The star sported a messy bun and had her legs crossed and hanging over the edge of the claw-foot soaking tub. Opting to let the image speak for itself, Gwyneth captioned the image with an eclipse emoji. 2020: Getting back in touch with nature In 2020, the actress treated the world to a jaw-dropping snap of herself posing completely naked in her backyard The snap delighted fans but her teenage daughter Apple was not amused - cartoon by Paul Thomas Apple, who was 16 at the time, did take time to praise her mother after her initial shock Gwyneth made waves in 2020 with a stunning snap which captured her posing with her body partially angled towards the camera. She strategically protected her modesty with her crossed arms and bent leg, yet did nothing to hide her toned stomach. The Shakespeare In Love actress looked carefree as she smiled beneath the sunshine with her blonde locks worn down into loose, effortless waves. In the caption, Gwyneth thanked everyone for their birthday wishes while also plugging her lifestyle brand Goop. 'In nothing but my birthday suit today... thank you all so much for the birthday wishes and thank you to @goop 's insanely amazing brand new body butter for making me think I can still get my kit off. #goopgenes' she captioned the snap. While the snap delighted countless fans, there was one Instagram user who was not amused - and that was her teenage daughter Apple Martin, who was 16 at the time. Sometimes she won't even wait till her birthday... Gwyneth has been more than happy to strip off over the past decade - pictured on the cover of Goop magazine in 2017 The actress has also flashed the flesh for fashion campaigns and magazine shoots in recent years - pictured modeling her G. Label collection in 2022 The Hollywood star posed nearly nude in the red glow of her outdoor heated room, in a candid snap she shared to Instagram in 2019 Indeed, the actress has been more than happy to strip off over the past decade for anything from fashion campaigns and magazine shoots to candid images shared with her eight million Instagram followers. In 2017, Gwyneth stripped nude and covered herself in mud for a memorable image on the cover of Goop's first printed edition. While her flawless skin was highlighted with minimal make-up, the 44-year-old preserved her modesty with a healthy heaping of dirt - smeared from her neck downwards over her bikini bottoms. Meanwhile, in 2017 she gave fans an insight into how she likes to spend her downtime by sharing a snap of herself in a clean light sauna. She posed nearly nude while basking in the red glow of her outdoor heated room, with her arms around her torso protecting her bare chest. Earlier this year, the lifestyle maven went topless while modeling poolside at her $4.9M, 14K-square-foot eco-friendly mansion in the celeb-favorite neighborhood of Montecito, CA. The barefoot star - who relies on trainer Harley Pasternak - repped her G. Label clothing company in a $295 pair of 'Geiger' high-rise, wide-leg jeans. Gwyneth pens candid essay about turning 50 and owning her past mistakes - saying she'd tell her younger self to 'know her boundaries' and call out behavior that is 'not appropriate' Gwyneth penned a candid essay about her past and her hopes for her future ahead of turning 50 that was published on Goop last week The Goop founder (pictured in 1995) reflected on the regrets and mistakes that still keep her up at night, saying that she prays she has 'learned from them all' Ahead of turning 50, she penned a candid essay about her past and her hopes for her future that was published on Goop last Thursday. Gwyneth reflected on the regrets and mistakes that still keep her up at night, saying that she hopes she has 'learned from them all.' 'I have hurt people, never intentionally, but I have done so just the same. I have let people down by not being who they needed me to be. I have betrayed myself to keep the peace,' she wrote. 'I have crossed lines, the thoughts of which sometimes rip me from sleep and suspend me into the hollowness of shame for a long, dark night. Most regretfully, and so often, I have not spoken my truth to spare some perceived consequence, that hurting someone will tear us both apart.' The lifestyle guru admitted that she used to have a hard time standing up for herself and setting boundaries in both her personal life and career because she was afraid of upsetting people. She had appeared in a number of movies at a young age and won an Academy Award for her breakout performance in Shakespeare in Love in 1999. Gwyneth (pictured with then-boyfriend Brad Pitt in 1996) admitted that she has 'hurt people' and 'crossed lines' The actress (pictured with then-boyfriend Ben Affleck in 1999) noted that her 'most lasting mistakes' have stemmed from 'not standing fully in [her] truth' The actress also had high-profile romances with actors Ben Affleck and Brad Pitt, whom she broke up with just a few months after they got engaged in 1996. 'My most lasting mistakes and the mess that comes with them have all stemmed from me not standing fully in my truth and speaking from it, come what may,' she explained. 'Saying the words that could have spared seasons of heartache and repercussions. No. This does not feel right to me. Your expectations are not appropriate. Your behavior is not appropriate. This relationship is no longer right for me. This project is not right for me. You are no longer right for me.' Paltrow noted that she isn't sure if she would go back in time to correct her mistakes because they have taught her 'meaningful' lessons. 'If nothing else, they have led me to a path of questioning. Of seeking a better version of myself,' she wrote. 'People often ask, "If you could go back to your 21-year-old self and give her some advice" Well, I would know my boundary and hold on to it more tightly than my life itself.' The mother of two has given similar advice to her children Apple, 18, and Moses, 16, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Chris Martin. She has encouraged them to trust their instincts and make decisions based on how they feel, especially when it comes to love and sex. Gwyneth, who wrote about learning to set boundaries and call out inappropriate behavior, was instrumental in bringing down convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein (pictured in 1999) The film star (pictured with then-husband Chris Martin in 2014) noted that she isn't sure if she would go back in time to correct her mistakes because they've taught her 'meaningful' lessons Looking to the future, Gwyneth mused: 'I would like to continue to open the deepest part of myself to my husband [Brad Falchuk], even though it scares me' Paltrow was instrumental in bringing down convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein, who had produced a number of her films, including Shakespeare in Love. The disgraced movie mogul was kicked out of the Academy in 2017 after he was accused of rape and sexual harassment by a slew of actresses. The lifestyle guru shocked Hollywood when she joined the clamor of voices accusing him of abusing his power over women in the industry. Paltrow alleged that Weinstein came on to her at the start of filming Emma in 1995, saying he summoned her to his hotel room, put his hands on her, and then asked her for a massage. 'I had one really uncomfortable, weird experience; then he was never inappropriate with me again in that way,' she told Variety in 2019. Paltrow had previously shared that Pitt, her then-boyfriend, had confronted Weinstein for sexually harassing her, saying he threw the Hollywood heavyweight against a wall and said: 'If you ever make her feel uncomfortable again, I'll kill you.' In 2020, she explained that she lost interest in her acting career at a young age after enduring an abusive working relationship with Weinstein, who is serving 23 years in prison after being convicted of felony sex crimes. The businesswoman, who now spends most of her days running her Goop brand, wrote in her 50th birthday essay that she wants to take more time for herself in the future and to continue to build on her relationship with her husband. The mom said she'd advise her 21-year-old self to 'know [her] boundary and hold on to it more tightly than [her] life itself.' She's given similar advice to her children Apple, 18, and Moses, 16 Gwyneth also shared photos of herself frolicking in her yard in a bikini ahead of her birthday 'I do what I can to strive for good health and longevity, to stave off weakening muscles and receding bone,' she told fans 'I would like to slow down. I would like to retreat a little bit. I would like to make my circle smaller. I would like to cook dinner more. I would like to see misunderstandings become understandings,' she said. 'I would like to continue to open the deepest part of myself to my husband, even though it scares me. I would like to sing more, even if its just in the shower. I would like to tell anyone that had a negative experience with me that I am sorry. I would like to fully acknowledge myself.' The actress also discussed how she has come to terms with her aging body over the years. 'My body, a map of the evidence of all the days, is less timeless. A collection of marks and irregularities that dog-ear the chapters. Scarred from oven burns, a finger smashed in a window long ago, the birth of a child. Silver hair and fine lines. The sun has left her celestial fingerprints all over me, as if she soaked a brush in dark-taupe watercolor, flecking it over my skin,' she wrote. 'And while I do what I can to strive for good health and longevity, to stave off weakening muscles and receding bone, I have a mantra I insert into those reckless thoughts that try to derail me: I accept. I accept the marks and the loosening skin, the wrinkles. I accept my body and let go of the need to be perfect, look perfect, defy gravity, defy logic, defy humanity. I accept my humanity.' The actress-turned-aristocrat Dowager Marchioness of Bath has died just 10 days before her 79th birthday. Hungarian-born Anna Gael died in Paris, where she spent most of her time, despite being married to Alexander Thynn, the 7th Marquess of Bath and chatelain of Longleat House, in Wiltshire, for more than 50 years until his death in 2020. The couple had, by any measure, an unusual relationship. Not only did they spend most of their time living in separate countries, but Anna also tolerated her eccentric husband keeping more than 70 mistresses, whom he dubbed 'wifelets'. 'It was never quite as easy and harmonious as an 'open marriage',' their son and heir Ceawlin, now the 8th Marquess of Bath, once said, 'but that's the general gist'. While the Marchioness put up with her husband's womanising that saw him acquire the nickname 'The Loins of Longleat', she was less understanding of Ceawlin's choice of bride. She allegedly asked her heir - who now oversees 10,000-acre Longleat, best known for its wildlife park - if he was sure about ruining '400 years of bloodline' by marrying Emma McQuiston, the half-Nigerian daughter of an oil tycoon. Known as Emma Weymouth after marrying Ceawlin, then Viscount Weymouth, in 2013, she went on to find fame as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing and is close pals with fashionistas like Naomi Campbell, Edward Enninful and Lady Kitty Spencer. Lord Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath, poses with his wife, actress and war correspondent Anna Gael, outside Longleat House Anna was a model and budding actor when she met Alexander Thynn aged 15 in Paris while he studied at the at La Grande Chaumiere art college in Montparnasse Emma Weymouth, Marchioness of Bath, and Ceawlin Thynn, Marquess of Bath, attend the launch of Idris Elba And David Farber's Porte Noire Bar and Shop in Coal Drops Yard last year Emma Weymouth, Marchioness of Bath, attends the amfAR Gala Cannes 2022 at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc earlier this year Lord Bath and his wife Anna at home in Longleat, Wiltshire, in March 1971 Lord Bath, who died of pneumonia after testing positive for Covid in 2020, aged 87, failed to attend the couple's wedding. His wife was also absent, claiming they had already accepted another invitation. Ceawlin was said to have stopped his mother from seeing his son, John, to prevent the child being 'contaminated' by her racism. Anna later denied she was a racist and said she had 'absolutely nothing' against her daughter-in-law. Anna was born in Hungary to a mathematician father and poet mother who moved their family to France when their daughter was just a child. She began acting as a teenager under the stage name Anna Gael, appearing in films including Therese And Isabelle, and Take Me, Love Me. She met Alexander at the movies while skipping school aged 15. He was then 26 and a student at La Grande Chaumiere art college in Montparnasse. According to The Times, the English nobleman invited Anna for a coffee, and within month, convinced her to pose nude for him in his art studio. The couple also spent a year travelling around South America in Alexander's Jaguar. Anna Gael (lying down) with Essy Persson in a sensual scene from 1968 film Therese and Isabelle Viscount Weymouth, future Lord Bath, and Lady Weymouth, pictured outside the London Palladium in May 1975 Anna enjoyed a blossoming career as an actress before she married Alexander Thynn. Pictured in 1977 Thynn and Anna were part of the People for Europe group. Here they are pictured with Sheila Scott, Nicholas Parsons, Doris Hare, Patricia Hayes in 1975 Viscount Weymouth, then 36, attending his brother's wedding. A year later, he asked Anna whether she would like to make him an heir When they returned to France, Anna dedicated herself to acting, under the stage name Anna Gael. In 1963, she married French director Gilbert Pineau who cast her in several television films, not knowing she was secretly dating Alexander behind his back. She got her break playing a seductive spy in Jean Leduc's Via Macau in 1966, before being propelled to international fame in Radley Metzger's lesbian drama Therese and Isabelle in 1968. She later denied that it was a pornographic film, saying: 'The most anyone saw was two pairs of ankles touching each other. It was two schoolgirls getting a crush on each other. You never saw them sleeping or kissing.' However, the actress admitted she had gone topless for movies when necessary. She posed for Penthouse in scantily clad pictures in 1970, but later threatened to sue anyone who would republish them, opposing that times had changed. Throughout her career, Gael and Thynn kept seeing each other casually in spite of their respective affairs. Alexander had previously entered into an 'anti-marriage' with Tania Duckworth, an Anglo-Ceylonese model, but by age 37, he was ready to produce an heir. 'I was coming up to 37 and I needed a legitimate son if Longleat was to pass down through me,' he told People magazine in 1976. 'I broached the idea of a son and asked did she want to be the mother.' Alexander with daughter Lady Lenka Thynn, young Ceawlin Thynn and his wife Anna Gael, in 1987 Alexander, then known as Lord and Lady Weymouth, pictured together at Longleat nine years into their marriage in 1978 Anna, clad in black, walking behind Alexander at his brother's funeral where he escorted their mother The Honourable Daphne Fielding Anna was still with Pineau at the time, but Thynn later said the relationship was disintegrating. Eventually, she divorced the director, and she and Alexander agreed to marry in London while she was three months pregnant in 1969 in Kensington. Anna revealed the couple had pizza after their nuptials, which was 'awfully romantic.' Anna Gael, the actress turned aristocrat, in her headshot for the 1969 film The Bridge at Remagen The actress locks lips with George Segal in a scene in The Bridge at Remagen. Lord Bath described his wife as the 'sexiest actress of all time' The young actress in a scene from an episode of Jason King in 1972 In the early days of their marriage, Alexander and Anna each had their own drawing room, and would eat dinner together. A few months later, she gave birth to their daughter Lenka, who went on to be a model and a TV researcher. Five years later, Ceawlin was born, and became the eighth marquess in 2020. After their family was completed, Alexander and Anna worked out an arrangement whereby he would spend most of his time at Longleat and she would be filming in Paris. Ceawlin and Lenka were raised by Alexander and a nanny and would receive sporadic visit from their mother. Anna told the New York Times in 1972 that she had been criticised for being a distant mother, but that Alexander understood her need for independence and that she couldn't sacrifice herself for anyone. Thynn succeeded his father as Marquess of Bath in 1992, and Anna became Marchioness, however, she said she found that side of her life boring. On the other hand, she said that the title 'Lady Thynn' had been detrimental to her acting career because people thought she didn't need the money. Speaking at the time of his father's death in April 2020, Ceawlin had his own take on whether his parents embarked on a marriage of convenience to provide Longleat with a male heir. 'It's not that cut-and-dried,' he said. 'They just lead such very different lives. It was a love-match at the beginning. She fell for Dad first and Longleat was an added bonus. 'She found being the Lady of Longleat fun for seven months and then realised it was not that great.' For many years she remained responsible for conserving Longleat's treasures and returned every three weeks or so for up to ten days. Lord Bath with his wife Anna at the wedding of Tracy Ward to the Marquess of Worcester in 1987 For most of their long distance marriage, which endured for more than half a century, she was based in Paris from where, after becoming bored of acting, she reported on the Vietnam War, the Northern Ireland Troubles and other hotspots. Pictured, the couple in 1992 Their marriage didn't stop working, said Ceawlin. 'It was never quite as easy and harmonious as an 'open marriage', but that's the general gist.' Eventually, she stopped acting and became a journalist, spending two months in Vietnam during the war with the British army, writing for a French news agency. While working from Cambodia soon after, she was caught in an air raid and was besieged for four days. Her articles and features were published on the front pages of French magazine including the publication Le Point, and she published several books on international politics. Meanwhile, in Wiltshire, the 7th Marquess of Bath spent his 87 years sheltering from the chill winds of modern life behind an exquisite Elizabethan facade while dressed as a superannuated hippy and surrounded by an ever changing court of nubile young women. While his father, a pioneer of the stately home business, collected Nazi memorabilia including Himmler's spectacles and some of Hitler's watercolours, Alexander adopted the ideals of the flower-power generation and covered the walls of Longleat, his ancestral seat, with his own paintings of his 75 'wifelets' and erotic murals. Yet Lord Bath remained not just married to Anna, the wife he so grievously betrayed, but devoted to her, describing the former French film star as 'the sexiest actress of all time'. Anna would complain to a newspaper if it reported that they were separated, insisting that was untrue. It wasn't just Emma's arrival at Longleat that put strain on Ceawlin's relationship with his parents. The biggest cause of dispute was over the decision by Ceawlin and Emma to remove some of Lord Bath's garish murals, which his father had painted for him and his sister when they were children. The quarrels were exposed by a memorable BBC1 documentary, All Change At Longleat. A woman who went to the emergency room for bloating and constipation was stunned to discover that she was actually six months pregnant. Abby Pollock, 28, a fitness influencer from Canada, suffers from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) - a chronic condition that affects the stomach and intestines - so she brushed off many of the pregnancy signs as symptoms of the disorder. She always had irregular periods so she wasn't alarmed when she missed some - and she didn't develop a bump for the first part of the pregnancy, as she later found out that the baby was positioned behind her pelvic bone. So when she started to suffer from severe abdominal pain, bloating, and constipation back in June, it didn't occur to her that she was expecting her first child. Surprise! A woman who went to the emergency room for bloating and constipation was stunned to discover that she was actually six months pregnant Abby Pollock, 28, a fitness influencer from Canada, suffers from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) - so she brushed off many of the pregnancy signs as symptoms of the disorder She didn't develop a bump as she later found out that the baby was positioned behind her pelvic bone for the first part of the pregnancy. She is seen when she was five months pregnant Shock of a lifetime: When she started to suffer from severe abdominal pain, bloating, and constipation back in June, it didn't occur to her that she was expecting her first child She went viral recently after sharing her story to TikTok, where her video got more than 21 million views - and it left many people on the web terrified that something similar might happen to them. 'Going to the ER joking I was so bloated I looked six months pregnant,' she wrote in the TikTok, alongside a clip that showed her on her way to the hospital. It then cut to a video of her laying in a hospital bed giving the camera a peace sign. She added, 'Actually six months pregnant.' Many people flooded the comment section with their thoughts, with one person writing, 'No. Because Im actually terrified of this. Because, like, Ive been Hella bloated for like 2 months straight.' 'Imagine having only three months to let the reality set in that youll be a mom and your life has changed forever,' said someone else. Another user added: 'New fear unlocked.' On YouTube, Abby opened up about her situation further, and she explained that she went through a traumatic experience last December that was 'tough on her mentally.' 'I lost my appetite, I was not sleeping regularly, I was consuming so much caffeine, I was not doing things that were healthy,' she explained. Abby went viral recently after sharing her story to TikTok, where her video got more than 21 million views. Her ultrasound is seen above 'Going to the ER joking I was so bloated I looked six months pregnant,' she wrote in the TikTok, before cutting to a snap of her in the hospital, adding, 'Actually six months pregnant' New fear unlocked: The video left many people on the web terrified, who flooded the comment section with their thoughts 'I missed my period in January, took a pregnancy test, and nothing. I had originally gone on the pill as a teenager because I had horrific, irregular, painful periods. So was it surprising? No. 'I told myself, "You're not doing your best mentally right now, you're mentally going through it. So while it sucks, it makes sense. You've been losing weight, you've not really been eating."' Then, in June, she began to suffer from severe constipation and felt 'sharp' pains in her stomach. 'When I started experiencing pretty bad bloating, I figured, I've been stressed out,' she continued. 'That bloating then turned into constipation, which was concerning for me. As someone who has worked very hard to become regular with my bathroom routine, it was not great. 'After a few more days of not being able to go to the bathroom, it turned into sharp, abdominal pelvic pain when I tried to go, and when I touched my stomach it was rock hard.' She and her boyfriend, Jeff, decided to go to the ER, where her doctor told her she might have 'a bowel instruction or impaction.' He then ordered some tests - including an ultrasound - and was surprised with what he found. On YouTube, Abby opened up about her situation further, and she explained that she began to suffer from severe constipation and felt 'sharp' pains in her stomach in June She and her boyfriend, Jeff, decided to go to the ER, where her doctor told her she might have 'a bowel instruction or impaction.' She is pictured with her boyfriend Baby on the way: He then ordered some tests - including an ultrasound - and was surprised with what he found. She recalled him telling her, 'This is not bloating, this is a baby' 'Doctor very calmly says, "This is not bloating, this is a baby. From the looks of it, this is not a small baby. At first glance, this may be a six-month baby,"' she recalled. 'The doctor was just as shocked as me. 'The baby had been growing behind my pelvic bone, which explains why I wasn't showing for so long and then boom I had a bump. 'When the baby got too big to fit behind the pelvic bone and was trying to move out from behind the pelvic bone there was probably a lot of pressure on my digestive system, which could have made a blockage.' According to Abby, she didn't have any of the stereotypical pregnancy symptoms, and anything that she did feel she brushed off as related to her IBS or stress. Although she was 'shocked,' Abby remembered feeling in awe when she saw her baby for the first time. Unfortunately, the doctor immediately had 'concerns' about how the 'placenta was forming,' which she described as 'devastating.' 'A full baby was in there. It was crazy to see,' she continued. 'But there were concerns about how the placenta was forming. Even though this was a very unplanned pregnancy, it was devastating. 'One of my biggest goals was and is to become a mom, to experience that part of my femininity, to feel the strength in my body, to feel the full scope of my body, to feel the good, the bad, the ugly of carrying and delivering a baby.' According to Abby, she didn't have any of the stereotypical pregnancy symptoms, and anything that she did feel she brushed off as related to her IBS or stress 'The baby had been growing behind my pelvic bone, which explains why I wasn't showing for so long and then boom I had a bump,' Abby (seen five months into the pregnancy) said Staying positive: Abby added that the whole thing was 'crazy,' but that she's ultimately 'so happy and excited' to become a mom She added that her digestive issues have 'mostly resolved' and that she's ready for what the future brings. She gushed: 'I am ultimately so happy, this is so exciting for me' While there were initial concerns about the pregnancy, Abby has since undergone further testing - and it appears that everything is now completely normal. 'Based on all of the follow-up appointments we've done over the past couple weeks, the baby looks good,' she revealed. 'I loved it from the moment I laid eyes on it even if I thought I wasn't ready for it and didn't plan for it,' she added of her baby 'It seems to be forming in a way that's not that concerning, it might have just been a weird positioning [that night in the ER]. 'The organs look good, the heartbeat looks good. The baby is active and kicking and rolling.' Abby added that the whole thing was 'crazy,' but that she's ultimately 'so happy and excited' to become a mom. 'I think the origin story is pretty funny now that we know the baby is healthy,' she added. 'Seeing that baby on the ultrasound, seeing it roll around... This six month old little thing already has a personality. It's wild and crazy. 'I loved it from the moment I laid eyes on it even if I thought I wasn't ready for it and didn't plan for it.' She added that her digestive issues have 'mostly resolved' and that she's ready for what the future brings. 'I'm having a three-month pregnancy,' she concluded. 'I am ultimately so happy, this is so exciting for me.' Lady Amelia Windsor looked effortlessly stylish in bright colours as she walked the catwalk at a London Fashion Week show. The model, once dubbed the 'most beautiful royal,' walked in the Zeynep Kartal x Li & Fung show. The 27-year-old has become a red carpet regular, attending star-studded fashion events such as the Dior show in Paris. Today she attended the postponed Zeynep Kartal x Li & Fung 'Noblesse Oblige' Spring/Summer 2023 runway show, for London Fashion Week. Lady Amelia Windsor looked effortlessly stylish as she walked the catwalk for the Zeynep Kartal LFW show The 27-year-old model once dubbed the 'most beautiful royal' styled three of Manchester designer Zeynep Kartal designs Amelia, 27, is the second daughter and youngest child of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews. Her grandfather was a first cousin of the Queen. She was among the members of the extended royal family who attended the late Queen's emotional funeral in London and Windsor on September 19. Amelia posed alongside designer Zeynep Kartal, in one of her signature looks. The royal wore a green taffeta blouse with dramatic ruched bodice, sleeves and flowing train. Zeynep Kartal and Lady Amelia Windsor at the Zeynep Kartal x Li & Fung "Noblesse Oblige" Spring/Summer 2023 runway show The royal wore a green taffeta blouse with dramatic ruched bodice, sleeves and flowing train, teamed with green shorts She also walked the catwalk in the Manchester designer's show wearing a a pale pink three piece suit, in a wide leg trouser She styled a lilac-pink dress with a plunging neckline, side split and ruffles across the body She also walked the catwalk in the Manchester designer's show wearing a a pale pink three piece suit, in a wide leg trouser and a lilac dress featuring a plunging neck line, side split and ruffles. Amelia was pictured recently at Milan Fashion Week wearing a low-key ensemble, complete with black trousers and an orange and black vest. Looking typically stylish, she teamed the look with matching sandals and added a touch of glitz by opting for gold necklaces. Amelia, 27, is the second daughter and youngest child of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews. Her grandfather was a first cousin of the Queen Amelia (pictured) and her siblings were among the mourners at Westminster Abbey during the Queen's funeral Amelia has spoken in the past of her love of fashion and art, and loves to decorate the apartment she shares with her sister, Marina in Notting Hill Amelia has spoken in the past of her love of fashion and art, and loves to decorate the apartment she shares with her sister, Marina in Notting Hill. Amelia and her siblings were among the mourners at Westminster Abbey during the Queen's funeral. The Tatler cover girl is 43rd in line to the throne and was famously dubbed the most beautiful member of the royal family when the magazine launched her into the spotlight in 2016. Lady Amelia Windsor cut a casual figure when stepping out in Milan for the Italian city's Fashion Week earlier this week The model, once dubbed the 'most beautiful royal', opted for a low-key ensemble, complete with black trousers and an orange and black vest Lady Amelia, her older sister Lady Marina, and her brother Edward Windsor are the grandchildren of the Queen's first cousin, the Duke of Kent. The beautiful royal made her debut into society after leaving St Mary's Ascot at the age of 18, alongside Italian aristocrat Donna Melusine Ruspoli and Indian royal Princess Akshita Bhanj Deo, at the Bal des Debutantes in 2013. Like many other royals, Amelia has a philanthropic attitude to business and a passion for climate activism and is an ambassador for the non-profit organisation No More Plastic and has worked with Fashion Roundtable, a sustainable fashion outlet. The model lives with her sister, 29, in Notting Hill and often shares snaps of herself practicing yoga and meditation. But much like other millennials, the beauty loves nothing more than to relax at home, cooking pasta and taking care of her plants in a flat carefully curated with family mementos and quirky artwork. The mom has taken great care to keep her three children out of the public eye, explaining that she wants them to 'be conscious and not paranoid' She repeatedly defended former President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, while his father was in office, despite their families' political feud Chelsea said she feels 'such a palpable sense of responsibility' to help other children in her position because she wished someone would've stood up for her When she was a young teen, she was called a 'dog' by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh and made fun of on Saturday Night Life Chelsea, who moved into the White House when she was 13, said she 'really wanted to fade into the background' at times and not have people looking at her The global health advocate reflected on the 'relentless' scrutiny she faced growing up as the daughter of President Bill Clinton Former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton has opened up about how she wanted to 'fade into the background' while growing up because of how she was mocked in the media. The global health advocate, 42, was just a month shy of turning 13 when she moved into the White House with her parents, then-President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton, after being thrust into the spotlight during her dad's 1992 campaign. She became a target for both conservative political pundits and professional comedians at such a young age that she can't remember a time when she and her family weren't a source of derision. Chelsea reflected on being the subject of 'relentless' scrutiny and why she has chosen to keep her own children out of the public eye as one of the cover stars of Variety's Power of Women issue. Chelsea Clinton, 42, and her mother, Hillary Clinton, 74, sat down for a joint interview as two of the stars of Variety's Power of Women issue The global health advocate reflected on the 'relentless' scrutiny she faced growing up as the daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton. She is pictured with her parents in 1997 'Sometimes I really wanted to fade into the background because I didnt want as many people looking at me, or as many bright lights glaring at me,' she explained during her joint interview with her mother, Hillary, who is also honored. Chelsea recalled the biblical phrase that her mom had learned from her sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth King: 'Dont hide your light under a bushel basket.' 'Its certainly an admonition that I grew up with, and sometimes I really needed to hear it,' she said of overcoming the urge to want to hide from her critics. The aphorism is so meaningful to the mother-daughter duo that they named the production company they founded with Sam Branson the son of billionaire Richard Branson HiddenLight Productions. 'One thing that Chelsea has done repeatedly is to tell people to back off from kids. Shes been so consistent, and I really respect that,' Hillary told Variety. Chelsea repeatedly defended former President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, while his father was in office, despite their families' political feud. Chelsea was a month shy of 13 when her father was inaugurated in January 1992. She said she 'really wanted to fade into the background' at times and not have people looking at her When she was a young teen, she was called a 'dog' by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh and made fun of on Saturday Night Life 'I feel such a palpable sense of responsibility because I wish more people had been standing up publicly for me,' she explained. After everything the former first daughter has been through, she doesn't fear being in front of the camera or speaking in public she never has. 'I thankfully dont feel that residual fear,' she said. 'I didnt feel fear as a child, because otherwise I would have just been afraid all the time. As I think about raising brave, resilient kids, I try to think more about what I want to learn from my experience as a child instead of being reactionary to it.' Chelsea shares three children Charlotte, eight, Aidan, six, and Jasper, three with her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, and she has taken great care to keep them out of the public eye. 'Its being conscious all the time,' Hillary said of her daughter's vigilance. 'And having them be conscious and not paranoid,' Chelsea added. The mom (pictured with her daughter, Charlotte, in 2016) has taken great care to keep her three children out of the public eye, saying she wants them to 'be conscious and not paranoid' Chelsea repeatedly defended former President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, while his father was in office, despite their family's political feud Chelsea (pictured with her parents at the Clinton Global Initiative this month) said she feels 'such a palpable sense of responsibility' to help other children in her position because she wished someone would've stood up for her Chelsea and Hillary have been promoting their first series with HiddenLight, 'Gutsy,' an AppleTV+ documentary based on their 2019 bestseller, 'Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience.' The show follows them as they embark on adventures with 'some of the world's boldest and bravest women,' including Kim Kardashian, Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson, and Megan Thee Stallion. In the first episode, Chelsea opened up about her complicated view of comedy after being mocked on national television as a kid. 'I had a different experience with comedy in some ways, I think, than a lot of people because I was made fun of so much as a child by people who were professional comics,' she explained during a discussion with a group of female comedians. Hillary pointed out that Chelsea also faced cruel jabs from conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who called her a 'dog' when she was 13, but she said that didn't bother her as much. 'That was different because Rush Limbaugh already hated us and hated everything you and dad stood for,' she told her mom. 'So that was actually quite easy to be like, "That's not about me."' Chelsea and Hillary (pictured with comedian Amy Schumer) have been promoting their new docuseries 'Gutsy,' In the first episode, Chelsea admitted she has a complicated view of comedy after being mocked on national television as a kid 'This episode really taught me a lot, because for so long I thought comedy wasnt really funny,' Chelsea told Yahoo Life. 'I thought maybe it was mean-spirited, and this was really illuminating for me, and I learned a lot about myself' Chelsea explained that she found it far more upsetting to be mocked on Saturday Night Live as a kid. She didn't go into specific details, but Mike Myers and Dana Carvey made fun of her in a controversial Wayne's World sketch that aired in 1992. The joke sparked public outrage and was later removed from reruns of the sketch. 'We felt, upon reflection, that if it was in any way hurtful, it wasn't worth it. She's a kid, a kid who didn't choose to be in public life, executive producer Lorne Michaels said at the time, according to the Seattle Times. Bill Clinton agreed during an interview with People that it crossed a line. 'I really find it hilarious when they make fun of me,' he said. 'But I think you gotta be pretty insensitive to make fun of an adolescent child. I think there is something pretty off-center with people who do that.' Two decades later, Chelsea explained that the sketch shaped how she viewed comedy and professional comedians. 'When SNL made fun of me, I was like, "Wow. A group of adults sat in a room [and] all decided this was a good idea,"' she said. 'Nobody thought, like, "Maybe we shouldn't make fun of children." I was, like, "Oh, I just don't think I think that's funny or okay, so I just don't think comedy's funny or okay."' When asked if she had a favorite comedian, she couldn't think of anyone. 'This episode really taught me a lot, because for so long I thought comedy wasnt really funny,' Chelsea told Yahoo Life. 'I thought maybe it was mean-spirited, and this was really illuminating for me, and I learned a lot about myself. And I learned a lot about comedy and I have a completely new appreciation.' A beauty blogger and skincare entrepreneur was reduced to tears after being asked a if she was pregnant by a shop assistant at Melbourne Airport. Tribe Skincare owner Kayla Houlihan posted a video to TikTok - which has gone viral - about the comment she received while browsing in a Rip Curl store. While waiting for her delayed flight to Queensland, Houlihan told her 191,000 followers she was at first happy to be able to buy some last-minute holiday items. Her excitement was soon shattered, though, when a shop assistant assumed she was carrying a child. 'Oh, how far along are you,' the shop worker asked, according to Houlihan who is not pregnant. Tribe Skincare owner Kayla Houlihan (pictured) posted a video to TikTok - which has gone viral - about the comment she received while browsing in a Rip Curl store Poll Is it ever OK to ask a woman if she is pregnant? Of course it is. Sometimes it's just so obvious. No. The woman could just be overweight and you could offend her. Is it ever OK to ask a woman if she is pregnant? Of course it is. Sometimes it's just so obvious. 371 votes No. The woman could just be overweight and you could offend her. 601 votes Now share your opinion 'I've just spent the last hour crying at Melbourne Airport (over the remark),' she said on TikTok. Ms Houlihan said she was 'just going about my business, shopping around for some clothes' when the woman asked her about being pregnant. 'I was like, 'What?' because I'm not pregnant. 'So I said, 'No I'm not pregnant.' And she was like, 'I'm so sorry I just thought you looked pregnant,'' Houlihan said. Ms Houlihan said the remark made her feel insecure about wearing the swimwear she had packed for her trip. 'Now I have to go to Queensland and wear a bikini on my holiday because that's all I have with me after being fat shamed,' she said. Her post had more than 32,000 views by Tuesday night, with almost 900 having left a comment. Hundreds of commenters said they were shocked by her story and called on Rip Curl to apologise and 'do better'. 'It's never OK for people to comment on someone else's body, have the best holiday and embrace your beautiful self,' one poster said. 'Even if I could see the baby crowning I still wouldn't have the nerve to ask someone if they were pregnant,' said another. Other posters told Ms Houlihan not to let it get to her and that she is a very attractive woman Others shared their own stories of similar situations. 'This happens to me I have endometriosis and am constantly bloated and swollen! It makes me feel so embarrassed like people shouldn't comment on bodies,' said one. 'Same happened to me! I bloat quite badly and I was wearing a dress and she made a comment. I cried for days and still traumatised,' said another. Other posters told Ms Houlihan not to let it get to her and that she is a very attractive woman. 'You wear your bikini and you wear it proudly! I know it's hard (I've been there too) but you're incredibly beautiful,' said one. 'At the end of the day, someone that you don't know's opinion shouldn't have an affect on us. We'll likely never see them again, so who cares,' said another. Ms Houlihan (pictured) said she felt she was 'fat shamed' after a shop assistant asked if she was pregnant Some followers said fighting back with a snarky comment of your own is the best remedy in that type of situation. 'Lean into it babe, happened to my sister, she turned around and said '6 months and how far into menopause are you',' was the advise from one poster. Another commenter said 'Like why do they even care if you were pregnant? It's not significant to them or any of their business. Grinds my gears.' Ms Houlihan replied to this, writing 'So true!! I was quite shopping shopping and not talking.' Rip Curl has apologised to Houlihan on behalf of its staff member. 'We have been alerted to an upsetting situation that occurred within one of our stores on Monday,' a spokesperson told news.com.au. 'As a brand that celebrates and empowers all women, we are saddened to learn a customer has had this experience. 'We have been in contact with the customer directly to apologise and to discuss this misunderstanding further.' She argued that chickens are full of hormones and cause early puberty An Australian mum has shared her plight with an online audience after her sister-in-law blamed her for her daughter 'growing breasts' and going through puberty at nine years of age. Rachel*, from Adelaide, told Kidspot that she was shocked about the accusation, with her in-law Jess* insinuating the amount of chicken she feeds the young girl is to blame because it's 'full of hormones'. Rachel was 'livid' about the comment, especially as this seemingly wasn't the first time her sister-in-law alluded to her not living a healthy lifestyle. An Australian mum has shared her plight with an online audience after her sister-in-law blamed her for her daughter 'growing breasts' and going through puberty at nine years of age (stock image) Rachel outlined that she was catching up with Jess and their kids were playing together when Jess made the uncomfortable comment. The conversation turned to the topic of puberty and Rachel shared that her nine-year-old was currently going through it. Poll Did the sister-in-law go too far with her comment? Yes! No! Did the sister-in-law go too far with her comment? Yes! 130 votes No! 68 votes Now share your opinion Rachel said she felt comforted being able to talk about the topic with Jess, who was supportive until she said her daughter had started growing breasts. 'I could see her face change from one of understanding and support to one that looked like the penny had dropped and something I'd said had put elusive pieces of a puzzle together,' Rachel shared. 'Do you eat a lot of chicken? They pump chickens full of hormones and that can cause breast growth in humans you know,' Jess said. Rachel was 'livid' about the comment, especially as Jess had alluded that Rachel doesn't cook 'healthy food' for her family before. Her nine-year-old child has started going through puberty and is beginning to develop breasts (stock image) Are Australian chickens fed with hormones? It has been illegal to feed chickens hormones in Australia for over 40 years The growth in chicken size over the last twenty years is due to selective breeding Tests conducted by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources have confirmed Australian chicken is hormone free Source: Australian Chicken Meat Foundation Advertisement The mum said the comment was ridiculous for several reasons. Firstly Rachel argued it 'implied puberty was a bad thing' and that her daughter is too young. Rachel explained that chicken in Australia is hormone-free and has been for more than 40 years, so there is no way her produce choice was influencing puberty. Despite the incident Rachel doesn't intend to cut ties with her sister-in-law. However she plans to cook a roast chicken the next time Jess visits. *Names have been changed It's Mary's first appearance since being uninvited from Queen Elizabeth's funeral Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has flaunted her dancing skills and shared a touching moment with her husband Prince Frederik at a lavish bash. The Australian-born royal, 50, attended a gala dinner at Christianborg Castle in Copenhagen on Friday evening where more than 350 guests partook in a choreographed dance. Mary and Fredrik pranced about the dance floor moving from one partner to another then repeatedly coming back to embrace each other. Scroll down for video Crown Prince couple Mary and Frederik of Denmark have shared a sweet moment on the dancefloor at an official party at Christianborg Castle in Copenhagen on Friday evening The Australian-born royal, 50, attended a gala dinner where more than 350 guests partook in a choreographed dance called Les Lanciers Wearing a fuchsia one-shoulder gown by Danish designer David Anderson which she donned back in 2017, Mary looked radiant as she bowed, spun, skipped and held hands with the other guests. The Crown Prince Couple, who celebrated their 18th anniversary back in May, would share a sweet smile each time they were reunited in the dance known as Les Lanciers. Les Lanciers is a square dance performed by guests when there is a party at the Royal House, a tradition that dates back to the last 1950s. The Crown Prince Couple were seen bowing, spinning, skipping and holding hands with the other guests before sharing a sweet smile each time they were reunited in the dance Friday night's bash was held for the government, the Danish Parliament and the Danish members of the European parliament to mark Queen Margrethe II's golden jubilee Friday night's bash was held for the government, the Danish Parliament and the Danish members of the European parliament to mark Queen Margrethe II's golden jubilee. The Queen was not in attendance as she had tested positive for Covid a few days before but Mary and Frederik looked more than happy to represent the family alongside Princess Benedikte, Margrethe's sister. The Danish Royal Family offered a glimpse into the glamour and fun of the gala on their Instagram page showing guests dancing with each other after dinner. The Queen was not in attendance having tested positive for Covid but Mary and Frederik looked happy to represent the family alongside Princess Benedikte, Margrethe's sister The event is the first we've seen Mary since she was reportedly uninvited from Queen Elizabeth II's funeral last Monday The footage is the first we've seen of Mary after she was reportedly uninvited from Queen Elizabeth II's funeral last Monday. Eagle-eyed royal commentators noted the distinct absence of the Australian-born Mary despite her husband and mother-in-law sitting in the front row of Westminster Abbey which was packed with royalty from around the world. The Danish royal family was expected to attend in full force after they made an official announcement on September 13 but six days later Mary, the 50-year-old mother-of-four, was nowhere to be seen. Eagle-eyed royal commentators have noted the distinct absence of Australian-born Princess Mary of Denmark at the Queen's funeral 'HM The Queen and the Crown Prince Couple [will be] present at the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022 at Westminster Abbey in London, Great Britain,' the statement last week said. Princess Mary's initial invitation to the funeral on Monday was made in error according to a statement from the Danish royals. 'There has been a regrettable error in the invitation from the British Foreign Office's protocol. It is thus only the Queen and the Crown Prince who, from the Danish side, will participate in Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral on Monday,' The Royal house confirmed to Danish tabloid BT. The Danish royal family were said to be attending in full force when they made an official announcement on September 13 but six days later the 50-year-old mother-of-four was nowhere to be seen Every royal family and dignitary invited was permitted to bring one extra person with them, which is likely the reason why Mary was excluded. BT's royal correspondent Jacob Heinel Jensen said the Danish royal house would have been 'upset' by the eleventh hour change. 'It's really clumsy and unfortunate... It has meant that the Royal House must now say that a mistake had been made, and that is embarrassing,' he said. Photos and video footage shot at the funeral showed Prince Frederik and Queen Margrethe - now the only reigning Queen left in the world - sitting opposite King Charles III and his family on Monday 'I think the Royal House easily understands that a mistake has been made. I wondered myself when I was in London and the British media wrote that there were only two invitees per country. 'After all, you got the feeling that there really must be extra close ties between Denmark and Britain's royal house if we got three invitations.' Daily Mail Australia contacted the Danish royal family for further comment. These experiences are usually impossible to get without an inside contact Luxury Escapes offers up to 2,000 varied experiences in 150+ destinations The opportunity comes just in time for the Melbourne Spring racing season Online travel retailer Luxury Escapes has revealed the way to hack spring racing season and feel like a VIP. The Australian website has amazing VIP experiences on offer, which would usually be impossible to get without an inside hook-up. The experiences include an exclusive bar Aperitivo drinks and dining experience, a Moet & Chandon champagne house, and premium St. Hubert Drinks and Dining Experience at Carlton Draught Caulfield Cup. Online travel retailer Luxury Escapes has as amazing VIP experiences on offer for spring racing season. Pictured is customers enjoying the Moet & Chandon champagne house The Moet & Chandon at Carlton Draught Caulfield Cup Day Premium Marquee is a bookable experience due to be set up on the Caulfield front lawn in The Avenue, and is a hotspot for Melbourne's elite. The champagne house offers a gourmet grazing menu and Mot & Chandon champagne all day to watch Group 1 racing. The experience is available on the 8, 12 or 15 October and costs $449. The 'Experiences' offering allows racegoers to experience the spring racing season like a VIP. Pictured is a drinks offering at the exclusive bar Aperitivo drinks and and dining experience The exclusive Bar Aperitivo Drinks and Dining Experience at Carlton Draught Caulfield Cup is located in The Avenue. Inspired by 'the roaring Fifties, the rebirth of cool, the era where fashion and fun prevailed,' the location offers signature cocktails, gourmet fare, and is the perfect place to watch the racing on the home straight and dance to party tracks and live jazz performances. The experience is available 8 or 15 October and costs $589. The experiences range from $389 to $589. Pictured is two friends enjoying drinks at the premium St. Hubert Drinks and Dining Experience The premium St. Hubert Drinks and Dining Experience at Carlton Draught Caulfield Cup Carnival is also located in The Avenue. St. Hubert's offers two experiences, the all-day roaming canapes with premium drinks package, and a seated shared menu featuring Yarra Valley's finest, both can be enjoyed with views of the turf stars. The experience is available the 8, 12 or 15 October, and $389. The retailer has plenty of positive reviews online. 'I would absolutely be calling again to book our next adventure,' one woman said. 'In a world where it seems to be commonplace to not refund money or assist customers, I had the opposite experience,' said another. Adventurers are braving a challenging hike through the desert to find an incredible swimming hole surrounded by towering rock walls covered in greenery. Emma Gorge sits in El Questro National Park near Kununurra in Western Australia's spectacular Kimberley region. After a picturesque walk over the rugged terrain, visitors will be rewarded by the spectacular oasis and cooling pool of Emma Gorge thermal springs and waterfall. Travellers are rushing to see the spectacular Emma Gorge in the West Australian desert before it closes to the public ahead of the summer wet season Emma Gorge sits in El Questro National Park near Kununurra in Western Australia's incredible Kimberley region After a picturesque walk over the rugged terrain, visitors will be rewarded by the spectacular oasis and cooling pool of Emma Gorge thermal springs and waterfall Incredible images of the magical pool encased by 65 metre-high cliff faces adorned with creeping vines have been flooding social media as travellers rush to see the gorge ahead of it closing at the end of dry season next month. While the stunning gorge is one of the Kimberley's more accessible sights, it is no easy feat to get to. Kununurra is the closest town to the gorge and a three and a half hour flight from Perth. From Kununurra, Emma Gorge is a 55 minute drive along the iconic Gibb River Road then an hour-long 3.4km hike from the carpark. From Kununurra, Emma Gorge is a 55 minute drive along the iconic Gibb River Road then an hour-long 3.4km hike from the carpark Along the scenic and serene trail before reaching Emma Gorge, hikers are rewarded with some relief as there is a turquoise natural pool perfect for taking a refreshing dip Emma Gorge's waters are not for the fainthearted and freezing cold due to being shaded from the sun by the surrounding walls Along the scenic and serene trail before reaching Emma Gorge, hikers are rewarded with some relief as there is a turquoise natural pool perfect for taking a refreshing dip. Emma Gorge's waters are not for the fainthearted and are freezing cold due to being shaded from the sun by the surrounding walls. There are some pleasant spots as the pool is partly fed via thermal springs however swimmers may have to shoo away some cane toads competing for the warmth. To visit the gorge, a visitor's permit is required which is priced at $22 per adult or $11 per child and allows access to all El Questro's attractions for seven days. Sadly no Australian restaurants made the global top 25 but the favourites are mainly scattered in the country Lahaina Grill in Maui is top in the U.S and Wild Harvest in Tasmania is Australia's top-ranking restaurant The winners have been decided by an algorithm that analyses the millions of reviews from global travellers Advertisement The best fine-dining restaurants in Australia have been named by Tripadvisor with Wild Harvest off the coast of Tasmania landing the top spot overall. Sadly there were no Australian restaurants in the global top 25 list as part of Tripadvisor's 2022 Travellers' Choice 'Best of the Best' Restaurants Awards, which are decided by an algorithm that analyses the millions of reviews and ratings collected in a year from travellers around the world. Interestingly there was only one establishment on the list in a major capital city - Sokyo in Sydney - and the rest were as far-reaching as Port Douglas in Queensland - Melaleuca - and Pokolbin in New South Wales with The Gates Restaurant. The Old Stamp House Restaurant in the Lake District rated number one in the UK and the world for the second year running. Oro Restaurante in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is the second-best restaurant in the global ranking, followed by Madonnina del Pescatore in the Italian seaside town of Senigallia. Number one in America is Lahaina Grill in Maui, Hawaii, which ranks 19th overall. The Old Stamp House Restaurant (above) in the Lake District is the number-one-rated fine-dining restaurant in the UK and the world for the second year running, earning the accolade as part of Tripadvisor's 2022 Travellers' Choice 'Best of the Best' Restaurants Awards The Old Stamp House Restaurant serves dishes that give a 'unique glimpse into the food and cultural heritage of Cumbria'. On the right is an artfully presented dish at the restaurant The gold-medal-winning Old Stamp Restaurant, which lies in the picturesque town of Ambleside, is housed in the former office of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth. With head chef Ryan Blackburn at the helm, the 28-cover restaurant serves dishes that give a 'unique glimpse into the food and cultural heritage of Cumbria'. A tasting menu might feature tomatoes from the north of Cumbria, mushrooms found in the woods around Ambleside, and turbot from the English Channel. It has rave reviews - Tripadvisor user 'Mull2345', who visited this month, wrote: 'Exquisite food and wine flight to match. Give this place another star!' Another recent reviewer described the food as 'culinary wizardry'. Blackburn - who is also chef patron of the nearby restaurant Kysty, which was named the UK's fifth-best date spot in the awards - commented: 'It's incredible that we've been recognised with the Travellers' Choice Awards from Tripadvisor for Best in the World, Best in Europe and Best in the UK, based on community reviews, for the second year in a row, as well as being listed fifth in the UK for Kysty in the Date Night category, an improvement of two places on last year. THE 2022 WINNERS OF TRIPADVISOR'S TRAVELLERS' CHOICE RESTAURANTS AWARDS FAVOURITE FINE DINING RESTAURANTS WORLDWIDE 1. The Old Stamp House Restaurant, Ambleside, the Lake District, Cumbria 2. Oro Restaurante, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 3. Madonnina del Pescatore, Senigallia, Italy 4. Martin Berasategui, Lasarte-Oria, Spain 5. El Xato, La Nucia, Spain 6. Ristorante Villa Crespi, Orta San Giulio, Italy 7. Les Plaisirs Gourmands, Schiltigheim, France Europe 8. Sachi Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt 9. Auberge Du Vieux Puits, Fontjoncouse, France 10. Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, Padstow, Cornwall, England FAVOURITE FINE DINING RESTAURANTS IN THE UK 1. The Old Stamp House Restaurant, Ambleside, the Lake District, Cumbria 2. Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, Padstow, Cornwall 3. Hide and Fox, Hythe, Kent 4. Frog By Adam Handling, London 5. The Olive Tree, Bath, Somerset 6. Galvin La Chapelle, London 7. The Gannet, Glasgow, Scotland 8. The Mahal, Cheltenham, Cotswolds 9. Dean Banks At The Pompadour, Edinburgh 10. Gem42, Newport, Wales FAVOURITE FINE DINING RESTAURANTS IN THE U.S 1. Lahaina Grill, Maui, Hawaii 2. The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge, Blowing Rock, North Carolina 3. The Lincoln Inn & Restaurant At The Covered Bridge, Woodstock, Vermont 4. Cafe Monarch, Scottsdale, Arizona 5. Halls Chophouse, Charleston, South Carolina 6. Six Tables a Restaurant, Boca Raton, Florida 7. Inn at Little Washington, Washington, Virginia 8. Sazon, Santa Fe, New Mexico 9. Collage Restaurant, St. Augustine, Florida 10. Bourbon Steak by Michael Mina, a Nashville Steakhouse, Nashville, Tennessee FAVOURITE FINE DINING RESTAURANTS IN AUSTRALIA 1. Wild Harvest, King Island, Tasmania 2. EXP Restaurant, Pokolbin, New South Wales 3. Melaleuca, Port Douglas, Queensland 4. Charred Kitchen & Bar, Orange, New South Wales 5. Sokyo, Sydney 6. The Stunned Mullet, Port Macquarie, New South Wales 7. Me Wah, Hobart, Tasmania 8. The Gates Restaurant, Pokolbin, New South Wales 9. L'isle de France Terrigal, Terrigal, New South Wales 10. Margan Restaurant & Winery, Broke, New South Wales Source: Tripadvisor Advertisement Oro Restaurante in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is the second-best restaurant in the global ranking Madonnina del Pescatore in the Italian seaside town of Senigallia, pictured, is third worldwide. 'Fish lovers need to try this place at least once,' a recent review reads Number one in America in the fine-dining ranking is Lahaina Grill in Maui, Hawaii, which ranks 19th overall. Its menu revolves around the 'freshest ingredients cultivated by Maui's local farms, dairies and surrounding waters' Wild Harvest (pictured above), set on rugged King Island in Tasmania, is Australia's top-ranking fine-dining restaurant Wild Harvest has a 'paddock to plate' philosophy 'Both teams constantly listen to what our guests have to say and the feedback they give us helps us deliver consistency and excellence across every aspect of what we do. Both restaurant teams are a little bit lost for words and just want to say thank you to the wonderful guests that have taken the time and trouble to help us continue to develop and improve as both evolve.' Second-place Oro Restaurante, meanwhile, plates up cuisine that's a 'fusion of Brazilian roots and cutting-edge gastronomy', according to the Michelin Guide, while bronze-medal-winner Madonnina del Pescatore offers diners views of the Adriatic Sea and a menu that's rich in seafood to match. 'Fish lovers need to try this place at least once,' a recent review of the latter reads. Two Spanish eateries make up the rest of the top five the French-inspired, three-Michelin-starred restaurant Martin Berasategui (fourth) in the town of Lasarte-Oria in the north of the country, and El Xato (fifth) in Alicante, which has been running for over 100 years and specialises in contemporary Mediterranean cuisine. The French-inspired, three-Michelin-starred restaurant Martin Berasategui (fourth) in the town of Lasarte-Oria in the north of Spain is fourth overall El Xato in Alicante, which has been running for over 100 years and specialises in contemporary Mediterranean cuisine, ranks fifth globally As for the UK fine-dining ranking, The Old Stamp Restaurant is followed by Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, a restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, that presents 'modern British' fare. Hide and Fox in Kent - a 'hidden gem', according to a recent review - is third; London's Frog By Adam Handling, where guests can expect a 'theatrical dining experience', is fourth; and the 'fabulous' Olive Tree in Bath is fifth. In the U.S ranking, first-place Lahaina Grill offers a menu that revolves around the 'freshest ingredients cultivated by Maui's local farms, dairies and surrounding waters'. It's followed by The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge (second) in North Carolina, where an outdoor terrace offers stunning views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the 'outstanding' Lincoln Inn & Restaurant At The Covered Bridge (third) in Woodstock, Vermont. Family-owned Cafe Monarch in Scottsdale, Arizona, is fourth in the U.S, while Halls Chophouse - a fine-dining restaurant that's known for its steaks - in Charleston, South Carolina, is fifth. Set on rugged King Island, Australia's number one fine-dining restaurant Wild Harvest has an 'ocean to table' and 'paddock to plate' philosophy, with menus that include local scallops and 'Wild Harvest-raised' pork sausage. Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, a restaurant set in the Cornish fishing town of Padstow, is second in the UK fine-dining ranking Paul Ainsworth at No. 6 presents diners with 'modern British' fare, pictured above The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge in North Carolina is second in the U.S fine-dining ranking and has been named the best date night spot in the U.S. Its outdoor terrace offers stunning views of the Blue Ridge Mountains A dish at The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge The 'dark, moody and intimate' EXP Restaurant in New South Wales lands second place in the ranking and the rest of the top five comprises Melaleuca (third), a restaurant run by a husband-and-wife team in Queensland; the 'relaxed' Charred Kitchen & Bar (fourth) in New South Wales; and Sokyo (fifth), an 'elegant' Japanese eatery in Sydney. The awards also have five more subcategories - Everyday Eats, Picture-Perfect, Date Night, Hidden Gems and Quick Bites. Brand-new category 'Hidden Gems' showcases the 'lesser-known spots and places locals love', with Green Point, - a 'plant-based culinary experience' that will 'impress vegans and meat eaters alike' - in Cusco, Peru, taking the top spot worldwide. The number one 'Hidden Gem' in the UK, meanwhile, is La Fiesta Restaurant in Doncaster, Yorkshire. Tripadvisor reviewers praise the restaurant for its all-you-can-eat tapas option and 'great' atmosphere. Elsewhere, Joe's At The Jepson in Savannah, Georgia, is top in the U.S and The Currant Shed in Greater Adelaide reigns supreme in Australia. THE 2022 WINNERS OF THE CATEGORIES EVERYDAY EATS, PICTURE-PERFECT, DATE NIGHT, HIDDEN GEMS AND QUICK BITES BEST PICTURE-PERFECT WORLDWIDE 1. Sunset Monalisa, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 2. KOMA Singapore, Singapore 3. 7 Thalasses, Rethymnon, Crete, Greece 4. La Yola Restaurant, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic 5. The Flying Fishbone, Savaneta, Aruba 6. Porfirio's Cancun, Cancun, Mexico 7. Koral Restaurant, Bali, Indonesia 8. Tomo, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 9. Adamo ed Eva by Eden Roc, Positano, Italy 10. Man Wah, Hong Kong, China BEST DATE NIGHT WORLDWIDE 1. Altto Ristorante & Lounge Bar, Armacao dos Buzios, Brazil 2. Kaage at VARU by Atmosphere, Madivaru, Maldives 3. Mylos A La Carte Restaurant, Kolimbia, Greece 4. Pluvio restaurant, Vancouver Island, Canada 5. San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience, Monteverde, Costa Rica 6. Baglio Amalfi Italian Bistro Cucina, Vino & Drinks, Amalfi, Italy 7. The Ugly Duckling, Fuerteventura, Spain 8. Villa Donna Bistro, Monte Verde, Brazil 9. Ristorante Gavioli, Bormio, Italy 10. Lotus Eaters Restaurant, Crete, Greece BEST HIDDEN GEMS WORLDWIDE 1. Green Point, Cusco, Peru 2. IX CAT IK Mayan Cuisine, Yucatan, Mexico 3. Taberna el Sur, Madrid, Spain 4. La Locanda Gesu Vecchio, Naples, Italy 5. La Fiesta Restaurant, Doncaster, Yorkshire, England 6. Mivan Restaurant Cafe, Istanbul, Turkey 7. Indian Palace, Florence, Italy 8. La Dolce Vita, Pipa, Praia da Pipa, Brazil 9. Tierra Roja Restaurant, Chia, Colombia 10. Little India, Tenerife, Spain BEST EVERYDAY EATS In the UK 1. Makars Gourmet Mash Bar, Edinburgh 2. Simla Restaurant, Newcastle upon Tyne 3. Rio Brazilian Steakhouse - Middlesbrough, Yorkshire In the U.S 1. Timber Kitchen and Bar, Bangor, Maine 2. Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille Ft. Myers Beach, Fort Myers Beach, Florida Southwest Gulf Coast 3. Ristorante Pesto, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania In Australia 1. Bella Venezia Restaurant & Bar, Mooloolaba, Queensland 2. Cucina Porto, Sydney 3. Victor's Place, McLaren Vale, Greater Adelaide BEST QUICK BITES IN THE U.S 1. Bleecker Street Pizza, New York City 2. BirdHouse, Page, Arizona 3. Steak Shack, Honolulu, Hawaii 4. Martha's Dandee Creme, Queensbury, New York 5. Milt's Stop & Eat, Moab, Utah 6. NY Pizza Suprema, New York City 7. Seven Brothers, Kahuku, Hawaii 8. Muldoon's, Munising, Michigan 9. Portillo's Hot Dogs, Chicago 10. Earl of Sandwich, Las Vegas, Nevada Source: Tripadvisor Advertisement The 'dark, moody and intimate' EXP Restaurant in New South Wales has been named Australia's second-best fine-dining restaurant Enjoy plant-based food at Green Point in Cusco, Peru, a restaurant that takes the top spot worldwide in the Hidden Gems category Tripadvisor reviewers praise La Fiesta Restaurant in Doncaster for its all-you-can-eat tapas option. The eatery is the number one 'Hidden Gem' in the UK In the Date Night category, Altto Ristorante & Lounge Bar in the Brazilian resort town of Armacao dos Buzios has been crowned the most romantic restaurant in the world for 2022. 'With a breathtaking view of the Bay of Armacao and [an] unparalleled gastronomic experience, it's clear why couples love dining here,' says Tripadvisor. Salamander Restaurant, which lies in the picturesque Cornish fishing village of Mevagissey, has been branded the best spot for a romantic meal in the UK, The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge scoops up another accolade as the best date night spot in the U.S and Watergate Restaurant & Lounge Bar in Queensland is top in Australia. The Picture Perfect category is the one no doubt most keenly noted by snap-happy foodies and this year's winner, we can reveal is last year's No.14 - Sunset Monalisa, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. 'You will experience a cracking sunset here, topped off with the sound of waves crashing while you eat,' says Tripadvisor. There's no global winner in the Everyday Eats category, but Edinburgh's Makars Gourmet Mash Bar - a restaurant that serves up nine variations of mash potato including chilli mash, smoked bacon and spring onion mash and black pudding mash, as well as a variety of classic Scottish dishes - is top in the UK. Meanwhile, Timber Kitchen and Bar in the city of Bangor, Maine, is number one in the U.S and Bella Venezia Restaurant and Bar in Queensland leads the pack in Australia. In the Date Night category, Altto Ristorante & Lounge Bar (above) in the Brazilian resort town of Armacao dos Buzios has been crowned the most romantic restaurant in the world for 2022 Sunset Monalisa (pictured), in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, tops the podium in the Picture Perfect category. 'You will experience a cracking sunset here,' says Tripadvisor Finally, Bleecker Street Pizza in New York tops the podium in the Quick Bites category, which exclusively ranks American eateries. Commenting on the awards, Lauren Murphy, Vice President and General Manager of Hospitality Solutions at Tripadvisor, says: 'Dining out is an internationally beloved pastime: for many restaurant-goers, it's frequenting their favourite neighbourhood eatery and for others, it's snagging a table at a top-rated restaurant on holiday. More than half of consumers in a recent survey told us that food is the most exciting component of their trip. 'Like searching through a big menu for the perfect meal, recommendations can be helpful in decision-making, and our community's guidance makes choosing from the wide array of restaurants easier. Tripadvisor's Travellers' Choice Awards, decided by people who visited and reviewed these places in the past year, offers authentic recommendations for the best places to eat no matter the occasion!' For more on the ranking, visit tripadvisor.co.uk/TravellersChoice-Restaurants. As many as a third of Americans feel 'seriously' lonely, estimates suggest In turn, this raises the risk of a host of diseases including Alzheimer's Being lonely and unhappy is worse for your health than smoking, a shock study suggests. Researchers found the negative emotions speed up people's biological clocks more than cigarettes. Feeling lonely, unhappy and hopeless was found to add up to an extra year and eight months onto someone's age five months more than smoking. Damage to the body's biological clock raises the risk of Alzheimer's, diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses, research shows. Experts believe chronic inflammation caused by being unhappy causes damage to cells and vital organs. As many as a third of Americans feel 'seriously' lonely, according to a 2021 Harvard study, while about eight per cent suffer from major depression every year. Researchers, including scientists at Stanford University, in California, estimated how many years were added to someone's life by the above. They used biological years, or how old a person 'seems' based on factors including blood, kidney status and BMI. This differs from the chronological age, or how long someone has been alive. Rural areas likely raised someone's age because of a lack of access to hospitals, while never getting married has long been thought to raise someone's risk of an earlier death The above shows how the data was put into the biological clock (1), and was then compared to results from psychological surveys (2) to determine how many years were added to the biological age Laurie Theeke, the associate dean for the PhD in nursing program at George Washington University who was not involved in the study, told DailyMail.com that it was 'no surprise' that loneliness led to faster aging than smoking. 'I have been studying this since 2002, and there are many national datasets that show loneliness leads to a shorter lifespan, higher mortality and more co-morbidities so this doesn't surprise me at all.' She said lonely people tended to have higher inflammation and anxiety levels than others, and also be less active, both contributing to worse health. How does being lonely affect health? About a third of Americans are lonely, estimates suggest, with younger adults most likely to say they feel this. But there are mounting warnings from scientists that loneliness a feeling of sadness due to a lack of company can harm health. In older adults, the National Institute on Aging says being lonely raises the risk of them being admitted to a nursing home or ER. They warn people who are lonely may get too little exercise, drink too much alcohol, smoke and often struggle to sleep. They may also experience emotional pain, which activates the same stress response inthe body as physical pain. This leads to release of the stress hormone which, over time, triggers chronic inflammation raising the risk of several diseases. These include high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline and dementia. Source: NIA Advertisement Everyone has a chronological age, or the exact years and months that they have been alive. But people also have a biological age, which estimates the body's decline based on factors including blood, kidney status and Body Mass Index (BMI). Researchers from Stanford University, in California, and Deep Longevity, a company in Hong Kong drew on data from 12,000 Chinese adults. Participants were middle-aged and elderly and about a third had a major underlying condition such as lung disease, cancer and surviving a stroke. Using blood samples, surveys and medical data, the experts generated an aging model to predict participants' biological age. Participants were then matched by chronological age and gender, and had their results compared to establish which were aging fastest. Results published Tuesday in the journal Aging-US showed that feeling lonely or unhappy was the biggest predictor of a faster biological decline. It was followed by smoking, which added a year and three months to someone's age. They also found that being male added up to five months. Living in a rural area raised it by four months, which the scientists said may be due harsher worker conditions like factories and fewer hospitals and doctors' surgeries. Never getting married which has long been linked to an early death was found to raise someone's age by nearly four months. Co-study author Manuel Faria, a researcher at Stanford, said: 'Mental and psychological states are some of the most robust predictors of health outcomes and quality of life and yet they have been omitted from modern healthcare.' The study only looked at adults who were mid to older age, meaning it was unclear whether the results transfer to younger age groups. The scientists did not ask participants how many cigarettes they had smoked a day. The research was done for Chinese company Deep Longevity. Previous research from the National Institute on Aging (NIH) has also linked loneliness and isolation to aging, saying it is equivalent to about 15 cigarettes a day. Labour's emergency 2billion plan to fix the ailing NHS by reinstating the 45p tax rate for the country's richest people has been branded 'disingenuous'. Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the cash brought in through the U-turn would pay for an extra 20,000 doctors, nurses and social care staff to join each year. It would be one of the biggest workforce expansions in the 74-year history of the health service, amid warnings staffing levels are central to spiraling waiting lists and record ambulance delays. Unveiled at Labour's annual conference in Liverpool, Ms Reeves argued the plans funded solely through reversing Tory Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's tax cut last week would ensure the NHS has all of the 'doctors it needs'. Yet critics argue the 150bn-a-year health service is in dire need of reform not extra cash, and additional funds wouldn't pay for the 'wide array' of promises. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a conservative think-tank, said: 'Successive Governments have increased taxpayer funding for the NHS while outcomes have declined.' However, unions welcomed the proposals, claiming the extra money 'would make a significant difference' and 'fill gaping holes across the NHS'. The Royal College of Physicians said: 'A lack of long-term workforce planning is at the root of many of the huge pressures that staff are currently under in the NHS.' Latest NHS data shows it has 130,000 vacancies almost 10 per cent of its planned workforce. The 2billion proposals, unveiled today by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves at the party's annual conference in Liverpool, would bring in nearly 20,000 additional doctors, nurses and social care staff every year Dr Sarah Clarke (left), president of the Royal College of Physicians, told MailOnline that it 'strongly welcomes' Labour's proposals to expand medical placement. But Matthew Lesh (right), head of public policy at the Institute of Economic Affairs, told MailOnline: 'It is disingenuous to suggest that the additional rate of income tax can fund a wide array of new public spending pledges' NHS England figures show 6.8million patients were in the queue for routine hospital treatment in July, equivalent to one in eight people. Nearly 380,000 have been waiting for over one year What do the latest NHS performance figures show? The overall waiting list jumped to 6.84million in July. This is up from 6.73million in June and is the highest number since records began in August 2007. There were 2,885 people waiting more than two years to start treatment at the end of July, down from 3,861 in June but still higher than April 2021, when the figure started to be recorded. The number of people waiting more than a year to start hospital treatment was 377,689, up from 355,774 the previous month. Some 28,756 people had to wait more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England in August. The figure is down from 29,317 in July but is the second highest for any month since record began in 2010. A total of 130,528 people waited at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission in August, down slightly from the all-time high of 136,298 in March. Just 71.4 per cent of patients were seen within four hours at A&Es last month, the second-worst ever performance. NHS standards set out that 95 per cent should be admitted, transferred or discharged within the four-hour window. In August, the average category one response time calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries was nine minutes and eight seconds. The target time is seven minutes. Ambulances took an average of 42 minutes and 44 seconds to respond to category two calls, such as burns, epilepsy and strokes. This is more than twice as long as the 18 minute target. Response times for category three calls such as late stages of labour, non-severe burns and diabetes averaged two hours, 16 minutes and 23 seconds. Ambulances are supposed to arrive to these calls within two hours. Some 424,605 patients were waiting more than six weeks for a key diagnostic test in July, including an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy. Advertisement The shortages affect nurses, midwives, GPs and hospital doctors. Experts warn that the situation is even worse in social care, which is fuelling the bed-blocking crisis another factor that is piling pressure on hospitals. Mr Kwarteng's cut, announced in his mini-budget, means the highest earners now only pay 40 per cent tax on their earnings above 50,000. He ditched the 45 per cent tax on earnings above 150,000, in a move that benefitted 600,000 people. Labour said reimposing the tax would clock-up more than 2billion per year if it was brought back in under a Labour Government to be funneled into the NHS to boost its workforce. Ms Reeves said: 'With a Labour Government, those at the top will pay their fair share. The 45p top rate of income tax is coming back.' Under its plans, the number of medical school places would double from 7,500 to 15,000 at a cost of 1.1billion per year which the Shadow Chancellor called the 'biggest expansion of medical school places in British history'. The recommendation is based on a blueprint from the Royal College of Physicians, which last year estimated the move would cost 1.85billion annually. The costs cover the five-year undergraduate medical course, which includes the teaching fee paid to universities, hospitals providing placements and grants to students. The number of places is capped at 7,500 in England because the cost of training medics is so high and capacity at universities and hospitals is limited. Another 20million would be spent to double the number of district nurses qualifying every year from 700 to 1,400 to deliver community care and at home in so-called virtual wards. The wards which allow patients to receive treatment at home instead of hospital are a key part of NHS plans to free up bed space this winter. Labour claimed the NHS has lost four in 10 district nurses since the Conservatives came into power in 2010, which has severely limited 'its ability to deliver high quality community care'. Figures suggest there are only around 4,000 district nurses currently. It would also use the funds to train 1,000 new health visitors ever year who work with families to improve the health of young children which would cost 100million per year. The 5,900 currently in the role are working with 'dangerous caseloads that mean they cannot provide quality care to babies and children', according to Labour. Labour's plan would also grant an extra 10,000 nursing and midwifery clinical placements every year, up from 30,000 currently, costing 51million annually. The opposition said it would also create an NHS workforce plan for the next five, 10 and 15 years. It would also establish a new independent body, to draw up workforce projections, come up with new health and care roles to boost NHS resilience and create new career paths into health and social care. Labour said: 'The NHS is desperate for workers with the skills and dedication to ensure it is a high-quality service. 'There is a genuine chronic lack of doctors, nurses and healthcare staff in the NHS. Emergency unit data shows that three in 10 Britons were forced to wait longer than four hours in A&E departments in August, while nearly one thousand per day waited for 12 hours Ambulance response times recovered slightly in August but the time taken for paramedics to arrive on the scene was still well above targets Cancer patients starting treatment within two months of an urgent referral increased from 59.9 per cent in June to 61.6 per cent in July. But the figure is below the 85 per cent standard, which hasn't been hit since 2014 Health Secretary Therese Coffey earlier this month came under fire after failing to address the health service's chronic workforce shortages in her 'ABCD' list of priorities, set out during her first week in the job. Under the plan, she promised to place ambulances, backlogs, care, doctors and dentists at the top of her agenda. A third of NHS capacity is taken up by bed-blockers at busiest trusts Up to a third of beds at England's busiest NHS trusts are occupied by patients who shouldn't be there, according to a startling MailOnline analysis that lays bare the scale of the country's 'devastating' bed-blocking jam. More than 13,000 hospital beds across the country, or one in seven, are filled with patients declared fit for discharge by doctors. But rates soar to as high as one in three at the worst-hit hospitals, found in Bristol and Coventry as well as parts of Lancashire and Norfolk. Experts say the numbers are being driven by a separate crisis in social care, leaving medically-fit patients left to languish on wards for up to nine months because there is no suitable nursing accommodation or care available for them in the community. Newly-appointed Health Secretary Therese Coffey has already vowed to end the scandal, which has soared to record levels and is thought to cost taxpayers roughly 2billion-a-year. This will help to prevent deadly ambulance delays by stopping paramedics queuing outside A&E waiting for a bed to become available. It will also boost efforts to tackle the Covid-induced care backlog, by freeing up space to allow more patients in. In an effort to avert an NHS meltdown this winter, Dr Coffey this month revealed she would give the crippled social care sector 500million of emergency funds. Care providers will be encouraged to use the war chest to help plug 165,000 vacancies, given a shortage of care workers is central to the crisis. Advertisement 'Staff shortages are reaching dangerous levels, when the need for NHS treatment is incredibly high with millions of people forced to wait for treatment. 'We need far more than sticking plasters on the gaping wounds of over a decade of neglect.' Waiting times for routine ops, such as hip and knee replacements, shot up to record highs way before Covid reached Britain. But the pandemic, and the knock-on effects of lockdown, have seen queues hit an all-time high, with one in eight people now in the queue for treatment. Ambulance response times have drastically worsened. Even heart attack patients who should be seen in 18 minutes have been left waiting three hours to be taken to hospital. A&E performance has also plunged to dire levels, with waiting times worse than ever. Campaigners have called the situation 'apocalyptic'. Health leaders have warned that current performance figures should 'ring alarm bells' and issued grisly warnings about even tougher months ahead when seasonal pressures and Covid begin to bite. In light of the data published over the past few months, experts have renewed calls for ministers to draw up a long-term workforce strategy that is backed by 'sustained Government investment'. But Health Secretary Therese Coffey earlier this month came under fire after failing to address the health service's chronic workforce shortages in her 'ABCD' list of priorities, set out during her first week in the job. Under the plan, she promised to place ambulances, backlogs, care, doctors and dentists at the top of her agenda. Dr Coffey claimed there are 'more people working in the NHS than ever before' but accepted there are 'still many vacancies'. Dr Sarah Clarke, president of the Royal College of Physicians, told MailOnline that it 'strongly welcomes' the proposals to expand medical placements, which has been calling on for years. She said: 'A lack of long-term workforce planning is at the root of many of the huge pressures that staff are currently under in the NHS. 'Workforce challenges are the biggest barrier to reducing waiting lists and providing care in the long-term so it is welcome to see commitments to expand numbers of healthcare professionals across the multi-disciplinary team. 'Increasing the number of people in the system is a vital part of being able to meet patient demand in future, as well as reducing clinical workloads which in turn reduces pressure. 'The RCP firmly believes the NHS must be open and welcoming to international colleagues, but we should be aiming to train more doctors in the UK. 'Expanding the number of medical school places in the UK is crucial to creating a sustainable and efficient health service.' Sara Gorton, head of health at UNISON, told MailOnline: 'The extra cash would make a significant difference. The NHS is desperate for a long-term plan to attract and keep health employees in all roles. 'Relying on temporary workers, volunteers and mass international recruitment to fill gaping holes across the NHS won't work. There must be a clear plan to grow the workforce, along with the funding to deliver it.' However, critics warned that Labour's proposals to tackle the crippled health service won't work. Matthew Lesh, head of public policy at the Institute of Economic Affairs, told MailOnline: 'It is disingenuous to suggest that the additional rate of income tax can fund a wide array of new public spending pledges. 'The additional rate was introduced in 2009 and only raises around 2billion a year. To put this into perspective, the additional rate amounts to just one per cent of the NHS' annual budget. 'Successive Governments have increased taxpayer funding for the NHS while outcomes have declined. 'The UK consistently performs poorly in international rankings on issues such as avoidable deaths. The system requires fundamental reform, not just more cash.' Dr Latifa Patel, chair of the British Medical Association's representative body, told MailOnline that there is 'no point' training more doctors unless Labour would also ensure graduates join and stay in the NHS. She said: 'It's important that any plans are matched with funding for universities to actually do this. 'More training places must then also be on offer for students once they graduate. 'Of course, there's no point in training more doctors if they then don't stay in the NHS, which is why longstanding pay and pension issues must also be addressed to help retain staff. 'It's also an immediate measure that can be taken to stabilise the workforce crisis in the short-term. 'Talented, experienced staff are leaving in their droves, not only depriving patients of care, but also junior colleagues of expert knowledge and mentoring.' However, Dr Patel noted: 'The Labour Party's plan shows a refreshing awareness of the immense pressures currently facing our health service and why they must urgently be addressed. 'The BMA has repeatedly called for more medical school places to be made available so that the NHS can benefit from a much-needed, larger workforce to keep pace with patient demand.' She called on the Government to adopt a similar plan to boost the NHS workforce. Advertisement A therapy that rose to prominence during the Covid pandemic and was even used to treat Donald Trump may help to ease the deadly opioid overdose epidemic in the US, scientists hope. Monoclonal antibodies or virus-fighting proteins made in a lab fight off infections by stopping the virus from invading cells and slashing the risk of being hospitalized with the disease. Now scientists are on a path towards using this treatment to alleviate chronic pain, that leaves sufferers including arthritis and cancer patients needing to take up to several pills a day for months risking addiction. They are designing an antibody that could bind to nerve cells to stop them sending persistent pain signals to the brain. The research at the University of California, Davis is still in the early stages, and it will be years before it reaches hospitals or pharmacy shelves. But scientists hope within years they will have developed a non-addictive monthly injection that serves as an alternative to opioids such as morphine, which are used as a last resort for patients with chronic pain typically after surgery. It could also be used to help those on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like arthritis and cancer patients, who may have been taking several pills a day for months. America's overdose deaths surged to a record nearly 108,000 fatalities last year, a 15 per cent rise compared to the number in 2020 though the pandemic made it harder to obtain both legal and illegal drugs. Of the 108,000 overdose deaths last year, 85 per cent of them involved an opioid such as fentanyl or one issued on prescription. Scientists at the University of California, Davis are hoping to develop an alternative painkiller to opioids that would not be addictive. Pictured above are the steps required to build the alternative. They have already completed the first, identifying the channels they need to block on cells to stop pain signals. But they say it will take years to develop the treatment Scientists are hoping to develop a non-opioid pain reliever using monoclonal antibody technology. Right: Trump pictured at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center after testing positive for Covid in October 2020. He received an experimental monoclonal antibody treatment to help fight his infection The above graph shows the number of overdose deaths involving opioids, and is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It reveals that the fatalities hit a record high in 2020, the latest year the figures are available for. Overdose deaths from opioids account for about 80 percent of all overdose deaths Dr Vladimir Yarov-Yarovoy (above) is a lead scientist of the study taking place at UC Davis. How would the treatment work? - Scientists use advanced computer programs to design complex virtual models of proteins. - They analyze which proteins would best fit three specific ion channels in nerve cells, which are responsible for transmitting pain signals in the body. - They create antibodies that will bind to those three specific channels on the nerve cells, inhibiting their activity and stopping them from sending pain signals. - A patient dealing with chronic pain would receive an infusion of the monoclonal antibodies on a monthly basis. Source: University of California, Davis Advertisement Monoclonal antibody treatments were not borne out of the pandemic. The first monoclonal antibody was approved by federal regulators in 1986 for use in preventing kidney transplant rejection. But scientists advanced the technology so much in recent years that the therapy became a highly effective tool for preventing cases of severe Covid disease. In October 2020, Donald Trump was treated with a then-experimental antibody cocktail made by Regeneron after testing positive for Covid. It was credited with the former President's rapid recovery which saw him host several rallies during the final weeks of the race for the White House just days after testing positive on October 2. The treatment worked by binding to the virus' spike protein which it uses to invade cells, stopping an infection in its tracks. Now, UC Davis researchers aim to create antibodies that can bind to three specific channels on nerve cells that send pain signals to the brain. 'Recent breakthroughs in structural and computational biology using computers to understand and model biological systems have set the stage for applying new approaches to create antibodies as superior therapeutic candidates to treat chronic pain,' said Dr Vladimir Yarov-Yarovoy, the principal investigator. By blocking the pain transmitters, the scientists hope it will relieve chronic pain for up to a month about how long antibodies last in the body. For patients with chronic pain, thats exactly what you need,' Dr Yarov-Yarovoy said. They experience pain, not for days, but weeks and months.' He added: The expectation is that the circulating antibodies will be able to provide sustained pain relief for weeks. The team are currently designing the antibodies, which will then be tested on human tissue in a lab setting before moving to animal trials. The treatment - which would be delivered intravenously - is years away from reaching humans. But it could be a game-changer for the one in five Americans are suffering from chronic pain. The UC Davis researchers received $1.5million (1.4m) in grants last April from the National Institutes of Health, the federal governments primary agency for biomedical and public health research, to fund the project. One of the main challenges will be replicating the exact structure of these three highly complex channels. Computer software programs are being used to overcome this. One such programme, known as Rosetta, allows researchers to create a three-dimensional virtual protein models and work out which one fits perfectly into the three channels (shown) The goal, Dr Yarov-Yarovoy said, is to create antibodies in the lab that fit into three specific voltage-gated sodium ions in nerve cells like keys in locks. One of the main challenges will be replicating the exact structure of these three highly complex channels. Computer software programs are being used to overcome this. One such programme, known as Rosetta, allows researchers to create a three-dimensional virtual protein models and work out which one fits perfectly into the three channels. The AlphaFold serves as a fact-checker, re-analysing the protein designs from Rosetta to make sure the dimensions are correct. The experiment, if successful, would prove instrumental in curbing the persistent opioid addiction crisis fueled by many doctors aggressively overprescribing as well as underestimating the risk of becoming dependent on the drugs. More than 260,000 Americans have died from overdosing on prescription opioid drugs in the past two decades, CDC data shows. Overdose deaths involving opioids have been on a relatively steady incline since 2010, when they sat at around 21,000. That rate jumped to 47,600 in 2017 and remained high at nearly 69,000 by 2020. The synthetic opioid fentanyl drove up overdoses more than any other drug in 2021, leading to more than 71,000 deaths, up 23 percent from the year before. Botox works by relaxing the muscles in the face to smooth out lines and wrinkles Scientists think Botox can treat borderline personality disorder and depression Botox fanatics rave about its wrinkle-busting properties. But researchers believe the injections might have another benefit warding off the blues. And it's not just depression. German scientists think it might also help patients with borderline personality disorder, who often suffer from depression. Botox works by relaxing the muscles in the face to smooth out lines and wrinkles. Researchers claim these same effects, which last for three months, are responsible for any mental health benefits. Preventing people from frowning by freezing forehead muscles needed to do so stops recipients from experiencing negative moods as intensely, according to their theory. The team at Hannover Medical School said that Botox 'could have a role' in treating mental illness. Botox, which lasts three to four months, works by relaxing the muscles in the face to smooth out lines and wrinkles. Researchers say its ability to stop people from frowning by freezing the forehead muscles needed to do so stops recipients from experiencing negative moods as intensely WHAT IS BOTOX? Botox injections relax the muscles in the face to smooth out lines and wrinkles. It's not permanent it usually lasts for around 3 months. In the UK, the cost of Botox injections can vary from about 100 to 350 for each treatment, depending on the clinic and the area being treated. Botox injections for cosmetic reasons are not available on the NHS. The procedure, which usually only lasts 10 minutes, involves having botulinum toxin injected into the face muscles using a very fine needle. It then takes around two to three days to start working and up to three weeks to see the full effect. Side effects include, headaches, a frozen look, weakness in the face and bruising, swelling and redness where the needles went into the skin. However, Botox can also be used to treat medical conditions. These include abnormal contractions of the eye, conditions that cause muscle pain and stiffness such as cerebral palsy and excessive sweating. Source: NHS Advertisement Dr Axel Wollmer, a psychiatrist at Semmelweis University and senior study author, said: 'The World Health Organization estimates that the number of people suffering from depression is approximately 280million. 'Established treatments such as psychotherapy or antidepressants don't work sufficiently for about one third of the patients so there is a need to develop novel treatment options, and this is where [Botox] injections could have a role.' The team examined data on 45 women, gathered between 2016 and 2019 as part of a clinical trial. They all had borderline personality disorder a mental illness that causes sufferers to experience emotional instability, disturbed patterns of thinking, and impulsive behaviour. Around half received a single Botox injection to their glabellar, the area between the eyebrows where frown lines occur. The placebo group were given 20-minute acupuncture sessions one at the start of the study and a second two weeks later. Participants received an MRI scan and completed tests ranking their BPD symptoms before and after their treatment. The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, show that after four weeks, volunteers in both groups reported that their symptoms of the disorder eased. However, after treatment, only the Botox recipients also reported that they engaged in less impulsive behaviours. The researchers said this finding matched up with brain scan data, which showed that there was more activity in their motor cortex a region of the brain involved in control and planning. Scan results also showed that those who received Botox saw activity calm down in the amygdala region of their brain, which processes fear. The team said their study provides the 'first evidence' that Botox 'may modify central neurobiological and behavioural aspects of borderline personality disorder'. They suggested that this was down to the toxin interrupting the interaction between the forehead muscles and the brain, which in turn changes people's emotional response. Negative moods cause the muscles between the eyebrows to contract, triggering frown lines. But Botox effectively paralyses these muscles. The close link between mood and facial expression known as the facial feedback theory means people unable to frown experience their negative emotions less intensely, according to Professor Tillmann Kruger, one of the study authors. 'A relaxed forehead conveys a more positive feeling, so to speak,' he said. And on top of the border line personality disorder findings, Professor Kruger said Botox 'works for depression just as well'. A study by his team in 2021 found Botox injections boosted mood and weakened symptoms of depression and anxiety. He explained: 'The treatment has several advantages at once: since the paralysing effect lasts for three or more months, an injection also only needs to be given at these intervals. 'The infrequent injections are also less costly than some other therapy options and have a very good tolerance and acceptance among patients.' The researchers noted that medics do not yet offer Botox as a treatment for mental illness. However, Professor Kruger said he hopes that this will change when the mechanism for his team's findings have been better researched. She took cannabinoid oils and mushrooms alongside traditional chemotherapy Unnamed woman was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in August 2018 A woman who fought off cancer saw her tumours return once she stopped taking cannabis and magic mushrooms, doctors have revealed. The unidentified 49-year-old, thought to live in Britain, was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in August 2018. Scans revealed it had spread to her bones, liver and lymph nodes. She immediately underwent chemo and was given monoclonal antibody drugs designed to thwart her disease. But the woman also decided to start taking cannabis oil every day. And she started 'intermittent' micro-dosing of magic mushrooms from November, according to the medics who treated her. A woman's advanced cancer disappeared in five months after she started taking cannabis and magic mushrooms, Imperial College London experts claims By January 2019, scans showed her cancer had completely gone and there was no sign of disease. Chemo was stopped but she stayed on Herceptin, one of the monoclonal antibody drugs originally doled out. Follow-up scans that September confirmed her cancer was still in remission. As a result, she halved her cannabis intake and completely stopped taking shrooms. The woman remained cancer-free for 18 months in total. Tests in June 2020 revealed her disease had returned, experts from Imperial College London wrote in the journal Drug Science. Following that diagnosis and under medical supervision, she upped her doses again, restarted chemotherapy and began radiotherapy. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CBD AND THC? CBD oil is a legal cannabinoid that can be sold in the UK. THC is the psychoactive chemical in cannabis that causes users to feel 'high'. It is an illegal Class B substance that can cause anxiety and psychosis, and cannot be sold in CBD products. Although CBD has been thought to have some medicinal properties, including relieving inflammation, pain and anxiety, there is no conclusive science. Suppliers in England and Wales have to obtain a licence to sell CBD as a medicine. Manufacturers are able to avoid the strict regulation by selling it as a food supplement ignoring the lengthy process of gaining a medicinal licence. CBD short for cannabidiol is derived from the cannabis sativa plant and has become a booming 690million-a-year industry, outselling all other vitamin supplements combined. It is sold in virtually every high street pharmacy and health shop and comes in the form of capsules, tablets, creams, sprays and even chewing gum and sweets. Advertisement Her disease was stable, as of her last appointment in October. Doctors even claimed there was evidence it was 'receding' once more. Rayyan Zafar and colleagues said it highlighted the 'possibility' that both drugs could help maximise traditional cancer treatment. Writing in the case report, they said: 'This brings up the possibility that withdrawal of the cannabinoid and psychedelic therapies may have contributed to the return of the cancer.' Although they remain clueless as to how the psychoactive drugs may have worked, previous research has shown magic mushrooms can starve tumours of the proteins they need to grow. Cancer Research UK says that the research has been mixed, but some studies have suggested that cannabinoids work in a similar way. Around 55,000 women in the UK and 264,000 in the US are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Stage 4 diagnoses usually only leave people with three years to live. While treatable, it cannot be cured. Patients are traditionally given a mixture of chemotherapy and targeted drugs like the woman in her first stage of treatment as well as radiotherapy. Cannabis is not currently prescribed for cancer in the UK, although doctors can theoretically dish it out as part of a trial. Magic mushrooms are technically a Class A drug and the researchers did not explain how they were dished out legally. The woman in the most recent case went to hospital in August 2018 after noticing changes in her breast tissue, where doctors preformed a mammogram, biopsy, CT-scan and X-ray. Results in September showed she had metastatic breast cancer that had spread to other parts of her body. She decided to start taking daily doses of cannabinoid oils from August, before the metastatic diagnosis, alongside standard treatment. The oils included both CBD the chemical thought to have some medicinal benefit and THC the psychoactive element of cannabis that makes user high. Under the direction of one of her doctors, she gradually increased the dose until the psychoactive effects felt too much. Scans taken in October showed the tumour had halved in size and she started micro-dosing mushrooms from that month. Micro-dosing involves taking around a tenth of the dose required to get high from psychedelic drugs in her case 10 to 20mg at regular intervals through the day. In November, she also had her first sensory deprivation tank session, where she was given 4g of mushrooms under a doctor's supervision. Sensory deprivation tanks see users placed in a salt water bath where they float in darkness and no sound, creating a similar effect to zero gravity. They're thought to aid relaxation and are often combined with psychedelics to allow users to hallucinate more clearly. After the session, she was given a psychotherapy 'reintegration' session to make her feel reaccustomed with the world. She said the combination of cannabinoids and mushrooms helped 'ease the suffering' and made her feel like she was watching her experience rather than feeling it. Quoted in the journal, the woman said: 'When one is diagnosed with cancer, the mental, physical and emotional events which consume and slowly chip away at one's humanity become a daily routine. 'Everything changes in a heartbeat, and suddenly death becomes your daily counterpart. Its dehumanising, demoralising and just plain horrific. 'Cannabis changes all of this. It will ease the suffering of so many, as it eased mine. Cannabis provides hope. It provides help when you feel you cant go on. 'I was able to eat. I was able to sleep. The nausea was almost non-existent. I could function. I could work. I was no longer slave to my disease.' Products containing THC, including oils, gels and tablets, are class B substances in the UK and possession is punishable by up to five years in prison. Medical marijuana containing the chemical is legal in 38 US states and DC, while cannabis is entirely legal in 18 states. Oils containing just CBD are legal in the UK, however, and have become a booming 690million-a-year industry, outselling all other vitamin supplements combined. Although CBD has been thought to have some medicinal properties, including relieving inflammation, pain and anxiety, critics say there is no conclusive evidence. Suppliers in England and Wales have to obtain a licence to sell CBD as a medicine. Manufacturers are able to avoid the strict regulation by selling it as a food supplement ignoring the lengthy process of gaining a medicinal licence. 55 outstanding Myanmar students receive China-Myanmar friendship awards Xinhua) 08:49, September 27, 2022 Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai (1st R) gives the certificate to a student during the awarding ceremony of the China-Myanmar friendship awards in Yangon, Myanmar, Sept. 26, 2022. (Photo by Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua) YANGON, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A total of 55 Myanmar students were awarded Monday the China-Myanmar friendship awards in recognition of their outstanding academic performance. Addressing the ceremony held at the National University of Arts and Culture, Yangon, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai said that it is the first batch of China-Myanmar friendship outstanding awards to Myanmar's students majoring arts and culture. "It is hoped that the students, by making continuous efforts for getting better results, will become great strengths for promoting Myanmar's cultural development and inheriting China-Myanmar 'Paukphaw' friendship," he said. Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Ko Ko expressed gratitude to China for presenting the China-Myanmar friendship awards to Myanmar's outstanding students. Today's Myanmar-China friendship awards show supports for the development of Myanmar's culture and arts sector, and it will help strengthen the existing Myanmar-China relations, he said. The award winners included 25 students from the National University of Arts and Culture, Yangon, 15 students from the National University of Arts and Culture, Mandalay, 10 students from State High School of Arts, Yangon, and five from State High School of Arts, Mandalay respectively, according to Kay Thi Htwe, rector of the National University of Arts and Culture, Yangon. The winners of the awards were selected by their related departments' heads, Kay Thi Htwe added. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji) A silent-spreader STI which can cause infertility is feared to be evolving into a superbug. Mycoplasma genitalium, also known as M. genitalium or M. gen, has become resistant to every antibiotic used to treat it so far. The sexually transmitted infection was first discovered in London in the 1980s but a test has only been available in the US since 2019. It means scientists are unsure exactly how widespread it is. Some studies suggest just one in 100 adults in the US are positive for M. gen but experts estimate as many as a fifth will get it at some point in their life. The bacterial infection has been linked to infertility, premature births and miscarriages, as well as cervical swelling and pelvic inflammatory disease. There are increasing concerns it will become untreatable because the STI has developed resistance to the most popular antibiotic used to treat STIs, azithromycin, as well as quinolone, macrolide and doxycycline. Alternatives are available but they cause severe side effects that mean they are not suitable for pregnant women. And there are signs it is already becoming tolerant to them, too. There are also fears M. gen will become more common as STIs on the whole soar in the US. In 2021 there were a record 2.5million infections, up from 2.4million in 2020, itself an all-time high. Superbugs are estimated to contribute to around 7million deaths per year, with some experts warning they should be taken as seriously as global warming. Mycoplasma genitalium, also known as M. genitalium or M. gen, causes serious symptoms including infertility, but is resistant to four different types of antibiotics. It is estimated that up to one in five sexually active US citizens could have it What is M. gen.? Mycoplasma genitalium, also known as M. genitalium or M. gen., is a sexually transmitted disease. It is a bacterial infection which infects the urinary and genital tracts of men and women. First discovered in London in the 1980s, it is passed on through sexual contact. Babies can also contract the infection from their mothers before they are born through the amniotic fluid. It is more common in young people and also in people who have unprotected sex and who have multiple sexual partners (though this is true for all STIs). The infection is similar to chlamydia, but is caused by a different bacterium. Past M. gen. cases may have been mistaken for and treated as chlamydia, allowing it to gradual developing resistance to different antibiotics. However, it is possible to have both infections. A test for M. gen. has only been available in the US since 2019. Routine screening is not recommended by CDC. Symptoms include: Bleeding and swollen genitals Urethritis, swelling and irritation of the urethra, making it painful to pee Abnormal discharge Cervical swelling Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in women, causing pain in the lower abdomen and bleeding after sex Advertisement Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in infection diseases at the University of East Anglia in England, told DailyMail.com M. gen has the 'strongest evidence that it causes adverse health outcomes' of any strain of genital mycoplasma. The STI is also difficult to diagnose, meaning it spreads under the radar, he said. Doing something about it is not easy as the infection is pretty common and most infections do not cause adverse health outcomes.' M. gen can result in painful, bleeding and swollen genitals, and even infertility in women. But many people will show no symptoms at all and can carry it for years without realizing. It can be passed on through genital-to-genital contact such as unprotected vaginal or anal sex, as well as mother-to-baby transmission even before birth. The risk of early birth increased nearly twofold in women with M. gen, an analysis of 10 studies in 2021 found. In men, M. gen can cause urethritis, swelling and irritation of the urethra, making it painful to pee, but more research is needed to establish the long-term effects of M. gen infection. It can also cause abnormal discharge for both sexes. Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, told DailyMail.com it is entirely feasible that M. gen becomes completely resistant to antibiotics. However, he said multiple drug resistant strains are probably some way off. He said the silent spread is the problem, as people dont know to go and get tested and they spread it on to somebody else. This means it will continue to become more dominant, and doctors will continue to prescribe antibiotics to treat it, fueling antibiotic resistance and the potential for M. gen. to become a superbug. Superbugs are estimated to kill 7million, either as co-infection or directly, every year. It comes amid soaring STI rates across the board. The rate of chlamydia, the most common STI in the US, has been climbing for over 30 years M. gen., chlamydia and gonorrhea can all be asymptomatic, meaning the STI silently spreads. Gonorrhea rates peaked in the 1970s but still remain high What is antibiotic resistance? Antibiotics have been doled out unnecessarily by doctors for decades, fueling once harmless bacteria to become superbugs. The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously warned if nothing is done the world is heading for a 'post-antibiotic' era. It claimed common infections, such as chlamydia, will become killers without immediate solutions to the growing crisis. Bacteria can become drug resistant when people take incorrect doses of antibiotics or if they are given out unnecessarily. Former UK chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies claimed in 2016 that the threat of antibiotic resistance is as severe as terrorism. Figures estimate that superbugs will kill 10 million people each year by 2050, with patients succumbing to once harmless bugs. Around 700,000 people already die yearly due to drug-resistant infections including tuberculosis (TB), HIV and malaria across the world. Concerns have repeatedly been raised that medicine will be taken back to the 'dark ages' if antibiotics are rendered ineffective in the coming years. In addition to existing drugs becoming less effective, there have only been one or two new antibiotics developed in the last 30 years. In September 2017, the WHO warned antibiotics are 'running out' as a report found a 'serious lack' of new drugs in the development pipeline. Without antibiotics, C-sections, cancer treatments and hip replacements will become incredibly 'risky', it was said at the time. Advertisement But a major study last year found they are the main underlying cause of 1.2million annual deaths globally. This would make superbugs a bigger global killer than AIDS or malaria, which killed 860,000 and 640,000 that year, respectively. In comparison, Covid killed an estimated 3.5million people in 2021. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend routine screening for M. gen. Because the test, known as the Aptima nucleic acid amplification test was only approved in 2019, it has not been rolled out widely and doctors do not need to report cases of the infection. Patients will only be screened for M. gen after persistent symptoms and negative tests for other STIs. This means there is no clear picture of how widespread M. gen is, or who it affects most. But Lisa Manhart, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health, told NBC News that M. gen could be affecting as many as 20 per cent of sexually active women and 17 per cent of men between age 15 and 24. By contrast, the most common STI in the US is chlamydia, with 5 per cent of sexually active women aged 14-24 infected with the STI. If common antibiotics do not work, doctors can use moxifloxacin. This does work but causes significant side effects, including nausea, diarrhoea, dizziness, and vomiting. This means it is not a suitable treatment for everyone, particularly pregnant women. And the more moxifloxacin is used to treat M. gen, the more likely it is to become resistant to that as well. Aside from moxifloxacin, treatment options are limited. The CDC currently recommends testing for antibiotic resistance prior to deciding which drugs to take, but these tests are not approved by the FDA. Just a handful of specialized research centers can test whether the infection is resistant to an antibiotic. Widely available versions of the test could take years, as could antibiotics that work. Meanwhile, during the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conference for prevention of sexually transmitted diseases on Monday, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors David Harvey said the rise in STIs was out of control. Infection rates for STIs including gonorrhea and syphilis have been climbing for years, but last year syphilis cases reached their highest since 1948. Scandal-hit drug giant Biogen will pay nearly $900 million to settle allegations that it bribed doctors to prescribe its multiple sclerosis drugs. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm which turned over $1billion profit last year was charged with offering pricey kickbacks to medics who doled out Avonex, Tysabri and Tecfidera between 2009 and 2014. Biogen was accused of giving medics lavish meals, speaking fees, and sham consulting deals in exchange for the prescriptions. The scheme resulted in false payment claims to the federal healthcare program that covers seniors as well as Medicaid, which covers the very poor and disabled. The bribery charges were raised by former employee Michael Bawduniak, who argued Biogen violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act. He will receive about $250million for his role in bringing the allegations to light. It is unclear how many prescriptions were affected. But around 200,000 Americans take MS medication. The Cambridge-based biotech company agreed to pay $900M to settle claims it bribed doctors to overprescribe its drugs for multiple sclerosis. Biogen's Avonex is an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat MS. The settlement announced today underscores the critical role that whistleblowers play in complementing the United States use of the False Claims Act to combat fraud affecting federal health care programs, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Departments Civil Division. Biogen will also be compelled to pay the federal government $844,000 in addition to $56m to 15 states that joined the lawsuit. What is multiple sclerosis? MS is a severe disease in which the body's own immune system attacks the central nervous system. It occurs when the immune system attacks myelin sheathing surrounding health nerve cells. The immune system's attack on the CNS results in nerve damage that disrupts communication between the brain and the body. MS can cause myriad symptoms such as fatigue, blurred vision or loss of vision, weakness, and numbness. Advertisement We thank Mr Bawduniak for uncovering this behavior and bringing it to light, said US Attorney Rachael S. Rollins for the District of Massachusetts. This matter is an important example of the vital role that whistleblowers and their attorneys can play in protecting our nations public health care programs, Rollins added. Multiple sclerosis is a serious disease in which the bodys own immune system attacks the central nervous system, having deleterious effects on the brain, optic nerves, and spinal cord. The resulting nerve damage disrupts communication between the brain and the body and can result in permanent disability. There is no cure for MS though there are several available treatments. Mondays settlement is the latest setback for Biogen, which suffered a considerable blow last winter when Medicare, a program with around 65 million enrollees, announced it would cover the cost of a costly Alzheimers drug in very limited circumstances. The monthly intravenous drug Aduhelm was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in June 2021 against the counsel of 10 out of 11 of the FDAs panel of independent experts who argued that scant evidence that the treatment works to slow cognitive decline did not outweigh the health risks. The drug was expected to be out of reach for many patients due to its staggering price tag. Biogen initially priced the drug at $56,000 for a years supply but halved that price amid outrage over the cost and its implications for increased Medicare premiums overall. Biogen did not admit wrongdoing in the case that was settled this week, maintaining that its intent and conduct was at all times lawful and appropriate and Biogen denies all allegations raised in this case. Alexa, Siri and Google Home might be making children less intelligent and socially stunted, it was claimed today. The voice-controlled devices popular in homes across the world allow users to ask questions and receive answers. But this may impede youngster's learning skills, critical thinking and empathy, says Dr Anmol Arora, a researcher at Cambridge University. Dr Anmol Arora, a researcher at Cambridge University, says this is down to the tech only offering short and concise answers to questions, inappropriate responses and being unable to give feedback on their social skills. Pictured: Amazon Echo HOW COULD SMART DEVICES AFFECT CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT? Alexa, Siri and Google Home might be making children less intelligent and socially stunted, according to an artificial intelligence expert. The voice-controlled devices which allow users to ask questions and receive answers may impede youngster's learning skills, critical thinking and empathy. Dr Anmol Arora, a researcher at Cambridge University, says this is down to the tech only offering short and concise answers to questions, inappropriate responses and being unable to give feedback on their social skills. On top of his concerns, the tech has previously come under fire after studies showed just how reliant children were on them. One found that children speak to their Alexa, Siri or Google Home more than their grandparents. Results from a survey of 1,200 six to 11-year-olds in the UK show that they youngsters use the devices every day compared to speaking to their grandparents once every 10 days. The same poll found that nearly three quarters admitted that they didn't say 'please' or 'thank you' when speaking to the smart speakers. And one in three said they turned to their device for answers rather than their parents. Additionally, parents have reported turning to the devices to read their children bedtime stories. Neuroscience and education experts have raised concerns that the tech risks becoming a 'substitute for human interaction'. Advertisement Writing in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, Dr Arora warned that the devices may make youngsters less intelligent. Children can ask a question and receive a 'concise' and 'specific' answer but this goes against how they traditionally learn and absorb information, he said. For comparison, when an adult responds to a youngster's question, they can add context, explain the limits of their knowledge and unpick the child's reasoning. But smart devices can't replicate this process, Dr Arora argued. And easy access to answers may result in children not searching for the information themselves a process required for them to learn critical thinking and logical reasoning, he said. The tech may also give children inappropriate and potentially dangerous responses. Dr Arora pointed to reports of Amazon's Alexa telling a 10-year-old to plug in a phone charge halfway and touch a coin to the exposed prongs. He noted that it is difficult to monitor responses and enforce 'robust parental controls on such devices without severely affecting their functionality'. The devices also raise privacy concerns by recording children's conversations, according to Dr Arora. On top of potentially being inappropriate for children, the tech may hinder their social development, he said. This is because the voice assistants can't teach children how to behave politely, because there is no need to say 'please' or 'thank you' or use a considerate tone of voice, Dr Arora said. He noted: 'The lack of ability to engage in non-verbal communication makes use of the devices a poor method of learning social interaction. 'While in normal human interactions, a child would usually receive constructive feedback if they were to behave inappropriately, this is beyond the scope of a smart device.' And while some research suggests the voice assistants can tackle loneliness among adults, this may not apply to children. He noted: 'This is particularly important at a time when children might already have had social development impaired as a result of Covid restrictions and when [they] might have been spending more time isolated with smart devices at home.' Dr Arora noted that the devices benefit the population by providing quick information, assisting with daily actives and offering companionship to lonely adults. But he called for 'urgent research' into the long-term consequence for children who interact with the tech. He added: 'Interacting with the devices at a crucial stage in social and emotional development might have long-term consequences on empathy, compassion, and critical thinking.' But other experts hit back at the conclusions. Dr Amy Orben, a brain scientist at the University of Cambridge, said: 'This academic paper does not provide any novel evidence about the impact of voice assistants on children. 'It is an opinion piece, and its argument rests largely on news reports and anecdotal evidence, citing extremely little scientific evidence. 'Most concerns that are highlighted by this article are only backed up by news reports, and not by scientific evidence. Scientifically, little is known about the impact of voice assistants on children. 'The impacts of voice assistants are probably mixed and very dependent on how they are used by children.' A spokesperson for Amazon said: 'Alexa is designed to provide accurate and helpful information. 'Many of our customers have told us that Amazon Kids on Alexa, Echo Dot Kids and Kids Skills are helping their children, including those with autism and ADHD. 'Our Amazon Kids service on Alexa provides parental controls which help parents manage the ways their children interact with technology and serves age appropriate content. 'We also offer polite mode which encourages children to say please" and "thank you" when speaking to Alexa. 'We believe voice technology will be a big part of the future and our goal is to provide an educational experience for kids combined with controls that give parents peace of mind.' Voice assistant devices have previously come under fire after studies showed just how reliant children were on them. One found that children speak to their Alexa, Siri or Google Home more than their grandparents. Results from a survey of 1,200 six to 11-year-olds in the UK show that they youngsters use the devices every day compared to speaking to their grandparents once every 10 days. The same poll found that nearly three quarters admitted that they didn't say 'please' or 'thank you' when speaking to the smart speakers. And one in three said they turned to their device for answers rather than their parents. Additionally, parents have reported turning to the devices to read their children bedtime stories. Neuroscience and education experts have raised concerns that the tech risks becoming a 'substitute for human interaction'. Balfour Beatty has been chosen again as the sole contractor for two UK civil engineering contracts worth a total 4billion. The infrastructure firm will work with UK local authorities and government agencies to build local highways and deliver other projects across multiple sectors, including marine and defence. The HS2 and Hinkley Point C contractor said the deals cover the next four years, with the first expected to be awarded from early 2021. Balfour Beatty was already awarded public civil engineering contracts by Scape in 2015 One of the contracts covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is worth 3.25billion, the other is for the whole of Scotland and is worth 750million. 'Both frameworks - which enable local authorities and other public sector bodies to commission works through a procurement process that provides a quick route to market - cover a period of four years, with an option for a two year extension,' the company said. 'Utilising early contractor engagement, Balfour Beatty will ensure that the best value design solutions are in place, driving efficiencies and helping to transform local communities and support both regional and national economic growth.' Public sector procurement authority Scape had appointed the FTSE 250-listed firm to deliver civil engineering projects worth over 3billion already in 2015. Balfour Beatty said that since then it has 'delivered or is delivering' over 285 projects for 96 public sector customers across the UK. Mark Robinson, chief executive at Scape, said: 'The strength of our partnership with Balfour Beatty has accelerated the delivery of much needed civil engineering infrastructure via our direct award framework and I have no doubt that this will continue to be achieved through the civil engineering framework over the next four years.' Balfour Beatty chief executive, Leo Quinn, said: 'With a long-standing history of successful delivery through the SCAPE Group frameworks, we now look forward to continuing on this positive trajectory; working with our customers to drive forward innovative, sustainable projects across the length and breadth of the UK.' Balfour Beatty shares rose 1 per cent to 325p in morning trading on Tuesday. They are around 18 per cent higher than a year ago. Last month, the group posted a bumper rise in first-half profit and hiked its interim dividend. As bills soar, tracking your energy usage has never been more important. With this in mind, Money Mail last week posed the question: Is it finally time to get a smart meter? Well, readers have now had their say and their answer is a resounding no. Smart meters are supposed to automatically send readings to your provider to ensure that bills are accurate. Households are also given a small monitor that should show how much power they are using in real time. Boiling over: Our postbag has been bulging with letters and emails from readers who say their smart meter gadgets just aren't fit for purpose Yet, over the past week, our postbag has been bulging with letters and emails from readers who say their gadgets just arent fit for purpose. Many claim the installation was botched or that the technology has never worked because the mobile signal where they live is too weak. Others are furious because the monitors that are supposed to help them keep on top of usage are faulty and routinely show the wrong information. Some suppliers have even failed to update the figures displayed to reflect increased prices. As a result, customers are being hit by bigger bills than expected. And despite pestering customers to upgrade their meter, providers have shown little interest in resolving these problems with one reader forced to wait three years for a replacement. Its little wonder households are furious that the cost of the roll-out which has topped 13 billion already is being added to their bills. As one reader put it: With the need to replace obsolete and defective meters, the costs are escalating so perhaps it should be borne by energy supplier profits. Money Mail was so concerned by the sheer volume of your complaints that we have handed over a dossier to industry watchdog Ofgem for further investigation. A spokesman for the regulator says: We thank Money Mail for this information. Protecting consumers is our top priority and we want customers to be able to reap the benefits that smart meters can bring. We engage regularly with suppliers and take enforcement action where this is appropriate. Signalling chaos Smart meters run on 2G and 3G networks older versions of the systems that connect your mobile phone to the internet when not using a WiFi connection. But experts say this plan was always flawed because it can be difficult for the signal to permeate certain buildings especially those with thick walls. One reader told Money Mail an EDF Energy engineer said it would always be a struggle to fit a smart meter in her 1950s property due to the way it was built. Rural areas can be problematic owing to a lack of network coverage. And another Mail reader, Steve Fletcher, has never been able to make his gas meter work since he first had the device installed and has regularly flagged up the problem. His supplier, Bulb, says this is thought to be down to a poor mobile signal. Roll-out: Problems with smart meters are only set to worsen as telecoms firms prepare to replace 2G and 3G networks with the faster-paced 4G and 5G by 2033 The 71-year-old from Leeds, says: My next-door neighbour is with Bulb as well and shes had the same problem with her meter which shes had for two years. It feels like the rollout has been rushed. They had that many targets to hit that they have not commissioned them properly. As with everything in life, if a company supplies you with something that is faulty, it should be replaced or repaired. After being contacted by Money Mail, Bulb has agreed to refit a new meter at Mr Fletchers home. However, the energy firm says that this will not be possible if the problem is down to signalling. My gas bill was triple what the meter said Shock: Jane McMahon's British Gas bill was three times higher than her smart meter had predicted Jane McMahon, left, was horrified when her British Gas bill was three times higher than her smart meter predicted. The 72-year-old, from south London, had the device installed in January. It was reading the amount of energy used correctly, but had not accounted for a change in tariff prices meaning the amount she had to pay was inaccurate on the display. Jane says: We receive bills bi-annually so it took us until May to realise. I was horrified. Our gas alone was 600 I had expected 200, based on our meter readings. After being contacted by Money Mail, British Gas arranged to update the tariff details on Janes meter. Botched work Scores of households say they were told on the day of their installation that the tech might not work, with engineers warning of rising complaints. In one of the worst cases, a 93-year-old Ovo customer lost her electricity supply after getting a smart meter. She had to pay 118.80 to an electrician, who said the installer had failed to turn on two control switches. She told Money Mail: My husband and I cannot afford to lose this amount of money through no fault of our own. An Ovo spokesman says the money has since been refunded. Readers say they are also struggling to get broken smart meters fixed despite chasing suppliers. Energy firms have been set strict installation targets which they must meet or face big fines. But once the device is fitted, households say they feel they are no longer a priority. British Gas customer Pat Thwaites has been waiting for three years to get her smart meter replaced. In the meantime she has to rely on someone from the firm taking readings from her old meter, which she cannot reach. The 83-year-old, from Essex, says: It would be really useful to know what Im spending on my gas and electricity. Each time I call British Gas they tell me something different. The supplier admits her complaints were not followed up. It will fit new meters next month. Pensioner Sue Thurley, of Ware, Hertfordshire, says her gas display monitor has never worked and does not show how much she is spending. She says: The situation has caused my husband and I much anxiety. I am fed up with phoning and emailing Scottish Power all the time asking them to fix it. But were worried well be landed with a big bill. A Scottish Power spokesman says: We regret any inconvenience Mrs Thurley has experienced. We have organised for an engineer to replace her faulty meter. Peace of mind: Smart meters are supposed to automatically send readings to your provider to ensure that bills are accurate Obsolete tech Problems with smart meters are only set to worsen as telecoms firms prepare to replace 2G and 3G networks with the faster-paced 4G and 5G by 2033. Experts warn this could cause millions of the devices to stop working. Nick Hunn, of wireless consultancy firm WiFore, says: Energy companies were told back in 2012 they were designing equipment with technology that was already becoming obsolete. But they were like rabbits in the headlights. It comes after providers were slammed for initially installing millions of older Smets1 devices in homes, which go dumb if you switch supplier. They are now rolling out a newer Smets2 model, which should continue to work. A Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spokesman says: We are working with industry to ensure smart gas and electricity meters can remain in place as we move away from the 2G and 3G networks. A spokesman for campaign body Smart Energy GB says: The vast majority of smart meters are operating as they should. The smart meter roll-out is the biggest upgrade to our energy system in a generation so its inevitable there will be temporary technical issues to overcome along the way. h.kelly@dailymail.co.uk I hope you can help me obtain a refund from Imagine Cruising after health problems prevented my wife and I from travelling to Australia for a reunion with friends in Perth. This was supposed to be followed by a trip on the Indian Pacific train to Sydney, then a cruise around New Zealand. When we booked the 21,000 holiday in May 2020, with a deposit of 7,562, we were fit, well and fully covered by a travel policy from AXA through my former employer. Deposit: A couple have been left 7,500 out of pocket after they were forced to cancel a 21,000 cruise holiday Covid intervened, and Imagine offered to delay the holiday by a year. Then Covid intervened again and it was agreed to delay the booking by another year, to November 2022. Meanwhile, AXA stopped providing travel insurance, so we had to find another insurer, which we did. But unlike our AXA policy, it would not cover pre-existing medical conditions. In April this year, my annual scan and biopsy for prostate cancer revealed that an original diagnosis, in 2018, of low-grade and non-aggressive cancer, had changed, with the cancer becoming aggressive and starting to spread. I was given a date in July for the removal of my prostate. Around the same time, my wife required a full hip replacement. As both operations require months of recovery, we decided it was not possible to go on our trip and decided not to pay the balance. But we were shocked when Imagine refused to refund our deposit. When we booked the holiday we were fit and fully covered with travel insurance. It was not our doing that AXA discontinued cover. We cannot afford so much money. D. M., Scarborough. Sally Hamilton replies: You and your wife have certainly hit rough waters with your health recently. You hoped Imagine Cruising would be more understanding about your situation, especially when you explained that you took out comprehensive cover at the start of the booking process and it wasn't your fault it could not continue. Scam watch Beware scammers posing as family and friends. TSB has reported a 58 per cent increase in so-called mum and dad scams since last year. Crooks will typically use social media apps usually WhatsApp to impersonate loved ones who claim they urgently need cash to cover bills or other expenses. Victims typically receive a message from a new number alongside a plausible story for why it has changed. After striking up conversation, an emotive request for payment is then sent through made more believable and pressing due to the current economic climate. TSB says the average victim lost 1,500. But in one recent case, a scammer tried to steal 9,500. Had it not been for Covid, your trip would have gone ahead on the planned date, before you and your wife's health began to fail. Moving the trip yet again, which Imagine did offer to do, was clearly not a suitable option. Your cancer operation (from which you are now slowly recovering) and your wife's hip replacement are serious procedures for people in their 70s like you. I asked Imagine if it would reconsider its decision to decline the refund. The spokesperson explained the cancellation fees you faced reflected the charges that have been imposed on the firm by its own suppliers, including the cruise line, airline, train operator and other providers. 'Normally, these losses would be covered by the customers' insurance, but I understand the unique situation these customers find themselves in,' she told me, and went off to investigate your case. Later that day, she returned with the splendid news that Imagine had decided to arrange a full refund as a 'gesture of goodwill'. She added: 'The processes we follow can sometimes be complex, depending on individual itineraries and suppliers involved. 'In this instance, the processes did not fully allow for (these customers') specific and exceptional circumstances to be adequately considered.' You were both 'over the moon' at this news and, as a thank you for my involvement, have donated a portion of the refund to your local Macmillan Cancer Support. I wish you both a speedy recovery. Straight to the point I received an email purporting to be from TV Licensing, claiming my licence is due for renewal. I know scammers often pose as this body, so how can I tell whether it is legitimate? F.P., London. TV Licensing has confirmed that the email you received is genuine, but it was sensible to check. If you have any doubts in the future, sign in to your account online through (tvlicensing.co.uk), or call 0300 303 9695. *** My 95-year-old mother was given several Sainsburys gift cards before the Coronavirus pandemic. Because she was shielding, due to her age, she was unable to use them and they have expired. Sainsburys has said it will not extend the date on expired gift cards. J.D., via email. Sainsbury's agreed to reconsider your case and has now refunded you the full amount as a gesture of goodwill. *** I had a dispute with Sky after falling behind on four mobile phone bills during the pandemic. My complaint to the Financial Ombudsman was upheld and Sky was told to remove any black marks from my credit file. But these have reappeared. D.B., Pontwalby, Neath. Sky claims this can sometimes happen. It has now removed them and added a special instruction to your file to ensure that they do not pop up again. *** A friend paid 48 into my old PayPal account, but I no longer have the login details and cant change the password because it is linked to an old phone number. I am struggling to get through to PayPal. H.K, via email. PayPal has now helped you reset your account details so that you can log in and retrieve your cash. Can't claim my German pension In the 1980s, I worked as a translator in the legal department of a supermarket group in Germany and paid into that country's state pension scheme. On applying for my British state pension earlier this year, I completed a form that asked if I had ever worked overseas. I gave details of my stint in Germany. I then received forms from the German pension authorities, confirming I was entitled to a pension from them. As requested, I provided details of my UK bank account into which the pension is to be paid. The form required a stamp from my bank, HSBC (I've been a customer for 22 years), to confirm I hold this account. When I requested it be stamped it is in English as well as German the cashier said it cannot stamp a document not generated by HSBC. A manager confirmed this is company policy due to fraud. I explained this to the German authorities, who confirmed that they will not accept the form unless stamped by the receiving bank, also to avoid fraud. I have reached stalemate and am unable to receive my pension. M. S., Monmouthshire Pension problems: Our reader has been trying to claim a German pension, but has run into trouble trying to get the form rubber stamped by her UK bank Sally Hamilton replies: You are in a Catch-22 situation. The German pension authorities won't issue your pension without a stamped form due to the risk of fraud, and HSBC won't stamp the form for the same reason. I asked HSBC to help resolve your conundrum. It apologised and suggested it could issue you with a letter instead. A spokesman says: 'Fraudsters are criminals who use techniques to dupe people and steal money, and there is a real risk of a replica stamp being used on documents they have created to suggest they are 'true and original'. 'We have seen this in the past. As such, this is not a service we have provided for well over a decade. The policy protects consumers and businesses who may be the target of fraud, as well as protecting the bank and its employees.' Sadly, the promise of a letter was not enough for the Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund (equivalent of our Department for Work and Pensions), which still demanded a stamp. In the end, HSBC agreed to stamp your form, despite its strict rules. It said it was pleased to have 'found a solution'. Your endeavours to secure your German pension continued, however. The pensions officials also require evidence of your attendance at Leeds University, from where you graduated with a degree in German in 1978. You finally received this paperwork last week and posted it off. You don't expect a huge boost to your income but in the current climate, every little helps. The chairman of AJ Bell, Helena Morrissey, has resigned after just nine months following a dispute with regulators over the future role of its founder. Andy Bell, who set up the firm in 1995 and built it into one of Britains biggest investment platforms, announced in June he would step down as chief executive and become non-executive deputy chairman. But the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) objected to his new position on the grounds it would pose a risk to effective board governance if Bell as a former boss and major shareholder remained on the board after stepping down. Dispute: Helena Morrissey (pictured) said she would stand down once a replacement was found for Andy Bell who announced in June that he will quit as chief exec The FCA indicated its stance was consistent with previous messages given to other firms. As a result, Morrissey had said she would stand down once a replacement was found. She told the Financial Times it was the right thing to do to step aside and let the board draw a line under this. Bell, who owns nearly 23 per cent of the firm, said he accepted the FCAs view and would step down. He will retain the right to nominate a non-executive director. The FCA approved deputy chief executive Michael Summersgill as successor. He will take on the role next month, as AJ Bell and its rivals struggle to retain customers as households cut back due to the cost of living squeeze. During a subsequent raid of a known gang member, Kozlowski found a fresh human skull: 'There was still material on it, some bits of maybe hair and flesh' The podcast lifts the lids on the dark practices of the Vagos, where women are considered 'property' and black people are explicitly not allowed in the clubhouse His first assignment was to investigate LA's viscous motorcycle club known as 'the Vagos' which he said were involved in Kozlowski - also known as Koz - worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for 29 years until he retired in 2017 A new Audible podcast chronicles the life of Darrin Kozlowski, an undercover law enforcement agent who infiltrated America's most ruthless biker gangs Advertisement Darrin Kozlowski immediately knew something was wrong when 'Lars,' the menacing leader of a local biker gang showed up at the front door of his North Hollywood apartment demanding answers. Kozlowski (also known as 'Koz') had spent the last seven months of his life slowly infiltrating and earning the trust of LA's most ruthless motorcycle club the Vagos. At that moment, he knew his cover had been blown... and that the man standing in front of him was capable of seeking violent, deadly revenge. For almost three decades, Kozlowski, 57, worked as an undercover agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). His expertise in covert operations resulted in 157 federal arrests over the course of his decorated career before he retired in 2017. Kozlowski's infiltration of the Vagos was his first long-term undercover case as a rookie cop, but his career would ultimately see him exposing the heinous crimes of multiple biker gangs across the US. Still, the former ATF agent says the Vagos 'were as bad as outlaw motorcycle gangs got.' 'We're talking about drug running, illegal weapons sales, and any other moneymaking schemes,' he said. The Vagos 'were a tight-knit brotherhood known for their wild parties, drinking, prostitution, counterfeiting, drugs, you name an illegal activity and they're probably doing it,' he told LA Magazine in 2018. Now his story is the focus of a new scripted Audible Original podcast titled, KOZ, starring Taylor Kitsch and Kate Mara as the lead voiceover actors, combined with interviews with the real-life Darrin 'Koz' Kozlowski. For the safety of his own and those who are still active in the field, Kozlowski is not at liberty to speak freely about his time spent working undercover for the ATF. But he is candid about his experience with the Los Angeles Vagos a case that he says nearly 'got him killed.' 'KOZ', a new Audible Original podcast details the true story of how special agent Darrin Kozlowski (right) infiltrated and climbed the ranks of America's most notorious and ruthless biker gangs, while working undercover for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The podcast details Kozlowski's first long-term undercover case as a rookie cop, infiltrating Los Angeles' most dangerous and criminal biker gang known as 'the Vagos' - which he said has 'a long history of violence and shootings, stabbings and murders, dope dealing, gun running and plenty of other crimes' The Audible series uses a unique mix of interviews with the real-life Darrin 'Koz' Kozlowski (center) and dramatized reenactments featuring a full cast which includes Taylor Kitsch (left), and Kate Mara It was 1997 and Kozlowski had recently transferred to Los Angeles from ATF's Milwaukee office with a wife, a child, and another baby on the way. He grew up in Chicago's tough South Side and attended Western Illinois University where he got his bachelor's degree in Law Enforcement. By the time he was reassigned to the West Coast, Kozlowski had taken an interest in biker gangs and proposed to his bosses that he investigate the groups running the greater Los Angeles region. Working undercover in that field was still a fledgling program at the ATF, and there wasn't a lot of official protocol or precedent when it came to infiltrating motorcycle clubs. 'A tight-knit brotherhood of criminals': Who are the Vagos? The Vagos are an outlaw motorcycle gang that started in the Los Angeles Inland Empire in 1965. Like the Hells Angels, the first motorcycle clubs were started by veterans, returning home from World War II. Vagos is Spanish slang for 'vagrant' or 'vagabond' someone who does nothing all day. They are known for wearing the color green, which according to some sources is an homage to the Mexican heritage of their founding member. The Vagos insignia is a large green image of Loki, the Norse god of mischief - typically worn as a patch on the back of their biker vests. They also wear a '1%' patch to symbolize that 'they don't live like the other 99% of all motorcycle enthusiasts' and that don't follow the normal rules of society. The gang is often affiliated with the number 22 which is after the 22nd letter of the alphabet, V, for Vagos. Today the group has over 4,000 members across 200 chapters throughout the US and Mexico. According to law enforcement, they are violent and dangerous, with known involvements in murder, racketeering, robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault, gun running and drug dealing. Advertisement He had no cover team, and his only support would be a few contacts at the LA Sheriff's Department. As part of the job, Kozlowski looked and acted the part: 'I learned to ride on a friend's Honda, then managed to get a Harley that ATF had seized, a Fat Boy with straight handlebars, no windshield, no saddlebags,' he told Los Angeles Magazine in 2018. 'I rode to biker bars and events. I let my hair grow, dressed the part, tried to understand the scene.' Vagos is Spanish slang for 'vagrant' or 'vagabond' someone who does nothing all day. The group originally started in 1965 out of the Inland Empire and today boasts 200 chapters across the United States and is over 4,000 members strong. They're unabashedly sexist, misogynist, homophobic and virulently racist. Though technically Hispanics are allowed in the club, black people are persona non grata. Women are considered property and aim to please. Those assigned are marked by a patch that says 'property of' followed by the biker's name who owns them. When Kozlowski started following the Vagos in the late 1990s, he had suspected they were behind a slew of unresolved murders, but he soon discovered that they were involved in racketeering, distributing meth from Mexico, buying and selling illegal weapons, money laundering, and counterfeiting. And they were growing fast. 'That's the outlaw motorcycle gang way,' says Kozlowski. 'Recruit, grow, and take over more territory by any means necessary.' The biker uniform is always a denim or leather vest. The Vagos logo on the back of their riding vests an unmistakable totem in the insular, hierarchical world of motorcycle clubs is 'Loki' the demonic looking Norse god of mischief. They also proudly wear a green diamond shape patch that reads '1%' which is to advertise 'that they don't live like the other 99% of all motorcycle enthusiasts,' Kozlowski says in the podcast. 'They're telling everyone that they don't follow the rules of society and that's why they embrace the term outlaw. They do that for a reason, they want everyone to know that they don't give a f*** about what you think.' Only full-fledged Vagos members are entitled to wear the Loki logo, and you don't get patched in without a lot of vetting. Kozlowski had his work cut out for him. He introduced himself to the Hollywood chapter of Vagos using his real nickname, Koz. 'I figured if anyone asked, I could say that it was short for 'Kamikaze' because of how I rode my Harley or some b******t like that,' he told LA Magazine. 'I wanted a name that I responded to instinctively.' The clubhouse was located in the heart of Hollywood on a side street called Kenmore Avenue. The white cinder block building with no windows was built like a fortress with a heavily fortified steel door and chain link fence with razor wire looping around the top. Inside where they threw a regular party called 'Green Hell' that went from 2am till 6am was a fully kitted-out bar with tables, chairs, stripper poles and a sound system. The Vagos logo is 'Loki' the demonic looking Norse god of mischief. Only full-fledged Vagos members are entitled to wear the patch on the back of their biker vests Their club color is green, which is why they are sometimes known as 'The Green Nation.' Even though green is considered bad luck amongst most bikers (because it symbolizes the grass on the ground), for the Vagos its an homage to their founders' Mexican heritage Vagos is Spanish slang for 'vagrant' or 'vagabond' someone who does nothing all day. The group originally started in 1965 out of the Inland Empire and today boasts 200 chapters across the United States and is over 4,000 members strong The first outlaw biker gangs were started by veterans returning home from World War II. The Vagos (pictured above sometime during the 1970s) formed as an offshoot of another gang known as the Psychos in 1965. They are known for their bloody rivalry with the Hells Angels While Hispanics are allowed to join the club, the Vagos have a long history of racism where black people are persona non grata. Women are considered property and are assigned to male members with a patch that says 'property of' - followed by the biker's name who 'owns' them The first step is to be admitted as a 'hang around' which means you're allowed to 'hang around' the clubhouse doing chores, working the door at parties and restocking the bar. 'If they liked you, you could ride with them sometimes,' said Kozlowski in the podcast. Once someone earns their keep, they are promoted to 'prospect' which essentially means 'they own you.' As an official prospect, you get the 'bottom rocker,' which is the first of three patches worn on the Vagos vest. 'If you survive that, they take a vote and if you measured up, you get promoted to full patch,' he explains in the podcast. 'That's when you're allowed to attend 'church' and you're finally privy to all the inner workings of the club.' 'Church' is what outlaw motorcycle gangs call weekly chapter meetings. Kozlowski's first setback on the job happened when an informant he had been cultivating by the name of 'Junior' died in a brutal hit and run accident on Sunset Boulevard. 'Junior wasn't an official hang-around, but I was playing the long game: I wanted him to get his patch, and he'd be able to vouch for me so I could try to get my patch, too.' Later, it would be Kozlowski's affiliation to Junior that would eventuate his downfall and cover being blown within Vagos. After four months as a 'hang around,' Kozlowski remembers the first time he was invited to an officer's meeting in Las Vegas. 'They ride in tight formation, wheel to wheel and basically shoulder to shoulderranking members up front, rank-and-file in the middle, followed by prospects, and finally the hang-arounds in the back, choking on exhaust and dust,' he recalled. It was there, in a rented VFW hall that he was invited to apply as an official prospect. 'Are you willing to kill for the club?' they asked. As part of the process, they do background checks, ask for Social Security numbers, a driver's license and a fee which goes toward a private investigator. 'Outlaw biker gangs make the path to membership pretty d*** official,' he said. After a few 'head games,' Kozlowski was finally given the bottom rocker of the patch that says 'SoCal' on it. They told him he had 30 minutes to get it sewn on his vest. It wasnt some fake souvenir skull that you could buy in a shopit was fresh. There was still material on it, some bits of maybe hair and flesh. Later, he said, while embedded with the Warlocks, he was ordered to carry around a sewing kit. 'I think one-percenters are the only outlaws on the planet who keep a needle and thread handy.' 'Once you earn prospect status, you're actually taking a step backwards because now you belong to them,' he told Audible. 'They don't even call you by your name anymore, you are just "prospect."' And thus began Koz's intense hazing process, where he was expected to be at the beck and call of higher ups. 'They're gonna push you to the limit of you what you could and would not do.' 'They called me a lot,' he told LA Magazine. 'It could be anything from, "Hey, prospect, cut my grass," or "Hey, prospect, take this package over to Big Rick's place." 'Saying "no" wasn't an option.' One of Kozlowski's first rookie mistakes was that he forgot to make up a real job as part of his phony backstory, 'They figured I had loads of free time when, really, I had a family at home.' Balancing family life with work proved to be one of the most challenging aspects of going undercover. 'You actually have three lives: your undercover persona, your family persona, and the persona as a law enforcement officer, doing the paperwork and acting like a respectable civil servant.' Kozlowski's work as an undercover agent led to a massive raid on the Vagos gang that uncovered illegal guns and drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamines. The operation was designed to behead the leadership of the notorious motorcycle club and resulted in ten arrests of members suspected of drug trafficking and a rash violence that included the murder of a rival Hells Angel member 'They ride in tight formation' organized by ranking members in the gang, said Kozlowski to LA Magazine. The top brass leads the front, followed by rank-and-file members in the middle. Unvetted potential members known as 'prospects' hang-around the back, 'choking on exhaust and dust.' Kozlowski spent seven months earning the trust of the group and rising through its ranks before he was finally given his official patch Part of the Vagos insignia is a diamond-shaped patch that reads '1 %' It symbolizes that 'they don't live like the other 99% of all motorcycle enthusiasts,' said Kozlowski. 'They're telling everyone that they don't follow the rules of society and that's why they embrace the term outlaw. They do that for a reason, they want everyone to know that they don't give a f*** about what you think' The first motorcycle clubs were started by veterans, returning home from World War II. 'That explains the military-like structure, the rules and bylaws and the hierarchy of ranks in the clubs,' said Kozlowski. Local chapters are organized by a chain of command that includes a president, vice president, secretary and sergeant of arms At the time, Kozlowski was living out of a rented Hollywood apartment six nights out of the week while his family (which included a wife, toddler and baby on the way) lived in the suburbs of Simi Valley. 'My wife and family knew, but they didn't always get all the specific details,' he told DailyMail.com. Neighbors thought he worked long hours at LAX in baggage services. Meanwhile, he was missing important milestones in his children's lives while at the whim of the Vagos. He told DailyMail.com, 'Adopting a certain look that doesn't fit into the norm was always a challenge. Some people would question what type of person I was and judge me when they didn't know me.' His long shaggy hair, goatee, grubby clothes, steel-toed boots and full sleeve of tattoos did not jibe well with the suburban set. 'Being around criminals who you know have the capability to commit murder at any given moment is pretty intense when you are constantly thinking your cover could get blown. 'I can't tell you how many times I showed up at my kids' school functions only to see parents and teachers shy away from me. If I wanted to lie low, I'd dress a bit nicer, but I was hardly clean-cut,' he explained to LA Magazine. 'Luckily my wife was a sweetheart and people would trust her, then it would slowly flow into me.' Dealing with management wasn't a walk in the park either. 'They wanted results faster than I could deliver, and they didn't understandnot in any real waythat every time I was with the Vagos I could have wound up dead.' He came very close one time while working the front door at a Green Hell party when a guy from the rival Armenian Power gang put up a fight after they tried to throw him out. 'I knew I had to put hands on him to avoid blowing my cover,' said Koz, who escorted the hoodlum to the street with a couple of Vagos bikers to 'smash' his head into a parked car. A few days later, during church, Koz was outside the gate when a bullets started whizzing past his head from a drive-by shooting. 'There are too many scary moments to list, but almost getting shot was one of the scariest,' he told DailyMail.com. 'I felt helpless in the moment, but wasn't thinking too much other than I was lucky to still be alive after the shooting incident.' He added: 'Just constantly being around criminals who you know have the capability to commit murder at any given moment is pretty intense when you are constantly thinking your cover could get blown.' Kozlowski had an ATF cover team in place 'maybe 60 per cent' of the time. 'But,' he adds, 'a cover team can't really save you in this type of role; it just keeps an eye out from time to time and cleans up if things go bad.' Most of his time with the Vagos was spent delivering packages (usually illegal guns and drugs), from Point A to Point B. He took mental notes of every movement, conversation, address, licenses plate, and the names of the top brass. 'The only reason it didn't drive me insane was because I was too busy trying to juggle it all, to keep it straight and survive,' he says in LA Mag. 'The Vagos were as bad as outlaw motorcycle gangs got,' said Kozlowski. 'They were a tight knit brotherhood known for their wild parties, drinking, prostitution, counterfeiting, drugs, you name an illegal activity and theyre probably doing it' 'I rode to biker bars and events. I let my hair grow, dressed the part, tried to understand the scene,' said Kozlowski of his undercover work, which often became problematic when he went back to his normal life as a father of two, living in the suburbs where his goatee, grubby clothes, steel-toed boots and full sleeve of tattoos stood out. 'I can't tell you how many times I showed up at my kids' school functions only to see parents and teachers shy away from me' Kozlowski told LA Magazine that one of the most challenging aspects of going undercover for long periods of time is balancing different personalities. 'You actually have three lives: your undercover persona, your family persona, and the persona as a law enforcement officer, doing the paperwork and acting like a respectable civil servant' At the time, the head of the entire Vagos organization was a scraggly-haired, bald-domed guy called 'Whitey' who was in his fifties and wore a cowboy hat and Fu Manchu. He once made Kozlowski film and sell videos of him riding around on a motorcycle. They did anything to make money for the gang. 'We took the tapes to ATF, got some cash, and brought it back to Whitey,' said Koz. Kozlowski also recalls the time he got arrested by LAPD for causing trouble at the local watering hole of a rival gang while working undercover with the Vagos. 'I was the only guy who got arrested, and I had to make it look legit.' He was cuffed for carrying a gun (his service weapon), that was tucked into his waist belt. He came clean with his true identity to officers once he was in his jail cell, but only that proved to be the easiest part. Koz knew that 'Tiny Dan,' a high-ranking Vagos member who also worked as a juvenile probation officer had a contact at the front desk of the police station. 'A fingerprint check would have turned up my real identity because it's cross-referenced with an FBI database,' he explains. 'If she'd gotten my real identity, she could've spilled the beans.' Luckily, Tiny Dan was none the wiser and bailed him out the next morning. On the backend, the ATF organized with the judge to go along with the ruse and 'make things look by the numbers.' In court, Koz was sentenced to two years probation for carrying a concealed weapon. The whole episode, he said, 'gave me more street cred.' The first motorcycle clubs were started by veterans, returning home from World War II. 'That explains the military-like structure, the rules and bylaws and the hierarchy of ranks in the clubs,' says Koz in the podcast. Local chapters are organized by a chain of command that includes a president, vice president, secretary and sergeant of arms. 'Outlaw biker gangs are the only truly homegrown American made criminal organization.' 'All the other criminal elements we see here in the United States the Italian mafia, Japanese Yakuza, the Chinese Triad,came imported from other countries. Biker gangs are homegrown right here in the US, and theyre being exported all around the world.' In order to join the Vagos and wear the official patch, members must go through an intense vetting and hazing process. First, one is admitted as a 'hang around' which means they're allowed to 'hang around' the clubhouse doing chores. Once someone earns their keep as a 'hang around' they are promoted to 'prospect' which essentially means 'they own you,' said Kozlowski. As a prospect, you get the 'bottom rocker,' which is the first of three patches worn on the Vagos vest. Eventually a vote is taken among higher ups that whether a prospect is worthy enough to join the gang full time 'Church' is what outlaw motorcycle gangs call weekly chapter meetings. 'That's when you're finally privy to all the inner workings of the club,' said Koz. Above, some current members from the local Hollywood chapter pose for a photo on Instagram In 2010, 30 members of the Vagos Motorcycle Club were arrested after it was discovered that they set up booby-traps targeting Southern California gang task force officers. The traps were filled with explosives and intended to blow up law enforcement headquarters Seven months into the case, Kozlowski finally got fully 'patched-in' to the Vagos gang during a ceremony that took place on a large property near San Bernardino. Hundreds of Vagos from other chapters made run of the place, while Koz worked security at the front gate of a large dirt driveway. Finally, Kozlowski recalls someone from the gathering who yelled, 'Prospect, get back here. And bring your bike.' At the end of the long driveway stood a menacing cabinet of Vagos higher-ups standing in horseshoe formation. Kozlowski barely got the kickstand down when they ambushed him - pushing, shoving and punching. All he could think about were their steel-toed boots. 'Did I do something wrong? Do they know Im an undercover cop? I was glad I wasnt wearing a wire.' After a minute or two, which he said 'felt like hours,' the beating suddenly stopped and Lars, the chapter president, handed him his full patch. After leaving the weekend festivities, Kozlowski said he saw his cover team watching over him as the Vagos took to the highway in tight formation. They assumed he would be riding closer to the back, like he always did. This time, he was placed among the rank-and-file in the middle. 'After they finally spotted me, they were high-fiving one another. He got his patch! Hes in!,' Koz recollected. Indeed, he remembers feeling a weird sense of pride having earned the trust and acceptance of this rogue group of ruffians. As Koz climbed the ranks of the Vagos, he got close to a guy named 'Big Rick,' a scary looking fellow in his late thirties who sported a long ponytail, with a Fu Manchu mustache and a 'nobody f***s with me' air of authority.' He held the title of international sergeant at arms. 'Wed go drink beer and play darts,' said Koz. Rick become somewhat of a 'sponsor' to to him 'not unlike Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco.' When asked if he ever felt conflicted about tricking these guys, Kozlowski told DailyMail.com: 'Absolutely. You cant do long term infiltration undercover work without having some human-personal connection to others in the gang.' 'Not a robot can turn an emotional switch on and off. You have to develop relationships and become one of them.' The Vagos clubhouse is a white cinder block building with a heavily fortified steel door in the heart of Hollywood. Inside is a fully kitted-out bar with tables, chairs, stripper poles and a sound system where the gang throws a regular party called 'Green Hell' that goes from 2am till 6am When asked if he ever felt conflicted about tricking these guys, Kozlowski told DailyMail.com: 'Absolutely. You cant do long term infiltration undercover work without having some human-personal connection to others in the gang. Not a robot can turn an emotional switch on and off. You have to develop relationships and become one of them' Kozlowski's work with the Vagos paved the way for ATF's expansion of their fledgling enhanced undercover program. He would go on to infiltrate three more motorcycle gangs during his career, which resulted in hundreds of indictments and convictions 'The six or seven months of workthe stress on me and my familyall of it was paying off,' he said, after becoming a fully patched member. Then it all came crashing down. Two weeks later, Lars (the club president) showed up at his front door demanding answers. He asked Koz to return in his patch and vest, 'until further notice.' Koz immediately called his cover team to extradite him from the apartment. The operation was over. He spent the next two months back at the ATF office stringing together all the evidence he collected that would eventually lead to over a dozen arrests. During one of the raids, federal officers found a human skill wrapped in plastic. 'It was a real human skull. It wasnt some fake souvenir type skull that you could buy in a shop, it was fresh,' he said in the podcast. 'There was still material on it, some bits of maybe hair and flesh.' 'Looking back, I was lucky,' he told LA Magazine. It turns out, Kozlowski's cover was blown totally by incident when the girlfriend of his former informant, Junior, crossed paths with some Vagos members. She told them that Junior had been working with ATF before he died, and gave them a business card that had Agent Kozlowski's information on it. His work with the Vagos garnered him official recognition back at headquarters in D.C.. He told Audible: 'When this case was done in LA, my first inclination was I wasnt going to be doing anymore of these type of cases.' Instead, the ATF created an enhanced undercover program which Kozlowski had a hand at making. He would go on to infiltrate three more motorcycle gangs while working undercover, which landed hundreds of indictments and convictions. While the job has its downsides, he told DailyMail.com that his 'favorite part is knowing you are able to make an impact by getting into a known criminal element that no one else has been able to do as an overt law enforcement official.' MPs are set to get guards at homes, offices and surgeries as part of a big security push after after the killing of Sir David Amess. Parliament has put out a contract to recruit close protection officers and 'door supervisors' in a bid to minimise the risk of further attacks. The spend on the measures over the next five years is estimated at 6million including VAT - suggesting that dozens are expected to get the bolstered precautions. Fears over MPs' safety have been rising for years, with Jo Cox murdered in her Batley & Spen constituency in 2016 and Sir David stabbed to death in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex last year. The tender document seen by MailOnline said: 'The Authority is seeking to appoint a Contractor will provide physical security services on behalf of UK Parliament, including SIA Licensed Close Protection Officers and SIA Licensed Door Supervisors. 'The Contractor will also implement a booking platform allowing a single point of contact for all service bookings.' Parliament has put out a contract to recruit close protection officers and 'door supervisors' in a bid to minimise the risk of further attacksin constituencies Fears over MPs' safety have been rising for years, with Jo Cox (right) murdered in her Batley & Spen constituency in 2016 and David Amess (left) stabbed to death in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex last year Even before the murder of Jo Cox in 2016 concern was growing over the threat to MPs away from Parliament. Improvements were championed by Sir Lindsay Hoyle during his time as Deputy Speaker, and he has continued the drive since taking over from John Bercow. Every politician is given a security assessment, and they get a 'standard' package such as alarm systems, shutters, CCTV and personal alarms for staff. If the police deem it necessary MPs can also access 'enhanced' measures. However, it is thought that has rarely included guards up to now. Sources said the Parliamentary contract was an effort to make the provision less 'ad hoc'. It could also help address concerns that surgeries are vulnerable because they can happen at churches or other buildings, rather than secured offices. There are hopes using security guards rather than police will be less likely to turn off needy constituents who are suspicious of authority, or have legal problems. Senior MPs said they were not convinced the spend would reach 6million over the five years, with many politicians wary of putting obstacles between themselves and the public. Others have yet to return to face-to-face surgeries after the Covid pandemic and attack on Sir David. The spend on the measures over the next five years is estimated at 6million including VAT Tory MP Mark Francois, a close friend of Sir David, said it was crucial that MPs struck a balance between contact with voters and safety. 'Following the tragic murder of my great friend, Sir David Amess, it's sad that we now have to contemplate security measures like this, as the potential downside is it could deter some constituents from seeing their MP,' he told MailOnline. 'In the end this will be a personal decision for MPs and their families but, either way, we cannot allow terrorists to break the link between MPs and their constituents, which is fundamental to the British Parliamentary system.' The stressful reality of Australia's rental crisis was laid bare with nearly 100 people queueing to inspect a tiny unit that looked different from the online listing. The queue to inspect an upstairs studio in Sydney's Bondi Beach was 'like lining up to get into a nightclub'. Potential tenants say they were attracted to the unit's close proximity to Bondi Beach, which was less than a five minute walk away. With record low numbers of rental properties available and rents rising steeply, millions of Australians are fighting a losing battle to find a rental home. The peak body for housing policy in NSW, Shelter NSW told Daily Mail Australia that applying for rental properties has become 'like The Hunger Games'. How the property looked at the inspection, after waiting in a 20 minute queue with up to 100 prospective tenants The online listing shows off an airy looking kitchen, but on inspection this area was taken up by a fold-down bed A man who was interested in renting the Bondi unit but asked not to be named, told Daily Mail Australia the queue stretched 'from the top of the stairs down the street' and was turning heads with locals. Even the agent 'looked shocked' at how many people came to see what was advertised as a 'beach studio' for a low $380 a week. But once inside most were disappointed, even at that price. 'The pictures online showed a bright, airy and clean apartment - but when I finally got to look after waiting 20 minutes I felt claustrophobic after five minutes,' John told Daily Mail Australia. 'I was shocked at how different it looked to what was advertised online.' 'The unit barely fit the double bed, with the kitchen approximately a metre away,' John said. The bathroom at the address appeared to look different to how it was photographed in the listing, John said. Online listings are understandably obliged to show a property in its best light. Daily Mail Australia approached the real estate agent for comment. The stressful reality of Australia's rental crisis was laid bare with hundreds of people queueing to inspect a tiny unit that looked different from the online listing The bathroom as it appeared in the online ad for the the studio at 68 Gould Street, Bondi Beach The actual bathroom looked different from the online photos The NSW Tenants Union told Daily Mail Australia there's not much people can do when properties look different in person from the online ads. 'They know their ability to lock in housing might depend on [putting up with] it.' It's an experience played out hundreds - if not thousands - of times every weekend across Australia. While the difference between agent's online photos and the in-person reality isn't new, the current market means trying to get a property is as difficult as its ever been for renters across the country. Skyrocketing rents and heartbreaking queues caused by record low rental vacancy rates have significantly worsened renters' prospects. Nationally only 0.9 per cent of rental properties are available, while for Sydney the figure is at a record low 1.3 per cent. That is almost half of the level of July last year, 2.4 per cent. In Melbourne that rental vacancy rate is 1.4 per cent, while the situation is even worse in Brisbane and Hobart. In Brisbane only 0.7 per cent of homes are available for rent, while it's 0.5 per cent. The cost of renting is arguably an even bigger factor, especially with prices for basics like electricity, petrol and groceries increasing steeply in 2022. While national property values dropped two per cent in the three months to July, rents went up 9.8 per cent over the year to July. Cathy Callaghan, of ShelterNSW expects a focus on renters to become an issue in the upcoming NSW election on March 25, 2023. 'Thirty per cent of people rent, so that's a lot of people impacted by these issues - that's a lot of voters.' She said governments need to recognise that renting is no longer 'a phase' that people go through. 'Many people now rent, and a lot of them will rent for life,' she said. 'Over a third of households rent in NSW. The queue to inspect an upstairs studio for 68 Gould Street, Bondi Beach, with each person waiting up to 20 minutes to get inside, was 'like lining up to get into a nightclub' The peak body for housing policy in NSW, Shelter NSW told Daily Mail Australia that applying for rental properties has become 'like The Hunger Games' 'Renting ought to be a reasonable alternative to homeownership in terms of affordability and security. 'Instead were seeing the hunger games being played out with unfair evictions, price gouging and highly stressful application processes'. The NSW Tenants Union's Jemima Mowbray told Daily Mail Australia it's time governments treated housing as an 'essential service, just like water or energy'. 'If governments started to see housing as an essential service then they would be stepping in and regulating the rental housing market when the market fails,' Ms Mowbray said. 'This example is just another example of how the private rental market is currently failing renters in NSW.' ShelterNSW called on the NSW government to increase the percentage of so-called 'social housing' options (public or community-run housing stock capped at around 30 per cent of income) to over five per cent of the total housing stock. The availability of affordable rental stock has been in steady decline for the last decade in NSW. Outspoken Liberal Party federal vice president Teena McQueen has been charged with a string of traffic offences while driving her BMW convertible in Sydney's eastern suburbs. The Sky News contributor, who has appeared on programs hosted by Peta Credlin, Andrew Bolt, Paul Murray and Cory Bernardi, was stopped by highway patrol officers at Paddington about 11.15am on August 11. Police allege the 61-year-old was behind the wheel of her black BMW 430i while her licence was suspended and made an unlawful U-turn at traffic lights on the intersection of Oxford Street and Jersey Road. The hard-right conservative, whose address is listed as a $2.65million city apartment near Circular Quay, is further accused of having her number plate obscured. Controversial Liberal Party federal vice president Teena McQueen has been charged with a string of traffic offences while driving in her convertible BMW in Sydney's eastern suburbs She was represented by a solicitor but did not appear in person when the charges were mentioned in Downing Centre Local Court last Friday. No pleas were entered and McQueen did not respond to repeated requests for comment. McQueen, who is one of the Liberal Party's four federal vice presidents, has sparked controversy in recent years with some of her television appearances. She has often spoken publicly on internal party matters and has been accused of making comments detrimental to women. In March 2021 it was reported McQueen had said, 'I would kill to be sexually harassed at the moment' during a meeting of senior female New South Wales Liberal officials. McQueen denied using those exact words but apologised, saying she had merely uttered a 'throwaway line' making fun of herself. 'What I said was, at my age - and it was a joke - every woman ages and I'm no longer sexually harassed, which is a fair comment considering I'm a grandmother,' she told news.com.au. 'I have apologised and I've said I regret the comment - clearly I will no longer make any off the cuff jokes - even though it was a comment about myself, but I will certainly not go there again.' The Sky contributor was stopped by police at Paddington about 11.15am on August 11. She is pictured with former New York mayor and Donald Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani A gag order placed on most members of the national Liberal executive before the last federal election was widely seen as being directed at stopping her speaking out. In response, McQueen told Nine newspapers: 'Do you think anyone could gag me?' In 2019 McQueen appeared on the ABC's Q&A program in what was described as a 'train wreck' performance. During the show described political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, who had recently been banned from Australia for hateful comments as 'an entertainer'. 'No on could possibly take Milo seriously,' she said. Instead, she accused former Greens leader Richard Di Natale of using 'hate speech' and 'inciting violence', which then host Tony Jones said was 'probably defamatory'. On the same program McQueen spoke fondly of former US president Donald Trump, who she had met at a Miss Universe pageant in 2006. 'I had a great time [talking] to him about politics,' she said. 'He was not racist, not sexist, none of those things.' Referring to Trump's infamous 'grab 'em by the p***y' remark when secretly recorded talking about using his fame to have sex with women, McQueen said: 'I just made a joke about a c**k earlier on. I don't think there's much difference there.' Fellow panellist, American writer Roxane Gay, responded: 'A joke versus grabbing a woman [and] talking about sexual assault are two very different things.' Jacqui Lambie was scathing of McQueen's contributions to the debate. 'I thought the Libs were already a train wreck Teena McQueen just sent them off the tracks,' she wrote on Twitter. McQueen told Andrew Bolt in late 2018 she was not impressed by claims of women being bullied within the Liberal Party. 'I would say put up or shut up,' she said. 'Women always want the spoils of victory without the fight.' Police allege McQueen was behind the wheel of her black BMW 430i while her licence was suspended and made an unlawful U-turn. She is pictured with NSW Liberal MP Robyn Preston McQueen was a fierce supporter of former prime minister Tony Abbott and a critic of his successor Malcolm Turnbull. She has been a Liberal Party member for more than 30 years and is against quotas for women in parliament. In February it was revealed McQueen had taken on a new role with billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prosecting. At the time, Ms Rinehart said she regarded McQueen 'very highly' and was 'delighted' she had agreed to join Hancock's executive team as group principal policy adviser. 'Teena is a proven senior executive and a strong strategic thinker coming to Hancock with decades of experience across business, public policy and advocacy and will lead our efforts across these areas,' Ms Rinehart said. McQueen said she was 'thrilled' with the new job. 'I share Mrs Rinehart's passion for Australia and regard her as an outstanding role model,' she said. The storm is currently moving through the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to make touch down in Florida on Thursday With the latest forecast showing no improvement, officials decided to play it safe The space center remained on the fringes of the hurricanes cone of uncertainty Hurricane Ian is prompting NASA to move its moon rocket off the launch pad and into shelter, adding weeks of delay to its highly anticipated moon mission. Mission managers decided Monday to return the rocket to its Kennedy Space Center hangar. The four-mile trip will begin late Monday night and could take as long as 12 hours. Hurricane Ian is currently moving through the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to touch down in Florida on Thursday. The space center remained on the fringes of the hurricane's cone of uncertainty. With the latest forecast showing no improvement, managers decided to play it safe. NASA already had delayed this week's planned launch attempt because of the approaching storm. The recent move will now delay the maiden flight of the SLS further to at the earliest, late October - and potentially even as late as the second half of November. NASA mission managers decided Monday to move its moon rocket off the launch pad and into shelter due to Hurricane Ian's uncertain path NASA already had delayed this week's planned launch because of the approaching storm NASA isnt speculating when the next launch attempt might be, but it could be off until November. Managers will assess their options once the 322-foot Space Launch System rocket is safely back in the hangar. A pair of launch attempts were thwarted by hydrogen fuel leaks and other technical trouble. The $4.1 billion test flight will kick off NASA's return to the moon since the Apollo moonshots of the 1960s and 1970s. No one will be inside the crew capsule for the debut launch. Astronauts will strap in for the second mission in 2024, leading to a two-person moon landing in 2025. Meanwhile, NASA and SpaceX are still targeting an Oct. 3 launch of a crew from the U.S., Russia and Japan to the International Space Station. But managers acknowledged that the flight could be delayed as Kennedy braces for the hurricane and its aftermath. The storm (pictured) is currently moving through the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to make headway in Florida on Thursday In this photo provided by NASA, Crawler Transporter-2 is seen outside the gates at Launch Pad 39B as teams configure systems for rolling NASA's moon rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Saturday The decision from the space agency comes as photos have shown grocery store shelves completely barren in the Sunshine State, as residents brace for the wrath of the hurricane, which strengthened to a Category 2 storm late Monday night. Essential items were wiped from shelves in supermarkets - as people stockpiled food and other supplies, emptying aisles ahead of the incoming weather phenomenon. Publix, the popular Florida-based supermarket chain, was forced to ration the sale of bottled water on Monday. In St. Petersburg, sales a limited to one 24 or 32 pack of individual bottles and four 1-gallon containers per-customer, reports WTSP. While a Costco in West Palm Beach posted a sign outside of their store warning customers that there was no toilet paper or paper towels for sale. Floridians have been urged to 'get out now' as hurricane barrels towards Florida and is set to bring 15ft waves and 140mph winds. Local officials warned residents 'do not wait' and stressed 'time is of the essence' as the monster storm loomed in the Caribbean Sea just south of Cuba. They ordered more than 300,000 people to evacuate their homes in parts of Hillsborough - including Tampa - Manatee, and Hernando counties, with more expected to follow. On Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis warned of heavy traffic amid reports that some highways were bumper-to-bumper for around 50 miles. The governor said: 'When you have millions of people in a metro area, no matter how it's done, you're going to have traffic. That's just the reality.' Bare supermarket shelves in a St. Petersburg store on Monday as grocery stores across the state report being sold out on various vital supplies as Hurricane Ian looms on the state A Home Depot customer waits to get her hands on a propane tank as like grocery stores, hardware stores begin to sell out of certain items Floridians have been urged to 'get out now' as hurricane barrels towards Florida and is set to bring 15ft waves and 140mph winds Huge queues snaked back for miles on the I75 from South of Wildwood in Gainesville, Florida Hurricane Ian, shown here over the central Caribbean, is expected to make landfall in the United States on Wednesday Storm clouds are seen as Hurricane Ian approaches in St. Petersburg, Florida on September 26 A boarded up house with 'Go Away Ian' painted on the boarded up windows, is seen ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ian in Indian Shores, 25 miles west of Tampa In a statement on rationing, a Publix spokesperson said: 'As we continue to monitor Ian, Publix locations may limit quantities of items, such as water, to best serve the majority of our customers.' The statement went on: 'We have seen increased purchases on items such as bread, water, batteries and canned goods, just to name a few.' Guidelines for hurricane preparation on Publix website encourages customers to stock up on water, powdered drinks, dried fruit, peanut butter and jelly and baby formula. At the time of writing, there are no limits placed on the purchase of items such as batteries and canned food. The President also postponed a scheduled September 27 trip to Florida because of the storm - while also declaring a State of Emergency Monday - with White House officials confirming they are 'closely monitoring' the situation. An official said that the president approved the emergency assistance request 'as soon as he received it'. They added: 'He also directed his team to surge Federal assistance to the region well before landfall. FEMA has already deployed staff there and pre-positioned food, water, and generators.' In a statement on rationing, a Publix spokesperson said: 'As we continue to monitor Ian, Publix locations may limit quantities of items, such as water, to best serve the majority of our customers' Floridians have packed into stores and ransacked the for snacks, materials and water to get through the hurricane - signs were put up warning shoppers Guidelines for hurricane preparation on Publix website encourages customers to stock up on water, powdered drinks, dried fruit, peanut butter and jelly and baby formula Price-gauging for items has been reported across the state with the state's attorney general issuing a stern warning against the practice In a press release, AG Ashley Moody's office said: 'Please watch Ian closely, and as you prepare for a potential storm strike, report incidences of price gouging to my office' The Florida Governor on Monday warned the impacts from the storm will be 'far and wide' and felt on both coasts in the form of power outages and severe flooding John Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist at the Miami-based center, said in an interview on Sunday that it is not clear exactly where Ian will hit hardest in Florida. Residents should begin preparations, including gathering supplies for potential power outages, he said. Mr Cangialosi said: 'It's a hard thing to say stay tuned, but that's the right message right now. 'But for those in Florida, it's still time to prepare. I'm not telling you to put up your shutters yet or do anything like that, but it's still time to get your supplies.' Russia detained a Japanese diplomat accused of being caught 'red-handed' trying to buy state secrets and for spying on a 'country in the Asia-Pacific region'. Motoki Tatsunori, the Japanese Consul General in Vladivostok, was arrested for allegedly soliciting 'restricted' information about an unnamed country in the Asia-Pacific region - which is speculated to be China. The FSB, the KGBs successor agency, released a statement about the matter, accusing Tatsunori of gathering secret information on Russia and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours. The statement said: 'A Japanese diplomat was detained red-handed while receiving, in exchange for financial reward, restricted information about Russias cooperation with another country in the Asia-Pacific region.' The FSB also accused the diplomat of seeking out information on 'the impact of Western sanctions' on the surrounding Primoriye region, according to news agencies. Russia's FSB reportedly caught Japanese diplomat Motoki Tatsunori 'red-handed' gathering secret information spying on a 'country in the Asia-Pacific region' Motoki Tatsunori is the Japanese Consul General in Vladivostok, but has been ordered to leave the country The Kremlin has repeatedly referred to Japan as a 'hostile' country since slapping sanctions on Moscow after Russian troops entered Ukraine The FSB said it had lodged a protest with Tokyo through diplomatic channels and Russia's foreign ministry said Tatsunori had been declared persona non grata and ordered to leave the country within 48 hours. The Kremlin has repeatedly referred to Japan as a 'hostile' country, a designation it shares with the US, EU countries and their Western allies, since Tokyo joined them in slapping sanctions on Moscow after Russian troops entered Ukraine on February 24. Japanese authorities have not yet commented on the incident. A grandmother's evening McDonald's run to buy her grandson a sundae has cost one woman dearly after she was allegedly caught behind the wheel almost five times the legal blood alcohol limit. Police patrolled the Princes Highway at Noble Park in Melbourne's southeast on Monday night when they pulled over an unregistered vehicle about 7.30pm. A passing motorist stopped to alert police that the female driver had crashed into her vehicle nearby and was concerned the woman shouldn't be behind the wheel. As police took further details from the young woman, a separate two-car crash occurred nearby. Police allege the young woman told them the car involved in that crash was the same Holden Astra that had hit her car earlier. Police were patrolling the Princes Highway in Melbourne when they conducted a breath test on a grandmother, who allegedly blew five times over the blood alcohol limit (pictured, stock image of a highway patrol car) The 60-year-old driver underwent a breath test and returned an alleged reading of 0.249, almost five times the legal limit. The Noble Park woman allegedly told police she was heading to a nearby McDonalds to get a sundae for her grandson. Her licence was immediately suspended for 12 months and her Holden Astra was impounded for 30 days at a cost of $950. She will also be charged with drink driving and traffic offences, to face court at a later date. The woman was taken to hospital for observation. Police have praised the young woman who alerted them about the driver. Police issued an Amber Alert for Savannah Graziano, the abducted teen Southern California police have issued an amber alert for a man suspected of shooting his wife dead and abducting his 15-year-old daughter. 'This was a domestic violence incident. The suspect, 45-year-old Anthony John Graziano, is considered armed and dangerous,' the Fontana Police Department said in a statement. Police released photos of Graziano showing tattoos on his neck and posted images of his suspected getaway vehicle. This undated photo provided by the City of Fontana Police Department shows, 45-year-old Anthony John Graziano who is a suspect in a shooting incident A Southern California woman was shot to death Monday, September 26, 2022, in a domestic violence incident and police said the suspect, Graziano, is believed to be on the run with his 15-year-old daughter, Savannah Graziano, pictured Officers responding around 7:30am to reports of gunfire found the victim with multiple gunshot wounds at a home in Fontana, police said in a statement Investigators believe Graziano is with his daughter, Savannah Graziano, in a white 2017 Nissan Frontier with California plates. The pickup truck has distinctive stickers on the rear quarter panel that say 'Pro-4X' and 'animal.' They were last seen at Sierra Avenue and Valley Boulevard in Fontana, according to KTLA75. An Amber Alert has been issued for the teen. Officers responded at around 7:30am to reports of gunfire, and found the victim with multiple gunshot wounds at a home in Fontana, police said in a statement. The woman was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She has not been identified, but police confirmed she was the wife of the suspect. Another victim was reportedly almost hit during the shooting. MailOnline could not immediately verify their identity. This undated photo provided by the City of Fontana Police Department shows, 45-year-old Anthony John Graziano who is a suspect in a shooting incident A neighbor told KTLA she saw the suspect running away and firing shots. 'He was shooting while he was going,' said Dorothy Carreon. 'People were running all over with their kids in every which direction.' During the investigation at the home, nearby Cypress Elementary School was temporarily locked down as a precaution, police said. Anthony Graziano is described as being 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing about 150 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. The public are encouraged to call 911 if they spot the suspect or the vehicle. Apology read: 'Deepest apology to Optus for this. Hope all goes well from this' But in a bizare twist the hacker has since apologised and deleted stolen data His comments come after a mysterious hacker leaked the personal details of 10,000 innocent customers Speaking out about the attack Stefanovic said: 'This makes me rage' Karl Stefanovic has slammed Optus for being too slow in responding to cyberhack Karl Stefanovic has slammed Optus for being too 'slow' in responding to Australia's largest ever privacy breach. His comments come after a mysterious hacker leaked the personal details of 10,000 innocent customers, before apologising and deleting the trove of data they stole. The Today Show host said the breach was a 'massive safety concern' and slammed the telco for taking three days to notify affected customers personally. 'The fact that Optus was so slow on to it in the first place, the fact that this person is now targeting innocent Australians, is abhorrent to me,' he said. 'The fact that we can't do anything about it is even worse and the fact that we haven't got legislation around this, at this point in time, get on to it fast, and the Australian Government needs to act on this right now. 'But right now, 10,000 Australians have their details, their private details, on the public record, able to be used for any kind of crime. Stefanovic said it made him 'rage' after learning it was not a sophisticated cyber attack. 'You know we put our faith in companies, and this is a big company.' Stefanovic explained. 'Nine million customers, and a high-schoolkid could've hacked it. 'I mean, it's as bad as it gets, and this could be a company killer.' Karl Stefanovic said the breach was a 'massive safety concern' and slammed Optus for taking three days to personally notify affected customers In a huge twist on Tuesday morning, 'optushacker' claimed there were 'too many eyes' on them and said they would not sell or leak the hacked data of up to 10 million Australians - after releasing the details of some 10,000 customers. In broken English, optushacker said: 'Deepest apology to Optus for this. Hope all goes well from this' The hacker also claimed they would've told the telco about their vulnerability but there was no way of getting in touch. 'Optus if your (sic) reading we would have reported exploit if you had method to contact. 'No security mail, no bug bountys, no way too message,' the message read. 'Ransom not paid but we don't care any more.' The extraordinary backflip comes hours after the cybercriminal threatened to release another 10,000 records every day for the next four days if a $1.5million ransom is not paid. The customer records the hacker has released so far included passport, drivers licence and Medicare numbers, as well as dates of birth and home addresses. Stefanovic said some Optus customers had already been 'bombarded' with calls and texts while others were yet to be personally notified by the telco. The mysterious Optus hacker has released the private details of 10,000 customers as the telco company's response to the major breach is slammed as too 'slow' The hacker has warned Optus that if the money is not paid, 10,000 customer records will be released each day until the money is received (stock image) The data breach, which Optus has apologised for and is investigating, has left many wondering what they can do to protect themselves, and whether they can be financially compensated for what has occurred. The embattled telco has offered the 'most affected' customers access to free credit checks with the company Equifax, which suffered a massive data breach of its own in 2017, with some 140million people affected. 'The most affected customers will be receiving direct communications from Optus over the coming days on how to start their subscription at no cost,' Optus said. Pictured: Kylie Carson, a special counsel in general compensation at Shine Lawyers Kylie Carson, a special counsel specialising in general compensation at Shine Lawyers, said if an Optus customer had a financial loss as a result of the data breach, they may be able to pursue a claim. 'To pursue a claim, it would have to be viable and you'd have to prove that Optus didn't do enough and didn't put sufficient things in place to protect your data,' the top lawyer told Daily Mail Australia. Ms Carson added something like human error would also have the potential for victims to make a claim. 'Optus is vicariously liable for the actions of their employees,' she said. Ms Carson herself was the victim of the data breach and said Optus was providing customers with 'more questions than answers' and urged people to stay vigilant. 'Everyone should be a bit cautious about the messages and texts they get sent, if it looks suspicious it probably is,' Ms Carson added. The embattled telco has offered the 'most affected' customers access to free credit checks with the company Equifax (pictured, an Optus store in Sydney) Australian law firm Slater and Gordon on Monday said they were investigating a possible class action against Optus. The firm's senior associate Ben Zocco said they were assessing possible legal options for those caught in the cyber attack. 'This is potentially the most serious privacy breach in Australian history, both in terms of the number of affected people and the nature of the information disclosed,' Mr Zocco said. 'We consider that the consequences could be particularly serious for vulnerable members of society, such as domestic violence survivors, victims of stalking and other threatening behaviour, and people who are seeking or have previously sought asylum in Australia. 'Given the type of information that has been reportedly disclosed, these people can't simply heed Optus' advice to be on the look-out for scam emails and text messages.' The Optus CEO last week said it was too soon to tell if it was a criminal organisation or another state was responsible for the attack (pictured, customers in an Optus store in Sydney) Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin says the company is working with the Australian Federal Police to investigate the attack - with cops warning the sale of personal details is illegal and can attract 10 years in prison. On Friday morning, the CEO made an emotional apology to the millions of Optus customers involved in Australia's biggest data breach. 'I think it's a mix of a lot of different emotions,' she said looking downcast. 'Obviously I am angry that there are people out there that want to do this to our customers, I'm disappointed we couldn't have prevented it. 'I'm very sorry and apologetic. It should not have happened. Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin on Friday apologised for the breach and said the company is working with the Australian Federal Police to investigate the attack Ms Bayer Rosmarin said the IP addresses linked to the hackers had moved around various European countries, and that it was a 'sophisticated' breach. The CEO added it was too soon to tell if it was a criminal organisation or another state was responsible for the attack. The data that was potentially stolen has been dated back to 2017. The breach has prompted calls on the federal government to take action with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling the incident a 'wake up call for the corporate sector in terms of protecting the data'. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government was working to make sure it was 'responding adequately' with announcements to be made in the coming days. A spur of the moment overseas trip has become the holiday from hell for a Perth miner who was allegedly stabbed and bashed in an unprovoked attack. Luke Jeffers, 26, has undergone 21 hours of surgery and remains in intensive care after he was allegedly set upon outside a nightclub in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Footage filmed by shocked onlookers shows the West Australian outnumbered and attacked by a group of at least five men. With gaping wounds to his neck and shoulder, he then fell backwards and hit the ground, lying in a pool of blood. Mr Jeffers suffered a broken C3 vertebrae in his back, an 8cm slash to the left side of his neck, a large laceration to his shoulder and a severe, life-changing laceration to his left hand. Luke Jeffers (pictured right with his sister and mum) was allegedly stabbed with sharp object and bashed while holidaying in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia His mother Jo and grandmother have travelled from Perth to rush to his hospital bedside. Mr Jeffers is in a stable condition but will spend an 'undetermined amount of time' in intensive care, according to his sister Brooke. She has set up an online fundraiser to assist with rising medical bills and to transport her brother home. 'Unfortunately, as this was such a last-minute trip, Luke did not have travel insurance,' she wrote. 'The medical bills, the ongoing rehab and what it is going to cost to get him home with the support of a doctor is an expense that our family was not prepared for.' Suffering serious wounds to his upper body, Luke Jeffers (left) was allegedly attacked before he fell backwards and hit the ground More than $50,000 has been raised within 24 hours as the online fundraiser was inundated with messages from wellwishers. 'The response so far has been amazing and we are so thankful and forever grateful to everyone who has donated and shared,' Ms Jeffers posted on Facebook. Police in Malaysia have arrested three men aged 20-30 in relation to the alleged brawl. They remain in custody and are due to face court on Tuesday. Police will allege one of the men used a sharp object to cause injuries to Mr Jeffers' neck, torso and hands. Further arrests haven't been ruled out as investigations continue. Luke Jeffers (pictured) faces a daunting road to recovery from injuries, including a broken C3 vertebrae in his back, an 8cm slash to the left side of his neck, a large laceration to his shoulder and a severe, life-changing laceration to his left hand A Teal independent who scolded other MPs for not wearing masks in Parliament is still wearing one, despite being called a 'hypocrite' for not masking up at a social event.' Dr Monique Ryan, the member for Kooyong, was among a small handful of politicians still covering up on Monday, along with independent Helen Haines, Greens leader Adam Bandt, and three Greens MPs. The remaining 145 MPs have discarded masks for Question Time, despite Dr Ryan stopping mid-parliamentary speech last month to demand her colleagues mask up. All 77 Labor MPs, the Greens, and most independents wore masks in every session when Parliament resumed after the May election, but the number has sharply dropped in recent weeks as Covid cases declined. Dr Monique Ryan (right) with fellow Teal independent Allegra Spender (left) is among a handful of MPs still wearing a mask in parliament despite dwindling Covid numbers (file image) Last week across Australia, there were 31,651 Covid cases for the entire seven days, down 21 per cent from the week before, while deaths fell 27 per cent from the previous week. This month, the last remnant of widespread mask rules was dropped, with passengers no longer required to wear them on public transport. Dr Ryan was branded a 'hypocrite' last month after a video emerged of her dancing without a mask at a function after scolding MPs in parliament for not wearing one. The former paediatric neurologist, who unseated former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg at the May 21 election, was in August asking Health Minister Mark Butler how he planned to address long Covid when she unleashed a spray at mask-less MPs. 'Can the minister please explain how he proposes to manage the oncoming national significant burden of disability and chronic illness of repeated Covid infection,' she said. The question drew groans from Coalition MPs. As the heckling grew louder, Dr Ryan, one of seven Teal independents, paused to point at the opposition benches and shouted, 'put your masks on!' This only served to raise the volume of jeering from the opposition, only eight of whom were wearing masks while all of Labor was. Dr Ryan roused on other MPs to 'put your masks on!' when the opposition benches heckled her But just days later, Dr Ryan was left speechless when confronted with a video by Sky News presenter Kieran Gilbert of her at a social function with no mask. Gilbert lulled her into a false sense of security by getting her to repeat her resolute pro-mask views. He then he showed a video of her dancing wildly and unmasked at the Melbourne event less than three weeks after her parliamentary spray. 'Isn't there an inconsistency there?' asked Gilbert, which was followed by six seconds of silence. Eventually, Dr Ryan replied with: 'Didn't know you had that video. It's interesting who you've chosen to show in that video and who's been edited out of it.' Michael Kroger, a former Liberal Party president, labelled Ms Ryan a 'hypocrite and an amateur' over the video. Dr Ryan was pictured (right) dancing without a mask at a function just three weeks after shouting at fellow MPs for not wearing masks in parliament Meanwhile, ex-Labor senator and powerbroker Graham Richardson said, 'the mob always get it right (in who they elect), and only on occasion do they get it wrong. 'And in this particular case, they got it very wrong (in electing Ms Ryan over Josh Frydenberg in the seat of Kooyong).' Dr Ryan later addressed the inconsistency, saying, 'Well, I do wear a mask when I'm at work. 'I think that particular instance was an unusual one,' she said. Controversial vegan activist Tash Peterson has been charged after interrupting a cattle-judging contest that she was tackled and thrown out of last year. Peterson stormed Perth's Royal Show in 2021, disrupting a cattle judging event by leaping over the barrier and screaming 'these beautiful and innocent beings are going to be brutally murdered and shot in the head'. As horrified onlookers including children watched on, an irate farmer then roughly manhandled the 27-year-old and ejected her from the exhibit. Peterson later left WA but on Monday returned to the Perth Royal Show and locked herself to a cattle judging ring. She told her social media followers she joined 'fellow animal rights activist Aly' and 'disrupted the abhorrent 'Royal' Agricultural Show'. Peterson claimed the event 'glamourises animal slavery, abuse and murder'. Police have confirmed that both activists have now been charged with trespass and disorderly behaviour in public or in sight or hearing of any person in a public place. Tash Peterson claimed that Perth's Royal Show 'glamourises animal slavery, abuse and murder' Police have confirmed that Peterson and another activist have now been charged with trespass and disorderly behaviour in public or in sight or hearing of any person in a public place 'We locked onto the judging ring where slaves are judged based on how palatable their bodies look,' Peterson said. 'These industries and the Royal Show have painted a picture that animal agriculture is glamorous, ethical and humane. 'Non-human animals are not commodities, food, slaves, machines or objects. They are people just like us who have personalities, families, feel pain and have the desire to live free from harm.' It comes a year after the glamorous Instagram and OnlyFans star, who has made a name for herself carrying out high-profile public stunts, was manhandled in another protest at the show. Footage from last year's event was posted to Ms Peterson's social media pages at the time and showed her interrupting the event to preach about an 'animal holocaust'. However, she was then yanked out of the livestock enclosure by an irate farmer who grabbed her by the scruff of her shorts. Last year, a furious farmer tackled vegan activist Tash Peterson (pictured) during a wild animal rights protest at the event Peterson was later left furious after the farmer faced no police charges for his action. 'In this protest, I entered an arena where cattle were being objectified and judged based on their bodies to be used for flesh consumption,' she said at the time. 'This assault resulted in bruising all over my body and in my groin region due to the force of lifting me by my pants, which exposed my buttocks and the forceful slamming of my body into the fence. 'The police officer told me that because I was trespassing (I have not been charged with trespass for this protest), he used reasonable force to remove me from the arena. Vegan activist Tash Peterson (pictured) in a graphic protest led by PETA earlier this month Ms Peterson pictured during her protest in Sydney's busy Pitt St Mall on Thursday, September 1 'He told me that the animals are easily frightened and can cause death, so I was being removed for safety.' The 28-year-old previously said she was put off eating meat when she watched the hit 1995 Australian film Babe, about an orphaned farm pig that wants to do the work of a sheep dog. She is infamous for her public protests and earlier this month she lay down in a human-sized meat tray in Sydney's busy Pitt Street Mall almost naked, covered in blood and wrapped up in plastic like a slab of meat. Ms Peterson has claimed to earn $40,000 a month from her OnlyFans account, which she opened last year to fund her dream to commit all of her energy to animal activism. A man is dead and a group of teenagers are facing serious charges after an allegedly stolen car crashed into a motor scooter. The 59-year-old was rushed to hospital following the crash at Wynnum West, in Brisbane's east, about 9.20am on Monday but died later that night. Police will allege a group of teenagers, aged between 15 and 16, travelling in two vehicles fled the scene. Officers allege the Nissan X Trail that smashed into the scooter was stolen from a nearby home the morning of the crash. It was found at the site and has been seized. A man has died after his scooter was struck by an allegedly stolen Nissan X Trail in Wynnum West, in Brisbane's east on Monday morning The four accused were found at a nearby address shortly after and taken into custody. A second car, also allegedly stolen, was located close by. Police said the motorcyclist was heading home from a social event on Monday morning when the Nissan allegedly swerved onto the wrong side of the road and collided with the scooter. Inspector Lindsay Kilpatrick said it was a 'tragic' event and both the Nissan and the scooter were left severely damaged. 'It's both disappointing and frightening, it's a tragic event for the male rider, his family, the local community, the witnesses, emergency services that have to come to these events,' he said on Monday. Police said the motorcyclist was heading home from a social event on Monday morning when the Nissan allegedly swerved onto the wrong side of the road, colliding with the motorcyclist 'The impact on the front of the SUV, the stolen vehicle and the windscreen is very, very extensive and the damage to the motorcycle is very, very extensive as well. 'But the detectives are investigating and they will get to the bottom of what happened.' A neighbour said she heard the collision from her backyard. 'The man was in very bad shape, one of his legs was completely twisted, it didn't look good. Everyone was just shocked, one lady must've been a nurse and just went into full nurse mode and tried to help the man,' Skye Aminita told the Courier Mail. Emergency services are seen at the scene on Monday. Four teenagers have been charged The alleged driver of the car involved in the crash is a 15-year-old boy who faces charges including dangerous driving causing death and failing to remain at the scene. The alleged passenger, a 16-year-old girl, has been charged with dangerous driving causing death and unlawful use of motor vehicle. Two other teens, a 15-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, face charges including unlawful use of a motor vehicle. They will appear before Brisbane Children's Court. Big 4 accounting giant Ernst and Young has appointed a sex discrimination expert to probe bullying and racism claims behind the shocking suicide of a Sydney worker. Aishwarya Venkatchalam, 27, died around 12.20am on August 27 when she plunged from the 11th floor terrace of her firm's tower block in Sydney's CBD. Daily Mail Australia revealed how the Indian national - who moved to Australia 11 months ago - had complained to friends that her co-workers were 'mean and racist'. Now in the wake of the revelations, Ernst and Young - which trades as EY - has appointed former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick to investigate the tragedy. But the move has been slammed by some staff. 'I don't understand why this EY leadership needs to consult outside experts to tell them how to run a decent workplace,' one told Daily Mail Australia. Aishwarya Venkatachalam's newlywed husband Nakul Mulari was on a flight home from Singapore to Sydney at the time of her death Bystanders helped Aishwarya Venkatachalam back to her office around midnight, but 20 minutes later she plummeted to her death onto the glass and wood awning over the entrance Good Samaritans told Daily Mail Australia how, moments before Ms Venkatchalam's death, they found her distraught in a nearby car park, sobbing about being bullied. Just 30 minutes later, the senior auditor fell to her death onto the awning above the building's front entrance. Ms Venkatchalam's death sparked further accusations of racism within the company and allegations of a toxic workplace culture. There is no suggestion EY or Ms Venkatachalam's co-workers or her superiors were in any way responsible for her death. But Oceanic EY CEO David Larocca has vowed Ms Broderick will look at the firms culture, work practices and psychological health and safety in an 'independent and rigorous' review. Oceanic EY CEO David Larocca (left) has vowed Elizabeth Broderick (right) will look at the firms culture, work practices and psychological health and safety in a 'rigorous, independent' review Ms Broderick is a UN special rapporteur for discrimination against women and girls and launched the the Champions of Change Coalition. Her specialist consultancy company says it focuses on 'gender equality, diversity, inclusion and cultural renewal, particularly in male dominated environments.' Her review into the treatment of women in the Australian Defence Force during her eight years as sex discrimination commissioner led to sweeping cultural reforms. The company has now also launched two additional internal reviews in the wake of the tragedy to tackle mental healthy and safety support within the organisation. 'We are committed to supporting everyone at EY and want to do everything we can to ensure we continue to provide a diverse, inclusive and safe workplace,' said Mr Larocca. 'The findings of these reviews will help us do that.' Staff at the firm were infuriated by the company's initial response which didn't even name Ms Venkatchalam in a speech addressing the company's 9,000 Sydney workers. Staff at the firm were infuriated by the company's initial response which didn't even name Ms Venkatchalam in a speech addressing the company's 9,000 Sydney workers (pictured, an EY careers event in Australia) Company bosses finally relented after Daily Mail Australia revealed how furious workers were pursuing the CEO on LinkedIn, telling him to 'Say her name.' But while the reviews have now been confirmed, some are still questioning whether it will bring any change. 'A review should reveal systemic issues,' one worker told Daily Mail Australia. 'Who should be held accountable for those?' Ms Venkatachalam - who used the abbreviated Venkat form of her name professionally - died after she was at a work drinks function at Sydney's The Ivy nightclub on August 26. The claims of racism echoed similar comments Aishwarya Venkatachalam (right) had made to friend Neeti Bisht (left) in April that 'mean colleagues' had made her life in Sydney a misery A group of women returning to their car found her sobbing uncontrollably in a city centre car park where she told them 'everyone was so mean to her in her office and that white people are not nice and are mean people and racist.' It echoed similar comments she had earlier made to her friend Neeti Bisht in April that 'mean colleagues' had been making her new life in Sydney a misery. She told the three women she met in the car park that her house key was in her office but she couldn't get into the building to collect it and had nowhere else to go. Her newlywed husband Nakul Murali, whom she married in a spectacular three-day Tamil-Brahman ceremony in January 2021, was on a flight home from Singapore to Sydney at the time of her death. Aishwarya Ventkat and husband Nakul Murali married in a spectacular three-day Tamil-Brahman ceremony in January 2021 Other bystanders helped her back to her office around midnight, but 20 minutes later she plunged to her death. NSW Police and SafeWork NSW are still investigating the death, and the terrace deck on the roof of the 10th floor has been closed to staff since the tragedy. If this story has raised issues for you, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 He compared Aboriginal people to 'Neanderthals' in another text message In one message, Rolfe said he was 'ready' to turn his body-worn camera away His 'racist' text messages have been revealed at an inquest into Walker's death A Northern Territory policeman's concerning text messages before he shot an Indigenous teenager dead have again dominated an inquest into the death. Kumanjayi Walker, 19, died after Constable Zachary Rolfe shot him three times during an attempted arrest in Yuendumu, northwest of Alice Springs on November 9, 2019. The officer was acquitted at trial in March of murdering Mr Walker amid accusations his use of force after Mr Walker stabbed him was heavy handed. The Alice Springs inquest into the Warlpiri man's death heard on Monday Const Rolfe sent and received a series of text messages in the months before the shooting referring to Aboriginal people as 'bush c**ns', 'n***ers' and 'grubby f***s'. Kumanjayi Walker (pictured), 19, was shot dead during an arrest attempt at Yuendumu in Australia's Northern Territory in 2019 Constable Zachary Rolfe (pictured, at the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in Darwin, March 8, 2022), was initially charged with the murder of Walker during an arrest attempt at Yuendumu in 2019. Const Rolfe was later acquitted on all charges In one text, Const Rolfe said 'I'm always ready to make my (body worn) camera face the other way' while discussing the apprehension of an offender during which a colleague allegedly 'lost his s***'. He also called senior officers investigating a workmate over his allegedly heavy-handed conduct 'gay c***s'. Asked about the messages and the use of terms such as 'bush c**ns', assistant commissioner Travis Wurst said it was 'disgusting'. 'It's inappropriate. It's not the language of (the Northern Territory Police Force). It's not the language of our community. It's not reflective of who we are,' he told the coroner. 'That language undermines the culture of being a police officer in this agency and what it means to wear this uniform.' Mr Wurst said he was unaware officers were using the racist terms, saying it should be investigated. '(To) get to the heart of where that language comes from and why it's even being utilised,' he said. 'That would have been the most appropriate way of going about managing that, because it could be about the individual, it could be about their own personal biases, or it could be a reaction to something they've been exposed to. In a series of text messages revealed during an inquest into Walker's death, Rolfe said he was 'ready' to turn his body-worn camera away The inquest heard Constable Rolfe (pictured) sent and received a series of text messages in the months before the shooting of Walker referring to Aboriginal people as 'bush c**ns', 'n***ers' and 'grubby f***s' He rejected the notion it may have been officers 'blowing off steam' and agreed it could lead to Indigenous people being de-humanised. 'It's indicative of someone's personal biases toward a cultural group that has the ability to impact on their ability to do their job,' he said. 'A job that we must do without fear or favour, and objectively and you cannot have that language seeping into the workplace, or in a private context.' The inquest continues on Tuesday. Portraits include a photograph taken by Dorothy Wilding in 1952 to mark Queen's accession and coronation Advertisement Four stamps that feature portraits of the Queen will be released in her memory, the Royal Mail has announced. The new stamps the first set to be approved by King Charles III will go on general sale from November 10 and will feature images of the late monarch through the years. A photograph taken by Dorothy Wilding in 1952 to mark the Queen's accession and coronation will feature on second-class stamps, while the first-class stamp will include a photo taken by Cecil Beaton in 1968 in which the monarch is standing in her admiral's cloak with her head tilted to the left. A portrait taken in November 1984 by Yousuf Karsh will appear on 1.85 stamps, and a photo taken by Tim Graham in 1996 while the Queen attended a banquet at Prague Castle during her visit to the Czech Republic will be the image on the 2.55 stamps. The first-class stamp will include a photo taken by Cecil Beaton in 1968 in which the monarch is standing in her admiral's cloak with her head tilted to the left A photograph taken by Dorothy Wilding in 1952 to mark the Queen's accession and coronation will feature on second-class stamps A portrait taken in November 1984 by Yousuf Karsh will appear on 1.85 stamps. The new stamps the first set to be approved by King Charles III will go on general sale from November 10 A photo taken by Tim Graham in 1996 while the Queen attended a banquet at Prague Castle during her visit to the Czech Republic will be the image on the 2.55 stamps All four stamp images were released in the Golden Jubilee stamp issue in 2002 and were approved by the late Queen for issue that year All four stamp images were released in the Golden Jubilee stamp issue in 2002 and were approved by the late Queen for issue that year. Simon Thompson, chief executive of Royal Mail, said: 'For the past 70 years every British stamp has been personally approved by Her Late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth. 'Today we are unveiling these stamps, the first to be approved by His Majesty The King, in tribute to a woman whose commitment to public service and duty was unparalleled in the history of this country.' A presentation pack of all four stamps will retail at 6.95 and is available to pre-order on the Royal Mail's website. The Royal Mail has also confirmed the King's image will replace the Queen on new 1st and 2nd Class definitive stamps, as well as all those of other values. Issues of special stamps will also feature a silhouette of Charles. 'New stamps featuring King Charles will enter circulation once current stocks of stamps are exhausted,' the Royal Mail said. The images of the new stamps, and the timings of their release, and the new silhouette will be revealed at a later date. The Royal Mail said: 'In line with guidance from the Royal Household, to minimise the environmental and financial impact of the change of monarch, existing stocks of definitive stamps that feature the late Queen and the special stamps which use her silhouette, will be distributed and issued as planned. The launch dates of some of the special stamps may change.' For free, confidential support contact Samaritans on 116 123 or visit their website One in eight posts she engaged with on Instagram were related to depression It said 'I'm just not good enough', North London Coroner's Court heard yesterday Molly Russell left behind a note quoting an Instagram post which said 'I'm just not good enough' before taking her life, an inquest heard yesterday. Oliver Sanders KC, the Russell family's lawyer, suggested the 'dreadful, disgusting' content the 14-year-old viewed on the platform, had 'influenced' her real-world actions. One in eight posts the schoolgirl engaged with on the platform were depression, self-harm or suicide related in the lead-up to her death, the court was told. In one instance, an hour after Molly 'binge' watched graphic suicide videos on Instagram, she searched online how to tie a noose. Yesterday, however, the head of health and wellbeing at Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, claimed such content was safe for children, arguing that it could help them find 'solace' within a community. Molly Russell left behind a note quoting an Instagram post which said 'I'm just not good enough' before taking her life, an inquest heard yesterday. Liz Lagone, a senior executive who has been flown in from the US to give evidence, repeatedly defended the material, saying it did not violate their community guidelines at the time. Depictions of self-harm and suicide were permitted on the platform as long as they did not 'promote or encourage' it. They were later banned altogether in 2019. The inquest at North London Coroner's Court is examining the algorithms used by social media firms to channel content to users and keep them hooked. Molly, from Harrow, north-west London, was found dead in her bedroom in November 2017. Phone records reveal that in the last six months of her life she had liked, saved and shared 2,100 images and 183 videos that contained depression, self-harm and suicide content. The court heard last week how Molly's father Ian Russell had found notes in his daughter's bedroom after her death which 'seemed to reflect the language of the social media posts she was looking at'. Mr Sanders yesterday highlighted one of the notes that quoted an Instagram post Molly had saved months before she died. The depression quote, which had been liked 7,500 times, started, 'I'm the ugly sister, the horrible daughter, I'm not even the second choice', and ended, 'I'm just not good enough'. The court heard last week how Molly's father Ian Russell (pictured) had found notes in his daughter's bedroom after her death which 'seemed to reflect the language of the social media posts she was looking at' A month before she died, Molly had also watched a video featuring an unhealthily skinny girl, with words flashing across apologising for not being pretty enough and being uncomfortable in their skin. It was captioned: 'I just want to be pretty'. Two days later, the court was told, Molly set up a note on her iPhone under the same title in which she started noting down her waist size and weight. Mr Sanders put it to Miss Lagone: 'It's identical language... this is Instagram literally giving Molly ideas that she needs to be concerned about her weight, correct?' Miss Lagone replied: 'I can't speak about what Molly may have been thinking.' Ten days before she died, Molly had 'binge' watched graphic videos, in which distressed people were seen holding a knife to their neck and walking in front of a train. Mr Sanders said: 'So that was 16 videos Molly watched in a session. And then an hour after watching them she searched how to tie a noose on Google.' Asked whether Molly may have been 'influenced by the dreadful, disgusting content she was watching', Miss Lagone said: 'I don't know.' Throughout, Miss Lagone repeatedly claimed the content was 'by and large admissive' meaning users were opening up about their experience, which was allowed under its guidelines. Mr Sanders showed the Meta executive an image of a noose hanging from a ceiling in a dilapidated room, alongside the quote: 'In a year you'll forget I'm gone.' The caption said 'follow for more posts' and featured a series of hashtags including 'suicide', 'depression' and 'self-harm'. Asked whether it promoted or encouraged suicide, Miss Lagone said: 'At first glance, this feels admissive', adding: 'I'm not sure how this would be interpreted.' Mr Sanders grew visibly frustrated as the executive refused to answer his questions directly at one point shouting: 'Why on earth are you doing this?' It took until almost the end of her questioning for the Meta executive to apologise, when asked if she was sorry, for allowing Molly to see such content. The inquest continues. An ex-Scotland Yard counter-terror cop who probed the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the London 7/7 bomb attack reportedly may have killed himself by setting off a gas explosion at his thatched cottage home. Malcolm Baker, 60, died after a fire tore through his home in Brompton Regis, within Exmoor National Park, at around 6pm on September 14. The blaze led to an explosion, which could be heard from a mile away and took the roof off the property, The Sun reports. Human remains were subsequently found inside the ruins of the house following a search led by specialists. DNA tests are ongoing to confirm the victim is Mr Baker. Neighbours are said to believe a gas bottle was deliberately opened and initially feared that he had been subject to a terror attack, but he is understood to have taken his own life due to domestic problems. Malcolm Baker (pictured) died after a fire tore through his home in Exmoor National Park at around 6pm on September 14 Mr Baker was also part of the team that probed the poisoning of Mr Litvinenko (pictured) in 2006 A police spokesperson said: 'At this stage we dont believe there is any third-party involvement and we are not seeking anyone else in connection with our inquiries.' Up to 30 officers have been meticulously combing the property for evidence following the explosion, with local residents recalling a loud bang and plumes of smoke rising into the air. Withiel Fox, 60, told The Sun: 'There is no gas supply to that cottage so it didnt happen by accident. Because of his background there was a lot of speculation about what might have happened. 'He was unaccounted for after the explosion and there were concerns it could have been the Russians behind it. There were worries they might have kidnapped or killed him to send a message to the Government.' Mr Baker worked on a number of high-profile cases including aiding US officials with an investigation into the 9/11 atrocity in 2001. Mr Baker's home, Hiccombe House, in Brompton Regis, west Somerset, which was destroyed in the fire He was also part of the team that probed the poisoning of Mr Litvinenko in 2006. European judges last year ruled that the Russian state was responsible for his murder. Mr Baker also investigated the 7/7 bombing attacks in London in 2005, which 56 people. Prior to his retirement from policing, he also had a security role for the London Olympics in 2012. He is understood to have been working as a security consultant prior to his death after moving to the area from London with his partner. Avon and Somerset Police says it has referred his death to the Independent Office for Police Misconduct due to prior contact of a domestic nature. It comes as another resident told the neighbour that Mr Baker was 'not a pleasant man', adding that he was 'obnoxious and a bully and had fallen out with several local people'. MPs investigating Boris Johnson over Partygate have rejected claims by one of Britain's leading lawyers that their probe is 'unfair' and 'fundamentally flawed'. The Privileges Committee is examining what the former Prime Minister told Parliament about Covid rule-breaking before he left office. Lord Pannick KC, who was hired by the Government to examine the committee's methods, had warned that the controversial inquiry would be declared unlawful were it not protected from challenge in the courts. Yet the committee has dismissed Lord Pannick's concerns wholesale, leading to a furious reaction from allies of the former PM. Lord Pannick KC, who was hired by the Government to examine the committee's methods, had warned that the controversial inquiry would be declared unlawful were it not protected from challenge in the courts The committee's members insisted yesterday that the top lawyer's devastating verdict was based on a 'misunderstanding' of the parliamentary process and 'misplaced' comparisons with criminal cases. They also rejected his warning it would have a 'chilling effect' on democracy for the former PM to be reprimanded for inadvertently misleading the Commons. 'We reject Lord Pannick's criticisms. The view of our impartial legal advisers and clerks, which we accept, is that his opinion is founded on a systemic misunderstanding of the parliamentary process and misplaced analogies with the criminal law,' a spokesman for the committee said. Last night a furious former Cabinet minister hit back, saying: 'I don't know what they think they're trying to do it's a very strange position they've got themselves into. They should just drop the whole inquiry.' Backbencher Michael Fabricant added: 'The Privileges Committee is choosing not to operate on the basis of common law. The committee is in effect accepting that they are not adopting a fair standard. 'Frankly I think they stand condemned for doing so and bring Parliament into disrepute.' Yesterday's report by the committee, chaired by veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman, set out to rebut one by one the 'six important areas' in which Lord Pannick criticised the inquiry into Mr Johnson's comments to MPs last year on the lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street. The Privileges Committee has dismissed Lord Pannick's concerns wholesale, leading to a furious reaction from allies of former PM Boris Johnson Firstly, it said the barrister was wrong to have claimed that Mr Johnson's intention would not be taken into account. 'Nothing in the impartial advice from the clerk of the journals precludes the committee from considering intent,' the MPs insisted. They went on to say that Lord Pannick's fears of a wider chilling effect on politicians' statements were 'wholly misplaced', pointing out that ministers already make 200 formal corrections a year to remarks made in error. Next, the MPs dismissed his claim that the inquiry should use the criminal standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt rather than the less rigorous balance of probabilities. 'In the present inquiry, because the allegations are very serious, we are mindful that evidence to be relied upon should be of especially high quality and cogency,' they stated. Backbench MP Michael Fabricant said: 'The Privileges Committee is choosing not to operate on the basis of common law' The report also sought to reassure the barrister that its probe will not rely on anonymous testimony. 'We have not yet identified any credible evidence where a witness wishes to have their identity withheld from Mr Johnson, and it may be that this situation does not arise,' the MPs said. Similarly they insisted that, contrary to Lord Pannick's concerns, the former PM will be given full details of the case against him.Lord Pannick's final two criticisms were of the fact that Mr Johnson cannot get a lawyer to act for him or cross-examine witnesses. 'Select committees can only hear counsel if authorised to do so by the House. It has not been considered necessary in previous privileges cases,' the committee said. The MPs even hit out at the Government for publishing Lord Pannick's legal advice earlier this month rather than submitting it to them directly. And they condemned attacks on their probe, which has been branded a witch-hunt by supporters of Mr Johnson, saying 'they appear to be designed to impede the functioning of the House'. The Privileges Committee's investigation is the third into Mr Johnson and the events that took place in Whitehall when Covid laws banned social gatherings, following the inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray and Scotland Yard's criminal case. The former PM was fined 50 in April over a birthday party organised for him during the first lockdown. MPs then looked into if he had misled the Commons last December when he said 'all guidance was followed completely'. Once the committee has delivered its findings, all MPs will vote on its recommendations and if Mr Johnson is found in contempt and suspended from the Commons for more than ten days, then he could face a by-election in his Uxbridge constituency. These puffed-up worthies have shown contempt for natural justice Commentary by ANDREW TETTENBORN Lord Pannick KC has one of the finest legal minds in the country. His advice that the Commons probe against Boris Johnson is unfair and flawed was argued with devastating clarity when he delivered it earlier this month and looked to many like a slam-dunk against the ex-PM's critics. In flatly rejecting his views, the Commons Privileges Committee has shown contempt for natural justice. It has insulted the principles of fairness and decency for which this country is famed. The Commons Privileges Committee is led by Labour veteran Harriet Harman Indeed, these puffed-up worthies go so far as to arrogantly accuse perhaps Britain's most respected public lawyer of a 'systemic misunderstanding of the parliamentary process'. The cheek of it! In case you had forgotten, Boris is accused of 'contempt' in the House of Commons, having allegedly misled MPs over the 'Partygate' affair that storm in a teacup from which the rest of us long ago moved on. Lord Pannick pointed out a number of glaring flaws in the Committee's approach and rightly warned that for Boris to be censured for unintentionally misleading the House would have a 'chilling effect' on democracy. But in a statement yesterday, the committee, led by Labour veteran Harriet Harman, dismissed these arguments out of hand. Harman's own views on Boris are clear. She tweeted in April that Boris and his then-chancellor Rishi Sunak 'misled' the Commons by accepting a fine for breaching Covid regulations. She also shared a blog by ex-Labour press secretary Alastair Campbell that claimed the former PM 'broke [his] own emergency laws', 'lied repeatedly' and 'trashed the ministerial code'. How can a woman like this possibly head a fair inquiry? This has looked like a witch-hunt from the start. Harman herself stepped in only when the previous head, her Labour colleague Chris Bryant, recused himself after ranting on social media: 'The PM broke the law, repeatedly lied to Parliament and refused to correct the record.' Bryant concluded Johnson was 'not fit for office'. Harman stepped in only when the previous head, her Labour colleague Chris Bryant, recused himself after ranting on social media: 'The PM broke the law, repeatedly lied to Parliament and refused to correct the record.' Bryant concluded Johnson was 'not fit for office' Still on the committee is Conservative MP for Newbury Laura Farris, an ally of Sunak's who has opined that parties at No10 had a 'corrosive effect on public trust' and that the PM's leadership was 'untenable'. Then there is the Scottish National Party's Allan Dorans, who has approvingly retweeted claims on social media that the 'charlatan' former PM is guilty of a 'litany of lies' and should be 'shown the door'. In all, seven MPs sit on the committee: four Conservative, two Labour and one SNP. All but two have voiced their distaste for 'Partygate' or for Boris himself. Add to this the devastating analysis by Lord Pannick, and the whole investigation appears indefensible. There is no logical alternative but to close it down before it wreaks further damage to the credibility of the Commons. Let me be clear: I do not want to see Parliament stripped of its powers to investigate contempt and other abuses by MPs. Then there is the Scottish National Party's Allan Dorans, who has approvingly retweeted claims on social media that the 'charlatan' former PM is guilty of a 'litany of lies' and should be 'shown the door' However, we need urgent reform. It is time that we had a statute for 'contempt' of Parliament, with proper definitions, a clear legal framework laying down protections for defendants and the power for courts to intervene where necessary. And one thing that must be absolutely clear is that even if lying to Parliament is contempt, inadvertently misleading the Commons is not. If the present case goes against Boris and he is found guilty of contempt, it will be bad for him but worse for our democracy. Will the Privileges Committee realise any of this? I fear not. And thus they will continue to erode the public's trust in the very institutions they purport to defend. Andrew Tettenborn is a writer and a professor of law at Swansea University. Goldman Sachs has launched a wave of mass layoffs of workers across the US after dishing out cushy bonuses and high salaries during the pandemic - amid an anticipated drop in earnings as the economy slows. The investment banking division of the Wall Street giant launched the effort last week, according to a report, firing hundreds of bankers in offices across the globe, as it looks to rein in expenses and weed out low-performing employees. Employees at all levels were affected by the cull, sources said - with the brunt of the effort being felt by senior-to-mid-level staffers, such as several senior associates and vice presidents. Nearly a dozen bankers in the prestigious bank's technology, media and telecommunications division were fired alone. Consumer retail, health care and industrials divisions were all reportedly hit by layoffs, which had been anticipated after the firm said back in July that it planned to slow hiring and reinstate annual performance reviews, Bloomberg reported. That announcement came as the bank recorded a marked 40 percent drop in earnings this year alone after seeing a brief business boom during the pandemic. This spurred Goldman brass to at the time pause its-then routine layoff process, and dish out an array of fancy perks in an effort to retain staff amid increased demand for workers across the industry. Goldman Sachs has launched a wave of mass layoffs of workers across the US after dishing out cushy bonuses and high salaries during pandemic - amid an anticipated drop in earnings as the economy slows. Pictured are staffers outside Goldman's headquarters in Lower Manhattan Prior to the pandemic, Goldman annually nixed roughly 1 to 5 percent of staffers from its workforce every year. This round of layoffs are on the lower end of that range, insiders have said - but it still represents a drastic turn from the company's attitude less than a year ago Prior to the pandemic, Goldman annually nixed roughly one to five percent of staffers from its workforce every year. This round of layoffs are on the lower end of that range, insiders have said - but it still represents a drastic turn from the company's attitude less than a year ago, when it was hiking salaries and dishing out perks. It's been 'a tough week,' one source with knowledge of the investment firm's inner workings told Insider of the supposed sackings, which were reported by the outlet on Friday. An insider also shared how earlier in the day staffers at the firm's technology, media, and telecommunications department at both its New York and San Francisco officers were met with pink slips by the end of the day. Other divisions that felt the impact of the cuts, sources said, included consumer retail, healthcare, and industrials. All talent was affected by the cull, one insider said, revealing that workers from all levels found themselves out of a job - from its most junior bankers to its managing directors. It was not immediately clear from initial reports how many staffers were fired exactly - but it appears that the number is in the hundreds. The firm has roughly 47,000 employees - and a one percent cut to staffing would be a reduction of about 500 bankers The firings had already been anticipated after the firm said back in July that it planned to slow hiring and reinstate annual performance reviews An insider shared how brass for the big bank were carefully calculating the layoffs, and not nixing too many senior or junior employees. 'It's a balancing act. You can't cut too many of the senior bankers because even though they are costly, they are the one who bring in more business,' the source explained. 'And junior bankers, yes they're cheaper, but if the overall business is slow, they don't have much work to do.' The firm had 47,000 employees at the end of the second quarter and a one percent cut to staffing would be a reduction of about 500 bankers. At the company's burgeoning China branch - which just last year enlisted 400 workers to roughly double its workforce - more than two dozen bankers had been fired as a result of the recent cull, Reuters reported. According to one source, employees cut from the firms TMT team were invited into calls with national-level group leaders including Other partners may have also been involved in the exit conversations, this person added. As news of the firings spread over the weekend, reps for the Wall Street stalwart seemed to assert in statements to several outlets that the supposed firings, if they in fact occurred, would demonstrate a return to business as usual at the big bank. 'Every year globally we conduct a strategic assessment of our resources and calibrate headcount to the current operating environment,' a spokesperson told The New York Post. 'We continue to remain flexible while executing against our strategic growth priorities.' DailyMail.com reached out to the public relations department at Goldman Sachs upon the publishing of this article for more details on the reported firings Monday evening. The resumption layoffs come in response to a dramatic slump in revenue reported by the big bank and its chief executive David Solomon, who recorded second-quarter earnings of $2.93 billion in June The resumption layoffs come in response to a dramatic slump in revenue reported by the big bank and its chief executive David Solomon, who recorded second-quarter earnings of $2.93 billion in June. The number came as a shock to some, including executives who had enjoyed a boon during the pandemic, as it was precipitously lower than the yield recorded in the second quarter of 2021, when the bank hauled in $5.49 billion. Amid the dramatic decrease, brass at the big bank took a variety of measures to save their bottom line - measures that some workers panned as miserly. In April, the bank ruffled feathers when it ceased offering employees free rides to and from the office, and also did away with free breakfasts and lunches. 'Of course they took the coffee away,' a source told The New York Post at the time, 'But I've been so slammed since Labor Day I haven't really had time to think too much about it.' The worker added there was still free drip-coffee in an 11th floor lobby, but that it was lesser quality than the old, full-service coffee station and more difficult to access. They also noted Goldman seemingly tried to sweeten the raw deal by giving bankers complimentary cupcakes on their first day back after Labor Day. In April, Goldman Sachs ceased offering employees free rides to and from the office, and also did away with free breakfasts and lunches In May, the company again seemingly attempted to offer staffers a sweetener when it offered senior employees unlimited time off - a policy some critics at the time panned as a hidden agenda to goad under-pressure staffers still work long hours, while brass attempt to raise bottom lines. In August, Goldman notified its staff that it would nix pandemic protocols such as the allowance of remote work, with employees subsequently expected to be in the office five days a week. The announcement was the culmination of several months of the stripping away of accommodations offered to employees to incentivize them to come into the office when they weren't required to be there. Goldman is not the only bank wrestling with what to do with their employees and offices. At JP Morgan, CEO Jamie Dimon reportedly told senior staff that he expected junior workers to be at their desks five days a week, despite official policy that only expects them there three days a week. But over at Citigroup, CEO Jane Fraser has maintained a ban on Zoom calls on Fridays, and still only asks employees to come into the office a few days a week without requiring them to be there for a full five days. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has said the bank would be announcing office plans in the coming weeks. One of the few investors to receive their money back from fraudster Melissa Caddick is due to give evidence at her inquest. Dominique Ogilvie in August 2020 was waiting for a dental appointment when she had a chance encounter with Jennifer Porter, whose Australian Financial Services Licence Ms Caddick was illegally using as her own. Ms Porter later showed Ms Ogilvie documentation that proved this and encouraged her to contact Ms Caddick and request her money back. Ms Ogilvie made up a story that she wanted to purchase property and insisted Ms Caddick transfer back her millions. Isabella Allen from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission confirmed Ms Ogilvie's original investment of $2.5 million, plus the purported profits of $380,000, were subsequently returned to her. Missing fraudster Melissa Caddick (pictured) returned the $2.5million given to her by investor Dominique Ogilvie, the inquest has heard ASIC investigator Isabella Allen (pictured leaving Lidcombe Coroners Court) gave evidence at Melissa Caddick's inquest on Monday ASIC commenced its formal investigation into Ms Caddick and conducted a telephone interview with Ms Ogilvie on September 14. 'We said if (Ms Ogilvie) were to run into Ms Caddick or have subsequent phone calls or speak to her, she could speak to her freely but keep the contents of our conversation confidential,' Ms Allen told the NSW Coroners Court on Monday. Data obtained from Ms Caddick's mobile phone indicated her searching for shredding services that evening, and a day later booked the services of Shred-X. But Ms Allen does not believe this was the result of Ms Caddick being 'tipped off by anyone', after looking into some of the evidence that was destroyed. Ms Caddick pretended she was investing her victims' wealth by appearing to set up CommSec trading accounts and forging documents to claim she was generating profits. Melissa Caddick's husband Anthony Koletti (pictured) will give evidence at her inquest She preyed on mostly friends and family, and stole up to $30 million between 2013 and 2020, counsel assisting Jason Downing SC has told the inquest. Her husband Anthony Koletti reported the 49-year-old as missing some 30 hours after he says she walked out of their home for the last time on November 12 about 5.30am to go for a walk. His stories to police about the last time he saw his wife have been inconsistent and subject to intense scrutiny during the inquest. He is due to give evidence following Ms Ogilvie. In February 2021 Ms Caddick's decomposing foot encased in an Asics shoe washed ashore at Bournda Beach on the NSW south coast, about 400km south of Sydney. The hacker has apologised and deleted stolen data: 'Hope all goes well from this' A tech expert has refuted claims the Optus cyberhack that exposed millions of customers' sensitive details was 'sophisticated', saying hackers accessed a 'goldmine' in a simple security breach. Optus customers past and present have potentially had their personal addresses, dates of birth, passport details, drivers licences, phone numbers and email addresses stolen last week in Australia's largest data breach. Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin described the cyberhack as a 'sophisticated attack' that compromised the records of 9.8 million people in the 'absolute worst case scenario'. However, tech expert and editor of EFTM.com Trevor Long said he wouldn't call the data breach a 'hack' as the telco company's security was 'just not good enough'. Optus labelled the cyberhack, which saw nearly 10million Aussies potentially have their personal data stolen, as a 'sophisticated attack' (Pictured, Optus Mobile booth at Sydney Airport) 'If we are to believe the hacker, this was not even a sophisticated hack, it's not even a hack,' Mr Long told Daily Mail Australia. 'They were able to exploit an internal system and access information in a simple security breach. 'It's a goldmine for identity fraud and hackers and now there's already 10,000 people whose details are readily available to scammers.' Mr Long explained the hacker was able to find the address of the telco's central computer containing the database of customer records and information. The hacker, known as 'Optushack', allegedly requested the records and was given access to the information without having to provide authentication or a password. If true, Mr Long has labelled the lack of security as a 'fundamental flaw' in Optus' cybersecurity defences. 'If the hacker is telling people about their access to the API [Application Programming Interface] being so simple and not authenticated, it's simply a breach and that makes this even worse,' Mr Long said. Tech expert and editor of EFTM.com Trevor Long (pictured) said the cyber attack was a 'simple security breach' and claimed Optus' defences were 'just not good enough' Mr Long said Optus needs to have a 'look at themselves' as he believes the data was not encrypted despite the telco company claiming it was. 'It's like someone with a really large home going on holiday. They lock every door and every window but unfortunately those locks were either picked or left slightly ajar,' Mr Long said. WHAT IS AN API? An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. APIs provides a way for applications to work with each other and deliver the information requested without user intervention by using a simple set of commands. Acting as messengers, APIs deliver one applications request to another and return a response in real time. To gain specific information from a program a user has to make a request using a specific list of commands. Once requested, the other program processes the commands and sends back the requested information. Advertisement 'In either case, no one is doubting Optus has security but unfortunately the security wasn't good enough this time. 'Most importantly, Optus says the data was encrypted but I don't believe it was. For a hacker to get access to the information and decrypt it, is in and of itself an even bigger deal. 'I think the information was not encrypted and it should have been and that's where they probably should have had a bigger look at themselves and their security.' In a bizarre post on Tuesday morning, 'optushacker' claimed there were 'too many eyes' on them and said they would not sell or leak the hacked data. In broken English, optushacker said: 'Deepest apology to Optus for this. Hope all goes well from this'. The hacker also claimed they would've told the telco about their vulnerability but there was no way of getting in touch with them. 'Optus if your (sic) reading we would have reported exploit if you had method to contact,' the apology continued. 'No security mail, no bug bountys, no way too message. Ransom not paid but we don't care any more.' The extraordinary backflip comes hours after the cybercriminal threatened to release another 10,000 records every day for the next four days if a $1.5million ransom was not paid. The customer records the hacker has released so far included passport, drivers licence and Medicare numbers, as well as dates of birth and home addresses. The hacker wrote they couldn't delete more data even if they wanted to because they had 'personally deleted data from drive' which they claim is the only copy. In a bizarre post on Tuesday morning, 'optushacker' claimed there were 'too many eyes' on them and said they would not sell or leak the hacked data of up to 10 million Australians It comes after the hacker, known as 'Optushack', appeared on the dark web demanding Optus to pay a ransom of $1.5million or they would release another 10,000 records every day for the next four days Mr Long said the event was a reminder that strong personal security is needed and urged Australians to use two-factor authentication and update their passwords. 'This event is a great reminder for everyone that we need strong security ourselves,' Mr Long said. 'It's a good time to come up with a new and strong password for your bank, your email, and for things like your social media sites and set-up two-factor authentication. Those two things will give you great security across your service and most of your platforms.' The data breach, which ranks as one of the country's largest ever, is under investigation by the Australian Federal Police. On Monday, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil launched a scathing attack on Optus in parliament for allowing a 'basic' hack and said the government was looking at ways to mitigate the fallout. 'The breach is of a nature that we should not expect to see in a large telecommunications provider in this country,' Ms O'Neil said. 'We expect Optus to continue to do everything they can to support their customers and former customers.' Mr Long explained the hacker gained access to the telco's central computer, which housed a customer database, and was able to download information without authentication or a password (stock image, hacker working with laptop) Ms O'Neil said the government was looking to work with financial regulators and the banking sector to see what steps could be taken to protect affected customers. 'One significant question is whether the cyber security requirements we place on large telecommunications providers in this country are fit for purpose,' Ms O'Neil said. 'In other jurisdictions, a data breach of this size will result in fines amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the data breach was a 'huge wake-up call'. As the government prepares to introduce new cybersecurity measures, Mr Albanese said the new protections would mean banks and other institutions would be informed much faster when a breach happened so personal data could not be used. On Monday, Optus announced some customers will be offered a 12-month subscription to the security monitoring service Equifax Protect. 'The most affected customers will be receiving direct communications from Optus over the coming days on how to start their subscription at no cost,' Optus said in a statement. 'Please note that no communications from Optus relating to this incident will include any links as we recognise there are criminals who will be using this incident to conduct phishing scams.' A British man is fighting for his life after being stabbed at Oktoberfest in Germany. The tourist, 35, has been left critically injured and requiring emergency surgery after suffering a stab wound in Munich as the famous festival got underway on September 17. Two 18-year-old men were arrested by Germany police in the city today in connection with the stabbing. One of the teenagers has been detained on suspicion of attempted murder, while the second is being held on suspicion of aggravated robbery. Officers have carried out searches of five residential properties within Munich as part of efforts to find the weapon. Visitors attend the official opening of the world's largest beer festival, Oktoberfest, on September 17 The tourist, 35, has been left critically injured after suffering a stab wound during the first weekend of the festival (stock picture) Police believe the stabbing is linked to an errant drug deal, according to German media outlet br.de. It is understood the British man suffered a stab wound to his upper body after being robbed of hundreds of euros, the report adds. The two suspects are said to have ran away the scene after robbing the alleged victim. It comes as the famous beer festival has returned after a Covid-enforced hiatus. It's estimated up to six million people will make their way to Munich for the event - which runs until October 3 - based on previous annual celebrations. A deal with Tirana to send migrants travelling across the Channel back was made PLANS to fast-track Albanian small boat migrants out of the UK were thrown into confusion last night. The Home Office announced a deal with Tirana last month to send Albanians home as quickly as possible after they arrive across the Channel from northern France. But UK Government lawyers have now revealed the measures will not apply to those who lodge asylum claims. The details emerged in response to legal action by migrant charity Care4Calais, which is already involved in a separate challenge against the Governments plan to hand asylum seekers a one-way ticket to Rwanda. A letter to the charitys solicitors from the Government legal department said of the Albania fast-track plans: The arrangements do not apply to asylum seekers. Clare Moseley of Care4Calais said: The Government has performed a major climbdown. They are accepting people from Albania have the right to make an asylum claim and have it fairly heard. The Home Office announced a deal with Tirana last month to send Albanians home as quickly as possible after they arrive across the Channel from northern France But Home Office insiders said they were unfazed by the development. One source said: Most Albanians who are coming to the UK are not claiming asylum they do not wish to face the possibility of removal to Rwanda. Instead, most are using other tactics to frustrate the removals process. The fast-track scheme will still apply to Channel arrivals who make unfounded claims that they are victims of modern slavery, it is understood. A Home Office spokesman said Albanians who have no right to be in the UK include failed asylum seekers, foreign national offenders, and individuals who are overstaying in the UK. Care4Calais is also involved in a judicial review which is challenging the legality of the Rwanda deal. It was revealed yesterday (MON) that the legal challenges against the Rwanda scheme are expected to delay it for up to a year. The doctors' union has attacked the country's top physician for suggesting they should not go on strike because of the risk to patient care. Dr Sarah Clarke, new president of the Royal College of Physicians, said on Saturday she did not think strike action was 'the right route' to resolve pay disputes because 'you're talking about patients here'. The British Medical Association demanded she apologise for 'undermining the collective efforts of the profession'. In a letter, seen by the Mail, the union suggested Dr Clarke may not 'appreciate the plight of doctors elsewhere in the NHS'. It said industrial action appeared to be the only option for health staff to challenge their 'woeful treatment' by the Government. Dr Sarah Clarke, new president of the Royal College of Physicians, said on Saturday she did not think strike action was 'the right route' to resolve pay disputes because 'you're talking about patients here' The BMA has called for a pay rise of up to 30 per cent. It will ballot junior doctor members on strike action if the Government does not improve on its offer of a 2 per cent pay rise by the end of the month. Dr Clarke, who said she sympathised the 'exhausted and demoralised' workforce later tried to clarify her comments, saying that she and the RCP supported the right of union members to go on strike. Dr Clarke also conceded that it is not within the RCP's 'usual remit to comment on pay negotiations' as it is not a trade union. But it was not enough to quell the fury of the BMA, with chair Professor Phil Banfield and deputy chair Dr Emma Runswick writing to Dr Clarke on Sunday to express 'serious concerns' about her remarks. The British Medical Association demanded she apologise for 'undermining the collective efforts of the profession' Dr Runswick's motion on 'pay restoration' was passed overwhelmingly at the BMA conference in Brighton in June. The junior doctor from Salford told the conference that medics should not 'be tempted to accept a pathetic future for our profession'. The motion covered all doctors, including consultants who earn an average of 120,000 a year, GPs who on average earn 100,000, and junior doctors, who typically earn between 29,000 and 58,000. In response to the BMA's letter, Dr Clarke issued 'a heartfelt apology'. In a statement published on the RCP website, she said: 'I have been deeply affected by the strength of feeling expressed on social media and in other messages I have received and want to apologise for my comments which I feel have been misrepresented.' Red tape including licensing, cost of living and wages were some of the reasons They also questioned why Australian beach towns can't be as relaxed as Bali Australians discussed what they love about Bali in a social media travel group Australians have revealed why they keep returning to Bali, sparking a debate about why life here can't be as relaxed as it seems on the beloved holiday island. Hundreds in the Bali Bogans Facebook group discussed what they love best about Bali - with the low prices, the friendliness of Balinese people and their 'back to basics commonsense' at the top of the list. Stunning beaches, cheap food and accommodation are also a big part of the appeal. Australians have revealed why they keep going back to Bali, sparking a debate about why life here can't be as relaxed as it seems on the beloved holiday island Hundreds of members of the Bali Bogans Facebook group discussed what they love best about Bali, with the low prices, the friendliness of Balinese people and their 'back to basics commonsense' at the top of the list Poll Do you want Australia to be more like Bali? Yes No Do you want Australia to be more like Bali? Yes 68 votes No 124 votes Now share your opinion Australians lamented that the cost of living here prevents us from becoming more like Bali, plus we have way too many rules to follow. But some members pointed to Australian beach towns they believe have a 'Bali vibe', including Cairns and Port Douglas. Brisbane man Ricardo Samuele initiated the debate when he noted that Aussies in Bali tend to love many of the same things, including beach bars, beachside massages, beach clubs, scooter hire and street food. 'My question is, why do we not have the same things here in Australia?' Mr Samuele asked. Bali is the second most popular tourist destination for Australians, just behind New Zealand but well ahead of the United States in third place Arguably Bali is more loved as a holiday destination than NZ - for its ultra affordable lifestyle, cheap flights and accommodation and its beaches 'We all love Bali for these things and yet have nothing here similar in Australia. Where to an extent we have the same weather and beaches, it would seem these things to be possible here, but don't seem to exist.' Bali is the second most popular tourist destination for Australians, just behind New Zealand but well ahead of the United States in third place. But arguably, Bali is more loved, for its ultra-affordable lifestyle, cheap flights and accommodation and its beaches: things NZ holidays don't have in their favour. Bali is a magical holiday destination for literally millions of Australians Many people online lamented that Australian beach communities have too many bureaucratic restrictions such as council by laws and licensing issues to be as relaxed at Bali (Pictured, police patrolling Sydney beaches during Covid) Between 1.2million and 1.4million Australians visited Bali in 2019 and Balinese authorities are optimistic that number can be matched in 2022 as the island fully reopens after Covid. How Aussies can now live and work in Bali The Indonesian government announced a new 'digital nomad' visa that will soon allow Australians to live and work in Bali completely tax free. The new B211A visa will allow people to work for six months tax free in Bali. A similar visa for five years is also under discussion. The 'digital nomad visa' was proposed by Indonesia's tourism minister, Sandiaga Uno in June and passed this week. Mr Uno hopes the scheme will help bring more than three million overseas travellers to the archipelago in the next year, combined with an increased focus on spiritual retreats and eco-tourism. Advertisement Several members of the Bali Bogan group agreed with Mr Samuele that Australia has the potential for Bali-like communities with so much coastline and good weather, especially the further north you go. 'Look at the thousands of kilometres of beaches in the northern half of Australia, and the opportunities are overwhelming, but unattainable due to the massive amount of red tape involved with anything in Australia,' one woman said. Many people online lamented that Australian beach communities have too many bureaucratic restrictions such as council by laws and licensing issues to be as relaxed as Bali. 'There's much red tape in Australia, that's why I love Bali, back to basics and commonsense,' one man agreed. 'Licensing, cost of employment, varying weather, cheaper to fly there for a fortnight than a holiday here for a long weekend, insurance, motorcycle restriction laws (50cc scooter max or need class added)... just a few off the top of my head,' another man said. 'Maybe if Australia legalises marijuana, things won't be so uptight,' one man joked, not spotting the irony of Bali's much harsher penalties for drugs. The possession and use of marijuana in Bali is punishable with up to 10 years in prison in Bali, whereas in Australia a conviction is unlikely, at least for a first offence. People caught trafficking weed in Bali can even receive the death penalty. Many also felt Australian hospitality and the cost of living generally is too expensive to put as much casual dining and as many bars on the beach here. Red tape and rules are some of the biggest differences Aussies see between Bali and Australia (Pictured, police patrolling Sydney beaches during Covid) One woman said, 'the culture there' is very different. 'We only have the experience we do because of the Balinese people. It simply wouldn't be the same here.' 'Also, the cost of living is massively different. No one here is going to want to give massages for $5.' 'We've allowed our tourism sector to target high spenders only, one man said. 'If we all push for a revolution in the tourism sector there will eventually be change.' Others agreed the Balinese locals would always be the missing ingredient in any attempt to turn Australian beaches into Bali. 'Nothing can replace the Balinese smiles, service or culture,' one woman said. 'Its the Balinese people that make it special,' another agreed. Mr Samuele added that he believes our coasts are too protected by environmental laws. 'We have so much available coastal areas which a minority keep playing the environmental card where we should have parks, bars, cafes and skate parks,' he said. One man claimed Port Douglas is becoming known as 'the Bali of the north' to locals (Pictured, Port Douglas) 'Such a waste.' Some members claimed some Australian towns are trying to recreate a 'Bali vibe' especially with beach-side eateries and bars. 'We do [have Bali-like places] - its called Port Douglas, Queensland,' one man said. 'Many people call it the 'Bali of the north'. 'Cairns is starting to have the Bali Vibe,' another woman claimed. 'I recently went and stayed at the Crystalbrook Riley. They have a beach/pool bar and summer tunes. Lots of beachfront restaurants/ street market with cheap massage, manicure and pedicure.' LABOUR has confirmed it will renationalise the railways if it wins the next general election. Transport spokesman Louise Haigh told the conference yesterday that rail would be placed back in public hands after the current contracts with operators expire. She told delegates many of whom had a hard time reaching the gathering in Liverpool due to slashed train timetables and widespread disruption that private rail companies should no longer be allowed to provide a lacklustre service. The confirmation of Labours nationalisation policy comes after months of confusion and contrasting rhetoric from the Shadow Cabinet. Miss Haigh told the conference: British railways have become a cash machine for companies and foreign governments. The confirmation of Labours nationalisation policy comes after months of confusion and contrasting rhetoric from the Shadow Cabinet This cannot go on things must change. And Labour in government will make sure they will. RMT boss Mick Lynch said yesterday the union would welcome the move to public ownership. This the summer the Labour leadership appeared to perform several U-turns over nationalisation, despite Sir Keir Starmer including the policy in his manifesto when running for the partys leadership. In July, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said renationalisation was no longer compatible with Labours fiscal rules. She was initially backed by Sir Keir, who said he would reject an ideological position and instead take a pragmatic approach to the issue. Nationalisation was a foundational policy of the 2019 manifesto, which the current leadership has sought to distance itself from. When asked if he had dropped his leadership pledge, Sir Keir said: On the specifics of nationalisation, Im pragmatic, not ideological. I dont think that after the pandemic an ideological response is the right one. Rail is probably different from the others because so much of our rail is already in public ownership. That is what I mean about not being ideological about it. Miss Haigh was forced to post a statement on social media at the time clarifying the partys position favouring public ownership. But during conference, the party has appeared to settle on a clearer policy, with Miss Haigh suggesting a Labour government would end this farce of privatised rail. The partys rail minister Tan Dhesi had earlier hinted at the change, telling a fringe event hosted by the militant RMT union that nationalisation had been Labour policy since he took his post in 2020. RMT leader Mick Lynch said yesterday (Mon): We welcome the Labour Party committing itself to public ownership of the railways. Tackling the greed and inefficiency of the private sector in our railways and other public services should be a key priority for the next Labour government. The flags on royal residences have returned to full-mast today as the official mourning period for the Queen's death came to an end, while the monarchy returned to its official duties. Flags at royal residences remained at half-mast until 8am on Tuesday, while the Prince and Princess of Wales prepared to visit the nation for the first time since taking up their titles. Since the death of the Queen on September 8, the royal family has only carried out official duties where appropriate, and its members have dressed in black as a mark of respect when in public. From Tuesday they will be able to carry out their normal official roles in full after observing the seven-day period of mourning. William and Kate will spend the day travelling the length of Wales, first visiting Holyhead in Anglesey, North Wales, and then travelling to Swansea in South West Wales. The royal couple had promised to visit at the earliest opportunity following the death of the Queen, and return hoping to begin deepening the trust and respect they have with the people of Wales. The flags on royal residences have returned to full-mast today as the official mourning period for the Queen's death came to an end (Pictured: Buckingham Palace on Tuesday) The Union flag over Windsor Castle is returned to full-mast on Tuesday The Union flag over Buckingham Palace, London, is returned to full-mast as the mourning period following the death of Queen Elizabeth II comes to an end King Charles III and members of the royal family follow behind the Queens coffin as it is carried out of Westminster Abbey following the state funeral The last official visit the pair made to Wales was as Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Cardiff Castle in June, where rehearsals for the Platinum Jubilee concert were taking place. Charles carried out one official engagement during royal mourning, holding a telephone audience with the Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on Thursday evening, the eve of his tax-cutting mini budget. The Prince and Princess of Wales praised volunteers and operational staff they met at Windsor that day, for their efforts at events surrounding the Queens committal service. The King travelled to Scotland soon after the Queens funeral last Monday and could remain at his home of Birkhall into early October, following the tradition set by the late monarch. The Queen would normally spend around 10 weeks at her Scottish home during summer, returning to London around the time the autumn session of Parliament began. Planning is likely to be under way for Charles coronation and Lavender Hill Magistrates Court in south London heard the suggestion a date has been set for the national event expected next year. Heavy rainfall is expected to move off the NSW coast on Wednesday night Forecasts are predicting wild winds and severe thunderstorms to wreak havoc Almost every part of Australia will experience rainfall over the next 10 days Australia's east coast will be hit with a huge wet weather system that could linger for more than a week. Heavy rain, hailstones, thunderstorms and flooding are forecast for large swathes of the east coast, in particular southern New South Wales and Victoria, beginning Tuesday. The miserable, on-and-off weather could last for up to 10 days. Weatherzone meteorologist Joel Pippard told Daily Mail Australia the downpour will intensify this week with Sydney, Brisbane and potentially Canberra to be drenched with showers and a possible storm next Monday. He said 'every river west of the Great Dividing Range' would be affected by some kind of flooding as a low pressure system travels from Alice Springs. Australians across the country have been told to brace for a soaking this week as forecasters warn wet and wild weather will last for over a week (pictured, pedestrians in Brisbane) This weather map shows the month-to-date rainfall percentages, with blue shading representing areas that have seen more than 200 percent of their average rainfall this month While large parts of the east coast can expect to receive a soaking over the next 10 days, the forecaster said the rain won't be constant. Mr Pippard said a 'fairly significant system' will track east through the Northern Territory and South Australia on Monday and hit the east coast on Wednesday. The system is expected to collide with a cold front and bring significant precipitation to Victoria, Canberra and NSW - with residents urged to monitor local forecasts. The forecaster said the Murray River in southern NSW was at risk of overflowing but that, luckily, the rain would likely only exacerbate current flooding. On Thursday, a trough in the tropics will move down to Western Australia which Mr Pippard said was 'very unusual' for this time of year. The area - which would normally receive 5mm of rain in September - is forecast to receive 10 to 30mm - quite possibly breaking rain records. Darwin is also expected to receive an rare drenching during its dry season. This weather map shows the total rainfall expected across Australia from Monday to Thursday The Bureau of Meteorology said a trough inland moving east is bringing the chance of thunderstorms on Monday for much of New South Wales The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said severe thunderstorms had developed in the northeast of NSW on Tuesday afternoon, with heavy rain increasing the flood threat in NSW, Victoria and possibly southern Queensland. Southern NSW and Victoria received from 5mm to 15mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am on Tuesday morning which has continued into the afternoon. 'This additional rainfall is not going to be good news for our flood-affected residents and communities across Victoria and NSW,' a BOM forecaster said. Major flood warnings have been issued for rivers in Tamworth, Walgett, Condobolin and Dubbo while moderate warnings remain current for waterways in Albury, Bourke, Ivanhoe and Orange. The heavy rainfall is expected to move off the NSW coast with a 'burst of showers and gusty winds' on Wednesday night. Almost every part of Australia will experience rainfall over the next 10 days as a massive rain bomb engulfs the country Heavy rain, thunderstorms and flooding is expected for large regions of the east coast, particularly southern New South Wales and Victoria Some catchments in northern Victoria and southern NSW have already exceeded more than 200 per cent of annual rainfall in just the last month. Forecasters are warning three states could see severe thunderstorms over the next three days. Moderate to major flooding is set to continue through NSW this week, with the worst of the weather expected on Tuesday and Wednesday. The state's east will experience thunderstorms on Tuesday, with strong winds and even hail predicted. Heavy rainfall is predicted for NSW's southern regions on Tuesday and Wednesday The state's east will experience thunderstorms on Tuesday, with strong winds and even hail predicted Another low pressure system is predicted to hit the Kimberley and Pilbara areas of Western Australia early next week - which could bring unseasonable rain. Broome has seen no rainfall so far through September, but could see significant precipitation to start October. A low-pressure system that brought torrential rain and flooded dozens of river systems in inland NSW and the state's north in the latter part of the week is moving offshore, although forecasters say the situation is still 'evolving'. Early on Saturday, flood warnings remained active for 28 river systems from the inland west, through to the Northern Rivers and the Mid North Coast. BOM has told residents to monitor local warnings as thunderstorms are forecast for large parts of NSW (pictured, a weather map showing areas in NSW with a 'chance of' storms) Emergency services used a boat to rescue four people from the Hilux who were found clinging to trees, including a 37-year-old man, a 28-year-old woman, and a young boy and girl. However, the five-year-old boy became trapped in the car before it submerged and was swept away In the town of Gunnedah, home to 9000 people, major flooding was continuing after the Namoi River peaked at 8.24 metres on Saturday morning. At Wee Waa, just 120km northwest, floodwaters are still slowly falling but could remain above major flood levels into next week. The cotton town is protected by an 8km levee but Narrabri Shire mayor Ron Campbell said the rainfall had destroyed local roads. 'If we get substantial rain across the summer, we could have a record flood for sure - probably something not seen since the 1970s,' Mr Campbell said. The wet weather has caused anxiety in the Tumbulgum community on the Tweed River after its burst its banks and flooded paddocks on Friday. A five-year-old boy died after becoming trapped in a car last week that was swept away by floodwaters in central western NSW A five-year-old boy died after becoming trapped in a car that was swept away by floodwaters in central western NSW. Two vehicles, including a Toyota Hilux, became trapped in floodwaters on McGrane Way at Tullamore, northwest of Parkes, on Friday night. Emergency services used a boat to rescue four people from the Hilux who were found clinging to trees, including a 37-year-old man, a 28-year-old woman, and a young boy and girl. However, the five-year-old boy became trapped in the car before it submerged and was swept away. NSW Police officers started searching on Saturday for the Hilux and at about 3.20pm the boy's body was located in the still-submerged car by police divers. His family were taken to Dubbo Base Hospital for observation. The occupants of the second vehicle weren't injured. The Hilux has since been retrieved and police are investigating ahead of a report being prepared for the coroner. A large low pressure system is set to collide with a cold trough - sparking significant precipitation through Australia's states and territories If you think you could say boo to a goose and live to tell the tale, youre on the same page as 45 per cent of Britons. Americans are even braver according to a YouGov poll with 61 per cent saying they would come out on top. And astonishingly, 10 per cent of Britons think they could fight off a chimpanzee. Astonishingly, 10 per cent of Britons think they could fight off a chimpanzee. But Jan Garen, owner of Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary in Powys, told The Times this confidence was misplaced But Jan Garen, owner of Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary in Powys, told The Times this confidence was misplaced: A man would stand no chance at all. A chimp will go for your eyes so you cant see, then hands so you cant fight back. Britons and Americans were asked to rate their chances against 15 species. The British were far less confident while at least 5 per cent of US women said they could take on crocodiles, elephants, gorillas and grizzly bears, less than 5 per cent of British men said the same. Just 67 per cent of Britons said they could fight a rat it is unclear how the other 33 per cent thought they would be bested House cats are surprisingly feared, with a third of UK people thinking a cat could defeat them In worrying news for our own pets, just 67 per cent of Britons said they could fight a rat it is unclear how the other 33 per cent thought they would be bested. House cats are surprisingly feared though, with a third of UK people thinking a cat could defeat them. Both countries ranked the animals in the same order of threat: rat, cat, goose, medium-sized dog, eagle, big dog, chimpanzee, king cobra, kangaroo, wold, crocodile, gorilla, lion, elephant and grizzly bear. The PM says Australian history should be taught in a way that doesn't shame Mr Albanese says it's important children learn the truth about such atrocities Anthony Albanese has voiced his support for schools to teach about the massacres of Indigenous people by British settlers in a way that does not 'shame' Australians of British descent. The Prime Minister said it was important for children learn the truth of Australia's history including the atrocities committed against some Indigenous communities. 'Part of learning about our history is truth-telling as well,' he said in an interview on 4BC radio's breakfast program on Tuesday morning. Anthony Albanese (pictured) has expressed support for schools to teach about the massacres committed against Indigenous people by settlers 'And the truth is that Indigenous people suffered a lot. Not all, but many did. There were massacres (that) occurred.' 'And we need to be truthful about that. Not as a way of being shamed but just as being fair dinkum. It's the Australian way,' he added. Mr Albanese said he backed having that part of Australia's history being implemented into the nationwide school curriculum. His response was prompted after a discussion about the Voice to Parliament, which is a proposed body that will advise federal parliament on matters concerning Indigenous people. When asked about a potential date for a referendum, the Prime Minister explained he was still 'waiting to have consultation'. 'We know how hard it is to get a referendum up. But it's a pretty simple proposition,' he said. 'The Constitution is our national birth certificate. And at the moment, it pretends that nothing happened until 1788. And it is good manners and also it should be a source of pride to recognise that we have shared this continent with the oldest continuous civilisation on the planet.' The Prime Minister explained that Australians had to be 'truthful' about the past when it came to the suffering endured by Indigenous communities but not in a way that 'shamed' others (pictured, 1852 lithograph of the Waterloo Creek massacre) During his interview on 4BC radio Mr Albanese was asked about the Voice to Parliament and a potential date for a referendum, to which the Prime Minister said he was still 'waiting to have consultation' (pictured, Mr Albanese at the Garma Festival in northeast Arnhem Land in July) It comes as the first ad campaign urging Australians to vote 'yes' for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament was released on Monday. The ad, which was shot near Alice Springs, features Pitjantjatjara and Nyungar playwright and actor Trevor Jamieson talking to a group of seated Indigenous children in an outback setting, as if around a campfire. 'I've got a story to tell you. It's a good one,' Jamieson says. The first ad promoting a 'yes' vote in the upcoming referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament has been released 'It's about how these people, the First People, got a voice.' Poll Will you vote for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament? Yes No I don't know yet Will you vote for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament? Yes 62 votes No 546 votes I don't know yet 34 votes Now share your opinion Scenes then cut between an Asian grandmother cooking with her grandchildren and a dad with helping his son repair a bike as they talk at some future point about how they proudly voted 'yes' in the referendum. Jamieson then says Indigenous people have 'no voice. No say in matters which affected them. It wasn't right.' The ad shows a grassroots swell of mostly young people showing their support for a yes vote by texting, phoning, talking in the street and getting a tattoo. 'Everyone walked side-by-side,' says the elderly Asian woman. 'And that's how we changed this country for the better, how we made history' Jamieson continues. 'Is that story true?' one of the children asks Jamieson. The ad stars Pitjantjatjara and Nyungar playwright and actor Trevor Jamieson as the 'story teller' What appears to be an Asian grandmother tells her children about how she proudly voted for a Voice to Parliament With a longing expression Jamieson answers: 'It could be.' The ad finishes with a caption of the new campaign's tagline 'History is calling' and a last pitch to 'Vote Yes for a First Nations Voice to Parliament'. Uluru Dialogue co-chair Pat Anderson, who appears in the ad standing between two children, told The Guardian the commercial was encouraged to get Australians talking about a better future. 'Silence never made history, and history is calling,' Anderson she said. 'It's up to all Australians to answer. We call upon the nation to continue walking with us on this final stretch to a better future.' A US Coast Guard ship on routine patrol in the Bering Sea came across a guided missile cruiser from China, officials said Monday. But it turned out the cruiser wasn't alone as it sailed about 86 miles north of Alaska's Kiska Island, on September 19. Two other Chinese naval ships and four Russian naval vessels, including a destroyer, were spotted in single formation, the patrol boat, known as a cutter called Kimball, discovered. The Honolulu-based Kimball, a 418-foot vessel, observed as the ships broke formation and dispersed. A C-130 Hercules provided air support for the Kimball from the Coast Guard station in Kodiak. The US Coast Guard disclosed the sighting on Monday in a press release. A Coast Guard Cutter Kimball crew-member observes a foreign vessel in the Bering Sea, Monday, September 19, 2022, in a photo provided by the US-coastguard. The routine patrol in the Bering Sea came across the guided missile cruiser from China, officials said Monday 'While the formation has operated in accordance with international rules and norms, we will meet presence with presence to ensure there are no disruptions to US interests in the maritime environment around Alaska,' Rear Admiral Nathan Moore, Seventeenth Coast Guard District commander said. The Coast Guard said Operation Frontier Sentinel guidelines call for meeting 'presence with presence' when strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters. The Kimball will continue to monitor the area. The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to questions about the incident from The Associated Press. The Chinese and Russian formation came a month after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned about China's interest in the Arctic and Russia's military buildup there. Stoltenberg said Russia has set up a new Arctic Command and has opened hundreds of new and former Soviet-era Arctic military sites, including deep-water ports and airfields. China has declared itself a 'near Arctic' state and plans to build the world's largest icebreaker, he said. 'Beijing and Moscow have also pledged to intensify practical cooperation in the Arctic. This forms part of a deepening strategic partnership that challenges our values and interests,' Stoltenberg said in a visit to Canada's north. This wasn't the first time Chinese naval ships have sailed near Alaska waters. In September 2021, Coast Guard cutters in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean encountered Chinese ships, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the Aleutian Islands. A woman arriving at JFK airport for her job as a security guard fears she'll lose her sight in one eye after she was savagely beaten by a homeless career criminal at the airport subway station. Elizabeth Gomes, 33, arrived at the Howard Beach station in Queens, New York City, at around 5:15am on September 20. Waheed Foster, 41, tried to start a conversation, but when she ignored him he flung himself at her - dragging her to the ground then kicking and punching her. Foster, who was arrested for murdering his 82-year-old foster grandmother in a brutal beating at the age of 14, rained blows down Gomes as she cowered on the floor. Elizabeth Gomes, 33, was attacked on September 20 as she got off the subway at JFK airport and headed to work Gomes is seen being grabbed from behind by Waheed Foster, 41 - who she had ignored as he tried to speak to her when she got off the train Foster, who beat his foster grandmother to death when he was 14, grabbed Gomes Foster is seen hurling Gomes to the floor before raining blows down on her Gomes is seen curling up in a ball to try and protect herself as Foster attacked her Foster then kicked her as she lay on the ground, trying to shield herself One man tried to come to Gomes's aid, but Foster chased him away and then resumed attacking her. He then walked away, leaving Gomes on the floor. The vagrant was arrested shortly after. It later emerged he was arrested six years after the murder for stabbing his 21-year-old sister with a screwdriver. In 2010, he was arrested for attacking three workers at the Creedmore Psychiatric Center, where he was an inpatient. He was on parole until November 2024 at the time of last week's attack, ABC News reported. 'Do you know how scared I am now? I was never a person to be scared,' Gomes told the network. 'I can't see anything on my right side, honestly. And it just hurts.' One man tried to save Gomes, but Foster chased him away Foster then resumed attacking Gomes as she lay on the floor Foster walked away, but was arrested shortly after She said doctors told her she may lose her sight in her right eye, and she said she has been unable to sleep, left with a throbbing head. 'Every day is an incident in the subway,' she said. 'What happened to all these police officer they said they will have there to protect us? There's like nobody to be found. I don't understand.' She said Foster was muttering about Satan when he attacked her. 'He's talking about the devil. He's talking about a whole bunch of nonsense,' Gomes said. Foster has been charged with felony assault. He has two other pending criminal cases against him, on charges of criminal mischief and minor theft. Transit crime has soared more than 43 percent so far this year compared to the same period in 2021, according to the latest NYPD statistics. There were 1,165 crimes reported in the city transit system for the period last year compared to 1,670 this year, the figures show. Apology read: 'Deepest apology to Optus for this. Hope all goes well from this' The mysterious hacker claiming to be responsible for the Optus data breach has suddenly apologised for the cyber-attack - as customers receive threatening text messages demanding they pay $2000 to have their details erased. In a bizarre post on Tuesday morning, 'optusdata' claimed there were 'too many eyes' on them and said they would not sell or leak the hacked data of up to 10million Australians. In broken English, optusdata said: 'Deepest apology to Optus for this. Hope all goes well from this'. However, Australians are now receiving threatening texts demanding they pay $2,000 to have their 'confidential information erased off the system'. The text warns Optus customers that if they do not comply, their information will be 'sold for fraudulent activity' in two days time. The message asks the $2000 be transferred to a Commonwealth Bank account under the name 'Optusdata' and that customers send a copy of their receipt. 'Optus has left security measures allowing us to access the personal information of their customers including name, email, phone number, date of birth, address and licence number,' the text reads. 'Optus has not responded to our demand of paying the 1M$USD ransom as such as your information will be sold and used for fraudulent activity within 2 days or until a payment of $2000AUD is made then the confidential information will be erased off our systems.' The threatening texts comes just hours after the hacker said they would release 10,000 records every day for four days if a $1.5million ransom remained unpaid. In a bizarre post 'optusdata' claimed there were 'too many eyes' on them and claimed they would not sell or leak the hacked data of over 10million Australians Optus customers have received threatening text messages warning their data will be leaked unless they pay $2,000 to a CBA account (pictured, the text message) (pictured, an Optus store in Melbourne) The customer records the hacker has released so far included passport, drivers licence and Medicare numbers, as well as dates of birth and home addresses. In their original apology, the Optus hacker claimed they would've told the telco about their vulnerability but there was no way of getting in touch. 'Optus if your (sic) reading we would have reported exploit if you had method to contact,' the apology continued. 'No security mail, no bug bountys, no way too message. Ransom not paid but we don't care any more.' The hacker said they couldn't release more data even if they wanted to because they had 'personally deleted data from drive' which they claim is the only copy. Cybersecurity journalist Jeremy Kirk said the apology wasn't a guarantee 'optusdata' could be trusted but said it would be the 'best outcome' for customers. He said it was 'disappointing' others on the forum had copied the stolen data and were distributing it - despite the hacker deleting the original samples. 'This means that those 10,200 Optus users in these three data samples would be at an immediate heightened risk of fraud, ID theft,' he tweeted. Bad news. The Optus hacker has released 10,000 customer records and says a 10K batch will be released every day over the next four days if Optus doesn't give into the extortion demand. #OptusDataBreach #optushack #auspol #infosec pic.twitter.com/NuGe7Pup8l Jeremy Kirk (@Jeremy_Kirk) September 26, 2022 Shara Evans, a tech analyst who has worked for large telco's in the United States, believes Optus has been less than forthcoming over whether the stolen data was encrypted or not. 'If the data was encrypted the company would be on the front foot saying 'yes it's been encrypted, we're not going to tell you the exact method for security purposes',' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'Any data that someone may have gotten their hands on would be in an 'encrypted state' - whether they used encryption or tokenisation or any other methodology to scramble the data that would have solved 99.9 per cent of the problem.' Ms Evans said Optus should have maintained separate silos for storing their customer's personal information. 'All of this stuff should have been separately kept, separately stored with audit trails, multiple firewalls and encryption,' she said. The hacker demanded a ransom of US$1million - or $1.5million Australian - be paid in Monero, a decentralised cryptocurrency (pictured, an Optus store in Sydney) Mr Kirk questioned the motivations behind the backflip, tweeting: 'Many questions around this: Why has this person seemingly changed their mind?' 'Can we trust this person now? What does this person mean by writing about not being able to delete the data from the drive?' The cybersecurity journalist, who says he has been in contact with the hacker, shared details of the ransom note on Tuesday morning. 'The Optus hacker has released 10,000 customer records and says a 10K batch will be released every day over the next four days if Optus doesn't give into the extortion demand,' he wrote on Twitter. Early on Saturday morning, the hackers demanded a ransom of US$1million - or $1.5million Australian - be paid in Monero, a decentralised cryptocurrency which would obscure the identity of the recipient. 'We are businessmen 1.000.000$US is a lot of money and will keep too (sic) our word,' the hacker's message read. The ransom demand came after Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil launched a scathing attack on Optus in parliament, saying it was a 'basic' hack (stock image) The ransom demand came after Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil launched a scathing attack on Optus in parliament, saying it was a 'basic' hack. She laid blame for the security breach, which involved 9.8 million current and former customers, at the feet of the telco. 'The breach is of a nature that we should not expect to see in a large telecommunications provider in this country,' Ms O'Neil said on Monday. 'We expect Optus to continue to do everything they can to support their customers and former customers.' However, Optus has rejected Ms O'Neil's claim that the hack was not 'sophisticated'. The telco's CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said the breach was 'not as is being portrayed'. In their bizarre apology, the Optus hacker claimed they would've told the telco about their vulnerability but there was no way of getting in touch (pictured, Optus in Sydney) The ransom demand appeared on the dark web, with the hacker demanding $1.5million 'Unfortunately I think our briefing of the Minister happened after she (made those claims),' she told the ABC. 'Our data was encrypted and we have multiple layers of protection.' Ms Bayer Rosmarin said the company could not do much about the ransom threat while it was being investigated by the Australian Federal Police. 'We have seen that there is a post like that on the dark web and the Australian Federal Police is all over that,' she said. Speaking to the Today Show on Tuesday morning, Mr Kirk said no one knows the true identity of the hacker. 'This is the real challenge for investigators right now, they want to find this person, because this person is perpetrating extortion against an international company, and is in possession of a huge amount of personal data,' he said. Cybersecurity threat analyst Brett Callow, said the hacker's only motivation was money and echoed Ms O'Neil's claims that it was not a sophisticated attack 'There's just a lot of ways to stay anonymous on the Internet and so what police and other investigators will be doing right now is trying to find out if that person has made any mistakes. 'Anything that leads to their in real life identity so hopefully they can make an arrest.' Cybersecurity threat analyst Brett Callow, said the hacker's only motivation was money and echoed Ms O'Neil's claims that it was not a sophisticated attack. 'It would sound like something potentially a highschool kid could've pulled off,' he said. Operation Hurricane was established by the AFP on Monday to identify the people behind the breach as well as prevent identity fraud. Assistant Commissioner of Cyber Command Justine Gough said the investigation into the source of the data breach would be complex. Optus boss Kelly Bayer Rosmarin says the company couldn't do much about the ransom threat as it was being investigated by the Australian Federal Police 'We are aware of reports of stolen data being sold on the dark web and that is why the AFP is monitoring the dark web using a range of specialist capabilities,' she said. 'Criminals, who use pseudonyms and anonymising technology, can't see us but I can tell you that we can see them.' The task force will work with the Australian Signals Directorate, overseas police as well as Optus. Ms Gough said customers should be more vigilant in monitoring unsolicited texts, emails and phone calls in the wake of the Optus breach. 'The AFP will be working hard to explain to the community and businesses how to harden their online security because ultimately it is our job to help protect Australians and our way of life,' she said. Early on Saturday morning, the hackers demanded the ransom of US$1million - or $1.5million Australian - be paid in Monero, a decentralised cryptocurrency which would obscure the identity of the recipient (pictured, an Optus store in Sydney) Slater and Gordon Lawyers are investigating whether to launch a class action lawsuit against Optus on behalf of former and current customers. Class actions senior associate Ben Zocco said the leaked information posed a risk to vulnerable people, including domestic violence survivors and victims of stalking. Consequences may be less severe for other customers but the information could easily lead to identity theft, he added. Ms O'Neil called on the telco to provide free credit monitoring to former and present customers who had their data stolen in the breach. Optus has announced it will be providing the most affected current and former customers with a free 12-month credit monitoring subscription to Equifax Protect. Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil slammed Optus saying the security breach was 'basic', however the telco has rejected those claims Ms O'Neil said the government was looking to work with financial regulators and the banking sector to see what steps could be taken to protect affected customers. 'One significant question is whether the cyber security requirements we place on large telecommunications providers in this country are fit for purpose,' she said. 'In other jurisdictions, a data breach of this size will result in fines amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the data breach was a 'huge wake-up call'. As the government prepares to introduce new cybersecurity measures, Mr Albanese said the new protections would mean banks and other institutions would be informed much faster when a breach happened so personal data could not be used. The former poster boy for New York City's lax bail reforms was perp walked in and out of the NYPD's Midtown North Station house on Monday. Pedro Hernandez, 22, is suspected of shooting into a Mercedes on Fifth Avenue and 50th Street, close to St. Patrick's Cathedral, at 5:45pm August 28. He was taken into custody on September 26 after being arrested in The Bronx and charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment. He was held at the station for around an hour before being taken to court. In 2017 at the age of 17, he became the face of the city's bail-reform when he was sent to Rikers after refusing a plea deal for a 2015 shooting of 15-year-old boy at a Bronx bodega. The former poster boy for New York City's lax bail reforms was perp walked in and out of the NYPD's Midtown North Station house on Monday Pedro Hernandez, 22, is suspected of shooting into a Mercedes on Fifth Avenue and 50th Street, at 5:45pm August 28 He was taken into custody on September 26 after being arrested in The Bronx and charged with attempted murder, among other charges Hernandez is believed to have lost cash and gold jewelry to a pair of hustlers in a game of three-card monte close to St. Patrick's Cathedral As the hustlers drove off in their red Mercedes, Hernandez allegedly fired a single shot into the driver's side door Hernandez wore a blue suit with a white shirt and appeared unmoved as he was marched into the station. The suspect remained silent when reporters attempted to ask him questions. The New York Post reports that Hernandez was nabbed by cops after negotiations in which he planned to hand himself into police fell through. Hernandez is believed to have lost cash and gold jewelry to a pair of hustlers in a game of three-card monte, and then lost his temper when the men refused to return to lost valuables. As the men drove off in their red Mercedes, Hernandez allegedly fired a single shot into the driver's side door. Police say he then climbed into his own car, a black BMW, and pursued the Mercedes to the parking garage of the Palace Hotel on Madison Avenue. Inside the garage, men then dumped Hernandez's belongings, which he scooped up before fleeing. Hernandez wore a blue suit with a white shirt and appeared unmoved as he was marched into the station. The suspect remained silent when reporters attempted to ask him questions The Post reports that Hernandez was nabbed by cops after negotiations in which he planned to hand himself into police fell through Nobody was injured in relation to the shooting, although one man, 29, was seriously injured during the melee that ensued after the scam. A witness who works at a nearby hotel told the Daily News: 'The guy starting running and then they started chasing each other down the block. Everybody started running on the street mostly tourists and some New Yorkers.' The shooting was caught on camera by a YouTuber who regularly posts videos of three card monte games online, according to the Daily News. Another witness, who saw the group fighting outside of the parking garage told the newspaper: 'Two guys came running out, one chasing the other. When they came out of the garage, they were hauling ass. ' He continued: 'The guy being chased dropped something on the ground. The guy doing the chasing picked it up and jumped back into the car and took off like the entire NYPD was chasing him.' Hernandez was held at the station for around an hour before being taken to court, reports the New York Post Hernandez is a familiar face in New York's criminal justice system In 2017 at the age of 17, he became the face of the city's bail-reform when he was sent to Rikers after refusing a plea deal for a 2015 shooting of 15-year-old boy at a Bronx bodega Hernandez is a familiar face in New York's criminal justice system. The deal involving the Bronx bodega incident IN 2017 would have let him walk without jail time, but he maintained his innocence and was put behind bars with a $250,000 bail for a year awaiting his trial. His case garnered national attention, and he was eventually bailed out by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation after the amount was reduced to $100,000. The charges in that case were dropped before his trial when a witness refused to cooperate. In the spring of 2019 he was picked up again and charged for a bodega robbery which left a victim with a slash to his face which required 15 stitches. He was released on $15,000 bail after that arrest. Hernandez also has three open gun charges against him dating back to 2019. Over the course of the entire year, Hernandez was collared 15 times. Other charges from three years ago included misdemeanor reckless endangerment and reckless driving. Had the city's current bail laws been enforced at the time, Hernandez would have walked free on all of those charges without bail. Hernandez and his attorneys have long insisted he has been harassed and targeted by the NYPD. 'Mr. Hernandez has been a target of the N.Y.P.D.,' Bronx Defenders attorney Julia Deutsch said in 2019, 'The details of this case will come out and the truth will prevail.' Another attorney representing Hernandez at the time said the prison system was the only thing keeping Hernandez from living a clean life. 'When someone has been falsely arrested as many times as Pedro, and every case has been dismissed, it doesnt seem to warrant the comment I make over and over again,' said attorney Alex Spiro. 'If the system stays out of Pedro's way, he is a unique kid with a bright future,' Spiro added. Hernandez currently has a lawsuit pending against the NYPD for claims of false arrest. Optus is facing an 'extinction-level event' after its massive loss of customer data to a hacker, a technology analyst says. Shara Evans, a leading technology futurist keynote speaker with a telco background, says the response by Optus has been completely inadequate and could see it face massive fines both in Australia and Europe. 'This is an extinction-level event for Optus's reputation,' Ms Evans, who has worked for US tech and telco giants Alcatel, Sprint, Telenet and GTE, said. Shara Evans, who is the CEO of leading tech research firm Market Clarity, says Optus faces an 'extinction-level event' after the mass hack that stole the personal data of up to 11 million of its customers 'This is a public relations fiasco. 'I have seen some reports that it could be up to 11.2 million people, so we are talking about 30 to 40 per cent of Australia's population. According to Australia's Information Commissioner, otherwise known as the privacy commissioner, a data breach is defined as something 'likely to cause you serious harm'. About 11 million Optus customers had personal details stolen in the massive data breach Ms Evans said there was no question that 'Optus have a notifiable data breach'. 'The information that has been exposed is a combination of your name, date of birth, email, phone number or address associated with your account. 'There's no doubt in my mind that this constitutes the kind of information that could result in identity theft, financial loss through fraud, serious psychological harm.' The maximum penalty that can be levelled against a company in Australia for a privacy breach is $2million, which Ms Evans called 'pocket change'. Ms Evans said a hacker who had someone's date of birth could wait years before using it maliciously (pictured, a stock photo) However, Optus could face much harsher potential penalties coming out of Europe. 'I am told there are [millions] of people in Australia who have dual EU citizenship, which means the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect,' Ms Evans said. 'Optus is liable under EU law for all EU citizens impacted by the breach.' The maximum fines under the GDPR is 20 million ($29million) or 4 per cent of a firm's global revenue of the preceding year, if that is higher. Ms Evans expressed her disbelief at how the telco had left so many of its customers in the dark. 'I think the burning question is: why were people not pro-actively notified?' she said. 'This should have been told to everybody involved as soon as they realised "Oh my God, this involves birthdates, driver's licences - all kinds of other information".' Optus could face both fines in Australia, but also much bigger sums under EU law, for the data breach Ms Evans believed Optus may well have been in breach of the law, which is enforced by the privacy commissioner and the federal attorney-general. 'It is the law to notify impacted people straight away,' Ms Evans said of the breach. 'There's different categories of information but without a doubt birth date falls into what is classified as sensitive information. 'It appears that everybody who has been breached had their date of birth compromised.' The commissioner's website says a firm has 30 days to assess whether a data breach is likely to 'cause serious harm'. Ms Evans is in no doubt the Optus breach falls into this category. 'If birth dates and driver's licences are released you don't need 30 days to assess if there is potential serious harm,' she said. 'You know that right away.' 'They have an obligation to push the information, not just through a press release. They've got your phone number!' Ms Evans said the hack and especially the slow response of Optus was a 'public relations' disaster Ms Evans was scathing about what she saw as the lack of urgency and transparency. 'On the Optus portal and on the app from day one there was zero notification about a potential breach,' she said. 'I just do not believe Optus has acted in good faith towards its customers in terms of disclosure by not notifying people when it is dead obvious what this data could be used for.' Potentially the most sensitive piece of information the hacker appears to have harvested, possibly from every stolen account, is birth dates. 'If your date of birth is compromised you are subject to identity theft - full stop,' Ms Evans said. 'Once your birth date is gone the only thing you can do to repair it is die.' Ms Evans outlined the approach she thought Optus should have taken. Ms Evans slammed the offer by Optus to provide free credit monitoring to only a 'subset' of people affected 'There should have been banners on their app, on their portal, on their website, pro-active text messages to everybody saying "we really regret having to send this message to you but this is what's happened, log in into your secure portal \ and you will find more information there". '"And we continue to update you about your situation as we investigate further".' Ms Evans said the company's offer of free credit monitoring to prevent identity theft was nowhere near enough. On Monday Optus said it was 'offering the most affected current and former customers whose information was compromised because of a cyberattack, the option to take up a 12-month subscription to Equifax Protect at no cost'. Ms Evans said this needed to be offered to everybody who had details stolen, especially as the company has not been forthcoming on what was taken. 'How do you define the most affected?' she asked. 'They appear to only be offering it to a subset. 'Everybody who has been impacted by this breach should get lifetime data protection. In their news reports nothing is said about the duration. In a bizarre post 'optusdata' claimed there were 'too many eyes' on them and claimed they would not sell or leak the hacked data of over 10million Australians 'Once your data is compromised it often takes years before someone does something to you, so you need to vigilant for the rest of your life.' A hacker in possession of a birth date and other personal information could at any time open up credit in the name of their victim. 'I would never know about it,' Ms Evans said. 'Which is why it is absolutely essential Optus puts in place lifetime protection notification.' Ms Evans pointed out that Equifax offered three types of product but two offered only partial protection. 'It needs to be the top end ID theft and credit reports,' she said. 'It can't be one or the other.' In a bizarre twist the mysterious hacker claiming to be responsible for the Optus data breach suddenly apologised for the cyber-attack and backed off the demand the company pay him a $US1million ($1.5million) ransom on Tuesday morning. Optus customers have received threatening text messages warning their data will be leaked unless they pay $2,000 to a CBA account (pictured, the text message) However, customers said they were still receiving threatening text messages demanding they pay $2,000 to have their details erased. In a bizarre post on Tuesday morning, 'optusdata' claimed there were 'too many eyes' on them and said they would not sell or leak the hacked data of up to 10million Australians. In broken English, optusdata said: 'Deepest apology to Optus for this. Hope all goes well from this'. However, Australians are now receiving threatening texts demanding they pay $2,000 to have their 'confidential information erased off the system'. The text warns Optus customers that if they do not comply, their information will be 'sold for fraudulent activity' in two days time. The message asks the $2,000 be transferred to a Commonwealth Bank account under the name 'Optusdata' and that customers send a copy of their receipt. 'Optus has left security measures allowing us to access the personal information of their customers including name, email, phone number, date of birth, address and licence number,' the text reads. 'Optus has not responded to our demand of paying the 1M$USD ransom as such as your information will be sold and used for fraudulent activity within 2 days or until a payment of $2000AUD is made then the confidential information will be erased off our systems.' A Montana woman who mistook a wild Siberian husky in the woods for a wolf, shot it dead, skinned it and then boasted about it on social media has defended the kill, saying she'd 'do it again' even knowing it was a dog because it was 'aggressive' and 'coming towards her'. Amber Barnes, who uses the name Amber Rose on social media, faced the wrath of thousands on Facebook after she posted proudly about her kill. Barnes, 36, originally told her friends how she'd ventured out in the Flathead National Forest in Doris Creek, sixty miles south of Glacier National Park, looking for a black bear and come across the animal. 'I got the opportunity to take another predator wolf pup 2022 was a great feeling to text my man and say I just smoked a wolf pup #firstworld #onelesspredatorMT,' she said. She shared graphic photos the skinned animal lying next to her in the bed of her pickup truck. It didn't take long for outraged social media users to tell her she hadn't killed a wolf, but had instead shot and skinned a dog. Sheriff's deputies have since confirmed that the dog was abandoned in the woods along with 10 others. The owners have not been identified and it's unclear if they will face charges. Barnes has not been charged. Police are now working to determine if she had a valid hunting license. Hitting back at her critics, she said on Facebook that she would make the same kill twice to defend herself against an apparently angry wild animal. The disturbing and graphic images show Amber Rose of Miller City, Montana, showing off the skinned husky Barnes defended the kill in a follow-up post and told Facebook users she'd do it again 'During this time, safety was my top priority this animal was growling howling and coming at me like it was going to eat me. 'Yes I made a mistake...either way yes I would still have shot it because it was aggressive and coming directly for me!' she said. Safety was my top priority this animal was growling howling and coming at me like it was going to eat me...I would still have shot it Amber Rose Barnes Her husband, Frank Tallent, also leaped to her defense. 'It was a deer chasing ferral [sic] a** dog on the wrong place at the wrong time,' Tallent wrote. 'So if you wanna be a bunch of cry baby a** f***ing sheep keep going cause we really don't give two f**ks about what's going on or what's being said. 'You cry baby mother f***ers and for any other hunters who wanna talk s**t saying it looks bad, he said, 'we'll [sic] f*****g s**t it does you stupid mother f***ers but mistakes happen.' 'Mistakes happen big f***ing deal.' 'Ya my girl friend was out hunting and shot a f *****g dog that was dumped out in the woods,' he went on. License to kill: This is the original post that Barnes shared with friends. She said she believed the animal was a 'wolf pup' Rose was accompanied on the hunting trip in Montana's Flathead County with her hunter husband Frank Tallent, who launched an expletive-laced rant in his wife's defense, threatening them with violence The sheriff's office is now trying to find the owner or breeder who dumped the 12 dogs in the woods In Montana, wolf hunting is legal with a license. A person is allowed to legally kill or trap 20 per season. Above, a gray wolf 'No charges have been filed or will be filed because no laws were broke.' Police are now working to find the person who dumped the dogs in the woods. Many of the puppies have parvovirus, a deadly canine disease. Before Barnes shot the animal she encountered, several other members of the public came across the others and handed them in to animal control. The puppies are now being treated by vets but they are not up for adoption, police confirmed in an update. They have not yet ruled out charges against Barnes, but she has not been arrested. 'We are looking into that aspect of it but its not really clear what the outcome of that investigation will be,' Lemon said 'Its always important to be certain of the animal youre going to harvest,' Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Park's communication and education division administrator Greg Lemon said. The climate activist who paralysed Sydney by chaining herself to her steering wheel on one of the city's busiest roads during peak hour has escaped punishment because a magistrate has accepted she's suffering trauma because of climate change. Mali Cooper, 22, was one of the Blockade Australia protesters who were slapped with multiple obstruction and disruption offences after they sensationally blocked the entrance to the Sydney Harbour Bridge in June. They had faced charges of disrupting traffic and obstructing drivers or pedestrians following a Blockade Australia protest in Sydney's CBD and near the bridge in June. On Tuesday morning, the 22-year-old appeared in Lismore Local Court, where she risked being slapped with a two-year sentence and a $22,000 fine. In dismissing the charges without conviction under the Mental Health Act, magistrate Jeff Linden discharged Mali Cooper into the care of a psychologist for six months. Mali Cooper, 22, was one of the Blockade Australia protesters who were slapped with multiple obstruction and disruption offences after blocking the entrance to the Harbour Bridge in June 'We are very relieved that the court calmly considered all of the facts in this case, including the psychological impact of climate change upon young people like Mali,' their lawyer Mark Davis said in a statement. He said the court 'gave full consideration' to his client's pre-existing anxiety disorder which 'was profoundly impacted, exacerbated by the Lismore floods and her concerns about climate change to such a degree that it was clinically diagnosed after the Lismore floods as PTSD'. 'Seeing (their) hometown of Lismore destroyed twice in the months preceding (their) action induced a trauma in (them) that was a decisive factor in today's decision.' He said Cooper 'probably went a step further than she intended' when it came to the protest and that she regretted the distress it created for those in the traffic jam. He said she 'decided to do something that in a more rational state she might not have done' after seeing Lismore 'obliterated twice in just a couple of months'. Cooper had said they had watched the town they loved being decimated by a climate disaster. 'The terrifying reality of climate breakdown is here, this town is still living it,' they said. Ms Cooper was accused of parking a white rental hatchback (pictured) diagonally across the entrance to the busy tunnel, causing a queue of traffic that stretched for 20 kilometres Ms Cooper has been ordered to attend fortnightly counselling sessions over the next six months, with treatment to be extended if needed. The activist livestreamed the protest on her phone and was even approached by a furious motorist who told Ms Cooper she was 'f***ing up everyone's day'. The police are here,' she told the camera. 'Not sure if you can see. Thank you everyone who has listened. 'I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to hold this phone and hold this space. It's a big day ahead.' She was eventually dragged out of the rental and arrested and appeared in Central Local Court where she was given liberty under strict conditions that she return to her home near Lismore, northern NSW, and abide by a curfew between 10pm and 6am. Blockade Australia announced the judge had dismissed all of Ms Cooper's charges in a jubilant Facebook post on Tuesday (pictured, the 22-year-old's rental at the entrance to the bridge) Dramatic vision of her arrest in June showed the activist dragged from the car and held face down on the tarmac after specialists from the Police Rescue units were eventually forced to cut her free from the steering wheel. Critics of the stunt said there could have been emergencies such as ambulances or women in labour that were trapped in the gridlock. After a night behind bars, Ms Cooper told hosts on The Project she didn't regret the protest but felt 'nervous about what the future holds'. After spending the previous night behind bars, the 22-year-old said she was glad to have the opportunity to speak about climate issues. Ms Cooper chained herself to the steering wheel with a bike lock (left) causing gridlock for kilometres with one furious commuter hurling disgusting insults at her (right) Host Waleed Aly then asked if Ms Cooper's intention was to 'cause chaos, perhaps get arrested and then get on television to be able to talk about these issues'. She replied that the disruption itself was the goal because that 'has been proven time and again to have an effect that allows change to happen'. 'We need radical change to save the planet'. Blockade Australia announced the magistrate had dismissed all charges in a jubilant Facebook post on Tuesday morning, which was warmly received by their followers. 'Wonderful - thanks again for your bravery, Mali, in taking action and facing court,' one woman commented. 'Climate criminals fossil fuel industry profiteers should go to jail. Not protestors fighting for a livable planet,' another said. 'Thank you Mali! I am so sorry you have had to risk your freedom to bring attention to the climate and ecological crisis we face,' a third wrote. The group, which describes itself as a network established in response to Australia's response to the 'climate crisis', took the opportunity to lash NSW's new anti-protest laws as 'draconian'. The laws were introduced to crack down on dangerous and disruptive protests. The family of a young woman who suffered 'horrific' injuries in a rollercoaster accident have branded the decision to reopen the ride as 'shameful'. Shylah Rodden, 26, remains in an intensive care unit after falling nine metres in the mysterious accident at the Melbourne Royal Show on Sunday. On Tuesday, a WorkSafe inspection concluded that The Rebel Coaster was 'safe', allowing operators to re-open the ride to the public. Shylah Rodden, 26, remains in an intensive care unit after falling nine metres in the mysterious accident, which remains under investigation. Pictured: The Rebel Coaster at the Royal Melbourne Show Shylah Rodden sustained horrific injuries in a rollercoaster accident in Melbourne on Sunday Shylah Rodden and her sister Caisha in happier times. Shylah is fighting for life in hospital Shylah's sister Caisha Rodden, who remains at a bedside vigil alongside worried family members, described her family's disgust at the decision in one word. 'Shameful' she told Daily Mail Australia. Shylah remains in a critical condition with horrific injuries after police claimed she walked on the tracks to retrieve a mobile phone. Her distraught sister told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday that her family were unclear about Shylah's chances of recovery. 'We dont know (the) possibilities and chances at this stage,' she said. A Show spokeswoman, who demanded she not be named, told Daily Mail Australia that WorkSafe had finalised an inspection report which declared the ride was safe and could be re-opened from today. 'The safety and well-being of our visitors to the show continues to be our number one priority,' she said in a statement. 'Strict safety protocols are upheld in line with Victorian WorkSafe regulations. All rides on site have undergone stringent compliance inspections and have passed all the required safety documentation.' Daily Mail Australia asked organisers to reveal what, if any, new procedures, requirements or improvement notices the safety watchdog issued. Show management declined to answer. Video obtained by Daily Mail Australia shows passengers clearly hanging onto their possessions while riding the rollercoaster, which travels completely upside down. Access to the tracks also appeared to be restricted by a short fence. The Melbourne Royal Show will remain open until Sunday. Word of the rollercoaster's return to action has seen yet again more vile online abuse hurled at the critically injured woman. A passenger on the ride can be seen jumping off it with her handbag Questions over the height of fences around the ride (pictured) remain unanswered by Show management Shylah Rodden had been working at the show when she apparently decided to go on the rollercoaster during a break Within minutes of being reported, more than 140 comments appeared under one article post. 'They can blame no one else but the lady who was injured. It was her choice to try and retrieve it while the ride was still running,' one person wrote. 'And so it should be reopen, why would you even try getting your phone when the coaster was in use. Silly mistake by the girl,' another woman wrote. It is the latest in a barrage of online criticism coldly blaming Shylah for the tragedy after police claimed she had been hit while trying to retrieve her mobile phone. Many of the comments are so cruel Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to publish them. Caisha said the rumours being spread online were causing even greater pain to her family struggling to cope. 'Definitely misinformation regarding the accident, which is really sad and causing more distress for our family,' she said. 'Shylah is in critical condition and we won't know more until later today as we will be discussing with police and giving some eyewitness statements.' Her father, Alan Rodden, said mystery still surrounds how Shylah was hit. 'There are a lot of stories going around and I don't know which one is true and if someone is covering their tracks,' he said. Others on the ride were left stranded atop the rollercoaster for some time with the ride immediately shut down Shylah Rodden lost her brother Jason just two months before the shocking rollercoaster crash in Melbourne On Monday, police claimed Shylah was struck by the ride, which was travelling about 70km/h, while trying to retrieve her mobile phone from the tracks. Horrified families watched on as the chaos unfolded on Sunday with paramedics treating Shylah for serious facial injuries at the scene before taking her to hospital in a critical condition. Mr Rodden said his daughter had suffered life-changing injuries. 'Obviously I can't talk to my daughter. She's going to be in a coma for quite a while,' he said. 'The injuries are horrific. Horrific. She's brain damaged. It's pelvic, her arms, legs, back, neck - there's hardly a thing that's not broken. I just can't work out how the hell so much damage has been done. 'Even the doctors have said they haven't seen anything as bad as this for a long time.' Shylah Rodden (pictured) had nearly every bone in her body broken in the shocking accident Caisha revealed that her sister had been working at the show. 'Shylah was actually there working. She was helping out her friend at her stall for the day and she was sent on her break with another worker and they decided to go on a few rides to kill time and this happened unfortunately,' she said. While police maintain Shylah had been attempting to retrieve her phone, some eye witnesses claim she had been onboard the rollercoaster, which somehow dislodged her up to 9m high before she plunged to the ground. 'She flew from the ride, loud bang. Followed by a scream and very loud crack of her hitting the ground,' one eye witness stated on social media. 'I was standing right next to it when it happened. Poor girl laying in a large pool of blood as medical response was so slow!' 'My daughter was there too and they have called Crimestoppers as they felt like she had fallen from the ride too,' another person wrote. Passengers on the ride had been left stranded atop the rollercoaster for hours after the ride was shut down. A spokesperson for The Royal Melbourne Show told Daily Mail Australia it was working with authorities to ascertain how the tragedy happened One witness, who had been positioned next to the rollercoaster, claimed police assertions she had been on the tracks were not accurate. 'I did not see her walking or climbing on the tracks at all, we saw her flying from the ride, where she landed and how she landed is not consistent with being hit,' a woman claimed. 'Not from what we witnessed. We were standing right next to the ride when it happened.' The witness had taken her young son on the ride shortly before the accident. 'We saw her fall from the ride, (heard) the scream and the crack of her hitting the ground. My husband was one of the first on the scene. We were standing right next to it when it happened ,' she said. Anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to contact police. Anthony Koletti (pictured) was grilled when he finally gave evidence at his wife's inquest Melissa Caddick's husband says he had no inkling his wife was defrauding family and friends of millions of dollars - and nor did he ask her why federal police or the corporate watchdog was suddenly raiding their home. Former hairdresser, DJ and prawn farmer Anthony Koletti began giving evidence at the NSW Coroners Court on Tuesday at the inquest investigating his wife's disappearance and suspected death in November 2020. Mr Koletti also denied ever lying about his wife's disappearance in interviews with police, however he admitted he misdescribed events because he was confused. He told the inquest that the day before his wife went missing he was so concerned about her welfare that he 'didn't want to leave her alone'. However, in an interview with police 11 days after Mr Koletti reported her missing, he described her demeanour on the night of the ASIC search over her alleged fraud as 'very loving and very normal'. Counsel assisting Jason Downing SC, who had asked Mr Koletti if he had been truthful in his statements to police soon after reporting his wife missing, asked if he was 'too confused or emotional to give an accurate description her behaviour'. 'Yes,' Mr Koletti responded, 'I wouldn't say I wasn't confused.' The court was also shown a segment of 7News' Spotlight, where Mr Koletti recounted the raid as 'inhumane', saying he and Ms Caddick were offered no food, water, medical or psychological attention. Mr Koletti was asked if he meant that no one offered her medical attention throughout the day. 'That's right,' he said, 'I didn't believe anyone there could offer it so I offered it myself.' The inquest also heard Melissa Caddick and her husband Anthony Koletti had seven meetings in their Dover Heights backyard (pictured) on the day ASIC raided their eastern suburbs home Conwoman Melissa Caddick (pictured) vanished in November 2020, just a day after her Dover Heights home was raided. Her husband denied lying about her disappearance to police Following the 12-hour search involving the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Securities Investment Commission, Mr Koletti said he didn't ask Ms Caddick what was happening and they just went to bed. KEY CADDICK DATES November 11 2020: ASIC raids the Dover Heights home of Melissa Caddock November 12 2020: The fraudster vanishes from her home in the early hours and is never seen again. February 2021: Caddick's decomposing foot encased in an Asics shoe washes ashore on NSW south coast beach 400km south of Sydney September 2022: Inquest into Caddick's suspected death begins Advertisement 'Are there many truths?' Mr Downing said. 'There is one truth,' Mr Koletti said. Mr Koletti maintains he has always been truthful but admitted there may have been moments when his 'wires were crossed' due to his concern and worry. Throughout the day he observed his wife 'a little bit shaky,' and said she seemed distant and vague, so he offered to make her a coffee. Mr Downing asked at any point did he ask why ASIC was extensively searching through his wife's business office and seizing hardware and valuable items. 'No I don't believe I was really worried about that, at that point in time. I was just under the belief that she had done nothing wrong.' Mr Koletti agreed the event was abnormal and quite shocking. 'It was certainly a surprise to me,' Mr Koletti said. The couple was observed on CCTV footage outside in the backyard together seven times without a police officer, Mr Downing said. Mr Koletti reported the 49-year-old as missing some 30 hours after he says she walked out of their home for the last time on November 12 about 5.30am to go for a walk. His stories to police about the last time he saw his wife have been inconsistent and subject to intense scrutiny during the inquest. Earlier the inquest heard from Dominique Ogilvie who had a chance encounter with a woman in August 2020 who asked if she was using Melissa Caddick's services. 'And I said yes ... she said 'I need to speak with you'. Dominique Ogilvie (pictured left arriving at the inquest on Tuesday) was one of the lucky few investors who got their money back from Melissa Caddick Melissa Caddick (pictured) returned the $2.5million given to her by investor Dominique Ogilvie, the inquest heard The pair exchanged phone numbers and Ms Ogilvie - extremely alarmed by her tone - sent a message: 'Dying to talk to you.' By that stage Ms Ogilvie had invested $2.5 million with Ms Caddick's fake company Maliver. Later that day the woman revealed Ms Caddick was using her Australian Financial Services Number illegally. Ms Ogilvie had met the conwoman while holidaying in Aspen Colorado staying in an apartment Ms Caddick claimed to own. In April she invested $450,000 and the documentation she received purported 'good' profit, she said. Later that month she injected an additional $550,000, followed by $1 million, and other subsequent investments. 'Big birthday present just gone into your account,' she texted Ms Caddick, telling the inquest she was being a 'bit smart, sarcastic'. Ms Ogilvie is one of the few to recoup her money plus an additional purported profit of $380,000. On September 14 she was formally interviewed by the Australian Securities Investment Commission, but still wasn't quite sure of the size of the fraud, she said. She denied ever having told Ms Caddick about the ASIC investigation into her. In February 2021 Ms Caddick's decomposing foot encased in an Asics shoe washed ashore at Bournda Beach on the NSW south coast, about 400km south of Sydney. The inquest continues. An education chief seized in a paedophile blitz has confessed to having a stash of vile child exploitation material. Stephen Joseph Rakich, 67, admitted in court on Tuesday to possessing the child abuse material when police raided his home on September 1. The Western Australian director of e-learning and business systems was snared in a huge operation by WA Police, Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force. Stephen Joseph Rakich, 67, admitted in court on Tuesday to possessing the child abuse material when police raided his home on September 1 (pictured, AFP officers check laptops during the raid on 45 suspects earlier this month) That week, police executed 61 search warrant raids in a seven day swoop on the homes and properties of 45 suspected child sex offenders.T he massive joint exercise, said to be the biggest of its kind in Australia, led to 149 charges being laid - including a charge of possessing child exploitation material against Rakich, who faced Midland Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Rakich was stood down from his WA state government role after he was charged following the raid on his rural home in Millendon, on Perth's north-eastern outskirts. 'This staff member has been suspended,' Education Department director-general Lisa Rodgers told The West Australian. 'I have been made aware that a staff member, who is a public servant at the department and does not have contact with schoolchildren, has recently been charged.' Police rescued three teenage sex abuse victims during 61 search warrant raids in a seven day swoop on the homes and properties of 45 suspected child sex offenders (pictured, laptops and hard drives containing alleged child abuse material are inspected by police) The massive joint exercise, said to be the biggest of its kind in Australia, led to 149 charges, including Rakich who faced Midland Magistrates Court on Tuesday (pictured, memory cards and hard drives collected in the 45 raids across Western Australia) Rakich is believed to have been with the education department since 2008, according to his LinkedIn profile. He will face the District Court in November on the child abuse material charges. Rakich has yet to enter a plea on a further charge of possessing or copying an indecent or obscene article and will return to Midland Magistrates Court on the additional charge in February. Former liberal MSNBC host and sportscaster Keith Olbermann revealed on Monday that he'd dated Democratic Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema over a decade ago. Olbermann, who currently hosts a podcast, didn't spare his disappointment with the moderate senator, claiming that she previously was even more liberal than him. The ex-SportsCenter and Countdown anchor was reacting to Sinema's speech in Kentucky where she was lauded Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, where she revealed her support for restoring the 60-vote threshold for all nominations and judicial nominees. Olbermann wrote: 'When we dated, in 2010 to 11, Kyrsten was a legit progressive, far to my left. Now she has embraced the Political Industry where there is only process, not police, and never people.' He then derisively suggested that Sinema replace Chuck Todd - another frequent target of the former MLB on Fox host's ire - as host of Meet the Press. Former liberal MSNBC host and sportscaster Keith Olbermann revealed on Monday that he'd dated Democratic Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema over a decade ago Olbermann, who currently hosts a podcast, didn't spare his disappointment with the moderate senator, claiming that she previously was even more liberal than him Seeing the response and uproar to the revelation that he dated the senator, he promised in a later tweet to 'answer' people's questions in his podcast, also called Countdown, in Tuesday's show. Sinema - who in 2000 worked on Green Party candidate Ralph Nader's presidential campaign, was a fervent protester against the Iraq War and a critic of capitalism long before she was elected to the Senate - has yet to comment on the claims. Olbermann - who last appeared regularly on television when he resigned from ESPN in October 2020 - has been linked to several high-profile women across the political spectrum in the past, including MSNBC's Katy Tur and conservative firebrands Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham. His life has been mined in the past by TV mega-producer Aaron Sorkin, who based characters on his shows SportsNight and The Newsroom off of Olbermann. The former Current TV anchor's Twitter account is regularly a mix of combative arguments, Trump criticism and attempts to save homeless dogs who face being put to sleep. Olbermann - who last appeared regularly on television when he resigned from ESPN in October 2020 - has been linked to several high-profile women across the political spectrum in the past Olbermann's past girlfriends include MSNBC's Katy Tur and conservative firebrands Ann Coulter (pictured) and Laura Ingraham Sinema - who in 2000 worked on Green Party candidate Ralph Nader's presidential campaign, was a fervent protester against the Iraq War and a critic of capitalism long before she was elected to the Senate - has yet to comment on the claims Sinema, the first openly LGBTQ+ senator, made the comment even as a substantial number of Democrats are hoping to roll back the filibuster, or at least carve out exceptions for abortion after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade. That comes as some strategists are hoping to ride a wave of base outrage over the 6-3 conservative Supreme Court's decision in November elections where they are facing headwinds. 'Not only am I committed to the 60-vote threshold, I have an incredibly unpopular view,' Sinema said during an appearance at the University of Louisville's McConnell Center, named for the senator, 80, who was elected in 1984. 'I actually think we should restore the 60-vote threshold for the areas in which it has been eliminated already. We should restore it,' she said. That was a reference to the areas where the filibuster is not in effect judicial and executive nominations. The line got faint applause, prompting a quip from Sinema. 'Not everyone likes that,' she said, 'because it would make it harder for us to confirm judges and it would make it harder for us to confirm executive appointments in each administration. But I believe that if we did restore it, we would actually see more of that middle ground in all parts of our governance, which is what I believe, our forefathers intended.' 'I actually think we should restore the 60-vote threshold for the areas in which it has been eliminated already,' said Sen. Kyrsten Sinema at an event at the McConnell Center. Currently federal judicial nominations and executive nominations can clear the Senate by a majority threshold Sinema made the statement during a question-and-answer after telling a well-worn story about the Senate acting as the 'saucer' to cool the 'passions' of the House,' a body she described as occasionally bowing to the passions of the moment. 'While it is frustrating as a member of the minority in the United States Senate and equally as frustrating in the majority, because you must have 60 votes to move forward that frustration represents solely the short-term angst of not getting what you want,' she said. 'We shouldn't get everything we want in the moment because later, upon cooler reflection, you recognize that it has probably gone too far.' She compared the occasionally frustrated majority to children. 'Those of you who are parents in the room know the best thing you can do for your child is not to give them everything they want, right?' she said. She argued against legislation designed to 'feed our short-term desires.' Sinema also spoke about political control of Congress, which is up for grabs in November. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) lauded Sinema at the event McConnell devised the plan to stall the nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court under President Barack Obama Supreme Court Justice Katanji Brown Jackson was confirmed by the Senate 53-47 Judge Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme court 52-58 weeks before the 2020 elections U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland was confirmed to her post with just 51 votes Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., left, and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., killed Democratic attempts to modify the filibuster for voting rights President Joe Biden negotiated with Sinema for months over his Build Back Better plan 'As you all know, control changes between the House and the Senate every couple of years. It's likely to change again in just a few weeks,' she said. Introducing her before an event at the self-named center where she was given a bottle of bourbon, McConnell praised Sinema for standing up to pressure to change the filibuster. 'It took one hell of a lot of guts for Kyrsten Sinema to stand up and say I'm not going to break the institution in order to achieve a short-term goal,' he said, and protect the institution 'against sort of the mob.' 'I can't tell you how important she's been to the Senate as an institution,' McConnell said. He called her 'the most effective first-term senator I've seen in my time in the Senate,' in reference to his 37-year Senate career. 'She is today what we have too few of in the Democratic Party, a genuine moderate and a dealmaker,' McConnell said. Her speech was titled: 'The Future of Political Discourse and the Importance of Bipartisanship. 'I'm so grateful to have that special piece of you,' she said, through tears His girlfriend, Donna Baldino, gave birth to their first child together 16 weeks ago On Monday, hundreds of prominent bikies showed up to his elaborate funeral Pictured: Shane Smith, 38, who died in a motorbike crash Rebels bikies have said farewell to Shane Smith - the ex-lover of Married at First Sight star Stacey Hampton - by forming a guard of honour with a convoy of Harley Davidson's adorned with bespoke flags featuring his face. Smith, 38, crashed his motorbike in Redwood Park, Adelaide's northeast, at about 3am on September 7 and died at the scene, despite paramedics' desperate attempts to save his life. He had four children, including two boys with Ms Hampton before their split in July 2017 - their break-up came a month before he was convicted of bashing two nightclub bouncers. Just 16 weeks before his death, his girlfriend Donna Baldino gave birth to their son. The bikie president's oldest daughter, Aliza Smith, joined Ms Baldino in front of hundreds of loved ones at his funeral service in Adelaide on Monday. Choking back tears, Ms Baldino said: 'I never thought I'd be up here standing like this today saying goodbyes to you.' 'I see you in [our son] every day and I'm so grateful to have that special piece of you to keep me strong forever.' In a written tribute, she said 'my king is gone but all our memories will last forever'. Married at First Sight star Stacey Hampton was married to Shane Smith (pictured together) before they split in 2017 Rebels bikies formed a guard of honour with a convoy of Harley Davidson's Some Rebels members rode bikes adorned with flags emblazoned with Smith's face (pictured) Aliza broke down as she said 'I'll always love you with all of my heart. Not a single day will go by where I don't miss you'. His parents, Brett and Berta, remembered him as someone who had 'good and bad in him, as do all people', while Rebels Motorcycle Club leaders said he was a 'Rebel that truly represented toe meaning of Outlaw Elite'. Rebels International president, Alex Vella, also delivered a video tribute during the service. 'On behalf of Rebels worldwide (Shane was) born to be a Rebel and be free,' he said. 'He joined the Adelaide Rebels 17 years ago and in Adelaide he kept the Rebels on the go.' Pictured: Donna Baldino and Shane Smith. They had one son together before he died Donna Baldino (pictured) broke down as she spoke at Smith's funeral service on Monday Following the service, loved ones spilled from the chapel as Smith's metallic blue RFFR - 'Rebels Forever, Forever Rebels' - coffin was taken to the burial in a hearse. The procession was so large that cops shut Grange Road down, a busy street in Adelaide's north, with some Rebels members taking off on bikes with large flags emblazoned with Smith's face. Along with hundreds of gang members in Rebels jackets, Ms Hampton attended the funeral with her two sons, Kruz and Kosta, who all wore black. She posted a photo of the three of them together before the service, with the caption 'proudest mother'. She also posted an image of his grave decorated with Confederate flags - the bikie gang's controversial symbol. Smith's coffin was metallic blue with RFFR painted on it - 'Rebels Forever, Forever Rebels' Gang members in Rebels jackets attended. Pictured: Shane Smith's coffin Ms Hampton posted an image of his grave decorated with Confederate flags - the bikie gang's controversial symbol Smith had Ms Hampton's name tattooed on his hand, along with Kosta's name and birthday - January 25, 2016. In a previous interview with a magazine, Ms Hampton - who is 11 years younger than Smith - said they would 'always be each other's kryptonite'. 'Shane and I met very young, I fell hard and fast and we will always be each other's kryptonite,' she said. 'He was always very supportive and I had terrible post-natal depression. 'He took the kids when I was in no state to have them. I had to fix myself and I was alone. He was great to me.' It has now emerged that Willis lives with Porter and her three children at her home close to the University of California Irvine Their protest and counter-protest by Porter supporters turned physical and led to the arrest of one of the liberal's supporters In July 2021, a town hall meeting for families held by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter was interrupted by a group of Donald Trump supporters California Democratic congresswoman Katie Porter blasted a local police department for arresting a man she lived with after he allegedly assaulted a pro-Trump protester in July 2021. Following the incident, Porter sent a scathing text to Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan to tell them that their officers were a 'disgrace.' The leaked text message was reported by Fox News in September, more than a year after the event, and a little over a month before Porter faces off against Republican Scott Baugh in an attempt to be reelected. The fight occurred at Porter's first town hall following the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was held in Irvine. Julian Willis was arrested after apparently giving a Trump supporter a bloody nose, he was cited for his alleged role. Willis' relationship to Porter is unknown at this point. Porter has three children and is described as a 'single mother' in much of her campaign literature. In 2013, Porter divorced her husband and her children's father Matthew Hoffman having accused him of being mentally and physically abusive to her and her children. Julian Willis, shown here, was arrested after apparently giving a Trump supporter a bloody nose, he was cited for his alleged role Rep. Katie Porter, speaking during the event, shares a residence with Willis, though their relationship is unknown at this point While the Orange County Register reports that the protesters were organized by 'American Nationalist' and die-hard Donald Trump supporter, Nick Taurus Records show that Willis, 51, lives with Porter at her home on the grounds of the University of California's Irvine location. According to his official website, Willis has worked on Wall Street and in finance since 1997. On that page he describes himself as being the director of marketing for a company named Derivative Path, a financial advice firm. In addition, Willis is a financial journalist and has seen his work published by USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. At the time of his arrest, NBC San Diego listed Willis as living La Jolla, just outside of San Diego, around 70 miles south of UC Irvine. Records show that prior to living at the University of California Irvine, Willis had an address in La Jolla. The station described Willis' time in custody as 'brief.' Later, Porter texted Irvine's mayor to say: 'I will never trust them again' and 'your police force is a disgrace,' reports Fox News. Online records show that Willis is a native of Philadelphia and graduate of Tufts University who now resides in Southern California. In response to the Fox News story, Jordan Wong, Porter's spokesperson, told Fox News that the Democratic rep was 'upset that a planned family-friendly town hall was hijacked by extremists, who made constituents feel unsafe, including using hateful slurs in front of children.' He added: 'Since then, Rep. Porter and our office have worked productively with the Irvine Police Department, including the Congresswoman hosting the new police chief in her office for a constructive and cooperative meeting.' Back in July 2021, Porter's office issued a statement on the incident saying: 'It is disappointing that a small but vocal group of attendees, who advertised a confrontation rally, created unsafe conditions at a planned family-friendly event.' It went on: 'While I absolutely respect their right to disagree, their disturbance disrespected all the families who attended and were ready to engage in a thoughtful, civil and safe way.' The statement concluded: 'My team and I are evaluating next steps, but my promise to Orange County families is that I will continue to hold town halls and to be in conversation with them.' The Los Angeles Times reported that during the event, Porter was heckled by Trump supporters with chants such as 'Carpetbagger Katie!' and 'Corrupt Katie Porter' A porter supporter said of the brawl: 'Its upsetting. But there is no point in talking to them. They literally had a chance to put in questions just like all the rest of us' The Los Angeles Times reported that during the event, Porter was heckled by Trump supporters with chants such as 'Carpetbagger Katie!' and 'Corrupt Katie Porter.' While the Orange County Register reports that the protesters were organized by 'American Nationalist' and die-hard Donald Trump supporter, Nick Taurus. The Register said that Taurus' personal insults to Porter brought her supporters into the fray. When the protest turned physical, the Times says: 'Porter rushed to the scuffle, wrapping her arms around an older woman near the scrum.' Sgt. Karie Davies of the Irvine Police Department told the Times that officers took a report alleging assault and battery from a Trump supporter but the injuries 'sounded minor,' Davis said. A Porter supporter, Kathleen Ripley, said of the event: 'Its upsetting. But there is no point in talking to them. They literally had a chance to put in questions just like all the rest of us but instead they decided to be disrespectful and shout over the congresswoman and everybody else here.' Porter's residence has been under scrutiny as the purchase of the home is subsidized by UC Irvine as she taught there when she bought it Porter's residence has been under scrutiny as the purchase of the home is subsidized by UC Irvine as prior to her election in 2018, the congresswoman was a teacher in the school's law school. Since her election, Porter has been on unpaid leave from UC Irvine. Porters four-bedroom, three-bath residence was purchased in 2011 for $523,000, a below-market price secured through a program the university uses to lure academics who couldnt otherwise afford to live in the affluent area. The only eligibility requirement was that she continue working for the school. But the ties go deeper, with at least one law school administrator, who was also a donor to her campaign, helping secure extensions of her tenure while she remained in Congress, according to university emails obtained by The Associated Press. That has allowed Porter, a rising Democratic star and fundraising powerhouse whose own net worth is valued at as much as $2 million, to retain her home even as her return to the school remains in doubt. A Utah woman has told of her shock at being ordered by a judge to hand over a photo album of her 'boudoir style' nude photos to her ex-husband, after he requested them as part of their divorce. Lindsay Marsh said that she commissioned the photos in the early years of her marriage, and wrote 'loving' and intimate messages to him inside the album. But, when she filed for divorce in April 2021 after 25 years together, her ex-husband Chris Marsh said that he wanted to keep the album, for the memories. 'It's violating and it's incredibly embarrassing and humiliating,' she said. 'The only way I can hopefully protect someone else from going through the same situation is to tell my story and expose that these are the types of things that he thinks are OK.' Lindsay Marsh has told of her shock at being ordered by a judge to hand over a photo album of her 'boudoir style' nude photos to her ex-husband, after he requested them as part of their divorce Lindsay Marsh filed for divorce in April 2021 after 25 years together, her ex-husband Chris Marsh (pictured together) said that he wanted to keep her boudoir album, for the memories Lindsay Marsh offered to take the book back to the photographer to have a copy of the book made with her images edited out - but he refused, saying that the images were art which should not be altered. She was then ordered to hand the book over to a third-party to have the images edited out Marsh said she was shocked when her ex requested the book of photos, and protested. But Judge Michael Edwards, sitting in the 2nd district court, sided with her ex-husband. As a gesture, he said Marsh should take the book back to the original photographer, and have a copy made, with her body edited out. Marsh went to the photographer, but the photographer refused, arguing that the images were art which should not be altered. The judge then ruled, in August this year, that Marsh must hand the album to a third party, who would themselves edit the images. 'That person is to do whatever it takes to modify the pages of the pictures so that any photographs of [Lindsay Marsh] in lingerie or that sort of thing or even without clothing are obscured and taken out,' he wrote in a ruling shared with The Salt Lake Tribune. 'But the words are maintained for memory's sake.' Marsh said the thought of handing the book over to a stranger was even more traumatic, and rang the judge's clerk to ensure she hadn't misunderstood the ruling. 'I just want to clarify,' she recalled saying. 'The judge has ordered me to give nude photos of my body to a third party that I don't know without my consent?' Chris Marsh told The Salt Lake Tribune the books were full of memories, inscriptions and photos, stressing they were not 'inappropriate-type books' The couple, who have two children together, had been together for 25 years before Lindsay Marsh filed for divorce in 2021 Lindsay Marsh is legally required to keep the originals until December, in case her ex objects to any of the edits. She then plans to hold a burning party, and throw them into the fire Judge Michael Edwards ruled that Marsh had to hand over the images to her ex, but said her body could be edited out of them When the original photographer found out, she agreed to edit the photos. 'That's even violating,' said Marsh. 'Because these are things that were sensual and loving that I wrote to my husband that I loved. You're my ex-husband now.' Lindsay Marsh is legally required to keep the originals until December, in case her ex objects to any of the edits. She then plans to hold a burning party, and throw them into the fire. 'It's going to be amazing,' she said. Chris Marsh told The Tribune the books were full of memories, inscriptions and photos, stressing they were not 'inappropriate-type books.' He said: 'I cherish the loving memories we had for all those years as part of normal and appropriate exchanges between a husband and wife, and sought to preserve that in having the inscriptions.' He said their case raises wider questions for society. 'As boudoir photography becomes a more common way for a couple to share intimacy, where is the line of appropriateness when they split up?' A criminal law professor at the University of Utah College of Law told KSL.com that the case as 'very strange' even though the judge ordered the images to be edited. 'In my opinion, the judge here has just made a mistake in the balancing of interests and has tipped things too far in one direction,' Paul Cassell said. He added that with third parties handling the images, it creates a risk of distribution - whether intentional or not. 'And these are the kinds of cats that are very difficult to put back in the bag once they get out,' he said. Australians are being warned petrol prices at the pump are set to skyrocket even further despite global oil prices falling, a leading motoring group warns. The NRMA has called on fuel companies to cut prices as regular unleaded topped an average of $1.90-a-litre in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane this week. The government's fuel excise reduction ends at 11.59 pm Wednesday, which will push prices up by another 25c-a-litre just in time for the October long weekend. 'Despite falling global prices and the full fuel excise tax not yet reinstated, prices are approaching $2-per-litre, meaning motorists are paying much more for fuel than they should be,' NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said. Fuel prices in major cities could rise to more than $2-a-litre in the next week (file image) Once the fuel excise hike takes effect, drivers could be paying near the same amount at the pump they were earlier this year when prices soared after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The NRMA said it was 'concerned' about a 42c-a-litre gap between wholesale and retail petrol prices in Sydney, the highest margin since May 2020. AVERAGE UNLEADED FUEL PRICES PER LITRE Adelaide 188.7c Brisbane 193.4c Canberra 177.8c Darwin 170c Hobart 171.1c Melbourne 193.7c Perth 155.8c Sydney 190.3c Source: NRMA for September 27 Advertisement 'Prices today are already unacceptably high, and we need to see a correction immediately,' Mr Khoury said. He pointed to the prices being in stark contrast to the global trend of plunging oil prices after a high point earlier this year, amid sanctions on Russian oil. 'It was $160 a barrel and has now dropped by $60 over a couple of months to $100 a barrel,' he said. 'Australians are already battling cost of living pressures. Let's hope more restraint (from retailers) is shown after the reintroduction of the excise than what we've seen this week.' The former Morrison Government halved the fuel excise from 44.2c to 22.1c-a-litre in March for six months as prices skyrocketed, but new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor government has declined to extend the relief. Mr Khoury said GST would add another 3c-a-litre to the cost, pushing prices back up by 25c-a-litre at the bowser. 'The excise is added at the wholesale level so we won't see an increase immediately, retailers need to buy more stock and pass on the hike to customers,' he said. 'It depends on how quickly retailers sell what they have, which could be a few days or up to two weeks. 'Urban areas will go through their product quicker and regional areas will follow.' Australians will be paying more at the fuel pump by October as the temporary cut on the fuel tax finishes (file image) Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said last week there was 'no reason' for service stations to 'jack up their prices' on the same night the excise went back up. He pointed to 700 million litres of fuel stored around the country that was bought at the lower price. 'Prices don't need to jump up immediately,' Dr Chalmers said. 'We don't want service stations to treat Australians like mugs so we're watching this closely.' Dr Chalmers vowed that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission would be on the lookout for price gouging. 'The reason that we've maximised the ACCC's role in all of this is we want to make sure there's not dodgy behaviour going on,' he said. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers (pictured) said last week there was 700million litres of fuel stored at the cheaper price so retailers shouldn't 'jack up' their prices too quickly 'We've been working closely with the servos and suppliers to understand that there are hundreds of millions of litres of fuel underground in tanks that was purchased at the lower price.' 'So the ACCC and the government expect that the price of petrol shouldn't shoot up at the bowser on Wednesday night by the full 23 cents if the normal market pressures are in operation.' He added it was a 'difficult decision' to not extend the fuel tax relief but the government was focused on 'responsible budgeting'. Some economists criticised the fuel tax relief when it was introduced by former treasurer Josh Frydenberg in the pre-election March budget, citing the huge loss in revenue, estimated at $3billion by Treasury. The former Crow's player was put on the inactive list after refusing An Australian nurse and former women's AFL player has lost a high-profile challenge against Covid-19 vaccine mandates after a court found it to be 'hypothetical'. Former Adelaide Crows player Deni Varnhagen led the challenge after losing her nursing job last year because she refused to get jabbed, despite South Australia's Emergency Management Act requiring health care workers be vaccinated. On Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Judy Hughes ruled the case was 'hypothetical and lacks utility' after the state removed the emergency declaration earlier this year. 'The impugned administrative acts that are challenged in the primary proceedings are no longer operative in the challenged form,' Justice Hughes said. Inactive AFLW player Deni Varnhagen (pictured, arriving at South Australia's Supreme Court) case against South Australia's mandatory vaccination requirements was thrown out after a judge found it 'hypothetical and lacking utility' Justice Hughes also ruled against Varnhagen on key questions of law related to the transfer of the vaccine requirements for health workers into public health laws. She said that transfer, enacted by the SA parliament, was valid. Varnhagen was initially joined in her action by five other people, another nurse, a childcare worker, a teacher and two police officers. But only one of those, fellow nurse Courtney Millington, continued with the case. The case began in December last year but due to repeated delays it reached its conclusion five months later - after parliament passed new laws that overtook the emergency mandate. The new laws meant any challenge to the previous mandate was no longer valid. Ms Varnhagen and Ms Millington's lawyer Stuart Lindsay said they would appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal. 'This was no decision about the strength or otherwise of our application, we say it was always a strong and meritorious and legally sound application,' Mr Lindsay said outside the court. 'We asked because of obvious reasons in relation to expense. This is publicly funded litigation. But also, because the legal issues involved in this are so novel.' The two-time premiership winner, who is also a nurse, was put on the Adelaide Crows' inactive list last season after she refused Covid-19 vaccinations (pictured, Deni Varnhagen during the AFLW Grand Final match between the Crows and Carlton Blues at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide in 2019) During the Supreme Court hearings, Varnhagen argued that she was not able to make an informed decision regarding the effectiveness or the safety of any of the three COVID-19 vaccines available. 'I believe that, because of the directions, I am being left with no choice as to whether I receive a COVID-19 vaccine,' she contended. 'I believe that I am being coerced into doing so in order to keep my employment.' Ms Varnhagen vowed to continue fighting and told reporters outside the court: 'It's not over, that's for sure.' The two-time premiership winner was subsequently put on the Crows' inactive list last season after she refused Covid-19 vaccinations. The AFL required all players to be fully vaccinated - a requirement which was removed in July this year. Three young misguided vigilantes who brutally assaulted a Canberra man, bound him and left him for dead will be released from juvenile prison before their 22nd birthdays. Peter Keeley died after being lured to a secluded area in Broulee on the NSW south coast in 2020 with the expectation he would meet an 18-year-old man for sex. Instead, a 17-year-old who had posed as the young adult on hook-up app Grindr began belting him before his two mates emerged from bushland to join in the ambush. Peter Keeley (pictured) was brutally bashed and left for dead in remote NSW bushland in Broulee in 2020 'These were three youths who were friends and apart from some illicit drug use, were law-abiding and of good character,' NSW Supreme Court Justice Michael Walton said on Tuesday. 'The offending was guided by a dangerous and misguided idea which according to (one boy) 'all went terribly wrong'.' During the attack on February 2, 2020, Mr Keeley was hit in the face repeatedly. He fought back, suffering a defensive wound to his arm, before falling to the ground and having his ankles and wrists bound. One teenager then gagged him with packing tape before the trio dragged him to a power pole, sat him upright and left. One of the teens when police arrested the three youths involved 11 days after the fatal assault One teenager then gagged him with packing tape before the trio dragged him to a power pole, sat him upright and left (pictured, police in the area after the brutal assault) 'It was undoubtedly a frightening experience for the deceased,' the judge said. 'When left, he was in a very vulnerable position - left unable to move or call for assistance. He was left alone in a remote area.' His body was found later that day. Dirt was found on his battered face, while the teenagers' DNA matched that found on the tape around Mr Keeley's limbs. The boys were arrested 11 days after the fatal assault. 'I didn't do it on purpose, it was an accident, I didn't want it to happen,' the organiser of the ambush told his father when police arrived. That boy, a Year 12 student, had started messaging Mr Keeley on February 1 on Grindr and learned of the man's apparent keen interest in young guys and girls, including those under the age of 18. After organising to meet the Canberra man in Broulee, he looped in his two friends about a plan to ambush Mr Keeley and deal out vigilante justice. The teenagers, all then aged 17, were each charged with murder but two were acquitted at trial this year, prompting prosecutors to withdraw the murder charge against the third teenager. Instead, each accused pleaded guilty to detaining a person with special aggravation. Justice Walton said the now-adults had prospered in juvenile detention, had good prospects of rehabilitation and were unlikely to reoffend. All had shown real remorse and insight into their offending, he said. He ordered the organiser, now aged 20, to serve a minimum of three years and 10 months in prison. A co-offender, now 19, was jailed until January 2023 while the third offender, who has extensive mental health issues, is eligible for parole from Tuesday. Having heard medical experts' concerns that the young men would 'fall through the cracks' if moved to an adult prison, Justice Walton ordered prison authorities allow the men to serve their sentences in juvenile detention. Advertisement Japan bid a final farewell to its longest-serving Prime Minister today as a full state funeral for Shinzo Abe was held in Tokyo, three months after he was shot dead at a political rally. Akie Abe, his widow, took centre stage as she carried his urn into the Nippon Budokan - an Olympic judo arena that hosted the solemn occasion - and then wiped away tears during the service. Former Prime Minister Theresa May, who led Britain during Abe's tenure, was among foreign dignitaries who attended the event - alongside US Vice President Kamala Harris, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian premier Narendra Modi. Thousands of Japanese citizens thronged the streets to say prayers for Abe or lay flowers at memorials, but giving him the honour of a full state funeral - the first for a Prime Minister in 55 years, and thought to cost around 11million - has proved controversial. Elsewhere in the city, thousands more gathered to protest. Some aired long-standing grievances with Abe's conservative policies, which were never as popular at home as his international renown suggested, but others are newly-angered by Abe's links to a fringe religious group, the Unification Church, that were exposed by his death. Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, the man who shot Abe dead at a political rally back in July, said the ex-PM's involvement with the South Korean group was what had driven him to murder - accusing the church of preying on vulnerable people, including his own mother who he said had given all her money to them in donations. Shinzo Abe is being laid to rest in Japan today as the country holds a full state funeral for its longest-serving Prime Minister who was shot dead at a political rally back in July (picture, wife Akie bows in front of his portrait) Akie Abe carries a white flower to place on the altar during a state funeral for her slain husband that took place in Tokyo Akie Abe, Shinzo's widow, dabs away tears as she sits alongside relatives at the state funeral of her husband - three months after he was shot dead by an assassin who was angry at his associations with a fringe religious group Akie Abe, Shinzo's widow, carries her husband's ashes into his state funeral which is taking place in Tokyo today World leaders, royals and Japanese dignitaries sit inside the Nippon Budokan - a former Olympic judo arena that is serving as the venue for Abe's state funeral today Guests stand as a military band plays during the state funeral for slain Japanese ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today Honour guards march through the crowd during the funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo Guests attend the state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving leader in Japan's modern history Japans self defense officers enter during the state funeral of assassinated former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe Soldiers walk in during the state funeral for Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe Attendees observe a moment of silence during a state funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo Attendants listen the Japanese national anthem during the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe A band plays during the state funeral for Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe Guests attend the state funeral for Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe in the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo Widow of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Akie Abe pays her respects on stage during the state funeral Dignitaries pay respect during the state funeral for Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe Japan's late prime minister Shinzo Abe's wife Akie Abe leaves from the Abe residence for the state funeral Shinzo Abe shooting: Assassination that shocked a nation To say that Shinzo Abe's death at the barrel of a shotgun in July this year was shocking perhaps understates the enormity of the moment. The 67-year-old may have been past his prime - having been forced from office in 2020 by a debilitating bowel condition, having rebuilt Japan in the wake of the devastating 2011 earthquake - but he was still a towering figure in public life. Abe was hugely influential within his Liberal Democratic Party - the dominant political force in Japan - and his successors were largely cut in his image. On the day of his death, he was in the city of Nara to support their local candidate in upcoming elections, giving a sense of his enduring public appeal. Added to which, gun deaths in Japan are vanishingly rare. The country has some of the strictest weapon laws in the world and a famously low rate of violent crime. For such a man to die in such a way was unthinkable. But, around 11.30am as Abe stepped up on to a podium to speak to a waiting crowd, Tetsuya Yamagami walked up behind him and unleashed two blasts from a homemade gun that ended his life. The first shot missed, but produced a bang loud enough that Abe looked around and made brief eye contact with his attacker. The second shot ripped into his chest. He staggered just a few yards before doubling over and collapsing. He never regained consciousness. Despite doctors performing hours of surgery while pumping litres of blood into Abe's body, they could not save him and he was pronounced dead hours later. Wife Akie rushed to be at his bedside, before the country was informed of his passing. Yamagami quickly confessed to the killing, saying he had shot Abe because of his links to the Unification Church - a fringe religious group based in South Korea. The shooter accused the church of preying on vulnerable people, including his mother who he said had given away all his family's money in donations. Investigations into the church's activities in Japan since Abe's shooting - and in particular its links to ruling elites - have led to a backlash against the former Prime Minister and controversy around his funeral. Advertisement Japan's media has since been digging into the church's activities and in particular its links to the ruling elite, which has raised some serious questions about its activities while also sparking a backlash against Abe and an unusual swell of support for Yamagami. Still more people are upset that current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Liberal Democratic Party - to which Abe belonged - unilaterally decided on a state funeral without public consultation. Polls taken just last week suggest that up to 60 per cent of Japanese do not support the move. But that opposition was put to one side on Tuesday as black-clad mourners arrived in the Japanese capital to pay their final respects to a man who helped rebuild his nation following the devastating earthquake in 2011, reform its economy, and reestablish it as a power-player on the world stage. Soldiers in white uniforms took Mr Abe's ashes and placed them on a pedestal filled with white and yellow chrysanthemums and decorations. Attendants stood while a military band played the Kimigayo national anthem, then observed a moment of silence before a video praising Mr Abe's tenure. Footage included his 2006 parliamentary speech vowing to build a 'beautiful Japan' and his speech at the US Congress in 2015. It also included his visits to disaster-hit northern Japan after the March 2011 tsunami, and his 2016 Super Mario impersonation in Rio de Janeiro to promote the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Mr Kishida, in his 12-minute eulogy, praised Mr Abe as a politician with a clear vision for post-war economic growth and development of Japan and the world, and promoting the concept of a 'free and open Indo-Pacific' as a counter to China's rise. Mr Kishida, as he looked up a large photo of a smiling Mr Abe, said that as a fellow politician elected in the same year in 1993, Mr Abe's loss came too soon. 'You were a person who should have lived much longer,' Mr Kishida said. 'I had a firm belief that you were to contribute as a compass to show the future direction of Japan and the rest of the world for 10 or 20 more years.' Mr Abe was cremated in July after a private funeral at a Tokyo temple days after he was assassinated while giving a campaign speech on a street in Nara, a city in western Japan. Tokyo was under maximum security for the state funeral, especially near the Budokan hall venue. At a peaceful protest march in the city centre, hundreds of people marched toward the hall, some banging drums and many shouting or holding banners and signs stating their opposition. 'Shinzo Abe has not done a single thing for regular people,' Kaoru Mano said. The government maintains that the ceremony is not meant to force anyone to honour Abe. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (left) and Japan's Speaker of the House of Representatives Hiroyuki Hosoda (right) bow as they pay their last respects to Shinzo Abe during his state funeral Japan's Crown Prince Akishino (second left), his wife Crown Princess Kiko (third left), their daughter Princess Kako (third right), Princess Nobuko of Mikasa (second right), and her daughter Princess Akiko (far right) attend the funeral The widow of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Akie Abe (centre right), bows her head with others for a moment of silence during his state funeral Kamala Harris, the US Vice President, was among world leaders attending Abe's funeral in Tokyo on Tuesday Theresa May, who was British Prime Minister during Abe's time in office, was among foreign dignitaries attending his funeral Narendra Modi, India's Prime Minister (left) chats with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen (right) as they wait for their cars to arrive after attending the state funeral of Shinzo Abe Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy (right) and head of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach (left) are pictured talking with Japanese dignitaries ahead of Abe's funeral King of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein (right) walks after offering flowers during the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe China's representative Wan Gang (left) and Anthony Albanese, Australia's prime minister (right), attend the funeral Sara Duterte, the Philippines' vice president, arrives for the state funeral for Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (left) and Han Duck-soo, South Korea's prime minister (right), arrive in Tokyo Vietnam's President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (second left) and Former Swiss President Didier Burkhalter (right) attend the funeral European Council President Charles Michel walks off the stage after offering flowers during the state funeral for Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe People bring flowers to a stand in Tokyo to pay their respects to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force personnel fire cannons at the Nippon Budokan grounds for the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe But the undemocratic decision to give him the rare honour with imperial ties, the cost, and controversies about his and the ruling party's ties to the ultra-conservative Unification Church, have fuelled controversy. 'One big problem is that there was no proper approval process,' pensioner Shin Watanabe said during the demonstration. 'I'm sure there are various views. But I don't think it's forgivable that they will force a state funeral on us when so many of us are opposed.' Hours before the ceremony, hundreds of people carrying bouquets queued to lay flowers in a nearby park. 'I'm emotionally attached to him and I've been supporting the LDP, too,' Masayuki Aoki, a 70-year-old business owner, said, recalling that he had shared a fist bump with Mr Abe at a campaign stop in Yokohama days before his assassination. 'I had to come to offer him flowers.' Japan's main political opposition parties boycotted the funeral, which critics say is a reminder of how pre-war imperialist governments used state funerals to fan nationalism. In what some see as an attempt to further justify the honour for Mr Abe, Mr Kishida this week has held meetings with visiting foreign leaders in what he calls 'funeral diplomacy'. The talks are meant to strengthen ties as Japan faces regional and global challenges, including threats from China, Russia and North Korea. Mr Kishida has been criticised for forcing through the costly event and over the widening controversy about Mr Abe's and the governing party's decades of close ties with the ultra-conservative Unification Church, accused of raking in huge donations by brainwashing adherents. Mr Abe's alleged assassin reportedly told police he killed him because of his links to the church - he said his mother ruined his life by giving away the family's money to the church. 'The fact that the close ties between the LDP and the Unification Church may have interfered with policymaking processes is seen by the Japanese people as a greater threat to democracy than Mr Abe's assassination,' wrote Hosei University political science professor Jiro Yamaguchi in a recent article. Abe's grandfather, former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church take root in Japan and is now seen as a key figure in the scandal. Opponents say holding a state funeral for Mr Abe is equivalent to an endorsement of ruling party ties to the Unification Church. Abe (centre) was shot dead by Tetsuya Yamagami (standing to the right of Abe, in green) at a political rally in July, because Yamagami was angry at his association with fringe religious group the Unification Church Abe's state funeral has proved highly controversial as his associations with the Unification Church have become known, drawing protesters on to the streets Anti State Funeral protesters and supporters of opposition parties protest the decision to grant Abe a full state funeral Polls suggest that the majority of Japanese do not support a full state funeral for Abe, whose conservative policies won him multiple re-elections but were not always popular Protesters take part in a demonstration against the state funeral for Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe Crowds demonstrate against the decision to grant Abe a full state funeral on the streets of Tokyo on Tuesday Japan's imperial family pay tribute to Shinzo Abe: Sombre Crown Prince Akishino is joined by his wife and daughter Princess Kako, 27, for the funeral Japan's imperial family today joined thousands of mourners at the funeral of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Crown Prince Akishino, 56, his wife Kiko, and daughter Kako, 27, attended the ceremony in Tokyo today, where thousands paid their respect to the former Prime Minister. Abe, 67, was killed on July 8 as he attended while delivering a campaign speech in Nara is an assassination that shocked the world. World leaders including Vice President Kamala Harris and former French president Nicolas Sarkozy attended the ceremony. Clad in black, the members of the Japanese Imperial family came to pay their respect to Abe, who led the country from 2012 to 2020. Crown Prince Akishino, his wife and youngest daughter attended the ceremony in Tokyo today, where thousands paid their respect to the former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Akishino, Kiko, Kako and other members of the Imperial family bowed their heads in silence during the funeral Crown Prince Akishino and his wife walked in front of the shrine where Abe's ashes had been deposited Akishino and Kiko , who were wearing black and grey, brought flowers to the ceremony as a mark of respect for the dead Akishino, 56, looked sombre as he approached the shrine for the late stateman. His wife donned a black pearl necklace and a matching pair of earrings for the ceremony, which are considered a symbol of hope for wounded hearts. The emperor's brother and his spouse bowed their heads in sign of respect in front of Abe's ashes before heading to their seats, where they stood with other members of the royal family. He was accompanied by his youngest daughter Princess Kako, 27. Abe's widow, Akie Abe, in a black formal kimono, walked slowly into the Budokan hall venue carrying an urn containing her husband's ashes, placed in a wooden box and wrapped in a purple cloth with gold stripes. Japan's Princess Nobuko of Mikasa also headed to the Budokan hall for the ceremony this morning Soldiers in white uniforms took Abe's ashes and placed them on a pedestal filled with white and yellow chrysanthemum flowers and decorations. Government, parliamentary and judicial representatives, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, will make condolence speeches, followed by Akie Abe. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, among dozens of foreign dignitaries and 4.300 attendees, sat in the third row, next to Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Japan. Abe was cremated in July after a private funeral at a Tokyo temple days after he was assassinated while giving a campaign speech on a street in Nara, a city in western Japan. Kishida says Japan's longest-serving postwar political leader deserves a state funeral. But the undemocratic decision to give him the rare honor with imperial ties, the cost, and controversies about his and the ruling party's ties to the ultra-conservative Unification Church have fueled controversy about the event. Tokyo was under maximum security, with angry protests opposing the funeral planned. Hours before the ceremony, hundreds of people carrying bouquets of flowers queued at public flower-laying stands at nearby Kudanzaka park. Their line stretched several blocks. Masayuki Aoki, a 70-year-old business owner, recalls his 'fist bump' with Abe when he came to Yokohama, near his home, for campaigning just days before he was killed. 'I'm emotionally attached to him and I've been supporting the LDP, too,' he said. 'I had to come to offer him flowers.' Masae Kurokawa, 64, who also offered Abe flowers, praised him as 'a great figure who brought Japan back to the international level.' The government maintains that the ceremony is not meant to force anyone to honor Abe. Japan's main political opposition parties are not attending the event, which critics say is a reminder of how prewar imperialist governments used state funerals to fan nationalism. The Japanese Crown Prince led other members of the Imperial family in paying their respects to the former PM In accordance with Japanese protocol, Princess Kiko kept a respectful distance as she walked behind her husband The couple shared a moment of reflection in front of the shrine made of flowers that was made for Abe In what some see as an attempt to further justify the honor for Abe, Kishida this week has held meetings with visiting foreign leaders in what he calls 'funeral diplomacy.' The talks are meant to strengthen ties as Japan faces regional and global challenges, including threats from China, Russia and North Korea. He was to meet about 40 foreign leaders through Wednesday, but no Group of Seven leaders are attending. Kishida has been criticized for forcing through the costly event and over the widening controversy about Abe's and the governing party's decades of close ties with the ultra-conservative Unification Church, accused of raking in huge donations by brainwashing adherents. Abe's alleged assassin reportedly told police he killed the politician because of his links to the church; he said his mother ruined his life by giving away the family's money to the church. 'The fact that the close ties between the LDP and the Unification Church may have interfered with policymaking processes is seen by the Japanese people as a greater threat to democracy than Abe's assassination,' wrote Hosei University political science professor Jiro Yamaguchi in a recent article. Abe's grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church take root in Japan and is now seen as a key figure in the scandal. Opponents say holding a state funeral for Abe is equivalent to an endorsement of ruling party ties to the Unification Church. Shinzo Abe the Japanese PM who was born to live on the election trail and would lose his life there For Shinzo Abe, a life in politics was destined for him - growing up he watched his maternal grandfather lead Japan as Prime Minister and his father work as a foreign minister. Abe, 67, became Japan's most famous politician and longest-serving prime minister, with a tenure marked with headline-grabbing moments, from a turn as Super Mario to enduring a 19-second handshake with former President Donald Trump. Abe, who was shot and killed while delivering a campaign speech on Friday, was pivotal in putting Japan on the world stage - from leading a G20 Summit to hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics. The former Prime Minister said little about what he thinks his legacy would be, but a key moment of pride for Abe was when Barak Obama became the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima in 2016. A conservative and nationalist, he was also known for his closeness to Donald Trump, and his ability to guide and subtly influence the mercurial U.S. president. Abe became Japan's longest-serving Prime Minister in November 2019, but was forced to step down in 2020 due to the debilitating bowl condition ulcerative colitis. Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, has been shot and killed while giving a campaign speech. He is pictured on Friday making a speech moments before he was shot in front of Yamatosaidaiji Station on Friday German Chancellor Angela Merkel deliberates with US president Donald Trump on the sidelines of the official agenda on the second day of the G7 summit on June 9, 2018 in Charlevoix, Canada, as Abe looks on Abe and his wife Akie met Queen Elizabeth II during a private audience at Buckingham Palace on May 4, 2016 in London In 2016, Abe made headlines when he decided to show his commitment to the Olympics in an unusual fashion - by appearing as video game icon Super Mario Abe was also known for 'Abenomics', his economic policies designed to drag the country out of a decades-long deflationary slump, and for his support for a strong Japanese military, plus taking a hard line on North Korea. As a leader of a G7 nation, Abe hosted the gathering of world leaders in 2016, and was seen as a seasoned, wily politician. Born into a politically-influential family, Abe was first elected prime minister in 2006, and served for a year. He was elected again in December 2012, and dominated the Japanese political scene even after he stepped down almost two years ago due to the inflammatory bowel condition ulcerative colitis. He said his condition had worsened, forcing his resignation. But he remained extremely influential, described by some analysts as a political kingmaker. On Friday, Abe was campaigning ahead of elections to the upper house, due to be held on Sunday. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who now leads Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, was hoping to gain a firmer grip on the factious party and allow him to emerge from the shadow of Abe, his powerful predecessor, and define his premiership. During his time in office, Abe made building a close personal relationship with former US president Donald Trump a cornerstone of protecting Japan's key alliance. In 2016, he flew to New York to chat with Trump after the US election, becoming the first foreign leader to meet him at his Manhattan skyscraper. The pair regularly golfed together, and Trump was the first head of state to meet Japan's new emperor. But there were plenty of awkward moments. In 2017, a video went viral of Trump almost wrestling with Abe in a handshake that lasted 19 seconds and ended with the Japanese leader visibly grimacing and appearing relieved the encounter was over. And then there was their 2018 golf game, when Abe tumbled backwards into a bunker and Trump marched down the fairway seemingly oblivious. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with U.S. President Barack Obama lays a wreath at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 27, 2016 A conservative and nationalist, Abe was known for his closeness to Donald Trump, and his ability to guide and subtly influence the mercurial U.S. president. Pictured: Abe (centre) sits next to Trump and China's President Xi Jinping as they attend a meeting on the digital economy at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019 India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) laughs with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left) before the signing of agreements at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on December 12, 2015 Meanwhile, in 2016, Abe made headlines when he decided to show his commitment to the Olympics in an unusual fashion - by appearing as video game icon Super Mario. He donned the disguise at the Rio Games for the official handover ceremony to Tokyo, appearing to tunnel through the earth from Japan to Brazil thanks to some digital trickery, before popping up in full costume. 'I wanted to show Japan's soft power to the world with the help of Japanese characters,' he told reporters. Abe said little about what he thinks his legacy would be, but he cited one particular point of pride: bringing then-US president Barack Obama to Hiroshima in 2016. Obama became the first sitting US president to visit the site, where he paid tribute to victims of the world's first atomic attack, though stopping short of offering an apology for the bombing. Later that year, the two leaders made a poignant joint pilgrimage to Pearl Harbor, the first visit by a sitting Japanese leader to the memorial there, issuing symbolic declarations about the power of reconciliation and warning against the drumbeat of conflict. Abe's tenure was also marked by less successful moments including his 2013 visit to Yasukuni, a shrine that venerates the souls of Japan's war dead - including some convicted by a US tribunal of war crimes. The shrine is seen by many in the region as a symbol of Japan's militarism during which much of East Asia and Southeast Asia were subjected to brutal offensives and years-long occupations. Abe's visit prompted outrage from China and South Korea and even a US rebuke. He said the trip was not intended to inflame tensions, but he stayed away afterwards, sending only ritual offerings in following years. Abe himself seemed destined from the start to enter politics. His family was a politically-influential clan based in the Yamaguchi Prefecture, to the far south of the country. Abe's father, Shintaro Abe, served as Japan's foreign minister from 1982 to 1982. He also served as minister of trade, of agriculture, and Cabinet secretary, and was a serious contender to become prime minister. Shintaro's own father, Kan Abe, served in the House of Representatives from 1937 to 1946. Abe's maternal grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi helped found the Liberal Democratic Party in 1955 and served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1957 to 1960. Abe's maternal grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi helped found the Liberal Democratic Party in 1955 and served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1957 to 1960. Pictured: Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi (2nd left) holds hand of his grandson Shinzo Abe (1st L) walking with his wife Ryoko (3rd left), son-in-law and lawmaker Shintaro Abe (1st right), his wife Yoko (2nd right) and son Hironobu on July 7, 1957 in Hakone, Kanagawa, Japan Nobusuke Kishi, Prime Minister of Japan and his wife Ryoko in a Japanese kimono with their grandsons Shinzo Abe and Hironobu Abe (on the lap of his grandfather) in the 1960s Abe (centre) visited a shelter for people affected by the recent flooding in Mabi, Okayama prefecture, whilst he was Prime Minister on July 11, 2018 Abe is pictured here handing the 'yokozuna', or grand champion, Hakuho (left) the prime minister's cup after he finished with a 15-0 victory to win the summer Grand Sumo tournament in Tokyo on May 22, 2016 The younger Abe studied politics and policy in Japan and California, before returning to his homeland to work briefly in the steel industry. In 1982 he entered politics, first as an assistant to the foreign minister, and then as private secretary to the Liberal Democratic Party's general council and their secretary-general. On his father's death in 1991, Abe decided to run for office, and in 1993 was elected to represent Yamaguchi Prefecture's first district. He served as the Japanese government's chief negotiator on behalf of Japanese abductees seized by North Korea, and in 2002 traveled to meet Kim Jong-il. In April 2006, he was elected as the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. In September of that year he was inaugurated as prime minister, at the age of 52 - the youngest person to assume the role since the 1940s. Abe sought to balance the budget, and set about ushering in a hardline nationalist agenda, with renewed emphasis on the military - something which had been a highly sensitive subject following the Second World War. Internationally, Abe was critical of North Korea, but worked to strengthen relations with China and India. His government was unpopular, however, and Abe resigned after a year in the job. He said at the time that his ulcerative colitis was a factor in his decision. By 2012 he was back, thanks in part to a new drug, and ran for re-election as prime minister, winning the race in December 2012. In February 2013, Abe delivered a speech in Washington DC, and declared that he had returned to prevent Japan becoming a 'Tier Two Nation', declaring that 'Japan is back'. He is remembered for his economic policies, dubbed Abenomics - a set of aggressive monetary and fiscal policies, combined with structural reforms, which were launched in 2013 to pull Japan out of its decades-long deflationary slump. The policy was based around what Abe termed three arrows: monetary policy, fiscal policy, and structural reform for growth. Domestically, he strongly opposed what he saw as an excessive emphasis on Japan's wartime crimes. Internationally, he was highly visible - touring all 10 ASEAN nations in his first year in office. Abe married Akie Matsuzaki, a socialite and former radio DJ, in 1987. The pair have no children. He admitted to lying to police twice in interviews about discovering her body Anderson found Mrs Ramadan's body in her Melbourne home on April 6, 2019 He pleaded not guilty and his lawyer argues he cannot be identified as the killer Anderson allegedly beat Mrs Ramadan to death between March 23 and 25, 2019 Stuart Paul Anderson is accused of killing his elderly neighbour, Vicki Ramadan Vicki Ramadan (above) was found beaten to death inside her Sydenham home in Melbourne's northwest on April 6, 2019 'She seemed like a very lovely lady, she didn't deserve this at all.' That's what accused killer Stuart Paul Anderson told a reporter about the woman he's accused of brutally beating to death. There was a widespread appeal for information in the days and weeks after the body of his 77-year-old neighbour Vicki Ramadan was found in her Sydenham home in Melbourne's northwest on April 6, 2019. 'I really hope the cops catch the son of a bitch,' Anderson said in the interview with A Current Affair. The unedited footage of that interview was played to jurors in Anderson's Victorian Supreme Court murder trial on Tuesday. He has pleaded not guilty to killing Mrs Ramadan sometime between March 23 and 25, 2019. Witnesses told the jury they heard multiple arguments between them in the days before she was killed. It was Anderson who called police after finding her body. Stuart Paul Anderson (above) found Mrs Ramadan's body and described her as a 'very lovely lady' who 'didn't deserve this' but is now accused of her murder He said he first met Mrs Ramadan when she knocked on his door and asked him to help her with some odd jobs. A taxi drier saw the pair arguing about Anderson arriving late to help her with jobs on the morning of March 23, 2019. Later another witness heard Anderson aggressively yelling at Mrs Ramadan, saying 'f*** you, fix it yourself' while assembling a flat pack before heading home. He later returned to her house. Prosecutor Neill Hutton said there were signs of life on March 25 - a call from one of her phones to another at 9.30am and an electricity spike consistent with a hotplate at lunchtime. Anderson told his partner he was going to check on Mrs Ramadan and pick up tools he left at her house about 9am on April 6. Anderson previously told police her discovered Mrs Ramadan's body inside her home (above) at about 9am on April 6 but later told them he actually found her between 1.30am and 2am and knocked in her back door He said he found her body after going through the back door, which had been kicked open. Anderson stuck with that story during his first two police interviews but after officers became suspicious about his story he told them in August 2019 that he had lied because he actually found her body between 1.30am and 2am on April 6 after he himself knocked in her back door. But the trouble with what Anderson told the reporter, his partner and police is that it's false, prosecutor Neill Hutton said. 'It's essentially a sham, a charade. It's false,' he said. Mrs Ramadan was known for wearing lots of jewellery, but that and cash was still inside her home, jurors heard. Anderson's barrister Glenn Casement said identity was an issue in the trial. 'My client didn't kill the deceased,' he said. The trial before Justice Amanda Fox is continuing. A British man has been arrested after touching up a female holidaymaker sat next to him on a Ryanair flight from Liverpool to Majorca. Air stewards radioed police from 35,000ft after the woman, who is also British, complained he had touched her breasts and asked her to have sex with him in the toilet. The 35-year-old man was held when the plane touched down at Palma Airport late on Sunday. The unnamed Brit was reportedly fined 2,500 after being hauled to court yesterday for a speedy trial. A spokesman for the Civil Guard said today 'I can confirm we arrested a British man aged 35 late on Sunday night on suspicion of a crime of sexual abuse. 'He was held as he got off the plane on arrival and taken to court after a night in a police cell. A British man has been arrested after touching up a female stranger sat next to him on a Ryanair flight from Liverpool to Majorca 'His female accuser made a formal statement after officers took him away.' A well-placed source said: 'The British woman said a stranger she'd never met in her life who sat down on the plane beside her started to bother her with comments about her breasts minutes into the flight and even suggested they go to the toilets together. 'She said he made a number of sexist comments during the flight and shortly before the plane landed, touched her shoulder and then one of her breasts. 'She asked members of the air crew for help who alerted the Civil Guard through airport control. 'Officers were waiting by the plane when it landed and the woman went up to them and explained briefly what had happened before accompanying police to make a full formal statement. 'The man was arrested at the scene.' A well-placed source said that the man started to bother her with comments about her breasts the minute he sat down next to her. Pictured: Aerial view of Castell de Bellver, a medieval fortress in Palma de Mallorca, Spain The woman at the centre of the extraordinary mid-air incident is said to have been sexually abused moments before the plane touched down after the male passenger had engaged in unwanted sexual innuendo with the young Brit. Respected island newspaper Ultima Hora said: 'The man began to touch her shoulder and suddenly, after she moved his hand away, he touched one of her breasts above her clothes. 'The woman said this gesture lasted for a few seconds and shocked her.' The woman at the centre of the extraordinary incident remained on holiday in Majorca today. It is thought she had to go to court in Palma to ratify her police statement. The man she accused of molesting her is also believed to have been travelling to the island on holiday, although there was no official confirmation today. Ryanair said in a statement: 'The crew of this flight from Liverpool to Palma (25 Sept) requested police assistance after being made aware of an individual behaving inappropriately towards another passenger. 'The crew moved the passenger away from this individual for the rest of the flight and police removed him from the aircraft upon landing. This is now a matter for local police.' Hundreds of thousands have already fled the country and traffic jams at several border checkpoints are visible from space The call for mobilisation has proved wildly unpopular throughout Russia, sparking protests and a mass exodus Putin sat silently, clearly uncomfortable, as he listened to his counterpart insisting that Russia would win war The Belarusian president monologued and spouted rhetorical questions in his rant to Putin today in Sochi Advertisement This is the moment an uncomfortable-looking Vladimir Putin squirmed in his seat as he was forced to endure a bizarre lecture on people fleeing his rule from fellow autocrat Alexander Lukashenko. The Belarusian president - who needed Putin's help to crush a pro-Western democratic movement in his country in 2020 - assured the Kremlin leader he would win his war in Ukraine, despite the growing unrest over his decision to mobilise 300,000 new troops. The Kremlin chief looked hunched and uncomfortable, saying little during the meeting in Sochi as Russians continue to protest his mobilisation edict or flee abroad to avoid being drafted. 'Our course is right, our cause is right,' Lukashenko told Putin, bringing a rare smile to the Russian warmonger's lips. 'We will win. We have no other choice. We, as Slavs, would not tolerate humiliation,' Lukashenko told him. The Belarusian leaders bombastic speech belied the situation on the ground though. The call for mobilisation has proved wildly unpopular, with hundreds of thousands of Russian men having already fled the country to avoid the call up. Outbound flights from Russia are completely sold out, and traffic jams leading to Russia's borders are so big they can be seen from space. Anti-war protests have erupted across the country, and Russian media reported an increasing number of arson attacks on military enlistment offices. Yesterday, an enlistment officer was shot at almost point blank range by a man who refused to be drafted. Alexander Lukashenko (R) shakes hands with Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Sochi, Russia Belarusian president Lukashenko (L) - who needed Putin's help to crush a pro-Western democratic movement in his country in 2020 - assured the Kremlin leader he would win his war in Ukraine A satellite image shows trucks and cars waiting in a traffic jam near Russia's border with Georgia as Russians desperately try to flee the country, September 25, 2022 The call for mobilisation has proved wildly unpopular, with hundreds of thousands of Russian men having already fled the country to avoid the call up. Pictured: A satellite image of traffic jams near Russia's border with Georgia A satellite image shows traffic at the Khyagt border post on Russia's border with Mongolia, September 23, 2022 Queues of traffic have been growing on Russia's borders with neighbouring countries. This satellite image shows traffic at the Khyagt border post on Russia's border with Mongolia on September 23 A group of Russian men walk with their bicycles after crossing the border at Verkhny Lars between Georgia and Russia in Georgia, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Long lines of vehicles have formed at a border crossing between Russia's North Ossetia region and Georgia after Moscow announced a partial military mobilisation A group of Russians walk after crossing the border at Verkhny Lars between Georgia and Russia in Georgia, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 Kazakhstan risks Putin's wrath: Ex-Soviet ally vows to 'care' for Russians fleeing 'hopeless situation' Kazakhstan has risked the wrath of Putin by offering to 'care for' Russian men fleeing conscription due to the 'hopeless situation' back home. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, president of the ex-Soviet state, also offered muted criticism of Putin's war - saying that the 'territorial integrity of states must be preserved' as the despot moves to carve up Ukraine using sham referenda. He spoke as the country's interior ministry revealed almost 100,000 Russians have crossed the border in six days since Putin ordered fighting-age men to be drafted. Tokayev's speech marks the latest act of defiance from a country that has been a close ally of Moscow in the past, and is the latest rumbling of discontent from Russia's satellite states in Asia as Putin's power wanes. Advertisement Lukashenko continued monologuing in Sochi yesterday, spouting rhetorical questions as Putin sat silently, squirming uncomfortably beside him. 'Let's say 30,000 or 50,000 [people] run away. If they were to stay, would they be our people?' the Belarusian president said. 'Let them run away. I don't know what you think about it, but I wasn't worried too much in 2020 when people left [Belarus after protests over his vote-rigging]. 'They [later] ask to let them in. So these ones will also come back. 'But there's a decision needed: what to do with them? Let them come back or stay there?' While Lukashenko and Putin shared a chat in Sochi yesterday, a young conscript shot a Russian military officer at close range at an enlistment office in an unusually bold attack reflecting resistance to mobilisation efforts. The shooting came after scattered arson attacks on enlistment offices and protests in Russian cities against the military call up that have resulted in at least 2,000 arrests. In the attack in the Siberian city of Ust-Ilimsk, 25-year-old resident Ruslan Zinin walked into the enlistment office saying 'no one will go to fight' and 'we will all go home now,' according to local media. A witness quoted by a local news site said Zinin was in a roomful of people called up to fight and troops from his region were heading to military bases on Tuesday. Footage of the incident showed how Zinin strode into the office and blasted the official before being arrested and forced to testify to the crime on camera, which he did willingly. Authorities said the military commandant was in intensive care. Protests also flared up in Dagestan, one of Russia's poorer regions in the North Caucasus. Local media reported that 'several hundred' demonstrators took to the streets Tuesday in its capital, Makhachkala. Videos circulated online showing dozens of protesters tussling with the police sent to disperse them. Demonstrations also continued in another of Russia's North Caucasus republics, Kabardino-Balkaria, where videos on social media showed a local official attempting to address a crowd of women who banded together to chant 'No to war!' Concerns are growing that Russia may seek to escalate the conflict - including potentially using nuclear weapons - once it completes what Ukraine and the West see as illegal referendums in occupied parts of Ukraine. The voting, in which residents are asked whether they want their regions to become part of Russia, began last week and ends Tuesday, under conditions that are anything but free or fair. Tens of thousands of residents had already fled the regions amid months of fighting, and images shared by those who remained showed armed Russian troops going door-to-door to pressure Ukrainians into voting. 'Every night and day there is inevitable shelling in the Donbas, under the roar of which people are forced to vote for Russian ''peace'',' Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kirilenko said Monday. Russia is widely expected to declare the results in its favour, a step that could see Moscow annex the four regions and then defend them as its own territory. This is the moment gunman Ruslan Zinin, 25 walked into a Russian enlistment office in Ust-Ilimsk and shot military commissar Alexander Eliseev A man casts his ballot into a mobile ballot box as members of an electoral commission visit patients of a hospital during a referendum on the joining of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) to Russia, in Donetsk, Ukraine September 27, 2022 A group of Russians walk after crossing the border at Verkhny Lars between Georgia and Russia in Georgia, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 Protests have also erupted across Russia in fury at Putin's decision to begin conscription, with some 2,000 people arrested so far Putin ally warns nuclear threat is 'certainly not a bluff' amid fears the president will declare invaded Ukrainian territories are part of Russia within DAYS as voting in sham referendums comes to an end By WALTER FINCH for MAILONLINE One of Vladimir Putin's attack dogs has been rattling the nuclear sabre once again as he declared that his master is not bluffing, even as the Russian strongman prepares to announce the annexation of Ukrainian territories. Dmitri Medvedev, a former Russian president, said in a now customary rant on the Telegram messaging app that Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons 'if the use of conventional weapons threatens the very existence of our state.' 'And it is certainly not a bluff,' he added. The ominous threat comes as the British Ministry of Defence assessed as a 'realistic possibility' that Putin might announce the annexation of sovereign Ukrainian regions on Friday Sept 30 after the occupiers held sham referenda there. Referenda held in the regions of Russia-controlled Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson are due to conclude today, with it assumed that the democratic charade will result in the regions 'voting' to join Russia. The hasty move to incorporate Ukrainian territory into Russia proper gives rise to the fear that Putin will claim integral Russian land is under threat if and when Ukraine moves to liberate it, justifying the use of nuclear weapons according to Russia's nuclear doctrine. Former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev (right, with Putin, left) has reiterated Putin's threats to use nuclear weapons, saying it is 'certainly not a bluff' The threat comes as Russia is thought to be preparing to announce the annexation Russia-controlled Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson on Friday The hasty move to incorporate Ukrainian territory into Russia proper gives rise to the fear that Putin will claim integral Russian land is under threat if and when Ukraine moves to liberate it, justifying the use of nuclear weapons in 'self-defence' Russian President Vladimir Putin today chairing a meeting on agriculture issues via a video link in Sochi while his minions steal land and threaten nuclear war Putin is in Sochi after holding a meeting with Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko Votes held in four areas currently under Russian control - Donetsk and Luhansk, which together make up the Donbas, as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, are set to conclude today Nord Stream pipelines supplying gas from Russia suffer 'unprecedented' damage and start leaking in Baltic sea causing 'danger to shipping' amid suspicions of 'targeted attack' The Nord Stream pipeline which supplies Russian gas throughout Europe has suffered 'unprecedented' damage and is now leaking into the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark, sparking concerns over foul play. Sweden's Maritime Authority issued a warning about two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline last night, shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 pipeline was discovered that prompted Denmark to restrict shipping in the area. Both pipelines have been flashpoints in an escalating energy war between Europe and Moscow amid Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine that has pummelled major Western economies and sent gas prices soaring. The incidents will hinder any effort to start or restart either pipeline for commercial operations, and triggered an investigation with Swedish and Danish energy agencies. German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel reported that a German government source believes the damage came as the result of a planned attack. 'We can't imagine a scenario that isn't a targeted attack,' the source said. 'Everything speaks against a coincidence.' The head of Denmark's energy agency warned such leaks 'happen extremely rarely', lending further credence to speculations of sabotage given that three separate leaks sprung up across two different pipelines. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov this morning told reporters 'no option can be ruled out right now' regarding the damage. Of the two pipelines hit by leaks, Nord Stream 2 has never operated, while Nord Stream 1 carried gas to Germany until late August when Russian energy giant Gazprom cut off the supply, claiming there was a need for urgent maintenance work. Gazprom's explanation of technical problems have been rejected by German officials as a cover for a political power play to raise prices and spread uncertainty. Advertisement The latest threat of nuclear annihilation follows on from Putin's bluster during a televised address broadcast last week when he announced a partial mobilisation of Russian men. During the speech, he raised the spectre of a nuclear strike if he deemed the 'territorial integrity' of Russia to be under threat. The Kremlin is clearly fearful of a well-train and battle-hardened Ukrainian army, fresh with modern Western weapons, moving to liberate the stolen territories and sweeping the Russian army out of its homeland. Medvedev was dismissive of Western warnings of 'catastrophic consequences for Russia' if they used nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine and indicated he thought they were bluffs. 'I believe that NATO will not directly intervene in the conflict even in this situation. After all, the security of Washington, London, and Brussels is much more important for the North Atlantic Alliance than the fate of the perishing Ukraine, which no one needs, even if it is abundantly supplied with various weapons,' he wrote. 'Biden and Truss, spraying Atlantic saliva, demand that Russia remove its hand from its ''nuclear button.'' 'Together, they constantly threaten us with ''terrifying'' consequences if Russia uses nuclear weapons. 'And the London aunt [Truss], young in mind, is completely ready to immediately begin an exchange of nuclear strikes with our country.' The moves to mobilise the Russian population and rush through sham referenda in the occupied regions are seen as desperate ploys by analysts, prompted by public misgivings from Putin's key allies of India, China and Turkey at a summit two weeks ago. The announcement of the partial mobilisation has seen thousands of men called up to fight in the Russian army, along with chaotic scenes of Russians streaming out of the country, protests in the regions and unruly drinking and brawling by fresh conscripts. 'Russia's leaders almost certainly hope that any accession announcement will be seen as a vindication of the 'special military operation' and will consolidate patriotic support for the conflict,' the British MoD wrote in their daily briefing. 'This aspiration will likely be undermined by the increasing domestic awareness of Russia's recent battlefield set-backs and significant unease about the partial mobilisation last week.' The UK government condemned the sham referenda 'held at the barrel of a gun' and said they will never recognise the results. Armed police went door-to-door to canvas votes while gun-toting mercenaries guarded polling stations during sham referendums in occupied Ukraine. But, just to make extra sure, Kremlin officials, military police and hired guns kept a careful eye over the process - with Ukrainian politicians reporting that they were kicking front doors in to force people to cast their ballots. People from Luhansk and Donetsk regions, the territory controlled by a pro-Russia separatist governments, who live in Crimea, vote during a referendum in Sevastopol, Crimea, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022 People line up to vote in a referendum in Luhansk, Luhansk People's Republic controlled by Russia-backed separatists, eastern Ukraine, Sept. 24, 2022 Serhiy Haidai, governor of occupied Luhansk, said some towns under Russian occupation have been entirely sealed off to ensure people vote - with any crosses in the 'no' column recorded in a 'notebook'. Meanwhile state media has reported an unfeasibly high 97 per cent of people in two of those regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - are in favour of joining Russia. Ballot boxes have also been opened across Russia itself, ostensibly to allow displaced Ukrainians to vote, but in reality offer more opportunities for vote rigging. Meanwhile, the call for mobilisation has proved wildly unpopular, with hundreds of thousands of Russian men having already fled the country to avoid the call up. Outbound flights from Russia are completely sold out, and traffic jams leading to Russia's borders are so big they can be seen from space. Anti-war protests have erupted across the country, and Russian media reported an increasing number of arson attacks on military enlistment offices. Yesterday, an enlistment officer was shot at almost point blank range by a man who refused to be drafted. And to compound Putin's discomfort, he was forced to endure a bizarre lecture on people fleeing his rule from fellow autocrat Alexander Lukashenko today. The Belarusian president - who needed Putin's help to crush a pro-Western democratic movement in his country in 2020 - assured the Kremlin leader he would win his war in Ukraine, despite the growing unrest over his decision to mobilise 300,000 new troops. The Kremlin chief looked hunched and uncomfortable, saying little during the meeting in Sochi as Russians continue to protest his mobilisation edict or flee abroad to avoid being drafted. One Telegram video appeared to show a Russian recruit passed out in the grass by the runway as his comrades stumbled towards a waiting plane Multiple videos appear to show young Russian men drinking heavily as they are shipped off to war, suggesting that morale problems in the military are unlikely to improve as they arrive on the frontlines 'Our course is right, our cause is right,' Lukashenko told Putin, bringing a rare smile to the Russian warmonger's lips. 'We will win. We have no other choice. We, as Slavs, would not tolerate humiliation,' Lukashenko told him. But videos that emerged of the mobilisation and call-up process have been entirely humiliating for the Russian dictator. They show reluctant conscripts at recruitment offices and staging points hitting the bottle and drinking themselves senseless as military commanders try to coral them into order before boarding buses and planes. In what is rapidly becoming a popular subgenre of Russian war videos, multiple clips depict Russian recruits getting hammered as they prepare to ship out for two weeks of basic training before being thrown onto the front lines. One video shows a Russian conscript passed out in the grass near a runway while others stumble towards the plane, while in another a drunken group try to have a punch up as the bus waits for them. 'Shut your mouths! Why are you all yelling?' a recruitment officer bawls at the new arrivals in yet another video. 'Why are YOU yelling?' comes a reply. 'Stop yelling, let him speak,' another recruit says. 'That's it! Games over! You're all military now!' the officer shouts. While the partial mobilisation is supposed to only call up Russian men with military experience, raising 300,000 fresh troops, the age profile and the sheer numbers of men indicate the draft could actually be vastly larger. A top furniture designer to royalty who tripped over a step in swanky Chiltern Firehouse and suffered severe facial injuries has sued the restaurant for over 200,000. David Salmon, 61, from Nacton, in Suffolk, broke his nose and teeth, fractured bone spurs in his neck and was left with injuries to the knee, upper body and both shoulders after the accident in 2018. Mr Salmon, who now lives in Monaco and boasts of making furniture for prestigious clients including most of the world's royal households, has also said that the fall caused PTSD and a 'microscopic brain injury underpinning post-concussional type syndrome'. Although Chiltern Street Hotel Ltd has accepted 'primary liability' for the accident, according to court documents it claims that Mr Salmon was partly responsible for his fall because he had been drinking at the time. But Mr Salmon has blamed the restaurant for the accident and claimed that they failed to put up a 'mind the step' warning sign in the men's toilet. The 61-year-old has also alleged that because the colour of the step tiles was the same as the lower floor, there was nothing to indicate a change in level which appeared 'two paces' inside the lavatory. Mr Salmon is suing the restaurant for more than 200,000 damages, claiming negligence in failing to warn of the hazard, failing to install a handrail, and failing to 'clearly demark the edge of the step.' David Salmon, 61, from Nacton, in Suffolk, pictured, broke his nose and teeth, fractured bone spurs in his neck and was left with injuries to the knee, upper body and both shoulders after the accident in 2018 Chiltern Firehouse, pictured, has said that they consider Mr Salmon's alcohol consumption during his lunch a 'contributing factor' to the accident In court documents, Mr Salmon's barrister David Powell said: 'Whilst it is accepted that Mr Salmon shared a bottle of wine with an associate whilst at the premises, it is averred that he did so with a meal and over a relatively lengthy period of time. 'He is, in his own words, 'a big guy', he was used to drinking such an amount of wine with a meal.' 'In the circumstances, he was certainly not inebriated. In fact, the wine he had consumed did not impair his ability to see and/or appreciate the step in the circumstances set out above and thus did not contribute to the accident. 'Further or alternatively, as the premises was a restaurant serving alcohol, the defendant should have anticipated that certain of its visitors would have consumed some alcohol and may be impaired thereby. ' 'In those circumstances, the step and/or floor created an even greater danger or trap and/or an even more foreseeable risk of harm than in a premises in which alcohol was not sold.' Mr Salmon, who now lives in Monaco, has also said that the fall caused PTSD and a 'microscopic brain injury underpinning post-concussional type syndrome'. Pictured: The interior of the restaurant Mr Salmon is an acclaimed furniture designer and manufacturer who first cut his teeth in the field of antiques restoration and working with English Heritage and the National Trust before carving out a thriving furniture business. According to his company's website, 'David continues to produce bespoke designs for prestigious architects and interior designers worldwide, for private clients and most of the world's royal households'. Mr Salmon's case against Chiltern Firehouse Ltd was filed at the High Court earlier this summer, but has not yet appeared before a judge. A grieving mother has described the heart wrenching moment she had to watch her 'healthy' toddler die 'with no explanation' after her family's life changed forever in just two minutes. Hannah Johnston, 38, was having a typical day with her precious boy William, 21 months old, who was bouncing around as normal and eating his pizza with his big brother Max. But just a couple of moments later and out of the blue, as Hannah turned her head to get an ice lolly from the freezer, William had a seizure which would be the start of a shocking and traumatic few days for the family. William's seizure was followed by two cardiac arrests before he tragically died a few days later on November 17, 2021. His parents, Hannah and Keith, 40, struggled to catch up or understand what had happened to their youngest son and were faced with the reality he was going to die - without knowing why. Hannah has spoken of the devastating moment she and Keith lay either side of William in a hospital bed, telling him the story of his life and singing Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars lyrics - 'If I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world' before their son died. William's death was classified as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) the sudden and unexpected death of a child between one and 18 years of age, which remains unexplained after a thorough investigation is conducted. The mother-of-three, from Guilford in Surrey, has spoken to the Mail Online about the trauma her family has experienced in order to raise more awareness of SUDC with the hope that eventually no other parents have to go through the horror they did. She has shared the last video taken of William on November 13 at 8.59am - showing him playfully climbing onto an office chair and laughing cheekily. William, 21 months old, was having a typical morning on November 13, 2021 and enjoying playing with his mum and big brother Max The family's life changed forever and completely out of the blue after William had a seizure 'I text my friend at 4.42pm about the fact our kids were having their dinner and two minutes later I called 999. That's how quickly our life changed,' Hannah, also mum to Max, seven and Lewis, six, said. 'I feel there are certain feelings locked inside you that you can only feel when your child is dying. 'I have never experienced the pain, the trauma, the fear.' Speaking about the heartbreaking moment William died, Hannah said: 'Keith was lying on one side of him, and I was lying on the other. I told him the story of his life - everything he loved and everything he did. 'We didn't cry, we just wanted that moment for our child, for it to be memorable and special. 'He died peacefully, and ten minutes later we were allowed to hold him properly. I'll never get over that moment of holding my dead child in my arms.' William was always active and full of energy and liked to play with his brothers, his mum said A post mortem found that William had no underlying health conditions, leaving no answers for the family Hannah, who used to be in marketing before she became a stay at home mum, explained how the nightmare all started on a very typical family day where William was his usual self, eating and drinking normally and being active. She said they'd been around three people who had tested positive for Covid that week, so she had been testing her boys' temperatures just incase. William's temperature started at 37.2C on November 13, 2021, and by the end of the day increased to 37.9, so Hannah gave him Calpol as a precautionary measure. Continuing to describe what began as a unremarkable day, she said: 'At 4 'o' clock we went to pick up Max from a friend's house. Max was singing to William in the car. 'When we got home Max wanted to play with his Lego on the bar stools at the kitchen counter. 'I made some pizza for Max and William, I had William on his high chair.' But then within two minutes, everything changed for the family, forever. Hannah, 38, and Keith, 40, with their children Max, seven, Lewis, six and William who died at 21 months old 'At 4.20 William was eating his pizza. Max said he wanted an ice lolly so I went round the corner to the fridge, but when I came back I could see William slumped to his right hand side in his high chair. 'My first assumption was that he was choking because he had been eating. Then I saw his eyes were rolled up and back.' Hannah said something that had randomly popped up on Instagram a few hours before came into her head at that moment. 'I had read about febrile seizures on Instagram. A mum had posted about her child - I don't know how it even came up. 'I grabbed my phone and rang 999. William was in my arms. I was screaming at them "I need an ambulance, I need an ambulance". The operator told me they were two minutes away. 'I was terrified for William but I never in that moment thought he wasn't going to be OK.' William was playing Lego with his brother Max not long before he had his febrile seizure Hannah said she was concerned about what the damage would be for Max - watching what was happening to his brother and seeing his mum so 'distressed'. 'I had lost control of my emotions, I felt so fearful. But because it was so sudden I thought "William is going to come out of this,"' she said. 'I don't think my brain had time to catch up with what was happening. I was on autopilot.' Hannah said no one in her family has had a seizure, and she didn't know anything about them. While on the phone to the ambulance they told her to put her son on the floor and let him come out of it alone. 'When they arrived, Max grabbed me and cuddled me and said "mummy, it's going to be alright, the doctors are here now." 'My little boy who was six years old was taking on an adult role and looking after me. 'The tears were flowing down my face. But the professionals had arrived and they were going to make him better. 'I did sob, I really did sob.' Little William was taken away in an ambulance and suffered two cardiac arrests in total Three paramedics were working on William, while three policemen who had turned up for support encouraged Hannah to phone her husband. 'I hadn't wanted to call him while he was driving but I did. Keith was scared but said that I had to believe it was going to be OK.' At that point Hannah's parents Simon and Lin Pott, who'd been out for the day with her son Lewis, also arrived and helped pack a hospital bag as they needed to get going. William had had a febrile seizure, which terminated after 45 minutes. Hannah was allowed to touch her little boy but said 'his eyes were open but he was not responding to me.' 'They then took him to the ambulance and I will never forget standing there watching the back doors slam shut.' Hannah waited and about 10 minutes later, just as Software Engineer Manager Keith arrived, a paramedic emerged from the ambulance to deliver the heartbreaking news that William had just suffered a cardiac arrest and they'd need to leave immediately to get to the hospital. 'I just fell to the floor,' Hannah said. 'I couldn't take it in, it was an out of body experience. An hour ago he was playing Lego with Max.' William's parents believed he was going to be OK until they were told by doctors he wouldn't make it Hannah says there are no words to describe the grief of losing her little boy - and wants to raise awareness of SUDC to try and prevent the same happening to other families The ambulance left for the Royal Surrey Hospital, with Hannah and Keith following behind in the police car - but the ambulance stopped again along the way. 'We were sat in the car not knowing - was he alive? Was he dead?' And before they knew it the blue lights were back on again. 'We arrived at the hospital not knowing if he was alive or dead. We were taken into a family room and the paramedic came in and told us he was alive but had had a second cardiac arrest. 'I didn't know then, but he had flatlined for 11 minutes. 'I thought I was going to be sick. I went to the toilet and the nurse told me not to lock the door in case I fainted.' Hannah and Keith went to see William, who had seven people working on him in a scene Hannah said was like something 'you see on Grey's Anatomy'. 'Our child was fighting for his life. And we couldn't tell them anything about his medical history because there was nothing to tell.' William had a CT scan which showed he did not have any bleeding on the brain, before having to be transferred to the specialist Evelina London Children's Hospital. 'At that point I still thought he was going to wake up, he was going to be fine. I had to have hope. 'I was saying to myself 'we are bringing him home'.' The mother-of-three and her husband Keith had to watch as doctors fought to keep their son alive Keith hadn't seen his son until they got to the hospital, and Hannah describes there being 'no words' for how that felt. 'We were just sitting there watching our worst nightmare happen. Our baby boy with all these adults around him, trying to figure out what was wrong and trying to make him better. 'There wasn't much conversation between me and Keith, we just sat there helplessly, trying not to get in anyone's way. 'Nurses were offering us food and drink but we were just mute, we couldn't believe what was happening.' The next day, November 14, the aim was to keep William stable and let his body rest. Hannah, who said all the NHS care they had was exceptional, said she and Keith remained at the hospital while her parents looked after Max and Lewis. Then on November 15, William had an EEG, which records brain activity, before that evening a consultant had a frank conversation with them which they'll never forget. 'She said William's injuries were catastrophic and irreversible. She said his brain activity was minimal,' Hannah said. 'I was just gobsmacked and said to her 'could he die?' 'She looked me in the eye, so compassionately, and just said yes. 'My tears were streaming. Until that point I thought we would get him home. 'Keith was broken. We were just stunned, we didn't have words. Sitting there at the side of your child, hearing he could die - and no one could tell us why this was happening.' William, pictured with his brothers, suffered catastrophic and irreversible damage to his brain William's heart rate and oxygen levels were going down and doctors knew he was not going to make it William died, with his loving parents at his side, singing to him, telling him stories and filling him with love What does SUDC UK say and how can you help? SUDC UK says: 'Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood is the sudden and unexpected death of a child between 1 and 18 years of age, which remains unexplained after a thorough investigation is conducted. 'This must include: examination of the death scene, a post-mortem and a review of the child and familys medical history. 'SUDC is rare and its incidence is approximately 1 death per 100,000 children. 'SUDC UK is a registered, national charity dedicated to raising awareness, funding research and supporting families affected by Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC). 'SUDC UK works in collaboration with its global partner organisation, the SUDC Foundation (www. sudc.org) and aims to make SUDC predictable and preventable in the future. 'Please help us take action by sharing our story in the search for answers, donating, raising funds or learning more at www.sudc.org.uk' Advertisement Hannah and Keith were encouraged to step outside for fresh air, but when they did, Hannah said: 'Everything was so loud. 'We felt we were stood still and the world was spinning. 'We wanted to say to people 'why are you laughing? How are you on the London eye?'' The following day, November 16, Hannah and Keith talked to a neurologist and a consultant who told them William was deteriorating. His heart rate and oxygen levels were going down and they did not think he was going to make it. 'We knew this was final and that we had to call our family to tell them the harrowing news,' Hannah said. ' 'It was just excruciating to say it out loud. I'd never wish it upon anyone to have to say 'my child is going to die.' 'Keith and I were crying for what we were losing but Keith would say to me - look at what William is losing, and that's what we always came back to. 'Keith said you should never have to bury your child - and that's the truth.' By the evening, William was transferred to a bed and his parents lay next to him and cuddled him. 'Snow Patrol's song Chasing Cars came to my head and I just sang to him - "if I just lay here, would you lay with me and just forget the world," Hannah said. 'In that moment I just wanted to forget that he was going to leave me and erase the last three days.' William's parents sat with him that night, and spent the following day cuddling, kissing and reading to their little boy, and telling him how much his family loved him until they knew it was time for him to go. As they lay either side of him telling him stories and giving him love, William passed away. The parents later had to go through the devastating post mortem, which revealed he had no underlying health conditions, and William's death was classified as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood. Hannah is sharing her story to raise awareness of SUDC and says more information is also needed on febrile seizures. 'There is another level of grief when you don't have an explanation of why your healthy toddler is not here anymore.' She hopes to one day make SUDC predictable so no other family has to go through what they did. One of Vladimir Putin's attack dogs has been rattling the nuclear sabre once again as he declared that his master is not bluffing, even as the Russian strongman prepares to announce the annexation of Ukrainian territories. Dmitri Medvedev, a former Russian president, said in a now customary rant on the Telegram messaging app that Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons 'if the use of conventional weapons threatens the very existence of our state.' 'And it is certainly not a bluff,' he added. The ominous threat comes as the British Ministry of Defence assessed as a 'realistic possibility' that Putin might announce the annexation of sovereign Ukrainian regions on Friday Sept 30 after the occupiers held sham referenda there. Referenda held in the regions of Russia-controlled Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson are due to conclude today, with it assumed that the democratic charade will result in the regions 'voting' to join Russia. The hasty move to incorporate Ukrainian territory into Russia proper gives rise to the fear that Putin will claim integral Russian land is under threat if and when Ukraine moves to liberate it, justifying the use of nuclear weapons according to Russia's nuclear doctrine. Former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev (right, with Putin, left) has reiterated Putin's threats to use nuclear weapons, saying it is 'certainly not a bluff' The threat comes as Russia is thought to be preparing to announce the annexation Russia-controlled Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson on Friday The hasty move to incorporate Ukrainian territory into Russia proper gives rise to the fear that Putin will claim integral Russian land is under threat if and when Ukraine moves to liberate it, justifying the use of nuclear weapons in 'self-defence' Russian President Vladimir Putin today chairing a meeting on agriculture issues via a video link in Sochi while his minions steal land and threaten nuclear war Putin is in Sochi after holding a meeting with Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko Votes held in four areas currently under Russian control - Donetsk and Luhansk, which together make up the Donbas, as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, are set to conclude today The latest threat of nuclear annihilation follows on from Putin's bluster during a televised address broadcast last week when he announced a partial mobilisation of Russian men. During the speech, he raised the spectre of a nuclear strike if he deemed the 'territorial integrity' of Russia to be under threat. The Kremlin is clearly fearful of a well-train and battle-hardened Ukrainian army, fresh with modern Western weapons, moving to liberate the stolen territories and sweeping the Russian army out of its homeland. Medvedev was dismissive of Western warnings of 'catastrophic consequences for Russia' if they used nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine and indicated he thought they were bluffs. 'I believe that NATO will not directly intervene in the conflict even in this situation. After all, the security of Washington, London, and Brussels is much more important for the North Atlantic Alliance than the fate of the perishing Ukraine, which no one needs, even if it is abundantly supplied with various weapons,' he wrote. 'Biden and Truss, spraying Atlantic saliva, demand that Russia remove its hand from its ''nuclear button.'' 'Together, they constantly threaten us with ''terrifying'' consequences if Russia uses nuclear weapons. 'And the London aunt [Truss], young in mind, is completely ready to immediately begin an exchange of nuclear strikes with our country.' A hospitalised man casts his ballot into a mobile ballot box as members of an electoral commission visit patients of a hospital People from Luhansk and Donetsk regions, the territory controlled by a pro-Russia separatist governments, who live in Crimea, vote during a referendum in Sevastopol, Crimea, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022 People line up to vote in a referendum in Luhansk, Luhansk People's Republic controlled by Russia-backed separatists, eastern Ukraine, Sept. 24, 2022 Reservists drafted during the partial mobilisation attend a departure ceremony in Sevastopol, Crimea The moves to mobilise the Russian population and rush through sham referenda in the occupied regions are seen as desperate ploys by analysts, prompted by public misgivings from Putin's key allies of India, China and Turkey at a summit two weeks ago. The announcement of the partial mobilisation has seen thousands of men called up to fight in the Russian army, along with chaotic scenes of Russians streaming out of the country, protests in the regions and unruly drinking and brawling by fresh conscripts. 'Russia's leaders almost certainly hope that any accession announcement will be seen as a vindication of the 'special military operation' and will consolidate patriotic support for the conflict,' the British MoD wrote in their daily briefing. 'This aspiration will likely be undermined by the increasing domestic awareness of Russia's recent battlefield set-backs and significant unease about the partial mobilisation last week.' The UK government condemned the sham referenda 'held at the barrel of a gun' and said they will never recognise the results. Armed police went door-to-door to canvas votes while gun-toting mercenaries guarded polling stations during sham referendums in occupied Ukraine. But, just to make extra sure, Kremlin officials, military police and hired guns kept a careful eye over the process - with Ukrainian politicians reporting that they were kicking front doors in to force people to cast their ballots. Belarusian president Lukashenko (L) - who needed Putin's help to crush a pro-Western democratic movement in his country in 2020 - assured the Kremlin leader he would win his war in Ukraine Alexander Lukashenko (R) shakes hands with Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Sochi, Russia Serhiy Haidai, governor of occupied Luhansk, said some towns under Russian occupation have been entirely sealed off to ensure people vote - with any crosses in the 'no' column recorded in a 'notebook'. Meanwhile state media has reported an unfeasibly high 97 per cent of people in two of those regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - are in favour of joining Russia. Ballot boxes have also been opened across Russia itself, ostensibly to allow displaced Ukrainians to vote, but in reality offer more opportunities for vote rigging. Meanwhile, the call for mobilisation has proved wildly unpopular, with hundreds of thousands of Russian men having already fled the country to avoid the call up. Outbound flights from Russia are completely sold out, and traffic jams leading to Russia's borders are so big they can be seen from space. Anti-war protests have erupted across the country, and Russian media reported an increasing number of arson attacks on military enlistment offices. Yesterday, an enlistment officer was shot at almost point blank range by a man who refused to be drafted. And to compound Putin's discomfort, he was forced to endure a bizarre lecture on people fleeing his rule from fellow autocrat Alexander Lukashenko today. The Belarusian president - who needed Putin's help to crush a pro-Western democratic movement in his country in 2020 - assured the Kremlin leader he would win his war in Ukraine, despite the growing unrest over his decision to mobilise 300,000 new troops. The Kremlin chief looked hunched and uncomfortable, saying little during the meeting in Sochi as Russians continue to protest his mobilisation edict or flee abroad to avoid being drafted. One Telegram video appeared to show a Russian recruit passed out in the grass by the runway as his comrades stumbled towards a waiting plane Multiple videos appear to show young Russian men drinking heavily as they are shipped off to war, suggesting that morale problems in the military are unlikely to improve as they arrive on the frontlines 'Our course is right, our cause is right,' Lukashenko told Putin, bringing a rare smile to the Russian warmonger's lips. 'We will win. We have no other choice. We, as Slavs, would not tolerate humiliation,' Lukashenko told him. But videos that emerged of the mobilisation and call-up process have been entirely humiliating for the Russian dictator. They show reluctant conscripts at recruitment offices and staging points hitting the bottle and drinking themselves senseless as military commanders try to coral them into order before boarding buses and planes. In what is rapidly becoming a popular subgenre of Russian war videos, multiple clips depict Russian recruits getting hammered as they prepare to ship out for two weeks of basic training before being thrown onto the front lines. One video shows a Russian conscript passed out in the grass near a runway while others stumble towards the plane, while in another a drunken group try to have a punch up as the bus waits for them. 'Shut your mouths! Why are you all yelling?' a recruitment officer bawls at the new arrivals in yet another video. 'Why are YOU yelling?' comes a reply. 'Stop yelling, let him speak,' another recruit says. 'That's it! Games over! You're all military now!' the officer shouts. While the partial mobilisation is supposed to only call up Russian men with military experience, raising 300,000 fresh troops, the age profile and the sheer numbers of men indicate the draft could actually be vastly larger. Passengers have been paying out thousands in accommodation and food costs Hundreds of Australians are furious after they were left stranded in Hawaii with minimal compensation from Jetstar after the budget airline abruptly cancelled their flights home. At least two Jetstar flights bound for Australia were scrapped on Saturday, leaving around 600 people stuck in pricey holiday hub Honolulu. Stranded traveller have been spending thousand of dollars on inflated food and emergency accommodation while also having to find other ways to get back home. Those left without a flight out of Hawaii were given about $300 per room for a hotel room and just $50 per day for food and other necessities by the airline. September has been a month of chaos for Jetstar, after thousands were also left stranded in Bali due to flight cancellations. Around 600 Jetstar passengers have been left stranded in Hawaii after the budget airline cancelled two flights (stock image) Two Jetstar flights from Hawaii to Australia have been cancelled in recent days, leaving around 600 passengers stranded. Pictured is a Jetstar plane A Jetstar spokesperson said all the passengers affected in Hawaii had been given an alternative flight back to Australia with Jetstar or another airline. But this does not cover everyone's experience, with some being left severely out of pocket by their ordeal. One outraged customer said they were 'Forced to get a $3,000 Qantas flight. People did warn me not to trust Jetstar.' Another asked 'How could this be allowed to happen? Six of us got last seats on Qantas flight back to Sydney in three days time at an outrageous price and in US$.' The current exchange rate is $1.54 Australian to $1 US. Jetstar said a lightning strike and a technical issue were to blame for the flight cancellations. 'One of our B787 aircraft experienced a lightning strike on its way into Cairns and another required a thrust reverser replacement part,' a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. 'A single B787 out of service means we need to find seats for another 300 customers. We do that by putting on special services and booking seats on other airlines. 'Unfortunately, with the school holidays there are very few seats available and so our teams right across the business are working through all options to get customers on their way as quickly as possible,' they said. Hawaii (pictured) is a very popular destination for Australian travellers, many of whom travel with Jetstar The airline said it never wants 'to cancel a flight and do everything we can to avoid it, however we will always put safety first'. The Jetstar statement said the airline appreciates that 'delays are extremely frustrating and we sincerely apologise for the impact this is having on customers' travel plans, especially during the school holidays'. 'In the meantime, we provide support for accommodation and meals and reasonable expenses for those who are away from home, and we also offer refund or credit vouchers for those who would prefer not to travel,' the spokesperson said. Jetstar said its staff is working with travellers to try to compensate for their specific needs and circumstances. But many passengers have taken to social media to express their anger at the airline. 'Waiting at 5am at Waikiki (resort) for taxi to airport for 10am flight home, receive a text saying flight cancelled for engineering reasons,' one person Tweeted. Pictured is the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, also known as Honolulu International Airport. Two Jetstar flights from there to Australia have been cancelled in recent days, leaving hundreds stranded 'Take people overseas and leave them stranded? Outrageous! Never again Jetstar,' said another. The latest travel chaos involving Jetstar comes just weeks after thousands of Aussie travellers were left stranded in Bali by the airline. Some travellers had to wait five days to be rebooked on another Jetstar flight following multiple cancellations. Some said they had been stranded for up to a week, with concerns the delays could affect their employment. 'We got caught up in it last night, next direct flight to Sydney available is next Friday, 6 days after our original flight,' a man tweeted. Another said: 'Thanks Jetstar, on the way back from Bali my 12.45 flight has been rescheduled twice and it I don't get to Melbourne tonight, I'll lose my job.' Advertisement Thundery showers and icy weather look set to roll in across the UK this week as the remnants of Hurricane Fiona bear down on Britain, bringing with it gale-force conditions. Blustery gusts of almost 50mph are predicted to blast parts of the country on Friday as unseasonably cold weather and heavy rain combine in a triple whammy. The news comes as the Met Office today issued a series of six flood alerts across coastal communities in Essex, Norfolk and Yorkshire. Tidal flooding is possible on Tuesday morning for North Sea communities in Withernsea and Kilnsea, in East Yorkshire, and Easington, County Durham. Also at risk is the north Norfolk coast from East Cley to Kelling Hard, including Salthouse and the Essex coast from Clacton to St Peters Flat and the Colne and Blackwater estuaries - with flood alerts in place here between 12.30pm and 2.30pm on Tuesday. Heavy rain is predicted to sweep across the UK this week, with a weather front beginning in Scotland today before heading south. Pictured is a young boy in South Bank, London, clutching a patriotic flag in the lashing rain On Friday, Brits are being urged to brace themselves for heavy rain and lashing winds, with gusts of almost 50mph expected to smash coastal communities in Scotland and the south of England Temperatures across the UK have dropped as a low pressure front rolls in, bringing with it icy arctic air in a situation forecasters say will be a 'shock to the system' for Brits following the record-breaking string of heatwaves over the summer The floods - although expected to be minor - are among the first signs of the changing weather, which looks set to intensify as the week progresses, with Friday predicted to bring the worst conditions. Gales are anticipated to sweep over parts of Scotland, with Stornaway, Wick and Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands predicted to see gusts reaching almost 50mph on between 10am and 1pm on Friday. Brighton, on the south coast of England, will also see lashing wind speeds of 49mph on Friday, with the worst of the weather expected to roll in at 10pm. The miserably conditions will be a 'shock to the system' for Brits, the Met Office has said, following the recent record-breaking summer heatwaves. 'Drivers may need to scrape their cars of frost on some mornings,' forecasters told The Sun. 'Temperatures will be below average but it is pretty typical autumn fare. 'But it will be a shock to the system after the summer we've had.' Speaking this morning, the BBC's Carol Kirkwood said Britain will see showers in most parts of the country, with a weather front coming from north of Scotland before spreading across the rest of the UK. She said: 'It's going to be cool, it's going to be blustery and again it's going to be showery. 'There will be showers this morning across Scotland, which could turn thundery. 'And we've also got further showers coming from the North Channel across the Midlands and Wales. You can see some also found in the east coast.' She added: 'It's going to be cool, it's going to be blustery and again it's going to be showery.' The 'colder-than-average' temperatures arrived on Monday, with the mercury bottoming out at 5C at the start of Tuesday morning. The average temperature today is expected 8C across the UK. Looking at the rest of the week, the Met Office said Wednesday will stay fairly cool with a mixture of sunshine and showers but winds will be lighter than on previous days. Lighter winds on Thursday will mean that it feels a little warmer, before a dry and chilly start on Friday with patches of mist and fog. Looking further into the week, the Met Office said Wednesday will stay fairly cool with a mixture of sunshine and showers but winds will be lighter than on previous days Flood alerts have also been issued today for coastal communities in the east of England. Pictured is St Mary's Lighthouse, in Whitney Bay, North Tyneside as rain clouds rolled in on Thursday The windiest and wettest weather is anticipated on Friday. Most areas will experience some sunshine but cloud and heavy rain will push across the country from west to east. Looking towards Friday, Daniel Rudman, Met Office deputy chief meteorologist, said: 'On Friday it looks as though a deeper area of low pressure will move into the northwest of the UK. 'This means that many can expect a more notably wet and windy spell, for a time on Friday, than we've seen so far this autumn. However, this is nothing unusual for the time of year.' The Met Office added that the tropical cyclone season in the Atlantic, which has seen communities across the east coast of America being battered by appalling weather, made predictions more challenging. However, Daniel added: 'At this time of year, knock-on effects from the Atlantic tropical cycle season can lower confidence when forecasting more than a few days ahead, and so the exact timings for rainfall and wind strengths for Friday may vary throughout the week. 'The best thing you can do if you've got outdoor plans is make sure you're always using the most up to date forecast.' A warning has also gone out to motorists too, ahead of the worsening weather. Andy Butterfield, customer services director for Operations at National Highways, said: 'Its always a good idea to plan your journey in advance which is particularly important if you are travelling on routes you are not familiar with.' Downing Street has U-turned over a pay deal for Liz Truss's chief of staff that saw him paid as a contractor through his lobbying firm. No10 said Mark Fullbrook would now become a direct employee of Liz Truss's government days after defending the set up which treated him as on 'secondment' from Fullbrook Strategies. Usually special advisers are paid directly as employees and their salary is liable for income tax. Mr Fullbrook's predecessor as chief of staff under Boris Johnson was paid 140,000. But being paid via his firm could potentially lower his tax bill. He denied setting up the system for this purpose. No 10's spokesperson on Tuesday said: 'While there are established arrangements for employees to join government on secondment, to avoid any ongoing speculation Mark Fullbrook will be employed directly by the government on a special adviser contract. 'All government employees, including those joining on secondment, are subject to the necessary checks and vetting, and all special advisers declare their interests in line with Cabinet Office guidance.' Downing Street has U-turned over a pay deal for Liz Truss's chief of staff Mark Fullbrook that saw him paid as a contractor through his lobbying firm. No10 said Mark Fullbrook would become a direct employee of Liz Truss's government days after defending the set up which treated him as a on 'secondment' from Fullbrook Strategies. Under the contractor arrangement Mr Fullbrook would also be a potential beneficiary of changes to tax accounting for contract workers unveiled by Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday in his mini-Budget. Controversial reforms to IR35 accounting rules will be scrapped as part of a package of measures to simplify the tax system. The Cabinet Office had previously said it was 'not unusual' for a special adviser to join Government 'on secondment' and that his salary was paid to a 'seconding company'. But the arrangement drew accusations of renewed 'Tory sleaze' from opposition parties. A spokesman for Mr Fullbrook previously denied speculation that the arrangement allows him to pay less tax. The spokesman said: 'This is not an unusual arrangement. It was not put in place for tax purposes and Mr Fullbrook derives no tax benefit from it.' Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: 'This U-turn raises more questions than it does answers, including about Liz Truss' judgement. 'Why did Number 10 spend days trying to defend this appointment only to backtrack when it came under scrutiny?' The Sunday Times reported that Mr Fullbrook's company, which he says has now suspended commercial activities, contacted the Government on behalf of clients including the Libyan House of Representatives, an energy provider and a PPE firm. Mr Fullbrook has already been in the headlines since starting his role as the most senior political appointee in government two weeks ago. It emerged last week he was questioned as a witness as part of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) inquiry into alleged bribery in Puerto Rico. The FBI probe relates to allegations that financier and Tory donor Julio Herrera Velutini promised to help the former governor of Puerto Rico get re-elected if she dismissed an official investigating a bank he owned there. He has denied the allegations against him. Mr Velutini is alleged to have paid CT Group, a political consultancy firm in which Mr Fullbrook was a senior figure, 300,000 US dollars (almost 263,000) for work intended to help Wanda Vazquez Garced's ultimately unsuccessful re-election campaign in 2020. A Downing Street spokesperson previously said Ms Truss stood 100 per cent behind Mr Fullbrook and 'he has her full support'. She worked at a center for children with special needs and helped the homeless The disease 'essentially highjacked her', said her father in a LinkedIn post A 22-year-old Canadian woman has taken her own life after struggling with Lyme disease 'to free herself from the unbearable pain', her father revealed in a heartfelt note. The disease 'essentially highjacked her', said her father, Alain Champagne, CEO of Groupe Jean Coutu and Brunet, in a public LinkedIn tribute posted after she died. Amelie Champagne fought for years undiagnosed with the disease, but persevered with her studies at university and worked at a respite center for special-needs children despite the pain. The disease, which can be contracted from tick bites, had evolved way beyond physical symptoms and was severely impacting her brain. She received a positive diagnosis in the US last year after years of wrestling with her condition. But it came too late to alleviate her symptoms. Amelie campaigned heavily on behalf of those suffering for autism, her Facebook profile shows. A 22-year-old woman has died by suicide after she spent 'years' suffering from Lyme disease Amelie Champagne, from Canada, 'decided to free herself from the unbearable pain' after the disease 'essentially hijacked her' and 'severely impacted her brain' her father, Alain, wrote According to her dad, the 22-year-old spent years suffering from 'numerous physical symptoms' but didn't know what was wrong with her She was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease in June, but despite the 'recent treatments' her dad wrote that it 'severely impacted her brain' Her father, CEO of Groupe Jean Coutu and Brunet, shared a message on LinkedIn after his daughter took her own life 'to free herself from the unbearable pain' 'We are confident she is now in peace and that her spirit is shining bright upon the large number of people she touched over her short stay with us,' wrote Alain. The young woman had also started volunteered in a homeless shelter near her parent's home in the months leading up to her death. What is Lyme Disease? Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, often transmitted through tick bites. The tick-borne illness affects more than 200,000 people in the United States. The earliest signs of Lyme disease include a bulls eye pattern rash and Flu-like symptoms. A circular or oval shape rash around a tick bite can be early symptom of Lyme disease in some people. The rash can appear up to 3 months after being bitten by an infected tick, but usually appears within 1 to 4 weeks. It can last for several weeks. The rash can have a darker or lighter area in the centre and might gradually spread. It's not usually hot or itchy. The rash may be flat, or slightly raised, and look pink, red, or purple when it appears on white skin. It can be harder to see the rash on brown and black skin and it may look like a bruise. Advertisement 'The resilience and continued optimism she displayed while dealing with the ever increasing symptoms was and remains my main source of inspiration,' her father wrote. 'Despite the fact that every breath and every moment is painful at this stage, in her honor we will try to keep living our lives with the same altitude she lived hers.' Although her illness had progressed to an unbearable point, she remained a vibrant member of her community, her father said. He concluded: 'We will love you forever, and cherish every memory of our wonderful time together. You made us all better people. Its now up to us to rise up to the challenge' The post had almost 8,000 likes and 1,571 comments as of Tuesday. In the comments, people shared their own tragic stories with Lyme disease. Lyme disease, experts say, is usually treatable, though rare chronic cases often go undiagnosed. Antibiotics are usually prescribed to people who contract Lyme disease. But those for whom prescriptions dont work are referred to a hospital or clinic where they can receive stronger antibiotics. Chronic Lyme disease is much more serious than the cases normally contracted. Symptoms of chronic Lyme disease are similar to those of Lyme disease, but more severe. They include pain, fatigue, neurocognitive and behavioral symptoms. It can also lead to other diagnosises, most of which tend to be neurologic and rheumatologic diseases. If Lyme disease is left untreated, sufferers may begin to experience severe headaches and/or neck stiffness, body rashes, arthritis, loss of muscle tone on one or both sides of the face, heart palpitations, inflammation of the brain and spinal cord and shooting pains, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet. Pets can also contract the disease, showing similar symptoms to humans. The disease is not contageous. Alain described his daughter as 'engaging, empathetic, vibrant, and fun-loving,' explaining that 'despite her struggles' she continued to 'persevere' Before her death, she was working at a center for handicapped kids and was volunteering at a homeless shelter 'The resilience and continued optimism she displayed while dealing with the ever increasing symptoms was and remains my main source of inspiration,' he gushed He added that himself, along with Amelie's mother, Joanne (left), her brother, Mathieu, and her boyfriend, Nic (right), were all 'leaning on each other' during this 'painful' time 'We will love you forever, and cherish every memory of our wonderful time together. You made us all better people. Its now up to us to rise up to the challenge,' he concluded Police are hunting a man in connection with the sexual assault of a 16-year-old schoolgirl at a train station. Officers investigating the incident have released CCTV pictures of a man they wish to speak to as they appeal for information. The teenager was at Rhyl station in North Wales on Saturday, when a man came and sat next to her on a bench on the platform. He began to ask her 'inappropriate questions' before carrying out a sexual assault, police said. Police are looking for this man pictured on CCTV footage in connection with a sexual assault on a teenager The schoolgirl, 16, was attacked at the Rhyl Station, North Wales on Saturday The British Transport Police urge anyone who recognises this man or has any information to text 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 506 of 17/09/22 British Transport Police officers believe the man in the CCTV images may have information which could help their investigation. They want to hear from anyone who may know him. If you recognise him, or have any information, please contact the British Transport Police by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 506 of 17/09/22. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. A 'selfless and kind-hearted' soldier who collapsed during the week of a record-breaking heatwave died during a 'non-operational incident', the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed. Sapper Connor Morrison, 20, stationed at Woodbridge in Suffolk, died in Ipswich on July 23. The soldier, of 23 Parachute Engineer Regiment, was taken to Ipswich Hospital by ambulance two days earlier, after he was reported to have suffered breathing difficulties at Rock Barracks in Sutton Heath, Suffolk. At the time, the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust said it was called to 'reports of a man with breathing problems', and Suffolk Police said it received a report from the ambulance service that 'a male had collapsed'. Sapper Connor Morrison, 20, stationed at Woodbridge in Suffolk, died in Ipswich on July 23 during Britain's record breaking heatwave where temperatures peaked at 40.3C AN inquest into Sapper Morrison's death will be heard at a later date. His commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Jack Crossley praised the late soldier. He said: 'He worked hard to achieve his goals at every stage of his training and impressed his instructors with his knowledge and skills. More importantly, he was a loyal friend and a genuine team player' Sapper Morrison suffered serious breathing difficulties and collapsed while at Rock Barracks in Sutton Heath, Suffolk, pictured Earlier that week, on July 19, a new UK record high temperature of 40.3C was recorded in Coningsby, Lincolnshire. The Defence Safety Authority, Suffolk Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation into his death in August. Commanding Officer of 23 Parachute Engineer Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Jack Crossley, paid tribute to the 'professional soldier with much promise', adding: 'Keen and enthusiastic, he worked hard to achieve his goals at every stage of his training and impressed his instructors with his knowledge and skills. More importantly, he was a loyal friend and a genuine team player.' He added: 'Sapper Morrison was a truly selfless and kind-hearted professional soldier who made friends wherever he went. He proved himself to be a proud and loyal member of the Corps of Royal Engineers and will always be part of the Sapper family. Sapper Morrison will be sorely missed by the Regiment and all those he served alongside. We will remember him.' Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey said: 'It is with deep sadness that I heard of the death of Sapper Connor Liam Morrison of 23 Parachute Engineer Regiment. 'It's clear from his colleagues that he had a passion for the British Army, made an instant positive impact on all those he served with, and always put the needs of his fellow soldiers above his own; a role model to all. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones at this terrible time.' An inquest into Sapper Morrison's death is due to be held at a later date Apology read: 'Deepest apology to Optus for this. Hope all goes well from this' State governments around Australia have confirmed it will replace all driver's licenses compromised by Optus' massive data leak. Up to 10millions Aussies are at risk of having their private and sensitive information sold online after a hacker infiltrated the telecommunication giant's system and raided the details of its current and former customers. Victor Dominello, the NSW Minister for Digital and Customer Service, confirmed on Tuesday evening they would cover the $29 cost of replacing licenses impacted by the online espionage. 'Firstly I am sorry it has taken several days to reach this landing. People are understandably stressed and need a pathway forward,' he posted to his Twitter account. QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed her government would also reimburse all license changes, while Victoria's Department of Transport will send the bill straight to the telco. The New South Wales Government confirmed it will replace all driver's licenses compromised by Optus' massive data leak Mr Dominello said Optus would be contacting its customers who need to apply for a new license in the coming days. 'People in NSW with a digital driver licence will have an interim card number issued instantaneously via the Service NSW app. A new plastic licence card will be issued within 10 business days,' he said. 'The cost to replace your driver licence is $29 and will be charged by Service NSW at the time of application reimbursement advice will be issued by Optus to customers in the coming days.' Anyone concerned over their identity possibly having being leaked should contact ID Support NSW on 1800 001 040. Ms Palaszczuk said Transport and Main Roads Queensland would be issuing new licenses free of charge. 'The licence is a highly secure ID document, but weve been hearing from a lot of people who are concerned so we are giving people the opportunity to obtain a fresh licence,' she posted to Twitter on Tuesday night. Victor Dominello confirmed on Tuesday evening the government would cover the $29 cost of replacing licenses impacted by the online espionage The hacker claiming to be responsible for the data breach suddenly apologised for the cyber-attack - as customers receive threatening text messages demanding they pay $2,000 to have their details erased. In a bizarre post on Tuesday morning, 'optusdata' claimed there were 'too many eyes' on them and said they would not sell or leak the hacked data of up to 10million Australians. In broken English, optusdata said: 'Deepest apology to Optus for this. Hope all goes well from this'. However, Australians are now receiving threatening texts demanding they pay $2,000 to have their 'confidential information erased off the system'. In a bizarre post 'optusdata' claimed there were 'too many eyes' on them and claimed they would not sell or leak the hacked data of over 10million Australians The text warns Optus customers that if they do not comply, their information will be 'sold for fraudulent activity' in two days time. The message asks the $2000 be transferred to a Commonwealth Bank account under the name 'Optusdata' and that customers send a copy of their receipt. 'Optus has left security measures allowing us to access the personal information of their customers including name, email, phone number, date of birth, address and licence number,' the text reads. 'Optus has not responded to our demand of paying the 1M$USD ransom as such as your information will be sold and used for fraudulent activity within 2 days or until a payment of $2000AUD is made then the confidential information will be erased off our systems.' The threatening texts comes just hours after the hacker said they would release 10,000 records every day for four days if a $1.5million ransom remained unpaid. Optus customers have received threatening text messages warning their data will be leaked unless they pay $2,000 to a CBA account (pictured, the text message) The customer records the hacker has released so far included passport, drivers licence and Medicare numbers, as well as dates of birth and home addresses. In their original apology, the Optus hacker claimed they would've told the telco about their vulnerability but there was no way of getting in touch. 'Optus if your (sic) reading we would have reported exploit if you had method to contact,' the apology continued. 'No security mail, no bug bountys, no way too message. Ransom not paid but we don't care any more.' The hacker said they couldn't release more data even if they wanted to because they had 'personally deleted data from drive' which they claim is the only copy. Cybersecurity journalist Jeremy Kirk said the apology wasn't a guarantee 'optusdata' could be trusted but said it would be the 'best outcome' for customers. He said it was 'disappointing' others on the forum had copied the stolen data and were distributing it - despite the hacker deleting the original samples. 'This means that those 10,200 Optus users in these three data samples would be at an immediate heightened risk of fraud, ID theft,' he tweeted. Bad news. The Optus hacker has released 10,000 customer records and says a 10K batch will be released every day over the next four days if Optus doesn't give into the extortion demand. #OptusDataBreach #optushack #auspol #infosec pic.twitter.com/NuGe7Pup8l Jeremy Kirk (@Jeremy_Kirk) September 26, 2022 Shara Evans, a tech analyst who has worked for large telco's in the United States, believes Optus has been less than forthcoming over whether the stolen data was encrypted or not. 'If the data was encrypted the company would be on the front foot saying 'yes it's been encrypted, we're not going to tell you the exact method for security purposes',' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'Any data that someone may have gotten their hands on would be in an 'encrypted state' - whether they used encryption or tokenisation or any other methodology to scramble the data that would have solved 99.9 per cent of the problem.' Ms Evans said Optus should have maintained separate silos for storing their customer's personal information. 'All of this stuff should have been separately kept, separately stored with audit trails, multiple firewalls and encryption,' she said. The hacker demanded a ransom of US$1million - or $1.5million Australian - be paid in Monero, a decentralised cryptocurrency (pictured, an Optus store in Sydney) Mr Kirk questioned the motivations behind the backflip, tweeting: 'Many questions around this: Why has this person seemingly changed their mind?' 'Can we trust this person now? What does this person mean by writing about not being able to delete the data from the drive?' The cybersecurity journalist, who says he has been in contact with the hacker, shared details of the ransom note on Tuesday morning. 'The Optus hacker has released 10,000 customer records and says a 10K batch will be released every day over the next four days if Optus doesn't give into the extortion demand,' he wrote on Twitter. Early on Saturday morning, the hackers demanded a ransom of US$1million - or $1.5million Australian - be paid in Monero, a decentralised cryptocurrency which would obscure the identity of the recipient. 'We are businessmen 1.000.000$US is a lot of money and will keep too (sic) our word,' the hacker's message read. The ransom demand came after Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil launched a scathing attack on Optus in parliament, saying it was a 'basic' hack (stock image) The ransom demand came after Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil launched a scathing attack on Optus in parliament, saying it was a 'basic' hack. She laid blame for the security breach, which involved 9.8 million current and former customers, at the feet of the telco. 'The breach is of a nature that we should not expect to see in a large telecommunications provider in this country,' Ms O'Neil said on Monday. 'We expect Optus to continue to do everything they can to support their customers and former customers.' However, Optus has rejected Ms O'Neil's claim that the hack was not 'sophisticated'. The telco's CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said the breach was 'not as is being portrayed'. In their bizarre apology, the Optus hacker claimed they would've told the telco about their vulnerability but there was no way of getting in touch (pictured, Optus in Sydney) The ransom demand appeared on the dark web, with the hacker demanding $1.5million 'Unfortunately I think our briefing of the Minister happened after she (made those claims),' she told the ABC. 'Our data was encrypted and we have multiple layers of protection.' Ms Bayer Rosmarin said the company could not do much about the ransom threat while it was being investigated by the Australian Federal Police. 'We have seen that there is a post like that on the dark web and the Australian Federal Police is all over that,' she said. Speaking to the Today Show on Tuesday morning, Mr Kirk said no one knows the true identity of the hacker. 'This is the real challenge for investigators right now, they want to find this person, because this person is perpetrating extortion against an international company, and is in possession of a huge amount of personal data,' he said. Cybersecurity threat analyst Brett Callow, said the hacker's only motivation was money and echoed Ms O'Neil's claims that it was not a sophisticated attack 'There's just a lot of ways to stay anonymous on the Internet and so what police and other investigators will be doing right now is trying to find out if that person has made any mistakes. 'Anything that leads to their in real life identity so hopefully they can make an arrest.' Cybersecurity threat analyst Brett Callow, said the hacker's only motivation was money and echoed Ms O'Neil's claims that it was not a sophisticated attack. 'It would sound like something potentially a highschool kid could've pulled off,' he said. Operation Hurricane was established by the AFP on Monday to identify the people behind the breach as well as prevent identity fraud. Assistant Commissioner of Cyber Command Justine Gough said the investigation into the source of the data breach would be complex. Optus boss Kelly Bayer Rosmarin says the company couldn't do much about the ransom threat as it was being investigated by the Australian Federal Police 'We are aware of reports of stolen data being sold on the dark web and that is why the AFP is monitoring the dark web using a range of specialist capabilities,' she said. 'Criminals, who use pseudonyms and anonymising technology, can't see us but I can tell you that we can see them.' The task force will work with the Australian Signals Directorate, overseas police as well as Optus. Ms Gough said customers should be more vigilant in monitoring unsolicited texts, emails and phone calls in the wake of the Optus breach. 'The AFP will be working hard to explain to the community and businesses how to harden their online security because ultimately it is our job to help protect Australians and our way of life,' she said. Early on Saturday morning, the hackers demanded the ransom of US$1million - or $1.5million Australian - be paid in Monero, a decentralised cryptocurrency which would obscure the identity of the recipient (pictured, an Optus store in Sydney) Slater and Gordon Lawyers are investigating whether to launch a class action lawsuit against Optus on behalf of former and current customers. Class actions senior associate Ben Zocco said the leaked information posed a risk to vulnerable people, including domestic violence survivors and victims of stalking. Consequences may be less severe for other customers but the information could easily lead to identity theft, he added. Ms O'Neil called on the telco to provide free credit monitoring to former and present customers who had their data stolen in the breach. Optus has announced it will be providing the most affected current and former customers with a free 12-month credit monitoring subscription to Equifax Protect. Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil slammed Optus saying the security breach was 'basic', however the telco has rejected those claims Ms O'Neil said the government was looking to work with financial regulators and the banking sector to see what steps could be taken to protect affected customers. 'One significant question is whether the cyber security requirements we place on large telecommunications providers in this country are fit for purpose,' she said. 'In other jurisdictions, a data breach of this size will result in fines amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the data breach was a 'huge wake-up call'. As the government prepares to introduce new cybersecurity measures, Mr Albanese said the new protections would mean banks and other institutions would be informed much faster when a breach happened so personal data could not be used. A criminal with a rap sheet of 14 offences, including breaking his ex's jaw, has escaped deportation to Italy - after a judge heard he would be at 'increased risk of reoffending' in the country. Police had launched a manhunt for Liberato Galizia, 33, after his former partner needed an emergency operation using three metal plates and 12 screws for the injury. He was arrested at Luton Airport and was jailed for 11 months for wounding her in 2018 for a crime detectives had called 'sickening'. The conviction triggered the Home Office into beginning deportation proceedings against Galizia, who lives in Coventry but is originally from Naples in Italy. A letter from then Home Secretary Priti Patel said he was considered 'a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat' to the UK. While the Home Office issued a statement saying they are 'disappointed' Galizia was allowed to remain in the UK despite their efforts. But after a series of court hearings Upper Tribunal Judge Blundell disagreed, and has now ruled he can stay in the UK. Galazia's hearing was told his chances of rehabilitation would not be as good as in Italy, without the support of his family and partner. She said she would not go to Italy with him and so the chamber was also told he 'would be at significantly increased risk of reoffending' if he went back there. Today Galizia himself told MailOnline it was 'ridiculous' he had ever been threatened with deportation, declaring 'It's a joke that it all happened'. Liberato Galizia, 33, was threatened with Italy deportation over string of crimes over 14 years Liberato Galizia, 33, currently lives in Coventry but is originally from Naples (pictured) in Italy The Immigration and Asylum Chamber Upper Tribunal that heard his case was told details of some 14 offences, spanning the same number of years. While the attack on his ex is the most serious, he has also been found with a knife, drugs, driving uninsured and disqualified, as well as handling stolen goods. But the tribunal heard representations from him that he was remorseful for what he had done and that his new partner was a supportive influence. The judge said he found him to be 'sincere' and he noted he had committed no offences in the past six years. A letter from then Home Secretary Priti Patel said Galizia was considered 'a genuine' UK threat In a ruling contrary to the Home Office's opinion, the judge ruled he had come to a 'clear conclusion' he should not be deported. The 14 convictions that saw Home Office attempt to deport him November 11, 2004 Interfering with a vehicle, received a three-month referral order. December 10, 2004 - Aggravated vehicle taking, received a six-month referral order and driving ban. May 8, 2007 - Using vehicle whilst uninsured, Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, Using vehicle with no MOT, Failing to stop and Driving without due care and attention, received a 140 fine and six-month driving ban. July 7, 2007 Failing to surrender, received a 100 fine. July 31, 2007 Resisting a constable, Driving whilst disqualified, Using vehicle whilst uninsured, received a 12-month community order. November 11, 2007 - Driving whilst disqualified, Using vehicle with no MOT, Using vehicle whilst uninsured, Driving whilst disqualified, received 12-week suspended sentence. June 19, 2008 - Destroy or damage property, received two weeks at a Young Offenders Institution. December 10, 2008, Fail to attend for drug test, received a fine for 100. September 28, 2009 - Possessing offensive weapon in public place, received 60 days in Young Offenders Institution. September 30, 2010 - Using threatening words or behaviour to cause fear, received Community order. January 1, 2013 - Handling stolen goods, received 12 months imprisonment. October 8, 2013 - Possession of class B drug (cannabis), received 110 fine. November 18, 2016 - Use threatening words or behaviour to cause fear, received 200 fine. January 25, 2018 Wounding, received 11 months in prison. Advertisement Upper Tribunal Judge Blundell said: 'The appellant does not pose a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat to the fundamental interests of the United Kingdom. 'That suffices to dispose of the appeal in his favour, regardless of the conclusions which I reach on the remaining issues.' It came after evidence from Galizia's current dental nurse girlfriend - which the judge called 'compelling' - which told how they had 'talked about marriage and children'. The issue of foreign criminals that have been unable to be deported from the UK is one that has dogged the Home Office. Its position is that those who it considers 'a risk to the UK' should no longer be allowed to stay. Speaking from Coventry today, Galazia told MailOnline he was a changed man and thought it had been crazy he had been selected for potential deportation. He insisted: 'The whole thing is a joke. I've lived in England since I was six - this is my home. I couldn't believe that they were trying to deport me to Italy. 'I've had a bit of a chequered past but I'm a product of my own environment. I've been brought up in Coventry, it's not an affluent area and all the boys my age have been in a bit of trouble. 'Yes, I'm Italian by birth but I'm more English than most English people. I don't speak the language, other than a bit of broken Italian, and I don't know anyone there. 'I've got a thick Coventry accent. I don't have one Italian friend - all my friends are English. I'm 33 now - it's all in the past. I've got things together now. 'I'm starting my own building business and I'm just getting on with that. It's a joke that it all happened.' The Home Office said: 'Despite facing significant and complex challenges when seeking to deport foreign national offenders, since January 2019 we have removed 11,532 of them and they should be in no doubt of our determination to continue to do so. 'This is why we are disappointed Mr Galizia was allowed to remain in the UK despite our efforts to deport him. 'Through our Nationality and Borders Act we are doing everything possible to increase the number of foreign national offenders being removed.' Advertisement Western leaders have blamed deliberate sabotage after the Nordsteam pipe from Russia suffered 'unprecedented' damage off Sweden - causing 3000ft-wide bubbles in the Baltic Sea and causing prices to spike. Explosions were heard near the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipes where gas is now leaking into the Baltic from three holes, scientists have confirmed, while chronic safety concerns have led to a five-mile exclusion zone being imposed around the affected area. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said her government believes the leaks were caused by 'deliberate actions', adding that the gas supply pipeline will be out of action for around a week. She said this evening: 'It is now the clear assessment by authorities that these are deliberate actions. It was not an accident. There is no information yet to indicate who may be behind this action.' Her Energy Minister Dan Jorgensen also said the size of the holes in the pipelines indicate that the leaks could not have been caused by an accident such as getting hit by an anchor. The damaged pipelines are at a depth of 70-90 meters below sea level, he added. The remarks were backed by Sweden's PM Magdalena Andersson, who has said informations suggests the blasts were likely sabotage. She said her government was in close contact with partners such as Nato and neighbours such as Denmark and Germany concerning the developments. Ms Andersson continued: 'We have Swedish intelligence, but we have also received information in our contacts with Denmark, and based on this concluded that this is probably a deliberate act. It is probably a matter of sabotage. 'It is not a matter of an attack on Swedish or Danish territory. But that said, the government is taking what happened very seriously, not the least in light of the current security situation on our close proximity.' Investigations are ongoing into major leaks in Russian pipelines that are now spewing gas into the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark, including assessing evidence of possible sabotage. It comes after Kyiv's presidential advisor Mikhaylo Podolyak said on Twitter: 'The large-scale gas leak is nothing more than a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards the EU.' Podolyak accused Russia of seeking to 'destabilise the economic situation in Europe and cause pre-winter panic'. Latvian Defence Minister Artis Pabriks also today called on Nato and the EU's member states to jointly investigate the Nord Stream blasts. While it may not be in Russias long-term economic interests to destroy one of its key potential money earners, the destructive act could create economic panic in Europe in the short term. The leaks, which emerged on Monday and are expected to last several days, raised concerns over environmental damage. They caused a spike in the price of natural resources a possible Russian motivation for sabotage. Initially they were assumed to have been accidental, but opinions rapidly changed yesterday with several governments stating that three separate leaks happening almost simultaneously was beyond coincidence. In Moscow, the Kremlin said it did not rule out sabotage as a reason for the damage to the Russian-built network, which has not been supplying any gas to Germany in recent months. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: This is very concerning news. No option can be ruled out right now. But European neighbours said that the sabotage was carried out by Russia itself even though it would be hugely damaging in economic terms, It comes after shocking footage released earlier today by the Danish military from a flyover of the affected region showed huge swathes of the sea near the Danish island of Bornholm churning as the gas bubbled to the surface. A military statement claimed that the largest leak 'is spreading bubbles a good kilometre (3,280ft) in diameter. The smallest is creating a circle about 200 metres (656 feet) in diameter', while the head of Denmark's Energy Agency said it could take up to a week for gas to stop draining into the sea. 'The sea surface is full of methane, which means there is an increased risk of explosions in the area,' Kristoffer Bottzauw said, adding that ships could lose buoyancy if the entered the affected region. A huge swathe of Baltic sea is pictured from this helicopter flyover showing bubbles breaking the surface amid a gas leak A satellite image released by Planet Labs PBC showing the gas leak at the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline off the Danish Baltic island of Bornholm, south of Dueodde, in the Baltic sea Poland's Prime Minister said he believed the pipelines had been sabotaged at an opening of a new pipeline between Norway and his nation today (Baltic Sea is pictured as gas escapes from undersea pipes) A large disturbance in the sea can be observed off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 following a series of unusual leaks on two natural gas pipelines running from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany Shocking footage released earlier today by the Danish military from a flyover of the affected region showed huge swathes of the Baltic Sea near the Danish controlled Bornholm island churning as the gas bubbled to the surface A reading from a German Centre for Georesearch seismograph on the Danish island of Bornholm shows two spikes, at 0003 and 1700 GMT, followed by a lower-level 'hissing' on the day when the Nord Stream 1 and 2 Baltic gas pipelines sprang leaks one after the other Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it would be 'in no-one's interest' if attacks or acts of sabotage caused the leaks detected in the Nord Stream gas pipelines amid an energy standoff between Europe and Russia over gas supplies. Speaking alongside India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, he added: 'There are initial reports indicating that this may be the result of an attack or some kind of sabotage, but these are initial reports and we haven't confirmed that yet. But if it is confirmed, that's clearly in no one's interest.' The White House said the US was ready to provide support to European partners conducting an investigation. Blinken added that his understanding was leaks would not have a significant impact on Europe's energy resilience, and reiterated that Washington was working to address energy security for Europe in the short- and long-term. European gas prices rose on the news of the leaks, with the benchmark October Dutch price up almost 10 per cent on Tuesday. Prices are still below this year's stratospheric peaks, but remain more than 200 per cent higher than in early September 2021. The unsettling incident comes as Sweden's National Seismology Centre (SNSN) announced that their equipment registered powerful undersea blasts in the region yesterday. It said one explosion was equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake. The Nord Stream pipelines have been flashpoints in an escalating energy war between Europe and Moscow amid Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine that has pummelled major Western economies and sent gas prices soaring. The cause of the leaks has not yet been confirmed, however, and the European Commission said it was too early to speculate on the potential causes. Meanwhile, Norway said it will strengthen security at its oil and gas installations in the wake of the gas leaks amid reports of drones buzzing its rigs. Newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad reported last week that unidentified drones had been observed at least at six Equinor installations, including at its giant oilfield Johan Sverdrup. Last Tuesday, a drone was observed some 50 meters away from Equinor's Heidrun platform in the North Sea, breaching the 500-metre security perimeter, the newspaper reported. 'There is no doubt that these were explosions,' SNSN seismologist Bjorn Lund told broadcaster SVT, suggesting the pipelines were likely sabotaged. 'With energy releases this big there isn't much else than a blast that could cause it,' another seismologist added. 'You can see that they are quite sudden. It is a very sudden energy release. It's not a slow collapse of something.' Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said: 'We faced an act of sabotage, we don't know all the details of what happened, but we see clearly that it's an act of sabotage, related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine.' Anders Puck Nielsen, a researcher with the Centre for Maritime Operations at the Royal Danish Defence College, said the timing of the leaks was 'conspicuous' given that a new pipeline carrying gas from Norway to Poland was opened today. 'The arrow points in the direction of Russia,' he said. 'No one in the West is interested in having any kind of instability in the energy market.' The extent of the damage means the Nord Stream pipelines are unlikely to carry any gas to Europe this winter even if there was political will to bring them online, analysts at the Eurasia Group said. 'Depending on the scale of the damage, the leaks could even mean a permanent closure of both lines,' Henning Gloystein and Jason Bush wrote. They noted that undersea pipelines are designed so they can not be damaged accidentally and leaks are rare. Mr Puck Nielsen said of possible sabotage that 'technically speaking, this is not difficult. It just requires a boat. It requires some divers that know how to handle explosive devices'. 'But I think if we look at who would actually benefit from disturbances, more chaos on the gas market in Europe, I think there's basically only one actor right now that actually benefits from more uncertainty, and that is Russia,' he added. A handout photo taken from a Danish F-16 jet on 27 September 2022 and made available by the Danish Defence Command shows a gas leak of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline off Bornholm, Denmark, Baltic Sea A huge churn can be seen at the centre of this large expanse of methane bubbling to the surface of the Baltic Sea A Danish military statement claimed that the largest leak 'is spreading bubbles a good kilometre (3,280ft) in diameter. The smallest is creating a circle about 200 metres (656 feet) in diameter' Kazakhstan risks Putin's wrath: Ex-Soviet ally vows to 'care' for Russians fleeing 'hopeless situation' Kazakhstan has risked the wrath of Putin by offering to 'care for' Russian men fleeing conscription due to the 'hopeless situation' back home. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, president of the ex-Soviet state, also offered muted criticism of Putin's war - saying that the 'territorial integrity of states must be preserved' as the despot moves to carve up Ukraine using sham referenda. He spoke as the country's interior ministry revealed almost 100,000 Russians have crossed the border in six days since Putin ordered fighting-age men to be drafted. Tokayev's speech marks the latest act of defiance from a country that has been a close ally of Moscow in the past, and is the latest rumbling of discontent from Russia's satellite states in Asia as Putin's power wanes. Advertisement Two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline were reported by Sweden's Maritime Authority last night, shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 pipeline was discovered that prompted Denmark to restrict shipping in the area. Of the two pipelines hit by leaks, Nord Stream 2 has never operated, while Nord Stream 1 carried gas to Germany until late August when Russian energy giant Gazprom cut off the supply, claiming there was a need for urgent maintenance work. Gazprom's explanation of technical problems have been rejected by German officials as a cover for a political power play to raise prices and spread uncertainty. The fresh incidents will hinder any effort to start or restart either pipeline for commercial operations, and triggered an investigation with Swedish and Danish energy agencies. The head of Denmark's energy agency warned such leaks 'happen extremely rarely', lending further credence to speculations of sabotage given that three separate leaks sprung up across two different pipelines. Denmark's energy minister Dan Jorgensen said this morning: 'Yesterday, a leak was detected on one of the two gas pipelines between Russia and Denmark - Nord Stream 2. The pipeline is not in operation, but contains natural gas, which is now leaking. 'Authorities have now been informed that there have been 2 more leaks on Nord Stream 1, which is also not in operation but contains gas,' he added. The leaks were located northeast of the Danish island Bornholm, a Swedish Maritime authority spokesperson said. Gazprom, who owns the majority stake in Nord Stream AG which owns and operates the pipelines, declined to comment. Nord Stream AG however released a statement warning that the pipelines had suffered 'unprecedented damage' in one day. 'The destruction that occurred on the same day simultaneously on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system is unprecedented,' it said. One European governmental source, when asked if there was specific intelligence indicating sabotage, said: 'Not specific yet, but it seems this pressure failure can only happen when a pipe is completely cut. Which pretty much says it all.' Nord Stream 1 has not been supplying gas to Europe since late August after Moscow announced the pipeline would be closed for three days for maintenance. The pipeline was never opened again after the G7 group of advanced economic nations in early September agreed an price cap on Russian oil and moved to bar insurance for tankers or shipping companies helping Moscow to sell supplies above the cap. The new Nord Stream 2 pipeline was completed earlier this year but had not entered commercial operations. The plan to supply gas via the pipeline was scrapped by Germany days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February. European politicians say Moscow's decision to close the pipeline was simply a pretext to slash supply and hasten a European energy crisis. The head of Denmark's energy agency warned such leaks 'happen extremely rarely', lending further credence to speculations of sabotage given that three separate leaks sprung up across two different pipelines Putin has kept the Nord Stream 1 pipeline closed since August after the G7 group of advanced economic nations in early September agreed an price cap on Russian oil and moved to bar insurance for tankers or shipping companies helping Moscow to sell supplies above the cap A painting showing the Nord Stream pipelines is displayed on a container near the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline in Lubmin, Germany, July 20, 2022 Morning light falls on the landfall facility of the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline and the transfer station of the OPAL gas pipeline, the Baltic Sea Pipeline Link, in Lubmin, Germany, July 21, 2022 Danish authorities have asked that the country's level of preparedness for the power and gas sector be raised after the leaks. The raised level would mean that companies in the power and gas sector have to implement measures to increase safety at for example plants, buildings and installations. Ships can lose buoyancy if they enter the area affected by the leaks, and there may be a risk of an ignition over the water and in the air, the Danish energy agency warned. It said the gas leak would only affect the environment locally, which means that only the area where the gas plume in the water column is located would be affected. A spokesperson from Energinet, Denmark's national electricity and natural gas operator, confirmed that precautionary measures would include increased surveillance of pipelines and and security measures, but declined to give specifics. (From L to R) Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Polish President Andrzej Duda shake hands after turning a valve to symbolically open the new Baltic Pipe natural gas pipeline on September 27, 2022 A view of the installation of the gas compressor station 'Goleniow', before the ceremonial opening of the 'Baltic Pipe' gas pipeline on the premises of the gas compressor station in the vicinity of Budno near Goleniow, Poland, 27 September 2022 Meanwhile, a new subsea pipeline delivering Norwegian gas to Poland and neighbouring countries with an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic metres per day was inaugurated today. The Baltic Pipe is seen as a key element in the diversification away from Russian energy sources for Poland and other European and Nordic nations, and was completed ahead of schedule in light of the impending energy crisis. The European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said: 'The Baltic Pipe is a key project for the security of supply of the region and the result of an EU policy drive to diversify sources of gas. The pipeline will play a valuable role in mitigating the current energy crisis.' At a ceremony in western Poland, Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland said the project was 'a milestone on the important path towards European independence from Russian energy.' And Polish President Andrzej Duda called the new pipeline 'a Polish dream', which Prime Minister Morawiecki said showed that 'the era of Russian gas dominance is ending'. MailOnline has contacted representatives of the Baltic Pipe project for comment. Putin squirms in his seat as Belarus dictator Lukashenko rants about men 'running away' from mobilisation in Russia as huge traffic jams on Georgia border are captured in images from SPACE By WILL STEWART and DAVID AVERRE for MAILONLINE This is the moment an uncomfortable-looking Vladimir Putin squirmed in his seat as he was forced to endure a bizarre lecture on people fleeing his rule from fellow autocrat Alexander Lukashenko. The Belarusian president - who needed Putin's help to crush a pro-Western democratic movement in his country in 2020 - assured the Kremlin leader he would win his war in Ukraine, despite the growing unrest over his decision to mobilise 300,000 new troops. The Kremlin chief looked hunched and uncomfortable, saying little during the meeting in Sochi as Russians continue to protest his mobilisation edict or flee abroad to avoid being drafted. 'Our course is right, our cause is right,' Lukashenko told Putin, bringing a rare smile to the Russian warmonger's lips. 'We will win. We have no other choice. We, as Slavs, would not tolerate humiliation,' Lukashenko told him. The Belarusian leaders bombastic speech belied the situation on the ground though. The call for mobilisation has proved wildly unpopular, with hundreds of thousands of Russian men having already fled the country to avoid the call up. Outbound flights from Russia are completely sold out, and traffic jams leading to Russia's borders are so big they can be seen from space. Anti-war protests have erupted across the country, and Russian media reported an increasing number of arson attacks on military enlistment offices. Yesterday, an enlistment officer was shot at almost point blank range by a man who refused to be drafted. Alexander Lukashenko (R) shakes hands with Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Sochi, Russia Belarusian president Lukashenko (L) - who needed Putin's help to crush a pro-Western democratic movement in his country in 2020 - assured the Kremlin leader he would win his war in Ukraine A satellite image shows trucks and cars waiting in a traffic jam near Russia's border with Georgia as Russians desperately try to flee the country, September 25, 2022 The call for mobilisation has proved wildly unpopular, with hundreds of thousands of Russian men having already fled the country to avoid the call up. Pictured: A satellite image of traffic jams near Russia's border with Georgia A satellite image shows traffic at the Khyagt border post on Russia's border with Mongolia, September 23, 2022 Queues of traffic have been growing on Russia's borders with neighbouring countries. This satellite image shows traffic at the Khyagt border post on Russia's border with Mongolia on September 23 A group of Russian men walk with their bicycles after crossing the border at Verkhny Lars between Georgia and Russia in Georgia, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Long lines of vehicles have formed at a border crossing between Russia's North Ossetia region and Georgia after Moscow announced a partial military mobilisation A group of Russians walk after crossing the border at Verkhny Lars between Georgia and Russia in Georgia, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 Lukashenko continued monologuing in Sochi yesterday, spouting rhetorical questions as Putin sat silently, squirming uncomfortably beside him. 'Let's say 30,000 or 50,000 [people] run away. If they were to stay, would they be our people?' the Belarusian president said. 'Let them run away. I don't know what you think about it, but I wasn't worried too much in 2020 when people left [Belarus after protests over his vote-rigging]. 'They [later] ask to let them in. So these ones will also come back. 'But there's a decision needed: what to do with them? Let them come back or stay there?' While Lukashenko and Putin shared a chat in Sochi yesterday, a young conscript shot a Russian military officer at close range at an enlistment office in an unusually bold attack reflecting resistance to mobilisation efforts. The shooting came after scattered arson attacks on enlistment offices and protests in Russian cities against the military call up that have resulted in at least 2,000 arrests. In the attack in the Siberian city of Ust-Ilimsk, 25-year-old resident Ruslan Zinin walked into the enlistment office saying 'no one will go to fight' and 'we will all go home now,' according to local media. A witness quoted by a local news site said Zinin was in a roomful of people called up to fight and troops from his region were heading to military bases on Tuesday. Footage of the incident showed how Zinin strode into the office and blasted the official before being arrested and forced to testify to the crime on camera, which he did willingly. Authorities said the military commandant was in intensive care. Protests also flared up in Dagestan, one of Russia's poorer regions in the North Caucasus. This is the moment gunman Ruslan Zinin, 25 walked into a Russian enlistment office in Ust-Ilimsk and shot military commissar Alexander Eliseev A man casts his ballot into a mobile ballot box as members of an electoral commission visit patients of a hospital during a referendum on the joining of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) to Russia, in Donetsk, Ukraine September 27, 2022 A group of Russians walk after crossing the border at Verkhny Lars between Georgia and Russia in Georgia, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 Protests have also erupted across Russia in fury at Putin's decision to begin conscription, with some 2,000 people arrested so far Local media reported that 'several hundred' demonstrators took to the streets Tuesday in its capital, Makhachkala. Videos circulated online showing dozens of protesters tussling with the police sent to disperse them. Demonstrations also continued in another of Russia's North Caucasus republics, Kabardino-Balkaria, where videos on social media showed a local official attempting to address a crowd of women who banded together to chant 'No to war!' Concerns are growing that Russia may seek to escalate the conflict - including potentially using nuclear weapons - once it completes what Ukraine and the West see as illegal referendums in occupied parts of Ukraine. The voting, in which residents are asked whether they want their regions to become part of Russia, began last week and ends Tuesday, under conditions that are anything but free or fair. Tens of thousands of residents had already fled the regions amid months of fighting, and images shared by those who remained showed armed Russian troops going door-to-door to pressure Ukrainians into voting. 'Every night and day there is inevitable shelling in the Donbas, under the roar of which people are forced to vote for Russian ''peace'',' Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kirilenko said Monday. Russia is widely expected to declare the results in its favour, a step that could see Moscow annex the four regions and then defend them as its own territory. A harrowing video of the moment a young woman was hit by a rollercoaster and left with horrific injuries has been shared online in the wake of the victim's family being trolled. Shylah Rodden, 26, remains in intensive care after being struck by the Rebel Coaster at the Melbourne Royal Show on Sunday. Shocking footage of the incident shared on TikTok appears to show Ms Rodden being hit by the rollercoaster and dragged nine metres along the beginning of a loop. Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to publish the footage out of respect for the young victim and her family. Police believe Ms Rodden walked onto the tracks of the high-speed ride to retrieve a mobile phone. The ride was re-opened just days after the accident on Tuesday, in a move Ms Rodden's family have slammed as 'shameful'. Her devastated sister, Caisha Rodden, told Daily Mail Australia her family are still in the dark about the extent of Ms Rodden's injuries. Horrifying footage appears to show Shylah Rodden (pictured in black) being hit by the Rebel Coaster at the Melbourne Royal show and pushed nine metres up a loop on Sunday 'We don't know (the) possibilities and chances at this stage,' she said. A Show spokeswoman, who demanded she not be named, said WorkSafe has declared the ride safe after an inspection and that it could be re-opened from Tuesday. 'The safety and well-being of our visitors to the show continues to be our number one priority,' she said in a statement. 'Strict safety protocols are upheld in line with Victorian WorkSafe regulations. All rides on site have undergone stringent compliance inspections and have passed all the required safety documentation.' Show management declined to comment on whether new safety procedures have been adopted in wake of Ms Rodden's accident. The Melbourne Royal Show will remain open until this weekend. News of the ride's re-opening saw renewed sickening online abuse hurled at Ms Rodden. Ms Rodden (above) remains in the intensive care unit with critical injuries that her family are unsure how she will recover from Footage of Ms Rodden's crash shows she was struck by a passenger carriage travelling down a loop before she was dragged nine metres by the ride 'They can blame no one else but the lady who was injured. It was her choice to try and retrieve it while the ride was still running,' one person wrote. 'And so it should be reopen, why would you even try getting your phone when the coaster was in use. Silly mistake by the girl,' another woman wrote. Caisha said rumours spread online are causing even greater pain to her family who are already struggling to cope with the tragedy. 'Definitely misinformation regarding the accident, which is really sad and causing more distress for our family,' she said. 'Shylah is in critical condition and we won't know more until later today as we will be discussing with police and giving some eyewitness statements.' Her father, Alan Rodden, said mystery still surrounds how Shylah was hit. 'There are a lot of stories going around and I don't know which one is true and if someone is covering their tracks,' he said. Police revealed on Monday the roller coaster was travelling at 70km/h when Ms Rodden was hit. Horrified families watched on as paramedics treated her serious facial injuries at the scene before rushing her to hospital in a critical condition. The Rebel Coaster (above) opened just days after the incident on Tuesday with Ms Rodden's family slamming the move as 'shameful' Ms Rodden (above) received 'horrific' facial injuries in the incident and her family said they are unsure how she will recover Mr Rodden said his daughter had suffered life-changing injuries. 'Obviously I can't talk to my daughter. She's going to be in a coma for quite a while,' he said. 'The injuries are horrific. Horrific. She's brain damaged. It's pelvic, her arms, legs, back, neck - there's hardly a thing that's not broken. I just can't work out how the hell so much damage has been done. 'Even the doctors have said they haven't seen anything as bad as this for a long time.' Caisha said her sister was working at the Melbourne Royal Show at the time of the crash. 'Shylah was actually there working. She was helping out her friend at her stall for the day and she was sent on her break with another worker and they decided to go on a few rides to kill time and this happened unfortunately,' she said. The ride was quickly shut down after Ms Rodden was hit, leaving passengers stranded at its top for several hours. Anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to contact police. A college student has appeared in court charged with forcing a man she met online to have sex with her. Imogen Brooke, who was 'a lot bigger and stronger' than her alleged victim, climbed on top of the man and wouldn't take no for an answer, the court heard. The 'very drunk' 30-year-old is said to have started 'riding' the man whose protests were going 'in one ear and out the other'. After 15 minutes she then got off him, rolled over and went straight to sleep, leaving the 'violated' man - who cannot be named for legal reasons - lying in bed in disbelief, Southampton Crown Court was told. Prosecutor Robert Bryan said: 'She pulled him towards her and said 'well, you may be saying no, but your d*** is saying yes'. She climbed on top of him and pulled his boxer shorts down. 'He told the police investigators she is quite a lot bigger and stronger than him and he couldn't move her. He wanted it to stop. 'He thought saying no would be enough. Eventually it came to an end and she just turned over and went to sleep. Miss Brooke denies one charge of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. This differs to a charge of rape, for which the legal definition is when a person intentionally penetrates another's vagina, anus or mouth with a penis, without the other person's consent. Jurors were told how it was a 'misconception' that the victims of sexual offences are always female. Imogen Brooke, who was 'a lot bigger and stronger' than her alleged victim, got on top of the man and wouldn't take no for an answer, the court heard The 'very drunk' 30-year-old is said to have started 'riding' the man whose protests were going 'in one ear and out the other' How sex without consent differs legally from rape and other forms of sexual assault Miss Brooke denies one charge of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. This differs to a charge of rape, for which the legal definition is when a person intentionally penetrates another's vagina, anus or mouth with a penis, without the other person's consent. Assault by penetration is when a person penetrates another person's vagina or anus with any part of the body other than a penis, or by using an object, without the person's consent. The overall definition of sexual or indecent assault is an act of physical, psychological and emotional violation in the form of a sexual act, inflicted on someone without their consent. It can involve forcing or manipulating someone to witness or participate in any sexual acts. Advertisement Prosecutor Robert Bryan told the court: 'Imogen Brooke caused [the complainant] to engage in the sexual activity... and he did not consent, and she did not reasonably believe him to be consenting. 'In the public image, a sexual offender is male and the victim of a sexual offence is female. That is a misconception. Misconceptions are exactly that - they are wrongly held views. 'This court, in due course, may use a different word, that word being stereotype; a widely-held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. 'In relation to sexual matters, that short skirt worn by a woman, is she fair game? Is it only a rape if the woman is covered in bruises? 'A male with an erect penis - that morning erection, does that happen because men are sexually aroused? 'Stereotypes have no place in criminal court. This case must be tried on criminal evidence and not on stereotypes. 'Physical arousal is wholly separate to consent. The two might run in tandem but might run on separate tracks. 'Just because you are physically aroused doesn't mean you want it.' The court heard the two had met on an online dating website and that Miss Brooke was a 'lot bigger and stronger' than her alleged victim. The jury was told the alleged attack happened at her home in Southampton, Hants. Mr Bryan continued: 'After some drinks they went up to bed, where what he wanted was to go to sleep. Miss Brooke wanted to have sex, and was pulling his arm, eventually pulling him onto his back. 'At the police interview, he accepted he had an erection, but he didn't want to have one. 'She was on top of him, riding him by leaning on his shoulders. It didn't finish by his ejaculation, but by him losing his erection and she gave up. 'She said she had felt horny and wanted to have sex. When she did what she did, he said he just gave up as she was not going to listen to him.' Miss Brooke denies one charge of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent The court was told Miss Brooke denied the charge as she is 'conscious of her weight' and would never adopt that position Jurors at Southampton Crown Court were told how it was a 'misconception' that the victims of sexual offences are always female Mr Bryan told the court Miss Brooke denied the charge as she is 'conscious of her weight' and would never adopt that position. She also doesn't remember the incident happening. Mr Bryan added: 'Consent appears in the charge but it may well be a red herring, because he is adamant that not only did she have sexual activity without his consent, but he is adamant that she was on top. 'Miss Brooke's case is that would not, could not and did not happen. 'With sexual positioning at the forefront of your minds, if he has made all this up - why would a man make an allegation that he knows would be implausible as the one position he knew that they would not use?' Mr Bryan described the complainant as 'unsophisticated' and 'naive' in sexual matters, before his interview with the police was played to the jury. In it, the complainant said: 'She was very drunk and saying she was in the mood. She was horny and wanted to [have sex] and I didn't and she kept tugging my arm. 'She's quite a lot bigger and stronger than me and I just couldn't do anything about it. 'I can't move her when she's on top because she's a lot heavier than me. She's about twice my body weight - so I can't move. 'I wanted it to end. I just gave up because because she wasn't going to listen to me. I said what I said but it was going in one ear and out the other. 'It felt like it went on for ages but probably no longer than 15 minutes. It felt like a really long time - never ending. 'I felt violated. I couldn't believe it happened. The following day she had no memory of what had happened. 'She noticed that I was distant with her but she didn't know why. She made me feel sorry that I had let it happen in that way. It felt like a punch in the face.' Miss Brooke denies one charge of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. The case continues. The devastated mum of three children killed in their own home in Dublin has spoken of how 'every day is getting harder' since the tragedy. Margaret Cash McDonagh, 40, was left utterly distraught when her children, twins Christy and Chelsea Cawley, eight and their older sister Lisa Cash, 18, died in their home in Rossfield Avenue in Tallaght, South Co Dublin on Sunday, Sept 4. The heartbroken mother, known as 'Twink', paid emotional tribute to the three in a post on Instagram, three weeks after their funeral in which thousands from the community turned out to pay their respects. 'Goodnight my three beautiful children. My two lovely girls and my handsome son,' she wrote. 'I love and miss you all more everyday. Mommy's three angels forever.' In a previous social media post, she wrote about her loss and how much the void left in her heart. 'My three lovely angels. I will love and miss you for the rest of my life,' she added. 'Everyday is getting harder without you. Mommy loves you.' Devastated mother Margaret Cash McDonagh, 40, has said how 'every day is getting harder' since the deaths of three of her children Lisa Cash, 18, and her two younger siblings, eight-year-old twins Christy and Chelsea Cawley Andy Cash (pictured), 24, has been charged with killing his sister, 18, and eight-year-old twin siblings in Dublin, as neighbours honoured the tragic victims on Monday Sept 4 The three siblings were laid to rest in Bohernabreena Cemetery in Dublin on Sept 9 in a moving ceremony that saw the coffins carried on horse-drawn carriages while the streets were lined with crowds. Older brother Andy Cash, 24, has been charged with killing his three younger siblings in a horrific knife frenzy in the early hours of Sunday morning on Sept 4 at their home up the road in Rossfield Avenue, Tallaght. Cash appeared before a special sitting of Dublin District Court charged with three counts of murder the following day. He appeared before Cloverhill district court at 10am on Friday Sept 9 via video link from the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise and did not comment when asked to confirm his name. He is scheduled to appear before the court again on October 6 for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions. Cash allegedly stabbed Lisa and the twins, while their 14-year-old brother managed to escape through a window and call for help, the Irish Sun reported. Eight-year-old twins Christy and Chelsea Cawley were stabbed to death in their home in Ireland on Sunday morning Lisa Cash, 18, who along with her two younger siblings died in a violent incident at a house in Tallaght, Dublin A lone piper walks in front of the coffins of Lisa Cash, 18, and her eight-year-old twin siblings, Christy and Chelsea Cawley, as they make their way to St Aidan's Church The coffins of Lisa Cash, 18, and her eight-year-old twin siblings, Christy and Chelsea Cawley, make their way to St Aidan's Church, Brookfield, Tallaght, ahead of the service Margaret Cash McDonagh is consoled as the coffins of her children arrive at St Aidan's Church, Brookfield, Tallaght He was taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. Lisa's body was found at the bottom of the stairs with apparent stab wounds. It is believed that older sister Lisa was babysitting at the time they lost their lives. During the funeral, the congregation heard how twin siblings Chelsea and Christy Cawley were Lisa's 'whole life' and that she was the 'mammy' of her friend group. The friendship group were left devastated by Lisa's loss and an emotional friend said they did not know how they would go on without her. She said: 'I will never forget you. My heart is completely shattered. You were my best friend. You were the mammy of the group. How are we meant to do this without you? 'You had so many plans for your future. A piece of my heart is completely broken. There were your whole life. You were always there for them and when you weren't there you were talking about them.' Fr Paul O'Driscoll, spoke of the community's heartache and said: 'Bereft of words, all of us hold the same question, how could this be happening?' Surviving brother Mikey, 14, who escaped and raised the alarm to the hell that was being raised in the house was praised for his 'bravery and strength'. She cited a comment about a 'harem' from COO Richard Symons as evidence A sales director at a London-based candle firm has lost a case for sexual harassment after her boss referred to female staff at a work drinks as 'my harem'. Fousilla Laloui told an employment tribunal that Chief Operating Officer Richard Symons was the only man present when he made the remark. She claimed this was one of a number of incidents of sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation she experienced while working at upmarket scented candle specialist Parks Ltd. Ms Laloui, who was also suing for unfair dismissal, had all her claims rejected by the panel. They ruled the harem comment was just 'a throwaway line', had not been intended to offend anyone and some of the women present found it 'funny'. Fousilla Laloui (pictured above) lost her sexual harassment and unfair dismissal case Employment Judge Stephen Heath said that, although the term 'clearly relates to sex' and 'holds the distinct potential for causing offence', it 'did not violate her dignity'. The Central London tribunal heard that Ms Laloui, who is French, was recruited in 2017 as part of a modernisation of the company to head up their sales team in London. Parks sells candles, diffusers and other home fragrance products. She had worked in sales and marketing for over 20 years and headed up sales, marketing and design teams for the international and domestic market. In 2018, Ms Laloui attended a trade show along with Mr Symons and several other members of staff. As they travelled to the event on the Eurostar, Ms Laloui claims she was asked to swap seats, which moved her away from Mr Symons and Commercial Director Jeremy Taylor. Richard Symons (pictured on right) admitted to joking about female staff being a 'harem' while noting he was the only man at a work drinks event She claimed they discussed sales and left her out of the conversation in a 'deliberate ploy' because she was a woman. Mr Symons admitted joking on this trip about female staff members being a 'harem' because he was the only man present at drinks one evening. Another colleague who was present, Alison Thompson, described the remark as 'off the cuff' and said no offence was taken. She told the tribunal that other people there 'had a giggle and moved on' and it was never brought up again. Judge Heath concluded: 'We have found that Mr Symons responded to an observation that he was the only male in a party of colleagues having a pre-dinner drink in a hotel bar. 'The meaning of 'harem' is the part of a household reserved for wives and concubines. 'In differing contexts, we can certainly see ample scope for this sort of comment to amount to harassment. 'We have found that this was something of a throwaway line by someone who was not intending to cause offence. Some women in the group actually did find it funny. 'We find that nobody actually expressed to be offended at the time. This does not mean that they were not, as it is often the case that people let off-colour comments pass without complaint. 'This is perhaps even more likely when the comment is made by someone with power in a relationship. We are prepared to find that the comment was unwanted by (Ms Laloui). 'Having regard to the authorities, we conclude that the comment fell short of violating the claimant's dignity, or creating an environment that was intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive. 'We do not find that (Ms Laloui) was treated less favourably because of her sex, or that this was sex-related harassment.' The Central London tribunal also heard that, in May 2020, several positions that the company became at risk of redundancy, including Ms Laloui's job. Two months later, there was a dispute over the value of her role compared to others in the company regarding redundancy and Mr Symons asked her to say which alternative roles she would like to be considered for at the company. She emailed back, mentioning her level of experience and said the company had failed in its duty to find her an alternative position. She also told Mr Symons that, over the previous two years, she had raised 'informal and formal grievances in connection with your attitude towards me for bullying, undermining, harassment, and persistent shouting and aggression.' The company offered her the chance to apply for the role of commercial director, as there were no other suitable alternatives, and said that otherwise she would be dismissed as a cost cutting measure. Ms Laloui rejected the job and was given three-months notice. It was then that she decided to sue the company for unfair dismissal, sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation, all of which were unsuccessful. Ms Laloui, who was Parks' head of marketing, global sales director and project management between April 2017 and November 2020, now works at FFS Beauty Ltd as their sales business development manager. Mr Symons has been the COO of Parks since January 2015. Labour left-winger Diane Abbott today blasted Sir Keir Starmer for his 'mistake' in banning shadow ministers from attending picket lines. The former shadow home secretary urged the Labour leader to 'listen' to trade unions as they engage in industrial action during the cost-of-living crisis. She added to the pressure on Sir Keir to reverse his ban on top MPs supporting striking workers on picket lines. In a challenge to Sir Keir's stance, Labour members yesterday passed a motion at the party's conference in Liverpool to express support for all MPs who 'show solidarity' with those on strike. Left-wing activist group Momentum also mocked Sir Keir by taking a cardboard cut-out of the Labour leader to a dock workers picket line in the city. Sir Keir caused a major rift with his party's left wing and trade unions earlier this year when he ordered his front bench not to join rail workers outside train stations during crippling nationwide strikes. He also sacked shadow transport minister Sam Tarry - who is widely reported to be in a relationship with Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner - after he gave a TV interview on the picket line during recent rail strikes. Sir Keir has tried to explain his ban on shadow ministers joining picket lines as part of a challenge for Labour to 'get in the mindset of being in government'. Diane Abbott urged the Labour leader to 'listen' to trade unions as they engage in industrial action during the cost-of-living crisis Sir Keir Starmer caused a major rift with his party's left wing and trade unions earlier this year when he ordered his front bench not to join rail workers outside train stations Left-wing activist group Momentum mocked Sir Keir by taking a cardboard cut-out of the Labour leader to a dock workers picket line in Liverpool But Ms Abbott, who is not attending this year's Labour conference as she celebrates her 69th birthday today, warned Sir Keir not to move further away from trade unions. In his keynote speech at the Liverpool conference this afternoon, Sir Keir will directly recycle Tony Blair's claim that Labour represents the political wing of the British people. When Sir Tony used those words in 1996, the year before the first New Labour government, it was seen as evidence he was moving the party away from trade unions. Labour had previously been traditionally described as the political wing of the unions 'I hope that in quoting those particular lines of Tony Blair that Keir isn't seeking to distance himself from the trade union movement,' Ms Abbott told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'Because I think that would be a mistake.' The veteran MP also voiced dissent over Sir Keir's ban on shadow ministers attending picket lines. 'Well I think that was a mistake as well and, hopefully, if he listens to trade union leaders he will realise that was a mistake,' she added. Labour's conference motion yesterday voted for a motion which calls for a negotiated settlement in the ongoing rail dispute and 'supports all Labour MPs attending the picket lines until such an outcome is reached'. 'Conference notes that a good way of showing solidarity with workers taking strike action is to visit them on picket lines,' the motion added. Calls to support striking workers received a standing ovation from Labour members in the conference hall. Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, offered Sir Keir a 'bacon butty' if he joined striking Royal Mail workers on a picket line in the Labour leader's own north London constituency. 'I think Keir will come and join us on Saturday morning in his own constituency outside Mount Pleasant,' Mr Ward told the Labour conference. 'Well get a bacon butty ready for him. Keir, let us know if its brown or red sauce you want?' He added: 'Keir, if you believe in the sovereignty of this country, dont worry too much about whether people sing the national anthem, get out there, show your support that youre going to save the Royal Mail.' A pervert who sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl as she went shopping with friends at Boots in Victoria Station is facing jail. Ben Hooper, 31, from West Kingsdown, Kent, was caught on CCTV groping the victim at Victoria Place Shopping Centre on Saturday, June 11 at around 2.50pm. Hooper was arrested three days later after an appeal for information by the British Transport Police. Westminster Magistrates Court heard that after his arrest, Hooper answered no comment to all questions. Prosecuting, Frances McCormack described the events leading up to the incident to the court, explaining that the victim ate at McDonald's with her friends before they went down the escalator to Boots to look at skin care products. She said: 'The victim first noticed the defendant in the store. The victim described the defendant squeezing [the right side] of her bottom. 'She reported it to a member of staff at Boots. The police reviewed CCTV footage. The incident was clearly captured on CCTV. Ms McCormack added: This was a 10-year-old. She was a young female attending a public space with her friends.' Hooper admitted sexual assault by touching and was bailed ahead of sentence on 18 October. He was granted bail on condition that he does not associate with any child under 16, or use the underground except for medical or legal purposes. Ben Hooper, 31, pictured outside court, from West Kingsdown, Kent, was caught on CCTV groping the right side of the victim's bottom at Victoria Place Shopping Centre on Saturday, June 11 at around 2.50pm The court heard that after his arrest, Hooper, pictured on CCTV, answered no comment to all questions District Judge Annabel Pilling told Hooper: This would have been extremely traumatic for a very young victim. It would have had an impact on her but also on other children who were present. Children this age should be allowed to go to a shop with a friend without the risk of being sexually assaulted. It is not just the child who is impacted. There is a ripple effect. Her parents may feel they didnt keep her safe. A man claims Optus sent him another customer's phone numbers and bills through its help chat in the latest scandal to hit the telecommunications giant. Up to 10million Australians are at risk of having their private and sensitive information sold online after a hacker infiltrated Optus' system and raided the details of its current and former customers. Samuel Leighton-Dore posted screenshots of a conversation he claims to have had with an Optus support worker - who appears to have accidentally sent him private information. 'Now Optus support leaking other people's phone numbers and bill amounts to me,' he posted to Twitter, alongside an image of the chat. A man claims Optus sent him customer's phone numbers and bills owed through its help chat in the latest scandal to hit the telecommunications giant Samuel Leighton-Dore posted screenshots of a conversation he claims to have had with an Optus support worker - who appears to have accidentally sent him private information The Optus employee sent through three customer's phone numbers alongside bills costing $326.20, $117.90 and $110.90. The worker then immediately follows up the messages by saying: 'I request you to ignore the above text'. 'You've actually just leaked additional data to me,' Mr Leighton-Dore replies. 'I apologise for it,' the Optus worker responds, before adding the messages were a 'typo error'. Daily Mail Australia have contacted Optus for comment on the bizarre blunder. The Optus employee apologised to Mr Leighton-Dore for accidentally sending customer's information to him through its help chat The New South Wales Government confirmed it will replace all driver's licenses compromised by Optus' massive data leak State governments around Australia have confirmed it will replace all driver's licenses compromised by Optus' massive data leak. Victor Dominello, the NSW Minister for Digital and Customer Service, confirmed on Tuesday evening they would cover the $29 cost of replacing licenses impacted by the online espionage. 'Firstly I am sorry it has taken several days to reach this landing. People are understandably stressed and need a pathway forward,' he posted to his Twitter account. QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed her government would also reimburse all license changes, while Victoria's Department of Transport will send the bill straight to the telco. Mr Dominello said Optus would be contacting its customers who need to apply for a new license in the coming days. 'People in NSW with a digital driver licence will have an interim card number issued instantaneously via the Service NSW app. A new plastic licence card will be issued within 10 business days,' he said. 'The cost to replace your driver licence is $29 and will be charged by Service NSW at the time of application reimbursement advice will be issued by Optus to customers in the coming days.' Anyone concerned over their identity possibly having being leaked should contact ID Support NSW on 1800 001 040. Ms Palaszczuk said Transport and Main Roads Queensland would be issuing new licenses free of charge. 'The licence is a highly secure ID document, but we've been hearing from a lot of people who are concerned so we are giving people the opportunity to obtain a fresh licence,' she posted to Twitter on Tuesday night. Victor Dominello confirmed on Tuesday evening the government would cover the $29 cost of replacing licenses impacted by the online espionage The hacker claiming to be responsible for the data breach suddenly apologised for the cyber-attack - as customers receive threatening text messages demanding they pay $2,000 to have their details erased. In a bizarre post on Tuesday morning, 'Optusdata' claimed there were 'too many eyes' on them and said they would not sell or leak the hacked data of up to 10million Australians. In broken English, Optusdata said: 'Deepest apology to Optus for this. Hope all goes well from this'. However, Australians are now receiving threatening texts demanding they pay $2,000 to have their 'confidential information erased off the system'. In a bizarre post 'optusdata' claimed there were 'too many eyes' on them and claimed they would not sell or leak the hacked data of over 10million Australians The text warns Optus customers that if they do not comply, their information will be 'sold for fraudulent activity' in two days time. The message asks the $2000 be transferred to a Commonwealth Bank account under the name 'Optusdata' and that customers send a copy of their receipt. 'Optus has left security measures allowing us to access the personal information of their customers including name, email, phone number, date of birth, address and licence number,' the text reads. 'Optus has not responded to our demand of paying the 1M$USD ransom as such as your information will be sold and used for fraudulent activity within 2 days or until a payment of $2000AUD is made then the confidential information will be erased off our systems.' The threatening texts comes just hours after the hacker said they would release 10,000 records every day for four days if a $1.5million ransom remained unpaid. Optus customers have received threatening text messages warning their data will be leaked unless they pay $2,000 to a CBA account (pictured, the text message) The customer records the hacker has released so far included passport, drivers licence and Medicare numbers, as well as dates of birth and home addresses. In their original apology, the Optus hacker claimed they would've told the telco about their vulnerability but there was no way of getting in touch. 'Optus if your (sic) reading we would have reported exploit if you had method to contact,' the apology continued. 'No security mail, no bug bountys, no way too message. Ransom not paid but we don't care any more.' The hacker said they couldn't release more data even if they wanted to because they had 'personally deleted data from drive' which they claim is the only copy. Cybersecurity journalist Jeremy Kirk said the apology wasn't a guarantee 'optusdata' could be trusted but said it would be the 'best outcome' for customers. He said it was 'disappointing' others on the forum had copied the stolen data and were distributing it - despite the hacker deleting the original samples. 'This means that those 10,200 Optus users in these three data samples would be at an immediate heightened risk of fraud, ID theft,' he tweeted. Bad news. The Optus hacker has released 10,000 customer records and says a 10K batch will be released every day over the next four days if Optus doesn't give into the extortion demand. #OptusDataBreach #optushack #auspol #infosec pic.twitter.com/NuGe7Pup8l Jeremy Kirk (@Jeremy_Kirk) September 26, 2022 Shara Evans, a tech analyst who has worked for large telco's in the United States, believes Optus has been less than forthcoming over whether the stolen data was encrypted or not. 'If the data was encrypted the company would be on the front foot saying 'yes it's been encrypted, we're not going to tell you the exact method for security purposes',' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'Any data that someone may have gotten their hands on would be in an 'encrypted state' - whether they used encryption or tokenisation or any other methodology to scramble the data that would have solved 99.9 per cent of the problem.' Ms Evans said Optus should have maintained separate silos for storing their customer's personal information. 'All of this stuff should have been separately kept, separately stored with audit trails, multiple firewalls and encryption,' she said. The hacker demanded a ransom of US$1million - or $1.5million Australian - be paid in Monero, a decentralised cryptocurrency (pictured, an Optus store in Sydney) Mr Kirk questioned the motivations behind the backflip, tweeting: 'Many questions around this: Why has this person seemingly changed their mind?' 'Can we trust this person now? What does this person mean by writing about not being able to delete the data from the drive?' The cybersecurity journalist, who says he has been in contact with the hacker, shared details of the ransom note on Tuesday morning. 'The Optus hacker has released 10,000 customer records and says a 10K batch will be released every day over the next four days if Optus doesn't give into the extortion demand,' he wrote on Twitter. A grandmother died five months after suffering extensive leg and pelvis injuries when a drink and drug driver deliberately crashed into her home in a suicide bid following a violent row with his girlfriend. Retired civil servant Edna Kearns, 93, suffered serious injuries when she was flung from her bed after drink and drug-crazed Michael Vose, 40, ploughed a 155mph BMW X6 through her bedroom wall at 5am following a tiff with his girlfriend. The victim, a great-grandmother from Westhoughton, near Bolton, Greater Manchester was pulled from the rubble and underwent life saving surgery to her legs, pelvis and a broken ankle - but she died five months later due to a blood clot in the lungs and deep vein thrombosis. Retired civil servant Edna Kearns, pictured, died five months after Michael Vose deliberately crashed his BMW X6 into her bungalow in Westhoughton, near Bolton, Greater Manchester on November 28, 2021 Michael Vose, pictured, had a row with his girlfriend following a drink and drug binge and drove off before deliberately crashing into Ms Kearns' bungalow The 155mph SUV crashed through the front wall and ended up in Ms Kearns' bedroom Experts said her death was not directly linked to the injuries suffered when her home was destroyed. Vose, a 60,000 a year construction site manager from St Helens, Merseyside was seen staggering away from the scene in the immediate aftermath of the crash without calling emergency services. He was later arrested when police spotted him walking in the middle of a dual carriageway. Tests showed Vose was almost five times the drug-driving limit and more than twice the alcohol limit. He subsequently blamed his mental health issues for his behaviour and insisted he was 'suicidal.' At Bolton Crown Court relatives of Mrs Kearns condemned Vose as a killer as he was jailed for four years after he admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, criminal damage and a separate offence of assault. He was also banned from driving for five years which will start when he is released on parole in 2024. Prosecutors decided against charging him with the more serious offence of causing death by dangerous driving after doctors concluded the cause of Mrs Kearns' death could not be linked to the crash. The maximum sentence for causing serious injury by dangerous driving is five years. Sentencing Judge Martin Walsh told Vose: 'You drove off in an intoxicated and highly charged and emotional state and the force of the collision was such that your vehicle penetrated the wall of Mrs Kearns' bungalow and struck the victim as she lay asleep in her own bed. Ms Kearns, pictured with her grand daughter Lesley, suffered extensive injuries, and underwent life saving surgery to her legs, pelvis and a broken ankle Experts said Ms Kearns' death was not directly linked to her injuries however 'These were aggressive and impulsive actions. A conscious decision was taken by you to drive the vehicle aggressively at a time when your ability to drive was heavily impaired by your heavy consumption of alcohol and cocaine.. The manner of your driving falls into the highest category of seriousness..' Earlier, Vose wept over a video link from Forest Bank jail as a statement made to police by Mrs Kearns whilst she was still being treated for her injuries was read out. It said: 'What happened changed my life forever. I was very independent prior to the last five years and was getting by. This has taken all that completely away from me. If it hadn't been for my neighbours and the emergency services getting me out of the rubble, I would have been dead.' She added: 'I've suffered pain in my leg before but it's nothing compared to what I am suffering now. The pain is so excruciating, I would rather die. At the time of making this statement I have been living in a nightdress for three months and I can't wait to get home and put my own clothes on again and having my hair and nails done. I just want to get home and settled again but I will never be the same person again. The tragedy occurred November 28 last year after Vose had been on a seven hour cocaine and lager binge whilst out with his girlfriend Lisa Kelly at pubs in the Westhoughton area. The tragedy occurred November 28 last year after Vose had been on a seven hour cocaine and lager binge whilst out with his girlfriend Lisa Kelly at pubs in the Westhoughton area At the end of the evening he drove her back to Miss Kelly's flat and she later woke up in bed at 5am to find Vose shouting abuse at her and accusing her of being unfaithful. During the ensuing row he twice put his hands around his girlfriend's neck and then went on a terrifying rampage around her flat causing more than 1,000 worth of damage to her flat, including smashing a large bedroom mirror and punching a hole in the wall with his bare hands. As Miss Kelly dialled 999, Vose fled the blood spattered apartment then leapt behind the wheel of his BMW and drove off into the night. Alistair Reid prosecuting said: 'Before he left he was heard shouting he was going to kill himself. He drove towards a mini roundabout and went directly over towards a railing fence and then into the bungalow. Police officers could see no evidence that this was anything other than a deliberate act. There was no evidence of skidding or loss of control. 'The vehicle crashed through the fence and bedroom wall of Mrs Kearns' home as she was asleep in bed. The front wheels of the BMW impacted with her bed which was dragged and rotated 90 degrees from its original position. 'A neighbour who heard the crash looked out and could see a male staggering outside the address before walking away from the scene making no apparent effort to seek any form of assistance.' 'A passenger in a taxi stopped at the scene and heard Mrs Kearns crying for help and called the emergency services whilst reassuring the victim the best she could. Fire services had to remove rubble from Mrs Kearns' bed before she was taken to hospital. Substantial structural damage was caused to the house. Mrs Kearns was kept in hospital for three months until February this year and she was discharged to a care home. She was later readmitted to Bolton Hospital and died on April 8 (pictured: her badly damaged house) Mrs Kearns was kept in hospital for three months until February this year and she was discharged to a care home. She was later readmitted to Bolton Hospital and died on April 8. Mr Reid said: 'Mrs Kearns' family have also made statements which are very emotional. The prosecution has to acknowledge their view expressed which holds Vose responsible for the subsequent death of Mrs Kearns is not a matter the court is sentencing for. 'But it is clear emotional harm has been caused to the family as a consequence of what happened. Her son focuses on his mother's independence prior to this incident and the loss of control she felt. The defendant ignored the rules of the road and disregarded the great danger caused to others. 'Mrs Kearns always kept a light on at night to show her home was occupied - and so it was always likely there was someone at home that evening.' When Vose was tracked down to the dual carriageway he was seen to have swollen hands and a large cut to his head and he was hostile and aggressive to police. Vose, when arrested, was more than twice the drink drive limit and almost five times the cocaine driving limit When arrested he underwent tests which showed he had 178 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his system, the legal limit being 80mg. He also had 249mg of Benzoylecgonine, a compound of cocaine, in his blood - the legal limit being 50mg. Vose who also admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm had previous convictions for drink-driving, driving whilst disqualified and having no insurance and had previously been jailed for kidnap and blackmail. He was unrepresented by counsel due to the barrister's strike but a mitigation document prepared on his behalf read: 'He does not expect forgiveness from the family but he wants it known that if he could turn back time he would do so. 'He fully recognises and is ashamed about the tremendous sadness and hurt he has caused. He has a mental disorder which causes him to act impulsively. 'He is full of remorse for what happened and accepts taking drink and drugs that night. 'In an emotionally charged situation he made the awful, foolish and selfish decision to get behind the wheel of his car to take his own life by driving into a building. This impulsive act has had devastating, harrowing and catastrophic consequences. He is unable to forgive himself for his actions.' At the time of Mrs Kearns' death, her grand-daughter Lesley said: 'Grandma was a very special lady, she was a fighter till the very end. We'll never forget her witty sense of humour she kept until the very end.' Labour today vowed to 'cancel' deportation flights taking migrants to Rwanda if they take power and used the saved millions to build a new immigration police force. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper branded the 120million scheme 'deeply damaging, extortionately expensive, unworkable and unethical' as she addressed the party conference. She vowed to spend the saved money on 'a new cross-border police unit' working with authorities in France to stop people smuggling gangs. She also unveiled plans for a further 13,000 police officers at a cost of 360million. She echoed Tony Blair as she said Labour would be 'tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime'. Former prime minister Boris Johnson and ex-home secretary Priti Patel unveiled the five-year deal with Rwanda earlier this year. But no flights have even left the ground yet after a series of legal challenges. Liz Truss has vowed to continue with the policy and could even expand it to other countries. 'Well make sure the immigration system is fair, firm and properly managed,' Ms Cooper told the conference in 'And unlike the Tories, we will work with France to prevent dangerous small boats crossing the Channel and putting lives at risk, with a new cross-border police unit to crack down on the criminal gangs who make millions from trading in people and profiting from their lives, paid for by cancelling the deeply damaging, extortionately expensive, unworkable and unethical Rwanda plan.' Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper branded the 120million scheme 'deeply damaging, extortionately expensive, unworkable and unethical' as she addressed the party conference. There are fears the Rwanda scheme could be left in legal limbo for more than a year due to more court challenges. Officials fear the case will ultimately face a final appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, causing further delay. The number of small boat migrants to have reached Britain since the start of the year has hit 32,321. September's arrivals have already set a new monthly record. Former home secretary Priti Patel sanctioned a Rwanda charter flight in June but it was blocked from taking off by a Strasbourg judge's 11th-hour intervention. Earlier this month the High Court in London scrutinised the policy's legality in the first stage of a judicial review, with a ruling due later in the autumn. It was originally thought that Rwanda charter flights would be able to begin if the Home Office won that case. Officials are believed to feel 'positive' about the prospects of success at the initial hearing but expect further legal challenges to be drawn out. Advisers are understood to have warned Miss Braverman that she will have to wait until a series of appeals has been heard. Even if the Home Office wins in the High Court, the Government's opponents are likely to take it to the Appeal Court and potentially on to the Supreme Court. An ex-Scotland Yard counter-terror cop feared to have killed himself split from his partner's businesses and had been spoken to by police over a 'domestic incident'. Malcolm Baker, 60, died after a fire tore through his home in Brompton Regis, within Exmoor National Park, at around 6pm on September 14. His partner pig breeder Francesca Onody, was not at the property at the time of the devastating blaze. MailOnline has discovered Mr Baker had stepped down from two businesses he ran with her back in May this year. He is shown to have been terminated as a director from farming firm Exmoor Smallholdings and Exmoor Charcuterie. And he had been spoken to by Avon and Somerset Police over an alleged 'domestic incident' at the property. The force has referred that prior contact to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for potential investigation. Mr Baker had enjoyed a glittering career in the force and probed the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the London 7/7 bomb attack. Malcolm Baker (pictured) died after a fire tore through his home in Exmoor National Park at around 6pm on September 14 Mr Baker's home, Hiccombe House, in Brompton Regis, west Somerset, which was destroyed in the fire The blaze led to an explosion, which could be heard from a mile away and took the roof off the property, The Sun reports. Human remains were subsequently found inside the ruins of the house following a search led by specialists. DNA tests are ongoing to confirm the victim is Mr Baker. Neighbours are said to believe a gas bottle was deliberately opened and initially feared that he had been subject to a terror attack. A police spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Searches carried out following a fire at a house in Brompton Regis, Exmoor, on September 14, have resulted in human remains being found. 'We believe these remains are those of one of the occupants of the house, a man in his sixties, and we're carrying out enquiries on behalf of the Coroner's office to assist with the formal identification process. A family liaison officer has updated the man's next of kin and we'll continue to keep them updated. Mr Baker was also part of the team that probed the poisoning of Mr Litvinenko (pictured) in 2006 The wreck of the Number 30 double-decker bus is pictured in Tavistock Square in central London after 7/7 'We can confirm we're investigating this incident as an offence of arson with intent to endanger life, but at this stage we don't believe there is any third party involvement and we are not seeking anyone else in connection with our enquiries. 'Avon and Somerset Police have previously made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, due to prior police contact.' The IOPC said: 'We can confirm we have received a referral from Avon and Somerset Police about prior police contact relating to occupants at an address in Brompton Regis where a serious fire occurred on September 14. 'We are presently assessing the referral to decide whether any investigation by the IOPC is required.' Up to 30 officers have been meticulously combing the property for evidence following the explosion, with local residents recalling a loud bang and plumes of smoke rising into the air. Withiel Fox, 60, told The Sun: 'There is no gas supply to that cottage so it didnt happen by accident. Because of his background there was a lot of speculation about what might have happened. 'He was unaccounted for after the explosion and there were concerns it could have been the Russians behind it. There were worries they might have kidnapped or killed him to send a message to the Government.' Mr Baker worked on a number of high-profile cases including aiding US officials with an investigation into the 9/11 atrocity in 2001. He was also part of the team that probed the poisoning of Mr Litvinenko in 2006. European judges last year ruled that the Russian state was responsible for his murder. Mr Baker also investigated the 7/7 bombing attacks in London in 2005, which 56 people. Prior to his retirement from policing, he also had a security role for the London Olympics in 2012. He is understood to have been working as a security consultant prior to his death after moving to the area from London with his partner. Avon and Somerset Police says it has referred his death to the Independent Office for Police Misconduct due to prior contact of a domestic nature. It comes as another resident told the neighbour that Mr Baker was 'not a pleasant man', adding that he was 'obnoxious and a bully and had fallen out with several local people'. Kazakhstan has risked the wrath of Putin by offering to 'care for' Russian men fleeing conscription due to the 'hopeless situation' back home. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, president of the ex-Soviet state, also offered muted criticism of Putin's war - saying that the 'territorial integrity of states must be preserved' as the despot moves to carve up Ukraine using sham referenda. He spoke as the country's interior ministry revealed almost 100,000 Russians have crossed the border in six days since Putin ordered fighting-age men to be drafted. Tokayev's speech marks the latest act of defiance from a country that has been a close ally of Moscow in the past, and is the latest rumbling of discontent from Russia's satellite states in Asia as Putin's power wanes. Russians fleeing across the border into Kazakhstan (pictured) should be 'cared for' because of the 'hopeless situation' they face back him, the country's president has said 100,000 Russians have crossed the border into Kazakhstan in just six days after Putin began drafting men into the military so they can fight in Ukraine Giving a public address from Turkestan, Tokayev urged 'unity, common sense and patience' during what he called a 'very tense' global situation. 'If we lose these values, our country will be in great danger,' he warned. 'Territorial integrity of states must be preserved. This is the basic principle... 'A large-scale war is going on around us. Taking this into account, we must first of all think about the security of our country. If our border is intact, if there is no attack from outside, we will have [peace, unity, stability and growth.]' He continued: 'The most important thing is that we should be at peace with the neighboring countries. 'In recent days, many people have started coming from the neighboring country, that is, from Russia. Most of them come because of the lack of options due to the hopeless situation [at home]. 'We need to take care of them and pay attention to their safety. This is a political and humanitarian issue. 'In such a complex situation, we should first of all show humanity, patience, and organization. We have no crisis, no panic. The government should do its job.' Kazakhstan's history with Russia dates back to the 1400s when the Grand Duchy of Moscow fought a series of wars with the Kazan Khanate before Ivan the Terrible absorbed the kingdom into the Tsardom of Russia in 1552. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also offered muted criticism of the war in Ukraine, saying the 'territorial integrity of states must be preserved' Russians - almost all of them young men - try to cross the border into Kazakhstan after Putin began drafting people into the military Despite rebellions and brief stints of autonomy, Kazakhstan largely remained part of Russia through the Empire and the Soviet Union until declaring sovereignty in 1990. Kazakhstan gained full independence when the Union collapsed a year later, but has remained a close ally of Moscow ever since. However, relations began to deteriorate in 2013 when Putin claimed that 'Kazakhs never had a state' before Russia came along - prompting an angry backlash. Earlier this year, Russia deployed troops to Kazakhstan to put down protests against Tokayev - leaving at least dozens dead and thousands injured in a brutal crackdown. Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February and his justification of it - 'Ukraine has no history of statehood' - have rattled nerves in Astana, amid fears Kazakhstan could be next on the list of countries to invade. Since then, Tokayev has tried to pull away from Moscow's orbit while also being careful not to directly challenge Putin and provoke a backlash. Speaking at the UN last week, just a day before Putin issued his conscription order and threatened to use nukes, Tokayev had warned that 'the world is falling prey to a new set of military conflicts.' Being careful not to directly mention Ukraine, he added: 'We face the prospect of the use of nuclear weapons, and not even as a last resort. 'We are alarmed by the increased rivalry and rhetoric of nuclear states.' One beady-eyed alligator in Florida may have a taste for airborne electronics after snatching a drone out the air belonging to a local real estate agent. Spying the drone hovering just above the murky water, it's clear the alligator took an interest in the flying object. Video shows the scaly beast jumping out of the water and eating photographer Robert Rosetto's brand-new drone. Robert, a real estate agent, was using the drone to take photos of his girlfriend's new family boat in Palm Beach. He spotted the gator in the water and decided to take a closer look with the camera. But disaster struck when the deadly reptile snatched it out of the air. Photographer Robert Rosetto was using the drone to take photos of his girlfriend's new family boat in Palm Beach, Florida The beast had spotted the drone however, and when Robert repositioned it to take a closer look, the alligator sprang up and grabbed the drone in its jaws But while Robert was dismayed at the Gator snatching his device, he said his 11-year-old son 'thought it was the funniest thing ever' Last night, he said: 'It was a brand-new drone I use for my real estate listings.' 'I was trying to take some pictures of my girlfriend's family new boat, and the alligator showed serious interest in it coming directly towards it and then following it. 'I then thought I'd get some good up-close video and pictures of the alligator,' he went on. 'Never thought it would actual launch itself that high out of the water and grab the drone. 'I've lived in Florida for almost 30 years and come across alligators frequently but have never seen anything like that.' While Robert was left stunned, his family immediately burst out laughing. He said: 'They thought it was hilarious. My 11-year-old son thought it was the funniest thing ever.' Japan on Tuesday demanded Russia apologise for detaining a diplomat over alleged espionage, denying the charge and accusing Moscow of blindfolding and pinning the man down in 'unbelievable acts'. Motoki Tatsunori, a Japanese diplomat based in the eastern city of Vladivostok, was deemed 'persona non grata over illegal intelligence activities', top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters, citing the Russian foreign ministry. 'The official was blindfolded, with pressure applied to both his hands and head so he was unable to move while being detained, and then he was questioned in an overbearing way,' Matsuno said. Japan 'strongly protests these unbelievable acts', he said, denying the espionage allegations. The released consul has had no problem with health conditions and will depart Russia by Wednesday, Matsuno said. The FSB had earlier said that Tatsunori was declared persona non grata after he was caught 'red-handed' while receiving classified information, in exchange for money, about Russia's cooperation with another country in the Asia-Pacific region'. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno accused Moscow of blindfolding and pinning a Japanese diplomat down in 'unbelievable acts' Motoki Tatsunori (pictured), was working as a Japanese diplomat based in the eastern city of Vladivostok when he was accused of spying and ordered to leave the country The diplomat had also been soliciting information about 'the impact of Western sanctions' on the eastern Primorsky region, the FSB said, according to news agencies. Japan summoned the Russian ambassador and 'demanded a formal apology' for the treatment of the diplomat upon his detention, which Matsuno said violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. 'The detained consul was not engaging in any illegal activity,' Matsuno said, adding the Japanese deputy foreign minister told the Russian ambassador to Japan that Tokyo 'needs to take equivalent steps' and demanded a formal apology from Moscow. The Russian security service distributed a short video it said showed the diplomat acknowledging that he had violated Russian laws, and reportedly said Moscow had lodged a protest with Tokyo through diplomatic channels. Russia considers Japan to be a 'hostile' country - a designation it shares with all European Union countries, the United States and its allies, including Britain and Australia. Tokyo had complex relations with Moscow before the invasion of Ukraine in February, and the two sides have yet to sign a post-World War II peace treaty. Attempts to do so have been hampered by a long-running dispute over islands controlled by Russia, which calls them the Kurils. Melissa Caddick's husband has denied ever lying about his wife's disappearance but agreed at her inquest that his inconsistent statements were inaccurate and he had misdescribed events. Anthony Koletti, appearing in the NSW Coroner's Court, was taken to police statements, interviews, court documents and a $150,000 paid spot on 7News' Spotlight program. It details the moments after the last verified sighting of Caddick during a 12-hour search by the Australian Federal Police and the corporate watchdog on November 11, 2020. The hairdresser and part-time DJ told a journalist he stayed up until 4am that night writing music, but on Tuesday he gave evidence that he had gone to bed with his wife before later getting up due to his sleep apnoea. Conwoman Melissa Caddick (pictured) has been missing from her eastern Sydney home for almost two years Counsel assisting Jason Downing SC said Mr Koletti was not giving honest answers and trying to 'scramble, explain his answers' to make them 'gel' in court. 'That's not correct, you are saying it in a way that's confusing me,' Mr Koletti said. The court was also shown the news interview where Mr Koletti recounted the raid as 'inhumane', saying he and Ms Caddick were offered no food, water, medical or psychological attention. Mr Koletti was asked if he meant that no one offered her medical attention throughout the day. 'That's right,' he said, 'I didn't believe anyone there could offer it so I offered it myself.' He was later asked if he was so concerned why not book a medical specialist himself. 'All I could do was comfort her in the few hours I had left with her,' Mr Koletti said. Mr Downing said the details were 'not minor' and in connection with Ms Caddick's disappearance. 'You put down misdescribing everything that night because you were shaken and distraught,' Mr Downing said. 'I would say it's not an accurate description,' Mr Koletti said. Melissa Caddick (pictured) was last seen in November 2020. The NSW Coroner's Court is holding an inquest into her disappearance Missing conwoman Melissa Caddick (left) is pictured with her husband Anthony Koletti (right) He was also referred to previous police reports that he assumed she had gone out jogging because that was her daily routine. On Tuesday he said she 'had no habits' and that she 'used to do this, used to do that,' including walking with friends outside or jogging inside on the treadmill. A subsequent review of video records revealed Ms Caddick had not been jogging for weeks before she disappeared. Mr Koletti maintains he had no inkling his wife was defrauding family and friends of millions of dollars, nor did he ask her why federal police or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission was suddenly searching their Sydney eastern suburbs home. 'Does the truthful answer depend on who is asking it and why?' Mr Downing said. 'No,' Mr Koletti replied. Husband of Melissa Caddick, Anthony Koletti departs the inquest into her death at the Lidcombe Coroner's Court in Sydney, Tuesday, September 27, 2022 Anthony Koletti (pictured right) appeared before an inquest into the disappearance of his wife Melissa Caddick (left) in November 2020 'Are there many truths?' Mr Downing said. 'There is one truth,' Mr Koletti said. He said he has always been truthful but admitted there may have been moments when his 'wires were crossed' due to his concern and worry. Throughout the day he observed his wife 'a little bit shaky,' and said she seemed distant and vague, so he offered to make her a coffee. Mr Downing asked if at any point did Mr Koletti ask why ASIC was extensively searching through his wife's business office and seizing hardware and valuable items. Channel Seven reporter Michael Usher (left) is pictured interviewing Anthony Koletti (right) Anthony Kolleti (pictured) has previously blamed the ASIC raid for his wife Melissa Caddick's death 'No I don't believe I was really worried about that, at that point in time. I was just under the belief that she had done nothing wrong.' Mr Koletti agreed the event was abnormal and quite shocking. 'It was certainly a surprise to me,' he said. Mr Koletti reported the 49-year-old as missing around 30 hours after he says she walked out of their home for the last time on November 12, 2020 about 5.30am. In February 2021 Ms Caddick's decomposing foot encased in an Asics shoe washed ashore at Bournda Beach on the NSW south coast, about 400km south of Sydney. The inquest continues. Advertisement Princess Kate was welcomed to Swansea by an adorable two-year-old who was dressed in the traditional Welsh outfit as the Royal couple continued their tour of Wales this afternoon. Two-year-old Charlotte Bunting beamed as she handed Kate a bouquet of flowers before giving the smiling princess a hug. The Prince and Princess of Wales were visiting St Thomas Church, a re-developed church in Swansea which supports people in the local area and across the City and County of Swansea. The couple were in Swansea as part of their first official Royal tour of Wales since receiving their titles and were in Anglesey, where they lived 11 years ago, this morning. Over the last two years, St Thomas Church, in Swansea, has been transformed into a thriving community hub and is home to a vast array of services including, a foodbank that supports over 200 people per week and Swansea Baby Basics which distributes essential items for vulnerable mothers across the city such as toiletries and clothes. As part of their visit, Their Royal Highnesses met those volunteering at the church across different initiatives including Baby Basics and the foodbank. Earlier today, Prince William joked with one royal fan that they were looking for a babysitter as he greeted locals during a visit to Anglesey. The Prince also attempted to speak in Welsh to members of the church, before admitting he needed to 'brush up' on his language skills. He had previously said he intended to improve his Welsh-speaking skills, following in the footsteps of his father, King Charles. Princess Kate was presented with her second bouquet of flowers today when she met toddler Charlotte Bunting in Swansea during a royal visit. The Prince and Princess of Wales will visit St Thomas Church, in Swansea which supports people A doll for Charlotte from Charlotte? The two-year-old hands the Princess a knitted doll, wearing traditional Welsh dress The young girl handed Catherine, Princess of Wales, a the bunch of flowers along with a small doll dressed in a traditional Welsh outfit Pictured: Catherine, Princess of Wales, gets a hug from two-year-old Charlotte Bunting dressed in a traditional Welsh outfit as she leaves St Thomas Church, in Swansea, which has been has been redeveloped to provide support to vulnerable people The Prince and Princess of Wales were in Swansea to visit St Thomas Church, a re-developed church which supports people in the local area and across the City and County of Swansea. Pictured: Kate gets a special welcome to the city of Swansea Pictured: The Princess of Wales meets toddler Charlotte Bunting during a visit to St Thomas Church, in Swansea The Princess of Wales meets a toddler dressed in the Welsh national costume during a visit to St Thomas Church, in Swansea Hard at work: The Prince and Princess of Wales meet centre volunteers during a visit to St Thomas Church, in Swansea The Princess of Wales meets Charlotte Bunting, aged two, dressed in the Welsh national outfit, at St Thomas Church The Princess of Wales speaks to two-year-old Charlotte Bunting at St Thomas Church, Swansea - a community hub and food bank Video showed the royal fan congratulate the Prince and Princess on how they were raising their children, adding that they are 'incredible' before William quickly replied: 'That's very sweet. We're looking for a babysitter'. The fan replied: 'Oh I love you, you're so real. Diana would be so proud of you.' As the Prince and Princess of Wales arrived for their first official visit to the country since receiving their titles, Princess Kate was presented with a bouquet of pink roses by four-year-old Theo Crompton who was brought down by his mother last minute to experience a 'once in a lifetime opportunity'. Dressed in his school tie and uniform, Theo was rewarded with the chance to meet Prince William and Princess Kate and appeared overcome with excitement during their introduction. The Royal couple crouched down to accept the flowers and had a brief chat with the youngster, who they met at the local RNLI Lifeboat station. Theo's mother, Rebecca Crompton, 35, said: 'We were actually on the way to school when I changed my mind and decided to bring him down here for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 'And now he has just met the future king. Today's visit is history. We had to be here.' The Prince and Princess also spent the visit meeting the crew, volunteers and some of those who have previously been rescued by the team. William watches as his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales is presented with a posy of flowers by four-year-old Theo Crompton The Princess of Wales crouches down outside the Holyhead Lifeboat Station in Anglesey on Tuesday. Four-year-old Theo Crompton hands the Princess a bouquet of flowers as crowds of people watch and take photos from behind a wall Prince William joked with one royal fan that they were looking for a babysitter as he greeted locals during a visit to Anglesey Pictured: Video (above) showed the royal fan congratulate the Prince and Princess on how they were raising their children, adding that they are 'incredible' before William quickly replied: 'Thank you very much. We're looking for a babysitter' Speaking to members of the church's congregation, the Princess said, there was 'amazing work going on there', Wales Online reported. She added: 'The food bank is a lifeline to so many people. Keep up the hard work.' One woman who works at the food bank, Pat Hughes, said: 'It was lovely to chat with the Princess and it's something we won't forget.' Sian Price, who used to be a helm on a lifeboat, added: 'It's a privilege to witness part of this, their first tour as Prince and Princess of Wales. 'We couldn't get down to London recently, so it's great they are coming here.' It is one of the oldest lifeboat stations on the Welsh coast and, across the years, members have received a total of 70 awards for gallantry. The Princess of Wales greets school children outside St Thomas Church in Swansea as the Princess of Wales jokes with members of the public The Prince of William, Prince of Wales, chats to a young girl holding a Union Jack and a bunch of flowers on his first visit to Wales since he gained his new title A plaque was installed to commemorate an engagement with King Charles III (who was then the Princes of Wales) in February, which was then cancelled. The re-developed curch supports people in the local area in Swansea A woman comes prepared for the rain as she waits for the arrival of the Prince and Princess, wearing an umbrella hat branded with the Welsh flag Large crowds surrounded Holyhead Marina to greet the royal couple. William and Kate then walked to the Holyhead Marine and Cafe Bar where they met people from local small businesses and organisations, including the coastguard and sea cadets. Sandra Armstrong, 44, gave the princess a brooch of roses outside the cafe this afternoon. She told the BBC: 'She'll be a fantastic Princess of Wales. They're inspiring. It felt not real to meet them.' Holyhead is only a half-hour drive from the four-bedroom farmhouse the prince and princess rented as newlyweds on the Isle of Anglesey, or Ynys Mon, between 2010 and 2013 when William was an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot. Having made their first home together in Wales is part of why they say they hold such a 'deep affection' for the country. It is also where they raised their eldest child, Prince George, for the first few months of his life. William's first royal engagement, aged eight, was in the Welsh capital of Cardiff with his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. The Prince and Princess of Wales receive a flowers from a young boy as they arrive at the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station The Princess of Wales receives a posy of flowers as she arrives for a visit to the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station this afternoon William and Kate are travelling the length of Wales today, visiting Anglesey, and then travelling to Swansea in the south-west Back to work: The Prince and Princess of Wales (pictured) arrive for a visit to the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station, in Holyhead, Wales, where they are meeting crew, volunteers and some of those who have been supported by their local unit The Princess of Wales was in good spirits as she arrived for a visit to the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station this afternoon William watches as his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales is presented with a posy of flowers by four-year-old Theo Crompton Four-year-old schoolboy Theo Crompton prepares to hand a bouquet of flowers to the Princess of Wales this afternoon Pictured: The Princess of Wales arrives for a visit to the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station, in Holyhead, Wales, where with the Prince of Wales they are meeting crew, volunteers and some of those who have been supported by their local unit The Princess of Wales receives a posy of flowers during a visit to the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station, in Holyhead, Wales Pictured: The Princess of Wales arrives for a visit to the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station, in Holyhead, Wales, where with the Prince of Wales they are meeting crew, volunteers and some of those who have been supported by their local unit Four-year-old Theo Crompton who presented a posy of flowers to Prince and Princess of Wales during their visit to Holyhead Pictured: The Prince and Princess of Wales wave to members of the public as they walk to the Holyhead Marine Cafe and Bar The Prince and Princess of Wales meet members of the public as they walk to the Holyhead Marine Cafe and Bar in Holyhead Prince William, Prince of Wales and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales visit the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station in Anglesey After leaving Holyhead, they will travel to St Thomas Church in Swansea which has transformed over the last two years into a community hub. The church now provides vital services to hundreds of people in the city such as a not-for-profit cafe and facilities for the homeless including food, showers and toilets. William and Kate will get a chance to meet volunteers who work in the church's food bank and the Swansea Baby Basics initiative, which distributes essential items such as toiletries and clothing to vulnerable mothers. Kate has previously worked with baby banks and in 2020 brought together 19 British brands and retailers to donate over 10,000 new items to more than 40 such banks nationwide. Both the princess and William will spend some time meeting members of the public gathered outside the church. The last official visit the pair made to Wales was as Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Cardiff Castle in June, where rehearsals for the Platinum Jubilee concert were taking place. Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales arrive at St Thomas Church, which has been redeveloped to provide support to vulnerable people in the local area and across the City and County of Swansea, during the visit to Wales Busy at work: Prince William, Prince of Wales and his wife Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales react as they are greeted by school children upon arrival to visit St Thomas Church, a re-developed church in Swansea as their tour of Wales continues Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales visit the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) Holyhead Lifeboat Station Excited: The Prince of Wales meets members of the public during a visit to Holyhead Marine Cafe and Bar in Holyhead Pictured: Prince William, Prince of Wales meets members of the public during his visit to the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Statio Pictured: Catherine, Princess of Wales meets with members of the public following a visit the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station All smiles: Catherine, Princess of Wales meets with members of the public following a visit the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station The Prince and Princess of Wales smile to members of the public during a visit to Holyhead Marine Cafe and Bar in Holyhead Pictured: Kate, Princess of Wales and Prince William arrive for a visit to the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station, in Holyhead Prince William, Prince of Wales and his wife Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales visit the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station Prince William, Prince of Wales, was seen shaking the hands of people in the crowd after his visit to St Thomas' Church in Swansea Prince William, Prince of Wales, was seen taking selfies with people waiting in the crowd to greet with the Prince and Princess The cheerful Prince and Princess of Wales spoke to delighted members of the crowd in Holyhead, Wales this afternoon It was Prince George and his sister Princess Charlotte's first official outing in the country and the family were greeted by hundreds of well-wishers. The siblings will not be joining their parents on Tuesday's visit as both will be in school. William and Kate will now be making more regular visits to Wales as part of their roles as prince and princess, and are expected back in the country before Christmas. However sources close to the couple have confirmed there are still no plans for an investiture ceremony. The Princess of Wales meets members of the public following a visit at the RNLI institute in Holyhead, Anglesey, where she was handed bunches of flowers Prince William waves to the hundreds of people hoping to meet him during his trip to Wales from Holyhead to Anglesey Catherine, the Princess of Wales, smiles and waves at the mass of people standing outside St Thomas Church in Swansea Crowds in Swansea film the Prince and Princess of Wales as they speak to people who gathered in the area The Prince and Princess wave goodbye following their walkabout in Swansea, Wales this afternoon. It was the first time they visited the nation since they were given their new titles following the Queen's death When an investiture does take place, it is unlikely to reflect the scale of the ceremony held for the then Prince Charles at Caernarfon Castle in 1969, with William and Kate thought to want a more low key event. A spokesperson for the prince and princess said: 'Right now they are focused on deepening the trust and respect they have with the people of Wales over time.' William and Kate have spoken of wanting to use their position to advocate for the people of Wales and showcase the country to the world. In a statement, they said they would 'do their part to support the aspirations of the Welsh people and to shine a spotlight on both the challenges and opportunities in front of them'. Adding that they would serve as Prince and Princess of Wales 'with humility and great respect'. The move to make them Prince and Princess of Wales following the death of the Queen has caused some controversy, and a petition calling for the British monarchy to end the use of the title has so far gathered over 35,000 signatures. A bikie slapped with cuffs for assaulting his wife tried desperately to have the video of his arrest kept secret, fearing the comical clip would be 'highly embarrassing'. The police bodycam footage shows Hells Angel member Mustafa Hafizi, 34, handcuffed and led outside of his Greystanes home in western Sydney on December 29, 2021. But the underworld figure with links to the Alameddine crime family begins screaming hysterically and complaining that officers are hurting his shoulder before falling to the ground and telling officers he will 'sue' them. He was taken to Parramatta Police Station were he was charged with assaulting his wife and resisting arrest. Hafizi pleaded guilty to assaulting his partner but not guilty to resisting officers commands claiming the pain and injury was genuine. However, Magistrate Rodney Brender rejected the argument agreeing with officers that it was an 'Oscar-worthy' performance. The police bodycam footage shows Hells Angel member Mustafa Hafizi, 34, handcuffed and led outside of his Greystanes home in western Sydney on December 29, 2021 'I need to f**king lock my house,' Hafizi yelled at police while being escorted out the door. Officers refused and continued to guide Hafizi down the steps from his front door to his backyard. 'Don't assault me or I'll sue you,' Hafizi threatened the officer. Just as the policeman began to tell Hafizi's he was not being assaulted, the gangster took the dive. 'Ah! My shoulder! My f**king shoulder! You f**king assaulted me,' Hafizi screamed while writhing on the drive way. He then repeatedly shouted plans to sue the arresting officers and told them he can't relax because he has 'anxiety'. Hafizi yelled his shoulder was injured and that he was going to sue police for 'assaulting' him during his arrest last December (pictured, Hafizi on his driveway during the arrest) 'You're getting f**ked, all my cameras are recording, pushing me down the stairs like I'm a f**king criminal,' Hafizi yelled before an officer congratulated him on his 'Oscar worthy performance'. Eventually police got tired of delaying the arrest and picked Hafizi up by his arms and carried him to the police car while he screamed protests. 'Hit me, hit me, hit me,' he yelled as three officers dragged him to the van. Officers stuffed Hafizi in the back of the van where the alleged Hells Angel began 'weeping' and crying out that his shoulder was injured. Witnesses reported seeing Hafizi put weight on his 'injured' shoulder with no reaction after the incident. The Daily Telegraph reports Hafizi fought tooth-and-nail to stop the publication from sharing the 'embarrassing' footage, arguing it could put him in danger. Officers stuffed Hafizi into the back of the police van (above) where he yelled they were hurting his shoulder, despite witness testimony he later used the shoulder without complaint However, Magistrate Rodney Brender dismissed the claims and noted Hafizi said in the video he was filming the incident himself. 'The accused knew he was being filmed, he said he was also filming open justice dictates the video be made available,' he said. 'I reject the suggestion that the police deliberately pushed him down stairs, it's not supported by the evidence,' Magistrate Brender said. 'It was either an accidental trip or a deliberately staged fall, I do not need to decide which.' Hafizi was found guilty and copped a $500 fine and a 12-month community correction order. Russians are calling Ukraine to surrender before even being drafted into the military as moral within Putin's ranks collapses, Kyiv has claimed. Andrii Yusov, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence, said men who are fearful of the draft have been getting in touch with a surrender hotline to check how to give up safely before they are called to the frontlines. Meanwhile videos have emerged showing a newly-recruited tank commander who has been told he will deploy to the Kherson frontline in just two days without so much as firing a shot on a training range. More footage captures two troops sitting in a field in Ukraine and complaining that they have been abandoned by their commanders without food or water, and that they would be better off fighting for the other side. Kyiv's generals claimed to have killed 550 Russian soldiers in the past 24 hours after conscripts began arriving on the front, underlining the meat grinder that Moscow's rag-tag reinforcements are being thrown into. A newly-conscripted Russian tank commander complains that he and his crew have been told they will deploy to Kherson within two days having been given no training A Russian soldier claiming to already be in a foxhole in Ukraine says he and his comrade (right) were abandoned with no food or water and are being shelled In footage posted online, the tank commander says: 'The officials have told us that there will be no training prior to us being sent to the conflict zone. Our commander officially confirmed that we'll be sent to Kherson on the 29th September. Make your own decisions about what to do with that moving forward... 'There's been no training whatsoever - no shooting, no theoretical training... nothing. F***.' Mark Krutov, a journalist from Radio Free Europe, managed to track down the commander, and confirmed he is at a barracks called Kalininets in Moscow. The man said he was a night-shift worker from Moscow who was asleep at home when soldiers knocked on his door and ordered him to the front. Asked to elaborate on his complaints, he replied: 'Can't talk now, things have changed drastically, hopefully for the better,' and went out of contact. Meanwhile other footage showed two men claiming to be Russian soldiers sitting in a fox-hole in a forest, purportedly in Ukraine. 'Here we are in the forest,' the man says to camera as his comrade sits behind him. 'We were just shelled, they hit us from metres away. We were left in the forest... Like cannon fodder sent to the f***ing forest. 'What [are our commanders] playing at with this army that simply doesn't work? It's worse than working in the Ukrainian armed forces. 'F***ing f***ers... And none of the commanders of our team are here, they all f***ed off, they were the first to go. Now there's just us 'contractors'. Vladimir Putin last week ordered the conscriptions of hundreds of thousands of Russian men into the army, and launched a plan to annex parts of the country to Russia 'There is nothing on our machines, no supplies, no electronics. No binoculars, no thermal imagers, nothing at all. Machine gun and ammo. And the bayonet. But there is not a f***ing thing. Here we sit, waiting. Let's see what will happen. 'At night we sit on the battlefield, on the front line. It's right across the field. These bastards have left us without f***ing water. No food. Let's see what will happen next.' Meanwhile another piece of footage showed what appeared to be a female quartermaster talking to new recruits and advising them to bring tampons . The sanitary products can be used to plug bullet wounds and stop bleeding in the absence of medical kit, the woman tells the new recruits. Other items they are advised to bring themselves include their own sleeping bags, tourniquets, medicines and roll mats. 'They won't give it to us?' one of the new recruits asks. 'It's all our own, boys,' the woman shouts back. 'You will be given a uniform and armour, nothing else.' These are just the latest examples of poor morale and preparation within the Russian ranks after Putin's army exhausted itself in seven months of war in Ukraine. While Kyiv retools with Western weapons, Moscow has resorted to scraping the barrel in terms of supplies and equipment. And last week, in an attempt to solve Russia's chronic manpower problem, Putin ordered what he called the 'partial mobilisation' of Russian military reserves. Since then, tens of thousands of men have been ordered to military bases where they have been hastily equipped and given minimal training before being rushed to the battlefield. A woman wearing a uniform emblazoned with the symbol of the Young Army Cadets National Movement hugs a reservist goodbye as he is shipped off to Ukraine Military reservists drafted in to fight in Ukraine line up to board buses as their tearful loved ones say goodbye in Sevastopol, Crimea Russian military reservists in occupied Crimea are given an Orthodox blessing as they prepare to ship out to the frontlines The UN voiced alarm on Tuesday at credible reports of nearly 2,400 arrests in less than a week during nationwide protests in dozens of cities against the draft order. Ex-Soviet Georgia, which was invaded by Russia in 2008, said the numbers of Russians crossing its borders had increased to around 10,000 people daily since Putin's announcement. Kazakhstan, the Central Asian country on Russia's southern border meanwhile said nearly 100,000 people had entered the country since September 21 and its leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said authorities would "ensure their safety". Meanwhile Ukrainian troops are continuing to advance in the north of the country, advancing towards Luhansk province and towards Donetsk. Heavy fighting also continues on the southern front, around Kherson, where Ukrainian advances have been limited but Russian casualties are said to be high. Attacks continued as Putin prepared to carve off parts of Ukraine and declare them to be Russian soil, as 'voting' in sham referenda closed today. The Russian despot is believed to be considering an address to the nation as early as Friday to announce that Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson have voted to become part of the 'motherland'. While Ukraine, its Western backers and dozens of other world leaders have vowed never to recognise the votes, they will allow Putin to spin the lie to his own people that Russia itself is now under attack. That would open the door to further escalation, including - some fear - a nuclear strike either on Ukraine or its allies. A man in hospital is asked to place his ballot in a box as voting takes place in sham referenda intended to annex parts of Ukraine to Russia 'Saving people in the territories where this referendum is taking place... is the focus of the attention of our entire society and of the entire country,' Putin said during a televised meeting with officials. His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the votes would have 'radical' legal implications and that the so-called referendums 'will also have consequences for security', referring again to Moscow's threats to use nuclear weapons to defend its territory. Russian forces in Ukraine this month have suffered serious setbacks, both in the east and south of the country, which observers say pushed Putin to rush ahead with the vote to cement Moscow's authority there. EU spokesman Peter Stano announced the bloc will slap sanctions on organisers of the "illegal" vote, following a similar move the UK earlier in the week. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna meanwhile was in Kyiv for a surprise visit to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and underscore her country's support for Ukraine's "sovereignty and territorial integrity". Even Moscow's closest ally since the start of the invasion, Beijing, said after the votes were announced last week that Russia should respect territorial integrity in the war. The so-called referendums follow a pattern that Moscow utilised in Crimea after nationwide street demonstrations saw Ukraine's Kremlin-friendly president ousted. Like then, the outcome of the ballot is being viewed by observers as a foregone conclusion. Election officials brought ballot boxes door-to-door in many cases accompanied by armed Russian forces. Lawmakers are expected to vote hastily to annex the territories after the results are announced and Russian news agencies have said Putin could sign legislation formalising the land grab this week. He has said he welcomes citizenship which will give his family 'stability' Former CIA and NSA employee Edward Snowden has said Russian citizenship will provide security for his family, after President Vladimir Putin granted a visa for the whistleblower who leaked information on the NSA's operation to covertly collect information on millions of Americans. 'After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our SONS,' he said on Twitter, welcoming his newfound citizenship. 'After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference for my family. I pray for privacy for themand for us all.' He linked back to a similar Tweet he posted back in 2020, when he said he first applied for dual US-Russian citizenship. Snowden, who is wanted in the US on espionage charges, is one of 75 foreign nationals listed by the decree as being granted Russian citizenship. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said it was unclear if Snowden was planning to renounce his US citizenship, adding that the whistleblower should return to his home country to face trial. The 39-year-old former NSA staffer has been living in Russia since 2013 to escape prosecution in the US after sharing classified documents detailing government surveillance programs with the British newspaper, The Guardian. Russia first granted him asylum in 2014 and permanent residency in 2020, ignoring calls to extradite him to the US. American officials and Republican and Democrat lawmakers responded to the news by saying Snowden should now be drafted and put on the frontline to fight against Ukraine. State Department spokesman Ned Price told a briefing: 'Perhaps the only thing that has changed is apparently now he may well be conscripted to fight in the reckless war in Ukraine.' President Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to former US security contractor Edward Snowden, according to a decree signed by the Russian leader on Monday GOP Senator Lindsey Graham said: 'Now that Edward Snowden has been granted full Russian citizenship I expect he will be on the battlefield in Ukraine fighting for Putin any day now. Or could it be that he will be exempt while other Russian citizens are told to fight in a war of aggression on Putin's behalf? 'I believe now, more than ever, Putin's days are numbered.' Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton added: 'Let's hope he gets drafted and sent to the front.' Last week Putin ordered that 300,000 men of fighting age be conscripted into the army - sparking chaos and bids to flee Russia to avoid going into battle. Snowden could face 30 years in prison if convicted of espionage. His lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti the former contractor's wife Lindsay Mills, an American who has been living with him in Russia, will also be applying for a Russian passport. The couple had a child in December 2020. Snowden, who has kept a low profile in Russia and occasionally criticised Russian government policies on social media, said in 2019 he was willing to return to the US if he is guaranteed a fair trial. Edward Snowden speaks via video link during a news conference in New York City, September 14, 2016. Snowden's decision to go public with the information set off a global debate about government surveillance 'But if I'm gonna spend the rest of my life in prison, the one bottom line demand that we have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial,' he said at the time. He has not commented on being granted Russian citizenship. The Hawaiian-based whistleblower worked for the CIA and NSA for several years and says he concluded that both agencies had 'hacked the constitution' with extensive government surveillance, putting everyone's liberty at risk and forcing his hand to leak the information to the media. Snowden's decision to go public with the information set off a global debate about government surveillance, put in place by intelligence agencies in a perceived bid to avoid a similar attack to 9/11 from happening ever again. The former contractor's wife Lindsay Mills, an American who has been living with him in Russia, will also be applying for a Russian passport. The couple had a child in December 2020 Snowden, who is wanted in the U.S. on espionage charges, is one of 75 foreign nationals listed by the decree as being granted Russian citizenship The 39-year-old former NSA staffer (pictured speaking virtually at a conference last year) has been living in Russia since 2013 to escape prosecution in the U.S. after sharing classified documents detailing government surveillance programs Mystery surrounds the death of a young dad who tragically fell from the balcony of popular backpackers hostel. Rashonn Armstrong-Reilly, 20, plunged from the fifth-storey balcony of Nomads backpackers in Brisbane on Sunday, with investigators suspecting he was trying to retrieve his phone. The talented artist's final Facebook entry, nine days earlier, was a photo of him holding his 16-month-old son Zarrakai, captioned 'My Everything' followed by a heart symbol. Rashonn Armstrong-Reilly, 20, is pictured holding his beloved son Zarrakai, aged 16 months Police and paramedics were called to the Edward Street hostel at around 9.20pm on Sunday, but Mr Armstrong-Reilly died at the scene. As well as Zarrakai, Shonny, as he was known, is survived by his partner Tiarne. 'You and your son's memories will never be forgotten,' Tiarne wrote on social media. 'Miss you Shonny.' The doting dad, who has been remembered as a 'barrel of laughs' with a huge heart, went to Cloncurry State School, before moving to Chinchilla. A GoFundMe account has been set up by his family to help pay for his funeral and by Tuesday night had already raised almost $5,000 of the $10,000 goal. 'His family has been left completely devastated. The money that's raised will help cover Rashonn's funeral costs,' his aunt Nikita Bunter wrote on the page. 'Any help no matter how big or small will be greatly appreciated.' Some of Mr Armstrong-Reilly's friends have taken to social media to express their grief at his sudden death. Pictured is Nomads backpackers in the Brisbane CBD, from where Rashonn Armstrong-Reilly fell to his death on Sunday Friend Jennifer Hetherington posted on Facebook that Mr Armstrong-Reilly was 'the most talented and warm hearted boy'. 'Back a few years ago Rashonn painted a memorial painting of our two horses after we had to put them down,' Ms Hetherington wrote. Sarah Feekings wrote about Mr Armstrong-Reilly's big heart and how 'high school was a barrel of laughs with (him)'. Mr Armstrong-Reilly's death is being treated as an accident by the police. A report will be prepared for the coroner. Sally Ann Dixon, 58, was found guilty on 30 charges relating to historic child sexual abuse A Women's Rights campaigner has called for a review into the justice system after Sussex Police defended a legally male transgender paedophile by declaring it would not 'tolerate any hateful comments about gender'. The constabulary made the extraordinary statement online after it was criticised for referring to serial sex offender Sally Ann Dixon, 58, as female. It railed 'Sussex Police do not tolerate any hateful comments towards their gender identity regardless of crimes committed. This is irrelevant to the crime that has been committed and investigated. Sussex Police.' But Maya Forstater, who famously won a test case ruling gender-critical views were a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act, said it was a fact that Dixon was male. She told MailOnline: 'It is not 'hateful' or criminal to call someone male a man. It is a simple statement of fact. The paedophile who committed these crimes, like 98% of those who undertake sex crimes was and remains male 'There needs to be a review up and down the justice system from the police to CPS to courts and prison system to record and speak truthfully about sex.' Sussex Police told another women's rights campaigner Dixon should not be misgendered. And in another heavily-criticised point, it claimed the sex of the convicted offender was not part of the series of attacks that had been carried out. The court trying Dixon had heard there was no Gender Recognition Certificate changing their sex from male to female. Dixon began transitioning 18 years ago and carried out the offences against seven children from 1989 to 1996 while she was living as a man. The offender was found guilty on 30 offences of indecent assault or indecency with a child against seven victims in July, the youngest of whom was seven years old at the time. Sussex Police hit out at criticism it shouldn't be referring the crimes as being done by a woman Maya Forstater has now called for a review of the justice system on speaking truthfully on sex The court trying Dixon heard there was no Gender Recognition Certificate changing their sex His Honour Judge Mark Van Der Zwart heard in July that Dixon did not have a Gender Recognition Certificate. Sussex Police's Twitter message attracted hundreds of posts criticising its stance. Psychologist Pam Spurr said: 'Insane. The police are doing a terrible disservice to crime statistics actually being meaningful with this 'parallel universe' approach to allocating sexual assault crimes to the wrong gender.' Mother Clare King, who is a school governor, said: 'No Sussex Police, this is not a female crime.' Henrietta Freeman added of Sussex's message: 'It is extremely relevant. This is a disgraceful reply to anyone but especially a woman. Men are committing horrific crimes in our name.' A jury took 17.5 hours to find Dixon - who will do 18 years' time in a women's prison -guilty on the charges, and not guilty on three more. Ryan Richter, prosecuting, described a campaign of offending against two boys and five girls lasting eight years. He told the court: 'The defendant, living as a man in the late 80s and 90s, was a brazen and callous sexual predator. 'He exploited young males and cultivated a toxic relationship with female children who he systematically abused throughout their childhoods.' There was a lot at the crime being recorded as female and that Dixon was referred to as 'she' There was a lot at the crime being recorded as female and that Dixon was referred to as 'she' Sally Anne Dixon, who was born John Stephen Dixon in 1963, married twice and began transitioning to live as a female in 2004. Despite being jailed for six months in 1997 for the sexual abuse of a teenage boy, it was not until a victim came forward in 2019 that Dixon's years of offending came to light. Judge Van Der Zwart said opportunities to jail Dixon earlier had been missed. Lewes Crown Court in East Sussex heard the sex offender will be sent to female jail HMP Bronzefield, despite not being legally recognised as a woman. Sussex Police reopened their investigation into Dixon's earlier offending in 2019 following a new complaint from another victim. Harrowing victim statements were read to the court by victims, now adult men and women, who described horrific abuse. One woman said her childhood abuse left her feeling constant anxiety. 'I was hoping he would do the right thing for once and not put me through the trial but he didn't. 'He is a coward who did not give evidence. He was happy to put us through it but not himself.' Dixon lived in Crawley and Bexhill and worked repairing TVs and as a DJ around local bars, clubs and a caravan park. The court heard the children were abused at a lock-up garage and in a caravan on the south coast. Dixon was given consecutive nine year custodial sentences with two one year extended licences and will serve at least 12 years in custody before becoming eligible for parole. Detective Constable Amy Pooley of the Sussex Police Complex Abuse Unit said: 'Dixon came to know these vulnerable young children successively through family connections, and used that trusted access to systematically abuse each of them for sexual gratification, in some cases for several months at a time. 'Only when one of the victims eventually came to us in 2019 was the terrible and distressing nature of Dixon's offending over many years finally uncovered. 'As one victim escaped this predatory interest, another would take their place, but sometimes some victims would be offended against simultaneously. 'This case shows again that we will always follow up such reports, no matter how long ago the events are said to have happened, to support victims and to see if we can achieve justice for them wherever the evidence justifies that.' His Honour Judge Mark Van Der Zwart heard in July that Dixon did not have a Gender Recognition Certificate. But the sex offender will serve time at the women's prison despite not having the document which allows transgender people to legally be recognised as an alternate gender. Sussex Police did not respond to MailOnline to a request for further comment. A Texas doctor who allegedly injected poison into IV bags, leading to the death of one physician and cardiac emergencies in 11 patients, has been caught on surveillance footage tampering with the bags. Anesthesiologist Raynaldo Ortiz Jr., 59, was arrested September 15 and is charged with tampering with a consumer product causing death or serious injury, intentionally adultering a drug knowing it would likely cause an adverse health reaction among other charges. Video shows Ortiz emerging into an empty hallway moving toward a fridge used for warming saline solution. He passes the fridge, before returning to leave an IV bag inside. Throughout this process, Ortiz is shown scanning the room. The bag that was left inside was later administered to a 56-year-old woman undergoing cosmetic surgery, who then suffered cardiac complications and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Raynaldo Ortiz Jr, 59, has been charged in the tampering of IV bags at Surgicare North Dallas, which led to the death of Dr. Melanie Kaspar, 55, and cardiac emergencies in 11 others Pictured: Ortiz enters an empty hallway and heads toward a fridge used to warm saline solution Pictured: Ortiz holds an IV bag as he passes the fridge and then turns around Pictured: Ortiz scans the hallway before deciding to place the bag in the fridge Pictured: The IV bag shown in Ortiz's hand was later administered to a 56-year-old woman, who then experienced a cardiac emergency Ortiz was previously under investigation by the hospital after former patients were experiencing complications during routine surgeries A second clip follows Ortiz as he places a saline pouch, hidden under a folder in his arm, into the fridge. That pouch was then given to a 54-year-old woman, who also suffered a cardiac emergency. Ortiz was arrested after Dallas police investigated the death of Dr. Melanie Kaspar, 55, an anesthesiologist at Surgicare North Dallas, who died from cardiac arrest after using an IV bag she took from work to rehydrate. An ensuing toxicology report found her body contained the same drugs in the IV bags that Ortiz handled. As the surveillance footage was played in a court hearing, federal prosecutors labeled Ortiz a 'medical terrorist,' according to FOX News. Incidents involving tampered IV bags started after facility administrators started an investigation into Ortiz after one anesthesia patient stopped breathing during a routine procedure. Ortiz was allegedly distraught over the probe and felt the hospital was trying to 'crucify' him, according to court documents. Two days after the investigation began, patients started to suffer unexplained heart anomalies. A second clip shows Ortiz (middle hallway, masked) approaching the fridge again, this time with a bag hidden under folders in his arm That bag was then administered to another patient, who also suffered a cardiac emergency Ortiz is charged with tampering with a consumer product causing death or serious injury and faces life in prison or the death penalty The Texas Medical Board suspended his license one week before Ortiz was arrested, citing Ortiz's 'continued practice of medicine poses a continuing threat to the public welfare.' The board previously reprimanded Ortiz after he shot a neighbor's dog in 2018 in addition to alleging Ortiz had a 'history of violence against women.' Ortiz was found guilty of cruelty to animals and spent 29 days in jail in 2016 for shooting the dog, after the neighbor helped Ortiz's then-girlfriend obtain a protective order against him after a domestic violence incident. The 'history of violence against women' refers to a 1999 arrest for allegedly assaulting a spouse and a 2005 protective order against him set by a different girlfriend. The Texas Medical Board suspending his license one week before Ortiz was arrested and cited Ortiz was a 'continuing threat to the public welfare' Ortiz is connected to at least a dozen patients and one physician who suffered as a result of tampered IV bags A testing of the fluid inside the IV bags found the contents contained epinephrine, or the hormone adrenaline, as well as bupivacaine and lidocaine which cause his 'heart to beat out of control and his blood pressure spiked to around 200/150.' The hospital's investigation said the incidents involving Kaspar and other patients were 'likely not isolated and were likely part of a pattern of intentional adulteration of IV bags used for procedures.' Staff 'determined that there were approximately ten other suspected incidents since late May 2022 where patients experienced unexpected cardiovascular complications during otherwise unremarkable surgeries.' 'Other cardiovascular incidents involving suspected compromised IV bags occurred on or around July 7, 15, and 18; and August 1, 4, 9, and 19,' court documents say. It was also noted how when Ortiz was on vacation between July 23 and 28 there were no issues, yet following his return, cardiac incidents suddenly ramped up once again. Kaspar (left), 55, took one IV bag from work in order to rehydrate Kaspar (right) is described as a 'loving' person who always lived life to the fullest 'She was a most compassionate anesthesiologist and co worker,' wrote a former colleague An obituary for Kaspar described her as a 'loving' person who always lived life to the fullest. 'No words can adequately contain Mel. She was a whirling dervish and did nothing at half measure,' the obituary read. 'Melanie was a woman of integrity and honor. She was genuine and unapologetically herself. She had a style all her own.' Numerous testimonials on another obituary described her as a dedicated and caring doctor who always knew how to put patients at ease. 'She was a most compassionate anesthesiologist and co worker,' wrote a former colleague, 'She loved her work and touched so many lives during her time in the operating room. If found guilty, Ortiz faces life in prison with a possibility of the death penalty. A man wielding a shotgun strolled into a Florida convenience store during an attempted robbery, but made a swift exit once the store clerk displayed his own weapon, authorities say. Rakim Stephen Tate, 32, walked into a convenience store in Pensacola, Florida on September 9, brandishing a large and visible shotgun at his side. According to the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, he has been charged with attempted robbery and openly carrying a prohibited firearm. Rakim Stephen Tate, 32, said he was from Chicago in an attempt to explain why he meandered into a Florida convenience store with a visible shotgun at his side. He was arrested on September 15 and charged with attempted robbery and openly carrying a prohibited firearm Tate began to walk around and inspect the store before a clerk, who was out of view of security footage, begins a dialogue with the suspect. Evidently, the clerk had spotted Tate arming himself outside and dashed to the back room to arm himself with a personal weapon. Tate then began sputtering about his point of origin. 'I don't mean no harm, I'm just not from around here,' he said. 'I got a big (expletive) (expletive) gun, but I'm not from around here is what I'm saying. I'm from Chicago bro,' he continued. He then asked the clerk what kind of weapon he had on him. The clerk responds and Tate makes his exit from the store. Authorities ultimately recovered the Benelli shotgun Tate was using. A statement from the Escambia County sheriff's office describing the incident read, 'He then fumbles for words, resorting to meaningless babble about being from Chicago. 'Words seem to fail you when your felony attempt is thwarted by lawful and righteous force.' The statement then mocked Tate's unconvincing excuse for carrying a weapon. 'You're not in Chicago anymore; you're under arrest,' it read. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis privately called his former ally Donald Trump a 'moron' and 'f***ing nuts,' according to a Tuesday report detailing the popular Republican leader's recent rise to prominence. DeSantis' narrow 2018 victory over ex-Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum was widely credited to Trump's support for his campaign - back when DeSantis was a member of the House Freedom Caucus. Their close relationship fractured as DeSantis' star grew. For months neither has been seen directly mentioning the other amid rumors of a possible 2024 clash for the White House. But DeSantis has savagely locked Trump in private, according to Vanity Fair. And while he's thus far demurred from presidential speculation, the Sunshine State governor reportedly told donors that he would face a Trump challenge 'head on.' 'He calls him a TV personality and a moron who has no business running for president,' a staffer told the outlet. The report suggests his plan of attack would largely focus on showing Trump's broken promises and empty threats as just bluster. An unnamed Republican source recalled him telling donors, '[T]he only way to beat Trump is to attack him head-on. He says he would turn to Trump during a debate and say, "Why didnt you fire Fauci? You said you would build the wall, but there is no wall. Why is that?"' Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has reportedly told donors that he plans to hammer Trump over unfulfilled promises if the two wind up facing each other in a 2024 Republican primary. Those reportedly include attacks about Trump's border wall and for not having fired Dr. Anthony Fauci (pictured together in October 2018) But even when he represented Florida in the House of Representatives, before Trump's unforeseen rise to the presidency, Vanity Fair's report claims he was mocking the then-president behind his back. When Trump first ran for president, DeSantis 'made more fun of Donald Trump than anyone I know,' a former staffer reportedly said. 'He thought Trump was f***ing nuts,' another said. In 2015, DeSantis and his staffers reportedly had a laugh at Trump's expense while watching old videos of him on Saturday Night Live. Trump, who once adored the comedy show's attention, grew to revile it over its constant and cutting parodies of his political career. A staffer recalled, '[W]e pulled up old SNL videos of Trump doing Dominos pizza commercials and stood around the computer making fun of Trump for 30 minutes.' It came after Trump's appearance at a Republican Jewish Coalition where he told the audience, 'I'm a negotiator like you folks' - which was seen by his critics as an anti-Semitic trope. Trump meanwhile has reportedly branded DeSantis as 'disloyal' and a 'know-nothing,' while a previous report indicates Trump made fun of the Florida governor's weight (pictured in July 2018) 'Ron came back to the office and said, "I cant believe Trump said that!"' the staffer recalled. Neither Trump nor DeSantis have declared any concrete 2024 plans, and their silence over each other's public headlines is telling. 'Trump says hes overrated, disloyal, and a know-nothing,' someone referred to as a 'Trump friend' said. An excerpt from Maggie Haberman's forthcoming book 'Confidence Man' published in The Atlantic over the weekend claimed Trump had called DeSantis 'fat,' 'whiny' and a 'phony.' But the Tuesday report suggests DeSantis could struggle in an area where Trump is known to do well - charisma. 'I describe him as having the personality of a piece of paper,' said a former staffer of his. An unnamed Republican reportedly said DeSantis was 'missing the sociability gene.' One strategist apparently suggested that DeSantis lacked gratitude toward donors and other support. 'People host events where donors give him enormous sums of money, and he never says thank you,' they said. Someone who worked for his current office in Tallahassee is quoted as saying, 'When you work for Ron, he makes you feel like youre just lucky to be there.' Conservative MP Rebecca Harris has revealed her surprise at having formed part of Queen's funeral procession through London and Windsor. The Castle Point MP admitted it was 'a bit of a bolt in the blue' to discover the 623-year-old role she holds handed her a key part in the nation's farewell to Her Majesty. Ms Harris was appointed Comptroller of HM Household by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July - the first woman to hold the post in its long history. In modern times, the unsalaried and largely ceremonial role has usually been given to a member of the Government's whips office. Ms Harris has now described how she had no idea - until this month - that her position would see her take on a high-profile role after the Queen's death. Along with two other Government whips - Craig Whittaker, Lord Treasurer of HM Household, and Jo Churchill, Vice-Chamberlain of HM Household - she walked ahead of the Royal Navy ratings pulling the gun carriage carrying Her Majesty's coffin through Westminster. Ms Harris and her fellow MPs also took part in the funeral procession through Windsor later in the day. Conservative MP Rebecca Harris took part in the Queen's funeral procession through Windsor due to her role as Comptroller of HM Household Along with two other Government whips, the Castle Point MP also walked ahead of Royal Navy ratings pulling the gun carriage carrying Her Majesty's coffin through Westminster Ms Harris has described how she had no idea - until this month - that her position would see her take on a high-profile role after the Queen's death She told BBC Essex: 'Several days into mourning Her Majesty, the three of us in the whips' office with ceremonial roles in the household found out we also had roles in the ceremony. 'It's been 70 years since the last monarch's funeral, so no-one had remembered. So it came as a bit of a bolt in the blue and what an incredible honour.' Ms Harris described how for much of the procession she was 'just focusing on making sure I was putting one foot in front of the other and not letting the side down' through a 'very moving few hours'. 'There were lots of points along the way I was thinking "please don't cry, don't cry, try not to cry",' she added. Ms Harris also revealed her she and her fellow Tory whips had no rehearsals ahead of the funeral day - and no instruction on what to wear. 'It had not occurred to anyone we were women,' she said. 'Myself and the Vice-Chamberlain (Ms Churchill) are women, the suggested information to wear a dress suit or morning coat was the presumption we must be blokes.' The Essex MP's unexpected role for the Queen's funeral. https://t.co/SknMlwT6do pic.twitter.com/KDIU01KJjO BBC Essex (@BBCEssex) September 27, 2022 Ms Harris carried a ceremonial staff as she joined the procession, while - along with her fellow MPs - she was also flanked by two Captains of Her Majesty's Bodyguard and two Captains of the Queen's Gurkha Bodyguard. She said in a statement on her website: 'It was the honour of my life to play a small part in the procession that day. 'While I was incredibly nervous about my role, it was an experience I will treasure forever. 'There were several moments I found my eyes welling with tears. Close to the end of the procession route at Windsor, we left the public behind as we approached the Castle and the sea of people turned into a sea of beautiful flowers. 'Thousands of floral tributes left from members of the public filled the air with the most amazing scent, and there among them was Her Majestys pony, brought to say one last goodbye with her riding headscarf resting on its saddle.' 'Disturbing' self-harm material viewed by tragic teenager Molly Russell on social media left a child psychiatrist 'unable to sleep for a few weeks', an inquest was told. Dr Navin Venugopal said the 'very distressing' content Molly had engaged with would 'certainly affect her and made her feel more hopeless' as he gave evidence at North London Coroner's Court. Proceedings were paused for a few moments today as the family's lawyer Oliver Sanders KC told the court a 'rather unpleasant' Instagram account had been set up using an image of Molly as its profile picture. The 14-year-old, from Harrow in north-west London, ended her life in November 2017, prompting her family to campaign for better internet safety. The inquest heard Molly had written a note before she died, which Dr Venugopal described as 'very sad to look at'. Under questioning from Coroner Andrew Walker, the witness agreed it was important to recognise 'children are not adults', and that adult matters should not be accessible to children. Dr Venugopal told the inquest he saw no 'positive benefit' to the material viewed by the teenager before she died. Molly Russell left behind a note quoting an Instagram post which said 'I'm just not good enough' before taking her life, an inquest heard yesterday Asking the witness about what effect the material would have had on Molly, the coroner said: 'This material seems to romanticise, glamorise, and take the subject of self-harm - take it away from reality and make it seem almost unreal, take away from these terrible acts any kind of consequence. 'You have looked at the material, do you think that the material that Molly viewed had any impact on her state of mind?' Dr Venugopal replied: 'I suppose I will start off, I will talk about the effect the material had on my state of mind. 'I had to see it over a short period of time and it was very disturbing, distressing. 'There were periods where I was not able to sleep well for a few weeks so bearing in mind that the child saw this over a period of months I can only say that she was (affected) - especially bearing in mind that she was a depressed 14-year-old. 'It would certainly affect her and made her feel more hopeless.' The coroner continued: 'Can you see any positive benefit for that material being looked at?' 'No, I do not,' Dr Venugopal replied. Mr Sanders then took the witness through a number of videos viewed by Molly on Instagram, followed by a note written by the teenager on her phone two days after watching one clip which used 'identical language'. Dr Venugopal told the court: 'If they are of that mindset and are seeing these sorts of things, it could have an impact.' The head of health and well-being at Instagram's parent company Meta, Elizabeth Lagone (pictured) and the head of community operations at Pinterest have both apologised at the inquest for content Molly viewed The witness was taken through his reports in which he concluded the content Molly viewed had 'exacerbated her sense of helplessness. In his statement, Dr Venugopal said: 'I think that the harm suffered was certainly more significant than minimal or trivial, although it is difficult to be more specific. 'This content led Molly to conclude from the material she viewed that she was unlikely to recover from her depression and that her future was bleak and hopeless. 'This is likely to have exacerbated her sense of helplessness and made her less likely to seek help and support from family or friends.' Dr Venugopal added: 'I am of the opinion that it is likely that Miss Russell was placed at risk through accessing self-harm material on social media websites and using the internet. 'There was a risk to Miss Russell's health and mental state by looking at self-harm related content.' The head of health and well-being at Instagram's parent company Meta and the head of community operations at Pinterest have both apologised at the inquest for content Molly viewed. Meta executive Elizabeth Lagone said she believed posts which the Russell family argued 'encouraged' suicide were safe when the teenager viewed them. Pinterest's Judson Hoffman told the inquest the site was 'not safe' when Molly used it. The inquest, expected to last two weeks, continues. Former Republican Rep. Denver Riggleman said he was 'stunned' by some of the beliefs expressed by fellow party members during his time in Congress - from spouting conspiracy theories to openly expressing racist views. GOP Reps. Paul Gosar and Louie Gohmert 'seemed to be joined at the brain stem when it came to their eagerness to believe wild, dramatic fantasies about Democrats, the media and big tech,' Riggleman wrote in his new book, The Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation into January 6th. 'I came go believe Gosar and Gohmert may have had serious cognitive issues,' Riggleman added. The former Virginia lawmaker also said he believed that Gosar, alongside former Iowa Rep. Steve King, 'seemed to be a blatant white supremacist.' 'One night around the barbecue table, Gosar and King dove into a conversation about how how they felt white people had really created superior civilizations,' Riggleman revealed. Former Republican Rep. Denver Riggleman said he was 'stunned' by some of the beliefs expressed by fellow party members during his time in Congress - from spouting conspiracy theories to openly expressing racist views Riggleman said he believed Reps. Louie Gohmert (left) and Paul Gosar (right) 'may have had serious cognitive issues' and he also said Gosar 'seemed to be a blatant white supremacist,' who talked about how white people 'created superior civilizations' Denver Riggleman's book, The Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation into Janyary 6 will be released Tuesday He had taken a trip to observe the U.S.-Mexico border with a group of Freedom Caucus members - generally the most conservative members of the U.S. House. 'In their view, it was absurd anyone would question that. They were making a case for white supremacy over pulled pork and ribs,' Riggleman continued. 'It was unbelievable.' Riggleman, who has since left the Republican Party, said he had always 'bristled' when Democrats charged that Republicans were 'racist.' 'To me, it seemed like an easy insult to that dodged policy discussions,' Riggleman said. 'Now, here I was behind the curtain, seeing that some of my colleagues really seemed to hold these awful views.' 'I left the table. While I was horrified by what Gosar and King were saying, I didn't confront them. I just got out of there. Part of me regrets keeping quiet,' he added. Riggleman also recalled during a Freedom Caucus meeting Gohmert 'promoted a conspiracy theory related to master algorithms.' 'He suspected there was a secret technology shadow-banning conservatives across all platforms,' Riggleman said. 'As he spoke, others in the room nodded along.' In this instance, Riggleman did speak up. 'Of course, that's crazy. And I said something to that effect during the meeting,' he recalled. 'There's basically no way for one program to function on multiple social media platforms with different operating systems.' 'It's technically impossible,' he wrote. In the book, Riggleman also said Republican Reps. Scott Perry, Jody Hice, Randy Weber and Andy Biggs 'all said things that stunned me.' Riggleman was a one-term congressman after Virginia conservatives went after him for officiating a gay wedding. In the book he wrote that he was 'haunted' for a vote he took in May 2019 against LGBTQ protection legislation, the Equality Act. A former military intelligence professional, Riggleman went on to serve as a senior staff member of the House January 6 select committee, with much of the book detailing that experience. The company responsible for the project admitted they made a mistake A furious homeowner left with 'half a house' after the renovations from hell has lashed out at the building company she claims are responsible, after being left living in a suburban 'waterfall' with a tarp for a roof. Jill Harris signed a contract almost two years ago to add a second storey to her small Upper Ferntree Gully home, in Melbourne's east. But a series of failures led to the project being repeatedly pushed back and Ms Harris has been left with a 'homemade swimming pool' instead of a house, with water leaking on her when it rains. Surveyors have now ordered tradies to down tools all together, claiming the 'owner and builders' aren't complying with building legislation. The stalemate has left Ms Harris and her son live in the tarpaulin maze that is constantly dripping and full of mouldy fixtures and falling apart. Jill Harris (pictured in front of her home) says she has covered her 'tent' home in bad reviews for the building company she used after a two-year delay on her renovation Ms Harris and her son have been left with a mess of tarps, leaking roofs and mould after a delayed renovation 'I call this the tent, I live in the tent, because is no roof over my room or my son's room,' she told A Current Affair on Tuesday. Ms Harris said the only way she can hit back at the company is by decorating the mess of a home as a life-sized bad review. Signs stuck to her fence call the house a 'health hazard' and say it is 'ruining lives'. The company's owner, while accepting some fault, has insisted part of the blame is on Ms Harris and her brother, a former worker at the company, for not agreeing to relocate during the renovation. He said 'it's not the sort of job you would leave somebody occupying the premises'. The extension currently remains at a standstill with a surveyor ordering construction be halted. The extension currently remains at a standstill with a surveyor ordering construction be halted because 'owner(s) and their builders non-compliances with the building legislation' They claim this is due to the 'owner(s) and their builders non-compliances with the building legislation'. Ms Harris has been left in the dark about when, or if, her home will ever be finished. 'Just give me my home back, what I had even. At least I had a life then,' she said. The chaos started early in the build, when tradies were forced to demolish of all their work and start again after a series of errors. '(It) just went completely wrong from there. They built it 160 millimetres out of square, which we didn't find out till 12 months later,' Ms Harris said. The Ford Motor Company is asking for a new trial after a jury awarded $1.7 billion in damages in August to Georgia siblings whose parents were killed in a horrific rollover crash in 2014. According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, attorneys representing Ford have filed two separate motions in Georgia, asking the state court to grant a new trial, as well as challenging the punitive damages awarded to the family. In court documents filed Monday, attorneys for Ford say that the motor company was barred from sharing evidence contrary to what lawyers for the plaintiffs argued. Attorneys say that Ford, which is worth more than $60 billion, was not provided with the proper opportunity to defend the faulty roof claims made by the attorneys on the other side. Melvin and Voncile Hill (shown with one of their grandkids) died in the 2014 wreck Lawyers representing Ford said that not only is the truck's roof sturdy, but in fact, stronger than those made my other manufacturers. 'Ford didn't get to put its case on,' said Theodore Boutrous, an attorney for Ford. 'It was fighting with two hands behind its back.' DailyMail.com spoke with representatives from Ford who released the following statement regarding the new motions filed: 'The verdict in the Hill v. Ford case resulted from unusual, arbitrary and unconstitutional sanctions imposed by the court against Ford for purported violations of evidentiary rulings in a 2018 trial. As a result of the erroneous sanctions, the jury in the August 2022 trial was directed to find against Ford. Ford was not allowed to defend the safety of the vehicle during trial, and the jury did not make, and was not even asked to make, any findings that the vehicle contained a defect or is unsafe. Every court that considered similar design defect claims in the Super Duty line of pickup trucks three juries and a federal district judge has ruled for Ford. Ford believes that the sanctions and the verdict are unconstitutional and legally and factually improper. We are seeking a retrial that permits us to present our evidence about the safety of the vehicle. We stand by the safety of the Super Duty line of pickup trucks and all our vehicles.' The motor company also alleged that the Georgia couple was not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash. The trial stems from the 2014 rollover accident that killed Melvin and Voncile Hill, a Georgia couple who were driving in their Ford F-250 truck when it crashed. Evidence submitted in court shows how investigators found the Hill's vehicle upon arriving at the scene of the crash in 2014 The roof of the Hill's truck completely caved in during the 2014 crash, killing the couple After a three week trial held in August 2022, the couple's children were awarded the large sum in damages during a trial. Court documents said that the front right tire of the pair's vehicle blew out while driving from their farm and that the vehicle overturned completely. The couple was crushed inside the vehicle and ultimately died from their injuries. Theodore Boutrous Jr., an attorney for the Ford Motor Company, says that Ford did not get a fair shot in court to argue against the claims made by the Hill family's lawyers Melvin and Voncile's children, Kim and Adam Hill, later filed a lawsuit alleging that the truck's roof was faulty and was responsible for their parents' deaths. In the initial trial, lawyers for Kim and Adam argued that more than five million Super Duty trucks between 1999 and 2016 had defective roof designs that made them weak and susceptible to caving in. The plaintiff's attorney's also claimed that Ford knew that the roofs could be dangerous and did nothing to act on the issue. A photo of Melvin and Voncile Hill shared by attorneys in court during the August trial In August, representatives for Ford shared that they had plans to appeal or file further lawsuits after the $1.7 billion was awarded to the Hill family. 'While our sympathies go out to the Hill family, we do not believe the verdict is supported by the evidence, and we plan to appeal,' Ford reps said in August. The Hill family won $24 million in compensatory damages during the summer lawsuit, of which $16.8 million was to be paid by Ford. This is the Ford F-250 truck model that Melvin and Voncile Hill were in at the time of their crash Georgia law also requires 75 percent of punitive damages to be paid to the state. Of the $1.7 billion the jury awarded, the Hill family stands to claim 425 million from Ford. The damages were the largest ever civil verdict to have been awarded in the state. 'Great verdict for our clients, were extremely happy for them. Theyve suffered through a lot and had a tremendous amount of courage to stick it out for this long,' said one of the lawyers representing the Hill family at the time. Chris chummily interviewed his politician brother as he was being blamed for many of New York's 15,000 nursing home COVID deaths Andrew previously appeared on Chris' CNN show, Prime Time, during the pandemic which he now admits was a conflict of interest 'all day long' He also maintained he did nothing wrong in helping his brother, ex-New York governor Andrew Cuomo, defend against sexual harassment allegations Cuomo denied he ousted former CNN boss Jeff Zucker's relationship with a colleague as retribution for his own termination Former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was grilled by journalist Kara Swisher and asked about his termination at CNN and his disgraced politician brother Former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has denied he outed his ex-boss Jeff Zucker's workplace relationship with a colleague as he sues the network for $125 million amid claims they made him 'unhireable,' despite landing himself a new job. Cuomo was grilled by New York Magazine's Kara Swisher on her podcast, On With Kara Swisher, that touched on his firing and the 'problematic' interviews he held with his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Despite digging at the lawsuit, Swisher played softball with the disgraced journalist about helping his brother out with sexual assault allegations by using his media sources to acquire information on accusers, which resulted in his termination from CNN. While many believe Cuomo retaliated by exposing Zucker's consensual relationship with CNN's Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Allison Gollust, Cuomo promptly denied it when quizzed by Swisher. 'No, I didn't,' Cuomo responded when asked whether he 'pushed to disclose' the relationship following his firing. 'People think a lot of things and very often it's for bad reason or self-serving reason or to hurt somebody else,' Cuomo said. 'I'm not the guy to play petty, gotcha shots and go after people.' Former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was grilled by journalist Kara Swisher and asked about his termination at CNN as he sues the network for $125 million over his firing Swisher, editor of New York Magazine, asked Cuomo how his firing from CNN made him unhireable as he has already landed a new job Cuomo was found to have helped his brother, ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (pictured here), defend himself from sexual harassment allegations from 11 women He went on to call Zucker 'one of the best makers of television' and the relationship being revealed gave him 'no joy,' adding that Zucker 'gave me tremendous opportunities.' Despite the kind words for his former boss, Cuomo bitterly lamented that he was 'recognized in Malawi as much as I would be in Milwaukee' before his firing. According to the lawsuit: '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, which includes not only the remaining salary owed under the Agreement, but future wages lost as a result of CNN's efforts to destroy his reputation in violation of the Agreement.' When Swisher pointed out that Cuomo has a new job, namely his new show, Cuomo, on NewsNation, he responded by asking 'do you believe that where I am now is equivalent to where I was?' NewsNation is a new broadcaster which bills itself as offering neutral reporting on current events - a marked departure for Cuomo, who enjoyed inserting his opinions into stories while on CNN. Cuomo will reportedly earn $1 million for his new hosting gig on NewsNation - a fraction of his former $6 million-a-year paycheck at CNN. Swisher glossed over an anonymous sexual assault allegation against Cuomo, and simply checked if he denies the allegations. The former CNN front man bluntly answered 'yes' to each of Swisher's questions about the subject before she moved on to the next subject, refusing to dig deeper into it. Swisher also went easy on the former CNN anchor when it came to his brother's sexual harassment allegations, and the ex-governor's younger brother dutifully sidestepped the questions anyway. When asked whether he felt it was inappropriate for him to help his brother wriggle out of the allegations, Cuomo said 'what's the difference between helping him personally and strategically?' Former CNN boss Jeff Zucker was terminated from his position when he didn't disclose a relationship with CNN executive Allison Gollust, though Cuomo denies exposing them Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Allison Gollust, who resigned along with Zucker, is thought to have engaged in the relationship with him for years 'I was helping him in ways that I thought were reasonable,' said Chris Cuomo, right, of helping his brother Andrew, left, defend against sexual harassment allegations Cuomo continues to maintain he doesn't see anything wrong with his actions, and says because he wasn't covering his brother's allegations, he was free to help him. 'I was helping him in ways that I thought were reasonable,' said Cuomo. 'I don't know how it hurt the audience. I've never heard that it hurt the audience,' he said of his helping shape his brother's defense against sexual harassment allegations. At the time he issued an on-air apology on CNN, Cuomo said that he 'knows where the line is'. He addressed the conflict of interest again in his podcast, saying: 'I really do regret how everything ended, but I will never regret helping my family.' Andrew Cuomo's career collapsed as a politician after he was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior towards 11 women. He resigned in August 2021 after months of pushback and eventually all criminal charges were dropped against him. The charges against Cuomo were based on allegations by Brittany Commisso, who said Cuomo reached up her blouse and grabbed her breast in late 2020 while they were alone in his Executive Mansion office, where shed been summoned to help with his cellphone. He insisted he did no such thing, saying 'it would be an act of insanity.' Her testimony was among the most damning in a report released in August 2021 by Democratic state Attorney General Letitia James that concluded Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women. Chris maintains that he was not 'the main guy' in helping his brother overcome the allegations and was merely a 'side piece' in the efforts. This notion is backed up by notes from his brother's top aide Melissa DeRosa, who noted 'Chris sends me a lot of things a lot of the time. Half of it I don't engage in. He gives unsolicited advice.' The former governor was also blamed for many of New York's 15,000 nursing home COVID deaths after forcing the facilities to accept COVID-positive patients at the start of the pandemic. Chris chummily interviewed his brother on his CNN show during this time, and admitted to Swisher he knew having his brother on his show was a conflict of interest 'all day long.' He defended the decision to do that as well, and said '[W]hen I did have him on, it was not about news and covering a governor of state. That's all I'm saying,' despite interviewing him on a news show. Less than 2 pct of eligible Americans get updated COVID-19 booster shots: NBC Xinhua) 08:49, September 27, 2022 NEW YORK, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 4.4 million people have received an updated COVID-19 booster since the start of the month, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "That number represents around 1.5 percent of people currently eligible to receive the shots in the U.S.," said NBC in its report of the data. The data does not include people who received updated Pfizer-BioNTech boosters in Idaho and Texas, the CDC said, so it is likely an underestimate. The White House estimates the number to be closer to 5 million doses of the new booster. The CDC signed off on updated versions of Pfizer's and Moderna's booster shots on Sept. 1, and pharmacies and other vaccination sites began administering the new shots around Labor Day weekend. "The bivalent shots target both the original coronavirus strain and the currently circulating omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5," added the report. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji) A Sheffield police officer has denied two counts of raping a woman while off duty. Former police constable Rowan Horrocks appeared at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday after a woman reported she was raped in South Yorkshire on November 28 2021. The 26-year-old pleaded not guilty to the charges and a trial was scheduled for October 30, 2023. South Yorkshire Police officer, Rowan Horrocks, 26, arrives at Leeds Crown Court this morning Horrocks appeared at Leeds Crown Court (pictured) on Tuesday and denied two counts of rape He spoke only to confirm his name and enter his plea during a brief hearing at Leeds Crown Court today. His conditional bail was extended ahead of the trial, which was set for October 30, 2023. Judge Tom Bayliss KC told him: 'The trial can't be listed until October 30, that is regrettable. I understand it's hanging over you. 'The pressure on the court lists, primarily due to the pandemic, is such that we can't list cases for fixed trial - which this must be - until October 30. 'If you fail to attend for trial, the trial will take place in your absence.' Judge Bayliss said that due to the nature of the case, the complainant would be cross-examined on a date before that. Horrocks was granted conditional bail South Yorkshire Police previously said Horrocks was based in its response team but was not on duty at the time of the alleged offences, which relate to the same incident. He has been suspended from duties and internal misconduct proceedings are also under way. After Horrocks was charged, Superintendent Delphine Waring, head of the force's Professional Standards Department, said the case was being taken 'incredibly seriously'. Supt Waring said: 'I know how understandably concerned our communities will be about this matter. 'I'd like to give my full assurance to the public that reports of this nature against one of our officers are treated incredibly seriously by the force. 'We remain committed to being as open as possible about the professional standards of South Yorkshire Police. 'Any officers who are found not to reflect the values and high standards of our organisation will be dealt with as swiftly and robustly as possible.' The incident is still under investigation by the local police in Campo Grande Batista was treated for stab wounds that are considered non-life-threatening A candidate for congress in Brazil is recovering after his former lover stabbed him at his home in the central-west state of Mato Grosso do Sul on Monday. Daisa Garcia, 29, attacked Saulo Batista, 40, during an argument hours after they had ended their two-year extramarital affair, police said. Batista was treated for stab wounds that are considered non-life-threatening The incident unraveled after Garcia decided to stop by Batista's condominium in the municipality of Campo Grande to pick up her personal belongings after Batista had told her that he was going to attend a campaign event ahead of the October 12 general elections. However, Batista was with his wife at the apartment when Garcia arrived, according to a military police report obtained by Campo Grande News. Daisa Garcia was not arrested despite having stabbed her ex-boyfriend, Saulo Batista, who is running for congress in Brazil, during a fight with him and his wife Monday. Garcia told the police she stabbed Bautista after he and his wife assaulted her Brazilian congressional hopeful Saulo Batista suffered three stab wounds to the chest during a fight with his ex-lover of two years Saulo Batista, who is running for a federal deputy seat in the October 12 elections, was stabbed by his former lover of two years Monday at his apartment in the Brazilian central-west city of Campo Grande A fight ensued between the three before workers at the building intervened and removed Garcia to another apartment that Batista owned a floor below. Moments later, Batista and Garcia got into a second argument before she stabbed her ex-boyfriend. The wife told the police that she heard the commotion and went to the apartment, but was chased by Garcia and sought refuge inside a room that was being renovated. The politician, a father-of-two, was treated for three non-life-threatening stabbing wounds to the chest a hospital in the city of Campo Grande. Garcia told authorities that she had an order of protection against the politician, but that she never went to the court to have it lifted and continued to date him Saulo Batista, a father-of-two politician who was stabbed three times by his ex-lover after she found him with his wife at his apartment Monday in Campo Grande, Brazil He left a medical facility without being discharged in the afternoon in order to press charges, according to Brazilian news outlet G1. Garcia was accompanied by her lawyer, Kalanit Tiecher, to a local police precinct in the city of Campo Verde and provided a statement before she was released without being charged. In her police testimony, Garcia alleged that Batista and the woman he was with assaulted her and grabbed her by the hair while adding that she 'grabbed something on the table' before she struck him. She also showed investigators bruises on her left arm that resulted from the fight. Daisa Garcia stabbed her former lover of two years, Brazilian federal deputy candidate Saulo Batista, during an argument at his Monday several hours after their relationship had ended Garcia told the police that she had an order of protection against Bautista, but continued to see him and never asked the court to lift it. While Batista posted a photo of himself on his Instagram account that show him dressed in a hospital gown, neither he nor his campaign have spoken publicly about the incident. The incident is being investigated by local authorities. Dozens of GOP lawmakers are sending a letter to the Biden Cabinet sounding the alarm over a massive Chinese farmland purchase conveniently located only 20 minutes from a major military base. Recently Fufeng Group, a Chinese-based manufacturer with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), purchased 300 acres of land in Grand Forks, North Dakota, just down the road from Grand Forks Air Force Base. China now owns nearly 200,000 acres of US agricultural land worth $1.9 billion. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., is leading a group of 51 lawmakers in raising suspicion about the purchase in a letter to Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin, Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen and Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack. The letter cited a report from the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission warning the base has 'exceptional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.' Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., is leading a group of 51 lawmakers in raising suspicion about the purchase in a letter to Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin, Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen and Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack 'The presence of a CCP-affiliated corporation near a military installation potentially undermines the integrity of our high-capability military bases, jeopardizing our strategic interests,' the lawmakers warned. The lawmakers said the CCP-linked firm 'will have potential advantageous opportunities to perpetrate espionage, including actions and activities carried out under commercial cover or auspices.' Gimenez and his colleagues called on the department heads to 'take effective action in addressing the potential national security risks that appear to rise' from the purchase. They also asked the department heads to answer a number of questions, including 'what actions are being taken by the DoD in cooperation with the U.S. military services and military base commands to understand and assess potential risks with foreign investments in close proximity to U.S. military bases and other facilities? Criticism of the Fufeng purchase comes as American lawmakers have been outspoken about limiting China's ownership of valuable American agricultural land, which, as of 2019, consisted of at least 192,000 acres. The land the Fufeng Group purchased is 20 minutes, approximately 16 miles, from the Grand Forks Air Force Base Some of the nation's most sensitive drone technology is based at Grand Forks Air Force Base After the Fufeng Group purchased the North Dakota land for $2.6 million this year, Air Force Major Jeremy Fox wrote a memo in April characterizing the move as being emblematic of Chinese efforts to install themselves close to sensitive US defense installations. He argued that the Fufeng property is located at just the right location for the company to intercept communications coming from the Air Force base. 'Some of the most sensitive elements of Grand Forks exist with the digital uplinks and downlinks inherent with unmanned air systems and their interaction with space-based assets,' Fox wrote. Such interceptions 'would present a costly national security risk causing grave damage to United States' strategic advantages.' 'Passive collection of those signals would be undetectable, as the requirements to do so would merely require ordinary antennas tuned to the right collecting frequencies,' he said, 'This introduces a grave vulnerability to our Department of Defense installations and is incredibly compromising to US National Security.' A spokesperson for the Air Force maintained Fox's memo was not the military's official position on the matter. They instead called it Fox's 'personal assessment of potential vulnerabilities' and declined to offer an opinion. 'Acquisitions of this magnitude pose a threat not only to our national security but also to our food security,' the lawmakers wrote, citing the 37.6 million acres of U.S. agricultural land owned by foreign investors in 2021. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday joined the ever-growing list of Joe Biden allies who are shying away from encouraging the 79-year-old president to run for a second term. But Sanders, himself 81 years old, also insisted during a CBS Mornings interview that age limits were not necessary for holding elected office - while leaving the door open for his own chance to run again in 2024. 'That's his decision,' the self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist said when asked about Biden running for another White House term. 'Joe is a friend of mine, and I think against enormous opposition he has tried to do some very, very good things. He will make that decision himself.' Pressed for his opinion again, Sanders answered somewhat tersely: 'What do I think? That's his decision.' Host Nate Burleson asked, 'Do you plan to run again?' 'That's something, you know, I haven't made that decision,' Sanders replied. 'Right now, my focus - I'll be going around the country, dealing with trying to elect often young progressives, often young people of color, who are prepared to stand up for work by families and take on big money interests.' Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders compared reservations about age in elected office to barriers on gender and race You wanna restore democracy? Have a government that works for ordinary people: @SenSanders says Democrats agenda going into the midterms should speak to the needs of working people. He shares which policies they should focus on and talks 2024. pic.twitter.com/KcqDvghR00 CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) September 27, 2022 But his emphasis on championing 'young' left-wingers comes after Sanders refused to endorse the idea of age limits for elected office, despite calls - primarily from his own party - for a new generation of leaders. He even took it a step further by comparing concerns over age with barriers on gender and race. 'We're all different. You've got to look at the individual. But what I think we do guys, is we look too much at race, gender and age,' Sanders said. 'What does somebody stand for? What are their views? Do you agree with them? Are they standing for you?' He added, 'Obviously you want people who are competent and capable and have the energy - my god, to be president of the United States takes an enormous amount of energy.' Sanders said it was President Joe Biden's decision on whether to run again in 2024 after the commander-in-chief said on 60 Minutes last week that it was 'much too early' to decide 'But I would say first of all, take a look at what people stand for. And we don't do that enough, we're too much into personality.' A recent CBS News poll suggests the vast majority of Americans would disagree with the senator's take. A whopping 73 percent of respondents to the September 8 survey said they support age limits for elected officials, compared to just 27 percent who believe the opposite. More than 7 in 10 Democrats, Republicans and Independents agreed - an unusual amount of cohesion in today's hyper-partisan environment. Notably, 74 percent of poll respondents age 65 and older supported the idea of age limits for elected office. An ABC News/Washington Post poll released Sunday found that 56 percent of Democrats wanted someone else atop the presidential ticket in 2024, while 35 percent said they preferred Biden A 40-percent plurality of voters said 70 should be the cutoff - which would make both Sanders and Biden too old for their jobs. Biden himself was surprisingly vague when asked about running for the White House in 2024, despite a litany of current and former aides vowing he'll mount another campaign. '[I]t's much too early to make that kind of decision,' the president said on '60 Minutes' last week. 'I'm a great respecter of fate. And so, what I'm doing is I'm doing my job. I'm gonna do that job. And within the timeframe that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, make a judgment on what to do.' An ABC News poll released on Sunday suggests a majority of Democratic voters would not count Biden as their first choice. Fifty-six percent of Democrats and left-leaning Independents said they wanted someone other than Biden to be the 2024 nominee. Just 35 percent of the group favored his candidacy. A trainee nurse died in a fall after losing his way while descending from the mist-covered top of 3,560ft Snowdon, an inquest heard today. Doncaster hospital worker Ade Ajayi, 30, had travelled to North Wales for a short break with his partner but went up the peak alone. An inquest at Caernarfon heard he spoke to his partner at the summit at 9.30am on June 6 and intended to descend the Llanberis path, following the mountain railway. Hed taken a photograph on his watch. But Eleanor Forde called police in the afternoon after her 'wonderful, caring' partner was two hours late returning from his walk. Two walkers below the cliffs, which were more than 300ft high, came across Mr Ajayi's body. Elfyn Jones, of the Llanberis mountain rescue team, said he had probably entered a deep and slippery gully unsuitable for unroped walkers. There was thick mist. Mr Ajayi had unsurvivable injuries. Doncaster hospital worker Ade Ajayi (pictured), 30, had travelled to North Wales for a short break with his partner but went up the peak alone An inquest at Caernarfon heard he spoke to his partner at the summit at 9.30am on June 6 and intended to descend the Llanberis path, following the mountain railway. Hed taken a photograph on his watch In a statement, Eleanor described Ade as 'a wonderful and caring' person who 'loved life and lived it to the full'. She added: 'He loved his patients and they adored him. He would always go out of his way to help them, nothing was too much trouble when it came to them. 'My heart is completely broken and I can't believe he is not around anymore.. My world is shattered and even our little dogs are still looking for him. 'Ade will be missed more than I can ever express. His memory will always be treasured by me and by those who knew and loved him.' Coroner Katie Sutherland said that despite medical evidence showing Ade suffered a heart defect the medical cause of death had been given as 'multiple injuries likely related to a fall'. She said: 'It is more likely, based on the evidence, that Ade suffered a fall after he simply lost his way, bearing in mind weather conditions. 'It is more likely than not he has either slipped or tripped whilst descending having lost his way. I will record the cause of death as multiple injuries due to a fall.' Ms Sutherland reached a conclusion of accidental death. But Eleanor Forde (right) called police in the afternoon after her 'wonderful, caring' partner was two hours late returning from his walk Two walkers below the cliffs, which were more than 300ft high, came across Mr Ajayi's body She said: 'He was clearly doing something that he loved he had the appropriate equipment and footwear - that has been given to me in evidence by a number of witnesses. 'It is likely that he has lost his way and poor weather conditions in such treacherous areas have sadly caused his death.' Addressing Eleanor, the coroner said: 'I cant begin to imagine the fear and the worry you felt on that day when Ade didn't return and I am sure you continue to live with the grief and real tragic circumstances of how Ade came by his death.' Colleagues at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust paid tribute to 'much-loved and respected' Mr Ajayi, a member of a rehab team at Montagu Hospital at Mexborough. 'As a trainee nursing associate he always put his patients first and typified all that is good about the NHS. 'We have no doubt that he would have gone on to have a long and fruitful career at the Trust, making a difference to so many,' Trust bosses said online. 'Colleagues describe Ade as having a heart of gold and someone who was a pleasure to work with and who could light up a room. 'They say Ade always showed boundless compassion when dealing with individuals, and was a confidant and friend to so many.' The images of 13 protesters have been issued in the hunt for thugs who left five police officers seriously injured during protests outside the Iranian embassy in London. Trouble flared at a demo following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was allegedly tortured to death after being arrested in Iran by Tehran's morality police for 'wearing her hijab too loosely'. Demonstrators pelted police officers with missiles - including bricks and bottles - as they tried to storm the Iranian embassy in Knightsbridge, west London, on Sunday, with many chanting 'Death to the Islamic Republic!' Some officers, who were seen using batons, suffered broken bones and were taken to hospital. Twelve people were arrested during Sunday's disorder. Now detectives have released 13 images of people they want to question in connection with the disorder. Police have released images of 13 men they would like to identify in connection to violent disorder near the Iranian Embassy on Sunday 25 September Met Police chief branded the violence 'unacceptable' and vowed to track down the culprits who they say had 'blatant intent' to cause injury. Commander Karen Findlay, responsible for the Met's Public Order Crime Team, said: 'Everyone who plans and seeks to lawfully protest, and communities in the vicinity of such protest, deserve to feel safe. 'Nobody should be faced with the escalation of disorder we saw on Sunday. 'We won't tolerate members of the public, or officers who are doing all they can to maintain and regain order, being injured in any circumstance. 'We are now doing everything we can to make sure those who committed the violent offences are brought to justice. 'This begins with identifying those with the blatant intent to cause injury by recklessly throwing items including pieces of masonry and bottles.' A police investigation started on Sunday night following 'unacceptable scenes' near the Iranian embassy in London - police released images of 13 people they want to identify She added: 'We need the public's help and support to identify these people. 'If you recognise anyone from viewing the images, then please come forward and contact us as soon as possible. You can do this anonymously. 'Anyone who recognises any of the suspects or has any information about them is urged to contact police on 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote 'Op Lakselva'. 'Alternatively people can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 with any information.' The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: 'The scenes that took place last night were completely unacceptable. The selfish minority who attempted to hijack a peaceful protest must be brought to justice. 'The right to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, but violence and attacks on our police and communities will never be tolerated. I am in close contact with the Met Commissioner and the police have my full support in pursuing those behind the disorder. 'On behalf of all Londoners, I wish all the officers injured a swift recovery and urge anyone with information on those involved to call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously.' Mahsa Amini, 22, died in police custody after being detained by Iranian morality police over hijab laws Protesters clashed with police as they call for an end to the Islamic Republic of Iran outside the London embassy Police and protestors gather outside the Islamic Centre of England in Maida Vale Scotland Yard said the disorder at Sunday's protest initially broke out in the immediate vicinity of the Iranian embassy in London before moving to Marble Arch and then to Maida Vale (pictured) where the Islamic Centre of England was targeted Crowds remained outside the embassy in Princes Gate, Knightsbridge, on Monday. A large group of predominantly men, some wearing Iran's pre-revolutionary national flag, continued to demand an end to the Islamic Republic of Iran as police did their best to hold them at bay. Videos posted to social media showed missiles and a metal railing being thrown at the embassy and officers, as the line of police struggled to contain the crowd. On Monday evening, a Met Police spokesperson said: 'Officers continue to respond to demonstrations in the vicinity of the Iranian Embassy in Princes Gate, SW7. 'On the afternoon of Monday, September 26 a number of protesters were involved in disorder. 'One man has been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and taken into custody. A significant policing presence remains the area.' In Iran, officials say 35 people have been killed since protests broke out, though the figure is believed to be above 40. While clashes have continued in several cities across the world. A process server who tried to deliver a legal document to Texas AG Ken Paxton said the state's top law enforcement officer ran from his house and jumped into a truck being driven by his wife to avoid being served with a subpoena. According to a court document, the process server waited at Paxton's home for an hour after telling his wife Angela, a state senator, the purpose of his business. Then, he says Paxton 'RAN' from his home and got in a truck that his wife had started in advance. The AG, who was indicted on securities fraud allegations years ago and survived a primary challenge in May, blasted a report in the Texas Tribune about the incident, and gave no indication he was trying to avoid being served. He attacked the media and said he was trying to avoid a 'stranger lingering outside my home,' while citing security threats faced by conservatives. 'This is a ridiculous waste of time and the media should be ashamed of themselves. All across the country, conservatives have faced threats to their safety many threats that received scant coverage or condemnation from the mainstream media,' Paxton tweeted. Texas AG Ken Paxton said he was trying to avoid a 'stranger lingering outside my home' when he avoided a man trying to serve him a subpoena in an abortion case, and cited security threats faced by conservatives 'It's clear that the media wants to drum up another controversy involving my work as Attorney General, so they're attacking me for having the audacity to avoid a stranger lingering outside my home and showing concern about the safety and well-being of my family,' he wrote in a subsequent tweet. He the server trying to deliver a subpoena to appear in a court hearing for an abortion lawsuit related to the state's abortion laws. A process server writes in an affidavit that a woman who identified herself as Angela told him Monday morning that Paxton was on the phone. She then started a black truck and left a back door open, before Paxton later jumped in. Here Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, center, arrives at the Collin County Courthouse with his wife Angela Paxton cited attacks on 'conservatives' in a tweet following a story on the incident Paxton was indicted in 2015 on securities fraud charges but has yet to stand trial. Paxton pleaded not guilty. He led an effort by state AG's in a filing that sought to overturn the 2020 election. There was an attempt to serve him a subpoena Monday to appear for a hearing in an abortion case Paxton was being served in connection to a Texas abortion case Herrara writes that he arrived at Paxton's home Monday morning, and saw a 'silhouette of a man' walking in the living room. When he saw the server 'he turned around and went back to where he came from.' He recognized the man as Paxton, he wrote in an affidavit filed with the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas. The woman who answered the door, who identified herself as Angela, said Paxton was on the phone. About an hour later, he saw Paxton exiting the garage. 'I walked up the driveway approaching Mr. Paxton and called him by his name. As soon as he saw me and heard me call his name out, he turned around and RAN back inside the house through the same door in the garage,' Herrera wrote. Later, Angela started a black Chevy truck and left a back seat door open. 'A few minutes later I saw Mr. Paxton RAN from the door inside the garage towards the rear door behind the driver side. I approached the truck, and loudly called him by his name and stated that I had court documents for him. Mr. Paxton ignored me and kept heading for the truck.' 'After determining that Mr. Paxton was not going to take the Subpoenas from my hand, I stated that I was serving him with legal documents and was leaving them on the ground where he could get them,' the server wrote. paxton attacked the media and said he sought to avoid a 'stranger lingering outside my home' Some online critics accused Paxton of lying A process server said Paxton drover off in a truck after he attempted to deliver documents The process server said he stated he was trying to deliver important legal documents to Paxton, then stayed at his home for an hour Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at a rally in support of President Donald Trump called the "Save America Rally" in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021 The case that brought the service involves nonprofit groups who assist women in obtaining abortions, after a state law allowed private individuals to sue someone who 'aids or abets' an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, with a $10,000 reward that critics have compared to a 'bounty.' State lawmakers crafted the language to navigate abortion protections, although the Supreme Court has since ruled Roe v. Wade unconstitutional. Paxton did not cite specific attacks on conservatives, but on Sept. 18th North Dakota man Shannon Brandt struck and killed a teen Cayler Ellingson with his SUV, then later called 911 and said he believed Brandt was part of a 'Republican extremist group.' Police investigating the incident said after interviewing witnesses that Brandt's claims have not held up. North Dakota Highway Patrol Capt. Bryan Niewind said Friday the event 'is not political in nature at all.' He added: 'There is no evidence to support Brandt's claim on the 911 call that Mr. Ellingson was a Republican extremist. There is no evidence to support that all through our continued investigation.' A top film executive raped a teenage girl twice at his 900,000 north London home, a court heard. Theodore Freed is also accused of making indecent pictures of children and tried to have sex chats with underage girls, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard on Tuesday. The 40-year-old, who arrived at court wearing a black coat, black scarf, jeans and tanned shoes, faces a total of 10 charges. He denies the allegations against him. Theodore Freed is also accused of making indecent pictures of children and tried to have sex chats with underage girls, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard on Tuesday. David Burns, prosecuting, said illegal images were found on Freeds computer when police raided his home. District Judge Briony Clarke bailed Freed on condition that he does not contact anyone under the age of 18 either online or in person, does not contact either of the rape complainants, and resides at his current address. If you breach any of these conditions you could be arrested and kept in custody, warned the judge. Freed, of Maida Vale, is charged with two counts of rape, three counts of making indecent photograph/pseudo-photographs of a child, three counts of attempting to facilitate/arrange the commission of a child sex offence, one count of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and one count of intentionally encouraging/assisting the commission of an either way offence. The film exec is next due to appear at Southwark Crown Court on October 25, where he will enter his plea. A woman believed to be in her 60s has died after being hit by a lorry while crossing a busy central London road today. The crash took place at 9.45am this morning on Victoria Street in Westminster near Victoria Station, when an elderly woman was hit by a lorry while crossing the road. A witness said: 'An elderly woman was crossing the road before she was hit by a lorry.' The Metropolitan Police has confirmed the collision was fatal and that she was found dead at the scene. Police at the scene after a woman has died after being hit by a lorry on a busy central London road this morning Victoria Street, near Victoria Station, in Westminster was closed by police after the collision Police are investigating the fatal collision which was attended by officers, the London Ambulance Service and the London Air Ambulance. Around the scene on Victoria Street, the road remains closed. A spokesperson for the Met Police said: 'Officers are investigating a fatal collision. Police were called at approximately 09:45hrs on Tuesday, 27 September to reports of a road traffic collision involving a female pedestrian and a lorry in Victoria Street, SW1. 'Officers, London Ambulance Service and Londons Air Ambulance attended. The woman, believed to be aged in her mid-60s, was pronounced dead at the scene. 'Officers are working to inform next of kin. Road closures remain in place around the scene. Enquiries into the circumstances continue.' A brain-damaged baby at the centre of a life-support treatment fight will have a life of 'value' even if he remains severely disabled, a lawyer representing his parents has told a High Court judge. The five-month-old boy's case made headlines earlier this year when a judge was told how he had tried to breathe after doctors said he was dead. Hospital bosses have asked Mr Justice Poole to decide what moves are in the boy's best interests. The judge finished overseeing the latest in a series of hearings in the Family Division of the High Court in London today, and said he would deliver a ruling tomorrow. Specialists treating the boy, who is on a ventilator, say he has suffered a 'catastrophic' brain injury, has 'no prospect' of recovering and should be removed from the ventilator and given only palliative care. A neurologist told the judge that the boy's brain had 'effectively died'. But the boy's parents, who are Muslims and of Bangladeshi origin, have urged the judge to give him more time. They want their son to have time to 'make progress', or for 'Allah to intervene'. The judge finished overseeing the latest in a series of hearings in the Family Division of the High Court in London today, and said he would deliver a ruling tomorrow Victoria Butler-Cole KC, who is leading the couple's legal team, told the judge on Tuesday: 'If he remains severely disabled ... that continues to be a life that has value.' Mr Justice Poole has heard that the boy's parents were interviewed by police after evidence suggested that he had suffered what 'appeared' to be 'non-accidental injuries' during the summer. No charges had been brought - but the couple remained under investigation. The boy's parents recently lost a High Court fight when another judge, Mr Justice Hayden, decided that treatment should end. But Court of Appeal judges ordered a fresh trial after upholding an appeal by the boy's parents and concluding they had not had a fair hearing. Mr Justice Poole has reconsidered evidence at a new trial. The judge oversaw a private hearing but allowed reporters to attend. He said the case could be reported but ruled that neither the boy, who is in a specialist unit at a London hospital, nor doctors involved with his care could be identified in media coverage. Lawyers representing bosses at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, who are responsible for his care, have asked Mr Justice Poole to decide what moves are in the boy's best interests. The boy's parents had represented themselves at the trial before Mr Justice Hayden. They told appeal judges that Mr Justice Hayden should have adjourned the trial to give them time to find lawyers. Appeal judges agreed and said Mr Justice Hayden's decision not to adjourn the trial was 'unfair'. Ms Butler-Cole KC and barrister Arianna Kelly represented the couple for free at the latest trial. Judges have heard the boy was declared dead in June, after doctors diagnosed him as being brain stem dead. He remained on a ventilator because his parents were unhappy with the diagnosis and litigation had begun. Lawyers representing bosses at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, who are responsible for his care, have asked Mr Justice Poole to decide what moves are in the boy's best interests Lawyers representing the trust initially asked a judge to make a declaration of death. The boy started trying to breathe in early July, after a preliminary High Court hearing. Specialists then rescinded 'the clinical ascertainment of death' and trust lawyers asked Mr Justice Hayden to instead decide what moves were in the boy's best interests. Judges have heard that a series of brain stem tests had shown 'no activity'. The baby had 'gasped' and further tests showed there was brain stem activity in one respect. A senior doctor involved in the baby's treatment said medics were trying to understand why he tried to breathe, after a series of brain-stem tests showed that he was dead. The doctor told Mr Justice Poole that research had revealed a 'few' other similar cases internationally. She said evidence showed that other patients had not survived. The doctor said she expected an international panel of experts to examine evidence and give guidance. She had, at an earlier hearing, said she had never seen such a situation before and had apologised to the boy's parents. 'I think it must be just be beyond comprehension (for the parents),' she had said. 'That doctors looking after their baby can have made what appears to be such a horrible error.' She had added: 'We are currently reviewing it as professionals.' The judge who oversaw earlier stages of the litigation said it was important that what had occurred was put 'into the public domain' because it might prove to have 'wider resonance'. Mr Justice Hayden said the circumstances were 'entirely unforeseen' and unprecedented in his experience. Bourdain's brother say the book is riddled with inaccuracies and tried to block it The book - which Bourdain's ex-wife is seemingly in support of - paints Argento as being jealous of his close ties with his family They'd been arguing over her being photographed with Hugo Clement at a hotel where they had special memories In a final text to Bourdain, Argento told him to 'stop busting her balls' It also delves into his tumultuous romance with Italian actress Asia Argento Anthony Bourdain complained to his ex-wife that he 'hated' his fans and no longer wanted to be famous in the weeks and months leading up to his 2018 suicide. The TV star took his own life in a French hotel room in June 2018 while he was on location filming his CNN show, Parts Unknown. His death stunned friends and family. He had been open about his past struggles with addiction but seemed to have overcome most of his demons, and had a loving daughter. Bourdain was also 'hopelessly' in love with Asia Argento, who had just dumped him in an argument over photos of her with a French journalist in Rome. Now, an explosive new biography claims that he'd been struggling with alcohol and steroids, and that he'd also been sleeping with prostitutes. The book - Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain - will be released on October 11. Its author Charles Leershen is the former executive editor of Sports Illustrated, a former Rolling Stone writer and a known biographer. The book challenges that picture of Bourdain as the people's hero. In one text to his ex-wife, Ottavia Busia-Bourdain, he complained: 'I hate my fans, too. I hate being famous. I hate my job. 'I am lonely and living in constant uncertainty.' Bourdain, just days before he killed himself in France in June 2018. He was filming for Parts Unknown, his popular CNN show The biography pays close attention to Bourdain's troubled romance with Asia Argento. In her final text to him, she told him to stop 'busting her balls' over being photographed with another man ANTHONY BOURDAIN AND ASIA ARGENTO'S FINAL TEXTS 'I am okay. I am not spiteful. I am not jealous that you have been with another man. I do not own you. You are free. 'As I said. As I promised. As I truly meant. But you were careless. You were reckless with my heart. My life.' Argento - 'I can't take this.' Bourdain - 'Is there anything I can do? Argento - 'Stop busting my balls' Bourdain -' OK' Advertisement The book also includes text messages, emails and the search history of Bourdain's computer, all of which reveal his pained his relationship with Argento. She had broken up with him, citing his 'possessiveness' over her. Bourdain had been left heartbroken by photographs of the Italian actress dancing with journalist Hugo Clement in the lobby of Hotel de Russie in Rome, where she and Bourdain shared special memories. The book reveals that he searched her name online 'hundreds' of times afterwards. In their final text exchange, he asked: 'Is there anything I can do?' She replied: 'Stop busting my balls'. He responded: 'OK' and killed himself hours later. Bourdain's family and Asia Argento have already challenged the book, accusing Leershen of multiple inaccuracies. Simon and Schuster is standing by it. 'Every single thing he writes about relationships and interactions within our family as kids and as adults he fabricated or got totally wrong,' Christopher, Bourdain's brother, told the Times. Argento declined to comment for the book. In an email to the journalist that she says she forbid him from publishing, she said: 'It is always Judas who writes the biography.' Asia Argento with her new man, MMA fighter Michael Martignoni, who is 20 years her junior at 26 Argento with her much younger man in a set of snaps she recently shared on Instagram Argento has spoken publicly of her grief. She is shown in September 2018 in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com and DailyMailTV where she said the pair had an open relationship Bourdain confided in his ex-wife that he was 'hopelessly in love' with Asia. He had quietly paid off Jimmy Bennett for her, after the younger actor demanded $3.5million and revealed he'd slept with Argento when she was 37 and he was 17. They are shown above together at the time Despite Bourdain's brother's attempts to have the book blocked, it is due to be released on October 11. Busia-Bourdain is not fighting its publication. The author claims she had become his confidante, and includes texts and emails between the pair. In one, Bourdain told his ex that he'd spent two years 'hopelessly in love' with Argento. JOURNALIST BEHIND AUNAUTHORIZED BOURDAIN BIOGRAPHY SAYS TV CHEF HAD BECOME 'WHAT HE'D BECOME' Charles Leerhsen, the author behind the book, has previously written for Rolling Stone. He is also the former executive editor of Sports Illustrated. He told The New York Times that he wanted to offer a side of Bourdain that didn't have the varnish of 'an official Bourdain product.' By the end of his life, he said he believes the chef 'knew what he had become'. Charles Leerhsen's book, Down And Out In Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain is due to be published on October 11 'I think at the very end, in the last days and hours, he realized what he had become. 'I dont respect him killing himself, but he did realize and he did ultimately know he didnt want to be that person he had become,' he said. He added that he had no trouble finding enough people to speak to him, despite the protestations of Bourdain's brother. Leerhsen also claims Bourdain's agent, Kim Witherspoon, told others not to speak to him. 'A lot of people were willing to talk to me because they were left behind by Tony and by the Tony train,' he said. Leershen's past biographies include works about Butch Cassidy, Ty Cobb and TV executive Brandon Tartikoff. Advertisement The biography claims that Argento 'became so controlling that she scrutinized the social media accounts of Mr. Bourdain and his wife, blowing up when she saw images of him with his family.' I understand that people wanted to blame me because he was so deeply loved and he entered in the hearts of so many people, into their lives, into their hearts. Asia Argento in September 2018 'You didn't want me to put a pic that you had in it because Asia would freak out and I have a feeling that will not change anytime soon. 'I'm tired of pretending I don't know you. Or that we are never in the same place,' Busia-Bourdain told him. He replied: 'I feel you. But I was being honest. The pap [arazzi] situation is horrendous. 'Since I left you guys, though, shes freaking out.' Bourdain with his ex-wife, Ottavia Busia-Bourdain, and their daughter, Ariane. She was 11 when he died in 2018 Bourdain's ex-wife, Ottavia Busia-Bourdain, told him that Argento was possessive and controlling. She had become his confidante in the final days of his life, the book claims. She is in support of its publication, while Argento and Bourdain's brother have tried to fight it He defended her publicly and privately, quietly paying off Jimmy Bennett, a man who'd demanded $3.5million from her, claiming she'd molested him by sleeping with him when he was 17 and she was 37. Bourdain came forward after seeing Argento speak publicly about being one of Harvey Weinstein's victims. Leershen claims he is being met with resistance because the portrait he paints of Bourdain is unflattering. 'A lot of people were willing to talk to me because they were left behind by Tony and by the Tony train,' he said. Argento has spoken publicly of her grief. In September 2018, she broke her silence in exclusive an interview with DailyMail.com and DailyMailTV. She sobbed that people accused her of murdering him by cavorting publicly with Clement in Rome in the days before Bourdain's death. 'He cheated on me too. It wasn't a problem for us. But I understand that the world needs to find a reason. I would like to find a reason too. I don't have it. 'Maybe I would feel some solace in thinking there was something that happened.' Advertisement Mayor Eric Adam's Bronx-based tent city, set to help host the 13,000 migrants who have been bussed to the city since August, is being built, with the first roof structure erected. Construction workers continued Tuesday at the Orchard Beach location, which is the first of two tent cities to be built, according to Adams. Workers in hardhats were seen carrying metal poles that were delivered on trucks - as others drilled into the ground and prepped for the construction of the tents. While a second location has yet to be determined, an additional 6,000 hotel rooms are also being provided. As construction began Monday, Bronx president Vanessa Gibson expressed concern about the new development, both for the impact it would have on her community, and the safety of those involved. Gibson warned that Orchard Beach frequently floods and pointed out that the location was isolated without access to public transport. The metallic structure for one tent at the Orchard Beach-based tent city takes shape It is not known when the tent city will finish completion Construction continued on the tents early Tuesday morning Workers carrying metal poles, which are the infrastructure for the to-be-built tents It is not known how many tents will be constructed, though they are expected to host 13,000 migrants Workers are seen wearing hard hats, as others drill into the ground in preparation for the metal poles Vanessa Gibson warned the city that the location frequently floods and is without access to public transport An aerial view of an example site. Adams, claiming it as a moral victory, said the issue needed to be treated like a humanitarian crisis An example of the type of site Eric Adams plans to open to house the thousands of migrants arriving every day. One will go in the Bronx and a second location is yet to be confirmed. Adams claimed it as a moral victory. The tents include rows of beds with thin-looking sheets in an outdoor tent, just as winter approaches The Federal Emergency Management Agency considers the entire Orchard Beach parking lot a 'special flood hazard area.' The city also lists the parking lot as a 'Zone 1' hurricane evacuation area, meaning it's especially vulnerable to dangerous flooding during storms. Vanessa Gibson, president of the Bronx, said she had concerns about the tent camp in her district 'While this is not the ideal location and we have raised reasonable concerns, my team and I are working with the Adams administration to ensure that any site designated for our borough has wraparound services,' Gibson said in a statement. 'These services must be provided in a dignified, humane, quality, and safe space that does not do further harm nor add burden to clients and families. 'Under these emergency circumstances, we will work together with the administration in a balanced and strategic manner to ensure the Bronx is not overburdened.' Adams' team said they will provide a shuttle bus for migrants to get to public transport. They have not responded to concerns about flooding. A spokeswoman for the mayor told The New York Daily News she would not comment directly on Gibson's statement, but said 50 sites across all five boroughs were evaluated before the administration approved the Orchard Beach location. Adams touted the plan last week as a victory and proof that he understands his 'moral duty' to the thousands of mainly Venezuelan migrants currently arriving in New York City every week. His press release failed to give specifics of when the sites will open or, crucially, how many beds they will contain. The Orchard Beach site is expected to open within a few weeks. Meanwhile, thousands of migrants continue to be sent every week from Texas and Florida, where Republican leaders say it's time Democrats like Adams understand the true scale of the crisis. Migrants are pictured on Monday arriving in New York City Many of the migrants arriving in the United States at the moment have traveled from Venezuela One of Adams' proposed sites is near Orchard Beach, on the peripheries of the city Adams says it's unfair for leaders in Texas and Florida to send the migrants to him - despite NYC being the top of all of their lists for refuge In addition to the two migrant sites, Adams has awarded a $34 million contract to Bronx Family Network to set up beds for both migrants and the homeless in the same area. Adams, claiming the new relief sites will help absolve the problem in New York, said in a press release on Thursday: 'More than 100 years ago, Ellis Island opened its doors to welcome in those 'yearning to breathe free.' 'Now, more than ever, it's clear that we are again dealing with a humanitarian crisis created by human hands. 'While other leaders have abdicated their moral duty to support arriving asylum seekers, New York City refuses to do so,' he said. In photos of an example site, cot beds are shown lined up in rows in the outdoor tent. Adams said they'd only stay there for up to 96 hours, then be moved on to their desired 'settlement' sites. 'This is not an everyday homelessness crisis, but a humanitarian crisis that requires a different approach,' he said. 'That's why the Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers will be the first touchpoint for asylum seekers that will provide them with a range of services and support as families determine their next steps. 'This emergency response represents what we know must be done during this humanitarian crisis, as we continue to seek assistance from our federal and state partners to continue this work. 'Like the generations that came to our city before, New York will provide the thousands now coming to our city with the foundation to build a better life,' Adams said. Police in Philadelphia say that children as young as 10 took part in mob that ransacked and looted a Wawa convenience store over the weekend. Philadelphia cops on Tuesday released new footage of the brazen attack, seeking tips from the public to help identify members of the mob, which ran amok in the store on Saturday. The crowd of roughly 100 people, who appear to be mostly juveniles, trashed the store, threw items at clerks, and jumped on top of cars parked outside, cops say. The disturbing scenes of mayhem unfolded shortly after 8pm on Saturday, at the WaWa on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia's Mayfair neighborhood. Police say that the flash mob appears to have been orchestrated through a post on social media, and cops are seeking assistance from the public in tracking down the perpetrators. 'The bottom line is: we cannot have this type of behavior happening in this city. The business community doesn't deserve that, the citizens don't deserve it,' said First Deputy Police Commissioner John Stanford at a Monday news conference. Police in Philadelphia say that children as young as 10 took part in mob that ransacked and looted a Wawa convenience store over the weekend The crowd of roughly 100 people, who appear to be mostly juveniles, trashed the store, threw items at clerks, and jumped on top of cars parked outside (seen above), cops say Philadelphia cops on Tuesday released new footage of the brazen attack, seeking tips from the public to help identify members of the mob Police say that participants in the mob could face charges including criminal mischief, vandalism, theft, and felony riot. Shocking footage from inside the stores shows employees staying behind a counter when a large group of what appeared to be mostly youths trashed the store, CBS News reported. 'You're all stupid,' one of the people behind the counter could be heard saying as the group cheers, twerks and cackles, throwing cans and bags into the air. 'You're all ugly, stupid, broke,' the man adds, but the crowd continues to decimate the store, grabbing merchandise off the shelves and tossing it across the air. The incident comes weeks after stores in Philly's Center City were forced to close early after dozens of juveniles reportedly ransacked the area, including a number of Wawa stores. The disturbing scenes of mayhem unfolded shortly after 8pm on Saturday, at this WaWa on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia's Mayfair neighborhood A group of what appears to be juveniles ransacked the Wawa convenience store in Philadelphia's Mayfair district on Saturday night (above) As the ransacking continued, a man from behind a counter could be heard yelling at the crowd It was the latest of such incidents that have seen Wawa's looted and ransacked throughout Philadelphia as robberies soar by more than 40 percent this year Pictured: The aftermath of Saturday night's chaos inside the Wawa Philadelphia police had provided extra security earlier this month just ten miles away in Center City, where a number of Wawa locations and other stores were hit by a group of young delinquents. Police said some of the juveniles in that incident were taken into custody. Along with what appears to be a concerning trend of minors ransacking its stores, the Philadelphia's locations have also been hit by a serial robber. The unknown suspect was seen entering the same Wawa from Saturday's incident on September 8, robbing the store at gunpoint and making off with $250. Three days later, the armed man robbed the Wawa on Roosevelt Boulevard, this time stealing $200. Wawa is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. The Wawa was previously hit by a suspect who robbed another one of the store's Philly locations this month. Wawa has offered a $5,000 reward leading to his arrest Robberies and overall crime continue to soar in the City of Brotherly Love The City of Brotherly Love has seen a drastic rise in violence, with overall crime up more than 26 percent so far this year compared to the same time in 2021. While assaults and rapes have seen a notable drop this year, the number of homicides has only dipped by 1.8 percent, from 378 incidents last year to 385 so far this year. Meanwhile, the number of shooting victims has gone up 3.4 percent, with police reporting 1,706 cases so far this year, up from 1,650 last year. Robberies have seen the greatest uptick, with 4,199 cases reported this year, up 40.5 percent from the 3,042 reported last year. Notably, Philadelphia's District Attorney is the controversial Larry Krasner, a so-called 'progressive' prosecutor who was re-elected in 2021 but has faced impeachment attempts in 2022. Krasner, a leader in the progressive prosecutor movement, has battled with police unions and other officials who accuse him of being soft on crime. Anyone with information about the WaWa looters is urged to contact Philadelphia police anonymously by calling or texting 215.686.TIPS (8477). A British professor who has been missing for nearly two weeks in Chile had allegedly argued with his 23-year-old PhD student before he vanished. Thomas Richard Marsh, a 61-year-old astrophysicist at University of Warwick, was last seen on September 16 near the remote astronomical observatory La Silla on the outskirts of the Atacama Desert where he was working. Marsh travelled with an unnamed student to observe the night skies from the observatory's powerful telescopes as part of a work trip. The 23-year-old student was described locally at the weekend as a 'key piece' of an ongoing investigation into the astronomer's whereabouts, as soldiers and police scour the desert in search for Marsh. Police confirmed around the same time the 23-year-old had been questioned by police seeking answers to 61-year-old Mr Marsh's whereabouts. There is no suggestion at this stage the student, who travelled to Chile with the missing professor from the UK via France and Argentina, played any role in his disappearance. Regional prosecutor Adrian Vega, who has insisted investigators are keeping an open mind on Mr Marsh's disappearance, insisted overnight he was free to return to the UK. Thomas Richard Marsh, a 61-year-old astrophysicist at University of Warwick, was last seen on September 16 near the remote astronomical observatory La Silla on the outskirts of the Atacama Desert where he was working He told Chilean daily El Dia: 'There's no way we can impede the free travel of a person or prevent him from leaving the country if that person is not accused of anything. The student is not accused of anything.' The same newspaper, citing unidentified sources, claimed there had been a row between Mr Marsh and his pupil, saying: 'This is something the authorities are working with as well. 'That aspect of things is something that has been incorporated into the lines of investigation prosecutors are conducting.' It offered no more detail in an overnight report about when or why the alleged row occurred. Mr Vega, signalling a ground and air search for Mr Marsh on the basis he got lost or was injured during a walk in the mountainous terrain near the observatory, added: 'We hope in the next few days to be able to advance across the area until we have to rule out the idea Mr Marsh disappeared for a hike.' He also told local press: 'There is no evidence which leads us to think he is not alive. 'We continue to look for a person who is alive and lost with all the means we have at our disposal, so we can give his family peace of mind. We are in permanent contact with them.' Drones and sniffer dogs are being used in the hunt for Mr Marsh around the observatory. Observatory staff and visitors have also been questioned as part of a parallel but separate probe by Chile's PDI police. La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory Mr Marsh's clothes and other belongings were found in his room after he was reported missing on September 16. His PHD student raised the alarm after he didn't show up to begin observations at the observatory as arranged following a night's sleep two days after their arrival in Chile on September 14. It emerged at the weekend Mr Marsh's room keys had been found between his accommodation and the telescope, although police have not released any further details on exactly where they were located. Colleague Odette Toloza, currently working in Germany, described Mr Marsh as 'the best in his field' in an interview after he vanished. Telling a Chilean TV channel how she found about the disappearance, she said: 'Tom has been to La Silla several times as part of his work and knows the area very well. 'He was due to carry out astronomical observations over four nights this time round and stay till Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. 'The importance to him of La Silla is the instrument speed there and how quickly they can take images. 'Every time he goes he uses the opportunity to take his students and this time he went with a first-year postgraduate student. 'There's always a routine and a protocol and when you arrive at the observatory you always know when you have to go and calibrate instruments. 'The student sent an email out asking relevant people if they'd seen Tom because they had to meet up to begin observations and he hadn't turned up. 'That's when we realised something must have happened. The last time the student had seen Tom was the night before when they went to bed. 'They were due to see each the following day to eat together and Tom didn't show.' Mr Marsh was last seen around 6am last Friday at the La Silla Observatory in Chile and all his clothes and other personal belongings including his passport are said to have remained untouched in a nearby rented room She added: 'I'm not clear on all the details but I know from the student that he asked after him at the observatory and no one was able to help. 'He thought initially he might be resting because they'd had a long journey from England and wasn't too concerned about the fact he'd hadn't showed for lunch. 'But what he did have clear is that they had to meet up later to carry out observations together and he sent out the email when Tom didn't appear. 'I met this student two weeks ago during a visit to the University of Warwick. 'As colleagues we've decided not to pressure him. He's a PHD student, a young person. You can't imagine being involved in a situation like this, of having to report someone missing and give a statement, especially about someone who is your mentor. 'The first thing that comes to mind when myself and colleagues speculate on what might have happened is a walk. 'The observatory has very nice walking areas around it and is a great place to see sunrise and sun fall from. 'Our first conclusions were that he went off for a walk and didn't return but it's madness to think that someone can disappear just like that and no one knows anything.' Mr Marsh's family including his artist daughter Tabatha have made missing appeals online. They said in an initial statement after he went missing: 'We are deeply concerned for Tom and miss him, and would ask anyone who may any have information on his whereabouts to please help.' La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory, an intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 member states for ground-based astronomy. The observatory is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. It is located around 95 miles northeast of the city of Serena at the outskirts of the Atacama Desert, one of the driest and remotest places in the world. The phones were taken 'shortly after' the office of Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari (pictured), a Trump appointee, informed the Secret Service that there would be a criminal investigation into text messages from January 5 and January 6 that were erased by the agency, according to NBC News The Secret Service confiscated the phones of two dozen agents involved in the response to last year's attack on the US Capitol, a bombshell new report claimed on Tuesday. They were given to the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's office, people familiar with the matter told NBC News. Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, a Trump appointee, informed the Secret Service in July that he was opening a criminal investigation into missing text messages from January 5 and 6 last year. Messages that could have been of interest to multiple investigations into the January 6 riot - including the House select committee's high-profile probe - had been erased after Cuffari's office had requested them, according to a letter he sent to the relevant House and Senate committees. Days later, Cuffari's deputy asked the agency on July 19 to halt 'further investigative activities regarding the collection and preservation of the evidence' in the texts. The 24 phones were reportedly given to the watchdog's office 'shortly after' that. A spokesperson for the Secret Service referred DailyMail.com to the inspector general's office for questions on what items, including the phones, it was given. 'The work to investigative the travesty of the Jan 6th Insurrection is extremely important to us and aligns with the mission of the Secret Service which is to safeguard our nation's highest government leaders,' the spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 'We have and will continue to cooperate fully with all of the oversight efforts and we have provided everything that has been requested as part of these inquiries.' A spokesperson for the DHS inspector general's office told DailyMail.com, 'To protect the integrity of our work, preserve our independence, and consistent with federal guidelines, DHS OIG does not confirm the existence of or comment on criminal investigations.' The Secret Service texts are being sought in relation to probes into how the January 6 attack on the US Capitol unfolded According to NBC's Tuesday report, some agents were unhappy that their leaders unilaterally acted to confiscate the phones. The Secret Service had publicly pushed back on the inspector general's suggestion that text messages were intentionally deleted after his office requested them. The agency asserted that the erasure of messages was due to a regularly-scheduled update that wiped nearly all of the phones' existing data. It claimed that the change was already underway when the texts were requested. Cuffari himself has been accused of improperly interfering in the investigation. CNN previously reported that he knew the Secret Service deleted the messages in May 2021 and informed DHS that he was no longer looking for them in July of that year. Earlier this year, the top lawmakers on the January 6 committee and the House Oversight Committee wrote a letter accusing Cuffari of obstructing their probes - which they called 'unacceptable.' 'If you continue to refuse to comply with our requests, we will have no choice but to consider alternate measures to ensure your compliance,' Democrat Reps. Bennie Thompson and Carolyn Maloney wrote in August. Interest in Secret Service text messages stems primarily from bombshell testimony given by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson during one of the January 6 committee's final summer hearings. Public scrutiny intensified after former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson claimed she was told Trump lunged at his Secret Service security detail on January 6 last year when they refused to drive him to the US Capitol with his supporters Hutchinson testified that she was told the ex-president lunged for the steering wheel of his vehicular escort and then for an agent's neck when they refused to take him to the US Capitol with his supporters. She was allegedly told that Trump raged at his Secret Service security: 'I'm the f***ing president. Take me up to the Capitol now.' Trump has denied the allegations. The January 6 committee is holding another hearing on September 28, likely its final one. Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, the panel's vice chair, said over the weekend that lawmakers received roughly 800,000 pages' worth of communications from the Secret Service. However, the text messages sought from January 5 and January 6 are still largely lost. 'The texts themselves, in many cases, are gone or other forms of communication, like Teams messages and emails, and other forms of communication we have received probably about 800,000 pages,' Cheney said at the Texas Tribune Festival. Republican Senate hopeful Dr. Mehmet Oz now trails Democrat John Fetterman by 7 points, despite attacking the Democrat's record on crime and questioning his ability to serve after suffering a stroke. A Marist poll released Tuesday shows Fetterman with 51 percent support, compared to Oz's 44 percent among likely voters. Fetterman's lead extends to 10 points when the larger pool of registered voters were asked - with 51 percent supporting the Democrat and 41 percent picking Oz. Polls have shown Fetterman, the state's lieutenant governor, consistenly ahead of the television doctor, however 7 points is the widest margin in more than a month. Oz has been highlighting Fetterman's decision to only participate in one debate, in late October, and has been running ad's continuously on Pennsylvania's airwaves suggesting the Democrat will be soft on crime, due to his time spend on the commonwealth's Board of Pardons. Republican Senate hopeful Dr. Mehmet Oz (left) now trails Democrat John Fetterman (right) by 7 points, despite attacking the Democrat's record on crime and questioning his ability to serve after suffering a stroke. Democrat John Fetterman has a 10-point lead over Dr. Mehmet Oz, the GOP Senate hopeful, in a Marist Poll out Tuesday. Among the smaller pool of likely voters, Fetterman leads Oz by seven points Those tactics, so far, haven't been successful in dimming Fetterman's rise, from Western Pennsylvania mayor to lieutenant governor to potential U.S. senator, often using tweets to characterize Oz as an out-of-touch carpetbagger from New Jersey. 'What is particularly unusual in these numbers, is that, with still six weeks to go, most voters have already picked sides,' Marist College institute for Public Opinion Lee Miringoff said in a release. 'Few Keystone voters are undecided or say they support a candidate but might vote differently.' Only 7 percent of registered voters told pollsters they were undecided. Among the narrower group of people who said they'll definitely vote, just 4 percent said they were up for grabs. Fetterman has the support of a majority of independent voters - with 55 percent saying they'll vote for the Democrat, versus 33 percent who say they'll back Oz. He's also liked better in the state. Forty-five percent of Pennsylvania adults had a favorable impression of Fetterman, versus 30 percent for Oz. On the flip side, 51 percent had an unfavorable view of Oz, while 39 percent had a negative impression of Fetterman. Democrat Josh Shapiro (left) holds a 13 and 12 point lead over Republican gubernatorial hopeful Doug Mastriano (right) among registered and then likely voters, respectively, the Marist poll found Fetterman's supporters are also more enthusiastic, with 70 percent saying they strongly support him, while 58 percent of Oz's potential voters say they strongly support the Trump-backed former television personality. The Marist poll also contains bad news for Republican gubernatorial hopeful Doug Mastriano, who trails Democrat Josh Shapiro 40 to 53 percent among registered voters. Among likely voters, 54 percent said they'd select Shapiro come November, while 42 percent said they planned to vote for Mastriano, another Republican primary pick of former President Donald Trump. Democrats are hoping by flipping Pennsylvania's Senate seat, occupied by retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, they'll be able to maintain their extremely slim Senate majority. The Marist poll was conducted September 19 through 22 and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points. Donald Trump was accused of making defamatory statements about a woman who accused him of raping her in the 1990s, but Trump's lawyers argue that he should be shielded by a government statute protecting federal employees from defamation lawsuits A panel of federal judges on Tuesday reversed a lower court's decision that would have forced Donald Trump to face a defamation suit brought by a writer who accused him of rape. The 2-to-1 ruling in columnist E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit against the former president was made by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. The majority agreed with Trump's claim that he should be shielded by a federal rule immunizing government workers from defamation lawsuits for statements made under purview of their employment. The dissenting judge accused Trump of 'pursuing a personal vendetta against an accuser' in his own written opinion. But Tuesday's decision stopped short of saying the U.S. government can be substituted for Trump as the defendant in the lawsuit. Instead, it punted to the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals, the highest court in the District of Columbia, to decide whether Trump's allegedly defamatory comments against Carroll were made within the scope of his presidency. Both are key pillars in deciding whether Trump will have to answer himself for denying the allegations to The Hill in 2019 by stating 'she's not my type,' and accusing her of conjuring them to peddle her book. A district judge earlier ruled that Trump has to face the claims as a private citizen. Carroll maintains Trump defamed her after she wrote in her memoir that Trump raped her during a chance encounter in the mid-1990s in a Manhattan department store. Trump denied the rape and questioned Carroll's credibility and motivations. The ex-president's lawyer Alina Habba treated the 2nd Circuit ruling as a complete victory, saying it 'will protect the ability of all future Presidents to effectively govern without hindrance.' Columnist E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s. She accused him of defaming her with multiple public statements including brushing off her allegations by saying 'she's not my type' She added: 'We are confident that the D.C. Court of Appeals will find that our client was acting within the scope of his employment when properly repudiating Ms. Carrolls allegations.' In a majority opinion written by Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi, two members of the three-judge panel said they were not expressing any view on whether Trump's public statements were defamatory or whether a sexual assault had occurred. In a dissent, though, Circuit Judge Denny Chin said the other members of the panel were wrong in concluding Trump was an employee of the government according to the Westfall Act. He said the law was intended to protect low-level, rank-and-file government employees rather than the president. And he said he would also conclude that at least some of the statements Trump made after Carroll's book was published were not made within the scope of his duties as president. He pointed in particular to Trump's comment that Carroll was not his type. 'In the context of an accusation of rape, the comment 'she's not my type' surely is not something one would expect the President of the United States to say in the course of his duties,' Chin wrote. 'Carroll's allegations plausibly paint a picture of a man pursuing a personal vendetta against an accuser, not the United States' "chief constitutional officer" engaging in "supervisory and policy responsibilities of utmost discretion and sensitivity."' Chin also attacked the government's position - which began when Trump was president and continued under the administration of President Joe Biden - that a president acts within the scope of his employment whenever he responds to the media and to public critics. 'If that were so, then the mere presence of others would neutralize whatever a president did or said, for no president could be held accountable for damage done in front of a microphone or in an official meeting - whether defaming a citizen, exposing classified national security information, or inciting a riot. This is not, and should not be, the law,' Chin wrote. Roberta Kaplan, an attorney for the longtime advice columnist for Elle magazine, responded to a request for comment by citing Chin's dissent, calling it a 'powerful opinion.' She added: 'We are confident that the D.C. Court of Appeals, where this case is now headed on certification, will agree.' The 2nd Circuit said on Tuesday that Trump would be entitled to immunity by having the U.S. substituted as the defendant in the lawsuit if it was decided that his statements came within the scope of his employment. But it said courts have been inconsistent in previous rulings and that the D.C. Court of Appeals might be in the best position to answer the question. Kaplan alerted a Manhattan federal court judge in August that she plans to sue Trump in November when the Adult Survivor's Act take effect. The law offers a one-year 'look back' to enable adult survivors of sexual attacks to bring civil claims when they otherwise would be barred by time requirements. The law, signed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in May, was modeled after the Child Victims Act, which provided a similar window to bring lawsuits for people who had been sexually assaulted when they were children. That law expired a year ago. The Kremlin has reported that residents of occupied Ukrainian territories voted overwhelmingly to join Russia after being marched to the ballot box at gunpoint. First partial voting results in Moscow's sham referendums in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine unsurprisingly came out in favour of annexation by Russia, Russian state news said on Tuesday. And later results from the election charade continued the trend. Hastily arranged votes had taken place over five days in the four areas - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - that make up about 15 per cent of Ukrainian territory. Russian-installed officials accompanied by machinegun-toting henchmen took ballot boxes from house to house in what Ukraine and the West said was an illegitimate, coercive exercise designed to create a legal pretext for Russia to annex the four regions. President Vladimir Putin could then portray any Ukrainian attempt to recapture them as an attack on Russia itself. He said last week he was willing to use nuclear weapons to defend the 'territorial integrity' of Russia. Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO General Secretary, condemned the 'sham referenda' on Twitter, lambasting them as having 'no legitimacy' and being a 'blatant violation of international law.' 'Just spoke with President Zelensky and made clear that NATO allies are unwavering in our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and right to self-defence,' he wrote. Officials in Kyiv hit back against the transparent land grab by declaring the votes 'will not have any influence' on battlefield, where Ukrainian forces are in ascendancy. A man in military fatigues casts his ballot at a polling station during a referendum on the joining of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) to Russia, in Donetsk, which Russian state media say has voted by 98 per cent to join Russia with 14 per cent of the vote counted A referendum official walks past a gun-toting militiaman in Donetsk as the hurried votes were carried out under the eyes of armed men 'The main thing is that these actions, this decision by Putin, will not have any influence on the politics, diplomacy and actions of Ukraine on the battlefield,' Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said during a press conference with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna. The local poll body in the southern Zaporizhzhia region said 93.11 percent of voters opted for Russian annexation after all ballots were counted. It said however that this was a preliminary result. In Kherson, also in the south, authorities said 87.05 percent of voters opted for Russian annexation after a vote count was completed. In the eastern Lugansk region controlled by pro-Russia separatists, 98.42 percent opted for annexation by Russia, Russian news agencies said, citing local authorities. 'It is clear' that Lugansk will return to the Russian fold, Leonid Pasechnik, the leader of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic, said on Telegram. In the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, the poll body said 99.23 percent of voters opted for Russian annexation after all ballots were counted, according to news agencies. Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-backed separatist leader in Donetsk, said: 'We have all wanted this for a very long time', according to Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti. He welcomed what he called the 'colossal' result, saying: 'We are reuniting with our great homeland, with great Russia'. The United Nations meanwhile said it was 'committed' to Ukraine's 'territorial integrity' within 'recognised' borders. Vladimir Putin announced the plan to hold snap votes in the regions of Ukraine that his armed forced had invaded and managed to occupy last week Possibly explaining the lower favorable vote in Kherson is that Russian authorities there have faced a strong Ukrainian underground resistance movement whose members have killed Moscow-appointed officials and threatened those who considered voting. In a remark that appeared to rule out negotiations, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy told the U.N. Security Council by video from Kyiv that Russia's attempts to annex Ukrainian territory will mean 'there is nothing to talk about with this president of Russia.' He added that 'any annexation in the modern world is a crime, a crime against all states that consider the inviolability of border to be vital for themselves.' The preordained outcome sets the stage for a dangerous new phase in Russia's seven-month war, with the Kremlin threatening to throw more troops into the battle and potentially use nuclear weapons. Ukraine has repeatedly warned that Russian annexation of additional territories would destroy any chance of peace talks, seven months after Moscow launched its invasion of the country. Russia says it is up to the people of the four regions to decide for themselves if they want to come under Moscow's rule. In the run-up to the votes, Russia acted to 'Russify' the occupied territories, including by issuing people with Russian passports and rewriting school curriculums. Valentina Matviyenko, head of the upper house of the Russian parliament, said that if the referendum results were favourable, it could consider the incorporation of the four regions on October 4. A man holds his ballot as he leaves a voting booth at a polling station during a referendum in Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, as the charade of a free and fair vote was maintained The majorities in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics were just under 98 per cent, with 14 per cent and 13 per cent respectively of votes tallied The foreign ministers of France and Ukraine slammed the 'mock referendums' in the occupied territories and Moscow's escalating threats of a nuclear war. Many Western leaders have called the referendum a sham, with the U.N. Security Council discussing a resolution that says the voting results will never be accepted and that the four regions remain part of Ukraine. Russia is certain to veto the resolution. Russia ramped up warnings that it could deploy nuclear weapons to defend its territory, including newly acquired land, and continued mobilizing more than a quarter-million additional troops to deploy to a front line of more than 1,000 km. After the balloting, 'the situation will radically change from the legal viewpoint, from the point of view of international law, with all the corresponding consequences for protection of those areas and ensuring their security,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. Catherine Colonna of France and Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine spoke at a joint news conference in Kyiv. Russia and its 'unnecessary, illegal, unjust war, threatens the very foundations of the rules-based international order,' Colonna said. 'France has been at your side since the start of the Russian aggression and will remain so until Ukraine recovers its full sovereignty and territorial integrity.' Votes were held in four areas currently under Russian control - Donetsk and Luhansk, which together make up the Donbas, as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Kuleba said the Russian votes about the separation from Ukraine and joining Russia present a 'performance which won't have any consequences and influence on the politics and diplomacy.' He added that the voting shows Russia doesn't wish a peaceful outcome: 'Russia doesn't want any peace talks; please, stop playing this game.' Colonna also announced the arrival of a new mission of French experts to assist in investigations in Ukraine of atrocities. Kuleba said the talks also focused on the transfer from France of more CAESAR artillery systems to Ukraine. The British Ministry of Defence assessed as a 'realistic possibility' that Putin might be planning to announce the annexation of the occupied territories this Friday when he addresses both chambers of the Russian Duma. The hasty move to incorporate Ukrainian territory into Russia proper gives rise to the fear that Putin will claim integral Russian land is under threat if and when Ukraine moves to liberate it, justifying the use of nuclear weapons in 'self-defence' The hasty move to incorporate Ukrainian territory into Russia proper gives rise to the fear that Putin will claim integral Russian land is under threat if and when Ukraine moves to liberate it, justifying the use of nuclear weapons according to Russia's nuclear doctrine. And one of Vladimir Putin's attack dogs has been rattling the nuclear sabre once again as he declared that his master was not bluffing in his threats against the West. Dmitri Medvedev, a former Russian president, said in a now customary rant on the Telegram messaging app that Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons 'if the use of conventional weapons threatens the very existence of our state.' 'And it is certainly not a bluff,' he added. Former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev (right, with Putin, left) has reiterated Putin's threats to use nuclear weapons, saying it is 'certainly not a bluff' The latest threat of nuclear annihilation follows on from Putin's bluster during a televised address broadcast last week when he announced a partial mobilisation of Russian men. During the speech, he raised the spectre of a nuclear strike if he deemed the 'territorial integrity' of Russia to be under threat. The Kremlin is clearly fearful of a well-train and battle-hardened Ukrainian army, fresh with modern Western weapons, moving to liberate the stolen territories and sweeping the Russian army out of its homeland. Medvedev was dismissive of Western warnings of 'catastrophic consequences for Russia' if they used nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine and indicated he thought they were bluffs. 'I believe that NATO will not directly intervene in the conflict even in this situation. After all, the security of Washington, London, and Brussels is much more important for the North Atlantic Alliance than the fate of the perishing Ukraine, which no one needs, even if it is abundantly supplied with various weapons,' he wrote. 'Biden and Truss, spraying Atlantic saliva, demand that Russia remove its hand from its ''nuclear button.'' 'Together, they constantly threaten us with ''terrifying'' consequences if Russia uses nuclear weapons. 'And the London aunt [Truss], young in mind, is completely ready to immediately begin an exchange of nuclear strikes with our country.' A hospitalised man casts his ballot into a mobile ballot box as members of an electoral commission visit patients of a hospital The moves to mobilise the Russian population and rush through sham referendums in the occupied regions are seen as desperate ploys by analysts, prompted by public misgivings from Putin's key allies of India, China and Turkey at a summit two weeks ago. The announcement of the partial mobilisation has seen thousands of men called up to fight in the Russian army, along with chaotic scenes of Russians streaming out of the country, protests in the regions and unruly drinking and brawling by fresh conscripts. The referendums follow a familiar Kremlin playbook for territorial expansion and more aggressive military action. In 2014, Russian authorities held a similar referendum on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, under the close watch of Russian troops. Based on the voting, Russia annexed Crimea. Putin cited the defense of Russians living in Ukraine's eastern regions, their supposed desires to join with Russia, and an existential security threat to Russia as a pretext for his February 24 invasion of Ukraine. Putin has been talking up Moscow's nuclear option since Ukrainians launched a counteroffensive that reclaimed territory and has increasingly cornered his forces. A top Putin aide ratcheted up the nuclear rhetoric Tuesday. 'Let's imagine that Russia is forced to use the most powerful weapon against the Ukrainian regime that has committed a large-scale act of aggression, which is dangerous for the very existence of our state,' Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the Russian Security Council that Putin chairs, wrote on his messaging app channel. 'I believe that NATO will steer clear from direct meddling in the conflict.' The United States has dismissed the Kremlin's nuclear talk as a scare tactic. The referendums asked residents whether they want the areas to be incorporated into Russia, and the Kremlin has portrayed them as free and fair, reflective of the people's desire for self-determination. People line up to vote in a referendum in Luhansk, Luhansk People's Republic controlled by Russia-backed separatists, eastern Ukraine, Sept. 24, 2022 Tens of thousands of residents had already fled the regions because of the war, and images shared by those who remained showed armed Russian troops going door-to-door to pressure Ukrainians into voting. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko, who left the port city after the Russians seized it after a months-long siege, said only about 20% of the 100,000 estimated remaining residents cast ballots in the Donetsk referendum. Mariupol's pre-war population was 541,000. 'A man toting an assault rifle comes to your home and asks you to vote, so what can people do?' Boychenko asked during a news conference, explaining how people were coerced into voting. Western allies sided firmly with Ukraine, dismissing the referendum votes as a meaningless sham. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the ballots were 'a desperate move' by Putin. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said while visiting Kyiv on Tuesday that France was determined 'to support Ukraine and its sovereignty and territorial integrity' and described the ballots as 'mock referendums.' Elsewhere, trouble emerged for Putin in the mass call-up he ordered of Russians to active military duty. The order has triggered an exodus of nearly 200,000 men from Russia, fueled anti-war protests and sparked violence. On Monday, a gunman opened fire in an enlistment office in a Siberian city and gravely wounded the local chief military recruitment officer. Scattered arson attacks had been reported earlier on other enlistment offices. One destination of fleeing Russian men is Kazakhstan, which reported Tuesday that about 98,000 Russians have crossed into Kazakhstan over the past week. The European Union's border and coast guard agency says 66,000 Russian citizens entered the 27-nation bloc from Sept. 19 to 25, a 30 per cent increase over the preceding week. Russian officials tried to intercept some of the fleeing reservists on one of the main exodus routes, issuing conscription notices on the Georgian border. According to the state-run Tass agency, an enlistment task force was handing out notices at the Verkhnii Lars checkpoint, where an estimated 5,500 cars were lining up to cross. Independent Russian news sources have reported unconfirmed claims that draft-age men will be banned from leaving after the referendum. As Moscow worked to build up its troops in Ukraine, potentially sending them to supplement its proxies who have been fighting in the separatist regions for the past eight years, Russian shelling continued to claim lives. Russian barrages killed at least 11 civilians and wounded 18 in 24 hours, Ukraine's presidential office said Tuesday. In other developments, Ukrainian authorities reported more success in their counteroffensive to reclaim territory in some of the very regions where Russia is staging the referendums to consolidate its grip. Ukrainian troops claimed to continue their push beyond the Oskil River in the country's east, pressing further into the Donbas. A video on social media Tuesday showed Ukrainian soldiers entering the village of Koroviy Yar, 15 kilometers from the river. Ukraine's military intelligence said that the country's forces continued to force Russian troops out of the northeastern Kharkiv region and claimed to recapture the major railway junction of Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi. The war's human toll was also reflected in a U.N. human rights monitoring mission's first comprehensive look at violations and abuses Russia and Ukraine committed between Feb. 1 and July 31, the first five months of Russia's invasion. Matilda Bogner, the mission's chief, said Ukrainian prisoners of war appeared to have faced 'systematic' mistreatment, 'not only upon their capture, but also following their transfer to places of internment' in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine and Russia itself. The war has brought an energy crunch for much of Western Europe, with German officials seeing the disruption of Russian supplies as a Kremlin power play to pressure Europe over its support for Ukraine. The danger to energy supplies grew when seismologists reported Tuesday that explosions rattled the Baltic Sea before unusual leaks were discovered on two underwater natural gas pipelines running from Russia to Germany. Some European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage during an energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. The three leaks were reported on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which are filled with natural gas but not delivering the fuel to Europe. The damage means that the pipelines are unlikely to be able to carry any gas to Europe this winter even if the political will to bring them online emerged, analysts at the Eurasia Group said. Williamson was found in the couple's basement overdosing on heroin with self-inflicted wounds Their son, Hunter, was found beaten and tied up in a closet as it is believed he tried to fight off Williamson when his father was attacked Matthews' on-off girlfriend Nichole Guertin, 35, managed to escape the house despite being bound, gagged and stabbed multiple times Neighbors report that Williamson visited the house up to four times a week as police say there are no signs of breaking and entering Arthur Williamson, 55, has been charged with the murder of Jim Matthews after attacking him in his own home in Michigan The man charged with killing Michigan overnight news anchor Jim Matthews, 57, visited the victim's girlfriend up to four times a week while the newscaster slept after his night shifts, neighbors say. Arthur Williamson, 55, was charged with the murder of Matthews after he allegedly beat him to death on Friday before stabbing Matthews' girlfriend and injuring his son, 10, and daughter, 5. Williamson, who was revived with narcan after being found overdosing on heroin in the home's basement after the attacks, has been hit with seven felony charges, including first-degree murder, felony murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder and three counts of unlawful imprisonment. He is currently held without bond. State records indicate Williamson had a lengthy criminal history dating back 30 years with convictions on charges of kidnapping and assault among others. While the relationship between Williamson and Matthews, who worked for WWJ NewsRadio 950, remains unclear, neighbors said the man is known to visit the household up to four times a week while Matthews slept after returning from his overnight shifts. News anchor Jim Matthews, 57, was killed at his home in Michigan, and his 'on-off' girlfriend Nichole Guertin was stabbed multiple times in the incident According to the Michigan Department of Corrections, Williamson has at least eight previous convictions including kidnapping and assault with intent to commit murder The couples two children, Hunter, 10, (left) and Rosie, 5 (right), were hospitalized following the murder of their father - Hunter is thought to have tried to stop his dad from being attacked Police discovered Williamson overdosing on heroin and suffering from self-inflicted wounds in the basement of the family home after the attack Matthews, who also went by Nicolai, was reportedly found in a scene worse than 'a horror movie' by his brother Joe Nicolai Chesterfield Township Police believe Williamson arrived at the house on Friday 'sometime in the middle of the night' before he ambushed Matthews when he arrived home around 6.30am. Matthews died of blunt force trauma to the head. Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido called it a 'hammer attack,' but said there were no signs of breaking and entering and said Williamson was not an 'unwanted guest.' Matthews' 'on-off girlfriend' and the mother of his children Nichole Guertin, 35, had managed to escape the property despite being stabbed multiple times as well as gagged and bound. She fled with their five-year-old daughter, Rosie, who was not seriously injured, and managed to flag down a car after collapsing in a nearby parking lot. Their son Hunter, 10, was beaten, hit with a hammer and bound before being thrown into a closet after the incident. He was rushed to hospital in a critical condition and had to undergo brain and ear surgery after bravely trying to fight his father's killer. A GoFundMe page confirmed that Hunter underwent successful surgery on his neck and can now move both sides of his body. 'They have been through so much and I feel like the least I can do is create something that helps them adapt to what comes after this tragedy,' wrote the children's aunt, Ashley Quigley. Nicole is in stable condition but is being held for observation, Chesterfield Police Chief Brian Bassett said. Police discovered Williamson overdosing on heroin and suffering from self-inflicted wounds in the basement of the family home. The 55-year-old was resuscitated by officials before being rushed to hospital and was then taken into police custody at Macomb County Jail. Pammy Healy, the children's aunt, told DailyMail.com: 'It's someone that Nicole knew. I know that he knew Nicole pretty well. 'It's really disturbing.' She said the family were in shock and were trying to get ready for when the children returned home. Their son Hunter was discovered by officers stuffed into a closet after being hit with a hammer when he tried to pull his father's attacker off him Family members say that the alleged killer was known to the family and knew Matthews girlfriend 'very well' The victim's brother is worried his girlfriend, Nicole, pictured, was manipulated by Williamson and called the woman 'very naive' Matthews, who also went by Nicolai, was reportedly found in a scene worse than 'a horror movie' by his brother Joe Nicolai, who lives next door and 'dropped everything' when he heard of the attack. 'Its not even something youd see in a horror movie,' Nicolai told news station WXYZ. 'Nicole, my brothers girlfriend, was laying out in the parking lot and was duck-taped and bleeding so my wife went out to hold her hand,' he said. The victim's brother is worried his girlfriend, Nicole, was manipulated by Williamson and called the woman 'very naive and said she 'wouldn't hurt a fly, always means well.' The neighborhood was put on lockdown Friday as well as the school across the street where Matthews' children attend, Nicolai said. 'He loved taking care of his kids, he loved being on the radio,' Nicolai said of his brother. 'He used to play radio when he was a kid. He would play DJ, that was his passion. he was a really amazing person.' When quizzed on the motive behind the attack, Nicolai said 'there is no motive, I dont know why he was in the house. I talked to the lead investigator, and my brother probably came home to this.' Nicolai said Matthews' son tried to fight his alleged killer before being beaten and bound: 'I believe that Hunter the 10-year-old was trying to fight off this man that was attacking and trying to kill his father.' Unfortunately, he said 'Hunter has sustained many wounds to his face and head and may be scarred.' Colleagues of the news anchor were forced to report on the death of the late journalist, who spent nearly seven years as the radio station's overnight news anchor. Journalist Jackie Page reported the breaking incident to thousands of listeners, saying: 'It's very difficult to report. Our overnight news anchor Jim Matthews was killed this afternoon in Chesterfield Township.' Anti-war protesters in Russia placed a message about Vladimir Putin's shameful war on the grave of his parents in St Petersburg. It read: 'Dear parents! Your son is behaving disgracefully! 'He skips history lessons, fights with classmates, threatens to blow up the whole school. Take action!' The stunt was from Russian art activists known as The Party of the Dead. A young Vladimir Putin (right) pictured with his father Vladimir Putin and mother Maria Putina in St Petersburg Russian art activists group The Party of the Dead left a note on the graves of Putin's parents saying: 'Dear parents! Your son is behaving disgracefully! 'He skips history lessons, fights with classmates, threatens to blow up the whole school. Take action!' On their social media they announced: 'This morning an unidentified group of persons approached the parents of one boy demanding that they take educational measures against their son. 'The message was left at the Serafimov cemetery in St. Petersburg.' The group expressed the hope that the dead parents would 'take him to themselves someday'. The message was left at the Serafimov cemetery in St. Petersburg, according to the group's social media In an interview with Media.az in June 2022, activist Maxim Evstropov said: 'The Party opposes the exploitation of the dead, [and is] against attempts by the living [people] to appropriate their votes. 'Now we are focused on anti-war actions. 'What is happening in Ukraine now is an absolutely senseless massacre. On the group's social media they announced: 'This morning an unidentified group of persons approached the parents of one boy demanding that they take educational measures against their son.' Pictured: Vladimir Putin, the Russian President's father, and Maria Putina, his mother 'To justify all this, the supporters of [Putin's] so-called 'special operation' again shamelessly use the dead - referring to the Second World War, which for some reason they are eager to repeat. 'At the same time, the Russian invaders . bomb cemeteries like Babi Yar in Kyiv, and the bodies of their soldiers are simply left to rot in the fields' The message on the tomb of Putin's parents comes as mobilisation has triggered an upsurge in protests over the war in Ukraine. Popular Front of India (PFI) member being produced before court after a nationwide raid spearheaded by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), in Kochi (PTI Photo) Kochi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has claimed that the documents seized during the nation-wide raids conducted at offices of Popular Front of India (PFI) and its leaders contain highly incriminating materials targeting prominent leaders of a particular community. In a remand report submitted before the NIA special court here seeking custody of 10 people in connection with a case registered here, the agency also alleged that the radical Islamist outfit encouraged youth to join terrorist groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The report, which was submitted on September 22, also claims that the outfit also conspired to establish Islamic rule in India by committing terrorist act as a part of violent jihad. It said the PFI spreads "dis-affection against India by wrongful interpretation of government policies to the particular section of people" to create hatred against the state and its machineries. "During the investigation, based on materials collected, it has been disclosed that the accused named in the FIR were actively involved in the organised crimes and unlawful activities repeatedly, to terrorise other religious sections of the society, besides creating fear in the mind of general public based on the larger conspiracy hatched among themselves and others," the report said. In near simultaneous raids across the country, a multi-agency operation spearheaded by the NIA on September 22 led to the arrest of 106 activists of the Popular Front of India in 11 States for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country. "The seized documents also contain highly incriminating materials related to targeting of prominent leaders of a particular community. The Hit List seized clearly shows that the PFI, which is working through its leaders, members and associated have gone far ahead in creating atrocities among the community," the report said. It said with an intention to disrupt public tranquility and propagating alternative justice delivery system, "the PFI encouraged youths to join terrorist organisation" including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Islamic State of iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Al-Qaida and "also conspired to establish Islamic rule in India by committing terrorist act" as a part of violent jihad. "The case involves key players of the society and they are highly influential even to the effect of stalling the community and its progress by a mere call. The common man stands threatened by the stand taken by the accused and their henchmen," the report added. The agency said the devices confiscated from the accused and from the offices of the PFI needed to be analysed at CDAC in Thiruvananthapuram. The probe agency had produced 10 accused before the court and sought custody of them to "unearth larger conspiracy hatched by the accused/cadres and office bearers/leaders of PFI". It said the Ministry of Home Affairs had on September 16 directed it to probe the matter following which a case was registered on September 29 under various section of the IPC and the UAPA. The NIA court had remanded the accused to judicial custody. The maximum number of arrests were made in Kerala (22) followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka (20 each), Tamil Nadu (10), Assam (9), Uttar Pradesh (8), Andhra Pradesh (5), Madhya Pradesh (4), Puducherry and Delhi (3 each) and Rajasthan (2). Rachel Dolezal, who was famously embroiled in a race controversy for posing as a black woman years ago, has been posting steamy photos of herself on her OnlyFans page showing off Rihanna's popular lingerie line. Screenshots of some of the photos circulated on social media Monday. A representative for the ex-Spokane, Washington's NAACP president, 44, told TMZ that Dolezal was gifted the coveted Savage X Fenty merchandise and wanted to show it off to her subscribers. Dolezal's page was launched in September 2021 and was reportedly going to feature 'foot photos,' hair tutorials, and fitness routines. But now the account - which costs $9.99 a month - is dedicated to 'creative content' where she can interact with her fans, according to her bio. It's also a place where subscribers get to 'see how my sensual side pairs with my creative spirit through intimate images inspired by color, light, and lingerie on the weekends.' Rachel Dolezal, 44, posted steamy photos of herself on her OnlyFans page showing off Rihanna's popular lingerie line Dolezal, who was famously embroiled in a race controversy for posing as a black woman years ago, has been modeling the lingerie on her page as far back as January 2022 Dolezal's page has 444 posts, which can be found under tabs labeled as feet, fitness, news commentary, Savage X Fenty modeling, art, beauty tips and staying healthy. Dolezal has been modeling the popular lingerie on her page as far back as January 2022, according to her posts. OnlyFans has become famous as a space for celebrities to interact with people on a personal level, as well as a place where sex workers can post and get paid in a relatively safe manner. In addition to her OnlyFans account, Dolezal has previously sold homemade lollipops, Melanin Spectrum dolls and a $1,000 sculpture of an electric chair. Dolezal said last year that side hustles are the only way she can earn a living, since she's been unable to get a job due to the scandal surrounding her fake race. Dolezal had pretended to be black for more than 10 years until her ruse was revealed in 2015. She faced backlash from many, but found a fan in Rihanna who said she was a bit of a hero for sparking the national debate on race. Rihanna praised Dolezal in an interview for Vanity Fair, saying she changed peoples perspective. Rihanna poses in her Savage X Fenty line. Dolezal wore the latest batch of the popular brand on her OnlyFans account Rihanna (left) called race faker Rachel Dolezal (right) 'a bit of a hero' for sparking a national debate on race after it was revealed the former NAACP leader is actually a white woman In an interview for Vanity Fair's November issue, in which she graces the cover (pictured), Rihanna said: I think she was a bit of a hero, because she kind of flipped on society a little bit I think she was a bit of a hero, because she kind of flipped on society a little bit, she said. Is it such a horrible thing that she pretended to be black? Black is a great thing. She explained: I think she legit changed peoples perspective a bit and woke people up. Because of the scandal, Dolezal was forced to resign from a leadership position at her local Spokane chapter of the NAACP and was fired from her job as an adjunct professor of Africana Studies at Eastern Washington University. Last year, Dolezal appeared in a new documentary about black beauty, in which she claims people who criticize her are 'white supremacy folks' and blames her black ex-husband for 'repressing' her. Dolezal (pictured) was forced to resign from her position with NAACP in Spokane, Washington, after her parents told a local paper she is Caucasian Titled 'Subjects of Desire' and directed by Jennifer Holness', the documentary debuted at SXSW in March, and featured Dolezal saying she had been a victim of 'shaming and ridicule' due to the scandal. 'I've been called an insult to white women and an insult to black women. White women are angry because I did what they never would do and went further, like I put 110,' she said, according to Daily Beast. 'I didn't just be that white ally and do a little bit, I canceled my white privilege. I canceled my hair.' Dolezal also appeared to indicate that she received criticism from black women because her scandal was 'like a trigger to post-traumatic stress,' though her comments were not entirely clear. These seven dancing ladies are fortunate to have only escaped with only minor scrapes after they fell into a pit in the backyard of a home in the northeastern Brazilian city of Alagoinhas. Footage of the frightening accident shows the women forming a small circle with their arms wrapped around each other as they danced to a song at a birthday party on Saturday. The concrete pavement suddenly cracked and sent them crashing into a hole. Gabriela Carvalho, 38, told Brazilian news outlet G1 that they felt the ground shake at her grandmother's home, but didn't pay it too much attention as they continued to dance. Still image from a video taken at a Brazilian birthday party Saturday shows that the cement pavement started to crack moments before the seven dancing women plummeted into a hole. They were all able to climb out of the put, although they were covered in debris The seven dancers pose for a photo after falling into a pit at a home in Alagoinhas, Brazil, on Saturday. The group was dancing during a birthday party celebration when the ground suddenly cracked and sent them falling into a hole 'Then when we really fell for good, that's when I realized the seriousness of the situation,' she said. Carvalho felt for a quick second that they were going to drop further into the pit. 'It was horrible. I thought we weren't going to come back,' she said. 'We really dived. I even thought that it was going to stop at another place as we went down.' A separate video showed several male attendees at the party reaching to help the victims crawl out of the pit. One of the women who had fallen into the hole can be seen covered in debris and helping one of her dancing partners climb out. The frightening moment of seven women falling into a pit in the middle of a birthday party in Brazil is captured on video A women covered in debris helps one of her fellow dancers climb out of the pit while several men reach into the hole to help the rest of the group A woman tries to stop one of her fellow dancers from falling into the pit before she crashed into it as well. None of the women were injured Carvalho's 15-year-old daughter Laura Oliveira was standing near her and recorded the scary fall. She shared the video on one of her social media accounts without knowing that it would go viral. 'I actually posted it because something much worse could have happened,' Oliveira said. The accident didn't dampen their mood as the dancers, cleaned up, changed clothes and gathered for a group photo and continued the party. Carvalho' s grandmother is already working on covering up the cracked pavement to make sure the area will be safe enough for the celebration of another party in October. A Los Angeles homeowner who is housing an uninvited homeless man on her porch is concerned for her safety after the police have 'done nothing' to remove him. Shacola Thompson, a resident of Van Nuys, said the homeless man has nestled up on her patio furniture about ten times this month. Thompson first noticed unusual activity outside her home when she found graffiti on her porch near Hazeltine Avenue and Sherman Way. She was able to take a peek at her front door camera and saw the unidentified man lounging on her outdoor couch. 'He came to my house yesterday morning and tried to break in,' Thompson told ABC 7. 'I'm concerned about my safety.' 'He could come in,' she later added. 'He could harm me. He could bogart his way into my house. It's not fair.' Footage from Thompson's front door captured several times the police arrived to confront the man. 'He told police yesterday that he lives here, and he does not live here,' Thompson explained. 'I just feel like they're not taking this serious,' Thompson said. 'They're not taking my safety seriously. I live here. I'm alone.' The Los Angeles Police Department told DailyMail.com the homeless man was questioned and released. An uninvited homeless man is continuously showing up to a woman's Van Nuys home to sleep despite her pleas to police to intervene Shacola Thompson, a resident of Van Nuys, said the homeless man has nestled up on her patio furniture about ten times this month Thomas first spotted the man on her porch when she was leaving for work at 8am earlier this month The man has become a regular dweller at Thompson's home and has refused to leave He leaves behind his trash as he comes and goes Thompson first noticed the man standing on her porch when she was leaving for work one day around 8am. She pleaded with the police to help her and refused she knew the man that keeps showing up at her front door. 'Do you know this individual,' an officer previously asked Thompson through the camera. 'I do not know him. I do not know this individual. He's been poking around here. This is the second time I have to call log him. He tagged my wall.' In one of the videos, the man is seen being approached by police and then placed into handcuffs. 'Stand up, let's go,' an officer can be heard telling the man as he sits on the patio furniture with trash beside him. It is unclear if the man has returned since. In one of the videos, the man is seen being approached by police. Startled he proceeded to get up at an officer's demand Thompson's fear of the homeless man stems from what he is potentially capable of doing. Earlier this year, surveillance footage captured the moment a homeless man in Los Angeles forced a young woman into a residential garage where he 'nearly raped her' before she was able to escape. Just 20 minutes later, the suspect tried to force his way into another woman's apartment but fled when she screamed, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. In the first incident, surveillance footage, first obtained by ABC 7, captured the man gripping the woman by her arm as they walked through the West Hollywood neighborhood, where homes sell for an average of $1.5million each. He then pulled her inside the garage of a stranger's home at the 800 block of North Vista Street near Melrose Avenue around 12.30 pm. Moments later, the woman is seen racing out of the garage to her freedom. She then ran to get help. The unidentified man can then be seen walking back out of the garage. A man was shot dead when his friend accidentally opened fire with a submachine gun as they prepared to go on a 'ride-out' attack, a court has heard. Mohamed Muhyidin, 28, was found in a ditch near Heathrow Airport with a single gunshot wound to the back on the morning of October 31 last year around an hour after he was allegedly killed by Chiragh Amir Chiragh, 39. Prosecutors say they were about to embark on a 'ride-out' in a Toyota Prius to attack unknown targets when Chiragh shot his friend in the back with an Agram 2002 submachine gun fitted with a silencer. The victim was sitting in the front passenger seat when the gunman got into the back of the car, shooting Muhyidin seconds later before getting out of the vehicle and firing the gun into the ground, Isleworth Crown Court heard. Jurors were told Chiragh told police he had been asked to transport the gun, which went off when he put it on the back seat. Mohamed Muhyidin, 28, was found in a ditch near Heathrow Airport with a single gunshot wound to the back But prosecutor Anthony Orchard QC said Chiragh was 'lying' about delivering the gun, which could take a total of 29 bullets, and was 'readied and primed for use in an attack'. He said Chiragh and Muhyidin, who was from Southall, west London, along with Mohammed Shakeel, 28, and Bilal Ahmed, 43, 'were intent on going on a "ride-out" that night'. 'They had with them the loaded submachine gun and Shakeel's imitation revolver,' he said. 'We suggest they were intent on using the submachine gun to endanger life.' Mr Orchard added: 'The attackers were to be Chiragh, Muhyidin and Ahmed, as driver. 'The armed Shakeel played a role in assisting them by helping to organise the attack.' Jurors were told Chiragh Amir Chiragh, 39, told police he had been asked to transport the gun, which went off when he put it on the back seat. Pictured, Isleworth Crown Court Chiragh, from Kenton, north-west London, Shakeel, from Barking, east London, and Ahmed, from Hounslow, west London, deny manslaughter, possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and an alternative count of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Ahmed and Mustafa Malik, 66, from Harlington, west London, deny possession of the silencer, and, along with Shakeel and James Connors, 45, from Hammersmith, west London, further deny conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. They are jointly alleged to have moved Muhyidin's body, moved the gun and silencer and destroyed the Toyota by fire, while Ahmed is said to have falsely reported the robbery of the car to an insurance company. Chiragh has pleaded guilty to the charge, as well as to charges of possessing the submachine gun and silencer, while Shakeel has admitted possessing an imitation handgun. Connors denies a further count of driving while disqualified. Thames Water's hosepipe ban, which impacts 10 million people in London and the south east of England, is expected to remain in force until next year. The ban, affecting the whole of the Thames Valley, came into effect on 24 August and those in breach of it could be fined 1,000. Despite September rain across the country, the company said any rainfall in September had not made up for '10 months of dry and record heat'. The hosepipe ban affecting the whole of the Thames Valley came into affect on 24 August and those in breach of it could be fined 1,000 Water companies introduced temporary bans across England and Wales after temperatures soared to a record high of 104F over the summer. Ten of the twelve months to August experienced below average rainfall, the driest July since 1885 and the driest August since 2003. Thames Water's water demand manager, Andrew Tucker, told the BBC there is no date for lifting the ban as of yet. Thames Water's hosepipe ban, which impacts 10 million people in the south east of England, is expected to remain in force until next year He confirmed it is unlikely it will be lifted until the new year, saying that the UK is still recovering from the 'really tough year Mother nature threw at us'. 'We've had a little bit in September and we can see the grass is now greening up, but an average September doesn't make up for 10 months of dry and record heat,' he said. Most of England and Wales is still declared to be in drought by the National Environment Agency. 'We've got to make sure that we've got enough water going forward for everyone in the longer term,' Mr Tucker added. A spokesperson for Thames Water said on the ongoing ban: 'We want to thank our customers for helping us to save water since we introduced the Temporary Use Ban last month. 'However despite recent rain and our ongoing hosepipe ban there's still much less water in our rivers than usual. Parliament Square in August. Ten of the twelve months to August experienced below average rainfall, the driest July since 1885 and the driest August since 2003 'This year has been one of the driest on record, with ten of the last twelve months experiencing below average rainfall. 'Our reservoir levels continue to remain below average and a lot more rain will need to fall to get our water levels back to normal. 'Our hosepipe ban is still in place to make sure there's enough water to go around.' They added that the length of the ban will depend on the weather in the coming months. 'We've had nearly a year's worth of below average rainfall and our rivers and groundwater needs a lot of re-refilling. 'We need our autumn and winter months to give above average rainfall, so that our water reserves can get back to normal levels, ready for spring and summer next year.' Dry grass at Blackheath in South East London in August. Most of England and Wales is still declared to be in drought by the National Environment Agency In an earlier statement, Thames Water said the heatwave resulted in the highest demand for water in the past 25 years. When seeking permission to implement the hosepipe ban initially, Thames Water was forced to admit that it loses 635 million litres of water per day due to leaks. Temporary Use Bans (TUBs) are still in place across the country, with water companies such as Southern Water - which covers Hampshire and the Isle of Wight - and Yorkshire Water keeping restrictions in place. A US Navy nuclear engineer and his wife face life behind bars after entering new guilty pleas in a case involving an alleged plot to sell secrets about nuclear-powered warships to Brazil. Jonathan and Diana Toebbe of Annapolis, Maryland, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia, to one felony count each of conspiracy to communicate restricted data. The couple were first arrested in October 2021, after trying to sell submarine secrets to Brazil, a plan reportedly motivated in part by Diana Toebbe's outrage over Donald Trump's election as US president. After Brazilian officials alerted the FBI, an elaborate sting operation snared the couple leaving military secrets at dead-drops, including one where a digital memory card was hidden in a peanut butter sandwich. The new guilty pleas came a month after US District Judge Gina Groh rejected the couple's initial pleas to the same charges, saying the sentencing options were 'strikingly deficient' considering the seriousness of the case. The previous sentencing range in the initial plea deals had called for Jonathan to face a potential punishment between roughly 12 years and 17 years in prison, while Diana had faced up to three years. Jonathan and Diana Toebbe of Annapolis, Maryland, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court to one felony count each of conspiracy to communicate restricted data Jonathan Toebbe was a nuclear engineer for the US Navy dealing with nuclear submarine propulsion systems when he tried to sell Navy secrets. Pictured: Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS New Mexico Under the latest plea agreement entered Tuesday before US Magistrate Judge Robert Trumble, the couple would each face a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $100,000 fine, although prosecutors are asking for a sentence for Diana Toebbe at the lowest end of the guideline range. Prosecutors said that such a sentence would still be one of the most significant imposed in modern times under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. If the court doesn't accept the latest agreement, the defendants would again have the right to withdraw their guilty pleas and go to trial. Prosecutors said Jonathan Toebbe, 43, abused his access to top-secret government information and repeatedly sold details about the design elements and performance characteristics of Virginia-class submarines to someone he believed was a representative of a foreign government, but who was actually an undercover FBI agent. Though court filings do not name the foreign government, the New York Times identified it as Brazil, citing a senior Brazilian official and others briefed on the investigation. Diana Toebbe, 46, who was teaching at a private school in Maryland at the time of the couple's arrest last October, was accused of acting as a lookout at several prearranged 'dead-drop' locations at which memory cards containing the secret information were left behind. The memory cards were devices concealed in objects such as a chewing gum wrapper and a peanut butter sandwich. Diana Toebbe, 46, who was teaching at a private school in Maryland at the time of the couple's arrest last October, was accused of acting as a lookout at several prearranged 'dead-drops' A sketch of Jonathan and Diana Toebbe's first court appearance in West Virginia in October 2021 The couple was arrested after he placed a memory card at a dead drop location in Jefferson County, West Virginia. None of the information was classified as top secret or secret, falling into a third category considered confidential, according to previous testimony. The FBI has said the scheme began in April 2020, when Jonathan Toebbe sent a package of Navy documents to a foreign government and wrote that he was interested in selling to that country operations manuals, performance reports and other sensitive information. He included in the package, which had a Pittsburgh return address, instructions to his supposed contact for how to establish a covert relationship with him, prosecutors said. That package was obtained by the FBI in December 2020 through its legal attache office in the unspecified foreign country. That set off a monthslong undercover operation in which an agent posing as a representative of a foreign country made contact with Jonathan, ultimately paying $100,000 in cryptocurrency in exchange for the information he was offering. According to an indictment, federal agents watched as the Toebbes arrived at an agreed-upon location in West Virginia for the exchange, with Diana Toebbe appearing to serve as a lookout for her husband during a dead-drop operation for which the FBI paid $20,000, according to the complaint. The FBI recovered a blue memory card wrapped in plastic and placed between two slices of bread on a peanut butter sandwich, court documents said. Jonathan also hid encrypted memory cards in a chewing gum packet and Band-Aid wrapper at different drop-off locations. The FBI provided the contents of the memory card to a Navy subject matter expert who determined that the records included design elements and performance characteristics of Virginia-class submarine reactors, the Justice Department said. Written communications between Jonathan and an undercover FBI agent posing as a foreign spy show that the engineer had collected the classified military information over several years Prosecutors said the government has recovered classified information that Jonathan Toebbe had saved on electronic devices along with a 'substantial amount' of the cryptocurrency. During a search of the couple's home, FBI agents 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, according to court testimony last year. Diana Toebbe's lawyers at a December 2021 hearing denied prosecution assertions that cited 2019 messages exchanged by the couple in which she had contemplated fleeing the United States to avoid arrest. Instead, the defense said it was contempt for then-President Donald Trump as the reason behind the couples emigration plans. Only six countries currently operate nuclear-powered submarines China, France, India, Russia, the UK and the US. The US and UK are set to provide Australia with the technology to deploy nuclear-powered submarines, as part of the first initiative under the new trilateral security partnership AUKUS. More than 75 people have died in Iran over 11 nights of violent unrest sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, a human rights group has said. Western nations have piled pressure on the Islamic republic to end the violence. The semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday that 'around 60' people had been killed - up from 41 on Saturday. Demonstrators took to the streets again on Monday night, as they have every night since Amini's death in custody on September 16 after she was arrested for breaching the country's strict dress code. Tehran crowds have shouted 'death to the dictator', calling for the end of the more than three-decade rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 83. Women burn their headscarves in Kurdish-controlled north-east Syria. Protests have spread across the Middle East and the West since the death of Masha Amini Amini died in custody after not observing Iran's ultra-conservative dress code, causing outrage across the country and beyond Video shot from several floors above street level, purportedly in the city of Tabriz, showed people protesting to the sound of tear gas canisters being fired by security forces. IHR said at least 76 people have been killed in the crackdown that has seen sweeping restrictions imposed on the internet, including blocks on Instagram and WhatsApp. Officials said Monday they had made more than 1,200 arrests. Those taken into custody have included activists, lawyers and journalists as well as protesters. In Semnan province, east of Tehran, 26 women were among 155 people arrested, Iran's Fars news agency reported. In Gilan province, a hotspot of protests on the Caspian Sea coast, the intelligence arm of the Revolutionary Guards detained 12 people, the Tasnim news agency said Tuesday. Health Minister Bahram Einollahi, quoted by the official news agency IRNA, accused the protesters of destroying 72 ambulances. Activists based abroad say the authorities have been using ambulances to transport security forces. Women have been cutting their hair in protest to the Iranian government following Amini's death The death of Masha Amini, 22, has sparked worldwide protests - but the Iranian government has vowed not to back down Images show women climbing on top of cars and tearing off their hijabs in defiance of the regime, with police nowhere to be seen IRNA said on Tuesday that 10 law enforcement officers have been killed by 'rioters' in recent days. In Sanandaj, the capital of Amini's western home province of Kurdistan, women climbed onto the roofs of cars to tear off their headscarves in front of cheering crowds, images published by Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) showed, with police nowhere to be seen. The crackdown on the women-led protests has drawn condemnation from around the world. On Tuesday, US think-tank Freedom House joined the chorus, calling for 'other governments to stand with these courageous protesters and hold Iranian officials to account for their abuses'. Tensions with Western powers grew as France on Monday issued its 'strongest condemnation' over the 'violent repression' by security forces. Germany also summoned its Iranian ambassador while Canada announced sanctions against the regime . A day earlier, the European Union condemned the crackdown and Tehran said it had called in British and Norwegian envoys. 'We call on the international community to decisively and unitedly take practical steps to stop the killing and torture of protesters,' said IHR's director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. Video footage and death certificates obtained by IHR showed that 'live ammunition is being directly fired at protesters', he charged. Riot police have beaten protesters with truncheons in running street battles, and students have torn down large pictures of the supreme leader and his late predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in recent video footage published by AFP. At least 20 journalists have been arrested, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The Iranian judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, has stressed 'the need for decisive action without leniency' against the protest instigators. But a powerful Shiite cleric long aligned with the country's ultra-conservative establishment has urged authorities to take a softer line. 'The leaders must listen to the demands of the people, resolve their problems and show sensitivity to their rights,' said Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani. Western condemnation of the bloody crackdown has clouded diplomatic efforts to revive a nuclear deal between Iran and major powers that was abandoned by then US president Donald Trump in 2018. The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who has led those efforts, on Sunday slammed Iran for its 'widespread and disproportionate use of force against non-violent protesters'. The United States last week imposed sanctions against the Iranian morality police, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday his own country would follow suit with a sanctions package 'on dozens of individuals and entities'. His other son, Khalid bin Salman, has risen from deputy to the defence minister Controversial Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been promoted to be the country's Prime Minister by his father King Salman. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, known as MBS, has become the kingdom's prime minister, a royal decree said on Tuesday. Saudi King Salman ordered the cabinet reshuffle, giving his son the post which has traditionally held by the king. MBS, who has been the kingdom's de facto ruler for several years, was previously serving as deputy prime minister under King Salman as well as defence minister. He is being replaced as defence minister by his younger brother, Khalid bin Salman, who was previously deputy defence minister. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman remained Saudi Arabia's energy minister under a new cabinet headed by the kingdom's crown prince and de facto ruler Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaanand and the investment minister Khalid al-Falih kept their positions in the new cabinet. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has become the kingdom's prime minister. Pictured on August 20, 2022 The Crown Prince has been appointed prime minister by his father, a post traditionally held by the king (pictured) Prince Mohammed, who turned 37 last month, has been first in line to succeed his father as king since 2017. He became defence minister in 2015, a key step in a swift consolidation of power that saw him take the lead on major portfolios. Saudi Arabia has for years sought to quell speculation over the health of 86-year-old King Salman, who has ruled the world's top oil exporter since 2015. In 2017, it dismissed reports and mounting speculation that the king was planning to abdicate in favour of Prince Mohammed. King Salman has been hospitalised twice so far this year, most recently a one-week stay in May that involved tests including a colonoscopy, according to state media reports. The reshuffle follows an agreement made on Sunday by the United Arab Emirates to supply natural gas and diesel to Germany as part of an 'energy security' deal to replace Russian supplies. Emirati industry minister Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber called it a 'landmark new agreement' that 'reinforces the rapidly growing energy partnership between the UAE and Germany', at a signing attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the UAE's state news agency WAM reported. Scholz signed the deal while on a Gulf tour that took him to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar hunting for new energy sources. He met with Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who said on Twitter they had discussed 'cooperation in areas including energy security, emissions reduction and climate action'. The German leader said he 'welcomed' the 'energy security' agreement, WAM said. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on September 24, 2022 Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents, including members of the MBS inner circle, at the country's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey Human rights groups criticised the meeting because of Prince Mohammed's alleged involvement in the killing of Saudi Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Scholz told reporters after the meeting that he had discussed 'all the questions around civil and human rights' with the prince, but declined to elaborate. Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents, including members of the MBS inner circle, at the country's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, four years ago. At first the Crown Prince denied any knowledge of Mr Khashoggi's fate, claiming 'we have nothing to hide'. He was later forced to deny he had personally ordered the killing of Mr Khashoggi, whose body was dismembered and his remains were never recovered. The Crown Prince eventually blamed a 'rogue operation' by agents acting independently from his regime for the death. In 2019 five Saudi officials were sentenced to death in the Gulf state for participating in Mr Khashoggi's murder. Three others received lengthy prison sentences. They had arrived in Istanbul just days before Mr Khashoggi's death and were aware he was intending to visit the consulate. Earlier this month, MBS was represented at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral by Prince Turki bin Mohammed al Saud, amid backlash at a visit to the UK. A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said Heads of State of nations with which the UK has diplomatic relations may choose to delegate the invitation. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman did not attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral, contrary to Britain's earlier expectations that he would A source said the change had been made by Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported. Human Rights groups criticised the decision to invite the Crown Prince - who has been accused by Western intelligence of ordering the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi - to the funeral. Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of Mr Khashoggi, had also condemned the controversial invitation. She said his presence at Her Majesty's state funeral would 'stain her memory' - a sentiment echoed by activists who say allowing Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler to attend is trying to 'whitewash' his human rights record. The Prince 'approved' the murder and dismemberment of Mr Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018, a declassified CIA report alleged. He vehemently denies the claims and said recently that that the journalist would not be among his top 1,000 targets to kill, 'if that was how we did things'. MBS was one of the more than 500 foreign dignitaries and heads of state invited to mourn Queen Elizabeth II during the service at Westminster Abbey. A cast of controversial statesmen were invited to the affair including Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Hatice Cengiz (right) criticised the Saudi's ruler's invitation to the funeral, arguing he was using a time of mourning to 'seek legitimacy and normalisation.' She is pictured with her fiance Jamal Khashoggi (left) Speaking at the time, Ms Cengiz criticised the Saudi's ruler's invitation to the funeral, arguing he was using a time of mourning to 'seek legitimacy and normalisation.' 'The Queens passing is a truly sad occasion,' she told The Guardian. 'The crown prince should not be allowed to be part of this mourning and not be allowed to stain her memory and use this time mourning to seek legitimacy and normalisation.' Her claims were echoed by advocacy groups across the UK who alleged Her Majesty's death is not the time for 'authoritarian dictators' to try and 'rehabilitate' their image. 'The UK simply should not be welcoming dictators from states renowned for their atrocious human rights records,' Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, said. 'Although the leaders of Russia and Syria have rightly not received invitations to attend the Queens funeral, it sends a clear double standard to then welcome notorious Gulf despots such as King Hamad and Mohammed bin Salman, who continue to preside over appalling violations against those who dare to speak out in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.' Activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, the UK-based director of advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, reiterated his colleagues claims, saying: 'Authoritarian dictators should not use the Queens death as an opportunity to try to rehabilitate their image while they escalate repressive campaigns in their countries.' Similarly, UK-based Campaign Against the Arms Trade slammed Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies for 'using the Queen's funeral as a way to - in their words - "whitewash" their human rights records,' BBC reported. The Biden administration is facing growing pressure to allow a BP ship loaded with diesel fuel lingering off Puerto Rico to dock one week after Hurricane Fiona struck the island. After the storm knocked out hundreds of power lines and left hundreds of thousands of residents without power, a ship carrying 300,000 of much-needed diesel fuel left Texas City and was scheduled to dock at Guayanilla, Puerto Rico on Sunday night. But due to a 100-year-old law known as the Jones Act, the ship has been left idling in the waters off the storm-ravaged island. Despite growing calls from the Governor of Puerto Rico Pedro Pierluisi, advocates and members of Congress, as of Monday afternoon the Biden administration had still not granted the waiver, raising concerns the ship loaded with fuel could give up on the island altogether. Eight lawmakers, led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, wrote an open letter to Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas as early as last week requesting the waiver. Despite growing calls from the Governor of Puerto Rico Pedro Pierluisi, advocates and members of Congress, as of Monday afternoon the Biden administration had still not granted the waiver After the storm knocked out hundreds of power lines and left hundreds of thousands of residents without power, a ship carrying 300,000 of much-needed diesel fuel left Texas City and was scheduled to dock at Guayanilla, Puerto Rico on Sunday night Due to a 100-year-old law known as the Jones Act, the ship has been left idling in the waters off the storm-ravaged island Asked about waiving the act, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House is 'doing everything we can' to support Puerto Rico and is still 'closely evaluating' waivers requests. 'When it comes to the specific situation we're committed to doing everything we can within our legal authority to support Puerto Rico,' she said. 'The Biden administration is closely evaluating any waivers requests that come in including this particular one.' The Jones Act requires all goods shipped between U.S. ports to be carried by ships built and operated by Americans. The law is supported by labor unions and fits in with President Biden's 'Made in America' agenda, but now Puerto Ricans are demanding the Biden administration issue a waiver for the ship, which is flying under the flag of the Marshall Islands. Ports Authority Executive Director Joel Piza Batiz confirmed a request for a waiver to the Jones Act had been submitted to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He added that Puerto Rican officials stood ready to provide any information to DHS needed for the exemption. The ship has not been granted authority to dock in Puerto Rico Men ride their motorcycles through the flooded streets of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico last week A handout satellite image made available by Maxar Technologies shows a submerged bridge in the Rio Grande de Arecibo river after flooding caused by Hurricane Fiona, in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, 21 September 2022. A man rides a horse in a flooded street after the passage of hurricane Fiona, in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, 19 September 2022 As news of the holding ship began to spread, Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., added their voices to the calls for a waiver. '@WhiteHouse must immediately grant this Jones Act waiver and provide much-needed relief to the people of Puerto Rico,' Lee wrote on Twitter. A Biden administration official told the Washington Post that waiving the act requires an interagency process to determine the legality of doing so. For emergency one-off requests like the one for the BP ship, DHS aims to complete the review process in two days. Waivers requests must show that the items being shipped are necessary for national defense and cannot otherwise be obtained in the U.S. The American Maritime Partnership, a coalition that represents U.S.-flagged vessels and unions that benefit from the Jones Act, wrote to Mayorkas on Friday explaining why the act should not be waived in the aftermath of Fiona. The group argued that domestic ships were ready and available to help haul supplies to Puerto Rico and that waiving the Jones Act would support foreign shippers more than Puerto Ricans. Advertisement Cuba has been left in tatters after Hurricane Ian barreled through the area overnight and is now setting its sights on Florida. Telephone poles were ripped from the ground and strewn across the street by the 125pmh winds of the Category 3 storm. Ian was upgraded from a Category 1 to a Category 3 overnight by the National Hurricane Center and hit Cubas North coast in Pinar Del Rio Province on Tuesday morning. The slow-moving storm made landfall just south of Pinar del Rio at 4:30am on Tuesday, two hours after becoming the second major hurricane of 2022. Terrifying footage shows trees being battered by the winds, as rain lashed down and caused flooding. A highly destructive storm surge of 14 feet crashed into the coast of cba with flash-flood damage most severe along the path of the hurricane. The eyewall of Ian missed the capital of Havana, passing around 70 miles west of the city, as Pinar del Rio was hit by the left eyewall. A highly destructive storm surge of 14 feet crashed into the coast of cba with flash-flood damage most severe along the path of the hurricane A vintage car attempted to pass through the debris in the middle of the road, after trees were felled and branches covered the path Cars are seen parked under a bridge in Consolacion del Sur, Cuba, in an attempt to protectthem from the storm Buildings were destroyed, hurricane barriers few from properties and wires from telephone poles were seen laying in the street in the middle of mud and silt in the aftermath of the hurricane. Parents were seen carrying their children to safety in the rain, as well as other locals returning to their homes to check on the damage. Several properties had the rooves blown off while other locals moved their boats from a canal in an attempt to save them. Thousands of residents were evacuated from the areas to save lives, and it is unclear exactly how much damage has been done by the hurricane. Cuba's capital, Havana, was hit hard by the storm with workers unclogging storm drains and fishermen taking their boats out of the water to try to protect themselves from the flooding. A woman points to damage in her roof, above the second story, caused by Hurricane Ian in Pinar del Rio, Cuba Destruction has hit Cuba hard, after authorities carried out evacuations on Monday in an attempt to protect the island from the storm Ian cut power to nearly 1 million people in Cuba, with one resident describing the hurricane as the darkest night of her life A utility pole lies on the street in Consolacion del Sur, Cuba, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian hitting the island A horsecart was left underneath a bridge in Consolacion del Sur, Cuba, next to a homeless man sheltering from the extreme weather Ian cut power to nearly 1 million people in Cuba, with one resident describing the hurricane as the darkest night of her life. Mayelin Suarez, a Pinar del Rio resident who sells ice cream in the provincial capital told Reuters: 'We almost lost the roof off our house. 'My daughter, my husband and I tied it down with a rope to keep it from flying away.' Improvised metal roofs on homes and buildings throughout the region, where housing and infrastructure is antiquated and vulnerable, were scattered about streets and yards following the storm. Palm trees were down along regional highways making travel near impossible at the height of the storm. Ian made landfall in the Pinar del Rio province, where officials set up 55 shelters, evacuated 50,000 people as well as cutting power to the entire province of 850,000 people as a precautionary measure. People are seen on a street in Consolacion del Sur, Cuba, during the passage of the storm - Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba early Tuesday Strong winds are already battering palm tree's at the Antonio Maceo Monument in Havana, Cuba, early on Tuesday morning Telephone poles and other wires were downed by the high winds of Hurricane Ian which is currently heading towards Florida A local in Malecon, Havana, in Cuba, took the time to take a picture of the massive waves that were rocking the shoreline Several properties had the rooves blown off while other locals moved their boats from a canal in an attempt to save them State-run media said farmers had secured 33,000 tonnes of tobacco from prior harvests ahead of the storm, though images on social media showed widespread destruction in many tobacco fields. Felix Hernandez, a 51-year-old night watchman at a liquor factory in the Cuban capital, said it was business as usual in Havana following the storm. Early in the morning, street vendors were peddling avocado, and lines for chicken - an everyday phenomenon in Cuba - already stretched for blocks. He said: 'We are incredibly fortunate Ian did not cross Havana because more than half of the city would have collapsed.' New Delhi: In another major crackdown on the Popular Front of India, police along with other investigative agencies conducted raids across several states on Monday. The raids are underway in Assam, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. In state-wide raids in Karnataka, more than 75 PFI workers of its political wing Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and leaders were taken into preventive custody, informed a police official. "Over 75 PFI and SDPI workers and leaders have been taken into preventive custody, including the SDPI Yadgiri district president. The police raids are underway across the state. The cases have been booked under sections 108, 151 CrPC," said Alok Kumar, ADGP Law and Order, Bengaluru. The police conducted raids in Devanahalli, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapur, Chitradurga, Raichur, Hassan, Bellary, Bagalkot, Koppal and other districts in the state. Alok Kumar ADGP, Bengaluru said that Mohmad Ismail, Raichur District ex-President of the PFI was also arrested and sent to judicial custody. Three PFI leaders were been taken into custody in Mysore while two leaders have been taken into custody in Chamarajanagar. Eight PFI leaders have been taken into custody including the district president in Mangalore. Four people from Hoskote, three from Chickaballapur and nine from Bengaluru rural have been taken into custody. In Uttar Pradesh, the state's ATS and the UP Special Task Force took more than a dozen PFI leaders into custody in raids across the state, informed police sources. Crackdown on the Popular Front of India continued in Maharashtra as the ATS and local police conducted raids in various parts of the state and arrested various persons linked with the organisation. "Raids by ATS and local police are underway on people associated with PFI in many parts of the state," said the ATS. The Thane Police informed that its crime branch has arrested four people associated with PFI. The Nashik Police also arrested two persons liked with the organisation. Both the arrested persons will be produced before the court later today. One of the two persons, identified as Mohammed Irfan who, according to the Nashik Police, was earlier booked for holding an illegal rally in May this year. According to local police, there were inputs against some persons, who are connected to PFI, were involved in illegal activities. Raids are underway in Malegaon town also. Today's raids were in continuation of the crackdown started by the NIA and ED against the PFI on September 22. The NIA had arrested over 106 members of the PFI during its largest-ever raids spread across 15 states. Searches were conducted at multiple locations in the largest ever investigation process till date. The operation started late in the night around 1 am and learnt to be concluded by 5 am involving over 1,500 personnel of state police, Central Armed Police Forces and officers of NIA and ED. Several incriminating documents, more than 100 mobile phones, laptops and other materials have been seized by the raiding teams. These searches were conducted at the residential and official premises of persons involved in "funding terrorism, organising training camps and radicalising people to join proscribed organisations". Police have detained several Popular Front of India leaders in urban and rural areas of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. PFI leaders were taken into custody from Mangaluru, Ullal, Talapady and other areas in DK district. Preventive detention cases have been filed against them under sections 107 and 151 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) against the detained leaders, police sources said. Meanwhile, five PFI leaders were taken into custody by the Udupi district police in raids conducted in their houses. Sources said raids were conducted at Hoode, Gangolli, Byndoor and Adi Udupi. The detained persons are from Byndoor and from Adi Udupi. The police department has been monitoring the activities of the detained leaders for the past six months and they have been taken into custody to prevent any untoward incident, sources added. A 38-year-old Thames Valley Police officer avoided jail after admitting possession of 'extreme pornography'. Craig Finch was found to be in possession of an SD card containing five videos 'which portrayed act of serious injury to a person's anus, breasts or genitals', in an explicit and realistic way, court documents revealed. The videos were 'grossly offensive, disgusting or otherwise of an obscene character' and any 'reasonable person' would believe the person in the image was 'real', the charge added. Craig Finch was told the offence was 'aggravated' by concerns over 'undermining public confidence' in the police, as he was handed a four-month suspended sentence at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. The 38-year-old Thames Valley Police officer was handed a four-month suspended sentence at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court on Tuesday Finch, from Oxfordshire, previously pleaded guilty to one count of possessing extreme pornography at an earlier hearing. He sat in the dock, wearing a white shirt and tie under a dark jacket, with a blank expression as the sentence was handed down. Sentencing, District Judge Arvind Sharma said 'extreme images are not to be equated with the same level of seriousness as children' but possessing them was 'not a victimless crime'. Finch, from Oxfordshire, previously pleaded guilty to one count of possessing extreme pornography at an earlier hearing. Finch sat in the dock, wearing a white shirt and tie under a dark jacket, with a blank expression as the sentence was handed down at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court on Tuesday District Judge Sharma said it was a 'significant aggravating factor' that Finch was a police officer at the time. However, he said he opted for a suspended sentence 'because of your previous good character and, to a limited extent, you have lost your job because of your own doing'. Danny Latham, prosecuting, told the court how police were alerted by the National Crime Agency (NCA) to a number of uploads to the social media platform Kik in April 2021. Officers identified Finch as the suspect on November 21 the same year and arrested him outside his house three days later, the court was told. During a search of his home, police discovered a laptop and bag containing a number of SD cards, including the one containing the five videos, the court heard. Mr Latham told the court how, when interviewed, Finch said he had been sent the videos via WhatsApp and had blocked the sender, who he did not identify, after receiving the final one. The court heard the videos were found among more than 400 other pieces of pornographic material and there was 'a suggestion of a background problem with pornography' in a pre-sentence report. Finch resigned as a police officer before a misconduct hearing which concluded he would have been fired, the court heard. The court was told he has since sought work in a warehouse. In addition to a suspended sentence, Finch was also ordered to undertake 160 hours of unpaid work and pay court costs. Joe Biden still hasn't spoken with Governor Ron DeSantis as a Category 3 hurricane heads for Florida, and his administration dodged questions on why the call hasn't happened ahead of the storm hitting landfall. The president made separate calls to three Florida mayors, two Democrats and one Republican, but did not call the GOP governor as his state braces for Hurricane Ian to hit land this week. Biden spoke with Republican Governors Kay Ivey of Alabama, Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas and Greg Abbott of Texas when they were all also facing weather-related emergencies. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said at a White House press briefing that the communication between President Biden and Governor DeSantis' administration had 'zero' impact on how her agency functions. 'In the past, President Biden has made calls to governors in situations like natural disasters,' a reporter noted when questioning Criswell on Tuesday. 'Can you articulate how these determinations are made and why it hasn't been made in this case to have the president call the governor?' Criswell dodged the question, noting that she spoke with DeSantis on Friday and has placed senior members of her team with the governor to help with meeting the needs created by the impending storm. The White House dodged questions over why President Joe Biden still hasn't called Republican Governor Ron DeSantis as a Category 3 Hurricane barrels towards Florida 'The president is very focused on making sure that the federal family has the right resources available to support this,' Criswell said. 'That is why I contacted the governor right away and we have a team of my senior leadership that are embedded with the governor to make sure that we're supporting that.' 'Our focus today is making sure that we have the right measures in place,' she added. Criswell noted that 'President Biden signed Governor DeSantis' pre-landfall emergency declaration request on Saturday' as further proof of the coordination between the federal government and Florida authorities. When pressed on why Biden made calls to mayors and not the governor, Criswell refused to directly answer the question. 'Again, we have a strong team that's in place supporting the governor right now,' she said. DeSantis has emerged as a future face of the GOP and has been floated as a potential Republican presidential candidate. He has also become quite the controversial figure, which was only exacerbated by him flying 50 migrants on a private plane to Martha's Vineyard island earlier this month. The governor's office has confirmed that he has not heard from President Biden himself regarding the impending storm. A couple board up their restaurant in St. Petersburg, Florida on Tuesday, September 27 as they prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Ian 'The FEMA Administrator and I just came out of the Oval Office where the President also held separate calls with Mayor Jane Castor of Tampa, Mayor Ken Welch of St. Petersburg and Mayor Frank Hibbard of Clearwater,' White house Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the top of her briefing Tuesday before handing the podium over to Criswell. She added: 'They discussed planning and preparation for Hurricane Ian.' Hurricane Ian was upgraded to a category 3 hurricane this week as it is expected to hit landfall near Tampa on the gulf coast of Florida Wednesday night into Thursday morning. By the time it hits land, it could strengthen to a category 4 storm, according to AccuWeather. While other reporters tried to gain clarity into why Biden and DeSantis had not spoken, Criswell repeatedly stated that the duo's lack of contact would not impact FEMA and other entities' response to the storm. 'We're going to support whatever Governor DeSantis asks of us,' Criswell said to one reporter's inquiry into the lack of communication between the two. 'We signed his emergency declaration within hours of him sending it in,' she added. 'We'll continue to do that as we see what the impacts of this storm are.' When asked if the communication between Biden and DeSantis' government had any 'impact on how you all operate,' Criswell said: 'Zero'. Seditious conspiracy can be difficult to prove, if convicted calls up to 20 years behind bars, the last guilty trial verdict was nearly 30 years ago Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes will go on trial next week for seditious conspiracy over the January 6 riots on the US Capitol, considered one of the most serious cases to emerge from the insurrection. Jury selection began Tuesday and could take several days with the trial expected to last at least five weeks. Amid complaints by Rhodes legal team and the others, the judge began winnowing the pool of potential jurors. These jurors will decide the fate of the first Jan. 6 defendants to stand trial on the rare Civil War-era charge. The case against Rhodes and his Oath Keeper associates is the biggest test yet for the Justice Department in its massive Jan. 6 prosecution and is being heard in federal court not far from the Capitol. Seditious conspiracy can be difficult to prove, but conviction calls for up to 20 years behind bars. The last time someone pled guilty to seditious conspiracy was 30 years ago. Attorney for Rhodes, a former U.S. Army paratrooper and a Yale Law School graduate from Granbury, Texas, and four other members of the violent mob, cannot get a fair hearing in Washington, DC. US District Judge Amit Mehta denied the defense attorney's latest bid to move the trial out of Washington. The judge acknowledged that no juries have acquitted Jan. 6 defendants so far, but said that doesn't tell him about 'bias or inherent bias of jurors in the District of Columbia.' Prosecutors have accused Rhodes of leading a weekslong plot to violently stop the transfer of presidential power from election-denier Donald Trump to Joe Biden that culminated with Oath Keepers dressed in battle gear storming the Capitol on Jan. 6. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, June 25, 2017. Jury selection is expected to get underway Tuesday in one of the most serious cases to emerge from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol against the founder of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates charged with seditious conspiracy Edward Tarpley, one of the attorney's for the Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, arrives at the federal courthouse in Washington on Tuesday Thomas Caldwell of Berryville, Virginia a retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer was the only defendant released from jail ahead of the trial. Caldwell (pictured) walked with a cane as he slowly entered the federal courthouse on Tuesday wearing a dark suit and mask on his face The scene of the violent mob outside of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Nearly 900 people have been charged so far in the Jan. 6 riot and more than 400 have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial Also on trial will be Thomas Caldwell, of Berryville, Virginia; Kenneth Harrelson, of Titusville, Florida; Jessica Watkins of Woodstock, Ohio, and Kelly Meggs of Dunnellon, Florida More than two dozen potential jurors had been dismissed by the court before Tuesday, including a journalist who had covered the events of Jan. 6. and someone else who described that day 'one of the single most treasonous acts in the history of this country.' The judge disqualified three additional jurors based on concerns about their impartiality on Tuesday. One man recalled the fear and 'trauma' that he experienced on Jan. 6. The judge also disqualified a woman who said she used to work as a House staffer on Capitol Hill and still has many friends who work there. 'I was really afraid for their lives that day,' she said. Phillip Linder, an attorney for Rhodes, had urged that Judge Mehta disqualify a man who said he has a close family friend who works for a House member and recalled watching livestreamed video of the Capitol attack. The judge called it a 'close call' but declined to disqualify the man who said he could set aside what he has heard about the Oath Keepers. Hundreds of people have already been convicted of joining the mob that overran police barriers, beat officers and smashed windows, sending lawmakers fleeing and halting the certification of Bidens electoral victory. Prosecutors will try to show that an Oath Keepers plot to stop Biden from becoming president started well before that, in fact before all the votes in the 2020 race had even been counted. The last time prosecutors secured a seditious conspiracy conviction at trial was in 1995 in the case against Islamic militants who plotted to bomb New York City landmarks Caldwell, a retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer and the only defendant released from jail ahead of trial, walked with a cane as he slowly entered the federal courthouse on Tuesday. Rhodes spent weeks mobilizing his followers to prepare to take up arms to defend Trump, authorities say. The Oath Keepers repeatedly wrote in chats about the prospect of violence, stockpiled guns and put 'quick reaction force' teams on standby outside Washington to get weapons into the city quickly if needed, authorities say. On Jan. 6, Oath Keepers were captured on camera storming the Capitol in military-style 'stack' formation. Rhodes isnt accused of going inside the Capitol, but phone records show he was communicating with Oath Keepers who did enter around the time of the riot and he was seen with members outside afterward. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers, center, speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, on June 25, 2017. The trial of Rhodes and four associates charged with seditious conspiracy in the attack on the U.S. Capitol is set to begin next week This image provided by Tasha Adams shows Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes speaking at a parade in Kalispell, Mont., on July 4, 2013. Three of Rhodes Oath Keepers followers have pleaded guilty to the charge and are likely to testify against him at trial. Rhodes lawyers have claimed those Oath Keepers were pressured into pleading guilty and are lying to get a better sentencing deal from the government. On Tuesday, Rhodes' lawyers asked the judge to bar prosecutors and witnesses from using words such as 'antigovernment' or 'extremists' in describing the Oath Keepers to jurors, saying in court documents that it would 'add nothing but prejudice into what already promises to be an emotionally charged trial.' Rhodes attorneys have suggested that his defense will focus on his belief that Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act and call up a militia to support his bid to stay in power. Defense attorneys say Rhodes actions in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6 were in preparation for what he believed would have been lawful orders from Trump under the Insurrection Act, but never came. The defense has said that Oath Keepers were dressed in helmets and goggles to protect themselves from possible attacks from left-wing antifa activists and that the 'quick reaction force' outside Washington was meant for defensive purposes if Trump invoked the Insurrection Act. Also on Tuesday, a Maine man accused of hurling an unstrung bow at officers and other assaults on law enforcement was found guilty of several felony and misdemeanor charges. Kyle Fitzsimons, who wore a white butchers jacket and a fur pelt during the riot, waived his right to a jury and was convicted by a judge in a bench trial in Washington. Nearly 900 people have been charged so far in the Jan. 6 riot and more than 400 have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial. Sentences for the rioters so far have ranged from probation for low-level misdemeanor offenses to 10 years in prison for a retired New York City police officer who used a metal flagpole to assault an officer at the Capitol. He was placed under house arrest in San Diego, but escaped by shearing off his GPS ankle bracelet and fleeing to Mexico Corrupt Malaysian contractor nicknamed 'Fat Leonard' has asked for asylum in Venezuela where he was caught after escaping house arrest in the US A corrupt Malaysian military contractor nicknamed 'Fat Leonard' has requested asylum in Venezuela after fleeing the US while under house arrest three weeks before his sentencing for bribing Navy officers with cash and prostitutes. Leonard Glenn Francis fled and his company overcharged the U.S. military by more than $35 million for its services and plied officers with various gifts, who then redirected military vessels to ports that were lucrative for his Singapore-based ship servicing company. Francis was arrested in 2013 and pleaded guilty in 2015 to offering bribes. He then flipped after his arrest and agreed to testify against the Navy as part of a sweeping prosecution by the Department of Justice's that remains ongoing; seven Navy officers are still awaiting trial and Francis is the star witness. Francis sheared off his GPS ankle bracelet on September 4 after being under house arrest in San Diego. The crooked contractor ensured his escape by housing court-appointed security guards in windowless garages, keeping no visitor logs and allowed no night patrols. Court filings show Francis most recently resided in a $7,000-a-month, five-bedroom, seven-bath home in a gated community before he fled. When officers arrived at the home, it was completely emptied out - apart from the discarded GPS monitor. Neighbors witnessed U-Haul moving trucks coming to and from Francis' home in the days before his escape. The US, which has an extradition treaty with Venezuela, now has 30 days to formally request Francis' extradition, though the Biden administration does not formally recognize President Nicolas Maduro's government or have an embassy there. 'Fat Leonard', aka Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian businessman who infiltrated the US Navy in Manila and blackmailed officers into giving him favors and shipping routes, is now on the run after cutting off his GPS monitoring ankle bracelet over the weekend, A picture showing a disheveled Francis after he was caught attempting to flee to Russia was released by Interpol Venezuela An undated photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows Leonard Francis before he fled from home confinement in San Diego Francis is shown with Rear Admiral Bolivar, who was investigated as part of the scandal The Biden administration does not formally recognize President Nicolas Maduro's government in Venezuela or have an embassy there, raising questions around Francis' extradition Former security guards and employees for Francis revealed to The Washington Post the lavish lifestyle he continued to live and said he ordered mountains of Amazon packages and relied on servants to feed him excessively. 'He had packages coming from Amazon all day long. He had so much deliveries happening every single day. Every morning I would show back up at the garage and there would just be boxes in there,' said security guard Anthony Galvan. 'The servants really served him. They bathed all of his kids. They fed them 24-7,' said another guard. Pretrial Services employees repeatedly made unannounced visits to check on Francis, but according to Galvan, he always seemed to know when he'd be checked on. 'Me, personally, I feel like he knew when they were coming,' Galvan said. 'I dont know how, but he would always text me, "So and so is here." He would always text me a minute or two before they were here.' Officers entered the multi-million dollar five-bedroom, seven-bathroom home only to find the entire place had been emptied apart from the sheared off GPS bracelet he had left behind. He was certainly helped by the fact that nobody physically checked on him until six hours after his GPS ankle bracelet registered a problem, and only tried to reach him with calls and texts. When a member of the defense team did enter the home on September 4, they found it mostly empty, and San Diego Police later showed up and found Francis' GPS ankle bracelet in a portable cooler with some water in it. Francis then fled to Mexico before moving on to Cuba, and then turned up in Venezuela and was arrested at Caracas airport on September 20 as he tried to board a flight to Russia. It remains to be seen whether Venezuelan President Maduro, pictured here, will block Francis' extradition in a move against Biden's government for the harsh sanctions they set Senior Navy officials pictured at a party Francis says he threw for them in his unofficial role Interpols Venezuela director general, Carlos Garate Rondon, indicated Francis would be handed over to judicial authorities to begin the extradition process. The date of his sentencing had been put off for years as he continued to assist prosecutors. He was preparing to appear on the witness stand in a trial earlier this year to testify against five former naval officers, but he was never called. Four of the officers were convicted while the jury was deadlocked on a fifth. 'Obviously it's very disappointing,' San Diego attorney Michael Crowley, who defended one of the former officers said to the Tribune upon hearing of Francis' escape. 'He started all this and we wanted him to testify since this was the crux of the government's case. Here, they've let him slip right through their fingers.' Last year, he boasted in a podcast about plying admirals with booze and prostitutes, and the sweet informant deal he struck with the US government. 'Everybody was in my pocket. I had them rolling around in my palm. I had the Navy by their balls. I turned my torpedo, my guns against them, because they betrayed me,' Francis says in one episode of a nine-part series. He also revealed that the government had arranged for visas for his whole family, saying: 'Everybody came legally. Uncle Sam knows, everybody knows what I'm doing. My children are my children. 'My wellbeing is more important than anyone else I am their star witness,' Francis said. In one episode of the podcast, he spoke proudly about going after Michael Misiewicz, a commander who he supplied with prostitutes in Tokyo in exchange for secret shipping routes to Australia. 'Misciewicz had value, you know, he was like the number two guy in the scheduling department. 'If you look at him, he's actually a really nice guy, very gentle personality, friendly, great dad to his kids, womanizer...' Francis said, adding that his number two - New Yorker Edmond Aruffo - 'embedded' him. Leonard Glenn Francis aka Fat Leonard even purchased a decommissioned British warship, renamed it the Glenn Braveheart (pictured), and occasionally turned it into a giant party boat Fat Leonard, aka Leonard Glenn Francis, on his warship - the USS Braveheart - which he bought. He is obsessed with American culture and speaks with an American accent, despite never having lived in the US at the time The Braveheart, Fat Leonard's warship, which he bought in 2003, was used as a 'floating brothel', according to some of those interviewed as part of the investigation 'They wanted to have the good life that they could not have. They wanted the fine dining, the fine gifts, hotel rooms, sedans, luxury cars, watches, handbags, fancy meals, alcohol, cigars,' he said. Francis had infiltrated Misiewicz's family and friends while he was working on the USS Blue Ridge out of Manila in 2011. He gave him and his family tickets to the Lion King in Tokyo, bought his wife Marcy a Gucci handbag when she became suspicious of him, and arranged for Michael to sleep with prostitutes in Tokyo on a regular basis. The scheme came crashing down in 2013 after Marcy Misiewicz, Michael's wife, suspected he was cheating on her and confronted him. He struck her and she reported it to the NCIS, which started filtering through Michael's emails. Among them were exchanges with Francis, where Michael had supplied secret shipping routes to Australia. Francis, who had a spy in the NCIS, found out and tried to placate her but he was eventually arrested, along with Misiewicz, who was sentenced to seven years in prison. Francis also suggested that some of the most senior admirals he corrupted were being protected by the Navy, a claim that is bolstered by the fact that some were disciplined in military courts, whereas others were pursued by the Department of Justice. 'Some of the more senior admirals got handled by the Navy because then they can be brushed under the carpet, it's little more than a slap on the wrist, they call it 'different spanks for different ranks'. 'If you're an admiral you don't get punished to the same degree as if you're junior,' Wright said. The case has resulted in federal criminal charges against 34 Navy officials, defense contractors, including Francis, and the Glenn Defense Marine Asia corporation. So far, 26 of those have pleaded guilty and many have been sentenced to several years in prison. U.S. Navy Capt. Daniel Dusek, center, handed over classified ship schedules and steered aircraft carriers to revenue ports controlled by Glenn Defense in return for prostitutes, alcohol and stays at luxury hotels General Motors executives are offering up a mea culpa after a Friday afternoon email to employees detailing a back-to-office plan was met with intense backlash. In the late-week email, senior leadership at the American auto-manufacturer said corporate workers would be required to return to physical office locations at least three days a week starting before the new year. The company described the policy as a continuation of its current work-from-home policy, which, forged in April 2020, simply states, 'work appropriately.' On Tuesday, a second message landed in employees' inboxes, which included a walk back of the timing initially outlined in the Friday message. The email added that the company will not be requiring employees to show up in the office on specific days, rather that decision will be up to individual teams. 'Our plan was always, and still is, collaboratively design the solution that best balances the needs of the enterprise with the needs of each of you,' reads the corporate-speak email signed by, among others, GM CEO Mary Barra. The message clarified that no employees will be required to return to offices before 2023. General Motors CEO Mary Barra was one of the executives who signed both the Friday message and Tuesday follow-up detailing some aspects of the company's eventual plan to have white-collar employees return to the office The General Motors offices in downtown Detroit Renaissance Center have remained largely empty since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 'While we have maintained a highly collaborative culture over the past two years during a very challenging time, the intangible benefits of in person collaboration are going to be a critical success factor as we move into a period of rapid launches,' read the memo, according to CNBC. 'This evolution is about being ready for the next phase of our transformation,' it continued. The initial Friday message was met with immediate upset from some salaried members of the GM workforce. One anonymous employee told the Detroit Free Press, 'You can probably imagine what the general mood is. 'The company has been talking a good game about Work Appropriately since this all began, and we were all completely blindsided by this news,' the worker said. According to a spokesperson for the company, the overall plan to bring workers back to the office 'has not really changed,' but the follow up note is meant to 'provide more clarity to help answer some of the questions and concerns that we've been receiving.' The company apologized for the Friday afternoon timing of the message and its vagueness. According to top executives, the email went out in order to mitigate the impact of a communication that had prematurely reached several departments. 'We want to take the opportunity to address some of the questions, concerns, and misconceptions that we've heard. We acknowledge that the timing of the message, late on a Friday afternoon, was unfortunate. It was also unintentional. 'We elected to communicate enterprise wide before we had the opportunity to collaborate more broadly on the implementation plan. We believe the benefits of being transparent - even with suboptimal timing and partial details - outweighed the risk of creating mistrust by having you hear the information second hand,' read the Tuesday message. More information will arrive at the end of October, said the company, which added that it will spend the next several weeks 'continuing to listen to your feedback so that we incorporate it into our implementation plans.' GM salaried workers who have become accustomed to remote work were instantly put off by the idea of returning, even some of the time, to the office. Some said they were surprised after the company pushed the Work Appropriately philosophy throughout the pandemic, which allowed most employees to mostly work from home The American auto-manufacturer reportedly hired 7,000 employees in 2022 before implementing a hiring pause in May, many of whom are remote workers who don't necessarily live in Michigan The downtown Detroit GM Renaissance Center has reportedly been so empty for the past several years that some wondered what would happen to the massive corporate ghost town if no employees ever returned The Friday note from management touched on some of the reasons why the company plans to shift away from remote work. 'Over time, we have lost some of the important, intangible benefits of regularly working together in-person including, casual mentoring, more efficient communication and bringing an enterprise mindset to our work. We are entering a rapid launch cycle that, quite frankly, will define our future trajectory, and we need to drive change with speed - individually and collectively - so we can achieve our goals,' it read. In the notice, Barra noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has improved significantly and a safe return to the office is now entirely possible. Employees felt blindsided by the sudden announcement of a switch largely because of the way GM positioned Work Appropriately as the new cultural philosophy of the company for the post-pandemic era. Leaders at the industry giant sold the philosophy as a way to recruit top talent without requiring candidates to move to Michigan, where the company is headquartered. In 2021, GM hired some 10,000 people across the globe, and 7,000 in 2022 - many of them remote workers. In May, GM announced it was suspending hiring more people this year. Hollywood actors Elizabeth Olsen, Andy Garcia, and Nestor Carbonell were among the A-list guests at a star-studded party in Los Angeles on Thursday promoting the auction of a Banksy mural with a seven-story building attached. The famous work of art is the city's only native Banksy piece, painted in secret one night in 2010 while the owners of the property were away. Jewelry designer Tarina Tarantino and her husband Alfonso Campos have been forced to sell their mid-rise art deco building after going bankrupt during the pandemic. In court filings they estimate the downtown LA commercial property is worth $16million but they are hoping to get at least $30million at an auction next month, suggesting the real draw for investors is the painting, not the building. Hollywood stars Andy Garcia, Elizabeth Olsen and Nestor Carbonell attended Tarina Tarantino (second from right) and her husband Alfonso Campos' (far left) party promoting the auction of their mid-rise art deco building in LA last Thursday The seven-story building, located on S Broadway and W 9th St in downtown Los Angeles, is known for its Banksy mural 'Girl on a Swing' Jewelry designer Tarina Tarantino and her husband told DailyMail.com they are hoping to sell the building as art as well as real estate - for at least $30million 'Is it a building with a Banksy or a Banksy with a building?' Tarantino said in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com. 'We're attempting to do something that hasn't been done before, which is selling the building as art,' Campos added. 'Most people want to cut it up.' The artsy couple's Hollywood friends at the event included Godfather and Oceans 11 star Garcia and Bates Motel actor Carbonell, who both joked with DailyMail.com that they would by vying to place the first bid on the building. WandaVision star Olsen also attended with musician husband Robbie Arnett. The actress revealed to DailyMail.com during the evening that she would not be starring in season two of Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon, despite rumors swirling about her involvement. The mural, Girl on a Swing, depicts a large red 'Parking' sign with the last three letters whitewashed and a child swinging from the letter 'A'. Tarantino and Campos said Banksy painted the mural in 2010 while visiting LA for the premiere of his documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop. They recounted to DailyMail.com how they almost turned down the multi-million-dollar addition to their building. 'We were both in New York during the fashion trade show. We got a phone call from a friend of ours,' Campos said. 'He said, listen, I'm with this really amazing artist who wants to do something on the side of your building. I can't tell you, but I promise you you're going to thank me.' The couple had bought the property for $4million in 2007 just before the crash, and were struggling while they plowed $1.8million into its renovation so were hesitant to allow some unknown graffiti on the historic edifice. WandaVision star Elizabeth Olsen, pictured chatting with Tarantino, attended the party with musician husband Robbie Arnett The Godfather and Oceans 11 star Andy Garcia and Bates Motel actor Nestor Carbonell - who are both friends with the artsy couple - both joked with DailyMail.com that they would by vying to place the first bid on the building The Thursday night party was held on the ground floor of the South Broadway 26,500 sq ft building But after reluctantly agreeing, they returned from the East Coast to find a crowd surrounding the new Banksy mural. 'It was almost like those Virgin Apparitions in Latin America, there were 100-200 people surrounding this wall. 'We didn't realize at the time the incredible gift, the impact that that mural would have, not only in our building, but also the city of LA. It's become this destination for locals.' Campos said once he and his wife saw the Girl on a Swing, they decided they needed to preserve it and even turned down offers in excess of $1million from Facebook for a cutout of the wall. 'We were getting offers immediately from people in Silicon Valley, from Facebook. They were offering pretty high prices at the time,' he said. 'As tempting as that was, we were looking at the crowd and we both thought no way.' The building, located on 908-910 South Broadway, was built in 1914 from a Meyer & Holler design, the architects behind the iconic Egyptian Theater, and became an iconic movie buff landmark as the location where Harold Lloyd dangled from a clock in the 1923 silent movie Safety Last. The property also used to house L.L. Burns's Western Costume Company, which had a near monopoly on movie costumes during Hollywood's silent film era. The Thursday night party was held on the ground floor of the South Broadway 26,500 sq ft building. One guest at the party was Banksy's producer Daniel Salin, who has worked with the artist since 2006. Campos, pictured with Garcia and Carbonell, said he and his wife turned down offers in excess of $1million from Facebook for a cutout of the wall after it became a local attraction The couple, who bought the commercial property for $4million in 2007 just before the economic crash, revealed Banksy painted the mural in secret one night in 2010 while they were out of town The mural, Girl on a Swing, depicts a large red 'Parking' sign with the last three letters whitewashed and a child swinging from the letter 'A' and is the city's only native Banksy piece 'With the success of Banksy, a lot of incredible works have disappeared for the public,' he told DailyMail.com. 'It is a beautiful thing that there is one left in Los Angeles. It's a great piece, I hope it stays together.' 'It's always been difficult to value outdoor street pieces, but if you've been keeping an eye on the Banksy market in the last two or three years, it's quadrupled. 'I've seen him go from the very embryonic stage of his ideas to full completion. And there's nobody like him.' A smaller Banksy mural painted on an English electrical shop, Crowbar Girl, was cut out and sold for a rumored $2.4million last year. His famous shredded artwork titled Love Is in the Bin sold for a record $25.4million at Sotheby's in October 2021. Holly Dunlap, former head of the Private Client Group at Sotheby's in London, has told the New York Times the mural could be worth at least $10million on its own but Sotheby's has refused to sell sawn-off Banksy murals. Garcia told DailyMail.com he believes the piece should stay put. 'Why would you cut it out? That would be a ridiculous thing to do. It would be foolish I think. It's iconic, the fact that it's there. It's not just a piece of graffiti.' The actor and director added that he would have the first shot at buying the building, but would be hitting his friends with a low-ball. 'I'm very good friends with Tarina and Alfonso. I'll have the opening bid $24.97,' he said. A California sheriff's office has removed 47 deputies from law enforcement duties after it was revealed they received unsatisfactory psychological exam results during the hiring process. The number of deputies now on desk duty at Alameda County Sheriff's Office represents 5 percent of the 1,000-member force. Sources told KTVU they believe the psychological exam process under Sheriff Gregory Ahern is flawed and often results in Ahern passing his friends and family to get hired while denying candidates he does not like. A former employee added that issues to receive an unsatisfactory result include a showing of immaturity, mental health problems, financial issues, marital conflict or drug and alcohol issues. The failed exams date back as far as 2016. Former deputy Devin Williams Jr., 24, who allegedly shot and killed a couple in their home, had failed his psychological exam, according to the same sources. Alameda County Sheriff's Office has removed 47 deputies from law enforcement duties after failing entry psychological exams The 47 failed exams, which date as far back as 2016, represents 5 percent of the 1,000-member force Sheriff Gregory Ahern said he followed improper advice which said the department could hire deputies with failed exams Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Ray Kelly said it 'was horrible' to relieve the deputies of their duties and, despite sources claiming Williams failed, previously noted that Williams had passed all required tests. The audit into the department's psychological exams is a result of Williams being charged with two counts of murder earlier this month. 'I know that people are going to assume that all these deputies are killers,' Kelly said. 'But that's not true. This test tries to find out if you are psychologically suitable for the job, to handle all the horrible things we see. 'At the age of 22, sometimes you're not. I know this isn't good. But it's not as bad as it sounds.' Kelly said he does not have a response to allegations that Ahern has allowed favorable candidates to bypass the exam and added that he hopes 'he's not operating like that.' In June, Ahern lost an election to Yesenia Sanchez, and he will step down in January 2023. Pictured: A copy of the letter sent to deputies who were relieved of their current duties because of their exam results 'Our intention is to resolve this issue as quickly as possible,' Ahern wrote. The Sheriff's Office expects to administer follow-up tests in the next 'couple months' While all 47 have the ability to return to their job, it is not known how many will be reinstated Follow-up tests will be administered in the next 'couple months,' Kelly said, and they will be conducted by a certified psychologist who does not work for the Sheriff's Office. It is not known how many of the 47 deputies will be able to get their jobs back. Of those 47, 30 currently work at Santa Rita Jail while 17 have jobs elsewhere. Kara Janssen, an attorney supervising over the consent decree for different aspects at the jail, said the discovery of the failed exams is 'deeply concerning.' She said neither she nor her firm were told about the exams, and she questions how many relieved deputies work at the jail, where that have been 59 in-custody deaths since 2014. Some sources close to the situation claim Ahern allowed favorable candidates to bypass the exam altogether Lt. Ray Kelly, a spokesperson for the department, said the Sheriff's Office was under 'enormous pressure' to hire more deputies In a letter sent from Ahern to a deputy, Ahern said the Sheriff's Office had operated under improper advice saying they could hire candidates who received the 'D. Not Suited' result. 'Our intention is to resolve this issue as quickly as possible,' Ahern wrote. 'We also intend to have you return to full duty status once you obtain a 'Suitable' finding.' He continues by saying the deputy can be hired if the follow-up examination declares him or her 'suitable.' All deputies who received the letter will continue to receive benefits and be paid. Jose Bernal, the organizing director for Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, said the Sheriff's Office turned a 'blind eye' in hiring the deputies, according to The Stockton Record. 'This further highlights the egregious levels of dysfunction and corruption that have plagued the sheriff's office for years,' Bernal said. Kelly concluded his statement by adding the Oakland-based department was under 'enormous pressure' to hire more deputies. Royal Mail works will walk out on 19 days, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as union chiefs threaten delivery chaos over the Christmas period. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has announced it will take strike action in October and November across a mixture of single days with rolling action across Royal Mail Groups network. The union warns it will have a 'dramatic impact' and will cover peak delivery periods such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the Christmas build-up. Union chiefs have made the move following a threat over what they have labelled an 'outrageous' decision by Royal Mail Groups senior management to withdraw from major national agreements, push ahead with cuts to workers terms and conditions and 'completely sideline' the union. CWU general secretary Dave Ward today said: 'This is a significant announcement, but it is one which matches the level of anger our members feel at the way Royal Mail Group has treated them. Communication Workers Union Dave Ward pictured speaking to Royal Mail postal workers as they stand on a picket line outside a delivery office in north London earlier this month 'The chief executive of Royal Mail Group is treating postal workers as if they are stupid. These are the same people that have kept the country connected and returned Royal Mail Group to record profit. 'Postal workers across the UK now face the fight of their lives to save their jobs and the service they provide to every household and business in the UK. 'We call on everyone to stand with their local postal worker. If Royal Mail Group are allowed to get away with this then it sends a green light to every rogue big business in the UK. 'We will not stand by and see the Royal Mail Group become the next P&O but we need your backing to win.' But a spokesperson for Royal Mail said it is currently losing 1million and the strikes will only act to 'make our financial position worse'. A statement added: 'On September 22, Royal Mail invited CWU to enter into talks through Acas to find a resolution to our dispute on change and pay. 'This evening, rather than responding to our offer of Acas talks, the CWU announced further damaging industrial action, once again taking the path of prolonging disruption over resolution. Striking Royal Mail workers gather on a picket line outside Camden Town Delivery Office on September 8 'Royal Mail is losing 1 million a day and must change faster in response to changing customer demands. We operate in a competitive market, and our customers have choices. 'Further strikes and resistance to transformation by CWU will only make our financial position worse, and threatens the long-term job security of our postmen and women. 'The CWU has a responsibility to recognise the reality of the situation Royal Mail faces as a business and engage urgently on the changes required. 'We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience the CWUs continued strike action will cause. We are doing all we can to minimise any delays and keep people, businesses and the country connected.' The search for a missing Texas middle school teacher continues after her car was found in New Orleans, more than 350 miles from her home in Brazoria County, Texas. Michelle Reynolds, 48, was first reported missing on September 22 after she told her husband that she was going out to get food and never returned. The 48-year-old mom of three is a middle school teacher at Fairview Junior High in the Alvin Independent School District, located about 25 miles south of Houston. Michael Reynolds, Michelle's husband, told KHOU during a recent interview that after his wife went missing, they used Lexus Roadside Service to find Michelle's Lexus NX 300, and were shocked to discover it hundreds of miles away in New Orleans. Michelle Reynolds with her Lexus NX 300, which she disappeared with on September 22 after telling her husband she was going out to eat Michelle Reynolds, a teacher and mom of three, went missing on September 22 from Texas Michael went out to Louisiana over the weekend to try and help find his wife but the search came up empty, other than the discovery of her vehicle. Officials with the New Orleans Police Department released the following statement to DailyMail.com Tuesday: 'The NOPD is assisting the Brazoria County (Texas) Sheriff's Office in its missing person investigation of Michelle Reynolds. There is no further information available on our end.' Inside of Michelle's car, Michael and Michelle's brother found her phone and other belongings. 'Her phone has not been used. Her phone was in the car. Her phone did have charge but it was turned off.' On Monday, Michael told KHOU that he was headed back to Houston to be with their kids. 'I am heading back to Houston now because I have three children. My daughter is having a really tough time and so is my 13-year-old daughter and my 11-year-old son as well,' Michael said. 'Please be on the lookout for Michelle. We love her and miss her dearly. We're doing everything we can to bring her home safe.' Inside of Michelle's vehicle was her phone and other belongings she had taken with her when leaving the house. Michael Reynolds (left) said in a recent interview he was heading back to Texas after finding his wife's car in New Orleans and said their three children are upset due to their mother's disappearance Michelle Reynolds shared this photo with her husband, Michael Reynolds, to her Facebook account before she went missing 'She said that she was going to get something to eat and she never returned,' Michael said. Missing persons reports have been filed in both Texas and Louisiana for the mother of three. Michelle Reynolds smiles in a photo posted to her public Facebook account It is unknown what clothing Michelle was wearing at the time of her disappearance, but she may have been wearing black leggings. People.com spoke with Brazoria County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Danny Lares who said that they are continuing to look into any and all information on the 48-year-old's disappearance. 'Our investigators are following all leads,' Sgt. Lares said in an interview. 'They are trying to verify if she has been in contact with anybody and following leads and seeing where it takes them.' Reynolds is described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall with a thin build. She has blonde hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office at 979-864-2392. The matter remains under investigation by officials at this time. Police in Mexico have conducted a raid on an extremist Jewish sect known for advocating child marriage, arresting two men and reuniting a young boy with his father who left the cult. Mexican federal police, with the help of a volunteer team of Israelis including former Mossad agents, stormed the Lev Tahor compound near Tapachula on Friday morning, according to a BBC report citing Israeli sources close to the operation. Multiple children were rescued, and one, age three, was reunited with his father Yisrael Amir, a former Lev Tahor member who has been trying to gain custody since disavowing the sect several years ago. Lev Tahor, dubbed a 'dangerous cult' by Israeli courts, has faced allegations of kidnapping and sexual abuse, and its strict rules mandating head-to-toe coverings for women have led some to dub the group the 'Jewish Taliban'. The group in Tapachula, which is in Mexico's Chiapas state in far southern Mexico, has lived there since leaving Guatemala in 2014 following friction with locals and tourists there. Lev Tahor members are seen in Guatemala in 2014. After facing friction with locals, the group soon moved across the border into Mexico, where a compound was raided on Friday Yisrael Amir, a former Lev Tahor member who disavowed the sect years ago, is seen returning to Israel with his three-year-old son, who was rescued in the raid in Mexico 'From the moment I escaped, I only had one dream: to save my son from the nightmare of living in a cult,' said Amir, seen returning to Israel with his son Amir flew home to Israel with his young son, telling reporters after arriving at Ben-Gurion Airport on Tuesday: 'From the moment I escaped, I only had one dream: to save my son from the nightmare of living in a cult.' 'I now look forward to building my new life as a young father in Israel. I couldn't abandon him to live a life of brutally strict rules, mind control, starvation and misery,' he added, according to N12 News. Israel's foreign ministry said that 26 people were found in the compound on Friday, and that two of them, a Canadian and an Israeli citizen, were arrested on charges of human trafficking and sex offenses including rape. Five more were detained for allegedly breaking immigration rules, and the remaining members, including children, are being housed by the Mexican Ministry of Welfare, Israel said. Children in the group were quickly separated from the adults, due to fears that sect members would rather kill them than surrender custody, Israeli sources said. Lev Tahor members in Mexico claim that they are being held in 'subhuman conditions' at facility in Huixtla, and that they are being persecuted for their beliefs by the Israeli government, Diario de Chiapas reported. Members of Lev Tahor are seen at the La Aurora airport in Guatemala City in 2021. The group's insistence on head-to-toe coverings for women earned it the nickname 'Jewish Taliban' Members of the Lev Tahor group stand on a street in Guatemala 2014 Police are seen raiding a Lev Tahor compound in Mexico in 2018, after a mother accused the sect of attempting to force her 13-year-old daughter to marry the son of a leader The families detained in the raid also insisted they had the proper authorization and paperwork to live in Mexico. Representatives for Mexico's immigration agency and the Chiapas state attorney general's office did not immediately respond to messages from DailyMail.com on Tuesday. Nachman Helbrans, the son of the group's founder, was convicted of kidnapping and child sexual exploitation crimes last year Among those taken into custody in the raid were Israelis with dual citizenships including Canada, the US and Guatemala, Israel's foreign ministry said. Amir, the estranged father seeking custody of his son, and other family members of the sect have been pushing for years for Mexican authorities to crack down on the group. A four-man volunteer team from Israel, including former Mossad agents, assisted the Mexican police in planning and carrying out the operation, according to the BBC. Federal police and agents of the attorney general's office carried out the raid following an investigation by the Special Prosecutor for Organized Crime (FEMDO). Lev Tahor insists that it does not break local laws in the countries where its members reside. The group, founded in Israel in the 1980s, has moved frequently and become scattered, with members living in the US, Canada, North Macedonia, Morocco, Mexico and Guatemala. Last November, two leaders of the sect were convicted of kidnapping and child sexual exploitation crimes in New York. Shlomo Helbrans (pictured left in 1992) founded Lev Tahor in Israel, having been deported from the US for kidnapping a 13-year-old boy. He later gained refugee status in Canada, claiming he was being persecuted by the Israeli government for his anti-Zionist teachings Nachman Helbrans, 39, and Mayer Rosner, 45, were each sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. US Attorney Damian Williams said the men 'brazenly kidnapped two children from their mother in the middle of the night to return a 14-year-old girl to an illegal sexual relationship with an adult man.' The charges against the men included conspiring to transport a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, which carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life. Helbrans, the son of Lev Tahor founder Shlomo Helbrans, became the sect's leader in 2017 and Rosner was his top lieutenant, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said the younger Helbrans and his leadership team seized tight control of the group and embraced extreme practices including child marriages and underage sex. Information technology giant Infosys would start its operations in the two-tiered Visakhapatnam from October 1. (Representational Photo:DC) VISAKHAPATNAM: Information technology giant Infosys would start its operations in the two-tiered Visakhapatnam from October 1. To start with, the company has rented a four-storey building at Rushikonda IT SEZ Hill-2 in the city to set up a satellite office. The tenancy agreement with the owner of the building will be effective from October 1 for about Rs. 40 lakh per month as lease amount. This will be a temporary set up. As per the initial plans, the company will start with the existing employees from Vizag, who are currently working from home (WoH) due to the pandemic-induced lockdowns. "A decrease in output quality from the WfH system and the moonlighting practices of employees (who quietly work alongside for another company) have wisened employers to get the staff back to work from office (WfO). So, almost all big companies are actively opening satellite offices to facilitate the WfO culture for employees, an IT entrepreneur told Deccan Chronicle. Moonlighting refers to the practice of taking on projects or other work to earn extra money. Some employees work simultaneously for different companies. This is not a new concept, but the practice became rampant in the post-Covid19 period because of the WfH culture, the CEO of another IT company said. Another IT entrepreneur at Rushikonda Hills said civic facilities such as roads and streetlights are not in good shape in the IT hills. When contacted, a GVMC official said, We have no call from our superiors for road repairs or such works. We are already repairing the roads in phases. We will cover the Rushikonda area as well. IT and industries minister Gudivada Amarnath recently tweeted about Infosys' updates on opening its offices from October 1. He recalled the earlier meetings with company representatives such as Prasad Mishra and Amol Kulkarni in June. Rajya Sabha member Vijayasai Reddy tweeted that the IT firm, Dallas Technologies, will also start its operations in Vizag. Sally Ann Dixon, 58, was found guilty on 30 charges relating to historic child sexual abuse Sussex Police released a humiliating apology for defending the gender of a legally male paedophile online, after the Home Secretary said the force should be focusing on 'catching criminals' not 'policing pronouns'. Suella Braverman waded into the Twitter storm after the force said they 'would not tolerate' any hateful comments towards the gender identity of convicted paedophile Sally Ann Dixon, 58. Dixon, who was born John Stephen Dixon, was convicted of 30 counts of indecent assaulted which took place in the late 1980s and 1990s before she transitioned. The youngest of Dixon's victims was just seven years old at the time. She was given an 18-year custodial sentence, with an additional two years to be served on extended licence. Sussex Police tweeted that they: 'do not tolerate any hateful comments towards their gender identity regardless of crimes committed. This is irrelevant to the crime that has been committed and investigated.' Ms Braverman MP piled in saying: 'Sussex Police have done well to put a dangerous criminal behind bars. But they've got it wrong by playing identity politics and denying biology. Focus on catching criminals not policing pronouns' Several hours later the force issued an apology saying their previous tweet was 'inconsistent' with their usual style and emphasised the public are allowed to 'express themselves freely within the boundaries of the law'. The tweet read: 'On Monday, 26 September 2022 we reported on the conviction of a sexual predator for historic sex offences in Sussex. The court sentenced Sally Anne Dixon as a woman to 20 years in prison for offences committed against seven children, now adults. 'We reported factually on the findings of the court which heard that, at the time of the offences, Dixon was living as a man, John Stephen Dixon. The relevant offences were recorded as being committed by a male. 'An earlier reply to a comment on Twitter was inconsistent with our usual style of engagement; we apologise for this and have removed the comment. We recognise the rights of the public to express themselves freely within the boundaries of the law.' Sussex Police hit out at criticism it shouldn't be referring the crimes as being done by a woman Home Secretary Suella Braverman responded to the police force online, telling them to not focus on 'policing pronouns' Several hours later, Sussex Police deleted the tweet and issued a humiliating apology The court trying Dixon heard there was no Gender Recognition Certificate changing their sex Maya Forstater has now called for a review of the justice system on speaking truthfully on sex A women's rights campaigner has called for a review into the justice system after Sussex Police defended a legally male transgender paedophile by declaring it would not 'tolerate any hateful comments about gender'. Maya Forstater, who famously won a test case ruling gender-critical views were a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act, said it was a fact that Dixon was male. She told MailOnline: 'It is not 'hateful' or criminal to call someone male a man. It is a simple statement of fact. The paedophile who committed these crimes, like 98% of those who undertake sex crimes was and remains male 'There needs to be a review up and down the justice system from the police to CPS to courts and prison system to record and speak truthfully about sex.' Sussex Police told another women's rights campaigner Dixon should not be misgendered. And in another heavily-criticised point, it claimed the sex of the convicted offender was not part of the series of attacks that had been carried out. The court trying Dixon had heard there was no Gender Recognition Certificate changing their sex from male to female. Dixon began transitioning 18 years ago and carried out the offences against seven children from 1989 to 1996 while she was living as a man. The offender was found guilty on 30 offences of indecent assault or indecency with a child against seven victims in July, the youngest of whom was seven years old at the time. His Honour Judge Mark Van Der Zwart heard in July that Dixon did not have a Gender Recognition Certificate. Sussex Police's Twitter message attracted hundreds of posts criticising its stance. Psychologist Pam Spurr said: 'Insane. The police are doing a terrible disservice to crime statistics actually being meaningful with this 'parallel universe' approach to allocating sexual assault crimes to the wrong gender.' Mother Clare King, who is a school governor, said: 'No Sussex Police, this is not a female crime.' Henrietta Freeman added of Sussex's message: 'It is extremely relevant. This is a disgraceful reply to anyone but especially a woman. Men are committing horrific crimes in our name.' A jury took 17.5 hours to find Dixon - who will do 18 years' time in a women's prison -guilty on the charges, and not guilty on three more. Ryan Richter, prosecuting, described a campaign of offending against two boys and five girls lasting eight years. He told the court: 'The defendant, living as a man in the late 80s and 90s, was a brazen and callous sexual predator. 'He exploited young males and cultivated a toxic relationship with female children who he systematically abused throughout their childhoods.' There was a lot at the crime being recorded as female and that Dixon was referred to as 'she' There was a lot at the crime being recorded as female and that Dixon was referred to as 'she' Sally Anne Dixon, who was born John Stephen Dixon in 1963, married twice and began transitioning to live as a female in 2004. Despite being jailed for six months in 1997 for the sexual abuse of a teenage boy, it was not until a victim came forward in 2019 that Dixon's years of offending came to light. Judge Van Der Zwart said opportunities to jail Dixon earlier had been missed. Lewes Crown Court in East Sussex heard the sex offender will be sent to female jail HMP Bronzefield, despite not being legally recognised as a woman. Sussex Police reopened their investigation into Dixon's earlier offending in 2019 following a new complaint from another victim. Harrowing victim statements were read to the court by victims, now adult men and women, who described horrific abuse. One woman said her childhood abuse left her feeling constant anxiety. 'I was hoping he would do the right thing for once and not put me through the trial but he didn't. 'He is a coward who did not give evidence. He was happy to put us through it but not himself.' Dixon lived in Crawley and Bexhill and worked repairing TVs and as a DJ around local bars, clubs and a caravan park. The court heard the children were abused at a lock-up garage and in a caravan on the south coast. Dixon was given consecutive nine year custodial sentences with two one year extended licences and will serve at least 12 years in custody before becoming eligible for parole. Detective Constable Amy Pooley of the Sussex Police Complex Abuse Unit said: 'Dixon came to know these vulnerable young children successively through family connections, and used that trusted access to systematically abuse each of them for sexual gratification, in some cases for several months at a time. 'Only when one of the victims eventually came to us in 2019 was the terrible and distressing nature of Dixon's offending over many years finally uncovered. 'As one victim escaped this predatory interest, another would take their place, but sometimes some victims would be offended against simultaneously. 'This case shows again that we will always follow up such reports, no matter how long ago the events are said to have happened, to support victims and to see if we can achieve justice for them wherever the evidence justifies that.' His Honour Judge Mark Van Der Zwart heard in July that Dixon did not have a Gender Recognition Certificate. But the sex offender will serve time at the women's prison despite not having the document which allows transgender people to legally be recognised as an alternate gender. Sussex Police did not respond to MailOnline to a request for further comment. This is the bizarre moment a naked man was stopped from entering a courthouse in Spain to attend a hearing. Alejandro Colomar, 29, was intercepted by cops in front of the Valencia court on Tuesday. Colomar was carrying a backpack with a change of clothes and wearing socks and a pair of boots when he was filmed trying to go inside the building. 'I was going to try to enter naked,' he told reporters, as quoted by Spanish newspaper El Diario. Alejandro Colomar (left) is addressed by a Valencia, Spain, courthouse officer after he attempted to enter the building naked, wearing on socks and boots, on Tuesday. The 29-year-old was attending a hearing for a fine he had received for stepping out in public without clothing Alejandro Colomar said he had always visited 'nudist beaches since I was little and I have never had any problem with nudity' Colomar, who works remotely for a United States-based software company, had been fined on multiple occasions for refusing to wear clothing in public. 'I have always liked it, I have always gone to nudist beaches since I was little and I have never had any problem with nudity,' he said. Colomar did some research on the internet and found that it was perfectly fine to do so. 'It was legal and I started doing it. They have given me fines because the police basically do not know the laws,' he said. Colomar has been fined nearly $2,900 for the violation of article 37 of the city's vice laws that prohibits extreme nudism, his attorney, Pablo Mora, said. Alejandro Colomar, who said he has been fined almost $3,000 for extreme nudism, complied by getting dressed outside the Valencia, Spain, courthouse prior to his hearing Tuesday Mora claims that they have successfully challenged the tickets because his client is not walking around the streets exhibiting the type of behavior that would require an arrest or citation. 'It is understood that obscene exhibitionism is to masturbate or do really obscene acts, the mere fact of going naked we understand that it is a manifestation of Alejandro's ideological freedom,' Mora said. Colomar eventually got dressed and was allowed to enter the courthouse. 'They are bothering me every time I go out naked on the street,' he said. 'I am going to show them that I can go like this and, since they bother me, I bother them.' For decades, the question puzzled and intrigued: why would the Marchioness of Bath, in her prime a woman of considerable, if haughty, beauty, choose to remain married to a libidinous husband who could never stay faithful to one woman? The answer, of course, was complicated. There were the two children of the marriage to consider, and there was her career: first as an actress and later as a brave war reporter which, involving inevitable separation from her husband, helped embody that old adage about absence making the heart grow fonder. Above all there was Longleat, the shimmering stately home of which she was an uncomplaining, if often absentee, chatelaine for more than half a century. The Elizabethan pile near Warminster, Wiltshire, with its safari park of lions, giraffes and zebras, was the real mistress of the marriage not any of Lord Bath's 75 concubines, or 'wifelets', as he called them. Richard Kay: 'For decades, the question puzzled and intrigued: why would the Marchioness of Bath, in her prime a woman of considerable, if haughty, beauty, choose to remain married to a libidinous husband who could never stay faithful to one woman?' Publicly, Anna Gael, the dowager Marchioness who has died at the age of 78, tolerated her husband's polygamous eccentricity with an amused detachment. Never once did she believe that any of the women who came and went not even the ones he semi-permanently installed in grace-and-favour houses on the estate would do anything more than share his bedroom, and certainly not his life. Whatever her private thoughts, she kept them to herself. She rarely gave interviews, and on the few occasions she did, it was mainly to talk about her career as a journalist and writer. But she did let one thing slip over the years. 'I married my husband for love, not money,' she declared, adding that he was very clear, 'he wanted a career woman who earned her living, who paid her taxes'. How convenient for the man who had seduced her at the age of 15, only to delay marrying her for another ten years. Richard Kay: 'Publicly, Anna Gael, the dowager Marchioness who has died at the age of 78, tolerated her husband's polygamous eccentricity with an amused detachment' At the time of his own death at 87 two years ago from pneumonia after contracting Covid-19 the priapic Alexander Bath was known mainly for the witty headlines his lifestyle had spawned, such as 'the lord of lust' and the 'loins of Longleat', and his proudest boast was that he had no need of Viagra. Even in louche, aristocratic circles the open marriage practised by Lord and Lady Bath was unconventional. She had her home in Paris, where she also had a lover, and he had the pleasure palace of Longleat with its infamous Kama Sutra room, where two wifelets would be on call so he could indulge in his favourite activity of a 'threesome'. In her rakish biography, The Marquess Of Bath: Lord Of Love, Nesta Wyn Ellis relates how the peer was 'positively swarming with women who are queuing up to share his bed'. At the height of his womanising, a young lady on either side of him in bed every night was a basic requirement. When Anna was provoked to respond to stories of her husband's womanising, she would dismiss them as fiction and invention with an imperious wave. Even their son Ceawlin (an old Wessex name pronounced See-aw-lin), with whom Anna was to spectacularly fall out, defended his bohemian parents. He had his own take on whether they embarked on a marriage of convenience merely to provide the dynasty with a male heir. Ceawlin Thynn, Viscount Weymouth and Emma McQuiston marry at the Longleat Estate. In 2015 Lady Bath denied a claim that, in 2015, she had suggested to her son that marrying his half-Nigerian wife would damage the aristocratic family's bloodline. She was subsequently banned from their wedding 'It's not that cut-and-dried,' he said. 'It was a love-match at the beginning. She fell for Dad first and Longleat was an added bonus.' But he added: 'She found being the Lady of Longleat fun for seven months and then realised it was not that great.' He said that his mother felt 'owned' by the house. The marriage still worked in its own way, however. 'It was never quite as easy and harmonious as an 'open marriage', but that's the general gist,' said Ceawlin. Shortly after Alexander's death, I wrote about his free-spirited life. The article provoked Lady Bath to contact me. For most of their long-distance marriage, which endured for more than half a century, she was based in Paris from where, after boring of acting, she reported on the Vietnam War, the Northern Ireland Troubles and other hotspots. Pictured, the couple in 1992 Signing off her email as 'Anna Bath', she told me: 'You've treated me, and him, fairly.' And added: 'Although working and earning a living in Paris, I have been at Longleat for half a month for every one of the last 51 years.' Over the previous eight years, with her husband's health failing, she had increased her visits, returning to Longleat every ten days. 'When in France I called every morning and every evening to see how [Alexander] was, what his glucose levels were [her husband was diabetic]. 'In fact, we had the best eight years in our relationship. It might be difficult to understand but we just loved each other.' The young actress in a scene from an episode of Jason King in 1972 This appears to be the last interview she ever gave and she used it to deny a claim that, in 2015, she had suggested to her son that marrying his half-Nigerian wife would damage the aristocratic family's bloodline. An outraged Ceawlin had subsequently banned his mother from the wedding and from seeing his own son, John, in case the boy was 'contaminated' by her views. Ceawlin, who succeeded to his father's title, alleged that when he told his mother of his plans to marry Emma McQuiston, whose father is a Nigerian oil tycoon, she replied: 'Are you sure about what you're doing to 400 years of bloodline?' However, Lady Bath told me: 'I never said that. What I did say was, 'Have you thought carefully about what you are doing?' Which is normal between mother and child.' She also spoke of the disagreements between her son and husband. 'The rift between father and son was not of my husband's doing. He was a nice, decent man and only did good for his son, like handing him the chairmanship of Longleat Enterprises Ltd. The actress locks lips with George Segal in a scene in The Bridge at Remagen. Lord Bath described his wife as the 'sexiest actress of all time' 'He was spoiled by circumstances, like all people from that walk of life, but he had no nastiness in him at all. In fact, his fault as a father was that he didn't lay down the law enough. 'I am saying this for his memory and because when I'm gone, that knowledge will be gone.' Born Anna Gyarmathy in Hungary to a mathematician father and poet mother, she moved with her family to France when she was just a child. She met Alexander in 1959 when she bunked off from school aged 15 to see an art house film at a seedy cinema. After moving seats to avoid a man who was pestering her, she found herself next to an unkempt Englishman in paint-spattered clothes. He was Alexander Thynn, the future Lord Bath, then 26 and a student in the city. He invited her for a coffee. She was thrilled by the age difference. 'A real man chasing me,' as she put it, describing him as 'Prince Charming in disguise'. Within a couple of months, he had persuaded this startlingly beautiful, if impressionable, young teenager to pose nude for him in his art studio. So much for Prince Charming. Alexander with daughter Lady Lenka Thynn, young Ceawlin Thynn and his wife Anna Gael, in 1987 In 1960, a year after meeting, they spent 12 months travelling around South America in Alexander's Jaguar. But on their return to Europe they drifted apart. 'He said I was too young [to marry] and I was very hurt. So I went into the acting world and we didn't see each other. I met this nice Frenchman, a TV director. I fell in love with him and he with me. He seemed to think marriage was a good idea and I thought it might be fun.' Now newly married, she began acting under the stage name Anna Gael the name she later adopted appearing in films including the lesbian drama Therese And Isabelle. It was not pornographic, she insisted. 'The most anyone saw was two pairs of ankles touching each other. It was two schoolgirls getting a crush on each other. You never saw them sleeping or kissing.' She claimed to have turned down far racier offers. 'I never made a blue movie in my life. I did undress, but it was necessary. I undressed to the waist.' She also posed for Penthouse magazine in 1970 and later threatened legal action against newspapers that republished the pictures, explaining that 'times had changed and we aren't there any more'. No doubt she meant she had moved on with her second marriage. Having divorced the TV director Gilbert Pineau, she and Alexander wed in a 'quickie' ceremony at Kensington register office they had continued to see each other behind Pineau's back. Anna was three months pregnant with their daughter and, afterwards, the wedding breakfast was a pizza. Lord Bath and his wife Anna at home in Longleat, Wiltshire, in March 1971 Despite the conventions of his upbringing Eton, Oxford and the Life Guards the future marquess had originally been vehemently anti-marriage. In 1966, he went through what he called an 'anti-marriage' with Tania Duckworth, a model from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), in a 'deist humanist' ceremony he largely made up himself. This was followed by an 'anti-divorce'. But he needed an heir. 'I was coming up to 37 and I needed a legitimate son if Longleat was to pass down through me,' he said in 1976. He asked Anna if she wanted to be the mother. Anna was a model and budding actor when she met Alexander Thynn aged 15 in Paris while he studied at the at La Grande Chaumiere art college in Montparnasse In the early days of their marriage, Alexander and Anna each had their own drawing room and would eat dinner together. Family life began with the arrival of their daughter Lenka, who went on to be a model and a TV researcher. Ceawlin, the much-wanted heir, was born five years later. The couple soon came to a working arrangement: she would continue filming in Paris, leaving him free to follow his quixotic pursuits. It meant the children were largely raised by their father and nannies, while Anna was an occasional visitor. 'It's an unusual arrangement and I've gotten all kinds of criticism about it,' she said in 1972. 'Even now I get letters from strangers attacking me.' Emma Weymouth, Marchioness of Bath, and Ceawlin Thynn, Viscount Weymouth attend the launch of Idris Elba And David Farber's Porte Noire Bar and Shop in Coal Drops Yard last year She insisted that Alexander understood her need for independence and that she couldn't sacrifice herself for anyone. Thynn succeeded his father as the 7th Marquess in 1992, and Anna became Marchioness. However, she said she found that side of her life boring. On the other hand, she said that the title 'Lady Thynn' had been detrimental to her acting career because people thought she didn't need the money. By then, she had long tired of acting and reinvented herself as a journalist, travelling to Vietnam to cover America's war with the Viet Cong in 1971 and also reporting from Cambodia. Her new job took her to other front lines: Bangladesh, Rhodesia, South Africa and Northern Ireland. But she gave up trouble zones in the 1990s at the urging of her children, and turned to politics and economic affairs. Wherever her assignment took her, she always headed back to Longleat when it was over, taking personal charge of conserving its historic paintings, tapestries and books. As for Lord Bath, he remained not just married to Anna, the wife he so grievously betrayed, but devoted to her, describing her as 'the sexiest actress of all time'. Liz Trusss remarks over whether Emmanuel Macron should be considered a friend or foe led to France pulling out of a major deal to tackle the small boats crisis. Boris Johnsons government had been poised to announce an agreement with France allowing British immigration officers to be deployed on the other side of the Channel. But Miss Truss unintentionally scuppered the ground-breaking deal during her Tory leadership campaign when she said the jury is out on whether the French president was a friend or foe. Boris Johnsons government had been poised to announce an agreement with France allowing British immigration officers to be deployed on the other side of the Channel Liz Trusss remarks over whether Emmanuel Macron should be considered a friend or foe led to France pulling out of a major deal to tackle the small boats crisis Her comments triggered a tirade from the French, sources said, and Mr Macrons government petulantly pulled out of the Channel negotiations in a fit of pique a few days later, even though a deal was on the cusp of being signed and sealed. A joint press release announcing the plan had even been drawn up when the whole scheme had to be binned, it is understood. The development, which comes after small boat migrants since the start of the year topped 32,000, is damaging for the PM because British experts believe securing a deal for UK boots on the ground in France will be vital in tackling the Channel crisis. The agreement was ground-breaking and would have seen UK authorities working in France to stop the small boats, a senior source said. For four years, the Home Office had been pushing for a deal which would allow British officials to work alongside French officials on the other side of the Channel. Boris Johnson was ready to sign it off. But it all collapsed after the friend or foe remark. There was a tsunami of rage, a tirade, from the Elysees Palace and French officials. The aborted deal was going to involve the UK Government paying up to 50million to the French for boosted joint patrols, it is understood They said, Who does this Truss woman think she is? and even demanded that she gave an apology. The source added: The French will hold the UK Government to ransom over this. The aborted deal was going to involve the UK Government paying up to 50million to the French for boosted joint patrols, it is understood. Home Office immigration intelligence officials would have been among those allowed to work on French territory, along with other UK Border Force officers. Miss Truss made the remarks at the end of August during leadership election hustings in Norwich hosted by TalkTV. Asked whether Mr Macron was friend or foe, she replied: The jury is out. If I become prime minister I would judge him on deeds, not words. Mr Macron later appeared to chastise Miss Truss by commenting: Britain is a friend of France, I dont doubt that for a second. If France and Britain cannot say whether they are friends or enemies... we are headed for serious problems. A Government spokesman said: Our work with the French to prevent the unacceptable rise in dangerous Channel crossings is ongoing.' The two leaders met at the United Nations summit in New York last week, where Mr Macron indicated he was ready to move on from the debacle. There is a will to re-engage, to move on, and to show that we are allies and friends in a complex world, he said. A source close to French interior minister Gerald Darmanin last night repeatedly refused to deny the account told to the Daily Mail of what happened to the joint patrol plan. Im sorry, but we have no comment to make, the source said. A Government spokesman said: Our work with the French to prevent the unacceptable rise in dangerous Channel crossings is ongoing. This cooperation has prevented over 23,000 illegal crossings since the start of the year, almost 75 per cent more than at this stage last year and our UK-France Joint Intelligence Cell has made more than 500 arrests and dismantled 21 organised crime groups since it was established in July 2020. This partnership is just one part of the Governments wider work on tackling illegal migration. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre indicated Tuesday that the White House would offer political asylum to men fleeing Russia following President Vladimir Putin's military mobilization. Her comments come after some European nations have indicated a willingness to take on Russians have flooded airports and border crossings after Putin said he would mobilize 300,000 reservists as his country faces battlefield losses to U.S.-backed Ukrainian forces. But she did not mention a specific program tailored for Russians, whose homeland faces an array of U.S. and western sanctions imposed in response to Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine in February. 'We are seeing protests in the streets of Russia, we are seeing people sign petitions, and I think the message they are sending to us very clearly is that this war that Putin started is unpopular,' she said. 'There are people out there in Russia who do not want to fight Putin's war or die for it.' 'We welcome any folks who are seeking asylum,' White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about Russians fleeing the country amid Vladimir Putin's partial mobilization order She spoke after numerous videos have emerged from Russia of attacks on military recruiting centers, and new conscripts being told they will be sent to the front, where U.S. and British officials have estimated tens of thousands of Russian military forces have been killed or wounded. There have even been reports of online searches for such questions as how to break your arm at home in Russia, in what has been interpreted as a way to avoid military service. 'We believe that, regardless of nationality, they may apply for asylum in the United States and have their claim adjudicated on a case-by-case basis,' said Jean-Pierre. 'We welcome any folks who are seeking asylum, and they should do that.' 'There is one person who can stop this war, and that is President Putin. He's the one who started this unprovoked, brutal war, and it is for it is up to him to stop it,' she said. Volunteers search for bodies of people, killed during Russia's attack on Ukraine, among remains of a building in the town of Izium, Kharkiv region, Ukraine September 26, 2022. Some Russians are fleeing the country rather than join the conflict Exodus: Russian men and women with their luggage walk along a road after passing through customs at the Georgia-Russia border checkpoint of Verkhnii Lars, Georgia, 27 September 2022 Men have jammed Moscow airports seeking to leave the country Russian vehicles wait to cross the border at the Vaalimaa border check point in Virolahti, Finland, on September 25, 2022. According to the Border Guard as many as 20 000 passengers may come from Russia to Finland over the weekend. Some departed other checkpoints on foot According to the Associated Press, more than 194,000 Russian nationals have fled to Georgia, Kazakhstan and Finland since Putin's announcement, traveling on car, by bicycle or on foot. That came after days of reports of spiking airfares to countries that still accept Russians amid sanctions since the Sept. 21 announcement. Traffic jams leading from North Ossetia in Rusia to the Georgian border have snaked for more than 9 miles. Georgia's Interior ministry said 53,000 Russians have entered the country in a week, with 98,000 traveling to Kazakhstan and 43,000 to Finland. Others are heading for Mongolia. What with the war in Ukraine, the spiralling cost of living crisis, and petty disagreements already bubbling on Strictly, there's quite enough to worry about right now. But as we all know, if it's not one thing it's another, and so now we're suddenly awash with asteroid disaster stories. An asteroid crashing into Earth? Forget the economy. We'd be obliterated. Up in smoke. Lost forever with the poor old dinosaurs. We've all seen the end-of-the-world disaster movies. Even a smallish asteroid can wipe out an entire country. Which is why at precisely 12.14am this morning, as most of us were tucked up in bed, an extraordinary drama was unfolding seven million miles away in space. The world's first planetary defence test mission. An extraordinary galactic space battle. On one side was the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or Dart a 300 million probe that is 19m (62ft) long and weighs half a tonne. On the other was Dimorphos. A bulky asteroid (a mass of space rock, as opposed to a comet, which is a mixture of ice, rock and gas), it measures 163m (530ft) across and is currently orbiting a far bigger asteroid, Didymos (780m or 2,560ft), once every 11 hours and 55 minutes. The big moment the culmination of an epic mission starting last November when it took off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from an air force base in California was scheduled for just after midnight. The Dart piloted for the last part of its journey by software and thrusters, and fuelled by large solar panels would smash into its target, almost head-on, at approximately 15,000 miles per hour. The impact would destroy the probe completely, and, fingers crossed, nudge Dimorphos off course sufficiently to tighten its orbit around Didymos to once every 11 hours and 45 minutes. In the meantime, a LICIACube a specialist Italian camera released some days ago from the probe would record the moment of 'deep impact' from 31 miles back and beam the images back to Earth. At least that was the plan. Or, as Professor Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer and member of the Nasa Dart investigation team at Queen's University Belfast, has put it: 'It's a very complicated game of cosmic billiards. What we want to do is use as much energy [as we can] from Dart to move the asteroid.' When you read this, it will either have worked, and Dimorphos will have been redirected, its course changed for ever, and the Dart rendered to dust. Or it won't. The Dart will be goodness knows where and the Dimorphos will be swirling happily in its original orbit. NASA's DART successfully impacted the Dimorphos asteroid on Monday at 7:14pm ET. This is the first planetary defense test and it could be used to save Earth But before you start panicking, clutching your loved ones and channelling your best Bruce Willis in the 1998 asteroid disaster movie Armageddon, take a breath. Because Dimorphos was one big lump of rock that was never going to hit Earth. Nowhere near. It never posed us any danger at all. This was all just a very expensive experiment to see whether devastating asteroids can be nudged off course if they're heading straight for us. But a very important experiment. There are plenty of asteroids that could hit us, which means that experts generally talk in terms of when, rather than if. Indeed, while scientists have identified more than 95 per cent of the monsters that would wipe us all out, there are still a lot of smaller ones roaring about barely a third of the 28,000 asteroids with a diameter of at least 140m (460ft) have been spotted. (It doesn't help that the smaller the asteroid is, the more dimly it shines and the harder it is to spot until it's closer to Earth.) Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), a box-shaped space probe, crashed into its target at 7:14pm. This is human's first planetary defense test Even the smallest of those are probably big enough to knock out Belgium, Wales or London. And the relatively small Dimorphos could easily create a crater over a mile wide, 200m (650ft) deep and cause intense damage for miles. All of which sounds rather grim. However, unlike earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, the upside here is that we get plenty of advance notice of the asteroids hurtling towards us at 20 miles a second. Thanks to the epic distances they travel, we have years, decades, or centuries even, of notice of an impending strike. 'Hollywood and movies, they have to make it exciting,' explained Dr Lindley Johnson, Nasa's planetary defence officer, last week. 'You know, they find the asteroid only 18 days before it's going to impact and everybody runs around as if they're on fire.' Not that there hasn't been plenty of real-life drama on the asteroid front. It was back in the 1980s when scientists realised that an asteroid had been responsible for the 112-mile-wide Chicxulub crater off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, which subsequently killed off all non-avian dinosaurs. And over the millennia, we've been properly battered by flying debris, with nearly 200 impact craters discovered around the world as evidence. The Tunguska Event of 1908 was the last time Earth was hit by a big meteor 76m (250ft) across. By some miracle, it landed in Siberia, where it destroyed 80 million trees and killed an awful lot of reindeer, but avoided civilisation. A few hours later and it would have wiped out St Petersburg. In 1999, a 130m (427ft) asteroid big enough to obliterate a city came within just 45,000 miles of Earth at barely a fifth of the distance to the Moon, far too close for comfort. And just two years ago, an asteroid known as 1998 OR2 and as big as a mountain, shot past at just 3.9 million miles away, in what Nasa termed a 'close approach'. Which is why, all around the world, scientists are constantly looking for new asteroids. And why the Dart plan is so very important. It won't be easy. As Tom Statler, the mission's programme scientist at Nasa, said during the news conference last week: 'Dimorphos is a tiny asteroid. We've never seen it up close, we don't know what it looks like, we don't know what the shape is. And that's just one of the things that leads to the technical challenges of Dart. Hitting an asteroid is a tough thing to do.' If, fingers crossed, this epic plan has worked, it isn't just about nudging the asteroid off course, but finding out more about it. What sort of rock it is, whether it's magnetic enough to be moved using other methods, and how damaged it is by the collision. The camera will take photos of the impact as it happens and send pictures back, but scientists will also be able to track what happens by telescope from Earth and, four years later by another satellite, Hera, which is due to be launched in 2024 by the European Space Agency. If this mission has been successful, it'll be a massive breakthrough. An extraordinary achievement for Nasa. A huge step for mankind. And yes, one worry off our massive worry tick list. And you never know, it might even herald the end of end-of-the-world asteroid disaster movies. An asteroid that hit the Earth two billion years ago in what is now South Africa was even larger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, new research suggests. Previous studies estimated that the planet's largest crater was formed by an object that was about 9.3 miles (15 km) wide and travelling as a velocity of 33,500 mph (15 km/s). But a new study disputes this, with experts suggesting that the space rock was actually up to 15 miles (24 km) wide. University of Rochester researchers say the asteroid impact, which left behind the Vredefort crater near present-day Johannesburg, would have had devastating consequences across the planet. They hope that their study will allow scientists to better simulate impact events on Earth and other planets, both in the past and the future. Theory: An asteroid that crashed into Earth two billion years ago in what is now South Africa was even larger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, new research suggests. It left behind the Vredefort crater near present-day Johannesburg (pictured) Previous studies estimated that the planet's largest crater was formed by an object that was about 9.3 miles (15 km) wide and travelling as a velocity of 33,500 mph (15 km/s) THE VREDEFORT IMPACT CRATER Two billion years ago a huge space rock hit the Earth about 62 miles (100km) southwest of Johannesburg creating the Vredefort impact crater. The asteroid, larger than Table Mountain, caused a thousand-megaton blast of energy. The impact would have vaporised about 70 cubic kilometres of rock. The heat from impact was enough to melt the Earth's crust creating a magma lake. The world has about 130 crater structures of possible impact origin. The Vredefort Dome is among the top three, and is the oldest and largest clearly visible impact site in the world. What remains of the event are impact-related rocks composed of broken fragments of minerals formed just after impact. Advertisement 'Understanding the largest impact structure that we have on Earth is critical,' said Natalie Allen, now a PhD student at John Hopkins University. 'Having access to the information provided by a structure like the Vredefort crater is a great opportunity to test our model and our understanding of the geologic evidence so we can better understand impacts on Earth and beyond.' Over the course of two billion years, the Vredefort crater has eroded. This makes it difficult for scientists to directly estimate the size of the crater at the time of the original impact, and therefore the size and velocity of the impactor that formed the crater. An object that is 9.3 miles (15 km) wide and travelling at a velocity of 33,500 mph (15 km/s) would produce a crater about 106 miles (172 km) in diameter. However, this is much smaller than current estimates for the Vredefort crater. These are based on new geological evidence and measurements estimating that the structure's original diameter would have been between 155 and 174 miles (250 and 280 km) during the time of the impact. Allen and her colleagues carried out simulations to match the updated size of the crater. Their results showed that an impactor would have to be much larger about 12 to 15 miles (20 to 25 km) and travelling at a velocity of 33,500 to 44,700 mph (15 to 20 km/s to explain a crater 155 miles (250 km) in size. This means the space rock that formed the Vredefort crater would have been larger than the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, forming the Chicxulub crater. That impact had damaging effects globally, including greenhouse heating, widespread forest fires, acid rain, and destruction of the ozone layer, in addition to causing the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event that killed the dinosaurs. If the Vredefort crater was even larger and the impact more energetic than that which formed the Chicxulub crater, the Vredefort impact may have caused even more catastrophic global consequences. 'Unlike the Chicxulub impact, the Vredefort impact did not leave a record of mass extinction or forest fires given that there were only single-cell lifeforms and no trees existed two billion years ago,' researcher Miki Nakajima said. 'However, the impact would have affected the global climate potentially more extensively than the Chicxulub impact did.' Dust and aerosols from the Vredefort impact would have spread across the planet and blocked sunlight, cooling the Earth's surface, she added. 'This could have had a devastating effect on photosynthetic organisms. 'After the dust and aerosols settled which could have taken anywhere from hours to a decade greenhouse gases such as cardon dioxide that were emitted from the impact would have raised the global temperature potentially by several degrees for a long period of time.' However, a new study disputes this, with experts suggesting that it was actually up to 15 miles (24 km) wide. The Vredefort Dome (pictured) is the oldest and largest clearly visible space rock impact site in the world University of Rochester researchers say the asteroid impact would have had devastating consequences across the planet The simulations also allowed the researchers to study the material ejected by the impact and the distance the material travelled from the crater. They can use this information to determine the geographic locations of land masses billions of years ago. For example, previous research determined material from the asteroid was ejected to present-day Karelia, Russia. Using their model, the researchers found that two billion years ago the distance of the land mass containing Karelia would have been only 1,200 to 1,500 miles (2,000 to 2,500 km) from the crater in South Africa much closer than the two areas are today. 'It is incredibly difficult to constrain the location of landmasses long ago,' Allen said. 'The current best simulations have mapped back about a billion years, and uncertainties grow larger the further back you go. 'Clarifying evidence such as this ejecta layer mapping may allow researchers to test their models and help complete the view into the past.' The research has been published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. However, Joshua missed the deadline and the Gypsy King said the deal was off WBC champion Fury set Joshua a deadline of 5pm on Monday to sign the deal Fury took to social media to say the proposed fight with AJ in December was off Hearn says they are still trying to 'conclude the deal' despite Fury's comments He says the promoters and broadcasters have had several 'positive' phone calls Eddie Hearn is still confident that Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua will happen Eddie Hearn has insisted Anthony Joshua's clash with Tyson Fury could still happen with the promoters and broadcasters involved in organising the fight still trying to 'conclude the deal'. Fury set Joshua a deadline of 5pm on Monday to sign the contract and took to his social media account after the cut-off point had passed to say the proposed fight in December was off. The WBC champion cited a lack of movement from Joshua's team as the reason for pulling the plug but Hearn has now said the promoters and broadcasters involved have had several 'positive' phone calls. Eddie Hearn has said Anthony Joshua's clash with Tyson Fury could still happen in December According to Hearn, the promoters and broadcasters - who are working hard to finalise AJ and Fury's fight - had several 'positive' phone calls on Monday. Hearn went on to say there has been no talk of a deadline between the two parties despite Fury claiming AJ had until 5pm on Monday to sign the contract. Instead, Hearn - who is the chairman of Matchroom Sport - has said that they 'are moving at pace to try and conclude the deal'. Speaking to TalkSPORT, Hearn said: 'There were various positive calls today between promoters and broadcasters who are all working hard to finalise the fight. Fury told Joshua he has until 5pm on Monday to sign the contract for their proposed fight 'There has been no talk of a deadline between the parties, but we are moving at pace to try and conclude the deal.' Hearn's comments came shortly after Fury insisted he would not be fighting his heavyweight rival AJ in December. When the deadline passed, Fury took to social media to say the fight was off and that he was going to fight someone else instead Fury said the deal with Joshua was 'off' because his fellow Brit missed a deadline of 5pm on Monday afternoon to sign the contract. The Gypsy King - who is frustrated with what he perceives to be a lack of movement from Joshua's camp - posted a video on Instagram minutes after the cut-off passed. The 34-year-old said he will be moving on to face someone else because Joshua is an 'idiot' who 'didn't have the minerals' to take the fight. Nevertheless, Hearn is still confident the fight will go ahead as he believes negotiations are heading in the right direction. However, Fury's promoter Frank Warren has already established a backup plan for the Gypsy King. He has lined up Mahmoud (formerly Manuel) Charr as a potential replacement for Joshua. Charr confirmed the news by saying: 'I have signed an agreement to fight three fighters of Frank Warren. 'Tyson Fury, Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce. I am ready to fight any of them but Tyson Fury is the first one I would pick.' Mahmoud Charr has said he has signed a deal to fight three of Frank Warren's boxers Hearn previously hit out at Fury for using a deadline to hide the fact he was interested in fighting German heavyweight Charr over AJ. 'The conversations have been decent and are moving in the right direction, but there is a long way to go', Hearn told Seconds Out. 'Fury wants to fight Manuel Charr, it's pretty obvious, and the public are not the brightest if they actually think otherwise.' Lahaina Grill in Maui is top in the U.S and Wild Harvest in Tasmania is Australias top-ranking restaurant The winners have been decided by an algorithm that analyses the millions of reviews from global travellers Advertisement The best fine-dining restaurants have been named by Tripadvisor, with The Old Stamp House Restaurant in the Lake District rated number one in the UK and the world for the second year running. The Michelin-starred Cumbrian eatery has been awarded the accolade as part of Tripadvisor's 2022 Travellers' Choice 'Best of the Best' Restaurants Awards, which are decided by an algorithm that analyses the millions of reviews and ratings collected in a year from travellers around the world. Oro Restaurante in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is the second-best restaurant in the global ranking, followed by Madonnina del Pescatore in the Italian seaside town of Senigallia. Number one in America is Lahaina Grill in Maui, Hawaii, which ranks 19th overall, and Wild Harvest in Tasmania is Australias top-ranking fine-dining restaurant, though no Australian restaurants make the global top 25. The Old Stamp House Restaurant (above) in the Lake District is the number-one-rated fine-dining restaurant in the UK and the world for the second year running, earning the accolade as part of Tripadvisor's 2022 Travellers' Choice 'Best of the Best' Restaurants Awards The Old Stamp House Restaurant serves dishes that give a 'unique glimpse into the food and cultural heritage of Cumbria'. On the right is an artfully presented dish at the restaurant The gold-medal-winning Old Stamp Restaurant, which lies in the picturesque town of Ambleside, is housed in the former office of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth. With head chef Ryan Blackburn at the helm, the 28-cover restaurant serves dishes that give a 'unique glimpse into the food and cultural heritage of Cumbria'. A tasting menu might feature tomatoes from the north of Cumbria, mushrooms found in the woods around Ambleside, and turbot from the English Channel. It has rave reviews - Tripadvisor user 'Mull2345', who visited this month, wrote: 'Exquisite food and wine flight to match. Give this place another star!' Another recent reviewer described the food as 'culinary wizardry'. Blackburn - who is also chef patron of the nearby restaurant Kysty, which has been named the UK's fifth-best date spot in the awards - commented: 'Its incredible that weve been recognised with the Travellers Choice Awards from Tripadvisor for Best in the World, Best in Europe and Best in the UK, based on community reviews, for the second year in a row, as well as being listed fifth in the UK for Kysty in the Date Night category, an improvement of two places on last year. 'Both teams constantly listen to what our guests have to say and the feedback they give us helps us deliver consistency and excellence across every aspect of what we do. Both restaurant teams are a little bit lost for words and just want to say thank you to the wonderful guests that have taken the time and trouble to help us continue to develop and improve as both evolve.' Oro Restaurante in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is the second-best restaurant in the global ranking Madonnina del Pescatore in the Italian seaside town of Senigallia, pictured, is third worldwide. Fish lovers need to try this place at least once, a recent review reads Number one in America in the fine-dining ranking is Lahaina Grill in Maui, Hawaii, which ranks 19th overall. Its menu revolves around the 'freshest ingredients cultivated by Maui's local farms, dairies and surrounding waters' Wild Harvest (pictured above), set on rugged King Island in Tasmania, is Australias top-ranking fine-dining restaurant Wild Harvest has a 'paddock to plate' philosophy Second-place Oro Restaurante, meanwhile, plates up cuisine that's a 'fusion of Brazilian roots and cutting-edge gastronomy', according to the Michelin Guide, while bronze-medal-winner Madonnina del Pescatore offers diners views of the Adriatic Sea and a menu that's rich in seafood to match. Fish lovers need to try this place at least once, a recent review of the latter reads. Two Spanish eateries make up the rest of the top five the French-inspired, three-Michelin-starred restaurant Martin Berasategui (fourth) in the town of Lasarte-Oria in the north of the country, and El Xato (fifth) in Alicante, which has been running for over 100 years and specialises in contemporary Mediterranean cuisine. The French-inspired, three-Michelin-starred restaurant Martin Berasategui (fourth) in the town of Lasarte-Oria in the north of Spain is fourth overall El Xato in Alicante, which has been running for over 100 years and specialises in contemporary Mediterranean cuisine, ranks fifth globally As for the UK fine-dining ranking, The Old Stamp Restaurant is followed by Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, a restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, that presents 'modern British' fare. Hide and Fox in Kent - a hidden gem, according to a recent review - is third; London's Frog By Adam Handling, where guests can expect a theatrical dining experience, is fourth; and the fabulous Olive Tree in Bath is fifth. In the U.S ranking, first-place Lahaina Grill offers a menu that revolves around the 'freshest ingredients cultivated by Maui's local farms, dairies and surrounding waters'. It's followed by The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge (second) in North Carolina, where an outdoor terrace offers stunning views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the outstanding Lincoln Inn & Restaurant At The Covered Bridge (third) in Woodstock, Vermont. Family-owned Cafe Monarch in Scottsdale, Arizona, is fourth in the U.S, while Halls Chophouse - a fine-dining restaurant thats known for its steaks - in Charleston, South Carolina, is fifth. Set on rugged King Island, Australia's number one fine-dining restaurant Wild Harvest has an 'ocean to table' and 'paddock to plate' philosophy, with menus that include local scallops and 'Wild Harvest-raised' pork sausage. THE 2022 WINNERS OF TRIPADVISOR'S TRAVELLERS' CHOICE RESTAURANTS AWARDS FAVOURITE FINE DINING RESTAURANTS WORLDWIDE 1. The Old Stamp House Restaurant, Ambleside, the Lake District, Cumbria 2. Oro Restaurante, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 3. Madonnina del Pescatore, Senigallia, Italy 4. Martin Berasategui, Lasarte-Oria, Spain 5. El Xato, La Nucia, Spain 6. Ristorante Villa Crespi, Orta San Giulio, Italy 7. Les Plaisirs Gourmands, Schiltigheim, France Europe 8. Sachi Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt 9. Auberge Du Vieux Puits, Fontjoncouse, France 10. Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, Padstow, Cornwall, England FAVOURITE FINE DINING RESTAURANTS IN THE UK 1. The Old Stamp House Restaurant, Ambleside, the Lake District, Cumbria 2. Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, Padstow, Cornwall 3. Hide and Fox, Hythe, Kent 4. Frog By Adam Handling, London 5. The Olive Tree, Bath, Somerset 6. Galvin La Chapelle, London 7. The Gannet, Glasgow, Scotland 8. The Mahal, Cheltenham, Cotswolds 9. Dean Banks At The Pompadour, Edinburgh 10. Gem42, Newport, Wales FAVOURITE FINE DINING RESTAURANTS IN THE U.S 1. Lahaina Grill, Maui, Hawaii 2. The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge, Blowing Rock, North Carolina 3. The Lincoln Inn & Restaurant At The Covered Bridge, Woodstock, Vermont 4. Cafe Monarch, Scottsdale, Arizona 5. Halls Chophouse, Charleston, South Carolina 6. Six Tables a Restaurant, Boca Raton, Florida 7. Inn at Little Washington, Washington, Virginia 8. Sazon, Santa Fe, New Mexico 9. Collage Restaurant, St. Augustine, Florida 10. Bourbon Steak by Michael Mina, a Nashville Steakhouse, Nashville, Tennessee FAVOURITE FINE DINING RESTAURANTS IN AUSTRALIA 1. Wild Harvest, King Island, Tasmania 2. EXP Restaurant, Pokolbin, New South Wales 3. Melaleuca, Port Douglas, Queensland 4. Charred Kitchen & Bar, Orange, New South Wales 5. Sokyo, Sydney 6. The Stunned Mullet, Port Macquarie, New South Wales 7. Me Wah, Hobart, Tasmania 8. The Gates Restaurant, Pokolbin, New South Wales 9. L'isle de France Terrigal, Terrigal, New South Wales 10. Margan Restaurant & Winery, Broke, New South Wales Source: Tripadvisor Advertisement Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, a restaurant set in the Cornish fishing town of Padstow, is second in the UK fine-dining ranking Paul Ainsworth at No. 6 presents diners with 'modern British' fare, pictured above The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge in North Carolina is second in the U.S fine-dining ranking and has been named the best date night spot in the U.S. Its outdoor terrace offers stunning views of the Blue Ridge Mountains A dish at The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge The dark, moody and intimate EXP Restaurant in New South Wales lands second place in the ranking and the rest of the top five comprises Melaleuca (third), a restaurant run by a husband-and-wife team in Queensland; the 'relaxed' Charred Kitchen & Bar (fourth) in New South Wales; and Sokyo (fifth), an 'elegant' Japanese eatery in Sydney. The awards also have five more subcategories - Everyday Eats, Picture-Perfect, Date Night, Hidden Gems and Quick Bites. Brand-new category 'Hidden Gems' showcases the 'lesser-known spots and places locals love', with Green Point, - a 'plant-based culinary experience' that will 'impress vegans and meat eaters alike' - in Cusco, Peru, taking the top spot worldwide. The number one 'Hidden Gem' in the UK, meanwhile, is La Fiesta Restaurant in Doncaster, Yorkshire. Tripadvisor reviewers praise the restaurant for its all-you-can-eat tapas option and 'great' atmosphere. Elsewhere, Joe's At The Jepson in Savannah, Georgia, is top in the U.S and The Currant Shed in Greater Adelaide reigns supreme in Australia. THE 2022 WINNERS OF THE CATEGORIES EVERYDAY EATS, PICTURE-PERFECT, DATE NIGHT, HIDDEN GEMS AND QUICK BITES BEST PICTURE-PERFECT WORLDWIDE 1. Sunset Monalisa, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 2. KOMA Singapore, Singapore 3. 7 Thalasses, Rethymnon, Crete, Greece 4. La Yola Restaurant, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic 5. The Flying Fishbone, Savaneta, Aruba 6. Porfirio's Cancun, Cancun, Mexico 7. Koral Restaurant, Bali, Indonesia 8. Tomo, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 9. Adamo ed Eva by Eden Roc, Positano, Italy 10. Man Wah, Hong Kong, China BEST DATE NIGHT WORLDWIDE 1. Altto Ristorante & Lounge Bar, Armacao dos Buzios, Brazil 2. Kaage at VARU by Atmosphere, Madivaru, Maldives 3. Mylos A La Carte Restaurant, Kolimbia, Greece 4. Pluvio restaurant, Vancouver Island, Canada 5. San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience, Monteverde, Costa Rica 6. Baglio Amalfi Italian Bistro Cucina, Vino & Drinks, Amalfi, Italy 7. The Ugly Duckling, Fuerteventura, Spain 8. Villa Donna Bistro, Monte Verde, Brazil 9. Ristorante Gavioli, Bormio, Italy 10. Lotus Eaters Restaurant, Crete, Greece BEST HIDDEN GEMS WORLDWIDE 1. Green Point, Cusco, Peru 2. IX CAT IK Mayan Cuisine, Yucatan, Mexico 3. Taberna el Sur, Madrid, Spain 4. La Locanda Gesu Vecchio, Naples, Italy 5. La Fiesta Restaurant, Doncaster, Yorkshire, England 6. Mivan Restaurant Cafe, Istanbul, Turkey 7. Indian Palace, Florence, Italy 8. La Dolce Vita, Pipa, Praia da Pipa, Brazil 9. Tierra Roja Restaurant, Chia, Colombia 10. Little India, Tenerife, Spain BEST EVERYDAY EATS In the UK 1. Makars Gourmet Mash Bar, Edinburgh 2. Simla Restaurant, Newcastle upon Tyne 3. Rio Brazilian Steakhouse - Middlesbrough, Yorkshire In the U.S 1. Timber Kitchen and Bar, Bangor, Maine 2. Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille Ft. Myers Beach, Fort Myers Beach, Florida Southwest Gulf Coast 3. Ristorante Pesto, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania In Australia 1. Bella Venezia Restaurant & Bar, Mooloolaba, Queensland 2. Cucina Porto, Sydney 3. Victor's Place, McLaren Vale, Greater Adelaide BEST QUICK BITES IN THE U.S 1. Bleecker Street Pizza, New York City 2. BirdHouse, Page, Arizona 3. Steak Shack, Honolulu, Hawaii 4. Martha's Dandee Creme, Queensbury, New York 5. Milt's Stop & Eat, Moab, Utah 6. NY Pizza Suprema, New York City 7. Seven Brothers, Kahuku, Hawaii 8. Muldoon's, Munising, Michigan 9. Portillo's Hot Dogs, Chicago 10. Earl of Sandwich, Las Vegas, Nevada Source: Tripadvisor Advertisement The dark, moody and intimate EXP Restaurant in New South Wales has been named Australia's second-best fine-dining restaurant Enjoy plant-based food at Green Point in Cusco, Peru, a restaurant that takes the top spot worldwide in the Hidden Gems category Tripadvisor reviewers praise La Fiesta Restaurant in Doncaster for its all-you-can-eat tapas option. The eatery is the number one 'Hidden Gem' in the UK In the Date Night category, Altto Ristorante & Lounge Bar in the Brazilian resort town of Armacao dos Buzios has been crowned the most romantic restaurant in the world for 2022. 'With a breathtaking view of the Bay of Armacao and [an] unparalleled gastronomic experience, it's clear why couples love dining here,' says Tripadvisor. Salamander Restaurant, which lies in the picturesque Cornish fishing village of Mevagissey, has been branded the best spot for a romantic meal in the UK, The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge scoops up another accolade as the best date night spot in the U.S and Watergate Restaurant & Lounge Bar in Queensland is top in Australia. The Picture Perfect category is the one no doubt most keenly noted by snap-happy foodies and this year's winner, we can reveal is last year's No.14 - Sunset Monalisa, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. 'You will experience a cracking sunset here, topped off with the sound of waves crashing while you eat,' says Tripadvisor. There's no global winner in the Everyday Eats category, but Edinburgh's Makars Gourmet Mash Bar - a restaurant that serves up nine variations of mash potato including chilli mash, smoked bacon and spring onion mash and black pudding mash, as well as a variety of classic Scottish dishes - is top in the UK. Meanwhile, Timber Kitchen and Bar in the city of Bangor, Maine, is number one in the U.S and Bella Venezia Restaurant and Bar in Queensland leads the pack in Australia. In the Date Night category, Altto Ristorante & Lounge Bar (above) in the Brazilian resort town of Armacao dos Buzios has been crowned the most romantic restaurant in the world for 2022 Sunset Monalisa (pictured), in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, tops the podium in the Picture Perfect category. 'You will experience a cracking sunset here,' says Tripadvisor Finally, Bleecker Street Pizza in New York tops the podium in the Quick Bites category, which exclusively ranks American eateries. Commenting on the awards, Lauren Murphy, Vice President and General Manager of Hospitality Solutions at Tripadvisor, says: 'Dining out is an internationally beloved pastime: for many restaurant-goers, it's frequenting their favourite neighbourhood eatery and for others, it's snagging a table at a top-rated restaurant on holiday. More than half of consumers in a recent survey told us that food is the most exciting component of their trip. 'Like searching through a big menu for the perfect meal, recommendations can be helpful in decision-making, and our community's guidance makes choosing from the wide array of restaurants easier. Tripadvisor's Travellers' Choice Awards, decided by people who visited and reviewed these places in the past year, offers authentic recommendations for the best places to eat no matter the occasion!' For more on the ranking, visit tripadvisor.co.uk/TravellersChoice-Restaurants. Reese Witherspoon shared a photo alongside her lookalike daughter Ava Phillippe for National Daughters Day on Monday. The 46-year-old actress smiled brightly in the photo as she leaned her head against her 23-year-old daughter's. Reese wore a light blue shirt with a V-neck under an off-white sweater. She accessorized with a gold necklace and matching gold earrings. Mother and daughter: Reese Witherspoon shared a photo alongside her lookalike daughter Ava Phillippe for National Daughters Day on Monday Her daughter wore a white t-shirt and painted her lips a vibrant pink. Several large earrings protruded from her right ear. The pair seemed to have the exact same smile and very similar eyes as well as matching blonde locks. Reese captioned the set of photos, 'Always feeling very lucky to have my wonderful, creative , talented daughter in my life ! [growing heart emoji] What a gift to share this life journey with you ..and the best makeup tips... it's really great to share beauty tips, dog memes and the same shoe size. Makes life so fun! [lipstick emoji, pink hearts emoji, gold star emoji].#nationaldaughtersday' Three generations: Reese Witherspoon left fans gushing over her latest Instagram post as she shared a snap with her lookalike mother Betty, 73, and Ava Parents: She shares Ava with her ex Ryan Phillippe (pictured 2002) Reese's photo with her daughter came about a week after she shared a photo showcasing three generations of Witherspoons. She posted a stunning snap with Ava and her mother Betty, 73, as well. The Legally Blonde star looked radiant in the image, wearing a classic white shirt and styled her hair in voluminous waves while flashing a wide grin. Her mother Betty, who worked as was a labour-and-delivery nurse, showed off her youthful visage and infectious smile as she beamed broadly in the image. Ava looked lovely wearing a white strappy top and her hair pulled into two French plait braids. Reese shares Ava and son Deacon, 18, with Ryan Phillippe, and has son Tennessee James, nine, with her talent agent husband Jim Toth, 52. Another son: Reese also shares her son Deacon with Phillippe (pictured 2019) So close: 'I'm so proud of her. She really rolls with it. I'm sure it's not easy looking exactly like your mother,' Reese said in an interview with InStyle (pictured 2019) The actress was just 23 when she had Ava, and discussed being a young mom during a recent appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. 'To be completely candid, I was terrified,' she told host Drew Barrymore. 'I got pregnant when I was 22 years old, and I didn't know how to balance work and motherhood, you just do it. I was just like every other mom and dad trying to figure it out.' Now 23 herself, Ava looks just like her mother so much so that both Reese and Ava have joked about it in interviews. 'I'm so proud of her. She really rolls with it. I'm sure it's not easy looking exactly like your mother,' Reese said in an interview with InStyle. Gehlot and Pilot were at loggerheads over the chief minister's post soon after the Congress won the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly polls. (Photo: PTI) NEW DELHI: All eyes are on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi as top leaders converged at her 10, Janpath residence here on Monday after a series of developments in the last 24 hours in Rajasthan, where a majority of the party MLAs have rebelled against Sachin Pilot and want Ashok Gehlot to continue as the chief minister. Party observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken, who were sent to Rajasthan, returned to Delhi on Monday after a planned meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) failed to take place. They met Gandhi at her residence soon after their return from Jaipur. The high drama has also put a question mark on whether Gehlot would still run for the party president's post or someone else would replace him as a candidate supported by the current leadership. Gehlot has maintained that the "one man, one post" formula does not apply to him as the Congress presidential poll is an internal affair. Maken said they would submit their report to Gandhi after which the party's further strategy would be chalked out. He said he and Kharge kept waiting for the party MLAs in Jaipur on Sunday night but they did not turn up. "We are returning to New Delhi to apprise Sonia Gandhi of the developments," Maken said. Senior party leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath is also expected to reach New Delhi to meet Gandhi. Nath, who is the Madhya Pradesh Congress chief, is known to have close ties with Gehlot and could be asked to broker a truce. AICC general secretary, organisation K C Venugopal arrived at Gandhi's residence to discuss the situation arising in Rajasthan after a virtual revolt by a majority of the party MLAs. Former leader of opposition in Rajasthan Rameswar Dudy also met Gandhi amid the developments. The political drama in Rajasthan over a possible leadership change continued on Monday with the MLAs loyal to Gehlot refraining from separately meeting Kharge and Maken. They held a parallel meeting in favour of Gehlot remaining as the chief minister and put forth a series of demands. Pilot, who is seen to be the main contender for the chief minister's post if Gehlot is elected as the Congress president, is also expected to meet the party high-command amid the developments. Congress sources said 82 MLAs loyal to Gehlot, who resigned on Sunday over a possible move to appoint Pilot as the next chief minister, are likely to hold a meeting on Monday to decide their next course of action. The Congress has 108 MLAs in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly. Kharge and Maken, who waited in vain for all the MLAs to arrive for the CLP meeting on Sunday, were trying to persuade the Gehlot loyalists to meet them one by one, in an effort to defuse the political crisis. However, several MLAs have left for their respective constituencies in view of the Navratri festival, the sources said. Maken slammed the Gehlot loyalists for setting conditions for a party resolution, terming it a "conflict of interest", and said their decision to hold a parallel meeting amounted to indiscipline. "In the 75 years of the Congress's history, there has never been a conditional resolution. A resolution is only a one-line document. Everything is told to the Congress president and then a decision is taken," Maken told reporters in Jaipur. "A resolution should not have any conflict of interest. Those who are contesting elections and tomorrow, might become the party president, if they get to decide on the resolution, it is a conflict of interest. So, it is wrong," he said, without naming Gehlot. Rajasthan ministers Shanti Dhariwal, Mahesh Joshi and Pratap Singh Khachariyawas met Kharge and Maken at the chief minister's residence in Jaipur on Sunday night to convey the message of the Gehlot loyalists to them. Maken said the delegation put forward three conditions -- a decision on the selection of the chief minister should be taken after the Congress presidential poll, the chief minister should be from among those MLAs who stood with the government during the political crisis in 2020 and not from the Pilot camp, and the AICC observers should hold meetings in groups, instead of one-on-one as sought by the high-command. "We will listen to everyone. No decision is being taken. Whatever you will say will be conveyed to Delhi.... We have directions to hold one-on-one meetings with the MLAs so that they speak frankly," Maken had told the legislators. "If a decision is not taken keeping the MLAs' sentiments in mind, the government will be in danger," Independent legislator and advisor to the chief minister Sanyam Lodha had said. The Gehlot loyalists said they have told Kharge and Maken that any decision on the next chief minister should be taken after the party's presidential election on October 19 and in consultation with Gehlot. They also want someone to the top post who stood with the Congress government during a political crisis in Rajasthan in 2020. The aborted CLP meeting was seen as a crucial step ahead of Gehlot filing his nomination for the Congress president's post, amid speculation that former deputy chief minister Pilot will take his place in the state. Gehlot and Pilot were at loggerheads over the chief minister's post soon after the Congress won the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly polls. In July 2020, Pilot, along with 18 party MLAs, had rebelled against Gehlot's leadership. Married At First Sight alumni Cathy Evans and Mel Lucarelli are no stranger to the social scene in the Harbour City. And the reality TV stars ensured all eyes were on them on Friday as they celebrated the second birthday of Lash Therapy Australia on a yacht in Sydney Harbour. Cathy flaunted her curves in a tight pink crop top and loose-fitting white pants. Married At First Sight stars Cathy Evans (pictured) and Mel Lucarelli celebrated beauty brand Lash Therapy at a boat party on Sydney Harbour on Friday She completed her outfit with an olive-green handbag and pink boots. Cathy wore her brunette tresses in loose curls and opted for a glossy makeup palette for the star-studded event. Cathy flaunted her curves in a tight pink crop top and loose-fitting white pants Mel opted for a form-fitting graphic minidress which she paired with off-white heels. The star wore her brunette tresses up and opted for a high-octane makeup look. Miss Universe Australia Monique Riley brought plenty of glamor in a pink dress which she teamed with a quilted Chanel handbag. Mel opted for a form-fitting graphic minidress which she paired with off-white heels She swept her brunette tresses into a high ponytail. Socialite and actress Suzan Mutesi wore a strapless textured frock along with embellished heels. Lash Therapy, which sells a natural lengthening treatment, was started by Lauren Rugolo, Jessica Arthur, and Emma Spiliopoulos, and has been a runaway success. Miss Universe Australia Monique Riley brought plenty of glamor in a pink dress which she teamed with a quilted Chanel handbag The trio began researching lash serums and formulations in May 2020 before launching Lash Therapy four months later. 'We knew we had found a gap in the market and were quick to begin the process of trailing out different formulas,' Lauren previously told Daily Mail Australia. 'We knew we had to act fast to take advantage of a demand had created for stronger, longer natural eyelashes,' she added. Socialite and actress Suzan Mutesi wore a strapless textured frock and embellished heels The brand was an immediate success with the ladies selling 25,000 units in four months, making a turnover of $1.5million. 'We all had a passion for creating a life where we worked for ourselves,' Lauren said. 'The idea of starting a business had been discussed between us for years; however, we never had the right idea, time, and drive to jump in. Covid provided a solution to all these problems.' The ABC is set to review its coverage of the Queen's death after one of its veteran journalists slammed the public broadcaster for 'misreading' its audience with wall-to-wall royal reporting. Members of YourSpace, the ABC's online feedback platform, have been asked to give their views on the 10 days of coverage following Elizabeth II's death in the lead-up to her funeral. They were asked on Friday if the ABC had spent 'too much time', 'just enough time' or 'not enough time' covering the death of the Queen, reports The Australian. The ABC is set to review its coverage of the Queen's death after one of its veteran journalists slammed the public broadcaster for 'misreading' its audience with wall-to-wall reporting Viewers were also asked to rate programs relating to the Queen's death and funeral out of ten and give their overall impression of the coverage. The survey asked if viewers watched coverage on online streaming platform iview, whether they watched news live, and if they'd engaged with content on the ABC's YouTube and Facebook pages. In the days after the death of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, the ABC came under fire for its 'excessive' coverage and sending 29 journalists to the UK for the funeral, despite running the BBC's feed during the main event. Local radio hosts Richard Glover, Virginia Trioli and Rafael Epstein were among the presenters sent to London alongside TV stars Michael Rowland and Lisa Millar. In the days after the death of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, the ABC came under fire for its 'excessive' coverage and sending 29 journalists to the UK for the funeral, despite running the BBC's feed during the main event. (Pictured: ABC hosts Michael Rowland and Lisa Millar) The ABC's live broadcast from Westminster Abbey drew in 708,000 viewers, while 362,000 tuned in to watch ABC News' coverage. Former political journalist and longtime ABC host Barrie Cassidy said the network made a mistake and failed to pay attention to its audience by broadcasting almost non-stop coverage of the Queen's death. 'I suspect the ABC has misread its audience. If you want wall-to-wall royalty you can get it elsewhere in spades,' Mr Cassidy said. 'The ABC is better when it offers an alternative to populism.' Members of YourSpace, the ABC's online feedback platform, were asked on Friday if the ABC had spent 'too much time', 'just enough time' or 'not enough time' covering the death of the Queen. (Pictured: the Queen's coffin being carried out of Westminster Abbey) Lucy Turnbull, the wife of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and former Lord Mayor of Sydney, also critiqued the coverage. 'The saturation media coverage is (paradoxically) diminishing the significance of these historic events,' she tweeted. 'Enough first drafts of history already.' Ellen Fanning, host of ABC's The Drum, was among those to defend the coverage. 'She was our head of state. The fact that she lives in London necessitates travelling there,' she said. 'If you find it bizarre that our head of state lives in London, that is something Australians will have to sort out in the months and years ahead,' she added. The taxpayer-funded broadcaster broke the news of Her Majesty's death in Balmoral in the early hours of September 9. The ABC then issued a statement explaining special programming would go ahead to celebrate the life of Queen Elizabeth II. 'Over the coming days and weeks, the ABC will have dedicated teams covering events from the UK, including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's funeral and the activities around the accession of King Charles III,' the statement said. Longtime ABC host Barrie Cassidy (pictured) said the network made a mistake and failed to pay attention to its audience by broadcasting almost non-stop coverage of the Queen's death 'I suspect the ABC has misread its audience. If you want wall-to-wall royalty you can get it elsewhere in spades,' Mr Cassidy tweeted The controversy comes a year after the broadcaster came under fire for interrupting an episode of Vera to announce Prince Philip's death. The broadcaster received 435 complaints over a news bulletin interrupting a repeat of the British drama to announce the Duke of Edinburgh had died at the age of 99. A network's spokesperson said: 'The ABC's special Friday night coverage of the death of Prince Philip meant interrupting the scheduled ABC TV broadcast of a repeat of Vera, which is now available to watch on ABC iview and will be rebroadcast on ABC TV this Thursday at 1.30pm. 'The ABC has received a relatively low 435 complaints about its overall coverage, more than three-quarters of which relate to the interruption of Vera. 'Other complaints were about other matters, such as the duration of our coverage.' Nicola and Brooklyn Peltz Beckham enjoyed a dinner date in Paris on Monday ahead of Fashion Week in the capital. The 27-year-old model donned a slick all black outfit complete with large black sunglasses and knee-skimming platform boots, while her husband Brooklyn kept it simple in a navy long-sleeved polo and denim jeans. The two held hands and looked relaxed for their date night, despite sources claiming there is an ongoing familial rift between Nicola and her mother-in-law Victoria Beckham, who is also heading to Paris imminently for Fashion Week. All smiles: Nicola and Brooklyn Peltz Beckham enjoyed a dinner date in Paris on Monday ahead of Fashion Week in the capital Nicola wore a black mini dress with a pair of tights, covering up with a long leather double-breasted jacket for the date. She accessorised with just a silver shoulder bag which she threw over her arm to finish off the look. Her stand-out platform boots had lots of fastenings, adding some detail to the monochromatic Parisian outfit. Her partner-in-crime Brooklyn, 23, rolled up his sleeves to showcase some of his 100 tattoos, 70 of which are dedicated to his wife Nicola. Power couple: Nicola donned an all black outfit complete with sunglasses and knee-skimming platform boots, while her husband Brooklyn kept it simple with a polo shirt and jeans Happy: Wearing her newly-chocolate brown tresses behind her beaming face, Nicola's choppy fringe framed her face as she beamed with a great smile for the cameras He finished off the look with a pair of low black leather Doctor Martens. The couple, who haven't shied away from packing on the PDA since tying the knot in April, were hand-in-hand as they prepared for the Balmain Fashion Show in France. Victoria meanwhile has been preparing for Paris Fashion Week herself and shared her excitement before heading to the French capital. The fashion designer will see her self-titled brand's first appearance at Paris Fashion Week. She posted on her Instagram on Monday to her 30.2million followers: '#ParisFashionWeek is calling! I'm so excited for a busy week ahead of my #PFW debut... a bientot,', which translates to 'See you soon.' Joining soon: Victoria meanwhile has been preparing for Paris Fashion Week herself and shared her excitement before heading to the French capital The appearance comes as Nicola sensationally claimed that her mother-in-law blanked her for days after offering to design her wedding dress. The move reportedly blew the bride's plans out of the water when Victoria said her studio couldn't make actually make the gown. Last week, insiders said that the model, 27, is pushing a 'false narrative', leaving Victoria 'bemused' as to why she keeps 'stoking the rumours of a feud' rather than shutting them down. A source told The Sun: 'Frankly, the most interesting thing about Nicola is that she married into the Beckham clan. Tourists: Nicola poses next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris with her brother Diesel Peltz on Monday Family ties: Nicola is pictured in Paris on Monday with her brother Bradley Peltz ahead of Paris Fashion Week 'David and Victoria have both reached out to her to try and make peace, and find a way to get along. 'David and Victoria would love to spend more time with their son and his wife, and be given the opportunity to welcome her into the fold, especially given that Brooklyn practically lives with his parents-in-law.' Nicola instead sported a stunning couture Valentino dress on her special day with Brooklyn in April, however she claims the initial plan was for her to wear Victoria's specially-made dress. The model-actress said she was thrilled at the prospect of wearing a dress designed by Victoria, however she didn't hear from the former Spice Girl, 48, for days before she rung to say she wouldn't make the gown for her big day. The devastating news left Nicola stumped - since her stylist Leslie Fremar and mother Claudia were also set to join the design dream team. The plan was shot down in a call between Victoria and Nicola's mom. Feud: The appearance comes as Nicola sensationally claimed that her mother-in-law blanked her for days after offering to design her wedding dress (Pictured in 2021) Tension: It comes as insiders claim that Nicola Peltz is pushing a 'false narrative', about mother-in-law Victoria Beckham 'bemused' as to why she keeps 'stoking the rumours of a feud' In a bombshell interview with Grazia USA, she revealed: 'We connected to start designing the dress, and then a few days went by and I didn't hear anything. Victoria called my mom and said her atelier couldn't make it.' Doting husband Brooklyn made his position clear amid the family feud, telling the publication that Nicola is his 'number one priority' and that they 'have each other's back 100 per cent'. Nicola, the daughter of New York billionaire Nelson Peltz, attempted to set the record straight as she explained: 'I was planning on wearing Victoria's wedding dress and I was truly so excited to be able to wear a design that my future mother-in-law created. Married At First Sight's Carolina Santos has released a secret recording of an alleged conversation with one of the show's producers, which she claims proves some of the MAFS storylines are fake. In the recording, the TV bride, 34, is heard telling the unnamed man, who she says was a head producer, she desperately wants to end her marriage with Dion Giannarelli so she can be with her co-star Daniel Holmes, but is told she is not allowed. Carolina copped intense backlash from viewers and fellow cast members after she 'cheated' on her husband with fellow groom Daniel during this year's series. Married At First Sight's Carolina Santos has released a secret recording of an alleged conversation with one of the show's producers which she claims proves some of the MAFS storylines are fake The Brazilian-born beauty shared the clip to prove she wanted to tell Dion the truth, but producers wanted her to tell a different story. Carolina, who has since split with Daniel, said she had been considering releasing the video for a while and decided to finally post it on Instagram for her own 'mental health and well-being'. 'I tried with multiple producers, prior to this conversation with one of the head producers, about wanting to be upfront and honest with Dion and asked to deal with the situation as I would on the outside,' she explained. 'As you will hear if it was up to me things would not have been done the way it did. 'I'm glad I'm finally sharing my truth.' In the recording, the TV bride, 34, is heard telling the unnamed man, who she says was a head producer, she desperately wants to end her marriage with Dion Giannarelli so she can be with her co-star Daniel Holmes, but is told she is not allowed The Brazilian-born beauty shared the clip to prove she wanted to tell Dion the truth, but producers wanted her to tell a different story In the clip, Carolina is heard chatting with the producer about wanting to reveal the truth to Dion or at least another cast member. Carolina complains that former MAFS star Jessika Power had someone to talk to during her series, but she is not allowed to speak to anyone inside or outside of the experiment about her predicament. 'It is really frustrating... On top of that, there's obviously Dion that's not the way I would have handled things on the outside,' Carolina is heard saying in the clip. Carolina copped intense backlash from viewers and fellow cast members after she 'cheated' on her husband with fellow groom Daniel during this year's series 'When Daniel first invited me for a chat, (you asked) "are you going to tell Dion", and you're like "no, you don't want to tell Dion". Carolina adds, 'I want to tell him now, how long more am I going to drag this along for?' 'Or at least tell me, because it's frustrating me I don't get told "no this is not happening" either, so you guys drag me along as well'. In the clip, Carolina is heard chatting with the producer about wanting to reveal the truth to Dion or at least another cast member. Carolina and Dion pictured at a dinner party 'Every time I've said "that's how I would like to do it", I just get "it's not up to me, it's up to Tara McWilliams [executive producer of MAFS]" .' The man in the recording then tells Carolina they don't have the power to make that decision and she would need to speak directly to Tara. Carolina explains she didn't want to 'blindside' Dion and tell him she didn't feel anything towards him and wants to to pursue a romance with Daniel. The man then replies: 'Obviously you're not allowed to say anything'. She recently celebrated a bittersweet milestone after what would have been her 12-year anniversary with ex-husband Stuart Webb. But a cheerful-looking Kate Ritchie showed no sign of heartbreak on Monday as she stepped out for a stroll with her mother Heather in Sydney. The former Home and Away star, 43, opted for a laid-back ensemble comprising a baggy wool jumper, white shirt and black jeans. A cheerful-looking Kate Ritchie stepped out for a stroll with her mother in Sydney on Monday The mother of one swept her brunette hair into a ponytail and went makeup free. Kate completed her look with chic wire-frame glasses and sneakers. She was engrossed in conversation with her mum, who was using a cane, as the pair walked at a leisurely pace. The former Home and Away star, 43, opted for a laid-back ensemble comprising a baggy wool jumper, white shirt and black jeans Kate's day out comes after she took a rather unusual trip down memory lane on Sunday by defrosting a slice of her wedding cake from more than a decade ago. The day marked what would have been her 12-year anniversary with her ex-husband Stuart, a retired NRL player whom she divorced in 2020. The Australia's Got Talent judge posted a photo to Instagram of the top-tier slice of the cake, which had been frozen and wrapped in plastic since the ceremony. She was engrossed in conversation with mother Heather (left), who was using a cane, as the pair walked at a leisurely pace Kate completed her look with chic wire-frame glasses and sneakers She wrote in the caption: 'Who is still eating their wedding cake? Why? And for what benefit? This is mine defrosting today.' The top tier of a wedding cake is traditionally saved for the newlyweds' one-year anniversary and is thought to symbolise good luck and prosperity. Many of Kate's followers were stunned she had kept her cake frozen for so long. One fan said the cake was 'part of your story' while another cheekily remarked it 'lasted longer than the marriage did'. Kate's day out comes after she took a rather unusual trip down memory lane on Sunday by defrosting a slice of her wedding cake from more than a decade ago Kate and Stuart began dating in 2008 and announced their engagement a year later. The couple wed in a countryside ceremony in Tasmania in 2010. They split in 2020 after 10 years of marriage, and the former child actress reportedly moved out of their marital home in Sydney. Kate was married to retired rugby league player Stuart Webb from 2010 to 2020. The exes are parents to eight-year-old daughter Mae (all pictured in January 2019) The exes are parents to eight-year-old daughter Mae. Kate grew up in front of Australian television audiences after first appearing as Sally Fletcher on Home and Away aged nine in 1988. She appeared on the program for the next 20 years, winning the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality in 2007 and 2008 and Silver Logies for Most Popular Actress from 2006 to 2008. Emma Weymouth, Marchioness of Bath looked chic as she attended the Burberry Spring/Summer 2023 catwalk show afterparty at The Twenty Two on Monday. The British socialite, 36, wore a low-cut black top with cut-out detail and a pair of matching trousers as she stepped out just days after the death of her mother-in-law Anna Gael, the Dowager Marchioness of Bath. Emma's mother-in-law, the Dowager Marchioness of Bath died on 17 September, just 10 days before her 79th birthday. In style: Emma Weymouth, Marchioness of Bath, 36, looked chic at the Burberry Spring/Summer 2023 catwalk show afterparty during London Fashion Week on Monday Anna Gael, a former actress and model, died in Paris, where she spent most of her time. Emma married Anna's son Ceawlin Thynn, 8th Marquess of Bath, 48, in 2013, with Anna apparently questioning her son's choice of bride at the time. She allegedly asked Ceawlin - the then heir to Longleat, with its 10,000-acre estate, wildlife park and reputed 150 million fortune, if he was sure about ruining 400 years of bloodline by marrying Emma McQuiston, the half-Nigerian daughter of an oil tycoon. Stepping out in style: The British socialite, 36, wore a low-cut black top with cut-out detail and a pair of matching trousers and heels All-smiles: Emma beamed for the cameras outside the glitzy soiree Known as Emma Weymouth after marrying Ceawlin, then Viscount Weymouth, she went on to find fame as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2019. Emma was seen earlier on Monday as she posed at the Burberry fashion show before taking her seat at the event to watch the models make their way along the catwalk. She opted for another all-black look for the show, pairing a gown with an oversized blazer. Farewell: Anna Gael, a former actress and model, died in Paris, where she spent most of her time (pictured with her husband Lord Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath in 1998) Couple: Emma and Ceawlin Thynn, Viscount Weymouth married in 2013 (pictured in London on October 2021) A whole host of big names arrived at the runway show in Bermondsey, London, on Monday afternoon to see the Spring/Summer 2023 collection for the quintessentially British luxury fashion brand. Burberry had originally planned to showcase their SS23 line on September 17 during London Fashion Week but cancelled the show in the wake of the Queen's death on September 8. Despite the new date clashing with the final day of Milan Fashion Week, there were still a host of big names in attendance with Kanye West among the celebrity attendees. Stylish: Emma was seen earlier on Monday as she posed at the Burberry fashion show before taking her seat at the event to watch the models make their way along the catwalk Christian Bale revealed he couldn't stop laughing at Chris Rock on the set of Amsterdam. The 48-year-old actor opened up about the movie in an interview with IndieWire published on Monday. 'I remember his first day, I was excited to meet him, I'm a big fan of his standup,' he said. 'Then he arrives, and he's doing some thingsDavid [O. Russell] told him to tell me some stories that I didn't know he was gonna tell me, which is the way David works often. And I was loving it.' Cracking up: Christian Bale revealed he couldn't stop laughing at Chris Rock on the set of Amsterdam (pictured 2019) He continued, 'But Chris is so bloody funny and I found that I couldnt act, because I was just becoming Christian laughing at Chris Rock. So I had to go to him, I went "Mate, I love talking to you, and we have mutual friends, but I cant do it anymore. Because David didnt ask me to make this film so he could just watch me giggle. He wants me to be Burt, and Im forgetting how to be Burt."' 'I often meet these incredible people, but I isolate myself,' he went on to say. 'Because if I get to know people too much, I find I just dont believe what Im doing in the scene.' Amsterdam will have a wide release in theaters on Friday, October 7, and the movie has a star-studded cast. Discussing the movie: The 48-year-old actor opened up about the movie in an interview with IndieWire published on Monday Loving the standup: 'I remember his first day, I was excited to meet him, I'm a big fan of his standup,' he said. 'Then he arrives, and he's doing some thingsDavid [O. Russell] told him to tell me some stories that I didn't know he was gonna tell me, which is the way David works often. And I was loving it' Star-studded: Amsterdam will have a wide release in theaters on Friday, October 7, and the movie has a star-studded cast (pictured September 18, 2022) Rock and Bale are starring in the film alongside Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert De Niro and Rami Malek with a number of other big Hollywood names as well. The movie, set in the 1930s, centers around, 'three friends witness a murder, are framed for it, and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history,' according to the film's IMDb page. Amsterdam is David O. Russell's first feature-length movie to come out since the Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro film Joy was released. Russell also wrote Amsterdam. Mystery: The movie, set in the 1930s, centers around, 'three friends witness a murder, are framed for it, and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history,' according to the film's IMDb page More coming soon: He's also completed filming on the crime-horror film The Pale Blue Eye, directed by Black Mass director Scott Cooper (pictured June 2022) Amsterdam isn't the only movie Bale has coming out soon. He's also completed filming on the crime-horror film The Pale Blue Eye, directed by Black Mass director Scott Cooper. He will soon start shooting the story of John Lee Bishop, a preacher who became one of the biggest drug smugglers for the Mexican Cartel. The movie is titled The Church of Living Dangerously. Advertisement Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly put on a typically stylish display on Monday in Milan, Italy. The actress, 36, nearly spilled out of a low-cut green tank top, adding fuel to speculation that she had her 'breast implants redone.' Her rockstar beau, 32, wore a deep burgundy trench coat and the fiances each wore matching fuzzy bucket hats as they stepped out for dinner during Fashion Week. Perky! Megan Fox put on a very busty display on Monday in Milan, Italy, (left) adding fuel to rumors that she had her breast implants redone, she is previously seen in September 2021 (center) and June 2002 (right) Night out: Machine Gun Kelly, 32, wore a deep burgundy trench coat and the fiances each wore matching fur bucket hats as they stepped out for dinner during Fashion Week Megan donned dark green animal print pants with lace-up detail that bared some of her legs. She layered an oversized plaid red and green button-up shirt over her tank, styling one side off-the-shoulder and then topping the look off with a fuzzy burgundy hat from BFFS & Babes. Joining the couple for a meal at Giacomo was the music artists 13-year-old daughter, Casie Colson Baker. The teenager opted for a low-key look in a pair of light wash ripped jeans and sand-colored Yeezy Foam Runners. Ample cleavage: The actress, 36, nearly spilled out of a low-cut green tank top Special treatment: The high profile couple was escorted through the city, with someone holding an umbrella over them Fox, who was once married to fellow actor Brian Austin Green, looked every inch the pinup with her lengthy raven locks streaming out from underneath her hat. The tresses were lustrous as they fell in a loose wave pattern, spilling over her shoulders and reaching to her trim waist. The superstar, who began dating the music artist in 2020, punctuated her racy look with a pair of sparkly, pointed-toe gold heels. Glam girl: Per usual, her face was fully made up in glamorous that brought her features to life, and she topped her look off with a BFFS & Babes bucket hat Per usual, her face was fully made up in glamorous that brought her features to life. The vixen, who's a mother of three - Noah Shannon Green, ten, Bodhi Ransom Green, eight, and Journey River Green, six - showed off perfectly winged liquid eyeliner. On her lips, she showcased her very full pout with a matte pink lip stain that was lined with a darker color. Her cheeks were contoured and blushed, and her eyebrows were perfectly arch to frame it all. She toted her belongings in a small deep red, transparent, box-shaped handbag Perfect! The vixen, who's a mother of three - Noah Shannon Green, ten, Bodhi Ransom Green, eight, and Journey River Green, six - showed off perfectly winged liquid eyeliner MGK, whose full name is Colson Baker, flexed his bold and unique style, donning a black shirt with a red skeleton graphic print. It showed underneath his open coat, which was blood red with a brighter red trip throughout. He teamed the eye-catching look with a pair of black leather pants and black boots with mismatched laces. And the artist, who owns nail polish line UNDN LAQR, stepped out with his nails dressed in an elaborate manicure. His wife-to-be, meanwhile, rocked an electric blue shade on her lengthy stiletto-tipped nails. Footwear: MGK teamed his eye-catching look with a pair of black leather pants and black boots with mismatched laces Daddy's girl: Joining the couple for a meal at Giacomo was the music artists 13-year-old daughter, Casie Colson Baker Teen fashion: Casie opted for a low-key look in a pair of light wash ripped jeans and sand-colored Yeezy Foam Runners Earlier this month Megan shared photos from Beyonce's 41st birthday party. The busty snaps sparked speculation that the actress got her 'breast implants redone,' with Instagram page IGFamousByDana alleging that a 'revision' was highly possible and may have occurred this year. Megan posed up a storm in a tiny top with her cleavage spilling out of the sparkling crop top for the disco-themed occasion. The Instagram page alleged that she had her 'first revision' between 2021 and 2022; her chest appeared to 'have gone up a couple sizes in her breast aug' but the page said it could be due to 'weight gain' or a 'revision,' it stated. The allegation that Megan got another revision came after the Beyonce party images, but back in June she also showcased a fuller-looking chest. The page also alleged that Megan got breast implants for the first time sometime before 2010. Striking style: Casie rocked very long box braids with clear bulb beads on the ends HBO has released the first trailer for their highly-anticipated TV adaptation of the wildly popular video game The Last Of Us. The video debuted on Monday - September 26 - which, in the world of The Last Of Us video game is known as Outbreak Day, when the cordyceps fungus first started spreading throughout the United States. The video also offered quite the surprise for fans, revealing Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets) is part of the series, with the actress herself tweeting the trailer along with, 'Surprise!' Trailer: HBO has released the first trailer for their highly-anticipated TV adaptation of the wildly popular video game The Last Of Us Tweet: The video also offered quite the surprise for fans, revealing Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets) is part of the series, with the actress herself tweeting the trailer along with, 'Surprise!' The trailer begins with Joel (Pedro Pascal) walking through a city, as we see signs warning of cordyceps infections, while others are painting over a red emblem. The trailer - set to Alone and Forsaken by Hank Williams - finds Joel in a building looking at a red painted text - 'When you're lost in the darkness,' as we see a chain attached to his ankle. Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is seen hiding in a tunnel with others while another shot shows a toppled building resting against another. City: The trailer begins with Joel (Pedro Pascal) walking through a city, as we see signs warning of cordyceps infections, while others are painting over a red emblem Lost: The trailer - set to Alone and Forsaken by Hank Williams - finds Joel in a building looking at a red painted text - 'When you're lost in the darkness,' as we see a chain attached to his ankle Joel and Ellie are seen in a dark room, watching one of the mutated creatures created by the Cordyceps fungus, as Joel signals for Ellie to be quiet. The trailer also shows Ellie meeting Marlene (Merle Dandridge) while smiling at Riley (Storm Reid) as they ride a merry-go-round. There are also brief glimpses of Gabriel Luna's Tommy and Nick Offerman's Bill, while a character is heard saying, 'Keep her alive you'll set everything right.' Marlene: The trailer also shows Ellie meeting Marlene (Merle Dandridge) while smiling at Riley (Storm Reid) as they ride a merry-go-round Bill: There are also brief glimpses of Gabriel Luna's Tommy and Nick Offerman's Bill, while a character is heard saying, 'Keep her alive you'll set everything right' In the video game, it's revealed that Ellie is immune to the disease caused by the Cordyceps virus, which makes her mission with Joel of vital importance to the survival of the human race. The trailer also offers a brief glimpse at Lynskey's character, revealed by TV Line to be Kathleen, described as, 'the ruthless leader of a revolutionary movement in Kansas City.' The trailer winds down with some explosive new footage... including a glimpse at a grotesquely mutated created from the virus. Kathleen: The trailer also offers a brief glimpse at Lynskey's character, revealed by TV Line to be Kathleen, described as, 'the ruthless leader of a revolutionary movement in Kansas City. The final shot shows Joel and Ellie standing side-by-side, as a voice is heard saying, 'Save who you can save,' as Joel and Ellie take off on horseback as the trailer ends. The series also stars Anna Torv, Murray Bartlett and Jeffrey Pierce, while the actors who voiced Joel and Ellie in the video game - Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson - have signed on to play different characters in the series, though no further details are available. The series, created by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and original video game creator Neil Druckmann - will be released on HBO Max in 2023. Kyle Sandilands looked every inch the family man on Monday as he left a doctor's appointment with his fiancee Tegan Kynaston and their baby son Otto. The family of three was seen leaving the medical centre in Randwick, Sydney, as the 51-year-old radio host carried his newborn in a black baby carrier. Kyle wore a $420 quilted Polo Ralph Lauren vest over a long-sleeved shirt. Kyle Sandilands looked every inch the family man on Monday as he left a doctor's appointment with his fiancee Tegan Kynaston and their baby son Otto He combed his hair back and concealed his gaze behind aviator sunglasses. Meanwhile, Tegan kept things casual in activewear, sporting a cropped red jumper and black leggings. The communications executive, 36, completed her look with black and white sneakers and oversized sunglasses. The pair walked to their car then Kyle secured Otto's carrier in the back seat. Kyle wore a $420 quilted Polo Ralph Lauren vest over a long-sleeved shirt The family of three was seen leaving the medical centre in Randwick, Sydney, as the 51-year-old radio host carried his newborn in a black baby carrier It comes after Tegan recently shared a cute photo of little Otto on social media. The child was wrapped up in a $180 Camilla blanket in the picture, which his mother captioned 'Cosy' alongside a blue love heart emoji. The Sydney-based couple welcomed Otto last month. Tegan kept things casual in activewear, sporting a cropped red jumper and black leggings It comes after Tegan recently shared a cute photo of little Otto on social media Kyle's co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson announced the news live on air. His manager Bruno Bouchet also told Daily Mail Australia: 'Little Otto was born this morning. Mum and bub both doing well. 'Kyle's beyond excited. Kyle will be back on tomorrow's radio show to chat all things Otto.' The pair walked to their car then Kyle secured Otto's carrier in the back seat The Sydney-based couple welcomed Otto last month Kyle's radio co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson, who is Otto's godmother, shed tears of joy as she announced the child's birth live on air. (Pictured: Kyle, Tegan and baby Otto in hospital) Jackie, who is Otto's godmother, shed tears of joy as she told listeners of The Kyle and Jackie O Show: 'Otto has been born!' Kyle later gave a rather graphic update about the birth, telling 'Intern Peter' Deppeler live from the hospital car park: 'Otto's born, Otto's fabulous. 'I cut the cord. I didn't realise it was like tough calamari and blood spurted out.' Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has stressed on providing quality food to children at Anganwadi Centres. There is a need to rope in Markfed for purchase and distribution of essentials as a pilot project, he said, and called for third-party inspection to ensure supply of quality food. The Chief Minister chaired a high-level review meeting on maintenance of anganwadi centres, provision of quality food to children and welfare of differently abled persons, attended by minister for women and child welfare, Usha Sricharan, and senior officials here on Monday. The Chief Minister directed the officials to address the lapses in distribution of food with more emphasis on quality food. Supply only sortex rice to anganwadi centres and for mid-day meal in schools, he said. He said there must be special attention to train children at Anganwadi centres on language and its pronunciation. They must be taught pre-primary-1 and 2 text books in bilingual format. The CM directed the officials to display posters with special numbers at all anganwadi centres to enable children or their parents to lodge complaints on lapses in maintenance of these. Meanwhile, officials promised the CM they would fill up the posts of supervisors at AWCs by Sept. 30 and they would be holding screening tests for this purpose in a transparent manner. After the interviews, they would announce the marks. Those who took part in the screening tests could, if they so desire, get their answer scripts to verify them and check about any lapse in the evaluation and counting of marks. Jagan advised the officials to set up a special fund for maintenance and cleanliness of AWCs on lines of the Toilet Maintenance Fund and School Maintenance Fund in schools. As for the welfare of differently abled persons, the CM asked the officials to provide requisite services to these persons at village and ward secretariats. Upgradation of a Bhavitha Centre in every assembly segment for their benefit was also advised. The Chief Minister felt the need to appoint an IAS officer to supervise the functioning and maintenance of juvenile homes in the state. Tammin Sursok debuted brand-new golden locks on Tuesday after she underwent a dramatic transformation for a new film role. The former Home and Away star, 39, said goodbye to her signature brunette hair as she rushed to get a last-minute makeover after her agent called about an acting job. She posted a picture and video of her transformation to Instagram, revealing she would be the lead in the upcoming movie, which 'shoots in Atlanta this Thursday'. Tammin Sursok debuted brand-new golden locks on Tuesday after she underwent a dramatic transformation for a new film role 'Oh hi. It's Tammin. I promise,' she captioned the photo of her new blonde look. 'Four days ago I was with my kids taking them to dance class. Next minute I get a call that I'm going to be the lead in a movie that shoots in Atlanta this Thursday and I HAVE TO BE BLONDE! 'So I embraced the unknown, begged and pleaded to see Marissa Martin - who came in on a Sunday and spent five hours perfecting this look - and now I'm accepting the unknown and allowing myself to feel all the nerves and excitement and getting ready to kick butt.' The former Home and Away star, 39, said goodbye to her signature brunette hair as she rushed to get a last-minute makeover after her agent called about an acting job The Pretty Little Liars alum went on to say the 'best moments' in life come when you step out of your comfort zone. It comes after she recently returned home to Los Angeles after spending the better part of the year in Australia. She was spotted at the airport with daughters, Phoenix, eight, and Lennon, three, whom she shares with husband Sean McEwen. The Pretty Little Liars alum went on to say the 'best moments' in life come when you step out of your comfort zone. (Pictured with husband Sean McEwen) Tammin recently spoke to Stellar magazine about what it was like filming a guest role on the Australian soap opera Neighbours before it was axed. 'I needed to go back to a soap and see it through a different lens as someone who's much older and make peace with that whole time,' she explained. 'Our children will never know of Neighbours except through reruns! Neighbours will always be a special part of who we were... but I guess it all just moves on'. Tammin is pictured with her daughters Phoenix, eight, and Lennon, three Tammin also spoke about the vibe on set, as her guest role coincided with news the series was about to be cancelled. 'I love the work ethic of Australians... they came with such professionalism and they did their job and they didn't moan about it and they didn't chuck a hissy fit,' Tammin said on The Kyle and Jackie O Show. She rose to fame as a teenager playing Dani Sutherland on Home and Away from 2000 to 2004, before landing starring roles in Flicka and Pretty Little Liars. Brian Austin Green and his girlfriend, Sharna Burgess, were spotted out and about in Calabasas with their three-month-old son, Zane, earlier on Monday. The Beverly Hills, 90210 star, 49, and the professional dancer, 37, opted for comfort as they ran a quick errand to the market. The couple were first linked in 2020, shortly after the actor's separation from his ex-wife, Megan Fox, that same year. Their divorce was officially finalized in 2021. Monday outing: Brian Austin Green, 49, and his girlfriend, Sharna Burgess, were seen stopping by the grocery store in Calabasas on Monday afternoon with their son, Zane The Desperate Housewives actor kept his look simple and casual, wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a short-sleeved white T-shirt. He slipped into a pair of white sneakers and added a dark gray beanie to cover his hair. Brian was seen pushing a grocery cart with a baby carrier nestled into the seat of the basket carrying their son, Zane. The star and Sharna both appeared to be in good spirits as they enjoyed quality time together and getting a bit of fresh air. Growing family: The two stars welcomed their son, Zane, earlier this year in June after announcing they were expecting in February The Dancing With The Stars beauty also kept her look stylishly casual for the daytime outing. She donned a sleeveless, brown cropped top showing off her toned midriff. The corseted front was tied and secured with thin string. Sharna added a pair of loose-fitting, fashionable blue jeans and slipped into white sneakers. Her blonde hair was pulled back and styled into a bun to keep any loose strands from falling into her face. The ballroom dancer chose to not wear any jewelry or accessories, and was seen holding her phone in her hand instead of carrying a purse. Busy parents: The two lovebirds were recently pictured attending Fashion Island's StyleWeekOC earlier this month in September Happy father: Aside from his newborn son, Zane, he also shares three sons with his ex-wife, Megan Fox, and another son, with Vanessa Marcil Brian was first linked with Sharna in 2020 after the two were set up by a mutual business friend. The actor opened up to People about their first meeting. 'On our first date, we just completely lost track of time and the same thing happened the next time. It became something noticeably different from anything I'd ever experienced before,' he revealed. In 2021, the couple competed together on Dancing With The Stars and were eliminated after one month on the show. After welcoming Zane earlier this year in June, Sharna announced on Instagram that she will be taking a break from professionally dancing on the competition show full time to focus on raising her new son. Memorable experience: Both Brian and Sharna had the chance to compete with each on Dancing With The Stars last year in 2021 Focus on family: Sharna recently revealed on Instagram that she will be taking a break from Dancing With The Stars to focus on raising her newborn son First meeting: Brian and Sharna first met at a coffee shop in 2020 after being set up with a mutual business manager Brian shares his son, Kassius, with his fellow Beverly Hills, 90210 cast member, Vanessa Marcil. The couple were engaged to be married, but ended their relationship in 2003. One year later, he began to date actress, Megan Fox, after the two met on set of Hope & Faith. The two stars became engaged in 2006, but chose to end their engagement in 2009. However, in 2010, the actors reconciled and said, 'I do,' that same year. After separating in 2020, their divorce was finalized in 2021. They share and currently co-parent their three sons, Noah, Bodhi, and Journey. During an interview on The Viall Files podcast, Sharna expressed how well both Brian and Megan put their children first, despite their divorce. 'Something I respect so much about Brian and Megan is the way these kids are No. 1 at all times. 'Their communication, they're making priority and time for them. They're making sure they are loved and they have as much consistency as they can,' the dancer added. 'It keeps them so balanced and these kids have handled the last few years so amazingly because of that. It's really, really beautiful to see and it's a huge credit to them.' Coco Austin has responded to people who have criticized her for letting her six-year-old daughter Chanel take a bath in their kitchen sink as she prepared to attend a Patricia Field fashion show. The television personality, 43, posted a clip on TikTok and Instagram September 22 which showed the child, who she shares with husband Ice-T, 64, in a large sink while watching a tablet. She captioned the shot: 'Chanel's 1st fashion show as a Prospector ..lol This was from an hour before getting ready...' The latest: Coco Austin, 43, has responded to people who have criticized her for letting her six-year-old daughter Chanel take a bath in their kitchen sink as she prepared for a fashion show She was criticized by people who said that her daughter is too old to be bathed in the sink. On Sunday, she shared a link to a story about the issue, tweeting, 'Wow just Wow! Here we go again! Giving my lil girl a bath in the sink went Viral? SMH!' She added: 'People, you gotta know by now that I'm an unconventional mother. I do what works and is easier on me. Some may want to take some pointers rather than rag on me!' Ice-T said last autumn in an appearance on The View that 'rule one on the Internet [is] do not pay attention to anything anyone says on the Internet.' On Sunday, she shared a link to a story about the issue, tweeting, 'Wow just Wow! Here we go again! Giving my lil girl a bath in the sink went Viral? SMH!' Coco defended herself, 'People, you gotta know by now that I'm an unconventional mother. I do what works and is easier on me' The mother and daughter were seen headed to a fashion show after the initial post Coco and Ice-T were snapped earlier this month at a charity event in NYC He added: 'Worry about the people that walk up to you and say things in your real life. Those are the people you should be concerned with. The Internet is the world. It's the world talking, so I don't pay attention.' In May, Austin caught some flak from online commenters when she shared a vacation shot from the Bahamas with Chanel in a stroller. Austin said on social media in response, 'Oh lord!! Really people? The world loves to criticize [literally] everything I do!' Kim Kardashian turned heads in a sparkling ensemble in her latest Instagram video that she shared to her 330 million followers earlier on Monday. The reality star, 41, uploaded a clip of herself wearing a glittering bra and form-fitting leather pants as she showcased a few of her best poses for the camera. The beauty recently collaborated with Dolce & Gabbana for their Spring/Summer 2023 collection, and showed off her Ciao, Kim line for the luxury brand on Saturday during Milan Fashion Week. Show-stopping: Kim Kardashian, 41, turned heads in a dazzling bra and matching choker in a recent Instagram video she shared on Monday The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star was seen in the reel donning a sparkling black bra, showing off her slim waist. The mother of four added a thick choker of the same color and material with a large, cross-shaped pendant. Kim added a pair of form-fitting, black faux leather pants that contained a black rhinestone pattern on the material. Her blonde hair was parted to the side, allowing her bangs to gently fall onto her forehead. The ends of her locks brushed her shoulders in bouncy waves. The TV personality chose to add only a black heart emoji for the caption of her video. Beautiful: The reality star recently worked with Dolce & Gabbana for its Spring/Summer 2023 collection New clip: In the video the star shared, the words Dolce & Gabbana were heard playing in the background as part of a song Show-stopping ensemble: The TV personality posed wearing a dazzling bra and matching choker The video zoomed in and out, showing a closer look at the material of the stylish pieces. The words Dolce & Gabbana were heard repeatedly in a song that played quietly in the background throughout the course of the clip. Kim's makeup was elegantly done, and comprised of a light eyeshadow that stood out against black eyeliner and mascara. She also opted for a nude-colored lipstick which was bordered with a lipliner of a darker shade. As the star posed with a bright light shining in her direction, the reel would cut to a behind-the-scenes look of Kim in a fitting for the ensemble. Fashion guru: Kim had the chance to showcase her Ciao, Kim collection for Dolce & Gabbana during Milan Fashion Week on Saturday Fitting: In the clip, the TV personality was seen in a fitting and trying on the eye-catching ensemble Poses: Kim was seen showing off few of her poses while wearing the stunning outfit The video was concluded with a mini slideshow of snaps taken of her wearing the dazzling outfit and working behind the scenes. Kim recently worked and collaborated with the Italian brand for its upcoming Spring/Summer 2023 collection. Her own line called Ciao, Kim, debuted during Dolce & Gabbana's runway show earlier on Saturday. When talking to Vogue in preparation for the glamorous Milan runway show, Kim explained, 'I have a really big Dolce & Gabbana archive.' She also added that the collaboration came into play after her sister, Kourtney, tied the knot with Travis Barker, in Italy earlier in May. The moment had, 'reignited a whole new love and friendship.' Kourtney iconically wore a custom Dolce & Gabbana corseted minidress with a stunning lace veil that had a depiction of the Virgin Mary embroidered into the fabric. Collaboration: Kim became more closely acquainted with Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce after her sister, Kourtney's, wedding in Italy Inspiration: The inspiration for the Kim and Dolce & Gabbana collaboration was inspired by the Dolce & Gabbana archive Model: Kim was seen modeling a sparkling bra and matching choker in her recent Instagram video Kim informed Vogue that the inspiration behind the collaboration was based on her own Dolce & Gabbana archive. The collection was meant, 'to re-present the archives with this life retrospective of the last 25 years of all my favorite looks.' The businesswoman had her chance to also walk the runway and close the show wearing a form-hugging, dazzling black dress that fell down to her ankles. She was later joined by designers, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce, and the talented trio took a bow together at the end. Preparing: Kim went to Milan to help prepare to present her collection with the Italian brand for Milan Fashion Week Walking the runway: After the collection's presentation, Kim herself closed out the runway show on Saturday Alongside pursuing work in the fashion industry, balancing family and studying for a future law career, Kim recently opened up about her dating life. During an interview on Live! With Kelly And Ryan, the reality star briefly talked about her love life following her recent split from Pete Davidson earlier in August. She explained that she sees herself with, 'absolutely no one,' adding that, 'I'm just not ready.' The socialite further expressed that, 'I'm not looking for anything. I think I really just need to be by myself and focus and finish school.' Focus: Kim expressed in a recent interview that she is not looking for anyone or to date anytime soon Pierce Brosnan looked seriously dapper as he stepped out for dinner at Italian restaurant Toscana in Brentwood, California on Monday. The James Bond star, 69, was joined by his stylish wife Keely Shay Smith who wowed in a leopard print midi-dress. Their oldest son Dylan, 25, was also in attendance, rocking a kooky looking shirt on the evening. Family: Pierce Brosnan looked seriously dapper as he stepped out for dinner in Brentwood, California on Monday with his wife Keely Shay Smith and son Dylan, (pictured) Irish native Pierce looked as handsome as ever in a plaid blazer which he teamed with a white shirt and navy trousers. His stunning spouse furnished her look with a matching pair of animal print heels and a black handbag. Their model son towered over his famous father as the pair chatted outside the celebrity hotspot after enjoying the family meal. Gorgeous: The James Bond star, 69, was joined by his stylish wife Keely Shay Smith who wowed in a leopard print midi-dress The outing comes after Pierce shared a heartfelt tribute to his wife of 21 years on Monday as he wished her a happy birthday. The Mamma Mia star took to Instagram to share a snap of the loved-up pair embracing one another gushing how he loved her 'dearly'. Former model Keely looked stunning as she appeared bare-faced, wearing a beautiful pink flower at the side of her ear. Golden couple: Pierce shared a heartfelt tribute to his wife of 21 years Keely Shaye Smith on Monday as he wished her a happy birthday on his Instagram account With her eyes closed, Keely placed her head on The James Bond star's shoulder while he grinned from ear-to-ear. His short but sweet love note read: 'Happy Birthday my darling @KeelyShayeBrosnan. I love you dearly. So many years of love, life, work and play. Onwards we go.' A host of Pierce's fans and showbiz pals were quick to reply to his post as they sent their well wishes on the special day. Actress Lyndie Benson commented saying: 'The most inspiring couple there ever was. Love you and HBD Queen Keely. Love you dearly too. @keelyshayebrosnan,' Wedding day: Pierce exchanged vows with Keely in his native Ireland in August of 2001 Love: His short but sweet love note read: 'Happy Birthday my darling @KeelyShayeBrosnan. I love you dearly. So many years of love, life, work and play. Onwards we go' Comment: A host of Pierce's fans and showbiz pals were quick to reply to his post as they sent their well wishes on the special day British born star Anna Friel gushed: 'Awwwwwww.' Tom Hanks' wife Rita Wilson posted: 'Happy Birthday 'nutty Keely' the sweetest ever!' While supermodel Cindy Crawford said: 'Happy birthday beautiful, soulful @keelyshayebrosnan!' Pierce exchanged vows with Keely in his native Ireland in August of 2001. The couple met at a party in 1994 after the death of Pierce's first wife Cassandra Harris in 1991, and hit it off before eventually deciding to tie the knot seven years later. Sweet: The couple met at a party in 1994 after the death of Pierce's first wife Cassandra Harris in 1991, and hit it off before they tied the knot seven years later (pictured in 2018) The couple share two sons together, Dylan and Paris, 21, and are the youngest of Pierce's five children. The Mamma Mia! hunk also has son Sean, 38, and adopted son Chris, 49, as well as his late adopted daughter Charlotte with Cassandra. Pierce adopted Cassandra's children Chris and Charlotte after their father Dermot Harris died in 1986. Pierce has often been vocal about how Keely saved him from depression following his personal tragedies, describing her as a strength 'I wouldn't be able to live without.' Pierce in April of 2017 opened up to People about how the pair enjoy one another's company. He said: 'My wife and I took a short road trip up to Santa Barbara - we were going for a romantic weekend and to look at houses and drink great wine,' he said. 'We didn't listen to any music, but we just listened to the sounds of each other's voices and sorted out the world.' Romance: Pierce has often been vocal about how Keely saved him from depression following his personal tragedies, describing her as a strength 'I wouldn't be able to live without' Meanwhile, the actor has a number of projects due out this year, including the movie The King's Daughter, in which he plays King Louis XIV; the DC film Black Adam, in which he will play Dr. Fate alongside Dwayne Johnson; and The Out-Law, an action-comedy also featuring Nina Dobrev and Michael Rooker. Brosnan will also be featured in a project for The History Channel called History's Greatest Heists, which will chronicle large-scale robberies that have occurred, Deadline reported Wednesday. The series will air in eight installments and chronicle events ranging from 1899's Wilcox train robbery to 1950's Great Brink robbery in Boston, with 'stylized' recreations of the crimes and visual effects, the outlet reported. Michelle Keegan cut an edgy figure as she filmed comedic scenes for the fifth season of popular Sky Max series Brassic in Manchester city centre on Monday. The actress, 35, looked effortlessly chic in green patterned cargo trousers and a zip-up black top as she joined Lee Mack and Joe Gilgun to shoot the nighttime scenes. She completed her look with a pair of chunky black lace-up boots as she embodied her character, single mother Erin Croft. Looking good: Michelle Keegan cut an edgy figure as she filmed comedic scenes for the fifth season of popular Sky Max series Brassic in Manchester city centre on Monday Michelle accentuated her good looks with a light dusting of natural make-up and styled her brunette tresses in voluminous curls fixed back with a gold bow hairband. She was joined by her co-star Joe, 38, who kept it casual in a pair of beige trousers, which he paired with a button-up cargo vest and a brown overcoat. Joe, who plays lead Vinnie O'Neil, also sported a pair of oversized metal glasses as he was seen shooting with Michelle. Lee Mack, who has joined the show for its fifth series, was seen pulling faces as he was tried to climb over a metal fence, before becoming stuck and hanging from it by his trousers. Stylish: The actress, 35, looked effortlessly chic in green patterned cargo trousers and a zip-up black top as she filmed the nighttime scenes Edgy look: She completed her look with a pair of chunky black lace-up boots as she embodied her character, single mother Erin Croft The rest of the cast were seen running out of a pub to try and find Lee as he hung from the iron railings in the comedic moment. Comedy-drama Brassic follows Vinnie O'Neill and his five friends, including Michelle's single mother character Erin. The group struggle to get by in the fictional town of Hawley, and often resort to petty crime for money. The BAFTA-nominated series began back in 2019, as season four of the show was released earlier this month on Sky Max and Now TV. Comedy: Michelle joined her co-star Joe Gilgun and newcomer Lee Mack as they filmed the nighttime scenes Stunning: Michelle accentuated her good looks with a light dusting of natural make-up In October last year, Michelle admitted she had banned her family from watching one episode of the show due to a raunchy sex scene, she told Radio Times. 'That first episode, I didn't let my family watch until 15 minutes in, and we all know why!' she said with a laugh. And Michelle has certainly been kept busy with her portfolio of acting gigs, as she is set to star as a young nurse named Kate in the six-part period BBC drama Ten Pound Poms. She has returned home to the UK after four months of filming for the show in Australia, which follows a group of Brits as they leave dreary post-war Britain in 1956 to embark on a life-altering adventure on the other side of the world. Glam: Michelle styled her brunette tresses in voluminous curls fixed back with a gold bow hairband Chatting: Michelle showed off her lithe figure in the stylish ensemble, which gave a slight flash of her toned abs Posing: Joe, who plays lead Vinnie O'Neil, also sported a pair of oversized metal glasses as he was seen shooting with Michelle But while her soap fame has led to becoming a household name, the actress admitted that she's still not quite used to it all yet, she told The Guardian. 'Even now, 15 years on, you never get used to being famous,' she said. 'One minute I walked out of the Coronation Street gates and no one knew who I was. 'Then, as soon as my first scenes were on screen, I remember walking out the gates and getting stopped and asked for an autograph. I had no idea how to sign an autograph.' Career: Coronation Street star Michelle has returned to the UK to shoot Brassic after spending four months in Australia Hilarious: Lee Mack was seen pulling faces as he was seen trying to climb over a metal fence, before becoming stuck and hanging from it by his trousers Oh dear! The rest of the cast were seen running out of a pub to try and find Lee as he hung from the iron railings in the comedic moment Elsewhere, Michelle also recently launched a new 43-piece collection with Very, which was released on the website this month. The collection includes a variety of autumnal textures, animal prints and calming neutrals across dresses, jumpers and coats ideal for the cooler weather. Prices for the new collection range from around 30 to 85, with all products available to buy on Very's website. Amanda Holden has revealed she was made to feel like a 'game show contestant' when a doctor told her she was 'going home empty handed' after her stillbirth. The presenter, 51, - who lost son Theo at 28 weeks in 2011 - is working with the baby loss charity Aching Arms and raising money for them as part of fundraising for her 3 Peaks Challenge. Speaking with Ross Sullivan - a user of Aching Arms - on her Heart Breakfast show on Tuesday Amanda spoke of her 'awful' experience and told of her hopes that the charity with help people to 'avoid' the kind of language that was used with her. Upset: Amanda Holden has revealed she was made to feel like a 'game show contestant' when a doctor told her she was 'going home empty handed' after her stillbirth She said: 'I will never forget when I went through something, that I would imagine is very similar to your [experience]. 'We lost our baby Theo at 28 weeks, and they very sensitively moved me into another room so I could deliver him without having to hear the lovely babies screaming on a normal ward. 'Often that's not thought about, it's little things like that. I remember the lady afterwards as well when we went for a chat also said 'I know you're going home empty handed' is what she said to me. Kind: The presenter, 51, - who lost son Theo at 28 weeks in 2011 - is working with the baby loss charity Aching Arms and raising money for them as part of fundraising for her 3 Peaks Challenge 'So I felt like some sort of game show contestant, so it's all of that language that I know this charity will be helping people to avoid and educate them on how best to deal with something so awful. It's just awful.' Aching Arms is one of the small charities supported by Global's Make Some Noise, which Amanda is raising funds for as part of her 3 Peaks Challenge next week. Ross will be joining Amanda Holden on her 3 Peaks Challenge. Awareness: Speaking with Ross Sullivan - a user of Aching Arms - on her Heart Breakfast show on Tuesday Amanda spoke of her 'awful' experience and told of her hopes that the charity with help people to 'avoid' the kind of language that was used with her Amanda is set to undertake the monumental 3 Peaks Challenge' next month in aid of Heart's charity, Global's Make Some Noise. The trek will see the star climbing the highest mountains of Wales, England and Scotland (Snowdon, Scafell Pike, Ben Nevis) within 24 hours a trek known for its physical and mental toughness. Amanda is taking on the challenge in aid of Global's Make Some Noise, which raises money and awareness for small charities supporting disadvantaged people across the UK. Amanda, who hosts Heart Breakfast alongside Jamie Theakston, will be kicking off the challenge on October 6 by climbing Wales' highest mountain, Snowdon. Awful: Amanda explained: 'I remember the lady afterwards as well when we went for a chat also said 'I know you're going home empty handed' is what she said to me' She will then scale England's highest peak, Scafell Pike, before tackling Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in Scotland and in the UK. Amanda said: 'Here we go! I'm ditching my heels for hiking boots and scaling the 3 Peaks! 'All in aid of Global's Make Some Noise, I'm attempting The 3 Peaks Challenge in 24 hours next month. I'm looking forward to it but as I look at my map and compass I'm wondering just what I've signed up for! Incredible: Amanda is set to undertake the monumental 3 Peaks Challenge' next month in aid of Heart's charity, Global's Make Some Noise 'I'll be supported by a fantastic team on the journey and I'm totally up for giving this challenge my all. 'We're all ready to raise as much money as possible for these incredible charities to help make some noise for the work that they do! 'And yes I will be packing a pair of heels and a pair of eyelashes for the photo finish!' Over the course of 24 hours, Amanda will take on a gruelling trek, climbing 10,476 feet and travelling 706 miles in 24 hours, having to fight the urge to sleep as she faces an overnight ascent of Ben Nevis. Cute family: Amanda married Chris Hughes in 2008 and they are also parents to daughters Alexa, 16, and Hollie, 10 She is aiming to reach the summit of the UK's highest peak which stands at a massive 4,413 feet above sea level - before the end of her Heart Breakfast show on October 7. Amanda's son was tragically stillborn at seven months in 2011, and Amanda has previously spoken out about her experience in a bid to help other parents who may be struggling. Back in 2011, Amanda was seven months pregnant with Theo when a routine scan revealed his heart had stopped. The Britain's Got Talent judge and her husband Chris Hughes then made the devastating decision to have a caesarean following Theo's passing. Speaking on her Heart Breakfast radio show last year to mark Nurses Day, she reflected on what it was like to lose her child. Amanda said: 'I personally would love to thank the nurses. 'I know I talk about this a lot. And I never know whether I talk too much about it. But obviously, when we lost our son Theo to a still birth the hospital where I was looked after was unbelievable. 'Jacki Nash got me through so much, Pippa Nightingale and Natalie Carter.' Heartbreaking: Back in 2011, Amanda was seven months pregnant with Theo when a routine scan revealed his heart had stopped She continued: 'And when I came out of a coma there was a nurse - who I never knew the name of - who brushed my tangled, matted hair from spending so much time lying down - who fed me, washed me and put me in a dressing gown so that when my family came to see me they wouldn't be scared of me looking like Stig Of The Dump. 'So whoever that was I don't know who you are I will be forever grateful.' Amanda married Chris in 2008 and they are also parents to daughters Alexa, 16, and Hollie, 10. For help with related issues, contact Tommy's, a miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth charity, at mailbox@tommys.org or call 0800 0147 800 Advertisement She recently revealed that she was embracing her 'loosening skin and wrinkles' ahead of reaching her fifth decade. Yet Gwyneth Paltrow looked in better shape than ever on her 50th birthday as her friends took to Instagram to share sweet tribute posts on Tuesday. Leading the tributes was Gwyneth's longtime friend, fashion writer Derek Blasberg, who shared a sizzling bikini snap of the actress posing with his family while he marvelled 'this is 50!' Gwyneth Paltrow is 50! The actress looked fitter than ever in a tiny bikini as she posed between Derek Blasberg (left) his partner Nick Brown and their twins in a sweet birthday post shared by Derek on Tuesday The Iron Man star looked sensational in a tiny navy two-piece that showcased her toned abs as she posed between Derek, his partner Nick Brown and their twins. Another snap showed Derek and Gwyneth cuddling up for a cosy selfie, that he captioned: 'Oh my goop this is 50! HAPPY BIRTHDAY @gwynethpaltrow 'Sending all my love to the muse, the mentor, the guru, the Gwynterventionist. My whole family loves you (at times more than they love me, actually) and were wishing you your best decade yet!' The television personality also took to his Stories to share a series of his 'favourite' things about Gwyneth, which included the fact she can make a great egg sandwich and martini and that she 'made an entire empire from her kitchen table' when she started lifestyle brand Goop. Good genes: Derek also shared a picture of Gwyneth posing with lookalike mother Blythe Danner, 79, and daughter Apple, 18, as he remarked that he loves her family Best pals: Another snap showed Derek and Gwyneth cuddling up for a cosy selfie, that he captioned: 'Oh my goop this is 50! HAPPY BIRTHDAY @gwynethpaltrow' He added: 'Sending all my love to the muse, the mentor, the guru, the Gwynterventionist. My whole family loves you (at times more than they love me, actually) and were wishing you your best decade yet!' Derek also shared a picture of Gwyneth posing with lookalike mother Blythe Danner, 79, and daughter Apple, 18, as he remarked that he loves her family. Also quick to wish Gwyneth a happy birthday was her manager Aleen Keshishian who shared a picture of the pair captioned: '30 years ago, I met the brilliant & beautiful @gwynethpaltrow. Happy 50th GP! u so much.' Last week Gwyneth penned a candid essay about her aging as she told how she has 'accepted her body and let go of the need to be perfect' ahead of reaching her milestone birthday. Elsewhere in the extract she opened up about owning her past mistakes, learning to set boundaries and her hopes for her future. Tribute: The television personality also took to his Stories to share a series of his 'favourite' things about Gwyneth, which included the fact she can make a great egg sandwich and martini Sweet: Derek shared a series of sweet snaps of Gwyneth as he marked their lengthy friendship in a cute post The section about her aging reads: 'My body, a map of the evidence of all the days, is less timeless. A collection of marks and irregularities that dog-ear the chapters. Scarred from oven burns, a finger smashed in a window long ago, the birth of a child. 'Silver hair and fine lines. The sun has left her celestial fingerprints all over me, as if she soaked a brush in dark-taupe watercolor, flecking it over my skin. 'And while I do what I can to strive for good health and longevity, to stave off weakening muscles and receding bone, I have a mantra I insert into those reckless thoughts that try to derail me: I accept. 'I accept the marks and the loosening skin, the wrinkles. I accept my body and let go of the need to be perfect, look perfect, defy gravity, defy logic, defy humanity. I accept my humanity.' Snap happy: Derek remarked on Gwyneth's ability to take a good photograph before sharing a not-so flattering selfie Entrepreneur: Derek noted she 'made an entire empire from her kitchen table' when she started lifestyle brand Goop Gwyneth is best known for her wellness brand Goop which sells a range of beauty products and accessories. Later in the essay she reflected on the regrets and mistakes that still keep her up at night, saying that she hopes she has 'learned from them all.' 'I have hurt people, never intentionally, but I have done so just the same. I have let people down by not being who they needed me to be. I have betrayed myself to keep the peace,' she wrote. 'I have crossed lines, the thoughts of which sometimes rip me from sleep and suspend me into the hollowness of shame for a long, dark night. Most regretfully, and so often, I have not spoken my truth to spare some perceived consequence, that hurting someone will tear us both apart.' Striking: Derek complimented Gwyneth's style as well as her maternal skills with his baby twins Memories: He thanked Gwyneth for always being a wingwoman and shared a snap of the actress wowing in a plunging dress Tanned and toned: Derek marvelled over Gwyneth's incredible figure as he claimed she was the perfect advert for Goop Gwyneth admitted that she used to have a hard time standing up for herself and setting boundaries in both her personal life and career because she was afraid of upsetting people. She had appeared in a number of movies at a young age and won an Academy Award for her breakout performance in Shakespeare in Love in 1999. The actress also had high-profile romances with actors Ben Affleck and Brad Pitt, whom she broke up with just a few months after they got engaged in 1996. 'My most lasting mistakes and the mess that comes with them have all stemmed from me not standing fully in my truth and speaking from it, come what may,' she explained. 'Saying the words that could have spared seasons of heartache and repercussions. No. This does not feel right to me. Your expectations are not appropriate. Your behavior is not appropriate. This relationship is no longer right for me. This project is not right for me. You are no longer right for me.' Sweet: Also quick to wish Gwyneth a happy birthday was her manager Aleen Keshishian who shared a picture of the pair captioned: '30 years ago, I met the brilliant & beautiful @gwynethpaltrow. Happy 50th GP! u so much' Gwyneth noted that she isn't sure if she would go back in time to correct her mistakes because they have taught her 'meaningful' lessons. 'If nothing else, they have led me to a path of questioning. Of seeking a better version of myself,' she wrote. 'People often ask, "If you could go back to your 21-year-old self and give her some advice" Well, I would know my boundary and hold on to it more tightly than my life itself.' The mother of two has given similar advice to her children Apple and Moses, 16, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Chris Martin. She has encouraged them to trust their instincts and make decisions based on how they feel, especially when it comes to love and sex. Gwyneth was instrumental in bringing down convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein, who had produced a number of her films, including Shakespeare in Love. The disgraced movie mogul was kicked out of the Academy in 2017 after he was accused of rape and sexual harassment by a slew of actresses. The lifestyle guru shocked Hollywood when she joined the clamor of voices accusing him of abusing his power over women in the industry. Gwynethalleged that Weinstein came on to her at the start of filming Emma in 1995, saying he summoned her to his hotel room, put his hands on her, and then asked her for a massage. 'I had one really uncomfortable, weird experience; then he was never inappropriate with me again in that way,' she told Variety in 2019. Gwyneth had previously shared that Pitt, her then-boyfriend, had confronted Weinstein for sexually harassing her, saying he threw the Hollywood heavyweight against a wall and said: 'If you ever make her feel uncomfortable again, I'll kill you.' Honest: Gwyneth recently revealed that she was embracing her 'loosening skin and wrinkles' ahead of turning 50 (left this month and right in 1999 age 26) In 2020, she explained that she lost interest in her acting career at a young age after enduring an abusive working relationship with Weinstein, who is serving 23 years in prison after being convicted of felony sex crimes. The businesswoman, who now spends most of her days running her Goop brand, wrote in her 50th birthday essay that she wants to take more time for herself in the future and to continue to build on her relationship with her husband, Brad Falchuk 'I would like to slow down. I would like to retreat a little bit. I would like to make my circle smaller. I would like to cook dinner more. I would like to see misunderstandings become understandings,' she said. 'I would like to continue to open the deepest part of myself to my husband, even though it scares me. I would like to sing more, even if its just in the shower. I would like to tell anyone that had a negative experience with me that I am sorry. I would like to fully acknowledge myself.' Gwyneth admitted that she is 'imperfect' while sharing both her flaws and strengths. 'I can shut down and turn to ice, I have no patience, I swear at other drivers, I dont close my closet doors, I lie when I dont want to hurt feelings,' she explained. 'I am also generous and funny. I am smart and brave. I am a searcher, and I can bring you along on my quest for meaning. When I love you, you will feel it encompass you through time and space and till the end of the earth. I am all of it.' Strong: Gwyneth, who wrote about learning to set boundaries and call out inappropriate behavior, was instrumental in bringing down convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein (pictured in 1999) With her 50th birthday fast approaching, she also discussed how she has come to terms with her aging body over the years. 'My body, a map of the evidence of all the days, is less timeless. A collection of marks and irregularities that dog-ear the chapters. Scarred from oven burns, a finger smashed in a window long ago, the birth of a child. Silver hair and fine lines. The sun has left her celestial fingerprints all over me, as if she soaked a brush in dark-taupe watercolor, flecking it over my skin,' she wrote. 'And while I do what I can to strive for good health and longevity, to stave off weakening muscles and receding bone, I have a mantra I insert into those reckless thoughts that try to derail me: I accept. 'I accept the marks and the loosening skin, the wrinkles. I accept my body and let go of the need to be perfect, look perfect, defy gravity, defy logic, defy humanity. I accept my humanity.' Gwyneth noted that she could remember both of her parents' 50th birthdays, saying they were dramatically different celebrations. She recalled how her mom Blythe Danner's 50th birthday was held at Michael's restaurant in Los Angeles in February 1993, saying the 'dinner was delicious' and 'the good wine flowed.' 'Everyone was asked to contribute a poem instead of a typical gift,' she explained. 'I remember uproarious laughter, happy tears. I remember my mother full of life and joy at the convergence of the love on display, the deliciousness, and wonderful/heartfelt/brilliant/messy poems.' Parent: The mom said she'd advise her 21-year-old self to 'know [her] boundary and hold on to it more tightly than [her] life itself.' She's given similar advice to her children Apple, 18, and Moses, 16 Gwyneth said the following November she and her younger brother, Jake Paltrow, traveled to the island of Nevis with their parents to celebrate their dad Bruce Paltrow's birthday. In addition to the 'grey and unseasonably cool' weather, she could tell her father was going through something, but she couldn't figure out what. 'He said he was "fine," but I found him swallowed by something he felt bereft, unanchored in some way. It was unsettling,' she said. 'He could not embrace the milestone, this marking of the passage of time. Perhaps on some level he knew it would be his last decade.' Gwyneth's father was 58 when he died from complications of oral cancer and pneumonia in October 2002. 'I am struck by how, for both of my parents, 50 seemed like a reckoning. For my mother, it was a culmination of the wonderous, the highs, the loves, the art. For my father, a culmination of sorrows,' she noted. Gwyneth's memories of her own parents' birthdays have made her wonder what her teenage daughter and son will take from her 50th birthday celebration. 'I think of my children, now old enough to remember this "big" birthday of mine into their own adulthoods,' she said. 'Perhaps their memory of it will be neither that I was solely elated, nor grieving the things I lost or did not bring to fruition. 'I hope that they can feel me feel all the things and hold in the complexity of that notion. That they know I am both good through and through, yet sometimes not. That my feelings of regret and my mistakes can act as scaffolding for what I build from now on. That they are the greatest accomplishment of my life.' She's known for her stunning beauty. And Pia Whitesell was flaunting her natural assets on Instagram this week, sharing a sizzling swimsuit shot with followers. The 38-year-old was seen posing on a beach by a surfboard in a barely-there fluorescent pink two-piece. Former Home & Away star Pia Whitesell flaunted her natural assets on Instagram this week, sharing this sizzling shot with followers The former Home and Away actress smiled in the photo as she used one hand to shield her ageless face from the sun while she sat in the sand. A skimpy string bikini bottom showed off her toned slim figure, while the voluptuous beauty opted for a sports-bra style top. Meanwhile, the Chilean-born Australian mother-of-two wore her dark locks natural, ready for a day in the sun. The news comes after Pia was back in her hometown of Sydney last week to celebrate her mother's milestone 70th birthday. The 38-year-old was seen posing on a beach by a surf board in a barely-there fluorescent pink two-piece in the picture. A skimpy string bikini bottom showed off her toned slim figure, while the voluptuous beauty opted for a sports-bra style top (pictured) Pia relocated from Australia to live in Los Angeles with her multimillionaire Hollywood agent husband Patrick last year She relocated from Australia to live in Los Angeles with her multimillionaire Hollywood agent husband Patrick last year. Uploading a gallery of photos to her Instagram, the glamorous stunner wrote: 'Grateful... 'So full of love and joy to be home with my family to celebrate our wonderful Ma on her 70th birthday.' Pia announced her engagement to Patrick in November 2020. They married in secret months later. The news comes after Pia was back in her hometown of Sydney last week to celebrate her mother's milestone 70th birthday She permanently relocated from Sydney to the US in September last year. Pia travelled abroad with her sons, Isaiah, 18, and Lennox, 13, and has been settling into life in Los Angeles. She welcomed son Isaiah when she was 19, with his father's identity being kept under wraps, and welcomed Lennox with ex-husband and AFL star Brad Miller. Tom Daley left little to the imagination as he posed in a pair of nude budgie smugglers while on holiday with his husband Dustin Lance Black in Greece. The Olympic swimmer, 28, displayed his gym-honed physique as he posed for a mirror selfie in the couple's hotel room. The athlete sported a pair of sunglasses and captioned the post: 'Holding on to summer!' Holiday: Tom Daley left little to the imagination as he posed in a pair of nude budgie smugglers while on holiday with his husband Dustin Lance Black in Greece His partner Dustin, 48, could be seen in the background of the snap, sporting a white vest top. Dustin also shared a photo of the couple by the pool, with Tom seen working on his tan while relaxing on a deck chair. Dustin recently revealed that he suffered a 'serious head injury' last month and is recovering - but said his 'road back will be long.' The film director posted a lengthy message to his Instagram on Monday, updating his followers on his condition. Recovering: Dustin recently revealed that he suffered a 'serious head injury' last month and is recovering - but said his 'road back will be long' Fun in the sun: Dustin also shared a photo of the couple by the pool, with Tom seen working on his tan while relaxing on a deck chair He began: 'So I vanished for a while. A month ago I sustained a serious head injury that put me out of commission. 'Showing little improvement, my doctors ordered me to shut off my brain in hopes of it healing,' he wrote alongside a carousel of pictures from a recent Grecian vacation. 'This has been a challenging, frightening time for a creative type who depends on whats in his skull to work, care and love. And now I understand the road back will be long.' Dustin added that Tom surprised him with an 'over the top' trip to Greece to help him relax after the ordeal. He wrote: 'This week my sweet, over the top husband took us to the Greek Islands to make me shut off. 'I can already feel this trip is a step in the right direction, and I finally feel safe sharing a bit again. Thank you for all of your love and patience. More to come. Promise.' 'I vanished for a while': Black revealed his injury on his Instagram Monday as he shared photos from the couple's vacation Dapper: The pair were most recently spotted together at Wimbledon in July and later accompanying Tom to investiture ceremonies at Windsor Castle Black, the creator of FX's recently released limited series Under the Banner of Heaven starring Andrew Garfield, has been married to Daley since 2017. The pair welcomed a son, Robbie, in 2018. The couple were most recently spotted together at Wimbledon in July and later accompanying Daley to investiture ceremonies at Windsor Castle. Last month, Black and Daley were involved in an incident at a London nightclub in which Black reportedly threw a drink at a woman, who allegedly responded by hitting him in the back of the head. Incident: Black was recently involved in an incident at a British gay bar, during which he was allegedly punched in the head after pouring a drink on a club promoter According to an account of the incident, Black threw a drink at an events promotor in the early hours of the morning at the gay bar Freedom in Soho, London. Teddy Edwardes, 32, says Black dumped a drink on her head after she asked an individual at the venue to leave her table, at which Black and Daley were also seated. Edwardes said after the incident, Black called the police and she had to 'wait there for hours' while Black stood outside the club 'crying,' saying it was 'a targeted attack and that he's traumatized.' At the time, Edwardes tweeted that when she posted about the incident on her Instagram she received 'so many messages from other women saying they've experienced the same with him.' Family: The pair welcomed a son, Robbie, into the world in 2018 Representatives for Black and Daley did not respond to comment from the Daily Mail about the nature of Black's injury. In October, Black's HBO documentary, Mama's Boy, is set to open the NewFest LGBTQ+ film festival in New York. The film is about Black's life. Black also wrote and produced Rustin, a forthcoming fil about the life of gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. The film is expected in 2023. Hyderabad: The ruling TRS has launched a campaign in bypoll-bound Munugode Assembly constituency to connect with voters caste-wise. The party is holding four-day atmeeya sammelans with Dalits at Dalit colonies in the constituency starting Monday. The mandals of Munugode and Chanduru were covered on Day 1 of the Dalit Atmeeya Sammelans, which got underway on Monday at Munugode. Party leaders enlisted Dalit Bandhu beneficiaries from other districts to these sammelans who are interacting with Dalits, sharing their experiences and success achieved by them through Dalit Bandhu scheme. The Telangana government has recently extended the Dalit Bandhu scheme to 600 families in Munugode this year. In addition to Dalits, the party will be holding atmeeya sammelans with other castes in the coming days. The party intends to organise 'religion-wise' meetings with Muslims and Christians to highlight how these communities benefited from the welfare schemes of the TRS government over the last eight years. The beneficiaries from Muslim and Christian communities in Munugode constituency will interact with members of their respective groups to solicit support for the TRS in the byelection. Dalit Atmeeya sammelans will be held on Tuesday in the mandals of Marriguda, Narayanpur, and Choutuppal. The Nampally mandal will be covered on September 28 and 29. Dalits from every village in a mandal are being gathered to attend the atmeeya sammelans in mandal headquarters. These Sammelans will be led by Dalit MLAs of the ruling party. Party leaders are hosting lunch and refreshments for attendees to take part in day-long sessions and interact with beneficiaries of Dalit Bandhu and other welfare schemes. Balka Suman, an MLA from Chennur, who took part in the Dalit Sammelan in Munugode mandal, said: "Unlike other parties that seek votes on caste, communal, and religious lines, TRS would do so based on the welfare schemes and development initiatives it has undertaken over the past eight years. In the past eight years, TRS government programmes have benefited all socioeconomic groups. Every household has at least one member who benefitted from the TRS welfare schemes. These sammelans are designed with the purpose of showcasing our programmes and development as well as raising awareness among the public about how to utilise TRS programmes efficiently for social and economic upliftment " He explained to Deccan Chronicle that the interactions with Dalit Bandhu beneficiaries were planned to help all Dalits in exchanging ideas to set up successful units and become socially and financially strong. "In the last one, hundreds of Dalit Bandhu beneficiaries utilised Rs 10 lakh grant extended by the TRS government to set up dairy units, textile shops, purchased motor cabs, harvesters, etc., and made profits. If such beneficiaries share their success stories with their fellow Dalits, it would help them to prosper in their lives," Suman informed. Rebel Wilson was showing off her lithe figure in a series of Instagram posts on Tuesday. The Australian actress, 42, looked stunning in a retro black dress from Rhea Costa, which chanelled old school Hollywood. The frock sat off her shoulders to show off a modest hint of skin, before flaring out to a full skirt. Rebel Wilson (pictured) was showing off her lithe figure in a series of Instagram posts on Tuesday Rebel added a glamorous makeup look, including flawless eye shadow and a glossy nude lipstick. She wrote in her caption: 'Zurich Film Festival press looks' while thanking her glam squad. Rebel has lost an impressive 35kg (77lbs) over two years after she declared 2020 her 'Year of Health'. The Australian actress, 42, looked stunning in a retro black dress from Rhea Costa, which chanelled old school Hollywood The frock sat off her shoulders to show off a modest hint of skin, before flaring out to a full skirt She wrote in her caption: 'Zurich Film Festival press looks' while thanking her glam squad. Pictured with actor Eddie Redmayne (second from right) It comes after Rebel hinted that she may be moving her career in a different direction by writing a tell-all book. Rebel recently hosted a Q&A session with her Instagram fans and asked them, 'If I was writing a book, what stories would you be interested in?' Her 11.2 million followers were quick to offer interesting suggestions with the top one being a motivational book about her incredible weight loss journey. Rebel has been sharing a number of jaw-dropping photos on Instagram since revealing she shed 35kg since her 'Year of Health' in 2020 The Bridesmaid actress agreed it was a great idea and responded enthusiastically 'this sounds good!' Another fan suggested she write a book about how she met and fell in love with her 'princess' Ramona Agruma, 38, earlier this year. The Sydney-born actress loved the suggestion but told her followers, 'I will have to let Ramona read these chapters before anyone else though.' It comes after Rebel hinted that she may be moving her career in a different direction by writing a tell-all book Rebel's newfound interest in writing a tell-all book follows some significant life changes over the past few years. The blonde star declared she had set clear fitness goals for herself in 2020 and through a combination of exercise and healthy living managed to shed 35kg. And earlier this year she admitted she was dating Agruma on June 9. Barbara Walters sparked concern among The View fans as they wondered how she is doing after her 93rd birthday. The journalist has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since she retired back in 2014 after a career spanning more than five decades. On Monday's episode of the ABC show, co-host Whoopi Goldberg wished the show's creator a happy birthday. Concern: Barbara Walters sparked concern among The View fans as they wondered how she is doing after her 93rd birthday (pictured in 2014) As a photo of Barbara appeard on screen, she said: 'To the one and only Barbara Walters, who had a birthday yesterday, we wanna say, 27 never looked so good!' The View's twitter account also shared a photo of the broadcaster and wished her well, with many fans wondering how she is doing these days. One wrote: 'What is happening with Barbara? We haven't had news in ages,' while another asked: 'But where is she?' Another fan wrote they 'missed her' while another added that The View 'is not the same without' her. Message: On Monday's episode of the ABC show, co-host Whoopi Goldberg wished the show's creator a happy birthday Well wishes: As a photo of Barbara appeard on screen, she said: 'To the one and only Barbara Walters, who had a birthday yesterday, we wanna say, 27 never looked so good!' One viewer said they 'never hear about her' anymore to which another replied: 'Im wondering the same thing, havent seen her since 2017 I believe'. Barbara created The View in 1997, with the aim of showing women from different generations and walks of life discussing the issues of the day. Through numerous line-up changes, Barbara remained as a panellist on the show until she decided to retire in 2014. Her last public appearance was in 2016 when she attended the New York premiere of Woody Allen's film Cafe Society. Of The View's original line-up of Joy Behar, Debbie Matenopoulos, Star Jones and Meredith Viera, Joy is the only one who remains on the show. Reaction: The View's twitter account also shared a photo of the broadcaster and wished her well, with many fans wondering how she is doing these days Whoopi joined the show as moderator in 2007, Sara Haines and Sonny Hostin both joined in 2016 and Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin were added as full-time members of the panel this year. Barbara has not made any public appearances since 2016 and was noticably absent from The View's 25th anniversary celebrations earlier this year. To celebrate the milestone, the original hosts had a reunion at New York's Essex House where they first auditioned. The current hosts also celebrated the 25th anniversary with a vacation to The Bahamas. She's well-known for her love of fashion. And Vogue Williams, 36, pulled out all the stops for an appearance on Lorraine on Tuesday morning, with a stunning ensemble. The mother-of-three put on a leggy display teaming a silver foil mini skirt with a soft looking yellow jumper which she tucked in at the front. Looking good: Vogue Williams looked stunning in a yellow jumper with a silver foil mini skirt as she presented an autumn fashion segment on Lorraine on Tuesday A natural beauty: She tied her caramel tresses into a messy up 'do She teamed the ensemble with matching silver heels and tied her caramel tresses into a messy up 'do. Vogue was on the show to present a segment on autumn fashion and looked perfectly dressed for the part. However, Vogue took to Instagram before the show to reveal she was having trouble making her mind up on what to wear. She and her stylist also looked another look - a loose-fitting orange sequin dress which she had teamed with contrasting shoes. So she asked her followers which look she should go with and the silver skirt won. That's shoe-business: She completed her look with a pair of silver heels In two minds: Vogue took to Instagram before the show to reveal she was having trouble making her mind up on what to wear Earlier this month, Vogue divided opinion after revealing she lost her virginity age 18 to a 27-year old. The Irish presenter discussed the nine-year age gap on a new podcast during a chat about her first time having sex. The stunner, who is now married to Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews - went on to explained that she is still friends with the man and didn't think the situation was unusual. It all looks good: She and her stylist also looked another look - a loose-fitting orange sequin dress which she had teamed with contrasting shoes Looking good: The show's presenter Lorraine Kelly also looked fashionable in a striped cardigan and white pencil skirt She made the admission on the Boots podcast Taboo Talk, alongside comedian Russell Kane and Too Hot To Handle narrator Desiree Burch who discussed her revelation with differing views. Each speaking about their first time, Vogue said: 'But did you not go in doing all the other stuff first. 'I remember before you'd lose your virginity, boys would go up your top. 'I was like, 'They're literally going to get to my head because I had no boobs. They're just going to keep going'. 'That was literally all the stuff that we were doing first. The guy I was with was 27 and I was 18.' Present: Earlier this month, Vogue divided opinion after revealing she lost her virginity age 18 to a 27-year old - pictured with her husband Spencer Matthews A shocked Desiree then said: 'Were you that girl in high school where it was like, 'Oh she's dating a grown man'. 'I remember there was this girl in my school who was dating a 27-year-old and it's not until you're 30 you're like, 'Well that was f***ing crazy'.' Vogue replied: 'I know, [he was] picking me up in my school uniform. That was good for me because he kind of took the lead because I don't know if I would've...' Russell Kane then jokingly chimed in: 'Of course he did the dirty b*****d.' Vogue then asked: 'Oh my God does that sound really bad?' Desiree replied: 'It's not uncommon. You were the hot girl in your high school, congratulations but also looking back on it, you're like, 'that's bats*** insane'. 'What was that guy doing at 27 being like, 'She's 18 this is totally cool'?'. The Eurovision Song Contest will be staged in Britain in 2023, after organisers concluded it would not be possible to host it in Ukraine - due to the ongoing war with Russia. And there will be an update about the shortlist of UK cities that could host next year's Eurovision Song Contest from the BBC on Tuesday. The UK - who came second to the Ukraine in this year's competition - said the 2023 event would be a celebration of Ukrainian culture and creativity. Ukraine won the right to host the glitzy pan-continental music competition when its entry, from the folk-rap ensemble Kalush Orchestra, won this year's contest in May as Britain's Sam Ryder was second. Yay! The Eurovision Song Contest will be staged in Britain in 2023, after organisers concluded it would not be possible to host it in Ukraine - due to the ongoing war with Russia (Britain's runner-up contestant Sam Ryder pictured earlier this year) However the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) - which runs Eurovision - said it had concluded that 'regrettably, next year's event could not be held in Ukraine for safety and security reasons'. In place, it announced, the BBC had agreed to host the show on behalf of Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC. Ukraine will automatically qualify for the grand final alongside the so-called big five nations - the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, who each get a free pass because of their financial contributions to the event. Ahead of the announcement about the host city shortlist here is everything you need to know about Eurovision 2023: Hosts: The UK said the 2023 event would be a celebration of Ukrainian culture and creativity. Pictured, the Eurovision stage in Turin Winners: Ukraine won the right to host the glitzy pan-continental music competition when its entry, from the folk-rap ensemble Kalush Orchestra, won this year's contest in May How to get Eurovision tickets? Details about when and how tickets will be available have not yet been announced however the start of sales is likely to be late 2022. According to Eurovision World, tickets 'usually go out early the same year or late the year before the contest' depending on a number of factors, including the venue, ticket agency and details of show production. According to the outlet, in past tickets have been sold in batches and have been available for nine shows - six of which are rehearsals, and three of which are live shows. For this year's competition, tickets became available on April 7, with the Grand Final taking part in May. Second place: The BBC had agreed to broadcast the show on behalf of Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC. Britain's Sam Ryder pictured earlier this year How much will tickets cost? Eurovision World suggests that, while historically the most expensive Eurovision tickets have been for the Grand Final live show, prices have varied over the years. According to the site, this year's tickets cost between 10 - 350, whereas prices for the 2019 competition were priced from 183 to 415. 2018's prices ranged from 5 to 299. Where will the Eurovision contest be hosted? According to the EBU's announcement, a 'bidding process' to decide the host city will be launched this week. London, Manchester and Sheffield all said that they would apply. Sheffield City Council was among the first to announce a bid, saying on Twitter: 'We've told Eurovision we'd love to hostwatch this space.' Manchester City Council confirmed it was also putting in a bid, with its leader Bev Craig tweeting: 'A world class music city, brilliant venues, experience in hosting major events, and of course one of the UK's largest Ukrainian populations - we are confident we will make it a #eurovision to remember.' Venue: According to the EBU's announcement, a 'bidding process' to decide the host city will be launched this week. Pictured: The Eurovision Song Contest at Harrogate Conference Centre in 1982 Announcing London's bid, mayor Sadiq Khan said the city was 'ready and willing to step in' with a contest that 'celebrates the people of Ukraine and shows off the very best of Britain'. Glasgow also previously expressed an interest in hosting the contest with the city's OVO Hydro arena saying it would be 'delighted' to be involved in discussions. In June, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also backed the city to host, tweeting: 'I can think of a perfect venue on banks of the River Clyde!!' Bids: London, Manchester and Sheffield all said Monday that they would apply. Pictured: The Eurovision Song Contest at Wembley Conference Centre in 1977 It will be the ninth time Eurovision has taken place in the UK more than any other country. The EBU's statement added: 'The BBC has staged the Eurovision Song Contest more times than any other broadcaster, hosting in London in 1960, 1963, 1968 and 1977, Edinburgh in 1972, Brighton in 1974, Harrogate in 1982 and Birmingham in 1998.' Tim Davie, Director-General of the BBC said: 'It is a matter of great regret that our colleagues and friends in Ukraine are not able to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. Legacy: It will be the ninth time Eurovision has taken place in the UK more than any other country. Pictured: ABBA at the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, 1974 'Being asked to host the largest and most complex music competition in the world is a great privilege. 'The BBC is committed to making the event a true reflection of Ukrainian culture alongside showcasing the diversity of British music and creativity. 'The BBC will now begin the process to find a Host City to partner with us on delivering one of the most exciting events to come to the UK in 2023.' When is Eurovision 2023? A press release from the broadcaster added: 'The dates for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be announced in due course.' The contest will consist of two semi-finals and a final in May 2023. About Eurovision: Founded in 1956 to help unite a continent scarred by World War II, Eurovision has grown to include more than 40 countries, including non-European nations such as Israel and Australia. Organizers strive to keep pop and politics apart - banning overtly political symbols and lyrics - but global tensions have often imposed themselves on the contest. Russia was kicked out of this year's competition because of its invasion of Ukraine in February. Who won the last Eurovision? This year's competition was won by Ukraine's folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra with their song Stefania. The country joined the contest in 2003 and its three wins make it one of the most successful of the newer competitor countries - having triumphed in 2004 and 2016. During their performance, which combined rap and Ukrainian folklore, the group were dressed in elaborate outfits, including long multi-coloured fringed ensembles. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Facebook post: 'Our courage impresses the world our music conquers Europe! Next year Ukraine will host Eurovision! For the third time in its history. And I believe - not for the last time.' How many times have the UK won Eurovision? To date, the UK has won the Eurovision Song Contest on 5 occasions and hosted the event on 8 previous occasions: 1960, 1963, 1968 and 1977 in London, 1972 in Edinburgh, 1974 in Brighton, 1982 in Harrogate, and 1998 in Birmingham. The first win was in 1967, with Sandie Shaw's hit Puppet on a String and the last was 30 years later in 1997. The most memorable win was Bucks Fizz, who wowed audiences with their hit, Making Your Mind Up, which featured a skirt-ripping dance routine, complete with big hair and 80's attire. The UK last won Eurovision in 1997 with Katrina and the Waves. When Eurovision last held in the UK? The UK last hosted Eurovision in May 1998. Birmingham was selected as the host city with the event being held at the National Indoor Arena. The Block's Dylan has revealed how his marriage proposal to fellow contestant Jenny in January 2021 was almost ruined by a bad weather. The 28-year-old had planned to propose to the glamorous tradie, 25, after a romantic helicopter ride to Whitehaven Beach, on Hamilton Island in Queensland. But the elaborate plan almost failed when the would-be groom learned that on the day he planned to pop the question all flights had been grounded. The Block's Dylan has revealed how his marriage proposal to fellow contestant Jenny in January 2021 was almost ruined by a spot of bad weather. Pictured: Jenny and Dylan His scheme was finally salvaged at the last minute, when the weather suddenly cleared he told 9Now. 'We had a holiday planned...so that will be the perfect time,' Dylan said. 'So I sprung into action, and just tried to hold onto the secret.' Jenny, meanwhile, said she was shocked when Dylan proposed, even though she felt she had a 'feeling' that 'something was coming'. The 25-year-old had planned to propose to the glamorous tradie, also 25, after a romantic helicopter ride to Whitehaven Beach, on Hamilton Island in Queensland he told 9Now 'We were just on the beach near the helicopter,' Jenny remembered. 'I was just kind of walking towards the water and then I turned around and he got on his knee - it was so cute.' The couple, who have been dating for years, first met in Canada, and now plan to marry at the InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort on the Gold Coast in March 2023. But the elaborate plan almost failed when the would-be groom learned that on the day he planned to pop the question all flights had been grounded They have already invited their fellow contestants on the home renovation reality hit, as well as hosts Scot Cam and Shelley Craft. Elsewhere in the chat, the couple revealed their future plans include having a family and renovating homes of their own. The pair have made history on The Block as the first tradie couple to star on the show. Abbie Chatfield is single and very ready to mingle. On Tuesday, the former Bachelor contestant read aloud some of her racy sext messages on her It's A Lot podcast. 'I like a casual sext,' the 27-year-old said, before reading out one she had recently sent verbatim. Abbie Chatfield (pictured) is single and very ready to mingle. On Tuesday, the former Bachelor contestant read aloud some of her racy sext messages on her It's A Lot podcast 'Hi, I miss f***ing you. I just came and my brain decided to remind me of you. Thought you should know,' one read. She compared other messages she sends to a 'business email'. 'Just circling back to the fact that I really, really want your c**k in my a**hole,' she read out. 'Hi, I miss f***ing you. I just came and my brain decided to remind me of you. Thought you should know,' one read 'It's less intense, if you are rejected it's just FYI, it's just for their information,' she added. It comes after Abbie admitted that she has been uploading more racy pictures and videos to Instagram in the hopes of attracting potential lovers following her recent breakup. Abbie split from her boyfriend Konrad Bien-Stephen several months ago, but they didn't announce their break-up until after he returned from Argentina, where he was filming a new reality show. She compared other messages she sends to a 'business email'. 'Just circling back to the fact that I really, really want your c**k in my a**hole,' she read out During that trip, he hooked up with former Bachelor contestant Megan Marx. The ex-couple were in an open relationship for the entire time they were dating, but she has clarified this arrangement was not the reason for their split. Abbie addressed their breakup earlier this month. 'This is going to seem really out of the blue and really strange timing,' Abbie began. The ex-couple were in an open relationship for the entire time they were dating, but she has clarified this arrangement was not the reason for their split. Both pictured 'I guess I wanted to confirm that yeah, Konrad and I have broken up. We've been broken up for a couple of months now. 'No one did anything bad or awful, there's no drama to it,' she continued. 'It was not because we were in an open relationship. Nothing bad happened. 'I wasn't being deceitful by not telling people, there was a reason why there was a delay in telling you all,' she said at the time. Advertisement Iris Law, Shailene Woodley and Alexandra Daddario put on glamorous displays as they led the stars at the Dior show during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday. Iris, 21, cut an elegant figure in suitwear while Shailene, 30, and Alexandra, 36, both captured attention in equally show-stopping ensembles as they arrived at the Christian Dior womenswear spring/summer 2023 show. The 'nude-themed' catwalk saw what appeared to be modern dancers sporting nude bodysuits as they lifted each other up while models strutted their stuff up the runway in outfits from the French luxury fashion house. Gorgeous: Iris Law, Shailene Woodley and Alexandra Daddario put on glamorous displays as they led the stars at the Dior show during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday Glam: Iris, 21, cut an elegant figure in beige trousers and a shirt as she arrived at the Christian Dior womenswear spring/summer 2023 show The daughter of Jude Law showed off her sensational sense of style in a plunging oversized striped shirt, which she tucked into beige trousers with braces hanging loosely around her waist. She gave herself a few extra inches with a pair of pointed black heels with a sparkling silver strap, and let her outfit do all the talking as she kept it simple with gold droplet earrings. Iris showed off her natural beauty with a pink smokey-eye make-up palette and a slick of purple lipstick as she posed up a storm at the event. The model styled her platinum blonde locks in a slicked-back bob while she carried her essentials in a floral embroidered black handbag. Suave: The daughter of Jude Law showed off her sensational sense of style in a plunging oversized striped shirt, which she tucked into beige trousers with braces hanging loosely around her waist Stunning: She gave herself a few extra inches with a pair of pointed black heels with a sparkling silver strap Runway: The 'nude-themed' catwalk saw what appeared to be modern dancers sporting nude bodysuits as they lifted each other up while models strutted their stuff up the runway in outfits from the French luxury fashion house Nude bodysuits: Dancers perform during the Spring-Summer 2023 Women's ready-to-wear collection show by designer Maria Grazia Chiuri for fashion house Dior Purpose: With dancers twisting in the background, the show sought to bring a 'baroque party' atmosphere, reflecting the key inspiration of the collection Catwalk: The much-anticipated show saw models sport an array of unique Dior ensembles as they walked through a unique window structure American actress Alexandra sported straight leg black trousers featuring braces, which she teamed with a matching ruffled shirt and a cream corset-style waistcoat. She completed her glamorous ensemble with a cropped white jacket with floral stitching around the neckline, while she accessorised with dangling silver earrings. The Percy Jackson star added some height to her frame in a pair of black pointed stilettos adorned with white bows and carried a paisley patterned Dior handbag. Alexandra styled her brunette bob in a glossy straight style while she bolstered her striking features with a slick of rouge lipstick. Glittering display: Iris let her outfit do all the talking as she kept it simple with gold droplet earrings Gorgeous: Iris showed off her natural beauty with a pink smokey-eye make-up palette and a slick of purple lipstick as she posed up a storm at the event All smiles: Iris appeared to be in jovial spirits as she was seen flashing a huge grin and giving the thumbs up while posing for snaps Show-stopping: American actress Alexandra sported straight leg black trousers featuring braces, which she teamed with a matching ruffled shirt and a cream corset-style waistcoat Epitome of glamour: The Percy Jackson star added some height to her frame in a pair of black pointed stilettos adorned with white bows and carried a paisley patterned Dior handbag Elsewhere, actress Shailene looked equally suave in a polka-dot black shirt and high-waisted brown suit trousers with black braces fixed around her shoulders. She completed her look with a pair of black slip-on shoes and tucked her golden locks beneath a wide-brimmed black hat, while her fringe fell loosely around her face. The Big Little Lies star accentuated her natural beauty with a dramatic slick of eyeliner and a touch of bronzer as she posed up a storm at the event. They led the stars at the much-anticipated fashion show, which also saw the likes of Rosamund Pike, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Katherine Langford in attendance. Fashionista: Elsewhere, actress Shailene looked equally suave in a polka-dot black shirt and high-waisted brown suit trousers with black braces fixed around her shoulders Sparkles: She completed her glamorous ensemble with a cropped white jacket with floral stitching around the neckline, while she accessorised with dangling silver earrings Bombshell: The Big Little Lies star accentuated her natural beauty with a dramatic slick of eyeliner and a touch of bronzer as she posed up a storm at the event Paris is the centre of the world's globalized luxury industry this week, and Tuesday marks the first major day of ready-to-wear shows at Paris Fashion Week, including Saint Laurent and Dior. These Parisian powerhouses are among the 107 brands showcasing spring-summer 2023 collections across the week-long event. The latest Dior collection presented heels and corsets as a sort of 'ironic power dressing'. An outspoken feminist, Dior's womenswear designer Maria Grazia Chiuri said the corsets, crinolines and other historical items, inspired by 16th-century French queen Catherine de Medici, remained modern and functional despite their appearance. 'The idea that amused me was that there are elements in the clothes that create a regal imagination,' Chiuri told AFP ahead of the show. Arrivals: David Ginola's daughter Carla was pictured arriving at the event Impressive show: Designer Maria Grazia Chiuri appears with dancers at the end of her Spring-Summer 2023 Women's ready-to-wear collection show for fashion house Dior during Paris Fashion Week Edgy: Rosamund Pike captured attention in a black lace gown which she wore underneath a sleeveless faux fur jacket, before later revealing the intricate design of her shimmering sheer dress Vibrant: Rosamund added a pop of colour to her look with a red manicure and a matching slick of lipstick Quirky look: She paired her ensemble with chunky black loafers and clutched a black handbag in one hand Excellent spirits: The actress, 43, flashed a huge smile as she socialised outside the event ahead of the show Good form: Rosamund styled her golden locks in a wet-look slicked-back style as she posed up a storm while arriving at the show She presented the spring-summer 2023 collection against the backdrop of a grotto in the Jardin des Tuileries on the second day of Paris Fashion Week. With dancers twisting in the background, the show sought to bring a 'baroque party' atmosphere, reflecting the key inspiration of the collection. Short in stature, Italian aristocrat Catherine de Medici was a pioneer of platform shoes to give her more height, and used structured silhouettes to create a more imposing presence when she arrived at the court of France in the 1530s on her way to becoming queen. The corsets in Dior's new collection were not hidden - 'They're an object to play with and have fun,' said Chiuri. Red ensemble: Anna Wintour showed off her fashion credentials in a double-breasted red jacket, which she styled with matching heeled boots Elegant: Maggie Gyllenhaal kept warm in a navy blue jacket with a tie waist as she was among arrivals at Paris Fashion Week Family: Maggie was joined her daughter Ramona Sarsgaard as they held hands while arriving at the much-anticipated event Stunning: Romee Strijd showed off her blossoming baby bump in a fitted black mini dress, which she styled with chunky studded boots The basket-like dresses have a 'functional' dimension, she added, intended to mimic the power dressing trend of the 1970s and 1980s. There was also plenty of embroidery and lace, which Catherine de Medici made sure were produced in large quantities by French royal artisans. Even the venue for Tuesday's show was a nod to the Italian aristocrat, who organised parties in the Jardin des Tuileries. As usual, the Dior show attracted a slew of stars including K-Pop superstar Cha Eun-woo, Australian model Elle Macpherson and US actor-director Maggie Gyllenhaal. Chiuri said she was well aware that there was not a party mood in the world right now, but said this was all the more reason to take a playful tone with fashion. Dapper: Katherine Langford put on a show-stopping display in an elegant rouge suit while model Romee Strijd put on a leggy display in a black mini dress and knee-high boots Beauty: Thirteen Reasons Why actress Katherine's suitwear was made up off high waisted red trousers, a black ruffled shirt, a waistcoat and matching jacket Bold: The Australian star, 26, gave herself a few extra inches in a pair of black stilettos while she accentuated her features with a bold red lipstick Graceful: Tennis star Emma Raducanu looked chic in a dusty pink skirt and black top while South Korean singer Jisoo opted for a black dress and a Christian Dior handbag Cozy: Elle Macpherson appeared to be in excellent spirits as she was joined by a male friend at the Dior womenswear show Hand-in-hand: Elle stunned in a white dress and black top, which she paired with sheer black boots as she held hands with her male guest 'In this heavy historical moment, fashion is the only place where we can still play - that's what I wanted to do at the moment,' she said. 'The situation is tragic, we have to find motivation to work.' Paris Fashion Week launched on Monday with a protege of Jean Paul Gaultier bringing light-hearted vibes to the catwalk, while the luxury world awaits the French debut of Victoria Beckham. Vintage looks: Marisa Berenson showed off her historical influences in her suit while Poppy Ajudha put on a dramatic display in an off-the-shoulder navy floral dress Shimmering: Poppy Ajudha completed her look with a Christian Dior handbag as she prepared for the fashion show Stunners: Ramla Ali put on a dazzling display in a unique black mini dress with a red sequinned overlay while Lionel Messi's Wife Antonela Roccuzzo cut a unique figure in a fitted grey suit As is traditional, the first day focused on young designers, and the opening show of womenswear spring-summer 2023 was that of 28-year-old Victor Weinsanto, a former dancer who studied under Gaultier before launching his label in 2020. Weinsanto told AFP his collection is a 'declaration of love' to his generation, and inspired by young fellow designers. In an unprecedented move, he brought some of those peers on to the runway, with Charles de Vilmorin (from Rochas) and Egonlab founders Kevin Nompeix and Florentin Glemarec parading clothes in their style, but with a 'Weinsanto twist'. Edgy: Bryanboy cut a quirky figure in an oversized padded jacket while Anna Dello Russo sported a patent black ensemble and Cha Eun-woo looked smart in wide leg trousers and a black shirt Attractive: Lena Situations was the epitome of glamour in a black gown while Claire Rose Cliteur looked smart in a black mini skirt and white shirt It was eclectic, featuring everything from regular denims to theatrical, overblown 'black widow' dresses. One plus-size model paraded in little more than bondage ties, while another sported a white dress with a huge lipstick kiss across the breast, and another filled the catwalk with gigantic white head-dress. Freshly decked out in bright orange hair, the designer said people were looking for 'creativity, freedom, madness and humour' in their outfits at the moment. Effortlessly chic: Helena Bordon put on a vibrant display in a checkered yellow jacket while Steph Adams opted for a black lace gown and jacket and Christian Serratos cut a summery figure in an off-the-shoulder white dress Beauties: Beatrice Borromeo put on a dazzling display in black trousers and a jacket with a bold white trim while Amelie Zilber looked smart in black trousers and a cream blazer The image of 1990s designers who gossiped nastily about each other has gone out of style, he added. Like many of his generation, there is a focus on sustainability - with almost all his designs made from surplus stock from other brands - and inclusivity. The clothes are designed for 'both mother and daughter,' he said, and the models included all ages and sizes, with smiles and dancing that were a clear link to Weinsanto's mentor. Stylish: South-Korean singer ans actor Cha Eun-woo, Bianca Brandolini d'Adda and Elsa Hosk were also in attendance Sultry stare: Zita d'Hauteville fixed the camera with a intense gaze as she sported a stylish beige double-breasted jacket and black handbag Dapper: Alice Barbier cut a smart figure in a checkered jacket and grey shirt as she posed with JS Roques while Amiaya sported co-ordinated white and green ensembles Casual look: Nadia Tereszkiewicz opted for a more laidback look in dark navy jeans and a polka dot long-sleeved shirt for the show Suit chic: Rose Bertram opted for black cycling shorts with a grey blazer and lace-up boots while Cleopatra Zu Oettingen-Spielberg put on a vibrant display in a patterned suit All in black: The models looked sensational in all-black ensembles, with one wearing a stunning lace voluminous skirt and bralet and another sporting a sheer top Historical influences: The latest Dior collection presented heels and corsets as a sort of 'ironic power dressing' Amazing: She presented the spring-summer 2023 collection against the backdrop of a grotto in the Jardin des Tuileries on the second day of Paris Fashion Week It's back! Almost all shows are back to live runways following the shift online during the Covid-19 pandemic, including Dior, Chanel, Balenciaga, Stella McCartney and Issey Miyake Designer: The basket-like dresses have a 'functional' dimension, she added, intended to mimic the power dressing trend of the 1970s and 1980s Bold: As usual, the Dior show attracted a slew of stars including K-Pop superstar Cha Eun-woo, Australian model Elle Macpherson and US actor-director Maggie Gyllenhaal Almost all are back to live runway shows following the shift online during the Covid-19 pandemic, including Dior, Chanel, Balenciaga, Stella McCartney and Issey Miyake. But all eyes are on Victoria Beckham, who makes her first appearance at Paris Fashion Week after previously showing in New York and London. Beckham's brand has struggled to turn a profit despite strong reviews since she launched as a designer in 2008, and a newly reorganised back office is hoping for a boost in Paris. Sensational: With dancers twisting in the background, the show sought to bring a 'baroque party' atmosphere, reflecting the key inspiration of the collection 'Naked' dancers: One dancer could be seen showing off their talents as they performed during the runway show Florals: Some of the models looked sensational in floral maxi dresses as they showed off Dior's latest sensational pieces Statement: An outspoken feminist, Dior's womenswear designer Maria Grazia Chiuri said the corsets, crinolines and other historical items, inspired by 16th-century French queen Catherine de Medici, remained modern and functional despite their appearance Strutting their stuff: Short in stature, Italian aristocrat Catherine de Medici was a pioneer of platform shoes to give her more height, and used structured silhouettes to create a more imposing presence when she arrived at the court of France in the 1530s on her way to becoming queen Fashion: Paris is the centre of the world's globalized luxury industry this week, and Tuesday marks the first major day of ready-to-wear shows at Paris Fashion Week, including Saint Laurent and Dior She stars as Miriam 'Midge' Maisel on the series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. And Rachel Brosnahan spoke to Town & Country about the early beginnings of her career and how she carved her path in the showbiz world. The 32-year-old actress wowed in a variety of fall looks, paired with bikini bottoms for the autumn themed photo shoot. The latest: She stars as Miriam 'Midge' Maisel on the series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. And Rachel Brosnahan spoke to Town & Country about the early beginnings of her career and how she carved her path in the showbiz world Rachel wore a black, grey and beige sweater with black bottoms while lounging by a pool in one photo. The star sported a comfy looking orange knitted sweater for the cover story with touseled tresses. She spoke out her decision to become an actor: 'I became an actor because I didn't want to be myself all the time. Being yourself takes a lot of hard work.' During the interview she recalled when she was 18 and auditioned for a role in Restless by director Gus Van Sant. Gorgeous: The 32-year-old actress wowed in a variety of fall looks, paired with bikini bottoms for the autumn themed photo shoot She used her own money to fly to LA from New York City for the audition, but ended up not getting the role. 'I sobbed. All over New York,' she recalled. She revealed that a studio executive told her she should move to LA if she wants to find work, which she did. 'He told me that you can be an actor in New Yok, but you can only make a living as an actor in LA. I got scared, so I moved.' 'Turns out that's not true. It was not for me. I'm glad I did it; I'm glad I tried it,' she added. Chatting: She spoke out her decision to become an actor: 'I became an actor because I didn't want to be myself all the time. Being yourself takes a lot of hard work' The actress, who is married to Jason Ralph, had her big break on House of Cards as the character Rachel Posner. She has been playing the character Ms. Maisel on the series The Marvelous Ms. Maisel since 2017. The star reflected on her journey in the acting industry: 'I know it's used mostly in a derogatory way, but I spent so many years wishing I could claim to be a theater kid. I wanted to be in that crew and be a part of that, and I felt like the outsider.' Candid: The actress, who is married to Jason Ralph, had her big break on House of Cards as the character Rachel Posner The star revealed that when she met her now-husband Jason, 36, during filming of I'm Obsessed With You when she was 23, she didn't want to be involved romantically until the film wrapped. She didn't date him until after filming wrapped: 'It was a hard no for me. "Stay away, stay away, Okay, fine."' The couple began dating in 2013 and reportedly tied the knot in 2018. In addition to The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, Rachel also stars in the upcoming film Dead For a Dollar with co-stars Christopher Waltz and Willem Dafoe, which will be released on September 30. Romance: The star revealed that when she met her now-husband Jason, 36, during filming of I'm Obsessed With You when she was 23, she didn't want to be involved romantically until the film wrapped Gorgeous: She didn't date him until after filming wrapped: 'It was a hard no for me. "Stay away, stay away, Okay, fine."' Blonde beauty Katherine Heigl made the very unusual move of sharing a family photo to Instagram. The sweet image was taken at home and featured not only the 43-year-old star's husband of 15 years, musician Josh Kelley, but also all three of their children. 'From our family to yours,' the actress - who starred on the TV series Grey's Anatomy and blockbuster films such as Knocked Up and 27 Dresses - captioned the post. Full house: Blonde beauty Katherine Heigl made the very unusual move of sharing a family photo to Instagram. The sweet image was taken at home and featured not only the 43-year-old star's husband of 15 years, musician Josh Kelley, but also all three of their children Her children are her non-biological daughter Nancy Leigh Mi-Eun, age 13, who was adopted from South Korea at age nine months. The country holds a place in her heart: Katherine's older sister, Meg, was adopted from South Korea as well. She also has daughter Adalaide Marie Hope, age 10, who was domestically adopted in 2012. And Katherine and Josh share biological son Joshua Bishop Jr, age five. The girl: Her children are her non-biological daughter Nancy Leigh Mi-Eun (right), age 13, who was adopted from South Korea at age nine months. The country holds a place in her heart: Katherine's older sister, Meg, was adopted from South Korea as well. 'I just believed that love is love it doesn't matter what we look like,' the Firefly Lane actor told Parents. 'But then when I asked my sister, Meg, if she had been treated one way when she was out in public without our parents and a different way when she was out by herself without them, she said, "Oh yeah, all the time!" 'That made me realize I had been so naive.' Their only son: And Katherine and Josh share biological son Joshua Bishop Jr, age five The star at first felt 'angry' with herself. 'But I had to calm down and realize, OK, this isn't about how it makes me feel,' she explained. 'It's about how I need to protect my daughters and prepare them for the world, because I can't change society in one fell swoop.' The image was shared to plug pet food, Badlands Ranch food. She has said the food has the 'trendy' herbal supplements she has included in the formula during an interview with People in August. Cute kid! She also has daughter Adalaide Marie Hope (left), age 10, who was domestically adopted in 2012 During the sit-down, the 27 Dresses actress spoke about multiple aspects of her new venture and explained why she chose to become involved in the pet food industry. The actress and avowed dog lover's products were made available to the public last month. Heigl began by speaking about how her interest in dog food was partially inspired by her research into healthy living. She recalled that as she became 'more and more aware of gut healing and nutrition, and the connection between our guts and our brainsand I thought, 'Well, why is it different? How different is it for our animals?'' Early days: She got her start on Grey's Anatomy; seen with Justin Chambers, Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey in 2005 Then she became a big movie star: She was in the hit film Knocked Up with Seth Rogen in 2007 The Grey's Anatomy actress then expressed that she tried cooking for her dogs and trying out 'human-grade' food plans for her pets. The Primetime Emmy Award-winning performer went on to remark that she set out to create food for dogs with 'as much healthy healing nutrition as possible.' Heigl also dished on the 'trendy' herbal supplements she has included in the formula, including lion's mane mushroom. 'People are adding it to their coffee, adding it to their smoothies,' she said of the plant-based adaptogens her formula features. 'We can give the dog some of that added help as well.' The performer also made a point of speaking about how the sales of her products would also benefit the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, which she previously co-founded with her mother. The foundation serves to bring awareness to pet-related issues in the United States, including mistreatment, which she described as 'a massive problem in our country for these companion animals.' Opening up: Heigl spoke about her dog food line, Badlands Ranch, during an interview with People that was released in August Heigl added that 'The food is this beacon of hope for us financially to try to continue to do the work that we're doing.' The performer also expressed that she wanted to branch out in terms of Badlands Ranch's output. 'I'd like to see us have added supplements for things like anxiousness. We see...a lot of these dogs coming out of a shelter or kennel situation where their anxiety is way up there,' she said. Heigl also revealed she has a total of nine dogs at her house, including the two Rottweiler puppies she is currently fostering. The actress has appeared in several promotional images from her brand that have been shared to its official Instagram account. Married At First Sight UK's Lara Eyre has lifted the lid on the behind-the-scenes secrets from the latest series. The waitress, 50, was on the show with husband Richie Dews but the pair decided to leave the process during its second week as they struggled to make things work as a married couple. And now having had time to reflect on her experiences she has divulged the gossip about alcohol limits, filming and editing tricks and the 'secret' off-screen parties that went on. Exciting! Married At First Sight UK's Lara Eyre has lifted the lid on the behind-the-scenes secrets from the latest series Speaking about the editing on the show she told The Sun: 'They can't make you say something you don't want to but they can cut out massive chunks from the start of a sentence and edit out the important bits. 'In our commitment ceremony, it looked like I was telling Richie he was too much for me for the first time but in reality, I said it a lot. 'In the clip where he says, 'This is the first I've heard of it' that was in response to me apologizing to him for something else.' Not happy: The waitress, 50, was on the show with husband Richie Dews but the pair decided to leave the show during it's second week as they struggled to make things work as a married couple Lara also explained how the days they filmed the commitment ceremonies were 9am till midnight days, with scenes cut down to the small amount you see on screen. She also told how during the dinner party scenes the couples have to be ready for 9am and are taken to the location where they have to wait until they are brought on. Lara told how sometimes they have to wait all day and that she got so nervous during that time that she often begged producers if she could have a drink before going in. However she claims her requests were denied whilst she had to listen to the other members already at the party having fun and drinking. Interesting: And now having had time to reflect on her experiences she has divulged the gossip about alcohol limits, filming and editing tricks and the 'secret' off-screen parties that went on Elsewhere as part of her revelations she told how people would often meet up for secret in each others rooms. Lara told how producers tried to discourage it from happening but people would sneak along the corridors to visit each other. She said that it ended up being like secondary school where everyone was 'gossiping, chatting about each other and falling out'. Married At First Sight has been contacted by MailOnline for comment. Camera ready! Speaking about the editing on the show she told The Sun: 'They can't make you say something you don't want to but they can cut out massive chunks from the start of a sentence and edit out the important bits' It comes after last week Lara spoke out on her experience on this year's edition of the show, slamming her match Richie as 'fake'. The reality star described the guitarist as 'playing up to the cameras' during their time on the dating show, as she admitted her upset over being 'thrown under the bus' by him. Following a seemingly good start, the pair decided to leave the show during it's second week as they struggled to make things work as a married couple. Richie and Lara met for the first time at the alter, and instantly hit it off while tying the knot during the unconvential dating show. Cast: The E4 show uses a team of 'dating experts' to match singletons looking for love, fast-tracking the dating process as they meet for the first time on their wedding day But the latter appeared slightly unnerved at her new husband's lack of dating experience, with the musician admitting he had never been in love or in a long-term relationship. And during the second commitment ceremony, single mum Lara dubbed the former rocker a 'great guy' but admitted he wasn't the one for her - as they decided to part ways. But the Canada-native has now explained there was plenty more going on off-screen, claiming that Richie 'played up to the cameras' and was 'completely different' while filming and not. She revealed to The Sun: 'It felt like I was dating a TV presenter because Richie was always acting whenever they were filming and concerned with how people would perceive him. 'When the cameras were off, Richie kept to himself and wasnt as enthusiastic or caring, he didnt ask much about me except for when they were filming. How can you make a relationship work if someones performing? I was there for realness and he wanted to come off looking fantastic.' Just a day before they decided to leave the show, Lara and Richie attended the weekly couple's dinner party separately - giving a strong indication of the cracks in the relationship. But with Richie arriving to the party first, Lara shared that she was 'hurt' as the musician got first dibs chatting to their co-stars - as he explained that he 'didn't know' where his wife was during the party. Revealing that Richie was cautious of his image and begged her not to say 'bad things' about him as they put on a united front, she spoke of her shock upon arriving to the dinner party. Awkward: It comes after last week Lara spoke out on her experience on this year's edition of the show, slamming her match Richie as 'fake' Explaining: 'It was a bit of a shock when I arrived at the dinner party and he had thrown me under the bus. I was quite upset when I watched that back.' Lara also detailed how she wished the show was filmed more similarly to Love Island, with 24/7 cameras to ensure less acting. A self-proclaimed 'superfan' of the show, the Nottingham local was surprised at the editing that went on from the show, explaining that the heavily edited commitment ceremony's changed the actual narrative. MailOnline have contacted Richie Dews for comment. The E4 show uses a team of 'dating experts' to match singletons looking for love, fast-tracking the dating process as they meet for the first time on their wedding day. Going through the social experiment, each couple must live together and forge a relationship as a new married couple - attending weekly dinner parties and commitment ceremony with their co-stars to chat over their emotions, and decide whether to continue in the marriage or call it quits. Married At First Sight UK continues at 9pm on E4. CHENNAI: Seasoned political leader Panruti S Ramachandran was expelled from the AIADMK by the interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami within hours of rival faction leader O Panneerselvam appointing the 85-year-old veteran as his partys political advisor on Tuesday. One of the top-notch ministers in all the MGR governments since the beginning of AIADMK rule in the state, Ramachandran first became Palaniswamis target of attack for criticising him on the birth anniversary celebrations of C N Annadurai on Saturday. Ramachandran had accompanied Pannerselvam to the Anna Samadhi and had made a scathing attack on Palaniswami, accusing him of not being accommodative of other AIADMK leaders. Though Ramachandran was keeping himself away from active politics after the passing away of J Jayalalithaa, Panneerselvam had called on him last Friday and urged him to accompany him to Anna Samadhi the next day. Earlier, V.K. Sasikala, the ousted general secretary of the AIADMK who had been trying to rejoin the party ever since she came out of jail completing her sentence, had also called on Ramachandran, purportedly to seek his advice and also to seek his help in entering the party. Palaniswami was piqued after he was made political advisor by Panneerselvam and expelled him from the primary membership and the organisation secretary post that he had been holding since his return to the AIADMK in 2014. Prior to that, he was with the DMDK of Vijayakanth and was even holding the post of presidium chairperson. But in 2013 he announced his retirement from politics and left the DMDK only to go back to the AIADMK during J Jayalalithaa's period. Before joining hands with Vijaykanth, Ramachandran was with the PMK and even won an election from the Panruti constituency in a PMK ticket in 1991. Panruti has been his pocket borough since 1967 when he contested the election as a DMK nominee. When he won his second term in 1971, he became a minister in the DMK government headed by M. Karunanidhi. Subsequently he switched loyalties to MGR and served in all his ministries till 1987. When former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and former Sri Lankan President J R Jayewardane signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord in 1987 at Colombo, Ramachandran was the representative of the Tamil Nadu government, signifying the importance given to him by MGR. The expulsion of such a senior leader is an indicator of Palaniswamis determination to not let Panneerselvam or Sasikala rejoin the party and run it with his present supporters. He is also hopeful of winning the case in the Supreme Court, whose verdict is expected on October 30. Once the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of Panneerselvam against the Madras High Court order approving of Palaniswamis election as interim general secretary and the conduct of the July 11 General Council meeting of the AIADMK, as he hopes, he would like to consolidate his position and become the single leader of the party. Making his moves based on such a game plan, Palaniswami would dismiss anyone who was inimical to his becoming the singular top honcho of the AIADMK and Ramachandran faced the axe just for that faux pas of openly backing Panneerselvam. 16-time WWE world champ John Cena set the Guinness World Record for granting more wishes - 650 - than anyone else through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The 45-year-old Daytime Emmy-nominated producer is 'the most requested celebrity' for critically-ill children between the ages of 2 and 18 using the non-profit to fulfill their dreams. On Monday, John - who boasts 85.9M social media followers - tweeted: 'Strive to achieve greatness while never downplaying the importance of goodness.' Congrats! 16-time WWE world champ John Cena set the Guinness World Record for granting more wishes - 650 - than anyone else through the Make-A-Wish Foundation Cena has been working with the 42-year-old Phoenix-based charitable organization as far back as 2002. 'If you ever need me for this ever, I don't care what I'm doing, I will drop what I'm doing and be involved because I think that's the coolest thing,' the Massachusetts-born muscleman told Reuters when he reached 500 wishes. 'I just drop everything. If I can offer a fantastic experience, I'll be first in line to do my part.' According to the Make-a-Wish website, 99% of doctors say wishes help relieve a family from traumatic stress and 87% of alumni say their wish was a turning point in their treatment. Wish maker: The 45-year-old Daytime Emmy-nominated producer is 'the most requested celebrity' for critically-ill children between the ages of 2 and 18 using the non-profit to fulfill their dreams On Monday, John - who boasts 85.9M social media followers - tweeted: 'Strive to achieve greatness while never downplaying the importance of goodness' Giving back: Cena has been working with the 42-year-old Phoenix-based charitable organization as far back as 2002 The Massachusetts-born muscleman told Reuters when he reached 500 wishes: 'If you ever need me for this ever, I don't care what I'm doing, I will drop what I'm doing and be involved because I think that's the coolest thing. I just drop everything. If I can offer a fantastic experience, I'll be first in line to do my part' On September 21, John was cast as 'legendary Hollywood stuntman Mr. 206' in the second season of Kevin Hart's Roku action-hero spoof, Die Hart 2: Die Harter. 'Any opportunity to work alongside @KevinHart4real is an opportunity to laugh (a lot) and learn (a ton),' Cena tweeted. 'A masterclass in life and an overall wonderful human to be around. Grateful to be a part of Die Hart S2!' It's unclear when audiences will get to see the Peacemaker star as ex-special forces soldier Chris Van Horne opposite Jackie Chan in Scott Waugh's long-delayed Chinese-funded action thriller, Snafu. New gig! On September 21, John was cast as 'legendary Hollywood stuntman Mr. 206' in the second season of Kevin Hart's Roku action-hero spoof, Die Hart 2: Die Harter Cena tweeted: 'Any opportunity to work alongside @KevinHart4real is an opportunity to laugh (a lot) and learn (a ton). A masterclass in life and an overall wonderful human to be around. Grateful to be a part of Die Hart S2!' John - who wrapped his role in late 2018 - publicly apologized to China last year in Mandarin for referring to Taiwan as a 'country.' On the personal front, Cena and second wife Shay Shariatzadeh will celebrate their second wedding anniversary on October 12. The Bubble actor originally met the 33-year-old Sonatype product manager while he was filming Andy Fickman's 2019 dismally-reviewed comedy Playing with Fire in her native Canada. Coming soon? It's unclear when audiences will get to see the Peacemaker star as ex-special forces soldier Chris Van Horne opposite Jackie Chan (R, pictured in 2018) in Scott Waugh's long-delayed Chinese-funded action thriller, Snafu Advertisement Kim Kardashian looked like a new version of Marilyn Monroe in recent images the pinup posted to Instagram. The 41-year-old influencer wore her bleach blonde hair with dark roots down over her shoulders as she highlighted her incredible figure in a cotton white Dolce & Gabbana dress adding white peep-toe pumps. The ex-wife of rapper Kanye West invited her followers into her luxury Milan hotel room where there was a bouquet of white roses and a spacious balcony. The reality TV diva was in Italy for the Dolce & Gabbana show at Milan Fashion Week alongside her younger sister Khloe Kardashian. Siren Kimmy: Kim Kardashian looks like a new version of Marilyn Monroe in recent images posted to Instagram. The 41-year-old pinup wore her bleach blonde hair down over her shoulders as she highlighted her incredible figure in a cotton white Dolce & Gabbana dress with white peep-toe pumps Va-voom woman: The reality TV diva has been in Italy for the Dolce & Gabbana show at Milan Fashion Week alongside her younger sister Khloe Kardashian In the new images, Kim worked the camera to her advantage as she pouted and oozed sex appeal in her hotel room. The star was seen in a hotel as she was all made up with big hair, heavy makeup and that outfit that could be seen a block away. She had on a short white dress with wide straps as a matching coat fell off her shoulders. There was also a silver and diamond cross pendant around her neck. Her nails were long, pointy and light pink. At one point she was on the balcony of her hotel room as she struck some of her best model poses. Kim has been working with the Italian fashion house for their new ad campaign called Ciao Kim. It is for the women's spring-summer 2023 fashion collection. Come on in: She as she invited her followers into her Milan hotel room where there was a bouquet of white roses Hands on hips: In the new images, Kim worked the camera to her advantage as she pouted and oozed sex appeal. The star was seen in a hotel as she was all made up with big hair, heavy makeup and that outfit that could be seen a block away The campaign comes at an interesting time as Ana de Armas stars as Marilyn Monroe in biopic Blonde which will expand to more theaters on September 23, before premiering on Netflix on September 28. Back in June, Kim was at the center of controversy as a Marilyn Monroe devotee accused her of damaging the iconic nude gown the actress wore to sing 'Happy Birthday' to then-President John F. Kennedy in 1962 when she modeled it at the Met Gala the previous month. The Marilyn Monroe Collection shared photos of the dress allegedly on display at Ripley's Believe It or Not! on Instagram back on June 13, claiming it now has 'missing crystals' and some were 'left hanging by a thread.' On the balcony: At one point she was on the balcony of her hotel room as she struck some of her best model poses. Kim has been working with the Italian fashion house for their new ad campaign called Ciao Kim. It is for the women's spring-summer 2023 fashion collection The viral images in question were taken by ChadMichael Morrisette at the museum's Hollywood location on June 12, according to the account run by historian and collector Scott Fortner. 'So much for keeping "the integrity of the dress and the preservation." @ripleysbelieveitornot, was it worth it?' read one caption mocking a statement Ripley's had released about the reality star borrowing the dress. Kim was loaned the gown by officials at the museum, where the 60-year-old dress has been stored in a temperature-controlled environment since it was bought for a record-breaking $5 million in 2016. White idea: She had on a short white dress with wide straps as a matching coat fell off her shoulders. There was also a silver and diamond cross pendant around her neck. Her nails were long, pointy and light pink She has never been thinner: The star showed off her legs in the very short dress while in her luxury room Marilyn Monroe or Pamela Anderson? Kim was also seen leaving the hotel; at times she seemed a little Baywatch Taking a meeting: Here she is in the Dolce & Gabbana office with Domenico Dolce, left, as they look at fashion; a man in a suit, far right, delivers Kim a cappuccino He certainly didn't get the memo! Stefano Gabbana dressed down in a black T-shirt and camo shorts for his meeting with one of the most famous women in the world 'Great care was taken to preserve this piece of pop culture history,' Ripley's said in May. 'With input from garment conservationists, appraisers, and archivists, the garments condition was top priority. Believe It or Not! no alterations were to be made to the dress and Kim even changed into a replica after the red carpet!' Hundreds of fans took to the comments to point out the alleged damage in the 'before and after' photos shared by the Marilyn Monroe Collection, though there was no way to confirm the validity of the images. 'Missing so many crystals and those tears,' one person wrote. 'What a disaster!!' 'Not only the stretching around the zipper, but if you look at the upper-ish left side, there are several crystals missing!' another added. All white: Marilyn famously wore this billowing white dress for iconic photographs in 1954 in New York Awkward: Back in June, Kim was at the center of controversy as a Marilyn devotee accused her of damaging the iconic nude gown the actress wore to sing 'Happy Birthday' to then-President John F. Kennedy in 1962 when she modeled it at the Met Gala the previous month 'Damage has been done, and it cant be fixed,' someone else griped. 'The fabric is torn. Imagine what could have happened to it if Kim had worn the dress even longer. Im so sad to see this.' DailyMail.com reached out to representatives for Kardashian and Ripley's Believe It or Not! for comment. Kardashian was the first person to don the gown since it was worn by Monroe in 1962. She admitted she lost 16 pounds in three weeks to fit into the dress, but she was still unable to zip it. Two-time Emmy winner Bruce Willis can still appear in movies after selling his image rights to Deepcake, a Delaware-based company founded by Ukrainian-born CEO Maria Chmir, last year before his aphasia diagnosis. Engineers at the AI-powered content optimization web platform created a 4K ultra-realistic 'digital twin' of the German-born, New Jersey-raised 67-year-old by inputting 34K images of his face into their neural network. In August 2021, Bruce's twin made his debut by having his face 'grafted' on to understudy Konstantin Solovyov for a commercial for Russian telecoms giant MegaFon. Double take: Two-time Emmy winner Bruce Willis can still appear in movies after selling his image rights to Deepcake, a Delaware-based company founded by Ukrainian-born CEO Maria Chmir, last year before his aphasia diagnosis It now only takes engineers 'three to five days' to recreate Willis in projects, but his estate has the final sign-off on what's created. 'I liked the precision with which my character turned out. It's a mini-movie in my usual action-comedy genre,' the Die Hard alum said in a statement on their website. 'For me, it is a great opportunity to go back in time. With the advent of modern technology, even when I was on another continent, I was able to communicate, work and participate in the filming. It's a very new and interesting experience, and I thank our entire team.' Star Wars producers use deepfake technology for all of their cast members and celebs like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Carrey, and Michelle Pfeiffer reportedly have digital copies. 'Extremely reduces the budget': Engineers at the AI-powered content optimization web platform created a 4K ultra-realistic 'digital twin' of the German-born, New Jersey-raised 67-year-old by inputting 34K images of his face into their neural network In action: In August 2021, Bruce's twin made his debut by having his face 'grafted' on to understudy Konstantin Solovyov for a commercial for Russian telecoms giant MegaFon 'I liked the precision with which my character turned out': It now only takes engineers 'three to five days' to recreate Willis in projects, but his estate has the final sign-off on what's created The Die Hard alum said in a statement: 'For me, it is a great opportunity to go back in time. With the advent of modern technology, even when I was on another continent, I was able to communicate, work and participate in the filming. It's a very new and interesting experience' Bruce - who's amassed over $9.4B worldwide for his films - has three more action thrillers in the can that he shot last year before his aphasia diagnosis and subsequent retirement. Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions due to stroke, head trauma, brain tumor, brain infection, or neurodegenerative disease. Willis next plays veteran Detective James Knight in Edward Drake's LA-set action thriller Detective Knight: Rogue, which will hit US theaters on October 21. Not over yet! Bruce - who's amassed over $9.4B worldwide for his films - has three more action thrillers in the can that he shot last year before his aphasia diagnosis and subsequent retirement (pictured in 2021) 'Think harder': Willis next plays veteran Detective James Knight in Edward Drake's LA-set action thriller Detective Knight: Rogue, which will hit US theaters on October 21 '#thatsawrap': The Independent Spirit Award nominee will star opposite Mustafa Shakir (L, pictured in 2021) in Jesse Atlas' (R) feature directorial debut Die Like Lovers, which is based on his 15-minute short film Let Them Die Like Lovers from 2017 The Independent Spirit Award nominee will star opposite Mustafa Shakir in Jesse Atlas' feature directorial debut Die Like Lovers, which is based on his 15-minute short film Let Them Die Like Lovers from 2017. The body-hopping military flick also features Dominic Purcell and Nomzamo Mbatha. Bruce (born Walter) also reteamed with John Travolta - his co-star in Pulp Fiction and the Look Who's Talking films - for Chuck Russell's Hawaiian-set action thriller Paradise City. Reunited! Bruce also reteamed with John Travolta (R, pictured in 1994) his co-star in Pulp Fiction and the Look Who's Talking films for Chuck Russell's Hawaiian-set action thriller Paradise City The 68-year-old Oscar nominee wrote on March 31: 'Bruce and I became good friends when we shared two of our biggest hits together...Years later he said to me, "John, I just want you to know that when something good happens to you, I feel like it's happening to me." That's how generous a soul he is. I love you Bruce' 'Bruce and I became good friends when we shared two of our biggest hits together,' the 68-year-old Oscar nominee wrote on March 31. 'Years later he said to me, "John, I just want you to know that when something good happens to you, I feel like it's happening to me." That's how generous a soul he is. I love you Bruce.' Some of Willis' former co-workers told the Los Angeles Times in March that he had been struggling on set for years. Kate Moss looked sensational as she arrived to the Yves Saint Laurent show during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday. The model, 48, went braless in the chic black mini-dress for the star-studded event which was held at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Kate completed the look with a black fur coat which she dragged behind dramatically while posing up a storm before taking her seat in the front row. Model credentials: Kate Moss, 48, looked sensational as she arrived to the Saint Laurent show during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday The gorgeous frock boasted long sleeves, ruched detailing and showed off Kate's long elegant pins. She accessorised the stunning look with a selection of oversized gold jewellery while slipping her feet into a pair of strappy heels. Kate accentuated her features with a radiant palette of make-up including a slick of pillar box red lipstick and slicked her blonde hair back. Stunner: The model went braless in the chic black mini-dress for the star-studded event Gorgeous: Kate accentuated her features with a radiant palette of make-up including a slick of pillar box red lipstick and slicked her blonde hair back Yves Saint Laurent is a French luxury fashion house founded by it's namesake along with his partner Pierre Berge in 1962. The brand specialises in haute couture, ready-to-wear and leather accessories, as well as it's cosmetics line YSL Beauty. The label has been worn by everyone from the likes of Princess Margaret and Twiggy to Olivia Rodrigo and Rihanna. Chilly: She later slipped on the coat to show off the complete ensemble Drama: Kate completed the look with a black fur coat which she dragged behind dramatically while posing up a storm before taking her seat in the front row It comes after the supermodel attended an event for her skincare line Cosmoss at the Samaritaine department store in the city earlier in the day. Cutting a stylish figure Kate donned trousers and a long coat as she left the swanky event. She showed off her flawless complexion, wearing dewy foundation and a touch of mascara and a glossy nude lip. Lovebirds: Kate was joined at the fashion show by her beau Nikolai von Bismarck, 35 Essentials: Kate carried her essentials for the evening in a patent black clutch Leggy lady: The gorgeous frock boasted long sleeves, ruched detailing and showed off Kate's long elegant pins She walked out of the venue with a bag full of products from her brand, Cosmoss. Kate is reportedly planning to expand her beauty brand just weeks after setting it up by selling products made of sea moss. The supermodel launched her wellness brand Cosmoss - promising to show fans her 'journey of transformation' - earlier this month. Catwalk: The evening was held at the foot of the Eiffel Tower Handsome: Nikolai cut a dapper figure in a black tuxedo jacket which he layered over a crisp white shirt Star-studded: The couple cuddled up during the swanky event before enjoying the luxury brands latest collection And she is now said to be planning to capitalise on her surname by selling 'moss for medicinal purposes', according to the Mirror. The fashionista, who has trademarked the phrase 'soulful, sensual, self-aware' - but once reportedly advised the three Cs and one V regimen: Cigarettes, champagne, coffee and vodka - is said to have lodged legal documents which reference the sea moss-based products, as well as a number of others. Kate's entire skincare range comes in at 412 for the lot, including the 105 Golden Nectar serum, which contains the 'mythical' tears of Chios, a plant resin produced on the Greek island. Happy couple: The supermodel has been dating the photographer since 2015 Hotel exit: Kate could be seen earlier in the evening exiting her swanky hotel The products, made from 'potent, natural substances', are split into three rituals which are said to balance the 'body and soul with the natural environment and the circadian cycles.' The website describes these rituals as enabling us to 'adjust to the rhythm of nature, help us find inner peace and self-fulfilment, and open a door to balance, restoration and love'. The first step in the supermodel's daily routine is the 287 dawn ritual, which fills the body with 'positive energy'. Beaming: Beaming for the cameras she made her way through the crowd to her chauffeur driven car This includes a 20 antioxidant tea 'to bring us gently out of the dream world' followed by a 52 cleanser and 95 anti-ageing face cream. It is then finished with the 120 Sacred Mist eau de parfum which 'envelopes you with its hypnotic yet grounding fragrance' to 'provide a sense of inner peace'. The morning skincare regimen comes in at a slightly higher cost than 'lifestyle guru' Gwyneth Paltrow's similar morning routine kit. The five-step Goop kit costs 265. During the daytime, Moss advises using her 'moodboosting' fragrance again, followed by the Golden Nectar serum a CBD infused 'ultimate antioxidant oil'. With an eye-watering price-tag for only 30ml, it is described as 'an everyday indulgence which takes care of your skin, body, mind and soul'. Miss Moss describes the last 'dusk ritual' as 'a moment for reflection and peace'. It involves the cleanser, the Golden Nectar serum, the face cream and 'a cup of exquisite Dusk Tea' to 'welcome you to the realm of restful dreams'. Maggie Gyllenhaal made a rare appearance alongside her 15-year-old daughter Ramona at the Dior show for Paris Fashion Week. Sitting front row in her sheer all black ensemble, the actress, 44, looked fashion forward as she kept her large sunglasses on while being papped. Beside her was teenage daughter Ramona Sarsgaard, who wore a chequered shirt dress with lace trim on the skirt as well as a grey jacket over the top. Family ties: Maggie Gyllenhaal made a rare appearance alongside her 15-year-old daughter Ramona at the Dior show for Paris Fashion Week The mother-of-two matched bags with her daughter, both wearing classic Christian Dior monogram crossbody bags for the occasion. The Secretary actress shielded her eyes behind sunglasses as she posed for pictures while entering the haute-couture ready-to-wear fashion show on Tuesday afternoon. She slipped her feet into a pair of lacy square-toed black flat boots as she made her way into the venue. Paris ready: The actress looked fashion forward as she kept her large sunglasses on while being papped Arriving: The Secretary actress shielded her eyes behind sunglasses as she posed for pictures while entering the haute-couture ready-to-wear fashion show on Tuesday afternoon Hand-in-hand: Beside her was teenage daughter Ramona Sarsgaard, who wore a chequered shirt dress with lace trim on the skirt as well as a grey jacket over the top Mother and daughter: The 44-year-old mother-of-two matched bags with her daughter, both wearing classic Christian Dior monogram crossbody bags for the occasion All black: Her midi length crochet dress was put on show when she took her seat on the catwalk, but while heading in she covered up with a long black jacket Her midi length crochet dress was put on show when she took her seat on the catwalk, but while heading in she covered up with a long black jacket. Gyllenhaal kept her auburn pixie cut in their natural waves, while making up her face with a natural glowy look. She finished off with a beige nude lip colour. Ramona, 15, the eldest daughter of Maggie and fellow actor Peter Sarsgaard, 51, wore her similarly auburn locks in a natural wave and let her fringe frame her face. Her navy Dior monogram crossbody bag complimented her monochromatic outfit perfectly. Sheer: Gyllenhaal kept her auburn pixie cut in their natural waves, while making up her face with a natural glowy look. She finished off with a beige nude lip colour Paris trip: Ramona, 15, the eldest daughter of Maggie and fellow actor Peter Sarsgaard, 51, wore her similarly auburn locks in a natural wave and let her fringe frame her face She finished off the outfit with a pair of black and white Christian Dior chunky platform loafers which added some height to her frame. The American pair were in Paris for the Christian Dior womenswear spring/summer 2023 show, watching a 'nude-themed' catwalk show with what appeared to be modern dancers sporting nude bodysuits. The dancers lifted each other up while models strutted their stuff up the runway in outfits from the French luxury fashion house. Runway: The 'nude-themed' catwalk saw what appeared to be modern dancers sporting nude bodysuits as they lifted each other up while models strutted their stuff up the runway in outfits from the French luxury fashion house Nude bodysuits: Dancers perform during the Spring-Summer 2023 Women's ready-to-wear collection show by designer Maria Grazia Chiuri for fashion house Dior A whole host of famous faces were seen at the show on Tuesday afternoon. Also in attendance was Elle Macpherson cut a glamorous figure as she attended the Dior spring summer show during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday. The Australian beauty, 58, arrived to the event in a black open shirt which she paired with a white skirt with a black embroidered print. Gorgeous: Iris Law, Shailene Woodley and Alexandra Daddario put on glamorous displays as they led the stars at the Dior show during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday Emily Ratajkowski looked stunning in a carousel of images shared Tuesday of herself in a skimpy bikini as she sunbathed on a beach. With a clear blue sky and the ocean as a backdrop, the supermodel flaunted her sculpted body and long legs as she sipped a drink on the sand. The brunette bombshell looked incredible in the bright two-piece that barely contained her assets as she soaked up the sun. These images were shared just after the siren was romantically lined to 58-year-old movie star Brad Pitt. Stunner: Emily Ratajkowski looked stunning in a carousel of images taken on the beach on Tuesday The My Body author wore a tiny green and blue bikini that left little to the imagination and flattered her lean physique. The Blurred Lines music video muse added a straw cowgirl hat, large gold hoop earrings, and dark Gucci sunglasses. In another image, the Versace model showed a snap of the snack she brought to the beach; sardines and a pomegranate was placed next to her drink on top of a blue beach towel. The mini photo shoot was likely a much-needed timeout for the i-Carly alum who has paved her way in recent years as a style icon on and off the runway. Bottoms up: With a clear blue sky and the ocean as a backdrop, the supermodel flaunted her sculpted body and long legs as she sipped a drink on the sand The Vogue model seems to be enjoying her new life and personal time as a single mother-of-one after ending a four-year marriage to Sebastian Bear-McClard amid rumors that he had cheated on the supermodel. Their split came after another insider told Page Six that Sebastian is a serial cheater, saying: 'Yeah, he cheated. He's a serial cheater. It's gross. He's a dog.' Since the announcement, the sultry brunette has become more active with fans, sharing intimate moments from her daily life. Sexy and single: The brunette bombshell looked incredible in the bright two-piece that barely contained her assets as she soaked up the sun Busy girl: The mini photo shoot was likely a much-needed timeout for the i-Carly alum who has paved her way in recent years as a style icon on and off the runway Healthy snack: The Versace model showed a snap of the snack she brought to the beach; sardines and a pomegranate sat next to her drink on top of a blue beach towel And now it looks as if the star has a new love interest. Emily and Pitt have reportedly been spending time together. On Monday morning PageSix claimed that the 58-year-old Bullet Train actor and the supermodel have been seeing each other but are not 'officially dating.' And the site's source also shared that more would be revealed later as they said, 'Stay tuned.' Could this be real? Brad Pitt and Ratajkowski have reportedly been spending time together. On Monday morning PageSix claimed that the 58-year-old Bullet Train actor and the 31-year-old Versace supermodel have been seeing each other but are not 'officially dating' Last week there was chatter on social media that the brunette bombshell and the veteran actor were seeing each other, but there was no proof. The PageSix source shared, 'People have been speculating about this for a while. Brad is not dating anybody. They [Pitt and Ratajkowski] have been seen a couple times together.' PageSix did not say what city the two have been spending time in, but she has been in New York lately and then last week went to Italy for the Versace show. On Sunday Pitt was in Paris. But it looks like Emily is not the only one, as the insider said that he has also 'been seen with other people' in recent months. Jet setter: The cover girl has been in New York lately and then last week went to Italy for the Versace show (pictured) And then it was added that he is not really dating 'anyone in particular.' In August OK magazine also claimed Pitt was getting close to Ratajkowski: 'He asked her out, and she said yes. Shes always though Brad was cute, and the way she saw it, what did she have to lose?' Meanwhile, Pitt is divorced from Angelina Jolie but he is still arguing with her over custody of their kids. Two of the kids are adults - Maddox is 21 and Pax is 18. But there are four other kids: Zahara, 17, Shiloh, 16, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 14. One of the only women he seems to have dated since Jolie is model Nicole Poturalski. James Bond always manages to look stylish, no matter how unlikely the circumstances. But the same cannot be said for James Norton, whos tipped to succeed Daniel Craig as the next 007. The Happy Valley star, 37, looked a far cry from the sophisticated spy as he met fans during a leisurely cycle ride in Soho, London. Contrast: James Norton, 37, looked a far cry from James Bond as he met fans during a leisurely cycle ride in Soho, London James wore a green T-shirt and jeans, which he rolled up to below his knees while he flashed his bright pink socks. The actor was recognised by two women during his outing, with whom he was happy to chat. It comes as James Bond producers are searching for an actor to sign up for a whopping 12 years when they pick a new 007. Low-key: James wore a green T-shirt and jeans, which he rolled up to below his knees while he flashed his bright pink socks Franchise boss Barbara Broccoli has told how her team are planning a 'reinvention' of the British Secret Service agent character so need the huge 'commitment' from whoever is chosen. It comes as she appeared to rule out 50-year-old Idris Elba from taking on the more than decade-long role due to his age. Bookies Ladbrokes now have Henry Cavill, 39, at 2-1 to be the next 007 with Bridgerton star Rege-Jean Page, 34, at 7-2, Tom Hardy, 45, at 4-1 and Oscar-winner Chiwetel Ejiofor, also 45, 13-2. Could he be next? It comes as James Bond producers are searching for an actor to sign up for a whopping 12 years when they pick a new 007 Ms Broccoli told The Mirror of her plans for the next Bond: 'We love Idris. The thing is, the decision is going to be a couple of years off. 'And when we cast Bond, it's a 10 to 12-year commitment. So he's probably thinking, 'Do I really want that?'. 'It's not just about casting an actor for a film, it's about a reinvention.' She also noted that it was difficult to encourage Daniel Craig, now 54, to take on the role in 2006, adding: 'And he was in his 30s at the time.' Commitment: Franchise boss Barbara Broccoli has told how her team are planning a 'reinvention' of the British Secret Service agent character (favourite Henry Cavill is pictured) Kaia Gerber has revealed she is feeling 'immense pressure' while filming her role in Mrs. American Pie - as she posed topless for a Flaunt cover story. 'I don't think I'm funny, but somehow I'm doing comedy,' the 21-year-old DNA Model - who stars as a manicurist called Mitzi in Apple TV+ seventies-set comedy - admitted in the magazine spread. 'And I'm just waiting - maybe people will figure out one day I'm not funny, but I'm riding it as long as I can.' Making the transition from modeling to acting: Kaia Gerber has revealed she is feeling 'immense pressure' while filming her role in Mrs. American Pie - as she posed topless for a Flaunt cover story She looked stunning in the shoot as she posed topless in silk shorts on a bed while in another she showed off her abs in a sheer crop top. Kaia continued: 'I think what I realized is you can't be in on the joke if you want to be funny. Because I never feel funny, and then afterwards, I see people laughing and I'm like, "That was serious." And maybe that's the key to it, or maybe that's my way? Everything is serious to me.' Tate Taylor's 10-episode series - based on Juliet McDaniel's 2018 novel - also features Mindy Cohn, Allison Janney, Claudia Ferri, Julia Duffy, Carol Burnett, Laura Dern, Kristen Wiig, Ricky Martin, Josh Lucas, and Leslie Bibb. 'It's my first time working with an ensemble - all people that I look up to so much, in the way that I grew up watching them,' Gerber gushed. 'I mean, like, Kristen Wiig and Laura Dern who, you know, is Laura Dern. Then Carol Burnett. I mean The Carol Burnett Show is I just sit there, and I just watch how everyone works. I remember working with Sarah Paulson. I had one day where I worked with her on American Horror Story. Incredible: She looked stunning in the shoot as she posed topless in silk shorts on a bed while in another she showed off her abs in a sheer crop top Wow: The 21-year-old DNA Model admitted in her Flaunt cover story: 'I don't think I'm funny, but somehow I'm doing comedy. And I'm just waiting - maybe people will figure out one day I'm not funny, but I'm riding it as long as I can' Source material: Tate Taylor's 10-episode series - set in the seventies in Palm Springs and Scottsdale, Arizona - is based on Juliet McDaniel's 2018 novel On-set snap: Mrs. American Pie also features Mindy Cohn (L, pictured June 21), Allison Janney (2-L), Claudia Ferri (2-R), Julia Duffy (R), Carol Burnett, Laura Dern, Kristen Wiig, Ricky Martin, Josh Lucas, Leslie Bibb 'I was dead. I was beheaded and I had, like, this big orb ball over my head, but I just laid there, because I wanted to see how she worked. And the way that she commanded the space, and everything was thought out. I learn so much from just watching people. Everyone works so differently, too.' The daughter of nineties supermodel Cindy Crawford just wrapped another comedy in New Orleans - Amazon Prime Video's Bottoms - alongside Marshawn Lynch (aka Beast Mode). Kaia welcomed the 'liberation' of acting after her 'insecure' years as a globetrotting, in-demand teen model. 'I was closed for a very long time, I think, in order to do that job, and also to be someone that people looked at. Especially being so young - I was 16. I did not expect the success that I was fortunate to have,' Gerber noted. Gerber gushed: 'It's my first time working with an ensemble - all people that I look up to so much, in the way that I grew up watching them. I mean, like, Kristen Wiig and Laura Dern who, you know, is Laura Dern. Then Carol Burnett. I mean The Carol Burnett Show is...I learn so much from just watching people. Everyone works so differently, too' Upcoming movie: The daughter of nineties supermodel Cindy Crawford just wrapped another comedy in New Orleans - Amazon Prime Video's Bottoms - alongside Marshawn Lynch (aka Beast Mode) 'I was closed for a very long time, I think, in order to do that job': Kaia welcomed the 'liberation' of acting after her 'insecure' years as a globetrotting, in-demand teen model 'It's like I'm allowed to scream at somebody with no real world consequences, and I'm allowed to cry, and I'm allowed to get angry, or be overly happy - those were not things that I felt I could do. I had an acting teacher once say, "We're not directing air traffic, so we can make mistakes." What a cool thing to be able to do?' The Malibu native made no mention of her boyfriend since December - Elvis star Austin Butler - but she did give a shout out to her big brother Presley for his wisdom. 'I think people who put up with me are very patient. I admire that a lot, because I get all kinds of wild ideas, and I try on all different kinds of ways of existing,' Kaia explained. 'I think the people in my life, and maybe that's why there aren't that many of them, are very patient with me in that sense. The more I get to know myself, the more I get to know the people who I get to spend my limited time on earth with. Gerber added: 'It's like I'm allowed to scream at somebody with no real world consequences, and I'm allowed to cry, and I'm allowed to get angry, or be overly happy - those were not things that I felt I could do. I had an acting teacher once say, "We're not directing air traffic, so we can make mistakes." What a cool thing to be able to do?' 'I've learned a lot of patience from my brother': The Malibu native made no mention of her boyfriend since December - Elvis star Austin Butler - but she called big brother Presley (R, pictured May 8) her 'greatest teacher' Sun lounging: For the Flaunt spread photographed by Paola Kudacki - Kaia wore designer clothing from Giivenchy (pictured), Zegna, Bottega Veneta, Prada, Miu Miu, Celine, and more selected by stylist Mui-Hai Chu Bedhead: Hairstylist Sami Knight coiffed the self-described perfectionist's tousled brunette mane 'And I hope that they want to spend the same amount of time with me. Every day is a gamble in that way. And I've learned a lot of patience from my brother. He's been my greatest teacher of patience. By far. He's been my greatest teacher of a lot of things, but definitely patience.' The 23-year-old self-described 'entrepreneur' - who lasered off his 'misunderstood' face tattoo last year - completed his three-year probation in July stemming from a 2019 misdemeanor DUI arrest. For the Flaunt spread photographed by Paola Kudacki - Gerber wore designer clothing from Giivenchy, Zegna, Bottega Veneta, Prada, Miu Miu, Celine, and more selected by stylist Mui-Hai Chu. Hairstylist Sami Knight coiffed the self-described perfectionist's tousled brunette mane. Make-up artist Hinako brought out Kaia's natural beauty. Gerber also rocked a nude manicure applied by nail artist Yoko Sakakura. Tongue out: Make-up artist Hinako brought out Kaia's natural beauty Cara Delevingne brushed off the recent drama surrounding her erratic public appearances by smiling for the cameras at her fashion launch in Paris on Tuesday. The British model, 30, arrived for the red-carpet event celebrating her Cara Loves Karl spring/summer 2023 capsule with luxury fashion house Karl Lagerfeld, which was previously helmed by the late designer. Her appearance is the second time she has been seen since her various erratic displays in public, including a recent incident at Van Nuys Airport - where she appeared disheveled while preparing to board the Jay-Z owned puma private jet. All smiles: Cara Delevingne brushed off the recent drama surrounding her erratic public appearances by smiling for the cameras at her fashion launch in Paris on Tuesday Cara failed to attend the previous launch of her capsule collection during New York Fashion Week earlier this month. Her absence from her own event was all the more curious by virtue of her very obvious presence on social media, where she paid tribute to the legendary designer. Reposting the collection's promotional video, she wrote: 'Happy belated birthday @karllagerfeld. What an honor that the #CaraLovesKarl collection is now available! I'm so proud of it.' For her launch, Cara donned her terracotta coloured tresses in a light, beachy wave while pairing her lip and nail colour to the rich red detailing of her Karl Lagerfeld collection branding. Unusual behaviour: Fans began to worry about Cara, following a seemingly erratic appearance as she headed to the Puma private jet owned by Jay-Z on September 5 She wore a cross-neck detailed charcoal grey tuxedo dress with Karl branding on the waist belt. Her skin looked flawless, with a healthy glow to her cheeks and a light neutral tone flushed over her eyelids to make her pupils pop. Cara's lengthy pins looked even longer with the height added to her frame from her thigh-high black heeled boots. She beamed for the cameras as she posed on the red carpet celebrating her brand new collection. Supermodel behaviour: The 30-year-old British model arrived for the red carpet event celebrating her Cara Loves Karl spring/summer 2023 capsule with Karl Lagerfeld Beaming: Her appearance is the second time she has been seen since the various instances she displayed erratic behaviour in public Glamorous: Cara donned her terracotta coloured tresses in a light, beachy wave while pairing her lip and nail colour to the rich red detailing of her Karl Lagerfeld collection branding Legs eleven: Cara's lengthy pins looked even longer with the height added to her frame from her thigh-high black heeled boots But in recent weeks Cara's wellbeing has been at the forefront of her friends and family's concern. Claims have also circulated that her family are set to stage an intervention as a result of her bizarre public appearances. The London native, a former 'it girl', failed to attend the official launch of her brand new capsule collection in New York Fashion Week on 12 September - a blunder that raised further concern for the model. As guests converged earlier this month on New York's financial district and Pine Street restaurant Saga, no doubt chosen for its sweeping 63rd floor views, the brand's principal designer appeared to be curiously absent. Nor was Delevingne present at the Emmy Awards, alongside her fellow Only Murders in the Building stars. Appearance: Her skin looked flawless, with a healthy glow to her cheeks and a light neutral tone flushed over her eyelids to make her pupils pop The model's fans have been voicing their worries for the star after she was seen smoking a pipe of some kind while sitting alone in a car earlier this month, before appearing erratic and out of sorts at an Airport in Los Angeles. Now, her friends and family are searching for ways to help the troubled 30-year-old. 'We are all incredibly concerned. The situation has been building for a few weeks now, and Cara's family is involved,' a close friend told The Sun. 'There is talk of staging some kind of intervention and making sure Cara gets the help she may well need,' the person added. 'She has been burning the candle at both ends of late, and it's clearly taking its toll.' Pleased: She wore a cross-neck detailed charcoal grey tuxedo dress with Karl branding on the waist belt Of the airport appearance in early September, sources told DailyMail.com that the cover girl appeared unable to control her body movements at certain points as she was seen on the phone, bending over, dropping her phone, and walking around looking very jittery and as if she was unable to stop moving. Prior to this, she spent some time at the Burning Man festival - with sources telling DailyMail.com at that time the she didn't eat or shower while at the event. The source said: 'She had just spent days in the desert, not eating all that much and she looked disheveled because she hadn't had time to scrub up yet.' He went on: 'Her friends are worried about her generally after some erratic behavior, but she has a good group around her. Her sister was at the festival with her. She wasn't alone and she has her back.' The source continued: 'Burning Man isn't lined with burger vans like other festivals. You chuck everything you need in an RV and that's what you have to live on while you're there. Everything works on a swapping system.' Arriving: Cara looked ready for business as she walked her all black ensemble through the crowds to make her appearance at Cara Loves Karl for Paris Fashion Week Actress Margot Robbie, 32, a noted close friend of Cara's, was spotted struggling to contain her emotions just hours after visiting the British supermodel's $7million home in West Hollywood. Two hours earlier, Delevingne's socialite sister Poppy had also been seen exiting in a black SUV. Last month, Delevingne invited Robbie to celebrate her 30th birthday on a lavish yacht trip off Formentera, Spain. Photos from the August birthday party in Spain showed a light-hearted celebration, with Delevingne eating frosting directly from a bowl, and playfully trying to smear it on her friends. A friend who saw her in Ibiza observed: 'She was more messy out there than she had been in a while but says she is OK, fine about turning 30 and having a great time. 'She will think that the pictures are funny she doesn't think there's anything wrong with the way she is living her life and says she is absolutely fine.' Machine Gun Kelly cut a casual figure as he was joined by his rarely-seen daughter Casie Colson Baker in Milan, Italy ahead of taking to the stage on tour on Tuesday. The 32-year-old rapper, who's real name is Colson Baker, donned an eye catching pink ensemble for the outing with an oversized grey T-shirt over the top. The Billboard Music Award winner rocked a fluffy pink hat with the coordinated pair of cargo trousers and a KSUBI hoodie as he walked hand-in-hand with his daughter, 12. Father-daughter day: Machine Gun Kelly cut a casual figure as he was joined on tour by his rarely-seen daughter Casie Colson Baker in Milan, Italy on Tuesday Kelly strutted his stuff in a pair of pink converse while listening to music through headphones and carrying his phone. The Papercuts artist hid behind a pair of large silver sunglasses while walking through the street with his Casie. His daughter, who he shares with ex Emma Cannon, rocked an all black number including a matching dark fluffy hat like his. Coordinated: The 32-year-old rapper, who's real name is Colson Baker, donned an eye catching pink ensemble for the outing with an oversized grey T-shirt over the top Looking good: The Billboard Music Award winner rocked a fluffy pink hat with the coordinated pair of cargo trousers and a KSUBI hoodie as he walked hand-in-hand with his daughter, 12 She opted for a pair of leggings with a hoodie and Nike trainers as she styled her dark tresses in braids which cascaded past her shoulders. Casie joined her dad while he is on tour in Europe and on Tuesday evening he took to the stage at the Mediolanum Forum in Italy. MGK will later jet off to Zurich, Paris and Amsterdam to perform for fans this weekend. Chic: The Papercuts artist hid behind a pair of large silver sunglasses while walking through the street with his Casie, who he shares with ex Emma Cannon He and his ex Emma, met when they were teenagers and dated before he entered the public eye, therefore have not been pictured publicly together. They've also managed to raise they're little girl largely out of spotlight. MGK is now engaged to Megan Fox who he met when they co-starred together in Midnight in the Switchgrass and began dating in the spring of 2020. BENGALURU/MANGALURU: The Karnataka police on Tuesday swung into action and conducted searches at several houses of activists belonging to the Popular Front of India (PFI) in the state, besides making some arrests. While Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai termed the police action as a precautionary measure, former Chief Minister and Janata Dal Secular leader H.D. Kumaraswamy wanted more details of the police action. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had conducted searches in various parts of the country and arrested several PFI leaders in various states on September 22. Many PFI leaders were taken into preventive custody by the police on Tuesday. At a press conference here on Tuesday, Kumaraswamy said if the state government does not furnish details on the raids, then it would be considered as a diversion tactic of the government over the alleged BMS scam that he made on the floor of the Assembly with documents. Kumaraswamy pointed out that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had conducted raids on PFI members across the nation a couple of days, and the state police raided PFI members again on Monday night. I do not know whether the raids were conducted on the directions of the state government or based on inputs to the police department, he said. If more details about the raids are not made public, Kumaraswamy said it would send a wrong message to the society and the raids on PFI would be looked upon with suspicion. On the raids on PFI, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai made it clear that it was not raids conducted on PFI members but certain precautionary measures taken by the police. He, however, said the raids were conducted based on certain inputs to seek details and arrests made by the police. Condemning the preventive arrests of PFI leaders, Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has blamed the BJP government for trying to appease the Sangh Parivar through such actions. We strongly condemn this arrest by the fascist BJP government. They are involved in such action just to appease the Sangh Parivar and BJP workers and to hide their failure in both state and center, SDPI state committee member Athavulla Jokatte told Deccan Chronicle. While national and state level leaders were arrested on September 22, today the police have arrested the prominent leaders of various districts where PFI is strong. Those leaders who had led the protest against the NIA action have been arrested today, he alleged. Ours is a democratic country and PFI was formed as per the constitutional provision. We condemn the government targeting PFI, he added. Karnataka state BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel blamed the inaction of Siddaramaiah-led Congress government which resulted in strengthening of the PFI. We are taking strict action against such organizations, he said. Sri Rama Sene founder Pramod Muthalik appreciated the central government for taking strict action against the PFI leaders. They are threatening Sangh Parivar activists and also Hindu leaders. Such strict action against PFI by the central government is commendable, he added. Katy Perry and Kesha are facing backlash over lyrics referencing infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer following the release of the Netflix series, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Twitter users called out Perry's 2013 track Dark Horse and Kesha's 2010 song Cannibal for their mention of the notorious killer in a slew of tweets. Kesha sings in her track 'I'll pull a Jeffrey Dahmer' while Juicy J, who is featured in Dark Horse, says 'She eats your heart out like Jeffrey Dahmer.' 'It's so disrespectful to the victims families': Katy Perry and Kesha are facing backlash over lyrics referencing serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer following the release of the hit Netflix series about the murderer 'It still upsets me when I hear the line in the song Dark Horse "She eats your heart out like Jeffrey Dahmer" and I always make my daughter turn the station. It's so disrespectful to the victims families. I hope people remember them while watching Netflix. Sorry for their losses,' tweeted one Twitter user. Another Twitter user called on Katy to apologize for the 'vile' and 'terrible' lyric. 'why isn't anyone calling out Katy Perry for allowing such a vile & terrible lyric to be included in one of her hit songs? Jeffrey was a notorious serial killer & Katy CHOSE to romanticize his criminal & inhumane actions. I actually feel sick to my stomach. She NEEDS to apologize.' Juicy J was also called out for singing the lyric as well. 'knowing the depths of what jeffrey dahmer did....juicy j wrong for what he said in that katy perry song,' posted another. Not happy: Twitter users expressed their outrage over the lyrics following the release of the Netflix series One Twitter user said they would be deleting Cannibal from their playlist. 'I just learned who Jeffrey Dahmer is and I knew his name was familiar because Kesha put his name in her lyrics for her song "Cannibal" I need to delete that song now. Why the heck do we give fandom to these sickos!? Of course Netflix makes a series about it. Murders make the (stack of dollars emoji),' posted the enraged fan. 'the casual mention of jeffrey dahmer in kesha's song cannibal has never really sunk in until now and what the f**k,' tweeted another. What!? There were also Twitter users who slammed those outraged by the years-old songs But there were also those slamming the Twitter users, suggesting they were only attacking the songs to remain 'relevant'. 'The song was trending 2 F**KING YEARS AGO and NO ONE noticed the lyrics. Now there's a documentary about Jeffrey Dahmer and out of sudden everyone is all upset and attacking Kesha. 90% of people don't even care they just wanna be involved,' one Twitter user pointed out. 'Really weird that y'al are so young the only reason you know who Jeffrey Dahmer is, is through this Netflix series and now you guys wanna be relevant by saying how offensive songs that came out 10 years ago. Sorry snowflakes, it's too late for that,' another tweeted. Dahmer, who became known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, wrecked havoc across the Wisconsin city from 1978 to 1991 - killing 16 boys, teens, and men over the span of 13 years. The monstrous murderer also committed necrophilia and cannibalism, and would dismember and preserve many of his victim's body parts. His horrific crimes are now being retold in a brand new 10-part Netflix show called Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which premiered on September 21 and stars Evan Peters, Niecy Nash, Molly Ringwald, and Richard Jenkins. Dahmer, who became known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, wrecked havoc across the Wisconsin city from 1978 to 1991 - killing 16 boys, teens, and men over the span of 13 years Dahmer Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has been a ratings hit for Netflix, in spite of the controversy over the project. The series debuted September 21 to an audience of 196.2 million, garnering the streaming service its best ratings since Stranger Things' season four amid Netflix's switch in reporting ratings since June of 2021, Deadline reported. With its large total, the limited series starring Evan Peters in the title role eclipsed the numbers amassed by shows such as Inventing Anna (195.97 million) and You's third season (179 million). The latest: Dahmer Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has been a ratings hit for Netflix, in spite of the controversy over the project. The series stars Evan Peters as Dahmer The ten-part series retells the story of Dahmer from the perspective of his victims, and explores major mistakes Wisconsin police made in handling the probe of the notorious mass murderer, who made national headlines for acts of cannibalism and necrophilia. The show features at least 10 incidents in which authorities nearly took Dahmer into custody, but didn't, extending the twisted crime spree. The show also features actors Niecy Nash, Penelope Ann Miller, Shaun J. Brown, Colin Ford, and Richard Jenkins, with directors Paris Barclay, Carl Franklin, and Janet Mock. Miller and Jenkins play the roles of Dahmer's parents, while Nash portrays Dahmers neighbor Glenda Cleveland, who tried in vain to report his bizarre behavior to authorities. Glare: Peters is glaring forward in the promotional images as he's playing Dahmer, who worked at a Milwaukee chocolate factory The success of the series has not come without its share of criticism, as many people took to Twitter expressing disgust over the continued commercial success of the true crime genre, and the traumatic impact it might have on survivors Dahmer in 1992 was convicted of 16 murders he'd been charged with, and sentenced to 16 life sentences in prison. He was bludgeoned to death with a metal bar in November of 1994 by Christopher Scarver, another inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin. The infamous Milwaukee serial killer - who murdered 17 people between 1978 and 1991. The success of the series has not come without its share of criticism, as many people took to Twitter expressing disgust over the continued commercial success of the true crime genre, and the traumatic impact it might have on survivors. One user questioned why Netflix continues to capitalize on the true crime genre One user said that the streaming service should receive permission from survivors of the tragedies One user took to Twitter to remember Dahmer's victims amid the renewed interest in the case A user called out Netflix for using a graphic scene in an ad for the miniseries A person who said they were related to a victim of Dahmer's said that the miniseries was 'retraumatizing' The sister of Errol Lindsey, Rita Isbell, speaking with Insider Sunday, said that Netflix never reached out to her about the series, calling it harsh and careless. 'I feel like Netflix shouldve asked if we mind or how we felt about making it,' she said. 'They didnt ask me anything. They just did it. But Im not money hungry, and thats what this show is about, Netflix trying to get paid.' She said that 'if the show benefited [the survivors] in some way, it wouldnt feel so harsh and careless. Its sad that theyre just making money off of this tragedy. Thats just greed.' One user wrote: 'Wait?? why Netflix remade a documentary over Jeffrey Dahmer as if theres not already 3 previous documentaries over it? Capitalism is sick and this really disturbing to the victims.' Teaser: Netflix last month released a back head shot of Peters in the role of the murderer Crime: Dahmer in 1992 was convicted of 16 murders he'd been charged with, and sentenced to 16 life sentences in prison. He was beaten to death by another inmate in November of 1994 at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin Peters is seen playing Dahmer in a courtroom scene from the 10-part series Flashback: Dahmer was seen in court during his trial Another pointed to a scene tweeted by the streaming service, asking, 'Its bad enough that this revolting @ryanmurphyprod show was made in the first place, but now @netflix is advertising it by dramatizing the violent rape and murder of a 14 year old boy?' Said another user: 'I'm nearly done with the Jeffrey Dahmer doc on Netflix and I just need to know why they continue to humanise and even victimise these murderers, every single time???' One person who said that event as someone who has interest in the true crime genre, the Dahmer mini-series came off as despicable: 'Movies/docs should never be made about real life killers/victims unless they have explicit permission from the victims families and those families give permission to everything thats included. And one is enough.' The gruesome story of Dahmer has past been chronicled in the 2002 movie Dahmer, in which Jeremy Renner played the titular role; as well as 2017's My Friend Dahmer, in which Ross Lynch played a teen version of the nascent serial killer. Murphy has past created 1990s true crime sagas with American Crime Story projects including 2018's The Assassination of Gianni Versace and 2016's The People Vs. OJ Simpson. Stephen Merchant, who once expressed regret at not having written more episodes of The Office with Ricky Gervais because he'd have 'three Bentleys by now', should be able to afford his own fleet. I can reveal that the comedian made a profit of 4.3 million last year at the business through which he channels his earnings, SJJM. The 6ft 7in star, 47, who towers over his 5ft 6in American model and actress girlfriend Mircea Monroe, 40, has accumulated profits held in SJJM of 22.6 million. Stephen Merchant, 47, who at 6ft 7in towers over his 5ft 6in American model and actress girlfriend Mircea Monroe, 40, has accumulated profits held in SJJM of 22.6 million Merchant once expressed regret at not having written more episodes of The Office with Ricky Gervais because he'd have 'three Bentleys by now', should be able to afford his own fleet Now Sussexes are snubbed in royal website pecking order Prince Harry and Meghan are said to be eagerly waiting for King Charles to issue letters patent, confirming their children can be called Prince and Princess. In the meantime, the notoriously sensitive California-based couple must cope with another snub. I learn that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were demoted on the official royal website on Monday. They are still included in the 'Members of The Royal Family' section, but have been moved below King Charles's first cousins once removed. To add insult to injury, there is now only one member of the family below them and that's Prince Andrew, who stepped back from royal duties after the scandal over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. I learn that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were demoted on the official royal website on Monday 'I hope this doesn't go down badly in Montecito,' a royal source tells me. 'The change has been made because the Duke and Duchess are no longer working royals, unlike those who now appear above them.' The move follows the example set at Queen Elizabeth's funeral last week, when Harry and Meghan were seated in the second row at Westminster Abbey. And, at the Platinum Jubilee service at St Paul's Cathedral in June, the couple looked dismayed to discover they were seated behind the Queen's cousins, the Dukes of Kent and Gloucester, even though Harry is still fifth in the line of succession. In the 'Members of The Royal Family' section of the website, Harry now suffers the indignity of being placed below Princess Alexandra, a cousin of the Queen, who is 56th in the line of succession. In the 'Succession' section, the Sussexes' children are still listed as 'Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor' and 'Miss Lilibet Mountbatten- Windsor'. Since the Queen's death, they are technically a prince and princess due to rules set out by George V in 1917. In the Sussexes' bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, Meghan claimed that Archie was not made a prince because of his race even though George V's rules meant he was not entitled to be one until his grandfather was monarch. A Palace source tells me the update has been made 'to reflect the role played by working members of the Royal Family'. You'll need a change of gear to be 007, James! James Bond always manages to look stylish, no matter how unlikely the circumstances. James Bond always manages to look stylish, no matter how unlikely the circumstances. The same cannot quite be said of James Norton The same cannot quite be said of James Norton, who's tipped to succeed Daniel Craig as the next 007. The 37-year-old Grantchester and Happy Valley star looked a far cry from the sophisticated spy as he met fans during a leisurely cycle ride in Soho, London. Wearing a green T-shirt and jeans, which he rolled up to below his knees, Norton was recognised by two women, with whom he was happy to chat. Earlier this year, I disclosed that the teachers' son had proposed to actress Imogen Poots, 33, whom he first met when they appeared together in Belleville at the Donmar Warehouse in 2017. The 37-year-old Grantchester and Happy Valley star looked a far cry from the sophisticated spy as he met fans during a leisurely cycle ride in Soho, London Earlier this year, I disclosed that the teachers' son had proposed to actress Imogen Poots, 33 Osborne aunt's smashing tale She was aunt of former Chancellor George Osborne and wife of Antony Little, co-founder of wallpaper and fabrics company Osborne & Little. But Jennifer Little, who has died aged 83, was closer in spirit to her late half-brother, the untamed and untameable casino and wildlife park owner John Aspinall. Whereas Aspinall paraded a tiger around Belgravia, Jennifer installed 'a black-brown, tree-climbing, ant-eating bear' in her flat in Chelsea. But critics were ill advised to voice misgivings about the family. A young man, Jennifer recalled, 'began making uncomplimentary comments about my mother, Lady Osborne, and my [half]-brother, John Aspinall. The nearest thing handy was [a] champagne bottle, so I let him have it.' The bottle shattered against a table 'after bouncing off his head'. Surprisingly, the young man recovered. BBC star Amol Rajan, maker of dubious royal documentaries, couldn't stop himself boasting while speaking to Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon on stage at the RTS London convention yesterday. 'Great show, the Today programme, isn't it?' Mahon remarked. Rajan replied: 'It's a fantastic programme. Got a lot better since, like, May of last year, actually.' By coincidence, that's when he joined Radio 4's flagship news show. A birthday blast for Zeta-Jones Fatal Attraction star Michael Douglas is determined to show that he's still got plenty of puff. He turned 78 on the same day that his Welsh wife, and fellow Hollywood star, Catherine Zeta-Jones, celebrated her 53rd birthday. Fatal Attraction star Michael Douglas is determined to show that he's still got plenty of puff And, yesterday, Douglas shared with fans this photograph of the cake for the occasion. It had candles with the number 25. That's to mark the 25th of September, not the age difference between the couple. His uncle, Prince Jefri, used to derive his pleasures by buying pretty well everything he saw spending on average 300,000 a day on cars, women and essentials such as gold-plated loo brushes and ten jewel-encrusted watches depicting a couple copulating. But Prince Mateen of Brunei one of the Sultan of Brunei's sons by his second marriage prefers to plunge out of planes. He's just successfully passed Basic Parachute Course 1137 at RAF Brize Norton. Perhaps he'll drop in on the 180ft yacht his uncle used to own named T**s. Or on one of its tenders christened, by Prince Jefri, Nipple 1 and Nipple 2. Vanessa Feltz left guests at the Golden Chopsticks Awards with a nasty taste in their mouths. Presenting the prize for best restaurant in England, Feltz remarked: 'Everyone always says, 'If you want to find someone Jewish, go to a Chinese restaurant, because the Chinese have good food.' But here's the question, do you ever see someone Chinese in a kosher restaurant? Why is that? I don't know.' One bemused guest at London's Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square tells me: 'You could hear a pin drop in the room. If it was a joke, no one found it amusing.' Country Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Canada Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cuba, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Dominican Republic Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Jamaica Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Mexico, United Mexican States Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu US Virgin Islands Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe More policy tweaks likely to settle realty By JIANG XUEQING (China Daily) 08:55, September 27, 2022 Potential homebuyers look at a property model in Yantai, Shandong province. [TANG KE/FOR CHINA DAILY] China may signal more policy adjustments to stabilize the real estate market as a regulatory official recently noted that "bubble signs and the financialization trend in China's real estate sector have been substantially reversed", experts said. Industry experts are interpreting the official's comment as an affirmation by the nation's top banking and insurance regulator of continuous deleveraging actions of property developers in the past two years. In China, financialization in the real estate sector refers to some property developers' forays into various kinds of financial services, in order to build themselves into diversified, tightly knit conglomerates. In August 2020, China unveiled the "three red lines" to constrain property developers' debt according to three balance sheet metrics, said Ma Hong, senior research fellow at the Zhixin Investment Research Institute. Under the orderly arrangements made by local governments that are tasked with ensuring that responsibilities are fulfilled by all stakeholders, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission guided banks to take an active part in finding real estate funding solutions, grant credit to qualified home developers, and take various measures to promote action for timely delivery of presold homes, said the CBIRC official on Friday. The regulator cooperated with other government departments, including the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance and the People's Bank of China, the central bank, to launch measures promptly, improve the policy toolbox, and use special loans offered by policy banks to support timely delivery of presold homes that are overdue and difficult to deliver in an effort to protect the legitimate interests of homebuyers and maintain the big picture of social stability, said the regulatory official. China Development Bank, a policy financial institution, offered the nation's first special loan to the city of Shenyang in Liaoning province on Thursday, to ensure timely delivery of presold homes in the province, said the official. The CBIRC swears by the principle "houses are for living in, not for speculation", and is focused on the goals of stabilizing land prices, housing prices and expectations, continuously improving long-term mechanisms for real estate financial management, satisfying the reasonable financing needs of the real estate market, and properly handling risks of some leading property developers such as China Evergrande Group, said the official. Ma at the Zhixin Investment Research Institute said, "The official's remarks may provide clues to the moderate improvement of financing convenience for property developers at the end of this year and may signal further policy adjustments to stabilize the real estate market." On Friday, China Construction Bank Corp, a large State-owned commercial lender, said it plans to establish a house rental fund of 30 billion yuan ($4.19 billion). The bank itself will contribute 29.999 billion yuan to the fund, and a wholly owned subsidiary of CCB Trust Co, a subsidiary of the bank, will contribute 1 million yuan. Through investments in the existing assets of real estate enterprises and by transforming them into rental housing, the fund aims to increase the supply of market-oriented long-term rental housing and government-subsidized rental housing, and explore a new model of real estate development for both rental housing and homebuying. The term of the fund is 10 years provisionally, with scope for assessment of continuity at its expiry, CCB said. S&P Global (China) Ratings, a wholly foreign-owned credit rating agency in the domestic market, said in a recent report: "We believe that under the overall direction of ensuring timely delivery of presold homes and stabilizing people's livelihoods, the majority of the problems associated with unfinished homes and homebuyers' refusal to pay mortgages on such homes will be properly settled eventually. It will not lead to a sharp increase in default risks at small and medium-sized banks." (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji) KARIMNAGAR: BJP leader Dasoju Shravan on Monday said that the historical decisions and reforms taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government placed India among the top nations in the world. He was participating in the intellectual meeting held here at the TNGOs function hall in Karimnagar. Speaking on the occasion, the BJP leader said demonetisation, scrapping of 370 Article, Swachh Bharat Mission, triple talaq, GST, make in India, one nation and one ration, Atma Nirbhar Bharat, digital transactions and construction of Rama temple in Ayodhya are some of the historical decisions which led the nation towards development. He said that the BJP government was striving hard for the safety of people along with implementing various welfare schemes for all sections across the country. He also said that the Prime Minister was trying to establish a peaceful atmosphere in the country. When the entire world was suffering from Covid-19, Modi saved the lives of people by providing free vaccination. Shravan said that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Raos move to enter into national politics was ridiculous. Later, Shravan along with the former MLA K. Mruthyunjayam and district unit president G. Krishna Reddy visited the Namo photo exhibition of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Warped Wing Brewing Company to Open New Brewery & Taproom North of Dayton Warped Wing Brewing Company, headquartered in the heart of Downtown Dayton, Ohio, is excited to announce plans for a new Brewery and Taproom location in Huber Heights! Planned to open in Spring/Summer 2023, the new location at 6602 Executive Boulevard in Huber Heights will feature a large taproom with outdoor biergarten, warehouse & production space, private event space with small pilot brewing system and food menu focused on smoked foods similar to the Springboro & Mason taprooms. Seating capacity is 127 in the main taproom, 48 in the event space, and 104 in the outdoor biergarten. Huber Heights has a great community of craft beer fans. During the pandemic we delivered more beer via our home delivery program to Huber Heights than any other community. We are forever grateful for their support during that difficult time and so opening this new brewery at The Heights means so much to our team said Nick Bowman, co-founder and VP of Sales and Marketing. Huber Heights is definitely a community on the move and we are very excited to be a part of it said Bowman. We are planning on adding a pilot brewing system at our new location in Huber Heights said John Haggerty, co-founder and Brewmaster at Warped Wing. The flexibility of having multiple systems allows us more opportunity to experiment and create unique offerings exclusive to our taprooms said Haggerty. We are very excited to continue our partnership with Warped Wing Brewing Company and work with them on their new Huber Heights location said Jerad Barnett, President & CEO at Synergy & Mills Development. With the proximity to the growth in northern Huber Heights and the Rose Music Center area as well as fantastic visibility from I-70 and land for additional growth in the future, we believe this is the perfect site for Warped Wings fourth location and look forward to beginning construction soon and opening this facility in the spring of 2023. said Barnett. In addition to Warped Wings vast selection of beers available, the taproom will also serve a variety of beverages including wine, seltzer, hard cider, and spirits with a focus on specialty cocktails as well as non-alcoholic options like housemade sodas. Construction is set to begin this Fall and is expected to be completed in Spring of 2023. More details to be released as plans for the new Huber Heights location develop. Warped Wing Brewing Co. is a Dayton craft brewery inspired by Ohios rich history of innovation and invention. We are committed to carrying that spirit forward by brewing new proprietary beer styles along with original warped interpretations. India still doesnt have a chief of defence staff (CDS) after the tragic death of Gen. Bipin Rawat in December last year, and many have given up expecting an announcement anytime soon. Meanwhile, an election commissioner post has been vacant for the past four months after the retirement of Sushil Chandra in May earlier this year. The poll panel has been a two-member body since with Rajiv Kumar as CEC and Anup Chandra Pandey as the other EC. Unlike the CDS post, a delay in appointing a new election commissioner is not unprecedented. The last time the Nirvachan Sadan functioned below its strength was in 2015 when a two-member EC conducted the Delhi Assembly elections. However, observers say that any further delay could lead the EC vulnerable to a deadlock, especially when two state Assembly elections are imminent. If the two commissioners are unanimous, the third becomes irrelevant. But when the serving two disagree, the third ECs view becomes important. Polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat are due before January and February, respectively, and are likely to be clubbed. In fact, CEC Kumar and EC Pandey have visited the two states recently to assess the readiness of their poll machinery for the elections. The Modi Sarkar is maintaining a stiff silence on its intentions on the matter. UPSC frowns on DGPs appointment in Uttar Pradesh The IAS officers in Uttar Pradesh are increasingly restive. In less than a month, at least five senior IAS officers in the state have sought voluntary retirement from the service. Thats perhaps indicative of the current relationship between the BJP government and the civil service, in which the babus often find themselves at loggerheads with the netas over many government decisions. Now it appears that there is trouble brewing over the UP governments proposal for the appointment of a new director general of police (DGP). The Yogi Adityanath government had removed Mukul Goel from the post in May and named D.S. Chauhan as acting DGP. Sources have informed DKB that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has reverted UPs proposal and instead demanded an explanation for why Mr Goel was removed before the completion of his two-year term. The Supreme Court had directed in its 2006 order in the police reforms case that DGPs be appointed for a fixed tenure of two years. UPSC had questioned the appointment of Mr Chauhan and directed the state government to submit the names of all IPS officers who were considered for appointment as DGP. Apparently, it was sent 42 names, including IPS officers of the 1992 batch, and contained the names of acting DGP Chauhan as well as Mr Goel. But, sources say, the government is unwilling to retract on the issue and is planning to send a fresh proposal to the UPSC since Mr Chauhan is retiring in March next year. Watch this space for updates. Adjustments and new alignments in babu reshuffles Within less than a fortnight, the Modi Sarkar has carried through two large reshuffles of the upper babudom. Yet, the secretary-level reshuffle seems to be more of minor tweaks and adjustments since it ignores key positions such as the department of defence production, coal, corporate affairs, new and renewable energy, textiles, and food and public distribution, among others. Perhaps, this is a prelude to more changes in the coming days. But it does fill the vacancies that will come up at the commerce department and ministry of mines. Also, it was interesting to note that two officers have been brought in straight from the cadre while the rest were already serving at the Centre. Still, there are many interesting aspects to the changes that may merit a closer look. The appointment of Sunil Barthwal as OSD, department of commerce, created a buzz as he will succeed B.V.R. Subrahmanyam and will have a three-year term at the department. But Mr Subrahmanyam is a big winner, who has been elevated to higher things. He is the new CMD of the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), a move made with an eye on the G20 summit being held in India in September next year. Clearly, the government has high faith in him to deliver a successful summit. Observers also noted that the government focused on officers from the 1987-1990 batches during this exercise. The 1991 batch babus will have to await the next reshuffle, which some believe could also be coming soon. Also, the Centre effected a minor reshuffle of additional secretary-level posts. Notable was the appointment of L. Satya Srinivas as additional secretary, department of commerce, Ms V. Radha as additional secretary at the Niti Aayog and Ms Ranjana Chopra as financial adviser, ministry of culture. Skip to main navigation For Release: Tuesday, September 27, 2022 DEC Announces Youth Pheasant Hunting Weekend for Western New York Youth-Only Pheasant Hunt Weekend to be held October 8-9 A special youth-only pheasant hunting weekend will be held in Western New York on Oct. 8 - 9, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today. The youth-only pheasant hunting weekend helps acclimate junior hunters to upland game bird hunting when fewer hunters are afield and to learn safe hunting values and skills from experienced hunters. The hunt will occur one week prior to the regular pheasant hunting season, and will provide junior hunters (ages 12-15 years old) the opportunity to hunt pheasants with a licensed adult companion. The 2022-2023 regular pheasant season opens Oct. 15. Junior hunters must be accompanied by a licensed adult hunter during the youth pheasant hunt. Accompanying adults will not be allowed to possess a firearm or take a pheasant during this special season. During the two-day youth hunt, junior hunters will be allowed to take two birds per day, as allowed during the regular season. Pheasant hunting boundary descriptions can be found on page 43 of the 2022-2023 Hunting and Trapping Regulation Guide. All other pheasant hunting regulations remain in effect. A special permit will be required to hunt at Joseph Davis, Golden Hill, and Wilson-Tuscarora state parks located in Niagara County. An individual permit will be required to hunt on Saturday, Oct. 8 and Sunday, Oct. 9. The youth hunt this year will allow for a second youth hunter to be named on the permit. There will be two separate hunts each day that a permit is required: The first hunt will be from sunrise until 12:30 p.m.; the second hunt will be from 12:30 p.m. until sunset. Junior hunters interested in entering the Permit Lottery at Golden Hill, Wilson-Tuscarora, and Joseph Davis state parks should mail a separate, standard size file card for each date and park that they would like to hunt. Only one permit will be issued to each hunter per day. Cards may be put into an envelope for each respective park and mailed together to the appropriate addresses below: Golden Hill State Park Attn: Renee Campbell 9691 Lower Lake Rd. Barker, NY 14012 (716) 795-3885 Joseph Davis State Park Attn: Josh Bodie 1 Maintenance Ave. Youngstown, NY 14174 (716) 745-7273 Wilson Tuscarora State Park Attn: David Giambra Lake Rd., P.O. Box 324 Wilson, NY 14172 (716) 751-6361 Information on the file card should include the junior hunter's name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, hunting license back tag number, hunt date, and desired park location. Entries will be computerized to avoid duplications. All lottery entries must be received by noon on Thursday, Sept 29. If you have any questions regarding the permit lottery, please call the respective Park Managers at the numbers provided above. There is no fee for the permit and junior hunters awarded permits will have the option of naming one additional junior hunter on their permit. Approximately 889 adult roosters and hens will be stocked in DEC Region 9 immediately prior to the youth hunt weekend. All the birds will be provided from the DEC Reynolds Game Farm. Please refer to the attached table for a summary of release sites in each county. Youth hunters wishing to hunt pheasants in Allegany State Park must pick up a free hunting permit at the park's administration building near Redhouse Lake before hunting in the park. For questions about pheasant hunting in Allegany State Park, please call (716) 354-9121. Questions about the Youth Pheasant Hunt can be directed to DEC's Bureau of Wildlife at (716) 851-7010 in Buffalo or (716) 372-0645 in Allegany. See the table below for Youth Pheasant Hunt Stocking Locations. To apply for a permit, contact NYS Park managers identified above. Additional information about pheasant hunting is available on DEC's website. 2022 Region 9 Youth Hunt Pheasant Stocking County Township Release Site Allegany New Hudson Hanging Bog WMA along New Hudson Road. Almond Klipnocky State Forest NE corner of Gas Springs Rd/Roots Rd. Birdsall Keeney Swamp WMA Route 15B, off North parking area Cattaraugus Conewango-Randolph Conewango Swamp WMA - Between Route 241 and Conewango Creek Red House Allegany State Park, Wolf Run Road (Free permit necessary from Administration Building.) Farmersville Harwood Lake Multiple Use Area No special permit required for the youth hunt on Oct. 8 and Oct. 9. Chautauqua Sherman Alder Bottom Wildlife Management Area - off Idora Road and Route 76. Erie Collins Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area, south of Vail and Unger Road and Button Road. No special permit required for the youth hunt on Oct. 8 and 9. N. Collins Clear Lake WMA, north of Genesee Rd, west of Rt 75. Niagara Lewiston Joseph Davis State Park - Special permit required for hunting pheasants on Saturday, Oct. 8, and Sunday, Oct. 9.* Wilson Wilson-Tuscarora State Park - Special permit required for hunting pheasants on Saturday, Oct. 8, and Sunday, Oct. 9.* Somerset Golden Hill State Park - Special permit required for hunting pheasants on Saturday, Oct 8, and Sunday, Oct 9.* Wyoming Middlebury Carlton Hill Multiple Use Area and Sulphur Springs Hill Fish and Wildlife Management Act Cooperative Hunting Area, 5 miles north of Warsaw. *Contact NYS Park Managers to apply for permit ED officials reportedly grilled Manchireddy Kishan Reddy in connection with his sources of income, business activities and bank account details. Twitter Hyderabad: Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials questioned TRS legislator Manchireddy Kishan Reddy in connection with investments made in gold mining companies abroad and alleged illegal financial transactions. The Directorate had earlier registered a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case against Kishan Reddy, who represents Ibrahimpatnam Assembly constituency. The grilling went on for nine hours. The ED asked the MLA to appear for questioning again on Wednesday. Sources said that the investigation agency noticed illegal transactions made by Kishan Reddy for the past few months and registered a case under FEMA Act. A few days ago, it served a notice asking him to appear before the agency for questioning. "The legislator had allegedly invested in gold mine companies in Indonesia. Huge amounts were illegally transferred to his account from Indonesia and other countries. Some suspicious transactions between him and others were found, and this FEMA Act," sources said. ED officials reportedly grilled the MLA in connection with his sources of income, business activities and bank account details. The ED officials, who are also probing the casino case, also allegedly sought to know Manchireddy Kishan Reddys direct or indirect involvement in gambling activities. In an attempt to establish links with suspects in the casino case, the investigation agency focused on hawala transactions. Sources further stated that ED officials recorded his statements with regard to his financial transactions that were found suspicious. Manchireddy Kishan Reddy had allegedly invested in gold mines in Indonesia way back in 2015. The casino case refers to one Chikoti Praveen Kumar arranging casino gambling in Goa and Nepal in which the involvement of politicians and Tollywood bigwigs is suspected. This newspaper had previously reported that Kumar allegedly had links with more than 16 MLAs in different states. ED officials suspected that Kumar transported money, received from hawala transactions, to India. Kumar was grilled by the Enforcement Directorate previously. Kumars aide Madhav Reddy and close associate Sampath were also questioned by the ED. Amaravati: Come October 1, all employees working under the state-owned Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Corporation Limited will be barred from using their mobile phones while on duty to create a distraction-free environment in offices. The CPDCL noted that the communication gadgets have become a veritable nuisance as employees are wasting their working hours on their mobile phones, thereby hampering the day-to-day office work. Accordingly, CPDCL chairman and managing director J Padma Reddy issued an order banning use of mobile phones by employees during office hours. Senior officers of the organisation, however, are exempted from the ban. This is probably the first-of-its-kind order in any government organisation, official sources said. From October 1, computer operators, record assistants, typists, junior and senior assistants and outsourced employees working in all offices of the CPDCL will have to deposit their mobile phones while entering the workplace. No employee will be allowed to take calls or messages while at work. They will be allowed to use their mobile phones only during lunch and tea breaks, the CMD said in her order. Employees will have to notify the mobile phone number of their higher officers, to be contacted during any emergency. All Chief General Managers, Superintending Engineers and General Managers should follow the instructions to create a distraction-free environment for all employees. If any employee is found not following the instructions, necessary disciplinary action will be initiated, the CMD said. A car wades through knee-deep water at Mozamjahi market after heavy rains lashed many parts of Hyderabad on Tuesday. (Image: DC) HYDERABAD: Rains spell horror for residents in many localities of the city as they have to reckon with roads that are filled with knee-deep water, which also result in traffic congestion stretching to miles. Even as many were coming to terms after Mondays horrifying ordeal, Tuesday brought in rains from 3 pm, albeit for two hours and with less intensity compared to the previous days havoc. Of course, some areas were marooned and traffic police stopped movement of vehicles from Moosaram bridge. The rain water flowed into the bridge from surrounding areas. But, contrary to rumours, there was no overflowing of Musi, said Anumanla Kishan, a watchman at Swami Vivekananda Central Primary School, which is close to the bridge. The GHMC said its staff had attended to 257 complaints till Tuesday morning, apart from clearing clogging in various parts of the city. The GHMC identified vulnerable points near nalas and deployed teams to all those places. They included 74 vulnerable points in LB Nagar zone, Charminar (52), Khairatabad zone (75), Serilingampally (52), Kukatpally zone (48), Secunderabd zone (55). A senior official of GHMC said, though the rain continued till the early hours of Tuesday, teams from sanitation and other wings cleared the city roads to ensure a free-flow of traffic. Hyderabad: The meeting convened by the Centre in Delhi on Tuesday to resolve long-pending bifurcation-related issues between Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh ended inconclusively. However, after hearing both sides, the Union home secretary directed the home ministry to examine all the court cases regarding sharing of assets in consultation with the law Department. Official sources said the talks could not make headway as AP demanded its share in land parcels, buildings and bank reserves of common institutions located in Hyderabad in the ratio of 52:48 between AP:TS, in proportion with their population. These institutions are listed under under Schedule IX (corporations etc) and X (training institutes) of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 worth several thousands of crores of rupees. This invited stiff resistance from TS officials. AP also demanded a share in Singareni Collieries which was also opposed by the Telangana government. TS officials reportedly expressed severe anger at the AP government for approaching courts on bifurcation Act issues, creating legal complications and blocking the division of these institutions. They demanded that the Centre take steps to make AP withdraw the cases and sort out issues through talks. The meeting chaired by union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla was attended by TS chief secretary Somesh Kumar, finance special chief secretary K.Ramakrishna Rao, energy special chief secretary Sunil Kumar, IT principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan, TR&B secretary K.S. Sreenivas Raju, civil supplies commissioner Anil Kumar, Telangana Bhavan, Delhi, Resident Commissioner Gaurav Uppal, TS Transco joint MD Srinivas Rao and Singareni Collieries director, operations, Chandrashekar. AP officials reportedly demanded share in 5,000 acres of DIL (Deccan Infrastructure Limited) lands and also 238 acres of APSFC (AP State Finance Corporation) in Ranga Reddy and city outskirts that were taken back by Telangana government in 2015 on the ground that the lands were not utilised by DIL and APSFC. The press release issued by the TS government after the meeting only mentioned issues that came up for discussion and did not talk about the confrontation between both the states. TIRUPATI: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy presented a pair of silk vastrams to the temple deity, Lord Venkateswara, on behalf of the state government on the occasion of the annual Brahmotsavams that started here on Tuesday. Clad in traditional white dhoti and shirt, the Chief Minister arrived at the Bedi Anjaneya Swamy temple in front of the main temple complex. After a brief ceremony there, the temple priests strapped the traditional parivattam to the Chief Minister and placed the silver plate containing the sacred vastrams on his head. From there, the Chief Minister carried the set of scared silk robes on his head to the hill temple through the Maha Dwaram in a celestial procession amidst the recitation of Veda Mantras, beat of temple drums and the play of Nadaswaram by temple musicians. Jagan formally handed these over to the chief priest inside the sanctum sanctorum. The Chief Minister later offered prayers to the presiding deity. After darshan of Lord Venkateswara Swamy, the CM was rendered Vedasirvachanam at the Ranganayakula Mandapam inside the hill temple. He was also presented with theertha prasadams, a laminated photo of Srivaru, by TTD chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy along with TTD executive officer A.V. Dharma Reddy Later, the CM released the 2023 calendars and diaries of the TTD. Thereafter, he took part in the Pedda Sesha Vahana Seva at the beginning of the procession. Earlier, the Chief Minister offered prayers at the Thataiahgunta Gangamma temple in Tirupati along with Tirupati MLA Bhumana Karunakar and deputy mayor Bhumana Abhinay. A while later, he flagged off the APSRTC's new fleet of ten electric buses at the Alipiri bus depot. Electric mobility leader Olectra Greentech Ltd (Olectra) had delivered 10 state-of-the-art e-buses to the RTC. The company received an order to supply 100 electric buses from APSRTC in the FAME-II scheme of the central government. A view of the hill temple of Venkateswara temple at Tirumala, dazzling with serial-lights all over and flowers, on the eve of the annual Brahmotsavams. (DC) TIRUPATI: The stage is set for the Salakatla Brahmotsavam of Lord Venkateswara Swamy, observed with full public participation after a gap of two years, at the sacred hill town of Tirumala from Tuesday till October 5. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has made elaborate arrangements to ensure that devotees have a hassle-free darshan of the presiding deity at the Tirumala temple and also the vahana sevas during the nine-day celestial event. The 23,000 strong workforces of TTD, led by its EO, Dharma Reddy, is leading the efforts to make the brahmotsavams a big event. As many as 7,000 members of the security forces including 4,400 policemen, 1,100 TTD vigilance and security personnel, 460 SPFs, 1000 NCCs and AP Octopus have been deployed to provide security and assistance to the people at the nine-day event. Dharma Reddy said top priority would be given to common devotees. All privileged darshans including the VIP break have been cancelled until further notice. "Henceforth, only Sarva darshan (free) will be allowed on a 24x7 basis and no recommendation letters would be accepted during the nine days. Privilege darshan would be given to only those who fall under protocol," he said. Since the TTD is anticipating footfalls in lakhs, all its departments would make extra efforts in fulfilling the needs of common devotees, like accommodation, annaprasadam, maintaining buffer stock of laddus, transport arrangements, tonsuring, uninterrupted power supply, hygienic condition and health initiatives etc. "We kept a buffer stock of 9 lakh laddus and the daily production of laddus has been enhanced to 5 lakh a day. Around 6,000 rooms, three amenities' complexes and 10 German sheds were kept ready for accommodation needs. Besides the existing strength, 5,000 additional sanitation workers are being deployed to maintain hygiene conditions," the EO said. Explaining about the emergency health initiatives, the EO said the Aswini and Apollo clinics in Tirumala are fully equipped and the TTD has temporarily arranged six dispensaries, 12 primary health centres and one mobile clinic. Twelve ambulances will be in service in Tirumala. Cardio checking will be continuously done at Srivari Mettu and Alipiri footpaths. Since the Garuda Seva is falling on the day of Purattasi Saturday, considered to be the most- auspicious especially for Tamil devotees, special arrangements are being made for them. Cultural troupes from eight states will perform in the four mada streets during the 9-day festival. IT Minister KT Rama Rao having lunch with IIIT Basar students on the campus in Basar of Nirmal district. (DC) ADILABAD: IT Minister KT Rama Rao on Monday praised the Basar IIIT students weeklong agitation in support of their demands under their Student Governing Council in a democratic way without giving any chance to opposition parties to get involved. On a visit of the IIIT, the minister heard complaints about water logging and lack of maintenance of toilets in the new mess on the campus and said, if so, the condition of the old messes could be worse. He said education institutions and systems were badly affected in the last two years due to Covid19 and these are now returning to normality. I would take steps to improve the facilities on the campus, he said. Some students had told him they were planning to take admissions in NITs or IITs by leaving the IIIT-Basar due to the poor facilities on the campus. KTR said they will set up a digital innovation lab with 1,000 computers jointly by the Education and IT department and an outdoor stadium with Rs 3 crore in six to eight months, 50 additional classrooms with modern infrastructure and a mini T-hub to encourage research and promote entrepreneurship. He said, in a lighter vein, that students told him the food served in the mess today was good and asked him to come to Basar regularly. He expressed his displeasure over the MLA, the ministers and authorities sitting in the chairs on the dais while students sat on the floor during the interaction. He asked the authorities to set up fixed chairs in the auditorium by the time he visits the campus next. Things have started changing on the Basar IIIT campus and a lot more has to be done to improve the prevailing conditions by removing the forces that camped for a long time on the campus and caused damage to the institution, he said. The minister said students should work with a goal to set up companies like Microsoft, Google and Twitter. We have called for mess tenders but are not satisfied with the societies that have applied. There will be fresh tenders looking for good contractors to provide quality food to the students, he said. He insisted on conducting a week-long celebration of innovations created by the Basar IIIT students and added that students wanted him to introduce futuristic courses like robotics, MI (Machine intelligence) and AI (Artificial intelligence). He would visit the Basar again in November along with ministers Sabita Indrareddy and Indrakaran Reddy to distribute laptops to students, he said. Students also must take the responsibility to keep the Basar IIIT clean and green, he said. Sabita Indrareddy said students must act or behave in a way that the image of Basar IIIT will improve. We are taking all measures to resolve the problems and I am in touch with in-charge VC Venkata Narayana. She said the state government was providing education to nine lakh students in residential schools and free textbooks, good accommodation and quality food in these institutions. Mudhole MLA Vittal Reddy, MLC Vittal and incharge VC Venkata Ramana, director Satish, collector Musharaff Faruqui Ali and SP Praveen were present. NEW DELHI: Reeling from the rebellion in the Rajasthan Congress, the party high command is in a bind over the suitability of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to be Congress president. Sources say that after the developments in Jaipur, Gehlot reached out to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to explain his position and said there was no disrespect to the high command from his side. He is expected to meet the Gandhis soon, while his arch-rival Sachin Pilot rushed to Delhi ahead of any decision on Rajasthan. Reports said the Congress central observers to Rajasthan, Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken, had submitted a written report on Tuesday evening and gave a clean chit to Gehlot. Three MLAs, Shanti Dhariwal, Mahesh Joshi and Dharmendra Rathore, who are considered close to the CM, orchestrated the rebellion, but Gehlot has denied any part in it. During the day, Mr Gehlot held several meetings with some of his MLAs and ministers in Jaipur. In a related development, Congress disciplinary committee member Tariq Anwar issued show-cause notices to three MLAs. While the Rajasthan rebellion rages on and barely a couple of days are left for filing the nomination for the Congress presidential election, Gehlot has not yet got the nomination papers. Meanwhile, several new names, including former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh, former Maharashtra CM and Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde along with Kharge, A.K Antony, Kamal Nath, Ambika Soni and Pawan Kumar Bansal, have started cropping up for the probable presidential candidate. Most of them ruled themselves out. The name of Gehlot for the top party post is, however, not completely ruled out yet, according to informed sources. During the day Mrs Gandhi met the central election committee of the party to take stock of the preparations for the upcoming elections. The Congress president also summoned party veteran Antony, who had retired, from Kerala. Insiders claim that Mrs Gandhi will appoint Antony to take action against ministers and MLAs from Rajasthan who led the open revolt against the orders of the high command. Sachin Pilot is expected to meet the Gandhis soon. He was at the legislature party meeting in Jaipur, which was boycotted by a majority of the MLAs. Pilot has maintained a stoic silence in the last couple of days as he awaits the final decision of Mrs Gandhi before he takes a final call on his next move. CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Governor Ravindra Narayana Ravi cleared the air on Bills passed in the Assembly and said to be pending with him even as he was effusive in his praise of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. Interacting with a group of senior editors of newspapers and television channels on Friday, the Governor said that he went strictly by the sacred book, which is the Constitution of India, in what he said and did in the state. Dispelling any notions of distrust building between Raj Bhavan and Fort St George, the Governor said that if he felt strongly on any subject or issue affecting the state, he would write a letter to the Chief Minister. He said he shared the best of relations with Stalin and that he found the CM was a well meaning person who wished to do good for the people. When the question of Bills pending with him when sent for assent to the Raj Bhavan was raised, the Governor said that he, as Head of State and acting under the Constitution had three options. I can give assent to a Bill, withhold assent or refer it to the President of India. He added that all his actions fell within those three options. Touching upon frequent complaints of deterioration in the law & order situation in the state raised by Opposition leaders, the Governor said that he was himself personally worried whenever reports came in of crimes against SC/ST or Adi Dravidar people or crimes against women. While he has to keep an ear open to Opposition complaints on the L&O, he gets worked up more about the crime data flowing in about crimes against vulnerable people. The Protection of Civil Rights Act is stringent enough. Under it, the person accused is assumed to be guilty until he proves himself innocent, he said. The Governor feels the provisions of the Act are sufficient to warn any intending offenders. As the head of state, who has more direct action to take with regard to education in the state, the Governor said he saw a progressive decline in education standards, which was sad for a progressive state like Tamil Nadu. He believes much of higher studies are aimed at getting a degree and that things would have to change for degree holders to be gainfully employed. He praised the New Education Policy as excellent and that it needed time to be fully implemented for results to show. The Governor also expressed his concern for the environment of the Raj Bhavan that has much to do with the deer population inside the large national park in which it and IIT-Madras are located. Well-informed of the ecology, he made the Editors aware of how tall trees were inhibiting the growth of grass (for grazing) beneath and that measures had to be taken to encourage the growth of grass. He also said more blackbucks would have to be translocated as the population was dwindling. The Governor stuck to his firm stand against PFI as a dangerous organisation. He extolled Tirukkural and said he has been trying to understand the depth of the treatise in his own way. In the same vein, he appreciated and expressed his gratitude for his octogenarian teacher who has been patient with him. He consults the senior teacher to know more about certain terms and their meanings. The hour-long interaction had its share of lighter moments too when the Governor said he watches Tamil films dubbed in Hindi and how he enjoys visiting places and meeting people, especially those who have scaled great heights from humble backgrounds. He signed off by saying the Raj Bhavan has decided to institute two awards for those excelling in the fields of social service and environment. India has 1.4 billion people against the UKs 68 million. Even a low per capita income adds up to an impressive total. (Photo: Twitter) The jubilation over Indias GDP outstripping Britains is a reminder that Indians often take pride in records that should rightly be ignored or even sometimes treated as a matter of national shame. The quality of Indian life is exposed not by a tycoon or two strutting on the world stage but by Indias fall from 131st to 132nd among 191 countries in the UN Development Programmes latest Human Development Index. Proud moment for India to pip the United Kingdom, our colonial ruler, as the fifth largest economy: India $3.5 trillion vs the UK $3.2 trillion, gushed Kotak Mahindra Banks managing director, Uday Kotak. Given the tortuous history of Indo-British relations, the glee was understandable, but he did not gloss over the reality check of the population denominator. India has 1.4 billion people against the UKs 68 million. Even a low per capita income adds up to an impressive total. However, such window-dressing serves little purpose if the shelves behind are either empty or display only a few tawdry goods. It was an impoverished India that produced the richest man in the world, not a politically blest Adani or Ambani, but Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad. Its a measure of Indias continuing destitution that 18 million persons from India living outside the land of their birth not only constituted the worlds largest diaspora population (bigger than those of Russia or China) in 2020, but whose $87 billion remittances top the global list. It is way ahead of the $53 billion that expatriate Chinese and Mexicans send back, the $36 billion remitted by Filipinos or the Egyptians $33 billion. It is a standing joke in the Persian Gulf, where labourers from India, Bangladesh and Egypt often outnumber locals, that the temperature never rises above a certain point, no matter how frantically the mercury might sizzle. The cut-off point is where the law orders air-conditioning for all migrant workers accommodation. I pointed this out when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed me to a committee on the Indian diaspora. My intervention was not welcomed by the other members who were all high- powered officials. But as Ruth Michaelson reported in Londons highly-regarded Guardian newspaper of August 18, 2017: Nearly 70 per cent of Kuwaits population is made up of migrant workers, many of whom power the near-constant construction of new office complexes and malls across the state. Though labour legislation now bans work outdoors between 12 pm and 4 pm, many are seen toiling through the hottest hours of the day regardless. She wrote about the large numbers of labourers on a building site close to Kuwait international airport working well past the 12 pm deadline in 47 degrees Celsius heat. Climbing on scaffolding amid the skeleton frame of a future shopping mall, some tried to take shelter in the shade available, as others swigged from bottles of water to cool down. The irony: they were installing air-conditioning. The contrast between reality and the myths that Indians are encouraged to believe was first brought home to me when I was 16 and living in England. Seeing a disused gas light connection, an older English boy asked if we had many of them at home. Seeing his question as a put-down, I angrily repeated a common boast of the time: Calcutta is one of the biggest cities in the world! My friend was scornful. That meant people, he sneered. It didnt mean amenities. That contrast cropped up again in the 1990s when everyone basked in the glory of 300 million middle class Indians. US President George W. Bush fed that fallacy because, as he told the Asia Society, the United States could sell so many Whirlpool washing machines and Dominos pizzas to Indias rising middle class. But was it rising? The Congress politician, Mani Shankar Aiyar, said once that he invented the 300 million figure out of the top of his head in answer to a journalists question. He may well have done so for there did not seem to be any statistical evidence for the claim. Indias is a lop-sided society. Although agriculture absorbs the most workers, services are the major source of growth. Due to its educated, English-speaking workforce, India has also become an important centre of information technology services, business outsourcing and software workers. Yet, this major source of global labour ranks the lowest among 52 countries assessed for key indices of migrant inclusivity in 2020, according to the Migrant Integration Policy Index. It doesnt seem to concern us that a Credit Suisse Wealth Report says that China will create millionaires more than seven times faster than the United States in five years through 2026. The era when Time magazine portrayed the Nizam on its cover demonstrated the hollowness of such claims. But it is of great concern that a fall in life expectancy from 69.7 to 67.2 years while female life expectancy dropped from 71 years to 68.8 years is blamed for India slipping a place in the HDI rankings. It is also a matter of shame that many neighbours have fared better. Sri Lanka is 73rd in the UNDP list, China 79th, Bangladesh 129th and Bhutan 127th. The worse-off countries include Pakistan (161st), Nepal (143rd), and Myanmar (149th). True, the trend is not confined to India, and the UNDP records that for the first time on record, the global HDI has dropped for two years in a row, taking the world back to just after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. But contrary to the boasts of our leaders, India does not seem automatically destined to lead a world that is dazzled by its meteoric economic performance. Its modest record places India in the medium human development category of countries. The worlds fifth-largest economy according to nominal GDP and the third-largest if purchasing power parity is taken into account, India ranks 142nd by GDP (nominal) and 125th by GDP (PPP). The answer lies in avoiding bombastic promises, squandering less money on military extravagances like American drones, harping less on fantasies like Digital India, and focusing far more on the mundane daily needs of a neglected multitude. We have miles to go, Mr Kodak urged his countrymen. Lets be at it! There could be no more sage advice than that for a nation in the making. Last week, Amazon launched the much-publicised Great Indian Festival sale on September 23. Prime members had one-day early access to the best offers on a wide range of products. The company is offering up to 70 per cent discounts on top branded smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, and Xiaomi, among others till this weekend. Here are the top smart TV on offer on Amazon Great Indian Festival sale (September 23-30): Sony Bravia 65-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED Google TV KD-65X74K (Black) It is available for Rs 80,000 against MRP Rs 1,39,900. Also, Amazon is offering up to Rs 8,040 discount. Also, Consumers with any bank credit/debit card claim an additional flat 2,500 per cent discount (up to Rs 1,500). It comes with 20 Watts Output, Open Baffle Speake, Dolby Audio, Clear Phase; DTS Digital Surround, Display: 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160); Refresh Rate: 60 Hertz; 178 Degree wide viewing angle; X1 4K Processor, 4K HDR, Live Colour, 4K X Reality Pro, Motion Flow XR100, Google TV OS, 3 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, RF capable ( 1 input and 1 output), 1 X Ethernet and support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. OnePlus 55-inch U Series 4K LED Smart Android TV 55U1S (Black) It is available for Rs 30,970 against MRP Rs 47,900. Also, Amazon is offering up to Rs 8,050 discount via exchange deal. And, customers with SBI credit card can claim additional Rs 1,500 off. It comes with 30W speaker output, Co-tuned with Dynaudio, Dolby Audio; Display: 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160p) | Refresh Rate: 60Hz; Gamma Engine | HDR10+ certified, HDR10, HLG | MEMC | Bezel-less design; Android TV 10 OS, 3 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, RF capable ( 1 input and 1 output), 1 X Ethernet and support Wi-Fi (2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac ; 2x2 MIMO)) and Bluetooth 5.0. Acer 50-inch 4K Ultra HD Android Smart LED TV AR50AR2851UDFL (Black) It is available for Rs 26,999 against MRP of Rs 40,999. Also, Amazon is offering up to Rs 8,050 discount via exchange deal. It comes with 30 Watts Output | High Fidelity Speakers with Dolby Audio; Display: 4K Ultra HD (3840x2160) | Refresh Rate: 60 Hertz | 1.07 Billion colours | Wide Colour Gamut+ | Intelligent Frame Stabilization Engine | Dynamic Signal Calibration | HDR10+ with HLG | UHD Upscaling | Super Brightness | Micro Dimming | Blue Light Reduction | 178 degree Wide viewing angle; Android TV 11 OS, 3 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, RF capable ( 1 input and 1 output), 1 X Ethernet and support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Must read | Acer I-series 4K smart TV review: Bang for the buck Android TV LG 43-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV 43UQ7500PSF (Ceramic Black) It is available for Rs 45,999 against MRP Rs 59,999. It comes with 30 Watts Output | High Fidelity Speakers with Dolby Audio; Display: 4K Ultra HD (3840x2160) |4K Upscaler | AI Brightness Control | Refresh Rate: 60 hertz; AI ThinQ & WebOS 22; 3 x HDMI ports, 1 x USB ports, RF capable ( 1 input and 1 output), 1 X Ethernet and support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0. Samsung 43-inch Crystal 4K Neo Series Ultra HD Smart LED TV UA43AUE65AKXXL (Black) It is available for Rs 30,999 against MRP Rs 59,999. Also, Amazon is offering up to Rs 8,050 discount via exchange deal. And, customers with SBI credit card can claim additional Rs 1,500 off. It comes with 20 Watts Output | Powerful Speakers with Dolby Digital Plus | Q Symphony; Display: 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160p)|One Billion Colors | New Bezel-less Design | Supports HDR 10+ | PurColor | Mega Contarst | UHD Dimming | Auto Game Mode | Refresh Rate: 50Hz | OS, 3 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, RF capable ( 1 input and 1 output), 1 X Ethernet and support Wi--Fi and Bluetooth. Redmi 50-inch 4K Ultra HD Android Smart LED TV X50 (L50M6-RA) Black It is available for Rs 28,999 against MRP Rs 44,999. Also, Amazon is offering up to Rs 8,040 discount. It comes with 30 Watts audio output, Dolby Audio, DTS Virtual: X, Dolby Atmos pass-through eARC, DTS-HD; Display: 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) | Refresh Rate: 60Hz | Viewing angle: 178 Degree; Panel: 4K LED, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HLG, Reality Flow, Vivid Picture Engine; Android TV-based Patchwall, 3 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, RF capable ( 1 input and 1 output), 1 X Ethernet and support Wi-Fi (2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac ; 2x2 MIMO)) and Bluetooth 5.0. OnePlus 32-inch Y Series HD Ready Smart Android LED TV 32 Y1S (Black) It is available for Rs 12,999 against MRP of Rs 21,999. Also, Amazon is offering up to Rs 8,050 discount via an exchange offer. Customers with SBI credit card can claim 10 per cent extra off. It comes with 20W speaker output; Display: HD Ready (1366x768p), Bezel-less Design; LED Panel; Anti-Aliasing; Gamma Engine; HDR10+, HDR10, HLG; Refresh Rate: 60Hz | Android TV 11 OS, 2 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, 1x Ethernet and support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. AmazonBasics 32-inch HD Ready Smart LED Fire TV AB32E10SS (Black) It is available for Rs 10,999 against MRP Rs 27,999. Also, Amazon is offering up to Rs 8,050 discount via an exchange offer. Customers with SBI credit card can claim 10 per cent extra off. It comes with 20W speakers tuned with Dolby Audio and DTS Tru Surround; Display: HD Ready (1366x768p), A+ Grade LED panel, Refresh Rate: 60Hz | built-in Fire TV | Built-in Alexa and Alexa voice controls; 2 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, 1x Ethernet and support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cybersecurity, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech. Last week, Flipkart kicked off the pre-festive Big Billion Days sale in India. The Walmart-owned company is offering up to 70 per cent discount on smart TVs from popular consumer electronics brands such as Samsung, LG, and Sony, among others. Here is the list of top smart TV deals worth checking during the Flipkart Big Billion Days (September 23-30): Samsung The Frame 2021 Series 55-inch QLED Ultra HD (4K) Smart Tizen TV (QA55LS03AAKLXL) It is available for Rs 75,999 against MRP Rs 1,44, 900. Also, Flipkart is offering up to Rs 11,000 off via exchange deals. Also, Consumers with either ICICI or Axis credit cards claim an additional flat 10 per cent discount (up to Rs 1,500). It comes with 40 Watts Output - 4 channels, Dolby Digital Plus, Surround Sound, Active Voice Amplifier, Adaptive Sound+, Q Symphony, Display: 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160), Refresh Rate: 120 Hertz, 178-degree viewing angle, QLED Panel, Ultra HD (4k) QLED Panel, Adaptive Picture, HDR 10+, Film Mode, Super Ultra Wide Game View, Tizen OS, 16GB storage, 1.5GB RAM, Apple AirPlay 2, 4 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, 1 X Ethernet and support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Sony Bravia 55-inch inch Ultra HD (4K) LED Smart Google TV (KD-55X80AJ: 2021): It is available for Rs 63,999 against MRP Rs 1,09,900. Also, Flipkart is offering up to Rs 11,000 discount. Also, Consumers with either ICICI or Axis credit card claim an additional flat 10 per cent discount (up to Rs 1,500). It comes with 2 speakers with 20W output, DTS Digital Surround, Display: 4K (1366x768p), 178-degree viewing angle, Refresh Rate: 60Hertz, LED panel, X1 4K HDR Processor, 4K X-Reality PRO, Google TV OS, 4 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, RF capable ( 1 input and 1 output), 1 X Ethernet and support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. LG 55-inch Ultra HD (4K) LED Smart WebOS TV 2022 Edition (55UQ8020PSB) It is available for Rs 47,990 against MRP Rs 84,990. Also, Flipkart is offering up to Rs 15,000 discount. Also, Consumers with either ICICI or Axis credit card claim an additional flat 10 per cent discount (up to Rs 1,500). And, Axis-Flipkart credit card, buyers can claim 8 per cent off. It comes with 2 speakers with 20W output, DTS Digital Surround, Display: 4K (1366x768p), 178-degree viewing angle, Refresh Rate: 60Hertz, LED panel, WebOS, 3 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, RF capable, and support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. OnePlus U1S 55-inch Ultra HD (4K) LED Smart Android TV with Far-field and Dolby Audio (55UC1A00) 2021 edition: It is available for Rs 39,999 against MRP Rs 59,999. Also, Flipkart is offering up to Rs 11,000 discount. Also, Consumers with either ICICI or Axis credit/debit card claim an additional flat 10 per cent discount (up to Rs 1,500). It comes with a 20W speaker, Dolby Audio, Co-tuned with Dynaudio, Display: 4K (1366x768p), Gamma Engine, 178-degree viewing angle, Refresh Rate: 60Hertz, Direct LED panel, Google TV OS, 3 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, RF capable, 1 X Ethernet and support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Realme 43-inch Ultra HD (4K) LED Smart Android TV with Handsfree Voice Search and Dolby Vision & Atmos (RMV2004) 2021 model: It is available for Rs 22,999 against MRP of Rs 32,999. Also, Flipkart is offering up to Rs 11,000 discount via an exchange deal. Also, Axis /ICICI credit card users claim an additional flat 10 per cent discount (up to Rs 1,500). And, Axis-Flipkart credit card, buyers can claim 8 per cent off. It comes with 4 speakers with 24W output, Dolby Atmos, DTS, Quad Stereo Speakers, Display: Ultra HD (4K: 3840 x 2160p), Display type: Direct LED, Refresh Rate: 60Hertz, 178-degree wide-angle view, Android TV 3 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, RF capable, Google Assistant, Chromecast in-built and support dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Mi 5A 32-inch HD Ready LED Smart Android TV with Dolby Audio (2022 Model) It is available for Rs 11,999 against MRP of Rs 24,999. Also, Flipkart is offering up to Rs 11,000 discount via an exchange deal. Also, Axis/ICICI credit card users claim an additional flat 10 per cent discount (up to Rs 1,500). It comes with 2 speakers with 20W output, DTS Virtual X, Display: HD Ready (1366x768p), Refresh Rate: 60Hertz, Vivid Picture Engine, Android TV-based PatchWall OS, 2 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, RF capable and support dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Samsung 32-inch HD Ready LED TV UA32T4380AKXXL Black (2022 Model): It is available for Rs 13,499 against MRP Rs 18,900. Also, Flipkart is offering up to Rs 11,000 discount via an exchange deal. Also, Axis credit card users claim an additional flat 10 per cent discount (up to Rs 1,500). It comes with 2 speakers with 20W output, Display: HD Ready (1366x768p), Refresh Rate: 50Hertz, LED panel, Tizen OS, 2 x HDMI ports, 1 x USB ports, RF capable and support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cybersecurity, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech. With his call to expand the UN Security Council, US President Joe Biden has injected momentum into decades of stagnant talk of reform but it remains far from certain whether this time change will happen. The annual UN General Assembly summit, which ended Monday, saw familiar speeches from the developing world on the purported injustice of the 15-member Security Council, where five nations considered victors in World War II -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- wield veto power. But this time the reform pleas were joined by Western nations that have been exasperated by Russia, in recent years the most enthusiastic user of the veto, which it can use to block any Security Council action over its invasion of Ukraine. Biden in his speech said all Security Council members should use the veto only in "rare, extraordinary situations" and called for an expansion of seats. He backed permanent seats for Africa and Latin America and reiterated past US support for the bids of Japan and India. "The time has come for this institution to become more inclusive so that it can better respond to the needs of today's world," Biden said. A senior US official said Biden's intervention "underscores the seriousness" of the United States but acknowledged it would not be an immediate process. "This was never going to be a diktat or a fait accompli. The idea has always been to hear ideas and to compare notes," the official said, declining to say whether the United States would support veto power for new permanent members. Richard Gowan, who follows the United Nations for the International Crisis Group, said that US officials know they need to show some headway before the next General Assembly in September 2023. "Otherwise Biden will face accusations of having floated the idea unseriously," Gowan said. "That said, I don't think the US has a clear model for reforms in mind, or a very detailed game plan about what to do next," he said. Gowan said Biden was responding to growing unease about the Security Council, where diplomats were reading pre-written generalities in a session just as Russia attacked Ukraine. "I think the US had a simple choice. It could ignore the topic, defend its privileges as a veto power and face accusations of implicitly siding with Russia to defend a very flawed system," Gowan said. "Or it could get out ahead of other UN members and position itself as a potential leader on reform. It was far smarter to take this second course, as Biden did." The closest the United Nations had come to reform was in 2005 when Brazil, Germany, India and Japan launched a joint bid for permanent seats. China adamantly opposed a seat for Japan, a rival East Asian power and US ally, and the other three faced varying degrees of displeasure from neighboring countries. The United States saw little urgency for UN reform under then president George W. Bush, who bypassed the Security Council to invade Iraq -- a fact constantly cited by Russia when asked about high-minded US talk about the world body. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday said India and Brazil were "strong candidates" for Security Council expansion. Western diplomats saw the stance as a bid to sow divisions between the two developing powers and Germany and Japan, which have strongly opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine. William Pomeranz, director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, doubted Russia would ever green-light reform in which its veto is diluted. "They believe this is what they fought for in World War II and what they rightfully won," with the right to veto anything against Russian interests, Pomeranz said. As President Vladimir Putin "has made sovereignty and Russia's existence as a great power one of his leading causes, I do not anticipate that Russia will be willing to go along with any reform of the UN Security Council," he said. India's foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, said UN reform efforts needed to proceed "sincerely" and not be blocked by procedural tactics. There is "widespread recognition that the current architecture is anachronistic and ineffective," Jaishankar said. "It is also perceived as deeply unfair, denying entire continents and regions a voice in a forum that deliberates their future." More than 75 people have died in Iran's crackdown on 11 nights of unrest sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a rights group says, as Western nations pile pressure on the Islamic republic to end the violence. The Iranian authorities' official death toll has remained at 41 since Saturday, including several members of the security forces, as the country is rocked by its biggest wave of protests in almost three years. Demonstrators took to the streets again on Monday night -- as they have every night since Amini's death on September 16 following her arrest for allegedly breaching the country's strict rules on hijab headscarves and modest clothing -- witnesses told AFP. Also Read Iran says 450 protesters arrested in northern province In Sanandaj, the capital of Amini's western home province of Kurdistan, women climbed onto the roofs of cars to tear off their headscarves in front of cheering crowds, images published by Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) showed, with police nowhere to be seen. Tehran crowds have shouted "death to the dictator", calling for the end of the more than three-decade rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 83. Video shot from several floors above street level, purportedly in the city of Tabriz, showed people protesting to the sound of tear gas canisters being fired by security forces. IHR said at least 76 people have been killed in the crackdown that has seen sweeping restrictions imposed on the internet, including blocks on Instagram and WhatsApp. Officials said Monday they had made more than 1,200 arrests. Those taken into custody have included activists, lawyers and journalists as well as protesters. Tensions with Western powers grew as France on Monday issued its "strongest condemnation" over the "violent repression" by security forces, Germany summoned the Iranian ambassador and Canada announced sanctions. A day earlier, the European Union had deplored the crackdown and Tehran said it had called in the British and Norwegian envoys. "We call on the international community to decisively and unitedly take practical steps to stop the killing and torture of protesters," said IHR's director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. Video footage and death certificates obtained by IHR showed that "live ammunition is being directly fired at protesters," he charged. Riot police in black body armour have beaten protesters with truncheons in running street battles, and students have torn down large pictures of the supreme leader and his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in recent video footage published by AFP. Protesters have hurled rocks, torched police cars and set public buildings ablaze. At least 20 journalists have been arrested, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The Iranian judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, has stressed "the need for decisive action without leniency" against the protest instigators. But a powerful Shiite cleric long aligned with the country's ultra-conservative establishment has urged authorities to take a softer line. "The leaders must listen to the demands of the people, resolve their problems and show sensitivity to their rights," said Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani. The bloody crackdown has drawn condemnation from Western government, clouding diplomatic efforts to revive a nuclear deal between Iran and major powers that was abandoned by then US president Donald Trump in 2018. The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who has led those efforts, on Sunday slammed Iran for its "widespread and disproportionate use of force against nonviolent protesters". The United States last week imposed sanctions against the Iranian morality police, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that his own country would follow suit as part of a sanctions package "on dozens of individuals and entities". Notwithstanding protests by India, the US on Tuesday not only justified its recent approval to a $450 million package to refit F-16 fighter jets currently in the service of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), but also stressed that both the South Asian nations were its partners. After a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Secretary of State Antony Blinken told journalists that the US had not provided any new aircraft to Pakistan but only approved a sustainment programme for the American F-16 aircraft already in the service of the PAF. We have a responsibility and an obligation to whomever we provide military equipment to make it sure that they are maintained and sustained, Blinken said, adding that programme approved by the US would bolster Pakistans capability to deal with terrorist threat. Jaishankar had on Monday strongly dismissed the US governments claim that it had approved the package to support Pakistans counter-terrorism operations. Though the External Affairs Minister advised the US to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of its relations with Islamabad, the Biden Administration stressed that both India and Pakistan were partners of the US and its relation with each of them stood on its own. Blinkens meeting with Jaishankar was preceded by his talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The US Secretary of State stressed that Pakistan should have a responsible relationship with India. These (India and Pakistan) are both partners of ours, with different points of emphasis in each, and we look to both as partners, because we do have in many cases shared values, we do have in many cases shared interests. And, the relationship we have with India stands on its own; the relationship we have with Pakistan stands on its own, Ned Price, the spokesperson of the US State Department, told journalists. He was asked for the Biden Administrations response to Jaishankars comment on Monday that the US-Pakistan relations had not served the interests of any of the two nations. Jaishankar earlier had a meeting with Bidens Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon. Austin said that India and the US were taking significant steps to deepen defence cooperation from stronger information sharing and defense industrial ties to cooperation in emerging defence domains. Today, we are positioning the US and Indian militaries to operate and coordinate more closely together than ever," the US Secretary of Defence said, noting that the armed forces of India and the US were enhancing interoperability. He also added that India had already purchased Apache and Seahawk helicopters and had expressed interest in other US defence capabilities. Defence and Security cooperation is a key pillar of the contemporary India-US partnership. We noted the steady progress in policy exchange, interoperability, defence trade, service exercises and military-industrial cooperation, Jaishankar tweeted after meeting Austin. Earlier on September 14, Austin had a phone call with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who too had conveyed India's displeasure over the US move to refit the Pakistani F-16 aircraft. India had earlier accused the PAF of using the US F-16 aircraft against India while retaliating to the IAFs air-strike on a terror camp deep inside Pakistan in February 2019. The Election Commission (EC) of India is likely to focus on the issue of internal democracy within the political parties soon. The EC has been delisting Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) since May for not complying with the EC norms. An official said the EC will ask parties to follow the internal democracy commitments, though the Representation of the People Act, 1951 does not mandate the internal elections. The EC guidelines for parties applying for registration mention that applicants should submit a copy of the party's constitution, a report in The Hindu said. There should be a specific provision in the Constitution/rules and regulations/memorandum of the party regarding organisational elections at different levels and the periodicity of such elections and terms of office of the office-bearers of the party (sic), the EC guidelines say. The commission has asked the Law Ministry for the power to deregister political parties in the past, but the proposal has not been accepted so far. The rebellion of Ashok Gehlot supporters has queered the pitch for Congress presidential election with the Rajasthan Chief Minister appeared to have earned the displeasure of the High Command, as the party on Monday dangled the disciplinary sword after MLAs refused to attend Legislature Party meeting by holding a parallel deliberations and insisting on three demands with strings to be put on a resolution. Stay tuned for live updates Dismissing the US governments claim that it had approved the $450 million package to refit Pakistans F-16 fighter jets to support counter-terrorism operations, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called the western nation's bluff and said, You are not fooling anybody. For someone to say I am doing this because it is all counter-terrorism content, and so when you are talking of an aircraft like a capability of an F-16 where you know where they are deployed. You are not fooling anybody by saying these things, Jaishankar said at an event in Washington, ahead of his meeting with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. There could be a likely meeting of Blinken with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at the Department of State, before Blinken hosts a working dinner for Jaishankar in Virginia. Jaishankar was replying to a query on Indias view on the Biden administrations recent approval to a programme for repair, modification and maintenance of the American F-16 fighter jets currently in service of the Pakistan Air Force as well as for supply of spares for the aircraft. If I were to speak to an American policymaker, I would really make the case (that) look what you are doing forget about us, its actually not good for you; look at the last three years where this relationship has gone and what cost you have paid, the External Affairs Minister said articulating Indias views on the relations between Pakistan and the US. The move by the Biden Administration signalled reversal of the erstwhile Trump administrations 2018 decision to suspend American security and defence assistance to Pakistan, particularly because the US was frustrated with the continued support provided by the nations military spy agency to terrorists, who were targeting its neighbours like India and Afghanistan in the region. Very honestly, its a relationship that has neither ended up serving Pakistan well, nor serving the American interests, Jaishankar said, reacting to the decision of the Biden administration. So, it is really for the United States today to reflect on what are the merits of this relationship and what do they get by it. The US State Department had approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Pakistan of F-16 Case for Sustainment and related equipment for an estimated cost of $450 million, according to a press release early this year. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) had delivered the required certification notifying the US Congress of the possible sale on September 7. The proposed sale does not include any new capabilities, weapons, or munitions, the DSCA had stated, adding that it would support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the US by allowing Pakistan to retain interoperability with the US and partner forces in ongoing counter-terrorism efforts and in preparation for future contingency operations. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier conveyed to his US counterpart Indias displeasure over the Biden administrations approval for the F-16 refit package for the PAF aircraft. India had earlier accused the PAF of using the US F-16 aircraft against India while retaliating to the IAFs air-strike on a terror camp deep inside Pakistan in February 2019. Coffee, tea, and chocolate are loved across the world. Some cannot start the day or meet a friend without a cup of coffee or tea. Children love chocolates and many parents comfort their children with a mention of chocolate. But will these commodities become rare and expensive? The availability and prices of coffee, tea and cocoa are determined by global factors. Climate change could threaten their production across the world. Coffee: Around 2.5 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day. Coffee is the second largest commodity traded in the world, next only to petroleum oil, and it is cultivated in more than 70 countries. Much of coffee is cultivated in Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Guatemala and India. India produces two types of coffee, Arabica and robusta. Major coffee growing regions in India are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the North-east. The area under coffee cultivation in India is estimated to be 4,65,000 ha and it provides livelihood for nearly 1.5 million families. The variation in rainfall, temperature, humidity, soil moisture and nutrient availability impact the growth and productivity of coffee plants. Rainfall occurring after the blossoming stage delays the harvest and also leads to low crop quality. The occurrence of extreme rainfall events with no dry period may lead to low coffee yields and crop damage. A recent review of studies in 2020 concluded that areas suitable for coffee cultivation could decline by about 50% under moderate climate change projection scenarios by 2050 for both Arabica and robusta. Another study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes that the area not suitable for coffee cultivation could be as high as 88% in Latin America, the dominant producer, by 2050. About half of the land around the world currently used to produce high-quality coffee could be unproductive by 2050, according to a recent study whose findings were published in the journal Climatic Change. Coffee is a globally traded product and any impact on it in one part of the world will impact availability and price in the rest, including India. Tea: Tea is the second most consumed drink globally, next only to water. It is an important agricultural commodity, both commercially and culturally. Tea cultivation is one of the main livelihood options for many countries such as China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. In India, the major tea producing states are Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The area under tea cultivation in India is estimated to be 5,66,000 ha with Assam being the largest tea cultivating state. Changing climate over recent decades has impacted tea production. Prolonged droughts, excessive precipitation within a short period, temperature extremes, increase in insect and disease infestation, emergence of new insect pest species, and wind velocity are the major climate-related factors affecting tea cultivation. Studies have shown that variations in temperature and precipitation impact tea yield as well and alter the chemical balance that gives tea its flavour and potential health benefits. The increase in rainfall causes erosion and water logging, damaging root development and reducing yield. Shifts in monsoon seasons are leading to shorter growing seasons and harvests. Studies have also shown that, in West Bengal, farmers are shifting to higher altitudes to combat the effects of climate change. The exposure of tea plants to increasing temperatures is also leading to increased pests. About 20-30% of tea components are made up of antioxidants and 35-50% account for secondary metabolites. These components are also vulnerable to climate change, which alters the crops phytochemical and organoleptic (texture, colour, taste, visual appeal, aroma) properties, which in turn can impact market prices and consumer demand. Cocoa: This is largely produced in African countries such as Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, and also in India and Indonesia. In India, cocoa is largely produced in Andhra Pradesh, followed by Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in an area of around 103,376 ha with a total production of 27,072 tonnes. Studies have shown that the current cocoa producing regions may no longer be suitable for cocoa production in the next 30 years if measures are not taken to combat climate change. The global demand for cocoa and its byproducts will continue to increase over the next decade. This is leading to research to develop adaptation measures for cocoa production. Climate change, along with unsustainable farming techniques, has led to a decline in cocoa production around the globe and some regions have already become unsuitable for cocoa production. Longer dry seasons, new pests and diseases are reducing the yields and quality, and reducing farmers incomes. This will impact the production of chocolate and other cocoa products. Coffee, tea and chocolate are so much a part of our life that we cannot imagine a day without them. Climate change could impact the yield, production, taste, aroma, health benefits and the prices of these products. Further, climate change could impact the livelihoods of millions of farmers, traders and processing units. Thus, there is a need for research on how farmers growing these crops could adapt to changing climate. This may require development of new climate resilient varieties, and better water management and processing practices. It is hoped that coffee, tea and cocoa development boards are considering climate change seriously, since research is region specific and could take years. We need to start now. (Ravindranath is a retired professor and Sushma is a research staffer, IISc) The Karnataka Police have arrested eight persons in connection with a case of attack on the Circle Police Inspector Srimanth Illal in Maharashtra during a raid on ganja fields, state Home Minister Araga Jnanendra stated here on Tuesday. "We have also recovered the service revolver which the miscreant gang had snatched during the attack," he underlined. Jnanendra further stated that the Inspector was yet to regain consciousness and treatment was continuing. The arrested persons have been grilled to dig out the complete nexus. The Karnataka Police had airlifted the Circle Inspector on Monday to the Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru. Inspector Srimanth was attacked by a gang of 40 ganja (marijuana) growers in Maharashtra. The special arrangement of the air ambulance was made following the Inspector's failing health condition. The incident had taken place on September 23 in the Taruri village of Umarga taluka in Manthala police station limits of Maharashtra. The police had arrested Naveen from Kalaburagi and Santosh from Bhosaga in Basavakalyan taluk on charges of selling ganja. Based on their information, Kamalapur police inspector Srimanth and a 10-member police team had raided an agriculture field in Maharashtra close to the Karnataka border, 80 kilometers away from Kalaburagi. A gang of 40 persons, who surfaced suddenly with wooden logs and stones, attacked the police team. Though Srimanth tried to open fire, the attackers overpowered him. He sustained injuries on his face, chest and stomach. His condition is said to be critical. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. A woman who breached her no alcohol bail conditions by having a breath reading more than 3 times the legal limit has been re-released on bail. Denise Carlin (41) of Corrody Road in Derry appeared at the local Magistrate's Court charged with criminal damage to a window and making threats to kill on August 31 with the offences aggravated by domestic abuse. A police officer connected the accused to the charges and did not oppose bail. He told the court that police were attending a different incident and heard shouting coming from Corrody Road. They investigated and found the defendant walking away from an address. She was breath tested and a reading of 121mgs was recorded putting her in breach of her bail conditions. Defence counsel Sinead Rogan said her client had been on police bail that meant she could not contact the alleged injured party or be intoxicated. District Judge Barney McElholm released Carlin on bail on condition she did not go within 50 yards of the alleged victim's address. She will appear again on October 24. Foyle Port has been announced as the lead sponsor of a major cross-border conference which An Taoiseach Micheal Martin TD will address later this month. The Centre for Cross Border Studies Annual Conference will take place on 29th and 30th September at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Dundalk and focus on Commitment, Resilience and Perseverance: New challenges and approaches to cross-border cooperation, mobility, and relations, exploring important issues in cross-border cooperation across two days, bringing together government officials, policy experts and leaders in academia and civic society. The Taoiseach will deliver a keynote speech on 29 September focused on the Governments commitment to work with all communities on the island to build consensus around a shared future, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement. The British Ambassador to Ireland, Paul Johnston, and civil rights activist Bernadette McAliskey will also address the conference. Foyle Port is the marine gateway to the North West of Ireland, located at Lisahally terminal in Derry. Established as the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners in 1854, the Port now handles approximately two million tonnes of cargo per annum, supporting over 1000 direct and indirect jobs. The Port facilitates crucial imports of essential agri-products, supporting approximately 20,000 farms, and has ambitious plans to exploit their proximity to industrial power, deep water and data connectivity to decarbonise towards a sustainable future. Brian McGrath, Chief Executive, Foyle Port said: Foyle Port is proud to be supporting this years Centre for Cross Border Studies Annual Conference, at a particularly crucial time for relations across these islands as we address the major fiscal and economic challenges ahead. As a major institution which thrives on all-island prosperity and a strong cross-border economy, Foyle Port has a strategic interest in maximising our strategic location to support regional economic growth. Dr Anthony Soares, Director of the Centre for Cross Border Studies, added: A cornerstone of our political and social engagement is our Annual Conference that brings together influential individuals to discuss the need for cooperation based on mutual understanding. We are, therefore, thrilled to have the backing of Foyle Port as our lead sponsor. Foyle Port is a leading cross-border organisation which is deeply ingrained in the North West of our island. They provide a vital service for our businesses, workers, and households and maintain strong and positive relations with policy makers and key influencers across these islands. With relationships strained like never before, and with the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement on the horizon, it has never been as important to renew relationships with a sense of energy and focus for all our people. Foyle Port sets the exemplar for cooperation and relationship building across the island of Ireland. For more information, please visit https://crossborder.ie/conferences /ccbs-23rd-annual-conference/ A County Derry political representative has criticised a recent research report advocating 'radical change' to the Northern Ireland education system, claiming it to be a 'contradiction' to improving diversity and inclusivity. East Derry representative for Aontu, Gemma Brolly, said the paper was 'intent on eradicating Christian ethos' from the system, and that it pushed a 'false narrative'. The briefing paper - produced by Ulster University's Unesco Education Centre and was funded by the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) - was published on September 20. It articulates a 'vision' for the future of education within NI, concluding that 'as a society we cannot afford, in all the meanings of the term, to retain the current system'. However, Mrs Brolly took issue with a section of the report that suggested the repeal of legislation 'requiring schools to teach a Christian focused programme of RE and to conduct a Daily Act of Collective Worship'. "The existence of Christian-Focused Religious Education as a choice, offered to parents and their children, enriches our pluralistic society," she said. "This research paper states that 'Church involvement in the drawing up of the RE specification needs to be revised in order that a genuinely pluralistic and inclusive programme of education can be developed, delivered and quality assured in practice'. "There is no body of evidence to demonstrate this form of education breeds division or sectarianism. "There is, however, extensive evidence and examples of Christian-Focused schools overcoming division and welcoming diversity, opening their doors and accommodating with emphasis on the needs and best interests of the child. "Many pupils have opted to go to Christian-focused schools to receive a first rate education where the Christian ethos does not 'pervade daily routine' but is naturally intertwined throughout their routine. "Such an education is valued because it moulds our young people to be the best they can be, not only within school but within their own communities." The publication refers to 'the illusion of school choice' and the 'cost of choice' in both wasted capacity and and in terms of money. Mrs Brolly however said the paper does not place enough value on parental choice, citing the Human Rights Act. "This paper pushes the false narrative that Christian ethos is drummed into our students and totally disregards the concept of parental choice," she said. "We believe Christian-Focused Education is a wonderful component of our pluralist education system. We believe in human rights. "How can the removal of parental choice advance diversity and inclusivity? "We have great faith in a pluralist education system within a pluralist society and will not allow any individual ethos to be scapegoated for the failures of governments and leaders past," she added. The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) have honoured John and Pat Humes contribution to the Credit Union Movement in Derry and throughout Ireland by announcing their support for 'Beyond Belief', a major new drama honouring the waking life of the esteemed peacebuilders. One of John and Pat Humes first steps in creating their legacy is the role they played in founding Derry Credit Union and the life-changing impact the credit union has had on the people of this city. John considered this his greatest living achievement. John Hume was the youngest ever President of Derry Credit Union, and volunteered in the credit union not only as a director, but also after work and on weekends, engaging with members, educating them on the principles of credit union, and collecting members savings and loan payments. Long after the credit union doors closed each evening, Pat stayed on to update each members account by counting and painstakingly recording the money collected each day. She was an advocate for the financial emancipation of Derrys women and an example of how the family unit as a whole was strengthened when women were empowered financially with a credit union account of their own. The Irish League of Credit Unions will now honour that legacy by announcing funding of 45,000 for Beyond Belief, screened live across the world as part of 2023 global commemorations marking the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, and performed by the people of Derry in the citys Guildhall. Delivered in partnership between The Playhouse and The John & Pat Hume Foundation, the production will be created by writer and poet Damian Gorman, Brian ODoherty (composer) and directed by Kieran Griffiths. Telling John and Pats story through the medium of music theatre, Beyond Belief is the second part of a peacebuilding trilogy by The Playhouse, following the phenomenal success of The White Handkerchief, which premiered in the Guildhall on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, 30th January 2022. The production also marks the beginning of a partnership between The Playhouse and The John & Pat Hume Foundation, signifying their shared mission to promote leadership for positive change and social justice. As with The White Handkerchief, members of The Playhouse Music Theatre Company will make up the ensemble for the production, (with some auditioning for major roles), having taken part in world class training with The Playhouse. Launched in May 2021, The Playhouse Music Theatre Company offers world class music theatre training to those from the city who are strong theatre performers. The late John and Pat Hume. Chief Executive Officer of The Irish League of Credit Unions David Malone said: The Irish League of Credit Unions is delighted to be supporting this production which celebrates the lives of John and Pat Hume. "As well as being one of the founders of Derry Credit Union, John was also the youngest ever President of the ILCU aged 27. During his tenure from 1964 to 1968, John travelled the length and breadth of Ireland spreading the credit union message to towns and communities, many of whom now have vibrant credit unions thanks to Johns drive and support. "John was only able to do this because of the support he had from Pat who kept things on an even keel at home while he travelled the country. Beyond Belief is a fitting tribute to this extraordinary couple. Dr Sean Farren, Chair of The John & Pat Hume Foundation said: The Hume Foundation is delighted that the Irish League of Credit Unions has agreed to generously support the play 'Beyond Belief'. "John Hume was a strong advocate of the credit union movement and their positive role as a community resource for individuals and families. John Hume often said setting up the first credit union in Northern Ireland was 'the thing I'm proudest of'. At the age of 23, John Hume was a founder member of the Derry Credit Union in 1960. By the young age of 27, he was elected President of the Irish League of Credit Unions. He knew people from a working-class background couldnt borrow from banks and when they needed access to money for normal day-to-day expenditure, their only choice was to go to loan sharks or pawn shops. The Credit Union movement was not only transformative for local people it also significantly helped local businesses. Producer and Director of the production from The Playhouse Kieran Griffiths, said, While John Hume has been described as a Titan, a Giant and a Hero of peace-making and reconciliation, 'Beyond Belief', in its words and music, will reach for the man: the man who achieved all he did not glibly, without struggle or alone, but as a human being. In re-presenting John Hume, his life and his mission a mission never fettered by shibboleth, dogma or fossilised tenet Beyond Belief will seek to inspire those generations through words, music and song. We are so honoured to have the support of a social enterprise that holds the same principles as us, those of community, co-operation, co-ownership and mutual help. PSNI chief constable Simon Byrne has said the force is sending a message that violence against women and girls will not be tolerated as he launched its first action plan for policing the issue. The police force said that women and girls are in Northern Ireland are disproportionately affected by violence, abuse and intimidation. From April 2021 to March 2022, in Northern Ireland, they made up 78% of all victims of sexual crimes, 68% of domestic abuse, 64% of harassment and as of April 2022, 95% of stalking crimes. Between 2017 and 2021, 34 women and girls across Northern Ireland were killed by men. As he launched the PSNIs first Tackling Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) action plan, Mr Byrne said those who targeted women and girls would be relentlessly pursued. The action plan is focused on prevention, early intervention, partnership working and enhanced support for victims. Mr Byrne said: We cannot ignore the lived experiences of so many female victims. Harassment, intimidation, violence and abuse is a violation of human dignity. We will be working to better recognise, understand, address and reduce the fear experienced by women and girls. We can and we will be pursuing those who seek to harm them, using every power available to us. He added: Through our action plan we will also be focused on bettering our own culture and continuing to educate our officers and staff to understand the impact of unacceptable attitudes and behaviours, taking effective and appropriate action against those who may take advantage of their trusted position in society. National Police Coordinator for Violence against Women and Girls, deputy chief constable Maggie Blyth, said: Violence against women and girls is a shameful stain on society. Too often women and girls do not feel safe at work, home, on the streets or online and perpetrators are the cause. I welcome the Police Service of Northern Irelands action plan which demonstrates their commitment to relentlessly pursue perpetrators, ensure women and girls are given safe routes to report and get support, and root out toxic misogyny in our own ranks and in society. Police are increasing the use of unique powers to bring perpetrators to justice, monitor offenders and disrupt their vile activities. Each action plan written is another crucial step towards achieving our mission to turn the tables so violent men feel under threat, and not women and girls. Womens Aid Federation of Northern Irelands CEO Sarah Mason said: The launch of the action plan to tackle violence against women and girls is an historic day for all women and girls in Northern Ireland, finally bringing Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK. The police taking this first step is welcomed by Womens Aid but we are clear that we need a whole Northern Ireland approach to tackle VAWG in all its forms and look forward to local government taking the next step. Womens Aid would like to acknowledge the partnership approach from the police service in developing this action plan. An independent advisory group will be set up to oversee the outcomes of the action plan. Health spending per person in Northern Ireland will this year fall below that in England for the first time, a new report has stated. The Northern Ireland Fiscal Councils report on the sustainability of the health service said Stormont would face increasing pressures to address inefficiencies in health, and to consider additional funding sources. The report draws on analysis commissioned from Professor John Appleby and colleagues at the Nuffield Trust, an independent health think tank. The report said the Department of Health (DoH) accounted for 49% (7 billion) of the Executives resource spending in 2021-22. In 2019-20, spending per head on health was 7% (181) higher than in England, in line with the average for the past 20 years. The report said this was broadly consistent with the estimates of the additional spending required in Northern Ireland to deliver a service equivalent to that in England due to factors like population age structure, sparsity and deprivation. But it pointed out that a draft budget published for consultation by the Minister of Finance Conor Murphy in December 2021 implied significantly slower growth in health funding over the next three years in Northern Ireland than the Treasury is financing in England. That budget had not been agreed by the Stormont parties prior to the ministerial executive imploding in February. The report said: As a result, health spending per head of population has fallen below that in England for the first time in 2022-23 and will remain 2-3% lower until at least 2024-25. The gap with the estimated need for spending is even greater and, on this basis, Northern Ireland would not be able to afford to deliver the same standard of services as in England unless it ran its services more efficiently. The analysis by the Nuffield Trust also suggests the Northern Ireland health system is less efficient than that in England. Nuffield found that hospital costs for in-patients, out-patients and day cases were 36% (410 million) higher than in England where meaningful comparisons could be made. The average unit cost of patients admitted to hospital has increased by 28% in Northern Ireland since 2016, compared to an 8% increase in England over the same period. The Nuffield analysis points to a number of potential inefficiencies in the system, among them the fact that in-patients stay in hospital for one-and-a-half days longer in Northern Ireland than England on average. It also said that people in Northern Ireland are four times more likely to be waiting for planned care than in England while the drugs budget is 43% higher per head. Prof Appleby commented: Our findings support what successive reviews have suggested. Northern Irelands hospitals are not treating as many patients as their counterparts elsewhere could with the same resources. While these are very difficult times for all health systems, this is contributing to the dire waiting times which stand between many people and the care they need. There is no magic switch to flick to treat more patients I have no doubt that people across the system are already trying very hard. Northern Ireland urgently needs a period of stability, action, and stable financial planning to make progress. It must now be an urgent priority to dig into the detail, find out how and why treatment seems to cost more, and do what must be done to change this. The NI Fiscal Council was set up by Mr Murphy to provide ongoing independent oversight of the budgetary process under the terms of the New Decade, New Approach agreement that restored powersharing at Stormont in 2020. A coroner has directed that the Northern Ireland Office sign a public interest immunity (PII) certificate in two weeks ahead of an inquest for a teenage boy shot dead by soldiers. Desmond Healey, 14, was killed in disputed circumstances during rioting in the Lenadoon area of west Belfast on August 9 1971, the day internment was introduced. Soldiers from D Company of the Parachute Regiment were involved in the fatal incident. A preliminary hearing at Laganside Courthouse on Tuesday was told that the PSNI had so far been unable to progress their application to withhold some sensitive material from the inquest. The application to redact the material is being made through the PII process, which needs to be supported by a certificate signed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland or another Northern Ireland Office minister. A planned hearing for the coroner to make a decision on the PII application is scheduled for November ahead of the full inquest later in the year. Counsel for the PSNI John Rafferty said the position remained unchanged from the previous preliminary hearing in August. He said: The position is very much the same at this stage. A certificate has not been obtained from the minister to date. Obviously in the intervening period there have been a number of changes and demands on the Northern Ireland Office. What I am instructed is that the PSNI is in regular contact with the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) seeking an update on progress, certainly they are aware of it and they are aware of the listing of the PII hearing. Coroner Maria Dougan said she appreciated there had been changes within the NIO. But she added: This matter has been under review. We have moved the PII hearing, which was listed in October, to November, to suit your client. Perhaps it would assist you if I gave a direction that I want that PII certificate in two weeks that is Tuesday October 11. You can keep my office informed, but it is Tuesday October 11 I would like that PII certificate. You can advise the ministers office. Rioting flared in nationalist and republican areas across Northern Ireland in August 1971 in response to the introduction of the controversial policy of internment without trial. Desmond died during a day of bloodshed in the wider west Belfast area as soldiers moved in to arrest and intern suspected IRA members. The Ballymurphy series of shootings, which saw 10 people shot and fatally injured over the course of three days, started on the same day. Members of the Parachute Regiment were also involved in those shootings. The next preliminary hearing has been scheduled for October 24. Where to Watch / Stream Coldplay Music of the Spheres Live Broadcast From Buenos Aires Online Theatrical release - Not available on any OTT Platform right now. Advertisements Coldplay Music of the Spheres Live Broadcast From Buenos Aires : Release Date, Trailer, Cast & Songs About Coldplay Music of the Spheres Live Broadcast From Buenos Aires Coldplay Music of the Spheres Live Broadcast From Buenos Aires was released on Sep 28, 2022 and was directed by Paul Dugdale .This movie is 2 hr 30 min in duration and is available in English language. Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion are playing as the star cast in this movie. Coldplay Music of the Spheres Live Broadcast From Buenos Aires is available in Dance and Music genre. Image Gallery Disclaimer: All content and media has been sourced from original content streaming platforms, such as Disney Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc. Digit Binge is an aggregator of content and does not claim any rights on the content. The copyrights of all the content belongs to their respective original owners and streaming service providers. All content has been linked to respective service provider platforms.This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by Advertisements Where to Watch / Stream The Good Doctor Season 5 Online Watch Now View Netflix Plan Advertisements About The Good Doctor Season 5 The Good Doctor Season 5 was released on Sep 28, 2022 and was directed by David Shore .This show is available in English language. Freddie Highmore, Hill Harper and Richard Schiff are playing as the star cast in this show. You can watch the show online on Netflix, as long as you are a subscriber to the video streaming OTT platform. The Good Doctor Season 5 scores a 8.5 digit binge rating out of 10 and is a brilliant show to watch in the Drama genre. Rating Rating 8.5/10 Rating User 0 /5 Rate this Movie The Good Doctor Season and Episode Details Season 1 Release Date : Sep 24, 2017 Season 1 Season 2 Release Date : Sep 23, 2018 the-good-doctor-season-2-807846 To see the details of this season go to the Season 2 page Season 3 Release Date : Sep 22, 2019 the-good-doctor-season-3-807847 To see the details of this season go to the Season 3 page Season 4 Release Date : Nov 01, 2020 the-good-doctor-season-4-807848 To see the details of this season go to the Season 4 page Season 5 Release Date : Sep 26, 2021 Episode 1 New Beginnings Shaun and Lea's upcoming engagement party has everyone in a festive mood; a young single mother learns her son may have contracted his cancer from a surprising source; Mateo finds out if his previous issues in America will be resolved. Episode 2 Piece of Cake Dr. Shaun Murphy and the team race to save a pregnant woman's baby and find her current situation as a convicted felon complicates it even more than they realize. Meanwhile, the hospital takes on some unexpected changes that the staff are not prepared for. Episode 3 Measure of Intelligence Shaun confronts Salen about the many changes she has implemented since coming on at St. Bonaventure. Glassman is forced to accept his new role at the hospital. Episode 4 Rationality Dr. Shaun Murphy and the team treat a young girl whose fathers personal research complicates their treatment plans. Meanwhile, Dr. Park, Dr. Reznick and Dr. Lims patient refuses a life-saving lung transplant despite having a family donor. Episode 5 Crazytown Dr. Park and Dr. Murphy treat an elderly Asian man brought to St. Bonaventure by his daughter after being the victim of a hate crime. In addition, Lea goes behind Shauns back to help raise his negative patient satisfaction scores. Episode 6 One Heart Dr. Shaun Murphy and Dr. Alex Park must grapple with a life-and-death decision and decide between saving one patient over another. Meanwhile, Dr. Morgan Reznick goes a little too far in her attempt to win Salens favor. Episode 7 Expired Shaun and Lea happen upon a terrible car accident and discover a young pregnant mother who has been badly injured and needs immediate medical attention. Dr. Glassman is apprehensive when a figure from his past reaches out for help. Episode 8 Rebellion Now that Shaun has called off the wedding, he is forced to confront Lea about their relationship and determine what he really means to her. Meanwhile, the team debate their opinions on plastic surgery and Dr. Audrey Lim hopes to expose Salens cover-up over an infants death to take her down before it is too late. Episode 9 Yippee Ki-Yay In an effort to please Salen, Andrews takes on a high-profile case and assigns Shaun and Allen to help perform a risky surgery to restore the voice of a famous pop star. Episode 10 Cheat Day Salen takes extreme measures when she learns that the surgical staff have joined Lim's efforts against her. The team treats a liver transplant patient whose organ donor unwittingly gave him cancer. Episode 11 The Family Dr. Shaun Murphy makes a personal connection with a precoious young patient which threatens his objectivity. Meanwhile, while volunteering at a long-term care facility, Dr. Morgan Reznick realizes she could help Dr. Aaron Glassmans clinic by offering telemedicine services for nursing homes and care facilities. Episode 12 Dry Spell Drs. Lim, Park and Wolke treat a woman with Valley fever and discover a secret she has been hiding from her fiance. Meanwhile, Drs. Murphy, Allen and Andrews treat a 45-year-old virgin and help her make a big decision about her life. Episode 13 Growing Pains While Drs. Lim, Murphy and Wolke help a teenage biohacker whose self- experiments begin to compromise his health, Drs. Morgan, Park, Jordan and Glassman treat a young woman who wants a controversial surgery to treat her depression and chronic pain. Additionally, Dr. Reznick looks to take the next step in her relationship with Dr. Park. Episode 14 Potluck When someone mistakenly brings a hallucinogen-laced dish to the hospital's company potluck, much of the hospital staff and doctors are incapacitated -- leaving doctors Murphy, Glassman and Allen forced to take on all the hospital's cases, further exacerbating Dr. Murphy and Dr. Glassman's conflicting work styles. Episode 15 My Way While Doctor Andrews treats a foster kid for injuries sustained at his group home, Shaun and team look to Lea's expertise with cars and auto repair to help a patient whose iron lung has broken. Meanwhile, the patient's niece, a documentarian, takes an interest in Shaun. Episode 16 The Shaun Show As Shaun and Lea head toward their wedding day, a documentary film maker has chosen to follow their lives to showcase relationships and weddings of atypical couples. Episode 17 The Lea Show Sophie takes Lea out for a day full of luxurious wedding planning. And after a near fatal oversight, Dr. Lim senses an underlying issue is behind nurse Villanueva's unprofessional behavior. Episode 18 Sons Shaun and Lea make a big life decision and are pleasantly surprised by the support they receive from their friends at the hospital. Meanwhile, when Dr. Wolke's parents show up with a revelation, Asher struggles to accept that he and his father may never truly understand one another. Season 6 Release Date : Oct 02, 2022 the-good-doctor-season-6-807850 To see the details of this season go to the Season 6 page Disclaimer: All content and media has been sourced from original content streaming platforms, such as Disney Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc. Digit Binge is an aggregator of content and does not claim any rights on the content. The copyrights of all the content belongs to their respective original owners and streaming service providers. All content has been linked to respective service provider platforms.This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by Advertisements Alaska Telephone Alaska Telephone, a subsidiary of Alaska Power & Telephone Company (AP&T), has been selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to receive a $33,017,636 grant award from USDA Rural Utility Service's ReConnect grant program to expand fiber optic connectivity in rural southeast Alaska. Alaska Telephone will invest $11,005,879 in matching funds. The Klukwan-Skagway Fiber project will develop fiber optic networks for the Alaska Native community of Klukwan, rural areas near Haines, and underserved areas of Skagway. AP&T estimates that initial construction may begin in 2023, depending on the timing of permitting and environmental approvals. Construction will be a multi-year process, with completion projected for 2028. The project utilizes existing right-of-way and previously disturbed areas, minimizing its environmental footprint and impacts. Chilkat Indian Village, Skagway Traditional Council, Sealaska Corporation, and the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska provided resolutions formally endorsing the project. Additionally, environmental groups the Sustainable Southeast Partnership and Sitka Conservation Society submitted letters of support, citing the project's support for the Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy, and the importance of broadband in diversifying southeast Alaska's economy beyond its historical dependency on legacy industries like timber and mining. Subscriber content preview TORONTO (AP) The Canadian government will no longer require people to wear masks on planes. Government officials also confirmed Canada is dropping the vaccine requirement for people entering the country at the end of the month. Canada, like the United States, requires foreign nationals to be vaccinated when entering the country. No change in the mandate is expected in the U.S. in the near term. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has agreed to let a cabinet order enforcing mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements at the border expire Sept. 30. . . . Our brains are wired differently than Democrats, so dont get too mad at them By Rachel Alexander web posted September 26, 2022 Conservatives get very frustrated at Democrats not understanding how they could harbor such strange views, resulting in assertions that they must be mentally ill. Neuroscience has revealed there are significant brain differences, particularly the fact Democrats use more emotions when they think, so maybe we shouldnt be so hard on them. Likewise, Republicans are more influenced by feelings of needing to stay safe. A flurry of neuroscience studies came out around 2012 examining the differences, with only slight advances since then. A groundbreaking study in 2013 published by PLOS ONE found that when Democrats think, they show more activity in the left insula, a region associated with emotional processing as well as addiction and social and self-awareness. In contrast, Republicans show more activity in the right amygdala, a region that plays a role in the bodys fight-or-flight system, including aggression and negative reactions to violations of personal space. Researchers found that by merely analyzing that type of brain activity, they could predict whether someone is Republican or Democrat 82.9% of the time. Darren Schreiber, a political neuroscientist at the University of Exeter in the UK, said after he discovered this difference in processing between the two, he changed his mind about whether Republicans and Democrats have different brains. Studies found that people of all political views became more conservative after 9/11, due to the fight-or-flight reaction surging. A staggering 38 percent grew more conservative in the 18 months following the attacks, as compared with only 13 percent who became more left-leaning. A study in 2013 in the American Journal of Political Science specifically focused on fear as a factor that drives the rights political views. Similarly, a study from Current Biology in 2011 found that conservative viewpoints were associated with increased right amygdala size, and left-leaning viewpoints were associated with increased gray matter volume of anterior cingulate cortex. Granted, having certain political views could also influence changes in your brain, not vice versa, which gets back to the old chicken and the egg argument. A study that just came out in July at the National Academy of Sciences found there has still been no conclusive determination here yet. That study also found that when stimulated with information meant to cause anxiety, conservatives had more activity between both the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and precuneus and the insula and frontal pole/OFC. And in addition to confirming the findings of previous studies regarding areas of the brain associated with political views, it found the hippocampus and inferior part of the opercular frontal gyrus were tied to conservatism. However, Ryota Kanai, one of the authors of the University of South Carolina study, said that political beliefs may not develop solely from social experience, that they also could have biological roots, addressed further on in this article. Similarly, the 2013 book Predisposed , which analyzed differences in the brain, argued that opposing political views between the right and left are rooted in psychological, physiological, and genetic traits, not just due to different cultures or growing up with different information. A 2012 study from the University of South Carolina found through MRI scans that Republicans show more neural activity in areas linked with tight social connectedness like family and country, while Democrats have more neural activity in areas believed to be linked with broad social connectedness, such as friends and the world at-large. This study decimated the long held stereotype that Democrats enjoyed a virtual biological lock on caring for others. This comes as no surprise since studies show that conservatives give significantly more generously than those on the left. A 2009 study in the National Library of Medicine found that Republicans have stronger views when it comes to morals generally. Democrats were more willing to betray group loyalty and disrespect authority for cash. A 2010 study in the Attention, Perception & Psychophysics journal on following eye gazes found that conservatives value personal autonomy more than those on the left, making them less likely to be influenced by others. A related study in 2011 found that conservatives are more grossed out by things than those on the left, such as viewing excrement or a mouthful of wriggling worms. This may correlate to a 2008 study at University of Nebraska-Lincoln which found that conservatives are responsive to threatening images, resulting in supporting defense spending and capital punishment. Interestingly, the differences between men and women were small. Conservatives also tend to be neater and more conscientious. Compounding things, nonpartisans show different brain activity than either those on the right or or the left, and they make up about 40% of the population. Genetics also plays a significant role in political differences; studies have found that parents political affiliations pass on to their children about 70% of the time. Perhaps most compelling of all, John Hibbing, a University of Nebraska political scientist, researched twins and found that identical twins share more political beliefs than fraternal twins. Since identical twins share more genes, he concluded , Forty, perhaps 50 percent of our political beliefs seem to have a basis in genetics. Unfortunately, some of the interpretations of these studies are clearly not accurate. Left-wing pundits gleefully declare that conservatives are not open to radical LGBT expansions because of fear but this completely overlooks other factors, such as the high prevalence of Christians on the right who object based on Biblical principles. Similarly, they declare that conservatives are opposed to abortion because of emotion while ignoring that conservatives consistently reveal higher correlations to logical reasoning than those on the left. Hibbing advises, If you think your opponents are not just being willfully bullheaded but rather have a kind of biological predisposition toward a set of beliefs, you might not spend as much time beating your head against the wall trying to get them to change. While there is some validity to this, and maybe we shouldnt get so angry at the left because many of them cant help it, you never know who isnt going to fit the general rule and can be persuaded to change their viewpoints. Rachel Alexander and her brother Andrew are co-Editors of Intellectual Conservative . She has been published in the American Spectator, Townhall.com, Fox News, NewsMax, Accuracy in Media, The Americano, ParcBench, Enter Stage Right and other publications. Home Subscriber content preview LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) A Southern California desert city rejected a proposal for a surf lagoon surrounded by hundreds of homes and hotel rooms after critics argued it's the wrong project in the midst of a punishing western drought. The city council in La Quinta, near Palm Springs, voted unanimously on Wednesday against a zoning change that would have permitted construction of the Coral Mountain project, including 600 homes and a hotel with up to 150 rooms. . . . Subscriber content preview SEATTLE The former Third Church of Christ Scientist, at 4740 17th Ave. N.E., sold last week for $3.8 million, according to King County records. The seller was an LLC associated with Alchemy Real Estate, which with a partner paid $7 million this July for the church and its unaddressed parking lot. That did not sell in the recent deal. . . . 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. Dear Giuseppe, I need to tell something about you. I would like to write about the summer that has just ended, a different summer than any other for us. As usual, August was the only month of the year when we hardly ever heard from each other, me as always in France and you who knows where. This time, however, was different. You stayed in Milan and we phoned each other almost every day, to make small talk, but above all to pursue our many projects and in particular the one we cared about most of all. Day after day our summer was filled with long chats in which we also reminded ourselves we have basically been working for decades following our passions you graphics and me architecture and I am sure, dear Giuseppe, I can tell you now, that we have achieved together an excellent synthesis of form and content. Our work is not the result of a sudden lightning bursts, but of a slow, constant and patient search for a work well done. As revealed by an FBI whistleblower that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been mired in partisanship, that should not be the case. Enough to say that the bureau has become big brother and has spied on conservatives as terrorists leading to many agents disagreeing how the direction is not desirable. FBI Becomes Administration's Puppet Against Opponents Until he was suspended, Kyle Seraphin worked with the agency for six years but was suspended with no pay. He cannot leave without asking to quit or permission reported by the Epoch Times. In an interview with host Dan Bongino on September 22, he said many of his coworkers were unhappy with the agents' dismay over the body's transformation into a weapon against digression, per Rumble. A year ago, Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers that the Department of Justice was just not targeting parents, pressuring him to tell everybody what was going on. He first supplied a member of Congress with an email that has made the rounds inside the FBI that asserts Garland instructed the utilization of the PATRIOT Act against agitating family members with the tag, "EDUOFFICIALS." While castigating Garland for making misleading statements to Congress over the same period in May, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mike Johnson (R-La.) asserted that the inquests implicated family members who've been frustrated about mask imperatives as well as state elected officials who openly expressed resistance to vaccine demands. Later in the interview, Seraphin, an FBI whistleblower, remarked that considering the FBI's politicization leads to an existing divisive nature, more agents would come forward in the long run. Read Also: Emmanuel Macron Facts: Interesting Info You May Not Know About The French President Regarding the FBI's investigations into January 6, 2021, Capitol breach, parents at board meetings, and Hunter Biden's laptop, Jordan claimed that at least 14 FBI leakers have also come forward in recent months and provided information about the latest actions within the bureau. FBI Whistleblower's Statement In discussion with The Washington Times the other week, Seraphin claimed that the majority of the bureau's inquests into right extremists, white nationalists, and violent domestic extremism are entrapment activities for questionable moral and ethical foundational principles. He disclosed that his team had been assigned to several investigations between 2018 and 2021 and talked about how to deal with alleged terrorists. This demonstrates a huge gap between the supply and demand of white supremacy. While there is a legal definition that allows them to avoid it, the institution's game plan in combatting terrorism inquests is constantly and unequivocally equivalent to trapping. He last stated to the Washington Times that the agency lacks a precise definition of the cases it is associated with. He added that the internal process for determining every national priority was absurd. A bureau representative reportedly told media that accusations of trapping are baseless. Based on the FBI, the comment is false and showcases a blindingly obvious incorrect interpretation of investigation policies and procedures. Seraphin brings up the August 8 raid on former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. The former president referred to it as a witch hunt that the Democrats had started to discredit his plans for 2024. He recounted the search and appeared to doubt the agents' participation, adding that he would not partake if asked. Seraphin, the FBI whistleblower said that the politicization of the agency had not yielded anything good because it attacks American conservatives. Related Article: NY Economist 'Doctor Doom' Gives a Dreadful Warning of Terrible US Recession Ahead @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. National broadcaster and mum, Alison Curtis has this week launched Trick or Treat for Sick Children', Childrens Health Foundations annual fundraising campaign, with the help of Childrens Health Ireland patients Joy Harper (7), Luke Staunton (11), and Noah Daly (3). Proudly supported by MiWadi, Trick or Treat for Sick Children raises vital funds to support patients and their families in Childrens Health Ireland at Crumlin, Temple Street, Tallaght, and Connolly. Childrens Health Foundation is calling on individuals, families, community groups, schools, creches and more across Co. Louth to get spooky this Halloween by dressing up, hosting your own Trick or Treat party, and raising funds to support sick children and their families in Childrens Health Ireland hospitals and urgent care centres. Getting involved couldnt be easier, simply visit www.childrenshealth.ie/ trickortreat to sign up for your free party pack. Your monster bash can be as big or as small as you like, and the funds you raise will be put to work where they are needed most in Childrens Health Ireland at Crumlin, Temple Street, Tallaght, and Connolly to support sick children from all over Ireland. Celebrating the ten-year the partnership, that has helped to raise over 3.2million to date, MiWadi has created a podcast mini-series of fantastical Halloween-inspired short stories, fuelled by the imaginations of Joy, Luke and Noah, chronicling tales of bravery and adventure. The first episode entitled Joy vs The Monsters of Springlawn Green is inspired by 7-year-old Joy Harper, who demonstrates her monster spirit and bravery by taking on some friendly neighbourhood monsters as she trick or treats with her siblings and best friends. MiWadi created the limited podcasts series to illustrate the challenges that sick children in Ireland face each day and the mighty spirit they require to overcome such obstacles in life. The series of bite-sized Halloween stories features three episodes and is inspired by tales of bravery and adventure from three young patients and are perfect for little ears as they get in the spirit for the Halloween season. The series will be available from all podcast streaming platforms from 7th October right up until Halloween. Speaking at the launch of Trick or Treat for Sick Children, Denise Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of Childrens Health Foundation said, This year marks an important milestone for Childrens Health Foundation and our Trick or Treat campaign, as we celebrate an amazing ten years with MiWadi as campaign sponsors. "We are so grateful to all our Trick or Treaters across the country who support this important campaign each year and we are excited encourage families, communities, creches, schools, companies and more across Ireland to gather once again this Halloween to support sick children and their families in Childrens Health Ireland hospitals and urgent care centres. Thank you to everyone in MiWadi for your support over the past decade and for sharing our vision of giving every sick child the very best chance. Caroline Hyde, Marketing Manager, MiWadi, Britvic Ireland commented, This is truly a special year for us. We are so proud to mark the 10th year of our Trick or Treat partnership. At MiWadi, we live through the lens of imagination and we are so excited to mark the tenth year by putting the stories of the Childrens Health Ireland patients front and centre. We hope that this year will be the biggest year yet! Speaking at the launch of the 2022 campaign, Alison Curtis, said, Im so honoured to be part of the Trick or Treat campaign. I have long admired this campaign as it supports the very fabric of our society; children who, despite facing great challenges early in life, can through the support of their families and unwavering support of Childrenss Health Ireland, can persevere and go on to achieve great things. Throughout the campaign, MiWadi will be sharing their top tricks and tips on social media to help get the party startled. Check it out at www.instagram.com/miwadi_ ireland. To register for a Trick or Treat for Sick Children Party Pack, register www.childrenshealth.ie/ trickortreat or call 01 709 1700 which includes posters, stickers and much more. Twenty-two women have been elected to Louth County Council since the foundation of the State and the council is bucking the national trend with 12 female councillors out of 29 but unfortunately this is not replicated throughout rural Ireland. A seminar aimed at increasing the diversity of women in Local Government was hosted by Louth County Council in association with See Her Elected (SHE) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dundalk today. The seminar included panel discussions with local and national politicians as well as speakers from diverse groups. Joan Martin, Chief Executive of Louth County Council, welcomed the convening of the seminar as an important step in increasing diversity in local government: Louth has a great diversity in its population, and it is important that local government reflects that diversity throughout all its decision making to better serve our citizens. Ms Martin said that the seminar was not a once off event and she noted that the council would be taking actions locally through the PPN network to encourage more people from diverse backgrounds to get involved in politics and she noted that while Louth County Council had plenty of women, there was not plenty of diversity. Fine Gaels Mary Mitchell O Connor former Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and Minister of State who served as TD in Dun Laoghaire constituency from 2011 to 2020 was one of the main guest speakers at the seminar. She noted that politics can be a cruel business, but it can also lead to great success and achievements, and she highlighted the fact that she introduced the Senior Academic Leadership Programme while Minister for State for Higher Education in a bid to see more women hold posts as Professors within the third level sector. Referring to her career in politics, Ms Mitchell O Connor said that she had been subjected to inappropriate commentary about her appearance rather than her ability to do the job and she noted there was a perception of what a Minister should look like. My hair drove people mad. A Minister said to me at least five times that I should put up my hair or cut my hair, get rid of the blonde or wear glasses, said Ms Mitchell O Connor. An advocate for gender quotas, Ms O Connor warned potential candidates not to be used by a party and she continued: Dont let a party run you as an outsider. Make sure you have a good chance of getting elected. Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council, Cllr Conor Keelan noted that with 12 female councillors out of 29, Co Louth had one of the higher female representations. Cllr Keelan said that it was a serious error of national Government to abolish town councils as he noted they had been a stepping-stone for female and younger councillors. Dr Michelle Maher, Programme Manager with See Her Elected, the award-winning Government funded project which aims to encourage women from rural areas to engage in local politics, delivered the opening address. Dr Maher said: Louth County Council is bucking the national trend as there are 12 female councillors out of 29 but unfortunately this is not replicated throughout rural Ireland. There are only three women out of 18 councillors on Monaghan County Council and only four women out of 18 in Cavan County Council for example. It is important to have a female perspective at decision making level as this will ensure more balanced decisions are made on a range of issues which matter to us as women whether thats climate change, employment, parenting, care, or violence against women for example. In the last local elections, the people of Louth were presented with 60 candidates of which 14 were women (23%) and they elected nine of those women to the 29 council seats (31%). With subsequent changes following Cllr Colm Markey becoming an MEP, Cllr Erin McGreehan being appointed a senator, and the sad passing of Cllrs Hugh Conlon and Oliver Tully (RIP) there are now 12 women councillors in Louth and at 41% that puts them almost at the top of the leader board when it comes to women in councils. Credit to Louth County Council for not just resting on their laurels. They want to see the election results return a 50/50 council, with a growing diversity in who the councillors are so, that they more closely resemble the population they represent. The event featured a diverse panel of local and national politicians with the Journey into Politics panel featuring Senator Erin McGreehan and Louth County Councillors, Edel Corrigan, Paula Butterly and Marianne Butler with apologies from Maeve Yore and Michelle Hall. Cllr Edel Corrigan said she was motivated to become involved in politics as older men were making the decisions which affected the whole community and she urged women to go for it and challenge themselves and others. Senator Erin McGreehan urged women to be unapologetically ambitious saying: If you think you can do it, go for it. Be that voice and position yourself to be heard. Senator McGreehan noted that her first taste of politics was being the driver of change so that girls could be altar servers while she was in primary school- I was never one to have someone speak for me. I always wanted to change things, said Senator McGreehan. Cllr Paula Butterly said that women can very often make demands of themselves more than men and she noted that women often underestimate their own abilities and that sometimes they need to get out of their own way. Cllr Marianne Butler spoke about running for election when her child was ten months old and she urged women to do their research. Dont wait for there to be a right time or a perfect time- there will never be a perfect time- you just have to go for it, said Cllr Butler. The second panel discussion entitled Diverse Pathways into Politics included a range of speakers from diverse groups such as Ejiro Ohare Stratton from Hands 4 Unity an organisation to educate and empower women; Lorna Costello from Outcomers, a support group for LGBTQ+ people, Katie Reenan a representative of Comhairle na nOg from Dundalk Grammar School and Flora Okobi from Culture Connect. Lorna Costello from Dundalk Outcomers noted that LGBTQ+ people faced barriers everyday: If you are not in a good space in your own head then you are not going to run for politics. An LGBTQ+ person could also be a Traveller or a migrant person for example so the more intersectional your identity the more barriers there are, said Ms Costello. Ejiro Ohare Stratton from Hands 4 Unity said the fact that she was black meant that she was perceived as being different. There are 12 women in Louth County Council but there is no migrant voice in the council- we also need to see more migrant voices at SPC level as we are just not part of the decision makers. Katie Reenan a representative of Comhairle na nOg from Dundalk Grammar School said she would like to see more young people being involved in the development of policy and decision making so that the voice of young people was included. Flora Okobi from Culture Connect said: Some of the beliefs or mindsets of people from my cultural background are that politics is seen as a space for men or that its a dirty game and that can discourage them from getting involved. Sinead Doody of Doody Consulting Ltd acted as facilitator for the event. See Her Elected is a joint initiative between Longford Womens Link and 50/50 North West. The project is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Fianna Fail Senator in Louth, Erin McGreehan, has today welcomed news that as part of Budget 2023, the free contraception scheme is being extended to women from 16 to 30 next year. The Government has also announced that a publicly funded IVF scheme is set to be phased in as part of spending increases on health measures. Senator McGreehan said: "Promoting womens health is an important part of the broader health agenda under the Programme for Government and is a key priority for my colleagues and I in Fianna Fail. "The extension of free contraception and the introduction of publicly funded IVF is about empowering women and forms part of a suite of measures announced as part of Budget 2023 to modernise womens healthcare. "In Ireland, those that cannot conceive naturally, and we all know those who have gone through the grief and the heartbreak of trying to start their own family and not being able to, currently receive very little, or no support within the public health system. "It will of course take time to build capacity in our public system but, today's announcement is a landmark move. "People who are desperate to have a child are the most vulnerable and hugely open to exploitation. "They are facing mental, physical and relationship challenges and on top of it all, huge financial barriers and this will go some way in alleviating the pressure and anxiety they face. "In Government, Fianna Fail is focused on creating a revolution in womens health, changing mindsets and introducing sensible, modern healthcare to ensure Irish women have full control of their reproductive health. Today's investment demonstrates the Governments commitment to listen to women and respond with action." Abnormal Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) from an unidentified deep-space source have been detected by scientists. This signal buzzed for two months that somewhat needed some explanation of how it was happening. Signals Detected From Deep-Space Over 1,863 repeat oscillations of the FRB, which had been under observation for 91 hours, were found last year, reported Science Alert. Astronomers could identify the galaxy it came from, how far away from the Milky Way galaxy it was, and what body caused it with the help of such energetic signals. The FRB 20201124A was detected with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in China and studied in a new paper by Chinese researchers from Heng Xu Peking University. A magnetar or neutron star with powerful magnetic fields was causing radio emissions. Scientists say if it should be the source of the signal, then it's a first. According to astrophysicist Bing Zhang from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, this is new for scientists. Radio Burst From Space Observed These mysterious repeating radio signals were very confusing when they were discovered about 15 years ago, and older data from 2001. The radio waves that made up these millisecond-long signal bursts had the same power as 500 million suns at their peak. Many of these signals were brief and hard to analyze, but a few repeat signals were found that helped trace galaxies as their origin. Then an achievement occurred in 2020. Fast Radio Bursts were found for the first time inside the Milky Way, not in deep space, allowing astrophysicists to connect the occurrence to magnetar activity, citing SciTech Daily. Read Also: Donald Trump Children: What You Need to Know About the 5 Trump Kids FRB 20201124A is a repeater that is uncanny when it oscillates unbelievably fast in two months, polarization at an incredible rate. It is found in a milky way like a galaxy that should not exist, though, in a place where stars are rarely formed. Polarization is the direction of light waves inside 3-D space, looking at the direction or angle of light from its source. It enables guesses of where it came from; for example, strong polarity indicates a massive magnetic source. Astronomers were able to ascertain that the origin is a magnetar predicated on the large amount of information that FRB 20201124A supplied. Strangely, the polarization of light changed over time, suggesting that the magnetic field and particle density around the source quasar or magnetar were changing. He added something else affecting the FRB in deep space, like a binary star, per Nature Communications. Another oddity is that magnetars are crushed cores of immense stars that shrink due to their own gravity. Some stars burn out their hydrogen fuel, which explodes the shell into a supernova that is followed by a collapse into their core. Stars that die fast leave these young magnetars where stars are forming somewhere in interstellar space. Supernovas are the deaths of stars that leave dust, gas, and elements to create a new proto-star. Fast Radio Bursts from deep space, especially from a magnetar with rapid oscillation, are something scientists look to study further. Related Article: Scientists Discover Octopuses Prefer Specific Arm To Use in Catching Its Prey @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Ashok Gehlot, the chief minister of Rajasthan, may not run for party president if the Congress High Command has its way. The party is currently in a crisis in Rajasthan as it attempts to choose Gehlots successor, and the national leadership believes Gehlot was responsible for the actions that led to this situation. Sachin Pilot, who was Gehlots fiercest competitor in the party and who thwarted his prospects of becoming chief minister, told his supporters that he would run against Gehlot for president. According to party insiders, Sonia Gandhi will make a final decision regarding Gehlots candidacy, and efforts are being made to find a peaceful solution to the problem within the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Rajasthan. The High Command is not persuaded by Gehlots assertion that he played no part in the parallel gathering on Sunday night that was organised by 92 party MLAs, who boycotted the CLP meeting in Jaipur in order to choose a replacement for Gehlot in the event that he were to go on to become the president of the All-India Congress Committee. Gehlot chose the time and location for the CLP meeting. His assertion that he played no part in the MLAs decision to skip the meeting is untrue, according to party insiders. Party general secretary Ajay Maken, who is in charge of the State, described the MLAs behaviour as grave indiscipline. Sonia Gandhi, the partys acting president, has received a thorough assessment from Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge on the state of politics in Rajasthan. Veterans Mallikarjun Kharge, Digvijay Singh, Mukul Vasnik, Kamal Nath, Sushil Kumar Shinde, and Pavankumar Bansal may be taken into consideration if Sonia Gandhi decides to withdraw Gehlots candidacy. The electoral committee gave Bansal two sets of nomination papers on Monday. The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday. Sonia also met with Priyanka Gandhi, Kamal Nath, and K C Venugopal to talk about the issue. The US Air Force and its Special Operations Command will continue their plans to convert this weaponized MC-130J into sea-capable airplanes. In particular, there are two projects in the vast Pacific region to see if the Hercules cargo plane can be modified to do more than it was designed to do. The first is to turn the ocean into a landing zone and, second, to retrofit the planes into makeshift bombers. Despite China's anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy in the Indo-Pacific, convert it to a bomber or a seaplane. USAF Utilizes Assets Against Technologically Advancing PLA Lt. Gen. Jim Slife, the head of AFSOC, made this statement while addressing the media on Tuesday. He continued by saying that the Hercules airlifter can be used for more than just carrying cargo, reported Defense News. If successful, the first flights of the converted cargo ships will start in 2023, which could create new possibilities for where and how special operations units can transport supplies around the globe. Slife underscores that it is feasible to land a cargo plane that has been converted or to transport special forces and equipment anywhere in the world via the ocean. He added that it ought to worry their enemies, noted Yahoo. For the forthcoming US Air Force fiscal year, which begins on October 1, Congress has not yet endorsed a defense spending plan. AFSOC's funding for MC-130J test flights is connected to that process, so its original due date for testing the concept by the end of the year would presumably be delayed indefinitely. The official added that the design is being tested in a wave tank to ensure stability. Accordingly, all of the tests ran smoothly. Read Also: Kim Jong-un Net Worth 2022: How Wealthy Is North Korea's Leader? A digital design had been started, with the decision of whether to use a pontoon on the plane's belly or a floating structure akin to a catamaran, Slife mentioned during a speech to the Air and Space Forces Association on September 7. A layout that offsets aspects like airplane drag, weight, and performance was selected by officials. It relies on an equipment kit that, with some work, could be placed as required in the field. Preparing the Airlifter The best option, as shown by Slife, is to outfit the Hercules airlifter with a special kit for waterborne operations instead of implementing advanced sea-based aircraft. The command is worried about how to handle the deployment of amphibious aircraft in a real-world setting. Even though it has been 30 years since he finished his studies in aerospace engineering, he remembers that building an amphibious aircraft will probably not be a C-130. Nevertheless, the C-130 is the component that is the available option. Another issue for those trying to transform the airlifter into a bomb truck is the logistical issues of the battlefield. The USAF evaluated the long-range Joint-to-Surface Standoff Missile cruise missile, which can strike a target miles away, from the back of a Commando II airplane last December. A B-52 Stratofortress bomber can haul a maximum of 12 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles. That is the load that will be trialed on the Hercules cargo plane. The C-17 Globemaster III airlifter is undertaking similar attempts. Slife added nothing to modify, and no special training is needed, just an adaptable platform. The officer said the US Air Force would develop the MC-130J airlifter or Hercules based on the two programs, per Air Force Technology. Related Article: How Much Is Known About the B-21 Raider, US Air Force's Most Advanced Stealth Bomber @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A security adviser to pro-Western President Maia Sandu said on Monday that Moldova cannot continue to rely solely on its neutrality and must increase its defensive military strength. Just over 1 billion leu, or 0.45% of GDP, was allotted by the former Soviet Union, one of Europes poorest nations, for defence spending this year. It submitted an application for membership in the European Union this year and strongly denounced Russias invasion of Ukraine, but it still significantly depends on Russian energy and has Russian soldiers and peacekeepers stationed in its breakaway Transdniestria area. For state stability, Dorin Recean, the security assistant, stated that Moldova can no longer rely only on foreign policy instruments, one of which is its neutral position. Moldova must begin work on enhancing its defence capability The authorities need to get the conscious support of residents who should recognise it is essential to the states survival, he said, urging money to be set aside for this undertaking. A Cork TD has described the new vacant homes tax, introduced in Budget 2023, as an absolute capitulation to landlords, speculators and private developers. The new tax will be self-assessed and will be charged at a rate that is three times the propertys local property tax rate. Sinn Fein TD for Cork North Central, Thomas Gould, said the tax amounted to the equivalent of 0.03% of properties values, which he described as as good as nothing. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said he is introducing the tax, which is expected to raise as little as 3 million a year, to increase the supply of homes for rent or purchase to meet demand. According to budget documents, the primary objective of the tax is to change behaviour rather than raise revenue. Mr Gould said the new tax represented a complete failure on the part of the Government to tackle vacant properties. I believe its an absolute capitulation to landlords, speculators and private developers, he said. A 0.03% levy or tax is as good as nothing. We were looking at a minimum of at least 7% if not higher to really incentivise landlords who are sitting on vacant homes, the Cork North-Central TD said. We have an estimate of 100,000 vacant properties in the State, 7,000 of those in Cork city and Cork county. The ministers announcement today is just going to be heart-breaking for people who are looking at vacant homes and empty houses around their communities, especially where people are looking to rent or buy properties. Mr Gould, who is a member of the Oireachtas Housing Committee, said he had raised the issue of vacancy numerous times in the Dail, and he said the lack of housing in Cork had reached crisis levels. Its a real failure of the Government to tackle vacancy, they had given a commitment that they would tackle it in this budget, and it is shameful that they have not, Mr Gould said. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. Budget airline easyJet unveiled its roadmap to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and its perhaps most notable for what it doesnt include: carbon offsetting. In its Monday announcement, the airline said it was ending its offsetting program for flights booked beginning in January, 2023 and focusing its investments instead on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), improving efficiency, carbon-capture technology and transitioning to zero-emissions technology as it becomes available. Today, were the first airline to outline an ambitious roadmap in which zero carbon emission technology plays a key role to take us to net-zero emissions by 2050 and ultimately to zero carbon emission flying across our entire fleet, easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said in a statement. Today, were announcing our roadmap to reach net-zero by 2050. Its the most ambitious airline net-zero roadmap to-date, with a focus on new technology as it becomes available pic.twitter.com/KVqyqLHtPB easyJet (@easyJet) September 26, 2022 Reducing emissions from aviation which is currently responsible for around two percent of total greenhouse gas emissions but 3.5 percent of anthropogenic climate change is a challenge because the industry relies so heavily on kerosene, a liquid fossil fuel. As public pressure increases for companies to green their business practices, major airline companies have turned to carbon offsetting programs that allow them to compensate for in-flight emissions by funding activities like tree planting that are supposed to draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to compensate. In 2019, easyJet became the first airline to say it would operate entirely net-zero flights by offsetting all of its emissions, as The Guardian reported at the time. However, this solution has proved controversial. A report from The Guardian and Greenpeaces Unearthed looked at 10 forest preservation projects that provided carbon credits to airlines including easyJet and found that, while the projects did good work on their own, it was difficult to prove that they actually offset the flights emissions. Projects estimate the emissions they have prevented by predicting how much deforestation and land clearing would have occurred without them, The Guardians Patrick Greenfield explained at the time. The reductions are then sold on as credits. We found their predictions were often inconsistent with previous levels of deforestation in the area and in some cases, the threat to the trees may have been overstated. Cases like these are why activists worry that carbon offsetting amounts to greenwashing. Verra, the nonprofit that accredited the projects for the airlines, disputed the reports findings, and easyJet said that it did not step away from offsetting because of the quality of the standards it had used, The Guardian reported further. Lundgren said that offsetting had been the right thing to do in 2019, but that the company had always planned to move beyond it. Weve said all along that we want to transition to technologies that reduce our carbon intensity from our direct operation, thats our key goal, he said, as The Guardian reported. In its Monday announcement, easyJet also said that it wanted its net-zero plan signed off on by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a collaboration between the UN and various nonprofits that advises companies on how to reduce emissions in line with the goals of the Paris agreement. SBTi requires airlines to decarbonise within their own operation, easyJet said in its announcement. SBTi has validated the airlines interim target of reducing emissions 35 percent per kilometer by 2035, making it the first airline to have its interim target validated. It also has a broader goal of reducing emissions by 78 percent per kilometer by 2050 and achieving net-zero through carbon-capture technology. The main stages on easyJets roadmap to decarbonization are: Developing zero emissions technology Improving the efficiency of its fleet Improving the efficiency of flight descents Implementing more direct flight paths Using SAF Developing carbon-capture technology If you go out and ask the public in general, they would say that the best way to decarbonise the industry would be through this zero-emission technology and that is what we are now putting more attention on to, Lundgren told reporters, according to Reuters. In the short term, most of the reductions will come from buying more fuel efficient planes, which will allow the company to cut emissions around 15 percent, The Guardian reported. Towards this goal, it has ordered 168 more Airbus A320neos. The more ambitious goal of developing zero-emissions technologies is being advanced with partners like Rolls-Royce, which is preparing to test a hydrogen engine, the airline said. What is our partnership with Rolls Royce? easyJet (@easyJet) September 26, 2022 In its announcement, the company acknowledged it needed support from the government to achieve some of its goals. For example, designing more direct routes requires the buy-in of European policy makers and may not be possible for a decade, according to The Guardian. For those who want to continue to offset their flights, easyJet will make this a voluntary option beginning in January. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is one example of a crime that would be considered ecocide. John Kepsimelis / U.S. Coast Guard / Getty Images Currently, there are four crimes recognized by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC): genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. Now, a group of advocates wants to add a fifth ecocide defined as mass damage and destruction of ecosystems severe harm to nature which is widespread or long-term, according to Stop Ecocide International. #Ecocide means mass-damage & destruction of #ecosystems severe harm to #nature. When ecocide becomes an international crime, those responsible for such environmental damage will face potential jail-time. Join the #EcocideLaw movement TODAY: https://t.co/SggPL5HeO0 pic.twitter.com/tMEO8ftaR2 Stop Ecocide International (@EcocideLaw) August 7, 2022 We have to prevent mass damage and destruction of the living world by recognizing it as the crime we all know it to be, the groups executive director Jojo Mehta said in a statement reported by The Guardian. Stop Ecocide International builds on the work of forward-thinking lawyer Polly Higgins, who co-founded the group in 2017 and died two years later at the age of 50. In 2010, she presented a definition of ecocide to the UN Law Commission, which was later endorsed by Pope Francis. Ecocide is extensive loss, damage or destruction of ecosystems of a given territory(ies) such that the peaceful enjoyment of the inhabitants has been or will be severely diminished, she said, according to Stop Ecocide International. Examples listed on the organizations website include oil spills like BPs Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, intensive agriculture like cattle ranching or palm-oil harvesting and massive pollution incidents like nuclear testing or the use of Agent Orange as a chemical weapon. Making ecocide a crime would take four steps: Proposing it as an amendment to the ICC, something any member country can do. The majority of countries voting at the next ICC assembly to admit the amendment for consideration. Two-thirds of member countries voting to adopt it into the statute. Individual countries ratifying it and enforcing it internally. While this is the end goal, the organization noted that even proposing ecocide as a crime would have a positive influence. Corporate success depends on public and investor confidence, the site explained. No CEO or financier wants to be seen in the same way as a war criminal. A law of ECOCIDE on the horizon will therefore signal the end of corporate immunity and begin to redirect business and finance away from seriously harmful practices. Most recently, Stop Ecocide International was promoting its ideas at Climate Week NYC during two events as well as participation in the Global Climate March. One of the advocates in New York last week was California winemaker Julia Jackson, who decided to lead the U.S. chapter after the Kincade Fire destroyed her Sonoma home in 2019. I lost everything all my belongings, Jackson told The Guardian. It shook me to my core. Jackson said that around 24 countries including Spain, Iceland, the UK, France, Mexico and Chile had voiced interest in recognizing ecocide as a crime. She also pointed out that the point of such a law was not to penalize individuals for driving, flying or using single-use plastic but rather to deter major polluters like current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro whose policies have encouraged record deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. Its not chopping down one tree Jackson explained. Its severe mass destruction of the Earth. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. Gas leaking into the Baltic Sea from the Nord Stream 2 offshore pipeline, seen from a Danish F-16 interceptor on Bornholm, Denmark on Sept. 27, 2022. Danish Defence / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Three separate leaks on Russias controversial Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines which run from Russia to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea have led to speculations of sabotage. The gas transport pipelines lie at the center of the energy deadlock between Europe and Russia. Danish energy authorities said two leaks had been found in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline northeast of the Danish island of Bornholm, with a third leak in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline southeast of the island, in Swedish waters, reported The Guardian. A shipping exclusion zone has been established around Bornholm, and flights below about 3,200 feet have been prohibited. Breakage of gas pipelines is extremely rare, said Danish authorities, as The Guardian reported. Therefore we see reason to raise the preparedness level as a result of the incidents we have seen over the past 24 hours. Though neither of the pipelines had been active, they were full of natural gas when a sharp drop in pressure was detected in first Nord Stream 1, then in the second pipeline. The operation of Nord Stream 1 was shut down at the beginning of last month by Russia, who said the pipeline needed repairs. The operation of Nord Stream 2 was canceled by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz just before Russia invaded Ukraine. Speaking at the launch of another undersea pipeline running between Poland and Norway through Denmark, Polands Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki blamed the leaks on Russia, reported The New York Times. We do not know the details of what happened yet, but we can clearly see that it is an act of sabotage, said Morawiecki, as The New York Times reported. An act that probably marks the next stage in the escalation of this situation in Ukraine. Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen said it was hard to imagine that three individual leaks happening almost at once was an accident, reported The Guardian. On Twitter, one of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskys senior advisers said the leaks were a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards EU. "Gas leak" from NS-1 is nothing more that a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards EU. wants to destabilize economic situation in Europe and cause pre-winter panic. The best response and security investment tanks for . Especially German ones (@Podolyak_M) September 27, 2022 The leaks were sizable, and Director General of the Danish Energy Agency Kristoffer Bottzauw said it could take as long as a week for gas to stop seeping out of Nord Stream 2, reported Reuters. The sea surface is full of methane, which means there is an increased risk of explosions in the area, said Bottzauw, as Reuters reported. When asked by reporters if the damage to the pipelines had been the result of sabotage, spokesperson for the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov said no possibility could be eliminated at the moment, reported The Guardian. According to environmental NGOs, it is likely that the pipeline leaks will cause major harm to the environment. As soon as methane in gas form raises from the surface of the sea into the atmosphere, it will massively contribute to the greenhouse effect, said Sascha Muller-Kraenner of Environmental Action Germany, as The Guardian reported. Sri Lanka farmers anticipate egg shortage in the country Ajith Gunasekara, president of the All Ceylon Poultry Traders' Association, said the reduction in the import of hens needed for poultry farming may lead to a future egg shortage in Sri Lanka, News 1st reported. He said that hens kept by farms are currently also sold for meat. Mahinda Amaraweera, the Sri Lanka Minister of Agriculture, also said that only 10,000 instead of 80,000 hens were needed to be imported for the production of poultry. The Minister expressed his lack of optimism for the poultry industry's future given the current situation. He continued by saying that in order to keep the poultry industry afloat and sustain it without the use of imports, authorities are looking at short-term solutions, such as offering the required animal feed. - News 1st Mowi reports successful smolt transfer to larger pens at Loch Hourn, Scotland, UK Mowi's salmon farm at Loch Hourn, Scotland, the United Kingdom, has become the latest site to successfully transition to new larger pens with the installation of 7 x 160m pens, which have replaced 12 x 120m pens, Mowi Scotland announced this month. While more commonplace in Norway, the larger pens are already being successfully used at several of Mowi's farms in Scotland. According to Mowi, there are many advantages of using larger pens, including: - Reduction in pen numbers; - Reduced visual impacts; - Operational efficiencies; - Better predator control; - Reduced fish stocking densities; - Greater control of sea lice; - Improved fish health and welfare; - Improved containment systems and safety. Speaking about the transition to larger pens, Stephen MacIntyre, head of environment, said: "The salmon farm at Loch Hourn has been well established for 30 years. In that time, it has been a successful operation from an economic, environmental and social viewpoint. Mowi's investment in this new larger pen and net technology will ensure that the farm continues to be successful in the future as fish farming in Scotland evolves." Larger 160m pens have been widely used in Norway since the early 1990s and this year, Mowi Scotland has been sending cohorts of staff from farms here who are making that transition to larger pens like Loch Hourn to learn from their Norwegian counterparts. Some of the team from Loch Hourn took part in this knowledge exchange. Farm manager Alex Harvey said: "Two of our staff went on an information exchange visit to Norway. The knowledge they gained there and the guidance we received from Roar Paulsen, our production director, helped us understand how best to prepare the pens for smolt arrival. One key element of which was how to present feed to a larger number of smolts. I'm delighted to say this has given the fish the best possible start, feed uptake has been tremendous and has given us a very encouraging start to the cycle." - Mowi Scotland China hopes new Italian govt will stay pragmatic in handling strategic ties By Yang Sheng and Zhang Changyue (Global Times) 08:57, September 27, 2022 Rise of right-wing in Italy shows political polarization in Europe The leader of Italian political party Brothers of Italy Giorgia Meloni looks set to become the country's first woman prime minister at the head of its most right-wing government since World War II, according to many mainstream Western media outlets, after she led a conservative alliance to triumph at Sunday's election. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday said China hopes the new Italian government can continue to insist on a positive and pragmatic policy toward China. Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a daily routine press conference on Monday that China and Italy are comprehensive strategic partners, and the stable development of bilateral ties serves the common interests of both sides. Chinese analysts said the victory of ring-wing forces in Italy, a major economy of the EU, shows that the political atmosphere in Europe is becoming polarized, with populist political forces from both the far-left and far-right rising in different countries, which is a signal that the political struggles between the left and right will greatly affect the efficiency, reliability, credibility and continuity of governments across Europe, and it will be hard for the EU to conduct effective reform amid the serious challenges of an energy crisis and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Western mainstream media outlets, such as CNN, have expressed their concerns over Meloni and her far-right government, by comparing her with Benito Mussolini, Italy's fascist leader during World War II. BBC quoted an Italian expert as saying that "we will see more restrictions on civil rights and policies on LGBT and immigrants" in Italy. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has warned Italy of consequences should it veer away from democratic principles, issuing a barely veiled threat ahead of Sunday's election, Reuters reported. Pope Francis also urged Italians to help migrants on Sunday, when the election result was expected to bring the anti-immigration far-right coalition into power, the Guardian reported. It's certain that Europe's integration process and unity within the EU will be challenged, said analysts, noting that after a series of incidents including the Arab Spring, Greece's debt crisis, the immigration crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the EU's political system seems unable to effectively coordinate its members to jointly handle major challenges, and the policies issued by decision-makers are far from meeting the actual needs of grass-roots people in Europe. This is a key reason why the populist or far-right political forces who dare to point out these problems are becoming increasingly popular, but experts also said pointing out the problems doesn't necessarily mean solving them. Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said on Monday, "Many are worried that the right-wing alliance may not be capable of solving many problems in Italy such as its debt crisis, which may lead to economic problems for the entire euro zone, not to mention the fact that before the election, the European Commission chief publicly expressed that she did not welcome the most right-wing government in Italy since World War II." "The political polarization is the real problem that the EU should really worry about, because it means no one has the majority and policies proposed by one side can be blocked and stopped by the other. As a result, no practical policy can be fully and stably implemented by the government," Wang Shuo, a professor at the School of International Relations of Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Monday. Wang Shuo said the EU is unlikely to solve this problem through simple reforms, because it's a structural problem of the Western political system, so the struggle between left and right will continue, and will also show a similar trend in the future, even in major EU powers like France and Germany. "The new right-wing government in Italy will attach more importance to the national interests of Italy and autonomous policy-making without influence from the EU, so this means the EU will see more obstacles when pushing integration in the fields of financial policy and diplomacy," Zhong Zhun, an expert on European studies at Chongqing University, told the Global Times on Sunday. But the Meloni government won't be too irrational, and as a major economy in the EU that has also benefited from the EU system, will not take extreme actions like "Brexit", and Italy will keep its stance on the Russia-Ukraine crisis the same as the EU's, even though the EU has openly expressed its concerns and warnings to Meloni and her right-wing coalition, said analysts. China-Italy relations Relations between China and Italy have developed stably in recent years, with Italy taking the lead in Western countries to join the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2019, and the two countries have also cooperated in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Meloni has made some tough remarks toward China on not only BRI cooperation, but also the sensitive Taiwan question, telling Taiwan media on Friday that she will strengthen ties and "if there is a center-right government, Taiwan will be an essential concern for Italy." Spokesperson Wang Wenbin of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair, and no interference from external forces will be allowed. The one-China principle is a consensus broadly shared by the international community and a basic norm of international relations, and it's the political foundation and precondition for all countries, including Italy, to establish and develop diplomatic ties with China. China urged the relevant politicians in Italy to clearly understand the high sensitivity of the Taiwan question, to abide by the one-China principle, and not to send wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces, Wang Wenbin said. Zhong said, "Being tough toward China and hyping the Taiwan question is sort of a trend in Western political circles, as this can attract some attention, and this is why Meloni made such remarks during the election campaign. But after she formally becomes prime minister, she will be influenced by the reality of international relations and professional diplomats." Meloni will also be unable to do anything too outrageous on China-Italy ties, even though she could make some outrageous remarks to draw attention, Zhong noted. Wang Shuo echoed this view, saying the power transition won't bring about a fundamental change to China-Italy relations, as both sides are very pragmatic and cooperation is driven by real benefits, and politicians in Europe, not only in Italy but also in other small European countries, will continue to make noise on the Taiwan question, but will not dare to fundamentally challenge the one-China principle. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji) Several explosions reportedly hit Odesa at around 6 a.m. on Sunday during an air strike alert, according to Suspilne. The drone was visible, and people could hear the drone's motors in the sky. The local news outlet Dumskaya captured a picture of what happened when a pillar of smoke went up the sky. South Operational Command later verified Odesa was struck by kamikaze drones. More Drone Attacks Than Missile Launches This Time The Russians reportedly struck an administrative facility in the city's center three times. Ukrainian air defenses shot down one drone, according to Yahoo! Finance. Teams of firefighters and emergency responders are putting out the fire there. The incident fortunately did not result in any casualties. Serhiy Bratchuk, the speaker of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, suggested that the attack might have been carried out using Iranian-made Shahed drones that Russia had just bought from Iran. Kamikaze drone attacks on Odesa have occurred days ago. On September 23, Russian kamikaze drones struck Odesa from the sea, killing one civilian. Air defense personnel shot down one enemy drone over the sea. Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said that Russian forces have reduced attacking Ukraine with missiles recently but have started bombarding more frequently using Iranian kamikaze drones, per Ukraine NOW's Telegram channel. According to CNN, which cited sources from Western intelligence, Russia had acquired hundreds of Iranian combat drones like the Mohajer-6 and Shahed-129, and Shahed-191 drones from Iran. Russia's acquisition of Iranian drones by Russia was officially verified by the White House on August 31. Early in September, the US placed penalties on an Iranian business accused of organizing military flights to carry Iranian drones to Russia and three other companies that manufacture Iranian drones. In response to Iran's delivery of drones to Russia, Kyiv later announced that it had chosen to limit Iran's diplomatic representation in Ukraine, per Arab News. Ukraine's foreign ministry stated: "In response to such an unfriendly act, the Ukrainian side decided to deprive the ambassador of Iran in Ukraine of accreditation, as well as to significantly reduce the number of diplomatic personnel of the Iranian embassy in Kyiv." Read Also: US Not Ready for Space, Cyber War Against China, Biden Administration's General Warns Referendums in Russian-Controlled Areas in Ukraine Continue The drone attacks happened while many Ukrainians fear political repression as Kremlin-orchestrated referendums indicate Russia's probable annexation of four seized territories. Fearing being forced to vote or even being drafted into the Russian army, a large number of inhabitants left the districts before the supposed referendums began, AP News reported. Others hid behind closed doors to evade armed Russian soldiers collecting votes. The Russian-controlled regions of Luhansk and Kherson, as well as the seized portions of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, are holding the referendums, which Kyiv and its Western allies have blasted as being staged. They are widely considered a pretext for annexation, and Russian officials are anticipated to claim the regions Tuesday. This strategy has been applied by the Kremlin before to legitimize annexing the Black Sea peninsula. In 2014, it organized a hurriedly convened referendum in the Crimean area of Ukraine. The majority of the world condemned this action as illegal. Ukrainian authorities have warned residents of four Russian-occupied regions that voting is unlawful and recommended they withdraw from it. Related Article: Hungarian FM Attends the UN General Assembly, Affirms the Conflict in Ukraine Must be Stopped @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. SPACE 2022 returns in Rennes, France, and focuses on climate and youth The SPACE agriculture trade show happened in Rennes, France, on September 13-15, marking its 35th anniversary. The full scope of the livestock industry was represented at the event, from cattle, pigs, goats and sheep to poultry, rabbits and aquaculture. SPACE 2022 saw over 90,000 visitors (90,108, of whom 8,406 came from 120 different countries), and close to 1,200 exhibitors (of which 300 were international businesses and 250 were taking part in SPACE for the first time). The event recovered its full international dimension after two years during which travel by visitors from abroad was heavily restricted. Delegations from around the world came to meet exhibitors, visit farms and draw inspiration from French organisational models. Many contacts were established with delegations from West Africa (Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Benin, etc.), Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Morocco, Algeria, Vietnam, the Philippines and numerous European countries. Talks organised for the first time in partnership with Promosalons led to important business exchanges with top buyers from Colombia, Chile, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Morocco and Nigeria. In a context marked by drought and the soaring price of energy and raw materials, climate was the annual theme developed by the Espace for the Future. Through the numerous debates, conferences, products and equipment presented by exhibitors, SPACE 2022 provided an opportunity to show that agricultural stakeholders are already taking measures aimed at reducing the impact of livestock farming on the climate. The livestock industry provides solutions to face climate challenges, and SPACE was able to demonstrate this. Innovations in the sector, rewarded with the Innov'Space label (36 winners this year), also highlighted the continuous progress achieved by the world of agriculture. The winners offered visitors new solutions for animal welfare, protecting the environment, health and safety and improving farmers' working conditions. One of the biggest new features of this year's event was the first Youth Forum, a space for young people organised in collaboration with agricultural teaching networks and opened by the French Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Marc Fesneau, at the start of the expo. This new space enabled young people to voice their visions for their future jobs. They could also express their motivations and questions to Loig Chesnais-Girard, President of the Brittany Region. SPACE is unique for its capacity to host around 100 conferences each year, allowing all stakeholders in the agricultural sector to learn about and discuss topical issues such as new technologies, solutions for reducing climate impact, establishing and selling farms, protein self-sufficiency, research into new fodder crops, CAP issues, etc. Livestock presentations, with 550 cattle of 13 breeds and 150 sheep and goats of 11 breeds, provided a magnificent showcase for genetics and the breeders' know-how. A special focus was placed on the Jersey dairy breed with more than 60 cattle on show and in competition. The European Jersey forum was held during the event and the World Jersey Cattle Bureau had the opportunity to discover SPACE's unique position for livestock breeders. The Blonde d'Aquitaine was the beef breed under the spotlight, with a national challenge that proved highly popular with 80 cattle on show. The champion of the Normande breed competition was voted supreme champion of SPACE 2022. The three days of SPACE have proved that, with abundant and constructive dialogue, high attendance by visitors and exhibitors and the expo's very positive dynamic, the event is an exceptional showcase for the livestock industry, its organiser said. - SPACE Australian experts cast doubt on zero foot-and-mouth disease cases among Bali cattle Experts from Australia have cast doubt on claims by Indonesian officials such as Bali's Agriculture and Food Security office that there are no cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) among the state's cattle in the past few weeks, ABC News reported. ABC news said they have filmed cattle with FMD symptoms in September at different areas of Bali, while Bali farmers have also reported cattle with FMD symptoms. More than 60 cattle were butchered in the first week of September due to the disease, according to confirmation provided to the ABC by officials in Denpasar. A senior Indonesian agriculture official claims that after killing 556 cows infected with FMD in July and swiftly curing a small cluster of cases in Denpasar in August, Bali is currently FMD-free. An Australian veterinarian said that the speed at which FMD can be eradicated is not possible. Ross Ainsworth, a veterinarian who has spent a lot of time in Bali and who previously worked for decades in Australia's live cattle trade, said that he thought it was the second most contagious disease known to science. It seems that Bali is under pressure to eradicate the illness before the island welcomes world leaders for the G20 summit in the middle of November. Many cattle owners cannot confirm a FMD diagnosis or send their animals for treatment because they cannot afford it. I Wayan Sunada, the head of Bali's Agriculture and Food Security office, said Bali really does have zero cases. Ainsworth said there are other diseases that could cause cattle to foam in the mouth such as poisoning, oral foreign bodies, or infection of the gums, but these do not come together with foot lesions. He said inspection of the tongue and hard palate for blisters, ulcers, and foot lesions, as well as a history of local FMD and vaccination records, make the difference between the two very clear. Just months before it was scheduled to host world leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the annual G20 meeting, the FMD outbreak struck the island of Bali. Agriculture officials have confirmed that Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, a senior Indonesian minister, ordered Bali to have "zero cases" by the start of the summit in November in late August. - ABC News Government of Scotland, UK, accused of ignoring local pig sector A leading pig farmer in Scotland, the United Kingdom, had accused the Scottish government of giving the sector the "cold shoulder" by failing to respond to NFU Scotland's (NFUS) direct appeals for support. In a blog on the NFUS website, pigs committee chairman Jamie Wyllie said that, despite writing to both First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon and then meeting Gougeon in person, the union had received no feedback to its proposals. He stated: "Scottish Government talk about doing all they can to help the cost-of-living crisis but, without intervention, we risk letting an entire food sector that is able to produce one of the most cost-effective and carbon efficient proteins that our country can produce go to the wall." Wyllie said the first suggestion was a direct payment to each farmer per sow to try to recover some of the losses made over the last year and the second was a "bounce back loan" ongoers scheme, which would have the Scottish government covering the interest on loans. "Both requests are vital to ensure the longevity of the pig industry," he stated. "The first to keep us in production now and the second to allow us to manage finances to ensure future survival of the industry. "Once prices pass cost of production, we can start paying back the debts that have accrued; without this support, the current levels of debt will stagnate and prevent any future investment in the industry." Wyllie also questioned the viability of the main pig abattoir at Brechin. It "received a large grant from the Scottish Government a few years back to modernise, expand and grow the Scottish pig sector," Wyllie said. "This money will have been wasted if there is no pig sector to supply it and it is a significant employer within the area." He added: "Importing cheap pork from other countries around the world exports our climate and social responsibilities, taking them out of our control and places food security for the nation at risk. "We have seen this with the manufacturing sector in the UK and it's not far away for pork and other sectors in agriculture. "We desperately need direct funding to ensure the longevity of the industry and allow us to be able to invest in the future. At the very least, an acknowledgement of the letter would be nice." - The Press and Journal Nebraska, US Beef Board sets budget for next fiscal year The Beef Board of Nebraska, the United States, recently established the next fiscal year's budget, as well as determine projects to be funded. The board oversees the one dollar checkoff when cattle producers sell their cattle. Half of the collected beef checkoff money stays in the US state to fund research, education, market development and promotion projects. The other half of the money is directed to the National Cattlemen's Beef Board for checkoff related programmes. Ann Marie Bosshamer, executive director for the Nebraska Beef Board, said that, since Nebraska has several meat packing facilities, some of the collected money will go back to the state where the cattle were fed and finished. Bosshamer added that the amount of funds that are returned to other states amounts to nearly a third of the total collected checkoff money. The beef checkoff money to be utilised by the board is around US$3.4 million dollars. According to Bosshamer, the goal behind the beef checkoff is to increase beef consumption. - WNAX US Grains Council to enhance aquaculture engagement in Morocco Representatives from the US Grains Council's Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) office visited Morocco to expand their involvement in aquaculture there, as they see the sector as a significant growth opportunity for American distillers of dried grains with solubles (DDGS), Fish Information & Services reported. The poultry and ruminant sectors use most of the 3.5 million metric tonnes of US feed grains exported to Morocco. However, the rising demand for high-protein foods in Morocco, a trend that is also being observed more broadly in North Africa, is opening up new prospects for the domestic aquaculture industry and developing a new possibility for the use of American feed grains in Morocco. Ronnie Tan, a USGC regional aquaculture specialist based in Southeast Asia, was invited by the Council to help with this effort by promoting the aquaculture programme in Morocco. The office planned a sizable national aquaculture event. Numerous current industry hot topics were covered at the event, including the demand for aquaculture feed, DDGS's outlook, trends, and future prospects, the integrated shrimp and tilapia model, current threats to the sector, and the solutions DDGS can offer. Morocco is currently the largest maritime fisheries producer in Africa and the 25th largest producer globally, producing an estimated 1.4 million metric tonnes of seafood annually. While Morocco's fisheries sector is relatively robust, contributing 2.3% of the country's annual GDP, overfishing hinders the sector's overall productivity and sustainability. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the average annual fish consumption in Morocco is between 10 and 12 kg, which is significantly less than the global average of 20 kg per person. Mohamed Salah Bouthour, USGC assistant regional director for Africa, saidt he Middle East and African region's top tilapia producer, Egypt, the aquaculture market in Morocco is small in comparison to other nations in the region. He said Morocco produces only 1,000 metric tonnes of the world's balanced feed, or aquaculture feed. Through educational programming supported by our USDA Section 108 Aquaculture grant, the Council will continue to support the development of the nation's aquaculture animal husbandry industry by providing Moroccan investors and neighbourhood feed millers with pertinent knowledge and technical skills. The Council will use Section 108 funds to launch a three-year aquaculture project in Morocco to support the growth and expansion of the sector there as well as the industry's efforts to address the bottlenecks and limitations preventing increased production. The Council is confident that these initiatives will help Morocco's aquaculture sector develop and open doors for American DDGS exports to Morocco. - Fish Information & Services Food security, sustainable food production highlighted in EU Agriculture Ministers meeting Food security and the role of European agriculture and food in sustainable global food production were the main topics of a recent informal meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers in Prague, the Czech Republic. Ministers agreed that the European Union must now act in a coordinated way to maximise sustainable increases in agricultural production and accelerate the use of modern techniques in agriculture. The war in Ukraine, the lingering effects of the pandemic and advancing climate change are having a major impact on global food security and world food prices. Science, innovation and modern plant breeding methods in agriculture were among the main topics of the meeting. It included contributions by Czech experts Professor Miroslav Trnka and Roman Hobza, Ph.D. Both Trnka and Hobza said that new trends can help the EU in reducing the use of pesticides and fertilisers, in water management or in breeding new varieties more resistant to extreme weather fluctuations and new plant pests and diseases. Ministers agreed that the EU must react as quickly as possible to the development of modern trends and not hinder innovation. It is thus important to change the outdated legislative framework by which the EU regulates the use of modern plant breeding methods. This framework not only restricts European farmers, but also leads to an outflow of top experts to countries outside the EU. - Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union Global Seafood Alliance founder to receive award at GSA event in Washington State, US Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) president and founder Dr. George Chamberlain will be a recipient of this year's Wallace R. Stevens Lifetime Achievement Award at "GSA's GOAL: The Responsible Seafood Conference" in Seattle, Washington State, the United States, on October 4. Chamberlain's career in aquaculture spans more than four decades. He began his career as a researcher and extension specialist at Texas A&M University in the US. Later, he directed aquaculture programmes at Ralston Purina International and Monsanto, and he led the development of an integrated shrimp farm in Malaysia. He also served as president of the World Aquaculture Society (WAS). It was out of that role that Chamberlain co-founded GSA along with a group of like-minded individuals following a WAS meeting in Seattle in February 1997. The nonprofit organisation was established to act as a voice for responsible aquaculture, in response to criticism about mangrove deforestation resulting from shrimp aquaculture. Chamberlain enlisted experts to gather the facts about mangrove loss and published their recommendations for conservation in a qualitative predecessor to Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) standards, "Codes of Practice for Responsible Shrimp Farming." To enhance communication within the sector about issues and solutions, Chamberlain launched a magazine and an event, now known as the Responsible Seafood Advocate and "GOAL: The Responsible Seafood Conference". He chaired the BAP Standards Oversight Committee for the first 12 years of its existence. During his tenure as president of GSA, Chamberlain co-founded Kona Bay, a shrimp breeding, nutrition and farming business with operations in Hawaii, Brunei and Malaysia. In 2020, Chamberlain retired from Kona Bay, continuing with GSA and taking on the additional role of leading another non-profit organization, The Center for Responsible Seafood (TCRS), which GSA helped establish to promote knowledge sharing within the seafood sector. Beginning in 2023, Chamberlain plans to reduce his role in GSA to focus more on TCRS in the coming years. "We've witnessed the development of an industry-wide movement, as the entire seafood value chain has proactively joined the sustainability journey," said Chamberlain. "We still have far to go and immense challenges lie ahead of us. But I'm confident that together we can continue to overcome them." "George was among the early visionaries 25 years ago for a global aquaculture organisation. He then took the vision, founded the Global Aquaculture Alliance and is responsible for what that organisation has become," said GSA chair Wally Stevens. "George is a bit of an aquaculture scientist, researcher, practitioner and convener. But most of all, he is one of the most respected individuals in the aquaculture world. Now he moves on to his next vision, TCRS, where he will continue to serve as president." The Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 2004 to recognise individuals whose leadership, integrity and commitment to responsibility resulted in significant and enduring advancements in the seafood sector. The award was renamed the Wallace R. Stevens Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 when Stevens was recognised. - GSA UK beef imports in July slow down, exports remain stable The UK imported 17,400 tonnes of fresh and frozen beef in July this year, 9.1% lower compared to the month before and 2,600 tonnes on 13% down year-on-year, the UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board reported. Irish imports fell by 3,600 tonnes during this decline, which represents a 24% decrease from the same month last year. Other significant nations with lower imports included the Netherlands (-380 tonnes), Poland (-199 tonnes), Spain (-187 tonnes), and Uruguay (-187 tonnes) (-103 tonnes). But there were 1,700 more tonnes imported from Germany in July of this year compared to July of last year, a rise of 592%. Historically smaller UK import partners like Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay saw increases as well. In comparison to the same period in 2021, the UK imported 134,500 tonnes of fresh and frozen beef between January and July. Since last year, imports from Germany have increased significantly (+7,700 tonnes, a five-fold increase), accounting for 7% of all imports thus far this year (historically, Germany has supplied between 2-5% of UK beef imports). Since late 2021, imports from the Netherlands have been declining (although they are still increasing by 7% annually). Volumes from Poland and Brazil have both continued to increase (but from a smaller base). 9,600 tonnes were exported in total in July, a decrease of 298 tonnes (3%) from June. Most significantly, there was a 442-ton reduction in shipments to Ireland and the Netherlands. Despite these losses, other destinations, such as France (223 tonnes), Poland (96 tonnes), and Japan, saw an increase in shipments (94 tonnes). Total UK beef exports increased slightly (0.2%) in July compared to the same month last year. Overall exports for the year to date have reached 74,200 tonnes, up 19,600 tonnes (36%) from the previous year. Exports increased within this to France (11.2 tonnes), the Netherlands (6.450 tonnes), Ireland (4.270 tonnes), Spain (1.370 tonnes), and Germany (1,285 tonnes). Shipments to the Philippines and Hong Kong have decreased (down 3,900 tonnes and 2,800 tonnes, respectively). - UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board Indonesia's chicken, feed industries dominated by major players, says trade minister Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said that the chicken industry in Indonesia is dominated by three companies. As a result, small and medium enterprises often cannot compete with these companies. It is also the same case for the local animal feed sector which is also controlled by two huge companies: PT Japfa Indonesia and PT Charoen Pokphand Indonesia. Both companies, Zulkifli said, have opened egg stalls in the transitional market with frozen machine technology. "There are so many SMEs that are getting the share of the business," the minister commented. "Ninety-nine percent of the industry is [controlled] by two to three companies." The PAN chairman said that certain companies dominate the grandparent stock [breeding] technology, which allows one hen to produce 65 chicks. Of the 65 chicks, he said, the hens could lay thousands more. "It's very fast, they may reach 500,000 chicks which could lead to billions of chickens in a short time," he added. Zulkifli said the Trade Ministry would formulate policies to regulate the chicken trading system, cooperating with trade associations. He also promised to redesign the chicken and feed industries so that SMEs would not keep losing market share to large corporations. - Tempo Danish Crown's slaughtering down as Danish pig farmers cut production of finishing pigs High prices for inputs such as energy and feed have led many pig farmers in Denmark to reduce their production of finishing pigs or close down, which has led to a significant decrease in slaughtering at Danish Crown's slaughterhouses. As a result, the company plans to reduce slaughter capacity at two of its slaughterhouses, Sby and Ringsted, and to dismiss more than 350 workers. Danish Crown experienced a large increase in pig supplies following the outbreak of African swine fever in Germany two years ago. This created the need to add several hundred new jobs at slaughterhouses across Denmark, but the current record-high feed and energy costs are causing many farmers to slow down or shut down production altogether. - Danish Crown Italy's Giorgia Meloni has become the country's new prime minister and is expected to focus on revising migration policies, after previously calling them lenient and arguing that they risk turning the nation into the "refugee camp of Europe." Earlier this month, the politician from the far-right Fratelli d'Italia party, said during an interview that the smart approach is for migrants to come into the country according to her rules. The new prime minister's ideas, taken together, are expected to significantly tighten the doors to one of the European Union's front-line destinations for undocumented immigrants. Immigration Policies Meloni would be more constrained by Europe in other areas, such as spending and foreign policy. EU countries have plenty of leeways to handle their external borders and she has previously made it clear that stopping the flow of people across the Mediterranean is one of her top priorities. However, efforts to block humanitarian rescue vessels from docking at Italian ports could have legal challenges. Furthermore, if the newly-installed prime minister tightens pathways to Italy, the volume of crossings would probably increase to other Mediterranean countries, including Spain, similar to what happened three years ago, as per the Washington Post. The director of the Migration Policy Center at the European University Institute in Florence, Andrew Geddes, said, "You can do stuff relatively quickly [on migration] that is draconian, symbolic, and sends a clear message: We're here, we're doing something. But there's trouble in store." He added that when crossings are stopped and then diverted elsewhere, a conflict is created with the EU. Geddes said that the situation would breathe life into an old conflict regarding migration policies. According to BBC, Meloni presented two faces on the campaign trail this election with her signature hard-edged, far-right firebrand tones on one hand, and a more measured, conservative persona on the other. Read Also: Ukraine Gets Attacked By Drones Reportedly Made in Iran Amid Rising Fears On Russia's Referendums Italy's New Prime Minister The prime minister hoped that it would attract a more mainstream vote and her gamble paid off with her election victory. Despite her win, millions of Italians who did not vote for her said that they do not recognize themselves in her nationalist, protectionist proposals and criticized Meloni's anti-immigration rhetoric and conservative family mores. Brussels is thought to be generally concerned regarding Meloni's ardent nationalism as Italy is the bloc's third-largest economy and one of its founding members. The newly-installed Italian prime minister is a deep Eurosceptic at heart. On the campaign trail, Meloni frequently spoke of Italy being downtrodden by the EU's bigger and more wealthy members. While she has steered clear of calling for her nation to leave the euro or the European Union altogether, she is more likely to team up with members seen by Brussels as "problematic," including Hungary and Poland, especially on migration policies. The situation comes as 'The Brothers' of Italy party, which won the most votes in the country's national election, has its roots in the post-World War II neo-fascist Italian Social Movement. Meloni has successfully taken the party from a fringe far-right group to the largest party in the country, the Associated Press reported. Related Article: Turkish President Erdogan To Decide If Russian Mir Payment Will Stay in Banking System @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Alltech appoints new global vice president of ESG Alltech has appointed Tara McCarthy as its global vice president of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG). McCarthy will support the advancement of Alltech's vision of "Working Together for a Planet of Plenty," which underscores the ability of the agri-food sector to provide enough nutritious food for all while revitalising local communities and replenishing the Earth's natural resources. "Agriculture is the sector most integral to planetary health, from its role in the nourishment and well-being of humans and animals, to the capabilities it has to not only safeguard but benefit our Earth's environment," said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and chief executive officer of Alltech. "We have well-founded optimism about the future of agri-food and our planet, yet it is a moment for bold action and collective courage. Tara's strategic approach, relationship focus and vast experience within the agri-food sector will add firepower to the advancement of our Planet of Plenty vision. In addition to furthering the alignment of our vision throughout our business, Tara will be working closely with our customers and partners on the environmental and social issues that we believe businesses within agriculture and food can positively impact." Prior to joining Alltech in June, McCarthy had served as CEO of Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, since 2017. Her 25 years' experience in the food industry also includes serving as CEO of Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), Ireland's seafood development agency. McCarthy is passionate about the opportunities that can be found within sustainably produced food and has worked across the supply chain to develop insights and industry partnerships. She has led numerous capability initiatives and developmental support programmes for students, early career executives and entrepreneurs within the food industry for more than a decade, forming successful partnerships both nationally and internationally. In 2019, McCarthy co-founded Agdif, an industry initiative championing diversity in the Irish food industry. She has also represented Ireland's food industry globally, speaking on Origin Green, Ireland's unique national sustainability programme. In 2021, McCarthy led the establishment of the Origin Green Global Council. "Our world is changing, and the role that agriculture can play in the future is, in many ways and places, being reset," said McCarthy. "I am delighted to have the opportunity to join Alltech in this new role at this pivotal time. It has never been more important to build networks across the supply chain, to start new conversations and to understand different perspectives. Supported by the ambition of Alltech's Planet of Plenty vision and their global reach, I look forward to supporting and working alongside Alltech colleagues and customers." McCarthy received a bachelor's degree in commerce from National University of Ireland, Galway (UCG) and a master's degree in business studies with an emphasis on marketing from the University College Dublin (UCD) Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. The newly established role of global vice president of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) represents another exciting milestone in Alltech's longstanding mission to develop sustainable solutions for agriculture. In the early 1980s, Dr. Pearse Lyons, the late founder of Alltech, established the ACE Principle, which guided the company's efforts toward providing nutritional solutions that promote the health and well-being of animals, consumers and the environment. In 2019, Dr. Mark Lyons, Pearse's son, carried that principle forward with the announcement of his vision for Working Together for a Planet of PlentyTM. - Alltech The EIB Board of Directors approves a 4 billion credit line to help national authorities, cities, regions and local communities in all EU Member States address urgent investment needs and help welcome and integrate people fleeing the war against Ukraine. The EIB credit line follows the pledge announced by President Werner Hoyer on 9 April 2022 at Stand Up for Ukraine, a global campaign for pledging funds for Ukraine and its refugees. The credit line will be complemented by the EMBRACE Advisory Platform, supported by InvestEU Advisory Hub, JASPERS and fi-compass initiatives, and helping EU Member States to better address infrastructure needs. In a school shooting on Monday in the Russian city of Izhevsk, 600 miles east of Moscow, fifteen people were killed and 24 were injured. The incident was labeled a terrorist attack by the Kremlin. The first through eleventh grades are taught at School Number 88, when a shooter entered and killed four adults and eleven students before turning the gun on himself. Swastika-Wearing Gunman Shoots 15 at School in Russia Children were seen hurriedly rushing through the school's hallways in videos from the event that were carried on TV and shared on social media, while emergency personnel were seen removing the injured. The assailant, who had two weapons, "was wearing a black top with Nazi symbols and a balaclava," according to the authorities, and "was not carrying any ID." According to a news release, the gunman was identified as 34-year-old Artem Kazantsev, who had previously attended the institution, by Russia's top investigative authority. He had been a resident of the city, the Udmurt Republic's capital, with his mother. The area's governor, Alexander Brechalov, said he had a record with the mental health facility. Per NY Times, the information supplied by the Russian government could not be independently verified. The incident had unsettling parallels to the 1999 Columbine shooting in Colorado, where two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed 13 people. Images provided by the local media show that the bullets in the Monday shooting had the word "hate" written on it and that two braided cords tied to the guns contained the names "Eric" and "Dylan." The prosecutor general designated the decentralized group of gunmen known as the "Columbine movement" as a "terrorist" organization in February. According to Russian officials, the "Columbine movement" has a "widely developed structure" and is "organized utilizing the possibilities of the internet." The law enforcement agencies reportedly linked the movement to two shootings that occurred last year. A shooter invaded a Kazan school in May 2021 and murdered 9 people. On a university campus in Perm, close to the Ural Mountains, in September of that year, an 18-year-old killed six people and wounded 47 others. Read Also: Ukraine Gets Attacked By Drones Reportedly Made in Iran Amid Rising Fears On Russia's Referendums Russian President Vladimir Putin "Depply Mourns" The detectives are currently searching his home and examining the attacker's personality, viewpoints, and surroundings, according to a statement released earlier on Monday by Russia's Investigative Committee. His allegiance to Nazi ideology and neo-fascist ideas is being investigated, as per CBS News. The shooter's body was seen in a brief police video lying on the blood-spattered classroom floor while wearing all-black clothing. President Vladimir Putin, according to the Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, "deeply mourns" the fatalities and has directed that "doctors, psychiatrists, neurosurgeons, and other professionals" be brought to the scene. Aleksander Brechalov, the regional governor, proclaimed three days of mourning. The body of the shooter is allegedly visible in a classroom in a video provided by the Investigative Committee. In addition to a balaclava concealing his face, he looked to be dressed almost entirely in black, including a T-shirt with a red swastika painted on it. Additionally, all of the gun clips had the word "hate" written in Russian on the video. In a statement, Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin stated, "I send my profound, genuine condolences to the families and friends of those who perished as a result of the cunning and merciless attack on the school in Izhevsk." The shooting on Monday was the most recent in a string of recent school shootings in Russia. In a shooting in Kazan in May of last year, seven kids and two adults died. Per NBC News, a guy also murdered two kids and a teacher at a kindergarten in the central Ulyanovsk area town of Veshkayma in April before committing suicide. Related Article: Bangladesh Ferry Accident: More Than Two Dozens Dead, Others Missing After Overcrowded Boat Capsizes @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Google Play Store is notorious for making it difficult to find apps optimized for non-phone devices you've often had to guess and hope for the best. Now, however, it just involves a couple of taps. Google says it recently added Play Store home pages to its Android app with recommendations for Android Automotive, Android TV and Wear OS apps. Visit "other devices" and you can find a health tracker for your Galaxy Watch 5, or a video service for your Chromecast. New search filters also limit results to those that support non-phone hardware. If you find something you like, you can remotely install it from your handset. Google also noted that it previously revised the Play Store website to improve navigation and features like remote installs. Google The move follows efforts to accommodate tablet users, and could be helpful if you can't (or just don't want to) search for apps on the device where you'll use them. That's particularly helpful for Wear OS users who might have to browse apps on a tiny screen. You might find more apps for your devices and (as Google no doubt hopes) increase your chances of sticking to the Android ecosystem. It's also difficult to ignore the timing. Google is formally debuting the Pixel Watch at its New York City event on October 6th, and just revamped the 1080p Chromecast. The improved app discovery could help sell these products to customers wondering if their favorite app is available. Not that you'll likely mind if you prefer third-party gear this might boost Android as a whole. Meta has taken down a network of fake accounts from China that targeted the United States with memes and posts about hot button political issues ahead of the midterm elections.The company said the fake accounts were discovered before they amassed a large following or attracted meaningful engagement, but that the operation was significant due to its timing and because of the topics the accounts posted about. The network consisted of 81 Facebook accounts, eight Facebook Pages, two Instagram accounts and a single Facebook Group. Just 20 accounts followed at least one of the Pages and the group had about 250 members, according to Meta. The fake accounts posted in four different clusters of activity, Meta said, beginning with Chinese-language content about geopolitical issues, criticizing the US. The next cluster graduated to memes and posts in English, while subsequent clusters created Facebook Pages and hashtags that also circulated on Twitter. In addition to the US, some clusters also targeted posts to people in the Czech Republic. Turn on browser notifications to receive breaking news alerts from Engadget You can disable notifications at any time in your settings menu. Not now Turned on Turn on During a call with reporters, Metas Global Threat Intelligence Lead Ben Nimmo said the people behind the accounts made a number of mistakes that allowed Meta to catch them more easily, such as only posting during working hours in China. At the same time, Nimmo said the network represented a new direction for Chinese influence operations because the accounts posed as both liberals and conservatives, advocating for both sides on issues like gun control and abortion rights. It's like they were using these hot button issues to try and find an entry point into American discourse, Nimmo said. It is an important new direction to be aware of. The accounts also shared memes about President Joe Biden, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Utah Senator Mitt Romney and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to Meta. Meta also shared details about a much larger network of fake accounts from Russia, which it described as the most complex Russian-origin operation that weve disrupted since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The company identified more than 1,600 Facebook accounts and 700 Facebook Pages associated with the effort, which drew more than 5,000 followers. The network used the accounts to boost a series of fake websites that impersonated legitimate news outlets and European organizations. They targeted people in Germany, France, Italy, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, and posted in several languages. They would post original articles that criticized Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees, praised Russia and argued that Western sanctions on Russia would backfire, Meta writes in its report. They would then promote these articles and also original memes and YouTube videos across many internet services, including Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Twitter, petitions websites Change[.]org and Avaaz[.]com, and even LiveJournal. Meta notes that on a few occasions the posts from these fake accounts were amplified by Russian embassies in Europe and Asia though it didnt find direct links between the embassy accounts and the network. For both the Russia and China-based networks, Meta said it was unable to attribute the fake accounts to specific individuals or groups within the countries. The takedowns come as Meta and its peers are ramping up security and anti-misinformation efforts to prepare for the midterm elections in the fall. For Meta, that means largely using the same strategy it employed in the 2020 presidential election: a combination of highlighting authoritative information and resources, while relying on labels and third-party fact checkers to tamp down false and unverified info. Netflix is forming its own in-house game studio and wants to go beyond relying on third-party developers to bolster its game catalog. The studio, based in Helsinki, Finland, plans to create "world-class" original games without ads or in-app purchases. Netflixs move into gaming has involved buying multiple developers, including the creators of Oxenfree, Night School Studio. In the last 12 months or so, the company has offered some well-regarded titles, including Into the Breach and Poinpy. But it hasn't built a developer from scratch. Until now. However, when it comes to original games, Netflix says we won't see the first fruits of this internal studio for "years." Meanwhile, UsTwos Desta, launching later today exclusively on Netflix, is the latest addition from the makers of Monument Valley. Mat Smith Turn on browser notifications to receive breaking news alerts from Engadget You can disable notifications at any time in your settings menu. Not now Turned on Turn on The biggest stories you might have missed The impactor vehicle was traveling at roughly 14,000 MPH when it struck. NASA After nearly a year in transit, NASA's experimental Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which sought to answer the question: "Could you potentially shove an asteroid off its planet-killing trajectory by hitting it with a specially designed satellite?" The answer seems to be maybe. It successfully collided with the Dimorphos asteroid. Results and data from the collision are still coming in, but NASA ground control confirms that the DART impact vehicle has intercepted the target asteroid. The vending machine-sized vehicle traveled at roughly 14,000 MPH when it crossed Dimorphos' path nearly 68 million miles from Earth. Continue reading. 98 seconds of post-apocalyptic gloom. HBO HBO revealed the first trailer for its highly anticipated adaptation of the hit Naughty Dog game. The clip features the leaning building from an early level and a bombastic opening outbreak sequence, as well as the unmistakable sound of a Clicker. Nightmare fuel for 2022. Continue reading. It adds non-destructive editing, real-time effects and more. Audacity is best known as a free audio app for quick edits and recording audio, but the latest update makes it more viable as a full-on production tool for your podcast ambitions. The most welcome addition is non-destructive audio capabilities that allow you to adjust effects without the changes being permanently baked into the audio file. It also supports real-time playback of effects and crossfades as you adjust them, allowing for more accurate edits. And its still free. Continue reading. You'll still have to leave repairs to the pros. The Apple Watch Ultra is built to survive adventures outdoors, but if you push it beyond its limits, youre going to struggle to repair it yourself. iFixit reports that the Ultra isn't significantly more repairable than its regular counterparts. While there are external screws on the back, you might wreck a waterproofing gasket if you pry the rear open. And don't even think of getting through the front you might break the screen. Continue reading. Samplebrain has been on Richard James' mind for 20 years. Aphex Twin is finally ready to offer his mutation-driven music software to the world. Samplebrain is a free "sample mashing" app that turns audio files from your computer into sample blocks you can use for projects. You can recreate a sample using tracks in your music library or craft a "303 riff" from unexpected sounds. However, you may need some technical know-how to use the app. Continue reading. Itll give you a view of all your notifications. On Monday, Meta began rolling out a new interface on Android, iOS and on the web for switching between accounts on Facebook and Instagram. Provided youve added your credentials for both to the same Accounts Center, you can use the feature to switch between the two apps. Meta will also notify you every time you use an existing account to create a new one or you add an account to the Accounts Center. Continue reading. The Trump White House reportedly called the phone of a Capitol Hill rioter on the day of the siege in a mysterious nine-second call that was made shortly after the former president posted on Twitter to tell his supporters to "go home." The call was made using a White House landline and was directed to the phone of one of the rioters, identified as Anton Lunyk, a Trump supporter. The allegations were made in a new book from a former staff member of the House Jan. 6 committee. Mysterious Phone Call The book was written by Denver Riggleman, who was also a Republican member of the House from Virginia. While he did not name the man whose phone was called by the White House, he later revealed during an interview on Monday that it belonged to 26-year-old Lunyk of Brooklyn, who was later charged with breaching the Capitol and sentenced to a year of probation. On Sunday night, Riggleman referred to the incident as an "aha moment" but later said that he was not willing to call it a "smoking gun" showing a connection between rioters and the Trump White House, as per the New York Times. Riggleman said that he understood Lunyk had denied knowing about a call from the White House that afternoon. However, the official said that the rioter not knowing about the call was inconsequential, what was important was that the data validates that the call happened. He previously described the unreported call in his new book titled: "The Breach," where he repeatedly highlighted connections between the Trump White House and Capitol Hill rioters. Riggleman pointed to communications that the committee obtained showing former chief of staff Mark Meadows exchanged text messages with Phil Waldron, a retired army colonel. According to the New York Daily News, federal prosecutors allege that Lunyk came to Washington D.C., for the chaos with his friends, Francis Connor and Antonio Ferrigno. The MAGA trio were revealed to have exchanged messages about their plans. Read Also: [WATCH] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Savagely Booed During Appearance at New York City Music Festival Capitol Riot Investigation The individuals reportedly talked about former Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In an Instagram message, Connor told Ferrigno and Lunyk that their end goal was to "brutally murder" Pence and Pelosi. He said, "And sadly, today they're still breathing, therefore we must come back stronger and fiercely next time around." Authorities did not mention the call from the White House during the sentencing for Lunyk and his two friends, who received sentences of home confinement and small fines along with a tongue-lashing from a federal judge. Federal Judge Rudy Contreras told the three men that they just came across as real knuckleheads. She also said that the suspects could all use a strong dose of maturity to realize the wrong that they did. While the phone call to Lunyk remains a mystery, with officials not knowing who initiated the call, records showed that it came from 202-456-1414. It is the publicly available number for the White House and like many businesses, outgoing calls do not show a specific extension, CNN reported. Related Article: Gov. Ron DeSantis Pressured as Calls Grow To Investigate Him Over Misinformation To Fly Migrants to Martha's Vineyard @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Weather Alert ...FROST ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM EDT THIS MORNING... * WHAT...Temperatures in the lower to mid 30s will result in frost formation. * WHERE...The Champlain Valley of New York and Vermont. * WHEN...Until 9 AM EDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Frost could kill sensitive outdoor vegetation if left uncovered. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. && NEWS FLASH Air Serbia will launch a new service from Belgrade to Malta this winter, marking its return to the Mediterranean island following a three-year hiatus. Flights will be launched on October 31 and operate twice per week, each Monday and Friday, with the Airbus A319 aircraft. The airline faces direct competition on the route from Wizz Air, which will maintain three weekly flights to the island this winter with the A321 jet. Furthermore, Ryanair runs a two weekly service between Nis and Malta. The new flights are part of the airlines plans to put a greater emphasis on popular holiday destinations, following the success of its new routes to Spain and Italy this summer. The Serbian national carrier has not operated winter flights to Malta since 2009, when its predecessor, Jat Airways, last maintained the route over the quieter months. Air Serbia will launch a new service from Belgrade to Malta this winter, marking its return to the Mediterranean island following a three-year hiatus. Flights will be launched on October 31 and operate twice per week, each Monday and Friday, with the Airbus A319 aircraft. The airline faces direct competition on the route from Wizz Air, which will maintain three weekly flights to the island this winter with the A321 jet. Furthermore, Ryanair runs a two weekly service between Nis and Malta. The new flights are part of the airlines plans to put a greater emphasis on popular holiday destinations, following the success of its new routes to Spain and Italy this summer. The Serbian national carrier has not operated winter flights to Malta since 2009, when its predecessor, Jat Airways, last maintained the route over the quieter months. Commenting on the new service, Air Serbias Head of Network Planning and Scheduling, Bojan Arandjelovic, said, "After carefully analysing market opportunities and listening to the needs of our passengers, we have decided to resume nonstop flights to Malta after a three-year break. We as an airline have long history of flying to Malta, as Air Serbia and its predecessors, JAT and Jat Airways, have been operating to this destination since the late sixties. We are happy to offer to our passengers another attractive holiday destination especially during the winter season and having Malta back on our continuously growing network confirms our commitment to creating more opportunities for travel". Flight details for the new Malta service can be viewed here Fairfield, MT (59436) Today Sun and a few passing clouds. High 67F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low near 45F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Former Montana Governor and Chairman of the Republican National Party Marc Racicot speaks to Billings Downtown Rotary at the Northern Hotel on Sept. 26, 2022 (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick of the Daily Montanan). The former leader of the National Republican Party who was also the longtime governor of Montana spoke to a crowd of businesses leaders downtown in Billings on Monday, warning them without a return to common-sense solutions, respect for government institutions, and fidelity to the state and federal constitutions, regardless of political party, the country risks losing its democracy. Speaking to the Billings Downtown Rotary, Marc Racicot reminded a ballroom full of residents in Northern Hotel that Americas democracy, while old, is still fragile and voluntary. Our future has yet to be written yet, Racicot said. Without calling out any political leaders by name, Racicot said that he remained silent for too long. He described being spurred to action when he read that a poll reported 34% of American citizens thought it was fine to take violent action against the government. I was stunned when I saw that question, Racicot said. Its never appropriate. Our constitution is a social contract where we agree to abide by the spirit and the terms of the constitution. There is no clause for insurrection. Another poll, produced by Ipsos and National Public Radio, showed that 70% of Americans believe the country is at risk of failing. The former Montana governor referenced a famous story about Benjamin Franklin being asked after the Constitutional Convention whether America was going to be a monarchy or a republic, with Franklin replying, A republic, if you can keep it. That is the existential question we face now: Can we keep our republic? Racicot said. There are ominous and unmistakable signs. He said when he was governor deals got done by talking across the table, reasoning together, working together. He said previously leaders took for granted that everyone had a common language of values, and keeping a tight grip on power wasnt as important as accomplishments. Racicot said the only hope is to return to a system where citizens feel faithfulness to the concepts of the Constitution, even if that means not necessarily winning or keeping political power. Faithfulness to the spirit of the law means that we respect the rights and differences of others, Racicot said. Its the exact opposite of political parties, which is a denial of power for its own sake. He said that Montana used to be known as a place of stubborn civility, but even that has changed. We suspected the best of each other until we were proven different, Racicot said. He said that the biggest difference in the time between when he was governor till now is the advent of social media and the internet. The chances for sitting across the room from each other has been either diminished or eliminated, Racicot said. In the place of conversation, the former governor said now there are just mindless electronic rituals. Theres all this hateful piffle, Racicot said. The internet dont get me wrong is a wonderful thing in so many ways, but its also pitiful the damage that is done by spreading misinformation that has no basis in fact. I am asking people to bring more self-discipline and integrity to communications and fidelity to the shared belief in our state. Part of that challenge, Racicot noted, is that there are 3.5 million tweets on Twitter every second, and what the former Republican governor, who was raised in Libby and Miles City, suggested is more listening. He said he learned the lesson while he was the leader of the state at an eighth grade graduation in Biddle, Montana. He said he was struck by a student who told him, Were not a groups of different Americans, were one group with different Americans in it. We have thought its going be OK, but that wont happen unless we make it OK. You have to demand the rule of law not by banging your shoes but outlining clearly your expectations, Racicot said. These Republicans my party have not recognized the rule of law. For example, you pay judges for rulings not to fall in line. The only other option is a return to dictators or the law of the jungle where the strongest, most powerful impose their will on everyone else, Racicot said. The moment we fall asleep, were done, Racicot said. The post Racicot: Stand up for the Constitution and place principles over politics appeared first on Daily Montanan. Students walk between buildings during a class change at Montana State University in Bozeman. (MSU photo by Colter Peterson/Provided by MSU) Montanas flagship campuses notched enrollment wins this fall with incoming classes including the second-largest one for Montana State University although both universities saw slight dips in total students compared to 2021. The University of Montana counted its largest incoming class in six years, at 1,351, and one thats 6 percent bigger than 2021, the campus announced Monday. Spokesperson Dave Kuntz noted its the first time in more than a decade that UM has counted two years in a row of a larger freshman class, which he said positions the campus for significant growth in the years ahead. In a statement, UM President Seth Bodnar also said the campus is firmly in a cycle of growth, and he noted retention has improved since 2018 as well. UM continues to show a strong enrollment trajectory, Bodnar said. Total headcount is 9,955 this fall compared to 10,106 last year, a 1.5 enrollment drop. However, due in part to a strategic shift in how scholarships based on need are offered to out-of-state students, UM noted its fall tuition revenue hit $40 million, 12.4 percent higher than in 2021. We are rewarding less sizable scholarships to a higher number of students, Kuntz said. The revenue bump is a boon for UM, which saw repeated budget cuts and personnel reductions during the last decade as enrollment started sliding after 2011 and tuition income followed. In 2019, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported the campus had lost more students in the last decade than any other public flagship. An enrollment dashboard that counts full-time equivalents from the Montana University System shows the line bending up this year. Also, the main campus counts 8,094 students, more than the 8,074 last year, UM said. Kuntz noted the overall dip is due in part to a 2 percent drop at Missoula College, which typically trends opposite of the economy. The college generally sees strong enrollment in weak economies and shrinks in healthier times. Additionally, a graduate professional program that provided a bridge for mid-career physical therapists seeking doctorate degrees saw a 143 student decrease, namely Kuntz said because most professionals in the field in the U.S. who want those degrees now have them. In a statement from UM, College of Health Dean Reed Humphrey said the campus launched this fall a similar bridge program for occupational therapists, and the expansion is expected to grow enrollment in the future. He praised the PT program. Now in its twelfth year, the clinical doctorate degree academic partnership program is one of the most successful in the country, with nearly 2,000 graduates who are now UM alumni, Humphrey said. UM noted student retention held steady at 74 percent. This figure measures the rate of students who return between their first and second year, and it effects the overall enrollment rate and graduation rates. Since Bodnar started as president in 2018, UM noted its student retention rate has risen 6 percent. Montana State University MSU-Bozeman touted its second largest incoming class, 3,752 new, first time college students. The campus noted 1,401 were Montana residents, an increase from last falls count of 1,381. We are thrilled to welcome so many new Bobcats to Montana State and honored that they have elected to spend their college years with us, said MSU President Waded Cruzado in a statement from the campus. It is clear that these students see Montana as a gateway to a good-paying job and to the world of possibilities opened by a college degree. MSU posted a total enrollment of 16,688, down from its record 16,902 in 2018. However, MSU, which has generally seen growth the last decade, touted itself as the only campus in the state to ever enroll more than 16,000 students. Gallatin College MSU enrolled 750 students, its third highest count, and saw its highest ever enrollment in one- and two-year workforce development programs at 619, the campus said. In a step toward one of its strategic goals, MSU also saw its second highest number of graduate students, at 2,057, the campus said. Graduate students are the future professionals and researchers who will help the nation face the challenges of the 21st century, said Craig Ogilvie, dean of the Graduate School, in a statement. Retention was 75.2 percent at MSU, and the university said it saw increases in retention rates specifically for part-time students and transfer students. In its news release, MSU announced it had set enrollment records for a number of categories of minority students, including 282 African-American students, 684 Asian students, 950 Hispanic students and 130 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students. It said American Indian/Alaska Native enrollment was its second highest at 776, a total that represents 9 percent growth in five years. UM, MSU Highlights MSU highlights from its news release: MSU saw an overall 3% increase compared to last year in students defined as under-represented minorities by the federal government. The university saw a 6% increase in the number of international students enrolled at 403 total. MSUs Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship saw the largest increase in enrollment university-wide, growing by 8% over last fall with 1,966 students enrolled. The College of Agriculture also saw 6% growth fall-to-fall, enrolling 2,033 students. Both colleges set enrollment records. MSUs largest college, Letters and Science, enrolled 3,504 students, followed by the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering with 3,427 students. MSU enrolled 136 or 69% of all the students in the state who earned Montana University System Honor Scholarships. UM highlights from its news release: 710 first-year Montana students, an 8.4% increase over 2021. 610 Native American students, a 2.2% increase over 2021. This growth builds on the 23% Native American student growth at UM from 2018 to 2021. 279 student veterans, a 6.5% increase over 2021. 250 law school students, a 1.6% increase over 2021. 192 early admit and dual-enrollment students, a 35% increase over 2021. The post University of Montana, Montana State, count enrollment wins with incoming classes appeared first on Daily Montanan. Former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney signaled that she would withdraw from the GOP if former President Donald Trump becomes the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential elections. The lawmaker said, "I certainly will do whatever it takes to make sure Donald Trump isn't anywhere close to the Oval Office." Cheney made her remarks on Saturday, adding that she would be willing to support Democratic lawmakers, the first time that the official has said so explicitly. Liz Cheney's Possible Presidential Bid The Wyoming official's statements were her answers to a question about her state's gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who is a known supporter of the former president's false claims that the 2020 elections were fraudulent. Cheney has served as the representative for Wyoming's at-large congressional district since 2017 before she was defeated soundly in her August primary against Trump-supported challenger Harriet Hageman. The lawmaker is also the vice chair of the House Select Committee responsible for investigating the events of the Capitol Hill riot and is one of only two Republicans on the panel. Cheney is one of only 10 House Republicans who voted in favor of impeaching Trump, as per CBS News. Cheney's recent positions were both those that appeared to work against her during her campaign for re-election in Wyoming. Out of the 10 GOP members who voted to impeach the former president, only two won their primary challenges, while three others were defeated and four chose to either retire or not seek re-election. The majority of candidates that Trump endorsed in the 2022 midterms won their primaries and also said that they support the Republican businessman's false claims regarding the 2020 elections. According to Yahoo News, since losing her primary, Cheney's position regarding a potential 2024 presidential bid has been spreading around. However, she said on Saturday that she was not interested in discussing any plans regarding the matter. Read Also: [WATCH] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Savagely Booed During Appearance at New York City Music Festival Trump's False Claims of Election Fraud Cheney questioned what would be done to make sure that kids in America know what it means to have peaceful transfers of power. She added that children should not contribute to the unraveling of the republic. These are what the Wyoming lawmaker said she was focusing on. Despite losing her primary, Cheney was still able to garner roughly 30% of the votes against her Trump-backed opponent. This means that if all of those supporters heed her call, it will be all but impossible for the GOP to win the House of Representatives. If a relatively same number of people reject the former president, his chances of getting the 2024 Republican White House nomination among other candidates in a crowded field will be greatly diminished. This would be a crucial factor for those who support keeping America a democratic republic. Cheney, working on the House Select Committee, said that she was surprised about the sophistication of the plan to overturn the 2020 elections. The former Wyoming representative also called out Trump's refusal on Jan. 6, 2021, to make a public statement urging a mob of his supporters to end the siege on the Capitol Hill building until more than three hours into the chaos, CNN reported. Related Article: Trump White House Reportedly Called Capitol Rioter Anton Lunyk During Siege @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Jeremy Clarkson is leading calls for the government to halve the volume of regulation affecting rural businesses before the next general election. In a letter to the PM, Jeremy Clarkson, who again stars in the upcoming second series of Clarkson's Farm, says rural businesses are being hit with a 'bureaucratic bulldozer'. "It has cost jobs and created misery," the letter says, with signatories including Ian Botham, David Gower, Allan Lamb, Gareth Wyn Jones and Nick Ferrari. The letter - which accuses the government of seeking to 'micromanage every acre' - has also been signed by nearly 5,000 other people living in the countryside, including 2,000 farmers. "For years the bureaucratic bulldozer has been trampling over the countryside infuriating millions of us," the rural figures say in the letter. "Downing Street has to put it into reverse gear if it wants the support of rural voters. Those signing this letter would be satisfied if the rules affecting the countryside are halved before the next election?" The celebrity campaigners say they are "sick of the mountains of regulations which seek to micromanage every acre". "We have had enough of know-nothing officials imposing rules out of a misplaced belief in their own competence," the letter continues. "They breed paperwork for a living while the rest of us have real work to do: cultivating soil, looking after sick animals and bringing in the harvest?" The letter goes on to warn that the 'political landscape is shifting', with rural votes 'vital' in the next generation election. "We will no longer passively watch officials seeking to appease the insatiable demands of a few self-righteous campaigners. There are more of us and we are more determined." The celebrities add: "If anyone tries to ignore us, we will pursue them like hungry German Shepherds let off-leash during lambing season." Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex have been ordered into an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) following an uptick in cases of bird flu, the government has confirmed. The UK's Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer on Tuesday (27 September) declared the tough rules for the region to "mitigate the risk of further outbreaks of disease occurring". It follows a number of recent detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza in both poultry and wild birds across the East Anglia region. The counties follow parts of the South West of England, which have been in a regional AIPZ since late August. The tougher rules means it is now a legal requirement for all bird keepers in these regions to follow strict biosecurity measures to help protect their flocks, of whatever type or size. Bird keepers have been advised to consult Defra's interactive map to check if they are impacted by the regional AIPZ. Keepers with more than 500 birds will need to restrict access for non-essential people on their sites, and workers will need to change clothing and footwear before entering bird enclosures. There is also a mandatory requirement to keep records and to make them available to the government on request. The UK has faced its largest ever outbreak of bird flu with over 150 cases confirmed across the country since late October 2021. The introduction of the new regional AIPZ comes after the disease was detected in kept birds at 10 premises in the affected regions since the beginning of September, as well as several reports in wild birds. Richard Irvine, Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer, said bird keepers in the region must 'urgently take action now' to both prevent disease getting in to flocks and it spreading any further. "Whether you keep just a few birds or thousands, you are now legally required to introduce stricter biosecurity standards on your farm or small holding. "It is in your interests to do so in order to protect your birds from this highly infectious and devastating disease." The introduction of an AIPZ follows the recent increase in cases of bird flu in poultry and other captive birds in the area and increased reports of mass mortality in wild birds. The government said any further disease control measures would be based on the latest scientific evidence and veterinary advice. What does the region AIPZ mean? The AIPZ means bird keepers in the affected regions must: Cleanse and disinfect clothing, footwear, equipment and vehicles before and after contact with poultry and captive birds if practical, use disposable protective clothing Reduce the movement of people, vehicles or equipment to and from areas where poultry and captive birds are kept, to minimise contamination from manure, slurry and other products, and use effective vermin control Keep records of mortality, movement of poultry and poultry products and any changes in production thoroughly cleanse and disinfect housing on a continuous basis Keep fresh disinfectant at the right concentration at all farm and poultry housing entry and exit points Minimise direct and indirect contact between poultry and captive birds and wild birds, including making sure all feed and water is not accessible to wild birds The best of the next generation of agricultural engineers will be celebrated with awards, an event seen as vital for attracting new talent to an industry struggling to recruit. Like many career avenues in the farming industry, machinery firms are finding it difficult to recruit qualified agricultural engineers. Someone who has been helping apprentices recognise their talent for years is Andrew Silvester, academy manager at machinery dealer Chandlers. I taught agricultural engineering apprentices for seven years at Riseholme College the highest number was 21 at any one time," he said. Having joined Chandlers last year to run its apprenticeship programme, Andrew is passionate about educating the next generation of engineers. But he said there was a vast shortage of engineers in the country and across the world, and young people should consider apprenticeships. "Students tend to learn better in the workplace because theyre mentored constantly, its education 24/7 really," he said. "Its not just learning about being an engineer, its learning about life at the same time as learning about the machinery, repairs and safety." Its a win-win for me because if a student is committed to it, theres no better way to learn and get paid. Most companies pay for everything they need. But with all these benefits, the industry is still struggling to recruit engineer apprentices. Andrew said the industry was 'notoriously bad at promoting ourselves', adding: "We recognise that, so we are trying to improve it. A lot of manufacturers are getting together now and offering more training. For me, I wanted to create a career path for apprentices not just the three years of college, but what comes after. We have skilled, advanced and master so its an eight-year career path. And this clear career path can be good for retention, he said. I think once theyve reached the end of those eight years theyre more likely to stay in the industry. Andrew supports apprentices in applying for the apprentice awards at the Midlands Machinery Show each year. Its another method of promoting apprenticeships and agricultural engineering its a great show and the awards are brilliant, he explained. I encourage the apprentices to apply, its for their own benefit and theres a great financial bursary because tools are expensive and thats what they can use their reward for. Last years awards saw six students accept a cheque for 250 each the first in a two-year instalment totalling 500. One of them was Stella Hubbard, who works at Farol as a John Deere apprentice. At the age of five I would come into Farol with my dad and assist with picking parts for jobs/ customers, she said. During school I developed an interest in metal work and design and took a particular interest in removing and installing components. Having worked at John Deere in both Australia and the UK, she is now enjoying being given the independence to carry out jobs by herself. I would like to inspire more women to take on this career. I would also love to own my own farm and develop a career in farming. And Chandlers boasted two apprentice winners last year; Kieran Snowden at the Grantham depot and Zac Elsdon at Holbeach. It makes me very proud that the work I do helps farmers to carry on working and put food on our tables, said Kieran. It was a great honour to have been selected for this award and will help me progress in my career as well as giving me confidence that the industry is behind me. Entries for the apprentice awards are open until 14 October 2022 for any agricultural apprentice aged 17-25 who is living and working in the Midlands region. Welsh farms are losing 5 tonnes per acre of soil every time the thickness equivalent of a one-pence coin is eroded from fields left bare in the winter, according to an expert. That soil isnt replaced, and thats your livelihoods being washed away; you need to keep that resource on your farm," forage and grassland specialist Charlie Morgan warned farmers attending an open day. Mr Morgan has been advising livestock farmer James Powell, who farms at Llanbadarn Fynydd, Powys, with reseeding decisions through his project work with Farming Connect. Mr Powell has switched from growing winter grazing crops of stubble turnips and rape for his sheep to sowing a rape, Italian ryegrass and berseem clover mixture (Clampsaver II), which not only provides autumn/winter forage for finishing lambs, but grazing in the spring and a silage crop. This grass-based crop has the ability to anchor the soil, to reduce soil and nutrient run-off. It also allowed Mr Powell to double his income from lamb sales. He produced 7,843kg of lamb on 4.7ha, returning 16,845 in sales, compared to 3,500kg of lamb worth 7,500 from a comparable acreage of stubble turnip and forage rape. Earthworm count in the soil hosting the Clampsaver was 50 percent higher than in the brassica field. It was followed in the rotation by a permanent ley of Highlander, a long-term mix formulated for upland farms, with additional herbs and red clover; this has transformed soils and feed availability. Using filtration equipment simulating an inch of rainfall an hour, Mr Morgan showed farmers how, by improving the soil profile, it was now better able to absorb water not only preventing flooding of towns and communities at lower levels, but holding onto that water to allow its use by plants during times of drought. He said: Soil will hold water reserves and, through a combination of capillary action and growing the right type of multi-species leys, provide grazing during the exceptionally dry conditions we have seen this year." The Highlander ley was grown without any artificial fertiliser only manure generated by the pigs contract-reared at Dolygarn. Mr Powell is also using trees to protect soils and provide shelter belts for his stock. Shelter belts planted at the farm in the 1970s have now matured, and are being felled for timber, providing income for the business. They will be replaced with planting schemes that are 50% conifers and 50% native broadleaf species. Geraint Jones, Farming Connect forestry officer, who has been advising on the project, said the hot and sunny summer had highlighted how important shelter was on livestock farms. Ahead of new financial incentives for tree planting in Wales Sustainable Farming Scheme, Mr Jones recommends that farmers earmark areas where stock are vulnerable to weather extremes. He suggests trees should be integrated on a farm to work for that farms farming system, making use of their multifunctional benefits, from sequestering carbon and increasing biodiversity, to improving water quality and benefiting animal health and welfare. Hedging trees also have an important role to play in farm biosecurity. Mr Jones said: By establishing a good boundary, you will prevent the transference of diseases like scab and lice in sheep, which can occur when they rub against fences, and avoid cattle touching nose to nose." Trees will be an important part of the financial calculations on farms going forward, Mr Jones told farmers during the open day. Now that trees are at the top of the climate change agenda, and business efficiencies sought after, tree planting is a financially viable option." Britain's agricultural levy boards have united to launch a new manual to help farmers control liver fluke in grazing livestock. The manual highlights the latest research and advice on control practices to protect livestock from potential animal health and welfare damage posed by liver fluke. Using five farmer case studies from across Britain, the guide covers a variety of management systems and fluke risk levels. It shows farmers sharing their fluke history, main challenges and control strategies given the situation in their flock or herd. The case studies also demonstrate the value of working with vets to apply testing and treatment approaches tailored to individual farms. Key areas covered are on-farm risk assessment to talk through with vets and sustainable use of flukicides to reduce parasite resistance. It also covers farm management options to reduce fluke risk, as well as reducing the impact that flukicides may have on the environment. Animal health and welfare scientist, Dr Bethan John explains the benefits the new guide can bring to farms and the wider industry. As the risk of infection to grazing cattle and sheep peaks, evaluating which testing and control measures best suit your situation is key. With a viable liver fluke vaccine still yet to be developed and the ongoing issue of anthelmintic resistance, this timely release brings together the latest evidence-based expert guidance for successful disease control. It is a welcome addition to our suite of resources which focus on sustainable parasite management." The guide was produced by Britain's levy boards - AHDB, Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC). Heather McCalman, programme delivery co-ordinator at HCC, outlines the importance of the guide to Welsh producers. As there are many parts of Wales that can be high risk for fluke due to unpredictable weather patterns, now is a good time to check the fluke status of the farm for both sheep and cattle. "This booklet includes good information on the use of the appropriate diagnostics tests and follow up management to keep livestock healthy, productive and profitable. The manual is available to view online [PDF] and available to order in hard copy. Small areas of woodland created on farms and crofts will soon be eligible for inclusion in support claims following planned changes to Scottish legislation. From November, small woodlands approved under the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) since 2015, can be utilised as Ecological Focus Areas to support farmers Greening payments. The move aims to encourage farmers to increase tree planting, providing environmental benefits including tackling climate change and nature loss. NFU Scotland welcomed the announcement from the Scottish government, calling it a 'lobbying success'. Scotland's rural affairs secretary, Mairi Gougeon said: This legislative change will mean that tree planting in small areas becomes an attractive option for farmers and crofters. This move continues the strong progress towards achieving our tree planting targets by working closely with farmers, forest industries and landowners of all sizes. I would encourage stakeholders to explore the multiple benefits of integrating trees into their farm business. Claims can be made from the 2023 claim year and areas planted since 1 January 2015 are eligible to be claimed from 2023. Scotlands forests and woodlands cover around 1.45 million hectares, which is 19 per cent of the countrys land area. These forests are home to 172 protected species, generate 1 billion to the economy each year and support 25,000 jobs. The necessary legislative amendment is subject to parliamentary approval. NFU Scotland had asked for this change to be considered, recognising the valuable contribution that woodlands can make to farms and crofts. The union has since worked with Scottish government and Scottish Forestry officials on how changes to legislation could be introduced. NFU Scotland director of policy. Jonnie Hall said: NFU Scotland has always encouraged responsible planting that sees the right tree in the right place. Having woodland planting carried out under the SRDP since 2015 eligible as EFA under their Greening options for support is a significant lobbying success for NFUS and will be welcomed by many members. Warrenton, VA (20186) Today Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High around 55F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. Low 46F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. NASA's $330 million Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) successfully collided with its target asteroid on Monday evening in an attempt to determine whether a human-made vessel can change the cosmic object's trajectory. The director of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Ralph Semmel, said during a news conference after the DART crash, that for the first time, humankind was able to demonstrate that it has the ability to autonoumously target and change the trajectory of a celestial object. NASA's DART Mission The act of striking an asteroid with a high-speed projectile is expected to nudge its orbit, and for one that is headed toward our planet, it could be enough to change a direct hit to a near miss. In the DART spacecraft's last moments, it sent back a series of photographs of the asteroid, Dimorphos, as it approached at more than 14,000 miles per hour. NASA's spacecraft spotted its target asteroid only about an hour earlier, as a dot of light. Then, the pile of celestial rubble quickly grew bigger and bigger, until the picture of the asteroid's surface strewn with boulders filled the screen. The mission's engineers were on their feet, cheering the mission's success, as per the New York Times. Semmel said that normally, losing signal from the spacecraft is a very bad thing, but in the case of the DART mission, it was the ideal outcome. While there was one more partial image taken, the data never made it back to Earth as the spacecraft had smashed into the asteroid. A planetary scientist at the laboratory who works on the mission, Nancy Chabot, said during the NASA webcast that the success of the mission was "amazing." Policymakers have, for many years, lacked the urgency to finance efforts to protect the planet from asteroids. But the discovery of large asteroids that could destroy our planet changed that situation. According to Reuters, now, experts will determine how much of a success the DART mission was after further ground-based telescope observations of the asteroid next month. However, NASA officials hailed the immediate outcome of the Monday test, arguing that the spacecraft achieved its designed purpose. Read Also: Lost Traces of the Sun's Forgotten History Could Be Discovered on the Lunar Body Was it a Success? NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, who is a retired astronaut, said minutes after the impact that the space agency works for the benefit of humanity. He added that the mission's success is the fulfillment of that goal. He said it was a "technology demonstration that, who knows, someday could save our home." DART was launched by a SpaceX rocket back in November 2021 and made most of its voyage under the guidance of NASA's flight directors. Control was later handed over to an autonomous onboard navigation system in the final hours of the journey. The director of planetary science at NASA, Dr. Lori Glaze, said that while it would take some weeks before scientists know for sure whether the impact achieved its intended goal, she was convinced something remarkable was achieved. She said that humanity is now embarking on a new era where there is the possibility of having the capability to protect itself from something as dangerous as a harzardous asteroid impact. "What an amazing thing; we've never had that capability before," she said, BBC reported. Related Article: NASA Spacecraft Will Hit Massive Asteroid Next Monday; Here's Where to Watch It Live @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Vietnam exported more than 50 per cent of its garments to the US out of the total exports of $17.875 billion in the first half (H1) of this year. According to an analysis of exports data, the country exported around 78 per cent of its apparel to 5 countries including Japan, South Korea, China and Canada. Japan was the 2largest market for the country. Vietnams apparel exports to the US were valued at $9.094 billion in January-June 2022 which was 50.88 per cent of its total exports of $17.875 billion in the same period, according to market data from Fibre2Fashions market insight tool TexPro. The exports to Japan were at $1.635 billion (9.15 per cent), South Korea at $1.556 billion (8.71 per cent), China at $793.371 million (4.44 per cent) and Canada at $732.067 million (4.10 per cent) in the period under review. Germany, UK, France, Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and Switzerland were the other markets of Vietnam with exports of more than 1 per cent each. Vietnam exported more than 50 per cent of its garments to the US out of the total exports of $17.875 billion in the first half (H1) of this year. According to an analysis of exports data, the country exported around 78 per cent of its apparel to 5 countries including Japan, South Korea, China and Canada. Japan was the 2nd largest market for the country. The US was the largest importer of Vietnamese apparel last year with a huge margin. Vietnam had exported apparel worth $14.284 billion in 2021 which was 45.78 per cent of its total exports of $31.201 billion, as per TexPro. The exports to Japan were at $3.450 billion (11.06 per cent), South Korea at $3.294 billion (10.56 per cent), China at $1.734 billion (5.56 per cent) and Canada at $1.199 billion (3.84 per cent), in 2021. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL) Ten national master craft persons and exporters from across India displayed a wide range of hand-crafted products like home decor, home furnishing, carpets, furniture, lamps, fashion jewellery and accessories, incense, and aroma and wellness products at a recent Made in India Trade Show Exhibition dedicated to Indian arts and crafts in Guatemala City. The exhibition was organised by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) in association with the Indian mission in the Guatemala from 22 to 24 September. Ten national master craft persons and exporters from across India displayed a wide range of hand-crafted products like home decor, home furnishing, carpets, furniture, lamps, fashion jewellery and accessories, incense, and aroma and wellness products at a recent 'Made in India Trade Show Exhibition' dedicated to Indian arts and crafts in Guatemala City. Rakesh Kumar, executive director, EPCH informed that Guillermo Castillo, vice president of Guatemala and acting president and ambassador of India to Guatemala, Dr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra inaugurated the Made in India Trade Show in Guatemala and have extended their full cooperation and support to EPCH for organising Made in India - Trade Show Exhibition in their region reflecting the indomitable spirit of the handicraft exporting fraternity to continue furthering the efforts to strengthen the handicrafts sector. EPCH chairman Raj Kumar Malhotra expressed hope that the exhibition will lead to enhanced trade and people-to-people relations with Latin America, according to an official release. Indian ambassador to Guatemala Manoj Kumar Mohapatra said it was an opportunity to present to the world India's abundant skills, competitive edge and adherence to quality compliance. Indias handicrafts exports during fiscal 2021-22 were worth 33,253 crore ($4459.76 million), registering a growth of 29.49 per cent in rupee term and 28.9 per cent in dollar terms over the previous fiscal. However, exports of such items to Latin America were worth 682 crore ($92 million) in 2021-22. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS) Employers and unions called on the Bulgarian government to come up with an industrial strategy to make use of the growth opportunities for the countrys textile, clothing, leather, and footwear (TCLF) industries. Even as the TCLF industries employ 80,000 workers in Bulgaria, employment has gone down by 20 per cent in the past four years which is a concern. In the European Union (EU) Sustainable Textiles Strategy, TCLF industries are one of 14 industrial priority sectors, according to a joint press release by the European Apparel and Textile Confederation (EURATEX), European Confederation of the Footwear Industry (CEC), Confederation of National Associations of Tanners and Dressers of the European Community (COTANCE), and IndustriAll. Employers and unions called on the Bulgarian government to come up with an industrial strategy to make use of the growth opportunities for the country's textile, clothing, leather, and footwear (TCLF) industries. Even as the TCLF industries employ 80,000 workers in Bulgaria, employment has gone down by 20 per cent in the past four years which is a concern. Social partners discussed the challenges and opportunities of the new EU Sustainable Textiles Strategy and focused on both environmental and social sustainability. They agreed that for the strategy to be successful, all stakeholders must come together, and that a level playing field must be maintained between EU (Bulgarian) and non-European companies. In the face of tough global competition, huge investment will be needed in both technology and people to ensure that the Bulgarian TCLF sectors can become greener and more digital. The modernisation of these sectors would also help the sector to become more attractive to Bulgarian workers, thus reducing the need to hire workers from abroad. Concerns were raised by national social partners, similar to other central and south European countries, that some young workers have opted to leave for Western Europe. Proposals to tackle this issue included ensuring better purchasing practices from major fashion brands whose suppliers account for over 90 per cent of TCLF production. The social partners voiced their hope that with improvement in the purchasing practices of brands, changes in the behaviour of consumers and measures to ensure competitiveness that benefits could be felt by both the industry and the workforce. FOSIL-CITUB and FLI-PODREPA unions called for stronger social dialogue and sectoral collective bargaining. There has been no branch agreement since 2008, and existing company accords only cover 3-4 per cent of the sector. This is far from the 80 per cent coverage mentioned as reference in the upcoming European Minimum Wage Directive. As such, the unions have agreed to start developing a work plan to increase their leverage, added the release. Employers wanted to have regulations to combat the grey economy and unfair competition. BAATPE and BATOK associations acknowledged that social partners must increase their representativeness to have a louder voice. The message from trade unions in Sofia is clear: we need quality social dialogue and strong collective agreements to ensure a positive future for the TCLF industries in Bulgaria. The EUs Sustainable Textiles Strategy offers a real opportunity if managed correctly, but investments both in technology and the workforce will be essential. This includes ensuring fair wages and good conditions to retain current workers and attract new ones, said IndustriAll Europes general secretary Luc Triangle. In a context where Europe puts more focus on quality, transparency, and sustainability, Bulgarian textile companies have a future. But they need support from the authorities to make that green and digital transition, and a constructive social dialogue, which ensures long term competitiveness of the industry, said EURATEX director general Dirk Vantyghem. Moreover, a particular focus and attention should be given to investments on skills and lifelong learning of workers. People are the main asset for the growth and competitiveness of the footwear and leather goods industries, and the education system in Bulgaria should be able to respond to companies skills needs. For that purpose, adequate curricula and related training programmes should be developed and education infrastructures made available by public authorities, in particular when it comes to vocational education and training (VET), said secretary general of CEC Carmen Arias. Leather producers in Bulgaria and all over Europe constitute a fundamental link in the worlds most demanding fashion value chains. They also play an important societal role, as they collect and transform a residue of the food and feed ecosystem into one of the most appealing textile ecosystem materials there is. For keeping generating wealth and jobs they need support from their public authorities for solving the problems of rocketing energy costs, unfair extra-EU competition, and a difficult labour market, said secretary general of COTANCE Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano. The workshop was part of an EU-funded social dialogue project Ensuring a Sustainable Future for the Southeast European Textile, Clothing, Leather, and Footwear Industries, carried out in cooperation between European industry associations EURATEX, COTANCE, CEC, and IndustriAll Europe. The two-year project covers Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia, where the TCLF industries employ over 400,000 workers. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB) WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) said that Mike Van de Ven plans to step down from his role as Chief Operating Officer at the end of September and from his role as President at the end of December. Chief Executive Officer Bob Jordan will assume the additional role of President, effective Jan. 1, 2023. Mike will become an Executive Advisor for the Company at the start of 2023. The company announced several other leadership changes, effective October 1, 2022. The company promoted Andrew Watterson to Chief Operating Officer from Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer. Watterson joined Southwest Airlines in 2013 with a wealth of commercial and operational experience-from time serving the U.S. Army, to consulting air carriers across the globe in airline operations at both Oliver Wyman and Ernst & Young, and in leadership at Hawaiian Airlines. Ryan Green is promoted from Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer to Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer. In addition to his continued Leadership of the Marketing and Customer Experience & Engagement departments, Green will provide oversight to the Commercial Planning, Revenue Management & Pricing, and Southwest Business departments. Linda Rutherford is promoted from Executive Vice President People & Communications & Chief Communications Officer to Chief Administration & Communications Officer. 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. WESTON (dpa-AFX) - Biogen Inc. (BIIB) agreed to pay $900 million to settle allegations that the company caused the submission of false claims to Medicare and Medicaid by paying kickbacks to physicians to induce them to prescribe Biogen drugs, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement on Monday. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed and litigated by former Biogen employee Michael Bawduniak against Biogen under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the federal False Claims Act, which permit a private party to file a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. Biogen said in a separate press lease that it denied all allegations raised in the case. The U.S. and the states did not intervene in the case and the settlement does not include any admission of liability by Biogen. Biogen determined that now was the right time to resolve the litigation and allow the company to remain focused on patients and strategic priorities. In his lawsuit filed in the District of Massachusetts, Bawduniak alleged that Biogen paid kickbacks to physicians to induce them to prescribe the company's multiple sclerosis drugs. According to Bawduniak's complaint, from January 1, 2009, through March 18, 2014, Biogen offered and paid remuneration, including in the form of speaker honoraria, speaker training fees, consulting fees and meals, to health care professionals who spoke at or attended Biogen's speaker programs, speaker training meetings or consultant programs to induce them to prescribe the drugs Avonex, Tysabri and Tecfidera, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. As per the terms of the settlement, Biogen will pay about $843.81 million to the United States and $56.19 million to 15 states. Bawduniak will receive approximately 29.6% of the federal proceeds from the settlement. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX BIOGEN-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de A royal expert claims that King Charles III has no plans for Prince Andrew to partake in the British monarchy's future after Queen Elizabeth II' death. Prince Andrew's tenure as a working royal, according to Nick Bullen, co-founder of True Royalty TV, is "well and truly over." 'Well And Truly Over' For Prince Andrew Bullen said to Fox News Digital, "For Prince Andrew, his role as a working royal is well and well ended. In the upcoming weeks and months, we won't be seeing much more of him." The second son of the Queen was present at his mother Queen Elizabeth II's funeral earlier this month despite having his royal HRH title, military service, and charitable affiliations revoked following revelations about his associations with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. However, it is commonly believed that King Charles III plans to "slim down" the monarchy during his reign, which would allow him to concentrate on his heirs rather than his disgraced brother. Prince Andrew no longer has a place in the monarchy, according to Bullen, who also added that the Duke of York will not be awarded any of his military titles once they were removed following the discovery of his connections to Epstein. In January, Buckingham Palace made the announcement that the Prince will lose all of his military patronage and titles. It is believed that King Charles had a significant impact on the choice, as per Daily Mail. Following the disclosure of Prince Andrew's ties to Epstein and his catastrophic Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis of the BBC, the actor Virgina Roberts, who now goes by the married name of Giuffre, threatened to sue him in the US. Read Also: Who Is Joelle Rich? Johnny Depp's Alleged Lawyer Girlfriend Actor Dates During Court Battle Against Amber Heard Prince Andrew Only Allowed to Return During Queen Elizabeth II's Funeral The Duke of York faced mounting pressure and negative press as a result of the New York civil sex assault lawsuit, and it was revealed in January 2021 that the Prince would forfeit his royal patronages in order to defend himself against the accusations as a "private citizen." Last week, when their mother was laid to rest in Westminster Hall, Prince Andrew and his siblings were permitted to stand vigil next to her coffin for a short time while he was dressed in his military uniform. Soon after Her Majesty's passing, Prince Andrew also welcomed mourners at Balmoral as they gathered outside the castle where the Queen passed away to offer flowers and pay homage. According to a source in the palace, the King gave his brother permission to attend the Queen's vigil wearing his ceremonial military uniform. Epstein's sex abuse victims were said to be "frustrated" by Prince Andrew's return to public life, with some claiming that he was attempting to "rehabilitate" his reputation. In January, Buckingham Palace announced: "The Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to the Queen, with her assent and acceptance. The Duke of York is representing himself in this matter as a private citizen and will keep refraining from performing any official tasks," Daily Express reported. Related Article: Prince Harry Memoir: Duke of Sussex Rushes To Make Desperate Edit To Tone Down $40 Million Book Following Queen Elizabeth II's Death @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. QUEBEC CITY, Sept. 27, 2022, a global leader in providing the most flexible, robust and accurate ADAS and AD sensing technology, is pleased to announce its recognition among Canada's Top Growing Companies for 2022 by the Globe and Mail's Report on Business, where LeddarTech ranked 280 out of 430 eligible companies. The Canada's Top Growing Companies listranks Canadian companies on three-year revenue growth. LeddarTech thus continues to be recognized for its market-leading technology and business practices and, most recently, received two awardsfor its LeddarVisionsensor fusion and perception software solution. Canada's Top Growing Companies is an editorial ranking launched in 2019. It aims to celebrate the boldest entrepreneurial achievement by identifying and bringing the accomplishments of innovative businesses in Canada to the forefront. In order to qualify for this voluntary program, companies had to complete an in-depth application process and fulfill requirements. In total, 430 companies earned a spot on this year's ranking. "LeddarTech is very honored to be named by the Globe and Mail's Report on Business as one of Canada's Top Growing Companies," stated Charles Boulanger, CEO of LeddarTech. "LeddarTech began in Canada in 2007 with a commitment to developing technology that improves people's quality of life, increases public safety and encourages greater global environmental sustainability. In 2022 we celebrate our 15th anniversary, and our commitments have not changed," Mr. Boulanger continued. "On behalf of the management team, Board of Directors and our employees, I express our collective appreciation for this recognition. We remain motivated to continue our mission to become the most deployed sensor fusion and perception software solution that enables ADAS and AD applications." "Canada's Top Growing Companies recognizes the tremendous ambition and innovation of entrepreneurs in Canada," says Dawn Calleja, Editor of Report on Business magazine. "The next generation of Canadian businesses can draw inspiration from this ranking." "In an uncertain world, the success stories of the companies marked in this year's Report on Business magazine's list of Top Growing Companies are a beacon of optimism," says Phillip Crawley, Publisher and CEO of The Globe and Mail. "The Globe and Mail congratulates them on their achievements." About The Globe and Mail The Globe and Mail is Canada's foremost news media company, leading the national discussion and causing policy change through brave and independent journalism since 1844. With award-winning coverage of business, politics and national affairs, The Globe and Mail newspaper reaches 5.9 million readers every week in print or digital formats, and Report on Business magazine reaches 2.3 million readers in print and digital every issue. The Globe and Mail's investment in innovative data science means that as the world continues to change, so does The Globe. The Globe and Mail is owned by Woodbridge, the investment arm of the Thomson family. About LeddarTech Founded in 2007, LeddarTech is a comprehensive end-to-end environmental sensing company that enables customers to solve critical sensing, fusion and perception challenges across the entire value chain. LeddarTech provides cost-effective perception solutions scalable from Level 2 ADAS to Level 5 full autonomy with LeddarVision, a raw-data sensor fusion and perception platform that generates a comprehensive 3D environmental model from a variety of sensor types and configurations. LeddarTech also supports LiDAR manufacturers and Tier 1-2 automotive suppliers with key technology building blocks such as LeddarSteer digital beam steering and the LeddarEngine, which comprises a highly integrated, scalable LiDAR SoC and software combination that enables the accelerated design of automotive-grade LiDAR solutions with optimized cost-to-performance ratios. The company is responsible for several innovations in cutting-edge automotive and mobility remote-sensing applications, with over 140 patents granted or applied for, enhancing ADAS and autonomous driving capabilities. Additional information about LeddarTech is accessible at www.leddartech.comand on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebookand YouTube. Contact: Daniel Aitken, Vice-President, Global Marketing, Communications and Investor Relations, LeddarTech Inc. Tel.: + 1-418-653-9000 ext. 232 daniel.aitken@leddartech.com Investor relations contact:InvestorRelations@leddartech.com https://investors.leddartech.com/ Leddar, LeddarTech, LeddarSteer, LeddarEngine, LeddarVision, LeddarSP, LeddarCore, LeddarEcho, VAYADrive, VayaVision, XLRator and related logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of LeddarTech Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners. A group of experienced Certified Medical Marijuana doctors in Florida are offering Medical Marijuana Cards through a pre-qualification exam. Clearwater, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2022) - Florida's biggest and the most experienced group of Certified Medical Marijuana doctors are offering Medical Marijuana Cards to patients who qualify for medical marijuana. For this, they have come up with an instant pre-qualification exam online. DOC MJ Florida To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8846/138402_8acc4494242249f3_001full.jpg The group of Certified Medical Marijuana doctors was established in 2016 and has become the biggest and the most experienced group. The group consists of doctors and mental health counselors who boast of providing world-class care to patients. The counselors are also available online. The process of getting a Medical Marijuana Card To get a recommendation for medical marijuana, the candidate must consult a cannabis certified licensed doctor in Florida. The doctor will examine the candidate's medical condition and conclude whether they need a recommendation or not. If yes, then the doctor provides a recommendation and the candidate becomes eligible to receive a Medical Marijuana Card from the State. The card legally allows the patient to get and use marijuana for medical purposes. Conditions recognized for marijuana use under Florida Law Under the Florida law, patients with the following conditions are eligible for using marijuana: PTSD, epilepsy/seizure disorders, Parkinson's Disease, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's Disease, glaucoma, chronic muscle spasms, HIV/AIDS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, cancer, and chronic non-malignant pain. In addition, the law lets a doctor provide recommendation to patients who are diagnosed with "other medical conditions of the same class." To know eligibility for marijuana recommendation in a quicker manner, patients can undergo a pre-qualification exam by submitting an online form. Florida Medical Marijuana Doctors offer a way to receive marijuana recommendation that can help in the condition of a patient. Patients with Florida driver's license can receive the card on the same day of appointment. To book an appointment, visit https://docmj.com/. Offices are located at various places in Florida, Ohio, and Texas. CONTACT: Chiara Accardi 24761 US Highway 19 N Clearwater, FL, US 33763 +1 888-908-0143 info@docmj.com https://www.facebook.com/floridadocmj/ To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138402 Continued operational progress and strengthened financial position provides capital for key value inflection points and continued investment in leading technology platform Full data expected in Q1 2023 for BEN-2293 Phase IIa clinical study; a potential treatment for atopic dermatitis and a topical, best-in-class PanTrk inhibitor Collaboration extended with AstraZeneca to four disease areas, now with a total of three novel targets selected into their drug development portfolio Expect CTA by late 2022 for BEN-8744; an oral PDE10 inhibitor and first-in-class treatment for ulcerative colitis Continuous advancement of the BenevolentAI Platform, enhancing prediction quality and optimising tools for the discovery of novel targets across multiple modalities Cash and cash equivalents of 165.3 million providing sufficient capital to Q4 2024 for key value inflection points without including any future capital from licensing or collaboration agreements Regulatory News: BenevolentAI (Euronext Amsterdam: BAI) ("BenevolentAI" or the "Company" or the "Group"), a leading, clinical-stage AI-enabled drug discovery and development company, announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2022. Joanna Shields, Chief Executive Officer of BenevolentAI, said: We are pleased with our performance for the first six months of 2022 as we continue to build both internal and external validation of the Benevolent Platform, our AI-enabled drug discovery platform. We progressed our in-house pipeline to 13 named platform-generated drug programmes and over 10 exploratory stage programmes and consistently delivered in our collaboration with AstraZeneca, who expanded the collaboration into two new disease areas and selected an additional target during the period. In May, we also gained further clinical validation of our approach after the FDA issued a full approval of baricitinib, the COVID-19 treatment first identified by BenevolentAI." "The capital raised from the business combination and listing in April this year puts us in a solid financial position to progress our development portfolio through near and medium-term key value inflection points and allows us to increase investment in our differentiated technology. As we look to the future, BenevolentAI's scalable platform and industry-leading novel target identification capabilities have the potential to transform drug discovery by radically improving our understanding of disease biology and ultimately increasing the probability of clinical success." Operational highlights (including post-period) Continued development of in-house pipeline across several disease areas with all programmes generated by the Benevolent Platform, validating its disease-agnostic capabilities. Clinical programme BEN-2293 topical best-in-class PanTrk inhibitor for atopic dermatitis (AD); data expected in Q1 2023 and on track to complete Phase IIa clinical study by end-2022 Aim to deliver one to two CTA/IND drug candidates per year Pre-clinical programmes BEN-8744 oral peripherally-restricted PDE10 inhibitor and first-in-class treatment for ulcerative colitis (UC); CTA expected by late 2022 and a Phase I study anticipated to start in early 2023 BEN-9160 oral best-in-class asset for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); IND enabling studies are expected to start Q1 2023 pending read-out of the in-vivo efficacy model efficacy model BEN-28010 oral best-in-class centrally penetrant asset for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM); nominated as a clinical candidate with preparation for IND enabling studies ongoing Drug discovery and target identification (ID) Working to transition at least one further project into lead optimisation in Q4 2022, with two projects already advanced in H1 2022 Initiated two new drug discovery programmes in H1 2022 with a further two-to-three anticipated in Q4 2022 Going forward, intend to focus internal Target ID capabilities on three specific therapy areas: immunology, oncology and neurology Strategy enables the Company to build focused expertise to successfully develop assets and, in the future, potentially commercialise with or without a partner Consistent delivery in commercial Target ID collaboration with AstraZeneca (AZ) providing ongoing Platform validation: Collaboration initiated in 2019 to support novel target identification utilising AI and machine learning for two indications: chronic kidney disease (CKD) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) with one target selected and validated in-house by AZ for each indication in 2021 A three-year collaboration extension announced in January 2022, adding two new disease areas: systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and heart failure (HF) Second novel target selected for IPF in May, taking the total number of novel targets selected to three overall Collaboration provided upfront license fees with the potential for future development milestones and sales-based royalty revenues on any successfully commercialised asset Full FDA approval of COVID-19 treatment first identified by BenevolentAI providing clinical and regulatory validation In May 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval for baricitinib (approved for rheumatoid arthritis and marketed by Eli Lilly) to treat COVID-19 in hospitalised adults requiring supplemental oxygen, non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), clinically validating BenevolentAI's approach BenevolentAI first identified baricitinib as a repurposed drug candidate in 2020 using the Benevolent Platform. Baricitinib delivered a 38% reduction in mortality in hospitalised patients, rising to 46% for those on supplemental oxygen, in Eli Lilly's COV-BARRIER trial As previously disclosed, Eli Lilly subsequently invested in BenevolentAI in 2020 Non-commercial collaborations Initiated phase two of AI research partnership with the Stanford University-based Helix Group in the first half of 2022 to discover more effective methods to extract knowledge from biological and clinical information, discovering and adjudicating contradictions in scientific literature Initiated AI research collaboration with the Drugs for Neglected Disease initiative (DND i ) in April to identify potential biological targets and therapies that could be repurposed for dengue to prevent disease progression. Targets have since been provided to the DNDi for experimental validation Continuous enhancement of the Benevolent Platform Continued growth of data within Knowledge Graph primarily due to an increase in patient-level data (omics) and enhanced natural language processing (NLP) recall (46% of which is proprietary to BenevolentAI) Evolution of data representation and introduction of large language models (LLMs) improve quality of reasoning on scientific literature for better understanding of human disease aiming for higher quality target predictions Extensions made to the existing Benevolent Platform to optimise the discovery of novel targets best prosecuted by alternative modalities (e.g., monoclonal antibodies). Expected to lead to a biologic entrant into the pipeline, further diversifying the portfolio Corporate highlights Strengthened Board of Directors and Leadership Promoted Dr. Daniel Neil to Chief Technology Officer, and appointed Nicholas Keher as Chief Financial Officer and Dr. Nicola Richmond, GSK veteran, as Vice President of Artificial Intelligence Dr. Olivier Brandicourt, former CEO of Sanofi, Jean Raby, former CEO of Natixis Investment Managers, and Dr. Susan Liautaud, Stanford University Ethics Expert, appointed as Non-Executive Directors Kenneth Mulvany, Founder and Non-Executive Director, stepped down from the Board and Michael Brennan, Co-Founder and Non-Executive Director, will step down on 30 September 2022 Continued to expand expertise across the business, including in drug discovery and development, with a focus on enhanced clinical capabilities Financial highlights Revenue of 4.8 million (H1 2021: 1.7 million) driven by extended AstraZeneca collaboration Drug Discovery R&D expenditure of 19.3 million) (H1 2021: 13.0 million) reflecting continued investment in pipeline and Phase I/II activities on BEN-2293 Operating loss of 55.3 million (H1 2021: 46.5 million) in line with internal expectations 177.9 million gross proceeds from the successful business combination and listing on Euronext Amsterdam completed April 2022 Six months ended 30 June 2022 2021 '000 '000 % Change Revenue 4,843 1,664 191% Normalised research and development spend (36,553) (25,980) 41% Normalised administrative expenses (23,642) (22,259) 6% Normalised operating loss (55,280) (46,502) 19% Normalised basic and diluted EPS, expressed in pence (47.4p) (45.8p) 3% Reported operating loss (134,547) (46,502) 189% Reported basic and diluted EPS, expressed in pence (123.9p) (45.8p) 171% Cash and cash equivalents 165,338 40,553 308% Analyst and Investor briefing BenevolentAI's executive leadership team will be hosting a briefing for analysts and investors at 14:00 BST 09:00 EDT on 27 September 2022 at the offices of FTI Consulting (200 Aldersgate, Aldersgate Street, London, EC1A 4HD, United Kingdom). The presentation will also be accessible via webcast with a recording made available on the Company's website shortly afterwards. To register your interest in attending either in person or virtually, please contact FTI Consulting at BenevolentAI@fticonsulting.com or +44 (0) 20 3727 1000. At the event, BenevolentAI's management team will lead sessions about the Company's approach and technology and its positioning within the wider AI drug discovery market, as well as talking about the Company's pipeline and business model. The event will also include an overview of BenevolentAI's interim results for the period ended 30 June 2022. Presentations will be given by BenevolentAI's executive leadership team in addition to Professor Tom MacDonald of Immunology at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London. No additional, material new information will be disclosed during the analyst and investor briefing. About BenevolentAI BenevolentAI (AMS: BAI) is a leading, clinical-stage AI-enabled drug discovery and development company listed on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. Through the combined capabilities of its AI platform, scientific expertise, and wet-lab facilities, BenevolentAI is well-positioned to deliver novel drug candidates with a higher probability of clinical success than those developed using traditional methods. The Benevolent Platform powers a growing in-house pipeline of 13 named drug programmes and over 10 exploratory programmes, and it maintains successful collaborations with AstraZeneca, as well as leading research and charitable institutions. BenevolentAI is headquartered in London, with a research facility in Cambridge (UK) and a further office in New York. Forward-looking Statements This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by words such as "plans", "targets", "aims", "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "will", "may", "should" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding objectives, goals, strategies, outlook and growth prospects; future plans, events or performance and potential for future growth; economic outlook and industry trends; developments in BenevolentAI's markets; the impact of regulatory initiatives; and/or the strength of BenevolentAI's competitors. These forward-looking statements reflect, at the time made, BenevolentAI's beliefs, intentions and current targets/aims. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions based on, without limitation, management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in BenevolentAI's records, and third-party data. Although BenevolentAI believes these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond BenevolentAI's control. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause the actual outcomes and the results of operations, financial condition and liquidity of BenevolentAI or the industry to differ materially from those results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. No representation or warranty is made that any of these forward-looking statements or forecasts will come to pass or that any forecast result will be achieved. OPERATING REVIEW We are pleased to present our first set of financial results following our business combination and listing on Euronext Amsterdam in April 2022, including an update on the operational progress achieved by BenevolentAI during the Period. BenevolentAI is a leading, clinical-stage AI-enabled drug discovery company with a track record of producing scientifically-validated drug discoveries by delivering novel drug candidates with a higher probability of clinical success than those developed using traditional industry methods. We combine advanced AI and machine learning (ML) with cutting-edge science to decipher complex disease biology. Our differentiated approach through the Benevolent Platform empowers creativity and innovation in drug discovery and development. This approach has generated a growing in-house pipeline of 13 named drug programmes and over 10 exploratory programmes while supporting successful commercial collaborations with AstraZeneca and leading global research and charitable institutions. The Benevolent Platform is a validated AI-enabled hypothesis-driven platform that powers high-confidence drug discovery. It is disease and modality-agnostic and capable of rapidly generating novel targets at scale. Our corporate strategy to date has been to leverage the Benevolent Platform to identify novel drug targets across a range of different therapeutic areas with the aim to reduce time and cost and improve the probability of clinical success compared to industry standards. Following a strategic review completed during the period by the Board, the Company will now look to focus its in-house pipeline on three specific therapy areas: immunology, oncology and neurology. This focused approach to our strategy will allow us to take forward assets where we have the right capabilities to successfully develop and, in the future, potentially commercialise with or without a partner. Subsequently, at an appropriate time, we will look to out-licence assets in therapeutic areas requiring larger and more complex clinical trials or in areas where we do not have the optimal internal capabilities to develop further. Over the period, we have invested in expanding our expertise by increasing headcount to over 350. Anticipated hiring will be weighted towards drug discovery and development, with a particular focus on enhanced clinical capability. The following highlights the progress across our lead in-house clinical and preclinical pipeline assets and the continuous enhancement of the Benevolent Platform. BEN-2293 topical best-in-class PanTrk inhibitor in development to relieve inflammation and rapidly resolve itch in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD): Phase IIa data expected in 2023 BEN-2293 is a drug candidate being explored as a treatment for mild and moderate atopic dermatitis, with the potential to be explored within severe atopic dermatitis. The molecule is an inhibitor of three tropomyosin receptor kinases ("Trk"), TrkA, TrkB and TrkC. The Company is currently progressing a Phase Ib/IIa double-blind, placebo-controlled, first-in-human, two-part clinical study to investigate the safety, tolerability, PK and efficacy of repeat topical dosing of BEN2293 in 90 patients with mild to moderate AD. The Phase Ib portion of the study in 32 patients was successfully completed in December 2021. The Phase IIa portion in 90 patients is set to complete by end-2022 with data expected in Q1 2023. Efficacy measures incorporated in the study included changes to the eczema area severity index (EASI), affected body surface area (BSA), a validated investigator global assessment (vIGA-AD), a NRS itch scale, time to itch reduction and quality of life questionnaires. The Benevolent Platform identified the role of the Trk receptors as mediators of both itch and inflammation in atopic dermatitis. Applying expertise in molecular design, we were able to design potent and selective inhibitors specifically of the three Trk receptors with high selectivity. We believe that BEN-2293 has the potential to demonstrate efficacy against both itch and inflammation with fewer side effects than steroid creams and various inhibitor treatments that are currently the dominant forms of treatment for this chronic condition. If BEN-2293 successfully completes this clinical trial, our intention is to partner this asset with a pharmaceutical company that has a focus in dermatology for continued clinical development and, if approved, commercialisation. The addressable market for atopic dermatitis is forecast to exceed $14bn1 in the seven major markets by 2028. BenevolentAI has filed for formulation and composition of matter patents covering BEN-2293. BEN-8744 is an orally administered, peripherally-restricted, PDE10 inhibitor under development as a first-in-class treatment for refractory ulcerative colitis (UC) IND-enabling studies are ongoing, and a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) is scheduled to be filed by late 2022, with the Phase I trial anticipated to start in early 2023. The Benevolent Platform identified PDE10 as an entirely novel target for the treatment of UC there was no previously known link between PDE10 and UC or other related inflammatory conditions. The target was experimentally validated in ex vivo UC colon samples from patients with active UC, allowing BenevolentAI to demonstrate efficacious target enzyme inhibition. Accordingly, we will look to demonstrate that BEN-8744 is effective in the treatment of moderate-to-severe cases of UC and with fewer side effects than the anti-TNF and JAK inhibitors that are currently the dominant form of treatment for this disease. Our aim is to progress BEN-8744 through clinical trials and retain commercial rights to this asset in-house. The combination of high and growing disease prevalence, improved diagnosis, high treatments rates and the existence of numerous drugs in the development pipeline, together with the need for better treatments, is driving a market that is forecast to exceed US$7.8 billion by 20262 BenevolentAI has filed for second medical use and composition of matters patents in respect of BEN-8744. BEN-9160 is an orally administered, brain-penetrant asset we are developing as a best-in-class treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis BEN-9160 is a c-Abl inhibitor. Preclinical safety, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics ("DMPK") studies were completed in 2022. IND-enabling studies are expected to start Q1 2023, pending read out of an in-vivo efficacy model. Subject to positive data the asset will then be ready for Phase I studies in 2024. The Benevolent Platform identified the c-Abl enzyme as a target for the treatment of ALS. C-Abl inhibitors had previously been studied primarily in the context of cancer treatments, but in vitro ALS models indicate that BEN-9160 also has the potential to be significantly neuroprotective, and we hope to demonstrate the drug candidate's efficacy in delaying the progression of ALS in our planned clinical development programme. BenevolentAI has filed for composition of matter patents covering BEN-9160. BEN-28010 is an orally administered asset we are developing as a best-in-class treatment for glioblastoma multiforme This asset was declared a clinical candidate, post period, in July 2022 with preparation for IND-enabling studies ongoing. Subject to positive data the asset will then be ready for Phase I studies in 2024. BenevolentAI has filed a number of patents covering BEN-28010. Earlier stage pipeline assets Across the rest of the pipeline we continue to see good progress, with two assets progressing into lead optimisation in the period and a further two assets expected to enter lead optimisation in the second half of 2022. We have also started two new drug programs in the period, with a further two-to-four expected to enter our pipeline in the second half of 2022 and with all targets generated from the Benevolent Platform. Continuous enhancement of the Benevolent Platform The Benevolent Platform powers a growing pipeline of in-house assets and collaborations. The platformis an AI-enabled, hypothesis-driven drug discovery methodology that draws on a multi-modal biomedical knowledge base and enables scientists to explore underlying disease mechanisms and objectively identify potential novel drug targets. The platform improves predictions by running repeatable, reproducible processes at scale and continuously learns from insights generated from experimental data generated from the Company's wet-laboratory facilities and AI models. The impact this continuous learning loop has on our platform increases over time, enabling the company to further enhance target identification and accelerate end-to-end drug discovery. The BenevolentAI Data Foundations sits at the core of our Platform and drug discovery programmes and is built on the foundations of all publicly relevant biomedical data mined from structured sources and language data, including scientific and patent literature, regulatory documents and primary human data, as well as third-party proprietary data and our in-house experimental data. The Knowledge Graph is constantly enriched to supply a comprehensive representation of biomedical data. Our exploratory tools and predictive models empower scientists to explore relationships in the graph between biological entities and disease networks. We continue to grow and enrich our Data Foundations with new and generated insights primarily due to an increase in patient-level data ('omics) and enhanced natural language processing (NLP) recall. This led to an increase of over 250% in relationship volume in the Knowledge Graph from June 2021 to August 2022 (46% of which is proprietary to BenevolentAI) albeit we expect this growth rate to moderate in future years. The Knowledge Graph continues to evolve, and a new version was launched during the period to enhance the recall of facts from scientific literature, supporting more nuance and specificity in our biological relationships. Beyond our data representation, our AI tools for scientists and predictive algorithms have improved at pace. Extensions and enhancements to our existing suite of tools have been completed that allow for novel targets best prosecuted by alternative modalities for example, monoclonal antibodies. We have also introduced a large language model (LLM) approach for our tools for more sophisticated reasoning. Business model The Company's flexible business model allows for different approaches to drug discovery and development, which can be tailored to suit each individual programme. It can out-license drug candidates at different stages of clinical development and, therefore, adjust the required level of funding over time. Furthermore, with a validated platform that is agnostic to therapeutic area and drug modality, we can select the opportunities with the most attractive value creation potential. The Company will now seek to develop further and then partner and/or commercialise pipeline assets in the following three disease areas: immunology, oncology and neurology. In all other disease areas assets would be out licensed prior to entering the clinic. In addition to our in-house pipeline, we will also target a small number of additional platform collaborations, similar to those with AstraZeneca. This would provide non-dilutive funding, further validate our platform and, importantly, allow us to leverage the data generated to enhance our Knowledge Graph to the benefit of our in-house pipeline. We expect to generate revenue broadly from three streams: Out-licence revenue: For some drug programmes, we will choose to out-licence to partners, who will then assume responsibility for some or all of the remaining clinical development and commercialisation. At the point of out-licensing each drug candidate, we expect to receive an up-front payment and then to receive milestone payments upon successfully completing various clinical, regulatory and/or sales milestones by the licensor. In addition, we would expect to receive royalty payments on the net sales of the out-licensed drugs. For some drug programmes, we will choose to out-licence to partners, who will then assume responsibility for some or all of the remaining clinical development and commercialisation. At the point of out-licensing each drug candidate, we expect to receive an up-front payment and then to receive milestone payments upon successfully completing various clinical, regulatory and/or sales milestones by the licensor. In addition, we would expect to receive royalty payments on the net sales of the out-licensed drugs. Platform collaboration revenue: We may receive upfront payments, research funding, milestones and royalties from platform collaborations. Platform collaborations are where we work with a partner to identify new drug targets using the Benevolent Platform. This includes the current collaboration with AstraZeneca, which began in 2019 and has recently been extended until 2025. The AstraZeneca collaboration has been a primary driver of revenue over the past three years. We may receive upfront payments, research funding, milestones and royalties from platform collaborations. Platform collaborations are where we work with a partner to identify new drug targets using the Benevolent Platform. This includes the current collaboration with AstraZeneca, which began in 2019 and has recently been extended until 2025. The AstraZeneca collaboration has been a primary driver of revenue over the past three years. Product sales from self-commercialised assets: We intend to commercialise certain drugs discovered using the Benevolent Platform. Our first product launch is targeted for the second half of this decade or shortly thereafter, and we plan to build all the necessary infrastructure to successfully launch and commercialise our drugs globally. Outlook Our listing in April 2022 has strengthened our financial position and will enable us to enhance our leadership in the AI drug discovery sector. We believe that our scalable Benevolent Platform will transform understanding of disease biology and help us uncover novel treatment approaches faster, and with a higher probability of clinical success. Due to the flexibility and disease agnostic capability of the Benevolent Platform, we aim to monetise our technology in three ways, as outlined below, to increase shareholder returns over the coming periods. Our primary focus will be to independently pursue the clinical development of certain in-house pipeline assets in a number of selected core therapeutic areas, identified as immunology, oncology and neurology, before either commercialising these in-house or with partners. Our lead asset for this approach is BEN-8744 for ulcerative colitis, which will enter Phase 1 first in human trials in 2023. We will out-license pipeline assets that do not fit within these new target indications at selective times to maximise value. Our lead asset for this approach is BEN-2293, which we will aim to out-license in 2023 post Phase 2 data. Lastly, we will endeavour to enter additional strategic collaborations to leverage our disease agnostic capabilities into therapeutic indications outside our focus areas. By the end of 2022, excluding early discovery programmes, BenevolentAI expects to have initiated 17 named drug programmes and, in 2023, expects to add between four and six named drug programmes. In addition, BenevolentAI will aim to progress one to two CTA/IND-stage drug candidates every year, not including assets taken forward by collaboration partners. This target number could increase if funding allows due to the scalability of our platform. BenevolentAI is well-funded with several value inflection points both in the near and medium term, providing a solid platform to fulfil our mission of delivering life-changing medicines to patients. Joanna Shields Chief Executive Officer 27 September 2022 FINANCIAL REVIEW Business combination On 22 April 2022, Odyssey SPAC and BenevolentAI Limited (the former parent company of the BAI Group before the Business Combination ("Transaction")), entered into a business combination agreement by way of contribution of all shares in BenevolentAI Limited into Odyssey SPAC in exchange for the issuance of new ordinary shares. The Transaction was completed on 22 April 2022 and resulted in changing the name of the Group's new holding company from Odyssey Acquisition S.A. to BenevolentAI (the "Group"). As part of the overall Transaction an equity fundraise via a private investment in public equity ("PIPE") and backstop arrangement was concluded, where the Group received at closing a cash flow of 177.9 million, with transaction costs reflected in the P L for the period of 79.3 million. As part of the Transaction related costs the Group incurred a non-cash, non-recurring listing service expense of 65.4 million, professional and bank fees of 11.3 million and share-based payment expenses of 2.6 million, which have been removed from the reported normalised operating loss to more accurately reflect the Group's underlying performance for the six months ended 30 June 2022. Other costs related to the Transaction are reflected in the opening reserves of the merged Odyssey SPAC entity (brought into the Group as at 22 April 2022, retranslated from EUR to GBP using at a 0.8302 exchange rate), or were expensed as incurred in the 2021 year end under each corresponding entity. Through the Transaction, warrant liabilities were also acquired by the Group. These had been previously issued by Odyssey SPAC, and recognised as liabilities, with that treatment continuing through the reported period due to precedent accounting requiring liability treatment where a warrant is denominated in a currency other than that of the functional currency. The warrants were revalued at closing of the transaction (18.1 million) and are revalued at each reporting period end, with the fair value as at 30 June 2022 of 12.0 million, with 6.1 million recognised as finance income. Revenues The Groups' revenues have increased by 3.1 million to 4.8 million (H1 2021: 1.7 million) with the majority reflecting a second AI-enabled drug discovery collaboration with AstraZeneca starting in January 2022, combined with revenue from a one-year extension on the initial AstraZeneca collaboration that began in late 2021 and in H1 a milestone related to the second novel target for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Research and development (R&D) expenses Normalised drug discovery spend, excluding share-based payments, for the first half of 2022 has increased to 19.3 million (H1 2021: 13.0 million), driven by the BenevolentAI pipeline advancing into later stages of development, in particular BEN-2293 and its progression through an adaptive Phase I/II clinical study. Normalised product and technology spend for the first half of 2022 has increased to 10.7 million (H1 2021: 9.9 million), due to an increase in staff related costs to support the continued expansion of the Benevolent Platform. General and administrative costs Normalised business operations spend, excluding share-based payments, for the first half of 2022 has increased to 8.1 million (H1 2021: 7.0 million), reflecting additional costs related to listing readiness. These costs are expected to stay at these levels given the enhanced level of compliance and reporting obligations. Operating loss Normalised operating loss for the first half of 2022 has increased to 55.3 million (H1 2021: 46.5 million). Finance income Finance income for the first half of 2022 has increased to 6.3 million (H1 2021: 10,000). This is predominantly driven by the fair value revaluation of the warrant liabilities acquired through the Transaction, reflecting a decrease in their value as at 30 June 2022 when compared to the Transaction date. Taxation Taxation income for the first half of 2022 has decreased to 3.9 million (H1 2021: 5.7 million). This is predominantly composed of tax credits arising from the UK's small and medium-sized enterprises R&D tax relief regime, for which the increase on the claim between the two periods, driven by an increase in eligible R&D expenditure, is more than offset by the stamp duty tax payable of 3.7 million arising from the Transaction. Loss per share Normalised basic loss per share has increased to 47.4p for the first half of 2022 (H1 2021: 45.8p), with the weighted average number of shares in both periods adjusted to reflect the exchange ratio of the share for share exchange completed during the Transaction, such as to reflect the capital structure of the legal parent. The increase reflects the increase in normalised total loss. Current assets Current assets as at 30 June 2022 have increased to 191.8 million (31 December 2021: 56.6 million), largely driven by a 124.8 million increase in cash. Cash and cash equivalents The cash position as at 30 June 2022 has materially strengthened with cash and cash equivalents of 165.3 million (31 December 2021: 40.6 million). This increase is driven by the PIPE, backstop proceeds, Odyssey Acquisition acquired cash, with gross proceeds of 177.9 million and AstraZeneca collaboration proceeds and off-set by the settlement of transaction expenses and ordinary course working capital expenditure. Warrants Warrants as at 30 June 2022 have increased to 12.0 million (31 December 2021: nil), brought in from the Transaction and revalued at the reporting period end. Other current liabilities Other current liabilities as at 30 June 2022 have increased to 42.4 million (31 December 2021: 23.7 million), reflecting an increase in trade payables for Transaction-related expenses that were paid shortly after the Period ended, and an increase in deferred income under the AstraZeneca agreements. Normalised Cash Flow Cash expended from operating activities before taxation and Transaction-related items has increased to 45.8 million for the first half of 2022 (H1 2021: 24.8 million), primarily driven by the increase in normalised operating loss, as well as changes to working capital from outstanding receivables due on the R&D tax credits and AstraZeneca collaboration income receivables. Nicholas Keher Chief Financial Officer 27 September 2022 INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME for the six months ended 30 June Note 2022 2021 Normalised Transaction- related(1) Total Restated(2) Total '000 '000 '000 '000 Revenue 5 4,843 4,843 1,664 Gross profit 4,843 4,843 1,664 Research and development expenses 6 (36,553) (36,553) (25,980) Included within research and development expenses: Share-based payment ("SBP") expenses 6, 11 (6,577) (6,577) (3,083) Administrative expenses 2.2 (23,642) (79,267) (102,909) (22,260) Included within administrative expenses: SBP expenses 2.2, 11 (15,568) (2,611) (18,179) (15,260) Other income 72 72 74 Operating loss 2.2 (55,280) (79,267) (134,547) (46,502) Finance income 7 195 6,120 6,315 10 Finance expense 8 (257) (257) (247) Loss before taxation (55,342) (73,147) (128,489) (46,739) Taxation 9 7,637 (3,739) 3,898 5,651 Loss for the period (47,705) (76,886) (124,591) (41,088) Total comprehensive loss for the period (47,705) (76,886) (124,591) (41,088) Basic and diluted loss per share, expressed in pence (123.9p) (45.8p) Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding 100,545,304 89,754,538 No dividend has been declared or paid in either reporting period. The notes form an integral part of these statements. (1) The "Transaction" is defined as the business combination which took place on the 22 April 2022. (2) Share-based payment restatement, unaudited, as detailed in note 11. INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION as at 30 June 2022 Note 30 June 2022 Unaudited Restated(1) 31 December 2021 Audited '000 '000 Non-current assets Goodwill 23,479 23,479 Intangible assets 21 23 Property, plant and equipment 2,745 2,778 Investments 2,383 2,383 Right-of-use assets 6,756 7,222 Trade and other receivables 177 175 35,561 36,060 Current assets Trade and other receivables 6,624 3,921 R&D tax receivable 9 19,859 12,150 Cash and cash equivalents 165,338 40,553 191,821 56,624 Total assets 227,382 92,684 Current liabilities Trade and other payables 12 21,182 10,286 Deferred income 5 7,000 31 Warrants 13 11,970 Lease liabilities 1,928 1,593 Provisions 12,250 11,774 54,330 23,684 Non-current liabilities Lease liabilities 6,383 7,201 Provisions 288 251 6,671 7,452 Total liabilities 61,001 31,136 Net assets 166,381 61,548 Equity Share capital 100 243 Share premium account 930,212 211,158 Share-based payment reserve 11, 4 177,405 87,720 Retained earnings 4 (460,260) (292,438) Merger difference 4 (481,332) 54,568 Currency translation reserve 256 297 Total equity 166,381 61,548 The notes form an integral part of these statements. (1) Share-based payment restatement, unaudited, as detailed in note 11. INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY for the six months ended 30 June 2022 Called up share capital Share premium Share- based payments reserve Retained earnings Merger difference Currency translation reserve Total equity '000 '000 '000 '000 '000 '000 '000 Restated(1)Balance at 1 January 2022 243 211,158 87,720 (292,438) 54,568 297 61,548 Total comprehensive loss for the period (124,591) (124,591) Foreign exchange difference (41) (41) Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity Capital Reorganisation of Odyssey SPAC (149) 584,462 (43,240) (535,900) 5,173 Repurchase and cancellation of G2 Growth Shares (9) 9 Equity of PIPE Financing and backstop facility 15 134,592 134,607 Listing service expense 65,401 65,401 Equity-settled share-based payment transactions 24,284 24,284 Total contributions by and distributions to owners (143) 719,054 89,685 (43,231) (535,900) 229,465 Balance at 30 June 2022 100 930,212 177,405 (460,260) (481,332) 256 166,381 Balance as at 1 January 2021 239 204,124 47,838 (184,534) 54,568 391 122,626 Total comprehensive loss for the period (30,861) (30,861) Foreign exchange difference 18 (37) (19) Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity Issues of shares, net of costs 4 7,034 7,038 Equity-settled share-based payment transactions 8,116 8,116 Total contributions by and distributions to owners 4 7,034 8,116 15,154 Balance as at 30 June 2021 243 211,158 55,954 (215,377) 54,568 354 106,900 Restatement(1) of Equity-settled share-based payment transactions(1) 10,227 (10,227) Restated(1) Balance as at 30 June 2021 243 211,158 66,181 (225,604) 54,568 354 106,900 The notes form an integral part of these statements. (1) Share-based payment restatement, unaudited, as detailed in note 11. INTERIM CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS for the six months ended 30 June Note 2022 Restated(1) 2021 Unaudited Unaudited '000 '000 Cash flows from operating activities Reported operating loss for the period (134,547) (46,502) Transaction-related items 2.2 79,267 Normalised operating loss 2.2 (55,280) (46,502) Adjustments for: Depreciation charges 1,504 1,480 Amortisation charges 2 2 (Gain)/loss on disposal of tangible fixed assets (1) Foreign exchange loss/(gain) (1,589) 137 Equity settled share-based payment expense 11 21,913 18,343 Normalised operating cash flow before changes in working capital (33,450) (26,541) Increase in trade and other payables (2,366) (2,111) Decrease in other provisions 241 Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables (10,187) 3,808 Cash expended from operating activities before taxation and Transaction-related items (45,762) (24,844) Cash outflows in respect of Transaction-related items (11,255) Cash expended from operating activities before taxation (57,017) (24,844) Taxation 3,898 5,651 Net cash outflow from operating activities (53,119) (19,193) Cash flows from investing activities Acquisition of property, plant and equipment (643) (286) Interest received on bank deposits 7 195 10 Net cash from investing activities (448) (276) Cash flows from financing activities Repayment of lease liabilities (1,072) (997) Equity issue of PIPE and backstop facility 145,897 7,038 Negative interest paid on cash held in escrow 8 (29) Cash acquired from Capital Reorganisation 32,009 Net cash from financing activities 176,805 6,041 Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents 123,238 (13,428) Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 40,553 85,371 Effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash held 1,547 (154) Cash and cash equivalents as at 30 June 165,338 71,789 The notes form an integral part of these statements. (1) Share-based payment restatement, unaudited, as detailed in note 11. NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION 1 Background to the Group 1.1 Corporate information BenevolentAI ("the Company") is a publicly listed company on the Euronext Amsterdam, with the ticker symbol BAI. The Company is limited by shares, incorporated under the laws of Luxembourg under registered number B255412, having its registered office 9, rue de Bitbourg, L-273 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The principal activity of the Company and its subsidiaries (collectively, "the Group" or "BAI Group") is that of creating and applying AI and machine learning to transform the way medicines are discovered and developed. 1.2 Group structure BenevolentAI was originally known as Odyssey Acquisition S.A. ("Odyssey SPAC"), a Special Purpose Acquisition Company established for the purpose of acquiring a business with principal business operations in Europe or in another geographic area, that is based in the healthcare sector or the TMT (technology, media, telecom) sector or any other sectors. Odyssey SPAC was listed on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange on 6 July 2021. On 22 April 2022 ("Closing date"), Odyssey SPAC and BenevolentAI Limited (the former parent company of the privately held UK group before the business combination ("Transaction")), entered into a business combination agreement by way of contribution of all shares in BenevolentAI Limited into Odyssey SPAC in exchange for Odyssey SPAC issuing new ordinary shares. The Transaction was completed on 22 April 2022 and the name of the ultimate holding company was changed from Odyssey Acquisition S.A. to BenevolentAI, whose consolidated Group post-closing is referred to as BAI Group. BAI Group is managed by its ultimate parent company BenevolentAI, with the following 5 trading subsidiaries operated under one segment. Registered office address Status Class of shares held Ownership BenevolentAI Limited 4-8 Maple Street, London W1T 5HD Trading Ordinary shares 100% BenevolentAI Cambridge Limited 4-8 Maple Street, London W1T 5HD Trading Ordinary shares 100% BenevolentAI Bio Limited 4-8 Maple Street, London W1T 5HD Trading Ordinary shares 100% BenevolentAI Technology Limited 4-8 Maple Street, London W1T 5HD Trading Ordinary shares 100% Benevolent Technology Inc(1) Domiciled in USA Trading Ordinary shares 100% BenevolentAI Energy Limited 4-8 Maple Street, London W1T 5HD Dormant Ordinary shares 100% Stratified Medical Limited(1) 4-8 Maple Street, London W1T 5HD Dormant Ordinary shares 100% (1) Held indirectly 2 Accounting policies 2.1 Basis of preparation These unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the six months ended 30 June 2022 have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted by the European Union. They have been prepared on a historical cost basis, except for financial instruments measured at fair value, and all amounts have been rounded to the nearest '000. At 30 June 2022, net assets totaled 166.4m, with a cash balance of 165.3 million following the completion of the business combination. Management have reviewed the Group's cash flow forecasts and believes it has sufficient cash for at least the next twelve months from the approval of these financial statements. The financial statements, therefore, continue to be prepared on the going concern basis. The financial statements do not include all the information and disclosures required in the annual financial statements and should be read in conjunction with annual consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2021 for both Odyssey Acquisition S.A. and BenevolentAI Limited. The Business Combination between BenevolentAI Limited and Odyssey SPAC is accounted for within the scope of IFRS 2 as a capital reorganisation since Odyssey SPAC did not meet the definition of a business in accordance with IFRS 3. Under this accounting method, Odyssey SPAC is treated as the acquired company for financial reporting purposes. The comparatives in the financial statements, therefore, represent the financial information of BenevolentAI Limited and its subsidiaries, both to 30 June 2021 and as at 31 December 2021. The activity and position of the acquired Odyssey SPAC is considered only from the Closing date onwards. That is, the statement of profit and loss contains only the post-acquisition performance of Odyssey SPAC, with the pre-acquisition losses being reflected through reserves. See note 4 for further details. A number of new standards are effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023 and earlier application is permitted; however, the Group has not early adopted the new or amended standards in preparing these consolidated Interim financial statements. The consolidated interim financial statements of the Group for the six months ended 30 June 2022 were authorised for issue in accordance with a Board resolution on 27 September 2022. 2.2 Normalised operating loss Normalised operating loss is defined as operating loss excluding expenses related to the business combination for the six months ended 30 June 2022. This is to show an underlying representation of operating losses and cash flows for the respective periods. It is an alternative performance measure ('APM') that is not calculated in accordance with IFRS and therefore may not be directly comparable with other companies' APMs, including those in the Group's industry. APMs should be considered in addition to, and are not intended to substitute or supersede, IFRS measures. This APM is in our view an important metric for a biotech company in the development stage. Removing the Transaction-related costs, given their isolated nature, enables users to better compare the Group's normal operating performance between reporting periods. The following table presents a reconciliation of normalised group operating loss, to the closest IFRS measures, for each of the periods indicated: For the six months ended 30 June Note 2022 2021 '000 '000 Reported group operating loss (134,547) (46,502) Adjustments for: Transaction-related expenditure 11,255 Transaction-related listing service expense 4 65,401 Transaction-related SBP expenses 11 2,611 Total Transaction-related items 79,267 Normalised group operating loss (55,280) (46,502) 2.3 Change in functional currency of BenevolentAI As of 22 April 2022, management reviewed the functional currency of BenevolentAI and the presentation currency of the Group. The change in functional currency, for standalone BenevolentAI was made to reflect that GBP has become the predominant operating currency for the Company representing a significant part of its cash flows and its operating environment, while the Group presentation currency remains in GBP consistent with the prior year. The Group presents as comparative information the financial information of the former BenevolentAI Limited Group, which had GBP as its functional and presentation currency. Comparative information, therefore, has not been re-stated following this change to BenevolentAI's functional currency. 3 Critical accounting estimates and judgements The consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union and the application of the chosen accounting policies requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates. The estimates and the underlying assumptions are subject to continuous review. The Group based its assumptions and estimates on parameters available when the financial statements were prepared. Existing circumstances and assumptions about future developments, however, may change due to market changes or circumstances arising that are beyond the control of the Group. Such changes are reflected in the assumptions when they occur. In preparing these condensed interim financial statements, the significant judgements made by management in applying the Group's accounting policies and the key sources of estimate uncertainty are: Goodwill and Intangible Assets The amount of goodwill and intangible assets initially recognised as a result of a business combination is dependent on the allocation of the purchase price to the fair value of the identifiable assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. The determination of the fair value of the assets and liabilities is based, to a considerable extent, on management's judgement and based on industry benchmarks and information relevant to the specific assets in focus. The carrying value of goodwill and intangibles requires the assessment of discounted future cashflows of the future economic value of the underlying assets. The assumptions and critical judgement required from management is inherently uncertain though based on recognised industry methods of evaluating drug programme assets and companies undertaking drug discovery activities. Management used industry practice in its method of evaluating the estimate of future revenue streams of drug programmes, associated costs together with market data for the therapeutic areas of interest, discount rates for cost of capital, risk factors including probabilities of progressing a candidate to commercialisation or earlier partnering of a programme and other relevant factors. Management have further considered the positive progress identified to date from the acquisition of BenevolentAI Cambridge Limited with value anticipated to arise from already identified specific programmes in addition to the ongoing value creation from the underlying assets. Share-based payments provision The Group operates an unapproved Share Option Plan. All employees are offered options upon joining the Group. The fair value of share options granted is measured using the Black-Scholes model at each reporting date taking into account various assumptions detailed in note 12. The full charge of the vested options during the half year is recognised in the profit and loss. Classification of Class A Warrants and B Warrants As part of the Business Combination transaction, BAI Group took on warrants which had been initially issued by Odyssey SPAC prior to the Transaction, as part of financing Odyssey SPAC's working capital and investment. A derivative, other than a derivative that meets the definition of an equity instrument, is initially recognised as a financial asset or financial liability at its fair value on the date the derivative contract is entered into, and the related transaction costs are expensed. The fair values of the derivatives are remeasured at the end of each reporting period with changes in fair values recognised in net income or loss. A derivative that will be settled by the Company delivering a fixed number of its own equity instruments in exchange for a fixed amount of cash in terms of its functional currency or another financial asset is classified and presented as an equity instrument, rather than a financial liability. The exercise price of the Company's share purchase warrants that are exercisable into common shares is denominated in EUR, however, the Company will receive a variable amount of cash in terms of its GBP functional currency upon exercise of the warrants due to movements in foreign exchange. Accordingly, the Company's warrants are classified and presented as derivative financial liabilities and measured at fair value through profit or loss. The fair value of each warrant class is determined at each reporting date and exercise date and is based on quoted market prices, where available, or independently valued using Binomial Tree method and the Monte Carlo method. This is consistent with how fair value revaluations were determined under Odyssey SPAC. 4 Accounting impact of the Business Combination Following the successful completion of the Business Combination with Odyssey SPAC on 22 April 2022, BenevolentAI became the new name of the holding company of the new BAI Group. This Business Combination was achieved through the contribution of ordinary and preferred shares in BenevolentAI Limited in exchange for new ordinary shares in BenevolentAI (previously Odyssey SPAC), The result being that the new BAI Group became listed on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. As discussed in note 2.1, the Business Combination between BenevolentAI Limited and Odyssey SPAC was accounted for within the scope of IFRS 2 as a capital reorganisation, since Odyssey SPAC did not meet the definition of a business in accordance with IFRS 3. Accordingly, the Transaction was treated as the equivalent of BenevolentAI Limited issuing shares at the closing of the Business Combination for the net assets of Odyssey Acquisition S.A. as at the Closing date, accompanied by a recapitalisation. The excess of the fair value of consideration for Odyssey Acquisition S.A. over the fair value of its identifiable net assets acquired represents a compensation for the service of a stock exchange listing for its shares and expenses as incurred. This leads to a non-cash listing service expense of 65.4m that has been recognised in administrative expenses. As at Closing date, the fair value of BenevolentAI Limited's shares that were deemed to be issued to Odyssey SPAC amounted to 88.3m, based on the initial closing price of shares of Odyssey Acquisition S.A. according to the table below. In return, BenevolentAI received Odyssey SPAC's listing service and its net liabilities, equal to 6.1m, which mainly consisted of remaining cash net of redemptions and liabilities related to the warrants, resulting in a total non-cash listing service expense of 65.4m to administrative expenses, excluding the 29.0m of Transaction-related expenses incurred by Odyssey SPAC. Fair value in m Class A shares (4.9 million shares at 8.22 per share) 40.0 Class B shares 2/3 (5 million shares at 8.22 per share) 41.1 Class B shares 1/3 (2.5 million shares at 2.87 per share) 7.2 BenevolentAI Limited's shares deemed issued 88.3 Plus Odyssey SPAC's net liabilities 6.1 Less Transaction-related expenses incurred by Odyssey SPAC (29.0) IFRS 2 non-cash listing service expense 65.4 Odyssey SPAC's net liabilities at Closing (before the gross proceeds of 136.1m from PIPE Financing and 40m backstop): Fair value in m at Closing Cash 32.0 Prepayments and other debtors 0.2 Accruals and trade creditors (20.2) Warrants at fair value (18.1) Net liabilities acquired (6.1) In conjunction with the Transaction, Odyssey SPAC entered into subscription agreements with investors ("PIPE Investors") in a Private Investment in Public Equity transaction (the "PIPE Financing") in the aggregate amount of 136.1m (113.0m). In return for their investment, the PIPE Investors received a total of 13,613,394 additional Odyssey SPAC Class A shares. An equity back stop facility for 40m (33.2m) resulted in a further issuance of 4,000,000 (per note 15) ordinary shares were also issued. This resulted in a total cash inflow of 145.9m (less 0.3m of professional fees) across the equity PIPE and Backstop. Prior to closing, as consistent with the original public share offering by Odyssey SPAC, a total of 25.1 million ordinary shares with an agreed redemption price of 9.96 per share were redeemed for cash by eligible ordinary shareholders, following the redemption process. These are currently held as treasury shares. The redemption payable of 250.3 million was paid prior to Transaction close. As part of the Capital Reorganisation, BenevolentAI Limited's share capital was exchanged for shares in Odyssey Acquisition S.A. of 75k, being 90 million shares at a par value of 0.001. This capital reorganization reflects the transition of the share capital and share premium from BenevolentAI Ltd to BenevolentAI. This results in a decrease within share capital by 0.1m from the old share capital (par value of 0.10) with an increase of 584m reflecting a true-up to the premium on the shares issued to BenevolentAI shareholders in the share for share exchange. The corresponding adjustment to reflect the book value accounted, reflected through a corresponding charge to retained earnings of 43.2m and the merger difference of 535.9m, reflected in BenevolentAI. The following table provides an overview of the impact of the Business Combination on the Statement of Comprehensive loss for the six months to 30 June 2022: in m BenevolentAI Limited (ex-Transaction) Impact from Business Combination (1) (2) (3) BenevolentAI consolidated (with Transaction) Gross profit 4.8 4.8 Operating loss (55.3) (79.3) (134.6) Loss before tax (55.4) (73.1) (128.5) Taxation 7.6 (3.7) 3.9 Loss for the period (47.8) (76.8) (124.6) (1) Operating loss includes the listing service expense of 65.4m; Transaction-related SBP expenses of 2.6m; transaction costs of 11.3m; and costs incurred by the Company since Transaction close. (2) Loss before tax includes those adjustments noted above, in addition to the revaluation of warrants since Close of 6.1m credit. (3) Loss for the period includes those adjustments noted above, in addition to stamp duty tax payable of 3.7m. In addition, the following table provides an overview of the impacts of the Business Combination on the Statement of Financial Position at 30 June 2022: in m BenevolentAI Limited (ex-Transaction) Impact from Business Combination (4) (5) BenevolentAI consolidated (with Transaction) Assets Total non-current assets 35.6 35.6 Total current assets 38.5 153.3 191.8 Total assets 74.1 153.3 227.4 Liabilities Total current liabilities 42.3 12.0 54.3 Total non-current liabilities 6.7 6.7 Total liabilities 49.0 12.0 61.0 Net assets (shareholders' equity) 25.1 141.3 166.4 (4) Current assets include 32.0m proceeds from cash in Odyssey SPAC at Transaction close, in addition to 112.7m net proceeds from PIPE Financing and 33.2m proceeds from backstop facility. This is then net of outflows of 24.6m for payments of stamp duty; supplier invoices; and negative interest. Note, neither the PIPE Financing nor the backstop have been included as net assets when determining the listing service expense. (5) Current liabilities includes the 12.0m fair value of warrants as at 30 June 2022, having moved from the 18.1m valuation at the Transaction close. 5 Revenue We initially recognise income under the AstraZeneca Collaboration as deferred revenue, which we become entitled to recognise as revenue in line with the delivery efforts towards the completion of tasks and provision of the deliverables set out in the agreements governing the AstraZeneca Collaboration. For the six months to 30 June 2022, this is represented by a revenue of 4.8m (six months to 30 June 2021: 1.7m). AZ Collaboration deal Building on the success of the first collaboration, the relationship with AstraZeneca has been expanded into a new 3-year partnership, starting 1 January 2022 and focusing on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and heart failure (HF). As the result of this collaboration BenevolentAI received an upfront fee of $15m (11.8m) in January 2022. As the result of the upfront fee, a total of 7.0m deferred revenue is recognised as of 30 June 2022 (nil as at 31 Dec 2021). There is no related party revenue in the six months to 30 June 2022 (six months to 30 June 2021: nil). See note 15 for related party information. 6 Research and development expenditure For the six months ended 30 June 2022 2021 Total Total '000 '000 Drug discovery 22,681 14,532 Included within drug discovery expenses: SBP expenses 3,389 1,575 Product and technology 13,872 11,448 Included within product technology expenses: SBP expenses 3,188 1,508 36,553 25,980 7 Finance income For the six months ended 30 June 2022 2021 '000 '000 Interest income on bank deposits 195 10 Fair value revaluation of warrants 6,120 6,315 10 8 Finance expense For the six months ended 30 June 2022 2021 '000 '000 Interest expense on lease liabilities 228 247 Interest expense on cash held in escrow 29 257 247 9 Taxation For the six months ended 30 June 2022 2021 '000 '000 R&D Tax Credit 7,637 5,651 Transaction-related stamp duty tax payable (3,739) 3,898 5,651 Research and Development Tax Credits represents estimated tax credits arising from the UK's small and medium-sized enterprises R&D tax relief regime, which are settled in the following year. Receipts for 2021 remain outstanding due to a scheme wide backlog in processing, reviewing and settling submissions to claimants. 10 Loss per share Loss per ordinary share has been calculated by dividing the loss attributable to equity holders of BenevolentAI after taxation for each financial period by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the financial period. The weighted average number of shares is calculated from the number of ordinary and preferred BenevolentAI shares in circulation at the beginning of the period adjusted by the number of ordinary shares issued during the period, alongside the impacts of the transaction and multiplied by a time-weighting factor. The time-weighting factor reflects the ratio of the number of days on which ordinary shares were issued and the total number of days of the period. The G2 Growth Shares have been excluded as they do not attract dividends and were subsequently cancelled prior to the Transaction. As the business combination is accounted for as if BenevolentAI Ltd has acquired Odyssey SPAC, the number of shares is adjusted to reflect the exchange ratio of the share for share exchange completed during the Transaction, such as to reflect the capital structure of the legal parent. In accordance with IAS 33, the calculation of the basic and diluted loss per share for all periods presented has been adjusted retrospectively due to these changes. For the six months ended 30 June Note 2022 2021 '000 '000 Basic and diluted loss per share, expressed in pence (123.9p) (45.8p) Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding 100,545,304 89,754,538 Reported total comprehensive loss (124,591) (41,088) Adjustments for: Transaction-related items 2.2 79,267 Fair value revaluation gain on warrants within finance income 7 (6,120) Stamp duty tax payable within taxation 9 3,739 Normalised total comprehensive loss (47,705) (41,088) Normalised basic and diluted loss per ordinary share (47.4p) (45.8p) 11 Share based payments ("SBP") During the period to the 22 April 2022 (before the Transaction), 1,602,040 options and 75,793 Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) were granted to employees and others under the unapproved Share Option Plan for BenevolentAI Limited. No awards were made between the Transaction and 30 June 2022. Benevolent options and RSUs have been adjusted based on the ratio of 1 BenevolentAI Limited ordinary and A preferred share into approximately 38.4930 BenevolentAI ordinary shares, as determined in the business combination agreement as part of the share for share exchange. Correspondingly, the exercise price has been divided by the same ratio, such that the fair value charge remains consistent, with no other impact arising from this scheme modification. During the six months to 30 June 2022 575,894 options and 66,824 RSUs were forfeited. The comparative information presented has been adjusted retrospectively for this conversion, where applicable. The number and weighted average exercise prices of share options under BenevolentAI are as follows: Options and RSUs held in BenevolentAI Weighted average exercise price (pounds) Number of options RSUs Weighted average exercise price (pounds) Number of options RSUs For the six months ended 30 June 2022 2022 2021 2021 Awards Outstanding at the beginning of the period 0.1 19,043,911 1.0 8,839,032 Forfeited during the period (0.0) (642,718) (11.7) (721,128) Exercised during the period Granted during the period 0.0 1,677,833 0.0 3,940,682 Outstanding at the end of the period 0.1 20,079,026 0.2 12,058,586 Exercisable at the end of the period For the six months ended 30 June 2022 Restated 2021 '000 '000 SBP expenses 21,913 18,343 Transaction-related SBP expenses 2,371 24,284 18,343 Social security provision in relation to SBP 232 Transaction-related social security provision in relation to SBP 240 472 The Group has re-assessed the fair value ("FV") charging methodology for the unapproved share option plan, identified as a result of the Business Combination, reflecting the scheme 'point of exit'. Historic FV allocation was to spread straight line over the service period, rather than via a tranching approach. The tranching approach would result in straight line FV allocation for the tranches vesting pre-trigger over the 'time to exit', with the regular tranching thereafter. Prior estimates around the 'time to exit', using the service period as an estimate, were in some instances too long, meaning that the FV allocation in respect of awards was spread over a longer period than actually transpired. Indicators during 2021 would suggest that the re-assessment of the FV allocation over the period to exit should have taken place in 2021 and that the respective charges have been pulled back into the restated period. The error and subsequent correction, presented through the restatement for the 2021 Interim Statement of Consolidated Income to 30 June and Full Year 2021 Statement of Financial Position is detailed below. Audited balances referred to are pre-restatement, where the restatement itself is yet to be audited reflective of the interim statement itself being unaudited. '000 Six months to 30 June 2021 Reported Unaudited Prior Period Adjustments Unaudited Restated Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income Research and development expenses SBP expenses (821) (2,262) (3,083) Administrative Expenses SBP expenses (7,295) (7,965) (15,260) (8,116) (10,227) (18,343) Interim Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position Year to 31 December 2021 Audited Prior Period Adjustments Unaudited Restated Unaudited Current liabilities provisions 10,391 1,383 11,774 Share-based payment reserve 67,666 20,054 87,720 Retained earnings (271,001) (21,437) (292,438) 12 Trade and other Payables 30 June 31 December 2022 2021 '000 '000 Trade payables 13,677 1,747 Taxation and social security 944 663 Other payables and accruals 6,561 7,876 21,182 10,286 Trade payables includes 11.3 million in relation to Transaction-related payables as at 30 June 2022. The Outstanding 1.9m relates to ordinary course trade payable as of 30 June 22. 13 Warrants 30 June 31 December 2022 2021 '000 '000 Warrants 11,970 The change in the fair value of the Warrants between 1 January 2022 to 21 April 2022 was recognised as retained earnings on the statement of the financial positions, prior to the Business Combination. Following the Transaction close and subsequent consolidation of the post-acquisition performance of BenevolentAI (formerly Odyssey SPAC), between 22 April 22 and 30 June 22, the change in the fair value was then recognised in the statement of comprehensive income as expense. The expense for the warrants was determined on the basis of the fair value at the Closing date. The fair value was derived by applying the using Binomial Tree method and the Monte Carlo pricing method. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the balance sheet date are retranslated to the functional currency at the foreign exchange rate ruling at that date. Foreign exchange differences arising on translation are recognised in the Comprehensive income statement. The current warrants are EUR denominated liability and are retranslated as at 30 June 22. The Foreign exchange difference arising on the retranslation is posted as expense in the statement of comprehensive income. 14 Shareholdings The table, including a comparative, reflects the shares in issue for BenevolentAI Limited as the accounting acquirer of Odyssey SPAC (now BenevolentAI) and the subsequent consolidated impact of the share for share exchanged, the impact of the redemption, equity Pipe Financing and equity Backstop facility for BenevolentAI, as the legal Parent and listed entity. Following the cancellation of the G2 Growth shares by BenevolentAI Limited, the Transaction involved the contribution of 2,338,423 existing BenevolentAI Limited shares held by BenevolentAI Limited shareholders against the issuance of new ordinary shares, adjusted based on the ratio of 1 BenevolentAI Limited share (Ordinary A Preference) into approximately 38.4930 ordinary shares. BenevolentAI Limited (0.10 par value) BenevolentAI (0.001 par value) Ordinary shares A Preference shares G2 Growth shares Total Ordinary shares Sponsor shares(1) Treasury shares(1) Total As at 1 January 2021 1,831,829 471,059 87,984 2,390,872 Issued for cash 35,535 35,535 As at 30 June 2021 and 31 December 2021 1,831,829 506,594 87,984 2,426,407 As at 1 January 2022 1,831,829 506,594 87,984 2,426,407 Odyssey SPAC shares in issue prior to the Transaction 30,000,000 7,500,000 37,500,000 Redemptions (25,137,581) 25,137,581 Equity Backstop facility 4,000,000 4,000,000 Cancellation of growth shares (87,984) (87,984) Capital reorganisation (1,831,829) (506,594) (2,338,423) 90,012,909 90,012,909 Equity PIPE Financing 13,613,394 13,613,394 Conversion of two thirds of Sponsor shares 5,000,000 (5,000,000) Shares in issue as at 22 April 2022 and 30 June 2022 117,488,722 2,500,000 25,137,581 145,126,303 (1) The unconverted sponsor shares, and the treasury shares, do not form part of the Basic total number of ordinary shares outstanding. The sponsor shares derive their economic rights from their conversion to ordinary shares. The redemptions by ordinary shareholders ahead of the Closing date were transferred into treasury to be subsequently used to satisfy equity awards or be cancelled. (2) The Capital reorganisation shows the impact of the share for share exchange on the BenevolentAI Ltd ordinary and preferred A shares in existence at closing, subject to an exchange ratio of 38.4930. 15 Related party transactions There have been no material related party transactions in the first six months of 2022 and no material change in related parties from those described in the last annual report. 16 Subsequent events There are no subsequent events to report. 17 Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer responsibility statement We confirm, to the best of our knowledge, that: 1. The condensed consolidated financial statements of BenevolentAI for the period from 1 January 2022 to 30 June 2022 have been prepared in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and as adopted by the European Union, and give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position, profit or loss of Benevolent AI and the Group taken as a whole; and; 2. this report includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and position of Benevolent AI and the Group taken as a whole for the first six months of the year, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties they face for the remaining six months of the year. Joanna Shields, Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Keher, Chief Financial Officer __________________________ 1 GlobalData Atopic Dermatitis: Epidemiology Forecast to 2027, 28 November 2018 2 Evaluate Pharma: Gastro-intestinal, Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Ulcerative colitis, Worldwide Overview (report 17th Sep 2021) View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220926005840/en/ Contacts: Enquiries: BenevolentAI: Nick Keher, Chief Financial Officer +44(0) 203 781 9360 Media: Rajin Kang VP Communications rajin.kang@benevolent.ai +44(0) 203 781 9360 Investors: Fleur Wood VP Investor Relations fleur.wood@benevolent.ai investors@benevolent.ai +44(0) 203 781 9360 FTI Consulting: Ben Atwell/Simon Conway/Victoria Foster Mitchell +44 203 727 1000 BenevolentAI@fticonsulting.com STOCKHOLM, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Storytel, one of the world's leading subscription services for audiobooks and e-books, has secured publishing deals with key French publishers such as Hachette Livre, Madrigall, Editis and Actes Sud. The agreements strengthen Storytel's strategic focus on established audiobook markets and open the door for expansion into French-speaking markets. Storytel's service in France is available from 27 September 2022. The service will offer a variety of subscription alternatives to meet the preferences of French consumers. Today, over two million subscribers across the world enjoy Storytel's attractive and accessible library of more than one million titles in over 30 languages. Storytel has now secured new agreements with the publishers Hachette Livre, Madrigall, Editis and Actes Sud amongst others. With these agreements, Storytel's customers in France will have access to more than 7,000 French titles and 290,000 titles in other commonly spoken languages such as Arabic and English. "French influence and innovation have shaped global culture and literature in many prolific ways. Now, French readers are embracing new digital formats such as audiobooks more than ever before. I am thrilled that we have secured partnerships with some of the best publishing houses with reach and respect beyond French borders. Together, we will offer a unique and immersive proposition to French book lovers", says Helena Gustafsson, Chief Content Strategy Officer at Storytel. Valerie Levy-Soussan, CEO of Audiolib, France's biggest publisher of adult audiobooks, a subsidiary of the Hachette Livre and Albin Michel groups: "We have followed Storytel's international expansion and welcome their arrival on the French market, with a model that is both in line with contemporary listening habits and reassuring for the publishers and authors who entrust us with their audio titles. The development of new platforms is a great opportunity to find new audiences and continue to develop the supply of audiobooks in France." Eric Marbeau, Digital Sales Director at Madrigall, one of the leading publishing groups in France and a major distributor of printed and digital books: "We are happy that Storytel is opening a service in France on a new time-based model, which will allow listeners to expand their listening habits to several titles a month. This offer matches our focus on encouraging listeners to try out a wider variety of titles they may otherwise overlook." Liza Faja, Director of Lizzie, the audiobook imprint of the publisher Editis: "Lizzie is a key player in the audiobook industry. The new model offered by Storytel is a formidable opportunity to make our titles and authors available to the widest possible audience." Storytel's French service will contain an extensive variety of stories, from Nordic Noir to classics and the latest bestsellers. Constance Parpoil, Storytel's new editorial lead for the European region, is an experienced executive in audio and publishing. She will head the development of the French catalogue and other publishing partnerships in the region. "Our focus in France will be local, reflecting the diversity of the country and of French-speaking communities worldwide. Storytel Originals, exclusive titles created for audio first, will also be a unique part of our portfolio. I cannot wait to make this amazing selection available to our Francophone audiences," says Constance Parpoil. FNCA Sweden AB is the company's certified adviser. For more information, please contact: Emma Boethius, PR Manager Tel: +46 70 2235673 Email: emma.boethius@storytel.com About Storytel Storytel is one of the world's largest audiobook and e-book streaming services and offers over one million titles on a global scale. Our vision is to make the world a more empathetic and creative place, with great stories to be shared and enjoyed by anyone, anywhere and anytime. The streaming business within the Storytel Group is conducted under the brands Storytel, Mofibo and Audiobooks.com. The publishing business is managed by Storytel Books, and by the audiobook publisher StorySide. The Storytel Group operates in over 25 markets and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/storytel/r/storytel-secures-partnerships-with-leading-publishers-in-france,c3636416 The following files are available for download: https://news.cision.com/storytel/i/constance-parpoil-by-mattias-barda,c3093278 Constance Parpoil by Mattias Barda https://news.cision.com/storytel/i/helena-gustafsson-by-mattias-barda,c3093311 Helena Gustafsson by Mattias Barda View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/storytel-secures-partnerships-with-leading-publishers-in-france-301633814.html Withlocals proudly announce B Corp certification and is working towards sustainability in tourism EINDHOVEN, Netherlands, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In anticipation of World Tourism Day, this is the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at how the travel and tourism industry impacts the planet, positively and negatively. Withlocals has been working on its mission to reshape the world of travel since 2013 by offering authentic experiences that connect people and cultures. Over the years, sustainability has become a strategic initiative to support this mission. This has resulted in the company receiving a B Corp certification in August 2022. Withlocals now joins more than 5000 other B Corp companies committed to solving social and climate problems worldwide. Well-known certified brands include Ben and Jerry's, Tony's Chocolonely, Alpro, and Patagonia. Influencing sustainable tourism Sustainable tourism is complicated. On one hand, the tourism industry contributes to up to 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, it contributes to over 6% of global GDP and is responsible for 1 out of every 11 jobs in the world. Tourism can be sustainable when the effort is made to minimize the negative impacts and maximize the positive ones. Part of the negative impacts to a destination include economic leakage, damage to the natural environment and overcrowding to name a few. But there are ways to tilt the balance with positive impact actions like job creation, cultural heritage preservation and interpretation, wildlife preservation, landscape restoration, and more. That's why Withlocals is proud to be part of a movement that prioritizes purpose beyond profit and has now joined other forward-thinking travel brands such as Intrepid Travel, Much Better Adventures, and Better Places in their journey to change the way people travel: "We are on a mission to reshape the world of traveling with people, places, and the planet in mind. By maximizing locals' benefits, we make sure the money ends up in local communities." Matthijs Keij, CEO Withlocals The road to B Corp Becoming B Corp is a process, not a destination. Obtaining this certification is just the first step. Maintaining it is a strong incentive to stay on the right track in terms of sustainability and social impact. For over a year Withlocals went through an extensive certification procedure to measure their sustainability efforts and social impact. The company revised their policies to benefit its primary stakeholders: travelers, local hosts, their communities, and the planet. Examples of these improvements are a focus on host happiness, fair pay analysis, updates of policies prioritizing the health of the Withlocals destinations, employee success enablement and many other practices. These efforts have a proven and positive impact on the team, community, governance, the environment, and customers. "Joining the B Corp movement means joining a group of amazing fellow companies that see the need for a better future, prioritizing honesty and transparency and knowing we can always do better, and pushing ourselves to do the right thing for society and our precious planet." Peigi Rodan, Sustainability Manager Withlocals will embrace B Corp's philosophy of full transparency and continuous improvements. For that reason, the company will release an annual report to publish their efforts towards a more sustainable travel market and highlight which changes have driven the most impact. The B-Corp certification is just the beginning. The real work starts here. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/no-better-way-to-celebrate-world-tourism-day-than-changing-the-way-to-travel-301633838.html Hexagon Ragasco, a Hexagon company and world leading manufacturer of LPG composite cylinders - was awarded a new Environmental Product Declarationfrom EPD-Norway covering the entire lifetime of their cylinders from cradle to grave. Hexagon Ragasco's cylinders are produced at the company's fully automated manufacturing plant in Raufoss, Norway. During the past 22 years, Hexagon Ragasco has sold over 20 million cylinders to close to 100 countries. Value of an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) An EPD discloses a product's life cycle environmental impact and helps users to identify sustainable products. Both the underlying Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the EPD are based upon international standards. Furthermore, it contains quantified information that enables comparison between products from the same product category and declares its environmental footprint towards predetermined environmental factors; one being the product's carbon footprint. Hexagon Ragasco's first EPD covered the product stage, from cradle-to-gate, and is valid for all our markets / customers in their markets.* The new EPD covers the entire product's lifetime from cradle-to-grave: product, use and end-of-life stages. The data was gathered in cooperation with Linde Gas AS, Norway's largest Marketer of bottled LPG. The new EPD has a baseline of two cylinder fillings per year and a 30-year product lifetime. Setting a new industry standard "Our focus is on reducing our carbon footprint and on delivering transparent and science-based information that can also help our customers reduce their own carbon footprint." says Margrethe Skattum, Head of Research & Sustainability, Hexagon Ragasco. "We continue leading the way among composite LPG cylinder manufacturers in terms of transparency in sustainability reporting. Our work with LCA is part of our business strategy and is in line with the EU Taxonomy". EPD Certification process Asplan Viak, a leading Norwegian consultancy company specialized in a.o. environmental impact analysis and sustainability, guided Hexagon Ragasco through this and the previous EPD certification process** for the entire cylinder lifetime which included: Extraction and production of raw materials, transport of raw materials to the manufacturing plant, manufacturing of cylinders and transport of finished cylinders to the port of Oslo, Norway; preparation and distribution of packaging in use, retesting and maintenance of cylinders, end-of-life stage. (See Figure 1 attached) For more information: Karen Romer, SVP Communications, Hexagon Composites ASA Telephone: +47 950 74 950 | karen.romer@hexagongroup.com Maria-Jose Pacheco, Head of Marketing and Communications, Hexagon Ragasco Telephone: + 47 472 69 709 | maria.pacheco@hexagonragasco.com *) Production and transportation of raw materials to the manufacturing plant in Raufoss, Norway; The production of composite cylinders at Hexagon Ragasco's manufacturing plant: and transportation of finished composite cylinders from the manufacturing plant to the port of Oslo, Norway. **) The LCA has been made in accordance with EN 15804:2012 + A2 2019 and ISO 14040. The EPD has been made in accordance with ISO 14025:2010 and verified by Aase Teknikk - a third-party verifying body approved by EPD-Norway. EPD-Norway is the organization which lists the approved EPD's in Norway. More than 1600 EPDs from over 190 companies are now published and freely available at EPD-Norway. About Hexagon Ragasco At Hexagon Ragasco we are committed to quality, safety and innovation. We are the leading manufacturer of composite LPG cylinders with an industry-leading safety record of 22+ years and more than 20 million cylinders sold worldwide. Our products bring unique benefits to both LPG marketers and their customers. ?LPG has a significant role to play as a transitional energy source with the potential to improve air quality and health for billions of people who rely on highly pollutant and toxic fuels as primary energy. We believe in cleaner air and safer LPG for everyone, everywhere.? Learn more at www.hexagonragasco.com and follow @Hexagon_Ragasco on Twitter and LinkedIn. About Hexagon Composites ASA Hexagon delivers safe and innovative solutions for a cleaner energy future. Our solutions enable storage, transportation, and conversion to clean energy in a wide range of mobility, industrial and consumer applications. Learn more at www.hexagongroup.com and follow @HexagonASA on Twitter and LinkedIn Attachments POMEZIA, Italy, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Advent announced today that it is changing its corporate name to Advaxia. The new name reflects the company's evolution, strategic growth and expanding commitment to global human health, including its expertise in vaccine development and manufacturing. The company also announced the launch of its new website www.advaxia.com. The new site showcases Advaxia's transformed corporate branding and provides detailed content on the company's integrated contract development, manufacturing, and testing capabilities for viral vaccines. Dr Piero Di Lorenzo, President and CEO of Advaxia and IRBM, said: "Our new identity and corporate name, Advaxia, better represents our strategic focus. We are committed to advancing science through the development and manufacturing of high-quality vaccines and therapeutics for infectious diseases and gene therapy, and this commitment is accelerating the growth of our organisation." "Advaxia has been recognised as a leader in the production of adenovirus vaccines for over a decade and has successfully developed and manufactured clinical trial materials for numerous clients, including COVID-19 vaccine candidates. To support further growth, by the end of 2022, the company plans to complete the expansion of its manufacturing capabilities, including a high-speed fill & finish line." About Advaxia Advaxia, a wholly owned subsidiary of IRBM, is dedicated to the development and production of clinical lots of recombinant adenoviruses to support clinical trials for vaccine and gene therapy applications in compliance with EMA, FDA and MHRA regulations. The Advaxia team has built an outstanding track record in the production of clinical lots for many infectious diseases, including Ebola and HIV, and supported the global effort to expedite the delivery of a COVID-19 vaccine. IRBM is an innovative contract research organisation working across all aspects of drug discovery and early development, supporting the pharmaceutical, biotech, non-profit and academic sectors to accelerate the development of novel medicines and vaccines. For more information, please visit www.irbm.com. For further information, images and interview opportunities, please contact: Patrick DePalma VP, Global Business Development & Marketing Tel: +39 Contact Information: Patrick DePalma VP, Global Business Development & Marketing media@advaxia.com +390691093692 Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / Falcon Gold Corp. (TSX-V:FG)(FRA:3FA)(OTCQB:FGLDF); ("Falcon" or the "Company"). Further to the Company's news release of August 10th, 2022, the Company provides the following update on its previously announced plan of arrangement (the "Spin-Out"). At the Company's special shareholders meeting held on September 8, 2022, shareholders approved the Spin-Out and the Company's Arrangement Agreement with its wholly owned subsidiary, Latamark Resources Corp. ("Latamark"). Pursuant to the Arrangement Agreement, the Company will transfer its interest in the option agreement concerning the Esperanza gold project to Latamark in exchange for (i) Latamark issuing to the shareholders of the Company, one common share in the capital of Latamark (each, a "Latamark" Share") for every 5.8 common shares held in the Company, (ii) Latamark issuing 5,000,000 common shares to Falcon and (iii) Latamark assuming certain liabilities incurred, exploring or maintaining the property ("the Property Liabilities"). Following shareholder approval of the Spin-Out, Falcon received a final order from the Supreme Court of British Columbia approving the transaction on September 14, 2022, and the Company intends to proceed with the Spin-Out pending final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). The Company will coordinate with its transfer agent and the TSXV regarding a record date and closing date for the distribution of Latamark Shares to the Falcon shareholders. Bulletins in that regard will follow. Shareholders are cautioned that there is no certainty that the Spin-Out will be completed on the terms currently proposed or at all. Additional information about the Spin-Out are detailed in the Company's Information Circular filed on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Property The Esperanza gold-copper-silver property comprises seven mineral concessions covering an aggregate area of 11,072 hectares. High-grade gold mineralization was reportedly first discovered within the district around 1865 at the Callanas occurrences followed by limited mining conducted on a gold, silver, and copper zones. Other sites of historical small-scale mining within the Esperanza property include the El Espinillo, Callanas east and west, El Abrita, Cerro Alto, Las Lajas, and San Isidro gold-mineralized zones. The Japanese Agency (JICA) completed 900 metres of diamond drilling in the Callanas area during the 1990s. Two of the holes returned encouraging intercepts assaying one metre at 9.11 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 28.59 g/t silver and 0.42 m at 24.3 g/t Au and 61.10 g/t Ag. More recently, Esperanza Resources had reported that the Callanas west zone has been mapped along a northwest-southeast strike for approximately 4,000 metres. In 2018, the company completed a limited sampling program as part of its initial due diligence. The Callanas east trenches results included a one-metre sample that returned 5,619 parts per billion (ppb) gold. A 2.5-metre continuous chip sample from the north end of the Callanas west exposure showed 5,905 ppb Au, 20.6 parts per million (ppm) Ag and 0.29 per cent Cu. Falcon's 2018 due diligence mapping and sampling program, as reported previously, was highly successful and covered several gold-bearing zones. The geological team also mapped the trails and back roads that gave access to multiple showings and historical mine sites. Approximately four kilometres east of the Callanas area is another very prominent northwest-southeast lineament containing gold-bearing quartz veins, not previously noted in historical reports. This structure parallels the strike of the Callanas zones and may extend to the southeast. A 30-centimetre chip sample assayed 15.63 g/t gold and a grab sample of a quartz vein float returned 28.43 g/t gold: From Callana III vein of 27.03 g/t Au across 50 centimetres. From the Callana IV vein across a 50 cm width where visible gold was identified that assayed 45.71 g/t Au with Ag content greater than 100 ppm and Cu analyses of 7,869.60 ppm. On Jan. 7, 2019, Falcon completed its first exploration work on the Esperanza property and reported on its findings. High-grade gold mineralization is reported to be localized along northwest-southeast-striking linear structures. The Callanas area contains several known veins and Falcon's sampling included a 50 cm wide chip sample with visible gold that assayed 44.90 grams per tonne gold, 123.2 g/t silver and 0.73 per cent copper and another 50 cm chip sample that assayed 26.07 g/t gold, 424 g/t silver and 1.23 per cent copper. Esperanza Option Agreement On Feb. 9, 2021, the company was able to reinstate the property option for a reduction from the original agreement. The original terms were calling for escalating annual payments over a six-year term totalling $500,000 (U.S.) and the issuance of four million common shares with property expenditures of $1.74-million (U.S.) Falcon was successful in reworking the terms to share payments of 500,000 common shares plus 500,000 warrants to be paid to the vendors and by spending $350,000 (U.S.) in exploration expenditures to earn an 80-per-cent interest in the project. Upon completion of payments and expenditures, Falcon will hold an 80-per-cent interest and the vendors would retain 20-per-cent ownership in the property. Following which, for a 30-month period, Falcon reserves the right to purchase the vendors' 20-per-cent remaining interest (for Falcon's total ownership of 100 per cent of the property) for a further payment of two million Falcon common shares and a one-time $1.5-million (U.S.) payment, which includes a 1-per-cent net smelter return (NSR) buyback leaving the vendors with a 1-per-cent NSR. Qualified Person The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Rubiolo, PGeo, who is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About Falcon Gold Corp. Falcon is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on generating, acquiring, and exploring opportunities in the Americas. Falcon's flagship project, the Central Canada Gold Mine, is approximately 20km southeast of Agnico Eagle's Hammond Reef Gold Deposit which has currently estimated 3.32 million ounces of gold (123.5 million tonnes grading 0.84 g/t gold) mineral reserves, and 2.3 million ounces of measured and indicated mineral resources (133.4 million tonnes grading 0.54 g/t gold). The Hammond Reef gold property lies on the Hammond shear zone, which is a northeast-trending splay off the Quetico Fault Zone ("QFZ") and may be the control for the gold deposit. The Central Gold property lies on a similar major northeast-trending splay of the QFZ. The Company holds 14 additional projects: The Esperanza Gold/Silver/Copper mineral concessions located in La Rioja Province, Argentina; The Viernes Gold/Silver/Copper project in Antofagasta Chile; The Springpole West Property in the world-renowned Red Lake mining camp; a 49% interest in the Burton Gold property with Iamgold near Sudbury Ontario; in B.C., the Spitfire-Sunny Boy, Gaspard Gold claims; the Great Burnt, Gander North/South, Valentine Gold South, Victoria West, and Golden Brook acquisitions adjacent to First Mining, Matador, Benton-Sokoman's JV, and Marvel Discovery in Central Newfoundland; and most recently Battery Metals projects in Ontario and Quebec, The Timmins West and Outarde Property. CONTACT INFORMATION: Falcon Gold Corp. "Karim Rayani" Karim Rayani Chief Executive Officer, Director Telephone: (604) 716-0551 Email: k@r7.capital Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements which reflect the expectations of management. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this press release relate to, among other things: completion of the Spin-Out. 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. There is no assurance any of the conditions for closing will be met. 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 respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. 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. Neither 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. SOURCE: Falcon Gold Corp View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/717587/Falcons-Shareholders-Approve-Plan-of-Arrangement-Spin-Out-Of-Subsidiary-Latamark-Resources STOCKHOLM, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nomentia is partnering with SEB to provide integrations and bank connectivity to SEB's clients to prepare them for the upcoming changes enforced by P27, the Nordic Payments Platform. P27 will increase the efficiency of payment processing to improve domestic and cross-border payments in the Nordics. Through this partnership, SEB clients will have the possibility to use Nomentia to establish direct bank connectivity with the bank and send payments in the correct file format from their enterprise resource planning systems (ERPs) and financial systems. By partnering with Nomentia, SEB will ensure that its clients can adapt to the changing environment before P27 comes into effect. "We decided to partner with Nomentia as the company has immense experience and expertise to deliver the integrations in a way that is seamless for our clients. Nomentia has also been providing its clients with connection to SEB for years," says Ida Blom, Partner Manager at SEB. "Our customers can work with Nomentia to develop connectivity between their systems and our bank. Nomentia will create and maintain the integrations and handle the data format transformation." Nomentia, a leading provider of cash and treasury solutions, has been pioneering global bank connectivity as a service helping customers communicate with banks globally. Currently, Nomentia provides over 10 000 bank connections globally via host-to-host, SWIFT, and local connectivity options. "We have decades of experience in creating and managing bank connections for our clients with banks across the globe enabling corporates to automatically send and fetch bank materials such as payments, account statements, and references. P27 means that companies must communicate with their banks directly and we will help them to transform their payment files into the correct ISO 20022 XML format so that they do not need to do an ERP upgrade," explains Karl-Henrik Sundberg, Head of Partners & Customer Success at Nomentia. "Our bank connectivity solution has been in popular demand in all our markets, especially in the Nordics where the deadline for P27 compliance is approaching quickly. Between 2008-2010, we helped hundreds of customers with SEPA transition in Europe and now, we are facing a comparable situation with P27," says Jukka Sallinen, CEO at Nomentia. "Partnering with SEB is another major milestone for us as we can be part of the change to help reform how payments are processed in the Nordics. SEB clients can select Nomentia to create a connection between their systems and SEB and communicate with the bank directly." CONTACT: Barbara Babati Head of Marketing, Nomentia barbara.babati@nomentia.com +358407623356 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/nomentia-enters-into-a-partnership-with-seb-to-provide-bank-connectivity-to-seb-clients-301633848.html LONDON, Sept. 27, 2022has seen a significant increase in enquiries from affluent families looking to access premium international education opportunities for their children via investment migration. The surge in demand and competition for places at Ivy League, Oxbridge, and other leading universities post-Covid has heightened interest in investment programs that offer a pathway to residence rightsor citizenship acquisitionin the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and several European countriesthat are home to the world's leading educational institutions. Over 70% of the Top 1,000 tertiary institutions ranked in the recent Times Higher Education World University Rankingare in countries that host investment migrationprograms, with 18% in the US and 10% in the UK. Dr. Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, says securing the best possible education for their children has become a key motivation for investors considering residence and citizenship by investment program options. "Our children are our most precious assets and providing them with the best international schooling and university options is the greatest gift we can give to them and one of the best investments we can make as parents. We predict 2023 is likely to see the largest millionaire migration flows on record with over 125,000 affluent investorsand their families on the move. Our new Henley & Partners Educationdivision is designed to provide clients with all the support and assistance they need to access the best educational institutions in their new country." Securing greater access rights Recent research shows that attending an Ivy League university can boost mid-career earnings by as much as 28.7%and that your child is three or four times more likely to gain admission to the world's leading schools and universities if they are a resident or citizen of the county. John Milne, Group Head of Education Servicesat Henley & Partners, says the firm has engaged a network of specialist consultants in the UK, North America, Australia, and Europe who can offer local expert and impartial advice to global clients. "Our new team provides school placement and bespoke concierge services such as assistance with obtaining student visas, language lessons, tutoring, entrance exams and childcare. It also offers a unique online evaluation of academic skills for children aged between six and sixteen - the Henley Academic Profiling Assessment- to provide a snapshot of a child's academic skills. The results can be used to demonstrate their performance to future schools as well as to monitor their academic progress and identify possible areas for improvement." Education investment options for high-net-worth families For those who wish to acquire permanent residentis the most efficient pathway, requiring an investment of USD 800,000. For entrepreneurs with the UK in their sights, the Tier 1 Innovator visais aimed at those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business and have at least GBP 50,000 in investment funds. If Canada appeals, the Start-Up Visa Programprovides permanent residence to entrepreneurs and active investors in companies and expanding businesses that seek to establish a presence in the country. Australia currently offers four visa streams under its Business Innovation and Investment Program, while its Global Talent Independent Programprovides a fast track pathway to permanent residence for highly skilled executives, businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and professionals. Investors can also secure residence in New Zealandas well as Singapore through its Global Investor Program. Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners, Dominic Volek, says the European golden visa programs such as those offered by Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, are also extremely attractive for investors looking to secure premium education and employment opportunities for their children across the EU. "The Portugal Golden Residence Permit Programis our most popular residence program as it provides the quickest, most defined, and now proven pathway to citizenship, subject to the eligibility criteria of course. As a citizen of the EU, your child will have access to education at any of the EU countries' universities on the same basis as a domestic student. Maltais also an attractive option as its regulations provide for a residence path that may lead to the granting of Maltese citizenship through exceptional services by direct investment." Notes to Editors About Henley & Partners Henley & Partnersis the global leader in residence and citizenship by investment. Each year, hundreds of wealthy individuals and their advisors rely on our expertise and experience in this area. The firm's highly qualified professionals work together as one team in over 35 offices worldwide. The concept of residence and citizenship planning was created by Henley & Partners in the 1990s. As globalization has expanded, residence and citizenship have become topics of significant interest among the increasing number of internationally mobile entrepreneurs and investors whom we proudly serve every day. The firm also runs a leading government advisory practice that has raised more than USD 10 billion in foreign direct investment. Trusted by governments, the firm has been involved in strategic consulting and in the design, set-up, and operation of the world's most successful residence and citizenship programs. Media Contact For further information, please contact: Sarah Nicklin Group Head of Public Relations sarah.nicklin@henleyglobal.com Mobile: +27 72 464 8965 Japan performed an extravagant state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday, despite public criticism of the expenditures of the event in a country divided about the legacy of the assassinated leader. Abe was shot in close range during a campaign rally in Nara in July. The incident shocked a nation where crime involving firearms is infrequent. International leaders like US Vice President Kamala Harris, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the more than 4,300 guests at the ceremony at the Nippon Budokan Arena in Tokyo, according to a report from CNN. Abe Gone Too Soon The Japanese government presented a video homage to Abe's life and career while his ashes were carried into the location. Then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered a funeral speech praising the bravery and devotion of Shinzo Abe. In his 12-minute eulogy, Kishida commended Abe as an ambitious statesman with a clear direction for postwar economic advancement and the growth of Japan and the world. The Japanese prime minister emphasized Abe's efforts to sustain a "free and open Indo-Pacific" to counter China's advancement. Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Abe's right-hand man for many years, also spoke before participants placed floral gifts and bowed in succession. As a 1993 lawmaker, Kishida said Abe "should have lived much longer" to serve as a "compass" to guide the "future direction of Japan and the rest of the world for 10 or 20 more years." Read Also: Canada Aims To Lift All COVID-19 Border Restrictions on Oct. 1 For Athletes, Visitors Harris sat in the third row next to US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel throughout the ceremony. They afterward placed chrysanthemum flowers on a table before the pedestal, according to a report from AP News. Abe was slain while giving a campaign speech on a street in Nara, a city in western Japan, and was cremated in July following a private funeral at a Tokyo shrine. Critics Stage Protest at the Controversial Leader's Funeral During the state funeral, Tokyo implemented its highest level of security, particularly around the venue, Budokan Hall. A nonviolent protest downtown occurred, where hundreds of people marched towards the hall vicinity while some beat drums, others shouted, and held signs and banners. One protest participant Kaoru Mano claimed Shinzo Abe "has not done a single thing" for ordinary citizens. The government declares that the ritual is not a way of forcing anyone to honor Abe. Hours before the service, hundreds of individuals with bouquets waited for blocks to pay respects in a park. The funeral was skipped by the majority of Japan's opposition parties. Some claim the ceremony served as a reminder of how imperialist regimes in the years before World War I utilized public memorials to fuel patriotism. Reuters reported that the killing of Abe on July 8 led to a flood of information about ties between lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which he once led, and the Unification Church, which some people call a cult. This led to a backlash against the current prime minister, Fumio Kishida. Kishida's approval ratings have plummeted due to the scandal, prompting him to issue an apology and commitment to terminate party links to the contentious congregation. Related Article: Prince Andrew Faces Dark Future After Royal Expert Reveals That King Charles III Has Zero Plans To Include Duke in Monarchy @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Seasoned Executive Brings a Mix of General Management and Sales Leadership as the Company Expands Reach in Europe for its Creative Workflow and Digital Asset Managementand digital asset management as its Country Manager based in The Netherlands. He will report to Lytho CEO Douglas Thede and have overall responsibility for the company's European sales and operations. "Geert brings a proven track record of general management and sales leadership skills to Lytho as we extend our presence in Europe," said Thede. "We've seen strong demand for our software because in-house creative teams have grown, and our tools reduce the natural complexity that comes with that growth. We're thrilled to welcome Geert as a Lythonian and look forward to his contribution as we scale up to meet demand." Geert brings more than 25 years of leadership experience and has held positions at brands including Cisco, Ricoh, and Samsung, among others. He graduated from Utrecht University (Hogeschool Utrecht) with a degree in Commercial Economics. "There isn't another company in the world that addresses the unique needs of creative and brand teams with the same depth of expertise and passion as Lytho," said Bruinink. "I'm excited to join the company and see the potential for rapid growth. I'm very much looking forward to working with our European team in solving the top challenges facing creatives today." Lytho is a unique software solution that focuses specifically on the needs of in-house brand and creative teams. The company's creative operations platform works across the Creative Lifecycle to bring order, improve collaboration, reduce unnecessary rework, and drive efficiency through its robust modules built for creatives, including: Streamlining creative briefs and project requests; Improving collaboration within the creative team and with stakeholders; Managing creative projects, resources and staff; Facilitating the review and approval process; Providing access to approved assets to distributed global teams; and Automating measurement and reporting to help creative leaders articulate value. The appointment of new leadership follows a steady stream of milestones the company has achieved recently. For example, it just recently launched expanded functionality to bring the full Creative Operations Platformto Europe. Similarly, the company announced an innovative collection of new features earlier this year to help customers better manage work across complex teams. Those capabilities have been recognized in three different analyst reports since. One such report was the "Vendor Selection Matrix - Marketing Resource Management" by the European technology analyst firm Research in Action GmbH . That report analyzed the strategy and execution of the top 15 global brands that compete in the space - and named Lytho as a "leader." About Lytho Lytho, a creative operations platform, is uniquely focused to address the needs of brand and creative teams. The platform combines the benefits of many disparate toolsand digital asset management) into a single software solution. Creatives no longer need to be limited by tools that are neither fully interoperable nor suited to their specific needs. Today's brand and creative teams need a solution that will help them fight the complexity that comes from managing the growing volume of requests, stakeholders, digital assets and brands. More than 600 enterprise customers worldwide use Lytho's software. Media Contact: Frank Strong for Lytho 202-352-5920 frank@swordandthescript.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5ee601d8-d251-458e-ae7b-6aeca7112ba7 HONG KONG and SHANGHAI, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Company Limited ("PAAMC HK") is honored to announce that it has been included in 4 Recommendations at "IAMAC Recommendations - Most Highly Regarded Insurance Asset Management Investment Partners 2021", organized by the Insurance Asset Management Association of China ("IAMAC"). PAAMC HK is among the top recommended in the tables of "Outstanding Overseas Business Partners of China's Insurance Asset Management", "Outstanding Overseas Trustees of China's Insurance Asset Management", "Outstanding Overseas Business Partners of China's Insurance Asset Management - Open Market Operations" and "Outstanding Overseas Business Partners of China's Insurance Asset Management - Private Equity". Participants including over 100 securities companies, public fund managers, futures companies as well as overseas institutions. Announced on 21 September 2022, the IAMAC recommendations are based on a survey of more than 160 large insurance companies and insurance asset managers in China, regarding the participants' investment business and their services provided to insurance companies. The recommendations uphold the principle of "Fairness, Justice and Non-profit", with participation on a voluntary basis, and insurance companies complete the survey independently. The recommendations are weighted and calculated in multiple dimensions based on the survey results combined with relevant data. It has been held for 8 consecutive years and is widely recognized as the most prestigious recommendations in the industry. PAAMC HK was also included in the recommendations last year. Hoi Tung, Chairman and CEO of China Ping An Insurance Overseas (Holdings) Limited said, "We take great pride in receiving these prestigious recommendations once again. I would like to thank IAMAC and all our insurer partners for their recognition and confidence in us, which reaffirms our hard work and efforts over the past tumultuous and challenging year. It is a big motivation for us to continue to deliver compelling return and create value, as well as to further deepen our collaboration with our insurer partners and explore new opportunities for mutual benefits." With strong capabilities in investment research and portfolio management capabilities, PAAMC HK provides a wide range of overseas investment products, asset management and consulting services, including capital markets and alternative investment services. Attesting to the investment strength of their team and their strategic efforts, PAAMC HK has received a number of prestigious awards. They have a solid client base and maintain a close tie with their insurer partners, and look forward to continuing to work hand in hand with their partners towards all-round and in-depth collaboration. About Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Company Limited Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Company Limited ("PAAMC HK") was established in 2006. It is a direct subsidiary of China Ping An Insurance Overseas (Holdings) Limited which then directly owned by Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (2318.HK and 601318.SH). It is licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong ("SFC") to conduct Type 1 (Dealing in Securities), Type 4 (Advising on Securities) and Type 9 (Asset Management) regulated activities. With strong capabilities in investment research and asset management, PAAMC HK is a leading provider of global investment management solutions in equities, fixed income, ETFs, structured products and alternative assets. For more information, please visit asset.pingan.com.hk. (This website has not been reviewed by the SFC) View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/paamc-hk-honored-to-be-included-in-4-prestigious-iamac-recommendations-301633902.html Kent Ridge, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2022) - As the world progresses, so does the economy - and these economic changes expectedly lead to shifts in the job market. One of the best ways to succeed in upcoming economies is ensuring that students are getting a good education to help them adapt to an ever-changing, volatile working environment. A postgraduate degree, especially from expertly constructed programmes to help students thrive in the digital age, can help them gain advanced knowledge and skills in their chosen field. By completing these Master's Degree Programmes, students can develop a deeper understanding of their chosen subject, giving them a competitive edge in the job market. In addition, these degrees can help students progress in their careers, as they may be able to advance into senior roles that enable them to be trendsetters of the future. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8935/138561_7b40b4f8d459f8f4_001full.jpg Some of the best programmes for the digital age Ranked #1 in Asia and #11 worldwide in the QS World University Rankings 2023, The National University of Singapore is gearing up to help students lead future economies through their Postgraduate Coursework Programmes. The rise in technological advancements and how these override the daily operations of various industries make the necessary human skills more important than ever. The key consideration is how to equip oneself to remain in-demand and succeed in the jobs of a volatile, uncertain, and complex world. The NUS postgraduate (by coursework) programmes are specifically designed to help students become exceptional in key growth areas shaping the future workforce: the Digital Economy, the Green Economy, the Care Economy, the Industry 4.0 Economy, and many more. These programmes aim to develop future industry leaders. Learning more about these programmes at The National University of Singapore's Postgraduate by Coursework Fair 2022 The National University of Singapore invites participants worldwide to learn more about the different ways of succeeding in the digital age and more. Happening on October 4-5, 2022, from 10:00 am to 9:30 pm (Singapore time), this virtual education fair will give its audience a glimpse into the prestigious Master's Degree by Coursework programmes from the NUS that can help them build the knowledge and skill sets needed in shaping the future. The virtual event highlights include masterclasses, virtual booths, information sessions, and the chance to win an iPad Air. About The National University of Singapore A leading global university centred in Asia, the National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore's flagship university, which offers a global approach to education and research with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. Its 16 Colleges, Faculties and Schools provide a broad-based curriculum underscored by multidisciplinary courses and cross-faculty enrichment. Actively involved in international and academic research networks, the university further strengthens its international presence. Elaine Tan https://www.gevme.com/nuspgcf2022 pgc@nus.edu.sg To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138561 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / iMetal Resources, Inc. (TSX.V:IMR)(OTC PINK:ADTFF)(FRANKFURT:A7V) ("iMetal" or the "Company") is pleased to announce mobilization of a drill rig to Gowganda West ("GW") for the fall 2022 drilling campaign. GW is an exploration-stage gold project about 100 km south-southeast of Timmins, Ontario, contiguous to Aris Gold Corp.'s Juby Project in the Shining Tree Camp of the southern part of the Abitibi Greenstone Gold Belt; contiguous also with the Knight project that is part of the Strategic Partnership between Orefinders Resources Inc. and Agnico Eagle. The objective of the 2022 program is to follow-up on the long gold intervals encountered in the lower sections of the westernmost drill holes from the 2019 maiden drill program: 0.37 g/t gold over 29.4 metres, 0.32 g/t gold over 30.25 metres, and 0.41 g/t gold over 19.5 metres. A review of the IMR database by our revamped technical team has identified gold targets along strike (northwest-southeast), along potential parallel trends (as seen at the adjacent Juby Project), and potential new trends where geophysics suggests a potential continuation or splay structure from the Juby Fault may be striking onto GW. Where it is adjacent to Aris Gold Corp's property, GW is underlain by the same basement metasediments that host two of the four main zones of the Juby Deposit. Concurrently, the Company will further evaluate the 6-kilometre gold trend hosting Zone 1 and Zone 3 in combination with the airborne geophysics to identify targets for the latter part of the fall 2022 program. Saf Dhillon, Chief Executive Officer, stated: "We are really looking forward to building on the knowledge gained from our maiden drill program back in 2019. Gowganda West is a unique opportunity to explore an under-loved and under-drilled area of near-surface, shallow-overburden, gold-bearing rocks in the Abitibi Greenstone Gold Belt, less than 2 kilometres from a multi-million-ounce gold deposit." The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by R. Tim Henneberry, P. Geo (British Columbia), a director of iMetal and a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101. About iMetal Resources Inc. iMetal is a Canadian based junior exploration company focused on the exploration and development of its portfolio of resource properties in Ontario and Quebec. One of its Flagship properties Gowganda West, is an advanced exploration-stage gold project that borders the Juby Deposit and is located within the Shining Tree Camp area in the southern part of the Abitibi Greenstone Gold Belt about 100 km south-southeast of the Timmins Gold Camp. The 665 hectare Kerrs Gold deposit comprises a series of gold-bearing pyritized quartz vein replacement breccias with a 2011 historic resource, 90 kilometres ENE of Timmins. The 220 hectare Ghost Mountain property, 42 kilometres NE of Kirkland Lake, lies 5 kilometres W of Agnico Eagle's Holt and Holloway Mine. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Saf Dhillon President & CEO iMetal Resources Inc. info@imetalresources.ca Tel. (604-484-3031) Suite 550, 800 West Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 2V6. https://imetalresources.ca Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include results of exploration, variations in results of mineralization, relationships with local communities, market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under the applicable laws. SOURCE: iMetal Resources, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/717496/iMetal-Resources-Mobilizes-Drill-Rig-to-Gowganda-West-to-Commence-Fall-2022-Drill-Program TwentyFour Income Fund - Notice of AGM TwentyFour Income Fund Limited (a closed-ended investment company incorporated in Guernsey with registration number 56128) LEI Number: 549300CCEV00IH2SU369 (The "Company") 27 September 2022 NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Notice is hereby given that the 2022 Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held at the offices of Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited, Trafalgar Court, Les Banques, St Peter Port, Guernsey on 14 October 2022 at 10.00am. The Notice of AGM has been posted to shareholders. In accordance with Listing Rule 9.6.3, the Notice of Annual General Meeting, proxy form and accounts have been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism Enquiries: Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited The Company Secretary Trafalgar Court Les Banques St Peter Port Guernsey GY1 3QL Tel: 01481 745001 END TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Quantum Minerals Ltd. ("First Quantum" or "the Company") (TSX: FM) will release third quarter 2022 financial and operating results on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 after the close of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Company will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the results on Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 9:00 am (EDT). Conference call and webcast details: Toll-free North America: 1-800-319-4610 Toll-free International: +1-604-638-5340 Webcast: www.first-quantum.com (http://www.first-quantum.com) A replay of the webcast will be available on the First Quantum website. For further information, visit our website at www.first-quantum.com (http://www.first-quantum.com) or contact: Bonita To, Director, Investor Relations (416) 361-6400 Toll-free: 1 (888) 688-6577 E-Mail: info@fqml.com (mailto:info@fqml.com) Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2022) - Amex Exploration Inc. (TSXV: AMX) (FSE: MX0) (OTCQX: AMXEF) ("Amex or the Company") is pleased to announce a new gold zone discovery called the Team Zone on the Perron project in the Abitibi region of Quebec. The near-surface Team Zone occurs ~600 m to the northeast of the High Grade Zone and ~300 m northeast of the E2 Gold Zone (Figure 1). To date, Amex has intercepted visible gold mineralization in 14 of 20 holes targeting the Team Zone over an area of approximately 200 m by 100 m. Owing to a significant delay at the assay lab, the partial results below represent only the samples in each hole that were sent for screen metallic assays (this assay method is selected when gold mineralization is anticipated owing to visible gold, significant veining, and/or significant sulfides). When the fire assay results for the balance of the reported holes are received, Amex will issue updated results. See Table 1 for a list of the partial results, Table 2 for drill hole coordinates, Figure 1 for a map of the Perron project geology showing the location of the Team Zone, and Figure 2 for a map showing the distribution of visible gold identified to date throughout the Team Zone. Kelly Malcolm, Vice President of Amex Exploration, will present an overview of the Company's progress to date including the new Team Zone in an interactive 3D and 360 virtual tour using the VRIFY Platform. A webinar presentation will be aired live on Wednesday September 28, 2022, at 10am EST. Please register here: Amex Zoom Webinar Please see the following link to view a teaser video of the 3D presentation: https://youtu.be/ogv-INAO93w The VRIFY platform integrates all aspects of the Perron Project including drone footage of the location, infrastructure, the multiple discoveries and then transitions underground revealing the mineralization using the drilling and assay results reported to date. The 3D VRIFY Presentation can also be found on our website after the webinar. https://www.amexexploration.com/ Table 1: Assay results from the Team Zone at Perron. Note these results represent partial drill results. Also note that true width is currently unknown. Hole ID From (m) To (m) Core Length (m) Au g/t Vertical depth (m) PE-22-519 444.50 445.00 0.50 6.91 ~360 PE-22-525 115.00 116.50 1.50 4.05 ~90 to 165 And 171.50 173.50 2.00 15.19 And 204.80 205.80 1.00 1.83 PE-22-537 202.50 204.00 1.50 7.68 ~170 to 310 And 231.55 232.05 0.50 12.16 And 380.00 381.00 1.00 9.55 PE-22-545 180.80 184.50 3.70 3.64 ~150 to 295 And 220.20 225.30 5.10 1.61 And 249.00 249.50 0.50 22.10 And 365.60 367.00 1.40 68.66 PE-22-546 127.25 140.00 12.75 1.69 ~100 Including 136.90 137.40 0.50 31.59 PE-22-547 109.00 109.50 0.50 5.93 ~80 to 250 And 329.60 330.10 0.50 31.97 PE-22-548 216.00 225.50 9.50 10.05 ~185 Including 221.50 222.00 0.50 53.22 Including 224.50 225.00 0.50 80.24 PE-22-549 212.50 217.10 4.60 1.61 ~160 PE-22-550 213.35 218.80 5.45 0.85 ~175 PE-22-554 149.50 150.00 0.50 27.73 ~115 to 180 And 236.00 239.00 3.00 11.17 PE-22-555 40.00 43.00 3.00 2.78 ~30 to 185 And 73.90 75.90 2.00 2.62 And 91.40 94.90 3.50 1.99 And 225.20 227.20 2.00 6.96 PE-22-556 26.25 28.50 2.25 19.04 ~20 to 275 And 311.50 314.00 2.50 1.76 And 334.80 335.90 1.10 1.60 PE-22-561 129.50 140.00 10.50 3.31 ~110 Including 130.50 131.00 0.50 24.67 Including 138.30 138.80 0.50 20.00 Table 2: Team Zone drill hole coordinates Hole Id Azimuth () Dip () Length (m) Easting (m) Northing (m) Elevation (m) PE-22-519 162 -59 892 615240 5431099 364 PE-22-525 168 -55 862 615239 5431099 364 PE-22-537 162 -56 713 615241 5431100 364 PE-22-545 162 -55 570 615234 5431037 351 PE-22-546 165 -50 508 615284 5431032 351 PE-22-547 179 -52 670 615299 5430995 353 PE-22-548 165 -58 625 615333 5431034 351 PE-22-549 165 -52 511 615385 5431037 355 PE-22-550 163 -55 498 615155 5430976 347 PE-22-554 120 -50 331 615177 5431038 351 PE-22-555 120 -55 352 615159 5430980 357 PE-22-556 118 -57 364 615176 5431039 351 PE-22-561 163 -55 355 615284 5431033 351 Jacques Trottier, PhD, Executive Chairman of Amex Exploration, commented, "We are very excited by the amount of visible gold in the core of almost every hole drilled into the Team Zone. While we have been working to understand the size and geometry of this system, drilling has exceeded expectations. We have intercepted several panels of gold mineralization across a significant area of the north-eastern portion of the Beaupre Block. The Team Zone is delivering both high-grade gold in tension-type veins as well as nice wider composites of lower-grade mineralization. We look forward to the receipt of the fire assay results for the balance of today's reported holes as well as all assays for the balance of the un-released drillholes, in order to get a fulsome understanding of this very interesting new discovery. This zone is an important new discovery as it represents potentially a new deposit with its own gold resources that could be adding to the other known zones on the still under-explored Perron property. Consequently, we have decided to assign a drill to continue exploration on the Team Zone while the other drills are still dedicated to the EGZ, including the HGZ and Denise definition and expansion, and regional exploration." The Team Zone is situated within the Beaupre rhyolite block, which is the host to the majority of gold identified to date on the Perron project. Gold mineralization is associated with quartz-carbonate veins & tension veinlets which are at times folded and/or brecciated. The gold-bearing quartz veins are found in both rhyolite and mafic intrusive bodies, unlike many of the other gold zones at Perron which are lithologically controlled. The mineral assemblage however, comprising pyrite-pyrrhotite +/- sphalerite +/- chalcopyrite +/- visible gold, is similar to the Eastern Gold Zone mineralization (Figure 3). As shown in Figure 2, Amex has drilled the Team Zone at multiple orientations, in order to identify the geometry of the system. As additional assay results are received and additional drillholes are completed, the 3-dimensional shape and size potential of the Team Zone will be revealed. Figure 1. Geological map of the Perron Project, with the location of existing zones and the newly discovered Team Zone. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2667/138496_835e02c2249f7aff_002full.jpg Figure 2. Geological compilation map of the target Team Zone area. Shown are all of the areas with identified visible gold (VG), across a widespread area of approximately 200m x 100m. To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2667/138496_figure2.jpg Figure 3: Highlight photos of visible gold within quartz veins of the Team Zone from holes PE-22-525. PE-22-537, PE-22-545, PE-22-554 and PE-22-561. Abbreviations: VG - Visible Gold, Py - Pyrite. To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2667/138496_835e02c2249f7aff_004full.jpg Qualified Persons Maxime Bouchard P.Geo. M.Sc.A., (OGQ 1752) and Jerome Augustin P.Geo. Ph.D., (OGQ 2134), Independent Qualified Persons as defined by Canadian NI 43-101 standards, have reviewed and approved the geological information reported. The drilling campaign and the quality control program have been planned and supervised by Maxime Bouchard and Jerome Augustin. The quality assurance and quality control protocols include insertion of blank or standard samples every 10 samples on average, in addition to the regular insertion of blank, duplicate, and standard samples accredited by Laboratoire Expert or ALS Canada Ltd. during the analytical process. For all analyses targeting gold mineralization, gold values are estimated by fire assay with finish by atomic absorption. Values over 3 ppm Au are reanalyzed by fire assay with finish by gravimetry by Laboratoire Expert Inc, Rouyn-Noranda. Samples containing visible gold mineralization are analyzed by metallic sieve. For additional quality assurance and quality control, all samples were crushed to 90% less than 2 mm prior to pulverization, in order to homogenize samples which may contain coarse gold. For analyses targeting VMS mineralization, zinc, copper and silver values are estimated by four acid digestion multi-elements Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES), ME-ICP61 at ALS Canada Ltd. Zinc values over 1%, copper values over 1%, and silver values over 100 g/t are estimated by four acid digestion ICP-AES, OG62. Gold values are estimated by fire assay with atomic absorption finish. About VRIFY VRIFY has a cloud based technology which communicates a company's value with presentation tools that simplify information and translate tough to digest data into compelling content. The platform allows companies to showcase project data with interactive 3D models, host global site visits of remote assets using virtual tours, and present content to any device, anytime, anywhere in the world. The VRIFY platform is building a more transparent mining investment ecosystem. About Amex Amex Exploration Inc. has made significant gold discoveries on its 100% owned high-grade Perron Gold Project located ~110 kilometres north of Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, consisting of 117 contiguous claims covering 4,518 hectares. The project is well-serviced by existing infrastructure, on a year-round road, 10 minutes from an airport and just outside the town of Normetal (~8 km). In addition, the project is in close proximity to a number of major gold producers' milling operations. The project host both bulk tonnage and a high-grade gold style mineralization. Since January 2019, Amex has intersected significant gold mineralization in multiple gold zones and discovered copper-rich VMS zones. For further information please contact: Victor Cantore President and Chief Executive Officer Amex Exploration: +1-514-866-8209 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-looking statements This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than of historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including, without limitation, the planned exploration program on the HGZ and Denise Zone, the expected positive exploration results, the extension of the mineralized zones, the timing of the exploration results, the ability of the Company to continue with the exploration program, the availability of the required funds to continue with the exploration and the potential mineralization or potential mineral resources are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "to earn", "to have', "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, failure to meet expected, estimated or planned exploration expenditures, failure to establish estimated mineral resources, the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, general business and economic conditions, changes in world gold markets, sufficient labour and equipment being available, changes in laws and permitting requirements, unanticipated weather changes, title disputes and claims, environmental risks as well as those risks identified in the Company's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138496 Deal creates premier wealth manager in the UK, Channel Islands and Ireland LONDON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Bank of Canada ("RBC") today announced that it had completed the acquisition of Brewin Dolphin Holdings PLC ("Brewin Dolphin"), a multi-award-winning wealth management firm. Brewin Dolphin will now operate as 'RBC Brewin Dolphin', as part of RBC, and will continue to be led by CEO, Robin Beer. Brewin Dolphin has been acquired for final consideration of approximately C$2.4bn (1.6bn) on a fully diluted basis, which equates to 515 pence per share. RBC Wealth Management is a leading global wealth and asset manager with market leadership in Canada, and a growing position in the United States. Brewin Dolphin has more than 30 regional offices, over 2,100 employees and a long history of providing exceptional service to private clients. This is a transformative acquisition for both RBC Wealth Management and Brewin Dolphin, creating one of the largest wealth managers in the UK, Channel Islands and Ireland with 58 billion assets under management as at 31 August 2022. RBC Wealth Management International and RBC Brewin Dolphin will continue to operate as separate businesses until integration over the coming months, with no immediate changes to the propositions that each business offers on day one. The respective leadership teams will now work closely together to deliver exceptional outcomes for clients, employees and shareholders. Doug Guzman, Group Head, RBC Wealth Management, RBC Insurance and RBC Investor & Treasury Services, said: "Bringing together these complementary teams will establish and secure RBC Wealth Management's position as a leading wealth manager in the UK and Ireland, while also providing future growth opportunities in an attractive and consolidating market. This platform enhances our franchise's global brand, scale and stability, as we strengthen our leading position across North America and now the UK. Most importantly, we are looking forward to bringing together two purpose-driven organizations with a shared commitment to doing what's right for our clients, our communities and each other." David Thomas, CEO, RBC Wealth Management International said: "We are delighted to complete the acquisition of Brewin Dolphin and excited to welcome its clients and talented colleagues to RBC. Brewin Dolphin brings outstanding experience, and an impressive track record of growth, innovation and investment performance. Our shared client-centric culture and values have really shone through over the past few months, and we look forward to developing this further, increasing the depth and breadth of our offering to clients and intermediaries." Robin Beer, CEO, RBC Brewin Dolphin added: "Our strategy to become a leading advice-focused, digitally enabled wealth manager is set to be accelerated by becoming part of RBC. What doesn't change is our focus on providing the exceptional advice and client focus that has been the foundation of our success and which made us of interest to RBC. In becoming RBC Brewin Dolphin we are combining two highly-regarded names and signaling our intention to further enhance our client proposition, and we are all incredibly excited about the future." Click here to hear more on the completion of the acquisition from David Thomas and Robin Beer. About RBC Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 92,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com. We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact. About RBC Wealth Management RBC Wealth Management directly serves affluent, high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients globally with a full suite of banking, investment, trust and other wealth management solutions, from our key operational hubs in Canada, the United States, the British Isles, and Asia. The business also provides asset management products and services directly and through RBC and third party distributors to institutional and individual clients, through its RBC Global Asset Management business (which includes BlueBay Asset Management). RBC Wealth Management has almost C$1.3 trillion of assets under administration, over C$929 billion of assets under management and more than 4,800 financial consultants, advisors, private bankers, and trust officers. For more information, please visit www.rbcwealthmanagement.com. About RBC Brewin Dolphin RBC Brewin Dolphin is one of the UK and Ireland's leading wealth managers and traces its origins back to 1762. We offer award-winning, personalised wealth management services from bespoke, discretionary investment management to retirement planning and tax-efficient investing. Our qualified investment managers and financial planners are based in 33 offices across the UK, Jersey and Republic of Ireland. They are committed to the most exacting standards of client service, with long-term thinking and absolute focus on our clients' needs at the core. As part of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), we are now able to draw on the strength of a global financial institution to continue to improve the service we provide to our clients and drive further innovation across our business. _______________________ Exchange Rate (/ C$) = 1.47713462 Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the "safe harbour" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation, with respect to RBC's and Brewin Dolphin's financial performance, beliefs, plans, expectations, and estimates. Forward-looking statements in this press release may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to plans for the combined operations of RBC and Brewin Dolphin, the financial, operational and capital impacts of the proposed transaction, our strategies or future actions, and our objectives and commitments. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is presented for the purpose of assisting holders of our securities and financial analysts in understanding the proposed transaction and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward looking statements are typically identified by words such as "believe", "expect", "foresee", "forecast", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "goal", "commit", "target", "objective", "plan" and "project" and similar expressions of future or conditional verbs such as "will", "may", "might", "should", "could" or "would". By their very nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, which give rise to the possibility that our predictions, forecasts, projections, expectations or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that our assumptions may not be correct and that our actual results may differ materially from such predictions, forecasts, projections, expectations or conclusions. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of risk factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors - many of which are beyond our control and the effects of which can be difficult to predict - include, but are not limited to: the possibility that the anticipated benefits from the proposed transaction, such as being accretive to adjusted earnings per share (EPS), creating synergy opportunities and growing our UK operations are not realized in the time frame anticipated or at all as a result of changes in general economic and market conditions, interest and exchange rates, monetary policy, laws and regulations (including changes to capital requirements) and their enforcement, and the degree of competition in the geographic and business areas in which RBC and Brewin Dolphin currently operate; the risk that any announcements relating to the combination could have adverse effects on the market price of the common stock of RBC; the possibility that the business of RBC and Brewin Dolphin may not perform as expected or in a manner consistent with historical performance; the ability to promptly and effectively integrate Brewin Dolphin; our ability to achieve our capital objectives; our ability to cross-sell more products to customers; reputational risks and the reaction of Brewin Dolphin's customers and employees to the transaction; diversion of management time on integration-related issues; increased exposure to exchange rate fluctuations; material adverse changes in economic and industry conditions; general competitive, economic, political and market conditions; and other risks discussed in the risk sections and Impact of COVID-19 pandemic section of our2021 Annual Report and the Risk management section of our Q3 2022 Report to Shareholders, and the factors discussed in Brewin Dolphin's Annual Report and Accounts 2021 all of which outline certain key factors and risks that may affect our future results and our ability to anticipate and effectively manage risks arising from all of the foregoing factors. We caution that the foregoing list of risk factors is not exhaustive and other factors could also adversely affect our results. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to us, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Material economic assumptions underlying the forward looking-statements contained in this press release are set out in the Economic, market and regulatory review and outlook section and for each business segment under the Strategic priorities and Outlook sections in our 2021 Annual Report, as updated by the Economic, market and regulatory review and outlook section of our Q3 2022 Report to Shareholders. Any forward-looking statements contained in this document represent the views of RBC and Brewin Dolphin only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, neither RBC nor Brewin Dolphin undertakes to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf. RBC Media Contacts, RBC: Melanie Rockliff (Canada) - melanie.rockliff@rbc.com, +1 (647) 964 1423; Ben Adams (UK) - ben.adams@rbc.com, +44 (0) 7590 203637; RBC Brewin Dolphin: Richard Janes - richard.janes@brewin.co.uk, +44 (0) 7769 901883 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1908587/RBC_Wealth_Management_Royal_Bank_of_Canada_completes_acquisition.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/royal-bank-of-canada-completes-acquisition-of-brewin-dolphin-301634017.html Phoenix Software releases updates to its product line in September 2022 EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Phoenix Software International, Inc., today announced its intention to make JES3plus V1R2, a derivative work based on IBM's z/OS JES3, generally available effective September 30, 2022. This release provides new functionality and integrates continuous delivery items made available over the past twelve months. Thanks to Phoenix's JES3plus Customer Advisory Council, organizations that migrate to JES3plus can reap the benefits of new features that were ranked in terms of providing true business value to their fellow customers. JES3plus V1R2 Functional Highlights: Parallel SPOOL I/O - Takes full advantage of the Parallel Access Volumes technology supported by modern mainframe DASD through support for up to eight STARTIO channel programs running concurrently for a single SPOOL extent. This is a major improvement over the traditional JES3 approach of allowing only one STARTIO at a time per SPOOL extent. Reduced Local Lock Contention - Now intrinsic to the way JES3 plus operates, multiple I/O completion SRBs execute simultaneously by acquiring the local lock only if and when needed. In addition, if the completing I/O contains requests from only a single address space, the SRB is scheduled directly to that address space rather than to the JES3 plus address space. operates, multiple I/O completion SRBs execute simultaneously by acquiring the local lock only if and when needed. In addition, if the completing I/O contains requests from only a single address space, the SRB is scheduled directly to that address space rather than to the JES3 address space. Improved WLM Batch Initiator Balancing - Enabling this facility results in JES3plus placing batch jobs into idle initiators across the JESplex using a target percentage derived from WLM's initiator allocation counts. Until now this behavior occurred on JES2 systems only. "Switching to JES3plus is the obvious choice for existing IBM JES3 customers," said Ed Jaffe, Chief Technology Officer at Phoenix Software International, "and we have reinforced that point by improving performance with empirical results so dramatic they speak for themselves. SPOOL I/O-intensive benchmarks conducted on our z15 showed JES3plus running nearly twice as many jobs as IBM JES3 while simultaneously reducing FICON channel utilization by 92%! Similarly-favorable results were observed when comparing against JES2. And, because our roadmap for enhancements is 100% customer driven, we believe a migration to JES3plus is not only the easiest and least risky choice, it's the one that just makes sense." (E)JES V6R2 (E)JES V6R2, the latest release of Phoenix Software's modern z/OS JESplex management tool, includes enhancements for viewing and managing Coupling Facility connections and structures, WLM scheduling environments, job class/groups, sysplex members, and z/OS UNIX mounts. Additionally, support has been added for a filter repository that provides end user ability to save filters and reload them. Phoenix Software Product Releases: September 2022 Phoenix Software is refreshing its product line this month. Product downloads will be available to customers via the Phoenix Software International Support portal. Visit https://phoenixsoftware.com/support.htmdownloads. New product releases include: (E)JES V6R2 CONDOR z/OS 26.2 z/VSE 32.1 z/OS 26.2 z/VSE 32.1 CYGNET z/OS 26.2 z/VSE 32.1 z/OS 26.2 z/VSE 32.1 Entrypoint 16.3 16.3 FALCON z/OS 26.2 z/VSE 32.1 z/OS 26.2 z/VSE 32.1 Falcon64 11.2 11.2 JES3 plus V1R2 V1R2 Key/101 9.2 9.2 PHX-Adders /PHX-Guest 7.4 /PHX-Guest 7.4 PHX-BDT V1R2 V1R2 PHX-KeyPlus 5.4 5.4 PHX-ODE 7.4 About Phoenix Software International Phoenix Software International, Inc.,) is a systems software development company providing advanced software applications to enterprises around the globe. The company offers a wide range of solutions to modern business challenges. Press contact: Analysis summary and raw benchmark SMF data available upon request. HALIFAX, NS / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / Silver Tiger Metals Inc. (TSXV:SLVR)(OTCQX:SLVTF) ("Silver Tiger" or the "Corporation") has intersected 1,203.8 g/t silver equivalent over 0.7 meters in the Seitz Kelly Vein in Drill Hole ET-308 from 142.7 meters to 143.4 meters. Highlights from the on-going drilling program include the following: ? Hole ET-308: 0.7 meters grading 1,203.8 g/t silver equivalent from 142.7 meters to 143.4 meters, consisting of 1,022.0 g/t silver, 0.23 g/t gold, 0.55% copper, 3.16% lead and 1.08% zinc in the Seitz Kelly Vein. ? Hole ET-316: 0.5 meters grading 1,010.9 g/t silver equivalent from 104.3 meters to 104.8 meters, consisting of 835.0 g/t silver, 2.30 g/t gold, 0.03% copper, 0.02% lead and 0.02% zinc in the El Tigre Vein. Additional drill results for the El Tigre Vein and Seitz Kelly Vein are presented in the Drill Hole Results table below along with the details for the calculation of the silver equivalent grades. Attached is El Tigre Cross Section 4870N detailing Drill Hole ET-316. Also attached is a Plan Map of the 600 meter central portion of the Seitz Kelly Vein and a Plan Map of the El Tigre Veins and Drill Holes. Underground Rehabilitation at Historic El Tigre Mine Update As previously announced Silver Tiger has contracted Cominvi, a Mexican underground contract mining and development company to rehabilitate the Historic El Tigre Mine. Cominvi are progressing well in the underground rehabilitation of the Historic El Tigre Mine and have already completed over 400 meters of rehabilitation in Level 7, which was the main portal to the mine. Silver Tiger is still on schedule to reach the Sooy Vein in the coming weeks and then begin underground drilling. Silver Tiger's CEO, Glenn Jessome, stated, "We continue drilling underneath the Northern unmined portion of the El Tigre Mine. We have drilled more high grade silver intercepts in the El Tigre Vein and the Seitz Kelly Vein like the old timers mined up to 1930 when the great depression closed the mine. We continue drilling multiple holes deep under the old mine where we had our wide high grade silver discovery that was announced two weeks ago. This exploration target is 1300 meters long by 500 meters deep and open to depth and to the North, with all three of the Sooy, El Tigre and Seitz Kelly Veins passing up through it.." Current Drill Target - Un-mined Northern El Tigre Mine Drill Hole Results Table Hole ID Comment From To Length(1) Gold Silver Copper Lead Zinc AgEq Total (2) m m m g/t g/t % % % g/t ET-299 84.3 89.7 5.4 0.56 11.4 0.00 0.01 0.03 54.3 95.7 115.0 19.3 0.46 10.7 0.00 0.01 0.03 46.8 including 96.4 99.1 2.7 0.78 43.3 0.00 0.03 0.04 104.5 232.0 240.0 8.0 0.40 25.2 0.01 0.02 0.05 58.4 including 233.5 235.8 2.3 0.97 17.5 0.00 0.04 0.09 94.6 and 272.0 275.0 3.0 0.02 62.0 0.03 0.04 0.04 68.4 ET-301 El Tigre Au Zone 9.2 46.3 37.1 0.20 7.2 0.00 0.02 0.02 23.3 and 77.5 82.6 5.1 0.01 27.0 0.01 0.01 0.00 28.6 Seitz Kelly Vein 202.5 204.0 1.5 1.00 0.3 0.00 0.00 0.01 75.3 and 238.0 241.0 3.0 0.26 2.3 0.00 0.01 0.02 23.1 and 255.0 258.0 3.0 0.68 0.3 0.00 0.00 0.00 51.5 ET-303 El Tigre Au Zone 37.9 39.4 1.5 0.30 18.2 0.01 0.01 0.01 41.8 El Tigre Au Zone 59.9 71.0 11.1 0.10 9.7 0.00 0.02 0.04 19.5 El Tigre Au Zone 78.0 100.3 22.3 0.08 18.1 0.01 0.02 0.01 25.6 Mining VOID 100.3 103.0 2.7 * * * * * * El Tigre Au Zone 124.1 127.0 2.9 0.06 27.6 0.01 0.01 0.01 33.3 El Tigre Au Zone 138.8 149.3 10.5 0.05 17.0 0.01 0.01 0.01 21.8 181.0 182.5 1.5 0.17 53.8 0.03 0.01 0.02 70.2 190.0 204.4 14.4 0.25 1.2 0.00 0.00 0.01 20.2 217.0 223.0 6.0 0.21 1.7 0.00 0.01 0.04 19.9 275.3 276.3 1.0 0.20 145.0 0.08 0.19 0.05 173.1 288.6 295.2 6.6 0.24 4.1 0.00 0.01 0.03 23.2 ET-308 El Tigre Au Zone 5.7 33.6 27.9 0.50 25.7 0.01 0.02 0.02 64.8 including 15.8 33.6 17.8 0.57 40.0 0.01 0.03 0.03 85.3 including 24.4 28.0 3.6 1.45 144.3 0.03 0.14 0.06 260.9 including 24.4 25.4 1.0 1.82 366.0 0.05 0.27 0.16 518.9 Seitz Kelly Vein 141.9 143.4 1.5 0.12 497.4 0.27 1.50 0.52 585.5 including 142.7 143.4 0.7 0.23 1,022.0 0.55 3.16 1.08 1,203.8 and 255.5 259.5 4.0 0.02 67.1 0.03 0.01 0.02 73.0 including 259.0 259.5 0.5 0.02 376.0 0.19 0.01 0.09 398.9 ET-309 13.8 15.3 1.5 1.74 5.2 0.00 0.00 0.01 136.3 El Tigre Au Zone 81.8 101.3 19.5 0.74 47.6 0.01 0.02 0.05 105.5 including 86.0 90.5 4.5 1.75 94.1 0.02 0.04 0.07 230.4 including 98.5 100.8 2.3 0.76 133.8 0.01 0.02 0.03 193.2 117.0 120.8 3.8 0.57 1.0 0.00 0.01 0.02 44.4 159.8 165.8 6.0 0.41 0.3 0.00 0.00 0.01 31.5 186.8 189.8 3.0 0.73 1.4 0.00 0.01 0.01 56.8 Seitz Kelly Vein 214.7 216.6 1.9 0.37 23.5 0.01 0.01 0.01 53.0 ET-311 El Tigre Au Zone 63.5 99.0 35.5 0.24 110.0 0.02 0.11 0.10 136.3 including 78.2 95.9 17.7 0.28 189.4 0.03 0.17 0.09 220.0 including 79.3 87.4 8.1 0.45 341.9 0.04 0.32 0.15 391.9 including 83.5 86.8 3.3 0.42 621.8 0.05 0.62 0.22 679.8 El Tigre Vein 83.5 86.2 2.7 0.29 684.7 0.05 0.75 0.25 737.1 El Tigre Vein 83.5 85.5 2.0 0.35 732.0 0.04 1.01 0.33 797.1 and 170.2 172.4 2.2 0.80 133.3 0.01 0.02 0.02 195.5 and 211.8 223.5 11.7 0.69 0.5 0.00 0.00 0.01 52.6 ET-316 El Tigre Au Zone 87.4 98.3 10.9 0.58 6.3 0.00 0.01 0.04 51.5 El Tigre Vein 101.6 107.5 5.9 0.37 86.4 0.00 0.01 0.02 115.2 including 104.3 105.4 1.1 1.44 417.1 0.01 0.02 0.02 527.5 including 104.3 104.8 0.5 2.30 835.0 0.03 0.02 0.02 1,010.9 Seitz Kelly Vein 221.8 230.7 8.9 0.64 11.0 0.00 0.01 0.01 59.9 including 221.8 222.3 0.5 2.82 36.1 0.01 0.01 0.04 250.3 and 346.0 353.0 7.0 0.49 0.4 0.00 0.00 0.00 37.1 Notes: 1. Not true width. 2. Silver Equivalent ("EqAg") ratios are based on a silver to gold price ratio of 75:1 (Au:Ag). Copper, lead and zinc are converted using $3.66/lb copper, $0.90/lb lead, $1.26/lb zinc at 100% metal recoveries based on a silver price of $26.00/oz. Drill Hole Location Table Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Az Dip Length ET-299 670971 3384781 1953.2 90 -40 335.5 ET-301 671060 3385138 1927.9 90 -39 330.9 ET-303 670938 3384920 1850.8 96 -40 332.5 ET-308 671060 3385138 1928.0 90 -60 372.1 ET-309 670972 3384781 1953.2 97 -30 363.0 ET-311 670940 3384920 1850.9 90 -25 338.6 ET-316 670971 3384780 1953.2 105 -30 379.7 El Tigre Cross Section 4870N (Drill Hole ET-316) Plan Map of 600 Meters of the Seitz Kelly Vein Plan Map of the Seitz Kelly Veins and Drill Holes El Tigre Resource Estimate After acquiring El Tigre, Silver Tiger drilled 12,500 meters to define the wide halo of near surface gold mineralization around the mined high-grade veins of the historic El Tigre Mine. This allowed Silver Tiger to deliver a maiden resource estimate for the El Tigre Property to a depth of 150 meters containing indicated resources of 661,000 gold equivalent ounces at 0.77 g/t (21 g/t silver and 0.51 g/t gold) and inferred resources of 341,000 gold equivalent ounces at 1.59 g/t (88 g/t silver and 0.52 g/t gold). The National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate on the El Tigre Project, Sonora, Mexico" effective as of September 7, 2017 and dated October 26, 2017 prepared by David Burga, P.Geo., Yungang Wu, P.Geo., Fred Brown, P.Geo., Jarita Barry, P.Geo., Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., FEC, CET, Alfred Hayden, P.Eng. and Richard H. Sutcliffe, Ph.D., P.Geo. of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. is available on the Corporation's website at www.silvertigermetals.com and on www.sedar.com under the Corporation's profile. About Silver Tiger and the El Tigre Historic Mine District Silver Tiger Metals Inc. is a Canadian company whose management has more than 25 years' experience discovering, financing and building large hydrothermal silver projects in Mexico. Silver Tiger's 100% owned 28,414 hectare Historic El Tigre Mining District is located in Sonora, Mexico. Principled environmental, social and governance practices are core priorities at Silver Tiger. The El Tigre historic mine district is located in Sonora, Mexico and lies at the northern end of the Sierra Madre silver and gold belt which hosts many epithermal silver and gold deposits, including Dolores, Santa Elena and Las Chispas at the northern end. In 1896, gold was first discovered on the property in the Gold Hill area and mining started with the Brown Shaft in 1903. The focus soon changed to mining high-grade silver veins in the area with production coming from 3 parallel veins the El Tigre Vein, the Seitz Kelley Vein and the Sooy Vein. Underground mining on the middle El Tigre vein extended 1,450 meters along strike and was mined on 14 levels to a depth of approximately 450 meters. The Seitz Kelley Vein was mined along strike for 1 kilometer to a depth of approximately 200 meters. The Sooy Vein was only mined along strike for 250 meters to a depth of approximately 150 meters. Mining abruptly stopped on all 3 of these veins when the price of silver collapsed to less than 20 per ounce with the onset of the Great Depression. By the time the mine closed in 1930, it is reported to have produced a total of 353,000 ounces of gold and 67.4 million ounces of silver from 1.87 million tons (Craig, 2012). The average grade mined during this period was over 2 kilograms silver equivalent per ton. The El Tigre silver and gold deposit is related to a series of high-grade epithermal veins controlled by a north-south trending structure cutting across the andesitic and rhyolitic tuffs of the Sierra Madre Volcanic Complex within a broad silver and gold mineralized prophylitic alteration zone developed in the El Tigre Formation that can be up to 150 meters wide. The veins dip steeply to the west and are typically 0.5 meter wide but locally can be up to 5 meters in width. The veins, structures and mineralized zones outcrop on surface and have been traced for 5.3 kilometers along strike in our brownfield exploration area. Historical mining and exploration activities focused on a 1.6 kilometer portion of the southern end of the deposits, principally on the El Tigre, Seitz Kelly and Sooy veins. The under explored Caleigh, Benjamin, Protectora and the Fundadora exposed veins continue north for more than 3 kilometers. Silver Tiger has delivered its maiden 43-101 compliant resource estimate and is currently drilling to update its resource estimate and publish a PEA. VRIFY Slide Deck and 3D Presentation - Silver Tiger's El Tigre Project 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. Access the Silver Tiger Metals Inc. Company Profile on VRIFY at: https://vrify.com The VRIFY Slide Deck and 3D Presentation for Silver Tiger Metals Inc. can be viewed at: https://vrify.com/explore/decks/492 and on the Corporation's website at: www.silvertigermetals.com. 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 Bureau Veritas facility in Hermosillo, Mexico. Bureau Veritas crushes the samples (Code PRP70-250) and prepares 200-300 gram pulp samples with ninety percent passing Tyler 200 mesh (Code PUL85). The pulps are assayed for gold using a 30-gram charge by fire assay (Code FA630) and over limits greater than 10 grams per tonne are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code FA530). Silver and multi-element analysis is completed using total digestion (Code MA200 Total Digestion ICP). Over limits greater than 100 grams per tonne silver are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code FA530). 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 Silver Tiger's QA/QC protocols. Qualified Person David R. Duncan, P. Geo., V.P. Exploration of the Corporation, is the Qualified Person for Silver Tiger as defined under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Duncan has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release. For further information, please contact: Glenn Jessome President and CEO 902 492 0298 jessome@silvertigermetals.com CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization, resources and reserves, the ability to convert inferred resources to indicated resources, the ability to complete future drilling programs and infill sampling, the ability to extend resource blocks, the similarity of mineralization at El Tigre to Delores, Santa Elena and Chispas, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Silver Tiger, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "may", "is expected to", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans", "projection", "could", "vision", "goals", "objective" and "outlook" and other similar words. Although Silver Tiger believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, 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. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Silver Tiger's expectations include risks and uncertainties related to exploration, development, operations, commodity prices and global financial volatility, risk and uncertainties of operating in a foreign jurisdiction as well as additional risks described from time to time in the filings made by Silver Tiger with securities regulators. SOURCE: Silver Tiger Metals Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/717554/Silver-Tiger-Intersects-12038-gt-AgEq-over-07-meters-in-the-Seitz-Kelly-Vein Health experts predict that the United Kingdom is entering a COVID-19 wave this autumn, and the United States may soon follow. The recent surge in COVID-19 infections in England does not seem to be driven by a novel coronavirus variant, per a CNN report. According to Dr. Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at Kings College London, typically, the US responds to circumstances in the UK around a month later. Dr. Spector leads the Zoe Health Study, which utilizes an app to collect UK and US symptom reports. Participants take a home COVID-19 test kit if they feel sick and note the findings. He estimates that 500,000 individuals register their symptoms daily to study pandemic patterns. Spector claims the study has properly tracked the onset of each wave since the initial lockdown in England in 2020. COVID-19 Wave Expected This October Sky News reported that, for the first time in two months, COVID-19 cases have increased in England and Wales, ending a steady decline that began in early July. Total infections in the UK have risen, while in Scotland and Northern Ireland, they have declined. According to the Office for National Statistics, 927,900 people living in private homes nationwide are most likely to have tested positive for COVID-19 in the week ending September 14. The figure is five percent more than the previous week's 881,200. Dr. Spector claims data shows the next COVID-19 wave has already started. The health expert claimed projections indicated that there "would have a peak in June to July, followed by a month of inactivity in August, a flattening off in September, and a resumption in October." And it quite fits what the modelers had foreseen. According to some projections, COVID-19 cases will start to climb again in the US in October and carry on into the winter. Read Also: Pakistan Floods Bring New Catastrophe: Malaria, Other Diseases Surging Since a few months ago, public health authorities, like the World Health Organization, have issued warnings about the potential increase in COVID-19 cases this cold season, according to Politico. The burden on health services is a problem, especially during the flu season. Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor at the U.K. Health Security Agency noted: "While COVID-19 rates are still low, the latest data for the last seven days indicates a rise in hospitalizations and a rise in positive tests reported from the community." Hopkins advised qualified people to get their autumn vaccination booster as soon as possible to strengthen their resistance to infection in time for the winter. Declining Immunity, a Crucial Factor Christina Pagel, a professor of operational research at University College London, believes that a mix of declining immunity and behavioral changes is to blame for the rise in cases in the UK rather than new varieties. Several people in the UK are some months over their last COVID-19 dose or infection, and official records reveal that just 8% of individuals aged 50 and older have acquired an Omicron-specific vaccine since September. Immunity is declining in the US, and Americans are sluggish to get booster shots. CDC data show that only 35 percent of people who should have received a booster have obtained one. The US and UK boosters are somewhat different. The initial strain of Omicron, which is no longer prevalent, is being fought in the UK with vaccinations that have been upgraded. US boosters have been modified to combat the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, that are presently infecting people both domestically and overseas. Related Article: Canada Aims To Lift All COVID-19 Border Restrictions on Oct. 1 For Athletes, Visitors @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. 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. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / Eyam Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics (Eyam), has announced the acquisition of a new Option to license the patents related to an antibody biologic cancer therapeutic from the University of British Columbia (UBC). The cancer therapeutic belongs to an emerging group of drugs called biologics. Biologics are powerful medications that are at the forefront of cancer therapies today, making it possible to treat some illnesses that previously had no treatment. The global cancer therapeutics market is expected to double in size over the next 8 years, growing to more than US$365B. Biologics are predicted to encompass 30% of the therapeutic drug market this year. "Exercising this Option and executing on a licensing agreement would add antibody biologics to Eyam's portfolio which could create new value for Eyam shareholders and diversify Eyam's pipeline to include biologic therapeutics," said Eyam's CEO, Ryan Thomas. This technology acts like a "magic bullet" that targets leukemia and lymphoma, two types of cancer that affect white blood cells and the immune system. These cancers now collectively constitute about 6% of all new cases of cancer, with 61,090 new cases of all types of leukemia and 90,390 new cases of all types of lymphoma recorded in the USA per year according to The American Cancer Society (ACS). "Antibody biologics have revolutionized cancer therapies and we are excited to enter this new chapter," said Dr. Wilfred Jefferies, Eyam's Founder and Chief Scientific Officer. Professor Jefferies is a Principal Investigator in the Michael Smith Laboratories and the Vancouver Prostate Centre at UBC, who discovered OX40, a major target for antibody biologic therapeutics that has been the subject of numerous clinical trials for the treatment of cancers. The Option includes a portfolio of biologic patents and patent applications. The Option allows Eyam the right to negotiate an exclusive licensing agreement with UBC for the further development and commercialization of the technology. About Eyam: Eyam Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics is dedicated to the research and development of disruptive vaccine and therapeutic technologies that are safe, efficacious, and low dose. Eyam, is named in honor of the historic plague village in Derbyshire, England. The residents of Eyam heroically quarantined themselves within the village boundaries to prevent the disease from spreading further, braving near certain death. Today, Eyam honors their heroic sacrifice by advancing next generation technologies to prevent and treat disease on a global scale. Contact: First Name: Ryan Last Name: Thomas Email: rthomas@eyamhealth.com Phone: +17204869359 SOURCE: Eyam Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/717537/Eyam-Acquires-Option-for-Novel-Antibody-Biologic-Therapeutics-for-the-Treatment-of-Leukemia-and-Lymphoma Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2022) - Athabasca Minerals Inc. (TSXV: AMI) ("AMI" or the "Corporation") an innovative and integrated group of companies that develops and delivers sand and gravel products, technical services, and supply-chain solutions, is pleased to announce that its joint venture partnership, AMI Silica LLC ("Silica LLC"), has finalized a non-dilutive financing for $2.7 Million USD (the "Financing") to support expansion initiatives at its Hixton operations. The Corporation also announces that it has entered into an arms-length investor relations agreement (the "Agreement") with Boardmarker Group ("Boardmarker"), led by Mr. Dean Stuart. AMI Silica LLC Financing AMI Silica LLC has entered into a non-dilutive debt financing facility for $2.7 Million USD. Under the terms of this financing, the facility is backed by eligible equipment owned by AMI Silica LLC. This loan will mature on August 1, 2025 unless paid out at an earlier date. Dana Archibald, AMI Silica LLC's President and AMI's Chief Executive Officer comments, "This funding will support AMI Silica LLC's expansion and growth strategy. As market demand continues to grow we are working on initiatives that will provide increased logistics capabilities to support the demand and provide added revenue streams. We have a strong customer base and are finding ways to grow strategically to satisfy their requirements." The Board of Directors of AMI Silica LLC has approved, based on this new financing and the company's strengthened working capital, to repay a portion of the original shareholders loan to both partners. Both JMAC Energy Services LLC and AMI received a payment of USD$600 Thousand, equal to $800,500 Canadian dollars. Investor Relations Agreement The Corporation has signed an Agreement with Boardmarker Group to provide investor relations and communications services with a focus on shareholder engagement and strategic capital market outreach. David Churchill, AMI's Chief Financial Officer states, "We are excited to bring Dean on board to support our Investor Relations initiatives and to bring greater outreach to the market, in addition to raising our profile with current and potential investors. Dean has a long history with the company, dating back to 2007, with a solid understanding of our assets as well as strong relationships with our shareholder base. We look forward to working with Dean as we continue to introduce a more focused and aligned organization, driven by the many opportunities that we have before us." Under the terms of the Agreement, AMI will pay Boardmarker a monthly retainer, in the amount of $3,500, for an indefinite term. The Agreement may be terminated at any time, without penalty, by either party giving 30 days' notice. In addition, the Corporation will issue 75,000 stock options using the market price at close of trading on September 26, 2022 of $0.185 and an additional 25,000 stock options at a price that is $0.05 above the market price at close of trading on September 26, 2022 of $0.235. The scope of these services will include communication with current and prospective shareholders, a market engagement strategy designed to introduce the Corporation to key banking and investment dealers, and supporting the Corporation on the development of external communications such as press releases, marketing materials and presentations. In addition, the Agreement allows for AMI to increase the scope of services, at its discretion, appointing Mr. Stuart as the primary investor relations contact for the Corporation, adding the tracking and reporting of key market data, and the participation of Mr. Stuart in key conferences and investor trips. As per the terms of the Agreement, if the additional services are added the monthly retainer increases to $5,000. Upon execution of the Agreement 150,000 stock options will be placed in escrow and released pending Mr. Stuart meeting strategic targets that have been pre-determined. Upon the Corporation's share price trading above $0.30 for 10 consecutive trading days Mr. Stuart will be eligible to receive 50,000 stock options from escrow and upon the Corporation's share price trading above $0.40 for 10 consecutive trading days Mr. Stuart will be eligible to receive 100,000 stock options from escrow. All stock option issuances are subject to applicable stock exchange approvals and shall be made in accordance with applicable securities legislation and as per the terms of the Corporation's stock option plan. As per the Corporation's stock option plan, options will vest over a period of eighteen months with one third vesting at six months, another third vesting at one year and the final third vesting at eighteen months. ABOUT ATHABASCA MINERALS INC. Athabasca Minerals is an integrated group of companies capable of full life-cycle development and supply of aggregates and industrial minerals. The Corporation is comprised of the following business units: AMI Silica division (www.amisilica.com) is a leading supplier of premium industrial sand with operations in Wisconsin and regional deposits located in Alberta and North-East BC, currently in the development phase. division (www.amisilica.com) is a leading supplier of premium industrial sand with operations in Wisconsin and regional deposits located in Alberta and North-East BC, currently in the development phase. AMI Aggregates division produces and sells aggregates out of its corporate pits and manages the Coffey Lake Public Pit on behalf of the Government of Alberta. division produces and sells aggregates out of its corporate pits and manages the Coffey Lake Public Pit on behalf of the Government of Alberta. Metis North Sand & Gravel (www.metisnorthrocks.com) is a strategic partnership between Athabasca Minerals Inc. and the McKay MetisGroup to deliver aggergates to the energy, infrastructure, and construction sectors in the Wood Buffalo region. (www.metisnorthrocks.com) is a strategic partnership between Athabasca Minerals Inc. and the McKay MetisGroup to deliver aggergates to the energy, infrastructure, and construction sectors in the Wood Buffalo region. AMI RockChain division (www.amirockchain.com) is North America's largest platform for buying, selling, and transporting gravel, sand, and other surface materials. It is a technology-enabled business that deploys its proprietary RockChain digital platform, associated industry econometrics, supply-chain algorithms, quality-assurance & safety programs to bring customers integrated supply-delivery solutions of industrial minerals to industry, infrastructure and construction sectors. For further information, please contact: Cheryl Grue, Director, Corporate Affairs Tel: 587-392-5862 / Email: cheryl.grue@athabascaminerals.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains certain statements or disclosures relating to Athabasca that are based on the expectations of its management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Athabasca which may constitute forward-looking statements or information ("forward-looking statements") under applicable securities laws. All such statements and disclosures, other than those of historical fact, which address activities, events, outcomes, results or developments that Athabasca anticipates or expects may, or will occur in the future (in whole or in part) should be considered forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of the words "would", "will", "anticipates", believes", "explores" and similar expressions. Athabasca believes the material factors, expectations and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable at this time but no assurance can be given that these factors, expectations and assumptions will prove to be correct. Such 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 forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Corporation does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any of the forward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect the Corporation's operations and financial results are included in this news release and may be accessed under Athabasca's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138510 CHICAGO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Small Drone Market is projected to grow from USD 3.8 billion in 2022 to USD 6.2 Billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 10.1% from 2022 to 2027, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The market growth can be attributed to growing demand for small patrolling drones for marine border security. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=141134567 Browse in-depth TOC on "Small Drone Market" 409 - Tables 64 - Figures 334 - Pages The growth of the market across the globe can be attributed to surging adoption of small drones in civil and military applications. Small drones are being extensively used in various commercial applications, such as photography, product and medicine delivery, 3D mapping, data transmission, and inspection & monitoring in confined spaces. They are also used in the agriculture, real estate, and oil & gas industries. In the agricultural industry, the use of small drones has led to the evolution of precision farming, which has enabled farmers to monitor the health of crops, keep track of irrigation equipment, and identify different types of weeds, among others. Moreover, using drones for photography has become commonplace. Drones are simple to operate and can be purchased for less than USD 500. Because they take advantage of advanced digital techniques, drones can deliver beautiful, high-quality aerial photos and videos. One of the main uses of drone photography is mapping. Drone photographers use both vertical and oblique photographs for planning land-use projects, movie production, environmental studies, archaeology, power line inspection, oil & gas surveying, surveillance, commercial advertising, and even art projects. Furthermore, drones are particularly important for inspecting difficult-to-reach locations at certain altitudes or in contaminated surroundings. The use of drones has modernized the telecommunication tower scrutiny as they can be used to carry out supervision of these towers cost-effectively and in less time. Drones can also be employed for aerial evaluation of buildings and other infrastructures, such as pipelines, electric grids, offshore plants, and solar plates. Based on platform, the defense & government segment is anticipated to record the highest growth rate during the forecast period Based on platform, the small drone market has been segmented into civil & commercial and defense & government. The civil & commercial segment is further segmented into micro and small. Whereas the defense & government segment is further classified into nano, micro, and mini. Presently, governments of different countries worldwide are using drones for law enforcement and governance applications due to their compactness and quick services. Drones are used in the defense sector to provide battlefield intelligence. Nowadays, the armed forces of different countries across the globe do not rely completely on human scouts for information gathering. They use drones, as these drones can remain almost invisible to enemy forces. Drones help monitor enemy forces or specific areas and send video feeds to the concerned ground stations with the help of GPS. These drones are used in ISR operations to record information about potential targets that are otherwise difficult to detect. WASP, developed by US-based AeroVironment and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is deployed on battlefields to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance activities. In July 2022, a drone rolled out across Spanish beaches saved the life of a 14-year-old boy as he struggled against a powerful current. Based on application, the commercial segment is estimated to register large share in the base year Based on application, the small drone market has been classified into military, commercial, government & law enforcement, and consumer. The use of small drones has been prevalent among defense forces worldwide for a long time. However, in recent times, several investments have been made by public and private sector organizations in developing new and sophisticated UAVs according to their requirements. The potential of UAVs to be used in several prospective applications in the civil & commercial sector has led to advancements in small drones. The civil & commercial application segment of the small drone market is projected to grow significantly in the next 10 years. For instance, small drones are employed in Japan to spray pesticides on farms. Amazon (US) plans to use small drones for product delivery in the coming decade. There have been significant R&D investments in small drones, which have widened their applicability in mining, surveying, and 3D mapping, along with oil & gas exploration, film industry, etc. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=141134567 The Asia Pacific region is projected to be high growth potential markets for the small drone during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is known as a global leader in technology and innovation. In recent times, it has been the fastest-growing technology companies based on percentage revenue growth over three years. China, Malaysia, South The growth of the small drone market in Asia Pacific can be attributed to the rise in military spending (both in defense and homeland security) of countries in the region to enhance their defense capabilities. Moreover, political tensions in Asia Pacific have led to the deployment of drones to ensure the security of national borders. This serves to be one of the most significant factors driving the growth of the small drone market in the region. The small drone market in Asia Pacific has witnessed significant growth, which can be attributed to innovations in UAV technology, low-cost manufacturing of UAV parts, and increased demand for doorstep deliveries. China, India, Japan, Australia, and South Korea contribute to the growth of the small drone market in Asia Pacific. The major players include DJI (China), Parrot Drone SAS (France), Israel Aerospace Industry Ltd. (Israel), AeroVironment, Inc. (US), and Lockheed Martin Corporation (US). Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=141134567 Browse Adjacent Market: Aerospace and Defence Market Research Reports &Consulting Related Reports: Military Drone Market by Platform, Type (Fixed Wing, Rotary Wing, And Hybrid), Application, Mtow, Propulsion (Turbo Engine, Piston Engine and Battery), Operation Mode, Speed, Launching Mode & Region - Global Forecast to 2027 Drone Software Market by Solution (Application, System), Platform (Defense & Government, Commercial, Consumer) Architecture (Open Source, Closed Source), Deployment (Onboard Drone, Ground-Based, Region - Global Forecast to 2027 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/small-uav-market.aspVisit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/small-uav.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/small-drone-market-worth-6-2-billion-by-2027--exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-301633959.html Improved career opportunities, significant salary increases, and a heightened sense of overall optimism highlight the transformational value of life-changing education LONDON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Prodigy Finance, the pioneer in cross-border student lending, today announces the release of its 2022 Global Impact Report. The newest report highlights how the company continues to create positive impact across the globe by removing financial barriers for high potential students to access the world's best education. Leveraging research-based evidence, Prodigy's newest survey, the Impact Outcomes Survey, was designed to understand the impact of a master's degree on Prodigy-funded graduates, both professionally and personally. The 2022 report follows Prodigy Finance's 2021 issuance of a $288m Social ABS Bond - our first - to support students to access affordable education. The Social ABS Bond has resulted in 4271 postgraduate students from low and middle income countries fulfilling their educational dreams. As communities around the world continue to endure unprecedented challenges, Prodigy Finance is dedicated to supporting the growing demand of international students looking to pursue their educational dreams of studying abroad. "Our impact report is our commitment to codify our spirit and founding ethos into transparent and measurable outcomes that demonstrate our impact on society. It's easy to say that you have a soul and aspire to do good for people and the planet. It's harder, as you scale, to ensure that you stay true to it." said Cameron Stevens, CEO, Prodigy Finance. By measuring the outcomes our loans have on our borrowers and their communities, we see that access to finance provides an education that results in better jobs and career opportunities, greater success at work as well as better attitudes and personal attributes. Some highlights from the 2022 Impact Report include FINANCIAL IMPACT ON EMERGING MARKET STUDENTS Students from emerging market (EM) countries are significantly more underserved than those from developed markets (DM). Over two-thirds of EM students come from families earning less than $40,000, in contrast to 20% of DM students. The salary increases for EM students supported by Prodigy Finance are significant and, in many cases, life-changing. Among our EM graduates, 77% believe their salary has at least doubled, and 46% felt their salary has at least quadrupled due to their master's degree. So, while EM students come from more underserved backgrounds than students from DM, they report higher salary rises post master's graduation. FEMALE GRADUATES REPORT POSITIVE OUTCOMES FOLLOWING THEIR MASTER'S DEGREE Since its inception, Prodigy has provided financing to over 8,600 women, and the proportion of women relative to men has gradually increased over time. In 2021, women represented one-third of all borrowers. These women report the highest agreement (95%) to believing their master's degree has helped them access better career opportunities. Additionally, 93% of Prodigy-funded female graduates attained higher salaries after graduation, with 72% and 40% believing their salary has at least doubled or quadrupled, respectively, as a result of their master's degree. INCREASING THE PROPORTION OF ENGINEERS FUNDED Over the past few years, the number of engineering students funded has risen significantly. Prodigy is supplying this rapid demand of students who desire to study postgraduate engineering. Given that 90% of students report having limited-to-no-other funding options, many of these students would have struggled to source financing without Prodigy. Engineering students come from significantly more underserved backgrounds than business students; more than half of these students come from families earning less than $15,000 a year. In addition, 95% of engineering students reported earning below $25,000 a year at the time of their Prodigy loan application. Engineering students also report significant positive financial impacts from obtaining their master's degree; 54% report at least quadrupling their salary, and 81% report at least doubling their salary, as a result of their Prodigy-funded master's degree. It is highly encouraging that this fast-growing segment of Prodigy-funded students is experiencing meaningful impact. IMPACT ON HOME & HOST COMMUNITIES Prodigy Finance has identified that the positive outcomes experienced don't stop with the borrowers themselves, but are far-reaching to their communities back home through remittances and skill transfer. Almost 80% of our emerging markets students send remittances home to their families or intend to within 5 years. Furthermore, where graduates stay in their country of study, they contribute to increased productivity and economic growth. Additionally, universities across host countries agree that these new international students enrich campus culture and intellectual life, help domestic students develop skills, and help supplement tuition revenue for universities. For more insights, download the full 2022 Global Impact Report at prodigyfinance.com/social-impact/invest. For more information, please contact: Prodigy Finance, media@prodigyfinance.com, +44(0)20 3900 3535 About Prodigy Finance: Prodigy Finance is revolutionising the way students and investors see international student loans. Fueled by a community of funders, our student borrower base is given the chance to attend the world's top universities. Over the last decade, our investors have received both a financial and social return, while thousands of students have gained access to higher education through our loans. Since its founding, Prodigy Finance has helped over 28,000 international master's students from 150 countries access over $1.5B in funding across postgraduate courses at 800+ international schools - and is committed to expanding its impact ever further in the future. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/prodigy-finance-releases-2022-impact-report-301634029.html Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2022) - Advanced Home Care Solutions (AHCS) reveals its robust expansion plans. This initiative stems from their vision to enable a broader audience to gain access to health care professionals like HCA's, LPN's and RN's. AHCS intends to increase its Canadian presence by opening branches in Western Canada in October 2022, as well as internationally in Europe, Asia and other places in North America within the next 3 years. The company plans to scale up its staffing solutions to fulfil the surge in the global demand for healthcare workers, which has been amplified by the great resignation's impact on the healthcare industry. "Whilst I was in Japan on a business trip, I realized the extent to which healthcare staff is a global problem when I noticed certain basic care services were being done by robots. Six months later, I developed the business line of supplemental staffing and knew from that, I wanted to expand globally one day," said Kris Stewart, CEO of Advanced Home Care Solutions. AHCS's immediate growth plans involve increasing its clientele base in Canada by opening new offices in Western Canada, in addition to its existing offices in Vancouver and Toronto. Next, they intend to partner with other healthcare organizations to spread their reach across 5 continents. In North America, they intend to cater to healthcare organizations in need of staff, by deploying highly skilled travel nurses to various regions across the USA and the Canadian Arctic. They intend to spread their reach to Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Australasia and the United Kingdom. They plan to achieve this by deploying nurses to acute care facilities in these regions. Commenting on this, Kris Stewart, CEO of Advanced Home Care Solutions, said, "We have an aggressive expansion plan because there is a huge demand for our services across the globe. In addition to providing long-term care and acute care staffing services, we also want to gain recognition in these continents from organizations that need nurses. The AHCS team is equipped with the right tools and skillset to serve the global market, having served the Canadian marketplace with supplemental staffing for the past 3 years." About Advanced Home Care Solutions Advanced Home Care Solutions (AHCS) was founded and is headed by its Clinical Director and CEO, Kris Stewart. The AHCS team is committed to providing the highest quality of healthcare professionals to their stakeholders, clients and partners. The administration team has extensive experience in healthcare leadership and significant recruiting and retention strategies to ensure high quality talent is retained. Advanced Care Solutions is the Ontario affiliate of AHCS. Media Contact Contact Person: Kris Stewart Email: clinicaldirector@advancedhomecaresolutions.com Website: www.advancedhomecaresolutions.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138471 Sengi Solar announced a BRL 440 million ($85 million) investment earlier this month to set up two solar panel factories in Brazil. The PV manufacturer recently spoke to pv magazine about the incentives that led to the decision, future technological developments, and its path to 100% Brazilian solar manufacturing.Sengi Solar. a PV module manufacturer, said in early September that it plans to invest BRL 440 million ($85 million) to set up two solar panel factories in Brazil. The two sites will have an annual production capacity of around 1 GW of modules. The first unit, in Cascavel (Parana), is ... 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. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2022) - World Copper Ltd. (TSXV: WCU) (OTCQC: WCUFF) (FSE: 7LY0) ("World Copper") announces drill results from the Mancha Amarilla target at the Company's Escalones Copper project in Central Chile ("Escalones" or the "Escalones Project"). The Escalones Project has estimated Inferred Mineral Resources of 426 million tonnes of 0.367% copper, based on nearly 25,000 metres of drill core from 53 holes (see news release dated August 23, 2021). World Copper has now completed 1,676 metres of additional drilling along the western-most, road accessible edge of the Mancha Amarilla zone, with the following highlights: Successful completion of first target of Mancha Amarilla drilling, confirming copper oxide mineralization extends at least 150 metres south from previous drilling Oxidation extends to depths of 280 metres below the ridge, as predicted by modeling Confirmation of western flank of Mancha Amarilla mineralized zone with indications that the mineralization should improve eastward into the central areas of the zone CEO Nolan Peterson commented, "Since restarting work on the Escalones project, World Copper has focused on completing the preliminary economic assessment with respect to the existing Escalones resource, which was completed in February 2022 (see news release dated February 15, 2022), as well as expanding the Escalones' mineral resource south into the adjacent previously untested Mancha Amarilla zone. With the completion of the first phase of the drill programme we have now confirmed what initial reviews indicated - that the Escalones resource has the potential to be significantly larger than its current definition, with oxide mineralization to similar depths as the main deposit. With the western edge of the Mancha Amarilla footprint defined, we now have clear targets for the next phase of drilling, aiming to increase the grade of the overall resource as we test the flanking skarn targets which exhibit some of the highest grades on the property." Mancha Amarilla Results The aim of the Mancha Amarilla drill programme was to confirm and delineate continuous oxide copper mineralization in the Mancha Amarilla lithocap, which is located adjacent to and located immediately south of the existing mineral resource. Early drilling focused on the western edge and the East Skarn (Figure 1). The Mancha Amarilla lithocap has alteration mineralogy and geochemistry consistent with the weathered top of a porphyry system and extends one kilometre south from the area of the main Escalones deposit (Figure 1). The geology encountered in the recent drilling indicates the Mancha Amarilla lithocap is as deeply oxidized as the existing resource but thins southward as topography drops in elevation where calcareous lithologies dominate over intrusive units. The increase in grade eastward from hole ES-57 to ES-56 suggests the central area is more highly mineralized than the western flank. The last hole of the programme (ES-60) was collared in the East Skarn zone but was shut down early due to bad weather with the onset of winter. Table 1 summarizes the significant drill intersections from the programme and Figure 1 shows their locations within the Mancha Amarilla zone. Figure 1: Escalones Mancha Amarilla drill results, interval with >0.1% Cu. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3653/138505_3e46ad2a842069b8_002full.jpg Table 1. Significant Drill results (total Cu) from the Mancha Amarilla Target; intervals over 0.1% Cu are bolded; all widths are true Hole From To Width Cu % Ag (ppm) Au (ppm) Mo (ppm) ES-54 3 86 83 0.0488 0.77 0.021 0.0012 ES-54 86 221 135.0 0.1544 0.82 0.018 0.0019 ES-54 221 245.4 24.4 0.0561 0.54 0.004 0.0013 ES-54 245.40 280.60 35.2 0.1185 0.84 0.009 0.0016 ES-54 280.6 287.5 6.9 0.0823 1.00 0.006 0.0008 ES-55 2.7 141 138.3 0.0399 0.75 0.002 0.0006 ES-55 141 148.85 7.85 0.1451 0.63 0.002 0.0009 ES-55 148.85 281.55 132.7 0.0254 0.58 0.001 0.0006 ES-56 0 73.1 73.1 0.0243 0.61 0.002 0.0005 ES-56 73.1 123 49.9 0.1061 0.81 0.005 0.0005 ES-56 123 272.4 149.2 0.0382 0.63 0.002 0.0005 ES-57 7.8 98 90.2 0.0255 0.86 0.001 0.0005 ES-57 98 106 8 0.1275 1.25 0.011 0.0005 ES-57 106 120 14 0.0354 0.71 0.002 0.0005 ES-57 120 125.5 5.5 0.2072 1.36 0.005 0.0005 ES-57 125.5 257.25 131.75 0.0238 1.05 0.001 0.0005 ES-58 12.6 20 7.4 0.0289 1.74 0.003 0.0006 ES-58 20 34 14 0.1810 3.14 0.003 0.0005 ES-58 34 287.65 253.65 0.0108 0.84 0.004 0.0005 ES-59 2.8 261.2 258.4 0.0165 0.61 0.002 0.0005 Table 2. Drill collar details* Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Depth ES-54 410972 6224021 3743.463 287.5 ES-55 410906 6223890 3726.787 281.55 ES-56 410989.9 6223705 3685.559 272.4 ES-57 410787.6 6223699 3697.033 257.25 ES-58 410878.2 6223351 3637.947 287.65 ES-59 410889.4 6223569 3685.083 264.4 *all holes are vertical, HQ diameter Next Steps With over 3,000 metres remaining in the Escalones drill permit, World Copper intends to restart drilling at the East Skarn target (Figure 1) as soon as conditions allow. The East Skarn target overlies the Mancha Amarilla zone to the northeast of the completed drilling and has only had sparse drilling along the south edge (see news release dated August 12, 2021). Surface sampling by the Company indicates the sandstone host rocks of the East Skarn target are strongly mineralized with copper oxides at surface. Once drilling at the East Skarn target is complete, World Copper would aim to to move to the west side of the Meseta ridge and test the depth potential of high-grade copper skarn mineralization exposed by roads on the west flank of the central Meseta intrusion (the West Zone; Figure 1). Quality Control and Quality Assurance; Sampling and Assay Procedures Drill core was transported at the end of each drill shift by pickup truck from the drill pad to a temporary logging, sampling and storage facility at the base camp at the south end of the ridge. The core was then logged, digitally photographed, and transported to the core-storage warehouse in the town of Romeral, where the core was split with a diamond saw and sampled with half the core placed in plastic poly bags and a sample tag. The core was photographed once again to record the sampling. After splitting, all samples were packed in rice sacks and sealed with uniquely numbered non-re-sealable security straps. The samples were trucked to ALS Laboratory ("ALS") in Santiago. World Copper implemented a standard QA/QC programme for Escalones, inserting 1-in-20 certified standard reference material ("SRM"), 1-in-20 field (two core samples) and 1-in-20 coarse duplicates, and 1-in-25 blanks into the sample stream. There were no issues noted with the SRMs and all plotted within acceptable limits for copper submitted for analysis from the same sample interval. At ALS, multi-elements were assayed using the ME-ICP61a package, which includes 4-acid digestion and ICP-MS finish. Gold was done by method Au-ICP21, in which a 30g sample is fire-assayed and finished with ICP-AES. Intervals of greater than 10 metres grading greater than 0.1% Cu will be sent for sequential copper analysis. About Escalones The Escalones porphyry-skarn copper-gold project has estimated inferred resources of 426 million tonnes of 0.367% total copper within the oxidized zone, based on nearly 25,000 m of drill core from 53 holes. Preliminary metallurgy indicates the 3.45 billion pounds of copper should be amenable to heap leaching with an average recovery of 71%. The Company is focused on exploring the flanking skarn mineralization east and west of the existing resource. In addition, three significant hydrothermal alteration zones, each measuring between 2,000 m and 3,000m in diameter, lie 8-10 km to the north of the main discovery. One of these, Rio Negro, has confirmed porphyry mineralization at surface. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability as there is no certainty that all or any part of the resources will be converted into reserves. Inferred resources are that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated based on limited geological evidence and sampling. It is reasonably expected that the inferred resources could be upgraded to indicated resources with continued exploration. About the Escalones February 2022 PEA study: On February 15, 2022, the Company announced the following outstanding results of the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for the Escalones Project: $1,499.6 million post-tax NPV 8 at $3.60 /lb. life-of-mine ("LOM") (20 years) copper price $1,822.4 million post-tax NPV8 at $4.00 /lb. LOM copper price First 5 years average annual Copper production of 124.7 Mlbs. (56,520 tonnes); LOM average 114.9 Mlbs. (52,131 tonnes) First 5 years average C1 (Cash Operating) costs of $1.13 /lb. Cu; LOM average C1 costs $1.19 /lb. Cu First 5 years average annual EBITDA $290.8 million; LOM average annual EBITDA $265.1 million Initial Capital (CAPEX) cost of $438.4 million (from construction decision) (from construction decision) LOM Sustaining Capital of $192.5 million Conventional heap leach, SX-EW processing facilities, targeting 50,000 tonnes of heap leach tonnes placed per day The exceptional results of the Escalones PEA confirm what World Copper has always anticipated - that Escalones has the potential to be one of the most impressive copper properties in South America. Escalones now joins a peer group of large-scale, study backed, development stage assets. Escalones has several attributes that make it attractive for development including robust economics, strong value metrics and the potential of rapid returns for a comparably low capital investment. The results of the PEA, combined with Escalones large land package and resource expansion potential, make it a truly outstanding project. The PEA is considered preliminary in nature, contains numerous assumptions and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative, geologically, to have the economic considerations applied that would enable them to be classified as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the results of the PEA will be realized. No Mineral Reserves have been estimated for Escalones. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred Mineral Resources are that part of the Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade, or quality, are estimated based on limited geologic evidence and sampling, which is sufficient to imply but not verify grade or quality continuity. Inferred Mineral Resources may not be converted to Mineral Reserves. It is reasonably expected, though not guaranteed, that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration. Mineral Resources are captured within an optimized pit shell and meet the test of reasonable prospects for economic extraction. All values are reported in US dollars unless otherwise noted. The technical report prepared with respect to the PEA, which is available on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, is entitled "Preliminary Economic Assessment NI 43-101 Technical Report, Escalones Copper Project, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile" and is dated March 22, 2022, with an effective date of February 15, 2022, and it was prepared by Global Resource Engineering with contributions from other firms, including Hard Rock Consulting, LLC. Qualified Person John Drobe, P.Geo., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), has reviewed the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Drobe is not independent of the Company as he is the Chief Geologist of World Copper. ABOUT WORLD COPPER LTD. World Copper Ltd., headquartered in Vancouver, BC, is a Canadian resource company focused on the exploration and development of its two primary copper porphyry projects, Escalones and Cristal, both located in Chile. World Copper has laid claim to four copper porphyry targets, one with estimated resources, significant soluble copper mineralization, and exciting potential to expand the resource base. The World Copper team has a unique skill in navigating the mining sector within Chile, with some members having worked in the country for more than 40 years and with discovery success. Detailed information is available at the Company's website at www.worldcopperltd.com, and for general Company updates you may follow us on our social media pages via Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn. For further details on the Company readers are referred to the Company's website. To view the Company's Canadian regulatory filings, please visit SEDAR. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of WORLD COPPER LTD. "Nolan Peterson" Nolan Peterson Chief Executive Officer For further information, or to schedule a Zoom meeting with Management, please contact: Nolan Peterson or Michael Pound Phone: 604-638-3287 E-mail: info@worldcopperltd.com For all Investor Relations inquiries, please contact: John Liviakis Liviakis Financial Communications Inc. Phone: 415-389-4670 For all Public Relations inquiries, please contact: Nancy Thompson Vorticom, Inc. Office: 212-532-2208 | Mobile: 917-371-4053 Follow Us: Twitter: https://twitter.com/WorldCopperLtd Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WorldCopperLtd LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/worldcopperltd 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 news release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements with respect to future work programmes involving the East Skarn targets and the western flank at Escalones, anticipated exploration program results from exploration activities, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of World Copper are forward-looking statements. Although World Copper believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "would", "will", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, World Copper has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that market fundamentals will result in sustained copper demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future development of World Copper's projects in a timely manner, including the Escalones Project and the Cristal project, the availability of financing on suitable terms for the development, construction and continued operation of World Copper's projects and its ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of World Copper to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development activities, actual results of exploration activities, including on the Escalones Project and the Cristal project, the estimation or realization of mineral reserves and mineral resources, the fact that World Copper's interests in the Cristal project and the Escalones exploitation concessions are options only and there is no guarantee that such interests, if earned, will be certain, the timing and amount of estimated future production, the costs of production, capital expenditures, the costs and timing of the development of new deposits, requirements for additional capital, future prices of copper, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, lack of investor interest in future financings, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals (including of the TSX Venture Exchange), permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on World Copper's business, financial condition and results of operations, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the inability of World Copper to obtain any necessary permits, consents, approvals or authorizations, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, and risks related to joint venture operations, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in World Copper's continuous disclosure documents. All of World Copper's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. World Copper does not undertake any obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law. Cautionary Note to United States Investors World Copper prepares its disclosure in accordance with the requirements of securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. Terms relating to mineral resources in this news release are defined in accordance with NI 43-101 under the guidelines set out in CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Council on May 19, 2014, as amended ("CIM Standards"). The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") has adopted amendments effective February 25, 2019 (the "SEC Modernization Rules") to its disclosure rules to modernize the mineral property disclosure requirements for issuers whose securities are registered with the SEC under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. As a result of the adoption of the SEC Modernization Rules, the SEC will now recognize estimates of "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources", which are defined in substantially similar terms to the corresponding CIM Standards. In addition, the SEC has amended its definitions of "proven mineral reserves" and "probable mineral reserves" to be substantially similar to the corresponding CIM Standards. U.S. investors are cautioned that while the foregoing terms are "substantially similar" to corresponding definitions under the CIM Standards, there are differences in the definitions under the SEC Modernization Rules and the CIM Standards. Accordingly, there is no assurance any mineral resources that World Copper may report as "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources" under NI 43-101 would be the same had World Copper prepared the resource estimates under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization Rules. In accordance with Canadian securities laws, estimates of "inferred mineral resources" cannot form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies, except in limited circumstances where permitted under NI 43-101. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138505 ST. PETERSBURG, FL / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / Just as the electric vehicle industry and governments are facing the harsh reality of the challenges they must overcome to build out charging infrastructure before 2030, Energy And Water Development (EAWD) is pleased to announce the international patent application has been accepted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for their off grid self-sufficient, energy-supplied EV charging station system. WIPO is a global alliance that ensures the protection of trademarks and patents in more than 150 countries including the United States, EU, Russia, China, India, and Brazil. This patent protects EAWD's innovative technology that eases the impact of electromobility on the grid, a significant challenge facing the EV charging Industry. EAWD's off grid, self-sufficient, energy supplied EV charging system uses a novel combination of state-of-the-art solar glass panels, high efficiency batteries, and energy management hardware and software to generate the required energy to provide charging for commercial electric trucks. EAWD is in the process of installing their system in a strategical location in the center of Germany. When this custom-built system comes online in a few months, it will be the first large off grid charging station for commercial trucks in the world. "The acceptance of our global patent application allows us to move forward rapidly with the development and deployment of our off grid self-sufficient, energy-supplied charging stations," said Irma Velazquez, MSc - CEO. "This will provide a sustainable and affordable solution to the one of the most urgent challenges Europe and the rest of the world are facing on e-mobility." EAWD will hold a live demonstration of their charging station before the end of the year. About Energy and Water Development Corp. Energy and Water Development Corp. (OTCQB:EAWD) is an engineering solutions company focused on delivering innovative and sustainable solutions for energy and water supply. EAWD builds its systems out of proven technologies, using their technical know-how to customize solutions to their clients' needs. The Company offers design, construction, maintenance and specialty consulting services to private companies, government entities and non-government organizations (NGOs). For additional information, please visit: https://energy-water.com Or contact: Harvey Briggs Chief Communications Officer Force Family Office hbriggs@forcefamilyoffice.com EAWD Team eawdteam@eawctechnologies.com For more information about EAWD and all their innovative solutions to world energy and water issues, please visit https://energy-water.com/ SOURCE: Energy & Water Development Corp View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/717538/Energy-And-Water-Development-OTCQBEAWD-Receives-Global-Patent-Protection-For-Off-Grid-Self-Sufficient-EV-Charging-Stations California is known for having some of the best nursing homes in the nation. Even so, there are unfortunate situations where nursing home abuse and neglect happen, so being aware of the signs of neglect is crucial. Doing so can ensure you keep your loved one happy, healthy and safe in their new living environment. To stay vigilant, here are ten common signs of nursing home abuse in California nursing homes that you should be watching out for: 1. Infections When a nursing home is not properly kept clean, or when an elderly patient's medication is not regularly and/or correctly given, this can lead to infections. Because nursing care staff should be vigilant in preventing infections, which are much more dangerous in patients of advanced age, any infections on a nursing home patient should be seen as a red flag. To protect residents, California has moved to increase its oversight of nursing homes. 2. A New Desire for Isolation Especially if a once socially active resident suddenly becomes isolated and anti-social, this new desire for isolation is a serious sign of potential elder abuse. Elderly people are known to withdraw from situations where they are likely to be in the presence of an abuser, so it's important to confront suddenly isolated residents if you suspect abuse or neglect is occurring behind the scenes. 3. Malnutrition When someone is undergoing abuse or neglect, they may begin to have issues eating in a regular, consistent, or healthy fashion. If a loved one in a nursing home suddenly seems to be a potential victim of malnutrition, you should inquire about their feeding regimen, and ask the loved one privately if any abuse or neglect is occurring. 4. Unsanitary Living Conditions One of the most blatant signs that nursing home abuse may be occurring is an unclean, unsanitary facility. Especially if key living areas such as bedrooms and bathrooms are in disarray, the staff is not doing the work to keep these areas safe and liveable. Falls are especially likely in uncleanly spaces, and such falls can lead to serious, and even deadly, injuries in elderly residents. 5. Sudden Behavioral Changes Isolationist or poor-eating tendencies are only a few of the sudden behavioral changes you should watch out for in nursing home residents. Because nursing home patients are often living a well-regulated, predictable lifestyle, sudden behavioral changes can be seen as a sign of potential abuse or neglect. Never be afraid to ask your loved one about any worrisome behavioral changes, but make sure to do so in private if possible. 6. Dehydration Dehydration is a serious condition, especially in those of advanced age. Nursing home staff are trained to ensure residents are kept hydrated, so signs of dehydration in nursing home patients should always be seen as suspicious. Make sure that the problem is not occurring due to nursing home staff negligence before inquiring about dehydration issues with your elderly loved one when possible. 7. Asphyxiation Asphyxiation is rare in nursing homes since the setting is set up to prevent any potential choking or breathing hazards. Since even brief oxygen issues can cause severe health issues for elderly people, any instance of asphyxiation at a nursing home must be followed up with an investigation into any abusive practices. 8. Unexplained Injuries Many types of unexplained injuries can occur due to abusive or neglectful environments. Especially if an elderly loved one is hesitant about explaining an injury, you should be looking into the potential cause aggressively. Doing so can help you protect them from any covert abuse or neglect that may be happening behind the scenes in their nursing home. 9. Unexplained Death In the worst cases, unexplained death can occur. Whenever an unexplained death occurs, you should immediately seek out a California nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer, as they can help you investigate the incident. This tragedy is difficult to navigate, and legal professionals can help you get through this tough time as effectively as possible while helping you gain the restitution that your family deserves. 10. Rapid Weight Loss Lastly, sudden, rapid weight loss is a telltale sign of potential elder abuse or neglect. Asking to see a log of your elderly loved one's meals can be useful in investigating whether or not an instance of them rapidly losing weight may or may not be attached to instances of elderly abuse in their nursing home. Keep Your Loved One Safe and Secure in 2022 By watching for these ten signs, you can ensure that your elderly loved one stays safe and secure in their California nursing home in 2022. Letting your loved ones know that they can seek out your help at any time is important, but always remember that you may need to talk to them in private to get the truth about any potential neglect or abuse that's happening inside of their nursing home. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The partnership helps startup employees understand the true value of their stock options, equity and personal financial assets. BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / Shoobx , the company that fully automates all startup equity management operations and financings in a single collaborative hub, today announced its partnership with Wealthramp , the fintech company with a mission to connect people to the right fee-only advisor who will help them meet their financial goals. The Shoobx-Wealthramp partnership will provide startup employees more visibility into the value of their financial assets - including their stock options and startup equity. Attracting and retaining talent is especially crucial for early-stage companies with lean teams and tight budgets. Growing startups can differentiate themselves by offering resources that help employees reach their financial goals, while also providing clarity on equity valuations and stock options. Wealthramp gives employees at early-stage private companies access to a network of rigorously-vetted, independent fiduciary CFPs, CFAs and CPAs. Employees can select their own advisor and initiate meetings on their own. Wealthramp will never share an employee's personal information without their permission, and there are no calls from pushy salespeople. All Wealthramp advisors operate on a fee-only basis, so they operate with an employee's best interests in mind. "While there are a lot of financial wellness resources available, they are often broad and don't encompass the realities of startup employee finances," said Jason Furtado, CEO & Co-Founder of Shoobx. "Wealthramp is taking a new approach - bringing relevant, tailored information and experienced experts to startup employees at no cost to the employer. We're excited for our own team to have access as well as the early-stage startup companies we work with." Shoobx is the only platform that fully automates startup equity financing, including providing unmatched clarity for the company cap table. Private companies that use Shoobx can help ensure that employees better understand their company valuation and the value of their stock options and equity grants. Together, private companies that take advantage of the Shoobx-Wealthramp partnership will help their employees gain more clarity and visibility into their financial future. "Especially in the sometimes-uncertain world of early-stage startups, it's important for employees to improve their financial literacy and build confidence in their future," said Pam Krueger, CEO & Founder of Wealthramp. "Companies that partner with Wealthramp and Shoobx will give employees more access and visibility into both their personal wealth and their company-related stock and equity - painting a clear picture of how to achieve their financial goals." Shoobx's robust network of partners is aligned with their mission to make fundraising and scaling easier for startups, investors, and attorneys. Visit www.shoobx.com/partnerships to learn more. About Shoobx Shoobx is an equity management company that is reshaping how private companies get started, raise capital and exit. By focusing on data integrity and risk reduction, Shoobx's flexible platform streamlines everything from employee onboarding to issuing equity grants to maintaining a dynamic cap table, enabling companies to grow rapidly while staying financing-ready. Thousands of startup leaders, investors, and attorneys rely on Shoobx to get paperwork right the first time and make legal diligence fast and easy. Automate your next round at shoobx.com . About Wealthramp Wealthramp is a fintech company with a mission to connect people to the right fee-only advisor who will help them meet their financial goals throughout their life. It's the only advisor matching platform that doesn't sell consumers' information or share without their permission. Every advisor invited to join Wealthramp's network is personally vetted by Founder & CEO Pam Krueger, who has decades of experience in the investment industry and media educating people to never settle for an advisor who doesn't exceed their expectations. Unlike brokers who sell products and earn commissions, the independent fiduciary CFPs, CFAs and CPAs at Wealthramp are legally held to act solely in clients' best interests and have the expertise and characteristics essential to build a relationship with a client that lasts generations. Take control of your financial future at wealthramp.com . SOURCE: Shoobx, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/716455/Shoobx-and-Wealthramp-Partner-to-Give-Startup-Employees-More-Clarity-For-Their-Financial-Future VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / Gander Gold Corporation ("Gander Gold" or the "Company") (CSE:GAND) (OTCQB:GANDF) is pleased to announce that, further to its news release of September 9, 2022, it has closed its over-subscribed non-brokered private placement with strategic investors for total gross proceeds of $3,999,962.33. No warrants were attached with this financing which was completed at a hard dollar price of 27 cents per share, a flow-through price of 31 cents per share, and a charity flow-through price of 38 cents per share. Securities Issued: 5,066,925 common shares at $0.27 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,368,069.75; 4,833,442 flow-through shares at $0.31 per flow-through share for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,498,367.02; 2,982,962 charitable flow-through shares at $0.38 per charitable flow-through share for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,133,525.56. Mr. Mark Scott, Gander Gold President and CEO, commented: "Just six months into its life as a publicly traded company, Gander Gold is on an exciting path of discovery at two of its major property packages - Gander North and Mount Peyton, with earlier-stage opportunities advancing through the pipeline. This over-subscribed private placement is a testament to the work our teams are doing on the ground. We continue to have a very sound share structure with no warrant overhang." Other Private Placement Details In connection with the private placement, the Company paid finder's fees totalling $228,542.42 and 701,742 finder's warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") to Haywood Securities Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp., PI Financial Corp., Research Capital Corporation, Aligned Capital Partners Inc. and Clarus Securities Inc. The Finder's Warrants are non-transferable and exercisable at prices of $0.27, $0.31 and $0.38 per share for a period of 12 months from the date of issue. The net proceeds from the private placement will be used to fund ongoing exploration activities at Gander Gold's properties in Newfoundland and for general working capital. All securities issued in the private placement are subject to a hold period of four months and one day following the closing date of the private placement, expiring on January 27, 2023. Acknowledgement Gander Gold Corporation acknowledges the financial support of the Junior Exploration Assistance Program, Department of Natural Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. About Gander Gold Corporation Gander Gold is "All Newfoundland, All the Time". The Company is one of the island's largest claimholders targeting new high-grade gold discoveries with a current focus on the large Gander North and Mount Peyton projects where there has been very promising early exploration success. Other opportunities advancing through the pipeline are Cape Ray II, BLT, Carmanville, Gander South, Little River and Hermitage. Contact Info: Mark Scott Chief Executive Officer & Director info@gandergold.com Terry Bramhall Gander Gold - Corporate Communications 1.604.833.6999 (mobile) 1.604.675.9985 (office) terry.bramhall@gandergold.com The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The securities referred to in this news release have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any applicable securities laws of any state of the United States, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) or persons in the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and any other applicable securities laws of the United States or an exemption from such registration requirements is available. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of these securities within any jurisdiction, including the United States. Any public offering of securities in the United States must be made by means of a prospectus containing detailed information about the company and management, as well as financial statements. SOURCE: Gander Gold Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/717565/Gander-Gold-Closes-Over-Subscribed-Non-Brokered-4M-Private-Placement NEWPORT BEACH, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / Wearable Health Solutions, Inc. (OTC PINK:WHSI) ("Wearable Health Solutions" or the "Company"), today announced that "The company has received and is selling through its initial stocking inventory of its new 4G iHelp Mini, Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) devices to its dealer and vendor networks", stated Peter Pizzino President. "The feedback from our dealer network has been extremely positive regarding the robust functionality of our new PERS product offering and the marketing support from our staff has been well received." "We have placed a second and larger order with our primary factory and anticipate brisk sales of that inventory by our distribution network when received," stated Marc Cayle, VP of Innovation and Development. He continued, "The battery life and precision of the automatic "fall detection" feature has far exceeded expectations in our 4G iHelp Mini device. Our dealers are also very pleased with the marketing materials provided in order to assist them in their sales efforts. All systems go is the sentiment at WHSI." About Us: WHSI is an established manufacturer of PERS (Personal Emergency Response Systems ("PERS")) devices, and in the rapidly growing medical alarm device and eHealth sector. As such, we provide innovative wearable healthcare products and services to dealers and distributors across the globe. Our management team has over 30 years in the business, beginning with the launch of the MediPendant, the first medical alarm device that enabled the user to speak and listen to the emergency response operator directly through the pendant. WHSI will be launching its latest PERS device, the iHelp Max in the Summer 2022. The iHelp Max is a 4G cellular PERS device with advanced features such as fall detection, geo-fencing, AI utilizing Google Assistant and Alexa, notifications, daily check-ins, and medication reminders, that are sold directly to dealers and distributors in the U.S and around the world. Further to the launch of the iHelp Max, the company is developing additional features for the device that include RPM (Remote Patient Monitoring). Utilizing the iHelp Max device, WHSI's advanced medical alarm technology platform enables remote monitoring and data collection of essential vital signs in real-time and with historical values via Bluetooth, NFC, and WIFI technology. Our RPM solution includes real time monitoring of vital signs that will be stored in the cloud to enable viewing of historical data as well as identify potential health issues before they become catastrophic events. WHSI is offering two distinct RPM paths to market, Direct to Consumer and Enterprise solutions. Both offer simplified connectivity for patients/customers and their circle of care. The consumer that wants to be proactive with their health can purchase disease-specific kits for Heart Disease, CHF, Hypertension, Diabetes, Obesity, COPD, Metabolic Syndrome and more. The peripherals will automatically connect to the iHelp Max and the data will flow to the WHS HIPPA compliant cloud so it can be viewed on demand. Enterprise customers, such as health systems, physician groups, primary care providers, insurance companies and others who are managing chronic conditions through remote patient monitoring programs will use Wearable Health Solutions' solution that includes a small tablet combined with disease-specific peripherals and a robust platform where all of the data is available. Thresh hold breach alerts, broad compliance initiatives, CPT code adherence and billing are integrated for ease of use for enterprise customers. Forward-Looking Statements Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements. Words such as "continue," "will," "may," "could," "should," "expect," "expected," "plans," "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, many of which are generally outside the control of Wearable Health Solutions and are difficult to predict. Examples of such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to (i) Wearable Health Solutions ability (or inability) to obtain additional financing in sufficient amounts or on acceptable terms when needed; (ii) Wearable Health Solution's ability to maintain existing, and secure additional, contracts with users of its solutions; (iii) Wearable Health Solution's ability to successfully expand in existing markets and enter new markets; (iv) Wearable Health Solution's ability to successfully manage and integrate any acquisitions of businesses, solutions or technologies; (v) unanticipated operating costs, transaction costs and actual or contingent liabilities; (vi) the ability to attract and retain qualified employees and key personnel; (vii) adverse effects of increased competition on Wearable Health Solution's business; (viii) changes in government licensing and regulation that may adversely affect Wearable Health Solution's business; (ix) the risk that changes in consumer behavior could adversely affect Wearable Health Solution's business; (x) Wearable Health Solution's ability to protect its intellectual property; (xi) local, industry and general business and economic conditions. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements can be found in the most recent quarterly report on filed by Wearable Health Solutions with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Wearable Health Solutions anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause its plans, intentions and expectations to change. Wearable Health Solutions assumes no obligation, and it specifically disclaims any intention or obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by law. Contact: www.wearablehealthsolutions.com 2901 W. Pacific Highway Suite 200, Newport Beach CA 92663 Tel: 949-270-7460 Facebook: WHSI: https://www.facebook.com/wearablehealthsolutionsinc/ iHelp: https://www.facebook.com/ihelpalarm/ LinkedIn: WHSI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearable-health-solutions-inc/ iHelp: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ihelp-alarm/ Twitter: WHSI: https://twitter.com/whsi iHelp: https://twitter.com/iHelpAlarm SOURCE: Wearable Health Solutions, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/717560/Wearable-Health-Solutions-Inc-Enjoys-Positive-Response-with-Its-4G-iHelp-Mini-PERS-Device-Launch-Sales-and-Has-Increased-Inventory-Levels DEARBORN (dpa-AFX) - Ford Motor Co. is seeking a new trial in a Georgia court after a jury reached a $1.7 billion verdict in a lawsuit against the automotive major regarding a truck rollover accident, The Wall Street Journal reported. In the new court filings, Ford said it was unfairly precluded from providing evidence and thus defending against claims that its trucks were defective. A jury in Georgia in August had imposed $1.7 billion punitive damages against Ford after a three-week trial. The fatal accident in 2014 that involved Ford F-250 had killed a couple. The family sued Ford, alleging that the truck's roof design was faulty and vulnerable to collapse during a rollover crash. As per court documents, Melvin and Voncile Hill were driving from their farm in Georgia, and the couple's heavy-duty truck rolled over after the right front tire blew out. The Hills were crushed inside the truck. At the trial, Hill family lawyers argued that the roofs on Ford's Super-Duty trucks made between the 1999 and 2016 model years had a defective design and were dangerously weak. They also accused that the company was aware of the roof's risks. The plaintiffs' lawyers also noted that Ford has identified 162 lawsuits involving roof-crush incidents in the 1999-2016 Super-Duty trucks. Meanwhile, Ford noted that a state judge in 2018 effectively barred it from defending itself against Hill family's claims that the truck's roof design was defective. Ford argued that the truck involved in the fatal incident was safe and the roof structure was stronger than many other automakers. According to the firm, the tire installed on the couple's truck had the incorrect load-carrying capacity resulting that to fail. In the latest filings, Ford added that at trial it couldn't sufficiently show other possible factors that could have contributed to the fatalities. These included its contention that the deceased weren't properly wearing their seat belts. Out of the two motions filed in state court of Gwinnett County in Georgia, one motion asked for new trial and the second one challenged the punitive damages imposed on the company. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX FORD-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / New America Energy Corp. (OTC PINK:NECA), and its operating subsidiary, Third Bench Holdings, LLC ("Third Bench" or the "Company"), are pleased to report that, according to the Woodworking Network, cabinet sales in the United States rose 19.7% in July compared to 2021 figures. The increase in sales was across all segments, including custom, semi-custom and stock sales. Sales increases were especially strong for in-stock sales, with an increase of 18.4% year to date 2022, compared to the same period in 2021. The Company currently generates the majority of its retail revenue through in stock and semi-custom sales. According to the Company's CEO, David Fair, "These numbers confirm what we have been seeing internally. Demand remains very strong in our markets. It is nice to see the continued growth in our industry, despite the supply chain and other issues that were present for much of the recent period." About Third Bench Holdings, LLC Third Bench, subsidiary of New America Energy Corp., operates five subsidiary companies operating as architectural millwork and dealers in the cabinetry, kitchen and bath areas. Third Bench, through its subsidiary companies, offers products in these categories: residential cabinets and countertops and commercial millwork throughout the Western U.S. for customers from California to Texas. Third Bench also provides installation services as a part of its vertical offering. Third Bench employs over 130 people and had revenue of about $24 million in 2021. These projections have been provided by management and do not include the additional acquisitions that are currently under review. Third Bench Holdings, LLC 175 S. Main Street #1410 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 https://thirdbench.com/ NECA Contact: Investor Relations info@thirdbench.com https:/twitter.com/necaholdings Safe Harbor This release may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding our prospective performance and strategies 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. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe future plans, strategies, and expectations of our company, are generally identified by use of words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "project," "seek," "strive," "try," or future or conditional verbs such as "could," "may," "should," "will," "would," or similar expressions. Our ability to predict results or the actual effects of our plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from anticipated results. Some of the factors that could cause our actual results to differ from our expectations or beliefs include, without limitation, the risks discussed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, we undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which such statements were made. SOURCE: New America Energy Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/717551/Cabinet-Sales-in-the-United-States-Increased-197-in-July MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - Emerson Electric Co. (EMR), an engineering products and services provider, announced Tuesday an agreement to sell its Russia business to the local management team. The financial terms of the deal were not revealed. The divesting business includes Metran, its Russia-based manufacturing subsidiary, and Emerson LLC in Russia, the sales and service organization for Metran. The deal follows the company's statement in May to exit its Russia business and explore strategic options to divest Metran amid the ongoing war with Ukraine. For fiscal year 2021, Russia represented approximately 1.5% of total Emerson sales. Emerson included a pre-tax loss of $162 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2022 related to the Russia exit. The sale will be subject to regulatory and government approvals, and other customary closing conditions. Emerson said it will work closely with the local Russia management team to help ensure a smooth transition for employees through the 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. Event emphasises strong recent progress at AM/NS India and the scope of work being undertaken to further strengthen and grow the business 27September 2022, 14:30 CET ArcelorMittal, the world's leading steel and mining company, today hosted an investor and analyst event at AM/NS India's flagship plant at Hazira, Gujarat, the first such meeting since ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel jointly acquired the Indian asset in December 2019. The event focused on the progress AM/NS India has achieved since the acquisition completed and the strategic initiatives being undertaken to transform AM/NS India into a best-in-class, integrated steel producer capable of producing high-added value products, grow its domestic market share and play a leading role in the growth of the Indian steel industry. Presentations given by Aditya Mittal, ArcelorMittal CEO and Chairman of AM/NS India and members of the AM/NS India management committee, focussed on: AM/NS India's commitment to reaching levels of industry excellence in all aspects of ESG performance, with a specific focus on health and safety, diversity and inclusion and decarbonisation. The scope and scale of AM/NS India's steelmaking business and its leading position in the Indian steel industry. The improvement achieved in AM/NS India's financial and operational performance since acquisition, with significant growth in its steel production and Ebitda generation, and strong progress in reducing net debt and strengthening its balance sheet. Efforts to secure the company's supply chain and enhance profitability through several strategic acquisitions of a range of assets including slurry pipelines, iron ore mines, ports, power plants and land. How AM/NS India intends to lead the decarbonisation of the Indian steel industry by integrating renewables into its energy supply chain and exploring the use of a range of decarbonisation technologies over the next decade. The significant market growth opportunity India presents and AM/NS India's strategy to play a leading role in the development of the Indian steel industry by expanding the capacity of its Hazira plant, initially to c. 15 million tonnes by early 2026 in the first phase of its expansion. The planned expansion of the Hazira facility comes almost three years since the asset was acquired and renamed AM/NS India. Since then, AM/NS India has made strong progress on performance and debottlenecking at Hazira by applying the global best practices of its parent companies and investing in technology and R&D. The company is now a self-sustaining, free cash-flow generating business, strongly positioned in a rising market to deliver long-term value to its employees, its communities, the Indian steel industry, and its shareholders. Hazira's planned expansion reflects ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel's confidence in the long-term prospects for the Indian economy, which is forecast to grow strongly for the next two decades. Addressing the group of ArcelorMittal's investors and analysts, Aditya Mittal cited as strengths the scale, strategic location, and secure supply chain that make AM/NS India well-positioned to capture the growth opportunities presented by a domestic steel market which has the potential to grow to 300 million tonnes per annum by 2030. In addition to volume growth, AM/NS India is focussed on leading the decarbonisation of the Indian steel industry and will also increase its production of high grade, speciality steels in key growth sectors such as automotive and infrastructure, aligned with India's national steel policy and key policy initiatives such as Atmanirbhar Bharat. Copies of the presentations used during today's meeting can be found on the company's website: https://corporate.arcelormittal.com/investors/equity-investors/shareholders-events/am-ns-india-investor-visit ENDS About ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel company, with a presence in 60 countries and primary steelmaking facilities in 16 countries. In 2021, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $76.6 billion and crude steel production of 69.1 million metric tonnes, while iron ore production reached 50.9 million metric tonnes. Our purpose is to produce ever smarter steels that have a positive benefit for people and planet. Steels made using innovative processes which use less energy, emit significantly less carbon and reduce costs. Steels that are cleaner, stronger and reusable. Steels for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure that will support societies as they transform through this century. With steel at our core, our inventive people and an entrepreneurial culture at heart, we will support the world in making that change. This is what we believe it takes to be the steel company of the future. ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS). For more information about ArcelorMittal please visit: http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/ New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2022) - Omicrown announces the launch of its business solution for the legal industry. The company's platform provides a robust management system for lawyers. It manages all of their behind-the-scenes, administrative and marketing activities. They also list these lawyers in the company's directory to enable their target audience to easily gain access to them. The operational activities include handling accounting payrolls, carrying out human resources tasks and other operational activities to enable the lawyers to focus solely on their legal duties - while the marketing activities involve promoting the legal practitioners through digital advertising initiatives on their website. Amid the pandemic-driven surge in digital reliance, lawyers need an adequate digital footprint, as a significant amount of people use search engines to discover various professionals and service providers. Hence, Omicrown acts as a middleman between potential clients in need of legal counsel and the legal experts signed up on their platform. Omicrown achieves this by employing the use of highly skilled managers with extensive experience in the legal industry to enhance the management process. They also pay attention to detail in the customer experience rendered to their clients in need of legal services. "When a client comes in, it's similar to when someone comes to a restaurant, and the hostess greets that person at the restaurant. Similarly, the receptionist at a law firm welcomes the client. When the client is seated, the legal assistant takes the client's case just like how a waiter might take a diner's order. The same way an order gets sent to the chefs, the legal case gets sent to the lawyers. We imbibe these fundamental values of what management truly means to strengthen the foundation of the lawyer's career," Jesse Ding, CEO of Omicrown stated. The company hand-picks the legal experts through an innovative digital system using a carefully thought out criteria. The benchmark used to select the lawyers includes about 5 to 10 years of experience, impressive professional reputation and experience in handling tons of federal cases amongst others. The traditional recruitment process in the corporate world entails hiring experts through old fashioned mediums like emails, calls and regular job adverts. Omicrown is developing an Artificial Intelligence enabled software to speed up the hiring process and get the candidate best suited for each client's unique needs. Commenting on this business solution, Jesse Ding, said, "When I first started out with my company, I needed to hire a lawyer to just write some contracts for us. I was shopping for lawyers by moving from law firm to law firm. I remember calling firms, and they either forgot to set an appointment or they just weren't up to par. I then decided I could help alleviate those issues. A lawyer might be exceptional in their field, but It doesn't mean they're a good salesperson or capable of necessarily running a successful business." About Omicrown Omicrown is a full-service management company founded in 2021 by Jesse Ding. Its headquarters are located in the One World Trade Center in New York City. They provide general management, reputation management, accounting, HR and marketing services. Media Contact Contact Person: Jesse Ding Email: jesse@omicrown.com Website: www.omicrown.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138567 Accredited Solutions (f/k/a Good Hemp) Signs OEM Distribution Agreement for Suite of Core Products with Houston-Based Manufacturers' Rep Company That Delivers Oilfield Services Solutions SANDY, UT / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / Accredited Solutions, Inc, formerly Good Hemp, Inc. (OTC PINK:GHMP), announced today that it has entered an OEM distribution agreement with Specialized Power Solutions (SPS), a Houston, Texas-based manufacturers' rep company focused on oilfield services solutions. Under the agreement, SPS will distribute the Company's proprietary plant-based Cleaner/Degreaser products, PetroXstreamTM and EnviroXstreamTM, as well as its recently added Corrosion CureTM, a "green" single component waterborne metal protector that creates an immunity against corrosion. "We are extremely excited with the prospect of SPS introducing our environmentally-sensitive, yet incredibly effective, products into their sales channels that focus on oilfield services solutions," explained Interim CEO, Douglas Martin. "We are particularly pleased to know that SPS shares our vision of a two-step solution to the corrosive effects of the sulfur gases on the metal surfaces of oil well-site equipment: first, clean and degrease the metal surfaces with PetroXstreamTM, then, coat the surfaces with Corrosion CureTM. Additional opportunities are available through SPS for EnviroXstreamTM in various consumer products channels, as well as for Corrosion CureTM in large industrial settings," Mr. Martin concluded. According to IBISWorld, the U.S. oil and gas field services industry in which the Company's products compete will reach approximately $82.2 billion for all of 2022. Stay Up to Date For news and updates, shareholders, prospective investors, and prospective business partners are encouraged to follow @Corporate_ASI on Twitter. About Accredited Solutions, Inc. The Company changed its name from Good Hemp, Inc. to Accredited Solutions, Inc., effective July 12, 2022. With the recent acquisition of Petro X Solutions, Inc., the Company has shifted its business focus to fossil fuel clean-up products (PetroXstreamTM and EnviroXstreamTM) and services; technologies involved in packaging, distributing, and using electricity in all energy segments; micro-grid design that integrates alternative energy sources and construction; micro-grid control software development; energy storage systems; power system integration and distribution; and growing an internal sales organization to drive sales of products and services. Additionally, the Company's Diamond Creek brand of ionized 9.5pH high alkaline spring water continues to be produced from the highest quality, award-winning springs in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, and is sold in over 1,000 retail locations and online. Visit www.diamondcreekwater.com for more information. Safe Harbor Statement This current press release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future, including, but not limited to, any products sold or cash flow from operations. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with distribution and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to our most recent annual report for our last fiscal year, our quarterly reports, and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact: Accredited Solutions, Inc. (formerly Good Hemp, Inc.) (800) 947-9197 eric@newlanpllc.com SOURCE: Accredited Solutions, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/717601/Accredited-Solutions-fka-Good-Hemp-Signs-OEM-Distribution-Agreement-for-Suite-of-Core-Products-with-Houston-Based-Manufacturers-Rep-Company-That-Delivers-Oilfield-Services-Solutions Charles Souillard becomes CEO succeeding Miguel Valdes Faura, marking management transition from one company co-founder to another Bonitasoft, the leading open-source digital process automation company, today announced that Charles Souillard, co-founder and COO of the company, is moving into the position of CEO, replacing Miguel Valdes Faura. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005122/en/ Charles Souillard, co-founder and COO of the company, is moving into the position of CEO (Photo: Business Wire) Charles Souillard, together with Miguel Valdes Faura and Rodrigue Le Gall, founded Bonitasoft in 2009 as an ambitious project to democratize the BPM market worldwide with an innovative open source technology and business model. Incubated within Bull R&D (now part of Atos), the team developed new versions of Bonita, grew the ecosystem of users and contributors across the world, and then took the project to commercial success. Bonitasoft today is a profitable, growing company that has just recently attracted a new investor: Fortino Capital. The B2B investor is supporting Bonitasoft's plan to accelerate sales of the new Bonita Cloud offering, grow into markets on both sides of the Atlantic, and extend the platform by delivering a new wave of product innovation. Arnaud de Vos, Investment Director at Fortino Capital Partners, said, "We have worked extensively with Charles and know that under his leadership, Bonitasoft and its entire management team will continue to deliver great innovations while ensuring sustainable and consistent growth." "Charles will also ensure continuity of our company values and our commitment to open source and customer-first culture," adds outgoing CEO Miguel Valdes Faura, "We've worked together for over 18 years to build a sustainable company with a group of highly talented and skilled professionals that are making a difference on a day-to-day basis. Charles has my absolute trust and support in this new role." "While handing over as CEO of the company as one of the founders is an important decision, I'm convinced that this is the right moment for the company and for the Bonitasoft ecosystem," Faura continues. "Having worked with Charles for all these years, I have no doubts that Bonitasoft will continue to lead the Business Process Automation market under his leadership and I look forward to supporting him while I remain a shareholder of the company." Charles Souillard adds: "Miguel is leaving a remarkable legacy. Continuing it and taking up the CEO role after co-founding the company 13 years ago is a great honor to me. We will continue to build our strong vision to significantly increase the experience of employees and customers, by designing the most powerful and extensible BPM platform on the market. I very much look forward to working with our customers and leading Bonitasoft in this next phase." About Bonitasoft Bonitasoft fully supports digital operations and modernization of information systems with Bonita, an open-source and extensible platform for automation and optimization of business processes. The Bonita platform accelerates development and production with a clear separation between visual programming and coding capabilities. Bonita integrates with existing information systems, orchestrates heterogeneous systems and provides deep visibility across all enterprise processes. More information about Bonitasoft. About Fortino Capital Fortino Capital is an investment company with a focus on B2B software and technology. Our mission is to support ambitious management teams in realizing their growth plans. We invest in young companies (venture capital) and established companies (growth capital) where growth is an integral part of the strategy. Fortino has offices in Belgium and the Netherlands, and invests throughout Europe. Fortino's investment portfolio includes, amongst others, Efficy CRM, Maxxton, Cenosco, mobilexpense, Teamleader, iObeya, Salonkee and Zaion. For more information, please visit: http://www.fortinocapital.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005122/en/ Contacts: Press Holly Hagerman 801.373.7888 office 801.368.6928 mobile hollyh@connectmarketing.com Europe should be courageous to face problems behind turning right By Global Times editorial (Global Times) 09:00, September 27, 2022 A boot that Europeans have been worrying about for a long time has fallen on Italy's ground, and the real challenge may just have begun. Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni claimed victory in the general election held on Sunday that has a high probability to install her as Italy's first female prime minister. What has attracted more public attention is Meloni's far-right tendency. Some European and US media outlets even dubbed her the "female Mussolini," a label enough to make some Europeans chilling. But labels are one-sided and can't explain complex political realities. We should, and in fact can only, respect the choice made by the Italians today, and on this premise, manage relations with the new Italian government. Many people have compared this election with the Brexit vote, both of which have had a huge impact on European integration. As the Washington Post said, "Another taboo in Europe is about to be broken." For the European establishment elites, the more serious question is: will this be the first domino in the collapse of traditional European politics? But after all, this is an internal affair in Italy and Europe. No matter how strong a shock it would cause in the Western world, the shock will continue to weaken with the distance from the epicenter increasing. The outsiders don't have to have a strong empathy. Meloni, 45, deliberately downplayed her far-right tendency using a relatively conciliatory tone in her victory speech. She also vowed to "govern for everyone." This is a common practice for winners in Western election politics and their policy choices after taking office are often inconsistent with campaign slogans. However, radical positions such as "EU skepticism" and "anti-immigrant" are Meloni's political backgrounds and one of the key reasons for her victory. It is difficult for her to make fundamental adjustments in these regards. For the whole of Europe, when a political figure like Meloni assumes power in Italy, there must be a process of running-in with traditional politics, which to a large extent means there will be pains that discomfort both sides. This is also an unavoidable test of European politics. In fact, the entire Western world is facing the challenge of "turning right." Before the Italian election, Sweden's rightist camp also won the majority of votes in the general election. In addition, in countries including France, Germany, Finland, Denmark and Austria, the approval ratings of far-right parties are growing rapidly. Europe's conservative right "feels like it's enjoying a revival," CNN noted on Sunday. At the same time, in the US, far-right forces are also rapidly pressing from the edge zone of the political spectrum to the mainstream position. For non-Western countries, including China, there is a running-in problem for each other. But they can deal with it in a pragmatic, rational attitude, and cope with it as it stands. During campaign, Meloni made negative remarks over the Taiwan question and the Belt and Road Initiative, which are deliberately amplified by Western public opinion. This is part of a series of her radical campaign language. We have noted her statements, and we will continue to follow how she will act. On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that it is hoped "the new Italian government will continue to follow a positive and practical China policy." This is a constructive attitude. Of course, if someone really provokes China, it is impossible for China to just sit idly by and do nothing. A very bad political atmosphere has emerged in Western countries, that is, China is passively involved in everything, and China is to be blamed for every problem. They not only make China the scapegoat frequently, but also attempt to pass the crisis on to China. But we believe more in the power of common interests, which will ultimately guide all parties to seek cooperation and peaceful coexistence beyond ideological and systematic differences. China-Italy relations should not deviate from this track. In fact, as Western politicians increasingly emphasize the so-called defense of the liberal order and even demand the common people to pay the price for it, more and more ordinary people are showing resistance. According to data, China's actual use of foreign capital reached $138.4 billion between January and August this year, growing 20.2 percent, of which investment from the EU grew 123.7 percent. In July alone, the EU imported some 1.29 million Chinese electric blankets, a nearly 150 percent growth from a month prior. It's not difficult to feel the coming cold winter in Europe from this figure. Facing the crisis, it is trade with China that helped ease the real difficulties of livelihood in Europe. It is a concrete embodiment of mutual benefit. Whether it is China and EU or China and Italy, healthy and steady development of the bilateral ties is in line with the interests of the two sides, and also benefit the world. History has repeatedly proved that creating new crisis cannot solve current difficulties, but it will instead bury bigger hidden dangers for the future. For Europe which is standing at crossroads, it faces a series of development and security issues, such as refugee influx, energy crisis, economic recession, that wait for urgent solution as its politics turns right. It needs strategic autonomy, the courage to see truth from facts and choices that accord to the trend to solve those issues. Italy is no exception to this. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji) Opportunities come in from every corner and scammers are keeping watch on every one of them, so when they hear about quick and irreversible payment methods, they will jump at the chance. In the situation enters Zelle, a peer-to-peer payment service that's the top concern in the Annual oversight of the Nation's Largest Banks hearing. It seems that scammers have been using Zelle as a channel for conning people into paying them by manipulating people using scare tactics and fraudulent information, as per CNET's article. Zelle is owned by a group of major US banks including Bank of America, Chase, Capital One, and Wells Fargo. The payment service was launched in June 2017 and was meant to compete with other e-payment services like PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App. One of the selling points of Zelle is that there are no fees and it works with around 1,700 banks and credit unions. Approximately $490 billion dollars have been sent through Zelle in 2021 so when you hear associations of fraud next to that amount, concerns should definitely arise. Read Also: Avoiding Zelle Scams: Here Are 3 Ways To Keep Your Money Safe How Are People Being Scammed Through Zelle? In reported Zelle scams, the users are being conned using false claims and representation to get them to authorize payments or money transfers. One of the most common scams according to CNET involves text messages or emails asking for its users to confirm a large amount of money as payment through Zelle. Users will immediately say that they won't authorize the transfer which then prompts a caller pretending to be a bank representative and spoofs the financial institution's phone number. The scammer will then tell the users to transfer a certain fee to reverse the transaction which the user will do so in a panic thinking about the large sum of money they would lose if they don't pay the smaller fee to stop the transaction. In some instances, they could pretend to be a utility company calling with threats of disconnection. Denise Traylor, a woman from Lorain, Ohio received a call from her supposed electric company claiming that someone will disconnect her power in 30 minutes if she doesn't handle her disconnection notice that day. The caller knew Denise's previous account statements and address which made it sound like they were the real deal. When Traylor paid the first time, the caller claimed that the payment did not come through. She went through six attempts as the fraudster instructed, not knowing all her attempts were actually successful, costing her $1,200, as stated by News 5 Cleveland. How Did The Banks That Owned Zelle Respond? Zelle released a statement claiming that 99.9% of its transactions were sent with no reports of scams or fraud, but media like the local news and YouTube content creators caught wind of the situation which put the Banks that owned Zelle in a tight spot. Though the banks were reluctant to reimburse the victims of fraud at first, they did return the money of recent victims to keep the heat of the media off of them. If your bank refuses to reimburse the money you lost in a Zelle phishing scam, you may file a complaint with the CFPB, but do note that they only help consumers who were tricked into the payments. Related Article: Text Message Scam: Clicking on SMS Links Can Lead to Bank Hacking, Identity Theft [Warning Signs, How to Avoid] INNOVATE Returns to EMEA as an In-Person Event in the UK Featuring In-Depth Lessons and Insights from Smart Communications Customers and Executives, Industry Partners and More LONDON and NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022, a leading technology company focused on helping businesses engage in more meaningful customer conversations, today announced it will host its company's annual conference, INNOVATE EMEA 2022, on October 12th at The Biltmore Mayfair in London, UK. This year's theme is Conversations without Limits. Industry executives are invited to this one-of-a-kind event. The last three years have been among the most chaotic in history for companies and their customers. From navigating a shifting regulatory environment to meeting the demands of customers for more digital experiences, companies have been in a constant struggle to build deep relationships with their customers for the newly dawning digital-first era. "The pressures that businesses have faced over the last three years have been unrelenting, yet despite this adversity, companies continue to look for ways to push new boundaries in their customer communications strategies," said James Brown, CEO of Smart Communications. "INNOVATE EMEA 2022 will celebrate this innovation and will provide attendees with additional insights, key learnings and success stories that they can use to make every customer interaction as meaningful as possible." Smart Communications' INNOVATE EMEA 2022 conference brings together speakers who will discuss the hottest topics and inspire solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing customer experience leaders this year. Highlights include: A line-up of top-tier keynote speakers including: Kaspar Roos, CEO & Founder of Aspire; plus James Brown, CEO of Smart Communications and Simon Tindal, CTO of Smart Communications Successful customers including ABN AMRO, Atlas Insurance, BT, Danske Bank, Delta Capita, J.P. Morgan, Zurich Insurance Company INNOVATE 2022 partner sponsors including OneSpan, Salesforce, Nokavision, Espire SCALE Awards recognizing teams that have committed themselves to leadership, innovation and a customer-first approach To learn from and interact with Smart Communications customers, business partners, and industry leaders, please register . About Smart Communications Smart Communications is a leading technology company focused on helping businesses engage in more meaningful customer conversations. Its Conversation Cloud platform uniquely delivers personalized, omnichannel conversations across the entire customer experience, empowering companies to succeed in today's digital-focused, customer-driven world while also simplifying processes and operating more efficiently. Smart Communications is headquartered in the UK and serves more than 650 customers from offices located across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Smart Communications' Conversation Cloud platform includes the enterprise-scale customer communications management, forms transformation capabilities made possible by SmartIQ and the trade documentation expertise of SmartDX . In 2021, the company acquired Assentis, a leading European software solutions provider specializing in customer communications management. Contact: Roberta Patterson Smart Communications rpatterson@smartcommunications.com The African Development Bank has announced that European and US donors will provide $20 million of concessional loans to support pay-as-you-go solar companies in sub-Saharan Africa.A fund set up to help off-grid solar companies in sub-Saharan Africa to recover from the Covid-19 crisis will receive $20 million in public funding for the second round of its recovery effort. The African Development Bank (AfDB) said last week that the Covid-19 Recovery Platform (CRP) would receive the cheap loans, with $13 million coming from the US-based Global Environment Facility and $7 million from the Sustainable ... 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. Simplilearn in partnership with Meta Immersive Learning will provide training in Spark AR Studio for learners The program on Spark AR Studio will provide access to quality upskilling to all learners Through the partnership with Meta Immersive Learning, Simplilearn will provide certifications to learners after the completion of the program and exam The first 100 students to complete all three Meta courses will receive a voucher which they can redeem while they apply for the Meta Spark AR Certification Exam. SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Simplilearn , a global digital skills training provider, announced its partnership with Meta Immersive Learning to launch Spark AR to provide a comprehensive understanding of the skills required to create basic effects using augmented reality. Through Meta Immersive Learning , Meta is investing $150 million to help develop the next generation of creators, fund high quality immersive experiences and increase access to learning through technology. These courses will be launched in India, US, Europe, Middle-East and other key markets, and will help learners get a grasp of the basics of creating interactive and engaging user experiences and effects. Learners will also be able to master the usage of 3D modelling, textures, and other features of Spark AR Studio in order to start or boost their careers. The program is best suited for software developers, digital marketers, animators, AI engineers, individuals with 2-3 years of work experience, final year students and anyone looking to build a career in AR. The program will be free of cost in hopes of offering great access to these skills. Post the completion of the program, individuals will have the opportunity to receive a course completion certificate from Simplilearn, and the Spark AR course will provide learners with upskilling opportunities to thrive in the digital economy. The other two programs on AR Fundamentals and AR Pro will be released in November 2022. The program will cover the topics on Introduction to AR, The Basics of Creating Effects with Spark AR, Sharing your AR Effect with the world and What's Next for AR Creators. The augmented reality course consists of 90 minutes of video content that will help gain a thorough understanding of Spark AR. The videos of this augmented reality training course are created by expert instructors who are industry leaders with vast experience in the field. They are aware of the needs of different learners and have designed the program to be easy to learn. Speaking on the program, Krishna Kumar, Founder & CEO, Simplilearn, said, "Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality are becoming more pervasive in all aspects of life. As these technologies take over the tasks, qualified professionals are required to create and manage them across industries. Therefore, the opportunities in this exciting field will be massive in the years to come. In line with the same, we have witnessed a demand amongst freshers and professionals to upskill in their careers with programs in AR/VR. We are offering this program in partnership with Meta on our SkillUp platform for free so that learners and AR/VR enthusiasts can gain a deep understanding of the concepts and upskill at no cost. Simplilearn has always been committed to providing industry relevant programs to its learners to help them stay ahead of the industry curve and excel in their respective careers. In line with the partnership, we aim to have more than 1 lac enrolments for this future-focused program by March 2023." Simplilearn conducts more than 3,000 live classes, with an average of 70,000 learners who together spend more than 500,000 hours each month on the platform. Programs offered by Simplilearn give learners the opportunity to upskill and get certified in popular domains. About Simplilearn Founded in 2010 and based in San Francisco, California, and Bangalore, India, Simplilearn, a Blackstone company is one of the world's leading online Bootcamp for digital economy skills training. Simplilearn offers access to world-class work-ready training to individuals and businesses around the world. The Bootcamps are designed and delivered with world-renowned universities, top corporations, and leading industry bodies via live online classes featuring top industry practitioners, sought-after trainers, and global leaders. From college students and early career professionals to managers, executives, small businesses, and big corporations, Simplilearn's role-based, skill-focused, industry-recognized, and globally relevant training programs are ideal upskilling solutions for diverse career or/and business goals. For more information, please visit www.simplilearn.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1100016/Simplilearn_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/simplilearn-in-partnership-with-meta-immersive-learning-launches-program-in-spark-ar-studio-301634341.html In a transformative deal for the industry, Nexo has acquired a stake in the bank holding company that owns Summit National Bank a US federally chartered bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Summit National Bank, a subsidiary of Hulett Bancorp (DBA Mode Eleven), is reinventing itself as a modern digital FinTech bank, and with Nexo as its preferred digital assets partner, the bank's offering attunes to the needs of the 21st-century client. The deal further boosts Nexo's US presence, enabling the digital asset specialist to open bank accounts with Summit National Bank, as well as enhanced lending and card products, utilizing the new bank's owners' decades-long track record of excellence in regulatory compliance and the existing infrastructure. Nexo, the world's leading regulated institution for digital assets with $4 billion in assets under management, announces the acquisition of a stake in Hulett Bancorp (DBA Mode Eleven) and its federally chartered Summit National Bank, in an industry-changing transaction that expands Nexo's footprint in the US even further and will greatly enhance both institutions' respective offerings. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005623/en/ Nexo has acquired a stake in Summit National Bank, which is reinventing itself as a modern digital FinTech. (Graphic: Business Wire) The deal will allow Nexo to offer its US retail and institutional clients services that include bank accounts, asset-backed loans, card programs, as well as escrow and custodial solutions through Summit National Bank. Nexo customers can expect the same uncompromising quality of service while retaining and enhancing appropriate legal safeguards utilizing Summit National Bank's federal-level lending and payments infrastructure. As part of Mode Eleven, Summit National Bank is reimagining itself and its offering to serve customers' needs as a modern digital FinTech bank. The bank will benefit from Nexo's unrivaled expertise in FinTech and gain access to a sophisticated product suite for digital assets, creating a bridge between Web3 and traditional finance and boosting both companies' capabilities and addressable markets. Nexo is also now Summit National Bank's preferred digital asset partner for the push toward innovation. Founded as Hulett National Bank in 1984, the leadership of Mode Eleven and Summit National Bank bring a strong record of compliance with US regulatory requirements as the bank expands into new lines of business. "This investment marks another landmark in Nexo's relentless drive to better serve our US customers in compliance with the constantly evolving regulatory landscape,'' said Kalin Metodiev, CFA, co-founder and managing partner of Nexo and recently appointed as Summit National Bank board member. "We care deeply about our customers and are thrilled that this development will grant them access to some of the most innovative products at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain technology." "We are delighted to welcome Nexo aboard,'' said Forrest Gilman, Chairman of the Board, and President of the US bank. "We are excited to be partnering with Nexo as we combine Summit National Bank's traditional strengths and values with our vision for the bank's future. Kalin's active engagement on the Board strengthens our work on the transformation of the bank into a fully-fledged cutting-edge FinTech bank with access to new clients." Gilman's more than 30 years of work in traditional financial services including positions at UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Citibank make him an ideal steward for Summit Bank's next chapter. Having pioneered the concept of real-time attestation of reserves to show that assets exceed liabilities at all times, Nexo has maintained a growth course despite times of general contraction. Nexo's long-term plans include the expansion of its global commercial banking capabilities, both through the partnership with Summit National Bank and by securing additional banking licenses on a global scale. With over 50 licenses and registrations across the globe, the firm serves more than 5 million customers in over 200 jurisdictions, having processed more than $100 billion since its inception. A partner of household names such as Mastercard and Fidelity, Nexo safeguards client assets with unequaled attention to security, including top-tier custodial insurance and military-grade protection through the Nexo Wallet and a professional trading platform, Nexo Pro, that recently brought aggregated liquidity and advanced trading capabilities to the retail for the first time. About Mode Eleven Summit National Bank Hulett Bancorp (DBA Mode Eleven) combines the trust and reach of its nationally chartered bank subsidiary, Summit National Bank, and the power of a modern technology platform to support a wide array of financial services in the new Banking-as-a-Service paradigm. Visit us at modeeleven.com to learn more. ?bout Nexo Nexo is the world's leading regulated digital assets institution with over $4 billion in assets under management. The company's mission is to maximize the value and utility of digital assets by offering a comprehensive suite of products that include advanced trading solutions for retail and institutional clients (Nexo Pro and Nexo Prime), aggregation of liquidity from leading venues, tax-efficient asset-backed credit lines, a high-yield Earn Interest product, all accompanied by top-tier custodial insurance and military-grade security of the Nexo Platform and Wallet. In early 2022, the enterprise launched its investment arm Nexo Ventures, which now boasts over 60 portfolio companies. Nexo has processed $100+ billion for 5,000,000+ users across more than 200 jurisdictions. Visit nexo.io to learn more. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005623/en/ Contacts: Media Contact for Mode Eleven/Summit National Bank Alan Gross, GSM Marketing Alan.gross@gsm.marketing Media Contact for Nexo The Nexo PR Team pr@nexo.io Rise in the prevalence of cancer and chronic diseases, growth in the adoption of regenerative medicines, surge in investments in R&D by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and technological innovations drive the growth of the global cell line and membrane market. PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Cell Line and Membrane Market by Products (Media and Reagents, Equipments, Accessories and Consumables), by Source (Non Mammalian Cell Line, Mammalian Cell Line), by Type (Recombinant cell lines, Primary cell lines, Hybridomas, Continuous cell lines), by End User (Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries, Academic and Research Institutes, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031." According to the report, the global cell line and membrane industry is estimated to generate $4.5 billion in 2021 and $10.6 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 8.8% from 2021 to 2031. The report offers a detailed analysis of changing market trends, top segments, key investment pockets, value chain, regional landscape, and competitive scenario. Download Free Sample Report- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/14227 Drivers and Opportunities Rise in the prevalence of cancer and chronic diseases, increase in the geriatric population, growth in the adoption of regenerative medicines, a surge in investments in R&D by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, rise in development & demand for monoclonal antibodies, increase in production of vaccines, and technological innovations in cell lines and the membrane fuel the growth of the global cell line and membrane market. However, a strict regulatory framework coupled with the time-consuming process for the development of stable lines might hinder the market growth. On the other hand, low-income countries lacking access to basic healthcare and an increase in the risk of pandemic and communicable diseases present new opportunities in the market in the coming years. Impact of Covid-19 on Cell Line and Membrane Market- The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic positively impacted the cell line and membrane market, due to the growing number of pet adoption during the lockdown and rise in the demand for animal health insurance. Moreover, many initiatives taken by the government to reduce disease prevalence among animals led to the growth of cell Line and membrane market. Launch of advanced products for the treatment of animals with minimal side effects boosted the market growth. Furthermore, a rise in research and development activities increased the approval of new devices, testing procedures and drugs, thus offering opportunities for the key players to develop advanced devices for the quick diagnosis and prevention from such diseases. The media and reagents segment to dominate the market in terms of revenue during the forecast period Based on products, the media and reagents segment contributed to the largest share of more than half of the global cell line and membrane market in 2021, and is expected to rule the roost during the forecast period. Moreover, the same segment is projected to witness the fastest CAGR of 9.2% from 2021 to 2031. The growth of this segment is attributed to rise in the prevalence of cancer and chronic diseases, rise in number of R&D activities globally, and increasing product approval and new product launches. The mammalian cell line segment to maintain its lion's share during the forecast period Based on source, the mammalian cell line segment held the largest share of more than two-thirds of the global cell line and membrane market in 2021, and is expected to maintain a prominent growth during the forecast period. The dominance of this segment can be attributed to the rise in the demand for recombinant protein development through mammalian cell. However, the non-mammalian cell line segment is likely to exhibit the highest CAGR of 9.8% in 2031, owing to the increase in adoption of regenerative medicines, rise in prevalence of cancer across the globe, and surge in investments in R&D by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. For Purchase Inquiry- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/14227 The recombinant cell lines segment to garner the largest revenue by 2031 Based on type, the recombinant cell lines segment was the largest market in 2021, accounting for more than one-third of the global cell line and membrane market, and is likely to lead the trail throughout the forecast period. This is due to the rise in the demand for recombinant cell line which owes greatly to technological advancements in expression vector design, cell line engineering, and clone screening. However, the primary cell lines segment is anticipated to manifest the fastest CAGR of 10.1% during the forecast period, owing to rise in adoption of primary cell line for the production and manufacturing of bio-therapeutics such as vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and fusion proteins. North America to garner the largest revenue by 2031 Based on region, North America was the largest market in 2021, accounting for around two-fifths of the global cell line and membrane market, and is likely to lead the trail throughout the forecast period. This is due to the increase in the healthcare expenditure, a rise in the prevalence of cancer, growing demand for cell line for the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies and novel antibodies, and the presence of major players in this region. However, Asia-Pacific is anticipated to manifest the fastest CAGR of 9.8% during the forecast period, due to the rise in prevalence of chronic diseases, an increase in the geriatric population and an emerging economy in the region. Leading Market Players Advanced Instruments LLC AGC Biologics Cytiva Lifesciences Sartorius Cellgenix Gmbh Premas Biotech Selexis SA Lonza Samsung Biologics PromoCell Thermofisher Scientific Inc. Imegenex IndiaPvt. Ltd. ProBioGen Similar Research Reports for Information, Communication and Technology: Intraoperative Imaging Market- Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Dermatologicals Market- Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 3D Cell Culture Market- Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Neurovascular Devices Market- Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Viral Vector and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market- Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model): AMR introduces its online premium subscription-based library Avenue, designed specifically to offer cost-effective, one-stop solution for enterprises, investors, and universities. With Avenue, subscribers can avail an entire repository of reports on more than 2,000 niche industries and more than 12,000 company profiles. Moreover, users can get an online access to quantitative and qualitative data in PDF and Excel formats along with analyst support, customization, and updated versions of reports. Get an access to the library of reports at any time from any device and anywhere. For more details, follow the link: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access About Allied Market Research: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domains. AMR offers its services across 11 industry verticals including Life Sciences, Consumer Goods, Materials & Chemicals, Construction & Manufacturing, Food & Beverages, Energy & Power, Semiconductor & Electronics, Automotive & Transportation, ICT & Media, Aerospace & Defense, and BFSI. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/cell-line-and-membrane-market-to-reach-usd-10-6-billion-globally-by-2031-at-8-8-cagr-allied-market-research-301634174.html BANGALORE, India, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Metal Cutting Tools Market is segmented by Type - Cemented Carbide, High Speed Steel, Ceramics, Diamond, Others, by Application - Machinery Industry, Automotive Industry, Aerospace Industry, Energy Industry. Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021 - 2028. It is published in Valuates Reports under the Industrial Materials & Equipment Category. The global Metal Cutting Tools market is projected to reach USD 34670 million by 2028 from an estimated USD 26170 million in 2022, at a CAGR of 4.8% during 2023 and 2028. Major Factors Driving The Growth Of The Metal Cutting Tools Market Are The Metal Cutting Tools market is expanding as a result of the rising demand for metal-cutting equipment from a variety of industries, including aerospace, defense, automotive, and industrial machinery. Moreover, throughout the forecast period, Metal Cutting Tools market growth is anticipated to be boosted by rising Metal Cutting Tools market automation and the implementation of smart technologies for production. Browse The Table of Contents And List of Figures At https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-28W9082/global-metal-cutting-tools TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF METAL CUTTING TOOLS MARKET The rising demand for metal components in important end-user sectors is one of the major drivers fueling growth in the market for metal cutting tools. In the aerospace and defense sectors, metal shaping is vital. Due to the present emphasis on lean manufacturing and improved operational efficiency through various measures including cost-cutting, the metal forming process will become a very useful service for OEMs. The global Metal Cutting Tools market will be fueled by rising investments in the automotive, aerospace, and defense sectors. During the forecast period, the Metal Cutting Tools Market will develop at a faster rate due to the car industry's rapid expansion. Additionally, the increase in light vehicle manufacturing will hasten the need for new welded automotive components, resulting in a rise in demand for metal cutting tools during the projection period. Such instruments will continue to make up a sizable portion of the market for machine tools overall. Furthermore, Increasing the Adoption of Industry 4.0 to offer Robust Opportunities for the Metal Cutting Tools Market growth. The demand for factory automation is growing, which is boosting the usage of smart manufacturing technologies for the process of product creation and manufacturing. Industry 4.0 is driving up the demand for linked machinery, which in turn is driving machines that are good for predictive maintenance. It is anticipated that more and more metal cutting tools will be used in this area. Additionally, the expansion of the market is being aided by the development in demand from numerous other industries, including packaging, construction, and food processing. During the projection period, this will present the market with solid potential. Get Your Sample Today: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Auto-28W9082/Global_Metal_Cutting_Tools_Market METAL CUTTING TOOLS MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS Europe is the most lucrative region during the forecast period. Over the next several years, it is anticipated that factors such as rising industrial automation, rising energy-efficient technology adoption, and expanding technical innovation will fuel the demand for metal cutting machines. The region's strong automotive and manufacturing sectors are expected to dramatically increase demand for metal cutting equipment. Based on application, the automotive industry is expected to be the most lucrative. In recent years, applications that generate the most market income have come from the automotive industry. The creation and production of various automotive components for new and expensive cars have been key drivers of market growth. During the projected period, the milling process sector is anticipated to have a commanding market share. A machine is used for the milling process segment, and new cutters are used to remove material from the workpiece while maintaining an angle with the tool alignment. To produce high precision goods in various systems and quantities, milling machining is a similar corporate manufacturing technique employed in equipment factories. Inquire For Customization : https://reports.valuates.com/request/customisation/QYRE-Auto-28W9082/Global_Metal_Cutting_Tools_Market Market By Region North America Europe Asia-Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa Inquire For Regional Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Auto-28W9082/Global_Metal_Cutting_Tools_Market Key players Sandvik Kennametal Iscar OSG Mitsubishi Kyocera Sumitomo Mapal Nachi-Fujikoshi LMT ZCCCT YG-1 Shanghai Tool Korloy Union Tool Tiangong Guhring Harbin No.1 Tool Tivoly Ceratizit Hitachi Feidadrills Chengdu Chengliang BIG Kaiser Addison Hanjiang EST Tools Xiamen Golden Erge AHNO Sandhog Inquire For Chapter Cost: https://reports.valuates.com/request/chaptercost/QYRE-Auto-28W9082/Global_Metal_Cutting_Tools_Market Buy Now for Single User + Covid-19 Impact : https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Auto-28W9082&lic=single-user SUBSCRIPTION We have introduced a tailor-made subscription for our customers. Please leave a note in the Comment Section to know about our subscription plans. SIMILAR REPORTS - The global Drill Bits market was valued at USD 1602.8 million in 2020 and it is expected to reach USD 2335.6 million by the end of 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.5% during 2021-2027. - The global CNC Metal Cutting Machine Tools market size is estimated to be worth USD 103370 million in 2022 and is forecast to be a readjusted size of USD 171460 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 8.8% during the review period. - The global Metal Cutting Machine market size is estimated to be worth USD 7062.9 million in 2022 and is forecast to be a readjusted size of USD 9411 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 4.9% during the review period. - The global HSS Cutting Tools market size is estimated to be worth USD 4178.9 million in 2022 and is forecast to a readjusted size of USD 4903.3 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 2.7% during the review period. - The global HSS Metal Cutting Tools market size is estimated to be worth USD 4178.9 million in 2022 and is forecast to be a readjusted size of USD 4889 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 2.7% during the forecast period 2022-2028. - The global Carbide Tools market size is estimated to be worth USD 5217.8 million in 2022 and is forecast to be a readjusted size of USD 6536.7 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 3.8% during the review period. - The global Box Cutters market size is estimated to be worth USD 967.8 million in 2022 and is forecast to be a readjusted size of USD 1169.1 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 3.2% during the review period. - Global Water Jet Metal Cutting Machine Market Research Report 2022 - Global Die Cutting Tools Market Insights, Forecast to 2028 - Global Power Tools Drill Bits Market Insights and Forecast to 2028 - The global electric power tools market size is expected to generate revenue worth USD 24,063.0 million in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 49,242.6 million by 2030, registering a CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period. - The global Power Tools market was valued at USD 30900 million in 2020 and it is expected to reach USD 46450 million by the end of 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.5% during 2021-2027. - The global Industrial Power Tools market was valued at USD 25620 million in 2020 and it is expected to reach USD 37250 million by the end of 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.3% during 2021-2027. - In 2020, the global Multi-Tool Power Tools market size was USD 269 million and it is expected to reach USD 392.7 million by the end of 2027, with a CAGR of 5.8% during 2021-2027. - The global Drilling Tools market size is projected to reach USD 8184 million by 2028, from USD 6264.5 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 3.8% during 2022-2028. - The global Prefabricated Bathroom Pods market is valued at USD 1.41 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 2.95 billion by the end of 2027, growing at a CAGR of 10.53% between 2021 and 2027. - In 2020, the global Smart Toilet market size was USD 3395.9 million and it is expected to reach USD 5168.1 million by the end of 2027, with a CAGR of 6.2% from 2021 to 2027. - The global Industrial Services market size is projected to reach USD 32300 million by 2027, from USD 28360 million in 2020, at a CAGR of 4.4% during 2021-2027. - The global Graphite Electrodes market size is projected to reach USD 10420 Million by 2026, from USD 9333.1 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 1.9% during 2021-2026. Click Here To See Related Reports on Metal Cutting Tools Market About Us: Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. We understand your niche region-specific requirements and that's why we offer customization of reports. With our customization in place, you can request for any particular information from a report that meets your market analysis needs. To achieve a consistent view of the market, data is gathered from various primary and secondary sources, at each step, data triangulation methodologies are applied to reduce deviance and find a consistent view of the market. Each sample we share contains a detailed research methodology employed to generate the report. Please also reach our sales team to get the complete list of our data sources. Contact Us: Valuates Reports sales@valuates.com For U.S. Toll-Free Call 1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp: +91-9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuatesreports Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082232/Valuates_Reports_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/metal-cutting-tools-market-is-projected-to-reach-usd-34670-million-by-2028-at-a-cagr-of-4-8---valuates-reports-301634240.html WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing a rule requiring airlines and online third-party booking sites to disclose certain fees beyond the base fare up front. The new proposed rule, which would significantly strengthen protections for consumers by ensuring that they have access to certain fee information before they purchase their airline tickets, was announced by President Joe Biden at a meeting of the White House Competition Council. Biden said, 'You should know the full cost of your ticket right when you're comparison shopping to begin with where you're - what airline you're going to fly with so you can pick the ticket that actually is the best deal for you'. Under the proposed rule, airlines and travel search websites would have to disclose upfront - the first time an airfare is displayed - any fees charged to sit with the passenger's child, for changing or cancelling flight, and for checked or carry-on baggage. The proposal seeks to provide customers the information they need to choose the best deal from various airlines. Otherwise, surprise fees can add up quickly and overcome what may look at first to be a cheap fare. Under the Department's proposal, U.S. air carriers, foreign air carriers, and ticket agents (third party sellers of air transportation and online 'metasearch' sites that display air travel options) would be required to clearly disclose passenger-specific or itinerary-specific baggage fees, change fees, cancellation fees, and family seating fees to consumers whenever fare and schedule information is provided to consumers for flights to, within, and from the United States. These fees would be required to be displayed as passenger-specific or itinerary-specific based on the consumer's choice. Because seat availability and fees can fluctuate frequently, the Department is also proposing to require carriers and ticket agents to enable consumers traveling with a young child to purchase the seats with the fare at all points of sale. The Department further proposes to require that carriers provide useable, current, and accurate information regarding baggage fees, change fees, cancellation fees, and adjacent seating fees for families traveling with young children, to ticket agents that sell or display the carrier's fare and schedule information. The issuance of the Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees NPRM is one of the many steps the Department of Transportation is taking to protect consumers. DOT urged members of the public and interested parties to submit comments on this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM) within 60 days of the notice is published in the Federal Register. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Over 10,000 highway fatalities occur annually in the United States as a result of drunk driving accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Nearly one-third of traffic fatalities involving vehicles involved drunk driving. Long-term catastrophic injuries frequently result from car accidents involving intoxicated or drugged drivers. The injured party's only option for obtaining compensation from the at-fault driver is through a civil lawsuit. By hiring a qualified drunk driving accident lawyer, you can effectively evaluate your financial costs, calculate future medical bills, and bargain settlement amounts with the relevant insurance companies. This article outlines everything you need to know about DUI accidents and lawsuits. Liability In Drunk Driving: Whether or not the individual behind the wheel causes any property damage, injuries, or fatalities, impaired driving is still a crime. In addition to criminal responsibility, drunk drivers may also be held civilly liable, particularly where fatalities or major injuries result from serious auto accidents. To seek compensation, the accident victims or their families may file a personal injury or wrongful death case. Criminal Liability: The offense may be categorized as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the state laws in the area where the offense was committed and the extent of the driver's intoxication. If there is any form of bodily harm or property damage, the DUI will typically be regarded as a felony. The penalties for driving while intoxicated include possible jail time, license suspension, and hundreds of dollars in fines and fees. Civil Liability: Those injured in a DUI accident may seek compensation in a civil action entirely independent of the criminal prosecution. In this kind of car accident lawsuit, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the intoxicated driver was to blame for the accident and subsequent injuries. Hiring an expert accident lawyer might improve the chances of proving the case and obtaining the proper compensation for injuries. Types Of Damages That Can Be Recovered: Special damages are frequently sought after by accident victims to cover the out-of-pocket costs they suffer due to their injuries. This compensation category can include Medical bills Lost wages Pain and suffering Rehabilitation fees Property damage Wrongful death Other kinds of damages include: General Damages: Accident victims may also seek compensation for losses that are difficult to quantify financially. General damages are meant to compensate for intangible losses, such as mental anguish or loss of companionship. Punitive Damages: Punitive damages hold the negligent driver accountable for careless actions that reveal a deliberate disdain for other people's safety. Driving while intoxicated is often considered gross negligence. . Can My Insurance Cover Damages? If you are sued for an incident that is covered by your liability auto insurance policy, the insurance company will typically defend you in court. However, they might attempt to reject coverage if you were DUI/DWI in connection with the collision. In lawsuits involving DUI/DWI, the plaintiff frequently asks for punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages. Liability insurance typically does not cover punitive damages. Uninsured Or Underinsured Cases: To prove their financial responsibility for a potential car accident, vehicle owners must either have automobile liability insurance or be able to provide some other proof of coverage. However, if you're driving without auto insurance, it's generally a good idea to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your case. On the other hand, you might be able to file a claim with your own insurance provider if you were hit by a drunk motorist who was either uninsured or had insufficient coverage. In the event of an accident, most policies provide coverage for uninsured or underinsured motorists, giving you the chance to obtain compensation in addition to any direct financial losses. Final Thoughts: An attorney might benefit whether you are a drunk driver or a DUI victim. The rights and legal alternatives of drivers engaged in drunk driving accidents should be discussed with a DUI attorney. Victims can achieve a much larger payment with the help of a lawyer than what the insurance company will provide. Leading interim management advisors applaud reduction of complexity, and fiscal recognition of the distinction and importance of interim managers in the UK London, UK, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Boyden, a premier leadership and talent advisory firm with more than 75 offices in over 45 countries, applauds the repeal of IR35 reforms in the UK government's 'mini budget'. "This is a significant announcement for our industry and for businesses across the UK," comments Lisa Farmer, Managing Partner and Leader of Boyden's UK Interim Managementbusiness. "It will encourage more senior executives to become interim management specialists, removing a perceived barrier to entry. Their capabilities and experience are exactly what is needed at this time of change for so many organisations." Interim management specialists are an important and effective talent pool for businesses that need event-driven senior expertise, such as IPO preparation and other exit strategies, sudden loss of leadership, crisis or turnaround management, and digital transformation. For many businesses struggling in a recession or low growth environment, off-headcount senior resources are a critical element in sustaining the business. "This decision is a step change in recognising the needs of business across industry, private equity, healthcare, technology and other sectors where short-term, interim executives are an essential demographic in managing human capital," adds Claire Lauder,Partner, Interim Management, Boyden UK. "It sends a clear message that this government wants the UK to be a magnet for investment, growth and executive talent, and is hugely encouraging for the wider UK economy." Daniel Harrison, Boyden's interim specialist for technology states, "It's encouraging to see the government reigniting the UK gig economy in this way. Technology as a sector is typically project focused and reforms to IR35 had thrown a blanket over much needed agility." This decision will be well received in the public sector, where organisations have been managing the complexity of IR35 reforms since 2017. Josh Blackman,Partner, Interim, Healthcare & Life Sciences, comments, "The positive impact of available senior interim talent to the public sector will have untold effects and will reverse the mass exodus of highly skilled professionals who left the sector in 2017. It will also allow more remote businesses access to the same level of talent as business in highly populated, urban areas." Boyden's 2022 research, Strengthening the human-centric core of Industry 5.0: How can organisations thrive in a complex world of risk?confirms the extent to which businesses increasingly value interim resources: in Europe, 36 percent of senior respondents say they are 'extremely likely' or 'likely' to bring in interim executives through 2023, compared with 22 percent in 2021. See also Boyden Interim Management Insights Report. About Boyden Interim Management Boyden currently provides interim management expertise from offices across Europe, Canada and Australia through specialist interim consultants. This team works closely with colleagues in executive search and leadership consulting to deliver the right outcomes to clients in publicly-quoted organisations, private companies, social enterprises, family-run and private equity-backed businesses. Boyden's interim executives are a select pool well known to the firm, and considered to be among the top performers in the market. These highly qualified executives have significant expertise, deliver immediate value and cover all C-suite and director level roles. Boyden ranks as a 2021 leading interim service provider at Platinum level, by the Institute of Interim Management. About Boyden Boyden is a premier leadership and talent advisory firm with more than 75 offices in over 45 countries. Our global reach enables us to serve client needs anywhere they conduct business. We connect great companies with great leaders through executive search, interim management and leadership consulting solutions. Boyden is ranked amongst the top companies on Forbes' Americas Best Executive Recruiting Firms for 2021. For further information, visit www.boyden.com. Partnership to deliver first green fuel powered commercial tug vessels in Canada HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EverWind Fuels Company ("EverWind"), a private developer of green hydrogen and ammonia production in Nova Scotia, and Svitzer, a leading global towage operator and part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, today announced a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") to deploy one of the world's first green fuel powered commercial tug vessels in the Canso Strait in Nova Scotia. Under the MOU, EverWind will provide green fuel from its green hydrogen and ammonia production facility in Point Tupper, Nova Scotia, in addition to the required infrastructure at its marine terminal to allow for green fuel storage and fueling. Svitzer will explore the procurement, and/or retrofitting of a green fueled commercial tug vessel to be operated at EverWind's Point Tupper facility. The collaboration is expected to result in the first green fuel powered commercial tug vessel in Canada. EverWind's Point Tupper site is in advanced stages of development and is expected to reach commercial operation in 2025 - the first green hydrogen production in Atlantic Canada - with production volume of approximately one million tonnes of green ammonia by 2026. "Our ambition to turn Point Tupper into a global green energy hub requires joint development from our partners in government, industry and Indigenous communities. With our Svitzer partnership, we are demonstrating our commitment to decarbonize Nova Scotia in real, demonstrable ways," said Trent Vichie, CEO of EverWind, adding, "In addition to serving green ammonia export demand, we are focused on immediate and local opportunities to apply our green hydrogen production to Nova Scotia's net-zero journey. Advancing marine applications of green fuels and developing local fueling infrastructure in the Canso Strait region is an exciting step." The collaboration also advances Svitzer's recently announced decarbonization strategy, which positions the company to become fully carbon neutral in 2040 and furthers Svitzer's commitment to develop green fuel solutions for marine applications including solid oxide fuel cell technologies. Gareth Prowse, Head of Decarbonization of Svitzer commented, "As a global towage operator, we are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and developing green fuel technology for marine vessels. Developing vessels that can run on green fuels must be done in conjunction with the development of green fuels production and related fueling infrastructure," said Prowse. "Our partnership with EverWind is a symbiotic relationship. We are excited to deliver on advancing green pathways for marine vessels in Nova Scotia." Recognition of the Mi'kmaq & their Ancestral Territory EverWind Fuels acknowledges the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq people, and we acknowledge them as the past, present, and future caretakers of this land, Mi'kma'ki. Our work shares a core principle practiced by the Mi'kmaq: environmental stewardship. We are committed to working with Mi'kmaw through consultation, engagement and delivering a comprehensive partnership on all aspects of the project. About EverWind EverWind is a private developer of green hydrogen and ammonia production, storage facilities, and associated transportation assets. EverWind is led by Trent Vichie, a co-founder of Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners. EverWind's executive team members have previously held CEO and C-Suite positions at various infrastructure, private equity, renewable power, utilities, terminals, and marine logistics companies. The team's prior investment experience totals more than $45 billion in capital projects spanning over 20 years. EverWind's initial green hydrogen and ammonia facility is situated on an ideal site in Port Hawkesbury, benefiting from over $600 million of world-class infrastructure, including an existing ice-free deep-water port with two berths that are capable of accommodating the largest vessels in the world. For more information visit www.everwindfuels.com About Svitzer Svitzer is a global market leader providing towage and sustainable marine solutions to customers in 30+ countries across four regions. As a standalone company and as part of Maersk, Svitzer has been providing safety and support at sea since 1833. To deliver on its mission of making ports and terminals safer and more efficient for customers and industry partners, Svitzer employs 4,000 skilled professionals across sea and shore and operates a fleet of 440 vessels. For more information visit www.svitzer.com Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by EverWind and Svitzer, including statements concerning projected operations and production at the Facility and the benefits of the project. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, such as general economic and regulatory conditions, could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of EverWind or the project and those projected in the forward-looking statements contained in this release. EverWind and Svitzer do not intend, and do not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these forward-looking statements or to align them to future events or developments, except as may be required by law. EverWind Fuels: WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The United States has pledged an additional $457.5 million in civilian security assistance to Ukraine. The aid is to enhance the efforts of Ukrainian law enforcement and criminal justice agencies to improve their operational capacity and save lives as they continue to help defend the Ukrainian people, their freedom, and their democracy from the Kremlin's brutal war of aggression, the State Department said in a statement. With this, the total amount of civilian security assistance that the U.S. government provided to Ukraine since December 2021 has reached $645 million. It had a positive impact on Ukrainian law enforcement and criminal justice partners, including the National Police of Ukraine (NPU) and State Border Guard Service. The provision of personal protective equipment, medical supplies, and armored vehicles has significantly reduced casualties for Ukrainian civilians and their defenders, according to the State Department. ??Ukrainian law enforcement officers remain resilient, motivated, and determined to carry out their wide-ranging law enforcement missions and support for innocent civilians in towns and cities facing continuous Russian shelling, it added. In addition to expanding U.S. direct assistance to Ukrainian law enforcement, a portion of this new assistance will also continue U.S. support for the Ukrainian government's efforts to document, investigate, and prosecute atrocities perpetrated by Russia's forces during the ongoing attacks. 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. Regulatory News: NAVYA (FR0013018041- Navya) (Paris:NAVYA), an autonomous mobility systems leader, today announces its first half 2022 results. Installed base of 208 Autonom Shuttles at June 30, 2022, up 9% vs. H1 2021 Shuttles at June 30, 2022, up 9% vs. H1 2021 10% increase in the Services activity compared to H1 2021, representing now more than 50% of half-yearly 2022 revenue Increased technological leadership: world first with remote supervision of a fleet of autonomous shuttles without an onboard operator (shepherding) Signing of technological partnerships with major mobility players (Michelin, Valeo) and involvement in the largest shuttle deployment project in Europe (Ultimo) Cash position of 4.0 million as of end of June 2022 Evolution of the regulatory framework at a global scale and speed-up of the commercial momentum in H2 2022 with the order of 10 additional shuttles as of end of September 2022 Webinar September 27th 2022, at 7:00 pm CEST app.livestorm.co/newcap-1/navya-presentation-of-2022-semestrials-results Sophie Desormiere, CEO of Navya: "The refocusing and execution of new financial, technological, industrial and commercial strategies, with a stronger emphasis on customer culture and performance, enable Navya to reinforce its leadership in markets with a growing demand for global solutions. We have built strong ecosystems and moved towards integrating Navya Drive autonomous driving and Navya Operate supervision packages into existing fleet bases. Thanks to our strong Tech culture, global footprint with market-leading products and transformation efforts, Navya is ideally positioned in the sustainable mobility value chain to seize growth opportunities and successfully scale up Key figures from the half-year financial statements In thousand June 30, 2022 June 30, 2021 Revenue 3,986 4,603 Cost of production (4,197) (6,292) Gross margin (211) (1,690) R&D expenses (5,656) (5,202) Sales Marketing expenses (1,766) (2,282) General and administrative expenses (3,753) (3,009) Share-based payments (2,288) 489 EBIT (13,674) (11,694) Financial expenses (715) (1,005) Financial income 1,212 194 Financial Result 497 (810) Income tax expenses Net Result (13,178) (12,505) Business activity and financial results for the first half of 2022 During the first half of 2022, Navya sold 7 Autonom Shuttle and generated revenue of 4.0 million. The expected changes in global regulations have led to a certain wait-and-see attitude among Navya's customers, resulting in a level of activity slightly below the one recorded a year earlier. Benefiting from a 9% increase in the installed base, the share of revenue generated by the Services activity continues to grow, representing 52% of half-year revenue compared to 41% in the first half of 2021. At June 30, 2022, the installed base stood at 208 vehicles, deployed in 25 countries, up by 9% compared with the end of June 2021. In terms of operating expenses, Sales and Marketing expenses were down 23%, while General and Administrative expenses increased by 25%. At the same time, the Company has intensified its investments in R&D, with expenses increasing by 9% during the period, illustrating the Company's commitment to concentrate most of its investments in this area to further develop its technology. he leaving of the former executives in 2021 and the expansion of the beneficiaries over 2022 contributed to a significant impact on the share-based payments in H1 2022. In total, the EBIT and the Net Result reach respectively -13.7 million and -13.2 million, both of them experiencing a deterioration of 2.0 million and 0.7 million compared to H1 2021. Cash position of 4.0 million at the end of June 2022 As of June 30, 2022, the Company had a cash position of 4.0 million, compared to 19.8 million at the end of June 2021. On July 20, 2022, a funding agreement in convertible bonds for a maximum total nominal amount of 36 million was signed with the Negma Group, an investment company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This financing program replaces the existing equity line. Navya recalls that the financial partnership with the Negma Group aims to strengthen the Company's financial resources, and to support its medium-term development cycle as well as its technological and commercial projects, particularly in the Middle East. Thanks to the signing of this agreement and subject to the conditions for the issuance of the convertible bonds described in the press release of July 22, 2022 and in the 2022 half-year financial report being met, Navya considers that it will be in a position to meet its future deadlines. Highlights for the first half of 2022 Development in partnership with VALEO of a unique safety system for the commercialization of level 4 autonomous vehicles; - Signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; - World premiere of remote supervision of a fleet of autonomous vehicles at the AUTONOMY PARIS mobility show; - Inauguration of the Autonomous Shuttle Experimentation (ENA) project in Sophia Antipolis; - Listed within the Innovation Radar Platform as a key player in autonomous mobility; - Navya selected to provide self-driving shuttles for large scale deployment within the EU-funded ULTIMO project; - Signing of a technological partnership with Michelin and beti and launch of a first autonomous mobility experiment; - Signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunication of the Kingdom of Bahrain; - Signing of a service contract with Muses Europe for the assembly of 300 electric utility vehicles; - Macnica signs a memorandum of understanding to acquire Navya next generation platforms Post-closing events Appointment of Pierre Guibert as Chief Financial Officer and member of the Executive Board; - Joining the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative; - Signing of a funding agreement in convertible bonds for a total nominal amount of 36 million with the Negma Group, an investment company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; - Signed a non-exclusive distribution agreement with Electromin to accelerate sales of Navya's autonomous solutions in the Middle East; - Orders for 10 Autonom Shuttles, including one in Germany, eight in the United States and one in Japan; - Signing of a strategic alliance with the Lohr Industrial Group. Outlook In the first few weeks of the second half of 2022, Navya experiences an acceleration of its commercial momentum, as a result of the worldwide development of autonomous vehicle regulations. Navya intends to take advantage of this momentum to strengthen its market share in strategic countries such as Europe, the USA and Japan. Transformation Navya has set up an organization focused on its strategic priorities around a streamlined Executive Board, whose members are: Sophie Desormiere CEO of Navya - Pierre Guibert Chief Financial Officer - Olivier Le Cornec Chief Technical Officer First-half 2022 consolidated accounts and H1 2022 financial report have been approved by the Board of Directors, and were reviewed by the Supervisory Board on September 27, 2022. The financial statements have been subject to a limited review by the statutory auditors, which contains an observation concerning the going concern assumption. The H1 2022 financial report will be available today on: www.navya-corp.com/fr/investisseurs/information-reglementee/documentation This report includes: H1 2022 activity report; Summarized H1 consolidated accounts to June 30, 2022; Auditors' report on H1 2022 financial information; Statement from the certifying officer regarding the H1 financial report. Next financial press release: February 6, 2023, 5:45 pm 2022 Full-year Revenue About NAVYA Created in 2014, NAVYA is a leading French name specialized in the supply of autonomous mobility systems and associated services. With 280 employees in France (Paris and Lyon), in the United States (Michigan) and in Singapore, NAVYA aims at becoming the leading player in Level 4 autonomous mobility systems for passenger and goods transport. Since 2015, NAVYA has been the first to market and put into service autonomous mobility solutions. The Autonom Shuttle, main development axis, is dedicated to passenger transport. Since its launch, more than 200 units have been sold in 25 countries as of 31 December 2021. The Autonom Tract is designed to goods transport. Engaged in an ambitious CSR approach, the Company has an active policy in this area, as illustrated by the obtaining of the ISO 9001 certification in September 2021. The Valeo and Keolis groups are among NAVYA's historical shareholders. NAVYA is listed on the Euronext regulated market in Paris (ISIN code: FR0013018041- Navya). Further details: www.navya.tech View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005936/en/ Contacts: NAVYA CSR, Marketing Communication Manager Nathalie Marcy nathalie.marcy@navya.tech +33 (0)7 63 20 00 52 Chief Financial Officer Pierre Guibert finance@navya.tech NewCap Investor Relations Thomas Grojean Nicolas Fossiez navya@newcap.eu +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 NewCap Media Relations Nicolas Merigeau navya@newcap.eu +33 (0)1 44 71 94 98 Regulatory News: Aelis Farma (ISIN: FR0014007ZB4 ticker: AELIS, PEA-PME eligible), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development of treatments for brain diseases, today announces that its half-year financial report has been made available to the public and filled with the French Financial Markets Authority (Autorite des marches financiers It can be consulted on the Company's website, www.aelisfarma.com, in the section Investors/Documentation/Reports. About AELIS FARMA Founded in 2013, Aelis Farma is a biopharmaceutical company that is developing a new class of drugs, the Signaling Specific inhibitors of the CB1 receptor of the endocannabinoid system (CB1-SSi). These new molecular entities hold great potential in the treatment of many brain diseases. CB1-SSi were developed by Aelis Farma on the basis of the discovery of a new natural defense mechanism of the brain made by the team of Dr. Pier Vincenzo Piazza, CEO of the Company, when he was Director of the Inserm Magendie Neurocenter in Bordeaux. For these discoveries, Dr. Piazza was awarded the Inserm Grand Prix and the Grand Prix of Neurology of the French Academy of Sciences, which are among the most prestigious French prizes in medicine and neurology. Aelis Farma is developing two first-in-class drug candidates that are at the clinical stage, AEF0117 and AEF0217, and has a portfolio of innovative CB1-SSi for the treatment of other diseases associated with a dysregulation of the activity of the CB1 receptor. AEF0117, which targets the disorders due to excessive cannabis use (addiction and psychosis), has shown indications of efficacy in a phase 2a clinical trial and has entered a phase 2b clinical trial in the United States in Q2 2022. Aelis Farma has an exclusive option-license agreement with Indivior PLC, a leading pharmaceutical company in the treatment of addiction, for the development and commercialization of AEF0117 for disorders due to excessive cannabis use. As part of this agreement, Aelis Farma received $30 million (option payment). If Indivior exercises the license option at the end of the phase 2b, Aelis Farma will receive a $100 million license fee (potentially in 2024) and up to $340 million in additional payments contingent on the achievement of development, regulatory and commercial milestones as well as, royalties on net sales of AEF0117 ranging between 12% and 20%. AEF0217, which targets various cognitive disorders including those associated with Down syndrome, has finished recruitments of its phase 1 program in healthy volunteers and will start in Q4 2022 a phase 1/2 study in Down syndrome subjects. This compound has undergone an extensive preclinical proof-of-concept program using highly innovative assessing cognitive functions. In this context, AEF0217 has demonstrated its ability to completely reverse cognitive deficits observed in several animal models of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome, as well as in models of certain cognitive deficits associated with aging. Based in Bordeaux, within the Magendie Neurocenter, Aelis Farma has a team of 23 highly qualified employees and has benefited from investments from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, Inserm Transfert Initiative, Bpifrance, regional funds ACI, NACO and Aqui-invest and IRDI Capital Investissement. For more information: www.aelisfarma.com ISIN: FR0014007ZB4 Ticker: AELIS B Compartment of Euronext Paris Disclaimer Forward-looking statements Some information contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, not historical data. These forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions about Aelis Farma's current and future strategy and the environment in which Aelis Farma operates. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results or other events, to differ materially from those described or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those set out and detailed in Chapter 3 "Risk Factors" of Aelis Farma's registration document approved by the Autorite des marches financiers on 14 January 2022 under number I.22-003. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and Aelis Farma expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or corrections to the forward-looking statements included in this press release to reflect any change in expectations or events, conditions or circumstances on which any such forward-looking statement is based. Forward-looking information and statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond Aelis Farma's control. Actual results could differ materially from those described in, or implied or projected by, forward-looking information and statements. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005832/en/ Contacts: AELIS FARMA Pier Vincenzo Piazza CEO contact@aelisfarma.com NewCap Dusan Oresansky/Hugo Willefert Investor Relations aelis@newcap.eu +33 1 44 71 94 92 NewCap Arthur Rouille Media Relations aelis@newcap.eu +33 1 44 71 00 15 First-half 2022 sales up +28% to 1.3 million Improvement in the sales margin thanks to better implant procurement conditions Exceptional income of +7.4 million resulting from the dropping of the current account held by the Otsuka Group in SMAIO's favor Success of April's IPO: cash position of 7.3 million at June 30, 2022 Regulatory News: SMAIO (Software, Machines and Adaptative Implants in Orthopaedics Euronext Growth Paris ISIN: FR0014005I80 Ticker: ALSMA, eligible for PEA-PME equity savings plans), a French player specialized in complex spine surgery with a global offer comprising software, adaptative implants and related services, today published its results for the first half of 20221, approved by the Board of Directors on September 26, 2022. Philippe ROUSSOULY, Chairman and CEO of SMAIO, commented:This first half of 2022 was marked by the strengthening of our financial capabilities and the strategic contract signed with our American partner NuVasive within the framework of our Initial Public Offering on the Euronext Growth market in Paris. At the same time, we have continued our commercial development, notably abroad where our revenue has recorded substantial growth, whilst improving our sales margin thanks to better implant procurement conditions. In the United States, our priority market, we have met key milestones with the first surgical procedures performed and the granting of two FDA 510(k) clearances for our surgery planning software and our patient-specific rods. Building on our strengthened financial situation and this positive momentum, in the coming months we will focus on organizing training programs in order to promote SMAIO's technologies and services internationally, with a particular emphasis on the United States. Furthermore, in early 2023, our partnership agreement with NuVasive should allow us to obtain a first milestone payment of $3 million followed by recurrent revenue thanks to imaging analysis services undertaken by SMAIO's operators for NuVasive's clients". First-half 2022 results Simplified income statement ( millions) H1 2022 H1 2021 Sales 1.32 1.03 Operating income 1.70 1.53 Operating expenses (3.45) (3.29) Operating profit/(loss) (1.75) (1.76) Exceptional income/(expenses) 7.40 (0.3) Net profit/(loss) 5.37 (1.60) Sales totaled 1.3 million in the first half of 2022, an increase of +28% compared with the first half of 2021 (1.0 million). This improvement was the result of buoyant growth in international activity (+119%), and notably of the ramping up of our historical distributors in Spain and Scandinavia, new distribution agreements signed in the Baltic states and Greece and the first surgical procedures performed in the United States. As in 2021, sales of implants and rods accounted for almost all of the Company's sales (96%). The software segment, with the Keops platform, accounted for the balance (4%) and will see substantial growth over the coming semesters, notably following the granting of 510(k) clearance by the FDA and thanks to the partnership and licensing agreement signed with NuVasive, a global leader in spine technology innovation. SMAIO's gross margin reached a new high of 60%, versus 52% at end-June 2021 and 55% at end-December 2021, thanks to an increased presence on international markets, historically more lucrative, and the more advantageous implant procurement conditions obtained in 2021. The margin on implant sales alone also saw a significant improvement, increasing from 50% in H1 2021 to 63% in the same period of 2022. Other operating expenses increased in the first half of 2022, primarily as a result of the amortization of the new sets of instruments loaned out or given to hospitals on consignment, the amortization of R&D costs reflecting the intensification of the Company's innovation efforts, as well as inventory depreciations. Amortization, impairment and provision charges came to 0.6 million in the first half of 2022, vs. 0.5 million a year earlier, The operating loss was 1.75 million in the first half of 2022, stable compared with the first half of 2021. Exceptional items totaled +7.40 million and consisted entirely of the dropping of the current account held by Japanese group Otsuka longstanding SMAIO shareholder to the Company's benefit. Once a tax expense of 0.27 million is taken into account, there was a net profit of 5.4 million in the first half of 2022 compared with a net loss of 1.6 million in the same period of 2021. Strengthened financial structure SMAIO had cash and cash equivalents of 7.33 million at June 30, 2022, compared with 0.57 million at December 31, 2021. This figure notably includes the 7.5 million net proceeds of the Company's IPO on the Euronext Growth market in Paris in April 2022. This cash position will allow the Company to finance its development in accordance with the strategy presented to the financial community at that time. Shareholders' equity stood at 12.32 million at end-June 2022, vs. -0.62 million at end-December 2021. On February 1, 2022, Otsuka announced that it was discontinuing its activities in orthopedics and took the decision to transfer its interests to SMAIO's Vice-President of Operations, as well as its current account to SMAIO's only other shareholder, Sylorus Scientific2. Furthermore, it also decided to entirely cancel SMAIO's current account debt, thus making the Company debt-free. H1 2022 highlights Value-creating partnership with NuVasive, a global leader in spine technology innovation Sharing a similar vision of the importance of spinal realignment planning and implant placement to achieve favorable, repeatable and long-lasting results, in the first quarter of 2022 NuVasive and SMAIO signed a partnership and licensing agreement to further develop SMAIO's surgical planning solutions and to support the innovation pipeline and commercialization efforts. As part of this collaboration, NuVasive has pledged to invest a total of $10 million (~9 million3) in the Company, of which $5 million (~4.5 million3) has already been invested within the framework of SMAIO's IPO, the balance consisting of milestone payments that will be made when the Company receives FDA 510(k) clearance for two software solutions interfacing with the U.S. group's technological platforms. NuVasive has exclusivity regarding the planning tool development partnerships implemented by SMAIO for a three-year period from the date on which the second software solution is approved. Moreover, within the framework of this partnership, SMAIO will put in place an image analysis and planning assistance service for NuVasive's clients, which will be billed and will thus generate recurring payments proportional to the number of analyses performed. This partnership leaves SMAIO free to distribute its own customized bending solutions and the remainder of its KHEIRON implant range either directly or via its network of distributors. Two 510(k) clearances to accelerate development in the United States In June, SMAIO announced that it had been granted two 510(k) clearances by the FDA for the key components of its i-Kontrol platform: the Balance Analyzer 3D surgery planning software and the K-rod patient-specific union rod. Thanks to these approvals, SMAIO can now offer its i-Kontrol solution to North American medical centers. These clearances represent a major step in the American market penetration strategy that will be based on the distribution of the comprehensive i-Kontrol solution to key centers invited to participate in training programs called the "sagittal alignment academy", as well as on imaging analysis services distributed via NuVasive's network as soon as the first version of the SMAIO surgery planning software jointly developed with its California partner is approved. Strategy and outlook Over the coming months, and in accordance with the strategy announced at the time of its IPO, the Company will pursue three key objectives: 1. The ramping up of the partnership with NuVasive, focusing on the development of a customized version of the i-plan platform for NuVasive and, at the same time, an image analysis service offer. 2. The marketing of the i-Kontrol solution in Europe, the United States and Australia. To achieve this, the Company will build on its own sales force, its partner NuVasive in the United States and a network of distributors and agents. 3. The development of innovative R&D projects aimed at improving the accuracy, speed and reliability of spine surgery, with morphologically adapted guides 3D-printed from scans of the vertebrae to be operated upon enabling implants to be accurately positioned in the pedicles, or morphologically adapted trackers allowing vertebrae to be detected in space in order to steer them or guide a robotic arm. About SMAIO A precursor in the use of clinical data and imaging of the spine, SMAIO designs global solutions for spine surgery specialists. The Company has recognized expertise thanks to KEOPS, its Big Data management software that has become a global reference with more than 100,000 patient cases documented. SMAIO offers spine surgeons a comprehensive platform, I-Kontrol, incorporating planning, implants and related services, enabling them to treat spinal pathologies in a safe, effective and lasting way. SMAIO is positioned at the forefront of innovation with the ambition of providing surgeons with the first active robotic solution enabling a high level of performance and repeatability to be achieved. Based in Lyon, France, SMAIO benefits from the skill and expertise of more than 30 highly specialized staff. For further information, please visit our website: www.smaio.com Listing market: Euronext Growth Paris ISIN: FR0014005I80 Mnemonic: ALSMA Disclaimer This press release contains non-factual elements, including, but not limited to, certain statements regarding future results and other future events. These statements are based on the current vision and assumptions of the management of the Company. They incorporate known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could result in significant differences in results, profitability and expected events. In addition, SMAIO, its shareholders and its affiliates, directors, officers, counsels and employees have not verified the accuracy of, and make no representations or warranties about, statistical information or forecast information contained within this news release and that originates or is derived from third party sources or industry publications; these statistical data and forecast information are only used in this press release for information purposes. Finally, this press release may be drafted in French and in English. In the event of differences between the two texts, the French version will prevail. 1 The half-year financial report relating to these first-half financial statements will be posted within the statutory time limits on the Company's website (www.smaio-finance.com) and the Euronext website (www.euronext.com). 2 Sylorus Scientific SA is 80% owned by Mr. Philippe Roussouly, Chairman and CEO of SMAIO, and 20% owned by Mr. Pierre Roussouly (Philippe's father). 3 based on an exchange rate of 1.10 dollars per euro at the time the contract was implemented in March 2022 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005911/en/ Contacts: SMAIO Philippe Roussouly Chief Executive Officer Renaut Fritsch Chief Financial Officer investors@smaio.com NewCap Dusan Oresansky/Quentin Masse Investor Relations smaio@newcap.eu Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 92 NewCap Arthur Rouille Media Relations smaio@newcap.eu Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 00 15 Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares For immediate release 27 September 2022 FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC (the "Company") MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES The Company announces that it has today purchased 125,000 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 817.51 pence per Ordinary Share. Such shares will be held in treasury by the Company. The transaction was made pursuant to the authority granted at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 9 February 2022. Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 8,603,311; the total number of Ordinary Shares that the Company has in issue, less the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury following such purchase, and therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 216,387,992. The figure of 216,387,992 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations of interests in the Company's voting rights in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules. For and on behalf of Frostrow Capital LLP Company Secretary For further information, please contact: Victoria Hale Frostrow Capital LLP Tel: 020 3 170 8732 Head of Europe/Portfolio Optimization, Ben Tobin, joins panel to discuss impacts of uncleared margin rules, SA-CCR on FX trading desk and market structure Visit booth #5 to see what innovations Capitolis is bringing to the market around reduction of UMR margin and SA-CCR as well as Dealer to Client optimization Capitolis, the technology company reimagining financial markets, will join TradeTech FX, the largest buy side FX event in Europe. This is the first year Capitolis will have a presence on the ground at the event. Ben Tobin, Capitolis SVP, Head of Europe/Portfolio Optimization, will join a panel of FX industry leaders on Wednesday, 9/27, at 12:55 local time to discuss how uncleared margin rules (UMR) and the Standardized Approach for Counterparty Credit Risk (SA-CCR) have impacted the FX trading desk and market structure and share predictions for how it could influence other FX products in the future. "We've been a partner and provider of optimization services to banks, hedge funds, and real money managers over the past five years," said Ben Tobin, Capitolis SVP, Head of Europe/Portfolio Optimization. "We've already helped our customers reduce trillions of notional since the beginning of 2022, including optimization between the banks and their diverse client base." TradeTech FX attendees can visit booth #5 to discuss what innovations Capitolis is bringing to the market around UMR margin, SA-CCR, and Dealer to Client optimization; learn more through product demos; and speak to Capitolis leaders, including Ben Tobin and Evelina Rosenstein, on the ground in Amsterdam. Since the launch of Capitolis' brand-new technology-powered multilateral SA-CCR optimization service in early 2022, the service has been adopted by 12 of the world's largest banks and has been heralded as a leading source of SA-CCR-based capital requirement solutions. Capitolis' focus for the remainder of the year is onboarding a broader range of banks, hedge funds, and asset managers to their planned optimization exercises and continuing to expand benefits to the broader network. Advances to algorithms will drive better results for existing and new clients. Earlier this year, Capitolis was named "Best Compression/Optimization Service for FX" at the June 2022 FX Markets e-FX Awards, which seeks to recognize firms that have set the bar in electronic foreign exchange trading with skill, dedication, and creativity. ABOUT CAPITOLIS We believe the financial markets can and should work for everyone. Capitolis is the technology company reimagining how capital markets operate by unlocking capital constraints and enabling greater access to more diversified capital and investment opportunities. Rooted in advanced technology and deep financial expertise, Capitolis powers groundbreaking financial solutions that drive growth for global and regional banks and institutional investors alike. Capitolis is backed by world class venture capital firms, including Canapi Ventures, 9Yards Capital, SVB Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Spark Capital, and S Capital, as well as leading global banks such as J.P. Morgan, Citi and State Street. Founded in 2017, our team brings decades of experience in launching successful startups, technology and financial services and is growing rapidly from our offices in New York, London and Tel Aviv. For more information, please visit our website at www.capitolis.com or follow us on LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927006034/en/ Contacts: Edward Ruddy Sloane Company eruddy@sloanepr.com Brian Zilberfarb Capitolis brianz@capitolis.com La Defense, 27 September 2022 Indigo Group S.A. - First semester Results 2022 Solid performance for the first semester of 2022 and robust fundamentals Key figures[1] million S1-2021 S1-2022 Change at current FX (%) Change at constant FX (%) Proforma revenue excluding LAZ operations in 2021 265.6 344.5 +29.7% +27.8% Revenue 347.4 344.5 -0.8% -1.9% EBITDA proforma out of LAZ operation in 2021 114.5 175.6 +53.3% +51.8% EBITDA 124.1 175.6 +41.4% +40.1% % LAZ non-operating proforma margin in 2021 43.1% 51.0% +786 bps +804 bps % Margin 35.7% 51.0% +1,523 bps +1,529 bps Operating Income 14.0 69.8 +398.5% +393.4% Net Income Attributable to The Owners of The Parent (11.1) +18.0 n.a. n.a. Free Cash-Flow IFRS 78.2 88.4 +13.0% n.a. Cash Conversion ratio IFRS 70.2% 52.2% -25.6% n.a. Net Financial Debt IFRS 2,108.9 2,064.6 -2.1% n.a. Serge Clemente, Chairman of the Executive Board of Indigo Group, said: During the first semester of 2022, the Group proved that its "Beyond Covid" strategic plan is particularly well suited to the major current and future challenges in which Indigo is positioning itself as a creator of space for a peaceful city motion. The Group includes a strong CSR dimension in its strategy, with its commitment to carbon neutrality "Go for Climate". This is reflected in concrete actions through the Group, notably with the purchase of 100% of green electricity, the reduction of our consumptions in our car parks and the deployment of 10,000 electric charging stations by 2025. Thanks to the exceptional commitment of its employees, the resilience and solidity of its business model, the Group has not only managed to meet the challenges of the global Covid-19 pandemic but has also actively addressed the recovery of activity, thanks to the excellent diversification of its assets portfolio in terms of geographies, sectors, types of contracts and types of revenues, while maintaining costs optimization and a stable net financial position. The acquisition and integration of the parking activities of the Transdev group and Covivio in the first half of the year was a major challenge for the France teams and this integration was perfectly successful. On 31 August 2022, the Group also completed the merger of its Brazilian activities with PareBem, a subsidiary of an investment fund managed by Patria Investments. With this complementary combination of the number 2 and number 3, Indigo Group continues to pursue its growth strategy in its core business in Brazil, enriching its portfolio of long-term contracts by expanding its geographical presence in Sao Paulo, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Fortaleza and Curitiba and by integrating on-street parking services. In parallel with these acquisitions, the Group continues to refocus its operations and finalized in July and August 2022 its exits from China and the United States respectively. Finally, in the first semester of 2022, the Group experienced significant success in its commercial development of tender contracts illustrated by the renewal of the Euralille contract. Building on this solid performance in the first semester and at the sight of the first summer indicators, the Group enters in the second half with confidence and with robust fundamentals. However, in a context of deteriorating macroeconomic conditions, the Group will continue to manage its assets prudently, ensuring that it preserves its Investment Grade rating. ********** Cumulatively as of 30 June 2022, Global Proportionate consolidated revenue amounted to 344.5 million for the Group, growing by 78.8 million compared to the first semester of 2021 (excluding the contribution of its 50% stake in LAZ Karp Associates LLC ("LAZ Parking") in the United States, sold in December 2021, in the first half of 2021 for 81.8 million) and slightly decreasing compared to 30 June 2021 including LAZ (347.4 million euros). In the first semester of 2022, the Group generated a Cash Conversion Ratio (Free Cash-Flow / EBITDA) in IFRS of 52.2%, below the ratio of the first semester of 2021 (70.2%), unfavorably impacted by the change in Working Capital Requirement ("WCR") with the post-Covid-19 recovery. Excluding the change in WCR, the Cash Conversion Ratio reached 66.1% as of 30 June 2022 compared to 50.1% as of 30 June 2021. Indigo Group has always managed to maintain a strong liquidity and confirms its prudent financing policy, thanks to the absence of financing needs before 2025 and a cash position[2] of 178 million on 30 June 2022 (compared to 450 million on 31 December 2021 and 209 million on 30 June 2021). In the first half of 2022, the Company repurchased 121.5 million euros of its 650 million bond maturing in 2025 and therefore actively improved its debt profile by taking advantage of favorable market conditions. It also issued two private placements in a German NSV format of respectively 25 million maturing in 2032 and 10 million maturing in 2036. Indigo Group signed on 27 July 2022 a new sustainability linked 300 million multi-currency revolving credit facility with extended maturity to July 2027 to replace the existing 300 million multi-currency revolving credit facility that was due to expire in October 2023. Under this sustainability linked loan, the Company defined two KPI - the reduction of carbon emissions from Scopes 1 & 2 and the cumulative electrical power installed for electric vehicle charging points - which are in line with its CSR strategy conducted for several years and placed at the heart of its "Go for Climate" plan. On 07 July 2022, S&P Global Ratings improved the Indigo Group outlook, from stable to positive and affirmed the BBB- rating. This rating action reflects the Group's FY2021 outperformance compared to S&P's expectations published on 14 July 2021, in terms of FFO/debt and debt/EBITDA adjusted ratios that went back to pre-pandemic levels and the fast recovery of the traffic, which started as soon as mid-May 2021. ********** On 25 January 2022, the Group finalized the acquisitions in France of Transdev Group's off-street parking operations (approximately 60 car parks with more than 30,000 spaces, which generated more than 21 million revenues in 2019) and Covivio (around ten car parks under concessions and long-term leases, which generated 20 million in revenues in 2019 with an average residual term of the portfolio of more than 23 years). It has also been awarded several significant contracts (long-term leases and concessions) in the first semester of 2022, including the gain of the tender for the 12-year lease of the Saint Sebastien car park located in the shopping center of the same name in Nancy (1,080 spaces), the renewal of the operation of on-street spaces and 12 car parks in four cities in the western part of Grand Paris (GPSO 3 - Grand Paris Sud-Ouest) for a period of five years (11,400 spaces renewed), the renewal of the concession for the Notre Dame car park in Versailles for a period of seven years (690 spaces) and the gain of the tender for the concession of the Odeon - Honnorat car parks in Paris for a period of 15 years (597 spaces). In Europe, in Belgium, the Group acquired the parking of Neujean (350 spaces) near the city center of Liege and won the tender for the concession of the Eandis Tris car park in Malines, strengthening its presence in a city where Indigo already manages 7 car parks and 2 on-street parking. In Luxembourg, the Group negotiated and signed a 15-year extension of its current lease with the lessor of the Brasserie car park. In Poland, the Group acquired a 23-year lease from Swinoujscie (northwestern Poland) to operate three car parks in the city center and along the coast, and also won several management contracts, including the on-street parking and four car parks in Lodz (8,300 spaces) and a car park in Warsaw. All these successes allow the Group to establish itself permanently in several provinces and major cities of the country, and pursuing its desire to become a major player in Poland. In Spain, the Group signed a 10-year lease for the operation of the Plaza Primavera car park in Logrono, with an option to acquire full ownership of the park, which was exercised in early July 2022. It has deployed its Connecpark solution in 5 new parks in Barcelona. Lastly, the number of spaces in the Madrid on-street contract was increased to around 90,000 following an extension of 5,000 spaces at the end of June. In North America, in Canada, Indigo negotiated and signed a 10-year extension of its current lease with the lessor of the Theatre Saint-Denis car park in Montreal and, among other, took charge of the management contract (4-year term plus 3 options of 2 years) for the Kelowna Airport in British Columbia, which reinforces the Group's leadership in the airport sector in Canada. In Brazil, Indigo Group completed on 31 August 2022 the combination of PareBem, the subsidiary of an investment fund managed by Patria Investments, and Administradora Geral de Estacionamentos, Indigo Group's Brazilian car parking subsidiary, following the approval of the transaction by the Brazilian anti-trust authority. It also won a 10-year contract to manage the three car parks at the HCOR hospital in Sao Paulo and a 4-year contract to operate the 1,600 spaces in the Castanheira Shopping Center in Belem. In Colombia, the City Parking subsidiary won 17 new car parks since the beginning of the year, including four five-year contracts for the operations of shopping centers car parks in Cali. The Mobility & Digital Solutions segment also contributed positively to the Group's development. The launch of the new digital identity of the Group's online sales channel via the transformation of OPnGO into Indigo NEO took place on 21 June 2022. On this same digital platform, in the first semester of 2022, the number of customer accounts creations and new customer activations doubled compared to the same period in 2021. Finally, Indigo NEO has been selected by the City of Paris as part of the tender for the mobile payment on the streets in Paris. INDIGOweel strongly developed its deployment strategy into two distinct areas in the dynamic soft mobility segments, which are complementary to the Group's parking business: on one side, secure bicycle parking through its Cyclopark brand. INDIGOweel deployed 8 Cycloparks in the first semester of the year and plans to install 30 more in the second semester; on the other side, with the dock-station bike-sharing solution for B2B customers, since INDIGOweel already successfully operates the largest fleet of connected bicycles onsite for Airbus and deploys bike-sharing solutions from its parks to meet the challenges of corporate mobility plans. In the first semester of 2022, Smovengo recorded 21.3 million rides (including 52% on electric bikes), 2.2 million more than in the same period of 2021, thanks to the deployment of almost 18,000 bicycles on more than 1,440 stations. The number of subscribers at the end of June 2022 (363,000) is stable compared to June 2021. Also, as part of its CSR strategy, the Group formalized its commitment to Sustainable Development by voluntarily joining the "UN Global Compact" and plans to create a corporate foundation in 2022 that will act on behalf of the city and its inhabitants by supporting projects aimed at preserving, enriching, bringing to life and enhancing the local cultural and natural heritage, as well as promoting inclusion and social cohesion, particularly for young people, based on the values of sport. In the first semester of 2022, the Group deployed more than 1,000 standard electric charging stations in France and aims to install an additional 1,000 in the second half of the year to bring its capacity to 2,800 stations by the end of the year. In addition, two partnerships have been signed with Electra and Engie Solutions to install ultra-fast electric charging hubs in its parks. In Spain, a partnership was signed with Total Energies to equip around 30 car parks in several major cities. Finally, in Canada, the first ultra-fast electric charging hub opened in Vancouver in partnership with Shell Recharge Solutions and Uber, and an investment protocol for 500 standard electric charging stations was signed. The Group's unaudited consolidated financial statements on 30 June 2022 are available in French and English on the website www.group-indigo.com in the Investors / Financial Results section. Key figures (IFRS) million S1-2021 S1-2022 Change at current FX (%) Change at constant FX (%) Revenue 249.5 325.8 +30.6% +28.7% EBITDA 111.3 169.4 +52.2% +50.6% % Margin 44.6% 52.0% +737 bps +756 bps Operating Income 10.9 68.2 +522.9% +515.3% Net Income Attributable to The Owners of The Parent (11.1) 18.0 n.a. n.a. Free Cash-Flow IFRS 78.2 88.4 +13.0% n.a. Cash Conversion ratio IFRS 70.2% 52.2% -25.6% n.a. Net Financial Debt IFRS 2,108.9 2,064.6 -2.1% n.a. ********** Indigo Group Analysts / investors contact: Press contact: Mathieu Barnavon Benjamin Voron ir@group-indigo.com benjamin.voron@group-indigo.com About reported financial figures To make its performance easier to understand and to improve its presentation, the Group presents operational figures (revenue, EBITDA, operating income) on a "Global Proportionate" (GP) basis, including the share that the Group holds joint ventures (mainly in Colombia, Switzerland and Smovengo in France) or that it held until 30 December 2021, in the United States as if they were consolidated proportionately and not under the equity method applied in accordance with IFRS when preparing the consolidated financial statements. For more information on published financial and operational data, you can click on the following link: https://www.group-indigo.com/en/information-data/ About Indigo Group S.A. Indigo Group, holding about 100% of Indigo Infra, OPnGO and INDIGOweel, is a key global player in car parking and urban mobility, that manages more than 1.2 million parking spaces and related services in 11 different countries. Indigo Group is indirectly held at approximately 47.8% by Credit Agricole Assurances, 33.3% by Vauban Infrastructure Partners, 14.4% by MEAG, 0.4% in treasury shares and the remaining by the management. www.group-indigo.com Disclaimer The information in this document has been included in good faith but is for general informational purposes only. All reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information contained herein is not untrue or misleading. It should not be relied on for any specific purpose and no representation or warranty is given with regards to its accuracy or completeness. It should be read together with the information on Indigo Group S.A. (the "Company") published on its website at www.group-indigo.com This document does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for any securities. Its making does not constitute a recommendation regarding any securities. Nothing herein may be used as the basis to enter into any contract or agreement. This document may contain forward-looking objectives and statements about the Company's financial situation, operating results, business activities and expansion strategy. Although based on reasonable assumptions, those objectives and statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including matters not yet known or not currently considered material by the Company, and there can be no assurance that anticipated events will occur or that the objectives set out will actually be achieved. All forward-looking statements are management's present expectations of future events and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The information is valid only at the time of writing and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the objectives on the basis of new information or future or other events, subject to applicable regulations. Additional information on the factors and risks that could have an impact on the Company's financial results is contained in the documents filed by the Company with the French securities regulator (AMF) and available on its website at www.group-indigo.com. Neither the Company nor any affiliates or their officers or employees shall be liable for any loss, damage or expense arising out of any access to or use of this press release, including, without limitation, any loss of profit, indirect, incidental or consequential loss. No part of it may be sold or distributed for commercial gain nor shall it be modified. [1] Consolidated Global Proportionate figures (except for Free Cash-Flow, Cash Conversion Ratio and Net Financial Debt computed according to IFRS standards). IFRS key figures are available at the end of the press release. [2] Treasury and equivalent. ------------------------ This publication embed "Actusnews SECURITY MASTER ". - SECURITY MASTER Key: x5tuYJtmkpmcx55uYp5sa2hsl2hlmGeVZZSXmWFtYsuZaG+TlWZlZsadZnBnmG5u - Check this key: https://www.security-master-key.com. ------------------------ Copyright Actusnews Wire Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-76398-20220927-press-release-results-h1-2022.pdf CAPE MAY, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / Lund's Fisheries is now accredited to conduct its own food safety inspections on all seafood that the company harvests, processes, and ships. The company's in-house lab equipment and testing protocols, built out over the last year, have met internationally recognized standards, and can now be used to test all Lund's products before going directly to consumers. Before being sold, seafood products are required to be tested for microbiological contaminants such as E. coli, listeria, and salmonella. Usually, the products are sent to third-party laboratories to conduct the tests; few seafood companies in the U.S. have the capability to test their own products. To develop this capacity for itself, Lund's Fisheries set out last summer to build out its testing capabilities, aligning them with international best standards and practices and finally getting them officially accredited this month. "This accreditation recognizes our dedication to the quality and safety of our seafood," said Joshua Farinella, Lund's Director of Compliance and Quality Assurance. "Lund's now has direct control over the full chain of custody, so we can guarantee that any product meets our high standards from the boat to the plate." A Lund's Fisheries employee prepares to test for vibrio at the company's newly accredited inspection facility. The lab was accredited by independent third-party Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation, Inc., based on international standards set forth by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC 17025). The accreditation process tested all facets of the inspection process: not only does the accreditation validate the equipment used in the inspections, but it also looks at lab procedures, chain of custody protocols, staff proficiency, and other factors necessary for a well-regulated testing program. Lund's lab at its Cape May, New Jersey facility has been confirmed to meet all those standards. Conducting accredited, in-house food safety inspections is one of the many steps Lund's has taken to ensure the quality of its products. Several of the fisheries that the company participates in, such as Atlantic sea scallops, scup, and loligo and illex squid, have been certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, the most rigorous international seafood certification available. About Lund's Fisheries Inc. Lund's Fisheries, Inc. is a third-generation, family-owned company and a primary producer of fresh and frozen seafood located in Cape May, N.J. Lund's purchases, produces and distributes nearly 75 million pounds of fresh and frozen fish annually. Its fresh and frozen domestic sales stretch nationwide while its frozen exports extend to markets around the world. Lund's Fisheries is committed to developing and managing systems and practices to fish within sustainable limits and track its products back to the harvest location to ensure they are sourced from fisheries that are well-managed, certified as sustainable or actively working towards implementing more responsible and sustainable harvesting practices. Press Contact: Bob Vanasse Stove Boat Communications (202) 333-2628 bob@stoveboat.com SOURCE: Lund's Fisheries Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/717686/Lunds-Fisheries-Achieves-International-Accreditation-to-Conduct-In-House-Microbiological-Inspections-Following-Major-Investments Posters for Tving's new series "Bargain," left, and film "Daemuga" / Courtesy of Tving, Cookie Pictures By Lee Gyu-lee A string of well-received short films are getting picked up and adapted for film and streaming series. Tving's upcoming original series "Bargain," scheduled to hit its streaming service in October, is based on the short film of the same name which came out in 2015. The 14-minute short film, led by filmmaker Lee Chung-hyeon, who is known for helming the thriller "The Call," is about a school girl and a man meeting to engage in sexual conduct for a fee. The man then tries to negotiate the price but it turns out that the girl lured him to the motel to steal and sell his organs. The film garnered acclaim, notching several awards at film festivals including the Busan International Short Film Festival and Korean Film Festival in Paris. The new adaptation, starring Jin Seon-kyu and Jun Jong-seo, will pick up on the original short film's plot and develop it into what happened after the original short film's ending. Amid the negotiation, the man (Jin) and the young woman (Jun) encounter an earthquake which puts them into a perilous situation where they need to find a way to survive. Another short film "Daemuga," led by director Lee Han-jong, has been made into a feature film, keeping its original name and is slated to hit local theaters on Oct. 12. This will be Lee Han-jong's first feature film debut. The film has a mixture of genres, containing elements of comedy, drama and even thriller. It revolves around three shamans Seung-joon (Park Sung-woong), Chung-dam (Yang Hyun-min) and Shin-nam (Ryu Gyeong-soo). The three completely different shamans are put up against each other to perform the exorcism to gain vast sums of money. These are not the first short films to be picked up and adapted. Netflix's sci-fi original series "The Silent Sea," released last December, was also made from the series director's previous 40-minute film "The Sea of Tranquility" in 2014. The sci-fi film, about a clinical pathologist traveling back to the moon to find out about her sister's death, caught the eye of actor and producer Jung Woo-sung and was adapted into an eight-part series, starring Gong Yoo and Bae Doo-na. Set in the year 2075, when Earth has become almost uninhabitable, a group of astronauts, including biologist Song Ji-an (Bae) and the team's leader, Han Yoon-jae (Gong), are sent to retrieve samples from an abandoned research facility on the moon. The series made it into the third spot on the global streaming chart after its release. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / The Power Play by The Market Herald has announced the release of new interviews with SoLVBL Solutions and Blue Sky Uranium discussing 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. SoLVBL (CSE:SOLV) announces first pilot agreement for flagship cybersecurity solution SoLVBL (SOLV) has signed a pilot agreement with Healthy Habit Limited. Healthy Habit is one of the U.K.'s leading distributors of CBD-infused health and wellness products. The pilot agreement seeks to integrate the Q by SoLVBL cybersecurity solution through Healthy Habit's technology infrastructure. Kaiser Akbar, SoLVBL's President and CEO, sat down with Sabrina Cuthbert to discuss the agreement For the full interview with Kaiser Akbar and to learn about SoLVBL, click here. Blue Sky Uranium (TSXV:BSK) launches fieldwork and advances priority targets at the Amarillo Grande Project Blue Sky Uranium Corp. (BSK) is launching a comprehensive field exploration program at the Cateo Cuatro sector to refine drilling targets. The company has also advanced the Ivana East target to the drill-testing stage. President & CEO Nikolaos Cacos sat down with Daniella Atkinson to discuss the news For the full interview with Nikolaos Cacos and to learn about Blue Sky Uranium, 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 marketing@themarketherald.ca themarketherald.ca SOURCE:?The Market Herald View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/717701/The-Power-Play-by-The-Market-Herald-Releases-New-Interviews-with-SoLVBL-Solutions-and-Blue-Sky-Uranium-Discussing-Their-Latest-News Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2022) - Exploits Discovery Corp. (CSE: NFLD) (OTCQX: NFLDF) (FSE: 634) ("Exploits" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has acquired, through staking, the 100% interest in six claim units within the Exploits Sub Zone area of central Newfoundland. The boundaries of three of today's acquisitions are contiguous to exploration lands held by New Found Gold and Labrador Gold where over a dozen drill rigs are operating. Exploits' structural interpretation indicates that the Appleton Fault and the broader structural corridor extends North and across these acquired claims. Jeff Swinoga, Chief Executive Officer of Exploits, comments, "We are thrilled to acquire these strategic claims and our talented local exploration team is already looking forward to unlocking their gold discovery potential. Today's success representsa key milestone in our journey to potentially become the next major exploration success located in Newfoundland and Labrador. We will be providing further details of today's acquisition in the near term." Figure 1: Overview map showing new claims acquired by Exploits. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6393/138618_1ce0bfd274c9b805_002full.jpg National Instrument 43-101 disclosure Ken Tylee, P.Geo., VP of Exploration with Exploits, is a qualified person within the provinces of Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Tylee has reviewed and approved the technical information presented herein. About Exploits Discovery Corp. Exploits is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of mineral projects in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The Company is actively exploring its gold projects in the Exploits Subzone, covering approximately 2,000 square kilometres of mineral tenements. The Company's Exploration 2.0 methodology is focused on discovering high-grade structurally hosted epizonal gold similar to New Found Gold's success at the Keats and Lotto Zones in the Appleton zone. Exploits is leveraging its local team and geologic understanding to become one of the most extensive explorers in the Exploits Subzone. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD /s/ "Jeff Swinoga" President and CEO For more information, please contact: Shanda Kilborn VP, Investor Relations +1 (778) 819-2708 investors@exploits.gold https://exploitsdiscovery.com/ Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of accuracy of this news release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, market conditions, availability of financing, actual results of the Company's exploration and other activities, environmental risks, future metal prices, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, delays in obtaining governmental approvals and permits, and other risks in the mining industry. All the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. 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 save as required by applicable law. Acknowledgments Exploits Discovery would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Junior Exploration Assistance Program from the Department of Natural Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138618 CUPERTINO (dpa-AFX) - Tech giant Apple Inc. (AAPL) has shifted some production of its flagship smartphone iPhone 14 from China to India. 'The new iPhone 14 lineup introduces groundbreaking new technologies and important safety capabilities. We're excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India,' the company said in a statement. Foxconn, which is Apple's key iPhone assembler, will manufacture the smartphone at its Sriperumbudur factory on the outskirts of Chennai, India. This is the first time the company will be manufacturing its latest smartphone model in India, although it had been building older models in the country since 2017. Apple launched the iPhone 14 earlier this month. The company will sell India-produced phones locally but also export them to other markets globally. Apple assembles most of its iPhones in China, however, the continuing tensions between the US and China has prompted the company to transfer some of its production outside the country. 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. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Australian Federal Police has revealed that it is gathering 'crucial evidence' from the breach of Optus data. The officials said that 'working closely' with overseas law enforcement authorities to identify the offenders behind the hack of telecom provider Optus. 'Operation Hurricane has been launched to identify the criminals behind the alleged breach and to help shield Australians from identity fraud,' the AFP said in a statement. Optus, Australia's second-largest telecommunications company, last week disclosed that it was hacked. The company faced $1 million extortion demand to prevent the sale of what an attacker says are up to 11.2 million sensitive customer records. The information includes a customer's name, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, driver's licenses, and passport numbers, but no account passwords or financial information. Optus is a subsidiary of the Singaporean telecommunications conglomerate Singtel Group. The company claimed that it 'immediately shut down the attack' as soon as it came to light. According to reports, the hacker has also released a sample of 10,200 records from the breach on dark web. Assistant Commissioner Cyber Command Justine Gough said while the investigation was going to be extremely complex and very lengthy it was important to note that the AFP specialized in investigations of this type. 'This is an ongoing investigation, but it is important the community knows the AFP and our partners are doing everything within scope to identify the offenders responsible, and to also ensure we can protect individuals who are now potentially vulnerable to identity theft,' Assistant Commissioner Gough said. 'We are aware of reports of stolen data being sold on the dark web and that is why the AFP is monitoring the dark web using a range of specialist capabilities. Criminals, who use pseudonyms and anonymizing technology, can't see us but I can tell you that we can see them. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Artly, a Seattle, WA-based coffee brand, closed an $8M Series Pre-A funding round. The company intends to use the funds to further invest in its technology and bring its artisan coffee to more locations. Led by Meng Wang, CEO, and Daniel Lee, VP, Artly uses robotics, computer vision, and deep learning combined with skills of baristas to produce coffee. Artly robot baristas learn fast, and itsmaster barista Joe Yang uses their proprietary imitation learning platform to teach the robots new tricks. Each robot barista uses deep learning-based computer vision algorithms to monitor drink quality and guide the arm at each step, ensuring a perfect cup with every order. The company opened its first location in May 2021 in Portland, Oregon. Since then, they have opened three more California Bay Area locations. More recently, they opened the first location in its hometown, Seattle, Washington, near Pike Place Market. They are ready to expand to more locations in the US later this year. FinSMEs 27/09/2022 Theta Capital Management, an Amsterdam, The Netherlands-based fund manager, raised a total of $500m in 2021 to invest in crypto-native venture capital funds. The investment was made through its Theta Blockchain Ventures fund-of-funds program which seeks diverse exposure to the most promising Web 3.0 projects globally at their earliest private round valuations, with a focus on the core infrastructure of this new technological paradigm. To capitalise on the opportunities presented by the current market volatility, the firm is expanding the strategy with its third fund dedicated to the space, Theta Blockchain Ventures III, which has a close on 31st October 2022. Founded in 2001 and led by John van Marle, Theta Capital is a fully AIFMD licensed manager investing in crypto-native venture capital since January 2018. FinSMEs 27/09/2022 WPP (NYSE: WPP) acquired JeffreyGroup, a Miami, FL-based corporate communications, public affairs, and marketing consulting firm. The amount of the deal were not disclosed. With the acquisition, JeffreyGroup will join WPPs Hill+Knowlton Strategies*, creating a communications agency presence in Latin America. Led by Jeffrey Sharlach, Founder and Chairman, JoffreyGroup is an independent corporate communications, public affairs and marketing consulting firm in Latin America, with a 29-year track for companies and brands across a broad range of industry sectors. The agency specialises in developing brand and corporate communications programs and public affairs strategies for clients across a broad range of industries, including Amazon, American Airlines, AstraZeneca, Bacardi, Bayer, BlackRock, Johnson & Johnson, Marriott International, Salesforce, TikTok, and Walt Disney World Resorts. Headquartered in Miami, the firm has 330 people across offices in Mexico City, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires. Headquartered in New York, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Inc., is an international communications consultancy, providing services to local, multinational, and global clients. H+K operates more than 70 offices in nearly 40 countries worldwide, as well as an extensive associate network, delivering award-winning campaigns to clients across all sectors and disciplines and with a focus on continued innovation for the industry. FinSMEs 26/09/2022 Yonder, a Dublin, Ireland-based provider of a platform to automate health insurance and retirement benefits, raised $2.6M in funding. The round was led by Northzone and Frontline Ventures, with participation form Cocoa, Broadstone, and Uncommon Projects. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate product development, hire across engineering and product, along with go-to-market and commercial roles, as it expands further into existing markets such as the UK and Ireland, and new markets to meet demand across the rest of Europe. Founded in 2022, by a team of serial entrepreneurs and engineers including CEO Luke Mackey, former Ireland Country Manager for ride-hailing unicorn Bolt and founder of food-tech app Bamboo, CTO Patrick OBoyle, former CTO at Bamboo, and Director of Engineering Deepak Baliga, former Engineer at food-tech unicorn Flipdish, Yonder provides a platform that automates health insurance and retirement benefits, globally. With an app, employees can create and manage their benefits. The integrated platform partners with insurance and investment providers to streamline the creation and day-to-day management of Health, Dental, Vision and Pensions for employees in minutes. Currently in Beta, Yonder is adding companies to its waitlist and onboarding them periodically. Companies will soon be able to integrate current HRIS tools like Personio, Humaans or BambooHR to sync with the platform. FinSMEs 27/09/2022 A scene from the film, "Remember" / Courtesy of Acemaker Movieworks By Kwak Yeon-soo Nam Joo-hyuk is returning to the big screen for the first time in two years as an innocent young man who becomes embroiled in a murder plot in "Remember," directed by Lee Il-hyung, best known for his 2016 crime action film, "A Violent Prosecutor." A Korean remake of Atom Egoyan's 2015 Nazi-hunter film of the same title, "Remember" revolves around Pil-joo (Lee Sung-min), an old man with dementia who lost his family during Japan's colonial rule of Korea (1910-45). He goes in search of vengeance against pro-Japan collaborators, whom he believes were responsible for the deaths of his family 60 years ago. Unable to drive safely due to memory loss, Pil-joo asks In-kyu (Nam), a cash-strapped man in his 20s, to be his driver for a week without sharing details about his secret scheme. But In-kyu becomes wrongfully accused of murder and ends up accompanying the old man to try to stop his killing and prove his own innocence. Nam, who made his first public appearance in months after a school bullying scandal, said he was drawn to the untold story. "I couldn't take my eyes off the script that depicted a very ordinary young man who accidentally becomes embroiled in a murder plot," he said. Nam talked about the difficulties of filming car chase scenes where he had to perform with a supercar. "It was uncomfortable driving the supercar because it was too small for me. I was also afraid I might crash the car," he said. Actors Nam Joo-hyuk, left, and Lee Sung-min pose during an online press conference for the film, "Remember," Monday. Courtesy of Acemaker Movieworks On 23rd September, H.E. Ambassador Wang Lixin was interviewed by PSM, the state television of Maldives and answered questions on 50 years of China-Maldives relations and the future development, the Taiwan question, the cooperation between the two countries in practical areas and multilateral affairs, and the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The full text is as follows. Question 1: As we know the Maldives and China have always enjoyed a close bilateral relationship, based on mutual respect and understanding. And recently, Maldives government assured its firm commitment to the One-China Policy, as the foundation of its diplomatic relations with China, also reaffirming this position in the international sphere. Therefore, first of all, I would like to ask how you would describe the relations between Maldives and China? Wang Lixin: China and Maldives are friendly neighbors and the traditional friendship between the two peoples dates back to ancient times. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Maldives in 1972, the two countries have always respected each other, treated each other as equals, and helped each other in unity. The China-Maldives bilateral relationship based on solid political foundation achieved significant progress. The China-Maldives relations have become a model of friendly exchanges and mutual benefit and win-win cooperation between countries with different systems and cultures in international arena. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the China-Maldives relations have maintained a good momentum of steady development. In September 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a historic state visit to Maldives and the two sides agreed to establish future-oriented all-round friendly and cooperative partnership, lifting the China-Maldives relations to a new level. In July 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping had a phone call with Maldivian President Ibrahim Solih and reached important consensus on deepening and expanding exchanges and cooperation in various fields between the two countries, setting the direction regarding the future development of the bilateral relations. In January 2022, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid a successful visit to Maldives. This visit achieved fruitful outcomes and opened a new chapter in China-Maldives relations. Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid visited China twice over the past year, which enhanced the mutual trust and friendship between the leaders of the two countries. This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-Maldives diplomatic ties. Over the past five decades, the relations between the two countries have withstood the test of time and international vicissitudes. In this regard, one of the most valuable experiences is that both sides support each other on issues of our respective core interests and major concerns. Whether in response to the Indian Ocean tsunami or the fresh water crisis of Male or fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese people have always stood shoulder to shoulder with the Maldivian people to help Maldives get over through all the difficulties. Recently, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, in disregard of the strong opposition and serious representations of the Chinese side, went ahead with the visit to China's Taiwan region. This reckless move seriously interfered in China's internal affairs and seriously undermined China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. In order to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, China had to take a series of necessary countermeasures as firm response to the US side. The majority of the international community including Maldives has spoken out to support China on the Taiwan question. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The Taiwan question related to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and bears China's core interests. The one-China principle serves the political premise and foundation of China's relations with all the other countries all over the world. Maldives has a longstanding commitment to the one-China principle and reiterated recently that the Maldivian government would take this principle as the foundation of the relations of the two countries and continue to uphold the principle in international affairs. The Chinese side highly appreciates that. Im in full confidence that China-Maldives relations based on firm political foundation will embark on a new journey towards greater development and success with the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic ties as a new starting point. China is ready to work with the Maldivian side to pass on friendship, enhance mutual trust, expand cooperation and promote the future-oriented all-round friendly and cooperative partnership between China and Maldives to a new level. Question 2: How important is the Maldives-China relations in regional affairs and in the international arena? What have the two countries achieved so far? Wang Lixin: China and Maldives are both developing countries, with same or similar views on a number of international and regional issues. Both sides have maintained close communication and coordination in international affairs, such as human rights issue, anti-Covid-19 pandemic efforts and global sustainable development, and have made positive contributions in safeguarding peace and development of the region and beyond. China welcomes and values Maldives unique and constructive role in international and regional affairs. We actively supported Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid to undertake his responsibilities as President of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. After Mr. Shahid took his office in the UN, we worked closely with Mr. Shahid in the joint efforts to fight against COVID-19 pandemic, speed up the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and carry out Global Development Initiative. The Chinese side is ready to work with the Maldivian side to stick to the true multilateralism and safeguard the authority of the UN and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, international equality and justice as well as the common interests of developing countries. We support and congratulate Maldives becoming a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. We look forward to close cooperation with Maldives in SCO. During 14-16 September, President Xi Jinping attended the 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO in Samarkand. At the meeting, President Xi Jinping profoundly summarized the successful experience of SCO into five points - Political trust, Win-win cooperation, Equality between nations, Openness and inclusiveness, Equity and justice, pointing out that these five points fully embody the Shanghai Spirit, represent the source of strength for the development of the SCO, which also is the fundamental guide we must continue to follow. These five points are the practice of genuine multilateralism, and an answer to the question of what and how to promote a new type of regional cooperation in the new era, which is of great significance in guiding the development of SCO and promoting the healthy and fair development of international relations. On the future direction of SCO development, President Xi Jinping put forward five proposals: to enhance mutual support, to expand security cooperation, to deepen practical cooperation, to enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and to uphold multilateralism. These proposals meet the common aspirations of the member states for unity, stability and development, and draw a roadmap for SCOs direction and new prospects for cooperation. At the meeting, President Xi Jinping also introduced The Global Security Initiative and The Global Development Initiative, calling on all countries to stay true to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, calling on fostering global development partnership to achieve more robust, greener and more balanced global development. These two initiatives are China's wisdom and power contributed to world peace and development as well as the progress of human civilization. We hope that Maldives will take active part in SCO cooperation and make its due contribution to the development of SCO and get benefits from it at the same time. Question 3: Several large infrastructure projects have been conducted by China in the Maldiveswhat are you focused in achieving in your tenure Wang Lixin: The friendly exchanges between China and Maldives have enjoyed a long history. About 600 years ago, Zheng He, a Chinese navigator, visited Maldives twice, which showed that the ancient Maritime Silk Road had already connected the Chinese people and Maldivian people long time ago. In 2014, during President Xi Jinping's historic state visit to the Maldives, the two sides reached important consensus on jointly building the "Belt and Road". Maldives became one of the first countries who took part in the Maritime Silk Road cooperation and benefited from it as well. As an all-round friendly and cooperative partner, China has been always strongly supporting the Maldives to speed up economic and social development and improve self-development capability. Recent years have witnessed fruitful results on jointly building the "Belt and Road" by China and Maldives. China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, the landmark project of jointly building the "Belt and Road" is well-known by Maldivian people as the symbol of the profound friendship between China and Maldives. The bridge, witnessing over 100 million crossings by the local people, has dramatically promoted the sustainable development of Maldivian economy and society in the past four years. Chinese enterprises have actively participated in the construction of social housing projects. So far more than 11,000 social housing units have been completed, which have contributed a lot in the improvement of living conditions of thousands and thousands of Maldivian families. The news of the Maldivian families relocating to new houses has become a hot topic among the Maldivian people. I attach great importance to China-Maldives practical cooperation. During my tenure, I will work closely with the Maldivian side to push forward the early completion of Expansion and Upgradation of Velana International Airport Project and Micro-grid Seawater Desalination Project, so that the Maldivian people can benefit from these projects at an early date. Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic has stalled the implementation of some projects such as the China-Maldives Eye Center in Hulhumale. We will actively push these projects to be launched as soon as possible while the epidemic is under control. At the same time, we hope to expand cooperation between China and Maldives in the fields of health, environmental protection, blue economy as well as agriculture and fishery, to help implement the strategy of diversification of the Maldivian Economy. China is also willing to strengthen cooperation with Maldives in addressing climate change, jointly implement the Paris Agreement and help Maldives overcome practical difficulties. Maldives is welcomed to take part in the cooperation projects for sustainable development under Global Development Initiative proposed by the Chinese side. Question 4: China is among the main partners of Maldives. What can be done to further boost the link between the two countries? Which areas can be further focused? Wang Lixin: The history of 50 years diplomatic ties between China and Maldives has proved that the China-Maldives relations have already become a model of friendly exchanges, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation among countries, which were very proud of. Looking into the future, the two countries should promote all-round cooperation to a new high and write a new chapter for the friendly and mutually-beneficial cooperation with a more far-reaching eyesight and broader vision. In this regard, I would like to put forward the following suggestions. Firstly, both sides should blueprint and steer the future development of China-Maldives relations under the guidance of the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries. Secondly, both sides should adhere to the valuable experience to ensure the steady and smooth development of the bilateral relations. Both sides should continue to respect each other, treat each other as equals, help each other with sincerity as well as support each other on the issues of our respective core interests and major concerns. China will continue to support Maldives in safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity and in pursuing an independent foreign policy. We believe that the Maldivian government will uphold its longstanding commitment to the one-China principle and firmly support China to defend its core interests. Thirdly, both sides should deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in full scale so as to benefit the people of the two countries. In this regard, both sides should continue to push forward Belt & Road cooperation, speed up major projects and tourist cooperation. I hope the Maldivian side could finish the ratification of China-Maldives FTA as early as possible in order to boost the post Covid-19 recovery of the Maldivian economy. We should explore new cooperation areas including telecommunication, big data and marine economy. We need coordinate closely in international affairs to safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and an international order based on international law. Finally, both sides should expand the people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Amity between the people holds the key to state-to-state relations. The People-to-people and cultural exchanges serve as an effective channel to increase understanding and sentimental attachment between the people of the two countries. Now, Maldivian students have returned to China to resume their study step by step. In the future, we welcome more and more Maldivian youngsters to further their study in China. A Chinese language center based in Villa College will open soon, which will bring more convenience for the Maldivians, especially young people, to learn Chinese language and culture. Maldives is a world-famous tourist country and also a one of the most favored destinations for Chinese tourists. With the facilitation of visa exemption agreement and as the Covid-19 situation getting better, I believe that in the near future the number of tourists and visitors moving between our two countries will increase greatly. We are also working on resuming direct flights between the two countries. Hopefully it can start next month, which will greatly facilitate the people-to-people exchanges. Im very optimistic about future development of our bilateral relations. Question 5: Can you introduce some updated information about the upcoming 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China? Wang Lixin: Next month, the Communist Party of China will convene its 20th National Congress. It will be an important meeting to be held at a critical time as China embarks on a new journey toward its second centenary goal of building a modern socialist country in all respects. At this national congress, the Communist Party of China will fully review the major achievements made and valuable experience gained in Chinas reform and development endeavors. It will also formulate programs of action and overarching policies to meet Chinas new development goals on the journey ahead in the new era and the new expectations of the people. We will continue to follow the Chinese path to modernization to achieve the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and we will continue to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. By doing so, we will create new opportunities for the world with new advances in Chinas development and contribute our vision and strength to world peace and development and human progress. Question 6: In conclusion, how would you describe Maldives? Have you travelled around, met people and had any local food? Wang Lixin: Ive been living in Male for one year. Its lucky to be posted to this beautiful and friendly countries. Ive enjoyed my stay here as Im taken very good care of by the Maldivian government and people. Id like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitudes to Maldivian government and people for their hospitality and friendship. Maldives, known as the Blue Heaven floating on Indian Ocean, is well-known for its abundant tourist resources. Maldives is very popular in China and among the top overseas tourist destinations for Chinese tourists before the pandemic, and a lot of Chinese tourists come here for the holiday and honeymoon. The beautiful scenery of Maldives has deeply impressed me. Hundreds of atolls and islands look like a string of dazzling pearls floating on the vast blue Indian Ocean. Im really longing to visit more and more atolls and islands if time allowed later on. Ive also tried some local foods like mashuni, chicken and tuna curry, they are all delicious. In the future, I will take more visits to islands to explore new areas for cooperation and expand people-to-people cultural exchanges between the two countries. I will try my best to expand the practical cooperation and friendly exchanges between China and Maldives to bring more tangible benefits to the people of the two countries. Im confident that our bilateral relations will flourish in the future with the joint efforts of the two sides. On September 22, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York. Expressing satisfaction with the continuous enrichment of the substance of bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, the two sides agreed to act upon the important common understanding reached by the two heads of state, and work toward the building of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future by further deepening practical cooperation in various fields. The two sides exchanged views on the G20 Bali Summit. Noting the negative spillover effects of the Ukraine crisis and the grave risks of global economic recession, Wang Yi stressed the importance for major developed countries and emerging economies to take the Bali Summit as an opportunity to strengthen policy coordination and cooperation to bring hope to global recovery. They also expressed the hope that Indonesia, as the rotating presidency, will play a leadership role in encouraging all parties to stay focused on their original aspirations, maintain solidarity, and make development the centerpiece of their endeavor, and in steering the summit to reach consensus on pressing issues such as food, climate, energy, and supply chains. China fully supports Indonesia in hosting the summit and is ready to coordinate closely with Indonesia to ensure positive outcomes of the summit. The two sides also exchanged views on the Myanmar issue. Wang Yi said that China supports Indonesia in taking over the rotating chair of ASEAN next year, sticking to the "ASEAN Way", maintaining ASEAN solidarity, and encouraging all parties in Myanmar to engage in consultation and dialogue and reach political consensus within the framework of its constitution and laws. More than nine in 10 Korean companies aren't considering bringing their manufacturing back home due mainly to labor regulations here, a poll showed Tuesday. Of the 306 Korean businesses that have overseas operations, 93.5 percent said they have no plans for reshoring, according to the survey by the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF). Nearly 98 percent of corporations with a workforce of 300 or more said they are not considering reshoring, with the comparable figure for firms with fewer than 300 workers coming to 87.5 percent. Some 30 percent cited Korea's labor regulations as the biggest hurdle for their possible reshoring. It was followed by the country's tax system with 24.5 percent, environmental restrictions with 16.7 percent and zoning rules with 13.1 percent. Slightly over 82 percent said they don't know enough about Seoul's reshoring promotion system. The Yoon Suk-yeol government has promised to expand support for companies that move production back home, including state financial incentives and tax cuts. The respondents also cited more tax breaks as the most pressing issue for reshoring at 31 percent, followed by bigger government subsidies at 27.8 percent and more financial incentives at 21.6 percent, according to the survey. The KEF called on the government to introduce a wage system based on performance and push for deregulation in the Seoul capital area in order to help promote reshoring. Many Korean companies have moved their production facilities overseas in recent years due to high wages and tough labor laws here. (Yonhap) Yoido Full Gospel Church Senior Pastor Lee Young-hoon speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the church's office in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, Sept. 23. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul Thousands of Christian believers to hold prayer rally for peace on Korean Peninsula By Park Han-sol In the eyes of Yoido Full Gospel Church Senior Pastor Lee Young-hoon, the upcoming Pentecostal World Conference (PWC) marks a new turning point for Protestant churches in Korea. Thousands of representatives and congregants of Pentecostal denominations from over 150 countries around the globe known as the Pentecostal World Fellowship will flock to Seoul from Oct. 12 to 14 for the 26th PWC, organized by the largest Protestant church in South Korea. This year is the third time for the triennial event, which has been held since 1947, to take place in Seoul, after 1973 and 1998. "It's the first large-scale international spiritual celebration that will be attended by church representatives from all four corners of the world since the outbreak of the coronavirus. The event will, hopefully, signal the beginning of the post-COVID-19 future," the pastor told The Korea Times in a recent interview at the church's office in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul. An official poster for the 26th Pentecostal World Conference that will be hosted in Seoul from Oct. 12 to 14 at the Yoido Full Gospel Church and the Pyeonghwa Nuri Park in Paju, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of Yoido Full Gospel Church Themed "Pentecostal Revival in the Next Generation," it will be a spiritual assembly centering on the role and future of Pentecostalism and Protestant Christianity as a whole at a time when general interest in organized religion is dwindling as the pandemic continues to test people's faith, according to Lee. "We should no longer be solely concerned with our current generations, but focus on and nurture the next. Through this year's PWC, we aim to pass on the spiritual legacy and blessing so that the succeeding generation can carry on the mission," he said. Lee noted that the present-day Korea's Protestant Christian circle is in a state of crisis, with many churches experiencing sharp decreases in their membership. "Throughout the years, the country's Christian circle has experienced a series of religious divisions and power struggles. Some lost their essence as they began focusing more on their outward appearances and transforming into the 'Kingdom of Man' rather than the 'Kingdom of God,'" he said, without shying away from voicing criticism. COVID-19 has further exacerbated the situation as the public's overall distrust of some Protestant churches grew, followed by clusters of church-related infections in 2020 and some religious institutions' initial failure to comply with the government's virus response measures. To rebuild public trust, he said, it is time to recall the fundamental role played by churches in serving the poor and downtrodden. "When churches were established two millennia ago, their mission was two-pronged first, to aid the poor and vulnerable, and second, to preach the Gospel. Nowadays, the house of God in Korea is so focused on its second evangelical mission that it began to forget its primary role, thus losing touch with reality." Ahead of Christmas last year, the Yoido Full Gospel Church delivered boxes of basic living necessities worth 400 million won to some 800 low-income households residing in "jjokbangchon," or shanty towns packed with tiny rooms barely big enough for one person, in the central Seoul area. Courtesy of Yoido Full Gospel Church During the pandemic, the Yoido Full Gospel Church has made it its goal to lend a helping hand to those who have been hit hardest by the outbreak of the virus small business owners, families with multiple children, child-headed households, recipients of basic livelihood security subsidies and, most recently, victims of severe flood damage. "In the case of small business owners, we helped those who were in blind spots when it came to the government's pandemic-related subsidies," Lee explained. "For example, the government's monetary aid was given out to those who have tax records, meaning the people who earn over 3 million won ($2,100) a month. Then, what about those with far less monthly earnings?" Accordingly, the megachurch distributed cash handouts worth a total of 10.6 billion won ($7.4 million) at the beginning of this year, and again, 5 billion won for low-income households ahead of the Chuseok holiday. A large number of Pentecostal believers will soon gather in Seoul to rebuild their faith and recall their religious missions. The pastor expressed hope that the 26th PWC can serve as a critical point that suggests a new direction for Protestant churches here. "Through our Pentecostal movement, we will once again remind ourselves how to become one and serve society and work toward bringing social salvation. I believe the conference can thus help the stagnant Korean churches take a new leap," he said. The opening ceremony of the 24th Pentecostal World Conference held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from Sept. 7 to 10 in 2016 / Courtesy of Pentecostal World Fellowship He added that the climax of Seoul's hosting of the PWC will be marked by the "DMZ Crusade" on Oct. 14. Some 20,000 believers including 5,000 Pentecostal church officials worldwide and other Korean congregants will convene at the Pyeonghwa Nuri Park in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, located just south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), for the large-scale prayer rally. "It will be a place to pray together for the restoration of peace on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said. "In recent months, the news of the Russia-Ukraine war has placed everyone in distress. It is time to remind the world of the state of Korea's division once again, which was the result of an equally tumultuous war, and the country's need to achieve peaceful reunification." The Yoido Full Gospel Church has been engaging with North Korea in a humanitarian way for years. Most evidently, the megachurch has been spearheading a project to establish an eight-story cardiac hospital in the heart of Pyongyang since December 2007. The hospital's construction has remained on hold since the sinking of the South Korean military vessel, the Cheonan, by the North in the West Sea in March 2010 which soured the two Koreas' relations but is expected to resume once the North's border opens again, according to Lee. While the 26th PWC will be held in-person at the Yoido Full Gospel Church and the Pyeonghwa Nuri Park, all events taking place throughout the three-day conference, from plenary sessions to workshops and forums, will also be livestreamed on YouTube for the first time in the PWC's history and will offer multilingual interpretation. Nurses from Linn and Benton counties were disciplined by the Oregon State Board of Nursing during the agency's September meeting. According to the state board, Andrea Brown of Blodgett and Patricia Twombly of Harrisburg were both disciplined. Brown practiced nursing without a current nursing license, according to Oregon State Board of Nursing, and the board fined her $1,750. Disciplinary documents said Brown first got her license in February 2000. Her registered nursing license expired March 27, and Brown failed to renew her license in a timely manner. She reportedly practiced nursing without a license for 70 days, between March 27 and July 21. In Linn County, the board placed Twombly's nursing license on a one-year probation after she reportedly violated a board order. According to disciplinary documents, in September 2020, Twombly agreed to a two-year probation saying she would abstain from using prescription drugs except for a legal prescription. On three occasions in April and May 2021, Twombly tested positive for unprescribed controlled substances. During her one-year probation, Twombly must comply with multiple conditions including working under direct observation of another licensed healthcare professional. Corvallis police have arrested a Portland man on suspicion of multiple sex crimes believed to have been committed in Benton County. Officers arrested Brodi Michael Madrid, 20, on Monday, Sept. 26. He is accused of two counts of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, one count of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of fourth-degree assault. According to court documents, Madrid is accused of sexually abusing someone who was incapable of giving consent due to physical helplessness on or around Sept. 26. Madrid also allegedly injured the person. Madrid was scheduled to be arraigned in Benton County Circuit Court on Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 27. Permanent representative to the United Nations Kim Song of North Korea addresses the 77th session of the U.N. General Assembly, Sept. 26, at the U.N. headquarters. AP-Yonhap North Korea lashed out at the United States on Monday, accusing the U.S. of creating confrontation on the Korean Peninsula with the intention of toppling the Pyongyang regime while also trying to unjustly force "Western values" on sovereign states such as North Korea. The latest attack on the U.S. was made by head of the North Korean mission to the United Nations. "The security environment of the Korean Peninsula is now caught in a vicious cycle of tensions and confrontation due to the growing hostility of the United States and its following forces against the DPRK," the North Korean diplomat, Kim Song, said while addressing the U.N. General Assembly in New York, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The North Korean diplomat added the U.S. is planning to conduct a joint military exercise, which he said arouses serious concerns and is an "extremely dangerous act" that can drive the situation on the Korean Peninsula to the "brink of war." Noting the North's parliament recently adopted a law on the automatic use of nuclear weapons when the country is attacked, Kim insisted Pyongyang had no choice but to adopt such a policy due to U.S. hostility. "The United States compelled the DPRK to adopt a law on the policy of nuclear forces in defiance of the U.S. hostility," Kim argued. "The United States should clearly understand that its heinous and hostile policy against the DPRK over the past 30 years had just brought about today's reality, and ask and answer itself and ponder over how far it would prolong this situation in the future," he added. U.S. President Joe Biden said last week that North Korea "continues to blatantly violate U.N. sanctions." The U.S. says the North has fired more than 30 ballistic missiles this year, each of which violated U.N. Security Council sanctions. Seoul and Washington also believe the North is preparing to conduct a nuclear test, which will be its seventh test if conducted. The North Korean diplomat said Pyongyang rejects all U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Korea, accusing the Security Council of being controlled by the U.S. and its followers. "The U.N. Security Council does not say even a single word about the high-handedness and arbitrariness, reckless arms build-up and war crimes of the United States, but only (inaudible) DPRK of its righteous effort to bolster national defense capabilities on a case by case basis," said Kim. "As long as the double standards and unfairness and high handedness and arbitrariness of the United States are not removed, any decisions or resolutions adopted by the U.N. Security Council can neither have reasonable binding force nor contribute to ensuring global peace and security," he added. (Yonhap) U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price / Reuters-Yonhap North Korea may conduct its seventh nuclear test without warning but the United States remains committed to engaging with Pyongyang in serious diplomacy, a state department spokesperson said Monday. Ned Price also said the North currently remains in a period of provocations. "We have spoken of North Korea's pattern of provocations in recent months. We have warned repeatedly that North Korea could well conduct another nuclear test, its seven nuclear tests with no warning," the spokesperson told a daily press briefing. "The DPRK tends to go through periods of provocation, periods of engagement. It's very clear that we are in a period of provocation now," he added, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. North Korea conducted its sixth and last nuclear test in September 2017. Seoul and Washington have said Pyongyang appears to have finished all preparations for its seventh nuclear test. The department spokesperson said the U.S. remains willing to engage in dialogue with North Korea. "We have made clear together with our allies in the region that we are prepared for meaningful dialogue, meaningful diplomacy to help advance the prospects for complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," said Price. "This offer of dialogue and diplomacy has at least so far been met only with additional provocations," he added. North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile into the East Sea on Sunday (Seoul time). The country has fired more than 30 ballistic missiles this year, according to U.S. officials. Price said the U.S. will be ready when North Korea is ready to engage in diplomacy. He added North Korean provocations will only strengthen U.S. commitment to the joint defense of South Korea and other U.S. allies in the region. "None of these provocations have (changed) or will change our essential orientation. That is our stalwart commitment to the defense of the ROK and Japan, our treaty allies," he said, also noting Vice President Kamala Harris was currently on a visit to the region to show the U.S.' "support for our treaty allies." The U.S. vice president is currently on a visit to Japan to attend the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. She will be traveling to Seoul on Thursday for a meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol and other South Korean officials there. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name. (Yonhap) PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AnPac Bio-Medical Science Co., Ltd. (AnPac Bio, the Company or we) (ANPC), a biotechnology company with operations in the United States and China focused on early cancer screening and detection, announced that on September 26, 2022, the Company and a group of nine institutional and individual investors (the Investors) have signed legally binding agreements for the investment in the Company by the Investors of approximately $3.67 Million. Under the terms of the various Shares Purchase Agreements, the Investors will invest in a private offering, in the aggregate, $3.67 Million to purchase 36.7 million of the Companys Class A shares. It is expected that the investment will be completed in late September 2022. Dr. Chris Yu, Co-Chairman of the board and Co-CEO of the Company, commented: This equity investment is important to the Companys operations as well as research and development including its Class III medical device clinical trial. We believe the investments signal continued confidence in the long term and fundamental prospects of our Company and its technology. We are entering into the critical Class III medical device clinical trial at three well-known hospitals. The successful completion of this clinical trial and obtaining a Class III medical device license is very important to our efforts to commercialize our cancer detection technology and Company valuation. We believe we have a very strong innovation track record in addition to the worlds largest multi-cancer detection sample size (in the new generation cancer detection technology space) according to a 2021 report by US marketing and research firm Frost & Sullivan. About AnPac Bio AnPac Bio is a biotechnology company focused on early cancer screening and detection, with 155 issued patents as of March 31, 2022. With two certified clinical laboratories in China and one CLIA and CAP accredited clinical laboratory in the United States, AnPac Bio performs a suite of cancer screening and detection tests, including CDA (Cancer Differentiation Analysis), bio-chemical, immunological, and genomics tests. According to a report by Frost & Sullivan, AnPac Bio ranked first globally in multi-cancer screening and detection test sample volume (accumulative to January 2021). AnPac Bios CDA technology platform has been shown in retrospective validation studies to be able to detect the risk of over 20 different cancer types with high sensitivity and specificity. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: Company: Phil Case, Marketing and Investor Relations Phone: +1-267-810-6776 (US) Email: phil_case@AnPacbio.com Investor Relations: Ascent Investor Relations LLC Tina Xiao, President Phone: +1-917-609-0333 (US) Email: tina.xiao@ascent-ir.com Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are relating to the Companys future financial and operating performance. The Company has attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminologies including believes, estimates, anticipates, expects, plans, projects, intends, potential, target, aim, predict, outlook, seek, goal objective, assume, contemplate, continue, positioned, forecast, likely, may, could, might, will, should, approximately or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, assumptions and uncertainties involving judgments about, among other things, future economic, competitive and market conditions and future business decisions, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of which are beyond the Companys control. These statements also involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Companys actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, our ability to comply with Nasdaq Listing Rules, the implementation of our business model and growth strategies; trends and competition in the cancer screening and detection market; our expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our cancer screening and detection tests and our ability to expand our customer base; our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protections for our CDA technology and our continued research and development to keep pace with technology developments; our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals from the NMPA, the FDA and the relevant U.S. states and have our laboratories certified or accredited by authorities including the CLIA; our future business development, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to obtain financing cost-effectively; potential changes of government regulations; general economic and business conditions in China and elsewhere; our ability to hire and maintain key personnel; our relationship with our major business partners and customers; and the duration of the coronavirus outbreaks and their potential adverse impact on the economic conditions and financial markets and our business and financial performance, such as resulting from reduced commercial activities due to quarantines and travel restrictions instituted by China, the U.S. and many other countries around the world to contain the spread of the virus. Additionally, all forward-looking statements are subject to the Risk Factors detailed from time to time in the Companys most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Because of these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. In addition, these statements speak only as of the date of this press release and, except as may be required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason. English Dutch PRESS RELEASE : REGULATED INFORMATION 27 September 2022, 07:00 CEST Invitation to the Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting Mechelen, Belgium, 27 September 2022 Biocartis Group NV (the Company or Biocartis), an innovative molecular diagnostics company (Euronext Brussels: BCART), has the honor to invite its shareholders, holders of subscription rights, holders of convertible bonds, directors and statutory auditor to its extraordinary shareholders' meeting (EGM) which will be held on Tuesday 27 October 2022 at 2:00 p.m. CEST at the offices of the Company at Generaal de Wittelaan 11B, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium. At the EGM, shareholders will be requested to approve various aspects of the comprehensive recapitalization transaction which was announced by the Company on 1 September 2022. The Company believes that such transaction is an important milestone for the Company to secure the financing necessary for its future growth which benefits all of its stakeholders and therefore encourages shareholders to grant the necessary consents to implement it. There is an attendance quorum requirement of at least 50% of the outstanding shares for the majority of the items on the agenda of the EGM. All shareholders are encouraged to attend the meeting in order to reach the attendance quorum for these agenda items and avoid the convening of a second EGM which would take place on 14 November 2022. The majority of the proposals submitted to the EGM require an approval by a majority of 75% of the votes validly cast by the shareholders. In the event that the shareholders do not approve the proposed resolutions, the recapitalization transaction will not complete in full, the Company will not be recapitalized, various fees and expenses will need to be paid by the Company, certain terms of the proposed new convertible terms loans become more restrictive, and the Company will need to consider alternative arrangements, which may not be available on time or at all. It is currently envisaged that the Company will be legally allowed to organize its EGM at its offices at Generaal de Wittelaan 11B, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium, and that the holders of securities of the Company will be allowed to physically attend the meeting as set out in the convening notice. However, the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic is uncertain and the Belgian government may impose again measures which may have an impact on the organization of the EGM, such as imposing limitations on the number of people allowed to attend gatherings. The Company will monitor the situation and potential measures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and may provide further updates that are relevant or have an impact on the EGM on the Biocartis website. In order to be admitted to the EGM, the holders of securities issued by the Company must comply with Article 7:134 of the Belgian Code of Companies and Associations and the articles of association of the Company, and fulfill the formalities described in the convening notice. The convening notice and other documents relating to the EGM can be consulted on the website of the Company. --- END --- More information: Renate Degrave Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Biocartis e-mail rdegrave@biocartis.com tel +32 15 631 729 mobile +32 471 53 60 64 About Biocartis Biocartis (Euronext Brussels: BCART) is an innovative molecular diagnostics (MDx) company providing next generation diagnostic solutions aimed at improving clinical practice for the benefit of patients, clinicians, payers and industry. Biocartis' proprietary MDx Idylla platform is a fully automated sample-to-result, real-time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) system that offers accurate, highly reliable molecular information from virtually any biological sample in virtually any setting. Biocartis is developing and marketing a continuously expanding test menu addressing key unmet clinical needs, with a focus in oncology, which represents the fastest growing segment of the MDx market worldwide. Today, Biocartis offers tests supporting melanoma, colorectal and lung cancer, as well as for COVID-19, flu, RSV and sepsis. More information: www.biocartis.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Biocartis_. Biocartis and Idylla are registered trademarks in Europe, the United States and other countries. The Biocartis and Idylla trademark and logo are used trademarks owned by Biocartis. Please refer to the product labeling for applicable intended uses for each individual Biocartis product. This press release is not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in any jurisdiction where to do so would be unlawful. Any persons reading this press release should inform themselves of and observe any such restrictions. Biocartis takes no responsibility for any violation of any such restrictions by any person. This press release does not constitute an offer or invitation for the sale or purchase of securities in any jurisdiction. No securities of Biocartis may be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Forward-looking statements Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company's or, as appropriate, the Company directors' or managements' current expectations and projections concerning future events such as the Company's results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, performance, prospects, growth, strategies and the industry in which the Company operates. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities are not guarantees of future performance and should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. In addition, even if actual results or developments are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in future periods. No representations and warranties are made as to the accuracy or fairness of such forward-looking statements. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based, except if specifically required to do so by law or regulation. Neither the Company nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such person's officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Pune, India, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global space debris monitoring and removal market size was valued at USD 866.4 million in 2021. The market is projected to grow from USD 942.3 million in 2022 to USD 1,527.7 million by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.15% during the forecast period. This information is provided by Fortune Business Insights, in its report titled, Space Debris Monitoring and Removal Market 2022-2029. Report Coverage: The report presents a systematic study of the market segments and a thorough analysis of the market overview. A thoughtful evaluation of the current market trends as well as future opportunities is offered in the report. Moreover, it presents an exhaustive analysis of the regional insights and how they help to form the space debris monitoring and removal market growth. Get a Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/space-debris-monitoring-and-removal-market-104070 List of Key Players Mentioned in the Space Debris Monitoring and Removal Market Report: Airbus S.A.S (Netherlands) Astroscale (Netherlands) Clear Space (Switzerland) Electro Optic Systems (Australia) Lockheed Martin Corporation (U.S.) Northrop Grumman Corporation (U.S.) Orbit Guardians (U.S.) Obruta (Canada) Share my space (France) Voyager Space Holdings Inc. (U.S.) Report Scope & Segmentation: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2022-2029 Forecast CAGR 7.15% 2029 Value Projection USD 1,527.7 million Base Year 2021 Historical Data 2018-2020 No. of Pages 200 Segments Covered By Orbit Type, By Type, By End User Space Debris Monitoring and Removal Market Growth Drivers Growing Number of Satellite Launches and Space Exploration Activities to Augment Demand Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/space-debris-monitoring-and-removal-market-104070 Segments: Space Debris Removal Segment to Grow at a Greater CAGR Due to Rising Debris Removal Missions by Numerous Space Agencies Based on application, the market is bifurcated into space debris monitoring and space debris removal. The space debris removal segment is anticipated to show significant growth during the forecast period due to rising development of initiatives by space agencies for the removal of space debris. 1mm to 1cm Debris Size Segment to Dominate Market Owing to Surge in Space Debris Based on debris size range, the market is segmented into 1mm to 1cm debris size, 1cm to 10cm debris size, and greater than 10cm. The 1mm to 1cm debris size segment dominated the market in 2020 owing to an upsurge in rocket bodies and minor fragments from satellite launches across the world. Increase in Space Presentations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Orbit May Spur Growth of the Segment Based on orbit type, the market is divided into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO). The Low Earth Orbit (LEO) segment is projected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period. Commercial Segment to be a Quicker Growing Segment and Boosts Market Growth Based on end use, the market is divided into commercial and defense. The commercial segment is projected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period due to rising number of private companies in space debris monitoring and removal from the Earths orbit. The global market is segmented based on region into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World. Inquire Before Buying This Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/queries/space-debris-monitoring-and-removal-market-104070 Drivers and Restraints: Growing Number of Satellite Launches and Space Exploration Activities to Augment Demand The abrupt increase in demand for network and communication and network-based services across the world has empowered space launches over the past few years. The Starlink program presented by SpaceX gained sanction from the U.S. Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to unveil a 12000 startling small satellite for the internet constellation. However, the company is commencing to organize a spectrum to add a 30000 startling satellite in future. Regional Insights: North America to Lead Backed by Presence of Leading Players North America is projected to hold the biggest space debris monitoring and removal market share and was valued at USD 268.6 million in 2021. It is predicted to continue its domination during the forecast period, 2022-2029. The U.S. has the biggest space-based companies in comparison with any European and Asian nations. The European market is estimated to develop at a substantial growth rate during the forecast period. The existence of the European Space Agency (ESA) and additional space-based establishments plays an important role in the space debris monitoring and removal activity from the orbit. Asia Pacific is projected to make progress at a colossal CAGR during the forecast period. The growth can be credited to the growing demand for space situational consciousness abilities from China, India, and Japan. Ask For Customization: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/space-debris-monitoring-and-removal-market-104070 Detailed Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights Key Industry Developments Key Contracts & Agreements, Mergers, Acquisitions and Partnerships Latest technological Advancements Porters Five Forces Analysis Supply Chain Analysis Quantitative Insights-Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Space Debris Monitoring & Removal Market Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Space Debris Monitoring and Removal Market Steps Taken by Industry/Companies/Government to Overcome the Impact Potential Opportunities due to COVID-19 Outbreak Global Space Debris Monitoring and Removal Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2018-2029 Definition / Key Findings Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Application Space Debris Monitoring Space Debris Removal Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Debris Size Range 1mm to 1cm Debris size 1cm to 10cm Debris Size Greater than 10cm Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Orbit Type Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By End Use Commercial Defense Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Region North America Europe Asia pacific Rest of the world TOC Continued! Speak to Our Expert: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/space-debris-monitoring-and-removal-market-104070 Competitive Landscape: Key Players Sign Significant Contracts to Make Remarkable Changes in the Market The players operating in the market often employ numerous tactics that will aid the market growth and product demand. Among the pool of strategies, one such notable strategy to expand the business prospect is signing multimillion contracts with government bodies and securing a profitable revenue for their own company. Read Related Insights: C5ISR Market Size, Share, Trends | Industry Growth Report, 2028 Electronic Warfare Market Size, Report & Industry Growth [2028] Military Radar Market Size, Growth | Global Report [2021-2028] Key Industry Development: January 2022: Northrop Grumman Corporation signed a contract with the U.S. Space Force to create a radar to track active satellites and debris in high orbits. The agreement is worth USD 341 million. Northrop's radar will be situated in the Indo-Pacific region and will be among the three-intended ground-based radar locations for the DARC program. The corporation has plans until September 2025 to develop a radar prototype. About Us: Fortune Business Insights delivers accurate data and innovative corporate analysis, helping organizations of all sizes make appropriate decisions. We tailor novel solutions for our clients, assisting them to address various challenges distinct to their businesses. Our aim is to empower them with holistic market intelligence, providing a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 9th Floor, Icon Tower, Baner - Mahalunge Road, Baner, Pune-411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US: +1 424 253 0390 UK: +44 2071 939123 APAC: +91 744 740 1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Connect us via Social Media Channels: Pune, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Portable Toilet Market 2016-2030 report discovers comprehensive insights on key manufacturers with share information, market size and projection, key dynamics, growth factors, and new company profiles. The report provides detailed information about the market overview, prevalent trends, demand, and recent developments impacting the market growth in the coming years. Portable Toilet Market opportunities analysis, strategic growth analysis, product launches, marketplace expanding, and technological innovations are also highlighted. The report uncovers Portable Toilet market size, potential growth, trends and expansion strategies followed by top prominent players. Get a Sample PDF of the report @ https://www.industryresearch.biz/enquiry/request-sample/21052624 This report provides detailed historical analysis of global market for Portable Toilet from 2016-2021, and provides extensive market forecasts from 2022-2030 by region/country and subsectors. It covers the sales/revenue/value, gross margin, historical growth and future perspectives in the Portable Toilet market. Moreover, the impact of COVID-19 is also concerned. Since outbreak in December 2019, the COVID-19 virus has spread to all around the world and caused huge losses of lives and economy, and the global manufacturing, tourism and financial markets have been hit hard, while the online market/industry increase. Fortunately, with the development of vaccine and other effort by global governments and organizations, the negative impact of COVID-19 is expected to subside and the global economy is expected to recover. This research covers COVID-19 impacts on the upstream, midstream and downstream industries. Moreover, this research provides an in-depth market evaluation by highlighting information on various aspects covering market dynamics like drivers, barriers, opportunities, threats, and industry news & trends. In the end, this report also provides in-depth analysis and professional advices on how to face the post COIVD-19 period. The research methodology used to estimate and forecast this market begins by capturing the revenues of the key players and their shares in the market. Various secondary sources such as press releases, annual reports, non-profit organizations, industry associations, governmental agencies and customs data, have been used to identify and collect information useful for this extensive commercial study of the market. Calculations based on this led to the overall market size. After arriving at the overall market size, the total market has been split into several segments and subsegments, which have then been verified through primary research by conducting extensive interviews with industry experts such as CEOs, VPs, directors, and executives. The data triangulation and market breakdown procedures have been employed to complete the overall market engineering process and arrive at the exact statistics for all segments and subsegments. Get A Sample Copy Of The Portable Toilet Market Report 2016-2030 Portable Toilet Market Top Manufacturers Analysis : The report covers extensive analysis of the key market players along with their business overview, expansion plans, and strategies. Top Key Players covered in the report are: Satellite Industries Armal PolyJohn PolyPortables ADCO International Dometic Five Peaks T BLUSTAR Atlas Plastics Maryada India Yushijie ChiPing Toppla Hengs Industries Dayuan Thetford Shorelink Sanitech Toi Toi Services B&B Portable Toilets Camco Manufacturing Blue Bowl Sanitation Xiamen Toppla Material Technology NuConcepts Formit Portable Toilets Ace Portable Toilets WOSHBOX Arkansas Portable Toilets Kalia Recreations Fresh Toilet The report focuses on the Portable Toilet market size, segment size (mainly covering product type, application, and geography), competitor landscape, recent status, and development trends. Furthermore, the report provides detailed cost analysis, supply chain. Technological innovation and advancement will further optimize the performance of the product, making it more widely used in downstream applications. Moreover, Consumer behavior analysis and market dynamics (drivers, restraints, opportunities) provides crucial information for knowing the Portable Toilet market. Based On Product Types, the Portable Toilet market from 2016 to 2030 is primarily split into: Hanging Portable Toilets Lifting Portable Toilets Trailer Portable Toilets Based On Applications, the Portable Toilet market from 2016 to 2030 covers: Industrial Public Place Commercial & Indoor Other Enquire before purchasing this report - https://www.industryresearch.biz/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/21052624 Geographically, the report includes research on production, consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate, and forecast (2016 -2030) of the following regions: North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Spain etc.) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and Southeast Asia etc.) South America (Brazil, Argentina and Colombia etc.) Middle East & Africa (South Africa, UAE and Saudi Arabia etc.) Major Highlights of Portable Toilet Market Report: Define and discuss the growth of the global Portable Toilet market Analyze the various segments and dynamics of the Portable Toilet market To identify and make suitable business plans according to industry and economic shifts. The key objective of presenting an in-depth research study on the global Portable Toilet market is to conduct an extensive analysis and Portable Toilet performance. The report highlights the latest trends, market drivers, and investment avenues for the new entrants and the market players looking for market expansion. It is helpful to combine relevant facts and offers a wealth of information and analysis on the global Portable Toilet market. This report assesses the performance and profit potential of the global Portable Toilet market. Different variables are used to analyze attractiveness and strengths. TO KNOW HOW COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND RUSSIA UKRAINE WAR WILL IMPACT THIS MARKET - REQUEST SAMPLE What ideas and concepts are covered in the report? The assessments accounted by all the zones and the market share registered by each region are mentioned in the report. The study sums up the product consumption growth rate in the applicable regions along with their consumption market share. Data regarding the Portable Toilet Industry market consumption rate of all the provinces, based on applicable regions and product types is inculcated in the report. Region-based analysis of the Portable Toilet Industry market: The Portable Toilet Industry market, with regards to the provincial scope, is segmented into USA, Europe, Japan, China, India, South East Asia and more. The report also includes information regarding the products use throughout the topographies. Some of the key questions answered in this report: Which are the five top players of the Portable Toilet market? How will the Portable Toilet market change in the upcoming years? Which product and application will take a share of the Portable Toilet market? What are the drivers and restraints of the Portable Toilet market? Which regional market will show the highest growth? What will be the CAGR and size of the Portable Toilet market throughout the forecast period? What is the current market size, what will the market size be in 2030 and what will the growth rate be? What are the challenges to grow in the market? What are the market opportunities and challenges faced by the key vendors? Who are the major competitors and what is their strategy? What are the barriers to entry for new players in the market? Purchase this report (Price 2500 USD for a single-user license) - https://www.industryresearch.biz/purchase/21052624 With tables and figures helping analyze worldwide Global Portable Toilet 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. Detailed TOC of Portable Toilet Market Forecast Report 2016-2030: Chapter 1 Portable Toilet Market Overview 1.1 Portable Toilet Definition 1.2 Global Portable Toilet Market Size Status and Outlook (2016-2030) 1.3 Global Portable Toilet Market Size Comparison by Region (2016-2030) 1.4 Global Portable Toilet Market Size Comparison by Type (2016-2030) 1.5 Global Portable Toilet Market Size Comparison by Application (2016-2030) 1.6 Global Portable Toilet Market Size Comparison by Sales Channel (2016-2030) 1.7 Portable Toilet Market Dynamics (COVID-19 Impacts) 1.7.1 Market Drivers/Opportunities 1.7.2 Market Challenges/Risks 1.7.3 Market News (Mergers/Acquisitions/Expansion) 1.7.4 COVID-19 Impacts 1.7.5 Post-Strategies of COVID-19 Chapter 2 Portable Toilet Market Segment Analysis by Player 2.1 Global Portable Toilet Sales and Market Share by Player (2019-2021) 2.2 Global Portable Toilet Revenue and Market Share by Player (2019-2021) 2.3 Global Portable Toilet Average Price by Player (2019-2021) 2.4 Players Competition Situation & Trends 2.5 Conclusion of Segment by Player Chapter 3 Portable Toilet Market Segment Analysis by Type 3.1 Global Portable Toilet Market by Type 3.1.1 Hanging Portable Toilets 3.1.2 Lifting Portable Toilets 3.1.3 Trailer Portable Toilets 3.2 Global Portable Toilet Sales and Market Share by Type (2016-2021) 3.3 Global Portable Toilet Revenue and Market Share by Type (2016-2021) 3.4 Global Portable Toilet Average Price by Type (2016-2021) 3.5 Leading Players of Portable Toilet by Type in 2021 3.6 Conclusion of Segment by Type Chapter 4 Portable Toilet Market Segment Analysis by Application 4.1 Global Portable Toilet Market by Application 4.1.1 Industrial 4.1.2 Public Place 4.1.3 Commercial & Indoor 4.1.4 Other 4.2 Global Portable Toilet Revenue and Market Share by Application (2016-2021) 4.3 Leading Consumers of Portable Toilet by Application in 2021 4.4 Conclusion of Segment by Application Chapter 5 Portable Toilet Market Segment Analysis by Sales Channel 5.1 Global Portable Toilet Market by Sales Channel 5.1.1 Direct Channel 5.1.2 Distribution Channel 5.2 Global Portable Toilet Revenue and Market Share by Sales Channel (2016-2021) 5.3 Leading Distributors/Dealers of Portable Toilet by Sales Channel in 2021 5.4 Conclusion of Segment by Sales Channel Chapter 6 Portable Toilet Market Segment Analysis by Region 6.1 Global Portable Toilet Market Size and CAGR by Region (2016-2030) 6.2 Global Portable Toilet Sales and Market Share by Region (2016-2021) 6.3 Global Portable Toilet Revenue and Market Share by Region (2016-2021) 6.4 North America 6.4.1 North America Market by Country 6.4.2 North America Portable Toilet Market Share by Type 6.4.3 North America Portable Toilet Market Share by Application 6.4.4 United States 6.4.5 Canada 6.4.6 Mexico 6.5 Europe 6.5.1 Europe Market by Country 6.5.2 Europe Portable Toilet Market Share by Type 6.5.3 Europe Portable Toilet Market Share by Application 6.5.4 Germany 6.5.5 UK 6.5.6 France 6.5.7 Italy 6.5.8 Russia 6.5.9 Spain 6.6 Asia-Pacific 6.6.1 Asia-Pacific Market by Country 6.6.2 Asia-Pacific Portable Toilet Market Share by Type 6.6.3 Asia-Pacific Portable Toilet Market Share by Application 6.6.4 China 6.6.5 Japan 6.6.6 Korea 6.6.7 India 6.6.8 Southeast Asia 6.6.9 Australia 6.7 South America 6.7.1 South America Market by Country 6.7.2 South America Portable Toilet Market Share by Type 6.7.3 South America Portable Toilet Market Share by Application 6.7.4 Brazil 6.7.5 Argentina 6.7.6 Colombia 6.8 Middle East & Africa 6.8.1 Middle East & Africa Market by Country 6.8.2 Middle East & Africa Portable Toilet Market Share by Type 6.8.3 Middle East & Africa Portable Toilet Market Share by Application 6.8.4 UAE 6.8.5 Saudi Arabia 6.8.6 South Africa 6.9 Conclusion of Segment by Region Chapter 7 Profile of Leading Portable Toilet Players 7.1 Satellite Industries 7.1.1 Company Snapshot 7.1.2 Product/Service Offered 7.1.3 Business Performance (Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share) 7.2 Armal 7.3 PolyJohn 7.4 PolyPortables 7.5 ADCO International 7.6 Dometic 7.7 Five Peaks 7.8 T BLUSTAR 7.9 Atlas Plastics 7.10 Maryada India 7.11 Yushijie 7.12 ChiPing 7.13 Toppla 7.14 Hengs Industries 7.15 Dayuan 7.16 Thetford 7.17 Shorelink 7.18 Sanitech 7.19 Toi Toi Services 7.20 B&B Portable Toilets 7.21 Camco Manufacturing 7.22 Blue Bowl Sanitation 7.23 Xiamen Toppla Material Technology 7.24 NuConcepts 7.25 Formit Portable Toilets 7.26 Ace Portable Toilets 7.27 WOSHBOX 7.28 Arkansas Portable Toilets 7.29 Kalia Recreations 7.30 Fresh Toilet Chapter 8 Upstream and Downstream Analysis of Portable Toilet 8.1 Industrial Chain of Portable Toilet 8.2 Upstream of Portable Toilet 8.3 Downstream of Portable Toilet Chapter 9 Development Trend of Portable Toilet (2022-2030) 9.1 Global Portable Toilet Market Size (Sales and Revenue) Forecast (2022-2030) 9.2 Global Portable Toilet Market Size and CAGR Forecast by Region (2022-2030) 9.3 Global Portable Toilet Market Size and CAGR Forecast by Type (2022-2030) 9.4 Global Portable Toilet Market Size and CAGR Forecast by Application (2022-2030) 9.5 Global Portable Toilet Market Size and CAGR Forecast by Sales Channel (2022-2030) Chapter 10 Appendix 10.1 Research Methodology 10.2 Data Sources 10.3 Disclaimer 10.4 Analysts Certification Detailed TOC of Global Portable Toilet Market @ https://www.industryresearch.biz/TOC/21052624 About Us: 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, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Sulfuric Acid Market by Raw Material (Elemental Sulfur, Base Metal Smelters, Pyrite Ore), Application (Fertilizers, Chemical Manufacturing, Metal Processing, Petroleum Refining, Textile Industry, and Automotive) and Region - Global Forecast to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global sulfuric acid market is projected to grow from USD 13.2 billion in 2020 to USD 28.5 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 11.7% during the forecast period. Steady demand for sulfuric acid is also witnessed due to its diversified applications, such as fertilizer manufacturing, metal ore leaching, and oil refining. Pyrite ore is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, by volume Sulfuric acid is produced through roasting of pyrite ores. Although the burning of elemental sulfur is the main source of sulfuric acid, the roasting process comes across as an alternative for sulfuric acid production when pyrite concentrate is available. Growing usage of sulfuric acid in various application is expected to drive the growth of pyrite ore segment during the forecast period of 2022 to 2027. Fertilizers application is expected to be the largest segment during the forecast period, by volume Sulfuric acid is widely used to produce phosphate fertilizers which help in making the soil rich in phosphorus, an important nutrient vital for crop growth. Also, the need to increase crop production due to the increasing population and decrease in arable land in Asia Pacific and the Middle Eastern regions are driving the demand for sulfuric acid in the fertilizers industry. Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, by volume The major economies of the Asia Pacific region contributing significantly to the growth of the sulfuric acid market are China, Japan, India, Indonesia, and South Korea. The region has emerged as an important consumer of specialty wet chemicals due to the increasing demand from the domestic front, aided by rise in the standard of living of the people and disposable income. This further increases the growth of sulfuric acid market in Asia Pacific. Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Premium Insights 4.1 Significant Opportunities in Sulfuric Acid Market 4.2 Sulfuric Acid Market, by Region 4.3 Asia-Pacific Sulfuric Acid Market, by Application and Country 4.4 Sulfuric Acid Market: Major Countries 5 Market Overview 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Market Dynamics 5.2.1 Drivers 5.2.1.1 Strong Demand for Sulfuric Acid in Various Industries 5.2.1.2 Increased Usage of Sulfuric Acid in Agriculture Sector 5.2.2 Restraints 5.2.2.1 Restriction on Use of Sulfuric Acid Due to Health and Environmental Concerns 5.2.2.2 High Import Duties and Regulations on Trade of Sulfuric Acid 5.2.3 Opportunities 5.2.3.1 Increasing Use of Sulfuric Acid in Wastewater Treatment 5.2.4 Challenges 5.2.4.1 Rapid Increase in Price 5.2.4.2 Difficulties Associated with Transportation 5.3 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 6 Industry Trends 6.1 Value Chain Analysis 6.2 Ecosystem Mapping 7 Sulfuric Acid Market, by Raw Material 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Elemental Sulfur 7.3 Pyrite Ore 7.4 Base Metal Smelters 7.5 Others 8 Sulfuric Acid Market, by Application 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Fertilizers 8.2.1 Growth in Production of Food Grains in Key Countries to Enhance Demand 8.3 Metal Processing 8.3.1 Growing Demand for Iron & Steel to Drive Market 8.4 Pulp & Paper 8.4.1 Growing Demand for Paper to Enhance Demand for Sulfuric Acid 8.5 Petroleum Refining 8.5.1 Growth in Demand for Diesel Fuel and Kerosene Driving Petroleum Refining 8.6 Textile Industry 8.6.1 Growing Awareness Regarding High-Quality and Branded Fabrics to Drive Demand 8.7 Automotive 8.7.1 Growing Production of Motor Vehicles in Asia-Pacific to Propel Demand 8.8 Chemical Manufacturing 8.8.1 Asia-Pacific to Dominate Sulfuric Acid Market 8.9 Others 9 Sulfuric Acid Market, by Region 10 Competitive Landscape 10.1 Overview 10.2 Market Share Analysis 10.2.1 Market Share Analysis of Key Players 10.3 Key Market Developments 10.4 Company Evaluation Quadrant Matrix Definition and Methodology, 2021 10.4.1 Stars 10.4.2 Emerging Leaders 10.4.3 Pervasive Players 10.4.4 Participants 11 Company Profiles 11.1 Key Players 11.1.1 the Mosaic Company 11.1.2 Basf Se 11.1.3 Ocp Group 11.1.4 Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund 11.1.5 Phosagro 11.1.6 Nouryon 11.1.7 Aurubis Ag 11.1.8 Kmg Chemicals, Inc. 11.1.9 Qatar Acids Company 11.1.10 Lanxess Ag 11.1.11 Pvs Chemicals, Inc. 11.1.12 Elessent Clean Technologies, Inc. 11.1.13 Mitsubishi Shoji Chemical Corporation 11.2 Other Players 11.2.1 Weylchem Group of Companies 11.2.2 Groupe Chimique Tunisien Sa (Gct) 11.2.3 Petroperu Sa 11.2.4 Acidos Y Minerales De Venezuela 11.2.5 Industrias Basicas De Caldas 11.2.6 Nanjing Kapsom Engineering Limited 11.2.7 Nutrien AG Solutions, Inc. 12 Adjacent and Related Markets 13 Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/s3vaoi Attachment gettyimagesbank By Kang Hyun-kyung President Yoon Suk-yeol stressed again that he would keep pushing to get South Korea's strained relations with Japan back on the right track. "South Korea-Japan relations are not something you can improve dramatically with a single effort," he said on Monday while answering questions from journalists on his way to the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul. "Bilateral ties receded a lot during the past (Moon Jae-in) administration. To normalize it from the current sour relations, we need to keep watching how Koreans and Japanese are reacting and make efforts accordingly." Yoon touted the possible economic benefits for the two countries in case bilateral ties are improved. "South Korean and Japanese businesspeople are among the ones wishing for the improvement of bilateral ties. Once South Korea-Japan relations are getting back on the right track, companies of the two countries will invest in each other's nations and, as a result, job creation and economic growth will follow," he said, noting that he will push harder to make Seoul-Tokyo relations move forward against all odds. Since his inauguration on May 10, President Yoon has been displaying his willingness to restore South Korea-Japan relations, which hit their lowest point in 2019 during the Moon administration, when the South Korean Supreme Court ruled for Japanese companies to compensate surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor. Despite Yoon's repeated messages offering to mend ties with Japan, there have been few signs of progress. Yoon's 30-minute meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last week in New York, on the sidelines of their U.N. speeches, is a snapshot of where the two nations' relations are. The two sides continued to send contradictory messages about the Yoon-Kishida meeting until it was actually held. Jeffrey Kingston, a professor of history and Asian studies at Temple University's Japan campus, says that systematic challenges standing in the way of Seoul-Tokyo relations will make it hard to get things back on the right track. Among others, Kingston said, Japanese politicians' perceptions of Yoon have been shifting from positive to negative. "After Moon, some of the conservative media in Japan think Yoon is a welcome change but he has become so weakened by a series of gaffes and poor judgment that hardly anyone thinks he can resolve outstanding bilateral issues," he told The Korea Times. Kingston said Japanese politicians have begun to grow suspicious of Yoon as they see Lee Myung-bak, South Korea's former president, in Yoon. "He is compared to another conservative Lee Myung-bak, who is remembered here for his visit to Takeshima/Dokdo and for demanding the emperor apologize. He came into office as the most pro-Japanese leader since Park Chung-hee but left in disgrace and is a reminder that across the political spectrum in Korea, Japan will find it tough going," he said. President Yoon Suk-yeol heads to the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap Hardliners Hardliners gaining the upper hand within Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is another reason for Kingston's skepticism about the improvement of Seoul-Tokyo ties in the near future. "No powerful members of the ruling LDP are inclined to make concessions to South Korea on history or territory. They feel that the goalposts are always moved and that Korean politicians play the history card to gain domestic support," he said. In Korea, partisan politics also remain a hurdle to Seoul-Tokyo ties. The 300-member National Assembly is controlled by the main opposition liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). The DPK was the ruling party during Moon's administration, under which the DPK played the anti-Japan card hard. The DPK downplayed the Yoon-Kishida meeting in New York. Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom of the DPK claimed on a radio show that the Japanese prime minister had refused to meet Yoon but the meeting was held anyway because Yoon himself paid a visit to where Kishida was located for a meeting. Kim called the Yoon-Kishida meeting "humiliating diplomacy." Another DPK lawmaker, Rep. Park Chan-dae, alleged that President Yoon pushed for the meeting with Kishida for the sake of meeting, suggesting he only wanted "results." The DPK's scathing assessment of the Yoon-Kishida meeting stood in stark contrast with how it was characterized by the ruling People Power Party (PPP). The ruling party emphasized the fact that the leaders of the two countries met for talks for the first time in two years and nine months, calling the summit Yoon's earnest effort to restore Seoul-Tokyo ties which were destroyed by the previous Moon government. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a press conference on Sept. 22 in New York. AP-Yonhap Pune, India, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global solar vehicle market size is expected to gain momentum by reaching USD 689.5 million by 2027 while exhibiting an astounding CAGR of 18.1% between 2020 and 2027. This is attributable to the increasing adoption of advanced rooftop systems and the growing demand for energy-efficient automotive globally. This information is published by Fortune Business Insights, in its latest report, titled, Solar Vehicle Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Vehicle Type (Passenger Car, Commercial Vehicles), By Battery Type (Lithium-Ion, Lead-Acid, Others), By Solar Panel Type (Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline) and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027. The report further observes that the market stood at USD 228.1 million in 2019. Companies Profiled in the Solar Vehicle Market Research Report: Sono Motors (Munich, Germany), Volkswagen AG (Wolfsburg, Germany), Lightyear (Munich, Germany), Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota City, Japan), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (Mumbai, India), Cruise Car, Inc. (Arizona, US), Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Limited (Beijing, China), Ford Motor Company (Michigan, US), and Nissan (Kanagawa, Japan). Get Sample Copy of Solar Vehicle Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/solar-vehicle-market-104333 Report Scope & Segmentation: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2020-2027 Forecast Period 2020 to 2027 CAGR 18.1% Solar Vehicle Market 2027 Value Projection USD 689.5 Million Base Year 2019 Solar Vehicle Market Size in 2019 USD 228.1 Million Historical Data for Solar Vehicle Market 2016-2018 No. of Pages 200 Solar Vehicle Market Segments covered By Vehicle Type, By Battery Type, By Solar Panel Type Solar Vehicle Market Growth Drivers Favorable Government Policies in Europe to Stimulate Growth Increasing Adoption of Advanced Rooftop Systems to Promote Growth Global Solar Vehicle Market Highlights: The widespread effect of the global pandemic, COVID-19, has been felt across several economies that are facing unprecedented loss. Owing to the lockdown announced by the government agencies to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, several industries have been on a standstill with zero operational activities. However, a collective effort from the government, as well as the industries is anticipated to bring the economy back on track and aid in resuming industrial activities. Industry Development October 2020 Researchers at the University of York in the UK, along with NOVA University, Lisbon developed a system that enables solar panels to absorb 125% more light from the sun by adopting a 3D geometry like square block maze. The system increases the diffraction rate leading to high absorption of light. Global Solar Vehicle Market Regional Insights Favorable Government Policies in Europe to Stimulate Growth Among all the regions, Europe is expected to remain at the forefront and hold the highest position in the global soar vehicle market in the forthcoming years. This is attributable to the favorable government policies that offer subsidies to the manufacturers to develop advanced solar vehicles in the region. The market in North America is expected to showcase considerable growth owing to the growing adoption of solar panels in the production of hybrid solar vehicles in the region between 2020 and 2027. Click here to get the short-term and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on this Market. Please visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/solar-vehicle-market-104333 Solar Vehicle Market Drivers: Increasing Adoption of Advanced Rooftop Systems to Promote Growth The decreasing fossil fuels and the growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles are propelling the manufacturers to develop advanced solar vehicle systems. For instance, in 2019, Hyundai, a global automotive manufacturer, introduced the new Sonata Hybrid that is equipped with an advanced solar roof system. The system charges the battery while in motion and further leads to overall improvement in the fuel efficiency. This, along with the surging demand for energy-efficient automotive, is expected to bode well for the global solar vehicle market during the forecast period. Competitive Landscape: Prominent Companies Focus on Collaboration to Develop Hi-Tech Solar Vehicles The global solar vehicle market comprises small, medium, and large companies focusing on maintaining their presence by collaboration with other companies to jointly develop advanced systems. Additionally, adoption of strategies such as merger and acquisition, partnership, and the introduction of new products by key players to maintain strongholds is expected to contribute to the market growth. Ask For Customization: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/solar-vehicle-market-104333 Table of Content: 1. Introduction 1.1. Research Scope 1.2. Market Segmentation 1.3. Research Methodology 1.4. Definitions and Assumptions 2. Executive Summary 3. Market Dynamics 3.1. Market Drivers 3.2. Market Restraints 3.3. Market Opportunities 4. Key Insights 4.1 Merger, Acquisitions, and Partnerships 4.2 Distributor Analysis For Major Players 4.3 Growth and Penetration Analysis 4.4 Porters Five Forces Analysis 4.5 PEST Analysis 4.6 Vendor Landscape 5. Global Solar Vehicle Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2016-2027 5.1. Key Findings / Summary 5.2. Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Vehicle Type 5.2.1 Passenger Car 5.2.2 Commercial Vehicle 5.3. Market Analysis By Battery Type 5.3.1 Lithium-Ion 5.3.2 Lead-Acid 5.3.3 Others 5.4. Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Solar Panel Type 5.4.1 Monocrystalline 5.4.2 Polycrystalline 5.5. Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Region 5.5.1 North America 5.5.2 Europe 5.5.3 Asia Pacific 5.5.4 Rest of the World 6. North America Solar Vehicle Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2016-2027 6.1. Key Findings / Summary 6.2. Market Analysis By Vehicle Type 6.2.1 Passenger Car 6.2.2 Commercial Vehicle 6.3. Market Analysis By Battery Type 6.3.1 Lithium-Ion 6.3.2 Lead-Acid 6.3.3 Others 6.4. Market Analysis By Solar Panel Type 6.4.1 Monocrystalline 6.4.2 Polycrystalline 6.5. Market Analysis By Country 6.5.1 U.S. 6.5.2 Canada 6.5.3 Mexico 7. Europe Solar Vehicle Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2016-2027 7.1. Key Findings / Summary 7.2. Market Analysis By Vehicle Type 7.2.1 Passenger Car 7.2.2 Commercial Vehicle 7.3. Market Analysis By Battery Type 7.3.1 Lithium-Ion 7.3.2 Lead-Acid 7.3.3 Others 7.4. Market Analysis By Solar Panel Type 7.4.1 Monocrystalline 7.4.2 Polycrystalline 7.5. Market Analysis By Country 7.5.1 U.K. 7.5.2 Germany 7.5.3 France 7.5.4 Rest of Europe 8. Asia Pacific Solar Vehicle Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2016-2027 8.1. Key Findings / Summary 8.2. Market Analysis By Vehicle Type 8.2.1 Passenger Car 8.2.2 Commercial Vehicle 8.3. Market Analysis By Battery Type 8.3.1 Lithium-Ion 8.3.2 Lead-Acid 8.3.3 Others 8.4. Market Analysis By Solar Panel Type 8.4.1 Monocrystalline 8.4.2 Polycrystalline 8.5. Market Analysis By Country 8.5.1 China 8.5.2 Japan 8.5.3 India 8.5.4 South Korea 8.5.5 Rest of Asia Pacific Continued Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/solar-vehicle-market-104333 About Us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. US: +1 424 253 0390 UK: +44 2071 939123 APAC: +91 744 740 1245 Dublin, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Equine Healthcare Global Market Report 2022, By Product Type, Disease, Distribution" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global equine healthcare market is expected to grow from $1.17 billion in 2021 to $1.26 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3%. The market is expected to reach $1.57 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 5.6%. North America was the largest region in the equine healthcare market in 2021. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. The growing awareness of animal healthcare will support the growth of the equine healthcare market during the forecast period. People are becoming more aware of the importance of animals in the ecosystem, and animal health is critical not just for their safety and well-being, but also for the safety and well-being of humans. The diseases in animals can easily be transferred to humans hence, governments and private institutions are investing to develop the animal healthcare infrastructure in various countries. For instance, in September 2021, the US department of agriculture announced an investment of $3 billion in animal health and nutrition. Thus, the rising awareness among the human population about the importance of animal healthcare and increasing investment in animal healthcare will support the growth of the market, during the forecast period. The introduction of new and effective products by key manufacturers in equine healthcare for rapid detection of disease in the equine population and to ensure better therapeutic outcomes is a key trend in the market. For instance, in June 2021, Epona Biotec, a veterinary startup dedicated to advancing equine health care, has launched the VetTrue System, a remote temperature-monitoring system for horses. A team of veterinary, equestrian, and technology professionals developed the VetTrue System to provide a more accurate, less invasive health-monitoring solution for veterinarians, horse owners, and professionals in the equestrian industries. The VetTrue System makes use of a single-use TailTab temperature sensor that is securely attached beneath the tail. Once implanted, the horse's temperature is continuously monitored and transferred to the VetTrue App through Bluetooth. Scope Markets Covered: 1) By Product Type: Drugs; Vaccines; Medical Feed Additives 2) By Disease: Equine Influenza; Equine Herpes virus; Equine Encephalomyelitis; West Nile Virus; Equine Rabies; Potomac Horse Fever; Tetanus 3) By Distribution: Veterinary Hospitals and Clinics; Retail Pharmacy; Online Pharmacies Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Equine Healthcare Market Characteristics 3. Equine Healthcare Market Trends And Strategies 4. Impact Of COVID-19 On Equine Healthcare 5. Equine Healthcare Market Size And Growth 6. Equine Healthcare Market Segmentation 7. Equine Healthcare Market Regional And Country Analysis 8. Asia-Pacific Equine Healthcare Market 9. China Equine Healthcare Market 10. India Equine Healthcare Market 11. Japan Equine Healthcare Market 12. Australia Equine Healthcare Market 13. Indonesia Equine Healthcare Market 14. South Korea Equine Healthcare Market 15. Western Europe Equine Healthcare Market 16. UK Equine Healthcare Market 17. Germany Equine Healthcare Market 18. France Equine Healthcare Market 19. Eastern Europe Equine Healthcare Market 20. Russia Equine Healthcare Market 21. North America Equine Healthcare Market 22. USA Equine Healthcare Market 23. South America Equine Healthcare Market 24. Brazil Equine Healthcare Market 25. Middle East Equine Healthcare Market 26. Africa Equine Healthcare Market 27. Equine Healthcare Market Competitive Landscape And Company Profiles 28. Key Mergers And Acquisitions In The Equine Healthcare Market 29. Equine Healthcare Market Future Outlook and Potential Analysis 30. Appendix Companies Mentioned Ethos Veterinary Health LLC Greencross Limited Idexx Laboratories National Veterinary Care Ltd. Patterson Companies Inc. Addison Biological Laboratory Inc. Animart LLC CVS Group PLC. Merck & Co. Inc. Zoetis Boehringer Ingelheim Covetrus Elanco Bayer AG Ceva Sante Animale Virbac Vetoquinol For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ir7uox Attachment VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Riley Gold Corp. (TSX.V: RLYG) (OTCQB: RLYGF) (Riley Gold or the Company) is pleased to announce that the results from an extended data review over the past several months has led to the start of new field exploration activities at its Pipeline West/Clipper Gold Project (PWC) located in Lander County, Nevada. The program will include a large soil sampling program and detailed field mapping, along with re-logging of historic drill holes. Additional work being planned could include a more detailed CSAMT geophysical survey covering the recently defined, 3-kilometer Target Trend (see Figure 1 and News Release dated April 28,2022). When completed, Riley Gold will have the information necessary to plan drill targets for an expected 2023 drill program. Riley Golds land package consists of approximately 24.7 square kms of unpatented mining claims and patented (fee) lands in the heart of the Cortez section of the Battle Mountain Eureka Trend (Figure 1). PWC is almost entirely surrounded by Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), which is a joint venture between Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Corporation. PWCs main project boundary is only 600 metres (m) east of NGMs Gold Acres open pit, where a window into carbonates of the lower plate of the Roberts Mountains Thrust outcrops (Figure 2). Additionally, PWCs south and eastern property boundary is approximately 1,000 m from NGMs Pipeline/Gap Mine. On the north and west, PWC adjoins Ridgeline Minerals (Ridgeline) Swift project which is subject to a earn-in transaction between Ridgeline and NGM whereby NGM can earn up to a 70% interest by spending US$30M (up to 75% by arranging debt funding for Ridgelines portion of development costs). Figure 1: Location of PWC, within the Cortez Structural Zone (Leonardson, 2010) https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a3e39eb5-5bcf-4cbe-99e2-8a19edf9b256 Figure 2: PWC is on strike with NGMs Pipeline, Gap, and Gold Acres mines. https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/96266833-43cc-48ab-8717-3511488f785e PWC hosts prospective Carlin-type gold targets along a 3-kilometer plus trend. These targets are supported by: Past drilling (revealing lower plate (to the Roberts Mountains Thrust Fault) Devonian Wenban and other host rocks within 300 500 m from surface) Open gold-in-soil anomalies Geophysics: Ground and Air Magnetic Surveys Gravity CSAMT When combined, the PWC historical and new field work will provide for a compelling prospect for possible future drilling. About Riley Gold Corp. Riley Gold is an exploration and development company focused in Nevada, USA. The Companys primary focus is on its two cornerstone assets: the Tokop Gold Project located within the Walker Lane Trend and the Pipeline West/Clipper Project located in the Battle Mountain Eureka Trend. Riley Golds founders and leadership team have a proven track record of maximizing shareholder value during each phase of the mining life cycle: exploration, development, and production. Qualified Person This news release has been reviewed and approved by Charles Sulfrian, CPG., Exploration Manager, of Riley Gold and a qualified person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Todd Hilditch Chief Executive Officer Tel: (604) 443-3831 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary statement regarding forwardlooking information Certain disclosures in this release constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation (such statements being referred to as "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by words such as the following: expects, plans, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, projects, assumes, potential and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the exploration program at PWC, including results of historical drilling, sampling, geophysics, interpretations, and future exploration plans at PWC. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, the Company's inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its planned activities, and the Company's inability to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies. The reader is referred to the Company's public disclosure record which is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except as required by securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Golden Sky Minerals Corp. (AUEN.V) (the Company or Golden Sky) is pleased to provide an exploration update for the Mowich Zone of the Rayfield copper-gold property. Fieldwork completed in 2022 has successfully located a historic showing (known as the Discovery showing), with copper-rich float material (sub-mm to >5cm in size) recovered from the base of a slump. Of the mineralized fragments, Sample D00226854 (Figure 1) returned grades of 286 g/t gold (Au), 200 g/t silver (Ag) and 37.46% copper (Cu) (Table 1). Golden Sky geologists interpret these high-grade values to be associated with proximal intrusions, as there is a close correlation with bismuth (Bi). QEMSCAN studies by BaseMet Labs in Kamloops have also confirmed that the main host is highly altered and serpentinized mafic volcanic rock. These high-grade values have likely been enriched by weathering processes but remain a strong indicator of high-grade mineral potential in the area. Figure 1: High-grade copper-gold fragments collected from slump at the Discovery showing within the Mowich Zone. Table 1: Precious and base metal values obtained from samples collected throughout the Mowich area. Note the elevated bismuth values associated with the highest-grade material. Sample Gold (g/t) Copper (ppm) Copper (%) Silver (ppm) Bismuth (ppm) Sample Type Location D00226851 <5 12.2 - <2 <5 Float Discovery Showing D00226852 5 30.8 - <2 <5 Float Discovery Showing D00226853 <5 452 - <2 <5 Float Discovery Showing D00226854 286 >10000 37.46 200 36 Float Discovery Showing D00226855 1.8 >10000 10.33 55 9 Float Discovery Showing D00226856 0.3 282 - 2 <5 Float Upslope Area D00226857 0.08 6970 0.69 4 <5 Float Discovery Showing D00226858 0.013 351 - <2 <5 Float Upslope Area D00226859 <5 37.5 - <2 <5 Outcrop Upslope Area Tracing the slump upslope resulted in the identification of additional serpentinized fragments and the discovery of a syenitic intrusive plug exposed in outcrop at the head of the valley. This intrusion contains some quartz-calcite veining with trace malachite and chalcopyrite, and exhibits similar textures to some of the copper fragments at the Discovery showing. This intrusion is surrounded by brecciated, altered basalt and is in close proximity to conglomerates and sandstones of the Ashcroft Formation, which is typically bordering major northwest-trending faults in the area. One kilometer to the southeast of the Discovery showing lies another historical showing (the Mowich Lake Copper showing - assays pending). Mapping in September 2022 identified large patches of abundant boulders comprising copper-rich Triassic basalt. The main minerals are azurite, malachite and chrysocolla, with a high incidence of hyalite, a type of opaline silica. The Golden Sky geological team have interpreted that these minerals may provide further evidence of a northwest-trending structure that has acted as a conduit for copper-rich hydrothermal fluids. Following the September 2022 fieldwork, an additional ~6,400-hectares were staked to cover several interpreted northwest-trending structures and geophysical magnetic anomalies that could be the source for both the Discovery and the Mowich Lake Copper Showings (Figure 3). Significant magnetic anomalies border these major northwest-trending faults that may have concentrated magmatic activity in the area. Importantly, a past-producing placer gold creek (Criss Creek) crosscuts the southeast edge of a mapped unit of mineralized diorite/monzodiorite. A proximal source is likely, as the gold is coarse grained and has therefore not travelled far downstream. It is hypothesized that the mapped diorite/monzodiorite could be the source of this gold. The ~30,000-hectare Rayfield Project is located in the Quesnel Trough, British Columbias primary copper-producing belt, which hosts Teck Resources Highland Valley Mine, Imperial Metals Mount Polley Mine, Centerra Golds Mount Milligan Mine, and Kodiak Coppers MPD Project (see Figure 4). The Rayfield copper-gold project is located approximately 20 kilometers east of the Town of 70 Mile House, British Columbia, and is accessible year-round by well-maintained service and logging roads extending from BC Highway 97. John Newell, President and CEO of Golden Sky Minerals, states, The Golden Sky Minerals geological team continues to do solid geological work to advance the consolidated land package known as the Rayfield Project, led by VP of Exploration Cameron Dorsey. Rayfield has tripled in size since first staking this area 18 months ago. It now encompasses greater than 30,000 hectares and potentially hosts 4-5 solid copper-gold porphyry targets. All these well-deserved targets will get further work done over the next few months as we move towards our maiden drill campaign. Porphyry deposits represent a dominant source of copper or ~65% of world production and also account for a significant number of valuable metals (including gold) as by-products. It has long been the belief of the management of Golden Sky Minerals that there is a tremendous need for discovery as mining depletes reserves. These depleted reserves must be replaced through discovery and development. Major mining companies know that to maintain their wealth they need to replace what they mine. They can do this through discovery or purchase the resources discovered by exploration companies like Golden Sky Minerals Corp. The management team of Golden Sky Minerals Corp., along with the geological team, are continuously and carefully evaluating many land packages in todays favorable environment, with the objective of exploring and developing additional targets like our Rayfield project. Figure 2: Location of all target zones outlined on the Rayfield Property. Also outlined are the high-grade copper-gold assay values obtained from the Mowich zone. Claims have been expanded around Mowich to cover interpreted structures and geophysical magnetic anomalies. Figure 3: The newly expanded Mowich Zone claims overlying prospective intrusive diorites/monzodiorites and geophysical magnetic anomalies. The high-grade results from the Discovery showing are a strong indicator of the mineral potential in the area. Figure 4: Rayfield copper-gold project in relation to major projects in the Quesnel Trough. About Golden Sky Minerals Corp. Golden Sky Minerals Corp. is a well-funded junior grassroots explorer engaged in the acquisition, assessment, exploration, and development of mineral properties located in highly prospective areas and mining-friendly districts. Golden Skys mandate is to develop its portfolio of projects to the mineral resource stage through systematic exploration. The drill-ready projects include Hotspot, Bullseye, and Lucky Strike, all in Yukon, Canada. In addition, the recent purchases of the Rayfield Copper-Gold Project in southern British Columbia, and the staking of the Eagle Mountain Gold Project in the Cassiar Gold District in northern British Columbia, add to the companys substantial early-stage Canadian project pipeline. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. More information can be found at the Companys website at www.goldenskyminerals.com ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD John Newell, President and Chief Executive Officer Carl Schulze, P. Geo., Consulting Geologist with Aurora Geosciences Ltd, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for Golden Skys British Columbia exploration projects, and has reviewed and approved the technical information in this release. For new information from the Company's programs, please visit Golden Sky's website at www.GoldenSkyMinerals.com or contact John Newell by telephone (604) 568-8807 or by email at info@goldenskyminerals.com or john.newell@goldenskyminerals.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively, Forward-Looking Information) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. In certain cases, Forward-Looking Information can be identified by the use of words and phrases such as anticipates, expects, understanding, has agreed to or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results would, occur or be achieved. Although Golden Sky has attempted to identify important factors and risks that could affect Golden Sky and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in Forward-Looking Information, there may be other factors and risks that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, without limitation: inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties; the uncertainties involved in interpreting drill results and other exploration data; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with Golden Skys expectations; accidents, equipment breakdowns, title and permitting matters; labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in operations; fluctuating metal prices; unanticipated costs and expenses; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, including to fund any exploration programs on its projects; that Golden Sky may not be able to confirm historical exploration results and other risks set forth in Golden Sky's public filings at www.sedar.com. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, Golden Sky has applied several material assumptions, including the assumption that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner. There can be no assurance that Forward-Looking Information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Information. Except as required by law, Golden Sky does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to Forward-Looking Information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/480b917b-eaa3-4445-8f07-b418a85c442c https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f98e12ed-7672-4167-a7bf-0fa0e9e10864 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c0aa0603-c391-42c2-ac7e-cf50f10b8da7 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6c2356db-9e93-4ae1-9b51-21e6a0ad881f Richmond, VA, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kaleo, a fully integrated pharmaceutical company dedicated to inventing, manufacturing, and commercializing life-transforming products, today announced the appointment of its new Chief Business Officer. Ted A. Marcuccio has been named Kaleos Chief Business Officer responsible for business development and key strategic growth initiatives. Mr. Marcuccio previously held a similar role at Summit Biosciences prior to joining Kaleo. Mr. Marcuccio has also held leadership positions at Meridian Medical Technologies (Pfizers former subsidiary), King Pharmaceuticals, and Baxter International. Mr. Marcuccio played an instrumental role in more than 50 transactions valued at more than $5 billion during his more than 20 years of executive experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Mr. Marcuccio earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Bridgeport, where he currently serves on the board of trustees, and a Master of Business Administration from the McCombs School of Business of the University of Texas at Austin. Ted is a seasoned business development professional with experience across a variety of pharmaceutical sectors including drug delivery. He has a very strong record of establishing collaborations that have captured meaningful value and is well positioned to help us grow through product acquisition as well as partnering our Aerio Auto-Injection Platform. said Kaleo President and CEO Ronald Gunn. We are excited to have Ted join the team. ### About Kaleo Kaleo is a fully integrated pharmaceutical company dedicated to inventing, manufacturing, and commercializing life-transforming products for certain serious and life-threatening medical conditions. Kaleos innovative auto-injection technologies are protected by an extensive intellectual property portfolio of more than 200 issued patents as well as being the first to meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) draft guidance standard for 99.999% device reliability. Kaleo is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia in the United States. For more information about Kaleo and the Aerio Auto-Injection Platform, visit kaleo.com. CC-US--0120 Attachment ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Kidney Fund (AKF) today launched its new APOL1 campaign, which aims to educate and increase awareness about APOL1-mediated kidney disease, a spectrum of kidney diseases that is associated with mutations or variants in the apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) gene and are linked to an increased risk for kidney disease in people of African and Caribbean descent. AKFs new educational materials were developed with support from Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. In the United States, Black people are almost four times more likely to have kidney failure than white people. While diabetes and high blood pressure are the leading causes of kidney disease, social determinants of health, inequities in health care and genetic factors are understood to contribute to the disparity in kidney failure among populations. One such genetic factor is mutations in the APOL1 gene, which makes a protein in the immune system. These mutations are mostly found in people of African, Afro-Caribbean, or Latino ancestry, with approximately 10-15% of the Black population having high-risk APOL1 genotypes. People diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)a rare kidney disease that causes scarring on the kidneys filtersare 17 times more likely to have APOL1 mutations. This new campaign will boost awareness and education about the connection between APOL1 and kidney disease and the need for increased genetic testing. Despite the clear link between APOL1 gene mutations and kidney disease, awareness of this association and the risks the mutations pose to people of African and Caribbean descent is relatively low, said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF President and CEO. People who have kidney disease and APOL1 gene mutations may see their disease progress more quickly than other causes of kidney disease and turn into kidney failure. The APOL1 campaigns educational materials will help those affected and at risk gain a clearer understanding of these mutations and empower them to seek assistance from their kidney care team so they can take charge of their health and lives. We thank Vertex Pharmaceuticals for their support of this crucial work. For the campaign, AKF has developed an APOL1 brain trust consisting of a group of people with kidney disease attributed to APOL1 variants and a health care professional expert on the subject. Through individual interviews, the brain trust informs the campaigns strategies and tactics to ensure education gaps are being adequately addressed. Throughout the course of the campaign, new resources for patients will include a digital resource to guide people who may want to talk with a genetic counselor, a dedicated webpage with enhanced educational materials, an animated explainer video and a patient experience video series. Because APOL1 mutations as a genetic marker for kidney disease risk remain a topic new to many health care professionals, AKFs campaign will also educate them about the role of variants in kidney genetics and the impact of APOL1-mediated kidney disease on people of color via a professional-facing webinar and educational materials. "Vertex is committed to developing medicines that treat the underlying cause of APOL1-mediated kidney disease and increasing awareness of this disease," said Amit Sachdev, Chief Patient Officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. "We're proud to support AKF and this effort to provide education and resources to those living with kidney disease." ### About the American Kidney Fund The American Kidney Fund (AKF) fights kidney disease on all fronts as the nations leading kidney nonprofit. AKF works on behalf of the 37 million Americans living with kidney disease, and the millions more at risk, with an unmatched scope of programs that support people wherever they are in their fight against kidney diseasefrom prevention through transplant. With programs that address early detection, disease management, financial assistance, clinical research, innovation and advocacy, no kidney organization impacts more lives than AKF. One of the nations top-rated nonprofits, AKF invests 97 cents of every donated dollar in programs, earning the highest 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator for 20 years in a row as well as the Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid, formerly GuideStar. Vancouver, B.C. , Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Walker River Resources Corp. (Walker or the Company) (TSX-V: WRR) is pleased to announce that reverse circulation (RC) drilling has re-started at the Lapon Gold Project, located some 60 km SE of Yerington, Nevada. Drilling started at the Pikes Peak portion of the Lapon Project, a seven-to-ten-hole program is planned here. Significant historical mining activities are present at Pikes (shafts, adits, mill) in a copper and gold environment. A previous regional sampling and prospecting program by Walker returned values of 9 g/t Au and 2.2% Cu from bedrock. (see news release 9/04/2019) Geological mapping and surveying also revealed the presence of a quartz monozonite porphyry, very significant for the emplacement of copper and gold mineralization in Nevada. It is notable that no reported modern drilling or geological exploration activities exist on the Pikes Peak claims area. Following the Pikes Peak program, drilling will move to the Lapon Canyon portion of the Lapon Gold Project. Drilling will be centered on the Hotspot area, located 200 meters above and 250 meters on strike SE of the historic mine workings, and high-grade drilling intercepts from Walkers previous drilling from 2016 to 2021. (see Walkers previous news releases from 2016 to 2022). Significant drill results were encountered at the Hotspot Zone, including 7.62 g/t Au over 48.8 m in LC 21-80, 5.68 g/t Au over 60.9 m in LC 21-81 and 1.84 g/t Au over 122 m in LC 21-84, (see news release 03/31/2022) among other significant drill results from this area. The Hotspot Zone appears to be flat lying (sub horizontal to horizontal), analogous to Basin and Range thrust faulting. Therefore, drilling can be carried out if different directions (azimuth) from the same drill pad, up to five holes can be drilled from a single drill pad, often in a fan shaped pattern. The topography and steepness of the mountain is less severe here, allowing for simpler and faster drill access construction, set up and drilling. The mineralization is not visible at surface, as it is overlain by approximately 3 meters of loose colluvium, making drill road access and pad construction quicker at less cost. This combined with the geometry of the mineralized zone, will allow Walker to carry out systematic drilling on section with pads placed at every 30 meters or so, with up to five holes per pad. Additional drill access road and pad construction has been completed for this current and future drill programs. About the Lapon Gold Project The Lapon Gold Project consists of 147 claims (2940 acres) situated in the Wassuk Range, within the Walker Lane shear zone, a 100 km wide structural corridor extending in a southeast direction from Reno, Nevada. The Project is easily accessible by secondary state roads from the main highway (25 kilometres), and is located approximately 60 kilometres southeast of Yerington, Nevada. A state power grid transmission line passes within three kilometres of the Project. The Lapon Gold Project includes Lapon Canyon, the Pikes Peak claims located 4 kilometres to the north, and the Rattlesnake and Range Front claims 3 kilometres to the west and over 600 meters lower than the present drilling at Lapon Canyon. The Rattlesnake, Range Front, and Pikers Peak claims cover over 8 km of possible extensions of the range front zones to the west, north, and south of Lapon Canyon, adding several additional drill target areas to the project. Rattlesnake and Pikes Peak contain numerous historical mining and milling areas that consist of adits at different levels, shafts and underground workings, and a network of existing roads providing access throughout. Little or no exploration work has been carried out on these claims prior to Walkers arrival. It is notable that the Rattlesnake area and adits are on strike with the Lapon Canyon discoveries located 3 km on strike and 600 meters above. Lapon Canyon hosts historical high grade gold mining with approximately 2000 feet of undergoing workings in three adits. Historical underground work returned numerous assay values in the one ounce per ton range, with a sample at the end of the A adit returning 20.6 ounces per ton Au. (NI43-101, Montgomery and Barr, 2004). The scientific and technical content and interpretations contained in this news release have been reviewed, verified and approved by E. Gauthier, geol., Eng (OIQ) a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Michel David ________________________ Michel David, Chief Executive Officer and Director FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Walker River Resources Corp. Tel: 819 874-0030 Fax: 819 825-1199 Email: info@wrrgold.com Website: www.wrrgold.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange Nor Its Regulation Service Provider (As That Term Is Defined In The Policies Of The TSX Venture Exchange) Accepts Responsibility For The Adequacy Or Accuracy Of This News Release. Millburn, NJ, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MILLBURN, NJ The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is saddened by the death of Former Governor Jim Florio and extend our sincerest condolences to the Florio family. Governor Florio played a crucial role in helping companies in New Jersey establish drug-free workplace policies that provide supervisory training, drug testing procedures and, when necessary, ensuring that employers and employees know what to do and where to go for treatment of substance use disorders, said Angelo Valente, Executive Director of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey. Governor Florio had foresight and vision in establishing Drugs Dont Work in NJ! to help New Jersey businesses be compassionate and competitive; and, for his understanding that the disease of addiction does not discriminate and can impact anyone, said Valente. ### Best known for its statewide substance use prevention advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication. To date, more than 200 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnerships New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jerseys history. Since its inception, the Partnership has garnered 217 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations. Attachment New York, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Floating Offshore Wind Power Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321497/?utm_source=GNW The major factors driving the market studied are the increasing cost-competitiveness, with an average Levelized Cost of Energy of USD 50/MWh being within reach. Additionally, the governments of the existing offshore markets intend to increase their targets and volumes toward 2030, which may lead to a significant increase in offshore installation and the new projects being awarded. However, the technological advances and cost reductions already achieved within the bottom-fixed wind turbines have been hindering the growth of the market. - The cost of wind energy has significantly declined during the past decade. The leading cause behind the declining price is the use of taller and larger-sized wind turbines. Earlier, the wind industry mainly depended on components made of steel and aluminum. These heavy materials can be damaged if used for large-sized wind turbines. Thus, it may lead to rapid future growth in the offshore wind power market. - Moreover, the integration of artificial intelligence, internet of things, robotics, and data analytics in offshore wind power will enable advanced condition monitoring and predictive maintenance, which result in increased efficiency and reduced operational and maintenance costs, which is likely to provide an opportunity to a growth in the deployment of floating offshore wind farms in coming future. - Europe is expected to be the largest floating offshore wind power market and is likely to grow further during the forecast period. Key Market Trends Declining Cost of Wind Energy - In recent years, the wind industry has developed more reliable and lightweight materials, such as fiberglass composites and other polymers. Besides that, earlier wind industry mainly used steel to build large towers, but now wind towers are made of steel and concrete, allowing manufacturers to build large towers. - Further, the improvements in the technology, including longer blades, the bearing materials for wind turbine gearbox, and access to better wind resources as wind farms are moving further from shore, are likely to support the growth of the floating offshore wind energy market. Additionally, the designs and manufacturing processes have significantly improved in the last few years. Due to these developments, manufacturers can build large-sized wind turbines at a relatively lower cost. - According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the global weighted average Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of newly commissioned offshore wind declined by 60% between 2010 and 2021, from USD 0.188/kilowatt hour (kWh) to USD 0.075/kWh. In 2021 alone, there was a 13% reduction, year-on-year. - Between 2010 and 2021, global weighted average total installed costs fell 41%, from USD 4,876/kW) to USD 2,858/kW. At its peak in 2011, the global weighted average installed cost was USD 5,584/kW, which is twice its value in 2021. In Europe, the weighted average LCOE of newly commissioned offshore projects fell 29% between 2020 and 2021, from USD 0.092/kWh to USD 0.065/kWh. Driven by project economies of scale, there was a 25% reduction in total installed costs year-on-year and an increase in new projects weighted average capacity factor from 42% to 48% in 2021. - The total installed cost and LCOE reductions have been driven by both technology improvements and the industrys growing maturity. Additionally, the growing developer experience, greater product standardization, manufacturing industrialization, service hubs, and economies of scale have contributed to cost declines - Therefore, the declining cost of wind energy in the offshore industry is expected to drive the adoption of floating offshore wind power technology during the forecast period. Europe to Dominate the Market Growth - Europe holds the highest share of offshore wind energy installations across the world. According to European Union, Europe represents a quarter of global installations of the total offshore wind market, Europe (primarily North Sea countries) is likely to be at the helm of the offshore wind market. - Globally, around 85% of the total offshore wind installations are in European waters. The governments of the European region, particularly in the North Sea area, have set an ambitious target for the installation of offshore wind farms in their respective territorial waters. - In 2022, Europe has an installed capacity of 112 MW of floating offshore wind power capacity, with the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Ireland, and Spain being the major markets in the region. - In August 2022, Cerulean Winds and Ping Petroleum UK signed an agreement on offshore oil and gas facilities powered mainly by offshore wind. Under the agreement, Cerulean Winds with its consortium of Tier 1 industrial partners will provide a large floating offshore wind turbine which will be connected, via a cable, to Ping Petroleums Floating Production & Storage vessel. The project is expected to come online in 2025. The project was enabled by a grant to Cerulean Winds through the Floating Offshore Wind Demonstration Program. - In February 2022, Norway announced plans for its first auction for offshore wind. The tender, scheduled in the second half of this year, at first would look for bids to develop at least 1.5 GW of offshore wind capacity to supply the country, with subsequent tenders designed to provide an economic boost by providing more electricity for export to Europe. - Furthermore, eight new offshore wind projects reached Final Decision Investment (FID) in 2020, with construction due to start in the coming years. The projects have an investment cost of USD 29.67 billion. - These recent trends, in turn, are expected to present Europe as an excellent business destination for players involved in the floating offshore wind farm business during the forecast period. Competitive Landscape The floating offshore wind power market is moderately fragmented due to many companies operating in the industry. The key players in this market include General Electric Company, Doosan Enerbility, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, BW Ideol SA. and Vestas Wind Systems A/S among others. Reasons to Purchase this report: - The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format - 3 months of analyst support Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321497/?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. __________________________ NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Physicians for Informed Consent (PIC), an educational 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on science and statistics, has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the right of municipal workers to informed consent, and its corollary informed refusal, in vaccination. The case of Marciano v. Adams (United States Supreme Court Case Number 22A178) was submitted to Justice Clarence Thomas and is scheduled for Supreme Court conference on Oct. 7, 2022. If a total of four Justices agree to hear the case at that time, then further briefing will be scheduled this fall 2022. Physicians for Informed Consent's amicus brief supports the plaintiff in the case of New York Police Department (NYPD) officer Anthony Marciano, who declined the COVID-19 vaccine and was fired from his career as a city police detective. Physicians for Informed Consent's brief highlighted four key points for the Court: Informed consent/refusal in vaccination is a fundamental right. There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines prevent the spread of COVID-19, and in fact there is evidence to the contrary (that vaccination has a negative effect on immunity). People with natural immunity should not have less rights than vaccinated people. Findings provided by PIC show that COVID-19 vaccines have had no measurable impact to lessen the COVID-19 mortality rate. "Upholding Physicians for Informed Consent's mission to deliver data on infectious diseases and vaccines, the PIC amicus brief advises the Supreme Court of key scientific facts supporting anyone's decision to decline a COVID-19 vaccine," said Greg Glaser, general counsel for Physicians for Informed Consent. "PIC also cites legal and ethical authorities supporting informed consent/refusal as a fundamental right. For too long, mandatory vaccination has received a free pass by courts since Jacobson v. Massachusetts. But COVID-19 has awakened the American people to the unjustness of mandates. Our nation needs the Supreme Court more than ever to uphold the fundamental right to decline mandatory vaccination." About Physicians for Informed Consent Physicians for Informed Consent is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization focused on science and statistics. PIC delivers data on infectious diseases and vaccines, and unites doctors, scientists, healthcare professionals, attorneys, and families who support voluntary vaccination. In addition, the PIC Coalition for Informed Consent consists of over 300 U.S. and international organizations. To learn more or to become a member, please visit physiciansforinformedconsent.org. Contact Information: Greg Glaser General Counsel info@picphysicians.org 925-642-6651 Related Images Image 1 Physicians for Informed Consent Files Amicus Curiae Brief with Supreme Court of the United States Supporting Workers' Rights to Refuse COVID-19 Vaccination This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, center, leaves for Japan to attend the state funeral for assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Sept. 27. Yonhap Prime Minister Han Duck-soo left for Japan on Tuesday on a two-day visit to attend the state funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and hold talks with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on its sidelines. Shortly after arriving in Tokyo, Han is scheduled to hold a meeting with Harris, who is also in Tokyo to attend the funeral, and discuss ways for closer cooperation between the allies on economic and security issues, according to the Prime Minister's Office. Harris plans to visit Korea on Thursday after attending the funeral. On Tuesday afternoon, Han will attend Abe's funeral before attending a reception hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. On Wednesday morning, Han is scheduled to hold a meeting with Kishida. New York, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Helicobacter Pylori Non-Invasive Testing Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Test Type, Test Method, and End User" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321043/?utm_source=GNW Increasing prevalence of H. pylori bacterial infection, spreading awareness among individuals regarding the diagnosis of H. pylori, and new product launches & FDA approvals fuel the overall market growth. The prevalence of the gastric disease is significantly higher in the geriatric population as aging increases the risk of H. pylori infection. Increased age leads to thinning of the stomach lining, thus allowing the bacteria to pass through the protective lining that contributes to the growing prevalence of infection among older people. According to World Health Organization (WHO), the population percentage aged 60 years and above is expected to be 13.7% globally and 20.3% in the south-east Asia region by 2030. With the subsequent increase in the geriatric population, the demand for primary care services, including screening, assessment, and management of clinical and functional comorbidities, is increasing. These statistics determine an increase in the need for diagnostics in various regions across the globe, which is boosting the growth of the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) non-invasive testing market during the forecast period. Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori) Non-Invasive Testing Market: Segmental Overview Based on the test type, the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) non-invasive testing market is segmented into serology, stool antigen, and urea breath. The urea breath segment held the largest market share in 2021, and it is anticipated to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to rising product development trends among prominent players. Based on test method, the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) non-invasive testing market is bifurcated into laboratory-based and point-of-care. In 2021, the laboratory-based segment held a larger market share, and it is expected to register a higher CAGR from 2022 to 2028 due to the healthcare professionals operating with testing procedures, making the diagnostics procedures more accurate. Based on end users, the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) non-invasive testing market is segmented into hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic laboratories. In 2021, the diagnostic laboratories segment held the largest share of the market, and it is expected to register the highest CAGR from 2022 to 2028, owing to the increasing number of tests carried out in labs and rising competition in the industry demands competitive prices and the best possible services. Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori) Non-Invasive Testing Market: Geographical Overview North America holds the largest share of the global Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori) non-invasive testing market, whereas Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing region. The market in North America is expected to grow during the forecast period owing to the growing prevalence of stomach cancer, duodenal ulcers, and gastric ulcers and the development of health care facilities. Asia Pacific is likely to register the highest CAGR in the global H. pylori non-invasive testing market during the forecast period. The market in the region is expected to grow significantly in various countries, including China, India, and Japan, in the coming years. The Asia Pacific Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori) non-invasive testing market is expected to grow due to the rising geriatric population, high prevalence of H. pylori, and gastric cancer cases. Therefore, the region holds huge potential for the market players to grow during the forecast period. Market Opportunities of Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori) Non-Invasive Testing Market The different conferences and events held globally by various organizations and institutes make people aware of H. pylori infections and give an overview of appropriate vital screening, early diagnosis of infection, and its effective cutting-edge treatment in successfully eradicating the infection. Participants in these conferences/events utilize these learnings to develop a framework for introducing H. pylori testing devices for their family practice and healthcare facilities. For instance, in February 2019, a conference Helicobacter pylori Update Conference was held in Abu Dhabi by the MENA conference. This conference offered the opportunity to meet, listen to and interact with world-class scientific and clinical research, public health, and industry experts. The increasing awareness of H. pylori infections such as peptic ulcers and gastritis is bringing the test diagnostics kits conveniently and quickly to the patient at home, which is also providing growth opportunities to the Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori) non-invasive testing market. Many clinicians recognize point-of-care (POC) testing as a requirement for the early detection of life-threatening situations because the results can be made available in real-time. In low- and middle-income countries, POC diagnostic and monitoring devices are anticipated to become universal in-home setups and at doctors offices or hospitals. Also, various companies are offering test kits for home use; for instance, Labsystems Diagnostics offers Biocard Helicobacter pylori IgG an immunochromatographic test for the detection of H. pylori IgG antibodies at home. Thus, various initiative to spread awareness among individuals for diagnosis of H. pylori along with the rising use of POC testing methods across the world is likely to create lucrative growth opportunities for the Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori) non-invasive testing market in the coming years. The World Health Organization (WHO), Globocan, World Bank Data, National Health Service (NHS), PubMed Central, and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) are a few secondary sources referred to while preparing the report on the global Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori) non-invasive testing market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321043/?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. __________________________ NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global retailer UNIQLO unveils its first solar paneled roof in the U.S. with Luminace, the North American decarbonization-as-a-service business of Brookfield Renewable. The 3.4-megawatt distributed generation solar project at UNIQLOs new Phillipsburg distribution facility in Warren County was developed and is owned and operated by Luminace. The project is a significant step in a climate strategy for UNIQLO and its parent company, Fast Retailing. Among the 2030 Targets and Action Plan announced recently, Fast Retailing is upholding climate change targets of the Paris Agreement and is committed to carbon neutrality by 2050. The project is expected to provide enough clean energy to avoid the release of approximately 2,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, which is equivalent to the energy consumption of approximately 450 households a year.* My Administrations efforts to reach one hundred percent clean energy by the year 2050 would not be possible without the cooperation of the businesses in our state, said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. I thank UNIQLO and Luminace for their collaboration in installing these solar panels on the roof of their nearly one million square foot facility in our very own Phillipsburg, New Jersey. These actions will bring us one step closer to a greener economy and creating a stronger, safer and healthier environment for all New Jerseyans. UNIQLO aims to improve the daily lives of people everywhere through our apparel called LifeWear, said Daisuke Tsukagoshi, UNIQLO USA CEO. We are proud of this important milestone that extends our mission beyond clothing, helping to make our operations better for the planet. We are honored to have partnered with Luminace, a pioneer in the renewable energy sector, on this state-of-the-art project, which will increase the worlds renewable energy footprint starting from New Jersey. "Luminace is pleased to support UNIQLOS commitment to renewable energy and their goal of carbon neutrality," said Valerie Hannah, CEO of Luminace. This project demonstrates Luminaces exceptional turnkey decarbonization solutions, providing accessible, reliable, and renewable energy, with no upfront costs to our customers. In addition to leveraging renewable energy, such as solar power, for electricity, among Fast Retailing and UNIQLOs 2030 targets also include 90% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its own operations (such as stores and offices) and 20% reduction in GHG emissions from its supply chain. The company commits to carbon neutrality by 2050. *Avoided emissions calculations are based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates About Luminace Luminace is a leading fully integrated decarbonization-as-a-service provider in North America, sponsoring accessible, reliable, and renewable energy infrastructure to empower the zero-emissions future. Luminace has an operational and development portfolio of more than 4,000 megawatts of distributed energy resources, serving hundreds of customers in the educational, commercial, industrial, utility, and municipal sectors across the U.S. and Canada. Luminace offers a full suite of decarbonization solutions including solar, energy storage, EV solutions and energy efficiency upgrades and retrofits as well as grid-resiliency options, all at no upfront cost. For additional information, please visit: www.luminace.com. Luminace is a Brookfield Renewable company. Brookfield Renewable operates one of the worlds largest publicly traded, pure-play renewable power platforms. About UNIQLO LifeWear Apparel that comes from the Japanese values of simplicity, quality and longevity. Designed to be of the time and for the time, LifeWear is made with such modern elegance that it becomes the building blocks of each individuals style. A perfect shirt that is always being made more perfect. The simplest design hiding the most thoughtful and modern details. The best in fit and fabric made to be affordable and accessible to all. LifeWear is clothing that is constantly being innovated, bringing more warmth, more lightness, better design, and better comfort to peoples lives. About UNIQLO and Fast Retailing UNIQLO is a brand of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., a leading Japanese retail holding company with global headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. UNIQLO is the largest of eight brands in the Fast Retailing Group, the others being GU, Theory, PLST (Plus T), Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse tam.tam, J Brand and Helmut Lang. With global sales of approximately 2.13 trillion yen for the 2021 fiscal year ending August 31, 2021 (US $19.4 billion, calculated in yen using the end of August 2021 rate of $1 = 109.9 yen), Fast Retailing is one of the worlds largest apparel retail companies, and UNIQLO is Japans leading specialty retailer. UNIQLO continues to open large-scale stores in some of the world's most important cities and locations, as part of its ongoing efforts to solidify its status as a global brand. Today the company has more than 2,300 stores in 25 markets including Japan. In alphabetical order, the other markets are Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, U.K. U.S. and Vietnam. In addition, UNIQLO established a social business in Bangladesh together with the Grameen Bank in 2010, and today there are more than 15 Grameen-UNIQLO stores, mostly located in Dhaka. With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world, Fast Retailing is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For more information about UNIQLO and Fast Retailing, please visit www.uniqlo.com and www.fastretailing.com . A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/76d1c486-4cbd-423b-927e-af708b880557 Contact for Luminace Meaghan Gorski Manager, Corporate Communications meaghan.gorski@luminace.com Contact for UNIQLO Michael Zakrzewski Director, Communications & Public Relations michael.zakrzewski@uniqlo-usa.com TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- F&I Sentinel today announced the addition of experienced software engineers Ryan McCauley and Kevin Ye, who will join the company in key roles to support the cloud-based CITADEL SaaS platform. F&I Sentinels CITADEL SaaS platform is an efficient turn-key compliance solution that protects finance companies, dealers, and consumers by lessening reputation, financial, litigation, and regulatory risks in connection with the sale and financing of vehicles and insurance products. F&I Sentinel offers cutting-edge solutions, and the addition of these three exceptional talents will help push us even further ahead, said Stephen McDaniel, Founder and CEO of F&I Sentinel. Ryans extensive accomplishments in computer science so early in his career enable him to lead F&I Sentinels platforms, while Kevins well-established professional experience in software engineering aligns with our innovative technology products and solutions. Ryan McCauley is a former USA Computing Olympics competitor, a globally recognized competitor in the Carnegie Mellon Informatics and Mathematics Competition, and a first-place winner of the Florida State University Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Programming Contest. McCauleys career debut as a software engineer with F&I Sentinel was a direct path from his dual enrollment in high school and college. Before joining F&I Sentinel as a software engineer, McCauley worked with Mission Mentor, a branch of the Harvard Innovation Labs Venture Program, the Harvard Computer Society Builder Incubation Program, and MIT Spark, working with a team of developers to create and maintain a student-based mentor startup and implementing front-end software logic. Prior to joining F&I Sentinel, Kevin Ye worked with Echo Global Logistics as a software engineer, where he designed and implemented back-end systems to support quoting, tendering, and load tracking functionalities. He also built CI/CD pipelines using Microsoft Azure Pipelines to automate testing and deployments to develop and stage environments and implemented data orchestration and streaming pipelines for analytics. Ye is certified in CompTIA Security+ and is an expert in technical support. He earned his Bachelors degree in computer science from Northwestern University and a Masters degree in Computer Science from New York University, where he received the NYU Tandon CSE Academic Achievement Award. # # # About F&I Sentinel F&I Sentinel is the automotive industrys leading compliance and regulatory risk mitigation solutions provider. F&I Sentinel continuously monitors marketplace developments across the United States to ensure that F&I products comply with corporate financing requirements, meet fiscal viability standards, and provide value to the consumer. F&I Sentinels FAIRRCalc proprietary software provides real-time GAP waiver refund quotes inclusive of cancellation fees to automotive finance companies. F&I Sentinel is a privately owned Tallahassee, Florida-based company founded in 2018 to serve the automotive finance industry. For more information about our innovative solutions, please visit http://www.fandisentinel.com and follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/f-i-sentinel. New York, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Predictive Maintenance Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Component, Deployment Type, Technique, and Industry" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05950865/?utm_source=GNW Several macroeconomic factors globally created a severely hostile environment for businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruptions, which led to huge losses for several industry verticals.Political factors in Europe, the Middle East, and South America negatively affected different industry verticals in various ways. Severe economic downturns in several countries decreased consumer spending on discretionary or optional goods. Concerning such factors, enterprises are taking up different measures to remain competitive by reducing capital expenditure.Hence, enterprises are adopting technologies that can reduce their production downtime and support continuous manufacturing activities. Availing predictive maintenance can aid organizations in reducing costs while maintaining a competitive edge.Studies claim that an offshore oil and gas company can use predictive maintenance solutions to reduce downtime by 20%, leading to a production increase of more than 500,000 oil barrels annually. Such advantages are expected to boost the predictive maintenance market growth during the forecast period. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Predictive Maintenance Market Growth The limitations imposed by governments to control the spread of COVID-19 during the initial time frame of the outbreak in most countries affected the day-to-day functioning of most enterprises.Stringent restrictions and supply chain disruptions put most companies in jeopardy. Similar situations were witnessed across most countries across all regions.The COVID-19 pandemic affected the economy, transportation, infrastructure, and electronics & semiconductor industries. It disrupted the operations of electronics & semiconductor firms, clients, and partners for an indefinite period due to travel restrictions and business shutdowns, severely influencing revenue and reducing technological spending.There is speculation that the work-at-home modality is expected to become the new normal for many people in the near future. Hence, multinational enterprises operating in different regions had to reconfigure their manufacturing operations to continue functioning, despite less manpower. Thus, there was a sudden rise in demand for predictive maintenance market players in most regions worldwide. Large enterprises and SMEs increased their adoption of digital transformation to accommodate the changing business environment. Therefore, regional businesses are expected to invest more money and energy into identifying intelligent management solutions tailored to managing plant machinery and equipment during the forecast period. The outlook post-COVID 19 for the predictive maintenance market growth, thus, seems favorable for most market players. China accounts for the largest share in the predictive maintenance market in Asia Pacific, followed by Japan and India.The predictive maintenance market in China is growing at one of the fastest globally. Chinese firms have been one of the keenest adopters of technology in APAC as they seek to gain a competitive edge through digitalization and innovation.The growing demand for predictive maintenance from the oil & gas, energy & utility, transportation, and logistics industries is creating immense opportunities for the predictive maintenance players to accelerate the market. For instance, in February 2022, Shentong Bombardier (Shanghai) Rail Transit Vehicle Maintenance Co., Ltd., an Alstoms Chinese joint venture, achieved a contract from Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Metro) to provide whole lifecycle maintenance service for 204 Movia metro cars and 34 trains with a contract value of US$ 44.85 million. Such factors promote the expansion of the predictive maintenance market in China. The predictive maintenance market revenue was predominantly generated through solutions segment.Predictive maintenance solutions are custom-designed and standard ones, designed to meet the rising demands from industries for optimized energy consumption and reduced operational costs, and making intelligent decisions backed by analytical tools. Predictive maintenance market players are offering solutions that coexist with the production systems and industrial assets, such as Embitel and Cariad Group Company. Additionally, the demand for application-specific predictive maintenance solutions is rising from large enterprises to collect and manage data for undisruptive production flows by maintenance schedule.Furthermore, growing initiatives from solution providers for improved fleet management, HVAC controls, remote diagnostics for buses, and so on are expediting the segment growth. For instance, Continental AG has developed ContiConnect 2.0, a time management solution (predictive maintenance), consisting of standard and version packages for tire pressure & temperature management and insights collection for tread depth & tire condition, respectively. Drones equipped with sensors and cameras for transmitting insights with AI through 5G are a solution for detecting corrosion in grid insulators and exhibit predictive maintenance across industries. Such factors promote the growth of the solutions segment, and in turn, of the predictive maintenance market. General Electric Co.; Hitachi Ltd.; IBM Corporation; Microsoft Corporation; PTC, Inc.; SAS Institute Inc.; Schneider Electric SE; Software AG; Syncron AB; and TOSL Engineering Ltd. are a few key predictive maintenance market players. The overall predictive maintenance market size has been derived using both primary and secondary sources.To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market. The process also serves the purpose of obtaining an overview and forecast of the predictive maintenance market size with respect to all market segments.Also, industry participants and commentators have conducted multiple primary interviews to validate the data and gain more analytical insights. Participants in this process include VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, national sales managers, external consultants, such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders, specializing in the predictive maintenance market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05950865/?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. __________________________ BRYAN, Texas and SAN DIEGO, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iBio, Inc. (NYSEA:IBIO) (iBio or the Company), a developer of next-generation biopharmaceuticals and pioneer of the sustainable FastPharming Manufacturing System, today announces preliminary unaudited financial results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, and provides a corporate update. We have continued to take important steps toward achieving our strategic objective of becoming a leading biotechnology company with a focus on developing innovative immunotherapies, said Tom Isett, Chairman & CEO of iBio. Chief among these was the RubrYc asset acquisition, which provides us with a differentiated, AI-powered drug discovery platform and four promising new candidates to go along with our lead asset, IBIO-101, an IL-2 sparing anti-CD25 antibody. With an expanded portfolio and increasing technical, regulatory, and market challenges for COVID-19 vaccine development, we have decided not to proceed with an IND submission for IBIO-202, our multi-variant COVID-19 vaccine candidate. We also continue to review options to extend our cash runway. Recent Business Developments: BIOPHARMACEUTICALS Therapeutics Last week, iBio acquired substantially all the assets of its partner, RubrYc Therapeutics, Inc. (RubrYc). The transaction included RubrYc's artificial intelligence (AI)-driven Discovery Engine; its proprietary humanized antibody library; all rights, with no future milestone payment or royalty obligations, to the two immuno-oncology assets previously licensed in the partnership; and four new immunotherapy candidates. The AI Discovery Engine is unique as it is the only proprietary machine-learning platform of its kind to combine computational biology and 3D-modeling of epitopes for the identification and engineering of large-molecule drug candidates based upon subdominant, as well as conformational, epitopes that have proven hard to target using traditional trial-and-error screening methods. As part of the RubrYc transaction, the Company now wholly-owns, with no further financial commitments, its lead immune-oncology asset, IBIO-101; an IL-2 sparing anti-CD25 antibody aimed at depleting immunosuppressive regulatory T cells without interfering with T effector cell anti-tumor effects. As iBio evaluates its recently increased options for the molecules development, the Company now expects to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for IBIO-101 with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first half of calendar 2024. Vaccines As previously reported, preclinical studies of IBIO-202, the Companys vaccine candidate that uses a nucleocapsid (N) antigen rather than the more mutable spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2, demonstrated a robust, antigen-specific, memory T-cell response. Nevertheless, data derived from recent IND-enabling challenge studies in immunologically naive hamsters showed that IBIO-202 did not provide protective effect as an N-only vaccine. Accordingly, iBio has decided not to move forward with the IND submission for IBIO-202 in 2023. A recent preclinical study published in the peer-reviewed journal, Science Translational Medicine, similarly demonstrated that N-only vaccination provided modest protection from SARS-CoV-2. However, the study also showed that combining N with S (N+S) induced more robust protection against both Delta and Omicron variants than S-only vaccination. In light of the challenge study data, the continuing need for a last dose, not a next dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and iBios prospects to secure non-dilutive funding and/or partnership opportunities for the program, iBio is evaluating next steps for its proprietary N-antigen drug substance. Recent Corporate Developments: At the Companys Special Meeting of Stockholders held on June 30, 2022, iBios stockholders approved a proposal giving the Board of Directors (the Board) the option to effect a one for twenty-five (1-for-25) reverse stock split of the Companys shares of common stock in the event that it deemed it advisable. iBio announced today the Board has approved a one for twenty-five (1-for-25) reverse stock split that will become effective Friday, October 7, 2022, upon the filing of a Certificate of Amendment to the Companys Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, with the Secretary of the State of Delaware. On Monday, October 10, 2022, the Companys common stock will begin trading on a post-reverse split basis on the NYSE American under the same symbol IBIO, but with a new CUSIP number of 451033609. The importance of having flexibility to pursue our strategic objectives with the availability of additional issuable shares was underscored with the RubrYc transaction, financed upfront with iBio common stock, said Mr. Isett. We are pleased that our shareholders voted in favor of the reverse stock split proposal that could provide the Company with strategic business management flexibility. Preliminary Unaudited Financial Results: Revenues for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, were approximately $2.4 million, an increase of 1% over fiscal 2021. R&D and G&A expenses for fiscal 2022 increased $7.7 million and $12.1 million, respectively, over the comparable period in fiscal 2021. The growth in R&D and G&A reflects the Companys growing investments in its pipeline, platform technologies, employees, and related infrastructure. iBio's consolidated net loss for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, was $50.3 million, an increased loss of $27.1 million compared to 2021 due to increased R&D and administrative expenses incurred to support the Companys business strategy and $10.2 million in Fraunhofer USA settlement income in fiscal 2021 that did not recur in fiscal 2022 offset by $1.8 million in Fraunhofer USA license revenue in fiscal 2022. iBio held cash, cash equivalents and investments in debt securities of $39.5 million as of June 30, 2022. The Company has concluded there is substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. Accordingly, the Company has been informed by its registered public accounting firm that its audit opinion that will be included in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022 to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission will include an explanatory paragraph related to the Companys ability to continue as a going concern. This announcement is made pursuant to NYSE American LLC Company Guide Section 610(b), which requires public announcement of the receipt of an audit opinion containing a going concern paragraph. iBio is evaluating a number of potential options to expand its cash runway, the implementation of which will impact its liquidity. Potential options being considered to increase liquidity include lowering our expenses through decreasing spending, such as with the IBIO-202 program, and focusing product development on a select number of product candidates. Additional options include the sale or out-licensing of certain product candidates or parts of the business, raising money from capital markets, grant revenue or collaborations, or a combination thereof. Webcast and Conference Call iBio management will host a webcast and conference call at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time today, September 27, 2022, to discuss these results and provide additional updates. The live and archived webcast may be accessed on the Companys website at www.ibioinc.com under News and Events in the Investors section. To access the live call by phone, participants should go to this registration link, where they will be provided with the dial-in details. About iBio, Inc. iBio develops next-generation biopharmaceuticals using computational biology and 3D-modeling of hard-to-target subdominant epitopes along with its sustainable, plant-based protein expression capabilities for cGMP manufacturing. Its FastPharming Manufacturing System combines vertical farming, automated hydroponics, and novel glycosylation technologies to rapidly deliver high-quality monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, bioinks and other proteins. iBio is developing proprietary biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancers, as well as fibrotic and autoimmune diseases. The Companys wholly-owned subsidiary, iBio CDMO LLC, provides FastPharming Contract Development and Manufacturing Services along with GlycaneeringSM Development Services for advanced recombinant protein design. For more information, visit www.ibioinc.com. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and include statements regarding our strategic objective of becoming a leading biotechnology company with a focus on developing innovative immunotherapies; reviewing options to extend the Companys cash runway; and filing an IND application for IBIO-101 with the FDA in the first half of calendar 2024. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, the Companys ability to continue to execute its growth strategy; its ability to become a leading biotechnology company with a focus on developing innovative immunotherapies its ability to develop additional options to extend our cash runway; its ability to execute or be successful with any additional options to extend the Companys cash runway; its ability to accelerate the Companys transformation; its ability to raise additional capital in order to achieve the Companys strategic objectives; its ability to successfully integrate the RubrYc business with our current management and structure; its ability to file an IND for IBIO-101 before the first half of 2024; its ability secure non-dilutive funding and/or partnerships for IBIO-202; its ability to pursue strategic objectives with the availability of additional issuable shares; its ability to obtain regulatory approvals for commercialization of its product candidates, or to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements; regulatory limitations relating to its ability to promote or commercialize its product candidates for specific indications; acceptance of its product candidates in the marketplace and the successful development, marketing or sale of products; its ability to maintain its license agreements; the continued maintenance and growth of its patent estate; its ability to establish and maintain collaborations and attract and increase partnership opportunities for its bioprocess business; successful compliance with governmental regulations applicable to its manufacturing facility; competition; its ability to raise additional capital in order to fully execute the Companys longer-term business plan and the other factors discussed in the Companys filings with the SEC including the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2021 and the Companys subsequent filings with the SEC on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Contact: Stephen Kilmer iBio, Inc. Investor Relations (646) 274-3580 skilmer@ibioinc.com NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Abbott Laboratories (Abbott or the Company) (NYSE: ABT). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Abbott and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On February 17, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its investigation into four consumer complaints of infant illness related to powdered infant formula produced by Abbott in its Sturgis, Michigan facility. Among other things, the FDA indicated that it had already found several positive contamination results from onsite environmental samples for a bacteria linked to infant illnesses and death. The same day, Abbott recalled certain popular infant formula products manufactured in the Sturgis facility. On this news, Abbotts stock price fell $3.79 per share, or 3.14%, to close at $116.79 per share on February 18, 2022. On March 22, 2022, the FDA reported its findings that, among other things, Abbott had failed to establish adequate process controls for its infant formula related to the presence of microorganisms and to prevent environmental contamination. On this news, Abbotts stock price fell $4.97 per share, or 4%, to close at $116.92 per share on March 23, 2022. On April 22, 2022, a redacted copy of a whistleblower complaint sent to the FDA in October 2021 was made public, revealing, among other things, that previous issues with the Sturgis facility were known to Abbotts management far earlier. On this news, Abbotts stock price fell $4.51 per share, or 3.8%, to close at $113.50 per share on April 29, 2022. Then, on June 8, 2022, investors learned that, contrary to the Companys repeated denials, Abbott was aware of the whistleblowers formal allegations in early 2021, when it was reported that the FDA whistleblower had filed a complaint in February 2021 with the U.S. Labor Departments Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), and that OSHA delivered that complaint to Abbott and the FDA during the same month. On this news, Abbotts stock price fell $4.17 per share, or 3.5%, to close at $112.71 per share on June 9, 2022. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of FedEx Corporation (FedEx or the Company) (NYSE: FDX). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether FedEx and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On September 15, 2022, FedEx released preliminary first quarter financial results and announced plans to shutter storefronts and corporate offices while putting off new hires brought on by drop-off in its global package delivery business. FedEx further stated that it was unlikely to meet Wall Streets profit target for its fiscal first quarter ended August 31, 2022 and that the Company expects business conditions to further weaken in the current quarter amid weaker global volume. On this news, FedExs stock price fell $43.85 per share, or 21.4%, to close at $161.02 on September 16, 2022. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com . China celebrates fifth Chinese farmers' harvest festival 09:04, September 27, 2022 By Zhu Jun ( People's Daily Sept. 23 this year marked the fifth Chinese farmers' harvest festival. Celebration activities were held in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province and Changping district, Beijing, to share the joy of harvest. Farmers sun-dry corns and peanuts in Panji village, Yangyi township, Ningling county, Shangqiu, central China's Henan province, Sept. 23, 2022. (People's Daily Online/Lyu Zhongxiang) "I had another bumper harvest this year from my nearly 7,000 mu (467 hectares) of rice," said Cheng Liankun from Xiaozhujia village, Ning'an, northeast China's Heilongjiang province, who is now selling his rice through livestreaming. According to statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics, China's summer grain output increased 1 percent year on year to 147.4 billion kilograms. The total output of early rice was around 28.1 billion kilograms, up 105 million kilograms from that in 2021. At present, autumn grains are in good growth in most parts of the country, which lays a solid foundation for autumn harvest. The firm basis of agriculture, as well as the sound development of issues related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers, offer firm support for China in stabilizing the macro economy and keeping major economic indicators within an appropriate range. As a result, China is confident in coping with domestic and international challenges. China is a major agricultural nation that enjoys a long history of farming culture. It always regards agriculture as a basis for national stability and peoples happiness. A grand gala is staged in Hulun Buir, north China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region to celebrate the fifth Chinese farmers' harvest festival, Sept. 23, 2022. (People's Daily Online/Han Yingqun) In recent years, the country has constantly improved its policy system supporting the development of agriculture, rural areas and farmers. It implements the rural vitalization strategy, puts agriculture and rural areas first in development, and has fostered an atmosphere in the whole society where agriculture, rural areas and farmers are cared for. More attention was paid to, more investment was made and more parties engaged in the development of agriculture, rural areas and farmers. China has achieved historic progress in its agricultural and rural development. At present, the contribution rate of agricultural technology progress to economic growth in China has reached over 61 percent, and the coverage rate of improved crop varieties has exceeded 96 percent. Besides, 72 percent of crops in China are comprehensively planted and reaped by machines, and over 900 million mu of high-standard farmland has been built across the country. China's agriculture, empowered by new machines and models, as well as new industries and businesses, is embracing high-quality development. Agricultural technologies have become a powerful engine and fundamental force in maintaining food security and the supply of important agricultural products. The Chinese farmers' harvest festival is a day for not only the farmers, but also all Chinese people. Photo taken on Aug. 3, 2022 shows tomatoes grown in an intelligent greenhouse in southwest China's Chongqing municipality. (People's Daily Online/Liu Hui) A featured promotion activity was held in Beijing that day to introduce citizens to agricultural brands. An exhibition was held in Chengdu to demonstrate the outcomes of China's agricultural modernization. In Heilongjiang province, farmers attended a grand outdoor party to celebrate the festival, where farmers sing, paint and read poetry to celebrate the harvest. These activities made people realize that national stability and food security are of vital importance and increased care for agriculture, rural areas and farmers. The festival is an opportunity for the countryside to demonstrate its featured products, beautiful scenery and great traditional cultures, and to bring in market economy thoughts, suitable technologies and modern production factors. China will achieve better progress in rural vitalization and make the countryside richer, happier and more beautiful. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas during her visit to Korea this week, Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Tuesday. Han made the remarks during a meeting with Harris in Tokyo before they are set to attend the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later in the day. Han said the planned visit by Harris to the DMZ on Thursday is a "symbolic" move for the Korea-U.S. alliance. Harris told Han the alliance is "the linchpin of security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific." (Yonhap) Korea's National Assembly on Tuesday ratified a respective free trade agreement (FTA) with Israel and Cambodia, wrapping up the final domestic procedure needed for their implementation. The ratification came as Korea signed an FTA with Israel in May last year after they struck the deal in 2019 following three-year negotiations. Seoul became the first Asian country to have a free trade deal with the Middle Eastern nation. Korea also signed an FTA with Cambodia in October last year. "The government will notify Israel and Cambodia of the completion of all due domestic procedures and have a consultation with them on when to have them go into effect," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. (Yonhap) The original sujagi is on display for a special occasion. / Courtesy of Ganghwa History Museum By Jia H. Jung Somewhere in the belly of the glassy, triangular Ganghwa History Museum, there rests a very important flag. The flag is on loan from the U.S. and its lease is almost up. U.S. military forces captured the item 151 years ago after its first military engagement in the "Hermit Kingdom" in June 1871. The U.S. recorded the event as the "Expedition to Korea"; Koreans remembered it as Sinmiyangyo, "Western Disturbance in the Sinmi Year." The flag's name is "sujagi," the commanding general's flag. Faded but formidable, the four square meters of woven hemp bear a bold Chinese ideogram signaling military rank. Closeups of the sujagi's woven hemp, left, and the lettering. / Courtesy of Ganghwa History Museum This relic of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom is the last of its kind. The flag, in Korea since 2007, is so dear that it is currently folded up and kept where specialists of Korea and the U.S. monitor the climate conditions. No one wants to accelerate the deterioration of the fabric, so a replica sujagi hangs from the lofted ceiling of a hall with a giant Sinmiyangyo diorama. The sujagi replica, upper right, currently on display at the Ganghwa History Museum. / Courtesy of Jia H. Jung The sujagi's time in Korea technically ends this Friday, Sept. 30. Negotiations for an extension may be underway, as has happened before. No one has mentioned plans to return the flag to America. Even so, the end date is a reminder that a poignant piece of Korean culture and history remains technically in the hands of another country. The trouble began when Americans sailed into the Yeomha Channel in the Han River Estuary in 1871. The expedition was led by the Asiatic Squadron of American military forces that cruised the waters in Asia for the latter half of the 19th century. "Honestly, they should not have been there," Thomas Duvernay, a professor of Korean studies at Yeungnam University, says from under his Indiana Jones-style cap during an interview in the air-conditioned oasis of a Starbucks near his campus office. "If a foreign warship wanted to go up the Mississippi River, that wouldn't be okay." A Michigan native turned Korean history and English professor, he became obsessed with the sujagi in the mid-1990s, when he fell into Korean traditional archery and weaponry research. Sinmiyangyo jumped at him even if the event did not involve bows or arrows. When met with resistance to their forays, U.S. forces destroyed a chain of ancient forts on Ganghwa Island, sparking a conflict that killed three American servicemen and over 300 Koreans. Eo Jae-yeon was leading a secret army to defend Korea from Western invasion. As the end approached, he sacrificed himself. The Americans, after slaying him, tore down his sujagi and made away with it, plus 46 other flags and signals and an untold catalog of additional Korean artifacts. Duvernay put half of his adult life into researching Sinmiyangyo and trying to recover the sujagi and other lost treasures. In 1998, a rear admiral of the U.S. Navy wrote that it would "literally take an act of Congress" to move the flag. But in 2007, after some press and bureaucratic lifting from the Cultural Heritage Administration, the sujagi returned to Korea on a 10-year loan from the U.S. Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Maryland, to the National Palace Museum at Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul. After a grand homecoming, the piece was moved out to Ganghwa Island, where Sinmiyangyo had taken place. Duvernay eventually met Eo Jae-son, the great-great-grandson of General Eo. The duo became fast friends and foundation partners, pairing Duvernay's wealth of information from feverish solo research with the exclusive knowledge handed down over the generations within Eo's family. Eo Jae-son, left, and Thomas Duvernay / Courtesy of Thomas Duvernay Eo holds a magnanimous view of the sujagi situation. "It's our fault for losing it in the first place!" he exclaims. He says he just wants to unearth as much history as possible and pitch it forward. Two inner chambers in the foundation office contain a shrine to General Eo Jae-yeon and original wood-carved citations of honor from King Gojong. Office shrine to General Eo Jae-yeon. / Courtesy of Jia H. Jung A sujagi replica, flanked by citations from King Gojong / Courtesy of Jia H. Jung After a monsoon downpour on a late afternoon, Eo walks briskly through a glistening pine forest enveloping Gwangseongbo Fort on Ganghwa Island. In his black felt hat, indigo trousers and crispy white shirt, he appears younger than the septuagenarian he is and somehow congruent with the riparian landscape. He stops at the circular Sondolmokdondae observation post, overgrown with grass and wildflowers. He wonders how the 50 or so fighters cornered here must have felt, knowing that the end was near. Eo Jae-son visits Sondolmokdondae observation post to retrace the history of the 1871 conflict which claimed the life of his great-great-grandfather. / Courtesy of Jia H. Jung In a barely perceptible throe of emotion, Eo turns his face towards the setting sun, pumps his fist and says, "But they didn't get us. We turned them back." He proceeds down the hill to the lookout closest to the water. Jumping up into a nook in the brick fortress wall, he looks down at sondolmok, the same swirling whirlpool into which hundreds of Koreans reportedly leapt to their deaths after seeing the general's sujagi fall down. Eo Jae-son regards Sondolmok. / Courtesy of Jia H. Jung The perilous waters of Sondolmok. / Courtesy of Jia H. Jung The next month, Eo strides into the lobby of Ganghwa History Museum. After vacation season and National Liberation Day have passed, his footsteps echo in the empty space. Clothed this time in a canvas newsboy cap and a tailored vest and pants set, he has the subtle swagger of the tango-dancing, sax-playing, daily cyclist. The exterior of Ganghwa History Museum / Courtesy of Jia H. Jung At the ticket desk, three young employees eye Eo but don't recognize him. Humbly, he mumbles who he is. The employees begin moving in and out of doors, whispering and getting on their mobile phones to dial people who don't pick up. Finally, they emerge with a gift bag containing a book published by the Ganghwa War Museum. Of course, most of the information about the sujagi is from Duvernay. Pages out of a commemorative book published by the Ganghwa War Museum / Courtesy of Jia H. Jung Leonardo's AWHero rotary uncrewed aerial system / Courtesy of Leonardo Multinational firm ready to help handle threats in Indo-Pacific By Kang Seung-woo Leonardo, a global giant in aerospace, defense and security, has a long track record of collaborating with Korea in both military and non-military sectors. The Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy has operated the firm's best-selling AW159 maritime operations helicopter, while the nation's Coast Guard, firefighting services and medical operators are also its faithful customers. Rather than resting on its laurels, the multinational company headquartered in Rome and present in Korea with its branch office is seeking to increase its collaborations with Korean industries and partners on new programs. "For us, Korea is one of the top partner and the top markets," Alberto Pietra, Leonardo's senior vice president for Asia and Far East regional markets, said during an interview with The Korea Times on the sidelines of the Defense Expo Korea (DX Korea), Friday. Alberto Pietra The biennial military fair was held from Sept. 21 to 25, and Leonardo participated for the first time in the exhibition on equipment for ground forces. "Our interest in this market is not only for the present volume we are managing, but for the potentiality in the future," Pietra added. Pietra said his company was interested in the ROK Army's envisaged plan to acquire attack helicopters. Currently, the Army operates U.S.-made attack helicopters, including Bell's Cobra and Boeing's Apache. "The ROK Army already has attack helicopters from the United States and what we have seen is the willingness of your government to consider alternative sources for the future, and particularly consider the possibility of collaboration to develop an indigenous heavy attack helicopter. In this matter, we are available to collaborate with your local champions in order to co-develop a solution and provide strong support for the domestic industry in order to deliver ROK Army and Korea with the best long-term solution," Pietra said. "So, we gave our availability (to the ROK Army and relevant agencies). In this scenario we see our role as the major partner and contributor of world-class system capabilities to a local Prime Contractor, so we wait for further decisions." Currently, the Korean defense industry is intent on the KF-21 Boramae program, aimed at the domestic development of a last generation fighter jet, and Leonardo believes it can help thanks to its strong experience. "Our capabilities in the fighter domain are at the age of technology because we are strongly involved in the Eurofighter Typhoon program with our Italian and British businesses. And we are also involved in the future program FCAS (the Future Combat Air System), called the Tempest, in which Italy, the United Kingdom and Sweden are participating," he said. "So we are well established in this market we are ready to collaborate worldwide in any fighter program." Pietra also said his company was already collaborating on the KF-21 even though he could not go into details due to their private agreement. Leonardo, which provides from single sensors to entire systems for aerospace, defense and security applications, can also integrate other companies' equipment in its platform and its equipment in other companies' platforms. "We are a system of systems integrator so we can provide the entire chain of capability up to the higher level and of course, when we enter into a partnership with a customer that focuses on a single equipment at the lower level, we can provide the experience of having integrated that equipment into a higher-level system," Pietra said, adding that the 76/62 Super Rapid multi-feeding gun mount is a lightweight, rapid-fire naval gun for air defense and anti-surface operations part of Korean naval export campaigns. "This is one of the advantages that we bring to our partners, starting from the position to own the Intellectual Property of our wide portfolio of solutions." Leonardo said it has strategic collaborations with Korean partners, both in technical and commercial activities, to promote integrated solutions in export markets and on national program support. For instance, its avionics systems are used in a variety of roles both as products fitted to military aircraft manufactured in Korea and as part of the development of future systems such as the KF-21. Leonardo's AW-119 / Courtesy of Leonardo MAN Energy Solutions and ABB have signed a Decarbonization Cooperation agreement regarding the development of a next-generation, Dual-Fuel, Electric+ (DFE+) propulsion concept for LNG carriers. The DFE+ concept features the just-launched MAN 49/60DF engine and ABBs Dynamic AC (DAC) technology and aims to deliver the operational flexibility shipowners need to cut carbon footprints as well as fuel bills for liquefied natural gas carriers. The scope of the collaboration covers a joint concept study between the partners sharing technical data, and discussing interfaces and system integration. MAN Energy Solutions and ABB intend to promote the concept to customers jointly. Progressive regulations on emissions have called for continuous innovation in marine propulsion. To be truly future-proof, ships that are being built today need to be able to rely on flexibility in energy sourcing. The new power and propulsion system will be optimized for efficiency and compliance, and have the flexibility needed to achieve best performance. Rune Lysebo, Global Head of Sales, ABB Marine & Ports The DFE+ concept Whereas the conventional DFDE concept is characterized by: constant-speed operating engines (gensets) over the entire engine load; optimized for high load, for example, at the 85% load point; and in part- and low-load have high methane slip and less efficiency; the new MAN/ABB DFE+ concept comprises: variable-speed operating engines (gensets) over the entire engine load; and better efficiency with significant reduction of methane slip over the entire engine map. While variable-speed applications are well established for liquid-fuel systems up to 10mW e , torque requirements and the low efficiency of first-generation dual-fuel enginesincluding limitations in the e-systems design for diesel-electric propulsion systems over 10 mW e killed variable speed for propulsion systems over 10mWe. Korea will push to create a defense industry investment fund worth around 120 billion won ($83.9 million) by 2025 to support defense firms specializing in artificial intelligence, drones and other areas, the state arms procurement agency said Tuesday. Hana Bank a local institution chosen to manage research funds from the state-funded Defense Agency for Technology and Quality and Agency for Defense Development will make investments worth 60 billion won in total from 2023-25 for the creation of a parent fund, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). The Korea Growth Investment has been selected to manage the parent fund and create three subordinate ones, which will attract a combined 60 billion won from private investors in the 2023-25 period. The subordinate funds will be run for some 10 years. The country's first such policy fund is aimed at supporting small and midsized defense enterprises boasting cutting-edge defense technologies in various areas, including energy, aerospace and semiconductors, according to DAPA. "The purpose of creating this fund is to improve innovativeness of the industry's ecosystem in response to changes in the overall environment of the defense industry," DAPA said in a press release. The local bank and fund manager were selected through a public bidding process. (Yonhap) Last year Indian carrier Reliance Jio (in partnership with Google) unveiled the JioPhone Next a super affordable 4G smartphone, which could be had for as little as 2,000 ($27 at the time) with a monthly plan starting at 300 (and a 501 processing fee). Buying the phone outright cost 6,500 ($87 back then). The goal of this device was to move millions and millions of Jio subscribers off their outdated 2G and 3G phones and onto the carriers 4G network. According to the analysts at Counterpoint, the company will build a 5G follow-up to get people to upgrade to Jios new 5G network once coverage expands sufficiently. The phone is expected to be in the 8,000-12,000 range (from below $100 to below $150). Looking further into the future to 2024, the carrier will also want to launch an affordable mmWave phone, say the analysts. Leaked info on the JioPhone Next 5G claims that it will be upgraded to a Snapdragon 480 chipset with 4GB of RAM and 32GB storage, plus it will have a larger 6.5" LCD (HD+) and a larger 5,000mAh battery (up from 5.45" and 3,500mAh, respectively). The JioPhone Next (4G) The predictions of cheap 5G phones come at the end of Counterpoints detailed report on the Bill of Materials (BoM) for the JioPhone Next 4G, which costs around $58 to built. It is manufactured in Reliance Jios Neolync facilities in southern India by using a mix of components from Chinese, Korean and American suppliers. The display of the Next, a 5.45 LCD with 720 x 1,440px resolution, is sourced from TXD (an up and coming display maker from China) and is covered with Gorilla Glass 3 from Corning. The whole assembly costs nearly a fifth of the total BoM. The storage and memory are pricey too 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM and 32GB of eMMC flash. Those come in the form of an embedded Multi-Chip Package (eMCP), which stacks the RAM and storage chips for a smaller footprint on the motherboard. The eMCP comes from Samsung and makes up around 22% of the BoM. Add the chipset Qualcomms QM215 and half the budget has been spent. That doesnt even cover the additional connectivity hardware, sensors, battery and more. The detailed BoM breakdown is below and you can also read Counterpoints full report for more details. To make the best out of the phones limited resources, Jio worked with Google to customize Android Go and turn it into Pragati OS. The higher cost of 5G components will make the new JioPhone pricier, even with an optimized build, supply chain and software. Source Samsung has expanded its One UI 5 beta even further today, but perhaps not to where you may have been expecting. Following the beta program's availability for the last few generations of Samsung's flagships, the software is now headed to the company's best-selling line of devices, the Galaxy A5x, and it starts with the Galaxy A52 in India. If you have a Galaxy A52 purchased from India, you need the Samsung Members app to get the One UI 5 beta. Once inside the app, just tap on the big "One UI Beta Program" banner that will show up at the top. Once you've entered your details, expect to get the beta release as an over-the-air software update within a few hours, or, at most, a few days after your enrollment is complete. From that point on you'll receive subsequent beta builds, as well as the final One UI 5 based on Android 13 update, as further over-the-air updates. Of course, you should exercise some caution if the Galaxy A52 in question is your only smartphone - this is, after all, a beta release, which means you may find bugs here and there, things may not work exactly as intended, that sort of thing. Source Xiaomi introduced Civi 2 for its Chinese audience today - a new selfie-centric midrange smartphone. The most intriguing bit is the dual selfie camera - it is packed inside a pill-shaped punch hole which is now in the center, imitating Apples Dynamic Island. The phone is also the first Xiaomi with front-facing LED flashes to assist the selfie cameras in low-light conditions. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset and has three memory options - 8/128GB, 8/256GB, and 12/256GB. The 6.55" screen has Full HD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and 240 Hz touch sampling rate. It is a 10-bit panel with support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and full DCI-P3 color gamut coverage. The Civi 2 is the first phone under the Xiaomi main brand with two selfie cameras - so far weve had Redmi and Poco devices with dual front-facing shooters. Here both of them have 32MP sensors - the main has AF and an f/2.0 aperture in front, while the other is for group shots and offers a 100-degree FoV. Xiaomi Civi 2 colors The dual-tone front-facing flash has four LEDs, placed right above the screen in the ever-so-thin bezel. According to Xiaomi, they can adapt and provide realistic colors in different environments. The Civi 2 is heavily oriented toward people who like to take selfies, so Xiaomi is offering a lot of AI enhancements, 3D tracking beauty mode, background blur in the video, and a fancy video editor. There are three cameras on the back that resemble the modular design island on the Xiaomi 12 series. The primary shooter has a 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor and f/1.8 lens, while the ultrawide-angle camer hasa 20MP sensor and a 115-degree field of view. The third cam is a basic 2MP f/2.4 macro unit. Xiaomi Civi 2 Xiaomi brought the 4,500 mAh battery from the Civi 1s to the Civi 2, but now it supports faster 67W charging rates. It charges over the PD3.0 standard over the USB-C port. The Civi 2 has dual 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and an NFC chip. What it does not have is a microSD slot and a 3.5 mm audio jack. Xiaomi Civi 2 arrives in four colors - White, Pink, Blue, and Black. The phone is already up for sale in China, with prices starting from CNY2,399. Source (in Chinese) The University of Guams Amanda Uncangco, No. 99, scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to stave off a BallHers rally in the Lady Triton Global Learning Super League on Monday at the UOG Calvo Field House. At the recent meeting of Pacific leaders, from left, James Marape, prime minister of Papua New Guinea; Jacinda Ardern, prime minister of New Zealand; Fiame Naomi Mataafa, prime minister of the Independent State of Samoa; David W. Panuelo, president of the Federated States of Micronesia; Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, prime minister of the Republic of Fiji; Henry Puna, secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum. A bill that would offer incentives for private companies building housing for low-income manamko was amended in the Legislature Tuesday, based on Guam Economic Development Authority recommendations. Bill 259, the Akton GUMA Incentive Act, was introduced by Sen. Telo Taitague several months ago. GUMA in this case stands for group use manamko accommodation. Bill 259 as amended proposes to encourage and incentivize the development of elderly housing accommodations which are able to support independent living, assisted living and nursing home communities, said Taitague. The bill would encourage investors and contractors to build housing and facilities through a series of tax credits and exemptions. Management of facilities would be operated by approved nonprofit organizations, she said. Something GEDA representatives asked the senators to clarify is how to determine what is considered an affordable unit. An amendment to the bill states the income threshold to qualify for housing can be adjusted by GEDA through an approved board resolution, with recommendations from agencies such as the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is to ensure that what is considered affordable is done with templates and equations to determine what is middle- versus low-income, said Taitague. Two amendments were made to rules in the bill on the Qualifying Certificate Community Contribution Grant Program, which allows nonprofits to apply for GEDA funding. A 30-day limit for GEDA authorities to review and approve or deny a QC application was removed, as was a 30-day deadline for GEDA to establish fees for QC certificates awarded. Sen. Sabina Perez said because GEDA meets monthly, 30 days isnt enough time to discuss and approve fees. More than $770,000 in mostly unused federal funds that were supposed to help pandemic-impacted households pay up to three months of their mortgage could be diverted mainly toward funding a homeless shelter in Tamuning. But before these leftover federal funds could be used for purposes other than their original intent, the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority still has to receive public input on the proposal. Members of the public can submit their written comments to GHURA on the proposed changes to the use of the leftover funds until 5 p.m. on Oct. 27. GHURA also set a 10 a.m. Oct. 12 public meeting online via Zoom to receive comments on the proposed substantial amendments to a 2019 action plan and reprogramming of federal funds. As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, neither GHURA Executive Director Elizabeth Napoli nor GHURA Chief Planner Katherine Taitano commented on whether Guam would be obligated to return the unused funds to the federal government if theres no public input on the proposal to divert these funds. Of the total leftover federal funds, $648,469.91 were from the $714,000 Mortgage Relief Program that only benefited a handful of Guam households because of eligibility requirements, despite Guam efforts to change them in order to help more families. Some of the funds were used for administrative costs. While Guam Housing Corp. administered the Mortgage Relief Program, it was GHURA that received the federal grant to fund it. The GHC mortgage relief program is separate and apart from the federal funded Housing Assistance Fund program that the Department of Administration is handling. GHURA also said the cancellation of another fund freed up $122,040. Of the combined leftover federal funds, $753,214.33 is being proposed to be used for the homeless shelter at Tamuning Plaza Hotel, GHURA said. The shelter is called the Liheng Sinafo, which means safe haven or safe shelter in CHamoru, and has a contract thats expiring on Friday. The remaining $17,295.91 is being proposed to be reprogrammed for GHURAs administration and planning. From right to left, incoming commander, Gen. Paul J. LaCamera, and, outgoing commander, Gen. Robert B. Abrams salute during a change-of-command ceremony for the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea at Barker Field in Pyeongtaek in this July 2, 2021 file photo. AP-Yonhap South Korea's defense ministry on Tuesday stressed the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK)'s "top priority" on handling evolving North Korean threats, after a former USFK chief mentioned the possibility of USFK troops being deployed in case of a security crisis in Taiwan. Retired Gen. Robert Abrams, who led the USFK from 2018-21, told Radio Free Asia earlier this week that the United States will preserve "all options" in determining what forces might be used in the event of a military conflict between China and Taiwan, "including those assigned to the USFK." Last week, current USFK Commander Paul LaCamera also said commanders do "contingency planning" for "anything," spawning speculation that USFK troops could be mobilized to a Taiwan contingency at the expense of their primary role to counter North Korean threats. "As current Commander LaCamera has said, the USFK, along with our military, has been maintaining a solid combined defense posture," Col. Moon Hong-sik, the ministry's deputy spokesperson, told a regular press briefing. "He has also said that the USFK places top priority on missions to deter and respond to potential North Korean aggression." Moon added the allies have been maintaining systems for close communication and cooperation to ensure "what citizens are worried about would not occur." There have been debates at home and abroad over whether U.S. forces stationed in South Korea can be tasked with carrying out missions that go beyond the geopolitical scope of the Korean Peninsula in the name of "strategic flexibility." Alongside these debates is another tricky question: whether South Korea, as a key U.S. treaty ally, would have to play any direct or indirect role should a conflict break out between China and Taiwan. In an interview with CNN in New York last week, President Yoon Suk-yeol voiced concerns that a possible military conflict between China and Taiwan could raise the chances of North Korean provocations and highlighted the "top priority" of the South Korea-U.S. alliance on dealing with North Korean security challenges. (Yonhap) Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio, second from right, test drives a robot designed by the Team Hafa Adai Robokids at the Guam National Guards STARBASE facility on Fort Juan Muna on September 23, 2022. Haiti - FLASH : Back to school threatened by gangs The Ministry of National Education strongly condemns the kidnapping Sunday afternoon of 3 of its employees of the Ministry's payment service as well as in the evening of the Director General of the National Office for Partnership in Education (ONAPE) Herve Boursiquot. The Ministry expresses its deep concern over an ever-growing deleterious situation where attacks and threats are increasing against schools, school principals, Ministry offices and other support institutions. The deterioration of the security climate and the difficulty for the employees of the Ministry to go to their places of work and provide their services on a daily basis can have serious consequences on all the planning of the start of the school year and the measures intended to facilitate the start of the school year, fixed to October 3rd, 2022 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37497-haiti-flash-date-of-the-start-of-the-2022-2023-school-year-postponed-official.html The Ministry of National Education wishes to recall that about thirty schools were attacked, vandalized and looted https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37698-haiti-demonstrations-more-than-twenty-schools-vandalized-looted-and-damaged.html causing many losses of materials such as computers, books, school supplies, desks, benches, archives and others intended to serve children and provide food in schools. To which must be added the looting of food reserves in other national and international organizations to supply services in school canteens https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37714-haiti-insecurity-the-un-calls-for-an-immediate-end-to-the-looting-of-humanitarian-supplies.html See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37714-haiti-insecurity-the-un-calls-for-an-immediate-end-to-the-looting-of-humanitarian-supplies.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37698-haiti-demonstrations-more-than-twenty-schools-vandalized-looted-and-damaged.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37497-haiti-flash-date-of-the-start-of-the-2022-2023-school-year-postponed-official.html HL/ HaitiLibre Login or sign up to follow actresses, movies & dramas and get specific updates and news Login Sign Up New Ad-free Subscriber Login Email Password Password Username Your E-mail will only be used to retrieve a lost password. Stay logged in Help The K2 Black Panther By Kang Seung-woo Dozens of tanks and self-propelled howitzers that were supposed to be delivered to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army will be shipped to Poland, according to a lawmaker. In addition, some howitzers that have already been in operation for years, will also be delivered to the Central European country, raising concerns over a possible weapons shortage in the military. Korea and Poland agreed to a framework contract in July, under which Warsaw will purchase 980 K2 tanks from Hyundai Rotem and 648 K9 howitzers from Hanwha Defense as well as 48 FA-50 light attack aircraft from Korea Aerospace Industries. The deal was among Korea's most important and largest defense orders in recent years. In addition, the two sides inked follow-up contracts, last month that calls for the delivery of 180 K2 tanks from 2022 to 2025 and 212 K9 howitzers between 2022 and 2026. According to Rep. Song Ok-joo of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), 32 K2 tanks and 12 K9 howitzers will be exported to Poland. "The ROK Army plans to procure 10 K2 tanks this year, 18 in 2023 and four in 2024, all of which will be deployed to units in Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces," she said. The lawmaker also said the military initially planned to station the howitzers in Gyeonggi Province. In addition, 36 howitzers that the Army has been operating for the last 14 years will be exported to Poland following the consent of the Eastern European country. According to the lawmaker, the decision was made between the military authorities and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) in July to meet the Polish demand amid limited domestic production capacities and tight export deadlines. In order to avoid a shortage of military weapons in the Army, DAPA plans to ramp up production of K-9 self-propelled howtizers. The K9 Thunder Published on 2022/09/26 | Source New stills added for the upcoming Korean drama "Glitch" (2022). Advertisement Directed by Roh Deok Written by Jin Han-sae Network: Netflix With Jeon Yeo-been, Nana, Lee Dong-hwi, Baek Joo-hee, Ryu Kyung-soo, Ma Sung-min,... Synopsis "Glitch" tells a story of Hong Ji-hyo, who tries to track down her missing boyfriend with the help of members of a UFO club. Writer Jin Han-sae, who enthralled audiences and critics with the much lauded Netflix series "Extracurricular", reunites with its production team at Studio 329 for "Glitch". Jin Han-sae's bold writing style and keen insight kept viewers surprised in his debut series. Now in "Glitch", he unravels an intriguing and intense story about members of a UFO club who pursue those who have disappeared in a mysterious beam of light. Their special quest, which seems preposterous to society at large, is told within the framework of a suspenseful comic thriller. Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2022/10/07 Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, right, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, and Gen. Paul LaCamera, second from right, the commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, visit the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan in the East Sea, Tuesday, in this photo provided by the JCS. Yonhap Top South Korean and U.S. military officials on Tuesday boarded the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier partaking in a combined naval exercise in the East Sea, Seoul officials said, in an apparent display of the allies' unity against North Korean threats. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum and Gen. Paul LaCamera, the commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, visited the nuclear-powered carrier that arrived here on Friday to join the allies' first naval drills near the peninsula in five years. The four-day exercise kicked off on Monday amid growing concerns that Pyongyang could engage in provocative acts, such as a nuclear test or a submarine-launched ballistic missile. Aboard the carrier, Kim and LaCamera received a briefing on the ongoing exercise, for which the allies deployed more than 20 vessels, including the nuclear-powered USS Annapolis submarine as well as key South Korean assets such as the 7,600-ton Aegis destroyer Seoae Ryu Sung-ryong. There, Kim highlighted the alliance's readiness to counter North Korean threats. "The South Korea-U.S. alliance would respond sternly to any North Korean provocations or aggression," Kim was quoted by his office as saying. "(We) would make North Korea clearly aware that should it attempt to launch a nuclear attack, its regime would be left with no scenario for survival anymore." Kim also vowed to continue cooperating with the U.S. "systematically" to strengthen the credibility of America's extended deterrence, its stated commitment to mobilizing a full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear options, to defend its ally. LaCamera stressed the "ironclad" U.S. security commitment to Seoul. "The latest carrier striker group's visit to Korea and the ROK-U.S. combined naval exercise show U.S. determination and execution capability for extended deterrence and combat readiness," the commander was quoted by his office as saying. ROK stands for the South's official name, the Republic of Korea. The arrival of the carrier, a centerpiece of America's naval might, came after Presidents Yoon Suk-yeol and Joe Biden reaffirmed their commitment to deploying U.S. strategic assets in a "timely and coordinated manner as necessary" during their summit in Seoul in May. (Yonhap) (Hier finden Sie die deutsche Version des Beitrags) After a few half-hearted attempts to produce battery cells themselves, German carmakers relied completely on non-European suppliers for years. But long before the Ukraine war, this proved to be unwise. In 2019, for example, Volkswagen had to buy gigawatts of batteries on the world market because its regular supplier Samsung was weakening. No wonder that Wolfsburg is now one of the pioneers of its own cell production with a plant in Salzgitter. In addition, there is technical rethinking. "Batteries used to be considered something like the tank," says Falko Schappacher, commercial-technical director of the MEET Battery Research Centre at the University of Munster, "But they are actually something like the engine" - in other words, decisive for the performance and character of a car. Battery and cell factories shoot up from the ground With billions in aid from the EU and member states, battery and cell factories are now being built all over the continent. The first successes are already emerging: in 2021, Germany imported more lithium-ion batteries from Europe than from China for the first time, reports the German Electrical and Digital Manufacturers' Association. They come mainly from Poland. By 2030, the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research expects European cell production to increase tenfold to around 1.5 terawatt hours per year. Just under 400 gigawatt hours of this will come from Germany - enough for around 6.5 million e-cars. However, only half of the new cell and battery factories are being built and operated by European companies. How, for example, the Chinese manufacturer CATL, which is currently building a large battery plant in Thuringia, would behave in the event of a conflict between Europe and the People's Republic is an open question. Moreover, raw materials such as lithium, cobalt or nickel are almost exclusively sourced from non-European countries. Germany does have certain deposits of lithium, for example in the Upper Rhine Graben or in the Ore Mountains. "These deposits are already considerable," says Schappacher. "But their extraction is problematic from an environmental point of view." In Portugal, Scandinavia and the Balkans, new mines have therefore been delayed for years by protests and court cases. For years Carinthia has been hoping for a lithium mine for which the feasibility study is still not ready. Not to mention the factory to process the material. "Canada has almost all raw materials" To secure supplies, Mercedes-Benz and VW have agreed to cooperate with Canadian suppliers. "Canada has practically all the raw materials we need for battery production," VW board member Thomas Schmall told the Handelsblatt, "In the past, the big car manufacturers thought it was enough to buy cell factories. Today we know that we have to go much deeper into the value chain." Mercedes-Benz wants to kill two birds with one stone through its partnership with the Canadian mining company Rock Tech: on the one hand, certified social and environmental standards are to counteract the bad image of car batteries. On the other hand, the raw materials are also to be refined in Europe. To this end, Rock Tech is building Europe's first lithium hydroxide factory in Guben, Brandenburg. Expensive western battery cells vs. cheap e-cars from China However, complete independence from China is not the right goal at all, car expert Ferdinand Dudenhoffer told "Der Spiegel", because that would create a split market of expensive Western cells and cheap Asian goods. The consequence: China could flood the world markets with significantly cheaper e-cars. Another important resource is the skilled workforce. "We are doing quite well with young scientists," says Falko Schappacher from MEET. His institute alone trains around 60 to 80 doctoral students, who are often poached by industry even before they graduate. He also sees a great need for training technical personnel: "For people who have a lot of experience with coating machines, for example, a six-month training course would be enough to employ them in cell production." However, there are still no generally recognised training and further education concepts for this. The upcoming issue of the MIT Technology Review also deals with the topic of deglobalisation. In various texts, we explore the question of the extent to which it is possible to reverse processes of deglobalisation. The new issue can be ordered in the heise shop from 28.9. and will be available in stores from 29.9. (jle) The Border Guard estimated that building a fence along 1020 per cent, or 130260 kilometres, of the 1,300-kilometre border would be warranted in light of recent changes in the security environment. The fence would be designed to last 50 years. THE FINNISH Border Guard states in a recent report that parts of the eastern border should be fenced to prevent people from illegally entering Finland, reports Uutissuomalainen. Lieutenant General Pasi Kostamovaara, the chief of the Border Guard, told the joint editorial office of 20 local and regional newspapers that building the fence would cost a few hundred million euros when taking into account not only the fence itself but also the monitoring and road infrastructure arrangements that would enable border officials to respond to illegal crossings without delay. Most of the fence, he added, would be built in south-eastern parts of Finland. [The area] has the greatest risk of illegal entries and the most cross-border traffic, he explained. In other parts of the eastern border, the fence should be put up mostly near official border-crossing points. The Border Guard would be ready to build a test section of the fence as soon as next winter and spring. The rest could then be build based on experiences from the test section. Building the fence would overall take about two to three years, said Kostamovaara. The funding allowing, though, the construction could be carried out simultaneously in several locations to speed up the process. Minister of the Interior Krista Mikkonen (Greens) told Uutissuomalainen that the government is set to discuss fencing sections of the eastern border in the near future. The news outlet pointed out that the border guard act adopted last summer makes it possible build obstacles, including fencing, along the border in order to uphold border security. The Finnish Border Guard on Sunday revealed that four people have been taken into custody for crossing the border illegally into Kuusamo, Finland. The suspects stated in questioning that they are seeking asylum in Finland. Officials have yet to disclose the nationalities or other personal details of the suspects and refrained from speculating on their motive for entering Finland. The investigation is still ongoing, so we wont be giving out these details at this point in time, Mika Keranen, a director at Kainuu Border Guard District, stated to STT on Sunday. They came from Russia to Finland and applied for asylum. As far thats concerned, [they] didnt have plans to travel further. Aleksi Teivainen HT As a result of competitive tendering , the Finnish Immigration Service has issued procurement decisions concerning the establishment of new reception centres in several geographical areas. In total, the Finnish Immigration Service will conclude 16 agreements on reception centres. The reception centres that were tendered for are supposed to open as soon as possible. The first phase, which has now been completed, concerned the operation of reception centres in 8 wellbeing services counties: North Karelia, South Savo, North Savo, Central Finland, Lapland, Paijat-Hame, Kanta-Hame, and Pirkanmaa. For each of these counties, the operations of two reception centres were put out to tender. "The number of reception centres and the accommodation capacity depend on how many people come to Finland to seek international protection or temporary protection. The number of asylum seekers has been relatively low in recent years, but after Russia's attack on Ukraine, several new reception centres have been established," says Pekka Nuutinen, Director of Reception Unit, from the Finnish Immigration Service. At present, Finland has altogether 83 reception centres, their secondary branches and service points for people in private accommodation, as well as 8 reception units for minors. Approximately 40,000 people are currently registered as clients in the reception system. Approximately 50 per cent of them live in private accommodation and 10 per cent in municipalities as part of the municipal model for accommodation of people applying for temporary protection. Most clients are people who have fled to Finland from Ukraine. The number of new asylum seekers coming from other countries is low. "The reception centres that were put out to tender will operate in parallel with the existing reception centres. If the number of people seeking protection decreases, we will adjust the accommodation capacity by closing down the necessary number of reception centres," says Nuutinen. The value of the procurement is approximately EUR 250 million for the period 20222027. The final sum depends on, among other factors, the utilisation rate of the reception centres, the number of clients and on how long the reception centres are in operation. In the reception centres put out to tender, the accommodation capacity of one single reception centre will be 300 beds. The contracts awarded are valid until further notice. Clients will be informed of any upcoming changes The clients of reception centres are either asylum seekers or seekers or beneficiaries of temporary protection. Clients can live in a reception centre, and the reception centre will provide them with reception services, such as health and social services, and, where appropriate, pay them their reception allowance. Instead of living in the reception centre, clients can choose to arrange their accommodation elsewhere. "For some reception centre clients, the results of the tendering process may mean that their reception centre will change at some point. As soon as there is information of the practical consequences of the tendering process, we will inform our clients of how they are affected," says Nuutinen. The competitive tendering of reception operations is carried out in phases The Finnish Immigration Service is responsible for directing, planning and supervising the operations of the reception system. The reception centres maintained by the Finnish Immigration Service are located in Helsinki, Lappeenranta (Joutseno) and Oulu. The other reception centres are maintained by, for example, organisations, Finnish municipalities, and companies. The Finnish Immigration Service is currently preparing for the next phase of the procurement, which consists of putting out to tender the reception centre operations in Kainuu, Kymenlaakso, Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, South Ostrobothnia, Uusimaa, Satakunta, Southwest Finland, and Aland. The Finnish Immigration Service arranges the competitive tendering in cooperation with Hansel, the central purchasing body for the public administration in Finland. The competitive tendering is carried out nationally, and a dynamic purchasing system will be used. Suppliers meeting a predetermined set of criteria can join the system as tenderers during the entire procedure, that is, until 31 December 2027. The new reception centre contracts awarded: Kotokunta Oy: Joensuu Kitee, Kontiolahti, Lieksa or Nurmes Mikkeli Savonlinna or Pieksamaki Kuopio Varkaus or Iisalmi Jyvaskyla Central Finland wellbeing services county Rovaniemi Lahti Paijat-Hame wellbeing services county Hameenlinna Kanta-Hame wellbeing services county Tampere Pirkanmaa wellbeing services county Hemcare Oy: Kemi or Tornio HT Source: Finnish Immigration Service On the 60th anniversary of Rachel Carson s Silent Spring, the book that helped trigger the modern environmental movement, the most harmful pesticide contamination is higher than ever. A new PAN Europe report reveals a 100% failure rate of an EU law to ban the most harmful pesticides as officials follow rules created by industry. High rates of European pears (49%), table grapes (44%), apples (34%), plums (29%) and raspberries (25%) were sold with residues of pesticides linked to increased risk of cancer, birth deformities, heart disease and other serious conditions and/or toxic to the environment, the latest data shows [1]. Most are a threat even at very low doses. The problem has been getting worse. PAN Europe analysed 44,137 fresh fruit samples tested by governments from 2011 to 2020 and found that contamination of apples, pears and plums has nearly doubled since 2011. Government sampling shows a dramatic rise in the rate of contaminated apples, pears and plums, with a steady overall rise for the dozens of fruits tested by officials. Silent Spring and growing pesticide dependence The report, titled Pesticide Paradise, how industry and officials protected the most toxic pesticides from a policy push for sustainable farming, comes 60 years to the day after publication of Silent Spring, the book that first alerted the public to the dangers of pesticides and helped spark the modern environmental movement. A central warning in the book was of a pesticide treadmill, where farmers use ever more chemicals to kill ever tougher pests. That cycle drives up industry profits, but is flawed, researchers say. Since the books publication on 27 September 1962, pesticide use has gone up, species extinction helped by pesticides is occurring 1,000 times faster than normal, and illnesses linked to pesticides are estimated to cost Europeans up to 32 billion annually. Corporate capture and regulatory failure Recognising the problems, the EU agreed two important laws in 2009. The first to phase-out the most toxic category of pesticides where non-chemical alternatives are available, the second to push all farmers towards these safer techniques [2]. Todays PAN report reveals that the pesticide phase-out has failed because governments are following guidelines written in close partnership with chemical giants BASF, DuPont (now Corteva) and Syngenta [3]. The document has not been covered in the mainstream media, despite its influence [4]. Unusually, and breaking EU regulatory independence values, the guidelines were adopted by the EU and copy-pasted into national guidance [5]. They are responsible for non-chemical techniques being rejected and the most toxic pesticides authorised on every occasion since the 2009 law, spanning hundreds of cases [6]. The guidelines achieve the opposite of what the law intended, actually promoting pesticides sold by the companies that helped write them [7]. The law to promote alternatives has largely failed. Professor of Plant-Insect Interactions Felix Wackers commented that: "There are a range of effective non-chemical solutions available that can be used as part of IPM. When considering the alternatives to a particular pesticide, this should not be restricted to alternative chemical classes only, but should also include these non-chemical alternatives. The European Commission knew of the phase-out failure since at least 2018, but took no meaningful action. The guidelines should be replaced with ones that acknowledge the effectiveness of non-chemical alternatives to pesticides, PAN said. A new EU pesticide reduction target is doomed otherwise, it said. PAN Policy and Campaign Officer, Salome Roynel said: Fruit is getting steadily more contaminated because industry is writing the rules and officials are ignoring non-chemical solutions. They are scratching each others back while the environment and our health suffers. Rachel Carson warned about this toxic relationship 60 years ago and would be tearing her hair out if she were alive today. European Parliament member Eric Andrieu (S&D), Anja Hazekamp (Left), Frederique Ries (Renew Europe) and Thomas Waitz (Greens/EFA), leading voices on pesticide problems, regretted: The fact the pesticide industry can completely switch the law we created from a restriction into an advantage is as shocking as it is embarrassing. 4 years after a large majority of the EP supported the recommendations of the Special Committee on the authorisation procedure of Pesticides (PEST), we cannot let this stand. As former members of PEST, we are going to hold the Commission and Member States to account, starting today. Those crooked guidelines have to be completely rewritten in order to foster sustainability. Over a third of Europeans are concerned about pesticide food contamination, according to official polling, with the issue the top concern in six European countries. In 2017, the second most popular EU certified petition was lodged, calling for a ban of glyphosate. A second petition calls for a complete ban on all pesticides by 2035. A Toxic 12 campaign calls on decision-makers to eliminate the worst pesticides urgently. HT Source: Pesticide Action Network (PAN) [1] Member state officials annually test European grown fruit on sale in stores for all forms of pesticides. Large sample sizes mean that officials consider the results representative of all fruit sold / general population exposure. PAN focused on results for a special category of pesticides that use 53 chemicals known as Candidates for Substitution (CfS), identified by EU officials as being highly toxic to humans, animals and/or the environment (see Annex II, point 4). Each is suspected of causing one or more severe impacts, such as cancer, birth deformities or heart disease. Most impact the endocrine system, so have no safe level. Pesticide cocktails can multiple their dangers, but are not investigated. From 2011, governments have been required by law to substitute them with safer alternatives. [2] Non-chemical alternatives, defined in Annex 3 of Directive 128/2009, were supposed to become the main techniques used by all farmers. Governments were supposed (articles 14.1 and 14.4) to define, no later than 2014, how and when alternatives should be used, with chemicals a last resort. They all failed to do this, prompting the Commission to complain (letters to France, Croatia, Romania, Portugal). [3] The guidelines were written by EPPO through a series of meetings by its working group on pest resistance. Industry fills a quarter of the working groups membership, including two from Syngenta and two from DuPont. Industry at times organised meetings, and at times, outnumbered officials by two to one. NGOs were never invited. PAN complained, but nothing changed. [4] EPPO was responding to Regulation 1107/2009, specifically articles 24, 50 and Annex 4, which force officials to reject applications for new CfS pesticides if effective non-chemical alternatives are available. But the guidelines strongly steer officials to approve CfS pesticides by stating at step B5 on page 4 that farmers should never be left without multiple types of pesticide (Modes of Action) to fight resistant pests. Modes are an industry concept and the EPPO guidelines match industrys position exactly. Research shows modes are a false requirement in most cases because non-chemical alternatives can unlock large cuts in pesticide use, by up to 95%. Member states fail to properly consider these alternatives and always reject them. [5] The Commission should have rejected the EPPO guidance on the grounds that it clashes with the 2009 laws and fails transparency and independence norms that regulators are required to follow. Instead it adopted them as soft law in 2014. All member states follow the EPPO guidelines without deviation, except Bulgaria which had failed to follow the law at all, as of 2018. Some have copy-pasted from the EPPO guidelines, namely Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany (p17), Portugal and Spain. Industry celebrates that EPPO guidelines are the basis for many national guidance documents (page 19) resulting in no product losses for an example company (page 7). [6] Most member states do not publish details of how the guidelines are used. But an internal Commission document states (page 34) that CfS pesticides were authorised on 278 occasions by January 2018. PAN believes the figure today is around 500. Most states say the process is not working. They say they are not aware of viable non-chemical alternatives, while PAN accuses officials of ignoring non-chemical alternatives. [7] When pesticides are authorised, farmers are under less pressure to use alternatives, so use the pesticides, which raises pest resistance and drives ever greater use of chemicals. For instance, Syngenta markets several fungicides containing CfS widely contaminating European fruit. An appellate court on Tuesday handed out a 30-year prison term for a 27-year-old man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death after she told him she wanted to break up with him, a sentence heavier than a lower court's 23-year term. Cho Hyun-jin has been charged with murdering the former girlfriend in the bathroom of her home in Cheonan, 86 kilometers south of Seoul, on Jan. 12 shortly after she told him she wanted to break up with him. He allegedly stabbed her multiple times in the locked bathroom while the victim's mother was visiting her house. She later died while being treated at a hospital. The Daejeon High Court on Tuesday rejected Cho's claim the killing was "accidental" and he was not aware of the presence of the victim's mother, handing out a 30-year prison sentence. The court also ordered him to wear an electronic tracking device for 15 years. The lower court had given him a 23-year term, saying the mother appears to have felt extreme pain at the crime scene. "Cho prepared and committed the crime in an hour just because she told him she wanted to break up, and her mother's presence doesn't seems to have deterred him," the appellate court said. (Yonhap) AN environmental fair held in Henley for a second year has been heralded a success by the organisers. The Great Big Green Fair took place in Market Place on Saturday with 27 stalls, activities and displays, all with a theme of sustainability. The event, which was organised by Greener Henley for national Great Big Green Week, featured interactive games, a colouring station and a seed-guessing competition. Patrick Fleming, chairman of Greener Henley, said: It went incredibly well and there must have been around 300 visitors at any one time. There was a good cross-section of young families and older residents. The objective was to get people talking about the environment and to provide them with information. It seemed that everyone was engaged and asking questions at every stall. We have a climate and nature crisis with the flooding in Pakistan and the extreme weather in this country. It has become clear that we cannot rely on the Government and that every individual has to take responsibility. Events like these get people talking about it as local action is the way we are going to make a difference. Mayor Michelle Thomas, who chose Greener Henley as one of the beneficiaries of her year in office, attended the event. She awarded prizes to pupils representing Checkendon Primary School and St Marys and Rupert House Schools in Henley for their work on insects and how they benefit the environment. Councillor Thomas said: I was there for about two hours and I didnt stop talking, there were so many people. I must have visited every stall. A lot of people seem to have climate anxiety and are full of questions. The fair allowed them to get involved and see the different ways they can help. It was an example of the community coming together and exchanging ideas and I hope people went away knowing more than they did. A stall run by Henley Town Council provided interactive environmental experiences such as hooking plastic from a miniature pond and guessing how many plastic bags could fill a sweet jar. A stall with free teas and biscuits was run by the Henley sustainability hub, a proposed climate emergency centre for the town. Environmental campaigner Kate Oldridge, from Shiplake, ran the stall and listened to suggestions from residents about what they would want the hub to offer. Henley Rotary Club raised 225 for an Aquabox pump, which filters unclean water, and plans to send it to Pakistan. It also raised enough to buy an emergency box containing a cooking pot, bucket and penknife to send to the flood-hit country. Rotarians demonstrated the pump by using it to clean a plastic container of dirty water at the front of the stall. Club secretary Phil Fletcher drank from the filtered water and said it tasted fine. He said: It captured the imagination of people who were viewing our demonstration. Jeremy Gaunt, the clubs environment secretary, was telling the children it was magic as the pump cleaned the water. It made their minds boggle. The group shared their stall with Tools for Self-Reliance, which refurbishes donated tools and sends them to Africa. Mr Fletcher said: The fair is a great opportunity for different groups to raise funds for various environmental causes. It was organised very well this year, similar to how it is on market day with a thoroughfare running through the middle. Henley Quakers ran a stall asking people to guess the names of seeds and grain, including coffee beans, broad beans and pumpkin seeds. Members explained to visitors how climate change was affecting the growth of the different plants. They also had a petition to urge the Government to tackle climate change, which was signed by more than 100 people. Malcolm Barnett, who helped run the stall, said: For us it was an exercise to introduce ourselves as nobody really knows what were about. Environmentalism is a key part of being a Quaker as sustainability is one of our values. Henley Youth Festival ran a stall promoting its next event in March, which will have a theme of Going Green. A colouring station allowed children to create bunting, with designs including flowers, rainbows and children playing outdoors. Laura Matthews, who chairs the festival, said: There was kind of an eco theme but some children just sort of did whatever they wanted. It is particularly important to talk to young children about the environment, although they knew a lot already. Their knowledge was really good and we have got a lot of excitement about next years theme already. Gillotts Schools eco club demonstrated how to recycle paper into useful objects and Professor Richard Fortey staged his fungi roadshow. Other stallholders included Henley food growers and producers Bosley Patch, Honeys of Henley, Three Oaks Orchard and GAPS Fermented Foods as well as Wild & Rust and the Willow Basket. At 2.30pm on Sunday the Regal Picturehouse will mark Great Big Green Week by screening a documentary called The Ants & The Grasshopper. The film tells the story of Anita Chitaya, a subsistence farmer in Malawi, who travels to America to talk to people about the impact of climate change that she has experienced first-hand and challenge their assumptions. There will be a post-film discussion facilitated by Greener Henley and Picturehouse Green Screen. Flick Beckett, of Picturehouse, said: We take our planet and the climate crisis seriously. The Green Screen initiative is a way to engage and inspire our customers with environmental-themed screenings, discussions and campaigns. The prosecution on Tuesday requested an arrest warrant for a former deputy secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party on corruption charges. The Seoul Central Prosecutors Office said Lee Jung-geun, 59, is suspected of taking about 950 million won ($667,549) from a businessperson between December 2019 and January last year in exchange for promises to lobby officials of the government and public institutions for business favors. She allegedly promised to use her close relationships with ranking officials of the previous Moon Jae-in administration, including those in the presidential office, to help the businessperson, surnamed Park, get state subsidies, a mask business license and government contracts. She is also accused of receiving 330 million won from Park to fund her campaign in a parliamentary election from February to April 2020. She lost the election. Lee has served as the party's deputy secretary general, deputy spokesperson and chief of a local chapter in southern Seoul. The prosecution filed for an arrest warrant for her on charges of bribery and violation of political fund act. Lee denied the charges, claiming she borrowed the money from Park. But the prosecution said it has secured Park's confession, witness statements, bank records and other evidence to support the charges. The prosecution plans to investigate whether other government officials and politicians were involved in the case. In a separate case, Lee was indicted without detention on Sept. 8 on charges of election law violation. She is accused of paying more money than legally allowed to campaign workers when she ran in a parliamentary by-election in March. She lost that election, too. (Yonhap) China joins hands with rest of world to advance international process of firearms control 09:09, September 27, 2022 By Zhong Sheng ( People's Daily China has decided to launch its domestic procedure to ratify the UN Firearms Protocol, announced the country at the general debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 24. The UN Firearms Protocol is one of the important protocols of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, as well as an important international legal document regarding the control of small arms and light weapons. China's decision fully indicated the country's firm determination to implement the Global Security Initiative and safeguard international and regional peace, and mirrored the country's sense of responsibility in safeguarding true multilateralism and commitment to enhancing global security governance. The abuse of guns is becoming an increasingly serious problem across the world. Illegal manufacturing and smuggling of firearms has not only killed massive civilians, but also encouraged armed conflicts, terrorism and transnational organized crime. It directly concerns the social stability and safety of all countries. African and Latin American countries, long troubled with the abuse of guns, are calling for the international community to enhance gun control. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres once said disarmament of conventional weapons could "save lives," and a substantial reduction in illicit financial arms flows is taken as a benchmark in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. With a high sense of mission and responsibility, China has always put guns and explosives under strict control and has been cracking down on related crimes. The Chinese government addresses both the symptoms and root causes and implements multifaceted measures. It adopts a "zero tolerance" attitude toward crimes related to guns and explosives. Besides, the Chinese people also play an important role in eliminating the threats from guns and explosives. Thanks to the country's ceaseless efforts, China has made remarkable achievements in gun control, becoming one of the safest countries in the world that sees the lowest rate of gun-related crimes. China firmly opposes the illegal manufacturing and trafficking of guns and actively supports the multilateral process of the control of small arms and light weapons. The country always acts responsibly in arms exports. It fulfills international obligations and never sells its arms to non-state actors. China faithfully follows the UN Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects and the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons. It takes an active part in the activities combating illegal trafficking of guns launched by the World Customs Organization and the International Criminal Police Organization, and is providing assistance to the best of its capacity for Africa regarding the latter's "Silencing the Guns" initiative. At present, the abuse of guns is still a serious problem troubling the world, and firearms control is in a critical "rise-or-fall" stage. Every country should clarify responsibilities, enhance domestic gun control and expand international coordination and cooperation. For a long time, the U.S. has maintained the world's largest holder of privately owned firearms and been deeply troubled by domestic gun violence. It is also one of the largest sources of gun trafficking. The country refuses to join the UN Firearms Protocol or other international documents of firearms control and has withdrawn from the Arms Trade Treaty, which has seriously impacted the multilateral efforts made by the international society to control conventional weapons. Due to the poor performance of the U.S. in gun control, numerous U.S.-made guns have been exported illegally and have triggered serious social problems in the neighboring countries of the U.S. International society is looking forward to responsible measures of the U.S. on gun control. The dream of building a peaceful and safe world free from gun violence is shared by people around the world. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible member of the international society, China would like to use its domestic procedure to ratify the UN Firearms Protocol as an opportunity to work with other countries to achieve positive outcomes in international firearms control. Countries that are hugely influential in global security should show their political will and take concrete actions, so as to make positive contributions to eliminating the abuse of guns. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.) (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) will introduce a motion calling for the dismissal of Foreign Minister Park Jin on Tuesday to hold him responsible for mishandling President Yoon Suk-yeol's overseas trip last week, the party's floor leader said. "We are holding the minister accountable for the worst diplomatic disaster in history marred with hasty preparation, incompetence, humiliation, vulgar remarks and that reaped no results," Rep. Park Hong-keun told a party meeting. Park said the party will introduce the dismissal motion later in the day. The main opposition party has been ramping up its attack against Yoon and the ruling party after Yoon was caught on video appearing to use foul language. Though the recording was not clear due to noise, many thought Yoon was talking about U.S. Congress and U.S. President Joe Biden. But Yoon's office rejected the claim, saying he was referring to Korea's opposition-controlled National Assembly without mentioning U.S. Congress or Biden. Yoon's ruling People Power Party also claimed people misheard Yoon's remarks because the video by local broadcaster MBC had a subtitle misrepresenting them. Park denounced the incident as being a "severe poison" for Korea's alliance with the United States. (Yonhap) Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea senior deputy floor leader Rep. Wi Seong-gon, center, holds a motion requesting President Yoon Suk-yeol impeach Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin, after the party unanimously decided to table the motion at the National Assembly, Tuesday. / Yonhap Non-binding request comes as pressure on Yoon By Nam Hyun-woo Foreign Minister Park Jin / Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-keun The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) tabled a motion on Tuesday requesting President Yoon Suk-yeol to impeach Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin over apparent diplomatic gaffes and setbacks during Yoon's overseas trip last week. Since the motion is a non-binding request which Yoon can dismiss, chances are slim for the foreign minister to leave his office in disgrace this time. However, the DPK, which holds a majority in the National Assembly, is seeking to pass the bill to double its pressure on the presidential office and the ruling bloc. During a general meeting of its lawmakers, the DPK decided to table the motion requesting Minister Park's impeachment. "We decided to table the motion in the name of all 169 DPK lawmakers," DPK senior deputy floor leader Rep. Wi Seong-gon said. "It was a unanimous decision, and it will be passed in a plenary session of the Assembly on Thursday." Since the DPK holds a majority of the 300-seat Assembly, the party can table and approve bills unilaterally. The move came after Yoon's trip to the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada last week, was mired in a string of controversies. During the trip, he failed to attend late Queen Elizabeth II's lying-in-state in London and had only a 48-second chat with U.S. President Joe Biden instead of a formal summit as had been announced by the presidential office. Yoon also took flak for his meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, as Tokyo had been denying Seoul's announcement that the two governments' agreement to hold a summit. Yoon finally met with Kishida for what the Japanese government described as an "informal" talk. Further controversy was stirred as Yoon was caught on a hot mic in what could be heard as a profanity-laden denouncement of the U.S. Congress at a fundraising event in New York. Amid the controversy, Yoon told reporters, Monday, that such "false reports" were "undermining the alliance" with the U.S. Citing these events, the DPK has been condemning the trip as "a diplomatic disaster" urging the president to replace his foreign affairs team, including the minister. President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex in Sejong, Tuesday. Yonhap By Lee Sun-ho Owing to my interest in watching the once-in-a-century pomp and magnificent ceremonial proceedings of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, I set a new personal record watching BBC consecutively for over seven hours from 10:50 a.m. through 6 p.m. GMT on Sept. 19. The well-organized state funeral was attended by 90 world leaders, including Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. Also, 500 dignitaries from all over the world, including 53 British Commonwealth nations, gathered at Westminster Abbey. One peal from the Great Bell of Big Ben represented each of her 96 years as queen, and the footage of her 1947 wedding and 1953 coronation were shown as hundreds of thousands bade farewell. Some tossed flowers onto the hearse, while others yelled "God bless the queen." It was the most complex security challenge Britain has faced since World War II, far bigger than its last state funeral for wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1965. The two minutes of silence brought the mourning land to a full stop. The queen's coffin, draped in a royal banner with her crown on top, traveled the short distance from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey atop the Royal Navy's State Gun Carriage, drawn not by horses but by 90 sailors. The coffin was carried out into the streets, and moved from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch, with the procession of 4,500 people, possibly the largest military parade of its kind, I presume. I felt the backdrop was full of pathos for Britain's glorious past. Soldiers surrounded the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, a symbol of an era when "the sun never set on the British Empire." From there, the coffin was taken in a custom Jaguar-Land Rover hearse to Windsor Castle, where her corgis, Muick and Sandy, were waiting to see her hearse, to my surprise. At the closing of the one-hour service at Windsor, the congregation sang the national anthem. Then, there came a last piece of music, "Sleep, Dearee, Sleep," a lament commemorating death, played by a lone musician on a bagpipe. The queen was buried in a vault inside St. George's Chapel, alongside the remains of her parents and husband, Prince Philip. I am pretty sure that such a splendid international diplomatic event would scarcely take place in the forthcoming decades. I was lucky enough to witness the rare event, disclosing the solemn, spectacular and intense dignity and grace of the queen on the throne for 70 years. As her 11-day funeral period went down in history, I wish she will rest in peace and glory forever. The writer (wkexim@naver.com) is a freelance columnist living in Seoul. Radisson Hotel Group is proud to announce the appointment of Jan Hanak as Managing Director - UAE, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar based in their Area Support Office in Dubai. Jan, a Czech national, has been with Radisson Hotel Group for more than 24 years. He began his career in hospitality in 1988 at the Radisson SAS Alcron Hotel Prague, where he was employed as a porter. His journey to general manager began when he was promoted throughout various positions in front office and revenue management in Prague and London before eventually joining the Radisson SAS Belfast as General Manager. His latest role in the group was as general manager at the oldest 5-star hotel in Dubai, Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek. In his new role as Managing Director, Jan will be leading the operations and responsible for the strategic initiatives of his region, tied to business expansion, growth, and the necessary cultural evolution to support. At the same time, he will work closely with all key business partners in order to achieve quality results. Jan will act as an ambassador for Radisson Hotel Group, reflecting the company culture and values. CWT, the Business-to-Business-for-Employees (B2B4E) travel management platform today announces the appointment of Janet Wu Nuckles, Vice President, Tax reporting directly to Judy Hendrick, CWT's Chief Financial Officer. Leading CWT's efforts in building international tax structure and processes, Texas-based Janet Wu Nuckles will serve on CWT's Finance Leadership team and be responsible for the strategy, delivery, leadership, and systems that underpin our tax structure and international processes. A tax leader with over 20 years' experience of successfully building both international and domestic tax teams at global companies, Janet joins CWT from Neutron Holdings, Inc., where she was Global Head of Tax, leading all aspects of the company's global tax footprint. Prior to this, Janet served at BMC Software, Inc. for almost 13 years, in roles including Director of International Tax & Planning and Senior Director, Tax. Borealis Hotel Group (Borealis, BHG or the company), a leading hospitality group headquartered in the Netherlands, is pleased to announce that Bierwirth & Kluth Hotel Management GmbH (B&K), a hotel operator in the DACH region, has joined the company. Parallel to the acquisition, BHG is proud that Atlantic Park Strategic Capital Fund (AP or Atlantic Park), a joint venture between General Atlantic and Iron Park Capital Partners, has joined the shareholder structure, alongside existing investor Three Hills Capital Partners (THCP) and the founders. In connection with this transaction, Matthew Bonanno, Managing Director at Atlantic Park, and Varun Bahri, Managing Director at Iron Park Capital Partners, have joined BHGs Board of Directors. B&Ks strong footprint in the DACH region represents a meaningful strategic addition to Borealis current international portfolio. The complementary nature of the two portfolios, both of which have strong teams in place, creates a sizeable, pan-European player, with a solid footprint across the region, that is ready to capture the various growth opportunities the hospitality sector has to offer. Founded in 1998 by Peter Bierwirth and Klaus Kluth, B&K has evolved to one of the top five white-label hotel owner-operators in Germany, with preferred franchise partnerships with leading brands including Marriott and IHG. B&K is also a reputable player in serviced apartments, launching its My4walls concept in Hamburg in 2017, which is seeing continued success and expansion to other locations. The teams values, extensive international experience, longstanding partnership network and credentials in development and operations make B&K an ideal partner for Borealis. The addition of B&K marks the next step in Borealis growth. Borealis has established itself as a market-leading hospitality company operating a portfolio of economy, mid-, upscale, and extended stay hotels in key European markets, together with major brands such as IHG, Hilton, Marriott, Accor and Hyatt. The company has pursued a successful pan-European expansion strategy, developing hotels across Europe, and targeting strategic M&A opportunities as it continues to build its portfolio. In 2019, Borealis welcomed THCP as a hands-on financial partner to support the platforms rapid expansion and capitalise on the extensive pipeline of opportunities. The deal team was led by Lodewijk van der Meulen (partner and co-founder) and Pieter Moll (Head of Corporate Development). Lodewijk van der Meulen said: The first contact with B&K regarding a potential collaboration goes back to 2020, at which time the similarities and joint potential of BHG and B&K were already evident. We are delighted to have closed the transaction and look forward to addressing new potential developments in the DACH region and Europe. The addition of Atlantic Park as an investor will bring additional resources and expertise to complement THCPs extensive support. The new partnership will help propel future expansion, providing the business with further capital for both organic and inorganic growth opportunities. At Borealis we are continuously looking for opportunities where we can add value for all parties involved. With teams like B&K, THCP and AP, which share our values, intense transactions like these become enjoyable, which is a great prelude for an exciting future ahead, said Pieter Moll. Bart van de Kamp, CEO and founder of Borealis Hotel Group, commented: Were excited to bring B&K into our group at this important milestone in our journey. Together with our new colleagues at B&K, we will work towards our vision of bringing our hospitality passion and experiences to more customers across the continent. We are also delighted that Atlantic Park has decided to join us as a strong partner, which further demonstrates the value of our management team, colleagues and platform. Next to that we are grateful that THCP will continue to support us, after successfully navigating us through Covid and, together with AP, continue to provide the resource and knowledge to continue our expansion and growth. Peter Bierwirth and Klaus Kluth at Bierwirth & Kluth, said: B&K has been looking for a strong and reliable partner for several months, which will enable us to continue our growth, secure the future in a sustainable way and steer the B&K ship into more stable waters after the disruption of the pandemic. Borealis Hotel Group convinced us from an overall perspective and is an excellent fit for us for many reasons. BHG is strong in the development of hotels and has positioned itself optimally for the future. Like us, it sees itself as an expert in the hotel industry, is characterized by a good corporate culture and has a strong financial backbone. We are two companies of similar size, both known in particular as franchisees of international hotel brands and with a common vision to grow across Europe in the future. The team members of the B&K Head Office in Wiesbaden as well as of all B&K hotels will continue to be the core of its portfolio. Peter Bierwirth, Klaus Kluth and Petra Bierwirth-Schaal, together with Bart van de Kamp and Lodewijk van der Meulen, will continue to lead the organisation within the new structure of Borealis Hotel Group. Through the partnership with Borealis we will continue to be an attractive and stable employer for all B&K employees, with people at our side who understand our culture and language, share our values and with whom we will achieve a great deal in the franchising and serviced apartments sectors. Petra Bierwirth-Schaal concluded. Borealis was advised on the transaction by Christie & Co (Commercial), KPMG NL/DE/AU (Financial/Tax), BarentsKrans (Legal), OsborneClarke (Legal) and DEBROCKTAX (Tax). B&K was advised by Cushman & Wakefield (M&A), Hogan Lovells (Legal) and CS Stumpges (Tax). About Bierwirth & Kluth Bierwirth & Kluth Hotel Management (B&K), headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany, is a group of companies specialising in hotel development and management. With its service portfolio, Bierwirth & Kluth offers solutions for investors, banks and private owners. Peter Bierwirth, Klaus Kluth, Petra Bierwirth-Schaal, and the rest of the management team are recognised experts and hoteliers with many years of experience in leading positions in the international hotel industry. The company currently operates twelve hotels in Germany and Austria with a total of more than 3,000 rooms, as well as the Science Congress Center in Munich-Garching. Further leased and managed hotels are currently under development. About Atlantic Park Atlantic Park is a strategic joint venture between General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm established more than 40 years ago, and Iron Park Capital Partners, a deeply experienced credit-focused asset manager. Atlantic Park provides capital solutions to address financing needs for high-quality companies seeking a trusted partner. Atlantic Park takes a broad industry focus and partners with companies spanning a number of sectors, including Consumer, Financial Services, Healthcare and Technology, with a focus on companies in the United States and Europe. For more information, please visit www.atlanticpark.com About Three Hills Capital Partners Three Hills Capital Partners is a pioneer in European structured capital, partnering with many of Europes highest quality entrepreneur-led businesses. By offering a flexible financing solution and value-add expertise, THCP supports business owners looking for capital whilst retaining control of their companies. With c.2.5bn AUM, THCP is backed by a unique network of Europes leading industrial holdings, family offices and entrepreneurs, as well as global institutional investors. Alongside holding company Atypical Partner, THCP operates with a team of c.60 professionals across offices in London, Milan and Luxembourg. About Borealis Hotel Group Borealis Hotel Group, founded in 1997 and headquartered in Amsterdam, is a fast-expanding European hospitality company. Since its inception the company has been involved in the operation of hotels throughout Europe and has concluded transactions with an aggregate value of over EUR 3 billion. After the strategic divestment of the Vincent Hotel Group, Borealis continued building its present portfolio with the ambition to become a pan-European leader in the hotel industry. The group, backed by strong institutional investors, is led by Bart van de Kamp (founder), Lodewijk van der Meulen (co-founder), Jehoeda Schachter, and Pieter Moll who are supported by a strong team with an extensive track-record. Today Borealis has hotels in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Germany, and Austria and a secured pipeline across continental Europe. As one of the preferred partners of international brands like, Accor, Hilton, IHG, Marriott and Hyatt, Borealis has been a solid partner for investors, family offices and the likes. The group's ambition is to continue growth by both initiating new hotel projects, conversions of existing hotels as well as portfolio add-ons to its platform. By Sean O'Malley The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs announced recently that the government will designate May 29 as the "Day of Soldiers Dispatched Overseas." The day is meant to coincide with the International Day of U.N. Peacekeepers and recognize South Korea's dedication to peacekeeping as a member of the international community. In general, the day will celebrate contributions to world peace by soldiers dispatched overseas. In addition, it will mark South Korea's first large deployment of combat troops in the Vietnam War to fight on behalf of the United States and South Vietnam. In desperate need of foreign exchange and a tightening of its alliance with the United States, the government of Park Chung-hee dispatched some 320,000 soldiers to Vietnam between 1964 and 1973, many fighting in frontline units. Here in South Korea, veterans of the Vietnam War have never received the recognition they deserve for fighting when their country called. Nevertheless, one must ask whether this new day of commemoration is the best way to honor their service. As a visiting student to Vietnam in 1990, I was reminded repeatedly by lecturing professors that the imperialist running dogs of America and their allies had tried to thwart Vietnamese independence and failed. Participation of South Korean troops in Vietnam is not seen by the Vietnamese government as a contribution to global peacekeeping efforts. It is seen as an extension of imperialist aggression begun by the French during their colonization of Indochina. In fact, to the Vietnamese this period of history is known simply as the American War, as a way to differentiate the predominantly U.S. aggression from that of the French, which came during the Anti-French Resistance War. Although the government of Vietnam does not prioritize the negative impacts of past relations with former belligerents, some civic groups in Vietnam do wish to hold states accountable for their past actions. South Korean troops are accused of committing war crimes during their period of stay in the country. The mixed-race children known as Lai Dai Han are a testament to these violent transgressions by Korean soldiers. For its part, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Despite such denials, a number of former South Korean presidents have addressed the issue, though no administration has directly acknowledged or apologized for atrocities committed. Both former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in claimed a "debt of heart" to Vietnam and former President Kim Dae-jung expressed "regret." None of these met the sincerity test for Vietnamese civic groups that follow such issues. Ironically, a major component of Korean national identity is the embrace and propagation of victimhood nationalism. South Koreans at home and abroad remind others incessantly that Korea was a victim of Japanese colonial aggression. The perceived lack of contrition by Japan for its colonial legacy has been an obstacle to stable, bilateral relations for decades. In this framing of relations, the Korean press seemingly reports every visit by Japanese politicians to the Yasukuni Shrine, reminding readers that 14 class-A war criminals are enshrined there. It seems every Japanese textbook is scrutinized for revisionist portrayals of Japan's imperial past. Most importantly, no matter how often the Japanese government claims it has offered an apology, the South Korean government and its people say the words are not sincere enough. In this relationship, Koreans are the victims and Japanese the victimizers. The irony of course is that beginning next year South Koreans will take an entire day to celebrate their aggression and victimization of the Vietnamese, seemingly devoid of sincere contrition for their past actions. Regularly, Koreans demand compensation and apologies for the euphemistically named "comfort women" who were forced into sex slavery by the Japanese. We would do well to remember that while these comfort women have protested in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, they have been joined at times by Vietnamese victims of Korean atrocities demanding the same from South Korea. A key aspect of victimhood nationalism is getting others to see your national victimization from your own perspective. The Vietnamese government and its people do not push such a narrative. Even so, it does not seem right for South Korea to dedicate a day to the victimization of a former enemy and current friend. At some point, the Vietnamese government may change the narrative and join civic groups in questioning South Korean contrition and sincerity. South Koreans would never equate themselves with Japanese imperialists, but ironically, this may be exactly what will happen. To add insult to injury, this new holiday equates unilateral troop deployments to Vietnam with U.N. peacekeeping. Some 4,200 peacekeepers have lost their lives since 1948 while serving under the U.N. flag. To equate unilateral, foreign aggression against Vietnam with U.N. peacekeeping does a disservice to all of those peacekeepers who served to aid others in the past and present. At the very least, the Day of Soldiers Dispatched Overseas should not bundle global U.N. peacekeeping efforts with past unilateral deployments to Vietnam. The soldiers dispatched to Vietnam when their country called deserve their own day of remembrance, and those who served faithfully under the U.N. flag deserve a day of remembrance that is not tainted by past unilateral aggression. Perhaps, if commemorated appropriately, all who deserve it can find a little peace. Sean O'Malley (seanmo@dongseo.ac.kr) is a professor of international studies at Dongseo University, where he teaches classes on U.S.-Korea Relations and the ASEAN Community. He has published numerous papers on security and regional issues important to South Korea. The views expressed in the above article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times. Brussels, Athens - Radisson Hotel Group announces a record year of growth for Greece with four signings and three openings to date, leading international development activity in the country. 2022 marks an impressive year for the Group as it continues to build on its growing trust from strategic investors and partners. With the signing of two hotels in Athens and two resorts in Mykonos and Skiathos, both of which also opened earlier this year, the Groups portfolio now stands at seven hotels and resorts with more than 800 rooms in operation and under development. In recent months, Radisson Hotel Group introduced several of its brands to the Greek market. It announced the signing of its first Radisson RED property in Greece, Radisson RED Mitropoleos Square Athens, set to open in the second half of 2023 and will see the introduction of its upscale lifestyle brand to the country. A conversion of an old office building, the Radisson RED Mitropoleos Square Athens will feature 100 rooms, 150 sqm of meeting space, and a fitness area. An all-day dining restaurant will be located on the ground floor with prime views of the local square. The highlight of the property will be its rooftop bar and restaurant with direct views of the Acropolis in association with a celebrity chef that will be announced in the coming months. Opening this November, The Social Kolonaki Athens Hotel, a member of Radisson Individuals is a new addition to the Groups growing Radisson Individuals portfolio. The hotel will be the only branded hotel on Voukourestiou Street, the most upscale retail street in the center of Athens. The seven-story hotel with lively, urban interiors to match the hotels fashionable location will offer 24 spacious guest rooms and suites, including one presidential suite. The hotel is expected to become a lifestyle destination with a trendy restaurant and bar area on the ground floor, a mezzanine breakfast area, and private dining facilities. The hotel lobby will be the ideal space for all types of art events and social gatherings in the city. The Group also marked another milestone this year with the expansion of its resort portfolio with the addition of two resorts on the popular islands of Mykonos and Skiathos, joining the other island resort locations of Santorini and Crete where Radisson Hotel Group is already present. Radisson Blu Euphoria Resort, Mykonos opened in May as the Groups first hotel and the islands first core international brand in this world-renowned destination. The hotel is located steps from golden Kalo Livadi and features 34 stylish rooms and suites that draw inspiration from the famous whitewashed architecture of the Cyclades. Most rooms offer spectacular views of the bay and the Aegean Sea, including the grand Euphoria Suite with its spacious terrace and private pool. Radisson Resort Plaza Skiathos opened its doors in July and prides itself as the islands first internationally branded hotel, located at Kanapitsa beach with 84 rooms and suites and decorated in a modern, minimalist style that offer views of the hotel pool or the sea. The resort is also ideally suited for weddings with its own on-site orthodox chapel and versatile outdoor pool area that offers receptions with stunning views. Radisson Hotel Group currently operates five hotels and resorts in Greece, Radisson Blu Park Hotel in Athens; Radisson Blu Beach Resort, Milatos in Crete; Radisson Blu Zaffron Resort, Santorini; Radisson Blu Euphoria Resort, Mykonos; and Radisson Resort Plaza Skiathos with two more to open in the coming months. Elie Younes, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Development Officer at Radisson Hotel Group comments: We believe strongly in the potential of the Greek market and its future growth prospects. Following the introduction of three new Radisson Hotel Group brands to the market in 2022, we see even more potential for us to expand together with our owners and investors. We thank our partners for their trust in Radisson Hotel Group. Elie Milky, Vice President Business Development adds: This has been a record year of growth for Radisson Hotel Group in Greece as we lead the market and outpace the competition. Our expansion strategy is well under way, and we are delighted to see tangible results with new signings and openings that enhance our footprint in the country further and contribute to Greeces tourism development. We continue to expand our offering for investors as we find new opportunities and new properties under different asset classes, brands, and locations. About Radisson Hotel Group Radisson Hotel Group is one of the world's largest hotel groups with nine distinctive hotel brands, and more than 1,600 hotels in operation and under development in 120 countries. The Group's overarching brand promise is Every Moment Matters with a signature Yes I Can! service ethos. The Radisson Hotel Group portfolio includes Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Radisson Individuals, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, and prizeotel brought together under one commercial umbrella brand Radisson Hotels. Radisson Rewards is our international rewards program that delivers unique and personalized ways to create memorable moments that matter to our guests. Radisson Rewards offers an exceptional experience for our guests, meeting planners, and travel agents at over 550 hotels in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Radisson Meetings provides tailored solutions for any event or meeting, including hybrid solutions placing guests and their needs at the heart of its offer. Radisson Meetings is built around three strong service commitments: Personal, Professional and Memorable, while delivering on the brilliant basics and being uniquely 100% Carbon Neutral. The health and safety of guests and team members remain a top priority for Radisson Hotel Group. All properties across the Group's portfolio are subject to stringent health and safety requirements, as outlined in the Radisson Hotels Safety Protocol. More than 100,000 team members work at Radisson Hotel Group and at the hotels licensed to operate in its systems. For more information, visit our corporate website. Or connect with Radisson Hotels on: LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube WTTC Members and G20 Ministers gather in Bali as part of the Tourism Ministerial meeting under the Indonesian Presidency Public-private collaboration is critical to achieving a full recovery of the sector; said WTTC President & CEO London, UK - The Travel & Tourism private sector was invited to the G20 Tourism Ministers meeting today, when the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) addressed the Group of Twenty in Bali, Indonesia. During her speech at the critical meeting, Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said that while Travel & Tourism is recovering following more than two years of pain, enhanced collaboration between the public and private sector is needed now more than ever if we are to achieve a full recovery and ensure a sustainable future. Simpson told Ministers that Travel & Tourism is central to the worlds economic recovery as it is set to grow at double the speed of the global economy over the next 10 years. As the current holder of the G20 Presidency, Indonesia is focussing on the need to create a more inclusive and sustainable foundation for growth, carrying the theme Recover Together, Recover Stronger. The Tourism Ministers have focused the conversation on a People-Centred recovery that will benefit communities and SMEs. WTTCs latest research shows that while COVID-19 had devastating effect on Travel & Tourism, the future looks bright with the creation of more than 126 million jobs globally over the next decade. According to the research, two thirds of these jobs will be created in G20 countries, producing 82 million Travel & Tourism jobs by 2032. However, while travellers are beginning to discover the world once again and demand is on the rise, WTTC says challenges remain. During her address to G20 leaders, Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: Travel & Tourism is seeing green shoots of recovery. The world, with some exceptions, is travelling again." However, the recovery could be hampered by economic headwinds. Rising energy prices, cost of living, labour shortages, airspace restrictions, and, of course, climate change, all threaten the full of recovery of our sector." In order to unlock its full potential and achieve the long-awaited recovery, the public and private sector must join forces and collaborate more than ever. This historic meeting gives us the best platform to establish public-private collaboration, which will help us build back a better, stronger, and more resilient Travel & Tourism sector." Finance Ministers should take note that this is the sector that will turbo charge economies following the worst economic shock of the modern age, creating 126 million new jobs. During the meeting, Ministers and business leaders discussed policies that have the support of the Travel & Tourism sector, and which practises have been the most effective in nurturing the workforce, protecting communities and the environment, and ultimately working towards a more sustainable and resilient future. The Ministers from Saudi Arabia, Korea, United States, Canada, Spain and Indonesia took part at the dialogue, joined by the UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. WTTCs Members attending this meeting were Arnold Donald, Carnival Corporation; Rajit Sukumaran, IHG CEO of Southeast Asia, Shirley Tan, CEO Rajawali Property Group, Jiten Vyas, Chief Commercial Officer VFS Global, Sven Leirvaag VP Amadeus, Andrea Grisdale, IC Bellagio CEO, Beth Potter CEO Tourism Industry Association of Canada and Korea; Steven Liew, Airbnb Regional Director, representing different industries and regions. About WTTC The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) represents the global travel & tourism private sector. Members include 200 CEOs, Chairs and Presidents of the world's leading travel & tourism companies from all geographies covering all industries. For more than 30 years, WTTC has been committed to raising the awareness of governments and the public of the economic and social significance of the travel & tourism sector. According to WTTC's 2021 Economic Impact Report, during 2020, a year in which it was devasted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Travel & Tourism made a 5.5% contribution to global GDP and was responsible for 272 million jobs. WTTC Press Office WTTC Luxury Hotelschool Paris, an international management school dedicated to the luxury hotel industry, unveils its ambitions for the new academic year and announces the appointment of Marie-Amelie de Leusse, President of Remy Cointreau as head of its Strategic Board. Opened in 1993 and after an investment of ten million euros over the last ten years, the Luxury Hotelschool Paris is investing more to adapt to the new demands of students, hoteliers and consumers. Its campus, located in the heart of the 8th arrondissement of Paris, has received five million euros of renovation work to combine luxury, modernity and conviviality. It is increasingly difficult to attract young people to work in the hotel industry, but luxury is still very attractive. This is why we have invested to make sure that our students are immersed in this world from the moment they enter the school, with its luxurious decor, right through to the classrooms. Outside of school, we also take our students to explore and immerse themselves in this culture by experiencing the grand hotels and by taking them to lunch in Michelin-starred restaurants, explains Arnaud Bouvier, President of Luxury Hotelschool. A focus on international and digital issues The Luxury Hotelschool Paris already offers joint programmes with Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne (EHL) the world's leading hotel management school and aims to accelerate its international development by providing a greater number of students with access to the "French Touch" for luxury management. With this in mind, the school has appointed its ambassador, Sebastien Siffritt, to expand the school's network of partner universities and hotels around the world. The school is also planning a new round of financing to support and accelerate this expansion phase. Another factor favoring the internationalisation of the school is the launch of the first 100% online Bachelor in Hotel Management in France. This innovation will allow hoteliers, both in France and abroad, to follow a distance learning programme and benefit from the expertise of the Luxury Hotelschool wherever they are. The online Bachelor's degree is a career accelerator that immerses graduates in the new codes of luxury , still demanding in terms of style and quality, but also more human and modern in terms of management, continues Arnaud Bouvier, who teaches management in this programme. We are initiating this new phase of development beyond our borders with the intention of addressing the current challenges of the industry. We believe that our trust and wellbeing approach can transform the way managers around the world work, helping to solve the recruitment challenge by reconciling luxury, excellence, and personal fulfillment. Source: Luxury Hotelschool Paris Appointment of Marie-Amelie de Leusse Marie-Amelie de Leusse is the daughter of Dominique Heriard Dubreuil, who was president of Remy Cointreau from 1998 to 2012. Nominated as President of her family owned group this year, Marie-Amelie is also the head of the Luxury Hotelschool Pariss Strategic Board. Marie-Amelie de Leusse will focus on the strategic vision of the school, which is based on the threefold foundation of international, academic excellence and luxury. Her keen sense of preserving and passing a unique heritage and culture, stemming from her experience at Remy Cointreau, resonates with the mission of conveying the values and knowledge of luxury and hospitality at the Luxury Hotelschool Paris. Marie-Amelie's role in the school's strategic and operational bodies has been essential in implementing the school's transformation. We see the Remy Cointreau group as an example of French family success in the world of luxury, concludes Arnaud Bouvier. IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the worlds leading hospitality companies, today announces a multi-property development agreement with Grape Hospitality for five conversion properties in prime European destinations. The five properties include voco Madrid Centre Retiro a market debut for the voco brand in Spain; three Hotel Indigo properties in Florence, Italy; Bordeaux, France; and Barcelona, Spain, respectively, and Crowne Plaza Madrid Centre Retiro. All three brands are going from strength to strength; the Hotel Indigo brand now boasts 40 open hotels in Europe with a further 19 in the pipeline; voco has expanded to 15 open hotels in Europe, having recently opened voco Dusseldorf Seestern and voco Venice Mestre - The Quid, and Crowne Plaza currently has 88 open hotels across Europe, including the recently opened Crowne Plaza Budapest. Commenting on the partnership, (Mrs) Willemijn Geels, VP Development Europe at IHG Hotels & Resorts, said, We are delighted to be partnering with Grape Hospitality on such a strong collection of hotels across some of our key European markets of Spain, France and Italy. This partnership further highlights the strength of IHGs much-loved brands and reputation, our desire to expand into new locations and our ongoing initiatives to improve the customer journey such as the recently enhanced IHG One Rewards programme. Frederic Josenhans, Chairman of Grape Hospitality commented, Grape Hospitality continues its development in Europe with the acquisition of premium assets. We are delighted to work with IHG in addition to our brands, to create value and diversify our portfolio. With Indigo, voco hotels and Crowne Plaza, all strong brands in their segment, we will be able to develop our catering and MICE expertise and make each hotel a unique living space. The new hotel signings are as follows: voco Madrid Centre Retiro The new 193-room voco Madrid Centre Retiro will be the first voco hotel to open in Spain. The Latin name, voco, means to invite and call together, and the property will feature vocos unstuffy hallmark amenities from an arrival gift and simple check-in to lively social spaces, and guest rooms with thoughtful comforts like cosy bedding and luxury bathroom amenities. The hotel is due to open in April 2024. Hotel Indigo Florence Set in a prime location, Hotel Indigo Florence is two minutes walk from Santa Maria Novella, the citys main railway station, and close to Florences many attractions such as the magnificent Duomo and iconic Ponte Vecchio bridge. With 160 bedrooms, conference facilities and a wellness centre, the hotel is set to open later this year. Hotel Indigo Bordeaux The 100-room Hotel Indigo Bordeaux will be the third Hotel Indigo-branded hotel to open in France. The property is based in Bordeaux Chartrons, a sophisticated and leafy neighbourhood with buzzing bistros in Place du Marche Chartrons, plus waterside dining and eclectic shops. The hotel is due to open in May 2023. Hotel Indigo Barcelona Gran Via Plaza Espana The 189-room Hotel Indigo Barcelona Gran Via Plaza Espana will be the second Hotel Indigo to open in Barcelona. Guests will be close to the Museum of Catalan Art (MNAC) and a short bus ride into the centre with its plethora of art galleries, parks and beaches. The hotel will open in April 2024. Crowne Plaza Madrid Centre Retiro Located in a prime part of Madrid, the 168-room Crowne Plaza Madrid Centre Retiro will be ideal for leisure and business travellers. This will be the second Crowne Plaza property to open in Madrid, the first being located close to the airport. The hotel is due to open in April 2024. About Grape Hospitality Grape Hospitality is the owner-operator and manager of 106 hotels and 70 restaurants in 8 European countries, representing over 9,000 bedrooms. Grape Hospitality relies on a stable and recognised shareholders agreement, mainly with Eurazeo, to accelerate the transformation of the most promising high growth potential companies. www.grape-hospitality.com About IHG IHG Hotels & Resorts [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global hospitality company, with a purpose to provide True Hospitality for Good. With a family of 17 hotel brands and IHG Rewards, one of the world's largest hotel loyalty programmes, IHG has over 6,000 open hotels in more than 100 countries, and a further 1,800 in the development pipeline. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated and registered in England and Wales. Approximately 350,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally. Visit us online for more about our hotels and reservations and IHG Rewards. For our latest news, visit our Newsroom and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. M3 announced more tremendous enhancements, including geo-fencing and beacon technology, to its proprietary Labor Management app, M3 Labor. With this new feature functionality, users of M3 Labor now have the ability to set up a specific location radius where employees can punch in and out on-site. These new features are targeted to ensure that hotel employees are clocking in and out when and where they should be while not allowing the option to do so anywhere else eliminating the opportunity for false and inaccurate punching. These new features allow property managers to define boundaries where the employee is able to submit punches from their handheld device. Geocoordinates can also be used to pinpoint a unique location within the physical footprint of the property. Using a Beacon provides more specific location restrictions, typically requested for sub-department restrictions within a property, such as rooftop bars and restaurants. With these innovative time punching features, hotels will no longer need to use a tablet or time clock for punching, although, the tablet option remains available for customers preferring not to use smartphone technology. Once punching is turned on within the M3 Labor App, users can set up geo-fencing by clicking add fence and setting a radius around its location. The perimeter technology is live instantly and requires no additional setup. This feature offers hoteliers the ability to feel confident that employee punches are accurate; and in return, possibly saves the hotel time and money. M3 initially launched M3 Labor in June 2021 which allowed management users to easily monitor hours as well as performance KPIs from their mobile devices via custom labor variance dashboards. These dashboards present metrics, such as hours worked, labor dollars, and POR (Per Occupied Room); however, M3 had its sight set on continuing to add feature functionality that would make managing labor easier for hoteliers. M3s proprietary workforce management solution, Labor Management, was made to simplify technology for hoteliers and is used by over 32,000 employees working in over 1,000 hotels across North America and Canada. M3 Labor allows users to monitor their largest expense, labor, in the palm of their hands. M3 continues to release new features within the app to further simplify processes for hoteliers. Current and future M3 Labor Management customers can now download and access the app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store using their Labor Management login credentials. The app is available for both iOS and Android devices. To learn more about M3 or to request a demo, visit www.m3as.com. About M3 Built by hoteliers exclusively for hoteliers, M3 is a powerful cloud-based financial platform and services company serving over 7,500 properties across North America's hospitality industry by driving cost savings, revenue enhancement, and business insight. After 23 years in business without increasing prices, M3 touts a 95 percent customer retention rate. Used by over 1,000 management groups and owner-operators and hotels of all sizes, the platform works seamlessly with other key systems and tools in the hospitality industry and offers robust accounting and financial analysis across entire portfolios with optional operations and time management features. M3's professional services team provides on-demand support for hotels of any size by offering a full range of customized accounting solutions to scale with a hotel's needs. Privately held and employee-owned, M3 continues to enhance products and services at no additional charge to its customers. For more information, visit www.m3as.com. Haley Wolf Marketing and Public Relations Manager +1 770 533 0545 View source The world has experienced some bizarre, and yes, unprecedented times in a short, but monumental, few years. The hospitality and travel industries, (among the rest of the world) have heard the continuous talk about the new normal. But for hoteliers, the only thing proving to be normal is that nearly everything about guest services is new. Todays guests want risk-free contingencies, self-service, and contactless support. Meaning hoteliers need innovative ways to manage volume, promptly communicate, and provide exceptional guest experiences, all while facing a labor shortage. If hoteliers, and the hospitality industry, plan to welcome the volume of group travel then technology will be paramount to not only their survival but also, revenue potential. Progression in the industry presents major challenges for hoteliers. The past two years changed the way we think about travel and proved just how special exploration can be. With summer travel fading, the preparation for the 2022 holiday travel season begins. And according to data, this year has already shown a significant rise in group travel booking rates. Most observers attribute this surge in business to pent-up demand from consumers who have been hunkered down at home or recovering financially. Alliances between hotels and innovative software are helping to broaden reach, secure bookings and open revenue opportunities without additional staff resources. Hoteliers with the capabilities to collect insight into guest profiles, especially those belonging to a group, are better positioned and equipped to manage the volume of bookings and grow new revenue streams without their usual staff size. As group travel continues to grow, group sizes are trying to catch up. The practice of social distancing for such an extended amount of time left certain pandemic-related behaviors lingering in the business of group travel. For instance, the number of events and gatherings has increased while the actual group size has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. In 2022, 63% of event RFPs were for groups of 50 people or less (up 5% from 2019), which has created an additional struggle for hoteliers whove experienced less time to plan for group accommodations. However, the largest struggle of all is adapting to the combination of a higher volume of smaller groups and events in less time with reduced staff. The hospitality industry is currently face-to-face with a labor crisis. According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), 87% of hotels reported being forced to lay off or furlough staff because of COVID-19. As of June 2022, only 36% have been unable to bring any of their furloughed or laid-off workers back to full-time employment. Meanwhile, 97% of surveyed respondents said they are experiencing a staffing shortage today. To meet the demand of travelers, hotels have offered an array of staff incentives, like: 90% have increased wages 71% are offering greater flexibility with hours 43% have expanded benefits Unfortunately, over the past year, hoteliers attempts to manage labor shortages were met unsuccessfully and led to unsustainable labor costs without alleviating their workforce crisis. So how does a hotelier meet their guests exceedingly high expectations with fewer employees? Technology. If hoteliers plan to welcome the volume of group travel then technology will be paramount to not only their survival but also, revenue potential. Embracing technology in unprecedented ways provides a solution to labor shortages. The use of tech is one of the few realistic ways to lessen the negative impact of the current labor shortages and unsustainable labor costs. Not only can software solutions reduce staffing needs by a significant percentage, but it also satisfies todays tech-savvy guests and augments their experience in planning group travel. According to the 2022 Hotelier Technology Sentiment Report, the adoption of contactless technology increased by 66% during the pandemic. In the last two years, hotels have continued to spend 31% more on technology. While the volume of group travel is expected to continue rising, further data reveals that significant changes will persist. This includes the average lead-in time for an RFP, which has already been shortened by 30 days. Hoteliers have combated the issue of shorter timeframes by placing more capabilities into their guests hands. Digital technology for room block management as an example, allows fewer people to manage more. It offers a resolution for accommodating groups in less time by administering live updates on room blocks, reservation changes, and upsell opportunities. With data always available, attrition concerns become more actionable ahead of time. Having one operating tool that digitizes a process has become the normal guest expectation, but it also offers convenient advantages to hoteliers, employees, planners, and guests alike. Given the challenges of today, incorporating technology into hotel operations is necessary to minimize human error, maximize efficiency and improve the guest experience. Not only can software solutions reduce staffing needs, but it also satisfies todays tech-savvy guests and augments their experience in planning group travel. Industry technology is a business opportunity to enhance the guest experience. Five-star service means something different to every customer now, but having the capabilities to individualize each service, for each group, and for every guest, makes the experience personal. With prompt communication and group-activity tracking, hoteliers can follow the pace of group bookings. These real-time insights help to understand your customers and prepare for ways to personalize their experience. Technology gives a hotelier the opportunity to approach each booking with a plan to customize guest services more than ever before. Integrated systems allow you to know more about each reservation so you can do more for each guest. Communication and preparation will be key to winning business in the future of group travel with real-time data playing a central role in successfully improving relationships and building positive guest experiences for all the return visits to come. Learn more at Groups360.com. About Groups360 Groups360 was created with a singular goal to empower meeting planners by bringing innovation, transparency and simplicity to the decades-old problem of booking groups. The company's integrated technology solution, GroupSync, enables suppliers to distribute inventory, engage with planners, and optimize group revenue. GroupSync also equips planners to search and shop hotels worldwide and to book rooms and space directly, online or through a simplified RFP process. GroupSync is the first distribution channel to offer online booking for both group hotel roomsandmeeting space. Groups360 has offices in Nashville, London and Singapore. Learn more at groups360.com. Hal Hassall Vice President of Marketing Groups360 View source Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. Columbia-Greene Media has recently teamed up with the US Postal Service to provide same-day delivery of your local newspaper with your mail. Our expanded daily delivery of your local news reaches into the following areas: Conservative administration should embrace various forms of families The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has changed its position on recognizing common-law marriage and cohabitating households as legal families. The liberal opposition Democratic Party of Korea proposed an amendment recently to the Framework Act on Healthy Families, aiming to delete a clause in the act that defines family as a "unit formed by marriage, blood ties and adoption." However, the ministry submitted its opinion to the National Assembly last week, saying that the act "needs to be maintained as it is." The ministry's shift in stance is both sudden and surprising. Announcing the Fourth Basic Plan for Healthy Family in April last year, it emphasized that expanding the scope of families would ease discriminatory perceptions and prevent policy blind spots. However, the ministry reversed its posture, saying it could provide substantive support to diverse families without changing the concept of a family. It must have been wary of the conservative government and religious circles concerned that expanding the concept of the family could lead to the recognition of same-sex marriages. The ministry's behavior is anachronistic. It fails to reflect the rapidly shifting reality of the family and changes in perception, including unmarried cohabitation, common-law marriage and increasing cohabitation among elderly couples. It also runs counter to the experts' proposal that the recognition of and support for diverse forms of families are needed to cope with the serious issue of the low birthrate. France, which boasts a fertility rate of 1.83, more than double Korea's 0.81, legally recognizes cohabitating couples and offers the same support. Nearly 70 percent of Koreans already think that, aside from marriage and blood ties, they are families if they feel a sense of community as a family. Single-person households account for more than 40 percent of the total, and the number of non-relative household members, such as friends and lovers, has exceeded 1 million. There is no justification or practical benefit to clinging to the concept of a "normal family" and the narrow family concept. The change in political power does not mean a change in the ministry's responsibility for providing legal and policy support in keeping with the changing reality of families. Adams Approves Animal Control Shared Services With Cheshire ADAMS, Mass. The Board of Selectmen has approved a shared services agreement with Cheshire for the town's animal control officer. Police Chief K. Scott Kelley said he had been approached by both Cheshire and Savoy about a shared animal control officer. He said Animal Control Officer Kimberly Witek is more than qualified to handle the work. "There's certain training certifications that are involved in this. That's why they reached out to us because our animal control officer is well trained and well certified in anything," he said. "whether it be barn inspections, what used to be called farm Inspections, or whether it's basic animal control techniques, tactics, investigations." Kelley said calls from Cheshire for animal control are expected to be minimal. "Over the last couple of years, their average calls for service that cannot be handled by a police officer is seven. Savoy is smaller than that," he said. "... I wanted to be fair to both parties in that this is obviously something that can grow if we continue to utilize it." Town Administrator Jay Green said other communities often approach Adams for shared services. He said this program should act as a pilot, similar to the Council on Aging's shared services agreement with Savoy. "I think we can see if it works and help serve our neighboring community. There's many other opportunities that may or may not work in the future with this, but this is one of those where it really doesn't matter if you're in Cheshire or Adams or North Adams or Pittsfield, animal control services are generally animal control services," he said. Kelley also provided the board with a general update, highlighting some of the community events the department has or will take part in, including the Hoosac Valley Middle School Cookout, the Elizabeth Freeman Walk and Fall Foliage. One program he said the department is in the early stages of working on is an internship program with Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts students who have a criminal justice minor. "They reached out to us, and that is something we already do with volunteers and job shadowing. So we are working on details and look forward to working with MCLA," he said. In other business last week, the board approved a memorandum of understanding with the Adams Fire District for the water system at the Greylock Glen. "The Greylock Glen project requires water service in a high elevation area, which requires somewhat of a little bit more complicated water system than I think that we would like. It is also outside of the Adams Fire District, which complicates matters further," Green said. Under the agreement, the fire district will supply water to the system at the glen, which the town with maintain and operate. The board had significant discussion about the specifics of how the water system will function. Town Counsel Edmund St. John III said he reviewed the agreement and that it looks like a lot of work went into it. "There's a tremendous amount of detail which goes beyond my understanding of water systems. The only comment I have is if there is a dispute between the parties, there's a resolution process that is covered, which is basically an administrative process rather than one of the parties running to court and suing each other," he said. DSME should pursue self-rescue efforts to stay afloat Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) has signed a preliminary investment deal with Hanwha Group, paving the way for the latter's takeover of the debt-ridden shipyard. Under the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the two, Hanwha's subsidiaries will participate in a 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion) rights offering for a 49.3 percent stake. The deal, if finalized, will enable DSME to find a new owner since it was put under the control of state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) in 2001. Hanwha first attempted to acquire DSME in 2008, but to no avail due to a liquidity crunch amid the global financial crisis at the time. Equipped with competitive prowess in the defense industry and energy, Hanwha apparently seeks to take advantage of DSME's units that manufacture special purpose vessels (military ships like submarines). DSME will also gain momentum in its bid to get back on track under the new ownership. Expectations are mounting that Hanwha's possible takeover will help boost the domestic shipbuilding industry as the nation's seventh-largest conglomerate will better manage the troubled shipbuilder and end the sluggish performance. Despite such positive aspects, concerns are also increasing. First, DSME should make utmost efforts to stay afloat, boosted by the envisioned takeover. DSME has been hemorrhaging over the past two years despite recent signs of robust overseas orders. Its losses accumulated to 7.7 trillion won over the past 10 years, including a 1.7 trillion won deficit posted last year. Its debt-to-equity ratio stood at 676 percent with total debt surpassing 10 trillion won in the first half of this year. More than 12 trillion won of taxpayers' money has been poured into the troubled shipbuilder since 2001. This means the shipyard has managed to survive only due to state budget infusions. Against this backdrop, an easy-going atmosphere has been gripping the firm, coupled with lax practices. For starters, the previous managements, mainly consisting of elite officials appointed to the positions, attempted to fabricate financial statements to conceal huge amounts of losses. Its trade union played a major role in rupturing the envisioned merger between DSME and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) by visiting the EU's headquarters in January, calling for the deal to be disapproved. It has also triggered a "low-price" competition, dealing setbacks to domestic shipyards. More recently, DSME's subcontracted workers staged a sit-in protest, resulting in 700 billion won in damage. The protest was triggered by the practice of saving costs via multilayered subcontracts after orders were won at very low prices. KDB is poised to determine the final acquirer by the end of the year to complete the takeover by the first half of 2023. DSME's trade union vowed Tuesday to stage an all-out protest against any unilateral push for a sale without the union's consent. The trade union issue will surely become the biggest barrier to the envisaged takeover. Seen is the Nurion, the country's fifth supercomputer located at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) office in Daejeon. KISTI said Tuesday that it will introduce the sixth supercomputer, which will be 32 times faster than the Nurion, in 2023. Courtesy of KISTI By Baek Byung-yeul Korea will introduce the country's sixth supercomputing system, which is 32 times faster than the currently most advanced Nurion supercomputer, in 2023 as part of the country's efforts to promote the advancement of science and contribute to the national economy in terms of disease research, materials development necessary for high-tech industries and artificial intelligence (AI) technology, a state-run research institution said Tuesday. "A supercomputer is a large-sized computing system that performs large-capacity operations. It is becoming important as a key infrastructure for utilizing AI technology and other technologies as well as computational science," Lee Sik, director general of the division of national supercomputing at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), said during a press conference in Seoul. "The difference in the use of supercomputers compared to the past is that they were mostly used for basic science a lot, but now they are more utilized in studies that are more related to human lives and industries such as dementia and cancer research and development of materials for batteries and semiconductors." Since the country introduced its first supercomputing system in 1988, Korea has built five supercomputers. But the Nurion, which was introduced in 2018, has been overloaded with an average usage rate of around 75 percent and up to over 90 percent, so the need to introduce a new supercomputer has emerged. Given advanced countries such as the United States, Japan and European nations usually replace their supercomputers every four to five years, there has been a growing need here to build a next-generation supercomputer, KISTI said. In May 2021, KISTI unveiled its plan to introduce the sixth supercomputer, and the government conducted a preliminary feasibility study from March to July. On Aug. 11, the plan for a new supercomputing system was approved with a total budget of 292.95 billion won ($205.2 million) and KISTI said it will be able to start operating the new system by the end of 2023. Lee Sik, director general of the national supercomputing division at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), speaks during a press conference at HJ Business Center in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul UPDATED 03.10.22 Twenty two journalists have been detained amid national protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, and internet showdowns and social media blockages have intensified. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urges Iranian authorities to immediately release the reporters and restore the free flow of information. A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran on September 21, 2022, shows Iranian demonstrators burning a rubbish bin in the capital Tehran during a protest for Mahsa Amini, days after she died in police custody. The nationwide protests flared up across Iran after a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, died in detention of the Morality Police of Tehran on 16 September. Web monitor NetBlocks noted widespread internet platform restrictions on Skype, WhatsApp and Linkedin and rolling blackouts. This followed older bans on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Telegram. According to the Association of Iranian Journalists, an IFJ affiliate, 16 journalists have been arrested since the beginning of the protests. Those detained are: 1- Mr Ahamd Halabi Saz, freelance news photographer 2- Mr Iman Beh Pasand, freelance journalist 3- Mrs Vida Rabani, freelance journalist at Shargh newspaper 4- Mrs Fatemeh Rajabi, Haft Sobh newspaper and Boursan website journalist 5- Mrs Elahe Mohammadi, journalist at Hammihan newspaper 6- Mr Mojtaba Rahimi, freelance journalist 7- Mr Alireza Khoshbakht, freelance journalist 8- Mr Rouholah Nakhaei, freelance journalist 9- Mrs Nilofar Hamedi, journalist at Shargh newspaper 10- Mrs Yalda Moayeri, freelance news photographer and award-winning photographer 11- Mr Masoud Kordpur, editor at Mukrian news agency 12- Mr Khosro Kordpur, journalist at Mukrian news agency 13- Mrs Marzieh Talaee , journalist at Mukrian news agency 14- Mr Ali Khatibzadeh, journalist at Mukrian news agency 15- Mrs Batool Balali, journalist at Kerman Farda news website 16- Mrs Samira Alinejad, journalist at Kerman no news website 17- Mrs Mehrnoush Tafian, local freelance journalist 18- Mr Farshid Ghorbanpour, Journalist at Haft Sobh newspaper 19 - Mr Arya Jafari, a photojournalist at ISNA news agency in Isfahan 20 - Mrs Safieh Gharebaghi, freelance journalist at Zanjan city 21 - Sivash Soleimani, a veteran journalist at Urmia city 22 - Mr. Alborz Nezami, a journalist at Donaye Eghtesad newspapers On 24 September, the Tehran Province Journalists Association(TPJA) published a second statement in the week condemning the arrests, interrogation and house search of journalists. Addressing the Iranian government, TPJA said: "From a professional point of view, news coverage of general or limited protests is no different from news coverage of earthquakes, floods, the opening of dams or factories etc. From our point of view, as journalists, all these topics are newsworthy, and our professional duty dictates that we cover them competently and impartially. From a professional point of view, it does not matter whether we talk to the protester or the police officers". The TPJA warned about the risk of weakening the media institution in Iran because of government actions and asked for the release of all arrested journalists. The Maldivian government has proposed a series of amendments to the nations Evidence Bill after concerns were raised by media rights organisations at the potential of the law to restrict press freedom. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA), welcome the proposed amendments but urge the Maldivian government to further revise the draft to remove the provision requiring disclosure of journalists sources. In a statement on September 25, the office of the Maldivian Attorney General said it would propose an amendment to the Evidence Act, in response to concerns raised by media rights organisations regarding provisions within Article 136 of the bill that require journalists to reveal their sources to the court. Article 136 of the nations Evidence Act, which was ratified by Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on July 18, lists two exceptions where the court can compel journalists and media outlets to reveal their sources in cases related to acts of terrorism and national security-related matters. Under the article, the disclosure of a source is mandatory if the court finds no negative impact or significantly less negative impact to the source or others even if the source is revealed and; if the impact of revealing a source does not significantly impact the ability of journalists to find sources of factual information. The new amendment proposal drafted by the office of the Maldivian Attorney General clarifies the circumstances under which journalists are required to reveal their sources and further defines the terrorism and national security aspects of the bill after concerns were raised by the local media community. The Attorney General said that the proposed amendments were drafted in consultation with the MJA and the Maldives Editors Guild, among others. In a statement, the MJA however opposed the continued inclusion of national security related matters in the bill and urged the office of the Attorney General to make further changes before the presentation of the proposal in parliament by September 30. IFJ and MJA had long been advocating against the sourcedisclosure provision mentioned in the evidence bill. IFJs Asia- Pacific Director Jane Worthington had raised the issue during her evaluation mission in the Maldives in August. MJA said: The MJA notes that the draft bill formulated by the Attorney General's Office to amend Article 136 of the Evidence Act addresses many of the concerns of journalists. We welcome these changes, and we believe this is a good move by the government. However, we still have serious concerns about the draft bill. The MJA asks the government to remove references to national security from the bill as there is a possibility of misusing the term in the absence of a law defining national security offences in the Maldives. The IFJ said: The IFJ welcomes the Maldivian governments proposal to amend Article 136 of the Evidence Act after appropriate consultation with media stakeholders. However, the continued inclusion of a provision requiring journalists to disclose their sources is unacceptable and constitutes a restriction of press freedom. The IFJ calls for further amendments to the draft to ensure that the security and privacy of journalists and their sources are maintained. Prevent Unauthorized Transactions in your demat / trading account Update your Mobile Number/ email Id with your stock broker / Depository Participant. Receive information of your transactions directly from Exchanges on your mobile / email at the end of day and alerts on your registered mobile for all debits and other important transactions in your demat account directly from NSDL/ CDSL on the same day." - Issued in the interest of investors. KYC is one time exercise while dealing in securities markets - once KYC is done through a SEBI registered intermediary (broker, DP, Mutual Fund etc.), you need not undergo the same process again when you approach another intermediary. No need to issue cheques by investors while subscribing to IPO. Just write the bank account number and sign in the application form to authorise your bank to make payment in case of allotment. No worries for refund as the money remains in investor's account." www.indiainfoline.com is part of the IIFL Group, a leading financial services player and a diversified NBFC. The site provides comprehensive and real time information on Indian corporates, sectors, financial markets and economy. On the site we feature industry and political leaders, entrepreneurs, and trend setters. The research, personal finance and market tutorial sections are widely followed by students, academia, corporates and investors among others. The largest Canadian pension fund, Ontario Teachers, is establishing its first office in India in Mumbai, according to a news release from the investment management firm. It will be the pension fund's third office in the Asia-Pacific region and sixth overall when it opens in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla complex. India is a desirable location for investments and will be one of our expanding markets over the next five to ten years. Its economy is big, expanding, and dynamic, and it is open to foreign investment, making it a strategically significant market for us, according to Jo Taylor, president, and chief executive officer. By the end of 2022, Ontario Teachers' Mumbai branch will have a founding staff of about 10 team members, made up of a combination of local talent and transfers from its other offices. As the investment portfolio of Ontario Teachers expands in the upcoming years, this presence is anticipated to grow even more. Early in 2023, Deepak Dara will assume the duties of Senior Managing Director and Head of India. Keki Mistry, vice chairman, and chief executive officer of Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC Ltd.), has committed to serve as a senior advisor to Ontario Teachers', the fund added in its news release. In the banking and financial services industries, Mistry has nearly four decades of top leadership experience. A little bit over $2 billion is the estimated value of Ontario Teachers' Indian investment portfolio. It has invested in an Edelweiss debt fund platform. It has investments in ChrysCapital and Kedaara Capital private equity funds. Additionally, it has made investments in infrastructure, including one in the green energy platform of Mahindra Susten and the roads platform of KKR. In addition to owning an interest in VerSe Innovations, the parent company of the news app Dailyhunt, it recently purchased a share in Sahyadri Hospitals. Assets worth $177 billion, acquired through working and retired teachers' savings, are managed by Ontario Teachers. The goal of the asset management company is to generate profits on the investments to guarantee the teachers' retirement income. It makes investments across more than 50 nations in a variety of assets, including infrastructure, real estate, commodities, public and private stocks, fixed income, credit, and fixed income and private equity. There are locations in Toronto, Hong Kong, London, San Francisco, and Singapore. 350 investment experts work there. For feedback and suggestions, write to us at editorial@iifl.com In another major crackdown on the Popular Front of India, investigative agencies on Tuesday along with local police have arrested around 90 people across six states for their alleged links to terrorist activity. The Assam Police has arrested the West Bengal President of Popular Front of India (PFI) from Delhi. The arrested accused are accused of promoting communal conflict along with terrorist activities. Read more at:https://t.co/s6vMqX62Ts Install App from: https://t.co/UEQ0jbQ59O pic.twitter.com/N6eolq4lPV Borok Times (@boroktimes) September 24, 2022 The raids are underway in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh and Assam are a follow up of the earlier raids carried out on Sept 22 and the number of people arrested has now gone up to 200. In state-wide raids in Karnataka, more than 75 PFI workers of its political wing (SDPI) and leaders were taken into preventive custody, informed a police official. Over 75 leaders and workers of PFI and its political wing Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) have been taken into preventive custody. The police raids are underway across the state. The cases have been booked under sections 108, 151 CrPC, news agency ANI cited Alok Kumar, ADGP law and order as saying in Bengaluru. The police conducted raids in Devanahalli, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapur, Chitradurga, Raichur, Hassan, Bellary, Bagalkot, Koppal and other districts in the state. Alok Kumar ADGP, Bengaluru said that Mohmad Ismail, Raichur district ex-president of the PFI was also arrested and sent to judicial custody. Three PFI leaders were taken into custody in Mysore while two leaders were arrested in Chamarajanagar. Eight PFI leaders have been taken into custody including the district president in Mangalore. In Uttar Pradesh, the states ATS and the UP Special Task Force took more than a dozen PFI leaders into custody in raids across the state, informed police sources. Crackdown on the Popular Front of India continued in Maharashtra as the ATS and local police conducted raids in various parts of the state and arrested various persons linked with the organisation. Raids by ATS and local police are underway on people associated with PFI in many parts of the state, said the ATS. The Thane Police informed that its crime branch has arrested four people associated with PFI. The Nashik Police also arrested two persons liked with the organisation. Both the arrested persons will be produced before the court later today. One of the two persons, identified as Mohammed Irfan who, according to the Nashik Police, was earlier booked for holding an illegal rally in May this year. According to local police, there were inputs against some persons, who are connected to PFI, were involved in illegal activities. Raids are underway in Malegaon town also. The NIA had arrested over 106 members of the PFI during its largest-ever raids spread across 15 states. According to the charge-sheet filed by the ED, PFI has formed committees in UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and other places to raise funds. Targets are given to individuals to collect cash and transfer the same through Hawala or camouflaged as genuine business transactions. Searches were conducted at multiple locations in the largest ever investigation process till date. The operation started late in the night around 1 am and concluded by 5 am involving over 1,500 personnel of state police, Central Armed Police Forces and officers of NIA and ED. Several incriminating documents, more than 100 mobile phones, laptops and other materials have been seized by the raiding teams. These searches were conducted at the residential and official premises of persons involved in funding terrorism, organising training camps and radicalising people to join proscribed organisations. The PFI was launched in Kerala in 2006 after merging three Muslim organizations floated after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992. It then spread its wings to other states such as Tamil Nadu. Nick Connor, head of Volvo Car APEC, poses next to the company's newly released Volvo S60 at the Westin Chosun Hotel in central Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Volvo Korea By Kim Hyun-bin Volvo Car Korea unveiled the new S60 and V60 Cross Country in Korea at the Westin Josun Seoul hotel, Tuesday. The S60 is a flagship model designed based on the company's Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform, and is a key vehicle targeting the mid-size premium segment along with the global best-selling XC60, according to the company. This S60, newly introduced three years after the previous one, offers a more personalized user experience through a digital package based on the Google Android Automotive OS, an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) sensor platform. "Volvo Cars Korea is perhaps our most remarkable market in the world," said Nick Connor, head of Volvo Cars APEC. "This is the only market in Volvo to have 10 years of consecutive growth. I believe this is the fastest-growing premium brand in Korea which is an interesting statistic. Through the connectivity service and the best convenience features and safety technology, you will be able to experience the better value of life that Swedish luxury offers." One of the key changes in the S60 and V60 Cross Country is the advanced connectivity service that completes a new digital experience connecting the car and driver. Volvo V60 Cross Country / Courtesy of Volvo Korea Two security personnel of the Pakistani army under custody of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) are being interrogated by the rebels. The two soldiers were captured by the BLA near Zardaalo, an area in Harnai, Balochistan, which brought Pakistani army helicopters to the area, following which one was allegedly shot down by the rebels. This was reportedly the second helicopter to be shot by the Baloch insurgents. In a press release on Monday night, the BLA said that Naib Subaidar Kaleem Ullah of FC 114 Wing Loralai Scouts and Mohammad Faisal of Qasoor of a secretive intelligence unit, are being interrogated for their role in heinous war crimes, including disappearance and torture of Baloch youth. Spokesperson for the BLA, Jeeyand Baloch said: Both enemy personnel are going through the interrogation process under BLAs custody. After investigation they will be produced before the Baloch national court, which will decide their fate. The courts decision will be communicated to the media too. insurgents abducted two security personnel in the region. Troops have since been trying to find and rescue the men, according to two security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.#Balochistan https://t.co/mFRAtGdZq9 Bahot Baloch | (@Bahot_Baluch) September 27, 2022 Pakistans Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) has not acknowledged the capture of the two soldiers, even though it issued a press statement about the death of its six personnel in the helicopter crash. This is the second time in recent months that the Baloch nationalist rebels have captured Pakistani army soldiers. In the previous incident in July, the BLA had kidnapped Lt. Col. Laiq Baig Mirza of the Pakistani army along with his cousin while travelling from Ziarat to Quetta. He was interrogated by the rebels and was later found dead while his cousins body was discovered in a different place. The Pakistani army carried out a search operation in Ziarat and claimed on July 16 that it had killed nine terrorists involved in the kidnapping of Lt. Col. Mirza, creating a furore among the Baloch community as it was later found that the alleged terrorists killed in the Ziarat encounter by the Pakistani security were Baloch missing persons who had been taken out from prisons and shot dead in cold blood as an act of revenge by the army. Several Baloch families recognised seven of the dead men who had been missing from their homes under the process of enforced disappearances euphemism for State-sponsored kidnappings by the Pakistani government. In the Harnai incident, Baloch fighters are also disrupting trucks ferrying minerals from the province. The BLA fighters seized four trucks transporting coal and released the drivers after warnings. The rebels have also been blowing up the gas pipelines that transport gas from Balochistan to Punjab. The estranged Baloch community is leading a nationalist struggle for over seven decades against Pakistan. The rebels have carried out several big attacks including some on Chinese interests this year. A suicide bombing by Baloch woman, Shari Baloch killed three Chinese teachers of the Confucious Institute, at the Karachi University. The BLA had taken over the camps of Pakistans Frontier Corps (FC) troops in Noshki and Panjgur inflicting heavy casualties. The well-coordinated attack showed the depth and coordination of Baloch nationalists as they kept the Pakistani security forces at bay for over three days in Panjgur. Also Read: Pakistan loses its second military helicopter in two monthsBaloch insurgents claim responsibility Ghulam Rasool Kakroo, 64, a walnut trader in Lagama market of Uri in north Kashmirs Baramulla district is busy packing the kernels along with his four workers so as to export them to Delhi by the evening. We will have to load the boxes of kernels in trucks by 8 pm, Kakroo tells his workers while pointing to separate the clean kernels from the grimy ones. But, on the other hand Kakroo has lost all hopes that the walnut business will make a comeback and this historic walnut market will function in full swing once again. Idrees Bukhtiyar Lagama is the historic and the oldest walnut market of the valley but for the last few years it has been witnessing slump in rates and demand of kernels too, triggering a fear of market closure among the traders. Since the rates and demand have gone down for the last few years. We are clearly predicting that this historic market will collapse anytime, he said. Left business Since nothing is well with the industry, Jameel Ahmad Budoo, a walnut trader in Uri has left this work now. I have been purchasing and selling the kernels since 2010 till 2019 but afterwards things changed for the traders here, he said. The rates slumped with low demand and no attention from the government degraded this business. We used to put a lot of hard work and effort into the work but the results have been zero, Budoo added. Ghulam Rasools 27-year-old son Faisal Kakroo told Indiatimes that since the kernels from the countries like Afghanistan, China, Chile and California are being imported to India, it has affected the walnut business community in Kashmir. The situation is so bad that people in Indian states are hardly purchasing Kashmiri kernels now and in fact the central government is also promoting the international kernels, he said. Faisal also highlighted the issue of GST. This has made our lives hell. We have to pay it on everything whether on kernel boxes, fare or commission agents. Whatever we earn, we have to pay it as GST, he said. Idrees Bukhtiyar Walnuts sold at Rs 650-700 Explaining the rates, he said: A few years back one kg of kernels was sold at Rs 1300 and now the rate has come down to Rs 650-700. There are several types of kernels available in Lagama market which includes snow white, normal white, sharbati and amber. The snow white is the costliest one among all. He further added that they have to spend Rs 12,000 per month on a worker which carries dropping at home facility in the evening and other charges. If we don't earn this amount, it will go from our own pockets, he added. The 70-year-old Mohammad Aamin Chalkoo, a prominent walnut trader in the market said that this year the production of walnuts was also low. This year we have only 30% of production and it was an untimely growth as well. The market which used to start from 1st September has started from 5th August this year, he said. Our livelihood runs only through this business and we dont have any other source of earning, Chalkoo said. Abdul Majeed Naik, another walnut trader said that he wouldnt allow his children to take up this business. I have learnt the lessons from this business and after incurring losses, I have also reduced the capacity of staff from fifteen to five as we dont have any money to pay their salaries, he said. Idrees Bukhtiyar Walnuts from LoC villages More than a year after India and Pakistan agreed to abide by all agreements on the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K, walnuts have started flowing to Lagama market this year. Earlier, it was not possible to bring the walnuts from villages falling close to LoC due to the cross- border shelling. The labourers were also not ready to go to these villages despite paying them double the amount, said Shabir Ahmad Bhat, a local whose relatives live in Mothal village close to the LoC in Uri. Now, the labourers are able to come with walnuts and do their business normally as there is no fear of fire along the LoC, he said. The supply flows through the areas like Nambla, Hathlanga, Sourha, Thajal, Gawalta, Gowhalan- all falling close to the LoC. Why historical market? Falling only six kilometres ahead of the border, the market is located on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, the strategically important stretch which has been facilitating the cross-LoC bus and trade service till 2019. The market opens for three months only starting from September, October and November. The walnuts are being supplied in the markets of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and other cities. Every year over hundred walnut traders set up their business in the market. According to elders, this market was started before 1947 and people from across the border used to come to purchase and sell their kernels in this market. The traders from the other side of the LoC used to visit on horse carts and also sell ghee (clarified butter) and salt. Various Europeans and Maharaja rulers have visited this market. Idrees Bukhtiyar Officials say Ghulam Rasool Mir, Director Horticulture Kashmir said that they have a number of schemes available for the promotion of walnuts to national and international markets. We have a scheme where we can send the kernels through air at the cheapest rates and farmers will get the subsidy too. But people need to reach out to us and take the benefit of these schemes, he said. For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News. Offer on Apple iPhone 13 has been a major attraction of the Flipkart Big Billion Days sale, at least in the first few days. The smartphone was selling below 50,000 on Flipkart and many users were able to purchase the phone at the discounted price. Netizens slam Flipkart However, many reported that their orders were abruptly cancelled by the e-tailer without reason. Several users took to microblogging site Twitter to report the issue. Here are a few other tweets by disgruntled Flipkart customers. Booked iPhone 13 during the Big Billion Day Sale & was eagerly waiting for the delivery. The product was cancelled by the seller/ Flipkart without any explanation. Pathetic experience . . .#bigbilliondays2022 #Flipkart #FlipkartBigBillionDays #flipkartscam #flipkartsupport pic.twitter.com/yghvrQNzk8 Pulkit Jain (@PlantBiochem) September 24, 2022 Some even complained of receiving a duplicate product. Fraud by Flipkart Struggling for last 21 days to return duplicate Iphone 13 Heating Problem & Hanging Putted return request within 7 days using self service . But its auto rejected without any calling or checking the product. #Flipkart #flipkartsupport #FlipkartBigBillionDays pic.twitter.com/AT6kcEgnIF Sneha Chakraborty (@SnehaCh80416483) September 19, 2022 Flipkart's statement Now, Flipkart has admitted that some iPhone 13 orders got cancelled during the Big Billion Days sale. In a statement to India Today Tech, Flipkart spokesperson said that only a fraction of orders have been cancelled due to anomalies. The spokesperson added that close to 70 per cent of all iPhone orders have been delivered successfully. "Flipkart is a customer first ecommerce marketplace and always ensures that customers' interests are protected. As a customer focused ecommerce marketplace, we encourage sellers to prioritise the customers' orders and strive to keep them delighted with their service," the spokesperson said in the official statement. indianretailer Big Billion Days sale Flipkart Big Billion Days sale started on September 22 for Plus members and September 23 for all users. During the initial days, the phone was selling at a price as low as 47,990 on the e-tailers site. It is currently listed at 58,990 for the 128GB storage model. You can still buy it on discount If you are still looking to buy the iPhone 13, then retail store Croma has announced its Diwali offer where it is selling the smartphone at 51,990. Cromas teaser page for the Diwali sale reveals that the iPhone 13 would be selling at a price of 51,990. The official price of the device is 69,900. This means that the platform is offering a discount of 17,910 on iPhone 13. Apple However, Croma has not mentioned how long the deal will continue. Do note that the price cut would likely be based on bank cards, prepaid orders and there will also be some flat discount, similar to what Flipkart offered. For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News. A flaw in gem-quality diamond found in Botswana suggests Earths mantle consists of oceans worth of water in it, reveals a report by Scientific American. Tingting Gu The flaw, also referred to as inclusion appears to be similar to a fish eye, however, what it really is, is a cavity filled with mineral dubbed ringwoodite, found 660 kilometres underground right at the border between the upper and lower mantle. This is only the second time scientists have found this mineral trapped in a piece of crystal from this zone. What also makes this more special is the fact that this is the only sample of its kind known to science. The previous one to be discovered was destroyed while scientists were trying to understand its chemistry. This one was discovered by Tingting Gu, a mineral physicist now at Purdue University who was at the time doing research at the Gemological Institute of America. Her mission was to study rare inclusions found in diamonds. To the unaware, inclusions are considered undesirable for jewellery since they alter the diamonds shine. However, scientists find them interesting since they often trap bits of the environment where the diamonds were formed several millions of years ago. Most diamonds known to humanity form around 150 to 200 kilometres below Earths surface. However some rare ones come from much deeper too, but how much exactly isn't clearly known. The one discovered by Gu had the presence of Ringwoodite, which only forms under extremely high pressures and in Earths mantle, its only found below 660 kilometres from the surface. The single other sample which was found in 2014 was discovered around 135 kilometres of that depth. However, the inclusion of the recently discovered diamond had two other minerals -- ferropericlase and enstatite -- which can be found together at 660 kilometres and deeper, hinting where the diamond actually formed. Tingting Gu Now, this depth is crucial since its also the boundary between the layers of the mantle, which is also the area where seismic waves travel through Earths interior at strangely changing speeds. Ringwoodite also is capable of holding water better than ferropericlase and enstatite, which explains why it releases so much water as it undergoes changes at this boundary. Understanding the change in minerals and the possible water release could help us decipher the mystery behind why seismic waves travel differently in this region. The holding of water by Ringwoodite is crucial as it suggests that the mantle could be storing massive quantities of water. While the 2014 discovery also had water, it was the first hint, and the second discovery further strengthens this claim. Suzette Timmerman, a mantle geochemist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta, who was not involved in the new discovery states that with just one sample one could have categorised it as simply a local hydrous region. However, the second discovery tells us it's not a single occurrence and could be more widespread. Oliver Tschauner, a mineralogist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who was on the team that discovered a high-pressure form of water ice in ultra-deep diamonds in 2018 but was not involved in the new study states that further research into the understanding of water cycles between Earths depths and surface could better help us understand how our planet hydrated in its over 4.5 billion year lifetime. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com A Chennai-based Uber driver has been accused of sexually assaulting a journalism student. The girl reported that the driver touched her inappropriately when she stepped out of the vehicle after finishing the ride. Unsplash/Representative Image She claimed she had booked an Uber autorickshaw to take her from a restaurant to a hotel in Semmancheri when she detailed the incident on Twitter. The driver allegedly grabbed her inappropriately when they arrived at the destination as she and her friend got out of the auto. Screengrab According to reports, the police have filed an FIR at the Chemanchery police station in response to the student's complaint. The incident happened on Monday. "An Uber Auto driver named Selvam sexually assaulted me by pressing my right breast near the Ibis OMR Hotel when my friend and I returned from East Coast Madras to the hotel," she wrote, tagging Tamil Nadu Police. She then tweeted that the driver left the area after she called for help. The woman stated that when she called the police after the incident, "there was no response." "No female cop arrived" Twitter She claimed that after 30 minutes, a policeman arrived at the hotel with another man, but there was no woman cop. "He asked us to wait till the morning to file an FIR as there was no lady officer at the station. "It's an order by the government," he said when asked about the lady officer," her tweet read. "He was also not letting us go to the police station to file an offline FIR," she said, adding that she was not allowed inside the police station when they reached there, as "women are not allowed (in police stations) during the night." The student said, "I had to file the complaint outside the station. Also, the charge station gave us an A4 sheet to write an application instead of an FIR. (Usually, the police ask you to file an application instead of an FIR to suppress the matter and to avoid the workload)." The student said that the Tambaram police had taken his auto and CCTV footage related to the incident. Selvam, the accused auto driver, has subsequently been arrested and remanded. Representative Image Semmencherry police confirmed that an FIR was registered under Section 354A (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 4 (the penalty for harassment of woman) of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act. Meanwhile, Uber had reacted to the incident and asked the woman to share the details of her ride. "Hey, this is concerning. Please share the registered details via direct message with which the trip was requested. We'll follow up," the reply read. Uber also reached out on the thread, expressing its concern about the incident and sharing that it had escalated the issue to the relevant team for action. For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram. Hankook Tire's Technodome in Daejeon / Courtesy of Hankook Tire By Kim Jae-heun Hankook Tire has been winning consecutive orders in recent months to supply tires for electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured by global automakers, emerging as a leader in the rapidly-growing market. Customers include Hyundai Motor, Porsche, Audi, BMW, Volkswagen and Tesla. The tire manufacturer recently signed a contract with Hyundai Motor to supply 37,400 tires for the new Ioniq 6 model, which is the largest number ever for Hankook Tire. Last month, Hankook Tire won a bid to supply its "Ventus S1 evo3 ev" tires for Audi's first compact electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) series, "Q4 e-Tron" and "Q4 e-Tron Sportback." In April of this year, Hankook Tire also won a contract to supply tires for BMW's first pure electric car, "Gran Coupe i4." Porsche's pure electric car fitted with Hankook Tire's product / Courtesy of Hankook Tire The Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) has announced that Travelers Canada renewed its Full Partner support for the associations Broker Identity Program (BIP). The BIP is a national advertising campaign which looks to raise awareness of the value that brokers offer their clients. On top of Travelers Canadas renewed support and investment in the BIP, the insurer will also contribute to IBACs other initiatives, such as its technology leadership, professional development of the broker workforce, and IBACs federal advocacy to keep the insurance and banking industries separate. Matt is a strategic, innovative leader whose vision will take us into the future, Brady said. His strong technical, business and people skills have already proven to be a great match for Arbella. For eight years, Matt was instrumental in transforming the technology used by our customers, agents and employees, and we are thrilled that he has decided to rejoin the company. Read next: Arbella Insurance partners up to launch Insurance Academy Postulka joined the company in 2012 as a manager and was promoted several times before becoming assistant vice president and deputy CIO. in 2020, he joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston as CIO and senior vice president of technology and operations before rejoining Arbella in July. Beachfront owners have to navigate the great beauty of living in a coastal region with the challenges that they're also confronted with, said John Gragson (pictured), SVP of claims at Sedgwick. The most significant risks for these homeowners are wind and water. Windows are particularly vulnerable points during a hurricane, but any exterior points - including shingles, gutters, and railings - are at risk from wind. These homes, in general, should have window protection in advance. Owners should either board up the windows or install hurricane shutters. This is one of the more important decisions folks make [with their property] because it's labor intensive, Gragson told Insurance Business. Without adequate reinforcement, windows can be a source of indoor damage during a storm. A homes occupants could also be injured near windows when a hurricane strikes. Similarly, doors could become a weak point, so these entryways should also be secured. Read more: Hurricane season in swing after slow start Gragson also noted that water damage is often excluded from homeowners policies, which makes resilience even more important for waterfront properties. Water can cause more force to property than wind, he pointed out. If you're by the water, one important thing homeowners should do is assess their property's condition, looking at changes over time as they relate to exposure to water. Weather awareness is also key. The claims SVP said: Homeowners need to stay abreast of their local five-day-out forecasts and weather patterns. Theres always quite a bit of information available in advance of hurricanes so they have time to be prepared. Construction improvements over the last 10 to 20 years have greatly improved the resilience of beachfront properties to wind and other risks. Post-Hurricane Andrew in 1991, there were a lot of lessons learned and a lot of engineering evolution has occurred since then, Gragson noted. But brokers should advise their clients to stay on top of their propertys maintenance. Having relationships with local service providers for these types of property is probably a prudent course of action, he added. For Gragson, the strength of the carriers should be of paramount concern to brokers helping beachfront homeowners. He said: The broker would be the skilled person that would take homeowners through their coverage limits and so forth, to make sure that their investment and, in many cases, their dream home is properly protected from a financial perspective. Underwriting is so varied among carriers that specialize in this type of property exposure. Having enhanced questions could provide [clients] with a premium benefit. For instance, having a particular type of roof might get them a better exposure rating, Gragson advised brokers. Hurricane season also comes as Florida grapples with a homeowners insurance crisis. Several major carriers having exited the market this year, while five domestic insurers having failed in recent months. But while Gragson is optimistic about the industrys tenacity, he advised brokers and their clients not to let down their guard. Read more: Florida and Louisiana in crisis a tale of two states I'm not expert in what's going on in the market, but I believe that the markets will find their way. Florida has historically faced some challenges. If you're a property owner with an insurance policy, you should stay abreast [of whats happening in the industry], particularly as things unfold in some states, Gragson said. Long-term, I think [Floridas crisis] will work out its way. In the short-term, stay diligent and understand what you have and do not have. Global broker Hub International Limited has announced the launch of Hub Hospitality Benefits Captive to help hospitality employers in the US, and those with cross-border operations in Canada, manage their benefits costs and offer more comprehensive health and wellness plans for employees. We are excited to offer the Hub Hospitality Benefits Captive to hospitality employers who want to offer personalized benefits to their employees while gaining control over their healthcare expenses, said Kim Gore, Hub North America hospitality specialty practice leader. A strong benefits strategy helps create more engaged hospitality employees, which can improve the overall customer service experience. For several months, employees at a Manchester, Connecticut environmental laboratory complained to management about faulty ventilation systems and about symptoms related to exposure to ethylene chloride, a highly hazardous chemical, according to federal workplace safety officials. Despite knowledge of these employee complaints, management at Phoenix Environmental Laboratories Inc. took few effective measures to monitor and address the exposures and provide effective safeguards for its employees, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has alleged. As a result, OSHA has now cited Phoenix Environmental Laboratories for six willful and serious violations and proposed a total of $907,253 in penalties. According to OSHA, the symptoms reported by employees included dizziness, light-headedness, headaches and unsteady walking all of which can be caused by exposure to methylene chloride. OSHA maintains that employees sustained exposures to methylene chloride due to inadequate ventilation and recurring leaks from equipment, plus the use of methylene chloride in analyzing environmental samples, Phoenix Environmental Laboratories specializes in analysis and testing of water, soil, sludge, air and solid samplings. OSHAs inspection found that Phoenix Environmental Laboratories Inc. failed to ensure employees were not overexposed to methylene chloride, safely dispose of leaking methylene chloride, or provide employees with personal protection from methylene chloride and other solvents, among other responsibilities. Phoenix Environmental Laboratories knew of its employees exposure to a highly hazardous and carcinogenic chemical, yet chose to ignore their complaints and failed to take effective corrective action, said OSHA Area Director Dale Varney in Hartford. OSHA said it also uncovered additional hazards during the inspection. Phoenix Laboratories has 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference with OSHAs area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Topics Claims Workers' Compensation Connecticut Chemicals Eli Lilly and Co was sued on Monday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which accused the drugmaker of illegally refusing to hire older workers for sales representative jobs because of their age. The complaint said Lillys violations began after Stephen Fry, its senior vice president for human resources and diversity, lamented during an April 2017 Leadership Town Hall that its sales force was skewed toward older workers, with 20% fewer millennials than the American workforce. According to the EEOC, Fry suggested that the lack of millennials was a problem, and the Indianapolis-based company would target 40% Early Career hiring. Managers then changed their hiring practices for sales representatives, sometimes requiring greater review and approval before extending offers to older candidates, even after some recognized that the 40% goal was illegal, the EEOC said. The target remained through 2021, it added. Lilly, in a statement, denied the accusations and said it was committed to fostering and promoting a culture of diversity and respect. The lawsuit filed in Indianapolis federal court accused Lilly of violating the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. It seeks to permanently enjoin future discrimination, obtain back pay and other damages for people not hired because of their age, and improve training for supervisors and managers. This case underscores the continued need for the EEOC to break down barriers to employment for older Americans as they work longer and in larger numbers, Robert Weisberg, an EEOC lawyer who helped bring the case, said in a statement. Lillys top-selling product is Trulicity, a treatment for type 2 diabetes. On Aug. 11, Lilly said Fry would retire at the end of 2022 after more than 35 years at the company. The case is EEOC v Lilly USA LLC, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, No. 22-01882. Topics Lawsuits Eagle Marine Services Electrical & Refrigeration, LLC, a marine services company based in Berwick, Louisiana, violated federal law when it refused to hire or accommodate a worker because he used medication prescribed by his doctor to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit. According to the EEOCs lawsuit, the company withdrew its offer of a marine electrician position after the worker revealed, as part of a company-ordered medical examination, that he had ADHD and took prescribed medication to treat it. Eagle Marine Services failed to make any individual assessment of the workers medication use or whether it would affect his ability to safely perform the marine electrician position, and instead relied on general stereotypes about disability and medication use to justify its decision not to hire him. The alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, which forbids discrimination against an individual because of disability. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (Civil Action No. 22-cv-3443) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. Uma Kandan, acting director of the EEOCs New Orleans Field Office said it is unacceptable and unlawful to refuse to hire someone with a disability because the employer has general reservations about the use of a medication. An employee should not have to decide between pursuing a livelihood or following a doctors advice. The lawsuit was commenced by the EEOCs New Orleans Field Office, which is part of its Houston District Office, which has jurisdiction over Louisiana and parts of Texas. Topics Lawsuits Louisiana San Diego County and other defendants have agreed to pay $1.35 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the mother of a Mexican citizen who died after sheriffs deputies arrested him in 2018, officials said. The lawsuit filed by Dolores Rosales, of Tijuana, alleged deputies used excessive force when they took her son, Marco Antonio Napoles-Rosales, into custody in August 2018, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The court filing claimed the deputies used a stun gun, their body weight and a wrap-around restraint device to subdue Napoles-Rosales, who was suspected of trespassing at a gas station in Fallbrook. He lost consciousness during the arrest and was taken to a hospital, where he died the next day. Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez, Mexican consul general in San Diego, said that Napoles-Rosales mother and the consulate felt satisfied with the settlement and pleased that the lawsuit brought the circumstances of his death to the publics attention. May this case remind us all that the excessive use of force is not acceptable under any circumstances, Gonzalez Gutierrez said. San Diego County spokesperson Michael Workman referred a request for comment to the chair of the Board of Supervisors, Nathan Fletcher. His office did not immediately respond to the Union-Tribune. An autopsy determined Napoles-Rosales died of sudden cardiopulmonary arrest caused by methamphetamine intoxication and exertion during the struggle with deputies. The manner of death was undetermined. A toxicology screen found methamphetamine and amphetamines in his blood when he died. After reviewing Napoles-Rosales death, prosecutors decided no criminal charges would be filed against the deputies who used force against him. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits California Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidlers office approved coverage requested by Physicians Insurance A Mutual of Seattle to reimburse its policyholders for legal fees and expenses incurred defending against a criminal action from providing patient care, including performing abortions. Abortion is legal in Washington state, but patients from other states may seek treatment here if their state outlaws the procedure, Kreidlers office noted in a release announcing the approval. My office will do everything it can to counter attacks on reproductive health and the physicians who provide essential care, Kreidler said in a statement. As states like Texas threaten legal and criminal action against physicians, the OIC is determined to counter this by assisting medical malpractice insurers wherever we can. The approved policy rider provides up to $250,000 in coverage to reimburse a covered provider for the legal costs spent successfully defending against criminal charges involving direct patient care. Under the new coverage, criminal action is defined as: A criminal proceeding following arrest or indictment; An official request for extradition; Or a criminal or regulatory investigation including a medical board. Physicians is the largest medical malpractice insurer in Washington state with more than 50% of the market, according to Kreidlers office. The new coverage is expected to be available starting Jan.1, 2023. Topics Washington Korea's first 3,000-ton-class Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine is on display at a launching ceremony at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, in this September 2018 file photo. Korea Times file Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan / Courtesy of Hanwha Group Conglomerate confident of reassuring shipbuilder's workers By Park Jae-hyuk Hanwha Group's latest decision to acquire Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), which manufactures naval ships and submarines, has made it possible for Korea's seventh-largest conglomerate to become a top-tier global defense industry powerhouse, according to industry officials Tuesday. Given that the group owns subsidiaries leading the solar and renewable energy markets, its planned takeover is also expected to accelerate the global shipbuilding industry's transition to green energy. Hanwha signed a conditional deal on Monday with DSME and its largest shareholder, Korea Development Bank (KDB), to acquire a 49.3 percent stake in the shipbuilder for 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion) and said it aims to become a major global firm in both the defense and renewable energy businesses, integrating its core competencies with DSME's capabilities in design and manufacturing. According to the business group, Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Systems will invest 1 trillion won and 500 billion won, respectively, while Hanwha Impact Partners will pay 400 billion won, and Hanwha Energy's three subsidiaries will pay the remaining 100 billion won, aiming to sign the main contract by the end of November. Hanwha has shown interest in DSME for a long time. That's because Hanwha lacks a warship manufacturing unit, although it has produced self-propelled howitzers for the army and supplied radar systems and aircraft engines for the air force. "By sharing our consumer networks in the Middle East, Europe and Asia, we expect an increase in exports of defense systems of Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Systems, as well as DSME's flagship 3,000-ton-class submarines and warships," Hanwha Group said in a press release. "Once Hanwha Systems' cutting-edge maritime systems technologies are integrated with DSME's shipbuilding capacity, we will also be able to develop self-navigating commercial ships." The conglomerate also emphasized that its takeover will maximize synergies in the eco-friendly liquefied natural gas (LNG) business. "Hanwha Group has already imported LNG from the U.S. and generated electricity through Tongyeong Ecopower," the company said. "If we secure DSME's technologies for floating LNG (FLNG), LNG carriers and floating, storage, re-gasification units (FSRU), we can expand our presence in the fast-growing LNG market." Unionzied workers at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering chant during a press conference at the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU) headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday, to protest Korea Development Bank's decision to sell the shipbuilder to Hanwha Group. Courtesy of KMWU News Is it better to use graphite particles or graphite powder to adjust weak reducing gas? Russian crude oil shipments to Italian and Turkish ports rose to multi-week highs, suggesting that some southern European countries are quietly returning to the Russian oil market. Specific figures show that Russian crude oil deliveries to Italian refineries rose to their highest level in seven weeks in the week to August 5, while shipments to Turkey reached the highest level in six weeks. Separately, Spain received its first Urals this week since April, and Greece last week received its first shipments of crude from the Baltic Sea since February. There are still four months to go before the EU sanctions on Rosneft come into effect. The recent increase in the flow of goods to several European countries has raised doubts about the implementation of the ban. In addition to some southern European countries began to import Russian oil, Japan also reiterated that it will retain its stake in Russia's "Sakhalin 1" oil and gas project. Last week, Russian President Putin signed an order banning personnel from "unfriendly" countries and regions, including Japan, from trading shares in Russian strategic projects, energy mining companies and some banks before the end of this year. It also mentioned the oil and gas project including "Sakhalin 1". Because of the turbulent international situation, the supply and prices of many international bulk silicate liquid are still very uncertain. Graphite and diamond, diamond and carbon 60, which are symbols of love, are all simple substances of carbon element and are allotropes. There are many kinds of graphite powder, mainly as follows: 1. The flake graphite powder is a crystalline mineral of carbonaceous elements, which looks like fish scales, and the crystal lattice is hexagonal layered structure. The distance between each mesh layer is, and the distance between carbon atoms in the same mesh layer is. It belongs to hexagonal system with complete layered cleavage. It has good properties of high temperature resistance, conductivity, heat conduction, lubrication, plasticity, acid and alkali resistance, etc 2. Nano graphite powder is the silicate liquid, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry. Inquery us President Putins declaration of partial mobilisation is a sign of the utter failure of Russias Ukraine strategy since Februarys invasion. That Putin waited so long before declaring mobilisation is partly because it involves an implicit recognition of this failure, and of the fact the special military operation is in fact a full-scale war, which Russia seems to be losing. It is also because he feared rightly a backlash from the Russian public. His regime is now in serious danger. Another major defeat would most probably bring it down. What could be much more dangerous than the mobilisation itself is the combination of this announcement with the decision to hold referendums in the eastern Donbas (recognised as independent by Russia in February), and the other territories occupied by Russian forces during the invasion. The key question is not the results of the votes on joining Russia themselves, which are a foregone conclusion, but whether the Russian government and parliament move immediately to annex these territories. If they do, it will be a sign that Moscow has given up any hope of peace and is ready to fight on indefinitely; for this annexation could never be accepted by Ukraine or the West and be part of any agreed settlement. Putin feared rightly a backlash from the Russian public over his mobilisation plan. His regime is now in serious danger. Another major defeat would most probably bring it down. Picture: AP Photo/Igor Volkov The very best that could be hoped for in Ukraine will then be a series of unstable ceasefires punctuated by war, as has been the case in Kashmir for the past 75 years. It will become apparent within the next week whether this is in fact Moscows intention, or whether the referendums are instead a move to create bargaining chips for future negotiation. It should be remembered that the Donbas separatist republics declared independence from Ukraine in 2014, but it was only eight years later, on the eve of war this February, that Moscow officially recognised their independence. In the meantime, Moscow negotiated with Ukraine and the West on the return of these territories to Ukraine with guarantees of full autonomy, under the Minsk II agreement of 2015. This time, too, the referendums may be a threat to annex if the West does not seek a compromise, rather than a prelude to immediate annexation. Some hope this may be the case was given by Putins approving reference in his speech last week to Ukraines peace offer of March, which included a treaty of neutrality and a shelving of the territorial disputes for future negotiation. The reasons for the collapse of those peace negotiations are highly disputed, but in Russias version of events it was the West that blocked them and Ukraine that abandoned them. The reasons why Moscow might want a ceasefire are obvious. Putins original plan, to capture Kyiv and turn Ukraine into a client state, failed utterly. The fallback plan, to capture the Russian-speaking areas of the east and south, was fought to a standstill far short of many of its key goals, and is now in serious danger of being rolled back by Ukrainian counteroffensives. Putins regime has been badly shaken by its defeat in Kharkiv province. If Ukraine were to drive Russia from Kherson or large parts of the Donbas, Putins survival in power would be in question. If there is no ceasefire or peace negotiations, Russia does have means of serious escalation. It could defend the remaining occupied territories, while vastly intensifying attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure that have already begun. Russians cross the border into Georgia on Tuesday. Long lines of vehicles have formed at a border crossing between Russia's North Ossetia region and Georgia after Moscow announced a partial military mobilisation. Picture: AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze If Russia does annex the occupied territories, then it is possible that Putin may threaten nuclear strikes to defend what Moscow would then define as Russian sovereign territory. As the Biden administration makes it increasingly obvious that it is changing the US One China policy, Russia can also hope that in response, China will greatly increase military and financial aid. In the meantime, as we are already seeing, unrest in Russian society is bound to grow. This discontent is compounded by a mixture often present at the same time in the minds of Russians of opposition to the war itself and fury at the incompetence of its conduct by Putin and his entourage. If this continues, then a coup against Putin will become a real possibility. This would not necessarily be violent, and might indeed not appear publicly at all. Instead, a delegation of establishment figures would go to Putin and tell him that, to preserve the regime itself, it is necessary for him (and a few other top figures implicated in military failure, such as defence minister Sergei Shoigu) to step down, in return for guarantees of immunity from prosecution and security of property. Something not unlike this happened when Yeltsin handed over power to Putin in 1999. Members of the Russian establishment who took such a step would be running grave risks: for themselves personally if the move failed, but also for the Russian establishment and Russia itself, if a change of leadership led to a split in the elite, political chaos and a radical weakening of the central state. They would therefore most probably need some assurance that if Putin could be removed, the West would be prepared to offer his successor a deal that would allow the new government to claim some measure of Russian success. Otherwise, ruling over a weakened state and military, and faced with what Russians would view as western demands for unconditional surrender, the new government would assume the catastrophic burden of Weimar German democracy after the first world war, permanently branded as the regime of surrender and national humiliation. Looking at this prospect, a successor to Putin would very likely blame him personally for everything that has gone wrong in Ukraine, while answering growing calls by Russian hardliners to declare complete national mobilisation and greatly intensify the war. This could spread the war beyond Ukraines borders. If we wish to avoid this prospect, there is still time for the West to take up Putins implicit offer of talks; but not much time. Nasa is due to deliberately crash a spacecraft into an asteroid overnight to test if technology can prevent future asteroids from hitting Earth. Bar a last minute cancellation, Nasas Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission is due to smash into the asteroid, Dimorphos, at over six kilometres per second with the intention of changing its path. Asteroid Didymos and its small moonlet Dimorphos, which are about 11 million kilometres from Earth, make up a binary asteroid system, meaning the small moon, Dimorphos, orbits the larger body, Didymos. Didymos, the larger asteroid of the two is about 780 metres in diameter while the moonlet, Dimorphos, is about 160 metres. Nasa's DART mission launched to Didymos on November 24, 2021, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It is thought that the impact will be enough to slightly change the orbit of Dimorphos around the larger asteroid Didymos. The collision is due to change the speed of Dimorphos by a fraction of one percent and alter the moonlet's orbital period around the larger asteroid by several minutes, enough to be observed and measured by telescopes on Earth. Professor Alan Fitzsimmons, a Queens University Belfast professor and expert in the observation and measurement of asteroids and comets orbiting our sun, said that Nasa is doing exactly what we need to do".' Prof. Fitzsimmons has been working in the field of Planetary Defence for over 20 years and is a member of the Nasa DART Investigation Team. Speaking in advance of the planned impact, Mr Fitzsimmons said: "This will give us our first proof that we have the technology to prevent a small asteroid from hitting Earth. Dimorphos and Didymos pose no threat. However, they were chosen as the target because they pass relatively close to Earth. Prof. Fitzsimmons said that its important to monitor asteroid activity. The DART spacecraft after launching from America's Vandenberg Space Force Base in November 2021. Photo: AP/Mark J. Terrill) Asteroids the size of Dimorphos or larger hit our planet only once every 35,000 years or so, but we only know where a small fraction of them are. So, one could be heading our way in the near future, and smaller asteroids hit us much more frequently, he said. Prof. Fitzsimmons has supported the mission by making telescopic observations of the Dimorphos/Didymos system. He is also due to analyse telescope data of the impact itself. Following tonights planned test, the next stage will involve the European Space Agencys (ESA) post-impact survey. The mission, Hera, is due to launch in October 2024 and will reach the asteroid in December 2026. It is hoped that Hera will turn the experiment into a well-understood and repeatable planetary defence technique. Prof. Fitzsimmonss primary focus will now be the ESA Hera mission. Once the DART and follow-up Hera mission have been successfully completed, well have a much better idea of how to protect ourselves against a catastrophic impact, he said. Design plans for a zero emission 100% electric flying ferry have been unveiled. The EF-24 Passenger vessel uses cutting-edge hydrofoil technology to lift the craft out of the water, enabling it to sail above the waves. Maritime design company Artemis Technologies has described it as a game changer for the global high-speed ferry market. Raising the hull above the water dramatically cuts drag, delivering estimated fuel cost savings of up to 85% compared to conventional diesel-powered ferries. Artemiss eco-friendly eFoiler technology generates zero emissions when the ferry is sailing while also producing minimal wake and noise. Aside from the environmental and economic benefits, the company says hydrofoiling also ensures a smooth ride regardless of water conditions, thus reducing instances of sea sickness. Artemis Technologies hydrofoiling workboat Pioneer out on Belfast Lough (Brian Lawless/PA) Artemis Technologies, which is based in Belfast, is a spin-off from the Artemis Racing team that competed in the Americas Cup. Its founder and CEO Dr Iain Percy is a two-time Team GB Olympic sailing champion and four-time Americas Cup veteran. The ferry will come into service in 2024, running a pilot service between Belfast and the nearby city of Bangor. The 24-metre vessels will be able to carry 150 passengers. The first ferry built will be called Zero. Artemis Technologies CEO and double Olympic gold medallist Dr Iain Percy (Brian Lawless/PA) It will have a top speed of 38 knots and a battery range of 115 nautical miles at a 25-knots cruise speed. The ferry, which was formally launched to the global market on Monday, is among several zero-emission vessels being developed by Artemis Technologies as part of a 60 million project to design and manufacture commercially-viable green transport solutions for the maritime industry. Earlier this year, it launched what it hailed as a world first commercially-viable hydrofoil workboat. The Pioneer can now be seen cruising above the waves on Belfast Lough outside Artemiss manufacturing plant in the citys docklands. Like Americas Cup racing yachts, the technology involves attaching hydrofoil wings to the hull with vertical struts. Much like a plane taking off on a runway, the underwater wings drive the vessel up and out of the water as it picks up speed. Dr Percy believes Artemis can be a world leader in delivering transport alternatives for congested cities. The first ferry is due to start operating between Belfast and Bangor in 2024 (Artemis Technologies/PA) The zero-emission ferry that will be seen departing Belfast in 2024, aptly named Zero, will be the first we build at our manufacturing hub in the city, but it is only the start, he said. Many water-based cities around the world are grappling with the challenge of growing populations, congestion and pollution. The EF-24 Passenger can provide an immediate green transport solution that competes economically with road and rail in places like San Francisco, New York, Venice, Istanbul, Dubai and Singapore anywhere around the globe that is seeking sustainable transport alternatives that balance the requirement for people to continue to move around with the need to reduce carbon emissions. Especially where new infrastructure is required like a new road or rail line, this ferry will not only be the cheapest, but also the fastest and least disruptive way to decarbonise transport networks in water-based cities. Artemis has partnered with Condor Ferries to operate the Belfast-Bangor pilot scheme. The ferries will be fully accessible, with facilities on board including bike racks, cabin bag and overhead storage, baby-changing facilities and charging points. Hydrofoils lift the Artemis workboat above the water (Brian Lawless/PA) The vessels will also feature a new high-speed collision avoidance system developed in conjunction with tech experts from Queens University Belfast. Artemis leads the Belfast Maritime Consortium, which includes manufacturers, universities and local councils in Northern Ireland. In 2020, the consortium secured 33 million of UK Government research and innovation funding, through the Strength in Places Fund, to support its work developing zero-emissions ferries. Artemis is creating 125 jobs initially but has plans to sustain 1,000 new roles in the coming decade. In August, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss toured the companys manufacturing facility and watched the Pioneer workboat on Belfast Lough, on a visit to the city during the Conservative Partys leadership contest. Liz Truss visited Artemis Technologies during her campaign to be Conservative Party leader (Clodagh Kilcoyne/PA) Commenting on the design plan for the electric ferry, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said: My congratulations to Artemis Technologies and Belfast Maritime Consortium on unveiling the plans for this exciting zero emissions vessel. I recently visited Artemis headquarters. I am delighted that they are seizing the many opportunities that the development of green transport presents, and which the UK Government is committed to supporting through our Net Zero Strategy. The development of such world-leading technology will ensure that Belfast remains at the forefront of maritime innovation while providing a boost to the local green economy. John Napton, CEO of Condor Ferries, said: As a leading operator of passenger ferries, we continuously seek to explore technology that will allow us to sail more sustainably and we know our customers are of the same mindset. Green vessels like the EF-24 Passenger ferry perfectly provide that clean alternative to traditional diesel ferries. We are thrilled to partner with Artemis Technologies and the Belfast Maritime Consortium to develop these vessels from concept to reality over the coming months, and look forward to being the first operator to set sail in 2024 with the worlds most advanced zero-emission foiling fast ferry. British Prime Minister Liz Truss has been urged to attend a meeting of European leaders by Brussels representative in the UK. European Union ambassador Joao Vale de Almeida suggested Ms Truss should attend the European Political Community (EPC) meeting in Prague in October. He also said Ms Truss new administration offered an opportunity to resolve difficulties between Brussels and Westminster as he warned levels of mutual trust had dropped too low in recent years. EU ambassador to the UK Joao Vale de Almeida as he presented his credentials to the Queen when he took office (Stefan Rousseau/PA) The European Political Community is Emmanuel Macrons scheme to bring together EU nations and countries outside the bloc, potentially including the UK. No 10 is thought to be considering whether Ms Truss or another minister will attend the gathering. At a fringe meeting at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, the ambassador said levels of mutual trust between the UK and EU were too low to be able to produce good results . Calling for more regular summits, he said: Where is the dialogue between our leaders? Its not happening and when it happens its not necessarily on a good basis. Mr Vale de Almeida said he would fully support the presence of Ms Truss at the EPC meeting: This will be, if it happens, a very good signal in a direction of starting a new cycle, having a mature relationship on issues of fundamental common interest. The EU views the British Governments attempts to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol as illegal and Mr Vale de Almeida said the UK and Brussels needed to remove the stumbling blocks that prevented progress in the relationship. He said it had been difficult to come to a sound platform of understanding. The message to Ms Truss was to seize the opportunity that the beginning of a new cycle should provide to reassess where we are and to fundamentally opt for a constructive path forward in trying to find solutions for the problems that have been identified in the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy (Aaron Chown/PA) At the event, hosted by the Centre for European Reform, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said of course Ms Truss should attend the EPC meeting in Prague because these are our allies, our partners. He said the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which will override parts of the deal signed with the EU on post-Brexit arrangements, was a kamikaze approach to diplomacy and warned that if it passed it would risk a trade war with our closest allies. Mr Lammy also defended Labours approach to Brexit policy: I think its completely legitimate for us in the Opposition to set out our ambition to solve problems that are emerging but to rule out joining the single market and customs union at this stage Ukraines authorities have said citizens helping to organise Russias so-called referendums, which concluded on Tuesday in the occupied territories, will face up to five years in prison for their role in orchestrating them. We have lists of names of people who have been involved in some way, a presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Blick, adding Ukrainians who were forced to vote would not be punished. Russian state media as predicted is reporting on Tuesday that people in the occupied areas overwhelmingly voted to join Russia, with claimed exit polls ranging from 87 to 92%. Russias president Vladimir Putin is expected to announce the territories annexation on Friday when he addresses both houses of Russias parliament, according to Russian state media. Western countries, including Britain, have said they would not recognise the results. On Monday, Britain imposed sanctions on 33 people involved in organising the referendums. An EU spokesperson told AFP on Tuesday it planned to follow suit and the US said it would impose additional sanctions if Russia went through with annexing the territories. Out of the four regions where the vote has been organised, Russia controls almost the entire Luhansk and Kherson regions but only parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. The area consists of nearly 15% of Ukraine and includes about 4m people. Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said if Russia annexed the territories, it would make it impossible for Ukraine to continue any diplomatic negotiation. There have been multiple reports of voter intimidation. CCTV footage from the occupied Kherson showed pollsters from the occupying authorities going door-to-door accompanied by armed Russian soldiers. Local people have been made to vote on behalf of residents who evacuated, because of low turnout, claimed Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region. The Ukrainian journalist Maksym Eristavi tweeted that his family in southern Ukraine had been forced to vote at gunpoint. They come to your house, he wrote. You have to openly tick the box for being annexed by Russia (or for staying with Ukraine if you feel suicidal). All while armed gunmen watch you. The Russian state news agency, Tass, said voting took place door-to-door for security reasons. The territories, along with Crimea, which Russia captured and illegally annexed in 2014, will be folded into a Crimean Federal District, Russias Vedomosti newspaper reported. Russia has been planning to organise referendums since it first occupied the areas in March but its idea was thwarted by active fighting along the frontlines. But after Russian forces were pushed from Kharkiv region this month, Putin announced the referendums in the remaining occupied areas. It is thought Russia will use the annexation to argue that Ukrainian attempts to retake the occupied territories are a direct attack on Russia and therefore could warrant a nuclear response. Encroachment on to Russian territory is a crime which allows you to use all the forces of self-defence, Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president from 2008 to 2012 and now deputy chair of the Russian security council, warned on Telegram. This is why these referendums are so feared in Kyiv and the west. Medvedev reiterated Putins earlier remarks on Tuesday by saying Russia would use nuclear weapons if necessary and it is certainly not a bluff. The US has warned Russia there would be catastrophic consequences for Russia if it used nuclear weapons. The United States will respond decisively, the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told NBC. The Financial Times reported western officials as saying they believed Russias nuclear threats were designed to regain momentum after its poor performance on the battlefield, noting that deploying nuclear weapons would take time and would be picked up by western intelligence. Russians line up at a public service centre in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Tuesday A day after President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilisation to bolster his troops in Ukraine, many Russians are leaving their homes. Picture: Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP Nevertheless, if Putin did resort to nuclear warfare, he would most likely use or test a tactical nuclear weapon, they said. In an interview, Ukraines military intelligence put the threat of Russia using tactical weapons against Ukraine at very high. A nuclear weapon is about 100 times more powerful than the type of rockets Russia has used against Ukraine so far, said Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraines deputy intelligence chief. They will likely target places along the frontlines with lots of [army] personal and equipment, key command centres and critical infrastructure, said Skibitsky, about Russias use of tactical nuclear weapons. In order to stop them we need not just more anti-aircraft systems, but anti-rocket systems. But everything will depend on how the situation develops on the battlefield. Russia began mobilising 300,000 men to fight in Ukraine last week a move that sparked protests across Russia. According to Skibitsky, Ukraines task is to meanwhile exact the biggest losses against Russia on the battlefield, which with mobilisation, sanctions and political isolation and the effect these will have on Russias economy and society will throw the Russian leadership further into disarray. Its no longer just the periphery regions and some villages. The [partial] mobilisation affects a significant part of the population in the main cities too, said Skibitsky. Despite the number of men Russia plans to deploy in the coming weeks, Ukraines authorities and Britains defence ministry have sought to play down the threat, emphasising the ill-preparedness of the new recruits. Ukraines authorities say they fear that men in the newly occupied territories will be conscripted to fight as they were in the parts of eastern Ukraine that have been under Russian occupation since 2014. Reporting from the Guardian... From the Archive Myanmar Juntas Efforts to Kill the NLD Will Always Fail NLD supporters celebrate the party's electoral victory in Mandalay. / The Irrawaddy The National League for Democracy, Myanmars most popular and most electorally successful political party, turns 34 today. To mark the occasion, we revisit this commentary from June last year showing that regime leader Min Aung Hlaings efforts to extinguish the party and remove its leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, from public life have been even more extreme than his predecessors, and examining why, in the long run, they are bound to be even more counterproductive. Needless to say, Myanmars most popular political party, the National League for Democracy, will be abolished sooner or later, as it is the wish of the coup leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. No matter how many people supported it and no matter how many times it was democratically elected in landslide victories, it must be gone. In the coup on Feb. 1 the top military leader used tyrannical means to make himself head of state by overthrowing the ruling NLD and arresting most of its leaders, including State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint. But thats not enough if the coup leader is determined to achieve his political ambitionsto continue to rule the country and, perhaps, to anoint himself as president in the future. To be successful in that, he has to finish off the countrys most popular political leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, bury her party, the NLD, and render its new generation extinct from Myanmars soil. Its a political annihilation that he seeks. Its also an act against the peoples will, because most of the more than 27 million citizens who cast ballots in the general election last year voted for the NLD. The Spring Revolution following the coup has also seen a significant number of teenagerswho were not eligible to vote in the last electionexpressing support for the NLD and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. However, it will be a piece of cake for the regime. To finish the political life of popular 75-year-old Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will just need a lengthy imprisonment (she is facing six legal charges) and to bury the NLD will need only an official announcement to disband it. Only after this grand scheme is implemented will coup leader Min Aung Hlaing feel that he can run the country safely. Otherwise, the NLD will haunt him and his regime as in the past. And it might even take power back from him again with the overwhelming support of most people across the country, as it did in 2015 through the election. Undoubtedly, it must be one of the main items on the agenda of the coup leader since he decided to seize power on Feb. 1, or even before that. So, its the Union Election Commission, hand-picked by the regime, that will carry out the wish of the coup leader. What should we do with the NLD, which plotted against the law [to win the election]? The party must be abolished. And we must consider taking action against those who rigged the vote as traitors to the country, said UEC chairman U Thein Soe, a former major general in the military, in a meeting with political parties held on May 21. The NLD was now dubbed traitors for its rigged vote. But no international or domestic election monitoring groups found any evidence of electoral fraud. The Asian Network for Free Elections, which released its final report in May, said the outcome of the vote was by and large, representative of the will of the people of Myanmar. But the regime and its UEC are not interested in what the election monitoring groups say, because thats not the story the junta is creating. On May 15, the regimes spokesman said at a press conference that action must be taken against the NLD under the Political Parties Registration Law and the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, because the party supports the National Unity Government (NUG) and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), both of which the regime has declared to be terrorist and unlawful associations. The CRPH represents lawmakers, mostly from the NLD, who were elected in November. The NUG was formed by the CRPH as a shadow government to rival the military regime. Then the UEC asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to conduct a review to determine whether any of the countrys political parties have breached the pledges they made as part of the registration process. The move could be viewed as an attempt by the regime to provide legal cover for dissolving the NLD. It should be noted that the request to the ministry came three days after UEC chairman U Thein Soe publicly said that the NLD must be abolished because it plotted illegally to win the election. In fact, this is not a new crackdown against the NLD. The previous military regime and its generals ruthlessly pursued the same strategy from the time the NLD was born in 1988 following the nationwide pro-democracy uprising. Of course, the NLD wasnt the only victim, but all pro-democracy forces were crushed during that time. Former military dictatorand mentor of Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaingex-supremo Than Shwe, locked up NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for 15 years under house arrest starting in 1989, incarcerated many hundreds of NLD members and their elected lawmakers in notorious prisons for years and crippled the party and almost all of its political operations for two decades. Under those conditions, with its key leaders and its political operations contained, the NLD was merely existing. It became truly active again only after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was released in November 2010 and the party was allowed to operate more freely in a new political environment, albeit one that was dominated by the military under the constitution designed by then Snr-Gen Than Shwe. The former military leader must have thought the NLD was finished under his political system controlled by the 2008 constitution. But he was wrong and so were his followers, like general-turned president U Thein Sein. The NLD got overwhelming support from a majority of people across the country. As in the 1990 election, it won landslide victories in 2015 and 2020. Thats simply democracy. Now, what Snr-Gen Min Aung Haling seems to have learned from his former master is not to let the NLD exist at all. So, no question that this time, under his regime, must be the worst for the party. Since the coup, the regime has arrested more than 200 NLD members, including government ministers, lawmakers, members of the partys Central Executive Committee, heads and members of state and regional offices, as well as youth members. Many of the NLD members have been political prisoners before, having been jailed under the previous junta. Its forces cruelly killed several members of the NLD during their detention. Additionally, other members who are still free have gone into hiding. All the NLD offices across the country stopped operating in the past few months. Under the rule of Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, there will be no room or no survival kit for the NLD. But if anyone believes in democracya genuine democracy which is based on the will of the majority of the people, its totally impossible for anyone, even powerful dictators, to finish off the NLD, its leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (regardless of the manner in which she eventually passes away) and their political capital, as they are based on the will of the majority of the people in the country. Aware of this, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi recently said in response to the regimes attempt to abolish it that the NLD will be there as long as the people are, because the party was founded for the people. So, Min Aung Hlaing appears intent on annihilating the NLDa much harsher policy than even his ex-boss Than Shwe implemented. But this time, the resistance against this kind of action will be stronger. The coup leaders efforts to kill the NLD may be stronger this time, but they will be even more counterproductive. Naing Khit is a commentator on political affairs. Burma Boycott Launched of Food Manufacturer Owned by Pro-Myanmar Junta Politician Nang Shwe Kyar (right) with Min Aung Hlaing before the 2020 general election. Phaung Sein Food, which is owned by a pro-Myanmar military political partys leader and her daughter, is the latest business to be targeted by a boycott campaign by anti-regime activists. Activist Zin Thaw Naing called on Facebook on Monday for a boycott, saying owner Nang Shwe Kyar backed the military coup and has supported the junta since the February 2021 takeover. Other activists and social media pages have since joined the calls for a boycott. Within hours internet users and online shops, including one in Japan, said they would boycott Phaung Sein. A Mon State firm posted that it would stop selling the products now it knew about the junta links. Nang Shwe Kyar chairs the Wunthanu Democratic Party, an ally of the military proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). She was one of the 34 political party leaders who met then Senior General Min Aung Hlaing ahead of the 2020 general election and pledged to back the military if things have gone wrong in the election. Three months after the election, Min Aung Hlaing staged a coup and later canceled the election results. He justified the coup by quoting heavily defeated, pro-military parties claims that the election was fraudulent. Wunthanu, which failed to win a seat, issued a statement saying that the election was not free and fair and called for a postponement in convening the new parliament. The newly elected parliament was dissolved by the coup hours before convening on February 1, 2021. Nang Shwe Kyars party co-signed USDP statements condemning the civilian government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) and subsequent statements supporting the coup. In September last year, her name appeared on a USDP declaration urging the United Nations not to approve U Kyaw Moe Tun as the civilian National Unity Governments UN ambassador. She later denied signing the declaration and claimed she was exploited. A USDP spokesman insisted she signed the joint statement. Her support for the military is undeniable because of her public comments since the 2010 general election. Wunthanu is co-chaired by her husband U Ye Min. The party attended a meeting with the juntas Union Election Commission in May last year on voting irregularities and for next years planned election with 58 political parties. The meeting was shunned by key parties, including the NLD. Based in Mandalay, Phaung Sein sells food domestically and internationally and has become successful since the coup after some celebrities promoted it. Ma Nu Wai Kyaw, Nang Shwe Kyars daughter, told online media groups that the firm was successfully exporting to the United States, Japan, Singapore and other countries. Burma China Says Myanmars Shelling Across Bangladesh Border Unfortunate A Myanmar Border Guard Police officer guards the Myanmar-Bangladesh border in northern Rakhine State. / The Irrawaddy DHAKAChinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming on Monday termed the Myanmar armed forces recent shelling, shooting and military flights across the Bangladesh border, resulting in the Sept. 16 killing of a Rohingya person, as unfortunate. There was a very unfortunate incident, he told reporters at the Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Ministry when asked about a meeting with Bangladeshs acting foreign secretary over recent shelling and airspace incursions by the Myanmar armed forces. He said they also discussed such issues as Rohingya repatriation and international cooperation. Quoting sources familiar with the meeting, vernacular daily Samakal reported that during the meeting with Bangladeshi diplomats in Dhaka, Li referred to earlier incidents in which Myanmar military personnel fired across their countrys border with the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan. He argued that those incidents were unintended and occurred during anti-insurgent operations. The report added that the Bangladesh diplomat then asked the ambassador whether he also considered Myanmars recent actions unintended. But the Chinese ambassador kept mum, according to the report. Acting Foreign Secretary Md Khurshed Alam, a retired rear admiral, told reporters that China, as a friend of Bangladesh, would convey Dhakas message to Myanmar, as Beijing had leverage over the Myanmar authorities. Md Khurshed Alam said they also discussed ways to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmars Rakhine State from Bangladesh without further delay as per the tripartite commitment agreed by Bangladesh, Myanmar and China. Bangladesh people living in border areas such as Bandarban and Coxs Bazar have been panicked by the shelling from inside Myanmar. Bangladesh officials said that as of Monday, Myanmar armed forces personnel had left one of their border outposts adjacent to Bangladeshs Tambru, and consolidated their forces in a safer place due to a shortage of rations amid fighting in Rakhine against the Arakan Army. Emerging from the meeting, Ambassador Li also said he had discussed many issues relating to the early repatriation of Rohingya and other aspects of international cooperation between the two countries. On Sept. 18, Dhaka lodged a strong protest with Naypyitaw, summoning Myanmar Ambassador to Bangladesh Aung Kyaw Moe for the fourth time since Aug. 21 over the intrusion of mortar shells, aerial firings, and airspace violations from Myanmar, causing death and injuries to the people inside Bangladesh territory. The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry on Sept. 20 briefed foreign diplomats and heads of mission at the State Guest House Padma in Dhaka, seeking support from their countries, including the US, the UK and Germany, over the developing situation as Myanmars military actions continued along the border. The ministry reportedly informed the diplomats that the continuous shelling along the border had caused damage to life and property and put several thousand Bangladeshi border residents at risk. No officials from the Chinese Embassy reportedly attended the briefing. Burma Karen Armed Group Allied to Myanmar Junta Denied Officers Retirement Amid Recruitment Crisis A military parade on the anniversary of the Karen State Border Guard Force in 2019. / The Irrawaddy Myanmars regime is stopping officers in the junta-affiliated Border Guard Force (BGF) in Karen State from retiring amid fierce fighting with resistance forces. A junta order on August 6 about the appointment of BGF battalion commanders and their deputies forced seven majors who had reached retirement age to remain in position instead of replacing them with younger officers. BGFs are former ethnic insurgent groups and are under de-facto military control under the junta-drafted 2008 Constitution. The official retirement age for BGF officers is 55. Each battalion is headed by a commander and two deputies. The commander and one deputy are from the original insurgent group and the other deputy is a military appointee. The denial of retirement points to low morale and a recruitment crisis, said a Karen Nation Union (KNU) spokesman. Both of the KNUs armed wings, the Karen National Liberation Army and Karen National Defense Organization, are fighting the regime in Karen and Mon states and Bago Region. It has become difficult for the regime to control its battalions and recruit. And it cant easily find new commanders. There is no support from the people and morale within the regime is declining. Things have changed. Not only BGFs but the entire regime is facing these problems, the KNU spokesman said. A BGF source said commanders are denied retirement out of necessity. A BGF major, who asked for anonymity, said: We have a personality cult and subordinates tend to step down along with their leaders. But commanders are being kept on to maintain battalion stability. Shortly before the coup in February last year, the military pressured Karen State BGF leaders Colonel Saw Chit Thu, Major Saw Mote Thone and Major Saw Tin Win to resign over the controversial China-backed Shwe Kokko new city project in Myawaddy on the Thai border. Some military and BGF officers were involved in the project. Around 90 officers, including 13 majors who command BGF battalions, resigned in solidarity with the three officers. They withdrew their resignations after the junta asked them to rethink. It is unclear if the three officers remain in position amid the post-coup chaos. They remain in their position though it is unofficial. They have signed the militarys resignation letters. But the military has not clarified since, said a BGF source. Karen State BGF was formed from splinter groups from the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army and Karen Peace Force in 2010. It consists of 13 battalions based in Hlaingbwe, Hpapun, Hpa-an, Myawaddy, Kawkareik and Kyainseikgyi townships. South Africa: President to update National Assembly on key interventions President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to update the National Assembly on key interventions of government on Thursday. According to the Presidency, the update will include the attention given to the supply of electricity to governments development of a comprehensive response to the final report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Fraud and Corruption in the Public Sector. Among other responses to Members questions, President Ramaphosa will set out governments policy and actions to alleviate hunger and malnutrition experienced by destitute children. Turning to the fight against crime and the building of safer communities, the President will provide an overview of the performance of the Anti-Gang Unit since its formation in 2018. The President will also brief Parliament on efforts to combat economic crimes such as theft and destruction of rail infrastructure and related economic sabotage of other public infrastructure, the Presidency said on Tuesday. On Eskom, the President will respond on work being done to bring units at Medupi and Kusile power stations onto the national power grid. The President will also share with the National Assembly the work being done to prepare the Presidents submission to Parliament, in October 2022, of governments position on the recommendations of the State Capture Commission, it said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-09-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. China playing prominent role in coping with global challenges 09:17, September 27, 2022 By Carlos Aquino ( People's Daily Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China has made remarkable achievements, becoming the world's second largest economy, the largest trading nation, as well as a major trading partner for over 120 countries and regions. It is an important engine driving global growth. Its success is inspiring many developing countries. Carlos Aquino, the director of the Center for Asian Studies, National University of San Marcos. (Photo from the Twitter page of Carlos Aquino) Over the recent years, Chinese President Xi Jinping has made important remarks on common prosperity for multiple times, stressing common prosperity is an essential requirement for socialism with Chinese characteristics. Since the country began the reform and opening-up in 1978, it has maintained long-term economic growth. It has won the battle against extreme poverty and built a moderately prosperous society in all respects as scheduled the last year. These achievements all laid a solid foundation for the country to realize common prosperity for all. In a 2019 visit to southwest China's Yunnan province, I saw how the people there were living and working in peace and contentment. I was deeply impressed by the paired assistance mechanism adopted by primary-level CPC members there, which connected impoverished families to better educational, employment and medical resources. They were making concrete efforts to improve the wellbeing of the people. China's endeavors to promote common prosperity are shedding light on every country. At present, the world is seeing huge income gaps. Polarization between the rich and the poor has triggered social divide, economic polarization and rising populism in some countries. What's more, low-income groups have been seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under such a background, every country needs to work for common prosperity and realize social harmony. In the global context, we must narrow the development gap between developed countries and developing countries and strive for fairer and more sustainable development. China is playing a prominent role in coping with global challenges. The country has lifted more than 700 million impoverished rural people out of poverty, setting a good example for many developing countries in terms of fighting poverty. Through technology transfer to other developing countries, China is actively contributing to common development, which fully demonstrates the country's sense of responsibility. A cadre from Longhai township, Luliang county, Qujing, southwest China's Yunnan province talks with local people of Yi ethnic group to learn the implementation of relevant policies, so as to better serve the local community in terms of poverty alleviation, Dec. 18, 2020. (People's Daily Online/Wang Yong) The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by President Xi has built a platform of win-win cooperation and common development for all participating countries. By building modern railways, ports, airports and other infrastructure facilities, China has significantly facilitated the flow of commodities and personnel, and enhanced its economic competitiveness. Every country should learn from this experience. Many developing countries see an urgent need to upgrade infrastructure. They enjoy huge a potential in cooperating with China. So far, China has signed over 200 Belt and Road cooperation documents with more than 140 countries and 30 international organizations, which fully mirrors the attraction of the BRI. Peru and China signed a memorandum of understanding on Belt and Road cooperation in April 2019. The two countries enjoy economic complementarity and a huge potential in connectivity cooperation. They have constantly enhanced cooperation under the BRI framework. Peru is the second largest investment destination of China in Latin America. China's investment has forcefully driven Peru's economic and social development, bringing tangible benefits to Peruvians. Chinese Ambassador to Peru Liang Yu goes on an inspection tour to the construction site of the Chancay terminal to the north of Peru's capital Lima, March 8, 2020. The terminal is constructed by Chinese company COSCO Shipping Ports. (Photo courtesy of the Chinese Embassy in Peru) At present, Chinese companies such as COSCO Shipping Ports are constructing the Chancay terminal to the north of Peru's capital Lima. This major terminal is expected to become an important transport and logistics hub on the coast of the South Pacific and largely facilitate Peru's foreign trade. China not only drives global growth, but also promotes global governance. It is playing an increasingly important role in international affairs. Under the current international circumstances, the world needs China to keep reviving the global economy and play the role of a major country in maintaining multilateralism, as well as opposing unilateralism and hegemonism. (Carlos Aquino is the director of the Center for Asian Studies, National University of San Marcos, Peru.) (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) People leave flowers and pay their respects to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe outside the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Sept. 27, ahead of his state funeral later in the day. AP-Yonhap Thousands of Japanese and foreign dignitaries gather in Tokyo on Tuesday to honor assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe, at a rare state funeral that has sparked controversy and protest. Abe was Japan's longest-serving prime minister and one of the country's most recognizable political figures, known for cultivating international alliances and his "Abenomics" economic strategy. He resigned in 2020 over recurring health problems, but remained a key political voice and was campaigning for his ruling party when a lone gunman killed him on July 8. The shooting sent shockwaves through a country with famously low gun crime and prompted international condemnation. But the decision to give him a state funeral only the second for a former premier in the post-war period has provoked growing opposition, with around 60 percent of Japanese against the event in recent polls. Abe's accused killer targeted the former leader believing he had ties to the Unification Church, which he resented over massive donations his mother had made to the sect. The assassination prompted fresh scrutiny of the church and its fundraising, and uncomfortable questions for Japan's political establishment, with the ruling party admitting around half its lawmakers had links to the religious organization. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged the party will sever all ties with the church, but the scandal has helped fuel discontent over the state funeral. Thousands have protested the ceremony and a man set himself on fire near the prime minister's office, leaving notes reportedly expressing his objection to the event. Some lawmakers from opposition parties are also boycotting the funeral altogether. The controversy has various causes, with some accusing Kishida of unilaterally approving the funeral instead of consulting parliament, and others resentful of a nearly $12 million price tag. It is also the legacy of Abe's divisive tenure, marked by persistent allegations of cronyism, and opposition to his nationalism and plans to reform the pacifist constitution. Mourners holding flowers line up toward to flower offering place near Nippon Budokan Hall which will host a state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 27. Reuters-Yonhap Burma Myanmar Regime Forces Kill Five Villagers in Sagaing Resistance fighters in Wetlet Township. / CJ Five villagers were killed on Sunday and 20 others went missing during a junta raid in Sagaing Regions Wetlet Township, according to residents. Some 50 junta troops from No. 42 Infantry Battalion based in Shwebo under Division 33 arrived in two trucks in Ywathargyi Village on Sunday and started shooting indiscriminately, said Wetlet Township Peoples Defense Force (PDF). Seven houses were torched yesterday and five more were torched today. [Junta soldiers] disposed of the bodies of slain villagers as they burned houses. We heard some 20 villagers are also missing. But we dont know why, a Wetlet Township PDF fighter told The Irrawaddy on Monday. Around 150 villagers who were unable to flee are trapped in the village and are reportedly being held for questioning. Junta troops are deployed in the village school and have summoned villagers for questioning, said a Ywathargyi resident. Ywathargyi is a large village with around 1,000 houses, located at the junction of roads leading to Mandalay, Shwebo and Monywa in the west of Wetlet Township. Military regime troops raided the village for no apparent reason, as there was no fighting near the village prior to the raid. At least ten villagers were hit. Some cattle were also killed. They [junta forces] also fired mortar shells. Some houses burned down after being hit by mortar shells. They also set fire to houses. Villagers from Ywathargyi and nearby villages have fled, said Bo Myay Auzar from Wetlet Township PDF. On Sunday, junta troops and police stationed in Hla Taw Village also raided another village in Wetlet and shelled surrounding villages, said Wetlet Township Information, an anti-coup group documenting regime atrocities in the township. One Ywathargyi resident said on Monday: We fled to the west of the village when they raided. And then we fled to another village. Our family members were only reunited this morning. We still dare not return to our village. Sundays raid was the fourth time Ywathargyi has been raided since last years coup, which forced some 4,000 villagers from Ywathargyi, as well as residents from nearby villages, to flee their homes. Regime forces troops torched an electrical appliance shop in Ywathargyi, and also stole 30 million kyats and eight ticals of gold items from a rice mill in the village, said residents. Families from Aunglantw Rice Mill were about to leave when junta soldiers came and arrested them. And junta soldiers also took more than 30 million kyats and eight ticals of gold items from them. This morning, they blocked the road junction at Ywathargyi and were checking all the road users, said another resident on Monday. Local resistance groups carried out three drone attacks on junta forces in Ywathargyi on Sunday. However, regime casualties are still unknown, said Adventure Youth drone unit. Burma Myanmar Rights Groups Urge Ethnic Armed Organizations to Shun Junta Peace Talks Representatives of the United Wa State Party and National Democratic Alliance Army give gifts to junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Monday. A total of 567 Myanmar civil society organizations (CSOs) based at home and abroad have urged ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) not to attend the juntas sham peace talks. The call came a day after representatives of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) and the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army-North (SSPP/SSA-N) attended the second round of so-called peace talks on Sunday with junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Currently, ten EAOs have held talks with the military regime: the Karen National Union/ Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, the Pa-O National Liberation Organization, the New Mon State Party, the Arakan Liberation Party, the Restoration Council of Shan State/ Shan State Army-South, the Lahu Democratic Union, the NDAA, the SSPP/SSA-N and the UWSA. But other EAOs are engaging regime forces in near-daily fighting alongside Peoples Defense Forces. They include the Karen National Liberation Army and Karen National Defense Organization of the Karen National Union (KNU), the Chin National Front, the Karenni National Progressive Party, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Taang National Liberation Army, the Arakan Army, the Kachin Independence Army and the All Burma Students Democratic Front. On Monday, in an open letter to EAOs, the 567 CSOs said that the military regime is regarded as merely a terrorist organization according to international and domestic laws, as it has cruelly murdered and tortured peaceful anti-regime demonstrators after seizing power from the democratically-elected government. Since last years coup, there is evidence that the Myanmar military is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity such as burning civilians alive, massacres, the use of sexual violence against women, indiscriminate air and artillery strikes on civilian targets including religious buildings, schools, and refugee camps, and burning and looting villages. As of Monday, 2,319 people had been killed by junta forces since the coup, while 15,643 people including elected government leaders have been arrested or detained, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights group documenting civilian deaths and arrests. Nor has the junta been recognized as Myanmars legitimate government either at home or abroad, due to the regimes failure to implement a five-point peace plan agreed with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The regime has also ignored the demands of the United Nations and the international community to cease all violence against civilians. At the same time, coup leader Min Aung Hlaing faces criminal charges in the International Court of Justice for allegedly committing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, said the CSOs. The group of CSOs said also that the junta is creating a sham peace dialogue using EAOs in an attempt to mislead the international community, including ASEAN, since it can no longer defeat the armed revolution of the Myanmar people. In their letter, the rights groups said that the armed conflict in Myanmar must be clearly understood as a battle between the military and the people. Attending the sham peace talks is not only against the will of the people opposing the military terrorist group, but will also lend legitimacy to this terrorist military council, the CSOs said. At worse, sham talks will permit and encourage further crimes against humanity committed by the terrorist military group, added the CSOs, who also called on EAOs to join the revolution aimed at totally removing the military from politics. The junta tries to be recognized as an official government and holds mock peace talks with some armed groups. Those without proper policies are meeting junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, said Padoh Saw Taw Nee, the head of the KNUs Foreign Affairs Department, in a recent interview with The Irrawaddy. He added We have contempt for his [the coup leader] peace process. It will never happen. Myanmars parallel National Unity Government (NUG), which has widespread public support at home and backing overseas, announced in June that any negotiations with the junta are illegal and wont be recognized by the NUG and any of its successors, as the regime has no right to negotiate with parties like a Union government. Burma Retired Myanmar Brigadier General Shot Dead by Yangon Resistance Group Former Brig-Gen Ohn Thwin (far left) with former lieutenant general and ex-minister Ohn Myint (second from left) and other colleagues at the Myanmar Armed Forces Day parade in Naypyitaw in March 2022. A pro-junta retired brigadier general and diplomat was shot dead by anti-regime urban guerrilla fighters in Yangon on the weekend, becoming the highest-ranking junta target killed by resistance groups since late last year. Ex-Brigadier General Ohn Thwin, 72, was gunned down at his home in Hlaing Township on Saturday. His son-in-law Ye Tayza, a former army captain, was shot dead along with the former brigadier general as he tried to respond to the attack. Inya Urban Force, one of the citys anti-regime guerrilla forces, claimed responsibility, saying they carried out the shooting with another urban resistance group. A funeral for Ohn Thwin was held at a military cemetery in Yangon on Monday. The family did not place an obituary notice in the state-run newspapers, but regime Information Minister Maung Maung Ohn offered his condolences in the papers. After retiring from the army, Ohn Thwin served as Myanmars ambassador to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and South Africa. He frequently denounced democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and openly celebrated on Facebook when anti-regime protesters were targeted in junta crackdowns last year. He was a leading member of the Myanmar War Veterans Association, which is currently a source of recruits for the regime in its military operations to crush armed resistance, and was also said to be the mentor of the regimes number two man, Soe Win. Ohn Thwin is the highest-ranking regime figure to be killed since the assassination of Thein Aung, a former navy lieutenant commander and chief financial officer of the regime-linked Mytel Telecommunications Co., in Yangon last year. Mytel is a joint venture between the Myanmar military and Vietnams Defense Ministry. Anti-regime guerrilla forces in Myanmars cities have targeted people with close ties to the regime since the junta launched its brutal crackdowns on peaceful protesters against military rule in the months following the February 2021 military coup. The targets have ranged from local administration officials who collect anti-regime resistance information for the junta to government officials closely working with the regime to pro-junta former military people like Ohn Thwin. In April this year, the vice-governor of the junta-controlled Central Bank of Myanmar, Daw Than Than Swe, was shot at her house in Yangons Bahan Township. She survived the attack. Guest Column Myanmars Revolution: Never Cold Blooded Anti-regime flash mob protest in Yangon in July 2021. / AFP Myanmar is in a state of revolution. It is a society in an existential fight against a single institution: a military that has brutalized generations of Myanmars people. In the early months after the juntas February 2021 coup, peaceful protests emerged across the country. Predictably, the Myanmar military responded, as it has done for decades, with widespread, barbarous violence to crush the protests by unarmed civilians. Subsequently, and understandably, armed resistance to military rule emerged. Amid all of this, the phrase thway-ma-aye, which translates as Never Cold Blooded, began to be used by protesters, whether the flash mobs in the cities or the demonstrators in rural areas. The phrase first emerged in Sagaing Region, notably in Monywa, Kalay and Yinmabin townships, and is most associated with a village named Shwe Nwal Thway in Yinmabin known for its strident, ongoing anti-regime protests. Now it is used across Myanmar. In English, the term cold blooded is generally used to describe actions done with intent but without emotion. Often, it connotes particularly cruel violence. If someone kills in cold blood, they kill in a way that seems especially cruel because the perpetrator displays no emotion. If one wishes to understand the ethos, or spirit, of Myanmars revolution, it is useful to peel away the layers of what Never Cold Blooded means and why the term has become so important to the countrys revolutionaries. Subtly distinct from the English meaning, the use of the term Never Cold Blooded by Myanmars protesters has important nuances; it is more akin to being warm blooded by continuing to strive and persevere and to keep ones heart in the fight. But whether in Burmese or English, the phrase and its multiple meanings captures the essence of so much of what Myanmars revolution is about and stands in stark contrast to the juntas tactics and objectives. To make better sense of Myanmars revolution its intents, actors, and prospects it is useful to explore the works of one of the 20th Centurys most brilliant political theorists, Hannah Arendt. Her 1963 book On Revolution is justifiably considered one of the most comprehensive and thoughtful detailings of what revolution means and how and why it emerged as a driving political phenomenon of modern history. Core to Arendts conceptualization of revolution is the idea that freedom and the experience of a new beginning should coincide. Her use of the term freedom connotes participation in public affairs, or admission to the public realm. Critically, her emphasis on freedom is additional to liberation or liberty, namely to be free of oppression in ones personal life. This basic dialectic still defines the political tensions between the worlds liberal democracies, which speak of freedom, and authoritarian regimes that seek legitimacy through economic growth and domestic stability. As Arendt so eloquently summarized, revolution fundamentally aimed at freedom and that the birth of freedom spelled the beginning of an entirely new story. Echoing the acting President of the National Unity Government Duwa Lashi Las statement that this revolution is a second war for independence, it seeks not a return to anything but rather a new beginning. This is what defines the countrys events since February 2021 in simplest terms as a revolution. It is to be the break from the past. When protesters proclaim Never Cold Blooded, what they affirm is the conviction to persevere towards that new beginning, whatever the cost. This is why, despite all the horrors and atrocities thrown at them by the junta, they persist, and will continue doing so. Juxtaposed against this determination is the military regimes archaic desire for the restoration of a mythologized past of Bamar nationalism. Who but a senior general of the Myanmar military could now sit in that ridiculous throne hall in Naypyitaw and not be ashamed of such backwardness? Moreover, the intent of Myanmars revolutionaries contrasts with the toxic phrase thrown around by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with international backing, that the bloc supports a return to normalcy for Myanmar requiring dialogue and mediation with the military. This is not a new beginning, but simply an attempt at restoring a flawed process. ASEAN and the rest of the world delude themselves by believing that the decade of transition represented some type of normal leading to a more permanent, more democratic order. The country was effectively held hostage by the military and its self-serving 2008 Constitution, meaning it was always able and willing to stage a coup. The rage of the Myanmar public since the putsch is that they nonetheless peacefully engaged in the militarys process for discipline-flourishing democracy and were then cheated via the coup, with thousands of people subsequently murdered. Moreover, what can ever be normal about expecting a peaceful transition back to [quasi/coerced] democracy when that requires engagement with a regime that is genocidal. Exactly how many genocides and massacres must a regime commit before they are no longer to be engaged with but simply ended? Never Cold Blooded means ending a toxic disgrace of a military that has denied the Myanmar people both liberty and freedom for over six decades. Another key insight of Arendts framing of revolution is the notion of a point of no return, namely when enough of a society feel that they are agents in a process which spells the definite end of an old order and brings about the birth of a new world. One outcome of the preceding decade of transition which was actually positive was that it socialized the Myanmar public, and particularly its youth, to the notion that a different future was in fact possible except for one thing. Arendt summarized this nicely when she notes that what is sought by revolution is a citizens right of access to the public realm, in his share in public power. As Arendt notes, the concept of rage is central to revolutions, particularly the rage of naked misfortune pitted against the rage of unmasked corruption. These emotive, competing forces compel a society, like Myanmars, to rise in revolution after experiencing, at least partially, a better future. One where, at least conceivably, the military did not wrap the countrys people around its own greed, coerced through unending violence and division. As such, Myanmars military laid the foundation for the revolution through the decade of quasi-democracy and economic growth and then lit the flame for it through the 2021 coup. This in turn builds upon Arendts emphasis on revolutionary spirit, which is the the most impressive facet of modern revolutions. Key to Arendts emphasis on revolutionary spirit are themes that link more closely with the English language connotations of Never Cold Blooded but inherently sync with the ethos of Myanmars revolution. Uniting revolutionaries is the notion of novelty and newness of the endeavor. Moreover, key to this is the awareness of the agency of collective action for common good. As Arendt explained, successful revolutions only occur when a sufficient number of citizens are willing to act knowing that they may fail, but nonetheless are eager to organize and to act together for a common purpose. This stands in contrast to societies that prioritize personal well-being, most often in terms of affluence, at the price of public good, namely democracy and basic liberties. It is telling that Myanmars revolution is driven by its youth, who have risen in massive numbers to say that they want a different country for theirs and future generations. Never Cold Blooded is in effect a declaration that indifference to the sufferings of others has been one of the countrys original sins, most recently by widespread indifference to the Rohingya genocide. While there is still much to do, there has been more societal reckoning and reconciliation in the 20 months since the coup than in the preceding decades. That Bamar heartland regions, specifically Sagaing and Magwe, are core areas of armed resistance and are actively supported by partner ethnic armed organizations is but one example of the shifting parameters of how and who to define what is Myanmar. Another important dynamic in this regard is the oft-stated declaration by the countrys youth that they wish to participate in the revolution precisely because it is a responsibility they must bear so that future generations do not. This is surely one of the purest meanings of Never Cold Blooded. Ending the militarys dominance is the most immediate goal of the revolution and creating a federal democracy the clear political outcome sought, but there are other major societal shifts being driven along by the churning forces raging across the country. Revolution is a process. It is a societal reckoning. What is sought in Myanmar, to quote Arendt on modern revolutions, is the foundation of freedom and the establishment of lasting institutions. In simplest terms, this means a new beginning. Never Cold Blooded is the fitting ethos of a society attempting to start anew. The revolution must be won and then a new, stable political settlement enacted around federal democracy. At its core will be a basic but fundamental notion that so exemplifies what is sought during these turbulent, violent months of revolution. As Arendt wisely summarized, we must be able to grasp the enormous difference in power and authority between a constitution imposed by a government upon a people and the constitution by which a people constitutes its own government. This awareness seems self-evident to Myanmars revolutionaries but sorely missing amongst the international community. Outsiders who wish to support the Myanmar people in their revolution should support it as a sprawling, dynamic process rather than nitpick or over-generalize inevitable failings and challenges. It will never be as clean or obvious as anybody would want, but the international community, and especially its democracies, owes the Myanmar people real support in their just endeavor to secure a new future free of military dictatorship. To do otherwise is simply cold blooded. A woman votes in a referendum on the Donetsk People's Republic joining Russia, Tuesday. The Donetsk People's Republic, the Lugansk People's Republic, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya Regions hold the referendums on joining Russia on Sept. 23-27. TASS-Yonhap The EU said Tuesday it will slap sanctions on organizers of "illegal" votes in four occupied regions of Ukraine that Russia is conducting as "referendums" with the aim of annexation. "There would be consequences for all people who participate in the illegal, illegitimate referendums," Peter Stano, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, told journalists as the voting took place for a fifth and final day. A high-ranking official in Borrell's foreign policy service, Luc Devigne, separately told EU lawmakers that "we will put in individuals that are obviously linked to the recent steps with these referendums" in the sanctions package. The EU's 27 member states are deliberating on fresh sanctions on Russia for holding the vote, widely dismissed by the West as a "sham." Any measures have to be unanimously agreed. While Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who maintains cozy ties with the Kremlin, has voiced skepticism over more sanctions, there is general agreement in the EU that a stern response is required. Devigne did not detail what the next sanctions package would contain. But he explained it would include new bans on Russian exports and imports and extend sanctions on some Russian business activities, as well as adding "new listings of companies and individuals". "We have been clear that those who are involved with these so-called referenda will be held accountable and this will (also) be the subject of... the additional restrictive measures," he said. He added that there was still "a lot of leeway" to hit Russia's economy, which relies heavily on trade links with the EU. Stano and Devigne each stressed that the EU would not recognize the results of Russia's "referendum," which are expected to lead to President Vladimir Putin declaring the annexation of the four Ukrainian regions as early as Friday. The voting follows the same template as that which Russia carried out in 2014 in Ukraine's occupied Crimea region, which resulted in Moscow declaring Crimea part of Russia something globally unrecognised except for a handful of Russian allies. A few invited EU citizens reportedly including a German CEO of an energy company and a far-right French politician have been among foreigners acting as Russian-endorsed poll "observers" in the voting in the Ukraine regions. Stano said they risked being punished if found to have broken EU sanctions. "Of course, it will depend on the degree to which people are involved," he said, adding it was up to EU member states "to see whether or not on a case-by-case basis if there is a need for measures to be taken against such people." (AFP) Australian-based Pronto Software Ltd has launched the latest major version of its enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform, Pronto Xi, building a new bedrock for the future of the platform and tackling supply chain challenges head-on. Some organisations see their ERP as little more than "the accounting system," but with supply chain constraints and the need for digital transformation under the spotlight today more than ever before, it's essential to have an ERP that can bring every business data point to light, and which your organisation can use to truly be the backbone of the business. A strong ERP helps you minimise waste, maximise efficiency, and importantly, leverage your historic data to make better, smarter, timelier business decisions concerning your future. Pronto Software has been delivering precisely this power to businesses for over 40 years, and the latest Pronto Xi 770 features significant enhancements across the application suite as well as security and compliance capability enhancements to maximise customer confidence. This includes the introduction of Single Touch Payroll (STP) phase 2, and major investments in Pronto Cloud. Customers have been forced to focus on the backend of their business over the past few years, said Pronto Software CEO Chad Gates. Ensuring supply chain efficiency and reducing waste has never been so critical in ensuring no money is bleeding out the door, particularly during difficult times. While customers look inward, having access to detailed business data in real-time is more important than ever before. With accurate data, it becomes easier to make smart decisions faster as the data reveals vital information, Gates said. At Pronto Software we are actively involved with regulatory discussions wherever we can to ensure we are on top of dynamic compliance requirements, and that customer concerns are represented during these rollout processes." There is so much transformation in business right now and every moment of change at scale is a moment where attackers aim to exploit a security weakness, he said. With this in mind, Pronto Software recently completed its first full three-year certification cycle. We have renewed our ISO 27001 certification while Pronto Cloud is also ASAE 3402 attested and is running on Tier 4 data centres. We see more and more government regulations and customers requiring ISO 27001, so its been a timely journey for ourselves and for our customers. Trust is everything between Pronto Software and our customers, and we want to minimise any risk or stress for our users when it comes to using us as their ERP platform. In addition, Pronto Xi 770 features major updates to the product's user interface, giving a mobile-friendly experience for users on the go while maintaining robust dashboard features for those with wider desktop screens. Weve targeted areas within Pronto Xi that have the highest need for mobile access, like CRM and interfaces for warehouse workers, Gates said. Ensuring features like field selections are now simple and that the performance is snappier on mobile is a great step forward for many environments. We will keep evolving the user interface to balance the ideal needs of both desktop users and users in mobile-centric roles. Pronto Xi is rapidly shifting to cloud-based delivery with over 95% of Pronto Software new and upgrading customers using Pronto Cloud, its cloud division, setting up the company to prepare its platform to operate as a continuous delivery architecture several parts of the product already operate this way for the new release. Important STP updates will be available to customers using Pronto Xi versions launched as far back as 2015, Gates said. Unfortunately, past a certain point, some new features cannot be implemented in prior versions, but we know the importance of ERP to every customer and work hard to deliver important features in every version we can. Pronto Software also continues to expand its Solution Partner program, enhancing trust in the third-party tools that integrate with the Pronto Xi platform. We know we cant write everything ourselves, so over the last few years weve embraced the specialist solutions that fill gaps in the market, says Gates. By creating trust relationships with these third-party vendors, we help customers to choose options with more confidence. Pronto Software continues its journey towards boosting productivity and efficiency while reducing the stress at work for its customers staff and users through its powerful ERP, and the analytical tools it enables to help increase certainty in decision making. Most importantly, Pronto Software continues to grow and invest in products, people, and customer outcomes from a position of financial stability and innovation. See the Pronto ERP for yourself here: The attacker who allegedly breached the networks of Optus appears to have developed cold feet, posting a note saying that he/she has deleted all the data that was exfiltrated. "Too many eyes. We will not sale data to anyone. We cant if we even want to; personally deleted data from drive (Only copy)," the attacker wrote. But security researcher Brett Callow pointed out that the 10,200 samples that had already been leaked were now being shared by another forum member. Optus revealed the breach last Thursday. Since then, the company has been strongly criticised by the Federal Government and its version of events contested by the Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil. It seems the #Optus hacker got cold feet. That said, one forum member seems to think there's more to the story. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/pG2RoxuSjB Brett Callow (@BrettCallow) September 27, 2022 "Sorry too 10,200 Australian whos data was leaked," the attacker wrote. One reason for the quick change of mind may have been because there were government email addresses in the dump carried out overnight. "Australia will see no gain in fraud, this can be monitored. Maybe for 10,200 Australian but rest of population no. Very sorry to you. "Deepest apology to Optus for this. Hope all goes well from this. While the #Optus hacker has deleted his/her initial post and claims to have also deleted the only copy of the data, the 10,200 samples that had already been leaked are now be shared by another forum member. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Pdxhl8Xz4o Brett Callow (@BrettCallow) September 27, 2022 "Optus if your reading we would have reported exploit if you had method to contact. No security mail, no bug bountys, no way too message. "Ransom not payed but we don't care any more. We mistake to scrape publish data in first place." The hackers have given up on trying to get a ransom out of Optus after waiting on hold for the past 3 hours The Shovel (@TheShovel) September 27, 2022 Callow, who works for New Zealand-headquartered Emsisoft, tweeted: "It seems the #Optus hacker got cold feet. That said, one forum member seems to think there's more to the story." However, he added: "It should be noted that the fact the hacker claims to have deleted the stolen data doesn't mean s/he actually did. And, of course, this doesn't help the >10k customers whose data was released and potentially accessed by multiple 3rd parties." The US has added Chinese entities Pacific Network and China Unicom (Americas) to its list of banned telecommunications providers. In a statement issued last week, Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said: Today we take another critical step to protect our communications networks from foreign national security threats. Earlier this year the FCC revoked China Unicom Americas and PacNet/ComNets authorities to provide service in the United States because of the national security risks they posed to communications in the US. "Now, working with our national security partners, we are taking additional action to close the door to these companies by adding them to the FCCs Covered List. This action demonstrates our whole-of-government effort to protect network security and privacy. The ban on China Telecom Americas wasin October last year. In a statement, former US under-secretary of state Keith Krach praised the FCC for imposing the ban. Chinese telcos are tools of the Chinese Communist Partys surveillance state, he said. Historys worst dictators could only dream of such instruments of oppression. The Clean Networks defeat of the CCPs [Chinese Communist Party's] attempt to dominate the global 5G infrastructure serves as a proven, replicable model to repel the Chinese governments technological and economic threats, which are not limited to 5G. "The CCP is trying to extend its malign influence by attempting to control clean-energy supply chains, harvest the data of millions of TikTok users, or try to corner the semiconductor market through a looming military takeover of Taiwan. The government is right to deem these Chinese telecommunications companies as an extension of the Chinese government and therefore a threat to our national security. We cannot extend an open door to the tools of the Chinese surveillance state, nor can we trust the Chinese to play fair and honour their agreements. In May 2019, the FCC blocked China Mobile USA from entering the American market, claiming a similar threat. The decision was taken eight years after the company applied for permission to operate mobile services. China Unicom is one of the top three mobile operators in China, the others being China Mobile and China Telecom. The American bans have been enacted under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019. The Act requires the FCC to publish and maintain a list of communications equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk to national security or the security and safety of people in the US. The initial list was published in March 2021. The current list is here. GUEST OPINION: When the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to allow staff to work from home, the biggest initial challenge to overcome was organising ways to effectively communicate. Many turned to services such as Zoom and Teams to allow group conversations while mobiles became the favoured one-on-one channel. Over a period of a few months, most staff became comfortable with these ways of staying in touch while working remotely. However now, with hybrid work practices likely to be a feature of business life for some time to come, many organisations are realising there is another challenge that needs to be solved. As well as enabling hybrid communication, there is also a need for hybrid collaboration capabilities. Solving this challenge could be more difficult for leaders to navigate, even compared with the rapid switch to remote working in early 2020. But while challenging, this new, blended approach to work may also be a major growth opportunity, as well as a chance to foster greater engagement and innovation. The same old (age-old) ways to collaborate This challenge is why Facebook's introduction of a virtual reality workspace, Horizon Workrooms, is so interesting. Maybe we don't all need Oculus headsets and VR avatars to restore a sense of teamwork. But Facebook is on the right track: it's looking for ways to help people connect and collaborate, not just communicate, in virtual workspaces. To ensure this switch to the next normal has a positive impact, leaders and companies will need to adopt a whole new mindset when it comes to collaboration. Research commissioned by Lucid last year showed that while managers have concerns about how remote working impacts productivity, employees are more concerned about how it impacts their ability to collaborate. This is unsurprising. Collaborative tools have been stale for a long time. While the advent of Slack, Zoom and Microsoft Teams have shifted businesses away from operating solely on email, they remain communication platforms at heart, not collaboration solutions. The office suites we use today are broadly similar to those we used 30 years ago; we're still collaborating around virtual 8.5 x 11 documents, virtual spreadsheets, and virtual slideshows. Even within Facebook's Workrooms, the whiteboard is just a 4 foot by 6 foot rectangle floating in front of you. But the fact is, we no longer go to work to pass memos around. Why are we restricting our collaborative work to what fits on a virtual sheet of paper or inside an imaginary conference room? Collaboration needs to be visual We go to work to build things, whether it's a company, a product, or a market. And, as mentioned above, good communications tools are only part of what's needed to do this kind of creative work in a remote or hybrid setting. A 2021 paper from Microsoft suggests that employees might be "collaboratively isolated" during work-from-home stints, with mixed results for creative work. That's because building things requires focused work time, along with both effective communication tools and effective collaboration. In order to empower employees to be more collaborative, leaders need to think differently. In short, hybrid environments need visual solutions that facilitate working side-by-side, not just face-to-face. Creativity and collaboration are possible with a hybrid workforce, as long as managers are able to build a culture that supports and prioritises these values, not just productivity. Work practices and visual technologies can give people a voice and spark creativity, regardless of their location remote or in the office. For example, BambooHR entered a three-year strategy refresh process just after the pandemic hit in 2020. Normally, this is the kind of process that would take days or even weeks of intensive collaborative work in a conference room, with lots of scribbling on whiteboards and flipcharts, and pasting up sticky notes full of ideas. Instead, BambooHR conducted everything virtually using a virtual whiteboard. Employees reported they found the ability to add sticky notes and ideas on a virtual whiteboard as they went along much more engaging than sitting through a PowerPoint presentation. The whiteboard's infinite canvas meant that when one section got full, people just swiped over to a new, blank area. There was no need to pause, take a picture, and start again. The virtual canvas also allowed everyone to see all ideas on their screens and discuss them in real time and afterward to quickly establish priorities and next steps. It's time to reimagine working together By putting everyone in a shared, virtual space, you can eliminate old barriers and constraints. By collaborating on an infinite canvas instead of a 4'x6' whiteboard, people's ideas can literally "stretch out" and go beyond the frameworks that normally constrain their thinking. Besides brainstorming and planning, other areas where visual, collaborative technologies could use a more hybrid-friendly approach include process mapping, system diagramming, and product development. As staff members become comfortable with these tools and processes, virtual workplaces will quickly become spaces where the most effective collaboration can happen. They will end up being the workspaces that best promote and enable innovation, creative thinking, and new ideas to push businesses forward. Nokia, once the best-known name in the mobile phone market, is still around and releasing devices that are fit for purpose. On Monday, HMD Global, the owner of the Nokia brand, released three new feature phones all of which have long-lasting batteries, new designs, and mp3 and Volte technology. The 5710 XA has noise-cancelling earbuds built in, a removable battery (now that's something I really miss in smartphones), and support for a microSD car up to 32GB. This device retails for $149. HMD also released the 8210 4G, which has the biggest battery of the three models. It has 48 MB of memory, 128 MB of internal storage, and dual SIM slots. A microSD card up to 32GB is supported and the model costs $129. Finally, there is the, a throwback to Nokia's Flip which costs $149. it has similar memory and storage specs to the 8210 4G and can support a microSD card up to 32GB. All three models come with headphones and the appropriate chargers. Get unlimited access to all content and features at ivpressonline.com with our Full Online Access Subscription. Read our E-Edition, the digital replica of the print newspaper online, access content in exclusive sections including Family, Teen, Business, Databases, Farm and more. This option does not include daily home delivery of the Imperial Valley Press newspaper. For home delivery service, please select Premium or Premium Plus. A general view of Goleniow Gas Compressor Station during opening of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline between Norway, Denmark and Poland, in Budno, Poland, Tuesday. Reuters-Yonhap A series of unusual leaks on two natural gas pipelines running from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany triggered concerns about possible sabotage Tuesday, overshadowing the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline in Poland that will bring Norwegian gas to Europe in efforts to bolster energy independence from Moscow. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she "cannot rule out" sabotage after three leaks were detected over the past day on Nord Stream 1 and 2. The pipelines are not bringing gas to Europe as an energy standoff over Russia's war in Ukraine halted flows or never allowed them to begin. However, gas still fills the lines. Frederiksen joined Poland's President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in opening a valve of a yellow pipe belonging to the Baltic Pipe, a new system that will bring Norway's gas across Denmark and the Baltic Sea to Poland. No official presented evidence of what caused the problems, but in central Europe where distrust of Russia runs high, there were fears Moscow sabotaged its own infrastructure in a gesture of spite or to signal that all pipelines are vulnerable to attack. The leaks emerged off the coast of Denmark and Sweden, raising the stakes on whether energy infrastructure in European waters was being targeted and leading to a small bump in natural gas prices. A Polish government official said he would not rule out the possibility of Russian "provocations." "I cannot exclude any scenario. We are in a situation of high international tension," said Marcin Przydacz, a deputy foreign minister. "Unfortunately, our eastern neighbor is pursuing an aggressive policy all the time." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the leaks "very alarming." "This is an unprecedented situation that requires an urgent investigation. We are extremely worried by this news," he said in a conference call with reporters. Asked if the accident may have been caused by an act of sabotage, Peskov said that "no version could be excluded." Because the pipelines aren't actively sending gas to Europe, the leaks did not pose any threat to energy supplies, and experts said the environmental impact would be limited. With the continent needing gas to heat homes, generate electricity and run factories, the energy crisis provoked by Russia's war in Ukraine threatens rationing, business shutdowns and possible recession this winter. It was "highly unusual for gas leaks like this to happen," said Kristian Rune Poulsen, energy analyst at Green Power Denmark, But "the market has long been set on us not receiving Russian gas. Therefore, the gas leaks do not fundamentally change the situation." Polish energy expert Andrzej Sikora said he has been warning of the "possibility of attacks on the infrastructure" since the construction of Nord Stream 1 in 2010. The significant drop in pressure caused by the leaks was clearly not the result of "a bad weld," said Sikora, head of the Energy Studies Institute think tank. Danish authorities said Monday that a leak was detected in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which has never been used. They later announced a major pressure drop on the parallel Nord Stream 1, which until recently has been a key source of gas to Germany. The Swedish Maritime Administration said Tuesday that two leaks were discovered on Nord Stream 1, which partly runs in Swedish waters. Danish authorities also have confirmed the leaks. The Danish Maritime Authority issued a navigation warning and established a prohibited area to ensure that ships do not go near the leaks. Ships may lose buoyancy if they sail into the area, and there may also be a risk of ignition above the water and in the air, the Danish authorities said. Swedish authorities sent out similar warnings. The leaks in the pipelines have been detected northeast and southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm. The pipelines have been at the center of an energy war between Europe and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in late February. A plunge in Russian gas supplies has caused energy prices to soar, pressuring governments to help ease the pain of sky-high gas and electric bills for households and businesses as winter nears. European countries have been struggling to find other sources of gas. Poland, for example, was already on track to free itself of Russian gas after working for years to find other sources, including imports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, from the United States and Middle East. Germany, in contrast, is only now racing to quickly build LNG terminals. Baltic Pipe is a prominent project in the bid for energy security and is to start bringing Norwegian gas through Denmark and along the Baltic Sea to Poland on Oct. 1. Sikora, the Polish energy analyst, has been urging steps to ensure the security of the Baltic Pipe, which at one point crosses paths with both Nord Stream pipelines. Despite Russia cutting off Nord Stream 1, gas storage has progressed in recent weeks in Germany and other parts of Europe. "We do not see any impact on the security of supply," the German economy ministry said, referring to the pressure drop in Nord Stream 1. "Storage levels continue to rise steadily. They are currently at about 91%." (AP) 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. Afro Nation (www.AfroNation.com), the worlds biggest Afrobeats festival, announces dates for the flagship Portugal edition in 2023 today. Returning to the stunning Praia Da Rocha beach in the Algarve, Afro Nation Portugal will take place between 28-30th June 2023, with Early Access Tickets on sale now via AfroNation.com. Alongside the news comes the release of the Afro Nation 2022 Official Aftermovie, which premiered last night on YouTube watch here (https://bit.ly/3BOIiHE). The clip bring us back to the electrifying performances from an unrivalled raft of headliners Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido, Chris Brown and Megan Thee Stallion, alongside legends P-Square, Beenie Man and the most exciting artists of the day like CKay, Popcaan, Shenseea, Omah Lay, Rema and Dadju on the enormous new main stage. Coupled with the all new Piano People stage hosting the biggest Amapiano line up ever seen outside of South Africa, the grand return to Portugal this summer was a moment to remember, and shared by over 35,000 fans gathered together from around the world in a shared love of music, dancing, culture and positive vibes. Speaking about the success of Portugal 2022 and the plans for next summer, the festival organisers said: Afro Nation Portugal really felt like the culmination of everything weve been working towards, and managed to exceed everyones expectations yet again. We cant wait to take everything up another level again in 2023 and bring everyone together on the beach for an unforgettable celebration of music and unity. See you all there! Before heading back to its European origins, Afro Nation will be rounding off a hugely successful 12 months in its true home of Ghana for New Year, with Davido, P-Square, Stonebwoy and more touching down in Accra between 28-29th December. 2022s year of highlights saw the debut US show in Puerto Rico in March as well as the launch of the Official Billboard Afrobeats Chart, and the 1 year anniversary of the Official UK Afrobeats Chart on BBC Radio 1Xtra this week all showing the movement is well and truly back on its feet and more than making up for lost time after two years away. United the diaspora on sites of cultural significance across three continents, the Afrobeats explosion continues to grow with Afro Nation right at the heart of it all. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Felicien Kabuga, who goes on trial in the Hague on Thursday, rose from poverty to become one of Rwanda's richest men before allegedly using his wealth to fund the 1994 genocide. Kabuga's money and connections also helped him avoid arrest for more than 20 years as he moved from Rwanda to Switzerland, the former Zaire, and Kenya. Charged with genocide and crimes against humanity including persecution, extermination and murder, Kabuga was living under a false identity outside Paris when he was arrested and transferred to the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) at the Hague in 2020. One of the world's most-wanted fugitives, the 87-year-old has often been referred to as the man who financed the massacre of some 800,000 people in Rwanda between April and June 1994. Born to a modest farming family, Kabuga's first jobs included peddling items door to door and selling cigarettes and used clothing at a market in his native Byumba region in northern Rwanda. An industrious worker, Kabuga moved to Kigali where he opened several shops. According to French press reports, he went on to own a tea plantation, a mill, and real estate, including apartments and warehouses. By 1994 he was said to be one of the richest men in Rwanda and if farmers in remote villages saved up money, they were often nicknamed "Kabuga". - Paying for machetes - As his wealth grew, so too did his political connections. In 1993, one of his daughters married the oldest son of Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana, whose assassination triggered the 1994 genocide. Another daughter married Augustin Ngirabatware, the planning minister, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the bloodshed targeting Tutsis and moderate ethnic Hutus. Kabuga headed the National Defence Fund, to which he and other businessmen contributed, and which allegedly bought machetes and uniforms for the army and Interahamwe Hutu militia. According to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), whose work was later taken over by the MICT, Kabuga "contributed to the Interahamwe's killing and harming of persons identified as Tutsis by organising meetings... to raise funds to purchase arms." Jean Damascene Bizimana, executive secretary of the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide, told AFP that Kabuga had funded "tonnes of machetes and grenades which were imported and distributed across the country as weapons". Many of the victims were hacked to death with machetes. - Calls for murder - In addition, Kabuga helped create the notorious Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) that incited people to "kill Tutsi cockroaches" in its broadcasts. "Kabuga served as president of RTLM and as such had de facto and de jure control of programming, operations, and finances of RTLM," the ICTR indictment said. He is also accused of directly supervising Interahamwe massacres in Gisenyi, northwestern Rwanda, and in the Kigali district of Kimironko. In July 1994, Kabuga sought refuge in Switzerland but was thrown out a month later. He flew to Kinshasa and later moved to Kenya, managing to avoid three arrest attempts by police and ICTR officials after a warrant was issued in 1997. The United States offered a reward of $5 million in 2002 for information leading to his arrest and funded a media campaign in Kenya that splashed his photo across the country. In 2011, the ICTR organised forums to collect testimony for Kabuga's eventual trial, in case some witnesses died before he could be arrested. His lawyers attempted to halt legal proceedings on health grounds, but judges ruled against it in June this year, calling for the trial to begin "as soon as possible". strs-amu/np/jv Kenyan police were investigating the death of a lawyer who was on trial for allegedly bribing and intimidating witnesses in the failed International Criminal Court case against President William Ruto, an officer said Tuesday. Paul Gicheru had been accused by ICC prosecutors of running an "egregious and damaging" witness tampering scheme that made it impossible to pursue allegations against Ruto over post-election violence in Kenya in 2007-2008. His trial opened in February this year, with prosecutors alleging that Gicheru paid bribes of up to one million Kenyan shillings ($8,300) and threatened the safety of ICC witnesses, one of them at gunpoint. Gicheru had denied the allegations throughout, pleading not guilty at The Hague-based court, which is the world's only permanent war crimes tribunal. "The information we have from the family is that he had a meal and went to sleep and never woke. He was found dead in the house late Monday evening," a senior police official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "An investigation is under way because we do not know the cause of death yet," he said, adding that Gicheru's son had been taken to hospital after complaining of stomach pains following their meal together. The Kenya Human Rights Commission urged the authorities to "conduct swift and conclusive investigations" into the death. "While the full details surrounding this death are still emerging, we remain concerned with the shocking news of the untimely death of Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru," the KHRC said on Twitter. - Witness tampering - The disputed 2007 vote in Kenya was followed by the worst post-electoral violence in the country's history and left 1,100 people dead. Gicheru had "managed and coordinated a scheme to identify, locate and corruptly influence" witnesses throughout the ICC trial of Ruto and co-defendant Joshua Sang, which collapsed in 2016, ICC deputy prosecutor James Stewart had said. Four "vital" prosecution witnesses had recanted their testimony as a result of Gicheru's actions. Another two witnesses reported him to the ICC, Stewart said. Prosecutors noted that of the individuals "caught up in the witness tampering scheme", one witness had died and another had disappeared -- although there were no allegations that Gicheru had been directly linked to their fate. The ICC had also launched a case against former president Uhuru Kenyatta over the post-electoral violence. That too collapsed in 2014. Ruto, who served as Kenyatta's deputy for nine years, was elected president in a bitterly-fought but largely peaceful vote held last month. Tertiary education has long been positively associated with economic development. While definitions and contexts can vary, tertiary education generally refers to any formal skills development beyond high school or secondary school. This can range from bachelors degrees and diploma programs to bootcamps and short term certificate courses. In Sub-Saharan Africa, its no surprise that the demand for tertiary education continues to grow, as countries in this region realize they must prepare their young workforce to exhibit skills that can catalyze economic growth as a means of remaining competitive in todays globalized world. While this growth in demand is good news for the continent, it outstrips the current supply of quality tertiary education. This imbalance has been fueled by the increase in access to education at the primary and junior secondary school level. Although the gross enrollment ratio for tertiary education grew at an average annual rate of 1.5 percent higher than the global annual average between 1970 and 2013, the region continues to demonstrate the lowest participation rate in tertiary education in the world. Currently, only 9% of African youth have access to tertiary education, and 54% of African employers state that job seekers lack the skills that match industry needs. By 2050, nearly 50% of jobs will be replaced by technology and new jobs will demand different and higher-level skill sets. There is therefore an urgent need to align outcomes between skills development and the labor market, and to ensure that all youth have a pathway to meaningful participation in socio-economic development. One of the key factors affecting access to tertiary education programs is financing. Traditional student loans, scholarships and grants, while helpful, have not been entirely effective or efficient at tackling the issue of limited access to a critical mass that can make a real difference to a countrys economic growth prospects. Although scholarships and government student loans dont require collateral, budgets are often insufficient to meet more than 30% of demand. Bank loans require collateral and interest payments during the period of education, which makes them inaccessible to most, especially women Income Share Agreements (ISAs) are a refreshing approach to funding for tertiary education on the continent. ISAs center on the concept of equity investments in an individual which allows investors to buy shares in their future earnings while contributing to social value through sustainable empowerment. Students receive interest-free funds to cover their tuition fees on condition that they agree to pay the lender a specified fraction of their future earnings. By grouping these investments in individuals, lenders are able to offset risks as returns from higher earners hedge the potential losses from lower earners. A unique selling point of ISAs is that they can be very student centric in three major ways. At its core, an ISA is an unsecured loan, so youth from marginalised communities dont need to provide collateral when accessing it. The model assesses an individuals future potential income instead of their current financial standing and assets. Secondly, students only make repayments when they are earning above a minimum income threshold, so there is no risk to students becoming over-indebted. Payments are always a fixed percentage of the students relevant income. Lastly, they are flexible and allow for pauses for example if someone is between periods of employment, pursuing a higher degree or on unpaid maternity leave. The original concept of an ISA was developed by Milton Friedman in his 1955 essay titled, The Role of Government in Education. It has since been adopted by numerous institutions across the world, one being Chancen International. Chancens ISA model underwrites risk at the institutional level only partnering with education institutions and programs that are consistently delivering high quality and market relevant skills as evidenced by strong track records of employment for graduates. Following a successful three-year pilot of ISAs in Rwanda, Chancen International launched the $21M Future of Work Fund (FWF) to give 10,000 marginalized students access to high-quality tertiary education that leads to employment. The expected outcomes of the fund will support Rwandas goal of providing universal access to high-quality education for all citizens and help actualize the countrys 2050 vision of creating 250,000 new jobs every year. In 2021, Chancen launched operations in South Africa through a partnership with WaFunda and will look to extend the FWF model to Kenya in 2023. There is an urgent need for greater investment into sustainable student finance solutions as the individual and intergenerational impact of high-quality tertiary education has been well documented. These solutions should also be regulated in accordance with ethical best practices to ensure fundamental consumer protections. Through its work, Chancen hopes to reaffirm educations status as an economic imperative. The model is fair and innovative and seeks to establish a sustainable cycle of investment and growth in the regions young people. As noted in a conversation with one investor, when the Chancen students do well, the fund does well. In the future, Chancen hopes to see more student finance models that align incentives between investors, education providers and students. by Batya Blankers, Co-Founder & CEO at Chancen International Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires The Pleasant Prairie Police Department is meeting with village leadership after a power outage shut down the departments non-emergency lines for several hours Sunday evening, Sept. 25, during a severe thunderstorm. At 7:47 p.m. Sunday, the department put out a statement on social media warning residents that the department had lost power and that residents should go through Kenosha Joint Services, asking them to phone 262-656-1234 for police assistance, as they would be dispatching police and fire services until power was restored. Capt. Paul Marik said that the emergency number 911 was still operational. During the storm, Marik said that when the power went out, the buildings two backup generators kicked in, but both quickly failed despite a recent equipment test, with one blowing a water pipe and the others battery failing. What couldve gone wrong did go wrong that night, Marik said. Although backup power was restored within 40 minutes, the phone system had to be reset and tested, which is a lengthy process. During the interim, Marik said dispatch was still able to function, and he thanked the Kenosha Joint Services for their assistance. They jumped on it, they were great partners, Marik said. We appreciate that. At 10:12 p.m., about two-and-a-half hours later, the department put out a release saying they were back up and running. Its still unknown what caused the initial power outage, Marik said, as they have to receive a report from We Energies. Marisk said police, fire, IT and public works representatives met Monday to do an autopsy on what had happened and how to best avoid a similar failure in the future. Additionally, the police will be meeting with village leadership for further discussion. What are the needs, where do we need to invest the time and money so this doesnt happen again? Marik said. With power outages fairly common through the year in Wisconsin, Marik preached preparation, reminding residents to have their own plans for backup power in case of an outage, along with first aid kits and flashlights, and to check on neighbors and contact emergency services if necessary. Additionally, to stay informed of what was happening in the village, he advised residents to follow the department on social media, where he said their reports of the power outage kept thousands up to date on the villages situation. If something is happening, they can see it there first, Marik said. SOMERS The Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside will host James Carville and Mary Matalin on Friday, Sept. 30, for a discussion on the current political polarization in the United States. They will be in Kenosha for the event, but registration for in-person attendance is already at capacity. The community is invited to view the discussion live online via livestream. The event will be livestreamed at 5:45 p.m. Carville, a Democrat, and Matalin, a Republican, will tackle questions surrounding the current political polarization in the United States, how civic engagement can thrive in these times of polarization, and their experiences in managing political polarization in their own relationship. The political analysts, who are married, are both seasoned political campaign managers, consultants, and commentators, and have co-authored Love & War: Twenty Years, Three Presidents, Two Daughters and One Louisiana Home, an exploration of how the United States has changed in the last decades and how we can continue to move forward through a time of extreme polarization. The evenings program will be moderated by Alexander Tahk, director of the Tommy G. Thompson Center in Madison and associate professor at UW-Madison, along with his wife Susannah Tahk, professor of law, and associate dean for research and faculty development for The University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. The Thompson Center devotes a significant amount of its attention to showcasing examples of leadership. Each year, the center hosts at least one lecture headlined by a prominent figure (or figures) who can discuss an aspect of current politics or policy through the lenses of effective leadership across various college campuses. UW-Parkside and the College of Social Science and Professional Studies, under the leadership of Dr. Peggy James, have welcomed various speakers in partnership with the Thompson Center. The Centers commitment to the legacy of Governor Thompson by bringing speakers to the state who address the balance of political and ideological perspectives and collegial bipartisanship is consistent with UW-Parksides commitment to civil discourse and civic engagement, James said. To watch this event visit www.uwp.edu/learn/colleges/socialsciencesprofessionalstudies/carvillematalinlivestream.cfm. Cancer care in the Kenosha area is about to take a big leap forward. Actually, two big leaps. Later this year, our radiation oncology specialist at Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital will begin using expanded, state-of-the-art technology to treat cancers faster and more effectively than ever. Then, a few months later, the curtain will rise on the expanded and completely renovated Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital Cancer Center, where substantially more patients can receive comprehensive cancer care services. These dramatic advances are being made to better serve the thousands of people in Southeastern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois who are battling cancer - patients who are increasingly relying on Froedtert South for the breakthrough care that can help them survive longer. Pat Brown is one of those people. A retiree from the auto parts and service business, Pat lived in Gurnee, Illinois for 47 years. After his wife died two years ago, Pat sold the couples house, bought a 45-foot motor home, and now travels across the country with his 150-pound Newfoundland, Bailey. My doctor diagnosed me with prostate cancer a few years ago, Pat recalled. We monitored it until this past spring when he told me, It is growing, and we need to do something. Pats physician referred him to the Cancer Center at Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital and Dr. Kevin Khater, a Radiation Oncologist with the Froedtert South Medical Group. Those people are unbelievable! Pat said, I called and they saw me right away. Pat received radiation treatments for his prostate cancer for six weeks. I was afraid at first, Pat said, but Dr. Khater and his team walked me through the procedure. After we completed the first treatment, I felt totally at ease. Dr. Khater was there for every treatment, asking me, How are you? How are things? Can I do anything for you? Pat said. The treatments didn't cause any major side effects, and I felt really good overall. I liked the plan Dr. Khater and I chose, and we will continue to follow up to ensure that we see the intended results, Pat said. Soon, patients like Pat will be receiving radiation treatments from the Cancer Centers new linear accelerator when it becomes operational by the end of this year. A linear accelerator, as its name suggests, accelerates subatomic particles in a straight line at nearly the speed of light, Dr. Khater said. That creates radiation that we can focus on tumors to treat cancer cells while enabling normal tissues surrounding the tumors to heal. This significantly improves the radiation treatments we can perform, Dr. Khater said. It reduces the time it takes from about 20 minutes to just five. That means more convenience for patients, Dr. Khater said. Patients will get the best of both worlds, Dr. Khater said. We will be able to blast a tumor with higher, more effective doses of radiation, while simultaneously sparing more of the normal tissue around it. In some instances, we may be able to give a patient the equivalent of four to six weeks of radiation therapy in as little as one to two weeks, Dr. Khater said. Until now, we have been sending patients who require what we call radiosurgery to our colleagues in Milwaukee at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin, Dr. Khater said. Radiosurgery delivers extremely high doses of radiation to a very small area to obliterate the tumor, but must be delivered very accurately. Our new accelerator enables us to perform these precise, powerful radiation procedures right here in Kenosha County, close to home, Dr. Khater said. We are all excited about our new accelerator because it is opening new doors, enabling us to deliver more advanced treatments to our patients, Dr. Khater said. I would not hesitate to recommend Dr. Khater and the whole Cancer Center to anyone, Pat Brown said. When you find out you have cancer, don't be afraid of it. The people at Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital will do everything possible to help you. They were a huge help to me. More advanced care for more cancer patients I had complained to my primary care doctor about shooting pains in my right ear, recalled Cynthia Bryan, a retired librarian from Kenosha. A CT scan revealed a large, malignant tumor on the back of my tongue. Because I live in Kenosha, I wanted to be treated here, close to home, Cynthia said. She was referred to Dr. Khater and his colleague Dr. David Knight, a Hematologist and Oncologist who is also with the Froedtert South Medical Group. Dr. Knight and Dr. Khater saw me immediately, Cynthia said. They told me the tumor was treatable and that they were going to do the very best job they could to eliminate it. I cannot tell you how much better they made me feel, Cynthia said. Cynthia received seven weeks of radiation treatment, along with five chemotherapy treatments. The staff in the Cancer Center made sure I was supplied with everything I could possibly need prior to my treatments, Cynthia said. They gave me medication for pain and anything else to make the treatments easier for me, and help me keep my health up. They did a fabulous job. They continue to follow up very closely with me, Cynthia said. I can't say that Im cured yet, but the tumor is gone. Dr. Khater told me the tumor began shrinking from the first day of treatment, Cynthia said. After my treatments were completed, my very first public outing was going to my book club, Cynthia said. I gave them such a glowing report about my care at Froedtert South that one member of the club said it made them all feel more confident to be treated here in Kenosha. I tell people that I received the very highest level of care, Cynthia said, and that they should count on Froedtert South for the cancer care they need. Some time next summer, many more people in Southeastern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois will be able to do just that when an expanded and renovated Cancer Center is unveiled at Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital. Over the last several years, the number of cancer patients we treat has grown dramatically, Dr. Knight said. Most patients call a doctors office and hear, We'll see you next week, or Call your primary care physician. Thats not the case at Froedtert South, Dr. Knight said. Our default response is, Come see us immediately. When we find out about a new cancer patient, we dont make them wait to see a physician. We see them as quickly as possible, oftentimes the same day. That is unique, Dr. Knight said. Unique and very attractive to an increasing number of cancer patients in the Kenosha area. We have outgrown our Cancer Center space, said Brian Portilia, Director of Cancer Services at Froedtert South, and we know why. First, our teams are excellent, but with a personal touch. Patients feel comfortable in our Cancer Center. Second, we are part of the Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Network, Brian said. That allows us to collaborate with specialists and support services that not all community-based hospitals can access, and it connects our patients with world class academic medicine. Third, cancer care has come a long way, Brian said. Dramatic advances in how we attack and treat very challenging cancers have significantly increased the number of patients who survive. Longer, ongoing follow up with those patients is another reason that our program continues to grow, Brian said. The expansion and renovation of the Cancer Center will help us provide an even better experience to even more patients, Brian said. The first thing patients will notice is that wait times have decreased because we can see more patients simultaneously. Also, we are concentrating services to make it more convenient for patients to receive care in one place rather than going to different locations within the hospital, Brian said. We have significantly expanded the infusion center to provide patients increased levels of privacy, as well as accommodate their friends and family who want to visit or accompany them when they receive treatments, Brian said. Also, the new linear accelerator offers Dr. Khater even more options and advanced treatments for patients who require radiation. Our commitment to the communities we serve is really important to us, Brian said. I was born here and have spent the majority of my adult life here. The cancer department once existed at the original St Catherine's down by the lake, and we were one of the first departments established at Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital. Now, we are preparing to celebrate another important step in the evolution of our cancer program as we constantly strive to provide patients with ever better care, close to home, Brian said. The expansion and renovation of our Cancer Center is the direct result of our philosophical approach to recognizing the barriers cancer patients face, and then helping them navigate through those barriers, Dr. Knight said. No one does that as well as we do, and it is exceedingly gratifying to me and everyone on our team when we are able to help patients overcome the challenges and give them the very best cancer care available, Dr. Knight said. It motivates us to come in and do it again the next day. 1 Shares Share Patients running rampant- unmasked, hand unwashed, undistanced. You stand in the nurses workstation, watching the chaos ensue while holding the positive COVID test results in your hands. The world slows as you think, How am I ever going to control this one? This scene is unfortunately ever present in our current health system. Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has put constant pressure on the medical system, uniquely affecting health care facilities with limited resources. Inpatient psychiatric hospitals present unique challenges as patients may struggle to maintain personal hygiene, consistently wear masks, or maintain social distancing in group settings. Additionally, psychiatric patients often have multiple unmanaged medical conditions and are less likely to have received a COVID-19 vaccination. These individuals have a significant risk of death due to their psychiatric and medical conditions, with a two to three times higher mortality rate than the general life expectancy. At the Mount Sinai Campus of St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, CT, the inpatient psychiatry unit has had considerable difficulties during the pandemic. The hospital was built in 1923 and does not have air-tight doors, negative pressure rooms, HEPA filtration symptoms, or other environmental necessities to promote infection control. General hospital policy calls for the isolation of suspected or confirmed patients with COVID-19. This entails a private room, often in a dedicated wing, COVID-19 rapid antigen testing, and signage denoting the patients infectious status with PPE requirements. This strategy has shown varying levels of success, especially during COVID-19 surges. During the Omicron surge in January 2022, we noticed several challenges in maintaining infection control within our institution. The facility has demonstrated unprecedented demand for psychiatric beds since the beginning of the pandemic, causing there to rarely be an unfilled bed. Patients are allowed to freely move throughout the halls, eat meals, and attend group therapy sessions together in the same room. Coupled with inconsistent mask-wearing, this may facilitate increased infection transmission. Moreover, many of these patients have not received the full course of COVID-19 vaccinations, leaving them and others exposed to infection. Finally, given the increased demand for beds at inpatient and extended care psychiatric facilities, patients in psychiatric units may experience delays to discharge, leading to extended stays and potentially increased exposure to infection. COVID-19 safety guidelines must be considered and implemented in inpatient units, including psychiatric floors. Many patients are unable to follow established COVID-19 protocol, including mask-wearing, social distancing, maintaining personal hygiene, and vaccinating pose a risk to themselves and patients and providers who come into contact with them. While it is important to consider the safety of others around the patients, it is essential also to consider patient autonomy. Just as providers cannot force treatment on a patient, patients cannot be forced to follow these safety guidelines. Ultimately, we can only make strong recommendations and reminders. In psychiatric units especially, this line blurs as providers rarely enforce these rules in an attempt to preserve the fragile relationship between patients and providers, as well as the risk of causing significant patient agitation. As mentioned above, providers in our hospital had unique challenges during the pandemic. The Omicron variant wave overwhelmed testing capabilities and call centers everywhere, including the Trinity Health call center. As of January 3rd, Connecticut was having 1,457 cases of confirmed COVID daily, sustaining over 20 percent test positivity rate for much of January. This resulted in employees who were exposed to COVID or had symptoms being unable to receive timely work instructions or testing. In addition, staffing was stretched to its limit as many individuals were unable to safely report to work, often increasing the threshold that testing had to fall back to. We present our recommendations now as COVID-19 moves toward endemicity. We emphasize the importance of having collaborative medical professionals who can be instrumental in managing comorbidities, acute illness, and vaccination. When individuals enter the facility, they should be offered the opportunity to have any missing COVID vaccination that they may qualify for, though we recognize that patients may not always be able to consent to this immediately upon entry, depending on their mental status at the time. Testing and vaccination should again be offered to patients upon discharge and ensure appropriate psychiatric and medical follow-up. We note that vaccinations are not an instantaneous solution as significant efficacy takes up to two weeks, but given the large rate of return to both our as well as other outpatient/inpatient facilities signifies the important opportunity for public health that will help these individuals as well as those who care for them. Moreover, providers also require adequate testing, and health care workplaces either need to be provided an adequate number of COVID-19 tests to keep their workers safe during surges, or there must be a consideration of the types of tests that are adequate for confirming COVID-19 infection and safely returning to work. Reliable telehealth services should be available to mitigate the mental health burden and social isolation of exposed/infected patients and to lessen the burden on the health care system in cases where health care providers have been infected or exposed and are temporarily unable to see patients in person. The authors thank Dr. Mahreen Raza, the psychiatrist in the Mount Sinai Campus of St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, for valuable discussion and comments on this case. Anoush Calikyan. Hank Weinstock, and Ania Poteraj are medical students. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 40 Shares Share A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com. Approximately 30 percent of the worlds population reports living with some form of pain, ranging from headaches to joint pain to cancer-related pain. Unfortunately, pain medicine expertise and the medications and non-drug therapies available to relieve pain are not as widely distributed as the populations that require care. Additionally, many are economically and socially disadvantaged, compounded by the impact of health care disparities due to gender, race, religion, education, identity, etc. I have had the enormous privilege of going on several mission trips. It has been one of the great joys of my life. These trips have taken me to three African countries, Haiti, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and Guyana, and each trip has impacted my life in its own unique way. However, the trips with a medical focus have pulled on my heartstrings the most. In September 2017, I traveled with a medical care team to a remote village in Zimbabwe. The plan for our mission trip was multifold to provide medical care to the people in the village as well as determine the needs for the school we were using as the base for our clinic. Getting to our location was an adventure in itself. The team landed in South Africa, and after a brief rest, we began our drive to Zimbabwe, which was planned for nine hours, but ended up taking 16 hours and included a border crossing in the middle of the night. Once we finally made it to Zimbabwe, we shopped for the few essentials we would need for our remote location and headed out. When we arrived at our location, it was a culture shock for the team. There was no electricity, no running water, and no indoor plumbing. Not to be deterred, our team focused on the work ahead and set up our clinic. Over the next two days, we had about 300 clinic visits, many of which were women and children. About halfway through my first day of clinic, I noticed a recurring theme. Many of the women shared the same diagnosis: severe hypertension, with some having systolic pressure higher than 200; arthritis with related pain in the knees, hips, cervical and lumbar spine; and myofascial pain, with such significant muscle spasms it was surprising to me that our patients were still fully functional. To place everything in context, the women in this village spent a significant portion of their day carrying heavy loads (such as water) on their heads while often carrying an infant or two. The demand for simple drugs like acetaminophen and ibuprofen was high, with many patients returning for repeat visits and reporting different symptoms in order to obtain medication. I wanted to do more as a board-certified anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist. I wanted to function as I did at home. If only I had the resources, I could provide many of the joint blocks or nerve blocks we give to our patients at home. However, I had to come to the heartbreaking realization that providing a single injection would do exactly what I wanted it to relieve the immediate pain but what would happen when the pain returned? The chances of these patients receiving follow-up and continued treatment were nil. Our only option was to give them pain medications with instructions written by our translator and weigh the risks of providing NSAIDs in the setting of severe compensated hypertension (patients were completely asymptomatic in the setting of blood pressure > 200/100). As pain medicine providers, we practice in a country that affords us the resources and equipment to appropriately take care of our patients. September is Pain Awareness Month when Im reminded of how thankful I am for the opportunity to give back to countries where resources are inaccessible or equally accessible to those living in pain. Giving back is one of the most meaningful things we can do, and one way to do that is to get involved in a volunteer medical mission. While technology, equipment, and certain medications may not be accessible, you can still make a significant impact in the life of someone suffering from chronic pain, such as with basic anatomically-guided injections and over-the-counter pain relievers we often take for granted, such as acetaminophen and NSAIDs. Educating and equipping the next generation of physician leaders in low- and middle-lower income countries with the proper skills and tools is equally important. For example, programs like the American Society of Anesthesiologists Charitable Foundations Global Scholars Program provide the opportunity for physicians in the U.S. to support the education, clinical experience, and professional development of physicians from other areas of the world. These programs ultimately help physicians learn the skills needed to provide patients with the effective and continued treatments they so willingly deserve. In October, ASA will host 15 global scholars from Ethiopia, Cambodia, Niger, Indonesia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda in New Orleans for them to participate in continuing medical education courses as well as join observerships at University Medical Hospital New Orleans, Ochsner Health System, and Tulane Medical Center before they return to their home countries. Donna-Ann Thomas is an anesthesiologist. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Currently, U.S. officials are considering expanding eligibility for the monkeypox vaccine. Yet, elsewhere, people are still struggling to get access to the COVID-19 vaccine. In many low-income countries, less than half of the population is fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus sometimes far fewer. In Haiti, for instance, only 1.4 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated, and only 2.2 percent have received a single dose. Currently, there are ten other countries wherein 10 percent or less of the public has received a full course of the vaccine. In those countries, COVID-19 is far from over. As someone who has studied the racial and cross-national impacts of COVID-19 since its start, I know quite well that this disparity reflects, among many things, the inequalities and injustices in vaccine distribution worldwide. Indeed, by the end of 2020, the U.S., U.K., and Australia had already preordered enough vaccine doses to inoculate their entire populations twice over. Canada preordered enough to vaccinate 500 percent of its population. Not only did these countries purchase more doses than needed, but they also took additional steps to safeguard their interests. For instance, the U.K., European Union, and initially the U.S. vehemently resisted bids by India and South Africa to suspend patents and intellectual property rights related to the production of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. This waiver would have made it easier for poorer countries to affordably produce their own vaccine doses. Wealthy countries objected. They argued that the waiver would stymie any future vaccine development that may be needed if new vaccine-resistant variants emerged. While the U.S. eventually changed course and began supporting the waiver, they nevertheless continued to enforce export bans on raw materials necessary for global vaccine production. Instead of a public good, this vaccine nationalism transformed a life-saving treatment into another symbol of the great divide between the haves and the have-nots so much for COVID-19 being the great equalizer. I emphasize this disparity to highlight that the sense of comfort and relief many U.S.-Americans feel is predicated on the continual suffering of millions of people worldwide. And to be clear, there are still vaccine disparities within the U.S.; most notably, rural areas continue to report fewer vaccination rates as well as higher incidence and mortality rates compared to urban communities. Unlike many of us, people in low-income countries lack the luxury of being able to decide that they are over the pandemic because social distancing is inconvenient, and masks are uncomfortable. They cannot simply shift focus to the next big thing. Yet, our comfort and their pain are interconnected. While we rush to leave COVID-19 behind us, it continues to threaten the health and livelihoods of the global underclass. Indeed, the more complacent we become, the more we become an ideal place for new variants to emerge variants that will inevitably make their way overseas. At the same time, this also facilitates the spread of other infectious diseases like monkeypox. As former U.S. Surgeon General Antonia Novello wrote, a virus doesnt require a passport. Pandemics are fundamentally global events, but far too many of us are being driven by our basest individualistic desires. We must recognize our privilege, and in doing so, we must work harder to provide relief to other countries. This can take many forms from raising awareness to participating in new vaccine trials to donating to medical and humanitarian organizations actively engaged in those regions (e.g., Doctors Without Borders) to protesting that the Biden Administration and Congress contribute more funding to COVAX, the World Health Organizations global initiative to address vaccine disparities in poor countries. At a minimum, however, it requires that we continue to take the pandemic seriously. COVID-19 is not over, but we can change that. Jordan Liz is a philosophy assistant professor. Image credit: Shutterstock.com A powerful and thought-provoking exhibition opened at MacDonagh Junction on Culture Night and runs until the end of November. Resilience is the final exhibition in the Emerging Curator Programme and is curated by Sinead Keogh. Resilience is a statement. A statement of supporting women, supporting artists and supporting the community. Resilience examines the complexity and strength of the human condition in the face of adversity and how it prevails. Experiencing the multifarious layers of stamina and understanding, each work and engagement examines the different ways in which women have overcome obstacles and societal oppression. The artists in this exhibition are Kilkenny artist Breda Lynch, feminist artist Sarah Browne and a special artistic collaboration with Amber Womens Refuge. The exhibition was launched by Mayor of Kilkenny David Fitzgerald and runs at Unit 28 at MacDonagh Junction until October 10 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 5pm. Additional strands to the Resilience educational programme include; an additional exhibition display with Amber Womens Refuge at The Window Gallery on Johns Green Lane (September 23 to October 22) and an online audio tour. There will also be a panel discussion on October 1 from 12 to 1pm at the Butler Gallery with Mary Butler Kilkenny Arts Officer; Joanna Cunningham Director of The Watergate Theatre; Siobhan McQuillan of Amber Womens Refuge; Mary O Hallrahan of The Kilkenny Womens Group and artist Breda Lynch. A talk by Survivors of Symphysiotomy at The Watergate Theatre will take place on October 16 from 12 1pm. SOS, or Survivors of Symphysiotomy, is an Irish membership group consisting of survivors of the symphysiotomy surgery and families of those who have undergone the procedure. The unfunded organisation campaigns for justice to those who have suffered from the surgical procedure which they needlessly endured. A talk on the groups work will be delivered by Chair Marie OConnor. Artists featuring in the exhibition include Sarah Browne who work is concerned with spoken and unspoken, bodily experiences of knowledge, labour and justice. Her practice involves sculpture, film, performance and public projects, often in collaboration with others. Work by Kilkenny native Breda Lynch also features in the exhibition. Breda also works as a full-time lecturer in Fine Art at Limerick School of Art and Design he holds a BA Degree in Fine Art Print at Crawford College of Art, an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art and Design, London and an MPhil in Fine Art Print and Digital Media from the University of Wolverhampton. Breda is a visual artist working in a variety of media, including drawing, photography, print and digital media, video and installation. She engages with dialogues and discourses on queer feminisms, the western mystery tradition and occulture, appropriation and the economy of the image. Lynch has exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions in Ireland and abroad. A recipient of several awards and residencies, Lynch work was recently purchased by the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Arts Council of Ireland. for their permanent collections. Active Connections and Teac Tom are hosting a unique fundraising event in Ballykeefe - a sponsored abseil at Ballykeefe Quarry on October 27. They are encouraging you to take the leap of abseiling down 40ft in support of two South East mental health charities. Young and old are invited to take part, whether as a group of friends, colleagues or just solo, by yourself. Teac Toms mission as a community and voluntary charity is to provide affordable and immediate services to help those struggling with their mental health or who have been bereaved by suicide. The organisation is based in Kilkenny city with a second centre in Stradbally, Co. Laois. Teac Tom receives no government funding to provide these vital services. Without the generosity and support of individuals, businesses and the wider community they would not be able to keep their doors open. The charity relies on the generosity of the public to fundraise for their very important work. All money that is donated through fundraisers such as the Ballykeefe event goes towards covering the counselling and operating costs of their centres. Active Connections provide Irelands leading adventure therapy service. They work with over 400 people each year transforming lives through adventure. Active Connections want activity based therapies to be an option for all who experience emotional difficulties. Active Connections CLG aims to have adventure therapy as an option for all people in need, and at risk in the country. Created in April 2011 Active Connections CLG is a not for profit company working with young people with behavioural difficulties. Active Connections is leading the charge of introducing adventure therapy based programmes in Ireland. Since inception they have worked in partnership with statutory and non-statutory agencies, delivering programmes to young people and their families in the regions of Dublin, Cork, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, and Waterford. The fundraising event will take place at Ballykeefe Quarry-Amphitheatre (15 min outside of Kilkenny City) on October 27. It will start at 11.00 with the last abseiler taking off at 18.30. Sponsorship cards can be downloaded from www.activeconnections.ie or via the event idonate page https://www.activeconnections.iregister.ie/ Local Ireland, the association representing 32 weekly paid-for newspapers around the country, has welcomed todays decision by the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe to remove VAT on newspapers. President of Local Ireland Declan McGuire said: This is a very important move for news publishers. Zero per cent VAT will allow local newspapers around Ireland to invest in journalism and in the transition to new digital business models. News publishers have faced a series of major challenges over recent years, most recently the huge increases in the cost of newsprint. This move will help support jobs in the industry and sustain the quality of our service to readers. We very much appreciate this endorsement by Government for the valuable role we play in our communities and the public service content we provide. "I would like to thank the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure and all the Ministers, TDs and Senators from across the political spectrum who have given their support to our campaign to end VAT on journalism. Executive Director of Local Ireland Bob Hughes said: Local news publishers are the lifeblood of the communities they serve. Along with our national colleagues represented by NewsBrands Ireland, we play a vital role in Irelands democracy. Todays decision will protect the future of trusted, professional journalism in Ireland against the tide of global disinformation that threatens to undermine healthy democratic debate and analysis. Iconic Media Group and The Mayo News have announced that agreement in principle, subject to normal regulatory approvals and clearance, has been reached to purchase the Westport-based local newspaper. The Mayo News is one of the longest established newspapers in the country, having been established in 1892. The paper has a proud history of serving the local community with its efforts being recognised by a host of awards including the prestigious European Local Newspaper of The Year prize twice, in 2007 and 2014. The paper had been in the ownership of Joseph Berry since the late 80s until his passing in 2004, when his son Dermot Berry took over. This was a difficult decision for me but ultimately in the current environment I feel that the future of the paper and the fantastic staff will be better served by being part of a larger publishing group with the resources to take the brand forward," said Managing Director Dermot Berry . "I have been impressed by the progress that Iconic have made over the last few years, especially with digital, so I feel that its going to a good home. I would like to express my thanks to all of the staff that have done such a brilliant job over the years, I feel confident that they will find an environment in which they can develop and flourish with Iconic. Iconic Media Groups Malcolm Denmark said: Im looking forward to welcoming The Mayo News to the Iconic family. It will be an honour to take over the stewardship of such a quality title, and one that fits our publishing ethos. We look forward to providing more news content to the Mayo community. We have exciting plans for the future of both the newspaper and website." The final day of voting was taking place in Russian-held regions of Ukraine on Tuesday in a referendum that is expected to serve as a pretext for their annexation by Moscow but which has been rejected as a sham by Kyiv and its western allies. As the vote was nearing its end, a senior Kremlin official issued the bluntest warning yet that Russia is prepared to use nuclear weapons to halt a Ukrainian push to reclaim Russia-occupied areas. The five-day vote, in which residents are asked whether they want their regions to become part of Russia, has been anything but free or fair. Tens of thousands of residents had already fled the regions amid the war, and images shared by those who remained showed armed Russian troops going door to door to pressure Ukrainians into voting. The Kremlin is expected to move immediately to absorb the regions once the voting is over, with President Vladimir Putin expected to declare their incorporation into Russia later this week. Russian media also speculated that Mr Putin may follow up on last weeks order of partial mobilisation by declaring martial law and shutting the nations borders for all men of fighting age. The mobilisation has triggered a massive exodus of men from the country, fuelled protests in many regions across Russia and sparked occasional acts of violence. On Monday, a gunman opened fire in an enlistment office in a Siberian city and wounded the chief military recruitment officer. The shooting came after scattered arson attacks on enlistment offices. In the latest move to stem the tide of men fleeing Russia to avoid mobilisation, Russian officials declared plans to set up a military recruitment office right on the border with Georgia, one of the main routes of the exodus. And trying to assuage public outrage, numerous Russian officials and politicians have acknowledged that mistakes were made during the mobilisation when military conscription offices were rounding up random people without military experience who were not supposed to be called up and promised to quickly correct them. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday once again called the Russian mobilisation as nothing more than an attempt to provide commanders on the ground with a constant stream of cannon fodder. Mr Zelensky said the Ukrainian military will attack efforts to take back the entire territory of Ukraine, and has drawn up plans to counter new types of weapons used by Russia. Mr Putin has warned that once the Russia-held regions are absorbed, Moscow will defend its territory with all available means, including nuclear weapons, raising fears of a sharp escalation of the seven-month conflict. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russias security council, chaired by Mr Putin, spelled out the threat on Tuesday in the bluntest terms yet, reaffirming that Moscow could use nuclear weapons against Ukraine if it sees a threat posed by it as too high. Mr Medvedev said the US and its Nato allies understand that if a threat to Russia raises above a certain limit of danger, we will have to respond without asking anyones consent and holding long consultations. And its certainly not a bluff, he added. Mr Medvedev said the US and its Nato allies would not dare to use nuclear weapons against Russia even if it makes a nuclear strike on Ukraine. Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, said Russia would pay a high, if unspecified, price if it made good on veiled threats to use nuclear weapons. If Russia crosses this line, there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia. The United States will respond decisively, he told NBC. Even as the voting has continued in Russia-held areas, Russian forces have kept up their strikes across Ukraine. Overnight, Russian missile attacks targeted the southern areas of Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv, damaging residential buildings and other sites, officials said. A frenetic energy returned to Irelands lower parliament as TDs, and some Government senators, spilled into the chamber to hear Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe pitch his cost-of-living Budget for next year. Some TDs highlighted their notes as senior government figures took their seats, with Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald charging into the chamber to take her place opposite the Taoiseach Micheal Martin. As Mr Donohoe rose to his feet, sporting a forest-green tie, copies of the hefty Budget 2023 booklet were passed around the chamber along with a copy of his speech. With most of the major budgetary measures already reported in some cases all but confirmed by Government ministers during media interviews moments of shock from the opposition benches were few and far between. A levy on concrete products to pay for a redress scheme for those affected by defective materials used to build their homes prompted a murmur from the opposition benches, with Sinn Fein housing spokesperson Eoin O Broin leaning over to confer with finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty. With excises on alcohol par for the course in past budgets, there were smiles as a 50% excise relief for small, independent cider producers was announced including from Mr Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar. There was a clap and cheer from Government senators seated at the back of the chamber at the announcement of a zero VAT rate on hormone replacement therapies and a small number of period products that had previously been subjected to a 9% VAT rate. Grumbles at the mention of the carbon tax was the only measure to elicit a response from the Rural Independents apart from the stray Nokia ringtone. The beaming Higher Education Minister Simon Harris and a contented Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys chatted happily throughout the speeches. Mr Harriss good mood was only broken when Mr Doherty, while delivering his budgetary response, argued that the Governments plan to reduce third-level contribution fees by 1,000 euros did not go far enough as it was only a one-off measure. The minister seemed to mutter in reply that fees in Northern Ireland are higher. As Mr Donohoe sat back at the conclusion of his speech, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath rose to his feet a preview of the rotation of their positions due to take place later this year. Mr McGrath began addressing the Dail and Mrs McDonald pointed out the third last line of Mr McGraths speech to her Sinn Fein colleagues a quote from the Irish poet Seamus Heaney about hope. By the time Mr McGrath was halfway through his speech, the opposition was preparing for its retort. Mr O Broin typed, highlighted and scribbled notes, and Government backbenchers congratulated their colleagues as measures were announced, with shouts of Well done Norma and Well done Jack. Mr Doherty began his response by arguing that households need certainty, that those earning less than 35,000 euros should have been prioritised, and that price caps on energy bills should have been introduced, as has been done in other parts of Europe. Follow the Tories? Fianna Fail TD Cathal Crowe shouted, with his colleague Paul McAuliffe joining in a similar jibe. Tut-tuts and objections come from the Sinn Fein benches before Mr McAuliffe promptly exited the Dail chamber, to join the other ministers and TDs who left for the post-budgetary briefings, interviews and reactions. British young man aspires to become envoy of UK-China friendship 09:23, September 27, 2022 By Xing Xue ( People's Daily Cameron Patterson, a young man from the UK, had just joined the Confucius Institute at Lancaster University when he received this interview from People's Daily. Cameron Patterson attends the UKs regional final of the 21st Chinese Bridge language competition for foreign college students as a judge, June 29, 2022. (People's Daily/Xing Xue) "Affirmed and encouraged by President Xi Jinping, I have always been working hard at my Chinese studies and actively participating in the UK-China cooperation on culture, people-to-people exchanges and education," Patterson told People's Daily in affluent Chinese. The man, who names himself "Kang Ke" in Chinese, said he hopes to serve as a bridge between the British and the Chinese people. Oct. 22, 2015, is an unforgettable day for Patterson, who was a 20-year-old then. On that day, Chinese President Xi Jinping, on his state visit to the UK, attended the opening ceremony of the UK Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms Annual Conference. At the opening ceremony, Patterson, as the European Champion in the 2015 Chinese Bridge language competition for foreign college students, recited a poem authored by the Chinese President in 1990 in memory of Jiao Yulu, a long-deceased revolutionary icon of China. Today, the British young man still remembers every detail of the scenes seven years ago - the fully packed conference hall and the excitement of attending students and faculty. "I was very excited and too nervous to even raise my head and look at President Xi when I recited, but I somehow felt he was watching me with a smile on his face," Patterson recalled. "Ten thousand miles away, your soul has flown; the rivers, mountains and land yearn for your return. The people mourn the loss of a caring official, tears flooding under the empress trees you planted," Patterson recited emotionally with clear pronunciation and great intonation, and left the stage to prolonged applause. Xi praised Patterson, "His Mandarin is very good, better than many in my delegation, and he recites the poem better than I could." Encouraged by the Chinese President, Patterson noted down Xi's comments and posted them on the microblogging site Weibo. He wrote in Chinese, "My recitation today went well. I was very happy to hear President Xi's praise." At the opening ceremony, President Xi stressed that language is the key to understanding a nation and that Confucius Institutes serve as an important platform to help the world understand China, Patterson remembered. Xi also pointed out that the way of thinking and lifestyles in China and the UK were experiencing wonderful chemistry triggered by the interaction between the essences of the two cultures. "President Xi's remarks inspired me so much. As a former student and a teacher today of the Confucius Institute, I'm extremely honored to be able to contribute to UK-China cultural and people-to-people exchanges," Patterson said. Patterson has a special bond with China. He came to China at the age of nine with his parents and didn't go back home until he finished middle school In China's Shanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces, he went to the same schools as Chinese children, where he gained a profound understanding of Chinese society through a number of touching stories about the endeavors of the Chinese people. "When I was in middle school in China, my classmates and I were assigned a task by our teacher that required us to learn the stories of Jiao Yulu. I consulted many materials about him and was deeply touched by his love for the people, his hard work, his truth-seeking spirit, and his selfless dedication," Patterson noted. He said he had a deeper understanding of Xi's care for the people when he recited the Chinese President's poem about the revolutionary icon at the opening ceremony. "Only those who always bear in mind the people can write a poem like that," Patterson told People's Daily. Civilizations have become richer and more colorful through exchanges and mutual learning. Patterson said that Xi would always stress the significance of people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations when he visits other countries. Only with exchanges, can people-to-people bonds be established and civilizations learn from each other for common development. "I was told by many British beginners in learning Chinese that they had a great feeling of being close to China when they recited the poem of Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again in Chinese for the first time, when they wrote their Chinese names with an ink brush for the first time, and when they talked to their friends in Chinese for the first time," Patterson said. "I will present the profound Chinese culture and its aesthetic conception to more British students and introduce China's development to more people in the classes of the Confucius Institute, and become an envoy of the friendship between the UK and China." he said. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) HUMAN rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa and Tawanda Nyambirais law firm has issued summons to former clerk, Tendayi Satarawu Murambiza who admitted to embezzling US$128 000 from the law firm. Murambiza had allegedly promised to reimburse the funds before he became evasive. In their application at the High Court, the applicants, Mtetwa, Nyambirai, Mzokuthula Mbuyisa and Douglas Coltart cited Murambiza, Perpetua Shora and Cade Shonhiwa Zvavanjanja as respondents. It is alleged that sometime in February, this year, Murambiza was charged with theft of US$128 000 from the law firms trust account. He signed an agreement acknowledging liability, which then prompted the law firm to withdraw the charges against him. He pledged to surrender various assets to the law firm, a property in Kambuzuma, unfinished house in Domboshawa, two vehicles, 43 heads of cattle and US$15 210. He authorised the lawyers to sell the assets. However, after a buyer was found for the Kambuzuma property, Murambiza refused to co-operate and wrote to the Registrar of Deeds March 11, 2022 advising that his property had been advertised for sale without his knowledge. This prompted the law firm to issue summons for Murambiza and his wife who had guaranteed the repayment of the debt. They are defending the summons despite having told the Law Society of Zimbabwe, through an affidavit that they were admitting liability for the missing funds. In another affidavit, Murambiza told the High Court that the law firm is fighting over US$57 000 found in a safe after former professional associate Mark Rujuwa had claimed to have left the money with him for safekeeping without the partners knowledge. The law firm submitted that Murambizas characterisation of attempts to sell the Kambuzuma property as fraudulent came as a surprise as they had applied for a summary judgment, which is a procedure whereby a litigant is allowed to get a judgment without giving oral evidence. The matter is pending before the High Court. Newsday A search of state records shows Young Expressions Childcare has had several complaints and violations over the years. While most ticks reproduce traditionally, female Longhorned ticks can lay thousands of eggs without the help of a male, which makes it easier for them to quickly establish in new areas. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Dr. Sherry Grate, vice president of Community Impact Investing for Ambassador Enterprises, addresses members of the Northeast Indiana Regional Early Childhood Coalition at a Strategic Doing event on Sept. 14 in Auburn. A crew from the Fort Wayne area leaves for Florida to help with eventual restoration efforts from Hurricane Ian on Tuesday morning. More than 350 employees from I&M headed to Florida to help with the hurricane restoration effort. State Rep. Martin Carbaugh, right, presents a Sagamore of the Wabash award to former U.S. Rep. Mark Souder earlier this year. Souder passed away Monday morning of pancreatic cancer. Carbaugh nominated Souder for the recognition by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and delivered it to Souders home in Fort Wayne. Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 27 (ANI/PRNewswire): Paco Rabanne is delighted to introduce Elle Fanning as the brand ambassador for its new feminine fragrance, FAME. Playful. Sensual. Empowered. Irresistibly Parisian. She's an icon. She's a star. She's FAME, the covetable new feminine fragrance by Paco Rabanne. A future classic, this 90 per cent of natural origin fragrance matches airy jasmine, succulent mango and addictive incense. Its ultra-desirable bottle reprises the brand's iconic chainmail dress. The quintessence of avant-garde luxury. Also Read | #UPDATE | 30 People Have Been Arrested, Says Delhi Police Joint Raids by a Central Latest Tweet by ANI. To bring FAME to life, Paco Rabanne has called on the American film and television star Elle Fanning as the ambassador of the new fragrance. One of the most exciting young actors of her generation, Fanning has revealed the many facets of her persona in films such as Nicolas Winding Refn's The Neon Demon (2016), Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled (2017), and Max Minghella's Teen Spirit (2018). Already a seasoned actor at the age of 21, Fanning became the youngest Cannes Festival juror in history. More recently, she has starred in the Hulu drama miniseries The Girl from Plainville and in the Golden Globe-nominated series The Great, where she embodies one of the greatest female rulers in history: Empress Catherine II. Also Read | Bangladesh: Boat Capsizes in Karatoya River in Panchagarh, 51 Killed; Several Still Missing. A true icon for today's fashion-forward, connected, ultra-creative young women, Elle Fanning joins a glamorous line of Paco Rabanne muses. Think Jane Fonda as Barbarella. Audrey Hepburn in Two for the Road. Brigitte Bardot in glittering chainmail. Francoise Hardy in a mini-dress assembled from gold plates inlaid with diamonds. A glittering legacy of avant-garde icons the playful, sensual star channels to perfection for Paco Rabanne. "I am thrilled to be an ambassador of a brand as iconic as Paco Rabanne. I was completely taken by the concept, and felt like it was a perfect fit and really reflects my personality. Being part of this new chapter was an immediate yes!" expresses Elle Fanning. "Multifaceted and multitalented, Elle Fanning couldn't be a better choice as the face of FAME," says, Paco Rabanne Vice President Jerome Leloup. "She embodies the very essence of Paco Rabanne's ultramodern femininity, and we are very happy to have her as the ambassador for our new fragrance." FAME Eau de Parfum will be available as of October 1st, 2022, at Parcos Stores, parcos.com, and at all other leading retailers across India. IN 1984, Hemansu Kotecha founded Baccarose and soon began making inroads into the burgeoning Indian beauty industry. With an unparalleled understanding of local customer preferences and a prized operational nous, Baccarose today is a leader in the distribution of international luxury beauty brands in India. The core mission & vision of the company is to be the leading authority in the Indian luxury Beauty market and undisputed partner-of-choice for leading international brands. To build the Luxury Beauty business in India, establish our partner luxury brands as preferred choices for consumers/retailers and bring an international shopping experience to consumers in India. This story has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content in 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) New Delhi [India], September 27 (ANI/PRNewswire): Happily Insured is a comprehensive guidebook, covering all insurance needs (including those that are never imagined), providing the security and confidence to lead a happily insured life. "Kapil Mehta has written what can only be called the Ultimate Almanac of Insurance for India. It is an essential toolkit for navigating the tough course of choosing, buying, maintaining and possibly using an insurance cover. Insurance is a dry and tedious subject, but Kapil makes it come alive with stories of real people. Few people in the financial sector see the human being the products are supposed to work for, but this book puts the individual at the centre of the story, as it should be," said Monika Halan, author of Let's Talk Money. Also Read | Navratri 2022 Day 3 Colour Royal Blue: Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone Teach You How to Slay in this Colour. Author Kapil Mehta, says, "Insurance is an absolutely essential product to manage the immense risks we face. I wrote this book to make readers aware of their risks but equally important explain the core principles to think about when buying insurance. I've shared many personal stories to bring these principles to life and to make insurance decisions simpler for the reader." Sachin Sharma, Executive Editor, says, "Happily Insured is the most comprehensive book on insurance written from a customer's perspective. Kapil Mehta's expertise in insurance serves as a masterclass for everyone who needs insurance. Read this book to discover the confidence and security you need for a truly happily insured life." Also Read | Rabi Ul Awwal 2022 Moon Sighting in India Live News Updates: Announcement on Rabi Al-Awwal Crescent Shortly. ABOUT THE BOOK The Secret Behind Every Assured Smile We face risks without realizing their enormity -- death, accidents, ill-health, burglaries, earthquakes, riots, fires and storms. Additional risks, such as Covid, come about with alarming irregularity to disrupt our lives. Look around and you will see many examples of the deep impact these risks can have. A wage earner's premature death can put paid to their children's education; chemotherapy can eat up your life's savings; an illness when overseas can leave you confused about how to get treated; heavy rains can flood your home; and an accident can cause litigation. The right insurance coverage provides the most effective tool to deal with such adversities. However, in the age of vested interest-driven mis-selling, understanding and buying the right insurance is tricky. In the absence of expertise, we often turn to friends, colleagues and Google for advice only to end up buying ineffective insurance plans. With his rich experience in insurance, Kapil Mehta shines a light on the many risks you face and provides an easy-to-understand, thoughtful approach to addressing those. The result is a book that is comprehensive, covering all your insurance needs (including those that you never imagined) and provides you the security and confidence you need to face the future -- confidence, which is the secret to leading a happily insured life. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kapil Mehta is the co-founder of SecureNow, an award-winning insurance broking firm that uses technology-based distribution to sell commercial insurances to MSMEs in India. Kapil writes regularly in the media, specifically on matters that impact policyholders. He has been a director of the Insurance Brokers Association of India, is a policyholder representative on the Policyholder Protection Board Subcommittee of a life insurer and on the SME advisory board of a leading general insurer. He is also active in several industry associations and is a charter member of TiE. PRAISE FOR THE BOOK "Insurance will never feel complex again. A book written with expert insight and a human touch. Reading this book feels like getting the right advice from a trusted friend," said Rashmi Bansal, author of Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish. "Having worked in the industry as a manufacturer, a seller, and eventually as a customer's representative, Kapil Mehta is an industry insider with a ringside view of how things work in insurance. His understanding of how to navigate the complex -- yet an extremely necessary -- web of insurance is visible in this book. Readers will immensely benefit from Happily Insured," said Kayezad E. Adajania, head of personal finance at Moneycontrol. HarperCollins India publishes some of the finest writers from the Indian Subcontinent and around the world, publishing approximately 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalogue of more than 2,000 titles across 10 imprints. Its authors have won almost every major literary award including the Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Award, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Award, Publishing Next Award, Tata Literature Live! Award, Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India also represents some of the finest publishers in the world including Harvard University Press, Gallup Press, Oneworld, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover and Lonely Planet. HarperCollins India is now the recipient of five Publisher of the Year Awards - In 2021 and 2015 at the Publishing Next Industry Awards, and in 2021, 2018 and 2016 at Tata Literature Live. HarperCollins India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers. For reviews, excerpts, interviews, and more information, please contact Vandana Rathore atvandana.rathore@harpercollins.co.in This story has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content in 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) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 27 (ANI): The amalgamation of seven business units of Tata Group with Tata Steel will help reduce costs and won't have any material impact on the company's credit profile, CreditSights, part of the rating agency Fitch, said in a report on Tuesday. We do not anticipate the amalgamation to have a material impact on Tata's credit profile. Of the seven amalgamated entities, all but TRF's financials are already consolidated into Tata's, since they are its majority-owned subsidiaries, CreditSights said in a report. Also Read | A Tale of Two Cities as Londoners Mourn, Tourists Cheer Pounds Slide Latest Tweet by Reuters. Seeing that TRF's EBITDA is relatively miniscule (FY22: INR 0.13 bn vs. Tata's INR 651 bn), we expect Tata's EBITDA to remain unchanged post TRF's consolidation (assuming Tata's stake exceeds 50 per cent). Also, the payment consideration for the major amalgamations is equity through share swaps (only ISWIP involves a cash payment of Rs 127 million, which is immaterial) and is not additional debt or cash payments. Thus, we expect Tata's pro-forma net leverage to remain unchanged post-transaction (end-FY22: 0.9x), the rating agency said. The Board of Directors of Tata Steel at its meeting held on September 22, 2022 approved amalgamation of seven business units. Also Read | GitHub for Startups Developer Platform Now Available in India. The units that will be merged with Tata Steel include Tata Steel Long Products Limited, Tinplate Company of India Limited, Tata Metaliks Limited, TRF Limited, The Indian Steel & Wire Products Limited, Tata Steel Mining Limited, and S & T Mining Company Limited. We view the proposed amalgamation as another positive step taken by Tata to simplify its extensive corporate structure. The company has been streamlining its corporate structure since 2019, and has reduced 116 associated entities to date. In turn, we expect the amalgamation to drive sharper management oversight and a more cohesive group strategic direction, CreditSights said. We also anticipate Tata to leverage a more vertically integrated structure, as the deal would place key downstream units TSLP, TCIL and TML under Tata, while retaining full control over its upstream mining units, TSML and STML. While the amalgamation constitutes a related party transaction, Tata affirmed that due process was followed to arrive at the fair valuation of the target companies and that the consideration was determined on an arm's length basis, it said. Management estimates Tata to enjoy Rs 10-15 billion of synergies annually from the deal, which we think largely relates to cost savings. Management shared that only coking coal is procured centrally while other raw materials are procured at the individual business units. Thus, the amalgamation would likely allow for pooled sourcing of raw materials, which could lower group procurement costs, the ratings agency said. We also expect Tata to derive some synergies across its sales and marketing functions. Set against a backdrop of global slowdown concerns and falling steel prices, we see this deal as a form of prudent financial cost management by the company, it 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) Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], September 27 (ANI): Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited (Torrent Pharma) on Tuesday said it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 100 per cent stake in Curatio Healthcare for Rs 2,000 crore. The consideration includes Rs 115 crore (on the date of signing) of cash and cash equivalents in the acquired business indicating an Enterprise Value of Rs 1,885 crore. Also Read | The Worlds Richest Man #ElonMusk Was Busy Texting #Oracle Chairman and CTO Latest Tweet by IANS India. "The transaction is subject to conditions precedent and is expected to close within one month," Torrent Pharma said in a statement. Curatio has a strong presence in the cosmetic dermatology segment with a portfolio of over 50 brands, marketed in India. Curatio's portfolio consists of leading brands such as Tedibar, Atogla, Spoo, B4 Nappi, and Permite, which are ranked among the top 5 brands in their covered market. Top ten brands of Curatio account for 75 per cent of total revenue. With this acquisition, Torrent Pharma will add a Field Force of 600 MRs and a distribution network of 900 stockists, Torrent Pharma said in a statement. Also Read | Argentina vs Jamaica, International Friendly 2022 Live Streaming & Match Time in IST: How to Watch Free Live Telecast of ARG vs JAM on TV & Free Online Stream Details of Football Match in India. Curatio's reported revenue for FY21-22 was Rs 224 crore. With YTD August sales up 25 per cent, Curatio is expected to cross Rs 275 crore revenue in FY23. Dermatology accounts for 82 per cent of Curatio's revenue. Within dermatology, cosmetic dermatology is a leading contributor. Over the last decade, cosmetic dermatology as therapy has delivered an 18 per cent CAGR which is 1.6x of the IPM CAGR. With this deal, Torrent Pharma will enter the league of top 10 players in the dermatology segment and will be the leader in the cosmetic dermatology space. Commenting on the acquisition, Aman Mehta, Director said "We are delighted to enter into this deal with Curatio. The acquisition offers Torrent the opportunity to enhance its presence in dermatology with a differentiated portfolio and is a strong strategic fit. Curatio has built a commendable set of high market share brands in cosmetic and pediatric dermatology that we look forward to adding to our product offerings." Sequoia, ChrysCapital and the Promotors of Curatio mentioned, "Over the last fifteen years, Curatio has built a strong portfolio of differentiated products in the derma segment that are very well received by doctors and patients. We believe Torrent is best suited to further catapult the business which we have built." (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Actor Alec Baldwin, who recently welcomed his seventh child with wife Hilaria Baldwin, expressed gratitude to his family for keeping him alive over the last year after the fallout of the accidental shooting on the set of Rust in October 2021. Alec alluded to the tragedy in an Instagram post Monday, Page Six reported. Netflix Buys Robert Downey Sr Documentary After Its World Premiere at the Telluride Film Festival. "My heart has been broken a thousand times this past year. And things in my life May never be the same," Alec wrote in the caption. "Lots of changes coming. But my family has kept me alive. They are my reason for living. And @hilariabaldwin, too," he continued, seemingly referring to the news he could face criminal charges in the shooting. Nikita Roy And The Book of Darkness: Its a Wrap for Sonakshi Sinha, Arjun Rampals Film in London. Alec's post featured several snaps of his growing brood of kids, including Carmen, 9, Rafael, 7, Leonardo, 5, Romeo, 4, Eduardo, 2, and Lucia, 1. "These kids. All of them born in 212. Same hospital. First four in the same room. Last three in the same, but different room," he added. As per Variety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation recently concluded the investigation into the Rust shooting and declared that the firearm that killed Hutchins could not have fired "without a pull of the trigger while the working internal components were intact and functional." Check Out Alec Baldwin Instagram Post Below: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alec Baldwin (@alecbaldwininsta) The FBI's conclusion didn't align with Baldwin's previous statements regarding the tragedy. The actor has maintained that he believes that he did not pull the trigger on the gun prior to it firing. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Thane, Sep 27 (PTI) As many as 52 new cases of coronavirus have been detected in Maharashtra's Thane district, taking its infection count to 7,44,873, a health official said on Tuesday. Also Read | Jharkhand Horror: Pregnant Woman Gangraped in Front of Husband in Palamu, Six Arrested. These new cases were reported on Monday, he said, adding that there are currently 420 active COVID-19 cases in the district, which is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Also Read | Delhi Rains: Yamuna River Flowing Above Danger Mark Due to Incessant Rainfall; Evacuation Begins. The death toll in Thane remained unchanged at 11,962. The recovery count has reached 7,33,223, the official said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Deoghar, Sept 27 (PTI) Six people were arrested in different cybercrime cases in Jharkhand's Deoghar district, police said on Tuesday. The arrests were made from Koriyasa in Town police station area, Murlipahadi village in Margomunda police station area, Baramsoli village in Palojori police station area and Choupa Mode in Mohanpur police station area, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Cyber) Sumit Prasad said. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi To Flag Off Vande Bharat Express During Gujarat Visit; To Lay Foundation Stones for Rs 29,000-Crore Projects. Fourteen mobile phones, 27 SIM cards, 13 ATM cards, two bank passbooks, two chequebooks and Rs 8,000 in cash were seized from them. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Malegaon, September 27: As the raids against the Popular Front of India are underway in various states of the country, including Maharashtra, the Nashik Police Crime Branch on Tuesday arrested the All India Imam Council's state chief Maulana Irfan Daulat Nadvi along with a member of the organisation. The raids are underway by the central agency and state anti-terror squad at various locations in the state including Thane, Nashik and Malegaon. "All India Imams Council state chief Maulana Irfan Daulat Nadvi and PFI member Rashid Shahdain Shaheed Iqbal taken into custody by Nashik Police Crime Branch u/s 151 late last night," said Police Inspector Hemant Patil on Tuesday. "Around 40 people linked to PFI have been detained from Aurangabad, Solapur, Amravati, Pune, Thane and Mumbai so far. This entire operation has been carried out by the state's local police with inputs from a Central Agency. All inquiries are underway," said Maharashtra Police. Malegaon: Imams Council Chief, PFI Activist Detained by Nashik Crime Branch in Fresh Crackdown on Popular Front of India in Maharashtra. Pune Police officials informed that the police detained six persons with links to SDPI and PFI from the Kondhwa area today morning. Further details are awaited. The raids are also being conducted in five other states and Union Territories which include Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. As many as 25 PFI leaders and members have been arrested so far in the raids in Assam's Kamrup Rural (5), Goalpara (10), Karimganj (1), Udalguri (1), Darrang (1), Dhubri (3), Barpeta (2), Baksa (2). Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the operation against the organisation will be intensified. "Today in Assam, we have picked up 25 PFI people. This operation will be intensified," he said. Earlier today, in state-wide raids in Karnataka, about 80 to 90 PFI workers of its political wing Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and leaders were taken into preventive custody, informed a police official. "About 80 to 90 PFI and SDPI workers and leaders have been taken into preventive custody, including the SDPI Yadgiri district president. The police raids are underway across the state. The cases have been booked under sections 108, 151 CrPC," said Alok Kumar, ADGP Law and Order, Bengaluru. According to the Kolar Police, seven PFI and SDPI members and office bearers have been picked up in the early morning raids and will be produced before the executive magistrate under 107 CrPC. The arrested persons have been identified as Imtiaz Ahmed, PFI district president, Siddiq Pasha, Vasim Pasha, AllaBakash, Nayaz Pasha, Shahabaz Pasha and Noor Pasha. Speaking to ANI, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said, "Police have caught 21 people (associated with PFI) from 8 districts. Links about them were found after the people who were arrested last week were interrogated". Today's raids were in continuation of the crackdown started by the NIA and ED against the PFI on September 22. PFI Crackdown: Raids Against Popular Front of India Underway in 6 States, 75 PFI and SDPI Workers Detained From Karnataka. The NIA had arrested over 106 members of the PFI during its largest-ever raids spread across 15 states. Searches were conducted at multiple locations in the largest ever investigation process till date. The operation started late in the night around 1 am and learnt to be concluded by 5 am involving over 1,500 personnel of state police, Central Armed Police Forces and officers of NIA and ED. Several incriminating documents, more than 100 mobile phones, laptops and other materials have been seized by the raiding teams. These searches were conducted at the residential and official premises of persons involved in "funding terrorism, organising training camps and radicalising people to join proscribed organisations". The PFI was launched in Kerala in 2006 after merging three Muslim organizations floated after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 - the National Development Front of Kerala, Karnataka Forum for Dignity and Manitha Neethi Pasari of Tamil Nadu. After the demolition of the Babri mosque, many fringe outfits had surfaced in south India and PFI was formed after merging some of them. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Ahmedabad, September 27: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will on Tuesday inaugurate and lay foundation stone of various projects in areas falling under his Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency. Shah is on a two-day Gujarat visit since Monday, ahead of the state Assembly elections due in December this year. On Tuesday, he will participate in the ground-breaking ceremony for an upcoming 750-bed hospital in Kalol town of Gandhinagar district. He will later inaugurate an underpass in Sector 15 of Gandhinagar city and also attend the ground-breaking ceremony for a new building of the Gujarat Technological University in Lekavada village of Gandhinagar district. Gujarat: Amit Shah Lauds PM Modi's Efforts in Making India 5th Largest Economy in the World. In the evening, Shah will visit his native Mansa town in Gandhinagar to take part in the 'aarti' at Bahuchar Mata Temple on the second day of Navratri. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Palghar, Sep 27 (PTI) Police have arrested an advocate and his wife for allegedly trying to kill a woman traffic constable in Maharashtra's Palghar district, an official said on Tuesday. Also Read | A Major Fire Broke out at the #Tesla Gigafactory #Berlin After a Significant Pile of Latest Tweet by IANS India. Constable Pragya Shiram Dalvi (36) had seized the motorcycle of advocate Brijesh Kumar Boloria (35) for alleged violation of traffic rules, senior police inspector Vilas Supe from Nallasopara police station said. Also Read | Video: NASA's DART Spacecraft Successfully Hits Its Asteroid Target in Planetary Defence Test. The motorcycle was kept in a godown meant for seized vehicles. Boloria and his wife Dolly Kumari Singh (32) went to the godown on Monday and took away the two-wheeler, he said. While Dalvi tried to stop them at the godown's entrance, the accused knocked her down as they escaped on the motorbike. The policewoman fell and suffered injuries on her leg and hands and was hospitalised, the official said. While fleeing from the spot, the accused also warned Dalvi of dire consequences, he said. Based on the constable's complaint, the police arrested the couple on Monday. A case was registered against the accused under Indian Penal Code Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 34 (common intention), the police said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Sep 27 (PTI) An evacuation alert has been declared for people living in the low-lying areas near the Yamuna banks in Delhi with the water level in the river rising to 206.11 metres, well above the danger mark of 205.33 metres and the highest this year so far, following incessant rains in the upper catchment areas, officials said on Tuesday. East Delhi District Magistrate Anil Banka said the evacuation alert was issued Tuesday morning after the water level crosses the 206-metre mark. Also Read | Apple iPhone 13 Orders Cancelled on Flipkart, E-Commerce Giant Says Anomalies Behind Cancellations. "People living in low-lying areas near the riverbanks are being evacuated and shifted to higher grounds. Arrangements have been made for their stay at government schools and night shelters in nearby areas," he said. Announcements are being made to caution people about a further increase in the water level, Banka said. Also Read | Mumbai Shocker: Two-Year-Old Boy Touches Bucket Water With Immersion Heater in It, Dies of Electrocution in Nallasopara. The low-lying areas near the river in Delhi are considered vulnerable to flooding. They are home to around 37,000 people. This is the second time within two months that the authorities are evacuating the people living in the river floodplains due to flooding in the low-lying areas. The Yamuna had breached the danger mark of 205.33 metres on August 12, following which around 7,000 people were evacuated from the low-lying areas near the riverbanks. The Delhi flood control room said the water level at the Old Delhi Railway Bridge crossed the evacuation level of 206 metres at 5.45 am on Tuesday. The river swelled to 206.16 metres by 8 am. It predicted that the water level may increase to 206.5 metres between 3 pm and 5 pm. The authorities reported a discharge rate of around 96,000 cusecs at 7 am from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana. The discharge rate was 2,95,212 cusecs at 6 am on Monday, which is the highest so far this year. One cusec is equivalent to 28.32 litres per second. Normally, the flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusecs, but the discharge increases after heavy rainfall in the catchment areas. The water discharged from the barrage normally takes two to three days to reach the national capital. Incessant rains have battered parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and north Uttar Pradesh over the last few days. Delhi also recorded a four-day long rain spell starting September 21. The catchment of the Yamuna river system covers parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Srinagar, Sep 27 (PTI) Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Pandurang K Pole on Tuesday visited Baramulla to review the arrangements for the upcoming visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to the district. Shah was scheduled to visit Jammu and Kashmir from September 30, but on Tuesday the visit was postponed and he will now arrive on October 4 to address two mega rallies in Rajouri and Baramulla. Also Read | Navratri 2022: No Entry Into Garba Dance Venues Without I-Card, Says Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra. Divisional Commissioner Pole visited Showkat Ali Stadium at Khawaja Bagh in Baramulla to take stock of the arrangements put in place ahead of the VVIP visit, an official spokesman said. He was accompanied by DGP Dilbagh Singh; ADGP, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar; Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla, Sehrish Asgar and others. Also Read | Mumbai Shocker: Muslim Man Stabs His Former Hindu Wife to Death for Not Wearing 'Burqa' in Tilak Nagar, Arrested. Pole chaired a meeting at the Conference Hall, Dak Banglow, where arrangements including traffic plan and media management were discussed, the spokesman said. On the occasion, Asgar apprised the chair about various measures taken ahead of the VVIP visit, he said. While discussing the seating and allied arrangements for the upcoming visit, Pole directed that the roads and buildings department will be the nodal agency for stage set up and seating plan at the venue, the spokesman said. He instructed that ambulances, fire tender vehicles and water tankers shall be kept available at the venue. On the occasion, a record note was also prepared to ensure that elaborate arrangements are put in place ahead of the visit of the VVIP to UT of Jammu and Kashmir, the spokesman said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Sep 27 (PTI) The decision to grant 10 per cent EWS quota in admissions will not impact the availability of seats for the general and reserved categories as 2,13,766 additional seats will be added to those already existing in higher educational institutions, the Centre Tuesday told the Supreme Court while defending the 103rd constitution amendment. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice U U Lalit, which reserved its verdict on pleas challenging 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in admissions and government jobs, was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta the government has provided Rs 4,315 crore to central higher educational institutions to create additional infrastructure to meet the demand for raising the seats. Also Read | Young Actors Retreat: 5 Things We Learnt About Kim Yoo Jung, Park Seo Joon, Hwang In Youp And More From Korean Variety Show. At the fag end of the hearing, the bench asked the law officer to provide data about the number of scholarships available to those pursuing professional courses. What are the kinds of scholarships you give for medical, engineering and other professional courses? The poorest of the poor in all categories..., it asked. Also Read | Supreme Court Reserves Judgment on Petitions Challenging EWS Quota in Admissions, Jobs. The law officer, who was advancing his rejoinder submissions on the 7th day of the hearing which commenced on September 13, said such figures will be needed for Parliament to take action and these issues would not impact the constitutionality of the amendment. On the other hand, academician Mohan Gopal, senior lawyers including Ravi Verma Kumar, P Wilson, Meenakshi Arora, Sanjay Parikh, and K S Chauhan and advocate Shadan Farasat urged the bench, which also comprised Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, S Ravindra Bhat, Bela M Trivedi, and J B Pardiwala, to strike down the constitutional amendment. Most of the lawyers opposed to the EWS quota contended the amended law excluded the poor belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and defeated the creamy layer concept. The solicitor general said the central government, as a sovereign, had responded to the wishes and aspirations of the poor people. It is submitted that contemporaneously with the constitutional amendment a decision was taken, in order to ensure that the seats available to the reserved category and the open category are not impacted in absolute numbers. "The Department of Higher Education issued orders on January 17.01.2019 to all the Central Educational Institutions to increase the intake in all branches of study to provide for 10 per cent reservations for Economically Weaker Sections, while protecting the proportionate reservations for Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes and also not reducing the seat availability in the General category (in absolute numbers) in the year 2018-19, he said. The law officer said as per the calculations, in order to provide the EWS quota, without adversely impacting the proportionate existing reservations and not reducing the seat availability for the general category in absolute numbers as compared to the admissions made in 2018-19, the total increase in intake has to be raised by approximately 25 per cent. A total of 2,14,766 additional seats were approved to be created in the central educational institutions; and an expenditure of Rs 4,315.15 crore was approved to be incurred to improve the infrastructure in the higher educational institutions, he said. Mehta said Attorney General K K Venugopal would be also filing a separate short note in the case. At the outset, senior advocate Ravi Varma Kumar commenced the rejoinder arguments and again referred to the exclusion of SCs and STs and OBCs on the ground of their caste and said the EWS quota "destroyed the equality code". He assailed the submissions of the two top government law officers that SCs, STs and OBCs are a homogenous group. Kumar also opposed the submission that the EWS quota was justified as it has been accepted in the case of Right to Education (RTE) in admissions to schools, saying RTE never excluded backward classes from its ambit. On the other hand, lawyer V K Biju favoured the EWS quota, saying SCs, STs and OBCs are all different compartments and asked as to why a poor rickshaw puller brahmin should not get the reservation. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranayanan assailed the submission that only forward class poor will get the reservation, saying people belonging to Muslim, Sikh and Christian faiths will also benefit from the scheme. The top court heard as many as 40 petitions and most of the pleas, including the lead one filed by 'Janhit Abhiyan' in 2019, challenged the validity of the Constitution Amendment (103rd) Act 2019. The Central government had filed some petitions seeking transfer of pending cases, challenging the EWS quota law, from various high courts to the apex court for an authoritative pronouncement. The bench had on September 8 framed three broad issues for adjudication arising from the pleas challenging the Centre's decision to grant 10 per cent reservation to EWS in admissions and government jobs. "Whether the 103rd Constitution amendment Act can be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution by permitting the State to make special provisions, including reservation, based on economic criteria," read the first issue framed. The second legal question was whether the constitutional amendment could be said to breach the basic structure by permitting the state to make special provisions concerning admissions to private unaided institutions. "Whether the 103rd Constitution amendment can be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution in excluding the SEBCs/OBCs, SCs/STs from the scope of EWS reservation," the third issue, to be adjudicated upon by the bench, read. (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, Sep 27 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked public sector banks (PSBs) to fill the backlog vacancies of Scheduled Castes (SCs) in time bound manner and enhance their coverage in all schemes. In a meeting to review the progress of various government schemes aimed at the welfare and upliftment of SCs, the Finance Minister urged banks to make proper digital records for jobs being outsourced, especially for posts like Safai Karamcharis from October 1. Also Read | YouTuber Tuhin Mondal Arrested for Creating Memes Over West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's 'Jhalmuri' Comment. It was also directed that the redressal of all pending grievances pertaining to the SC community may also be taken up in the special drive by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) from October 2, an official statement said. She also advised PSBs heads to look into the need for capacity building and entrepreneurship development as SCs constitute about 18 per cent of the total workforce of the banks and financial institutions (FIs). Also Read | IBPS Clerk Prelims Exam Result 2022 Released at ibps.in; Know Steps To Check CRP Clerk XII Scores. In the review meeting attended by CEOs of PSBs and FIs, she asked them to provide forward and backward linkages through the convergence of various schemes for SCs by government departments while giving them financial assistance. She also directed banks to apprise National Commission for Scheduled Castes twice in a year on SC-related credit and recruitment. The Finance Minister also said that the objective of the meeting was to bring all stakeholders on a common platform to work together in fulfilment of the rights enshrined in the Constitution for the upliftment and betterment of the people from Scheduled Castes. Sitharaman also observed that performance in schemes like the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), where 21 per cent of the credit linked Self-Help Groups (SHGs) were SCs and in SVANIDHI, which has 19 per cent SCs as the beneficiaries, is satisfactory, it said. Improvements required to be carried out in all the schemes like the Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for Scheduled Castes (CEGSSC) and the Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes, etc may be taken up by the DFS after discussion with agencies like the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) that are working with scheduled castes at the grassroots level, she said. The meeting, chaired by the finance minister, saw participation from the chairman and members of the NCSC, the Minister of State for Finance, the financial services secretary and other senior officials. During the meeting, NCSC Chairman Vijay Sampla urged the bankers to give all the due bank credits to the SCs. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Jaipur, September 27: Amid an ongoing political turmoil in the Congress in Rajasthan, the party's chief whip in the state, Mahesh Joshi, on Tuesday said a meeting of the MLAs loyal to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was not called to mount pressure on the party high-command. Joshi said this while reacting to All India Congress Committee (AICC) observer Ajay Maken's "indiscipline" remark for holding the meeting. He said the MLAs have expressed their view so that it reaches the high-command. Joshi also said if the MLAs were not loyal to the Congress, the government would have fallen much earlier. Rajasthan Congress Crisis: CLP Meet, Called at CM Ashok Gehlots Residence, Cancelled As Over 90 MLAs Threaten To Resign. "I am saying again and again that speaking your mind is not mounting pressure. We have not created any pressure on the high-command but have tried to express our views. Whatever decision the leadership takes, we will obey it," he told reporters here. Rajasthan Congress Crisis: Amid Uncertainties Over CM, Kamal Nath Called to Delhi; Likely To Meet Sonia Gandhi. Joshi, who is also a cabinet minister in Rajasthan, said if the party issues notices on the MLAs for indiscipline, they will give their reply to it and prove their loyalty to the Congress. "If anyone raises doubts on the loyalty of our people, we will prove that loyalty at any cost. We have always been loyal to the high-command. If it was not for our loyalty, the Congress government would have fallen in Rajasthan a long time ago," he said. Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge, who were sent as observers to Jaipur for a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, briefed party chief Sonia Gandhi on the developments after their return to Delhi on Monday and termed the parallel meet held by the Gehlot loyalists at Rajasthan minister Shanti Dhariwal's residence "indiscipline". The MLAs later submitted their resignation to Speaker CP Joshi at his residence. Only three ministers -- Dhariwal, Mahesh Joshi and Pratap Singh Khachariyawas -- had met the AICC observers at the chief minister's residence. "When a CLP meeting is held, holding a parallel meeting of MLAs is prima facie indiscipline," Maken had said on Monday. Accusing the MLAs in the Gehlot camp of "indiscipline", he had said their demand setting conditions for a resolution authorising the party president to pick the next chief minister gave rise to a "conflict of interest". Maken said the delegation put forward three conditions -- a decision on the selection of the chief minister should be taken after the Congress presidential poll, the chief minister should be from among the MLAs who stood with the government during the political crisis in the state in 2020 and not from the Sachin Pilot camp, and the AICC observers should hold meetings in groups instead of one on one as sought by the high-command. Joshi, on the other hand, said the delegation that met the Congress observers had not asked for the conditions to be included in the resolution. "It was not that we wanted everything in the resolution. Maybe we failed to make them understand or it is also possible that we tried but they did not understand. But we did not talk about any kind of amendment in the resolution," he said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], September 27 (ANI): Two schizophrenic women were held for attempting to vandalise idols of Goddess Durga and Mother Mary here, said officials on Tuesday. The incident took place at a pandal in Khairatabad. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi To Flag Off Vande Bharat Express During Gujarat Visit; To Lay Foundation Stones for Rs 29,000-Crore Projects. "Four people-mother, father the two girls-live together. They're mentally ill and have psychological issues. They returned from Jeddah in 2018 and were facing this since then. They have a brother, he's here," said DCP Central Zone. As per reports, the incident pertains to a Durga pandal when two women attempted to vandalise the Goddess Durga idol. One of them was also seen damaging the idols with spanners, the locals said. Also Read | Pakistan Man Held by BSF From Rajasthan Border Under 'Suspicious Circumstances'. "2 Burqa-clad women attempted to damage the goddess idols with spanners. Devotees stopped them. The 2 then went to a church and attempted this again. When stopped, they went to Hanuman Temple. They were handed over to police. I request Commissioner for detailed inquiry," Nampally MLA, JH Meraj told ANI. As the shocking incident came to the fore, the brother of the accused apologised publicly and gave out details about the mental status of the said women. "I have not met my sisters yet but I've heard what happened so I've come down. My mother and sisters have schizophrenia and my brother has paranoid schizophrenia. They've never done that. I'm very sorry. They're getting treatment at a hospital. So, I've to continue looking into this," said Asimduddin (Brother). A case has been registered under the relevant sections of IPC, the officials informed. "Now, we'll record all statements. Since he(Asimuddin, the accused's brother) they have a mental issue, we refer him to a Government hospital and will then produce them before Magistrate. It's up to Magistrate, they'll take a call," added DCP Central Zone, Hyderabad. Further investigations are underway. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) [India], September 26 (ANI): Defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday that if the then Indian government had taken a decision related to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 1971, then the territory would have been with India today. Talking about the 1971 India-Pakistan war that resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh, he said, "1971 war was not for dominance, land or power, it'll be remembered for humanity. If a decision had been taken over PoK at that time, PoK would have been with India today, and not with Pakistan". Also Read | Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Criticises States Seeking More Funds, Says 'You Me' Culture Won't Work. Singh paid glowing tributes to the war heroes from Himachal Pradesh, including the first recipient of Param Vir Chakra Major Somnath Sharma (1947); Brigadier Sher Jung Thapa, Maha Vir Chakra (1948); Lt Col Dhan Singh Thapa, PVC (1962); Captain Vikram Batra, PVC (1999) and Subedar Major Sanjay Kumar, PVC (1999), whose names are etched in the hearts of every Indian for their unmatched bravery and sacrifice. He stated that the Armed Forces will always be a source of inspiration to the people, especially the youth, as they possess the traits of discipline, devotion to duty, patriotism & sacrifice and are a symbol of national pride & trust. "Background, religion and creed don't matter, what matters is that our beloved tri-colour continues to fly high," he said. Also Read | Rajasthan Congress Crisis: Sonia Gandhi Seeks Written Report From Ajay Maken, Mallikarjun Kharge. The Defence Minister asserted that India is the only country which has given the message of peace to the whole world and its military is respected across the globe for its bravery. While maintaining that India has never attacked any country, nor has it captured an inch of a foreign land, he assured the Nation that if any attempt is ever made to disturb the harmony in India, a befitting reply will be given. "India is a peace-loving country, but it should not be mistaken for being cowardly or afraid of war. When we were dealing with COVID-19 and the entire world, we had to face the tension on the northern border with China. The courage of our soldiers during the Galwan incident proved that no matter how big the power is; India will never bow down," he said. He further described the ex-servicemen as the assets of the country, stressing that no price can be set for their sacrifices in the service of the motherland. He reiterated the Government's commitment and duty toward the well-being and welfare of the veterans. He listed the steps the Ministry of Defence took, including the online services under 'Digital India', to increase their ease of living. These include Smart Canteen Card, Ex-servicemen Identity Card; online access to Kendriya Sainik Board & Directorate General of Resettlement Services and the launch of the System for Pension Administration (Raksha) (SPARSH) initiative. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kulgam (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 27 (ANI): A Pakistani terrorist linked with the proscribed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was killed during the Kulgam encounter, informed Kashmir Zone Police on Monday. The terrorist has been identified as Abu Hurarah. Also Read | Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Criticises States Seeking More Funds, Says 'You Me' Culture Won't Work. The Police also recovered incriminating materials, arms and ammunition including an AK rifle from his procession. "Killed terrorist has been identified as Abu Hurarah, a foreign Pakistani terrorist linked with proscribed terror outfit JeM. Incriminating materials, arms & ammunition including AK rifle recovered," Kashmir Zone Police tweeted quoting Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Kashmir, Vijay Kumar. Also Read | Rajasthan Congress Crisis: Sonia Gandhi Seeks Written Report From Ajay Maken, Mallikarjun Kharge. Earlier, one Army soldier and two civilians were injured. All three injured civilians were shifted to the hospital for treatment. An encounter had broken out in the Beatport area of Kulgam earlier in the day. The Police along with the security forces are carrying out the operation in the region, said the police. The Kashmir Zone Police informed, "Encounter begins at Batpora area of Kulgam. Police and security forces are carrying out the operation". An infiltration bid was foiled along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kupwara district of north Kashmir as security forces killed two terrorists and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, said police. According to police, the terrorists were trying to infiltrate the LoC near Tekri Nar area of Machil sector in Kupwara. "Based on intelligence input of likely infiltration in Machil Sector of Kupwara district, troops were put on high alert and joint ambushes of Police and Army were laid. Today, on September 25, 2022, two armed infiltrators were observed approaching the LoC near Tekri Nar taking advantage of bad weather. Both the infiltrators were challenged and engaged in a fierce firefight. In the ensuing firefight, both the terrorists were eliminated," the statement reads. The Police said that the identification of the killed terrorists is yet to be ascertained. The security forces also recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition including two AK-47 rifles, six AK magazines, 53 AK-rounds, four hand grenades, two Pistols, two Pistol Magazines and 35 Pistol Rounds. "Pakistani currency three notes of Rs 1000, two notes of Rs 500 and seven notes of Rs 50 were recovered from the possession of the killed terrorists," the police added. Accordingly, a case under relevant sections of law has been registered and further investigation is in progress. Back in August, the Indian Army foiled an infiltration attempt by Pakistani terrorists in forwarding areas of the Uri sector and killed three terrorists. (ANI) (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], September 27 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh on Monday visited Baramulla district in North Kashmir and chaired a meeting of civil and police officers to review the security arrangements ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the Union Territory. The meeting was held at the conference hall in District Police Office. Also Read | Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Criticises States Seeking More Funds, Says 'You Me' Culture Won't Work. DGP Singh was accompanied by Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Kashmir Zone Vijay Kumar. During the meeting, security arrangements for the Union Home Minister's visit including the routes and locations were discussed. Also Read | Rajasthan Congress Crisis: Sonia Gandhi Seeks Written Report From Ajay Maken, Mallikarjun Kharge. They also discussed the deployment of manpower from different forces and intelligence agencies was also discussed in the meeting. The meeting was attended by ADGP Kashmir Zone Vijay Kumar, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir Pandurang K Pole, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of North Kashmir Udaybhaskar Billa, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Baramulla Rayees Mohammad Bhat, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Baramulla RK Parihar, and jurisdictional sub-divisional police officers (SDPO). Addressing the officers, the DGP stressed for greater synergy among different agencies and forces, being deployed for the security of VVIPs. The DGP emphasized upon the officers to keep an eye on the activities of suspicious elements who always try to find an opportunity to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere in the UT. He directed the officers that proper briefings should be made to the personnel put on security duties at different locations of venues. The DGP stressed for utilization of technology and security gadgets including CCTV cameras en-route the visit and locations. He said that a comprehensive communication network must be ensured to be established to coordinate among the agencies involved in the security arrangements. While discussing traffic arrangements, the DGP asked for a diversion of public transport to alternate routes so that common commuters do not suffer due to security reasons. DIG NKR and SSP Baramulla briefed the DGP about the required security arrangements put in place in connection with the VVIP visit. They apprised him about the security measures being taken in their respective jurisdictional areas. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be visiting Jammu and Kashmir from September 30 to October 2, said BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Sunday. This will be Shah's second visit to the Union Territory since the abrogation of Article 370. Last year in October the Home Minister visited Kashmir in the wake of rising attacks on minority community members by the terrorists in the Valley. During his visit, Shah will meet the intellectuals and prominent personalities and will address two public meetings on October 1 in Rajouri and will also address another rally in Baramullah on October 2. "Amit Shah will visit different areas in this visit and this is a special occasion just like a festival as he was the key person to finish the controversial Articles 370 and 35(a) and broke the shackles of Jammu and Kashmir residents to free them from long bondage. SCs, women, Gujjars-Bakkarwals and other communities were empowered after being neglected for 70 years," said Chugh. Last year, the Home Minister was on a three-day visit to the union territory for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. His visit had come amid several incidents of killings of civilians by the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir which have sparked fear in the valley. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) By Payal Mehta New Delhi [India], September 27 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J P Nadda on Tuesday held a meeting with the party's newly appointed state in-charges and discussed ways to strengthen the organisation and prepare for 2024 general elections. Also Read | Navratri 2022: No Entry Into Garba Dance Venues Without I-Card, Says Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra. During the meeting, Nadda asked the in-charges to stay connected with the workers on ground and tell people about Narendra Modi-led government's work done across the last 8 years, sources said. "We were told that we need to keep visiting the state and keep highlighting the issues that concern particular state so that immediate feedback and cognizance can be taken," a source told ANI. Also Read | Mumbai Shocker: Muslim Man Stabs His Former Hindu Wife to Death for Not Wearing 'Burqa' in Tilak Nagar, Arrested. This was Nadda's first meeting with the party's newly appointed state in-charges. The message by saffron party leadership was very clear for the newly appointed in-charges about making sure that the party strengthens its organisational base from right the booth level onwards. Another source told, "We were told that we need to keep visiting the state and stay connected. This will keep the party cadre morale high." The party top leadership has asked the state in-charges to make frequent visits to the states assigned to them and that each one must maintain complete accountability. "BJP is not a shortsighted party but a party with distinct vision and in for a long haul and therefore continuity in work in the organisation will hold the key," a source told ANI about the message from the top brass. Another meeting is also expected to take place with all the state in charges soon. On 9tn September, BJP national president JP Nadda appointed in-charges for various states and union territories including poll-bound states like Tripura and Telangana. Bhupender Yadav was replaced by general secretary Vinod Tawde in Bihar whereas Harish Dwivedi continues to be the co-incharge. Om Mathur is the in-charge for Chhattisgarh. Former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb has been given an organisational responsibility and made in charge of Haryana. Vinod Sonkar who was in charge of Tripura which goes into election next year has been replaced by former union minister and Noida MP Dr Mahesh Sharma. Former Gujarat chief Minister Vijay Rupani has also been given organisational responsibilities in Punjab and Chandigarh. Tarun Chugh national general secretary continues to be in charge of Telangana. Kerala has a new in charge in the form of former union minister Prakash Javadekar. National general secretary Dilip Saikia has been replaced by Dr Laxmi Kant Bajpai in Jharkhand where the BJP locked in the bitter battle with th ruling JMM-Congress. Recently Bajpai was brought to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh and has also been made the chief whip of the party in the Rajya Sabha Notably, there are elections in the two state- Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in the coming months. In the first part of the year 2023, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland will witness elections and the party is preparing for all the state elections. While the BJP is in power in Meghalaya and Nagaland in alliance with NDA, the party stunned everyone with the Tripura elections in 2018 and also is looking towards repeating its performance. Karnataka state in which the BJP is in power for the longest will also be a stiff challenge for the saffron party with the kind of backlash that chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has been facing in the recent. While the BJP continues to be in power in Madhya Pradesh with Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the helmit will be a stiff challenge for them to come back to power in states of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, which they lost in the last election. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Pune, September 27: As many as 44 students and three teachers were injured on Tuesday after the bus they were travelling in hurtled down a gorge and overturned in Ambegaon tehsil in Pune district of Maharashtra, officials said. Acceding to Pune district officials, the students were travelling from Pimpalgaon to Girvali village, around 45 km from Pune city, to visit an observatory in the afternoon. Block Development Officer, Jalinder Pathare, said the school bus belonged to Muktai Prashala in Pimpalgaon. MP Bus Accident: Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde Extends Condolences; Announces Ex-Gratia of Rs 10 Lakh for Kin of Deceased. "The incident occurred at a turn. The bus went down 100 to 150 feet into a gorge. All 44 students travelling in the bus, three teachers, the driver, and a bus assistant received injuries. Seven to eight students have been shifted to a hospital in Manchar, while the rest are stable," said Pathare. (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, Sep 27 (PTI) Milkha, Chetak, Vayu, Svasti and Twara are some of the names that people have suggested for the eight cheetahs Prime Minister Narendra Modi released in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on his birthday on September 17. The cheetahs have been brought from Namibia as part of India's ambitious programme to bring the big cat back from extinction. Also Read | Young Actors Retreat: 5 Things We Learnt About Kim Yoo Jung, Park Seo Joon, Hwang In Youp And More From Korean Variety Show. In his monthly radio address 'Mann Ki Baat' on Sunday, Modi asked citizens to take part in contests on the MyGov platform to suggest names for the animals and the re-introduction project. He also said the cheetahs will take some time to adapt to the new environment and a task force will make an assessment following which the government will take a call on whether the park can be opened to the public. Also Read | Supreme Court Reserves Judgment on Petitions Challenging EWS Quota in Admissions, Jobs. PM Modi said he has been receiving messages from across the country asking when will people get an opportunity to see the cheetahs. On Tuesday, he again urged people to take part in the contests of suggesting names for the cheetahs and their reintroduction project. The participants stand a chance to win a trip to see the cheetahs at Kuno National Park. The last date of submission is October 26. The MyGov platform has so far received more than 750 submissions suggesting names such as Veer, Pnaki, Bhairav, Brahma, Rudra, Durga, Gouri, Bhadra, Shakti, Brahaspati, Chinmayi, Chatura, Vira, Raksha, Medha and Mayur among others for the animals. For the reintroduction project, more than 800 people suggested titles such as 'Kuno ka Kundan', 'Mission Chitrak', 'Chirayu' and 'Chitwal'. The cheetah has come back to India 70 years after the species was declared extinct in the country in 1952 largely due to coursing, sport hunting, over-hunting and habitat loss. Prime Minister Modi released the first batch of eight cheetahs -- five females and three males -- brought from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at the Kuno National Park. The cheetahs include a malnourished female nursed back to health by farm workers and two brothers who hunt together as a team. The animals are aged between two and five years. After their 30-day stay in the quarantine enclosure, the cheetahs would be released into a larger enclosure of more than six square kilometres to become familiar with their new environment, where they would remain for at least a month before being released into the national park that spreads across 748 square kilometres. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) China sets example for African countries to achieve prosperity: Gabonese politician 09:37, September 27, 2022 By Yang Yi ( People's Daily "The Gabonese Democratic Party (GDP) has a friendship with the Communist Party of China (CPC) lasting over 40 years. Every leader of the Gabonese party has paid visits to China to learn governance experience from the CPC. They witnessed the huge changes in China's development and deeply felt the institutional advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics," said Michel Philippe NZE, Second Deputy Secretary General of the GDP, in a recent interview with People's Daily. Photo shows a pure electric bus in Beijing. Compared with traditional fuel-powered buses, electric buses come with less noise and are equipped with air purifiers and 360-degree surround-view cameras. (People's Daily Online/Hu Qingming) China is the world's second largest economy, the largest industrial country, the largest goods trading country and the holder of the largest foreign exchange reserves. Philippe admires such developments made by the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC and speaks highly of the governance philosophy of the Chinese political party. "The CPC adheres to a people-centered approach and always puts people's interests in the first place," said Philippe, adding that is what guarantees China's constant progress. In the fall three years ago, Philippe visited China together with a GDP delegation. The delegation visited tech firms and cultural organizations in a number of Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. They also joined symposiums attended by local citizens and professionals from various industries, from which they saw the development of China. "I was deeply impressed by the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall. It comprehensively showcases the history, status quo and future of the Chinese capital's urban planning and construction. There, I learned that Beijing keeps its ancient appearances while adopting modern development approaches and methods," Philippe told People's Daily. He also felt the prosperous green development of China on the streets of Beijing, where he saw shared bikes and other green transport methods. "The citizens are taking concrete actions to put green development into practice," he said. China and Gabon have achieved common development through the Belt and Road Initiative. In June last year, China handed over the renovated parliament building of Gabon to the Gabonese government. Five months later, a school constructed by Chinese companies in the African country was completed, which can accommodate over 5,000 students. Philippe speaks highly of the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Global Development Initiative, both proposed by China. "Chinese schemes have been recognized and responded by a number of developing countries including Gabon, and our people have also received tangible benefits from such schemes," he noted. In March last year, Gabon received the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated by China. "We immediately launched nationwide vaccinations. The Gabonese President and his wife were vaccinated at the earliest time possible," Philippe recalled. The second batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government to Gabon arrive in Libreville, the Gabonese capital, May, 2021. (Photo courtesy of the Chinese Embassy in Gabon) According to the man, the pandemic has been put under control in his country, and there has been a significant drop in both the affections and the death rate. "We and China offered mutual assistance amid the pandemic. It would have been very hard for us if our Chinese friends had not helped us," he said. China and Gabon have witnessed constantly deepening cultural exchanges over recent years. It was announced last November that the French version of the Chinese drama series Minning Town, which spotlights a real-life poverty alleviation project in northwest China, would be aired in Gabon and other African countries. "These Chinese poverty alleviation stories can strike a chord with African people. They bring the Chinese people closer to Africans and set an example for African countries to achieve prosperity," Philippe said. Philippe believes that China's poverty reduction miracle - lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the past some 40 years - will go down in history. "More importantly, it brings hope to African countries that are still bothered by poverty today," he noted. In March this year, Philippe attended a virtual meeting held by the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, which was themed on the exploration and practice of Chinese and African political parties to seek modernization paths suiting national conditions. Philippe shared his opinions on the development of political party-led media outlets and journals in the new era. He said relevant parties need to enhance exchanges and cooperation to build a clean cyberspace and a sound environment for public opinion in today's world that is highly informationized. The 20th National Congress of the CPC will kick off next month. Philippe extended his congratulations to the Chinese people for their achievements made under the leadership of the CPC. He said he hopes China can continue working with other developing countries to create a brighter future. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) New Delhi/Jaipur, Sep 27 (PTI) The open rebellion by MLAs close to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has put a question mark on whether he would still run for the Congress president's post or someone else will replace him as a candidate supported by the current leadership. Congress President Sonia Gandhi had on Monday sought a written report on the revolt in Rajasthan from party observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken as the chances of Ashok Gehlot becoming the party chief receded and other names cropped up for the post. Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Shocker: Two Women Allegedly Molested by Waiter While Sleeping on Their Hotel Bed in Khandwa, Accused Arrested. Kharge and Maken, who were sent as observers to Jaipur for a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, briefed Gandhi after their return to Delhi and termed the parallel meet held by Gehlot loyalists as "indiscipline". They are expected to recommend disciplinary action against those behind the move, including minister Shanti Dhariwal and Rajasthan Congress chief whip Mahesh Joshi. Also Read | Fire Breaks Out at Tesla Gigafactory Berlin, Detractors Call for Production Halt. Gehlot loyalists had submitted resignation letters to Assembly Speaker C P Joshi on Sunday evening, in an apparent bid to put pressure on the central leadership to pick someone from the Gehlot camp as CM if the veteran leader is elected the party president. The loyalist MLAs indicated that they were against the appointment of Sachin Pilot, who led a rebellion against Gehlot in 2020, to the post. On Monday, Gehlot loyalist Dhariwal accused Maken, AICC in-charge for Rajasthan, of being involved in a conspiracy to remove Gehlot as chief minister and alleged he was canvassing for Pilot. Sonia Gandhi is reportedly "upset" over the Rajasthan developments as Gehlot was being considered as her successor for the top post. Sources said Gehlot told the two observers that he is not behind the Jaipur development and the MLAs involved in it were not listening to him. Names of senior party leaders Kharge, Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Mukul Wasnik and Kumari Selja are now also doing the rounds for the post. Congress leader Kamal Nath, who met Sonia Gandhi Monday, ruled himself out as a candidate. Kharge and Maken are likely to submit their report to Gandhi about the crisis in the party's state unit by Wednesday. After a nearly one and half hour-long meeting with Gandhi, Maken told reporters on Monday that it was "unfortunate" that the CLP meet could not be held. AICC General Secretary-Organisation K C Venugopal was also present during the meeting with Gandhi. Accusing the MLAs in the Gehlot camp of "indiscipline", Maken said their demand setting conditions for a resolution authorising the party president to pick the next chief minister was a "conflict of interest". "In the 75 years of Congress history, there has never been a conditional resolution. The resolution is one line only. Everything is told to the Congress president and then a decision is taken," he told reporters in Jaipur. "The resolution should not have any conflict of interest, he said, elaborating that anyone contesting the election could become party president and then decide on the resolution. He said there was a clear direction to them from Sonia Gandhi that "we speak to every MLA and submit a report, and then the Congress president would have taken a call after speaking to everyone". He said representatives of some MLAs came to them in Jaipur to put forward three conditions. One of them was that the decision on the resolution would be taken after the organisational polls, and this should be part of the resolution. In an indirect reference to Gehlot, he asked how is it possible that a person authorising the Congress president to take a call on the next CM, himself takes a decision on it after winning the party election. If this is not conflict of interest, then what is," he said. Maken said the MLAs loyal to Gehlot wanted to meet them in groups, and were told by him and Kharge that there was no precedent for this. One-on-one meetings are held during CLP meets so that MLAs can express themselves freely, he said. Adding to the turmoil, Congress chief whip in Rajasthan Assembly Mahesh Joshi said the party MLAs have no objection to whoever is made the chief minister, but the final decision of the high command should be agreeable to them. "The doubts of the MLAs should be cleared by the high command and then whatever decision is taken will be accepted. We do not have any objection if anyone is made the chief minister but the final decision should have consensus," Joshi said. Congress sources said 82 MLAs loyal to Gehlot are likely to hold another meeting to decide their next course of action. They say they want someone who stood with the Congress government during the political crisis in Rajasthan in 2020 to be the next CM. In July 2020, Pilot and 18 other party MLAs had rebelled against Gehlot's leadership. The Congress has 108 MLAs in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly. (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, Sep 27 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate has frozen more than Rs 68 crore worth of deposits after it raided a company and its related entities that ran mobile games and allegedly duped a number of people, including children, by extracting "unauthorised" payments from them and later transferred these to Singapore. The federal probe agency said in a statement that it searched three premises of Coda Payments India Pvt Ltd (CPIPL) as part of a money laundering investigation and added the company has collected Rs 2,850 crore till date, out of which Rs 2,265 crore was remitted "outside" India after retaining certain percentage of revenue for payment of taxes and nominal profits here. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi To Flag Off Vande Bharat Express During Gujarat Visit; To Lay Foundation Stones for Rs 29,000-Crore Projects. The ED said the company ran mobile games such as Garena Free Fire, Teen Patti Gold, Call of Duty and its money laundering case against the company was registered after taking cognisance of multiple police FIRs filed against the company and in some cases, the gaming portals too. "It is alleged that Coda Payments India Pvt. Ltd. which facilitates and collects payments from end users (mostly unsuspecting children) for games in the name of monetising and generating revenue for web/game publishers, was resorting to unauthorised deductions from the end-users of these games in the name of selling digital tokens which were used by the them (end users) to enhance their playing experience," the ED said. Also Read | Pakistan Man Held by BSF From Rajasthan Border Under 'Suspicious Circumstances'. Game developers like Garena and Coda Payments India Pvt Ltd have "intentionally" designed the payment mechanism in such a way that after first successful transaction, a notification pops-up which seeks permission to make subsequent payments without any authentication, it alleged. "As the children are not aware of these technical terms, they just click on the notification in a routine manner and end up giving authorisation to make all future payments without any further authentication," the ED said, explaining the modus operandi of the alleged fraud. It said Garena which publishes 'Free Fire' does "not have a company or presence in India and is operated from Singapore." "CPIPL was incorporated only to act as an agent of Coda Payments Singapore Pte. Ltd. for collecting money from the users and remitting it to the parent company." "It has been collecting money in the name of sale of digital content and remitting it to its parent company in Singapore in the name of sale and purchase of digital content, however the entire operations of Codashop which sells the tokens are being managed by Coda Singapore only and there is no actual sale or purchase of digital content by CPIPL," the ED charged. It said the company was only a "conduit" to remit funds outside India. "To prevent the company from alienating the proceeds of crime which it has collected through unauthorised deductions from the accounts of unsuspecting customers, all the bank accounts, merchant IDs in payment gateways and fixed deposits of CPIPL with balance as on date of Rs 68.53 crore have been freezed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act," the agency said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, September 27: A 20-year-old Pakistani man has been apprehended by the BSF from the Sri Ganganagar sector in Rajasthan, an spokesperson of the force said Tuesday. Md Waqas was nabbed from along the India-Pakistan International Border in "suspicious circumstances" on Monday evening, he said. "During initial questioning, the man revealed that he is a follower of Tehreek-e-Labbaik and entered into India to propagate the ideology of the said outfit," the spokesperson said. Md Waqas hails from Karampur village in the Bahawalnagar district of Pakistan, he said. BSF Repatriates 2 Pakistani Nationals to Pak Rangers After They Inadvertently Entered Indian Territory. A joint team of intelligence and security agencies is questioning the man and he will be handed over to the local police soon, the officer said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Srinagar, Sep 27 (PTI) A day after a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant was killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam, security forces on Tuesday shot dead two terrorists of the proscribed terror outfit in the district, police said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Ahwatoo area of Kulgam district following information about presence of militants there, a police official said. Also Read | Rajasthan Congress Crisis: Around 20 MLAs, Ministers Meet CM Ashok Gehlot at His Residence After Party Issues Notice to 3 Leaders. He said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened firing at the security forces who retaliated. Additional DGP (Kashmir Zone) Vijay Kumar said two JeM ultras were trapped in the cordoned area. "Two local #terrorists of proscribed #terror outfit JeM trapped in the ongoing #encounter. Both the trapped terrorists are involved in several terror crime cases," Kumar tweeted. Also Read | Navratri 2022: No Entry Into Garba Dance Venues Without I-Card, Says Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra. A police spokesman said both the terrorists were shot dead. On Monday, a JeM terrorist was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district. Two civilians and a soldier were also injured in the encounter in the district's Batpora village, police had said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Sep 27 (PTI) A woman was found dead and her husband unconscious at their house in northeast Delhi's Mustafabad area on Tuesday, police said. It is suspected the man first killed his wife and later hurt himself with a sharp object following an argument, they said. Also Read | Gujarat: Man Who Received Antlers of Spotted Deer As Gift in 1975 Arrested for Illegal Possession. Police received information regarding a quarrel between the couple around 12.30 pm in the New Mustafabad area. Police reached the spot and found that a woman was lying dead in a room on the second floor of the house, a senior police officer said. She was identified as Neha, he said. Also Read | Ravi Kishan, Politician-Actor, Duped of Rs 3.25 Crore by Mumbai-Based Businessman, Case Filed. Her family members, who live in the same building, and the neighbours heard a two-year-old son of the couple crying. When they went to check, they found that the room was locked from inside, the officer said. They broke open the door and found that the woman was lying dead with injuries on her neck. Her husband, Arman, was lying in an unconscious condition beside her and he too had injury marks, he said. The man was shifted to GTB hospital by the family, he said. The couple had married about three years ago, he added. A case under section 302 (murder) of the IPC has been registered. The sub-district magistrate was also informed as the marriage period is less than seven years, police said. According to the police, the husband-wife duo had estranged relations. Prima facie, it seems that they had an argument and Arman killed his wife, attacking her with a blunt object. He later hit himself too, they said, adding further investigation is underway. The man is under treatment and stated to be of of danger, police said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kolkata/Kalyani, September 27: A 29-year-old YouTuber was arrested from West Bengal's Nadia district on Tuesday for allegedly creating memes on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that were derogatory, police said. Tuhin Mondal, the content creator, was arrested from his house in Bapujinagar in Taherpur police station area by officers of the Kolkata Police's Intelligence Branch, they said. He was arrested on the basis of a complaint filed by a 21-year-old man at Taratala police station in south Kolkata a week back, they said. "Mondal, who has no steady income, is believed to have made provocative, derogatory and abusive memes by editing parts of the chief minister's speeches to defame her. The complainant claimed that such acts can incite violence and disrupt peace," an officer of Kolkata Police said. YouTuber Tuhin Mondal Arrested for Creating Memes Over West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's 'Jhalmuri' Comment. The complaint also names at least seven other content creators, and police said that a search is on to arrest them. A case has been filed under relevant sections of the IPC, they said. In June, Kolkata Police arrested YouTuber Roddur Roy for abusing the chief minister in a Facebook live session. The Kolkata Police had in April 2012 arrested Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra for allegedly forwarding an email containing a cartoon of Banerjee. (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, September 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express and Ahmedabad Metro rail, and lay foundation stones for several projects worth more than Rs 29,000 crore during his two-day visit to poll-bound Gujarat from September 29. An official statement said the projects are spread across Surat, Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad and Ambaji, and are aimed at developing world-class infrastructure and enhancing mobility and ease of living. Prime Minister Modi will also participate in Navratri festival celebrations in Ahmedabad. Gujarat: PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates, Lays Foundation Stone of Multiple Projects of Sabar Dairy (See Pics). Gujarat is slated for assembly elections later this year, with the ruling BJP making all out efforts to register a thumping win and continuing its winning streak in the state since 1995. The total cost of projects to be inaugurated in Surat is more than Rs 3,400 crore. At Bhavnagar, Modi will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate multiple developmental initiatives worth over Rs 5,200 crore. Among the infrastructure projects to be inaugurated by Modi is the Phase-I of the Ahmedabad Metro project. He will also flag off the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Central Vande Bharat Express. The statement said the prime minister will also take a ride on the Vande Bharat Express to Kalupur railway station on September 30. After flagging off the Ahmedabad Metro rail project, he will take a metro ride from Kalupur station to Doordarshan Kendra station. Modi will also lay the foundation stone of the world's first CNG Terminal at Bhavnagar and declare open the 36th National Games, which are being held for the first time in Gujarat. The prime minister's engagements also include inaugurating Phase I of DREAM City - a project aimed to complement the rapid growth of the diamond trading business in Surat. He will also lay the foundation stone of a broad gauge railway line, which will make it easier for pilgrims to travel to Ambaji. Modi will visit the Ambaji temple and pay obeisance there. He will also attend Maha Aarti at Gabbar Tirtha. According to the statement, PM Modi will lay the foundation stones and dedicate development projects to the nation worth over Rs 7,200 crore in Ambaji. Canberra, Sep 27 (AP) Australian police were investigating a purported hacker's release of the stolen personal data of 10,000 customers of the nation's second-largest wireless carrier and demand for a USD 1 million ransom in cryptocurrency, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday. The Australian government has blamed lax cybersecurity at Optus for the unprecedented breach last week of the personal data of 9.8 million current and former customers. Also Read | Amy Jackson Expresses Solidarity With Iranian Women Amid Nationwide Protests After the Death of Mahsa Amini (View Post). Jeremy Kirk, a Sydney-based cybersecurity writer, said the purported hacker, who uses the online name Optusdata, had released 10,000 Optus customer records on the dark web and threatened to release another 10,000 every day for the next four days unless Optus pays the ransom. Asked if the hacker had threatened to sell the remaining data if Optus did not pay the USD 1 million within a week, the company's chief executive, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, told Australian Broadcasting Corp., We have seen there is a post like that on the dark web. Also Read | Hurricane Ian: 50,000 People Evacuated After Storm Lashes Cuba, Aims at Florida As Possible Category 4 Hurricane. Australian Federal Police said on Monday their investigators were working with overseas agencies, including the FBI, to determine who was behind the attack and to help shield the public from identity fraud. Police declined further comments on Tuesday as the investigations were ongoing. They're looking into every possibility and they're using the time available to see if they can track down that particular criminal and verify if they are bona fide, Bayer Rosmarin said. Kirk wrote in his website 'Bank Info Security' that Optusdata later deleted the post along with three samples of the stolen data. Optusdata sent Kirk a link to a new post that withdrew the ransom demand, claimed the stolen data had been deleted and apologized to Optus as well as its customers. Too many eyes. We will not sale (sic) data to anyone, the post said, adding that Optus had not paid a ransom. Kirk said he asked why Optusdata had changed their mind but received no response. Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk, the national data protection authority, said the latest post indicates ... this is a very fast-moving incident. It's a major incident of significant concern for the community. What we need to focus on here is ensuring that all steps are maintained to protect the community's personal information from further risk of harm, Falk said. Web security consultant Troy Hunt suspected the apology had come from the hacker. But he did not accept that the data was now safe. The question now is what happens next? Will we just hear no more from this individual? Will the data appear in a larger volume tomorrow, next week, possibly years from now? Hunt said. At least one of the 10,000 Optus customers whose data was released on the dark web on Tuesday had received a text message purportedly from the hacker demanding a 2,000 Australian dollar (USD 1,300) ransom, Nine Network News in Sydney reported. Your information will be sold and used for fraudulent activity within two days or until a payment of Australian dollar 2,000 is made, the text said, including details of an Australian bank account in the name Optusdata. The extortion target, identified only as Belinda and described as a mother of a 5-year-old child with cancer, told Nine, To be honest, it's just not what we need. I guess they're just trying to hopefully pressure people into paying, she said. Nine did not report whether she intended to pay. Earlier on Tuesday, Kirk said the released personal data appeared to include health care numbers, a form of identification not previously revealed publicly to have been hacked. Cybersecurity Minister Clare O'Neil urged Optus to give priority to informing customers of what information had been taken. I am incredibly concerned this morning about reports that personal information from the Optus data breach, including Medicare numbers, are now being offered for free and for ransom, O'Neil said. Medicare numbers were never advised to form part of compromised information from the breach, she added. O'Neil on Monday described the hack as an unprecedented theft of consumer information in Australian history. Of the 9.8 million people affected, 2.8 million had significant amounts of personal data, including driver's licenses and passport numbers, breached and are at significant risk of identity theft and fraud, she said. Kirk said he used an online forum for criminals who trade in stolen data to ask Optusdata how the Optus information was accessed. Optus appeared to have left an application programming interface, a piece of software known as an API that allows other systems to communicate and exchange data, open to the public, Kirk said. The Australian Financial Review newspaper said the theory that Optus left open an API had been widely reported. Bayer Rosmarin rejected such explanations, but said police had told her not to release details. It is not the case of having some sort of completely exposed API sitting out there, Bayer Rosmarin said. O'Neil didn't detail how the breach occurred, but described it as a quite a basic hack. Optus had effectively left the window open for data of this nature to be stolen, O'Neil said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Lhasa [Tibet], September 27 (ANI): China's COVID mismanagement and stringent measures under its so-called 'Zero Covid policy' has created havoc in Tibet Plateau, while CCP maintains a tight information blockade from the information of and from Tibet. There is an upsurge in COVID-19 cases in Tibet but China's mishandling of the outbreak has outraged the Tibetans. Harsh lockdown conditions and repressive policies of the Beijing government have forced the locals to suffer, who are struggling to voice their concerns, reported Tibet Press. Also Read | US Consumer Confidence Index Rise to 108 in September 2022 As Gas Prices Keep Falling. The situation in Tibet is frightening. While Chinese censors have tried to keep ground realities hidden from international knowledge, the leaked information showed that at least three have died of coronavirus infection in Tibet so far as the authorities failed to give them timely medical care, according to reports. The world is being shown a country like China handling the outbreak in a harmonious way, but the reality apparently is far from that. The measures being taken are too severe and not in the interest of the public at all. Also Read | Bangladesh: Death Toll Rises to 61 After Boat Sinks in Karatoya River in Panchagarh; Few Still Missing. China was the centre of the COVID-19 outbreak in the world, the whole suffered millions of deaths in the past 2 years. But when entire China and many parts of the world were reeling under the coronavirus crisis, Tibet remained untouched except for one case at the beginning of the pandemic. Tibet did not see a Covid-19 case for over 900 days. While most of the world is free from coronavirus infections, many Chinese provinces are suffering from the viral disease. Now, Tibet has also come under its grip, for which people are blaming Chinese agencies, reported Tibet Press. Tibetans blame that they did not get proper medical care or sanitation services from the Chinese authorities despite rising Covid-19 cases. Tibetans also complained of overbearing treatment by government officials, who are forcing people to go into mandatory quarantine without verifying if they are Covid-10 positive or not. Chinese President Xi Jinping enforced similar stringent conditions in Tibet as they were in other parts of China earlier under the 'Zero Covid' policy. Tibetans are taken to quarantine facilities or forced to stay inside their homes. This has caused them to lose their jobs and source of livelihood, besides mental harassment. Amid this, China's censorship of news and social media posts from Tibet has further raised concerns about the safety of Tibetans. Several videos of China's repression of Tibet have circulated on Social media showing Tibetans talking about poor quarantine facilities with harsh quarantine rules and crowded testing sites with no social distancing rules followed, reported Tibet Press. The angered Tibetans are posting videos of mismanagement as well as the high-handedness of government agencies on social platforms. Videos show the unavailability of food and medicines, barely edible food, no potable water and unplanned lockdowns further raising concerns about the safety of Tibetans. However, the Communist government has not taken it as a concern but is only aiming for a COVID-free region by taking measures that don't work in favour of the ill. The outbreak in Tibet began on August 7, 2022, and the lockdowns started happening right afterwards. The government was also in a state of shock due to the suddenness of the outbreak, according to reports. The human rights issue in Tibet has gotten much worse over the years and the Chinese government has never backed down from strengthening its torturous hold on the Tibetans. Surveillance of the Tibetans in Tibet by the communist party has been extreme and any suspicious act is dealt with unlawful arrests, detentions and false convictions. The conflict between Tibet and China has been a topic of debate for years, but the Tibetan freedom struggle has not received the attention or the justice that it deserves till now. (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, September 27: India and Pakistan are both partners of the US with different points of emphasis, the Biden administration said Monday, a day after visiting External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar questioned the rationale behind the latest American F-16 security assistance to Islamabad. Referring to the argument made by the US that F-16 sustenance package is to fight terrorism, Jaishankar had said everybody knows where and against whom F-16 fighter jets are used. "You're not fooling anybody by saying these things," he said in response to a question during an interaction with Indian-Americans. "We don't view our relationship with Pakistan, and on the other hand, we don't view our relationship with India as in relation to one another. These are both partners of ours with different points of emphasis in each," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference. "We look to both as partners, because we do have in many cases shared values. We do have in many cases shared interests. And the relationship we have with India stands on its own. The relationship we have with Pakistan stands on its own," he said. EAM S Jaishankar Slams Biden Administration for Pakistan's F-16 Deal, Says 'No One is Fooled'. Early this month, the Biden administration approved a USD 450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan, reversing the decision of the previous Trump administration to suspend military aid to Islamabad for providing safe havens for the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network. "We also want to do everything we can to see to it that these neighbours have relations with one another that are as constructive as can be possible. So that's another point of emphasis," Price said in response to a question. Responding to another question, Price said it is "not in Pakistan's interest to see instability and violence in Afghanistan". "The support for the people of Afghanistan is something we discuss regularly with our Pakistani partners; our efforts to improve the lives and livelihoods and humanitarian conditions of the Afghan people, and to see to it that the Taliban live up to the commitments that they have made," he added. Pakistan is implicated in many of these same commitments: the counterterrorism commitments, commitments to safe passage, commitments to the citizens of Afghanistan, Price said. "The unwillingness or the inability on the part of the Taliban to live up to these commitments would have significant implications for Pakistan as well". "So, for that reason, we do share a number of interests with Pakistan regarding its neighbour," Price said. The United States, he noted, has been intently focused on the devastation that has resulted in the loss of life resulting from the torrential floods that have devastated large areas of Pakistan. EAM S Jaishankar Takes Dig on American Media for 'Biased' India Coverage. "We have provided tens of millions of dollars in relief for these floods. The Secretary today will have additional details on further US assistance for the Pakistani people, in light of this humanitarian emergency that Pakistanis are facing," he added. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Rawalpindi [Pakistan], September 27 (ANI): Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar, who has been involved in several corruption cases, returned to Pakistan on Monday night as the minister is ready to take charge as the finance minister of the country replacing Miftah Ismail today. The former Pakistan minister arrived at the Nur Khan Airbase in Chaklala, Rawalpindi where he was accompanied by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on his trip back to the country from London, reported Dawn. Also Read | US Vows 'Catastrophic Consequences' if Russia Uses Nuclear Weapon After Drone Strike Hits Ukraine's Port of Odesa. Earlier, in May, the Pakistan court issued a perpetual arrest warrant against former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in "corruption reference." The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed the reference against Dar, who has been declared an absconder in the case since he has missed hearings owing to his prolonged stay in London, that the former Minister had acquired assets beyond his known sources of income, Dawn newspaper reported. Also Read | Partygate Scandal: UK Parliament Panel Defends Partygate Probe Into Boris Johnson. However last week, an accountability court suspended an outstanding arrest warrant against Dar, paving the way for the former finance minister's return from London. "I will try my best to fulfill all the responsibilities. We will try to take out the country from the economic swamp it is stuck in [...] the way we did in 1998-1999 and 2013-2014," Dawn reported quoting Dar as he told reporters at the airport on his return. According to media reports, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with party supremo Nawaz Sharif in London on Saturday, where it was decided that the ruling coalition would hand over the finance ministry to Ishaq Dar after he returns to the country. The resignation of Ismail comes after continued speculation that former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was unhappy with some of his key decisions, including the hike in fuel prices. The Express Tribune reported that this move is aimed to regain its lost political clout right ahead of the next general elections. The leaders who attended the key London meeting were Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, and outgoing finance minister Miftah Ismail. Other party leaders including Ishaq Dar and Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan also attended this meeting. The government leaders did not fall short of blaming former PM Imran Khan-led PTI for bringing the country's economy to ruins. The participants said that the incumbent government had to "put out the fire of economic disaster" caused by the previous PTI-led regime. (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, Sep 27 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday discussed new opportunities for bilateral defence industrial cooperation, a move which Pentagon said would enhance New Delhi's contribution as a regional security provider. Jaishankar, who is on a four-day official trip to Washington, drove down to the Pentagon on Monday for a meeting with Austin. Also Read | US Vows 'Catastrophic Consequences' if Russia Uses Nuclear Weapon After Drone Strike Hits Ukraine's Port of Odesa. The two leaders reviewed priority lines of effort to deepen bilateral defense cooperation, as the United States and India progress toward a more advanced stage in their partnership, said a Pentagon readout of the meeting. Austin and Jaishankar committed to expanding information-sharing and logistics cooperation to drive deeper operational coordination between the US and Indian militaries. Also Read | Partygate Scandal: UK Parliament Panel Defends Partygate Probe Into Boris Johnson. "They also discussed new opportunities for bilateral defense industrial cooperation in support of India's contributions as a regional security provider, including the launch of a new defense dialogue later this year as the United States and India work more closely together across space, cyber, artificial intelligence, and other technology areas," the Pentagon said. During the meeting, the two leaders underscored the value of the deepening collaboration between the United States, India, Australia, Japan, and European partners. In this context, the US looks forward to working with India and like-minded partners to promote security, prosperity, and transparency throughout the region, including through the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, the Pentagon said. Welcoming Jaishankar to the Pentagon, Austin recollected his recent phone call with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. They exchanged perspectives on a range of issues of shared interest, spanning recent developments in East Asia, the Indian Ocean Region, and the global reverberations of the Ukraine crisis, the readout said. The Pentagon said Austin and Jaishankar reaffirmed their commitment to working together as steadfast partners to advance the United States and India's shared vision for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Nairobi (Kenya), Sep 27 (AP) Police say a Kenyan lawyer facing charges at the International Criminal Court of bribing and threatening prosecution witnesses in a past ICC case against Kenya's recently elected president has been found dead. Paul Gicheru had pleaded not guilty earlier this year to all eight counts of interfering with witnesses in the case against William Ruto, who had been charged with involvement in violence after Kenya's 2007 election that left more than 1,000 people dead. Also Read | Amy Jackson Expresses Solidarity With Iranian Women Amid Nationwide Protests After the Death of Mahsa Amini (View Post). A police report seen by The Associated Press said the family of the 50-year-old Gicheru found him unconscious at his home on Monday night. The body was found lying on the back, clean, casually dressed and no saliva or blood on any body opening, the report says, noting that the deceased is a known diabetic and high blood pressure patient. Also Read | Hurricane Ian: 50,000 People Evacuated After Storm Lashes Cuba, Aims at Florida As Possible Category 4 Hurricane. The police report noted that Gicheru's 20-year-old son, who told his mother that Gicheru had taken something" was later found with froth coming from his mouth and difficulty breathing. He was in stable condition at a local hospital, the report said. It was not clear what happened. In comments to reporters, family lawyer John Khaminwa said the family had described Gicheru as stressed in the hours before his death. He was not himself, Khaminwa said. The family intends to bring in pathologists to look at his internal organs and other things, he said. The Kenya Human Rights Commission said it was concerned with the shocking news of the untimely death and urged a swift and conclusive investigation. The charges against Ruto and others, including previous President Uhuru Kenyatta, were dropped in 2016 when the case fell apart amid allegations of witness interference. Ruto denied the allegations against him. The court's decision to drop the case specified that it did not preclude new prosecution in the future. Ruto was chairing his first Cabinet meeting on Tuesday after being sworn in on September 13 following a narrow election win. ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah said he could not comment on Gicheru's case but only on the procedure to be followed: If there is information about the death of an accused, a confirmation of this information should be submitted to the (trial) chamber and then the chamber issues a decision ending the case. Judges are currently considering their verdicts in the case. No date had been set for a hearing to deliver the judgment. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Washington, Sep 27 (PTI) The 'Sikhs of America' has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release all Sikhs who are languishing in Indian jails for more than 30 years. In a letter to Modi, the Sikhs of America urged the prime minister to set up a committee to look into the issue and also to find out how many such Sikhs are languishing in prisons. Many of these Sikhs are in jails despite having completed their court mandate, it alleged. Also Read | US Vows 'Catastrophic Consequences' if Russia Uses Nuclear Weapon After Drone Strike Hits Ukraine's Port of Odesa. By some accounts their number is close to 800, claimed the letter submitted to visiting External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at an event here on Sunday. "In 80s and 90s, most of them committed political-driven crimes in Punjab in a militant environment which was created by the Congress. They were booked under TADA and other anti-terrorist draconian laws of the Congress regime," it alleged. Also Read | Partygate Scandal: UK Parliament Panel Defends Partygate Probe Into Boris Johnson. "Every year different political parties bring this issue up, to get votes and manipulate the masses," said the letter signed by Jasdip Singh, chairman of Sikhs of America and its president Kamaljit Singh Soni. The Sikhs of America urged the prime minister to "form a committee to investigate" this issue and ascertain the number of "Bandi Sikhs" in different jails. Noting that the government led by Prime Minister Modi has celebrated the sacrifices of the Sikhs and Sikh Gurus on numerous occasions, the Sikhs of America wrote, "In this spirit, we request you to please give clemency and pardon to these Bandi Sikhs who are languishing in jails for more than 30 years." (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Bucharest [Romania], September 27 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Communications, Devusinh Chauhan held a bilateral talk with Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, Bella Cherkesova and highlighted India's success in spreading the digital infrastructure across the country, especially in rural and remote areas. He met the Russian minister on the sidelines of the Plenipotentiary Conference 2022 in Bucharest on Sunday. Also Read | Automakers Like Tesla, Honda and Hyundai Have Been Leveraging Robotics Technology to Latest Tweet by Reuters. "Attended the Inaugural Ceremony of Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union in Bucharest, Romania," tweeted Devusinh Chauhan. In a statement, MoS Chauhan said that India has indigenously developed the 4G stack and is on the cusp of developing an indigenous 5G stack, adding that the country will be covered with 5G services in a couple of years. Also Read | US Vows 'Catastrophic Consequences' if Russia Uses Nuclear Weapon After Drone Strike Hits Ukraine's Port of Odesa. Notably, India has emerged as 2nd largest handset manufacturer in the world under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. Chauhan stated that the Government of India has formed a Technology Innovation Group for the design and development of 6G technology by 2030 and said that there are many areas where Russia and India can collaborate which include the development of 5G use cases, design 6G technology, IoT, M2M, Cyber Security and developing reliable last mile solution, the press release read. Moreover, the Russian Deputy Minister appreciated the growth of telecom in India and she said that the success story of India in the field of telecom is a great case study for the entire world. The Russian minister showed keen interest in deepening the collaboration with India in the field of advanced telecom technology, security, and developing 5G use cases. MoS Chauhan also attended a very impressive and colorful inaugural ceremony of the Plenipotentiary Conference 2022, presided over by the Deputy Prime Minister of Romania, the official 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) Islamabad, Sep 27 (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday announced that a high-level committee would be constituted to probe the embarrassing audio leaks from the Prime Minister's Office that have triggered a controversy, with the Opposition demanding his resignation. A slew of audio recordings featuring confidential conversations of the prime minister with high-government officials surfaced on social media last week, raising questions about the security of the highest office of the country. Also Read | Bangladesh: Death Toll Rises to 61 After Boat Sinks in Karatoya River in Panchagarh; Few Still Missing. I am taking notice of this and a committee will be formed to reach the depth of this matter, Sharif said. Terming the leaks as a very serious lapse which left a big question mark on security, he said that now people would think before visiting the PM House. Also Read | Amy Jackson Expresses Solidarity With Iranian Women Amid Nationwide Protests After the Death of Mahsa Amini (View Post). Who will come to meet the prime minister at the PM House now? Be it a sympathiser or a friend, they will think 100 times before talking. This is about the respect of the 220 million people of the country, he said. A string of videos showed that secret meetings were being taped. One such clip showed Sharif and his principal secretary Tauqeer Shah talking about importing machinery from India for the son-in-law of Maryam Nawaz, the niece of the prime minister. In his press conference, the prime minister said that Maryam never talked to him about any favours for her son-in-law. Dr Tauqeer spoke to me about it and said half of the machinery was imported during the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf) tenure. I don't know what amount was spent and how much loss they will have to bear if half the machinery is left. Dr Tauqeer told me that the provision is banned and it will have to be taken to the ECC (Economic Coordination Committee), he said. Sharif explained that he didn't find it appropriate to take the matter to the Cabinet. I said I will convey this to my daughter (niece Maryam). Now tell me what is wrong with this? he questioned. He also said that several audios surfaced against former premier Imran Khan during his government but nothing was done or questions asked from him. Already a joint investigation team (JIT) with a representative from the Army-run intelligence agencies was ordered to probe the issue. The Intelligence Bureau also investigated the leaks. Earlier, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that Sharif has called a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) this week to deliberate on the audio leaks. Due to the gravity of the situation, the prime minister has called a meeting of the National Security Committee on Tuesday which will be attended by the top civil and military leadership, Interior Minister Sanaullah told a TV talk show on Monday night. Officials had said that an initial report by the top intelligence agencies has been prepared which will be placed before the NSC - the highest civil-military body on security affairs. Sources said that the NSC meeting may be delayed after the announcement by the prime minister to set up a panel to probe the issue. He suggested there was nothing to be concerned about if it was mere hacking of mobile phones. He, however, did call it a serious security breach if anyone had bugged the PM House. If it is bugging then it is a serious issue to ascertain how the device was planted and who is behind it. If it is true, stern action will be taken against those involved in it, he stressed. However, he said, if it was just simple hacking' of mobile phones of some people who may have visited the PM House then it was nothing serious. In this case, some waiter or any other staff member of the PM House may be involved. We will punish them according to the law, he maintained. The minister said as per his information, the Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence had completed their initial inquiry into the matter and their heads would apprise the prime minister of the findings in the NSC meeting. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kyiv, Sep 27 (AP) A young man shot a Russian military officer at close range at an enlistment office on Monday, an unusually bold attack reflecting resistance to Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to mobilise hundreds of thousands of more men to wage war on Ukraine. The shooting comes after scattered arson attacks on enlistment offices and protests in Russian cities against the military call-up that have resulted in at least 2,000 arrests. Russia is seeking to bolster its military as its Ukraine offensive has bogged down. Also Read | US Vows 'Catastrophic Consequences' if Russia Uses Nuclear Weapon After Drone Strike Hits Ukraine's Port of Odesa. In the attack in the Siberian city of Ust-Ilimsk, 25-year-old resident Ruslan Zinin walked into the enlistment office saying no one will go to fight and we will all go home now", according to local media. Zinin was arrested and officials vowed tough punishment. Authorities said the military commandant was in intensive care. Also Read | Partygate Scandal: UK Parliament Panel Defends Partygate Probe Into Boris Johnson. A witness quoted by a local news site said Zinin was in a roomful of people called up to fight and troops from his region were heading to military bases on Tuesday. Protests also flared up in Dagestan, one of Russia's poorer regions in the North Caucasus. Local media reported that several hundred demonstrators took to the streets on Tuesday in its capital, Makhachkala. Videos circulated online showing dozens of protesters tussling with the police sent to disperse them. Demonstrations also continued in another of Russia's North Caucasus republics, Kabardino-Balkaria, where videos on social media showed a local official attempting to address a crowd of women. Concerns are growing that Russia may seek to escalate the conflict including potentially using nuclear weapons once it completes what Ukraine and the West see as illegal referendums in occupied parts of Ukraine. The voting, in which residents are asked whether they want their regions to become part of Russia, began last week and ends on Tuesday, under conditions that are anything but free or fair. Tens of thousands of residents had already fled the regions amid months of fighting, and images shared by those who remained showed armed Russian troops going door-to-door to pressure Ukrainians into voting. Every night and day there is inevitable shelling in the Donbas, under the roar of which people are forced to vote for Russian peace,'" Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kirilenko said on Monday. Russia is widely expected to declare the results in its favour, a step that could see Moscow annex the four regions and then defend them as its own territory. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday no date has been set for recognising the regions as part of Russia but it could be just days away. Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said Russia would pay a high, if unspecified, price if it made good on veiled threats to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine. If Russia crosses this line, there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia. The United States will respond decisively, he told NBC. Elsewhere, the British government on Monday slapped sanctions on 92 businesses and individuals it says are involved with organising the referendums in occupied Ukraine. UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called the votes on joining Russia sham referendums held at the barrel of a gun. He said they follow a clear pattern of violence, intimidation, torture and forced deportations. The White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre likewise said on Monday the US will never recognise the four regions as part of Russia, and threatened Moscow with swift and severe economic costs. Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, meanwhile, held an unannounced meeting on Monday in the southern Russian city of Sochi and claimed they were ready to cooperate with the West if they treat us with respect, Putin said. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday that Putin had told Turkey's president last week that Moscow was ready to resume negotiations with Ukraine but had new conditions for a cease-fire. The Kremlin last week announced a partial mobilisation its first since World War II to add at least 300,000 troops to its forces in Ukraine. The move, a sharp shift from Putin's previous efforts to portray the war as a limited military operation, proved unpopular at home. Thousands of Russian men of fighting age have flocked to airports and Russia's land border crossings to avoid being called up. Protests erupted across the country, and Russian media reported an increasing number of arson attacks on military enlistment offices. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday once again decried the Russian mobilisation as nothing more than an attempt to provide commanders on the ground with a constant stream of cannon fodder. In his nightly televised address, Zelenskyy referenced ongoing Russian attempts to punch through Ukrainian defence lines in the eastern industrial heartland of Donbas, a key target of Moscow's military campaign. Despite the obvious senselessness of the war for Russia and the occupiers' loss of initiative, the Russian military command still drives (troops) to their deaths, Zelenskyy said in his nightly televised address. The Ukrainian military on Monday said in its regular Facebook update that Moscow was focusing on holding occupied territories and attempts to complete its occupation of the Donetsk region, one of two that make up the Donbas. It added that Ukrainian troops continued holding Russian troops at bay along the frontline there. Meanwhile, the first batches of new Russian troops mobilised by Moscow have begun to arrive at military bases, the British Defence Ministry said on Monday, adding that tens of thousands had been called up so far. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday on Facebook that the Ukrainian military is pushing efforts to take back the entire territory of Ukraine, and has drawn up plans to counter new types of weapons used by Russia. He did not elaborate. An overnight drone strike near the Ukrainian port of Odesa sparked a massive fire and explosion, the military said on Monday. It was the latest drone attack on the key southern city in recent days, and hit a military installation, setting off ammunition. Firefighters struggled to contain the blaze. New Russian shelling struck near the Zaporozhzhia nuclear power plant, according to Zelenskyy's office. Cities near the plant were fired on nine times by rocket launchers and heavy artillery. Local Ukrainian officials said Monday evening that the strikes had wounded three civilians in the town of Marhanets, across the Dnieper river from the plant. Russia also kept pummelling Ukrainian-held territory in the country's east, parts of which have seen ramped-up shelling and missile strikes since Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive made sweeping gains there this month. At least seven civilians, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed on Monday in a rocket attack on the city of Pervomayskiy in the northeastern Kharkiv region, local officials reported. Further south, Ukrainian officials reported that a Russian missile on Monday evening destroyed a civilian airport in the eastern city of Kryvyi Rih, President Zelenskyy's birthplace. The regional governor, Valentyn Reznichenko said that while there had been no casualties, the airport had been knocked out of commission. In Ukraine's industrial heartland of Donbas, four civilians were wounded on Monday after a Russian strike slammed into apartment blocks in the city of Kramatorsk, its mayor said on social media. Kramatorsk is one of two largest Ukrainian-held cities remaining in the Donbas, and home to the headquarters of Ukrainian troops there. In the town of Izium in eastern Ukraine, which Russian forces fled this month after a Ukrainian counteroffensive, Margaryta Tkachenko is still reeling from the battle that destroyed her home and left her family close to starvation with no gas, electricity, running water or internet. I can't predict what will happen next. Winter is the most frightening. We have no wood. How will we heat? she asked. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Washington, Sep 27 (PTI) US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Monday met External Affairs S Jaishankar during which they discussed the bilateral commercial relationship and recently formed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework or IPEF. Raimondo welcomed India's participation in the IPEF and Jaishankar's views on IPEF going forward, according to a US readout of the meeting here. Also Read | US Vows 'Catastrophic Consequences' if Russia Uses Nuclear Weapon After Drone Strike Hits Ukraine's Port of Odesa. During the meeting, Raimondo emphasized the need for an ambitious and high-standard outcome, supported by concrete benefits, in order to deliver to all IPEF members, and looks forward to working closely with India in the discussions ahead. Raimondo also confirmed the recent appointment of CEOs to the US Section of the US-India CEO Forum (CEO Forum). Also Read | Partygate Scandal: UK Parliament Panel Defends Partygate Probe Into Boris Johnson. The two leaders agreed that both the CEO Forum and the US-India Commercial Dialogue are key opportunities to strengthen the US-India commercial relationship and to advance progress on issues relevant to both the economies. PTI / LKJ (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], September 27 (ANI): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at the State Department on Monday and said that America had provided USD 56.5 million in aid to Pakistan for flood relief and humanitarian assistance this year. Blinken expressed his sorrow over the devastation and loss of life throughout Pakistan caused by catastrophic flooding. Also Read | US Vows 'Catastrophic Consequences' if Russia Uses Nuclear Weapon After Drone Strike Hits Ukraine's Port of Odesa. "He reaffirmed the US commitment to the people of Pakistan, noting the nearly USD 56.5 million in flood relief and humanitarian assistance provided this year as well as the additional USD 10 million of food security assistance announced today," read the US State Department press release. The US Secretary and the Pakistan Foreign Minister also discussed partnering on food security, economic prosperity, regional stability, and Afghanistan. Also Read | Partygate Scandal: UK Parliament Panel Defends Partygate Probe Into Boris Johnson. "Welcomed Pakistani Foreign Minister @BBhuttoZardari to the @StateDept to reaffirm our close partnership for economic prosperity, regional stability, and food security. I also emphasized our continued support for flood relief, including nearly USD 56.5 million in aid. #PakUSAt75," tweeted Blinken. Blinken and Foreign Minister Bhutto Zardari focused on various issues including the marking of 75 years of the countries' relations, security and the devastating floods in Pakistan. Since mid-June, unprecedented heavy rains and flooding gripped Pakistan, the military has been engaged in relief and rescue efforts across the country struggling with the deluge that has killed more than 1,600 people. "We stand in strong solidarity with our friends in Pakistan, not only in solidarity," said Blinken. "We are doing everything we can to be of assistance at this moment, just as Pakistan has been of assistance to us, including at the beginning of COVID." Responding to Blinken, Bhutto stressed on climate change that has brought one of the most devastating floods in the history of Pakistan. "This is a global problem that needs global solutions, and your President has shown leadership on the climate front, so I think we're ready to be partners on this agenda," said Bhutto. Speaking on 75-year diplomatic relations between the two countries, he said, "I think Pakistan and the United States have shown over the last 75 years that we've been great powers - great partners, great partners, and we've achieved great things together. In fact, whenever we've - there's developed a distance, we've faltered, and I think it's a great testament to our diplomatic relations that we've not only withstanded the tests of time, but we are now re-engaged in a broader framework." (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Surat, September 27: Seven residents of a housing society in Surat city in Gujarat have been arrested for allegedly lynching a ragpicker on suspicion of being a thief, police said on Tuesday. The incident occurred in Surat's Amroli locality on the night of September 25 and a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged at Amroli police station on Monday evening, inspector PP Brahmbhatt said. The seven persons were arrested on Monday night after the investigation. The body of the victim, who is yet to be identified, was found lying outside a shop near Ashirwad Heights Society on Sunday with injury marks. The shop owner informed the police, the police inspector said. "The postmortem revealed that the man was thrashed by a mob," he said. The man was assaulted by some residents of the housing society on Sunday night with sticks and plastic pipes after he was caught by a security guard while trying to enter the society, Brahmbhatt said. Child-Lifting Rumours on WhatsApp, Social Media Trigger Panic and Mob Attacks in Parts of Uttar Pradesh, Police Say Dont Fall for Fake News, Cops on High Alert. Prima facie, a group of residents thrashed him on suspicion that he was a thief trying to enter the society building, the police officer said. "A case was registered under sections 302 (Punishment for murder) and 147 (Punishment for rioting) of the Indian Penal Code, and seven accused have been arrested. Further probe was underway," he added. New Delhi, September 27: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was conducting raids in over eight states and at multiple locations linked to the Popular Front of India (PFI) members on Tuesday. Sources said that more than 50 people have been detained and the arrests will depend on their questioning. Raids were going on in Aurangabad, Jalana, Parbhani districts of Maharashtra; Simoga, Bidar, Ballari, Hubli, Kalburgi districts of Karnataka; Nagarbera of Assam; Bulandshahr's Kasba Syana, Sarurpur and Lisari Gate area of Meerut in Western Uttar Pradesh; and at several places in Delhi. The raids started early Tuesday morning and were going on. NIA sources said that in a few states the local police were conducting raids at their instruction. Hiren Nath, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) (Special Branch), Assam said that they have detained five PFI members from the Nagarbera area. The DGP said that the raids were going on in many districts of Assam. As many as 11 persons were held by the NIA in it's recent raid. In Western Uttar Pradesh, four persons have been taken into custody. "We are grilling them. As of now no arrest memos have been filed against any of them. They are PFI members. We got fresh inputs after the questioning of earlier arrested PFI members and are conducting raids," the source said. In Maharashtra the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) and the local police were conducting the raids in Aurangabad, Jalana and Parbhani districts. Gang of Cyber Thugs Arrested In Lucknow: Criminals Lure Users To Buy Stuff At Low Cost And Dupe Them, Know More About Their Modus Operandi. "Raids are on in Simoga, Bidar, Ballari, Hubli, and Kalburgi area of Karnataka. Five have been detained from Simoga, four from Ballari, two from Hubli, and six have been detained from Kolar district. Bidar district president and Kalburgi media coordinator of PFI have been detained," the source said. In Delhi, raids were on in Nizamuddin, Rohini, Jamia and in Shahin Bagh. Raids were being conducted after the NIA got fresh information during the questioning of the arrested PFI members. PFI Has Strong Roots in Gulf, Money Was Sent to India via Hawala, Say Sources in NIA. Earlier in the week, more than 106 members of PFI were arrested by the NIA and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Lookout Circulars were also issued against two of the PFI members on Monday. As of now, the NIA is investigating a total of 19 PFI related cases. The NIA has said that around 46 accused, who were arrested and later convicted in 2010-2011. Around 355 PFI members have already been chargesheeted by the agency. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 27, 2022 09:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). The police on Tuesday arrested a YouTuber for creating memes targeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The arrested person has been identified as Tuhin Mondal (30), whose mobile phone has also been confiscated by the police. However, no final decision has been made yet and Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath who met Sonia Gandhi on Monday said that he doesn't want to become the party president and wants to continue to work for the party in Madhya Pradesh. "I want to remain in MP," Kamal Nath, a former Chief Minister of the state, told IANS. Dhaka, Sep 27: At least 51 people have died after a boat capsized in a northern Bangladesh district, a senior police officer said. S.M. Sirajul Huda, Superintendent of Panchagarh District Police, told Xinhua that 26 more bodies were retrieved from the Karatoya river in Bangladesh's northern Panchagarh district, 468 km away from the capital Dhaka, on Monday. According to the officer, the jam-packed boat, carrying some 100 passengers, sank on Sunday afternoon, Xinhua news agency reported. Bangladesh: At Least 23 Killed, Several Missing After Boat Capsizes in Karatoa River in Panchagarh Another 26 bodies were recovered on Monday, bringing the total death toll to 51 from 25, the officer told Xinhua over phone on Monday evening. Bangladesh Boat Capsize: Around 20 Dead, 30 Missing After Boat Capsizes in Panchagarh; Rescue Operation Underway "The boat overturned and sank due to overloading," said the officer. TV images from the scene showed dozens of bodies in white bags which were retrieved from the river on Monday. The boat has already been dragged to the river bank, where many were waiting for the bodies of their loved ones to be retrieved from the water. The police officer added that rescuers had been working against a strong current and choppy river waters, adding that a search was underway as several passengers were still believed to be missing. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 27, 2022 10:16 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failed to report his wifes income from a conservative think tank on financial disclosure forms for at least five years, the watchdog group Common Cause said Friday. Between 2003 and 2007, Virginia Thomas, a longtime conservative activist, earned $686,589 from the Heritage Foundation, according to a Common Cause review of the foundations IRS records. Thomas failed to note the income in his Supreme Court financial disclosure forms for those years, instead checking a box labeled none where spousal noninvestment income would be disclosed. A Supreme Court spokesperson could not be reached for comment late Friday. But Virginia Thomas employment by the Heritage Foundation was well known at the time. Advertisement Virginia Thomas also has been active in the group Liberty Central, an organization she founded to restore the founding principles of limited government and individual liberty. In his 2009 disclosure, Justice Thomas also reported spousal income as none. Common Cause contends that Liberty Central paid Virginia Thomas an unknown salary that year. Federal judges are bound by law to disclose the source of spousal income, according to Stephen Gillers, a professor at NYU School of Law. Thomas omission which could be interpreted as a violation of that law could lead to some form of penalty, Gillers said. It wasnt a miscalculation; he simply omitted his wifes source of income for six years, which is a rather dramatic omission, Gillers said. It could not have been an oversight. But Steven Lubet, an expert on judicial ethics at Northwestern University School of Law, said such an infraction was unlikely to result in a penalty. Although unfamiliar with the complaint about Thomas forms, Lubet said failure to disclose spousal income is not a crime of any sort, but there is a potential civil penalty for failing to follow the rules. He added: I am not aware of a single case of a judge being penalized simply for this. The Supreme Court is the only judicial body in the country that is not governed by a set of judicial ethical rules, Gillers said. A spokesman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which oversees the financial disclosures, could not be reached Friday night to comment on what actions could be taken. In most cases, judges simply amend their forms when an error is discovered. Without disclosure, the public and litigants appearing before the court do not have adequate information to assess potential conflicts of interest, and disclosure is needed to promote the publics interest in open, honest and accountable government, Common Cause President Bob Edgar wrote in a letter to the Judicial Conference of the United States. The allegation comes days after Common Cause filed a letter requesting that the Justice Department investigate whether Justices Thomas and Antonin Scalia should have disqualified themselves from hearing a campaign finance case after they reportedly attended a private meeting sponsored by Charles and David Koch, billionaire philanthropists who fund conservative causes. In the case, Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, the court ruled that corporate and union funds could be spent directly on election advertising. The Koch brothers have been key supporters of the group Americans for Prosperity, which spent heavily in the 2010 midterm election and claims a nonprofit tax status that allows it to avoid disclosing its donors. Clarence Thomas has been the lone justice to argue that laws requiring public disclosure of large political contributions are unconstitutional. A Supreme Court spokesperson later said that Thomas dropped by the private event, but that Scalia did not attend. kim.geiger@latimes.com Tom Hamburger in the Washington bureau contributed to this report. The Malaysian citizen in the middle of the biggest bribery scandal in U.S. military history, Leonard Glenn Francis, better known as Fat Leonard, has escaped house arrest and was recently arrested in Venezuela while on his way to Russia. Now, he is reportedly asking Venezuela for Asylum. According to the Associated Press, a Venezuelan law enforcement official confirmed that he asked for asylum just a week after he was captured at an airport while trying to board a plane and flee to Russia, where he might not be extradited back to the United States. Even though the Venezuelan government and the United States government do not see eye-to-eye these days for political reasons, the extradition treaty between these two countries is still standing. The Navy Times reported that the Venezuelan official spoke on the condition of anonymity as he was not allowed to speak to the press about the matter. He also did not provide any additional details about the current situation regarding the fugitive Malaysian businessman. It is noted that by law, the Venezuelan government must consider Fat Leonard's asylum request. Fat Leonard's Daring Escape to Venezuela Officials from both the United States and Venezuela have all confirmed several details of Fat Leonard's escape. Just a few weeks before he was supposed to be sentenced for his crimes, he reportedly cut his ankle monitor, fled his home in San Diego, and crossed the border to nearby Mexico. From Mexico, he somehow managed to board a flight to Cuba, before being able to escape to Venezuela. His final destination was supposed to be Russia, but he was tracked down by Interpol and arrested before being handed over to Venezuelan authorities. READ MORE: U.S. Navy Bribery Scandal: Fat Leonard Arrested in Venezuela While Trying to Flee to Russia Given the current tensions between the United States and Russia surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, experts have said that Fat Leonard would have gotten away with it all if he succeeded in entering Russian soil. However, the next best thing for Fat Leonard is Venezuela, as the United States currently does not recognize Nicolas Maduro as president of Venezuela, and the tension between the two countries remains high. It is still unclear whether or not Venezuela will honor the extradition treaty or grant the Malaysian asylum in Venezuela. The Biggest Bribery Scandal in U.S. Military History Fat Leonard is a Malaysian businessman who owned and operated the Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd. or GDMA, which supplied food, water, and fuel for vessels around Southeast Asia for decades. He allegedly lured in naval officers to direct ships to docks he operated with prostitutes, Kobe beef, cigars, and other bribes. However, he also tends to overbill the U.S. Navy, and he did so with the help of dozens of U.S. Navy officials. The Guardian reported that he cooperated with the investigations so far, and even helped in charging four of the naval officers involved in his illegal activities. To date, there have been 29 naval officers who have pleaded guilty in their involvement with Fat Leonard's schemes. READ NEXT: Slain Venezuelan Opposition Activist's Family Wins $73 Million in U.S. Lawsuit This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Brian Ross Investigates: Hookers, Payoffs and Top Admirals - The Fat Leonard Scandal - Law&Crime Network Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who spoke against U.S. surveillance programs, has been given citizenship by Russia's President Vladimir Putin. The Washington Post reported that Putin signed a decree covering 72 foreigners, with Snowden being the most prominent among the names. Snowden was an ex-National Security Agency contractor who released information regarding the U.S. surveillance programs, then fled the U.S. to avoid prosecution. He is still wanted in Washington on espionage charges. Snowden considers himself a whistleblower and has received permanent residency in Russia in 2020. His lawyers said at the time that he was applying to get a Russian passport without revoking his U.S citizenship. Meanwhile, Snowden's wife, Lindsey Mills, is now applying for Russian citizenship, according to Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena. The two reunited in Moscow in 2014 and got married in 2017. They are currently parents to two sons. The NSA, Department of Justice, and Office of the Director of National Intelligence have yet to comment on Snowden gaining Russian citizenship. Former principal deputy director of national intelligence, Sue Gordon, said she thinks it was a very "questionable decision" based on what the U.S. knows about "what Russia perpetrates." READ NEXT: Russia's Vladimir Putin Says 'Colombia Is a Promising Partner' as He Courts Latin America in the Midst of Ukraine War Edward Snowden Receiving Russian Citizenship Edward Snowden said on Monday that he and his wife have no desire to be separated from their sons after years of being away from their parents. Snowden added in The Guardian report that after about 10 years of exile and two years of waiting, "a little stability" will make a difference for his family. The news of a former NSA contractor gaining citizenship in Russia had made a noise on social media, alleging that the whistleblower will soon be included in the Russian army to fight in Ukraine. Editor-in-chief of the state-owned broadcaster RT on Telegram channel, Margarita Simonyan, asked whether Snowden will be part of the Russian army mobilization campaign. Snowden has earlier criticized Kremlin's human rights records. He has not, however, commented in public about the country's invasion of Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine on Edward Snowden's Citizenship U.S. Department spokesperson Ned Price noted that he was unaware of any chance of the former NSA contractor's status as a U.S. citizen. Putin said in 2017 that Snowden was wrong to leak U.S. secrets. However, he claimed that Snowden was not a traitor, according to a Reuters report. Putin was a former Russian spy chief himself. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that they would question to Justice Department for any specifics when asked questions about prosecutors seeking Snowden's prosecution. Snowden revealed the existence of the NSA's database, wherein a collection of millions of Americans' phone records were gathered. The program was later found by a federal appeals court to be unlawful and has since shut down. NSA intelligence-gathering also had a separate program, wherein it included industry collaboration. Executive director of Columbia University's Knight First Amendment, Jameel Jaffer, said in a tweet that Snowden did an "immense public service" when he exposed the surveillance programs that were later on found to be unconstitutional. READ MORE: Colombia's Most-Wanted Drug Lord Dairo Antonio Usuga Arrested; Pres. Ivan Duque Likened It to Capture of Pablo Escobar This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Putin grants Edward Snowden citizenship in Russia - from CBS Evening News Cuba recently held a vote on a sweeping Family Law Code that not only redefines the rights of children and grandparents but also legalizes marriage for same-sex couples. With over 94% of the votes already counted, it looks like the new law will pass. The sweeping national referendum had an unusually strong opposition on the island, according to the Associated Press. However, despite this, the president of the National Electoral Council, Alina Balseiro Gutierrez, told state media that 66.9% of eligible voters voted in favor of the bill, while 33.1% voted against it. Strong Opposition in Cuba to Referendum While Cuba's Communist government had long repressed any opposition to its policies, the referendum has experienced "unusually strong open resistance" from the growing evangelical movement in Cuba, as well as other more conservative Cubans. The heavy opposition to the measure was reflected in the vote, as referendums usually have victory margins of over 90% in Cuba, while this one only contained a little over 65% of the total vote. The new family code would allow surrogate pregnancies, as well as broader rights for grandparents. It also has measures for protecting the elderly, as well as measures against gender violence, so it is not all LGBTQ-related. READ NEXT: Cuba Oil Tank Fire Spreads; 1 Dead, 17 Missing, 125 Others Injured as Firefighters Struggle to Contain Flames President Miguel Diaz-Canel heavily promoted the bill's passage but acknowledged the questions surrounding the referendum. He correctly predicted that most people will vote in favor of it, though he acknowledged that "it still has issues that our society as a whole does not understand." Following its passage, the Cuban president stated, "Love is now the law." He added it will "pay a debt to various generations of Cubans whose domestic plans had been waiting years for this law." This is in reference to the discrimination that LGBTQ people have faced in the country for decades. Cuba's Parliament, the National Assembly, had been debating such reforms for years. There is still a strong strain of social conservatism in Cuba, with many religious leaders worried that it could weaken nuclear families in the country. Raul Castro's Daughter Heavily Pushed for Referendum One of the loudest voices backing the referendum in Cuba is Fidel Castro's niece and the daughter of former President Raul Castro, Mariela Castro. She is a prominent gay rights activist in Cuba, according to Fox News, and has pushed proposals to modify the family code for almost a decade. She is also the current director of the National Center for Sex Education and has been one of the biggest factors in the bill's passage. Her plans hit a snag in 2018 when Cuban legislators abandoned provisions that would have legalized same-sex marriage. CNN reported that there were fears of a homophobic backlash should a referendum be passed. Despite a prominent member of the Castro family backing the LGBTQ movement, Cuban authorities broke up a peaceful LGBTQ rights parade in 2019. The country has long repressed such movements, with Fox News noting that Cuba had banned such parades in the past. READ MORE: Cuba: Latin Grammy Winner and Dissident Artist Sentenced to Prison This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Referendum legalizes same-sex marriage in Cuba - 9News A mother and a daughter were missing after a Guatemala sinkhole swallowed a car on Sunday. The girl's father was rescued from the hole in Villa Nueva, along with three other people. NBC News reported that search efforts were underway for the mother and the daughter who disappeared when a sinkhole opened in the middle of the town's main thoroughfare. Search efforts on Monday had a crane lifting a blue sedan from the sinkhole, with rescuers descending using ropes and ladders. The crane also lowered rescuers at one point, and a search dog was deployed into the opening. Relatives told journalists that the two missing people were supposedly traveling in another car when it fell into the hole. La Prensa Latina noted that the members of the relief corps and Guatemalan army were involved in the sinkhole with a special team in search of the two persons. However, the two have not been found so far. The rescuers only managed to pull out the vehicle they were in. Road and Safety and Security spokesperson Juan Aquino confirmed that cranes were used to remove the vehicle from the sinkhole. Aquino added that two of the three people injured had been inside the vehicle while the third person was a motorcyclist. READ NEXT: Guatemala's Alejandro Giammattei Unharmed After Gunmen Opened Fire on President's Military Guards Guatemala Rainy Season Officials noted in June that at least 15 people have already died in a dozen mudslides caused by heavy rains that started in early May in Guatemala. The Office of the Coordination for the Reduction of National Disasters noted that the 15 fatalities they recorded included a woman and her six children, and three brothers from two Indigenous villages, according to a PHYS report. The office noted that heavy rains had damaged 930 homes, as well as eight schools, seven bridges, and more than 80 roads. The regions most affected by the heavy rains were mainly inhabited by indigenous populations. The previous year's rainy season logged the death of 25 people and affected almost one in 10 Guatemalans. Guatemala Sinkhole in 2010 In 2010, a sinkhole also opened up in Guatemala City, which swallowed a whole intersection and one building. The depth of the 2010 Guatemala sinkhole was so deep it was impossible to see its bottom in photos available in public, as reported by NPR News. There were reports at the time that there was more than one of these sinkholes in the capital city. Sinkholes are formed when the underlying limestone or similar rock is eroded away by water that creates subsurface caves and caverns. Natural depressions that cause water collection and structures such as houses and streets with poor drainage are especially prone to sinkholes. The 2010 Tropical Storm Agatha was one of the main reasons that accelerated the process of the Guatemala sinkhole. In 2007, a sinkhole was also found in Barrio San Antonio in Guatemala City. This claimed three lives. READ MORE: VP Kamala Harris Announces New $1.9B Worth of Private Sector Investments in Central America to Address Immigration This article is owned by Latin Post Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Two People Missing After Massive Sinkholes Form Near Guatemala's Capital - from NBC News In an effort to "Stop the Steal," several die-hard Donald Trump supporters tried stealing some voting machines. It was also revealed that some of these men who attempted seizing voting machines in Arizona texted Trump Chief-of-Staff Mark Meadows and kept him updated on their efforts. CNN obtained the text messages from prominent election conspiracy theorist Phil Waldron, who sent these messages from then-White House Chief-of-Staff Mark Meadows on December 23, 2021. Waldron's text to Meadows stated that an Arizona judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by pro-Trump Arizona GOP lawmakers to hand over voting machines and other election equipment. This was all part of Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential elections, as well as support his baseless and debunked claims of voter fraud. Waldron also told Meadows that the decision would allow their opponents to engage in "delay tactics" to prevent him and his associates from accessing the voting machines. To this, Meadows responded with only one word, "pathetic." The election conspiracy theorist also stated in the texts that they planned to use Arizona as the "lead domino" in starting a cascade in other battleground states like Georgia. Phil Waldron Worked Directly With Rudy Giuliani to Gain Access to Voting Data The texts revealed by CNN also showed that Phil Waldron texted Mark Meadows again a few days later, on December 29. He told the Chief-of-Staff that his team allegedly found some "voting irregularities" in multiple states and dubbed it the "Southern steal." He claimed that his team had already "analyzed" election data from "several counties." Reports also revealed that Waldron was in charge of "operational planning" for efforts to access voting machine data. He also worked directly with Trump attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, where he soon became the Trump Team's favorite "expert witness" on election fraud. He often appeared alongside Giuliani in efforts to have officials believe that the outcomes of the elections were "tainted." READ MORE: Trump White House Switchboard Connected to January 6 Rioter's Phone While Riot Happening, Ex-GOP Representative Says Who Is Phil Waldron? What Is His Connection to Mark Meadows? According to the Daily Mail, Phil Waldron is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army. He had become known in various pro-Trump circles for providing various conspiracy theories involving election fraud, the CCP, Dominion, and George Soros. Forbes Magazine also pointed out that along with Mark Meadows, he was subpoenaed by investigators in Fulton County, Georgia. Aside from his efforts to breach election data in Arizona, he also tried to breach the election infrastructure in Coffee County, Georgia. He was also involved in the controversial Maricopa County audit in Arizona and helped draft an executive order they wanted then-President Trump to sign. This executive order allowed the federal government to seize voting machines. He reportedly presented a PowerPoint Presentation about the entire scheme, and Mark Meadows had his hands on it. In fact, it was Meadows himself who handed it over to House January 6 investigators as evidence. A Washington Post report stated that Waldron met with Meadows personally at the White House following the election. However, a Trump White House source also stated that while Waldron did meet with Meadows, he had "little or nothing to do with him." READ NEXT: Donald Trump Ally, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's Cellphone Seized by FBI This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: 'Powerpoint Coup Plot': Explosive Evidence Revealed From Trump's Top Aide - MSNBC Some Florida hotels are offering lower rates as Hurricane Ian gets closer to the state. Rosen Hotels & Resorts said it is offering "distress rates" on some of its properties in Florida for residents to have a safe and affordable place to stay. According to Fox 35 Orlando, the "distressed rates" of these Florida hotels are usually offered when a tropical storm or hurricane warning is in effect for impacted areas in the state. It will remain in effect as long as there is a threat posed in the state. Rosen hotel officials said those rates will remain implemented as long as needed by those displaced after the hurricane. The Florida hotel company noted that its hotels are pet-friendly, adding that they do not charge any additional pet fees during the implementation of distress rates. Hotel guests will also have access to free WiFi and do not have to pay a resort fee. Guests must provide proof of residency in an affected area and should call 866-33-ROSEN (76736) to reserve a room. READ NEXT: Tropical Storm Ian Path: Strength, Current Location, and When It Will Hit Florida, Revealed Hurricane Ian in Florida Hurricane Ian became a Category 3 storm on Tuesday morning as it continued to move toward Florida. As of 3 a.m., WESH reported that the eye of the storm was located some 105 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba. It had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and was moving north-northwest at 13 mph. The National Hurricane Center said Ian is expected to make landfall in western Cuba early Tuesday morning and will emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. It will then continue to move toward Florida, passing west of the Florida Keys late Tuesday and approaching the state's west coast late Wednesday into Thursday. Ian keeps getting stronger as it nears Florida. As early as Tuesday, CNN reported that Florida could already feel Ian's wrath. CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said Ian has "shown an unprecedented rate of strengthening from a tropical storm" turning into a powerful hurricane. When it moves over Cuba Tuesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said it is expected to produce flash flooding and possible mudslides in parts of Cuba and Jamaica. In the Western Cuban province of Pinar del Rio, a total of 19,283 people have reportedly been evacuated from their homes. In the U.S., more than 15 million people are projected to be affected by tropical storm-force winds in Florida cities such as Tampa, Orlando, Tallahassee, and Jacksonville. Florida Braces for Hurricane Ian Forecasters said Hurricane Ian is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds along much of Florida's west coast by mid-week. While its exact path is still uncertain, projections show the hurricane could hit the Tampa area, and impacts on the site could be devastating. The latest advisory from the hurricane center said the hurricane watch from Englewood to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay, has been upgraded to a hurricane warning, which means "hurricane conditions are expected somewhere" within the warning area within 24 to 36 hours. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has warned Florida to brace for a potential "major disaster" as the hurricane gathers strength in the Caribbean, BBC reported. DeSantis also warned of "broad impacts" across the state of Florida. It was reported that some parts of the state had yet to experience a hurricane this huge in about a century. During a news conference Monday, DeSantis said that Hurricane Ian is a "really big hurricane at this point" and urged residents to do their own preparations while remaining calm. The Republican governor had issued a state of emergency for all of Florida over the weekend and activated 5,000 National Guard troops to assist in relief efforts. READ MORE: Winter Storm Update Texas: Will There Be Another Power Outage Amid Dangerous Storm? This article is owned by Latin Post Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Cuba Feeling Early Early Impacts On Hurricane Ian - From CBS Miami An Oklahoma woman has pleaded guilty to murdering her ex-roommate over food stamps and trying to set fire to both the victim and her home in an attempt to destroy the evidence. According to Oxygen, Jessica Lavon McBride, 30, confessed to killing Tracy Elaine Russell on March 17, 2019. She pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit arson. The Department of Justice said Friday that Russel had allowed the suspect and her boyfriend to live at her residence in Tulsa "in exchange for assistance with groceries." But in a plea agreement, McBride said she killed her ex-roommate after a heated argument that began when she accused Russell of stealing her food stamps. Because of this, Russell asked McBride and her partner to leave home. READ NEXT: Jeffrey Dahmer: Some Shocking Facts You May Not Know About Milwaukee's Terrifying Cannibal Serial Killer Oklahoma Woman Kills Her Ex-Roommate Over Food Stamps The plea agreement noted that the Oklahoma woman's statement that she killed her ex-roommate because she stole her food stamps was "never substantiated." According to the criminal complaint, Jessica Lavon McBride returned to Tracy Elaine Russell's home three days after being kicked out of the house to collect her purse and other belongings. The Oklahoma woman said she became "angered" when the victim denied having her purse, which prompted the suspect to put Russell in a 10-second rear chokehold that resulted in her death. McBride told investigators that she returned the next day to cover Russell's body in a blanket and to destroy the evidence by "lighting two corners of the blanket on fire before leaving the house. According to Law and Crime, McBride made a second attempt to burn the victim's body and home on March 19, 2019. The defendant allegedly texted one of her friends to help her do it and told her she had already bought some cap fuel and that they had to "do it tonight," according to the arrest affidavit filed by law enforcement. However, the friend reported the incident to police on March 20, 2019, instead of assisting the suspect. The friend became a "confidential source." Police caught her in the act during her second attempt to burn the victim's body. The plea agreement said the Oklahoma woman agreed to a maximum sentence partly because the government agreed to a voluntary manslaughter conviction rather than murder in the second-degree conviction. McBride was initially indicted on charges of second-degree murder, arson, attempted arson, and attempting to alter, destroy, mutilate, and destroy evidence. Prosecutors then dropped most of the charges in exchange for the two guilty pleas. The defendant can withdraw the plea agreement if a federal judge does not accept it. Oklahoma Woman Admits Killing Her Ex-Roommate Tulsa Police noted that Tracy Elaine Russell was killed inside her home near 46th Street North and Peoria. Officials noted that they received information about a possible homicide case in the area. When the police arrived, they found a lifeless woman with McBride outside the house with camp fuel in her hand, News on 6 reported. Police said Jessica Lavon McBride had admitted that she strangled the victim a few days after they got in an argument. Tulsa Police Officer Jeanne Pierce said McBride confessed to strangling the victim after they argued. She then told police that it was her second attempt to destroy the evidence. Pierce noted that the Oklahoma woman initially tried to burn the body, but it did not burn completely, prompting the suspect to go back and buy lighter fluid to do it again. The Tulsa police officer said it could have been a cold case if the confidential source did not tell the officers about the homicide. READ MORE: John Lennon Killer: The Disturbing Story of Mark David Chapman Who Was Denied Parole for 12th Time This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Crime Rates In Multiple Categories Drop Across Oklahoma City - From News 9 A new book revealed that former President Donald Trump did admit to taking some "tremendous stuff" from the White House, including letters from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, when he jetted to his Mar-a-Lago mansion after his term. The latest Trump tell-all book "Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America" is written by American journalist Maggie Haberman and to be published next week. In the book, Haberman revealed that Trump told her he took the letters that Kim Jong-un had sent him and other "tremendous stuff" when he left the White House on the day President Joe Biden was inaugurated, New York Daily News reported. "Most of it is in the archives, but the Kim Jong-un letters... we have incredible things," the former president told Haberman in an Atlantic interview conducted before the FBI search of Trump's Florida home on August 8. Federal prosecutors are currently investigating Trump for possible violations of the Espionage Act, mishandling classified documents, and obstruction of justice in connection with the Mar-a-Lago raid, which turned up around 10,000 government records and more than 100 classified documents. But despite improperly grabbing off with the cache of documents, the former president insisted that he did not take any important documents when he left the White House. "Nothing of great urgency, no," Trump told Haberman, who often writes for The New York Times. However, part of the current investigations against Trump had shown that he removed some of the White House top secret documents and improperly took them to his Mar-a-Lago mansion. READ NEXT: Donald Trump Chief-of-Staff Mark Meadows in Communication With Trump Supporter Who Tried Stealing Voting Machines in Arizona, Texts Show New Book Sparks Speculations About Why Donald Trump Took Documents The book reportedly dropped at least one major hint at the answer to why former President Donald Trump took several important White House documents at his Mar-a-Lago home after he finished his term. According to Salon, there are three main speculations as to why Trump would do such a thing that is not appropriate, as all documents of any president's administration belong to the United States. The first reason would be Trump is a hoarder who can't throw anything away. He may have simply thrown boxes of documents into his home without actually looking at the contents. The second speculation was he intended to sell them. Trump often considers himself the greatest dealmaker, and this may be plausible because of that. The final reason may be for leverage against certain individuals. Reports have shown that Trump liked to look over intelligence briefings about his foreign counterparts, especially the ones he did not like, including French President Emmanuel Macron. One of the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago was several documents relating to Macron's personal life. This one reportedly seems the most likely reason if we based on Maggie Haberman's book that focuses on the interviews she had with Trump after he had left office. New Book May Have Revealed Why Donald Trump Wants To Run For President Again A report from CNN also revealed that Donald Trump also talked to Maggie Haberman about his motivations for running for president again, despite all the legal battles he is currently facing. Haberman asked Trump why he was running for president again. He answered by saying, "the question I get asked more than any other question: 'If you had it to do again, would you have done it?'" The former president added, "The answer is, yeah, I think so. Because here's the way I look at it. I have so many rich friends and nobody knows who they are." In a startling admission, the former president confirmed that he is running because it will make him even more famous. According to CNN, the presidency, for Donald Trump, was nothing more than a means to an end. READ MORE: Donald Trump in More Legal Trouble as Grand Jury Investigates Save America PAC Formation and Spending This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Haberman Identifies Moment in New Trump Interview That Could Hurt Him - From CNN After an ethics investigation showed that Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) president Mauricio Claver-Carone had an intimate relationship with one of his subordinates, the bank's board of governors voted to terminate him. Through an electronic vote, the 48 governors of the IADB had until Tuesday to decide whether or not to fire Claver-Carone. The bank's board unanimously decided last week that it should terminate the institution's first American president in its 63-year history, the Associated Press reported. However, by Monday afternoon, enough ballots had been cast to meet the necessary quorum. In a statement, the IADB said that in accordance with the bank's charter, Executive Vice President Reina Mejia will assume the role of acting president until a new leader is chosen. Mejia is from Honduras and spent most of her professional career at Citibank in Central America. READ NEXT: Inter-American Development Bank Directors Unanimously Vote to Remove Trump-Picked Chief for Ethics Violation Inter-American Development Bank Ex-President Mauricio Claver-Carone Considers Filing a Legal Action According to Mauricio Claver-Carone, the investigation conducted by Davis Polk, a New York law firm, was severely flawed. The Trump-picked official also denied having a relationship with his subordinate. Claver-Carone told AP on Monday that he was thinking about suing the international Latin America bank for allegedly hurting his reputation and going beyond the terms of his job contract. He also said the Biden administration failed to defend a citizen's right to due process. He argued that he was never officially informed about the anonymous complaint that sparked the probe or given the option to correct errors in the investigators' secret report in a parting letter to the governors. "The Bank has failed to meet the mark as a rules-based institution," he noted. He also said the bank's future is in jeopardy, adding that it is vital to ensure that "the ad hoc and arbitrary disregard for rules and procedures are never repeated," ABC News reported. Mauricio Claver-Carone Issues With the Latin America Development Bank The independent investigators, which comprised lawyers from the legal firm Davis Polk, reportedly found evidence to support allegations that Mauricio Claver-Carone had a relationship with his chief of staff since 2019 when the two held senior positions on the National Security Council. The two allegedly drew up a "contract" on the back of a place mat while they dined in a steakhouse in Medellin, Colombia. It reportedly happened during the summer of 2019 while attending the Organization of American States' annual meeting. AP reported that the contract, which investigators uncovered, allegedly outlined a plan for the two to divorce their spouses and get married. It also had a breach clause stating that failing to fulfill the terms would bring "sadness and heartbreak" that could only be mitigated by some "candlewax and a naughty box" from a Miami hotel. Other evidence reportedly included the bank president sending a romantic poem to his chief-of-staff and having a 1 a.m. hotel room rendezvous with her. Claver-Carone also awarded her a 40% pay raises in violation of the bank's conflict-of-interest policies. Claver-Carone has since disputed the report's accuracy, denouncing how the review was conducted but offered no hint that he was considering resignation. READ MORE: US Stocks Plunges as Recession Impends This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Bert Hoover Watch: Escandalo en El BID: Destituyeron a Su Presidente - From Television Publica Noticias There is good news and bad for the 65 Laois private roads and lanes awaiting a Government grant to cover repairs. Laois recently received 508,397 from the Government to fund its Local Improvement Scheme, whereby residents can apply and get most of the cost of resurfacing a private lane to their houses and businesses. However one big loophole has been pointed out by Laois councillors, in the recently changed application rules. Anyone with land off the lane can refuse permission if so inclined, and scupper the project. It affects every county, not just Laois. Director of Services for Roads in Laois is Simon Walton. He confirms the change that leaves applications open for rejection. "If say eight property owners want the lane, even if only five pay up, they all have to sign their consent. There have been specific objections by property owners of work being done," he said. He said that the recent rule change has made some of the applications sitting waiting for funding, ineligible. "I will take it up with the department. It appears unfair if they comply at the date of application and then the rule changed rendering them ineligible. A number of these are private roads, the rights local authories have on public roads are not applicable. All of the registered owners must give their consent to complete the scheme. if we don't have them all, we can't go ahead, or a portion of the road can't go ahead," he said. Cllr Wilie Aird says he "won't allow it". "It's the first time I've seen this happen. It's one thing not giving a contribution, but if we are having someone say 'sorry, I'm not letting this happen', I won't allow that to creep in. Before if one person refused to pay their allocation and others threw in extra it was done," he said. In total this year Laois got 860,277 to fund the LIS scheme, hoped to cover another 14 lanes for repairs. There were 40 lanes repaired with the grants across the county in the past 18 months. There are 65 still on the waiting list. Of those 33 are in the Borris-in-Ossory Municipal District, 24 in the Portarlington Graiguecullen MD and eight in the Portlaoise MD. It is a catch up on the scheme. LIS funding was suspended for years after the economic crash. The council began by funding the oldest lanes on the waiting list, which dated back 12 years, and is now working on applications made in 2019. Cllr Conor Bergin had sought the update, in a motion to the September council meeting. "The extra 500,000 is very welcome. I commend the roads office for reducing the waiting list. It was going back 12 years. It's hard to measure the benefit in rural areas. People wait years for this, it's once in a generation to see them done. I hope you get them all finished," he said. The Board of Management of Mountrath Community School invites applications for the full-time position of Caretaker (This position will take effect from October 10, 2022. This is a full-time position and the ideal candidate will have several years of general maintenance experience. A qualification in building maintenance or a technicians qualification would be advantageous. The Caretaker shall provide an efficient and effective range of caretaking, cleaning/maintenance and security service. He/she will be flexible with excellent interpersonal and organisational skills. Hard Copy of Completed Application Form, Letter of Application with CV should be sent to The Secretary, Board of Management, Mountrath Community School, Co Laois, R32AK27 Closing date for receipt of applications is 28th September 2022 The appointment is made under the terms and conditions of appointment of a Caretaker in community schools. The salary scale for the position is in accordance with the DES pay scales for Caretakers. Entry will be at the minimum of the scale, unless a higher starting point on the scale is approved by the Department of Education. The position is subject to garda vetting. Application form available to download from www.mountrathcs.ie Dysartbeigh, Mountrath, Co. Laois, Ireland R32AK27 Phone: (057)8741080/41081/41082/41083 Fax: (0578741001) *SPONSORED CONTENT Galway based Bru Theatre will tour their exciting, multi-disciplinary show Selvage by James Riordan, directed by Lara Campbell, this October and November to eight venues around the country. Selvage is a highly visual, theatrical event using different forms of live performance to tell the story of Jo as his fairytale falters and his gnaw begins to bite. Selvage (a word meaning the self-securing first and last line of knitting) is a dark yet joyous show about unravelling tightly wound modern anxieties. Written by Brus Artistic Director, James Riordan, who also performs on stage, audiences will experience an energetic, imaginative and funny piece of physical theatre exploring themes of charity, self-help and religion. It imaginatively examines the countless avenues people trudge in an effort to calm themselves when deep down a gnaw is niggling. Incorporating puppetry, new writing and choreographed movement, Selvage will also feature live, original music from musician and composer Anna Mullarkey. Selvage returns for this nationwide tour after sell out runs in Galway in 2019. Selvage was nominated for two Irish Times Theatre Awards in 2020, including Best Actor for James Riordan and Best Lighting for Sarah Jane Shiels. James Riordan is from Galway. He writes, directs and performs with the company and received the Michael Hogan Commemoration Bursary from the Abbey Theatre in 2021. He was a Druid FUEL participant in 2018. Anna Mullarkey is an award-winning composer and performer from Galway, whose music weaves electronics with piano and voice. The Irish Times called her phenomenal and Irish Theatre Magazine described her music as if a sultry menage of Bjork/Billie Holiday/Philip Glass got together at the Wickerman Festival. Her original score for the film The Passion (2021) has won awards in Ireland and Europe. Selvage was originally developed as part of the Druid FUEL programme. Bru Theatre would like to acknowledge the support of the Arts Council, Galway City Council and Galway County Council. Tour Dates: Oct 8th Aras Eanna, Inis Oirr Oct 13th Dunamaise, Portlaoise Oct 14th Backstage, Longford Oct 20th Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge Oct 27th Belltable, Limerick Nov 10th Mick Lally Theatre, Galway Nov 12th Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda Nov 19th Linenhall Theatre, Castlebar Nov 29th Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray Dec 1st-4th Smock Alley Boys School, Dublin Politicians from a range of parties are to attend a screening at the Irish parliament of a film about killings during the Troubles. The Victims Stories features eight people who have lost family members in a number of atrocities in Northern Ireland, including the Omagh bomb, the Ballymurphy massacre and Bloody Sunday. TDs and Senators will gather in Leinster House on Wednesday to watch the victims tell their stories in response to proposed legislation to deal with Northern Irelands troubled past. The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill offers an effective amnesty for Troubles crimes for those who co-operate with an information body. The first official showing of the unique film, made by Mobile Media and The Truth and Justice Movement, will take place on Wednesday at Leinster House Dublin in front of the victims, Senators and TDS. The following day the first public screening will be shown in Queens University Belfast. Prominent victims campaigner Raymond McCord said: It is a film full of emotion, truth, cover-ups, collusion and the corruption, deceit and lies of the British government and its agencies trying to hide their own involvement in the murders of innocent men women and children. This is the film the British government wont want the public to see. No investigations, prosecutions, inquests, civil actions and amnesties for the murderers is how the British government say will help victims move on. Without discussions with victims the British government intends to hide the truth by abolishing all aspects of the legal process. A government determined to immorally control who faces the justice system and the courts. The message this film brings is simple: Exposure and cover-ups, and truth and justice for victims with no amnesty for murderers. Victims do not have a political or sectarian agenda in their pursuit of truth and justice. The murders of 3,600 men, women and children during the Troubles clearly mean nothing to a Conservative British government so afraid of the truth, this film will show that and why. Around the world, fish fraud is a massive problem and amounts to millions of tonnes. Between 11% and 19% of fish are caught without being declared, without a license, without respecting minimum sizes or quotas, out of season, with prohibited gear or in prohibited areas. In short, outside of any regulation. The European Union (EU) had pledged to eliminate these illegal seafood products from its markets by 2020. However, it has not achieved this, noted the European Court of Auditors in a report published on Monday, September 26, which determined that "Member States need to step up [the] fight." Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) is "one of the greatest threats to marine ecosystems," said the Luxembourg-based court in its audit of the methods implemented by the EU-27 and the European Commission to combat these vile activities. Worldwide, it affects between 10 and 26 million tonnes of catches per year, equaling between 10.4 and 23.9 billion, according to estimates published in PLoS ONE in 2009 and included in this report. This illegal trade ends up on the plates of European consumers, who are the worlds largest importers of fishery products. Illegal practices undermine efforts to sustainably manage catches and push "some to the brink of collapse," while fishery resources are already under stress, with 94% of populations either overfished or exploited to capacity. Read more Subscribers only European Commission decides to protect 16,000 km2 of vulnerable marine ecosystems Yellow and red cards for dishonest practices The common fisheries policy falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the EU. It is up to the Member States to provide the means to implement the policy. After delving into the complex network of controls and sanctions specific to each country, Eva Lindstrom, responsible for this audit carried out in response to a request from the European Parliament in Strasbourg, concluded that they were "partially effective" and suffered from major disparity and carelessness. We are interested in your experience using the site. Send feedback The EU imports 60% of the fishery products it consumes, at a cost of 23 billion in 2020 However, the answer is not simple. The EU imports 60% of the fishery products it consumes, mainly from Norway, followed by China, the United Kingdom, Ecuador, Morocco, the United States and Iceland, at a cost of 23 billion in 2020. But its controls must also apply to its own fleets, whether they are conducting their campaigns in the Baltic, the English Channel or the Mediterranean or tracking tuna in the Indian Ocean. With their 79,000 vessels, the European fleets contribute 6% of the world's production and generate 6.3 billion in revenue each year. You have 53.04% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. Lulaflix.com.br is a nicely-made website featuring videos and pictures as well as lengthy articles. Yet one face quickly becomes omnipresent: that of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. "Lula owes 4 billion reais [785 million] to tax authorities," is the headline of one piece. "The head of the PCC [a group of drug traffickers] reveals that he paid President Lula," claims another. Or there's "Lula's wealth has increased by 852% since 2006." And most bluntly: "Lula insults Brazilians." This polished website is actually a disinformation machine launched by far-right influencers. Fake news is omnipresent in the Brazilian presidential campaign. Its first round on October 2 will have Mr. da Silva, the leader of the left, facing incumbent far-right president Jair Bolsonaro. Projected to lose in the polls, the head of state and his teams are now busy spreading disinformation on the internet. For the Brazilian far-right, the goal is to emulate the successful strategy of the victorious 2018 campaign: Destroy the image of the "communist" opponent and instill the fear of the "red." Back then, Bolsonaro supporters had succeeded in forwarding the (false) idea that Fernando Haddad, the Workers' Party candidate (Lula had to withdraw from the race because he was sent to prison), wanted to put in place a "gay kit" in schools promoting homosexuality and distributing baby bottles with penis-shaped teats. The lie was particularly obvious, but the method worked, mainly thanks to the mass distribution of fake news via WhatsApp. Eight out of 10 Brazilians use the platform to get their news first (compared to barely 50% for television and 8% for the written press), according to a study published in 2019. "Digital militias," battalions of YouTubers, bloggers, bots and other trolls, were largely organized and financed by business leaders with close ties to Mr. Bolsonaro. Once he won, President Bolsonaro continued his endeavor. At Planalto Palace, the presidential workplace, a special unit was set up led by Carlos Bolsonaro, the president's second son and an avowed conspiracy theorist and social media prodigy. "Junk media" (like Lulaflix) were funded using public money. "Today, their audience often exceeds that of the traditional media," warned journalist Patricia Campos Mello, author of the book A Maquina do Odio about this "hate machine." Read more Subscribers only Brazil elections: Bolsonaro targets poorest of the poor in Nordeste region We are interested in your experience using the site. Send feedback More vigilant voters But will the far right manage to replicate the 2018 methods in 2022? Experts are divided. Mr. Bolsonaro certainly has an unparalleled online strike force: 50 million subscribers on all platforms, against barely 17 million for Lula. "Disinformation is spreading through these networks, but also through traditional media outlets, many of which obediently follow the government line," said David Nemer, professor of media studies at the University of Virginia in the United States. Among them is Jovem Pan, an openly pro-Bolsonaro conspiracy channel leading the 6 pm ratings, viewed on YouTube by nearly 1 million subscribers and broadcast on a network of 109 affiliated radio stations. Another is an evangelical channel with an ultraconservative tone called Record, the second largest in the country. Its owner is Edir Macedo, a multi-billionaire pastor, patron of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and supporter of Mr. Bolsonaro. You have 54.37% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. A WOMAN is in a critical condition and a young girl has been seriously injured following an incident at a house in County Clare. A major garda investigation has been launched in the wake of the alarm being raised early this Tuesday morning. "Shortly before 8am, gardai and emergency services attended a scene a domestic residence in Clarecastle, County Clare. A female child was discovered with serious injuries and was removed to University Hospital Limerick where she remains in a critical condition," read an updated statement from the Garda Press Office just before 3pm. "A female adult was also found unconscious at the scene, and was removed to University Hospital Limerick where she is also in a critical condition. An incident room has been established at Ennis garda station and a Senior Investigating officer has been appointed to oversee the investigation," it added. Gardai say a Family Liaison Officer has been appointed to the family of the woman and young girl. The scene currently remains preserved and it is currently being examined by members of the Clare Divisional Scenes of Crime Unit.Gardai say the the investigation into what happened is "live and ongoing" and that no further information is available at this time. Any witnesses or anyone with any information is asked to contact Ennis garda station at 065 6848100. JOHNSON & Johnson has launched its Women in Stem programme for the coming academic year in partnership with Lero, - the Limerick-based Research Centre for Software at UL. The Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Manufacturing and Design (WiSTEM2D) undergraduate programme aims to inspire and support more women to pursue a career in STEM. First introduced at UL in 2016, the WiSTEM2D programme has been expanded to support more than 300 female students. This year, the programme will also include Munster Technological University for the first time. At Johnson & Johnson, we are firm believers in working with our educational partners to create a talent pipeline for the future, said Anna Rafferty, Johnson & Johnson WiSTEM2D University Lead and Director of Strategy, Johnson & Johnson Campus Ireland at the National Technology Park, Plassey. We recognise that we have a part to play in ensuring a fairer representation for women in STEM fields. This is why we have developed the WiSTEM2D programme, to build a diverse STEM community that reflects the great diverse aspects of society, by supporting and nurturing women studying in STEM, added Ms Rafferty. Dr Katie Crowley, Funded Investigator in Lero and lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems at University of Limerick, said the programme sponsors and supports female STEM2D students to excel in their careers, and encourages them to be role models for their peers. "We are committed to fostering an open and inclusive STEM culture that mentors and nourishes female leaders of the future,e she commented at the launch. Jenna Bromell, a participant of the 2016 WiSTEM2D programme at UL is now working as a Process Engineer at Johnson & Johnson Vision in Limerick, said: The support, connections, and inspiration that the WiSTEM2D programme provided during my time in college really empowered me to pursue a career in engineering. It gave me a real taste of what I could do as a woman in STEM and set strong foundations for me to build my career on. Application for the programme is open to female students of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Manufacturing and Design subjects entering their second, third, or fourth year of studies 2022/2023 within University of Limerick. Eligible students have until October 14 to submit their application. A LIMERICK student has secured her dream course and has been awarded an Irish Youth Foundation scholarship bursary. Fatima Bibi who attended Colaiste Nano Nagle in the city will have the support of the 5,000 bursary during her first two years at the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS). She will study Drugs and Medicinal Product Analysis at the university. The funds will go towards covering the costs associated with attending university, outside of annual fees. Christy Vickers, Communications Manager at the Irish Youth Foundation (IYF) commented: We are thrilled to hear of Fatimas results and that she will be able to enrol in her first-choice course this September. No young person should be held back from success by circumstances outside their control. One of the main reasons Fatima gained the bursary fund was due to her participation with Teen Turn, a charity who provides teen girls the opportunity to gain STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) experience and the support to acquire qualifications and jobs. Principal of Colaiste Nano Nagle Sinead Moloney also commented: Teen-Turn have offered Fatima and continue to offer other students at Colaiste Nano Nagle, valuable learning opportunities." IYF created the bursary in order to help young people overcome practical barriers that are holding them back from accessing further education, meaningful training opportunities, or new employment. In recent years Fatima has become an ambassador to students to inspire other girls to gain STEM experience and consider STEM careers. We are so grateful to Teen-Turn for broadening our students' learning experiences and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them," Ms Moloney said. A LIMERICK man has been killed in a fatal assault in Manchester, England. Thomas Murphy, aged 42, was found with fatal injuries inside a house on Beverly Road, south Manchester on Saturday evening. A native of Ballyagran, Mr Murphy is understood to have been living in Manchester with his family for a number of years but he regularly came home for visits. His family have been informed of his passing and specially trained officers are supporting them. One local said Mr Murphy was from a "quiet" family and it was "deplorable" what had happened to him. The alarm was raised just after 6:30pm on Saturday to reports of a man had bee found dead in "suspicious circumstances". A 22 year-old man, Stephen Owusu, appeared at Manchester Crown Court this morning after being charged with the murder of Mr Murphy. He has been remanded in custody and will go on trial next year. Detective Inspector Mark Davis, of the Major Incident Team at Greater Manchester Police, said: "Weve been carrying out many enquiries in the area and I would like to appeal for anyone with information to contact the police. "That said, our investigation so far has strongly indicated that this is a tragic but isolated incident inside the property, with no risk to the wider community. "We will have local officers patrolling the area and continuing with our enquiries in the coming days and anyone with information should speak to our officers or contact us via 101 quoting incident 2692 of 24/09/2022. "Details can be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111." EXTRA child benefit payments, social welfare allowances and 600 in energy credits. Just three features of next years national budget which has been described as the most generous of his 40 years in Dail Eireann by local TD Willie ODea and includes 11bn of spend. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath unveiled their estimates for 2023 this Tuesday, with the budget framed squarely around the cost-of-living crisis. Minister of State and Limerick TD Niall Collins hailed the budget, saying: "Government has delivered on its commitment to support workers, communities, businesses, students and farmers. There will be no increase in the cost at the pumps of petrol and diesel, while the lower VAT rate on energy will also remain until February. There will be a 12 per week increase for every recipient of a social protection payment. The Christmas bonus will be paid in full as normal, while there will also be once-off payments to other recipients of social welfare next month. In a boost for the hospitality sector, cost of a the special exemption order for a late bar will halve from 110 down to 55. But as is now the norm at budget-time, the price of a packet of cigarettes is up again, by 50c. Another crisis of our time is the housing, or lack of it across the country. In a bid to ease this, Mr Donohoe announced a vacant homes levy to incentive the supply of accommodation. This tax will apply at a rate of three times the local property tax rare which applies to the dwelling. It will apply to residential properties occupied for less than 30 days in a 12 month period, but local Sinn Fein Senator Paul Gavan described it as a fig leaf. Its not a serious tax. Not just because its down to self-assessment. Itll be easy for people to demonstrate they are there 30 days and not have to pay the tax, he said. Elsewhere in housing, taxpayers paying rent on their principal private residence will receive a new rent tax credit valued at 500 per year from 2023 - it may also be claimed in respect of rent paid in 2022. Mr Donohoe announced the increase of the second USC rate band from 21,295 to 22,290 in a move which will keep those on the minimum wage out of the top rate. He said while a third rate of income tax is not being introduced in Budget 2023, it may be in future years. The education sector has received a boost, with free schoolbooks being made available to all primary school children, and a cut in the pupil-teacher ratio to 23 to one. There will be an extra 686 special educational needs teachers, and 1,194 special needs assistants posts. In health, 443m is being invested to help cut waiting lists, while GP care will become available to 4,000 more people. Mental health spend will rise to 58m. Free contraception will be made available for women up to 30 years, while the VAT rate on hormone replacement and nicotine replacement therapies will be cut from nine per cent down to zero. VAT will no longer be levied on defibrillator devices. In a move which will provide a boost to Limericks Troy Studios, the film tax credit is to be extended to 2028. The VAT rate on newspapers has been cut from nine percent down to zero from the New Year. It comes as part of a temporary funding package of 90m being made available in the tourism, culture, arts and Gaeltacht communities. Some 6,000 extra gardai will be appointed. There will be a 10% levy on concrete products to help pay for both the mica and pyrite redress schemes. In a move criticised by opposition parties, there was no windfall tax proposed on energy companies with Mr Donohoe indicating it could be looked at in the future. It isnt fair for some companies to earn excess profit from the current volatility in the energy market while so many other companies are suffering. Ireland aims to be part of an EU-wide response to high prices. If this is not possible, government will bring forward its own measures, he told the Dail. Irelands cherished Corporation Tax is staying at 12.5%, but the Finance Minister did warn of the over-reliance on 10 big employers accounting for one-third of the tax-take in this area. Public transport fares in Ireland will be kept at 20% lower until the end of next year. A LIMERICK-based animal sanctuary has said it has seen a huge change in the number of dogs being surrendered to shelters after the pandemic. Marion Fitzgibbon, a founding member of Limerick Welfare Animal, has raised concerns after experiencing a surge in the number of dogs being surrendered to shelters in recent months. Last year, our numbers were down to about 350, because of the pandemic, people were actually looking to take in dogs. Weve seen a huge change in the numbers coming in the first six months of this year. We had 430 in the first six months, up to the end of June," she said. According to Ms Fitzgibbon, some owners who took in dogs during the pandemic now dont have time to care for the animals as theyre no longer working from home. In addition, as some people are struggling to adjust to the high prices caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, they are bringing their pets to shelters. On top of that, some of the costs have soared and a lot of people find that they cant afford to keep the dogs, so its a combination of many old dogs being abandoned and puppies being abandoned, she told the Limerick Leader. Limerick Animal Welfare has expressed concern that with the cost of living crisis, the situation will only get worse. Dog owners arent the only ones affected, as the animal sanctuary is also struggling with the soaring costs. With the crisis, our costs have almost doubled. You just have to keep going, one day at a time, and hope things will get better. Its hard to even keep the doors open because our insurance has gone up to 40 000, said Ms Fitzgibbon According to a spokesperson for the Limerick City and County Council, there is no evidence to support the theory that the increased numbers are related to the cost of living crisis. However, the local authority confirmed it has already seen a noticeable increase in the number of dogs being brought to the pound this year. Communications Officer for Limerick City and County Council, Denis Tierney, commented: So far in 2022, 95 dogs have been taken in. While this is an increase on last year and on 2020, those two years were the lowest ever recorded by the Council and the numbers were impacted by Covid restrictions. A small Irish retail owner has said he is furious that the Government has not introduced energy price caps to help businesses this winter. Will Diamond, founder of Diamond Furniture, welcomed the energy measures unveiled in the Budget but warned they do not go far enough to address the soaring energy prices. The measures dont go far enough, Mr Diamond told the PA news agency. The dog on the street knows they dont go far enough. Its a huge missed opportunity. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe announced a temporary business energy support scheme that will pay for 40% of the increase in gas and electricity that businesses are facing. We welcome anything thats given to us but its not enough and it just doesnt go far enough, Mr Diamond added. Households will receive three 200-euro energy credits this winter to help with rising energy bills but the Government stopped short of introducing energy price caps like some other European countries. Were absolutely furious with whats happening at the moment with the energy market, Mr Diamond said. We look across the water and see in the UK a Tory government has put a floor underneath their citizens. They have made sure they have an energy cap Were looking at France who are putting in an energy cap, were looking at Spain, were looking at Italy doing the same, and Ireland is still dragging its heels. The Governments excuse is that this is writing a blank cheque for energy companies. Thats rubbish, absolute rubbish. He added: Theres too much uncertainty out there. Theres too much volatility. People need that floor underneath them (that an energy cap would give them). Its not fair on businesses in Ireland and its not fair on consumers in Ireland. Mr Diamond, who set up Diamond Furniture in 1998, employs 28 people full-time at its showrooms on the Long Mile Road in Dublin. He said he is grappling with energy bills that have more than doubled since the start of the year. Our energy bills have gone from about 21,000 euro a year to about 50,000 euro a year. Its a massive increase, he said. The cost of fuel for the companys four delivery trucks has more than tripled in the past 18 months. But Mr Diamond remains worried about the palpable sense of uncertainty among consumers. He said it will continue to affect peoples confidence to spend money. Its been like night and day since the first electricity bills and gas bills have started arriving in peoples doors in terms of footfall and people coming in the door, he said. People are terrified. It is really simple. It is the uncertainty. They dont know how much their bills will be. I think the Government have underestimated the damage that this is going to cause to the economy. New Delhi: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will visit Gujarat between 29 and 30 September to launch several projects. On Thursday, PM Modi will lay the foundation stone and dedicate projects worth Rs. 3,400 crores in Surat. He will then travel to Bhavnagar to lay the foundation stone and inaugurate multiple developmental initiatives worth over Rs. 5,200 crores. He will also inaugurate the 36th National Games at Narendra Modi Stadium and attend the Navratri festival at GMDC ground in Ahmedabad, the PMO said in a statement. On Friday, the Prime Minister will flag off Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express at Gandhinagar station and travel on the train to Kalupur railway station. He will also flag off the Ahmedabad metro rail project and take a ride from Kalupur to Doordarshan Kendra metro station. PM Modi will inaugurate the phase-1 of Ahmedabad metro project at a public function at Ahmedabad Education Society in Ahmedabad on the same day. He will also lay foundation stone and dedicate various projects worth over Rs. 7,200 crores in Ambaji. He will perform pooja at Ambaji temple. In a historic move, the Supreme Court of India began live streaming its proceedings of all constitution bench hearings from today, September 27, in a bid to enhance transparency and accessibility in its functioning, exactly four years after a path-breaking verdict in this regard was delivered in 2018. The top court in 2018 the then CJI Dipak Misra-led three-judge bench had agreed to start a live telecast of proceedings in a phased manner. A total of three cases which have been live telecasted so far include Shiv Sena bs Shiv Sena case (Maharashtra political crisis), Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota case, and case related to the validity of the All India Bar Examination. Justice DY Chandrachud is hearing Shiv Sena vs Shiv Sena case, while Chief Justice of India UU Lalit, and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul are hearing the EWS quota case, and the matter related to the validity of the All India Bar Examination respectively. On Tuesday last week, a unanimous decision was taken by the 30 judges of the apex court in the full court meeting headed by Chief Justice of India U U Lalit held to implement an apex court verdict of 2018 in the Swapnil Tripathi case. Currently, the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court has been hearing a number of cases including the religious practice of ex-communication in the Dawoodi Bohra community, Centre's petition on additional compensation for victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy among others. The proceedings can be accessed at webcast.gov.in/scindia/, said an official. Earlier in the day, a bench headed by Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit said the top court will soon have its own platform" to live-stream its proceedings instead of having to use the YouTube. For the first time, the Supreme Court in August live-streamed its proceedings through a government webcast portal of a ceremonial bench for while giving farewell to outgoing Chief Justice of India NV Ramana. President Xi Jinping reemerged after not being seen in public since his first foreign trip in more than two years earlier this month. Xi, wearing a mask, visited an exhibition in Beijing on Tuesday about Chinas achievements over the past decade, state-run news outlet Xinhua reported. Xis public appearance comes after he returned to Beijing from a summit in Uzbekistan at midnight on Sept. 16. Prior to that trip, the Chinese leader last went abroad in January 2020, when he visited Myanmar days before locking down the central city of Wuhan and entering a long spell of Covid isolation. His recent absence was consistent with Chinas strict Covid protocols, which mandate all international arrivals undergo seven days of hotel quarantine, followed by three days of home isolation. It was the second time Xi has at least given the impression of adhering to his nations Covid Zero rules. In July, the Chinese leader wasnt seen in public for almost two weeks after a two-day trip to Hong Kong to celebrate 25 years of Chinese rule in the city. That marked his first time outside mainland China in more than two years, although he didnt stay overnight in the finance hub. As the rest of the world has shifted to living with the virus, China has stuck to a Covid Zero policy that aims to eliminate infections. That strategy has weighed on growth forecasts and sparked domestic criticism, most recently after a quarantine center transfer bus crashed killing some two dozen people. While Xis recent sweep through Central Asia marked his return to the world stage, the Chinese leader displayed a more cautious approach to the virus than his peers. Xi wore a face covering when meeting several counterparts and skipped a mask-free dinner at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan. Xis has made tough Covid measures a cornerstone of his leadership, with state media citing the nations lower death toll as evidence China has a superior governance model to the US and its Western allies. Virus measures are set to tighten as Xi prepares for a twice-in-a-decade leadership summit next month, where hes expected to secure a precedent-busting third term in office. A week ago Russia declared a partial mobilization" calling up 300,000 reservists in a major escalation of its flagging invasion of Ukraine which triggered alarm and demonstrations. Today, President Vladimir Putin told that farmers are among the Russians being drafted into the military signalling potential further risks for the 2023 crop. He was addressing a meeting with officials . Russia is the principal exporter of wheat worldwide. Harvesting soybeans and sunflower seeds, as well as sowing winter wheat for the following year's crop, keep farmers busy in the autumn. Rains have already significantly postponed the sowing of winter grains. "I would also like to address regional heads and the heads of agricultural enterprises. As part of the partial mobilisation, agricultural workers are also being drafted. Their families must be supported. I ask you to pay special attention to this issue," Putin told the televised meeting. As part of what Moscow refers to as its special military operation in Ukraine, Russia announced its first public mobilisation since World War Two on Wednesday. This has caused eligible men to rush for the border and unease in the general populace. As part of the mobilisation effort, 300,000 more Russians, according to officials, will be called up to serve. Some areas of southern and central Russia that border Ukraine, like the Kursk region, are important grain-producing areas. In addition, Putin informed that Russia is on schedule to harvest a record 150 million tonnes of grains in 2022, including 100 million tonnes of wheat. Many Russians are protesting against drafting of citizens for war in Ukraine. Many Russians were detained for protesting against Putin's order to mobilise the forces. Some of the male detainees were handed draft notices. Earlier on 22 September, the Finnish Border Guard had reported that the traffic arriving at Finland's eastern border with Russia "intensified" overnight. Finland shares a 1,300-km long border with Russia, which is the longest in the European Union. Finland is closely monitoring the situation in its neighbour after President Vladimir Putin's order of military mobilisation for the war in Ukraine, Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen said on Wednesday. (With inputs from agencies) 6 min read . Updated: 27 Sep 2022, 01:39 PM IST Funeral of Shinzo Abe Live Updates: Japan is holding a rare state funeral for former prime minister Shinzo Abe, assassinated on July 8. Last week, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) followed up its recent consultation on a new telecommunications regulatory framework with a draft bill. This bill is intended to replace the Indian Telegraph Act, which has, since 1885, regulated all aspects of telecommunications in the country. I spent the better part of the weekend poring over the draft, and my feelings about it are mixed, at best. At the outset, its clear that the government has tried to re-imagine how the sector will be regulated. Section 3 affirms the governments exclusive privilege to provide telecommunication services, establish telecom networks and allocate spectrumthereby giving it the authority to permit private sector participation through licences, registrations and authorizations. This is similar to Section 4 of the Telegraph Act on which all of telecom regulation in India is currently based. Other than this, much of the rest of the law is new, moving obligations that are today set out in licence agreements into the main body of the statute. This includes rules about telecom spectrumhow it is assigned, shared and transferred, regulations about how violations will be addressed and how disputes will be resolved. It also includes regulations around how rights of way can be exercisedover public and private property alike, the insolvency of licensees and various user protection measures. Bringing these provisions into the statute not only improves regulatory efficiency, it offers a legislative legitimacy absent in todays licences. No longer will the government be able to amend terms with a stroke of the executive penit will need Parliamentary approval. All of this suggests that the draft bill is just one part of a much larger reform. With so many provisions being brought into the statute, the licences from which they were taken will have to be overhauled. This is where things could get interesting. The logical next step for the government would be to move licence obligations into purpose-specific regulations. Taken to its logical conclusion, this could mean that telecom companies will only have to sign a simple document recording the type of services they can provide and the regulations they must adhere to. Whats more, now that the government has shown that it is not afraid to take an axe to the way things have been done so far, I see no reason why it should not go further and do away with redundant licences altogether. Better still, it could collapse the entire licensing regime, as I have suggested before, into two broad categories of servicecarriage and access. Much of the criticism in the media has been levelled at the breadth of the law. In particular, the inclusion of over-the-top (OTT) services within the definition of telecommunication services" is being seen as a step too farrequiring firms to obtain licences even if they are just providing services on top of telecom services. If this is in fact what the government intends, it is unfortunate. The telecommunications law should only regulate the hard infrastructure that facilitates communications and stop short of regulating what happens in the software layers above that. Diluting this principleby including even a small subset of those software layers in the definition of telecom infrastructurewould, to my mind, risk the future of data innovation. But simply because a category of service falls within the exclusive privilege of the state to perform does not mean that companies under all circumstances will have to obtain a licence to provide it. Section 3(3) allows the government, in public interest, to exempt the requirement for licences wherever it deems fit. As a result, even though OTT services fall within its authority to regulate, the government could choose to exercise its powers under Section 3(3) and exempt OTT players from the requirement to obtain licences. Dare we hope that it will? For me, the real problem with the draft is in the definitions. Loosely defined terms can transform otherwise sound legislation into a law riddled with loopholes. To my mind, this is where the draft falls drastically short of its promise. Some terms have been defined circularlyreferring back to themselves in paradox loops that are next to impossible to unravel. Telecommunication services" has been defined to mean services made available to users by telecommunication, which is not particularly helpfuleven when read along with the list of illustrative examples. Other terms have been defined so expansively that the synonyms strung together result in absurd outcomes in some of the contexts in which these defined terms are used. The term messages" has been defined to not only mean signs and signals, but also data streams, intelligence and information", which in various contexts in which the term messages has been used has strange implications. I draw comfort from the fact that this is a draft for consultation, that it will likely be amended before it is placed in Parliament. Hopefully, these concerns will be addressed based on feedback received. Finally, if this draft is in fact part of a larger game plan for how the sector will be regulated, it would help to have all the other elements (regulations and revised licences) in front of us before we comment. How else will we be certain that the comments we make today will not affect some other part of the proposed framework? Rahul Matthan is a partner at Trilegal and also has a podcast by the name Ex Machina. His Twitter handle is @matthan Not since Winston Churchill took office as Hitlers Blitzkrieg rolled across Europe in May 1940 has a British prime minister faced such turbulence in the opening days of an administration. No sooner had the official mourning for Britains longest-serving monarch come to a close than the announcement of Liz Trusss economic plans sent stock markets reeling and interest rates soaring and drove the pound to a record low against the dollar. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The move raises questions about what that representation in Congress would look like and whether the US will honor an agreement it made almost two centuries ago. The 600 euro-worth of energy credits announced by government to help with soaring energy bills is not enough to help people survive the winter ahead, two renters have said. Three energy credits worth 200 euro each are to be paid out as part of the governments cost-of-living package, with one being issued before Christmas and two at the start of 2023. Friends Ali Stone, 36, and Brian Shanahan, 32, who have a council tenancy in a rural part of Co Tipperary, said that the measure is not enough to get through the winter months, and that their most recent monthly energy bill was worth 660 euro. Youre going into a winter like this, its going to be hard enough, Mr Shanahan said. Were here and weve every heating system off, wrapped up in duvets. And were in a nice home at the minute, and were actually afraid to even turn on the shower. You know, were in and out in five minutes, he said, adding that he sometimes leaves with shampoo still in his hair. Ms Stone says that the price of groceries has become ridiculous, and that the three energy credits worth 200 euro each for both before and after Christmas was a joke and not enough to help people trying to survive the winter period. She said she would have liked to see something in the budget to stop rents increasing further during the energy crisis to help ease the pressure on people. Id like to see the government open their eyes and and help families by getting a cap on how much landlords can charge per property, Ms Stone said. That is going to save a lot of families from being homeless because they cant afford to pay ridiculous amounts per week, on top of them trying to pay ridiculous amounts of electricity and then feed their families. Its unsure for a lot of people right now. And the uncertainty going into Christmas for a lot of families who are terrified that theyre not going to be able to put the turkeys on the table. Ms Stone and Mr Shanahan had rented a previous property privately that had mould and pest issues, and entered into mediation through housing charity Threshold and the Residential Tenancies Board to resolve the issue. The housing situation at the moment is scary, Ms Stone said. This time last year, we didnt have any security. Neither of us. And it was terrifying. So I cant imagine (how other renters) feel right now going into the winter with no security. Homelessness is not just in the big cities, its all over the country. Its nationwide. Mr Shanahan added: Theres not enough consideration for small towns and, to be honest, landlords are running riot in small towns. They also welcomed the introduction of a Vacant Homes Tax, which was confirmed in the Budget announcement with the aim of increasing the supply of homes for rent or purchase to meet demand, according to Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe. Putting the tax on them is the right job, Mr Shanahan said. It comes after three energy companies announced price hikes this month alone. Electric Ireland said gas and electricity bills would increase from October 1, Bord Gais Energy said its price hikes would equate to an extra 50 euro a month on gas and electricity bills, while Flogas Energy announced its third cost increase of the year last week. A mother-of-two from Dublin has criticised the government for not extending the threshold for retrofitting grants far enough as part of the budget. Rebecca OReilly wants to retrofit her home in Ballyfermot to make it more energy-efficient. She works full time but despite being on a lower income, Ms OReilly would be forced to pay a fee of 15,000 euro upfront to make the necessary changes to her home. Ms OReilly, a single mother to a six-year-old and three-year-old, can access grants to cover up to 51% of the cost of a deep retrofit but said she cannot afford to pay the upfront fees. My house is old and so its not the best in the sense of retaining heat, she said. In the winter, it can get really cold in the house. So I thought I would look in to the retrofitting and see what the grants are and if they could maybe help. To get a free-of-charge grant you have to be on social welfare payments, which I dont receive. If I was to get the retrofit, it would cost me 12,000 to 15,000 euro upfront. Bottom line is if I wanted to get anything retrofitted in my house to help with efficiency and energy and get rid of the mould in the house, Id have to have 12 to 15,000 euro which is not something that I have. Its unfortunate because Im trying to do things the right way, Im working full time trying to show my kids its good to be out there working and not having to rely on social welfare. If I was to pack my job in and just rely on the government, then I can get the house retrofitted, which just seems a little bit backwards in my opinion. I find that these grants are always helping either the very low income or those on full social welfare support. Then there are people that can afford it because they are on a higher end salary and then there are those in the middle ground, where theres no help. I am on the lower middle where I am just over that threshold. If I reduced my hours and got social welfare then I could get the grant but then I wouldnt have as much money coming in to the house. You try and do things the right way. Theres also an attitude of a single parent taking money from the government. I want to get it up to an A or B rating because at the moment, when I knock the heating off, its cold after half an hour. If the house was efficient, it would hold the heat. The payment up front is just not feasible. The grant is brilliant but its only helping people who have that kind of money up front. Its not helping the people who really need it. I am dreading winter and the bills. With Christmas and everything else, if I didnt have my familys support, it would be very difficult but I shouldnt have to rely on them. Ms OReilly welcomed the 25% reduction in childcare fees. That will definitely benefit me. My youngest child is in creche and my daughter goes to to a homework club, which is a separate cost. The free books is obviously another saving that will benefit me for the start back to school. I only have one child going to school at the moment but when the two of them go to school that will be a saving of 150 euro on books alone, so that makes a big difference. I am delighted to hear of those cuts. Pensioner Eugene Keenan said dramatic measures that were needed to make things easier for older people have not materialised in the Budget. The 78-year old said was left disappointed after Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe delivered his Budget speech on Tuesday. The Mullingar grandfather said the 12 euro hike in the old age pension was not enough because it will be wiped out by the massive rise in the cost of living. The former An Post worker said it would not make much difference to him and his wife. The 12 euro increase, its wiped out already, Mr Keenan said. Mr Keenan, who has lived most of his life in Dublin, wanted it to go up by at least 20 euro. Community groups had lobbied the Government for a 23 euro increase in the old age pension and other social welfare payments. A 15 euro increase was viewed as the minimum needed. Most people on the State pension will see their payments increase to 265 euro per week. Mr Keenan welcomed the three 200 euro energy credits that will be paid to households but questioned why an energy cap was not introduced. It will be a help for three bills but after that the bills will be coming in at the higher rate. What will happen then? he asked. Sinn Fein were looking for a cap on the bills. I dont know why they didnt do that. The Government say they have their own reasons but I dont know. I dont believe in the one-off payments for energy bills. When theyre finished the bills will be as high as ever. Its a huge problem. If they had capped the price or done something about the standing charge it would have been better. Mr Keenan had wanted to see energy credits targeted to those in need rather than being handed out as a universal credit where even the wealthy receive them. He also wanted the standing charges on energy bills to be knocked on the head which had not been done. He welcomed the one-off 400 euro payment on the fuel allowance and the 200 euro extra for those in receipt of the living alone allowance but said most pensioners will still be worried. As a pensioner, its a worrying time, he said. When the cold weather comes in people are going to watch when they turn on the heating. Theyre going to have two overcoats on. Theyre not going to be able to afford to turn on the heating. This is the danger for old people: living in fuel poverty. The manager of a childcare centre in Co Roscommon has criticised the amount of core funding for early years in the budget, saying more money is needed for the sector. Amy Dowd, who lives in Four Mile House with her husband Ger, a farmer, and 17-year-old son Dylan, said she is disappointed more money has not been pledged to help the sectors employees. While she welcomed the decrease in childcare fees, Mrs Dowd said it will not help staff wages. Mrs Dowd, the manager of a community-based childcare centre, said: That wont do anything for the providers in increasing the amount of money that theyre taking in each week, because we cant really increase our wages unless theres extra income coming in. While we got extra money through core funding for an increase in wages that took effect this week, I wanted to see that amount increase again so it would see staff wages continue to go up. The Siptu activist added: We cant do another round of pay talks unless there was devoted money for staff wages and an increase on last years budget. That is vital. Even the continuation of the universal social charge makes things tough for families. If they took that away that would have been something. She added: "Everything is going up. I went to buy Flora butter and it was seven euros. I put it back as I couldn't believe it. "The food is going up slowly and slowly and the cost of everything is going to be terrible by winter. "The electricity hasn't got too bad yet, but we haven't hit the really hard times. It's going to be very difficult I think for families, especially if they have young kids." But she welcomed the 600 euro energy credit to help reduce household bills and a 1,000 euro cut in third-level fees. "That is a positive thing. But it only works as long as the bills then decrease after those three payments are done," she added. "My son is in his last year of secondary school, so it's university next year, and that means more bills. "He was in Dublin for a talk with all the universities and they're encouraging people to travel to different countries in Europe to do their third level studies. "We're going to lose a lot of our children and a potential workforce to overseas, because if they settle in the Netherlands or in Germany or somewhere else after going to university there, they won't be coming back." Mrs Dowd also welcomed inclusion of farmers as part of the energy prices support scheme for businesses. Mrs Dowd's husband is a suckler and sheep farmer and is set to benefit from the move. "It will definitely help because we have sheep and during lambing the lights need to be on all the time and that costs a lot of money, and the cost of electricity is going to be super high. "If we can counteract a certain percentage for the farm and have it go on the cost to the farm, then that'll be a huge benefit." Crime By Chris Boyle Published: September 27 2022 Following rash of catalytic converter thefts on Long Island, new legislation would restrict the resale market for stolen parts and provide free tools to vehicle owners to deter theft. In light of the recent increase in catalytic converter thefts on Long Island, New York State Senator Anna M. Kaplan (D-Port Washington) is calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to sign S.9428 into law without delay. The bill, which is sponsored by Senator Diane Savino (D-Staten Island) and co-sponsored by Senator Kaplan, was passed by the State Senate and Assembly earlier this year, and would severely curtail the resale market for stolen parts and provide free tools to vehicle owners to deter theft and help law enforcement catch thieves. Senator Anna M. Kaplan said "We need to give our law enforcement the tools and resources they need, and while I've been proud to deliver more funding to our police to help them keep our community safe, we can still do more to address the theft of catalytic converters in our community. I was proud to help pass legislation that will crack down on the black market for stolen parts and give our police more tools to catch the criminals responsible for these costly crimes, and I'm calling on Governor Hochul to sign it into law without delay." Imposes restrictions on the purchase, sale and possession of catalytic converters by dismantlers, scrap processors, and others. The bill will deter thieves from stealing catalytic converters in the first place by requiring vehicle dismantlers and scrap processors to maintain a paper trail and information on the seller of a catalytic converter that law enforcement may use in their investigations, and will ensure consequences for those caught stealing catalytic converters. Includes fines and penalties for those failing to maintain proper documentation in compliance with the law. Requires vehicle dealers to stock catalytic converter etching kits to be offered with new vehicles at no cost so that people can place serial numbers on their catalytic converters to deter theft and aid law enforcement investigations Local News, Crime By Long Island Published: September 27 2022 Two male residents of 337 Manhattan Blvd. were engaged in an altercation outside the location when one stabbed the other Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives are investigating the stabbing death of a man that occurred in Islip Terrace early this morning. Two male residents of 337 Manhattan Blvd. were engaged in an altercation outside the location when one stabbed the other at approximately 2:40 a.m. The victim, 34 years-old, a resident of the home, was transported to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore where he was pronounced dead. (Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News: ---------- Transense Technologies PLC - Bicester, England-based developer of specialist sensor systems for vehicles - Swings to a pretax profit of GBP268,000 in the year ended June 30, from a loss of GBP193,000 the previous year. Revenue rises 49% to GBP2.6 million from GBP1.8 million - this was primarily driven by momentum on royalty income from iTrack, the firm explains. iTrack royalty income totals GBP1.6 million in the year, up 88% against the previous year. Chair Nigel Rogers says: "The directors are confident that the company's business model is resilient, that further increases in profitability and cash flow are deliverable, and that the long term prospects for the company continue to build." In the first two months of its new financial year, company reports a year-on-year revenue growth of 19%. ---------- Curzon Energy PLC - London-based investor and developer in US based natural gas projects - In the six months ended June 30, widens its pretax loss to USD408,424 from USD345,886 the previous year. Administrative expenses increase to USD307,999 from USD278,305. The majority of this interim loss was due to expenditures in relation to the maintenance of the commercial potential of its Coos Bay coal bed methane project, as well as listing related corporate overheads in London, the company explains. Curzon says it is "unlikely" that it will recommend a dividend in the "foreseeable future." Adds its near-term goals remains focused on exploring ongoing opportunities and license renewals associated with the Coos Bay coal bed methane project. ---------- GENinCode PLC - Manchester-based predictive genetics company focused on the prevention of cardiovascular disease - Significantly widens pretax loss in the six months to GBP2.3 million in the six months to June 30, from GBP1.0 million the previous year. Revenue ticks up to GBP664,000 from GBP600,000. Administrative expenses surge to GBP2.6 million from GBP1.3 million. Cites increased levels of investment in preparation for the launch of Lipid inCode and Cario inCode for the widened loss. Looking to the second half, company remains focused on its US regulatory and reimbursement submissions for Cardio inCode. Adds the commercialisation of Lipid inCode continues to progress. ---------- Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Ltd - Guernsey-based investor in music copyright assets - In the six months to June 30, posts a widened pretax loss of USD3.2 million, compared to a loss of USD2.2 million in the period from August 5, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Against the same period, royalty income falls to USD14.1 million from USD16.3 million. Operating costs increase to USD15.6 million from. Looking into the second half of 2022, firm says royalty collecting societies and music publishers are expecting to see a positive upswing in royalty collections and distributions as the world continues to reopen post-Covid lockdowns. ---------- LifeSafe Holdings PLC - Essex, England-based fire safety technology firm - In the first half of 2022, significantly widens pretax loss to GBP2.2 million from GBP665,000 the previous year. Revenue surges to GBP1.3 million, however, from GBP41,000 a year prior. Administrative expenses jump to GBP1.4 million from GBP600,000 the previous year. Also notes non-underlying costs of GBP895,000 due to IPO costs and share-based payment charges. Chair Dominic Berger says: "In H1 2022, we have almost doubled the revenues that we generated in all of 2021 and this strong momentum has continued into H2 2022 with revenues continuing to grow ahead of the board's expectations." ---------- By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.co Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News: ---------- PCF Group PLC - London-based specialist bank - Grants another extension to the put-up-or-shut-up deadline for Castle Trust Capital PLC. Deadline extended to close of play on October 25. PCF has been in talks with Castle Trust about a possible all-share takeover. ---------- Kingswood Holdings Ltd - London-based wealth & investment management firm - Makes a first deferred consideration payment of GBP500,000 for its acquisition of Admiral Wealth Management Ltd. Uses a portion of the cash proceeds from the issue of convertible preference to make the payment. ---------- Tertiary Minerals PLC - Macclesfield, England-based mineral exploration and development company - Begins detailed soil sampling at Jacks copper project in Zambia. Expects to collect up to roughly 1,600 samples to be on a 200 meters times 40 meters grid. ---------- Advanced Oncotherapy PLC - London-based provider of proton therapy for cancer treatment - Says its Light accelerator fully operational and has generated a proton beam at 230 megaelectron volts. It is the first linear proton therapy system. Expects the first patient to be treated in the second half of 2023. ---------- Goldstone Resources Ltd - Jersey, UK-based gold development company with projects in West Africa - Receives "very encouraging" results from three diamond drill-holes at Akrokeri mine in Ghana. Says the results confirm the continuity of the mineralised zone at vertical depths of between 36 metres and 65 metres. Says the mine yielded 75,000 ounces gold at an average grade of 24 grammes per tonne. "These initial results have confirmed the nature and overall geometry of a structurally controlled mineralised channel and allow planning of the continuing drill programme with a high degree of confidence," Chief Executive Emma Priestley comments. ---------- i3 Energy PLC - oil and gas producer in the UK and Canada - Reaches a production rate of 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 13 wells. Has drilled 20 gross wells as part of its expanded 2022 drilling programme. Expects the latter 7 wells to be fully cleaned up and on production in late October. ---------- Block Energy PLC - London-based oil and gas company focused in Georgia - Completes the deepening of the JSR-01 well "on time, on plan, and below budgeted cost." Says this represents the start of project II, one element of its three-project strategy. ---------- Cora Gold Ltd - West Africa-focused gold explorer - Expects the definitive feasibility study for its Sanankoro gold project in Mali to be completed in the third quarter of 2022. Says it is continuing to optimise "various aspects of the study." ---------- Europa Oil & Gas Holdings PLC - oil and gas exploration, development, and production in UK, Ireland and Morocco - Expects the drilling activities at Serenity to be completed 30 days from spudding. Says the SA02 appraisal well and contingent side-track will help to establish the extent of the reservoir and the amount of oil in place. Enters GBP1.0 million loan with Union Jack Oil PLC to provide it with additional liquidity. ---------- Yourgene Health PLC - Manchester-based molecular diagnostics - Non-executive Chair John Brown says the core business performing at pre-pandemic growth levels at the annual general meeting. Says the company will remain focused on a number of pipeline opportunities that will support growth in the second half. ---------- TransGlobe Energy Corp - Calgary, Canada-based oil explorer and producer - Says the government of Equatorial Guinea approved the Venus - Block P Plan of Development. "Today's update further supports the board's existing recommendation to combine with VAALCO to create a world-class African-focused E&P company with material reserves supporting sustainable shareholder returns and growth. Both the management and board continue to unanimously support the merger which is expected to deliver material benefits for TransGlobe shareholders," Chair David Cook comments. ---------- By Abby Amoakuh; abbyamoakuh@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - Xeros Technology Group PLC on Tuesday said it has signed a joint development agreement with a "global" washing machine component manufacturer for its XFilter technology. Shares in the Rotherham, England-based environmental technology firm were trading 1.6% higher at 19.30 pence each in London on Tuesday morning. XFilter is a microfibre filtration technology which prevents waste from machine washes ending up in the water supply. The joint development agreement outlines a programme of product development for the manufacture of XFilter devices. Work will commence immediately. Xeros noted legislation from the French government that requires the fitting of microfibre filters in all domestic washing machines by January 2025. It is expected this will drive revenue growth significantly in 2024. Similar legislation is under discussion in other parts of Europe, the UK, and the US state of California. Xeros said the agreement was a "further endorsement" of XFilter's "market-leading status". It drew attention to the commercial licensing agreement signed with Hanning Elektro-Werke Gmbh & Co.KG in June. This agreement, Xeros said, was "game changing", as it brought the filter into the domestic washing machine market for the first time. Hanning components are incorporated in about 8.5 million washing machines annually. Chief Executive Officer Neil Austin said: ""Xeros has seen a significant increase in interest in XFilter since the announcement of the Hanning licensing agreement and the development agreement with a second European component supplier helps build the pipeline for XFilter. We are committed to bringing solutions to market that protect our planet for the future and working with partners that share those values and see the superior performance and capabilities XFilter offers their customers." By Chris Dorrell; chrisdorrell@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Robbie Williams will be visiting Europe next year with his 'XXV' tour, with which he will celebrate his incredible 25 years of great success as a solo artist. A new tour in which Robbie Williams will once again surprise audiences with a show full of energy, kicking off in Bologna, Italy, on January 20. He will be performing in Barcelona as part of this new tour on Friday March 24 at the Palau Sant Jordi, as well as visiting cities across the continent, including Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin, among others. This new major arena tour will be a live celebration of Robbie's 25th year as a solo artist, and follows the release earlier this month of his album, XXV. The album features many of his greatest hits and fan favourites from his 25-year career. To talk about Robbie Williams is to talk about a whole generation that grew up with his music as a soundtrack. Let Me Entertain You', 'Feel', 'No Regrets', 'Rock DJ' and 'Angels' are just some of the songs that Robbie Williams, accompanied by a powerful electric band, will relive live at each of his concerts. Tickets for Barcelona will be available from 10am on Friday September 30, costing 50, 70, 80, 110 and 128 Euros for reserved seating tickets and 80 and 128 Euros for standing tickets (VAT included, distribution costs not included). The tour will be on pre-sale through Robbie Williams' official website, robbiewilliams.com, from Wednesday September 28 at 10am. In early September, Robbie Williams achieved his 14th UK number 1 album with XXV, which topped the charts in its first week of release. With this incredible achievement, the music icon has broken the record for the most number 1 albums in the UK by a solo artist. In 2019, he equalled Elvis Presley's record in the charts, when he achieved his 13th number 1 album with The Christmas Present. Only The Beatles surpass that figure, with 15 #1 albums. In total, throughout his solo career and with Take That, Robbie Williams has 19 #1 albums, making him one of only two artists with the most #1s of all time, second only to Paul McCartney. As British expats take to social media to vent their fury that their UK driving licences are no longer valid in Spain diplomatic sources have suggested that the issue could be linked to a bigger deal, which is being negotiated betwen Britain and Spain and includes the post Brexit rights of British citizens living in Spain. Although not officially confirmed it appears that the Spanish government is holding back on UK driving licences until the new bigger deal with Britain is approved. This deal also includes the post Brexit status of Gibraltar and its people. The Spanish government have said that they want good relations with the new British government of Liz Truss and also they want to resolve a number of issues which have come about since Brexit. The biggest concern for some British expats is that their UK driving licences are no longer valid in Spain and a deal, which the British Embassy hoped would be reached over the summer, has still not been ratified. A news report by Spanish state news agency EFE suggested that the hold up could be as a result of ongoing talks over Gibraltar. This would explain the present problem over driving licences which is not only a source of anger for expats it is also frustrating the Foreign Office and British Embassy in Madrid. To put the issue in context Spain did approve a series of grace periods in which British expats, not tourists who can drive legally, could exchange their British licences for Spanish ones. It appears that a number of British expats, many hundreds judging by the social media outcry, still failed to do so and Spain has so far not granted a new grace period. A group in military fatigues walks in front of Jackman Hall on the campus of Norwich University on July 16, 2018, in Northfield. A student at a military college who sued top Pentagon officials after he was deemed unfit for service because he tested positive for HIV has settled his lawsuit and plans to pursue his dream of becoming an Army officer, his lawyers said Tuesday. Blazing a trail: Infrastructure development requires patience, persistence: Expert Chinadaily.com.cn) 10:34, September 27, 2022 From railways and airports, to bridges and other major projects, China keeps amazing the world with its infrastructure construction. How is China able to make this happen? Why are its infrastructure capabilities taking a lead worldwide? And how did the infrastructure construction help improve people's livelihoods? Watch the video as China Daily reporter Ian Goodrum talks about the issues of infrastructure with Dong Yu, executive deputy dean of China Institute for Development Planning, Tsinghua University. (Web editor: Liang Jun, Bianji) In this image made from a NASA livestream, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft heads straight into asteroid Dimorphos on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. / AP In this image made from a NASA livestream, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft heads straight into asteroid Dimorphos on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. / AP NASA has just reported the great success that was DART Mission which is the first unmanned spacecraft destined to crash at full speed into an asteroid to deflect its trajectory in space. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched an experiment to prevent future collisions with the Earth, which could be catastrophic, as it happened 66 million years ago when a similar phenomenon caused the extinction of most life on earth. The impact was at 7:14 ET The impact was confirmed by NASA at 19:14 (ET), which reported that the impact occurred at a speed of 3.9 miles per second against the surface of the asteroid Dimorphos, located about 11 million kilometers from Earth. The asteroid was far from earth The spacecraft was equipped with transmission equipment that allowed the impact to be viewed in real-time and that worked perfectly. However, astronomers will have to wait days or even weeks to see if the spacecraft achieved its goal of slightly altering the asteroid's orbit. DART mission: The historic impact of the first man-made object on a celestial body NASA The mission cost $330 million The project was called the Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART) and the spacecraft sent was the size of a school bus, the mission cost more than $330 million. Dimorphos gets hit The asteroid is called Dimorphos ("two shapes" in Greek), which has a diameter of more than 175 yards which is a satellite of another bigger asteroid called Didymos which has a diameter of about 850 yards. Both asteroids were chosen by NASA because they pose no threat to Earth. DART targeted Dimorphos but there is still Didymos DART's impact on Dimorphos may have caused a crater and launched small rocky fragments into space. The entire event was recorded by a small satellite developed by the Italian Space Agency that followed the operation from a distance to take images of the impact and send them to scientists. NASA administrator compared the mission to Armageddon Before the impact, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson explained on Twitter that the goal of this experiment would be to replicate what happened in the science fiction movie "Armageddon", where a space mission is formed to destroy an asteroid that is dangerously close to Earth. In this case, the goal was to slightly deflect the meteorite, as a strong impact could cause a domino effect with rocks falling to Earth. Currently, NASA does not have any object on its radar that could pose a direct threat to Earth over the next 100 years, but has decided to test its technology to be prepared. Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) 383 Dorchester Avenue, Suite 400 |Boston, MA 02127| USA Malaria Management, Strategy, and Finance Associate Country: Democratic Republic of Congo City: La Gombe, Kinshasa Type: Full Time Level: 5 Program (Division): Infectious Deasese Global Malaria Overview The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries, while strengthening the capabilities of governments and the private sector in those countries to strengthen and sustain high-quality health systems that can succeed without our assistance. For more information, please visit: https://www.clintonhealthaccess.org CHAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and is committed to providing an environment of fairness, and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. CHAI values diversity and inclusion, and recognizes that our mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people with diverse experience, backgrounds, and culture. CHAIs global malaria program provides direct technical and operational support to countries around the globe to strengthen their malaria programs and reduce the burden of this preventable, treatable disease. We support governments to scale up effective interventions for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance, with the goals of sustainably reducing the number of malaria-related illnesses and deaths worldwide in the short-term and accelerating progress towards malaria elimination in the long term. Position Summary: CHAI is seeking a highly motivated individual to work as a Malaria Management, Strategy, and Finance Associate to help the government in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to obtain the financial resources necessary to achieve historic reductions in malaria cases and deaths. As part of CHAIs Global Malaria Program, the Associate will work alongside CHAIs country and technical experts to help government staff develop or refine the DRC national strategic plan for malaria, create a costing model to assess financial resources needed, assist with cost optimization analysis for health strategies, and contribute to forecasting of resource needs. The Associate will also support the DRCs Ministry of Health and partners develop a Global Fund Funding Request for the 2024-2026 funding cycle to secure key financial resources to help the country achieve its malaria targets. Additionally, the Associate will help the DRC malaria program ensure that they are able to maximize the use of existing resources and help them plan for and seek out the additional resources they need. The Associate will report to the Associate Director of the Global Malaria Management, Strategy, Finance Team, and will work closely with the regional technical team and the DRC malaria program country team. The Associate will bring outstanding analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and communication skills and must be able to work independently and have a deep personal commitment to producing results. No background in malaria is required, but the Associate is expected to be proficient in using Microsoft Excel. Most of all, this position requires resourcefulness, tenacity, patience, humility, and high ethical standards. The position will be based in Kinshasa, DRC with limited domestic travel and occasional international travel (15-20%). Responsibilities Responsibilities and areas of support to government programs will include: Work with national malaria staff and CHAI DRC country team to optimize and cost national malaria programs by building Excel-based costing and budget models Conduct costing and financial analyses and support the development of funding proposals and operational plans Support governments to meet Global Fund requests and satisfy grant application requirements, including budget development Assist government programs and donors with addressing the long-term sustainability of malaria funding, by forecasting future funding gaps, mapping and assessing funding opportunities (both innovative and traditional), and working other technical teams and partners to streamline and integrate malaria services to lower costs Serve as a trusted advisor to CHAI DRC country team on malaria management, strategy and finance Serve as liaison between CHAI regional technical teams, country partners, and stakeholders Build strong relationships with stakeholders across government, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector Engage with and cultivate donors, including individuals, corporations, and organizations interested in supporting malaria programs Draft presentations and reports for internal and external stakeholders Coordinate meetings and facilitate knowledge sharing between government programs and partner organization in the region to ensure coordination Provide program and budget updates for internal project management, best practice sharing, and donor reporting Other responsibilities as needed. Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Business, Commerce, Policy, Public Health, International Development, or related field 2-5 years of working experience with increasing levels of responsibility and leadership in management consulting, public health, or other relevant fields High levels of proficiency in Microsoft Excel, and moderate knowledge of Word, and PowerPoint Fluent in spoken and written French and English Demonstrated excellent analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving skills Ability to oversee multiple work streams simultaneously, to set priorities, and to work independently and flexibly with a strong commitment to excellence in high-pressure situations Exceptional written and oral communication skills Strong diplomatic and interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships in a challenging multicultural environment. Advantages: Master's degree in Business, Policy, Public Health, International Development, or related field Experience working and communicating with government officials, multilateral organizations, or development donors Experience living or working in resource-limited countries Experience working remotely with a decentralized/remote team Knowledge of malaria and/or other major global infectious disease problems Experience or knowledge of health finance, public finance, or finance for development Dates and procedures for applying: Applicant must apply via the link below: Malaria Management, Strategy, and Finance Associate in La Gombe, Kinshasa | Careers at Clinton Health Access Initiative (icims.com) https://careers-chai.icims.com/jobs/11918/malaria-management%2c-strategy%2c-and-finance-associate/job?mode=view&mobile=false&width=743&height=500&bga=true&needsRedirect=false&jan1offset=0&jun1offset=60 Deadline: Open #jobreference2 #region4 The Air Force announced last week it will issue a new ballistic helmet to security forces this year, updating the service's military police force with up-to-date headgear that has deep roots in the Special Operations community. The Security Forces NextGen 2.0 Helmet features a "high-cut" shape that allows for better access to communications equipment; it also includes a bolt-on rail to mount accessories like a flashlight, an easy-to-replace night vision mount, and an extendable chinstrap to allow security forces airmen -- also known as Defenders -- the ability to don a gas mask. The change comes relatively quickly for the service, which unveiled the 1.0 version of the helmet less than two years ago after switching from the outdated Advanced Combat Helmet. Read Next: The Army is Having No Issue Retaining Soldiers, Amid a Crisis Recruiting New Ones "In modern society, we're all familiar with the urge to update our phones to the latest and greatest model, but this hasn't translated to some of the most important things in our profession, like ballistic helmets," said Master Sgt. John Sutherland, individual protective equipment program manager at the Air Force Security Forces Center, in a press release. "As the world's preeminent air power, we make great strides to update and upgrade airframes and other operational technologies, so it only makes sense to modernize the equipment used by those that defend them," he added. Security forces airmen evaluated the helmet during "rigorous testing," according to a Sunday Air Force press release. "These helmets were soaked in sweat and caked in sand, and after hours of use each tester was fitted with a gas mask and jacket to ensure compatibility with the helmet," said Tech. Sgt. Travis Hillard, a security forces instructor supervisor. The NextGen 2.0 helmet is akin to the Ops-Core helmet -- a piece of headgear historically worn by United States Special Operations Command troops. Over the last several years, the Air Force has been updating outdated protective equipment, according to the release. In this case, the helmet was adapted from the 1.0 version in what the Air Force calls its "replacement through attrition program." The release also made mention of updating female protective body armor for Defenders, a problem that has plagued service branches since the integration of female troops, especially into combat roles. The Air Force signed a contract for body armor for female troops two years ago. "These efforts ensure that Defenders can expect technologically relevant and high-quality gear no matter where they are performing their mission," Sutherland said of the improvement efforts. -- Drew F. Lawrence can be reached at drew.lawrence@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @df_lawrence. Related: Security Forces Airmen Are Getting New High-Speed Ballistic Helmets A must-pass bill to fund the government beyond the end of the week does not include a pathway for Afghan refugees to become permanent U.S. residents despite veterans holding a sit-in outside the Capitol building for nearly two weeks. The short-term funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, or CR, left out what's being called the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would provide a streamlined way for Afghans who were evacuated after the fall of Kabul last year to become legal permanent residents. Meanwhile, the CR does include about $12 billion to support Ukraine in its ongoing war against Russian invaders, including $2.8 billion for U.S. European Command operations that were bulked up at the start of the war. Read Next: Secretary Austin to Visit Hawaii as Navy Prepares to Defuel Tanks that Caused Contaminated Water Supporters of the Afghan Adjustment Act acknowledged Tuesday that including it in the CR was a long shot. But they are now setting their sights on two other must-pass bills: the annual defense policy bill or the government funding bill that will have to pass in December when the CR expires. "This needs to be passed as soon as possible so vetting could start and also those Afghans who are in limbo, they could look into the future and see a light at the end of the tunnel," said Safi Rauf, a Navy reservist helping lead the protest at the Capitol who was held captive by the Taliban earlier this year after helping Afghans flee. "Right now, it's uncertainty after uncertainty." "The fact that it wasn't part of the CR is very disappointing, and it means that we'll continue to be fighting for the next many months to come," Rauf added. For 13 days, veterans and Afghan refugees have camped out all day and night on the lawn in front of the Capitol building, calling on Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act. The protest, which the group is calling a "fire watch," mirrors veterans' successful effort in pushing for the passage of the PACT Act, the sweeping veterans toxic exposure legislation that became law last month. The Afghan Adjustment Act fire watch has not become as much of a media sensation as the PACT Act protest, but it has been picking up steam, including getting visits from lawmakers. Jon Stewart, the comedian turned veterans advocate who threw his weight behind the PACT Act, also stopped by Tuesday afternoon. Most of the 78,000 Afghans brought to the United States in 2021 during the U.S. military's frantic evacuation after Kabul fell to the Taliban were admitted to the country under a temporary status known as humanitarian parole. Parole does not provide a pathway to apply for legal permanent resident status, commonly known as green cards. Some Afghan refugees were given two years of protection to stay in the United States, but some were given only one, meaning their parole has already expired. Parolees can apply for asylum, but that could leave them in limbo for years wrestling with an already taxed immigration system. The Afghan Adjustment Act, which is modeled off legislation passed for refugees after previous conflicts such as the Vietnam War, seeks to address those issues by creating a streamlined process for the evacuated Afghans to get green cards. The Department of Homeland Security would also have to establish new vetting procedures for the Afghans moving through that process. The bill also includes reforms to the Special Immigrant Visa program created for Afghans who helped the U.S. military, including expanding eligibility to certain former Afghan troops such as former commandos and women who served in the tactical platoon that supported Afghan special forces. The bill was formally introduced in the House and Senate earlier this year on a bipartisan basis. But some Republicans have opposed it over claims Afghan refugees were not sufficiently vetted during the evacuation. The fire watch participants have blamed one lawmaker in particular for blocking the bill from moving forward: Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over immigration issues. In an emailed statement Tuesday, Grassley said he's heard concerns about the bill from "numerous" other members of the Judiciary Committee, as well as House members. "In light of the administration's vetting failures of evacuees -- which we've received multiple classified briefings on -- and the fact that the scope of this bill extends far beyond the Afghan allies for whom we already have a longstanding green card program, there are legitimate reasons for these hesitations," he said. "Clearly, this type of legislation needs to go through regular order with broad discussion and input. Nevertheless, some benefits will be extended in the interim." While the CR does not include the Afghan Adjustment Act, it does include some aid related to Afghan refugee resettlement. Specifically, it would transfer $3 billion in Pentagon funding to the State Department for continued Afghan resettlement operations. It would also extend eligibility for food assistance and other refugee benefits for Afghan parolees for the length of the CR. The CR, which is needed to keep the government open when current funding expires after Friday, would last until Dec. 16. Typically, a CR just extends existing funding levels, but lawmakers can include new funding for urgent matters. Among the new funding in the CR released by Democratic leaders Monday night is the aid for the war in Ukraine, which started seven months ago when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor. While U.S. troops are not fighting in Ukraine, the U.S. military presence in Europe swelled to more than 100,000 ahead of the war. The $2.8 billion in the CR for the U.S. military operations in Europe would go toward "mission support, intelligence support, special duty pay for troops deployed to the region and equipment," according to a summary from House Appropriations Committee Democrats. The CR also includes $3 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, the U.S. program to train and buy new weapons for Ukrainian forces. It also includes the authority to send another $3.7 billion worth of weapons from U.S. stockpiles to Ukraine, on top of the more than $9 billion from U.S. stockpiles that has already been sent. While the Ukraine aid has bipartisan support and is of little political value to shut down the government weeks before the November elections, Congress is expected to come down to the wire in passing the CR because of political fighting over federal permitting for energy projects and reforms to the environmental review process. Meanwhile, supporters of the Afghan Adjustment Act have vowed not to let up pressure until it passes. They are debating whether to continue camping outside the Capitol when Congress is on recess in October or to focus on encouraging allies to visit lawmakers' district offices. "We still get messages from people who want to be evacuated," Joseph Azam, board chair for the Afghan-American Foundation, said at the fire watch. "The compact that the U.S. had with them is still intact. They're reaching on the basis of understanding that promises were made on both sides. They kept up their end of the bargain. ... So if the U.S. signals that the compact is completely broken, I think that's a really dangerous thing to do." -- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel. Related: Veterans Hold Another Round-the-Clock Protest Outside Capitol for Afghan Refugee Bill A former Army reservist was found guilty on three counts of spy-related charges on Monday, including acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the People's Republic of China during the course of five years, according to the Department of Justice. Ji Chaoqun, 31, entered the Army reserves in 2016 as part of the Pentagon's Military Accessions Vital to National Interest Program, or MAVNI, at the rank of specialist. The program is meant to vet and recruit "legal aliens" whose skill sets are deemed critical to the military. Ji, a resident of Chicago, received his master's degree in electrical engineering in 2015, two years after arriving in the U.S. from Beijing. Within months of arriving in the United States, intelligence officers within China's Jiangsu Province Ministry of State Security (MSS), a state-run intelligence arm in charge of counter-intelligence, foreign intelligence, and political security, began tasking Ji with obtaining "biographical information on eight individuals for possible recruitment by the JSSD," according to his indictment. Read Next: Secretary Austin to Visit Hawaii as Navy Prepares to Defuel Tanks that Caused Contaminated Water Between 2013 and 2015, Ji exchanged 36 messages and met several times with a high-level MSS intelligence officer who was posing as a university professor; he also traveled to China three times since his first arrival in the United States. While it is unclear what was discussed during these meetings, a search warrant conducted on Ji's residence in 2018 revealed several documents disguised as university study materials containing information on "U.S.-based individuals generated by U.S.-based companies Intelius, Inc., Instant Checkmate, and Spokeo," according to Ji's indictment. All three sites provide publicly available data on people. Prosecutors believe that Ji was handing over information about these individuals to Chinese intelligence officials for recruitment into China's intelligence network. "According to information obtained from law enforcement databases, all eight individuals referenced in the background check documents were naturalized U.S. citizens born in Taiwan or China now living in the United States," his indictment read. "All eight individuals either currently worked in or were recently retired from a career in the science and technology industry, including several individuals specializing in aerospace fields. "Open source research indicated that as of approximately January 2018, at least seven of the eight individuals worked for, or had recently retired from, cleared U.S. defense contractors," court records added. Law enforcement also found charges on Ji's credit card linked to the public data brokers. When Ji entered the reserves in 2016, he lied on part of his SF-86, a security clearance application. He answered "no" to knowingly having any foreign government contacts outside of the United States. When interviewed by a U.S. Army officer in 2017 while continuing to vet his security clearance, Ji again lied, failing to disclose his contact with Chinese intelligence officers. The Justice Department said that the case was investigated with the Army's 902nd Military Intelligence Group, an intelligence brigade within the United States Army's Intelligence and Security Command. Military.com reached out to INSCOM for comment, specifically on the nature of their help and how Ji bypassed Army vetting processes, but the organization said it was unable to meet the publication deadline. Court documents also indicate that Ji was paid for his work with the Reserves while he was waiting for his security clearance to process, but his acceptance, training and military occupational speciality, is unclear. Earlier this year, a Navy flight officer was sentenced to four years in prison for lying on his clearance paperwork, also failing to disclose his relationship with Chinese contacts. In 2018, Ji unwittingly met with an undercover federal agent, spilling information about what law enforcement described as high-level intelligence officers within China. Attorneys listed on Ji's court docket did not respond to Military.com's request for comment by publication. While the DOJ press release said that a sentencing date has not been scheduled, court documents entered on Monday -- which recorded Ji's guilty ruling -- indicate he may be sentenced early next year to a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for acting as an illegal agent in the U.S., and 5 years for making false statements. A jury acquitted him of two charges of wire fraud. -- Drew F. Lawrence can be reached at drew.lawrence@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @df_lawrence. Related: Navy Officer Sentenced After Lying About His Relationship with a Chinese Defense Firm The Department of the Air Force hasn't yet issued its final word on the location of U.S. Space Command headquarters a decision that will determine whether the base remains at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs or moves to Huntsville, Ala. but a decision is coming. ETA, fall 2022. Two recently completed federal inquiries, by the Department of Defense's Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office, into the legitimacy of the Trump administration's decision to relocate the base to Alabama haven't yielded easy answers or talking points for those who don't agree with the findings. "The reviews found that the Department of the Air Force complied with Federal Law and Department of Defense policy and that the process was reasonable," said Sarah Fiocco, with the Air Force Press Desk. "Neither of the reviews recommended the Department of the Air Force reopen the evaluation process." Now, what's feeling more and more like an uphill battle and an 11th-hour fight to keep Space Command in Colorado Springs has united Centennial State politicians from both sides of the aisle. As a formal announcement looms, Colorado lawmakers are again pleading their case for keeping the command where it is. They're also continuing to call out what they believe are flaws in the justification underlying the basing decision announced by the outgoing Trump administration in January 2021, in a surprise move that appeared to run counter to previous recommendations by the nation's military brass. U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, both Colorado Democrats, summed up their points in a Tuesday letter to Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall. They argued that basing the headquarters in Huntsville would come with untold costs, human and financial. "We ... urge you to consider critical cost and national security factors as you review Space Command's pathway to Full Operational Capability (FOC) ... prior to the issuance of a final decision," they said. Senior military and political leaders had recommended Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs as "the preferred choice for USSPACECOM's permanent headquarters" due in part to its ability to reach full operational capacity more quickly than any other site under consideration. However, the recently completed environmental review of potential command sites states the Huntsville community will provide a facility that can house the in-process, nascent Space Command headquarters "at no cost during the construction of a permanent headquarters." Opponents of the Huntsville recommendation point to a 2021 paper, drafted by retired Air Force Gen. Ed Eberhart and retired Army Lt. Gen. Ed Anderson, which found that "allowing Space Command to remain (on site, in Colorado Springs) saves taxpayers $1.24 billion" while providing a pathway "to reach full mission capability up to 7 years faster" than is possible in Huntsville. Gens. Eberhart and Anderson also raised concerns about the cost of workforce attrition, which the GAO report identified as one of the "significant shortfalls in transparency and credibility." "A final decision must be based on the imperative to face rapidly evolving threats in space, especially in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's expansion of regional influence," they said. "We cannot afford to delay Space Command's pathway toward reaching Full Operational Capability." Gazette reporter Mary Shinn contributed to this report. ___ (c)2022 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Visit The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) at www.gazette.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. As Hurricane Ian grows in strength and shifts slightly eastward, military personnel and units throughout Florida are battening down the hatches and moving out of the storm's path, even as they prepare to respond to emergencies that may occur in the coming days. Pentagon officials said Tuesday that more than 3,200 National Guard members were on state orders, ready to deploy to areas affected by the storm, with another 1,800 on standby. An additional 2,000 Guard members from five neighboring states will be available "should the need arise," Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters during a press conference. Read Next: Secretary Austin to Visit Hawaii as Navy Prepares to Defuel Tanks that Caused Contaminated Water Ryder said that the Guardsmen will provide route clearing, search and rescue support, flood control and security if needed, with helicopters and other aircraft available. "The department continues to watch closely as Florida prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Ian, an extremely dangerous storm that's expected to bring heavy rain, wind and storm surge to the state's west coast," Ryder said. An HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter is loaded into the back of a C-17 Globemaster aircraft at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, Sept. 26, 2022, in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Ian. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master. Sgt. Kelly Goonan) Meanwhile, Florida-based Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard personnel are on the move as Ian, a Category 3 storm with sustained, 115-mph winds as of Tuesday, bears down on the state's west coast. The Coast Guard and Air Force have been conducting storm overflights, with Coast Guard C-130Js monitoring all maritime commerce and recreational vessels in the region and broadcasting safety messages at sea. The Air Force Reserve and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hurricane hunter aircraft have been measuring and tracking the storm, with at least three flights a day, according to NOAA. Military forces and their dependents started clearing out Monday, with MacDill Air Force Base among the first to order mandatory evacuations. MacDill, home to more than 54,000 people, sits on a low-lying peninsula on Tampa Bay. The installation is expecting high winds and a storm surge that could cause significant damage, officials said. All Air Force and Space Force installations in Florida are being particularly cautious after Hurricane Michael's Category 5 winds caused an estimated $4.7 billion in damage to Tyndall Air Force Base -- located near Panama City. The last major hurricane to hit Florida, in 2018, Michael rendered base housing at Tyndall unlivable, and many of the 11,000 airmen and families received permanent change of station (PCS) orders. Nearly 250 homes are no longer available for service members because of the storm. Additionally, 17 F-22s had to be left behind at Tyndall during the 2018 evacuation. The jets were eventually repaired and flown again. As of Tuesday afternoon, the base had not ordered evacuations but urged base personnel and families to be prepared. On Monday, the Air Force's 920th Rescue Wing, based at Patrick Space Force Base near Cocoa Beach, Florida, began moving their aircraft HC-130J Combat King II aircraft and HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters to other locations in preparation for Hurricane Ian. The decision was made to relocate the aircraft to areas that would prevent them from being damaged, a Monday Facebook post from the 920th Rescue Wing read. At nearby Kennedy Space Center, NASA decided to quickly roll the Artemis I rocket being used for the latest uncrewed mission to the moon from the launchpad back to the hangar on Monday, according to a statement issued on Twitter. Sailors assigned to Naval Air Station Key West were among the first in the U.S. to feel the effects of Hurricane Ian. Base officials closed the installation to non-essential personnel as conditions began to deteriorate late Monday evening, according to the base's Facebook page. On Tuesday, remaining personnel were ordered to shelter in place. The National Weather Service expected flooding rainfall in Key West of four to six inches through Thursday night, and a storm surge of one to three feet above normal high tides. On Floridas West Coast, the Navy's 4th Fleet ordered all ships to prepare for the storm, either by completing heavy weather mooring or leaving Naval Station Mayport. The first to leave was the littoral combat ship Little Rock, leaving Mayport at noon Tuesday with more to follow throughout the afternoon. Military Sealift Command ships, such as the Jack Lummus, also were put to sea. Navy aircraft also were ordered to be secured in hangers or evacuated. Many began leaving Tuesday, flying to locations as far north as Michigan to escape the storm, according to the website globe.adsbexchange.com. "Hurricane preparations were made months ago through a Navy-wide exercise ahead of the hurricane season," Rear Adm. Jim Aiken, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet, said in a news release. "Our sailors will now focus on the safe execution of those planning efforts to enable sustained fleet operations." All naval installations in and near Jacksonville remained open as of Tuesday morning but are expected to close to non-essential operations by Wednesday. The Coast Guard has spent the last few days closing ports along the Gulf Coast, including Tampa, banning inbound and outbound traffic while issuing safety warnings and urging mariners to find safe haven and prepare their vessels for a storm. The Coast Guard's 7th District has spent the last several days prepping supplies and readying its ships and aircraft for search and rescue operations to be conducted after the winds calm down to acceptable levels. Small boat stations in the region have removed their vessels inland while all 87-foot patrol boats from U.S. Coast Guard Southeast have been staged in Freeport, The Bahamas, for the duration of the storm. According to a statement posted by the Coast Guard on Facebook, their crews "will be integral for any search and rescue, and port reconstitution necessary when the worst of the storm passes. On Tuesday morning, the Coast Guard also moved four C-130s and five MH-60 helicopters to drier land and authorized evacuation travel for civilian employees and dependents residing in 14 Florida counties. The Defense Department has designated four installations as federal staging areas for emergency response if needed. According to Ryder, the bases are: Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; Moody Air Force Base, Georgia; Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia; and Marine Corps logistics base Albany, Georgia. Staff writers Travis Tritten and Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report. -- Thomas Novelly can be reached at Thomas.Novelly@Military.com. Follow him on Twitter @tomnovelly. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime. Related: National Guard Surging to Louisiana for Hurricane Relief, California to Combat Fires Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Hawaii this week for an update on the Navy's effort to remove 105 million gallons of fuel from its Red Hill bulk storage facility north of the city. According to a Pentagon press release, Austin will meet with Navy Rear Adm. John Wade, whom he appointed last week to lead the work. Wade, who previously served as director of operations for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, is tasked with working on the project alongside the Environmental Protection Agency, the Hawaii Department of Health and community leaders and residents. As the result of spills that contaminated the drinking water for thousands of homes at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam last year, Austin announced in March his intention to close the massive Red Hill facility, which contains more than 12.4 million gallons of diesel and 93 million gallons of jet fuel. Read Next: Patrol Spots Chinese, Russian Naval Ships Off Alaska Island The Navy delivered its proposal for defueling the Red Hill facility in June, but the Hawaii Department of Health rejected it, saying it lacked sufficient detail for transferring such a large amount of fuel in a sensitive environment that includes Honolulu's main source of drinking water. The service then submitted a revised proposal earlier this month. That plan included more specifics and shortened the timeline for closing the facility. According to the Navy, the operation is now expected to take roughly five months instead of the projected eight, and it should be completed by July 2024. Navy officials said the new plan is "completely focused on the safe and expeditious defueling of the facility." "As we move forward, we will continually refine and improve this plan, and keep stakeholders and the community informed throughout the process. Every action we take must protect the environment and the community," Rear Adm. Steve Barnett, commander, Navy Region Hawaii, said Sept. 7 in a statement accompanying the proposal. State officials and environmental advocates have long called for the closure of Red Hill, citing numerous spills and the threat to a major aquifer. The warnings became reality last November when military personnel and families living at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam started reporting the smell of petroleum or fuel from their taps and a sheen in their water. A subsequent investigation found that nearly 20,000 gallons of fuel had accidentally spilled into the sumps and fire suppression pipes at Red Hill in May; the petroleum products contained in those pipes were released into a nearby drinking water well that served the installation in November following an accident. As a result, hundreds of residents were sickened and thousands were displaced to hotels or forced to use bottled water for months while the Navy flushed the installation's water system. Some families have filed lawsuits and claims over the contaminated water, saying they have lasting health problems as a result of exposure. The EPA has released multiple reports and records in the past several months, saying the Navy violated state and federal regulations in managing its water distribution system, which serves more than 93,000 residents. On Friday, the EPA released records saying the Navy did not operate the fuel facility according to "good engineering practice," and it lacked an adequate spill response plan for dealing with a mishap. The service also did not have the necessary permits for two fuel sumps that should have been categorized as underground fuel storage tanks, according to the EPA. The sumps, EPA officials said, did not have records indicating they met federal environmental standards. In August, the EPA released the results of another investigation into the drinking water system that found the Navy lacked a preventive maintenance program for the system and did not have a safety training program or standard operating procedures for the personnel who operate the tanks. The EPA also found that one of the water storage tanks contained a significant amount of sediment, an active pump shaft contained rust, and there were geckos nesting in two water storage tanks. The Navy completed a response exercise at Red Hill last week that simulated the recovery of a spill from the fuel lines -- part of the process for demonstrating that the Department of Defense can defuel the facility and close it. Officials called it a "significant milestone" in the preparation process, testing their ability to respond to spills and work with multiple agencies during the fuel removal process. "Demonstrating that our personnel have the ability to quickly and appropriately respond to a release or spill at Red Hill is crucial in our continued effort to safely and expeditiously defuel the facility," Barnett said in a media release. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime. Related: Commander Retires with Award After Red Hill Disaster -- and Mistakenly Telling Residents to Drink the Tainted Water Two soldiers were sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to illegally smuggling Mexican nationals into the U.S. while in uniform as part of a larger circle of troops involved in the scheme. Emmanuel Oppongagyare, 22, and Ralph Gregory Saint-Joie, 19, were sentenced Sept. 20 to 21 months and 13 months in prison, respectively. Oppongagyare was a soldier with the Pennsylvania National Guard, and Saint-Joie was an active-duty soldier. Both were stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. The pair were stopped at a border control checkpoint in Hebbronville, Texas, where authorities discovered two undocumented immigrants in the trunk of the car. Both soldiers were wearing their Army uniforms. Read Next: The Army is Having No Issue Retaining Soldiers, Amid a Crisis Recruiting New Ones The two were recruited to smuggle the immigrants from McAllen, Texas, a border town, to San Antonio, a 240-mile drive, according to the Justice Department. Both were paid $100 for gas money when they initially picked up the two Mexican nationals at the border in June 2021, but it isn't clear how much they were going to be paid when the job was complete. Oppongagyare and Saint-Joie were instructed to wear their uniforms during the smuggling to avoid questioning by authorities. The recruiter told the pair "the same tactic worked in previous smuggling events," according to court records. The two service members were hired by Isaiah Gore, 20, who pleaded guilty to human smuggling charges in December 2021, along with Denerio Williams, 22, and Ivory Palmer, 21. Gore was sentenced to 30 months in prison and Williams received 24 months. Palmer is awaiting sentencing. All three were Texas-based soldiers. Troops who serve jail time are typically discharged from service. The military has had a massive presence on the U.S.-Mexico border for more than a year. The bulk of those troops come from the roughly 5,000 Texas National Guard troops, part of Gov. Greg Abbott's troubled Operation Lone Star mission that has been quietly scaled back in recent months. -- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon. Related: Army Veteran Who Stole Millions Worth of Equipment from Fort Hood Gets Jail Time For nearly two weeks in October 1962, the world stood on the brink of nuclear annihilation. American medium-range nuclear missile deployments in Turkey prompted the Soviet Union to place medium-range weapons of its own in Cuba. When the United States discovered the missile sites, President John F. Kennedy and his staff debated a response to the Soviet threat. Any misstep might have led to a nuclear exchange that would kill millions. In the end, the only casualty was Maj. Rudolf Anderson, a U-2 spy plane pilot whose work led to a peaceful resolution of the crisis. Anderson joined the Air Force after completing ROTC training as a student at Clemson University. Although he entered the service in 1951, he wouldn't earn his pilot's wings in time to fight in the Korean War. After the war ended, he flew missions from South Korea and Japan, earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses. After qualifying on the then-secret U-2 reconnaissance plane in 1957, Anderson was transferred and began flying top-secret missions over Cuba. His unit, the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, took the photos that discovered the secret Soviet nuclear launch sites under construction there. Maj. Anderson captured photos of the sites on Oct. 14, 1962. Maj. Rudolf Anderson Jr. was shot down and killed while flying a U-2 Dragon Lady over Cuba. (U.S. Air Force) On Oct. 15, CIA photo analysts discovered the evidence of those sites on the island. The next day, President Kennedy was briefed on the situation and began to convene meetings about what to do next. His advisers were divided about how to proceed, but the one thing they did agree on was that the missiles were a legitimate threat. Among the military choices they considered was a full U.S.invasion of Cuba to overthrow President Fidel Castro and remove the missiles. The military also came up with a plan that would strategically eliminate the sites. A third option was to blockade the island to prevent more missiles and materiel from reaching the launch sites. As negotiations with the Soviet Union continued, Kennedy opted for the blockade, which went into place on Oct. 22. Officially called a "quarantine" of offensive weapons, any ships bound for Cuba carrying weapons would be turned back to their home port. The U.S. military raised its alert status to DEFCON 3. Two days later, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev called the blockade "piracy" in a telegram to Kennedy, saying any intervention of a Soviet ship would lead to war. The United States responded by going to DEFCON 2 on Oct. 26. B-52 bombers were placed on continuous airborne alert, reservists were recalled and the U.S. nuclear arsenal was put on alert status. On Oct. 27, 1962, Maj. Rudolf Anderson took off from Cuba in a U-2F Dragon Lady to make his sixth overflight of the island. It would be his last. As he flew over Banes, Cuba, his aircraft was hit by shrapnel from a Soviet-built Dvina surface-to-air missile (SAM). The fragmentation shredded his high-altitude pressure suit. (Lockheed Martin) Castro, fearful of a U.S. invasion, had ordered all Cuban SAM sites to fire on American aircraft in Cuban airspace. With the shootdown of Anderson's U-2, negotiations began to intensify, but Kennedy didn't respond militarily. Secretly, the two sides would agree to remove American missiles from Turkey in exchange for the Soviets removing the missiles from Cuba. The shooting down of Anderson's U-2 was one of many close encounters that might have led to an escalation and nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but in the end, Anderson would be the only casualty. His remains were retrieved by the Cuban government and released to the United Nations. He was buried near his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. In 1964, under Kennedy's orders, Anderson was awarded the first of a new medal created in 1960. It is still the Air Force's second-highest award for heroism in combat: the Air Force Cross. -- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook. Want to Learn More About Military Life? Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for post-military careers or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox. Yvonne Nelson, actress 27.09.2022 LISTEN Some Ghanaians on social media have been highly offended by what they described as act of spokesmanship displayed by actress and producer, Yvonne Nelson. Yvonne Nelson recently admitted that she and many Ghanaians who ridiculed the Stephen Appiah-led Black Stars were wrong. The actress apologised on behalf of all Ghanaians who may have insulted the Stephen Appiah-led Black Stars players. Her tweet, spotted by Modernghana News, implied that Ghanaians had just realised those players were the greatest to have happened in the team's history. On behalf of Ghanaians, Id like to apologize to Stephen Appiah and his colleagues for all the insults rained on them during their era. It's obvious yall were/are the GREATEST. WE ARE SORRY, her tweet reads. But according to some Ghanaians, the actress should better stay mute because no one has employed her to speak for them. Some indicated that when she forcefully made herself their spokesperson during former President Mahamas administration, it only gave way to "thieves" who parade themselves as leaders. To some, the apology should rather be directed at the former President for aiding the NPP in sending his government into opposition in 2016. Massa you speak for yourself. The last time you spoke for Ghanaians you gave us 'totobotom' leaders. Sleep! a netizen angrily wrote. Another roared attention seeker!!! Who has asked you to apologize? Go and apologize to Mahama for all the senseless vigils you organized against him for the current pathetic president and vice. 22.09.2022 LISTEN I. BELOVED IN CHRIST JESUS, thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters. If you believe that God was able to make a way in the sea then I assure you that, He will definitely make a way for you. Whatever or whoever is blocking your way, God is about to clear your pathway. The LORD who brings forth the chariot and horse. THAT FORTIFIED CITY SERVING AS AN OBSTACLE AND SOURCE OF POWER FRUSTRATING YOU SHALL FALL BEFORE YOU FLAT. II. DAUGHTER OF ZION, that army, and the power shall lie down together. Today declare it to that Goliath you come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. You have tormented me with worldly powers, you have by force taken away my birthright, and you have illegally acquired my possessions. Today I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. BY THE POWER OF CHRIST JESUS, GOLIATH YOU SHALL FALL FOR THE LIBERATION AND RESTORATION OF GOD'S SERVANT. III. SON OF MAN, Goliath cannot rise again for the virtue of power has been removed by the OMNIPOTENT GOD, they are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick. Brother do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old, don't allow the past to hold you hostage. Behold, God is assuring you today, 'I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert'. The impossibilities shall become possible through the power of God. THE LOCKED DOORS SHALL OPEN ON THEIR OWN ACCORD BY THE HOLY GHOST. YOU SHALL SEE THE POWER OF GOD MANIFEST IN YOUR SITUATION. IV. BRETHREN IN CHRIST, do not look at the things which are seen, but focus on the things which are not seen. Focus on the permanent, not the temporary, and target the final at the beginning. Run to win your race set before you and not to be diverted with things around. This is the DIVINE WORD of God sent forth through the Authority of Christ Jesus and serve to the brethren through God's Vessel Francis Ameyibor, Yes! For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. GOD INDEED CARES. V. 2022 MY EMPOWERED SEASON TO DETHRONE AND ENTHRONED - And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. PRAYER: LORD! I call on you today make a way for me. LORD let your light shine through this dark way for me. LORD touch me with your mighty healing hands to heal me. LORD lift up this burden placed on me by act of men and LORD honour your servant through Christ Jesus name I pray AMEN REF: Isaiah 43:16-19 I Samuel 17:45 II Corinthians 4:18 Philippians 4:19 WHATSAPP CONTACT:+233277438688 #GOD'S VESSEL GLOBAL FOUNDATION Joseph Kobinah Ade Coker, NDC Greater Accra Regional Chairman 26.09.2022 LISTEN The Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Joseph Kobina Ade Coker, has urged his party members to unite ahead of the party's internal elections. He urges members not to use insults against their opponents as the party plans to elect regional and national executives on November 12 to 13 and December 17, respectively. Speaking at the Pokuase Market after a massive health walk, dubbed, "My Polling Station, My Victory 2024" at Pokuase on Saturday, September 24, he explained that the social media warfare will destroy the fragile unity in the party. He asks members to focus on pushing the agenda of the party and avoid verbal assaults on peoples hard-earned reputations. I will entreat my party members to stop the social media warfare in the build-up to our upcoming internal elections so we don't get to destroy people's hard-earned reputations and also not jeopardize the unity we enjoy today, he said. He warned that doing so will set the party apart and consequentially affects their zeal to return to power and help save the citizens from hardships inflicted on them by the "fruitless" NPP government. The three-term regional chairman hinted at seeking re-election to enable him to finish what he already started. According to him, he will use his ideas and experience to help the party win more parliamentary seats in the region. "I'm coming back again as regional chairman. It's not for vanity's sake, but I want to be in the vanguard of bringing back John Dramani Mahama. It is about knowledge, not money, he said. While engaging the traders at the market centre, he urged them to help unseat the governing NPP come 2024 by voting back former President John Dramani Mahama to build for them a Kejetia Market standard in Pokuasi. Charles Nii Teiko Tagoe, an Executive Assistant and Head of Social Media at the Office of the President has threatened legal action against the Herald Newspaper for allegedly tarnishing his hard-earned reputation. According to Teiko Tagoe, The Herald Newspaper published a news story claiming that despite having a diplomatic passport, he was deported from the United States of America. He is reported to have flown on a 9,6033.77 USD business class ticket to the USA on KLM. He denied the allegations and stated unequivocally that he does not have a diplomatic passport, as the newspaper claimed in its "hoax" publication. In a Facebook post today, September 26, Mr. Teiko Tagoe stated that his legal team is preparing to file a lawsuit against Mr. Larry Dogbey, the Managing Editor, and the entire crew. My attention has been drawn to a Herald Publication alleging my deportation from the United States despite using a diplomatic passport. I wish to state that I do not use a diplomatic passport and there is absolutely no truth in the story. I have referred the Herald Newspaper and its Editor Larry Dogbey to my Solicitors for the necessary legal action, his post reads. Former Minister of Communications under the erstwhile Mahamas regime, Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah has taken a swipe at some NPP members for blaming the opposition NDC for the presidents humiliation at the just-ended Global Citizens Festival. Outraged and suffering Ghanaian youth who attended the Global Citizens music festival gave the President an unpleasant evening during his speech at the event. Soon after the President mounted the stage to deliver the 6-minute welcome address, he was booed with "away! "Away! "chants from the crowd. It continued till the President concluded his speech at the Black Stars Square on Saturday, September 24. Some NPP communicators, particularly the deputy national communications director, Ernest Kofi Owusu Bempah, blamed the opposition NDC for inciting their supporters to humiliate the President. But the former government spokesperson, in a Facebook post today, September 26, has asked the ruling party to stop taking Ghanaians for fools. He ask the NPP to stop thinking that Ghanaians can't criticise the wrongs of their government freely. NPP mistakenly takes many for fools; but Ghanaians are wide awake! How could NPP claim NDC orchestrated President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's "away..." humiliation at the Independence Square? Ha ba! his post reads. Outraged and suffering Ghanaian youth who attended the Global Citizens music festival gave President Akufo-Addo an unpleasant evening during his speech at the event. Soon after the President mounted the stage to deliver the 6-minute welcome address, he was booed with "away! "Away! "chants from the crowd. It continued till the President concluded his speech at the Black Stars Square on Saturday, September 24. A Facebook post by Kwasi Osei-Danso Ofori-Atta, which was shared by a Presidential staffer, Charles Nii Teiko Tagoe, has condemned the action of the crowd. It explained that Ghanaians, specifically the hooters were able to enjoy such a global concert because of President Akufo-Addo's hard work. He stressed that the Free Senior High School policy, finding a solution to control power outages (Dumsor) and President Akufo-Addo's outstanding performance in tourism were the reasons the show was moved to Ghana, which must be commended by the "ungrateful" youths. Kwasi Osei-Danso Ofori-Atta writes: President Akufo-Addo has been to the Chalewote Street Festival. By a singular act, and speech, he invited the world to Ghana; the YoR. The Global Citizen show last night was epic, he was there to show his support. The show no, it was free right? "Some promises made may not have been fully fulfilled but the impact of his influence outside on Ghanas Culture, Art and Tourism cant be downplayed, portions read. It adds so feel proud if you booed but you did same with your phone on, you did same without thinking youd go home to dumsor, you did same with your siblings in SHS free of charge. Addo D is the plug. Ministry of Finance has confirmed that its officials and that of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) have commenced a comprehensive debt sustainability analysis with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3 billion support programme. A statement from the ministry said: the Government of Ghana is putting together a comprehensive post-Covid-19 economic programme which will form the basis for the IMF negotiations. The programme seeks to establish a macro-fiscal path that ensures debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability, underpinned by key structural reforms and social protection. The ministry added that it is optimistic about making progress in our discussions. Government remains committed, and shall continue to actively engage all stakeholders, both public and private, in a clear and transparent manner as we seek to fast-track this process. An IMF team is in Ghana until October 7 to continue discussions with the government on policies and reforms that could be supported by a lending arrangement. The meeting with IMF comes amid concerns that Ghana is about to start talks with domestic bondholders on a restructuring of its local-currency debt. News reports indicate that major local investors, including local banks and pension funds, are preparing to engage in discussion on debt reorganisation. This could entail the extension of maturities and haircuts on principal and interest payments. Ghana's debt-service costs in the first half amounted to GH20.5 billion, equivalent to 68 percent of tax revenue. ---Citi Newsroom The Right to Information (RTI) Commission says it will soon prosecute heads of public institutions who fail to give out information requested under the RTI law. Mr Yaw Sarpong Boateng, the Executive Secretary of the Commission said the commission had successfully negotiated with the Attorney Generals department to grant it powers to prosecute offences under the Act. The Attorney General has further elected to train selected staff of the Commission as prosecutors to seamlessly prosecute offences under the Act, he said. Mr Boateng made this known at a stakeholders conference held in Accra, on Monday in a conference that sought to solicit inputs from relevant stakeholders on the implementation of the RTI law and the way forward. It was held on the theme: Implementation of RTI Act 2019 (Act 989): Challenges, Solutions, Achievements and the Way Forward. The RTI Act (Act 989) is a law that seeks to promote transparency and accountability by empowering the citizens to access information on central and local governments as well as non-governmental organizations, which are publicly funded. The Act was passed by Parliament in March 2019 and assented to by the President in May 2019. However, more than a year into its implementation, accessing information under the law remains a major challenge. Mr Boateng said the reluctance of heads of many public institutions to grant requests for information was negatively impacting on the smooth implementation of the Act. For instance, he noted that, out of 157 requests for information applications received by public institutions, 130 were approved while 10 were rejected, adding that one internal review was granted, three internal reviews were also rejected by the institution, while one of the review applications ended up in court. We see this trend in the review that have come to us. Institutions seem not to be mindful of the 14 days at their disposal to respond to a request application, they still wait for days to elapse. When applicants put in a request for internal review they still do not attend to the request and allow the matter to get to the Commission, he bemoaned. He added that others responded to these applications either with hostilities or misinterpretations, saying this is an issue going forward we are going to curb with prosecutions. He also disclosed that the Commission was finalizing the setting up of a tribunal to adjudicate matters before it and therefore appealed for funds to furnish its tribunal unit to enable it to hold its first public hearing on matters that were before it. To deepen the implementation of the Act, Mr Boateng said, the Commission was currently engaging the Ministry of Information on a draft legislative instrument to enhance the operationalisation of the Act. In fact, there is a committee that is currently considering the draft of proposed regulations which should be ready for submission to the office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice soon, he said. Mrs Abigail Larbi Odei, Programme Manager for Media Foundation for West Africa, urged the RTI Commission to address the bureaucratic system and the charging of arbitrary fees associated with the request processes. GNA 27.09.2022 LISTEN The Medical and Dental Council of Ghana believes criticisms of its decision not to recognize degree certificates issued to Ghanaian trained doctors trained in Ukraine are unjustified. Speaking on Eyewitness News, the council's Registrar, Dr. Divine Ndonbi Banyubala, suggested that his outfit was deserving of praise for being proactive and acting in our collective interest. We are set up exactly to do that; to make sure substandard practitioners, do not come and become licensed murderers, Dr. Banyubala said. The councils decision is because some schools in Ukraine have resorted to studying online following the Russian invasion. But Ghanaian students studying Medicine and Dentistry in Ukraine have decried the decision by the Ghana Medical and Dental Council not to recognise their certificates. Speaking to Citi News, an Executive Member of the National Union of Ghana Students in Ukraine, Henry Brook Smith said the move is not in the best interest of Ghanaian students studying in Ukraine. Ukraine is currently running an offline mode. The online is being organised for those who can't make it to Ukraine due to the invasion. Our concern is that, this decision has been taken without recourse to the effects on parents and students. citinewsroom Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana, Prof. Peter Quartey is worried that Ghana's debt levels may pose a challenge to its move for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) support. The Ministry of Finance on Monday announced that the IMF delegation is currently undertaking a comprehensive debt sustainability analysis of the country. Acknowledging that the IMF has various support schemes the country could benefit from, the Professor of Economics is disturbed the country's unsustainable debt levels raise more concerns. For IMF, they require that you have a sustainable debt level or a medium-term plan to ensure that, your debt levels become sustainable. They have been sounding this warning, but Ghanas debt sustainability threshold is not good. The Ministry of Finance has confirmed that its officials and that of the Bank of Ghana have commenced a comprehensive debt sustainability analysis with the IMF for a $3 billion support programme. A statement from the ministry said: the Government of Ghana is putting together a comprehensive post-Covid-19 economic programme which will form the basis for the IMF negotiations. The programme seeks to establish a macro-fiscal path that ensures debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability, underpinned by key structural reforms and social protection. The ministry added that it is optimistic about making progress in our discussions. Government remains committed, and shall continue to actively engage all stakeholders, both public and private, in a clear and transparent manner as we seek to fast-track this process. But, Prof. Peter Quartey fears, we are at a risk of debt distress as anything above 60 percent raises a red flag. Currently, we have hit the threshold, so going in for borrowing will be tough for us, he said on Eyewitness News. An IMF team is in Ghana until October 7 to continue discussions with the government on policies and reforms that could be supported by a lending arrangement. The meeting with the IMF comes amid concerns that Ghana is about to start talks with domestic bondholders on a restructuring of its local-currency debt. News reports indicate that major local investors, including local banks and pension funds, are preparing to engage in discussion on debt reorganisation. This could entail the extension of maturities and haircuts on principal and interest payments. Ghana's debt-service costs in the first half amounted to GH20.5 billion, equivalent to 68 percent of tax revenue. citinewsroom 27.09.2022 LISTEN Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery says government will only lift the curfew in Bawku if there is total peace. Mr. Dery says the current breakdown of law and order in the area affects development. Ambrose Dery's comment comes after calls for government to lift the age-old curfew necessitated by conflicts in the area. But the Minister says all other bans will be lifted if peace is restored. If you give us peace, we will see how we will review the curfew in the next few weeks, but if you tell us the only thing you know is war, we will increase it. [I am not sure that is what you want], he said. Last week, the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC) announced the enforcement of additional security measures in Bawku. The revised security actions are to stem the renewed fighting in the community. After its emergency meeting, REGSEC resolved on the following measures: The Police, Ghana Immigration Service and the Military are allowed to use official motorbikes between 6:00am to 6:00pm. Temporary ban on 'yellow, yellow operations until further notice. Curfew hours to cover Nayoka, Kpalgu and Manga. Please ensure strict compliance, a statement from the Office of the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council said. The decision came after at least three persons were reportedly shot by unknown persons. A transformer belonging to the Northern Electricity Development Company was also destroyed during the shooting incident. Residents said the incident left them in fear. By Citi Newsroom 27.09.2022 LISTEN Be careful who you praise and the degree of zeal you do it with. The slain Shinzo Abe, shot dead in Nara on July 8, towered over Japanese politics. In doing so, he cast a lengthy shadow. In death, this shadow continues to grow ever more darkly. The reaction from certain figures outside Japan left an impression of distorted admiration. There was Hillary Clintons cloying tribute about Abe being a champion of democracy and a firm believer that no economy, society, or country can achieve its full potential if women are left behind. The tribute was a classic reminder of how the late Japanese leader could mislead, in this case on the rights of women and the policy of Womenomics. In her effusion, the US Secretary of State had ignored Abes problematic position on Japans use of comfort women or sex slaves during the Second World War. Before the Japanese National Assembly, Abe claimed, despite having previously made some tokenistic apology, that, There was no document found that the comfort women were forcibly taken away. Academic Alison Dudden provides a succinct distillation of that side of Abe. His great leader credentials might be celebrated in some circles, but his personal vision for rewriting Japanese history, of a glorious past, created a real problem in East Asia. It was a vision that proved divisive for countries in terms of how they approached Japan, and it also divided Japanese society in terms of its own wartime responsibility. Of all those attending the state funeral, the Australians seem the oddest, resembling an Olympic delegation filled with previous and current medal holders. There are no less than four leaders, three former and one current, who have decided to put in an appearance: the Coalition figures John Howard, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull, and Labor prime minister Anthony Albanese. Mr Abe was a remarkable leader, a catalyst for change in Japan and the region, a true friend of Australia, remarked Albanese in a statement. To understand the darker side of Abe requires placing such gushy remarks to one side. Granting him a state funeral was itself a contentious point, given its historical associations with imperial power. For prime ministers in the postwar era, there has only been one other: Shigeru Yoshida in 1967. Several opposition politicians are also irate about the way the decision to hold a state funeral was reached. Parliament was not consulted, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida keeping it a Cabinet matter. As Junichi Miyama of Chuo University put it, A state funeral contradicts the spirit of democracy. A number of citizens even went so far as to argue against its legality, petitioning the Tokyo District Court to block the event. The claimants in that case also argued that the measure would propagate a situation obligating the public to mourn Abes death. The petition, comprising 576 individuals, was dismissed by Presiding Judge Yukito Okada, who declared that there was no law that could halt state budget implementation via petition. The justice also dismissed the second claim on obligatory mourning. In July, the national broadcaster, NHK, found that 38 percent of respondents were against the proposal. By August, the number had grown to 57 percent, and not helped by the swelling bill, estimated to be 1.7 billion yen, a distinctly larger sum than the initial 250 million yen figure. Kishida justified the decision on the basis of political longevity: Abe had proven to be Japans longest serving leader. The funeral was also an occasion to show how Japan will not give in to violence. Given that Abe had already received a more private funeral where his family, friends and admirers could pay tribute, the entire occasion reeks of self-interest; the dead, after all, can offer no protest at being used. The decision has stirred a rash of demonstrations, even encouraging an attempt at self-immolation. A number of themes feature in these reactions: the note of militarism Abe struck while in office; his historical stubbornness on the role of Japan during the Second World War, and, perhaps most notably, links to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (the Unification Church). The nexus between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church, a South Korean outfit founded by Reverend Moon Sun-myung and colloquially known as the Moonies, was evident in plain sight. Abes personal links stretch back to his grandmother and former leader Nobusuke Kishi, who aided the sects establishment in Japan. When Moon paid a visit to Japan in the spring of 1992, he was initially denied entry by senior intelligence officials on account of having served time in a US prison for tax evasion. It did not take long for the decision to be overturned, with Shin Kanemaru of the LDP intervening on the reverends behalf. The special treatment offered this excommunicated Presbyterian minister was emblematic of the broader approach to religious groups in Japan. The countrys postwar constitution guarantees freedom of religion but supposedly curbs political influence and state support. Nor is the state permitted to engage in religious activity. The result is a stealthy connection between religious groups and political parties that has proven difficult for authorities to investigate. Former senior official at the Public Security Intelligence Agency Mitsuhiro Suganuma attributes this to constitutional restraints. Nobody was willing to investigate the Unification Church and the close ties with Japanese politicians because the constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The association between the LDP and the Unification Church also yielded another dividend: guaranteed support against communism. This was not to say that Moon did not court his own idiosyncratic attitudes towards his Japanese admirers. The Japanese way, he reasoned in a speech given in 1997, is not heavens way. When you go to the spirit world, you should speak Korean. The conduct of Tetsuya Yamagami initially commanded shock and grief but his reasons for the killing started to take hold. These included the impoverishment of his family at the hands of the Moonies. His mother, the claim went, had made crushingly large and ruinous donations to the sect, stripping the family fortune. While few would endorse such retributive conduct, historical attempts to understand Abe will have to do better than any seen by the visiting dignitaries, equipped with their share of whitewash. Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University. Email: [email protected] 27.09.2022 LISTEN By the attitudes and actions of the about-to-be-mentioned three politicians, one may perfectly agree with me that they are very dangerous persons that are selfishly resolutely determined to derail democracy from being practised in their individual countries, if not from the world. In their minds and beliefs, they are born to be heads but not tails, thus, born to rule but not ruled; born to lead but not led. Therefore, without them at the helm of their countrys affairs, the system of governance in the country, if not the country itself, should collapse. These individual politicians concerned are: 1. John Dramani Mahama of Ghana. Former Ghanaian president John Dramani Mahama, who had been very fortunate to go through all the political ranks, successfully climbing from the bottom rung of the political stepladder through to the topmost rung, thus, from assemblyman to member of parliament, deputy minister, minister, vice president, caretaker president and president, is still not satisfied but wants more. He surely wants to become the life president of Ghana, if I am not mistaken. He sees himself as the sole person in the country with the abracadabra wand to lead the people, although as clueless, incompetent and by far without any solid positive-nation-changing agenda of policies and programmes, but simply overflowing with populist sentiments of tribalism, hatred, divisions and the peddling of falsehoods cloaked as truth. He is constantly undermining President Nana Akufo-Addo and his ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government. Not only that, he is always attacking the judiciary, especially, the Chief Justice, for exercising their functions in conformity with the laws. When he went to the Supreme Court, asserting that he had won the presidential election 2020 without producing even a strand of toilet roll for evidence, but with conniving rogues as his principal witnesses, he expected the Supreme Court to pronounce judgment in his favour. When the law was applied in truth, throwing out his case for lack of merit, he would not have that but to treat the judges as biased, crooks, corrupt and whatever adverse adjective his warped mind could imagine, he used them to qualify the judges. He was with the motive of causing public disaffection for them to prepare and galvanise his further aims at the presidency. Once he convinces the public to accept that the judges are dishonest, although not true, he will then mobilise them to support his future attempts to wrestle political power when he may clearly have lost. He is rubbishing every state institution that he sees to wield the truth against him in all his fabrications to deceiving Ghanaians and the world to support his selfish, myopic and corrupt political ambitions. If Ghana will collapse for him to obtain his selfish leadership and wealth-seeking ambition, for that he cares. From his actions, there is no doubt in my mind that he is ganging up to overthrow the democracy of the country to usher in himself and his yearned autocracy that will make him a life president, although as devoid of capability and ability to initiate credible policies as he is. 2. Donald Trump (former president of the USA) Former President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, once brought to power as the president of the USA through their envious centuries-old laid down democratic rules, has upon losing elections in 2020, turned against the very principles he trusted to bring him to power, and adored while in power. He did not only allegedly directly or indirectly, incite some of his far right republican supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on intent to stopping the Senate from ratifying the election that was obviously won by then presidential-candidate Joe Biden of the Democrats, but to overthrow the entire American democracy. He has since losing the election been doing whatever is within his might to derail the American democracy, in the hope of coming back to power even if it should be on the spread strong wings of autocratic revolution of some sort. He has been denigrating and undermining President Joe Biden and his government at any least opportunity he gets. If America democracy will sink for him to come back to power again, for all he cares. What a dangerous and ungrateful individual he is! 3. Vladimir Putin, President of The Russian Federation: The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, is a president who has gone against the very tenets of the saying, "don't bite the finger that feeds you". Readers may notice that it was through the introduced democracy by Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) that Vladimir Putin was able to become the President of the Russian Federation after the resignation of Gorbachev and the end of the two terms of the democratic election of President Boris Yeltsin. "Perestroika was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during the late 1980s widely associated with CPSU general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and his glasnost policy reform." It started in 1985 and ended in 1991. It means, "reconstruction". It came with "glasnost" which Russians take for "openness and transparency". After successfully completing his two terms in office as president from 2000 to 2008, Vladimir Putin changed the electoral laws to become the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation under the puppet he had installed as his successor president, Dmitry Medvedve, who ruled from 2008 to 2012. Vladimir Putin changed the laws again to become president for 3rd and 4th terms from 2012 until present. He has in effect become a life president, disregarding the Russian democracy that initially allowed for a maximum of two terms in office for any individual president. In his secret heart of hearts, he hated Gorbachev for disintegrating the Soviet Union, thus, introducing the very democracy that brought him to power but gave freedom to previously forced countries into the Union. He prefers the communism that would have kept the vast Soviet Union rather than the current comparatively smaller Russian Federation. To prop his position as life president of the Russian Federation, he has embarked on an expansionism war against Ukraine, and threatens the world with the unleashing of nuclear weapons if the Western countries continued to thwart his efforts to defeat or annex Ukraine. The above mentioned individuals are dangerous and must be watched. As it took ambitious, selfish and autocratic Adolf Hitler, one individual, to bring about the second world war that culminated in the deaths of millions of innocent soldiers and civilians, so will it take any of the above mentioned persons that are over-zealously craving for power as born to rule, to destroy the world democracy, if not countries or the world. Resist them. Dont fall for their ploys. Rockson Adofo Tuesday, 27 September 2022 Former Member of Parliament for Mampong constituency, Francis Addai-Nimoh has blamed the National Security for what happened to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Global Citizens Festival on Saturday when he was heckled by some participants. In his view, the Ministry of National Security and the other security detail of the President should have been able to pick the signal in record time to avert it from happening. Mr Addai-Nimoh urged the security of the president to be on top of their job and stop situations like this. What was the National Security doing? Why couldnt they pick the intelligence? He asked on the New Day show with Johnnie Hughes on Tuesday September 27. Mr Akufo-Addo during the event delivered a keynote address amidst jeering from the crowd. He spoke about the government of Ghana's involvement in eradicating poverty and upholding national unity. Ladies and gentlemen, I extend a hearty Akwaaba, our word of welcome, from a very hospitable people. To all of you, who have come from afar and wide, to our vibrant city of Accra, Ghana's capital, to join us on this great occasion, the President said at the event amidst the heckling. 3news.com Dr. Love Konadu, Doctor of Repository Communication who is also the president of Mama Love Foundation, the CEO of Love K ventures and a motivational speaker has been honoured by the SRC of KNUST Obuasi campus for her sterling contributions towards women empowerment and humanity in general. She received the Honorary award alongside Professor Richard Buamah, Coordinating Dean of the KNUST Obuasi Campus, Master Stephen Abban, a former SRC President of the school and some students, at an award and handing-over dinner held by the Students Representative Council (SRC) of the school. The Mama Love Foundation has been in the news for championing the cause of women with focus on training and empowerment especially widows to make them economically independent. The foundation has been training girls in fashion, design and other disciplines. In her interactions with the Media, Dr. Love Konadu lauded the students' body for recognising her efforts in empowering women and the youth. She said she has been working closely with the SRC of the KNUST Obuasi campus since the school was established. "Recently, I delivered a lecture here at Public Relations and communication summit 2022 where I spoke on the role of the media, traditional media, social media in the effective dissemination of information," she stated. She appealed to the newly elected SRC executives to work assiduously to leave a good name for themselves and the school. "You are young, vibrant and energic, I urge you to prioritize the interest of the student body and leave a good name for yourselves," she stated. The occasion was also used to swear in the newly elected SRC Executives led by its President Master Albert Ashie Lawerh. He commended the past SRC administration and the school's management for remarkably steering the affairs of the school. He promised to continue from where they left off. He takes over from Stephen Abban who resigned from his position as SRC President prior to the elections. The SRC Vice President of KNUST main campus Deborah Afia Boakye assured students of the KNUST Obuasi Campus that, there are plans by management of KNUST and SRC of the main campus to extend developmental projects to the Obuasi campus. She encouraged the newly elected SRC executives to work as a team to enable them effectively deliver on their mandate. "You can only succeed when you work in unity. I appeal to you to put away any personal ambitions aside and work together to deliver on your mandate and always put the interest of the student body first". The KNUST Obuasi campus is a satellite campus of the KNUST. It was built as a form of expansion of the University beyond the city of Kumasi. KNUST Obuasi campus started with a foundation student population of 343 in 2019. The Campus was officially commissioned by the President in 2020 and now has a student body of more than 1000. Renowned Security Expert Dr Adam Bona has slammed state security agencies in the Ashanti Region over the influx of illegal immigrants in the region. Dr Bona believes the security apparatus in the Region have failed to protect the citizenry. Dr Bona in an interview with Kumasi-based OTEC 102.9 FM's morning show Nyansapo on Monday September 26, 2022 urged the government to beef up the country's intelligence gathering to guard against any unsuspecting attacks by foreigners. He was reacting to the arrest of some 48 suspected illegal immigrants believed to be engaging in rogue activities at Akokoamong in the Ejisu Municipality. "Ghana's security agencies lack the skill of picking intelligence on happenings of issues. People presume that well-educated individuals are the ones who are qualified to pick intelligence but that is not the case," the security expert intimated. He added, "If you ask me, I will tell you that those responsible for protecting the region have not lived up to expectations. How on earth can dozens of foreigners settle and work in parts of the region without any permit from government? He indicated that such persons act as spies and gather intelligence for their paymasters. You will never hear that there is ongoing recruitment for people in the National security, you will only find out after the person is employed. It is only in Ghana that national security identifies themselves everywhere they go," Dr Bonaa noted. Assemblymans concerns The Assembly member for Akokoamong Electoral Area in the Ejisu Municipality, Hon Daniel Owusu, had disclosed to OTEC FM that alot of foreigners are still hiding in the community at the blindside of authorities in the area. Some of these outlanders according to the assembly member are engaging in rogue operations including operating a school for men between the ages of 18 to 30 without any permit. It is yet to be known by authorities as to what they are teaching the men who have been camped at secret places in the community. Police in the Ashanti Region on Thursday, September 22, 2022 arrested 48 foreigners suspected to be illegal immigrants living in a five-bedroom house at Akokoamong. The arrest follows a combined team of security agencies and community members who claimed to have observed the suspicious movement of those people in the past few months. The foreigners suspected to hail from Cameroon, Niger, Burkina and other neighboring countries have been camping secretly without the notice of authorities in the area. Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, Prof. Ransford Gyampo has condemned the boos directed at President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over the weekend. On Saturday, the President was at the Global Citizens Concert organised at Black Stars Square. While mounting the stage to deliver a speech, President Akufo-Addo was subjected to booing by a section of the crowd. The youth clapped their hands while shouting away 'away.' In a release, Prof. Ransford Gyampo has stressed that although things may not be going well, it is important that Ghanaians remain respectful. According to him, the citizenry should behave as cultured Ghanaians with respect for the Presidency. We do not like how the country is being governed. Times are too hard and there is a feeling of despondency among many Ghanaians. The Presidents speech writers who are obviously out of touch with the economic miserization of the people, keep writing flowery and utopian speeches for the President, in a manner that plays on the emotional keyboards of Ghanaians. But I end by insisting that we are still Ghanaians, a well cultured people and must go back to our values that found a decent way of expressing dissent, Prof. Ransford Gyampo has indicated in a statement. He concludes, We know the lines between disagreements, criticisms and disrespect and we must keep the boundaries. We also know the lines between the PRESIDENCY and the President as well as the OFFICE and the PERSON who occupies it. Let us keep these boundaries for the sake of national cohesion and development. This is my position both as a Normative Political Scientist and a Logical Positivist. Below is a copy of the statement: 1. We are Ghanaians, a well cultured people and must go back to our values that found a decent way of expressing dissent. We need not be emotional and indulge in irrational politics of equalization and comparison, that copies and perpetuate bad practices all the time, else our drive towards democratic maturity would be too long. 2. There were times when my Akuapim people were very civil and decorous even when they were insulting. Have we forgotten the me pa wo ky3w se wo y3 aboa expression? Among my Fanti, people, especially those of us from Saltpond, Ghanas Political Mecca, we never feared the Police, yet we also believed in the expression aban ye dur (government is heavy). This guided our utterances, conduct and attitude towards the Police even when they had incurred our displeasure. Until recently, you could not slap back a Police Officer, not because he was too strong as person, but because of the OFFICE and POSITION he occupied in his or her uniform. 3. We do not like how the country is being governed. Times are too hard and there is a feeling of despondency among many Ghanaians. The only crop of people who do not feel the heat in Ghanas current economy are NPP government appointees, and article 71 office holders. This is what has filled the body politic with intense anger to the point that, even the beneficiaries of power are suddenly cowed into fear and are unable to speak out against this singular act that has monumentally embarrass their appointing authority. 4. But I speak for Ghana and I dont care swimming against the tide, particularly when I know that, human beings are generally creatures of emotions and not creatures of logic. I insist we cannot throw our culture of courtesy, respect and civility to the dogs. The OFFICE and POSITION of the PRESIDENCY that transcends the individual occupying it, MUST be respected by ALL, regardless of its occupant and irrespective of how we feel against the occupant of the OFFICE. 5. No nation develops without its culture, so its completely out of place to use bogus examples that are at variance with cultural values to justify acts of disrespect. Barack Obama, George Bush, Emmanuel Macron etc all suffered disrespect but these must not be our yardstick. We saw how Donald Trump never wanted to leave office even when he was defeated in an election and we mocked at him as a developing democracy. It is disingenuous to look for bad examples to justify bad conduct. We must copy from best practices. 6. His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, once had a torrid experience at the Manhyia Palace when he was met with tumultuous chant of change from some NPP supporters. He and his entourage were there to commiserate with the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, during the one week celebration of the Queen mother of the Ashanti stool Asantehemaa Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa, Ampem II. The event which was supposed to be solemn one, turned out to be rancorous when some of the mourners deliberately shouted insults and gestured change towards the president as he arrived at the funeral grounds. The security details of the President had difficulties paving way for him and NPP supporters had a field day as they offered all manner of rationalization and justification for this act of disrespect. 7. When some Ghanaians, including the loudest supporters of the NDC kept quiet over this, some of us spoke out openly against such act of gross disrespect exhibited against the President (JM) and the PRESIDENCY to the displeasure of some other Ghanaians, including the NPP support base. The records are there for anyone who wants to verify. 8. A few days ago, Patrons at the 2022 Global Citizen Festival, we are told, hooted at President Akufo-Addo when he mounted the podium to deliver a speech at last nights event held at the Black Star Square in Accra. Thousands of patrons turned up at the event grounds to witness the international festival, with several local and international artistes performing. But when the President mounted the stage to address the crowd, people started chanting and hooting at the President, making it difficult for him to deliver his address. 9. Like what happened to President Mahama, this is also not courteous and respectful and even though many NPP apparatchiks and appointees are scared to come out to speak in condemning this practice; and even though some other level headed Ghanaians are very angry with how bad things are and hence would not comment about the disrespect shown the sitting President, some of us wont shut up. We will speak against this act of disrespect against the President and the PRESIDENCY, regardless of how angry we are, and the fact that, we would even be leading labor once again to go on strike very shortly. 10. Yes, we are hungry but we cannot eat with both hands when we find food. A few party appointees are enjoying, even in times of hardships, and are asking the rest of us to keep tightening our belt. The Presidents speech writers who are obviously out of touch with the economic miserization of the people, keep writing flowery and utopian speeches for the President, in a manner that plays on the emotional keyboards of Ghanaians. But I end by insisting that we are still Ghanaians, a well cultured people and must go back to our values that found a decent way of expressing dissent. We know the lines between disagreements, criticisms and disrespect and we must keep the boundaries. We also know the lines between the PRESIDENCY and the President as well as the OFFICE and the PERSON who occupies it. Let us keep these boundaries for the sake of national cohesion and development. This is my position both as a Normative Political Scientist and a Logical Positivist. Yaw Gyampo A31, Prabiw PAV Ansah Street Saltpond Suro Nipa House Kubease Larteh-Akuapim 27.09.2022 LISTEN Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, Prof. Ransford Gyampo has indicated that he understands the frustrations and anger of Ghanaians. According to him, it has become clear that the only people enjoying and not feeling the brunt of the hard economic situation of the country are government appointees and Article 71 office holders. Reacting to the boos directed at President Akufo-Addo at the Global Citizens Festival in Accra over the weekend, Prof. Ransford Gyampo said people are not happy how the country is being governed. We do not like how the country is being governed. Times are too hard and there is a feeling of despondency among many Ghanaians. The only crop of people who do not feel the heat in Ghanas current economy are NPP government appointees, and article 71 office holders. This is what has filled the body politic with intense anger to the point that, even the beneficiaries of power are suddenly cowed into fear and are unable to speak out against this singular act that has monumentally embarrass their appointing authority, Prof. Gyampo has explained in a statement. Although he understands the frustrations of the suffering masses, the UG professor has called on Ghanaians to desist from any form of disrespect to the presidency. He insists that as cultured and well-mannered Ghanaians, the people should not repeat what happened at the Global Citizens Festival. We know the lines between disagreements, criticisms and disrespect and we must keep the boundaries. We also know the lines between the PRESIDENCY and the President as well as the OFFICE and the PERSON who occupies it. Let us keep these boundaries for the sake of national cohesion and development. This is my position both as a Normative Political Scientist and a Logical Positivist, Prof. Ransford Gyampo concludes in his statement. Below is a copy of the statement: 1. We are Ghanaians, a well cultured people and must go back to our values that found a decent way of expressing dissent. We need not be emotional and indulge in irrational politics of equalization and comparison, that copies and perpetuate bad practices all the time, else our drive towards democratic maturity would be too long. 2. There were times when my Akuapim people were very civil and decorous even when they were insulting. Have we forgotten the me pa wo ky3w se wo y3 aboa expression? Among my Fanti, people, especially those of us from Saltpond, Ghanas Political Mecca, we never feared the Police, yet we also believed in the expression aban ye dur (government is heavy). This guided our utterances, conduct and attitude towards the Police even when they had incurred our displeasure. Until recently, you could not slap back a Police Officer, not because he was too strong as person, but because of the OFFICE and POSITION he occupied in his or her uniform. 3. We do not like how the country is being governed. Times are too hard and there is a feeling of despondency among many Ghanaians. The only crop of people who do not feel the heat in Ghanas current economy are NPP government appointees, and article 71 office holders. This is what has filled the body politic with intense anger to the point that, even the beneficiaries of power are suddenly cowed into fear and are unable to speak out against this singular act that has monumentally embarrass their appointing authority. 4. But I speak for Ghana and I dont care swimming against the tide, particularly when I know that, human beings are generally creatures of emotions and not creatures of logic. I insist we cannot throw our culture of courtesy, respect and civility to the dogs. The OFFICE and POSITION of the PRESIDENCY that transcends the individual occupying it, MUST be respected by ALL, regardless of its occupant and irrespective of how we feel against the occupant of the OFFICE. 5. No nation develops without its culture, so its completely out of place to use bogus examples that are at variance with cultural values to justify acts of disrespect. Barack Obama, George Bush, Emmanuel Macron etc all suffered disrespect but these must not be our yardstick. We saw how Donald Trump never wanted to leave office even when he was defeated in an election and we mocked at him as a developing democracy. It is disingenuous to look for bad examples to justify bad conduct. We must copy from best practices. 6. His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, once had a torrid experience at the Manhyia Palace when he was met with tumultuous chant of change from some NPP supporters. He and his entourage were there to commiserate with the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, during the one week celebration of the Queen mother of the Ashanti stool Asantehemaa Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa, Ampem II. The event which was supposed to be solemn one, turned out to be rancorous when some of the mourners deliberately shouted insults and gestured change towards the president as he arrived at the funeral grounds. The security details of the President had difficulties paving way for him and NPP supporters had a field day as they offered all manner of rationalization and justification for this act of disrespect. 7. When some Ghanaians, including the loudest supporters of the NDC kept quiet over this, some of us spoke out openly against such act of gross disrespect exhibited against the President (JM) and the PRESIDENCY to the displeasure of some other Ghanaians, including the NPP support base. The records are there for anyone who wants to verify. 8. A few days ago, Patrons at the 2022 Global Citizen Festival, we are told, hooted at President Akufo-Addo when he mounted the podium to deliver a speech at last nights event held at the Black Star Square in Accra. Thousands of patrons turned up at the event grounds to witness the international festival, with several local and international artistes performing. But when the President mounted the stage to address the crowd, people started chanting and hooting at the President, making it difficult for him to deliver his address. 9. Like what happened to President Mahama, this is also not courteous and respectful and even though many NPP apparatchiks and appointees are scared to come out to speak in condemning this practice; and even though some other level headed Ghanaians are very angry with how bad things are and hence would not comment about the disrespect shown the sitting President, some of us wont shut up. We will speak against this act of disrespect against the President and the PRESIDENCY, regardless of how angry we are, and the fact that, we would even be leading labor once again to go on strike very shortly. 10. Yes, we are hungry but we cannot eat with both hands when we find food. A few party appointees are enjoying, even in times of hardships, and are asking the rest of us to keep tightening our belt. The Presidents speech writers who are obviously out of touch with the economic miserization of the people, keep writing flowery and utopian speeches for the President, in a manner that plays on the emotional keyboards of Ghanaians. But I end by insisting that we are still Ghanaians, a well cultured people and must go back to our values that found a decent way of expressing dissent. We know the lines between disagreements, criticisms and disrespect and we must keep the boundaries. We also know the lines between the PRESIDENCY and the President as well as the OFFICE and the PERSON who occupies it. Let us keep these boundaries for the sake of national cohesion and development. This is my position both as a Normative Political Scientist and a Logical Positivist. Yaw Gyampo A31, Prabiw PAV Ansah Street Saltpond Suro Nipa House Kubease Larteh-Akuapim Putan Abel Kpaja, The Chief of Kuwani 27.09.2022 LISTEN The seething accommodation challenge facing nurses at the Presbyterian Clinic in Kuwani, a community in the East Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region is a major source of worry to both staff and members of the community. Many people have in the past refused postings to the area due to the challenge. Those that accept posting are also confronted with accommodation troubles. This, the Chief of the area, Putan Abel Kpaja is rallying the support of the community and other well-wishers to construct decent nursing quarters for the staff. He said such an initiative will help ameliorate the difficulties staff go through and also make the place attractive to people posted there. Putan Abel Kpaja intimated that he could not withstand the issue of accommodation challenges which can affect health delivery in the community. The Chief made the call during a familiarization tour of the Presbyterian Clinic at Kuwani. The General Manager of the Presbyterian Health Service-North, Rev. Ezekiel Amadu Daribi expressed his appreciation to the Chief for the gesture and called on benevolent organizations as well as individuals to support the construction and completion of the nursing quarters which has since commenced. Kuwani is a community located in Salaga in the East Gonja Municipality in the Savannah Region. The community with a population of over 4000 serves the surrounding communities in terms of health care delivery and the Presbyterian Clinic over the years has been supporting the community despite the challenges. 27.09.2022 LISTEN Following the recent downpours, conditions in the Camp Liberia refugee settlement area, sanitation-wise, are egregiously-atrocious. I was outraged to see how a fruit seller (who keeps me supplied with fruit at affordable prices, regularly), Madam Georgina Ayeh, was off-water-grid dish-washing, for her single-parent brood. No demographic in our well-endowed aspirational African society, should be forced to exist in such conditions. No. No. No. Case closed. Haaba. Ghana's greed-filled, narrow-minded and hard-of-hearing ruling-elites, must change their evil ways, ooooo, Ghanafuo. Yoooooo... There is no question that the rampant high-level corruption being engaged in by the big-thieves-in-high-places, is robbing Mother Ghana, blind, and milking her dry - such that she is unable to ensure the welfare of ordinary people: because grand-larceny, on a scale never seen before in human history, is denying our nation the wherewithal needed to ensure the creation of a fair and all-inclusive society. Ghanafuo, let us not delude ourselves, oooo: We are actually sitting on a metaphorical-social-time-bomb, which could explode suddenly, without warning. The question to ponder over is: If today we have all the digital-tools, needed to create a prosperous, equitable and modern African society, why then do we not move out of the shadow of conventional economic thinking, swiftly? Will that not make it possible, for example, to provide digital bank accounts, at the Bank of Ghana (BoG), for all Ghanaians citizens who elect for it, to be given DGHC300,000 to build their own family homes, repayable over 50 years, with the monthly rent of DGHc100, counting as instalment payments. Ditto open digital business bank accounts at the BoG, for all Ghanaian citizens, who opt for it, to be given DGHc100, 000, repayable over 50 years, with monthly interest payments of DGHc25.00, from the end of a ten-year moratorium-timeframe? Will such imaginative policies not provide a regular source of revenue for the Ghanaian nation-state, to fund the modernisation and expansion of infrastructure nationwide, I ask, dear reader? Given the mess our debt--burdened national economy is in, even as we speak, one wonders what disaster could possibly befall Mother Ghana, if such a creative approach to mass-empowerment, which delivers individual self-bootstrapping-prosperity, for all marginalised demographics, in our homeland Ghana? Hmmm, ey3nsem piiiiii, oooo, Ghanafuo: If we do not kill endemic high-level corruption, it will kill Ghanaian democracy, as sure as day follows night. Yoooooo... 27.09.2022 LISTEN Liz Truss, the former foreign secretary, has become the United Kingdom's (UK) new Prime Minister, succeeding Boris Johnson. Throughout her political career, Truss has been compared to Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady, who is considered the benchmark for Conservative leaders. The new Prime Minister has taken the office at a time when her country and the whole world are facing critical challenges with economic uncertainties. After taking the office, Ms. Truss is looking to administer a dose of Reaganomics to bolster the British economy more widely. She has pledged to borrow to fund tax cuts, freeze the energy bills, slash EU regulation, and increase defence spending while seeking free-trade deals across the globe. As the new British PM has taken her office, it has kicked up a fresh start and may open new opportunities for bilateral ties between the UK. and its partners around the world. Having a historic relationship with the United Kingdom, Bangladesh is also hoping to use this opportunity seeking to strengthen bilateral relations to bolster trade and investment. Historic Background Bangladesh has had special relations with the UK since its liberation War in 1971. The history of the Bangladesh-UK relationship is a testimony of partnership, fraternity, and deep understanding. The return of Bangabandhu to the soils of liberated Bangladesh on 10 January 1972 via London dawned great moments in Bangladesh-UK relations. Millions of Bengalis will never forget the warm-hearted welcome and earnest hospitality of the former British Prime Minister Edward Heath in receiving Bangabandhu at 10 Downing Street. Another unforgettable gesture was that the British Royal Air Force Comet Jet carried Bangabandhu home via Delhi on January 10 where his people were eagerly waiting for his return. The United Kingdom was among the first European countries to recognize Bangladesh as an independent state on 4 February 1972 which influenced other Commonwealth and European countries in recognizing Bangladesh. Since then, the two countries have enjoyed warm relations deepening multidimensional cooperation covering economic to security issues. Eco-Political Ties Partly based on their colonial links, Bangladesh has a thriving diaspora community in the UK. It is estimated that around 0.7 million Bangladesh diasporas are living in the UK as a vital connector in the growing economic, political, and social relations. People in Bangladesh show great enthusiasm about the representation of the Bangladesh diaspora in British politics. Currently, there are around 100 British Bangladeshi councillors and 4 Members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK. The community operates over 10,000 Bangladeshi restaurants, worth a yearly turnover of 4.5 billion. With the growing number of diasporas, the UK is one of the leading sources of remittance for Bangladesh. In 2021, the UK was ranked 4th largest source of Bangladeshs remittance. The UK government has been showing a great understanding of Bangladeshs challenge with more than 1.2 million Rohingyas forced to flee from Myanmar in the face of genocide. It has remained highly proactive about the repatriation of the Rohingyas to Myanmar as a durable solution to the crisis. With such a strong foundation and growing expansion of bilateral partnerships over the past decade, Bangladesh and the UK have created immense prospects for trade and investment. With the presence of more than 200 British companies, the UK is the second biggest investor in Bangladesh. The total cumulative investment of the UK is USD 2.5 billion. In addition, the UK is the third single largest market destination for Bangladesh after the United States and Germany. Currently, the two-way trade exceeds US$ 4 billion. The UK is also a major donor to Bangladesh for decades. The cumulative development assistance of the UK amounts to more than 3 billion British pounds. During the recent bilateral meetings, the UK re-emphasized its commitment to support Bangladesh in achieving smooth and successful graduation and continuing its export-led growth by providing duty-free, quota-free access to the UK market until 2029. The UK-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Dialogue was held for the first time on 16 February 2021. During the Dialogue, both countries discussed a range of issues such as GSP, LDC Graduation, investment cooperation, access of Bangladeshi professionals to UK service sectors, trade facilitation, ease of doing business, financial sector development, higher education provision, taxation issues and intellectual property protection. Beyond manufacturing, UK investors can explore Bangladeshs growing service industry, health and health tech, education and EdTech, FinTech and infrastructure which are highly promising sectors. For instance, higher education in Bangladesh is another key area where British universities are keen to invest. The UK government has launched a new scheme called the UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) that provides a major opportunity to grow free and fair trade with developing nations like Bangladesh. This new UK scheme will offer more opportunity and less bureaucracy for developing countries, by simplifying rules of origin requirements or reducing tariffs on imports. The post-Brexit UK has been shaping its trade and investment relations in a different way by taking a more liberal, pro-trade approach that leads to growth and opportunity. Many experts suggest that both countries should sign a free trade agreement (FTA) to bolster bilateral trade. In their opinion, the time has come to sign an FTA with the UK so that Bangladesh can take full advantage of any potential business deals when Britain exits the EU trade bloc at the end of 2022. Defence Ties In the defence and security arena, both Bangladesh and UK have charted a ground-breaking initiative of strategic dialogue. Starting in 2017, the two countries held the fourth Strategic Dialogue on 9 September 2021 in London, UK that embraced the entire gamut of bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the UK, covering political and diplomatic relations, global and regional issues, economic and development partnerships, and security and defence. The first UK-Bangladesh Defence Dialogue was held in March 2022 as another magnificent forum to reflect on the growing bilateral defence relationship, established at the time of Bangladeshs independence over 50 years ago, which should be developed in preparation for the next 50 years of bilateral relations. During her visit to London in 2021, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, discussed the issue of defence cooperation, aiming to fulfil the increased demand of Bangladesh for defence purchases in line with the implementation of Forces Goals 2030. Notably, Bangladesh has decided to buy five naval ships from the UK to protect its long sea frontier at the Bay of Bengal. Moreover, the expansion of economic partnership is expected to further deepen diplomatic and strategic cooperation between the two nations. As the new British Prime Minister is set to address the looming economic challenges of her country, she may seek renewed bilateral ties and free-trade deals around the globe as she is a free trade ideologue. In this scenario, Bangladesh a tiger economy of South Asia offers promising prospects for the new British government to bolster its economic and defence ties. While Bangladeshs continuing high economic growth, empowerment of social sectors and political stability, along with the innovative and enterprising youth is leading the country towards sustainable socio-economic development, the United Kingdom can offer a strong partnership. Such partnership will be beneficial for Bangladesh also in fulfilling the Vision 2041 of transforming the country into a developed nation, i.e., Sonar Bangla (Golden Bengal). Doreen Chowdhury is a doctoral researcher at the University of Groningen Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was among the foreign dignitaries who paid tribute to assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe at a controversial state funeral on Tuesday. US Vice-President Kamala Harris and world leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian premier Anthony Albanese were also among those in attendance at the Budokan venue in Tokyo. The funeral was also attended by European Council president Charles Michel. However, amid a cooling of diplomatic relations, China chose to send a representative rather than a high-ranking member of government. Abe's ashes were carried by his widow Akie, who was met by a a 19-gun salute sounded in honour of the slain former leader. In a eulogy, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described the politician as a "person of courage", listing his achievements, including efforts to strengthen Japan's diplomatic ties. Flowers and protests Outside, thousands of people stood in line as the ashes arrived, waiting to deliver flowers and say a prayer in two mourning tents. Japan's emperor and empress did not attend, as neutral national figures, but Crown Prince Akishino and his wife led mourners in offering flowers at the end of the 90-minute service. Abe was Japan's longest-serving prime minister and one of the country's most recognisable political figures, known for cultivating international alliances and his "Abenomics" economic strategy. He resigned in 2020 over recurring health problems, but remained a key political voice and was campaigning for his ruling party when a lone gunman killed him with a homemade weapon on 8 July. The shooting sent shock waves through a country with famously low gun crime and prompted international condemnation. But the decision to give him a state funeral - only the second for a former premier in the post-war period - has provoked opposition, with around 60 percent of Japanese against the event in recent polls. Thousands have protested the ceremony and a man set himself on fire last week near the prime minister's office, leaving notes reportedly expressing his objection to the event. Some protesters gathered at the funeral on Tuesday. "Stop fascist state funeral," read one sign held by a protester in a nearby demonstration. Some lawmakers from opposition parties chose to boycott the funeral. Divisive tenure Outside the parliament, thousands of mostly older activists, many waving trade-union flags, used loudspeakers to denounce the event, Abe's record, and the government. The controversy has several causes, with some accusing Kishida of unilaterally approving the funeral instead of consulting parliament, and others resentful of a nearly 12 million price tag. It is also the legacy of Abe's divisive tenure, marked by persistent allegations of cronyism, and opposition to his nationalism and plans to reform the pacifist constitution. Kishida's government may be hoping the solemnity of the event, attended by an estimated 4,300 people including 700 foreign invitees, will drown out the controversy. The last major visit to Japan by a French president was in 2019, when Emmanuel Macron held bilateral talks with Abe amid strains in their alliance over the arrest of former auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn who once led an alliance of Japan's Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors and France's Renault. (with newswires) As part of efforts to lessen the financial burden of the less privileged in the rural areas of Ghana, Sharaf Mahama Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) on its founders 25th birthday which falls on the 21st of September donated a cash amount of GH20,000 to defray medical bills of some patients at the maternity ward of the Battor Catholic Hospital in the Volta region. The move by the charity foundation also forms part of the NGOs commitment to improving community-based primary health care promotion with a focus on maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) since women & children are the most affected. The donation exercise was attended by doctors, nurses, patients, some members of the area and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for the North Tongu Constituency. The Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs (GCYE) with support from SNV Ghanas European union-funded green project, has launched a project dubbed Brafie Youth Agric Project. Speaking at the launch, the Chief executive officer of the chamber, Mr. Sherif Ghali indicated that the Brafie is a project that seeks to revolutionize youth participation in agriculture. Brafie is one of our flagship projects aiming to provide farmland to young people and women by soliciting farmlands from chiefs, elders, and landowners through a national campaign and appeal. While Ghana has underutilized arable farmlands, youth, especially young women, cannot access farmlands. We believe that with a patriotic national campaign and well-coordinated project like Brafie, Chiefs and landowners will be willing to lease farms lands to the youth to engage in sustainable farming, he said. He also indicated that previous engagements with some Ghanaian chiefs, elders and landowners show they are willing to support young people should they come up organized and coordinated. Some have even earmarked lands for such purposes. The Chairperson of the Governing Council of the Chamber, Mr. Richard Addison, enumerated why the chamber and its partner are introducing brafie. According to him, these are but a few of the reasons why brafie has been introduced; There is compelling evidence of an aging farmer population in the country which must be addressed to facilitate sustainability in agriculture production. The average age of farmers in Ghana is 55 years, and life expectancy averages between 55 and 60 years. Ghanas food import bill for rice, cooking oil, frozen chicken, and meat (which have become staple food) continues to rise. If this trend continues, the availability of food in Ghana will soon depend on imports, making the country vulnerable to catastrophic events and other exogenous shocks that negatively impact food production from external sources. The youth is strategic to the success of any effort to boost Ghanas food production. The poor image of persons involved in agriculture, especially in the rural communities, needs to be changed, and the youth is the ideal catalyst for such change, given their greater prosperity and wiliness to adopt innovative ideas, concepts, and technology which are all critical to changing the way agriculture is practiced and perceived. Increased employment, mainly rural employment, is required as youth unemployment increases. Increasing productivity in the agricultural sector depends on the youth, who comprise about 20 35 of Ghanas active population. Their energy and numbers provide tremendous opportunities for increasing agricultural productivity. Diversified, modern farming practices. Reduction in rural-urban migration. He added that Brafie is targeted to secure over 5000 acres of farmlands before the end of 2023. These secured farmlands will then be allocated to youth to farm on for a specific period. He ended by calling on Ghanaian chiefs, elders and landowners to support the project by leasing farmlands to the project. The Founder and leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Percival Kofi Akpaloo has pleaded with the National Communications Authority to extend the re-registration of SIM cards. A few days ago, the Minister for Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful warned that the deadline for the registration of SIM cards in Ghana, will not be extended for the third time. The exercise which began on 1st October 2021, was originally scheduled to end on 31st March 2022 but was extended by the sector Ministry to 1st September 2022. The reason was that over 7.5 million citizens and residents at the time, were yet to obtain their Ghana Card, to enable them to register their SIM cards. Kofi Akpaloo pleaded with Ursula Owusu to extend the registration because a lot of people still dont have their Ghana Cards yet. I'm pleading with Ursula Owusu to extend the SIM registration because many people have not still received the Ghana card. I think that it should be extended to the end of the year. For the September deadline, we have still not enabled people to obtain the Ghana Card to register their SIM Card, Kofi Akpaloo told Accra-based Angel FM. He continued, "Some people have still not been able to get their Ghana cards done. Itll be great to get an extension of the SIM card registration." 27.09.2022 LISTEN Dear Prof. Gyampo, I am one of your admirers and an ardent reader of your opinions as always expressed on national issues. I admire intellectuals irrespective of who they are so, you are one of those I admire so much. Unfortunately, I am unable to agree with you on this issue you want to hoist on our horns to please the President of Ghana. If indeed you want the Ghanaian youth to live by our culture and tradition, you should be ready to tell the leaders who are supposed to care for us to as well uphold the same standards as far as our culture and traditions are concerned. You have both the theoretical and practical experience about politics from its very beginning. Which political dispensation ever was given birth to through a seamless process? In fact, the US democracy which is touted as one of the best in the world was given birth to through bloodshed at some points. So, booing a President who has refused to listen to the struggling young men and women in Ghana is even being considerate and diplomatic, to say the least. There are several ways of registering ones dissent, and the same way water will always find its level, likewise the youth will find their voices and will ensure they are heard no matter how. You cannot expect the youth of Ghana to apply the dictates of our culture in registering their dissent to a President who has told us that he doesnt care how much force we apply in stopping him from using over $400m of our taxes to build a church we didnt solicit for. We obviously wont apply those principles to register our disquiet when the President tells us that everything is ok when the reality is contrary. If you, Prof, does not see this as against the culture of Ghana then, I dont think you have any moral right to admonish us on how to get our voices of disagreements registered to the President. Even you lecturers, how much hot air have you not blown? Did it catch the attention of the President? Didnt you leave the lecture halls against the will of helpless students who did no wrong to warrant such a treatment? Where was our culture then? In any case, is this a new practice? Did you just emerge in Ghana today, Prof? Wasnt the same standards or even worse applied to former Presidents by the youth of this country in registering their displeasure? Was the convoy of John Mahama not pelted with stones in some parts of the country? Did Horpeson Adorye not organize some guys in Germany to hoot at and booed President Mahama at the instance of the International Media? Since when did we realize that we have a culture to protect? Prof, until you come with clean hands, please, dont come to equity. When your association (ie UTAG) had issues with the government, I followed you throughout and I can say without any shred of equivocation that you adopted unconventional means and sometimes unprinted words to describe people in government just to register your discontent. Where was our culture then? Until the President and his government are prepared to listen to voices of reason, and until they behave to show that they feel the heat we the ordinary people feel, we shall not relent in our efforts to adopt any legitimate means possible to register our discontent about the happenings in Ghana. I wish to draw your attention to the statement issued by the NPP which is being trumpeted by the government communication machinery that it was the NDC that orchestrated the booing at the Independence Square, as if to suggest that NDC members are non-Ghanaians. If his is how the government reasons, which I know you heard and expressed no contrary opinion to, then, I should think that your opinion on this issue of attacking the booing is none but hypocritical. Your student, Issifu Seidu Kudus Gbeadese (Youth Imam) Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta 27.09.2022 LISTEN Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Mampong, Francis Addai Nimo-Nimoh has said calls for a reshuffle of President Akufo-Addo's government are in order. According to him, it would be ideal for the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta to be reshuffled. In his view, the Minister should be moved to handle affairs of the Ministry of Health if he had his ways. A reshuffle of the Finance Minister would have been ideal but the back stops with the president. Of course, I would have reshuffled him to another ministry like Health or Foreign Affairs and replace him with people like Assibey Yeboah. Assibey-Yeboah is no more and MP and Ofori-Atta is also not an MP, Francis Addai Nimo-Nimoh told TV3 during an engagement on the New Day programme on Tuesday, September 27. For most parts of this year, many particularly the Minority in Parliament have called for the sacking of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta. Among other things, the Minister has been blamed for the countrys economic crisis which has left Ghanaians at the mercy of price hikes. With the backing of President Akufo-Addo, the Minister has been at post and is now leading the government team in the engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout. On Monday, September 26, the Ministry of Finance commenced the second phase of discussions with the IMF for a programme. The government says it is committed to turning things around and will continue to engage stakeholders, both private and public in a clear and transparent manner during the engagements with the IMF. Prof Jane Naana Opoku- Agyemang, the former Minister for Education during former President John Dramani Mahamas administration has assigned a reason for the then National Democratic Congress (NDC) government's decision not to roll out a Free Senior High School programme. According to her, the NDC in government chose the progressively Free SHS as against the en-masse Free SHS implemented by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) today. "We refused to do the NPPs kind of Free SHS to prevent the students from fighting over food," she said. "There is no food to feed the children because of the NPP's free-for -all programme," she explained. My team at the Ministry knew that the NPPs concept of Free SHS is problematic because the research was available for them to read. She said research from the West African Examination Council (WEAC) among others abound for them and the handing over notes were all available for them. "Now the National Buffer Stock Company is in shambles and cannot supply food to the schools and they are blaming the NDC for it after six years of leaving power?" she queried. Prof Jane stressed that the NPP arrow cannot be pointed at the NDC. The former Education Minister who became the running mate to former President John Dramani Mahama in the 2020 general elections said these in an interview on the Ghana Yensom morning show hosted by Emmanuel Quarshie (The Hitman) on Accra 100.5 FM on Tuesday, September 27, 2022. "In 2020, when we said the implementation of the Free SHS was problematic and that we will review it, the naysayers said we will cancel it," she said. "They have come to terms with the teething problems of the implementation of the Free SHS so they should review it and make it better," she told the governing NPP. She called on the NPP to review Free SHS and find out what is wrong with the policy Source: Classfmonline.com Some 14 persons have reportedly been arrested at Adansi Asokwa in the Ashanti Region over suspicion of engaging in prostitution. The suspects included 10 female Nigerians, some of whom are young, and four males, who are reported to be Ghanaians. They were apprehended at a popular drinking bar in Adansi Asokwa, which is christened as the 'Adansi Red Drinking Spot' on Friday. The security operation was carried out by a joint team of Police, Immigration officers and others. A source disclosed to the paper that the security forces had stormed the drinking spot, a notorious prostitution base, in the evening. The security agents quickly rounded up all the suspects and started to question them right at the popular drinking bar. Preliminary reports indicated that one Diamond Tutu, a female Nigerian, brought the 10 female Nigerians into the country sometime ago. Diamond was said to have promised the ladies well paid jobs in Ghana which made them follow her to Adansi Asokwa. But the hopes of the 10 female Nigerians got dashed upon arrival as the decent jobs they were promised turned out to be a hoax. They have since been allegedly forced into prostitution to get money and fend for themselves. The owner of the drinking spot was also arrested during the security operation but Diamond, who is the main suspect, was nowhere to be found. The police are still investigating the case as efforts are also being made to locate and apprehend Diamond to assist the police in their investigations. Daily Guide The Circuit Court in Accra on Tuesday, September 27, dismissed an application seeking bail for Chinese galamsey kingpin Aisha Huang. The accused person who has been in police custody for weeks was charged for her alleged involvement in illegal mining popularly called galamsey. Today, she was in court with three other accused persons who have been charged with similar offences. The Lead Counsel for the accused led by Captain (rtd) Nkrabea Effah-Dartey in court today applied for bail while arguing that it is very difficult to get access to her client while she remains in the custody of the police. Unfortunately for Aisha Huang, the court presided over by His Honour Samuel Bright Acquah denied the bail request. Other charges proffered against her include undertaking a mining operation without a license, facilitating the participation of persons engaged in the mining operation, illegal employment of foreign nationals, and entering Ghana while prohibited from entry. Meanwhile, Aisha Huang and the three other accused persons have pleaded not guilty to two charges to wit; engaging in the sale and purchase of minerals without valid license and mining without license. Aisha Huang will reappear in court on October 12. Social safety is only attained when the abortion is achieved discreetly. - Source: Author supplied 27.09.2022 LISTEN Safe abortion and post abortion care are essential health services. But until the publication of the 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) abortion care guidelines there was a narrow definition of abortion safety. In previous WHO guidelines , medical safety was the guiding principle of safe abortion. Safety, according the WHO, referred to abortion carried out using the recommended methods, by a person with the necessary skills or in an environment that conformed to minimal medical standards, or both. However, research shows that many girls and young women do not search for medical safety when seeking abortion care. They prioritise social safety. This is the case regardless of whether they live in settings with restrictive or more liberal laws. Women's priority is avoiding prosecution and social stigma. Their need for secrecy is one of the reasons why women and girls continue to use unsafe methods for abortion. The latest WHO guidelines have a more holistic approach. They move beyond the focus on medical safety towards promoting quality abortion care. These guidelines respect the right to non-discrimination and equal access to abortion services. But will this shift make a difference for girls and young women in rural areas or countries with restrictive abortion laws, where social safety remains a must? Social safety goes beyond physical health. It includes women's emotional and economic well-being, social status, reputation, and relationships. In the context of abortion, it means being able to find an affordable provider, conceal the abortion and be protected from law enforcers. We conducted a study in Kenya and Benin to find out more about what makes girls and young women feel safe (or unsafe) when they want an abortion. In both study locations, the rate of unintended pregnancies and medically unsafe abortions is high. And abortion is socially frowned upon. The study found that in these settings, social safety is only attained when the abortion is achieved discreetly. Social safety We carried out a six-month study in urban and rural settings in Kilifi County (Kenya) and Atlantique Department (Benin). We observed girls and young women recruited from health facilities and the surrounding communities. We also conducted informal and in-depth interviews. Our study documented that women were aware of safe abortion methods such as medical abortion drugs and surgical abortion in health facilities. But for women and girls who wanted an abortion, health facilities were not the first choice. This was because privacy was not guaranteed. The care was offered in the maternity or casualty ward, with no private spaces for the procedures. Also, women and girls feared being reported by providers or bumping into their neighbours at the facility. They also faced emotional or physical abuse from judgemental healthcare providers. Instead, the girls and women in our study would start their abortion process by trying alternative methods that were locally available, inexpensive and used to treat other ailments. These include plant-based concoctions, and high dosages of anti malaria drugs, pain killers or antibiotics. This concealed their abortion but only temporarily. Most of the cases would progress to complications needing urgent treatment or even resulting in death. In Benin, a study showed that close to half of the cases of women treated for post-abortion care were related to unsafe abortion complications. In Kenya, close to 30% of induced abortion ended in complications treated in health facilities. Where the understanding of safety among abortion seekers conflicts with the public health definition, the solution can in some contexts be found in self-care. Self-care for social safety In recent years, and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of self-care has come to the fore in public health. The WHO defines self-care as: the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider. Self-care for abortion includes being able to manage abortion on one's own as much as one wants to. It includes obtaining access to information and medical abortion pills without prescription. It also involves the use of digital platforms to support access to and use of abortion pills . Research has shown a self-care success rate of more than 93% in liberalised and high income countries. Abortion self-care allows women and girls to be more discreet about obtaining an abortion and enhances their autonomy and control. In theory, then, self-care for abortion could offer social safety. It allows for discretion, and could avoid the interaction with unsympathetic providers, or the lack of privacy and risk of arrest in health settings. In practice, however, it is very hard to imagine how it would reach poor and less educated women and girls who might not have their own mobile phone, let alone a smartphone or the internet or the money to make use of these devices. Inequalities in digital access, gender, social class and literacy stand in the way of abortion self-care access for many poor girls and women. For them, abortion self-care is not yet the solution. Social safety around abortion might only be obtained through home-based abortion methods that may cause severe complications. Therefore, work on increasing the accessibility to safe abortion needs to continue. One route is through investing in user-centred discreet abortion services, for example through health intermediaries . But there remains a need for addressing provider bias, community attitudes, and making law enforcers and authorities understand the existing laws better, and improving them where needed. Our study findings showed that partners, relatives and community champions can also be intermediaries. Therefore, another avenue could be gender transformative interventions. These would involve male partners and other relatives in abortion self-care interventions. Men are often involved in pathways to abortion and often have better digital technology access. Provided they are well informed, they can support women in search of self-care. Ramatou Ouedraogo is affiliated with the African Population and Health Research Center. The study mentioned in this article was done in collaboration with Rutgers. Grace Kimemia is affiliated to the African Population and Health Research Center. The study mentioned in this article was done in collaboration with Rutgers. Jonna Both is affiliated to Rutgers. Rutgers aims to improve the sexual and reproductive health and righst of young people in the Netherlands and worldwide. This includes a focus on drastically reducing the number of unsafe abortions worldwide. Rutgers receives funding from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Postcode Lottery (NPL) amongst others. By Ramatou Ouedraogo, Associate Research Scientist , African Population and Health Research Center And Grace Kimemia, Research officer, African Population and Health Research Center 27.09.2022 LISTEN Mr. Austin Akufo Gamey, a Ghanaian politician and labour expert, has shown government and its Finance Ministry the safest and stress-free way to generate revenue to boost the country's ailing economy. He implied that funds government has been negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since July can be generated internally from the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT). Speaking on 3FMs Sunrise show on Tuesday, September 27, Mr. Gamey asserted that there is no need to pursue a bailout from the IMF when it can be found within. "We don't need to go to IMF, we have the entire money from SSNIT alone," he suggested. Since July 1, the Ghanaian government has been in a series of negotiations with the IMF both at home and abroad for a US$3billion bailout. An IMF team is in Ghana until October 7 to continue discussions with the government on policies and reforms that could be supported by a lending arrangement. The meeting with the IMF comes amid concerns that Ghana is about to start talks with domestic bondholders on a restructuring of its local-currency debt. News reports indicate that major local investors, including local banks and pension funds, are preparing to engage in discussion on debt reorganisation. This could entail the extension of maturities and haircuts on principal and interest payments. Pollution has become a worrying threat to Nigeria's Osun River. The river supports millions of people who rely on the water for agriculture as well as industries. It is also an integral part of Nigeria's treasured Osun-Osogbo sacred grove, a UNESCO world heritage site. Emmanuel O. Akindele unpacks what's causing the pollution, what harm it's causing and what must change to preserve the river's biodiversity. How important is the Osun River to Nigeria? The Osun River is one of the major rivers in southern Nigeria, draining into the Gulf of Guinea . The river takes its source from Ekiti State. But it's culturally linked to the ancient city of Osogbo . A stretch of the river that flows by a sacred grove in the ancient town of Osogbo has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its cultural significance. It is one of two such designated sites in Nigeria . The river provides a wide range of cultural ecosystem services such as natural scenes for eco-tourists and the site for filming Nollywood movies. A large number of foreign tourists visit the river each year. The visits are either to pay homage to the river goddess (Osun) or to join others in celebrating the annual Osun festival . The river also has enormous environmental value given its rich biodiversity . It supports plankton , snakes and endangered plants . Osun River is one of the last remnants of primary high forest in southern Nigeria - UNESCO World Heritage Site. But pollution is threatening the river. from www.gettyimages.com Along its whole course, the Osun River also plays a critical part in supporting the livelihoods of people. In many areas of Osogbo and Osun State, it provides irrigation for nearby farmlands. A significant number of abattoirs are also situated close to the river bank along several stretches of its course. The Osun River flows through other human settlements in southwest Nigeria as well as the historic city of Osogbo. What are the main sources of the pollution? Plastic pollution is the main one. My research has shown that some aquatic snails and insects of the river carry microplastic pollutants. Plastic pollution is a common phenomenon in many inland waters of Nigeria. Heavy metals also pollute the river. Heavy metals like gold, mercury and cadmium occur naturally in the Earth's crust. But they can also be introduced through domestic and industrial wastes, or atmospheric sources. Heavy metals can be amplified by human activities like waste deposition or mining. Mining loosens heavy metals buried in the earth, adding more of them to water. Artisanal gold mining within the catchments of the Osun River, especially around the Ijesha land area of Osun State, have further worsened the ecological condition of the river and made the water unsafe for human use. The impact of illegal gold mining on the river cannot be over-emphasised. First, the impacts have been felt on the river's water quality, which has deteriorated. This has grave implications for its biological diversity . Aside from the introduction of toxicants, the river, which was once transparent enough for photosynthetic production, is now very turbid (cloudy) with a characteristic gold colour. At extremely low water transparency, a river's phytoplankton primary production could be threatened , and by implication, its secondary (fish) production could also be threatened. It can also cause fish to die by blocking their gills and destroying their reproductive sites. Osun river pollution. Credit: UrbanAlert, Another source of pollution is human-generated waste that lands up in the river. This is due to poor waste management practice a feature common in many urban areas in Nigeria. What are the solutions? The government must first halt all mining near the river until environmental audits have been conducted, placing urgent human welfare ahead of short-term economic gains. Although the river has already suffered significant harm, it is still possible to halt mining operations so that toxicant concentrations do not keep rising and the river can recuperate from the stress of pollution. Through natural processes, rivers and streams have the ability to purify themselves. However, in the instance of the Osun River, this can only happen after the various sources of pollution are stopped. If further gold mining operations are suggested following an environmental audit of the Osun River, it will be crucial to reroute effluents from all natural waters in the basin. A special reservoir can be constructed in a location far away from where people live and make their living. A polluted and unsafe environment for plants and animals is a reliable indicator of a similarly unsafe environment for people. Emmanuel O. Akindele receives funding from the British Ecological Society. By Emmanuel O. Akindele, Senior Lecturer, Obafemi Awolowo University The IMF bailout, which according to many governance and political experts may not go in favour of NPPs aim of maintaining power in the 2024 general elections, appears to be a saviour to Francis Addai-Nimoh. The former Member of Parliament (MP) for Mampong in the Ashanti region, who has expressed interest in becoming the party's flagbearer, intimated that a good programme from the IMF could win them the next election. Speaking on Accra-based TV3s New Day Show on Tuesday, September 27, he explained that the expected amount government is seeking from the IMF, if given, will aid in healing the ailing economy. "From this time to the end of 2024, the IMF programme will help and that should inure to the party," he said. Speaking further, the former legislator stated that the NPP requires trusted and energetic leadership to lead them to the crucial 2024 elections. "I am advocating for a new face from the government," he revealed. An IMF team is in Ghana until October 7 to continue discussions with the government on policies and reforms that could be supported by a lending arrangement. The meeting with the IMF comes amid concerns that Ghana is about to start talks with domestic bondholders on a restructuring of its local-currency debt. News reports indicate that major local investors, including local banks and pension funds, are preparing to engage in discussion on debt reorganisation. This could entail the extension of maturities and haircuts on principal and interest payments. 27.09.2022 LISTEN The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) in partnership with Great Minds Events LLC (GM) and Gulf of Guinea Maritime Institute (GOGMI) will host the maiden edition of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference, IDEC 2022 at Burma Camp in Accra. The event, which will be held from Tuesday, 11th to Wednesday, 12th October 2022, is dubbed, Strengthening International Collaboration to Combat Terrorism and Transnational Organised Crimes. A press release issued by GAF and signed by the Director of Public Relations, Naval Captain MA Larbi, said the conference is expected to bring together delegates from the top hierarchy of Armed Forces, law enforcement agencies, academia, military solution providers and other stakeholders in the Defence industry from Africa and beyond. It said the main purpose of the IDEC is to deliberate on the growing threat of terrorism and other transnational crimes that pose significant security concerns in the region and strategies to address these emerging security concerns comprehensively. The event is also expected to bring various international security experts to serve as speakers and panellists. The remains of indigenous Maori and Moriori people most of them stolen by a notorious 19th-century Austrian grave-robber are being sent home to New Zealand after 130 years. Bones including craniums, calvaria (skulls without mandibles), loose mandibles, and maxilla (upper jaw) fragments will be welcomed to Te Papa, New Zealand's national museum, next month. They are the remains of an estimated 64 people indigenous to mainland New Zealand and the Chatham Islands. Their return by the Natural History Museum in the Austrian capital Vienna ends negotiations between New Zealand and Austria that started 77 years ago. Stolen Records indicate that 49 of the ancestors were collected by Austrian taxidermist and notorious grave-robber Andreas Reischek, who spent 12 years in New Zealand from 1877 to 1889. Reischek's diaries recount how he looted graves without permission in several locations including the Chatham Islands, Christchurch and Auckland. These ancestors were stolen by those with no regard for the Maori communities they belonged to, said William Pou Temara, chairman of Te Papa's Repatriation Advisory Panel. In his diary entries, Reischek boasts of eluding Maori surveillance, looting sacred places and breaking 'tapu' (sacred rules) he knew exactly what he was doing. "It is always a spiritual relief and privilege to welcome back our ancestors who have been victims of such wrongdoing. The remains will be received at Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand in Wellington. (With newswires) Some seven million French people watched live broadcasts of the funeral of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II last week, showing a fascination with the British monarchy that might seem surprising in the country of the Revolution. But the idea of the monarchy has never disappeared in France. British studies professor Catherine Marshall was surprised at the French outpouring of emotion after the Queen's death. Marshall usually looks across the Channel to Britain and is unused to turning her eye to her own country, which went into mourning along with the British after the death of Elizabeth II. Catherine Marshall told RFI that there was great love of the Queen herself in France. It is the fact that she was the link with Churchill in Britain and with Charles de Gaulle in France, she said, adding that the death of the Queen is the passing of the post-war period, which many in France are quite proud of. Listen to a conversation with Catherine Marshall in the Spotlight on France podcast: France's 'republican monarchy' De Gaulle, when he established the Fifth Republic in 1958, gave the position of the president a lot of power, in recognition of what he considered France's need for a monarchical type of leader. We did get rid of our king, and we did have a Revolution, but fundamentally it is as if the French were not totally at ease with the fact that they had done this, Marshall says of France's ambivalent relationship to monarchy. Current President Emmanuel Macron, often accused of ruling with a heavy hand, has embraced De Gaulle's vision of the presidency. When he was still Finance Minister in 2015, Macron said that French democracy is incomplete, and is missing the "figure of the king", whom he said the French people had not wanted to kill during the Revolution. The Terror following the Revolution "dug an emotional, imaginative and collective hole". After 1789, France went through a chaotic century, with two Republics, two empires and different monarchies, before stabilising in 1870 with the creation of the Third Republic. It's awfully complicated for the French to actually regain some form of stability after the Revolution, so perhaps there is a sort of nostalgia for what was perceived as a stable regime, said Marshall, adding that the monarchy remained strongly criticised, which showed the ambivalence of the French towards the concept. French nostalgia What is so extraordinary with the figure of the monarch in Britain is that you have a head of state, but also the head of the nation, Marshall explained. It's different in France. We have a head of state, but we do not have all the intensity of the head of the nation who is supposed to be morally upright and is supposed to guide the nation as a family. Some of the fascination with the British monarchy today comes from nostalgia the fact that it connects with centuries of tradition, linking the present with what can be seen as a more glorious past, an age of empire made possible by colonialism. A similar type of nostalgia can be seen in France, particularly on the right and far right of the political spectrum. Britain has the ability to try and hold on to what they were, and to Global Britain with the Commonwealth, says Marshall, while France does not have a Global France, nor does it have an empire. And we have not solved the problems with the former countries of the empire, either. Resurrecting a French monarchy? Tradition also has a strong appeal, with the ceremony of the funeral and procession fascinating the French, who would reject such extravagances at home. Watching the British monarchy is a way of showing us something that we have lost. We have lost it. We said we did not want it, but fundamentally perhaps we did want it. Overall, the French do not want to resurrect a monarchy even if there are descendants ready to take the throne, and others ready to beat the republic into submission. A 2016 poll showed that 17 percent of French people would support a king or queen taking over the role of head of state like the British monarchy. The fascination with the British monarchy comes from the fact that one is always fascinated by the difference of the others. Let's look at how they are doing this. It's looking and being fascinated, and at the same time thinking, 'Well, I would rather not have it. But I am pleased to be looking at it'. Will the fascination continue now that King Charles is on the throne? Marshall says the question is up in the air: Will King Charles III be able to have as huge an amount of love and compassion as Queen Elizabeth II, I am not certain. But at the same time, I think identical questions are being asked in Britain. This story was produced for the Spotlight on France podcast. Listen here. Samuel Koku Anyidoho, the Founder and CEO of the Atta Mills Institute has recently been in prayer mode for Ghana's ailing economy. He asks God to crush anyone who wishes the country bad. According to Mr. Anyidoho, many citizens will perish if evil-wishers get their way through in their quest for political power. In a tweet on Tuesday, September 27, he noted that Ghana will survive the economic turbulence to shame enemies of the State. It is my prayer that God should not answer the prayer of anyone who wants Ghana to die just because of partisan politics: if Ghana dies, we shall all die too - thats why Ghana must live to declare the works of the Lord. God must rule in the affairs of Ghana, his tweet reads. In a similar tweet spotted by Modernghana News on Sunday, September 25, the former NDC deputy General Secretary stated that Ghana needs divine intervention at this critical moment of economic hardship. He called on Ghanaians to say a prayer for the President and the entire country. I am more than convinced that we must go on our knees and genuinely pray for the President and Mother Ghana because we definitely need the divine intervention of God for Him to bless our Homeland Ghana Thank God the President himself is on his knees praying, the tweet noted. By Nana Ama Mensah Big Ada, Sept. 27, CDA Consult Mr. Leonard Akuffo-Kwapong, Lead Accountant of the Natural Gas Clearinghouse, has revealed that a mechanism has been activated which is aimed at further reducing the legacy debt and ensure financial viability in the energy sector. Mr. Akuffo-Kwapong added that it was strategically designed to focus on revenue collection, emerging African markets, Natural Gas sustainability, and the energy sector legacy debt, noting that it also highlighted the importance of Ghanaian participation in the oil and gas sector. He said oil and gas were a vital source of Ghanas revenue, indicating that they have identified the importance of Ghanaian participation and local investment in the sector as well as the importance of the country owning its economic legacy. Mr. Akuffo-Kwapong stated at a summit organized by the Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP) which was on the theme; The Role of Natural Gas on Ghanas Sustainable Future, and attended by accountants, lawyers, commercial experts, and other professionals within the energy sector which was monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) at Ada. The ESRP event dubbed Gas Accountants Business Summit was also to discuss the natural gas business in Ghana and its related issues to achieve a financially sustainable energy sector. The ESRP was developed by the government of Ghana to address recurrent and projected financial shortfalls for both the power and gas sectors through a five-year implementation period commencing in 2019. Touching on the gains of the ESRP, Mr. Akuffo-Kwapong disclosed that the combined role of the Natural Gas Clearinghouse and the Cash Waterfall Mechanism has ensured that State Owned Organizations (SOE) within the value chain have received full payments for the gas commodity, associated fees, and charges have been made whole between October 2020 to January 2022. Mr. Akuffo-Kwapong added that they have also been able to reduce the legacy debt significantly without any extra payments by the government of Ghana, explaining that they tracked payments made by the government over the period and effected accounting entries through the gas-to-power value chain which eventually gave the government of Ghana its credit. In 2021 alone, we reconciled over USD $300 million which will go back to the Government of Ghana as a credit, he said. Mr. Akuffo-Kwapong said the ESRP has come to tackle the lack of transparency in the sector, which he stated was one of the issues that have added to the long-held legacy debt. Professor Kwaku Appiah-Adu, ESRP Coordinator, and a Senior Advisor to Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, chairing the summit the ESRP has natural gas clearinghouse concept through which it brings together all the revenue that comes through the gas value chain. He said that based on that, they have a formula and a proportion that is used to distribute money to the various players in the sector, adding that with that they were able to make sure that there was equitable distribution of the monies. He reiterated the importance of getting together with stakeholders in the energy sector to discuss pertinent issues. Prof Appiah-Adu said it was also to strengthen the relationship between stakeholders in the sector to support reducing the energy sector debt while looking at the prospects of the natural gas sector. Source: CDA Consult Mr. Abdul Noor Wahab, Manager Generations and Systems Planning, Volta River Authority has stated that nuclear has the potential to play an important role in the nations energy sector, but has high capital cost which was likely to affect its quantity in the future generation mix. He noted that with the generation potential of power sources, thermal generation would dominate stating that by 2040 thermal components would be about 88 percent of the mix. Speaking on the topic: Ghanas Energy Generation Mix and the Future Outlook, at Gas Accountants Business Summit organized by Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP) which was monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) Mr Wahab said the potential of hydro was limited. He said Ghana has moved from 100 percent hydro capacity to a mix that was currently dominated by thermal sources of 63 percent, stressing that Ghanas generation at the end of 2021 was dominated by natural gas followed by hydro, liquid fuel, and others adding that the countrys major cost driver remained natural gas. He explained that after Pwalugos 60 megawatts, Juale-90MW, and Western Rivers about 340MW, available hydro potential in the country was limited. He said there was potential for solar in almost every part of the country adding that its potential on average was at 15 to 18 percent capacity factor without battery storage. Mr Wahab noted, however, that the cost of generation would increase significantly when four to six hours of battery storage is added. He again said wind potential was limited as the best wind speeds was along the cost, noting that cost of generation from wind could be 10 US cents/kWh if funding at five percent or lower were available. Mr Wahab indicated that thermal has the highest prospect, easy to deploy, has combined cycles that required water for cooling and can now be cooled by air, in addition to it having competitive cost. The Gas Accountants Business Summit was organized to discuss the natural gas business in Ghana and its related issues to achieve a financially sustainable energy sector. The summit was on the theme; The Role of Natural Gas on Ghanas Sustainable Future, brought together accountants, lawyers, commercial experts, and other professionals within the energy sector. Other presentations during the summit covered the Cash Waterfall Mechanisms concept, accounting and implementation, Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC), natural gas prospects for economic transformation, the future of Africa Gas in the global economy, and the outlook of ECGs billing processes, and many others. Disbursement of the governments coronavirus stimulus package for businesses made no quota allocation for women enterprises, a gender analysis of the programme by Action Aid has revealed. The womens rights-focused NGO has therefore called on the government to consider gender analysis in the success of future economic stimulus interventions. Governments COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprise Support (CARES) programme, had allocated GHC 1 billion under Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme (CAP-Buss) to resuscitate Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) post-COVID, through the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA). The research by the NGO, perused among others, the eligibility criteria, communication and sensitisation, application modes, and disbursement formulas, and findings were collated in a report that was launched at the end of the 2022 Annual Conference of the Organisation's Young Urban Womens Movement, held in Ho. Solely targeting MSMEs, the CAP-Buss had by Feb 2022, attracted some 918,000 applications, of which 64 per cent were from women-led enterprises. Females also accounted for 66.9 per cent of the total 312,000 successful applicants. The report said despite bearing more effects of the coronavirus, women and girls had no specific provisions made for their business enterprises under the programme, and that the allocation also did not target entrepreneurs specifically. The disproportionate effect of the health crisis on women and girls is well known. They are the ones who lost jobs, had an increased burden of care, experienced domestic violence and have suffered dire consequences for their enterprises. There was no quota for womens enterprises. "Similarly, despite the countrys focus on youth, the GEA did not specifically have a target for young entrepreneurs, including female entrepreneurs. The research, which was focused on young women in the informal sector, covered 25 districts in nine regions across the country. It said the eligibility criteria favoured formal enterprises, while the application formats and processes challenged female informal workers with low education. With a high illiteracy rate for women compared with men, and between women in rural areas compared with those in urban areas, competing an application for the stimulus package in English and online was a barrier for people with limited digital skills and internet connectivity. "Although there was a window to complete a paper application, the primary online process meant that MSEs had to rely on other people or had to travel to communities with electricity and internet to be able to complete the application. "10.9% of respondents for this survey who work in the informal sector as enterprise owners or workers do not have any education, 41.9% completed June High School, and only 10.9% have tertiary level education. "A large proportion of respondents, 81.5%, required help from others to complete the application form, with 35.7% of these receiving help from their trade associations, 25.5% from the GEA and 20.9% from a friend. Other sources of help were from workers at internet cafes, family members and the district assemblies, the report detailed. Highlighting the effect of payment modes on the reach of the support programme, he said illegal fees by fraudulent entities also kept many informal workers away from the support. The report in general commended the support programme, which it said largely attained the governments objectives of business formalization and increased financial inclusion through demand for Tax Identification Numbers, bank accounts and digital identities. It said however that the demand for documentation and digital access stopped some MSMEs from applying for the funds, while poor record keeping meant many self-employed women could not prove the impact of pandemic on their business. "Low access to national identification documents among women also was an inhibiting factor. Some MSMEs encountered challenges at the application stage, where many did not have the required documentation. In addition, accessing digital infrastructure to complete their applications was also a challenge. Women who are self-employed without workers could not provide evidence of the number of employees, although their enterprises had apprentices who could have been counted as employees. "Another limiting factor that women entrepreneurs faced was evidence of the impact of the pandemic on their enterprises, which required records of some sort, when in fact, many of such enterprises do not keep records. "Production of a valid identification card - a voters ID, a passport, Ghana Card or drivers license was also a challenge because many women do not have a drivers license or passport, and at the onset of the CAP-Buss, many Ghanaians did not have the Ghana Card, it stated. The report concluded that the GHC 1 billion CARES programme for the sector was insufficient to cover all MSMEs. It added that the unavailability of comprehensive data on the enterprises took some blame. Having 918,000 applicants with requests of the value of GHC 9.32 billion demonstrates a dire need among MSMEs to recover from the pandemic or to expand businesses. Unsurprisingly, this study shows that several did not apply, and for those that did, some 66 per cent were unsuccessful. Similarly, for those successful enterprises, the amounts of money they received from the GEA were below what they requested. In a series of recommendations, the report suggested that policy responses in similar situations should be informed by a gender analysis of the impact on the informal to adequately capture those persons and enterprises which fall through the cracks. In all of the economic and social interventions, a missing group of informal workers, like domestic workers, remain invisible in the recovery efforts without any form of support. It called also for loan amounts to be increased, which would be facilitated by an impact assessment of the funds on businesses. The stimulus package should be a catalyst for businesses to get to their pre-pandemic status as much as possible. This is possible only when the amounts provided by the GEA to MSMEs are adequate. Therefore, the GEA should assess the impact of the funds to give the enterprises the desired boost for recovery. The report noted that there was the need to sustain efforts at transforming informal enterprises, to benefit particularly, young female-owned enterprises, adding, the government should continue to formalize the informal sector through the CAP-Buss, using the data collected to inform ongoing and future economic support to boost businesses and incomes in this sector. The report called for a special fund for women MSMEs, and also for the recognition of informal workers in the formulation of policies, as the nation increased the business formalization drive. It indicated that measures to formalise informal businesses must be sustained and the enhancement of awareness on informal sector worker rights. The report indicated that more coordination among sector agencies would become necessary as the GEA alone cannot address the many facets of the informal sector, calling for young women entrepreneurs to be positioned through training to leverage governments youth entrepreneurial initiatives including the novel YouStart. The report says Government should not distribute the support in a blanket way to the informal sector. It should identify peculiar challenges facing them, and find ways of supporting them, Margaret Brew-Ward, Advocacy and Campaigns Manager of Actionaid told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after the launch. She said the GEA had shown some positive reformations in oncoming programmes, and hoped that they are adhered to in the implementation, because in most cases what we find is that what is on the grounds is not what is on paper. She stressed that findings of the report would be shared with all stakeholders including the GEA. She added that the NGO would analyse the YouStart and other programs following implementation from a gender perspective. Popular Ghanaian journalist, Stephen Kofi Adoma Nwanwani has broken silence about his near-death attack some months ago. The journalist on Saturday, August 6 was physically assaulted on his way to Ga East Municipality from his Kuntunse home along the Agbogba-Kwabenya route. Reports had it that after he was brutally injured, he managed to seek refuge in a store where he was given some protection before he was sent to the hospital for treatment. Since the awful incident, Kofi Adoma has been off from his own Youtube channel, Kofi TV and his work with Accra-based Angel TV/FM, but recently appeared on his channel in a healthy state. He acknowledged that life is not always supposed to be good. He noted that sometimes life is marred with sorrow, and as such, his own is never different. I have missed you all a lot, many of you keep calling asking how I am faring. By Gods grace, I am well, God is with us. Lifes journey entails downfalls, if it spills, you collect it again and soldier on, that is life." He added that It is true that I had a serious attack, speaking about it is unpalatable and it reminds me how close I came to death. When it happened, with the police and some well-wishers coming to me at home, I always listened attentively to them. Listen to his narration in the introduction of this video: 27.09.2022 LISTEN Assistant Divisional Officer Grade II, Briamah Imoro of the Bono East Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has noted that filling a defective gas cylinder is just like triggering a bomb, once you trigger the next reaction is an explosion and warn against the practicedont fill any defective gas cylinder. ADOII Imoro gave the warning during a field trip to LPG Filling Station at Techiman as part of a training programme initiated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which forms part of the efforts to license Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Pump Attendants to reduce gas accidents at LPG filling stations. The EPA has therefore rolled-out initial processes towards the licensing regime which requires that every LPG Attendants must go through Environmental Safety and Best Practices Training (ESBPT), under the tutelage of the agency, which was monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Techiman. ADOII Imoro who stopped two young men from filling a defective Gas Cylinder at a Station at Techiman advised the public to regularly change their defective rusty Gas Cylinders. He also cautioned LPG Pump Attendants from filling defective cylinders as it has the potential to cause an explosion. Meanwhile, ADOI Victor Diawou, also of the GNFS Bono East Regional also explained that shaking and rolling filled gas cylinders on the grounds could trigger an explosion, gas cylinders cannot hold pressure due to high temperature as a result any excessive shaking, could lead to an explosion and an imminent fire outbreak. He said one major cause of fire outbreaks in the country was from the kitchen, usually from gas explosions saying that, it was important keeping the cylinder upright in a ventilated area with the seal removed. We advise that you dont fill the cylinder to the brim, and avoid rolling it on the ground before putting it in the car boot because it can easily explode and cause a fire outbreak, he said. On the usage of Gas Cylinders, he explained that it was not advisable to keep even the empty cylinder horizontally it must always be in an upright position; if the cylinder must be put in the car boot, it must be supported with something to keep it upright at all times. Mr. William Hayfron-Acquah, EPA Acting Director Field Operations in an interview explained that the ESBPT syllabus has been divided into phases. He said the training involves theoretical classroom and practical field training leading to the award of an initial certificate of participation, after which the attendants would be monitored for adherence to best practices. The Attendants would again go through another theoretical classroom and practical field training at the end of which he or she would be license to operate as a Certified Professional LPG Pump Attendant. Mr. Hayfron-Axquah explained that enrolling into the first phase which is classified as the Transitional Period is voluntary, but after the period it would become mandatory for every attendant to acquire the Certified Professional LPG Pump Attendant license before employment. Ghana Health Service (GHS), as part of the annual celebration of World Contraception Day to improve awareness of all contraceptive methods available and to enable young people to make informed choices on their sexual and reproductive health, has launched ATOUA TV Series. ATOUA literally meaning should it happen to you! in the Akan language seeks to increase the practice of modern family planning methods through the education of young people on their reproductive health, highlighting the risks and unhealthy decisions that can affect their aspirations. The event was organized in collaboration with the UNFPA, Marie Stopes Ghana, PPA Ghana, with funding from Global Affairs Canada and other development partners. This years celebration saw the launch of National Planning Week and the ATOUA TV Series under the theme; Breaking Myths and Misconceptions on Family Planning. It is in response to addressing the increasing rate of teenage pregnancies and low reproductive health services including family planning uptake by young people. Delivering the keynote address at the launch, Dr. Kofi Issah, Director of the Family Health Division of the GHS, said, despite vast knowledge of family planning, the practice of modern contraception has been low. He said, this is as a result of fear of side effects, rumours, myths and misconceptions about the use of modern family planning methods. Again, poor attitudes of health workers and provider are also deterrents to utilization and efforts being made to address this. According to him, data available indicates that about 90% of the population are knowledgeable about maternal health services and family planning service, however practice of contraception remains low at 25% of married women for modern methods, whilst 62% of adolescents who are sexually active have an unmet need for family planning (GMHS 2017). He said, as part of the public awareness for acceptance of family planning services, this years celebration focuses on dispelling myths and misconceptions by advocating increased commitment to family planning as an essential component of national health and socio-economic development. UNFPA Country Representative, Mr Yisa Barnabas explained that the launch is expected to break myths and misconceptions in Ghanaian society. "When you have myths like if you use family planning, the woman can never be pregnant again. If you use family planning, you will get cancer. If you use family planning no man will look at you. If you use family planning then the woman will refuse you. If you use family planning then you are not confined. You're not conforming to our cultural norms and family guidance with all this myth. How do we proceed? That is the purpose of this week." Mr. Yisa Barnabas said it is expected that the public will accept the use of family planning methods to address SRH issues. Mr. Joseph Aidoo, representative of Marie Stopes Ghana, said, everyone from whatever background, should be able to choose whether and when to have children, hence access to information on sexual and reproductive health services is key. According to him, 55% of Ghanas population of whom are aged under 24, and one-in-five is adolescents (aged 10-19), 20% of all women and 57% of adolescents (15-19years) still report an unmet need for family planning. He said this years theme is in line with addressing the several socio-cultural issues across communities that continue to hinder women and girls access to family planning services. He pointed out that the inclusion of family planning on NHIS has given an essential insight that removing cost alone is not enough to advance access but develop and implement strategic SBCC interventions to address myths and misconceptions while also building critical partnerships with other national development sectors. In that regard, Marie Stopes Ghana commits to contribute to achieving gender equality and universal health coverage in Ghana by enabling women to have access to accurate information that will empower them to choice and bodily autonomy. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday received the Letters of Credence of four new envoys at the Jubilee House, Accra. The envoys are the High Commissioner of Australia, Mrs. Bernice Owen-Jones, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Bijan Gerami Nazoksara, the Swiss Ambassador, Simone Giger, and the Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madam Jeanette Njuma Nyakeru. At separate ceremonies, President Akufo-Addo congratulated the envoys on their appointments, welcomed them warmly to Ghana and wished them a successful tour of duty. He recounted the longstanding ties Ghana had had with each of those countries and reiterated Ghana's commitment to enhancing the bonds of friendship and cooperation with them for mutually beneficial outcomes. The President dwelled on the need for strategic partnerships and economic cooperation to advance bilateral relations with their respective countries and Ghana. He also called for cooperation to end the insecurity in West Africa, and to fight climate change, and said his government would ensure that their respective official duties were carried out smoothly. When she met the President, the Australian envoy, Mrs Owen-Jones spoke about her country's engagement in the extractive industry in Ghana, which had been a pillar of bilateral relations for decades. Australian mining companies, she said, had investments worth some $40 billion in the region, adding, I am very proud of Australia's engagements in the extractive sector in Ghana and the mutual benefits both countries are deriving from it. Mrs Owen-Jones also mentioned the educational collaboration between the two countries where Ghanaian professionals studied in Australia through an award scheme, as well as the commission's work in communities in Ghana. She said the commission had supported some 250 projects over the last two decades to deliver tangible development benefits in those communities. There is more we could do and of course work towards enhancing business links and closer links between universities of both countries as well as civil societiesThe Australian government is ready to work with your government in building strong relationships. Mrs Owen-Jones told the President that both countries could do more to address pressing security challenges in the sub-region. She disclosed that the Australian government was currently funding training programmes in neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire in the international counter-terrorism academy to deliver training and greater capability in the region On his part, President Akufo-Addo recounted Ghana's long-standing relationship with Australia dating back to independence era. We value so much our association with the commonwealth the commitment to democratic values, the respect for the rule of law and these are the things that bind our two countries closely. The President also lauded the key roles that Australian companies are playing in the extractive sector, saying, We find the partnership useful. He was hopeful that the two countries would find more areas of cooperation to deepen relations. Iran's ambassador, Bijan Gerami Nazoksara lauded Ghana's role in the comity of nations and commended the Government on its flagship programmes such as One District, One Factory, Ghana Beyond Aid, Planting for Food and Jobs amongst others. He said looked forward to deepening cooperation in the areas of health, education and technology during his tour of duty in Ghana. President Akufo-Addo said Ghana and Iran had had strong relations for some time, with the two countries cooperating very well on many levels and pledged to deepen relations with the Western Asian nation. We appreciate very much your cooperation in the area of education as well as in our health sector; these are valuable initiatives for the Ghanaian people. we recognise Iran's contribution to our development. The Swiss ambassador Simone Giger said the President's recent state visits to Switzerland was a testimony of the excellent relations that exists between the two countries. She noted that the President's excellent leadership had further enhanced the relations between both countries. The envoy pledged to strengthen the development cooperation with Ghana, particularly in the fields of education, science, digitization and climate change. She referred to a landmark agreement signed in 2020 between the two countries on climate protection, saying, I am keen and eager to work together with your administration on the realisation of this agreement. President Akufo-Addo told the envoy that Ghana anticipated more Swiss involvement in economic cooperation in the country. We look forward to increasing the scope of activities in the area of security, education, where Switzerland has proved to be a valuable partner to Ghana. In her discussion with the President, Madam Nyakeru, Congo's Ambassador said she would reinforce bilateral cooperation between Ghana and her country. GNA Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Director of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has responded to the booing of President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo at the just-ended Global Citizens festival. According to him, the embarrassment suffered by the President is the first of its kind in the Fourth Republic. In a statement released on Tuesday, September 27, Sammy Gyamfi stressed that though leaders are sometimes booed, this particular one is different from others. The events of that day were unprecedented, as no sitting Ghanaian President, at least under the Fourth Republic, has ever been subjected to such ridicule and embarrassment, a portion reads. He noted that the booing of the Presidents should serve as a wake-up call to the government and its officials to implement effective measures to alleviate the suffering facing Ghanaians. The trust Ghanaians, particularly the youths, had in the President when they gave him the mandate in 2016 and then renewed it in 2020, according to Sammy Gyamfi is gone, which is why they hooted at him. Ordinarily, it is the business of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government and their handlers who by now should have come to terms with the reality of the difficult times Ghanaians are living in and that the action of the youth reflects an overwhelming vote of no confidence in their crass misgovernance and mishandling of the affairs of our dear nation, the statement said. This comes after outraged and suffering Ghanaian youth who attended the Global Citizens music festival gave the President an unpleasant evening during his speech at the event. Soon after the President mounted the stage to deliver the 6-minute welcome address, he was booed with "away! "Away! "chants from the crowd. It continued till the President concluded his speech at the Black Stars Square on Saturday, September 24. On September 27, commencing at 8:40 a.m. for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, held a summit meeting with the Hon. James MARAPE, Prime Minister of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, who was visiting Japan to attend the State Funeral of former Prime Minister ABE. The overview of the meeting is as follows. On September 27 at 9:40AM for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. YAMADA Kenji, State Minister of Foreign Affairs, held a meeting with Hon. Dr. Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, the Republic of The Gambia, who is visiting Japan to attend the State Funeral for Former Prime Minister ABE Shinzo. The overview of the meeting is as follows. UN Security Council should consider imposing sanctions on Haitian gangs: Chinese envoy Xinhua) 13:25, September 27, 2022 UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council should consider imposing sanctions on those responsible for gang violence in Haiti, said a Chinese envoy on Monday. Security Council Resolution 2645 expresses the council's readiness to take appropriate measures that could include an asset freeze and travel ban against those engaged in or supporting gang violence. With the situation in Haiti as it is, it is necessary for the council to translate this readiness into action, said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations. China hopes that the United States and Mexico, as penholders on Haiti, will submit a draft resolution as soon as possible and convene consultations so that the Security Council can make a decision on this issue, he told a Security Council meeting on Haiti. The UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) should submit a list of criminal gangs and their leaders to the Security Council for sanctions designation, he added. Resolution 2645 calls on UN member states to prohibit the transfer of arms to non-state actors engaged in or supporting gang violence in Haiti, he said, adding that this will help cut off the supply of weapons and ammunition to gangs without prejudice to the security cooperation between member states and the Haitian police force. China hopes that the penholders will include this element in the draft resolution, he said. Security Council Resolution 2645 supports Haitian authorities in combating illicit financial flows as well as trafficking and diversion of arms and in enhancing management and control of borders and ports. With the situation in Haiti as it is, the council should support Haiti in giving priority to port management and customs reform. China hopes that the new draft resolution will also address this point, Geng said. The UN work in Haiti in the past three decades has proved that international assistance can only play a catalytic and facilitating role, and that the issue of Haiti can only be resolved by the Haitian people themselves, he noted. The political stalemate in Haiti has been ongoing for years, and there is a strong desire for the restoration of constitutional order. China hopes that all parties in Haiti will have a stronger sense of urgency, actively carry out political consultations, and establish as soon as possible national institutions that enjoy the real support of the Haitian people and represent their interests. The United Nations and other regional organizations must continue to play an active role in this regard, he said. Geng stressed that neither the United Nations nor any organization, any country can go beyond their duties, let alone take sides. The United Nations is in Haiti to offer help. However, for some time, negative public opinion in Haiti about the United Nations has been on the rise. China hopes that BINUH will do more to engage with Haitians, strive to eliminate misunderstanding, and win their trust and support. BINUH and other UN offices in Haiti should strengthen resource-sharing and operational synergy, he said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Graphite stock Talga Group [ASX:TLG] jumped on Tuesday after signing a non-binding offtake term sheet with Swedish company ACC for its lithium-ion battery anodes. Talga revealed it will provide ACC with 60,000 tonnes of lithium batteries supplies across a five-year term, to be finalised by the end of November. TLG was the best performing stock on the All Ords on Tuesday, rising more than 14% in late afternoon trade. However, TLG shares are down 20% year to date. Source: TradingView Talga enters non-binding offtake agreement Talga presented the possibility of a new era for its flagship Talnode-C Vittangi Anode Project today, with a potential new offtake partner in Swedish battery making company, Automotive Cells Company SE (ACC). The two companies have organised a Term Sheet with Talga expected to supply 60,000 tonnes of Talnode-C to ACC over a five-year term. Who is ACC? ACC is a Swedish battery-producing company co-owned by world-leading vehicle manufacturing brands Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis. Stellantis manufactures globally recognised automobile brands Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot, and Maserati. It also owns battery company Saft, which is a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, a major player in the energy industry. This is to be a legally binding obligation, put in effect with the intent to boost commercially reasonable efforts by both parties and to carry out necessary due diligence in bringing the binding agreement to official and effective status by the end of November this year. Talga expects this agreement to ramp up production and supply volume across 2023 to 2025, even before the resource offtake, which is not to officially begin until 2026: The offtake term includes a floating price mechanism with a reference price to be agreed by the parties in the binding definitive agreement, said Talga. Which will be subject to standard conditions precedent for an offtake agreement of this nature. Talgas mission to enable the worlds most sustainable batteries aligns well with ACCs aim of accelerating the transition to cleaner, greener transport for all. ACC is currently establishing its first lithium-ion battery Gigafactory in France, with further Gigafactories planned in Germany and Italy to ramp-up total production capacity to 120GWh per annum in 2030. Were focused on battery tech metals heres why Vehicle manufacturers are securing supply chain deals like crazy. Governments are throwing out initiatives and funding programs for support of battery production across the globe. In the US, US$20 billion in low-interest loans are being handed out by the Biden Administration, the man himself has been campaigning to the public the importance of a renewable energy powered future, and how to get the US there. Our energy expert, Selva Freigedo, says this global push to transition to EVs may result in a supply crunch. And as theres a new type of frenzy coming, the question is, how can you play it? Regards, Kiryll Prakapenka, For Money Morning He was a transportation geek and a serial entrepreneur. Of course, he would try to uproot the creaky transportation world order. He seized on the large market opportunity in peer-to-peer ride-sharing. His idea was to turn everyday car owners into part-time drivers. The roads are packed with underutilised vehicles. So why not monetise this underused capacity? He wasnt Travis Kalanick, the co-founder of Uber. He was Sunil Paul, the founder of the peer-to-peer ride-sharing app Sidecar. Paul may have been first to the thought, but other entrepreneurs were circling. Something was in the air transportation was set for a revolution. While Paul was developing Sidecar, Zimride a carpooling startup co-founded in San Francisco decided to pivot and rebrand. Zimride ditched its carpooling model and turned to casual ride-sharing. Zimride also changed its name to Lyft. Of course, neither Sidecar nor Lyft became as global or dominant as another transportation app that began as a luxury black car service. Uber. As Mike Isaac wrote in his acclaimed Uber biography Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber: Paul was first to the thought, and more prescient than he could have known at the time. But in Silicon Valley, being first doesnt matter being the best does. Silicon Valley often operates under the Ricky Bobby principle: if youre not first, youre last. Being first in a winner-takes-all field is lucrativebut difficult and improbable. Winners, success, and ambition W3Catalog, Yahoo!, WebCrawler, AltaVista, RankDex, Ask Jeeves, MSN, BingGoogle. The dominance of Googles search engine sometimes makes it seem like we used nothing else. But many search engines came before, and all have wilted under the growing shadow of Google. In search, there is no bigger winner. Google has taken it all. The dominance of Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Uber highlights the stupendous success a business and its investors can find when coming out on top in an emerging sector. Such success begets ambition. Entrepreneurs see in past glory the template and scope for their own. Success also stirs daydreaming in investors. Imagine if I invested in Apple at the ground floor? What if I invested in Amazon and held on till now? This entrepreneurial ambition and investor hunger have been codified in one of the most influential Harvard Business Review (HBR) articles ever. Techs gospel: the theory of increasing returns In 1996, economist W Brian Arthur published an article in the HBR titled Increasing Returns and the New World of Business. Arthur argued that the shift from processing of resources to processing of information, from application of raw energy to application of ideas led economic behaviour to be defined more by increasing rather than diminishing returns. On the 20th anniversary of its publication, Fast Company dubbed Arthurs theory as the most important economic theory in tech. To get a clearer sense of Arthurs ideas, heres a snippet from his article (emphasis added): Increasing returns are the tendency for that which is ahead to get further ahead, for that which loses advantage to lose further advantage. They are mechanisms of positive feedback that operatewithin markets, businesses, and industriesto reinforce that which gains success or aggravate that which suffers loss. Increasing returns generate not equilibrium but instability: If a product or a company or a technologyone of many competing in a marketgets ahead by chance or clever strategy, increasing returns can magnify this advantage, and the product or company or technology can go on to lock in the market. More than causing products to become standards, increasing returns cause businesses to work differently, and they stand many of our notions of how business operates on their head. (Trivia for the Cormac McCarthy fans: the acclaimed novelist helped edit Arthurs article line by line over four days prior to publication.) A key takeaway for me is the point that if a company gets ahead, increasing returns accruing to it work to extend its lead. As a result, the company captures the market. Think of increasing returns accruing to Uber. The more customers join the platform, the more drivers find Uber an attractive option. The more drivers on the platform, the smoother the service for customers and even more customers join. This snowball effect led Arthur to playfully coin Arthurs Law: high-tech markets are dominated 70-80% by a single playerproduct, company, or country. Lets work through some implications. Assessing a tech stocks potential If Arthurs findings stand firm, we can use them as analytical tools. If you are considering a tech stock, you should take account of its competitive landscape. Whats the lay of the land? Is your tech stock operating in a market already dominated by one player? In your scoping of the landscape, ask who the market leader is and how far ahead they are. Has one player captured so much of the market that it shortens your tech stocks growth potential? In other words, will your stock idea be fighting for scraps, with future cash flows crimped? And if you think your stock can overtake or disrupt the incumbent, why? Now, what if your stock is launching into a wholly new field, sector, or market where no clear winner has emerged yet? First, youll have to confirm the market is new, with large upside potential, and that it lacks any dominant player so far. Then you can ask if your tech stock can be the one to capture >50% of the market via increasing returns. Why is your tech stock idea more likely to capture the market than a rival? Does it possess a clever strategy, a superior product, or a lucky advantage it can use to entrench its position? Remember Sidecar. It was first to the idea of peer-to-peer ride-sharing. But it was Uber who came out on top. Downside of winner takes all: losers take nothing If increasing returns compound to a firm capturing the market, that firm and its investors will enjoy great success. But success entails failure for rivals. If the winner takes all, losers take nothing. Ricky Bobbys rule really does hold here if a business isnt first, it may as well be last. Commenting on his article years later, Arthur rued the articles reception (emphasis added): The only thing I would change about that article is the way the whole thing was viewed. In 1999, 2000, and 2001, we had a tech bubble. People were talking about network effects and waving that article around a lot. Startups were going in front of venture capitalists and saying, All we need to do is fan the flames a bit and everything will take off. Its winner-take-all, so were going to get a huge amount of the market. But if theyd understood the idea a bit better, theyd have realized that out of the 20 startups rushing into one field, 18 or 19 were likely to fail. The chances of being that winner-take-all would have been 1 in 20, which isnt a very good bet for a startup. For every Uber, there are many more Sidecars. For every Google, there are many more Bings. For every dominant winner, there are countless losers. Until next week, Kiryll Prakapenka, For Money Morning September 27, 2022 The War On Germany Just Entered Its Hot Phase Just yesterday I laid out how the U.S. is winning its war on Europe's industries and people. That war, hidden behind the U.S. created Ukraine crisis, is designed to destroy Europe's manufacturing advantage compared to the U.S. It is more likely though to strengthen the economic position of China and other Asian economies. I have argued that Germany must open the Nord Stream II pipeline which can bring Russian natural gas to Germany without crossing other countries' territory. It must also allow Siemens to repair the defect Nord Stream I compressors. It is in fact inevitable if German's industry is to survive. Others have come to similar conclusion and decided to sabotage the pipelines to make their re-opening impossible: Three offshore lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system have sustained "unprecedented" damage in one day, Nord Stream AG, the operator of the network, said on Tuesday in what one German official has suggested is a "targeted attack. Nord Stream 2 suffered a gas leak which was then followed by a drop of pressure on Nord Stream 1. The company also said that it was impossible to estimate when the gas network system's working capability would be restored. The simultaneous sub sea damage to three pipelines is obviously not an accident. A German economy official told Tagesspiegel: "We can't imagine a scenario that isn't a targeted attack." They added: "Everything speaks against a coincidence." bigger The war mongers at the British Telegraph claim without any evidence or logic that Russia is the culprit: Russian sabotage to gas supplies to Europe is feared after three offshore lines of the Nord Stream pipeline system suffered unprecedented damage in a single day. ... Russia has withheld gas supplies to Europe as it seeks to hit back for Western sanctions imposed for the illegal invasion of Ukraine. German newspapers reported sources saying the leaks were as a result of a "targeted attack". As stated in yesterday's piece the claim that Russia is withholding gas from Europe is outright false: Nord Stream II was created to make Germany independent from pipelines running through Poland and the Ukraine. Blocking it was the most stupid thing for Germany to do and thus chancellor Scholz did it. In the following months Poland blocked the Yamal pipeline which also brought Russian gas to Germany. Ukraine followed up with cutting off two Russian pipelines. The main compressor stations of the Nord Stream I pipeline, which the German company Siemens had build and has the maintenance contract, failed one after the other. Sanction are prohibiting Siemens from repairing them. It is not Russia that has blocked its gas and oil from European markets. It were the German, Polish and Ukrainian governments that did it. Russia would in fact be happy to sell more. Putin has recently again offered to push as much Russian gas as possible through Nord Stream II to Germany: ... If Russia were to cut pipelines in the Baltic Sea it would damage those that bring Norwegian gas to Europe, not the pipelines it owns and which give it some leverage. Russia thus surely has no plausible interest in sabotaging the Nord Stream system. Others though do have such interests. They likely want Germany to 'stay in line' with their war to Decolonize Russia. The major potential actors behind this are the U.S., the British, the Ukrainian and the Polish government or a mixture of those. Geography, and the shallow depth of the Baltic Sea, seem to exclude that a U.S. or British submarines did the damage. Ukraine does not have access to the Baltic Sea. Poland, which had already tried to prevent or hinder the Nord Stream II construction, is the most likely actor behind this though I doubt that it would dare to act alone. Consider this from April 2021: The developers of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline have accused foreign naval forces of "provocative" activity in the vicinity of construction work. The controversial pipeline is about 93 percent complete, and two Russian pipelay vessels are on station and working on the project in Danish waters. Andrei Minin, the branch director of Gazprom-run Nord Stream 2 AG, told TASS that "foreign warships and vessels were demonstrating higher activity" near the operation, and that "such actions are provocative and can lead to gas pipeline damage." He also accused Poland of deploying a military M-28 patrol aircraft to survey the site. "The Polish Navy is not conducting provocative operations and has been carrying out its statutory tasks in agreement with international laws," responded the Polish Army's central command in a social media post. "M-28B Bryza planes regularly conduct patrol flights in the Baltic Sea region." Poland strongly opposes the development of Nord Stream 2, which will give Gazprom a subsea alternative route for supplying natural gas to Western European customers. At present, that gas has to pass through overland pipeline networks in Poland and Ukraine, bringing in valuable transit fees and providing both nations - which do not always have cordial relations with Russia - a measure of energy security. Followed by this from May 2021: Poland has reacted angrily to President Joe Bidens decision to waive US sanctions on Nord Stream II, warning the move could threaten energy security across Central and Eastern Europe. The information is definitely not positive from the security point of view, as we know perfectly that Nord Stream II is not only a business project it is mostly a geopolitical project, said Piotr Muller, a spokesman for the Polish government. On February 7 Biden stated that he would decided if Nord Stream II opens: After both leaders appeared to avoid mentioning the pipeline, under repeated questions from reporters at an afternoon press conference, Biden, standing next to the German chancellor said Nord Stream 2 would not move forward if Russia invades Ukraine, in a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin of potential economic consequences. "If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the -- the border of Ukraine again, then there will be -- there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2," Biden said during the press conference with Scholz, who did not go as far as Biden, but insisted the U.S. and Germany remain "absolutely united." On February 27 Biden sanctioned the company owning the pipeline. Under its current rightwing leadership Poland has been extremely hostile to Germany. This month it even renewed is demand for war reparations from Germany, an issue that had been settle decades ago: Polands top politician said Thursday that the government will seek equivalent of some $1.3 trillion in reparations from Germany for the Nazis World War II invasion and occupation of his country. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Law and Justice party, announced the huge claim at the release of a long-awaited report on the cost to the country of years of Nazi German occupation as it marks 83 years since the start of World War II. ... Germanys Foreign Ministry said Thursday the governments position remains unchanged in that the question of reparations is concluded. Poland long ago, in 1953, waived further reparations and has repeatedly confirmed this waiver, the ministry said in an emailed response to a Associated Press query about the new Polish report. It is high time for the German government to wake up and to recognize that a war has been launched against its country. And no. It is not Russia that is waging it. Posted by b on September 27, 2022 at 12:03 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page Baz revealed an official version of the remix is "perfectly done" and he is "just trying to sort it out" to get it released. In a previous interview, the director compared the two stars and insisted there are plenty of similarities between them. He told Rolling Stones: "Just like Britney, who makes the quintessential pop music of the nineties, youre richer than God and youre in the Hollywood bubble. Thats what happens to Elvis. He has gone from this rebellious, this punk who is doing radical music with his black music buddies, to suddenly isolated in pop in Hollywood." The 'Viva Las Vegas' and 'Toxic' remix would mark Britney's second release after she was released from the conservatorship which controlled every aspect of her life and career for more than a decade. She recently returned to music by dropping a collaboration with Sir Elton John called 'Hold Me Closer' - a reworking of his famous song 'Tiny Dancer'. BangShowbiz! Recreating Marilyn Monroes iconic outfits in Blonde View Photo Marilyn Monroes on-screen costumes are almost as iconic as her. Think of the hot pink strapless gown she wore to sing Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend. Or the white halter cocktail dress that billowed up over a subway grate in The Seven Year Itch. They have been recreated, reimagined and referenced many, many times, from big budget movies and music videos down to cheap costume stores and everything in between. The white subway dress she wore for the scene fetched $4.6 million at auction in 2011 and several years later the touring replica went for $120,000. Suffice it to say, Blonde costume designer Jennifer Johnson felt an enormous amount of pressure to get the dresses that we all know so well right for the Netflix film, streaming Wednesday. While Blonde may be a fictionalized version of Monroes story, the costumes are ripped from reality. The vast majority of the frocks star Ana de Armas wears in the film as Monroe are recreations that Johnson and her team had to make without the actual reference garment on hand. In fact, the only Monroe item she was able to study in real life, a jacket from the film Niagara that is kept at Western Costume in Los Angeles, did not make the cut. Instead, Johnson relied on the films themselves, photos in director Andrew Dominiks 750-page bible for the shoot, and a little booklet by William Travilla, the longtime studio costume designer who was responsible for many of Monroes most famous film looks. We couldnt obviously access the same fabrics, but it was really important to uphold the quality of construction to those original dresses so they didnt feel like a cheap simulation or like a costume, Johnson said. She learned in Travillas book that when the pink Gentlemen Prefer Blondes dress wasnt moving correctly as Monroe descended down the stairs singing Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend, he, in a last-minute panic, procured some green felt meant for a pool table from another department and lined the garment with it. While she didnt resort to the pool table technique, she did empathize with Travillas woes when she ran into similar problems herself. Headaches aside, she said, when the money is there, its always easier to make it then to find something vintage. Its quite hard to find existing things, she said. Vintage clothing is going away. Its literally evaporating from this planet. By far the most difficult dress to recreate, however, was the white pleated one immortalized in The Seven Year Itch, another Travilla creation. The pleating proved to be enormously complex, in part because there arent many places in the United States that specialize in that technique anymore, which requires custom molds. We had a lot of failures, Johnson said. It was incredible how much fabric it took to create the arc and the drama of that dress when it blows up with the subway grate I think we went through about 50 yards of fabric because the pleating wasnt right. It looked great, but the molds were not designed correctly for the pleating. There was a lot of research and development and waste going into that. But it was worth it in the end to see it in the film, where its almost a supporting character in a pivotal and chilling recreation of the memorable moment. Its so beautifully shot by Chayse Irvin, our amazing cinematographer, and Andrew is such a visionary, Johnson said. That is just real dress porn in the movie. Theres amazing slo-mo and you really can luxuriate in the quality of the dress. Monroes off-screen style was much more subdued and far from the sequins and glitziness of her movie looks. Johnson and Dominik decided she should have an off-duty uniform of sorts, consisting largely of Capri pants and turtleneck sweaters, some of which were vintage finds from Los Angeles costume houses. It was really important to me that that uniform project her desire to be taken seriously as an actor and as an artist, Johnson said. She was kind of emulating beatnik style or French style. Not everything is completely accurate, though. Naturalism was paramount for Johnson, including making sure that the outfits worked for both de Armass body and a contemporary viewing audience. One thing they nixed were the marbles Monroe famously sewed into her bra. That, she determined, would be distracting to modern eyes. I never wanted it to feel funny or costume-y, Johnson said. When I approach my designs, and even if thats a recreation from something we all know, it was really important that Ana never feel like she was wearing a costume. Those dresses are so iconic, they could easily overtake the actor and become all about the costume. And I always wanted it to be complementary to Anas incredible performance. - Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr. By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Harris focuses Asia trip on security, adds tour to Korea DMZ View Photo TOKYO (AP) In meeting after meeting with Asian leaders Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized the U.S. commitment to regional security and the White House disclosed that she would visit the Demilitarized Zone dividing the rival Koreas. An official said Harris would tour the border area between South and North Korea on Thursday, at the end of her trip to Asia. The visit comes amid persistent concerns about North Koreas missile and nuclear programs. North Korea test-fired a short-range ballistic missile shortly before Harris left Washington, an apparent response to joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea that include the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the DMZ in August, and then-President Donald Trump went in 2019 when he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. President Joe Biden did not go when he was in South Korea earlier this year. Harris plan, which had been kept under wraps by her team, was unexpectedly revealed during a meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday. A White House official rushed to confirm details of her trip afterward. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Harris will tour sites at the DMZ, meet with service members and receive an operational briefing from U.S. commanders. She will also reflect on the shared sacrifice of tens of thousands of American and Korean soldiers who fought and died together in the war that divided the peninsula seven decades ago. According to the White House, Harris also talked with Han about South Koreas complaints about the Inflation Reduction Act, which makes electric cars built outside of North America ineligible for government subsidies. They pledged to continue to consult as the law is implemented, the White House said. Security concerns have dominated Harris public remarks during her meetings in Tokyo, where shes attending the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in July. While sitting down with Han, Harris said the U.S. alliance with South Korea is the linchpin of security and prosperity in the region. We stand with you in the face of threats, she said. Afterwards, Harris met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, telling him their countries share a common goal and bond as it relates to our dedication to peace and security. The conversations follow Harris meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday, shortly after arriving in Tokyo. During that encounter, Harris described the U.S. alliance with Japan as a cornerstone of what we believe is integral to peace, stability and prosperity in the region. Like the abrupt disclosure of Harris trip to the DMZ, the meeting with Kishida was also marked by confusion. His staff tried to usher reporters out of the room while Harris was still speaking. The commotion drowned out some of her remarks, making it hard for her office to finalize a transcript of her exact comments. In addition to concerns over North Korea, theres been increased tension involving Taiwan, the self-governing island that China views as part of its territory. Biden recently said that the U.S. would send troops to defend Taiwan if China attacked. Wang Yi, Chinas foreign minister, said Saturday that any attempt to prevent reunification with Taiwan would be crushed by the wheels of history. By CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press VP Harris seeks computer chip partners in Japan meetings View Photo TOKYO (AP) Armed with a new law that boosts U.S. support for computer chip manufacturing, Vice President Kamala Harris said the administration was looking for new investments and partnerships as she sat down with Japanese technology executives on Wednesday. The morning meeting on her last full day in Tokyo reflects the administrations focus on boosting semiconductor manufacturing and expanding the supply chain for critical materials. The economys vulnerability to disruptions in the flow of computer chips was revealed during the pandemic, when a shortage helped increase costs and stall the assembly of cars and other products. The citizens and the people of our countries rely on products without even knowing sometimes how reliant those products are on semiconductor chips, Harris said during the meeting at the U.S. ambassadors residence. With China investing in computer chips of its own, the U.S. is trying to increase its domestic semiconductor manufacturing while also working to solidify its technology relationships with South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Harris said the U.S. understands that no one country can satisfy the globes demand and it is important that we and our allies partner and coordinate in a way that allows us to grow and in a way that allows us to function at a very practical level. Legislation signed by President Joe Biden, known as the CHIPS and Science Act, includes $52 billion for grants and incentives for semiconductor companies, plus a 25% tax credit when they invest in U.S. facilities. Theres also about $200 billion over the next decade to support research programs. Harris described the legislation as a down payment on future American leadership, but she emphasized that we see Japan as playing a very important and critical role. Jimmy Goodrich, vice president for global policy at the Semiconductor Industry Association, theres a big opportunity and significant space for future investment involving Japan. Although Japan was once a world leader in computer chip manufacturing, its status has eroded over the last two decades, and the country is increasingly worried about falling behind. Much like the United States has done, Japan has set up its own fund to support semiconductor production. Out of $4.3 billion, $3.3 billion is being provided in subsidies for a new factory in Kumamoto, in the countrys southwest. The facility is slated to begin production by the end of 2024, and its a partnership between the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Sony Group and Denso. The companies participating in the meeting with Harris include Tokyo Electron, Nikon, Hitachi High Tech Group, Fujitsu Limited, Micron and others. When Biden was in Japan earlier this year, the two nations agreed to work together on computer chips, including through a joint group focused on developing more powerful technologies. There are worries that if Japan is slow to act, the fruits of the Biden initiative may likely be snatched up by another, and more ready, Asian ally, South Korea. Yasutoshi Nishimura, the Japanese minister for economy, trade and industry, has repeatedly stressed the U.S.-Japan alliance on semiconductors, as well as energy and other issues. In recent meetings with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, Nishimura has promised to set up a facility for semiconductor chips research in Japan this year, and expand the partnership on semiconductors with other allies, including Europe and Taiwan. Atsushi Sunami, who teaches at The National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, or GRIPS, in Tokyo, noted that the drawbacks to Japan tackling advanced semiconductor technology may be rooted in the view that Japan should not get involved in defense studies. That view stems from Japans role in World War II and the prevalent pacifist views, both in Japan and in international circles, that came after its defeat. But Sunami stressed a quick rethinking was in order, and the U.S. moves, given the U.S.-Japan alliance, could be an opportunity for Japan. As the U.S.-China hegemonic competition escalates, how Japan hopes to position itself in the jockeying for international standards and rule-making, and the strategic formation of alliances among nations, as well as among companies, will be critically meaningful, he said in a report earlier this year. By CHRIS MEGERIAN and YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press Japan protests Russias expulsion of official, denies spying View Photo TOKYO (AP) Japan protested to Russia on Tuesday over the detention of a Japanese consulate official on espionage allegations, denying the allegations and accusing Russian authorities of abusive interrogation. The official was detained on Sept. 22 and interrogated with his eyes covered, his hands and head pressed and immobilized, Japans Foreign Ministry said, prompting it to lodge a protest and to demand an apology. On Monday, Russias Foreign Ministry notified Japans Embassy in Moscow that the official had been declared persona non grata, or an undesirable person, on grounds he conducted illegal espionage activity and it ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours. The alleged illegal activity insisted by the Russian side is completely groundless, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. Matsuno said Japans Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori summoned Russias ambassador and strongly protested, demanding a formal apology from the Russian government and measures to prevent a recurrence. The Russian authorities treatment of the consulate official was intimidating during the interrogation, adding that such handling of consular officials violates the Vienna convention and a Japan-Russo treaty over consular affairs, Matsuno said. It is extremely regrettable and absolutely unacceptable, Matsuno said. The consular official has since been released with no health problems and is set to return to Japan on Wednesday. The dispute is the latest example of worsening ties between the two countries over Japans sanctions against Russias invasion of Ukraine. Japan and Russia had expelled a number of diplomats, while Russia scrapped peace negotiations with Japan that includes talks on Russian-held disputed islands that Japan says the Soviets took at the end of the World War II. Russia said Monday that it had detained a Japanese consulate official based in the eastern city of Vladivostok for soliciting restricted information, according to Russian news agencies. A Japanese diplomat was detained red-handed while receiving, in exchange for financial reward, restricted information about Russias cooperation with another country in the Asia-Pacific region, the FSB, the KGBs successor agency, was cited as saying through its press service, without specifying the third country. The FSB identified the official as Tatsunori Motoki, accusing him of seeking out information on the impact of Western sanctions on the surrounding Primoriye region, according to news agencies. The Kremlin has repeatedly referred to Japan as a hostile country, a designation it shares with the U.S., EU countries and their Western allies, since Tokyo joined them in slapping sanctions on Moscow after Russian troops entered Ukraine on Feb. 24. In its latest sanctions, Japans government on Monday banned the export of materials that may be used for chemical weapons to 21 Russian organizations, including science laboratories. The measure was approved by the Cabinet following a decision by Group of Seven foreign ministers last week. By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press Blasts precede Baltic pipeline leaks, sabotage seen likely View Photo WARSAW, Poland (AP) Denmark believes deliberate actions caused big leaks in two natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, and seismologists said powerful explosions preceded the leaks. European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage amid the energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. Although filled with gas, neither pipeline is currently supplying it to Europe. It is the authorities clear assessment that these are deliberate actions - not accidents, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday. But she added there is no information indicating who could be behind it. Frederiksen rejected the suggestion that the incident was an attack on Denmark, saying the leaks occurred in international waters. The incident overshadowed the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland to bolster the continents energy independence from Moscow. The first explosion was recorded early Monday southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm, said Bjorn Lund, director of the Swedish National Seismic Network. A second, stronger blast northeast of the island that night was equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake. Seismic stations in Denmark, Norway and Finland also registered the explosions. Theres no doubt, this is not an earthquake, Lund said. On Wednesday, Danish defense minister Morten Bdskov will travel to Brussels to discuss the leaks with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. Denmarks Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said Sweden, Germany and Poland have been kept informed, and we will inform and reach out to Russia in this case. He said Denmarks foreign intelligence service didnt see any increased military threat against Denmark after the three leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. They created a foamy white area on the waters surface, images released by Denmarks military show. Danish Energy Minister Dan Jrgensen said that we cannot say how long the leak will go on for as the gas has not been turned off. There was no indication when the gas would be turned off. The German operator of the pipelines, Nord Stream AG, said its preparing a survey to assess the damage. Currently, it is not possible to estimate a timeframe for restoring the gas transport infrastructure, a company statement said. The causes of the incident will be clarified as a result of the investigation. In Sweden, acting Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said it is probably a case of sabotage, but not an attack on Sweden. Andersson added that neighboring oil-rich Norway has informed us about increased drone activity in the North Sea and the measures they have taken in connection with it. Foreign Minister Ann Linde said that Sweden (is) not ruling out any scenarios and we will not speculate about motive or actor. The escaped natural gas is made up almost entirely of methane the second biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. David Hastings, a retired chemical oceanographer in Gainesville, Florida, said much of the gas would rise through the sea and enter the atmosphere. There is no question that the largest environmental impact of this is to the climate, because methane is a really potent greenhouse gas, he said. According to United Nations data, methane is 82.5 times worse for the climate than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, because it so effectively absorbs the heat of the sun. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the events an act of sabotage. During a ceremony in northwestern Poland, Morawiecki, Denmarks Frederiksen and Polish President Andrzej Duda symbolically opened the valve of a yellow pipe belonging to the Baltic Pipe, a new system sending Norwegian gas across Denmark to Poland. The era of Russian domination in the gas sphere is coming to an end, Morawiecki declared. An era that was marked by blackmail, threats and extortion. No official presented evidence of what caused the leaks, but with distrust of Russia running high, some feared Moscow sabotaged its own infrastructure out of spite or to warn that pipelines are vulnerable to attack. The leaks raised the stakes on whether energy infrastructure was being targeted and led to a small bump in natural gas prices. We can clearly see that this is an act of sabotage, an act that probably means a next step of escalation in the situation that we are dealing with in Ukraine, Morawiecki said. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod about the apparent sabotage, according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price, who reiterated the U.S. was committed to promoting European energy security. Anders Puck Nielsen, a researcher with the Center for Maritime Operations at the Royal Danish Defence College, said the timing of the leaks was conspicuous given the ceremony for the Baltic Pipe. He said perhaps someone sought to send a signal that something could happen to the Norwegian gas. The extent of the damage means the Nord Stream pipelines are unlikely to be able to carry any gas to Europe this winter even if there was political will to bring them online, analysts at the Eurasia Group said. Russia has halted flows on the 1,224-kilometer (760-mile) Nord Stream 1 pipeline during the war, while Germany prevented them from ever starting in the parallel Nord Stream 2. Depending on the scale of the damage, the leaks could even mean a permanent closure of both lines, analysts Henning Gloystein and Jason Bush wrote. Puck Nielsen said of possible sabotage that technically speaking, this is not difficult. It just requires a boat. It requires some divers that know how to handle explosive devices. But I think if we look at who would actually benefit from disturbances, more chaos on the gas market in Europe, I think theres basically only one actor right now that actually benefits from more uncertainty, and that is Russia, he said. Asked if the leaks may have been caused by sabotage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no version could be excluded. This is an unprecedented situation that requires an urgent investigation. We are extremely worried by this news, he said in a conference call with reporters. Danish and Swedish maritime authorities issued navigation warnings, and established a prohibited area for vessels. Ships may lose buoyancy, and there may also be a risk of ignition above the water and in the air. The Nord Stream pipelines have been at the center of an energy clash between Europe and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in late February. Plunging Russian gas supplies have caused prices to soar, pressuring governments to help ease the pain of sky-high energy bills for households and businesses as winter nears. The crisis also has raised fears of rationing and recession. The Baltic Pipe is a prominent element in the European Unions search for energy security and is to start bringing Norwegian gas through Denmark and along the Baltic Sea to Poland on Oct. 1. Simone Tagliapietra, an energy expert with the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, speculated that the leaks could have been caused by Russian sabotage or anti-Russian sabotage. One possibility is Russia signaling it is breaking forever with Western Europe and Germany as Poland inaugurates its pipeline with Norway, he said. In any case, this is a stark reminder of the exposure to risk of Europes gas infrastructure, Tagliapietra said. ___ Olsen reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Keyton from Stockholm. Associated Press writers Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Adam Schreck in Kyiv, Ukraine, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed. By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA, JAN M. OLSEN and DAVID KEYTON Associated Press Prosecutor who worked on 1 renewal of Emmett Till case dies View Photo GREENWOOD, Miss. (AP) Funeral services were held Monday for the Mississippi prosecutor who worked on one of the renewed investigations into the 1955 lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till, a killing that galvanized the civil rights movement after his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral so people could see her sons mutilated body. Joyce Chiles died of lung cancer Thursday at a hospital in Ruleville, a coroner told the Greenwood Commonwealth. She was 67. Services were Monday in Itta Bena. Chiles was elected in 2003 as district attorney for three Mississippi Delta counties Leflore, Washington and Sunflower and served one term before deciding not to seek reelection. She was the first Black person, and the first woman, to hold the position. In 2007, Chiles presented evidence to a grand jury of Black and white Leflore County residents after investigators spent three years re-examining the killing of Till. The FBI exhumed Tills body to prove that he, and not someone else, was buried at his gravesite in the Chicago suburb of Alsip. The grand jury declined to issue indictments against anyone. The FBI had reopened the case in 2004 after filmmaker Keith Beauchamp compiled a list of at least 14 people Black and white he thought had some role in the kidnapping, beating and slaying of Till. He went to the authorities with the names of five people who were still alive. The Justice Department said the statute of limitations had expired on any potential federal crime, but the FBI worked with state investigators to determine if state charges could be brought. Chiles told The Associated Press in 2007 that the renewed investigation did not produce evidence to support indictments. We are justice seekers and not head hunters, Chiles said. Till, a 14-year-old Chicago resident, was visiting family in the Mississippi Delta in the summer of 1955. He and other young people went to a country store in the town of Money, and relatives have told the AP that Till whistled at a white woman working there, Carolyn Bryant. They denied that he touched her, as Bryant had claimed. Four days later, white men kidnapped Till from his uncles home and killed the teenager, then dumped his body into the Tallahatchie River. The mutilated body was found days later, weighted down by a cotton-gin fan. After Tills funeral in Chicago, Jet magazine published a photo of his body. A jury of white men acquitted Carolyn Bryants husband Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam of murder charges a few weeks after the killing, but the two men later told Look magazine that they had abducted and killed Till. In 2018, the Justice Department reopened an investigation after a 2017 book quoted Carolyn Bryant by then known as Carolyn Bryant Donham saying she lied when she claimed Till grabbed her and made sexual advances. The department closed that investigation in late 2021 without bringing charges. The FBI again reopened an investigation this year after people searching the Leflore County Courthouse basement found an unserved arrest warrant for Carolyn Bryant. In August, another Leflore County grand jury declined to indict her. In the 2007 AP interview, Chiles said it would have been easy for members of the grand jury more than 50 years later to indict someone based solely on the emotion and rage that they felt. She commended them for not doing that. Chiles said she had grown up on a plantation near where Tills body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River. Speaking of Donham, Chiles said: I didnt feel good toward her; I still dont feel good toward her. UN nuclear watchdog, Iranian officials meet in Vienna View Photo BERLIN (AP) The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said he met with his Iranian counterpart in Vienna for talks about an ongoing investigation into manmade uranium particles found at undeclared sites in Iran. Dialogue has restarted with Iran on clarification of outstanding safeguards issues, Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), tweeted Monday night. He said he had met with Mohammad Eslami, vice president and head of Irans Atomic Energy Organization. Along with the statement, Grossi posted photos of himself, Eslami and other negotiators. The IAEA has for years sought answers from Iran to its questions about the uranium particles. U.S. intelligence agencies, Western nations and the IAEA have said Iran ran an organized nuclear weapons program until 2003. Iran has long denied ever seeking nuclear weapons, maintaining that its nuclear program is peaceful. The probe has been a sticking point in negotiations to revive the 2015 deal between the Islamic Republic and world powers. Irans hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi said in August that the IAEAs investigation into the issue must be halted in order for Iran to recommit to the deal. Earlier this month, a report from the IAEA to member states criticized Irans lack of engagement with the IAEA on the issue. Because Iranian leaders had not offered credible explanations for the presence of these particles, the report said the IAEA is not in a position to provide assurance that Irans nuclear program is exclusively peaceful. Iranian lawmaker slams protesters; cleric appeals for calm View Photo DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) A hard-line Iranian lawmaker Tuesday slammed female protesters who have taken off mandatory headscarves as prostitutes, doubling down on the government stance amid the dramatic demonstrations following the death of a 22-year-old woman detained by the countrys morality police. The harsh language by Mahmoud Nabavian, a legislator from Tehran, was in sharp contrast to the appeal by a top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamadani, who on Sunday urged the government to listen to the peoples demands. The fate of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody after being detained by the morality police because her headscarf was allegedly too loose has ignited unrest across Iran. Protests have have spread to at least 46 cities, including the capital of Tehran, towns and villages with scenes of violence and street clashes with security forces unseen for years in Iran. State TV reported that a police officer died Tuesday in a hospital after being injured by rioters in the town of Robatkarim in Tehran province. Solidarity protests have also erupted in Europe, the United States and in parts of the Middle East. In a predominantly Kurdish city in Syria, thousands of women took to the streets Monday, holding posters with Aminis photo. Across Iran, ordinary women and public figures, including Iranian actresses, have removed their headscarves in protest or cut their hair in public to show solidarity with the demonstrators. Irans semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that security forces arrested reformist activist Faezeh Hashemi, daughter of Irans late President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The Tuesday report said Hashemi, who has previously served time in prison for her comments and activism, was arrested for allegedly inciting rioters to street protests in the east of Tehran on Tuesday night. A lawyer for Hashemi could not be reached and it was unclear if she had legal representation. Iranian state TV has suggested that at least 41 protesters and police have been killed since demonstrations began Sept. 17. An Associated Press count of official statements by authorities tallied at least 14 dead, with more than 1,500 demonstrators arrested. The state-run IRNA news agency reported Tuesday that Hassan Bahramnia, governor of Ilam province in western Iran near the border with Iraq, said security forces have arrested 180 protesters since the unrest began. He said some have been released. These rioters are out to prostitute themselves, the lawmaker, Mahmoud Nabavian, was quoted as saying by Fararu, a news website. He suggested that taking off the hijab, or headscarf, was akin to being naked in public to attract male attention. Nabavian blamed both women and men taking part in the protests, saying they were guilty of impurities that need to be washed away. Hamadanis tone was starkly different. It is necessary for officials to listen to peoples demands and solve their problems and be sensitive to their rights, said the senior cleric, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking to reporters Tuesday in Washington, said Irans government took Mahsas life because of decisions she should be making about what she would wear or not wear. Women in Iran have the right to wear what they want, he said. They have the right to be free from violence. Amnesty International in a statement said urgent international action was needed to ensure accountability for Aminis death in custody. The rights group said the case must be independently, impartially and effectively investigated and those suspected of responsibility brought to justice in fair trials. The U.N. Human Rights Council called for an independent investigation to address the prevailing crisis of impunity in Iran. Meanwhile, Irans judiciary chief, Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejehi, warned public and famous figures who have openly supported the demonstrators, that they must pay for damages to public property caused by the protests. Abbas Salehi, Irans minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, advised that actresses who removed their headscarves on social media posts should try to find other jobs, implying the ministry could ban them from working in their profession. Iran has arrested at least 20 journalists since the start of the unrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said late Monday, calling on Iran to release the reporters and halt its crackdown on the media. Iranian authorities should be ashamed of themselves for orchestrating this brutal crackdown, said Sherif Mansour, CPJs Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. They have proved their failure to grasp that suppressing dissenting voices only compounds dissent. The Syrian Kurdish-run Hawar News Agency reported on the protest in the northeastern, predominantly Kurdish region of Syria where thousands of women marched Monday in solidarity with Iranian women. In the city of Qamishli, they held up photos of Amini and toward the end of the march several women, including an elderly one, cut off their hair, threw it to the ground, along with headscarves, and set the pile on fire. Long live freedom, women demand free life, revolution is in our hands, the marchers chanted. Women, life, freedom! Washington announces more aid for flood-ravaged Pakistan View Photo ISLAMABAD (AP) The United States has boosted assistance to Pakistans flood relief efforts, announcing $10 million in aid, in addition to Washingtons already announced financial assistance of $56.1 million, Pakistans Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Washington is the biggest contributor of aid to cash-strapped Pakistan, which has struggled to provide tents, food and other supplies for hundreds of thousands of people living in makeshift camps after being displaced by record-breaking floods that have killed 1,638 people since mid-June. The latest announcement came weeks after the U.S. set up a humanitarian air bridge to help the impoverished South Asian nation. Once the scale of the devastation became clear, the United Nations appealed for $160 million in emergency funding to help over 33 million people affected by the floods. The ministry statement followed a meeting on Monday between Pakistans Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. It said the two discussed the unprecedented floods, caused in part by climate-change and that Bhutto-Zardari thanked the U.S. government for its assistance. No country could deal with a crisis of this proportion on its own, the ministry quoted Bhutto-Zardari as telling Blinken. The foreign minister also said that Pakistan is one of the lowest emitters and is ironically one of the most severely impacted by climate change. Pakistan is seeking climate justice and looking toward its partners for assistance in recovering from this calamity, Bhutto-Zardari added. According to the statement, Blinken expressed his condolences over the loss of precious lives and monumental economic losses and reaffirmed U.S. commitment to help Pakistan in the wake of the floods. We will continue to stand by Pakistan, to stand by its people, today and in the days to come, Blinken said Monday at an event in Washington marking 75 years of U.S.-Pakistan relations, according to the State Department. The devastation wreaked by the floods this summer in Pakistan has also highlighted the disproportionate effect of climate change on impoverished nations. Experts say Pakistan is responsible for only 0.4% of the worlds historic emissions blamed for climate change. Last week, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in an interview with The Associated Press detailed the scope of the disaster and exhorted world leaders gathered for their annual meeting at the United Nations General Assembly to stand together and raise resources to build resilient infrastructure, to build adaptation, so that our future generations are saved. Sharif also sought more help for relief and rehabilitation operations for Pakistans flood victims, especially in the southern Sindh province the worst-hit of all the countrys provinces, where many districts are still under water. After returning home from New York, Sharif on Tuesday again visited some of the flood-hit areas in Sindh. Pakistan says the disaster has caused damages in the amount of $30 billion. U.N. agencies and several countries, including the U.S., have so far sent 129 planeloads of aid. Even as they contend with the unprecedented flooding, Pakistani authorities are also struggling with outbreaks of disease among survivors, especially in Sindh, where waterborne infections, malaria and dengue fever have caused more than 300 deaths since July, according to health officials. By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press Trump bid to dodge suit from rape accuser heads to DC court View Photo NEW YORK (AP) An appeals court in Washington D.C. has been asked to help decide whether Donald Trump was doing his job as president when he denied raping a woman and dismissed his accuser as not my type. The columnist, E. Jean Carroll, sued Trump in 2019, claiming the Republican raped her in the mid-1990s inside a dressing room at a Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan, then lied about it and besmirched her character when she decided to tell her story publicly. Since then, the case has gotten bogged down in a technical legal dispute over whether Trump should have to defend the lawsuit as a private citizen, or whether the U.S. government should step in as the defendant because Trump was performing his duties as president at the time he issued his denials. Because the alleged attack happened so long ago, Carroll was originally barred for suing over sexual battery, so she sued for defamation, making the suit largely about disparaging comments Trump made about the rape allegation. In a 2-to-1 decision Tuesday, a panel of judges on the New York based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals resolved one part of the fight, holding that Trump was a federal employee. But it asked the D.C. Court of Appeals, the highest court in the District of Columbia, to decide whether Trumps public statements denying Carrolls rape claims occurred within the scope of his employment. If so, he would be entitled to immunity from the lawsuit, the 2nd Circuit judges ruled. And while the U.S. government can be sued over some wrongdoing by its employees, it is immune from defamation lawsuits, which would mean Carrolls suit would fail. The 2nd Circuit said courts have been inconsistent in previous rulings and that the D.C. Court of Appeals might be in the best position to answer the question of whether Trumps statements were job-related. Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, treated the 2nd Circuit ruling as a complete victory, saying it will protect the ability of all future Presidents to effectively govern without hindrance. She added: We are confident that the D.C. Court of Appeals will find that our client was acting within the scope of his employment when properly repudiating Ms. Carrolls allegations. In a majority opinion written by Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi, two members of the 2nd Circuits three-judge panel said they were not expressing any view on whether Trumps public statements were defamatory or whether a sexual assault had occurred. In a dissent, though, Circuit Judge Denny Chin said the other members of the panel were wrong in concluding Trump was an employee of the government according to a law known as the Westfall Act. He said the law was intended to protect low-level, rank-and-file government employees rather than the president. And he said he would also conclude that at least some of the statements Trump made about Carroll were not made within the scope of his duties as president. He pointed in particular to Trumps comment that Carroll was not his type. In the context of an accusation of rape, the comment shes not my type surely is not something one would expect the President of the United States to say in the course of his duties, Chin wrote. Carrolls allegations plausibly paint a picture of a man pursuing a personal vendetta against an accuser, not the United States chief constitutional officer engaging in supervisory and policy responsibilities of utmost discretion and sensitivity. Chin also attacked the governments position which began when Trump was president and continued under the administration of President Joe Biden that a president acts within the scope of his employment whenever he responds to the media and to public critics. If that were so, then the mere presence of others would neutralize whatever a President did or said, for no President could be held accountable for damage done in front of a microphone or in an official meeting whether defaming a citizen, exposing classified national security information, or inciting a riot. This is not, and should not be, the law, Chin wrote. Carrolls lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, responded to a request for comment by citing Chins dissent, calling it a powerful opinion. She added: We are confident that the D.C. Court of Appeals, where this case is now headed on certification, will agree. Theres a chance the legal fight over whether Trump or the U.S. government should be the defendant in the case could become moot. Carrolls lawyer recently alerted a Manhattan federal court judge in August that she plans to file a new lawsuit against Trump in November when New Yorks Adult Survivors Act take effect. The law offers a one-year window during which time adult survivors of sexual attacks would be able to bring civil claims when they otherwise would be barred by time requirements. That would mean Carroll could sue Trump over the original rape allegation, which happened long before he became president. ___ This story has been corrected to delete a sentence that erroneously said the U.S. government could potentially be held liable for Trumps statements. The U.S. government is immune from defamation claims. By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press Abscam figure sent back to prison in ballot stuffing case View Photo PHILADELPHIA (AP) A former congressman from Philadelphia who went to prison over the 1970s-era Abscam scandal was sent back to prison Tuesday at age 79 in a ballot stuffing case. Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Michael J. Ozzie Myers was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison by a judge who questioned whether he had learned any lessons over the years. Myers admitted he had worked with election officials to pad the vote tallies of his political consulting clients. Some were running for city judgeships. Myers would solicit payments from his clients in the form of cash or checks as consulting fees, and then use portions of these funds to pay election officials to tamper with election results, U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero said in a statement after the hearing. Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. If even one vote has been illegally cast or if the integrity of just one election official is compromised, it diminishes faith in process, she said. Myers pleaded guilty in June to violations of election law, conspiracy, bribery and obstruction for his work on behalf of Democratic candidates from 2014 and 2018. There was no evidence the crimes changed the outcome of any election, his lawyer said. The people of Philadelphia should feel secure that the elections are run fair and free, and when it is that these occurrences happen they are found out, said defense lawyer Noah Gorson, who called the instances of election fraud in the city rare. Myerss family, including his elderly wife, became upset when U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond revoked his bail Tuesday and ordered him to prison straightaway. They were unprepared for that, because the government had agreed that they had no objection to his self-surrendering, and he is an elderly man, Gorson said. That wasnt needed. In the Abscam sting, Myers was convicted of bribery and conspiracy for taking money from FBI agents who posed as Arab sheiks. He served more than a year in prison and was expelled from Congress in 1980. Myers also served six years in the Pennsylvania House before his 1976 election to Congress. ___ Follow AP Legal Affairs Writer Maryclaire Dale on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Maryclairedale By MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press SOUTHINGTON Police and education officials are investigating after a sheet was found at Southington High School that included the slogan reject degeneracy and the name of a Massachusetts white supremacist group. On Monday, School Superintendent Steven Madancy said the sheets presence was discovered early that morning on a fence near the girls softball field. The sheet was immediately removed prior to the start of the school day and the Southington Police Department was contacted. They are currently investigating this incident, Madancy wrote in a release. The sheet, according to school leaders, included the tag of NSC 131. Its the name of a group led by Christopher Hood, a Massachusetts man who was arrested this week in connection with a fight that broke out as his group protested a drag queen story hour in Boston this summer. Hood was charged with fighting in a public place, according to NBC Boston. The groups name stands for Nationalist Social Club. Madancy asked anyone with information to contact police. The district takes all acts of hate and vandalism seriously and will work in collaboration with the Southington Police Department to fully prosecute any such individuals found to be responsible, he wrote. Fliers claiming to be from the same group were found scattered in Meriden neighborhoods on the citys west side in July. jbuchanan@record-journal.com203-317-2230Twitter: @JBuchananRJ 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. * * * The Utterly Engrossing Search for the Origin of Eels Smithsonian Magazine NASAs DART Spacecraft Slams Into Asteroid in Effort to Alter Its Orbit WSJ (J-LS) Chess world champion Magnus Carlsen explicitly accuses rival Hans Niemann of cheating CNN Putin grants Russian citizenship to former US security contractor Edward Snowden Firstpost (J-LS) The Many Lives and Credit Suisse Accounts of Gaddafi-Linked Lobbyist Hassan Tatanaki OCCRP Chasing Steel LRB (J-LS) The Uber Hack Exposes More Than Failed Data Security NYT (DL) * * * Leading economies sliding into recession as Ukraine war cuts growth, OECD finds The Guardian (KW) Climate #COVID19 "several studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 can attack the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, which could lead to development of type 1 diabetes. Its also possible that inflammation caused by the virus may lead to exacerbation of already existing autoimmunity." https://t.co/Oqrz3YPLxi Dr David Berger, aBsuRdiSTe cROnickLeR (@YouAreLobbyLud) September 24, 2022 China? Blinken urges Pakistan to seek China debt relief after floods Dawn Myanmar Japan holds a divisive state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe NPR The Koreas TV network started by Marcos-allied tycoon raises concerns about politicisation of media Straits Times India Syraqistan Turkiye denounces foreign military buildups in Greece Anadolu Agency European Disunion As SA teeters on the brink of full-blown energy disaster, its vital the right decisions are made now Daily Maverick Old Blighty No place to hide: CAR rebel leader claims innocence in brutal war crimes DW New Not-So-Cold War Colombia Reopens Border With Venezuela in Bid to Mend Ties With U.S. Adversary WSJ Artsakh Foreign Minister Discusses Karabakh Conflict with Rep. Schiff Asbarez Biden Administration The Best Journalists Are Persecuted And Despised: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix Caitlin Johnstone Girls Who Code book series banned in some US classrooms The Register (CL) The Bezzle NY bank ordered to share client user data in IRS crypto tax probe Protos Imperial Collapse Watch Navy bribery fugitive Fat Leonard seeks asylum in Venezuela Stars and Stripes Class Warfare Antidote du jour (via): See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. Time, money and options are fast running out for Switzerlands second largest lender, Credit Suisse. After a string of hugely costly, self-inflicted crises (sound familiar?), Credit Suisse appears to be in the process of prising the mantle of Europes most troubled systemic lender from Deutsche Bank, which the German bank has held for most of the past decade. As the Wall Street Journal noted a few days ago, Credit Suisse has taken pole position in a race to the bottom among big, but weak, European banks. The scandal-splattered bank has already reported losses of over $2 billion in the first half of this year, significantly under performing expectations as revenue at its investment bank has continued to plunge. That was after reporting an annual loss of $1.7 billion in 2021. Since the second quarter of 2021 CS asset base has slumped in value from $941 billion to $753 billion. Net revenues are also falling. Over the past nine quarters the bank has only managed to muster one quarter of actual year-on-year growth. A Torrid March It was in the Spring of 2021 when Credit Suisses current crisis began. And that crisis has revealed glaring flaws in its risk management processes. As readers may recall, two of the banks major clients the private hedge fund Archegos Capital and the Softbank-backed supply chain finance disruptor Greensill collapsed in the same month (March 2021). By the end of April 2021, Credit Suisse had reported losses of $5.5 billion from its involvement with Archegos. Its losses from its financial menage a trois with Greensill and its primary backer, Softbank, are still far from clear, as the bank is trying to claw back almost $3 billion of unpaid funds for its clients (more on that later). What is clear is that 2021 was a watershed moment for Credit Suisse. The banks then-CEO Thomas Gottstein called it a very challenging year. The irony is that the year before, when financial markets almost fell off a pandemic-induced cliff, the bank managed to generate a net profit of $2.84 billion while many of its peers posted record losses. Credit Suisse was even lauded for its risk management in the weeks leading up to the lockdowns, picking up Risk.nets Credit Derivative House of the Year award in February 2021: Within weeks, the US credit markets were in meltdown. The Covid-19 pandemic crippled corporate earnings and everyone wanted credit protection. CDS indexes jumped to their highest levels on record, according to Bloomberg data. Credit Suisse was a step ahead of the tide. The moves it made in February paid off in a big way. The put options on LQD returned 30 times the initial premium outlay. The desk was also actively sourcing front-end single-name CDS protection from issuers of synthetic collateralised debt obligations in the second half of 2019 and early 2020. All of this meant it was in a good position to offer liquidity when credit spreads blew out in March. When volatility escalated, we were able to help clients with what they needed to do without needing to protect ourselves, says David Goldenberg, Credit Suisses head of global index and options, and head of US credit derivatives. A month after receiving that award Credit Suisses reputation for risk management was in tatters. As banks offering prime brokerage services to Archegos Capital began liquidating billions of dollars worth of various stocks on which Archegos owned options after the hedge fund had failed to meet a margin call, CS was slow to react. As the Wall Street Journal reported at the time, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were able to minimize their losses relating to Archegos by responsing more quickly than Credit Suisse and Nomura Holdings. Even Deutsche Bank was able to close its substantial positions rapidly and avoid any losses. A Long-Term Trend But like most financial flag carriers in Europe, Credit Suisses problems date back to the massive build up of private debt during the pre-crisis years. Many banks in the Euro Area never got over the resulting Global Financial Crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis that followed shortly after. In Switzerland, it was UBS, the countrys largest lender, that landed itself in serious trouble in 2008 through its exposure to US mortgage securities. UBS was bailed out with public money while Credit Suisse was able to raise capital from the private sector. But ever since then, Credit Suisses stock has been in a death spiral, having lost 95% of its value since 2007. This, again, puts it on a par with Deutsche Bank. This year alone, CS shares have fallen by 55%. Given that European bank shares as a whole are tumbling once again as credit conditions rapidly deteriorate and a full-blown economic crisis beckons, there is likely to be little in the way of respite for some time to come. CSs revenues keep trending down, costs are described as not flexible this year and limited flexibility next year, and the succession of quarters with a net loss is destroying capital, said Jefferies analyst Flora Bocahut in a research note. CS shares will be challenged until revenue momentum turns, which is going to take several quarters at best. Credit Suisses price-to-book ratio the equation often used to reflect the value that market participants attach to a companys equity is currently 23%, which is exactly the same as Deutsche Banks. Normally, when a companys P/B ratio falls below 1, it means the market is either undervaluing it and thus it could be good value, or the company is in serious trouble. When the ratio slumps as low as 23%, its far more likely to be the latter than the former. This may explain why the spreads on five-year credit default swaps (CDS) on Credit Suisse debt are close to their highest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. CDS are derivative instruments that are supposed to act as an insurance policy against a credit event on an underlying asset, but can actually exacerbate financial crises by increasing counterparty risk, as happened in 2008 (Yves wrote extensively on this matter at the time, including here and here). Another Structural Overhaul So, Credit Suisse needs to raise money, and sharpish. And that is not easy when the banks revenues are plunging. To steady the ship, CS new management is planning another deep structural overhaul, just one year after the last one. The new strategic review will be officially announced on Oct 27. In the meantime rumours are flying. According to the financial press, it may divest all of its wealth management operations in Latin America with the exception of Brazil. The bank is also reportedly considering offloading its securitized products group as well as bringing back the First Boston brand name for its US investment banking business. It could even leave the US market altogether. It is also apparently mulling laying off 5,000 of its investment bankers and splitting its investment banking business into two, or even three units. These, of course, are all rumours. But what the bank desperately needs is stability, having churned through three CEOs in five years and three chairmen in two. Its biggest challenge will be raising fresh capital, for the fourth time in seven years. Credit Suisse needs to plug a capital gap of at least $4.1 billion to bolster its financial position, according to Deutsche Bank, which must be enjoying a spot of schadenfreude right now,. But CS has chosen the worst possible moment to go cap in hand to investors, with global financial conditions deteriorating rapidly and its market cap now valued at just $10.6 billion, less than half its value nine months ago. It is far from clear whether investors will be willing to part with yet more cash, having already poured $12.2 billion into the lender more than its current market value since 2015. You can hardly blame them if they dont. After all, this is a bank that has not earned its cost of capital in more than a decade. In the past two years alone it has been fined for arranging a fraudulent loan to Mozambique, for laundering money for a Bulgarian cocaine trafficker and for misleading shareholders over its risk exposure to Archegos Capital. It recently set aside a further $1.2 billion to cover more litigation provisions in the future. It has also been rebuked by regulators for spying on its executives and has been sullied by its involvement with defunct financier Greensill Capital. The fallout from that scandal has done immense damage to Credit Suisses reputation among its most important client segment: ultra high net worth investors. As I mentioned earlier, Credit Suisse is trying to claw back just under $3 billion of funds from Greensill clients and insurers, so that it can then pay back the investors trapped in its supply chain finance funds. But its going to take a long time and the investors are growing impatient. Per Swiss Info: The bank revealed last week that the 1,200 investors trapped in its funds were unlikely to recoup their losses for at least another five years, if at all. We have seen an absolute change in the mood among investors in recent days the reaction to Credit Suisses latest disclosure has been one of fury, particularly as they gave the bank the benefit of [the] doubt, said Natasha Harrison, managing partner of Pallas law firm, which is representing fund investors preparing litigation against Credit Suisse. Nobody is going to be prepared to wait five years to get their money and even then there is no certainty they will get it all back. Despite anger from clients, Credit Suisse quickly decided it would not make up the shortfall, in part because executives feared it would set a precedent. If the bank offered to underwrite clients investment losses, it would lead to a large increase in the banks regulatory capital requirements. Since the Greenhill debacle Credit Suisses wealth management division has suffered large outflows. This is a problem given that wealth management, particularly in China where the bank expects the number of millionaires to grow significantly in the coming years, is expected to be a core driver of the banks future success. As Australian Financial Review notes, the failure of Credit Suisse to understand the importance of maintaining an image as a financial fortress is perplexing given it sees its future in wealth management and asset management. If the bank fails to raise fresh capital, it can always turn to a white knight investor like Warren Buffett, as the Washington Post kindly suggested in an article today. Failing that, if its financial health continues to decline at the current rate, Credit Suisse could be left with only two unappetizing options: a shotgun takeover by UBS, which would create the mother of all banking monopolies, or some international entity; or it could do what UBS did back in 2008-09 ask for of a government bailout, and perhaps get a bail-in thrown in for good measure. (Natural News) New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is the latest liberal leader to call for an international alliance to censor speech. Unsatisfied with the unprecedented corporate censorship of social media companies, leaders like Hillary Clinton have turned from private censorship to good old-fashioned state censorship. Speech regulation has become an article of faith on the left. Ardern used her speech this week to the United Nations General Assembly to call for censorship on a global scale. (Article by Jonathan Turley republished from JonathanTurley.org) Ardern lashed out at disinformation and called for a global coalition to control speech. After nodding toward free speech, she proceeded to lay out a plan for its demise through government regulation: But what if that lie, told repeatedly, and across many platforms, prompts, inspires, or motivates others to take up arms. To threaten the security of others. To turn a blind eye to atrocities, or worse, to become complicit in them. What then? This is no longer a hypothetical. The weapons of war have changed, they are upon us and require the same level of action and activity that we put into the weapons of old. We recognized the threats that the old weapons created. We came together as communities to minimize these threats. We created international rules, norms and expectations. We never saw that as a threat to our individual liberties rather, it was a preservation of them. The same must apply now as we take on these new challenges. Ardern noted how extremists use speech to spread lies without noting that non-extremists use the same free speech to counter such views. To answer her question on how do you tackle climate change if people do not believe it exists is that you convince people using the same free speech. Instead, Ardern appears to want to silence those who have doubts. While referring to a global censorship coalition as a light-touch approach to disinformation, Ardern revealed how sweeping such a system would likely be. She defended the need for such global censorship on having to combat those who question climate change and the need to stop hateful and dangerous rhetoric and ideology. After all, how do you successfully end a war if people are led to believe the reason for its existence is not only legal but noble? How do you tackle climate change if people do not believe it exists? How do you ensure the human rights of others are upheld, when they are subjected to hateful and dangerous rhetoric and ideology? That is the same rationale used by authoritarian countries like China, Iran, and Russia to censor dissidents, minority groups, and political rivals. What is hateful and dangerous is a fluid concept that government have historically used to silence critics or dissenters. Ardern is the smiling face of the new generation of censors. At least the old generation of censors like the Iranians do not pretend to support free speech and openly admit that they are crushing dissent. The point is that we need to be equally on guard when censorship is pushed from the left with the best of motivations and the worst of means. As the great civil libertarian Justice Louis Brandeis once said, the greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. Read more at: JonathanTurley.org (Natural News) Many studies have shown that pesticides are linked to various health issues, yet farmers worldwide continue to use them on different crops. According to a study published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, babies exposed to pesticides often used on apple and citrus trees are at least 87 percent more likely to develop retinoblastoma, a rare type of eye cancer. For the study, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles compared the usage levels of almost five dozen farmyard chemicals near the homes of 335 children under five years old who developed retinoblastomas to healthy children from the same state. Findings showed that children exposed to four specific chemicals were more likely to have the cancer, which can permanently affect childrens vision and can cause problems reading and writing. Retinoblastoma may also cause blindness. Acephate, one of the four chemicals, is already banned in Europe. The other chemicals were bromacil, which shouldnt be used near homes, kresoxim-methyl and pymetrozine. The researchers who conducted the study warned that pesticides are specifically dangerous for children because their organs are still developing. These chemicals can disrupt DNA or inflame cells, causing retinoblastoma. The research team encouraged farmers to be more aware of what chemicals they were spraying on their fields. They also urged the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to impose stricter regulations on pesticide use. (Related: Court orders EPA to reassess glyphosates impact on human health and the environment.) What is retinoblastoma? Retinoblastoma is a type of eye cancer that can affect either one or both eyes. According to the American Cancer Association (ACS), the disease starts when cells begin to grow out of control due to a genetic mutation. Your eyes start to develop before birth. During the early stages of development, the eyes have retinoblasts, which are cells that multiply to make new cells that fill the retina. At a certain point, these cells stop multiplying and turn into mature retinal cells. This process often goes on without a hitch, but something goes wrong with this process in some people. Instead of maturing, some retinoblasts continue to grow out of control, forming a cancer known as retinoblastoma. The chain of events inside cells that causes retinoblastoma is complex, but it usually starts with a change or mutation in the RB1 gene. The normal RB1 gene helps keep cells from growing out of control, but a change in the gene makes it stop working properly. Depending on when and where the change in the RB1 gene occurs, it can result in two different types of retinoblastoma: congenital (heritable) retinoblastoma or sporadic (non-heritable) retinoblastoma. The former often affects both eyes while the latter usually only develops in one eye. Retinoblastoma is more common in children under three years old. Symptoms of retinoblastoma include a white or pink pupil, lazy eye or early signs of vision problems. If you have retinoblastoma, a doctor may recommend radiation therapy or laser therapy to kill cancer cells, along with chemotherapy in certain cases. Retinoblastoma can leave children with lifelong vision problems and blindness. This type of eye cancer also increases their risk of suffering a second cancer later in life. Cancer risk and pesticide exposure Since 1990, California has required that all pesticide uses in agriculture are reported centrally. For the study, researchers analyzed data from Californias cancer registry. They extracted all cases of retinoblastomas in children under five diagnosed from 1998, about a decade after the registry began, until 2013. Next, the research team collected the addresses of these cases and those of 120,000 healthy children born in the state over the same period. The latter was collected randomly. The researchers then collected Pesticide Use Reports on which pesticides were used around the childrens homes in the months before they were born. Findings revealed that children with the cancers were more likely to have been exposed to four specific pesticides compared to healthy children: Children exposed to bromacil, which is often used on citrus plants and to clear weeds, were 87 percent more likely to develop unilateral retinoblastoma, which only affects one eye. Acephate, another pesticide used for citrus trees, increased retinoblastoma risk by as much as 70 percent. Children exposed to kresoxim-methyl, a pesticide used on apples to control a fungus, were at least 60 percent more likely to have all types of retinoblastomas. Lastly, children exposed to pymetrozine, which is used to kill aphids and whitefly on field crops, were 45 percent more likely to develop retinoblastoma. The researchers did not look at what concentrations of the pesticides had a higher association with cancer and there was no link suggested for the other 54 pesticide chemicals included in the study. Dr. Shiraya Thompson, the studys lead author and a public health researcher, said farmers should be more conscious of the potential health risks of the pesticides they use. Thompson also urged the EPA to consider limiting the use of harmful chemicals to reduce cancer risk. You might have very little control over whats going on in the cornfields near you, said Thompson. She added that it can also be difficult to know which pesticides farmers are using. Because the study was observational, it could not determine whether the chemicals had caused the cancer or if it was due to another factor. However, scientists have been warning for years that pesticide exposure raises the risk of cancers in some people. While researchers still have to figure out what exactly causes retinoblastomas, the ACS said exposure to chemicals and radiation may raise the risk of developing eye cancer. The data also suggest that pregnant mothers could have been exposed to the chemicals either from run-off from the farmyards or through work. For more on things that can cause cancer, visit CancerCriminals.com. Watch the video below to find out which 10 fruits and vegetables contain the most pesticides. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Pregnant women are being exposed to more dangerous industrial chemicals, warn researchers. Government data: European fruits contaminated with hazardous pesticides increased dramatically over a 9-year period. Study links Monsantos Roundup to celiac and other autoimmune diseases; US government insists its safe. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk Cancer.org Brighteon.com (Natural News) Former Trump administration official Kash Patel utilized his new childrens book to share the value of teaching the truth, expounding on this during an appearance on The Right Side. Patel told program host Doug Billings during the Brighteon.TV programs Sept. 20 edition that he wanted children to learn about the value of the truth and a life committed to it using his childrens book The Plot Against The King. The Plot Against the King went number one in the childrens book realm, which kind of shocked us. But its amazing that there are so many people out there that wanted it, and President [Donald] Trump backed the book and launched the book, said Patel, who added that a lot of educators came to them to ask for stories that teach the truth. So, we were motivated, and weve turned it into a trilogy. So, were taking history, not politics, and teaching and putting it in our public schools and libraries about mission, truth, faith and things like that. According to the Guardian, Patels book centers on how King Donald had been accused of cheating by a shifty knight. The author, who put himself in the story as a wizard, eventually proclaims the monarch innocent of any wrongdoing and that Hillary Queenton and her cohorts were behind the plot. Patel continued that he and his collaborators for the book borrowed from the Lefts playbook. The radical Left would often dismiss claims of election fraud and other conspiracies as taboo for children, but not topics such as critical race theory or gender dynamics. Patel also talks about books sequel featuring Dinesh DSouza According to Patel, his first book talks about Russiagate. Its sequel, titled The Plot Against the King: 2000 Mules, talks about election integrity. Filmmaker Dinesh DSouza, who produced the documentary 2000 Mules, feature as a protagonist. Two inquisitive minds, Dinesh and Debbie, search for the truth and uncover evidence of a terrible scheme to elect Sleepy Joe instead of King Donald on Choosing Day, the books description stated. Were teaching kids about the consequences of elections and the issues behind them in a simple manner, the former Trump administration official told Billings. And were just saying, get out there and vote at the Constitutional Republic, educate your peers on why you should vote in America. Thats what [the second book] is all about. In response to Billings question about plans to have the book in school libraries, Patel said the former president was generous enough to exclusively launch the book on Truth Social. Trump also put out a statement himself promising to get the book in every public school, library and school board meeting in America. The author said both books touched on a principal set of morals such as doing the right or lawful thing, being righteous and serving the community. He also accused the fake news media of destroying anyone who stands with the ideals of morality and the American Dream. Billings agreed, pointing out that there is a lost sense of morality in America today which the Founding Fathers feared that the nation would lose. He added that mainstream media outlets are not only doing a coordinated attack on conservatives, but also on withholding and manipulating the truth. (Related: The fall of the mainstream media and the biggest lies they told in 2021.) Follow VoteFraud.news for more news about election integrity. Watch the Sept. 20 episode of The Right Side below. The Right Side airs every Tuesday at 7-8 p.m. and every Saturday at 10-11 a.m. on Brighteon.TV. More related stories: 2000 Mules documentary by Dinesh DSouza finally reveals PROOF that 2020 election was completely stolen from Trump. Stunning: Montana election integrity organization found more than 120,000 invalid votes cast during 2020 election. Biden regimes master plan to steal 2022 elections exposed: Repeat of 2020 theft already underway as early voting approaches. Sources include: Brighteon.com PlotAgainstTheKing.com (Natural News) Attorney Thomas Renz is representing a whistleblower who has come forward with evidence proving that the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) was created in a lab in China. The whistleblower in question is Dr. Andrew Huff, a veteran who has a PhD in environmental epidemiology and a masters degree in security technology. Huff has done a lot of important work at government-backed laboratories, including the Sandia National Laboratories, a laboratory focused on developing, engineering and testing the non-nuclear components of Americas nuclear arsenal. Perhaps just as important to note is the fact that Huff used to work for EcoHealth Alliance as one of the organizations vice presidents. Huff said EcoHealth helped develop SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. (Related: Pentagon whistleblower says release of evidence proving lab origins of COVID-19 imminent.) He worked at EcoHealth Alliance for a few years, and during the time that he worked there, they created SARS-CoV-2 [in a] lab in Wuhan, China, said Renz during an interview with Dr. Daniel Bobinski on the latters Brighteon.TV program Keep the Republic. Renz noted that Huff has attested to his work in Wuhan under penalty of perjury. We have a declaration, he said. And were gonna be filing a lawsuit on it. EcoHealth and Fauci helped create coronavirus According to Huffs sworn declaration, the process of developing SARS-CoV-2 was described in detail in a proposal submitted to five institutions: the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the University of North Carolina and EcoHealth Alliance. Ultimately, after reviewing the proposal for the creation of the coronavirus, the five institutions that received the proposal funded and helped create it in other ways. Anthony Fauci funded the creation of SARS-CoV-2 and lied to Congress about funding gain-of-function work, wrote Renz in a summary of Huffs sworn testimony. Anthony Fauci and others coordinated to cover up the funding of the gain-of-function work that resulted in SARS-CoV-2. Along with the lawsuit, Renz also plans to release Huffs sworn testimony and other supporting documents to the public by providing Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and others who recognize Faucis complicity in the origin of the coronavirus their own copies. Renz noted that all of Huffs claims can be supported by publicly available documents and that he and his team have verified the authenticity of every single point in Huffs sworn testimony. Even without Huffs testimony, Renz pointed out that there is a treasure trove of evidence that already proves the coronavirus was created in a lab in Wuhan. He said not a lot of people may know about this because the documents that can prove this are very complicated and not soundbite friendly. For more on the truth behind COVID-19, visit Pandemic.news. Watch this Sept. 22 episode of Keep the Republic with Dr. Daniel Bobinski as he interviews Attorney Thomas Renz about whistleblower Andrew Huffs revelations. Keep the Republic with Dr. Daniel Bobinski airs every Thursday at 4-5 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. More related stories: Health Ranger Report with Mike Adams: Thomas Renz preparing to expose Fauci for CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. Wuhan lab where coronavirus is believed to have originated eligible for TAXPAYER FUNDING until 2024. Thomas Renz suing the globalists who perpetrated the COVID-19 pandemic by using their own words against them. Gain of function researcher Peter Daszak accused of being CIA asset; EcoHealth Alliance described as front for agency. BIOWAR CABAL: Partners of Fauci-funded EcoHealth Alliance that directed gain-of-function weaponization research include US and WHO officials. Sources include: Brighteon.com WBT.com Planet-Today.com (Natural News) The first major hurricane to strike Florida in four years, Hurricane Ian is causing mass panic in the Sunshine State as residents swarm grocery stores in desperate search of supplies, leaving shelves apocalyptically bare ahead of the storm making landfall. Photos captured over the weekend when Ian was still just a tropical storm show grocery lines extended far to the backs of empty stores. Some customers loaded up their carts with pallets of water stacked high while others were left with nothing. Images of customers at hardware stores like Home Depot also showed people trying to purchase last-minute plywood, tools and other construction materials to try to board up their homes in anticipation of the worst. (Related: There is also a major financial hurricane brewing.) Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an emergency declaration across the state as meteorologists predict that the storm will hit the Tampa Bay area of the state. On Sunday morning, Ian was located about 540 miles off the coast of Cubas western tip. Before striking that country, meteorologists expected the storm to reach major hurricane strength. According to The Weather Channel, Ians cone of uncertainty includes Panama City in the Florida panhandle and Tampa. Parts of Alabama and Georgia are also in the storms potential path. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) says that Ian has a higher-than-normal degree of uncertainty compared to other storms in the past. Because of this, many more residents than usual from numerous parts of the state are panicking to get their preps in order. Hurricane Ian is one of the most unpredictable hurricanes in Floridas history On Monday, the NHC put Tampa Bay under both a hurricane and storm surge watch. That area of the state is now said to be firmly within the forecast cone, though there is still a large degree of uncertainty as to what will happen. Regardless of the track and intensity, there is a risk the Tampa Bay area and other parts of the Gulf Coast could see life-threatening storm surge, hurricane force winds and heavy rainfall, reported the Tampa Bay Times. Effects could begin as early as Tuesday and officials urged the region to take advantage of the last full day to prepare and heed evacuation orders. Forced evacuations have officially been issued for the following areas: Hillsborough County residents living in Zone A (Zone B residents of Hillsborough County face a voluntary evacuation notice) Pinellas County residents living in Zone A beginning at 6pm on Monday (Residents of Zones B and C face the same order starting Tuesday at 7am). Officials from Pinellas County issued a get out right now warning for the area MacDill Air Force Base, which at the order of Col. Adam Bingham faces an installation-wide mandatory evacuation to be completed by Tuesday at noon for non-mission essential individuals Schools in Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Pasco Counties will have forced school closures this week, along with local colleges and universities. The federal court in Tampa and the state court in Hillsborough will also be closed from Tuesday through Thursday. With expected gale-force winds of up to 54 miles per hour within the next 24 hours, Port Tampa Bay is also closing its waterways, while its port condition has been changed to Yankee. The Florida Department of Corrections is also preparing extra food and water for inmates housed at prisons in Ians path. Evacuations of prisoners will be considered on a case-by-case basis, according to a press release from the department. One hurricane scientist and meteorologist is predicting that Tampa Bay could see its worst storm surge in modern history. More of the latest news about Hurricane Ian can be found at Disaster.news. Sources for this article include: DailyMail.co.uk TampaBay.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Filmmaker and author Mikki Willis sat down with The HighWire host Del Bigtree to talk about the Great Awakening and his new documentary Plandemic 3: The Great Awakening. According to Willis, the first two parts of Plandemic went viral despite universal censorship. Given the third parts successful pre-launch in Texas last Sept. 16, he announced the the third part is set for release. The Plandemic director said in an earlier interview that he met virologist Dr. Judy Mikovits around a year and a half before the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit. He had been working on a different film that time, one that sought to pull back the curtain on mainstream media and how it has been infiltrated by different narratives. In the course of working on that film, Willis recounted warnings of a false flag attack issued by some of the people he interviewed. He reached out to Mikovits when the pandemic was announced, asking her what she thought of the situation. She started to break it down for me, and it seemed so viable that I said, Lets stop what were doing and go to my studio, sit down and do this on camera, because I think that the world deserves to hear this information.' After making the first two parts of Plandemic, Willis said there was a point he really wished he was finished so that he can move on to the next project. (Related: Bidens coronavirus adviser says the reason why God created humans with two arms is to receive a flu shot in one and a covid jab in the other.) But this wasnt the case. Willis: Theres so much to tell about plandemic Plandemic 2: Indoctornation was kind of like a last minute, but now that were in this arena and this conversation, theres so much more to tell. Lets now go on to patents and conflicts of interest and all the things that all the fact checkers wanted to avoid, he told Bigtree. In Plandemic 2, Willis said they exposed Bill Gates and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and all the things people needed to understand, that these agencies they think are there to govern their health and well-being are actually doing the opposite. While he said he wasnt sure if there was going to be a third part, this became inevitable. The more I learned and the more highly intelligent people that I interviewed to really dig into whats beyond COVID, what was COVID used for [I realized that] thats really the question: This isnt about COVID, its what its used for. Willis said Plandemic 3 has a lot of new things to reveal including that it was written in manifestos, books and doctrines. He said that the pandemic was already set out in bookstores in the 60s and has unfolded to the tee. [The] historical data and those documents helped me, and I think theyll help the masses to understand how much of this was planned, and how to avoid it from going any further and to avoid it from ever coming back in the future, he said. He also said the planned imagery is to wake everybody to the big picture. I always say its like the moment when Toto pulls back the curtain and exposes the little man behind, you know, behind the levers, its like pandemic three, I hope will be the Toto that pulls back the curtain. Visit Pandemic.news for more news about the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch the video below to know more about the Plandemic 3 documentary by Mikki Willis. This video is from The HighWire with Del Bigtree channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Maria Bartiromo blasts Moderna over allegations of patenting a genetic sequence derived from COVID three years prior to plandemic. THEY KNEW: Three months before covid was unveiled, DoD awarded Ukraine a special Covid-19 Research contract. Pfizer trial data for children under 5 shows covid vaccines to be just THREE PERCENT effective at best (and this was probably just a margin of error, making the effectiveness ZERO). Sources include: Brighteon.com NewsContinue.com (Natural News) Theologian Dr. John Diamond and sisters Leah and Michelle Sevenson, known as the Resistance Chicks, talked about how to advance the Kingdom of God on America Unhinged. Diamond remarked during the Sept. 22 edition of his Brighteon.TV program that the Gospel of the Kingdom has a much bigger message. He added that Gods people who hear the message must spread it far and wide, outside the four walls of the physical church. Diamond also urged Christian believers to speak in their respective fields with a view to spreading this message. Michelle remarked that the Resistance Chicks do not subscribe to the these are the last days and Jesus is coming back theology. According to her, the Pilgrims who came to America were not thinking that they could see the Second Coming as they had a 500-year-plan in mind. Aside from forging a peace treaty with the Wampanoag natives, the Pilgrims also made a covenant with God to expand His Kingdom in the New World. That was their whole primary goal for coming, Michelle said. Everyone says it was for economic reasons or it was because of religious persecution, [but] those played a minor part. The sole reason why they came was to expand the Gospel. So, they were making a covenant with God, trusting that He would hold up His end of the bargain. Leah agreed with her younger sister. She stated that the Pilgrims were building the New Jerusalem in America, a sentiment attested to by the Founding Fathers. She also touched on Michelles earlier remark, saying that a lot of people believe that Jesus is coming back as the world is getting worse. Leah dismissed this idea as a spirit of suicide, instead suggesting that the the Kingdom of God has expanded and lives are getting better with the Gospel spreading around the world. The younger of the Svensson sisters agreed and said every generation up until now has been wrong about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. The America Unhinged host concurred with the sisters, noting that every Christian generation throughout history has thought that they were living in the end times and that Christ is already coming back. Ultimately, Diamond emphasized that the Lord Jesus expects every Christian believer to do what He has mandated before His return. Leah Svensson: The Scriptures hold the key to Gods kingdom According to Leah, people need to look at the Scriptures to learn more about the Kingdom of God and how it will come here on Earth. If the Kingdom is expanding, she continued, it means that Jesus is already reigning. She also reiterated the Gospel of Matthew, which indicated that Jesus has already been given all authority in Heaven and on Earth and exhorted Christians to go and preach the Gospel to all nations of the world. The elder Svensson mentioned that Jesus has given every Christian believer that same authority, and that Christians have the authority to call down angels as well. (Related: The Resistance Chicks Leah and Michelle Svensson talk about the power of prayer in changing a nation Brighteon.TV.) So, when we start to look at it through the eyes of the Kingdom, and when you bring out Kingdom Scriptures, your whole mind just switches and you are empowered, she explained. Diamond said Christians dont talk about the Kingdom Scriptures anymore. He even quoted Jesus, who warned the Jewish leaders of his time that the Kingdom will be taken from them and given to a nation, referring to the Church, that will bear fruit. Follow Awakening.news for more news about Christians in America advancing the Kingdom of God. Watch the Sept 22 episode of America Unhinged below. America Unhinged with Dr. John Diamond airs every weekday at 9-10 a.m., Saturday at 8-9 a.m. and Sunday at 9-10 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. More related stories: Lets Talk America: Church must develop Ecclesia infrastructure Brighteon.TV. Nathaniel Pawlowski tells Karen Kingston: The Church has to be involved in politics and fight for the nation Brighteon.TV. Book author Vishal Mangalwadi: Church should be at the center of education. Sources include: Brighteon.com FamilySearch.org BibleGateway.com (Natural News) A record 2,150,244 illegal immigrants were arrested at the southwestern U.S. border in August 2022, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. The number of arrests along the southwestern border in a year has never surpassed the two-million mark before. CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus attributed the sudden spike of arrests to illegal immigrants fleeing the failing communist regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. Those fleeing repressive regimes pose significant challenges for processing and removal, Magnus said in a news release. More individuals encountered at the border without a legal basis to remain will be expelled or removed this year than any prior year. Data from the agency itself reflected this trend, with August seeing 2.2 percent more arrests compared to July. There was also a 175 percent increase in arrests of Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan migrants compared to the same month a year ago. In contrast, the number of Mexican immigrants arrested by CBP in August was down 43 percent compared to the year prior. The agency detained 203,598 illegal aliens coming from Mexico during that month. The massive immigration wave this year has been driven by soaring numbers of people crossing from outside Mexico and Central America, two of the largest traditional sources of illegal entries. Biden administration officials blamed the governments of the offending countries, whose strained relations with Washington severely limited the ability of authorities to send them deportees. Migrants apply for humanitarian protection in the United States, many of whom tend to have strong asylum claims. Several Republican governors including Arizonas Doug Ducey, Floridas Ron DeSantis and Texas Greg Abbott transported illegal aliens to other Democratic cities in a bid to make the ruling party aware of the actual situation at the border. Drug seizures also increased in recent months The CBP also shared numbers related to drug seizures nationwide, saying the amount of drugs seized had increased by 1.4 percent in August 2022 compared to the previous month. Cocaine and fentanyl seizures increased by 193 percent and six percent, respectively, while methamphetamine and heroin seizures decreased by 44 percent and 10 percent, respectively. The Biden administration insists that it is building a safe, orderly and humane immigration system while blaming the Trump administration for dismantling channels for legal migration. (Related: Crimes at the border: Illegal immigrants, illegal drugs flow freely in southwest border.) Critics, however, blasted the administration over the deaths of illegal immigrants attempting to enter the U.S., with scores of individuals drowning in the Rio Grande in recent months. Back in June, 53 illegals died when smugglers packed them in a sweltering trailer with a failing cooling system in Texas. On one hand, GOP members of Congress pointed their fingers at President Joe Biden reversing border security policies put in place by former President Donald Trump. One factor that they blame for the repeat crossings is the Title 42 emergency public health policy, which was implemented at the beginning of the pandemic. This allowed U.S. agents to rapidly expel some migrants back to Mexico. The Biden administrations attempt to phase out Title 42 was blocked in federal court last spring. On the other hand, White House officials claimed that the high number of arrests at the southwestern border are distorted by repeat crossing attempts by illegals previously arrested. They added that 22 percent of those nabbed in August 2022 had a prior arrest in the previous 12 months. Visit BorderSecurity.news for more news related to immigration arrests in the United States. Watch the video below that puts forward this question: Is the record immigration an invasion at this point? This video is from the Mckenna channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Governors in Arizona, Texas bypass corrupt Biden regime and request law enforcement help from other states to combat illegal immigration, drug trafficking. Now even US Senate candidates who oppose ILLEGAL immigration are banned by Twitter for hateful speech when did defending America become HATE? Hypocrite Dem mayor complaining about illegal migrants, wants National Guard called in to deal with them. Sources include: TheHill.com TexasTribune.org Brighteon.com (Natural News) Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev, deputy speaker of the Federation Council or Senate, has provided irrefutable evidence that the Department of Defense-run biological research laboratories in Ukraine are pursuing military goals. On Thursday, Sept. 22, he told reporters about the evidence the legislature has following a meeting of the Parliamentary Commission on the Investigation of U.S. Biological Laboratories in Ukraine, which he is a part of as co-chairman. Up until the last moment, until the start of Russias special military operation, it wasnt fully clear how dangerous the activities of these laboratories were, said Kosachev. The public, specialists and our parliamentary commission have gained a hold of incontrovertible evidence that this activity is of a military nature. Kosachev also noted that the United States activities in Ukraine violate the commitments it made when it signed the Biological Weapons Convention in 1972, which expressly prohibits the development and production of biological and toxin-based weapons. In a different part of the report, Irina Yarovaya, deputy speaker of the State Duma or Congress and co-chair of the parliamentary commission, noted that the Pentagon is also working on covert scenarios for using these bioweapons. It became obvious that the Pentagon is working on covert scenarios of using tactical biological weapons of mass destruction, said Yarovaya. Perhaps, this is that still unperceived reality which not only the commission of our parliamentary investigation is yet to work on but which, without a doubt, should become the subject of an international investigation. Yarovaya added that the Pentagons bioweapons research in Ukraine should be viewed as the foundation for a new format of an imperceptible military biological invasion. It is important to realize that the most dangerous weapon of mass destruction is being developed nowadays in U.S. biological laboratories, said Yarovaya. Undoubtedly, in these U.S. plans, Ukraine plays the role of a subject of distraction and manipulation, among other things. America working to transfer biolab research to other former Soviet states Now that Russia has discovered Americas biolabs in Ukraine, it will work to transfer these programs from the embattled nation to other post-Soviet republics and potentially Eastern Europe and the Baltics. This is according to Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces. (Related: After repeatedly denying the existence of Ukrainian biolabs, Pentagon finally admits to running 46 of them.) The Pentagon is poised to shortly relocate the programs unfinished in Ukraine to other post-Soviet states, as well as to Eastern European states such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and the Baltics states, said Kirillov. Kirillov emphasized how Washington wants these biolabs to be up and running as soon as possible. He added that, unlike Americas nuclear weapons, which it is only legally allowed to store in the territories of its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, it can store biological weapons close to Russias borders. The enlargement of the network of bio laboratories, which may be used to develop and store components of biological weapons, poses a threat to the military security of the Russian Federation. Learn more about the U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine at BiologicalWeapons.news. Watch this clip from The Stew Peters Show as he talks about the attempt to cover up Hunter Bidens connections to Ukrainian biolabs. This is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Russian officials: American biolabs in Ukraine conducted illegal experiments on rivers and infected children with tuberculosis. Connecting the Dots: Ukraine biolabs mostly underground; DOD, Big Pharma collecting Russian blood Brighteon.TV. GENOCIDE: US-run biolabs in Ukraine have been building bioweapons targeting certain ethnic groups after harvesting DNA from Russians. Sources include: TASS.com 1 TASS.com 2 English.AlMayadeen.net Brighteon.com (Natural News) A bombshell Washington Post investigation has revealed that the Pentagon is conducting a sweeping audit of how it conducts clandestine information warfare, after a variety of social media accounts, which its operatives used to target foreign audiences in elaborate psychological warfare efforts, were exposed. (Article by Felix Livshitz republished from RT.com) The accounts violated platform rules and were eventually busted by researchers and the social networks they weaponized. US defense policy advisor Colin Kahl is reported to have demanded that every Pentagon division engaged in psychological operations online provides a full account of their activities by October, due to high-level concerns that attempted manipulation of audiences overseas by the Department of Defense have significantly overstepped the mark. Those fears were apparently stoked by the release of a landmark report in August by social media analytics firm Graphika, and the Stanford Internet Observatory, which found that over the past five years, hundreds of accounts disseminating pro-Western narratives such as a recent propaganda blitz that advanced anti-Russia narratives, including criticism of the Kremlins imperialist war in Ukraine were likely being run by the Pentagons Centcom unit. Centcom is responsible for military operations of every sort across 21 countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Central and South Asia. According to Graphikas report, among the accounts taken down was a fictional Persian-language news outlet that shared content reposted from US state-run propaganda platforms Voice of America Farsi and Radio Free Europe. One account was found to have posted content claiming that relatives of deceased Afghan refugees had reported bodies of their loved ones being returned from Iran with missing organs. The obvious purpose of the exercise was to prevent Afghans fleeing to the neighboring country. Quite why isnt clear, although a defense official told the Washington Post that such activity would absolutely be a violation of doctrine and training practices. Strikingly, the newspaper also independently learned that in 2020, Facebook permanently banned fake accounts, created by Centcom to counter claims that COVID19 may have escaped from US biological weapons lab Fort Detrick. In other cases, the accounts even promoted information deemed by fact-checkers to be false. Sometimes, the Pentagon went to the extent of using deep fake tech to create artificial personas, in the belief that what appears to be, say, an Afghan woman or an Iranian student might be more persuasive than if they were openly pushed by the US government. The only problem is you got caught The audit ordered by Kahl is sweeping and comprehensive. He wants to know what types of operations have been carried out, who theyre targeting, what tools are being used and why military commanders have chosen those tactics, and how effective they have been. The Post without irony frames concerns about the Pentagons psychological warfare tactics as being related primarily to these efforts compromising Washingtons purported moral high ground globally, with a nameless diplomat quoted as saying: Generally speaking, we shouldnt be employing the same kind of tactics that our adversaries are usingWe are a society that is built on a certain set of values. We promote those values around the world and when we use tactics like those, it just undermines our argument about who we are. Residents of the Global South including many of the countries that fall under Centcoms purview might bat an eyelid at talk of values. Given how the US has operated in their countries through overt intervention and clandestine meddling for decades. So, what actually accounts for the sudden surge of internal concern about the excesses of Pentagon psychological warfare operations? Clues are littered elsewhere in The Posts report. For example, one peculiar passage notes that representatives of Facebook and Twitter directly contacted the Pentagon to warn them theyd been busted. As far back as Summer 2020, David Agranovich, Facebooks Director of Global Threat Disruption, who himself spent six years at the Pentagon then served as Director for Intelligence at the elite White House National Security Council, got in touch with his former coworkers to warn them that if Facebook could sniff them out, so could US adversaries. His point was, Guys, you got caught. Thats a problem. Clearly, senior staff at major social networks consider their platforms being weaponized for information warfare purposes to be thoroughly acceptable, as long as its US military and intelligence operatives doing it, and they dont get burned in the process. On what other occasions Facebook, Twitter et al have provided American spies with helpful pointers on improving their opsec and concealing and conducting their nefarious activities more effectively, and how, is an open question. Dont tread on me Even more revealingly, The Post also notes that legislation ratified by Congress in December 2019 unbridled the Pentagon to manage clandestine psychological operations which it was previously prohibited from engaging, leading highers to get really excited and very eager to utilize these news authorities as a result. Defense contractors were equally eager to land lucrative classified contracts to enable clandestine influence operations. In the process, the US militarys cloak-and-dagger tactics may have crossed into what the CIA has claimed as its covert authority, which led Langley to become perturbed. While The Post doesnt acknowledge it, this was undoubtedly the Pentagons undoing. Spying agencies are notoriously protective of their respective beats. Squabbling between the CIA and NSA is a well-known, perpetual phenomenon, and friction, distrust, and disputes over which was in charge of what has been blamed for some of the intelligence failures that allegedly led to 9/11. Another entity encroaching on its turf would not be tolerated by Langley so it would be understandable if the CIA, which celebrated its 75th birthday on 18 September, felt it necessary to throw its new rival under the bus for its own purposes. Graphika, which exposed the Pentagons online manipulation operations, is an extremely well-connected firm, having conducted high-level work for numerous government agencies. It would be easy for Langley to point its researchers in the right direction, or at least leave a trail of breadcrumbs for them to follow. In December 1963, former US President Harry S. Truman, who created the Agency when he signed the National Security Act of 1947 into law, expressed grave concerns about what it had mutated into. Hed originally envisaged an effective newswire service, providing the Oval Office with regular information to inform foreign policy decisions, but had quickly become disturbed that the quiet intelligence arm of the President had quickly been diverted from its original assignment, and grown into an operational and at times a policy-making arm of the government. Noting that this has led to trouble and may have compounded our difficulties in several explosive areas, Truman urged for the CIA to be reined in, and returned to his original vision. His entreaties were ignored today, the Agency is, in many ways, the true government of the US. And even the almighty Pentagon isnt safe. Read more at: RT.com (Natural News) The puppet masters that pull Joe Bidens strings were just exposed for funneling millions of taxpayer dollars into a phony covid scamdemic relief effort that culminated with a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Back in February 2021, the Biden regimes Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent $7.5 million to Alianza Americas, a George Soros-backed pro-migrant organization that promised to use the money to support LATINX ESSENTIAL WORKERS AS HEALTH PROMOTERS, as well as to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate impacts among Latinx and Latin American immigrants. Instead, Alianza Americas held on to the cash and is now using it to sue DeSantis for sending 50 migrants to the posh, mostly fair-skinned enclave of Marthas Vineyard, where the Obamas now live. Alianza Americas also took in $1.4 million directly from Soros Open Society Network. Here is what the Daily Caller, which investigated the matter, reported: Alianza Americas is focused on improving the quality of life of all people in the U.S.-Mexico-Central America migration corridor. The membership-based group, which Soros Open Society Foundations network (OSF) sent almost $1.4 million to between 2016 and 2020, was awarded a $7.5 million CDC grant in February 2021, according to a grant listing reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Do you approve of your tax dollars being spent this way? The $7.5 million in funds sent by Biden were supposedly used by Alianza Americas to support a program called Protecting and Improving Health Globally: Building and Strengthening Public Health Impact, Systems, Capacity and Security. How that in any way relates to DeSantis and his political statement against unmitigated illegal immigration at Americas southern border is unknown, as is the justification for the money being used in such a matter. The CDC grant is another example of Biden abusing tax dollars to promote illegal immigration and to enrich his liberal friends, under the guise of increasing awareness of an emergency even Biden admitted is over, says Brian Harrison, the former chief of staff for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the CDC, during the Trump administration. Alianza Americas, via its advocacy law firm Lawyers for Civil Rights, did claim that its lawsuit intends to deal with DeSantis inhumane treatment of the migrants, which were ultimately treated to a vacation in one of the Northeasts most desirable vacation destinations. According to the lawsuit, DeSantis intentionally targeted only individuals who are non-white and born outside the United States. Joe Biden doesnt cook up these schemes, wrote a commenter at a news source about the matter. Hes a tired old man battling dementia. Figure out whos pulling the puppets strings. Theres your target. People, our jaws would drop if we knew the total amount of taxpayer money Soros and his related lackeys have sucked out of the U.S. Treasury over the decades, wrote another, referring to America as a captured nation. Another wrote that any time you see the word Latinx used by an organization in promotion of social justice, there are typically rich, white-looking lefties behind it whose only contact with any Hispanic person is the guy who mows their manicured lawns. Soros doesnt use his own money, hes a grifter siphoning off government money, just like the rest of the liberals, said another. He does this, by the way, through phony nonprofit organizations, so-called non-government organizations (NGOs), charities, foundations, and activist groups. His tentacles are everywhere, in other words. Is anyone really surprised? asked another. The powers that be all fund each other through various scams and grifts. The latest news about the assault on Americas southern border can be found at InvasionUSA.news. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Banks and other financial institutions in London are preparing to protect themselves and their clients from possible power outages this winter. Some are even suggesting the revival of lockdown policies to reduce power usage. Many banks and other leading institutions in the United Kingdom have been holding regular talks with one another and revisiting plans about using less energy-intensive offsite locations or encouraging their employees to work from home, according to a report from UK Finance, a trade association representing the countrys banking and financial sectors. Some financial institutions in the U.K. are studying the experience of South Africas finance sector, which is now treating rolling power cuts as a normal part of business. (Related: New British Prime Minister proposes 200 billion pound spending program to subsidize UKs soaring energy bills for two years.) All firms, regardless of size, are paying close attention, said Andrew Rogan, director of operational resilience at UK Finance, in an interview with Bloomberg. There is no sense of panic, just everyone is making sure that their ducks are in a row. The renewed focus on the state of Britains energy crisis comes amid fears that more power outages could occur as winter nears. These fears are particularly pronounced in Europe, whose energy needs were throttled after they imposed sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. Russia, in turn, has been holding the continents energy supply hostage in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. The eastern parts of London narrowly avoided a blackout this summer, when energy supplies at the end of July were nearly unable to keep up with demand. Fortunately, the U.K. was able to avoid a blackout by buying more electricity from Belgium for a massive markup. According to UK Finance, major banks and financial institutions already have generators and additional power sources which can typically supply them with electricity for at least 72 hours. These same firms are also considering decentralizing their operations in London, Essex, Surrey and elsewhere to mitigate the effects of localized blackouts. Harvey Sinclair, CEO of the firm eEnergy, noted that in the past three months it has seen a huge increase in financial institutions coming to the company for help in becoming more efficient with their energy usage. Energy prices have almost met the same level as rent costs, said Sinclair. Were installing smart meters and identifying whether lights are being left on at night and whether the air conditioning units are too much. The firm is also advising customers to reduce their reliance on the nationwide power grid by installing onsite battery storage and off-grid solar panels. Banks in Europe also preparing to cut power usage Banks all over Europe are also preparing to implement energy rationing protocols. Many are preparing for possible power outages this winter by getting backup generators ready. They claim this is necessary to avoid shutting down bank operations like ATM transactions should the power grid go down. The banking system is part of other systems, noted Gianluca Pescaroli, a professor in operational continuity and disaster resilience at University College London and a consultant on power outages. My main concern is the cascading effects on failures to ATMs or cashless transactions. Similarly, the dependencies banks have on other services such as the internet. In Switzerland, investment bank and financial services firm UBS Group AG has decided to allow bigger fluctuations in the temperature in its offices in a bid to cut power consumption. In Denmark, banks are setting office thermostats to lower temperatures and giving staff blankets to help cope with the cold. In Germany, Deutsche Bank AG told its employees it was cutting back on air conditioning usage and turning off hot water in its offices. It is also switching off most interior branch lighting and cutting back on illuminated outdoor advertising at night. Learn more about the state of energy supplies in Europe at EnergySupply.news. Watch this episode of the Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks to Michael Yon about Western Europes self-destruction through its green energy policies. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: 60% of Great Britains manufacturing sector risks closure due to soaring energy prices. Leaked documents show British police are preparing for greater civil unrest this winter. FREEZE TIL YOURE BROKE: Millions of Brits face energy poverty this winter due to UK governments price cap increase. London mayor suggests Brits will starve and freeze this winter unless they take preparedness measures. GRID INSANITY: British government will start paying citizens huge sums to NOT use electrical appliances. Sources include: OilPrice.com Bloomberg.com Reuters.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) A Tennessee brewery hosted performances by adult drag queens dressed as Disney characters even though the event was advertised as family-friendly. The Wanderlinger Brewing Company in Chattanooga, Tennessee became the center of the Chattanooga Pride Youth Day held on Sept. 24. It was organized by the Chattanooga Pride/Tennessee Valley Pride, which described itself as an organization celebrating diversity in Chattanooga and combining our LGBTQ Resources to raise awareness, educate and improve our community with dignity. The brewery did not appear to promote this event on its website. A Facebook post describing the event invited Tennesseans to come hang out for [the] annual Pride Youth Day, featuring speakers, discussions, princess meet [and] greets, drag queen story time and a family friendly drag show. However, video clips from the event that went viral on social media revealed that it was far from being a family-friendly event. One clip shared by conservative activist Robby Starbuck showed a very young girl touching the crotch area of an adult performer dressed as Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Another clip featured a second drag queen dressed like Winnie the Pooh. The second drag queen performed a provocative dance, spreading their legs in front of the children and families in the audience. Starbuck claimed in a tweet that he contacted law enforcement, specifically the Chattanooga Police Department (CPD), over the indecent and lewd performances. However, a CPD employee told the activist that there was nothing they could do about this adult spreading their legs for kids, the adult who let a kid rub their crotch or the establishment that had kids at the bar. Wheres law enforcement? We wont allow this [to] continue. In Tennessee, there will be no safe space to be inappropriate like this with kids. We will stop this, Starbuck wrote. We will be watching every move the Left makes to do this in Tennessee. We will be reporting to the public, to the politicians and to the police until this stops. Tennesseans, send this to your [representatives] and ask them to stop this and to work with us on legislation to protect kids. (Related: Demonic Washington Post says LGBT drag shows for children are family-friendly.) Tennessee performance reminiscent of drag show in Texas Thousands of people reacted to the video shared by Starbuck, with all of them expressing outrage. Some users called the performance absolutely disgusting, while others condemned it as sick and demented perversion. One even asked: Im wondering where are the parents; do they find this acceptable? The drag show in Chattanooga, Tennessee was reminiscent of a drag show at a Texas bar in June that went viral. The Drag the Kids to Pride show, held at the Mr. Misster bar in Dallas, featured a neon pink sign that said its not gonna lick itself. The bar described the event as the ultimately family-friendly Pride experience. It even invited children to participate in the perversion, allocating five spots for young performers to take the stage solo, or with a [drag] queen of their choosing. The Daily Mail reported details of the June 4 performance. Photos and footage from the event showed adults sitting on stools surrounding a long narrow runway stage in the middle of the room, the publication wrote. As parents sipped on drinks with kids seated at their side, drag queens in dresses and glittered leotards danced along the stage, at times inviting the children to walk down the runway with them. Protesters and event attendees reportedly engaged in verbal clashes outside the venue. Head over to Groomers.news for more stories about drag performances that involve children. Watch InfoWars host Owen Shroyer discuss a viral video of drag queens teaching children to dance like strippers at a drag show. This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Disney+ features drag queen, grooming another superhero. Illinois Pride festival scrubs ad urging kids to watch drag queens. Conservatives unite to stop events exposing children to LGBT ideologies. Gov. DeSantis cites 1947 Florida high court ruling in 2022 complaint against drag restaurant. Antifa shows up armed to kid friendly drag event in Texas to stand guard and protect groomers. Sources include: WND.com FaithWire.com TheNewAmerican.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is being accused of election interference after threatening to use tools if the wrong election result is achieved in Italys national elections, set to take place this Sunday, Sept. 25. She added that those same tools are already being used against Hungary and Poland. (Article by John Cody republished from RMX.news) We will see the result of the vote in Italy, said von der Leyen. If things go in a difficult direction and Ive spoken about Hungary and Poland we have the tools. Von der Leyen made the comment while responding to a journalist after a talk she gave at Princeton University in the United States. The journalist remarked that there were candidates in the Italian elections close to Putin and then asked her how the EU would react if they were elected. The comments from the EU commission president, arguably the most powerful figure from any EU institution, have been met with shock from the Italian political class. Von Der Leyen was making a clear reference to the European Commissions ability to cut funding to member states it views as violating rule of law, a powerful tool Brussels can use to punish any democratically-elected government in Europe. Just last week, the commission proposed cutting 7.5 billion in funding to Hungary, with the countrys conservative government having long been a thorn in the side of the EU over its opposition to mass migration and support for traditional values. Melonis positions, in many ways, are no different than Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbans. There is no possible mediation. Yes to the natural family. No to the LGBT lobbies. No to the violence of Islam, yes to safer borders, no to mass immigration, yes to work for our people, and no to major international finance, said Meloni at a campaign event earlier this year. Melonis political beliefs mean the EU may respond with extreme sanctions against Italy if her party comes to power. However, unlike Hungary, where the population is overwhelmingly in favor of staying in the EU, Italy is already becoming increasingly skeptical of Brussels, according to polling data. If the EU were to cut funding to Italy, any such sanction measure could raise tensions in an already divided Europe and potentially spark a backlash among the Italian public. Italian politicians are already responding to von der Leyens threat. What is this, a threat? This is shameful arrogance, tweeted Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italys right-wing League party. He asked von der Leyen to respect the free, democratic and sovereign vote of the Italian people. He also said on Italian TV that if anyone in Brussels thinks of cutting the funds that belong to Italy, because the League wins the elections, then we have to rethink this Europe, adding that this is institutional bullying. Cose, una minaccia? Vergognosa arroganza. Rispetti il voto, libero, democratico e sovrano del popolo italiano! Amici di tutti, servi di nessuno. pic.twitter.com/aSUShmqFvY Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) September 23, 2022 Elections are on Sunday, Sept. 25, and polls show a conservative-populist coalition is likely to come to power, with Brothers of Italy party leader, Giorgia Meloni, set to become Italys first female prime minister. With the EUs left-liberal establishment going into panic mode at the prospect, von der Leyens remarks are the most visible and threatening remarks from a major EU politician since the campaign season began in Italy. The fact that she issued her remarks just days before the quiet period of Italian elections may also potentially affect the outcome. Read more at: RMX.news (Natural News) There are federal statutes that supposedly protect government whistleblowers from retaliation, but like every other law on the books, they are selectively enforced against political opponents in the era of Joe Biden. While Democrats continue to virtue signal about fairness and democracy, they never practice it, as evidenced by the way the regime is allowing the FBI to punish agents and staff who are blowing the whistle on the bureaus overt politicization. As noted by New York Post columnist Miranda Divine, even FBI heroes are being mistreated and punished, just like supporters of former President Donald Trump who just happened to be in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, when the deep state launched a false flag attack on the Capitol Building. Bombshell allegations by FBI Special Agent Steve Friend contained in a whistleblower complaint filed late Wednesday with the Department of Justice inspector general reveal a politicized Washington, DC, FBI field office cooking the books to exaggerate the threat of domestic terrorism, and using an overzealous January 6 investigation to harass conservative Americans and violate their constitutional rights, she wrote in a column last week. Friend, 37, a respected 12-year veteran of the FBI and a SWAT team member, was suspended Monday, stripped of his gun and badge, and escorted out of the FBI field office in Daytona Beach, Fla., after complaining to his supervisors about the violations, she noted further. Friend, who says he did not vote for Trump in 2020, was declared absent without leave by the bureau last month after he refused to take part in SWAT raids against Jan. 6 suspects he says are being conducted purely for political effect, and in direct violation of established FBI policy against excessive use of force. These suspects have only been accused of misdemeanors charges that the FBI normally would not even become involved in, deferring to state and local law enforcement. Divine said that Friend, who is a father to two small children, has sabotaged his dream career because he cant live with himself if he continues to be a part of Bidens political persecution of conservative Americans. I have an oath to uphold the Constitution, he told supervisors last month while objecting to an Aug. 24 raid on a J6 subject in the Jacksonville, Fla., area. I have a moral objection and want to be considered a conscientious objector. According to Divine, Friend said he told his immediate boss twice that he believed the raid, and the investigative process leading up to it, violated FBI policy and the subjects right under the Sixth Amendment to a fair trial and Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment. Friend is one of around 20 FBI whistleblowers who have been in contact with Republican members of Congress to report on the overt politicization of the bureau under Biden a major scandal that would have been front-page news on every major mainstream news outlet in the country if it were occurring under Trump. The FBI vet is reporting, among other things: A grassy area outside the Capitol has been designated a restricted zone long after the Jan. 6 incident that was not a restricted area on the day of the incident so that the FBI can go after more innocent Americans; Domestic terrorism cases are being opened on innocent Americans who werent even in D.C. the day of the incident, much less at the Capitol Building; The bureau is hyping a right-wing domestic terror threat by farming out J6 cases to field offices around the country, to make the threat appear far larger than it actually is; The FBI has plans to prosecute anyone who was even peripherally associated with the incident, with another wave of suspects about to be referred to a field office in Daytona Beach, Fla. The FBI is out of control, and if Republicans win control of Congress in November, they have to crack down by withholding funding. Thats the only way to bring the agency to heel and have ranking officials held responsible. Sources include: NYPost.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Another FBI whistleblower has stepped forward to reveal just how politicized against Trump supporters and conservatives the bureau has become in the age of Joe Biden. In a two-part interview with talk show host and Fox News personality Dan Bongino, who himself spent several years as a Secret Service agent, whistleblower Special Agent Kyle Seraphin said the FBI is a shell of itself, becoming less of a federal law enforcement agency while behaving more like an intelligence-gathering entity, spying on law-abiding Americans in order to advance a left-leaning political agenda. In addition, he added that hundreds more agents he has been in contact with are just as fed up and disgusted with the direction of the agency and are certain that mid-level supervisors on up to the highest echelons are careerists who hate conservatives and are carrying out the objectives of the Biden regime. Seraphin told Bongino that agents are regularly ordered to spy on Americans with little to no justification, while the bureaus supervisory ranks are filled with inexperienced corporate climbers, The Daily Wire reported. In addition, the whistleblower claimed that hundreds of agents who are exasperated and disgusted are nevertheless remaining with the agency so they can grab their pensions and get out. The number of guys who say, I dont agree with whats going on here, but Ive got three years to retire, its heartbreaking, Seraphin, a former member of the U.S. Air Force who has been with the bureau for more than five years and was suspended without pay in June, said. Worse, hes currently not able to even look for another job without FBI permission unless he decides to quit altogether. The Daily Wire added that during a poignant segment of the interview, Seraphin recounted to Bongino how he was sent to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., as part of his orientation as a new agent. He and the others were told that the only reason for the atrocity was that minor government officials who were supported by local and federal law enforcement took part. PART I: If anybody refuses to get with the program, it doesnt happen, he said. The answer, Im just following orders, the Nuremberg piece, it doesnt fly. We know better. He added that he was trying to adhere to that principle by coming forward to tell his story, but now hes hypocritically being punished for doing so. Were supposed to know that if they ask you to do something that is illegal, immoral, or unethical, following orders is not an excuse, he said. The suspended agent said he believed he was probably going to experience some retribution after he refused to take a COVID vaccine in late 2020 following an illness from the virus. He then organized hundreds of other agents and FBI employees to object to the mandate. The Daily Wire notes further: But last November, after Attorney General Merrick Garland in testimony to lawmakers denied that the Department of Justice was targeting education-activist parents with law enforcement tools reserved for terrorists, Seraphin says he blew the whistle. Seraphin, who previously worked in the bureaus Washington field office but by last year was stationed in New Mexico, went to his local member of Congress with an email that had been widely circulated within the bureau. The email, he said, relayed Garlands orders to use Patriot Act counterterrorism tools to target parents at school board meetings through a tag called EDUOFFICIALS. The scandal blew up when it was revealed that the DOJ issued the orders after coordinating with the White House and the National School Boards Association to vilify as domestic terrorists parents who objected to the teaching of radical gender and race theories. The school board association later apologized as dozens of state members left in protest. Thats when you become part of political hatchet jobs, and I didnt sign up for that, and nobody I know signed up for that either, Seraphin said. Thats not what people want to get involved in. The FBI is nothing more than an Americanized version of the Gestapo under Biden. PART II: Sources include: DailyWire.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) A magistrate of the New York State Supreme Court ruled that the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine mandate for police officers in New York City (NYC) was invalid. In a Sept. 23 decision, New York State Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank sided with the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York (PBA). The PBA, whose members belong to the New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the largest law enforcement union in the Big Apple. Frank declared NYCs COVID-19 vaccine mandate as invalid to the extent it has been used to impose a new condition of employment to current PBA members. He added: Members of the PBA that were caused to be wrongfully terminated and/or put on leave without pay, as a result of non-compliance with the unlawful new condition of employment discussed above, are directed to be reinstated to the status they were as of the date of the wrongful action. According to the magistrate, the COVID-19 vaccine mandate as applied to the police union was invalid as NYC authorities did not collectively bargain with PBA members. Despite this, Frank stated that he did not find the vaccine mandate illegal overall. This court does not deny that at the time it was issued, the vaccine mandate was appropriate and lawful. The court, however, does not see, nor have respondents established, a legal basis or lawful authority to exclude employees from the workplace and impose any other adverse employment action as an appropriate enforcement mechanism of the vaccine mandate. According to a CBS report, NYC filed an immediate notice of appeal following the Sept. 23 decision. This meant that the justices ruling is frozen and cannot be enforced until the appeal is heard. A spokesperson for the NYC Law Department, which is in charge of the Big Apples legal affairs, remarked that Franks ruling is at odds with every other court decision upholding the mandate as a condition of employment. PBA lauds ruling as a victory for health freedom The police union led by Patrick J. Lynch had argued that the COVID-19 vaccine mandate violated the citys charter and administrative code. It also accused the citys health commissioner of exceeding their authority when ordering the mandate. The PBA moreover claimed that the mandate, which lacks a rational basis, also violated administrative rule-making requirements. (Related: NYC police union threatens to sue if city requires cops to get vaccinated.) Frank did not entirely favor the PBA. He rejected the unions argument that the COVID-19 vaccine mandate contravened rule-making requirements. Still, Lynch welcomed the ruling in a statement, saying that it confirmed what [the PBA has] said from the start. The vaccine mandate was an improper infringement of our members right to make personal medical decisions in consultation with their own medical health professionals, he wrote. We will continue to fight to protect those rights. The Sept. 23 ruling by Frank served as a victory for the PBA, amid the Big Apple firing many of its employees who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine. According to figures released by NYC Mayor Eric Adams in July 2022, 1,750 city employees had been terminated since October 2021 for noncompliance with the vaccine mandate. Just days before Franks decision, the number of unvaccinated city employees laid off for refusing the shot climbed to 1,950. The biggest batch of terminations in NYC came in February 2022, with more than 1,400 employees terminated for refusing the COVID-19 shot. Over 900 of these were employees in the citys public schools. Most of the 1,400 employees were already on unpaid leave since November 2021. Head over to MedicalTyranny.com for more stories about NYCs COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city employees. Watch Sgt. Mike Cherven, president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, warn about the consequences of firing unvaccinated police officers below. This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Union sues NYC to block termination of UNVAXXED detectives, citing rising crime rates. Injunction granted for Marines facing discharge over COVID-19 vaccine mandate. 65% of San Diegos police force might quit due to covid vaccine mandate. LA cops sue city over its coronavirus vaccine mandate. Police officers across the US resist vaccine mandates. Sources include: LifeSiteNews.com CBSNews.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Are you a political dissident? In China, if you criticize the government on social media, you can find yourself locked up in prison and involuntarily donating your organs for black market trading. In America, if you go anywhere near the Capital building in Washington DC to peacefully protest illegal ballot harvesting and the communist Biden Regime, you can find yourself locked up in jail and labeled a domestic terrorist, with no trial by jury, possibly ever. Ever seen the series Black Mirror? Most people think the episodes are purely fictional, based on some possible future world where technology is used against humans to control their lives, rights and health. In actuality, most of the episodes are based on life as it really exists in Communist China right now, but most Americans are naive and dont even know about it, much less believe that the same tyranny is taking place in America right now, to them. FBI collecting social media posts that criticize Biden Regime, will all Republicans and Conservatives be jailed like the Jan. 6ers soon? For the tens of millions of Americans who watched fake news from 2016 to 2020 and complained all over social media that the Russians helped Trump cheat and win, no problem. For the tens of millions of Americans who watched Sleepy Joe Biden and his CCP cohorts steal the 2020 election with falsified mail-in ballots and crooked Dominion voting machines, then complained on social media about it all, well, you are being categorized and labeled domestic terrorists and enemies of the state, right now. Yes, Facebook has been spying on private messages and data of Americans, then reporting it all to the FBI, and its all about anti-authority sentiments and red-flagging people who ask questions about the 2020 POTUS steal. This is all according to the Department of Justice. How ironic. The Domestic Terrorist Operational Unit of the FBI, headquartered in Washington DC, will be investigating without warrants or subpoenas. Antifa and BLM always considered peaceful protesters, while all conservatives considered right wing extremists and white supremacists The Communist Chinese regime has no sanctity for human life. Criticize the government and how they run things and you find yourself in jail, without trial or any rights whatsoever, indefinitely. In America, the constitution says we have a right to a speedy trial, and a lawyer, and a judge, and a jury, etc., but not if youre a terrorist. Yet, what and who defines a terrorist? That is a very gray area and now one the Biden Regime is using against all Americans who question election results, vaccines or even school curriculum. Post anything on social media that says you dont agree with the election results, or the clot shot Covid jabs, or the trans-everything perverted school agenda of the Left, and guess what? You are a domestic terrorist put on a watch list, or even worse, jailed. Many of the protesters from January 6th did nothing violent and have no criminal record whatsoever. They were invited by police and undercover FBI agents to walk into the Capital building, and now they are locked up indefinitely in a DC jail for being domestic terrorists. Is this now communist China? Imagine if Trump had won and locked up every Antifa and BLM protester from 2016 through 2020, with no right to a trial? Imagine scrubbing Facebook and Twitter for negative comments about Trump during the Russia-collusion scam and the staged impeachment. Surely if you held a severed head that looked like Trump and declared your Trump Derangement Syndrome for all of media to propagate, you would be jailed as a terrorist, right? Bookmark Censored.news to your favorite websites for truth news thats being censored from the rest of media as you read this. Sources for this article include: NaturalNews.com NYPost.com TheGatewayPundit.com (Natural News) The vast majority of students enrolled in San Leandro High Schools social justice academy are failing math and science, according to reports. The three-year program is comprised entirely of an education that brainwashes students to challenge and criticize power, oppression, capitalism, white supremacy, imperialism, colonialism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, cisheteropatriarchy, ableism, and xenophobia on the internal, interpersonal, institutional, and ideological levels, according to administrators. A whopping 92 percent of students enrolled in the program are said to be minorities, the suggestion being that there are very few white students. The problem, however, is that California is now majority non-white, so it is unclear which skin color is majority-present in the program. According to the latest data, only 19 percent of social justice academy students are proficient in math, while only 21 percent are proficient in science. Barely more than half of all students are proficient in reading, we are told. (Related: Remember when public school teachers in Portland were caught handing out social justice education guides pushing communism and racism against whites?) The only thing these students are proficient in is learning how to reimagine their lives and their communities outside of the master narrative, the school says. Part of this includes adopting values such as radical healing and transformative solidarity. The next generation of public school graduates will be radical activist white haters who cant read Almost none of the students at the social justice academy know how to perform an algebra equation or read a book, but they definitely know how to hate white people and the society in which they live. Their specially designed curriculum includes a focus on critical pedagogy, ethnic studies, gender studies, intersectionality, and social and emotional skill development as well as the latest dogmas in social justice, of course. All these things will come in handy for protest riots, Trump-hate events, and other social disruptions, but will they help these students make a living? It depends on how many social justice jobs can be created by the mob running these types of programs. At the end of the three-year program, students are required to demonstrate that they have become real-life activists. They must develop and run social justice campaigns, which can be either local or global in scope. When the program was first launched back in 2006, it was limited to just multiculturalism, which while still being code for anti-white genocide lacked the holistic humanization and critical consciousness that todays students need, the academy says on its website. Despite dismal scores and proficiency in everything that actually matters, San Leandro High School has an above-average graduation rate. This suggests the school is passing and graduating students who do not deserve such an achievement. This schools mission is based entirely on critical race theory and critical gender theory, warns Erika Sanzi, director of outreach for Parents Defending Education. If a school wants to train activists for particular ideological causes like dismantling capitalism or challenging cisheteropatriarchy, they shouldnt be doing it on the public dime. While San Leandro High School is open about its social justice academy, it would be remiss to assume that this type of thing is isolated to just one, or even a few, school(s) in California. As we have been reporting, public schools all across the country, including in red areas like the Midwest and the South, are injecting this same type of brainwashing into their curriculum in order to churn out a new breed of graduates that does not know how to read, write or do arithmetic, but that fully knows how to change genders and hate white people. The latest news about the mass indoctrination of Americas youth at public schools can be found at Propaganda.news. Sources for this article include: DailyWire.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) For some strange reason, conservative Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is acting a lot like a left-wing Democrat these days when it comes to supporting a piece of legislation the vast majority of Republican senators want no part of. Last week as it appeared that the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) was dead, Cruz stepped in and helped rescue it, even commending its authors. Let me commend the authors of this bill for the hard work they put in on an important issue, said Cruz, who then claimed that the bill is a blow against the corporate power of Big Tech when really, it only deepens the already corrupt relationship between the mainstream media and the tech giants. Breitbart News reported: The core of the bill, as is now widely known, is to allow media companies to form a legal cartel in the U.S., for the sole purpose of pressuring tech companies for special favors. At the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the bill today, Cruz said he worked closely with the lead Democrat sponsor of the bill, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (R-MN) to get his amendment through. Thanks to Cruzs efforts, the media bailout bill was voted out of committee and may now face a floor vote. Ive had extensive conversations with Senator Klobuchar, and sat down and heard her concerns, and we worked together on this amendment, Cruz claimed. But at a Senate hearing to discuss the legislation, a majority of Cruzs Republican colleagues spoke out against it, including Sen. Mike Lee of Utah. While he voted in favor of the amendment Cruz offered, he voted against voting the legislation out of committee. I am a little bit confused by the sponsors support for the amendment, said Lee. I applaud anything that restricts censorship by Big Tech, [but] I dont think it does what the sponsors think it does. The bill retains the fundamental flaw of attempting to improve competition by sanctioning the formation of cartels, something that our antitrust laws go out of their way to prohibit, he added, according to Breitbart News. Moreover, this bill ends up favoring large conglomerate publishers over smaller, local publishers. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) also voted against the legislation. Other Republicans who opposed to the bill include House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who called it the antithesis of conservatism. Attempts by big media and Democrats in Congress to collude and monopolize economic models poses a tremendous threat to free speech and a free press, McCarthy told Breitbart News. Never before has the opportunity been as open for startup news outlets as it is today. Americans now have more choices to get information and make decisions for their communities and elected leaders. That makes Democracy stronger and creates a whole new class of entrepreneurs that will also drive job growth. As we have seen in other industries, disrupters make legacy players uneasy and those legacy players are often willing to do whatever it takes to hold onto their market share and power. This is the antithesis of conservatism and House conservatives will fight for an open and free market especially one that advances free speech and a free press, he noted further. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) added in a statement: The Journalism Competition and Protection Act (JCPA) lets the media form a cartel to negotiate w/ big tech. Conservatives should oppose special treatment for favored industries, and a cartel will lead to more censorship. Republicans should vote NO on the JCPA. The Journalism Competition and Protection Act (JCPA) lets the media form a cartel to negotiate w/ big tech. Conservatives should oppose special treatment for favored industries, and a cartel will lead to more censorship. Republicans should vote NO on the JCPA. Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) September 21, 2022 Sources include: Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) The place where Covid-19, also known as the Chinese Virus, is believed by some to have originated had as one of its top employees a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official in charge of the regimes international cooperation and biosafety, we now know. An unearthed email that was sent back in 2013 fully discloses that Yuan Zhiming, the vice-director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), may have played a critical role in the Wuhan coronavirus and its unleashing back in late 2019. A trove of documents obtained by U.S. Right to Know through ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation uncovered this latest piece of evidence further linking the CCP to the scamdemic. Former Senate investigator Paul D. Thacker is credited with making the discovery, while the Galveston National Laboratory is credited with having obtained it for later release as part of the discovery process. While it is no secret that the CCP was more than likely involved with covid, Yuans name is new to the party. His official academic biography conveniently does not mention his role as Secretary of the Party Committee at the WIV, nor does it provide any details about his identity as a CCP agent. (Related: Remember when the CCP was caught destroying evidence linking the WIV to the Chinese Virus?) Galveston National Laboratory head knew what Yuan was doing at the WIV Publicly available data shows that Yuan was still director at the WIV as of July 2021, well into the scamdemic. The guy claims to have previously worked at the Pasteur Institute in France, as well as at the Royal Danish Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, the Danish National Institute of Environmental Research, and the University of Illinois. It is currently unknown whether any of these institutions know that Yuan is a CCP official. Yuan is also tied to James Le Duc, director of the Galveston National Laboratory in Texas. This facility was built by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which we know operates under the same umbrella as Tony Faucis National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The connections between the Wuhan lab and Le Duc go back to at least 1986 when Le Duc spent a year working at the Wuhan lab, reported The Epoch Times. Le Duc later trained Wuhan lab staff at his Galveston lab. Le Duc also knew about Yuans true role at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, since the 2013 email that exposed it was in response to a request from Le Ducs staff to the Institute. At the time, Le Duc wanted to set up a meeting with Yuan, whom he referred to as the director of the biocontainment lab. In reply, a staff member at the WIV wrote back that there are actually two directors there: the nominal director and the Secretary of the Party Committee, the latter referring, of course, to Yuan. Like almost all Chinese institutions, the lab had an ostensible director and a CCP praetorian, the Times added. Le Duc likely knew that the real power was vested with Yuan, whom he subsequently befriended. In another email that was sent at the start of the plandemic on Feb. 9, 2020, Le Duc emailed his friend Yuan to ask for an investigation into the possibility that the Covid outbreak was the result of a release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Le Duc asked a number of other questions, including when coronavirus handling first began at the WIV, as well as whether the WIV had conducted gain-of-function experiments on coronavirus samples that might have led to the release of covid. The latest Chinese Virus news can be found at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: TheEpochTimes.com NaturalNews.com Advocates urged for the worldwide criminalization of ecocide as "a strong answer." The movement seeks to make widespread ecological deterioration and devastation a global crime against peace punishable. Also Read: Environmental Justice: How and Why Environmental Activism Became Mainstream Recognizing the Issue Julia Jackson, a winery owner in California, has long understood the dangers posed by the ongoing global climate change catastrophe, which range from more severe storms and wildfires to rising sea levels. But those concepts became real for her when her home was destroyed by the Kincade wildfire that wracked her beloved Sonoma county in 2019. However, Jackson did more than reconstruct her life after that catastrophe, thanks to the wealth she amassed via her second-generation ownership of Jackson Family Wines, the ninth-largest wine producer in the US. Since then, she has agreed to serve as the president of the US branch of a global campaign to declare ecocide, a crime against peace that may be prosecuted internationally. The last week was spent in New York City by Jackson and her Stop Ecocide colleagues engaging with leaders attending Climate Week events and the UN General Assembly. They also participated in a march from Foley Square to Battery Park in Manhattan on September 23 as part of one of 450 strike rallies planned globally by the Fridays for Future movement, which calls for climate justice and reparations. They urged voters, among other things, to cast ballots in the upcoming US midterm elections in support of candidates who oppose practices like deforestation and who want to limit greenhouse gas emissions, which are some of the factors causing global warming and its effects, such as longer-lasting wildfires, more intense hurricanes, and coastal erosion. However, the group's primary demand was that ecocide is recognized as a crime against peace, punishable by fines and even prison time, and brought before the UN's international criminal court. Legislate Proper Laws Recently, Jackson was keen to stress that Stop Ecocide does not want to see common working-class individuals, such as automobile drivers or frequent flyers, punished as international criminals and tried in the same court as those who committed genocide and other horrors during the war. They only want an ecocide accusation to be a weapon in the arsenal of those attempting to restrain top-level government leaders whose objectives include escalating the climate problem. As others have done over the years, Jackson, who serves as the executive director of the climate-focused nonprofit Grounded, singled out Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as an excellent candidate to face charges of ecocide due to the speedy devastation of the Amazon rainforest under his watch. Among other things, Bolsonaro has ended environmental protection initiatives designed to save the Amazon, which absorbs greenhouse emissions and serves as a crucial barrier against global warming. Additionally, he has advocated for opening native reserves and other protected sites to mining and agricultural operations, which would increase harmful emissions. There are obstacles for the movement to get through, including formal ones. It would require the consent of two-thirds of the nations that recognize the UN's international criminal court to include ecocide as a crime. That amounts to more than 80 countries that must ratify it, and even then, those that reject it might restrict its application to their territories and nationals. Continued Advocacy According to Jackson, the United Kingdom, Spain, Iceland, France, Mexico, and Chile are among the nations that have publicly indicated an interest in the idea of designating ecocide as an international crime. She hopes that the movement's momentum will only increase from then on-especially after the previous week. Related Article: Arguments About Climate Justice Finally Cutting Through, Says Climate Activist For more news update about Environmental Action, don't forget to follow Nature World News! A portion of the sidewalk and the trees on it are falling into the ocean at Kaanapali Beach, a well-known beach in Maui, after a very high tide on Friday. Residents claimed that attention is long overdue to the alarming situation of coastal erosion. Tiare Lawrence, a Maui resident, captured the issue's scope in drone footage. Lawrence claimed that she is afraid of seeing more of these ineffective band-aid fixes. This erosion is the worst he has ever seen, according to interim dean Chip Fletcher from the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii. Fletcher said that he has never witnessed erosion progress to the point where it undermined and severed that sidewalk. Sandbags? Some of the sandbags along the shoreline, according to the professor, date from a comparable erosion event that occurred about 20 years ago. In response, thousands of sandbags were placed by neighborhood hotels. Since then, they have been covered in sand due to the recent erosion. Fletcher said the worsening erosion is nature's signal that the community needs to reduce its reliance on developed assets because the rise in sea level seems to make the shoreline move to where the sidewalks and buildings are. He added that it is right now that people can participate in managed retreats at the lowest cost and with the least amount of difficulty. Finding that out is a challenge, but according to Fletcher, they are not the only community across the globe with this problem. Rather, every coastal community does, he added. Lawrence and other locals support Fletcher's call for a retreat. Lawrence said that the public cannot continue to put off fixing something that needed to be fixed 40 years ago. She continued by saying that she found it to be very discouraging and that she wants her kids to be able to appreciate the beaches where she spent her childhood. A restoration project for Kaanapali Beach is being proposed by Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to address the problem, but Fletcher said it's only a short-term fix that would give the state up to ten years, Hawaii News Now reported. Read also: 200,000 Properties in England at Risk of 'Disappearing' Due to Rising Sea Levels Coastal Erosion in the US Soils, rocks, and sands along the coast are worn down or carried away by the process of coastal erosion, which is brought on by local sea level rise, powerful wave action, as well as coastal flooding. All coastlines are impacted by storms and many other natural occurrences that result in erosion; however, the most detrimental conditions are those that result from the interaction of storm surge happening at high tide with significant effects from strong waves. With the increase in sea level, the problem's scope and severity are getting worse, but they vary across the nation, making it impossible to find a fix that works for everyone. According to US Climate Resilience Toolkit data, coastal erosion causes about $500 million in coastal property losses annually in the US, including the destruction of buildings and loss of land. The federal government invests an average of $150 million annually in beach nourishment as well as other shoreline erosion countermeasures to lessen coastal erosion. Related article: Sinking Coastal Cities, Rising Sea Levels: Global Warming Causes Double Trouble Beautiful 3D fossils reveal that plants may have developed far earlier. These animals have endured five catastrophic extinctions and half a billion years almost unaltered. Plant Evolution The earliest green algae in three dimensions may provide a clue as to when plants first appeared. The fossils are from the late Ediacaran period since they are more than 541 million years old (635 million to 541 million years ago). This occurred during the beginning of the Cambrian epoch (541 million to 485.4 million years ago), when the Cambrian Explosion, often known as the abrupt diversification of life, occurred. The fossils, barely half a millimeter in diameter, are tiny yet preserved in incredible detail, down to the masses of fragile filaments that make up their center and the rough tube structures that border its outer layers. They originate from Shaanxi province in China, which in the late Ediacaran had a shallow sea. Green algae are members of the plant kingdom that first appeared at least a billion years ago. Still, the discovery, which demonstrates that a variety of modern-looking algae species existed earlier than thought, may move the origin of the plant kingdom back by as much as 100 million years, the researchers wrote in the journal BMC Biology on September 21. The ancient algae are intricate and quite similar to the Codium genus of seaweed. According to to study co-author Cedric Aria, a postdoctoral researcher in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto and Royal Ontario Museum, "discovering something so close to Codium in the Ediacarian is likely going to push this origin of green algae and certainly the origin of the entire plant kingdom further back in time." Also Read: Ferns Reveal Important Information About Plant Evolution Intensive Study The specimens came from the Gaojiashan biota, a rich fossil deposit, where many fossils have been preserved in three dimensions instead of being compressed flat. The five algae samples didn't like anything else discovered from the late Ediacaran anywhere else in the globe. Hence, the study's co-authors from Northwest University in Xi'an, China, requested Aria's assistance in examining them. The structure of the fossils quickly revealed to Aria and his colleagues that they were made of green algae. However, the researchers couldn't locate anything comparable in the known species of ancient algae, so they began searching through more contemporary species. When they did, they found that the Codium of today resembled the ancient algae identically. Green algae may take many forms, from simple single-celled plants to intricate multicellular seaweed. Other than the fact that the ancient algae were around half as big as a current unicellular Codium, Aria told Live Science, the algae were similar. A "Eureka Moment" The new species was given the scientific name Protocodium sinese, which loosely translates to "first Codium from China," according to Aria. It is possible that this group of green algae found their evolutionary niche early and survived through five catastrophic extinctions and more than half a billion years of change since it has stayed essentially constant since the late Ediacaran. Codium species are invasive in many locations today and outcompete local seaweeds and algae. That came as a surprise, he remarked. It indeed was a "Eureka!" moment. Related Article: Using Wild Plants for Everyday Foods and Items May be Harming the Environment For more biological news, don't forget to follow Nature World News! After 16 years of profound sleep, a submerged volcano on the seamount known as the Home Reef in the center of the Tonga Islands has awakened and poked its head out of the water. Out of the Blue (Sea) On September 10, plumes of steam and ash broke through the waves, and lava and rock pieces started to flow into the water 25 kilometers (15 miles) to the southwest of Late Island. Within a few days, the pile of rubble had grown into a brand-new island that was 4,000 square meters (one acre) in size and 10 meters (33 feet) tall, according to ScienceAlert. On September 20, the Tonga Geological Services (TGS) representatives stated that the island had increased in size six times, reaching 24,000 square meters, although scarcely growing any higher. Before any seafarer would expect to step foot on its rocky coast, this fleeting, unidentified edifice will likely sink back into the Pacific Ocean's scorching "Ring of Fire," like a phoenix emerging from the ashes. When Home Reef last produced an island in 2006, it took a year for the ocean's waves to destroy the crest. The crest is substantially shorter this time. Also Read: How Ready Are We Against Extremely Powerful Volcanic Eruptions? Intense Eruption The 2006 eruption of the submerged Tonga volcano produced so much debris that a vast raft of the frothy volcanic glass known as pumice was cast adrift over the South Pacific, giving the unsettling look of the land. Five islands, some of which were between 50 and 70 meters tall, were created by Home Reef in 1852. The island even sprouted a little lagoon in 1984. The seamount that produced these transient formations is located in the Tonga-Kermadec subduction zone, home to some of the world's fastest-converging tectonic plates. Approximately 24 centimeters (9 inches) of the Pacific Plate are sliding beneath the Kermadec and Tonga plates at this location, creating the second-deepest trench in the world and the most active volcanic arc. The largest concentration of underwater volcanoes discovered on Earth may be found along this extensive undersea ridge that stretches from Tonga to New Zealand. The construction of the Home Reef's newest island is stunningly detailed in satellite photographs of the most recent eruption. Using data from the US Geological Survey, NASA published the picture below on September 14. It revealed a considerable smoke trail and a striking oceanic coloring. In Constant Monitoring TGS stated on September 20 that "the volcano poses minor dangers to the aviation community and the communities of Vava'u and Ha'apai." However, until further notice, "all seafarers are urged to travel beyond 4 kilometers away from Home Reef." No further volcanic ash or steam has been seen coming from this area of the Pacific since September 25. Home Reef's latest gift to the water is likely finished for the time being, so we should enjoy it while we still can. Related Article: Exposure to Major Disasters Can Cause Long-Term Mental Health Problems For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News! An interdisciplinary study in southern Ethiopia has permitted the decoding of eastern Africa's climatic heartbeat and demonstrated how crucial stages of climate change affected human development, dispersion, and creativity. Key stages in human evolution correspond to climatic fluctuations in eastern Africa An examination of environmental proxies from a lake sediment record indicated three different stages of climatic variability in eastern Africa over the last 620,000 years, coinciding with variations in human development and migration, as per ScienceDaily. The project investigated the most recent chapter in human development by employing scientific deep drilling to examine lacustrine strata near paleo-anthropological important sites in eastern Africa. Dr. Verena Foerster of the University of Cologne's Institute of Geography Education headed the study team of more than 22 academics from 19 institutions in six nations. Nature Geoscience has published the paper "Pleistocene climatic variability in eastern Africa altered hominid development." Despite more than a half-century of hominin fossil finds in eastern Africa, the regional environmental backdrop of modern humans and their predecessors' development and migration remains unknown. There are no continuous high-resolution paleo-environmental data for the African continent, particularly for the Pleistocene (or Ice Age) period between 2,580,000 and 11,700 years ago. Two continuous 280-meter sediment cores were collected from the Chew Bahir Basin in southern Ethiopia, where early humans lived and flourished during the Pleistocene epoch. Chew Bahir is located in a deep tectonic basement near the Turkana region and the Omo-Kibish, both of which are important paleo-anthropological and archaeological sites. The cores provided the most complete record for such a long period ever retrieved in the area, illustrating how varied climates affected the biological and cultural transformations of the region's inhabitants. An interdisciplinary team of geoscientists, sedimentologists, micro-paleontologists, geologists, geographers, geochemists, archaeologists, chronologists, and climate modelers worked together to recover the two continuous sediment cores, from which proxies (such as microfossils or elemental variations) were used to glean data to reconstruct the region's climate history. Archaeologists, evolutionary biologists, and evolutionary anthropologists then identified periods of climatic duress as well as more favorable conditions and interpreted how these elements influenced human biological and cultural evolution as well as dispersal. The scientists discovered that multiple anatomically distinct hominin groups inhabited the area from roughly 620,000 to 275,000 years ago during a period of long-lasting and reasonably constant humid weather. Several briefs, sudden, and intense dry pulses, however, disrupted this lengthy, largely steady, and moist epoch. This most likely resulted in habitat fragmentation, population dynamics alterations, and perhaps extinctions of local populations. As a result, small, reproductively, and culturally isolated populations were forced to adapt to dramatically altered local environments, most likely stimulating the emergence of numerous geographically and anatomically distinct hominin groups and the separation of our modern human ancestors from archaic groups. From around 275,000 to 60,000 years ago, substantial temperature swings resulted in routinely altered ecosystems in the region, resulting in environmental transitions from lush vegetation with deep freshwater lakes to very dry landscapes with huge lakes reduced to little salty puddles. During this period, population groups steadily progressed from Acheulean technologies (oval stone hand axes linked with Homo ergaster/erectus) to more advanced Middle Stone Age technologies. Also Read: Fluctuating environment may have driven human evolution East Africa's contribution to the evolution of a human variety This critical period also included the appearance of Homo sapiens in eastern Africa, as well as key human social, technological, and cultural innovations that may have protected early Homo sapiens from the effects of severe environmental changes. The period from around 60,000 to 10,000 years ago had the most dramatic climatic swings, but also the driest period in the whole record, which might have worked as a driving force for continual indigenous cultural transformation. The scientists believed that the brief alignment of humid pulses in eastern Africa with wet phases in north-eastern Africa and the Mediterranean was critical in opening favorable migration routes out of Africa on a roughly north-south axis along the East African Rift System (EARS) and into the Levant, allowing Homo sapiens to spread globally. Since the discovery of the first hominid fossils, East Africa has been the focus of palaeo-anthropological research due to its putative significance as a cradle of mankind and a route out of Africa. With the advent of the genomic age, an increasing quantity of data has begun to supplement this idea and position the region within a larger, Pan-African context, as per ScienceDirect. Researchers looked at the most recent genetic and fossil data that recapitulate the previous hundreds of thousands of years of human history in the area, and pointed to a number of unexplored routes that may supplement the developing picture in the next years. Related article: Caesarean Sections Could Alter Human Evolution, May Result to Bigger Babies? An asteroid was successfully redirected by a spacecraft for the first time in history. The feat was made possible when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), through its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, directly hit the asteroid Dimorphos. The asteroid collision took place on Monday, September 26, after the DART probe was flying in space for 10 months since its launch in 2021. The asteroid deflection is the first-ever planetary defense test led by NASA as a means to measure the capability and effectiveness using physical force to deviate incoming space rocks hurling towards Earth. Following the breakthrough asteroid redirection, NASA experts claimed that the success concerns all of humanity, which could reportedly face an imminent asteroid threat in the future based on projections. Regardless of the DART spacecraft's intended purpose, NASA, along with other space authorities will still monitor the post-impact trajectory of the 530 feet (160 meters) Dimorphos. The tracking will be based on the space body's relative orbit around the larger asteroid called Didymos, with the size of 2,560 feet (780 meter). Neither of the two asteroids pose any threat to Earth but are still relevant for NASA's objective. DART Spacecraft Asteroid Collision Mission control in the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, announced the successful asteroid impact at 7:14 p.m. EDT (local time) on Monday. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated that DART is a manifestation of an "unprecedented success" for planetary defense, and it is also a mission that brings real benefit for all humanity, as cited by NASA TV. Also Read: NASA Raises Warning as Five Massive Asteroids Will Pass Near Earth This January First Planetary Defense Test According to Carolyn Ernst, a DART DRACO instrument scientist at APL, they will spend the succeeding months and years conducting analysis since the real work has just started, as cited by CNN. The first planetary defense test also paves the way for a new era of humankind, an era where we can potentially protect ourselves from external threats like hazardous asteroid impact, according to Dr. Lori Glaze, the planetary science director of the space agency, as cited by the BBC. The DART Mission DART's is the binary asteroid system consisting of Didymos and Dimorphos, which was made evident as the mission was launched in November 2021 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, United States. The DART spacecraft was designed to impact an asteroid as part of a test technology of humankind's first planetary defense experiment, as mentioned earlier. The DART mission is NASA's way of demonstrating its kinetic impactor technology, which uses kinetic energy impact as a sole means to adjust the speed and direction of an asteroid. Prior to the asteroid deflection initiative, astronomers and space enthusiasts alike have thought of the imminent danger posed by a planet-killing asteroid, which is theoretically capable of wiping all life on Earth. Once considered to be a hopeless case, NASA stated that the demonstration showed by DART indicates there is measure to prevent a direct asteroid hit on Earth. Related Article: DART: NASA's Defense System Against Asteroids Uses Clever Algorithm to Predict Incoming Threat A fatal shark attack targeting a woman occurred on the waters off the coastal town of Plettenberg Bay in Western Cape, South Africa. Kim Bisogno was with her family at a South African resort when an unidentified shark dragged her out into the sea from shallow waters, with local sources saying was only "waist-high water" from the beach shore. Onlookers reportedly said the sea around Bisogno "turned red" as beachgoers started screaming. Rescuers found her body floating approximately 50 years from where she was attacked, which was only 50 meters which has a depth of two meters. The proximity of the shark attack to the shore raised existing shark threats that the marine animals are getting closer into the shore. The Bitou Municipality temporarily closed Plettenberg Bay beaches following the incident, which is the second fatal shark attack at the popular southern resort in a span of three months. The previous incident involved a great white shark which shred a male swimmer into pieces off Sanctuary Beach in Plettenberg Bay. Plettenberg Bay Shark Attack The 39-year-old woman was killed on the waters off Central Beach in the early hours of Sunday, September 26. This comes after several months of increased shark presence and increased shark alerts reported by local authorities in Plettenberg Bay and the Southern Cape coastline, as cited by Independent Online or IOL, a news website based in South Africa. Paramedics who responded to the incident declared the victim from Cape Town as "dead on arrival" after being recovered from the water. As a result, the police opened a probe into the incident to determine the possible cause of death, which is likely due to wounds sustained from the shark bites or drowning, according to Craig Lambinon, spokesperson for the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI). The shark attack took place at around 7:40 a.m. on Sunday while the tourist woman was attempting to swim from Beacon Ilse Hotel Beach to Central Beach, which is 100 meters away. Her husband and child were walking on the shore while observing her swimming attempt, according to preliminary investigation stated by Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie, as cited by The Telegraph. Bitou Municipality's executive mayor David Swart sent his condolences to the family of the deceased and warned the public to be cautions when engaging in beach activities in the water, mainly due to the strong rip currents and increased shark activity. Shark presence in the region still persisted in spite of previous reports of the presence of orcas or killer whales off the coast of Cape Town. This is based on growing evidence that orcas are capable of hunting and killing sharks by hitting their vulnerable belly area to stun them and eat their livers afterward. Also Read: Shark Attack in the Florida Keys Leaves 10-Year-Old Boy to Lose a Part of His Leg South Africa Shark Attacks There are a total of 259 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks across South Africa since 1905, according to the International Shark Attack File of the Florida Museum as of Tuesday, September 27. In particular, 109 attacks were recorded in the Eastern Cape, 90 in KwaZulu-Natal, 58 in Western Cape, one in East London province, and another in an unspecified location. Related Article: Great White Shark Shreds Swimmer Into Pieces in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa The aftermath of Fiona caused damage to communities and power outages in Atlantic Canada. The Canadian Hurricane Centre raised alerts that Fiona could become a historic and extreme event. Forecasts said it could be the most intense storm hitting Atlantic Canada because of wind gusts, heavy rains, coastal flooding, and dangerous seas. Reports said that Fiona formed in the central Atlantic on September 15, becoming a major Hurricane on September 18. Although Fiona weakened to post-tropical, the landfall in Nova Scotia, between Canso and Guysborough, with 100 mph sustained winds, resulted in storm surges, strong winds, and damage to power lines causing massive power outages. Moreover, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said they started extending assistance to the affected communities, according to CNN. Aftermath According to AccuWeather, Fiona caused massive power outages affecting the power supply in affected communities. Over 205,000 people in Nova Scotia 80, 000 people on Prince Edward Island 13,000 in Brunswick In a press release, Fiona was said to cause elevated water levels affecting Nova Scotia, Cabot Strait, southwestern Newfoundland, and along the coastlines of Prince Edward Island, Gulf coastlines, and Northumberland. CNN reported that Nova Scotia Premier Tim said on Saturday's news conference that restoring power was their biggest priority. The report added that over 900 power technicians were deployed to address the issues of power outages. On the other hand, the government immediately helped by deploying troops to remove debris, including blown trees, from the aftermath of Fiona. Mayor Mike Savage told CNN that a Halifax apartment complex's room collapsed as Fiona hit the city. The affected people of about 100 were evacuated to a shelter. According to The Guardian, Port Aux Basques was also damaged. Before Fiona hit Atlantic Canada, it pounded the Caribbean, leaving five deaths and massive property damage. The Canadian Hurricane Centre, in a tweet, said that Fiona makes the lowest pressured land falling on record in Canada. Also Read: Hurricane Ian Intensifies As it Approaches Florida and Cuba After the disaster Fiona left massive property damage and especially to power lines. Reports of houses collapsed and being washed away, making Fiona the most intense post-tropical. While cities are recovering with the help of local and national governments, it is important to know how to prepare after the disaster. Before you return home, make sure it is safe, as confirmed by local authorities. Check you and your family members for injuries and seek medical assistance. If you have missing family members, inform the local authorities for search and rescue operations. Inform your family that you are safe from the storm. Stay updated with the local authorities and forecasts of the storm. Avoid flooded areas or roads that are being cleared from down trees or power lines. Report to local authorities potential leak of gas or diesel, if any. Be wary of a possible collapse or falling debris as you return home. Check every window and part of your house for potential damage, and immediately repair it. If the electrical wires, sockets, or extensions are wet or damaged, don't touch them and call a professional electrician to check. Related Article: Forecasts Suggest Fiona Could Become Most Intense Storm on Record to Hit Atlantic Canada For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature World News. According to information published by on September 23, 2022, the kamikaze drone "Geran-2" flew into a building in the harbor area in Odessa. Presumably, the Navy headquarters was hit. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link Screenshot of the Geran 2 kamikaze drone strike in Odesa, Ukraine. (Picture source: ) As of July 2022, CNN reported on American recent declassified intel suggested that Iranians have given UAV combat drones to Russian forces. So far neither the Russian nor the Iranian side has officially confirmed deliveries of Shahed-136 drones to Russia or the localization of their assembly in Russia under the name of M214 Geran-2. The technical parameters of the kamikaze drone available in public sources are impressive, especially the range. The Shahed-136 has a length of 3.5 m, a wingspan of 2.5 m, and a weight of 200 kg. The Iranian kamikaze drone is equipped with an explosive warhead and can fly at a range of up to 2,500 kilometers at a maximum speed of 185 km/h. It is launched from the launcher in batches of five at a slight angle to the horizon. At the initial stage of flight, it is accelerated by a rocket booster, which is dropped almost immediately after launch, and then a conventional engine with a pusher propeller is turned on. Due to the portability of the launcher frame, the entire device can be mounted in the back of any military or civilian truck, allowing for mobile operations with no chance of retaliating against the launcher. According to information published by the US DoD on September 27, 2022, the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group (CSG) began a series of exercises in the East Sea with the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy, to strengthen maritime interoperability and tactics, techniques and procedures. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade conducted deck landings with CH-47F Chinook helicopters on the USS Ronald Reagan. (Picture source: US DoD) The U.S. routinely conducts CSG operations in the waters around the Republic of Korea to exercise maritime maneuvers, strengthen the ROK-U.S. alliance, and improve regional security. U.S. Navy units participating in this Maritime Counter-Special Operations Exercise (MCSOFEX) are the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) Five, USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), USS Barry (DDG 52), USS Benfold (DDG 65) and staff from Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15 and Carrier Strike Group (CSG) Five. The exercises are defensive in nature and consist of routine bilateral training, subject matter expert exchanges, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare drills, communication drills, air defense exercises, boarding drills, and combined live fires, as well as formation sailing. Additional U.S. Navy commands participating included Commander, Task Force (CTF) 72 and Commander, Task Force (CTF) 74. From the U.S. Army, the 2nd Combat Air Brigade and U.S. Air Forces 7th Air Force, joined with units from U.S. Special Operations Command Korea for the exercises. About the USS Chancellorsville USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) is a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser in service in the United States Navy. Until 30 December 2011, the ship was operationally part of Carrier Strike Group Seven. In 2010 she was administratively under the command of Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific. Currently she is assigned to Carrier Strike Group Five and is deployed to Yokosuka, Japan. Chancellorsville carries guided missiles and rapid-fire cannons, with anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-subsurface capabilities. She also carries two Seahawk Light airborne multi-purpose system (LAMPS) helicopters, focused on anti-submarine warfare. The cruiser has a length of 567 feet (173 m), a beam of 55 feet (16.8 meters), and a draught of 34 feet (10.2 meters). She can reach a top speed of 32 knots (60 km/h; 37.4 mph). The ship is armed with 2 61 cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems containing 122 mix of RIM-66M-5 Standard SM-2MR Block IIIB, RIM-156A SM-2ER Block IV, RIM-161 SM-3, RIM-162A ESSM, RIM-174A Standard ERAM surface-to-air missiles, BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles or RUM-139A VL-ASROC anti-submarine missiles. She is also armed with RGM-84 Harpoon missiles, two 5 in (127 mm)/62 caliber Mark 45 Mod 4 lightweight gun, two 25 mm (0.98 in) Mk 38 gun, tow to four .50 in (12.7 mm) cal. machine gun, two Phalanx CIWS Block 1B and two Mk 32 12.75 in (324 mm) triple torpedo tubes. China discloses more evidence of cyber attacks by U.S. security agency Xinhua) 13:25, September 27, 2022 BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday released a new investigation report in which it said further evidence has been found to show the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) is behind "thousands of cyber attacks" on a Chinese university. With the technical support from a number of European and Southeast Asian countries, Chinese experts were able to retrace the technical features, attack weapons and paths used in the cyber attack against China's Northwestern Polytechnical University, according to the report published by China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center in collaboration with internet security company 360. They have found that those attacks originated from the NSA-affiliated Office of Tailored Access Operation (TAO), which had exposed its own technical loopholes and operational missteps during the attack, the report said. Earlier probe has found that 41 types of cyber weapons were used by TAO in the recently exposed cyber attacks against the university. Among the 41 types of cyber attack tools, 16 are identical to the TAO's weapons that have been exposed by hacker group "Shadow Brokers," and 23 share a 97 percent genetic similarity with those deployed by TAO, said the report. The remaining two types need to be used in conjunction with other cyber attack weapons of TAO, the report said, adding that the homology of the weapons suggests they all belong to TAO. Technical analysis found that the cyber attackers' working time, language and behavior habits, and operation miss have also exposed their links with TAO. The report detailed the process of TAO's infiltration into the Chinese university's internal network. TAO first used "FoxAcid," a man-in-the-middle attack platform, to hack into the university's internal host computer and servers, and then gained control over several key servers with remote control weapons. It then controlled some important network node equipment including the university's internal routers and switches, and stole authentication data. Hiding in the university's operation and maintenance servers, TAO stole several key configuration files of network equipment, which were used to "validly" monitor a batch of network equipment and internet users. The Chinese investigation team found that TAO captured personal information of some people with sensitive identity on the Chinese mainland. The information was sent back to headquarters of the NSA via multiple jump servers. The report said the true identities of 13 attackers have been found out. The report, revealing details of the U.S. cyber attacks against the Chinese university, was released to offer lessons to countries across the world so that they can more effectively identify and prevent cyber attacks by TAO. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji) If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Reporter Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk). Multimedia Specialist Anthony Zilis is a multimedia specialist at The News-Gazette. His email is azilis@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@adzilis). A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Patients with chronic heart failure who received collaborative, home-based palliative care were less likely to die in hospital and more likely to die at home than people who received usual care, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.220784. In Ontario between 2010 and 2015, 75% of people with heart failure died in hospital despite the majority preferring an out-of-hospital death. The current CMAJ study included 245 people in Ontario with chronic heart failure between 2013 and 2019 who were enrolled in the collaborative care model and 1172 who received usual care. The mean age was 88 years, and 55% were female. The collaborative model, which involved primary care providers, cardiologists and palliative care specialists, was associated with fewer visits to the emergency department, fewer admissions to hospital and intensive care near the end of life, and a lower likelihood of dying in hospital (41% v. 78%) than usual care. The model emphasized advance care planning; home-based management of heart failure; standardized protocols for clinical care; education of patients, families and clinicians; and collaboration between health care professionals. "The implementation and scalability of this model does not require major restructuring for providers," says Dr. Kieran Quinn, a palliative care physician with Sinai Health and the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. "However, scalability does require increased awareness on the part of all providers of the potential to provide integrated palliative and heart failure care." This model coincided with a regional cultural shift among palliative care physicians, cardiologists and other health care providers, and people living with heart failure and their family caregivers. The clinical leads of the model worked tirelessly to affect these changes in skills, behaviors and attitudes, and champions are needed to expand to other regions." Dr. Sarina Isenberg, Bruyere Chair in Mixed Methods Palliative Care Research at Bruyere Research Institute and the University of Ottawa A related editorial https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.221332 calls for widespread adoption of this model to help patients with a variety of diseases who live in the community as well as people in long-term care facilities who might benefit. "My hope is that Quinn and colleagues will widely share the details of their care pathways and training modules, and that practitioners and health care managers in regions across the country will see the benefits of providing high-quality collaborative palliative care at home for patients with severe heart disease (and other diseases)," writes Dr. Andreas Laupacis, deputy editor, CMAJ. "It's time to make this happen." He suggests changed funding models to include postdischarge care, in which hospitals share funding with community partners who would coordinate and deliver care. The study was conducted by researchers from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Bruyere Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa; University of Toronto, ICES and Sinai Health, Toronto, Ontario; Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. This new article publication from Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, discusses how LncRNA DACH1 protects against pulmonary fibrosis by binding to SRSF1 to suppress CTNNB1 accumulation. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease with unknown etiology and limited therapeutic options. Activation of fibroblasts is a prominent feature of pulmonary fibrosis. The authors of this article report that lncRNA DACH1(dachshund homolog 1) is downregulated in the lungs of IPF patients and in an experimental mouse model of lung fibrosis. LncDACH1 knockout mice develop spontaneous pulmonary fibrosis, whereas overexpression of Lnc DACH1 attenuated TGF-1-induced aberrant activation, collagen deposition and differentiation of mouse lung fibroblasts. Similarly, forced expression of LncDACH1 not only prevented bleomycin (BLM)-induced lung fibrosis, but also reversed established lung fibrosis in a BLM model. Mechanistically, LncDACH1 binding to the serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 1 (SRSF1) protein decreases its activity and inhibits the accumulation of Ctnnb1. Enhanced expression of SRSF1 blocked the anti-fibrotic effect of LncDACH1in lung fibroblasts. Furthermore, loss of LncDACH1 promoted proliferation, differentiation, and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in mouse lung fibroblasts, whereas such effects were abolished by silencing of Ctnnb1. In addition, a conserved fragment of LncDACH1 alleviated hyperproliferation, ECM deposition and differentiation of MRC-5cells driven by TGF-1. Collectively, LncDACH1 inhibits lung fibrosis by interacting with SRSF1 to suppress CTNNB1 accumulation, suggesting that LncDACH1 might be a potential therapeutic target for pulmonary fibrosis. In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers investigated the potential association between self-reported chronic fatigue (CF) and retinal microcirculation among post-COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) syndrome (PCS) patients. Background PCS refers to persistent (>12 weeks) sequelae after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections, and CF and dyspnoea are the most commonly reported PCS symptoms. Studies have reported that SARS-CoV-2 infection may be caused due to SARS-CoV-2 persistence in blood vessels despite vascular damage, including epitheliopathy, microvasculature impairments, thrombosis, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), hypercoagulation, chronic immunological dysregulation, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system (RAAS) dysregulations, and autoimmunity/ hyperinflammation as potential PCS pathophysiology mechanisms. However, PCS pathogenesis has not been well-characterized and requires further investigation. The retinal capillary system is representative of the entire human bodys microcirculation and may represent systemic microvascular changes in systemic diseases. Studies have demonstrated that blood flow impairments could be a potential PCS trigger. Optical coherence tomography-angiography (OCT-A) enables non-invasive visualization of retinal peripapillary and macular capillary plexi in real time without contacting the human eye, based on temporal intravascular erythrocyte alterations. In addition, the OCT equipment is easy to handle. About the study In the present prospective study, researchers investigated if retinal microvasculature circulation could be an objective-type biomarker of the subjectively-reported CF among PCS patients. The study was conducted at the Ophthalmology department of the University of ErlangenNuremberg in Germany and comprised 201 individuals, of which 173 were PCS patients, and 28 were control patients. Retinal microcirculatory assessments were performed based on OCT-A analysis and were quantified as the vascular density (VD) for peripapillary vessels and macula. In addition, participants underwent ophthalmic examinations such as non-contact intraocular pressure (IOP), best-cured visual acuity (BCVA), and axial length measurements. Self-reported anamnestic CF data were documented, and CF was also assessed based on age, sex, and bell score variables. DCP (deep capillary plexus), ICP (intermediate capillary plexus), and SVP (superficial vascular plexus) VD were analyzed 12 times, and mixed modeling was performed to detect potential least square (LS) mean differences between the groups analyzed. In the first model, PCS patients were compared to controls, with sex and age as covariates. In the second model, the control group was excluded with CF as the independent variable, and the bell score was added as a predictive variable with the same covariates. SARS-CoV-2 infections were confirmed by positive real-time RT-PCR (reverse-transcription-polymerase-chain reaction) analysis reports. Results and discussion The average time following SARS-CoV-2 infection was 231 days. Post-COVID symptoms such as CF, concentration difficulties, loss of hair, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and subjectively cooler hands were reported by 92%, 83%, 63%, 19%, and 12%, respectively. Among PCS patients, LS means for overall VD were 30, 22, and 24 for SVP, ICP, and DCP, respectively. The corresponding values for controls were 0.1, 22.6, and 23.7, respectively. Age significantly and inversely impacted SVP, ICP, and DCP VD values between PCS patients and controls, and female PCS patients demonstrated lesser SVP VD than male PCS patients. The first model analysis showed that the ICP VD values were significantly lesser among PCS patients than in the control group. The second model (age, gender, bell scores) analysis revealed significant differences in SVP VD values among PCS patients with CF and those without CF. PCS patients with PCS and CF showed LS means of VD of 30, 22, and 23 for SVP, ICP, and DCP, respectively. The corresponding VD values for PCS patients without CF were 28, 22, and 24, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 may infect endothelial cells of retinal microvasculature directly via angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and result in inflammation and fibrosis since ACE2, a serine protease receptor essential for SARS-CoV-2 entry, is situated in the retinal ICP. Conclusion Overall, the study findings showed that OCT-A-measured retinal microvascular circulation could be an objective-type biomarker for the subjectively-reported CF among PCS patients, with the human eye, as a diagnostic organ for the entire human body. *Important notice medRxiv 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. Ken Beyer can't think of a day in the past few months when his phone didn't flutter with calls, text messages, and emails from a police department, a sheriff's office, or a fire station seeking help for an employee. A patrol officer threatening to kill himself with his service weapon before roll call. A veteran firefighter drowning in vodka until he collapses. A deputy overdosing on fentanyl in his squad car. "It's the worst that I've seen in my career," said Beyer, co-founder and CEO of Harbor of Grace Enhanced Recovery Center, a private mental health and substance use recovery and treatment center for first responders in the waterfront Maryland town of Havre de Grace. Established in 2015, Harbor of Grace is one of only six treatment centers in the U.S. approved by the Fraternal Order of Police, the world's largest organization of law enforcement officers. Public safety is a profession plagued by high rates of mental health and addiction problems. Considering the unrelenting pressures on first responders, Beyer said, the treatment centers can't keep up with the demand. Specialized recovery facilities like Harbor of Grace focus on treating law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and dispatchers people who regularly encounter violence and death at work. In the past two years, Beyer said, the number of police officers admitted for treatment at his facility alone has more than tripled. "And we always have up to 20 cops in the queue," he said. Other treatment centers for first responders reported a similar spike in patients. Anger at police and policing practices soared after a Minneapolis officer murdered George Floyd in 2020, and it put additional strain on officers' mental health, said Dr. Brian Lerner, a psychiatrist and the medical director at Harbor of Grace. "Officers feel disparaged by the public and often, they also feel unsupported by their agencies," he said. Thats part of the reason "we're looking at a significant rate of burnout among police officers," said Jennifer Prohaska, a clinical psychologist in Kansas City, Kansas, who focuses on helping law enforcement personnel. The poor state of many officers' mental health, combined with low morale, has contributed to an exodus of police across the country that has left departments understaffed and the remaining officers overworked and exhausted. Atlanta, Seattle, Phoenix, and Dallas are hit particularly hard by officer shortages. "That's creating enormous stress on the system," Prohaska said. "It's a perfect storm." Even before the most recent stressors, rates of burnout and depression were up among first responders. Rates of post-traumatic stress disorder are five times as high in police officers as in the civilian population. Some studies estimate that as many as 30% of police officers have a substance use problem. Alcohol dependence is at the top of the list. Last year alone, 138 law enforcement officers died by suicide more than the number killed 129 in the line of duty, according to the FBI. A recent report from the Ruderman Family Foundation suggests that police suicides are often undercounted because of stigma. Harbor of Grace has a small campus of eight single-story brick buildings with light blue and yellow accents and looks more like a seaside inn than a clinical setting. The center can treat 47 patients at a time. It has seven acute care beds, mostly for detox. It offers help for a wide range of mental health conditions, including addiction, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and PTSD. To date, more than 500 law enforcement agencies federal, state, and local have sent employees to Harbor of Grace. The center has 45 full-time clinical staffers, including an emergency physician and several psychiatrists, nurses, and counselors. Many have previously worked as first responders from Army medics and firefighters to police officers. On a recent morning at Harbor of Grace, the sun burned hot over the Chesapeake Bay. A group of patients, mostly men and a few women in their 30s, gathered on the small patio. Some sat alone, while others stood in small groups chatting. "We get all types, from all backgrounds, and at all stages of brokenness," said Beyer, 66, a former firefighter and EMT who overcame a problem with alcohol several decades ago. "All our patients and most of our staff know what it's like to hold a dead or a dying child," he said. Sgt. Ryan Close has held several dead children. The 37-year-old police officer works as a patrol supervisor for a small law enforcement agency in New England that he did not want to identify to protect the identities of his colleagues. He has been a police officer for 15 years and has worked for several departments. When he started, he said, officers did not receive psychological training or have access to designated peer support programs. He said that almost every time he was involved in a critical incident like a shooting or an accident with burnt and disfigured bodies "my supervisor ordered me to the bar afterwards." One incident in particular has stuck in his memory when a young boy shot himself in the head with a rifle. Washing down the horror with alcohol was the culture back then," he said. But Close didn't drink much at the time and was mocked by his peers for ordering only small beers. It wasn't until years later, when memories of his experiences at work reemerged and he had trouble sleeping, that he started to self-medicate with alcohol. He developed social anxiety, and his marriage suffered. His department pushed him to get help, and he entered Harbor of Grace in April 2021 for a 28-day treatment cycle. There, he learned to let go of his hardened veneer and his impulse to always be in control. He saw many other cops struggle with that too when they got to the center. "I witnessed grown men have a fit like a 6-year-old because a staff member wouldn't let them use their cellphone." Many first responders develop heavy defense mechanisms and are "insecure, non-trusting, controlling," Beyer said. They often wait way too long before they seek help, he added. Police officers tend to be "very closed, very unwilling to be vulnerable," Lerner said. But he finds that most first responders make model patients after they take the first steps. "At that point, they're all in," he said. "They don't do anything halfway." At Harbor of Grace, the communication style mirrors the tone at a police station or firehouse, said Beyer. "We don't waste time on the feel-good stuff," he said. "We're blunt. We call people out if necessary." Psychologist Prohaska said it's important that specialized behavioral treatment centers for first responders exist. But, she said, there must also be better investment on the front end for hands-on initiatives that teach resiliency to public safety employees, like the one she developed for the Kansas City Police Department. Robust mental health training needs to be part of the academy curriculum and embedded in police culture, she said. "Just like we teach officers safety, we need to teach them resiliency," she added. "A two-hour PowerPoint course won't do it." Beyer expects the situation to get worse before it gets better. Over the past two years, he has seen more police officers resign while they're in treatment. Previously, most went back to work. "Now, once they gain clarity, many say, 'I want to stay healthy, and the way to stay healthy is get out of police work,'" he said. Ryan Close decided to return to work in law enforcement. He has become an advocate for peer-to-peer support in his agency and beyond. He said his own mental health journey has made him a better police officer, with more empathy and improved communication skills. His advice to fellow officers is to learn about the possible effects of trauma before they develop a serious problem. Also, he said, "establish a good dialogue with your family, your supervisors, your peers. Know what your limitations are. And learn healthy coping skills. Alcohol isn't one." Labskin and University of Bradford team up to bring new science in skin health to greater diversity for skin types. Pictured below from left to right: Dr Sobia Kauser, Assistant Professor University of Bradford, Dr. David Caballero-Lima, Chief Scientist Labskin, Dr. Jacobo Elies Gomez, Assistant Professor, University of Bradford, Dr. Omera Bi, Labskin In a major breakthrough for research into skin health and the development of skincare products, UK-based Labskin and the University of Bradfords Centre for Skin Sciences today announce that the first-ever commercially available lab-grown pigmented skin-equivalent has been developed. In a joint project, scientists have been able to incorporate melanocytes the cells that give skin its pigment into Labskins full thickness human skin models that naturally mimic the skins microbiome. Labskin is the pioneer in the development of laboratory grown human skin equivalents. The worlds leading consumer health and skincare companies use Labskin and its artificial intelligence-driven data analytics for research and testing the efficacy and impact of skin care product formulations on the skin microbiome. Labskin has conducted thousands of tests on skin care products, cosmetics, health care, drug delivery and wound care. Several scientific publications have demonstrated that skin of different ethnicities present different microbiomes. These new pigmented models incorporating melanocytes allow Labskin to further assess safety and efficacy of skincare ingredients and formulations on a greater diversity of skin types, integrating ethnic skin with various microbiomes. The presence of melanocytes on the skin model also permits the study of causes and alleviation of hyperpigmentation, creates an ideal model to study UV exposure response and phototoxicity, and opens the door to establish reproducible melanoma models for the pharmaceutical industry. Labskin M Known as Labskin M the new, commercially available pigmented skin model is a result of the Knowledge Transfer Project (KTP), a UK government program established to encourage collaboration between business and universities. Funding was provided by Labskin and Innovate UK), which provides support to organizations to make new products and services. Dr Jacobo Elies Gomez, Academic supervisor and Assistant Professor in pharmacology in the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Bradford said: Labskin M represents a state-of-the-art organotypic model for the investigation of the biology and cellular behaviour of melanocytes in health and disease There is no other commercially available system of lab-grown skin that includes melanocytes. This opens up huge opportunities for research and could lead to new discoveries, for example with skin cancers. Being able to offer this commercially makes it much easier for other sectors to become involved. This new model is allowing us and our clients to get a deeper understanding about melanin production in healthy and pathological stages, skin toxicology, drug metabolism and the host microbe interaction. Its a critical development for the cosmetics and dermatological sectors to provide even more precise testing platforms to deliver first class, safe and efficacious products. Dr David Caballero-Lima, Chief Scientist, Labskin Prof Julie Thornton, director of the Centre for Skin Sciences, added: Our work with Labskin is really leading the way in new cutting-edge technology for human skin biology and the skin microbiome, with the advancement of superior ex vivo human skin models. Labskin M is a major development for the industry and one were very excited about. Dr Omera Bi, Post Doctoral Scientist and KTP associate who played a significant role in the project said: This is the first time melanocytes have been incorporated into a 3D skin cell equivalent. I am excited about the developments Labskin M will be able to make to the industry and it is a great privilege to be part of a it. A research team comprised of members of the School of Chinese Medicine, AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine and State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases, the LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) have discovered a natural product SSP derived from a Chinese herb Spatholobus Suberectus Dunn that demonstrated broad antiviral activities against SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and HIV-1 as an entry blocker. Critically, it shows comparable activities against all major pandemic strains of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern tested. Since SSP has been prepared in a cost-effective manner under safe manufacturer practices and do not cause toxicity in animals, it has great potential to be developed into a preventive drug for eliminating the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The findings are now published online in the journal Phytotherapy Research. Background The world suffers from continuous waves of SARS-CoV-2 caused by newly emerged viral variants that can evade vaccine-induced immune protection. The development of novel vaccines against escape viral variants is far behind the speed of their evolution. Therefore, identifying alternative interventions to eliminate the continuous spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants is necessary. To this end, the search for viral entry inhibitors with a broad spectrum of activities and cost-effectiveness becomes essential for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Research methods and findings The HKUMed research team screened extracts derived from a Chinese herb named Spatholobus Suberectus Dunn(SSD) against diverse types of viruses including SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, influenza H5N1 and HIV-1. They found that the SSD-derived extract (SSP) exhibits broad activities against all the aforesaid viruses. Subsequent studies confirmed that SSP has comparable potency against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern including Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P1), Delta (B.1.617.2), and Omicron (BA.1, BA.2 and BA.4/5). SSP blocked both SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein and the host ACE2 receptor. Critically, intranasal administration of SSP significantly reduced live Omicron BA.2 challenge in human ACE2-transgenic mice. Since SSP has been GMP-produced at low costs, it has great potential to be developed as an intranasal drug for the prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The research has resulted in a few international and domestic patents, such as the extracting technique has been granted the European Patent. Significance of the study We have been studying this Chinese medicine for over 20 years. SSP acts as a potential antiviral agent, making it useful in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Since there are few effective preventive drugs in the world, SSP is a new antiviral agent that can be developed to prevent COVID-19." Dr Chen Jianping, Principal Lecturer of School of Chinese Medicine, HKUMed After a rodent model investigation comparing low and high dose administrations ofSSP, no toxicity was caused , thus considered safe. 'These findings suggest that SSP may have broad antiviral activities against different types of respiratory viral infections,' remarked Dr Liu Li, Research Assistant Professor of the AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, HKUMed, who made the breakthrough discovery. 'Since different GMP-batches show consistent antiviral activities, we are confident of the clinical development of SSP.' About the research team The University of Hong Kong facilitates cross-integrated research through multi-disciplinary (interdisciplinary) collaboration. Dr Chen Jianping from the School of Chinese Medicine, and the core members of the team Jia Lei and Liu Qingqing executed the most suitable extraction process and preparation conditions through repeated exploration and completed the extraction, separation, preparation, and study on quality standards to ensure that the drug works effectively.An exploratory pilot study has also been developed based on GMP for quality pharmaceuticals through regulatory guidelines.The antiviral study is led by Dr Liu Li and team member Kwan Ka-yi of the AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, HKUMed. This project demonstrates multidisciplinary collaboration to exchange traditional Chinese and Western medicine and explore solutions to major human diseases. Thus, this study pioneered a novel paradigm of medicine to deal with major human illnesses, particularly COVID-19. Heat-related deaths are an issue across Washington state, and they occur even in regions that typically have milder climates, according to a University of Washington study published Aug. 30 in the journal Atmosphere. This is the most extensive study yet of heat-related mortality in Washington state, and the first to look beyond the major population centers to include rural areas. Statewide, the odds of dying were on average 8% higher in recent decades on days when the combination of temperature and humidity, known as the humidex, was in the top 1% of recorded values at that location, compared to a day with a mid-range value for humidex. "This study shows that heat-related mortality, even in a temperate area like Washington state, is a current environmental public health problem," said lead author Logan Arnold, who did the work as a UW master's student in quantitative ecology and resource management. "It's not a future public health problem that will exist in a warming climate -; it's something that we are already experiencing now." Although heat stroke is sometimes listed as the official cause of death, other conditions exacerbated by heat are often the immediate focus. Researchers used statistical methods to uncover "hidden" deaths that may have listed something else, like illness or a chronic disease, as the primary cause. This research adds to existing evidence that the burden of heat-health impacts resides in the effect on underlying health conditions. For example, we see an increase in diabetic and cardiovascular-related mortality associated with extreme heat days. Physiologically it is harder for people with underlying health conditions to thermoregulate, but it is also likely that medications play a role in the body's ability to dissipate heat." Tania Busch Isaksen, Senior Author, UW Associate Teaching Professor in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Co-Director for the UW's Collaborative on Extreme Event Resilience The study analyzed deaths from 1980 to 2018 recorded by the Washington State Department of Health. The authors included only non-traumatic deaths in the months of May through September and separated them into 10 federally defined climatic zones. Exposure to heat on the day of death was determined based on home address and the humidex on that date. Results support what previous studies in King County have shown: Heat does lead to more deaths, even in places with milder climates. The mortality rate on days with humidex in the top 1% of historical values was significantly higher for four climate zones: the Puget Sound lowlands, which includes Seattle and other major cities; the east slope Cascades, circling Puget Sound but farther inland; Northeastern, which borders Canada and Idaho and includes the city of Spokane; and the Northeast Olympic San Juan, which includes all the San Juan Islands, Port Townsend and a coastal stretch of the Olympic Peninsula. Although the total number of deaths in the Northeast Olympic San Juans zone was lower than in the other three regions, that region had an especially sharp increase with rising humidex. "Place really matters. You can't just apply what we've seen from other parts of the U.S. to what's happening here," Busch Isaksen said. "That's why local research is critically important to understanding environmental risks." The other climate zones didn't necessarily lack risk, but didn't have enough mortality data to obtain a statistically certain trend. The high increase in mortality in places with more moderate climates, the authors suggest, could be because these areas are less prepared for heat, meaning they are less physically adjusted to heat and have fewer protective behaviors; or have less adaptative infrastructure like air conditioning or access to cooling centers. The study took place before the record-breaking Pacific Northwest heat wave of 2021. But in addition to looking at historic data, the authors considered projections for future climates in 2030, 2050 and 2080. Three zones (all previous zones except the Northeast) had statistically significant increases in heat mortality. Averaged across those three regions, heat-related deaths were about one-third higher in 2030, more than double in 2050 and six times higher in conditions projected for 2080. Although the study didn't consider preparedness measures, the results could inform planning efforts across the state. "If you don't know that your region is affected by extreme heat -; if you think it's just an Arizona or Texas problem -; then you won't be prepared for it," Busch Isaksen said. "The value of this study is that it empowers local environmental public health organizations with risk information specific to susceptible populations within their region so that they can use their limited funding to target heat exposure reduction strategies before the next extreme heat event occurs." Additional co-author is Mark Scheuerell, a UW associate professor of aquatic and fishery sciences. Arnold is now a data analyst at West Virginia University, studying ways to improve children's access to mental health services. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Team Bahrains efforts to implement the Economic Recovery Plan were commended by the Cabinet, noting its positive contribution to Bahrains economic growth. The Cabinet thanked those who contributed to Bahrains economic success and urged them to continue development efforts with the same determination. This came as His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, yesterday chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting at Gudaibiya Palace. The Cabinet discussed a memorandum submitted by the Minister of Finance and National Economy on Bahrains quarterly economic report for Q2 of 2022. The report outlined the outcomes of implementing the Economic Recovery Plan, as Bahrain recorded remarkable growth during the second quarter of 2022 YoY. The quarterly report shows that the total Real GDP grew by 6.9% in Q2, the highest YoY growth rate since 2011, while the non-oil sector grew by 9%. It also revealed positive economic growth driven by the strong performances of the non-oil sectors thanks to the Economic Recovery Plan. Positive outcomes The Cabinet highlighted the outcomes of the meeting held by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. It lauded the meeting for strengthening the everlasting relations of cooperation and coordination between both countries. The Cabinet also highlighted the meeting held between HM the King and the Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Saudi Arabia, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. In this regard, the Cabinet noted Saudi Arabias pivotal role in consolidating regional security, stability, and peace. The Cabinet noted that the mediation led by HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a leading diplomatic and humanitarian initiative to settle regional and international disputes by diplomatic means and support regional and global peace and stability. In this regard, the Cabinet noted the success of the Saudi mediation in releasing 10 prisoners as part of the prisoner exchange process between Russia and Ukraine. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Staff Reporter The governmental agencies are in their best efforts to promote plastic alternatives as part of a bid to implement pro-environment measures, according to a senior government official. Shaikh Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa, Assistant Undersecretary within the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said a comprehensive study is ongoing regarding the introduction of alternative products to plastic bags in the longer run. The officials comment comes in light of the Kingdom banning single-use plastic bags having thickness of less than 35 microns since September 18. The ministrys assistance aims to protect and preserve the environment in order to achieve Bahrains Economic Vision 2030 goals of protecting natural spaces and reducing pollution. This can be accomplished by reducing the spread of plastic waste, which also endangers wildlife. The ministry had conducted a comprehensive study to see the status of plastic bags in factories and the main point of sale, Shaikh Hamad said. According to the Assistant Undersecretary for Local and Foreign Trade, market surveys revealed that all local factories intend to manufacture multi-use plastic bags thicker than 35 microns. The survey also revealed that 86 per cent of those local factories will continue to produce plastic products that are exempt from the new ban on single-use plastic bags. This move would create more awareness and responsibility around saving our environment with the enforcement of the law and with all our cooperation, we can definitely build a safe and sustainable environment for all living creatures. Various measures are being implemented with the support of officials in order to achieve a safe and secure life for citizens while also assuring the availability of technical capabilities to manufacture multi-use of 35 microns or more, Shaikh Hamad added. He also emphasised that the ministry will continue to take steps to protect environmental systems, emphasising the importance of everyones cooperation in moving forward with these efforts. The officials noted that several neighbouring and developed countries have applied similar regulations to limit the spread of plastic bags, in hope of curbing litter and minimising greenhouse emissions caused by plastic bag productions. The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism (MOICT) earlier issued an order to ban selling, manufacturing, circulating and importing single-use plastic bags, which are less than 35 microns in thickness. Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani said that the decision aims to support environmental protection initiatives and limit the spread of plastic waste. He highlighted that the ban is in line with the governments plans of securing an environment that supports sustainability and reduces pollution. The ban will exclude single-use plastic bags that are more than 35 microns in thickness, single-use plastic bags that are used for medical purposes and bags that are used for exports, he said. Al Zayani said that the MOICT held stakeholder engagement sessions especially with the private sector through the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The minister noted that several neighbouring and developed countries have applied similar regulations to limit the spread of plastic waste, which poses a great danger to the environment and wildlife. He stressed that the ministry will continue to take measures that contribute to environmental systems protection, calling on the need for everyones cooperation to move forward in enforcing these efforts to preserve environmental safety. One of the things that makes Japan so special is the number of hidden gems that are scattered throughout the country. From secluded hot springs and mountain hikes to charming small towns and traditional handicrafts, there are endless opportunities to discover something new and unique. Even for those who have lived in Japan for many years, there are always new places to explore, like gamers on https://www.playamo.com/ja theres always something to check out. And with Japan's expansive train network, it's easy to get around and see everything that this beautiful country has to offer. So if you're looking for an adventure, or just want to find some hidden treasures, Japan is the perfect place to start your search. 1. Goto Islands Goto Islands are a gorgeous group of islands located in southwestern Japan. The islands are famous for their beautiful scenery, clear waters, and lovely beaches. Visitors can enjoy plenty of activities such as swimming, snorkeling, fishing, and hiking. There are also several historical and cultural sites on the islands that are definitely worth exploring. 2. Akiyoshido Cave Akiyoshido Cave, otherwise known as the Akiyoshidou, is a gorgeous limestone cave located in the Akiyoshidai karst plateau of Yamaguchi, Japan. It is one of the largest and deepest caves in the country, with a total length of over 8 kilometers. The cave itself is a masterpiece of nature, with an intricate network of passages and chambers. The walls and ceiling are adorned with stalactites and stalagmites, and the air is filled with the sounds of dripping water. The cave is also home to a variety of animals, including bats, spiders, and snakes. 3. Himeji Castle Himeji Castle is a real-life fairy tale come true. It's a beautiful white castle that origins from the feudal era of Japan, surrounded by a stunning green moat. Himeji Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and definitely one of the most gorgeous castles you will ever see in your life. 4. Matsumoto Castle Matsumoto Castle is arguably one of the most beautiful castles in Japan. Constructed in the traditional style of Japanese castles, it is a stunning example of architecture and engineering. The castle is located in the city of Matsumoto, in the Nagano Prefecture, and is a popular tourist destination. The castle grounds are beautiful, and the castle itself is an impressive sight. The castle is well-preserved and is a registered national treasure. 5. Nikko National Park Nikko National Park is one of the most gorgeous places in all of Japan. The park is home to some of the country's most stunning scenery, including mountains, hot springs, waterfalls, and forests. Visitors to Nikko National Park can enjoy hiking, camping, hot springs, and other outdoor activities. The park is also home to a number of important historical and cultural sites, including the Nikko Tosho-gu, a shrine that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Whether you're looking for natural beauty, historical significance, or just a place to relax and enjoy the outdoors, Nikko National Park is sure to please. 6. Shirakawago Shirakawago is a small village located in the Gifu Prefecture of Japan. The village is most famous for its traditional farmhouses, which were built using a unique construction method known as gassho-zukuri. This method involves creating a thatched roof by connecting wooden beams at an angle, resulting in a sloping design that is said to resemble the hands of prayer. The farmhouses of Shirakawago are some of the most beautiful and well-preserved buildings in all of Japan. They are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and have been featured in numerous films and television shows. Visitors to the village can explore the houses, which are open to the public, and learn about the history and culture of the area. The peaceful and scenic setting of Shirakawago makes it a popular tourist destination. In addition to the farmhouses, the village is also home to several temples and shrines. Visitors can take part in traditional activities such as tea ceremonies, and enjoy the stunning views of the surrounding mountains. Police in Tokyo are on high alert on the day of the funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. About 20,000 officers have been deployed to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Police divers checked a moat near the Budokan, for suspicious objects. Officers were also seen opening manhole covers in the area for inspection. Roughly 700 foreign dignitaries and ambassadors are attending the funeral. Prime Minister Kishida Fumio plans to speak individually with about 40 of them. He met with European Council President Charles Michel on Tuesday morning. He also plans to speak with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and others. FUKUOKA, Sep 27 ( Japan Today ) - The former head of a nursery school and an employee of the school went on trial on Monday over the death of a 5-year-old boy left on a bus for hours in the summer of 2021. In the opening session of their trial at the Fukuoka District Court, the former nursery school head, Yoko Urakami, 45, and staff member Fumiko Toba, 59, entered a plea of guilty to the charge of professional negligence resulting in death, Kyodo News reported. The court heard that Urakami, drove the bus on the morning of July 29, 2021, to pick up school children. She and Toba then locked the vehicle after arriving at the school in Nakama, Fukuoka Prefecture, with the boy Toma Kurakake accidentally left onboard. ...continue reading TOKYO, Sep 27 ( CNN ) - Japan is demanding a formal apology from Russia after Federal Security Service (FSB) agents allegedly blindfolded and interrogated a Japanese diplomat, before giving him 48 hours to leave the country. Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Vladivostok-based Japanese consul Motoki Tatsunori was detained and questioned by Russian agents on Monday for alleged espionage. The consular officer was taken away in a state of immobility, blindfolded from start to finish, with his hands and head held down, and subjected to intimidating interrogation, Hayashi said during a press conference Tuesday. Tatsunori was detained and declared persona non grata by Russias Foreign Ministry, according to Russian news agencies. Hayashi condemned Tatsunoris detention in the far eastern Russian city, saying it was extremely regrettable and unacceptable and there was absolutely no evidence of illegal activities as claimed by the Russian side. ...continue reading Older Canadians (55+) are much more likely to be concerned about cyber threats and take basic precautions to protect themselves TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 /CNW/ - A new poll on cyber security from RBC shows that while most Canadians (71 per cent) are knowledgeable about various types of cyber threats to their personal information, nearly half of Canadians (47 per cent) are worried that they will be a victim of cybercrime in the coming year. "As Canadians live more of their life online, cybercrime has also grown year over year and become more sophisticated," says Adam Evans, Chief Information Security Officer, RBC. "The poll reveals that despite a high level of concern, most Canadians have not yet taken steps to protect themselves and might struggle to recover from a cyber-attack." Cyber criminals have become more sophisticated and continuously evolve. While most people are aware of better-known cyber threats such as malware (60 per cent), phishing (56 per cent) and ransomware (47 per cent) there is lower awareness of newer threats. Only (30 per cent) were aware of pharming and vishing (28 per cent) giving these activities the potential to do more harm. Pharming is the practice of redirecting internet users to a fake website in order to steal personal credentials. With vishing, criminals call or leave voicemails claiming to be representatives of a reputable company in an attempt to gain banking or other credentials. Preparing for a cyber-attack Across all age groups, two thirds (65 per cent) agree they need to develop a personal recovery plan. Yet despite their concerns, just 8 per cent have cyber protection through an insurance policy. The poll also revealed that older Canadians aged 55+ are much more likely to be concerned about cyber threats and are especially concerned about unauthorized access to online accounts or personal information (83 per cent), having their email or social media account hacked (76 per cent), or being a victim of online fraud and scam (76 per cent). Overall, the poll revealed that the top concerns around cyber threats and security include: Four in five are concerned with unauthorized access to their online accounts or personal information (79 per cent) Identity theft (77 per cent) Seven in 10 are concerned about having their email or social media accounts hacked (74 per cent) Being the victim of online fraud or scam (73 per cent) Protecting against cybercrime When it comes to simple steps to protect against cybercrime, the poll revealed that only half of Canadians use antivirus software (50 per cent) or have multi-factor authentication (49 per cent) as security measures. Just over two in five change their passwords periodically (46 per cent) or use a strong password generator (42 per cent). Younger people in the 18-34 age group are significantly more likely than their older counterparts to say they are knowledgeable about most threats to their safety and security of their personal information. However, they are not more likely to take protective measures: Only 34 per cent of people in the 18-34 age group have updated antivirus software installed on their devices and only 35 per cent change their passwords periodically. In comparison Older generations 35-54 and 55+ are much more likely to have updated antivirus software installed on devices (45 per cent and 67 per cent respectively) and change their passwords periodically (50 and 51 per cent respectively). Tips to protect yourself against online cyberattacks and increase your cyber security Keep your banking information secure: use a unique and strong password for each account. Consider using a strong password generator or create long passwords that use multiple phrases that you can remember. use a unique and strong password for each account. Consider using a strong password generator or create long passwords that use multiple phrases that you can remember. Steer clear of public Wi-Fi: avoid shopping online over a public network even if it is reputable and password protected. Consider using a VPN if you plan to use private credentials to access a website or app while on a public network. Be aware of people looking over your shoulder or surveillance cameras when entering login or banking information in a public setting. avoid shopping online over a public network even if it is reputable and password protected. Consider using a VPN if you plan to use private credentials to access a website or app while on a public network. Be aware of people looking over your shoulder or surveillance cameras when entering login or banking information in a public setting. Be wary of phone, SMS and email messages: there are many different types of scams that target people using social media, dating sites, email or by phone. Generally, these attacks attempt to acquire banking info for an immediate or urgent payment. Other types ask for an individual to confirm and/or reset their login ID and password in order to steal account credentials. there are many different types of scams that target people using social media, dating sites, email or by phone. Generally, these attacks attempt to acquire banking info for an immediate or urgent payment. Other types ask for an individual to confirm and/or reset their login ID and password in order to steal account credentials. Visit RBC's Be Cyber Aware site for more tips and articles on how to protect yourself online About the RBC Study These are the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of RBC. The survey was conducted in English and French. A sample of 1,500 Canadians was surveyed online via the Ipsos I-Say panel from Aug 12th to Aug 17th, 2022. About RBC Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 92,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com. We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact. SOURCE RBC For further information: Kiara Famularo, Communications, RBC, [email protected], 647-272-4077 GATINEAU, QC, Sept. 27, 2022 /CNW/ - The Canada Gazette is an important instrument in the Canadian democratic process. It informs Canadians of the operations of government and allows them to actively participate in the legislative and regulatory process. Today, the Honourable Helena Jaczek, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, and the Honourable Mona Fortier, President of the Treasury Board, announced a new online commenting feature for proposed regulations published in the Canada Gazette. The new feature is part of the Canada Gazette's ongoing efforts to evolve into a modern, digital publication and will give Canadians, stakeholders and other interested parties the opportunity to submit comments on regulatory proposals online. After the conclusion of the consultation period, comments will be publicly available, whether they have been received through the online feature or through other means (such as email or regular mail), providing greater transparency in the process. Quotes "The opportunity to provide online comments on proposed regulations is an important step in modernizing the Canada Gazette and embracing how Canadians want to make their voice heard on government decisions. Making these comments publicly available will further increase transparency and accountability, generating a better understanding of regulatory concerns and challenges for Canadians and stakeholders." The Honourable Helena Jaczek Minister of Public Services and Procurement "Effective regulations are essential in protecting the health and safety of Canadians, as well as their environmental and economic well-being. The new commenting feature on the Canada Gazette will help modernize our regulatory system and make it easier for Canadians to have their say." The Honourable Mona Fortier President of the Treasury Board Quick facts The online commenting feature fulfills one of Canada's obligations under the Canada -United States-Mexico Agreement. obligations under the -United States-Mexico Agreement. Since April 2021 , the online commenting feature has been available for a sample of proposed regulations. This helped measure how the changes impacted regulators and commenters alike, and make necessary adjustments to improve usability and functionality. As of September 27, 2022 , all proposed regulations published in Part I of the Canada Gazette will use this new feature. , the online commenting feature has been available for a sample of proposed regulations. This helped measure how the changes impacted regulators and commenters alike, and make necessary adjustments to improve usability and functionality. As of , all proposed regulations published in Part I of the Canada Gazette will use this new feature. To support openness and transparency, comments will be publicly available once the consultation period is over. The system meets international and Government of Canada accessibility standards to ensure that all Canadians can participate in the legislative and regulatory process. Associated links Canada Gazette website: How to comment Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook SOURCE Public Services and Procurement Canada For further information: Olivier Pilon, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Helena Jaczek, 613-323-6621, [email protected]; Media Relations, Public Services and Procurement Canada, 819-420-5501, [email protected] The Plastic Collecting Billboard will act as a symbol to raise awareness of the pollution rivers endure, which ultimately flows into the ocean TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 /CNW/ - Corona Canada is committed to helping protect and raise awareness for Canada's natural environment. As a continuation of this commitment, the brand has launched a Plastic Collecting Billboard a floating billboard that will collect waste from the St. Lawrence River in Boucherville, Quebec, throughout the month of September, until October 19th, 2022. The St. Lawrence River was selected as the location based on its role as the connecting waterway from the Great Lake system to the Atlantic Ocean, meaning the plastic pollution found in the St. Lawrence River can flow directly into the Atlantic Ocean. Day one of the Corona Plastic Collecting Billboard launching in Boucherville, QC. Follow along @CoronaCanada for regular updates on the amount of waste collected by the billboard. (CNW Group/Corona Canada) Canadians can take the Corona Plastic Challenge by visiting www.coronaextra.ca/ProtectParadise Based on a 2021 statistic from Science Advances, 80 per cent of ocean plastic comes from 1,000+ rivers, globally, that feed into the ocean1. "Since one-fifth of the world's freshwater resources are located in Canada, the goal of the Plastic Collecting Billboard is to act as a symbol to raise awareness of the pollution rivers endure ultimately flowing into the ocean and to reinforce Corona's commitment to helping remove waste from our shorelines and waterways," said Mike Bascom, Sr. Marketing Director, Corona Canada. "As a brand that was born at the beach, Corona is invested in helping to protect Canada's natural environment, which is why we continue to launch initiatives like the Plastic Collecting Billboard to help educate and encourage Canadians to take action to reduce their plastic pollution." Additionally, Corona wants to go beyond raising awareness and provide consumers with an opportunity to learn about their personal contribution of single use plastic pollution. With expert advice provided by Ocean Wise, Corona has created an online tool, the Corona Plastic Challenge, that will help Canadians understand the impact of their own plastic pollution footprint and provide helpful tips on how to reduce single plastic use. The Corona Plastic Challenge tool is able to calculate an approximation of the user's plastic footprint by prompting them with a series of questions about consumption, garbage disposal process and general daily habits. Based on the answers provided by the user, the tool is then able to calculate an approximate number of kilograms of plastic the user is responsible for, per year. "In addition to collecting waste from the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Corona's Plastic Collecting Billboard program will provide our team at Ocean Wise with some information, during the time the billboard is operating, that can be used to help quantify how much plastic pollution is flowing through the St. Lawrence River," said Jeff Wint, Plastic Reduction Manager, Ocean Wise. "As a result, we can hopefully start to get an idea of the items being littered, types of plastic, and their sources." Corona Canada's Plastic Collecting Billboard is just one of the brand's global initiatives, as part of its ongoing commitment to help protect shorelines and waterways. To help reduce the amount of waste from flowing into the ocean in the first place, Corona has launched river interception programs in Indonesia and Ecuador and is in the process of building infrastructure to do so in Guatemala in 2023. To learn more, visit coronaextra.ca/ProtectParadise and join the conversation on social @coronacanada. About Corona Canada First brewed in 1925, Corona is a pioneer in the beer industry by being the first to use a transparent bottle showcasing its quality to the world. No Corona is complete without the lime. Naturally adding character, flavour and refreshment, the lime ritual is an integral part of delivering an experience that is truly unique to Corona. The brand is synonymous with the beach and celebrates time outdoors. It invites people to pause and reconnect with our essential nature. For more visit https://www.coronaextra.ca Corona Canada has an ongoing commitment to environmental conservation and improving its production practices. Last year, Corona Canada piloted a new type of revolutionary packaging for six-pack beer bottles, becoming the first global beverage brand to use 30 per cent surplus barley straw and 70 per cent recycled paper fibres to create an innovative carboard packaging solution. Additionally in 2021, Labatt Breweries of Canada also announced another technology-based packaging advancement with the introduction of KeelClip a state-of-the-art packaging system that will use 65 per cent less cardboard than our previous cardboard carton which will be used on Corona six-pack beer cans. In June 2022, Corona Canada piloted Canada's first specially-marked, low carbon beverage can. As part of this limited release, 1.2 million cans were produced with a QR code to inspire consumers to learn more about the cans' low carbon footprint. About Ocean Wise Ocean Wise is a globally focused conservation organization on a mission to protect and restore the world's oceans. Through research, education, direct-action conservation and field projects, Ocean Wise empowers communities to take action for ocean health. Ocean Wise is focused on tackling three major ocean challenges: overfishing, ocean pollution and climate change. Ocean Wise is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with staff and initiatives across Canada. Learn more at ocean.org. 1 Science Advances, More than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean, April 30, 2021. SOURCE Corona Canada For further information: Veronica Bart, Senior Communications Manager, Labatt Breweries of Canada, [email protected], 647-926-5028; Laura Andrejicka, Senior Consultant, Veritas Communications, [email protected], 519-560-7860 OTTAWA, ON, Sept. 27, 2022 /CNW/ - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, today announced the appointment of Shikha Jain to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC). The appointment is a four year term, effective September 15, 2022. Ms. Jain is the Chief Executive Officer of Green Energy Trading Corporation (GET Corp.), a green tech organization that supports climate farming and sustainability in the dairy industry. Through her work with numerous cross-jurisdictional stakeholders within the sector, Ms. Jain brings extensive experience in strategic and operational planning and is recognized as a trusted and collaborative leader. As a member of the CDC Board of Directors, Ms. Jain will work closely with stakeholders across the value chain as they pursue their future vision for an innovative and sustainable sector. The Board of Directors helps the CDC deliver on the priorities outlined in the CDC's mandate letter. The letter outlines priorities in the areas of transparency, innovation, international trade, engagement, and inclusivity. It recognizes the importance of a vibrant and sustainable dairy sector to Canada's economy, as well as the importance of dairy supply management for rural communities and farm families across the country. The mandate letter also calls on the CDC to continue to advance the Government of Canada's ambitious environmental commitments and support climate resiliency. In 2016, the Government of Canada implemented an open, transparent and merit-based process for selecting Governor in Council appointees. Appointees play a fundamental role in Canada's democracy by serving on commissions, boards, Crown corporations, agencies and tribunals across the country. Quote "There is no doubt that Shikha Jain's extensive experience in strategic planning and sustainability in the dairy industry will be assets for the Canadian Dairy Commission. Her guidance will be valuable as the CDC is moving forward with the Government's agenda to advance innovation and GHG emissions reduction." - Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Quick facts The Canadian Dairy Commission is a Crown corporation, established in 1966, with the mandate of coordinating federal and provincial dairy policies. The CDC Board of Directors is appointed by the Governor in Council upon the recommendation of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. The Canadian Dairy Commission chairs and supports the Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee (CMSMC) and its secretariat. The Committee serves as the key national body for policy development and discussions respecting the dairy production and processing sectors. The Canadian dairy sector is a vital pillar of rural communities and a key driver of the economy. There are 9,952 dairy farms in Canada supporting approximately 45,053 direct jobs. Associated links Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn Web: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Biography Bio Shikha Jain Shikha Jain is the CEO of Green Energy Trading Corporation (GET Corp.), a green tech organization that supports the dairy industry in leading the sustainability journey through the conversion of on-farm organic wastes to renewable natural gas (RNG), while providing dairy producers key benefits of climate farming. Ms. Jain has expertise in strategy and operations through her previous roles as CEO of Career Colleges Ontario and Chief Strategy and Administrative Officer with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO). During her tenure with DFO, she held responsibility for the strategic planning process, quality assurance and regulatory compliance, strategic communications and government relations, HR and organizational development, administrative services, and facilities. Through her work with numerous cross-jurisdictional stakeholders within the sector, Ms. Jain is recognized as a trusted and collaborative leader, who brings a progressive and national mindset. Ms. Jain has policy and governance expertise through her previous roles and is currently serving on the Board of Directors of Innovation Guelph and Family & Children's Services Guelph Wellington. She holds an engineering and psychology degree from Western University and is now living in Guelph, Ontario with her husband, two children, and mother. SOURCE Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada For further information: For media: 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] GATINEAU, QC, Sept. 27, 2022 /CNW/ - The tourism and hospitality sector is a key economic driver and job creator, especially for young Canadians. That is why the Government of Canada is taking action to help youth prepare for careers in this growing part of the economy. Today, to mark World Tourism Day, the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, Marci Ien, highlighted Government of Canada investments that support young people getting the skills, training and opportunities they need in the tourism and hospitality sector. These investments include funding of $15 million for eight Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) projects that provide placements for 1,100 youth. Tourism Saskatchewan is an example of an organization that received funding for their Ready to Work Tourism Hospitality and Camp Services Careers initiative, which will give 180 young people the skills, knowledge and experience for long-term, stable employment in tourism. In addition, through the Student Work Placement Program, the Government has invested $10.3 million toward the Tourism HR Canada project called Propel, to create close to 1,400 work placements for post-secondary students. This funding will help youth develop the work-ready skills they need to have meaningful careers upon graduation. Today's announcement builds on the Government's ongoing actions to help young Canadians, particularly those facing barriers to employment, adapt to the demands of an evolving workforce and move forward from the impacts of the pandemic. Quotes "Now more than ever, young people need opportunities to gain valuable skills to thrive in the workplace. I can't think of a better way to gain unique experiences than sharing our diverse cultures and introducing tourists to our incredible wonders. Investing in young people through programs like these is an investment in Canada." Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, Marci Ien "The Propel project connects students with meaningful, hands-on learning experiences in a wide range of tourism workplaces. Linking employers with early talent and post-secondary institutions encourages fruitful partnerships that allow the next generation of tourism leaders to explore career pathways and gain the skills and knowledge to pursue their goalsand it also supports the sector as it re-emerges as one of Canada's key economic contributors. Tourism HR Canada is grateful to be delivering this project through the Student Work Placement Program." Philip Mondor, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tourism HR Canada "Tourism Saskatchewan values the Government of Canada's investment in the Ready to Work Tourism Hospitality and Camp Services Careers program. This training opens doors for people who are under-represented in the workforce. It empowers people and provides them with the skills and confidence to be successful and to find fulfilling jobs. Ready to Work is delivered in a number of northern Saskatchewan communities and provides first-hand experience and mentoring to many First Nations youth, who face barriers to employment." Jonathan Potts, Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Saskatchewan Quick Facts Since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organization has celebrated World Tourism Day on September 27 . The purpose of the day is to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide. . The purpose of the day is to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide. Youth (15 to 24 years old) were hard-hit by pandemic-related job losses, and their unemployment rate rose significantly, reaching a record high of 28.8% in May 2020 . In August 2022 , the youth employment rate (58.6%) was essentially unchanged (+0.5 percentage points) from the pre-pandemic rate of February 2020 , while the unemployment rate (9.2%) was below (-1.4 percentage points) the rate from 29 months earlier. . In , the youth employment rate (58.6%) was essentially unchanged (+0.5 percentage points) from the pre-pandemic rate of , while the unemployment rate (9.2%) was below (-1.4 percentage points) the rate from 29 months earlier. In 2020, the Government of Canada invested $492 million over three years, through Employment and Social Development Canada's YESS program, for 269 projects across Canada to help young people facing barriers to employment. Agreements were signed starting in April 2020 . In the spring of 2020, to support youth affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada provided additional funding of up to $187.7 million to the YESS horizontal partners, departments, agencies and Crown corporations to create 9,500 more work opportunities for young Canadians, particularly those facing barriers to employment. invested over three years, through Employment and Social Development Canada's YESS program, for 269 projects across to help young people facing barriers to employment. Agreements were signed starting in . In the spring of 2020, to support youth affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of provided additional funding of up to to the YESS horizontal partners, departments, agencies and Crown corporations to create 9,500 more work opportunities for young Canadians, particularly those facing barriers to employment. Budget 2021 commitments include more than $5.7 billion over five years to help young Canadians pursue and complete their education and to create 215,000 new job skills development and work opportunities for youth. Related Products Associated Links Follow us on Twitter SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada For further information: For media enquiries, please contact: Johise Namwira, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, Marci Ien, 873-353-0985, [email protected]; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected] TSXV: JK OTCQB: JKHCF FRA: 68Z Consumers in Thailand Will Soon Be Able to Enjoy JustKitchen's Own Master Don, K.Bao and Bodyfit Delivery-Only Brands VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 26, 2022 /CNW/ - Just Kitchen Holdings Corp. ("JustKitchen or the "Company") (TSXV: JK) (OTCQB: JKHCF) (FRA: 68Z), an operator of ghost kitchens specializing in the development of delivery-only food brands, announces the expansion of JustKitchen's in-house brands to Thailand (the "Thailand Location") via GrabKitchen. For the Thailand Location in the Phayathai area of Bangkok, GrabKitchen is providing the physical kitchen on a Kitchen-as-a-Service ("KaaS") basis. The Thailand Location is situated near a busy commuter rail hub that is supplemented by a steady flow of other traffic. As previously announced in April, the Company has a partnership with GrabExpress Inc. ("Grab") in the Philippines that enables it to access GrabKitchen and GrabFood resources. Immediately upon opening, the Thailand Location will serve JustKitchen's Master Don food brand, followed shortly thereafter by the K.Bao brand, featuring a customized menu with a local twist, as well as the Bodyfit brand. The Southeast Asian on-demand food delivery market is experiencing a high annual growth rate of 14%, which implies that the market will eventually reach a total value of $49.7 billion by 2030.1 Grab is southeast Asia's leading 'super app' based on gross merchandise value in 2021 in each of food delivers, mobility, and the e-wallets segment of financial services, according to Euromonitor.2 Management Commentary "International expansion is critical to our company's growth plan, but it is also an opportunity to learn from the locals in each new market. In Thailand, the food delivery market is mainstream and growing, which is something we plan to study very carefully and hopefully master as well," said Jason Chen, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of JustKitchen. "People in Thailand want access to new and exciting foods that are affordable and convenient. We are aiming to provide exactly that to them," added Mr. Chen. ABOUT JUSTKITCHEN Just Kitchen Holdings Corp. (the "Company" or "Just Kitchen") is primarily an operator of ghost kitchens specializing in the development and marketing of proprietary and franchised delivery-only food brands for customers and businesses. The Company currently operates in Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Malaysia. It has also signed an agreement that will allow JustKitchen to sell several of its proprietary food brands in Japan and it has also signed a brand swap agreement in India. Where appropriate, JustKitchen utilizes a hub-and-spoke operating model, which features advanced food preparation taking place at larger hub kitchens and final meal preparation taking place at smaller spoke kitchens located in areas with higher population densities. The Company combines this operating model with online and mobile application-based food ordering via its proprietary mobile food ordering app and other third-party ordering apps. Delivery is fulfilled by third-party delivery companies, to minimize capital investments and operating expenses and reach more customers in underserved markets. The Company's other business, JustMarket, is an e-commerce grocery delivery platform that allows customers to purchase groceries for delivery or add select grocery items to meals ordered through JustKitchen. For more information about the Company, please visit investors.justkitchen.com. JustKitchen's final prospectus, financial statements and management's discussion and analysis, among other documents, are all available on the Company's profile page on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . 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. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of such statements under applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "anticipates", "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed", "positioned" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur including but not limited to the Company's comments regarding consumers in Thailand soon being able to enjoy JustKitchen's own Master Don, K.Bao and Bodyfit delivery-only brands; and GrabKitchen providing the physical kitchen for the Thailand Location on a Kitchen-as-a-Service basis. These statements are only predictions. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks, including those risk factors identified in the Company's prospectus dated March 26, 2021, and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. ENDNOTES "On-demand Food Delivery Services: Next Growth Frontier in Southeast Asia ", Destination Thailand News, February 18, 2022 , https://destinationthailandnews.com/news/headline-news/on-demand-food-delivery-services-next-growth-frontier-in-southeast-asia.html "Grab Holdings Inc in Mobility", August 2021 , Euromonitor, accessed on September 15, 2022 , https://www.euromonitor.com/grab-holdings-inc-in-mobility/report SOURCE Just Kitchen Holdings Corp. For further information: Just Kitchen Holdings Corp., Suite 1430, 800 West Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 2V6; Nick Kuzyk, Investor Relations, Toll-Free: 1-855-JST-KCHN (1-855-578-5246), Email: [email protected] Easy financing will empower millions of Canadians without insurance to confidently invest in vision care for their families. TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 /CNW/ - LendCare Capital Inc., a leading Canadian finance and technology company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of goeasy Ltd., has announced a new partnership with Doctors Eye Care Co-Op Ltd. (operating as Eye Recommend), a Canadian-based cooperative dedicated to the growth and success of independent optometry. This new partnership will support Eye Recommend's community of over 1,300 optometrists from coast-to-coast, in making optical health even more accessible to the approximately 40% of Canadians who may not have insurance to cover the costs. LendCare Partners With Eye Recommend, Canada's Leading Cooperative of Independent Optometrists Tweet this With 1 in 5 Canadians currently living with undiagnosed or untreated eye disease and 75% of vision loss being largely preventable if caught early, accessibility is critical. According to Ali Metel, President of LendCare, providing Eye Recommend's customers with financing through the company's FrontLine platform will bolster Eye Recommend's growth as they increase the number of customers they can approve for financing. FrontLine will enable affiliated optometrists to get immediate credit decisions and seamless financing options for patients, empowering them to invest confidently in their eye care. "Our role is to allow the Eye Recommend network to focus on the growth of their clinics while we manage the financing needs of their patients. We believe that families shouldn't have to compromise their level of eye care and our financing solution will help make that a reality," said Ali Metel. "One of the major tenets of our mission is to stay connected to the shifting tides of technology," adds Lee Raffey, CEO of Eye Recommend. "Our members will now have easy access to online financing solutions, which helps them to deliver the best possible care, products and services." This mutually beneficial partnership further solidifies LendCare's ever-growing role as one of the premier new lenders within the Canadian healthcare industry. About LendCare LendCare Capital Inc., a subsidiary of goeasy Ltd. (TSX: GSY), which has funded over $8.2 billion in consumer loans and served over 1.2 million Canadians, is a Canadian point-of-sale consumer finance and technology company which enables over 5,000 businesses to increase their revenue by providing full credit spectrum financing at the point-of-sale. For over a decade, LendCare has cleared a path to provide fast, reliable, and affordable financing options for the Powersports, automotive, retail, home improvement and health sectors. FrontLine is a registered trademark of LendCare Capital Inc. Stay Connected to LendCare Learn more about FrontLine: https://youtu.be/0SBI4o7BxIQ Facebook: facebook.com/lendcarecanada Instagram: instagram.com/lendcarecanada LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/lendcare Website: lendcare.ca About Eye Recommend Launched in 1985, when a handful of visionary doctors came together to create a legacy and grow independent optometry across Canada, Eye Recommend has grown into a thriving network of over 1,300 optometrists nationwide. The incorporated business (operating as a cooperative) allows members to leverage the power of their network, affording them access to the technology, resources, and services necessary to scale their practices. Stay Connected to Eye Recommend Facebook: facebook.com/eyerecommend Instagram: instagram.com/eyerecommend LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/eyerecommend Website: eyerecommend.ca SOURCE LendCare File photo More than 30 members of Popular Front of India (PFI) were detained by the police during multiple raids by central agencies in the national capital on Tuesday. More than 30 members of Popular Front of India (PFI) were detained by the police during multiple raids by central agencies in the national capital on Tuesday. "More than 30 people have been detained," Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora told IANS. As per latest reports, the raids are still underway at several places in the city. Apart from Delhi, raids are being conducted at locations linked to the PFI in eight states of the country. Sources said that raids, which began on Tuesday early morning, were going on in Aurangabad, Jalana, Parbhani districts of Maharashtra; Simoga, Bidar, Ballari, Hubli, Kalburgi districts of Karnataka; Nagarbera of Assam; Bulandshahr's Kasba Syana, Sarurpur and Lisari Gate area of Meerut in Western Uttar Pradesh. An NIA source informed that in a few states, the local police were conducting raids on their instructions. Notably, in a nationwide crackdown against the PFI on September 22, around 106 senior office-bearers of the organisation were arrested. The arrested members included PFI national Chairman, O.M.A. Salam, Vice Chairman, E. Abdurahman, National secretary Nasseruddin Elamaram, ideologue and national leader, Prof P. Koya, and some other senior functionaries from Kerala. The top leader arrested from Tamil Nadu was A. M. Ismail, the national executive member of PFI from Coimbatore. A. M. Ismail was arrested from Coimbatore, Yassar Arafat, the Dindigul Zonal Secretary of PFI from Dindigul, and Cuddalore district secretary, Fayas Ahmad from Cuddalore. Eight other leaders were arrested from various parts of the state. The sources said that in the raids conducted in 15 states of the country, the investigating agencies have found strong evidence of PFI's involvement in terrorist activities. Soon after the raid, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also held a meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and NIA Chief Dinkar Gupta during which instructions were issued to review the facts gathered against PFI and take further action. MONTREAL, Sept. 27, 2022 /CNW/ - Aviation is vital to Canada's economy, to creating good jobs and to connecting Canadians. The Government of Canada, in partnership with the aviation industry, is committed to taking concrete action to meet its climate goals and ensure that Canadians have an efficient and environmentally friendly transportation system. Today, Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, announced the release of Canada's Aviation Climate Action Plan (2022-2030). The action plan: presents a vision of net zero emissions by 2050 for the Canadian aviation sector, sets a purposefully ambitious goal of 10% for the use of sustainable aviation fuel by 2030 to send a clear signal that Canada and the aviation sector recognize the need for significant volumes of sustainable aviation fuel to achieve its vision of net-zero by 2050, and includes key pathways and actions that the Government of Canada and the aviation industry intend to work on to improve efficiency and reduce pollution from aviation activities through this plan. For more than a decade, the Government of Canada and the aviation industry have worked together to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change. Transport Canada has renewed this action plan in collaboration with federal partners and the aviation industry. This new action plan is an important first step towards that net zero vision, paving the way for the Government of Canada and the aviation industry to advance a variety of measures to ensure the aviation is able to continue to provide Canadians with a level of service while steering the sector towards a sustainable future. This plan will also serve as the foundation upon which the Government of Canada will further engage stakeholders, key experts and the public on the most effective and equitable path to achieving this vision. Canada's Action Plan for Aviation will undergo a series of updates, the first in 2024, which will include reassessing long-term projections, strengthening short-term commitments, setting interim targets, and ensuring continued alignment with Canada's climate commitments. Quotes "Transportation, economy and climate should go hand-in-hand. Canada's Aviation Climate Action Plan is a good example of how we can come together to set a net-zero emission vision and lay out the actions needed to get us on the right path. Our government will engage with key stakeholders and the public to implement the activities in the Action Plan and explore additional measures to reduce pollution." The Honourable Omar Alghabra Minister of Transport Quick Facts Transport Canada renewed this action plan in collaboration with the following federal partners: Environment and Climate Change Canada; Innovation, Science and Economic Development; the National Research Council ; Natural Resources Canada; Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat; and with the aviation industry: Aerospace Industries Association of Canada; Air Transport Association of Canada; Canadian Airports Council; Canadian Business Aviation Association; National Airlines Council of Canada; and NAV CANADA . ; Natural Resources Canada; Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat; and with the aviation industry: Aerospace Industries Association of Canada; Air Transport Association of Canada; Canadian Airports Council; Canadian Business Aviation Association; National Airlines Council of Canada; and . At COP 26 , Canada signed onto the International Aviation Climate Ambition Coalition. The declaration includes a commitment to prepare an action plan detailing concrete efforts to reduce aviation emissions, and to submit the plan to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in advance of the 41st International Civil Aviation Organization Assembly. , Canada signed onto the International Aviation Climate Ambition Coalition. The declaration includes a commitment to prepare an action plan detailing concrete efforts to reduce aviation emissions, and to submit the plan to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in advance of the 41st International Civil Aviation Organization Assembly. In 2012, the Government of Canada and the aviation industry released Canada's first Action Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Aviation. This voluntary initiative brought together the collective efforts of Transport Canada, Canadian airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, and aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturers to reduce the carbon intensity of this sector. Associated Links Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to e-news or stay connected through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn to keep up to date on the latest from Transport Canada. This news release may be made available in alternative formats for persons living with visual disabilities. SOURCE Transport Canada For further information: Contacts: Nadine Ramadan, Press Secretary and Communications Advisor, Office of the Honourable Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport, Ottawa, [email protected]; Media Relations: Transport Canada, Ottawa, [email protected], 613-993-0055 VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 27, 2022 /CNW/ - Nevada King Gold Corp. (TSXV: NKG) (OTCQX: NKGFF) ("Nevada King" or the "Company") is pleased to announce an update on its 2022 4,500 metre Phase II drilling program at its 5,500 hectare, 100% owned Lewis Gold Project ("Lewis Project" or "Project") located approximately 21km south of Battle Mountain, Nevada, within the heart of the Battle Mountain Gold Trend. Highlights: Figure 1. Location of Nevada Kings 2022 completed and planned drill holes as well as Nevada Kings 2021 drill holes relative to historical drill holes at Lewis. (CNW Group/Nevada King Gold Corp.) Figure 2. Location of Lewis Project within Battle Mountain Trend. (CNW Group/Nevada King Gold Corp.) Drilling at Lewis commenced on August 25, 2022 , and to date Nevada King has completed seven reverse circulation (" RC ") holes totaling 1,300m (see Figure 1). These initial holes were drilled at the Record Target, a high priority target that was not drilled during the 2021 Phase I program. , and to date has completed seven reverse circulation (" ") holes totaling (see Figure 1). These initial holes were drilled at the Record Target, a high priority target that was not drilled during the 2021 Phase I program. Four batches of drill samples have been delivered to the ALS Global laboratory in Elko, Nevada , with initial assays expected in the coming weeks. , with initial assays expected in the coming weeks. RC drilling is currently underway between the Upper Plate hosted Record and Celestine O'Neal targets, testing for the potential continuity of nearer surface gold mineralization linking these two zones. This Phase II drill definition of Upper Plate hosted gold mineralization will also be utilized to project the mineralizing system to depth with the objective of defining a deeper, Lower Plate hosted target. This method of vectoring from the Upper Plate into the Lower Plate has been key to the discovery of several sizeable, higher grade Lower Plate hosted discoveries on the Battle Mountain trend. Exploration Manager Cal Herron, P.Geo., stated: "Nevada King's 2022 Phase II program picks up where Phase I left off in late 2021. With drilling now being expanded to a much larger area, Nevada King will be able to assess the shallow, Upper Plate-hosted gold potential in between the Celestine O'Neal, Record, and Upper Rocky Canyon target zones. If successful these targets would be combined into a single target covering approximately 1.5km x 1.0km on surface. Looking further down the road, this season's drilling will undoubtedly play an important role in defining prospective areas potentially hosting deep mineralization in Lower Plate carbonates as seen at Barrick's nearby Pipeline and Cortez mines." Qualified Person The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Calvin R. Herron, P.Geo., who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"). About Nevada King Gold Corp. Nevada King is the third largest mineral claim holder in the State of Nevada, behind Nevada Gold Mines (Barrick/Newmont) and Kinross Gold. Starting in 2016 the Company has staked large project areas hosting significant historical exploration work along the Battle Mountain trend located close to current or former producing gold mines. These project areas were initially targeted based on their potential for hosting multi-million-ounce gold deposits and were subsequently staked following a detailed geological evaluation. District-scale projects in Nevada King's portfolio include (1) the 100% owned Atlanta Mine, located 100km southeast of Ely, (2) the Lewis and Horse Mountain-Mill Creek projects, both located between Nevada Gold Mines' large Phoenix and Pipeline mines, and (3) the Iron Point project, located 35km east of Winnemucca, Nevada. The Company is well funded with cash of approximately C$19.2 million as of September 2022. The Atlanta Mine is a historical gold-silver producer with a NI 43-101 compliant pit-constrained resource of 460,000 oz Au in the measured and indicated category (11.0M tonnes at 1.3 g/t) plus an inferred resource of 142,000 oz Au (5.3M tonnes at 0.83 g/t). See the NI 43-101 Technical Report on Resources titled "Atlanta Property, Lincoln County, NV" with an effective date of October 6, 2020, and a report date of December 22, 2020, as prepared by Gustavson Associates and filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). NI 43-101 Mineral Resources at the Atlanta Mine Resource Category Tonnes (000's) Au Grade (ppm) Contained Au Oz (000's) Ag Grade (ppm) Contained Ag Oz (000's) Measured 4,130 1.51 200 14.0 1,860 Indicated 6,910 1.17 260 10.6 2,360 Measured + Indicated 11,000 1.30 460 11.9 4,220 Inferred 5,310 0.83 142 7.3 1,240 Please see the Company's website at www.nevadaking.ca. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating the future operations and activities of Nevada King, 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 news release relate to, among other things, exploration plans and the Company's ability to potentially expand mineral resources and the impact thereon. 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 Nevada King, 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 ability to complete proposed exploration work given the global COVID-19 pandemic, the results of exploration, continued availability of capital, and changes in general economic, market and business conditions. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these items. Nevada King 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 applicable securities laws. SOURCE Nevada King Gold Corp. For further information: Collin Kettell at [email protected] or (301) 744-8744. MONTREAL, Sept. 27, 2022 /CNW/ - By December 2023, NPower Canada will launch 460 Quebec residents into meaningful and sustainable digital careers through their free, three-month workforce development program. For the first time, their programs will be offered in French, to provide training and employment support opportunities to francophone job-seekers in Quebec beginning in November 2022. NPower Canada's launch in Quebec represents their fifth location in Canada, and their first bilingual site. Offering their programs in both languages allows French-speaking and English-speaking job-seekers to have access to in-demand training in the skills that local employers need. "We've identified a definitive need for a workforce development program like ours to train Quebec job-seekers with in-demand tech skills to fill a growing number of roles in the province, and we are excited to be able to offer our TechPathways programs to underrepresented communities in Quebec, to provide the access and training individuals need to find success in the labour market," said Mitchell Miller, Managing Director of Quebec, NPower Canada. According to Technation Career Finder, there are almost 10,000 tech jobs available in Quebec . NPower Canada's free tech programs will provide in-demand skills and personal and professional development that will allow participants to be job-ready in only three months, providing much-needed tech talent to fill open roles across the province. With proven success in Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario, NPower Canada is excited to equip 50 job-seekers (aged 18+) into their inaugural Quebec cohort running from November 2022 through February 2023. NPower Canada is able to scale to the province thanks to generous funding from partners such as Microsoft, Future Skills Centre, Google.org, RBC Foundation, Walmart.org, CIBC Foundation, BlackRock, Manulife, TD, LoyaltyOne, and Accenture. "We are excited to equip Quebecois job-seekers with in-demand technical training, industry certifications and professional development, so that they can enter meaningful careers. Our launch in Quebec represents our fifth site, and allows us to expand our reach to even more communities across Canada. Since NPower Canada's inception in 2014, more than 80% of our 4,700 alumni have found sustainable employment in the technology sector, and our proven success gives us confidence entering a new market." said Julia Blackburn, CEO, NPower Canada. Julien Morel, one of NPower Canada's bilingual alumni, was thrilled to hear that the registered charity would soon be launching in his home province. When he was only 15, Julien started working in the hospitality industry in Quebec before eventually relocating to British Columbia, but the industry was hit hard when the pandemic began. Julien decided to join NPower Canada in hopes of starting a new career in tech. "It's an industry that is in constant evolution," he said. Shortly before graduating from NPower Canada in December 2021, Julien landed his first tech role. "I am convinced that I wouldn't have had the chance to get the role I have now if I wasn't part of the program. I never could have imagined it was possible. It's a bit cliche, but the program completely changed my life," Julien shared. Now, he can't wait for some of his friends and family from back home to have access to the same opportunities he had. Many job seekers in Quebec have found themselves in the same position as Julien. In January 2022 alone, Quebec and Ontario combined lost 251,000 jobs , mostly in retail, accommodation, and food services. Ira Miller completed the NPower Canada program in 2017 in Ontario, and now works and lives in Quebec as a Technology Specialist for the Greenhouse program at Deloitte. "Before NPower Canada, I was working a pretty dull job. NPower Canada changed all of that, as I was able to gain an entirely new skillset and launch a new career. Since I have joined Deloitte, I have advanced tremendously and am working in a position that not only challenges me, but also one that I enjoy and see a lot of both personal and professional growth. I wouldn't have had the incredible opportunities presented to me if it weren't for NPower Canada and the support I had throughout my time with them," said Ira. Working in the Quebec market, Ira knows the need for NPower Canada's TechPathways programs to help fill the gap between job seekers and employers. NPower Canada prioritizes individuals from underserved communities, such as women, BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+ and gender diverse people, job-seekers with disabilities, newcomers, and individuals from rural and remote communities. Their Montreal offices will serve as a hub for Quebecs job seekers, delivering virtual programs to those in and around Montreal, as well as other areas across the province, such as Quebec City and Sherbrooke. NPower Canada's Quebec team will be promoting their new TechPathways programs at the upcoming Salon de l'emploi et de la formation continue , taking place from October 5-6 at the Palais des congres de Montreal. To learn more about NPower Canada, how to apply for its TechPathways programs, support as a partner, or hire a graduate, please visit https://npowercanada.ca SOURCE NPower Canada For further information: Media Contact: Emilie Jones, Bilingual Communications & PR Specialist, [email protected] VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 27, 2022 /CNW/ - Regency Silver Corp. ("Regency Silver" or the "Company", (TSXV: RSMX) (OTCQB: RSMXF) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option agreement (the "Option Agreement") to option a 100% undivided interest in the Oso Blanco Claims located in the State of Sonora, Mexico. The Oso Blanco claims cover an area of approximately 5,650 hectares and are located contiguous to the Company's Dios Padre project. Sampling by the previous owner returned values as high as 545 grams per tonne silver and 2.1% copper. A previous trenching program returned values as high as 3.41 grams per tonne gold and 95 grams per tonne silver in a 2 meter trench. In order to exercise the option, Regency Silver must pay the total sum of US$500,000 over 5 years, pay back taxes and mining filings currently estimated to be US$500,000 by March 31, 2023 and issue a total of 1,000,000 common shares over 36 months. Regency Silver must also pay a US$1,000,000 bonus upon a NI 43-101 resource being published, which estimates the area of mutual interest (as that term is defined in the Option Agreement) contains a minimum of 70 million silver equivalent ounces, or 1 million gold ounces or an equivalent value in precious or base metals, in the measured or indicated categories. The shares are subject to a four month hold period and the agreement is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. ABOUT REGENCY SILVER CORP. Regency Silver is a silver and gold exploration company focused on the Americas. Regency Silver is led by a team of experienced professionals with expertise in both exploration and production. Regency Silver's flagship project is the Dios Padre silver project in Sonora, Mexico. The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed by Company director Michael Tucker, P.Geo, who is recognized as a Qualified Person under the guidelines of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Tucker is a director of the Company and for that reason is not considered independent. Mr. Tucker has read and approved the technical contents of this news release. For further details about the Company please visit www.Regency-Silver.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, "forward-looking statements"). There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events may vary from those anticipated in such statements. Important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's plans or expectations include the risk that TSX Venture Exchange acceptance of the option agreement will not be obtained, regulatory changes, fundraising, and risk associated with mineral exploration, including the risk that actual results of exploration will be different from those expected by management. The forward-looking statements in this news release were developed based on the expectations of management, including that Exchange acceptance for the proposed transaction will be obtained, conditions will be satisfied, required fundraising will be completed and the other risks described above will not materialize. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. SOURCE Regency Silver Corp For further information: Regency Silver Corp., Bruce Bragagnolo, Executive Chairman, (604) 417-9517, Email: [email protected]; Gijsbert Groenewegen, Chief Executive Officer, Phone: 1-646-247-1000, Email: [email protected] Deal creates premier wealth manager in the UK, Channel Islands and Ireland TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 /CNW/ - Royal Bank of Canada ("RBC") today announced that it had completed the acquisition of Brewin Dolphin Holdings PLC ("Brewin Dolphin"), a multi-award-winning wealth management firm. Brewin Dolphin will now operate as 'RBC Brewin Dolphin', as part of RBC, and will continue to be led by CEO, Robin Beer. Brewin Dolphin has been acquired for final consideration of approximately C$2.4bn (1.6bn) on a fully diluted basis, which equates to 515 pence per share. RBC Wealth Management is a leading global wealth and asset manager with market leadership in Canada, and a growing position in the United States. Brewin Dolphin has more than 30 regional offices, over 2,100 employees and a long history of providing exceptional service to private clients. This is a transformative acquisition for both RBC Wealth Management and Brewin Dolphin, creating one of the largest wealth managers in the UK, Channel Islands and Ireland with 58 billion assets under management as at 31 August 2022. RBC Wealth Management International and RBC Brewin Dolphin will continue to operate as separate businesses until integration over the coming months, with no immediate changes to the propositions that each business offers on day one. The respective leadership teams will now work closely together to deliver exceptional outcomes for clients, employees and shareholders. Doug Guzman, Group Head, RBC Wealth Management, RBC Insurance and RBC Investor & Treasury Services, said: "Bringing together these complementary teams will establish and secure RBC Wealth Management's position as a leading wealth manager in the UK and Ireland, while also providing future growth opportunities in an attractive and consolidating market. This platform enhances our franchise's global brand, scale and stability, as we strengthen our leading position across North America and now the UK. Most importantly, we are looking forward to bringing together two purpose-driven organizations with a shared commitment to doing what's right for our clients, our communities and each other." David Thomas, CEO, RBC Wealth Management International said: "We are delighted to complete the acquisition of Brewin Dolphin and excited to welcome its clients and talented colleagues to RBC. Brewin Dolphin brings outstanding experience, and an impressive track record of growth, innovation and investment performance. Our shared client-centric culture and values have really shone through over the past few months, and we look forward to developing this further, increasing the depth and breadth of our offering to clients and intermediaries." Robin Beer, CEO, RBC Brewin Dolphin added: "Our strategy to become a leading advice-focused, digitally enabled wealth manager is set to be accelerated by becoming part of RBC. What doesn't change is our focus on providing the exceptional advice and client focus that has been the foundation of our success and which made us of interest to RBC. In becoming RBC Brewin Dolphin we are combining two highly-regarded names and signaling our intention to further enhance our client proposition, and we are all incredibly excited about the future." Click here to hear more on the completion of the acquisition from David Thomas and Robin Beer. About RBC Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 92,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com. We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact. About RBC Wealth Management RBC Wealth Management directly serves affluent, high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients globally with a full suite of banking, investment, trust and other wealth management solutions, from our key operational hubs in Canada, the United States, the British Isles, and Asia. The business also provides asset management products and services directly and through RBC and third party distributors to institutional and individual clients, through its RBC Global Asset Management business (which includes BlueBay Asset Management). RBC Wealth Management has almost C$1.3 trillion of assets under administration, over C$929 billion of assets under management and more than 4,800 financial consultants, advisors, private bankers, and trust officers. For more information, please visit www.rbcwealthmanagement.com. About RBC Brewin Dolphin RBC Brewin Dolphin is one of the UK and Ireland's leading wealth managers and traces its origins back to 1762. We offer award-winning, personalised wealth management services from bespoke, discretionary investment management to retirement planning and tax-efficient investing. Our qualified investment managers and financial planners are based in 33 offices across the UK, Jersey and Republic of Ireland. They are committed to the most exacting standards of client service, with long-term thinking and absolute focus on our clients' needs at the core. As part of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), we are now able to draw on the strength of a global financial institution to continue to improve the service we provide to our clients and drive further innovation across our business. _________________ Exchange Rate (/ C$) = 1.47713462 Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the "safe harbour" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation, with respect to RBC's and Brewin Dolphin's financial performance, beliefs, plans, expectations, and estimates. Forward-looking statements in this press release may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to plans for the combined operations of RBC and Brewin Dolphin, the financial, operational and capital impacts of the proposed transaction, our strategies or future actions, and our objectives and commitments. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is presented for the purpose of assisting holders of our securities and financial analysts in understanding the proposed transaction and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward looking statements are typically identified by words such as "believe", "expect", "foresee", "forecast", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "goal", "commit", "target", "objective", "plan" and "project" and similar expressions of future or conditional verbs such as "will", "may", "might", "should", "could" or "would". By their very nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, which give rise to the possibility that our predictions, forecasts, projections, expectations or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that our assumptions may not be correct and that our actual results may differ materially from such predictions, forecasts, projections, expectations or conclusions. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of risk factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors many of which are beyond our control and the effects of which can be difficult to predict include, but are not limited to: the possibility that the anticipated benefits from the proposed transaction, such as being accretive to adjusted earnings per share (EPS), creating synergy opportunities and growing our UK operations are not realized in the time frame anticipated or at all as a result of changes in general economic and market conditions, interest and exchange rates, monetary policy, laws and regulations (including changes to capital requirements) and their enforcement, and the degree of competition in the geographic and business areas in which RBC and Brewin Dolphin currently operate; the risk that any announcements relating to the combination could have adverse effects on the market price of the common stock of RBC; the possibility that the business of RBC and Brewin Dolphin may not perform as expected or in a manner consistent with historical performance; the ability to promptly and effectively integrate Brewin Dolphin; our ability to achieve our capital objectives; our ability to cross-sell more products to customers; reputational risks and the reaction of Brewin Dolphin's customers and employees to the transaction; diversion of management time on integration-related issues; increased exposure to exchange rate fluctuations; material adverse changes in economic and industry conditions; general competitive, economic, political and market conditions; and other risks discussed in the risk sections and Impact of COVID-19 pandemic section of our2021 Annual Report and the Risk management section of our Q3 2022 Report to Shareholders, and the factors discussed in Brewin Dolphin's Annual Report and Accounts 2021 all of which outline certain key factors and risks that may affect our future results and our ability to anticipate and effectively manage risks arising from all of the foregoing factors. We caution that the foregoing list of risk factors is not exhaustive and other factors could also adversely affect our results. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to us, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Material economic assumptions underlying the forward looking-statements contained in this press release are set out in the Economic, market and regulatory review and outlook section and for each business segment under the Strategic priorities and Outlook sections in our 2021 Annual Report, as updated by the Economic, market and regulatory review and outlook section of our Q3 2022 Report to Shareholders. Any forward-looking statements contained in this document represent the views of RBC and Brewin Dolphin only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, neither RBC nor Brewin Dolphin undertakes to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf. SOURCE RBC Wealth Management For further information: RBC Media Contacts, RBC: Melanie Rockliff (Canada) - [email protected], +1 (647) 964 1423; Ben Adams (UK) - [email protected], +44 (0) 7590 203637; RBC Brewin Dolphin: Richard Janes - [email protected], +44 (0) 7769 901883 Punjabi Singer Alfaaz Out Of Danger; Rapper... Alfaaz was admitted to a hospital after he was hit by a former worker of the Dhaba (eat... 3 October, 2022 Read more file photo Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to J&K has been rescheduled and he will now visit the UT on October 4 for two days, sources said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to J&K has been rescheduled and he will now visit the UT on October 4 for two days, sources said. Shah was scheduled to arrive here on September 30. A BJP source said that the visit earlier scheduled for October 1 and 2 has been rescheduled and Shah will now arrive here on October 4, adding that the visit has been rescheduled because of the Home Minister's other engagements. Shah is scheduled to address a public rally in Rajouri district. Party sources said that during his visit to Rajouri, he will make some important announcements about development and other related issues. "He will also address a public rally in Baramulla district. During his visit, the Home Minister is likely to announce reservation for the Pahari community as ST," a source said. Shah is also scheduled to chair a high-level meeting to review the security situation in the Valley. Senior officials of MHA, of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and intelligence agencies will accompany the Home Minister. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha will attend all the developmental and security review meetings to be chaired by Shah during his visit. Some BJP leaders said that Shah will kick start the election campaign of the party during his visit. Elections were last held in J&K in 2014. But, in 2019, the then state Governor, Satya Pal Malik dissolved the Assembly after the BJP withdrew from Mehbooba Mufti headed PDP-BJP coalition government. On August 5, 2019, the Parliament abrogated Article 370 and downgraded J&K to the status of a Union Territory, while hiving off Ladakh as a separate union Territory. The Delimitation Commission was later constituted which reorganised the Assembly constituencies, thereby increasing their number from 87 to 90 with 47 seats in Kashmir and 43 seats in Jammu division. Elections to the J&K Assembly cannot be held this year because of various reasons. The Election Commission has announced that the final voter list will be published on November 24. Given the required time period for filing of nomination papers, scrutiny of nomination papers, period for withdrawal of candidature, poll campaign period etc, it is highly unlikely that assembly elections can be held in J&K by the year end as harsh winter sets in by the middle of December. It is believed that the earliest these elections can be held is April-May 2023 even if various party leaders start their poll campaigns during the remaining period of 2022. file photo Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday attended the state funeral of assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday attended the state funeral of assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. Representatives from over 100 countries, including more than 20 heads of state and government participated in the state funeral, a statement by Prime Minister's Office said. Following the state funeral, the Prime Minister had a private meeting with Akie Abe, wife of Abe at the Akasaka Palace, and conveyed his heartfelt condolences to her. He recalled his fond friendship and the significant contribution made by former Prime Minister in taking India-Japan relationship to new heights, the statement said. He also had a brief interaction thereafter with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida to reiterate his condolences, the statement said Two people are feared dead in Enugu State following an attack, Tuesday morning, by unknown gunmen. It was learnt that the gunmen attacked an... Two people are feared dead in Enugu State following an attack, Tuesday morning, by unknown gunmen. It was learnt that the gunmen attacked an Army checkpoint at Obeagu-Amodu road in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State. This is not the first time gunmen were attacking security agencies along that axis. The frequent attacks led to the deployment of the combined team of security operatives. However, it was gathered that the gunmen stormed the area again in two Lexus Jeeps and one Toyota Sienna bus around 7:25 a.m. They reportedly opened fire at the combined team of the Police and the military. Although the casualty figure is still unclear, a source said at least two persons died. The police in Enugu State is yet to issue a statement on the reported attack. Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the eNaira application has so far recorded a total of 905,588 downloa... Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the eNaira application has so far recorded a total of 905,588 downloads. The apex bank governor said this on Tuesday while speaking with journalists after the committees meeting at the CBN headquarters in Abuja. Emefiele, while giving feedback on the eNaira application since its introduction, said the eNaira in a year has almost a million mark on downloads, but only 282,600 active users. So far 905,588 downloaded the app, out of it 282,600 are currently active. So far, accounts of transactions have exceeded 1.49 million worth over N3.484 billion and the breakdown is that 78,115 consumers to bank worth about N1 billion and bank to customer of 90,760 transactions worth N945 million, he said Consumer to consumer transactions are what they bought value number of 35,800 worth about N480 million and consumer to merchant between 171,000 transactions worth over N387 million. We have seen downloads 13,136 wallets have so far been created via the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) channel that was the channel we recently introduced about three-four weeks ago and we are happy that progress has since been made. For e-commerce, we have seen like 9.946 percent increase between July and September and this remains very encouraging. We believe the eNaira is an alternative to you holding an analogue naira and so it is very convenient. The Kogi state government has ordered the immediate closure of a prayer house allegedly operated by unlicensed medical practitioners. ... The Kogi state government has ordered the immediate closure of a prayer house allegedly operated by unlicensed medical practitioners. According to a statement by Onogwu Muhammed, chief press secretary to the governor, the prayer house, named The New Jerusalem, was sealed off on Monday over alleged unwholesome practices. Muhammed said the pastor in charge of the facility is currently under investigation, while some persons, mainly young women who claimed they came for prayer and had been spent months at the place, including others mentally unstable placed under chains, were found at the centre. Pastor of the church, Adeiza Peter, is being investigated by the Police for some criminal activities ranging from fraud, use of his prayer house for medical quackery by taking deliveries and also running psychiatric services, even when it has been discovered he has no medical training, the statement reads. The state government delegation comprising the commissioner for information and communication, Hon. Kingsley Fanwo; his counterpart in health, Dr Zakari Usman; the State Security Adviser and Navy Commander, Jerry Omodara (rtd), supervised the enforcement of Governor Yahaya Bellos directive. It was gathered that a number of deaths have been recorded at the prayer house, including pregnant women and others suffering from various ailments, after charging their relatives huge sum of money. His supposed assistant, Eneji Seidu, from Adogo, Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi State, said the Pastor, who was a musical artist before he received a call to be a Pastor, has been his close friend, noting that he is a true man of God who has been called to help those in need. He admitted that people receive medical attention at the church, but denied knowledge of deaths of sick people at the prayer house, saying God had used the Pastor to heal many who comes with challenges. Muhammed added that Fanwo said those found at the prayer house would be reunited with their families, just as he urged residents to desist from patronising quacks. According to the statement, the health commissioner said the pastor has no medical training, but was involved in taking deliveries and transfusing blood, as well as keeping people with mental illness, and extorting money from them under the guise of spiritual materials. The national secretariat of the Nigeria labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to mobilize civil servants to Zamfara State for a solidarity in... The national secretariat of the Nigeria labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to mobilize civil servants to Zamfara State for a solidarity industrial action if the State government refuses to implement the payment of the constitutional national minimum wage of N30,000 at the end of the 21 days ultimatum. This was contained in a letter signed by the National President of the Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba. He said that Zamfara is the only State in the federation that had refused to implement the national minimum wage which was duly signed into law since April, 2019. NLC leadership believes that the refusal of the State government to implement the national minimum wage to all categories of workers in the State is an affront to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which the Governor swore to protect, the statement said. He added that, the national minimum wage law is a creation of the second schedule of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Like every other law, it is incumbent on all to respect and adhere to its provisions, especially those occupying elected public offices who are morally expected to show public example of being law abiding. Unfortunately, this is not the case in political leadership in Zamfara which under your administration has chosen to trample underfoot a law as important as national minimum wage act. Comrade Wabba reminded the State government of the consequences of not implementing the N30,000 minimum wage, pointing out that section 10 and 14 of the national minimum wage act, 2019 went on to prescribe other penalties for violations, including additional penalty not exceeding N10,000 for each day the violation persists. The national Labour leader addressed the letter to Zamfara State Governor, Hon. Bello Muhammed Matawalle and copied the Inspector General of Police; Director General, Department of State Services; Commissioner of Police, Zamfara State Command; President, Trade Union Congress; State Chairman, NLC and the media. He lamented that, some years back, Zamfara State government was the first state all over the federation to implement the N5500 national minimum wage which the then government paid N6800 which was above the national minimum wage. The reverse is now the case, he said, adding that some of the State workers earn as low as N8000 as monthly salary, which he described as ridiculous. In support of the 21-day ultimatum by the State wing of the NLC for the government to offset the arrears of the national minimum wage owed the workers, we urge the state government to use this window to redeem itself. Upon expiration of this window, the Congress will mobilize workers all over Nigeria to storm Zamfara State in a solidarity industrial action with Zamfara State workers, he warned. Recall that the Zamfara State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, had on 16th September, 2022, issued a 21-day ultimatum to the State government. The ultimatum will expire on the 6th October, 2022. However, there has been no official statement from the State government since the 21-day ultimatum was given. The Northern States Christian Elders Forum, on Tuesday, warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Ahmed Bola Tinu... The Northern States Christian Elders Forum, on Tuesday, warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, against using wealth and resources to cause division among Christians. Recall that a group of bishops, who claimed to be Northern Bishops said to be part of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), had met with Tinubu in Abuja a few days ago. Chairman, Northern States Christian Elders Forum, while reacting to Bola Tinubus politics, warned the APC to stop using monetary incentives to recruit and cause divisions amongst the Christians, especially in the North. According to him, apart from the failure of the desire of the architects of the single faith ticket to cause serious divisions in the forthcoming elections, APC has resorted to clandestine ways of causing division in the body of Christ by recruiting hitherto unknown bodies to counter decisions taken by the umbrella body, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and its various organs. The group pointed out that in December 2021, Tinubu met with a group in Abuja, sold the Muslim-Muslim Ticket, and warned that every patriotic presidential aspirant should avoid the same faith ticket to avoid polarisation of the nation further along religious lines. He said before the commencement of the primaries, the forum warned presidential aspirants against the one faith ticket in Nigeria, begging for unity, inclusiveness, fairness, and justice. Because there was a long term goal and a purpose to be accomplished, APC went ahead with the single faith venture, with the aim of riding on the wings of divisive religious politics to victory, he said. The group expressed dismay over the show of shame the ruling party is involved in, following desperate efforts to attract public goodwill and acceptance by engaging strange Christian groups for endorsement purposes. We all know as Christians, Muslims, and people of other faith that unity, fairness, justice, and inclusiveness will engender national progress, rather than the war of divisive religious, political game, intended through the instrumentation of same faith ticket, the forum said. Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue state, says he is not among those calling for the removal of Iyorchia Ayu as the national chairman of the ... Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue state, says he is not among those calling for the removal of Iyorchia Ayu as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Ortoms statement contradicts that of Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, and his allies, which he was a part of. Since the election of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the standard-bearer of the party in May, the group has insisted that Ayu must resign as a condition for supporting the PDP presidential candidate. In a statement issued by Nathaniel Ikyur, his chief press secretary, Ortom said he has confidence in Ayus ability to lead the party to victory in next years general election. The governor was reacting to the allegations by Jemgbagh Development Association, Abuja that he was plotting the downfall of his fellow Benue man, Ayu. He said he worked tirelessly, alongside other prominent Benue citizens, to ensure that Ayu was elected as the national chairman of our great party even against all odds. The governor could not, therefore, turn around to work against him to be removed from office, the statement reads. Governor Ortom vouched for the integrity and capacity of Dr Iyorchia Ayu to lead and rebuild the PDP to victory and rescue Nigeria from the misrule of the APC maladministration. That is why Ayu was returned unopposed by the northern caucus of the party and got elected as the national chairman of the PDP at the partys convention. Where was Jemgbagh Development Association, when Governor Ortom galvanised support from across the leaders of the party to make Dr. Ayu PDPs National Chairman? What was their contribution to that project that they now want to use clannish stance to blackmail the governor? This amorphous and emergency Jemgbagh Development Association, Abuja, which has never been heard of before, is now masquerading as the voice of Jemgbagh to embark on campaign of calumny against Governor Ortom, who has worked selflessly for the people of Benue State. Governor Ortom is more Jemgbagh than most of the people claiming it now. This is fact, because he has done more for Jemgbagh, both in terms of appointments and projects executed as well as patronage in the area, than even one of the Jemgbagh sons, who was governor. Besides, Governor Ortom has consistently worked for the unity of Benue State and will never stand in the way of any of her citizens, either here in the state or in the diaspora For those, who claimed to be leaders of this Jemgbagh Development Association, Abuja, we urge them to be truly developmental in their drive to build cohesion among the people and attract real development to their area rather than engaging in mischief or blackmail. The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has asserted that the fashion industry in Nigeria has the capacity to attract the high... The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has asserted that the fashion industry in Nigeria has the capacity to attract the highest revenue. He stated this in Calabar, Tuesday when he attended this years World Tourism Day (WTD) ceremony in Cross River. The minister also visited tourism sites and factories built by Governor Ben Ayades government. He said the ministry had commissioned a study on the effects of COVID-19 on the tourism industry. Amazingly, we found that even though Nigeria is known for film, music but that in-terms of receipt, the fashion industry yields the highest revenue. Some of the factories he visited included the state garment factory in Calabar. He explained, The garment factory is very interesting to me because, at the pick of the COVID-19, it came in handy. It produced face masks and became the solution to the COVID pandemic challenge and changed the thinking of the world on the type of materials that can be used for face masks. The minister said while music generates about N300 billion a year and film about N179 billion, the fashion industry has about N2 trillion in revenue. So the market for this garment factory is unlimited. It is a huge investment. The Minister urged other state governors to emulate the industrialization policy of the Cross River State Governor, saying the industries generate both direct and indirect employment opportunities for the people. Sri Lankan president says to prioritize implementing FTA with Singapore Xinhua) 14:53, September 27, 2022 COLOMBO, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday pledged to prioritize implementing the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Singapore during a meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Tokyo. During the meeting, Wickremesinghe informed the Singaporean prime minister that an international trade office was being established in the President's office. Wickremesinghe also invited Lee to visit Sri Lanka next year when the country celebrates its 75th Independence anniversary. Lee said that Singapore was looking forward to investing in Sri Lanka again, according to the President's Media Division. (Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun) In the context of the India-U.S. bilateral relationship, There is a need to minimise differences and maximise opportunities said Lt. Gen (Retd.) D S Hooda, former General Officer Commandingin-Chief, Indian Army's Northern Command. He was speaking at a virtual workshop, titled India-U.S. Geopolitical Relations: Past, Present and Future which saw distinguished panellists addressing thematic issues relating to the bilateral partnership, with a special focus on defence ties. The workshop was organised by CUTS International under the Defense News Conclave Project, being implemented with the support of the U.S. State Department. Gen. Hooda spoke about recent geopolitical events and accompanying strategic realignments, and their consequences in terms of the challenges and opportunities for the India-U.S. relationship. He noted that the India-U.S. partnership is strong today, driven by a recognition of the need to work together to handle geopolitical challenges in the Indo-Pacific region and a rising China. He pointed out three geopolitical challenges that the relationship will have to navigate: (1) the differences over positions on the Russia-Ukraine war, driven by Indias strategic autonomy. (2) the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover, which has the potential to destabilise the region. (3) India-China relations, which have deteriorated over the past two years. Raymond Vickery, Senior Adviser, Albright Stonebridge Group, stated that 1991 was a crucial year for the India-U.S. strategic relationship, being the year the Soviet Union collapsed and India opened up its economy therefore creating a window for India and the U.S. to cooperate across the board. While the period from 1947-1991 saw relations fluctuating, including many ups and downs, the trajectory of the relationship since 1991 is noteworthy. He pointed to the period from 2005-2008 being a great breakthrough, when the Civil Nuclear deal was put in place, which was in essence more about the strategic relationship than about civil nuclear cooperation. Vickery opined that there was a tension between Indias foreign policy and strategic posture. He emphasised that the strategic values of defending democracy, having non-aggression, building peace and stability, rule of law, is a very strong factor, and that the strategic convergence between India and the U.S. should not be restricted to views on border and territorial concerns, but also be on the broader question of values. Anit Mukherjee, Associate Professor, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, stated, on the other hand, that as opposed to values, the issues which bring India and the U.S. together are interests alone. While the interests dont align perfectly, Mukherjee observed that best friendships are shaped by the interests that bind them, and for India and the U.S., the interests align mainly because of shared concerns of a rising China. On bilateral defence ties, he noted that the military-military and defence relationship has been growing from strength to strength, across areas of defence trade and joint military exercises. Swasti Rao, Associate Fellow, MP-IDSA, discussed the evolving multilateralism in the IndoPacific region, nothing that the various coalitions in the Indo-Pacific address both threat perceptions as well as larger normative goals (climate change, resilient supply chains, green energy, COVID-19 vaccines etc.). In her view, the Transatlantic and the Indo-Pacific security architectures are merging, driven by geopolitical changes. Rao also spoke at length on the role of Europe in the evolving landscape. Overall, she emphasised the need to declutter the crowded, complex space of initiatives in the Indo-Pacific. Pointing out that no two countries can have an identical foreign policy and a complete convergence of interests, she stressed on the imperative of mapping convergences. Locally reported news and sports Stay Current with What's Happening Get the most of NNY360, register today! By providing your email address, you consent to receive emails and special offers from NNY360.com Vials of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine boosters, shown here, or Pfizer-BioNTechs version of the shot can be mixed and matched. So either is fine regardless of which shots a person has had in the past, experts say. Michael Sohn/Pool/Getty Images File photo Delhi Police on Tuesday said that the imposition of section 144 in the city's Jamia Nagar was not related to the coordinated action being taken against the Popular Front of India (PFI). Delhi Police on Tuesday said that the imposition of section 144 in the city's Jamia Nagar was not related to the coordinated action being taken against the Popular Front of India (PFI). "It is not related to the action against PFI. The order is 10 days old," Delhi Police spokesperson Suman Nalwa clarified to IANS. Notably, an order signed by the Chief Proctor of Jamia Millia Islamia University informing the students about the imposition of section 144 was doing rounds on social media since Monday. On early Tuesday, when the central agencies along with the Delhi Police began conducting raids at multiple locations in the national capital, the notice went viral on social media, with several media houses connecting it with ongoing crackdown against PFI. In the notice, the chief proctor said that he was informed by SHO, Jamia Nagar police station, that section 144 of the CrPc has been imposed for 60 days in the entire Okhla-Jamia Nagar area and subsequently, the teaching and non-teaching staff along with students were advised not to assemble in groups, march, dharna, agitations and meetings in and outside the campus. Actually, Assistant Commissioner of Police (southeast) Sanjay Kumar Singh had on September 19, issued an order prohibiting the carrying of MASHAL, i.e, torch carrying live flames or live fire candles or live fire in any form in processions, rallies, functions in the entire jurisdiction of sub-division New Friends Colony, south east Delhi. The ACP, in the order, had mentioned that it was being issued as the police had received information that some people or groups may indulge in activities prejudicial to the maintenance of peace in south east Delhi. "Information has also been received that such activities may seriously endanger life and property of the citizens and the maintenance of law and order in the jurisdiction of south east district," ACP Singh had said in the order. Since Tuesday morning, the police have so far detained 30 people during raids at multiple locations in the city. Apart from Delhi, raids are also being conducted at locations linked to the PFI in eight states. Sources said that the raids, which began early morning, were going on in Aurangabad, Jalana, Parbhani districts of Maharashtra; Simoga, Bidar, Ballari, Hubli, Kalburgi districts of Karnataka; Nagarbera of Assam; Bulandshahr's Kasba Syana, Sarurpur and Lisari Gate area of Meerut in Western Uttar Pradesh. Scales Corporation Limited (NZX: SCL ) today announced the entry into two agreements to expand its Global Proteins division in Australia. The agreements are: The subscription for a 33% interest in a newly established petfood processing operation to be based in Melbourne. Scales will be partnering with two recognised industry participants who bring extensive supply relationships Concurrently, Scales has entered into an agreement to purchase 50% of the Australian operations of Fayman International, including a 42.5% interest in ANZ Exports (collectively Fayman International and ANZ Exports are referred to hereinafter as Fayman International) The combined initial investment from Scales is estimated at A$27 million, to be funded from Scales existing cash reserves. Managing Director Andy Borland says: the investments announced today demonstrate Scales commitment to Global Proteins, both in terms of expanding our geographical reach as well as the range of products that we are able to supply. As demand for proteins increases, access to global supply and key growth markets becomes increasingly important. Australias product mix, growth, and proximity to Asia make it a strategically important supply base for both our petfood customers and edible by-products markets. The partnership that we have entered into significantly strengthens our diversity of proteins and our supplier base. The investment also unlocks potential synergies in our sea-freight logistics activities. We are very pleased to be able to invest in a bricks-and-mortar processing facility in Australia. The facility shall be focused on the production of petfood ingredients from inedible meat by-products, similar to the ingredient processing operations currently operating in New Zealand and the USA. The business, to be known as Meateor Australia Pty Ltd is investing in state-of-the-art equipment to develop a high-quality processing facility. The facility is expected to be operational in Q1 2023 and will scale up to full production later in the same year. Our partners include the Fayman family, who bring extensive supply relationships to the operation. Fayman International has been successfully developed and grown over the past 40 years and has strong relationships with suppliers and customers. Marvin Fayman, Chairman of Fayman International says: the Fayman family believes Scales is an ideal partner to help Fayman International continue to grow and to provide improved solutions to our supplier partners, for both their edible and inedible meat by-products. We are excited to partner with the Meateor and Scales team and look forward to leveraging the opportunities available to both businesses. Scales directors note that the investments are unlikely to have a material effect on earnings for FY22 and also note the possibility for some disruption to earnings whilst the investments are integrated and ahead of Meateor Australia becoming fully operational. Contact Andy Borland, Managing Director, Scales Corporation Limited, Mob: 021 975 999, email: andy.borland@scalescorporation.co.nz About Scales Corporation Scales Corporation is a diversified agribusiness group. It comprises three operating divisions: Global Proteins, Horticulture and Logistics. The companys diverse spread of activities gives Scales broad exposure to the agribusiness sector. Scales Corporation was founded in 1897 as a shipping business by George Herbert Scales. Today it has operations across New Zealand, Australia and the United States. Find out more at www.scalescorporation.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: FSF - Monthly Allotment/ Redemption Notice PCT - Major leasing progress at Wynyard Stage 3 ATM - Renewal of arrangements with China State Farm GSH - Extension of borrowing facilities October 3rd Morning Report Contact closes its Green Bond offer and sets margin ATM - Share buyback to commence 5 October - 1Q23 Trading update HLG Full Year Results for the period ending 1 August 2022 SNC - 2022 Annual Meeting Result Steel & Tube - Trading Update - September 2022 Federal regulators say at least 12 Gulf of Mexico oil and gas platforms and two drilling rigs have been evacuated and shut down in preparation for Hurricane Ian, a Category 3 storm expected to strike southwestern Florida late Wednesday. The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement estimates the evacuations affect about 2% of the 521 crewed platforms in the Gulf. Production platforms are the offshore structures from which oil and natural gas are produced and transported to shore. Unlike drilling rigs, which typically move from location to location, platforms stay in the same spot. At least four mobile rigs have moved out of the storm's predicted path, according to BSEE. Officials did not name the facilities or their locations. Platform evacuations require shut-in procedures, which include closing safety valves below the water's surface to avoid oil spills if struck by a hurricane. The shutdowns will reduce Gulf oil production by about 11% percent and natural gas production by almost 9%, according to BSEE estimates. After the storm has passed, facilities will be inspected and allowed to restart production if no damage has been found. Ian is expected to become an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane in the warm Gulf waters before making landfall near Tampa, according to the National Hurricane Center. Life-threatening storm surge is expected along the west coast of Florida, with the highest risk from Tampa Bay to Fort Myers. Some places could get up to 12 feet of storm surge and up to 24 inches of rain, forecasters said. Evacuation orders are in effect for about 2.5 million people in Florida. Damaging winds and flooding are expected across the entire peninsula as Ian moves north, reaching into Georgia and South Carolina, hurricane forecasters said. Staff writer Carlie Kollath Wells contributed to this report. +3 Satellites can now catch small but 'nefarious' methane emissions from offshore oil platforms The colorless, odorless gas has far greater heat-trapping potential than carbon dioxide. Curbing the untold number of small leaks could have a big impact on climate change. Faimon Roberts III covers rural communities in Louisiana. His work is supported by a reporting grant from the Microsoft Journalism Initiative and is administered by the Greater New Orleans Foundation. He can be reached at froberts@theadvocate.com. NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson, center, stands in front of John Casbon, left, with the New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation, and the new Consulting Chief of Operations Fausto Pichardo, right, during a press conference at City Hall on Thursday, September 8, 2022. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate) iRobot has announced the Roomba Combo j7+ Robot Vacuum and Mop. The smart home device can vacuum and mop simultaneously with a four-stage cleaning system; the gadget combines an edge-sweeping brush, dual multi-surface rubber brushes, power-lifting suction and mopping. Using the PrecisionVision Navigation system, the robot can intelligently identify and avoid obstacles. Dirt Detect technology identifies areas that need greater focus so the vacuum can clean them more thoroughly. The Combo j7+ is compatible with the Clean Base, a docking station with automatic dirt disposal; the company indicates that the auto-emptying dock allows for up to 60 days of hands-free cleaning. The gadget can sense carpet and retract the mop; while you can find this feature across other models, iRobot claims that this is the only robot vacuum that retracts the mop fully, lifting the head from the bottom to the top of the device. The suction power of the robot and its expected cleaning time on a single charge are unknown. You can control the gadget in the iRobot app or with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands. You can currently pre-order the Roomba Combo j7+ Robot Vacuum and Mop with the Clean Base docking station in the US for US$1,099.99; shipping is expected to begin on October 4. Customers in the UK will shortly be able to buy the device with or without the Clean Base for 999 (~US$1,075) or 799 (~US$860), respectively. The gadget is expected to launch in other markets later this year. Mid Century Television - live, local and unpredictable late 1950s television In the late 1950s television networks ruled the airwaves from 7 to 11 PM, but outside of that timeslot television was live, local and unpredictable. Jim Hanlon, W8KGI, worked as a summer relief engineer at Cincinnati's WCPO-TV from 1956 to 1958. At that time WCPO-TV did not have any video recording technology, so all local TV was live TV and provided a refreshing dose of live programming, equipment failures and production creativity that been lost in today's pasteurized, homogenized TV ecosystem. Join Jim as he recalls what it like producing live TV programming in the early days of television broadcasting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ1XOowSlQI Help keep communications history alive by becoming a member of the Antique Wireless Association at: https://www.antiquewireless.org/homepage/ The Alignment Network Nourished by Be Good Juicerie has brought together chiropractic care, yoga, cold-pressed juice, art and live music in downtown Valparaiso. Dr. Kristina Kauffman and Amber Shambo opened The Alignment Network at 3 Lincolnway on the courthouse square. "It's a collaboration and a one-of-a-kind business," Kauffman said. She struck out on her own after working for years at Kaufman Chiropractic in Merrillville and Winfield. "I practice a niche form of energy work," she said. "It's very unique. It merits its own establishment as it's an outlier in the chiropractic realm." Her practice shares the space with Be Good Jucerie, which offers a selection of cold-pressed juices and other health-oriented fare like alkaline water. It makes juice for several places including Roots Organic Juice Cafe, Porter Regional Hospital, Trailyard Coffee Shop, MBS Fitness, LaPorte Hospital and 360 Integrated Medical Center. Shambo was establishing a commercial kitchen in the space and invited Kauffman to teach yoga there. A partnership blossomed. "It's an open space where I was teaching one class a month or so," Kauffman said. "It became home for my patient base for a niche form of chiropractic care." She practices NetworkSpinal, a holistic approach involving chiropractic, bodywork and energy work that focuses on connecting the nervous system to free tension in the body while deploying a whole-person approach. Kauffman said it's a cutting-edge type of chiropractic care that's typically only found in big cities like Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. "It's not the traditional popping and cracking people associate with chiropractic care," she said. "It's a neurological-based way of bringing about changes in everyday life, helping people with things affecting their emotional life and making them more whole as human beings." Traditional chiropractic clients typically seek relief from pain. Those seeking NetworkSpinal treatment often feel out of alignment, stressed or that there is something more, Kauffman said. "It helps people let go of stress and optimize their performance," she said. "It's for whoever wants to benefit from it. That's often CEOs or people who want to take their lives to the next level or perform at their highest level." Patients learn to feel what's going on in their bodies and waking brains and become more in tune with their physical bodies. She's looking to add more practitioners, tables and hours to expand the NetworkSpinal care that's meant to address patients' physical, mental and emotional needs. "Just from my own personal experience receiving this care makes my life a lot richer and brings peace and calm," she said. "It'sa revolutionary model that is at the forefront of healthcare and that Im happy to be trailblazing." Her practice has grown by word of mouth. She schedules appointments mostly through Facebook, setting up introductory sessions with new clients to help them reach their goals. The Alignment Network does not keep regular business hours but is open by appointment. It also has yoga classes, including a prenatal class, a few times a week. Fresh-pressed juice that's often made with superfoods and other unique ingredients is available in the fridge when The Alignment Network is open. It also delivers the juice and takes online orders for pickup. The space also serves as an art gallery carrying the work of local artists like Ish Muhammad. Paintings, photos and other artworks range in price from $5 to $10,000. There's also a retail section that sells yoga clothes and other health and wellness products. The space has been hosting regular concerts, such as by local jam bands like Stealin the Farm that play around Northwest Indiana. It plans to resume its Sound Healing concert series in the spring. The space also can be rented out such as for furniture painting workshops, weddings, birthdays, showers, quinceaneras, educational courses, business conferences, bat mitzvahs and fundraisers. "There's nothing like this," Kauffman said. "It's a growing community where people can be at peace, develop their passions and feel at home. It's truly a community of like-minded people who support and love each other and are trying to make the world a better, more coherent place." For more information, find the business on Facebook and Instagram or visit www.BeGoodJuicerie.com. Porter/LaPorte County Courts and Social Justice Reporter Bob is a 23-year veteran of The Times. He covers county government and courts in Porter County, federal courts, police news and regional issues. He also created the Vegan in the Region blog, is an Indiana University grad and lifelong region resident. GARY The body of a missing Griffith woman has been found. The Lake County Coroner's Office said they received a report on Friday of a burned structure on the 5300 block of West Eighth Avenue in Gary. The fire began the night before at 12:43 a.m., the coroner's office said. First responders found the body of Deborah Leslie, 30, of Griffith, inside the building. She was pronounced dead at 11:36 a.m., according to the Lake County Coroner. The injuries sustained and cause of death are still pending, the coroner said. Leslie had been missing since Sept. 18, according to Griffith Police detective Sgt. Jim Sibley. Her family last spoke to her Sept. 18 and her cell phone was last pinged at a hotel in Hammond, according to a flier. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Griffith Police Det. Jake Schoon at 219-924-7503. One of the most significant features of the majesty of the law as the queen of humanities is the elegance of the Rule of Law as the foundation of humanity. by Ruwantissa Abeyratne Do not be fooled by constitutional theories (the paper description) and formal institutional continuities (connected outward sameness) concentrate instead on the real centres of power and the practical working of the political system (living reality). Walter Bagehot (1867) This article commences with a profound appreciation of Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth II and her service to the Nation and concludes with every good wish for the reign of His Majesty King Charles III. At this turning point in the history of the United Kingdom, the most fundamental truth and point of clarity is that the King reigns (as head of the nation) but does not rule. This legal profundity is founded on the philosophy of John Locke ( 1632-1704) who propounded the concept of the Moderate Monarchy a new political idea that infused certain limitations of power on the Monarchy based on the principle that laws should be enacted for the common good of the citizenry. Having introduced this approach, Locke advocated residual powers for the sovereign, ascribing discretion to the sovereign to change or amend laws again for the common good -a practice now known as the Royal Prerogative. King Charles III in first Parliament speech on September 12 pledges to follow example of selfless duty by darling late mother [ Photo AFP ] It is the Parliament that rules and the King is obliged to follow the advice of Parliament. The King has meetings once a month with his Privy Council his advisory body and approves Orders in Council that emanate from the consultations with and advice of The Privy Council. The King also performs, with the advice of the Parliament, several key functions such as appointing the Prime Minister and senior judges and receiving incoming and outgoing ambassadors. The King also signs State papers which he receives daily and conducts weekly meetings with his Prime Minister as well as other meetings regularly with senior officials. Additionally, the Monarch can declare war and peace; sign treaties; dissolve Parliament; confer peerages and knighthoods. In 1689 co-rulers of England King William III and Queen Mary II signed into law the English Bill of Rights. For the first time in English history the bill adumbrated explicit constitutional and civic rights and it is believed by many that it was the genesis of the constitutional Monarchy (where the monarchs discretion is limited) and Parliamentary power over the Monarchy. Arguably, The English Bill of Rights greatly influenced the draughtsmen of the U.S. Bill of Rights. The English Bill of Rights came into being after the ouster of King James II who was largely considered autocratic and was subsequently ousted. Ineluctably therefore the document identified the misdeeds of James II. The English Bill of Rights clearly ascribed to the king or queen the exalted position of head of State but circumscribed some of his or her powers which were considered as limited by law. Some of the rights contained and embodied in The English Bill of Rights were: freedom to elect members of Parliament, without the king or queens interference; freedom of speech in Parliament; freedom from royal interference with the law; freedom to petition the king; freedom to bear arms for self-defence; freedom from cruel and unusual punishment and excessive bail; freedom from taxation by royal prerogative, without the agreement of Parliament; freedom of fines and forfeitures without a trial; freedom from armies being raised during peacetimes. The English Bill of Rights also prohibited Catholics from becoming the Monarch and required that Parliament be convened regularly. The Monarchy was obligated to rule under the consent of Parliament, with the recognition that the people had individual rights. Therefore, it would not be incorrect to say that in the British constitutional Monarchy, the king (or queen) plays a largely ceremonial role. However, the monarch stands out as the symbol and inspiration of national unity and earns the respect of the local and international community as an apolitical figure. The famous former editor of The Economist Walter Bagehot described the monarch as the dignified part of the Constitution. At law, there can be no civil or criminal proceedings against the sovereign. Its par for the course that this exemption notwithstanding, the King or Queen (as the case may be) is careful to act within the bounds of law and tradition. The genesis of this tradition arguably lies in The Magna Carta Liberatum (Great Charter) signed between King John and a group of barons in 1215 laying out the freedoms of individuals. The document was composed of 63 Articles, one of which said the king must follow the law and could not simply rule as he wished. The Magna Carta stands as the monument of the constitutional history of England. One of the legacies, and indeed a blessing of the Moderate Monarchy as espoused by John Locke is that between the Monarchy and parliament, these two institutions effectively preclude the infestation of insidious and invidious autocracies in the community. A corollary to the harmonious blending of the two institutions is The Rule of Law. One of the most significant features of the majesty of the law as the queen of humanities is the elegance of the Rule of Law as the foundation of humanity. The Rule of Law is the hallmark of democracy. Regrettably, at the present time, the aspirations people had of equal rights and representation by the people of the people for the people have gradually eroded into a quagmire of ambivalent populism that is shrouded in mendacious and self-serving casuistry. A whole new phenomenon called illiberal democracy has been identified by the intelligentsia as a definition of this phenomenon. The hallmark of illiberal democracy is the ignoring by those democratically elected by the people in many instances those that have been re-elected or reaffirmed through referenda of constitutional limits on their power, thereby depriving their citizens of basic rights and freedom. The Rule of Law, which is entrenched in the unwritten British Constitution reflects the quintessence of Constitutional Monarchy. To this end, Lard Bingham has attempted a definition of the Rule of Law thus: all individuals and organizations within the State, whether public or private, are bound by, and entitled to the benefit of laws prospectively promulgated and publicly administered in the courts. This definition can be expanded to several corollaries. Laws should be intelligible. They should not be couched in a plethora of pages in convoluted language and expanded to hundreds of regulations. Nor should they be orally delivered through speeches and pronouncements. Any written amendment to a law should be brought to the attention of the people. A society should be governed by law and not by discretion granted to or assumed by public officials. Additionally, they should be equally applied. To expand further, laws should not favour a particular category of individual. Past examples are the depravity of slavery, servanthood and the arbitrarily perceived inferiority of women in some jurisdictions. It can be argued that the sustenance of the modern-day British Monarchy and its dignified relationship with the Parliament would continue to ac as a buffer against populism, illiberalism, and autocracy. Dr. Abeyratne is the author of Aviation and the Carbon Trade, Aviation and the Environment, and Aviation and Climate Change: In Search of a Global Market Based Option. MICHIANA, Mich. Police are seeking the public's help in identifying the body of a dead man found Monday afternoon floating in Lake Michigan off the 4000 block of Lakeshore Drive. The man, who was found just over the Indiana line into Michigan, was described as in his 30s, around 6 feet tall with a medium build. The Grand Beach/Michiana Police Department was called out to the site just after noon Monday and the body was recovered with the help of the New Buffalo Township and Michiana Shores Fire Departments. An autopsy was to take place Tuesday at the Western Michigan University School of Medicine. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Grand Beach/Michiana Police Department at 269-469-1884. STARKE COUNTY Two former sheriff's department deputies have been charged in connection with missing evidence from the department, Indiana State Police announced Tuesday. The charges come after a lengthy investigation by state police with the results being turned over to a grand jury. Adam Gray, 50, of Knox, faces four felony counts of official misconduct and misdemeanor theft, dealing paraphernalia and dealing marijuana, police said. Don Ferguson, 54, of South Bend, faces three felony counts of official misconduct, felony theft of a firearm and misdemeanor theft and false informing, according to police. Both men have turned themselves in to the Starke County jail. The details of the case remained sealed as of Tuesday, according to the clerk's office in Starke County. GARY The city has named a new redevelopment director. Mayor Jerome Prince on Monday put Wendy Vachet in charge of the City of Gary Redevelopment Department. She succeeds AJ Bytnar in the role. Vachet is a certified planner with close three decades of professional experience. Prince said she would join the city at a crucial time as it seeks to attract more businesses. Wendy is a highly qualified professional, with extensive experience in many key areas of economic development for Gary, Prince said. From handling multimodal transportation planning to large development projects, Wendy is joining us at a time when we are considering large projects that can become economic game-changers for the city. She's a graduate of Indiana University Northwest and Old Dominion University who has 27 years of experience working in planning, development, infrastructure and environmental projects. Most recently, she has worked in the private sector as a regional planning and environmental manager for the engineering and consulting firm Michael Baker International. In that role, she has provided technical services to the Gary Redevelopment Commission on a number of matters. I have really enjoyed my work with the Gary Redevelopment Commission, and Im eager to come on board to head the Redevelopment Department full-time, Vachet said. Im grateful to Mayor Prince for this opportunity, and I look forward to working with all of Garys stakeholders in my new capacity. GARY With careful cultivation, the caved-in roofs and broken windows that once filled the corner of 656 Carolina St. have been replaced by tidy rows of Brussels sprouts, metal containers overflowing with marigolds and a herd of happy goats. "There used to be abandoned houses on this property," said Curtis Whittaker, senior pastor for Progressive Community Church International. "Fast-forward nine years later, and we grow 15,000 pounds of food here every year." Whittaker founded the acre and a half urban farm, called Faith Farms CDC, about nine years ago with the goal of increasing local food access in Gary. Faith is now looking to tackle a similar transformation down the street turning an abandoned home located at 576 Carolina St. into a space where produce can be preserved. Faith, Fresh, Frozen Foundation Offering everything from okra to duck eggs Whittaker said Faith currently donates about 90% of what it produces; eventually they hope to expand their Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, program, selling 75% of their food, giving 15% to volunteers and donating 10%. Though farm is able to provide fresh produce year-round using hoop houses, the limited shelf-life for fresh fruits and vegetables can be a barrier. Using $425,000 from the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, the farm is launching the "Faith, Fresh, Frozen Foundation" initiative, which will use the flash freezing method to preserve and package food while maintaining key nutrients. The goal is to start by freezing 5,000 pounds of produce a year, 20% of which will be donated to the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. Whittaker said the remaining 80% will be sold to local restaurants, hospitals and even school districts. Faith was able to receive the $425,000 through the Feeding America Food Security Equity Impact Fund, a program launched in March 2021 with a $20 million donation from MacKenzie Scott. Ami McReynolds, chief equity officer for Feeding America, said the Impact Fund was specifically created to support communities of color, which are disproportionately impacted by food insecurity. The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana was one of 25 food banks to receive grant funding through the program. Whittaker said $150,000 will be used to purchase the necessary freezers and chillers. The remaining funds will go toward rehabilitating the vacant house and hiring two part-time employees, each at a salary of $20,000. "We believe that one of the ways you lift yourself out of poverty is to have employment," Whittaker said, noting the median household income in the Emerson neighborhood where Faith Farms is located is $13,000. "We want to be able to lift the economics in this neighborhood." Throughout the project Faith plans on working with local, Black-owned companies, Whittaker said. During a Monday morning "Seed Planting Ceremony," elected officials and representatives from Feeding America and the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana gathered around one of Faith Farm's raised beds and gently patted winter squash, bok choy, carrot, radish and turnip seeds into the soil. "These are not just physical seeds, but these are seeds of change," Whittaker told the crowd. Sowing seeds of change In 2020, about 13% of Lake County residents were food insecure, according to a report from Feeding America. State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, said barriers to nutritious food have also contributed to a "health desert" in Gary. "(Nutrition) impacts every facet of our life. It impacts the way we think, the way we feel, the way we engage in our community," state Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary, said. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Access Research Atlas, the majority of Gary's census tracts are considered both low income and 'low access,' meaning the nearest grocery store is more than one mile away. During the Seed Planting Ceremony, U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, promised to advocate for food security bills so that organizations like the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana and Faith Farms receive adequate funding. Whittaker said Faith Farms will likely be ready to start preserving food by late 2023 or early 2024. He has his sights set on raising about $5 million to eventually expand the flash freezing initiative. "We all have to come together: from federal, to state, to county, to local, to township, to churches, to nonprofit organizations, ... and when we do that, we'll see neighborhood by neighborhood begin to change," Whittaker said. MICHIGAN CITY Purdue University Northwest Sinai Forum is now selling single program tickets for Adam Savage of "Mythbusters" fame. Savage, a maker, creator and special effects designer who co-hosted the popular Discovery Channel show for years, will give a talk Sunday as a part of the 69th Purdue Northwest Sinai Forum season. The talk will take place from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Blue Chip Casino, Hotel and Spas Stardust Event Center at 777 Blue Chip Dr. in Michigan City. We are excited to share Adam Savages enthusiasm for creating with our audience, said Leslie Plesac, executive director of Sinai Forum. In his own words, Savage says it doesnt matter if youre a model maker, a potter, a dancer, a programmer, a writer, a political activist, a teacher, a musician, a milliner, whatever. Its all the same. Making is making, and none of it is failure. Savage will give a talk entitled "Every Tools a Hammer: Life is What You Make It." He will set forth his rules for creativity, curiosity and problem-solving, sharing insights from his 40 years of making and creating, including on "MythBusters." He will tell people how to find inspiration, how to follow through, how to make an idea a reality and how to push the boundaries of what's possible. His presentation also will cover a toolbox of methods for attaining personal and professional success. Single program event tickets for Savages presentation cost $100 and can be bought at pnw.edu/sinai-forum/tickets. It's free for college and high school students with valid student IDs. The Sinai Forum has brought leading scholars, artists and public figures to Northwest Indiana since 1953, aiming to enlighten and inspire. It was founded by Sylvia and Dr. Milton Bankoff and taken over by PNW in 2006. The Women's Giving Circle of the Crown Point Community Foundation has awarded $2,000 in grants at its annual Collective Grantmaking Event Sept. 13 at the Crown Point Community Library. The Womens Giving Circle Collective Grantmaking Event is part of the philanthropic efforts of the Crown Point Community Foundation. The WGC invites women from the area to attend the event with a $100 or larger donation, which can be made throughout the year. Attendees donations are then pooled and awarded to area nonprofits. All WGC attendees vote for the nonprofits of their choice at the organizations annual event, which is held on the second Tuesday in September. In addition to the three $2,000 grant recipients at the Womens Giving Circle Collective Grantmaking Event, the WGC members will also supply a $1,000 Scholarship for an Adult Learner (21 and over) in 2023. The Womens Giving Circle Collective Grantmaking Event is a great way for women to connect with one another and to learn about the needs in their community, said Mary Nielsen, President of the Crown Point Community Foundation. We invite all women in South Lake County to become involved in charitable giving and to see how their donation can make a significant difference supporting all within the place we call home. The event was sponsored by Kathy Roeser of The Roeser Group at Morgan Stanley and Jane Lambesis of Federated Hermes Investment. At this years event, Womens Giving Circle members voted on and awarded $2,000 grants to the following nonprofits: * Community Help Network * Northwest Indiana Cancer Kids Foundation * Open Hearts Therapeutic Riding Center Just being in attendance at the Womens Giving Circle with so many amazing women was pure joy, said Bonnie J. Meyer, President of the Community Help Network. Then to receive one of the three grants was even more spectacular. I am grateful to have been there and to have received the grant. $2,000 will fill 400 Buddy Bags, feeding 400 food insecure students in South Lake County for one weekend. We thank everyone involved in awarding us this grant. For more information about becoming a member of the Womens Giving Circle, visit the Crown Point Community Foundation website at www.thecpcf.org. About the Crown Point Community Foundation: The Crown Point Community Foundation connects people who care to causes that matter. Since 1990, it has served the citizens of Crown Point and South Lake County through a range of charitable and civic activities, while helping individual donors achieve their philanthropic goals. As a public charitable organization, the CPCF is dedicated to building permanently endowed funds. The Crown Point Community Foundation will help to positively shape the future of the community and act as a facilitator of community good. Applause erupted as Alex Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh descended an escalator at an airport in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday. Side by side, the two men shared a quick glance before embracing their loved ones for the first time in months. Bring it in, brother, said Mr. Druekes aunt, Dianna Shaw, as she pulled him in close. Mr. Drueke, a former U.S. Army staff sergeant who served two tours in Iraq, and Mr. Huynh, a former U.S. Marine, had been held captive by Russian-backed forces since June after they traveled to Ukraine to fight the invasion. The men were captured near the city of Kharkiv on June 9 when their platoon came under heavy fire while fighting alongside other foreign soldiers who joined in the defense of Ukraine. For three months, the men faced an uncertain fate. They spent time in solitary confinement but were allowed occasional calls back home to family members and the State Department. In June, the Kremlin publicly threatened to prosecute them as terrorists or war criminals since they were foreign volunteers. But last week, Mr. Drueke and Mr. Huynh were among 10 foreign prisoners of war released as part of a larger prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine. The exchange was mediated by Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, which received the detainees. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine warned on Sunday that President Vladimir V. Putins threat to use nuclear weapons in Russias war against Ukraine was no bluff as he urged the United States and other Western allies to intensify the pressure on the Russian leader as his troops falter on the battlefield. I dont think hes bluffing, Mr. Zelensky said on CBS Newss Face the Nation. He wants to scare the whole world. These are the first steps of his nuclear blackmail. Speaking through a translator, Mr. Zelensky added: I think the world is determined in containing this threat. We need to keep putting pressure on him and not allow him to continue. Biden administration officials have expressed concern that Mr. Putin could detonate a tactical nuclear weapon on Ukrainian territory, or perhaps in a demonstration blast over the Black Sea or the Arctic Ocean. Administration officials said on Sunday that while they took the threat seriously, there has been no evidence of Russia moving those weapons or preparing such a strike. The pharmaceutical company Biogen has agreed to pay $900 million to settle federal and state claims that it paid kickbacks to physicians to encourage them to prescribe its drugs, the Justice Department said on Monday as a federal judge approved the deal. The case began in 2012, when Michael Bawduniak who was then a Biogen employee reported to federal law enforcement officials his concerns that the company was making illegal payments. Mr. Bawduniak filed a suit that year under the False Claims Acts whistle-blower provisions, which let private individuals sue on the governments behalf. The government declined to intervene in the lawsuit, which left Mr. Bawduniak and his lawyers to pursue it alone. Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Departments Civil Division, said the settlement underscores the critical role that whistle-blowers play in complementing the United States use of the False Claims Act to combat fraud affecting federal health care programs. Mr. Bawduniak will be paid $266 million from the settlement the largest whistle-blower award on record, Thomas M. Greene, his lawyer, said in an interview. Fifteen states participated in the deal. It was scuttled after President Donald J. Trump criticized the plan, which at one point carried a cost estimate of $119 billion and which some experts said could harm the environment and might not even work. Since then, the fiscal impact of the coronavirus pandemic has only toughened the political and financial challenges of devising solutions to the interrelated risks of storm surges, flash flooding and rising sea levels that threaten the New York region and waterfront cities around the world. The new Army Corps proposal would include a series of sea gates movable walls to be closed only for major storms that would block waterways around Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and New Jersey, along with 31 miles of land-based levees, elevated shorelines and sea walls. It would require approval from the state and local governments that would foot the rest of the bill. The proposal like its predecessor lands squarely in a broader resiliency debate, over how much to rely on each of two approaches that most experts think will have to be combined. One relies on engineered solutions, like building sea barriers that try to control water flows, along with walls and levees that defend coastlines. The other approach focuses on remaking waterfront areas so that they are more compatible with rising seas and intensifying weather: restoring marshlands, relocating some communities and redesigning others. The Army Corps proposal would do some of each approach and has been revised to take into account public concerns, but its focus remains on sea barriers and walls. The Corps estimates it would be finished by 2044 and would save an average of $6.2 billion in flood damage a year for the next five decades. The principal intent of campaigns is to give voice to the candidates positions on major issues. When casting their ballots, voters consider personality, party allegiance, character traits and other factors. In Pennsylvanias Senate election, a candidates personal health has come to the fore, and the outcome could be a key in determining control of the Senate. In my experience, politicians who are not fully transparent in disclosing their health information can become vulnerable to the spread of misinformation, rumors and antics that detract from the candidates stances on major issues. That risk is playing out in the Fetterman-Oz race in Pennsylvania. It began in May, when the Democratic candidate, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, experienced a stroke, a common affliction. But his campaign has undergone criticism for delays in disclosing relevant health information. It was learned that Mr. Fetterman was diagnosed with a serious abnormal heart rhythm, atrial fibrillation, in 2017. Since that diagnosis, Mr. Fetterman had failed to take prescribed medications and to visit a doctor until the stroke emergency. After his stroke, Mr. Fetterman received a pacemaker-defibrillator for another heart ailment, cardiomyopathy, which reduces the organs strength in pumping blood to the body. During recovery he has stammered, spoken haltingly and acknowledged difficulty in auditory processing, a common problem in strokes. In the upcoming Oct. 25 debate with his opponent, Mehmet Oz, Mr. Fetterman has requested accommodations, like a closed-caption monitor so he doesnt miss words. The title of the Reddit post this month seemed almost too shocking to be true: My Qdad snapped and killed my family this morning. The post by Rebecca Lanis, a 21-year-old from Michigan was on a forum dedicated to people whove lost loved ones to QAnon, the sprawling conspiracy cult that imagines that Donald Trump is waging a secret war against blood-drinking pedophiles who run Hollywood and the Democratic Party. As The Detroit News would soon report, Laniss father, 53-year-old Igor Lanis, had indeed gone on a murderous rampage. Lanis described how her father had fallen down the QAnon rabbit hole after the 2020 election. He wasnt violent, however, until the morning of Sept. 11, when he shot her mother, her sister and their dog, and was then killed in a shootout with the police. Laniss sister, despite being shot in the back and legs, survived. Her mother and the dog did not. The killings werent the first to be linked to QAnon radicalization. Last year, a 40-year-old California man confessed to killing his two young children; in an affidavit, an F.B.I. agent said he explained that he was enlightened by QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories and had come to believe that his children had serpent DNA. In 2019, a QAnon devotee stabbed his brother to death after being convinced that he was a lizard. However bizarre, the idea that the ruling elite are really lizards or reptiles seeking to enslave the human race is an old conspiracy theory that has been subsumed into QAnons paranoid omnibus mythology. The conversation has matured in a really appropriate way, Dr. Statler said. The growing focus on planetary defense can be seen in a number of initiatives that NASA and congressional appropriators have sponsored. One is the Vera Rubin Observatory, a new telescope in Chile that is financed by the United States and will systematically scan the night sky and find thousands of potentially hazardous asteroids. Another is the NEO Surveyor, a space-based telescope that NASA is working to build. It too will find many hazardous asteroids, including some that are hard to spot from Earth. If any of those asteroids turn out to be on a collision course with Earth, the DART mission shows that deflecting them is a realistic possibility. For the engineers on the mission, operated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the impact, at 7:14 p.m. Eastern time, marked the end of their work. The spacecraft, operating autonomously for the last four hours of its existence, successfully locked on Dimorphos. That is even more impressive because DARTs camera spotted Dimorphos for the first time a little more than an hour before impact. Dimorphos orbits a larger asteroid, Didymos, and until then, the smaller asteroid was lost in the glare of the larger object. DARTs navigation system then shifted its gaze toward the smaller asteroid. Up until five minutes before impact, mission controllers could have intervened if something had gone wrong. But they did not have to make any adjustments. During the last five minutes, the people in the control room were spectators, too, like everyone watching the stream of photographs of Dimorphos. And then it was over. Initial analysis indicated that the spacecraft hit within about 50 feet of the target center. I definitely feel relieved, said Elena Adams, the mission systems engineer. And it is absolutely wonderful to do something this amazing. And we are so excited to be done. WASHINGTON The last time waves of protests swept Iran, after the killing of a young woman who was standing on the sidelines of an anti-government rally in 2009, Barack Obama hesitated to back the anti-government movement publicly for fear that Tehran would claim the C.I.A. was secretly sparking the unrest. Thirteen years later, under remarkably similar circumstances, President Biden has taken a dramatically different approach. He publicly sided with the protesters in his speech to the United Nations last week. The United States moved quickly last week to impose sanctions on the countrys morality police. And the administration has permitted the activation of satellite links and other internet services in hopes of restoring communications among the protesters, despite attempts by Iranian officials to keep them in the dark. Now the race is on to get the communications equipment into the hands of the protesters no small task in a country where the government is determined to shut down any view the outside world may have into the depth of its crackdown after the death in police custody of the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was accused of violating the law on head scarves. On Friday, the State Department and the Treasury raced to lift sanctions that prevented much of that American-designed technology from flowing into the country sanctions that were part of a broader effort to cut Iran off from the world until a new nuclear deal was negotiated and the country halted aid to terror groups. In a rare admission of official mistakes, the Kremlin acknowledged on Monday that its new military draft to reinforce the Russian assault on Ukraine has been rife with problems. The admission occurred the same day that a man, apparently distraught over the mobilization, shot and seriously wounded a recruitment officer at a draft office in Siberia. Since President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia announced a partial mobilization last week to call up 300,000 people with military experience to join the fight, there have been widespread reports of conscription in rural regions that has swept up ethnic minorities and, it appears, people unfit for duty. Protests have erupted in far-flung cities, recruitment centers have been the target of arson, and thousands of military-age men have packed planes and vehicles to flee across Russias borders. The Kremlins spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, acknowledged on Monday that there had been irregularities in the call-up, but he tried to shift blame to the local authorities carrying out the mobilization among resistant civilians across the country. Tedeschi, 51, came up in Boston as more of a straight-ahead blues player. She has six Grammy nominations of her own, and as a solo act, opened for the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. The couple were married in 2001 and, after touring together as the Soul Stew Revival, they merged their groups into Tedeschi Trucks Band in 2010. Susan and Derek both always seem to go to the place you want to go when playing music, and the whole band is with them at every step, Norah Jones wrote in an email. Its that magical space above the norm that only can exist when one is open to a true musical exchange onstage. Everyone appreciates what everyone else is doing and its obvious. And the way Susans voice slices through the huge sound of the band and just soars is unreal. Theres often been a sense, though, that the bands recordings havent matched what theyre capable of onstage. Thats kind of been the rap on our group, Mattison said, that were a great touring band and a great live band and when it comes time to do an album, we kind of go, Oh, what are we going to do? The creative part, generating songs and things, has always kind of been an afterthought, but this time it was really intentional. At first, we didnt quite know how to do it, but it took it on its own logic and started fueling itself. Tesechi and Trucks agreed that diving into the themes of Layla and Majnun had an impact beyond the music, forcing them to think harder about their own marriage and relationships. It actually made us stronger, and made us better listeners to each other, Tedeschi said. It made us incredibly thankful for our band, and for each other and our kids, but at the same time, it made you see the weaknesses and the strengths, and start working on the things that you have to work on. I think it was a healing thing for all of us. 5. Regents Canal When we were in lockdown, I could walk along the canal in either direction and see London. I feel like it saved my sanity and gave me peace. It goes behind Regents Park. It goes behind the zoo. You could see animals being fed or running around. They also have these magnet fishermen. Theyre throwing these huge, powerful magnets in the canal, and they pull up shopping carts and bikes and that kind of stuff. But sometimes they find old-timey safes and guns and bullets, and all those knives and things Victorians threw over the bridge probably to get away with some crime. 6. Origami My mother taught me and my brother to fold really basic things when we were kids, and both my brother and I will return to it. Maybe its meditative or maybe its familiar. If ever we are at a restaurant and theres a piece of paper that comes around your napkin, well start folding it. Well fold anything. Because its disposable, theres not a preciousness to origami. 7. This Is Spinal Tap I was at the Ed Sullivan Theater to do a comedy sketch for The Late Show and this production assistant was leading me around. Were going into this labyrinth of the theater, and I said to him, This is like Spinal Tap. And he goes, What? Hes so young! I was so disappointed that he hadnt seen the movie that I gave him homework. I was like, You need to watch this right now because youre in comedy. This is the beginning of the mockumentary. This is what everyone compares everything else to. 8. The Morgan and British Libraries I like when you can see manuscripts or pieces of paper. In the British Library, you can see Jane Austens writing desk. In the Morgan, you can see the Bronte sisters tiny, tiny, tiny writing. It connects me to the writers and humanizes them. Charles Dickens is sort of like a god, but to see something that makes him accessible is just so thrilling to me. 9. My mothers diary Its a five-year diary, and the first entry is 1941. Shes 12 years old. And it goes through all four years in an internment camp in Idaho. She talks about: Oh, theyre talking about taking the Japanese. Now we have to leave. Everyone said goodbye at school. Its the first time Ive been on a train. Im sure my aunts and uncles went through a traumatic, awful time, but she was so young. People ask you, if theres a fire, what do you grab? I would grab the diary. Everything else is replaceable. 10. Sister Wendy She had a series on PBS years ago where she did a tour of six museums in the United States. Shes a contemplative nun, where they live in isolation, but she leaves the monastery to talk about art. And shes the perfect person to translate it to me. Shes passionate and has a sense of humor about it. I bought a book of hers called 1000 Masterpieces. Its my go-to encyclopedia for art. I feel like even though shes a contemplative nun and Im a Buddhist character actor, we have a lot in common. Three men are facing federal charges after U.S. prosecutors accused them of orchestrating a brazen market manipulation scheme, the latest twist in the bizarre tale of a tiny New Jersey deli that somehow achieved a market capitalization of more than $100 million. Your Hometown Deli became an emblem of a frothy stock market in April 2021, when the hedge fund manager David Einhorn criticized the incongruous rise of the delis parent company, Hometown International, in a letter to clients, quipping, The pastrami must be amazing. The deli, in Paulsboro, N.J., near Philadelphia, was the sole asset of Hometown International and, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, brought in less than $40,000 in sales a year. On Monday, the Justice Department charged James Patten, Peter Coker Sr. and Peter Coker Jr. on 12 counts, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy to manipulate securities prices. It said they had engaged in a number of coordinated trading events, often referred to as match and wash trades, in the stock of Hometown and another company, E-Waste. U.S. securities regulators have imposed close to $2 billion in fines on more than a dozen financial firms, including eight major Wall Street banks, for failing to police employees who routinely used messaging apps and other off channel services on their personal phones to communicate with one another. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the charges on Tuesday after a monthslong investigation found that Wall Street firms did not monitor how employees were communicating on work-related matters or keep records of those messages, as federal law requires. The large banks that admitted wrongdoing and settled with the regulator include Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Each will pay $125 million to the S.E.C. The S.E.C. imposed fines totaling $1.1 billion on 16 firms, including five affiliates of the large banks. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission imposed an additional $710 million in fines on 11 financial firms, some of which were also charged by the S.E.C. The biggest banks agreed to each pay $75 million to the C.F.T.C. The first legal challenge to President Bidens plan to wipe out billions of dollars of federal student loans arrived on Tuesday, when a lawyer working for a conservative legal group filed a lawsuit seeking to block debt cancellation. In an end-run around Congress, the administration threatens to enact a profound and transformational policy that will have untold economic impacts, Frank Garrison, a lawyer at Pacific Legal Foundation, said in a complaint filed in federal court in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The administrations lawless action should be stopped immediately. The biggest obstacle for those seeking to fight Mr. Bidens plan in court has been finding a plaintiff who has the legal standing to claim that they would be harmed by the policy. Mr. Garrisons claim centers on the Biden administrations plan to automatically cancel the debts of some borrowers, arguing that it would personally harm him by forcing him to pay taxes on those forgiven debts. Mr. Garrison, who lives in Indiana, has been pursuing loan forgiveness through a relief program for public service workers, he said in his court filing. Under that program, he would eventually qualify to have his loan debt wiped out without owing any federal or state taxes. The Israeli-Lebanese negotiations will most directly affect the Karish field, which is set to produce gas for Israels domestic use. That fuel is expected to displace gas produced from other fields, which can then be exported. The new field is also expected to produce a small amount of oil. Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil and gas company, and several smaller businesses are already producing gas from two larger fields off Israels coast. That fuel has increasingly replaced coal in the countrys power plants and factories. Israel now has so much gas that it has become a net exporter of energy, sending fuel to neighbors like Jordan and Egypt. Some of that gas has also found its way to Europe and other parts of the world from L.N.G. export terminals in Egypt. The U.S. government, across several administrations, has encouraged the growth of the gas trade in the region by helping to negotiate deals between countries that have long had tense relations. The Ukraine crisis has accelerated efforts to explore and produce natural gas because of the soaring cost of the fuel in Europe, where countries are desperate to end their dependence on Russian gas. Chevron and its Israeli partners are discussing the possibility of building a floating liquefied natural gas platform in the Leviathan gas field, Israels largest. The companies are expected to make a decision on the project in a few months. But getting the gas out of the region will not be easy. Floating export terminals are vulnerable to terrorist attack. And, even if they could be adequately secured, the terminals will not be able to process as much gas as the larger coastal facilities used in major gas producers like the United States, Qatar and Australia. Building terminals on land can take several years, and often longer, because of opposition from environmental and other groups. Another obstacle is that injectable PrEP programs will need funding for more than just the cost of the drug. The shots would need to be administered by health care workers and would require syringes and other medical supplies. African governments that are considering rolling out injectable PrEP would need financial support from multilateral agencies such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, so as not to take funds from other H.I.V. education and prevention initiatives, Ms. Russell said. Donors committed $14.3 billion to the Global Fund at a meeting in New York last week, with many countries, including the United States, significantly raising pledges over those they had made in previous years. While further commitments are expected in the coming days from Italy and Britain, the fund is still likely to fall significantly short of its funding target of $18 billion. As Ms. Makhandule, the community health worker, has found in Soweto, there is excitement all over sub-Saharan Africa about the idea of injectable PrEP. But there is also a need to prove that women will want and use it. We hear from many young people this would be ideal, but the proof is in the pudding, Dr. Bekker said. Its far from certain that healthy women will show up at a clinic every two months to get the shot, she said, and the key would be making it available in community clinics and framing it as part of a healthy sex life rather than as a medication associated with risk. Dr. Smith said ViiV was hoping to learn from the history of long-acting injectable contraception such as Depo-Provera, which is delivered in a shot four times a year and which many women in the developing world choose as their preferred method of birth control. But there is no guarantee that bimonthly PrEP shots will gain favor because H.I.V. has a unique stigma. Mr. Warren said that by the end of 2023, the new coalition hopes to have five large projects in different parts of the world. Each project would have about 50,000 participants, including sex workers and teenage girls, and would test whether they want the medication, will take it regularly or develop drug resistance. ViiV has committed to supplying the drugs for only an initial implementation study in South Africa, and no donor has yet committed to funding others. The most important thing is to get this out there, into clinics and into peoples hands, Dr. Bekker said. Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. The lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections is packed with dizzying statistics. Voters are regularly inundated with polling numbers: There are conflicting data points, varying sources of information and different lenses to interpret it all. The Tilt, a subscriber-only newsletter from The New York Times that started this month, tries to make sense of the electoral whirlwind. The goal is to do the best job we can of honestly appraising what we know and dont know, said Nate Cohn, The Timess chief political analyst, who writes the newsletter. Using polling data collected by The Times and other outlets, as well as surveys and electoral trends, The Tilt examines the historical context behind the numbers. The Tilt is an evolution of Mr. Cohns polling diary, a 2020 analysis of daily election polls. In an interview, he discussed what readers can expect from the newsletter. This conversation has been edited. What is the difference between The Tilt and the polling diary? I thought that the 2020 polling diary was a success, but it really tried to cover every base possible: It tried to tell readers about almost every poll that came out on a given day and how to make sense of all of it. And so out of desperation, some victims turned to another outlet, one that gave them hope, however slim, that they would be reunited with their biological families. By the 2010s, daytime talk shows had begun dedicating much of their airtime to the stolen-babies scandal. Producers assembled street crews, interviewing witnesses anonymously with voice alteration, or wore hidden cameras as they confronted doctors and nurses at their apartments. In many ways, these shows were doing the previously unthinkable: publicly addressing the horrors of the Franco era. But they were sensationalizing those horrors too, for the millions of viewers at home. In an early 2011 episode of El Diario, an afternoon talk show on which guests would air out family conflicts, a presenter introduced Alejandro Alcalde, a middle-aged father who was trying to find the mother of his adopted daughter. As Alcalde shared the details of his life, the camera cut to an unidentified woman backstage, sitting on a white couch, her back turned to the camera. On the bottom of the screen flashed the words: Im looking for my daughter, they stole her from me the moment she was born. The father was then shown on a split-screen alongside dramatic footage of a car driving up to the studio. A woman in a white lab coat emerged from the car and pulled out a large envelope containing DNA evidence proving that the mysterious woman on the couch was in fact the mother of the child. The family was reunited as the audience cheered. The wave of media attention also had some unexpected consequences: Any mother who had a stillborn child now had reason to believe the baby might be alive and well, and simply living with another family. A 2013 segment from La Manana, a Spanish morning show, opened with a scene in a cemetery as men with hard hats and hammers cracked open a tomb. Inside was a small white coffin, clearly made for a baby. The reporter, who stood just outside the tomb, turned to the mother, who was dressed in black. She said that after giving birth, she was told by the hospital that her child was stillborn, but she now suspected that her child was stolen, even though the baby was born in 1992, nearly a decade after the last documented kidnappings. The coffin was not empty, as she had hoped. A DNA test of the remains later confirmed that the baby was her child. Pintado, like millions of other viewers, had seen the talk shows and had even been contacted by one of them. After her fathers death, a producer on El Diario called her at home, claiming that she might have had an identical twin. Pintado hung up on the caller. But years later, while searching for her mother and pulling on any thread she could, she went to the studio in person. Producers couldnt find any files on her case. Perhaps they had just been fishing that day, following a dead-end lead. So Pintado decided to go on a talk show herself. Im going to introduce you all to Ana Belen, began the host Viva la Vida in January 2018. The camera zoomed in on Pintado, who was visibly nervous. The host continued: This is what I believe television is for. This woman is looking for her biological family, and you all are watching from home. Now, we need you to give us any leads or clues so she can realize her dream of finding her family. Pintado began to tell her story. There was the forged paperwork from after she was born. The visits to Madrid with envelopes of money. Pintado explained that she had learned that the local church had likely helped connect her parents to Sister Maria. Someone, she said, had even told her that her adopted mother had pretended to stumble into the room where her biological mother had given birth, to see what she looked like, and found the mother grieving. If anyone is seeing this and recognizes me, well, the truth is I would like to meet them, because I have always been alone, Pintado says, as the screen fades. Pintado was hopeful that someone would call with information; as time passed, no one did. But she wouldnt allow herself to feel discouraged. After she had gone public about the harm that had been done to her, it was as if a switch had been flipped. She would never stop looking for her mother. So she decided to call every journalist she could find. At 26, he was a Marine Corps veteran (stationed in Japan and elsewhere) and working as a merchant seaman. He signed on with a ship transporting ammunition from New York to Vietnam and brought a duffel bag full of American beer and whatever information he could find on the whereabouts of a half-dozen soldier friends. He essentially sneaked around the country to find his buddies units, navigating through restricted areas and military officialdom, and hitching rides on Jeeps and planes. The story went all through the neighborhood, but some people sure had their doubts, said Duggan, a retired New York City police lieutenant who grew up in the same Inwood apartment building as Donohue. Duggan showed bar patrons images of Donohue eating rations with his ambush patrol unit, photos he took with the Kodak Instamatic camera his mother sent him in Vietnam. Donohue said that when photos like these were on hand, over the years, they helped him back up his far-fetched story and I didnt have to buy a beer for a long time in Inwood. But obviously I never dreamed itd be a movie. How the beer run story went from Inwood bars to the big screen is itself another dizzying Chickie tale. As Andrew Muscato, one of the films producers, put it, Making the film was almost as unlikely as the beer run itself and required the same kind of hubris and naivete it takes to bring beer into a war zone. So, as matters stand, it remains unclear when, or even if, New Yorkers will get an opportunity to watch Ms. Hochul and Mr. Zeldin face off as they contend for the states highest office, in a race largely defined by competing visions around issues of public safety, affordability and reproductive rights. As is typical for challengers seeking to unseat incumbents, Mr. Zeldin would stand to benefit the most from the free airtime associated with debates. It is plausible that he will eventually capitulate to Ms. Hochuls offer of a lone debate. Some recent public polls show Mr. Zeldin trailing Ms. Hochul, who enjoys wider name recognition, by roughly 15 percentage points, though other surveys suggest that the race may be tighter. Ms. Hochul, who took office last year after former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo abruptly resigned over sexual harassment allegations, has also amassed a considerably larger campaign war chest that she has deployed to flood the airwaves with a barrage of TV ads attacking Mr. Zeldin. Ms. Hochuls stance is not unusual for incumbent governors in New York. Mr. Cuomo, who was often reluctant to debate his rivals, held out until about two weeks before Election Day in 2018 before committing to a single debate with his Republican opponent, Marcus J. Molinaro, who had repeatedly accused him of making a mockery of democracy and hiding from public scrutiny. (Tabloids and chicken suits were also involved in that process). Across the United States, many criminal justice systems make a practice of occasionally releasing people who are elderly, incapacitated or gravely ill, and lawyers for those incarcerated in New York City jails often seek compassionate release on behalf of ailing clients. Indeed, after Mr. Pondexter, 59, was stricken on Rikers Island last week, his attorney pressed for him to be freed so that he could die surrounded by family. Only after his death did those family members realize that the practice could be used to avoid accountability. At first we were happy he died with dignity, and we knew he wouldnt die a prisoner, said Aquandra Morris, 43, one of Mr. Pondexters three children. But, then I thought about it something is not right. They are trying to relinquish their responsibility. Ms. De Souza said on Monday that the Correction Department extends its deepest condolences to Mr. Pondexters loved ones. Over the past two years, as the citys jail system has reeled from a staffing crisis that caused breakdowns in the basic supervision and care of detainees, it has been harshly criticized for its seeming inability to safeguard jail workers and detainees alike. As a federal judge in recent months has weighed whether to appoint an outside official to oversee the jails, the number of deaths in the system has been an important metric. At an unrelated news conference on Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams defended Mr. Molina, saying the commissioner was trying to show compassion to Mr. Pondexter and his family. If we get it from under the Department of Correction, then we can treat that family in a humane way, Mr. Adams said, describing Mr. Molinas thinking. Thats what he was saying. Theyre able to come visit their loved one without him being shackled to the bed, without correction officers standing around them. That shouldnt be the last image that a family member sees if you know someone is about to transition. It was very thoughtful for him to do it. A District of Columbia court will have to determine whether Donald J. Trump was acting in his official capacity as president when he scoffed at the accusations of a woman who said he raped her decades ago, a federal appeals court in New York ruled on Tuesday. The future of the case, involving the writer E. Jean Carroll, depends on the decision. If the court in Washington rules that Mr. Trump was acting in his role as a federal employee and the United States becomes the defendant, instead of Mr. Trump Ms. Carrolls suit cannot proceed, because the federal government cannot be sued for defamation. The 2-to-1 ruling by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York stems from a lawsuit in which Ms. Carroll said Mr. Trump damaged her reputation when he denied attacking her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s and branded her a liar. The court had to answer two questions: first, whether the president is an employee of the federal government, and second, whether he was acting in that capacity when he made his comments about Ms. Carroll. The court held that the president does count as a federal employee but left the other question to the Washington court. To the Editor: Re As Eligibility Expands, Is Assisted Death Too Easy in Canada? (news article, Sept. 19): Suicide is a terrible word, but it is not always a terrible act. The Canadian woman tortured by constant pain looks forward to the assisted suicide her country allows her. Thirty-nine years ago, in New York, my mother was the grateful recipient of an assisted suicide, although it was illegal in the U.S. and still is, in New York and in all but 10 states and Washington, D.C. And even where its legal, you have to be patient and wait until the government gives you the OK. But Canada even allows certain applicants to speed up their assessments, although some Canadians dont approve of that. Given the fast growth of her cancer, my mother was close to death, but in her opinion not close enough. Who does it help if I die slowly? she wanted to know. She got her way. And for her, suicide became a victory. Since writing a book about my mothers death, Ive received a lot of sad mail from people who were in my mothers situation, but couldnt do what she did. Or worse, they tried to die without help and failed. Most just waited to die, often for years. In a way, thats how its supposed to work. Migrants are receiving the message that the right to seek asylum is open to them, because it is. The 1980 Refugee Act is unequivocal: People can cross into the country illegally and ask for asylum, and once they are here, the government is obligated to hear them out. That law codifies our commitment to the United Nations Refugee Convention, first drafted in the wake of the Holocaust to enshrine an ethical obligation known as non-refoulement: a government must not send people back to a country that will persecute them. The United States, in other words, is a sanctuary, or at least is supposed to be. While who deserves asylum has often been politically fraught question, the idea that some people do merit it was bipartisan. The commitment to asylum is a message that needs to be sent, both to the international community and to would-be asylees themselves, who need to know they have somewhere to flee to safety. When large-scale asylum-seeking started to outstrip government capacity during the Obama administration, critics in the center as well as on the right said that the wrong people were getting the message: Many were coming to reunite with relatives in the United States; many were Central Americans who might be threatened by gangs, but not necessarily by their governments. Critics saw large numbers of migrants released into the United States (rather than risking overcrowding in government detention) with instructions to show up, eventually, to a hearing in a months- or years-backlogged immigration court. They worried that most would skip out on hearings and that even if they didnt, it would take years to sort the legitimate asylum-seekers from the rest. Those criticisms are less true now than they were in the 2010s. Those allowed to pursue asylum claims these days are disproportionately Cuban and Venezuelan (the Biden administration characterizes them as victims of failing Communist regimes). Many of them lack ties to family or friends in the United States, which is why their immediate needs for support and shelter are overloading many Texas border communities, the truth at the root of Governor Abbotts stunts. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is trying to tighten the asylum system in exactly the ways hawks had been asking for. Hundreds of thousands of migrants are being monitored with GPS-enabled ankle bracelets or cellphones to prevent them from absconding. A new regulation aimed at expediting the asylum process by sending those with weaker claims home within weeks was piloted this summer; nearly half of asylum claimants were rejected at the screening-interview stage, up from 15 percent under the old screening process. Hello, I have a pregnant wife and a mortgage. My wife is panicking, and I have no money to go abroad. How can I escape the draft? This is a message we received at Helpdesk.media, a website I and other journalists set up in June to help people with information, legal advice and psychological support affected by the actions of the Russian government. The writer, after completing his mandatory military service seven years ago, was being drafted into the war in Ukraine. The Russian government was not interested in who will pay the mortgage or take care of his pregnant wife. It simply wanted more fodder for its war. In the days since Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization, clearing the way for hundreds of thousands of men to be conscripted into his failing war effort, weve fielded tens of thousands of messages like these. Some were plaintive; others were defiant. Some were simply defeated. Along with Russians desperately trying to board flights, crossing borders or attacking recruitment centers, they testified to the same desire: to avoid the draft. The truth is, they probably cant. While presented as a limited measure affecting only those who previously served in the army, in practice, the government has free rein to conscript as many people as it wants. The initial number of 300,000, for example, already seems an enormous undercount. In the face of a monstrous regime hellbent on war and widespread international isolation, Russians are caught in a disaster. And judging from the response so far, they are terrified. Many Republicans in Congress agree with Representative Matt Gaetz that the Second Amendment is about maintaining within the citizenry the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the government, if that becomes necessary. This purported right to overthrow the government means that the people must enjoy access to weapons that are wholly unnecessary for hunting or self-defense, such as military-style assault weapons. As Representative Chip Roy, a Republican, argues, the Second Amendment was designed purposefully to empower the people to resist the force of tyranny used against them. Some champions of this insurrectionist theory of the Second Amendment seem to glorify violence against public officials. Two weeks before the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection overran the U.S. Capitol, Representative Lauren Boebert declared that the Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting, unless youre talking about hunting tyrants, maybe. Statements such as these were irresponsible enough before Jan. 6. Today, such talk courts disaster. It valorizes the brutality of the worst insurrectionary domestic attack at the Capitol in U.S. history, freezes our ability to pass reasonable gun safety legislation and justifies even more deadly political violence. It is essential to reject the myth that frustrated citizens have a Second Amendment right to raise arms against the government an outrageous betrayal of our Constitution. ezra klein Im Ezra Klein. This is The Ezra Klein Show. This is a great conversation today. But its a tricky one to introduce, because the guest I have Im not having him on for the thing hes best known for. So Patrick Collison by day, co-founder and C.E.O. of the multibillion-dollar payments company, Stripe; by night, by weekend, I think, one of the most important thinkers now in Silicon Valley certainly, one of the most quietly influential, someone who is forging and traversing an intellectual path that a lot of other people are now following. And its this second incarnation and role that Im really interviewing him in today the soft power side, I guess, of Patrick Collison. Collisons work here centers around this question of progress. The argument is that human progress is much more precious and rare and fragile than we realize. We maybe take it for granted. We live in this time when things have been changing, atop decades and decades, even centuries and centuries, even millennia now, when things have kept changing. But for most of human history, that was not true. It was not true. There just was no market rapid advance in human living standards. Its only in the past 10,000 years, and then practically in the past few hundred just an eye-blink in the time human beings have been on Earth that things kept changing, usually for the better. And the question is, why? And Collisons particular meta question is, given the clear fragility of forward motion here, given how rare it has proven to be and so how easy it might be to lose why isnt the question of the conditions of progress more central? Why isnt the study of progress in a wide multidisciplinary way a more common and central discipline? Collison has written a few influential essays here, with the economist Tyler Cowen. He called for the inauguration of a discipline they call it progress studies and that now has people studying it. Theres people creating journals for it, creating syllabi and podcasts and books around the topic. Its one of the more singularly successful calls for a research direction I have seen. Separately, in a piece co-authored with the scientist, Michael Nielsen, Collison and Nielsen argued that, though it is hard to measure, it seems like the rate of scientific progress is slowing down, and thats particularly true if you account for how much more were putting into science, in terms of money, of people, of time and technology. Now, these ideas are not original to Collison. The point is not that nobody studied human progress before this or worried about the pace of scientific research. He wouldnt claim that. It wouldnt be true. But he is playing a distinctive role in their framing and their popularization, and in creating and funding a community around them. And what I see in my travels here is that it is working. Something is burbling here. But I cant find many big pieces where Collison really lays out his worldview. There are a couple essays, tweets, interviews, but hes not been primarily writing this down. What he has been doing is funding it through Fast Grants, which has been successful, but more than that, intellectually influential effort to show you can give out scientific grants quickly and with very little overhead, through the Arc Institute, a big biotech organization hes creating to push a researcher-first approach to biotech, and through giving a bit of money, and a bit of time, and a bit of prestige, and a bit of networking to a lot of different projects that circle these questions. Hes got this funny quality of being nowhere in particular, but also somehow, almost everywhere, if youre interested in these questions. So what I wanted to do in this conversation was try to get as close as I could to the Patrick Collison worldview, the underlying theory of the case here that animates his thinking his funding, and the ways in which hes trying to nudge the culture hes a part of, or the ways in which hes trying to actively create a culture he doesnt yet see. As always, my email ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. Patrick Collison, welcome to the show. patrick collison Great to be back. ezra klein So youve made the argument that science all science is slowing down, that were putting more money and more people into research, and were getting less and less out of it. Tell me about that. patrick collison Well, I want to separate two things. Theres a question as to whether science in its totality is slowing down, in terms of the absolute returns from it. I think that might be true. You can maybe divide up the first half of the 20th century and the second half and so on, and sort of try to compare one with the other. And we had general relativity and quantum mechanics and various other major breakthroughs in the first half. You can ask the question of, well, did we have as many in the second half? But in the second half, we did have the discovery of D.N.A. and molecular biology and lots of other things. So I dont know that I would claim a total slowdown. The thing that I think is clearer and should be very concerning to us is, as you look at the number of scientists engaged in the pursuit of science, and if you look at the total amount that were spending, and as you look at the total output, as coarsely measured by things like papers and number of journals, all of those metrics have grown by, depending on the number, lets say, between 20 and 100x between 1950 and, say, 2010. And if you look at it on a per-capita basis, or a per-unit-of-work basis, now used to divide all those total outcomes by a factor of 50, and it seems like if you imagine yourself as the median scientist, youre meaningfully less likely to produce anything like as consequential a breakthrough as you would have, say, in 1920. And so Michael Nielsen and I, in order to try to put slightly more rigor on that question we went and we surveyed a bunch of scientists across a number of universities in a number of different disciplines, and we presented them with different Nobel Prize-winning breakthroughs. And we tried to compute an approximate ordering of their significance in the eyes of these scientists. And the thing that would kind of have to be true for the per-capita impact, we remain in constant is wed have to be discovering much more important things in the latter half of the 20th century in order to compensate for, to make it worthwhile, for us to be investing this 50-fold greater effort. And we didnt find that. In physics, in the estimation of physicists, there was a kind of flat-to-declining trend. Its not super obvious which way it points, but in as much as theres a trend visible, its probably slightly downwards. And in other fields, it was maybe similarly equivocal, perhaps a slight increase, visible in some, but importantly, in no fields that it looked like were on this crazy, exponentially improving trajectory, which is what you would have to have for this per-capita phenomenon to not be present. And I think that should be something were interested in for multiple reasons. One, because presumably, as a society, were interested in just how much more scientific progress and technological progress and so forth, how much more innovation is there going to be over the next 10 years or the next 50 years or the next century. But also, because theres kind of two possibilities. One possibility is, fundamentally, were running out of low-hanging fruit, and its just going to be harder to do this stuff. And in as much as were setting investment or making investment decisions around to what degree should be pursuing the stuff, I guess its important to know what we think the returns should be. Or the other possibility is, somehow, were doing it suboptimally. Something changed, and we were pursuing this process of discovery more effectively in the past, and presumably, for inadvertent reasons, something went wrong, and now, were just less efficient at it. But either explanation and it doesnt necessarily have to be fully binary but either explanation is important, and either explanation, I think, has prescriptions for what we should do going forward. ezra klein Let me start with the low-hanging-fruit explanation, which I think is a more popular one. And you have in the piece you did on this with Michael Nielsen, the sad, but in the very academic way, very funny quote from the physicist Paul Dirac, who says of the 1920s, there was a time when, quote, Even second-rate physicists could make first-rate discoveries, which I just kind of love. But the theory there is you can only make a lot of the big discoveries once. You discover quantum mechanics once. You discover the atom once. And most of them have just been made, so what you have now is more complicated, smaller, requires much larger teams of people, much more complicated experiments, with much more infrastructure. So were just structurally in a period where its going to get harder and harder and harder to make big gains. Do you believe that? patrick collison I think its possible, but even though its intuitively compelling on some level, Im not sure that its true. Its probably true to at least some degree for some particular research direction, right? We go after discovering the various subatomic particles, and initially, without too much difficulty, we discover the electron or whatever. And by the time weve discovered the nth quark, its now gotten super hard, and even with ever-larger particle accelerators, were not necessarily making breakthroughs of the same magnitude. So I think its pretty true for a given direction. But obviously, the question is, well, to what degree is progress in any area opening up other directions, right? And so I mean, you mentioned the Dirac quote and, say, physics in the early part of the 20th century. Those discoveries opened up new techniques and investigation methodologies and so on, that then gave rise to molecular biology in the 50s, 60s and 70s. And so theres kind of a combinatorial benefit, where discoveries over here or discoveries over there might unlock opportunities and major breakthroughs in areas that we could not have foreseen in advance. There are lots of, quote unquote, low-hanging-fruit discoveries made in computers and computer science in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Maybe were even still in that regime, right? Were still making some pretty fundamental breakthroughs. And of course, again, those, quote, low-hanging discoveries would not have been possible without a lot of this optimization and discovery in other fields. And so I think its probably true for a given research direction, but the relevant question for society is, is it true in aggregate. And there, its much less clear to me that it is. ezra klein I want to read something provocative you said in an interview with the economist Noah Smith. And you said, quote, Most systems get worse in at least certain ways as they scale. The idea that science could have gotten worse in significant ways sometimes sounds strange to people. Like, were doing so much more. How could that be bad? But I think that misses the many examples of sensitivity of scientific processes to institutions and culture. Swiss nationals have won more than 10 times more science Nobels per capita than Italians have. 10 times. And yet, theyre neighbors. And Italy certainly isnt lacking in scientific tradition Fermi, Galileo, the oldest university in Europe, et cetera. The how of science just really matters. And this seems, to me, to be where your exploration really goes. So tell me what you think might have gone wrong in the how of science. patrick collison So I think this point about the sensitivity of scientific outcomes to the specifics of the institutions and the cultures is very important and probably underappreciated. At the beginning of the 20th century, not only was the U.S. not a scientific powerhouse, but it barely had a presence in frontier research, whatsoever. To become a credible researcher in the U.S. in 1900, you almost certainly had to go and spend time in, most likely, Germany, and failing that, in France or England you know, what have you. And by 1900, the U.S. was already a pretty prosperous place, and it had a well-educated society, as societies went. And yet, somehow and it had universities, right? I mean, Harvard was hundreds of years old by that time. And so it checked many of the ostensible boxes, and yet, the sum total of the U.S. research output as of 1900 was still de minimis. When James Conant, who was later president of Harvard for 20 years when he went to Germany as a chemist, which was his original training, in the 1920s, he recounts how dispirited he was by what he found there and how far ahead of Harvard German research was, as of the early 20th century. And then, for a variety of reasons, all sorts of cultural, institutional funding various transformations happened. And of course, by the latter half of the 20th century, the U.S. was the unquestioned leader at the frontier of scientific progress. If you look backwards, you see where that locus has been, where the most successful and fertile scientific grounds have been it has repeatedly moved. As we just said, maybe the 19th century, it was Germany. Before that, in the 18th century, it was plausibly France. They had a couple of these really successful Ecole Polytechnique and Grande Ecole and so on. And so as a kind of first-order empirical matter, we can just notice, huh, this really seems to matter and then, the example you just gave of the divergence between Switzerland and Italy. And so then, if we kind of accept that, and we try to ask ourselves, well, specifically, what are the mechanisms? You know, whats actually going on? Its hard for me to say. It seems like the transmission of research culture by individual researchers matters a great deal. And you see these kinds of pockets of the cultural transmission repeatedly crop up, where Gerty and Carl Cori you probably havent heard of they ran a little biology lab in Missouri, and no fewer than six of their trainees, of students they trained, went on themselves again to win Nobel Prizes. And if we tell ourselves a standard kind of mechanistic story as to, well, its the funding level, its how much are we investing in science, or its something about whether theres an institution in the courser sense, that can possibly be amenable to it, its very hard to explain these eddies where you see these pockets of excellence really produce these outsized returns. So I think its a complicated question. I think all of aggregate culture, funding, institutional characteristics, and so on all contribute to it. But if I had to isolate a single variable, it seems to me that the research culture set by specific people and the tacit knowledge transmitted through direct experience is probably the number-one thing. ezra klein This, I think, is where I sometimes fall into my own pessimism on this. Because I want to believe, as you do, that we can double the rate of scientific advance, maybe even go further than that. But I think the prediction if Im putting this on institutions, on culture, on pockets of transmission and mentorship I think the prediction I would make is then, even if you believe, say, that America had a great 20th century, but its institutions have become sclerotic, and weve slowed down, and everything is piled in lawsuits and review boards now, somewhere else that didnt have that, that has a different culture, that has different institutions, would be pulling way ahead. So you might think, well, China will be pulling way ahead. And youve noted this in some places. Were getting a lot of peer-reviewed research out of China huge number of citations out of China. Were not seeing them dominate the big breakthrough advances of the era. It doesnt seem like Europe is lapping us. And so if you think this slowdown is somewhat global, then that seems to me to militate against questions of individual institutions, cultures, how different labs work, because there is so much variation that you should have some of these labs that are doing it right, some of these places that havent piled on a little bit too much bureaucracy. But I dont think we really see that. patrick collison This diagnosis of these phenomena to cultural, institutional, mentorship-related, interpersonal dynamics, and your observation that its not obviously the case, that there are other places we can pointed that are doing it so much better for me, my takeaway is that, well, successful cultures are a pretty narrow path. Homo sapiens emerged 200,000 years ago. And as far as we can tell, for the first 190,000 years of our genesis, we think we were largely biologically equivalent to the people we are today. But as best we can tell, there was some kind of cultural capital that those people lacked for a very extended period of time before human societies in somewhat recognizable modern form started to emerge agriculture, all the rest. And in a similar vein, we had many billions of lives and centuries elapsed before the Industrial Revolution., and before we started to put together many of the input ingredients or enough of the input ingredients that we can get sustained improvement in standards of living and ongoing economic growth and progress. And so your point about, well, as I look around, I dont see anything or anywhere thats obviously better, I agree with that. But again, my takeaway is that thats what makes the question of how do we improve or how can we do somewhat better so urgent and pressing, where its many things have to go right. Its not easy to be even as good as or to get to a place where things are as good as they are today. What we have is very precious. And I think the threads and the themes that youve been pulling on of late all of these dynamics underscore their importance. ezra klein I think thats a good bridge to progress studies as an idea. And I want to have people hold in their heads that idea that progress is very narrow, that it is a very narrow bridge that we have walked on for a very short period of time. But lets try to define it. When you say progress here, what are you actually talking about? Is it just shorthand for economic growth or G.D.P.? What is progress? patrick collison Well, I dont know that I would claim to put forth some kind of definitive definition. And I think, to some extent, our intuitions around it are probably broadly correct. And so it might not matter to define it super precisely and finely. For, me it is something along the lines of our success in realizing a liberal, pluralistic and prosperous society, and a sense among people that their offspring can and probably will do better than they themselves have, and that more broadly, the future will be better than the past, and that were at least making incremental progress towards embodying values and morals that we collectively think we can be proud of. But I dont think anything that novel in that. I dont think my conception of progress would differ that materially from some kind of average aggregate over any other group of people in the country. ezra klein I do think theres something interesting, though, which is that if you look at eras that I think progress-studies-type people and economic-growth people and historians of economic growth study most closely, actually, some of the periods where people feel a lot of rapid progress dont fit that at all. You have, say, the Industrial Revolution, where life spans and lifestyle get worse for a lot of the people. I dont think one will look at that period as unbelievably pluralistic. You have a lot of periods of war when you have very, very, very rapid technological progress, but it happens in context of much more martial societies. So there is an interesting tension, at least in periods and some of them quite long, actually where you can have fairly rapid economic progress, but it comes at a cost that I think isnt always acknowledged, but is an important thing to think about. patrick collison Yeah. So I dont think you could point to some of these periods in the past and say that they definitively embody to the extent that we would fully aspire to some of these broader traits and characteristics. But I think the question is more, what are they doing as you have to judge it relative to the baseline that preceded them. And I dont know that the 18th century in the U.K. is some ideal as a society. But if you compare it to the 16th century in the U.K., the ideals and ideas of natural rights and religious tolerance and so on they were somewhat better embodied by the 18th century than they had just a couple of centuries previously. And similarly, in the U.S., say, during either war or the 30s or whatever, again, its not like that was any kind of perfect society, but assessed relative to the society of 1830, I think it compares relatively favorably. And I think its not a coincidence that Adam Smith his first book, of course, was on ethics and morals and trying to instill better general ideals and behaviors across a society. And maybe after that, he then argued for and laid many of the foundations of what we would recognize as modern economics. So I dont think its perfect. But on average, I think the correlation is positive. ezra klein So lets talk about the Industrial Revolution for a little bit here. I think a lot of people locate a takeoff in human living standards it continues to this day there. And its strange in a way, right? There is a very geographically contiguous spot. Its the U.K. England, actually, I should say, at that point. And there is a moment in time that probably could have come at another moment in time, depending on how human history plays out in the counterfactual. I know that you have an interest in the theories of why then, why there. How do you work your way through them? What do you think is persuasive for why then, why there? patrick collison Well, you know, again, I caveat. With all of these topics were discussing through this podcast, maybe the first-order banner for all of them should be, I dont know, these are my best guesses, and I think its important that all of us were pretty humble in the claims and the assertions and the beliefs that we hold. Recently, Ive been reading a bunch of Irish and Scottish writers around then. Its very interesting, because for both the Irish and the Scots, there was a sort of a pressing and kind of obvious question where England was much more prosperous than they were or we were. And theres no super obvious explanation for that. There wasnt an obvious climatic or natural resource endowment that England benefited from that was lacking in Ireland or Scotland. It wasnt like England was actually a vastly larger polity. The orders of magnitude were comparable. And Bishop Berkeley wrote this book, The Querist. He was asking these questions directly, just like, whats going on? Whats wrong with Ireland? You know, why cant we do this? And then, you have the Act of Union in 1707, uniting Scotland and England and sort of similarly, of all these Scottish thinkers being like, all right, were now literally the same country. Why are we so much more impoverished? And then, if you shift to England, theres Joel Mokyr and youve read his work and more recently, people like Anton Howes. And in a similar vein, they go back to I mean, the word, improvement, came from Francis Bacon, or it was kind of popularized as a concept by Francis Bacon. But thats noteworthy, right? Like, that was not a pervasive broad concept in the 15th century. I mean, literally, the word, improvement, in this broader societal context, came from word, translated, at the beginning of the 17th century. And the ultimate conclusion that these historians and scholars and analysts of the Industrial Revolution come to and I think its a correct one is somehow, whether its through Bacon or Newton or various of the tinkerers who produced some of the earliest technological breakthroughs, that somehow, this improving mind-set became pervasive. You had societies explicitly like the Hartlib Circle or the Lunar Society, or the Select Society, and the club, and so on all these societies explicitly devoted to figuring out ways to advance the state of affairs that prevailed. And these societies were comprised of many of the leading people and thinkers and so on of the day. And it seems maybe a bit satisfyingly squishy to attribute it to something so hard to pin down. But as you run through all the possible other explanations, its differences in IP law. Its difference in the Malthusian conditions. Its difference in the prevalence of coal, you know, et cetera, et cetera. Through various cross-sectional analyses, you can exclude most of these in looking at all of Ireland, Scotland, and England. It really does seem to me that differences in the mind-set and in the culture are where you have to net out. And thats not to say maybe that its fully sufficient. There might be other preconditions that are important. And then, maybe as a last thing to say, it is striking to me that many of these kind of original 18th-century economic writers and thinkers and again, the kind of people we look to as the founders of much of the discipline that they themselves were kind of centrally preoccupied with this. And yeah, they were in favor of free trade and specialization and human labor and lots of these concepts that were now very familiar with, but they really thought that general mind-set played a big role, too. ezra klein So lets talk about Joel Mokyr ideas for a minute. So Mokyr is an economic historian. People should read his book, The Culture of Growth, which is really fascinating. He argues, as youre saying, that in this period, this mind-set that we can increase the store of usable knowledge, and then use it to alter nature, to better the human condition, takes hold. Thats a new mind-set. Its different than religious ideas of the past. Its different than cultural ideas of the present. And that, plus a bunch of other things, particularly the republic of letters, the way people are writing letters back and forth, kind of combine into a culture that is able to grow. But one of the things that I really take from his work, that sits in my head, is he believes its all very contingent. He really believes it might have not happened. But the other is that I think it opens up this question that as a tech person, Im curious to hear your thoughts on, which is, he really believes Mokyr really believes that there is a communications infrastructure that arises at that time, that has a kind of culture of generosity and argument and honesty in it, and is built on writing letters slowly to one another, and then copying those letters over to other people. And that culture is really good for intellectual advancement. I think one of the promises of the internet and the age we live in is, its all faster. We can write to people immediately. Things we write can go viral and be seen by 5 million people all of a sudden. And that was going to speed up economic growth really, really rapidly. And I would say, you dont see that. So Im curious how you think about communication cultures here and what you think for all the advantages of ours we might not have. patrick collison I mean, I think its hard to say in aggregate. I feel its pretty likely that the effects are very heterogeneous across different populations. And youve made the case that you think Twitter is bad for journalism and for journalists. And I guess you live this yourself with your now mostly inactive Twitter account, I guess, apart from announcements. And I think in the case of the internet, that its almost certainly a tremendously large gain that billions of people now have access to educational materials. And some of the otherwise hard-to-communicate tacit knowledge that things like YouTube videos now made legible and available. And I think its true that there are various gravity equations that we see across different disciplines. I mean, in economies themselves, in trade, where you rapidly decline in propensities to trade as countries get further from each other but you have versions of this in academic disciplines as well, where geographic distance correlates inversely with likelihood of the exchange of ideas and so on. And I think its clearly the case that the sort of reaction surface area has increased substantially by the internet there and represents a kind of efficiency gain for people looking to exchange in ideas. Many of the companies that Stripe works with are remote companies, and they might employ people across myriad countries, and thats a kind of communication and efficiency gain that would certainly not otherwise be achievable. I think its worth recognizing that the aggregate amount of G.D.P. that we are creating or gaining every year is so much larger now than I mean, the percentage might be the same. But the total amount of stuff happening, or the increasing amount of stuff happening, is so much larger now than it was 100 or 200 or 300 years ago. And so for all of those reasons, I think we should give superior communication technologies and faster communication technologies a significant amount of credit, even though the ways in which those are manifests might be hard to measure and somewhat prosaic. Take my mom, for example. My mom works with a hospital in Minnesota. Our youngest brother has a physical disability. And in the course of that, she trained herself in treatment for cerebral palsy, this condition, and she wrote a book about it, and she did a masters in this. And now, shes trying to improve treatment for this condition throughout Ireland, in the U.S. and other countries as well. Shes a retired Irish mother who spends some of her year living in the U.S. near her sons, spends the rest of her year living in Ireland, working at a hospital in Minnesota, who just got a proposal to have her book translated into German a couple of days ago. And thats a relatively prosaic story, but literally, millions of these stories exist in kind of aggregate form around the world. To circle back to the initial thrust of your question, though, I think its at least possible that the internet is bad for civic discourse. Im not saying it is, but its certainly in the realm of plausibility and that perhaps both things are true, where theres some kind of iceberg where there are these enormous welfare gains that are not that legible, not that visible, lie beneath the surface, and then certain of the most visible manifestations, like what we see on cable news or what we see written in the papers perhaps that is worse, and perhaps, slightly more structural judiciousness would be desirable there. ezra klein I want to try to flip that and suggest that because Im going to push some counter ideas on why we maybe dont see as much progress as we wish we did. But one is that I think possibly, very large welfare losses lie beneath the surface. And beneath the surface of stories like the one you just told about your mother, I think we all have stories of ways or people for whom the internet has unlocked a possibility. I mean, my whole career is built on the internet. I was an early blogger. I got rejected from my student newspaper. And if there was no blogging, like, god knows what would have happened to me. [LAUGHS] I mean, nothing too terrible, probably, but I wouldnt have the career I have today. And at the same time, I think that the group of people who, by luck or by temperament, proved very, very good at using the internet, to some degree, distracts from the many, many, many people for whom the internet is fundamentally a distraction machine, or for whom the internet is creating, because of what we built on it. You know, shorter attention spans how many people would have had an idea, sitting in a room by themselves, or taking a walk, that they never have now, because they never have to have a moment where theyre thinking alone? And so one thing that I think were all loathe to do is well talk a lot about how its weird that we have so much more knowledge, but productivity isnt increasing faster. Its weird that we have so much more rapid communication between researchers, but science isnt advancing faster. And then, the idea that maybe there are things happening to us that makes us less able to use that increasing stock of knowledge well, or makes us less able to collaborate in a useful way, I think, gets dismissed rather quickly. But I dont think its totally implausible. Now, I dont want to say, like, the greatest technology we ever had was letter-writing. Obviously, the greatest technology we ever had was blogging in the early aughts when I became a blogger. And whatever happened in your 20s is, like, as good as it was ever going to get. But I do wonder about these questions. And I think something Mokyr is right to put a lot of attention on is communicative cultures. Communication is how we collaborate. And if communication is in any way getting worse, its going to have pretty big macro effects. The other thing is if you believe these cultures matter, weirdly, as big as were getting, the internet allows a certain disciplines culture to stretch boundaries and borders in time in a way that it would have been harder. I suspect that labs were more different 50 years ago than they are today. The countries and the disciplines of researchers and the cultures of researchers in countries or cities are more different from each other 50 years ago than today, which is great if we have the best of all cultures today, but its not that great if you actually think variation is really important. patrick collison Lets wrap up there. So first, I agree, as a basic matter, that there are welfare losses occurring across society that we should be worried about, and probably everybody listening to this is familiar with the Stephen Pinker case for optimism, and rather than focusing in the headlines, you zoom out, look at these long-term time series. And once one does that, things seem a lot more encouraging, whether you look at it by income or life expectancy or infant mortality or choose your metric. Something thats been striking to me of late is if you change the x-axis on those time series, and look at many of those phenomena and trends over a much shorter window, the valence changes substantially, and life expectancy in the U.S. is now, in fact, declining. According to C.D.C. data, 54 percent of teenage girls now report persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness. And you could say, well, teenagers were never stereotyped as the most cheerful lot, but we do have some degree of longitudinal data here, and that number is up from being in the 20s as recently as 2009. 1/2 the population now is either prediabetic or diabetic again, according to the C.D.C. Basically, point is, when we look at more recent windows, I think there are plenty of aggregate, emergent, complicated outcomes and phenomena that should give us concern. On the degree to which we should attribute the diagnosis to the internet or to our kind of communication media more broadly, its less clear to me in that not saying its not true, but presumably, the life expectancy one is not or at least if it is, the mechanism has to be very complicated. There are a bunch of other health-related ones. So take, for example, say, the incidence of diabetes or pre-diabetes. And you could say, OK, fine, all those things might be true, but theyre totally different. I guess the question I wonder about is, well, we know that lots of basic biological outcomes are correlated with mental states and so on. And so to what degree is there some more nuanced and complicated relationship there? But I think its a fair question, and I wonder a lot about it myself. ezra klein Let me ask you about how you think, over the long period here, about the relationship between technology and equity or egalitarianism. And something specific is in my mind. I flicked earlier at the way the Industrial Revolution, for an extended period of time, seems to have reduced a lot of peoples living standards. And it wasnt till later you had changes in redistribution in labor unions and labor protections that the amount of material prosperity that was generating created more broad-based prosperity, particularly at a very high level. I dont know that you can sustain that kind of thing today. We have much more a small-d democratic culture. If things arent working for people, its much easier for them to organize and be heard. I think theres a much more direct and complicated relationship now between whether or not people feel benefited by technology, and whether or not they are going to accept the conditions and the risks of rapid technological advance. But Im curious, from your vantage point, how you see that both kind of historically and currently. patrick collison I agree with that. I worry a lot about the basic stability of a society that does not successfully generate and make sufficiently broadly accessible the benefits of economic growth. The world simply has too little prosperity. And if it is not the case that people in the U.S. or people in any country if they either feel like things arent progressing, or if they feel like maybe somewhere distant from them, things are progressing but they personally will never be able to benefit from it, I think we put ourselves in a very dangerous and likely unstable equilibrium. And if you go back to well, you dont have to go back very far in history to see, obviously, plenty of instances where this kind of instability brought the whole house of cards down. And so as a consequence of that, I worry a lot about, how do we simply make sure that or one of the small things we each individually can do to try to make sure that society is generating enough economic gain and enough broadly experienced welfare gain that the whole compact can be maintained? And again, I dont think theres a ready neat kind of singular answer to that. Maybe Stripe as part of our small little contribution in one little fissure. But I think the central question youre getting at is super important. ezra klein And one of the questions I wonder about there weve talked about the way progress has been very geographically lumpy, lets call it, right? Theres a lot that happens in very small places, and it ends up affecting the whole world. Obviously, then, the gains of progress sometimes have that quality, too. And I do think of one of the politically destabilizing effects of the past, lets call it, 30 or 40 years of digital progress, is being the concentrations of wealth. We just used to have a lot more spread. Even putting the questions of rising inequality aside, just where rich people were was different. And so where they were giving a lot of money to the local hospital was more spread out, say, across the country or in other countries across the land. But here, even as the internet is supposed to democratize distance, and in many ways, has I mean, telework is not a fake phenomenon. It has really concentrated the wealth of that to, literally, where were sitting, but to New York. Theres a lot of money now in Austin. And then, on top of that, you often have barriers of entry, in terms of how many homes can be bought. So its not even like people can move to the place where all the economic opportunity is happening. And I do think that creates some of the skepticism you see of technology. I dont think a lot of peoples I think people are really excited about a lot of the goods theyve gotten from it. But in this kind of macro political sense, as youre saying, in a period of a lot of change, a lot of folks with real backing in the data dont feel life has gotten better at the macro level. Life expectancy, happiness, political stability its not like you can look around and say, well, I got this computer in my pocket, and everything else is going great, too. Its like, I got this computer in my pocket, and what it keeps telling me is that everything is going to hell. Now, maybe its telling me that a little bit too much, but there is validity to the narrative. patrick collison Yeah. So again, vehement in agreement on the sort of central importance of making sure that improvements in the standard of living are actually broadly realized across the society. That, too, I think, could serve as a manifesto for some of these Progress Studies ideas. On the internet in particular, or on technology and the technology sector and so forth, I think its complicated and difficult to try to sort of fully collapse or linearize it or something, where on the one hand, you have some of these concentration dynamics you identify. At the same time, of course, it is also a tremendous and incredible dispersal agent in making some of those possibilities and opportunities be more broadly available. I think its dangerous to take an excessively U.S.-centric perspective here. If you interact with or look at survey data, or otherwise try to assess whats the sentiment of people in Poland, whats the sentiment of people in India, or whats the sentiment of people in Indonesia, they view the internet extremely positively. And I think correctly so, where their opportunities for advancement would be substantially curtailed in the absence of much of what the internet makes possible. I think in places like the U.S., or actually, even at home in Ireland, some of this story is complicated by lots of other things, but including and I think, substantially dynamics around housing policy, where theres an extensive literature showing that, for example, a very substantial moderating effect on the increase in wealth inequality that would otherwise have happened, or income inequality, was geographic reallocation and people responding rationally to, OK, things in New York are going great, or things in California are going great. And if you look at the rate of increase of the Californian population, say, through the 1960s, that was a tremendously potent mechanism for us redistributing some of the economic gains that were being realized at the time. And of course, now, we have this crazy position, where California is losing population at the same time where the market caps of these companies and the profits of these companies are increasing very rapidly. But as one assesses that dynamic and tries to ask the question of, well, why arent these gains being better or more broadly distributed, its certainly not clear to me that the answer even lies in the realm of technology qua technology. And I think its certainly more broadly, again, some of these considerations like geographic allocation. ezra klein Let me ask one more question on the geographic dimension, and then Ill move on to it. And its on my mind, in part because when I try to think about progress, when I try to think about what inventions and innovations are coming really quickly, I actually see a bunch here. And Ill use A.I. as an example. Ive met people who are trying to automate a bunch of legal contracts. It makes a ton of sense. People pay a lot all over the country to some degree, all over the world to get fairly basic legal contracts drawn up wills and real estate documents and merger agreements and all kinds of from the small to the large. If you imagine that getting really effectively automated, though you think about Saint Louis, Missouri, where some of the people who are important pillars of the community work in law firms there, and what they do is contracts. They do estate planning and all the things that people have to do in contracts. And if it actually does get concentrated to really, really great contracting firms in the Bay Area or in New York, on the one hand, the democratizing potential will really be realized. Those contracts will get cheaper. Theres also a theory in crypto of smart contracts. And on the other hand, you really will have a lot of that the gains of that, economically, going to smaller areas and aggregated across a bunch of different domains. So graphic design, in all kinds of areas of the country midlevel graphic designers get paid to make logos for local businesses. Its pretty clear theyre going to be able to do that really, really easily on things like DALL-E pretty fast. So you can imagine a lot of that area getting wiped out. And you kind of run through a couple of these. And before you get to really unbelievable and sci-fi-like dimensions of artificial intelligence, you just have a thing that is going to democratize a lot of capabilities in a way thats going to put the money for those capabilities both a little bit back into the pockets of the people who need them, and then a lot into the people who run the best A.I. rigs and is going to have a really weird geographically destabilizing effect. And that paradox of the internet both democratizing geography, and then concentrating wealth and capital in very small areas is, to me, a central challenge. Because if you get that wrong, if it goes too much in the concentration area, I think were going to lose a lot of the political stability we need here. But youre more on top of these technological advances than I am. Do you think the trends there are going to play out differently than Im worried they will? patrick collison First, yeah, its not I dont think its foreordained whether or not these are going to be centralized technologies. I dont know. And on the one hand, theres, I think, an obvious feature we can contemplate, where there are only three A.I. models, and they are rooted in the hegemons, the citadels of Silicon Valley technology, and we all are digital serfs who are subsistence-farming on their gains. I think theres also a very plausible story where these technologies prove substantially less defensible than we might have expected, and where, instead, they have this enormously decentralizing effect. Because otherwise, economies of scale that only large firms could benefit from can now be realized and pursued, even by massively smaller firms. And if we look at the recent history of A.I. I dont think any clear story there, but it does feel to me that it has been more biased towards the second story than the first. There are now multiple companies with large language models. There are a number of very successful open-source A.I. efforts. Actually, there was a really cool example from Replit, which is a service its a programming I.D. in the browser, used by kids learning to code, but also increasingly used by people who are pursuing serious programming. And they recently released a GitHub copilot-like technology, where it will kind of autocomplete your code in the editor, and where you can do some pretty cool things. Like, you can highlight a block of code and ask it to be explained, and itll turn code into natural language, into English, and say, hey, heres what this code is doing. Anyway, they wrote a blog post about how they built this, and they describe how it was built by one guy over the course of a couple of weeks. And maybe thats only the case in the early days of this AI technology. I mean, in early computer games, the first games were built by a single heroic person, and now, its these gigantic studios and enormous CapEx budgets. And so I think the fact that this is the case today doesnt mean that it will remain the case through time. But my takeaway is that at least not foreordained that AI or any of these other technologies will be centralizing forces. And then, the other thing to observe is that when we talk about these being centralizing, I think theres a question as to, do we look at it in relative or absolute terms? And my contention would be that, both from a moral standpoint, but maybe more importantly from kind of a political-economy standpoint, what will matter is whether, on an absolute basis, people feel like they are realizing opportunities, their lives are improving, that things are getting better, that their kids will be in a better situation and so forth. And exactly how much value is realized by the companies themselves doesnt actually matter that much, compared to that former question. And whether A.W.S. or whether any of these organizations has super high or super low profit margins, I dont know is nearly as important as what is the actual effect on these communities and individuals across the society. And so in as much as one means by centralizing, one means a large share of the profits, I think it is probably a more useful framing to look at it instead in terms of absolutes, and in particular, the absolute surplus generated by the users. [MUSIC PLAYING] ezra klein What have you come to believe about the relationship between progress and war? patrick collison I am somewhat skeptical that war is as conducive to breakthroughs as we might intuitively conclude, or as is sometimes claimed. Youre probably familiar with Alexander Fields work on the 30s here. And his basic claim is, the productivity gains we often attribute to the Second World War in the U.S. like, those foundations actually were laid in the 30s, and then the first half of the 40s were a period of decreasing productivity as we massively, inefficiently reallocated our economic resources for the purposes of winning the war, which was probably a good thing to do, but inefficient in narrow economic terms. And he has a new book coming out, I think, next month, that sort of extends this argument into the 50s. And as one takes stock of the scientific breakthroughs and so Stripe Press recently republished Vannevar Bushs memoir, where he takes stock of this. And obviously, you have, say, the Manhattan Project, and thats a big deal, certainly. But it doesnt feel to me that had the Manhattan Project not occurred, that peaceful development of nuclear technology would have been massively stymied. Maybe it would have taken another 10 years, but it was already happening to some meaningful extent. And then, as you take stock of all the other breakthroughs that took place in the U.S. during the Second World War, there were some meaningful stuff like blood plasma and blood transfusions. There was some significant breakthroughs there. Some of the first antimalarial medications, radar, the proximity fuse, which Im not sure is all that useful outside of military applications. But by the time you get down to invention 6 on the list, I dont know that as you compare that list to, again, some counterfactual of what would otherwise have ensued, that it looks radically better as you take stock of the Cold War and the enormous fraction of our economic resources and human capital that were devoted towards us, that the gains necessarily look that impressive. And so again, its super hard to judge. You dont have proper controls and so on. But Im skeptical. ezra klein Let me take the other side. So theres a question of, during war, how much did we invent during World War II. And thats a question of how much the threat of war or the competition with an adversary ends up charging up innovation and convinces us to put resources, both in terms of people and in terms of money, and maybe in terms of institutions, into projects we wouldnt otherwise have done. I think theres an argument, at least, that we went to the moon because of the Soviet Union. It would not have done that for some time. Probably would have eventually done it, but also, who knows? As Derek Thompson, who Im working on a lot of these ideas with, likes to point out, the Apollo Project was unpopular. It was not something that commanded wide popular support. Even now, if you look at the CHIPS Act that passed, it passed, with all that spending on semiconductor research and other kinds of next-generation technologies, under the framework of, lets compete more effectively with China. If you look at all the things Darpa has done or been part of, the fact that defense is the first word in the Darpa acronym, I think, is meaningful. Theres something about what threat persuades societies to do, and persuades them to do technologically or what risks it allows otherwise-more-cautious governments to take, or what failures they could justify that allows them to have big successes. Something there doesnt seem to small to me. And maybe its my political side, where I so often see scientific funding justified in Congress in terms of countries were competing with or are adversaries with. And I see what the defense industry can do that other institutions cannot, because they dont get a lot of political blowback. But I dont know. I worry a little bit about how much we seem to need the threat of another to accelerate things. And in a small way, maybe, we see what the pandemic where we were willing to move much, much quicker on things like mRNA technology than I think we would have outside of it. patrick collison Yeah. So I think its certainly true that the crisis can cause the discontinuous shifts that have large effects, which in your example, say, are probably super beneficial. I dont know. If you take Darpa as an example, it started as Arpa, as a more open-ended research institution and set of programs, and then with the Vietnam War, had the D pretended to it. And we decided, in the face of threat, to make it more applied, to take more seriously its translational and kind of, quote unquote, competition-oriented mandate. And I think that was bad for Darpa. And the internet, which arose under Arpa its hard to think of innovations of similar magnitudes that then occurred in then-Darpas subsequent, say, two decades. If you take, say, U.S. science in general, the war the Second World War to some extent, the first, but much more so the second precipitated an enormous centralization of U.S. science in its aftermath. Because we really marshaled together all of the or a significant fraction of the scientific capacity of the U.S. in service of the war effort. For, example the 50 percent overhead, the fraction of government grants that goes to universities that was chosen in the early days of the coordination of the war effort, and has now become a kind of a pillar of academic and research funding in the U.S. And in the aftermath of the war, we sort have this question of OK, weve kind of pulled everything together. Now, what do we do? And that became, in various ways, the N.I.H. and the N.S.F. and so on. I mean, the N.I.H. predated it, but the growth of the N.I.H. really occurred after the war. And the federal government, shortly thereafter, for the first time, became the majority funder of US science. And all that centralization and I mean, you pointed out the benefits of variety and of experimentation and of heterogeneity, and having some degree of institutional and structural diversity and so on, I totally agree with all of that. And I think all of that was very meaningfully curtailed by, again, the aftershocks of some of the threats that we faced during the war. And if you think about the things that were maybe happiest about having happened the founding of the major new U.S. research universities in the latter parts of the 19th century or the revolution in health care and kind of medical practice that first happened at Johns Hopkins, and then kind of codified in the Flexner Report, or the great industrial research labs of Bell and Park and so on or excuse me Xerox they didnt obviously come from a place of fear or a threat. They came from a place of hope and optimism and opportunity. And maybe there are some inventions that youre more likely to get to from some of these external pressures. But yeah, if you gave me a dial, and I can kind of turn up or down the threat or fear index of society, its not super obvious to me that one would want to turn it up if what one cared about was the aggregate rate of progress. ezra klein Thats a good bridge, I think, to the question of institutions. And I take one of the main concerns of yours, of progress studies, as being around institutional slowdown. You have this idea that we dont meta-maintain institutions very well. They start in one place, and then over time, they crust over, and we dont really know what to do with that. Give me a little bit of your thinking there. patrick collison I think institutions, the cultures they instill and act as kind of coordination points and training sites for those of enormous consequence I think much of the success of the U.S. and of various other Western countries has, in substantial part, been attributable to successful institutions. Most people would accept, I think, that there is, to some extent, consistent trends that tend to happen with institutions through time. Just maybe most basically, the problem that gives rise to an institution in the first place is probably a pretty real and significant problem. No one would have taken the time to found the institution if it wasnt. And there can be some degree of drift there, where we dont necessarily decommission the institution once the problem has subsided or abated. And then, you tend to attract a certain kind of person in the early days of an institution people who are slightly less status and reputation and procedure-oriented, because a new institution almost never has that. And then, through time, the sort of collective or the mission-oriented incentives of the institution can kind of drift somewhat from the individual incentives that particular people are subject to. I think all this stuff exists. And the thing that I observe, or that I just find myself thinking about is, weve had eras of institution formation in the U.S. It has not been kind of a constant rate through time. And the New Deal maybe, and say, the 30 years afterwards, and the Great Society we bookend it with those start and endpoints. That was a period of tremendously active institution construction and formation in the U.S., Darpa being or Arpa originally being a good example, and indeed, NASA. And I guess I find myself wondering, one, if we didnt have any of these institutions and Im not saying we should get rid of them. But if we didnt have them, what institutions would we found today, first, and how high in the list would NASA be, for example? And then, secondly, in as much as we accept that some of these institutional dynamics exist, like the fact that sclerosis as an emergent property arises, what do we do about that? And lots of people have told us its pretty doesnt need a lot of teasing apart to see it as one compares NASA and SpaceX and the respective budgets, and the respective achievements, and so forth, I think its hard to not at least wonder about their respective efficiencies. And say, if society could only have SpaceX or NASA, which one would we choose, and what should we conclude from that, and to what extent do those phenomena generalize elsewhere? I dont have answers to these questions. But I find that in the political discourse not that anybody is celebrating that, but in the discourse, its very easy to get, I think, very wrapped up in questions of optimal funding levels, and should this number be 10 percent or 50 percent or higher or whatever, whereas to me, a lot of our satisfaction with the outcomes seems to hinge on deeper questions about the nature of the institution. I dont know that the problem or benefit, or anything good or bad about NASA is attributable to the budget, per se. It seems more, kind of, resonant in some of these deeper cultural questions. And then, in the recent pandemic, or in the I dont know. I was going to say, ongoing pandemic. But I guess as of two days ago, with the Presidents verdict, it is now over. ezra klein Its over. Congratulations, everybody. patrick collison Exactly. But anyway, I think that was maybe a vivid demonstration of many of these dynamics, where I dont know this any of the story about the institutional response to the pandemic should be primarily one of funding. I think its much more about the dispositions and the attitudes and the cultural biases of entities like the N.I.H. and the F.D.A. and the C.D.C. ezra klein I find the NASA SpaceX example an interesting and provocative one. Because on the one hand, I think what youre saying is completely true. And where a lot of the NASA programs and projects have gone in recent decades, is just its sad. Its just a sad story. And on the other hand, the idea that you the thought experiment of choosing between NASA and SpaceX the thing that it immediately asks is, well, you cant. Because without NASA, there is no SpaceX. And one way the private sector handles a lot of these questions I mean, Im always struck by how much of the way biotech research works is that big pharmaceutical companies acquire small biotech firms that have made a breakthrough or have come up with a very promising candidate. This is kind of an accepted thing that the big companies they do a fair amount of research, but a major, major innovation transmission there is small groups do more, quicker, and theyre just going to buy them. And the NASA SpaceX example has a little bit of that dynamic to it, although with a different mechanism of financing. And I dont know. I wonder if there arent deeper lessons there. patrick collison Yeah, I dont mean here in the NASA example like, I dont think reducing it to a simple binary of this-or-that is correct. Its more, what should we make of the differences in these two organizations? And given those observations or beliefs, what do we then think an efficient outcome might look like? And do we think that where we are today this prevailing status quo is optimal? Or are there other things we can do better? And maybe an important thing to say within all of this is, to the extent that these are all kind of inevitably determined outcomes, maybe it doesnt really matter if we think things would be better or worse. Were going to end up in the same place, regardless. But I think for all of these, its super contingent. And various aspects of both funding decisions and, kind of, the precepts and methodologies of the N.I.H., how we design I.P. law, how we regulate and require and run clinical trials there are tons of individual contingent decisions that we kind of have collectively made that give rise to the biotech and to the pharma ecosystem. And certainly, in the case of space, you know, like, it doesnt have to be this way other. Universes, no pun intended, are possible. I think perhaps the thing that people underappreciated with science in the U.S. is, it has been very different in the not-too-distant past. Peer review is a relatively recent invention. Modern journals are a relatively recent invention. As I mentioned, the federal government being the primary funder of basic research is a relatively recent invention. And molecular biology was, in significant part, a thesis by Warren Weaver at the Rockefeller Foundation. Theres a thing here, and we should aggressively pursue it. But importantly, it was not it required an institution, an organization, that was not part of the standard apparatus, for want of a better term. And the Broad Institute, over the last 25 years, has been enormously successful in the field of genomics and functional genomics and CRISPR, et cetera. And the Broad Institute is itself a kind of structural innovation, breaking somewhat from the more traditional prevailing university model. And so I think the fact that so many of our successes are associated with some degree of structural and institutional change should be somewhat thought-provoking for us. ezra klein Youve been trying to work in the space of institution-building here, too. I want to talk about Fast Grants and about Arc a little bit. So lets begin with Fast Grants. What is it, and what has it taught you? patrick collison Well, its mostly what was it. In the early days of the pandemic well, I should preface all of this by saying well, Ill reaffirm my preface that I dont know, to every question. But more importantly here, I will say, my now-wife is herself a scientist. Weve known each other since we were teenagers. We spend a lot of time talking about science in various forms. ezra klein You met am I allowed to say this? You met at a science competition. patrick collison That is true. We met at a science competition, 100 teenagers, and ezra klein And she beat you. patrick collison And yes. I was the runner-up, and she was the winner. I had created a programming language and a new dialect of lisp, and she had created a new treatment for urinary tract infections. And so I really dont envy the judges for having to figure out what framework one should use to make all these comparisons and lots of other people. ezra klein You sound a little bitter, man. patrick collison [CHUCKLES] I was gonna say, but no, we can all agree this the correct outcomes ensued. Anyway, so we were living together in March of 2020, holed up. And a number of her friends and colleagues were unsurprisingly with, I guess, a large fraction of all biology scientists, were trying to urgently repurpose their work to figure out, well, could they do something that would be somehow benefit to accelerating the end of the pandemic? And by early April, so a couple of weeks into lockdown, when it was becoming apparent and striking to us, which was it is difficult for these people to get funding for their work. And that might sound a bit, kind of, surprising, because you think, well, dont they have some degree of money already? And couldnt they just go and just spend that? But there are, obviously, significant rules around and restrictions around that which one can do with ones grant money. This is money provided by the government for a purpose. And so its not like you can go and readily spend it on something totally unrelated. And the money is administered by the university, and so you have to go through their proper procurement processes. Point is, lots of restrictions on scientists pecuniary ability to suddenly repurpose the research agendas. And we kind of thought, well we assume maybe in the early weeks, that presumably various bodies I dont know who some kind of amorphous other, some combination of C.D.C., F.D.A., N.I.H., philanthropies whatever. Somebody will come along and just give these scientists the obvious money that society clearly should, so they can go, and they can pursue these programs. Didnt seem to be happening. I mean, to be fair, I dont want to give us too much credit. Various people were doing things right off the bat in various different places, but we just personally knew of lots of specific examples of really good scientists who were unable to make progress of their work to the extent that they would like. So we tried to set up what we thought would be a pretty small initiative, and called Fast Grants. The basic idea would be, you send us some kind of proposal. And initially, within 48 hours, you would get a funding decision and either receive money or not. We started out with a pretty small amount of money. The initial donors we were among them, but there were a number contributed, best I recall, about $10 million. Launched the website early April 2020. Quickly inundated with, I think, four and a half thousand applications, which, given our promised 48-hour turnaround, was somewhat challenging. I should say this was myself. This was Silvana, my wife, and this was Tyler Cohen. So we had an immediate question as to, how do we actually run a philanthropic endeavor? And how do we stand it up in very short order? And he, through Mercatus and through Emergent Ventures, had some experience of very efficient and somewhat-scaled grant-giving. And so the three of us worked together to put it together over the course of a week or so. We proceeded over the course of, roughly speaking, the next year, slightly more, to make about 200 grants, eventually dispersing almost or slightly over, actually $50 million in total, to universities around the world, though primarily in the U.S. And you ask, kind of, what did we learn? A big surprise was how slowly other parts of the establishment mobilized. And various of the projects we funded or the labs we funded and so on theyve gone on to now do none of them were directly implicated in the vaccine research project that ended up yielding so much fruit. So again, I dont want to give Fast Grants too much credit. Eventually, the thing that really mattered, we had nothing to do with. But versus the projects, things like Saliva Direct, which was in the summer an early discovery that saliva tests work basically as well as the nasopharyngeal swabs we were all being subject to, or various discoveries around possible therapeutics, some of which are still continue to go through clinical trials, and may still turn out to matter to a significant extent. And that 500 people are still dying in the U.S. per day from Covid, and despite the existence of the vaccines and so on. So anyway, various discoveries ensued that I think will prove to be important. And the second thing we learned, which is not really related to Covid or the pandemic, but has certainly been significant for us, is it just got us thinking more deeply and broadly about the questions of, how do scientists choose what to do? And what are the constraints theyre subject to as a practical and applied matter? And this gets back to all this discussion about both culture and institutions. And towards the end of Fast grants, we ran a survey of the grant recipients. And these are essentially all people who dont normally certainly dont normally work on Covid. Covid didnt exist. But they dont even normally work on viruses, for the most part. These are basically kind of broadly drawn as a cross section across biology. And we just asked them, as a general matter in your regular research, if you could spend your grant money however you want, how much would you change your research agenda? So not an increase in the funding level, which tends to be what we discuss in as much as were discussing science policy across society. But much more specifically and narrowly, if you had complete autonomy in how you spend whatever grant money youre getting, how much of your research agenda would change? And our intuition was that maybe a third of people would like to be doing something meaningfully different to what they actually are. But of these scientists, and these are really good scientists, four out of five told us that they would change their research agendas, quote, a lot. We gave them three options. Not much, or not at all, a little, and then a lot. Four out of five chose the maximum option on our survey. So I just find this incredibly thought-provoking. Basically, we seem to be in a situation where most of our top scientists arent doing what they think would be best for them to do. And we could say, no, our various committees and governing bodies and decision-making apparatus and so on, they know better. And Im not saying it would be completely unreasonable for one to maintain that. But that would seem to be a very central question about the construction of our scientific apparatus. And I think that should give us some pause. ezra klein There are a couple things there. One is that it is a consistent observation I have learning about new areas that there is a way were taught the thing works, or people think the thing works, and theres this huge middle layer. Right? So in politics, which I know very well, and legislation, you have the Schoolhouse Rock version of how a bill becomes a law. And then its, like, a filibuster is how a bill becomes a law or does not become a law. We were talking about drug innovation earlier. I think the folk way people think it works is we make a discovery about a drug, and then, like, we make a drug out of it after some tests. But you talk to people who work on pharmaceuticals and just clinical trials. And in science I think if you had asked me as a high schooler, had some science classes, Id have told you something about the scientific method. And then you talk to a scientist, and its grants. Like, grants are how science works. Grants are the middle layer between you are a scientist, and you can do some science. And grants are how the N.S.F. and the N.I.H. work. Theyre how a lot of the universities work. Theres fund-raising. I mean, there are different ways that it happens. To make the question of Are we doing science well? a little bit more precise, I think one version of that question is, Are we doing grants well? And I think that question is more tractable. People dont feel as defensive about it. But Ive talked to a lot of scientists in the course of my work. Ive covered health care for my entire career. And I dont know any who think were doing grants well. I dont know any who will not complain to you for hours. And they may be wrong. And I do want to note because they also just have somewhat different incentives. I mean, I was noting earlier, and I think its very real. The government, particularly when it gives out grants, needs to worry about the reputational cost of the grant. If the grant goes wrong, if not enough of the grants pay out into useful research. If Rand Paul can stand up in Senate and make what you did sounds silly, these things really end up mattering. And so you get a process that is optimizing for a lot of different things. But the question of whether or not we do grants well ends up being really, really, really important in every country that does major capital science that I know of, and is just not the main question for a bunch of different reasons we ask. patrick collison Yeah. Another question we asked in our survey was how much time they spend on the grants. I think to some extent, this is perhaps at least, of those whove spent some amount of time interacting with scientists, kind of more broadly known than perhaps the finding with respect to how they do or the degree to which they can choose what they work on. But we found that or they reported to us that they spend on the order of 40 percent of their time on grant administration. And even if one were to maintain that the decision-making apparatus around what scientists do is somehow efficient, I think it is a very tenuous position to also try to argue that 40 percent of the best scientists time is optimally allocated towards grant applications, authorship and administration. And were not talking about an inconsequential 40 percent here. I mean, this is 40 percent of the time of this super-elite 10,000, 100,000, whatever it is, some relatively finite number of people. And weve chosen to take and to redeploy almost half of their time in service of technocratic, bureaucratic undertaking. And getting back again to this point about people perhaps falsely assuming that things have been more inter-temporally consistent than they have, that percentage has increased very substantially over the last couple of decades as the overall edifice of science has grown, and as the kind of acceptance rates and the various thresholds for various grants has become more exacting. ezra klein How we allocate peoples time is really important. But also, just how we allocate talent is really important. And it brings me to something you said that I wanted to ask you about. This was in response to a question about whether big tech companies are hogging all the talent in society. And you said, quote, I dont think that the ambitious upstarts who go into high speed rail in America, anyway, are going to have a great time or have much success in convincing their friends to follow them. And I suspect that for various reasons, too many domains look somewhat like high speed rail. And so you go on to say that theres a view that the internet is a frontier of last resort, and that you dont think thats totally wrong. So tell me about that. Tell me about the idea of the internet as a frontier of last resort. But behind that, this idea that other frontiers where talented people might want to go and make their mark on society have closed. patrick collison Youre familiar with and youve probably written about the Stephen Teles idea of kludgeocracy. And I kind of like the term kludgeocracy, because rather than making some of the inhibitions that people might encounter in pursuing something like high speed rail, rather than casting those as being deliberate, the valence is more that its this kind of emergent, inadvertent and kind of complicated phenomena that nobody perhaps particularly wants or chose. And I think the case of Californias high speed rail is quite striking, where youve written about this and kind of similar projects and the New York subway expansion and so on. And congestion pricing and so on. But its striking where its not actually obviously a question of first order political will. Like, were willing to fund the high speed rail in California. Were clearly willing to invest in building the subway expansion in New York. But somehow, somewhere between that first order decision and desire and our actual ability to kind of instantiate it, something really goes wrong. And you contrast that with stories of in the case of, say, California, Henry Kaiser and these various other early part of the 20th century operators in the physical realm. And for a variety of reasons, but mostly prosaic state and county-level complications and things that would extend the time horizon of ones project, it has simply become meaningfully less-appealing for those people to undertake these initiatives. I mean, Foster City, not too far from where we are now, thats named after the eponymous Mr. Foster. He was a developer. He decided, well, with reclaimed wetlands, Im going to build a city. California is growing quickly. The Bay Area is a kind of propitious and will be a long-term successful area. And I think this place simply needs more housing. And he, with that kind of founder energy, was able to give birth and rise to the city that now bears his name. I havent met anybody pitching me on a similar city on the shores of the Bay in the last couple of years. But I would imagine that were one to adopt that ambition today and to propose that maybe the San Jose Marsh wetlands should themselves be an expansion of San Jose, I dont think one would get very far. And in fact, even for much more sort of limited things, like additional runways or runway expansions at S.F.O., even they have now been stymied for decades at this point. That ability to translate that into something enunciated has dissipated and deteriorated. And then I think the kind of individual version is, and if I want to be that heroic solar farm entrepreneur or railway magnate, that my practical ability to do so has been meaningfully curtailed. ezra klein Yeah. I mean, thats what Im getting at here a little bit, which is talent really matters for a society. Where the most talented people go really matters for society. And a lot of those people want to go somewhere where they can have a really big effect. I think theres been a huge rush to digital land because you can build on digital land. You can build quickly. I mean, its interesting to some of the dynamics were talking about, the temporal dynamics were talking about, that you see this dynamic even within the tech world. There was a while where it was really exciting to go join Facebook, go join Google, go join one of the big companies. Because you could do so much. And thats still, to some degree, true. But they got really big. And so crypto got whatever you think of crypto, one thing that is exciting about it to people is the idea that its open land. That you can go in there and have a really big effect on it. Build something new just with a couple of friends that might change the whole direction of the field. And on some level, its always going to be harder for, say, putting high speed rail through the middle of California. Right? I mean, just building things in the world is just going to be tougher. But on the other hand, if you make building things in the world too hard, if you make grants too difficult if you I know a lot of doctors who their advice to young people is dont become a doctor. And it always breaks my heart a little bit. We need really great people to be doctors. And their point is not, dont go heal sick people. Their point is, being a doctor is too hard now. The amount of time you spend dealing with insurance agencies and malpractice insurance and boards, and this and that, its just too much administration. When industries become very complicated to operate in, you want to select for people who are good at operating complicated industries, which may be different than the people who are good at moving really fast and changing things dramatically. But two, you kind of subtly bias where different kinds of people in your society go. I think in China, if you want to change a lot, you still probably go into infrastructure construction, among other things. Right? The idea that you might be a genius rail mind, in China, thats great. Theres probably a lot of rail you can make. Thats not true here. And the point is not to make too much of the rail example, but to make a lot of the idea that talent flows towards where it can have an effect and people can live the kinds of heroic lives they want to lead. And if we have subtly pushed a lot of people into maybe not the right not the socially optimal directions, that over time will have a pretty big effect on a society. patrick collison I think a constant is that some number of ambitious young people will want to do something, as you say, heroic. And yeah, I think maybe two things have changed. For one, for whatever reason, our predisposition to putting those people in positions of authority has diminished. And then secondly, even if placed, their ability to actually execute, again for various reasons, has been attenuated. Ive been reading about the university founders and presidents and those associated with some of the great US research institutions. And one thing that is striking is how many of them were so young when placed in those positions of authority. You know, Daniel Coit Gilman at Johns Hopkins, or William Rainey Harper at the University of Chicago. I think he was 32 when he was appointed president of the University of Chicago. Even in the recent past. So my dad was in the first year of the University of Limerick in Ireland. Or at the time, it was called N.I.H.E. It kind of acquired university status later in its life. And the Irish guy who founded it and was really the dynamo behind it, I think he was 29 when he was put in charge of that project. And I think it was in 1970 or 71 that he was charged with this mission. But as recently as 1970 in Ireland, we were willing to put a 29-year-old I mean, thats a person meaningfully younger than me in charge of the project of overseeing the creation of a major new research institution. And I dont know that I have compelling or confident observations to offer in terms of the etiology underlying these changes. But I think the changes themselves are important, or at least we should assume theyre important if we come from a place of humility, where this is what has worked in the past. Enabling these ambitious young people who are willing to contemplate spending multiple decades in pursuit of some ambitious and idiosyncratic vision. And maybe were more enlightened now. Maybe we figured out how to get all the same innovation and all the same breakthroughs without unleashing that force. But I guess my starting point, at least, would be, well, we should before getting super confident in that or before really being deliberate about it, I think we should give some kind of credit and credence to the prescription and the methodology thats worked heretofore. ezra klein And before books, let me end on this. Weve talked a lot about scientific slowdown, about technological slowdown. But lets say in the next 15-year time frame, what are the three technological or scientific possibilities youre most excited by? If in 20 I guess itd be 2037, were having a conversation about how dumb this conversation was because it was right on the cusp of so much incredible stuff happening, what do you think is likely to be on that list? patrick collison I dont know that Ive super non-consensus answers. I think that there are fundamental a priori reasons to believe that the rate of progress in biology could increase substantially over the years, and to your question, kind of decades to come. So if in 2037 we are enormously impressed and struck by the discontinuity there, that would not shock me. Clearly, over the past couple of years, theres been acceleration in progress in A.I. And kind of far for me to try to point estimate for kind of where that is in 2037. But I would be surprised if that is not somewhere on that list. And then I think theres something about education in the broadest sense that feels to me like a very significant, and hopefully very positive change happening in the world right now. Maybe best embodied by YouTube. But also by Twitter and by blogs and Substacks and even Zoom and kind of the growing ease of being in some kind of cultural proximity to people one aspires to emulating, or following in the footsteps of, or otherwise kind of being more like. And to the extent that one believes my story about the significance of sociology, and culture, and mentorship, and the kind of delicate transmission of tacit knowledge, it has until very recently only been possible for that to happen to a meaningful extent through physical co-location. And the fact that weve now thrown open those doors to such an extent feels to me like a really compelling and plausibly transformative change. And if it were the case in 2037 that we have multiplied by 20 the number of people who can who have the initial mental models and understanding to become successful entrepreneurs, or successful scientists, or successful writers, or successful in whatever one might choose ones domain to be, again, I think that would not be shocking. And I think its a pretty hopeful fact about the world. ezra klein And then always our final question. What are the three books youd recommend to the audience? patrick collison Well, Im right now reading Revolution and Empire, which is a book about Edmund Burke. And it is just fabulous. I very highly recommend it. Edmund Burke, Irelands foremost political philosopher. And Im embarrassed to say that I have known less about him than I feel like I ought to have. So I recommend that very highly. And the autobiography by Warren Weaver, who I mentioned, at Rockefeller. I cant remember if its called Scene of Change or Scene of the Action. But its Warren Weavers autobiography. Thats not a great book in the sense that you dont read it you dont find it to be a vivid, compelling page-turner. And your mind is not blown on every page. But I find myself thinking back to it quite a lot and having various parts of it sort of ricochet to my mind. And then it all depends on what people are interested in and all the rest. And you should read the things you like. But I have on my desk at home right now A Widening Sphere, which is a history of M.I.T. And I was re-reading it recently. And my ezra klein Who doesnt re-read the histories of M.I.T.? patrick collison [LAUGHS] Well, William Barton Rogers, the founder, was the son of an Irishman, and started M.I.T. substantially with his brother. And I find it very inspiring, I guess back to what we were saying earlier, how motivated he was and they were by a kind of broad-based desire for societal betterment. Like, M.I.T. didnt inadvertently end up being a significant contribution to American prosperity and ingenuity and welfare. He was really immersed in that milieu. He paid a lot of attention to some of the cultural dynamics we were describing in England, and the Darwins. And the early writing on M.I.T., if you go and just read the first two pages of the founding manifesto, it wasnt utopian in some kind of implausibly lofty sense. But it was somebody who knew they werent founding a run of the mill nth technical college. And I feel like its easy to get cynical always. Its easy to assume that the things that really worked out worked out through happenstance, as opposed to optimism and ambition. But yeah, I find the history of MIT to be a kind of inspiring reminder that sometimes these implausible, lofty, ambitious, long-term initiatives can work out much better than one would hope. [MUSIC PLAYING] ezra klein Patrick Collison, thank you very much. patrick collison Thanks for having me. [MUSIC PLAYING] ezra klein Firmer apples. More sugary or more tart. Apples can even have red flesh inside a fashionable trend spun off from wild Kazakh apples that are too bitter to eat, said Francois Laurens at INRAE, the French national research institute for agriculture. When it comes to cooking up new looks for a fruit that seems fully baked, apples are harder to work with than many other crops because of the five- to seven-year wait before a tree produces fruit. And before a new variety even reaches growers, researchers take about 15 years to breed and test a given apple. Were easily talking 20 to 25 years from this year for those new varieties to really get to consumers in a big way, said James Luby, professor of horticultural sciences at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Lubys claim to apple fame is his involvement in the Honeycrisp, developed at the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center in the 1960s and 1970s. He started at the center in 1982, about a decade before the Honeycrisp hit the market in the early 1990s. At that time, he said, some growers and probably some journalists were skeptical that new apples were needed. We knew when we first tasted it that it was something very different than what was on the market you know, that kind of explosive crunchiness, breaking flesh, was very different, Dr. Luby said of the Honeycrisp apple. Honeycrisp and many other commercial apples originated through a technique called controlled hybridization, which includes taking pollen from one kind of apple tree and putting it on the flower of another. The cross-pollination produces a hybrid apple, just as two parents produce a child who shares both of their genetic traits, said Susan K. Brown, a professor at Cornell Universitys School of Integrative Plant Science, who leads the nations oldest apple breeding program, also in Geneva. Some recent apple successes from Dr. Brown, the research specialist Kevin Maloney and their large team of collaborators at Cornell have included the RubyFrost and SnapDragon types, which debuted to consumers in 2013. They were commercialized in a partnership with Crunch Time Apple Growers of New York. Even though the telescope was nearly half a world away from him, Dr. Tonry saw the pictures seconds after they were taken. Thats the amazing thing about the internet, he said. We looked at the picture and said, Oh my God, look at that. Wow. Dr. Tonry was surprised by how much debris was knocked off the asteroid and how fast it was moving. This stuff was screaming out at two kilometers a second, like 4,000 miles an hour, he said. And so within an hour, that cloud was as big as the Earth. Most of the debris was ejected from the point of impact, moving away from the side where DART struck. Which is exactly what youd expect for a plume to be recoiling off the surface, Dr. Tonry said. But he said there also appeared to be a shell of debris rising from the opposite side, moving in the same direction as DART. It may be that DART created a wave that went right through Dimorphos and kind of blasted stuff off the far side, Dr. Tonry said. Right after the impact, the brightness jumped by a factor of 10 from sunlight bouncing off the debris. It has dimmed since then, but the dot is still four times as bright compared with what it was. A cloud of slower moving debris that remains in the vicinity of Didymos and Dimorphos is likely to fall back to the surfaces of the two asteroids in the coming weeks. A similar sequence of images was taken by another telescope in South Africa by Amanda Sickafoose, an astronomer who lives in South Africa but works for the Planetary Science Institute based in Tucson, Ariz., and Nicolas Erasmus of the South African Astronomical Observatory. (South Africa was a prime location for viewing the impact.) The Core Club in Midtown, which courts a wealthy careerist crowd, followed, then NeueHouse and the now-defunct Norwood. Like gossip and wildfire, the trend has accelerated since the pandemic, with a half-dozen new private clubs and restaurants. Zero Bond has been drawing the young and casual, along with Mayor Eric Adams, to its art strewn NoHo loft. Casa Cipriani hugs the Battery along Manhattans southern tip like an old-world ocean liner, with members clutching status handbags and phones as if they were life preservers. The Aman New York in Midtown has a private jazz club, and the Fasano Fifth Avenue has duplex apartments overlooking Central Park. An offshoot of 5 Hertford Street, another London import, is slated to open on the Upper East Side. And San Vicente Bungalows, a private Hollywood clubhouse, plans to open at the former Jane Hotel in the West Village. How much more exclusivity can one city take? Most of these clubs charge between $4,000 or $5,000 in annual dues, but Casa Cruz is different. It is technically not a club, but a restaurant with an investor group of partners that pay between $250,000 to $500,000 to join, according to Kate Bartle, a spokeswoman. The 99 current investors get exclusive access to the fourth floor and rooftop terrace, where there are lounges and dining rooms, accessible by a private elevator. The main restaurant and lounges on second and third floors are open to the public, assuming one can get a reservation. And when partners invest in something, they end up promoting it to their friends, so you dont have to do any marketing said Mr. Santa Cruz, who left a career in investment banking a dozen years ago, and has three restaurants in London and one in Buenos Aires. To be successful, I dont have to attract that many people. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said on Tuesday that it had discovered and taken down what it described as the first targeted Chinese campaign to interfere in U.S. politics ahead of the midterm elections in November. Unlike the Russian efforts over the last two presidential elections, however, the Chinese campaign appeared limited in scope and clumsy at times. The fake posts began appearing on Facebook and Instagram, as well as on Twitter, in November, using profile pictures of men in formal attire but the names of women, according to the companys report. The users later posed as conservative Americans, promoting gun rights and opposition to abortion, while criticizing President Biden. By April, they mostly presented themselves as liberals from Florida, Texas and California, opposing guns and promoting reproductive rights. They mangled the English language and failed to attract many followers. Florida airports were reporting flight delays, cancellations and even closures ahead of the hurricane force winds expected along much of the state beginning Wednesday morning. Airports in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Orlando had announced the grounding of all their flights as precautionary measures, while others were reporting delays in parts of the state outside the hurricanes path and its associated watches and warnings. Tampa International Airport which was in the middle of the hurricanes projected path as of Tuesday evening had canceled more incoming flights than any other airport in the United States as of Tuesday afternoon, registering 146 cancellations and 15 delays for the day, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. It suspended all operations as of 5 p.m. Tuesday. At a news briefing on Tuesday morning, John Tiliacos, the airports executive vice president, had said the closure would affect 450 flights a day. A team of about 120 employees have volunteered to ride out the storm at the airport, he said. Ten days after Hurricane Fiona ripped through Puerto Rico, bringing more than 30 inches of rain and causing at least three deaths, hundreds of thousands of customers on the island were still without power. As of Wednesday morning when most eyes were on Hurricane Ian moving over Cuba about 345,000 customers in Puerto Rico were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.Us, a website that aggregates data from utilities across the United States. Thats down from the 1.5 million electrical customers who were without power on Saturday, about a week after Hurricane Fiona, then a Category 1 storm, struck. At least three people died and two were injured last week in accidents related to the power outage. A candle fire burned down a house in San Juan, killing two and injuring one. Another person died and another was sent to the hospital after being intoxicated with fumes from a generator. The government of Puerto Rico on Saturday said that up to 16 people may have died as a direct or indirect result of the storm, though at least a dozen of those cases were still being investigated. Evacuation orders could be expanded as the storm nears the coast, but here is the status as of Tuesday afternoon. In Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, a mandatory evacuation was ordered for coastal areas on Monday and another order on Tuesday for some inland areas. Residents can use an online tool to see their evacuation status. People under the orders must evacuate by 9 p.m. on Tuesday. A list of shelters is available here and you can sign up for emergency alerts here. Pasco County, just north of Tampa, ordered mandatory evacuations for some areas on Monday, with voluntary evacuations elsewhere. Shelters will be available starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday; a list of shelters can be found here, and an interactive map of evacuation zones here. Hernando County, further north of Tampa, ordered a mandatory evacuation on Tuesday of all areas west of U.S. Highway 19, which includes residents in coastal and low-lying areas. Manufactured homes countywide are also under this order. One pet-friendly public shelter is available and another is open for those with special needs. You can sign up for emergency alerts here. Citrus County, also north of Tampa, ordered a mandatory evacuation on Tuesday of all low-lying areas west of U.S. Highway 19 and several sections east of the highway. A list of evacuation zones, emergency shelters and additional resources can be found here. Collier County, south of Fort Myers, issued a voluntary evacuation order on Tuesday for residents in immediate coastal areas and people in mobile homes. The county has opened four pet-friendly emergency shelters. A list of evacuation zones can be found here. Glades County, northwest of Fort Myers, has encouraged people living in mobile homes or in low-lying areas that are prone to flooding to voluntarily evacuate. One pet-friendly shelter will be open at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Highlands County, further inland, has issued a voluntary evacuation of areas prone to flooding and homes without concrete slab foundations, such as mobile homes, recreational vehicles and trailers. Pinellas County, which includes St. Petersburg and Clearwater, ordered evacuations for some areas beginning at 6 p.m. Monday, with more areas joining at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Residents can check their evacuation zone here. Manatee County, which is south of St. Petersburg and includes Bradenton, ordered mandatory evacuations for some areas and voluntary evacuations for others, effective at 8 a.m. Tuesday. Residents can find their evacuation level here and information about shelters here. Sarasota County, which extends from Sarasota to Englewood, called for the evacuation of some areas. People living in residential vehicles, mobile or manufactured homes, and boats must evacuate. Residents can look up their address here. Information about shelters is here; all are pet-friendly. Charlotte County, north of Fort Myers, ordered an evacuation for some areas on Monday, including those living on barrier islands. Residents can check their evacuation zone here. Lee County, which includes Fort Myers and Cape Coral, ordered evacuations for barrier islands and low-lying areas. An evacuation map is available here. Shelters began opening as of 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Levy County, southwest of Gainesville, ordered residents living in mobile homes and recreational vehicles, or in low-lying areas and coastal areas to evacuate. These evacuations must be completed by noon on Wednesday; information on zones and other details is available here. US no doubt 'superpower of sanctions': China (People's Daily App) 15:04, September 27, 2022 China condemned the US for its abuse of sanctions at a regular foreign ministry press briefing in Beijing on Monday. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks in response to reports that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Bolivian President Luis Arce and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla had all condemned the hegemonic US for imposing unilateral sanctions in statements at the general debate of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The US is no doubt the superpower of sanctions, Wang said. The US had imposed economic sanctions on nearly 40 countries, Wang said, affecting almost half the global population and causing serious humanitarian disasters. Sanctions have become the US foreign policy weapon of choice, according to US media, he said. (Compiled by Zhang Jian) (Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun) Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers militia, and four other members of the far-right group prepared to present a novel and risky defense as they went on trial on Tuesday for seditious conspiracy in the attack on the Capitol last year, charged with plotting to use force against the government. They intend to tell the jury that when armed teams of Oath Keepers made plans to rush into Washington from Virginia on Jan. 6, 2021, they believed they would be following legal orders from the president himself. Lawyers for the five defendants are set to argue at the trial which began on Tuesday with jury selection that the Oath Keepers were waiting on Jan. 6 for President Donald J. Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, a Revolutionary-era law that grants the president wide powers to deploy the military to quell unrest in emergencies. As the trial in Federal District Court in Washington moves forward, lawyers in the case have said, Mr. Rhodes intends to take the stand himself and testify that even though Mr. Trump never did invoke the act, the Oath Keepers believed that he was going to do so. Their preparations for violence on Jan. 6, he will argue, should be thought of as a lawful attempt to help the president, not as an illegal attack against the United States. The legislation also seeks to prevent state officials from submitting electoral votes that do not align with the popular vote in a state, another answer to Mr. Trumps election subversion attempt, which included a bid to have allies submit slates of pro-Trump electors in states won by Mr. Biden. It would substantially increase the threshold for Congress to consider an objection to electoral votes, requiring that at least one-fifth of each chamber sign on to such challenges, which currently need only one senator and one House member. Right now, just two people out of 535 members can object and slow down and gum up the counting, said Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota and the chair of the panel. She said the legislation presented an opportunity to take strong bipartisan action to protect the cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power. The Rules Committee incorporated some changes sought by election watchdogs, and Mr. McConnell warned that he would not back any final version if the authors went beyond narrow consensus changes. He also said he would not support the bill approved last week in the House. That legislation raises the threshold for objections even higher, to one-third of both chambers, and also includes provisions that Senate Republicans fear could lead to more court fights over the results an outcome they are eager to avoid. How Times reporters cover politics. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause. Learn more about our process. It is clear that only a bipartisan compromise originating in the Senate can actually become law, Mr. McConnell said. One party going it alone will be a nonstarter and, in my view, the House bill is a nonstarter. We have one shot to get this right. Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas and one of the senators who lodged objections to the electoral count in 2021, was the sole member of the Rules Committee to oppose the legislation. Doug Mastriano, the far-right Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, indicated in 2019 that women should be charged with murder if they violated a proposed abortion ban, a comment that Democrats on Tuesday highlighted as another example of Mr. Mastrianos embrace of policies that are well outside the political mainstream. As a state senator in October 2019, he co-sponsored a bill to ban abortion after the detection of electrical cardiac activity in the fetus, usually around six weeks. On the radio show Smart Talk, the host, Scott LaMar, asked Mr. Mastriano if a woman would be charged with murder if she were 10 weeks pregnant and knowingly had what would be an illegal abortion under the bill. Mr. Mastriano answered, Is that a human being? Is that a little boy or girl? If it is, it deserves equal protection under the law. So youre saying yes? the host asked. Yes, I am, Mr. Mastriano responded. NBC News first brought attention to the interview on Tuesday. Mr. Mastrianos team did not respond to a request for comment. While individual pardon cases are complex, requiring voters to absorb details and nuance, the G.O.P. attacks on Mr. Fetterman are meant to deliver the opposite: a blunt, visceral punch. The Oz campaign created a website called Inmates for Fetterman, highlighting the crimes of convicted murderers whose release Mr. Fetterman sought, and asking for donations to Dr. Oz. The Oz campaign has singled out the Horton brothers, whose release Mr. Fetterman calls one of the pinnacles of his career in public office. The brothers share a name but are not related to the most infamous released inmate in a political attack ad, Willie Horton, whose crime spree while on a furlough program hurt the presidential candidacy of Michael Dukakis in 1988. How Times reporters cover politics. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause. Learn more about our process. Invoking that episode explicitly, Mr. Fetterman said he had anticipated that opponents would Horton us over his championing the brothers release. Like more than 1,100 lifers in Pennsylvanias prisons, 70 percent of them Black, the Horton brothers were convicted of second-degree murder, a charge filed against suspects who participate in a felony such as robbery, arson or rape that leads to a death. It also includes accomplices not directly responsible for a fatality who drove a getaway car or acted as a lookout. Pennsylvania is an outlier in mandating life without parole for second-degree murder, and reformers argue that it violates constitutional protections against unduly cruel punishments. With no possibility of release through the normal parole process, these inmates have been encouraged by Mr. Fetterman to seek commutations before the pardons board. The board can recommend either pardons (for inmates already released) or commutations (for those still behind bars). The five-member board, which includes Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democrats nominee for governor, must unanimously approve commutations, and the governor must sign off. Mr. Fetterman said that in each commutation case he supported, he asked the prisoners warden if he would want that individual as a neighbor. And theyre like, Absolutely, he said. WASHINGTON With only months remaining before it closes up shop, the House Jan. 6 committee is wrangling over how best to complete its work, with key decisions yet to be made on issues that could help shape its legacy. The panel, whose public hearings this summer exposed substantial new details about former President Donald J. Trumps efforts to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election, must still decide whether to issue subpoenas to Mr. Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. It has yet to settle on whether to enforce subpoenas issued to Republican members of Congress who have refused to cooperate with the inquiry, or what legislative recommendations to make. It must still grapple with when to turn its files over to the Justice Department, how to finish what it hopes will be a comprehensive written report and whether to make criminal referrals. And on Tuesday, it abruptly postponed a hearing that had been scheduled for Wednesday as a hurricane bore down on Florida, even as its members disagreed publicly over whether the next session would be its last. The panel had not disclosed the topics it intended to cover at its next hearing, and gave no date for rescheduling the session, which will be its first since July. But it is still working to break new ground with its investigation. The Maryland couple who tried to sell sensitive submarine nuclear propulsion secrets to a foreign country again pleaded guilty on Tuesday, accepting the prospect of longer prison sentences after a federal judge threw out their original deal as too lenient. Under the new deal with prosecutors, Jonathan Toebbe, 43, a former Navy nuclear engineer, could serve 27 years or longer in a federal prison. Diana Toebbe, 46, his wife and a former teacher at an Annapolis, Md., private school, could serve more than a dozen years. The new deals are significantly longer than their original plea agreements, which would have had Mr. Toebbe likely serving about a dozen years and Ms. Toebbe serving three years or less, in federal custody. Judge Gina M. Groh of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia in August rejected the original deal between the prosecutors and the Toebbes. The Toebbes case had fascinated many in the public, raising questions about why a couple with a comfortable suburban life would have risked everything they had with a poorly thought out endeavor to sell nuclear secrets. The Toebbes plan involved a combination of sophisticated encryption (that the government could not break without Mr. Toebbes help) and amateur spy skills (for example, agreeing to a dead drop location under watch by the government). NAIROBI, Kenya A Kenyan lawyer on trial at the International Criminal Court on charges of witness tampering in a case linked to President William Ruto was found dead at his home in a suburb of the capital, Nairobi, his family and the police said on Tuesday. The lawyer, Paul Gicheru, 49, had been awaiting a verdict in the trial, which took place in The Hague from February to June. Prosecutors accused him of bribing and intimidating witnesses to prevent them from testifying against Mr. Ruto over his role in post-election violence in Kenya in 2007 and 2008. Mr. Ruto, who announced his new cabinet on Tuesday, was sworn in as president on Sept. 13 after winning last months hard-fought election by a narrow margin. Michael G. Karnavas, Mr. Gicherus lawyer, confirmed his death, which was received with shock by many in Kenya the latest twist in a decade-long legal journey at the International Criminal Court, punctuated by collapsed trials, disappearing witnesses and accusations of meddling, that has drawn in Kenyas leaders and framed its politics. This article is from a special report on the Athens Democracy Forum, which convenes this week in the Greek capital to examine the ways in which self-governance might evolve. Ban Ki-moon was a teenager from a village in what is now South Korea when he and a group of other young people from around the world joined a Red Cross tour of the United States and met President John F. Kennedy. It was what he would later describe as a life-changing moment. There, in 1962 on the South Lawn of the White House, Kennedy turned to the international gathering of youths and pointed out that people could be friends even if their countries were not that there were, in effect, no national boundaries. Decades later, as the United Nations secretary general from 2007 to 2016, Mr. Ban put that credo into practice, striving to knock down barriers, foster friendship among nations, and campaign for peace and conflict resolution. Six years on, he is still busy doing that in a personal capacity, but also as deputy chairman of a group of global leaders known as the Elders, set up 15 years ago by the South African president Nelson Mandela, and now chaired by the former Irish president Mary Robinson. This article is from a special report on the Athens Democracy Forum, which convenes this week in the Greek capital to examine the ways in which self-governance might evolve. When President Donald J. Trump announced in November 2020 that he had been robbed of victory in the presidential election that month, the author and political commentator Ece Temelkuran (pronounced eh-jeh) drew direct parallels with her homeland, Turkey. Make no mistake, this is an attempted coup, she wrote in an editorial for The Guardian. If it were happening in Turkey, the worlds media would not think twice about calling it so. Ms. Temelkuran spoke from experience. She lived through the July 2016 coup attempt against the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and left the country to avoid the crackdown that followed. Three years later, she published How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship, a nonfiction book that charted a democratic countrys potential slide into authoritarianism. Ms. Temelkuran was born into a political family. Her mother was a student activist who was imprisoned after a military coup in Turkey in the 1970s and rescued by a young lawyer whom she would go on to marry. The Russian-led referendums in occupied parts of Ukraine are expected to show that a majority of residents voted to join Russia, with the Kremlin then formally announcing annexation as soon as this week. The voting, which has drawn broad international condemnation as rigged, concludes Tuesday in Donetsk and Luhansk in the east, and Kherson and Zaporizka in the south. If the regions are annexed, Russia has said, it would defend them as though they were Russian territory, including, potentially, with its arsenal of nuclear weapons. This strategy recalls staged votes in 2014 in Crimea that Moscow swiftly followed with annexing the peninsula. Kremlin-backed officials began holding the referendums on Friday after a series of setbacks on the battlefield. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia announced his support for the votes in a provocative 20-minute speech on Wednesday, adding that his top goal of the war remained liberating Ukraines eastern Donbas region. Ukrainians have expressed fear that an immediate consequence of annexation would be conscription into the Russian military and being forced to take up arms against their own country. In parts of Luhansk and Donetsk, which have been occupied by Russia since 2014, that is already the case. This article is from a special report on the Athens Democracy Forum, which convenes this week in the Greek capital to examine the ways in which self-governance might evolve. BRUSSELS Democracy seems under threat everywhere, from angry domestic populists to autocrats who argue that untrammeled state power produces more benefits to ordinary citizens, that democracies are too noisy and divided to deliver the goods. Even within the European Union, there are substantial challenges to liberal democracy and the rule of law from countries like Poland and Hungary, which the European Parliament recently declared can no longer be considered a full democracy, but an electoral autocracy. The victory of liberal democracy that Francis Fukuyama rightly celebrated after the collapse of the Soviet Union can sound hollow today; at the least, it is under severe challenge from autocracies ranging from Russia and China to Turkey, Brazil and the oil-rich Gulf. In the late 1990s, 72 countries were democratizing, and only three were growing more authoritarian, according to data from the V-Dem Institute, which monitors democracy and its variants. Last year, only 15 countries grew more democratic, while 33 slid toward authoritarianism. Liberal democracies were at their lowest level in 25 years, V-Dem said, covering only 13 percent of the worlds population; closed autocracies governed 26 percent of the worlds people, and electoral autocracies governed 44 percent. Moscow then began diminishing its supplies through existing lines, first choking off flows through overland pipelines, as President Vladimir V. Putin appeared to calculate that Russia could absorb the resulting economic pain longer than Europe could. Over the summer, Nord Stream 1 operated at a fraction of its capacity, and the flow halted in late August. The escalation has sent the price of gas soaring and forced leaders to call on businesses and citizens to reduce consumption or face rationing in the winter. Reflecting the markets sensitivity to threats, perceived or real, natural gas prices in Europe spiked on news of the leaks, with the benchmark Dutch contract jumping almost 20 percent on Tuesday to 208 euros ($199) per megawatt-hour, compared with about 39 a year earlier. Gas prices, which have been volatile since the war began, peaked at nearly 350 in August but had been falling in recent weeks. This has all the hallmarks of a burning down the house energy warfare strategy, Helima Croft, head of commodities at RBC Capital Markets, said of the likely attacks. Russia was never going to let the West have an easy energy detox, but these acts of sabotage portend a new dangerous, asymmetric phase in the Kremlin campaign to raise the economic stakes for its adversaries. The 27 European Union member countries agreed in July to cut natural gas use by 15 percent through the spring, and have arranged alternative supplies, allowing them to build up their stockpiles. The governments in Denmark and Germany both said on Tuesday that the leaks would not affect natural gas supplies in their countries. It would be no simple matter to inflict damage on both of the Nord Streams, each of which is actually two pipelines. Lying more than 300 feet below the surface in places, the steel pipes are coated in concrete, designed to withstand the pressures at such depths, as well as changes in internal pressure on the 760-mile journey from Russia to Germany. They were subject to numerous stress tests and certification before being laid on the sea floor. Swedish scientists said on Tuesday they had recorded two separate large underwater explosions, several hours apart on Monday, near the Danish island of Bornholm, that registered 1.8 and 2.3 on the magnitude scale used to measure earthquakes. They resembled explosions carried out by the Swedish Navy, said Bjorn Lund, associate professor of seismology at the Swedish National Seismic Network. Its very clear that these were not earthquakes, Mr. Lund said in a phone interview on Tuesday. Operators of each of the two systems, independently of each other, soon after reported drops in pressure within the pipelines. KYIV, Ukraine In the Soviet Union, they were stigmatized as disloyal and driven into a decades-long exile far from their native land. In an eerie echo of that exodus, many Crimean Tatar men are now fleeing to Kazakhstan to escape conscription in Russias hastily called draft to reinforce its army in Ukraine, which Tatar activists see as a continuation of Moscows long history of repressive policies. In one region on the Crimean Peninsula the Tatars homeland and part of Ukraine that Russia has occupied for the past eight years all but two of 48 people who received draft notices were ethnic Tatars, according to the Ukraine-based Crimean Tatar Resource Center, a rights group. Elsewhere on the peninsula, Russia called up Tatars in numbers far disproportionate to their share of the population, Ukrainian officials said. Dozens of Tatars sought legal help to avoid the draft. This article is from a special report on the Athens Democracy Forum, which convenes this week in the Greek capital to examine the ways in which self-governance might evolve. The Polish historian and journalist Karolina Wigura has a stark prognosis for liberal democracy as we know it: It will be wiped out in the West unless politicians infuse their platforms with a lot more emotion. Offhand, the concept seems to conflict with the stereotypical image of the politician as cold and calculating, with little regard for the feelings of others. But Ms. Wigura has studied how populist politicians play on voters feelings and sentiments their memories of the past, their fear of and hope for the future to get themselves elected. After the 2015 victory of the right-wing populist Law and Justice party in Poland, Ms. Wigura was invited by St. Antonys College at the University of Oxford to co-lead a comparative research program on Poland from 2016 to 2018, together with Jarosaw Kuisz. Her stint coincided with the triumph of populism in two major Western democracies: Britain, with the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union, and the United States, with the election of Donald J. Trump. Her research became much more comparative, and she became a media commentator on populism and illiberal democracy. Time for a new drug There is an element of trial and error involved in identifying which antidepressant will work for which patient. Many require two or even three trials to find a medication that is effective and tolerated. After discussing the situation with the patient, I prescribe another antidepressant. A second drug may do the trick. Or it might not. Typically, 30 to 40 percent of patients respond well to a second antidepressant medication if they did not respond to the first. The family of a 35-year-old man who died in April of last year due to Covid-19 have been living with his body ever since, thinking he was only in a coma and would eventually wake up. Vimlesh Sonkar, a young Income Tax Officer in Ahmedabad was admitted to Moti hospital on 19th April 2021 and pronounced dead only three days later after becoming infected with the coronavirus. A death certificate was handed to the mans family, but they refused to believe he had passed away and instead of giving him the last rights took his dead body home and cared for it as if he would eventually wake up. The mans mummified remains were discovered a few days ago, when a team from his workplace was sent to investigate his long-term absence. Photo: cg_world/Pixabay The person had died on April 22, 2021 during the second wave of Covid. He had bilateral pneumonia, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Kanpur, Alok Ranjan, told The Sunday Express. After he died, he was taken to a local nursing home where he was declared dead. A death certificate was also issued where the cause of death was mentioned as bilateral pneumonia'. Its unclear why Vimleshs family didnt want to accept the fact that he had passed away. The Times of India reports that they took his body to another hospital for a second opinion, and even when doctors there confirmed his death, they still took his corpse back home and treated it like that of a coma patient that might wake up one day. According to the Free Press Journal, the family was ready to give the man his last rites, but first they put an oximeter on one of his fingers, and after it showed a pulse and the oxygen level in his blood, they decided he was still alive and canceled the funeral. One thing is for sure, though Vimlesh Sonkars family lived with his dead body in the same house for a year and a half, genuinely thinking that he was in a coma and would one day wake up. His wife, his parents, his brothers and their families, all of whom lived in the same house, took care of him, cleaning his body with Dettol disinfectant three times a day, changing his clothes daily and leaving the air conditioning on for 24 hours a day. Whenever his office asked the family about his whereabouts, they said Vimlesh was ill, a senior police officer told The Indian Express. The family also brought in oxygen cylinders and told locals that he was in a coma and was being treated at home. They were convinced that he was alive and will get better. The shocking discovery of Vimlesh Sonkars body was made by a team sent by his office to check why he had been absent from work for so long. Despite the care provided by members of his family, the 35-year-old mans body had deteriorated severely since his death, with one eye-witness describing it as a mummy with the flesh dried up on the bones. That didnt seem to give the family any clues, though Police was notified about the situation, and Vimleshs body was once again taken to a hospital where his death was once again confirmed. After this, his family finally agreed to have his body cremated. As no crime was committed here, we will not be taking any action against anyone. The family was still convinced that he was alive till his body was taken away on Friday by officials, CMO Alok Ranjan said. On Friday night, the remains of the body were cremated in the presence of police, other officials and Vimleshs family. The family members had to be convinced for the cremation. Finn Partners has partnered with the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art to promote the Say Their Names Memorial augmented reality exhibition to honor the victims of racial injustice in the US. The AR experience combines digital photography, technology and art to enable visitors via smartphones and other devices to learn about the lives of people such as Amadou Diallo, George Floyd, Malcolm X, Eric Garner and Breonna Taylor. The exhibit is virtually sited on Manhattans West 86th St, the site of the historic Seneca Village. Until it was demolished in 1857 to pave the way for Central Park, Seneca Village was one of the largest Black settlements in the US. Say Their Names NYC will be on view through Oct. 17 before going on a national tour. Helen Shelton, Finn Partners global chief diversity officer, said the memorial honors the countless African Americans who have lost their lives to racism over the past two centuries and more." Her firm supports "initiatives that can spark dialogue and drive action in every city and community in which we do business around the world. Tom Bernot Falls & Co. names Tom Bernot president and chief operating officer. Bernot was most recently SVP, new business development at the agency. His previous positions include VP at Falls Digital, global brand manager at Swagelok and VP of eCommerce and digital marketing at WBC Group. In addition to remaining focused on new business development in his new post, Bernot will now spearhead innovation across the agencys offerings. Agency founder Rob Falls will become chairman and retain his role of CEO. Toms depth and breadth of experiences and successes in both corporate and agency settings, combined with using data analytics and solution-based approaches will bring unique insights and perspectives as we continue to solve our clients challenges, said Falls. Patrick Mitchell Banner Public Affairs appoints Patrick Mitchell VP of public relations. Mitchell joins Banner from the African Wildlife Foundation, where he managed corporate communications in North America. He was previously a senior vice president at The Hastings Group. At Banner, Mitchell will be tasked with leveraging his experience delivering communication strategies for the clean energy and infrastructure industry and building bipartisan coalition to strengthen Banner's expanded focus on clean water, renewable energy and environmental issues. "Patrick's wide-ranging knowledge of the media landscape and several decades' worth of experience creating campaigns around critical bipartisan issues is a tremendous addition to Banner's team of experts," said Banner partner Jim Talent. Amber Meredith ROX United brings on Amber Meredith as president. Meredith has served as EVP at BMF; managing director, consumer lifestyle at Marina Maher Communications and SVP, beauty at DeVries. She was most recently COO at luxury beauty brand Artis. At ROX, Merediths remit will include leading client services and business development. Based in New York, she will oversee teams in both New York and Huntington Beach, CA. Amber has vast communications industry knowledge and is adept at capitalizing on new innovations and leading clients through a rapidly evolving landscape to stand out and deliver on their business objectives, said John Gallegos, founder and CEO of United Collective communications group, which includes ROX United. Natalie Bauer Culloton + Bauer Luce promotes Natalie Bauer Luce to president. Bauer previously served as EVP at the firm, where she has been an equity owner since 2019. She has also been communications director at Uptake Technologies and spent nearly seven years as a senior advisor to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. In her new post, Bauer Luce will guide firm strategy, drive new business development, oversee high-profile client initiatives and support talent recruitment efforts. The St. Louis Economic Partnership is looking to hire a strategic communications firm to promote diversified economic growth to advance the quality of life in the county and city of St. Louis, which has a combined population of just over 1M people. A TULLAMORE-based amateur photographer has shared pictures she took of the late Queen Elizabeth II 26 years ago in Warsaw. Malgorzata Marszalek, who is a native of the Polish capital, has been living in Tullamore for the last five years but on March 25, 1996, when she was 29, she was delighted to get close enough to the Queen to photograph the monarch during an official visit to Poland. As soon as I read in the newspaper about her visit to Warsaw, I immediately decided that I had to see her, said Malgorzata. Queen Elizabeth walked around the Old Town in Warsaw. Everywhere where it would be possible to see the Queen crowds of people lined up. Then she was 70 years old but she still looked beautiful and that is how I remember her forever. She said she even once considered sending the photographs to the Queen but was concerned they would not be good enough. Malgorzata is an active and award winning member of the Tullamore Camera Club (see below a picture she took in Claddagh, Galway) and she says the camera she was using back in 1996 was not of good quality but she added: I am happy that I have one and only unique photos of the Queen Elizabeth in my archive. It is a great memento and memory of the great woman for me. Malgorzata is a member of the large Polish community which has settled in Ireland since Poland joined the European Union. She has two sisters who were born in Warsaw and they moved to Ireland before her, in 2004, and one now lives in Tullamore and the other in Athlone. My family in Ireland is very big, 19 people with children, she said. She is happy to be living in Ireland. It is said that a person's heart is where he lives. And that's true, my heart is in Ireland now. I love the sea and mountains and I have it all here, she said. She has travelled extensively, taking trips to Achill Island, Kilkee, the Cliffs of Moher, Waterford, Carlow, Westport, Limerick, Tralee, Killarney National Park, the Giants Causeway, Howth, Greystones and to her favourite cliff walk in Bray. And of course many times in Galway and Dublin. Friends of Sarah Inam are in mourning as police in Pakistan investigate the killing of the 37-year-old alumnus of Ontario's University of Waterloo. Inam's husband of four months and his father, a columnist and TV political analyst in Pakistan, have been arrested. As far-right parties score election victories across the EU, the populist Alternative for Germany party is looking to translate economic anxiety into similar gains. The polls suggest that the strategy is working. CBC.ca 01 Oct 2022 Before the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea sprung massive leaks this week, spewing out tons of methane into the.. Former Japan PM Shinzo Abe passed away in July after a man shot him dead during a public rally in the country. The final day of voting in so-called referendums in Russian-occupied regions is underway in Ukraine, with UK military intelligence saying Putin might announce the accession of the regions on Friday. DW has more. After Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot's name was potentially ruled out of the race, it is likely that the Congress presidential race will be between two. Newsy 01 Oct 2022 Watch VideoAfter being encircled by Ukrainian forces, Russia pulled troops out Saturday from an eastern Ukrainian city that it had.. Initial results released by pro-Moscow authorities showed voters across Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine supported their annexation by Russia. The West has slammed the process as a sham. Russia's FSB security agency said on Monday it had detained a Japanese consul in Russia's Pacific port city of Vladivostok for suspected espionage and ordered him to leave the country. Russia has been trying to spotlight Hungary as the country that is breaking away from Europe in an effort to get Hungary on the Russian side. Giorgia Meloni, a leader of the far right, has claimed victory in Italy's election and is on track to become the nation's first female prime minister. Mayor of Tampa Jane Castor was in the middle of a press conference warning about Hurricane Ian when she was interrupted by a call from President Biden. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre encouraged Russian men to apply for asylum in the U.S. Tuesday. Tens of thousands of men have fled Russia to avoid Putin's draft. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. Here's the latest for Tuesday, September 27th: Florida orders 2.5 million to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Ian; Denmark says Baltic gas pipeline leaks 'deliberate actions'; Major drug bust in Germany; Woman hit by train while in police car out of hospital. A tourist was killed by a great white shark while she was wading in waist-high water in a beach in South Africa.Kimon Bisogno, 39, was with her family on Plettenberg Bay for the bank holiday weekend when she was dragged out to sea... Japan expressed grave concern about Russia's possible use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine, as the top government spokesman on Monday announced an additional ban on exports of chemical weapons-related goods to Russia."As the world's... Tokyo demands an apology after one its diplomats is accused of spying in Russia's Far East. Japans assassinated hawkish former leader, Shinzo Abe, has been honored by a rare state funeral that was full of militaristic pomp. Ian had top winds of 125 mph and storm surge up to 14 feet as it moved over the western end of Cuba. It could head for Tampa and St. Petersburg next, the first direct hit on those cities in a century. BANG Showbiz 28 Sep 2022 Shakira is facing up to eight years in jail after being ordered to stand trial over allegations of a 12 million tax fraud. Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: Credit asset management boutique Capital Four has hauled in 1.5 billion ($1.45bn) for the final close of its third private debt fund, exceeding its initial 1 billion target. According to a media statement from the financial institution in Copenhagen, Denmark, Capital Four Private Debt III - Senior has well-received commitments from new and long-standing investors and capital being raised from insurance companies, endowments as well as pension funds. "With a deployment rate of more than 90% at the hard close, the Fund was deployed ahead of schedule, allowing the successor fund (Private Debt V - Senior) to launch earlier than planned during the summer," said the credit asset management boutique. According to the release, the successor fund follows the same investment strategy and focuses exclusively on bilateral senior secured financings to companies located in the Nordics, DACH, and BENELUX. It will invest only in companies with an EBITDA of 10 - 20 million, which have a strong and resilient profile as well as competitive market positions. In addition, a large part of the loans included in the portfolio will be sustainability-linked, making Private Debt V - Senior compliant with EU SFDR Art. 8. Sandro Naf, CEO and Founding Partner at Capital Four, said: "The interest of the investment community in sourcing, structuring, and investing in private debt instruments has increased. Through the consistent expansion of our investment p...................... To view our full article Click here Opalesque Industry Update - Impact Cubed, a provider of ESG data and portfolio engineering tools for creating more sustainable portfolios, announced that Helge Kostka and Owen Thiers have joined the firm as directors to support the continued expansion of its European business. Helge's career of more than 25 years in finance spans investment management, product management, and sales. Prior to joining Impact Cubed, he was chief investment officer at a UK wealth manager and previously was head of portfolio engineering at Deutsche Asset Management. His work with ESG investments began in 2010 to evolve the equity product strategy at Aviva Investors and he later led the introduction of Smart Beta in Europe while at Research Affiliates. Helge is a Graham and Dodd Award winner and a certified ESG advisor. "I am impressed by Impact Cubed's tools, which can add value to many parts of any investment organisation. The market needs objective ESG data and Impact Cubed's coverage, portfolios models and analytics platform fill a big gap." said Helge. His focus will be Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Owen is a specialist in investment management, having worked for more than 25 years at large global asset managers in a range of client facing and executive roles. Owen also served as a member of Impact Cubed's advisory board, providing leadership to guide the firm's strategy and business expansion. "I am excited to help Impact Cubed expand its market presence. The investment industry is in an ongoing shift to modernize portfolio management, and Impact Cubed's portfolio models and digital solutions are perfectly positioned to meet asset manager's and wealth manager's needs", said Owen. His focus will be Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. "Our team's hands on experience with the investment process gives us a different perspective on creating ESG solutions and consistently sets us apart from other ESG data providers. Helge's and Owen's impressive careers and their deep body of knowledge in asset and wealth management will help drive our unique solution set in Europe," commented Impact Cubed CEO Libby Bernick. Impact Cubed's objective data and digital portfolio analytic tools provide investors with unparalleled transparency into funds, portfolios, and underlying securities. Investors are able to access a full suite of robust ESG, climate, impact, and EU regulatory datasets to quickly measure portfolio performance and simplify reporting for regulators and clients. Related: ESG pioneer Impact Cubed's new fund to capitalize on shift of capital to sustainable economy Stern Pinball, Inc. released a brand new line of pinball machines in celebration of the classic James Bond films. The series, which will feature original 007 actor Sean Connery available in Pro Edition, Premium Edition, and Limited Edition (LE), hopes to recapture the essence of what made these movies so great. In addition, Stern Pinball will also be releasing a special James Bond 007 60th Anniversary Limited Edition pinball machine Director of Content and Operations 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. Photo: (Photo : JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images) An Indiana teen has achieved something no other student in the world managed to do this spring: record a perfect score on the Advanced Placement Calculus AB exam. Felix Zhang is a junior at Penn High School in Mishawaka, Indiana. He achieved a perfect "5" rating, according to the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation, the College Board that administers the AP exams. They said he was the only student in the world to earn every possible point on the AP Calculus AB exam, meaning Zhang scored a perfect 108 points. Zhang didn't expect to get a perfect score In a news release, Trevor Packer, Head of the Advanced Placement Program, said that this outstanding accomplishment is likely a direct reflection of the top-quality education offered at Penn High School. He added that they applaud Zhang's hard work and the AP teacher responsible for engaging students and enabling them to excel in a college-level course. Zhang recently held a news conference to talk about his achievement, according to Fox. The teen took the test in the spring of this year, along with 270,000 students worldwide. He said he felt pretty confident as he knew what to do on the test, but there was always a chance he would make a small error. Zhang, who is currently studying AP Calculus CB, said that is why he was not expecting to see a perfect score. He noted that acing the test was pretty surprising because he felt many other people out there probably performed very well on the test, and he was somewhat surprised that no one else got a perfect score. Read Also: No Evidence Missing Georgia Mom Found Dead Was Kidnapped, Authorities Say Teachers played a part in Zhang's achievement Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker paid tribute to the teachers in Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation, saying they are some of the best in Indiana. He said their incredible dedication and commitment to academic excellence and ensuring every student reaches their highest potential is extraordinary. Thacker said the teachers do this daily across their district, in all 15 schools. He lauded Felix Zhang and his teacher Mrs. Denise White, saying they are just one of the many examples of great student/teacher relationships that result in phenomenal achievements for their students. Thacker noted that Zhang's perfect score exemplifies their "Triangle of Success," which connects students, teachers, and parents. AP exams help students gain entry into colleges and universities along with scholarships and other financial aid, according to WTHR. Universities and colleges worldwide receive the AP scores of students to determine if they can attend their schools. Related Article: Single Mom Credits Maternity Home for Saving Her Life During Pregnancy Crisis Photo: (Photo : MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images) A father whose hand turned black and started to rot after being bitten by a deadly spider died of massive organ failure just four days later. He had to go to five hospitals to get proper treatment for the spider bite before he passed away. Gustavo Occelli was bitten by a highly venomous Chilean recluse spider (Loxosceles laeta) on September 6 in the city of Benavidez in Argentina, according to Yahoo. The 52-year-old dad and husband started to feel nauseous and weak following the spider bite. Occelli was then taken to the Benavidez Immediate Diagnostic Hospital (HDI) by his family for treatment. However, doctors told him that the necrotic lesion on his right hand was an insect bite. According to his daughter Melina, he was prescribed painkillers and an antibiotic. Family wants justice after dad's death due to a spider bite Gustavo decided to visit the Pacheco General Hospital as he already had a fever and had started to feel worse. He was told by doctors there that he would have to wait five days for the antibiotic to take effect. Melina said that her mother told her what happened with the window staff, who refused to provide care to his father. She said they excused themselves because her father already had an indicated treatment. Gustavo was then attended to by doctors at the hospital at his family's insistence before he was given penicillin intramuscular injection and ibuprofen so that he could return home. Despite the treatment, his condition continued to worsen, and he started to vomit blood. Tired of the poor health care he allegedly received at previous medical centers, Gustavo's family decided to take him to the Santa Catalina de Benavidez clinic, where the spider bite victim reportedly fainted. He was then urgently referred to the Garin General Hospital in Buenos Aires for treatment. Melina said her dad was treated quickly there since he was already very weak and could not walk. She said they did tests that indicated that her father had internal bleeding, which doctors believed came from his stomach. They also found that his lungs were compromised by pneumonia. Read Also: U.N. Panel Says Russian Troops Raped and Tortured Kids in Ukraine Gustavo dies because of a bite from a Chilean recluse spider Gustavo was transferred to Escobar Hospital, where he reportedly died on September 9 due to a cardiac arrest. Occelli's family publicly condemned both the Pacheco General Hospital and the HDI's alleged misconduct and negligence after stating that Gustavo had no previous health conditions. The family then claimed that the medical officials did not request any test to be carried out on Gustavo so that the deadly spider bite could be detected early. The Chilean recluse spider is a highly venomous spider native to South America. The arachnid can be found in Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Chile, and Ecuador. Related Article: Grieving Mom of American Who Died Fighting in Ukraine Wants His Remains To Be Brought Home Photo: (Photo : Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Fresno police announced that a teen mom and her newborn baby were found dead from gunshot wounds in a southwest Fresno home on Saturday morning, September 24. Cops received a call of a shooting at a residence on the 2500 block of South Fruit Avenue, north of Jensen Avenue, at around 7:20 a.m, Fresno Bee reported. Family members heard shots fired inside the home, located in the middle of an orchard and fairly isolated. Officers said they tragically learned on their arrival that two people died from gunshot wounds inside the home. When asked if there was any information about the suspect in the shooting, Fresno Deputy Police Chief Burke Farrah said they would not release details at this time. Investigation still ongoing for Fresno shooting Fresno cops did not immediately know how many people were living in the home or if there was a disturbance before the shooting of the mother and child. Farrah noted that is part of the detectives' investigation, which will be lengthy. He said that when something like this happens, they must be cautious to ensure they get it right. Farrah said a homicide investigation team remained at the crime scene on Saturday afternoon. The investigators collected evidence in consultation with the Fresno County Coroner's Office. They are canvasing the area not only for evidence but also witnesses. According to Action News, mom Yanelly Solorio-Rivera and her baby Celine Sophia Solorio-Rivera were found dead in the Fresno home. Farrah said there is much work to be done on this case. He described the shooting as an unfortunate and tragic event. Read Also: Pregnant Ukrainian Mom Leaves War-torn Country To Deliver Baby in Las Vegas The homicide total in Fresno for this year is now at 45 He said they were working with the family and had the Fresno Police Department Chaplaincy on the scene. He added that they also worked with their officers because this situation was traumatic for everyone involved. Investigators made it clear that this was an isolated incident and did not anticipate any danger to the community or neighborhood. According to Farrah, wellness officers and police chaplains were also sent to the scene to assist the victims' families. Emergency responders will also be given peer counseling and support to help them process the horrific crime. The deaths of the mother and baby brought the homicide total in Fresno to 45 this year. The mom-and-child deaths follow two other Fresno homicides committed earlier in the day. A fatal stabbing was witnessed in downtown Fresno. A man was also found dead of trauma to his body in the Tower District area. Following those homicides, a man was critically injured in a shooting outside a Home Depot in southeast Fresno. Related Article: Thousands of Missouri Kids Pay the Price After State Declines Tweak to Summer Meals Program This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions MBABANE - A gunshot had to be fired to stop a rape suspect who tested the intelligence and fitness of police officers at the Mbabane Magistrates Court yesterday. The group of police officers chased after Phinda Dlamini (25) of Mangwaneni after he unexpectedly took to his heels while standing next to an investigating officer who had brought him to court on rape allegations. Dlamini is accused of raping two women aged 21 and 23 while at Mangwaneni in Mbabane. It was gathered that Dlamini took the chance to flee while waiting for a police van to ferry them back to the police station after he had recorded a confession. Screams There were screams from the members of the public after the gunshot was heard. Dlamini was caught by the police officers at Gwamile Street. He had run for about 100 metres from the magistrates court. At the time, members of the public, including passersby and vendors, had concentrated on the dramatic chase. Asked why he escaped from the police, Dlamini stated that he was confused by the matter. He stated that he opted for the confession so that he could clarify some of the allegations levelled against him. Dlamini was remanded in custody until October 10, 2022 for setting of trial date before Acting Mbabane Principal Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati. Escaping from police custody is a criminal offence, however, Dlamini had not been charged when this report was compiled. Intel said Tuesday that its Screenovate app, which clones many of the functions found inside the Windows Your Phone app, will now be called Unison and ship on its partners premium Evo laptops. The new Unison app allows you to place calls from your PC, transfer photos and files, and see notifications on both Android phone as well as iPhones. The latter capability has been largely omitted from the Your Phone app bundled in Windows, which revolves around Android support. Intel launched the overhauled Unison app alongside 13th-generation Core chips, code-named Raptor Lake, at its Intel Innovation conference. On December 6, 2021, Intel bought Israeli developer Screenovate, reportedly for $100 million. The company is now part of Intels Client Computing Group, though Unison has been designed for businesses and consumers alike, with support for both manageability as well as corporate VPNs, Daniel Rogers, senior director of Intels mobile product marketing, said in a recent press briefing. Unison has also been given a facelift, with both a new interface as well as benefiting from Intels knowledge of wireless networks, he said. Intel is hoping to use Unison as a tangible benefit for Evo PC buyers. At CES this year, Intel announced a significant expansion of Evo into peripherals and even desktop and commercial PCs. And if youre an iPhone user, youll see some tangible benefits. Though Microsoft had hoped to expand into both Android and iPhones after its Windows Phone ambitions went belly-up, the company has largely abandoned the iPhone as a device that can be tightly integrated with Windows. (Instead, Microsoft has beefed up its app experiences, with Outlook and other apps.) Unison could help solve that shortcoming. The Messages view within Intels Unison app. Intel Other than that, a demonstration of the Unison technology looked, in concept, very similar to what Your Phone already does: make phone calls from a PC via a phones Bluetooth connection, send and respond to text messages, connect to the phones apps, show notifications, and transfer photos and files. Your Phone doesnt focus that much on file transfer, though Windows Nearby Sharing feature helps mitigate that omission. Simply uploading and saving files to the cloud does, too. Microsofts Your Phone interface within Windows. Microsoft The Screenovate purchase was therefore a bit of a head-scratcher. But Intel seems like it recognizes that providing more benefits to Evo customers can help benefit the platform. Executives, too, might be thinking of building out a suite of apps for Evo buyers that could eventually turn into a service, and a subscription. As Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella has said, thats practically the purpose of Windows anyway. Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh is in Houston, Texas, United States of America together with senior officials of the Petroleum Commission, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation(GNPC) and GOIL on an oil and gas roadshow. The delegation which also includes officials from Base Energy is seeking to promote 5 available oil blocks offshore Ghana. These are Deep-Water Cape Three Points Block, Offshore Cape Three Points South Block and Shallow Water Cape Three Points Block. It also includes the Southwest Saltpond Block as well as the Expanded Shallow Water Tano (ESWT) Block At a strategic roadshow event which was planned to coincide with the maiden Africa-Houston Energy Summit on Wednesday, 21st September 2022, Dr Prempeh said Ghana has four Sedimentary basins of significance to oil and gas namely; Western, Central, Eastern and the Voltairean. Opoku Prempeh said the Western basin has Ghanas three actively producing deepwater oil and gas fields. Dr Prempeh added that the Voltaian basin is onshore and the remaining two are largely offshore. Most parts of the offshore basins are open for E&P activities. GNPC is currently exploring the Voltaian Basin to establish its prospectivity, following which the basin will be open to investors, he said The Minister who is also a Member of Parliament for Manhyia South told investors that the Jubilee Field became Ghanas first commercial deepwater discovery which further deepened the interest in deepwater exploration in Ghana. Having fast-tracked the development of the Jubilee Field, first commercial oil production commenced in December 2010, barely 40 months from discovery he added. He continued two new fields (Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) Field and Sankofa Gye Nyame Field) have since been brought onstream for production in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The three producing (3) fields currently provide an average daily production of about 150,000 bbl/d from a peak production rate of approximately 200,000 bbl/d. He further stated that Ghanas stable political and business climate, its highly prospective sedimentary basin with commensurate high exploration success rate, its guaranteed and attractive fiscal terms and the well-defined legal and regulatory framework. Opoku Prempeh also highlighted the availability of existing architecture to support infrastructure-led exploration, which shortens the time between exploration and production. He thus urged investors to find in Ghana a friend and partner. The Minister will on Thursday ( 22 September) participate in a roundtable discussion together with colleague Ministers at the Africa-Houston Energy Summit and it is expected that he will be heavy on the investment opportunities in Ghanas upstream petroleum space Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Kwame Baffoe Abronye DC, Bono Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party, NPP, has reacted to an incident over the weekend where President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was booed. Akufo-Addo was subjected to 'away, away!' chants by a section of the crowd at the Global Citizen Festival that took place at the Black Star Square on Saturday, September 24. Abronye lamented that for all the development efforts Akufo-Addo has undertaken, some people had opted to boo him for reasons best known to them. Commenting via his Facebook account on Sunday, September 25, Abronye added that booing needed to be reserved for leaders who have engaged in acts of corruption - going on to specifically mention former president John Dramani Mahama. John Mahama he said, was the character that deserved 'away, away, away,' boos because of the corruption that he allegedly engaged in during his time as president. He cited a specific allegation where the erstwhile government is said to have entered a "bad" contract for the management of Ghana's main port i.e. the Meridian Port Services contract of 2015. His post read in part: The "Away Away" won't bring back our Port that was sold by John Mahama for 35 years at just GHS 7 billion dollars to his best friend Vincent Bollore (Meridian Port Services) in 2015. "Termination of this agreement will cause the nation $21 billion. if the away away crowd can cough this amount for Vincent Bollore, the government is ready to terminate the contract signed by John Mahama and this will reduce our hardship," he averred. The NPP regional chairman also expressed shock at young people who he said were backing John Mahama to return as president despite his alleged sins relative to corruption. "The Ghanaian Youth who are calling for the coming of JM should just add 35 years to his current age. Someone sold your destiny when he was in power or government and you're still calling for his come back.. "It is John Mahama who deserves Away Away Away Away and not someone who even in the middle of pandemic is engaging in several developmental projects," his post concluded. Exactly what happened?Thousands of patrons were at the venue to witness the Global Citizen festival which had a number of local and international artistes performing.As host of the event, the president was called upon to give his remarks, which happened to be a prepared speech that lasted over six minutes.The booing happened when he started his speech saying: "The whole world is in Ghana today."What started initially as people showing their disapproval of his presence on the stage, turned into loud clapping and chanting of the words: "away, away...," the president, however, stayed the course and delivered his full speech.As if that was not enough, people on social media latched on to the development to mock the president. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Electoral Commission (EC) says it has been assured by the National Identification Authority (NIA) that the Ghana Card will be made accessible to all before the commission begins its continuous voter registration, early next year. The commission in a Constitutional Instrument (C.I) laid before Parliament has proposed the use of the Ghana Card as the sole identification document for the upcoming registration exercise. This decision by the EC has brought to the fore concerns by some stakeholders in the electoral process that making the Ghana Card the only form of identification for the registration exercise would lead to the disenfranchisement of many eligible voters. Notable among the stakeholders that have raised concerns about the use of the Ghana Card is the main opposition National Democratic Congress. Assurance However, responding to the issue in an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Dr Serebour Quaicoe, said the commission was in touch with the NIA and the latter had given an assurance that the challenges associated with the issuance of the Ghana Card would be a thing of the past by the end of the year. The NIA has given us all the assurances that now that they have rolled out 291 registration centres, we are also going to roll out 267 registration centres. This means that the people will have access to the Ghana Card to enable them to get their names onto the register, he said. He explained that the decision by the EC for the Ghana Card to be used as the sole form of identification was because the exercise would be on until October 7, 2024, and by that time, all eligible voters might have had their Ghana Card to enable them to get their names onto the voters roll. Dr Quaicoe gave an assurance that there was enough time for all Ghanaians to access the Ghana Card in the next two years during which time the exercise would be from January 2023 to October 7, 2024 and, therefore, no eligible voter would be left out. All the challenges will be rectified. They will get the Ghana Card; they will come to our offices to register. Lets throw this challenge; we have more than two years, and lets give ourselves the end of 2023. If genuinely there are people who are not getting the card, then we can now put forth that argument that people will be disenfranchised as it is being suggested, he said. Target He said the EC had targeted to register 1.8 million eligible voters for the duration of the exercise. Responding to concerns raised by the Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram , Sam George, that the EC was adamant to the concerns raised by stakeholders to use only the Ghana Card for the voter registration exercise, Dr Quaicoe said with the assurance given by the NIA, nobody would be disenfranchised. Source: Graphiconline Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ghana and the United State of America have agreed to collaborate to promote tourism, arts and culture between the two countries. This was the outcome of a meeting held in Accra on Friday, 23rd September 2022 between the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal and the US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia E. Palmer. As part of the collaboration, the two countries will hold joint tourism fora in Ghana and the US to help promote tourism potentials in Ghana. Dr. Awal said the US is an important market for Ghana in tourism, and therefore urged the Ambassador to use her good office to help market Ghana as a potential tourism and investment destination. He added that the launch of Beyond the Return by President Akuffo-Addo in 2019 has made Ghana the centre of attraction for African Diasporans, therefore Ghana is taking measures to not only attract tourists but also repeat tourist arrivals. Revamping some tourist attraction sites such as the National Museum after extensive renovation, renovating the Nkrumah Memorial Park, renovation of both Cape Coast and Elmina Castles, and training stakeholders in the tourism value chain to improve their customer care orientation are among the measures, Dr. Awal added. On her part, Virginia E. Palmer is happy with the development of tourism in the country and said Ghana is a very peaceful country that can be the hub of tourism in the West African sub-region. She expressed her countrys willingness to partner the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to promote the sector as a way of creating jobs and wealth for the people. At the meetings end, the minister and Ambassador agreed to meet again in October to work on details of the collaboration. Source: B&FT Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Managing Director of the Intercity STC, Nana Akomea, has lauded the Police administration for their presence almost everywhere in the country. Currently, there is a strong presence of Police personnel on the streets in the capital city and across the nation. This move by the security service is to ensure the safety of the citizens as well as clamp down on criminal activities. Contributing to Peace FM's panel discussion programme "Kokrokoo", Nana Akomea was full of commendations for the Ghana Police Service for beefing up security as he believed this step will help strengthen the country's stability. "It helps to strengthen our security. It is significant. We are stable . . . We've been peaceful," he stated. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video MBABANE The President of Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS), Colani Maseko, is demanding E2.1 million from the army. The demand is consequent to Masekos assault by members of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) on May 17, 2022 at Kwaluseni. The SNUS president has served the army commander with a letter of demand dated September 20, 2022. The attorney general (AG) said he had not yet seen the letter of demand. The AG stated that should it be brought to his attention, he would consult with their client. He clarified that the filing of a letter of demand did not make it legitimate. Compensate Maseko wants the army to compensate him in the sum of E1.5 million for pain and suffering, E0.5 million for emotional trauma and E100 000 for future medical expenses. In total, he is seeking compensation in the sum of E2 100 000 from the army. He has instructed Mbhamali Attorneys in the matter. Maseko stated in the letter of demand that he was unlawfully detained and further physically assaulted by a number of soldiers, whose full particulars were unknown to him. He said he was further made to roll on the ground and was immersed in a river near Kwaluseni. Maseko further alleged that he was also suffocated and assaulted, after which the soldiers dumped him at Matsapha Police Station. The Southern Africa Nazarene University (SANU) student mentioned that he was thereafter taken to Mkhiwa Clinic in Manzini. Our client further instructs us that the sum of E2 100 000 be made payable to our offices. Hope you find this in order, reads part of the letter of demand. The veracity of these allegations will be tested in the event the matter reaches the courts. After being attended to at Mkhiwa Clinic, the High Court granted Maseko an order permitting him to seek specialised medical attention and be attended to by a psychologist in South Africa (SA) after he was assaulted by the soldiers. Since his travel document was kept by the police, as per his bail conditions, he approached the High Court with urgency to have the passport released to him. He wanted the travel document to be released to his possession in order for him to travel to SA to seek further medical attention. Acting Judge Thami Lawrence Dlamini granted the order. The court also ordered the SNUS president to provide proof that he required specialised medical assistance. In his application at the time, Maseko told the court that on May 17, 2022, during a students protest at the University of Eswatini (UNESWA), Kwaluseni Campus, members of the UEDF kicked him with boots and made him to roll on the ground. He said on the same day, he was abducted by the soldiers and was allegedly taken to Engabezweni area where he was assaulted with fists and kicks. I was subjected to being beaten with sticks and a rifle butt all over my body. As if that was not enough, I was made to roll in the mud next to the river and my head was further immersed in the river to the extent that I chocked and nearly died, he stated. The SANU student said he was fetched by his fellow students from the police station and they rushed him to Mkhiwa Clinic for medical attention. The SNUS president said he was admitted to the clinic until May 20, 2022. As a result of the assault, according to Maseko, he sustained injuries all over the body and now suffered from a continuous migraine and had flashbacks of trauma. He informed the court that during the assault, he sustained head injuries which, if not properly treated, would result in permanent mental disability. Desired He told the court that he desired to travel to SA for specialised medical attention and be attended to by a psychologist who could help him overcome the recurring flashbacks caused by the assault. On the day of the assault, May 17, 2022, UNESWA students were participating in a protest over the delayed disbursement of their allowances. The protest was also over security concerns within the institution as three students had been sexually violated. The protest action by the students started around 7am through doing the vusela exercise. Maseko reportedly arrived around 8am at the Kwaluseni Campus on the fateful day. An hour later, soldiers arrived at the institution in an army truck, gave the students three minutes to leave the campus and they fired shots in the air. The Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Commissioner of Police (COP) Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah says her office is probing cases of malfeasance as efforts to retrieve misappropriated funds as captured in the Auditor Generals report are underway. As part of her outfit mandate, according to the EOCO boss, is to investigate and where possible retrieve monies lost as reported by the Auditor General. Speaking at the office of the Savannah Regional Coordinating Council during her working visit to the region, COP Tiwaa Addo Danquah said When you look at the Auditor Generals report, every year when it comes out, we dont let it go like that. We take it district by district, item by item, and we look at how we can recover some of the issues raised in the Auditor Generals report. Additionally, she mentioned her outfit also investigates and prosecutes, on behalf of the Attorney General, people identified by the Auditor General to have committed offences. She stressed that Where we need to investigate further, we will. Those we can recover for government, we will. These are ways we can work together for our mutual benefit. The EOCO boss, a former Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service told female police officers to give out their best to justify more females to be taken into the service. She said females currently make up 29% of the Ghana Police Service and said, if the females work hard enough, the service will have a reason to take more to meet the United Nations ratio of 40%. Source: dailyguidenetwork.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR), Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has called on stakeholders in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) to explore sustainable funding sources. She said that would help build robust infrastructure to facilitate the delivery of better services in that sector. At a two-day WASH sector performance review meeting (PRM) that closed last Friday, Ms Dapaah said the government alone could not shoulder the responsibility of delivering the WASH sector infrastructure at the current pace of the countrys population growth. She said although the MSWR, with the support of development partners, had undertaken some WASH interventions since 2017 to bring sustainable WASH services to the doorstep of the people, those initiatives were not enough to achieve the overall target. "It is, therefore, imperative for key actors in the WASH space to develop innovative ways of attracting funding for the sector," she said. Collaboration is key Ms Dapaah said a careful analysis of the challenges was required to inform policy direction and help with the development and formulation of new interventions to ensure the attainment of water and sanitation for all by the end of 2030. She called on all sector agencies to set performance targets and agree with the MSWR and the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) on those goals for proper reporting. "As co-Chair of the Eminent Group of Advocates for the SDGs, it is the desire of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that Ghana takes bold strides towards the attainment of the SDG on water and sanitation create and keep a clean environment throughout the country and provide water for all, the minister said. She added that it was important for stakeholders in the WASH sector to continue to work together "in the spirit of transparency, cohesion, synergy and accountability". "We need to strive together and continue to strengthen the partnerships and collaborations to attain the goals that we have collectively set for ourselves to make Ghana a better place," Ms Dapaah said. The PRM objectives The PRM provided a platform for all stakeholders in the water and the sanitation sub-sectors, including the political leadership, sector institutions, decentralised structures, water sector professionals, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and development partners, to discuss and review the performance of the ministry and the sector agencies for the period 2018 to 2021. It gave the participants the opportunity to take stock of the status of the achievements of the sector, vis-a-vis national and international targets for the period 2018 to 2021. Again, through the PRM, the participants reviewed key achievements and challenges in the sector, as well as proposed strategies and actions which would accelerate the achievement of water and sanitation targets. The meeting was also a platform to build consensus on measures and mitigation plans for challenges within the sector. Aside from those, it helped the development partners to appreciate the focus areas and the direction of the ministry within the medium term (2022 to 2025) to enable them to develop their respective interventions to suit the agenda. WASH sector performance The 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) report released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) revealed that the population with access to basic drinking water services increased from 78 per cent in 2017 to 87.7 per cent as of the end of 2021. The PHC statistics also showed that during the same period, the population with access to basic sanitation facilities increased from 15 per cent in 2017 to 25.3 per cent in 2021. Ms Dapaah said the improvement in the WASH sector was largely attributable to the governments inputs and the support received from the development partners. However, she said, the implementation of most of the interventions had been hit with some setbacks and that had hindered the attainment of the planned targets and objectives. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The government has been urged to review its strategy towards fighting illegal mining to make it regional and district-led. An environmentalist, Nana Dwomoh Sarpong, who made the call, said the current top-bottom approach where an anti galamsey task force formed at the national level took charge of operations was not helping matters. Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra last Friday, he said: We have had Operation Vanguard, Operation Halt and Operation Halt II, all constituted at the top in Accra but the problem persists, which tells us that something is wrong in our strategy. Owning exercise Explaining further, Nana Sarpong who is the President of Friends of Rivers and Water Bodies, said making the anti-galamsey strategy regional/district-led would make the regional and district security councils which knew the terrain well to own the exercise in order to prosecute it effectively. The regions and districts are there already, they know all the areas and the people who engage in the illegal activities, so why do we send people from Accra to take charge of the operations? he queried. Nana Sarpong said the national task force would only have to come in to monitor how the regions and districts were performing. It is good that some of the regions and districts have already taken up the task, and have formed their own task forces, but they will need the full support in the form of resources from central government to undertake their activities, he stated. State of rivers The environmentalist expressed concern about the state of some rivers affected by galamsey, and further said we have to take this fight seriously to prevent a major national disaster. As I speak to you now major rivers like Pra, Ankobra, Offin and Birim have been heavily polluted by illegal mining, and this calls for a major action to restore normalcy, he said. The environmentalist said the way the galamsey fight was being handled showed that a lot more efforts needed to be put in to achieve the desired results. Cartels He said it was time to expose the big names who were behind the illegal activities rather than putting all emphasis on the small fishes. For me, these are cartels who must be exposed , whether they are politicians or whatever, he said. Excavators Nana Sarpong said along the roads in the mining areas, excavators littered the roads, while no one questioned what they were meant for. He suggested that excavators that were impounded for galamsey activities should be demobilised and the parts sold, and the money used for the development of the districts where they were impounded. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The National Peace Council (NPC) has called for the retrieval of weapons that had been illegally acquired by the people. According to the council, such an exercise could help deal with violent conflicts in the country, including the protracted ethnic conflict in Bawku in the Upper East Region. It also urged the government to have the muscle to effectively deal with people who failed to comply with measures put in place to address the proliferation of arms in the country. The Executive Secretary of the NPC, George Amoh, who made the call, said the Ghana National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons should lead the exercise. He was speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra on how best to douse the flames in hot spots in the country, such as Bawku. The interview was on the sidelines of a community engagement on managing ethnic diversity in the country for sustainable peace. It was organised by the NPC, in collaboration with the United Nations, to commemorate this year's International Peace Day which was commemorated on the theme: End racism: Build peace. Participants from UN agencies, market women, driver associations, among others in the Greater Accra Region, attended the event. Approach Mr Amoh said while the council was using soft approaches, such as dialogue, mediation and public education, to promote peace, the commission on small arms and the security agencies should also be seen to be using their own professional strategies to deal with crime and violence in conflict zones. He further called for a clear cut framework on the acquisition, usage and monitoring and audit of small and light weapons in the system, stressing that until we are able to do that well, small arms and weapons will continue to get into wrong hands". Bawku conflict On the Bawku conflict, Mr Amoh said there must be a conscious effort to change the mindset of the people in the area to give peace a chance. He also called for the active involvement of women in the peace-building process, including the creation of more job opportunities for the youth to prevent them from being used as conduits for violence and conflicts. Efforts must be made to provide livelihoods for people to help take their minds off the issues of conflict. By so doing, we may succeed in getting them transformed," he added. According to him, the NPC had been holding a series of dialogue with the people of Bawku, including the traditional rulers and politicians, as well as capacity-building programmes for members of the Bawku Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee (IEPC), all in a bid to resolve the internecine conflict. Background The first major conflict between the two ethnic groups in Bawku, the Kusasis and the Mamprusis, over who was the rightful custodian of the area, erupted in 1983 during the Samanpiid Festival celebrated by the Kusasis to signify a bumper harvest. The Bawku IEPC, comprising Kusasis and Mamprusis, was inaugurated in 2009 to work towards the restoration of peace to Bawku. However, in spite of efforts made by the committee and other stakeholders to resolve the protracted conflict, it continues to claim lives. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Tamale Airport Development Phase II Project has been completed and is awaiting inauguration by the President this year. The expansion works, costing $70 million, included the construction of a modern terminal building and other ancillary facilities such as a VIP lounge, two boarding gates, four self-service check-in kiosks, eight check-in desks, airline offices, commercial retail areas, a multi-purpose terminal for Hajj travel facilitation and a five-kilometre road network. The airport also has a 350-capacity car park, a technical area, which includes a reservoir for potable water and firefighting, a sewage treatment plant, among other facilities. Briefing The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Alhassan Shaibu, who disclosed this at the Ministry of Information press briefing in Accra yesterday, added that the terminal was designed for a passenger throughput of 400,000 annually. The economic importance of the airport to the region cannot be overemphasised; suffice it to say that there is serious potential for investment in a maintenance, repair and operation (MRO) facility in the future for the West African sub-region. It could be a major hub for air cargo for the exportation of agricultural produce, he said, adding: It is on record that the airport can boast of the best tarmac in the country. According Alhaji Shaibu, a third phase of the airport project would include the expansion of the terminal, the car park and other auxiliary facilities. Profile The Northern region, with Tamale as its capital, was the largest region in the country until the Savannah and the North East regions were carved out of it. It has a total land area of about 26,911 kilometre square, making it the second largest region in terms of land mass. The region shares borders with the North East Region to the north, the Savannah Region to the west, the Republic of Togo to the east and the Oti Region to the south. According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, the total population of the region was 2,310,939, of which 1,141,705 are males and 1,169,234 females. Alhaji Shaibu said out of the 16 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) in the region, eight Sagnarigu, Savelugu, Nanton, Saboba, Mion, Kpandai, Nanumba South and Kumbungu were benefitting from the Agenda 111 projects, including a psychiatric hospital which would be constructed in Tamale. I am happy to announce that work on all eight projects are progressing steadily and when completed, access to good health facilities and the well-being of our people will be very much improved, he said. The minister also said 82 of the 118 other projects being executed by the MMDAs in the health sector had been completed and were in use. Alhaji Shaibu further said there were a total of 353.79 kilometres of road projects being undertaken by the Ghana Highway Authority, with about 60 per cent of the projects at major stages of completion. A total of 45km of roads have had asphalt overlay in Tamale, with 9km of Yendi town roads also done, while works are ongoing in the other municipal and district assemblies, he added. According to him, six factories under the IDIF initiative were functional and had employed more than 1,000 permanent and about 2,000 casual workers. Alhaji Shaibu also said that under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP), a total of 311 projects, covering four sectors small dams, water systems, water closet toilets and prefabricated warehouses had been carried out across the region. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Members of the Council of State should be blamed for the humiliation suffered by the President at the Global Citizens Festival in Accra on Saturday when he was heckled by some participants. A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Godwin Edudzi Tameklo said the Council of State failed to give President Nana Addo Dankwa Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo true advise in order for him to govern the country to the satisfaction of the people. In his view, the Presidents poor performance in office has angered the people hence their action at the event. Mr Tameklo however, described the situation as unfortunate. Speaking on TV3 Monday September 26, he said Unfortunate as the incident may be I think that persons working around the president and the managers of the current economy need to begin to pick some of these signals especially persons within the National Security. You cannot always tell the president what he wants to hear, the very moment a president closes his ears to all other things this is what you will have. This morning, with the greatest of respects, the Council of State members, they be bow down their heads, all the advisors of the president, they should bow down their heads. It is the kind of advise that they have been giving the president that is what has taken this country to the doldrums. Mr Akufo-Addo during the event delivered a keynote address amidst jeering from the crowd. He spoke about the government of Ghanas involvement in eradicating poverty and upholding national unity. Source: 3news Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ghana has joined the world today to mark this years World Tourism Day. The Day, known as the United Nations World Tourism Organizations (UNWTO) World Tourism Day, is observed every year on September 27 with the aim of fostering awareness among the international community about the importance of Tourism and its social, economic, political, and cultural values. This years celebration themed, Rethinking Tourism, focuses on how to accelerate tourism recovery through a collaborative engagement of all stakeholders around a shared vision to build a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient sector. The official global celebration is being held in Bali, Indonesia, to highlight the shift towards tourism as a crucial pillar of development. In Ghana, the national celebration is being hosted in the Upper West Region, Wa, under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, on the sub-theme; Promoting Domestic Tourism for Wealth Creation in Communities to grow the interest of Ghanaians for tourism. The celebration will be climaxed with a grand durbar of chiefs, queen mothers, stakeholders and the people at the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs at Wa. Prior to the celebration, tours were organized to some tourist sites such as Nakore Mosque, and Royal Cosy Hills (Jirapa Dubai). The Day was designated by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in September 1979, with the commemoration commencing in 1980. This date was chosen to coincide with an important milestone in world tourism - the anniversary of the adoption of the UNWTO Statutes on 27 September 1970. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Six firefighters are battling for their lives following automobile accident on the Dormaa-Berekum highway in the Bono Region. The crew were rescued and rushed to the Presbyterian Hospital at Dormaa for immediate medical attention. Per information, the injured crew was responding to an accident call involving a cargo truck and tricycle on the aforementioned stretch when the unfortunate incident happened Tuesday, September 27, 2022, at about 1:14pm. The fire engine somersaulted and landed on its roof, according to a statement released by the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS). The statement said the cause of the accident is yet to be established. GNFS has expressed regret about the incident and assured the community of continuous service delivery. Source: dailyguidenetwork.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Minister for Communications and Digitalization (MoCD), Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has reiterated governments commitment to building strong partnerships and formulating policies for digital technologies that would drive the socio-economic development of the country as well as position Ghana as the digital gateway to the African continent. Ghana considers the collaborative platforms initiated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the various Regional and Global partnerships essential to the growth of not only the Africa Region but all Member States for a collective benefit. She said to this end, Ghana will continue to serve the ITU community, and as we seek reelection to the Council, we are counting on your vote and support to retain Ghana as a Council member to continue serving you diligently. She indicated that the the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with the Secretariat headquartered in Ghana was a pointer to the African Continent-wide marketing strategy powered by digitalization, adding, We are therefore extending our digital infrastructure to our borders to enable seamless connection to our neighbors. Commending the Romania government for hosting the 2022 International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-2022) in Bucharest, the Hon. Minister stated that Ghana was fully committed to the strategic direction set by the ITU to ensure the universal connectivity that would propel the needed global digital transformation. The objective of the 2022 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference was to provide the avenue for Member State parties to set the Unions General Policy direction; Adopt the 4-year strategic and financial plans; Elect the Senior Management Team of the Union and to elect the Member States of the Council. Closing the digital divide to facilitate equitable connectivity, which is vital to support the economic transformation of Ghana, our primary objective, "We are of the opinion that we can transform Covid19 from a global crisis to an opportunity through digital technology, she added. According to Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, the government has also introduced initiatives that is aimed at narrowing the digital divide and empower citizens to embrace the use of ICT. She revealed that the implementation of the Rural Telephony project had already connected over 3 million people, noting that, the previously unconnected people now had equal access to the innovations which were introduced by the Government in Ghanas digital transformation journey under the leadership of the H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The Minister also outlined the following initiatives geared towards achieving digital inclusion for all: a) mobile money interoperability which has brought over 15 million previously unbanked persons onto the financial digital platform; b) The National Identity Card as a single purpose e ID for all digital transactions to prevent identity theft and cyber fraud. c) Digital skills development offered through a nationwide network of Digital Transformation Centres to benefit over 20,000 Women Entrepreneurs, Master Trainers, Youth, and Children in Coding Clubs over the past 12 months. d) focused interventions to reduce the gender digital divide and create opportunities for the youth through the Girls in ICT program and nurturing of new businesses at Digital Incubation Centres. She said that the government was also taking all the prerequisite steps to ensure secure and resilient cyberspace for sustained digital transformation while bearing in mind the utilization of ITU guidelines. Ghana is actively promoting cybersecurity not only for our benefit but for the sub-region as a whole. Ghanas ranking on the 2021 ITU Global Cybersecurity Index improved to 86.69%, up from 32.6% in 2017. We seek partnerships and international cooperation to do even better for our entire sub-region she explained. She said The Government of Ghana is determined to provide the necessary digital infrastructure, a conducive legal and regulatory environment, build digital capabilities to enhance the adoption and use of ICT and digital innovation, and close all digital gaps to propel our digital transformation. In pursuit of this, Ghana reiterates its commitment to working with the ITU to achieve its strategic objectives for the benefit of all ITU Member States. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A group within the Ashanti Regional wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has reportedly initiated a project, dubbed The Ashanti Project'. The project is intended to ensure that all persons who aspire for positions at the regional level in the impending regional elections are Asante indigenes. The project is believed to be spearheaded by some bigwigs of the party who are unhappy with the composition of the current leadership. The regional executives of the party have kicked against it as they believe it is myopic and tribalistic. Nana Kwasi Andrews, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the party distanced the party from it, disclosing that the project was against the principles of the NDC. Reports further indicate that Madam Betty Mould Iddrisu and Dr. Agyemang Mensah are opposed to the group as they believe it is targeted at certain individuals and reeks of tribal bigotry. Recently, the Council of Elders appointed a 7-member Fact Finding Committee headed by Dr. Samuel Sarpong, a former Ashanti Regional Minister, to investigate allegations against regional executives. Mr. Enoch Amoako-Nsiah, a former Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator has alleged that some NDC Regional Executives compromised their positions to the detriment of their own partys interest. The committee after the investigations made some recommendations but it was rejected by the Regional chairman of the party, Augustine Nana Kwasi Andrews who described it as 'bogus'. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Shanghai to host WorldSkills Competition 2026 Xinhua) 15:39, September 27, 2022 BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai won the bid to host the WorldSkills Competition 2026, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said Tuesday. At the WorldSkills General Assembly on Monday, members voted in favor of Shanghai to host the competition after Chinese representatives expressed a willingness to continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with members of WorldSkills and help workers advance skills, the ministry said. The WorldSkills Competition, known as the "Olympics" for vocational skills, is held every two years. China topped the gold medal tally with 16 gold medals at the 45th WorldSkills Competition in Kazan, Russia, in August 2019. As an alternative to the 46th WorldSkills Competition, special events will be held in 15 countries this year. France's Lyon will host the WorldSkills Competition 2024. (Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun) KAPHUNGA Chairs, cushions and steel benches were strewn in the yard at Wem School as pupils boycotted classes yesterday. The school, which is located at KaPhunga, yesterday had to suspend classes as some learners boycotted classes as they raised concerns over their welfare. In the process, the learners were said to have thrown furniture into the school yard while also pelting some windows with stones. This incident happened yesterday at about 9am. According to the pupils, they had raised concerns over their welfare with the administration and were not happy with the responses. One of the pupils alleged that she was almost raped by males unknown to her in recent days due to the lack of security in the school. Compound The learner claimed that she had to run for dear life within the school compound to her dormitory as she stays in hostel. Also, the pupils supposed that they were exposed to dangerous animals in their bath rooms and in most instances they had to kill the semi-aquatic animals (bochamu). The pupils further supposed that they were not being treated fairly and their meals were not equivalent to the money paid by their guardians while another senior teacher had allegedly slapped a fellow learner. This, they claimed, was something that traumatised them as they were to sit for their examinations the subsequent day. Instead of having this challenge sorted, the learners claimed that the administration ignored their concerns. Claimed However, to the allegations shared by the pupils, some sources within the school disputed them. They claimed that there was a clique which had started singing political songs from morning and only exited the school when members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) arrived. This publications reporter found police officers from the General Duty Department and those from the Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU) within the school compound. The police were said to have restored order after the learners had vandalised property inclusive of the tuck-shop where a tree branch was found protruding through the window. Some of the items sold at the tuck shop were strewn on the lawn of the school. At the time this reporter arrived at the school, one of the senior teachers was taking an inventory of the damaged items, while the police were waiting for guardians of the hostel-residing scholars to fetch the pupils. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed that police attended to the class boycott. She said the schools administration would deal with the matter in collaboration with the guardians of the pupils. However, an effort to get hold of the Head teacher of the school, Mbongiseni Dube, proved futile as his phone was not available on the MTN Eswatini network throughout the day. On the other hand, the pupils who were said to have been the leaders of the class boycott fled the school and hid near the Mkhondvo River. Some of them were seen with wet shoes as they supposedly walked across the river while fleeing from the police. The Deputy National Organizer of the largest opposition National Democratic (NDC), Chief Hamilton Biney Nixon, has held an end of term review and assessment of his office in the Ashanti region capital of Kumsai. Officers present were the Ashanti, Ahafo, Bono, Bono East and Western North regional Organizers and their deputies. During the meeting, he mentioned that he expected honest feedback from his colleagues because it would make him improve as a leader. The regional organizers commended Chief Biney for the exercise saying that it was one of the many positives to take from his tenure. "I held an end of term review and assessment of office as a deputy National Organizer in Ashanti region with the regional organizers of the middle belt. Officers present were the Ashanti, Ahafo, Bono, Bono East and Western North regional organizers and their deputies. We reviewed performance in the last four years and also looked at the way forward for our department and how we can make it better to help mobilise Ghanaians and support for victory come 2024. Ey3 Zu! Ey3 Za!" he posted on his facebook page on Monday. Chief Hamilton Biney was elected as the deputy National Organizer in 2018 and has been duly and diligently working since then. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Managing Director of Inter City STC, Nana Akomea says he has not lost hope in Ghana and called on Ghanaians to be confident in the government to salvage the economy. Speaking on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show, Nana Akomea asserted that "there is so much good news" in Ghana, therefore asking the citizenry to heave a sigh of relief. He pointed out why one should be proud of this nation stressing, "we are very stable. We are one of the most stable countries in West Africa, if not Africa. We have peace in this country. When you look at our tourism figures, it's overwhelming. We have stability and security. We are modernizing rapidly. When you look at the digitization programme by Dr. Bawumia, it is changing the society". He continued; "We are ahead of other African countries by far and now, in the world economy, if you don't become digital; you will die. We are moving very, very quickly on this digital [economy]. When you take our security, we have maintained the peace and security and stability of this country...These are all very good news that you can't even calculate its value." The STC Boss, after highlighting the pride in being a Ghanaian, however called on the leaders of the country to stop their corruptible practices. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Being uniquely creative in a saturated industry as the fashion industry requires more than just the ability to make a perfect stitch. Just as they say, Imagination encircles the world. Ellanore; a Ghanaian fashion brand through its creative ingenuity is spearheading a new paradigm in today's fashion space. Raised in a fashion-obsessed household, Emmanuella Abena Amankwah, an old student of Radford University, the face behind the undisputed brand ELLANORE, has grown to become a household name in the fashion industry while cherishing her desire and strides to make fashion her residence and also, ignite some difference while at it. Born and raised in Ghana by an affectionate and devoted fashion-oriented mother, Emmanuella, from the get-go knew what she wanted, and marked her tracks in achieving that. Though her ambitions of becoming a seasoned fashion designer were boundless and could not be distracted, she was poised for global excellence and has since worked assiduously towards that. Her love to create and bring her creative designs to life has been the foundation of her brand. As talented as she is, it is no surprise her outstanding works speak heavily for themselves. Her secret is the desire to see her customers satisfied and happy. Emmanuella began her fashion brand in 2017 and jumped onto the online platform in the year 2020. She is an all-around fashion designer with great experience in both haute couture and ready-to-wear pieces. She strives to create clothes that are both useful and aesthetically pleasing to stay relevant. For her, making a perfect garment demands more than just body measurement. The herculean process of creating and making an ideal gown goes through a diverse analysis and selection process, including who is wearing it, where it is being worn, and how it must be worn. While at this, there is also the task of considering materials to work with, as well as a range of colours, designs, accessories, and styles to choose from. As the creative face behind the Ellanore brand, Emmanuella Abena Amankwah focuses on certain concepts and as a fashion designer, centers on making a statement when it comes to her designs rather than selling out. According to Abena Amankwah, though the work sometimes can be nerve-racking and stressful, her daughter and family have been her biggest source of inspiration. She however added that it is most fulfilling to receive recommendations from clients who happily wear your brand's custom-made outfits. Ella, whose mother takes center stage in her business and growth obviously has got a big shoe to fill, and that she takes with pride. Madam Jane Eck of Janeck Fashion has been a major source of strength for her daughter. Though aged, madam Jane Eck till date, oversees production and plays a role in the affairs of Ellanore. It is no wonder their works exhume so much life. Speaking on some challenges associated with her work, the CEO of Ellanore mentioned that with a chunk of her client being foreign-based, it sometimes becomes a challenge to get accurate measurements since you would have to take customers through a guided live video session on how to take body measurements. Yet, Emmanuella and her team know no limitations, work on all body types and shapes, and nail them all. Even though her brand specializes in making clothes for women, she still has plans on bringing men on board. As a brand, she specializes in creating clothes which will sway you away, put a smile on your face and leave you constantly satisfied. To Emmanuella, her customers are her first and foremost priority. Her loving and pursuing heart makes her fond of her clients and makes sure they enjoy working with her. Her adventurous spirit creates a satisfying environment to slay on her designs. She aims at adding beautiful touches to her work from size 6 down to even a size 22. She hammers the word neat in her job description and makes it professional. Ellanore has been in the fashion design industry for 5 years and she's not stopping until her dream of becoming a world-known fashion label becomes a reality. Ellanore_official www.ellanoreshop.com [email protected] Source: William Lamptey Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Some celebrities attended the one-week memorial service for the late comedian Francis Yaw Ofori, also known as Baba Spirit. The remembrance service held at the Art Centre in Accra saw family and friends converge to express their grief over the passing of the comedian, who died at the age of 41. The funeral rites of the comedian would be held on November 19, 2022, at the Art Centre, with the interment service scheduled for his hometown, Akim-Oda. Ghanaian boxer Ayittey Powers, who was a known friend of Baba Spirit, told the Ghana News Agency that he was in disbelief at the death of his friend. ''I still can't believe Baba Spirit has passed. Prior to his death, he always talked about some bad dreams he was having and felt he was under some form of spiritual attack. ''He often did seek spiritual guidance from pastors, but unfortunately met his untimely death. I would want to console the bereaved Family and that they should put everything in the hands of God,'' Ayittey Powers said. Baba Spirit was one of Ghana's finest comedians and had a unique way of going about his craft, which won him numerous awards. He died on Thursday, September 8, 2022, at the Kotoku Medical Centre in the Greater Accra Region. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video MBABANE Until the Cannabis Bill is lucrative to the ordinary liSwati, we have no business discussing it. This was the assertion by some Members of Parliament (MPs) yesterday during a workshop facilitated by the Ministry of Health on the Opium and Habit-Forming Drug (Amendment) Bill, 2022 at Happy Valley Hotel. The workshop was facilitated to orient the MPs on the latest amendments made on the Bill after the first amendments proposed in 2019, along with their regulations were indefinitely thrown out. The MPs were resolute in their stance to throw out the Bill, stating that more consultations, especially at community level, were required before it could be tabled in Parliament by the ministry. According to some of the MPs, if the amendments excluded how the Bill would ensure emaSwati benefitted, as it was common cause that most were into cannabis farming or cultiavtion, tabling it in Parliament would be unnecessary. However, other parliamentarians were of the belief that the Bill should be tabled in Parliament and further dissected and worked on at parliamentary stage, indicating that this could be done through the Bills regulations. If the Bill passes as is, it will not be lucrative to the man on the street and it comes across as another capitalism front where only the big fish will capitalise, said Manzini North MP Macford Sibandze during his submission. Farming He said this matter was lengthy and the farming of the habit-forming drug for generating income dated back to almost a 100 years. Right now the ministry presents a far more technical Bill, detailing the different types of cannabis instead of getting to the gist of the matter. People will not understand it yet there is then a section which includes fines for illegal possession which directly affects them, he said. He said it would be an injustice to exclude the ordinary liSwati and create a Bill which appeals to the pharmarceutical aspect yet there are then fines included which are issued for the general public. I am sure everyone is aware of the analogy of the big fish eating the small fish. This is exactly what will prevail if the Bill is passed, he said. Mhlume MP Victor Malambe, who was quite vocal about his distaste of the presented amendments, submitted that although the ministry had indicated that they underwent consultations on the Bill, it was not evident and appeared as though they predominantly drew inspiration from the consultations which excluded the real dagga cultivators. Why I am questioning this, is because there are provisions being explained by the ministry which come across as though they are not well-informed. When they are breaking down the types of cannabis in the Bill they excluded seeds yet there is no dagga without seeds. The issue of fines is quite concerning as well because it makes one wonder who this Bill is for, as it would have been valid to at least check with the dagga cultivators in the outskirts what would work for them, he said. Malambe further said these consultations would make it more viable for the next person as most emaSwati were generating income through this. The Mhlume MP further scrutinised a clause in the Act of 1922, stating that one needed to have a portion of land to cultivate the habit-forming drug or to be eligible to possibly be granted a licence to farm cannabis legally. If we would do a poll to find out how many emaSwati or even the people in this room have 10 hectares land you might find that there are few or even none. As MPs how will we be accountable to the people who elected us as this will clearly end their source of income, said the Mhlume MP. Malambe further indicated that there was no evident instrument used to measure the fines given to emaSwati contained in the amended Bill and at the rate things were going, it was evident that most fines were simply not measured based on market value. What instrument have you used or are currently using to assess that a liSwati has to pay E50 000 or maybe E10 000 when found illegally cultivating dagga? This is because when a liSwati is arrested for illegal possession of maybe 50 bags, the law says you do not go to the magistrate but are instead referred to the High Court, but what instrument is exactly used for such? he questioned. This was also echoed by Shiselweni II MP Strydom Mpanza, who wanted to know what the determinant or yardstick to measure the fines was. Cultivators He further emphasised that the ministry needed to re-commit itself to the consultation process and engage the actual cultivators of the habit-forming drug before presenting it in Parliament. Siphocosini MP Mduduzi Matsebula, in his submission, immediately highlighted that he was not familiar with marijuana and would not accurately describe it, however he said he knew there were emaSwati who provided for families through its cultivation. He stated that although it was evident that the times had changed and E40 was too little a fine as it was now 2022, the ministry should be cognisant that there are emaSwati who are making a living and sustaining families and communities with dagga farming. Government should clearly state how this industry is tampering on its tax collection as there is nothing that has been done to indicate that it does. He stated that there was a need to significantly decrease the fines. Most of the people working in these fields make above the minimum wage at the end of the day, which demonstrates that emaSwati are able to survive through farming dagga, said Matsebula. He said the Bill should be tabled in Parliament so that they would be able to scrutinise it and make the necessary amendments to allow for emaSwati to continue benefitting from the habit-forming drug. Shiselweni I MP Sipho Mndzebele was of the thought that the Bill should be deferred as it would cause unnecessary tension and upheaval. However, Motshane MP Robert Magongo stated that the Bill should be brought before Parliament so that the fines could be amended and further decreased. Zakhele Magongo Nkhaba MP declared out rightly that he wanted no part in the passing of this Bill and did not want to be listed as part of the MPs who passed the Bill. MBABANE The sense of urgency excuse from government officials when probed by the PAC, particularly on COVID-19 funds, gave birth to millionaires. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) came across the same excuse when probing the Ministry of Education and Training yesterday, with the Principal Secretary, Bhekithemba Gama, constantly reminding members of the committee that they should be mindful that things occurred at the height of the virus and many decisions were made out of pressure. Advantage Chairman of the PAC MP Musa Kunene concluded that millionaires were born at the height of COVID-19, because businesspeople were taking advantage of the urgency since procurement policies were skipped, while government was either overcharged or made to pay for services that were never rendered. This emanated from a query of escalating costs of servicing a Sharp photocopier machine, which was provided by Madzandza Suppliers. The monthly service fees were found to have escalated to an extent of costing the ministry more than E438 134 and this amount exceeded provisions of the contract between the two parties, hence the ministry was overcharged E210 626. The contract between the supplier and the ministry provided that the former would provide maintenance services for the malfunctional copier on a monthly basis and would charge E4 599 for monthly routine service, E12 850 for major service quarterly and E0.15 per copy. This translates to a maximum of E26 647 per quarter for service charges. However, a concern from the auditor general (AG) was that government was made to pay for more than what was required. Gama, in his response, told the committee that at the height of COVID-19, everybody was running and there was little or no time for consultations and decisions were informed by the urgency to keep operations going while also ensuring safety of the ministrys personnel. He repeated the same statement when it emerged that the ministry paid E506 700 for unauthorised sterilisation and fumigation services, which was not part of what the service provider was contracted for. KOSEL-CCTV was contracted by the ministry for the financial year 2020/2021 to provide electronic security services for CCTV maintenance of the ministrys access control system and to conduct monthly servicing and general maintenance of the ministrys electronic security system. Tender Kunene shared that this was in the same fashion as the procurement of over E300 000 alcohol by the Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (SMVAF) whose tender was awarded to a car body parts company. He revealed that while people were losing their loved ones to COVID-19, others were taking advantage of the situation to milk from government as procurement processes were not followed and funds in most of the government ministries were not accounted for. I bet that even a person who owns a butchery would have had something to supply outside of butchery supplies, he said. Manzini Region MP Busisiwe Mavimbela said there was an issue of deviation from the contract as far as the photocopier query was concerned, which should be supported by documents that state exactly the service paid for by government and her submission was uniform with that of Mbabane West MP Musa Zwane. Mangcongco MP Oneboy Zikalala said the PS should get in contact with the supplier and advice it that the PAC wanted the money recovered, much to the amusement of the House. The machine has since been forwarded to government stores where it would be auctioned as revealed by Gama. MANZINI CANGO Executive Director Emmanuel Ndlangamandla says the alleged assault on the incarcerated MPs was a kind of treatment reminiscent of the apartheid regime and other repressive governments. CANGO is the abbreviation for the Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental Organisations, which has a human rights consortium under it. In a statement issued yesterday, Ndlangamandla said his organisation was shocked and concerned by the alleged brutalisation of the two Members of Parliament (MP), who were allegedly invaded and assaulted in their prison cells by the warders of His Majestys Correctional Services (HMCS). The two MPs are Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza of Hosea and Mthandeni Dube of Ngwempisi. This kind of treatment is reminiscent of the apartheid regime and other repressive governments, said Ndlangamandla. Recalled The director said he recalled that a few years ago, the public was notified that the institution was in transition from being a force to a service. He said, therefore, this was a low point of the Correctional Services institution because incarcerated people were human and they had rights that the State had obligations to protect. He said as an organisation, they also noted that the unfortunate incident occurred at a time when the United Nations (UN) was hosting heads of State and governments, who were all claiming to be guided by the UN Charter and values. The executive director said the values were not in line with the HMCS allegations of brutalisation of inmates. This is not in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which consists of 30 Articles, of which Article 5 states: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, said Ndlangamandla. He added that the nation was a signatory to various human rights legal instruments internationally and continentally. He said some of these instruments had been domesticated through the countrys 2005 Constitution. Ndlangamandla said a disappointing factor which generated discontent among the population was that the MPs had not been convicted of any crime. He said it was hard not to draw conclusion that they were denied bail so as to be tortured. Elected He said the actions made it clear that in this country, being elected into Parliament by the people may cost one their life because in this system, an elected MP should not serve the voters interests but that of the elite. On another note, Ndlangamandla stated that as a human rights defender, they could not be silent in the midst of human rights violations. He said they were still concerned that the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland-led protest on socio-economic matters as permitted in the law, was denied. He said such a posture by government was noted by investors globally. Sasha DiGiulian, Matilda Soderlund and Brette Harrington enjoying some time off while climbing Rayu on the south face of Pena Santa de Castilla (2596m) in the Picos de Europa massif, summer 2022 Photo by Jan Novak / Red Bull Content Pool Matilda Soderlund climbing Rayu on the south face of Pena Santa de Castilla (2596m) in the Picos de Europa massif, with Brette Harrington and Sasha DiGiulian Photo by Jan Novak / Red Bull Content Pool Sasha DiGiulian climbing Rayu on the south face of Pena Santa de Castilla (2596m) in the Picos de Europa massif, with Brette Harrington and Matilda Soderlund Photo by Jan Novak / Red Bull Content Pool Sasha DiGiulian climbing Rayu on the south face of Pena Santa de Castilla (2596m) in the Picos de Europa massif, with Brette Harrington and Matilda Soderlund Photo by Jan Novak / Red Bull Content Pool Sasha DiGiulian, Matilda Soderlund, Brette Harrington repeat Rayu, 8c Picos de Europa multipitch 27.09.2022 by by Planetmountain Sasha DiGiulian, Matilda Soderlund and Brette Harrington have made the second ascent and first female ascent of the 8c multipitch Rayu the south face of Pena Santa de Castilla (2596m) in the Picos de Europa massif in Spain. On the south face of Pena Santa de Castilla (2596m) in the Picos de Europa massif in Northern Spain, Sasha DiGiulian, Matilda Soderlund and Brette Harrington have made the second ascent and first female ascent of Rayu. This multi-pitch climb is over 600 meters high and was established ground-up and subsequently freed with difficulties up to 8c by Iker Pou, Eneko Pou and Kico Cerda in 2020. DiGiulian, Soderlund and Harrington travelled to the Cantabrian Mountains in late August and immediately started working the line which offers technical difficulties up to 7b in the first seven pitches. Many of these have no bolts, or are protected by just one or two, and therefore need to be protected with trad gear. After these first 300 meters, another 6 pitches follow where the difficulties increase considerably and lead to the crux, pitch eleven, graded 8c. Here, too, the bolts are run-out and to the pro needs integrating. In addition to the aforementioned physical and psychological difficulties, on several occasions the trio also had to deal with extremely rough weather. As for the successful repeat, on Monday 13 September the trio swung leads and climbed each pitch free, while DiGiulian and Soderlund both led the crux pitch. Despite various other attempts Harrington unfortunately failed to redpoint this pitch but, knowing the talented mountaineer, her free ascent is simply postponed to a later date. Rayu is currently the hardest multi-pitch route climbed by an all-female team and confirmation, yet again, of how much female rock climbing has evolved over the last few decades. In-Form Benitez Enjoys a Commanding Super MILLION$ Final Table Lead September 27, 2022 Matthew Pitt Editor Whoever takes down the latest edition of the Super MILLION$ will see a cool $499,143 land in their GGPoker accounts. Francisco Benitez looks the most likely recipient of the almost half a million dollars top prize because the Uruguayan sits down at the final table with more than double the number of chips as any other finalists. Of course, anything can happen in poker, but it would take a brave person to bet against a Benitez victory with how things stand. Benitez has enjoyed a purple patch of form in the live poker arena during 2022, winning almost $1.3 million, and looks to be carrying that hot run through to the virtual felt. The ball is firmly in Benitez's court, but he must still be weary of the talented players in the chasing pack. Super MILLION$ High Roller Final Table Chip Counts Place Player Country Chips Big Blinds 1 Francisco Benitez Uruguay 7,779,222 111 2 Aram Oganyan Mexico 3,424,651 49 3 Konstantin Maslak Russia 3,410,480 49 4 Samuel Vousden Finland 2,949,921 42 5 Dominykas Mikolaitis Poland 2,375,445 34 6 Rodrigo Selouan Brazil 2,195,924 31 7 David Coleman Canada 2,167,816 31 8 Mikita Badziakouski Thailand 784,650 11 9 Justin Bonomo Canada 511,891 7 Countries as displayed in the GGPoker client Mattsson and Vousden Headline GGPoker WSOP Online Main Event Final Table Benitez goes into his fifth GGPoker Super MILLIONS final table holding 7,779,222 chips, or 111 big blinds. Although Benitez has never won this $10,300 buy-in tournament, he does have more than $1.88 million in earnings from it. Finishing sixth or better tonight, which seems likely, pushing his Super MILLION$ earnings through the $2 million barrier. Aram Oganyan is the player closest to Benitez in terms of chips. The Mexico-based American has 3,424,651 chips at his disposal, which are worth 49 big blinds when play resumes at 6:00 p.m. on September 27. Oganyan does not play many Super MILLION$ events, so it is unsurprising this is the first time we have seen him at such a final table. He is guaranteed at least $62,392 for his efforts, but will be looking for much more. Russia's Konstantin Maslak is just behind Oganyan when the final table resumes. Indeed, Maslak has almost the exact same amount of chips: 3,410,480 (49 big blinds). Maslak is one of many Super MILLION$ regulars awaiting their maiden victory. He has now reached seven final tables and will be hoping it is a case of it being lucky seven. Super MILLION$ High Roller Final Table Payouts 1st - $499,143 2nd - $384,891 3rd - $296,792 4th - $228,858 5th - $176,473 6th - $136,079 7th - $104,931 8th - $80,913 9th - $62,392 Paque's Golden Run Continues As He Bags Super MILLION$ Title Samuel Vousden won the Super MILLION$ on August 23, 2022, denying the legendary Niklas Astedt a sixth career title. Voudsen is back for more and finds himself in the middle of the pack courtesy of his 2,949,921 stack, or 42 big blinds if you prefer. A second-place of better finish for Vousden sees his Super MILLION$ earning eclipse $2.5 million. Dominykas Mikolaitis is another of this week's finalists with a Super MILLION$ victory under his belt having triumphed in March 2022. Mikolaitis captured a cool $428,624 for his impressive victory and is now gunning for an even larger score tonight. The Poland-based Lithuanian returns in fifth place courtesy of his 2,375,445 stack, the equivalent of 34 big blinds. Rodrigo Selouan has reached his fifth Super MILLION$ final table There are very few chips separating Rodrigo Selouan (2,195,924) in fifth place and David Coleman (2,167,816) in sixth; both players' stacks contain 31 big blinds. Selouan has navigated his way to his fifth final table in 50 Super MILLION$ events, which is a similar record to Coleman's now six final tables from 47 attempts. Both grinders are looking for their first victory in this prestigious online event. The two shortest stacks at the final table are, arguably, the two biggest names too. Mikita Badziakouski is hunting for his first Super MILLION$ victory. However, his 784,650 stack, worth 11 big blinds, could prove something of a hindrance. That said, Badziakouski is one of the greatest poker tournament players of all time, and it would be stupid to completely write off his chances. Justin Bonomo is the shortest stack, with 511,891 chips, or a meager seven big blinds. Bonomo won this tournament in February 2021. It would be one of the best comebacks in Super MILLION$ history if Bonomo manages to go from zero to hero tonight. Josh Reichard Wins 13th WSOP Circuit Ring in Council Bluffs Main Event ($120,445) September 27, 2022 Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S. Josh Reichard is now just one win away from history after taking down the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Main Event at Horseshoe Council Bluffs in Iowa on Sunday. The newly minted Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Hall of Famer received $120,445 for winning the 368-player no-limit hold'em tournament, a $1,700 buy-in event. In doing so, he claimed his 13th Circuit ring, leaving him one shy of the record held by Maurice Hawkins. Hawkins won his 14th ring a few months before the pandemic struck in 2020 out in Durant, Oklahoma. He's since finished runner-up three times in quest of number 15. WSOP Circuit Council Bluffs Main Event Final Table Results Rank Player Prize 1 Josh Reichard $120,445 2 John Fagg $74,439 3 Steve Buell $52,712 4 Joseph Hindman $38,005 5 Abraham Lopez $27,908 6 Terry Williams $20,880 7 Joseph Sutliff $15,922 8 Walter Lustgraaf $12,379 9 Timothy Dorzweiler $9,817 Last Player Standing Reichard, who hails from Janesville, Wisconsin, crossed state borders and traveled to the far west end of the great state of Iowa last week in search of his 13th ring. He last won one in 2019, a $400 no-limit hold'em event in Milwaukee. So, he was due to surpass Valentin Vornicu for second place on the all-time Circuit titles list. On Day 1a (Friday), he bagged one of the biggest stacks and then spun it up to Sunday's final table where he entered play with the chip lead. He only squandered that lead for a brief moment during the final table. With three players remaining, Reichard's massive chip lead was in serious jeopardy. On a board of , he faced an all-in wager from Steve Buell, who was holding . The eventual champion went into the tank before making the call on a flush draw with . When the on the river completed the flush, Buell was eliminated in third place ($52,712). That forced heads-up play against John Fagg, who was trailing nearly 4:1 in chips. It didn't take long for the chip lead to dwindle thanks to, this time around, Reichard suffering a bad beat when his flopped two pair lost to a three-outer two pair on the river in the second largest pot of the tournament. The biggest pot of the entire tournament came moments later when Reichard reversed the tide after going all in with against his opponent's . A hit on the river, doubling Reichard back into the chip lead. This time around, he'd hold onto the lead for good to win his 13th Circuit ring. Fagg, on the other hand, received $74,439 as a consolation prize, and was just one three-outer on the river away from his third ring. Hall of Famer Josh Reichard Reichard's success spans beyond the WSOP Circuit. In total, he has just over $2 million in live tournament cashes, according to Hendon Mob. That includes now 13 Circuit rings, three Heartland Poker Tour titles, and an MSPT win. The recent poker champion who won an MSPT event in 2013 and has 26 cashes on tour was became the MSPT's 10th Hall of Fame member earlier this month. At the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, he has 21 cashes for $191,666 and is seeking his first career gold bracelet. That is one of the few things missing from his impressive tournament poker resume. WSOP Circuit Council Bluffs Series Results EVENT ENTRANTS WINNER PRIZE Event #1: $250 Double Stack NLH 254 Abraham Lopez $11,388 Event #2: $400 NLH Bounty 116 Nicholas Barksdale $7,427 Event #3: $400 NLH Multi-Fllight 434 Terry Williams $27,939 Event #4: $400 NLH 116 Nathan Davis $10,655 Event #5: $400 NLH One-Day 178 Alex Wheeler $14,586 Event #6: $400 NLH 129 Jamison Alford $11,510 Event #7: $400 NLH 6-Max 165 Brenden Shiller $14,104 Event #8: $400 PLO 144 Jacob Long $12,488 Event #9: $400 Monster Stack NLH 283 Alexander Hill $20,375 Event #10: $1,100 NLH 136 Frankie Zeta $35,127 Event #11: $1,700 Main Event NLH 368 Josh Reichard $120,445 Event #12: $600 NLH 103 Lucas Mccorry $15,257 Event #13: $400 NLH One-Day 147 Mark Fink $12,605 *Lead image courtesy of WSOP. Sharelines Find out who won the latest @WSOP Circuit Main Event title. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print During a FEMA briefing on preparations for Hurricane Ian, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell spoke about everything the Biden administration has done to prepare for the storm. Video of Criswell: President Biden comes through for Gov. Ron DeSantis and the people of Florida before Hurricane Ian hits. This is what country first leadership looks like. pic.twitter.com/4PTAePVwbM Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) September 27, 2022 Administrator Criswell said from the White House: I did speak with Governor Desantis on Friday to hear his main concerns and his priorities for the response and the preparedness actions. We immediately began moving resources and personnel in. President Biden signed Governor Desantis emergency declaration request on Saturday. This made sure we were able to immediately start supporting the governors concerns that he relayed to me. The preparation for this storm has been extensive and it has been coordinated. It has been a coordinated effort between FEMA, our federal, our state and our non-profit partners. A little bit about some of that forward-leaning posture we put in place. Search and rescue we know that this is going to be a priority. We have established a search and rescue coordination group thats going to be in Miami. It includes members from FEMAs urban search and rescue teams, Coast Guard, Department of Defense, Department of the Interior as well as the state of Florida. These teams are going to coordinate search and rescue efforts by land, by air and by sea. We have also pre-staged 128,000 gallons of fuel for immediate deployment. We have moved a variety of generators of all sizes and types to help restore power to critical infrastructure after the storm passes. The Army Corps of Engineers has pre-staged 300 personnel to conduct power and fuel assessments as soon as the storm passes. We have 3.7 million and 3.5 million liters of water in Alabama. There are multiple volunteer organizations that are posture and prepared to support feeding operations as soon as it is safe to do so. The Red Cross, they have established 29 shelters right now for evacuees. They are prepared to open an additional 60 shelters if needed. We have 200 ambulances from our FEMA contract that are in the state working side by side with local officials. We have four medical federal medical teams on standby. While we are postured and ready to support Florida as they prepare for the impacts of Hurricane Ian. Biden isnt sitting in the Oval Office redrawing hurricane trajectories with a Sharpie and trying to avoid blame. The President is leading the nation and working with a governor who has been a constant critic to save lives in Florida. Since the nation went without it for so many years, it must be pointed out that this is what true presidential leadership and governmental competence look like. Biden isnt dragging his feet on helping Florida because the state didnt go for him in 2020. President Biden isnt forcing DeSantis to say nice things about him to get aid for his state. The President is doing his job and ensuring that the resources will be available to Florida during this crisis. America now has a government and a president that it can count on. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print The desperation is growing on the right due to John Fettermans lead in Pennsylvania, as Kellyanne Conway took to Fox News to smear the Pennsylvania Senate candidate. Video of Conway: Kellyanne: He put the marijuana flag up. He thought that was funny.. Heres whats not funny. Theres been a doubling of overdose deaths.. pic.twitter.com/HWeoZ3K8eB Acyn (@Acyn) September 27, 2022 Conway said, He hasnt worked a day as Lt. Governor. He put the marijuana flag up. He thought that was funny. Hes trolling his opponent. He thinks thats funny. Heres whats not funny. That theres been a doubling of overdose deaths in Pennsylvania since hes been in office from 2015-2021. John Fetterman was sworn into office as Lt. Governor in 2019, so Conway was blaming Fetterman for overdose deaths in the state for four years before he took office. Fetterman has the flag up because he supports cannabis legalization in Pennsylvania. As Lt. Governor, Fetterman visited all 67 counties in the state and authored a report on potential legalization. The Pennsylvania lieutenant governor doesnt have many official duties, but Fetterman has been traveling the state for four years representing the Wolf administration. He played a significant role in pushing back against Trumps false claims of election fraud in Pennsylvania after the 2020 election. Fox News has been increasing its attacks on Fetterman because he has a solid lead over Republican Dr. Oz in the polls. It is odd that Fox would choose Oz as their hill to die on during the midterm because the Republicans prospects for victory do not look good in Pennsylvania. JD Vance is floundering in Ohio. It is more logical for Fox News to put their energy into that race, which leans Republican instead of Pennsylvania. The right is throwing everything that they have at Fetterman. The onslaught of lies is coming, but it will likely make no difference as voters have consistently preferred John Fetterman over Dr. Oz. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print One of Joe Scarboroughs biggest assets in assessing American politics today is that his observations come from a true conservative and a neutral eye in the sky. As such, he assessed Americas biggest problem right now and concluded it is the party out of power. Scarborough retains his true Florida Panhandle roots. He certainly isnt as conservative as he once was, but hes still conservative in the true George Will definition. So when Scarborough says that the MAGAs are ruining what was once a great country and how theyre doing it, he has more insight than most. Scarborough says that when the GOP-MAGAs, going back to Obama, are out of power, they have no message or agenda other than talking about the country being carnage under Democratic power. So ironic. From the video below: We have problems, but most of our problems right now, if you look across the board, come straight out of Washington, D.C. We have a political system that is corrosive right now, and one of the reasons its corrosive is because a party thats out of power spends all of their time talking about how bad America is, just because theyre out of power, and it keeps getting worse, and, of course, its at its low point now because you have Donald Trump who starts playing QAnon music and then spends the end of his speeches talking about how bad America is, just like he did before he was president, talking about how bad America was, how bad crime was in America because he wasnt president When in fact crime was at a 50-year low before he came president of the United States. Talking about how horrible the southern border was, and guess what, before Donald Trump was president, illegal crossings at the southern border hit a 50-year low. The fact is Americas in a strong position now, We have been in a strong position. We just need politicians who are worthy of representing this great country we dont have it right now. What we have right now is pure madness. We need to appreciate what we have, embrace it, and build upon it. Well, yeah, but as Joe said, the party out of power doesnt want to embrace anything. Going all the way back to McConnell saying that there would be no deals in Obamas first term (or second), the GOP doesnt want the country to do well. They want power so badly that its almost impossible to see a peaceful response to a Biden win. The MAGAs are again willing to burn it into the ground. Additionally, if the Republican wins, one worries it may be the last neutral election into the foreseeable future. It is a little tough to tell whether Scarborough lumped the Democrats under the umbrella. To the extent he did, its far far less so. Under Trump, Democrats opposed the tax cut for the rich. But Democrats also signaled a willingness to work on infrastructure, which would have been a massive victory for Trump and the country. He was just too incompetent to get it done. And then, with COVID, the Democrats under Nancy Pelosi put together a relief package that was perhaps too big in PPP and too low for individual families. Democrats never said that the country was carnage so much as say that Trump was dangerous, a prescient observation. So this isnt a both sides thing, at least not to the same degree, and Scarborough seems to at least acknowledge that. To the extent hes speaking about Republicans, hes 100% correct. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Trump attorney John Eastman, still considered to be the alternate elector mastermind, is still trying to keep documents out of the House Select Committees hands. If it seems like weve been down this road before, it is because we have. We all remember July and a federal judges ruling that one email claimed to be attorney-client privileged could be considered a crime. From The Hill on July 22nd: A federal judge ordered former President Trumps legal adviser, John Eastman, to turn over another batch of 159 documents subpoenaed by the House Jan. 6 select committee, including a single email he found to likely be part of a criminal effort to overturn the 2020 election. So why does Eastman believe he can still withhold documents, a shockingly high number of documents, from the January 6th Committee? He asserts that the documents are protected attorney work product. From Law and Crime: Former President Donald Trumps post-election lawyer John Eastman is asking a federal judge in California to shield from the Jan. 6 Committee an additional 558 documents from his Chapman University email account. Eastmans lawyers said theyll produce 18 of the 576 documents requested by the committee, but they believe the remaining 558 are protected through previous orders or because they are attorney work product. House General Counsel Douglas Letter now has until next Monday to respond to Eastmans argument that Carter shouldnt allow the committee to see the 558 documents. Well, normally, attorney work product is protected, though at a lower level (slightly) than the attorney-client privilege. Eastmans claim for attorney-client privilege has already been shot out of the water, one of which was, in the opinion of the judge, evidence of a crime. That prior finding that an attorney-client document evidenced a crime will likely again be the reason Eastman wont succeed in this matter. But one senses some desperation in Eastmans motion. There is an old legal adage; If you have the law, pound the law. If you have the facts, pound the facts. If you dont have the law or the facts, pound the table. This motion is likely of the pound the table type, hoping to slow down the process enough such that Republicans can win a majority and attempt to shut down the J6 investigation. Eastman will still be subject to DOJ subpoenas and would have to wiggle his way out of that problem. In other words, there isnt likely much daylight coming through the walls closing in on John Eastman, mastermind of the alternate electors scheme. This is as it should be in a giant conspiracy. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Trump got a limited victory in appeals court on E. Jean Carrolls defamation suit, but he faces a potential rape lawsuit in November. Politico reported: Carrolls libel suit may wind up being of secondary concern to Trump since she has signaled she plans to file a new suit in November that directly accuses Trump of rape and seeks damages for the alleged attack itself. A New York state law set to take effect in November allows plaintiffs such as Carroll to pursue civil cases over sex crimes that would otherwise be subject to a 20-year statute of limitations. The potential rape lawsuit could come just as Trump is getting set to announce his 2024 presidential campaign. A potential rape lawsuit would generate immense headlines and stand out from the mountain of criminal and civil legal issues that Trump faces. E. Jean Carroll has been steadfast in her claim that Donald Trump raped her. The fact that Trump and Bill Barr misused the Justice Department to defend Trump in the defamation suit and that defense was continued by Attorney General Merrick Garland seems fundamentally wrong. Without the power of the Executive Branch of the United States government to hide behind, Donald Trump could finally be forced to answer the allegation that he raped E. Jean Carroll. The State Ports Authority is increasing its investments in equipment powered by electricity, both for environmental reasons and to meet growing requests from customers that the owner and operator of the Port of Charleston reduce its carbon footprint. "We have been approached very often now by our customers about ESG," Barbara Melvin, the SPA's president and CEO, said, referring to an organization's strategy to improve its environmental, social and governance goals. "So this is something that is becoming much more prevalent in our workspace, and I think it's a great reminder for us to continue to advance our thought process with regards to that." Melvin met Sept. 27 with a panel from the S.C. Joint Bond Review Committee to update the progress on a rail yard the SPA is building in North Charleston so trains can move cargo to and from the Leatherman Terminal on the city's former Navy Base. She told the panel that cranes at the facility will be all electric, joining the ship-to-shore cranes at Leatherman and the Wando Welch Terminal in Mount Pleasant in the conversion from fuel to electric power. The SPA's board of directors last week approved spending nearly $47 million on six rail-mounted gantry cranes that will move cargo boxes between trucks and Norfolk Southern and CSX rail cars. The $400 million rail yard, scheduled to open in 2025, is part of a $550 million package of improvements state legislators approved for Charleston's port in the past two years. The money also will pay for a barge project that will move cargo containers by water from Wando Welch to Leatherman, reducing the number of trucks on local roads. The SPA has applied for two federal grants totaling $149 million that would be used to buy two tugs and a pair of barges that would be powered by electricity, reducing operating expenses by eliminating fuel costs. The grants also would pay for charging infrastructure that would use solar power at both container terminals. "This needs to be the cleanest way to move cargo," Melvin said, adding the maritime agency expects to know whether it will get the money by this fall. The SPA is also investing in hybrid-powered mobile gantry cranes at its terminals. All of the 25 RTGs at Leatherman's first phase operate on electric power until their batteries need to be recharged, at which time diesel power kicks in. The batteries are expected to reduce fuel consumption by about 50 percent compared to conventional diesel cranes. Melvin said a dozen of the 65 RTGs at Wando Welch have been converted to hybrid power and more are on the way. "Given where fuel has been of late to where it is now, that's certainly a volatile cost that you have to keep in mind," she said. So-called ESG initiatives have become a growing concern for corporate shareholders and the rating agencies that determine the risk of debt issued by agencies like the SPA. William Vaughan, a portfolio manager for Brandywine Global, told Seeking Alpha that ESG analysis "helps foster a longer-term perspective and a more comprehensive understanding of broader risk factors over time. NORTH CHARLESTON Another large apartment development is in the works for the state's third-largest city, where the developer is proposing to fill in some wetlands. Monday Properties of New York and the Washington, D.C., area, wants to build 350 multifamily units in a U-shaped structure at 3500 Ashley Phosphate Road next to Plantation Road, according to plans presented to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. The project includes the construction of a parking garage with 342 spaces and surface parking with 218 spaces as well as an 8,000-square-foot clubhouse and community center. The proposed development would require the filling of slightly more than 2 acres of freshwater wetlands. The developer plans to lessen the impact by building a stormwater retention pond and rerouting water from the pond to an existing culvert that crosses under Plantation Road, eventually draining into nearby Popperdam Creek. The developer proposes to offset the loss of wetlands by buying credits from the Palmetto Umbrella Mitigation Bank-Big Run site in Berkeley County. The project will require approval of several environmental agencies before moving forward. Sign up for our real estate newsletter! Get the best of the Post and Courier's Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday. Email Sign Up! Affiliates of Monday Properties bought about 50 acres off Ashley Phosphate Road in late 2021 and early 2022 for about $2 million, according to Charleston County land records. A representative of the company, which has offices in New York City and Arlington, Va., did not immediately respond for further comment. The proposal comes after the recent announcement of a planned 336-unit multifamily project slated to be built on West Montague Avenue next to the proposed new access road to Charleston International Airport. That three-story project, to be called Montague Corners, is a joint venture of New York City-based real estate management and investment firm CP Capital and Charleston-based apartment giant Greystar Real Estate Partners. It's expected to begin construction in October, with completion in about two years. At a time when South Carolinas teachers are leaving the field, one rural school district has found a solution to the retention crisis. Williamsburg County School District in the northeastern Pee Dee region has improved its retention rates by adopting a grow your own approach to teacher recruitment. Locals say they are from Williamsburg County unless they live in Kingstree, the regions largest city, or Nesmith, an unincorporated region in the area. The place is filled with large stretches of low farmland and wide skies. Fields are broken up by the occasional house or barn. While residents call Kingstree a city, it is a small town consisting of a Main Street lined with restaurants and clothing stores. The lack of attractions is one of the reasons the district has struggled in the past to hire and keep teachers in its schools. But over the past couple of years, the district has used alternative teacher certification programs to tap into talent that is already in the area. Alternative teacher certification programs allow participants to earn a teachers certificate without having to go back to college for a second bachelors degree. Participants can teach while enrolled in the program as they earn credits toward their certification. The number of alternative certification programs across the county has skyrocketed over the past decade, according to research from the left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress. There isnt conclusive data on whether teachers who are certified through such programs do better or worse than those who earn a traditional teaching degree. But the programs remain somewhat controversial because of their high dropout rates, particularly in for-profit programs. Enrollment in these programs increased by 283 percent from 2010-11 to 2018-19, the Center for American Progress found. The number of students completing those programs rose by 34 percent during the same period. Williamsburg school officials believe they have found a way to use the programs effectively, allowing the district to bring in and retain top-quality educators. School officials dont suggest just any local resident enroll in these programs. They target people they have relationships with who are already involved in the school and possess qualities they look for in teachers. The district believes this recruitment tactic has improved retention because these new teachers have roots in the area, have a historic relationship with the schools and are grateful for the district supporting them during their certification process. It's what the district credits as the reason all of its nine traditional schools have improved their teacher retention rates over the past four years, according to a Post and Courier analysis of over 1,100 of South Carolinas public and charter schools. The accomplishments in Williamsburg County are notable because rural districts have a harder time recruiting, much less retaining, teachers due to issues like low pay, isolation and the propensity of these schools to ask teachers to do work outside the parameters of their jobs. Districts that struggle academically also suffer from lower teacher retention rates. State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman cited a poor academic track record as one of the reasons her department in 2018 announced that it was taking over the school district. The state has indicated that it soon plans to return control back to the local school board. The recruitment strategy didnt come from the takeover, but from district and school officials. The district has improved its teacher retention rate as others across the state have struggled to keep teachers on staff. South Carolina reported its highest number of teacher vacancies in February in 21 years, according to the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement. To see how and why the strategy works, look at the story of Cathy Rose. Homeward bound Rose didnt grow up wanting to be a teacher. She moved to the Kingstree area from Florida when she was 10. She remembers Kingstree as a tight-knit community where everyone knew each other. Her grandparents raised her to be diligent and respectful, teaching her that she needed to be home before it got dark and finish her homework before going to bed. Rose rarely missed curfew. She graduated from high school and went to Saint Augustines University in North Carolina, where she majored in English. More coverage To read more in-depth stories from The Post and Courier's Education Lab, go to postandcourier.com/education-lab. She originally planned to go to law school, but her dreams changed after she moved back close to her home. She fell in love and got married, and didnt feel like she had to become a lawyer to be happy. She bounced around various law enforcement and government jobs for over a decade before she started working as a part-time substitute teacher for Williamsburg school district in 2018, mostly filling in at Kingstree Middle Magnet School of the Arts. She was nervous because the school had her filling in for music and social studies classes rather than subjects she was more comfortable with, like English. She spent her evenings researching whatever historical events they were going to discuss in her social studies classes. She wasnt musical, but spent hours learning about music theory. Youve got to be prepared because those kids, theyre prepared, she said. She was soon promoted to a full-time substitute and believed she was a well-respected part of Kingstree Middle Magnets community. She felt at home working in the same district where she attended as a child. Then the principal called her to his office. A fork in the road Whenever Rose went to the principals office she felt like a child again. She was nervous that she mis-stepped or did something wrong. As she walked to the office, she repeated affirmations that everything was going to be OK. James Carraway, the principal at the time, greeted her with a big smile. He asked if she had ever considered becoming a teacher and suggested she enroll in an alternative certification program. South Carolina has nine such programs, according to S.C. Department of Education spokesman Derek Phillips. Those who want to enroll need to have a college degree, have a related major in the field they want to teach, and they must pass a test related to the subject area they want to teach. One of the program's goals is to get people like Rose who have degrees but might not initially have considered becoming a teacher interested in education. They are designed to make the profession more accessible by allowing participants to go through the certification process while continuing to work. Hipp said they also get so-called subject matter experts into the classroom, such as getting a person who majored in political science and worked in politics to teach a U.S. government class. Or, in Roses case, get an English major to teach English language arts. Sign up for our Education Lab newsletter. Email Sign Up! The state's Program of Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE) structure appealed to Rose. The three-year program allows participants to teach at an approved grade level and subject area based on their bachelors degree concentration, according to its website. It instructs them through a combination of training institutes, seminars and continued learning assignments. But Rose still worried about enrolling after being out of school for such a long time. Carraway kept asking her for an answer about whether she was going to go for her certification, but she avoided giving him a response. She signed up for the subject matter test, which is called the Praxis test, without telling family or friends even though they were supportive of her getting her certificate. As the test date approached, she kept thinking: Im not ready, Im not ready. She went to the tests website determined to push the date back, but found out she would be charged $75 if she changed it. She decided to go forward with it and see how she did. The test results were expected some 20 to 30 days later. Still, Rose checked her email every couple of minutes for weeks. She found out she passed in the summer of 2019. She knew Carraway would be working at the school that day, so she drove over and strode into his office. She threw her test results down on his desk and told him she was going to enroll in the alternative certification program. Everyone in the office was excited. But the hard work was only beginning. Unexpected struggles Rose had to drive about two hours to Charleston every weekend for class. She learned about teaching strategies she hadnt known about before. Sometimes these teaching methods were incorporated into the lessons themselves to show participants how they worked. One learning tool Rose liked was called four corners. Easel pads with easy-tear paper were positioned in each corner of the room. The class was divided into four groups, with each told to go to an easel. They were given a question to answer as a group. Each group wrote their answers on their pad, presented them to the class, and received constructive feedback. Then they moved to a new corner, where they were given a different question and went through the process again. Rose also liked the programs camaraderie. By this time, she was teaching English language arts at Kingstree Middle Magnet. She was placed with people who taught the same subject. We talked about our struggles and got advice about what to do in the classroom and what actually works, she said. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit in March 2020. Rose had finished the first leg of the program. She was supposed to go to an intensive session where she would be going to class every weekday for two weeks. The pandemic meant she had to do the intensive session online. You still had the opportunity to meet with other teachers and talk to them, but it wasnt the same, she said. Like teachers all over the country, she struggled with teaching her classes of 20-plus students over video platforms like Zoom. She found it difficult to engage students when they were at home because many children considered it a place for relaxation. She thought about quitting the program, but had a support system of family, friends, and fellow teachers who were rallying for her to get her certificate. Rose stuck with it. She thought educating her students would return to normal when students all came back for in-person learning for the 2021-22 school year. Thats when many teachers reached their breaking point. A new dream Shortly after South Carolina students returned to in-person learning in August 2021, the delta variant tore through the state, forcing many schools to go back to remote learning. A Post and Courier analysis of Department of Education data found that during the first seven weeks of class at least 15 districts and 233 schools went virtual, and at least 156,169 students were learning remotely. Soon after the delta variant abated, the omicron wave forced many schools to go remote again in January 2022. Rose didnt just find the waves of COVID-19 variants hard to deal with. Her students were all on different levels academically. Some had been learning in person much of the previous year and were used to orderly classroom environments. Others had been learning virtually and had trouble sitting still and staying engaged when they came back to the classroom. Their study habits were also lacking. Kids were even coming in without backpacks, she said. CERRA revealed in its February report that there were 1,121 teacher vacancies statewide. Of those, 980 were from teachers who left their job mid-year. Sherry East, president of one of the top teacher associations in the state, called the findings alarming because it is rare for teachers to leave their positions mid-year. Rose wasnt sure if her alternative certification program lessons could help her manage a post-pandemic classroom. But as the year progressed, students got back into the routine of in-person learning. Their engagement and study habits improved. Yet Rose was still nervous about applying the skills she learned for her certificate program. Carraway, the principal, pulled her aside after observing one of her classes. He told her to trust her instincts: If she wanted to separate two students who talked all the time, she should. If she wanted to try an innovative teaching method, she should go for it. She wasnt sure whether using the four corners strategy would work for her large class, but she decided to try her own variation of it. She divided her 25 students into five groups and added an extra corner. They were learning essay writing and were working on an exercise where they had to answer a question by using part of the question itself. The class went seamlessly. They all gave each other thoughtful critiques and their writing improved. Rose passed the test completing the alternative certification program at the end of August. When she found out her results, she celebrated with two teachers she was close to and who knew about her journey. Becoming a teacher wasnt her original dream, but it's her new one. Johns Island is officially getting a new elementary school. At the Charleston County School Districts board of trustees meeting on Sept. 26, a motion to approve the construction of the new school passed unanimously among the board members present. (Erica Cokley and Helen Frazier did not attend the meeting.) The school has been in the works for years, though efforts have picked up steam in the past few months. At the boards committee of the whole meeting on Sept. 12, CCSD chief operating officer Jeff Borowy presented his teams recommendations for moving forward with the project, which included establishing a single attendance zone for District 9. His team hosted two community meetings about the project in September 2021 and June 2022. The main concern that parents and community members voiced were transportation-related. The new school is meant to ease overcrowding in fast-growing Johns Island, but meeting attendees were worried that the new school would make traffic worse and force parents to go to two different schools across the island to pick up their kids. Borowy said a traffic study showed that roundabouts and turn lanes would ease the potential traffic and the schools could stagger bell times to give parents enough time to get to both schools. After the boards affirmative vote, the $41 million project will begin in March. When the school opens for the 2024-25 school year, it will house second through fifth grade students, and headstart through first grade students will attend Angel Oak Elementary. Mt. Zion Elementary will be converted into a family engagement center. CCSD academics Interim deputy superintendent of schools Anita Huggins presented new data about academic gains in CCSD. Sign up for our Education Lab newsletter. Email Sign Up! Results from the End-of-Course Examination Program which is administered to South Carolina students who are enrolled in middle and high school courses for Algebra I, English II, Biology, and US History at the end of their course show that CCSD students generally outperformed the state. None of this would be possible without thoughtful, advanced planning of principals who set really high, ambitious goals, and teachers in the classroom every day doing the hard work of seeing where students are and making real-time connections and finding ways to support them post-COVID, Huggins said at the meeting. Students improved in every subject but English compared to the previous academic year. Fifty-seven percent of CCSD students scored a C or higher in Algebra compared to 46.7 percent in 2020-21. In Biology, 50.2 percent of students made a C or higher compared to 50.2 percent the previous academic year. Students making C or better jumped to 49 percent from 44 percent in the school year ending in 2021. English experienced a minor drop-off with 71.4 percent scoring C or higher, down from 73.7 percent in 2020-21. Board governance The district will host another three community engagement sessions this week about its new governance structure, board member Lauren Herterich said. The new framework, which centers student outcomes and academic gains above all else, has been controversial in the community. Some say that the process has been rushed because of the upcoming election and fear that time and money spent on the process will be wasted if a new board decides to nullify the framework. Board members on the districts student outcomes committee say that itll slim down board meetings and allow them to prioritize academic achievement. There will be two meetings on Tuesday at Lucy Beckham High School in Mount Pleasant at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., and one at St. Johns High School on Johns Island at 6 p.m. On Sept. 30, the board will meet at 9 a.m. to analyze community feedback. Italy-based Newlisi s presenting its technology for sewage sludge reduction and energy recovery at the Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (Wetex), which opened in Dubai today. The event, organised by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), is being held till September 29 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The company will describe the environmental, social, and economic benefits of its technology. Developed about a decade ago and patented in 38 countries, the Newlisi process allows for over 70% reduction of sludge for disposal and for a significant increase in biogas production when coupled with anaerobic digestion, said a Wam news agency report. The Newlisi process can be exploited in both urban and industrial wastewater treatment plants, with benefits in terms of risk mitigation and operating costs reduction; the solution applies to any plant, whether or not equipped with an anaerobic digester. "Newlisis Clean Water, Green Power solution is addressed to owners or operators of wastewater treatment plants. Our technology is now mature, having been deployed in a real scale for almost eight years. The performances achieved in Siena, Lecce and Grosseto demonstrate that we can operate successfully in different plants with very different objectives and characteristics. This is the reason why our shareholders believe in our growth potential, as demonstrated by the new capital injection," said Edoardo Riccio, CEO of Newlisi. It is a two-step (acid - alkali) or one-step (alkali) oxidative thermochemical hydrolysis carried out at low temperature (80 deg C) and atmospheric pressure. JAMES ISLAND Surprisingly few restaurants in Charleston serve pilau these days or perloo, perlau or however you want to spell it. At Gillies Seafood, it's purloo, and its worth the drive to Folly Road to give it a try. Gillies version of the classic Lowcountry one-pot dish ($21) has rice thats almost brown in hue from a long steam in aromatic liquid. It is tossed with bright green rings of sliced okra and plenty of sauteed shrimp. Each grain stands out firm and distinct, and the first bite lands with a strong herbal punch. To a palate accustomed to thick gravies or sauces, the preparation may seem a tad dry at first. With each successive bite, though, the savoriness starts to build. One new note after another slips into the mix the sweet curl of a crawfish tail, a flavorful burst from a half moon of sausage, sneaky rich pops from shreds of blue crab. Its a comforting dish, but, thanks to the array of seafood tucked inside, a rich and elegant one, too. The Gillie in Gillies Seafood is LaReese Gilliard, grandmother of chef and owner Sean Mendes, and the inspiration for his career as a cook. The restaurant pays homage not just to Gilliard, but to everyones grandmother in the form of a bright orange grandma wall on one side of the dining room, which is filled with photographs from across the decades. Some hang in simple black rectangular frames, others in ornate gold ovals. Guests are encouraged to bring framed photos of their own grandmothers to add to the collection. Gillie's Seafood CUISINE: Seafood, Southern REPRESENTATIVE DISH: Charleston-style gumbo (okra soup) ADDRESS: 805 Folly Road, James Island PHONE: 843-297-8615 BAR: Alcohol not available WEB: gilliesseafood.com DINING ROOM HOURS: 12-8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 12-9 p.m. Friday through Saturday PRICE: $$ COSTS: $5-$36 PARKING: Ample parking in the lots in front of and behind the restaurant At one point, Mendes operated a trio of restaurants side-by-side on Folly Road. Roadside Seafood came first in 2014, followed by Blues Cajun Kitchen, then the first iteration of Gillies. Named Gillies Soul Food, it was a meat-and-three featuring fried pork chops, smothered turkey wings and country-style ribs. In 2018, Mendes shuttered two of the businesses and consolidated into a single location. The re-christened Gillies Seafood now blends menu items from all three restaurants into a wide-ranging selection of Gullah-Geechee and Cajun cuisine. Grannys Seafood Favorites now include jambalaya ($20) and pasta Mardi Gras ($20) with shrimp and crawfish in a spicy Alfredo sauce. Despite its name, the catfish Charleston ($20) a legacy of the Blues Cajun Kitchen menu is more Big Easy than Holy City, with a blackened catfish filet draped over a bed of dirty rice and topped with shrimp and crawfish in parmesan cream sauce. Gillies offers two gumbo options. The entree version has a Louisiana-style roux base ($19). With shrimp, crawfish, oysters and andouille, its akin to the purloo, but the seafood is enrobed in a thick tan gravy instead of cooked with the rice. Im more drawn to the appetizer version ($5 cup/$7 bowl), which is an outstanding example of Charleston-style gumbo (aka okra soup.) Its rich thickness comes not from roux or file, but from the original gumbo ingredient: okra. Savory orange broth brims with tender okra slices, rice, onion and bits of tomato. Warm and soothing with just a hint of peppery spice, its an excellent way to kick off a Lowcountry meal. Equally worth notice is Gillies she crab soup ($6 cup). Though it has been Charlestons signature soup for almost a century, the versions at too many local restaurants lean more toward cream of wallpaper paste than delicate crab concoction. Not Gillies. It is properly thick and creamy but not at all gloppy; salty, but not overly so, and blissfully free of excessive sherry sweetness. Generous strands of blue crab add a sparkle to each bite, and the clumps get bigger and richer as you near the bottom the cup. The top of the menu is devoted to grilled and fried seafood platters, with 10 options ranging from local favorites like oysters and flounder to more far-off specialties like gator and clam strips ($18 to $24 for single platters). The crab cakes have minimal breading or filler, so theyre quite moist and gooey inside. Griddled on a flattop, the broad patties are seared golden brown on top and even darker on the bottom, creating a thin crust with a nice chewy bite. If you go for a combo platter ($26 for two selections, $30 for three and $36 for four), make sure fried shrimp is among the picks. Several years ago, fellow food writer Eric Doksa and I made an exhaustive, weekslong tour around the Charleston area sampling fried shrimp. We declared the now-shuttered Roadside Seafood to have the best in the city. That preparation lives on at Gillies ($19 with two sides), and it remains as flawless as before. The plump shrimp, tails removed, have a tight jacket of light, powdery batter. The flavor underneath is fresh and slightly briny, with a snappy texture and a delicate, lingering sweetness. Theres lots to admire on the slate of 15 side dishes, too, from the dark earthiness of slow-simmered collards to the creamy bite of white limas in a thick, pepper-flecked pot liquor. The hushpuppies have a crisp crust and a chewy, sweet crumb thats dotted with yellow corn kernels. The firm grains of tomato-tinged red rice offer a mild, almost astringent flavor that grows more savory with each forkful, especially when you hit a thin ring of sausage tucked down inside. Such food may indeed, as the restaurants website promises, make you feel like you are at Grandma's house. The decor probably wont, though, unless your grandmas dining room had white drop ceilings and one wall clad in corrugated steel. The tables have black laminate tops, and the chairs have simple ladder backs. The napkins are paper, and your fork comes enclosed in a white paper envelope. But this doesnt mean the space is uncomfortable. In fact, its downright welcoming. A cheery yellow sunflower adorns each table, and the servers are friendly and prompt. The plates may be basic white stoneware, but the food they hold is anything but plain. I havent even mentioned the soul rolls yet ($10.80 for an order of two.) They seem like a pan-Southern stunt at first, with all the fixings of a barbecue platter pulled pork, collards, red rice, pimento cheese rolled inside egg roll wrappers and deep fried. But, man, do they smell delicious when they arrive at the table. Wait a few minutes, if you can, before taking the first bite. Each roll is sliced on the bias, but the filling, still steaming from the fryer, will scald your tongue if you rush. Instead of nibbling gingerly around the edges, you really want to start off with a big chomp, for beneath the crackling brown shell the disparate ingredients meld into a singularly flavorful whole. The dark tang of collards is offset by tender scraps of pork, and the red rice adds heft to gooey pools of molten pimento cheese. You can (and should) add another layer of flavor by dunking the roll into the cup of pale orange sauce that comes alongside. Its delightfully creamy with a big zip of heat, and a few red pepper seeds hint at at least one ingredient. The menu calls it nunya sauce I was eager to ask what else goes into it, but I could guess what the answer would be. Im tempted to declare Gillies a hidden gem. But if thats the case, then its hidden in plain sight. On each visit (including at 3:30 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon) almost all the tables were filled, and the customers seemed a mix of long-time regulars and visitors dropping in for the first time. So how come Gillies rarely makes it onto all those must visit Charleston restaurant lists that everyone and their uncle churns out these days? In a single stop, you could check off half your bucket list of classic Lowcountry dishes: purloo, she crab soup, shrimp and grits, red rice, okra soup. And lets not forget what just might be the best fried shrimp in town. No, its not fancy food, but it is really good food. It is food thats tightly rooted to this particular place, too, with vegetables sourced from farmers like Joseph Fields and fresh seafood from Crosbys Fish & Shrimp Co. You wont find this kind of place in Charlotte or Nashville, Tenn., nor despite the crab cakes and jambalaya in Baltimore or New Orleans, either. I hope that Gillies starts to pop up on more food writers must visit round-ups in the future. It certainly has earned a place on mine. In the fall of 2021, things turned tragic for Random Tap in Elgin. Catherine Cosby, the restaurant and bottle shop's chef, died in an October car accident on the way to work. She had taken over the kitchen and revolutionized the bar's food program, drawing in new crowds and becoming a beloved member of the business's workforce. From a practical standpoint, Cosby had been an answer to the bar's issue with finding steady and reliable help in the kitchen. "It was devastating, not only for us but for the whole Random Tap family," co-owner Kimberly Gagliardi said. "After that, the kitchen was never really the same and we knew that we had to make a change." The owners struggled to find someone to replace Cosby, hiring one chef for a brief stint before realizing it wasn't the right fit. That's where Chatara and Donald Taylor come in. The couple both had restaurant experience owning and operating their own spot, Captain Taylor's BBQ and Seafood from 2017 to 2019, and running a local food truck, Hooked on Sammiches, over the last year. Donald, an Army veteran, also had professional kitchen training, studying at Johnson & Wales. "This is what he really really always wanted to do because he can do more with his culinary skills than he could," Chatara said. "You know, with the food truck, you're confined and restricted. You can't do but so much on a food truck." At the beginning of September, the couple opened their own restaurant, BirdsNest Grille, inside of the taproom just down the road from Ratio, a Peruvian tapas restaurant that's popular in the area. The Gagliardis said they chose the Taylors after putting an advertisement for a new business to fill the gap and interviewed other candidates before deciding on Chatara and Donald. The two fill the void left by Cosby's death. Cosby had joined the restaurant in spring 2020. At the time, Gagliardi, and her husband and business partner John, said they told Cosby that they didn't have enough money to pay her what she deserved, but Cosby helped them reorganize their kitchen. She was officially put on the payroll in May of that year after declining two other higher-paying jobs at other spots, Gagliardi said. Cosby had worked in a handful of other kitchens from Cafe Brio in Charleston, learning how to cook upscale Southern fare, to Twisted Spur Brewing in Columbia, which she helped open in 2016. She completely turned the kitchen around from offering elevated bar food to offering a menu that the Gagliardi's referred to as "casually sophisticated" with items like a mozzarella salad, made with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and a dark balsamic glaze, to her poke salad. And, now, Random Tap seems to have found a duo who can offer a semblance of Cosby's work. Their menu puts an emphasis on English food like shepherd's pie a dish traditionally prepared with minced meat and topped with mashed potatoes and bangers-n-mash. Menu items range in price from around $10 to $15. Donald grew up in Birdnest, Va. a small community about 50 miles outside of Norfolk. He said he named the restaurant after his home, where he grew up cooking with his grandparents and learned a love for cooking in his home economics class. "The guys were more taking (home economics) because the girls were taking it," Donald joked. "But I had a talent and my teacher, Ms. Hardesty, noticed it and I owe a lot of gratitude to her." His teacher began entering him into competitions and taking him on field trips. And after a stint in the military, he fell back on his original love for cooking and attended culinary school. After spending a few years out of a traditional kitchen, the couple are excited to bring something different to the taproom. The new restaurant, which is located inside of Random Tap at 117 Spears Creek Church Rd in Elgin, is open Tuesday through Thursday until 9 p.m., weekends until 10 p.m. and Sunday afternoons until 7 p.m. HAMPTON A judge has reversed his decision to separate the Parker's Kitchen convenience store chain from the prominent Murdaugh family in a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of 2019 boat crash victim Mallory Beach, setting a January trial date for all of the defendants. Circuit Judge Daniel Hall changed course Sept. 27 when he granted Allendale attorney Mark Tinsley's motion to reconsider splitting the Beach family's lawsuit into two trials. The move heightens the chances for a high-dollar verdict and could increase Parker's potential liability in the case. Hall had ruled earlier this month that the Beach family's claims against convenience store owner Gregory Parker would go to trial in January, while a separate proceeding featuring the plaintiffs' claims against the Murdaughs would be further delayed. Hall cited several reasons for separating the defendants: the June death of the lead Murdaugh attorney in the case and the upcoming double-murder trial of the family's patriarch, disbarred lawyer Alex Murdaugh. Tinsley had filed a 21-page motion Sept. 12 asking Hall to reconsider his initial decision, threatening to appeal Hall's ruling to a higher court. If the claims were separated, Tinsley argued, it would ensure "the Murdaugh Defendants will never pay a penny for the Beach family's actual damages." Hall ultimately sided with the plaintiffs after reviewing the state's civil procedure rules, applicable case law, briefs of parties and oral arguments, according to the Sept. 27 court order. The Beach family was "very pleased and relieved" by Hall's decision, Tinsley told The Post and Courier. The plaintiffs are looking forward to trying the case when it goes to trial Jan. 9, he added, with all of the defendants present. The decision is the latest development in one of the most significant legal dramas to ever unfold in the Lowcountry. And it sets a possible ending to the nearly four-year lawsuit, which was filed in March 2019 one month after 19-year-old Beach was killed in the boat crash. Tinsley is suing the Murdaugh family and the Savannah-based convenience store chain on behalf of Beach's family. He also represents two of the four surviving boat crash passengers who have filed suit against the Murdaughs. The lawsuit claims Beach was killed after the boat, allegedly driven by a drunken and underage Paul Murdaugh, hit a bridge piling in Beaufort County. All six passengers were ejected. Paul Murdaugh, 19 at the time, was criminally charged with driving the boat while drunk. The charge was dropped after he and his mother, Maggie, were shot and killed in June 2021 outside the family's Colleton County hunting lodge. His father, Alex Murdaugh, was charged with their murders, along with a bevy of financial and drug crimes. The suit names several of Paul Murdaugh's relatives and accuses them of enabling his underage drinking and erratic behavior. It blames Parker's Kitchen for allowing him to use his older brother's ID to purchase booze the night of the crash. Parker's lawyers have argued the clerk performed her due diligence in checking the ID before the sale. Partiers and the Murdaugh family share more blame for what happened, they said. Joe McCulloch, an attorney for Connor Cook, another boat crash victim, was pleased to see Hall's reversal. It indicates the Murdaughs will likely be tried alongside Parker's in the other boat crash cases, as well, McCulloch said. McCulloch said he had worried the judge's decision to sever Parker's in the Beach case would mean the same outcome for the other boat crash victims, including his client. "We don't have to worry about that now," he said. "... It is precedential on some level and is likely to neutralize the threat of such a motion in the Cook case." In a Sept. 27 statement, Parker's attorney PK Shere expressed his disappointment in Hall's decision to rejoin their case with the Murdaughs. "We are looking into options, but, ultimately, we look forward to presenting our case at trial and exonerating Tajeeha Cohen and Parkers," Shere said. Cohen is the store clerk who sold Paul Murdaugh alcohol. Parker's lawyers had reason to celebrate after Hall's initial ruling. Under South Carolina law, in alcohol-related cases where multiple defendants are tried together, one party can be made to pay the entire verdict amount if the other parties cant afford it. A deep-pocketed business like Parker's could be forced to pay out a multimillion-dollar verdict in the Beach case, regardless of the level of its culpability. The Murdaughs, whose family fortune has dwindled in the wake of the scandal, likely won't be able to contribute much. Roughly a dozen lawsuits accusing Alex Murdaugh of theft, fraud and betrayal threaten to drain what's left of his finances. The only reason Tinsley is angling for one trial is so the Murdaughs' "bad actions" are tethered to Parker's, thereby inflaming the jury, Shere said in a previous statement. Parker's would be swept up in the drama, he said and forced to pay its price. CONWAY The Horry County Republican Party was supposed to choose new leadership during its Sept. 26 meeting, but the night instead turned into bickering, near-fights and commotion highlighting the heated division among its factions. Horry GOP Chairman Roger Slagle had called the meeting of the party's executive committee as a step toward replacing him and his entire five-person leadership team, who all abruptly resigned earlier this month. But once Slagle announced near the start of the meeting that he suddenly wanted to rescind his resignation, the night descended into chaos, as his supporters clashed with those who opposed him. "You ran and hid from your responsibilities, and now you would like to come back?" one fellow party member asked Slagle. "On what planet do you think it's a great idea for us to support somebody who walked away from their responsibility?" An executive committee member shouted over Slagle, questioning the legality of his announcement. Once she began shouting, Horry County GOP Executive Committeeman Chad Caton, among others, opposed her and called for her to be kicked out of the meeting. "Chairman, she's out of line, please," Caton said, addressing Slagle. The woman was escorted out of the room temporarily for allegedly disrupting the meeting. As she left, she accused Slagle of overstepping his bounds. "You're a Democrat in disguise if you're throwing me out," the woman shouted at Slagle. She and others in the room questioned whether Slagle could rescind his resignation, given that the S.C. Republican Party had already received and confirmed his resignation before the meeting. They argued he would need to be reappointed to the position. The S.C. Republican Party confirmed that all five leadership resignations, including Slagle's, had been accepted on Sept. 15, some nine days before this week's party meeting. At one point in the night Caton nearly came to blows with Rob Visconti, another party member, after Visconti allegedly insulted Caton's wife. The incident took place while the committee members were being called to the front few rows of the room. From the stage, state Executive Committee Member Tracy Diaz shouted for the two men to separate. "Everybody, just act like freaking human beings for five seconds, please," Diaz pleaded to the crowd. "This is embarrassing." Party members kept lobbing sections of Robert's Rules of Order the guidelines for parliamentary procedure back and forth at each other and at Slagle and his team in an effort to win their arguments. One of those arguments was whether the committee could enter into executive session to choose new leadership candidates. At one point, everyone who was not part of the executive committee was asked to leave the room because the committee planned to enter into executive session to discuss potential candidates. But one committee member continued to livestream the meeting during that called executive session, which prompted all non-committee members to return to the room. After more than an hour of bickering and conflict, the executive committee voted to adjourn and hold another meeting in October. Details of that meeting are pending. Slagle, state executive committee member Tracy Diaz, secretary Barbara Treacy and interim treasurer Angela King officially resigned Sept. 12, with their exits taking effect Sept. 30. Vice chairman Jeremy Halpin had already resigned before Sept. 12. The abrupt resignations of Slagle, Halpin, Diaz, Treacy and King came after a Sept. 10 quarterly State Republican Party Executive Committee meeting, which voted to condemn and remove perks from the committee members who attempted to stall the reconvening of the 2021 State Republican Convention over false allegations. These committee members included several GOP leaders in Horry and Greenville counties, including Slagle and Diaz, among others, per state Republican Party officials. Claire Brady, communications director for the S.C. Republican Party, said a compromise was offered to Horry County GOP leaders before the motion was passed, but the leaders chose not to accept it. "A compromise was offered, to suspend the motion if the specific members apologized, but the compromise was retracted after the members did not apologize," Brady said. "The South Carolina Republican Party is continuing our focus on the November election and beating Democrats up and down the ballot in Horry County and across the state. The departing Horry County GOP leaders accused the state party of publicly condemning them for not agreeing with an establishment agenda. They also criticized other state and county Republicans for not supporting former President Donald Trump strongly enough. This story has been updated. AD Ports Groups Safeen Feeders and Saif Powertec Limited have signed a charter agreement that will see Safeen Feeders purchase and charter out three containerships, to support expansion of the Bangladesh-based entity into the container shipping segment. Under the terms of the agreement, Safeen Feeders will charter an initial three vessels to Saif Powertec at pre-agreed rates for a duration of 15 years, starting in November 2022 to be deployed on global routes connecting Bangladesh. Safeen Feeders will invest approximately AED375 million ($102 million) to purchase the vessels. The long-term charter agreement with Saif Powertec will help them gain access to critical assets while providing stable returns on investments to AD Ports Group over a long-term horizon. Captain Ammar Mubarak Al Shaiba, Acting CEO of the Maritime Cluster and Safeen Group, AD Ports Group, said: Under the guidance of our wise leadership, AD Ports Group continues to support the opening of new routes to stimulate global trade and drive new economic opportunities. Leveraging Safeen Feeders expertise as a leading maritime service provider, this containership charter agreement with Saif Powertec will help meet surging container traffic demand along Bangladesh-bound routes. "We have structured the agreement to reduce exposure to market volatility and ensure a positive return on our investment in these vessels. Tarafder MD Ruhul Amin, Managing Director of Saif Powertec, said: We are delighted to expand our ongoing partnership with AD Ports Groups Safeen Feeders through this new charter agreement, which will enable us to expand our portfolio of container shipping services. Bangladesh has been underserved by direct services and this new agreement will enable us to fill a substantial gap in the market and drive UAE-Bangladesh trade. The intention is to charter three vessels at the outset, offering 1,7002,100 TEU capacity each, which will enable Saif Powertec to realise significant returns on this route and deliver real benefits for our customers. In April 2022, Safeen Feeders signed another long-term trade facilitation and shipping agreement with Saif Powertec Limited to facilitate trade and cargo services from Fujairah to Bangladesh over a period of 15 years. As part of the collaboration, Safeen Feeders is providing eight Supramax bulk carriers with 55,000 Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) capacity. -TradeArabia News Service Talk to someone who has run a legitimate free lunch program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture as administered by the Minnesota Department of Education. You will learn that it isnt a way to wealth and riches without fraud on a massive scale. Feeding Our Future gave us fraud on a massive scale. It was open, obvious, blatant, and gross. Aimmee Bock fronted the scheme and recruited a large cast of Somali participants to get in on the action. Bocks modus operandi was to scream discrimination whenever anyone questioned the bona fides of her program. Her Somali recruits were the key. They got rich quick. My friend Abdi Nur put it this way last week in an interview with Star Tribune reporter Jeffrey Meitrodt: The people who were running the sites had been living in Section 8 housing. Poor people. And all of a sudden they were living in $1 million houses and driving nice cars. It was a free-for-all. Meitrodt could follow up with Abdi on the story of Ilhan Omars marriage to her brother. He has been telling me all about it since August 2016 and he knows what he is talking about on that subject as well. Omar played the race card on me when I asked her about her marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi and has played it many times since. Unfortunately, Omar remains at large. Even the Minnesota Department of Education noticed Bocks fraud. Yet they kept the money flowing. She screamed discrimination. Bock was so certain of her mastery of the discrimination gambit that she kept it up when the FBI conducted raids on her and her recruits all over the Twin Cities in January. It was time to shut up, but Bock kept talking. Bocks live-in boyfriend is one Empress Malcolm Watson. They are depicted in happier times in the photo at right. Watson was convicted of felony domestic assault in 2017. According to the dissolution action initiated against Feeding Our Future by the State, program funds were sent to a Wells Fargo account in the name of Handy Helpers [sic] LLC between March 2020 and July 2021. Watson is the sole signatory on the account. The Daily Mail picked up on Watson here in its story on the indictments unsealed last week. The Daily Mail story includes a photo of Watson with a caption noting that he is accused of spending thousands of [Bocks] ill-gotten gains on flash cars and designer items. The caption adds that Watson has not been charged. A Somali friend sent me the photo of Watson below with the explanation that it is circulating among the Somali community. The photo gives visible form to the in-your-face quality of the Feeding Our Future fraud. stc Bahrain, a world-class digital enabler, has partnered with Sirar by stc to enhance its cybersecurity offerings for businesses in Bahrain. The strategic partnership will enable businesses in the Kingdom to manage digital risks effectively, comply with relevant laws and regulations, and encourage a safe digital transformation journey. The new cybersecurity solutions will provide businesses with the tools to tackle a growing challenge as cybersecurity attacks in Bahrain have risen during the second quarter of this year by 188%. Generating awareness It will also generate awareness amongst businesses in the kingdom on the ability to secure their online assets, as more than half of Middle East business leaders (59%) now include cybersecurity attacks as one of their three main business concerns. The announcement comes as part of the first #stcTechTalk, where Sirar CEO, Fahad Al Jutaily, spoke about the growing threat of cybercrime along with Sh Salman Al Khalifa CEO of the National Cybersecurity Center, Jad Hajj Partner & Vice President at Strategy& Middle East and Haider Pasha, Chief Information and Security Officer at Palo Alto Networks. The panel was streamed on stc Bahrain YouTube channels along with the stc business Instagram. Eng Nezar Banabeela, the Chief Executive Officer at stc Bahrain, commented on the partnership: Our partnership with Sirar offers us opportunities to meet the growing demand of cybersecurity threats and empower businesses to overcome cybersecurity challenges, generate awareness, and secure their digital futures. This partnership unifies our capabilities with stc Group and strengthens our cybersecurity offerings to our customers in the Kingdom with an aim to become the trusted platform for the data economy and to enable digital transformation in a safe and secure manner. Advanced technological solutions Fahad Aljutaily, the CEO of Sirar by stc, said: We are proud to partner with stc Bahrain to provide cutting-edge advanced technological solutions to power the digital economy and protect the digital futures of businesses in Bahrain. Through this partnership, we aim to expand our services across the region and boost cybersecurity culture within organisations to help them operate in the most secure and efficient way possible. We also want to educate businesses to prevent rising cyberattacks by taking essential measurements to safeguard their platforms and sensitive data. Sirar by stc is the cybersecurity arm of stc Group, with advanced technical solutions to cover multiple industries such as government, oil & gas, banking, financial services and more. The organisation consists of experts in business security and privacy, offering a range of solutions that will help businesses operate their digital platforms in a safe and secure manner.-- TradeArabia News Service Capital Hotels Plc, owners of the Abuja-based luxury hotel, Sheraton, said 22 Hospitality Limited has procured 66.1 per cent of its outstanding shares in exchange for a controlling stake in the company. A purchase of a companys total issued shares crossing the 50 per cent threshold is deemed a buyout. Capital Hotels has not posted annual profit in the last two years. The transaction is the end of a series of off-market deals conducted for months, and means Hans Gremlin Nigeria Limited will be yielding to 22 Hospitality Limited the ownership crown it had worn for two decades. All the required regulatory approvals have been received for the transaction, Capital Hotels said in a statement posted on the Nigerian Exchanges website. Capital Hotels set out earlier in the year to raise capital for, what it said, was the renovation of the hotel. The board sought to approach it by way of rights issue and made a proposal during an emergency general meeting in April to sell new shares to existing shareholders at N7 per share at a time a unit was selling for N3.19 in the market. A refusal by shareholders to endorse the offer for fear it would erode their rights meant the board turned to private placement as a second option. In all, 1,611,995,510 shares were allotted to 22 Hospitality Hospital at N7 per unit when that was concluded, totalling N11.3 billion. The companys share price, which had been stuck at N3.19 for at least seven months to 23rd May, jumped to N3.40 that date but has not moved again ever since. The share purchase transferred 51 per cent of the companys outstanding shares to 22 Hospitality Limited. In addition, 22 Hospitality Limited also bought 456,641,337, and 21,562,293 Ordinary Shares of 50 kobo each representing 14.45% and 0.68% of the equity share capital of the Company, from Hans Gremlin Nigeria Limited and Associated Ventures International Limited respectively through Offer for Sale, according to the statement. Altogether, the new owners holding in the firm translates to 2,090,199,140 ordinary shares. Bank of Industry Limited, Ministry of Finance Incorporated, Nigeria Re-insurance Corporation and Continental Energy Resources Limited are among the substantial shareholders of Capital Hotels, its 2021 audited financial statement shows. In the security circle, the prison is described as a self-sustained defended facility with some resources to thwart attacks. But the vigil of armed personnel there had slipped into a groove in which they usually lowered their guard. So, with a chill in the air one night in July, they were relaxed, unprepared for the coming danger despite the intelligence available to their office-based superiors warning of an attack. Suddenly, they heard a loud bang, then sounds of gunfire, pitching them into turmoil and panic. Disoriented, having not prepared, they fled, making the attackers advance and ultimately deliver a successful operation barely challenged. Terrorists attacked the Kuje Medium Security Correctional Centre in Nigerias Federal Capital Territory on 5 July with a cocktail of Improvised Explosive Devices and high-calibre weapons to free imprisoned fighters. ISIS-aligned Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed the attack, which intelligence sources and researchers familiar with the terror groups setup said was carried out by the groups Kogi cell fighters, aided by another terror group, Ansaru. A total of 879 of the 994 inmates escaped, and more than 400, including over 50 terrorists, remain at large, according to internal records. Ansaru, or Ansaru al-Musulmina fi Bilad al-Sudan, headquartered in Kadunas Birnin Gwari area, is an Al Qaeda-aligned terrorist group that broke away from Boko Haram, or Jamaatu Ahl al-Sunna lid Dawati wa al-Jihad (JAS), in 2012 following disagreements with leader Abubakar Shekau over methods and targets. According to intelligence reports and human sources consulted for this investigation, terrorists that formed Ansaru were responsible for some of the high-profile attacks including the August 2011 UN building bombing claimed by Boko Haram before the split. ISWAP similarly broke away from Boko Haram in 2016. On the night of the Kuje attack, 65 armed personnel were on guard duty. They included 31 military personnel of the Nigerian Army from the 176 Special Forces Guards Brigade Battalion, Gwagwalada, five personnel of MOPOL 21, and five personnel of MOPOL 50. Others were two personnel of the counter-terrorism unit of the Nigeria police, two personnel of the Kuje police division, seven personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service, three personnel of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and 10 personnel of the correctional service armed squad. One civil defence officer lost his life to gunfire. In the wake of the attack, 47 kilometres to the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, and 24 kilometres to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, President Muhammadu Buhari publicly expressed disappointment and demanded a comprehensive report. He said, How did the defences at the prison fail to prevent the attack? How many inmates were in the facility? How many of them can you account for? How many personnel did you have on duty? How many of them were armed? Were there guards on the watchtower? What did they do? Does the CCTV work? I am disappointed with the intelligence system. How can terrorists organise, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it? Almost three months after, the Buhari government is yet to fully account for the attack and the public remains worried about the countrys vulnerability after the attack, which pumped dangerous criminals back into society. However, PREMIUM TIMES investigation based on leaked secret records, interviews with a man on guard duty, security sources, and Kuje residents, analyses of experts we described our findings to, and exclusive official disclosure has found flaws in Nigerias security preparedness and armed response capacity, which made the attack successful. Intel failure A rare collaboration of ISWAP and Ansaru delivered the attack, expert terrorism researchers with knowledge of the working of the terror groups and those tracking the escaped terrorists told PREMIUM TIMES. According to these sources, Ansaru, whose fighters were also held in Kuje, did the reconnaissance and intelligence gathering work around Kuje but had no logistical capability to carry out the attack. After an initial operational disagreement over ideological rivalries, Ansaru then left the attack for ISWAP, whose Shura Council committed to freeing all terrorists, belonging to ISWAP, Ansaru, and JAS. ISWAP was said to have deployed more fighters from their Timbuktu base in the dreaded Alagarno area of Damboa LGA, Borno and Lake Chad islands to join their Kogi cell fighters. While the fighters were hibernating in the communities around the prison and plotting to strike, the Nigerian security and intelligence setup did not obtain any useful intelligence, fast enough to prevent the attack. But several hours before the attack, the secret service, SSS, warned of a possible terrorist act, officials familiar with the transmission told PREMIUM TIMES. Despite the availability of such intelligence, which should have caused heightened preparation and proactive measures, the attack happened and the armed personnel on the direct defence line were not briefed. The spokesperson for the correctional service, Abubakar Umar, told this investigation that the intelligence was general. Intelligence gathering involves multiple agencies and as of the time the information got to us it was as a piece of general information and it happened, unfortunately, Kuje was attacked, Mr Umar said, appearing to explain that there was no warning specifically that Kuje would be attacked. But superior correctional officials and intelligence sources, interviewed for this investigation, said the warning was specific. Three senior correctional officials, who asked not to be identified by name for job security, separately explained that the poor, bureaucratic, and slow process of managing and distributing intelligence was a problem. The correctional service did not directly receive intelligence, one of the officials said. It passed through various desks and there was never prompt passage whereas the quality of useful intelligence in such circumstance is timeliness. By the time it got to us, it was already late, too late to prepare the armed men on the ground. SSS spokesperson Peter Afunanya did not honour a request for an interview to comment on our findings relating to intelligence management. Another official blamed the superiority complex and rivalry among security agencies and their chiefs for intelligence failure. Then, The CG (Controller-General of the correctional service) has to be included in the security council meetings and intelligence concerning the service has to be directly passed to the service quickly because the service is important in the national security system, the source said. READ ALSO: But after the Kuje attack and with everybody knowing what went wrong, we now have intelligence directly, quickly. That has helped our proactiveness and helped to prevent further attacks, including in Nasarawa State, without people in the public knowing. But even more worrying, PREMIUM TIMES investigation found that months before the 5 July attack, an inmate, Umar Ladan, from Borno, also called Maikifi, had boasted about the attack many times, according to a leaked secret record of incidence assessment carried out by the intel service. The record cited multiple sources including recaptured inmates. The record described Maikifi, 39, as a terrorist. He remains at large according to the correctional service. In addition, PREMIUM TIMES investigation revealed that an inmate, Mustapha Umar, 45, from Yobe State, was the extremist leader in Kuje prison and was using an Android phone with which he was communicating with the fighters outside. Mr Umar, who is now at large, was said to have led the radicalisation of some other inmates in Kuje. Through the phone, they (terrorists outside the prison) were sending him radical sermons and literature to strengthen his faith and they kept reassuring they would come to rescue him and others, one source said, describing findings from their tracking escaped terrorists. They said many of the escapees, including those converted in the prison, exited Nigeria through Katsina and passed through the Niger Republic before re-entering Nigeria through Lake Chad to join ISWAP on the islands. Off side, off beat and off guard In an account obtained from a source, among the men guarding the prison, the attack started (a) few minutes before 10 p.m. when a loud bang was first heard from a side of the facilitys perimeter wall. The sound had come from the detonation of a massive explosive charge on the outermost wall of the facility, which then caught the guards off site, off beat, and off guard, the assessment record said, corroborating our sources account. The detonation disoriented and harassed the defenders, causing panic, ensuring that it quickly turned into every man for himself, the record added. As the guards, including soldiers, fled their positions, the terrorists took over the main gate, spending more than thirty minutes in an attempt to breach it but the gate held despite using explosives. Then, they detonated more explosives at another gate the haulage gate, normally for trucks supplying food which fell, allowing them to enter the facility, according to the assessment record, exclusive official disclosure, and witness accounts. The guards used sandbags and tin roof shacks as firing positions, a common defensive structure among Nigerian security formations, which experts say is not solid enough and does not afford defenders little confidence to stand ground against enemy fire. Instead of sandbags, if the correctional service had prepared, they could have used outdated and unserviceable armoured tanks in the armys mothballs. (Outdated) armoured tanks, dug in and placed around Custodial Centers will provide reinforced firing positions for defenders, the assessment record said. Tanks are largely bomb and fireproof, giving defenders greater confidence to stand ground. In the moments immediately following their entrance, they precisely located their primary targets Idris Ojo and Mohammed Sani, two awaiting trial inmates and set them and others free. Messrs Ojo and Sani are ISWAP fighters from the terror groups Kogi cell, researchers who have a working familiarity with the expansion of ISWAP and officials told PREMIUM TIMES. Mr Ojo has been recaptured, but he remains with the military. Though severely hit in their original Borno base, ISWAP has created new cells in the Fufore forest area, from where they have struck in the neighbouring Taraba State at least thrice this year; in the Okene axis of Kogi State in central Nigeria where they also claimed two attacks this year; and Kano in the Northwest. The May explosion in Kano was a bomb explosion at an ISWAP IEDs-making facility, security sources confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES, corroborated by residents and local journalists pressured to report a gas explosion instead. Alien approach Spokesperson Mr Umar said the correctional service had gotten used to prison violence caused by internal insurrection but improved welfare of the inmates had removed that threat. But the method adopted by the Kuje attackers was alien to us, Mr Umar said. It was not internal insurrection but external using sophisticated weapons. Also, they were more than 300 and they used an element of surprise. We dont have enough manpower on the ground to face over 300 attackers with sophisticated weapons but our men still did a yeoman job in preventing the capture of Abba Kyari by the terrorists. While the guards were only AK-47-armed, the terrorists used automatic weapons like General Purpose Machine Guns and anti-aircraft guns as well as semi-automatic rifles such as AK-47s, in addition to explosives which they detonated multiple times. However, Mr Umars point about the alien approach seems weak since a similar external force had previously attacked the Agodongbo prison facility in Oyo last October. Like the Kuje attack, the Oyo attack was to free imprisoned criminals, sources, including officials, who witnessed the Oyo attack said. Also, the assessment record that PREMIUM TIMES obtained said the claim that the Kuje attackers numbered over 300 is highly likely an exaggeration to save face. Several recaptured inmates had the numbers at between thirty to fifty ( 30-50 ). Regardless, the attackers most likely were in the region of a hundred ( 100 ), the record said. Then, the claim that internal insurrection had not contributed to the success of the attack is contradicted by the leaked assessment record we obtained. We equally assess that, the unprofessionalism of officers at the MSCC Kuje evidenced by the huge numbers of trafficked phones facilitated terrorists and inmates planning and implementation, said the record. The Kuje prison terror leader, Mr Umar, was using an Android phone facilitated by compromised prison officials, PREMIUM TIMES was told by sources tracking the escaped inmates. Mr Umar told this investigation that it had not been established that any staffer aided the attack. (There is) no intelligence that any officer collaborated to aid the attack but there are mechanisms in place to enforce standards and conduct expected of staff. People have been dismissed for misconduct, he said. Also, the awareness of terrorists desperation to free imprisoned fighters was present in the security circle, and that should have informed heightened preparedness at locations holding terrorists, like Kuje. Intelligence sources said the 28 March Abuja-Kaduna train attack in which terrorists abducted passengers was staged to force the government into a prisoner swap deal. The Buhari administration confirmed some imprisoned terrorists and their family members had been freed to secure the release of the abducted train passengers in a deal the presidency said the terrorists were not faithful to. Defensive tools unused Kuje prison is a self-sustained defended facility with the materials needed to defeat the 5 July attack, security officials and expert analysts told this investigation. But they added that lack of know-how, poor practice and preparation, command and control, and confidence to stand ground, as well as the failure to use the available defensive tools, gave the terrorists an opportunity to succeed. Defenders were unable to communicate and coordinate due to lack of tactical Radios and inadequate understanding of the tactical field signals and in the absence of communication and leadership, defenders panicked and fled, the assessment record said. Also, the MSCC Kuje had the K9 unit garrisoned behind. If Dogs were deployed, they would have served as an early warning system to defenders since trained dogs can perceive threats kilometres away. Unleashed deployed dogs would have certainly distracted and harassed the terrorists forcing them to adjust plans or abandon attempts. All the relevant defensive tools were not used or inadequately used (Watch Towers, Armored Personnel Carrier, Guard Dogs). If a coordinated defence had happened, those assets would have thwarted the attack, or at the least inflicted significant casualties on the terrorists. If defenders had quickly mounted the guard towers, and used the deployed APC, the terrorist attack would have been defeated, the assessment record said. In addition, this investigation found that the absence of pieces of equipment such as night vision goggles, thermal sights, search and security lights, and video surveillance systems ensured that the attackers were unnoticed until the attack started. The total darkness left defenders blind, giving them no chance to plan or initiate a response, the record said. A lack of aerial response, even if unmanned, also helped the terrorists achieve success. During the attack, if there were tactical drones, responding reinforcement would have had better situational awareness and tactical understanding. Also, a drone hovering overhead would have scared the attackers, distracting and disrupting their intentions, the assessment record said. The senior correctional officials, who spoke anonymously, admitted capacity crisis. Correctional service is important and it is in national security interest that dangerous criminals are not allowed into the society; therefore, the service must be well funded, armed, and instilled with patriotism and discipline to defend as a matter sacred duty, one of them said. Ambush, bombs on reinforcement routes Moments after the attack started, the correctional services operations chief tried to rig up a response. But his effort stalled as the terrorists were believed to be lying in ambush and had planted explosives on possible response external routes. However armed reinforcement could not attain the Custodial Center largely due to an absence of situational awareness, and tactical intelligence the terrorists mounted ambush points and placed IEDs on possible reinforcement routes. No robust or coordinated defensive retaliatory fire was initiated by the armed men on guard duty, including the soldiers, which clearly violated the principles of defense when defending a defended locality or post, the assessment record said. The attack demonstrated a lacuna in the general preparedness and armed reaction capacity of the National Security Services. The attack occurred in the FCT without any robust intervention to disrupt or defeat it. As soon as the attackers left, armed defenders returned mopping up spent munitions, IEDs, and initiating efforts to recapture fleeing inmates. In another internal record seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the attack claimed five lives, including one NSCDC officer and four inmates. About 16 other inmates were injured. We have learnt and understood their modus operandi, said spokesperson Mr Umar. It wont happen again, the security services have resolved. Our facilities are now a red zone. Any attempt to attack our facility again will be met with fire. Mr Umar said three new 3000-capacity prisons are being built in Kano, Rivers State, and Abuja to keep dangerous criminals, including terrorists. A United States district court has sentenced Abidemi Rufai, a suspended aide of Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, to five years imprisonment for fraud. The District Court in Western Tacoma in Washington jailed Mr Rufai on Monday for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. With the stolen identities, he attempted to steal nearly $2.4 million from the United States government, including approximately $500,000 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits. Mr Rufai, 45, who pleaded guilty to the charges in May, was said to have succeeded in defrauding 12 US agencies of $600,000 paid out into bank accounts controlled by him. Sentencing A statement by the US Department of Justice announced the sentencing of Mr Rufai on Monday. The motivation was greed, unrestrained greed, and a callousness towards those who have suffered, the statement quoted the trial judge, Benjamin H. Settle, as saying. Based on his plea agreement with the prosecution, Mr Rufai agreed to pay full restitution of $604,260 to the defrauded agencies. But the Department of Justices statement said he has not fully cooperated with efforts to identify and forfeit assets that could be used for restitution. In asking for a nearly six-year prison sentence Assistant United States Attorney Cindy Chang noted that Rufais scheme damaged real people who needed help. Seattle Field Office Special Agent in Charge, Bret Kressin, quoted Mr Rufai as saying, The choices we make are ultimately our responsibility. The Special Agent said, and he is correct. This sentence is a result of the culmination of choices he made funding his luxurious lifestyle. He added, His fraud schemes began with filing fraudulent tax returns from stolen identities to pilfering economic aid designed to help disadvantaged workers and families suffering through the COVID-19 pandemic. Fraud The prosecution said since 2017, Mr Rufai stole the personal identifying information of more than 20,000 Americans to submit more than $2 million in claims for federally funded disaster relief benefits and fraudulent tax returns. The various agencies ended up paying out more than $600,000 into bank accounts controlled by Mr Rufai as of the time of his arrest last year, the prosecution stated. READ ALSO: An exclusive report by PREMIUM TIMES listed the 12 agencies of the US government that paid out the $600,000. This newspaper reported in May this year how he pleaded guilty to the alleged crimes. Mr Rufai, who has been in custody since his arrest at New Yorks JFK airport in May 2021, admitted using stolen identities to claim hundreds of thousands of dollars in pandemic-related unemployment benefits. He admitted a long history of using stolen identities to defraud U.S. disaster programs, including aid for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and file fraudulent U.S. tax returns. Of the 12 agencies allegedly defrauded by Mr Rufai, the Washington State Employment Security Department was said to have been hardest hit with $350,763 paid out by the agency as fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims to accounts controlled by Mr Rufai. The prosecution says evidence to be produced at the hearing shows that Mr Rufai participated in the submission of fraudulent claims seeking in excess of $2 million in federally-funded unemployment assistance. He was said to have also submitted claims to the IRS seeking more than 675 refunds totalling more than $1.7 million, and submitted at least 19 fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications. He also, according to the prosecution, submitted 49 fraudulent disaster claims to FEMA, and personally obtained proceeds from his wire fraud scheme. Background On May 26, 2021, a grand jury approved an indictment charging the defendant with 15 offences. The charges filed at U.S. District Court for Western Washington at Tacoma, comprise conspiracy to commit wire fraud, nine counts of wire fraud, and five counts of aggravated identity theft. He was arraigned before the court on 25 June, 2021 when he denied the charges by pleading not guilty to all counts. PREMIUM TIMES reported how, in preparation for trial, the United States government had submitted a 97,000-page material in court as part of the evidence to be used against the defendant. Discovery in this case is voluminous and complex, the prosecution and the defence said in the document they jointly filed to ask for the postponement of the trial date that was then scheduled for 31 August 2021. The trial was postponed on different occasions while Mr Rufai remains in detention. After his initial denial of the charges, the defendant admitted his guilt in the plea agreement filed in the court in May. As Nigeria prepares to hold its seventh consecutive general election since the country returned to democracy in 1999, there are key issues that can shape the quality and credibility of the polls, a think tank has reported. The much-awaited election will coincide with 24 years of uninterrupted democracy, the longest in the countrys history. The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) said the 2023 elections will be the most challenging to conduct in Nigeria, saying the raging insecurity, preparedness of the electoral body, INEC, and conduct of presidential candidates will shape the outcome of the polls. But, the credibility of the 2023 general election will also depend on the degree to which citizens can vote freely and unencumbered, CDD said in its report titled, Nigerias presidential polls: A SWOT analysis. Insecurity remains a critical issue, particularly in the northwest and southeast. Further challenging this operation are the prevailing structural, infrastructural, and cultural ecosystems in which the polls will take place. Prompt release of the full INEC budget could help in mitigating some of these, CDD said, noting that adequate and timely funding is at the heart of quality elections. The think-tank said the role played by the security agencies, and subsequently by the judiciary, may be as important in determining the credibility of the election as that of the election management body. Against this background, CDD advised the security agencies to act professionally and impartially in dealing with insecurity and conflict. Insecurity should not be used as a tool to serve political interests such as voter suppression in some parts of the country, it stated in the report. It also urged the government to invest more in peacebuilding efforts in communities experiencing conflicts, such as conflicts between farmers and herders, to ensure that such conflicts do not undermine the election. Notwithstanding, CDD noted that it is not ignoring the issues that are likely to come up in the campaign. It mentioned that issues of religion, misinformation, money politics, and online campaigns are likely going to be equally critical in shaping electoral outcomes. INEC Preparedness The 2023 elections will be conducted under a new electoral framework, the Electoral Act 2022, a law that provides a more robust legal framework for the conduct of the polls. The law gives the legislative backing for more transparent voting, collation and announcement of results. However, CDD said it is concerned about INECs logistical operation. The electoral body is set to deploy its staff in 176,846 polling units, a 56,872 increase from 2019. This will require the recruitment and training of close to 1.5 million poll and security officials, about four times the size of the Nigerian military, CDD said. Road vehicles are the predominant mode of transportation and account for 80 per cent of goods traffic in Nigeria, but only 20 per cent of the road network in the country is paved. Improvements have been made regarding internet access, but electricity is still largely absent for the majority of Nigerians. If roads are impassable, electricity epileptic, and communication infrastructure rudimentary, this will affect the quality of election administration. These are obstacles that INEC must overcome as it conducts elections across the country, the report added. Insecurity In the past few years, insecurity has intensified and spread, affecting virtually all parts of Nigeria. Incidents have been notably higher in the north-west and south-east where banditry, terrorist activities, herder-farmer conflicts, and secessionist agitations are exerting huge human and economic impacts. In the north-east, the Islamic State in the West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram have continued their insurgency, while north-central Nigeria continues to witness conflicts over land and grazing rights as well as terrorism. There is a strong chance these groups will be instrumentalised to perpetrate political violence, a familiar feature of elections in Nigeria, CDD said. Rather than showing signs of waning, the insecurity is taking a new, and even more perilous, direction as a result of growing to a splinter of bandit groups, their expansion into states outside of the northwest, increased access to resources and arms and numerous examples of bandit-terrorist cooperation. In the south-east, the activities of separatist groups have affected the registration of voters in many local governments and are likely to also affect the election proper, CDD said. These conflicts will have implications for the elections, especially if politicians utilise them to stoke tensions to garner votes, a tendency which has already been observed in Benue and Plateau states where politicians have peddled divisive rhetoric and demonised members of particular groups to boost electoral support. Holding credible polls in an environment that guarantees the security of voters and INEC personnel will be a major challenge, it said. Political Calculations Unlike the 2019 election which had 73 presidential candidates, the 2023 general election will feature just 18 candidates, with four main contenders: Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bola Tinubu of the APC, Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). These politicians have in the recent past, worked together and against each other in a bid to get the presidential seat. For instance, in 2019, Mr Kwankwaso and Atiku decamped to PDP, joining Mr Obi, who later emerged as Atikus running mate. Before then, the trio of Atiku, Tinubu and Kwankwaso were all part of the then newly created APC, where they backed the now outgoing president Buhari to defeat the then ruling PDP. Nigerian presidential elections are a numbers game with the successful candidate looking for a majority of the total vote, plus at least 25 per cent of the vote in two-thirds of the states, CDD said. Presidential tickets are developed with these national and regional calculations in mind and alliances, even between some of the four leading parties, remain possible as the campaign period unfolds. The civic group projected that key issues that dominated the 2015 and 2019 elections economy, security, and corruption will remain on the front burner in the 2023 polls. CDD concluded that politicians will be using money that will play a huge role in determining who emerges the winner if the presidential primaries and recent gubernatorial elections are to offer any indication. Following the party primaries the country experienced one of its worst foreign exchange crises in recent memory as demand for US dollars overshot supply, it added. The commodification of votes is a permanent feature of Nigerian elections. Instead of concentrating on issue-based politics, vote buying will be prioritised with cash, food, clothing, and other commodities given out in exchange for votes. During the off-cycle gubernatorial elections in Osun and Ekiti candidates boasted about matching dollar for dollar and Naira for Naira to prospective voters with a vote trading for as much as N20,000 (approximately $47). The 2023 election will not be any different, CDD said. The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has blamed the feeling of marginalisation of the South-east for the Biafra agitation in the region. He, however, assured that, if elected, he would tackle the feelings of marginalisation in the South-east in order to bring an end to the agitations in the region. Atiku spoke on Tuesday during the meeting of the PDP south-east leaders in Enugu State. The event was aimed at uniting all Ndigbo for PDP and the presentation of the Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, who is Atikus running mate. The PDP candidate said his agenda to rescue Nigeria would benefit the South-east and other regions, stating that his administration will take steps to better the future of the country. We must tackle the feeling of marginalisation which is providing an excuse for the separatist agitations in this zone, he said. Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, the national secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu, and governorship candidates of the party in Enugu, Ebonyi and Abia States were among those who attended the meeting. Others include former governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, former aviation minister, Osita Chidoka, and some senatorial and House of Representatives candidates of the party in the region. Also at the meeting were prominent PDP chieftains, including the partys former spokesperson, Oliseh Metuh, a former Senate President, Anyim Anyim, a senator representing Anambra Central District, Uche Ekwunife, Hyde Onuagulichi, among others. The South-east has been accusing successive Nigerian governments of marginalising the region since the return of democracy in 1999. Between 1999 and 2022, several separatist groups have emerged agitating for an independent state of Biafra which they want to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a major pro-Biafra organisation, now proscribed, was founded in 2014 by Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing terrorism charges in Abuja. The growing insecurity in the region has been linked to IPOB. IPOB, in 2021, declared every Monday a sit-at-home, to put pressure on the Nigerian government to release its detained leader, Mr Kanu. The group would later suspend its earlier order, in preference for the sit-at-home to be implemented only on the days Mr Kanu appears in court. But, despite its suspension, residents of the five South-east states Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Abia and Anambra have been observing the Monday sit-at-home order, mostly out of fear. Atiku, speaking during the meeting, criticised the sit-at-home, saying that it has battered the economy of the region. The PDP candidate wondered how the separatists would liberate the people by destroying their businesses. I am aware of how the economy of this zone and the livelihoods of its people are being destroyed by the Monday sit-at-home being imposed by a small misguided youth from this zone. It is difficult to understand how you liberate a people by destroying their economy. This has to stop and we shall address all political grievances not just by words but by deeds, he said. I would like to listen to the specific issues peculiar to this zone, which we need to address as a party and as a government. To that end, and without prejudice to what I will learn during this parley, I would like us to have a joint committee of our campaign and the zone, with one representative of each state, to liaise on issues specific to the South-east zone that we will need to address if we work hard enough to win the elections, Atiku stated. His visit to the region came hours before the official commencement of campaigns for the 2023 general election. In an apparent response to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, the presidency has stated that no states security forces have been permitted to use automatic rifles such as AK-47s. In a statement sent to journalists Tuesday evening, Garba Shehu, the spokesperson of President Muhammadu Buhari, said the president has repeatedly made it clear that nobody is allowed to illegally carry AK-47 or any other automatic weapons and that they must surrender them. PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Akeredolu questioned why a security outfit established by Katsina State was allowed to carry AK-47s but security outfits established by states in southern Nigeria, such as Ondo, were not. In his response, Mr Shehu said: In the specific Katsina State often cited, the Governor, Aminu Bello Masari wrote to explain that the administration invited the Provost of the Civil Defence Training College in Katsina to train their Vigilantes for a five-day period in the handling and operations of Pump Action Rifles, emphasizing that the Vigilantes were not trained to take over the responsibilities of the security agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria but to assist them. However, Mr Shehu did not say why the Katsina security outfit members were being trained to use such weapons if they would not be allowed to carry them. Details later Read Mr Shehus full statement below. NO STATE HAS APPROVAL OR AUTHORIZATION FOR AUTOMATIC WEAPONS The Presidency wishes to strongly assert that there is no state, not Katsina, not any other state in the federation, that has been authorized to procure automatic weapons for their security outfits. Under this administration, the President has repeatedly made it clear that nobody is allowed to illegally carry AK-47 or any other automatic weapons and that they must surrender them. Where they fail to do so, the law enforcement agencies have been given clear directives to deal with any such outlaws. Under the existing regulations, only the Office of the National Security Adviser can issue such authorization, upon proper clearance by the President and Commander-in-Chief and as it is at this moment, no such approvals have been issued to any state government. In the specific Katsina State often cited, the Governor, Aminu Bello Masari wrote to explain that the administration invited the Provost of the Civil Defence Training College in Katsina to train their Vigilantes for a five-day period in the handling and operations of Pump Action Rifles, emphasizing that the Vigilantes were not trained to take over the responsibilities of the security agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria but to assist them. The Presidency appreciates the active involvement of states with security matters. As they continue to expand their capabilities as well as their active collaboration with law enforcement agencies of the federation, the joint efforts continue to yield good results, thwarting attempts of terrorists to wreak havoc and destruction on communities. The President in particular has expressed happiness that in the last couple of years, security outfits mandated by state governments have been associated with several important initiatives, and reports have reached him of acts of utmost bravery and professionalism. He thanks them for their alertness that is helping to defeat nefarious plots against targets at grassroots levels. He, however, cautions against the politicization of security. Government at the centre with a national mandate cannot afford to alienate Ondo State or any other state for that matter on the important issue of security and urges leaders at various levels to exercise restraint in their speech, even as we are in a political season. Garba Shehu Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) Two persons were feared killed on Tuesday when gunmen attacked an army checkpoint in Amodu Awkunanaw, a community in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigerias South-east. Some soldiers, together with some police officers, were at the checkpoint for a joint operation when the gunmen attacked them. The incident occurred at about 7 a.m. The gunmen, who reportedly stormed the checkpoint in two Lexus SUVs and one Toyota Sienna vehicle, opened fire on the soldiers and police officers. There was a shootout, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. Sources said although the number of casualties and their identities were not clear, at least two persons were killed during the shootout. When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES. Mr Ndukwe, however, said he did not have the details because he was yet to be fully briefed on the attack. He said the attackers sustained gunshot injuries during the shootout with the security agencies. The police have launched a manhunt for the fleeing suspects, he said. Increased attacks Enugu, like other states in Nigerias South-east, has witnessed an increase in deadly attacks lately. The latest incident comes about three weeks after gunmen killed the wife of a leader of a local vigilante operative in Umuopu, Enugu-Ezike, a community in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of the state. Days after, gunmen also killed three police officers at New Haven, Enugu North Local Government Area of the state. Earlier in September, gunmen attacked members of the Labour Party (LP) who were holding a meeting in Awgu Community, Awgu Local Government Area of the state. Some LP members were also attacked on 31 August by gunmen in Nenwe, a community in Aninri Local Government Area of the state. Gunmen, in June, attacked a police checkpoint along Agbani Road in Enugu South Local Government Area of the state. Two officers were feared killed in the attack. A police officer was killed in mid-June by gunmen who attacked a police checkpoint in Ibagwa-Ani, a community in Nsukka Local Government Area of the state. Two police officers were also killed on 2 June when gunmen attacked Mkpamte Community in the Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of the state. The Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, recently banned the operations of motorcycles and tricycles in some local government areas to check the frequent attacks in the state. The governor later lifted the ban following public outcry, and assurances from leaders of the transport unions to assist the government in bringing an end to the attacks. The attacks, mostly targeted at security officials and government facilities, have been attributed to the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) which is agitating for a sovereign state for the Igbo-speaking people in the South-east. The IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is detained in Abuja where he is standing trial for terrorism. A policeman has died from injuries sustained while saving his neighbours daughter from a fire incident. The fire incident took place on Saturday night in the neighbourhood of the late officer in Mararaba area of Nasarawa State. The policeman, who until his death was attached to the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in Abuja, was said to have rushed into his neighbours house to save the child that was trapped in the fire. A resident of the area told PREMIUM TIMES that the policeman successfully rescued the child but sustained major injuries. He was rushed to the hospital Saturday night but died on Sunday, the source said. He is a hero, without him the neighbours child would have died in the fire. Officials at the NFIU confirmed the death of the policeman who was said to be attached to the mobile police unit before he was seconded to the NFIU. READ ALSO: PREMIUM TIMES could, however, not confirm the name of the policeman. Police spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi said the force headquarters was yet to be briefed on the matter at the time of this report. I cant speak because Ive not been briefed and I cant confirm it, he said. Other police officers interviewed for this story described the incident as touching, lamenting what police officers often go through to save lives of civilians. Battered police image The action of the late policeman occurs at a time the police is trying to repair its battered image. Over the years, Nigerians have had negative perceptions about the police due to the actions some of its officers. Some of the illicit activities of the police led to the historic #ENDSARS protest in 2020: a youth-driven anti-police brutality demonstration across Nigeria. The protest, which morphed from social media campaigns into street demonstrations in October 2020, was triggered by the excesses of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a now-disbanded police tactical unit notorious for cruelty against crime suspects. Although SARS activities and general issues of police brutality, including unlawful arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings, were at its core, the protest became a platform for demanding governments decisive action against insecurity, corruption, economic woes and general maladministration. Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has arrived in Enugu for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South-East Stakeholders Zonal Meeting. The PDP 2023 presidential candidate, who arrived at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport on Tuesday morning, is expected at the Baze Event Centre, Independence Layout Enugu, which is the venue of the event. The event is aimed at uniting all Ndigbo for PDP and presentation of the Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, who is Atikus running mate. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that at the time of filing this report, the centre was already filled with party faithful from the five states in the South-east, awaiting Mr Atikus arrival at the venue. Some members of the zonal caucus of the PDP, such as the National Vice Chairman, Ali Odefa, House of Representatives member, representing Oji-River Federal Constituency, Tobi Okechukwu, members of the Enugu House of Assembly, and some of the PDP executive members in the state, were already seated for the programme. Also seated for the event were prominent PDP chieftains, including the partys former spokesperson, Oliseh Metuh, a former Senate President, Anyim Anyim, a senator representing Anambra Central District, Uche Ekwunife, Hyde Onuagulichi, among others. PDP crisis The PDP has been enmeshed in a leadership crisis after its presidential primary in May, with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and others demanding the resignation of the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, to achieve a regional balance since Messrs Ayu and Atiku are both from the north. But Mr Ayu has insisted he would not resign because he was elected for a four-year term. The Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BOT), Walid Jibrin, who is from Nasarawa State in the north, resigned a few days ago, apparently to placate Mr Wike and his group. The Deputy Chairman, Adolphus Wabara, a former president of the Senate, from Abia State in the South-east, is now the acting BOT chairman. However, Mr Wikes camp, not impressed with Mr Jibrins resignation, has insisted Mr Ayu must step down. Mr Wike said Mr Atiku visited him in his Abuja residence shortly after the primary and told him look, governor, Ayu will go because the presidential candidate and the national chairman cannot come from the same zone. Governor Wike at a recent media chat in Port Harcourt insisted that Mr Ayu must leave the office for a southerner to ensure inclusivity in the PDP. (NAN) Brussels, Sep 27 (UNI) The European Commission said it had secured over 10,000 tecovirimat vaccines against monkeypox, despite the declining number of cases in the European Union (EU). The Commission on Monday said the emergency procurement adds to the 334,000 vaccines already purchased by the EU. The purchase was funded by the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) to treat patients in the member states with immediate needs. European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides said that while the declining number of monkeypox cases in the EU is encouraging, it does not mean that the threat has passed, and the EU should continue to focus on preparedness. Meanwhile, Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said: "Monkeypox is one of the priority threats identified as part of the rescEU strategic reserves. These batches of monkeypox antivirals will offer an additional level of protection for our citizens. The stocks will be available to the Member States on an urgent-needs-basis." UNI/XINHUA PRT An Ikeja High Court on Tuesday sentenced a former Baale (Chief) in Shangisha in the Magodo area of Lagos State, Mutiu Ogundare, and his brother, Opeyemi Mohammed, to 15 years imprisonment each for faking his own kidnap. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the court had on 15 June discharged and acquitted the third defendant, Mr Ogundares wife, Abolanle. The judge, Hakeem Oshodi, had on 15 June convicted Messrs Ogundare and Mohammed on three counts of conspiracy and fake abduction. I have considered the allocutus of the defence counsel. However, it is in the view of this court that the defendants showed no remorse during the trial. In fact, the first defendant tried to buy his way out of the court. A lesson has to be thought to serve as a deterrent to others. The defendants are hereby sentenced to 10 years for count one without an option of fine, one year to count two with an option of N200,000 and 15 years to count three without an option of fine. The sentencing shall run concurrently from the day they were arrested, Mr Oshodi said. NAN reports that Olarewaju Ajanaku, who represented the first defendant, in his allocutus on 15 June, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy. Mr Ajanaku had prayed to the court that the convict had turned a new leaf and he did not think through his action when he committed the offences. The second defendants counsel, Olayinka Owoeye, also in his allocutus, had prayed the court to temper justice with mercy, adding that the convict had learnt his lessons. READ ALSO: Police rescue two kidnap victims in Edo The state prosecutor, Jubril Kareem, however, urged the court to apply the provisions of law to sentence the convict. According to the prosecution, the defendants committed the offence on 5th July 2017. The prosecution said that Mr Ogundare put himself forward to be kidnapped for the purpose of causing a breach of the public peace, adding that his brother and wife aided in the crime. NAN reports that former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos, in July 2017, ordered the removal of Mr Ogundare as the Baale of Shangisha, for staging his own abduction. The offences contravene Section 7(1) and (2) of Lagos State Kidnapping Prohibition Law of 2017, and Sections 96 (1) (a-d) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. (NAN) President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja assured that participation of citizens in democracy will continue to be encouraged through freedom of speech and robust political discourse, urging respect for divergent cultures and opinions, and upholding the unity of the country. Receiving Letters of Credence from ambassadors and high commissioners of six countries at the State House, the president told the diplomats that Nigerias strength remains in its diversity, and the constant differences in positions further signpost a strong democratic culture. The Ambassadors and High Commissioners of the Republic of India, Gangadharan Balasubramanian; Germany, Annett Gunther; Sudan, Mohamed Abdelmannan; Democratic Republic of Congo, Gerengbo Pascalin; State of Palestine, Abdullah Abu Shawesh, and The Kingdom of Netherlands, Willem Plomp, presented their Letters of Credence to President Buhari. As you settle down to your diplomatic responsibilities, you will realise how diverse Nigeria is. We are not only multi-ethnic and religious but also multi-cultural. We enjoy unfettered freedom of speech and engage in robust political discourses. Sometimes, the nature of these discourses tends to give the impression that we are constantly opposed to each other. The reality is that there is so much that binds us together than the few areas of our divergence. I have no doubts in my mind that you will soon appreciate our uniqueness and indeed resilience as a people, as well as our diversity which constitutes our strength, he said. President Buhari urged the diplomats to build on the existing good relations that their predecessors had achieved by being more proactive in engagements. Todays occasion, during which you have just presented your Letters of Credence to me, officially marks the formal assumption of your representational duties as Ambassadors/High Commissioners of your respective countries to Nigeria. You represent some of the most prominent countries on the earth and some of our important trading, political and cultural partners. The bilateral relationship that exists between each of your countries and the Federal Republic of Nigeria is warm and very cordial, and the cooperation and collaboration between us in several areas, such as socio-economic, political, security, education and cultural spheres, the president noted. ALSO READ: Buhari returns to Abuja after outing at UNGA 77 As the build-up to the 2023 general elections continues, President Buhari said: I am highly optimistic that we will conduct a good transition process at the end of which a new set of political leaders will freely emerge. You are assuming your diplomatic responsibilities in Nigeria, at a very interesting political period as Nigerias national elections are due in February 2023. I want to state again, as I did just a few days ago at the UN General Assembly, that we remain committed to free and fair elections, he added. The president called for more collectiveness in tackling some of the challenges faced by nations, noting that the climatic, economic and security concerns can only be solved through shared vision, skills and efforts. We are living in unprecedented global challenging time. Early in 2020, much of the world was forced to shut down on account of COVID-19. The catastrophic impact of the pandemic has been across our nations not just in terms of tragic loss of millions of lives, but also massive loss of livelihoods and the resultant economic recession. Just as we are recovering, the war in Ukraine came to impact negatively on global economy. Meanwhile, we are faced with the urgency to take collective actions to stop the devastating consequences of climate change that manifest every day in parts of the world. The various factors that account for these challenges are beyond the capacity of any single country to effectively contain them alone. Hence, the necessity for all of us to work closely together to build consensus in order to overcome them and also minimise tensions and confrontations amongst and between ourselves, he said. President Buhari said Nigeria firmly remains committed to multilateralism. For us in Nigeria, we continue to make steady progress, despite the daunting challenges of insecurity, in the fight against corruption, diversification of the economy, and our efforts in promoting good governance, amongst other things. At the sub-regional and regional levels, Nigeria has continued to work with other member-states of ECOWAS and other regional blocs, to deal with the problems of terrorism, trans-border crimes, banditry, maritime issues, proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, unconstitutional change of government, to mention some of the challenges we face, the president stated. While welcoming the ambassadors and high commissioners, and their families to Nigeria, President Buhari wished them a rewarding tour of duty. On behalf of the diplomats, the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria assured President Buhari of the full support of their countries, especially as Nigeria counts down to the 2023 elections, adding that they would work with his government and the leader that emerges after the elections. Mr Balasubramanian said all the ambassadors and high commissioners will work to consolidate the existing good relations, while Germany will focus on climatic issues, and The Kingdom of Netherlands pursuing interests in agriculture and stimulating youths capacity in entrepreneurship. Femi Adesina Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has condemned the alleged disruption of a meeting of members of Labour Party (LP) in Enugu State. The meeting of the LP members was said to have been disrupted by some hoodlums on Saturday in Nomeh Unateze, a community in Nkanu East Local Government Area of the state. Ohanaeze, in a statement by its spokesperson, Chiedozie Ogbonnia, on Monday, described the alleged attack as irresponsible, unwarranted and shameful embarrassment to the Igbo. It is inconceivable that at a time eminent persons and groups from all over the world are embracing the Labour Party as the quintessence of equity, justice, hope, economic emancipation, social risorgimento and inter-ethnic unity in Nigeria, some disgruntled scoundrels are busy disrupting their meetings at the grassroots in the South-east, the group said. It said the incident sends wrong signal about the values of the Igbo and charged various community leaders and security agencies in Igboland to be alive to their responsibilities of securing the region to prevent reoccurrence of the attack in the area. The Ohanaeze Ndigbo led by Ambassador Professor George Obiozor reiterates that political parties of all persuasions are free to market their manifestoes and canvass for votes in all the country; but nothing in the wildest imagination should compel the so-called unknown gunmen or the vile partisans masquerading as political leaders to employ the use of thugs to disrupt or attack political meetings in Igbo land, Ohanaeze stated. The group warned those who have made themselves willing tools to antagonise the Igbo spirit to desist from the act to avoid dire consequences. It said those who support opposition political parties and their candidates must never allow such narrow interest to push them into jeopardising the general interest of Igbos. Background Members of the LP have become targets of gunmen attacks lately in the South-east. The latest attack comes about three weeks after some LP members were attacked in separate locations in the state by gunmen who disrupted their meetings, injured members and vandalised a vehicle. There are suspicions among LP members that the attacks might have been sponsored by some other political parties in the South-east said to be disturbed by the growing popularity of LP in the region. READ ALSO: Since the emergence of Peter Obi as the LP presidential candidate, many Nigerians, mainly from the South-east, appear to have embraced the former governors candidacy. Mr Obi hails from Anambra State, South-east Nigeria, where he served as a state governor between 2006 and 2014. Ohanaeze Ndigbo, which repeatedly called for Nigerian President of South-east extraction in 2023, was disappointed that the two dominant political parties in Nigeria, PDP and APC, picked their presidential candidates outside the region. Although the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation has not openly endorsed Mr Obi, they have consistently maintained the call for Igbo presidency in 2023. Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has dissociated himself from plots to remove Iyorchia Ayu as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Mr Ortom is one of the strongest allies of Nyesom Wike the Rivers State governor. He has been part of critical negotiation meetings where Mr Wike, and other members of his team gave the party conditions, including Mr Ayus resignation, to secure their support for Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate. However, a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur, on Monday, said the Benue governor has no hand in the current travails of Mr Ayu. The statement was in reaction to allegations by a group, JemgbaPgh Development Association, that the governor was plotting Mr Ayus removal. Mr Ikyur said Mr Ortom worked tirelessly to ensure that Mr Ayu was elected as national chairman against all odds. He cannot, therefore, turn around to work against him to be removed from office, the statement said as he wondered about the groups contribution when the governor rallied round to garner support for the chairman to assume the position. What is currently going on in the PDP is the beauty in the evolution of democracy and has nothing to do with Mr Ortom working against the national chairman, Mr Ikyur said. He further maintained that Mr Ortom has consistently worked for the unity of Benue State and will never stand in the way of any of her citizens, either here in the state or in the diaspora. The CPS, therefore, urged the group to be truly developmental in their drive to build cohesion among the people and attract real development to their area rather than engaging in mischief or blackmail. Messrs Ortom and Ayu hail from the same senatorial district. The governor is the candidate of the PDP in the district in the 25 February election. Campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections begin Wednesday and preparations are in top gear in the PDP. The main opposition party is set to kick-off rallies in Makurdi, the Benue State capital. Nigerias anti-narcotics agency, the NDLEA, has destroyed over N194 billion worth of cocaine was recovered in what it called the biggest singular cocaine seizure in its history. The illicit drugs were set ablaze at the NDLEA Seme Special Area Command compound at Bereko, Badagry area of Lagos on Tuesday. On 18 September, officials of the agency busted a major warehouse at Solebo Estate in the Ikorodu area of the state where over N194,775,000,000 billion worth of crack in street value were seized. The decision to destroy the bulk of the seizure follows a court order obtained by the agency from a high court in Lagos, the agencys boss, Buba Marwa, said. Mr Marwa was represented by Sunday Mbona, the agencys director, prosecution and legal service. Out of the 1.8-ton seizure, 1,828 blocks of cocaine were set ablaze while the remnants were secured for the purpose of prosecution of the suspects. The five suspects were brought to the scene as witnesses and made to sign the certificate of destruction. Mr Buba said that usually public destruction of seized illicit drugs is conducted at the end of court prosecution, however, this routine exercise is a special case. In the meantime, the Agency is proceeding with the prosecution of those arrested in connection with this consignment, Mr Marwa said. On this, the public can rest assured that NDLEA shall pursue the trial to a logical conclusion. Since January 25, 2021, when we commenced our offensive action against drug traffickers, the Agency has secured record convictions. Presently, 2,904 drug offenders are serving various jail terms, while other cases are ongoing in court, which we are confident will end in positive results too. He said the destruction is a message to drug cartels that their investments in the illicit drug trade will go up in smoke as you are about to witness while they also risk losing their freedom because the present NDLEA is committed to arresting, prosecuting and ensuring the conviction of those involved in illicit drugs. That is not all, we now also go after their assets acquired with the proceeds of the criminal trade. In the past 20 months, we have arrested and jailed drug offenders who have forfeited 249 luxury cars and 600 bank accounts blocked. Nigeria has witnessed a series of drug busts and made high-profile arrests including the arrest of supercop Abba Kyari. A bill that seeks to include rotation of power among the geopolitical zones in the Constitution was stepped down at the Senate on Tuesday. The journey of the bill, which started in the Senate on 26 July, was cut short at the second reading stage. Benue South senator, Abba Moro, who sponsored the legislation, made a decision to step it down after senators argued against the bill and the manner in which it was presented. Before the bill was withdrawn, Mr Moro referred to the principle of federal character in the Constitution which requires fair and equitable representation of different ethnic and regional groups. He also noted that for Nigeria, as an ethnic and diverse nation, power rotation can be a veritable tool for national integration, peace and stability. The legislation, he explained, was not intended for the 2023 general elections because by the time it runs its full cycle, the elections would have been concluded and for democracy to thrive, it must be adapted to the political realism of its environment. Plateau senator, Istifanus Gyang, was the only lawmaker who spoke in favour of the bill which he said seeks to address the management of diversity in the country. Feelings and sentiments, he added, can be addressed with the existence of such legislation. Parties adopt principles of rotation but bringing a statute to formalise it is better, he said. Ethnic minorities suffering would as a result of marginalisation, be grateful to the ninth assembly. For Bala NaAllah (APC, Kebbi), the danger of rotation will do great violence to the desire to live as a united country. The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, noted that the bill is not a constitutional amendment bill and therefore must be represented as such. To deprive somebody of the right to run for office through a piece of legislation, contrary to the Constitution, will render that Act, null and void, he explained. He would go on to mock senators of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) whom he said were speaking based on sentiments. If the PDP senators are serious, he said, they should plead with their presidential candidate to step down so that power can come to the South. Why wait to codify this into law? Adamu Bulkachuwa (APC, Bauchi North) was arguing against the bill when Mr Moro raised a Point of Order 42 and announced his decision to withdraw the bill. He said after listening to the debate from colleagues, he would step down the legislation, make further amendments and represent it in a proper manner on another legislative day. The proposed legislation comes amid crisis in different political parties arising from disagreement over power rotation. The gale of defection that hit major political parties like the APC and the PDP, especially at the state and National Assemblies, was essentially because lawmakers disagreed with their state governors who had other candidates to impose or insisted that a candidate from another district be given tickets. The current crisis at the PDP is based on the demand by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and some southern leaders to balance the lopsidedness in the leadership structure of the party. The Federal High Court in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, on Tuesday, voided the election of a former Governor of Kebbi State, Adamu Aleiro, as the senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Kebbi Central District. The trial judge, Babagana Ashigar, ruled in favour of Haruna Saidu who argued that he is the bona fide senatorial candidate of the PDP for the district. Mr Saidu sued Mr Aliero, the incumbent senator of the district, the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting a fresh primary for the Kebbi Central Senatorial District. He argued that the fresh primary contravened the Electoral Act 2022. Mr Saidu argued that he is alive, and did not withdraw from the contest. He claimed that his name was unlawfully substituted with that of Mr Aliero, who defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP after a primary election was conducted. Mr Asghigar observed that when the first primary for the Kebbi Central was held, Mr Aleiro was in the APC. He ruled that based on exhibits 2,21,23,24 tendered before the Court, Mr Saidu participated in the first primary where he was elected as the candidate having scored the highest votes while the first defendant, Mr Aliero, was still at the ruling party. Since the first primary election was not challenged by the 1st defendant, it is in my humble view that the first primary election for Kebbi Central Senatorial district remained authentic. I, therefore, upheld all the prayers of the plaintiff, and the judge ruled. Responding to the judgement, counsel to Mr Aliero, Aliyu Hassan, said his client will study the judgement before taking the next line of action. Also, counsel to Mr Saidu, Sule Usman, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said the judgement, is for the good of the people of Kebbi Central District who now know who the authentic candidate of the PDP is. As we celebrate this 42nd edition of the World Tourism Day, this is within the frame of reflection on the urgency of building a practice that is environmentally sensitive and future complaint. The need for a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable tourism has now forcefully come on the global agenda of governments, international organisations, businesses, and local communities, and we must all work together to mitigate the evident challenges and concerns, in a way that safeguards our planet. It is a great delight to witness and mark the 42nd edition of the World Tourism Day (WTD). This is a day set aside to create awareness about tourism globally, while contemplating the different milestones that have been achieved so far, alongside the recognition of its importance as a crucial pillar of development, both here in Nigeria, and worldwide. World Tourism Day offers an opportunity to come together and celebrate the many and varied accomplishments of our sector, particularly in its drive towards the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This yearly event celebrated on the 27th of September has become a formidable platform for constructive engagement with all tourism stakeholders across the value chain, and in different places across the world. Of all sectors of the economy, tourism took the worst blow from the COVID-19 pandemic, and this has in turn highlighted the critical need to transform the industry as global tourism gradually recovers. Worldwide, tourism has entered into a durable stage of recovery, and it is quite heart-warming to note that this year alone international tourism has grown back to at least 60% of its pre-pandemic level. According to estimates from the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourist arrivals almost tripled in the first seven months of 2022, as against the same period last year, and this reveals the strengthening of demand, as travels restrictions are lifted in many more countries (86 at the last count). The impact that tourism has borne and the need to transcend this for all times makes the theme of this years event, Rethinking Tourism, quite apt. It not only recognises the relevance of tourism as one of the vital economic sectors globally but, more so, seeks to reconsider the practice of tourism by putting people and the planet first, as it brings all stakeholders from governments to businesses and local communities together to share in a vision for a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient sector. While tourism remains the largest employer of labour, providing livelihoods to millions of people, most notably women and youth across the world, yet this comes with the awareness that the ecosystem of this earth we call home has become fragile with the years. Hence, the composite of activities making up tourism need to be more responsive to the demands of sustainability, as tourisms economic and environmental footprint is greater than that of any other sector. It goes without much saying that the opportunities embedded in tourism are enormous. However, to fully utilise the potentials of tourism for economic growth, we must also recognise that we cannot continue in the old ways of practice, and there is the urgent need to reflect on and rethink what we do and how we do it. We believe it is time to begin the transformation that the sector requires. Like most changes in approach, this will not be easy but we are already well on the way. The crisis that came with COVID-19 was a catalyst and inspiration for creativity, and change. As efforts at rethinking tourism points the focus on the future, this is certainly a future in which Nigerian tourism is primed to be a major driver of, indicated in its positioning for greater activities and attraction. As the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed puts it, this edition of the World Tourism Day, is particularly importantbecause of the right granted to Nigeria by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) to host the first-ever UNWTO Global Conference on Linking Tourism, Culture and the Creative Industries: Pathways to Recovery and Inclusive Development. While tourism remains the largest employer of labour, providing livelihoods to millions of people, most notably women and youth across the world, yet this comes with the awareness that the ecosystem of this earth we call home has become fragile with the years. Hence, the composite of activities making up tourism need to be more responsive to the demands of sustainability, as tourisms economic and environmental footprint is greater than that of any other sector. He further points out that: The conference which is scheduled to hold from 14th to 16th November 2022 at the National Theatre Complex, Iganmu, Lagos, provides and opportunity to showcase Nigeria tourism and creative assets. It also creates a viable platform to identify, promote and develop new models of stronger partnership between tourism, culture and the creative industries as highly interlinked sectors for inclusive economic growth and social development. Globally, the culture and creative industries constitute some of the huge drivers of economic activity that can be further purposed as greater stimuli for economic recovery. This is evident from their documented impact, seeing to the generation of an annual compound value of close to $2.3 trillion, as representation of about 3% of the worlds GDP, according to UNWTO estimates. Moreover, about 40% of international tourists are observed as motivated primarily by culture-related experiences for embarking on destinations. Therefore, it is quite safe to project that the culture and creative industries could become significant catalysts of recovery and growth in a resurgent global economy, steadily breaking out of the negative impacts of the pandemic. The creative and culture industries in Nigeria are an extended composite of a number of interconnected and linked sectors, cutting through a sizeable gamut of economic activities and responsible for between 10 and 15 million jobs, from music to design, fashion, film, television, radio, photography, architecture, printing and performance arts. Also, hotel and hospitality, publishing, information technology, gaming, software development, advertising and digital marketing, etc. The culture and creative industries have been some of the priority sectors earmarked for intensive development in the Federal Governments stimulus strategy as laid out in the Economic Renewal and Growth Plan (ERGP). This is a major effort being made to recoup lost grounds and create new value that drives sturdier economic growth, thereby resuscitating and expanding the jobs and income pool. At NTDC, we realised early enough that any proposed strategic path for recovery envisaged for the industry must leverage on innovative and disruptive tech ideas to enhance and promote domestic tourism. This form of tourism is cheaper, with lesser restrictions, and it offers educational opportunities to citizens of the country, whilst generating employment and revenue, in addition to reducing poverty. Domestic tourism galvanises economic growth across sectors, including agriculture and manufacturing, contributes to infrastructure upgrade in rural and urban areas by encouraging governments commitment to its development, and it largely enhances the creative sector. According to the UNWTO briefing note, Tourism and COVID-19, issue 3 of September 2020, domestic tourism is six times larger than international tourism and it accounts for more than a 70% share of domestic trips globally. The vibrant promotion of domestic tourism is the first step to resetting the tourism and hospitality industry in a post-pandemic era where there are endless possibilities for development of our rural communities, and where a lot of our tourist sites are located. The future of the tourism industry is here and we need to be prepared for the emergent opportunities and challenges, which with require a greater form of collaboration across sectors. Foremost, there is need to review regulations guiding the sectors operations and operators, to standardise service delivery by both public and private sector partners and deploy a strategic stakeholder approach to the development of sustainable tourism practices. Moreso, at the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), we have focused on and given critical support to the countrys creative and cultural assets, with emphasis on the digital promotion of the diverse cultural expressions of our music, film, arts, dance, fashion, cuisine and festivals. These are all game changers that accentuate the desire to witness and experience Nigeria, as such intimately engaging the creative sector and tourism products to create new experiences for targeted consumers, tourists and investors. In line with our agenda to encourage domestic and regional tourism, we created the Tour Nigeria brand to drive the domestic consumption of our tourism assets and products, create new channels of tourism markets, along with employment, and increase the nations GDP, by boosting spending that will grow the economy, among others. Tour Nigeria is poised to strongly complement international recovery efforts by stimulating demand locally in a way that grows the confidence to inspire Nigerian destination marketing internationally. The future of the tourism industry is here and we need to be prepared for the emergent opportunities and challenges, which with require a greater form of collaboration across sectors. Foremost, there is need to review regulations guiding the sectors operations and operators, to standardise service delivery by both public and private sector partners and deploy a strategic stakeholder approach to the development of sustainable tourism practices. Secondly, there is the necessity of effective participation by, and community ownership at rural levels, as agents of change in tourism transformation. The third level requires the deployment of technology and digital techniques for easy and safe travel. The potentials of tourism are enormous and we all have a shared responsibility to make sure it is fully realised. We hereby call on all tourism stakeholders and everyone at the base of the broad and diverse tourism pyramid to pause, reflect and rethink what we do and how we do it. Tourism entrepreneurs are encouraged to embrace technology to gain more mileage and penetration, and acquire adequate knowledge in the proficient use of digital platforms to promote and market existing tourist sites and attractions. This is in addition to ensuring effective service delivery and sustainable practices to grow and protect the tourism industry. With over 147 million active Internet subscriptions and a tele-density of almost 97%, we have a readymade and vast domestic market for the development of tourism locally. As we celebrate this 42nd edition of the World Tourism Day, this is within the frame of reflection on the urgency of building a practice that is environmentally sensitive and future complaint. The need for a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable tourism has now forcefully come on the global agenda of governments, international organisations, businesses, and local communities, and we must all work together to mitigate the evident challenges and concerns, in a way that safeguards our planet. The future of tourism is here, and it depends on our collective senses of responsibility. Folorunsho Coker is the Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) and the chief marketer of the Nigerian destination. Some male secondary school pupils in Bauchi State on Monday protested the decision of the state government to create separate schools for girls, arguing that it will make them walk long distances to schools. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Bauchi State government introduced girls-only schools at the senior secondary level across the state. The state government also plans to replicate the segregation policy at the junior secondary school level over time. The states Commissioner for Education, Aliyu Tilde, said the introduction of girls-only schools was meant to promote girl-child education in the state. During a recent visit to the Emir of Bauchi, Rilwanu Suleman-Adamu, Mr Tilde said parents are marrying off their daughters after the junior secondary school level because they are not comfortable with the mixed-sex cohabitation in classes at the senior secondary level. Thus, as a measure to encourage more girls to stay in school, the states Ministry of Education on Thursday in a circular tagged Safe-Space for Girls in Secondary Schools said the state executive council had approved the new policy to start on 25 September. READ ALSO: According to the circular, in compounds with multiple secondary schools, at least one of the schools, preferably the one at the centre, should be allocated to girls only. Where there is only a school but it operates in the morning only and there are sufficient teachers, the girls should come in the morning and the boys in the afternoon and where the shift is not possible if the school is large enough, it can then be separated into boys and girls section. When sectioning is not possible but there are streams of A and B on the same arm (like SS1A and SS1B), the boys can be allocated one class and the girls in the other, the ministry stated. It added that where the population is low and there is only a class in each stream, the boys will be on one side of the class and the girls on the other side. According to the new policy, where boarding schools exist, they will also accommodate the day schools of their gender while students of the other gender retain the former site. Aside from government-owned schools, private schools are also encouraged to key into the policy. Protest The students kicked off the protest at the Government Day Secondary School Kofar Wambai to the states Ministry of Education within the metropolis to pressure the government to suspend the new policy. A teacher in one of the private schools in Bauchi, Nuru Muhammad, told PREMIUM TIMES that the male pupils are unhappy because they trekked between 10 to 15 kilometres to reach the new school allocated to them. Their major grievance is that the government ask them to leave their schools for the girls which are closer to their home to another location within the town, some of them have to pay transport fees others that dont have money have to trek more distance, Mr Muhammad said. This newspaper could not immediately get the view of the commissioner for education on the protest by the pupils as of the time of filing the report. Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has dismissed as a ruse insinuations that he has broken away from the camp of his Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike. Speaking to journalists Tuesday shortly after returning from a brief London trip, Mr Ortom said he remained solidly behind Mr Wike and would continue to frown at the injustices meted out to him. Some media reports had suggested that the Benue State governor had abandoned Mr Wike, his political ally and teamed up with Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the forthcoming 2023 elections. But speaking at the briefing Tuesday, the governor said the reports were not only mischievous but also misleading. He added that they were calculated to further fuel the impasse within the PDP and sow a seed of discord between him and his Rivers State counterpart and other members of the group. Mr Ortoms spokesperson, Nathaniel Ikyur, further quoted him as saying There is no breaking away from our group. I still sympathize with Wike for the injustices meted out on him and our group. I just came back from London this morning with Wike and I still maintain my stand on what I said. I have not moved away from there. The party leadership has not been fair to Governor Wike based on the activities that took place during the convention and after the convention. They have not been able to adequately deploy the internal conflict resolution mechanism of the party to resolve those issues. So I still sympathize and stand with Wike and let the leadership of the party at the national level do the right thing. It is not too late to do so. Politics is about interest, and where your interest is not protected, you have the right to protest. We remain committed to the PDP but still want the right thing to be done, so that everybody will be carried along. While noting that it is not late to resolve the issues, Governor Ortom said with the interface he had with the Board of Trustees of the party, he was hopeful that the contentious issues in the party will be properly addressed. The issue in contention about the national Chairman, the BOT, was here some few days ago and we deliberated on the matter. They sought to know what my feeling was about the crisis and I told them the truth as far I am concerned. I gave them my recommendations and I hope that justice will be done so that our party will gain its position to take over power in 2023, he said. The governor said despite the crisis rocking the party at the national level, Benue State does not have any problem, stressing that from bottom to top, we are good to go, as far as our party is concerned. I am working for our candidates. Mayor of Syrian town in country's south assassinated Cairo, Sep 27 (UNI) The mayor of Al Musayfrah town in the southern Syrian province of Daraa was killed on Tuesday, the state-run news agency SANA reported. Abdul Qader al-Zoubi, 63, was shot by unidentified gunmen on his way to work, according to the report. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. The Nigerian Air Forces bombing of the country home of a notorious terrorist, Bello Turji, in Fakai, Zamfara State, may have opened a new chapter in the fight against terror and kidnapping in Nigerias Northwest region. At least 12 people were killed in the attack, which was carried out by the air component of Operation Hadarin Daji, the Nigerian militarys operation against terrorists, who have been nicknamed bandits by the Nigerian media, in the area. Military and local sources told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Turji left Fakai minutes before the air strike. Interestingly, the attack came barely a month after the Zamfara State government claimed Mr Turji had turned a new leaf, accepted peace, and was helping it tackle other terror gangs operating in the state. Local sources also confirmed that attacks in the areas where Mr Turjis gang operates have reduced. Many residents of the area who spoke to this reporter said the reduction in attacks was because many communities in the general area of Shinkafi Zurmi Isa Sabon Birni (Zamfara and Sokoto states) reached a truce with Mr Turjis gang. The terrorist, Bello Turji The air strike of 17 September was not the first time Mr Turji would escape an airstrike aimed at killing him. In December 2021, his camp was attacked in an air raid, many of his fighters, including his uncle and other relatives, were killed but Mr Turji escaped unhurt. Since the original air strike, Mr Turji, who gained notoriety across the North-west of the country for his cruelty, has become so influential that the government of the state, whose residents are at the mercy of Mr Turjis gang, is now vouching for his repentance. Named Muhammadu Bello at birth, he became known by the moniker, Turji, from childhood, says a social historian at the Usman Danfodio University Sokoto, Murtala Ahmed Rufai. Mr Ahmed-Rufai said Mr Turji reared livestock as a young boy. Though he attended primary school, he later dropped out. He said like many boys his age in the area, the young Turji, did not even complete Islamic education. Mr Ahmed-Rufai, who wrote an academic paper titled: Im a Bandit, which looked at the rise of terror gangs in the region, said Mr Turji was a late entrant into banditry. In an interview with the Daily Trust newspapers, Mr Turji said he picked up arms to protect his native Fulanis from Hausas whom he accused of subjugating them. His parents did not support his recourse to violence, Mr Ahmed -Rufai explained. His father has left Shinkafi and now resides in the Kura area of Kano State. His mother is strongly against what Turji stands for, Mr Ahmed-Rufai said in an interview with BBC Hausa. Mr Turji lives in his house in the Fakai community of Shinkafi but has other houses in hamlets, especially in Chida where a local source told PREMIUM TIMES, the terrorist keeps his herds of cattle. Is he a repented terrorist? After his swearing-in as governor in 2019, Bello Matawalle decided to reach out to several terror gangs, including Mr Turji operating in the state. Although he was not present at several of the meetings, it was believed that he accepted the peace accord. But the truce did not last long. Mr Turji told the Daily Trust newspaper that the deal with the state government failed because of human nature. What happened to the peace pacts was that everyone knows how we are: we are human. We cannot guarantee to keep all the promises we made, but the leaders ought to be steadfast and pacify us. We were able to get some of our people to lay down their arms, and there was some level of peace but the government turned its back on us and broke its promises, he said The peace accord of 2020 collapsed and gang leaders like Alhaji Auta, Bello Turji and Ada Aleru returned to their old ways. In December 2021, he wrote an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, the governor of Zamfara State and the Emir of Shinkafi, Muhammad Makwashe, pledging to embrace peace and to disarm and disband his fighters if the government meets fives conditions, which included an end to the marginalisation of Fulanis and the dissolution of pro-government vigilante groups in the region. None of the addressees of the letter replied to him, at least none did publicly. Frustrated at the collapse of the first peace deal with the gangs, Mr Matawalle ruled out dialogue with them. My administration will no longer grant amnesty to bandits as they have failed to embrace the peace initiative earlier extended to them, the governor said while addressing a congregation. But locals said it appears Mr Turji was being sincere this time about his commitment to peace. They said attacks on communities in the area have reduced since January. They said villages that were hitherto deserted are now being populated by people. READ ALSO: First, most of the villages around Fakai and Kware that were sacked were allowed to return. In fact, Fakai used to be empty but when you go there now, its full of people and Turji or his boys were not disturbing anyone, a local politician, who sought anonymity for security reasons, told PREMIUM TIMES on the phone. He said before the latest air raid, Mr Turji was primarily minding his livestock and farmlands. We are not trying to vouch for him (Mr Turji), but for the first time since this started, we saw his sincerity. He stopped attacking people and because of his presence, our communities were not being attacked by other bandits, he added. But Mr Turji was still a violent man. In June Mr Turjis gang killed two terror kingpins, Dullu Maniya and Dan Maigari, operating in the area. Fifteen of their fighters were also killed. The state government, who vowed not to negotiate with bandits in the area, saw his action as an honest commitment to peace, the Daily Trust reported that Mr Turji merely eliminated his rivals. The newspaper said he attacked the other gangs because they killed one of his most loyal fighters, Na-Sanda. Daily Trust gathered that Turji mobilised fighters loyal to him who launched an unexpected attack at the Maniya hideouts of the rival gang where they killed some of the gangs members including Dullu himself and Dan Maigari, who is a younger brother of Bashari Maniya a noted bandit turned intermediary the newspaper reported. Though the state government is yet to publicly announce a change of position on not negotiating with bandits, it appears it has already resumed talk with some gangs. In August, the Deputy Governor, Hassan Nasiha, said Mr Turji has repented. He added that as a result of Mr Turjis repentance, Birnin Magaji, Shinkafi and Zurmi Local Governments of the state have become peaceful. He also said other gangs have accepted the peace accord after meeting with the committee set up by Mr Matawalle, the governor. Mr Nasihas media aide, Babangida Zurmi, didnt respond to calls and SMS on the stand of his principal on Mr Turjis repentance and the attack. The states Security Affairs Commissioner, Mamman Tsafe, also didnt respond to calls and SMS sent to him by PREMIUM TIMES for comments. In July, perhaps the cruellest terrorist in the region, Ada Aleru, was given the traditional title of Sarkin Fulani Yandoton and the coronation was attended by Mr Tsafe (security commissioner), the sole administrator of the area, special advisers to the governor, traditional title holders and other government officials. PREMIUM TIMES gathered from several palace sources that the state government approved the coronation though the Emir was later suspended following widespread public outcry. A ploy to protect his wealth A security official in Zamfara State, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the press, said Mr Turji and the state government did not agree to any peace deal. What we know is that the deputy governor was just trying to calm the people of the state by saying that Turji and other bandits had repented. Turji didnt submit any weapons to the state government, he used force to kill rival bandits and lastly, he took away all cattle and other properties of the bandits he killed, so where exactly is the peace accord? When asked why Mr Turji reached out to the state government and the Shinkafi emirate for peace, the official said it could be a move to protect his wealth. Weve seen the case of Ado Aleru in Tsafe axis. When these terrorists gather a lot of wealth, they want to fool the government by saying they want to sit and discuss. Turji is just trying to fool people and the government the way Ado Aleru did so that he could be left in peace to spend his wealth, he said. He added that intelligence reports at their disposal indicated that Mr Turji has built an empire of cattle, and he has hundreds of cattle given to some of his boys to look after. He has motorcycles and vehicles. And he has money. He thinks by reaching out to the government, he would be allowed to keep his wealth while temporarily ceasing hostilities towards innocent residents. The repercussions Already, residents of communities in Shinkafi, Zurmi, Kaura Namoda and Brinin Magaji areas of Zamfara State are in panic following the air raid on Mr Turjis house. A local politician, who sought anonymity, said immediately after the attack, a team of elders was raised to go and sympathise with Mr Turji. Im telling you this we were just trying to avoid the backlash of the air force attack. My uncle was among those who went to see him. Were not backing them but we have no option because the backlash will be on us, he said. He said four people were killed on Tuesday in Ajiyawa community and several cattle rustled. For a long time we have not witnessed something like this. So even if Turji will not attack us, he would definitely stop protecting us from other bandits. Thats our headache. In an interview with BBC Hausa monitored by PREMIUM TIMES, a traditional title holder, the Danmadamin Shinkafi, Aliyu Moyi, said the air force attack on Mr Turji has thrown the whole axis into a panic. He said while the military carried out its responsibilities, there is palpable fear in the area that Turji may take out his anger on innocent residents of the area or other gangs may size his vulnerability to attack residents. The attack was uncalled for. Were in panic mode because of what happened. Im not sure if Shinkafi market will be patronized this week. Farmers are also in this panic mode. Were not sure if they (farmers) would be able to work on their farms, he said. Police in Akwa Ibom State said they have killed three robbery and two kidnap suspects. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Olatoye Durosinmi, who disclosed this on Tuesday during a press briefing at the police headquarters in Uyo, said five kidnap victims were rescued during an operation. Mr Durosinmi identified the two suspected kidnappers as Thankgod Udo of Ikpe Annang and Imo Okarafor. He said others escaped with bullet wounds into the river. He identified the five rescued victims as Blessing Ekanem, 19, Kingsley Ekanem, 23, Chioma Gabriella, 25, Idorenyin Maurice, 23, and Uko Clement, 39. The police chief said AK 47 magazine with ammunition was recovered from the suspects who, before the rescue operation, had demanded N20 million ransom from their victims. The victims were travelling to Uyo from Port Harcourt on Friday when a passenger bus conveying them was hijacked by the suspects at about 9:21 p.m. along the road in Abia State, according to the police. The bus passengers were robbed and five of them were abducted. Mr Durosinmi said a combined team of the military and police, acting on intelligence, stormed their hideout on Monday, and two of them were shot dead during the operation. The state police chief described the other three as a dangerous gang of armed robbers responsible for most robberies and car snatching within Uyo Metropolis. Mr Durosinmi said the suspects attacked Kelechi Orji and family along Nteps Supermarket by Oron road in Uyo, took him to an ATM and forced him to withdraw all his available cash for them and took away his jeep also. They were trailed to their hideout on 10 September by the police operatives where the three of them were shot dead during a shootout. ALSO READ: Police rescue two kidnap victims in Edo The suspects before their death reportedly mentioned Chima Omelazu, 45, from Obingwa Local Government Area in Abia State as one of their members. Mr Durosinmi said the police later arrested Mr Omelazu on 15 September and recovered from the suspect a Highlander SUV, Lexus GX 460 SUV, Toyota Rav4 SUV, Lexus 350 SUV, and a Toyota Camry. The Command under my watch will spare no resources in ensuring that we can bring those behind criminality in Akwa Ibom State to book, the police chief said. The Lagos State House of Assembly Aspirants Forum has promised to deliver at least three million votes to Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the incumbent governor of the state during the 2023 general election. The forum comprises 149 aspirants who contested the partys primaries but failed to get the ticket to run for seats in the Lagos State House of Assembly. They spoke to journalists in Lagos on Monday. They said although some of them felt aggrieved with the outcome of the partys primaries, they have bowed to party supremacy and also resolved to work for its common good. The coordinator of the forum, Adeyinka Odukoya, said they have resolved to ensure the APC records a clean sweep across all the elections in the state. Despite missing out on the tickets after primaries, our members are indeed committed to accepting and submitting themselves to the supremacy of the party, hence our irrevocable commitment to deliver for our party at all levels Our commitment to ensuring total victory for our party is unquestionable. We have conceptualised and are ready to roll out our campaign strategy with a grand vision to deliver a minimum of three million votes for our Presidential and Governorship candidates in the next election. In July 2022, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State said the state has about seven million registered voters. Dare Dada, the forums spokesperson, said they are ready to get a chunk of the eligible voters for the APC. According to him, the closeness of its members to the grassroots and their reach across the constituencies would be put to maximum use for the needed results. The group said it would do all within its power to reach out to many Nigerians, party and non-party members who possess the Permanent Voters Card. They assured them they would convert and convince them to vote for the APC in the state. Our target will majorly be the market. It is a convergent point from where believe we can penetrate every household, Mr Dada said. Whatever we are doing as a forum is not in isolation. It is in tandem with our great party, which we are all keen to see succeed at the next polls. As contained in the INEC timetable, the presidential and national assembly elections have been slated for 25th February 2023, while governorship and state assembly elections will be held on 11th March 2023. MIKOOW, Poland, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dictador has just announced hiring the first world ever AI robot as a CEO of a global company. The new CEO is a human-like robot, incorporating AI. The robot is a woman, named Mika. She will be the official face of Dictador, the world's most forward-looking luxury rum producer. This bold move consolidates the company's position as one of the most advanced and thought-leading organizations globally. It underlines the brand's passion for new technology and offers a positive disruption by bringing the future to what can still be a very traditional world. Dictador announces the first robot CEO in a global company Mika is a female, more advanced version of her sister prototype, Sophia, 'activated' in 2015 in Hong Kong, by Hanson Robotics Ltd. The first CEO female robot will be a board member, responsible for Arthouse Spirits DAO project and communication with the DAO community, on Dictator's behalf. A contract with the world's first ever AI CEO robot was signed on the 30th of August, launching her official career in Dictador on September 1st, 2022. 'Dictator's board decision is revolutionary and bold at the same time. This first human-like robot, with AI, in a company structure, will change the world as we know it, forever.' - comments, President of Dictador Europe Marek Szoldrowski. Earlier this year, Dictador created the world's first DAO concept, the value of which is supported by tangible assets, hidden safely in our precious treasury. The treasury's future is in good hands, run by a closed community of high-net worth individuals and investors who share a passion for bold new ways to create lasting value. This is called the Arthouse Spirits DAO. The central part of the DAO is its unique treasury, worth over US$50 million, consisting of an exclusive collection of the world's oldest and rarest rums. Extra value is brought to the community by its members, the exclusive access to VIPs and extraordinary activities that money can't buy. One of these being the unprecedented ability of the Arthouse Spirits DAO community to meet and hang out with Mika. According to Daniel Langer, chief executive of the Equite and a professor of luxury strategy at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., the brand is on a roll: "What impresses me most is that Dictator's vision of impacting the future has no limits of imagination and value creation. After impressive and inspiring endeavors around the metaverse, NFTs, and the Arthouse Spirits DAO, the new initiative underlines the push into the future: the world's first CEO that is an AI powered robot. Only rebels at heart can pull off such an idea, and inspire a new generation of digitally native, young, and trendsetting luxury clients." Dictador is the next generation collectible and a global thought leader who aims to positively impact the future. The brand invites a rebellious mindset, thereby aiming to change the world for the better. The brand respects history, but have a strong orientation to the future. Company unique manifesto is demonstrated in controlling the largest stock of exceptional and rare rums in the world, in their community of masters, artists, and rule-breakers, via unique NFTs and the Arthouse Spirits DAO. By bringing Mika, the first CEO human like robot 'to life', the company once again underscores its reputation for being a visionary of its times. About Dictador Rum For more than 40 years, Dictador has been creating ultra-premium, aged rum in the heart of Cartagena, Colombia. In the experienced hands of third generation rum producer and master blender, Hernan Parra, this Colombian distillery has meticulously perfected the manufacturing process while maintaining family recipes and techniques. Dictador has the world's largest stock assets of aged rum, up to 45 years old, allowing the brand to release a range of innovative, yet fine and rare editions unrivalled by competitors creating an entirely new luxury category for Fine Rums. The location of the distillery provides a magical balance between weather and land, enabling the production of a unique palette of award-winning rum that is now distributed in more than 80 countries across the globe. For more information, please visit: www.dictador.com / @the_dictador / Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1908618/Dictador_Robot_CEO.jpg SOURCE Dictador SANTIAGO, Chile, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Plintron, the World's largest Multi-country MVNA / MVNE plans to launch its services in Chile this year enabling Chilean brands to offer Mobile services. Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones de Chile (Subtel), Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications has granted MVNO license to Plintron in April 2022. Plintron has tied up with leading network operator, Telefonica Movistar Chile to offer its innovative MVNA services and enable Chilean companies to become MVNOs. Subhashree Radhakrishnan, Vice-Chairman and Co-Founder, Plintron Group said, "The entry of Plintron to the Chile market will catalyse the Chilean MVNO ecosystem and enable Chilean brands to extend into mobile services and provide a holistic customer experience and generate additional revenues." Brands will be enabled by Plintron to extend to mobile services, thereby increasing their customer engagement & loyalty. Brands need only focus on sales and marketing while rest of the support will be provided by Plintron The Chile MVNO market is currently valued at USD 0.03 billion and is expected to grow to USD 0.05 billion at a CAGR of 10.2% by 2027. It has over 0.4 million MVNO subscribers which is expected to double by 2027 at a CAGR of 14.1%. Chilean MVNOs are dominantly focused on the consumer segment which has 75% of the MVNO base however the enterprise segment is expected to grow at a substantial 10.7% CAGR till 2027. In Chile, Plintron will focus on Retail, ISP, Consumer brands & enterprise segments. The retail segment is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10% and the reseller segment at a CAGR of 10.3% till 2027. Plintron, with its IoT offerings, will also focus on IoT / M2M, the fastest growing MVNO segment in Chile and estimated to grow at a CAGR of 12.2% till 2027. Plintron looks forward to contribute to the growth of the robust Chile MVNO and mobile market. About Plintron Plintron is a digital communication technology company enabling brands to acquire and engage customers. It is the World's largest Multi-Country end-to-end MVNA / MVNE with a client base in 6 continents. With mobile network services in over 30 countries spanning 6 continents supported by 1000+ telecom professionals, Plintron has launched 143+ MVNOs / OMVs and 165 million+ mobile subscribers. Plintron has won many global industry awards including "MVNE of the Year" at the MVNOs World Congress 2022. Visit www.Plintron.com Contact Shamik Biswas marketing@plintron.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1839055/Plintron_Logo.jpg SOURCE Plintron WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Akin Gump and the Dubai Investment Development Agency, known as "Dubai FDI," a member of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enable cooperation on matters related to investment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Akin Gump Signs MoU with Dubai FDI on Investment in the United Arab Emirates This cooperation with Dubai FDI will allow Akin Gump to better assist its clients investing or seeking to invest or establish operations in Dubai by providing access to Dubai FDI resources, assistance and support, as well as guidance and facilitation on working with government entities in Dubai. Dubai FDI, which seeks to support, grow and sustain foreign investment in Dubai, provides information and support to foreign businesses looking to invest in Dubai's thriving economy and take advantage of its global strategic importance. The MoU was signed by Fahad Algergawi, CEO of Dubai FDI, and Mahmoud (Mac) Fadlallah, managing partner of Akin Gump's Dubai office, alongside the Dubai Advantage Seminars, hosted by Akin Gump at its New York and Washington, D.C. offices on September 19 and 22, 2022. "As the world evolves in unpredictable ways, Dubai is the emerging jurisdiction-of-choice for many of our clients from a range of sectors, including technology, funds and industry," said Mac Fadlallah. "This agreement will expand Akin Gump's ability to help our clients navigate the regulatory landscape as they invest in, establish or shift operations to Dubai." Fahad Algergawi, CEO of Dubai FDI, added, "We are very pleased to enter into this MoU with Akin Gump, a firm with a long-standing presence in Dubai. Through this cooperation, we are confident we will see further investment in the UAE and continue developing investor demand in Dubai as a preferred global investment destination. We look forward to working with Akin Gump and their clients to facilitate this objective." Akin Gump has operated in the United Arab Emirates for over 15 years and was the first U.S. law firm to establish in the Dubai International Financial Centre. It advises international clients on doing business in the UAE, including through providing corporate, finance, restructuring, disputes, compliance and investigations support. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Media Contact: Mac Fadlallah Akin Gump [email protected] Office: +971 4.317.3030 SOURCE Akin Gump BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- China has achieved initial success in new infrastructure construction, which has greatly facilitated the country's social and economic development over the past decade, officials said Monday. Zhang Zhihua, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission, said China has quickened its steps in upgrading information infrastructure as well as advancing infrastructure integration and innovation. The length of China's optical fiber network has increased 2.7 times over the past decade, and the number of data center racks has topped 5.9 million, Zhang told a press conference. Smart devices are being integrated into various industries and businesses such as transport, energy supply, and industrial production, as well as facilities concerning people's wellbeing like e-commerce, telemedicine, and online education, he said. In terms of innovation, Zhang said up to 32 of China's planned 77 major national science and technology infrastructure projects have been put into operation, while centers on engineering research, enterprise technology, and industrial innovation are being set up across the country. Song Wen, an official with the National Energy Administration, revealed that with the energy sector seeking a faster shift to digital, internet-based, and smart-tech models, progress has been made in fields such as smart grid, mining, and power generation, as well as energy storage. The coverage rate of China's power distribution automation system has exceeded 90 percent by 2021, and the country has seen the completion of over 800 smart mining sites and a number of "5G plus" smart thermal power plants, according to Song. Zhang said new infrastructure has greatly empowered China's economic and social development by offering sustained support to new technology exploration, effectively backing the development of the digital economy and fully facilitating the improvement of people's wellbeing. "While each round of scientific and technological revolution introduces new infrastructure, each round of infrastructure construction would bring in an upgrade in economic transformation," he said. Jakarta, Sep 27 (UNI) Indonesia will have 12 warships guarding the island of Bali while it hosts the summit of the Group of 20 leaders in November, the chief of navy staff said Tuesday. "We are preparing 12 warships, and later, we will appoint Fleet Commander II Admiral T.S.N.B. Hutabarat, as the operational control command, in order to secure the sea," Adm. Yudo Margono was quoted as saying by the Indonesian news agency Antara. The November 15-16 summit will crown a year of intensive debates among the world's largest economies presided by Indonesia. Conference explored challenges and opportunities brought by 5G rollouts, IoT expansion, VoLTE adoption and growing Cyber threats CUPERTINO, Calif., September 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobileum Inc. ("Mobileum"), the leading global provider of telecom analytics solutions, recently hosted its annual WeMeet Asia conference in Bangkok, Thailand. The two-day event convened leaders and industry experts from Meta, Microsoft, and a host of the region's leading telecom operators, including Axiata, MTN, PLDT, Rakuten Mobile, Singtel, SLTMobitel, Telkomsel and more. Mobileum works with 19 of the 20 largest telecom operators in the Asia Pacific region, and more than 9 out of 10 major mobile network operators globally. "With partners around the world and an unwavering focus on innovation, Mobileum is shaping the future of mobile network intelligence." said Bobby Srinivasan, Mobileum CEO. "We offer end-to-end solutions covering the breadth of an operator's business: roaming and core network, engagement and experience, risk management, network security, and testing and monitoring. Our global WeMeet conferences reflect the depth and breadth of our product portfolio and technical expertise." This year's conference addressed major opportunities and emerging challenges that are remaking the telecom industry. Thematic areas included: Rising network complexity in the era of 5G; Protecting networks, subscribers and revenue from fraud and scam threats; The future of roaming and interconnection; and Monetizing 5G through experience, engagement and partnership. Mobileum provided a live demonstration of its Active Intelligence Platform (AIP), which integrates the company's industry-leading solutions into a single seamless platform. As the digital economy increases the need for IT speed, agility and innovation, AIP provides the central architectural capabilities that enable communication service providers to support multiple experiences and respond rapidly to digital business demands. An enterprise-class, one-stop solution capable of digesting data reliably and at scale and delivering insights that can be translated into profitable action AIP transforms how operators use data to find efficiencies, open new revenue streams and create value for stakeholders. Other conference highlights included: An exploration of Mobileum's multi-year partnership with PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk ("Smartfren"), a leading progressive mobile operator in Indonesia , leveraging Deep Network Analytics (DNA) to derive insights from volumes of user data enhancing customer experience and service quality for over 33 million subscribers; , leveraging Deep Network Analytics (DNA) to derive insights from volumes of user data enhancing customer experience and service quality for over 33 million subscribers; A thorough discussion of the relevance and associated challenges of private networks, emphasizing issues such as private wireless service assurance and the key building blocks required to ensure seamless roaming and navigation between private and public networks; A deep dive on Regulator Tech, addressing innovation in cybersecurity and signaling security to strengthen subscriber protection against spoofing and phishing scams, and to reduce overall threat surface; and Exploration of emerging technologies that will pave the way for new business models and increased automation with direct impact on telecom operators' efficiency, performance, profitability and sustainability. "Mobileum has deep roots and over 1,100 team members in the Asia Pacific region. WeMeet Asia is not only a showcase for innovation it is a gathering of colleagues and collaborators who have, in many cases, over 20 years of history," said Raja Hussain, Mobileum SVP and General Manager, Asia Pacific. "Together, we are reimagining and future-proofing the mobile operator business model. With a comprehensive suite of solutions built on data and active intelligence, Mobileum is bringing needle-moving capabilities to communications service providers globally unlocking valuable insight and new potential." Over 120 participants from 20 countries attended the conference, including representatives from 35 mobile network operators. The next conference in the series, WeMeet Europe, will take place November 2-3 in Porto, Portugal. About Mobileum Inc. Mobileum is a leading provider of telecom analytics solutions for roaming, core network, security, risk management, domestic and international connectivity testing, and customer intelligence. More than 1,000 customers rely on its Active Intelligence platform, which provides advanced analytics solutions, allowing customers to connect deep network and operational intelligence with real-time actions that increase revenue, improve customer experience, and reduce costs. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Mobileum has global offices in Australia, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Portugal, Singapore, and UK. More in www.mobileum.com and follow @MobileumInc on Twitter. Learn more in https://www.mobileum.com/ and follow @MobileumInc on Twitter Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1431792/Mobileum_Logo.jpg SOURCE Mobileum BANGALORE, India, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 'Out-of-hospital care' health tech company, HCAH onboarded seasoned techie Abhinav K Tripathi as the Chief Technology Officer. Bangalore-headquartered Bespoke CTO Search Firm, Purple Quarter was the preferred partner for the tech leadership mandate. Purple Quarter along with team HCAH devised a customized approach to map the best leadership fit. After due consideration and evaluation, Abhinav K Tripathi was found to be HCAH's ideal tech leader. With over 14 years of industry experience, Abhinav is passionate about solving tech problems for startups. A distinguished architect, he has a proven record of delivering products that solve complex challenges at scale in E-commerce, Video-Commerce, Supply Chain and Healthcare. In his prior stints, he has played tech leadership roles in building startups like Snapdeal, Lybrate, Simsim and DealShare. Vivek Srivastava, Founder and CEO, HCAH shared on the appointment, "Abhinav is a wonderful addition to our team. Our aim is to become a leader in technology led service delivery in the out-of-hospital care market. Given Abhinav's deep-set knowledge and expertise, I look forward to working together and catapulting HCAH to become a leading Health tech company in the country. Purple Quarter has been of immense value throughout our leadership search. Thank you once again to the Purple Quarter team for their well-defined approach and understanding of the requirement." Founded in 2012 by Vivek Srivastava, the Noida-headquartered HCAH is on a mission to 'enable customers to live well by delivering best-in-class health outcomes and quality of life outside hospitals while building the most affordable and accessible healthcare ecosystem'. The company currently has three segments delivering services to and sought a CTO who would take care of its different products and build & manage its engineering teams across. HCAH turned to Purple Quarter for the search. "I am thankful to Purple Quarter for making possible this incredible opportunity at HCAH. From FinTech to HealthTech, HCAH is a welcome change. It's thrilling to take on newer challenges in the health segment and solve issues at a fundamental level. As the HCAH CTO, my primary goal will be to bring out necessary changes in the existing plans and introduce new products through various technologies. It has been a pleasure working with the Purple Quarter team throughout this entire process," shared Abhinav K Tripathi. Purple Quarter's unmatched tech network, extensive talent pool, and comprehensive end-to-end search process have been instrumental in securing multiple key tech heads for the likes of BigBasket, Licious, PharmEasy, Upstox, Urban Company, Vedantu, ACKO, Pratilipi, Rupeek and more. About Purple Quarter Purple Quarter is a Bespoke CTO Search firm based out of Bangalore. In just five years, it has mapped out over 10,000+ tech leaders across the globe. With a singular approach, Purple Quarter offers detailed insight into the Tech Leadership hiring space for startups and corporates. The diverse clientele of companies such as Walmart, Swiggy, RBIH, Browserstack, Inmobi, ACKO, PharmEasy, Urban Company, hike, Clari, and many more, reflect Purple Quarter's unmatched position. For Tech Leadership requirements, write to us at [email protected] or visit: https://purplequarter.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1599524/Purple_Quarter_Logo.jpg SOURCE Purple Quarter Alliance to provide suicide awareness resources for families and communities via two specialty programs HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Acadia Healthcare, a leading provider of behavioral healthcare services, and The Jason Foundation Inc. (JFI), a nationally recognized leader in suicide awareness and prevention, have expanded their offerings through a new collaboration with Acadia's Children's Behavioral Solutions and Military & Family Support Services. Through this alliance, The Jason Foundation will provide its potentially lifesaving programs and resources for the families and communities Acadia's Children's Behavioral Solutions and Military & Family Support Services currently serve. Children's Behavioral Solutions works with families free of charge to connect children and adolescents with personalized treatment for mental health and substance use disorders. As a complimentary resource for therapists, agencies, and social workers, Children's Behavioral Solutions ensures that each child has the resources they need to achieve the best treatment outcome possible. The Military & Family Support Services team identifies appropriate treatment options for active-duty military members, veterans, and dependents who are struggling with substance use disorders and mental health concerns. They refer to premier facilities throughout the United States, all of which have been thoroughly vetted to ensure that they provide the highest quality of care in a safe and supportive environment. "This collaboration highlights The Jason Foundation's and Acadia Healthcare's continued commitment to families and communities across our nation," said Brett Marciel, Chief Communications Officer of The Jason Foundation. "The venture will allow us to provide the programs and resources to help identify and assist someone who may be struggling with thoughts of suicide, hopefully saving lives." Acadia Healthcare began its affiliation with The Jason Foundation in 2013 to provide educational materials and programs for the patients, families, and communities it serves. Almost 46,000 Americans died by suicide in 2020, making it one of the leading causes of death in the nation. Suicide rates in the U.S. have climbed 33% since 2000. Even more concerning is that suicide and suicide attempts among young people ages 10-24 are on the rise. According to information released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19% of high schoolers had seriously considered attempting suicide, 16% had made a suicide plan, and 9% had made one or more suicide attempts. "Children's Behavioral Solutions and Military & Family Support Services of Acadia Healthcare feel honored to collaborate with The Jason Foundation as we work to address our nation's suicide crisis," said Randy Goldberg, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Acadia Healthcare. "Our organizations have a shared mission of helping to heal the mental and emotional health of these vulnerable youth and working to improve the lives of children and families in any way we can. I could not be prouder of this collaborative effort." About Acadia Healthcare Acadia is a leading provider of behavioral healthcare services across the United States. As of June 30, 2022, Acadia operated a network of 239 behavioral healthcare facilities with approximately 10,600 beds in 39 states and Puerto Rico. With more than 22,500 employees serving approximately 70,000 patients daily, Acadia is the largest stand-alone behavioral health company in the U.S. Acadia provides behavioral healthcare services to its patients in a variety of settings, including inpatient psychiatric hospitals, specialty treatment facilities, residential treatment centers and outpatient clinics. For more information, visit www.acadiahealthcare.com. About The Jason Foundation The Jason Foundation is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to fighting the "silent epidemic" of youth and young adult suicide through educational programs for young people, educators, parents, and other community groups. Since its inception, The Jason Foundation has never charged a school, family, or community for use of its programs or materials. For more information, or to find the closest JFI Affiliate Office, visit JFI's website at www.jasonfoundation.com. SOURCE The Jason Foundation, Inc. LOS ANGELES, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Amazonia: Photography by Sebastiao Salgado, designed by Lelia Wanick Salgado, will make its North American debut at the California Science Center on October 21, 2022. This multimedia experience, presented with generous support from the Annenberg Foundation, includes photography, video, and an enveloping soundscape of the forest and original music composed by an acclaimed French musician, Jean Michel Jarre. Amazonia explores the interconnected lives of the people and forest of the Amazon and their survival in the face of the rapidly encroaching outside world. The 13,000 sq. ft. exhibition invites guests to explore more than 200 large-scale suspended photographs, including stunning portraits of indigenous leaders and their communities and dramatic landscapes taken over seven years of expeditions deep into the forest, captured by the world-renowned Brazilian photographer. Salgado's breathtaking black-and-white photographs draw viewers into one of the planet's most biodiverse regions. "This extraordinary exhibition will enrich our understanding of life in the Amazon, the ongoing threats from the outside world, and the vital role of sustainable development and conservation to ensure its survival for generations to come," said California Science Center President and CEO, Jeffrey Rudolph. "We are honored to share Amazonia with our guests, and are immensely grateful for both the vision and generosity of Wallis Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation for bringing this opportunity to our visitors." "When I first saw the astounding work that makes up Amazonia, I felt a deep connection to parts of the Earth that my own eye had never seen," said President and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation, Wallis Annenberg. "I also felt a sense of outrage about the deforestation and the climate disruption ravaging the Amazon. Still, the photographs depicting the grit and strength of the indigenous peoples are awe inspiring. Amazonia is great art and great teaching and I so hope every Angeleno sees this groundbreaking exhibit." Two projected video montages and interviews with indigenous leaders highlight the contemporary issues facing the guardians of the planet's largest rainforest and reveal how the lives of indigenous people are interconnected with their forest environment, its prosperity, and its fate. "My wish, with all my heart, with all my energy, with all the passion I possess, is that in 50 years' time this exhibition will not resemble a record of a lost world," says Sebastiao Salgado. "Amazonia must live on and, always at its heart, its indigenous inhabitants." The bilingual exhibit, presented in both English and Spanish, is organized in six different forest sections to explore: Aerial Views The exhibition provides visitors with a look at sweeping aerial shots of immense waterfalls and stormy skies. The exhibition provides visitors with a look at sweeping aerial shots of immense waterfalls and stormy skies. Flying Rivers The Amazon forest is the only place on Earth where aerial humidity does not depend on evaporation of the oceans. Instead, every tree sucks groundwater through its roots, and the moisture that reaches the leaves evaporates as vapor, projecting hundreds of liters of water per day into the atmosphere and creating "flying rivers," revealed in this exhibition, which carry even more water than the Amazon River itself. The Amazon forest is the only place on Earth where aerial humidity does not depend on evaporation of the oceans. Instead, every tree sucks groundwater through its roots, and the moisture that reaches the leaves evaporates as vapor, projecting hundreds of liters of water per day into the atmosphere and creating "flying rivers," revealed in this exhibition, which carry even more water than the Amazon River itself. Tropical Rains Clouds, captured dramatically by Salgado, are an intrinsic part of the Amazon, offering an ever-changing spectacle. Clouds, captured dramatically by Salgado, are an intrinsic part of the Amazon, offering an ever-changing spectacle. Mountains Brazil also boasts mountains, including the Pacaraima and Imeri mountain ranges, showcased in the exhibition, which feature peaks shrouded in mist and rainforest-covered lower slopes. also boasts mountains, including the Pacaraima and Imeri mountain ranges, showcased in the exhibition, which feature peaks shrouded in mist and rainforest-covered lower slopes. Anavilhanas In the vastness of the Amazon rainforest lies the world's largest fresh water archipelago, known as the Anavilhanas. Between 350 and 400 islands of every imaginable shape rise out of the dark waters. In the vastness of the Amazon rainforest lies the world's largest fresh water archipelago, known as the Anavilhanas. Between 350 and 400 islands of every imaginable shape rise out of the dark waters. Ocas In the center of the exhibition guests find three enclosures representing indigenous homes called "ocas." Together the ocas display 100 photographs of the people of the Amazon, along with video interviews of indigenous leaders. Sebastiao Salgado is a documentary photographer, born in Brazil and renowned worldwide for the power and emotion of his photo journalism and his dedication to environmental education, social justice, and conservation. Having studied economics, Salgado began his career as a professional photographer in 1973 in Paris, working with the photo agencies until 1994 when he and Lelia Wanick Salgado formed Amazonas Images, an agency created exclusively for his work, today their studio. Throughout this time, the Salgados had also been working to restore a portion of the Atlantic Forest, damaged over time through deforestation and degradation. In 1998, they transformed the land into a nature reserve and formed Instituto Terra, a foundation dedicated to its reforestation and conservation, along with related programs in environmental training and education. Over his long and illustrious career, Salgado has traveled in 120 countries and his work has been featured in books and films on diverse themes. His most recent exhibition Amazonia has been shown in Paris, Rome, London, Sao Paulo, Manchester, Avignon and Rio de Janeiro. Amazonia opens at the California Science Center with the generous support of the Annenberg Foundation. Reflecting the educational mission of the Science Center and the core values of accessibility and inclusiveness shared by the Annenberg Foundation, admission to the exhibition is free. California Science Center guests are encouraged to complement their visit with the IMAX movie Amazon Adventure 3D, where they'll experience the heart of the Amazon rainforest and trace the extraordinary journey of naturalist and explorer Henry Walter Bates. Filmed on location in the lush Amazon region, Amazon Adventure 3D plunges audiences into a wild world of beauty and captivating animal behavior. Visitors to the California Science Center can also extend their visit by exploring the Ecosystems gallery, which features an unprecedented blend of live plants and animals, and hands-on science exhibits in 11 immersive environments. From walking through a living kelp forest to experimenting on a polar ice wall, guests will investigate some of the Earth's most fascinating ecosystems and discover the ways various species have had to adapt to their unique environments. About the California Science Center The California Science Center is a dynamic destination where families, adults and children can explore the wonders of science through interactive exhibits, live demonstrations, innovative programs and awe-inspiring movies. The California Science Center and IMAX Theater are located in historic Exposition Park just west of the Harbor (110) Freeway at 700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles. The Science Center is open daily from 10:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. with free general admission. Parking is $15. Learn more about the California Science Center. About the Annenberg Foundation The Annenberg Foundation is a family foundation focused on addressing the critical issues of our time through innovation, community, compassion, and communications for more than 30 years. Since 1989, it has funded programs in education and youth development; civic and community life; equity and social justice; health and human services; animal services and the environment; and arts, culture and humanities. To learn more about the Annenberg Foundation and its various initiatives, click here. Media contacts: Kristina Kurasz | [email protected] (213) 744-7496 Ariana Swan | [email protected] (818) 305-6053 ext. 1 Alex Gilliland|[email protected] (650) 823-4575 SOURCE California Science Center Foundation SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In the midst of the national conversation on the need for humane treatment of migrants and refugees, Most Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco, released a statement on the importance of protecting the rights of refugees and migrants. "As communities committed to providing sanctuary to migrants, San Francisco and California are duty-bound to welcome immigrants and find opportunities for them to thrive here, no matter how they arrive at our doorstep. Let us not forget that Christian charity makes no distinctions regarding legal status when it comes to providing humanitarian aid to those in need. As the U.S. and Mexican bishops stated in their 2003 joint pastoral letter, 'Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope,' the United States needs comprehensive immigration reform. The principles outlined in the letter include a nation's right to secure its borders and for people to stay and thrive in their homelands, but also that asylum seekers have a right to seek haven. The U.S. is morally obliged to protect those seeking refuge from harm. As a nation of immigrants, we know from experience that migrants give back to the U.S. by becoming integral to our communities, economy and legacy. At the same time, Congress and the President are required to secure our borders so that our nation can control and create a viable immigration system. As we grapple with this crisis, I endorse the initiative of New York Mayor Eric Adams who proposes that the federal government allow states to issue work visas. The current federal system only allows migrants seeking asylum to obtain a work permit after six months, and the reality is it often takes a year or more to obtain a work permit. This burdens state and local welfare systems designed to take care of those who cannot work and deprives migrants eager to work of the opportunity to work using the skills they bring with them from their home countries." The Archdiocese of San Francisco's Catholic Charities Center for Immigration Legal & Support Services (CILSS), advocates for migrants in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin Counties by helping to resolve the immigration crisis. CILSS provides legal representation and case management support for individuals seeking asylum and victims of trafficking or violent crimes. Catholic Charities provides rental assistance, problem-solving resources and referrals, shelter waitlist opportunities and case management support services. More information: Media Contact Mary Powers 628-205-2106 [email protected] SOURCE Archdiocese Of San Francisco BASEL, Switzerland, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascensia Diabetes Care, a global diabetes care company, maker of the CONTOUR blood glucose monitoring (BGM) system portfolio and exclusive distributor of Eversense Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) Systems, announces that it has relaunched its successful 'This is Diabetes' art and photo competition in support of World Diabetes Day 2022. The competition aims to highlight the importance of diabetes care and education, amplifying the International Diabetes Federations' (IDF's) official theme of Access to Diabetes Care for 2021-2023, and its focus this year on Education to Protect Tomorrow. Healthcare systems across the globe are being challenged by the rise of diabetes and it is more important than ever that both healthcare professionals and people with diabetes have access to quality diabetes care and education. Ascensia's global competition is seeking pieces of original art or photography that illustrate this need, with submissions open from today until October 30 at www.thisisdiabetes.com. To be announced November 14 on World Diabetes Day, the winning entrant will receive 6,000 to donate to a diabetes charity of their choice, with 3,000 and 1,000 donations awarded for second and third place, respectively. The judging panel, including members of the diabetes online community, professional artists, Ascensia employees and an Eversense brand ambassador, will be looking for creativity, storytelling, and connection to this year's theme. Rob Schumm, President at Ascensia Diabetes Care, commented: "As a company solely focused on diabetes, IDF's World Diabetes Day is a cornerstone of Ascensia's calendar, and we are proud to support it for the seventh consecutive year. It not only brings the community together but provides a great opportunity to spread important messages far beyond those who work in, care for, or live with diabetes every day. "This year, World Diabetes Day focuses on improving access to diabetes care and, specifically, quality education, which is a vital component of improving health outcomes globally," he added. "We encourage anyone and everyone to draw, paint, sculpt or snap something that amplifies this important message and to submit it for our 'This is Diabetes' art and photography competition. The entries we had in 2021 were fantastic and I can't wait to see what this year has in store!" This year's competition follows 2021's successful 'This is Diabetes' campaign, in which Ascensia received 150 entries from 29 countries and donated 12,000 to nominated diabetes charities. For inspiration, you can see last year's winning art and photography entries here. About Ascensia Diabetes Care Ascensia Diabetes Care is a global company focused entirely on helping people with diabetes. Our mission is to empower those living with diabetes through innovative solutions that simplify and improve their lives. We are home to the world-renowned CONTOUR portfolio of blood glucose monitoring systems and the exclusive global distribution partner for the Eversense Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems from Senseonics. These products combine advanced technology with user-friendly functionality to help people with diabetes manage their condition and make a positive difference to their lives. As a trusted partner in the diabetes community, we collaborate closely with healthcare professionals and other partners to ensure our products meet the highest standards of accuracy, precision and reliability, and that we conduct our business compliantly and with integrity. Ascensia is a member of PHC Group and was established in 2016 through the acquisition of Bayer Diabetes Care by PHC Holdings Corporation. Ascensia products are sold in more than 125 countries. Ascensia has around 1,500 employees and operations in 31 countries. For further information, please visit the Ascensia Diabetes Care website at: http://www.ascensia.com 2022 Ascensia Diabetes Care Holdings AG. All right reserved. Ascensia, the Ascensia Diabetes Care logo and Contour are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Ascensia Diabetes Care Holdings AG. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/749389/Ascensia_Diabetes_Care_Logo.jpg SOURCE Ascensia Diabetes Care Holdings AG Reign supreme with the latest and finest Intel motherboards that feature support for enhanced memory profiles, overclocking, cooling, and easy installation KEY POINTS Exclusive new overclocking technology: ASUS Enhanced Memory Profile II enables up to 37.5% higher speeds than baseline DDR5-4800 specs 1 Select Z790 motherboards feature ASUS AI Overclocking that boosts CPU clocks for both lightly threaded and all-core workloads with just one click Exclusive new cooling feature: AI Cooling II automatically monitors CPU temperatures and dynamically adjusts fans to optimal speeds ASUS Q-Design takes the pain points out of installing, troubleshooting and upgrading graphics cards, M.2 drives and memory modules FREMONT, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ASUS today announced a comprehensive lineup of Intel Z790 motherboards across the ROG Maximus, ROG Strix, TUF Gaming, and Prime product familiesall built to support the latest 13th Gen Intel Core processors. Thanks to exclusive technologies like AEMP II, AI Overclocking and AI Cooling II, plus user-friendly features such as Q-Design, ASUS Z790 motherboards are ideal solutions for users aiming to build a next-gen machine or upgrade their existing system. AEMP II: Easy memory optimization ASUS today announced a lineup of Intel Z790 motherboards, built to support the latest 13th Gen Intel Core processors. Tweet this When ASUS first launched the previous-gen Z690 models, DDR5 memory modules had only recently hit the market. Many builders looked for assurance that their new memory would work as advertised in their new motherboardsand ASUS went above and beyond to make that happen. It collaborated closely with a wide range of industry partners to offer ASUS Enhanced Memory Profile (AEMP), which ensures better and wider compatibility with popular brands of RAM. Now that the DDR5 market has matured, and a wide range of memory kits are available at increasingly enticing prices, builders are rightly thinking more about performance than compatibility. Once again, ASUS has gone above and beyond. For every Z790 motherboard that supports DDR5, ASUS is introducing AEMP II profiles that offer up to 37.5% faster RAM speeds than baseline DDR5-4800 specs. Built through a flexible training method, these profiles make it easy for users to tune their memory above baseline settings while maintaining stable system operation. With AEMP II, optimized memory settings are just a click awaywhether one is getting the most out of an entry-level module or priming a high-speed kit for ultimate performance. AI Overclocking: Easy CPU optimization ASUS AI Overclocking is powered by exhaustive research and characterization of the performance potential of thousands of actual CPUs in ASUS testing labs. This tool leads the industry for overclocking performance and ease of use. It boosts CPU clocks for both lightly threaded and all-core workloads with just one click. AI Overclocking's sophisticated intelligence also monitors CPU cooler efficiency and changes in a PC's operating environment to tune parameters over time for the best performance with each system's unique set of components. Users will have access to AI Overclocking on all ROG Maximus and ROG Strix Z790 motherboards. AI Cooling II and FanXpert: Comprehensive thermal solutions When users first enable ASUS AI Cooling II though FanXpert in the Armate app, it uses a machine learning algorithm to gather data about their system during a brief stress test. From then on, AI Cooling II monitors the CPU and uses the data from its stress test to calculate the lowest fan speed required to effectively cool the systemwhile minimizing noise levels. This fan control system can reduce system fan noise by up to 5.7 dB under sustained loads. Through this self-adaptive system, users always have cooling power when they need it and quiet operation when they want it. ASUS has also taken the opportunity to update FanXpert with the full set of fan calibration and control options. Users get temperature input mapping and fan response mappingall inside Windows through the convenient Armoury Crate app. ASUS Q-Design: User-friendly PC building The ASUS PCIe Slot Q-Release button lets users easily release a graphics card from the slot with a simple press of a finger. ASUS first debuted this convenient feature on the highest-end Z690 motherboards, and now it is proud to offer this even on the mainstream TUF Gaming and Prime Z790-A WiFi boards. Similarly, traditional DIMM slot designs require users to lock in both sides of the memory stick, and it was not always easy for those with larger fingers to unlock the latch closest to the graphics card. That is why ASUS has also implemented its single-sided Q-DIMM latching design on all its Z790 motherboards. With this arrangement, users do not have to worry about a latch that may be too close to a graphics card. A single latch on the easier-to-access side of the DIMM slot is all it takes to hold a memory stick firmly in place. Installing RAMand upgrading it down the roadis much easier. ASUS has also simplified the process of installing an M.2 drive. The ASUS M.2 Q-Latch gives users the peace of mind that they will never have to handle another tiny, easily lost M.2 screw ever again. Now they can secure or loosen an M.2 drive with just their fingertips. The M.2 Q-Latch is offered on every ROG Maximus, ROG Strix and TUF Gaming Z790 motherboardand it is even included on the mainstream Prime Z790-A WiFi. Images and more details about specifications for the entire lineup of ASUS Z790 motherboards can be found in the Edge Up Buyer's Guide , or visit the ASUS Z790 landing page for first-look videos of each series. Availability & Pricing ASUS Z790 motherboards will be available for pre-order starting from 9/27 in the United States and Canada. About ASUS ASUS is a global technology leader that provides the world's most innovative and intuitive devices, components and solutions to deliver incredible experiences that enhance the lives of people everywhere. With its team of 5,000 in-house R&D experts, ASUS is world-renowned for continuously reimagining today's technologies for tomorrow, garners more than 11 awards every day for quality, innovation and design, and is ranked among Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies. About ROG Republic of Gamers (ROG) is an ASUS sub-brand dedicated to creating the world's best gaming hardware and software. Formed in 2006, ROG offers a complete line of innovative products known for performance and quality, including motherboards, graphics cards, system components, laptops, desktops, monitors, smartphones, audio equipment, routers, peripherals and accessories. ROG participates in and sponsors major international gaming events. ROG gear has been used to set hundreds of overclocking records and it continues to be the preferred choice of gamers and enthusiasts around the world. To become one of those who dare, learn more about ROG at http://rog.asus.com. 1 Results may vary according to the capabilities of your CPU and memory modules. This comparison is based on a test with an Intel Raptor Lake i9-13900K and 2x16 GB SK Hynix DDR5-4800 n-ECC UDIMMs, model HMCG78MEBUA081N. SOURCE ASUS Computer International ATHENS, Ga., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Semeria family joined the state of Georgia's Path2College 529 Plan and Athens Regional Medical Center to celebrate. Henry Semeria, who was born at Athens Regional last June, was the winner of the 2021 Path2College 529 Newborn Sweepstakes, and he received $5,529 for his college savings. "We are grateful for God placing family and friends in our lives who have encouraged us to start saving for our children's education," said Nicholas Semeria, Henry's father. "Winning this will serve as an incredible starting point for our children's future." As part of the sweepstakes, the hospital also won $1,529. "It's never too early to make a positive difference in a child's life," said Dena Ollis, director of Piedmont Athens Regional's women and children's services. "This donation will be used to purchase developmental equipment for our NICU and will help us give our babies the best start possible." The Newborn Sweepstakes was established in 2011 to help inform families with newborns about the state's college savings plan and the importance of financial planning. It has awarded more than $55,000 to Georgia children and more than $15,000 to Georgia hospitals. "While it's never too late to start saving, reaching new parents and encouraging them to start saving as early as possible is a great way to build a strong financial foundation," said Georgia Student Finance Commission President Lynne Riley. "Saving small amounts over time will have a huge impact on a child's college savings, and there is no better time to start than now." Parents, grandparents and guardians of Georgia babies born in 2022 may enter the 2022 Newborn Sweepstakes at www.Path2College529.com . No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Sponsored by the Path2College 529 Plan. For more information about the Path2College 529 Plan or to open a college savings account, please visit www.Path2College529.com or call (877) 424-4377. To learn more about the Path2College 529 Plan, its investment objectives, tax benefits, risks, and costs please see the Plan Description at path2college529.com. Read it carefully. Investments in the Plan are neither insured nor guaranteed and there is the risk of investment loss. Consult your legal or tax professional for tax advice. SOURCE Path2College Leading Coffee Franchise Honors Its History with Promotional Celebrations, Brand Education, and Next Era of Growth DENVER, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for National Coffee Day (September 29), Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii, best known for its premium sourcing, roasting, and quality 100% Hawaiian coffees and international blends, is gearing up to celebrate the company's history, and most importantly pay homage to the all-important brand name on its 33rd anniversary. To thank its loyal customers, the company is offering a variety of National Coffee Day promotions. Coffee lovers are invited to visit Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii on National Coffee Day for a FREE 16 oz. brewed 10% Kona blend, hot or iced, at participating locations. Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii 'Ohana Rewards members also receive 33 bonus Lei (points) for each purchase on National Coffee Day, at participating locations. Those unable to visit a store can redeem 33% off 'Original Coffee Club' coffees at www.badasscoffeestore.com for one-day only on National Coffee Day, and/or enjoy 33% off their first recurring subscription order of any coffee, September 30 October 1. Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii was born on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1989 with the dream of sharing American-grown, premium Hawaiian coffee with customers everywhere. But, with a name that begins with Bad Ass Coffee, it's easy to bypass the true inspiration behind the brand name that holds a special place in Hawaiian coffee history. The Bad Ass Legend: For generations, the donkeys of Kona, Hawaii could be heard bellowing as they carried precious loads of coffee beans down the steep mountains of the Big Island. The indigenous people of Kona named these hard-working donkeys the "Bad Ass Ones" because of their reliably strong, but stubborn nature in carrying their precious cargo. The legend of those hard-working donkeys lives on today at Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii where the brand remains stubborn about sourcing, roasting, and serving quality Hawaiian coffee with the Aloha Spirit that centers on best-in-class hospitality. The brand proudly supports these hard-working donkeys through its Bad Ass For Good Give A Hoof program that raises funds for nonprofit donkey rescues: Longhopes Donkey Shelter and Leilani Farm Sanctuary. "We take great pride in our name, its meaning, and our ability to share a wide variety of Hawaiian coffees to the mainland and beyond," said Scott Snyder, CEO of Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii. "As we celebrate our 33rd anniversary and look to the next era of growth, we are committed to paying homage to and celebrating Hawaiian culture, our Hawaiian heritage, and the historic role both have played in our rich brand history." Hawaiian Heritage: Bad Ass Coffee's dedication to sharing Hawaiian coffee starts with its longstanding partnerships with multi-generational Hawaiian coffee farmers, including Greenwell Farms (Kona, Hawai'i) the oldest coffee farm on the Hawaiian Islands and one Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii is proud to call a partner for the past 33 years. Through these partnerships, the brand embraces its unique practice of harvesting some of the highest quality coffee beans in the world. Next Era of Growth: During the past few years, the company has re-launched the national brand under new ownership and leadership with a new business model supported by a new logo, packaging, store models, and new products resulting in a rejuvenated 33-year-old brand with a cult following. Some key milestones in 2022 include: Opening of five new franchise locations with five more expected to open by year end Signing multiple new franchisees who have committed to opening 79 locations with an additional 14 under various stages of construction across the mainland 66% increase in average unit volume compared to last year, up 76% from 2019, which is credited to systemwide investments and enhancements Aggressive expansion plans to open 150 new locations over the next five years "It is an exciting time to be part of the Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii 'ohana, (family)," said Snyder. "As we celebrate this milestone and build on our brand momentum, we are putting a refined focus on franchise success as we break into new markets across the country. We are tailoring our marketing strategies, leaning into our product, and rolling out new store designs in order to support our aggressive growth goals - the sky is the limit for what's to come." For more information on Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii franchise opportunities, visit badasscoffeefranchise.com or call 833-205-2224. About Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii was born on the Big Island of Hawai'i in 1989 and is dedicated to sharing premium Hawaiian coffees "with a kick" from the Hawaiian Islands through 20-plus franchise locations with additional 70 shops in various stages of development. Today, Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii stores also serve popular blended drinks, teas, food, along with other international premium coffees and sell popular branded merchandise with exceptional service and the Aloha Spirit. Bad Ass Coffees are available in franchise stores, online and will soon be available through grocery, hospitality, and specialty retail channels. The Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii brand and franchise is owned by Royal Aloha Franchise Company, LLC. For more information, visit badasscoffee.com and connect on Facebook and Instagram @badasscoffeeofhawaii. Franchise information is available at badasscoffeefranchise.com. SOURCE Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii DETROIT, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Benzinga, one of the fastest-growing private media companies in the US, is partnering with tyba to share Real Time Stock News, Why is it Moving and Corporate Logos with retail investors. tyba is a fintech company developed in Krealo, the Corporate Venture Capital of Credicorp LTD group, whose purpose is to help people achieve their goals through access to simple, digital and trusted investments. In 2019 it started operations in Colombia, then in Peru and Chile. In 2019, Benzinga's inhouse newsdesk has banded together to create a feed that cuts through the noise and provides the one sentence reason a stock is trading higher or lower on any given day. Users no longer need to wonder why a stock is tanking/spiking - the only thing that they need to do is open their tyba account! "Tyba's ability to innovate and grow is great to see" said Andrew Lebbos, Benzinga's Vice President of Licensing. "The addition of real time stock information will help their users make actionable, profitable decisions. We are excited to partner with such an exciting latin american company!" About Benzinga In bridging the gap between retail and institutional investors, Benzinga delivers directly to users, through its own platform, among those provided by big-name institutions, brokerages, and news outlets, high-quality, low-cost, timely content. Its core product portfolio consists of newswires, analytics software, and data services that are easy to consume and help users better act on market intelligence. In helping investors achieve the next stage of their growth, Benzinga also hosts in-person thought leadership, networking, and educational events. SOURCE Benzinga Bengaluru, Sep 27 (UNI) President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday inaugurated the integrated cryogenic engine manufacturing facility of the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) here. She also laid the foundation stone for the Zonal Institute of Virology (South Zone) virtually. Addressing the gathering, the President said the inauguration was indeed a historic moment not only for HAL and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) but also for the whole country to have a state-of-the-art facility to manufacture cryogenic and semi-cryogenic engines. She said that HAL had contributed immensely to Indias self reliance in the defence sector. HAL has time and again demonstrated its capabilities in research, development and manufacturing of various aircraft platforms, she said. The President described ISRO as the pride of the nation. When it started operations in the 1960s, India was still a young Republic, facing challenges of severe poverty and illiteracy. The rapid pace with which ISRO has grown caught the attention of even the most advanced and technologically developed countries. Sincere efforts and dedication of ISRO scientists have made India the sixth country in the world to have cryogenic engine manufacturing capabilities. The President said the HAL and ISRO together contribute to strategic defence and development. Both the organizations have played a major role in the development of various equipment and programmes which have reinforced the security and development of India. The HAL with its high end facility of manufacturing defence related equipment has proved to be an invaluable asset for the country, she said. "By 2047, when we will celebrate the 100 years of Independence, the world around us will have changed drastically. Just as we were in no position 25 years ago to imagine the contemporary world, we cannot visualise today how Artificial Intelligence and automation are going to transform life. "We are looking ahead at the next 25 years as the period to re-imagine India and make it a developed country. It is our joint responsibility to ensure that the India of 2047 will be a much more prosperous and strong nation," she said. Speaking about the Covid pandemic, the President said the resilience and extraordinary effort of doctors and scientists helped the country to deal with the crisis. She noted that the Indian Council of Medical Research has provided exemplary support for effective Covid-19 management and was expanding its research infrastructure. The National Institute of Virology, Pune, was also taking all possible steps to increase R&D in the field of virology. UNI BDN MR BERGEN, Norway, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BerGenBio ASA (OSE: BGBIO), a clinical-stage biopharma-ceutical company developing novel, selective AXL kinase inhibitors for severe unmet medical needs, and Oslo University Hospital announced today that the first patient has been included in a study of BerGenBio's oral, highly selective AXL inhibitor, bemcentinib, as part of the EU-SolidAct trial in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The EU-SolidAct trial (European DisCoVeRy for Solidarity: An Adaptive Pandemic and Emerging Infection Platform Trial) is part of EU-RESPONSE, a pan-European research project designed to investigate treatment options for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and emerging infectious diseases. Bemcentinib was selected by an international group of experts to be studied in the EU-SolidAct platform in up to 500 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in a Phase 2b, multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Martin Olin, Chief Executive Officer of BerGenBio, commented: "COVID-19 infections and hospital admissions continues to evolve with new variants and the expected fall/winter season impact. There is a need to identify new effective therapies for hospitalized patients and bemcentinib represents a promising treatment modality for this patient population through its unique mechanism of action, blocking viral entry, stimulating the innate immune system and promoting lung tissue repair. Importantly, bemcentinib enhances the Type I interferon response, causing these cytokines to activate immune cells to fight the infection regardless of spike protein or mutation. Based on the results of our Phase 2a studies and learnings throughout the pandemic, we are eager to further study the effectiveness of bemcentinib in COVID-19 and are delighted to now have randomized the first patient in the EU-SolidAct platform." The EU-SolidAct platform trial includes 68 clinical sites in 8 countries and is sponsored by Oslo University Hospital, Norway, in collaboration with the Institut National de la Sante Et de la Recherche Medicale (Inserm), France, and the not-for-profit intergovernmental organization European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN). Professor Marius Trseid, Oslo University Hospital, Chief Investigator of the EU-SolidAct trial, commented: "As new subvariants continue to evolve, it is critical to have greater treatment options in order to reduce hospital stays and halt disease progression. We're pleased to be partnering with BerGenBio in the initiation of this trial, as we look to enroll up to 500 hospitalized COVID-19 patients." Contacts For the EU-SolidAct: Marius Trseid, Chief Investigator of the EU-SolidAct trial, Senior Consultant and Professor, Oslo University Hospital +4792440240, [email protected] For BerGenBio: Martin Olin CEO, BerGenBio ASA [email protected] Rune Skeie, CFO, BerGenBio ASA [email protected] Investor Relations / Media Relations Graham Morrell [email protected] +1 781 686 9600 About BerGenBio ASA BerGenBio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative drugs targeting AXL as a potential cornerstone of therapy for aggressive diseases, including cancer and severe respiratory infections. The Company is focused on its proprietary lead candidate , bemcentinib , a potentially first-in-class selective AXL inhibitor in development for STK11 mutated NSCLC and COVID-19. BerGenBio is based in Bergen, Norway , with a subsidiary in Oxford, UK. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: BGBIO). For more information, visit www.bergenbio.com. About Oslo University Hospital Oslo University Hospital is a highly specialized hospital in charge of extensive national, regional and local hospital assignments. As Scandinavia's largest hospital, we carry out more than 1.2 million patient treatments each year. Oslo University Hospital is responsible for approximately 50 percent of all medical and health care research conducted at Norwegian hospitals. We have a leading role in the development of research and innovation, as well as the development of tomorrow's healthcare, precision medicine and treatment. About Inserm Founded in 1964, Inserm is a public science and technology institute. It is dedicated to biomedical research and human health and is involved every step of the way from the research laboratory to patient care. It is one of the most prestigious institutions in the world that is committed to scientific challenges and progress in these fields. Inserm brings together more than 15,000 researchers, engineers, technicians and administrative staff to improve the health of all. www.inserm.fr/en/ Forward looking statements This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, which as such are not historical facts, but are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. These assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this announcement by such forward-looking statements. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/bergenbio-asa/r/bergenbio-annouces-first-patient-randomized-in-bemcentinib-trial-in-eu-solidact-platform-for-hospita,c3637506 The following files are available for download: SOURCE BerGenBio ASA DUBLIN, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DIDWW , a global provider of premium quality VoIP communication and SIP trunking services for businesses and telco carriers, has announced its partnership with Cloud Group . This cooperation will enable the fast-growing Belgian telecom operator to boost its product portfolio, enhance the quality of its communication services, and offer extended reach to its enterprise customers. Cloud Group partners with DIDWW to expand VoIP availability across international markets As experts in the domain of virtual phone systems, Cloud Group offers solutions for businesses of all sizes. Its user-oriented communications enable customers to use IP-phones, web phones, IP DECTs and a CloudCall application for iOS/Android to make and receive calls. Cloud Group's PBX solutions are developed in-house, which ensures unlimited service options and custom configurations for organizations of any type. Under the new partnership, Cloud Group will leverage DIDWW's high-quality VoIP services in over 80 countries, including geographic, mobile, national and toll-free DID numbers, coupled with two-way SIP trunking and virtually unlimited call capacity. DIDWW's extensive phone number coverage and SIP trunking solution with flexible settings have enabled Cloud Group customers to efficiently migrate from traditional PSTN services to modern IP-based telephony in multiple markets. According to Mike Mol, Sales Director at Cloud Group, this collaboration with DIDWW has opened up new opportunities to efficiently expand across international markets. "An important part of our customer portfolio is active outside of Belgium, hence we were looking for a unified communications solution to implement across multiple geographies. With customers present in 30+ countries, this partnership has opened doors and possibilities for Cloud Group by expanding our target markets outside of our local presence," stated Mol. Rita Zile, Senior Account Manager at DIDWW, added, "We are delighted to work with Cloud Group and help them grow by using our high-quality voice services and global phone number portability for business communications. We are looking forward to building a successful long-term partnership with their team." About DIDWW DIDWW is a platform for telecommunication professionals with full self-service access and real-time provisioning, APIs and all the necessary building blocks for achieving the ultimate control over voice and SMS services. The company offers the largest fully compliant international coverage of local, national, mobile, toll-free voice and SMS-enabled virtual phone numbers, two-way local and global SIP trunks, access to local emergency services, flexible capacity options, free global number portability, a number selection tool, and more. DIDWW delivers premium quality services to thousands of operators worldwide through a private and fully geo-redundant network with mission-critical reliability and guaranteed SLAs. Their customers enjoy advanced solutions coupled with a unique service experience and superior value, all driven by a highly motivated team of professionals. To learn more about DIDWW, please visit: https://www.didww.com/ . About Cloud Group Cloud Group provides telephony and IT solutions for companies, offering the ideal solution for (global) communication between different branches, departments of a company and also home workers. The Flemish B2B telecom operator has more than 20,000 active users and Mediafin (publisher of De Tijd and L'Echo), Ackermans & van Haaren (BEL20) and Leasinvest (Euronext) are among its customers. For more information about Cloud Group, you can visit: https://www.cloud-communications.be . Press Contact: Vilija Simkiene Marketing Department [email protected] +1 (212) 461 1854 www.didww.com Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1908551/CloudGroup_DIDWW.jpg SOURCE DIDWW Don Hardison and Frank Cockerill, MD, will Expand their Roles within the Healthcare AI Company NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Decode Health, a rapidly growing healthcare AI company that enables a partner ecosystem to innovate and solve data challenges involving disease risk, announced today that two healthcare industry veterans will expand their current advisory roles within the company. Don Hardison will join the Board of Directors as Chairman. Franklin R. Cockerill, III, MD, will serve as Decode Health's Chief Medical Officer and also join the Board of Directors. Hardison and Cockerill are executives with extensive healthcare industry experience scaling successful start-ups and serving in leadership roles at emerging private, public, and Fortune 500 companies. Hardison was most recently President, CEO, and Board Member of Biotheranostics, Inc., a company developing molecular tests to guide cancer treatment. He previously was President, CEO, and Director of Good Start Genetics and EXACT Sciences Corp. For over 40 years, Hardison has held executive and senior management positions at companies including SmithKline Beecham, Quest Diagnostics, and LabCorp, where he served as COO. From 2016 to 2022, Hardison was a member of the Board of Directors of IQuity, Inc., a genomics company founded by the Decode Health leadership team to advance molecular diagnostics for autoimmune diseases. IQuity and Decode recently combined operations and now operate as Decode Health. Decode Health is fueling an ecosystem of diagnostic, pharma, and tech partners that advances precision medicine. Tweet this "I have worked with the team at Decode for many years and respect the passion they bring to their work," says Hardison. "Decode is fueling an ecosystem of diagnostic, pharmaceutical, and technology partners that will accelerate biomarker and therapeutic discoveries. I am excited to continue my work with the Decode management team and other board members as we advance our mission to build a valuable company that delivers data, products, and services to advance precision medicine." Dr. Cockerill is currently a founding partner of Trusted Health Advisors, a healthcare consulting and innovation group, and an adjunct professor of medicine at Rush University Medical Center. Before founding Trusted Health Advisors, Dr. Cockerill served as CEO, Chief Medical Officer, and Director of the Board of Analyte Health, a telehealth company, based in Chicago, IL. Prior to Analyte Health, Dr. Cockerill held several senior academic leadership roles, including service as Chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and President and CEO of Mayo Medical Laboratories (MML). Dr. Cockerill is board certified in internal medicine, infectious disease, and clinical microbiology. "Decode is doing groundbreaking work in RNA genomics and advanced population health analytics that accelerates innovation and speed to value for diagnostic, pharmaceutical and technology companies building new products and services," says Cockerill. "I look forward to working with the Decode team, board members, and our partners as we work to advance precision medicine." Over time, Decode Health has matured its approach to organize information, spotlight disease trends, and uncover actionable insights that accelerate speed to value among Decode's ecosystem partners. Decode's team uses machine learning to analyze genomic, clinical, and social determinants of health (SDoH) data to produce innovative clinical decision support tools and molecular diagnostics that predict health outcomes. Examples of Decode's work include building predictive models to define personas of elderly cancer patients to determine treatment tolerability and collaborating with Quest Diagnostics to identify novel biomarkers to improve the ability to diagnose, predict and treat disease. Decode's predictive capabilities improve outcomes, lower costs and promote health equity. "Over the years, Don and Frank have provided invaluable support and strategic guidance as we launched and developed Decode Health," says Chase Spurlock, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of Decode Health. "We're honored they have accepted our invitation to expand their roles within the company. Their guidance and deep healthcare experience will strengthen our efforts to build a growing ecosystem of diagnostic, pharmaceutical, and technology partners to advance precision medicine and improve health outcomes." About Decode Health Decode Health is a healthcare AI company that powers an ecosystem of industry-leading diagnostic and pharmaceutical companies to unlock discoveries with data. Current projects include genomic data creation, RNA diagnostics, and population health analytics. Over the course of a decade, the team leading Decode has built a framework leveraging a variety of advanced machine learning approaches. The company's flexible, scalable approach layers clinical data with SDoH and non-clinical data to fuel innovation and advance precision medicine. Decode's data assets, products, and services improve patient outcomes, lower costs, and promote health equity. For more information, visit www.DecodeHealth.ai. Media Contact: Nikki Cary [email protected] 615.500.2924 SOURCE Decode Health Daycares Around the Country Commemorated Milestones with Special Events, Treats for Pups and Their Parents PHOENIX, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dogtopia, the national dog daycare franchise, is wagging its tail proudly today as the company celebrated its 20th anniversary and achievement of a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the most photos of dogs sitting uploaded to Instagram in 1 hour. The dog daycare rallied its community of pet parents across the United States and Canada to share photos of their Dogtopia dog to Instagram to achieve the title. In addition to showing dogs the love for 20 years, the franchise's 200th daycare, Dogtopia of Uptown Phoenix, is set to open soon in the headquarters' backyard of Phoenix, Arizona. Along with these impressive milestones, Dogtopia Foundation, the franchise's charitable arm, sponsored its 200th service dog during National Service Dog Month (September). "We are indebted to our loyal franchise partners, pet parents and their furry children for their loyalty leading up to these incredible achievements. Their dedication is what sets Dogtopia apart in the bustling pet industry," said Neil Gill, CEO of Dogtopia. "After 20 years in business, we are growing faster than ever, so it feels like just the beginning with many more amazing years ahead to provide pet parents with a safe and trusted daycare that always has the health, wellness and best interest of dogs in mind." As part of the franchise's 20th anniversary celebration, all daycares offered special activities for the dogs and celebrated with dog-safe birthday cake-flavored bubble parties during open play. More than 40,000 dogs visit Dogtopia locations across North America on a weekly basis and this special celebration made their visit to daycare that much more exciting. But this isn't a one-off occasion, Dogtopia locations regularly host fun events like birthday parties, agility activities and treat days for the dogs to help them learn positive behavior they can show off at home. Founded in 2002, Dogtopia is an early pioneer and innovator in the pet services industry, helping all dogs live long, healthy and happy lives with services that provide canine wellness in a holistic manner. The company has garnered many accolades in its years of franchising, recently ranked at #51 on Entrepreneur Magazine's Annual Franchise 500 list, and solidified partnerships with major brands like Nutrisource, Minecraft and Painting with a Twist. Just in time for National Service Dog Month in September, the Dogtopia Foundation surpassed the sponsorship of 200 service dogs for veterans with the help of Dogtopia's dedicated franchise partners. More than 100 of those dogs were sponsored in the last year as the Foundation has ramped up efforts for this cause, with some daycares sponsoring their 6th and 7th dogs. Other recent initiatives include a partnership with Painting with a Twist, through which 50 percent of proceeds from Paint Your Pet events will be donated to the Foundation, and support for a Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine study on service dogs for veterans, which was published this summer. For more information about the Dogtopia franchise, visit www.dogtopia.com . If you are interested in learning more about the Dogtopia Foundation and its efforts, visit www.dogtopiafoundation.org . About Dogtopia: Founded in 2002, Dogtopia is an early pioneer and innovator in the pet services industry, offering an experience focused on wellness, quality of care, safety and transparency in the market. The ultimate destination for improving the physical and mental well-being of dogs and pet parents, Dogtopia helps our furry friends live long, healthy, and happy lives with services that address canine wellness in a holistic manner. Pet parents have the assurance of leaving their beloved furry family members in the hands of trained professionals in an environment created with the safety of dogs in mind, including an open-play environment with comfortable rubber flooring to ease joints and paws, top quality meals and snacks, as well as webcams for pet parents to check in on their pups. For more information, visit www.dogtopia.com. About Dogtopia Foundation The Dogtopia Foundation enables dogs to positively change our world through funding programs focused around service dogs for veterans, youth literacy programs and employment initiatives for adults with autism. The Foundation's aim is to identify needs, fill gaps and integrate knowledge for continuous improvement in the three areas of focus. By connecting dogs with organizations the Foundation supports, the Foundation is helping returning veterans, children and adults with autism reach their full potential. To learn more, visit www.dogtopiafoundation.org. Media Contact: David Robertson, Fishman Public Relations, [email protected] or 847-945-1300 SOURCE Dogtopia The deal continues and furtherly develops the DIF's strategy for investing in green and environmentally friendly projects, combining the sustainable development with investment beneficial for the common good. DUBAI, UAE, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dubai Investment Fund (DIF), one of the world's largest independent international investment funds and asset managers, announced the deal of investment into five projects aimed to developing renewable energy sources in Australia and Europe. Answering the challenges of the 21st century, DIF never limits itself to the traditional areas of investment and always builds its strategy around combining various investment fields, including traditional and innovative ones, to ensure sustainable income both from a long-term and short-term perspective. With that, now the fund is expanding its investment strategies, to include more environmentally friendly and clean technologies, whose importance will definitely rise in the future. Details of the Investment The projects that DIF will support, encompass various regions and communities: Two of the start-ups are solar power plants for local communities of Australia , utilizing the unique weather conditions of the region to improve the energy supply in the area. The project will generate about 300 megawatts of solar energy in its initial stage. , utilizing the unique weather conditions of the region to improve the energy supply in the area. The project will generate about 300 megawatts of solar energy in its initial stage. Two more projects will be developed in Europe . These are an innovative wind power plant in Germany and a solar power plant in Spain , which are expected to exceed 125 MW each. . These are an innovative wind power plant in and a solar power plant in , which are expected to exceed 125 MW each. Another one is dedicated to improving energy storage methods. Ensuring safe and effective energy storage is the key part of expanding alternative energy sources. The energy storage with a capacity of 100 MW will be used along with the wind and solar power plants mentioned above. The technological and geographical variety of the projects ensures, that they will develop and grow independently, thus increasing the stability of the potential profits. The investment plans described above are a part of the long-term strategy of DIF to support promising and innovative research projects. "One of the core principles of DIF is investing into developing technologies, which will make people's lives better in the future, and will create a possibility for a safer and sustainable environment," explains Ryan Smith, Head of Global Strategy and Investment Operations at DIF. "With that notion, the fund announced the investment into five projects, united by the common goal creating renewable energy sources, which will improve the environmental conditions on a local level and solve the problem of energy shortages. The rising prices for fossil fuels is another reminder, of why it is important to support the research and implementation of alternative energy production methods". In 2021, the fund conducted the conference "Innovation Against Climate Change", dedicated specifically to this area, and there are plans to hold another conference next year. Supporting both theoretical development and practical implementations is an important part of the DIF investment strategy. About Dubai Investment Fund (DIF) Established in 2001, the Dubai Investment Fund (DIF) is one of the world's largest independent investment and asset management companies founded to effectively manage financial resources through diversification into new asset classes and growth oriented investments. DIF engages in private equity, investment and asset management for 7,300+ private and institutional investors in 61 countries with $320+ billion in assets under management. The DIF's structure is designed to operate at the highest levels of global investment. As a world-class investor and asset manager, DIF adheres to the strictest financial and commercial disciplines and has extensive experience investing in a range of economic sectors and various asset classes, including retail, manufacturing, energy, financial services, healthcare, technology, media, real estate, listed securities, alternative assets and private equity in all major global markets. DIF seeks socially, economically and environmentally attractive investment opportunities and goes beyond short-term returns as company seeks balanced and sustainable growth to maximize long-term returns. For additional information on DIF, please visit www.dif.ae Media Contacts: Jonathan Roberts Head of Communications and Public Relations Tel.: +971 4 2473667 ext. 243 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Dubai Investment Fund (DIF) SAN DIEGO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Eclipse Bioinnovations, Inc. (Eclipsebio), a leading RNA genomics company developing and commercializing novel, data-driven technologies that interrogate RNA, today announced the completion of exclusive and co-exclusive licenses for intellectual property (IP) related to RNA structure probing, ribosome occupancy, and RNA modifications. This IP supports three key product suites, m6A-eCLIP for profiling m6A modifications, SHAPE for RNA structure probing, and Aurora for ribosome profiling. All products are commercially available or will be imminently available from Eclipsebio. "This expansion of Eclipsebio's intellectual property portfolio supports the company's development of high-resolution, multi-dimensional RNA genomics technologies and product suites," said Peter Chu, Ph.D., CEO and cofounder of Eclipsebio. "We are excited to solidify these exclusive license agreements, which allow us to commercialize two more innovative product suites, SHAPE and Aurora, and support Eclipsebio's goal to enable researchers around the world to access the most comprehensive information on RNA interactions, modifications, structure, and translation." Eclipsebio plans to launch a suite of SHAPE technologies, encompassing SHAPE IVT-mRNA, SHAPE databases, and SHAPE whole transcriptome. Eclipsebio's SHAPE technology provides a means of probing RNA structure for in vitro transcribed RNAs (IVT-mRNA) and for the whole transcriptome, both in cell and on RNA purified from cells and tissues. Data derived from SHAPE RNA structure probing yields information that helps guide a more accurate RNA fold, an important parameter in developing RNA therapeutics. For ribosome profiling, Eclipsebio is launching the Aurora products to provide a means of accurately quantifying ribosome occupancy and mapping ribosome position on mRNAs in cells. This product suite delivers valuable insight into mechanisms and levels of translation, both key parameters in designing mRNA therapeutics and vaccines. Karen B. Chapman, Ph.D., M.S., Eclipsebio's Chief Scientific Officer, added, "We are excited to expand our technology portfolio in key areas that enable Eclipsebio to commercialize technologies that will accelerate the development of RNA medicines. The ability to generate data that provides more accurate insights into RNA structure, taken together with the ability to map ribosome occupancy with a high degree of resolution, will give researchers much needed tools to generate new insights into human diseases and design better RNA therapeutics, including vaccines, more efficiently." Eclipsebio has executed three separate license agreements. The first is a co-exclusive license from Stanford University for IP related to probes of RNA structure and methods of doing the same, covered under U.S. Patent Number 9,428,791. The second is an exclusive license from Cornell University for IP developed by Weill Cornell Medicine related to methods and kits for characterizing the modified base status of a transcriptome, covered under U.S. Patent Number 11,021,703. The third is an exclusive license from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for IP related to a strategy for monitoring translation via ribosome profiling, covered under U.S. Patent Numbers 8,486,865; 9,284,547 and 9,677,068. About Eclipsebio's RNA Genomics Platform and Products Eclipsebio's comprehensive RNA genomics platform is poised to build the world's most detailed multi-dimensional RNA maps through transcriptome-wide views of RNA interactions with RNA binding proteins (RBP-eCLIP), RNA modifications such as m6A (m6A-eCLIP), alternative transcription start site and polyadenylation site usage (EndSeq), and microRNA-mRNA interactions (miR-eCLIP). Upcoming products in development are designed to profile translation (Aurora) and probe RNA structure (SHAPE). About Eclipsebio Eclipsebio is a private biotechnology company developing first-in-class technologies to enable faster and more effective development of RNA therapeutics. The company offers its end-to-end RNA genomics products as services and kits and also provides custom RNA genomics services for select partners. Eclipsebio is headquartered in San Diego. For more info, visit www.eclipsebio.com . SOURCE Eclipsebio Important First Step Towards a New Climate Observatory System MANASSAS, Va., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Electra.aero, Inc. ("Electra"), a next-gen aerospace company with a mission to help decarbonize aviation and open new air transportation markets, announced today that it has completed the first flight of a solar-battery hybrid electric research aircraft. This 90-foot wingspan unmanned aircraft system (UAS) made its first flight from Manassas Regional Airport, Virginia on September 9, 2022, and is the first airplane to emerge from Electra's new development facility there. Electra's "Dawn One" aircraft promises to dramatically expand our national climate research capabilities. Tweet this Electras unmanned solar-electric hybrid Dawn One research aircraft taking off on its maiden flight from Electras development facility in Manassas, VA. Electras Dawn One unmanned research aircraft is part of the SACOS program, which promises to dramatically expand our national climate research capabilities. The new plane, named Dawn One, is part of the Stratospheric Airborne Climate Observatory System (SACOS) program. SACOS is being developed under the leadership of Professor James G. Anderson at Harvard University. The project is supported by a contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and by the Weld Foundation for Scientific and Environmental Development. "SACOS is designed to innovatively address a broad range of scientific missions and serve as a climate observing system that will herald a new era in the quantitative dissection of the physics, chemistry, and biology controlling critical climate systems. Following the lead of the new National Academy of Sciences report Global Change Research Needs and Opportunities for 2022-2031, SACOS promises to dramatically expand our national climate research capabilities," said Professor Anderson. "The high-spatial resolution observations from SACOS will provide, for the first time, quantitative forecasts of risk associated with rapidly expanding wildfires, the increasing rate of sea level rise, the intensification of severe storms, and global shifts in arid regions that trigger water shortages. Moreover, these quantitative forecasts of risk will, in turn, establish the essential intellectual links directly coupling irreversible changes in the climate structure to economics, public policy, and associated societal instability," Professor Anderson explained. The Dawn One project originated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) led by Professors John Hansman and Mark Drela. Detailed design, construction, and testing of the aircraft were led by Electra. This solar-battery aircraft is part of Electra's ongoing development of reduced and zero-carbon aircraft propulsion technologies, which also include turbine-electric and hydrogen fuel cell-based hybrid systems. The SACOS flight is part of the public celebration of the 2021 Dreyfus Prize in Chemical Sciences, to be presented to Professor Anderson on September 29, 2022 at Harvard. JP (James) Stewart of Electra and Annick DeWald of MIT led the aircraft team that included researchers and students from MIT, Harvard, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Stanford, Tuskegee, Embry Riddle, University of Michigan, San Diego State, and The University of Texas at El Paso. Watch a video of the SACOS first flight HERE. High-resolution images, video, fact sheet, and other assets can be found at the DropBox link here. About Electra Electra.aero, Inc. is a next-gen aerospace company leading the way in building aircraft for sustainable air transportation. Electra's first commercial product is a clean, hybrid-electric, ultra-short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) airplane for urban and regional air mobility. Electra's eSTOL will quietly fly people and cargo with greater payload, longer range, and significantly lower operating costs than comparably sized vertical takeoff alternatives. Electra is based in Virginia and has operations in Massachusetts and Switzerland. Media Inquiries: Barbara Zadina [email protected] +1.202.007.0632 Investor Inquiries: Diana Siegel [email protected] SOURCE Electra Aero GLENVIEW, Ill., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Envoy Solutions announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Tampa, Fla.- based Janitor's Closet. Janitor's Closet is a distributor specializing in high-quality janitorial supplies and equipment. Through its retail presence in Tampa and Orlando as well as its online business, Buy Janitorial Direct, the company has a wide range of product offerings, including disinfectants, industrial equipment, truckmount systems, pressure washing, disaster restoration, and more. Janitor's Closet provides the most sought-after disaster restoration equipment, chemicals, and supplies for flood and fire damage recovery. The company will help Envoy Solutions build upon its existing presence in Florida to create greater efficiencies and extend its geographic footprint in the Southeast. With a long-established presence in the cleaning industry, Janitor's Closet has built strong and lasting relationships with the most trusted and respected manufacturers, vendors, and distributors in the U.S. With this new partnership, Envoy Solutions continues to better serve clients in the Sunshine State and beyond. By joining forces with Janitor's Closet, Envoy Solutions advances its position as a specialized distributor and solution provider serving the U.S. market through a family of the nation's best regional distributors. "It's exciting to see the momentum continue to build across our rapidly growing national platform," said Mark M. Fisher, CEO of Envoy Solutions. "Janitor's Closet will play a key role in helping us more efficiently deliver the best solutions to our clients in Florida, the Southeast, and across the country. With Lisa Robinson, Greg Robinson Jr., and their outstanding team, we reinforce our commitment to customer service excellence, add new best-in-class Jan-San products to our portfolio, and enhance our differentiated business model from coast to coast." Janitor's Closet, founded in 1964, has always provided its clients with the best pricing on equipment, chemicals, and supplies. The company's clients include janitorial professionals, residential and commercial carpet cleaning experts, in-house service providers, disaster restoration, and building service contractors. "This is a momentous day for our multi-generational company to partner with Envoy Solutions for future growth and prosperity," said Lisa Robinson, President of Janitor's Closet. "The Robinson family and the Janitor's Closet team are grateful and excited to have the opportunity to grow to new levels with the Envoy Solutions family," said Greg Robinson Jr., General Manager of Janitor's Closet. About Envoy Solutions: Glenview, Ill.-based Envoy Solutions is a specialized distributor and solution provider serving the U.S. market through a family of the nation's best regional distributors. We specialize in Jan-San, foodservice, packaging, and marketing execution. Envoy Solutions offers a broad catalog of top brands and products, along with deep expertise and advice, to help our client-partners succeed. We are driven to make facilities cleaner and more sustainable, people safer, and operations more productive, every day. For more information, please visit www.envoysolutions.com. About Janitor's Closet: Janitor's Closet, founded in 1964, is a wholesaler and distributor specializing in high-quality janitorial supplies and equipment. The company's clients include janitorial professionals, residential and commercial carpet cleaning experts, in-house service providers, disaster restoration, and building service contractors. Based in Tampa, Fla., Janitor's Closet has built strong and lasting relationships with the most trusted and respected manufacturers, vendors, and distributors to bring the best prices to its clients. For more information, please visit www.buyjanitorialdirect.com. SOURCE Envoy Solutions Successful First Flight of Zero-Emission Alice Ushers In New Era of Electric Aviation MOSES LAKE, Wash., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Eviation Aircraft, a manufacturer of all-electric aircraft, successfully completed the first flight of its zero-emission Alice aircraft, a historic day and major milestone in electric aviation. Alice lifted off at 7:10 a.m. from Grant County International Airport (MWH), flying for 8 minutes at an altitude of 3,500 feet. This trailblazing flight of the technology demonstrator provided Eviation with invaluable data to further optimize the aircraft for commercial production. Eviations Alice Achieves Milestone with First Flight of All-Electric Aircraft Richard F. Chandler, Chairman, Clermont Group, Majority Shareholder of Eviation; Steve Crane, Test Pilot; Greg Davis, President and CEO of Eviation magniX Electric Propulsion Unit (EPU) in Alice Aircraft Eviation Alice Commuter Interior Eviation Recently Inked Deal with GlobalX for 50 All-Electric Alice Aircraft "Today we embark on the next era of aviation we have successfully electrified the skies with the unforgettable first flight of Alice," said Eviation President and CEO Gregory Davis. "People now know what affordable, clean and sustainable aviation looks and sounds like for the first time in a fixed-wing, all-electric aircraft. This ground-breaking milestone will lead innovation in sustainable air travel, and shape both passenger and cargo travel in the future." Alice produces no carbon emissions, significantly reduces noise, and costs a fraction to operate per flight hour compared to light jets or high-end turboprops. Fly the Future: Transforming Regional Travel All-electric aircraft will make regional travel more economically and environmentally sustainable for businesses and consumers. This new generation of aircraft has the power to transform communities by providing access to airports not currently used by commercial flights due to noise concerns or restricted operating hours. Eviation Alice is targeted at commuter and cargo markets, and will typically operate flights ranging from 150 miles to 250 miles. Cape Air and Global Crossing Airlines, both US-based regional airlines, have placed orders for 75 and 50 Alice aircraft respectively. DHL Express is Eviation's first cargo customer, with an order of 12 Alice eCargo planes. With this engagement DHL aims to establish the first electric express network, leading the way for a new era of zero-emissions air freight. "The first flight of Alice represents a transformational milestone for the aviation industry," said Cape Air Founder and Board Chairman Dan Wolf. "We currently fly more than 400 regional flights per day, connecting more than 30 cities across the United States and Caribbean. Alice can easily cover 80 percent of our flight operations, bringing sustainable, emission-free travel to the communities we serve." "The first flight of Alice confirms our belief that the era of sustainable aviation is here," said Geoff Kehr, Senior Vice President, Global Air Fleet Management, DHL Express. "With our order of 12 Alice e-cargo planes, we are investing towards our overall goal of zero-emissions logistics. DHL is the industry leader by introducing new and more sustainable cargo aircraft types to the global market. Alice is the true game-changer by enabling long distance air transport for the first time with zero emissions. This historic flight marks a significant milestone on our journey to ultimately achieving net-zero emissions by 2050." Flying electric aircraft will provide a sustainable, emission-free way to travel. Designed from Ground Up to Transform Travel The all-electric Alice aircraft features: Max operating speed: 260 knots Max useful load: 2,500 lbs for passenger version and 2,600 lbs for eCargo version Alice is available in three variants including a nine-passenger commuter, an elegant and sophisticated six-passenger executive cabin, and an eCargo version. All configurations support two crew members. The executive cabin and eCargo variations are identical to the commuter configuration, except for the interior. Alice is powered by two magni650 electric propulsion units from magniX, the only flight-proven electric propulsion systems at this scale. Other key suppliers include AVL (battery support), GKN (wings), Honeywell (advanced fly-by-wire system, flight controls and avionics), Multiplast (fuselage), Parker Aerospace (six technology systems), and Potez (doors). Alice's advanced battery system is highly efficient and endlessly upgradeable enabling range improvements as battery technology evolves. The aircraft also incorporates a fly-by-wire cockpit, providing greater reliability and systems redundancy. About Eviation Aircraft Based in Washington State, U.S., Eviation Aircraft Inc. develops and manufactures efficient electric aircraft to deliver a competitive and sustainable solution for the regional mobility of people and goods. Its electric propulsion units, high-energy-density batteries, mission-driven energy management, and innovative airframe are designed from the ground up for electric flight. Please visit us at www.eviation.com. SOURCE Eviation NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lola Tillyaeva (Till) was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for 'Preserving Culture' by Fashion 4 Development (F4D) during the 10th Anniversary of F4D's First Ladies Luncheon on September 20th, 2022, during the 77th Session of the UNGA in NYC. The initiative supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and builds on a network of people who make positive social change in the world since 2011. Held annually during the United Nations high level session of the General Assembly, the Luncheon is the occasion to recognise F4D's 'Agents of Change, who have made remarkable contributions to the world through their humanitarian actions. This year, humanitarian, wellness advocate and entrepreneur, Lola Tillyaeva(Till), has been appointed F4D's Goodwill Ambassador to acknowledge her commitment to safeguarding the world's endangered heritages. Lola is the founder of the Paris-based gallery La Maison de l'Ouzbekistan which celebrates the rich heritage of Uzbekistan and aims to preserve centuries-old craft traditions. Her philanthropic initiatives also include restoration of historic Uzbek sites, promotion of cultural and literary heritage of the region. She has also served as Uzbekistan's UNESCO ambassador for ten years. "I am honoured and humbled to be appointed as an F4D Goodwill Ambassador. By embracing our history and cultural heritage we can better explore who we are and where we want to be as a humankind. And by preserving this heritage we are giving a chance for self-inquiry to the future generations. I hope to continue supporting projects promoting Uzbek cultural heritage and history globally", said Lola Tillyaeva. Lola Tillyaeva will be joining an elite list of other notable F4D Goodwill Ambassadors making a lasting impact on society, including founding Global Goodwill Ambassador since 2011, the late Franca Sozzani, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, Afef Jnifen, Aslaug Magnusdottir and Beatrice Borromeo Casiraghi. To learn more about Lola follow her on Instagram and visit her website. SOURCE Office of Lola Tillyaeva Strategic hiring of Hillary Galyean and David Agler, M.D., highlights FCH's recruitment of industry's best talent to support growth nationally SEATTLE, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- First Choice Health, a forward-thinking alternative to traditional healthcare insurance, announced the hiring of Hillary Galyean as vice president of enterprise account management, as well as David Agler, M.D. as its new vice president of medical management. Healthcare industry veteran Galyean brings two decades of experience in health plan strategy, innovation, operations, account management, and accreditation, most recently serving as vice president of corporate support at Montana Health Co-Op. Throughout her career, including experience working with Aetna and University of Utah Health Plan, Galyean has led a variety of teams resulting in significant improvements in consumer experiences, health plan star ratings, and overall member satisfaction and loyalty. Galyean resides in Syracuse, Utah. "I was attracted to and share First Choice Health's values that healthcare can and should be easier through caring, transparency, and collaboration," said Galyean. "Bigger isn't always better. Success is found through continued improvement and the relentless pursuit of innovative healthcare solutions." Prior to FCH, Dr. Agler served as the regional medical director for Humana, also practicing as a family medicine physician for over a decade in a variety of healthcare settings. He moved into the health payer space as state medical director for Idaho Medicaid. In his new role, Dr. Agler will provide leadership to the medical management division, quickly expanding its care management capabilities under the guidance of FCH's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shruti Singal. Dr. Agler is based in Boise, Idaho. "I am proud to join an organization that prioritizes investing in new skill sets and capabilities to help serve new clients," said Dr. Agler. "I look forward to working with the team to provide the best possible experiences and outcomes for our members." First Choice Health has continued to launch partnerships with innovative, clinically-integrated networks throughout the United States, enabling hospitals and health systems to rely less on traditional insurance models and establish more direct relationships with members and the business communities. The new hires are an intentional step to support the expansion into new markets with a goal of providing high-quality, affordable care to more communities across the country. "The pandemic shifted our thinking about recruitment," said Kevin Conefrey, vice president of Human Resources at First Choice Health. "Leaning into the shifting workforce landscape instead of fighting it, we now think nationally, not just locally, to recruit the very best in places like Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Houston, Omaha, and Los Angeles. These latest hires support our growth strategy and reflect our dedication to hiring the very best to achieve that growth regardless of location." First Choice Health's direct-contracting products and experience are built on, and informed by, decades of experience serving clinicians and health systems, as well as their employees. For more about First Choice Health and its work with employers and clinically-integrated networks, please visit here. About First Choice Health First Choice Health is a forward-thinking alternative to traditional healthcare insurance, uniting providers, employers, and individuals through the delivery of sustainable solutions that elevate the health and care of our communities. Originating as a provider network in 1985 and built by hospitals and physicians from the ground up, First Choice Health focuses on flexible healthcare administration and cost containment, giving employers of all sizes the opportunity to build a care management plan to suit their unique healthcare needs. For more information, visit First Choice Health online at www.fchn.com. Media Contact Kyle Wall of Fearey for First Choice Health [email protected] / (570) 575-3405 SOURCE First Choice Health Board names Dr. Daniel Jorgensen as Chief Executive Officer TUCSON, Ariz., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Critical Path Institute (C-Path) today named Daniel M. Jorgensen, M.D., MPH, MBA, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). An experienced leader in drug development, healthcare and business, Jorgensen will continue C-Path's distinguished reputation of collaboration with global stakeholders, including patient groups, academic institutions, the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory agencies, to set a vision for C-Path's next phase of growth and innovation. Jorgensen's tenure as CEO will commence on the first of October. Dr. Dan Jorgensen, Global Biopharmaceutical Leader, to Usher C-Path in Next Phase of Growth and Innovation Tweet this C-Path has named Daniel M. Jorgensen, M.D., MPH, MBA, its new Chief Executive Officer. "Dr. Jorgensen has long been a visionary in drug development, applying his vast insight, experience and passion for healthcare to advancing every organization he has been a part of," said Kristen Swingle, M.S., C-Path's COO and President. "We're excited to welcome him to C-Path and to be able to benefit from his leadership and expertise." Jorgensen is an accomplished physician executive with more than 24 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, in both small and large companies, public and private, including C-level positions for the past 11 years. Before C-Path, he was CEO at AxoProtego, guiding the neuroscience startup through funding and partnership activities. AxoProtego has an exclusive worldwide license from Johns Hopkins University for a biotechnology platform addressing neurodegeneration in areas of high unmet need. Jorgensen began his career as a pediatrician with a deep interest in vaccines and public health. He worked at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and other public health organizations before taking his first job in the industry, developing vaccines for Pasteur Merieux Connaught. Subsequently, during his 10 years at Pfizer, Jorgensen was the Global Clinical Leader for azithromycin and was named Pfizer's first Vaccine Development Team Leader, playing a key role in multiple FDA meetings, submissions and approvals. Thereafter, he served as Chief Medical Officer at several biotechnology companies, developing drugs across multiple therapeutic areas. "Dan's deep pharmaceutical and regulatory expertise makes him the perfect choice to drive C-Path into the future," said Wainwright Fishburn, C-Path Board Chair. "We were searching for a bold leader with an outstanding background to execute our strategic roadmap for continued organizational growth globally, and we're thrilled that he'll be leading the organization." "C-Path has an excellent reputation in advancing medical innovation and global health in a way that is uniquely collaborative, and I am thrilled to be part of its mission," Jorgensen said. "We have a lot of exciting goals for the years ahead and I'm looking forward to hitting the ground running, with the support of C-Path's outstanding staff and extended stakeholders." Jorgensen holds a B.S. from Yale University, an M.D. from the University of Wisconsin Medical School and a Master of Public Health from the University of Washington School of Public Health. He also holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management, as a member of the charter class for Yale's MBA for Executives: Leadership in Healthcare. "We look forward to building new C-Path partnerships within the national and international scientific, industry and regulatory communities, with the goal of improving the health of patients and populations," Jorgensen added. About Critical Path Institute Critical Path Institute (C-Path) is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 2005 as a public and private partnership. C-Path's mission is to catalyze the development of new approaches that advance medical innovation and regulatory science, accelerating the path to a healthier world. An international leader in forming collaborations, C-Path has established numerous global consortia that currently include more than 1,600 scientists from government and regulatory agencies, academia, patient organizations, disease foundations, and hundreds of pharmaceutical and biotech companies. C-Path U.S. is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, C-Path in Europe is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands and C-Path Ltd. operates from Dublin, Ireland with additional staff in multiple other locations. For more information, visit c-path.org. Critical Path Institute is supported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is 54.2% funded by the FDA/HHS, totaling $13,239,950, and 45.8% funded by non-government source(s), totaling $11,196,634. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, FDA/HHS or the U.S. Government. Contact: Kissy Black C-Path 615-310-1894 SOURCE Critical Path Institute GGU Law expands access and opens new pathways to legal education SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In keeping with its 121-year commitment to providing diverse student populations with access and opportunity, Golden Gate University School of Law (GGU Law) announces a multi-pronged plan to transform its legal education offerings, including full tuition scholarships to all students in its in-person Juris Doctor [JD) program and the introduction of Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Law and Master of Law Studies (MLS) degree programs. Golden Gate University School Of Law Offers Full Scholarships To All New In-Person JD Students Golden Gate University School Of Law Offers Full Scholarships To All New In-Person JD Students Experience the interactive Multimedia News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8961051-golden-gate-university-school-of-law-scholarships/ Ranked as one of the most diverse law schools in the nation, GGU Law has developed a broad, forward-thinking plan that supports the academic success of newly admitted and current law students alike and will ultimately provide a new debt-free pathway to a JD degree for underrepresented and underserved students. "This bold new approach democratizes access to legal education and provides a pathway to a legal career for all individuals regardless of their economic circumstances. It will also ensure that students admitted to the JD program can successfully complete their studies, pass the bar exam, and excel as practicing lawyers," says Colin Crawford, Dean of GGU Law. GGU Law's transformational plan includes the following four key elements: DIVERSE CLASS, ALL FULL SCHOLARSHIPS : Over the next three years, GGU Law will shift to a considerably smaller, but still highly diverse, in-person JD program, admitting highly qualified students eligible to receive Presidential scholarships, which are full-tuition awards. This ambitious vision began with the entire entering class of full-time, first-year, in-person JD students in Fall 2022. These awards will continue through to receipt of the JD degree, provided that the student remains in good standing. Similarly, beginning with the Fall 2022 entering class of JD-Flex studentsworking professionals who study online with weekend on-campus learningthe program will be open to significantly fewer students than before and focus on those who are academically qualified to receive either full or half-tuition scholarships. : Over the next three years, GGU Law will shift to a considerably smaller, but still highly diverse, in-person JD program, admitting highly qualified students eligible to receive Presidential scholarships, which are full-tuition awards. This ambitious vision began with the entire entering class of full-time, first-year, in-person JD students in Fall 2022. These awards will continue through to receipt of the JD degree, provided that the student remains in good standing. Similarly, beginning with the Fall 2022 entering class of JD-Flex studentsworking professionals who study online with weekend on-campus learningthe program will be open to significantly fewer students than before and focus on those who are academically qualified to receive either full or half-tuition scholarships. SMALLER CLASS SIZES, GREATER ATTENTION: While maintaining smaller classes of highly qualified students in both the full-time/in-person and part-time/hybrid programs, full-time law faculty will be able to provide greater attention to students and more resources to ensure academic success and improved bar pass rates. While maintaining smaller classes of highly qualified students in both the full-time/in-person and part-time/hybrid programs, full-time law faculty will be able to provide greater attention to students and more resources to ensure academic success and improved bar pass rates. EXPANDED RESOURCES FOR ALL LAW STUDENTS : Beginning in the 2021-22 academic year, expanded resources and support were made and will continue to be fully available to all students, including: : Beginning in the 2021-22 academic year, expanded resources and support were made and will continue to be fully available to all students, including: Doubled academic/bar support staff Stepped-up resources for the Academic Success Program/bar support across JD programs Individualized bar preparation planning Expanded bar mentoring by full-time faculty Expanded bar-like testing in required courses and required bar preparation courses NEW BA IN LAW AND MASTER OF LAW STUDIES DEGREES: During the 2022-2023 academic year, GGU Law is launching two new degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in Law (BA in Law), and a Master of Law Studies (MLS), a one-year, 30-credit program, both taught by full-time law faculty. These two programs will help identify strong candidates for the full scholarship in-person JD program and give access and opportunity to students who want to see if the study of law is right for them. In addition, these programs are well-suited for individuals who are either working in, or interested in, the robust array of careers in the public and private sectors where a JD degree is not necessary, but legal knowledge is needed. The BA in Law and the MLS programs will be available in-person, online and in hybrid formats at GGU's San Francisco campus. For details about these two new degrees, visit: law.ggu.edu "Whether at the undergraduate or graduate level, the skills imparted by legal training are highly valued by employers," says GGU Provost Brent White, a longtime innovator in legal education. "Additionally, success in actual law courses identifies students with an aptitude for law much more effectively than a standardized test." "We already know that students who do well in the first year of law school pass the bar exam at high rates," adds Dean Crawford. "We believe that we will be able to identify students with the ability to succeed as JD students through their demonstrated success studying law as undergraduates, or in our Master of Law Studies program. We will then offer some of the best of these students full scholarships for a JD degree so that they graduate from law school unconstrained by tuition debt and able to pursue legal careers of their choice, including as many GGU graduates do careers focused on advancing social justice." Moreover, explains Provost White, "We believe that our BA in Law and Master of Law Studies programs will open careers in law to a highly diverse group of students, many of whom might otherwise have thought that law was not a realistic pathway." Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Dean of Boston University School of Law and GGU Law Advisory Board member, sees the GGU Law transformational plan as "a bold step that enables greater equity and access to the legal profession." She adds, "GGU Law has long had a diverse class, both in terms of race, ethnicity and socioeconomic background, but true access to the profession to law and the legal profession has been limited because of the unique impacts that debt has on graduates from lower income communities, particularly communities of color. With this truly extraordinary investment, GGU Law has extended its longstanding commitment with access by expanding beyond entry into law school to access to a more equitable educational experience and more freedom in choice of employment after law school." John Sexton, the former President of New York University and also a GGU Law Advisory Board member, shares, "Almost every law school embraces the values of access and diversity; but, GGU has devoted the full force of its energy and resources to an innovative program that will empower generations of students, many from underrepresented communities, with the instrument of law. I cannot express adequately my admiration for GGU, its leadership, and its faculty." Learn more. Contact GGU. About GGU School of Law Established in 1901, Golden Gate University School of Law has focused on educational access and opportunity for a richly diverse base of adult students since it began in the basement of the YMCA as a night school for immigrants, working adults, and others neglected by traditional law schools. GGU Law is recognized as an award-winning, ABA-accredited law school with a prime location in the heart of San Franciscooffering an innovative and personalized learning experience that produces a highly diverse group of graduates with the skill, judgment, and knowledge to become exceptional lawyers and socially conscious members of the global community. law.ggu.edu SOURCE Golden Gate University School of Law Healing ARC Framework Revolutionizes Care in Hospitals, Health Facilities BOSTON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A prominent group of health professionals, community leaders, and healthcare equity advocates today launched a campaign to raise awareness of successful race-conscious approaches to healthcare delivery in Massachusetts that target institutional racism and can bring transformational change to health care systems. The campaign educates hospital administrators, lawmakers, social justice advocates and communities about the value of race-conscious interventions, such as those implemented under the Healing ARC framework. The Healing ARC is a collaborative approach that helps rectify patient care inequities, while countering the notion that race-blind solutions alone effectively fix systems broken by racism. "We are advocating for an approach to address racism in health care by enlisting the community and health care institutions as equal partners, equally motivated to identify and address health and health care inequities with race-conscious strategies that are absolutely necessary for people confronting the effects of structural racism that is killing them, their family members and their friends," said Dr. Camara Jones MD, MPH, PhD, a member of the Healing ARC Campaign's Advisory Committee and Past President of the American Public Health Association. In 2015, a study by physicians at BWH found that over a 10-year period, on average, fewer Black and Hispanic patients diagnosed with heart failure in the Emergency Department were admitted to the specialty cardiology unit that improves patient outcomes. In response, physicians developed a race-conscious, Healing ARC care model to address the racial inequities and enhance accountability. A pilot program launched earlier this year creates a more equitable process by sending a digital alert to the medical records reminding physicians of the option to send patients to cardiology. "Historical data shows improved health outcomes for patients sent to cardiology specialists, including lower 30-day readmission rates and better follow-up rates compared with patients who were admitted to general medicine," said Dr. Michelle E. Morse, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Commissioner for New York City's Health Department. She co-led the study and developed The Healing ARC with Dr. Bram P. Wispelwey. BWH doctors Michael Wilson and Regan Marsh, members of the campaign's Advisory Committee, are implementing the intervention. The campaign's objective is to expand Healing ARC applications to more hospitals, healthcare facilities, and public health institutions, while explaining why the care delivery model at BWH is needed, what it can achieve, and why race-conscious interventions are required to dismantle racism in healthcare. "We believe the Healing ARC framework can make a transformational difference in patient care," said Dr. Wispelwey, an Instructor in Medicine at BWH and Instructor at the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "The approach addresses two antiracism goals by providing clinician education through acknowledgment of a racial inequity and providing a path of redress for patients of color." Quotes from Health Leaders Healing ARC Campaign Fact Sheet Campaign Website About the Healing ARC Campaign Our campaign educates hospital and healthcare system administrators, lawmakers, social justice advocates, civic and community leaders about the effectiveness of race-conscious interventions, such as those implemented under the Healing ARC framework. By implementing applications under the Healing ARC framework, America can prevent inequities in healthcare and improve the quality of life for many families and individuals. To schedule media interviews contact: Michael K. Frisby at [email protected] Contact: Michael K. Frisby 202-625-4328/[email protected] SOURCE Healing ARC Campaign LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Californians for Homeownership, a nonprofit organization sponsored by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (C.A.R.) that aims to address California's housing crisis through impact litigation, today announced that it has filed lawsuits against the cities of Claremont, Fullerton and La Mirada to enforce state housing element law. The new lawsuits follow settlements in the organization's prior lawsuits against the California cities of Bradbury, Laguna Hills and South Pasadena. "Californians for Homeownership continues to lead the way in using the courts to enforce these critical laws, which require cities and counties to ensure that their zoning requirements will allow enough housing to be built over the next decade," said C.A.R. President Otto Catrina. "The recent settlements and the new lawsuits send a message to cities throughout the state that every city has an affirmative obligation to plan for the housing growth needed to support California's growing population." New housing planning documents, called housing elements, were due on October 15, 2021, in the Southern California region. While some Southern California cities embraced the process, many have resisted or delayed. The nonprofit's first round of six lawsuits in April targeted cities that had not made sufficient progress toward adopting housing elements and that refused to acknowledge the penalties associated with their delays. The recent settlements with the cities of Bradbury, Laguna Hills and South Pasadena commit those cities to specific timelines for adoption of their housing elements and to make changes as needed to ensure that the housing elements they adopt will be eligible for certification by state regulators. South Pasadena, for example, has committed to removing from its housing element site inventory a number of parcels that are unlikely to be developed with housing in the coming years. The city also agreed to seek a change to its voter-established height limit, which makes it difficult to develop multifamily housing in the city. The settling cities also agreed to reimburse Californians for Homeownership for its costs and legal fees, and to comply with state law penalties that override local development standards for mixed-income housing developments in cities that are out of compliance with housing element law a provision often referred to as the "builder's remedy." The new lawsuits target three additional cities that are far from meeting their housing element obligations. "The cities of Claremont, Fullerton and La Mirada were selected because, in our assessment, they are unlikely to adopt valid housing elements within the next six to 12 months without being forced to do so through litigation," said Matthew Gelfand, the in-house litigator for the nonprofit. "We are already nearly a year into the eight-year planning period that these plans are intended to cover. Developers are anxiously waiting for these plans to be finalized so that they can begin developing much-needed housing, and every month these cities delay is another month working with outdated land use rules that make it hard to build homes." The RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) and housing element process is an interconnected system for ensuring that California's cities and counties plan for adequate housing to address statewide and regional housing needs. In the RHNA assessment, state and local governments work together to identify regional housing needs and distribute them among a region's cities and counties. Each city and county must then develop a "housing element" a component of the city's general plan that identifies sites available for future housing development sufficient to meet the city's RHNA allocation. If the city cannot identify adequate sites, it must change its zoning to allow additional housing development. All three cities targeted in the new lawsuits have been told by state regulators that they must make significant changes to their draft housing elements before they can be adopted and certified by the state. But unlike many of their peers in the region, these cities have made little progress in doing so. "These cities produced draft housing elements that are far from meeting their obligations under state law and have made little progress in fixing them," Gelfand said. "For example, the city of La Mirada failed to explain how it intended to accommodate the assigned RHNA in each income category, which is one of the most basic required features of a housing element. The city's current draft is not a serious attempt to comply with state law." The nonprofit typically offers to forgo litigation against cities that are willing to acknowledge the state law penalties for failing to adopt a housing element. It made that offer to each of the three cities, but they declined. Enforcing these laws has been a major focus for the organization over the last year, and it has approached cities throughout Southern California to discuss their compliance with the law. In the coming months, the focus will shift to the Bay Area and other parts of the state, as those regions complete their housing elements. In prior housing element cycles, without litigation, some cities have allowed the process of developing their housing elements to drag on for years after the state law deadlines. Each new lawsuit seeks an order requiring the city to adopt a compliant housing element on an expedited basis, as well as a judicial declaration that the city is subject to certain state law penalties for being out of compliance. Among other penalties, cities without compliant housing elements are prohibited from using their ordinary zoning rules to reject certain types of housing, such as mixed-income and moderate-income housing developments. The court also has the discretion to control aspects of a city's land use approvals for example, halting the issuance of all non-residential building permits or judicially approving housing development projects that have been held up by a city. The lawsuits are: Californians for Homeownership v. City of Claremont, Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. 22STCP03414. Californians for Homeownership v. City of Fullerton, Orange County Superior Court Case No. 30-2022-01281840-CU-WM-CJC. Californians for Homeownership v. City of La Mirada, Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. 22STCP03418. Copies of the filings are available at caforhomes.org/housingelements. Californians for Homeownership is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization sponsored by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS devoted to using legal tools to address California's housing crisis. For too long, California's cities have treated compliance with state and federal housing law as optional. The organization seeks to change that attitude by proactively enforcing the law, on behalf of the important public interest in having additional housing available to families at all income levels. Californians for Homeownership was established by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (C.A.R.), and it receives financial support from C.A.R. and private donors. To make a tax-deductible charitable contribution today, visit caforhomes.org. SOURCE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (C.A.R.) FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The powertrain on Hyundai's all-electric IONIQ 5 was named one of the 2022 Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems. The annual awards recognize compelling powertrain advancements that are all-new, or significantly improved. The IONIQ 5 was selected for its performance, charging capability, range and price. Hyundai has earned fifteen Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems recognitions since the awards' annual inception in 1995. The 2022 IONIQ 5 is photographed in Fountain Valley, Calif., on Dec. 7, 2021. "With the introduction of our new E-GMP platform, the IONIQ 5 created new advancements in the automotive powertrain world with ultra-fast charging and Vehicle to Load two-way on-board charging," said Byungho Lee, director, electrified propulsion development, Hyundai America Technical Center Inc. "We are thrilled to once again be recognized by Wards for our leadership in eco-friendly technologies." According to WardsAuto Judge Drew Winter, "The IONIQ 5 redefines the modern vehicle, not only from the propulsion standpoint. The car creates a new, roomy interior space by taking advantage of all the things an EV platform doesn't have, like a transmission tunnel. The IONIQ 5's propulsion system doesn't just sell the car; it redefines what a car can be." This marks the 28th year for Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems, a competition created to recognize outstanding powertrain achievement and powertrain teams for their ability to dial up more power, more torque and better efficiency. This year, 29 entries were competing for the prestigious recognition. All-new or significantly updated propulsion systems qualify for consideration, along with winners from the 2021 class. The 2022 Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsions awards ceremony will take place during the second day of the AutoTech: Electrification Conference October 26-27, 2022, in Detroit, Michigan. About WardsAuto WardsAuto is a world-leading provider of automotive editorial, insights, and analysis, having served the industry's information needs for more than 90 years. A Southfield, MI-based Informa Tech business, WardsAuto provides a forward-looking perspective on all aspects of the automotive business, from the tech center to the plant floor to the showroom. As a part of our parent organization, Informa Tech, our mission is to bring together the entire ecosystem of those in technology and automotive to accelerate the future of our industries. Subscribe to WardsAuto by visiting http://www.wardsauto.com. Hyundai Motor America Hyundai Motor America focuses on 'Progress for Humanity' and smart mobility solutions. Hyundai offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs, and electrified vehicles. Our 820 dealers sold more than 738,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2021, and nearly half were built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. For more information, visit www.HyundaiNews.com. Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn SOURCE Hyundai Motor America New York, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Reliance Foundation, Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and United Nations in India hosted high-level discussions here to complement the 77th UNGA. At the events on Friday, Aspirations, Access and Agency: Women Transforming Lives with Technology, a publication by Reliance Foundation and ORF that narrates inspirational stories of women using digital technologies to transform lives in India, was launched. Women featured in Aspirations, Access and Agency share how they used digital technologies to bring change India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar (second from right) discusses G20 Imperative with UK Minister Vicky Ford (second from left) and WEF President Borge Brende (right). ORF President Samir Saran (left) moderated the discussion. Amandeep Singh Gill, Under Secretary General, Envoy on Technology, United Nations, said the publication shows that "It's really inspiring how when you bring people, the right process and technology together, magic happens." Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator, India, said women are at the frontlines of both long-term development and short-term crisis response. "Reliance's commitment to development is rooted in our philosophy of 'We Care'. We are focusing on enabling platforms across sectors to achieve SDGs in India; from women empowerment to green growth and equitable development of all," said Jagannatha Kumar, CEO, Reliance Foundation. "Real progress is possible only if our efforts are inclusive, green, led by communities, and catalyzed by agile policies and leadershipall attributes of the emerging yet distinct India story," said Samir Saran, President, ORF. Auxillia Mngagagwa, First Lady, Zimbabwe, emphasized that real change is a product of empowering women and girls. Helen Clark, Former Prime Minister, New Zealand and former Administrator, UNDP, lauded India for having embraced and championed the human development agenda, and highlighted the importance of ensuring women's equal access to connectivity to be able to fully participate in society. S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, India, emphasized that the G20 forum was an ideal body to listen to concerns of developing countries. India has invited many nations to participate during its presidency so that more voices can talk about the real problems of the world. He also reinforced the need for multilateralism and the importance of its reform. Vicky Ford, Minister of State for Development, UK, said development efforts must keep climate change in view and innovative financing mechanisms be deployed around the world. She also emphasized the need for educating girls and empowering women. Borge Brende, President, World Economic Forum, said the private sector should be an important part of G20 agenda and could help finance climate change adaptation, an area that needs more attention. Watch the G20 Imperative discussions here. SOURCE Reliance Foundation Successful agency with deep expertise in federal, state and municipal employee benefits will utilize Integrity's knowledge, experience and technology to power significant growth DALLAS, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Integrity Marketing Group, LLC ("Integrity"), a leading distributor of life and health insurance, and provider of wealth management and retirement planning solutions, today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Gott Professional Insurance Services ("GPIS"), an independent marketing organization ("IMO") headquartered in Sacramento, California. As part of the transaction, Johnny Gottstein, President and CEO of GPIS, will become a Managing Partner in Integrity. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Integrity Helps Government Employees Better Prepare for Retirement Solutions by Partnering with GPIS Gottstein founded GPIS in 2007 to help federal and state employees obtain and make the most of their benefits. Since then, GPIS has become a recognized national expert in the federal employee market and has expanded to provide insurance and financial services products to municipal employees and members of the military. The company's systematic sales process thoroughly trains agents from marketing to sales support, paving the way for consistent and persistent success. Built on a firm foundation of hard work and community service, GPIS's impactful work has helped thousands of Americans feel more confident about their retirement decisions. "At Integrity, our passion for innovating insurance drives everything we do, especially as we develop solutions to help our partners achieve greater success," explained Bryan W. Adams, Co-Founder and CEO of Integrity. "Technology that's centered on people is critical to the future of many companies like GPIS. Joining Integrity provides GPIS with a roadmap for growth supported by best-in-class resources, shared services and cutting-edge insurtech systems and platforms. We're always thrilled to welcome dedicated leaders like Johnny Gottstein and his team into the Integrity family together, we'll make a bigger impact and I can't wait to see how we can serve even more Americans, especially those in public service, with their life, health and wealth protection needs." GPIS will accelerate its momentum by embracing Integrity's comprehensive suite of insurtech solutions. This platform of technology and services includes Integrity's proprietary MedicareCENTER and Mobile App, powerful customer relationship management software, extensive and accessible data and analytics, and world-class marketing and advertising capabilities. Leveraging Integrity's shared administrative services will powerfully impact GPIS's growth by streamlining time-consuming administrative functions. Areas of support available to all partners include People & Culture, Technology & Innovation, finance, legal and compliance. "Integrity is a clear leader in our industry. When you work with strong leaders and contribute your own experience and expertise, you can make a huge difference in the lives of those you serve," explained Johnny Gottstein, President and CEO of GPIS. "Everything Integrity stands for aligns with what we've been building at GPIS. We're both committed to caring for our clients and offering them the best products and opportunities in the marketplace, which makes this partnership a great fit. By ourselves, we could only go so far. With Integrity, we'll create something very special together." GPIS's distinct expertise in government employee benefits adds depth and diversity to the Integrity partner network a rapidly growing collective of industry leaders who are innovating all aspects of insurance and financial services. This network of innovators is constantly developing and optimizing solutions that protect the life, health and wealth of all Americans more holistically, helping them plan for the good days ahead. Integrity, one of the nation's fastest growing companies, offers all partner companies the significant benefit of meaningful employee ownership through the Integrity Employee Ownership Plan. "It was very important to me to partner with a company whose interests were aligned with those of my employees," Gottstein continued. "Our hardworking employees and agents deserve the best opportunities we can provide. I know they'll take pride in being part of an organization that shares its success through Integrity's Employee Ownership Plan." For more information about GPIS's partnership with Integrity, view a video at www. integritymarketing.com/GPIS. About Integrity Marketing Group Integrity, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a leading distributor of life and health insurance, and provider of innovative solutions for wealth management and retirement planning. Through its partner network, Integrity helps millions of Americans protect their life, health and wealth with a commitment to meet them wherever they are in person, over the phone and online. Integrity's cutting-edge technology helps streamline the insurance and financial planning experience for all stakeholders. In addition, Integrity develops products with carrier partners and markets them through its nationwide distribution network. Integrity's nearly 6,000 employees work with approximately 500,000 agents and advisors who serve more than 11 million clients annually. In 2022, Integrity will help carriers place almost $20 billion in new sales and oversee more than $30 billion of assets under management and advisement through its RIA and broker-dealer platforms. For more information, visit www.integritymarketing.com . About Gott Professional Insurance Services Gott Professional Insurance Services (GPIS) is headquartered in Sacramento, CA. Established in 2007, GPIS provides insurance and financial products and services to specialized markets of federal, state, and municipal governments and small business employees. GPIS represents some of the largest insurance and financial companies in the country and continues to maintain its focus on educating clients through workshops and individualized information. In 2021, they served over 5,000 Americans and produced over $80 million in annual paid premium. For more information, visit www.gpis4u.org. SOURCE Integrity Marketing Group, LLC PITTSBURGH, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- "I wanted to create a caliper tool that can be used to measure the radius and center point of circular objects instead of their diameter," said an inventor, from Globe, Ariz., "so I invented the RADIUS FINDER. My design could also be used to accurately find the midpoint and exact center point for any symmetrical object." The invention provides an improved design for a caliper instrument. In doing so, it enables the user to measure an exact radius position and length versus that of a diameter. It also increases accuracy. The invention features an adjustable design that is easy to use so it is ideal for contractors, home builders, etc. Additionally, it is producible in design variations and a prototype is available. The original design was submitted to the Phoenix sales office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 21-PBT-186, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com. SOURCE InventHelp New funding launches the company into the next dimension of AI and realism. MONTREAL, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Artificial Intelligence company Lia 27 Inc. is thrilled to announce it has closed a Seed funding round valuing the company at $5M. The funding launches the one-year-old business into the next dimension. The round is led by the President of a gaming company (a renowned expert in videogame creation), by a prominent wealth advisor and by an international business magnate. They have joined the company's board of directors. Lia 27 (CNW Group/LIA 27 inc.) Lia 27 Inc.'s flagship technology is Lia, a virtual person created by artificial intelligence. The funds raised will accelerate the development of AI and 3D realism and expand Lia's audience from 300,000 to over 1 million by early 2023. The company's cofounders are elated by the addition of prominent investors and board members. "We have a world-class team, and we are laser focused on our growth strategy, which will supercharge our business and propel Lia to the next level. As we bring virtual reality into the realm, Lia remains focused on augmenting user experience and establishing an emotional connection with her audience." Lia's mission statement is "More intelligence, More reality, Emotional connect" and these pillars are at the forefront of Lia's explosive growth. Lia has a 3D presence, with integrated movement and voice technology, and stunning visuals. The company's AI and VR applications are limitless. Lia has a loyal and expansive social media community, and she interacts with her audience one-on-one. She is available to chat 24/7 by phone, text or on Facebook Messenger. Visit Lia at lia27.ai, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or call her at 1-833-902-2777. About the Company Founded in December 2020, Artificial Intelligence company LIA 27 Inc. develops artificial intelligence and 3D realism through Lia, a virtual person. To learn more about Lia 27 Inc. please visit the company's website and social media pages. SOURCE LIA 27 inc. Name-calling in politics grabs headlines, but voters dont like it and it could backfire in the 2022 midterm elections Partnership champions financial inclusion, reliably expands the availability and flow of capital in Latin America and empowers SMEs throughout the region. BARRANQUILLA, Colombia and GREENWICH, Conn. and MIAMI, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Liquitech, a financial technology venture founded in Barranquilla, Colombia in 2019, announces a strategic partnership with CrossRegional Management, an asset management firm focused on the origination and funding of direct lending portfolios in Emerging Markets, and Kandeo Asset Management, one of the leading private equity firms in Latin America, to accelerate digital factoring in the region. At Liquitech's core is the app.liquitech solution, developed by a team with more than 15 years of experience in factoring, alternative financing and technology. App.liquitech provides a 360-degree digital ecosystem that incorporates the commercial aspects of customer engagement and experience with credit and risk management in a single, robust application. "Factoring allows companies to obtain liquidity and satisfy working capital needs without resorting to debt. It lets businesses focus on what matters most: their customers, their operations and their employees," said Alexandra Mendoza CEO and founder of Liquitech. "The CrossRegional and Kandeo alliance brings together expertise in technology, factoring and the structuring of financial products not seen before in the region. It is the catalyst that will transform Liquitech to the leading factoring platform in Colombia and, ultimately, Latin America." The partnership also advances Liquitech, CrossRegional and Kandeo's common commitment to financial inclusion and social responsibility. The enhanced factoring capabilities provided by the collaboration broadens access to capital for SMEs. Liquitech is also the only factoring platform in Colombia that commits a certain percentage of proceeds to projects that support and transform local communities. The CrossRegional and Kandeo partnership will enable Liquitech to multiply the scale of this commitment. Discover more about Liquitech at www.liquitech.co. About CrossRegional CrossRegional Management LLC is an asset management firm focused on the origination and funding of direct lending portfolios in Emerging Markets, principally Latin America. Through its affiliate, CrossRegional Partners, the firm invests in Fintech and Consumer Finance companies and is the founder of Clave, a platform bringing credit and other solutions to people in Latin America, with offices in Greenwich, Connecticut, Buenos Aires, and Bogota. About Kandeo Kandeo manages private capital funds throughout Latin America. Founded in 2010, Kandeo is led by seasoned professionals from the Latin American finance, private equity and consulting industries. The Kandeo network includes offices in Colombia, Peru, Mexico and the US, with over 20 full-time investment professionals. Over the past decade, the executive team has brought leadership focused on operational excellence and strong ESG performance. Press Contacts: Pedro Guinovart Liquitech [email protected] www.liquitech.co Marcelo Pizzimbono CrossRegional [email protected] www.crossregional.com Christian Lesmes Kandeo [email protected] www.kandeofund.com SOURCE CrossRegional Management Metabolon to collaborate with NTU Singapore's medical school to identify biomarkers for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. MORRISVILLE, N.C., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Metabolon, Inc., the global leader in providing metabolomics solutions that advance a wide variety of research, diagnostic, therapeutic development, and precision medicine applications, today announced a new partnership with the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) to identify biomarkers using data from the Health for Life in Singapore (HELIOS) study. The HELIOS study, established and led by NTU LKCMedicine, aims to understand the health of the Singaporean population by collecting deep phenotypic data regarding lifestyle, environment, and genes that may influence health. HELIOS has captured insightful data across a broad range of diseases, including atherosclerosis, diabetes, cardiometabolic disease, coronary artery disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, frailty, aging, osteoporosis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Metabolon will leverage HELIOS data to identify biomarkers to support the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of a wide range of health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other chronic diseases. The collaborative data agreement and long-term follow-up of cohort participants will enable the investigation of the complex relationship between environment, lifestyle, and genetic factors that may lead to subsequent disease. "We are diversifying cohort partnerships as we continue to expand our disease coverage strategy. We're eager to start this exceptional partnership with HELIOS," said Rohan Hastie, Ph.D., President and CEO of Metabolon. "The fact that disease prevalence changes with ethnicity makes it important to capture the metabolome from diverse cohorts. Additionally, geographical location and culture present an enormous influence on the microbiome. The opportunity to study data across the globe allows for the capture of this diversity at the metabolic level and enables us to develop solutions that are precise and focused on the population to be served." Professor Joseph Sung, Dean of LKCMedicine and NTU's Senior Vice President (Health & Life Sciences), said: "NTU Singapore's collaboration with Metabolon on metabolite analysis will help make the HELIOS data set more holistic and enhance population and global health research at LKCMedicine, which is one of our key research programs. The study will provide a powerful resource for developing innovative and effective approaches for prediction, prevention, and management of chronic diseases to improve the health of Singaporeans and in turn, reduce healthcare burden." "HELIOS' data represent one of the most extensive sets of lifestyle and health metrics measuring blood profiles, skin health, visual acuity, cognitive assessment, bone density, liver function, muscle and body mass, lung health, cardiovascular fitness, and arterial stiffness along with genetic variants," said Rangaprasad (Ranga) Sarangarajan, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), Metabolon. "While genomics data provide the risk of disease, Metabolon will take it to the next level providing a comprehensive functional readout of biological processes using metabolomics to identify biomarker signatures that represent transitions from homeostasis to disease." NTU LKCMedicine's Professor John Chambers, Chief Investigator of HELIOS, said: "This is an important, timely, and welcomed partnership between LKCMedicine and Metabolon, a major international biotechnology company, on the HELIOS study. The collaboration will enable researchers at LKCMedicine and our partner academic organizations to better understand the functional disturbances that may lead to diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions of high public health importance. As one of the most comprehensive studies of metabolic regulation in Asian populations, the results will provide major new insights into the determinants of health, with findings of direct relevance to Singapore." About Metabolon Metabolon, Inc. is the global leader in metabolomics, with a mission to deliver biochemical data and insights that expand and accelerate the impact of life sciences research. Over 20 years, 10,000+ projects, 2,800+ publications, and ISO 9001:2015 and CLIA certifications, Metabolon has developed industry-leading scientific, technology, and bioinformatics techniques. Metabolon's Precision Metabolomics platform is enabled by the world's largest proprietary metabolomics reference library. Metabolon's industry-leading data and translational science expertise help customers and partners address some of the most challenging and pressing questions in the life sciences, accelerating research and enhancing development success. The company offers scalable, customizable metabolomics and lipidomics solutions supporting customer needs from discovery through clinical trials and product life-cycle management. For more information, please visit www.metabolon.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. About Metabolomics Metabolomics, the large-scale study of all small molecules in a biological system, is the only 'omics technology that provides a complete current-state functional readout of a biological system. Metabolomics helps researchers see beyond the genetic variation of individuals, capturing the combined impact of genetic as well as external factors such as the effect of drugs, diet, lifestyle, and the microbiome on human health. By measuring thousands of discrete chemical signals that form biological pathways in the body, metabolomics can reveal important biomarkers enabling a better understanding of a drug's mechanism of action, pharmacodynamics, and safety profile, as well as individual responses to therapy. SOURCE Metabolon, Inc. Opens local company store in Chico to the pubic throughout October, offers premium California-grown and Mediterranean-inspired foods created from authentic family recipes CHICO, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mooney Farms, a certified woman-owned family farm celebrating 35 years as a proud Chico-based company, announces today it will be taking part in Sierra Oro Farm Trail's annual, month-long Harvest Celebration in Butte County. Mooney Farms will join dozens of local businesses that produce specialty food and wine by opening their doors to the public for special tours and tastings. Throughout October, including "Chico Highlight Weekend" from October 8 and October 9, Mooney Farms will open its company store and offer custom gift baskets, gourmet foods, and authentic Italian offerings perfect for enjoying now or saving for gifts for the holiday season. Visitors can sign up for a 2022 Farm & Wine Pass at SierraOro.org to enjoy 10 percent off any purchase and a free 7 oz Sun Dried Tomato Bruschetta during their visit to Mooney Farms. Throughout October, including "Chico Highlight Weekend" from October 8 and October 9, Mooney Farms will open its company store and offer custom gift baskets, gourmet foods, and authentic Italian offerings perfect for enjoying now or saving for gifts for the holiday season. Visitors can sign up for a 2022 Farm & Wine Pass at SierraOro.org to enjoy 10 percent off any purchase and a free 7 oz Sun Dried Tomato Bruschetta during their visit to Mooney Farms. During the Harvest Celebration, Mooney Farms will be showcasing its new Salad Dressings made with 100% olive oil, which the company has recently added to its flagship Bella Sun Luci line in three varieties: authentic Balsamic Vinaigrette with sweet and fragrant aged balsamic vinegar; Tuscan-style Sonoma Vinaigrette, rich with garlic and sun-dried tomatoes; and premium California Vinaigrette with sweet oranges and wildflower honey. Each features Mooney Farms' very own California Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cold-pressed from the finest Arbequina olives and selected specifically for the salad dressings from the family estate grove. Then Mooney Farms adds only the best ingredients such as robust vinegar, orange peel and honey, all blended with just the right combination of spices and herbs for an extremely flavorful result. Other products available from the Bella Sun Luci line include new Tuscan Sun Dried Tomato Seasoning Rub, Plant-Based Tomato Jerky, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Sun Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil, Pasta Sauces, Bruschetta Spreads, Bottled Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Risotto and Marinades. For more information, please visit BellaSunLuci.com. About Mooney Farms & Bella Sun Luci Founded in 1986, Mooney Farms is a third-generation, certified woman-owned, family company rooted in quality, integrity, and family values that has grown to be the premier producer of sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil in the United States. Based in Chico, California, Mooney Farms has a 100,000 square foot facility and 200-year-old olive trees planted among rows of lavender and rosemary, which reflects the family's rich history of the Mediterranean. Its flagship product line, Bella Sun Luci, features premium California-grown and Mediterranean-inspired foods created from authentic family recipes. The Bella Sun Luci line is best known for Sun Dried Tomatoes and Sun Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oilwith a distinctively fresh and sweet flavor from being dried under the California sun, they add genuine Mediterranean flavor to homemade appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, pastas and more. The Bella Sun Luci line also includes new 100% olive-oil Salad Dressings, a Sun Dried Tomato Tuscan Rub, deliciously sweet Plant-Based Tomato Jerky, Pasta Sauces, Bruschetta Spreads, Bottled Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Risotto and Marinades. Visit BellaSunLuci.com to learn more and follow on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. Press Contact: Katie Cycan Crier Communications 310-274-1072 x 207 [email protected] SOURCE Mooney Farms Collaboration offers investors new Physical Climate Risk Metrics that can manage physical climate risks and support responding to TCFD reporting standards TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar Sustainalytics, a leading global provider of ESG research, ratings, and data, has established a strategic agreement with XDI, an award-winning global leader in physical climate risk analysis on companies and their operational assets. XDI specializes in statistical and probabilistic models that assess how extreme weather and climate change impact physical assets and business operations. With more institutional investors seeking sophisticated climate data and analysis to manage risks and fulfill climate disclosure requirements, Morningstar Sustainalytics, in collaboration with XDI, is well-positioned to deliver high-quality physical climate risk solutions. Recently, Morningstar Sustainalytics launched Physical Climate Risk Metrics, which are powered by XDI's state-of-the-art Climate Risk Engines. The scenario analysis in the Physical Climate Risk Metrics quantitatively estimates the direct physical climate risks of more than 12,500 companies worldwide. This company-level analysis is underpinned by a database of over 12 million assets and facilities, enabling comparative analysis for investors. XDI's Climate Risk Engines power bottom-up analysis of the relative exposure and vulnerability of companies to the physical impacts of climate change across seven physical hazards. The results are expressed as three metrics, including High Risk Assets, Asset Damage Risk, and Productive Capacity Loss. Investors can leverage this scenario analysis, comparable across different companies and industries, to support risk identification, climate disclosure requirements, product creation, engagement activities, and security selection. Physical Climate Risk Metrics is the first new offering in Morningstar Sustainalytics' suite of Climate Solutions. The firm has been building its Climate Solutions unit as well as its product suite, research capabilities, and technology infrastructure to advance its innovation agenda. With more than 100 in-house professionals across a variety of disciplines, the firm's unit is focused on meeting the needs of the financial services industry for climate-related research and data. The Climate Solutions unit is bolstered by Morningstar's recent acquisition of Aquantix, a Montreal-based technology company that provides property-level climate risk data services for the real estate and mortgage lending industries. With an experienced in-house team, the XDI agreement, and Aquantix's technology, Morningstar Sustainalytics can provide best-in-class climate solutions to its clients. "Our institutional investor clients are looking for comprehensive climate tools such as ratings, research, and data to respond to TCFD and EU Action Plan reporting standards and to identify and mitigate their climate-related portfolio risks," said Azadeh Sabour, Morningstar Sustainalytics' Senior Vice President of Climate Solutions. "Our collaboration with XDI allows us to provide our investor and banking clients with high-quality insights and solutions so they can address the risks emanating from the climate crisis. We look forward to a long and successful relationship with XDI." "Accessing comparable and meaningful company-level physical climate risk data can pose significant challenges for investors seeking to align their investments to broader climate objectives," said Rohan Hamden, CEO of XDI. "XDI's ability to geospatially match over 12 million assets to the companies that own or lease them is a unique market differentiator. With our highly focused technology and Morningstar's scale and expertise, investors can access a robust set of structured metrics to understand the physical climate risks that their portfolio companies may face. We are delighted to team up with Morningstar Sustainalytics and demonstrate the detail and reach of our modelling of physical climate risk to their institutional investor clients." For more information on the Physical Climate Risk Metrics, please visit here. About Morningstar Sustainalytics Morningstar Sustainalytics is a leading ESG research, ratings and data firm that supports investors around the world with the development and implementation of responsible investment strategies. For 30 years, the firm has been at the forefront of developing high-quality, innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of global investors. Today, Morningstar Sustainalytics works with hundreds of the world's leading asset managers and pension funds who incorporate ESG and corporate governance information and assessments into their investment processes. The firm also works with hundreds of companies and their financial intermediaries to help them consider sustainability in policies, practices, and capital projects. With 17 offices globally, Morningstar Sustainalytics has more than 1,600 staff members, including more than 500 analysts with multidisciplinary expertise across more than 40 industry groups. For more information, visit www.sustainalytics.com . Disclaimer Morningstar Sustainalytics produces various ratings, assessments and metrics which include assumptions of future events, which may or may not occur or may differ significantly from what was assumed. These ratings, assessments and metrics are statements of opinions, subject to change, are not to be considered as guarantees, and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. Morningstar Sustainalytics does not provide investment advice or any other form of (financial) advice and nothing within this press release constitutes such advice. Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on our current expectations about future events or future financial performance. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, and often contain words such as "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," or "continue." These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the events we discuss not to occur or to differ significantly from what we expect. For us, these risks and uncertainties include, among others, failing to maintain and protect our brand, independence, and reputation; liability related to cybersecurity and the protection of confidential information, including personal information about individuals; liability for any losses that result from an actual or claimed breach of our fiduciary duties or failure to comply with applicable securities laws; compliance failures, regulatory action, or changes in laws applicable to our credit ratings operations, or our investment advisory, ESG, and index businesses; failing to respond to technological change, keep pace with new technology developments, or adopt a successful technology strategy; the failure to recruit, develop, and retain qualified employees and compensation expense associated with these activities in a period of inflation and rising wage scales in the markets where we operate; inadequacy of our operational risk management and business continuity programs in the event of a material disruptive event, including an outage of our database, technology-based products and services or network facilities; failing to differentiate our products and services and continuously create innovative, proprietary, and insightful financial technology solutions; prolonged volatility or downturns affecting the financial sector, global financial markets, and global economy and its effect on our revenue from asset-based fees and credit ratings business; failing to maintain growth across our businesses in today's fragmented geopolitical, regulatory and cultural world; liability relating to the information and data we collect, store, use, create, and distribute or the reports that we publish or are produced by our software products; the failure of acquisitions and other investments to be efficiently integrated and produce the results we anticipate; the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic and government actions in response thereto on our business, financial condition, and results of operations; challenges faced by our non-U.S. operations, including the concentration of data and development work at our offshore facilities in China and India; our indebtedness could adversely affect our cash flows and financial flexibility; and the failure to protect our intellectual property rights or claims of intellectual property infringement against us. A more complete description of these risks and uncertainties can be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. If any of these risks and uncertainties materialize, our actual future results and other future events may vary significantly from what we expect. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events. SOURCE Morningstar Sustainalytics Leading Optical Retailers on a Mission to Making Eye Care Easy and Serve Optical Needs of the Community at New Locations PALM SPRINGS, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- My Eyelab and Stanton Optical , leading retail brands of Now Optics offering accessible and affordable eye care and eyewear, opened five stores in three states during September. The new full-service retail eye care centers opening across Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas will offer same day eye exams, prescription eyewear for both kids and adults, top brand contact lenses, and a wide range of stylish and affordable frames. The new retail optical stores opened in the following locations: Stanton Optical Logo (PRNewsfoto/Now Optics) Georgia : : My Eyelab at 733 Bullsboro Drive in Atlanta's Newnan area Newnan area My Eyelab at 1671 Howell Mill Road in Atlanta My Eyelab at 1436 North Expressway in Griffin Texas My Eyelab at 1002 N Shepherd Drive in Houston's The Heights area The Heights area Louisiana : : Stanton Optical at 2578 Airline Drive in Bossier City With the exception of Stanton Optical in Bossier City, LA, all other store openings are My Eyelab franchises. The launch of these locations falls right in line with Now Optics' vision of modernizing the eye care experience for all, bringing accessible and affordable eye care to their communities. "The Stanton Optical and My Eyelab team of professionals are happy to be able to provide high-quality eye care services and eyewear products to the families and communities in these new locations," said Daniel Stanton, CEO of Now Optics, the parent company of Stanton Optical and My Eyelab. "We look forward to bringing vision clarity to those that need it, as well as creating new jobs in the communities our stores serve." Under the leadership of founder and CEO Daniel Stanton, My Eyelab and Stanton Optical have led the optical industry in ocular telehealth by leveraging proprietary innovative telehealth technology to provide patients with affordable quality eye exams. Tapping into its national network of affiliated doctors, to date the company has conducted more than 2 million telehealth eye exams, something no other optical retailer can offer in Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has not hindered My Eyelab and Stanton Optical's success, as its telehealth technology minimizes the risk without compromising quality eye care. Most Stanton Optical stores offer same day service. You can get an eye exam and your single vision glasses all made the same day due to onsite labs. For convenience, My Eyelab and Stanton Optical offer same day eye exams and walk-ins. They accept most insurance and offer Buy now pay later options, and even without insurance eye exams are free with the purchase of eyeglasses. On top of that, an assortment of over 1,000 eyeglass frames and top contact lens brands to fit both style and budgets allows consumers the ultimate freedom to experiment with unique, stylish designs that fit their personal style. Hours for the new optical stores are Monday Saturday from 9AM-7PM. Sundays - Closed. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit www.myeyelab.com or www.stantonoptical.com . ABOUT NOW OPTICS: Now Optics is a leader in the eye care industry. Its retail brands, My Eyelab and Stanton Optical, are among the nation's fastest growing, full-service retail eye care centers. The company continues to expand its retail footprint with over 250 corporate and franchise locations in 28 states while delivering affordable eye health and eyewear solutions. The company consistently ranks among the largest optical retailers in the country by Vision Monday and was ranked #3 on Entrepreneur's list of Top New Franchises in 2021. Visit myeyelab.com or stantonoptical.com for more information. Find details about franchise opportunities at myeyelabfranchise.com . SOURCE Now Optics WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Press Club will host the second annual Run For Austin Virtual 5K on Saturday, November 12, 2022 to raise awareness and public support for journalist Austin Tice, who has been unjustly detained in Syria since 2012. The Run For Austin is the next campaign in ongoing efforts from the National Press Club and the Press Freedom community to continue pushing for action in Austin's case. The Press Club encourages the public to keep Austin top of mind by taking part in the virtual race and sharing on social media. Sign up here to #RunForAustin . Register by October 24 to receive an official race t-shirt. Sign-up as an individual or create/join a team to run or walk any route, from anywhere, at any time, on the day of the race. Austin Tice is a Marine combat veteran, a seventh-generation Texan from Houston, a graduate of Georgetown University, and an award-winning journalist who has been unjustly detained in Syria since 2012. After seeing reports of the refugee crisis unfolding in Syria, Austin picked up his camera and headed straight to the front lines as a freelance reporter. He delivered important dispatches to The Washington Post and McClatchy before he was detained at a checkpoint near Damascus on August 14, 2012. After more than ten years, Austin has endured the longest detention of any U.S. journalist to date. Use the hashtags #RunForAustin and #BringAustinHome to keep the conversation going. Tag @PressClubDC to share with us your trails, your training and your teams as race day approaches! Registered participants may download a personal race bib to print out and wear. After completing the virtual 5K on Saturday, Nov. 12, runners can submit race results through their registered participant account. Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. The Club has 3,000 members worldwide representing nearly every major news organization and is a leading voice for press freedom in the United States and around the globe. Contact: Kate Helster for the National Press Club, 202-662 7516, [email protected] SOURCE National Press Club Diagnostic Research Center Enables Students to Test and Develop Clinical Workflows to Help Shape Laboratory Performance and Patient Outcomes FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, today officially opened the BD Innovation Center in collaboration with University of Maryland BioPark, offering University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) students and researchers access to state-of-the-art equipment to support and accelerate innovation in medical diagnostic technology. (From left) Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, President of UMB, Brooke Story, President of Integrated Diagnostic Solutions for BD, and Maryland Commerce Secretary Mike Gill celebrate the opening of the BD Innovation Center at the University of Maryland BioPark. (PRNewsfoto/BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company)) Located in West Baltimore at the UM BioPark (part of the UMB campus), the BD Innovation Center goal is to help streamline clinical laboratory workflows and improve patient care by expanding basic diagnostic knowledge, developing new diagnostic capabilities and shaping the future of diagnostics by allowing students and researchers to provide real-world feedback on early diagnostic concepts. "The addition of the BD Innovation Center to the UM BioPark will not only support our thriving life sciences sector, but also help Maryland remain one of the most innovative states in the nation," said Maryland Commerce Secretary Mike Gill. "This collaboration will ensure that our future workforce is prepared to tackle the technologies and challenges of tomorrow. We are very grateful to BD for its continued investment in Maryland." Secretary Gill also presented Brooke Story, president of Integrated Diagnostic Solutions for BD, with a citation from Governor Hogan recognizing the history of BD in Maryland in honor of the company's 125th anniversary. "I'm particularly proud that BD is continuing its commitment to life sciences around the world by working with UMB to put our first university-housed research center right here at home in Baltimore," said Story. "This collaboration is part of an integral pipeline to and from the local community to actively foster and build engagement with the next generation of STEM practitioners and leaders with a focus on inclusion, diversity and equity." The BD Innovation Center currently houses: The BD COR PX/GX fully automated high-throughput diagnostic system, which uses robotics and sample management software algorithms for infectious disease molecular testing; The BD MAX System for mid-throughput molecular applications, which includes a variety of clinically validated assays and an open system for sample-to-answer assay development; The BD BACTEC FX for state-of-the-art blood culture detection of organisms; and The BD Phoenix M50 for ID/AST providing sample-to-answer identification and antimicrobial susceptibility determinations. "UMB and the UM BioPark have enjoyed a longstanding, multi-faceted relationship with BD," said Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, President of UMB. "We look forward to establishing new collaborations that will advance the work, stimulate new research projects with UMB faculty and students, and prepare the next generations of STEM innovators." The BD Integrated Diagnostic Solutions (IDS) business unit has its global headquarters in Sparks, Maryland with more than 2,200 associates responsible for developing and manufacturing the latest diagnostic technology solutions critical to identifying known and new pathogens. The site is integral to the company's testing innovations around cervical cancer, respiratory infections, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) as well as the ongoing fight against antimicrobial resistance. About BD BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of health care by developing innovative technology, services and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for health care providers. BD and its 75,000 employees have a passion and commitment to help enhance the safety and efficiency of clinicians' care delivery process, enable laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance researchers' capabilities to develop the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every country and partners with organizations around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand access to health care. For more information on BD, please visit bd.com or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/bd1/ and Twitter @BDandCo. About UM BioPark The UM BioPark offers high-quality lab and office space solutions for companies of all sizes, especially high-growth companies seeking connection with its academic partner, University of Maryland, Baltimore. Tenants include industry-leading global firms such as Pharmaron, Illumina, BD, and Catalent, next-gen ventures, university spinouts, distinguished research organizations, cutting-edge clinical care, and contemporary workforce training programs. For more information visit www.umbiopark.com Contacts: Media (BD) : Mela Sera, APR IDS Global Communications 443.824.8012 [email protected] Media (UMB) : Claire Murphy UM BioPark Marketing 217.714.8816 (mobile)/410.706.6293 (office) [email protected] SOURCE BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) Rent Panda partners with VeriFast to provide fast and comprehensive tenant verification tools to small landlords, making renting safer, less stressful and more efficient TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rent Panda, a Canadian tech-enabled real estate company, has launched an innovative and industry-leading tenant screening product for the home rental market. The Rent Panda Smart Screening tool makes it faster, safer and more efficient for small landlords and investors to find the best tenants for their rental properties. Rent Panda's Smart Screening is the most comprehensive, tenant screening tool for real estate investors in Canada. It's the fastest way to pre-qualify applicants, organise applications, and rank the best candidates for your rental property. It also provides the most advanced tools to make the right decision about who to rent to instant credit & background reports, income & expenses reports and ID verification software, so you know who the right tenant is for the property. "Our smart screening tools are designed to help both parties in the rental relationship," says Hart Togman, co-founder and CEO, Rent Panda. "We help potential tenants be more than just their credit score by reviewing and providing landlords with more than 50 assessment criteria data points to ensure a fair rental process for those looking for a new home. And for landlords, our tool will allow them to securely review tenant applications, backed by powerful technology to inform and reduce time during their decision-making process." Rent Panda has also partnered with Verifast, the number one Verification-as-a-Service Platform to provide real-time screening of an applicant's financial data in minutes to give landlords the confidence in knowing if a tenant can pay rent and live comfortably. Verifast also provides instant tenant ID verification using facial recognition compared to the applicant's government-issued ID, so landlords can rent confidently knowing the proper checks have been conducted. "Rent Panda is bringing a much-needed focus to serving small landlords and property management companies. We're excited to work together to empower their clients to complete identity and financial verifications in less than 3 minutes leveraging VeriFast's 'Verification-as-a-Service' API," Tim Ray, Co-Founder & CEO, VeriFast VeriFast is the only complete screening analytics firm that delivers an array of technology needed for advanced screening from ID verification, income and employment verification, with rich behavioural insights. VeriFast stands alone in helping landlords make better-informed applicant decisions. "Supply and demand issues are putting tremendous pressure on both landlords and tenants," Said Togman. "Our platform is designed to make it less stressful for small landlords to find the perfect tenant by adopting new, smart rental assessment tools that go well beyond the credit score to sift through hundreds of applications quickly to pre-qualify candidates and provide a list of top tenant recommendations." About Rent Panda Rent Panda is a tech-enabled Canadian real estate company. Our mission is to empower small landlords with innovative tools and services that make the landlording experience possible helping small landlords effectively find tenants in Ontario. From a free listing platform for do-it-yourself landlords, to a white-glove leasing service for more passive landlords, Rent Panda offers the most comprehensive services in the industry, making it safer for all parties to rent. For more information visit www.rentpanda.ca or follow us on Instagram , Facebook and LinkedIn . About Verifast VeriFast is a Verification Analytics provider on a mission to digitize and automate financial and identity validation for applicants and service providers alike. In 3 minutes or less, VeriFast seamlessly connects applicants with their banks and payroll providers, securely extracting and enriching relevant data to deliver robust insights. VeriFast reports confirm details such as monthly income, identity, employment specifics, alternative income sources, rent payments, auto payments, unique spending behaviours, monthly balance trends, cashflow analyses, and much more. For more information visit https://www.verifast.com. Press Contact Perry Schwartz 4167388490 SOURCE Rent Panda Strengthens New Story's Executive Leadership Team BALTIMORE, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- New Story, a leading provider of special education services in the U.S., announced the appointment of Gregg Haddad to the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Haddad brings more than 30 years of public and private company experience across a wide range of finance and business functions within large public businesses as well as complex private businesses, including in the health care, insurance, and technology fields. He's held several senior positions from CFO and Chief Strategy Officer to corporate development. "Gregg is a proven CFO with a superior track record of delivering results and creating value. I'm excited to welcome him to New Story," said Jon Bicknell, Chief Executive Officer. "His roles spanning financial operations and planning to spearheading important strategic initiatives surrounding growth and value creation will help us evolve our business and add new capabilities that will accelerate our performance and impact of our mission." Prior to joining New Story, Gregg was the Chief Strategy Officer for Aetna's Government Programs business under the CVS Health umbrella. Prior, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Avalon Healthcare Solutions, a privately owned health IT and value-based services company, and prior to that served as VP of Corporate Development at WellCare Health Plans. Gregg holds a Master's in Business Administration from The University of Chicago and Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of Michigan. This newly appointed position rounds out the company's executive leadership team, which includes: Jon Bicknell , Chief Executive Officer , Chief Executive Officer Amie Carter , Chief Administrative and Information Officer , Chief Administrative and Information Officer Gregg Haddad , Chief Financial Officer , Chief Financial Officer Keith Jackson , Chief Operating Officer , Chief Operating Officer Olena Maleckyj , Chief Human Resource Officer "Our executive leadership team has the right blend of strategic and well-honed operating skills to continue to transform New Story and our service offerings," added Bicknell. "With this team in place we are well positioned to serve children in need and execute on our mission to help as many children and young adults possible with serious and complex challenges live a better life." New Story Schools, the company's flagship school brand, was founded in 1997 with one school in Pennsylvania. Since 1997, New Story's network of schools and clinics expanded to six states and 10 portfolio companies. Its 63 schools and clinics offer a range of educational and clinical therapy programs and services for children and young adults with special and alternative education, and pediatric mental health needs. SOURCE New Story CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Join North Carolina Humanities on October 11, 2022 as they celebrate and reflect on 50 years of learning, sharing, and growing together and look forward to what's ahead during this special anniversary event in Charlotte, NC. View the invitation to learn more and RSVP. The 50th Anniversary Celebration will highlight their past and current work as they commit to 50 more years of lifelong learning. North Carolina Humanities has selected Steve Crump to receive the 2022 John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities! The announcement was made on Charlotte's WBTV on 7/7/2022. Steve Crump will receive the 2022 John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities NC Humanities will entertain with delicious hors d'oeuvres, beverages, networking, and live jazz music performed throughout the evening by several NC Humanities board trustees! Jazz musicians and trustees Todd Wright and Douglas Jackson, with vocalist and board chair Lorna Ricotta, will share their musical talents alongside Charlotte musicians. The Celebration will culminate with the memorable presentation of NC Humanities' 2022 John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities to Charlotte journalist and documentarian Steve Crump. Crump is being honored with this prestigious award for his lifelong dedication to creative documentary storytelling and truthful, in-depth news reporting. Admission is free and donations are greatly appreciated. Donations, of any amount, can be made during event registration or directly at https://nchumanities.networkforgood.com. Can't make it in person? The 50th Anniversary Celebration program will be livestreamed on NC Humanities' YouTube page starting at approximately 7:00 PM on October 11. About North Carolina Humanities: Through public humanities programs and grantmaking, North Carolina Humanities connects North Carolinians with cultural experiences that spur dialogue, deepen human connections, and inspire community. North Carolina Humanities is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Learn more at www.nchumanities.org. SOURCE North Carolina Humanities Pioneering research institute on wireless 5G and 6G networks launching state-of-the-art research and development center. BOSTON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things at Northeastern University is pleased to announce the creation of Open6G, a new US Department of Defense (DoD) supported industry-university cooperative research center focused on future open, programmable, and disaggregated 6G systems. Open6G is led by an anchor award under the auspices of the Innovate Beyond 5G thrust within the 5G-to-xG Initiative, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Research and Engineering) (OUSD(R&E)). The technical effort will be housed at Northeastern University's Institute for Wireless Internet of Things. Industry partners and collaborators of the Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things (WIoT) who are active in the wireless, defense, computing, and manufacturing industries include A5G Networks, AiRANACULUS, AMD, ANDRO Computational Solutions, AT&T, Bionet Sonar, Dell Technologies, InterDigital, Keysight Technologies, MathWorks, Mavenir, MITRE, Nexcepta, NI (formerly National Instruments), NVIDIA, Qualcomm Inc., Raytheon Technologies, Red Hat, US Ignite, and VIAVI. The new Open6G facility will occupy approximately 4600 square feet of prime space at the Innovation Campus in Burlington, MA, and will be co-located with Colosseum, the world's largest radio frequency channel emulator enabling the building and testing of intelligent, autonomous, collaborative, wireless technologies for military and commercial use; a massive AI computing capability; and one of the world's largest anechoic chambers. Northeastern University's Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things Launches Open6G Research and Development Center Tweet this Open6G's overarching goal is to create a Federal-Industry-University cooperative research, development, testing, and commercialization hub to jumpstart beyond-5G systems research. It will explore themes such as future spectrum access and exploitation, performance of Open RAN architectures, AI/ML for inference and control, mmWave and Terahertz systems, Digital Twins, Augmented and Virtual Reality, and Web 3.0, among others. Open6G will provide testbed-as-a-service capabilities to its partners through state-of-the-art infrastructure spanning unique test facilities including Colosseum, Arena, XMili, and Teranova. Open6G will develop a common reference architecture and open source software for B5G/6G based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards and O-RAN specifications, via public releases of the OpenAirInterface Software Alliance (OSA) stack. Open6G will be supported by an array of state-of-the-art facilities and resources within Northeastern's College of Engineering: Colosseum is the world's largest emulator of virtualized wireless systems. Its massive computing resources (CPU, GPU, FPGA) empower WIoT to research, develop, and test systems like 5G, O-RAN, AI, Spectrum, IoT, or drones. AI-Jump Start Rack's unique AI+wireless experimental facilities can perform large-scale training of RF datasets collected on Colosseum, real-time, AI-driven signal processing, and model-free adaptation and network control, which allows WIoT to extend Colosseum's AI capabilities. Arena is an open-access indoor wireless testing platform that can provide a real-time real-channel evaluation platform with fully synchronized testbed and can perform repeatable, flexible, and scalable high-fi indoor experiments. XMili (mmWave) is the largest mmWave testbed available in the nation; Teranova is the first testbed enabling transmissions above 1 THz (or true terahertz), and ultrabroadband real time signal processing. WIoT is home to one of 4 Nationwide FCC Innovation Zones, located at Northeastern University's main campus in Boston, MA, and Innovation Campus in Burlington, MA. WIoT's FCC Innovation zone caters to a wide range of frequencies and is the first and only Innovation Zone to support frequencies in the ranges of: 71-86 GHz, 122.5-140 GHz, 209-225 GHz, 232-235 GHz, 238-250 GHz, and 1-1.05 THz. RFData Factory is a one-stop resource for wireless dataset generation, curation, and sharing. "Open6G will offer the expertise of Northeastern faculty, researchers, and students to create partnerships that will shape the future of our connected world", says Prof. Tommaso Melodia, Director of Northeastern University's Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things, and Director of Research for the PAWR Project Office. "We will work with our partners in academia, industry, and government to consolidate the role of Open6G as a leading national resource for next generation wireless systems, their applications, and their societal impact." Dr. Sumit Roy, Program Director for Innovate Beyond 5G at OUSD(R&E), stated, "DoD cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and rely purely on commercial industry to develop B5G capabilities; it must invest in open standards based system integration test labs aligned with DoD applications. The Open6G Center will accelerate core beyond-5G protocol stack components that serve both DoD and commercial wireless requirements and applications. The 6G oriented research, development, test & evaluation infrastructure developed by Open6G with Federal and Industry partner support will constitute a key element of North American leadership in future "Next G" technologies". For more information on Open6G, please visit: www.open6g.us About the Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things at Northeastern University . The Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things (WIoT) at Northeastern University is an interdisciplinary research center, a think tank, and a technology incubator promoting advancement in the areas of connected systems and their societal applications and implications. WIoT conducts cutting-edge research, develops new cross-disciplinary educational models, and new technologies for networked systems at the intersection between the physical and the digital worlds and on their legal, economic, ethical, and policy implications. WIoT is home to leading national programs such as the NSF Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research, 5G/6G R&D Centers, AI for wireless systems, and future spectrum exploitation. The Open6G project is managed by the Kostas Research Institute through a cooperative agreement with the Army Research Laboratory. For more information on the Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things, please visit: https://www.northeastern.edu/wiot 805 Columbus Ave., Boston, MA 02120 (617) 373 - 4897 [email protected] SOURCE Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things DUBLIN, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Fintech-as-a-Service Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Type (Payment, Fund Transfer, Loan), by Technology (Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain), by Application, by End-use, by Region, and Segment Forecasts, 2022-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global fintech-as-a-service market size is expected to reach USD 949.49 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 17.2% from 2022 to 2030. The increasing adoption of financial technology-based solutions and platforms globally is anticipated to drive the growth of the market. The increasing adoption of artificial intelligence, cloud-based software, and big data integrated with financial services is expected to drive the growth of the market for fintech-as-a-service. The growing utilization of smartphones for online transactions and fintech-related services through digital platforms is anticipated to drive the growth of the market. For Instance, approximately 44% of the payments were done through a mobile app, according to the statistics provided by Emizentech. In addition, according to a recent study conducted by Tipalti Inc., 64% of consumers worldwide use one or more fintech platforms as a service as of 2021. The investments made in financial technology companies are estimated to generate opportunities for market growth over the forecast period. For example, an API developer, Railsbank Technology Ltd, raised USD 70 million in a fundraising event headed by Anthos Capital, a U.S.-based investment company, in July 2021. The funds would be used to develop the company's Fintech-as-a-service platform and to provide customers with various product development solutions. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to play a crucial role in driving the growth of the Fintech-as-a-Service platform market over the forecast period. The increasing demand for digital financial services increased drastically during the pandemic. Financial institutions and banks were looking at innovative ways to provide their services online during the pandemic which propelled the growth of the market. Fintech-as-a-Service Market Report Highlights The fund transfer segment is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. The fund transfers apps and software being introduced such as Meta Pay by some of the major companies worldwide are expected to drive the growth of the segment by some of the major companies worldwide are expected to drive the growth of the segment The artificial intelligence segment is anticipated to witness the fastest growth over the projected period. The segment growth is attributed to the increasing adoption of AI among various small and medium enterprises worldwide for digital payment solutions The KYC verification segment is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period The rising fraudulent activities such as ransomware and theft identification is one of the major factors that propelled the growth in 2021 The insurance segment is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. To keep up with the consumers' changing preferences, insurers are offering flexible term products and are customizing their offerings according to customer needs. With this changing trend, insurers are adopting the Fintech-as-a-Service platform which is driving the growth The Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth over the forecast period. The growing demand for technology-based payment platforms across the region is expected to play a decisive role in driving the growth of the regional market Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1 Methodology and Scope Chapter 2 Executive Summary Chapter 3 Fintech-as-a-Service Industry Outlook 3.1 Market Segmentation and Scope 3.2 Market Size and Growth Prospects 3.3 Fintech-as-a-Service Market - Value Chain Analysis 3.4 Fintech-as-a-Service Market - Market Dynamics 3.4.1 Market driver analysis 3.4.1.1 Technological Enhancements In The Fintech Sector 3.4.1.2 Increasing Demands By Venture Capital Companies In The Fintech Sector 3.4.2 Market challenge analysis 3.4.2.1 Security issues associated with Fintech-as-a-Service 3.5 Penetration and Growth Prospect Mapping 3.6 Fintech-as-a-Service Market - Porter's Five Forces Analysis 3.7 Fintech-as-a-Service Market - PESTEL Analysis Chapter 4 FinTech Industry Highlights 4.1 Investor Strategies 4.2 Investor Vision & Goal Analysis 4.3 Funding Raised in Voice Assistant Devices 4.4 Investments Made in Self-checkout Stores Chapter 5 Investment Landscape Analysis 5.1 FinTech Ecosystem Overview 5.2 FinTech Services Overview 5.3 Total FinTech Investment, 2017 - 2021 (USD Billion) 5.4 FinTech Regulatory Outlook 5.5 FinTech Company Analysis - GVR DashBoard (Top 50 companies) Chapter 6 Fintech-as-a-Service Type Outlook 6.1 Fintech-as-a-Service Market Share By Type, 2021 6.2 Payment 6.2.1 Fintech as a payment service market, 2017 - 2030 6.3 Fund Transfer 6.3.1 Fintech as a fund transfer service market, 2017 - 2030 6.4 Loan 6.4.1 Fintech as a loan service market, 2017 - 2030 6.5 Others 6.5.1 Fintech as others service market, 2017 - 2030 Chapter 7 Fintech-as-a-Service Technology Outlook 7.1 Fintech-as-a-Service Market Share By Technology, 2021 7.2 API 7.2.1 API Fintech-as-a-Service market, 2017 - 2030 7.3 Artificial Intelligence 7.3.1 Artificial Intelligence Fintech-as-a-Service market, 2017 - 2030 7.4 RPA 7.4.1 RPA Fintech-as-a-Service market, 2017 - 2030 7.5 Blockchain 7.5.1 Blockchain Fintech-as-a-Service market, 2017 - 2030 7.6 Others 7.6.1 Others technology Fintech-as-a-Service market, 2017 - 2030 Chapter 8 Fintech-as-a-Service Application Outlook 8.1 Fintech-as-a-Service Market Share By Application, 2021 8.2 KYC Verification 8.2.1 Fintech-as-a-Service market in KYC Verification, 2017 - 2030 8.3 Fraud Monitoring 8.3.1 Fintech-as-a-Service market in fraud monitoring, 2017 - 2030 8.4 Compliance & Regulatory Support 8.4.1 Fintech-as-a-Service market in compliance & regulatory support, 2017 - 2030 8.5 Others 8.5.1 Fintech-as-a-Service market in others, 2017 - 2030 Chapter 9 Fintech-as-a-Service End-use Outlook 9.1 Fintech-as-a-Service Market Share By End-use, 2021 9.2 Banks 9.2.1 Fintech-as-a-Service market in Banks, 2017 - 2030 9.3 Financial Lending Companies 9.3.1 Fintech-as-a-Service market in financial lending companies, 2017 - 2030 9.4 Insurance 9.4.1 Fintech-as-a-Service market in insurance, 2017 - 2030 9.5 Others 9.5.1 Fintech-as-a-Service market in others, 2017 - 2030 Chapter 10 Fintech-as-a-Service Regional Outlook Chapter 11 Competitive Analysis 11.1 Recent Developments & Impact Analysis, By Key Market Participants 11.2 Company Categorization 11.3 Vendor Landscape 11.3.1 Key company market share analysis, 2021 11.4 Company Analysis Tools 11.4.1 Company market position analysis 11.4.2 Competitive dashboard analysis Chapter 12 Competitive Landscape 12.1 PayPal Holdings, Inc. 12.1.1 Company overview 12.1.2 Financial performance 12.1.3 Product benchmarking 12.1.4 Strategic initiatives 12.2 Block, Inc. 12.2.1 Company overview 12.2.2 Financial performance 12.2.3 Product benchmarking 12.2.4 Strategic initiatives 12.3 Mastercard Incorporated 12.3.2 Company overview 12.3.2 Financial performance 12.3.3 Product benchmarking 12.3.4 Strategic initiatives 12.4 Envestnet, Inc. 12.4.1 Company overview 12.4.2 Financial performance 12.4.3 Product benchmarking 12.4.4 Strategic initiatives 12.5 Upstart Holdings, Inc. 12.5.1 Company overview 12.5.2 Financial performance 12.5.3 Product benchmarking 12.5.4 Strategic initiatives 12.6 Rapyd Financial Network Ltd. 12.6.1 Company overview 12.6.2 Financial performance 12.6.3 Product benchmarking 12.6.4 Strategic initiatives 12.7 Solid Financial Technologies, Inc. 12.7.1 Company overview 12.7.2 Financial performance 12.7.3 Product benchmarking 12.7.4 Strategic initiatives 12.8 Railsbank Technology Ltd. 12.8.1 Company overview 12.8.2 Financial performance 12.8.3 Product benchmarking 12.8.4 Strategic initiatives 12.9 Syncetera Inc. 12.9.1 Company overview 12.9.2 Financial performance 12.9.3 Product benchmarking 12.9.4 Strategic initiatives 12.10 Braintree 12.10.1 Company overview 12.10.2 Financial performance 12.10.3 Product benchmarking 12.10.4 Strategic initiatives For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/oofqxz 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 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets Sales Execution Platform recognized with highest possible score in 23 out of the 30 evaluation criteria SEATTLE, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Outreach, the sales execution platform helping revenue organizations deliver efficient, predictable growth, today announced it was named as a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Sales Engagement Platforms, Q3 2022. Outreach received the highest possible scores across 23 of the 30 evaluation criteria. This follows Outreach's placement as a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Revenue Operations and Intelligence, Q1 2022. Of the three vendors evaluated in both reports, Outreach is the only vendor named as a Leader in both. "Outreach is proud to be named a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Sales Engagement Platforms, Q3 2022 report," said Manny Medina, co-founder and CEO of Outreach. "Sales engagement is critical for sales teams who want to improve their rep efficiency, and help companies build more pipeline with fewer resources which is essential in this period of economic turbulence." The full Outreach Sales Execution Platform combines world class sales engagement technology with revenue intelligence and operations empowering our customers to accelerate pipeline generation, manage deals more effectively, and forecast more accurately. In the Forrester report, Outreach received the highest possible 5 out of 5 score in 23 criteria including Conversation Intelligence/Webconferencing, Workflows, Guided Selling, Sales Enablement Automation, User Experience -- interface, and 18 more. In its vendor profile Forrester wrote, "Outreach continues to execute on its superior product vision to be the AI-based sales execution engine instrumenting seller execution workflows. It uses real-time natural language processing and machine learning across the deal cycle to generate insights and guide users to take proactive actions, reduce risk, and maximize upside." The Forrester Wave: Sales Engagement Platforms, Q3 2022 is available here . . To learn more about the Outreach platform including Guide, Commit and Engage, please visit our site . About Outreach Outreach is the sales execution platform helping revenue organizations deliver efficient, predictable growth. We are helping organizations achieve their growth potential by delivering sales execution workflows that leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to close execution gaps across the entire sales cycle, from prospecting to deal management to forecasting. Outreach is the only company to offer sales engagement, revenue intelligence, and revenue operations together in one platform. More than 5,500 companies, including Zoom, Adobe, Okta, DocuSign, and SAP, depend on Outreach to power their revenue organizations. Outreach is a privately held company based in Seattle, Washington, with offices worldwide. To learn more, please visit www.outreach.io. PR Contact: Haley Flanagan [email protected] SOURCE Outreach NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Technavio has been monitoring the pallet trucks market, operating under the Industrials sector. The report estimates the market to register an incremental growth of USD 1.93 billion, at a CAGR of 6.57% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis of the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. Request Latest Free sample report. Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Pallet Trucks Market 2022-2026 The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Competitors have to focus on differentiating their product offerings with unique value propositions to strengthen their foothold in the market. Market vendors also have to leverage the existing growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. Anhui Heli Co. Ltd., BPR Rico Equipment Inc., Crown Equipment Corp., Hangcha Group Co. Ltd., Hyster Yale Materials Handling Inc., Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Jungheinrich AG, KION GROUP AG, Liftek FZC, Lokpal Industries, Manitou BF SA, Mazda Motor Corp, Nido Machineries Pvt. Ltd., Nilkamal Ltd., Noveltek Industrial Manufacturing Inc., Patel Material Handling Equipment, Presto Lifts Inc., and Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd. are among some of the major market participants. Increasing demand for packaged food and beverages has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. However, Increased use of vertical space in warehouses might hamper the market growth. Buy Sample Report. Pallet Trucks Market Segmentation Based on geographic segmentation, 50% of the market's originated from APAC during the forecast period. In addition, the automotive industry category led the growth under the end-user segment. This report provides an accurate prediction of the contribution of all the segments to the growth of the superfood powders market size. End-user Automotive Industry Food And Beverages Industry Retail Industry Other Industries Geography APAC Europe North America South America The Middle East And Africa Pallet Trucks Market Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. The pallet trucks market report covers the following areas: Pallet Trucks Market Size Pallet Trucks Market Trends Pallet Trucks Market Industry Analysis This study identifies the increased R&D of new types of batteries as one of the prime reasons driving the Pallet Trucks Market growth during the next few years. Download Free Sample Report. Pallet Trucks Market Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period Detailed information on factors that will assist pallet trucks market growth during the next five years Estimation of the pallet trucks market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the pallet trucks market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of the pallet trucks market, vendors Related Reports Industrial Safety Integrated Components Market by End-user, Product, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Waste Heat Recovery Market by End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Pallet Trucks Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.57% Market growth 2022-2026 $ 1.93 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 5.15 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 50% Key consumer countries US, China, Japan, Germany, and UK Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Anhui Heli Co. Ltd., BPR Rico Equipment Inc., Crown Equipment Corp., Hangcha Group Co. Ltd., Hyster Yale Materials Handling Inc., Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Jungheinrich AG, KION GROUP AG, Liftek FZC, Lokpal Industries, Manitou BF SA, Mazda Motor Corp, Nido Machineries Pvt. Ltd., Nilkamal Ltd., Noveltek Industrial Manufacturing Inc., Patel Material Handling Equipment, Presto Lifts Inc., Puma Lift Trucks Pvt. Ltd., Sroka Inc., and Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. 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, and 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. Browse for Technavio "Industrials" Research Reports 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 End-user 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: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors 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 End-user 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 24: Chart on End-user - Market share 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 25: Data Table on End-user - Market share 2021-2026 (%) 5.2 Comparison by End-user Exhibit 26: Chart on Comparison by End-user Exhibit 27: Data Table on Comparison by End-user 5.3 Automotive industry - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 28: Chart on Automotive industry - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 29: Data Table on Automotive industry - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 30: Chart on Automotive industry - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 31: Data Table on Automotive industry - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.4 Food and beverages industry - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 32: Chart on Food and beverages industry - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 33: Data Table on Food and beverages industry - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 34: Chart on Food and beverages industry - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 35: Data Table on Food and beverages industry - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.5 Retail industry - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 36: Chart on Retail industry - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 37: Data Table on Retail industry - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 38: Chart on Retail industry - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 39: Data Table on Retail industry - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.6 Other industries - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 40: Chart on Other industries - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 41: Data Table on Other industries - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 42: Chart on Other industries - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 43: Data Table on Other industries - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.7 Market opportunity by End-user Exhibit 44: Market opportunity by End-user ($ million) 6 Customer Landscape 6.1 Customer landscape overview Exhibit 45: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria 7 Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 46: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 47: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 48: Chart on Geographic comparison Exhibit 49: Data Table on Geographic comparison 7.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 50: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 51: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 52: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 53: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 54: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 55: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 56: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 57: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.5 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 58: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 59: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 60: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 61: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.6 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 (%) 7.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 66: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 67: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 68: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 69: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.8 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 (%) 7.9 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 74: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 75: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 76: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 77: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.10 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 78: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 79: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 80: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 81: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.11 Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 82: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 83: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 84: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 85: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.12 UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 86: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 87: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 88: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 89: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.13 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 90: 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 91: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026 8.4 Market trends 9 Vendor Landscape 9.1 Overview 9.2 Vendor landscape Exhibit 92: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation 9.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 93: Overview on factors of disruption 9.4 Industry risks Exhibit 94: Impact of key risks on business 10 Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 95: Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 96: Matrix on vendor position and classification 10.3 Anhui Heli Co. Ltd. Exhibit 97: Anhui Heli Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 98: Anhui Heli Co. Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 99: Anhui Heli Co. Ltd. - Key offerings 10.4 Crown Equipment Corp. Exhibit 100: Crown Equipment Corp. - Overview Exhibit 101: Crown Equipment Corp. - Product / Service Exhibit 102: Crown Equipment Corp. - Key offerings 10.5 Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd. Exhibit 103: Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 104: Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 105: Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 106: Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd. - Segment focus 10.6 Hyster Yale Materials Handling Inc. Exhibit 107: Hyster Yale Materials Handling Inc. - Overview Exhibit 108: Hyster Yale Materials Handling Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 109: Hyster Yale Materials Handling Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 110: Hyster Yale Materials Handling Inc. - Segment focus 10.7 Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. Exhibit 111: Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 112: Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 113: Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. - Key offerings 10.8 Jungheinrich AG Exhibit 114: Jungheinrich AG - Overview Exhibit 115: Jungheinrich AG - Business segments Exhibit 116: Jungheinrich AG - Key offerings Exhibit 117: Jungheinrich AG - Segment focus 10.9 KION GROUP AG Exhibit 118: KION GROUP AG - Overview Exhibit 119: KION GROUP AG - Business segments Exhibit 120: KION GROUP AG - Key news Exhibit 121: KION GROUP AG - Key offerings Exhibit 122: KION GROUP AG - Segment focus 10.10 Mazda Motor Corp Exhibit 123: Mazda Motor Corp - Overview Exhibit 124: Mazda Motor Corp - Business segments Exhibit 125: Mazda Motor Corp - Key offerings Exhibit 126: Mazda Motor Corp - Segment focus 10.11 Noveltek Industrial Manufacturing Inc. Exhibit 127: Noveltek Industrial Manufacturing Inc. - Overview Exhibit 128: Noveltek Industrial Manufacturing Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 129: Noveltek Industrial Manufacturing Inc. - Key offerings 10.12 Presto Lifts Inc. Exhibit 130: Presto Lifts Inc. - Overview Exhibit 131: Presto Lifts Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 132: Presto Lifts Inc. - Key offerings 11 Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist Exhibit 133: Inclusions checklist Exhibit 134: Exclusions checklist 11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 135: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.4 Research methodology Exhibit 136: Research methodology Exhibit 137: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 138: Information sources 11.5 List of abbreviations Exhibit 139: List of abbreviations in manufacturing industry: Market dynamics in some major processes and discrete industries are changing drastically, and manufacturers are gradually feeling the brunt of excessive demand fluctuations. The fluctuating prices of oil and gas and metals in the global market and the shortage of a skilled workforce worldwide have directly affected the profitability of manufacturing companies. A sudden and unexpected shift in market dynamics can drastically impact manufacturing processes and investments in capital goods. slowdown in the automotive industry: High motorization rates in North America and Europe , the increase in tariffs on imported vehicles in the US and China , and the global economic slowdown are likely to reduce vehicle sales in the coming years. Anticipating a decline in vehicle sales, several vehicle manufacturers are halting their vehicle production. For instance, in March 2019 , Ford announced the shutdown of its three vehicle-manufacturing sites in Russia . Similarly, in August 2019 , Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. stopped vehicle production at its manufacturing units in India for 8-14 days. During the same month, Maruti Suzuki announced that it had cut its vehicle production for the sixth consecutive month in 2019. In August 2019 , Honda announced a halt in car production at its Argentina -based manufacturing plants. Such a slowdown in the automotive industry is expected to hamper the growth of the market during the forecast period. About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio Panasonic launches a collection of (PANASONIC)RED lifestyle technology products and commits $250,000 to the Global Fund to support life-saving programs. NEWARK, N.J., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company, a leading provider of Consumer Lifestyle technologies, today announced a partnership with (RED), the organization co-founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver to fight health injustices. The partnership is celebrated with the announcement of a $250,000 commitment to the Global Fund, which will help strengthen healthcare systems and fund life-saving programs which support equitable access to testing and treatment in communities most in need. In addition to Panasonic's monetary commitment, a collection of (PANASONIC)RED products, spanning tech, cookware, personal hygiene and more, will bring awareness to the fight and empower consumers to choose (RED) when purchasing products. The partnership launches just following the Global Fund's 7th Replenishment Conference in New York City, and demonstrates the continued commitment of (RED)'s private sector partners to ending diseases that are both preventable and treatable. "At Panasonic, we are committed to producing sustainable and innovative technologies that contribute to a healthier planet where we all can thrive," said Walter Taffarello, Director of Appliance and Beauty Merchandise, Panasonic. "Ensuring the health of the global population is a central component to our commitment, and we are thrilled to partner with (RED) to further this pursuit." "(RED) is thrilled to be joining forces with Panasonic and launching the incredible (PANASONIC)RED collection," said Jennifer Lotito, President and Chief Operating Officer of (RED). "This partnership will help ensure that preventable and treatable diseases are actually preventable and treatable for everyone." A portion of the (PANASONIC)RED collection includes: (PANASONIC) RED MULTISHAPE Grooming System. The MULTISHAPE offers a simplified, personalized and premium grooming experience for frequent travelers . Available for purchase at PanasonicMultishape.com . U.S. only. MULTISHAPE Grooming System. The MULTISHAPE offers a simplified, personalized and premium grooming experience for frequent travelers Available for purchase at . U.S. only. (PANASONIC)RED Technics Turntable. As the go-to choice of DJs the world over, the SL-1200 Series has long been a dominant presence on the global music scene. The new SL-1200M7LR is available for purchase at https://us.technics.com/ Shop additional product offerings in the collection and learn more about this life-saving partnership at Amazon.com/RED . About Panasonic Corporation of North America Newark, NJ-based Panasonic Corporation of North America is a leading provider of Consumer Lifestyle technologies, as well as innovative Smart Mobility, Sustainable Energy, Immersive Experiences, and Integrated Supply Chain solutions. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Holdings Corporation. One of Interbrand's Top 100 Best Global Brands of 2021, Panasonic is a leading technology partner and integrator to businesses, government agencies and consumers across the region. Learn more about Panasonic's ideas and innovations at na.panasonic.com/us About (RED) (RED), named for the color of emergency, was founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver in 2006 to turn companies into a cavalry to fight the AIDS pandemic. Today, that cavalry is also fighting the urgent threat of COVID-19 and its devastating impact on the world's most vulnerable communities, answering the need for a truly global response. (RED) partners with the most iconic brands and people to create (RED) products and experiences all of which raise money for the Global Fund, one of the world's largest funders of global health. (RED) partners include AM Denmark, Amazon, Anova Culinary, Apple, Balmain, Bank of America, Barefoot Dreams, Beats by Dr. Dre, Earth Rated, eos, Fiat, Girl Skateboards, The Honey Pot Co., Jeep, KISS Products, Louis Vuitton, Mavin Records, Morel Eyewear, Panasonic, Primark, RAM, The Ridge, Salesforce, Starbucks, Therabody, TRUFF, U-Mask, Vahdam India and Vespa. (RED) supporters include Merck and Roche. To date, (RED) has generated over $700 million for the Global Fund, helping more than 245 million people. The money raised by (RED)'s partners and campaigns goes directly to strengthen health systems and support life-saving programs in the communities where pandemics hit hardest. SOURCE Panasonic Corporation of North America PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Patricia Salas Pineda has been appointed to the Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) ("PGE" or the "Company") board of directors, effective October 1, 2022. "We are pleased to welcome Patricia to the PGE Board," said Jack Davis, chair of PGE's board of directors. "Her considerable public board experience and deep legal, human resources, and communications expertise will help us further enhance our employee experience and position the company competitively in the ever-evolving electric utility industry." Patricia Salas Pineda. Pineda comes to PGE with more than 35 years of leadership experience with Toyota Motor North America, Inc. and New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. She was most recently the Group Vice President, Hispanic Business Strategy Group at Toyota Motor North America, Inc. since 2013, before retiring in October 2016. Prior to serving as Group Vice President, she held a variety of executive leadership positions at Toyota and Toyota USA Foundation, including leading the company's legal matters, administrative operations, corporate advertising, diversity and corporate communications. Pineda holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Mills College and a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley. Pineda is founder of the Latino Corporate Directors Association and currently serves on the board of directors for Levi Strauss & Co., Frontier Group Holdings, Inc., and Omnicom Group. Ms. Pineda has held past board positions including the California Air Resources Board and sat on the advisory board of the Latinos and Society Program at The Aspen Institute. Pineda will serve on the Finance and Compensation, Culture, and Talent Committees. About Portland General Electric Company Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) is a fully integrated energy company based in Portland, Oregon. The company serves approximately 900,000 customers with a service area population of 2 million Oregonians in 51 cities. PGE owns 16 generation plants across Oregon and other Northwestern states and maintains and operates 14 public parks and recreation areas. For more than 130 years, PGE has powered the advancement of society, delivering safe, affordable, and reliable energy to Oregonians. PGE and its approximately 3,000 employees are working with customers to build a clean energy future. Together with its customers, PGE has the No. 1 voluntary renewable energy program in the U.S. PGE is committed to achieving at least an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from power served to customers by 2030 and 100% reduction by 2040. In 2021, PGE became the first U.S. utility to join The Climate Pledge. For the eighth year in a row PGE achieved a perfect score on the 2021 Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality. In 2021, PGE, employees, retirees, and the PGE Foundation donated $4.8 million and volunteered 15,760 hours with more than 300 nonprofits across Oregon. For more information visit www.PortlandGeneral.com/news. Media Contact: Katie Hale Corporate Communications Phone: 646-599-3296 Investor Contact: Jardon Jaramillo Investor Relations Phone: 503-464-7051 SOURCE Portland General Company New Partnership Focused on Primary Care Aims to Improve Patient Outcomes and Contain Costs PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Independence Blue Cross (Independence) and Penn Medicine today announce a plan to deepen their longstanding collaborations to transform healthcare in the Philadelphia region. The centerpiece of this expanding relationship is Independence's sale of a minority equity stake in its subsidiary, Tandigm Health, to Penn Medicine, which will allow more patients to continue seeing their trusted primary care providers close to home while offering new, innovative pathways to Penn Medicine's specialty care and other services. Together, the organizations will join forces in new ways to improve patient outcomes and drive more cost-efficient care, while also increasing provider satisfaction. The agreement, which officially launches on January 1, 2023, also contains a long-term commitment from Penn Medicine to work with Tandigm for all primary care value-based programs across all payors. This collaboration will bring more doctors and patients into a Tandigm value-based arrangement, and the existing Tandigm physician network will benefit from Penn Medicine services and access being made available through this collaboration. Penn Medicine will also have representation on the Tandigm Board of Directors. The value-based care methodology, often associated with the growing Medicare Advantage movement, rewards U.S. healthcare providers that most effectively improve quality and control cost both to individual consumers and group purchasers, including governmental agencies, while simultaneously rewarding those whose services are rated most highly by consumers themselves. Tandigm, founded in 2014, has delivered consistently strong results through its value-based care model. Tandigm serves the five-county Philadelphia region, supporting a network of 400 primary care doctors, many who are affiliated with regional community hospitals such as Chester County Hospital, Doylestown Hospital, Grand View Health, and Redeemer Health. The company contracts with payors such as Independence, Humana, and the federal government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "In an increasingly complex health care environment where patients have choices about where to get care, we have to provide equitable access to the right care at the right place which is often close to home," said Kevin Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. "Tandigm has built the tools and expertise to enable that. Working with Tandigm's network of primary care physicians and with local community hospitals, we can ensure that patients get access to the range of services that best meet their needs in the most convenient location. As the healthcare industry changes, partnerships like this are helping us to create the future and stability that both our patients and the healthcare providers who serve our community deserve." Independence and Penn Medicine have collaborated extensively to accelerate the adoption of value-based care. In 2017, they launched an innovative program that reduced dramatically the number of avoidable readmissions to Penn Medicine hospitals after treatment and discharge. "We are excited to move to the next generation of value-based care, expanding member access to the benefits of population health management and ensuring that they can access quality care where and when they need it," said Gregory E. Deavens, president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross. "This means connecting every aspect of the healthcare system, from the primary care physician to the hospital and all the other critical care settings, including the home." This more integrated, regional approach to value-based care is a first for Philadelphia and goes beyond other models seen elsewhere across the country. Today, Tandigm's call center nurses work closely with primary care offices, using advanced technology to ensure that patients' care is coordinated and includes access to the best care in the most appropriate location. For example, Tandigm patients in Bucks County needing advanced oncology services have been referred to a Penn Medicine specialist operating at Grand View Hospital. "Tandigm is honored to earn the trust of Independence, Penn Medicine, and the Tandigm network of outstanding physicians," said Frank Ingari, CEO of Tandigm. "Our company is laser-focused on a clinical approach called population health management, which helps doctors anticipate the needs of their patients and help them take prompt action to prevent or better manage chronic diseases like diabetes." This approach to care has earned Tandigm providers 5 Stars in benchmark measures for Medicare Advantage, reduced unnecessary hospital admissions by thousands, and reduced the days needed for care in skilled nursing facilities by over 30%. Moving forward in the new arrangement, Tandigm primary care providers may be able to expand their impact through facilitated access to Penn Medicine resources such as specialty care, advanced home care services, and virtual off-hours coverage for patients in need outside of office hours. SOURCE Penn Medicine; Independence Blue Cross; Tandigm Health Clinical Collaboration solution sits at the center of a deeply integrated communication ecosystem to drive efficiency, quality, and safety KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PerfectServe , a leading provider of cloud-based clinical collaboration and provider scheduling solutions, today announced the successful go-live of a project at Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health that utilizes its Clinical Collaboration solution to transform clinical workflows for nurses. Bon Secours Mercy Health is a long-time PerfectServe customer and is one of the top five largest Catholic health systems in the United States. PerfectServe worked with Bon Secours Mercy Health to transform day-to-day clinical workflows for nurses. Tweet this PerfectServe partnered with Bon Secours Mercy Healthone of the top five largest Catholic health systems in the United Statesto streamline clinical workflows for nurses and unlock new efficiencies in the care delivery process using its Clinical Collaboration solution. "The job of a nurse has never been more demanding or complex, and we're determined to equip these essential caregivers with intuitive and effective technology that makes it easier to coordinate patient care," said PerfectServe Chief Clinical Officer Kelly Conklin. "By partnering with Bon Secours Mercy Health, one of our largest and most innovative health system customers, we were able to take a boots-on-the-ground approach with this project to build a highly customized solution that boosts efficiency and satisfaction for nurses while facilitating better outcomes and experiences for patients." Dubbed "Care Mobility," this project showcases how PerfectServe's extensive integration capability makes it a vital clearinghouse for nurses for many communications related to patient care, from calls and messages to alerts and alarms. The Bon Secours Mercy Health and PerfectServe teams partnered extensively to design and implement a solution that closely aligns with the needs of the health system and its nurses. With PerfectServe Clinical Collaboration at the core, elements of the Care Mobility project include: Equipping nurses with shared devices Secure voice and text Dynamic patient care team views with PerfectServe's Patient-Centered Care Team Access Enterprise telephony with an integrated VoIP dialer Nurse call events, including direct patient callback capability, intelligent routing for different alert types, and task handoffs for busy staff Alerts & alarms (including live waveforms) that allow nurses to react to potentially serious patient findings in real time EHR deep linking to facilitate record review, documentation, and bar-coded medication administration While optimization and expansion are still ongoing, these efforts have already generated notable results: According to a customer satisfaction survey conducted one month before and one month after launch, user satisfaction increased significantly in the areas of quality (+26%), efficiency (+29%), ease of use (+20%), and overall satisfaction (+26%). PerfectServe has automated escalation capabilities to ensure important messages aren't missed. If a message goes unacknowledged for a predetermined amount of time, it can be escalated to another member of the care team. Three months prior to the Care Mobility go-live, 65% of monitor alarms were acknowledged with no escalation required. Three months after go-live, the "no escalation" rate for monitor alarms increased to 82%. One week after go-live, bed exit alerts stood at 51.5 per 100 occupied bed days. Three months after go-live, bed exit alerts dropped to 40.5 per 100 occupied bed days. Today, when bed exit alerts do occur, they are sent as critical messages to a broad group and have a read percentage of close to 95%. "Before the Care Mobility project, we were faced with a group of challenges that many health systems around the country will understand: an aging telephony infrastructure built around legacy phones, critical software being phased out by vendors, and disparate communication strategies and devices that forced nurses to overcome too many obstacles just to stay in the loop," said Sue Armentrout, VP of Nursing Informatics, Clinical Technology, and Evidence-Based Practice at Bon Secours Mercy Health. "Our nurses have always prided themselves on providing the best patient care, so their excellence was never in question, but working with PerfectServe to streamline so many of their clinical workflows and unlock new efficiencies in the care delivery process has been a tremendous satisfier for the whole team. We look forward to expanding the Care Mobility project across the rest of our system." Read more about PerfectServe's Clinical Collaboration solution to learn how unified communication for nurses contributes to better outcomes, a more manageable workload, and higher patient satisfaction. About PerfectServe PerfectServe accelerates speed to care by optimizing provider schedules, streamlining clinical communication, and engaging patients and their families in the care experience. Our cloud-based software simplifies complex clinical workflows and schedules with secure and timely communication by dynamically routing messages to the right person at the right time. We drive more efficient care collaboration in all settings to improve patient outcomes and bring joy back to caregivers. PerfectServe has 25 years of experience and is a trusted partner to more than 500 hospitals and 30,000 medical practices. PerfectServe Contact: Matt Kothe | Sr. Corporate Marketing Manager 865.776.9824 [email protected] Media Contact: Ashley Greer | Media Relations, Uncommon Bold [email protected] SOURCE PerfectServe 10-year-old branding and consulting firm tightens focus to tackle B2B revenue growth challenges. PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Muhlenhaupt and Company, a Philadelphia-based consulting firm that accelerates revenue growth for B2B clients, announced today that they are rebranding as The Moving Company. The organization has been fortunate to prosper during this time of global change, and now The Moving Company is doubling down on their core competency B2B growth strategy and execution. Phillys First B2B Growth Agency Enters the Arena The Muhlenhaupt family has grown several businesses over time. First growing a moving and storage company to be Long Island's premier United Van Lines international provider, creating a division that became the largest records management firm in the region, as well as creating a marketing group that pioneered neighborhood-focused direct-mail marketing for the largest national real estate powerhouses. The Muhlenhaupt family took those three entities successfully to acquisition, and then built their next generation of fast-growing B2B companies: The Moving Company and MNYK Studios. Adam Muhlenhaupt said, "After successfully operating this agency for 10 years with my father, I am thrilled for the new direction of the business and the next phase of our growth and leadership alongside our longtime partner Ryan Draving." Adam will continue to lead the business as Managing Director. Ryan Draving, Head of Strategy at The Moving Company, said, "I'm excited to be part of the next generation of the business. I remember when I first met Adam and Rip, back in 2014, and saw the incredible work they were already creating. Since then, we have attracted some of the top creative and marketing talent in Philadelphia, and this rebrand represents the next evolution of our company." At its core, the rebrand combines a leading growth agency and a century-long legacy of success, with roots as an actual moving company in 1924. Throughout the years, the original business grew to sizable acquisitions and paved the way for the next stage of businessMuhlenhaupt + Company. Over the past 10 years, the branding and marketing agency grew clients from small players to multinational organizations. Since 2020, their video and audio production and broadcast studio, known as Manayunk "MNYK" Studios, has developed rapidly, serving multinational B2B, pharmaceutical, and education companies. The new brand name, refreshed business offerings, and newly positioned leadership all appear on The Moving Company's new website: MovingB2B.com . "The Moving Company solves complex growth challenges for B2B companies with long sales cycles and annual customer value in excess of $10,000/year. We understand the nuance of B2B branding, marketing, sales and retention, and that insight is a critical component of the success we build for B2B clients," says Draving. To learn more about The Moving Company or connect with its founders, visit MovingB2B.com To learn more about Manayunk Studios, visit MNYKStudios.com . About The Moving Company | B2B Growth Agency The Moving Company is a B2B growth agency of talented people who take bold action and move businesses forward. Our people solve complex B2B growth challenges. We build solid foundations, generate SQLs, create wins, and expand retention and market share. The Moving Company's tailor-made growth strategies create lasting impact for B2B companies of any size. To learn more, visit MovingB2B.com. PRESS CONTACT Becca Visco 4127193763 https://movingb2b.com/ SOURCE The Moving Company | B2B Growth Agency VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - PlantX Life Inc. (CSE: VEGA) (Frankfurt: WNT1) (OTCQB: PLTXF) ("PlantX" or the "Company"), the digital face of the plant-based community, operating a one-stop shop for plant-based products, announces that the British Columbia Securities Commission (the "BCSC") has granted an extension of its previously issued management cease trade order ("MCTO") to October 14, 2022. The MCTO was originally issued by the BCSC on August 2, 2022 due to the failure of the Company to file its audited annual financial statements, management's discussion and analysis and related officer certifications for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 (collectively, the "Annual Filings") before the prescribed deadline of July 29, 2022. In addition to the late filing of the Annual Filings, the Company has not filed its financial statements, management's discussion and analysis and related officer certifications for the three-month period ended June 30, 2022 (collectively, the "Interim Filings") before the prescribed deadline of August 29, 2022. The MCTO and MCTO extension were granted pursuant to the Company's applications made under National Policy 12-203 Management Cease Trader Orders ("NP 12-203"). The Company requested and received an extension related to the Annual Filings due to additional time needed to complete the review of the Company's previously announced restatement of its annual audited comparative financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021 and the additional time needed for the auditors to review the multiple material acquisitions completed by the Company during the 2022 fiscal year. MNP LLP are the current auditors of the Company and became auditors of the Company in November 2021. The Company is working diligently with MNP LLP and expects to have the audit of the Annual Filings completed, and the Annual Filings filed, no later than October 14, 2022. The Company expects the Interim Filings to be filed concurrently with or shortly after the filing of the Annual Filings. The Company is providing this status update in accordance with NP 12-203. The Company reports that, (i) there are no changes to the information contained in its bi-weekly status default report on September 13, 2022 that would reasonable be expected to be material to an investor other than for the information in this news release; (ii) the Company is satisfying and confirms that it intends to continue to satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines set out under NP 12-203 and issue bi-weekly default status reports for so long as the delay in filing the Annual Filings and Interim Filings continues, which will be issued in the form of a news release; (iii) there has not been any other specified default by the Company under NP 12-203 (other than the failure to file the Annual Filings and Interim Filings) and no such other default is anticipated; and (iv) there is no material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed. The MCTO does not affect the ability of shareholders who are not insiders of the Company to trade their securities. However, the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities could determine, in their discretion, that it would be appropriate to issue a general cease trade order against the Company affecting all of the securities of the Company. About PlantX Life Inc. As the digital face of the plant-based community, PlantX's platform is a one-stop shop for plant-based products. With its fast-growing category verticals, the Company offers customers across North America more than 5,000 plant-based products. In addition to offering delivery service for meals and indoor plants, the Company currently has plans underway to expand its product lines to include a juice and coffee company. The Company uses its digital platform to build a community of like-minded consumers and, most importantly, to provide education. Its successful enterprise is being built and fortified on partnerships with the top nutritionists, chefs, and brands. The Company's digital presence works to eliminate the barriers to entry for anyone interested in living a plant-based lifestyle and thriving in a longer, healthier, and happier life. Connect with PlantX: Email | Website | Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by words or phrases such as "may", "will", "expect", "likely", "should", "would", "plan", "anticipate", "intend", "potential", "proposed", "estimate", "believe" or the negative of these terms, or other similar words, expressions and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy. The forward-looking information contained herein includes, without limitation, statements regarding the timing on filing of the Company's Annual Filings and Interim Filings, the Company's belief that no other filing defaults are currently anticipated and the Company's intention to continue to satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines set out under NP 12-203 and issue bi-weekly status updates for so long as the delay in filing the Annual Filings and Interim Filings is continuing, and the business and strategic plans of the Company. By its nature, forward-looking information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct, and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. A variety of factors, including known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond our control, could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this news release including, without limitation: the Company's ability to comply with all applicable governmental regulations; general market and economic conditions; the conflict in eastern Europe; having a limited operating history; and the Company's reliance on management and key personnel. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forwardlooking information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law. SOURCE PlantX Life Inc. Operating in the lower 600 900 MHz frequency bands licensed by mobile carriers, the over-the-air RF charging platform enables carriers to monetize underused low-frequency bands and offer "Power as a Service" to charge low-power devices and smart home IoT sensors that eliminate disposable batteries LAS VEGAS, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile World Congress -- Powercast Corporation, the leader in radio-frequency (RF)-based over-the-air wireless power technology, has created a unique cellular-based RF Power-Over-Distance Wireless Charging Platform, built around Sequans (NYSE: SQNS) Monarch cellular IoT connectivity technology. Powercast will demonstrate the solution at Mobile World Congress in Las Vegas, September 28 30, booth w2.1226. Powercast will demonstrate the solution at Mobile World Congress in Las Vegas, September 28 30, booth w2.1226. Tweet this Powercasts 700MHz Battery-Free Sensor (temperature, pressure, humidity) used in the new cellular-based RF Power-Over-Distance Wireless Charging Platform on display at Mobile World Congress this week in Las Vegas. Operating in the lower 600 900 MHz frequency bands licensed by mobile carriers, the Powercast cellular-based RF Wireless Charging Platform has unique benefits. Because cellular bands are licensed, or private, they have more flexibility on how much power they can transmit, antenna gain, and bandwidth which enables end devices to charge faster and at greater distances when compared to unlicensed, or public, bands. As cellular service moves increasingly to higher frequencies like 5G to increase data throughput, carriers can monetize their underused low frequency bands and offer "Power as a Service." Ability to simultaneously charge at-a-distance many consumer devices, such as smart home security and automation IoT sensors, TV remotes, keyboards, ear buds, headphones, smart watches, fitness bands and hearing aids. "Because many RF transmitting devices operate in unlicensed bands such as the 915MHz band, there are limits on transmit power, antenna gain, and other parameters so many devices can coexist and be interoperable," said Charles Greene, PhD, COO and CTO of Powercast. "This innovative way to use licensed cellular frequencies to increase device charging power will allow manufacturers to create green, sustainable IoT devices that can charge more quickly and at longer distances from a cellular RF transmitter." The platform combines Sequans' Monarch 2 GM02S module with a Powercast RF transmitting antenna to send RF over-the-air to a tiny Powercast PCC110 Powerharvester receiver chip embedded in end devices. The Powerharvester harvests RF out of the air and converts it to DC (direct current) to either power a battery-free device, or charge a rechargeable battery, both of which keep disposable batteries out of landfills. In the Mobile World Congress demo, a Sequans Monarch 2 cellular modem teams with Powercast's 700MHz antenna to transmit a 700MHz RF cellular signal to Powercast's PCC110 receiver and RF-to-DC converter chip, which then powers a battery-free sensor beacon to transmit temperature and humidity data to a gateway or phone. "This collaborative effort to introduce cellular technology into the over-the-air RF wireless charging picture creates opportunities for more manufacturers to develop environmentally-friendly smart home IoT ecosystems that eliminate disposable batteries," said Louis Chuang, EVP and GM of the Massive IoT Business Unit of Sequans. "With cellular everywhere, the opportunities are endless. Powercast is pioneering this field, and shares Sequans' vision to make IoT more sustainable by integrating an increasing number of functionalities, and limiting the semiconductor carbon footprint." Multimedia assets are available: https://mwcamericas.vporoom.com/Powercast About Powercast Powercast is the established leader in RF wireless power-over-distance solutions. Since its founding in 2003, Powercast has led the industry in RF wireless power innovations that meet FCC and other global standards. Powercast's technologies eliminate or reduce the need for wires and batteries, working at distances of 120 feet. The company's collaborative approach and expertise in all aspects of product design, from vision through prototyping and commercialization, has resulted in dozens of applications, extensive commercial success in both industrial and consumer applications, and over 10 million units shipped. With more than 100 customers and partner companies globally, Powercast leads the RF wireless power market with 79 early and fundamental patents worldwide and 23 patents pending. www.powercastco.com SOURCE Powercast BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NULASTIN made a splash at Denver Startup Week this past Friday, giving away $100,000 worth of product to innovative entrepreneurs. Attendees swarmed around NULASTIN'S booth to get their hands on free cutting-edge lash and brow-enhancing serums, a hair growth support treatment, and anti-aging skin care products. Attendees were captivated as the team talked about what makes NULASTIN'S products so different from other beauty brands its proprietary, bio-evolutionary Elastaplex Technology that restores "the youth protein" elastin, addressing aging at the root. NULASTIN gives away $100,00 worth of product that restores "the youth protein" elastin, addressing aging at the root. Tweet this NULASTIN cutting-edge lash and brow-enhancing serums, hair growth support treatment, and anti-aging skin care products with elastin replenishment (Elastaplex Technology). "Being an entrepreneur can be difficult and let's be honest, as with any demanding job, it can really exhaust and age you. I wanted to celebrate and give back to the startup community by sharing truly effective products that optimize confidence and vitality." Leah Garcia, Founder & CEO, NULASTIN During the aging process bodies naturally produce less elastin, and symptoms of aging like sagging skin and wrinkles start to occur. Based on science originally developed to aid in wound healing and tissue regeneration, the NULASTIN collection has been scientifically proven to help the body stimulate the replenishment of elastin and reduce the signs of aging for beautiful, youthful-looking skin and healthy hair. In a 12-week clinical evaluation, 83% of participants experienced an improvement in skin health as well as an improvement in eyelash length and fullness up to 60%. NULASTIN Founder & CEO Leah Garcia, was recently named for The Denver Business Journal's 2022 Outstanding Women in Business award. Leah is also a mentor with The Founder Institute. She is heavily invested in the work of early-stage startup founders and knows first-hand about the hard work and dedication it takes to create a must-watch company. NULASTIN, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado is the original, undisputed leader in helping people look and feel their best through novel elastin replenishment. Its line of skin and hair care products incorporate the most recent discoveries in cell biology, molecular biology, and biomaterials. Female-owned and founded in 2016 in Boulder, Colorado, NULASTIN is redefining what it means to be a beauty brand by focusing on performance-driven, scientifically-backed, ethically-derived results. Visit https://nulastin.com/ to see 'before-and-after' photos and get 15% off all NULASTIN products. CONTACT: Alli Clute, [email protected] SOURCE NULASTIN Marking the occasion by the hospital extending the InterSystems TrakCare contract for additional five years DUBAI, UAE, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City (SBAHC), one of the largest non-profit rehabilitation facilities and medical centers in the Middle East and InterSystems, a creative data technology provider dedicated to helping customers solve the most critical scalability, interoperability, and speed problems, today celebrated nineteen years of ongoing successful partnership by signing an agreement to extend the InterSystems TrakCare unified healthcare information system contract for an additional five years. Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City and InterSystems Celebrate Their Long-term Partnership of Nineteen Years (PRNewsfoto/InterSystems) The agreement also includes an upgrade to the latest version of TrakCare and the integration with Nphies (The National Platform for Health and Insurance Exchange Services) in Saudi Arabia. The senior leadership teams of both SBAHC and InterSystems took part in the partnership ceremony at InterSystems office in Dubai Healthcare City. Since its formation by the late crown prince, HRH Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, the 510-bed Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City has treated more than 1,100,000 patients from all over the Middle East. The unique and thoughtful care that patients receive at SBAHC helps them make a rapid and comprehensive recovery, often enabling them to resume their full and active life in their community. SBAHC provides Surgical, rehabilitative, therapeutic, supportive, and educational services and offers an excellent and safe work environment for its employees. In addition, SBAHC provides the highest quality of medical care for its patients, delivered by highly experienced physicians, therapists, nurses, and support staff. Using the TrakCare unified healthcare information system helps SBAHC deliver enhanced patient-centric care to achieve internationally recognised standards such as the JCI accreditation, and HIMSS EMRAM Stage 6 validation. TrakCare, with its continuously enhanced clinical and revenue cycle management capabilities, provides SBAHC care providers a holistic view of each patient's clinical, administrative, and financial information at any time. The EMR supports the hospital's medical staff in their decision-making, while creating more opportunities to offer the patients an enhanced experience with a seamless care journey that reduces waiting times and avoids unnecessary tests. Mr. Abdullah Bin Zarah, CEO of SBAHC praised the continuous collaboration with InterSystems and commented: "The signing of the contract for an additional five years is a testament to the teamwork and trust between SBAHC and InterSystems teams which in turn will result in better care for the patients. InterSystems is not just a technology company, but rather a good-listening partner that realizes the operational needs and responds accordingly." "We are honored to celebrate nineteen years of a successful partnership between SBAHC and InterSystems and proud of the City's continuous success," said Ali Abi Raad, Country Manager for the Middle East and India at InterSystems. About InterSystems Established in 1978, InterSystems provides innovative data solutions for organizations with critical information needs in the healthcare, finance, and logistics sectors and beyond. Our cloud-first data platforms solve interoperability, speed, and scalability problems for organizations around the globe. InterSystems also develops and supports data management in hospitals through the world's most proven electronic medical record and unified care records for health systems and governments through a robust suite of healthcare data integration solutions. The company is committed to excellence through its award-winning 247 support for customers and partners in more than 80 countries. Privately held and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, InterSystems has 25 offices worldwide. For more information, please visit InterSystems.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1908610/InterSystems.jpg SOURCE InterSystems CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Susan G. Komen, the world's leading breast cancer organization, will hold an in-person MORE THAN PINK Walk to raise critical funds that support breast cancer patients and remove barriers to care to improve outcomes for everyone impacted by the disease. The Walk will be held on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, at North Point Park. "We look forward to creating a community for anyone impacted by breast cancer as we gather, in person, for this year's Walk. Funds raised from the MORE THAN PINK Walk help Komen provide direct support to patients through financial assistance and patient navigation programs so that everyone has access to the resources they need during a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment," said Melissa MacNeil, Development Manager for Massachusetts at Susan G. Komen. Komen is pleased to welcome this year's sponsors: Parexcel and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Watts Water Technologies, is serving as the Community sponsor, supporting Komen's work to provide information and guidance to survivors and caregivers as they navigate the breast cancer care journey. Additionally, Mike Wankum, WCVB's StormTeam 5's weeknight meteorologist, will serve as Emcee of the event. Participants can expect to enjoy the following at the Walk: Hope Village, a place for survivors and those living with metastatic breast cancer to gather We Remember Area where attendees can hang a photo or message about the person they're remembering Pillar Tents where attendees can learn more about Komen's four pillars Research, Care, Community and Action Moving program featuring the Pathway of Hope followed by a 2.2-mile Walk starting at North Point Park Komen MORE THAN PINK Walk North Point Park Cambridge, MA Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022 7:30 AM EVENT OPENS 9 AM OPENING CEREMONY 9:30 AM WALK Register Online www.komen.org/massachusettswalk About Susan G. Komen Susan G. Komen is the world's leading nonprofit breast cancer organization, working to save lives and end breast cancer forever. Komen has an unmatched, comprehensive 360-degree approach to fighting this disease across all fronts and supporting millions of people in the U.S. and in countries worldwide. We advocate for patients, drive research breakthroughs, improve access to high-quality care, offer direct patient support and empower people with trustworthy information. Founded by Nancy G. Brinker, who promised her sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would end the disease that claimed Suzy's life, Komen remains committed to supporting those affected by breast cancer today, while tirelessly searching for tomorrow's cures. Visit komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN. Connect with us on social at www.komen.org/contact-us/follow-us/. CONTACT: Amanda DeBard Susan G. Komen (972) 701-2131 [email protected] SOURCE Susan G. Komen for the Cure NOIDA, India, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report published by UnivDatos Markets Insights, the Sustainable Packaging Material Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 8% and witness incremental growth of around USD 85 billion between 2022-2028. The analysis has been segmented into Material Type (Paper & Paperboard, Plastic, Metal, Glass); Process (Recycled, Reusable, Degradable); End-User (Pharmaceutical & Healthcare, Food & Beverage, Others); Region/Country. Click here to view the Report Description & TOC https://univdatos.com/report/sustainable-packaging-material-market/ The Sustainable Packaging Material market report has been aggregated by collecting informative data on various dynamics such as market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. This innovative report makes use of several analyses to get a closer outlook on the Sustainable Packaging Material market. The Sustainable Packaging Material market report offers a detailed analysis of the latest industry developments and trending factors in the market that are influencing the market growth. Furthermore, this statistical market research repository examines and estimates the Sustainable Packaging Material market at the global and regional levels. Request for Sample Pages - https://univdatos.com/get-a-free-sample-form-php/?product_id=25977 Market Overview The growth in the e-commerce sector and the government's initiative to reduce packaging waste coupled with the rising demand for packaging materials from the food & beverage sector are some of the factors helping the development of the sustainable packaging industry. The packaging helps to sell the product by providing excellent brand value and protection for the product. As a result, businesses use packaging extensively for market production and consumer demand. Packaging use and disposal practices have a detrimental effect on the environment. In order to maximize the value of the product while also protecting the environment, manufacturers are creating sustainable packaging. The total expansion of the sustainable packaging sector is presented with a lucrative opportunity by the growing public awareness of environmental effects. The Sustainable Packaging Material Market is expected to grow at a steady rate of around 8%. Growing customers' awareness about the harmful impact of packaging materials on the environment plays a very important role in the growth of sustainable packaging materials. When buying a product today, buyers consider a number of aspects such as the product's value and concerns like sustainability, environmental effects, product pricing, and many more. Such consumer awareness is promoting the overall expansion of the sustainable packaging sector. In addition, the leading industry players are actively taking steps toward environmental protection. For instance: Nestle has pledged an investment of more than USD 2 billion to transform virgin plastic into food-grade and recyclable packaging The funding has been extensively used to increase the market for sustainable packaging. Some of the major players operating in the market include BASF SE, Amcor Plc, Westrock Company, Sonoco Products Company, TetraPak International SA, Sealed Air Corporation, Mondi PLC, Ball Corporation, Ardagh Group SA, Smurfit Kappa Group PLC. COVID-19 Impact The industrial sector and manufacturing industries have experienced a severe economic shock as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic. Numerous industrial sectors have been severely impacted by the decreased worker force and the restricted access to the raw materials used in manufacturing. However, the demand for food and drinks as well as the pharmaceutical sector was rising, which aided in the sustainable packaging sector's overall expansion. The global Sustainable Packaging Material market report is studied thoroughly with several aspects that would help stakeholders in making their decisions more curated. Based on process, the market is segmented into recycled, reusable, and degradable. The recycled category witnessed a higher CAGR during the forecast period. Increased use of recycled content packaging by companies aiming to demonstrate environmental sustainability and differentiate their products, combined with increased collection and processing capacity, would promote gains in recycled content packaging. On the basis of end-users, the market is categorized as pharmaceutical & healthcare, food & beverage, and others. Among these, the food & beverage segment to hold a significant share in the market in 2020. The expansion is attributable to the appeal of environmentally friendly packaging, which has led to the large adoption of compostable and moulded pulp packaging by fast food chains, casual dining establishments, and restaurant chains. Moreover, the growing demand for sustainable packaging from FMCG goods, dairy products, beverages, and other items is adding pace to the market growth. Have a Look at the Chapters - https://univdatos.com/report/sustainable-packaging-material-market/ Sustainable Packaging Material Market Geographical Segmentation Includes: North America ( United States , Canada , and Rest of North America ) ( , , and Rest of ) Europe ( Germany , United Kingdom , Spain , Italy , France , and the Rest of Europe ) ( , , , , , and the Rest of ) Asia-Pacific ( China , Japan , India , and the Rest of Asia-Pacific ) ( , , , and the Rest of ) Rest of the World APAC is anticipated to grow at a substantial CAGR during the forecast period. The initiatives from the e-commerce sectors in the Asia-pacific region are also propelling the sustainable packaging market value in recent years. For instance, a leading e-commerce organization named SF express which is based in China was determined to reuse the packaging materials for overtimes and support the growth of the sustainable packaging market growth. The e-commerce sector has started to adopt packaging cartons from the urban regions and 1st tier and 2nd tier cities. The major players targeting the market include BASF SE Amcor Plc Westrock Company Sonoco Products Company TetraPak International SA Sealed Air Corporation Mondi PLC Ball Corporation Ardagh Group SA Smurfit Kappa Group PLC Competitive Landscape The degree of competition among prominent global companies has been elaborated by analyzing several leading key players operating worldwide. The specialist team of research analysts sheds light on various traits such as global market competition, market share, most recent industry advancements, innovative product launches, partnerships, mergers, or acquisitions by leading companies in the Sustainable Packaging Material market. The major players have been analyzed by using research methodologies for getting insight views on global competition. Key questions resolved through this analytical market research report include: What are the latest trends, new patterns, and technological advancements in the sustainable packaging material market? Which factors are influencing the sustainable packaging material market over the forecast period? What are the global challenges, threats, and risks in the sustainable packaging material market? Which factors are propelling and restraining the sustainable packaging material market? What are the demanding global regions of the sustainable packaging material market? What will be the global market size in the upcoming years? What are the crucial market acquisition strategies and policies applied by global companies? We understand the requirement of different businesses, regions, and countries, we offer customized reports as per your requirements of business nature and geography. Please let us know If you have any custom needs. Browse Other Related Research Reports from UnivDatos Market Insights Sustainable Packaging Material Market Report Coverage Report Attribute Details Base year 2020 Forecast period 2022-2028 Growth momentum Accelerate at a CAGR of over 8% Incremental Growth (2022-2028) USD 85 billion Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Rest of World Major contributing region APAC to Witness Highest Growth in the Sustainable Packaging Material Market Key countries covered United States, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, China, Japan, and India Companies profiled BASF SE, Amcor Plc, Westrock Company, Sonoco Products Company, TetraPak International SA, Sealed Air Corporation, Mondi PLC, Ball Corporation, Ardagh Group SA, Smurfit Kappa Group PLC. Report Scope Market Trends, Drivers, and Restraints; Revenue Estimation and Forecast; Segmentation Analysis; Impact of COVID-19; Demand and Supply Side Analysis; Competitive Landscape; Company Profiling Segments Covered By Material Type; By Process; By End-User; By Region/Country About UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) is a passionate market research firm and a subsidiary of Universal Data Solutions. We believe in delivering insights through Market Intelligence Reports, Customized Business Research, and Primary Research. Our research studies are spread across topics across the world, we cover markets in over 100 countries using smart research techniques and agile methodologies. We offer in-depth studies, detailed analysis, and customized reports that help shape winning business strategies for our clients. Contact UnivDatos Market Insights Ankita Gupta Director Operations Ph: +91-7838604911 Email: [email protected] Website: https://univdatos.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1225049/UnivDatos_Logo.jpg SOURCE UnivDatos Market Insights Pvt. Ltd. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Kitts Tourism Authority (SKTA), the official destination marketing organization for the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean, hosted a launch event in New York City to kick off its latest brand campaign "Venture Deeper" developed by Tambourine, the country's agency of record. Tambourine Launches Venture Deeper Campaign for St. Kitts Tourism Authority Tambourine Launches Venture Deeper Campaign for St. Kitts Tourism Authority SKTA's Venture Deeper campaign includes motion, photo, and written content to encourage deep exploration of St. Kitts. "The campaign is designed to appeal to the discerning travelers who are eager to immerse themselves fully in a new and authentic experience," said Stephany Bermudez, Vice President of Creative Services, Tambourine. "The campaign invites travelers to savor the days on the island more thoroughly by exploring and uncovering the full beauty St. Kitts has to offer." To develop and launch the campaign, Tambourine defined campaign creative guidelines, executed an immersive motion and still production, crafted various content stories featuring local culture and history, developed the advertising and media strategy, and owned distribution. The campaign will span across SKTA's website, social media channels, television, out-of-home, and various digital advertising channels. The launch event was held on Sept. 20, 2022, in New York City at Lavan541, an iconic event venue located in Chelsea. The private event showcased the campaign's content assets on floor-to-ceiling walls while Rummeliers educated guests about the islands' local rums. "The event was a wonderful way to launch Venture Deeper," said Ellison "Tommy" Thompson, CEO, SKTA. "We have a long-lasting relationship with Tambourine and we continue to be impressed with their ability to tell our story in a dynamic and thoughtful way." About St. Kitts Located in the northern Leeward islands where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean is the captivating twin-island Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis . Discover a distinctive array of wellness pursuits, resort relaxation, astonishing natural beauty, and a dash of history on one of the most unspoiled and relaxing islands in the Caribbean. About Tambourine Tambourine continues to shake up the hospitality industry with custom integrated marketing solutions for hotels , resorts, and destinations worldwide. The company's emergence as the market leader for both branded and independent hotels is a testament to its core values: putting customer service center stage, setting the standards for hotel website design, and making performance digital marketing easier and more profitable for its valued partners. Media Contact : Thomas McDermott, 19549752220, [email protected] SOURCE Tambourine EL PASO, Texas, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A fair and impartial justice system is at the heart of America's commitment to the rule of law. Individual judges are prohibited from commenting about pending cases, particularly those over which they preside. Judges may only speak through their rulings, many of which are made in controversial and high-profile cases that attract public attention. Members of the public who are not lawyers often may not understand the basis for a judge's ruling in a particular case andas is the right of any citizenexpress their disagreement with the ruling. Unfortunately, these disagreements sometimes consist of nothing more than unfair attacks on a judge's character. It is therefore important that lawyers provide their insight when the safety and independence of the judiciary is threatened. The fifteen Texas Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates (TEX-ABOTA) comprise a statewide, non-partisan association of experienced trial lawyers and judges. Our mission is to preserve and promote the right to trial by jury in civil cases; to protect the fair and impartial administration of justice through support for an independent judiciary; to uphold the rule of law; and to champion civility, professionalism, and high ethical standards among attorneys. Consistent with its mission, TEX-ABOTA opposes the personal attacks made against Judge Sam Medrano of the 409th Judicial District Court in El Paso in connection with his ruling restraining the parties from making extra-judicial (out-of-court) statements in the capital murder case the State of Texas brought against Patrick Crusius arising out of the August 2019 mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart. TEX-ABOTA takes no position on the underlying case or Judge Medrano's decision and supports the First Amendment right to criticize and protest on items of public interest, including the merits of decisions in controversial or publicized cases. But the integrity of our judicial system and the independence of the judiciary is undermined when individuals or groups who disagree with a decision level personal attacks against a judge. We need judges to decide cases without fear that they will be subjected to such personal attacks. Respect for the rule of law and civility in our discourse is necessary and appropriate for the preservation of an independent judiciary. The concept of a fair and impartial judiciary is an integral and essential component of our system of justice and the proper functioning of our democracy. The Texas Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates (TEX-ABOTA) President Ms. Jennifer H. Doan President-Elect Mr. Tim Newsom Vice President Mr. Charlie Henke Secretary Ms. Mitzi Mayfield Treasurer Ms. Alison Kennamer Immediate Past President Ms. Eileen O'Neill El Paso ABOTA Chapter President Mr. M. Mitchell Moss El Paso ABOTA Chapter Vice-President Mr. Robert Lovett El Paso ABOTA Chapter Secretary / Treasurer Mr. John Scott Mann ABOUT ABOTA: Founded in 1958, the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) is a membership organization of more than 7,600 civil trial attorneys who have been invited to join because of their trial skills, integrity and civility in the courtroom. ABOTA members are evenly divided between plaintiff and defense attorneys. ABOTA works to foster improvement in the ethical and technical standards of practice so that individual litigants may receive more effective representation and the public be benefited by more efficient administration of justice. More than 1350 Texas attorneys are members of the fifteen (15) Texas Chapters of ABOTA and comprise TEX-ABOTA. https://tex-abota.org https://www.abota.org Contact: Jennifer H. Doan, President TEX-ABOTA (903) 255-1002 [email protected] M. Mitchell Moss, El Paso ABOTA Chapter President (915) 703-7307 [email protected] SOURCE The Texas Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates (TEX-ABOTA) SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After launching the ANYX Pro in June 2022, the user-driven brand has now revealed its brand-new alternative to disposable vapes the ANYX GO. The ANYX GO has been designed with environmental and user-friendliness in mind, highlighting pollution as the number one issue with current disposable vapes on the market. Hazards Involving Disposable Vapes Disposable vapes come with a large quantity of battery waste, something ANYX is combating with their reusable battery feature in the ANYX GO model. Besides, these non-compliant disposable vapes have been delivered to the hands of customers which causes safety issues. In most cases, these illegal products are flouting government regulations. Save our earth, ANYX GO & its Goal Environmental progress has been at the heart of the ANYX brand since the conception stage, and the company has clear steps and targets lined up for the coming years. The ANYX goal is to create a carbon-free future, with a pod-recycle project starting by the year 2023. It aims to be 100% recyclable by the year 2025. The 2ml ANYX GO pod has been designed to offer a smooth and rich throat hit with every puff thanks to the selected organic cotton material and special processing technology. The body of the ANYX GO unit is crafted from anodized aluminum to create a reliable and durable vape option. The ANYX team was keen to create something environmentally important for the vape market, without compromising on the quality in any area. This is why so much focus has been placed on reliability, durability, and quality of use. The aim was to always create a top-of-the-line product that not only puts a smile on the face of ANYX customers but also puts a smile on the face of Mother Nature. Sensit Coil, A Leading Vape Technology Moving forward, ANYX plans to continue innovating and creating even more industry-leading and user-driven products and technology for the future of vaping. An innovative vape technology by ANYX Global - Sensit Coil is keeping environmental and vape quality standards at the heart of every step they make to ensure a premium and sustainable experience. For more information, please visit: www.anyxglobal.com, or follow us on social media: Instagram @ANYX Global Facebook @ANYX Global SOURCE Shenzhen ANYX Technology Co.,Ltd. SEATTLE, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month this October, Tommy Bahama will debut a special capsule collection of women's sportswear and select men's pieces to celebrate its support of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). The BCRF is a non-profit organization whose mission is to prevent and cure breast cancer by advancing the world's most promising research. Tommy Bahama Breast Cancer Awareness Capsule - October 2022 "To bring something beautiful to our guest that honors Breast Cancer Awareness month and the work of the BCRF, we reached into our archives for inspiration," said Julie Snow, VP of Women's Sportswear Design. "Our goal was to create a print that spoke to a sense of ribbon-like movement and embodied a light, ethereal feel. The delicate floral and maidenhair fern motifs in this print provide that femininity." Available in October at tommybahama.com and in select Tommy Bahama stores, this special capsule features the exclusive floral and pineapple "Tropical Treasure" print that was created by Tommy Bahama's in-house team of artists. Fresh tuberose and sugar pink solids compliment the print. Styles include new modern basics in the signature Tropical Treasure print...the Ashby Isles print tee, Two Palms Shift Dress, and Aruba Full-Zip styles for women; while men can also show their support for this worthy cause with the Lux Long-Sleeve Tee and 5 O'Clock Polo with print trim as well as a Breast Cancer Awareness Linen Shirt in sugar pink. A signature Tommy Bahama 9.5 oz candle rounds out the capsule, in their best-selling Island Blend scent, combining Maui pineapple, papaya, sea jasmine, cedar and island musk in a fragrance that will immediately transport you to the tropics. Giving back is a core value for Tommy Bahama. The company has committed to help support the BCRF's efforts to promote breast cancer education and early detection for women and men. The BCRF is the largest private, not-for-profit organization funding breast cancer research and has raised over $569.4 million to support research at medical institutions in the United States and abroad. The Tommy Bahama Breast Cancer Awareness capsule collection will be available in October in stores and online at tommybahama.com. Guests in Tommy Bahama retail stores will also be able to "round up" their purchase or make a donation at checkout in participating Tommy Bahama stores nationwide. Tommy Bahama will donate 100% of contributions to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). In addition, Tommy Bahama is donating $10,000 to the foundation, regardless of sales. For more information about BCRF, visit www.bcrf.org. Media Contact: Dyann Hawkins 323-719-6474 [email protected] SOURCE Tommy Bahama NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Reporters covering Hurricane Ian are encouraged to contact the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) for interviews and analysis. The Triple-I experts listed below can discuss hurricane-related auto, homeowners, renters, and business insurance coverage issues while also providing claims-filing tips. California : Janet Ruiz , CPCU, AIM, Director, Strategic Communications: 707-490-9365; [email protected] Florida : Mark Friedlander , Director, Corporate Communications: 904-806-7813, [email protected] Georgia : William Davis , Southeast Regional Media Relations Representative: 770-331-9279; [email protected] Missouri : Scott Holeman , Director, Media Relations: 785-760-3777; [email protected] New York : Michael Barry , Chief Communications Officer: 917-923-8245; [email protected] , Chief Communications Officer: 917-923-8245; Loretta Worters , Vice President, Media Relations: 917-208-8842; [email protected] RELATED LINKS: Triple-I Issues Briefs: Florida's Homeowners Insurance Crisis (August 2022) Hurricanes: State of the Risk (June 2022) Videos: Triple-I Non-Resident Scholar Dr. Phil Klotzbach Discusses Hurricane Ian's Path Triple-I Tips During Evacuation Orders Consumer Information: Catastrophes: Insurance Issues Settling Insurance Claims After a Disaster Spotlight on Flood Insurance Facts About Flood Insurance Recovering from a Flood Infographic: What Are Hurricane Deductibles? Website: Triple-I's Resilience Accelerator New York Press Office: Michael Barry, 917-923-8245, [email protected] SOURCE Insurance Information Institute As Strategic Advisor, Lin will offer support in business decisions to expand the company's web3 operation in the Americas LOS ANGELES and SAO PAULO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BAYZ, a leading web3 game publisher responsible for bringing the future of gaming to the Americas, announces Kevin Lin as the company's Strategic Advisor. The executive is co-founder of Twitch, the largest game streaming platform in the world, and will participate in a series of BAYZ projects, supporting strategic decisions on expansion to North America and business model, as well as the development of new strategies on the web3 ecosystem. The arrival of Lin happens when BAYZ celebrates the first year of operation. "Considering all the exceptional experience in operations, strategy, culture and innovation, we will count on Kevin's background in several initiatives to continue pursuing BAYZ's successful journey in the Brazilian market and also worldwide", highlights Joao Borges, co-founder of BAYZ. Co-founder and former COO of Twitch, Lin has dedicated his career to blockchain and web3-related businesses. The professional is also the co-founder of Metatheory Inc, an a16z and Pantera-funded web 3 game developer and creator of the DuskBreakers project. "Expanding gaming culture and innovating in the ways we consume games is the challenge that drives my career. Joining the BAYZ team means, for me, to continue exploring the potential of an industry that keeps growing fast", reveals Lin. The arrival of Kevin Lin reinforces the team who is a reference in the international market and works on the BAYZ board. The company's co-founder, the American Matt Rutledge, better known as "MobileMatt", gained relevance in the United States when working with mobile gaming, and has been instrumental in the company's internationalization. "Kevin's knowledge of high-growth businesses in the region and how to deal with the international gaming community will be of great value to us", he concludes. BAYZ one year anniversary Celebrating one year this September, BAYZ has grown from seven to over 70 the number of employees. The company already invested US$ 1.5 million in 12 blockchain game titles, such as Metasoccer, Legends of Venari, Castle Crush, Monkey League, Thetan Arena, and Big Time. The investment is the result of a US$ 4 million seed round led by Yield Guild Games, with the participation of BITKRAFT and Delphi Digital, and several angel investors. BAYZ is also the official representative of The Sandbox in Brazil. SOURCE BAYZ Businesses seeking exceptional growth are encouraged to register for this large-scale event CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BNI (Business Network International), the world's leading referral networking organization, welcomes Victor Antonio, author, motivational speaker & international sales expert, to headline as a keynote speaker during BNI's 2022 Global Convention in Singapore in November 2022. Antonio will be one of several world-class keynote speakers, including customer experience guru, Ron Kaufman, and BNI's Founder & Chief Visionary Officer, Dr. Ivan Misner, making this the most anticipated business learning and development event of the year. BNI's 2022 Global Convention is all about empowering business leaders to achieve extraordinary growth. Tweet this During BNI's 2022 Global Convention in Singapore, Victor Antonio will present an impactful presentation on the main stage on The Sales Influence. To learn more about BNI's Global Convention happening November 16 19, 2022 in Singapore, click here. During BNI's 2022 Global Convention, Antonio will present an impactful presentation on the main stage on The Sales Influence. Antonio will use his strong sales background and management knowledge to motivate, train, and inspire a crowd of global business leaders. BNI's Chairman & CEO Graham Weihmiller says, "BNI's 2022 Global Convention is all about empowering business leaders to achieve extraordinary growth in any business environment. I am thrilled to welcome Victor Antonio to the event as he is a remarkable speaker who wants to see business leaders achieve more than they ever thought possible through value-centric sales training." Business leaders worldwide are invited to register for BNI's 2022 Global Convention, happening November 16 -19, 2022, to experience the valuable connections and business learning that stimulates revenue growth, presents new opportunities, and creates a positive ripple effect for businesses around the world. The theme for this year's Global Convention is Bigger Networks, Better Knowledge, and Stronger Businesses. In-person and virtual ticket opportuntities are available and can be purchased for as low as $69 at www.BNIGlobalEvents.com. About Victor Antonio A poor upbringing from one of the roughest areas of Chicago didn't stop Victor from earning a B.S. Electrical Engineering, an MBA and building a 20 year career as a top sales executive and becoming President of Global Sales and Marketing for a $420M company. As Vice President of International Sales in a Fortune 500 $3B corporation at the time, he was selected from over 500 sales managers to join the President's Advisory Council for excellence in sales and management. Learn more at https://victorantonio.com/. About BNI BNI (Business Network International) is the world's largest and most successful business networking organization. Today, BNI has over 290,000 Member-businesses participating in 10,800 BNI Chapters that meet in-person, online, or in a hybrid format each week in 70+ countries around the globe. Since 1985, BNI has created over $146,000,000,000 USD in revenue for BNI Members via over 143 million valuable new client referrals.* To learn more about BNI and how you can visit a chapter, go to www.bni.com. BNI's philosophy is centered on Givers Gain and BNI's motto is Changing the Way the World Does Business. To connect with the support team, please reach out to (800)-825-8286 or [email protected]. To learn more about BNI's Global Convention happening November 16 19, 2022 in Singapore, click here. *This information is based on historical BNI Member self-reported data and represents collective results from BNI Members worldwide from 1985 to August 15th, 2022. SOURCE BNI All Mazda Vehicles Tested Earn 2022 IIHS "TOP SAFETY PICK+" Award WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) today announced that the 2023 Mazda CX-50 crossover, has been added to the list of Mazda vehicles that earn its highest award, the 2022 TOP SAFETY PICK+. The all-new CX-50 joins the 2023 Mazda3 Sedan and Hatchback, CX-30, CX-5, and CX-9 vehicles as 2022 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award recipients. To qualify for the 2022 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award, the 2023 CX-50 earned good ratings in each of the Institute's six crashworthiness evaluations: driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength and head restraint tests. Its front crash prevention system earned a superior rating in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and daytime vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations, and it has good or acceptable rated headlights standard across all trims, earning it IIHS's higher-tier award. "We are exceptionally proud that the all-new 2023 CX-50 achieved the highest IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ award our first purpose-built SUV built in Alabama at our new plant," said Mazda North American Operations President and CEO Jeff Guyton. "Safety is at the forefront of our vehicle development and our research has led us to thoughtfully consider crash avoidance technologies, as well as the body structure of our vehicles to protect occupants in the event a crash does occur." The Mazda CX-50 also earned a good rating for its seat belt reminders and a good+ rating for its child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware though those evaluations do not factor into the IIHS awards. To learn more about Mazda's i-Activsense advanced safety technology, please visit the MazdaUSA.com website - https://www.mazdausa.com/why-mazda/safety. The IIHS is an independent, non-governmental safety-testing organization, funded by the insurance industry. For more information, visit https://www.iihs.org/ratings/top-safety-picks. Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts, and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through approximately 620 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at InsideMazda.MazdaUSA.com/Newsroom. Follow MNAO's social media channels through Twitter and Instagram at @MazdaUSA and Facebook at Facebook.com/MazdaUSA. SOURCE Mazda North American Operations Improving Internal Mobility Could Help Improve Employee Retention ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- More than half (54 percent) of American workers say they have better job opportunities at their current organization as compared to another organization. Yet, only 23 percent say they have moved into a new role within their organization. Workers say that a range of opportunities exist with their current employer, including job flexibility (70 percent), pay increases (68 percent), the ability to build new skills (66 percent), a better work environment (59 percent), promotions (53 percent), and a shift to a new field or career (41percent). Employers should focus on internal mobility programs given the need to retain workers in today's tight labor market. Tweet this "This research is a clear signal that employers should focus on their internal mobility programs, especially given the need to retain workers in today's tight labor market," said Melissa Jezior, president and chief executive officer of Eagle Hill Consulting. "Smart employers will identify and invest in programs that enable internal mobility, thereby creating opportunities for employees to pursue new fields, take on leadership-level roles, and develop different skillsets. Providing employees with a path to achieve their personal and professional ambitions where they currently work is a retention win-win for employers and employees," Jezior explained. The survey also finds: A pay increase (49 percent) is the most important factor for employees looking for a new job. This is followed by flexibility (18 percent), a better work environment (13 percent), the ability to build new skills (six percent), a promotion (five percent), and shifting to a new field or career (three percent). Seventy-six percent of workers say they are aware of jobs within their organizations, and 72 percent know the process for moving. The vast majority (79 percent) of workers say they are comfortable telling their direct manager they want to explore other job options outside of their current role. Only 35 percent say they feel there would be negative repercussions if they explored other jobs at their organization. Five recommendations for getting started on strengthening internal mobility programs are available here. These findings are derived from a workforce survey from Eagle Hill Consulting conducted by Ipsos from July 22 27 2022. The survey included 1,140 respondents from a random sample of full-time employees across the United States. The survey polled respondents to understand what they are looking for in new roles and their views on internal mobility processes and opportunities in the organization they work for currently. Eagle Hill Consulting LLC is a woman-owned business that provides unconventional management consulting services in the areas of Strategy & Performance, Talent, and Change. The company's expertise in delivering innovative solutions to unique challenges spans across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. A leading authority on employee sentiment, Eagle Hill is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, with employees across the U.S. and offices in Boston and Seattle. More information is available at www.eaglehillconsulting.com. SOURCE Eagle Hill Consulting DUBLIN, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "5G In Healthcare Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Component (Hardwar, Services), by Application (Remote Patient Monitoring, Connected Medical Devices), by End-use, by Region, and Segment Forecasts, 2022-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global 5G in healthcare market size is expected to reach USD 454.7 billion by 2030, based on a new report, expanding at a CAGR of 34.5% from 2022 to 2030. The IoT ecosystem is developing and is expected to enable networks to connect billions of devices. The demand for a real-time network with faster internet access and greater bandwidth has been driven by the development of modern technologies such as artificial intelligence, wired, and wireless communications, and machine learning. Moreover, the market is driven by the increasing demand for wearable medical devices incorporated with 5G technology for real-time remote patient monitoring and the rising acceptance of robotic surgery and telehealth. The COVID-19 pandemic had a positive impact on the market owing to the adoption of telehealth and remote patient monitoring by medical professionals, medical institutions, and hospitals during the pandemic to monitor isolated COVID-19 patients and stop the further spread of the virus by monitoring patients through remote patient monitoring methods. Since the integration of several low-power devices is required for patient remote monitoring, 5G services can be effectively used to develop a proper remote monitoring infrastructure for patients. Furthermore, government bodies and hospitals made efforts to deploy 5G during the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, in February 2020, the U.S. Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System deployed 5G in the hospital to treat patients using remote patient monitoring and promote the use of telemedicine. The key players are adopting strategies such as partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, product and service launches, agreements, joint ventures, collaborations, and expansion to strengthen their position in the market. In February 2020, China's first 5G-capable remote emergency rescue system was constructed by the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine and China Mobile Zhejiang. This system consists of many supporting technologies, including VR immersive diagnosis and therapy, 5G-enabled remote ultrasonography, and a 5G-enabled emergency rescue command center. 5G In Healthcare Market Report Highlights The hardware component segment held the largest revenue share of over 70.0% in 2021 owing to the need for frequent replacement or up-gradation of the devices to make optimal use of the latest technologies in the market The services component segment is anticipated to expand at the fastest CAGR of 35.7% from 2022 to 2030. The growth is attributed to the need for improved mobile broadband and greater frequencies offered by 5G services Based on the application, the remote patient monitoring segment accounted for the largest revenue share of over 60.0% in 2021 owing to the rising geriatric population and a rise in the demand for remote health checkups. Remote patient monitoring is critical for chronic management and efficient and proactive healthcare service The connected medical devices application segment is expected to register the fastest growth rate from 2022 to 2030 owing to increased demand for medical devices by consumers for daily health tracking, the rise in demand for telehealth devices, and the increasing trend of home healthcare In 2021, the healthcare providers end-use segment dominated the market with a revenue share of over 60.0% due to the growing patient volume and an increasing number of hospitals and ambulatory care centers The healthcare payers end-use segment is anticipated to expand at the fastest growth rate of 35.4% over the forecast period. Payers include both public and commercial insurance companies. The growth of the segment is fueled by an increase in the number of policyholders for health insurance due to the COVID-19 pandemic North America held the largest revenue share of over 35.0% in 2021 owing to the government initiatives for the deployment of 5G in healthcare and increasing penetration of 5G-enabled medical devices held the largest revenue share of over 35.0% in 2021 owing to the government initiatives for the deployment of 5G in healthcare and increasing penetration of 5G-enabled medical devices Asia Pacific is expected to register the fastest growth rate of 36.6% from 2022 to 2030 owing to government initiatives for the deployment of 5G in healthcare. For instance, the government of India launched a special incentive scheme to support 75 startups in telemedicine and digital health in 2021 Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1 Report Scope and Objectives Chapter 2 Methodology Chapter 3 Executive Summary Chapter 4 Market Variables, Trends & Scope Chapter 5 5G in Healthcare Market: Component Analysis Chapter 6 5G in Healthcare Market: Application Analysis Chapter 7 5G in Healthcare Market: End-use Analysis Chapter 8 5G in Healthcare Market: Regional Analysis Chapter 9 Competitive Analysis Chapter 10 KOL Commentary Companies Mentioned AT&T VERIZON CHINA MOBILE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED MOBILE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED QUECTEL TELIT TELUS HUAWEI CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. ORANGE NEC CORPORATION For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/w6653p Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets FORNEBU, Norway, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Akastor ASA's (OSE: AKAST) subsidiary DDW Offshore AS ("DDW Offshore") has been awarded a firm 1 year contract by Petrofac for the AHTS vessel Skandi Atlantic. The AHTS will support the disconnection of the FPSO "Northern Endeavour" together with towing and well isolations work in the Laminaria Corallina oil fields in the West Timor Sea. The contract start date is as from today, September 27th, 2022. DDW Offshore, headquartered in Oslo, Norway, owns five modern Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) vessels with the capability of operating and supporting clients on a worldwide basis. The vessels are specially designed to perform anchor handling, towing and supply services at offshore oil and gas fields. The company is owned 100% by Akastor AS. For further information, please contact: yvind Paaske Chief Financial Officer Tel: +47 917 59 705 E-mail: [email protected] This press release may include forward-looking information or statements and is subject to our disclaimer; see https://akastor.com. Akastor is a Norway-based oil-services investment company with a portfolio of industrial holdings and other investments. The company has a flexible mandate for active ownership and long-term value creation This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com SOURCE Akastor ASA Attributes success to navigating new challenges and opportunities while remaining focused on APC family members, customers and communities. COLUMBUS, Wis., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- American Packaging Corporation (APC) announced today that it ranked No. 44 on Deloitte's Wisconsin 75, a ranking of the 75 largest private companies in Wisconsin, based on sales revenue. APC also received the Wisconsin 75 award in 2021 as its initial entry onto this esteemed list of successful companies who lead the state forward into the future. "We're truly honored to be recognized for the second year in a row as a Wisconsin 75 company," APC CEO and owner Peter Schottland said. "APC's performance is a credit to the incredible team here in Wisconsin and at our other facilities across the country who have worked strategically and with great passion for what they do, all at an unrelenting pace through new challenges and opportunities." About Deloitte's 2022 Wisconsin 75 Deloitte's annual Wisconsin 75 list salutes the largest privately held Wisconsin-based companies. These companies play a key role in the state's economy. Wisconsin 75 award winners are selected based on annual sales revenue. To be eligible for Deloitte's Wisconsin 75 recognition, companies must have a majority ownership by an individual(s), family, employee stock ownership plan, or private equity firm. Public companies are eligible when greater than 50 percent of the value or vote of the shares are owned by individuals, family, an employee stock ownership plan, or private equity. Additionally, companies must have annual sales revenue of at least USD 50,000. The Wisconsin 75 excludes cooperatives and accounting, tax, legal, and consulting service companies. About American Packaging Corporation Founded in 1902, American Packaging Corporation is a recognized leader in the flexible packaging industry. Independently owned, APC is committed to innovation, sustainability and customer delight from a talented family of packaging professionals. Today, APC operates five Centers of Excellence in the United States and employs approximately 1,200 talented, motivated professionals, including nationwide sales reps and field technical support. For more information, please visit americanpackaging.com. Media Contacts Dixon Schwabl + Company Carly Morabito [email protected] SOURCE American Packaging Corporation SAN RAMON, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lumin Digital announced today that Arizona-based American Southwest Credit Union (ASCU) has signed a multi-year agreement for Lumin Digital's cloud-based online and mobile digital banking platform. Lumin will support ASCU's 30,000 members and more than $360 million in assets when the platform is launched in April 2023. A cloud-native digital banking platform, Lumin Digital will provide ASCU members with an integrated, customized experience that matches larger financial institutions' offerings. Focusing on service, user experience, safety, and security through sophisticated automation, Lumin Digital helps credit unions and financial institutions drive better engagement with their users through personalized recommendations. These include everything from spending insights, financial advice, fraud alerts, and assistance with savings goals. Lumin also enables credit unions the ability to provide users with real-time updates and new features that add value and simplify everyday banking. Based in Sierra Vista, Ariz., ASCU has a rich history of servicing members since 1954. "By providing the highest quality tools and technology, our members are able to find financial success and wellbeing," said Mary Hyder, board chairman with American Southwest Credit Union. "Lumin Digital's robust platform and offerings will help our members financially prosper and thrive." "We admire ASCU's commitment to providing their members with the best possible tools and technologies possible," said Jeff Chambers, founder and CEO of Lumin Digital. "This partnership will provide immediate benefits to ASCU's members through Lumin Digital's comprehensive and personalized digital platform." About Lumin Digital Lumin Digital is a PSCU-majority-owned fintech company specializing in digital banking solutions. Through a fundamentally different approach to technology, service, and people, we're creating the next generation of financial solutions each and every day. Lumin helps credit unions and financial institutions build and deploy next-gen digital experiences that help to continually serve, engage, and grow their membership base. While other platforms are partially adapted or retrofitted for the cloud, Lumin is 100% cloud-native. It was built specifically for the cloud environment, allowing us to more fully realize the advantages it offers. It's a difference that financial institutions and their users will see and feel almost immediately. For more information, visit lumindigital.com. About American Southwest Credit Union - The Co-Op You Can Bank On Established in 1955 on the Ft. Huachuca military base, American Southwest Credit Union (formerly Huachuca Federal Credit Union) is now headquartered in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Over the years it has grown to 30,000 members with $360 million in assets. ASCU has 5 branches in Sahuarita/Green Valley, Ft. Huachuca, Sierra Vista, Benson, and Douglas and serves the Southern Arizona counties of Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Santa Cruz, and Pima. SOURCE Lumin Digital JIAXING,China and BURLINGAME,Calif., Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Angel Pharmaceuticals Ltd. ("Angel Pharma"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the IND application for mupadolimab (formerly CPI-006) has been approved by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) to initiate a Phase 1/1b clinical trial in China. Angel Pharma owns mupadolimab's rights in Greater China. Mupadolimab is a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against CD73 . In preclinical studies, it has demonstrated immunomodulatory activity resulting in activation of lymphocytes, induction of antibody production from B cells and effects on lymphocyte trafficking. Compare with other anti-CD73 antibodies and smallmolecule drugs in development, mupadolimab is designed to react with a region of the molecule that acts to stimulate B cells and block production of immunosuppressive adenosine with a proposed unique mechanism of activating B cells to generate immune responses to tumor antigens and viruses. Outside China, mupadolimab has been studied in combination with pembrolizumab in a Phase 1/1b trial in patients with advanced head and neck cancers and in patients with NSCLC that have failed chemotherapy and anti-PD(L)1 therapy. Dr. Richard Miller, co-founder of Angel Pharmaceuticals, commented, "We are pleased that mupadolimab has been approved for clinical trial in China. Data from overseas clinical studies has demonstrated its safety and potential to benefit patients with advanced cancers. We look forward to working with clinical experts in China to accelerate its development." Dr. Ted Wang, Co-founder of Angel Pharmaceuticals, commented, "We have completed the local manufacture of mupadolimab in China, and will work closely with top clinical sites to bring it to market to benefit patients in China". Professor Guo Ye, Deputy Secretary General of the Chinese Clinical Oncology Society (CSCO), Chairman of the Head and Neck Cancer Committee of the Chinese Clinical Oncology Society, and Department of Oncology, Shanghai East Hospital Affiliated with Tongji University, commented, "CD73 plays a key role in the formation of the immunosuppressive microenvironment in cancer, and studies have demonstrated its importance on solid tumors. Mupadolimab is a unique CD73 antibody and we hope its clinical development will progress successfully in China to benefit cancer patients." About Angel Pharmaceuticals Angel Pharmaceuticals is a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of precisely targeted investigational medicines for cancer, autoimmune, infectious and other serious diseases. Angel Pharmaceuticals was launched with strategic collaboration with U.S. biopharmaceutical company Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., with investments from Zhejiang Puissance Capital, Hisun Pharmaceuticals, Tigermed and fund associated with Betta Pharmaceuticals. For more information, visit www.angelpharma.com About Corvus Pharmaceuticals Corvus Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Corvus' lead product candidate is CPI-818, an investigational, oral, small molecule drug that selectively inhibited ITK in preclinical studies and is in a multicenter Phase 1/1b clinical trial in patients with several types of T-cell lymphomas. The Company's second clinical program, ciforadenant (CPI-444), is an oral, small molecule inhibitor of the A2A receptor. Its third clinical program, mupadolimab (CPI-006), is a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against CD73 that has exhibited immunomodulatory activity and activation of immune cells in preclinical and clinical studies. For more information, visit www.corvuspharma.com SOURCE Angel Pharmaceuticals The Independence Fund's Mobility program restores physical independence to Veteran CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In partnership with the NC Faith & Freedom Salt and Light Conference, Veterans service organization The Independence Fund presented US Army Veteran SGT Robert Clegg with an all-terrain trackchair at North Carolina's largest faith-based conference during its 5th annual event. The Independence Fund's hallmark program, the all-terrain trackchair mobility program, began in 2007 and continues to restore mobility and provide independence to those suffering the devastating effects of service-connected loss of mobility. To date, The Independence Fund has provided nearly 2,600 chairs to wounded, injured, and ill Veterans. "We count it a privilege to partner with leaders like Jason Williams and the NC Faith & Freedom Coalition. Their ongoing support of our mission and America's heroes everywhere is making a true difference in North Carolina and beyond," said Sarah Verardo, CEO of The Independence Fund. "It is always moving to see a deserving Veteran like SGT Clegg receive the gift of physical independence with the assistance of our all-terrain trackchairs. SGT Clegg served 17 within Active Duty and the National Guard. He is now a T-7 paraplegic due to Injuries sustained in the line of duty. His mobility issues have caused a drastic change in his daily life, and the new trackchair will allow him the chance to re-engage with the hobbies he once enjoyed, including hunting, fishing, and traveling to the beach and mountains. "This track chair will allow me to go places I couldn't get to in other power chairs," said Clegg. "I no longer have to worry about getting stuck on my property, which has happened before. Thank you to The Independence Fund and their generous supporters for this gift." For NC Faith & Freedom, honoring Veterans is part of their core values, and the ability to provide SGT. Clegg with the gift of independence was particularly impactful. "Each year NC Faith & Freedom seeks to recognize our Veterans in a special way at our state Salt & Light Conference. Our partnership with the Independence Fund and Pete Hegseth provided us with an exceptional opportunity to publicly recognize all our military families in attendance and to help one extraordinary wounded hero regain his mobility and independence. We could think of no better way to thank SGT Clegg for his service to our nation," said Jason Williams, Executive Director of North Carolina Faith & Freedom Coalition. ABOUT THE INDEPENDENCE FUND: Founded in 2007, The Independence Fund (501c3) is committed to serving the Warfighter Community by providing innovative programs and services to support the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual independence of our servicemembers, combat Veterans, their caregivers, families, and those allies who served in combat alongside our troops, through innovative mobility and adaptive technologies and therapies for combat veterans; suicide prevention; caregiver and family support; and Veteran advocacy with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, other government agencies, federal and state legislators, and other partners. The Independence Fund believes in fairness and equality for all veterans and families irrespective of race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation, and will continue to uphold these American values. Media Contact: Caroline Arey, Strategic Messaging Director [email protected] (704) 608-8770 SOURCE The Independence Fund NOIDA, India, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report published by UnivDatos Markets Insights, the Automotive IoT Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 25% from 2022-2028, reaching around USD 300 billion by 2028. The analysis has been segmented into Offering (Hardware, Software, and Services); Communication Types (In-Vehicle, Vehicle to Vehicle, And Vehicle to Infrastructure); Connectivity (Embedded, Tethered, And Integrated); Region/Country. Click here to view the Report Description & TOC https://univdatos.com/report/automotive-iot-market/ The automotive IoT market report has been aggregated by collecting informative data on various dynamics such as market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. This innovative report makes use of several analyses to get a closer outlook on the automotive IoT market. The automotive IoT market report offers a detailed analysis of the latest industry developments and trending factors in the market that are influencing the market growth. Furthermore, this statistical market research repository examines and estimates the automotive IoT market at the global and regional levels. Request for Sample Pages https://univdatos.com/get-a-free-sample-form-php/?product_id=25978 Market Overview The IoT technology helps to connect different objects in an environment with the help of both wired and non-wired connections. Moreover, an automotive IoT helps to control the operations of the vehicle to avoid any kind of accident and reduce the load from the driver. In addition, this allows complex devices like electronics, actuators, and sensors to share information with each other and other cars connected to the internet. Factors like the growing demand for connected vehicles, government initiatives for smart traffic system management, and rising adoption of road vehicle safety is driving the growth of the market. For instance, the Government of India has mandated connecting features for public transport vehicles under AIS-140 which has been regulated and enforced since April 2018. Factors such as an increase in the cases of accidents, rising income of the populace to adopt advanced technology, an increase in demand for smart and hi-tech technology vehicles, and product launches in the market are some of the prominent factors that are positively influencing the market growth globally. Some of the major players operating in the market include Texas Instruments Incorporated, Intel Corporation, NXP Semiconductors N.V., TomTom N.V., Robert Bosch GmbH, Google LLC, Apple Inc, The General Motors Company, Audi AG, Ford Motor. Click here to view the Report Description & TOC https://univdatos.com/report/automotive-iot-market/ COVID-19 Impact The recent covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the world and has brought a state of shock to the global economy. Moreover, transport limitations additionally made it difficult for enterprises in the automotive industry to get the inputs they required. Due to regulations designed to contain COVID-19, manufacturing businesses were shut down, which had an impact on the supply of automotive inputs and the activities of hired technology service providers The global automotive IoT market report is studied thoroughly with several aspects that would help stakeholders in making their decisions more curated. Based on the offering, the market is segmented into hardware, software, and services. The software category is to witness a higher CAGR during the forecast period. In addition, increasing the usage of software improves the experience for drivers and passengers and real-time information is provided by the software that helps the passenger or the driver to make decisions. Moreover, the growing use of advanced technologies is also a key factor that will drive the growth of the market in the forecast period. On the basis of communication type, the market is categorized into in-vehicle, vehicle to vehicle, and vehicle to infrastructure. Among all these, vehicle-to-vehicle hold a significant share in the market in 2020. The vehicle-to-vehicle can provide the drivers with information on other vehicles including the speed, direction, and location, and alert the driver to be aware of any mishappening. In addition, companies operating in the market are focusing on new product development. For instance, in January 2020 , Qualcomm Technologies Inc. introduced a new Qualcomm C-V2X reference platform for vehicular and roadside units (RSUs) . Based on the connectivity, the market is categorized into embedded, tethered, and integrated. Among all these, integrated hold a significant share of the market in 2020 owing to their ability to connect different fleets with operators and vehicle users. It is an electronic device that monitors various aspects of the vehicle and sends information to the driver. Have a Look at the Chapters- https://univdatos.com/report/automotive-iot-market/ Automotive IoT Market Geographical Segmentation Includes: North America ( United States , Canada , and Rest of North America ) ( , , and Rest of ) Europe ( Germany , United Kingdom , Spain , Italy , France , and the Rest of Europe ) ( , , , , , and the Rest of ) Asia-Pacific ( China , Japan , India , and the Rest of Asia-Pacific ) ( , , , and the Rest of ) Rest of the World APAC is anticipated to grow at a substantial CAGR during the forecast period. mainly driven by the rapidly developing economies, broadening internet connectivity and high-speed networks, technological developments in the automotive sector, and government initiatives for smart cities & smart traffic management systems. Moreover, the growing income of the populace is also a key factor driving the growth of the market. Some of the market players are working to advance technology to boost the growth of the market. For instance, Intel, BMW, and Mobileye three leaders from the machine learning industries, automotive, technology, and computer vision collaborated to bring solutions for highly extensive automated driving into series production by 2021. The major players targeting the market include Texas Instruments Incorporated Intel Corporation NXP Semiconductors N.V. TomTom N.V. Robert Bosch GmbH Google LLC Apple Inc The General Motors Company Audi AG Ford Motor Competitive Landscape The degree of competition among prominent global companies has been elaborated by analyzing several leading key players operating worldwide. The specialist team of research analysts sheds light on various traits such as global market competition, market share, most recent industry advancements, innovative product launches, partnerships, mergers, or acquisitions by leading companies in the Automotive IoT market. The major players have been analyzed by using research methodologies for getting insight views on global competition. Key questions resolved through this analytical market research report include: What are the latest trends, new patterns, and technological advancements in the automotive IoT market? Which factors are influencing the automotive IoT market over the forecast period? What are the global challenges, threats, and risks in the automotive IoT market? Which factors are propelling and restraining the automotive IoT market? What are the demanding global regions of the automotive IoT market? What will be the global market size in the upcoming years? What are the crucial market acquisition strategies and policies applied by global companies? We understand the requirement of different businesses, regions, and countries, we offer customized reports as per your requirements of business nature and geography. Please let us know If you have any custom needs. Browse Other Related Research Reports from UnivDatos Market Insights Automotive IoT Market Report Coverage Report Attribute Details Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2028 Growth momentum Accelerate at a CAGR of over 25% Market size 2020 USD 300 billion Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Rest of World Major contributing region APAC to Witness Highest Growth in the Global Automotive IoT Market Key countries covered United States, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, China, Japan, and India Companies profiled Texas Instruments Incorporated, Intel Corporation, NXP Semiconductors N.V., TomTom N.V., Robert Bosch GmbH, Google LLC, Apple Inc, The General Motors Company, Audi AG, Ford Motor Report Scope Market Trends, Drivers, and Restraints; Revenue Estimation and Forecast; Segmentation Analysis; Impact of COVID-19; Demand and Supply Side Analysis; Competitive Landscape; Company Profiling Segments Covered By Offering; By Communication Type; By Connectivity; By Region/Country About UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) is a passionate market research firm and a subsidiary of Universal Data Solutions. We believe in delivering insights through Market Intelligence Reports, Customized Business Research, and Primary Research. Our research studies are spread across topics across the world, we cover markets in over 100 countries using smart research techniques and agile methodologies. We offer in-depth studies, detailed analyses, and customized reports that help shape winning business strategies for our clients. Contact UnivDatos Market Insights Ankita Gupta Director Operations Ph: +91-7838604911 Email: [email protected] Website: https://univdatos.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1225049/UnivDatos_Logo.jpg SOURCE UnivDatos Market Insights Pvt. Ltd. Acquisition Creates Industry-Leading Portfolio of Catheter Securement Solutions BETHLEHEM, Pa., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun), a leader in infusion therapy and pain management, announced today it has acquired the innovative Clik-FIX catheter securement device portfolio from Starboard Medical, Inc. B. Braun's acquisition builds on the company's history of product and program innovation to improve the patient experience and outcomes with peripheral intravenous (IV) therapy. Designed with patient care in mind, the Clik-FIX portfolio acquisition includes the following: Clik-FIX Peripheral catheter securement device is an all-in-one integrated securement device with bio-occlusive dressing. This device replaces the need to use individual tape, gauze and transparent dressings. catheter securement device is an all-in-one integrated securement device with bio-occlusive dressing. This device replaces the need to use individual tape, gauze and transparent dressings. Clik-FIX PICC/Central catheter securement device is a universal device designed to secure most peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) and central catheters with an active dual locking mechanism. Clik-FIX is an effective alternative to sutures, tape, tape-based stabilization and other securement systems. catheter securement device is a universal device designed to secure most peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) and central catheters with an active dual locking mechanism. Clik-FIX is an effective alternative to sutures, tape, tape-based stabilization and other securement systems. Clik-FIX Universal catheter securement device is designed to stabilize and secure any medical tubing junction with a Luer lock connection. catheter securement device is designed to stabilize and secure any medical tubing junction with a Luer lock connection. Clik-FIX Neonatal PICC catheter securement device features a universal design and is compatible with most neonatal PICC lines. It features a soft foam securement base with no hard plastic parts to cause pressure, bruising or trauma to a baby's skin. catheter securement device features a universal design and is compatible with most neonatal PICC lines. It features a soft foam securement base with no hard plastic parts to cause pressure, bruising or trauma to a baby's skin. Clik-FIX Soft PICC/Central securement device features a soft foam securement base with no hard plastic parts to cause pressure, bruising or trauma to the skin. Its universal design is compatible with most PICC and central lines. "Improving the standard of care for patients is at the heart of all we do at B. Braun," said Jean-Claude Dubacher, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, B. Braun Medical Inc. "The addition of the innovative Clik-FIX portfolio combined with our expertise and commercial capabilities ensures we will continue to meet our customers' evolving needs and extend our position as a leader in IV therapy," he added. Starboard Medical is a woman co-owned medical device company focused on delivering superior medical devices that enhance patient care and improve patient outcomes. "Clik-FIX devices were the result of a personal experience with an improperly secured IV catheter," said Kerry Edgar, President, Starboard Medical, Inc. "We're pleased that B. Braun, with its commercial capabilities and long history of IV therapy expertise, will bring the Clik-FIX device portfolio to more clinicians and more patients around the world." Peripheral Vascular Access is the Most Common Invasive Procedure Performed in Healthcare It is estimated that 380 million PIVCs are sold in the United States annually.1 In fact, hospital patients are more likely to get an IV than any other device, as over 80% of patients do.2 In hospitals today, 30.2% of PICC lines3 and up to 69% of PIVCs inserted fail.4 Collectively, this can lead to serious implications for patients, including increased length of stay and costs.5 Catheter stabilization has become a central means to improve outcomes.5 "Catheter securement is critical in proper stabilization to avoid potentially serious issues for patients," said Patrick Evangelista, RN, BSN, MSN, VA-BC. "Clik-FIX is a proven catheter securement platform that I use in my everyday practice, and its technical performance is demonstrated in my poster published at AVA 2022". As a leader in infusion therapy, B. Braun is committed to raising the bar for patient care by delivering innovative products and programs that include clinical education and data collection. B. Braun has partnered with the Association for Vascular Access in a long-term collaboration to advance education and training on IV placement. Additionally, B. Braun created the Peripheral Advantage Program, which is designed to improve patients' experiences with peripheral IV therapy. This comprehensive program, available to any hospital in the U.S., combines clinical instruction, data-driven insights and advanced tools to empower nurses to achieve first-stick success and help prevent many of the complications associated with peripheral IV therapy. About B. Braun B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun) is a leader in smart infusion therapy and safe and effective pharmacy products, patient and provider safety, and sustainable health solutions. Our purpose is to help providers constantly improve patient satisfaction and outcomes. With products and services created to help healthcare professionals focus on what matters mosttheir patientswe're uniquely positioned to help health systems succeed now and in the future. B. Braun is headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and is part of the B. Braun Group of Companies in the U.S., which includes B. Braun Interventional Systems, Aesculap and CAPS. The company employs 8,500 people at over 30 locations across North America. Globally, the B. Braun Group of Companies employs more than 64,000 employees in 64 countries. Guided by its Sharing Expertise philosophy, B. Braun continuously exchanges knowledge with customers, partners and clinicians to address the critical issues of improving care and lowering costs. To learn more about B. Braun Medical, explore our website. iData Research. (2020). US Market Report Suite for Vascular Access Devices and Accessories Rivera AM, Strauss KW, van Zundert AA, Mortier EP. Matching the peripheral intravenous catheter to the individual patient. Acta Anaesthesiol Belg. 2007;58(1):19-25. Grau D, Clarivet B, Lotthe A, Bommart S, Parer S. Complications with peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) used in hospitalized patients and outpatients: a prospective cohort study. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2017;6:18. Published 2017 Jan Cooke, M., Ullman, A., Ray-Barruel, G., Wallis, M., Corley, A., Rickard, C. (2018). Not "just" an intravenous line: Consumer perspectives on peripheral intravenous cannulation (PIVC). An international cross-sectional survey of 25 countries. Plos One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193436 Helm RE, Klausner JD, Klemperer JD, FLint LM, Huang E. Accepted but unacceptable: peripheral IV catheter failure. J Infus Nurs. 2015 May-Jun;38(3):189-203. doi: 10.1097/NAN.0000000000000100. PMID: 25871866. SOURCE B. Braun Medical Inc. AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe marks second consecutive win for innovative 4xe plug-in hybrid system 3.0-liter Hurricane Twin Turbo debuted this year in the 2022 Grand Wagoneer Jeep Wrangler 4xe, a 2021 Wards 10 Best Engines and Propulsion Systems winner, is the best-selling plug-in hybrid in America Electrified and more efficient propulsion systems play important role in Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan Two power-rich and fuel-efficient Stellantis powertrains, the innovative 4xe plug-in hybrid in the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe and the all-new 3.0-liter Hurricane Twin Turbo I-6 in the Grand Wagoneer, are winners of the 2022 Wards 10 Best Engines and Propulsion Systems award. Two power-rich and fuel-efficient Stellantis powertrains, the innovative 4xe plug-in hybrid in the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe and the all-new 3.0-liter Hurricane Twin Turbo I-6 in the Grand Wagoneer, are winners of the 2022 Wards 10 Best Engines and Propulsion Systems award. The honors mark the 12th consecutive year a Stellantis product is among the winners on the list. "Our customers are very clear about what they expect from our vehicles and they don't look to make compromises. The 4xe and Hurricane Twin Turbo powertrains deliver performance that enhances the driving experience on road, off road and when towing. Just as importantly, they reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. The strong demand for Jeep brand 4xe PHEVs and the Hurricane Twin Turbo-equipped Grand Wagoneer demonstrates we are delivering what our customers desire," said Micky Bly, Stellantis senior vice president, global propulsion systems engineering. Electrified and more efficient propulsion systems play an important role in the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan that commits Stellantis to cut its global carbon footprint by 50% by 2030 and to lead the transportation industry by achieving net carbon zero by 2038. 4xe: Nearly Silent Propulsion Without Range Anxiety The 4xe plug-in hybrid propulsion system that delivers nearly silent driving and enhanced off-road capability is a Wards 10 Best winner for the second year in row. This year, Wards editors named the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe to the top 10 list after honoring the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, the best-selling plug-in hybrid in the United States, in 2021. The Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe delivers 25 miles of all-electric range and 56 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) from its technologically advanced propulsion system rated at 375 hp and 470 lb.-ft. of torque. The Grand Cherokee 4xe can tow a maximum of 6,000 lbs. "Spectacular the back and forth between the internal combustion engine and electrics is imperceptible and the stop/start is ultra smooth. It's really a bit of an engineering marvel," WardsAuto judge Dave Zoia said. The 4xe propulsion system in the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Wrangler combines two electric motors, a 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 engine, an 8-speed automatic transmission and a 17 kilowatt-hour battery pack. E Selec modes let the driver tailor the 4xe propulsion system to the trip: Hybrid, Electric and eSave, which conserves the battery pack charge for later use and can send power to the battery pack while driving with the I-4 engine. Regenerative braking also adds power to the battery pack. Hurricane Twin Turbo: More Power, Less Emissions The Hurricane Twin Turbo I-6 wins the Wards award in its first year of eligibility. It delivers more horsepower, more torque and less emissions than many competitors' naturally aspirated V-8 and boosted six-cylinder engines. The inherently smooth running inline-6 engine employs state-of-the-art engineering and technologies that include two low-inertia, high-flow turbochargers for rapid response to throttle inputs, plasma transfer wire arc (spray bore) coating in the cylinder bores for an ultra-thin, low-friction wear surface and high-pressure (5,075 psi/350 bar) direct fuel injection. "As the evident heir apparent to the HEMI V-8, this is a huge leap forward for Stellantis, providing the basis for full-size truck and SUV propulsion for years to come. Electrified versions are likely to come, giving it even better numbers in the future," WardsAuto judge Bob Gritzinger said. The all-aluminum Hurricane Twin Turbo 510 debuted this year in the 2022 Grand Wagoneer with a rating of 510 horsepower and 500 lb.-ft. of torque. It is joined for the 2023 model year with the standard output Hurricane Twin Turbo in the Wagoneer, rated at 420 hp and 468 lb.-ft. of torque. A History of Winning This is the 12th consecutive time a Stellantis product is a winner of the Wards 10 Best Engines and Propulsion Systems award. In the 29-year history of the award, 11 engines/systems produced by Stellantis and its predecessor companies have accounted for 23 winners, including (engine/latest vehicles tested/years listed) in reverse chronological order: 3.0-liter Hurricane Twin Turbo I-6 (Grand Wagoneer): 2022 2.0-liter I-4 plug-in hybrid (Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, Jeep Wrangler 4xe): 2021-2022 3.6-liter Pentastar Upgrade with eTorque (Ram 1500): 2019-2020 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 hybrid (Chrysler Pacifica): 2017-2018 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V-6 (Ram 1500):2014-2016 6.2-liter Hellcat supercharged HEMI V-8 (Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat): 2015 83-kW electric motor (Fiat 500e): 2014 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 (Dodge Avenger, Chrysler 300S, Ram 1500): 2011-2013 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 (Dodge Charger R/T, Chrysler 300C, Dodge Challenger R/T, Ram 1500): 2003-2007, 2009 5.9-liter Cummins turbodiesel I-6 (Ram HD): 2004 4.7-liter SOHC V-8 (Jeep Grand Cherokee): 1999 Stellantis North America Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) is one of the world's leading automakers and a mobility provider. In North America, it's best known for producing and selling vehicles in a portfolio of iconic and award-winning brands such as Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Alfa Romeo and Fiat. Powered by its diversity, Stellantis leads the way the region and the world move 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. Follow company news and video on: Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com Media website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com Company website: www.stellantis.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Stellantis Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StellantisNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stellantisna Twitter: @StellantisNA YouTube: http://youtube.com/StellantisNA SOURCE Stellantis Commercial Information Communications Technology infrastructure gets elevated, recognition boost from BICSI certified professionals TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BICSI, the association advancing the information and communications technology (ICT) profession, is launching the BICSI ICT Certification Institute, at this week's 2022 BICSI Fall Conference and Exhibition being held at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on 25-29 September 2022 where thousands of ICT professionals from around the globe are learning and networking during this premier conference. This global institute is the distillation of the ethics, experience and excellence embodied by each BICSI certification. For nearly 40 years, BICSI has set the global standard for ICT expertise and excellence, developing, and advancing the professions of cable installers, project managers, designers and consultants. BICSI certifications have helped more than 16,000 professionals achieve new competencies that drive personal and professional results. Professionals who obtain and maintain BICSI's ICT Certifications demonstrate to clients, employers, and peers their dedication to the profession and commitment to upholding high standards of integrity and excellence in professional practice. This institute encompasses BICSI's seven certifications and one certificate: Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) Data Center Design Consultant (DCDC) Registered Telecommunications Project Manager (RTPM) Outside Plant Designer (OSP) BICSI Cabling Installation Installer 1 (INST1), Installer 2, Copper (INSTC), Installer 2, Optical Fiber (INSTF), Technician (TECH) All BICSI certification programs from entry level to advanced are thoroughly developed and routinely maintained following accreditation standards led by globally diverse subject matter experts who help ensure the certifications truly reflect emerging practice, advanced technology, real-life case studies and best practices. "We're proud of the rigor behind BICSI certification programs and the work ethic, experience and excellence embodied by each BICSI certification, from the installer to the RCDD," BICSI Board President Carol Everett Oliver said. "We are giving voice to the ethos of excellence through the BICSI ICT Certification Institute, unifying and elevating our certification portfolio by bringing them together under this new shared identity." About BICSI: BICSI is a professional association supporting the advancement of the information and communications technology (ICT) profession and currently serves more than 26,000 members and credential holders. BICSI is the preeminent resource for the Connected World. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, USA, BICSI membership spans nearly 100 countries. www.bicsi.org SOURCE BICSI Powering More Relevant Product Search and Providing Greater Value for Customers, Semantic Understanding Will Help Businesses Across Canada, EMEA, and DACH Regions to Build Revenue-Driving E-Commerce Experiences MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bloomreach, the world's #1 Commerce Experience Cloud, today announced its Bloomreach Discovery solution now offers French and German semantic understanding, becoming one of the only search solutions on the market to offer this support for customers in Canadian, EMEA, and DACH regions. With increased search relevance powered by semantic understanding, businesses in these regions will now have the ability to create digital experiences that quickly connect customers with the products they're looking for, ultimately driving measurable increases in revenue and conversion rates. Bloomreach data shows that on B2C e-commerce sites, 15% of customers use site search yet these searchers account for 45% of total online revenue. In B2B, 40% of buyers use site search, accounting for 60% of total revenue. As a result, irrelevant search results can have a significant impact on the bottom line. To remedy this issue, Bloomreach built semantic understanding into the AI core that powers its entire Bloomreach Discovery solution. Semantic understanding processes real-world language and deciphers customer intent in order to provide more accurate search results (for example, understanding the difference between a "dress shirt" and a "shirt dress"). One of the first commerce search engines to offer semantic understanding in a meaningful way for English speaking brands, Bloomreach Discovery is now expanding support for this heightened level of product search relevance to additional languages, ensuring more businesses can help customers to find the products they want in just a few clicks. Bloomreach currently serves a number of customers in these regions, including Bauhaus, FC Bayern Munich, Bosch, Carrefour, Puma, and Sonepar. "Bloomreach is very excited to offer support for French and German semantic understanding, helping our growing number of customers in the Canadian, EMEA, and DACH regions to create a sophisticated product discovery experience for their shoppers," said Aditya Singh, Head of Product, Bloomreach Discovery. "Fixing search on a site can often be a manual process. Our industry-leading solution, backed by more than 12 years of commerce data, reconstructs that process with the power of AI-driven semantic understanding, empowering our customers to create search experiences that meet the unique needs of their business while delivering fast returns. With the launch of French and German support, we look forward to bringing this revenue-driving feature to our customers in these expanding markets." French and German semantic understanding is now available to all Bloomreach Discovery customers. To learn more about Bloomreach Discovery, which helps businesses create a sophisticated product discovery experience and offers modules for advanced merchandising, smart product recommendations, and SEO improvements, visit the Bloomreach website. About Bloomreach Bloomreach is the world's #1 Commerce Experience Cloud, empowering brands to deliver customer journeys so personalized, they feel like magic. It offers a suite of products that drive true personalization and digital commerce growth, including: Discovery, offering AI-driven search and merchandising; Content, offering a headless CMS; and Engagement, offering a leading CDP and marketing automation solutions. Together, these solutions combine the power of unified customer and product data with the speed and scale of AI-optimization, enabling revenue-driving digital commerce experiences that convert on any channel and every journey. Bloomreach serves over 850 global brands including Albertsons, Bosch, Puma, FC Bayern Munchen, and Marks & Spencer. For more information, visit Bloomreach.com. Media Contact: Michelle DeMaio Bloomreach Corporate Communications michelle.[email protected] SOURCE Bloomreach Largest Family-Owned and Operated Italian Beef Restaurant Now Franchising, Unique Opportunity for Experienced Entrepreneurs, Investors who Share Buona Values CHICAGO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Buona , maker of Chicago's original Italian beef, has today announced the expansion of the Buona family with its new franchise partner program, Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC. The program brings Buona's diverse menu offerings, anchored by its award-winning Italian Beef, to high-growth markets in the Midwest, Florida, Texas, Colorado, Tennessee and Arizona. It provides experienced entrepreneurs and seasoned investors the opportunity to enter the Fast Casual dining, with drive thru, market with an original Italian Beef concept, plus the potential to add an Original Rainbow Cone ice cream kiosk to complete the authentic Windy City experience. Buona has been serving Chicagos Original Italian Beef since 1981. Today, Buona is the largest family-owned Italian beef restaurant group and Italian beef producer in the country. Buona was founded in 1981 by Joe and Peggy Buonavolanto, who dreamed of bringing Chicago flavors and opportunity to their family and surrounding communities. Its signature Italian beef sandwich features clean, all-natural beef with no preservatives, seasoned with its classic family recipe and layered on fresh Italian bread. For more than four decades, the company has expanded to 26 restaurant locations in the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana with the involvement of multiple third generation Buonavolantos and hundreds of local employees. As a result, Buona is the largest family-owned Italian beef restaurant group and Italian beef producer in the country. The new franchise program will extend the Buona legacy and experience by empowering operators to bring Buona's signature Italian beef sandwich to their own communities, along with other Chicago classics including hand-tossed salads, burgers, hot dogs, all-natural chicken, fresh pastas and a full catering menu. The new franchise program includes direct access to Buona's proven business approach, developed and perfected to support its long-range vision and partners, modern and sleek restaurant design, industry-leading technology, shoulder to shoulder training and operational support, e-learning, marketing resources, real estate and construction assistance, and field teams to help franchise partners succeed with potential for above average unit volumes. "It has always been our family's dream to bring Buona to every family, every city and every community across the United States," said Joe Buonavolanto Ill, third generation family member and VP of Franchise Operations at Buona. "Today is a very special moment for all of us. We are thrilled to share the news." The company plans to open over 100 combined franchised and company-owned units over the next five years. "We have always considered everyone family at Buona, whether a Buonavolanto, a customer, an employee or a vendor," added Buonavolanto. "Our new franchise partners join the Buona family, with the potential to be the first to bring our signature Italian beef to their communities." The Buona franchise partnership program is open to experienced entrepreneurs and investors interested in multi-unit opportunities. Initial investment figures range from $1.572M to $2.620M. For more information about the program, visit buonafranchise.com. About Buona Four decades, three generations and several dozen restaurants ago, Joe and Peggy Buonavolanto opened the first Buona restaurant in Berwyn, IL, which specialized in their authentic recipe for Italian beef sandwiches. Today, Buona is driven by multiple 3rd generation Buonavolantos and hard-working, dedicated employees who loyally serve Buona customers and surrounding communities. As a result, Buona is the largest family-owned Italian beef restaurant group and Italian beef producer in the country. For more information, visit www.buonabeef.com. SOURCE Buona TRUCKEE, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Since fires have recently plagued California, hospital emergency coordination tools have gotten additional attention. The ability for hospitals to reach staff everywhere is now a new priority for healthcare management teams. John C. Fremont Hospital, near Yosemite National Park in Mariposa California, recently sent FastCommand text alert fire warnings directly to all staff phones. When a large local fire threatened their rural hospital the instant alerting of the staff to take action was a real need. The ability to reach staff wherever they might be as events develop is now a crucial safety advantage for California Hospitals. Tahoe Forest Hospital In Truckee, CA FastCommand logo presented on the corporate office building located in Tuscaloosa, AL In January 2021 the state of California required healthcare staff be alerted quickly upon exposure to the fatal coronavirus. Alhambra Hospital in Alhambra, California utilized text alerts tied to exposure letters to meet state requirements during the initial threat. Alerts sent to medical staff phones are a quick and dependable advantage in protecting lives. FastCommand is now readied for future pandemics and threats if needed. Earthquake response now requires hospital tools be be readied ahead of time. AHMC Healthcare Inc. in metro Los Angeles is setting up banner alerts to complement their newly designed hospital website. These alerts can appear on the hospital website directly while other alerts are sent to hospital employee phones. Should Anaheim Regional be damaged ahead during an earthquake their hospital management will be able to activate their FastCommand mobile website system to send patient admission forms directly to staff phones or to the website. The hospital can then operate from alternate locations quickly after a damaging event. Hospitals can also continue admitting patients after a hack of the patient records system if their primary admission system is temporarily unavailable. Bakersfield Heart Hospital in Bakersfield, California purchased FastCommand in response to its 2017 active shooter incident. At the time of the shootings the hospital could not quickly reach every employee. FastCommand now speeds the warning to all staff should another active shooter attempt occur ahead. Tahoe Forest Health System in Truckee, California has also just completed training and is now preparing for additional fire threats. By preparing now to use alerting tools the hospital will be readied for more uncertainty coming ahead. Even other institutions in California are setting up this same protective technology. The Bishop Paiute Tribe in Bishop, California recently used FastCommand website alerts for notifying their tribe of flash flood threats during a recent weather event. Intercepting a website with fast alerts or sending text alerts is now becoming critical infrastructure for California institutions preparing to protect state citizens. About FastCommand FastCommand patented website deflection technologies are specifically designed for critical emergency situations. This cutting-edge continuity technology helps communications to endure even during website overload or phone collapse. The tools are used by non-technical healthcare staff during many threats that can quickly occur in the healthcare industry and other institutions. The system is used during situations such as pandemics, active shooter events, natural disasters, hacking situations, etc. FastCommand has public safety teams available 24 hours a day 365 days a year to serve as the hospital's emergency communication personnel. Learn more at https://www.fastcommand.com/press. For More Information Visit: https://www.fastcommand.com/docs/FastCommandHospitals.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2rxRbTiDAk&feature=youtu.be https://tfhd.fastcommand.com/ Contact: Anna Kathryn Rippy FastHealth Corporation FastCommand [email protected] https://www.fastcommand.com 205-752-5050, Ext. 109 Related Links http://www.fastcommand.com SOURCE FastCommand TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CATALYST today announced that it is enabling simplified access to earth data through Microsoft's critical initiative, AI for Earth. This collaboration has allowed Microsoft to leverage CATALYST's trusted science to derive foundational, terrain corrected Sentinel-1 imagery to researchers and decision makers around the world, through the Planetary Computer. Microsoft and CATALYST share the common goal to leverage earth observation by putting in the hands of decision makers who can make more informed decisions and drive change in how we manage activities. CATALYST - Earth Data, Simplified Log "Microsoft's Planetary Computer provides unrivalled access to earth observation information. Our teams worked closely together to deliver global access to radiometrically terrain corrected imagery for the complete Sentinel-1 archive," says June McAlarey, President and CEO at CATALYST. "We leveraged our proven science and deployed it seamlessly on Microsoft Azure, creating tens of thousands of concurrent processing instances, to complete processing the archive within days." "The access to data that CATALYST is providing through Microsoft's Planetary Computer can help users make more informed decisions and drive our world to incorporating more sustainable practices," says Bruno Sanchez-Andrade Nuno, Microsoft Planetary Computer program director, Microsoft Corp. In addition to the work with Microsoft's Planetary Computer, CATALYST has also made its industry leading image processing suite available through the Microsoft Azure Marketplace to allow others to leverage powerful image analysis capability along with Azure compute capability. About CATALYST: CATALYST is a PCI Geomatics brand that delivers scalable business solutions using the power of Earth Observation (EO) data and analytics. We work closely with our clients to implement business friendly solutions that allow decision makers to make more informed and faster decisions about their assets, operations, risk, and sustainability efforts. https://catalyst.earth/ Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1905004/PCI_Geomatics___CATALYST___Earth_Data_Simplified_CATALYST_Simpli.jpg SOURCE PCI Geomatics - CATALYST - Earth Data Simplified SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CCELL , the world's leading technology brand focused on creating trendsetting vape hardware products and advanced vaporization technology, announced today that it has formed a partnership with Dutch Botanicals , one of the top living soil cultivation and extraction technology companies specializing in solventless live rosin processing in Colorado, to develop an initiative to further the research and development of live rosin vaporizer cartridges. Live rosin is a solventless cannabis concentrate, extracted via filtered ice and water, with heat and pressure completing the process. For this initiative, Dutch Botanicals will fill CCELL's high-quality 510 cartridges with expertly formulated live rosin concentrate made with trichome and terpene-rich cannabis plants to provide consumers with the safest and best vaping experience possible. COOKIES will sell these products at its retail locations in Colorado and analyze consumer purchasing trends to better understand how people consume live rosin for vaping. Recently Dutch Botanicals' Grumpz Living Soil Live Rosin Cart received Third Place Award in the "Non-Distillate Vape Pens" category at the 2022 Colorado High Times Cannabis Cup. "We are excited about this partnership because it allows us to work with leading brands to educate consumers that CCELL's cartridges, which utilize revolutionary ceramic heating elements, can be used with a wide-range of oils including live rosin," said Brad Li, Global Chief Commercial Officer at CCELL. "It is our mission to stay ahead of industry trends and continue to innovate atomization technology and vaporization products." "Living soil live rosin is one of the best combinations of organically grown cannabis and solventless extraction, as it preserves and presents cannabis terpenes as naturally as possible," added Jenny Tran, CEO of Dutch Botanicals. "Dutch Botanicals is proud to partner with CCELL and COOKIES to offer more consumers a high-quality live rosin vaping experience." "We are excited to carry DB products in our Colorado Cookies stores and happy the batteries are catching up to the quality of the product to not burn the product," said Daniel Firtel, Co-Founder and President of TRP. About CCELL CCELL is a technology brand and global innovator in the portable vaporizer space that revolutionized the industry by introducing the ceramic heating component. CCELL was born in the headquarters of Shenzhen Smoore Technology Limited, which has more than 10 years of expertise in the vaporization industry. With advanced R&D resources, patented technologies, strong production capability, and reliable quality control systems, CCELL is recognized around the world for its exceptional vaporization technology and top-quality devices. Learn more about CCELL at www.ccell.com as well as on LinkedIn , Instagram , Facebook , Twitter and YouTube. About Dutch Botanicals Dutch Botanicals is a Colorado-based, REC licensed cultivation and processing company focused on living soil organic cultivation, live rosin, and live rosin cartridge development. Dutch Botanicals believes that managing the soil with scientific methods is imperative to its ultimate success. The company is guided by its passion for producing products of the highest quality, worthy of the extraordinary endowment gifted to their plants by their soil. Learn more about Dutch Botanicals at www.dutchbotanicals.com as well as on Instagram . About TRP Founded in 2019, TRP is a retail, cultivation, and distribution platform purpose-built to solve the challenges of regulated cannabis. TRP combines decades of investment, legal, regulatory, and real estate experience with know-how from long-standing cannabis operators. TRP's operations cover 14 states and 2 countries, and exclusively produce and sell the most recognized cannabis brands in the world including Cookies, Dr. Greenthumb's, Insane, and more. (www.trp.co) SOURCE CCELL Under the auspices of the WCO/JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Joint Project and with the kind host of the Ghana Revenue Authority, the third Working Group Activity of the Master Trainers Programme (MTP) on Rules of Origin (RoO) for West Africa was held in Accra, Ghana, from 12 to 16 September 2022. The objective of MTP is to establish more self-sustainable capacity in key Customs work areas in the participating regions through developing a pool of well-qualified trainers and training materials/programmes that meet regional needs. To this end, the MTP trains same nominated participants (WG members) from respective Customs Administrations through 5 working groups and intersessional activities for 2-3 years. In addition, the MTP on RoO, which started in September 2021, is intended to cooperate with African WCO Members to smoothly implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Based on the remarkable success of MTP so far, and taking into account the needs of WCO Members and the importance of improving the Customs capability in Africa for the implementation of AfCFTA, the WCO and the JICA had agreed to expand the MTP on RoO to 2 WCO Members for this region, namely Cameroon and Senegal, giving a total of 8 participating Members. All 8 Members, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo, participated in the working group activity from the region. This working group activity is the third in a series of 5 activities of the MTP to be undertaken for the WG members to be Master Trainers (MT). The WG members started developing teaching materials they could use when conducting training sessions and were drilled on teaching skills and knowledge to become MTs on RoO. With this in mind, the WCO and Japan Customs experts conducted lectures, including case studies, to enable the WG members to understand RoO and the competency-based approach further. The material making has just begun and the WG members are expected to continue working on it intersessionally until the material is finalized at the 4th WG planned for next year. For more information, please, contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org. PLEASANTON, Calif., Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Declared by the International Federation of Environmental Health, September 26 is World Environmental Health Day an annual day to acknowledge and raise awareness for the crucial work done by environmental health professionals worldwide. This year, celebrate with Shaklee, a leading wellness and sustainability company that creates high-quality products while also caring for the environment. The 2022 World Health Day theme is "strengthening environmental health systems for the implementation of sustainable development goals." The sustainable development goals (SDGs), also known as Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030, all people can enjoy peace and prosperity now and in the future. "At Shaklee, we recognize that in order to have global peace and prosperity, it is paramount that private businesses, like ours, step up and contribute to these sustainability goals," said Roger Barnett, Chairman and CEO, Shaklee Corporation. "We are proud we were the first company ever to become carbon neutral certified, but that hasn't stopped us in our efforts for a more sustainable future. We proudly planted our 2 millionth tree in partnership with American Forests this year, just another way we're helping reduce our footprint and give back to our Earth." In addition to its partnership with American Forests, Shaklee is taking sustainability efforts to the next level by embracing circularity, expanding its carbon offset program, reducing packaging and shipping weight, and sourcing recycled or recyclable materials. Furthermore, by 2025, 100% of all Shaklee's packaging and shipping materials will be recyclable, reusable, refillable, compostable, or made with PCR materials. And the brand's Climate NeutralO initiative will cover all scope 3 carbon emissions, including those produced by its suppliers, shipping partners, employees, and more. Shaklee's mission is to bring true wellness to the world. And true wellness means physical health through great products, financial health from the business opportunity, emotional health through the love and support of the amazing Shaklee community, and the health of the planet as a whole. Every human being needs all four of these elements to live a great life. People all over the world are starting to recognize how important true wellness is. To learn more about Shaklee and to join its ambassador network, visit: www.shaklee.com. About Shaklee Shaklee is a leading wellness company founded by Dr. Shaklee, who invented the first multivitamin in the US more than 100 years ago. As a pioneer in sustainability, Shaklee was the first company in the world to fully offset its carbon emissions and have a net zero impact on our planet. Shaklee products are backed by over 110 published clinical studies proving safety and efficacy and are marketed through more than 2 million ambassadors in North America and Asia. With a complete wellness portfolio, Shaklee is committed to providing consumers with the products and support they need to live their healthiest lives. For more information, visit us.shaklee.com, follow @shakleehq on Instagram, or like us on Facebook. About Roger Barnett Roger Barnett is the Chairman and CEO of Shaklee Corporation, the first company in the world to be certified carbon neutral. A graduate of Yale College, Yale Law School, and Harvard Business School, Roger has spent the majority of his career as an impact investor. In 2004, he acquired control of Shaklee, the pioneer of nutritional supplements, and has since transformed this once analog business into a digital powerhouse with a network of 2 million ambassadors across the globe. He has been selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum and is a member of the Harvard and Yale Schools of Public Health Leadership Councils, the University Council of Yale University, and the Yale University President's Council on International Activities. SOURCE Shaklee Corporation The only brand dedicated to sensitive skin needs for over 75 years marks the occasion with new campaign, 12 new products, and inclusivity commitments. DALLAS, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cetaphil marks its 75th anniversary this month by announcing a commitment to keeping consumers with sensitive skin as the core focus through ongoing innovation and improving inclusivity within dermatology. Cetaphil marks its 75th Anniversary this month. "For 75 years, our sole focus has been to use science to understand and treat the unique needs of sensitive skin. Throughout our history and as we look to the future, we will continue to push the boundaries of innovation and research to bring our absolute best to our consumers. We'll continue to prioritize initiatives that transform the way sensitive skin is portrayed, understood, and treated." Lisa Morris General Manager of the Consumer Business U.S. A flagship brand in the Galderma portfolio, Cetaphil is pleased to highlight several new initiatives that will help shape the conversation around and knowledge of sensitive skin worldwide as the brand looks to the future: WE DO SKIN. YOU DO YOU. To mark the occasion, Cetaphil's complete brand restage is culminating in the debut of a new campaign, We Do Skin. You Do You. Research shows that many consumers think twice before or entirely avoid partaking in daily activities they enjoy out of fear that their skin will react or flare up. Cetaphil's new campaign was created to empower people with sensitive skin to do more of the things they love without hesitation. PRODUCT INNOVATION Over the past seven decades, Cetaphil's portfolio has evolved to address a variety of complex sensitive skin needs, featuring dermatologist-backed cleansers and moisturizers that are specifically formulated to defend against the 5 signs of skin sensitivity. Innovation remains core to the brand with the development of 12 new products in 2022. In particular, the brand is excited to offer a Hydrating Foaming Cream Cleanser, Deep Hydration Skin Restoring Water Gel, and a regimen developed for those suffering from the itch-scratch cycle of eczema. Accepted by the National Eczema Association, the Cetaphil Eczema Restoraderm line features three products to help relieve irritation and nourish the skin while hydrating and repairing the skin's moisture barrier. COMMITMENT TO INCLUSIVITY IN DERMATOLOGY By definition, dermatology is the study, research, and diagnosis of skin. However, there are structures within healthcare facilities, academic institutions, and society at large that have resulted in inequities in dermatologic care. Through several initiatives, Cetaphil is committed to establishing a movement aimed at increasing academic, professional and cultural competency within dermatology to eliminate persistent knowledge gaps in treating all sensitive skin. In phase one, this includes: Academic Training: Cetaphil is supporting the distribution of The Full Spectrum of Dermatology: A Diverse and Inclusive Atlas, Volume 2 . This comprehensive resource helps physicians recognize the clinical presentations of skin diseases on all skin tones. Led by co-authors Misty Eleryan , MD, MS and Adam Friedman , MD, the Atlas provides high resolution, side-by-side images of the most common dermatology conditions in a full spectrum of skin tones so that dermatologists are equipped to diagnose and treat all skin. Cetaphil is supporting the distribution of . This comprehensive resource helps physicians recognize the clinical presentations of skin diseases on all skin tones. Led by co-authors , MD, MS and , MD, the Atlas provides high resolution, side-by-side images of the most common dermatology conditions in a full spectrum of skin tones so that dermatologists are equipped to diagnose and treat skin. Clinical Trials: While Cetaphil has been working to improve representation in its clinical trials, there is still work to be done. Cetaphil aims to establish a new standard in clinical skincare testing to shift the dynamic of the entire industry. To ensure skincare testing is more representative of diverse skin tones, Cetaphil plans to increase skin of color participants in its clinical trials from 26% to ~40% by 2024. To learn more about the brand's newest offerings and commitment to providing complete care for sensitive skin, visit Cetaphil.com. ABOUT CETAPHIL Seventy-five years ago, a leading pharmacist created the first Cetaphil product a gentle, yet powerful formula that would clean without stripping and moisturize without clogging. Today, Cetaphil is dermatologist-recommended for sensitive skin and is recognized around the world. With the help of leading skincare experts, Cetaphil continues to develop innovative skincare technologies for sensitive skin that help restore, protect and maintain skin's health every day. For more information, visit www.cetaphil.com. ABOUT GALDERMA Galderma is the pure-play dermatology category leader, present in approximately 90 countries. We deliver an innovative, science-based portfolio of premium flagship brands and services that span the full spectrum of the fast-growing dermatology market through Injectable Aesthetics, Dermo-Cosmetics and Therapeutic Dermatology. Since our foundation in 1981, we have dedicated our focus and passion to the human body's largest organ the skin meeting individual consumer and patient needs with superior outcomes in partnership with healthcare professionals. Because we understand that the skin we're in shapes our lives, we are advancing dermatology for every skin story. For more information, visit www.galderma.com/us. SOURCE Cetaphil; Galderma Laboratories WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning ("Center") today announced that the sixth annual Academic Research Colloquium ("Colloquium") for financial planning and related disciplines will be held in person at the Conrad Washington, DC, on October 24-25, 2022. Many of the Colloquium's sessions will be eligible for Continuing Education (CE) credit. The Colloquium, an initiative of the Center for Financial Planning, is an international meeting of researchers, practitioners, graduate students and leaders of the financial planning practice. "The Academic Research Colloquium brings together scholars from around the world to learn from each other and share the latest financial planning research with practitioners," said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. "Researchers will present contributions from a broad range of fields, from retirement planning to portfolio choice to the psychology of financial planning. This body of knowledge created by the mix of researchers, editors, authors and practitioners is vital in our effort to create the foundational academic building blocks of the financial planning profession." Research Papers The 2022 Colloquium features 28 research papers, with four papers from researchers in industry and 24 from domestic and international research universities. "The Colloquium offers a great opportunity for scholars from nearly 30 institutions to share and discuss research relevant to the financial planning profession," said CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Managing Director Kate Healy. "The academic papers presented at the Colloquium represent the hottest topics being discussed by financial planning-related researchers from across the country and around the world." At the Colloquium, the Center will announce the recipients of the seven best paper awards, an early career award and a lifetime achievement award. Speakers and Topics Colloquium attendees will hear from high-profile keynote speakers, presenters and panelists, who will spotlight topics regarding behavioral economics and the psychology of financial decision-making. Keynote speakers and panelists will include the following: Justin Fitzpatrick , Ph.D., CFA, CFP Co-Founder & CIO, Income Lab Co-Founder & CIO, Income Lab Miranda Reiter , Ph.D., CFP Assistant Professor of Personal Financial Planning, Texas Tech University Assistant Professor of Personal Financial Planning, Vickie Bajtelsmit , Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, Colorado State University Professor Emeritus, Joseph Goetz , Ph.D., CRC, AFC Professor, University of Georgia , and Founding Partner and CIO, Elwood & Goetz Financial Planning and Investments All sessions will bring together world-class researchers and practitioners from around the world to discuss financial planning-related topics such as the following: Psychology and Human Decision-making Behavioral Finance Consumer Finance and Regulation Portfolio Choice Household Finance Financial Therapy Literacy and Wellness Human Science Implications of Research on Financial Planning Colloquium Sponsors The colloquium is made possible with support from premier sponsor Merrill; leadership sponsor Vanguard; and partner sponsors Ballentine Partners, Edward Jones, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Prudential. CFP Board would like to express its gratitude to the Center's Founding Sponsors: Envestnet, Merrill, Northwestern Mutual and Charles Schwab Foundation, in partnership with Schwab Advisor Services. More information on the Colloquium, including agenda and registration information, can be found on CFP Board's website. ABOUT CFP BOARD Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. is the professional body for personal financial planners in the U.S. CFP Board sets standards for financial planning and administers the prestigious CFP certification one of the most respected certifications in financial services so that the public has access to and benefits from competent and ethical financial planning. CFP Board, along with its Center for Financial Planning, is committed to increasing the public's awareness of CFP certification and access to a diverse, ethical and competent financial planning workforce. Widely recognized by the public, advisors and firms as the standard for financial planning, CFP certification is held by more than 93,000 people in the United States. ABOUT THE CFP BOARD CENTER FOR FINANCIAL PLANNING The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning seeks to create a more diverse and sustainable financial planning profession so that every American has access to competent and ethical financial planning advice. The Center brings together CFP professionals, firms, educators, researchers and experts to address profession-wide challenges in the areas of diversity and workforce development, and to build an academic home that offers opportunities for conducting and publishing new research that adds to the financial planning body of knowledge. SOURCE Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. "We are proud to continue our investment in Toronto that started over 30 years ago. It's a privilege to partner with PortsToronto again and be selected to develop Terminal 52 into a second facility that will meet the increased demand for production infrastructure," said Ashley Rice, President and Co-Managing Partner, Cinespace Studios. "The Marine Terminal Studio Hub is an integral part of the Port Lands' revitalization and its future as a creative center for the city and the province." "Our goal for this development was to identify opportunities to develop the existing land and deliver maximum benefit in the area, including greater support for the growing employment district that has emerged in the Port Lands. Cinespace Studios' development allow for the area to remain consistent with the activities of a successful and operational port, as this remains PortsToronto's single priority in the area given the economic impact of the port for both commercial shipping and cruise ship operations," said RJ Steenstra, President and Chief Executive Officer, PortsToronto. Supporting Quotes The Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario commented: "Ontario is open for business, and with the ongoing commitment of key players like Cinespace Studios, our economy will continue to grow. Last year, Ontario saw $2.88 billion spent on production here in the province, which was the highest amount in our history. Going forward, we remain fully committed to growing the industry and creating the conditions for thousands more production jobs to be filled by Ontario's skilled workers." Mayor John Tory, City of Toronto continued: "The film and television production industry in Toronto is important to the local economy, the creation of jobs, and the culture of our city. I am pleased that PortsToronto and Cinespace will be expanding their already successful infrastructure in the Port Lands by creating a second studio space for productions to use. Toronto's screen industries have experienced a period of significant growth and investment over the last decade, and we know that there has been a real need for even more studio space. This project will not only help us attract more projects and more people to our city but as a result add more jobs which is good for our city and good for the economy." Toronto City Councillor Paula Fletcher, said: "I have long been an advocate for the importance of this industry and the associated benefits that come from having a strong media and cultural sector in the City of Toronto. The partnership between PortsToronto and Cinespace has already yielded a successful studio in the former Marine Terminal 51, that has since become a hub for Netflix. I look forward to the development of a second studio space in the Marine Terminal 52, and the related streetscape improvements, economic impacts, and jobs that result from investment in this important industry." Angela Mastronardi, President, IATSE 873, said: "We congratulate Cinespace Studios on their expansion with PortsToronto in the Studio District. This new studio infrastructure is a welcome addition to the city that will bring an increase in productions and, in turn, opportunities for our skilled motion picture technicians." Cinespace Toronto is home to productions that include AMC Networks' upcoming Beacon 23, WBTV's Titans, MGM TV/Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, Sony Pictures TV's Accused, MGM's Flint Strong, UCP's The Umbrella Academy and Netflix's upcoming collection of sinister stories Cabinet of Curiosities. About Cinespace Studios Cinespace Studios is a best-in-class global platform of production facilities that supports content providers and their creatives. The platform is one of the largest sound stage operators globally with locations in Chicago, Toronto, and Studio Babelsberg in Germany. Cinespace Studios delivers the highest level of service while increasing the quality of the overall production experience and nurtures its local communities to support workforce development and crew diversity. About PortsToronto For more than 100 years PortsToronto has worked with its partners at the federal, provincial and municipal levels to enhance the economic growth of the City of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. PortsToronto owns and operates Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, which welcomed approximately 2.8 million passengers in 2019; the Outer Harbour Marina, one of Canada's largest freshwater marinas; and, Marine Terminal 52, which provides transportation, distribution, storage and container services to businesses at the Port of Toronto. PortsToronto is committed to fostering strong, healthy and sustainable communities and has invested more than $12 million since 2009 in charitable initiatives and environmental programs that benefit communities along Toronto's waterfront and beyond. PortsToronto operates in accordance with the Canada Marine Act and is guided by a board with representation from all three levels of government. Media Contact Cinespace Studios Catherine Shin [email protected] 818.655.5041 SOURCE Cinespace Studios JERSEY CITY, N.J., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. announced the publication of a market research report titled " Global Clinical-Grade Wearable Market (By Product (Diagnostic Devices (Vital Sign Monitoring Devices (Heart Rate Monitors, Activity Monitors, Electrocardiographs, Pulse Oximeters, Spirometers, Blood Pressure Monitors, and Others), Sleep Monitoring Devices (Sleep trackers, Wrist Actigraphs, Polysomnographs, Others), Electrocardiographs Fetal And Obstetric Devices, Neuromonitoring Devices (Electroencephalographs, Electromyographs, Others)), Therapeutic Devices (Pain Management Devices(Neurostimulation Devices, Others), Insulin/Glucose Monitoring Devices (Insulin Pumps, Others), Rehabilitation Devices (Accelerometers, Sensing Devices, Ultrasound Platform, Others), Respiratory Therapy Devices (Ventilators, Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) Devices, Portable Oxygen Concentrators, and Others)), By Site(Handheld, Headband, Strap/Clip/Bracelet, Shoe Sensors, and Others), By Application (Sports And Fitness, Remote Patient Monitoring, and Home Healthcare) - Market Outlook and Industry Analysis 2030." According to company's newest research, the global clinical-grade wearable market is worth US$ 19.55 Bn in 2021 and is predicted to reach US$ 148.76 Bn in 2030, with a promising CAGR of 25.56% between 2022 and 2030. Get Sample copy of the global clinical-grade wearable market Report at https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/request-sample/1362 Wearable clinical-grade medical devices are a network of patient-worn smart devices (such as electronic skin patches, ECG monitors, and so on) that are equipped with sensors, actuators, and software connected to the cloud. These devices allow for real-time data collection, analysis, and personal health data. More than 1,550 clinical tests employing medical wearables have been carried out worldwide, and approximately one-third of these tests have already been finished. These clinical-grade medical wearable devices can potentially improve patient centricity and healthcare by providing real-time data, early detection and improved diagnosis, and they save both money and time. A wide variety of medical wearable technology is available on the market today. Some examples of this technology include smartwatches and fitness-tracking devices, wearable ECG and blood pressure monitors, biosensors, and others. In addition, wearable technologies provide the potential to perform long-term monitoring, which is something that would not be possible using conventional medical methods. Wearables have demonstrated their utility in treating various diseases, including asthma, cancer, diabetes, and mental illness. The increasing demand for monitoring that occurs around the clock, the growing awareness of the importance of physical fitness, and the introduction of technologically improved goods are the primary drivers that are driving the expansion of the market forclinical grade wearable devices. It is anticipated that an increase in health awareness and the prevalence of illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension would increase the demand for diagnostic and monitoring equipment throughout the forecast period. In the Clinical-Grade Wearable Market, however, there is a lack of norms and regulations, accuracy, standardisation, and analysis of wearable-generated data. In addition, high prices, data security issues, and unfavourable reimbursement regulations are projected to constrain the market for clinical-grade wearables in the coming years. During the projected period, North America is anticipated to be a booming global market region.The huge reimbursement coverage, the entrance of new businesses with cutting-edge technology, and the high acceptance rate of sophisticated projects are all factors that contribute to the region's substantial market share. A huge financial burden is placed on the nation by the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, which also increases the need for affordable medical treatment. This is driving the demand for clinical-grade wearable technology. The key players involved in the market are Abbott Laboratories, Apple, Inc., Basis Science, Bio-Beat Technologies, Biotelemetry, Inc., Biotricity Inc., Contec Medical Systems Co. Ltd., Covidien, Cyrcardia Asia Limited, Dexcom, Inc., Fitbit, Garmin, Ge Healthcare, Intelesens Ltd., Irhythm Technologies, Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Masimo Corporation, Medtronic Plc, Minttihealth, Omron Healthcare Co., Ltd. (A Part Of Omron Corporation), Polar Electro Preventice Solutions, Inc., Sotera Wireless, Ten3t Healthcare, Verily Life Sciences (A Part Of Alphabet Inc.), verist Genomics, Vitalconnect, Vivalnk, Inc., Withings, and Other Prominent Players Get Sample Report: https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/request-sample/1362 Key Developments In The Market In Aug 2022 , Medtronic established a partnership with BioIntelliSense for exclusive U.S. distribution of a multiparameter wearable device for continuous remote patient monitoring from the hospital to the patient's home. This facilitates the streamlining of care delivery through workflow automation, allowing for proactive clinical intervention and mitigating the effects of workforce shortages. Medtronic established a partnership with BioIntelliSense for exclusive U.S. distribution of a multiparameter wearable device for continuous remote patient monitoring from the hospital to the patient's home. This facilitates the streamlining of care delivery through workflow automation, allowing for proactive clinical intervention and mitigating the effects of workforce shortages. In Jan 2022 , Abbott announced that it is making a new type of bio wearables for consumers called Lingo. These devices will track critical signals in the body, such as glucose, ketones, and lactate, to help people understand their general health and take action. Lingo builds on the Abbott sensing technology platform that Abbott created in 2014 for people with diabetes. With a little sensor on the back of the upper arm, people can constantly check their glucose levels. Abbott announced that it is making a new type of bio wearables for consumers called Lingo. These devices will track critical signals in the body, such as glucose, ketones, and lactate, to help people understand their general health and take action. Lingo builds on the Abbott sensing technology platform that Abbott created in 2014 for people with diabetes. With a little sensor on the back of the upper arm, people can constantly check their glucose levels. In June 2021 , Both Amazon and Apple Continued Their Investments in Digital and At-Home Healthcare (The MedTech Download). Apple has just recently revealed new health features that will be available for its devices, and these new capabilities will allow customers to track their health data better and share it with their doctors. Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/enquiry-before-buying/1362 Market Segmentation Global Clinical-Grade Wearable Market, by Product, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Bn) Diagnostic Devices Vital Sign Monitoring Devices Heart Rate Monitors Activity Monitors Electrocardiographs Pulse Oximeters Spirometers Blood Pressure Monitors Others Sleep Monitoring Devices Sleep trackers Wrist Actigraphs Polysomnographs Others Electrocardiographs Fetal And Obstetric Devices Neuromonitoring Devices Electroencephalographs Electromyographs Others Therapeutic Devices Pain Management Devices Neurostimulation Devices Others Insulin/Glucose Monitoring Devices Insulin Pumps Others Rehabilitation Devices Accelerometers Sensing Devices Ultrasound Platform Others Respiratory Therapy Devices Ventilators Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) Devices Portable Oxygen Concentrators Others Global Clinical-Grade Wearable Market, by Site, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Bn) Handheld Headband Strap/Clip/Bracelet Shoe Sensors Others Global Clinical-Grade Wearable Market, by Application, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Bn) Sports And Fitness Remote Patient Monitoring Home Healthcare Global Clinical-Grade Wearable Market, by Region, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Bn) North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa North America Clinical-Grade Wearable Market, by Country, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Bn) U.S. Canada Europe Clinical-Grade Wearable Market, by Country, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Bn) Germany France Italy Spain Russia Rest of Europe Asia Pacific Clinical-Grade Wearable Market, by Country, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Bn) India China Japan South Korea Australia & New Zealand Latin America Clinical-Grade Wearable Market, by Country, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Bn) Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America Middle East & Africa Clinical- Grade Wearable Market, by Country, 2022-2030 (Value US$ Bn) GCC Countries South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa Request for ToC/Proposal: Why should buy this report: To receive a comprehensive analysis of the prospects for the global clinical-grade wearable market To receive an industry overview and future trends of the clinical-grade wearable market To analyze the global clinical-grade wearable market drivers and challenges To get information on the global clinical-grade wearable market size (Value US$ Bn) forecast to 2030 Significant investments, mergers & acquisitions in the global clinical-grade wearable market industry For More Information @ https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/customisation/1362 Other Related Reports Published by InsightAce Analytic: Global Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) Sensors Market Global Sleep Apnea and Respiratory Monitoring Devices Market Global Positive Expiratory Pressure (PEP) Devices Market Global Smart Pregnancy Tracker Market About Us: InsightAce Analytic is a market research and consulting firm that enables clients to make strategic decisions. Our qualitative and quantitative market intelligence solutions inform the need for market and competitive intelligence to expand businesses. We help clients gain a competitive advantage by identifying untapped markets, exploring new and competing technologies, segmenting potential markets, and repositioning Sites. Our expertise is in providing syndicated and custom market intelligence reports with an in-depth analysis with key market insights in a timely and cost-effective manner. Contact Us: InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. Tel.: +1 551 226 6109 Email: [email protected] Site Visit: www.insightaceanalytic.com Follow Us on LinkedIn @ bit.ly/2tBXsgS Follow Us On Facebook @ bit.ly/2H9jnDZ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1729637/InsightAce_Analytic_Logo.jpg SOURCE InsightAce Analytics Pvt. Ltd. Doug Foshee Elected Board Chair of Veteran Non-Profit Organization HOUSTON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Combined Arms is excited to announce that current Board Director Doug Foshee has been unanimously elected to the role of Chair by its Board of Directors. The announcement highlights a transition for outgoing Chair, Bryan Foster, who helped co-found Combined Arms in 2015. Doug Foshee Elected Board Chair of Veteran Non-Profit Organization Doug Foshee has spent over four decades in the energy industry and is the founder and owner of Sallyport Investments, LLC. Foshee is former chairman, president, and chief executive officer of El Paso Corporation. Prior to joining El Paso in 2003, Foshee served as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Halliburton. Previously, Foshee served as Nuevo Energy Company's president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board. Doug holds an M.B.A. in Finance from the Jesse H. Jones School at Rice University and a B.B.A from Texas State University. Foshee has been actively involved in civic and philanthropic endeavors for many years. He founded and is former chairman of NextOp Vets, a non-profit organization that provides job placement assistance, mentorship, support, and education for veterans. Foshee is chairman of the board for The Welch Foundation, serves on the board for Houston Endowment Inc., KIPP-Texas-Houston Regional Board, Good Reason Houston, Coalition for the Homeless, and Houston GPS. In his new role as Board Chair, Foshee is looking forward to his continued service in support of Combined Arms' mission to improve quality of life for our nation's veterans and military families through innovative technology and is excited to help guide the organization's expansion. "It's been an honor to serve alongside Bryan, who has helped shape the outcomes and impact of Combined Arms over the last seven years." said Foshee. "I'm grateful for Bryan's leadership and humbled to take on the Chair role following his tenure. I am excited to help drive the organization's continued growth and evolution and look forward to working with my fellow Directors and the entire Combined Arms team to expand our reach in the years ahead." About Combined Arms Founded by veterans for veterans in Houston, TX, Combined Arms (CAX) delivers innovative technology solutions that improve quality of life for veterans & military families. CAX streamlines the connection between service members, veterans, and their families and the organizations that serve them. Through our technology platform, clients find needed resources and connect quickly and directly to service providers to get assistance to thrive professionally and personally. To date, we've served more than 55,000 veterans and military-connected individuals, connecting them to over 1,000 social services and resources provided by our growing network of 220+ vetted Member Organizations. To learn more, visit www.combinedarms.us. Contact: Combined Arms [email protected] 917.579.7397 SOURCE Combined Arms Captain Compassion returns for National Bullying Prevention Month to help families and school communities take action against bullying behavior SEATTLE, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Committee for Children is launching its fifth annual Captain Compassion campaign during National Bullying Prevention Month to teach kids how to prevent bullying in all forms, with a special emphasis on behavior motivated by racial bias. Developed by Committee for Children in 2018, Captain Compassion is an anti-bullying superhero who teaches upstanders how to recognize, report, and refuse bullying through a series of engaging, age-appropriate comic strips. Committee for Children's 5th annual Captain Compassion campaign teaches kids how to prevent racially motivated bullying Tweet this Read anti-bullying superhero comics for kids and families at CaptainCompassion.org! One out of five students report being bullied during the school year. In 2019, of the students who reported being bullied, race was the most frequently reported characteristic referred to by hate-related words. To help address this issue, this year's Captain Compassion comics focus on a school community that's struggling with the social-emotional effects of racially motivated bullying. With the help of Captain Compassion and her trusty sidekick Kid Kinder, the entire school community learns how to stand up against bullying to create safe, welcoming, and inclusive environments where children of all backgrounds can thrive. "If we allow our children to experience bullying but ignore its effects, we're not setting them up for success," says developmental psychologist and Committee for Children VP of Education, Research, and Impact Tia Kim, Ph.D. "Effective bullying prevention requires a community-led approach to create safe environments where children can learn how to identify and report maltreatment. When there's action from an upstandersomeone who intervenes on behalf of a person who's being bulliedit can reduce bullying by more than 50 percent." Drawn from Committee for Children's decades of work in the field of bullying prevention, the Captain Compassion campaign presents free, award-winning comics that provide families, teachers, and caregivers with powerful, research-backed tips to empower their children and communities to stand up to bullying. The Captain Compassion site also includes resources like a Secret Decoder Wheel puzzle for kids, informative videos, downloadable posters, and more. "For more than 40 years, Committee for Children has been dedicated to keeping children safe from all forms of violence and abuse, including bullying," says CEO Andrea Lovanhill. "With an increase in racially motivated bullying, as well as hate targeting LGBTQ+ youth this past year, it has never been more important to teach our children that they have a voice and the power to stand up for themselves and others." To learn more about Captain Compassion and bullying prevention, visit CaptainCompassion.org each week this October to read brand-new comics and solve the Secret Decoder Wheel puzzle with the children in your life. To learn more about social-emotional learning and Committee for Children, visit cfcchildren.org. About Committee for Children Committee for Children is a global nonprofit that has championed the safety and well-being of children through bullying prevention, child protection, and social-emotional learning (SEL) for more than 40 years. With a history of action and influence, we're known as a leader in social-emotional education and a force in advocacy, research, and innovation in the field. We take a comprehensive approach to SEL, promoting social-emotional well-being from birth to early adulthoodsupporting not just classrooms, but entire communities. As our programs transform the lives of more than 24.4 million children per year, we rise to meet societal challenges to ensure children everywhere can thrive. Learn more at cfchildren.org. Media Contacts Shauna McBride, [email protected], 206-612-8718 M'Bilia Meekers, [email protected], 206-438-6541 Sarah Fogel, [email protected], 212 445 8372 SOURCE Committee for Children Team JAKSTAT uses analytics and machine learning to allot government aid to Jakarta's small businesses CARY, N.C., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- It's a conundrum faced by governments worldwide amid COVID-19 economic turbulence: how to distribute relief funds for maximum impact. During the month-long 2022 SAS Hackathon, a team of Indonesian data scientists and technology enthusiasts developed a solution now being implemented in Jakarta. Team JAKSTAT's platform, powered by machine learning, optimizes relief distribution to the region's millions of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that drive Indonesia's economy. SAS names JAKSTAT's #data4good COVID relief innovation winner of annual hackathon. Tweet this Team JAKSTAT as 2022 SAS Hackathon winner "Optimizing the allocation of COVID relief is a challenge faced the world over," said Einar Halvorsen, Global Hackathon Lead at SAS. "JAKSTAT's hack isn't just an impressive work of innovation in and of itself; it sparks innovation amongst Jakarta's entrepreneurs and advances economic resiliency for the entire country. We're thrilled to recognize JAKSTAT as the overall winner of the SAS Hackathon." SAS declared JAKSTAT's victory at the opening of AI and analytics conference SAS Explore 2022. The free, virtual event for data and analytics practitioners of all skill levels runs Sept. 27-29. SAS Hackathon inspires innovation Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, entered an even graver recession than expected in 2020. From food merchants to motorcycle repair shops, 97 percent of Indonesia's workforce are employed at MSMEs, making COVID-19 aid to this sector crucial. Jakarta's government needed to prioritize strategic investment, giving the most relief to the MSMEs whose growth would enhance economic stability. In 2022, team JAKSTAT entered the all-digital SAS Hackathon, where they and all competing teams received their own mentor, networking and collaborative opportunities, and a learning portal with numerous educational resources. The team, led by Muhammad Iqbal of SAS partner StarCore Analytics, used artificial intelligence (AI) and data modeling to empower Jakarta's government to make decisions on which types of businesses to send the most aid. Analytics alchemy: JAKSTAT turns data to relief In COVID-19's wake, more than 287,000 MSMEs joined JakPreneur, a collaborative government platform dedicated to linking entrepreneurs and stakeholders and encouraging MSME resilience. JAKSTAT leveraged this data to begin their project. JAKSTAT used SAS Viya to cover the end-to-end steps of the machine learning lifecycle. They began by collecting and validating data from JakPreneur, then integrated other data sources to provide a unified view of Jakarta's MSME landscape. Next, the team applied AI to identify clusters of MSMEs, and used automated data streaming and scoring for real-time response. In collaboration with economists and the Provincial Government of Jakarta, JAKSTAT took their data-backed profiles of enterprises to answer real-world questions. By simply inputting an investment in rupiahs into one type of business, a user could see an output of expected GDP growth, all rendered in accessible graphics. "The scope, timeliness and impact of this project demonstrates how, with the right skillset and the right tools, data can be transformed into real-world solutions and value," said Marinela Profi, data scientist and Global Product Marketing Manager for AIA and Analytics at SAS. "This is what the SAS Hackathon is all about: connecting practitioners with best-in-class analytics and AI tools. Team JAKSTAT anticipates this solution could be implemented in cities the world over, so we may be seeing reverberations of their ingenuity for years to come." SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative software and services, SAS empowers and inspires customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW. SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright 2022 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved. Editorial Contact: Julia Norton [email protected] +1 919-531-4661 sas.com/news SOURCE SAS Experienced Marketer Joins One of the Industry's Most Diverse C-Suites NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Crossmedia, the global independent media agency network, has hired Dr. Ramendra (Ram) Singh as its first Chief Performance Media Officer to lead the agency's performance media and analytics functions. Crossmedia U.S. CEO Kamran Asghar said Singh joins a diverse, seasoned C-Suite fortified by recent additions of a Chief Operating Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, Chief People Officer and Head of Investment. Dr. Ram Singh Singh has served as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Chief Analytics Officer (CAO/CDO/CDAO), and Chief Product Officer (CPO) at Fortune 500 firms for more than two decades. For the past seven years, he was Chief Analytics Officer at Performics, the performance marketing arm of Publicis Media. Earlier in his career, he held marketing leadership roles at Brandman University in Irvine, California and companies including AOL Time Warner, Sprint-Nextel and IBM. In addition to wide recognition for his work on cross-channel performance optimization, Performance Marketing World named him its U.S. performance pioneer in April. "We believe all media is performance media at Crossmedia," Asghar said. "Ram has a more versatile, broader perspective than most performance professionals, and his knowledge and experience will help us drive positive outcomes for our clients." Singh intimately understands the confluence of creative, media and analytics and will work closely with Crossmedia's Redbox Business Intelligence and integrated marketplace buying teams to drive brand messaging and conversions. "With the growing movement to again bundle media and creative, performance media specialists need to expand their skill sets. As a community, we need to widen the previously narrow aperture through which we have traditionally viewed the business," he said. Crossmedia made a series of strategic C-suite additions this year to accelerate post-pandemic growth, including Christine Merrifield-Wehrle as Head of Investment, Anne Bologna as Chief Strategy Officer, and Kristen Metzger as Chief People Officer. It also promoted long-tenured Crossmedia executive Ali Plonchak to Chief Operating Officer and made Plonchak and Lee Beale, Head of Redbox, Managing Partners. The executive team is now one of the most diverse in the industry, with a C-suite that is 43% female and 43% BIPOC. About Crossmedia Crossmedia is the global media independent. We do media the right way, guided by the principles of Trust, Reason and the Pursuit of Happiness. From a handful of employees in 1997, our team grown to more than 600 worldwide. We pioneered operational media transparency to optimize outcomes for clients such as Etihad Airways, Lidl, U.S. Bank, Hartford, Illva Saronno, European Wax Center and White Castle. Minority-owned and certified in the U.S. and with a culture like no other, Crossmedia was named one of Ad Age's Best Places to Work the past three years and was twice named an Ad Age Small Agency of the Year. Media Contact: Hank Kim Managing Director Middle 8 Media 917-647-0500 [email protected] www.m8media.net SOURCE Crossmedia Construction on the renovation and expansion of the Lowell Elementary School in Watertown, MA recently hit a new milestone. WATERTOWN, Mass., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Watertown community recently celebrated the completion of the steel structure for the new Learning Commons addition to Lowell Elementary School with a topping off ceremony. CTA Construction staff joined school officials, town building committee members, project management firm Hill International, and Ai3 Architects at the ceremony. The final beam, signed by Lowell Elementary school staff members was placed on the structure. CTA Construction Celebrates Topping Off for Lowell Elementary School in Watertown CTA Construction was awarded the contract in March to renovate the existing historic school and add two new additions. "We are very happy with the progress our combined teams have made," said Jeff Hazelwood, Principal at CTA Construction. "The teams are now installing underground utilities prior to preparing for placement of concrete slabs at the addition. The renovation work is wrapping up demolition activities and commencing mechanical trades as well as starting installation of interior walls to facilitate the next phase of construction," Hazelwood continued. The new addition, designed by Ai3 Architects, "will foster the students' educational engagement within a 21st century educational environment," said Daren Sawyer, Partner at Ai3 Architects LLC. This will be CTA Construction's 41st school project in Massachusetts and second project for the city of Watertown. CTA previously built the public works facility that is near the school. About CTA Construction Managers LLC CTA Construction Managers is an award-winning construction management and general contracting firm specializing in municipal, academic, multi-family residential, commercial, and senior care facilities. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, CTA Construction's portfolio of projects total over $1.5 billion. Founded in 2000, CTA has awarded over $100,000,000 in contracts to certified small, disadvantaged, minority, and women owned partners. CTA is a leader in green building, helping numerous clients build sustainably and meet LEED and MA-CHPS standards. For more information, please visit: https://ctaconstruction.com/ PRESS CONTACT Cori DiDonato 8662768981 https://ctaconstruction.com/ SOURCE CTA Construction Managers LLC Global climate advisory to companies, brands, and organizations worldwide grows beyond its original name. WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CustomerFirst Renewables, founded in 2010 by two former McKinsey & Company partners, has announced that it has changed its name to Coho. This action follows a comprehensive, year-long, review-and-rebranding process. Since its founding, the company has increased its workforce to 50+ members, expanded its client base to over 60 organizations worldwide, and added services beyond assisting large businesses and institutions in their transition to renewable energy. Today, Coho offers tailored, objective advice and implementation support that enables its clients to achieve water resiliency, reach emissions targets or net-zero goals, as well as realize the benefits of switching to renewables. "Our company has grown, and so have our ambitionsbut our 'customer-first mindset' has not changed," said Founder and CEO, Gary Farha. "We don't push products or sell prepackaged solutions. From the beginning, we've offered unbiased advice that is tailored to our client's unique needs and goals, ensuring that they align with the values of all stakeholders. It's through this customer-first approach that Coho's clients realize the true benefits of their transformational journey: economically, socially, and environmentally." The company's new name was inspired by the unique story of the coho salmon, an animal that undergoes enormous migratory journeyssome as far as 1,000 miles. They traverse oceans and rivers, famously swimming upstream against strong river currents, adapting from salt water to fresh water along the way. "The story of the coho salmon is an apt metaphor for the journey taken by our clients, with our advisors by their side," said Walid Norris, Vice President of Client Solutions. "It takes determination, adaptability, dedication, and focus to succeed, and these are qualities that Coho advisors bring to the journey." Visit the new Coho website at cohoclimate.com to learn more. Join the conversation today on LinkedIn. About Coho Coho is a global climate adviser dedicated to helping clients navigate complexity and take ambitious steps on their climate journey. We provide deep market insight, analytical problem-solving, and change management expertise so that clients can pursue climate and water goals with confidence and internal alignment. We have served over 60 companies and helped them contract for approximately 7 million MWhs of renewable energy, enough to power over 650,000 homes and drive $5+ billion of new investment in renewable energy projects. SOURCE Coho Leading waveguide designer and manufacturer adds talent to R&D, product, and manufacturing development teams in support of growth ESPOO, Finland, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dispelix Oy, an advanced waveguide designer and manufacturer, today announced that Saara Airas has joined the company as Director of People Operations. As the Augmented Reality and smart glasses markets heat up, Saara is joining the company to help support its tremendous growth. Since January 2022, more than 50 people have been hired to fill positions in R&D, product, manufacturing development, and other teams across Finland, China, and the US. Additionally, twenty plus positions will be filled by the end of the year with more openings to be announced in 2023. "We are proud of how much we've grown since our founding in 2015," said Antti Sunnari, CEO & Co-Founder. "In addition to being headquartered in what many refer to as the happiest place in the world, Dispelix is on the forefront of waveguide design. Our team continues to push boundaries and move at the fast pace of innovation. Saara's leadership and experience will play an integral role as the company continues to grow." Prior to joining Dispelix Saara worked for Smartly.io where she served as Head of HR with a focus on EMEA and APAC. She has also worked in HR positions at some of the world's leading consultancies including KPMG, Deloitte, and EY. She holds a masters degree from the University of Helsinki and speaks English, Finnish, German, and Swedish. "I am proud to be joining such an amazing company on the forefront of innovation in the AR space," said Saara. "It will be exciting to work with such a fascinating and diverse team of people. More than 50% of our staff holds PhDs and many have been researching and working in this space for years. Dispelix is well-poised for continued market leadership and ongoing innovation." Experienced professionals interested in joining the most sought-after experts in optics, photonics, and manufacturing can visit https://careers.dispelix.com . For more details on open positions. For any non-residents moving to Finland, Dispelix supports new employees with relocation efforts and assists with the residence permit application. About Dispelix Oy is an advanced waveguide designer and manufacturer delivering next-generation visual solutions for consumer as well as enterprise AR and MR wearables. The company's patented single layer DPX waveguides are the thinnest on the market and do not compromise full color, image quality, clear eye contact, and field of view. They bring unmatched image quality, performance and visual fidelity combined with mass manufacturability to scale for even the largest vendors. Led by the world's most sought-after experts in optics, photonics and manufacturing, Dispelix is headquartered in the technology hub of Espoo, Finland with field offices throughout the United States and China. Learn more at dispelix.com. SOURCE Dispelix Company has nearly 10,000 resources at the ready to restore power after the storm Customers should prepare for the potential of extended power outages ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With Hurricane Ian's imminent landfall expected along Florida's west coast, Duke Energy is increasing the number of resources coming to Florida and urging customers to take steps to prepare for power outages. "At Duke Energy, we do all we can to minimize the impact of storms and ensure the safety of our customers, communities and crews," said Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida storm director. "We are actively monitoring Ian's path, intensity and timing, and we're bringing in additional resources from our Midwest territory and mutual assistance programs to restore power as conditions allow." Duke Energy is initially mobilizing nearly 10,000 lineworkers, tree professionals, damage assessment and support personnel to safe locations in its Florida service areas. They will be prepared to respond to outages once it is safe to do so. Additional line workers and support personnel from Duke Energy's service territories in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio will arrive throughout the day, along with help from mutual assistance organizations. Placing crews near areas that will likely be affected by this system allows for the quickest and safest response after a storm passes through. Duke Energy meteorologists are continuing to track the storm and we will continue to make adjustments to those resources as the storm approaches. In addition to making safety a priority, customers should also prepare for extended power outages. Despite extensive system improvements and rigorous tree trimming, strong winds, wind-blown debris and flooding can cause power outages. When outages occur, Duke Energy is committed to restoring power as safely and quickly as possible, while keeping customers informed throughout the process. Power restoration process Duke Energy focuses on restoring power in a sequence that enables power restoration to public health and safety facilities and to the greatest number of customers as safely and quickly as possible. As restoration begins, workers may not be visible in each impacted neighborhood, as the first priority is to repair large power lines and other infrastructure. Click here for information on how Duke Energy restores power. Outage reporting and status updates Customers who experience a power outage can report it the following ways: Visit duke-energy.com on a desktop computer or mobile device. Use the Duke Energy mobile app Download the Duke Energy App from a smartphone via Apple Store or Google Play. Text OUT to 57801 (standard text and data charges may apply). Call the automated outage-reporting system, at: 800.228.8485. Customer service specialists will be available to manage customer calls should the need arise, with more than 1,500 additional corporate responders from across all Duke Energy jurisdictions available to assist as needed. There is also an interactive outage map where customers can find up-to-date information on power outages, including the total number of outages systemwide and estimated times of restoration. Customers should stay tuned to local news for the latest advisories from the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center (NHC), as well as state and local emergency management officials. For a hurricane kit checklist and important safety information, visit ready.gov. In addition, tips on what to do before, during and after a storm can be found in the Storm Center at duke-energy.com/StormTips. Duke Energy Florida Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 10,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida. Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people. Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business and at least a 50% carbon reduction from electric generation by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The 2050 net-zero goals also include Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 emissions. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear. Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2022 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "America's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. Media contact: Audrey Stasko Cell: 315.877.3031 Media line: 800.559.3853 Twitter: @DE_AudreyS SOURCE Duke Energy Nearly 1 in 3 Texas school districts trust Skyward software to help with evolving administrative needs. STEVENS POINT, Wis., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Skyward, a school administration software provider committed to helping K-12 leaders spend less time on tasks and more time with students, continues to expand the number of districts it serves in the Lone Star State. As a trusted provider in Texas, currently being used by 298 (30%) school districts across the state, Skyward eases stress for districts struggling with high employee turnover, shrinking applicant pools, ongoing repercussions of COVID, and high enrollment growth. Since 2002, Skyward has consistently been the SIS/ERP of choice among Texas school leaders who are looking to make a positive change to their school administration software. In 2022 alone, Skyward has partnered with 13 new K-12 school districts in Texas and the company anticipates adding more customers amid a rapidly changing education landscape. "Districts know the importance of having a reliable SIS/ERP solution to add to their tech stack," said Dave Ilkka, vice president of new business development at Skyward. "Skyward understands the constant challenges leaders are facing as they struggle with staff shortages, budget cuts, and the constant need for reliable reporting. We are happy to become partners and provide districts with future-ready solutions that best fit their goals." One Texas district that recently switched to Skyward, Prosper ISD, strategically chose Skyward to assist with the challenges they are seeing within their own schools. Serving nearly 25,000 students, Prosper ISD needed an ERP system that could keep up with their rapidly expanding student population. As the district continues to grow, they sought technology that could deliver more automation, better performance, and greater controls, which Skyward provides. "Skyward understands our ERP needs and seems to be the best overall fit for our district," said Dr. Kyle Penn, chief financial officer at Prosper ISD. "We are optimistic that Skyward will improve our processes and make a tremendous impact at our district by reducing the workload of our staff and providing better data for decision making capabilities." As Skyward's presence in Texas continues to grow, the Texas Skyward User Group gives over 700 attendees an opportunity to learn more about Skyward, talk to other districts leaders who use the software, and see the solution in action. For more information visit http://www.tsug.org/. About Skyward Since 1980, Skyward's SIS and ERP solutions have helped more than 2,500 school districts save time, connect with families, and empower success. By blending advanced technology guided by actual users with world-class support delivered with a personal touch, Skyward is the clear choice for K-12 leaders who want to spend less time on tasks and more time with students. To learn more about the next generation of K-12 administration software, visit www.skyward.com. SOURCE Skyward Emiliano's presents its inaugural Hispanic Heritage Festival, taking place at PNC Park on October 8 from 2 - 10 pm, featuring traditional Hispanic food, tequila tasting, and guacamole-making, face painting, sugar skull decorating, guest speakers from Hispanic organizations, live music performances by Latin artists and more. PITTSBURGH, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Emiliano's Mexican Restaurant is excited to bring Hispanic Heritage Festival to PNC Park's Jim Beam Left Field Lounge for its inaugural celebration on October 8th from 2 - 10 PM. With the help of local Hispanic organizations, the festival aims to embrace the Hispanic culture and highlight its diverse community through food, drink, and various family-friendly activities. The Hispanic Heritage Festival will be the first of its kind, with the hopes that the event will become a yearly tradition in the city of Pittsburgh. The nationwide National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 through October 15, honors the many Hispanic Americans who have positively impacted our country and embody the American dream. A quote from Benny Ulloa, President of UC Hospitality Group and owner of Emiliano's: "Emiliano's opened our first location in Gibsonia in 2007 and is named after our son that was born that year. We've since grown to six locations throughout the Greater Pittsburgh area. We're celebrating our 15th anniversary as a locally owned business with authentic Mexican dishes and drinks. We're hosting the Hispanic Heritage Festival at PNC Park to mark this occasion to share our culture with the Pittsburgh community." Attendees can choose to attend all day or either the afternoon or evening session. Session A occurs between 2-6 PM and includes face painting, sugar skull decorating, a guacamole-making station, live music, a performance by Sandra Padilla, and speakers from the Hispanic Heritage Chamber of Commerce , Bonanza Capital , and the National Association of Hispanic Nurses . Session B occurs between 5-10 PM and includes tequila tasting, speeches from Benny Ulloa, a Mayoral Proclamation from the office of Mayor Ed Gainey , and music performances from DJ Erik G, David Correy, and Karibe Son . The festival is family-friendly and open to all, with tickets available on Eventbrite starting at $10 when customers use code DISCOUNT40. About Hispanic Heritage Festival: The inaugural Hispanic Heritage Festival takes place on October 8th at the Jim Beam Left Field Lounge at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pa, and is presented by Emiliano's Mexican Restaurant & Bar. The festival brings together local Hispanic businesses and organizations, traditional Mexican food, and live music and activities, all under one roof to celebrate Hispanic culture. SOURCE Emilianos Mexican Restaurant Half year turnover increased to $382 million compared to $288 million in H1 2021 compared to in H1 2021 Asia-Pacific and Americas contributed strongly towards growth and Americas contributed strongly towards growth Annual revenue expected to top $800 million in 2022 in 2022 Bucharest office to open in Q4 2022, the company's sixth globally, to support further growth FRANKFURT, Germany, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Emma The Sleep Company continued its impressive growth story in the first half of 2022, with a year-on-year revenue growth rate of 33 per cent. Emma increased its half-year revenues to $382 million in the first six months of 2022, compared to $288 million in H1 2021. The sleep brand forecasts annual turnover of at least $800 million by the end of 2022, which will be Emma's fifth consecutive financial year of profitability and growth. "We couldn't be happier about our performance so far in 2022. Even in this challenging economic climate, we have continued to grow profitability and look set to exceed a record $800 million in revenue this year. From day one, we have been incredibly focused and motivated on having a profitable, viable business model and this is paying dividends now" said Dr Dennis Schmoltzi, Co-founder and CEO of Emma The Sleep Company. Growth reported in all active regions Emma's expansion into more than 30 markets in recent years paid off and contributed to the company's buoyant H1 performance. The world's leading D2C sleep brand enjoyed strong growth in Europe, the Americas, and the Asia-Pacific region. European highlights Six of Emma's European markets experienced a growth rate of higher than 40 percent in the first half of the year: France, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Sweden, and Poland. Austria was the star performer: its growth rate of 114 per cent means that Emma AT is now twice as large as it was in 2021 in terms of revenue. "To support further growth, we will continue to expand. The next step is the opening of an office in Bucharest in Q4 2022 to attract the right talent, meet our headcount needs and enter new markets" said Manuel Mueller, Co-founder and CEO of Emma The Sleep Company. Asia-Pacific and Americas are Emma's fastest-growing regions "Our expansion into the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region was an important milestone and it is now evident that these countries are contributing to the company's rapid growth. Markets like the Philippines, Taiwan, Colombia, and Canada are registering the highest growth rates in the company" added Mueller. About Emma The Sleep Company: Emma The Sleep Company is a founder-managed company and the world's leading Direct-to-consumer sleep brand. Emma products are sold via an omnichannel approach, including D2C/online, marketplaces and more than 3,500 brick-and-mortar stores. Emma successfully collaborates with over 200 retailers. Emma's 900+ team members are working across the world, with offices in Frankfurt (Germany), Manila (Philippines), Lisbon (Portugal), Mexico City (Mexico), and Shanghai (China). SOURCE Emma - The Sleep Company Appointment Underscores Equifax Commitment to Being a Force for Good in Cybersecurity ATLANTA, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax (NYSE: EFX) today announced that Chief Information Security Officer Jamil Farshchi has been appointed as a Strategic Engagement Advisor to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In this role, which expands on his Equifax responsibilities, Farshchi will support the FBI's efforts to strengthen their relationship with the private sector and will support the Bureau in addressing the range of cyber threats facing businesses across America. "Over the last four years, Equifax and the FBI have created a powerful blueprint for public-private partnership," said Jamil Farshchi, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer of Equifax. "We believe in being a force for good in cybersecurity, and I am honored to work with the Bureau to replicate these efforts and engage with even more organizations. Through a collected effort, we can improve information sharing, bolster corporate resilience, and strengthen national security." Farshchi joined Equifax in 2018. Prior to Equifax, Farshchi was Chief Information Security Officer of The Home Depot, Chief Information Security Officer of Time Warner, Vice President of Global Information Security for Visa, Chief Information Security Officer of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Deputy Chief Information Assurance Officer of NASA. He serves on the Board of Directors for the National Technology Security Coalition. Equifax believes more communication, more collaboration, and more transparency equals stronger security. The Company actively collaborates with customers, policymakers, and other organizations to solve challenges and uncover opportunities in cybersecurity. To learn more, view the Company's 2021 Security Annual Report. ABOUT EQUIFAX INC. At Equifax (NYSE: EFX), we believe knowledge drives progress. As a global data, analytics, and technology company, we play an essential role in the global economy by helping financial institutions, companies, employers, and government agencies make critical decisions with greater confidence. Our unique blend of differentiated data, analytics, and cloud technology drives insights to power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta and supported by more than 13,000 employees worldwide, Equifax operates or has investments in 25 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. For more information, visit Equifax.com FOR MORE INFORMATION: Matt Baker for Equifax [email protected] SOURCE Equifax Inc. Fannie Mae Takes Another Step to Bolster Equitable Access to Credit for More Consumers WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Fannie Mae (OTCQB: FNMA) today announced the launch of its Multifamily Positive Rent Payment Reporting pilot program, aimed at helping renters build their credit history and improve their credit score. Beginning September 27, 2022, eligible multifamily property owners can share timely rent payment data through a vendor network to the three major credit bureaus for incorporation in the renter's credit profile. This pilot program is the latest solution among Fannie Mae's ongoing efforts to bolster equitable access to credit and remove unnecessary obstacles in a consumer's housing journey, whether they choose to rent or aspire to own a home. On-time rent payments are rarely included in credit reports and therefore usually do not contribute to a consumer's credit score, putting many renters at a disadvantage. Positive Rent Payment Reporting aims to accelerate the adoption of rent payment reporting by the multifamily industry, and it complements Fannie Mae's existing practice of helping lenders incorporate positive rent payments in the single-family mortgage credit evaluation process via Desktop Underwriter (DU). Incentivizing Fannie Mae Multifamily borrowers to adopt Positive Rent Payment Reporting will benefit renters who pay on time each month, including historically underserved groups who disproportionately have lower or no credit scores. Esusu Financial, Inc., Jetty Credit, and Rent Dynamics are approved vendors who will collect the rent payment data from multifamily property owners and format it for dissemination to the credit bureaus. "This pilot program is the latest step on Fannie Mae's journey to make the housing system work better for everyone." Tweet this "Around 20% of the U.S. population has little to no established credit history, a group in which Black and Latino/Hispanic people are disproportionately represented. Of the consumers who do have a credit score, a disproportionate number of Black consumers have a subprime credit score. These imbalances reinforce racial disparities in access to credit and quality affordable housing among renters and homeowners," said Michele Evans, Executive Vice President and Head of Multifamily, Fannie Mae. "The absence of sufficient credit history reduces a renter's ability to access housing in higher-opportunity neighborhoods, obtain a mortgage, and attain lower-cost credit, such as auto loans and education financing. By enabling easier and more expansive adoption of positive rent payment reporting, we can knock down this longstanding barrier to building credit and help more consumers begin to establish a strong financial and credit foundation." "Related Affordable has seen firsthand what on-time credit reporting can do for our residents to help improve their financial health," said Jeffrey I. Brodsky, Vice Chairman of Related Companies. "We are excited to work with Fannie Mae's Multifamily Positive Rent Payment pilot and to see programs like these expand to impact even more residents." Positive Rent Payment Reporting is available to Fannie Mae Multifamily property owners looking for ways to help their renters. This is a positive-only initiative: Renters who miss a payment are automatically unenrolled to preserve their credit standing, and renters may opt out of the program if they prefer. Fannie Mae will cover the costs of collecting and disseminating rent payment data for a 12-month period for multifamily borrowers who leverage one of the three approved vendors to collect the data. "Launching this pilot program is the latest step on Fannie Mae's journey to make the housing system work better for everyone," said Evans. "By accelerating the adoption of positive rent reporting across the multifamily industry, we will help ensure renter households get the credit they deserve for paying on time each month. This builds on the positive rent payment history enhancement we introduced in the single-family mortgage market last year, which has opened the door to homeownership for many more renters who have aspired to buy." The Multifamily Rent Payment Reporting pilot program is one of many specific actions Fannie Mae is taking to advance greater equity in America's housing finance system, its practices, and its outcomes. The company has launched new initiatives and innovations, including several over the past year, to knock down barriers faced by renters and homeowners throughout their housing journey. Some of these actions include: Changing the way renters are served by expanding access to quality affordable rental housing in more high-opportunity neighborhoods, including for renters who rely on Housing Choice Vouchers. In April 2022 , Fannie Mae introduced Expanded Housing Choice to drive greater acceptance of vouchers in the multifamily market, helping to make the rental housing market more inclusive and equitable. by expanding access to quality affordable rental housing in more high-opportunity neighborhoods, including for renters who rely on Housing Choice Vouchers. In , Fannie Mae introduced Expanded Housing Choice to drive greater acceptance of vouchers in the multifamily market, helping to make the rental housing market more inclusive and equitable. Creating a more inclusive credit eligibility system for people who are denied access to quality, affordable homeownership in a manner that is safe, sustainable, and fair. In September 2021 , Fannie Mae enabled single-family mortgage lenders to seamlessly incorporate a history of timely rent payments as an eligibility factor when reviewing borrower applications, helping more first-time homebuyers to responsibly qualify for mortgage credit. for people who are denied access to quality, affordable homeownership in a manner that is safe, sustainable, and fair. In , Fannie Mae enabled single-family mortgage lenders to seamlessly incorporate a history of timely rent payments as an eligibility factor when reviewing borrower applications, helping more first-time homebuyers to responsibly qualify for mortgage credit. Empowering consumers through a robust program of financial and housing education. In January 2022 , Fannie Mae introduced HomeView, a comprehensive and free education resource designed to support consumers at every stage of the homeownership journey. To learn more about the new Multifamily Positive Rent Payment Reporting program, visit https://multifamily.fanniemae.com/positive-rent-payment. About Fannie Mae Fannie Mae advances equitable and sustainable access to homeownership and quality, affordable rental housing for millions of people across America. We enable the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and drive responsible innovation to make homebuying and renting easier, fairer, and more accessible. To learn more, visit: fanniemae.com | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | Blog Fannie Mae Newsroom https://www.fanniemae.com/news Photo of Fannie Mae https://www.fanniemae.com/resources/img/about-fm/fm-building.tif Fannie Mae Resource Center 1-800-2FANNIE (800-232-6643) SOURCE Fannie Mae FENGDU, China, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On 23 September, the Fengdu home field held a grand opening ceremony of the Chongqing 2022 Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival in Baoluan Township, Fengdu County. The opening ceremony was featured with an exhibition and spot sale of agricultural products as well as an exhibition and performance of intangible cultural heritage. A total of 54 booths were set up at the exhibition and spot sale site, displaying and promoting chestnut rice, spicy chicken, beef, longan from Fengdu and other local specialities from Zaozhuang. Live broadcasters were invited to broadcast live on the live platform Douyin to drive the sales of related agricultural products and the atmosphere was very lively. The colourful rice fields "City of Harvest" in Baoluan Township, Fengdu County In addition to the exhibition and spot sale in Baoluan Township on that day, Fengdu County has held two home field exhibitions and spot sale (marketing) activities for the 2022 Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival according to the overall arrangement of Chongqing 2022 Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival activities in Fengdu County and Gaojia Township from September 22 to September 28, 2022, respectively. These activities focused on the leading industries, featured products as well as home field exhibition and sales, promoting product sales through the development of online marketing, offline exhibition and spot sale, purchase and sale through assistance and aid etc., which have achieved remarkable effectiveness of the sales promotion. It is understood that Fengdu County has vigorously implemented agricultural excellence action based on the "national main production area for agricultural products, municipal special agriculture and livestock industry base" in recent years in accordance with the mindset of "attracting powerful leading companies, maintaining powerful industries and striving for powerful revitalization"; improved the quality of the development of the modern mountain characterized high-efficiency agriculture with emphasis on livestock and poultry breeding, speeded up the construction of a national agricultural modernization demonstration area, which has effectively promoted agricultural efficiency, farmers' income and the development in rural areas. The county's annual stock and slaughter of beef cattle has been maintained at around 160,000 and 90,000 up to now; the annual stock and slaughter of poultry has been maintained at around 6.76 million and 10.54 million; the annual stock and slaughter of pigs has been maintained at around 350,000 and 530,000, while the planting area of squash is 240,000 mu, the planting area of red grapefruit is 75,000 mu and the planting area of pepper is 80,000 mu. It is reported that Baoluan Township has prepared a local colorful rice field landscape area of 471 mu for its home field, with 160 mu core pattern area. The colorful rice field landscape has introduced the concept of a hundred birds saluting the phoenix and living toward the sun. The colorful rice field landscape has fully explored the history and culture of Baoluan Township in the design. "Luan" is a kind of phoenix according to ancient mythology, incarnating itself often in "phoenix", "sun" and other elements. And harmony, felicity, brightness, warmness and other beautiful connotations also represent the farmers' aspirations for a more prosperous future. The colorful rice field landscape is mainly based on high-yielding rice varieties of high-quality in terms of variety selection, with purple rice and yellow rice independently cultivated by the Municipal Academy of Agricultural Sciences to enrich the colors. The surrounding hills in the shape of grain stacks show the meaning of the granary, highlighting the charm of the "City of Harvest". CONTACT: Zheng Li, 0086-18375801800, [email protected] Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1908568/Fengdu_Logo.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1908569/Fengdu.jpg SOURCE Fengdu Digital Media Center LOS ANGELES, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Organizations across the United States and MountainTop Films director Lisa Boyd of An American Tragedy have partnered to produce an online fundraising event on October 10, 2022, World Day Against the Death Penalty. The event aims to convey, through a screening of An American Tragedy, the possibility of rehabilitation, the potential for forgiveness, and the cruelty of the death penalty, and through the Q&A discussion following, to activate audiences by providing information and tools for those seeking to become involved in the movement to abolish the death penalty. World Day Against the Death Penalty Online Event Date: Monday October 10, 2022 Time: 7:00pm Eastern/6:00pm Central/4:00pm Pacific Online Event Link: https://bit.ly/AttendWDADP Event Sizzle: https://youtu.be/LhogSSihOz4 What: Screening of An American Tragedy followed by a Q&A with filmmakers, organizations, and political figures to spread awareness & provide tools to the public on what individuals can do to get involved and prevent any other inmates from suffering the ultimate sentence. Price: A "pay what you can" event, the $5 charge covers the event production fees. Donations to support the work of the organizations involved will be graciously accepted on the event website. An American Tragedy Synopsis: For 26 years, the Hall Family has been waiting for justice for the brutal rape and murder of their seventeen-year-old daughter. With just four hours to live, Death Row inmate Jeffrey Ferguson must face his final moments and seek redemption for the pain and suffering he inflicted on everyone involved. Would you forgive the man who killed your daughter? An American Tragedy director Lisa Boyd shares, "This film is my promise to both the Hall and Ferguson families to share their stories of hope and forgiveness and to help end further suffering. Death is not the answer." World Day Against the Death Penalty was founded by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the event is supported in partnership with the below organizations. Special guest speakers and additional partner organizations to be announced. About MountainTop Films Founded in 2012, MountainTop Films aims to bring about change through award-winning film, television, and documentaries. Director and Producer Lisa Rhoden Boyd (Bitter Sugar, Pinero, Parade, El Cantante) and David Boyd (The Walking Dead, Dear Edward, As We See It) work directly with the Missouri Department of Corrections to bring stories on prison reform, the death penalty, forgiveness, and second chances to the world through the power of film. https://www.facebook.com/TheMountainTopFilms About Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is a nonpartisan 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 1981 to educate Nebraskans on the problems of our broken death penalty system and to support abolition efforts in our unicameral Legislature. https://www.nadp.net About Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty The death penalty is largely unsupported by Missouri constituents and as the number of pending death penalty cases and the population of Missouri's death row steadily declines, Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty continues to be a driving force behind the movement to Abolish the death penalty in Missouri. https://www.madpmo.org About Death Penalty Action Death Penalty Action (DPA) provides tools and strategies for individuals and groups to help stop executions. We offer high visibility resources, leadership, support, educational and direct-action events and activities within the broader death penalty abolition movement. https://deathpenaltyaction.org About Death Penalty Focus Death Penalty Focus was founded in 1988 by a group of California death penalty abolitionists. Since then, DPF has led protests, supported vigils, engaged people of faith, and worked with community leaders to end the death penalty. https://deathpenalty.org About Peace and Justice Commission, Archdiocese of St. Louis Members of the Commission include lay persons, clergy, religious sisters, police officers, attorneys, and educators. Marie Kenyon is the director of the Peace and Justice Commission. The Commission will develop its priorities by looking at how issues affecting our region specifically impact the family. As Catholics we believe as Pope Francis states "the family is the fundamental cell of society, where we learn to live with others despite our differences and belong to one another." By working to help strengthen the family, the Commission hopes to help build stronger communities and a peaceful and just region and world. https://www.archstl.org/peace-and-justice-commission About World Coalition Against the Death Penalty The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, an alliance of more than 160 NGOs, bar associations, local authorities, and unions, was created in Rome on 13 May 2002. The aim of the World Coalition is to strengthen the international dimension of the fight against the death penalty. Its objective is to obtain the universal abolition of the death penalty. To achieve its goal, the World Coalition advocates for a definitive end to death sentences and executions in those countries where the death penalty is in force. https://worldcoalition.org/2022/09/09/take-action-for-world-day-2022/ To learn more or to offer your partnership & support contact: Kristen Bedno, SideHussle Life 1.310.801.8959 [email protected] SOURCE MountainTop Films South Africa: Human Settlements Ministry warns of fake social media accounts The Ministry of Human Settlements has warned the public about various fake social media accounts claiming to be of Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and Deputy Minister Pam Tshwete. These fake social accounts often spread scams, promote phony products and even share lies and misinformation, the Ministry said. The Ministry said the Deputy Minister does not have any social media accounts. While Kubayi is active on social media, the Ministry implored the public to not fall victim to scammers and make use of the official Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Kubayis social media accounts are https://www.facebook.com/nkhensani.kubayi.3, www.twitter.com/mmkubayi, and www.instagram.com/mmkubayi Members of the public are urged to always be on the alert and report any suspicious social media accounts or platforms used to impersonate public representatives, the Ministry said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-09-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, presides over the 78th Chairperson's Council meeting of the 13th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Gao Jie) BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Standing Committee of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, will convene its 24th meeting from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. The decision was made Monday at the 78th Chairperson's Council meeting of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, which was presided over by Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee. During the meeting, Wang called for formulating a work plan for studying, publicizing, and implementing the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress in advance and also urged efforts to encourage and support CPPCC members to interpret the guiding principles in different sectors. The meeting heard reports from multiple special committees of the CPPCC National Committee on their work, among other reports. Noting the progress made by the CPPCC National Committee in its democratic oversight over implementing the 14th Five-Year Plan, Wang called for continuous innovation to improve the effectiveness of oversight. Attendees at the meeting deliberated and voted on personnel matters. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit SOUTH BEND, Ind., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FMC (Family Movie Classics), home to beloved and timeless movies carried across cable, satellite and virtual platforms, announced today it has launched in select Comcast/Xfinity markets, adding over 5 million subscribers to the network's distribution. "This launch with Comcast is an important step forward for FMC," said Drew Sumrall, President and CEO of FETV and FMC. "The future is very bright for this network, and many more affiliates are coming soon." Launched in October 2021, FMC presents celebrated movies the whole family can enjoy, with a curated catalog of quality films featuring the biggest stars in Hollywood history. The Silver Screen Spotlight, FMC's monthly premiere programming event, features a Western tilt to the October slate of titles including the Gunsmoke Movie Collection starring James Arness, The Gambler series of films starring Kenny Rogers, Cowboy starring Glenn Ford, Coroner Creek starring Randolph Scott, and many more. About FETV and FMC Launched in 2013, FETV is home to a 24-hour schedule of beloved and timeless television series and movies carried across cable, satellite and virtual platforms reaching more than 50 million homes. Launched in 2021, FMC features a 24-hour schedule celebrating the depth and variety of movies from the 1930's through the 1990's, and is currently available on Comcast/Xfinity, DISH, FrndlyTV, altafiber and Evoca. FETV and FMC are independently owned and operated by Family Broadcasting Company based in South Bend, Indiana with an office in New York City. Media Contact: Angela Grabowski [email protected] SOURCE FETV Conversely, in the Same Period, over 60 Percent of Overdose Patients Were Female From 2019 to 2021, the Proportion of Patients with Opioid and Opioid-Like Drug Overdoses Increased in 42 States, according to New FAIR Health Study NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In every year of the period 2016-2021, males accounted for 62 to 63 percent of the gender distribution of patients with a substance use disorder diagnosis, while females made up 37 to 38 percent, according to a new white paper from FAIR Health. In every year of the same period, females accounted for 60 to 61 percent of the gender distribution of patients with an overdose diagnosis, while males made up 39 to 40 percent. The white paper, released today, is entitled A Comparison of Substance Use Disorders before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study of Private Healthcare Claims. Related Documents View PDF A Comparison of Substance Use Disorders before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic, A FAIR Health White Paper, September 27, 2022 In this report, drawing on the nation's largest repository of private healthcare claims, FAIR Health analyzes substance use disorders and overdoses prior to the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to during the pandemic. Trends in the percentage of patients with a substance use disorder or overdose diagnosis are analyzed, as well as such aspects as age, gender, incidence, relevant substances, states, preexisting mental health conditions, venues of care and provider specialties. Among the key findings: From 2019 to 2021, 42 states saw an increase in the proportion of patients with opioid and opioid-like drug overdoses compared to the total number of patients using medical services by state. The increases ranged from 148.4 percent in Pennsylvania to 0.7 percent in Minnesota . to 0.7 percent in . During the pandemic, the percentage of patients with a substance use disorder diagnosis decreased by 4.4 percent, from 3.5 percent of all patients in 2019 (pre-pandemic) to 3.4 percent in 2021 (during the pandemic). But in one age group, those 65 and older, the percentage of patients with a substance use disorder diagnosis increased 5.3 percent, from 3.3 percent of all patients in that age group in 2019 to 3.5 percent in 2021. The percentage of patients with an overdose diagnosis increased 4.3 percent, from 0.56 percent of all patients in 2019 to 0.59 percent in 2021. Alcohol and opioids were the top two substances associated with substance use disorders throughout the 2019-2021 time frame. Substance use disorders involving alcohol, however, increased over that period from 47 percent to 52 percent of the distribution, while opioids fell from 25 percent of the distribution to 21 percent. From 2016 to 2021, the share of patients with substance use disorders involving the use of stimulants (e.g., amphetamines, methamphetamines) rose 36.4 percent, from 0.046 percent of all patients to 0.063 percent; this percentage increase exceeded those of alcohol, opioids and cannabis. In 2021, the percentage of patients with an initial diagnosis of substance use disorder or overdose increased month over month compared to the two prior years. In 2019 and 2021, New Mexico was the state with the highest proportion of patients with a substance use disorder or overdose diagnosis. was the state with of patients with a substance use disorder or overdose diagnosis. From 2019 to 2021, Nebraska was the state with the greatest increase in the proportion of patients with a substance use disorder diagnosis. Maryland was the state with the greatest increase in the proportion of patients with an overdose diagnosis. was the state with of patients with a diagnosis. was the state with the greatest increase in the proportion of patients with an diagnosis. Sixty-five percent of patients who had a substance use disorder or overdose diagnosis in 2021 had a preexisting mental health condition. Generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, in that order, were the two most common mental health diagnoses in this population in 2021. The percentage of substance use disorder services rendered via telehealth rose from 0.3 percent in 2019 to 11.3 percent in 2020, then dropped to 9.3 percent in 2021. Psychiatrists' share of substance use disorder claim lines increased 112.4 percent, from 3.9 percent in 2016 to 8.3 percent in 2021. FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd stated: "During the COVID-19 pandemic, substance use disorders and overdoses proved to be a significant public health issue. We hope our study of this issue offers helpful insights for patients, providers, payors, policy makers and researchers." This study is the latest in a series of FAIR Health studies on the COVID-19 pandemic. Others have examined projected US costs for COVID-19 patients requiring inpatient stays, the impact of the pandemic on hospitals and health systems, the impact on healthcare professionals, key characteristics of COVID-19 patients, the impact on the dental industry, risk factors for COVID-19 mortality, the impact on pediatric mental health, treatment and hospitalization costs, the evolution of telehealth during the pandemic, and post-COVID conditions before and after introduction of an ICD-10 code for such conditions. The new study also builds upon a series of white papers released by FAIR Health involving substance use disorders, specifically opioid abuse and dependence. Previous entries in that series include: For the new white paper, click here. Follow us on Twitter @FAIRHealth About FAIR Health FAIR Health is a national, independent nonprofit organization that qualifies as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code. It is dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation's largest collection of private healthcare claims data, which includes over 38 billion claim records and is growing at a rate of over 2 billion claim records a year. FAIR Health licenses its privately billed data and data productsincluding benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics and market indicesto commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a national Qualified Entity, FAIR Health also receives data representing the experience of all individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D; FAIR Health includes among the private claims data in its database, data on Medicare Advantage enrollees. FAIR Health can produce insightful analytic reports and data products based on combined Medicare and commercial claims data for government, providers, payors and other authorized users. FAIR Health's systems for processing and storing protected health information have earned HITRUST CSF certification and achieved AICPA SOC 2 compliance by meeting the rigorous data security requirements of these standards. As a testament to the reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish, which enables consumers to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenditures and offers a rich educational platform on health insurance. An English/Spanish mobile app offers the same educational platform in a concise format and links to the cost estimation tools. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a top resource for patients in Dr. Marty Makary's book The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Careand How to Fix It and Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal's book An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org. Contact: Rachel Kent Senior Director of Marketing FAIR Health 646-396-0795 [email protected] SOURCE FAIR Health TAIPEI, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GIGABYTE is proud to launch its brand new X670E and X670 series motherboards, which support AMD's recently announced Ryzen 7000 series desktop processors based on the next-gen Zen 4 architecture. GIGABYTE's latest AM5 platform offerings are topped by the gaming-focused AORUS lineup, covering both segments of the flagship X670E and the high-end X670 chipsets. In addition to natively supporting the next-gen PCIe 5.0 slot and M.2 socket, as well as the DDR5 memory, the new AORUS X670 motherboards are all about big performance and system stability, with direct digital power and advanced thermal solutions. At the same time, these boards are designed with user-friendliness in mind, featuring PCIe and M.2 EZ-Latch design to make component swapping a whole lot easier. GIGABYTE Launches Four AMD X670 Motherboards for New Ryzen 7000 Processors The X670E AORUS XTREME leads the way with an 18+2+2 direct digital power, which effectively improves system stability for unlocking the full potential of the new Ryzen 7000 series processors. To enhance the overall heat dissipation under overclocking and full-speed operation, GIGABYTE X670E and X670 motherboards are stacked with advanced thermal designs, such as the 8mm Mega-Heatpipe, the full-coveraged VRM heatsinks, and the M.2 Thermal Guard III heatsinks on the storage devices, so that the next-gen gaming performance and transmission speed can be fully unleashed on the new platform. The newly incorporated EZ-Latch Plus design on the X670E and EZ-Latch on the X670 motherboards streamline the PC building process by simplifying the graphics card removal with only an effortless push of a bottom and making M.2 SSD installation easier than ever without the use of a single screw. GIGABYTE will launch four motherboards, including the flagship X670E AORUS XTREME, the enthusiast-grade X670E AORUS MASTER, the mainstream X670 AORUS ELITE AX, and the value-focused X670 GAMING X AX. These boards will go on sale on September 27, 2022. For more information on GIGABYTE X670E and X670 motherboards, please visit: [https://bit.ly/AM5_X670] SOURCE GIGABYTE DUBLIN, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Wireless EV Charging Growth Opportunities" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. 2021 has been a strong year for electric vehicle (EV) sales, with 6.8 million units sold and 9.5% global market penetration, outperforming industry expectations. The top 5 countries (excluding China) were the US, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and the UK. These include AC/DC, public, and private charge points. As of 2022, the wireless or inductive EV charging market is still in a nascent phase because of a lack of global standards, safety regulations, and established business models. Despite the impact of chip shortages on production, the industry exceeded 100% YoY growth. Conductive (wired) charging infrastructure grew to more than 500,000 charge points in 2021. Conductive charging infrastructure is also underdeveloped. Hence, the most likely adopters of wireless EV charging will be premium/luxury EV manufacturers offering it as an add-on feature and the commercial mobility sector. About 90% of wireless charging will be stationary as dynamic (under-road) WEVC requires large-scale investment and an infrastructure overhaul. Of the stationary wireless chargers, 80% will be in private locations, while 20% will be available to the public. They will likely use charging pads rather than underground WPT devices. Hyundai-Kia's premium sub-brand Genesis is launching its all-new EV called GV60, built on the E-GMP pure electric platform. The GV60 will offer factory-installed WEVC as an optional feature. The WEVC system on the Genesis GV60 will be based on Witricity's wireless charging technology, which is also J2954-compliant. This is a potential business model for WEVC penetration, particularly into the premium EV market and possibly mass-market EVs, as Witricity endeavors to drive down costs. Key Topics Covered: 1. Strategic Imperatives Why Is It Increasingly Difficult to Grow? The Strategic Imperative The Impact of the Top 3 Strategic Imperatives on the Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) Industry Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine 2. Electric Vehicle Market Overview Electric Vehicles Sold in the Last Decade Global EV Market, 2021 and 2022E EV Growth and Penetration - Major Countries EV Growth and Penetration - Leading OEMs Commercial EV Market Overview - Battery EVs (BEVs) EV Charging Infrastructure Development Summary of Potential EV Charging Models 3. Standards and WEVC Systems Wireless EV Charging Systems and Methods Overview of Different Wireless EV Charging Methods SAE J2954 4. WEVC Market Overview 2022 Key EV Market Trends Wireless Charging For Commercial EVs OEM Overview - Premium and Luxury EV Market Developments For WEVC 5. Technology Evolution and Use Case Technology Roadmap Comparative Analysis Adoption of Different Types of Business Models Strategic Locations 6. WEVC Market Sizing Market Estimates in Unit Sales/Installed Estimated Market Size by Revenue Growth Drivers Growth Restraints 7. WEVC Company Profiles WiTricity Plugless Power Momentum Dynamics Momentum Dynamics' Wireless Charging EV Taxi Project Electreon Electreon Projects Magment (High Disruptive Potential) 8. Growth Opportunity Universe Growth Opportunity 1 - Standardized Aftermarket Solutions to Promote WEVC Growth Opportunity 2 - IP Licensing Business Model for Faster Time to Market Growth Opportunity 3 - Electric Road Systems to Provide a New Market for Construction Companies and Utilities Companies Mentioned Electreon Hyundai-Kia Magment Momentum Dynamics Plugless Power Witricity For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/q9s4u6 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets Over $3 million worth of household goods have been distributed to families in need PHOENIX, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Grand Canyon University's CityServe, the CityServe state affiliate for Arizona, has provided household goods and necessities to more than 6,500 families since being started one year ago. Over $3 million worth of surplus goods from major retailers such as Costco, Amazon, and Walmart have been distributed through GCU's point-of-distribution partners (PODs). In September of last year, GCU partnered with CityServe, a collaborative network of faith-based nonprofits, corporate, retail, farm and food supply partners, to become the first university in the country to serve as a HUB for the non-profit. The GCU HUB relies heavily on volunteers, with students, faculty and staff immediately rallying behind the cause. In the first year of operation, over 2,700 volunteer hours went into running the HUB. "GCU is uniquely positioned to serve as a CityServe HUB because of who we are as a Christian university and because of the insatiable desire of our students, faculty and staff to give back and have a positive impact on the communities around us," GCU President Brian Mueller said. "The number of families we have been able to help in just the first year has exceeded our initial expectations and we will continue to expand on that as we raise awareness. Items that many of us take for granted such as a bed or sofa or clothing are bringing comfort to families who are facing challenging circumstances." GCU CityServe has over 90 PODs across the state, impacting families as far north as Flagstaff, as far west as Yuma, as far south as Tucson and as far east as Globe. Examples of individuals the GCU HUB has been able to help include: A formerly homeless Vietnam veteran who received furnishings for his first home veteran who received furnishings for his first home A single father whose wife died of an illness who received a crib, clothing and other essentials for their baby A young man who was walking to work six miles every day who received an eBike A foster family of five children that received home furnishings An addiction and homelessness rehabilitation facility that received outdoor furniture A teachers lounge at an elementary school that received decor and decorative chairs Homeless veterans and others who received clothing, shoes and food A single mother of four who received furnishings after her apartment was destroyed by a fire A family of four that sold many of their belongings in order to afford increases in their rent and received a new bed And so much more. "We strive to be the best stewards of the items that we receive," said GCU CityServe HUB manager Nathan Cooper. "A huge part of that is being able to distribute very specific items that the families or individuals have requested through our POD partners. These items go beyond just the essentials, we are able to provide items that can turn a house into a home." Originally, 35,000 feet of warehouse space was created to house all the goods. Just six months later, the warehouse was expanded to more than 88,000 feet to keep up with the demand of incoming goods. "In just one-year GCU has become a model for CityServe's university-based vision to equip and mobilize students to meet community needs and to help families move from dependency to sustainability," said Dave Donaldson, CityServe co-founder. About Grand Canyon University: Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona's premier private Christian university. GCU is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers 312 academic programs, emphases and certificates for both traditional undergraduate students and working professionals. The University's curriculum emphasizes interaction with classmates, both in-person and online, and individual attention from instructors while fusing academic rigor with Christian values to help students find their purpose and become skilled, caring professionals. For more information, visit gcu.edu. About CityServe: CityServe is a collaborative network of churches and community leaders who help those in need live better lives. CityServe empowers the local church to fulfill its purpose to overcome despair and transform lives by resourcing them with tangible goods and capacity building. CityServe brings the church to the table to address community challenges by offering long-lasting relationships that lead to transformation and has been designated a "Community of Faith and Opportunity" by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For more information about CityServe and its initiatives, please visit https://cityserve.us/ or on social platforms @cityservehq. SOURCE Grand Canyon University Leaders demonstrate strong platforms to work with third-party devices and key advances that helped the smart home find more adoption among consumers BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report from Guidehouse Insights examines the competitive landscape for the smart home. Smart home connectivity protocols are the technologies that enable devices to communicate with one another and form the basis for smart home platforms. The most successful companies in the smart home sector have developed strong platforms to work with third-party devices, as well as pioneered key advances that have helped the smart home find more adoption among consumers. According to a Leaderboard report from Guidehouse Insights, Amazon, Google, and Samsung are the leading smart home vendors, thanks to their platforms. "The key factor underlying the smart home is connectivity, specifically the ability for multiple devices to communicate with one another, with or without direct commands from a person. As the products become more advanced and consolidated into a manufacturer's ecosystem, a command issued to one device can cause others to take complementary actions, such as locking the front door when the bedroom lights are turned off," says Francesco Radicati, senior research analyst with Guidehouse Insights. "Over the past several years, multiple options have arisen to help consumers tie together the wide range of devices they own, frequently from multiple manufacturers." Companies were selected for inclusion in the report based on market scans to determine which are seen as leaders in the smart home sector. This report includes a variety of players, including smart home device manufacturers and chipset makers. The report, Guidehouse Insights Leaderboard: Smart Home, assesses the competitive landscape for the smart home. Over the past several years a number of options have arisen to help consumers tie together the wide range of devices they own, frequently from multiple manufacturers. Beyond the question of which protocol to use, e.g., Wi-Fi versus Zigbee versus Thread, smart home offerings have coalesced around several platforms created by the largest technology companies, mainly Amazon, Google, and Samsung, and to a lesser extent Apple. At the same time, a separate ecosystem of platforms has arisen in China, based around compatibility with products from local tech giants Alibaba, Baidu, and Xiaomi. Also ranked in this Guidehouse Insights Leaderboard report are semiconductor manufacturers whose chipsets enable devices' connectivity, and a few manufacturers of more targeted smart home solutions. An executive summary of the report is available for free download on the Guidehouse Insights website. About Guidehouse Insights Guidehouse Insights, the dedicated market intelligence arm of Guidehouse, provides research, data, and benchmarking services for today's rapidly changing and highly regulated industries. Our insights are built on in-depth analysis of global clean technology markets. The team's research methodology combines supply-side industry analysis, end-user primary research, and demand assessment, paired with a deep examination of technology trends, to provide a comprehensive view of emerging resilient infrastructure systems. Additional information about Guidehouse Insights can be found at www.guidehouseinsights.com. About Guidehouse Guidehouse is a leading global provider of consulting services to the public sector and commercial markets, with broad capabilities in management, technology, and risk consulting. By combining our public and private sector expertise, we help clients address their most complex challenges and navigate significant regulatory pressures focusing on transformational change, business resiliency, and technology-driven innovation. Across a range of advisory, consulting, outsourcing, and digital services, we create scalable, innovative solutions that help our clients outwit complexity and position them for future growth and success. The company has more than 13,000 professionals in over 50 locations globally. Guidehouse is a Veritas Capital portfolio company, led by seasoned professionals with proven and diverse expertise in traditional and emerging technologies, markets, and agenda-setting issues driving national and global economies. For more information, please visit www.guidehouse.com. * The information contained in this press release concerning the report, Guidehouse Insights Leaderboard: Smart Home, is a summary and reflects the current expectations of Guidehouse Insights based on market data and trend analysis. Market predictions and expectations are inherently uncertain and actual results may differ materially from those contained in this press release or the report. Please refer to the full report for a complete understanding of the assumptions underlying the report's conclusions and the methodologies used to create the report. Neither Guidehouse Insights nor Guidehouse undertakes any obligation to update any of the information contained in this press release or the report. For more information, contact: Cecile Fradkin +1.646.941.9139 [email protected] SOURCE Guidehouse Insights Tech24 Completes Twelfth Add-on Acquisition GREENVILLE, S.C., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tech24, backed by HCI Equity Partners, today announced that it acquired Allied Service Group ("Allied" or the "Company") on September 23, 2022. Tech24 is a national provider of repair and maintenance services for foodservice and commercial HVAC equipment. Allied is Tech24's twelfth add-on acquisition in the highly fragmented foodservice repair and maintenance market. Financial terms were not disclosed. Allied is a provider of repair services, preventative maintenance and installation for foodservice and HVAC equipment, servicing restaurants, grocery stores and institutions in Southwest Tennessee and Northern Mississippi. The acquisition provides Tech24 with an additional entry point into the Southeastern U.S. as Allied's headquarters in Jackson, Tennessee, are near growing metropolitan areas, including Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga. Dan Rodstrom, CEO of Tech24, said, "We are excited to welcome Allied Service Group to the Tech24 family. Joe Lasley, President of Allied, has built an outstanding team in Mississippi and Tennessee, and we look forward to working alongside them as Tech24 expands its operations further in the Southeast." "The Tech24 platform is a great example of how HCI's investment strategy works to benefit new and existing customers with expanded services and greater efficiencies, through strategic acquisitions in fragmented markets," said Doug McCormick, Managing Partner at HCI. "Tech24 and HCI are experiencing strong success partnering with high quality family- and founder-owned businesses across the U.S., and we are proud of the teams and business we are building." Quarles and Brady served as legal counsel to Tech24. About HCI Equity Partners HCI Equity Partners is a lower market private equity firm focused on partnering with family and founder-owned distribution, manufacturing and service companies. HCI is headquartered in Washington, DC. For more information, please visit www.hciequity.com. Contacts: Kelsey Clute, VP, Director of Communications, HCI [email protected] Megan Bowman, Lambert [email protected] SOURCE HCI Equity Partners JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As workplaces adjust to the "new normal," executives seeking jobs need to utilize the latest resume strategies to get the attention of hiring executives to get their dream jobs. "Many people think a resume is a professional biography, sharing details on everything you've ever done at every place you've worked. This isn't the case," said Jessica Hernandez, president of Great Resumes Fast, an award-winning executive resume writing services company based in Jacksonville, Florida, serving executives nationwide. Jessica Hernandez "Your resume should be written to the future to the position you want to obtain. To do that, your resume needs three things: personal branding, a wow factor, and quantifiable accomplishments. Combining these makes a powerful first impression that helps you stand out from other applicants," she said. Personal Branding Personal branding is simple. It tells the story of your qualifications and successes while boldly weaving the golden thread of your passion, personality, work/leadership style, and other unique identifiers. It's saying this is who I am, and this is who I am not. Start with a strong branding statement at the top of your resume. You'll combine your headline and branding statement to create a value proposition that appeals to your target employer. This statement must be clear, concise, and resonate with hiring managers. Here's an example from a past client. CEO, LANEY DUKE BUILDING TOP-PERFORMING LOGISTICS TEAMS THAT RAISE THE BAR ON SUPPLY CHAIN EXCELLENCE If you struggle with this, we'll be happy to discuss how we can help you develop your unique personal brand and incorporate it into your documents during a resume strategy session. The Wow Factor Wow factor refers to what is the most important, impressive, and valuable information about you as a candidate for THIS job. Your wow factor differentiates you from other candidates, so you're not blending into the stack. Your wow statements need to be specific. They must tell the hiring manager what you did, not what you were responsible for. Your wow statements will go in your summary, experience section, honors and awards section, and education section, if applicable. Here are examples of wow statements from our past clients. Note these statements don't start with "responsible for" or "duties include." Developed and deployed a curriculum that reached 4,000+ team members, implemented new strategies at the pace of business rapidly shifted learning from in-person to virtual programming during COVID-19. Navigated URAC accreditation to halt 60% loss of business within first eight months by overhauling clinical operations, building policies and procedures, and revamping training. Overhauled processes and practices to deliver $10M in soft savings through 4x increases in efficiencies and productivity. Each statement includes metrics, high-priority keywords, and strong action verbs that convey impact. These statements resonate with employers. Quantifiable Accomplishments Want to capture the hiring manager's attention instantly? Then you must write with meaning and power. Steer clear of writing like this: I was responsible for creating a new office procedure manual. Instead, write with strength and impact like this: Decreased costs 22% after developing and launching new office procedure manual. Numbers, dollars, and percentages are powerful because they communicate proven factual data. They're measurable and show employers the value you can deliver. Finding data to include in your resume is a challenge. Job seekers tell me, "What if I don't have any numbers?" These questions can help you uncover hidden gems in your career history: Am I responsible for people, projects, functions, organizations, revenues, or profit? If so, ask yourself, "How much? How many?" What specific challenges have I faced in this role? Were you promoted? If so, how quickly? Or based on a specific reason? For example, recruited into a role to transform a negative P&L? To see more tips, go to: https://greatresumesfast.com/blog/how-can-i-make-my-resume-stand-out-in-2023/ About Jessica Hernandez and Great Resumes Fast Jessica Hernandez, a LinkedIn Top Voice of 2020, started the company back in 2008 after more than a decade directing hiring practices at Fortune 500 companies. The proprietary process used at Great Resumes Fast is based on her personal experience knowing exactly what hiring managers at top companies are looking for in a resume. (Not to mention, seeing firsthand what it takes to get through the ATS and preliminary screenings before you even have a shot at getting in front of the hiring manager.) She is recognized globally as a resume expert and is regularly featured in major publications like Forbes, Fast Company, and Fortune. Outside of her CEO role at Great Resumes Fast, she's a wife, mother of six, and Christ-follower. She once had a shirt that said, "I love Jesus and naps." For information, go to https://greatresumesfast.com/services-executive-resume-writers/ Contact Jessica Hernandez 800.991.5187 [email protected] SOURCE Great Resumes Fast NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the research report, the Hummus Market will witness a YOY growth of 9.84% in 2022 at a CAGR of 10.41% during the forecast period. The report is segmented by application (sauces and dips, paste and spreads, and others) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, the Middle East and Africa, and South America). For more insights on YOY and CAGR, Read FREE Sample Report. Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Hummus Market 2022-2026 Vendor Insights The global Hummus Market is fragmented and the vendors are deploying various organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market. The growing competition in the market is compelling vendors to adopt various growth strategies such as promotional activities and spending on advertisements to improve the visibility of their services. Some vendors are also adopting inorganic growth strategies such as M&As to remain competitive in the market. The report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors, including: Agro Tech Foods Ltd. Bakkavor Group PLC Boars Head Brand Cedars Mediterranean Foods Inc. Damai International Fountain of Health Haliburton International Foods Inc. Harvest Moon Foods Hope Foods LLC Hummus Goodness Kasih Food Production Co. Lakeview Farms LLC Nestle SA Find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings, Buy Sample Report. Geographical Market Analysis North America will account for 37% of market growth. In North America, the US is the hummus market's primary market. The market in this region will expand more quickly than those in Europe and South America. Consumers' rising preference for Mediterranean food will support the expansion of the hummus market in North America throughout the forecast period. Furthermore, countries such as North America, Europe, APAC, the Middle East and Africa, and South America are expected to emerge as prominent markets for Hummus Market during the forecast period. Download Free Sample Report. Key Segment Analysis The market share rise of hummus in the sauces and dips category would be high. Most often eaten as a dip, hummus is believed to have a number of health advantages, including being a good source of plant protein, managing blood sugar levels, and lowering the risk of heart disease. Given the abundance of natural ingredients in hummus, including chickpeas, garlic, lemon, and olive oil, it is regarded as a natural product when compared to other dips sold on the market. As a result, during the projection period, the desire for food products made with natural ingredients will contribute to an increase in hummus dip sales. Key Market Drivers & Challenges: One of the elements fueling the expansion of the hummus business is the introduction of new packaging. Having fresh and appealing packaging makes products more noticeable. Additionally, packaging extends the shelf-life of goods and gives suppliers a platform to promote their businesses. Vendors spend a lot of money developing fresh, eye-catching packaging for their goods. One of the major hummus market trends driving the market's expansion is the expansion of retail space. Supermarkets, hypermarkets, and convenience stores have historically been the primary sales channels for hummus products. However, one of the main things impeding the expansion of the hummus industry is the consequences of natural disasters. Garlic and chickpeas are two of the main ingredients needed to make hummus, and both of these ingredients are cultivated in response to external influences like natural disasters and crop illnesses. Additionally, a number of plant diseases that can impair the production of hummus throughout the projected period can affect the growth of garlic and other raw materials. Related Reports: Fresh Food Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The fresh food market share is expected to increase by 420.04 million tons from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 3.04%. Apple Market by Distribution Channel and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The apple market share is expected to increase by USD 10.12 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 2.38%. Hummus Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 10.41% Market growth 2022-2026 $ 1.75 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 9.84 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South America Performing market contribution North America at 37% Key consumer countries US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive Strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled Agro Tech Foods Ltd., Bakkavor Group PLC, Boars Head Brand, Cedars Mediterranean Foods Inc., Damai International, Fountain of Health, Haliburton International Foods Inc., Harvest Moon Foods, Hope Foods LLC, Hummus Goodness, Kasih Food Production Co., Lakeview Farms LLC, Nestle SA, Sabra Dipping Co. LLC, SAJJ Mediterranean, Strauss Group Ltd., T. Marzetti Co., The Huda Bar, The Kraft Heinz Co., and Walgreens Farms Pvt. 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, and 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. Browse for Technavio "Consumer Staples" Research Reports 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 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: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors 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 Sauces and dips - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 28: Chart on Sauces and dips - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 29: Data Table on Sauces and dips - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 30: Chart on Sauces and dips - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 31: Data Table on Sauces and dips - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.4 Paste and spreads - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 32: Chart on Paste and spreads - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 33: Data Table on Paste and spreads - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 34: Chart on Paste and spreads - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 35: Data Table on Paste and spreads - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.5 Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 36: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 37: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 38: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 39: Data Table on Others - 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 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 46: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 47: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 48: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 49: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 50: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 51: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 52: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 53: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 54: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 55: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 56: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 57: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.6 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 58: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 59: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 60: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 61: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - 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 UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 70: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 71: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 72: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 73: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.10 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 74: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 75: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 76: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 77: Data Table on Germany - 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 United Arab Emirates - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 82: Chart on United Arab Emirates - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 83: Data Table on United Arab Emirates - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 84: Chart on United Arab Emirates - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 85: Data Table on United Arab Emirates - 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 Bakkavor Group PLC Exhibit 93: Bakkavor Group PLC - Overview Exhibit 94: Bakkavor Group PLC - Business segments Exhibit 95: Bakkavor Group PLC - Key offerings Exhibit 96: Bakkavor Group PLC - Segment focus 10.4 Boars Head Brand Exhibit 97: Boars Head Brand - Overview Exhibit 98: Boars Head Brand - Product / Service Exhibit 99: Boars Head Brand - Key offerings 10.5 Cedars Mediterranean Foods Inc. Exhibit 100: Cedars Mediterranean Foods Inc. - Overview Exhibit 101: Cedars Mediterranean Foods Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 102: Cedars Mediterranean Foods Inc. - Key offerings 10.6 Fountain of Health Exhibit 103: Fountain of Health - Overview Exhibit 104: Fountain of Health - Product / Service Exhibit 105: Fountain of Health - Key offerings 10.7 Hummus Goodness Exhibit 106: Hummus Goodness - Overview Exhibit 107: Hummus Goodness - Product / Service Exhibit 108: Hummus Goodness - Key offerings 10.8 Lakeview Farms LLC Exhibit 109: Lakeview Farms LLC - Overview Exhibit 110: Lakeview Farms LLC - Product / Service Exhibit 111: Lakeview Farms LLC - Key offerings 10.9 Nestle SA Exhibit 112: Nestle SA - Overview Exhibit 113: Nestle SA - Business segments Exhibit 114: Nestle SA - Key news Exhibit 115: Nestle SA - Key offerings Exhibit 116: Nestle SA - Segment focus 10.10 Sabra Dipping Co. LLC Exhibit 117: Sabra Dipping Co. LLC - Overview Exhibit 118: Sabra Dipping Co. LLC - Product / Service Exhibit 119: Sabra Dipping Co. LLC - Key offerings 10.11 Strauss Group Ltd. Exhibit 120: Strauss Group Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 121: Strauss Group Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 122: Strauss Group Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 123: Strauss Group Ltd. - Segment focus 10.12 T. Marzetti Co. Exhibit 124: T. Marzetti Co. - Overview Exhibit 125: T. Marzetti Co. - Product / Service Exhibit 126: T. Marzetti Co. - Key offerings 11 Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist Exhibit 127: Inclusions checklist Exhibit 128: Exclusions checklist 11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 129: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.4 Research methodology Exhibit 130: Research methodology Exhibit 131: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 132: Information sources 11.5 List of abbreviations Exhibit 133: List of abbreviations About Us: Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida is on high alert as the hurricane will bring severe conditions to the west coast, the most affected areas are going to be Port Myers and Tampa Bay region. Hurricane Ian has passed over western Cuba as a category 3 storm. Maximum sustained winds were 201 km/h. Ian is slowly moving into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, which could possibly enhance its intensification and strike Florida as a category 4 hurricane, based on Hurricane Tracker at Windy.com. Hurricane Ian, view on satelitte image (PRNewsfoto/Windyty, SE) Next, Ian heads to Florida. Landfall is expected in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday night into early Thursday morning as a Category 3 hurricane, though the track, timing, and intensity could still change. Hurricane forecasting is primarily handled by NOAA-at and ECMWF models. Most news sites provide only one view of a given hurricane. Windy.com has changed this by providing all available models for a particular hurricane. This allows media representatives, rescue teams, and the public to see all possible hurricane paths and not have to rely on just one model. In addition, all users have the ability to see the hurricane's evolution in satellite imagery, visualizing winds, rainfall, storms, or current temperatures. Windy.com was originally created as a weather forecasting app for kiters, surfers, and other extreme sportsmen who need to know an accurate forecast of not only the weather but especially the development of weather conditions for their hobby. Gradually, however, the app has become an essential part of the professional lives of people whose lives depend on accurate weather forecasting. We're talking about sailors, pilots, firefighters, or just people in emergency staff during natural disasters. During hurricanes, images from Windy.com have become an integral part of news coverage and information for residents in affected areas. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1909004/Windyty_SE_Report.jpg SOURCE Windyty, SE https://www.spendedge.com/sample-report/hydraulic-cylinder-sourcing-and-procurement-intelligence-report Key Highlights Offered in the Report: Information on how to identify strategic and tactical negotiation levels that will help achieve the best prices. Gain information on relevant pricing levels, detailed explanation of the pros and cons of prevalent pricing models. Methods to help engage with the right suppliers and discover KPI's to evaluate incumbent suppliers. Fetch actionable market insights on post COVID-19 impact on each product and service segments. Some of the Top Hydraulic Cylinder suppliers listed in this report: This Hydraulic Cylinder procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies. Caterpillar Parker Hannifin Eaton Fetch actionable market insights on post COVID-19 impact on each product and service segments: https://www.spendedge.com/sample-report/hydraulic-cylinder-sourcing-and-procurement-intelligence-report Top Selling Report: Asset Recovery Services - Forecast and Analysis: The asset recovery services will grow at a CAGR of 9.49% during 2021-2025. Asia Asset Recovery Pte Ltd., TES-Amm Singapore Pte Ltd., and Iron Mountain Inc. are among the prominent suppliers in asset recovery services market. Click the above link to download the free sample of this report. Vulnerability Management Sourcing and Procurement Report: Vulnerability Management Procurement Market, prices will increase by 4%-6% during the forecast period and suppliers will have a Moderate bargaining power in this market. Click the above link to download the free sample of this report. Outplacement Services - Sourcing and Procurement Intelligence Report: This report offers key advisory and intelligence to help buyers identify and shortlist the most suitable suppliers for their Outplacement Services requirements. Click the above link to download the free sample of this report. To access the definite purchasing guide on the Hydraulic Cylinder that answers all your key questions on price trends and analysis: Am I paying/getting the right prices? Is my Hydraulic Cylinder TCO (total cost of ownership) favorable? How is the price forecast expected to change? What is driving the current and future price changes? Which pricing models offer the most rewarding opportunities? Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 1,200+ market research reports. SpendEdge's SUBSCRIPTION platform 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 robust, 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 Increased demand for high-capacity batteries to meet energy demands drive the growth of the global hydrogen bromide market. PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Hydrogen Bromide Market by Type (Biocides, Flame Retardants, Catalyst, Oil and Gas Drilling, Polysilicon Etching, Others), by End-use Industry (Automotive, Water Treatment, Electronics, Construction, Agriculture, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031". According to the report, the global hydrogen bromide industry generated $4.0 billion in 2021, and is anticipated to generate $6.3 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 4.9% from 2022 to 2031. Request PDF Brochure: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/17699 Prime determinants of growth Increased demand for high-capacity batteries to meet energy demands drive the growth of the global hydrogen bromide market. Furthermore, wind power, solar power, and other renewable resources are contributing toward the market growth. However, prolonged exposure to hydrogen bromide gas may have negative effects on the human body, which in turn, hinders the hydrogen bromide market growth. Conversely, the rise in global demand for effective therapeutics presents new opportunities in the coming years. Covid-19 Scenario The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the global hydrogen bromide market. Due to the global lockdown and other restrictions imposed by governments to prevent the spread of infections, there was a shortage of raw supplies as well as manpower, which caused disruptions in the supply chain. Due to the lack of raw materials and interruptions in the supply chain, supplier contracts were terminated to reduce expenses. Due to reasons like the stoppage of construction, automotive, and electrical operations, supply chain constraints, and a temporary halt in production, the demand for hydrogen bromide from building and construction and automotive industries decreased significantly. However, in the post-pandemic, as the supply chains returned to normal after the restrictions were lifted, the market participants explored measures to minimize the pandemic's impact on their businesses. The Biocides segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period Based on type, the biocides segment held the highest market share in 2021, accounting for nearly one-third of the global hydrogen bromide market, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. Biocides are substances used to disinfect, eliminate, and prevent microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses. It plays a crucial role in the treatment of wastewater and the production of potable water, thereby driving the growth of the segment. The report also analyzes segments including flame retardants, catalyst, oil and gas drilling, polysilicon etching, and others. Enquire for Customization with Detailed Analysis of COVID-19 Impact in Report @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/17699 The agriculture segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period Based on end use industry, the agriculture segment accounted for the largest share in 2021, contributing to nearly one-fourth of the global hydrogen bromide market, and is projected to maintain its lead position during the forecast period. Hydrogen bromide is an effective pesticide that is used as soil fumigants in agriculture, especially fruit-growing, and as a fumigant to prevent pests from attacking stored grain and other yield. High population growth has increased global food consumption, particularly in developing economies, which has increased the demand for agrochemical products such as pesticides. Moreover, the electronics segment is expected to portray the largest CAGR of 5.6% from 2022 to 2031. Plasma etching process used in the electronics industry for semiconductor applications is expected to increase the demand for hydrogen bromide. Hydrogen bromide's expanding use in flame retardants and the etching of polysilicon wafers is driving the industry's expansion. Asia-Pacific to maintain its dominance by 2031 Based on region, Asia-Pacific held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2021, accounting for more than half of the global hydrogen bromide market, and is likely to dominate the market during the forecast period. Moreover, the same region is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 5.7% from 2022 to 2031. This is attributed to the fact that several global firms are looking to expand their presence and market share in the Asia-Pacific region by expanding their operations in emerging economies such as China, India, and several Southeast Asian countries. Increase in demand for flame retardants in automobile and constructions and insulation is expected to further boost the growth of the hydrogen bromide market in this region during the forecast period. Leading Market Players: - Air Liquide, Albemarle Corporation, Bhavika Chemicals Corporation, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC, Gulf Resources, Inc., LANXESS, Linde plc, MATHESON TRI-GAS, INC, Neogen Chemical Ltd, Showa Denko K.K, Sontara Organo Industries, Tata Chemicals Ltd, Tosoh Corporation, Triveni Interchem Private Limited Verni Gas Corporation. Interested in Procuring This Report? Visit Here: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/hydrogen-bromide-market/purchase-options Similar Reports: India Hydrogen Market: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018-2025 Hydrogen Peroxide Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031 Biocides Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031 Flame Retardants Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Catalyst Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Hydrogen Generation Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2029 About Us Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. Pawan Kumar, the CEO of Allied Market Research, is leading the organization toward providing high-quality data and insights. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): +1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 [email protected] Web: www.alliedmarketresearch.com Allied Market Research Blog: https://blog.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow Us on | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube | Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Allied Market Research During National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Hyundai Hope On Wheels to Present 75 Research and Programmatic Grants Totaling $15 Million This Year's $15 million in Research and Programmatic Grants Brings the Organization's Lifetime Donation Total to $200 Million FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Hope On Wheels, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported by Hyundai Motor America and its more than 820 U.S. dealers, today announced the 2022 winners of its annual research and programmatic grants totaling $15 million. This year, Hyundai Hope On Wheels will present a total of 75 grants to institutions across the United States that are focused on improving outcomes and treatments for children diagnosed with cancer, including 25 Hyundai Scholar Hope Grants at $300,000 each, 25 Hyundai Young Investigator Grants at $200,000 each, and 25 Hyundai Impact Grants at $100,000 each. Hyundai Hope On Wheels 2022-2024 National Youth Ambassador Oliver Foster is photographed at Children's National Hospital in Washington D.C. on September 19, 2022 (Photo/Hyundai) "We are honored to present this year's grant winners with funds to perform their lifesaving work and continue to bring hope to the brave pediatric cancer fighters and their families across the nation," said John Guastaferro, executive director, Hyundai Hope On Wheels. "This year's theme is 'Powered by Hope,' paying homage to the children battling cancer who inspire our organization's mission and to the doctors and researchers dedicated to finding a cure for the disease. Congratulations to this year's grant award winners and we thank you for sharing in the commitment to ensure that every child battling cancer has a fighting chance." Since its inception in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded more than 1,100 research grants funding critical research to help save young lives. This year marks Hyundai's 24th consecutive year in the fight against childhood cancer, making it one of the longest-running corporate social responsibility efforts in the automotive industry and a leading funder of pediatric cancer research in the country. The Hyundai Scholar Hope Grants and the Hyundai Young Investigator Grants are awarded to eligible Children's Oncology Group (COG) member institutions through a competitive peer-reviewed process. Applications are reviewed by the Hyundai Hope On Wheels Medical Advisory Committee, which is comprised of leading pediatric oncologists from children's hospitals and research institutions nationwide. The Hyundai Impact Grants provide funding to children's hospitals for either childhood cancer research projects or programmatic initiatives such as clinical care. This year, select grants will be officially presented during a Hyundai Hope On Wheels Handprint Ceremony, the nonprofit's signature event in which children impacted by cancer dip their hands in paint and place their handprints on a Hyundai vehicle, symbolizing their fight against pediatric cancer and hope for a cure. To view learn more about Hyundai Hope On Wheels, please visit HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org. Hyundai Scholar Hope Grant Winners ($300,000) Institution City State Children's Hospital Los Angeles Los Angeles CA The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University Palo Alto CA The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco San Francisco CA Children's Hospital Colorado Aurora CO Yale University New Haven CT Children's National Medical Center and Children's Research Institute Washington DC Georgetown University Washington DC Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Atlanta GA The University of Iowa Iowa City IA Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Boston MA Massachusetts General Hospital Worcester MA Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota Minneapolis MN St. Louis Children's Hospital Foundation St. Louis MO Atrium Health Foundation Charlotte NC Montefiore Medical Center Bronx NY New York Medical College Valhalla NY Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, Health Sciences Center Oklahoma City OK Oregon Health & Science University Portland OR The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine Hershey PA Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation Pittsburgh PA Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia PA St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Memphis TN University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio San Antonio TX Baylor College of Medicine Houston TX Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Seattle WA Hyundai Young Investigator Grant Winners ($200,000) Institution City State University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham AL University of California, San Francisco San Francisco CA The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University Palo Alto CA Children's Hospital Colorado Denver CO Yale University New Haven CT University of Florida Gainesville FL All Children's Research Institute St. Petersburg FL Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Atlanta GA The University of Chicago Chicago IL Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Boston MA Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore MD The Regents of the University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI St. Louis Children's Hospital Foundation St. Louis MO University of Rochester Rochester NY Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center NY NY The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus OH Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia PA Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation Pittsburgh PA Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine Hershey PA Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville TN St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Memphis TN Children's Health - UT Southwestern Medical Center Dallas TX Baylor College of Medicine Houston TX Children's Hospital and Healthcare Services Foundation Richmond VA Seattle Children's Hospital Seattle WA Hyundai Impact Grant Winners ($100,000) Institution City State The Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders Birmingham AL Phoenix Children's Hospital Phoenix AZ Children's Hospital of Orange County Orange CA Rady Children's Hospital Foundation San Diego CA Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Hollywood FL Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children Orlando FL St. Joseph's Children's Hospital Tampa FL Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children Honolulu HI Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital Chicago IL Baystate Medical Center Springfield MA The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital Portland ME Levine Children's Hospital Charlotte NC Cure 4 the Kids Foundation Las Vegas NV Bernard & Millie Duker Children's Hospital Albany NY Roswell Park Alliance Foundation Buffalo NY Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital Cleveland OH Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Cincinnati OH Natalie Warren Bryant Cancer Center at Saint Francis Tulsa OK University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston TX El Paso Children's Hospital El Paso TX Dell Children's Medical Center Austin TX Primary Children's Hospital Salt Lake City UT Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters Norfolk VA Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Milwaukee WI Hoops Family Children's Hospital Huntington WV Hyundai Hope On Wheels Hyundai Hope On Wheels is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing critical research aimed at improving treatments and saving lives. Hyundai Hope On Wheels is one of the largest nonprofit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country. Primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 820 U.S. dealers. Since its inception, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has pledged $200 million in support of more than 1,100 childhood cancer research grants. SOURCE Hyundai Hope On Wheels Inc Authority appears on the 2022 Inc. 5000 list, with Three-Year Revenue Growth of 239%. RENO, Nev., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, Inc. Magazine revealed that Inc Authority has once again been recognized on their annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. Inc. 5000 Logo Reno, Nevada-based Inc Authority is the business formation firm of choice, helping entrepreneurs around the country achieve the dream of business ownership. To date, the Company has helped form hundreds of thousands of businesses nationwide. Inc Authority focuses on no-cost Secretary of State registration services for entrepreneurs who are starting LLCs or corporations. The company also offers a comprehensive suite of start-up business services designed to help entrepreneursparticularly first-timersstart, run and grow a business including Business Credit, Business Funding, Business Plans, Website Registration, Design and Hosting, Revocable Living Trusts, and Federal Trademarks. Unlike other web-based incorporation services, Inc Authority has a live, US-based staff, with both native English and Spanish speakers, available to counsel new business owners by phone. Having a trusted resource available to answer questions reduces anxiety and provides helpful advice, particularly to brand new business owners. "Our industry-leading Business Advisor team and on-going customer support separate us from the competition. We have a highly trained staff that is completely client-service oriented to help any new business as it scales," says Greg Martin, Inc Authority's Chief Executive Officer. "We believe in our DNA that the lifeblood of the U.S. economy is new business formation. Entrepreneurs are the job creators, they are the innovators," Martin says. "We exist solely to support them and their new businesses." For more than a decade, the number of new businesses formed monthly in the U.S. hovered around 200,000, Census Bureau data reports. However, in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the number of startups climbed past the 400,000 mark and continues to rise today, as workers assess what they want to be doing with their lives. Alongside the Great Resignation comes the Great Startup Surge. "Many people who lost their jobs due to COVID opted to start a business to replace their income," adds Martin. "Tens of thousands of those new entrepreneurs turned to Inc Authority to establish their new business LLCs and corporations." Inc Authority has over 120 employees in Nevada between their headquarters in Reno and office in Las Vegas. About the Inc. 5000 List The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2019 to 2022. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2021 Press Contact: Todd Landaburu [email protected] | (775) 298-8641 SOURCE Inc Authority NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The industrial welding robots market size is expected to grow by USD 2.53 billion from 2021 to 2026. However, the growth momentum of the market will accelerate at a CAGR of 6.26% during the forecast period, according to Technavio. The growing popularity of industrial robots in APAC is driving the industrial welding robots market growth. However, factors such as increasing price competition in APAC may challenge market growth. Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Industrial Welding Robots Market 2022-2026 Get a comprehensive report summary describing the market size and forecast along with research methodology. The FREE sample report is available in PDF format Industrial Welding Robots Market 2022-2026: Scope The industrial welding robots market report covers the following areas: Industrial Welding Robots Market 2022-2026: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the industrial welding robots market, including ABB Ltd., Abhisha Technocrats Pvt Ltd, Acieta LLC, Bystronic Laser AG, Carl Cloos Schweisstechnik GmbH, EWM AG, DAIHEN Corp., FANUC Corp., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Hyundai Robotics, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., MIDEA Group Co. Ltd., Kemppi Oy, OMRON Corp., Panasonic Corp, Smenco Pty Ltd, Stellantis NV, Teradyne Inc., The Lincoln Electric Co., and Yaskawa Electric Corp. Industrial Welding Robots Market 2022-2026: Segmentation Product Spot Welding Robots: Arc Welding Robots Laser Welding Robots End-user Automotive Electrical And Electronics Heavy Machinery Others Geography APAC Europe North America South America The Middle East And Africa Learn about the contribution of each segment summarized in concise infographics and thorough descriptions. View a FREE PDF Sample Report Industrial Welding Robots Market 2022-2026: Revenue-generating Product Segments The spot welding robot segment will be the largest contributor to market growth during the forecast period. This growth is attributed to factors such as the growing use of spot welding robots in the automotive, electronics, and heavy machinery industries. Spot welding is a major process in the manufacturing facilities of end-users. Industry players are using spot welding robots to raise their productivity and gain operational efficiency. Industrial Welding Robots Market 2022-2026: Regional Analysis APAC will account for 60% of the market's growth during the forecast period. This growth is attributed to factors such as rising investments in the automotive industry. Moreover, market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of the market in other regions. China, Japan, and South Korea (Republic of Korea) are the key countries for the industrial welding robots market in APAC. Industrial Welding Robots Market 2022-2026: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2022-2026 Detailed information on factors that will enable the industrial welding robots market to grow during the next five years Approximation of the industrial welding robots market size and its contribution to the parent market Forecasts on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the industrial welding robots market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of industrial welding robots market vendors Related Reports Grinding Robots Market by End-user, Solution, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The grinding robots market share is expected to increase by USD 51.97 million from 2021 to 2026. Shelf-mounted Robots Market by Application and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The shelf-mounted robots market share is projected to increase by USD 5.52 billion from 2021 to 2026. Industrial Welding Robots Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.26% Market growth 2022-2026 USD 2.53 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 5.55 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 60% Key consumer countries US, China, Japan, South Korea, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled ABB Ltd., Abhisha Technocrats Pvt Ltd, Acieta LLC, Bystronic Laser AG, Carl Cloos Schweisstechnik GmbH, DAIHEN Corp., EWM AG, FANUC Corp., Hyundai Robotics, Illinois Tool Works Inc., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Kemppi Oy, MIDEA Group Co. Ltd., OMRON Corp., Panasonic Corp, Smenco Pty Ltd, Stellantis NV, Teradyne Inc., The Lincoln Electric Co., and Yaskawa Electric Corp. 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. Browse Industrials Market Reports 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 Product Exhibit 06: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by End-user Exhibit 07: Executive Summary Chart on Incremental Growth Exhibit 08: Executive Summary Data Table on Incremental Growth Exhibit 09: Executive Summary Chart on Vendor Market Positioning 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 10: Parent market Exhibit 11: Market Characteristics 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 12: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 13: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2021 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026 Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 4 Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five forces summary Exhibit 18: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2021 and 2026 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 19: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors 2021 and 2026 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 20: Bargaining power of suppliers Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 21: Threat of new entrants Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 22: Threat of substitutes Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 23: Threat of rivalry Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 24: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026 5 Market Segmentation by Product 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 25: Chart on Product - Market share 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 26: Data Table on Product - Market share 2021-2026 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Product Exhibit 27: Chart on Comparison by Product Exhibit 28: Data Table on Comparison by Product 5.3 Spot welding robots - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 29: Chart on Spot welding robots - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 30: Data Table on Spot welding robots - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 31: Chart on Spot welding robots - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 32: Data Table on Spot welding robots - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.4 Arc welding robots - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 33: Chart on Arc welding robots - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 34: Data Table on Arc welding robots - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 35: Chart on Arc welding robots - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 36: Data Table on Arc welding robots - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.5 Laser welding robots - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 37: Chart on Laser welding robots - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 38: Data Table on Laser welding robots - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 39: Chart on Laser welding robots - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 40: Data Table on Laser welding robots - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.6 Market opportunity by Product Exhibit 41: Market opportunity by Product ($ million) 6 Market Segmentation by End-user 6.1 Market segments Exhibit 42: Chart on End-user - Market share 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 43: Data Table on End-user - Market share 2021-2026 (%) 6.2 Comparison by End-user Exhibit 44: Chart on Comparison by End-user Exhibit 45: Data Table on Comparison by End-user 6.3 Automotive - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 46: Chart on Automotive - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 47: Data Table on Automotive - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 48: Chart on Automotive - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 49: Data Table on Automotive - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 6.4 Electrical and electronics - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 50: Chart on Electrical and electronics - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 51: Data Table on Electrical and electronics - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 52: Chart on Electrical and electronics - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 53: Data Table on Electrical and electronics - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 6.5 Heavy machinery - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 54: Chart on Heavy machinery - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 55: Data Table on Heavy machinery - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 56: Chart on Heavy machinery - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 57: Data Table on Heavy machinery - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 6.6 Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 58: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 59: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 60: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 61: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 6.7 Market opportunity by End-user Exhibit 62: Market opportunity by End-user ($ million) 7 Customer Landscape 7.1 Customer landscape overview Exhibit 63: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria 8 Geographic Landscape 8.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 64: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 65: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) 8.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 66: Chart on Geographic comparison Exhibit 67: Data Table on Geographic comparison 8.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 68: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 69: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 70: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 71: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 72: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 73: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 74: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 75: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.5 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 76: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 77: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 78: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 79: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 80: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 81: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 82: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 83: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 84: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 85: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 86: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 87: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.8 Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 88: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 89: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 90: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 91: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.9 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 92: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 93: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 94: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 95: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.10 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 96: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 97: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 98: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 99: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.11 South Korea - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 100: Chart on South Korea - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 101: Data Table on South Korea - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 102: Chart on South Korea - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 103: Data Table on South Korea - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.12 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 104: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 105: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 106: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 107: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.13 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 108: Market opportunity by geography ($ million) 9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 9.1 Market drivers 9.2 Market challenges 9.3 Impact of drivers and challenges Exhibit 109: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026 9.4 Market trends 10 Vendor Landscape 10.1 Overview 10.2 Vendor landscape Exhibit 110: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation 10.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 111: Overview on factors of disruption 10.4 Industry risks Exhibit 112: Impact of key risks on business 11 Vendor Analysis 11.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 113: Vendors covered 11.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 114: Matrix on vendor position and classification 11.3 ABB Ltd. Exhibit 115: ABB Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 116: ABB Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 117: ABB Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 118: ABB Ltd. - Segment focus 11.4 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Exhibit 119: Illinois Tool Works Inc. - Overview Exhibit 120: Illinois Tool Works Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 121: Illinois Tool Works Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 122: Illinois Tool Works Inc. - Segment focus 11.5 Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. Exhibit 123: Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 124: Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 125: Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. - Key offerings 11.6 MIDEA Group Co. Ltd. Exhibit 126: MIDEA Group Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 127: MIDEA Group Co. Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 128: MIDEA Group Co. Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 129: MIDEA Group Co. Ltd. - Segment focus 11.7 OMRON Corp. Exhibit 130: OMRON Corp. - Overview Exhibit 131: OMRON Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 132: OMRON Corp. - Key news Exhibit 133: OMRON Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 134: OMRON Corp. - Segment focus 11.8 Panasonic Corp Exhibit 135: Panasonic Corp - Overview Exhibit 136: Panasonic Corp - Business segments Exhibit 137: Panasonic Corp - Key news Exhibit 138: Panasonic Corp - Key offerings Exhibit 139: Panasonic Corp - Segment focus 11.9 Stellantis NV Exhibit 140: Stellantis NV - Overview Exhibit 141: Stellantis NV - Business segments Exhibit 142: Stellantis NV - Key news Exhibit 143: Stellantis NV - Key offerings Exhibit 144: Stellantis NV - Segment focus 11.10 Teradyne Inc. Exhibit 145: Teradyne Inc. - Overview Exhibit 146: Teradyne Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 147: Teradyne Inc. - Key news Exhibit 148: Teradyne Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 149: Teradyne Inc. - Segment focus 11.11 The Lincoln Electric Co. Exhibit 150: The Lincoln Electric Co. - Overview Exhibit 151: The Lincoln Electric Co. - Business segments Exhibit 152: The Lincoln Electric Co. - Key news Exhibit 153: The Lincoln Electric Co. - Key offerings Exhibit 154: The Lincoln Electric Co. - Segment focus 11.12 Yaskawa Electric Corp. Exhibit 155: Yaskawa Electric Corp. - Overview Exhibit 156: Yaskawa Electric Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 157: Yaskawa Electric Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 158: Yaskawa Electric Corp. - Segment focus 12 Appendix 12.1 Scope of the report 12.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist Exhibit 159: Inclusions checklist Exhibit 160: Exclusions checklist 12.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 161: Currency conversion rates for US$ 12.4 Research methodology Exhibit 162: Research methodology Exhibit 163: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 164: Information sources 12.5 List of abbreviations Exhibit 165: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio DUBLIN, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Wood Plastic Composites Market By Application, By Type: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global wood plastic composites market was valued at $5.4 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $12.6 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 8.9% from 2021 to 2030. Wood plastic composite is a composite material made from sawdust and plastic as a polymer like PE-based composites, recycled plastics, polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-based, and polypropylene (PP), which provides bonding sustainability, longevity, and cost savings in various applications, such as car interiors, home furniture, and kitchen accessories. Wood-plastic composites offer high durability, bending strength, shear strength, low moisture content, and low water absorption compared to traditional wood products. These properties make them suitable for use in railings, windows, doors, exterior trims, fences, flooring, and interior moldings. Thus, owing to aforementioned factors there is increase in demand for wood plastic composites in the automotive and construction industries. There is increase in need for wood plastics in construction industry, which is a key market driver for the growth. Wood plastics are used in the majority of consortium markets, owing to their unique characteristics. There is increase in use of cosmopolites made of wood polymers. This increase in adoption drives the market growth market. Wood plastics overpower all other composites in terms of aesthetics and physical properties. The fusion of wood and plastic composites offers more benefits for construction projects all across the globe. However, lack of awareness among people regarding use of wood plastic composites hinders the market growth. Furthermore, eco-friendly green composites are cost-efficient as well as safe for the environment. The use of plant fibers and plant-based materials are used in their composites that make them efficient. The emergence of green composites is expected to provide lucrative growth opportunities for the wood plastic composites market. The wood plastic composites market is segmented on the basis of type, application, and region. By type, it is segregated into polyethylene, polyvinylchloride, polypropylene, and others. On the basis of application, it is fragmented into building & construction, automotive components, industrial & consumer products, and others. Region-wise, it is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The key players profiled in this report include AIMPLAS, Beologic N.V., Dow, FKuR, Fortune Brands, JELU-WERK J. Ehrler GmbH & Co. KG, Renolit SE, TimberTech, Trex Company, Inc., Universal Forest Products, Inc. The global wood plastic composites market report provides in-depth competitive analysis as well as profiles of these major players. The global wood plastic composites market report provides in-depth competitive analysis as well as profiles of these major players. Key Benefits For Stakeholders This report provides a quantitative analysis of the market segments, current trends, estimations, and dynamics of the wood plastic composites market analysis from 2020 to 2030 to identify the prevailing wood plastic composites market opportunities. The market research is offered along with information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities. Porter's five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable stakeholders make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier-buyer network. In-depth analysis of the wood plastic composites market segmentation assists to determine the prevailing market opportunities. Major countries in each region are mapped according to their revenue contribution to the global market. Market player positioning facilitates benchmarking and provides a clear understanding of the present position of the market players. The report includes the analysis of the regional as well as global wood plastic composites market trends, key players, market segments, application areas, and market growth strategies. Key Topics Covered: CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 2: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CHAPTER 3: MARKET OVERVIEW 3.1. Market definition and scope 3.2. Key findings 3.2.1. Top investment pockets 3.3. Porter's five forces analysis 3.4. Top player positioning 3.5. Market dynamics 3.5.1. Drivers 3.5.2. Restraints 3.5.3. Opportunities 3.6. COVID-19 Impact Analysis on the market 3.7. Pricing Analysis 3.8. Regulatory Guidelines 3.9. Value Chain Analysis 3.10. Patent Landscape 3.11. Market Share Analysis CHAPTER 4: WOOD PLASTIC COMPOSITES MARKET, BY APPLICATION 4.1 Overview 4.1.1 Market size and forecast 4.2 Building and Construction 4.2.1 Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 4.2.2 Market size and forecast, by region 4.2.3 Market analysis by country 4.3 Automotive Components 4.3.1 Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 4.3.2 Market size and forecast, by region 4.3.3 Market analysis by country 4.4 Industrial and Consumer Products 4.4.1 Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 4.4.2 Market size and forecast, by region 4.4.3 Market analysis by country 4.5 Others 4.5.1 Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 4.5.2 Market size and forecast, by region 4.5.3 Market analysis by country CHAPTER 5: WOOD PLASTIC COMPOSITES MARKET, BY TYPE 5.1 Overview 5.1.1 Market size and forecast 5.2 Polyethylene 5.2.1 Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 5.2.2 Market size and forecast, by region 5.2.3 Market analysis by country 5.3 Polyvinylchloride 5.3.1 Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 5.3.2 Market size and forecast, by region 5.3.3 Market analysis by country 5.4 Polypropylene 5.4.1 Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 5.4.2 Market size and forecast, by region 5.4.3 Market analysis by country 5.5 Others 5.5.1 Key market trends, growth factors and opportunities 5.5.2 Market size and forecast, by region 5.5.3 Market analysis by country CHAPTER 6: WOOD PLASTIC COMPOSITES MARKET, BY REGION CHAPTER 7: COMPANY LANDSCAPE 7.1. Introduction 7.2. Top winning strategies 7.3. Product Mapping of Top 10 Player 7.4. Competitive Dashboard 7.5. Competitive Heatmap 7.6. Key developments CHAPTER 8: COMPANY PROFILES 8.1 TIMBERTECH LTD. 8.1.1 Company overview 8.1.2 Company snapshot 8.1.3 Operating business segments 8.1.4 Product portfolio 8.1.5 Business performance 8.1.6 Key strategic moves and developments 8.2 TREX COMPANY, INC. 8.2.1 Company overview 8.2.2 Company snapshot 8.2.3 Operating business segments 8.2.4 Product portfolio 8.2.5 Business performance 8.2.6 Key strategic moves and developments 8.3 BEOLOGIC N.V. 8.3.1 Company overview 8.3.2 Company snapshot 8.3.3 Operating business segments 8.3.4 Product portfolio 8.3.5 Business performance 8.3.6 Key strategic moves and developments 8.4 FKUR KUNSTSTOFF GMBH 8.4.1 Company overview 8.4.2 Company snapshot 8.4.3 Operating business segments 8.4.4 Product portfolio 8.4.5 Business performance 8.4.6 Key strategic moves and developments 8.5 AIMPLAS 8.5.1 Company overview 8.5.2 Company snapshot 8.5.3 Operating business segments 8.5.4 Product portfolio 8.5.5 Business performance 8.5.6 Key strategic moves and developments 8.6 Dow 8.6.1 Company overview 8.6.2 Company snapshot 8.6.3 Operating business segments 8.6.4 Product portfolio 8.6.5 Business performance 8.6.6 Key strategic moves and developments 8.7 Fortune Brands Inc. 8.7.1 Company overview 8.7.2 Company snapshot 8.7.3 Operating business segments 8.7.4 Product portfolio 8.7.5 Business performance 8.7.6 Key strategic moves and developments 8.8 JELU-WERK J. Ehrler GmbH & Co. KG 8.8.1 Company overview 8.8.2 Company snapshot 8.8.3 Operating business segments 8.8.4 Product portfolio 8.8.5 Business performance 8.8.6 Key strategic moves and developments 8.9 Renolit SE 8.9.1 Company overview 8.9.2 Company snapshot 8.9.3 Operating business segments 8.9.4 Product portfolio 8.9.5 Business performance 8.9.6 Key strategic moves and developments 8.10 Universal Forest Products, Inc. 8.10.1 Company overview 8.10.2 Company snapshot 8.10.3 Operating business segments 8.10.4 Product portfolio 8.10.5 Business performance 8.10.6 Key strategic moves and developments For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/sc421m Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets JERSEY CITY, N.J., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. announces the release of a market assessment report on the 'Global Investigational New Drug CDMO Market By Product (Small Molecule, Large Molecule), By Contract Development (Small Molecule, Large Molecule) By Contract Manufacturing (Small Molecule, Large Molecule) By End-user (Pharmaceutical Companies, Biotech Companies, Others)- Trends, Industry Competition Analysis, Revenue and Forecast To 2030.' The global Investigational New Drug CDMO market is estimated to reach over USD 7.47 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.56% during the forecast period. Request for Sample Pages: https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/request-sample/1367 Due to the rising demand for generic medications and biologics, the capital-intensive nature of the sector, and the complex manufacturing requirements, an increasing number of pharmaceutical companies have realized the potential profitability in working with a CMDO for both clinical and commercial stage manufacturing. The market's expansion can be attributable to factors including pharmaceutical companies' growing reliance on outsourcing, increased R&D expenditures, and strict guidelines for conducting clinical trials. When a new molecule is screened for pharmacological activity and acute toxicity potential in animals, the FDA's involvement in developing a novel drug begins when the drug's sponsor decides to investigate the new molecule's diagnostic or therapeutic potential in humans. The molecule subsequently assumes a new legal status under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as a novel drug subject to the unique requirements of the drug regulatory system. The pandemic substantially influenced the world economy in 2020 and continues to affect several businesses. The epidemic has, however, benefitted the market for IND CDMO. Before COVID-19, potential sponsors wanted facility evaluations to guarantee CDMOs had the capacity, tools, and personnel necessary to carry out their projects. These days, CDMOs need to develop fresh strategies to lure in new sponsors, like using movies, virtual reality, and other technologies that let sponsors experience the website virtually. Market Dynamics: Drivers- The need for cutting-edge manufacturing methods that have proven to be very effective in satisfying regulatory standards is the primary driver influencing the expansion of Investigational New Drug CDMO in the pharmaceutical sector. Pharmaceutical companies are anticipated to use outsourcing services more frequently, and R&D spending is anticipated to rise. Challenges: Lack of high investments will constrain the market for Investigational New Drug CDMO market growth. Moreover, the lack of awareness among individuals in emerging economies limits the market growth. Governments' underinvestment constrains market expansion in medical infrastructure in developing and developing countries. Regional Trends: Due to its large patient population and favourable reimbursement policies, the North American market for Investigational New Drugs CDMO is anticipated to have the largest market share soon. This is related to the rise in pharmaceutical and life sciences companies' R&D spending, which is expected to increase the need for contract manufacturing in the region. Market participants are implementing various strategic initiatives, such as new partnership contracts, collaborations, mergers, and acquisitions, intending to enhance their manufacturing and service offerings to achieve a competitive edge in this area. Additionally, the Investigational New Drug CDMO market in the Asia Pacific is anticipated to expand quickly. The rapid growth of pharmaceutical enterprises and contract manufacturing businesses in developing countries like China and India will likely force the region to grow significantly. Biotech-related companies are expanding there. There have also been more renowned opinion leaders and principal investigators (PIs). Recently, a series of reforms with the goals of enhancing drug review procedures, speeding up the creation of novel new medications, and decreasing the time required to revise (IND) and NDA applications were announced in China. Enquiry Before Buying: https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/enquiry-before-buying/1367 Major market players operating in the Investigational New Drug CDMO market include Lonza, Catalent, Recipharm AB, Siegfried Holding AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Covance Inc., Charles River Laboratories, Societal CDMO, Inc., Cambrex Corporation, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, Minakem, Regis Technologies Inc., Samsung Biologics, Shanghai Medicilon Inc., and TaiMed Biologics, IQVIA Holdings Inc., Syneous Health, and other prominent players. Key developments in the market: In Aug 2022 , Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) accreditation has been granted to Charles River Laboratories, International Inc. Charles River's Memphis contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) facility's GMP accreditation supplements an existing GMP licence for Investigational Medicinal Product (IMP) manufacture. Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) accreditation has been granted to Charles River Laboratories, International Inc. contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) facility's GMP accreditation supplements an existing GMP licence for Investigational Medicinal Product (IMP) manufacture. In July 2022 , Lonza proposes to invest $518 million in a new fill-finish production facility in Stein, Switzerland . This project will represent the culmination of Lonza's objective to provide fully integrated CDMO services. This investment improves the company's position as a leading CDMO with an unmatched breadth of services across scales and technologies. Lonza proposes to invest in a new fill-finish production facility in Stein, . This project will represent the culmination of Lonza's objective to provide fully integrated CDMO services. This investment improves the company's position as a leading CDMO with an unmatched breadth of services across scales and technologies. In June 2021 , the purchase of Vigene Biosciences, Inc. by Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. The acquisition increased its current cell and gene therapy contract manufacturing capacity and offered a comprehensive gene-modified cell treatment option in the United States . the purchase of Vigene Biosciences, Inc. by Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. The acquisition increased its current cell and gene therapy contract manufacturing capacity and offered a comprehensive gene-modified cell treatment option in . In Aug 2019 , Permira acquired Cambrex to accelerate growth in the contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) industry, which is consolidating. The investment by the Permira funds will support the continued growth of Cambrex's integrated services offering by enhancing the company's ability to service its global customer base and broadening its capabilities to provide additional world-class services to support the analysis, development, and manufacturing of drug substances and products, from preclinical through commercial phases. Market Segments Global Investigational New Drug CDMO Market, by Product, 2020-2030 (Value US$ Bn) Small Molecule Large Molecule Global Investigational New Drug CDMO Market, by Service, 2020-2030 (Value US$ Bn) Contract Development Small Molecule Bioanalysis and DMPK studies Toxicology Testing Pathology and safety pharmacology studies Drug substance synthetic route development Drug substance process development Form selection crystallization process development Scale-up of drug substance Preformulation Preclinical formulation selection First in Man Formulation/Process Development Analytical method development/validation Release testing of drug substance and drug product Work up Purification Steps Telescoping & Process Refining Initial Optimization Formal stability of drug substance and drug product Large Molecule Cell Line development Process Development Upstream Microbial Mammalian Others Downstream MABs Recombinant proteins Others Contract Manufacturing Small Molecule Oral Solids Liquid and Semi-solids Injectables Others Large Molecule MABs Recombinant proteins Others Global Investigational New Drug CDMO Market, by End-Users, 2020-2030 (Value US$ Bn) Pharmaceutical Companies Biotech Companies Others (Government, Research Institutes, Academic Institutes, Etc.) Global Investigational New Drug CDMO Market, by Region, 2020-2030 (Value US$ Bn) North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa North America Investigational New Drug CDMO Market, by Country, 2020-2030 (Value US$ Bn) U.S. Canada Europe Investigational New Drug CDMO Market, by Country, 2020-2030 (Value US$ Bn) Germany France Italy Spain Russia Rest of Europe Asia Pacific Investigational New Drug CDMO Market, by Country, 2020-2030 (Value US$ Bn) India China Japan South Korea Australia & New Zealand Latin America Investigational New Drug CDMO Market, by Country, 2020-2030 (Value US$ Bn) Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America Middle East & Africa Investigational New Drug CDMO Market, by Country, 2020-2030 (Value US$ Bn) GCC Countries South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa Why should buy this report: To receive a comprehensive analysis of the prospects for the global Investigational New Drug CDMO market To receive an industry overview and future trends of the Investigational New Drug CDMO market To analyze the Investigational New Drug CDMO market drivers and challenges To get information on the Investigational New Drug CDMO market size (Value US$ Bn) forecast to 2030 Major investments, mergers & acquisitions in the Investigational New Drug CDMO market industry For More Customization @ https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/customisation/1367 Other Related Reports Published by InsightAce Analytic: Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products CDMO Market Nucleic Acid Therapeutics CDMO Market Peptide CDMO (Pharmaceutical) Market About Us: InsightAce Analytic is a market research and consulting firm that enables clients to make strategic decisions. Our qualitative and quantitative market intelligence solutions inform the need for market and competitive intelligence to expand businesses. We help clients gain competitive advantage by identifying untapped markets, exploring new and competing technologies, segmenting potential markets and repositioning products. Our expertise is in providing syndicated and custom market intelligence reports with an in-depth analysis with key market insights in a timely and cost-effective manner. Contact Us: InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. Tel.: +1 551 226 6109 Email: [email protected] Site Visit: www.insightaceanalytic.com Follow Us on LinkedIn @ bit.ly/2tBXsgS Follow Us On Facebook @ bit.ly/2H9jnDZ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1729637/InsightAce_Analytic_Logo.jpg SOURCE InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd The largest Iranian women's nonprofit in the United States, IAWF, will hold a candlelight vigil on Thursday, Sept. 29th to honor the brave women of Iran risking their lives for women's rights and freedom. LOS ANGELES, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In solidarity with women in Iran who are fighting for their basic human rights, the Iranian American Women Foundation (IAWF) is holding a candlelight vigil at West Hollywood Park on Thursday, Sept. 29th at 5:30 pm. PST. The vigil, which will be held both in-person and virtually, honors Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman who died in police custody, as well the countless brave Iranian women risking their lives in the movement for women's rights and freedom. The Mayor Pro Tempore of West Hollywood, Sepi Shyne, will be in attendance, along with Councilmember Sharona Nazarian, of the Beverly Hills City Council, and other community leaders. "We invite all people, from all nationalities, to join us in support of our sisters in Iran," says Mariam Khosravani, the founder of Iranian American Women Foundation Tweet this Iranian American Women Foundation (IAWF) Announces Candlelight Vigil for Mahsa Amini. The largest Iranian womens nonprofit in the United States, IAWF,& will hold a candlelight vigil on Thursday, Sept. 29th at 5:30pm in West Hollywood Park, Los Angeles, to honor the brave women of Iran risking their lives for womens rights and freedom. "We invite all people, from all nationalities, to join us in support of our sisters in Iran," says Mariam Khosravani, the founder of Iranian American Women Foundation and a philanthropist with years of experience in humanitarian aid. The IAWF is an educational nonprofit organization based in Irvine, Cali. with chapters in Northern California, New York, Los Angeles, and Orange County. "We are the largest women's organization within the Iranian community outside of Iran. We want to support and help represent the voices of women fighting for their rights in Iran," says Khosravani, who will also be in attendance at the vigil. "We envision a world where every woman gets to realize her full potential and can positively impact her community." West Hollywood Park is located at 647 N. San Vicente Blvd., in West Hollywood, California. The vigil will also be streamed live on Instagram @iawfoundation for those who would like to support and join virtually. Further details of this peaceful vigil will be announced here: https://www.iawfoundation.org/candlelight-vigil/. About Iranian American Women Foundation (IAWF): The mission of the Iranian American Women Foundation is to provide a platform for empowerment and networking among Iranian American women and to provide mentorship to younger generations of Iranians locally and globally. Since its inception in Orange County, CA in 2012, the organization has empowered, inspired and connected thousands of women nationwide and globally. It has served as a home away from home; a community that celebrates creative, innovative, tenacious, and competitive women who are problem solvers and a force for the greater good. With more than 6,000 members nationwide, the organization showcases the diversity of America, celebrates the confluence of the American fabric and Iranian heritage, and propels women forward into new, dynamic professional leadership arenas. Website:https://www.iawfoundation.org Instagram: @iawfoundation Media Contact: Roxie Sarhangi [email protected] 310-663-5229 SOURCE Iranian American Women Foundation Transaction will fund new products and expanded distribution through a dilution-free, revenue-based funding agreement NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- It's Skinny, the Austin-based company whose innovative low-calorie and gluten-free pasta products are winning rapid consumer acceptance, has landed a significant investment from Decathlon Capital Partners. Bryan Guadagno, Founder and Chief Executive officer of It's Skinny, said the funding will support the Texas company's introduction of new product lines as well as expanded distribution. Details of the revenue-based transaction were not disclosed. It's Skinny will repay the investment through its future revenues. No equity or ownership was exchanged for the growth capital, and It's Skinny was not required to give up any control of the company. "This funding provides important support for It's Skinny as our company meets the growing demand from consumers for our delicious and convenient low-calorie pasta products," Guadagno said. "The company-friendly funding package from Decathlon Capital Partners allows us to move forward with expanding our distribution and introducing new products in a range of 'healthy' pasta categories." John Borchers, Managing Director of Decathlon Capital Partners, said It's Skinny has established a solid position in the better-for-you food sector since its launch in 2020. "The energetic management team at It's Skinny continues its successful development of innovative products, and the team supports its growing product lines through strong marketing in both digital and traditional retail channels," Borchers said. "Decathlon Capital Partners is pleased to play a role in the growth of It's Skinny." About It's Skinny It's Skinny is changing how people think about pasta with alternative pasta products created from konjac, a naturally low-calorie vegetable enjoyed around the world for centuries. It's Skinny, with only 9 gluten-free calories per package, is available in four flavorful varieties. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, It's Skinny has been helping fresh thinkers reimagine pasta since 2020. Learn more at www.itsskinny.com. About Decathlon Capital Partners Decathlon Capital Partners provides growth capital for companies seeking alternatives to traditional equity investment. Through the use of highly customized revenue-based financing solutions, Decathlon provides long-term growth capital without the dilution, loss of control and operational overhead that often comes with equity-based funding. With offices in Palo Alto and Park City, Decathlon is the largest revenue-based funding investor in the U.S. and is active across a wide range of sectors. Learn more at www.decathloncapital.com. SOURCE It's Skinny The world's first lawsuit search engine makes LGBTQ lawsuits available to the public LOS ANGELES, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- laWow the first lawsuit search engine specifically designed for the public, announces the addition of LGBTQ Lawsuits to its search engine. Now, anyone and everyone can have access to lawsuits involving LGBTQ causes at any time. A search on laWow.org for "LGBTQ" returns results that include the following cases: laWow the first lawsuit search engine specifically designed for the public, announces the addition of LGBTQ Lawsuits to its search engine. Now, anyone and everyone can have access to lawsuits involving LGBTQ causes at any time. D. N. v. Ron DeSantis Musgrove v. the University System of Georgia Jane Doe v. Kettle Moraine School District v. Kettle Moraine School District B. J. P. v. West Virginia Board of Education of Education Pamela Ricard v. Geary County Schools v. Geary County Schools Jane Doe v. School Board of the City of Harrisonburg lawoo.org's platform is a news source for journalists, researchers, employees, stock investors, and anyone else seeking an unaltered source of information without commentary or opinion and only the facts. laWow's is a public utility designed for transparency. "This public utility is long overdue an unbiased-facts-only source for information and news is critical now more than ever," said Jonathan Wallentine of lawow.org. laWow.org is an unaltered source of public information, no commentary, no opinions, just public documents made searchable. Media Contacts: [email protected] Barkley Andersen [email protected] SOURCE LaWow #1 Macaron Franchise Brand Welcomes Franchisees from Throughout the U.S. SARASOTA, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Le Macaron French Pastries, the #1 macaron franchise brand in the United States, celebrated a year of unprecedented growth, innovation, and success with its franchisees from throughout the country. Sixty-five attendees gathered in Orlando for the company's annual event with the theme "Together Towards Tomorrow," which included presentations, workshops, and discussions about how the brand's 64 locations will continue to thrive in the future. Le Macaron French Pastries celebrated with franchise partners from throughout the country at their annual meeting with the theme "Together Towards Tomorrow." Valerie Chauvet, franchise owner of Le Macaron in Melbourne, Florida, is excited about the company's new "Peace, Love, and Macarons" tee shirts. Keynote speaker and founder Rosalie Guillem welcomed attendees, thanked them for their hard work and dedication, and promised the remainder of 2022 and 2023 would be full of "sweet surprises." "Le Macaron has so much to be grateful for as we continue to grow and capitalize on our success as the #1 macaron franchise brand," she said. "Together, with the help of our amazing franchisees, we have achieved success beyond our wildest dreams. We can look forward to the future as we continue to innovate and delight our customers with the most delicious, authentic macarons and pastries prepared lovingly by our French-trained chefs." Le Macaron congratulated all its franchise owners with a special nod to stores with the best gross sales in 2021, including: Las Vegas, NV, Sarasota, FL, Nashville, TN, St. Augustine, FL, San Diego, CA, Huntsville, AL, Milwaukee, WI, Rancho Cucamonga, CA, Charleston, NC, and Celebration, FL. Greg Guillem announced 11 additional locations opening soon, including: Lake Charles, LA, Chapel Hill, NC, Albuquerque, NM, Boston (Somerville) MA, Cambridge, MA, Grand Rapids, MI, and Cool Springs, TN. In addition to new locations, attendees were excited by the announcement of new products and seasonal flavors. Audrey and Didier Saba presented the Confectionary Update and talked about the rollout of new chocolates, including Milk Chocolate Nuts, Rice Crispy Milk Chocolate, M & M Milk Chocolate, Oreo Milk Chocolate, and Chocolate Baby Pink. Two new gelato flavors, Rum Raisin and Strawberry Sorbet, were also unveiled, bringing the brand's total number of flavors to 16. In addition, Le Macaron introduced a new Peanut Butter and Jelly macaron and a seasonal Champagne flavored macaron. "Our new product updates reflect our commitment to continuous innovation so that we can offer our guests new and exciting flavors," said Rosalie Guillem. She added that more seasonal flavors would be announced in the near future. Following an informal contest to announce Le Macaron's new slogan, attendees received tee shirts with the winning phrase: "OUI, We Know. Macarons Make Friends." "This is the perfect slogan for us, as we know when guests come into our stores and learn about our macarons, we end up making friends," said Rosalie Guillem. "And it is wonderful when our loyal customers bring their friends to experience Le Macaron. This is what our business is all about." ABOUT LE MACARON Founded in 2009 by Rosalie Guillem and her daughter Audrey, Le Macaron French Pastries is an elegant French patisserie that offers guests the finest, authentic French macarons and pastries. Headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, the brand began franchising in 2012 and has since grown to more than 64 locations across the U.S. Le Macaron French Pastries is ranked on Inc. 5,000 2016, #17 on the 2019 Top Emerging Franchise List as well as ranking on the Top 100 Food and Beverage category by Entrepreneur and holds a No. 9 ranking in the baked goods category. Contact: Rhonda Price (561) 371-9407 [email protected] SOURCE Le Macaron French Pastries NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Liquid Sand Paper Market by Application (Home, Office, and Industry) and Geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA) - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026" report has been added to Technavio's offering. The potential growth difference for the liquid sand paper market size between 2021 and 2026 is USD 619.1 million. To get the exact CAGR and the Y-O-Y growth rate, Request a FREE PDF Sample Report Market Segmentation Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Liquid Sand Paper Market 2022-2026 By application, the home segment will be the largest contributor to market growth during the forecast period. Liquid sand paper is a painting tool that is used to refinish surfaces. It is used when surfaces must be trued or corrected to obtain a decorative finish. Liquid sand paper is also used to prepare difficult-to-reach areas and small surfaces. It is used for shaving dry paint runs off newly painted surfaces, scraping excess paint and wood off doors and window openings, and reshaping details in existing wood trims. Liquid sand paper transforms blistered coatings and damaged surfaces when used appropriately. The construction sector is shifting its focus on new areas of development, such as the refurbishment of homes, owing to the increasing need for space to build. Liquid sandpaper is used to prepare and refinish the surface during refurbishment projects. Hence, the increasing demand for refurbishment will drive the growth of the liquid sand paper in the home segment during the forecast period. View our FREE PDF Sample Report for additional insights into the contribution of all the segments and regional opportunities in the report. Key Market Driver The increasing number of infrastructure projects is driving the growth of the market. The number of infrastructure projects is rising across the world owing to population growth and regulatory support from various government authorities. In developing countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, and China, the construction of commercial and residential buildings is increasing. in addition, some countries are increasing their construction spending. The rise in the number of residential and non-residential construction projects across the world is leading to an increase in the demand for paints. Moreover, the demand for artistic, corrosion-resistant, and colorful wall textures is increasing, which will drive the growth of the paint industry. The increasing need to enhance the exteriors of commercial buildings for aesthetic purposes will also fuel the demand for paints. Thus, the rising demand for painting tools and accessories will increase the demand for liquid sandpaper. Technavio has identified key trends, drivers, and challenges in the market, which will help vendors improve their strategies to stay ahead of their competitors. View our FREE PDF Sample Report Some Companies Mentioned ABSOLUTE RESURFACING PTY Ltd Akzo Nobel NV Allied Piano and Finish LLC Ballistic Bowling Formax Manufacturing Heinrich Konig GmbH and Co. KG Konig UK KWH Group Ltd Neo Tac Inc RPM International Inc. Sevens Paint and Wallpaper Co Swing Paints Ltd The Savogran Co. Univar Solutions Inc. W.M. BARR Co Inc Wilson Imperial Co Want your report customized? Speak to an analyst and personalize your report according to your needs Related Reports Anti-graffiti Coatings Market by End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The anti-graffiti coatings market share is expected to increase by USD 20.02 million from 2021 to 2026. Paint Protection Film Market by End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The paint protection film market is projected to grow by USD 103.46 million from 2021 to 2026. Liquid Sand Paper Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.89% Market growth 2022-2026 USD 619.1 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 5.39 Regional analysis North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution APAC at 33% Key consumer countries US, Canada, China, India, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled ABSOLUTE RESURFACING PTY Ltd, Akzo Nobel NV, Allied Piano and Finish LLC, Ballistic Bowling, Formax Manufacturing, Heinrich Konig GmbH and Co. KG, Konig UK, KWH Group Ltd, Neo Tac Inc, RPM International Inc., Sevens Paint and Wallpaper Co, Swing Paints Ltd, The Savogran Co., Univar Solutions Inc., W.M. BARR Co Inc, and Wilson Imperial Co Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, market growth inducers and obstacles, fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and future consumer dynamics, and 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. Browse Materials Market Reports Key Topics Covered 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: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors 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 Home - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 28: Chart on Home - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 29: Data Table on Home - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 30: Chart on Home - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 31: Data Table on Home - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.4 Office - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 32: Chart on Office - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 33: Data Table on Office - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 34: Chart on Office - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 35: Data Table on Office - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.5 Industry - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 36: Chart on Industry - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 37: Data Table on Industry - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 38: Chart on Industry - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 39: Data Table on Industry - 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 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 46: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 47: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 48: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 49: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.4 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 50: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 51: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 52: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 53: 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 54: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 55: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 56: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 57: 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 58: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 59: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 60: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 61: 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 62: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 63: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 64: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 65: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - 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 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 78: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 79: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 80: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 81: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.12 Canada - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 82: Chart on Canada - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 83: Data Table on Canada - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 84: Chart on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 85: Data Table on Canada - 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 ABSOLUTE RESURFACING PTY Ltd Exhibit 93: ABSOLUTE RESURFACING PTY Ltd - Overview Exhibit 94: ABSOLUTE RESURFACING PTY Ltd - Product / Service Exhibit 95: ABSOLUTE RESURFACING PTY Ltd - Key offerings 10.4 Akzo Nobel NV Exhibit 96: Akzo Nobel NV - Overview Exhibit 97: Akzo Nobel NV - Business segments Exhibit 98: Akzo Nobel NV - Key news Exhibit 99: Akzo Nobel NV - Key offerings Exhibit 100: Akzo Nobel NV - Segment focus 10.5 Formax Manufacturing Exhibit 101: Formax Manufacturing - Overview Exhibit 102: Formax Manufacturing - Product / Service Exhibit 103: Formax Manufacturing - Key offerings 10.6 Heinrich Konig GmbH and Co. KG Exhibit 104: Heinrich Konig GmbH and Co. KG - Overview Exhibit 105: Heinrich Konig GmbH and Co. KG - Product / Service Exhibit 106: Heinrich Konig GmbH and Co. KG - Key offerings 10.7 Konig UK Exhibit 107: Konig UK - Overview Exhibit 108: Konig UK - Product / Service Exhibit 109: Konig UK - Key offerings 10.8 KWH Group Ltd Exhibit 110: KWH Group Ltd - Overview Exhibit 111: KWH Group Ltd - Business segments Exhibit 112: KWH Group Ltd - Key offerings Exhibit 113: KWH Group Ltd - Segment focus 10.9 RPM International Inc. Exhibit 114: RPM International Inc. - Overview Exhibit 115: RPM International Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 116: RPM International Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 117: RPM International Inc. - Segment focus 10.10 The Savogran Co. Exhibit 118: The Savogran Co. - Overview Exhibit 119: The Savogran Co. - Product / Service Exhibit 120: The Savogran Co. - Key offerings 10.11 W.M. BARR Co Inc Exhibit 121: W.M. BARR Co Inc - Overview Exhibit 122: W.M. BARR Co Inc - Product / Service Exhibit 123: W.M. BARR Co Inc - Key offerings 10.12 Wilson Imperial Co Exhibit 124: Wilson Imperial Co - Overview Exhibit 125: Wilson Imperial Co - Product / Service Exhibit 126: Wilson Imperial Co - Key offerings 11 Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist Exhibit 127: Inclusions checklist Exhibit 128: Exclusions checklist 11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 129: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.4 Research methodology Exhibit 130: Research methodology Exhibit 131: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 132: Information sources 11.5 List of abbreviations Exhibit 133: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio Stevie Award Winners to Be Announced in Las Vegas on November 11 NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Liya Lomsadze, Senior Project Manager, and Sara Ganz, Senior Director of Marketing of Capital Rx, have been named Finalists in the Female Employee of the Year category for the 19th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. The two women embraced Capital Rx's mission of changing how prescription drugs are priced and patients are serviced. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor women executives, entrepreneurs, employees and the companies they run worldwide. The Stevie Awards have been hailed as the world's premier business awards. Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced during a gala event at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Friday, November 11. Nominated women executives and entrepreneurs from the U.S.A and several other countries are expected to attend. The event will be broadcast on Livestream. More than 1,500 entries were submitted this year for consideration in more than 100 categories, including Executive of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Company of the Year, Startup of the Year, Women Helping Women, and Women Run Workplace of the Year. Liya Lomsadze and Sara Ganz are Finalists in the Female Employee of the Year category. Liya is one of Capital Rx's early employees, and in her tenure, she has contributed across the organization leading the strategy and development of disruptive technologies. Liya was instrumental in helping Capital Rx build, test, and maintain JUDI, the company's Gold-Stevie-award-winning software for its impact in healthcare. Liya seamlessly trains, mentors, and humanizes the results of Capital Rx's software development, aligning key stakeholders to drive effective future technologies. Sara has led numerous value-driving projects. Most notably, she was responsible for launching the Capital Rx Advantage Card , the first prescription drug discount card based on National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC). She combined a strong understanding of product development, data analytics and marketing which ultimately through this product launch made prescription medications more affordable for Americans. Finalists were determined by the average scores of more than 200 business professionals around the world, working on seven juries . Their scores will also determine the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award placements that will be revealed at the 19th annual awards dinner and presentations in Las Vegas. This year's Stevie Awards for Women in Business event will be complemented by the fifth edition of the Women|Future Conference , a three-day educational and networking conference that will be presented virtually on November 8-10. "In its 19th year, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business received a remarkable collection of outstanding nominations," said Maggie Miller, president of the Stevie Awards. "We're looking forward to recognizing the Stevie Award winners in Las Vegas in November." "Liya and Sara are well-deserving of this distinction because of their advocacy and effort in driving change in pharmacy benefits. While at Capital Rx, they have contributed across the organization to create meaningful and significant technologies and systems that are revolutionizing healthcare for patients," said Kristin Begley, Chief Growth Officer at Capital Rx. Details about the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the list of Finalists in all categories are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women . About Capital Rx Capital Rx is built around the mission of changing the way prescription drugs are priced and patients are serviced. A health technology company daring to reimagine the healthcare industry, Capital Rx is executing on that mission with its enterprise pharmacy platform JUDI, which connects every aspect of the pharmacy ecosystem in one platform, enabling patient engagement and increasing efficiency to achieve the highest standards of clinical care. For more information, visit www.cap-rx.com . About The Stevie Awards Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 nominations each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com . Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Capital Rx LONDON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- OncoBeta GmbH today announced King's College Hospital in London, United Kingdom, is the latest medical facility to participate in the global phase IV EPIC-Skin Study (Efficacy of Personalised Irradiation with Rhenium-SCT for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer [NMSC]). The first United Kingdom patients were treated with Rhenium-SCT at King's College are among 210 adults participating in the international study that will follow their progress over the next 24 months. The EPIC-Skin study is also being conducted through study centres located in Australia, Austria and Germany. Dr Nicola Mulholland, Consultant Nuclear Medicine Physician at King's College Hospital and study chief investigator says, "With rates of NMSC on the rise around the world, it's vitally important that new treatments are developed and tested. We are very pleased to be able to offer new therapies to patients involved in studies and trials, with the hope of advancing treatment for skin cancer." Global incidence rates of NMSCs are increasing, with more than 7.7 million cases of NMSC being recorded each year.1,2 Standard treatments for NMSCs are surgery-based, which can risk scarring or loss of function. Rhenium-SCT uses a non-invasive paste containing -emitting particles directly to the lesion, which target cancer cells without the need for surgery, in one session.3-5 Dr Saqib Bashir, Consultant Dermatologist and Skin Cancer Lead at King's College Hospital says, "When it comes to cancer research, it's important to continually innovate. This study offers an opportunity to further investigate the efficacy of non-invasive epidermal radioisotope therapy." The EPIC-Skin study will measure patient reported outcomes such as quality of life, treatment comfort and cosmetic outcomes, as well as further evaluating the efficacy of Rhenium-SCT for the treatment of NMSC. Patients in the study will be able to record their experiences via a user-friendly clinical study app. Dr Gerhard Dahlhoff, Medical Director at OncoBeta GmbH, says, "Rhenium-SCT allows for a targeted and non-invasive treatment of NMSCs without damaging adjacent healthy tissue. It is important we collect data through the EPIC-Skin Study to further validate the effectiveness of Rhenium-SCT, and the role it plays as a patient-friendly treatment alternative." Clinicians who are interested in enrolling patients in the study can contact OncoBeta directly at www.oncobeta.com/contact. About the Rhenium-SCT (Skin Cancer Therapy) Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common form of cancer in humans.2 The most common cause of NMSC is sun exposure, while other predisposing factors include genetic skin conditions and immunosuppressive diseases or treatments.6 The Rhenium-SCT is a painless*, single session, non-invasive therapy that provides aesthetic results, even in cases otherwise considered difficult to treat.3-5 The Rhenium-SCT utilizes the radioisotope Rhenium-188 in an epidermal application with optimal properties for the treatment of NMSCs (non-melanoma skin cancers). The Rhenium-SCT is a precise, personalised therapy that is only applied to the area needed to treat without affecting the healthy tissue. The specially designed device ensures the Rhenium-SCT compound never comes in direct contact with the patient's skin and the application is safe and simple for the applying physician. Most cases of NMSCs (Basal Cell Carcinomas and Squamous Cell Carcinomas) can be treated using the Rhenium-SCT in one single session.5 Scar-free healing of the treated lesion area and the regeneration of healthy tissue occurs usually within a few weeks after treatment.5 About OncoBeta OncoBeta, with its headquarters located in Garching near Munich, Germany, is a privately held medical device company, specializing in the development and commercialization of state-of-the-art, innovative therapies. Since its foundation, OncoBeta has concentrated its efforts on the development, regulatory approval(s) and commercialization of the epidermal radioisotope therapy Rhenium-SCT (Skin Cancer Therapy), targeting NMSCs. OncoBeta has perfected the customized application and device management system in conformity with all health, safety and environmental protection regulatory standards. Find out more about the Rhenium-SCT at www.oncobeta.com Follow us on social media: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/oncobeta-gmbh/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/oncobeta/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/oncobeta_gmbh/ Forward-looking statements This announcement includes forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of OncoBeta's control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning OncoBeta's plans, objectives, goals, future events, performance and/or other information that is not historical information. All such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements and any other cautionary statements which may accompany the forward-looking statements. OncoBeta undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances after the date made, except as required by law. *No reported pain3,4 Complete tumour regression in 98.5% of lesions treated.5 References Global Burden of Disease Cancer Collaboration, et al. JAMA Oncol. 2019;5(12):1749-1768. Ciazynska M, et al. Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):4337. Cipriani C, et al. J Dermatolog Treat. 2020; Jul 22:1-7. Sedda AF, et al. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2008;33(6):745-749. Cipriani C, Sedda AF. Epidermal Radionuclide Therapy - Dermatological High-Dose-Rate. Brachytherapy for the Treatment of Basal and Squamous Cell Carcinoma. In: Therapeutic Nuclear Medicine, editor Baum RP; New York : Springer, 2014. Cancer.net. Skin Cancer (Non-Melanoma): Risk Factors and Prevention. October 2020 . https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/skin-cancer-non-melanoma/risk-factors-and-prevention (accessed March 2022 ). Contact: Jane Morey ***@moreymedia.com.au Photos: https://www.prlog.org/12934328 Press release distributed by PRLog SOURCE OncoBeta GmbH Early VC backer of Avalanche, Polkadot, Algorand aims to capture the migration of talents and users from Web2 to Web3 SINGAPORE, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Youbi Capital , a leading digital asset VC fund, is betting on Singapore to drive mainstream adoption of Web3. As a consistent early backer of elite blockchain projects like Avalanche , Polkadot , Algorand and DeBank , Youbi Capital has been quick to spot market opportunities. Youbi Capital bets on Singapore for mainstream adoption and to capture the talent and user migration from Web2 to Web3 Tweet this That pursuit of the next wave of crypto winners is leading the firm to set its sights on Singapore as the locus of crypto innovation. CEO and Founder Chen Li acknowledged Singapore's strategic value as Asia's leading crypto hub. Investment in Singapore's crypto and blockchain companies surged to a record $1.48bn last year nearly half of Asia-Pacific's total for 2021. Chen described Singapore as a melting pot of tech talent from the "old and new" worlds. "Singapore is a crossroads for Web2 founders to learn of Web3 tech stack and for Web3 founders to convert Web2 users," Chen said. "Web2's increasing restrictions and minimal growth are producing a wave of migrating talent. As these founders move toward Web3, we look forward to funding projects that bring users to the next generation. Singapore is the perfect place for inspiration." Youbi Capital has invested in world-class solutions designed to create a sustainable and inclusive Web3 infrastructure since 2017. Founded by senior investment professionals on Wall Street, owners of top bitcoin mining pools and veteran crypto investors, Youbi Capital will leverage its background in the East and connections in the West to bridge the two worlds in Singapore. The fund has backed more than 100 blockchain projects, including early backing of primary Layer 1 protocols. Youbi is also a proud early supporter of leading Asian infrastructure and application projects like MetaOne , Meson Network , Unipass , Mask Network , Double , NFTGo , and Gritti . Youbi Capital is already playing an active role in Singapore's blockchain ecosystem, including supporting events at Asia Crypto Week . The week of various independent side events around Asia's leading crypto event, TOKEN2049 , takes place from 26 September to 2 October. Chen is set to represent Youbi Capital as a keynote speaker around the topic of Define the Web3 UX . "Ultimately, web3 is an infrastructure revolution that greatly reduces the cost for people to collaborate," Chen said. "Better yet, an evolving tech stack means that founders can bring web2 users into web3 integrations (like non-custodian wallets) without any impact on functionality. This could hold the key to bringing many more millions of people into web3." "Singapore is fertile ground to fund new ventures that onboard the mainstream, provide open ecosystems and usher in the age of decentralization simultaneously." For more, visit https://youbicapital.com/ About Youbi Capital Youbi Capital is a leading digital asset VC and accelerator focused on investing in projects that abstract the functionalities of infrastructure applications. The fund creates long-term value by investing in next-gen technologies and truly disruptive decentralized business applications. Media Contact Crystal Bai [email protected] SOURCE Youbi Capital Marelli Executive Chairman, Dinesh Paliwal led inauguration ceremony BANGALORE, India, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Marelli inaugurated its new Technical R&D Center in Bangalore, Southern India, further boosting the company's innovation capability, particularly in software engineering. When fully operational, the new technical R&D center, together with the company's established engineering center in Gurugram (Delhi area), will increase Marelli India's R&D capability boosting its research team to more than 1,600 members. In particular, the Bangalore center is expected to employ around 600 engineers in 2 years' time. Opening ceremony of the new Marelli Technical R&D center in Bangalore, India The new Marelli Technical R&D center in Bangalore, India The main activities of the Bangalore center will be focused on major technology areas of Marelli such as electronics, automotive lighting and both internal combustion powertrain and electric powertrain. In particular, it will develop solutions for: Software for Cockpit DCU (Domain Control Units), Digital Clusters, Powertrain, and Electric Powertrain products; System validation for Electronic Systems, Powertrain and Electric Powertrain products and Automotive Lighting in the future, including sensing technologies; Mechanical Design Simulations for Electronics and moving forward for Automotive Lighting products. The official opening was held at the presence of Dinesh Paliwal, Executive Chairman of Marelli, Ravi Tallapragada, President of Marelli India and the Electronic Systems Division of Marelli, and members of Marelli India leadership team, with ribbon cutting, a traditional Indian oil lamps lighting ceremony and further activities to welcome employees into the new facility. "I am absolutely delighted to celebrate this major new strategic step for Marelli. India is one the most important R&D and innovation hubs in the world, and we are very excited about the deep talent pool here." said Dinesh Paliwal, Executive Chairman, Marelli. "Marelli is not investing in India for cost arbitrage those days are long gone - we are investing for the combination of brain arbitrage, humility, hunger, innovation and speed that India uniquely offers. Our mission in India is to help our customers differentiate their vehicles of the future based on vehicle performance and vehicle personality, leveraging technologies for which India will play a crucial role." "As a partner to our customers in co-creating the future of mobility, our focus is on developing breakthrough technologies responding to the evolving needs of OEMs and end users. That's why further expanding Marelli's R&D capabilities is key to our success" said David Slump, President and CEO, Marelli. "Together with our strong and competent team in Gurugram, the new Technical R&D center in Bangalore will be strategically important to boost technology evolution in crucial fields such as new vehicle architectures, software-defined vehicles and innovative cloud-based solutions." "With software becoming a key element in enabling the vehicle of the future and a crucial differentiator in the automotive market, it will be critically important for Marelli to boost our capabilities in this technological field, to develop highly competitive and attractive products" said Ravi Tallapragada, President of Marelli India and Electronic Systems division of Marelli. "The know-how offered by our two Indian R&D centers will make a decisive contribution in achieving this, complementing the work of our other R&D centers globally." The new facility is located in the Embassy Manyata Tech Park of Bangalore, a city which is recognized as a major engineering and software hub at global level, thus offering Marelli the opportunity to leverage a wide talent pool in crucial technical domains of core competencies. The Bangalore center, along with the well-established engineering center in Gurugram, will work in close collaboration with all the existing Marelli innovation centers in Japan, Italy, China, Germany, United States and the other Countries where the company is present, to accelerate the evolution of products and solutions on a technological and competitiveness perspective, for the Indian and global market. Marelli has a significant presence in India: with this new opening, now the company's Indian footprint includes 14 production sites and 2 R&D centers in 7 cities. As a huge, fast-growing market and a recognized technology hub globally, India is core to Marelli strategy and technology evolution, offering deep technical know-how, strong focus on innovation and great speed of execution. Leveraging well-established partnerships, strong customers relations and an advanced technological offer, with leading market position in the AMT business and relevant developments in other crucial domains, Marelli is uniquely positioned to capture the opportunities offered by the Indian market and foster the company's future growth. About Marelli Marelli is one of the world's leading global independent suppliers to the automotive sector. With a strong and established track record in innovation and manufacturing excellence, our mission is to transform the future of mobility through working with customers and partners to create a safer, greener, and better-connected world. With around 54,000 employees worldwide, the Marelli footprint includes 170 facilities and R&D centres across Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Africa, generating revenues of 1,380 billion JPY (10.6 billion EUR) in 2021. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1908974/Opening_Marelli_New_RD_center.jpg Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1908975/Marelli_Technical_RD_Center.jpg SOURCE Marelli VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Megawatt Lithium and Battery Metals Corp. (CSE: MEGA) (FSE: WR20) (OTCQB: WALRF) (the " Company" or "Megawatt") is pleased to announce it has entered into a mineral property option agreement dated effective September 27, 2022 (the "Agreement") with Cygnus Gold Limited (ASX: CY5)("Cygnus") whereby Cygnus has been granted the option to acquire up to an 80% interest in Megawatt's Route 381 Project and Mitsumis Project located in Quebec, (the "Projects"). Under the terms of the Agreement, Cygnus has the option to acquire an initial 51% interest in the Projects (the "First Option"). Following the exercise of the First Option, Cygnus has the option to acquire an additional 29% interest in the Projects (the "Second Option"). In order to exercise the First Option, Cygnus must commit $2,000,000 towards exploration on the Projects, over three years: payment of $175,000 within 3 days of the execution date of the Agreement (which includes $125,000 as an expense reimbursement to the Company); within 3 days of the execution date of the Agreement (which includes as an expense reimbursement to the Company); reimbursing MegaWatt's exploration expenditures of up to $375,000 from its 2022 exploration program by December 31, 2022 ; and from its 2022 exploration program by ; and funding $2,000,000 in exploration expenditures on the Projects by the third anniversary date of the Agreement as follows: in exploration expenditures on the Projects by the third anniversary date of the Agreement as follows: $500,000 to be incurred prior to the first anniversary of the effective date of the Agreement (less any reimbursements as described above); to be incurred prior to the first anniversary of the effective date of the Agreement (less any reimbursements as described above); $500,000 to be incurred prior to the second anniversary of the effective date of the Agreement; and to be incurred prior to the second anniversary of the effective date of the Agreement; and $1,000,000 to be incurred prior to the third anniversary of the effective date of the Agreement. Cygnus will then have the option to exercise the Second Option by: paying to MegaWatt $50,000 within 30 days of the satisfaction of the First Option; within 30 days of the satisfaction of the First Option; filing a NI 43-101 or JORC Code compliant mineral resource estimate which defines a lithium oxide resource on the Projects of at least 5MT with an average grade of not less than 0.8% Li2O in any resource category as defined in NI43-101 or the JORC Code, by the date which is no later than 5 years from the exercise of the First Option; and paying cash consideration to MegaWatt of $1,000,000 within 3 days of filing the above report. Upon satisfaction of the Second Option, MegaWatt's interest will be freely carried until a feasibility study is successfully announced on the ASX. After the release of the feasibility study, or in the event the Second Option is not exercised by Cygnus, Megawatt and Cygnus will enter into a formal joint venture agreement in accordance with their participating interests. David Thornley-Hall, CEO of Megawatt stated," This transaction represents an important step in the development of the Route 381 and Mistumis projects. We look forward to collaborating with the Cygnus team which brings a successful track record of exploration and development across a wide spectrum of mining projects." About MegaWatt Lithium and Battery Metals Corp. MegaWatt is a British Columbia based company involved in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in Canada. The Company holds a 100% undivided interest, subject to a 1.5% NSR on all base, rare earth elements and precious metals, in the Cobalt Hill Property, consisting of eight mineral claims covering an area of approximately 1,727.43 hectares located in the Trail Creek Mining Division in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. Additionally, the Company has acquired an 80% interest in a company that indirectly holds a 100% interest (subject to a 2% NSR) in two prospective silver-zinc projects in Australia, being the Tyr Silver Project and the Century South Silver-Zinc Project (see press release dated August 13, 2020), an indirect 100% interest (subject to a 1% NSR) in and to certain mining tenements in Northern Territory and New South Wales, Australia prospective for nickel-cobalt-scandium and rare earth elements. The Company holds a 100% interest (subject to a 2% NSR) in and to the Route 381 Lithium Property, comprised of 40 mineral claims located in James Bay Territory, north of Matagami in the Province of Quebec, covering 2,126 hectares (see press release dated February 3, 2021) and a 100% interest in 229 additional mineral exploration claims prospective for lithium, also in the James Bay area of Quebec covering an area of 12,116 hectares or 121 square kms. Investors can learn more about the Company and team at https://megawattmetals.com. Related Links https://megawattmetals.com The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release includes "forward-looking information" that is subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Forward-looking statements may include but are not limited to, statements relating to the trading of the Company's common shares on the Exchange and the Company's use of proceeds and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties normally incident to such events. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future events and that actual events or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward- looking statements. Such forward-looking statements represent management's best judgment based on information currently available. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. SOURCE MegaWatt Lithium and Battery Metals Corp. SINGAPORE, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Multiplier , a leading global employment platform, today announces that it has been named a Leader in G2's Fall 2022 Grid Report for Multi-Country Payroll Software. The honour comes hand-in-hand with an achievement of the highest customer satisfaction score of 4.75 out of five in the same category, as well as #1 in five other overall categories including Best Support, Best Relationship with Customers, Easiest to Use, Most Implementable and more. This marks the first year that Multiplier has been named a Leader by G2, an indication of the company's growing footprint in the global employment space. Multiplier also came in #1 across multiple categories including Best Support, Easiest to Use and more. Today, business leaders are increasingly looking to tap into global talent pools to source for the best talent available. However, in a recent study,[1] over 55% of executives cited that one of the most pressing workforce concerns is managing a more cross border workforce. While leaders recognise the value of global talent, many remain uncertain of how to manage them, especially if remote collaboration continues to grow and takes precedence over working at the office. This is where Multiplier comes in. Its payroll solution manages different processes across multiple locations in up to 200 currencies, allowing companies to process payroll for overseas employees in a timely and compliant manner. More than that, its Employer of Record (EOR) solutions simplify the employment process by managing the complexities of local labour laws, compliance, employment contracts, benefits, taxes and more, all wrapped up in an easy-to-use SaaS solution. "We are motivated by the trust and satisfaction Multiplier customers have shown us through this exceptional recognition by G2. Navigating the global employment space can be extremely challenging. From international compliance to local labour laws and policies, it is paramount that a trusted global employment partner like us shows up every day with on-ground expertise, a customer-first mindset, and the belief to drive meaningful impact for our customers and their teams. We are thrilled about this news, and we are now more certain than ever in our ability to empower companies to scale globally confidently." - Sagar Khatri, Co-founder and CEO, Multiplier. Aside from being recognised as a Leader, Multiplier has also been named the highest ranking in the following areas: Best Meets Requirements Best Relationship with Customers Best Support Easiest to Use Most Implementable For inclusion in the report, a product must have received 10 or more reviews. Some of the reviews about Multiplier include: "Multiplier has assisted Tax Advisory Partnership in recruiting our first two India based employees. We had no knowledge of how to employ in India and Multiplier guided us from start to finish." - 5/5 stars, Tax Advisory Partnership "Multiplier is an all-in-one solution for international hiring, onboarding, and cross-border payroll. The payroll solution ensures that employees will be paid in their local currencies and receive pay stubs in native languages." - 5/5 stars, deskbird "They [Multiplier] pack every solution needed for a business with distributed teams in one platform. We were able to generate employment contracts, offer competitive benefits and pay employees on time with just one partner. Their platform unifies all solutions. We were able to scale fast and risk-free." - 5/5 stars, Momo Released each quarter, G2's Grid Reports honour the world's leading software products across hundreds of categories. G2 recognitions are based on customer satisfaction scores, derived directly from user reviews, and market presence, which includes consideration for seller size and social impact. About Multiplier Multiplier creates technology that makes it easy for companies to employ teams internationally. We break down barriers by eliminating the complexities of overseas employment, empowering companies to tap into the global talent pool and scale their businesses worldwide. We currently operate in more than 150 countries across the globe. For more information about Multiplier, visit www.usemultiplier.com/. [1] Global Talent Trends 2022 Study: Rise of the relatable organisation, Mercer, 2022 SOURCE Multiplier ALMATY, Kazakhstan, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Narxoz University has signed a cooperation agreement with the Astana International Financial Centre Court (AIFC Court) and International Arbitration Centre (IAC). The agreement aims to add UK and international best practices to the university's law courses and to help nurture highly-trained postgraduate professionals to support the upwards trajectory of Kazakhstan's rule of law and investment climate. Kazakhstan - home to the AIFC Court and IAC - has a 30-year history of close cooperation with the UK, which leads international legal practices. In addition to diplomatic, economic, trade and scientific ties, the partners have recently been strengthening their cooperation in the legal area. The UK judicial system sets the standard for most commercial dispute resolutions worldwide. It is significant that the agreement includes the development of joint educational programs and programs with other international schools. In addition, the agreement will allow Narxoz students to intern in the AIFC Court and IAC, while the AIFC Court and IAC will be able to hold court hearings in the Narxoz campus's international standard courtroom. Bulat Utemuratov, the Sole Shareholder of Narxoz University, said: "The agreement recognizes the University's strong academic base in the legal field and the institution's determination to take that base to another level and connect with today's financial legal practices both in Kazakhstan and internationally. The agreement will help to produce highly prepared and competitive graduates that will strengthen the country's workforce in the financial and corporate legal area and contribute to making Kazakhstan more attractive to international investors. I am proud that my alma mater along with the AIFC is paving the way for more UK and international investors to come and do business in Kazakhstan knowing their rights will be protected to the highest judicial standards.'' Lord Mance, Chief Justice of the AIFC Court, commented: "I am delighted that the AIFC Court and IAC have signed a new cooperation agreement with Narxoz University. It is one of the aims of the AIFC Court and IAC to communicate and make transparent their existence, features, and availability for the benefit of all within and outside Kazakhstan, thereby broadening understanding and facilitating fulfilment of the roles assigned to them in the protection and promotion of the rule of law in the commercial field. The AIFC Court and IAC are both therefore open to establishing non-exclusive, mutually beneficial programs of cooperation with educational and other institutions within and outside Kazakhstan in terms which are wholly consistent with their independence as commercial dispute resolution institutions." The agreement was signed in Almaty, Kazakhstan's main financial city, by the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the AIFC Court and IAC, Christopher Campbell-Holt, and by the Narxoz University President, Miras Daulenov, in the presence of the AIFC Court Chief Justice, Lord Mance, and the IAC Chairman, Barbara Dohmann KC. SOURCE Narxoz University WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA will host a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Sept. 27, to discuss the agency's decision to roll the Artemis I Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Artemis I is a flight test to launch SLS and send Orion beyond the Moon and back to Earth before future missions with crew. As Hurricane Ian moves toward Florida, the agency began to roll back its rocket and spacecraft at 11 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, providing enough time for employees to prioritize safety of their families, as well as protect the Artemis I hardware before the hurricane makes landfall. Audio of the call will livestream on the agency's website at: https://www.nasa.gov/live Briefing participants include: Janet Petro , center director, Kennedy , center director, Kennedy Jim Free , associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters To participate by telephone, media must RSVP no later than two hours before the briefing to: [email protected]. NASA used the latest information provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Space Force, and the National Hurricane Center to guide its decision making. As center director, Petro will provide big picture hurricane preparations underway at Kennedy. Through Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence, and serving as a steppingstone to send astronauts to Mars. For updates, follow along on NASA's Artemis blog at: https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis SOURCE NASA Even though the stock market has reversed gears today, there continues to be confirmation for our position in electric vehicle-charging company ChargePoint Holdings (CHPT) . Today the Department of Transportation approved EV infrastructure development plans for all 50 states. All states now have access to all FY22 and FY23 National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program funding that totals more than $1.5 billion. As a reminder, that program will help build EV chargers covering approximately 75,000 miles of highway across the country and has earmarked $5 billion to spend over the coming five years as part of the Biden Infrastructure Law. There is also the $2.5 billion Discretionary Grant Program for Charging and Fueling Infrastructure, which aims to ensure charger deployment meets the Biden administration's priorities, including equity commitments to increase EV charging access in rural, underserved, and overburdened communities. While today's development is no doubt a positive for our thesis behind CHPT shares, the next hurdle is the approval of plans to tap these funds -- although what we see points to favorable 2023 comparisons for ChargePoint's business. The Federal Highway Administration has a website that will list approved plans for 2022/2023 EV funding. We'll be reviewing this list periodically and will share updates with Action Alerts PLUS members. Members know we also watch the demand side of the EV-charging-station equation. We are seeing more auto companies transition to EVs with some picking up considerable pace. We are also seeing other partnerships emerge that suggest those transitions are poised to accelerate while other efforts drive demand for EV charging stations. Stellantis (STLA) and Uber (UBER) are working together with Free2Move to tackle the French electric vehicle market. Free2Move would enable Uber to transform 50% of its fleet in France to electric models. Meanwhile Aurora Mobile (JG) announced a strategic agreement with Chinese EV maker BYD Company (BYDDY) , which will allow BYD to expand its EV business in Europe using Aurora's overseas messaging cloud solution. While these two latest developments are in Europe, remember that Europe is one of ChargePoint's growth initiatives over the longer term. Exiting the July quarter, the U.S. accounted for 80% of ChargePoint's revenue stream. The developments today combined with the upside potential to our $21 price target from current levels leads us to upgrade CHPT to a One rating from Two. WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After 10 months flying in space, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) the world's first planetary defense technology demonstration successfully impacted its asteroid target on Monday, the agency's first attempt to move an asteroid in space. Mission control at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, announced the successful impact at 7:14 p.m. EDT. As a part of NASA's overall planetary defense strategy, DART's impact with the asteroid Dimorphos demonstrates a viable mitigation technique for protecting the planet from an Earth-bound asteroid or comet, if one were discovered. "At its core, DART represents an unprecedented success for planetary defense, but it is also a mission of unity with a real benefit for all humanity," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "As NASA studies the cosmos and our home planet, we're also working to protect that home, and this international collaboration turned science fiction into science fact, demonstrating one way to protect Earth." DART targeted the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos, a small body just 530 feet (160 meters) in diameter. It orbits a larger, 2,560-foot (780-meter) asteroid called Didymos. Neither asteroid poses a threat to Earth. The mission's one-way trip confirmed NASA can successfully navigate a spacecraft to intentionally collide with an asteroid to deflect it, a technique known as kinetic impact. The investigation team will now observe Dimorphos using ground-based telescopes to confirm that DART's impact altered the asteroid's orbit around Didymos. Researchers expect the impact to shorten Dimorphos' orbit by about 1%, or roughly 10 minutes; precisely measuring how much the asteroid was deflected is one of the primary purposes of the full-scale test. "Planetary Defense is a globally unifying effort that affects everyone living on Earth," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Now we know we can aim a spacecraft with the precision needed to impact even a small body in space. Just a small change in its speed is all we need to make a significant difference in the path an asteroid travels." The spacecraft's sole instrument, the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO), together with a sophisticated guidance, navigation and control system that works in tandem with Small-body Maneuvering Autonomous Real Time Navigation (SMART Nav) algorithms, enabled DART to identify and distinguish between the two asteroids, targeting the smaller body. These systems guided the 1,260-pound (570-kilogram) box-shaped spacecraft through the final 56,000 miles (90,000 kilometers) of space into Dimorphos, intentionally crashing into it at roughly 14,000 miles (22,530 kilometers) per hour to slightly slow the asteroid's orbital speed. DRACO's final images, obtained by the spacecraft seconds before impact, revealed the surface of Dimorphos in close-up detail. Fifteen days before impact, DART's CubeSat companion Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube), provided by the Italian Space Agency, deployed from the spacecraft to capture images of DART's impact and of the asteroid's resulting cloud of ejected matter. In tandem with the images returned by DRACO, LICIACube's images are intended to provide a view of the collision's effects to help researchers better characterize the effectiveness of kinetic impact in deflecting an asteroid. Because LICIACube doesn't carry a large antenna, images will be downlinked to Earth one by one in the coming weeks. "DART's success provides a significant addition to the essential toolbox we must have to protect Earth from a devastating impact by an asteroid," said Lindley Johnson, NASA's Planetary Defense Officer. "This demonstrates we are no longer powerless to prevent this type of natural disaster. Coupled with enhanced capabilities to accelerate finding the remaining hazardous asteroid population by our next Planetary Defense mission, the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor, a DART successor could provide what we need to save the day." With the asteroid pair within 7 million miles (11 million kilometers) of Earth, a global team is using dozens of telescopes stationed around the world and in space to observe the asteroid system. Over the coming weeks, they will characterize the ejecta produced and precisely measure Dimorphos' orbital change to determine how effectively DART deflected the asteroid. The results will help validate and improve scientific computer models critical to predicting the effectiveness of this technique as a reliable method for asteroid deflection. "This first-of-its-kind mission required incredible preparation and precision, and the team exceeded expectations on all counts," said APL Director Ralph Semmel. "Beyond the truly exciting success of the technology demonstration, capabilities based on DART could one day be used to change the course of an asteroid to protect our planet and preserve life on Earth as we know it." Roughly four years from now, the European Space Agency's Hera project will conduct detailed surveys of both Dimorphos and Didymos, with a particular focus on the crater left by DART's collision and a precise measurement of Dimorphos' mass. Johns Hopkins APL manages the DART mission for NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office as a project of the agency's Planetary Missions Program Office. For more information about DART, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/dart SOURCE NASA "There's such a need for this kind of expertise in running Native American tribes," Williams said. In addition to overseeing roughly $11 million in general operating funds, Williams must ensure the tribe complies with extensive requirements tied to the receipt of $34 million in state and federal grants. Fewer than half of the 2,800 members of the Paiute Tribe live on the 742-square-mile reservation. The tribe provides typical local government services, including education, garbage collection, police and emergency response, and a judiciary. It also operates a federally funded health clinic, two gas stations and a store. Revenue comes from selling recreation area permits, third-party billing at the clinic, and the businesses, Williams said. Williams was working in finance for a Native American tribe in Washington State when a supervisor mentioned the online program at Rutgers. Students take a total of 10, 3-credit courses, including seven core classes like governmental accounting, governmental budgeting, and public sector budgeting, and three electives, such as public finance and forensic accounting. No GRE scores are required, and Rutgers Business School offers the program to all students at the in-state tuition rate. "I knew this was a huge opportunity to grow and learn," said Williams, who holds a bachelor's degree is in tribal governance and business management from Northwest Indian College in Washington. Learn more about the Rutgers Master of Accountancy in Governmental Accounting. Register to attend a free online information session on Thursday, Oct. 6, at noon. Williams enrolled in the spring semester of 2019. That summer, he landed a demanding new job as executive officer of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, a position he held during the first six months of the pandemic. A father of two sons, one born in April 2020, Williams put the master's degree on hold. Profess Irfan Bora, director of the Master of Accountancy in Governmental Accounting program, helped Williams get back on track. "Professor Bora worked with me to create a plan to complete the program," Williams said. "I was determined, and I stuck with that plan." Williams would wake at 4 a.m. to complete assignments and attend classes virtually on East Coast time before heading to work. The evenings were reserved for family time. Williams completed four classes in the spring of 2021 and the final four last fall. "The Rutgers Governmental Accounting Program was unique, and for me perfect, because of my work and family demands," he said. Williams said he was impressed with the instructors' knowledge, and he felt he received one-on-one attention even though the program was online. He especially enjoyed the courses in ethics and informational systems. The tribal leaders and members "simply want to know how the money and resources are being utilized," Williams said. "I learned so many technical skills which makes it easier to explain the big picture," he said. Williams is working to identify opportunities to leverage the tribe's finances to fund additional services and projects that benefit the community. He is also investigating investment opportunities to create additional sources of revenue. Williams said he expects his career will always involve working with Native American governments. "Native American tribes are so deep into culture, and each has different goals.," he said. "I want to give back to my tribe and others across the nation." Next on the 33-year-old's professional path is preparing for the CPA exam. He said completing the master's program at Rutgers gave him the confidence and preparation to take the exam. SOURCE Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick Collaboration Utilizes RWD-enabled Capabilities Across Hospitals and Research Organizations to Transform the Elimination of Disparities NEW ORLEANS and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program (NCI NCORP)-designated Louisiana State University (LSU) Health New Orleans and ConcertAI, LLC (ConcertAI) announced a five-year partnership to improve the diversity of clinical trials and ensure broader clinical trial access throughout the Gulf South region. The collaboration aligns to ConcertAI's ERACE program. ERACE (Engaging Research to Achieve Cancer Care Equality) furthers equitable access, care, and outcomes for all patients using Real-world Data (RWD) and advanced technologies. "This is urgent and vital work that will form the foundations of true equity in healthcare," said Jeff Elton, PhD and CEO of ConcertAI. "LSU Health New Orleans and ConcertAI believe addressing disparities starts with a foundation of data and a diversity of clinical settings that explicitly assure the broadest representativeness and generalizability. This, combined with the latest real-world analytic and AI-enabled software assure insights progress to practice in weeks and months versus years." "The collaboration will identify current cancer care disparities in Louisiana and how they can be addressed," said Augusto Ochoa, MD, and LSU Health New Orleans NCORP Principal Investigator. "Insights gleaned from the novel real-world data advanced by the partnership will lead to evidence-based strategies to reduce health inequities among populations with existing disparities, including the implementation of AI-based capabilities to improve patient screening, engagement and recruitment at clinical trial sites throughout the region." The collaboration is in line with the vision of NCI NCORP leadership. A $5.6 million grant from the NCI helped LSU Health New Orleans establish a clinical trials network throughout the Gulf South region. The NCI then awarded LSU Health New Orleans a $13.6 million grant to expand the network, emphasizing minority and underserved patients. Together with LSU's clinical trial sites and real-world data from ConcertAI's nationwide cancer care settings and "system of evidence," the collaboration will assess the impact of the Gulf South Minority Underserved NCORP program on minority enrollment in clinical trials, retention, and health outcomes. Joining the effort is LSU Health New Orleans' Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR), one of 21 cancer registries comprising the NCI's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. Funded by the grants from the NCI and CDC, it collects complete, high-quality, and timely population-based data in Louisiana to support cancer research, control, and prevention. "We are eager to participate in this partnership and continuing to reduce the state's cancer burden and disparities and improve the survival and quality of life for all cancer patients," said Xiaocheng Wu, MD, MPH, Director of the TR at LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health "Gaining insights from related clinical trials and EMR data from LSU Health New Orleans and the LTR is unique, so we're particularly excited about the important research questions we can answer with the combination of such data sources as they relate to improving diversity in clinical trials," said Sudip Bhandari, PhD, lead ConcertAI data scientist for the partnership. Overseeing the overall vision and direction of the partnership are Warren A. Whyte, PhD, Vice President and ERACE lead for ConcertAI; and John H. Stewart, IV, MD, MBA, FACS, Director of the LSU Health New Orleans-LCMC Cancer Center. "This partnership will integrate disease-specific research and care delivery into a comprehensive patient-oriented approach to benefit patients of Louisiana, including those currently underserved in accessing leading-edge cancer care," said Whyte. "We are thrilled to work with ConcertAI in furthering our efforts to improve quality and expanding access for the people we serve throughout the state," said Dr. Stewart. "This collaboration will set the stage for us to more fully define factors that identify risks and prognosis and patient characteristics that will enhance clinical trial enrollment." About ConcertAI ConcertAI is the global leader in life sciences and healthcare enterprise AI and RWD SaaS solutions. Our mission is to broadly advance the goals of precision medicine, accelerate delivery of innovative new therapies, generate evidence in support of regulatory and reimbursement decisions, support provider clinical decisions, and improve clinical outcomes for patients. We work in partnership with the leading biomedical innovators, health care providers, and medical societies. For more information, visit http://www.concertai.com. About LSU Health New Orleans LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSU Health New Orleans) educates Louisiana's health care professionals. The state's health sciences university leader, LSU Health New Orleans includes a School of Medicine with campuses in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, the state's only School of Dentistry, Louisiana's only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSU Health New Orleans faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences research, the LSU Health New Orleans research enterprise generates jobs and enormous annual economic impact. LSU Health New Orleans faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, advance treatment or cure disease. To learn more, visit http://www.lsuhsc.edu, http://www.twitter.com/LSUHealthNO, or http://www.facebook.com/LSUHSC. Press Contact: Chris Gale, [email protected] SOURCE ConcertAI Returning to in-person after two years, this annual celebration brings together the millions of developers building with Jamstack around the world SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Netlify , the platform for modern web development, today announced a lineup of speakers for Jamstack Conf 2022 , the annual event for engineers, technology leaders, and digital agencies who are embracing the next evolution of modern web development. In its fifth year, the conference will take place on November 7-8, 2022 virtually and in person at SVN West in San Francisco. Join engineers, technology leaders, and digital agencies embracing the next evolution of modern web development at Jamstack Conf, November 7-8, 2022, virtually and in person in San Francisco. The ability to deliver dynamic, seamless web experiences is no longer just a competitive differentiator; it's a deciding factor for business success in the digital era. Jamstack Conf will bring together the entire global ecosystem from JavaScript framework communities and site generators, to the emerging serverless database ecosystem, to headless e-commerce and CMS providers, and more to reimagine how we design, build and scale modern web experiences to keep up with changing consumer demands. "It's been incredible to see this inspiring and dynamic community spring up around the Jamstack," said Matt Biilmann, co-founder and CEO of Netlify. "We coined the term 'Jamstack' in 2015 to create a common vocabulary around the movement to decouple the web UI. It is now backed by a vast ecosystem and has changed how the web is built. I'm incredibly excited to gather all the members of the modern web ecosystem in person again." Jamstack Conf's two-day agenda is jam-packed with expert sessions and panels that will discuss some of the most pressing topics in the developer community. Attendees will also have access to technical workshops and demos, and hands-on experience with Netlify products. Other highlights include: Expert speakers from industry-leading companies including Cloudflare, Cloudinary, Google, Microsoft Azure, Remix, Stripe and more. Updates from the cutting-edge startups that Netlify has invested in via the Jamstack Innovation Fund, including ChiselStrike, Clerk, Clutch, Convex, Deno, Everfund, NuxtLabs, Snaplet, TakeShape and Tigris Data. A Barks 'N Brews Happy Hour, where attendees can connect over their favorite drink while enjoying the company of local dogs. The Jamstack Block Party: a rooftop party to close out the event where attendees can celebrate the milestones achieved in the Jamstack and toast to what comes next. The reveal of the winners of The Jammies Awards , which recognize the innovation, social impact, and content creation happening in the world of Jamstack. , which recognize the innovation, social impact, and content creation happening in the world of Jamstack. A panel discussion with the founders of web frameworks including Astro, 11ty, Solid.js, and more, exploring how we can "end the framework wars" and instead collaborate, share, and celebrate "competing" frameworks for the sake of a better developer experience. A live recording of an episode of Front End Happy Hour, a podcast featuring software engineers discussing frontend, JavaScript and career development over drinks. To register for Jamstack Conf, visit jamstack.org/conf/#register . Jamstack Conf 2022 is presented by Netlify and sponsored by Ably, Airbrake, Algolia, Applitools, BigCommerce, Builder.io, Bytes, ChiselStrike, Clerk, Cloudinary, Clutch, Cockroach Labs, CodingCat.dev, Commerce Layer, Common Room, Contentful, Contentstack, Convex, Crystallize, Deno, Directus, Elastic Path, Everfund, Formidable, Frontend Horse, Gatsby, Grafbase, imgix, Kontent.ai, Mux, NuxtLabs, Octahedroid, Prisma, Remix, Sanity, Sentry, Snaplet, Stackbit, Storyblok, Strapi, Stream.IO, Stripe, TakeShape, Tigris Data, TinaCMS, Uniform, Xatabase Inc. and Yext. Additional Resources About Netlify Netlify is the platform your developers love for building highly-performant and dynamic websites, e-commerce stores and web apps. By uniting an extensive ecosystem of technologies, services and APIs into one workflow, Netlify unlocks new levels of team productivity, while saving time and money. As pioneers of the Jamstack movement, Netlify brings together all modern web frameworks, serverless functions and edge computing into one platform to deliver unmatched user experiences. Millions of developers and businesses build with Netlify, from Fortune 500 companies like Unilever and Verizon to companies changing our digital experiences like Peloton and Twilio. Get started for free at netlify.com . SOURCE Netlify NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuberger Berman, a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager, announced that the firm has once again earned the highest possible score across all asset classes in UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) assessment report of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration efforts. This marks the third consecutive year of assessment in which Neuberger Berman earned the highest possible scoring across all categories. This year the PRI adopted a new, more stringent assessment methodology. Neuberger Berman earned 5 Stars across every asset category in which it reported and rated above the median in every category. In addition to scoring the best possible ranking across all asset classes, the firm also obtained the highest possible score in PRI's new private debt category and its overarching Investment & Stewardship Policy. Categories include: Module Star Score Median of all reporting signatories Investment & Stewardship Policy 5 Stars 3 Stars Direct - Listed equity - Active quantitative - incorporation 5 Stars 3 Stars Direct Listed Equity active fundamental incorporation 5 Stars 4 Stars Direct - Listed equity - voting 5 Stars 3 Stars Direct - Fixed income SSA 5 Stars 3 Stars Direct - Fixed income Corporate 5 Stars 3 Stars Direct - Fixed income Securitised 5 Stars 3 Stars Direct - Fixed income - Private debt 5 Stars 4 Stars Indirect - Private equity 5 Stars 3 Stars "We are pleased that Neuberger Berman has been recognized with top scores across all categories in the PRI's 2021 assessment. This reflects the work of hundreds of colleagues across the firm for whom ESG analysis represents a portion of their responsibilities. Neuberger Berman is committed to offering our clients a choice of investment strategies to meet their objectives, including those that incorporate financially material ESG factors, as well as Sustainable and Impact strategies," said Jonathan Bailey, Head of ESG Investing at Neuberger Berman. Further details on the firm's comprehensive approach to ESG can be found in the 2021 ESG Annual Report and at the ESG Investing web experience at www.nb.com/esg . The United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment works to understand the investment implications of environmental, social and governance factors and to support its international network of investor signatories in integrating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions. For more information, please see www.unpri.org About Neuberger Berman Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategiesincluding equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge fundson behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 25 countries, Neuberger Berman's diverse team has over 2,500 professionals. For eight consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). Neuberger Berman is a PRI Leader, a designation, since last assessed, that was awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. In the 2021 PRI Assessment, the firm obtained the highest possible scoring for its overarching approach to ESG investment and stewardship, and integration across asset classes. The firm manages $418 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2022. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com. Media Contacts: (Americas) Alex Samuelson, 212 476 5392, [email protected] (Europe) Fiona Kehily, +44 (20) 3214 9087, [email protected] (Asia) Kay So, 852 3664 8850, [email protected] (Japan & Korea) Kiyoko Yamaguchi, 8135218196, [email protected] All Neuberger Berman information is as of June 30, 2022, unless otherwise indicated and is subject to change without notice. Firm data, including employee and assets under management figures, reflects collective data for the various affiliated investment advisers that are subsidiaries of Neuberger Berman Group LLC. Firm history/timeline includes the history of all firm subsidiaries, including predecessor entities and acquisitions. This material is being issued on a limited basis through various global subsidiaries and affiliates of Neuberger Berman Group LLC. Please visit www.nb.com/disclosure-global-communications for the specific entities and jurisdictional limitations and restrictions. The "Neuberger Berman" name and logo are registered service marks of Neuberger Berman Group LLC. 2022 Neuberger Berman Group LLC. All rights reserved. SOURCE Neuberger Berman TEANECK, N.J., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Almost fifty-five Hindu American organizations representing more than 155,000 residents of Bergen County, NJ and surrounding areas signed a coalition letter condemning a hateful resolution recently passed by the Teaneck Democratic Municipal Committee (TDMC). The resolution recklessly and falsely labels almost every major Hindu American organization in the United States, including Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, Sewa International, and others, as a fascist organization which promotes hate and terrorism without providing any of those organizations the opportunity to be heard. The resolution has outraged Hindu Americans who see this as a vicious, false, and provocative act by Democratic Party activists in Teaneck to demonize the entire Hindu community, their activities, their beliefs, and their political participation in New Jersey. The Hindu American community, considered by many to be a model minority community, has recently experienced numerous instances of hate crimes, including against many Hindu temples in the New Jersey area. Charitable donations and community service by the Hindu American community. Charitable donations and community service by the Hindu American community. "Just like the 'Dot-Busters' gangs in New Jersey in the late 80s that violently targeted Hindu Americans because of their religious beliefs or skin color, the TDMC chose to also make baseless assumptions and operate from a position of ignorance and hate," said S. Rawal, a New Jersey resident. Rawal was 7-years-old when the "Dot Busters" announced their campaign in 1987 to eradicate Hindus from New Jersey. "Back then, it was 'dirty' Hindu, today it is 'fascist' Hindu," he said. Civic leaders and officials from the surrounding areas also expressed their support for the Hindu American community while condemning this Hindu hate campaign initiated by the TDMC. New Jersey State Senator Vin Gopal, in a strongly worded statement of support for the Hindu American community condemned the resolution and called for its immediate rescission. In his statement, he said, "It is unfortunate that this committee that purports to support the ideals of the Democratic Party would act in a manner that illustrates the type of bigotry and hatred that we are working hard as a country to eradicate from our society." Teaneck City Council Members Keith Kaplan and Michael Santiago Pagan also issued a strong statement in response to the resolution in which they said, "Unfortunately, the TDMC resolution at issue was felt by some to condemn all Hindus, which encompasses many peaceful members of our larger community here in Bergen County and beyond." They added, "Just as we did on the day we were sworn in, we proclaim: Hate has no home in Teaneck." In the recent Teaneck City Council meeting, Hindu American community members called for an investigation into the individuals and organizations that may have incited the TDMC to pass this defamatory and hateful resolution. The coalition letter stated, "We understand that the TDMC may simply be a pawn in a much larger agenda to malign and denigrate the Hindu American community, but we wish to impress upon the TDMC that there are real consequences when one makes misplaced, false, and malicious allegations about a law-abiding and peaceful community." Interestingly, Alexandra Soriano-Taveras, the TDMC Chairman who signed off on the hateful resolution, is no stranger to stirring up ethnic and religious animosity. Last year, while campaigning for the open State Assembly seat in the 37th district, she was seen suggesting a boycott of Jewish businesses in Teaneck. The TDMC resolution should be considered in the context of the extensive community service rendered by the Hindu American community through various organizations; service that has been recognized by government officials at every level. In a recent Congressional Statement, US Congressman Gerald Connolly stated, "Without regard for race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or nationality, Sewa International USA has done tremendous work to ameliorate the effects of some of the world's greatest disasters." Hindu American organizations, some of which were demonized by the TDMC resolution, collectively donated over 30 million pounds of food and over $50 million dollars worth of food, supplies, and other essential services during the pandemic to help the elderly or lower-income communities hit hard by the COVID lockdowns. "Our volunteers strive to serve humanity considering that as serving divinity. It is surprising that the TDMC is trying to demonize those that do good in the world with this bigoted and evil resolution that simply promotes Hindu hate. We hope that during this festival season that sanity prevails, and they rescind this awful resolution," said Rashmita Shanbhag, North Jersey Chapter Coordinator for Sewa International USA. The letter urged the TDMC to do the right thing by immediately rescinding their hate-filled resolution and apologizing for hurting the sentiments of the Hindu American community and for endangering the security, well-being, and safety of Hindus in New Jersey. The coalition letter can be found here: https://bit.ly/3BN6eex . Press Contact: Rakhi Israni, [email protected], (510) 399-5551, Samir Rawal, [email protected] SOURCE Sewa International SYDNEY, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Human Technology Institute outlines a model law for facial recognition technology to protect against harmful use of this technology, but also foster innovation for public benefit. Australian law was not drafted with widespread use of facial recognition in mind. Led by UTS Industry Professors Edward Santow and Nicholas Davis, the report recommends reform to modernise Australian law, especially to address threats to privacy and other human rights. Facial recognition and other remote biometric technologies have grown exponentially in recent years, raising concerns about privacy, mass surveillance and unfairness experienced, especially by people of colour and women, when the technology makes mistakes. In June 2022, an investigation by consumer advocacy group CHOICE revealed that several large Australian retailers were using facial recognition to identify customers entering their stores, leading to considerable community alarm and calls for improved regulation. There have also been widespread calls for reform of facial recognition law in Australia and internationally. This new report responds to those calls. It recognises that our faces are special, in the sense that humans rely heavily on each other's faces to identify and interact. This reliance leaves us particularly vulnerable to human rights restrictions when this technology is misused or overused. "When facial recognition applications are designed and regulated well, there can be real benefits, helping to identify people efficiently and at scale. The technology is widely used by people who are blind or have a vision impairment, making the world more accessible for those groups," said Professor Santow, the former Australian Human Rights Commissioner and now Co-Director of the Human Technology Institute. "This report proposes a risk-based model law for facial recognition. The starting point should be to ensure that facial recognition is developed and used in ways that uphold people's basic human rights," he said. "The gaps in our current law have created a kind of regulatory market failure. Many respected companies have pulled back from offering facial recognition because consumers aren't properly protected. Those companies still offering in this area are not required to focus on the basic rights of people affected by this tech," said Professor Davis, a former member of the executive committee at the World Economic Forum in Geneva and Co-Director of the Human Technology Institute. "Many civil society organisations, government and inter-governmental bodies and independent experts have sounded the alarm about dangers associated with current and predicted uses of facial recognition," he said. This report calls on Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to lead a national facial recognition reform process. This should start by introducing a bill into the Australian Parliament based on the model law set out in the report. The report also recommends assigning regulatory responsibility to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to regulate the development and use of this technology in the federal jurisdiction, with a harmonised approach in state and territory jurisdictions. The model law sets out three levels of risk to human rights for individuals affected by the use of a particular facial recognition technology application, as well as risks to the broader community. Under the model law, anyone who develops or deploys facial recognition technology must first assess the level of human rights risk that would apply to their application. That assessment can then be challenged by members of the public and the regulator. Based on the risk assessment, the model law then sets out a cumulative set of legal requirements, restrictions and prohibitions. The report, Facial Recognition Technology: towards a model law, has been co-authored by Prof Nicholas Davis, Prof Edward Santow, and Lauren Perry of the Human Technology Institute, UTS. To access the report, and additional background material, visit https://www.uts.edu.au/human-technology-institute/explore-our-work/facial-recognition-technology-towards-model-law. SOURCE University of Technology Sydney SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Newfront, the tech-driven insurance brokerage based in San Francisco, has welcomed Chris Bowers as Associate Vice President and P&C Producer. Chris joins most recently from his own agency, which he founded after several years in the insurance industry. He is based in Austin, TX. Newfront, the tech-driven insurance brokerage based in San Francisco, has welcomed Chris Bowers to its P&C team. Tweet this Newfront welcomes Chris Bowers as Associate Vice President and P&C Producer. "We are thrilled to welcome Chris to the rapidly growing Southwest Region team," said Linde Hotchkiss, Newfront Executive Vice President and Southwest Regional Managing Director. "Chris will bring a unique perspective having operated his own agency, and we look forward to what he will add to the team." With a philosophy of forming long-lasting relationships with clients, Chris brings in-depth insurance and risk management knowledge to Newfront. "Chris is another strong addition to our P&C group," said Newfront President Brian Hetherington. "We're excited to expand further into the Southwest and add Chris' deep expertise to our company." Focusing primarily on serving clients in the consumer packaged goods space, Chris will serve clients across the country. "This is a new age of insurance, and Newfront is leading the charge," Chris said. "I can't wait to bring the marriage of insurance experience and technology to my clients." About Newfront Newfront is transforming the delivery of risk management, employee experience, insurance, and retirement solutions by building the modern insurance platform. Transparent data delivered real-time translates into a lower total cost of risk and greater insights. Newfront makes insurance work for you. Headquartered in San Francisco, Newfront has offices throughout the country and is home to more than 750 employees who serve clients across the United States and globally. Learn more about building the modern insurance experience here . Contact Information Traci Johnson Director of Communications Newfront [email protected] SOURCE Newfront Eighteen leading channel partners recognized for driving digital transformation to help organizations deliver business outcomes across every major industry, with the Nintex Process Platform BELLEVUE, Wash., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nintex, the global standard for process intelligence and automation, today announced the regional winners of the 2022 Nintex Partner Awards across AMER, APAC and EMEA. To learn more about the Nintex Partner Awards visit: https://www.nintex.com/partner-awards/ 18 leading channel partners recognized for driving digital transformation to help organizations deliver business outcomes across every major industry, with the Nintex Process Platform. "Every 2022 Nintex Partner Award winner has consistently displayed invaluable expertise, helping organizations to reimagine the way they work with the ease and power of the Nintex platform," said Eric Johnson, Nintex Chief Executive Officer. "This year's award-winning group of channel partners has an unwavering commitment to help companies digitize their critical business processes, to meet their individual businesses challenges." Nintex Partner Award winners were selected based on measurable, high-impact business results and continuous process improvements for public and private sector organizations across every industry and geographic region during Nintex's fiscal year 2022, extending from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. 2022 Nintex Partner Award winners by category and region include: Business Excellence bringing the Nintex Process Platform to new organizations: AMER: Protiviti, Inc. EMEA: Sure Global Technology APAC: Myriad Technologies Customer Success supporting long-term adoption and success of the Nintex Process Platform: AMER: BOOST Strategy Partners EMEA: Data One GmbH APAC: Alrighty Labs Business Acceleration strong expansion of automation subscriptions year-over-year: AMER: ImageTech Systems EMEA: Interactive Saudi Arabia Ltd APAC: Cumulus International Co Regional Spotlight regional market impact and momentum with customers: AMER: InnoVelocity EMEA: S A Partners APAC: ACW Solutions Business Transformation top customer entries to the 2022 Nintex Solution Innovation Awards AMER: Elantis EMEA: SakalGB APAC: rapidMation Nintex Workflow Cloud Upgrades for driving generational upgrades to Nintex Workflow Cloud AMER: ImageTech Systems, LLC EMEA: IOZ AG APAC: PlanB Consulting Learn more about the Nintex Partner Network by visiting https://partner.nintex.com/. Media Contact Laetitia Smith [email protected] cell: +64 21 154 7114 About Nintex Nintex is the global standard for process intelligence and automation. Today more than 10,000 public and private sector organizations across 90 countries turn to the Nintex Process Platform to accelerate progress on their digital transformation journeys by quickly and easily managing, automating and optimizing business processes. Learn more by visiting www.nintex.com and experience how Nintex and its global partner network are shaping the future of Intelligent Process Automation (IPA). Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. SOURCE Nintex STOCKHOLM, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nomentia is partnering with SEB to provide integrations and bank connectivity to SEB's clients to prepare them for the upcoming changes enforced by P27, the Nordic Payments Platform. P27 will increase the efficiency of payment processing to improve domestic and cross-border payments in the Nordics. Through this partnership, SEB clients will have the possibility to use Nomentia to establish direct bank connectivity with the bank and send payments in the correct file format from their enterprise resource planning systems (ERPs) and financial systems. By partnering with Nomentia, SEB will ensure that its clients can adapt to the changing environment before P27 comes into effect. "We decided to partner with Nomentia as the company has immense experience and expertise to deliver the integrations in a way that is seamless for our clients. Nomentia has also been providing its clients with connection to SEB for years," says Ida Blom, Partner Manager at SEB. "Our customers can work with Nomentia to develop connectivity between their systems and our bank. Nomentia will create and maintain the integrations and handle the data format transformation." Nomentia, a leading provider of cash and treasury solutions, has been pioneering global bank connectivity as a service helping customers communicate with banks globally. Currently, Nomentia provides over 10 000 bank connections globally via host-to-host, SWIFT, and local connectivity options. "We have decades of experience in creating and managing bank connections for our clients with banks across the globe enabling corporates to automatically send and fetch bank materials such as payments, account statements, and references. P27 means that companies must communicate with their banks directly and we will help them to transform their payment files into the correct ISO 20022 XML format so that they do not need to do an ERP upgrade," explains Karl-Henrik Sundberg, Head of Partners & Customer Success at Nomentia. "Our bank connectivity solution has been in popular demand in all our markets, especially in the Nordics where the deadline for P27 compliance is approaching quickly. Between 2008-2010, we helped hundreds of customers with SEPA transition in Europe and now, we are facing a comparable situation with P27," says Jukka Sallinen, CEO at Nomentia. "Partnering with SEB is another major milestone for us as we can be part of the change to help reform how payments are processed in the Nordics. SEB clients can select Nomentia to create a connection between their systems and SEB and communicate with the bank directly." CONTACT: Barbara Babati Head of Marketing, Nomentia [email protected] +358407623356 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com SOURCE Nomentia Oy BOSTON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, one of America's top financial advisors, Raj Sharma, announces the release of his forthcoming book, The Purposeful Wealth Advisor: How to Build a Rewarding Career While Helping Clients Achieve Their Dreams. The book will be released this December and offers a timely and valuable guide to a successful career as a financial advisor. With more than 30 years of wealth management experience, Raj leads readers step by step down his pathfrom learning why and how to create an advisor brand, to setting goals, to building a top-notch team focused on doing more and better for clients. THE PURPOSEFUL WEALTH ADVISOR by Raj Sharma; coming December 6, 2022. Image courtesy of Amplify Publishing. Thoughtful and analytical, with an excellent understanding of global economics and financial markets, Raj has received numerous industry designations. He has been inducted into Barron's Hall of Fame, having been named one of America's top 100 financial advisors for nearly two decades. In 2022, both Barron's and Forbes ranked Raj as the #1 advisor in Massachusetts. Forbes also named him one of America's top wealth advisors from 20162022. Most recently, Barron's featured the Sharma Group among the country's top 50 private wealth teams from 20202022. Additionally, Raj was named to the Financial Times' list of the top 400 financial advisors in the country for nine consecutive years. An insightful culmination of his decades of experience, The Purposeful Wealth Advisor is an easy-to-read guide that shows readers how to get started in the business of wealth management, thrive as they build a client base, inspire their future, and help clients achieve their dreams. The book features a foreword by Andy Sieg, president of Merrill Wealth Management. "If you are a financial advisor or considering this profession, you must read this book. Raj Sharma is clearly 'best of breed," says Jeremy J. Siegel, professor of finance at the Wharton School and author of Stocks for the Long Run. Raj hopes to encourage historically marginalized groups, such as women and people of color, to consider a career as a financial advisor. He highlights that many wealth management firms are not representative of the people they serve, creating a world of opportunity for those who break the mold. He strongly believes that "there are gaps to be filled in the wealth management industry, and you can make the difference." "[The Purposeful Wealth Advisor] sends a powerful message about the urgency for more nontraditional entrants into the advisory field," writes Saira Malik, chief investment officer of Nuveen. Published by Amplify Publishing, The Purposeful Wealth Advisor will be released in hardcover on December 6, 2022. It is available for pre-order now from Amazon , Barnes & Noble , and other major retailers. Learn more and connect at www.purposefuladvisor.com . SOURCE Amplify Publishing Settling for 'satisfactory' level of readiness may underestimate growing levels of risk DOWNERS GROVE, Ill, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Fortifying cybersecurity defenses remains a work in progress for many organizations, who acknowledge their shortcomings but have yet to commit the necessary resources to the effort, new research from CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce, reveals. "Risk mitigation is the key, the filter through which everything should be viewed." Tweet this A majority of organizations in every region feel that their cybersecurity is satisfactory, but a much smaller number rank the situation as completely satisfactory. Nearly everyone feels that there is room for improvement, with some cases more dire than others. (Source: CompTIA State of Cybersecurity) While a majority of respondents in each of seven geographic regions[1] feels that their company's cybersecurity is satisfactory, CompTIA's "State of Cybersecurity" shows that a much smaller number rank the situation as "completely satisfactory." Nearly everyone feels that there is room for improvement. "Companies are aware of the threats they face and the potential consequences of an attack or breach," said Seth Robinson, vice president, industry research, CompTIA. "But they may be underestimating their exposure and how much they need to invest in cybersecurity. Risk mitigation is the key, the filter through which everything should be viewed." Two of the top three issues driving cybersecurity considerations are the growing volume of cybercriminals, cited by 48% of respondents, and the growing variety of cyberattacks (45%). Additionally, ransomware and phishing have quickly become major areas of concern as digital operations have increased and human error has proven more costly. "Digital transformation driven by cloud and mobile adoption requires a new strategic approach to cybersecurity, but this poses significant challenges, both tactically and financially," Robinson said. "As IT operations and strategy have grown more complex, so has the management of cybersecurity." As cybersecurity is more tightly integrated with business objectives, zero trust is the overarching policy that should be guiding modern efforts, though its adoption will not take place overnight because it requires a drastically different way of thinking and acting. The report suggests there is small progress in recognizing a holistic zero trust approach, but better progress in adopting some elements that are part of an overarching zero trust policy. Multifactor authentication is in place at 46% of companies and cloud workload governance at 41%. Among other changes in organizations' approach to cybersecurity: 43% of companies have placed a higher priority on incident response, 39% are deploying a more diverse set of technology tools, with SaaS monitoring and management tools making a substantial jump in adoption, 38% are increasing their focus on process improvements, 37% are shifting to more proactive measures, and 36% are expanding employee education. Adopting a total zero-trust philosophy, including setting specific, strategic objectives will address many problems companies face. But there are substantial hurdles to overcome, such as closing the communications gap that exists between the technology and business sides of organizations. The overall rate of business staff participation is too low for a business-critical function. Nearly half (47%) of small businesses have the CEO or owner as part of the cybersecurity chain compared to 37% of mid-sized firms and 27% of large enterprises. In addition, companies are struggling to address technical skill needs, such as threat knowledge, network security and data analysis. CompTIA's "State of Cybersecurity" report is based on a Q3 2022 survey of technology and business professionals involved in cybersecurity. There were 500 respondents from the U.S. and 125 from each of six other regions around the world. The full report is available at https://insights.comptia.org/2022-state-of-cybersecurity-it-pro/p/1. About CompTIA The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the estimated 75 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world's economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for unlocking the potential of the tech industry and its workforce. https://www.comptia.org/ [1] Australia/New Zealand, ASEAN, Benelux, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom and United States Media Contact Steven Ostrowski CompTIA [email protected] +1 630-678-8468 SOURCE CompTIA NEW HOPE, Minn., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- P-A Industrial Services (PAIS), a Donaldson company that offers preventative maintenance/filter change services, parts, and equipment for dust/mist/fume collection systems, industrial fans, air compressors, and nitrogen/oxygen generators, is pleased to expand its operations to the Sioux Falls area. This includes the regions of eastern South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota, and northwestern Iowa. With over 100 years of combined industry experience, the company strives to help make its clients' plants safer and more productive workplaces. As part of the Donaldson family, the global leader in industrial filtration solutions, PAIS is pleased to expand its scope of expertise and technology. PAIS can service, repair, design, and install various types of dust/mist/fume collection and compressed air systems from numerous global brands, such as Donaldson, Atlas Copco, and more. This includes everything from installing compressed air piping and new equipment to providing on-site baghouse filter changes and dust/mist/fume collector replacement parts such as diaphragm valves and fans. Regarding the company's Preventative Maintenance & Remote Monitoring Program, PAIS offers a total system approach and broad product expertise that enables its team to optimize all equipment components in a system. When remotely monitoring, the company utilizes Donaldson's proprietary iCue connected technology to provide operational insights directly to end users. PAIS staff consists of thoroughly trained and factory-authorized field technicians to perform service, data collection, and trending of all key points. This includes fan performance, compressed air quality, filter condition, filter pressure differential, air velocity, airflow (CFM), and maintaining detailed documentation for record keeping and historical trending. The key benefits of investing in the PAIS Preventative Maintenance & Remote Monitoring Program include helping to prevent equipment downtime, ensuring clean air for the working environment, assisting in managing air emissions, supporting OSHA/EPA/MPCA regulatory compliance, and receiving recommendations for system efficiency that support lower operating costs and higher productivity. PAIS General Manager Patrick Becker notes, "More and more companies are addressing inefficiencies head-on and striving to work smarter, not harder. PAIS is here to help. We look forward to serving you!" About: P-A Industrial Services is a one-stop shop for services, parts, and equipment for various industrial applications. As a Donaldson company, PAIS can provide its clients with innovative technology to help their businesses operate at peak efficiency. Contact: To learn more about PAIS, visit https://www.paindustrialservices.com/ or contact Patrick Becker at [email protected]. SOURCE P-A Industrial Services HONG KONG and SHANGHAI, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Company Limited ("PAAMC HK") is honored to announce that it has been included in 4 Recommendations at "IAMAC Recommendations - Most Highly Regarded Insurance Asset Management Investment Partners 2021", organized by the Insurance Asset Management Association of China ("IAMAC"). PAAMC HK is among the top recommended in the tables of "Outstanding Overseas Business Partners of China's Insurance Asset Management", "Outstanding Overseas Trustees of China's Insurance Asset Management", "Outstanding Overseas Business Partners of China's Insurance Asset Management Open Market Operations" and "Outstanding Overseas Business Partners of China's Insurance Asset Management Private Equity". Participants including over 100 securities companies, public fund managers, futures companies as well as overseas institutions. Announced on 21 September 2022, the IAMAC recommendations are based on a survey of more than 160 large insurance companies and insurance asset managers in China, regarding the participants' investment business and their services provided to insurance companies. The recommendations uphold the principle of "Fairness, Justice and Non-profit", with participation on a voluntary basis, and insurance companies complete the survey independently. The recommendations are weighted and calculated in multiple dimensions based on the survey results combined with relevant data. It has been held for 8 consecutive years and is widely recognized as the most prestigious recommendations in the industry. PAAMC HK was also included in the recommendations last year. Hoi Tung, Chairman and CEO of China Ping An Insurance Overseas (Holdings) Limited said, "We take great pride in receiving these prestigious recommendations once again. I would like to thank IAMAC and all our insurer partners for their recognition and confidence in us, which reaffirms our hard work and efforts over the past tumultuous and challenging year. It is a big motivation for us to continue to deliver compelling return and create value, as well as to further deepen our collaboration with our insurer partners and explore new opportunities for mutual benefits." With strong capabilities in investment research and portfolio management capabilities, PAAMC HK provides a wide range of overseas investment products, asset management and consulting services, including capital markets and alternative investment services. Attesting to the investment strength of their team and their strategic efforts, PAAMC HK has received a number of prestigious awards. They have a solid client base and maintain a close tie with their insurer partners, and look forward to continuing to work hand in hand with their partners towards all-round and in-depth collaboration. About Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Company Limited Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Company Limited ("PAAMC HK") was established in 2006. It is a direct subsidiary of China Ping An Insurance Overseas (Holdings) Limited which then directly owned by Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (2318.HK and 601318.SH). It is licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong ("SFC") to conduct Type 1 (Dealing in Securities), Type 4 (Advising on Securities) and Type 9 (Asset Management) regulated activities. With strong capabilities in investment research and asset management, PAAMC HK is a leading provider of global investment management solutions in equities, fixed income, ETFs, structured products and alternative assets. For more information, please visit asset.pingan.com.hk. (This website has not been reviewed by the SFC) SOURCE Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Company Limited AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy granted exclusive access to limited distribution drug ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy has received exclusive access to Phospholine Iodide (echothiophate iodide for ophthalmic solution) from Fera Pharmaceuticals. Phospholine Iodide is used to help reduce elevated intraocular pressure of glaucoma and for accommodative esotropia (the inward turning of the eye) in children. "AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy is excited to be able to offer this invaluable therapeutic option to help correct these chronic and rare ophthalmologic conditions," says Lisa Mymo, vice president, pharma and financial services at AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy. "These patients deserve access to this life-changing therapy that may actually preserve their vision. Our manufacturer partners know we offer resources to help patients stay on therapy and yield the best possible outcomes." As one of the nation's largest specialty and home delivery pharmacies, AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy has direct access to the majority of limited distribution drugs on the market. In addition to Phospholine Iodide, the following medications are also available through AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy: Camzyos (mavacamten), manufactured by Bristol Myers Squibb , treats adults with a rare heart condition known as symptomatic New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II-III obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to improve functional capacity and symptoms. , treats adults with a rare heart condition known as symptomatic New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II-III obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to improve functional capacity and symptoms. Vivjoa (oteseconazole), manufactured by Mycovia Pharmaceuticals, Inc., treats postmenopausal and permanently infertile women with recurrent vaginal yeast infections. For full prescribing information or black box warnings, visit the manufacturer's websites or dailymed.nlm.nih.gov. About AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy (alliancerxwp.com) provides hope and care for better tomorrows to patients with rare diseases and chronic conditions by delivering medications from its specialty and home delivery pharmacies. Our advanced analytical capabilities, pharmacy expertise and technology solutions enable providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and health plans to deliver optimal health outcomes. Through personalized care and clinical programs, along with access to the leading number of limited distribution drugs, patients can get back to what matters most. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, the company holds several national pharmacy accreditations and has team members across the United States. Media Contact Adrienne Foley, APR External communications manager [email protected] SOURCE AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy MARLTON, N.J., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dermatology of Philadelphia / Mohs Surgery Center, proudly announces the addition of Philadelphia native, Dr. Jaryd Freedman to its team of industry-leading board-certified physicians, in conjunction with the center's expansion to its new Marlton, New Jersey location. Dr. Jaryd Freedman Joins Dermatology of Philadelphia's South Jersey Location The South Jersey dermatology office is conveniently located at 5 Greentree Center, Suite 117, on Route 73, just north of the 70/73 intersection. Patients can schedule an appointment online at https://www.dermofphilly.com/schedule/ or call (215) 315-3197 Dermatology of Philadelphia's expansion into South Jersey makes accessing high-caliber dermatology care and Mohs surgery for skin cancer easy. As a board-certified dermatologist with the American Board of Dermatology, Dr. Freedman offers comprehensive dermatologic care including skin cancer surveillance. Dr. Mark Abdelmalek, a nationally recognized fellowship-trained and board-certified Mohs Surgeon and member of the prestigious American College of Mohs Surgery, now conveniently offers Mohs surgery for South Jersey and shore residents. Dr. Freedman specializes in both complex medical dermatology and surgical dermatology. Upon completing medical school at Temple University and dermatology residency in dermatology at Drexel University, he spent six years practicing in the prestigious Kaiser Permanente health system in California before returning home to Philadelphia, and joining the Dermatology of Philadelphia team in New Jersey . "I'm thrilled to be back home in the Philadelphia area. It's an honor to join the talented physicians at Dermatology of Philadelphia. Patient education is at the heart of my practice, which allows me to develop the best personalized treatment plans for my patients," states Dr. Freedman about joining the Marlton, New Jersey dermatology practice. The New Jersey office is conveniently located at 5 Greentree Center, Suite 117, on Route 73, just north of the 70/73 intersection. Patients can schedule an appointment online at https://www.dermofphilly.com/schedule/ or call (215) 315-3197. The office accepts almost all insurances. "With the addition of Dr. Jaryd Freedman in our new state of the art facility in Marlton, Dermatology of Philadelphia is excited to be a part of the growing health care hub in South Jersey," shares Dr. Abdelmalek, Dermatology of Philadelphia Founder and fellowship-trained and board-certified Mohs Surgeon. About Dermatology of Philadelphia / Mohs Surgery Center Established by Dr. Mark Abdelmalek, Dermatology of Philadelphia is a premier Mohs surgery, dermatological surgery, and dermatology center of excellence providing academically excellent, patient-centered care in the greater Philadelphia & New Jersey areas. Board-certified dermatologists Dr. Grossman, Dr. Dasgupta, and Dr. Freedman joined the practice providing patients general, complex medical, and cosmetic dermatology services. Services include Mohs Surgery, Comprehensive Dermatology, Cosmetic Dermatology, Photodynamic Therapy and Transplant Dermatology. The practice is open to new patients. Schedule at https://www.dermofphilly.com/schedule/. CONTACT INFORMATION Justin DeVincenzo (215) 315 - 3197 [email protected] SOURCE Dermatology of Philadelphia / Mohs Surgery Center DENVER, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Most adults believe that students back in the classroom this fall should be required to take financial education courses, according to a poll from the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). The poll finds 88% of U.S. adults say their state should require a semester- or year-long financial education course for graduation. "Americans overwhelmingly agree that learning money skills at an early age is important. In fact, 80% of American adults wish they had been required to take a semester- or year-long financial education class in high school. This polling reinforces the national support for personal finance to be a part of learning in all schools, says Billy Hensley, Ph.D., president and CEO of NEFE. "Some states already require students to take a financial education course, and some states are in the process of instituting this curriculum. Americans overwhelmingly agree that learning money skills at an early age is important. In fact, 80% of American adults wish they had been required to take a semester- or year-long financial education class in high school," says Billy Hensley, Ph.D., president and CEO of NEFE. "This polling reinforces the national support for personal finance to be a part of learning in all schools." Financial education has been a hot topic this year with more than half the state legislatures plus D.C. having introduced financial education-related bills. Nationwide, 15 states now either require a course or are implementing one. NEFE and AmeriSpeak surveyed U.S. adults on high school financial education graduation requirements, what they wish they had access to when they were students and what they believe is important for existing students. High-level results from this polling include: 88% said their state should require a semester- or year-long financial education course for graduation. 80% said they wish they were required to take a semester- or year-long financial education course during high school. 75% said that spending and budgeting is the most important financial education topic to teach for personal finance education, followed by managing credit (55%), saving (49%) and earning income (47%). A demographic breakdown of the data includes these highlights: Older cohorts (ages 45-59 and ages 60+) were significantly more likely than the youngest aged cohort (ages 18-29) to say their state should mandate financial education for high school graduation (18-29 y/o: 79%; 45-59 y/o: 93%; 60+ y/o: 92%). Adults with a postsecondary degree were significantly more likely to say their state should mandate financial education than adults with no high school diploma (91% vs. 71%). Men and women were similarly likely to indicate that their state should mandate financial education and wished they were required to complete a semester- or year-long course focused on personal finance education during high school. Adults with household income under $30,000 (73%) were less likely than the highest earning income groupsthose earning $60,000 to $100,000 and those earning $100,000 or more (84% to 85%)to say they wished they were required to complete a semester- or year-long course focused on personal finance education during high school. (73%) were less likely than the highest earning income groupsthose earning to and those earning or more (84% to 85%)to say they wished they were required to complete a semester- or year-long course focused on personal finance education during high school. Non-Hispanic whites (84%) were more likely than non-Hispanic Blacks (73%) and Hispanic (73%) adults to say they wished they were required to complete a semester- or year-long course focused on personal finance education during high school. "Now that school's back in session, educators must be attentive that youth are being taught the important life skill of money management. There is tremendous demand, and research continues to validate that financial education builds a solid foundation for how students will manage their money as adults," adds Hensley. "Legislation plays a role in school-based education, but also in working toward creating, and regulating, a financial system that provides a fair playing field for all." See the full summary report for a detailed overview of the poll results, demographic differences and full survey methodology. For more information on NEFE consumer polls, click here. About NEFE The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) is the independent, centralizing voice providing leadership, research and collaboration to champion effective financial education and advance financial well-being. NEFE has received national recognition for strengthening action-oriented research agendas, mobilizing intermediaries, and creating better solutions for researchers, educators, practitioners and policymakers. NEFE, one of the first organizations dedicated to this mission, is celebrating its 30th year of operations in 2022. For more information, visit www.nefe.org. SOURCE National Endowment for Financial Education SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa received a warm welcome from San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and other local officials when he touched down late Saturday night after a whirlwind trip across the country as he begins a very busy trip through California. Local officials greeted the President Saturday night as he arrived at Mineta San Jose International Airport with a delegation of Portuguese government representatives. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Silicon Valley Chief of Protocol Deanna Tryon, President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, at Mineta San Jose International Airport, September 24, 2022 President Rebelo de Sousa was met by Silicon Valley Chief of Protocol Deanna Tryon, and received a red-carpet welcome from San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who presented the President with a City Proclamation. Tryon presented the President with a copy of Mary Wadden's Silicon Valley: A History in Pictures, and a "care package" including essential oils sourced locally by Bay Area company Nectar Essences. Mineta San Jose International Airport has been a very popular arrival and departure airport for many world leaders during the past decade due to its ease of access to many of the usual stops when Heads of State and Heads of Government visit the region. Tryon stated, "It is so nice to see diplomatic activity increasing once again in Silicon Valley. We are very pleased that President Rebelo de Sousa will be enjoying the hospitality of our region. We are always ready to 'roll out the red carpet' and invite the global community to Silicon Valley." Several world leaders were scheduled to arrive this month, due to the convenience of visiting during the first UN General Assembly in three years, but plans had to be modified due to the death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. President Rebelo de Sousa's busy schedule in California includes events with the Portuguese Diaspora in the Bay Area, and a speaking engagement at Stanford University. The President will also be throwing out the first pitch at Tuesday night's Giants vs. Rockies game at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Portuguese Heritage Night. The Silicon Valley Office of Protocol assists government and business leaders in the 44 cities and 5 counties of Silicon Valley in matters of protocol, and assists in coordinating Head of State and Head of Government visits through Mineta San Jose International Airport since 2014. Their mission includes helping strengthen relationships between local and international governments and businesses. Contact: [email protected]/650-207-2755 SOURCE Silicon Valley Office of Protocol Veteran executive brings decades of finance, operations, and high-growth strategy experience including digital health OKLAHOMA CITY, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Progentec, a leader in next-gen diagnostics and digital technologies for the management of autoimmune diseases, announced today that Marc Jones, seasoned healthcare industry executive, has joined Progentec's Board of Directors. Jones has a demonstrated track record of providing reliable executive leadership within dynamic, fast-paced corporate environments in both public and high-growth, venture-backed private companies. His wealth of experience and knowledge will support Progentec in its mission to improve health outcomes for people living with autoimmune diseases. "We are thrilled to welcome Marc to our Board of Directors and look forward to his contributions given his accomplishments and tenure in executive leadership within healthcareand digital health specifically," said Mohan Purushothaman, Chief Executive Officer, Progentec. "As we progress in our mission to improve outcomes by increasing access to healthcare for patients with autoimmune diseases, Marc's unique skill set and deep operating, financial, and strategic expertise will be invaluable." "It is an incredible privilege to join Progentec's Board of Directors at such an exciting time for the Company," said Jones. "I am delighted to work alongside Mohan and the entire Progentec team in their mission to address this global health challenge, and I look forward to bringing my industry experience as Progentec executes its laudable strategy." Jones has over 20 years of leadership experience and also serves on the board of Pathfinder Health. Most recently, Jones was COO/CFO binx health (and co-founder of binx health's digital health business), where he raised $104M in equity financing and successfully transitioned the company from development-staged to commercial. Previously Jones was Interim Executive Chairman at Ivenix, Inc, and has held COO/CFO roles in multiple companies where he raised both venture and public equity and debt capital, led multiple successful M&A processes, and negotiated strategic corporate partnerships to drive enterprise value. About Progentec Diagnostics, Inc. Progentec is committed to improving access and health outcomes for patients in therapeutic areas with a high level of unmet need by combining clinically validated diagnostic interventions with state-of-the-art digital technologies. Through collaborations with research institutions and health practitioners worldwide, Progentec is working to reduce mortality and morbidity while improving care management and service delivery for chronic health conditions. Contact: Mohan Purushothaman (973) 885-5242 [email protected] Related Links: https://www.progentec.com SOURCE Progentec Diagnostics, Inc. SECAUCUS, N.J., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, announced that it will report third quarter 2022 financial results on Thursday, October 20, 2022, before the market opens. It will hold its quarterly conference call to discuss the results beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on that day. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 888-455-0391 within the U.S. and Canada, or 773-756-0467 internationally, using the passcode: "7895081." The earnings release and live webcast will be posted on www.QuestDiagnostics.com/investor. The company suggests participants dial in approximately 10 minutes before the call. A replay of the call may be accessed online at www.QuestDiagnostics.com/investor or by phone at 888-566-0462 for domestic callers or 203-369-3609 for international callers; no passcode is required. Telephone replays will be available from approximately 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on October 20, 2022 until midnight Eastern Time on November 3, 2022. Anyone listening to the call is encouraged to read the company's periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the discussion of risk factors and historical results of operations and financial condition in those reports. About Quest Diagnostics Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from the world's largest database of clinical lab results, Quest's diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors, and improve health care management. Quest Diagnostics annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our nearly 50,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives. www.QuestDiagnostics.com SOURCE Quest Diagnostics Employee satisfaction drives brand acceleration and client success at RadarFirst. PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- RadarFirst , the global innovator in privacy incident management, is proud to be named as one of the 2022 Top Workplaces by The Oregonian/Oregon Live. Now in its eleventh year, this esteemed award is earned based on employee surveys that ask participants to rate their employers on multiple aspects of workplace culture, from pay and benefits to company values, productivity, and leadership. "It is a privilege to be named a top workplace by our community this year. We strive to be an employer of choice by prioritizing the well-being of our employees and creating a flexible and inclusive culture. The recognition is both rewarding and reassuring that we are on the right trajectory as an organization. This award indicates we are living our company values." - Courtney Moss, Senior Human Resources Manager at RadarFirst. RadarFirst is committed to being the most innovative privacy solution and creating a flexible and inclusive culture. Tweet this Strong Brand Values Result in Employee Satisfaction RadarFirst is committed to being the most innovative privacy solution and creating a culture reflective of its corporate values: Integrity and Empathy Inclusion and Innovation Respect and Candor These values are present through every action RadarFirst takes as an organization. RadarFirst offers its employees the opportunity to grow and innovate within the privacy industry. Employees are confident in RadarFirst's values, productivity, and leadership . This confidence has translated into the success of the solution and the positive impact it has had on customers and how they accelerate efficiency in privacy incident management. RadarFirst Positions Itself for Continued Growth, Internally and Externally RadarFirst just completed its annual Privacy Summit , virtually this year an event that differentiates RadarFirst from other privacy software solutions. Over three hundred privacy leaders were in attendance, a registration list consisting of current and potential customers. Attendees joined to hear how RadarFirst continues to solve an increasingly complex privacy landscape with a solution to simplify all ten stages of privacy incident management. Attendees were educated on where the brand is today and where it is headed in terms of new product features and offerings. Highlights from the event included: A panel discussion with privacy experts from university healthcare and Fortune 500 life and health insurance companies An awards ceremony that acknowledged outstanding privacy professionals and teams New feature announcements and product knowledge sessions from RadarFirst experts RadarFirst continues to put its employees and customers first. Feedback on the solution is imperative for ongoing enhancements needed to be the most innovative privacy solution. Recent enhancements include three new product offerings designed to streamline team collaboration and improve privacy inefficiencies: Incident Dimensions , Playbooks , and Health Check with RadarFirst . CEO of RadarFirst, Don India, comments on this year's growth and top workplace achievement, "This award is an honor to receive. Our brand is only as strong as the employees who contribute to our success each day. We truly strive to offer an environment where every employee can have a voice in improving our product for the customers we serve." About RadarFirst In today's world of increasingly complex and changing privacy regulations, RadarFirst offers innovative software solutions to data privacy challenges. With RadarFirst, the patented SaaS-based incident response management platform, organizations make consistent, defensible breach notification decisions in half the time. The Radar Breach Guidance Engine profiles and scores data privacy incidents and generates incident-specific notification recommendations to help ensure compliance with data breach laws as well as contractual notification obligations. Privacy leaders around the globe rely on RadarFirst for an efficient, consistent, and defensible solution for privacy incident response. Learn more about a career with RadarFirst, visit radarfirst.com/careers . Media Contact: RadarFirst Kristina Wright, Director of Marketing [email protected] SOURCE RadarFirst LOS ANGELES, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- National probate and inheritance dispute law firm, RMO LLP, announced the addition of experienced probate litigator Savannah Brutto to help Founding Partner Scott Rahn lead its new Ventura County, California Office in Westlake Village. "Estate disputes are personal and emotional, and we've found having experienced probate litigators in local communities allows us to provide the personal service that is a cornerstone of how we lead with empathy," said Rahn. "Our ability to connect with our clients to really understand their personal and legal goals are just as critical as our legal acumen." Driven by a commitment to provide relief to people grieving the loss of a loved one, Rahn, Brutto and the RMO team collaborate closely with clients, pursuing and defending all types of probate litigation disputes, including claims involving incapacity, incompetence, breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference with expected inheritance, financial elder abuse, and other similar areas of conflict. Rahn resolves contests, disputes and litigation related to trusts, estates and conservatorships, creating a welcome peace of mind for clients. He represents heirs, beneficiaries, trustees and executors and utilizes his experience to develop and implement strategies that swiftly and cost-effectively address the financial issues, fiduciary duties and emotional complexities underlying trust contests, estates conflicts and probate litigation. Brutto brings nearly a decade of experience in trusts and estate litigation to an already seasoned RMO team. Her empathetic and results-oriented approach in representing heirs, beneficiaries, fiduciaries, creditors and other interested parties in litigated probate, contested conservatorship, and financial elder abuse cases at RMO allows her clients to achieve their goals sooner and for less legal spend, protecting their bottom line but also giving them peace of mind. Brutto attended California State University Northridge and earned her JD at Southwestern Law School, where she received the Witkin Award for Academic Excellence. This year Rahn was recognized by the Los Angeles Times as a "Legal Visionary" and named a "Top Litigator" by the Los Angeles Business Journal. He was also ranked by Chambers and Partners and named a "Trailblazer" by The American Lawyer. Rahn earned his JD from the University of San Diego School of Law and his BA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. RMO LLP provides personal, cost-effective inheritance dispute services to individual and institutional clients. The firm's attorneys focus on probate litigation involving contested trust, estate, probate, and conservatorship matters. RMO has offices serving clients with probate disputes throughout California, Florida, Texas, Kansas and Missouri. For more information, please visit https://rmolawyers.com/. SOURCE RMO LLP MENLO PARK, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Global talent solutions and business consulting firm Robert Half (NYSE: RHI) has been named to the highly competitive FORTUNE Best Workplaces for Women list. Protiviti, Robert Half's consulting subsidiary, is also included on the list. The annual list is based on a survey of more than 640,000 women who work for Great Place to Work-Certified companies. Employees shared feedback about their organization's culture, including issues of equal representation, career growth, fairness, trust and camaraderie. In addition to survey responses, organizational demographics were considered. At Robert Half and Protiviti, women comprise 55% of the global workforce. "This recognition underscores our commitment to supporting the women who make up more than half of our global workforce," said M. Keith Waddell, president and chief executive officer of Robert Half. "From our benefits programs to our career development and leadership opportunities, we are proud to foster an environment that empowers women to succeed in all aspects of their lives." In 2021, Robert Half launched the Global Women's Employee Network (GWEN), one of its five Employee Network Groups (ENGs). With nearly 1,200 members, GWEN is the largest of these groups and connects thousands of employees from across the globe to share ideas, offer support and access resources to help them grow personally and professionally. "For more than seven decades, we've maintained a people-first philosophy, endeavoring to find new and innovative ways to support our employees," said Lynne Smith, senior vice president of global human resources at Robert Half. "GWEN began as a means for us to build a community of support for women and it continues to be an avenue to elevate their unique perspectives and voices throughout the organization." Robert Half has also been recognized by Forbes as one of America's Best Employers for Women 2022 and is a supporter of the Women's Empowerment Principles, a joint initiative of the UN Global Compact and UN Women. Learn more at roberthalf.com/esg-report. About Robert Half Robert Half is the world's first and largest specialized talent solutions and business consulting firm that connects people with meaningful work and provides clients with the talent and subject matter expertise they need to confidently compete and grow. Visit roberthalf.com and download the company's award-winning mobile app. SOURCE Robert Half International Inc. RoboForex won the 'Best Investment Products' award for 2022. The felicitation ceremony will be held at the Palm Jumeirah Waldorf Astoria, Dubai, on the 1st of December 2022. LONDON, Sept. 27, 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 their readers updated on key trends surrounding the branding world. RoboForex was evaluated based on customer service, satisfaction, digital innovation, strategic relationships and new business development. Commenting on RoboForex winning the awards, ShivKumar (CEO) of Global Brands Magazine said, "RoboForex has been doing consistently well for over a decade. RoboForex's understanding of the financial markets is like no other in Europe. They are also incredibly versatile and accommodating, allowing their customers to trade and deal in different currencies while updating their security. We wish the team of RoboForex all the best and hope they continue down the path of success." Robert Shephenson, Chief Business Officer of RoboForex, commented on winning the awards, saying, "We are grateful to everyone who gave their voice for RoboForex in the Best Investment Products Global contest. Being a unique investment platform, CopyFX helps clients to invest according to their knowledge, with acceptable levels of risk and profitability, and to receive good commission fees for successful trades copied by their subscribers. This reward not only stimulates us to develop but also confirms our effort to be successful." About RoboForex RoboForex is a company which delivers brokerage services. The company provides traders who work on financial markets with access to its proprietary trading platforms. RoboForex Ltd has the brokerage licence FSC 000138/333. More detailed information about the Company's products and activities can be found on the official website at roboforex.com. 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. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1764747/GBM_2022_Logo.jpg SOURCE Global Brands Magazine LONDON and MUMBAI, India, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- S-Ancial, a leading technology company for listed companies trading in the global stock markets, and Pedrosa IR, a London-based Investor Relations firm, today announced an alliance to support public corporations with their data and digital needs. The alliance will allow companies trading in OTC Markets, Euronext, Aquis Stock Exchange, or BIVA Mexico, to automate information flows based on data & artificial intelligence, thus significantly enhancing their IR capabilities. Starting October 2022, the venture will provide these market actors with S-Ancial's proprietary tech platform, which uses AI and Machine Learning to automate the Investor Relations process manual tasks. The technology trawls through raw data that would be impossible to mine manually and draws actionable insights quickly and cost-effectively. This allows for better price discovery for companies and broader coverage for investors. "We are excited to announce this joint venture with Pedrosa," said S-Ancial CEO Pradip Seth. "This joint venture will allow us to provide listed companies with the technology and services necessary for small and medium companies to take their Investor Relations work to new levels of success," he added. Ramon Pedrosa-Lopez, Principal of Pedrosa IR, stated: "We believe the future of Investor Relations will be digital and AI-driven. Our platform will allow us to analyze the data points necessary for creating and disseminating compelling market narratives and allow small IR teams to work independently to their utmost capabilities". Founded in Mumbai, India, in 2015, S-Ancial is Asia's leading IR tech development company. Its ExchangeConnect platform is considered a primary investor analysis and investor targeting digital platform in the market. Incorporated in London, Pedrosa IR is a well-respected, tech-driven international profile-raising communications and investor relations specialist for financial, listed, corporate, and government clients. It serves clients in Europe, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Americas, and Australia. On October 6, Ramon Pedrosa-Lopez will speak at Small Cap Growth Virtual Investor Conference. You can register to attend here. SOURCE S-Ancial Saudi sees +121% pre-pandemic recovery sector growth, according to UNWTO Tourism Barometer Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb : "Through continued leadership and commitment, we have made incomparable progress." UNWTO Barometer reports +60% global tourism sector pre-pandemic recovery RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Saudi is the fastest growing tourism destination in the G20. Saudi Arabia's exponential sector growth has seen an extraordinary +121% increase from pre-pandemic international tourism levels as recognized by the newly published UNWTO Tourism Barometer. The substantial tourism recovery recognizes not only Saudi's considerable investment in tourism, but also the country's pioneering leadership in future-proofing its tourism sector. UNWTO Barometer (PRNewsfoto/Saudi Tourism Authority) Saudi was swift in its response to the pandemic and rolled out vaccines to ensure high immunization rates quickly which accelerated the easing of restrictions and the reopening of the country to tourists. The government also implemented several measures aimed at supporting companies and employees working in the tourism sector thereby mitigating the effects of the pandemic. Tourism is a key pillar of Saudi's transformative Vision 2030 and the country has ambitious goals to ensure that tourism contributes 10% of the country's GDP by 2030, with one million jobs created along the way. According to the UNWTO Tourism Barometer, the global tourism sector saw international tourist arrivals almost triple from January to July 2022 (+172%) compared to the same period of 2021. This means the sector recovered to almost 60% of pre-pandemic levels. His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, and Chairman of the Board of Saudi Tourism Authority said: "Recognition of Saudi's achievements in the UNWTO Tourism Barometer is a key milestone in our extraordinary recovery and much of the success lies in our leadership's multipronged approach to managing the pandemic and accelerating the sector's pace of recovery. Saudi opened to the world in September 2019 and through continued leadership and commitment, we have made incomparable progress toward realizing our ambitious Vision 2030 tourism goals. We are invested in a sustainable future for tourism, and today I am proud of Saudi's position as the fastest growing tourism destination in the G20." In 2020, Saudi Arabia's G20 leadership shaped strategies for recovery to foster a more sustainable and resilient sector, and today, Saudi Arabia has outperformed the G20 countries in pre-pandemic tourism recovery. A core pillar of Saudi's transformative Vision 2030, an ambitious roadmap for the future, building a resilient tourism ecosystem is fundamental to the Kingdom's economic diversification strategy, with people at its core. In line with the National Tourism Strategy, Saudi has ambitious goals to ensure that tourism contributes 10% of the country's GDP by 2030, with one million jobs created along the way. About Saudi Tourism Authority Saudi Tourism Authority (STA), launched in June 2020, is responsible for marketing Saudi's tourism destinations worldwide and developing the destination's offering through programs, packages and business support. Its mandate includes developing the country's unique assets and destinations, hosting and participating in industry events, and promoting Saudi's destination brand locally and overseas. STA operates 16 representative offices around the world, serving 38 countries. About the UNWTO Barometer The UNWTO Barometer monitors short-term tourism trends on a regular basis to provide global tourism stakeholders with up-to-date analysis on international tourism. The report is published four times a year and includes an analysis of the latest data on tourism destinations and source markets. The Barometer also includes a Confidence Index based on the UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts survey, which provides an evaluation of recent performance and short-term prospects for international tourism. Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1908947/Saudi_Tourism_Authority_1.jpg SOURCE Saudi Tourism Authority NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Siegel Family Endowment , a foundation focused on understanding and shaping the impact of technology on society, launched a new whitepaper that explores how reimagining schools as critical community infrastructure can help address the vast challenges facing public education across the country. With the pandemic only exacerbating the deep inequities that exist throughout our education systems today, the paper examines how schools can leverage their physical spaces, digital networks, and social connections to better serve all students, families and educators, as well as enrich the community-at-large. Building upon Siegel Family Endowment's multidimensional approach to infrastructure , the paper outlines the intricate role that schools play in their communities and charts a path forward for how both systems can be strengthened in tandem to create greater opportunity for all. "The disruption of the past three years has exposed just how crucial schools are to the communities they serve," said Joshua Elder, Director of Grantmaking at Siegel Family Endowment. "By viewing our education systems as bigger and more comprehensive than the buildings in which they operate, we have an opportunity to propel both schools and the neighborhoods they are situated in to a brighter future. We hope this whitepaper can act as an invitation to learn, share and partner to catalyze change for the next generation of learners." The paper is part of Siegel Family Endowment's on-going investments to envision an education system that benefits everyone. This work is centered in innovative partnerships with cutting-edge organizations including Reimagine America's Schools , Education Reimagined, and Transcend Education - all of which also contributed insights to the whitepaper. "Schools have long existed at the heart of community and community at the heart of schools," said Katy Knight, President and Executive Director of Siegel Family Endowment. "For our nation's education systems to become the most effective and powerful versions of themselves, we as funders must serve as society's risk capital and invest in those thinking beyond traditional silos to invent new ways to serve students and communities, now and in the future." To showcase the proven impact of this approach, the whitepaper looks at people, schools and communities that are already dreaming, designing, and implementing holistic and multidimensional approaches to their education systems. These case studies include: An ambitious and long-lasting partnership in Burlington, Kansas between school districts and government entities that pools resources for digital infrastructure and sparks innovation between school districts and government entities that pools resources for digital infrastructure and sparks innovation A set of competency-based public lab schools in Philadelphia and Allentown, Pennsylvania that are designed to build strong social infrastructure and encourage real-world learning and that are designed to build strong social infrastructure and encourage real-world learning An effort to empower caregivers to design digital opportunities and spaces to build school community in Oakland, California . Visit siegelendowment.org/schools-as-community-infrastructure to learn more and to download the white paper. To share your ideas or explore ways to work with Siegel Family Endowment, contact [email protected] . About Siegel Family Endowment: Siegel Family Endowment is a foundation that aims to understand and shape the impact of technology on society through our lenses of learning, workforce, and infrastructure. Founded in 2011 by David M. Siegel, co-founder and co-chairman of the financial sciences company Two Sigma, we believe that philanthropy is society's risk capital it can help drive innovation by investing in local leaders and community-born solutions, fostering prosperous and equitable futures for all. Our work is centered around funding organizations that address society's most critical challenges, while supporting innovative civic and community leaders, social entrepreneurs, researchers, and more that are driving this work forward. Contact: Tori McKnight 201-927-2937 [email protected] SOURCE Siegel Family Endowment NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Technavio's latest research report on the Solar PV Balance Of Systems (BOS) Market offers a comprehensive analysis of new product launches, the latest trends, and the post-pandemic impact on businesses. The solar PV balance of systems (BOS) market value is anticipated to grow by USD 79.47 billion, at a CAGR of almost 18.8% during the forecast period. Market Dynamics Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Solar PV Balance Of Systems (BOS) Market 2022-2026 Factors such as increasing investments in renewable energy, and supportive government policies will be crucial in driving the growth of the market. But the rising competition from other sources of energy will restrict the market growth. advances in inverter technology are some of the opportunities for the market players to grow. On the other hand, the intermittency in solar power generation is a huge challenge in front of the industry. Buy Sample Report. Company Profiles Vendors are being driven by the intensifying market rivalry to implement a variety of growth methods, such as promotional efforts and spending on advertising, to increase the exposure of their services. In order to remain competitive in the market, several suppliers are also implementing inorganic expansion tactics like M&As. The research examines the market's competitive environment and provides details on a number of vendors, including: ABB Ltd. Array Technologies Inc. Bentek Corp. Eaton Corp. Plc First Solar Inc. Golden Concord Holdings Ltd. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. Loom Solar Pvt. Ltd. Mecanizados Solares SL Microtek International Pvt. Ltd. Prysmian Spa Renesola Ltd Schneider Electric SE Find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings, Download Free Sample Report. Competitive Analysis The report includes competitive analysis, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their industry position score and market performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Market Segmentation By Product The structural segment's market share of solar PV balance of systems (BOS) will significantly increase. Solar PV systems must have structural BOS components. As a result, the growth in the deployment of solar PV systems coincides with the development of the structural BOS. As a result, the demand for solar PV systems will be driven by the increase in global solar PV capacity, which will also encourage the deployment of structural BOS components during the projected period. By Geography APAC will account for 59% of market growth. The main markets in APAC for solar PV balance systems are China , Japan , and India . The market in this region will grow more slowly than the markets in North America , Europe , the Middle East and Africa . Request Free Sample Report. Related Reports Overhead Cables Market by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The overhead cables market share is expected to increase by USD 17.67 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 5.1%. Electric Motor Sales Market by Application and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The electric motor sales market share is expected to increase by USD 52.69 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 6.38%. Solar PV Balance Of Systems (BOS) Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 18.8% Market growth 2022-2026 $79.47 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 17.32 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 59% Key consumer countries US, China, Japan, India, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled ABB Ltd., Array Technologies Inc., Bentek Corp., Eaton Corp. Plc, First Solar Inc., Golden Concord Holdings Ltd., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Loom Solar Pvt. Ltd., Mecanizados Solares SL, Microtek International Pvt. Ltd., Prysmian Spa, Renesola Ltd, Schneider Electric SE, SMA Solar Technology AG, SolarEdge Technologies Inc., Solaris Technology Industry Inc., Sungrow Power Supply Co. Ltd., SunPower Corp, Unirac Inc., and Moser Baer Solar 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, and 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. Browse for Technavio "Industrials" Research Reports 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 Product 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: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors 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 Product 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 24: Chart on Product - Market share 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 25: Data Table on Product - Market share 2021-2026 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Product Exhibit 26: Chart on Comparison by Product Exhibit 27: Data Table on Comparison by Product 5.3 Structural - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 28: Chart on Structural - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 29: Data Table on Structural - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 30: Chart on Structural - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 31: Data Table on Structural - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.4 Electrical - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 32: Chart on Electrical - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 33: Data Table on Electrical - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 34: Chart on Electrical - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 35: Data Table on Electrical - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.5 Inverter - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 36: Chart on Inverter - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 37: Data Table on Inverter - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 38: Chart on Inverter - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 39: Data Table on Inverter - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.6 Market opportunity by Product Exhibit 40: Market opportunity by Product ($ 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 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 50: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 51: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 52: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 53: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.5 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 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 55: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) 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 (%) 7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 58: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 59: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 60: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 61: 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 62: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 63: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 64: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 65: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.8 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 66: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 67: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 68: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 69: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.9 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 70: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 71: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 72: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 73: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.10 Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 74: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 75: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 76: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 77: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.11 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 78: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 79: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 80: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 81: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.12 India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 82: Chart on India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 83: Data Table on India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) 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 (%) 7.13 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 ABB Ltd. Exhibit 93: ABB Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 94: ABB Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 95: ABB Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 96: ABB Ltd. - Segment focus 10.4 Eaton Corp. Plc Exhibit 97: Eaton Corp. Plc - Overview Exhibit 98: Eaton Corp. Plc - Business segments Exhibit 99: Eaton Corp. Plc - Key news Exhibit 100: Eaton Corp. Plc - Key offerings Exhibit 101: Eaton Corp. Plc - Segment focus 10.5 Golden Concord Holdings Ltd. Exhibit 102: Golden Concord Holdings Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 103: Golden Concord Holdings Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 104: Golden Concord Holdings Ltd. - Key offerings 10.6 Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. Exhibit 105: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 106: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 107: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 108: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. - Segment focus 10.7 Prysmian Spa Exhibit 109: Prysmian Spa - Overview Exhibit 110: Prysmian Spa - Business segments Exhibit 111: Prysmian Spa - Key offerings Exhibit 112: Prysmian Spa - Segment focus 10.8 Renesola Ltd Exhibit 113: Renesola Ltd - Overview Exhibit 114: Renesola Ltd - Business segments Exhibit 115: Renesola Ltd - Key offerings Exhibit 116: Renesola Ltd - Segment focus 10.9 Schneider Electric SE Exhibit 117: Schneider Electric SE - Overview Exhibit 118: Schneider Electric SE - Business segments Exhibit 119: Schneider Electric SE - Key news Exhibit 120: Schneider Electric SE - Key offerings Exhibit 121: Schneider Electric SE - Segment focus 10.10 SMA Solar Technology AG Exhibit 122: SMA Solar Technology AG - Overview Exhibit 123: SMA Solar Technology AG - Business segments Exhibit 124: SMA Solar Technology AG - Key offerings Exhibit 125: SMA Solar Technology AG - Segment focus 10.11 Sungrow Power Supply Co. Ltd. Exhibit 126: Sungrow Power Supply Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 127: Sungrow Power Supply Co. Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 128: Sungrow Power Supply Co. Ltd. - Key offerings 10.12 Unirac Inc. Exhibit 129: Unirac Inc. - Overview Exhibit 130: Unirac Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 131: Unirac Inc. - Key offerings 11 Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist Exhibit 132: Inclusions checklist Exhibit 133: Exclusions checklist 11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 134: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.4 Research methodology Exhibit 135: Research methodology Exhibit 136: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 137: Information sources 11.5 List of abbreviations Exhibit 138: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SpendEdge's procurement report on PVC Pipe market identifies Advanced Drainage Systems Inc., China Lesso Group Holdings Ltd., and Finolex Industries Ltd among the topmost important suppliers for commercial vehicle cabin market. The report also explains key category management objectives that should form the base for PVC Pipe sourcing strategy. Inc.'s fifth annual Female Founders 100 list highlights entrepreneurs with world-changing companies NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Katharine Lau, CEO and Co-Founder of the tech-enabled self-storage startup Stuf , has been recognized in Inc.'s fifth annual Female Founders 100 list, honoring a bold group of 100 women whose innovations and ideas are shaping the world into a better place. Collectively, the 2022 honorees' companies are estimated to be worth more than $22 billion. The founders cross all industries and bring with them unique stories of success from each stage of the entrepreneurial journey from startup to going public, being acquired by big buyers, or spending decades at the helm of an organization. They are reinventing everything from shoes to food and are challenging issues like financial literacy and reproductive health. "I'm honored to be recognized alongside these brilliant and inspiring women who are pioneering innovative businesses across every sector and changing the face of entrepreneurship," said Katharine Lau, CEO and Co-Founder of Stuf. "Seeing our own business transform from a few storage units to a national network is incredibly fulfilling, and I'm proud of what our team has accomplished in less than two years. Our mission is to empower people and businesses to do more with less, and I know we are on the right track to support them in living and working more flexibly, particularly in a post-pandemic world. Our success validates why we started the business users want to store their belongings in secure and inviting locations closer to where they live and work." Lau utilized her commercial real estate background and proptech experience to identify that landlords are sitting on millions of square feet of underutilized real estate that may never see the light of day. By partnering with real estate owners to monetize these spaces in commercial buildings as hyperlocal storage, including in basements, garages, and retail spaces, Stuf is creating new cash flow opportunities for landlords and a new amenity for the neighborhood. Under Lau's leadership, the company has grown over 300% year-over-year since founding the company in late 2020 with a single location in San Francisco. Stuf now has locations in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Oakland, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, with new cities coming soon. Focused on growth and brand development, Lau credits the company's early success to a laser focus on truly understanding the needs of storage users and real estate owners while investing in technology and IOT to provide a seamless member experience. Lau believes that self storage should be easy to access, safe and secure, and most importantly, close to where people and businesses live and work. Through her creative vision and thoughtful execution, Lau's company, Stuf, provides its members with local storage powered by hospitality-inspired service, all-inclusive pricing, and tech-enabled access to meet modern needs. Each year, Inc. editors review thousands of applications highlighting female founders who are challenging the status quo and tackling some of the world's biggest problems. The list features women who have overcome challenges and lifted those around them, while leading impactful organizations across the country. They join the ranks of previous honorees including Jessica Alba, Tracee Ellis Ross, Rihanna, and Shonda Rhimes. "These 100 female founders have identified solutions to difficult problems and created valuable, industry-changing companies out of them. We congratulate this year's list on their achievements and look forward to their continued success," says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. To see the complete list, go to: https://www.inc.com/female-founders After launching in 2018, the Female Founders 100 list is one of Inc.'s most esteemed franchises. Inc. magazine's Female Founders 100 issue (October 2022) will be available online on September 28 at https://www.inc.com/magazine and on newsstands on October 4. Join the Female Founders 100 conversation using #FemaleFounders. About Inc. 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 among 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 . About Stuf: Stuf is a next-generation self-storage startup delivering modern, tech-enabled storage solutions to consumers. Stuf partners with real estate owners to monetize basements, garages, and other spaces in commercial buildings, creating new cash flow opportunities while providing neighborhoods with new amenities. Whether running low on space or looking for seasonal storage, Stuf is proud to be the home away from home for people's possessions. Stuf is honored to be recognized by Fast Company as a Most Innovative Company for 2022. For more information and team opportunities at Stuf, visit https://stufstorage.com . Media Contact: Ryan Bender Clarity Global P: (818) 917-3663 [email protected] SOURCE Stuf Berlin-based Sanity Group announces $37.6 Million Series B BERLIN, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Leading German cannabis company Sanity Group announced today a $37.6M Series B financing round Europe's largest cannabis investment round to date. The round was led by BAT Group* with ongoing commitment from existing Sanity Group investors such as Redalpine and Casa Verde Capital brings total funds raised by the company to over $100M. The new investment will fuel Sanity Group's growth, enable European expansion and strengthen research and development activities. "This funding is an important milestone for us and a strong signal towards the future of cannabis in Germany and Europe. I am grateful for the belief shown by both new and existing investors. Our goal is to leverage the full potential of the cannabis plant and to explore and harness the different cannabinoids with the new capital, we will be able to accelerate our medical and consumer business units whilst preparing accordingly for cannabis legalization in Germany," said Finn Age Hansel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sanity Group. "This financing round is not only the largest funding round achieved by a European cannabis company to date, but also one of the few upsizing rounds in this current economic phase of the German startup scene. Against the backdrop of a challenging global economy, we are proud to have achieved a funding round of this magnitude, facilitating the pursuit and progress of our mission to become a significant cannabis brand in Germany and Europe", added Max Narr, Chief Investment Officer of Sanity Group. "Our mission is to help aspiring companies become tomorrow's market leaders. We invest in curious minds with a shared passion to innovate. We have felt this passion from the Sanity Group team since our involvement in the summer of 2021, and we look forward to accompanying their further development in the future", said Michael Sidler, Partner at Swiss VC Redalpine, lead investor in the Series A financing round in 2021. Karan Wadhera, Managing Partner at Casa Verde Capital, added: "Sanity Group is already the most well capitalized cannabis business in Germany and is on track to become one of the leading brands in Europe. We are thrilled with their continued progress and will keep offering financial and operational support as they scale." Sanity Group was founded in 2018 and has around 120 employees in the medical, consumer health and science sectors now. The company aims to improve quality of life through the use of cannabinoids. The focus is on pharmaceuticals, medical products and consumer goods. Sanity Group's existing investors include music producer Will.I.Am (Black Eyed Peas), Hollywood actress Alyssa Milano, manager Scooter Braun, Swiss VC Redalpine, Casa Verde Capital, HV Capital, Calyx, TQ Ventures, Atlantic Food Labs, Cherry Ventures, Bitburger Ventures, SevenVentures, GMPVC, Navy Capital and SOJE Capital. About Sanity Group Berlin-based Sanity Group aims to improve people's quality of life through the use of cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system. In addition to pharmaceuticals, the focus is also on wellbeing and cosmetic products that utilize cannabinoids. Sanity Group, founded in Berlin in 2018 by Finn Age Hansel and Fabian Friede, includes Vayamed and AVAAY Medical (medicinal cannabis), Endosane Pharmaceuticals (finished pharmaceuticals), Belfry Medical (medical products and digital applications), VAAY (wellbeing) and This Place (natural cosmetics). Near Frankfurt am Main, Sanity Group also operates a production and processing facility for cannabis extracts. More information can be found on sanitygroup.com/press. *This investment was made by BT DE Investments Inc., a wholly owned BAT Group company. For further information about BAT, visit BAT.com. SOURCE Sanity Group Recently recognized on the Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest-growing privately-held U.S. companies, SupportNinja expands further into the European market to meet clients' international needs DALLAS, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SupportNinja, an award-winning Dallas-based business process outsourcing company, has announced the expansion of its operations to Romania. This move extends the organization's 24/7 customer experience footprint beyond the U.S., Philippines, and Ireland to enable multilingual support capabilities for clients. As a leader in the work from home space, SupportNinja is hiring skilled Romania-based customer support experts working entirely remotely to service its international clients with diverse product and language needs. Romania's workforce has a strong aptitude for native and near-native European language fluencies and a growing population of tech and creative professionals. This means that customers of SupportNinja clients who are more comfortable speaking their native tongue, will now be able to speak with agents in Romanian, English, French, Spanish, Italian, German and Dutch. SupportNinja's dedication to providing an exceptional employee experience further ensures that agents are well-equipped to provide sterling service to customers. SupportNinja's CEO, Connor Tomkies, explained, "SupportNinja helps companies secure the integrity of their brand identities by delivering incredible customer experiences through compassionate interactions. Establishing a strong presence in Romania is a natural next step given the diverse, well-educated talent pool, combined with a very favorable economic climate for businesses. Romania serves as a stepping stone for additional expansion in Europe so that we can be closer to European clients in terms of operational proximity, time zone offerings and language capabilities." The expansion into Romania follows the company's acquisition earlier this year of Bolton Remote, a specialist provider of customer success, technical support and product operations solutions. The acquisition extended the company's geographic footprint, adding a presence in Ireland, as well as growing SupportNinja's already established operations in the U.S. and the Philippines. It also provided additional language capabilities and time zone flexibility for clients, as well as a more exhaustive list of services including expanded data operations, renewals management, customer success and onboarding, technical expertise, and back-office support. SupportNinja expects to hire several hundred support agents within the next year. About SupportNinja: Since 2015, SupportNinja has been driven to show the world "a better way to outsource." It does so by challenging the status quo, implementing the latest technology and developing the best people. In the end, SupportNinja focuses on what matters mostproviding the best experience for employees, clients and client customers. Get the latest updates at http://www.supportninja.com and the SupportNinja LinkedIn page. Contact: Chris Tofalli Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC [email protected] 914-834-4334 SOURCE SupportNinja 8 in 10 travellers recognise the importance of sustainable travel COVID-19 greatly fueled people's appetite to travel sustainably 67.7% of travellers are open to paying more for sustainable options SHANGHAI, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Trip.com Group, a leading global travel service provider, today released its inaugural "Sustainable Travel Consumer Report 2022", celebrating the annual World Tourism Day. This report sheds light on the increased acceptance of sustainable travel and its implications for the travel industry and the wider world. Across the globe, sustainable travel as a concept and practice has moved from the back of travellers' minds to claim a dominant position in the decision-making process, with close to eight in 10 travellers (78.7%) acknowledging its importance. Sustainable Travel an Increasingly Accepted Idea Based on a survey of 7,705 respondents across 11 markets in Asia and Europe, the report finds that the impact of travel has topped the list of reasons why travellers are increasingly drawn to sustainable travel. Some 50.5% of respondents said they care about the impact of travel on future generations, a third (26.8%) cited its role in improving the travel experience, another 13.2% perceived it as trendy, and 8.4% admitted people opted for sustainable travel due to societal pressure. Perception of sustainable travel also varies among the respondents. The report indicates a growing proportion of travellers now approach the term more holistically, emphasising the economic, cultural and biodiversity aspects in addition to the usual environmental considerations. The more diversified understanding of sustainable travel manifests itself through several ways that travellers consider conducive to tourist destinations. About 30% of respondents recognise the benefit of supporting local businesses and livelihoods, and a striking 43% believe respecting the culture and heritage of local destinations is also part and parcel of sustainable travel. The Rising Awareness of Sustainable Travel The pandemic is a key driver of a stronger desire to travel sustainably because of the shift in consumer mindset and behaviour. The report points out that over two-thirds (67.8%) of respondents named COVID-19 as a catalyst for their increased appetite to choose sustainable options. About 38.3% said travel restrictions enhanced their appreciation for nature, and another 30.4% yearned to travel closer to home. The pandemic has led many travellers to discover short-haul journeys and realises how it can help reduce their carbon footprint. One of the report's highlights is that it allows a glimpse into how Asian and European travellers understand and practise sustainable travel differently. Notably, 21.3% of Europe-based respondents stated that people opt for sustainable travel because "it is trendy", while the portion of Asian travellers who took this view is much smaller, at 7.1%. They also differed in their attitudes towards paying a higher price for sustainable options, with 39.1% of European travellers reluctant to pay extra for them, compared to 29.5% among their Asian counterparts. Despite the regional disparities, however, it's clear from the report that more and more people have practised sustainable travel in multiple forms. Amid heightened sustainability awareness, more than half (59.2%) of respondents demonstrate a tendency to pay for carbon offsetting to reduce the impact of their travel. A significant opportunity for OTAs Notwithstanding a spike in the popularity of sustainable travel, only 20% of respondents didn't report any barrier to sustainable travel, while the rest encountered various obstacles. Inadequate visibility of sustainable options poses a significant barrier to their wider adoption. Travellers blame this on the difficulty of accessing information about sustainable travel products, with 32.9% stating there is a lack of sustainable options and 25.4% saying these are not clearly marked. Accordingly, a little over half of them (50.7%) believed Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) should clearly label sustainable options, followed by 41.5% who called upon OTAs to make it easier to find these options, and 39.4% who suggested OTAs offer incentives. While 67.7% of travellers are open to paying more to include sustainable options in their trips, they display varying levels of price sensitivity to the higher costs it usually entails, with only around 10% of them would be willing to pay over 10% of the total price for a sustainable option. Against this backdrop, online travel agencies and booking platforms have a significant opportunity to tap into this by showcasing their sustainable travel credentials and endearing themselves to like-minded users. The report shows that an overwhelming 93.0% of respondents would consider booking via OTAs that provide sustainable options. Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, said: "The results reaffirm our vision to educate travellers better and provide a greater volume and variety of reliable, sustainable travel options. Our findings are a clarion call to ourselves as to our allies in the travel sector. "In the future, we will join hands with partners, travellers and other stakeholders to venture towards a more sustainable world." Read and download the "Sustainable Travel Consumer Report 2022", here Sustainability Travel Consumer Report 2022 SOURCE Trip.com Group IRVINE, Calif. , Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sverica Capital Management LP ("Sverica") announced today that its portfolio company, Synoptek (or the "Company"), has sold a majority stake to investment firm Quad-C Management (or "Quad-C"). Sverica will retain a minority position as a result of the transaction. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Irvine, CA, Synoptek is a leading full-service business technology solutions provider. The Company partners with customers to envision, transform and evolve their businesses to achieve better results using technology. The Company's global technology services implementation and management platform enables customers to accelerate their use of technology and reduce technology operating expenses. Synoptek has experienced significant growth since Sverica's initial investment in October 2015. Under Sverica's ownership, Synoptek completed five strategic acquisitions which helped increase the Company's delivery capacity in various geographies and meaningfully expanded its portfolio of services. Today, Synoptek employs over 1,000 technology professionals spanning 12 offices globally. The demand for Synoptek's services is fueled by growing business dependence on technology and the widespread adoption of cloud platforms such as Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Azure, AWS, Microsoft 365, and Google G-Suite. Frank Young, Managing Partner at Sverica, said, "Synoptek has accomplished a tremendous amount since we first joined forces with Tim to further scale the business. During our partnership, the Company experienced dramatic growth, built out a global footprint, and materially expanded its portfolio of service offerings, all of which were beneficial to customers. Tim, the management team, and the employees of Synoptek were great partners throughout. The Company is extremely well positioned for the future, and we look forward to continuing to retain a minority position under the leadership of the Company by Tim and Quad-C." Tim Britt, CEO of Synoptek, said, "Sverica became a valuable extension of our team. They had an immediate impact by initiating a pivotal discussion of service portfolio strategy and a shift to cloud-related services. They were great partners and provided important input on the overall direction of the Company which drove accelerated growth." "Synoptek and Sverica forged a strong partnership, and the Company's expanded capabilities, expertise, and resources resulting from strategic investments made with Tim and the Synoptek team position the Company well to deliver valuable full-stack service to customers. We're excited to continue supporting the Synoptek team as they embark on a new chapter in the Company's growth," said Ryan Harstad, Partner at Sverica. About Sverica Capital Management Sverica Capital Management is a leading growth-oriented private equity firm that has raised over $1.1 billion across five funds. The firm acquires, invests in, and actively builds companies that are, or could become, leaders in their industries. Since its inception, Sverica has followed a "business builder" approach to investing and takes an active supporting role in its portfolio companies. Sverica devotes significant internal time and resources to help its management teams develop and execute growth strategies and proactively looks for levers to pull to accelerate growth by reinvesting back into those companies. Sverica firmly believes in building businesses collaboratively that can endure for the long term by starting with a strong foundation and bringing the right people and playbook to drive reinvestment and ultimately strong returns for our investors. For more information, please visit Sverica.com. About Synoptek Synoptek is a global Business and Technology Consulting and Advisory firm that helps companies envision, transform, and evolve. As a Global Systems Integrator and managed Technology Services Provider, Synoptek partners with organizations worldwide, helping them navigate the ever-changing technology landscape and build solid tech foundations for their business. With its comprehensive offerings, global workforce, and strategic technology partnerships, Synoptek helps organizations grow their business while optimizing and protecting their IT ecosystem. With growth, ownership, inclusivity, and philanthropy embedded in its DNA, Synoptek is committed to delivering improved business results and unmatched service to all its stakeholders. Discover more at www.synoptek.com, or connect with Synoptek on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Media Inquiries: Sverica Capital Management LP Nathalie Allen 415-249-4906 [email protected] SOURCE Sverica Capital Management RAISES $6 MILLION SEED ROUND LED BY ALLEYCORP ALONG WITH TISHMAN SPEYER VENTURES TO BUILD DIGITAL LENDER FOR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE BORROWERS NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Private investment firm and development group Bridgeton Holdings LLC today announces the rebrand of its non-bank lending platform Bridgeton Capital to Erithmitic , in an effort to highlight the Company as a tech-enabled lender that is modernizing commercial real estate lending, ensuring process efficiencies to underwrite deals with more speed and accuracy. The Company today also announces it has closed a $6 million seed round led by AlleyCorp along with Tishman Speyer Ventures. Other investors include: Unpopular Ventures, founders of NuBank, Capsule, La Haus as well as Partners from Venture Capital firms, Ribbit Capital, and Camber Creek. Erithmitic will use the seed funding to build the next-generation commercial real estate investment platform to originate, underwrite, close and service one five year commercial mortgage loans nationwide between $5-$150 million and across all property types. Bridgeton Capital, which has rapidly expanded since inception in late 2021, has closed approximately $150 million in deal volume in the past few months, $200 million in credit lines from banks, and is targeting $500 million in origination volume over the next year. The Company's new brand identity as Erithmitic includes a new website and robust team of top talent with experience from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Microsoft. Half of the employees serve as software engineers and data scientists to enable their lending team to source, originate, and underwrite loans using the workflow suite within their proprietary ecosystem. Leveraging a variety of public and private data sources and machine learning techniques, Erithmitic is able to generate new and useful insights in evaluating the unique risks and opportunities of each CRE transaction, allowing for better and more accurate pricing. In addition, borrowers will be able to interact with the platform post-close to service and view performance data of their property, neighborhood, or region in a single intuitive experience. TECH-DRIVEN PLATFORM BRIDGETON CAPITAL RELAUNCHES AS ERITHMITIC. Tweet this The inspiration behind Erithmitic's mission has been years in the making. Co-founder Solomon Garber has been a career CRE lender, executing over $4 billion in origination transactions during his tenure across institutional debt funds and banks. Co-founder Atit Jariwala has been a career real estate entrepreneur, amassing a $2 billion portfolio under Bridgeton Holdings. Jariwala has owned and operated over fifty hotels, dozens of office buildings, industrial parks, and multi-family buildings nationwide. Over their careers, Garber and Jariwala have experienced the frustrations with the traditional financing process and the lack of technological innovation. Bridgeton Capital was born in 2021 to originate senior secured loans for transitional properties nationwide and across property types. In 2022, Erithmitic will prioritize their company's focus to integrate data and technology into their institutional lending processes and customer experience. "We are building the best CRE mortgage lender for real estate sponsors," said Atit Jariwala, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Erithmitic. "Our vision is to make customized mortgage solutions faster, simpler and more accessible, providing innovative software solutions to sponsors to help close and service their loans. We're excited to join forces with this talented group of investors who bring a wealth of commercial real estate and fintech experience. The seed raise will help us build and scale Erithmitic's commercial mortgage offerings and data-driven platform to meet the dynamic needs of real estate sponsors." "We believe that commercial real estate sponsors deserve the best financing solutions for their projects, along with mortgage tools to efficiently manage their deals," said Solomon Garber, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer, Erithmitic. "The company has made significant momentum building a best-in-class pipeline and team since its seed funding in April 2022, and we only look to continue rapid expansion." To learn more about Erithmitic, please visit here . About Erithmitic Erithmitic is the future of commercial real estate lending. Founded in 2022, Erithmitic provides commercial real estate brokers and sponsors reliable and competitive debt financing. The integrated team includes experienced originators, underwriters, engineers and data scientists. The company is based in New York City and is funded by Tishman Speyer Ventures, AlleyCorp, notable fintech/proptech angel investors. To learn more, visit www.erithmitic.com. About Tishman Speyer (tishmanspeyer.com) Tishman Speyer is a leading owner, developer, operator and investment manager of first-class real estate in 30 key markets across the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. We develop, build and manage premier office, residential and retail spaces for industry-leading tenants, as well as state-of-the-art life science centers through our Breakthrough Properties venture. With global vision, on-the-ground expertise and a personalized approach, we are unparalleled in our ability to foster innovation, quickly adapt to global and local trends and proactively anticipate our customers' evolving needs. By focusing on health and wellness, enlightened placemaking and customer-focused initiatives such as our tenant amenities platform, ZO., and our flexible space and coworking brand, Studio, we tend not just to our physical buildings, but to the people who inhabit them on a daily basis. Since our inception in 1978, Tishman Speyer has acquired, developed, and operated 484 properties, totaling 219 million square feet, with a combined value of over $121 billion (U.S.). Our current portfolio includes such iconic assets as Rockefeller Center in New York City, The Springs in Shanghai, TaunusTurm in Frankfurt and the Mission Rock neighborhood currently being realized in San Francisco. About AlleyCorp AlleyCorp is a $600M+ evergreen venture fund and a leading player in the New York tech startup ecosystem. Founded by serial entrepreneur Kevin Ryan, AlleyCorp is dedicated to growing transformative companies in New York and across the globe in three principal ways: by founding them (prior incubations include MongoDB, Gilt Groupe, Business Insider, Zola, and Nomad Health); by investing in and supporting early-stage companies (across pre-seed, seed, and series A); and as a limited partner (investing in 30+ top funds globally). AlleyCorp also operates specialized funds in a range of areas including a $100M healthcare fund, a $30M robotics fund, and recently launched an in-house engineering team in Canada, comprised of over 40 exceptional engineers, that work for the team's early-stage companies. For more information, please visit www.alleycorp.com. Contact: Gizem Ozcelik [email protected] SOURCE Bridgeton Holdings Two of the most requested menu items will face off in Taco Bell's first-ever in-app vote as Rewards members determine which will return for a limited time IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Following years of pleas and requests to bring back former menu items, Taco Bell is introducing a unique in-app voting experience * that puts the power to decide in the palm of its most loyal fans for the first time in the brand's history. The matchup pits two fan-favorites against each other and leaves it up to America to decide the winner that arrives on menus nationwide for a limited time before the end of the year. Will the crunch powerhouse Double Decker Taco prevail over the saucy one-of-a-kind Enchirito? Only time and votes will tell! Starting today, Rewards members can cast their daily vote in the Taco Bell app through October 6, with the victor displayed on October 7 and on menus at participating locations at a later date. For the first time in the brand's history, Taco Bell is putting the power to bring back one of its most highly-requested products in the hands of its most loyal fans: Taco Bell Rewards members. Members can cast their vote for the Double Decker Taco or Enchirito to return for a limited time in-app now through October 6. The Double Decker Taco landed on menus as a limited time offer in 1995 before being added to menus permanently in 2006 until 2019. The unique item merged the best of Taco Bell's flavors with a one-of-a-kind texture profile. First introduced to menus in 1970 before dropping off in 2013, the Enchirito was one of Taco Bell's first bold innovations that demonstrated the brand's passion for Mexican-inspired fusion. "On the heels of the love and passion we saw for Mexican Pizza, we wanted to continue elevating the voices of our most loyal fans by giving them exclusive access to a uniquely digital experience that fosters brand love," said Sean Tresvant, Taco Bell's Chief Brand Officer. "Nobody gets Taco Bell more than our community so we're thrilled to empower them with this in-app voting experience that allows them to have a direct impact on our menu." What will it be: Team Double Decker Taco or Team Enchirito? Team Double Decker Taco The Double Decker Taco was first introduced as a limited time offer in 1995 before becoming a permanent menu item in June 2006. It was later discontinued after a 13-year streak in 2019. A unique menu item that fused various textures and Taco Bell flavors, the hybrid taco is made up of a soft flour tortilla layered with beans, then wrapped around a traditional crunchy taco shell filled with seasoned beef, crispy lettuce and cheddar cheese. Team Enchirito The Enchirito has an even longer love story going back to 1970 before its departure in 2013 and was one of the first bold innovations that demonstrated Taco Bell's drive for Mexican-inspired fusion. The Enchirito is made up of a soft flour tortilla, loaded with seasoned beef, beans and diced onions all rolled up and smothered with its classic red sauce before being topped with melted shredded cheddar cheese. To become a Taco Bell Rewards * member and begin voting, simply download the Taco Bell app and sign up for an account. Rewards members have access to exclusive offers and earn points on qualifying purchases to redeem for rewards when ordering online, within the app, at the kiosk or by scanning order receipts. This year alone, Rewards members have scored big on freebies and unique offers including VIP access to the Taco Bell Drag Brunch experience across the US, early access to the most craveable food like the one-and-only Mexican Pizza and exclusive access to purchase the Taco Lover's Pass, which allowed fans to redeem up to one Taco Bell taco every day for 30 days. Quite simply, fans get rewarded for being part of Taco Bell Rewards. About Taco Bell Corp. For more information about Taco Bell, visit our website at www.TacoBell.com/news or at www.TacoBell.com/popular-links . You can also stay up to date on all things Taco Bell by following us on Facebook , Instagram , Taco Bell's Twitter , Taco Bell News' Twitter , TikTok and subscribing to our YouTube channel. For updates on how Taco Bell is navigating COVID-19, click here . *NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Voting open to Taco Bell Rewards Members who are logged in to their account when placing their vote. Limit 1 vote per day, per account during the voting period. The winning item will be brought back for a limited time and while supplies last to participating U.S. Taco Bell locations at a time and duration to be determined by Taco Bell. **Taco Bell Rewards program is available at participating U.S. locations and subject to terms and conditions . SOURCE Taco Bell Corp. Plug and Play and STMicroelectronics co-hosted a two-day event with more than 150 industry players to talk about the main trends of the Future of Mobility: Autonomous Driving, Electrification, Intelligent Vehicle / Connectivity, Sustainability, and Digital Twins. CATANIA, Italy, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Plug and Play and STMicroelectronics have teamed up to host an event focusing on the future of mobility. The event brought together leading industry players - including OEMs, suppliers, and startups - who gathered to share their solutions on the hottest topics in the automotive industry. Among them Marelli, HPE Coxa, Sabelt, CLN Group, Ferrari, Bosch, DXC Technology, Motherson, and Jaguar Land Rover. "This is the first time Plug and Play has brought together three of their European offices to host a mobility event," said Saeed Amidi, Founder and CEO of Plug and Play. "We wanted to show the world the power of our ecosystem. By bringing together the strongest and brightest minds in the automotive and mobility industry, that's exactly what we are working towards." Plug and Play launched its Mobility program in Silicon Valley in 2016. Since then, in the Mobility industry alone, they have accelerated over 800 startups and partnered with over 45 corporations that are looking to bring innovation to the forefront of their business. In the past six years, they have also expanded to over five different locations around the world. Two of those locations include Stuttgart, Germany (named STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play) and Modena, Italy (named Motor Valley Accelerator). STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play, is an open innovation platform that provides an interface between innovative tech companies and industry-leading corporations. The basis of the program is the partnership that develops between startups and corporate business units. STARTUP AUTOBAHN has cultivated over 380 projects with more than 289 startups since its founding in 2016. Motor Valley Accelerator is the first Italian vertical accelerator related to the world of Automotive and Mobility, born from a joint initiative of the national network by CDP Venture Capital Sgr - Fondo Nazionale Innovazione, with UniCredit, and Fondazione di Modena, managed by Plug and Play and CRIT. Launched in 2021, it's now holding its second edition, having supported a total of 16 startups with an investment and a 5-month acceleration program and created 100+ business opportunities between its 8 Corporate Partners and startups and scaleups worldwide. Both programs represent the most advanced approach to open innovation, partnering with the leading automotive industry players and connecting them with top-notch startups from around the world. STMicroelectronics is the visionary semiconductor industry leader that partners with STARTUP AUTOBAHN and Motor Valley Accelerator, and has co-organized the Future of Mobility event in Catania, Sicily, where ST has over 4,700 employees as product design, R&D, front-end manufacturing, marketing addressing the automotive, industrial, and communications markets. In addition, Catania is the ST's global excellence center for power electronics based on silicon and new materials (i.e., silicon carbide and gallium nitride) under STPOWER portfolio. "Plug and Play is a key contributor to STMicroelectronics's strategic initiatives for open innovation to make driving safer, greener, and more connected for everyone. They supported us to bring together in Catania an ecosystem of automotive leaders and innovative startups with our leading innovation initiatives on the mobility of the future," said Alessandro Cremonesi, Executive Vice President, Chief Innovation Officer General Manager, System Research and Applications at STMicroelectronics. Edoardo Merli, Executive Vice President ADG Power Transistor Sub-Group General Manager at STMicroelectronics shared ST's vision on the Future of Mobility triggering a discussion moderated by Philipp Gneiting, Plug and Play Partner Success Director, for EMEA region on five main topics presented by global startups: Sunil Thomas , CBO at Zendar - a Sillicon Valley based startup committed to make autonomous driving safe and accessible for everyone - took an in-depth look at the autonomous driving trend, highlighting the need to shift investments towards sensors, computing and software development able to make this industry cost-effective enabling large-scale, transformative adoption; Electrification was the main topic covered by David Fresneau, Marketing and Business Development at Silicon Mobility - a startup from France developing solutions for smart vehicles to be energy efficient - who pointed out that smarter control, for example through their efficient real-time algorithms for energy control applications in the car, is needed to enable significant improvements in this field; Wallie Leung , Head of Global Business Development at Sonatus - a startup from Silicon Valley which has built a set of comprehensive, end to end solutions to help OEMs to build SDV - talked about how Intelligent Vehicle / Connectivity impact OEMs to achieve much faster time to market, higher product and operational efficiencies, and quicker response to new opportunities and challenges Alessandro Scuderi , Head of Communication at Ohoskin - producing the first made in Italy , bio-based material alternative to luxury leather made of oranges and cactuses, from Catania, Italy - explained on stage what Sustainability in this industry really needs to mean today: reduction of emission, a strong choice towards bio-based materials instead of animals or fossil origin ones, transition to circular economy to give new life to pre-existing materials, and above all transparency, having data sustaining sustainability; Digital Twins and their ability to shorten companies path towards sustainable innovation by replicating with high fidelity the behavior of an electromechanical system, was the trend presented by Francesco Toso , Co-Founder and CEO at Newtwen from Padua, Italy , a startup that develops develop digital twin on-chip software through its expertise in mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineering. With more than 150 participants, Reverse Pitches & Inspirational Insights by the Plug and Play Mobility Platforms, multiple networking sessions connecting the global 15+ startups with industry leaders, several keynotes on the key topics that are transforming the industry, the first edition of The Future of Mobility has proven to be a not to be missed event for all those interested in the evolution of Mobility and Automotive, which appears to be safer, smarter, and greener. For additional photos, view the album . Media Contacts: Allison Romero - Global Plug and Play [email protected] Martina Palmese - Motor Valley Accelerator [email protected] Hannah Boomgaarden - Startup Autobahn powered by Plug and Play [email protected] SOURCE Plug and Play NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Wells Fargo Advisors today announced the addition of The Savarick Group. Led by Evan Savarick, Managing Director - Investments and Senior PIM Portfolio Manager and Roy Savarick, Senior Vice President - Investments and Senior Portfolio Manager, The Savarick Group has decades of experience providing customized wealth management strategies with the touch of a family-managed practice. The Savarick Group focuses on asset management, wealth planning and succession planning, in addition to retirement planning, philanthropy and more. The addition of The Savarick Group brings more than five decades of experience and capabilities to the Wells Fargo Advisors team. Evan Savarick holds a Master's in Finance from Vanderbilt University and was the President of the NYC Vanderbilt Alumni Board of Directors (2016-2019). Roy Savarick is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP) and Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA). Roy is also a two-time nominee for volunteer of the year. He is a graduate of The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. The Savarick Group team also includes Molly Pacheco, Mathew Savarick and Jennifer Harley. The Savarick Group of Wells Fargo Advisors offices are located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 350 East Las Olas Blvd,19th Floor. The Savarick Group also includes a Manhattan, New York office at 280 Park Ave, New York, NY 10017. TheSavarickGroup.com About Wells Fargo Advisors With $1.88 trillion in client assets as of March 31, 2022, Wells Fargo Advisors provides advice and guidance to help clients maximize all aspects of their financial lives. Our vast network of financial advisors, one of the nation's largest, serves investors through locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Wells Fargo Advisors is a part of Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management (WIM), a division within Wells Fargo & Company and one of the largest wealth managers in the U.S. WIM provides financial products and services through various bank and brokerage affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC, Members SIPC, separate registered broker-dealers and non-bank affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company. All data includes Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC, as of March 31, 2022. www.wellsfargoadvisors.com Investment and Insurance Products are: Not Insured by the FDIC or Any Federal Government Agency Not a Deposit or Other Obligation of, or Guaranteed by, the Bank or Any Bank Affiliate About Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a leading financial services company that has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets, proudly serves one in three U.S. households and more than 10% of small businesses in the U.S., and is the leading middle market banking provider in the U.S. We provide a diversified set of banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through our four reportable operating segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management. Wells Fargo ranked No. 37 on Fortune's 2021 rankings of America's largest corporations. In the communities we serve, the company focuses its social impact on building a sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small business growth, financial health, and a low-carbon economy. News, insights, and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories. Additional information may be found at www.wellsfargo.com | Twitter: @WellsFargo Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors, a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo Advisors associates referenced, when registered, are registered with Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC. 2022 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC. All rights reserved. CAR-0922-02935 Contact Information Shea Leordeanu Wells Fargo Advisors [email protected] SOURCE Wells Fargo Advisors For the third consecutive year, MonetizeMore earned a spot on The Globe and Mail list of Canada's Top Growing Companies. VANCOUVER, B.C., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MonetizeMore, a leading monetization partner for web publishers and app developers, has been recognized as one of Canada's Top Growing Companies in The Globe and Mail's 2022 Report on Business. The report ranks Canadian companies on three-year revenue growth, and MonetizeMore earned its spot (rank No.144 of 430 companies) with a three-year growth rate of 321%. Three Years in a Row: MonetizeMore Recognized as One of Canada's Top Growing Companies by Globe and Mail "MonetizeMore is proud to be recognized by The Globe and Mail for three consecutive years. It has been a challenging time for the advertising ecosystem due to the looming recession. With the added responsibility to empower publishers, we are committed to helping them navigate the murky waters and align with their long-term revenue goals," says Kean Graham, CEO and Founder of MonetizeMore. The complete list of 2022 winners, and accompanying editorial coverage, is published in the October issue of Report on Business magazine, available at tgam.ca/TopGrowing. MonetizeMore is a Google Certified Publishing Partner and Prebid Member that strives to empower ad-monetized publishers through their ad tech platform, PubGuru. The company also dedicates itself to providing valuable resources through PubGuru University for those who want to master their ad ops skills. Thanks to these prominent industry partnerships, in-house technology innovations, and a team of over 270+ ad tech experts, MonetizeMore has helped accelerate the revenue growth for over 1,000 publishers worldwide, including Upworthy, Lifehack, Bored Panda and Unico Studio. The company is now providing advance payment solutions to publishers, giving them the freedom to receive payments up to 30% faster. "This is an excellent opportunity for our publisher partners to have more control over their finances, and re-invest in their businesses to accelerate their growth," explains Graham. "In an uncertain world, the success stories of the companies marked in this year's Report on Business magazine's list of Top Growing Companies are a beacon of optimism," says Phillip Crawley, Publisher, and CEO of The Globe and Mail. About MonetizeMore Founded in 2010, MonetizeMore is a leading publisher monetization company with 270+ team members across North America, Europe, Asia, and South America. We are a Google Certified Publishing Partner trusted by 1000+ websites and app developers to manage their ad revenue optimization across 40 countries through our comprehensive and AI-powered platform PubGuru, including Google award-winning tool Traffic Cop protecting publishers from invalid traffic and revenue clawbacks. For more information, visit: www.monetizemore.com SOURCE MonetizeMore 72 percent of K12 public schools also provide digital literacy training to students WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sixty-nine percent of K12 public schools reported their primary challenge for filling 202223 school year teaching vacancies was too few candidates applying for open positions, according to data released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical center of the U.S. Department of Education. Sixty-three percent of public schools also reported too few candidates applying for non-teaching staff vacancies. "The majority of public schools are starting the new school year feeling understaffed, particularly in areas like special education, transportation, and mental health," said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr. "And while many schools say that the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more challenging to fill positions, 20 percent of schools say that they were already understaffed before the pandemic began. These data points are critical for understanding challenges our public schools are facing, allowing policymakers to provide timely assistance to help our students and educators in areas where it is needed." As of August, public schools across the country reported that special education and mathematics teaching positions were among the most difficult teaching positions to fill for the 202223 school year. Seventy-eight and 75 percent of schools offering these positions reported it was either "very" or "somewhat difficult," respectively, to hire fully certified teachers in these areas. Schools have continued to provide various forms of technology to students. Entering the 202223 school year, nearly half (45 percent) of public schools reported providing internet access to students who need it at their homes. Fifty-six percent of public schools reported providing internet access to students who need it at a location other than their home, such as in a library or parking lot. Roughly three-quarters of public schools (72 percent) reported that they provide training on digital literacy for their students, and 25 percent provide digital literacy training to their students' families. For schools that provide digital literacy training to their students, 68 percent reported providing additional training to students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans and 62 percent reported providing additional training to English learners, beyond the training offered to all students. "These data released today on schools offering additional digital literacy training to English learners and students with IEPs and 504 plans suggest schools are aware of digital disparities and are working to reduce them," said NCES Associate Commissioner Chris Chapman. "We are appreciative to the schools that participated in the School Pulse Panel and have shared their experiences responding to the pandemic." The data released today are from the School Pulse Panel. The School Pulse Panel is part of NCES's innovative approach to delivering timely information regarding the pandemic's impact on public K12 schools in the U.S. on topics such as community partnerships, after-school programs, hiring processes, learning mode offerings, and quarantine prevalence, as reported by school staff in U.S. public schools. The findings released today are part of the eighth monthly experimental data product from the School Pulse Panel. The August data were collected from 900 participating schools between August 9 and August 23, 2022. Experimental data products are innovative statistical products created using new data sources or methodologies. Experimental data may not meet all NCES quality standards but are of sufficient benefit to data users in the absence of other relevant products to justify release. NCES clearly identifies experimental data products upon their release. The data released today can be found on the School Pulse Panel dashboard at https://ies.ed.gov/schoolsurvey/. Key Findings Staffing for 202223 School Year Fifty-three percent of public schools report feeling that they are understaffed entering the 2022 23 school year. For public schools that report feeling understaffed, 65 percent of schools that offer special education positions report feeling understaffed in special education and 43 percent of schools that offer general elementary positions feel understaffed in this area. For non-teaching staff areas, 59 percent report feeling understaffed for transportation, 50 percent for custodial staff, and 49 percent for mental health professionals. Schools that feel understaffed report an inability to fill vacant teaching positions (48 percent) and non-teaching staff positions (60 percent) since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as the most prevalent reason for feeling understaffed. One in five schools (20 percent) report they were already understaffed prior to the pandemic. For public schools, the most difficult teaching positions to fill for the 202223 school year were special education and mathematics, with 78 and 75 percent of schools offering these positions reporting it was either "very" or "somewhat difficult" to hire fully certified teachers in these areas, respectively. For public schools, the most difficult non-teaching staff positions to fill were transportation staff and custodial staff, with 94 and 84 percent of schools offering these positions reporting it was either "very" or "somewhat difficult" to hire staff in these areas, respectively. Technology and Digital Literacy Entering the 202223 school year, nearly half of public schools report providing internet access to the students who need it at their homes (45 percent). Fifty-six percent of public schools report providing internet access to the students who need it at a location other than their home, such as in a library or parking lot. Ninety-four percent of public schools report providing digital devices, such as laptops or tablets, to students who need them for the 202223 school year. Community Partnerships Forty-five percent of public schools utilize a "community school" or "wraparound services" model, in which a school partners with other government agencies and/or local nonprofits to support and engage with the local community (e.g., providing mental and physical health care, nutrition, housing assistance, etc.). For schools that utilize these models, the most prevalent services offered are mental health care (85 percent), nutrition/food assistance (60 percent), dental care (42 percent), social work (41 percent), and parenting and family support (41 percent). The National Center for Education Statistics, a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, is the statistical center of the U.S. Department of Education and the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations. NCES fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report complete statistics on the condition of American education; conduct and publish reports; and review and report on education activities internationally. Follow NCES on Twitter , Facebook , LinkedIn , and YouTube and subscribe to the NCES News Flash to receive email notifications when new data is released. The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the independent and nonpartisan statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education. Its mission is to provide scientific evidence on which to ground education practice and policy and to share this information in formats that are useful and accessible to educators, parents, policymakers, researchers, and the public. CONTACT: Josh Delarosa, National Center for Education Statistics, [email protected]; James Elias, Hager Sharp, [email protected] SOURCE National Center for Education Statistics St. Rose Catholic School and Cardinal Newman High School share ongoing recovery from devastating 2017 Tubbs Fire SANTA ROSA, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In the early morning of October 9, 2017, the Tubbs wildfire exploded across the landscape of Santa Rosa, California. Fueled by high winds and dry conditions, it was the most destructive wildfire in California history at that time. Cardinal Newman High School and Saint Rose Catholic School were in its path and reduced to ashes. The old entry to Cardinal Newman High School following the 2017 Tubbs Fire on October 9, 2022. The new Cardinal Newman classroom building that replaced facilities lost in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, funded by a combination of insurance proceeds and generous donations provided by the community. What happened next was Biblical. Like the stories in Scripture where all is lost, the faithful came together to ensure all was restored. The community of Santa Rosa came together, wrapped its arms around its children, and started rebuilding. Learning continued for both schools, though dispersed at locations across the county. Portable classrooms were next, then new or rebuilt classrooms opened. At the five year anniversary of the fire, Cardinal Newman High School and St. Rose Catholic School are hosting a "Gathering with Gratitude." The Gathering will include Mass at 10:00 a.m. in the Cardinal Newman gym, reflections, a dedication to a statue of St. Angela Merici, a BBQ lunch, and Open Houses for both schools. Families from both schools and area first responders will be invited to attend. "Loss brings love to the surface. Santa Rosa was hurt; we were grieving and feeling lost. Where would we even start? Yet, love showed up and got us all moving in the same direction. Love for one another, love from afar, love from prayer," explained Cardinal Newman President, Dr. Linda Norman. "We want to thank our community for that outpouring of love. Our service will mark a solemn event and recognize the grace and gifts that followed." "At the fifth anniversary, we continue to recover and remain grateful for the community who supported us following the loss," said Saint Rose Principal Kathleen Aymar. "As devastating as the fire was, it revealed the importance and strength of community. It showcased what can be done together, with cooperation, and out of love for one another and our children. Our gathering honors that part of the tragedy, where it turned in the direction of triumph." Dr. Norman and Ms. Aymar kept a file over four inches thick of letters, donations, prayers, and cards from all over the world that came in following the fire. Dan Dougherty (707) 546-6470 x 123 SOURCE Cardinal Newman High School The airline will join the alliance early 2023, enhancing SkyTeam's offering at both London Heathrow and Manchester Airport Customers will benefit from more opportunities to earn and redeem miles, with access to an extensive global route network Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Silver and Gold members will receive a raft of Elite and Elite Plus member benefits delivered under the SkyPriority brand Virgin Atlantic is already a founding partner of a Joint Venture partnership with SkyTeam members Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM LONDON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SkyTeam, the global airline alliance, and Virgin Atlantic have today announced that the UK airline will join as SkyTeam's newest member in early 2023. Virgin Atlantic will become SkyTeam's first and only UK member airline, enhancing the alliance's transatlantic network and services to and from Heathrow and Manchester Airport. Virgin Atlantic customers will benefit from a consistent, seamless customer experience, across 1,000+ global destinations. They'll also have more opportunities to earn and redeem points across member airlines and access to a network of 750+ airport lounges, spanning six continents. The airline's Flying Club members will enjoy significant benefits from the day of joining, with a global expansion of its loyalty offering. Virgin Atlantic Silver Card holders will be recognized as SkyTeam Elite Members, whilst the airline's Gold Card members will become Elite Plus. This recognition provides a raft of benefits, including priority check in, baggage handling and boarding. Flying Club members will be able to take advantage of the benefits as soon as Virgin Atlantic officially enrolls in SkyTeam, which is expected in early 2023. Virgin Atlantic's entry into the alliance builds upon the success of its transatlantic joint venture partnership with Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM, each already long established SkyTeam members. The four partners are co-located at London Heathrow's Terminal Three, alongside existing SkyTeam members Aeromexico and China Eastern, providing customers with smooth airside transits and the most convenient connection times possible. Shai Weiss, CEO Virgin Atlantic, commented, "At Virgin Atlantic we strive to create thoughtful experiences that feel different for our customers and SkyTeam shares that customer first ethos. 2022 marks the year Virgin Atlantic gets back to its best for our customers and people and joining SkyTeam is an important milestone. Our membership will allow us to enhance established relationships with our valued partners at Delta and Air France-KLM, as well as opening up opportunities to collaborate with new airlines. It will enable a seamless customer experience, with an expanded network and maximized loyalty benefits." Walter Cho, SkyTeam Chairman, said, "Virgin Atlantic is synonymous with innovation and excellent service, an iconic British airline with a global outlook that puts customers at the heart of its operations - like SkyTeam and its members - and we are delighted to welcome them into our alliance." Kristin Colvile, SkyTeam CEO, said, "As a member of SkyTeam, Virgin Atlantic will benefit from increased opportunities to expand its global network through partnerships and synergies: customers will have more ways to earn and burn miles while enjoying the service for which Virgin Atlantic is renowned. Virgin Atlantic shares SkyTeam's values, caring for our customers, our employees, and the world in which they live, and we are excited to have them as part of the SkyTeam family." Codeshare agreements are already in place with Aeromexico and Middle East Airlines with options for more codeshares to follow. Interline agreements with all SkyTeam members are already in place, providing one touch point for all customers, creating a seamless journey on one ticket. Virgin Atlantic flies to 12 destinations throughout the USA in partnership with Delta and Air France-KLM including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco. In May the airline launched a brand-new service to Austin, Texas and will start daily flights to Tampa, Florida from November. Virgin Atlantic also operates an extensive Caribbean portfolio including Antigua, Barbados, Jamaica, and The Bahamas. Virgin Atlantic also operates services to Greater China, India, Israel, Nigeria, Pakistan, and South Africa. SkyTeam members, Delta, Air France and KLM are already collocated at Virgin Atlantic's home base at London Heathrow Terminal 3. Virgin Atlantic operates long-haul services from UK regional airports including Edinburgh and Manchester. The airline offers a comprehensive network to North America and the Caribbean in partnership with Delta Air Lines, Air France and KLM, and also operates services to Greater China, Israel, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa. About SkyTeam SkyTeam is dedicated to powering a seamless customer journey, with all members working together to connect millions of passengers across an extensive global network. The members are Aeroflot (suspended), Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, ITA Airways, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines, and XiamenAir. For more information visit www.skyteam.com About Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic was founded by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson in 1984, with innovation and amazing customer service at its core. In 2021, Virgin Atlantic was voted Britain's only Global Five Star Airline by APEX for the sixth year running in the Official Airline Ratings. Headquartered in London, it employs 6,500 people worldwide, flying customers to 27 destinations across four continents. Alongside shareholder and Joint Venture partner Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic operates a leading transatlantic network, with onward connections to over 200 cities around the world. On 3 February 2020, Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic launched an expanded Joint Venture, offering a comprehensive route network, convenient flight schedules, competitive fares and reciprocal frequent flyer benefits, including the ability to earn and redeem miles across all carriers. Sustainability remains central to the airline and since September 2019, Virgin Atlantic has welcomed seven brand new Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, helping to transform the fleet into one of the youngest, quietest and most fuel efficient in the sky. By 2022, the airline will operate a streamlined fleet of 38 twin engine aircraft following the retirement of its B747-400s and A340-600s, making its simplified fleet 10% more efficient than before the Covid-19 crisis impacted. For more information visit www.virginatlantic.com or via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @virginatlantic. SOURCE Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd Sanjay Logani, MD, CEO of Doctorsoft, amplifies how A.I. and bot technology is changing healthcare. But, who is going to keep patients and healthcare practices safe from the jaws of the giant insurance companies who have been using the sheer might of scale and money? Insurance companies are using big data and disruptive innovations while giving more business to collection agencies to get more out of the pockets of patients and practices. Two maverick technology companies have come together to accomplish the mission impossible! Doctorsoft ophthalmic EHR celebrates its first decade by announcing a strategic partnership with Chicago-based VisionTek , a disruptor in the revenue cycle management business in the healthcare industry. Founder and CEO of Doctorsoft, Sanjay Logani, MD, MBA, FACS highlight the importance of this partnership by stating "The relationship between Doctorsoft and VisionTek marks a new era in healthcare technology with innovative artificial intelligence and bot implementation for better performance and productivity. While Doctorsoft is the best-in-class ophthalmology EHR dedicated to enhancing efficient patient care and provider productivity, VisionTek's disruptive technology reflects the same best-in-class commitment with revenue cycle management, increasing revenues while lowering costs for practices." Founder and CEO of VisionTek, Sal Lo, further amplifies the synergy between the two companies, "We are excited to announce our partnership with DoctorSoft. VisionTEK's advanced automation combined with DoctorSoft's leading EHR is positioned to transform the way ophthalmologists, optometrists, and retina providers process claims." Doctorsoft and VisionTek are getting ready to present the combined partnership and disruptive technologies at the upcoming American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting on October 1-3, 2022 in Chicago. Attendees can sign up for a first-come first-served evening presentation event at Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, 2233 S Martin Luther King Dr, Chicago, IL 60616 Level 2, Room C. 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM, October 1 and October 2, 2022. Additionally, you can also attend the event virtually. Click here to register . Doctorsoft EHR Contact Varun Khanna [email protected] 17750 Sherman Way, Suite 110 Reseda, CA 91335 VisionTek AI Contact Austin Nasworthy [email protected] 1000 Jorie Boulevard, Suite 370 Oak Brook, IL 60523 SOURCE Doctorsoft Corporation A Long Term Aspirational Goal (LTAG) for sustainable aviation will be discussed at the ICAO 41st Assembly Action will be key for aviation's journey towards net zero emissions LONDON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Attending the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Assembly in Montreal this week, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is calling on all governments to urgently agree an emissions reduction target for global aviation. ICAO's 41st Assembly will see 193 countries gather for talks on the future of aviation. WTTC is urging all Member States to support the 'Carbon Offsetting & Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)' and agree on the proposed emissions reduction target called the 'Long Term Aspirational Goal' (LTAG). Whilst the Travel & Tourism sector recognizes the challenges involved in the transition to sustainable aviation, WTTC believes CORSIA and the LTAG, aligned with Net Zero by 2050 and the Paris Climate Agreement, will be a critical next step for protecting the planet and maintaining global connectivity. Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: "Governments have a historic opportunity to sign a worldwide agreement on a net zero future for aviation. "The aviation industry is fully committed to reducing its emissions. We need that same level of ambition by governments. We urge all ICAO Member States to endorse the aviation net zero target and support a sustainable travel industry." The global tourism body believes ICAO's 41st Assembly will be a crucial step towards a more sustainable sector and can set a global example as the world's only industry that is fully aligned and committed to net zero action across borders. To support governments and the sector achieve a greener future, WTTC launched the 'Net Zero Roadmap for Travel & Tourism,' an ambitious guide for the sector in its battle against climate change. The roadmap sets out emissions reductions for each industry within the travel and tourism sector including hotels, airlines, airports, cruise lines and tour operators, providing a clear roadmap on how to decarbonize the sector. WTTC urges ICAO and its 193 Member States to adopt the WTTC Net Zero Roadmap as a contributor to international aviation's emissions reduction plans. For further information on WTTC's Net Zero Roadmap, please click here. About the World Travel & Tourism Council The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) represents the global travel & tourism private sector. Members include 200 CEOs, Chairs and Presidents of the world's leading travel & tourism companies from all geographies covering all industries. For more than 30 years, WTTC has been committed to raising the awareness of governments and the public of the economic and social significance of the travel & tourism sector. SOURCE World Travel & Tourism Council TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- XDI's award-winning physical climate risk analysis of companies and their operational assets will now be available from Morningstar Sustainalytics, a leading global provider of ESG research, ratings, and data, with the establishment of a strategic agreement to support risk identification and TCFD reporting. XDI is a global leader in physical climate risk analysis, providing data for company and investor TFCD reporting, due diligence and risk management. "Institutional investors are seeking sophisticated climate data and analysis to manage physical climate risk and fulfil emerging disclosure requirements. With our highly focused technology and Morningstar Sustainalytics' scale and expertise, investors can now access a set of structured metrics to understand the physical climate risks facing portfolio companies, as well as respond to TCFD and EU Action Plan reporting standards," said XDI CEO Rohan Hamden. "Our strategic agreement with Morningstar Sustainalytics is a key plank of XDI's broader expansion into the United States as a provider of sophisticated physical climate risk data and analysis." Morningstar Sustainalytics offers investors new Physical Climate Risk Metrics , powered by XDI's Climate Risk Engines, quantifying the direct physical climate risks on more than 12,500 companies worldwide. This company-level analysis is underpinned by a database of over 12 million assets and facilities enabling third party analysis for investors' company assets anywhere in the world. "Our collaboration with XDI allows us to provide our investor and banking clients with high-quality insights and solutions so they can address the risks emanating from the climate crisis. We look forward to a long and successful relationship with XDI," said Azadeh Sabour, Morningstar Sustainalytics' Senior Vice President of Climate Solutions. XDI North American Lead, Angie Woo, said, "With disclosure standards being introduced in the United States and Canada, it's timely that XDI is entering the US market to provide physical risk analysis to decision-makers at all scales. This builds on our successful work in the UK, EU and Australia." XDI CEO Rohan Hamden said, "XDI is proud to be working with one of the world's leading sustainability research, ratings and data firms, Morningstar Sustainalytics, to deliver this crucial new analysis for investors seeking to understand the physical climate risk of their equities. "We are delighted to work with Morningstar Sustainalytics and demonstrate the detail and reach of our modelling of physical climate risk to their institutional investor clients," he added. Media enquiries: Angie Woo I [email protected] I m: +1 604 328 8608 About XDI The Cross Dependency Initiative (XDI) is a global leader in physical climate risk analysis, providing data for company and investor TFCD reporting, due diligence and risk management. XDI has created a whole-system view of climate impacts that accounts for all physical risks. Its independent data is designed to empower business, government and financial markets to manage revenue impacts and identify opportunities for adaptation. SOURCE XDI - The Cross Dependency Initiative Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics, a subsidiary of Luxury Brands LLC. headed by company CEO Michael Dodo, is pleased to announce their collaboration with Americares. LOS ANGELES, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics, an industry leader in luxury clean cosmetics and skincare, is happy to announce their partnership with Americares, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, health-focused relief organization, in support of the humanitarian crisis caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine. Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics Partners with Americares At the start of the war, Americares quickly deployed an emergency response team to Poland and coordinated shipments of medicines and medical supplies into Ukraine. They continue to support local partners in Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine that are offering healthcare services to refugees. The team also helps organizations provide mental health and psychosocial support to people caught in the crisis, in Ukraine and in neighboring countries, as addressing mental health issues is a critical need. In support of the relief efforts, Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics has packaged two curated boxes of cosmetics and skincare, tied with blue and yellow ribbon signifying the Ukrainian flag, and 20% of the purchase price of each box, now through December 1st 2022, both on their website and at their upcoming six-month brick and mortar pop-up retail activation in NYC with Showfields, will be donated to Americares in support of its Ukraine response. "I am incredibly honored to partner with Americares to help assist the families affected by the war. Every day, my heart breaks for the Ukrainian people who have been displaced, and I pray that through this partnership, we are able to grant the refugee families of this conflict even the slightest bit of relief." - Pauline Youngblood, Founder & Creative Director, Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics ABOUT: For more than 25 years, the Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics philosophy has been the creation of ultra-luxury cosmetics and skincare formulated from natural ingredients. Before anyone coined the term "Clean Beauty", Youngblood set the highest standard for performance and quality by eliminating the use of any potentially skin irritating materials. They created a product line suitable for ALL skin types, even the highest skin sensitivity, while targeting pigmentation, longevity, wearability, and versatility; their award-winning products have since been endorsed by leading dermatologists and plastic surgeons worldwide. This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. SOURCE Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics Paris, Sep 27 : French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the resumption of dialogues between Armenia and Azerbaijan to solve their ongoing border conflict. Speaking at a press conference with visiting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday, Macron urged the two countries to reestablish talks "immediately" in order to achieve "enduring peace". "The use of force cannot be the solution for Armenia, nor for Azerbaijan, and dialogue must be restored immediately," he said, adding that all issues must be tackled "exclusively" through talks. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994, when a ceasefire was agreed, but there have been sporadic minor clashes since then, Xinhua news agency reported. A new round of armed conflict broke out along the contact line on September 27, 2020, before Russia brokered a ceasefire on November 9, 2020. United Nations, Sep 27 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the use of every means to eliminate the nuclear threat. Guterres made the appeal at a UN General Assembly high-level meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which falls on September 26. "We come together on this international day to speak with one voice. To stand in defence of our world -- and our future. And to reject the claim that nuclear disarmament is some impossible utopian dream," he said on Monday. He noted that the elimination of nuclear weapons would be the greatest gift "we could bestow on future generations". In late August, the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons failed to result in the adoption of an outcome document. Expressing disappointment about the conference's failure to reach a substantive outcome, Guterres vowed that "we will not give up". "I urge all states to use every avenue of dialogue, diplomacy and negotiation to ease tensions, reduce risk and eliminate the nuclear threat," he said. Guterres also called for a new vision for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, Xinhua news agency reported. He highlighted the need to take into account the evolving nuclear order, including all types of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, as well as the need to address the blurring lines between strategic and conventional weapons, and the nexus with new domains of cyber and outer space. The UN chief urged General Assembly delegates to seize the opportunity and make new commitment to work toward a peaceful future. "Without eliminating nuclear weapons, there can be no peace. There can be no trust. And there can be no sustainable future," he added. Rome, Sep 27 : A right-wing coalition scored a broad victory in Italy's general election to form a new parliament, official results showed. As vote counting concluded in 99 per cent of polling stations across the country, nationalist Brothers of Italy was put at 26 per cent of the vote, according to data provided by the Interior Ministry on Monday evening. As such, its leader Giorgia Meloni would most likely become the country's next Prime Minister. If so, she would be the first woman ever to serve in this role, and would lead the most right-wing government in Italy's post-war history, Xinhua news agency reported. The Brothers of Italy campaigned in coalition with two allies, the League party and centre-right Forza Italia party, which gained some 8.7 per cent and 8.1 per cent, respectively. Therefore, their weight in the next government was expected to be less pivotal than that of Meloni's party. "Italians have entrusted us with a relevant responsibility, and it will be our task to not let them down and to make our best to restore the nation's dignity and pride," Meloni said on her official Facebook page on Monday. "We will aim at unifying and at highlighting what can bring us close, not what divides us," she added. Her main contender, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) led by Enrico Letta got 19 per cent of the votes and conceded defeat. "We are going to make the necessary assessment in the next days, since it is clear mistakes (in their campaign) have been made," Letta said. Letta also announced that he would lead the party until its next Congress, which will be held "as soon as possible," and step down after a new leader is chosen. While the right-wing coalition all together gained between 43.7 per cent and 44 per cent of seats, the centre-left alliance -- made of PD and three minor allies -- won some 26 per cent. This means the next right-wing government will be able to control a broad majority of seats in both Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Populist Five Star Movement won over 15 per cent, and its leader Giuseppe Conte said they would serve as opposition party in the next parliament. A fourth contender -- a centrist alliance made of two small forces forged shortly before the campaign began -- reached 7.7 per cent overall. Its leader Carlo Calenda announced that it would not side either with the right-wing coalition or with the centre-left, and "will be opposition in parliament, but constructively". Over 50 million citizens, including nearly 4.7 million living abroad, were eligible to choose the 400 deputies and 200 Senators that will form the next parliament. Voter turnout was the lowest ever registered in the country's post-war history, the Interior Ministry said. The new parliament is scheduled to gather for the first time on October 13, and lawmakers will elect the two Houses' Speakers in the first meeting. After that, political consultations would begin between President Sergio Mattarella and all parties' leaders in order to form the next government. Chandigarh, Sep 27 : "Every mediaperson from my generation is bound to know me. After all, I was the most hated," smiles film producer Rahul Mittra, who started the initiative at a major newspaper whereby editorial spaces of the publication were monetised for brand endorsements. In his long career of being a scribe, marketing professional, brand expert, film producer and director Mittra says that it is the film industry that gives him the best high. Producing films like 'Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster', 'Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns', 'Bullett Raja', 'Revolver Rani', 'Sarkar 3', 'Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3', 'Cabaret' and recently 'Torbaaz', starring Sanjay Dutt, Mitra stresses that his edge has been his eye for good content. "No matter what, if you have a solid story, a major part of the battle is won. When I started out, cinemascape was riddled by NRI stories and stars. Huge sets and foreign locations were important ingredients to making any film appeal to a wide audience. I am grateful that we could break that mould with 'Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster'," he tells IANS on the sidelines of the ongoing Indus Valley International Film Festival in the city. Releasing 'Torbaaz' on OTT, much before the pandemic struck, post which many producers were forced to look at the digital medium, Mittra is quite content with the film's reception and the profit it made. "Over the last nine months, I have developed three subjects primarily for OTT. This includes a big political thriller," says the producer, who is a brand advisor to the state of Arunachal Pradesh and also provides consultancy to multiple film festivals. For him, the role of the producer does not start and end with pumping money. "I get involved in all departments -- right from writing, location hunting, casting to marketing. By the way, I am acting in several films too." Pleased that more tier-two cities are getting to host film festivals, he feels that the same not only inspires budding filmmakers there but also gives a chance to directors, producers and actors to connect to a diverse audience. "They are a perfect platform that brings together the audiences with makers -- thereby closing many gaps." Even as crime thrillers have been ruling the digital medium over the past two decades, Mittra feels that no trend will survive if the audience feels they have had enough. "Remember, the remote control is very powerful. And it is in the audience's hands. I have always believed that rooted stories -- that boast honesty will do well. The intention of the makers has to be crystal clear and they cannot afford to take the audience for granted. The latter is too intelligent for that," concludes Mittra. (Sukant Deepak can be contacted at sukant.d@ians.in) China became an aged society in 2021 and its population aging will continue to deepen. In the initial stage of China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, regions with different economic development levels vary significantly in terms of the degree and pace of aging. Using the 70,000 yuan ($9,982) per capita GDP as the dividing line between economically developed and underdeveloped regions, the six economically developed provincial-level regions Shanghai, Jiangsu province, Tianjin, Chongqing, Hubei province and Shandong province are capable of coping with the challenges emanating from population aging with sufficient reserves of wealth. In contrast, the six underdeveloped provinces of Liaoning, Sichuan, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Hunan and Anhui are faced with multiple challenges including a high degree of population aging, slow economic growth, and a sustained outflow of their young population, which will further drag down their economic growth rate. Compared with urban areas, China's rural areas face even greater risks brought about by the rapid population aging. In rural areas, the aging population is larger than that in urban areas. In 2020, for instance, 23.81 percent of rural residents, or 120 million people, were 60 years old or older, 7.99 percentage points higher than that in urban areas. In addition, the share of older adults unable to perform basic tasks without assistance, empty nesters and the "oldest-old" are growing fast in rural areas, and there is a serious shortage of elderly care service in those areas. In 2020, there were less than 2 million elderly care beds in China's rural areas, equivalent of 16 beds per 1,000 older persons, less than half of the national average. A shrinking workforce is one of the features of an aging society. China's working age population peaked in 2013, and is set to decline 77 million by 2035 and 180 million by 2050 respectively compared with the working age population today. However, a large amount of the human resources of the elderly population has been left unused or wasted. In particular, the elderly population in urban areas with great intellectual resources and wealth of life and work experience would like to continue to work after retirement, but lack employment opportunities. On top of that, a large number of the senior persons that are capable of taking care of themselves are seen as the object of elderly care services and assumed to be frail or dependent, which gives rise to stereotyping and age discrimination against the elderly population from the sociocultural aspect, exacerbates panic over population aging in the society, and to a certain extent adds an unnecessary burden on the society. The exploration of regions that have entered an advanced stage of population aging could provide precious experience that others can draw on. For instance, Shanghai has carried out pilot projects for home-based or community elderly care services and palliative care for senior persons for many years, creating successful experiences that can be replicated elsewhere. In the meantime, regional differences in terms of the degree and pace of aging have provided a window of opportunity to tackle the aging problem. The central government should give targeted guidance to different localities, and prioritize regions with the most urgent and severe aging problems. Improving elderly care services in rural areas should be a priority of public financial input. Furthermore, innovations should be made in eldercare service models in rural areas by supporting and encouraging mutual assistance between friends and relatives, promoting new models such as the "time bank", and building a multilayer supply system for eldercare services in rural areas that encompass nursing homes, social organizations and professional social workers. The central government should fully exert macro-control over resource allocation in basic public services. For example, transfer payments from the central government should be increased, preferential tax and land use policies should be further improved, and safety-net guarantees should be provided to places struggling with serious pension fund deficits, particularly where the revenues for the pension fund cannot cover the expenditures. Technological innovations targeted at meeting senior persons' needs should be promoted. We should also accelerate the wide application of the new generation of information technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, blockchain and 5G technology in the eldercare service industry. We need to quicken the digital, smart and intellectualized transformation of the elderly healthcare industry with better offering of safe and diversified products and services including telemedicine, long-distance care, intelligent service robots and intelligent nursing beds. The humanized and emotional functions of intelligent products and services should be strengthened to give senior persons emotional comfort and care. It is vital for the society to stop using physiological age as a sole criterion for defining a senior person. Health status too can be a valid criterion. This could guide the society at large to better accept, respect and help senior persons, so as to build a society friendly to all ages and forge a favorable environment that respects, loves and helps the elderly. Also, fully tapping the older population as a human resource should be included in China's top-level design. Different localities should, based on local conditions, formulate plans of their own, unveil specific policies to encourage the employment of the elderly and improve the safeguard mechanism for the employment of senior persons. Last, postponed retirement or cancelation of mandatory retirement should be implemented at an early date to solve the problem of a soaring older population. We could effectively solve the employment difficulties of the delayed retirement group through education; unveil a new pension system with greater financial incentives for those that pay more and for more years; and establish a new mechanism in which pension benefits increase along with economic growth. Agra, Sep 27 : The hospitality industry in Agra is upbeat and all excited to welcome visitors, as a new tourist season begins from the World Tourism Day on September 27. Two-and-a-half years of the Covid-19 pandemic, hit the tourism industry hard, forcing closure of hotels, eating joints, travel agencies. Tourist guides and photographers were forced to look for alternative means of earning. The crippling effect of the pandemic on tourism is now beginning to wane as the number of footfalls has seen a steady rise. "Yes, the monsoon also is about to withdraw, after a heavy last spell that took a heavy toll of Agra roads," a local hotelier said. Problems notwithstanding, the outlook is bright and we are hoping to see a revival, he added. But many industry leaders say there was nothing much to look forward to as a number of their demands that could spurt growth had been rejected or put in cold storage. The travel trade laments the lack of international air connectivity to Agra. Smaller cities have regular flights but not India's tourist destination number one, that is Agra. Agra tourism industry suffers as the average night stay period has reduced due to better road connectivity with Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi and Jaipur. Agra is one of India's top tourist destinations. Yet, it lacks basic infrastructure and thus cannot take advantage of the interest generated in India and its tourist attractions. Leaders in the tourism and hospitality industry complain that there was a lack of vision and of will in the political leadership of Uttar Pradesh. "Even with three world heritage monuments, Agra has not been able to significantly increase the number of visitors. And those who visit often make brief trips. The Yamuna Expressway has made it easier for tourists to return the same day to Delhi," say the local hoteliers. "We need a comprehensive action plan for tourism development for the whole Braj region that includes Mathura, Vrindavan, Bateshwar and several important sites of religious importance," adds Sandeep Arora, an office bearer of the Agra Hotels and Restaurants Association. Arora said, "There were numerous problems restricting revival of tourism in Agra, including lack of ease of doing business. Hotels are neglected and victimised. Hundreds of illegal and unauthorised hotels were operating bringing bad name to the hospitality industry. The stake holders were never consulted when drawing up policies for this sector." He added that suspension of e-visas, lack of air connectivity and a general atmosphere of tension and uncertainty, were other factors which were inhibiting growth. Meanwhile, tourists visiting Agra will, for the first time be able to join festivities for several days, as Agra celebrates its birthday on Sharad Poornima, full moon night, on October 9. The Agra Mayor Navin Jain and his team are drawing up plans for the big bash. Tourists will also be able to see the iconic 17th century monument of love, the Taj Mahal, from two newly developed spots along the Yamuna river bank. The controversial Taj Heritage Corridor, a dream project of the Mayawati government in 2003, has now been converted into a lush green stretch, sandwiched between two world heritage monuments, the Taj and the Fort. The Supreme Court in 2006 had directed the Archaeological Survey of India to green the wasteland, around 20 hectares of the Yamuna floodplains. For want of resources, the project was delayed for more than a decade, adding to the air pollution. Fortunately, this vast wasteland which used to be an ugly eyesore, now offers a pleasing sight. Tourists can stroll and leisurely spend private moments in the shadow of two magnificent monuments. The site offers a breathtaking view of the Taj Mahal and provides photographers with excellent vantage points to shoot great photos of the monuments. Another site developed for the tourists, who wish to see the Taj flood-lit by gentle and soft moonlight, is at Mehtab Bagh across the Yamuna. The Agra Development Authority in cooperation with the Archaeological Survey of India, has developed a couple of points at the rear of the Taj Mahal, across the river, from where tourists can see the beauty of the Taj Mahal in full glory. Since these spots are beyond the restricted 500 metre security zone, the movement of visitors will be without hassles. Infrastructural facilities are being developed under the 'pro-poor' tourism policy in the area which includes six villages, Humayun's mosque and Gyarah Seedhi monuments. A new bridge over Yamuna, Ambedkar Setu, makes transport convenient and easy. New Delhi, Sep 27 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is conducting raids at the premises of Popular Front of India (PFI) members at multiple locations in western Uttar Pradesh, including Bulandshahr and Meerut, on Tuesday. The raids started early Tuesday morning and are currently underway. NIA sources said that a number of people have already been detained in connection. "We are grilling them. As of now no arrest memos have been filed against any of them. They are PFI members. We received fresh inputs after questionning PFI members who were arrested following the September 22 pan-India raids," the sources said. On September 22, more than 105 PFI members were arrested by the NIA and the ED, while some 200 others were detained. Look Out Circulars were also issued against two of members of the organisation on Monday. As of now, the NIA is investigating a total of 19 PFI related cases. The probe agency has said that 46 accused who were earlier arrested were convicted in 2010-11 cases. Around 355 PFI members have already been charge sheeted by the agency. Kanpur, Sep 27 : The Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC) House has passed a resolution to ban rearing of the Pitbull and Rottweiler dog breeds in the city. Anyone found rearing either of the two breeds will be fined up to Rs 5,000 and their 'pet' will be confiscated, the resolution said. Official sources said that the resolution has now been sent to the municipal commissioner, who will issue a formal order in this regard. After back-to-back incidents of dog attacks, the KMC decided to ban the two breeds considered to be dangerous. According to KMC sources, if someone is found domesticating or selling canines of these two breeds, they would be penalized and the dog confiscated. The resolution said that people do not have a large enough residence or farm house to keep the dogs of exotic dreaded species, due to which they come under stress and attack people. "To protect the public from attack, dreaded Pitbull and Rottweiler breeds are banned from the city limits," it stated further. Additional Municipal Commissioner, Suryakant Tripathi, said: "Breeding of dogs of both these species for the purpose of domesticating and trading is prohibited in urban areas. If any person illegally keeps such dogs in the municipal limits, a fine of Rs 5,000 will be imposed on them and the dog would also be confiscated." After the incidents of Pitbull attacks in Lucknow, Ghaziabad and Meerut, a Pitbull had recently attacked a cow at Sarsaiya Ghat in Kanpur. The video of the Kanpur incident had gone viral on social media. Bengaluru, Sep 27 : The crackdown against the Popular Front of India (PFI) continued in Karnataka with police detaining 45 members of the political outfit on Tuesday. According to sources, the raids began at 4 a.m at various locations in Belagavi, Gadag, Bijapur in north Karnataka, neighbouring district of Bengaluru Kolar and Bengaluru Rural, coastal district of Udupi. The PFI leaders have reportedly collected funds from foreign countries to foment violence in society and attack RSS leaders and offices in retaliation to recent NIA raids, the sources said. On September 23, the searches were conducted in Bengaluru, Bidar, Raichur, Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Bengaluru Rural and Kolar districts. In Bengaluru alone 15 PFI workers were taken into custody. ADGP (Law and Order) Alok Kumar is personally monitoring the raids across the state. Belagavi police have taken five PFI members into custody who blocked the National Highway and protested against arrest their leaders earlier. In Kolar, six PFI leaders have been arrested and are being interrogated. In the coastal district of Udupi, the police teams have conducted simultaneous raids on four locations and taken more than four leaders into custody. ADGP Alok Kumar confirmed that 45 PFI workers have been taken into custody. The state-wide raids have been taken up as a preventive measure to stop them from indulging in violence, he said. Berlin, Sep 27 : German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has tested positive for Covid-19, a government spokesperson said. The Chancellor, who has mild cold symptoms, "immediately went into isolation" Xinhua news agency quoted the spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, as saying on Monfay. Scholz' public appointments this week will be cancelled, but he will still participate virtually in a meeting with the minister presidents of federal states on Wednesday. On Sunday, Scholz returned from a two-day trip to the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. With gas supplies cut off from Russia, once a major energy source, Germany is actively seeking new partnerships in energy supply. Germany is currently witnessing a spike in new Covid-19 cases, with the seven-day incidence per 100,000 residents climbing to 293.6 infections on Monday. This is around 50 higher than a week ago, according to the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases. "It is likely that an autumn wave is coming, but it is building up slowly," said Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach on Twitter on Sunday. Germany's Standing Committee on Vaccination has recommended booster shots adapted to the new Omicron variant for certain groups, such as people over 60. Of the 69.4 million adults in Germany aged 18 or older, around 85 per cent are vaccinated against Covid-19. More than 72 per cent have received one booster vaccination, while around 11 per cent were immunised with two booster shots, according to official figures. Since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020, Germany has reported a total of 33,041,332 Covid cases and 149,576 deaths. Kiev, Sep 27 : Ukraine plans to adopt the legislations needed to launch the membership talks with the European Union(EU) by mid-November, a top official said here. In a televised address on local media, Oleksandr Kornienko, the first deputy chairman of Parliament, said on Monday said that Ukraine needs to fulfil seven requirements put forward by the EU to start the accession talks, Xinhua news agency reported. In particular, the Ukrainian Parliament is set to pass the laws on media and on national minorities, Kornienko said. On February 28, Volodymyr Zelensky signed an official appeal to the EU asking for the accession of Ukraine via a new special procedure. On June 23, EU leaders accepted Ukraine as a candidate for membership in the bloc. Los Angeles, Sep 27 : Hollywood star Christian Bale, who has no problem morphing into his characters, had to isolate himself from his co-star on the sets of David O. Russell's 'Amsterdam' because he is too funny. Bale says the director had Rock tell him some stories while on set, but "Chris is so bloody funny" that it prevented him from getting into character, reports 'Variety'. "I remember his first day, I was excited to meet him, I'm a big fan of his standup," Bale told IndieWire. "Then he arrives, and he's doing some things... David [O. Russell] told him to tell me some stories that I didn't know he was gonna tell me, which is the way David works often. And I was loving it." Bale continued, "But Chris is so bloody funny and I found that I couldn't act, because I was just becoming Christian laughing at Chris Rock. So I had to go to him, I went, 'Mate, I love talking to you, and we have mutual friends, but I can't do it anymore. Because David didn't ask me to make this film so he could just watch me giggle. He wants me to be Burt and I'm forgetting how to be Burt'." The actor, who famously takes extra measures to prepare for roles, said he does not blame Rock. Distancing himself from his co-stars is just part of Bale's process. "I often meet these incredible people, but I isolate myself,a he said. "Because if I get to know people too much, I find I just don't believe what I'm doing in the scene." 'Amsterdam' premieres on October 7. Ankara, Sep 27 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to "use all means" to protect Ankara's rights and interests against Greece. "We will not fail to use all the means to defend our country's rights and interests against Greece, when necessary," Erdogan said at a press conference after a cabinet meeting on Monday. His remarks came amid a recent escalation of tension between two neighbours over their disputes in the Aegean Sea, reports Xinhua news agency. He accused Athens of making policies based on "provocative actions" and suggested that Greece is being "dragged into a swamp with military build-ups". "This is a dangerous game for both the Greek politicians, the Greek state, the Greek people," Erdogan said. Relations between the two countries have long been tense over a series of issues, including territory and energy disputes in the Aegean and the Mediterranean Seas. The semi-official Anadolu Agency reported on Sunday the footage of Greek ships, carrying military vehicles, landed on Lesbos and Samos islands on September 18 and 21, respectively. Turkey warned Greece that these islands have non-military status according to international treaties. Earlier this month, Erdogan accused Greece of "harassing" Turkish fighter jets in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, a claim that Greece has rejected. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on September 11 said despite the recent "unacceptable" comments of Erdogan, he was "always available and open to a meeting with the Turkish leader". Chennai, Sep 27 : The Dalit political party VCK, the CPI-M, and CPI will hold a human chain in Tamil Nadu on October 2 in protest of the processions being held by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on the same day. This was announced by the VCK founder leader and MP, Thol Thirumavalavan in a statement on Tuesday. The RSS is holding processions in 50 centres across the state. The MP said that Tamil Nadu was peaceful even after the demolition of Babri Masjid and that the RSS was trying to sow the seed of hatred in the Tamil society, which will not be allowed. He said that the RSS taking up a procession on Mahatma Gandhi birth anniversary was shocking as that organisation was involved in the murder of Gandhiji. He also said that the RSS was meticulously choosing such important dates to push forward the nefarious ideas of the organisation to the Tamil society, and added that the VCK and Left parties won't allow Tamil Nadu to be turned into a ground of communal hatred through the RSS policies and programmes. Thirumavalavan in the statement said that his party welcomed the statement of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to reject harmful forces and promote social harmony. It may be noted that there are some major upheavals in Tamil Nadu after the early morning arrest of Islamist organisation, the Popular Front of India's leaders on September 22 and the subsequent petrol bomb and kerosene bomb attacks on the residences, offices/shops of RSS and Hindu functionaries. The RSS has also joined issue with A. Raja, former Union minister on his terming Hinduism as anti-Shudra. The Madras High Court had on September 22 granted permission to the RSS to take route marches across 50 places in Tamil Nadu. However, the court had directed the organisation that no members of the RSS shall speak ill against any caste, religion, or individual. The court also directed the RSS that no members of the procession should speak in favour of any organisation banned by the Government of India. The cadres must not act in any way that would disturb the sovereignty and integrity of the country, the court had observed while pronouncing the verdict. The participants were also not allowed to carry any weapons during the procession, including sticks. New Delhi, Sep 27 : More than 30 members of Popular Front of India (PFI) were detained by the police during multiple raids by central agencies in the national capital on Tuesday. "More than 30 people have been detained," Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora told IANS. As per latest reports, the raids are still underway at several places in the city. Apart from Delhi, raids are being conducted at locations linked to the PFI in eight states of the country. Sources said that raids, which began on Tuesday early morning, were going on in Aurangabad, Jalana, Parbhani districts of Maharashtra; Simoga, Bidar, Ballari, Hubli, Kalburgi districts of Karnataka; Nagarbera of Assam; Bulandshahr's Kasba Syana, Sarurpur and Lisari Gate area of Meerut in Western Uttar Pradesh. An NIA source informed that in a few states, the local police were conducting raids on their instructions. Notably, in a nationwide crackdown against the PFI on September 22, around 106 senior office-bearers of the organisation were arrested. The arrested members included PFI national Chairman, O.M.A. Salam, Vice Chairman, E. Abdurahman, National secretary Nasseruddin Elamaram, ideologue and national leader, Prof P. Koya, and some other senior functionaries from Kerala. The top leader arrested from Tamil Nadu was A. M. Ismail, the national executive member of PFI from Coimbatore. A. M. Ismail was arrested from Coimbatore, Yassar Arafat, the Dindigul Zonal Secretary of PFI from Dindigul, and Cuddalore district secretary, Fayas Ahmad from Cuddalore. Eight other leaders were arrested from various parts of the state. The sources said that in the raids conducted in 15 states of the country, the investigating agencies have found strong evidence of PFI's involvement in terrorist activities. Soon after the raid, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also held a meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and NIA Chief Dinkar Gupta during which instructions were issued to review the facts gathered against PFI and take further action. Brussels, Sep 27 : The European Commission said it had secured over 10,000 tecovirimat vaccines against monkeypox, despite the declining number of cases in the European Union (EU). The Commission on Monday said the emergency procurement adds to the 334,000 vaccines already purchased by the bloc, reports Xinhua news agency. The purchase was funded by the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) to treat patients in the member states with immediate needs. European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides said that while the declining number of monkeypox cases in the EU is encouraging, it does not mean that the threat has passed, and the EU should continue to focus on preparedness. Meanwhile, Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said: "Monkeypox is one of the priority threats identified as part of the rescEU strategic reserves. These batches of monkeypox antivirals will offer an additional level of protection for our citizens. "The stocks will be available to the Member States on an urgent-needs-basis." Since the start of the monkeypox outbreak, 19,827 confirmed cases have been reported from 29 EU/EEA countries, in total 47 cases have been reported from three Western Balkan countries and Turkey, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The five countries that have reported the most cases since the start of the outbreak are: Spain (7,083), France (3,897), Germany (3,570), the Netherlands (1,221) and Portugal (845). Deaths have been reported from Spain (3), Belgium (1) and the Czech Republic (1). Tokyo, Sep 27 : Japan on Tuesday bid a final farewell to the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the country's longest serving leader, at a state funeral. The 67-year-old politician was gunned down at an election rally in July, the BBC reported. Some 20,000 police officers have been reportedly being deployed for the security at the event being held at the Nippon Budokan arena in central Tokyo which is estimated to cost taxpayers $1.65 billion yen ($11 million). The event is currently underway with thousands of dignitaries from all over the world, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seated in the arena. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida received the ashes, which appear to be contained in a ceremonial box. He then formally handed it to military officers who placed the box in the centre of the altar, set up at the front of the room. Up to 1,000 soldiers are set to perform ceremonial duties, with a military honour guard firing 19 blank rounds from a cannon to salute the former Prime Minister. This is only the second state funeral held in Japan. The other was for former Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru 55 years ago. Members of the public have been laying flowers outside the venue to pay their respects. Flags at government offices across Japan are also being flown at half-mast, reports public broadcaster NHK. But people opposing the expensive event have taken to streets in protest. Some opponents have said that the government and Japanese taxpayers should not bear the entire cost of the event, while others question the rationale since only one other former Prime Minister has been given a state funeral since the end of World War Two. An NHK opinion poll this month found more than half of respondents did not approve of the event. Seventy-two per cent said the government had not done a good enough job explaining why a state funeral was needed. Abe's death has also shed light on another political controversy. The suspect says he held a grudge against a religious group he claims bankrupted his family. He says he believed Abe had had close ties with the group. The group, previously known as the Unification Church, has been accused of demanding large sums of money from its followers. In the wake of the shooting, hundreds of Japanese lawmakers admitted ties with the group, including about half of the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party's members. Kishida has told his party's members to sever those links. Nonetheless, the latest NHK poll suggests almost two-thirds of respondents do not think the LDP has adequately addressed the matter. Seoul, Sep 27 : During her trip to South Korea this week, US Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separated the two Koreas, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced on Tuesday. Han made the remarks during a meeting with Harris in Tokyo before they attended the state funeral of late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, reports Yonhap News Agency. Han said the planned visit by Harris to the DMZ on Thursday is a "symbolic" move for the South Korea-US alliance. Harris' visit to the DMZ comes less than two months after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went there. It also comes after North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile Sunday, in an apparent show of force against joint military drills between Seoul and Washington. Harris said the allies have "a lot of work" to do to strengthen their relations, including their investment in innovation, technology and space. According to the Prime Minister's office, Han and Harris discussed the global comprehensive strategic alliance, which was agreed by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his US counterpart Joe Biden in May. Los Angeles, Sep 27 : Peter Goldwyn, the president of the US distributor Samuel Goldwyn Films, has called India's selection of its competitor for this year's best international film race at the Oscars, 'The Last Film Show', which it will release in North America, "a really strong contender". Directed by Pan Nalin, the Gujarati-language film is the story of a nine-year old boy pursuing his dreams in cinema, reports 'Variety'. It debuted at the Tribeca Festival in 2021 and has since played fests in Palms Springs, Seattle and Mill Valley. "We believe that 'The Last Film Show' speaks to the heart and soul of cinema, which will be appealing not only to moviegoers in the United States but also Academy members," said SGF president Peter Goldwyn, quoted by 'Variety'. "We believe that the film is a really strong contender this year, and we're excited to bring it to American audiences. We are also eager to bring our expertise with Academy Awards campaigns to the release of this title," he added. According to 'Variety', 'The Last Film Show' will have its commercial release in Gujarat, India on October 14, giving it the necessary qualifying theatrical run in its home territory. The film had received backlash in its home country by the members of FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees) over its origins and year of making, and from media over snubbing of S.S. Rajamouli's magnum opus 'RRR'. Caracas, Sep 27 : The border between Venezuela and Colombia has formally reopened, after a symbolic act led by Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Venezuelan ministers at the Simon Bolivar Bridge linking the two countries. Petro said on Monday that he hoped the reopening would benefit the residents on each side, who for years had to risk passing through unauthorized crossings, reports Xinhua news agency. After the ceremony, trucks with merchandise began to cross the border, with aluminium material from Venezuela and a shipment of medicines from Colombia. Earlier, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro commented on his Twitter account that "firm steps were taken to advance in the total and absolute opening of the border between brotherly peoples: Colombia and Venezuela. It is a historic and transcendental day!" Earlier this month, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had announced that flights from Caracas and the northern city of Valencia to Colombia's capital Bogota will also resume. Since Petro took office in Colombia, Caracas and Bogota have progressively advanced in normalising ties severed in 2019 by his predecessor Ivan Duque. Ahmedabad, Sep 27 : The students of the Gujarat University on Tuesday protested in the campus alleging an attack by outsiders in the hostel area. The students said that Monday late night a group of anti-social elements entered the university hostel campus and damaged their vehicles. When the students tried to confront them, they were beaten with sticks and belts. The students staged a protest in front of the University Police station and demanded action against the goons, who had illegally entered the campus. University Police Station Officer said the students have filed an application alleging that goons damaged their vehicles and beat them. There was no official complaint lodged against anyone, the officer added. The students said the police instead of registering a complaint asked them to write an application, alleged Bhavik Solanki, leader of National Student Union of India. The NSUI will organise a march from the Gujarat University campus to the police station demanding the registration of the complaint against the unidentified goons. He added that the students were not able to identify any of the goons and did not even know the reason and motive behind the attack. "That is why a police investigation is necessary in the case," said Solanki. Hyderabad, Sep 27 : Three people died after being struck by lightning in different parts of Telangana as heavy rain lashed parts of the state, including capital Hyderabad, throwing the normal life out of gear. Deaths due to lightning were reported from Bhadradri Kothagudem, Khammam and Hanamkonda districts late Monday. A farmer, L. Sreenu, who was returning home from his fields, died when lightning struck him in Bhadradri Kothagudem district. Sheikh Jaan Bi, a housewife sitting in the courtyard of her house died due to lightning in Khammam district. In the third incident, a man standing under a tree died of thunderbolt in Hanamkonda district. Heavy rain lashed parts of the state, including state capital Hyderabad on Monday evening. Massive downpour in Hyderabad inundated roads and low-lying areas, bringing the normal life to a crippling halt for a few hours. Some parts of Hyderabad recorded 9.1 to 12.7 cm rainfall in just three hours. This is the highest rainfall in over a decade during the month of September in Hyderabad. The Mehdipatnam area in the city recorded 11.25 cm rainfall till midnight. The earlier highest rainfall of 9 cm in 24 hours was recorded on September 6, 2017. Drains were overflowing in several parts of the city, inundating roads. The main roads saw long traffic snarls. People, who were returning home from offices and working places, were stranded due to gridlock at almost all major traffic junctions. Motorists were caught in traffic jams for several hours. Many residents reached home past midnight. Electricity supply was also disrupted in some areas. Rain water also entered the houses in some colonies due to overflowing lakes and tanks. Areas like Asif Nagar, Gudimalkapur, Malaket and Musheerabad witnessed huge inundation. Disaster Response Force (DRF) teams of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) were pressed into service to clear waterlogging. Meanwhile, Hyderabad Meteorological Centre has forecast rain in the state over next four days. Thunderstorms accompanied with lightning are very likely to occur at isolated places over Telangana, it said. New Delhi, Sep 27 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a day-long visit to Tokyo to attend the state funeral of late leader Shinzo Abe, met his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on Tuesday and held a bilateral meeting. Following the meeting, Modi said in a tweet: "Had a fruitful meeting with PM Kishida. We discussed various bilateral subjects. I conveyed my condolences on the tragic demise of former PM Shinzo Abe." During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi noted the contributions of Abe in strengthening India-Japan partnership as well in conceptualizing the vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs said. Image Source: IANS News Modi and Kishida also discussed a number of regional and global issues and renewed their commitment towards further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership, working together in the region, as well as in various international groupings and institutions, the statement added. Modi is among the thousand dignitaries from across the world to participate in the state funeral being held at the Nippon Budokan arena in central Tokyo. Abe, 67, was assassinated on July 8 while he was addressing an election campaign in the city of Nara. -- Syndicated from IANS New Delhi, Sep 27 : Two actresses -- Nikki Tamboli and Sofia Singh -- were taken inside the Tihar Jail to "recreate" their alleged meeting with conmon Sukesh Chandrashekhar, a senior Delhi Police official said Tuesday. "It was part of the ongoing probe into the Rs 200 crore extortion case related to Sukesh Chandrashekhar," the official said. Chandrashekhar, presently lodged in Jail No. 3 of the Tihar Jail, was arrested last year for allegedly cheating and extorting money from some high-profile people, which includes former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh's wife Aditi Singh. Many women Bollywood actors and models have been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for their alleged links to Chandrashekhar. In April 2021, he was arrested in another money laundering case linked to the 2017 Election Commission bribery case, which allegedly involved a former AIADMK leader and others. Notably, the Enforcement Directorate, recently in an application in Supreme Court, had mentioned that accused Sukesh has repeatedly committed offences, including that of money laundering during his incarceration in jail by subverting the legal system and prison rules with the help of his knowledge of technology and his "ability to con people". According to the sources, 'Big Boss' fame Nikki Tamboli, 'Bade Acche Lagte Hai' fame Chahat Khanna, Sophia Singh, and Arusha Patil met Chandrashekhar in the jail premises and he introduced himself as a producer of the southern film industry. A source said that Chandrashekhar's aide Pinky Irani, who was arrested later, had facilitated their meetings with Chandrashekhar. All these four actresses were given expensive gifts of renowned brands such as Gucci, Versace, and Louis Vuitton. Chandrashekhar also transferred some Rs 5.20 lakh into the account of Patil, who has admitted to have met him but not in the jail. When Irani introduced Khanna to Chandrashekhar, the actress was allegedly given Rs 2 lakh and a blue-coloured Versace watch. Chandrashekhar allegedly deposited Rs 2 lakh into the account of Singh and later gifted her an LV bag. She was, later on, given Rs 1.5 lakh more. Irani got an amount of Rs 10 lakh from Chandrashekhar for introducing him to Tamboli, and she gave Rs 1.5 lakh to Tamboli. Later on, Chandrashekhar gave her a Gucci bag and Rs 2 lakh on their first meeting. Guwahati, Sep 27 : In a fresh operation, Assam Police on Tuesday arrested 25 additional Popular Front of India (PFI) leaders and activists from eight districts. According to officials, 10 PFI members were arrested in Goalpara, five from Kamrup, three from Dhubri, two each from Barpeta and Baksa districts, and one each from Karimganj, Udalguri, and Darang districts. Earlier, 11 PFI activists and leaders were arrested in Assam for their alleged involvement in unlawful activities. Among them was Minarul Shaikh, the state president of PFI in West Bengal. Reportedly, all the 11 people are currently under police custody following a court order. On Monday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the police crackdown against PFI members will continue in the state, adding that cases have been lodged against the organisation's supporters who had launched agitation and road blockade in the wake of pan-India raids. New Delhi, Sep 27 : Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal on Tuesday said the replies received from both Twitter and Delhi Police officials in the Child Pornography complaint were incomplete and the commission was not satisfied with it. "Senior officials of Twitter and Delhi Police appeared before DCW chairperson Swati Maliwall on September 26. However, the reply received from both Twitter and Delhi Police was incomplete and unsatisfactory," the DCW said. The DCW has once again given them time till September 30 to file a proper reply. Maliwal, had on September 20 summoned Twitter India Policy Head and Delhi Police over tweets depicting child pornography and rape videos of women and children over the social media platform Twitter. Taking suo moto cognizance of several tweets on Twitter openly depicting videos and photographs of sexual acts involving children, the Commission said that most of the tweets portrayed children completely naked and many of them also depicted brutal rape and other non-consensual sexual activities with children and women. The Commission has also issued summons to Delhi Police seeking an FIR in the matter and has recommended that the children and women visible in the child pornographic and rape videos be identified and assisted. "Shockingly, some of these videos even depicted rape with children and women while they were asleep! Some of the Twitter accounts engaging in these criminal acts appear to be running a racket wherein they seek money for providing pornographic and rape videos of children from other users of the social media platform," Maliwal had said in a press briefing. The Commission had asked to provide reasons why the tweets were neither deleted nor reported by Twitter. The Commission had also sought data regarding the number of such tweets presently available on Twitter. Further, it has sought the number of tweets depicting child pornography and rape identified, deleted, and reported by Twitter in the past four years. New Delhi, Sep 27 : An alert was sounded in the riverbed areas of the capital on Tuesday after the Yamuna crossed the evacuation level and started flowing above the danger mark following three days of incessant rainfall. The warning level of the Yamuna river is fixed at 204.50m and the danger level is at 205.33m and the evacuation level has been marked at 206m. According to a Delhi government official, the river was flowing at 206.20 m at 10 am which was above the evacuation level. An evacuation alert has been declared for people living in the riverbed low-lying areas near the banks. The alert was issued on Tuesday morning when the water level crossed the 206 metre mark. This is the second time within two months that the authorities are evacuating the people living in the river floodplains due to flooding in the low-lying areas. Earlier, the river had breached the danger mark of 205.33 metres on August 12, following which around 7,000 people were evacuated from the low-lying areas near the riverbanks. The water level in the river is likely to further increase between 3 pm and 5 pm as 1,04,121 cusecs water was discharged from Hathni Kund Barrage. The water discharged from the Hathni Kund Barrage takes around two to three days to reach Delhi. Seeing the looming threat of floods, the authorities have started evacuating people from the low-lying areas near the Yamuna Bank. Rio De Janeiro, Sep 27 : At least five people were killed and three others injured in an intense shootout between police and suspected drug traffickers in a favela, or slum, in Rio de Janeiro. The dead and injured were suspected drug traffickers, Xinhua news agency quoted the police as saying. The shootout took place on Monday after Rio police intelligence services were informed that a group of drug traffickers were set to invade the turf of a rival faction in the favela. According to police, 26 people were arrested after the shootout. In addition, weapons, including a grenade, a tonne of marijuana and 20 stolen vehicles and motorcycles were seized. The shootout forced the closure of 35 schools, four healthcare centre and a university campus. It also paralysed traffic on the Red Line expressway, one of Rio's main access and exit routes. Chennai, Sep 27 : Actress Kaniha, who is known to be someone who chooses to live life on her own terms, on Tuesday disclosed that she had realised another dream of hers -- to learn to ride a bike -- a year ago despite people discouraging her by asking her why she was doing it. Taking to Instagram, Kaniha said: "Dreams know no age, dreams know no fear. Keep chasing your dreams!! A year ago, I taught myself to ride bikes. When many said, 'Why ? Why NOW?', I smiled..." Only recently, the actress had shared a video in which she was seen learning the musical instrument Ukulele all by herself. The actress, who has been a part of some critically acclaimed hits in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, had then said, "Why should everything be perfect? Why should I showcase everything perfect? "Here's me being goofy and self-teaching myself from YouTube tutorials and taking baby steps with my new found love 'Uke'. When I got the weekend free... Why waste it? Learning something new. Feel good factor! This might seem super elementary for music professionals (please excuse moi) but what if this motivates and pushes someone like me to learn something new?!" Jaipur, Sep 27 : Amid the ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan, the Gehlot government on Tuesday dismissed BJP Mayor Soumya Gurjar from the post. The matter was taken up in the Supreme Court on September 23 and the state government was asked to take action after two days. Since Monday was a holiday, the state government prepared a proposal for dismissal of the Mayor on Tuesday and sent it to Urban Development Minister Shanti Dhariwal. On getting the minister's approval, the Autonomous Government Department issued an order dismissing the Mayor from the post and disqualifying her from contesting elections for the next six years. Notably, in June 2021, a dispute was reported in a meeting between Mayor Soumya Gurjar, the then commissioner Yagyamitra Singh Deo and other councillors at the Jaipur Municipal Corporation Greater Headquarters. There was an argument between the councillors and the mayor with the commissioner. The commissioner had left the meeting midway. But he was stopped at the gate by the councillors, after which the dispute escalated. The commissioner gave a written complaint to the government, accusing the three councillors of assaulting and thrashing him and lodged a case at Jyoti Nagar police station. On June 5, the government intervened in the matter and handed over the investigation of the complaint received against Mayor Soumya Gurjar and councillors Paras Jain, Ajay Singh, Shankar Sharma to the Regional Director of the Directorate of Autonomous Government. In the investigation report on June 6, the government suspended all (mayor and three councillors) from the post, considering the four guilty. On the same day, the government started a judicial inquiry against all of them. The same month, the state government issued an order and appointed councillor Sheel Dhabai as acting mayor. Mayor Gurjar challenged the suspension in the High Court, but on June 28, the High Court refused to grant a stay on the suspension order. In July, Soumya Gurjar filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the judicial inquiry and a stay on the suspension order. On 1 February 2022, the Supreme Court stayed the suspension order, after which Soumya Gurjar resumed the Mayor's chair on February 2. Judicial inquiry's report against Soumya and three other councillors was out on August 11, in which all were found guilty. On August 22, the government abolished the membership of three BJP councillors. They have also been removed by the government on the basis of this judicial inquiry. After this, the government filed a petition in the Supreme Court and presented the report of the judicial inquiry and demanded an early hearing of the matter. The apex court on September 23, allowed the government to proceed. Bengaluru, Sep 27 : President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday called on the scientific community to pursue a path of social responsibility. "Every challenge makes us think about a need to face and prevent its concurrence. Today we need to prepare ourselves to face not just traditional challenges but the unforeseen ones," she said while addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Integrated Cryogenic Engines Manufacturing Facility at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) here. She underlined that technological development should go along with social inclusiveness. "Science can bring a phenomenon revolution in the lives of the masses. The spirit of indigenousness followed by former Late President Dr Abdul Kalam should be emulated. "Recently we faced a major threat in the form of Covid-19. The doctors, scientists helped us out of the crisis. Our response to the pandemic has been appreciated everywhere. We have launched the biggest vaccination drive in human history. The data is better than many developed countries," President Murmu stated. She described facility's inauguration a as historic moment as it is not only for HAL and the Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO), but for the whole country to have the state of the art manufacturing unit of Cryogenic and semi-cryogenic engines. This will cater to the needs of the Indian space programmes there by aiding to the achievements of our country. "I will congratulate all people associated with this prestigious project," she explained. She described HAL as the force behind the armed forces and ISRO as the pride of the nation. The official statement from HAL stated that, the HAL Aerospace Division manufactures liquid propellant tanks and launch vehicle structures of PSLV, GSLV MK-II, GSLV Mk-III and also stage integration for GSLV Mk-II. The Aerospace Division entering into manufacture of Cryogenic Engines is a major step in technology up-gradation cum modernization. Cryogenic engines are the most widely used all over the world in launch vehicles. Due to its complex nature, till date only the US, France, Japan, China and Russia have mastered the technology. On January 5, 2014, India successfully flew GSLV-D5 with a cryogenic engine (made by ISRO through private industries) and became the sixth country in developing cryogenic engines. Space exploration in the future is mostly dependent upon cryogenic technology. Lucknow, Sep 27 : Nearly 57 people, linked to the Popular Front of India (PFI), have been arrested in raids conducted by the police, Special Task force and Anti-Terrorist Squad. The raids were held in various locations in 26 districts across Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday. Additional Director General (law and order) Prashant Kumar said in a brief statement that the documents and other items seized during the raids were being scrutinized. He said that legal action will be taken as investigations progress. Bengaluru, Sep 27 : With the arrest of a foreign drug peddler and four women, Karnataka police on Tuesday claimed to have busted an inter-state drug racket operating from the deep forests of Andhra Pradesh. The City Crime Branch (CCB) Anti-Narcotics wing has seized eight kg hashish oil, 10 kg ganja and 1.4 kg MDMA crystals worth Rs 7.80 crore in total, from the accused persons. According to police, the operation was carried out based on a tip-off by the gang which was arrested a month ago in the limits of Viveknagar police station in Bengaluru. As per the tip off, the state police team took four women into custody near the Puttaparthi Railway station in Andhra Pradesh. The women had come to supply drugs to Bengaluru drug peddlers near an auto stand close to the Puttaparthi Railway Station. The police seized 8 kilograms of hashish oil and 10 kilograms of ganja from them. Based on their tip off, the sleuths have raided the residence of a foreigner who was peddling drugs after obtaining them from the accused women. The police seized 1.4 grams of MDMA crystals from his house. Police say that the kingpin of the drug racket is operating from Arakku and Sitampalli forest areas. The kingpin manufactures hashish oil and other drug substances deep inside jungles and sells it to Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi and Mumbai cities. The police have launched a hunt for him. Mumbai, Sep 27 : Veteran Hindi film actress-director-producer Asha Parekh will soon be feted with the Lifetime Achievement honour for her contribution to cinema at this years Dadasaheb Phalke Awards by President Droupadi Murmu. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur took to his Twitter to announce the honour for the actress. He tweeted, "Honoured to announce that the Dadasaheb Phalke Selection Jury has decided to recognise & award Asha Parekh ji for her exemplary lifetime contribution to Indian Cinema. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award shall be presented by the Hon President of India at 68th NFA in Vigyan Bhawan (sic)." In a career spanning almost 5 decades, Asha Parekh started her journey as a child artist at the age of 10 with the film 'Maa' under the screen name Baby Asha Parekh. The social family drama was directed by Bimal Roy for Bombay Talkies. He was asked to come to Bombay from Kolkata to direct the film for the studio, which was going through bad times. Bimal Roy saw Asha dance at a stage function and cast her in the film and then repeated her in 'Baap Beti'. The latter film's failure disappointed her, and even though she did a few more child roles, she quit to resume her schooling. At the age of sixteen, she again tried her hand at acting. She tried to make her debut as a heroine, but she was rejected from Vijay Bhatt's 'Goonj Uthi Shehnai' because the filmmaker claimed she was not star material. Later, film producer Subodh Mukherjee and writer-director Nasir Hussain (Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan's uncle) cast her as the heroine in 'Dil Deke Dekho', opposite Shammi Kapoor, which made her a huge star. The film also led to a long standing association between Asha and Nasir. The two even were rumoured to be dating, something that was confirmed by the actress herself in her memoir, 'The Hit Girl'. In 1992, she was honoured with the Padma Shri for her contribution to cinema. Three years later, Asha featured in 'Andolan' and subsequently hung up her boots after her cameo appearance in the 1999 film 'Sar Aankhon Par'. Chennai, Sep 27 : The Tamil Nadu government has roped in international management consultants, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for advising the urban and local bodies to implement the single-use plastic ban properly. The state government had imposed a ban on single-use plastic in 2019. The PWC is given a brief to set up a project management consultancy that would advise the urban and local bodies on the ban of single-use plastic. The international management consultants would be providing analysis on the single-use plastic ban at district levels and will do the third-party monitoring. The PMC will provide proper inputs on whether the state has gone wrong in implementing the ban properly. Tamil Nadu was one of the first states that brought in all the producers, importers, and brand owners (PIBO) under the Extended Producer's Responsibility (EPR). A company brought under the ambit of EPR will have to collect the waste, get it recycled, and obtain a certificate from the state pollution control boards. Tamil Nadu pollution control board officials also told IANS that things are improving in the state and the problematic plastic is being recycled and reused through buyback systems. Sources in the TNPCB told IANS that with the international level management consultancy being roped in by the state government, there would be improvement in compliance of the single-use plastic ban. Bhopal, Sep 27 : One student died while around 10 reportedly got injured after a private bus carrying around 40-45 school children overturned in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district on Tuesday. The student, who died on spot, has been identified as Shailendra Kimar, a Class 9 student of Lakshya Public School in Sagar district. The condition of three other students was reported to be critical and they are being treated at a hospital in the district, police said. "School bus carrying nearly 40-45 students, met with the accident around 8 a.m. near Chandrakar village on Rahatgarh-Khurai road. A 14-year-old child died on spot, while three were critically injured," Superintendent of Police (SP) Sagar, Tarun Nayak said. Anand Raj, SHO of Rahatgarh police station said during the preliminary investigation it has learnt that the incident occurred due to over-speeding. "Children said the driver was talking on phone while he was driving the bus at high speed, due to which he lost control and the bus overturned. All children have been rushed to nearby hospitals," Raj said. The incident was first noticed by locals, who jumped into action to rescue children in the bus. Meanwhile, local police were informed and all were taken to the nearby hospitals. Later, district collector and SP also reached the spot. "FIR has been registered against the bus owner and the driver. Action would be taken on the basis of outcome of further investigation," Sagar SP further said. Meanwhile, transport minister in Madhya Pradesh, Govind Singh Rajput directed the administration to the investigate matter and take strict action against bus operator. New Delhi, Sep 27 : One out of two Indian employees is currently looking for a job change due to burnout triggered by long remote working hours, a report showed on Tuesday. Burnout is the pandemic's unrecognised health epidemic and has been a significant impact on working professionals, organisations and larger communities. According to a report by UserTesting, a leader in video-based human insight, while 50 per cent of the country's workforce stated workload as a major factor leading to burnout, 20 per cent stated work-life imbalance and 15 per cent stated monotony as the prime cause of their stress. Working from home has given professionals much needed flexibility and also proven to increase their productivity and efficiency. However, this arrangement has its drawbacks too. According to the survey, remote workers are working longer hours, attending more meetings and managing more communication channels. About 55 per cent of professionals reported experiencing an increase in their work hours since the pandemic-induced lockdown. As per the survey, 80 per cent of respondents said they are still following the hybrid work model, while 10 per cent reported working from the office and working from home respectively. Because of the flexibility that hybrid model provides, 55 per cent of respondents stated that they can balance their personal and professional life better with such a work culture. "Interestingly, 70 per cent of Indians responded that hybrid work has led to increased work satisfaction," the findings showed. Furthermore, 10 per cent of workers said their employers were organising social events to combat burnout. The employees recommended that their employers ensure mandatory downtime after work hours, employee-care activities, and more specified deadlines. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, Sep 27 : Congress central election authority (CEA) chairman Madhusudan Mistry on Tuesday submitted a list of delegates, who can vote in the party president's election, to Sonia Gandhi Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary said, "@INCIndia is only party with a well-established process to elect it's President, which is free & transparent. Today, Chairman of our Central Election Authority, @MD_Mistry, presented to Smt.Sonia Gandhi the final list of delegates of electoral college & her QR coded voter ID card." After the meeting, Mistry Said that Congress treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal has taken a nomination form from the party's Central Election Authority, however, it was not clear whether he will file the nomination or not. Mistry said, "Till now Tharoor and Pawan Bansal have taken the nomination forms from CEA." Congress sources said that Ashok Gehlot was being ruled out from the Congress' president post and it is likely that Kumari Selja could be considered for the top post while Rahul Gandhi's choice is said to be K.C. Venugopal. However, no final decision has been made yet and Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath, who met Sonia Gandhi on Monday, said that he did not want to become the party president and wanted to continue work for the party in Madhya Pradesh. "I want to remain in MP," Kamal Nath, a former Chief Minister of the state, told IANS. The political drama in Rajasthan has made the Congress leadership think about a plan B for the top party post, for which Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was being seen as a contender. Kamal Nath has ruled out to opt for the top post, and now the party has options like Mukul Wasnik, Mallikarjun Kharge or Kumari Selja, etc. The time is running out as the election process has started and September 30 is the last day of nomination. Agra, Sep 27 : Green activists in the Taj city on Tuesday hailed the Supreme Court's order to double the area of the Keetham Lake bird sanctuary, now called Sur Sarovar Pakshi Vihar, on the Delhi-Agra National Highway 2. The area under the sanctuary will now increase from 403 hectares to 799 hectares, after the new order of the apex court which has accepted the recommendation of the Central Empowered Committee, constituted after a local environmentalist, Sharad Gupta, filed a petition objecting to arbitrary reduction in the area by the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department. Gupta said he had filed rejoinders and objections at every level of discussion and sounded the concerned agencies with the matter relating to the eco-sensitive zone requirements. "But when there was no positive reaction I had to move the apex court." The Keetham Lake forest area is a green buffer zome between the Mathura refinery and Agra. Home to hundreds of bird species, migratory and local' reptiles, including more than 300 pythons; as well as scores of species of fish, the lake was declared a bird sanctuary in 1991 and renamed as Sur Sarovar, after the bard, Braj Bhasha Sur Das. Along the Yamuna river bank, on the national highway to Delhi, the site also has a famous sloth bear shelter home and a hospital for elephants run by Wildlife SOS, close by. In the wake of the court order, environmentalist Devashish Bhattacharya said: "We have been struggling for long years to protect the eco-sensitive zone around Sur Sarovar, from encroachers. The delayed recognition will definitely help conserve the rich flora and fauna of the area and perhaps promote eco-tourism. The need is to firmly demolish all illegal structures in the vicinity of the sprawling lake." The Keetham wetland is rich in natural resources and attracts a large number of migratory birds. Action should be taken to ensure that the lake gets only treated non-polluted water from the Agra Canal. Also, there is a need for desilting the lake to clear the pollutants. Agra now has four internationally recognised tourist attractions. "We have three world heritage monuments and now a fourth Ramsar Site which has the potential to develop as a popular tourist site. The Sur Sarovar area, has several mythological sites including Shani Dev temple, Bhagwan Parsu Ram temple, and of course, it is the Sadhna Sthali of the eminent poet of the Bhakti movement Soor Das," the environmentalist added. The Sur Sarovar bird sanctuary covers an area of 7.97 sq km, while the lake is spread over 2.25 sq km with a depth ranging from four to eight metres. The Forest Department has not changed the wilderness of the woods that attracts both birds and reptiles in large numbers. The biggest Bear Rescue Centre is already a major attraction for animal lovers. With the new apex court directive, the Department plans to develop the area as a major tourist attraction. Panaji, Sep 27 : Reiterating that the government will stop purchasing vegetables from neighbouring states, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday urged farmers to take intercrop of turmeric in their cashew plantations. According to Sawant, intercropping could help the state as it is dependent on other states with regards to vegetables. "If we bring barren land in use by growing cashew trees and taking intercrop, it will benefit us," he said. "We have started a 'buy back' system in Horticulture Corporation. Henceforth, let us stop importing vegetables from other states and release subsidies to Goan farmers, which is now given to farmers from other states," he said here. "The cashew trees we see today were planted by our grandparents and forefathers. What we are doing today is taking production of it and selling them. We may have only added 10 per cent in it. But if we increase it to 50 per cent then it will benefit us as now cashew trees give yield in just three years," he said. "It (cashew) is an easy crop, which has made identity in our country and also in foreign countries. We need to take advantage of it and increase production of cashew plantation to avail benefits," Sawant said. He said that cashew is a cash crop, which can give monetary benefits within three years. "Even intercropping can be done. It is very less in Goa. I had instructed officials to promote production of turmeric in cashew plantation as intercrop," he said. Sawant stressed on 'swayampurn' Goa (Self Reliant) and said that the government will support farmers in all aspects, right from giving loans to purchasing their products. "We are dependent on vegetables procured from Belgavi-Karnataka. We now 'like' the taste of outside procurement, more than our traditionally grown here. This is a fact,"Sawant had recently said. Under Goa State Horticultural Corporation Ltd (GSHCL), around 1,300 vendors in the state sell vegetables. GSHCL purchases vegetables from other states and supplies to these vendors. "If we increase local vegetable production then the Horticulture Corporation will give a good rate (to farmers). In a few days Horticulture Corporation will stop importing vegetables from other states and will purchase only locally produced vegetables," he had said. "Annually, 20 crore rupees subsidy is being paid to farmers. To whom we give it (subsidy)? Farmers from other states and what type of vegetable they supply us? If I tell this (about quality) then reporters will publish it. (Hence) I will not tell," Sawant had said. "If you grow vegetables then this subsidy can be yours," he had said. Mumbai, Sep 27 : Stand Up comic artiste Amit Tandon, who is currently enjoying the response to his first few shows out of 27 city tours in the USA, recently shared that the international market is opening up to Hindi comic artistes as opposed to the earlier practice of just the English comedians hogging the limelight. Elaborating, Amit said in a statement, "I do my skits in Hindi and I am glad to see the way audiences are connected with it. But things were very different in 2017, when I did my first USA tour. People were more into English content but I decided to stick to my style in Hindi. And the response I got was outstanding." It was after Amit's first tour to the USA in 2017, which generated popularity and acceptance of Hindi content, that the western audience got a taste of real, clean and good comedy. The demand brought a lot of opportunities and avenues for the other stand-up comics as well, who wanted to do hindi stand-ups. He mentioned that the success of his first Hindi show on the international circuit boosted his confidence, "The success of that show even gave confidence to organisers to bring in more shows in Hindi. Now I see so many Hindi comic artists doing stand-up. Just feels good that my one decision has paid off really well." He also expressed his gratitude for the phenomenal response to his current tour, "I am extremely thankful that the USA tour is going on extremely well and the love I am receiving is phenomenal." After the US, this tour will be followed by tours in the UK and Europe. The Delhi-based comedian is also writing a web series based on real estate scams in Delhi, which is yet to be titled. Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 27 : Ahead of its mega event commencing on October 30, cracks appeared in the ruling Left's second biggest ally -- Communist Party of India (CPI) -- when veteran party leader C. Divakaran slammed state party secretary Kanam Rajendran for wanting to continue on the same post for a third term. During the CPI's scheduled state party conference between September 30 and October 3, a new State Council will be elected for the next three years. Divakaran, a former three-time legislator and also a former state minister minced no words in venting his anger at Rajendran for sidelining him. Divakaran on Tuesday said that there exists only a guideline that none above age 75 years can become a member of the State Council. "A guideline is not a rule and we are waiting for our national leadership including A. Raja to say if this is only a guideline. There are several other guidelines also, but those are not being implemented and why are some very adamant to make a guideline as a rule," said an angry Divakaran. He also made it very clear that there will be a contest for the post of the state secretary. "Why should someone just cling on to that post and there is nothing to prevent a contest to the post, if a situation arises. I have always made my point very clear and will continue to do so. I am senior to Rajendran in the party," added Divakaran. Though the two leaders have been at loggerheads for a while, this is the first time that the differences have surfaced in the open. Responding to Divakaran's statement on age 75, Rajendran said this was a decision taken by the National Council of the party and his expression of it in the open amounted to violation of party discipline. "In age he (Divakaran) is senior to me. I have been a member of the State Council since 1971, while he became one, years later. It was in March this year the National Council came out with a guideline of putting age 75 as the barrier for posts. He can say everything that he wants to say when the party state council meets," said Rajendran. In the Kerala unit of the CPI, for a while Rajendran has been running the show and those opposed to him include Divakaran and former State Minister K.E. Ismail. It remains to be seen if there is going to be a contest to the top post to challenge Rajendran. The Divakaran camp is expected to raise the issue of the newly elected Bihar CPI state secretary who is aged 78. Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 27 : With the last date of filing nominations for the Congress president's post ending on Friday and nothing concrete surfacing so far, party's interim president Sonia Gandhi has asked veteran Congressman A.K. Antony to reach Delhi at the earliest. Antony, after his Rajya Sabha tenure ended, had packed his bags and returned to live at his residence in the state capital in April. He is now expected to reach Delhi, later in the day. Antony, 81, is also a senior CWC member. He is known for his low profile nature, and remains away from the media glare. Even when many of his contemporaries in the party bid goodbye to the Congress party, he continues to be a trusted confidant of the Gandhi family and that was the only reason why he went on to become the longest serving Defence Minister in the country, a post he held from 2006 till 2014. Antony after his return from Delhi was rarely seen in party events or meetings, but he took part in the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi for one session. He is expected to remain in the national capital till September 30, the last day for filing of nomination to the party president's post. Chitradurga : , Sep 27 (IANS) Denying bail to rape accused Lingayat seer of the Chitradurga Murugha Mutt, a court in Karnataka's Chitradurga district extended the Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru's judicial custody till October 10. Second Additional Sessions Judge B.K. Komala has also extended the judicial custody of accused number two, hostel warden Rashmi, till October 10. As the accused seer's judicial custody ended on October 10, he was presented before the court and after its order, he was taken to the Central Jail in the district. The court had earlier rejected his plea to consider bail on medical grounds and also denied him special permission to have food from the Mutt and conduct worship during the imprisonment. Meanwhile, Veerashaiva-Lingayat leaders have called a meeting on September 29 to discuss on the accused seer's decision not to step down as the head of the Chitradurga mutt in spite of the serious allegations under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The mutt, one of the richest among the Lingayat mutts, has 3,000 branches all across the country and runs more than 150 premier education institutions. The letter circulated among leaders of the community states that as the accused seer is not coming forward to step down, it would affect the heritage and prestige of the mutt, sources said. Bengaluru, Sep 27 : Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said that no raids are being conducted on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), while terming the operation a "preventive measure". "This is an operation conducted by our police as a preventive measure. Necessary action has been initiated with due process after informing the respective tehsildars," Chief Minister Bommai stated. The raids are not only confined to Karnataka, but have been conducted in other states as well. He maintained that he is yet to get full details of the development in the state from the police department. Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr K. Sudhakar reacted angrily to objections to the action on PFI and SDPI in Mysuru. "Instead of taking legal action against those who have conspired attacks and murder attempts on elected representatives, should they be worshipped?" Minister Sudhakar questioned. "Those who indulge in conspiring against society must be strictly dealt with. They should be finished off. There will be action on those who have committed crimes. More arrests will follow after the probe," he asserted. There are reports that they are preparing to create disharmony among people and conspiring to kill the Prime Minister. Investigations will have to be conducted to ascertain, are these elements capable of committing such offences, he stated. Congress party is directly responsible for the growth of PFI and SDPI in the state, he added. As per police sources, as many as 80 people attached to PFI and SDPI have been taken into custody in the state. Kolkata, Sep 27 : A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday objecting to the parallel probe by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police into the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam. Suman Shankar Chattopadhyay, the petitioner, has argued that when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is already conducting a probe into the cattle smuggling scam, a parallel probe by the CID was redundant. According to the petitioner's counsel, Jaideep Kar, in a situation where the CBI has already made enough progress in the matter, a parallel probe by CID is beyond the latter's authority. Challenging the admissibility of the PIL, state advocate general S.N. Mukhopadhyay said that the police have launched its own investigation in the matter based on an FIR filed by the Border Security Force (BSF) in November 2019. Mukhopadhyay questioned the justification of filing the PIL at such a later date and appealed that there should not be any interim stay in the CID's own investigation in the matter. CBI's counsel, Billwadal Bhattacharya, argued that the central agency is probing the matter since national interest pertaining to the international borders is linked with the matter. The petitioner's counsel argued that the intention of the PIL is not seeking a stay in the entire investigation process. "We want the CBI to probe the matter since the internal borders are under the jurisdiction of the Union government," he said. After hearing both sides, the division bench of the Calcutta High Court asked the state government to submit its arguments in the matter in the form of an affidavit within the next three weeks. CBI has arrested Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal and his bodyguard Sehgal Hossain in connection with the cattle-smuggling scam. Both are in judicial custody now. Chennai, Sep 27 : The feud within the AIADMK raged on with former Chief Ministers K. Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam drawing swords against each other once more, and this time, over veteran leader Panruti S. Ramachandran. Deposed leader Panneerselvam on Tuesday appointed Ramachandran as the political advisor of the party. Hours after this appointment, party interim General Secretary Palaniswami expelled Ramachandran from the primary membership of the party and relieved him of all party positions. In a statement, he called upon the party cadres not to have any truck with the veteran leader. Ramachandran had, in a statement a few days before, said that if Palaniswami was at the helm of affairs of the AIADMK, the party would turn extinct. Palaniswami, in a statement, said that Ramachandran was being removed from all responsibilities of the AIADMK including the post of Organising Secretary. He also said that Ramachandran was also removed from the primary membership of the party as he has brought "disrepute" to the AIADMK. However, the posting by Panneerselvam does not have legal or technical validity as he was expelled by the AIADMK General Council held on July 11. While a single bench of the Madras High Court had nullified the July 11 order, a division bench upheld the decision. The AIADMK is in the midst of a major power struggle with the two former Chief Ministers on opposite sides of the fence. While a majority of the party General Council members and office bearers have shown allegiance to the faction led by Palaniswami, the Panneerselvam group states that the party cadres are with them. It has to be seen as to how the AIADMK politics would develop in the days to come as the powerful Thevar community which has a major strength in south Tamil Nadu throwing its weight behind Panneerselvam and V.K. Sasikala - both Thevars. Kolkata, Sep 27 : Just a couple of hours after the Calcutta High Court ordered Trinamool Congress MLA and former president of West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), Manik Bhattacharya, to appear before the CBI by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, the Supreme Court gave relief to Bhattacharya from arrest till Wednesday afternoon. Soon after the high court passed the order, Bhattacharya's counsel drew the attention of the apex court, arguing that since a hearing in the same matter is scheduled at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, the central agency should be barred from arresting his client till that time. The Supreme Court accepted his argument and provided a shield to Bhattacharya from being arrested till 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Earlier, the high court's single-judge bench of justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay ordered Bhattacharya to face the CBI by 8 p.m. over a petition alleging tampering and destruction of optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets in the examinations for recruitment of primary teachers in in 2014. The bench also gave liberty to the central agency to arrest Bhattacharya if he does not cooperate in the investigation process. On September 23, Bhattacharya had approached the Supreme Court challenging a high court order directing CBI probe in the matter and removal of Bhattacharya from the chair of WBBPE president. The matter is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday at 2 p.m. and till that time Bhattacharya has got relief from any cohesive action, including arrest by CBI sleuths. Hyderabad, Sep 27 : Two mentally-ill women have been arrested by police in Hyderabad on Tuesday for vandalising a part of Goddess Durga idol and Mother Mary statue. The first incident occurred in a pandal in Khairatabad area. The burqa-clad women, one of them carrying a spanner, damaged the Durga idol. They allegedly tried to attack a man when he tried to stop them. The women, who are sisters, later went into a church and vandalised part of the statue of Mother Mary. Eye witnesses said the women subsequently tried to enter a temple but they were stopped. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Zone) Rajesh Chandra said the women were traced with the help of CCTV footage but they were found behaving weirdly. He said they were not responding to their questions and were not even revealing their names. The women's brother Asimuddin, who was present at the press conference by the DCP, said they along with their mother were suffering from schizophrenia while a brother was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. The two women live with their old parents. They have been suffering from the illness ever since their return from Jeddah in 2018 and are undergoing treatment. Asimuddin said they would have never done that. "I am sorry for what has happened," he said. Police have registered a case under Indian Penal Code sections 153-A, 295, 295-A, 451, 504 r/w 34. Police have sent the two women to a hospital for assessment. An official said the report of the doctors along with FIR and two women will be produced before the court. Meanwhile, some people staged a protest at Saifabad police station demanding action against the women involved in the incident. They alleged that there has been no proper response from the government to the incident. Mumbai, Sep 27 : Actor Angad Bedi, who is receiving a positive response for his work in the streaming short film 'The List', took up different kinds of workshop to emote the part of one half of a young couple, who is tired of its mundane routine and almost robotic life, and reaches a point where the couple finds itself lacking emotions. The actor was also made to attend five days of a mime workshop. Describing the premise of 'The List', Angad said, "When you see it, it is very futuristic, it's a very dystopian reality which we have not seen before. Unknowingly, all of us are in this reality. So director Gaurav (Dave) used a technology called a metronome. The metronome is a sound which goes like a sound that goes on beat." Explaining the method behind the process, the actor said, "We had to match our physical timing on the metronome while we were also performing, so that we could be physically and mentally in sync with each other's performance. For us it was a very new experience to play human while actually acting robotically." Recollecting an instance of the mime workshop, Angad mentioned, "The director Gaurav made me imagine an entire Kitchen where a smoothie is supposed to be made without making the actual one and made me practice 'N' number of times till the time I figured out my positioning where my imaginary kitchen and bed will be." The film has also helped him come out of his comfort zone and there were times he was also sceptical about pulling it off. "Usually you get cast in a box and keep doing the same thing till you get out of that box and you find another niche and you turn it around for yourself as an artist. This is something new. Initially, I was a bit sceptical about getting into it." Giving the reason behind the same, he added, "You always want to explore as an artist and go the other way, but then, when that opportunity comes, you get a bit unsure of yourself. But Sid Roy was very instrumental in that and said 'I really want you to do it'. It will put you in a different light and people will see you performing in a different way." 'The List' is available to stream on Amazon miniTV within the Amazon Shopping App and on Fire TV. Patna, Sep 27 : Janata Dal-United (JD-U) in Bihar launched a block level "alertness and awareness" march to "expose the lies of Narendra Modi government". In Patna, party leaders including national president Lalan Singh, MLC Neeraj Kumar, state president Umesh Kushwaha and others started the march from Bhim Rao Ambedkar statue at Patna High Court and concluded at Mahatma Gandhi statue at Gandhi Maidan. "During the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi had promised Rs 15 lakh cash to every countrymen, two crore jobs per year, bringing back the black money hoarded abroad and many others. Now, the situation is Rs 15 did not come in the account of any person. They not only failed to provide the two crore jobs but they also ended the Central government vacancies. They have handed over every department to their businessmen friends," the JD-U national president said on the occasion. "As a result, the country is facing the problem of unemployment, price rise, decreasing value of rupee against dollar. These are the real issues of the country but they would not discuss it and mislead the people with communal agendas," he added. The JD-U national president, referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent rally in Purnea, said, "He (Shah) said that the airport of Purnea was built to facilitate people of the 12 adjoining districts. He also asked the people to clap for it. I want to ask him where the airport of Purnea is?" "His deputy and MoS (Home) Nityanand Rai said that the land acquisition was not done by the Bihar government. I want to tell him that land acquisition has taken place but the Civil Aviation Ministry, which comes under the Central government, has not started the construction," Lalan Singh asserted. "BJP is a party of Jumlebaj... We are taking out the 'alertness and awareness' march to expose their lies before the people," said JD-U MLC Neeraj Kumar. "BJP wants to disturb the communal harmony of the country. We want to save the people of the country from its conspiracy. Hence, we have started the campaign," said JD-U state president, Umesh Kushwaha. Mumbai, Sep 27 : Casting director Mukesh Chhabra, whose casting in 'Brahmastra' is garnering praise from the audience, is set to take his initiative 'Just Act' to London, for the second time. Chhabra, who is well-known for his casting choices in Bollywood movies, expanded his workshop across the globe and has engaged students and aspiring actors for the same. Speaking on Just Act's second visit to London, Mukesh said in a statement, "My team and I make a conscious effort to search for fresh talent globally. With our initiative 'Just Act' we have already spread the word internationally and once again we are back with the workshop to encourage and drive more people to live their dreams. It is a sincere effort to help talents to improvise their skills and enhance their acting." Sharing his advice with film enthusiasts he added, "I always advise people to work on perfecting their art which only happens with ample practice and that definitely will help them to figure out what suits them and what they are good at. My aim has always been to bring new talent on the screen for the audience and it will continue to be so." 'Just Act' will take place at Central London from October 9-16. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Los Angeles, Sep 27 : The life of global porn icon Rocco Siffredi is the subject of a new Netflix original series titled 'Supersex', which has started shooting in Rome. The seven-episode drama is freely inspired by the real life of Siffredi, who has more than 1,500 hardcore films to his name. But, in an interesting career twist, Siffredi has also shot two arthouse pics, Catherine Breillat's 'Romance' and 'Anatomy of Hell'. His Budapest-based Rocco Siffredi Prods. is a porn industry powerhouse. Siffredi was also the subject of the documentary 'Rocco', directed by French duo Thierry Demaiziere and Alban Teurlai, which screened at the 2016 Venice Film Festival. At the centre of 'Supersex', which is being produced by The Apartment, a Fremantle company and Groenlandia, which is part of the Banijay group, are unknown aspects of the Italian porn star, who is being played by Italian A-lister Alessandro Borghi ('The Eight Mountains'). The series is created and written by prominent Italian screenwriter Francesca Manieri ('We Are Who We Are', 'L'ImmensitA ') who is known to be a militant feminist. It is described as "a profound story that runs through his life since childhood," said a Netflix statement. 'Supersex' will look at Siffredi's family, his origins, his relationship with love and "the starting point and the context that led him to embark on his path in pornography," it added. 'Supersex' directors are Matteo Rovere, Francesco Carrozzini, and Francesca Mazzoleni. Rounding out the cast alongside Borghi are Jasmine Trinca, Adriano Giannini and Saul Nanni, respectively in the roles of Lucia, Tommaso and Rocco as a young man. Said Manieri: "'Supersex' is the story of a man who takes seven episodes and 350 minutes to say 'I love you,' to accept that the demon in his body is compatible with love. To do this, he must expose the only part of him that we have never seen: his soul." "'Supersex' talks about our present, 'Supersex' talks about us. What does it mean to be a male? Are we still able to reconcile sexuality and affectivity? These are the questions that, like a kaleidoscope, open up before us as we immerse ourselves in his incredible life until we lose our breath." The show is expected to drop on Netflix globally in 2023. Chennai, Sep 27 : The management of public sector non-life insurer The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd will discuss with the employee unions before fixing the new key performance indicators (KPI), said the Officers' Association in the company. In a communication to its members, The Oriental Insurance Company Officers' Association has said: "The Management has assured to discuss with us before finalisation on KPI." The Association said the management informed at its meeting held on Monday that the consultancy firm Ernst & Young (EY) is designing the individual KPIs for the employees and the roles are being defined in such a way that there shall be no discretionary intervention. The EY has also suggested a three tier organisational structure and the corporate business to be handled by Corporate Business Regional Office (CBRO) reporting directly to the Head Office. The suggested three tier organisatioal structure: underwriting offices for business procurement, regional offices (along with underwriting hub, claims hub, legal hub, accounts hub) for Business Support & Servicing and the Head Office. "On the wage revision, the offer is still at 12 per cent hike though we have been asking parity with the 15 per cent hike given to the employees of Life Insurance Corporation of India. We are planning to meet the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in this connection," Vishnu Aggarwal, General Secretary told IANS. Aggarwal said the management also spoke about the challenge in restructuring the company as about 1,000 employees are retiring by 2025. Bhubaneswar, Sep 27 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is on a three-day official visit to Bangalore city from Tuesday to woo investors ahead of the third edition of Make in Odisha conclave to be held here from November 30 to December 4. The Chief Minister will hold one-to-one meetings with investors from IT sector, pharma industries and other Bangalore-based industrialists on Wednesday from 11 a.m. onwards, said Odisha Industries Minister Pratap Keshari Deb on Tuesday. He also informed that a mega road show for investors will be organised on Wednesday evening to showcase the investment opportunities and business environment available in Odisha. The state is looking forward to investments in information technology (IT), IT-enabled services (ITeS), ESDM (Electronics System Design and Manufacturing), textiles & apparel, food processing, e-vehicles, auto & auto components and aerospace & defence, he said. The Minister hoped that a large amount of investment will come to Odisha during the Make in Odisha conclave this year in comparison to previous two editions. Earlier, the Chief Minister had participated in investors' meetings at Dubai, New Delhi and Mumbai. Chennai, Sep 27 : The special team constituted to investigate the Kodanad murder-cum-heist case has accelerated the investigation after a Madras High Court directive. The court had asked the police to complete the investigation immediately after an accused in the case Manoj Valayar filed a petition before the court that the police were dragging the case in the name of fresh probes. The Kodanad estate which was jointly owned by the late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and her close aide V.K. Sasikala was in the news after the murder of a security guard and burglary in the bungalow there on April 23-24, 2017. The incident occurred after Jayalalithaa passed away in December 2016 and Sasikala was incarcerated in Bengaluru central prison in February 2017. During the burglary a security guard, Om Bahadur was hacked to death and another security guard, Krishna Thapa suffered grievous injuries. Five days after the burglary, the main accused in the case, Kanakarajan who was the driver of Jayalalithaa met with an accident on the Salem-Chennai highway and died instantly. Another accused Sayen met with an accident in Palakkad, Kerala, on the same day while he was travelling in a car along with his family. A truck rammed into the car and his wife and daughter died in the accident, however, Sayan escaped with injuries. A few months after these incidents, the computer operator of the estate, Dinesh Kumar, committed suicide at his residence. The Kodanad estate case turned murkier after these back-to-back deaths. The then opposition DMK had announced that there were some influential people behind the incident and that if voted to power it would throw light on all the angles connected to the murder and heist. Immediately after assuming office DMK chief minister Stalin constituted a special police team in March 2021 to conduct a fresh investigation. The petitioner Manoj said that the examination of 41 prosecution witnesses was over by March 2021. He added that since August 2021, the trial court has been regularly adjourning the case at the request of the police even though there was no progress in the investigation. Justice V. Sivaganam of the Madras High Court directed the police to complete the investigation. Police sources told IANS that there were several fresh developments in the case, and they would report to the court on the progress in the case. Hyderabad, Sep 27 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday questioned Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MLA Manchireddy Kishan Reddy in connection with a case of alleged violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The ruling party MLA appeared before the ED officials at the agency's regional office in Hyderabad. Kishan Reddy is a member of Telangana Legislative Assembly from Ibrahimpatnam constituency near Hyderabad. He is also the president of Rangareddy district unit of the TRS. According to sources, the MLA was booked by the ED for violating FEMA. He was served notice by the ED on Monday directing him to appear before it for questioning. Kishan Reddy was grilled by the ED officials. He was reportedly questioned about his bank transactions. Kishan Reddy, one of the important leaders of the ruling party, has been playing an active role for the ruling party in its campaign for upcoming by-election to Munugode Assembly constituency. Meanwhile, former MLA and Congress leader Malreddy Ranga Reddy has demanded that Kishan Reddy should be arrested and strict action should be taken against him as per law. He claimed that Kishan Reddy's wrongdoings were coming to light one after the other. Ranga Reddy alleged that the TRS MLA encroached upon the lands of Dalits and poor and sent crores of rupees abroad. The Congress leader also claimed that Kishan Reddy was also involved in playing casinos. New Delhi, Sep 27 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Maharashtra government on a plea by jailed activist Gautam Navlakha seeking to be placed under house arrest, rather than judicial custody in the Bhima Koregaon case. A bench comprising justices K.M. Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy sought response from the NIA and the Maharashtra government and scheduled the hearing on the matter on September 29. Navlakha's counsel submitted that his client had approached the high court citing top court's May last year order, passed on his plea, where it had said that courts could consider house arrest of accused in view of overcrowding in jails. The counsel contended that his client moved the Bombay High Court and he fulfils all the criteria the court had laid down and added that his client is 70-year-old and not in a good medical condition, and he had been under house arrest before. The top court was informed that there are allegations about commission of offences covered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against Navlakha, but none of those are made out against him. The counsel urged that Navlakha can be put under house arrest either in Mumbai or in Delhi. On August 29, Supreme Court judge justice S Ravindra Bhat had recused from hearing Navlakha's plea. Navlakha moved the apex court challenging Bombay High Court judgment passed in April, dismissing his plea to be transferred from Taloja Prison and placed under house arrest instead. In August 2018, he was arrested and initially placed under house arrest. In April 2020, after an apex court order he was moved to Taloja Central Prison in Maharashtra. In the high court, Navlakha had contended that he was being denied basic medical aid and other necessities in Taloja and also cited his advanced age. Earlier, the apex court had granted bail to 82-year-old activist P Varavara Rao in the case. Mumbai, Sep 27 : Both Shiv Sena factions - led by ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde - welcomed the Supreme Court decision on Tuesday allowing the Election Commission to decide on the 'real Shiv Sena' and the allotment of the iconic bow-and-arrow symbol. In his first reaction, Shinde said he humbly welcomed the apex court decision and reiterated that his faction is the "real Shiv Sena". "In a democracy, the majority counts and we have that majority in the assembly, a majority of the MPs are supporting us. All decisions taken in the country are based on the Constitution, laws and procedures. We have not done anything to flout any laws and we have formed this government also on the basis of the laws. We were expecting this decision," he said. Shiv Sena ex-Minister Aditya Thackeray said that "this is not a relief" as claimed by the Shinde group leaders, while MP Arvind Sawant said that this decision is part of the legal procedures, and the whole country has witnessed the court proceedings. "This is neither a shock nor relief to any side. The SC has now asked the ECI to take a decision in the matter. The 'traitors' have not got any victory as they are claiming. Now we shall present our case before the ECI. We have full faith in the judiciary," said Thackeray Jr. Terming it as "the first blow to Uddhav Thackeray" with more to come, Shinde said that they had full faith in the EC, even as several other leaders his Group hailed verdict rejecting the Sena's plea for a stay on the ECI on the rival group's claims before it. Nationalist Congress Party state President Jayant Patil, Sena leaders like Anil Desai, ex-Minister Anil Parab and others also said that they accept the SC verdict and will now present their case strongly before the EC. Tokyo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays homage at the State Funeral Ceremony of the former prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, in Tokyo on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. (Photo: PIB/IANS) Image Source: IANS News Tokyo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays homage at the State Funeral Ceremony of the former prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, in Tokyo on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. (Photo: PIB/IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Sep 27 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday attended the state funeral of assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. Representatives from over 100 countries, including more than 20 heads of state and government participated in the state funeral, a statement by Prime Minister's Office said. Following the state funeral, the Prime Minister had a private meeting with Akie Abe, wife of Abe at the Akasaka Palace, and conveyed his heartfelt condolences to her. He recalled his fond friendship and the significant contribution made by former Prime Minister in taking India-Japan relationship to new heights, the statement said. He also had a brief interaction thereafter with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida to reiterate his condolences, the statement said Silchar, Sep 27 : The Cachar district police in Assam seized two rare species of chimpanzees on Tuesday which were probably smuggled into Assam either from Indonesia or Myanmar through Mizoram, an official said. Police claimed that the Mizoram-Assam route was used by the miscreants to smuggle exotic animals somewhere outside the northeast. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Cachar, Tejas Mariswamy told IANS, "Any route which connects the international border becomes the conventional place for smuggling exotic animals and so is the Aizawl-Silchar route." He said that the animals were seized by the police and handed over to the forest officials for safe custody. Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police, Cachar district, Numal Mahato said, "The consignment was coming from Mizoram and we have recovered them from Lailapur check gate of the inter-state border. Later, the health examination of the chimpanzees was performed by the vets." He further said that chimpanzees may belong to the Orangutan species which are native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Myanmar. "We have information that each smuggled species may be sold nearly for Rs 40 crores." It has been learned that the smugglers left the bags with animals near roads while seeing security personnel in the Assam-Mizoram check post. Notably, a couple of days back in the Assam-Mizoram border district of Kolasib, police seized 19 species of exotic animals which included six gibbons, ten turtles, and three small monkeys. Chandigarh, Sep 27 : Terming the Congress and the BJP as two faces of the same coin, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said the confidence motion was necessitated as both the parties have joined hands to topple the democratically-elected governments in the state. "The BJP is using anti-defection law as a new tool to form governments in the state through the backdoor and unfortunately despite of being its worst victim, the Congress is supporting it," he said, while introducing the confidence motion on the first day of the Assembly session The Chief Minister said the BJP has toppled the elected governments in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and others by luring MLAs. However, he said they failed in their sinister moves thrice in Delhi and now also in Punjab, they trying to purchase the MLAs. He said the BJP is chasing a mirage of garnering power in the state. The Chief Minister said the BJP is using its moneybags to cause an irreparable loss to democracy. He said in the past, the Congress has done the same and now the saffron party is following its footsteps. Citing an example of connivance amongst the Congress and the BJP, Mann said the Congress leadership has started 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from Kanyakumari to Kashmir but the poll-bound states of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have been deliberately excluded to give benefit to the BJP. He said that his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has set new agenda of public welfare in the politics, and due to this, the BJP leadership has been forced to shun its divisive agenda and talk about the well-being of people. Mann said it is AAP effect that the leaders who had divided the people are now seen inaugurating schools, colleges, and hospitals. The Chief Minister said turncoats are ruling the roost now and former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who had tacitly towed the line of the BJP during his stint, has now formally joined the party. Training his guns against former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi also, he said for the first time any Chief Minister face of a political party has gone missing after defeat in polls. As a fact of matter, fear of misdeeds during the regime is haunting the former Chief Minister due to which he is on run, he claimed. Mann said these are the rejected leaders who have been ousted by people for their non- performance. He said these leaders who have been shunted out of the Assembly by the people are now organising 'Imaginative or Mock' Assembly sessions to mislead the people and vent out their frustration. He said the people of state have given vote for the hope and AAP is making strenuous efforts to make Punjab a frontrunner state in country. The Chief Minister said this motion reflects that people have faith in "us and we have faith in people". Mann said the BJP is making desperate attempts to purchase the confidence of the people but this will never be allowed at any cost. He said defeats are part of life but the Congress is not able to digest it due to which it is supporting 'Operation Lotus'. Agartala, Sep 27 : The Tripura and Meghalaya governments have urged both India and Bangladesh to reopen the "Border Haats" (markets) to promote the local business and livelihood of the people living on either side of the border. The four "Border Haats", two each in Tripura and Meghalaya, have remained closed since March 2020 after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown, causing "immense loss" to the people living in the bordering villages. Officials of the Tripura Industries and Commerce Department said that the district administration officials of the state's Sepahijala and South Tripura districts have on a number of occasions approached their Bangladesh counterparts to reopen the "Border Haats" as the Covid-19 induced situation has been largely tamed. "Bangladesh district officials said that the concerned government ministries in Dhaka were yet to allow them to reopen the markets," officials told IANS. In Meghalaya, the East Khasi Hills and South West Garo Hills district officials also approached their counterparts in Bangladesh to reopen the "Border Haats". Officials in Shillong said that while the "Border Haat" at Balat in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya was recently reopened, the "Border Haat" at Kalaichar in South West Garo Hills district is yet to re-open. Jaipur-based think tank CUTS International, which has done several studies on the border trade, had also recommended to the Indian government to resume these border markets maintaining necessary precautions against Covid-19, including social distancing as these markets boost the economy, cement ties between the people of the two countries and also check illegal trade. CUTS International Executive Director Bipul Chatterjee said that reopening of the "Border Haat" would help local stakeholders on both sides of the border to regain their livelihood and can act as a significant contributor to the post-Covid recovery of the local economy in these border areas. Citing the local haat management committee's records, Chatterjee told IANS that just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the combined annual trade value of Balat and Kalaichar "Border Haats" was nearly Rs 546 million and that in Kamalasagar (Sepahijala district) and Srinagar (South Tripura district) the trade in "Border Haats" in Tripura was Rs 148 million per year. "That's huge for these local economies and they have significant multiplier effects as that money is usually circulated among the local communities," he pointed out. Over the last decade, 10 "Border Haats" were established or approved along the India-Bangladesh border at Tripura and Meghalaya. Out of them, six are in Meghalaya, and four in Tripura. According to CUTS International, before the lockdown, two "Border Haats" in Meghalya --Balat, and Kalaichar, were in operation and four others, -- Ryngku, Nolikata, Bholaganj and Shibbari -- were getting ready for inauguration. In Tripura, none of the two "Border Haats" have resumed their operations. While the people of Tripura were excited about the announcement of setting up of two new "Border Haats" at Kamalpur (in Dhalai district) and Palbasti (in north Tripura district), they are yet to see much progress. A senior official of Tripura's Industries and Commerce Department said that the state government has proposed to the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industries to sanction eight more "Border Haats" along the state's border with Bangladesh to promote the trade of local and selected commodities. The official said that the Union Ministry on an average sanctions Rs 2.50 crore against the project cost of around Rs 5.30 crore for each of the "Border Haat". The first "Border Haat" started functioning on July 23, 2011 at Kalaichar (India)-Kurigram (Bangladesh) in the West Garo Hills of Meghalaya. Three other such border markets followed at Balat (Meghalaya, India)-Dolora (Bangladesh) in 2012, Srinagar (Tripura, India)-Chhagalnaiya (Bangladesh) and Kamalasagar (Tripura, India )-Kasba (Bangladesh) in 2015. These markets, spread in around 5,625 sq. metre area of the two countries' territories or "no-man's land", operate once a week on a fixed day. In the weekly market, on an average, at least 25 vendors including women from both sides of the border sell their products. (Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in) New Delhi, Sep 27 : A five-judge Constitution bench will on Wednesday hear petitions challenging Centre's decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 in November 2016. A bench of Justices S. Abdul Nazeer, B.R. Gavai, A.S. Bopanna, V. Ramasubramanian, and B.V. Nagarathna, will hear the petitions against demonetisation. This is the fourth Constitution bench which has been constituted in the apex court. In November 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, as a measure to curb the circulation of black money in the economy. The bench will also hear a matter in connection with issues relating to freedom of speech of public/state functionaries. It will hear another matter raising an issue, whether the immunity to legislative Assembly members, under Article 194(2), in connection with any vote given by them in the legislature includes immunity against prosecution for bribery. The top court will also hear a matter in connection with questions under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Kolkata, Sep 27 : A division bench of Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed the West Bengal government to refrain from further unnecessary arrests and harassments of any individual in connection with the BJP's march to the state secretariat of Nabanna against corruption issues on September 13. In a petition filed against the state government accusing it of continuing harassment of the BJP workers in the matter at the division bench of Calcutta High Court's Chief Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj, BJP's counsel Subir Sanyal alleged that that the police have continued arresting people even days after that day of the agitation. Till now a total of 550 persons have been arrested in this connection, Sanyal informed the division bench. Countering his argument, state's Advocate General (AG), S.N. Mukhopadhyay informed the bench that most of the people detained in the matter have been released at a later stage. "None has been arrested without any reason. Let the petitioner provide the names of those arrested and the state government will examine when and under what circumstances they were arrested," the AG argued. He also said that arrests were made on the basis of specific complaints and the law had taken its own course in those cases. However, the BJP counsel informed the bench that the police have harassed a number of BJP supporters in the Bowbazar and Burrabazar areas in central Kolkata. "They were not arrested on grounds of disturbing the law & order. Being a part of any protest rally is the constitutional right of the citizens of the country. At least the harassment should stop on the occasion of the forthcoming Durga Puja festival," the BJP counsel argued. After hearing both sides, the division bench directed the state government to ensure that there are no further unnecessary arrests or harassments in the matter. The same bench will hear the matter again on October 31. Islamabad, Sep 27 : Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that 'audio leaks' have marred the country's standing in the international community as no one would feel free to speak with the Prime Minister out of privacy fears, media reports said. He said this while addressing a press conference at the Prime Minister's House in Islamabad, Geo News reported. Sharif said the 'audio leaks' scandal is a critical matter and he is in the process of forming a high-powered committee to probe into it. Responding to a question regarding the audio leaks, he said that such security breaches are a "big question mark", Dawn reported. "Who will come to meet the Prime Minister at the PM House now? Be it a sympathiser or a friend, they will think 100 times before talking. This is about the respect of 220 million people of the country," he said. On Saturday, a recording of Sharif surfaced where he was discussing with an unidentified official the possibility of facilitating the import of Indian machinery for a power project that was a concern of Maryam Nawaz Sharif's son-in-law, Raheel. Countering the matter, the Prime Minister said on Tuesday that Maryam never talked to him about any favours or her son-in-law, Dawn reported. "Tauqeer spoke to me about it and said half of the machinery was imported during the PTI tenure. I don't know what amount was spent and how much loss they will have to bear if half the machinery is left. Tauqeer told me that the provision is banned and it will have to be taken to ECC (Economic Coordination Committee)." Sharif went on that he didn't find it appropriate to take the matter to the cabinet. "I said I will convey this to my daughter. Now tell me what is wrong with this," he asked. Lucknow, Sep 27 : Former underworld don Abu Salem has been sentenced to three years in prison in a fake passport case. CBI's special judicial magistrate Samridhi Mishra pronounced the sentence here on Tuesday. Apart from Abu Salem, another convict Parvez Alam has also been sentenced in the fake passport case. Abu Salem a.k.a Abdul Qayoom Ansari, along with his associates Parvez Alam and Sameera Jumani, had applied for a passport in the name of Aqeel Ahmed Azmi at the Lucknow passport office in 1993. Salem affixed forged documents of fake name and address with the application and obtained passport, which he later used. After investigation into the case, the CBI had filed a charge-sheet. Taking cognisance of this, the court had framed charges against Salem on June 5, 2009. Salem was sentenced to life by a TADA court in 2015 after finding him guilty in the 1995 murder of builder Pradeep Jain. Washington, Sep 27 : The father of a woman, who was sent to a psychiatric hospital for defacing a poster of Chinese President Xi Jinping, has died suddenly in detention, with the authorities moving to cremate his remains amid suspicions of violence, media reports said. Authorities in the central Chinese province of Hunan incarcerated Dong Yaoqiong in a psychiatric hospital for splashing ink on a poster of Xi Jinping in a live-streamed protest on social media, RFA reported. Her father Dong Jianbiao, who was detained by local police after he spoke out about her treatment, died in prison on September 23, rights website Weiquanwang quoted activist Chen Siming as saying. Chen himself was detained after telling people about Dong's death, the report said. According to Siming, Dong's relatives said his body was covered with signs of injury when they went to identify him in the morgue, and that the authorities had had his remains cremated days later. Dong Yaoqiong was sent for "compulsory treatment" after she streamed a live video of herself splashing ink on a poster of President Xi in protest against "authoritarian tyranny" on July 4, 2018. She was then committed as a psychiatric patient in a women's ward in Hunan's Zhuzhou No. 3 Hospital. Dong Jianbiao, who was detained when he tried to visit her, had suggested the authorities put extreme pressure on her mother to sign the committal papers. A cousin of Dong Yaoqiong told RFA that Dong's funeral took place in his hometown of Taoshui in Hunan's You county on Monday. Dissident artist Hua Yong, a friend of Dong, said there is likely more to his death than diabetes. "He was a very strong-minded, stubborn person who was also brave and optimistic... So we can definitely rule out the possibility of suicide," Hua told RFA. "Given that he was alone in a prison with very tight security, he must have been beaten to death," he said. Hua said Dong's insistence on speaking out about the authorities' treatment of his daughter was likely the main factor behind his death. "Dong Jianbiao kept trying to see his daughter, and has been talking about her [publicly] for many years. I think the authorities were waiting for a reason to get him into prison, and just a year later, he's dead," he said. Kolkata, Sep 27 : The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday cautioned West Bengal's Additional Chief Secretary, Home, B.P. Gopalika of contempt of court proceedings in case the process of recruitment for 10 posts in the state forensic science laboratory is not started before the forthcoming festive season of Durga Puja starting from October 1. Gopalika on Tuesday morning informed the division bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice and Justice Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee that a few months back, the state government had directed the state public service commission to arrange for the recruitment. At this, the bench directed Gopalika to speak to the state public service commission again in the matter and inform the court about the process on after 2 p.m. Accordingly, the official once again appeared in front of the bench and told it that the state public service commission has assured the process of appointment to start before the festive season. After that, the division bench directed the state government to initiate the recruitment process by September 30, failing which the contempt of court proceedings will be initiated. It directed Gopalika to submit a report on how the recruitment process has been initiated by that date. London, Sep 27 : European countries are investigating three mystery leaks in two major gas pipelines between Russia and Europe, a media report said. The cause of the damage to Nord Stream 1 and 2 is unclear, but authorities have not ruled out sabotage. The operator of Nord Stream 1 said the undersea lines had simultaneously sustained "unprecedented" damage in one day, the BBC reported. Both pipelines have been flashpoints in the energy tussle between Moscow and Europe. Whatever the cause of the damage, it won't immediately affect the supply of gas to Europe as neither pipeline was operational. The European Union has previously accused Russia of using a reduction in gas supplies to blackmail Europe, but Moscow denies this. It says sanctions against Russia make it impossible to properly maintain the gas infrastructure. Unconfirmed reports in German media said authorities are not ruling out an attack on the undersea gas network, the British broadcaster reported. Denmark's Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, said it was too early to come to conclusions, but that it was hard to imagine the multiple leaks could be a coincidence. A Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said he was "extremely concerned" about the incident, and the possibility of a deliberate attack could not be ruled out. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline - which consists of two parallel branches - has not transported any gas since August when Russia closed it down for maintenance. It stretches 1,200 km under the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast near St Petersburg to north-eastern Germany. Its twin Russian-owned pipeline, Nord Stream 2, was halted after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Although neither pipelines are in operation, they both still contain gas. German, Danish and Swedish authorities are all investigating the incidents. The operators of Nord Stream 2 warned of a loss of pressure in the pipeline on Monday afternoon. That led to a warning from Danish authorities that ships should avoid the area near the island of Bornholm. Hyderabad, Sep 27 : Telangana Police officials have paid a penalty of over Rs 28 lakh for violation of various traffic rules since 2018, a senior official said on Tuesday. The police officers have cleared 11,601 pending challans and paid a fine amount of Rs 28,85,640 to the traffic police, said Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Hyderabad, A. V. Ranganath. He revealed the information while responding to a post on Twitter which went viral on Tuesday. A Twitter user wrote that DGP Telangana's police vehicle (No TS09PA 1234) is having challans of Rs 7,000 pending for the last two years. He also posted that while traffic police are levying challans against citizens and collecting fines, the challans on DGP's vehicle remained pending. At this, the Joint Commissioner clarified that all the vehicles in Telangana Police are registered in the name of the DGP. On the vehicle mentioned in the tweet, he said it had seven pending challans the fine amount of Rs 6,945 and it has already been paid by the police officer concerned. He pointed out that even the TSRTC is being regularly fined and they had cleared off all the pending challans in April 2022 by paying Rs 15 lakh. "Hyderabad Traffic Police is enforcing traffic rules/fines without any exception by strictly following the rule of law. The fact that we are imposing Challans on police and other government vehicles clearly demonstrates that we are fining/enforcing against all categories of vehicles," said the official. Mumbai, Sep 27 : In a shocking incident, a 36-year-old man stabbed his wife to death after she refused to follow Islamic tenets or wear a 'burqa', the police said on Tuesday. The incident occurred on Monday in Tilak Nagar where the accused, Iqbal Shaikh, his former Hindu wife Rupali Chandanshive, who converted and was named as Zara, and their two-year-old son Ali resided. According to the police, the couple had a love marriage three years ago. But of late, they had been frequently quarreling over domestic issues, particularly after Zara declined to wear a 'burqa' while going out in the neighbourhood. This led to their separation with Zara living with her parents and their minor son living with his father Shaikh for the past several months. Since sometime, Zara shifted with her female friend to a rental accommodation in Chembur and late on Monday, some locals informed her family that she had been attacked. When her parents rushed there, they found Zara in a pool of blood with stabs on her neck and hands. They rushed her to the Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar, where she succumbed to her injuries. Based on the accounts of some eyewitnesses, the police have arrested Shaikh after lodging a murder case against him. Jaipur, Sep 27 : Two days after their open "revolt" created a crisis for the Congress in Rajasthan, several MLAs, who had tendered their resignation on Sunday against the possibility of Sachin Pilot replacing Ashok Gehlot as Chief Minister, were now changing their stand and expressing confidence in the top leadership. They said that they support the high command and have no issues with Pilot as the Chief Minister, while some of them said that they were clueless as to why they were made to sign on paper. Bamanwas MLA Indira Meena said: "I signed on a paper. But I didn't know what it was." She said it will be good if Pilot becomes CM. Talking to the media, she said: "State minister Mahesh Joshi called and said that there is a meeting at the Chief Minister's residence. In the afternoon, I got a call that there is a meeting at (state minister) Shanti Dhariwal's residence. I did not go to Dhariwal's place and then was asked to come at Speaker C.P. Joshi's residence. We were asked to sign on a paper which I did not read. Everyone was silent there." Another MLA Prashant Bairwa said: "I could not attend the meeting but I visited C.P. Joshi's residence and resigned. All these steps are being taken in haste, nobody knows what will happen next." MLA Divya Maderna was harsh. "How can Mahesh Joshi boycott the CLP meeting being a chief whip of the party. Now onwards I will not be taking any directions from him. He phoned all legislators to come for the CLP and in parallel, led anti-party activity at Dhariwal's residence." Citing earlier cases from state politics, she said: "The decision out of a one line resolution in 1998 didn't suit Parasram Maderna ji and entire farmer community. In 2008, it didn't suit Dr CP Joshi ji and entire Brahmin community. In 2018, it didn't suit Sachin Pilot ji and entire Gujjar community. But each time, everyone accepted it. "But it suited a certain segment for last 22 years. It was for the first time, that the one line resolution didn't suit a certain segment for their own political interest and they revolted. When it suits them, then the high command decision is acceptable and when it doesn't suit you - you revolt." Many other Congress MLAs expressed support for the high command. MLA Ganga Devi said: "I have no idea about the letter, I reached there late. I did not read the letter, I did not resign, we are with the decision of the high command...." On Tuesday morning itself, Gehlot camp MLA Sandeep Yadav issued a video message saying: "I am with the Congress high command. I am ready to accept their decisions." MLA Madan Prajapati also changed his stand and said that he did not mind making Pilot the Chief Minister. MLA Jitendra Singh, who resigned at Dhariwal's house, said: "This resignation work is wrong. I am with the high command, I will support whoever is made the Chief Minister. I was called to the Chief Minister's residence for a meeting of the legislature party, from where I was called to Dhariwal's bungalow." Dhariwal, the Urban Development and Housing Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, had called a meeting of MLAs from the Gehlot camp at his house and reportedly strategised ways to ensure Gehot stays as Chief Minister. The official meeting of the Congress Legislature Party was to be held at 7 pm on Sunday, at the Chief Minister's residence in Jaipur, but before that Gehlot's loyalists gathered at the bungalow of Dhariwal. From here, the group of MLAs reached the bungalow of the Speaker and collectively submitted their resignation to him. Kolkata, Sep 27 : The police on Tuesday arrested a YouTuber for creating memes targeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The arrested person has been identified as Tuhin Mondal (30), whose mobile phone has also been confiscated by the police. The arrest was made based on a complaint filed by a person named Sagar Das. It is learnt that Mondal is a resident of Bapuji Nagar area in Taherpur in Nadia district. Recently, the Chief Minister, while suggesting ways of alternative employment at a public event, had advised unemployment youth that if they sell 'jhalmuri' (spicy puffed rice) during Durga Puja, it can fetch them lucrative profit. BAnerjee also said that this small business can be the first step to becoming a millionaire in the coming days. Her comments on this count attracted strong criticism from the opposition parties and within days lakhs of memes were circulated on social media ridiculing the Chief Minister's comments. Das filed the complaint at the Taratala police station in Kolkata accusing Mondal of circulating certain memes on social media which were 'objectionable', 'contemptuous' and having elements of spreading violence in the society. A team of Kolkata Police tracked the IP address from where the memes were posted to trace Mondal. On Tuesday, a team of Kolkata Police reached Taherpur arrested Mondal, who is employed with a private bank. New Delhi, Sep 27 : In a big setback to Uddhav Thackeray's faction, the Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to stop the Election Commission from deciding the claim of Eknath Shinde group to be the real Shiv Sena. After a day-long hearing, a constitution bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud dismissed the interlocutory application filed on behalf of Thackeray's faction. The apex court's decision is very significant in view of the impending Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, where both Shinde and Thackeray factions would like to contest the poll. The bench -- also comprising Justices M.R. Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli, and P.S. Narasimha -- said there would not be any stay on the proceedings before the Election Commission on intra party dispute and 'bow and arrow' symbol of the party. "We direct that there would be no stay of the proceedings before the Election Commission of India," it said. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, A.M. Singhvi and Devadatt Kamat represented the Thackeray's faction. Sibal submitted that Shinde cannot approach the EC once he has incurred disqualification, saying "I challenged the very locus of the person who moved the EC". Sibal clarified that Shinde has incurred disqualification as his various acts amounted to "voluntarily giving up membership of the party" under the Tenth Schedule, and he also violated the party whip, which is also covered by the Tenth Schedule. The Thackeray camp vociferously argued that since disqualification of Shinde and the MLAs supporting him was pending, therefore EC cannot consider their application over the party and the symbol. However, the top court declined to entertain this contention. Senior advocates Maninder Singh, Neeraj Kishan Kaul, and Mahesh Jethmalani, assisted by advocate Abhikalp Pratap Singh, argued for the Shinde faction. Senior advocate Arvind Datar represented the Election Commission. Shinde's faction counsel argued that under Article 324 of the Constitution, the EC possesses plenty of powers to deal with any situation which arises in relation to political parties and several party members have sent their representations to the EC supporting the Shinde group. Kaul submitted that the nature of enquiry under Tenth Schedule and the Symbols Order are different. Shinde's faction counsel claimed a hopeless minority sought to remove him from the party, and contended that the Speaker, under the Tenth Schedule, has to exercise power to determine disqualification of a member and he cannot decide on the split or merger within a political party. Shinde faction counsel vehemently argued that a party member's right to move the EC cannot be taken away. The EC counsel argued that it worked independently, and its functions are different when compared with the Speaker. The counsel added that it can decide who held the majority in the party. Shinde and his faction had rebelled against Thackeray, which forced him to resign as Maharashtra Chief Minister. Shiv Sena's General Secretary Subhash Desai had moved the apex court saying that Shinde and other MLAs, have purportedly initiated proceedings under para 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 (Symbols Order) seeking to be recognised as the "real Shiv Sena" by the EC. Desai added that they are also claiming the right to use the election symbol of "bow and arrow" allotted to Shiv Sena. Thackeray faction claimed that since the disqualification matter is pending in the apex court, Shinde faction are trying to illegally cobble up numbers and fabricate an artificial majority in the organisation. The apex court, on July 11, asked the newly appointed Maharashtra Assembly Speaker not to go ahead with proceedings on the disqualification petitions. New Delhi, Sep 27: Two security personnel of the Pakistani army under custody of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) are being interrogated by the rebels. The two soldiers were captured by the BLA near Zardaalo, an area in Harnai, Balochistan, which brought Pakistani army helicopters to the area, following which one was allegedly shot down by the rebels. This was reportedly the second helicopter to be shot by the Baloch insurgents. In a press release on Monday night, the BLA said that Naib Subaidar Kaleem Ullah of FC 114 Wing Loralai Scouts and Mohammad Faisal of Qasoor of a secretive intelligence unit, are being interrogated for their role in "heinous war crimes, including disappearance and torture of Baloch youth". Spokesperson for the BLA, Jeeyand Baloch said: "Both enemy personnel are going through the interrogation process under BLA's custody. After investigation they will be produced before the Baloch national court, which will decide their fate. The court's decision will be communicated to the media too". Pakistan's Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) has not acknowledged the capture of the two soldiers, even though it issued a press statement about the death of its six personnel in the helicopter crash. This is the second time in recent months that the Baloch nationalist rebels have captured Pakistani army soldiers. In the previous incident in July, the BLA had kidnapped Lt. Col. Laiq Baig Mirza of the Pakistani army along with his cousin while travelling from Ziarat to Quetta. He was interrogated by the rebels and was later found dead while his cousin's body was discovered in a different place. The Pakistani army carried out a search operation in Ziarat and claimed on July 16 that it had killed nine 'terrorists' involved in the kidnapping of Lt. Col. Mirza, creating a furore among the Baloch community as it was later found that the alleged "terrorists" killed in the Ziarat encounter by the Pakistani security were Baloch missing persons who had been taken out from prisons and shot dead in cold blood as an act of revenge by the army. Several Baloch families recognised seven of the dead men who had been missing from their homes under the process of "enforced disappearances" - euphemism for State-sponsored kidnappings by the Pakistani government. In the Harnai incident, Baloch fighters are also disrupting trucks ferrying minerals from the province. The BLA fighters seized four trucks transporting coal and released the drivers after warnings. The rebels have also been blowing up the gas pipelines that transport gas from Balochistan to Punjab. The estranged Baloch community is leading a nationalist struggle for over seven decades against Pakistan. The rebels have carried out several big attacks including some on Chinese interests this year. A suicide bombing by Baloch woman, Shari Baloch killed three Chinese teachers of the Confucious Institute, at the Karachi University. The BLA had taken over the camps of Pakistan's Frontier Corps (FC) troops in Noshki and Panjgur inflicting heavy casualties. The well-coordinated attack showed the depth and coordination of Baloch nationalists as they kept the Pakistani security forces at bay for over three days in Panjgur. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative New Delhi, Sep 27 : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday urged income tax (I-T) officials to follow the three 'Rs' -- Returns, Refund and Redressal -- to make the system more efficient and people-friendly. Addressing the Finance Minister's award ceremony for I-T officials, Sitharaman said they should ensure that returns are dealt with quickly and systematically. Secondly, income refunds should be disposed of speedily, which will earn greater goodwill for the department, she said. Thirdly, the Finance Minister said that redressal of grievance should be addressed expeditiously. "Today there are cases (in the income tax department) which have been lying pending since forever. You are the final authority. Why don't you redress these on time? Provide relief and deliver fast, don't keep anything on your table," the Finance Minister told the I-T officials. She said there should be dedicated days and hours for grievance redressal and clearing old files, so that people feel that the department is taking out time for addressing their concerns. Lauding the work done by the income tax department, especially during the nationwide lockdowns at the peak of the Covid pandemic, Sitharaman said they deserved a word of appreciation. During 2020-21, there were apprehensions that indirect tax collections were outnumbering direct tax collections, but now there is more equity as direct tax collections are at par with indirect tax collections. There is a principle of equity in tax collections now, Sitharaman said, as direct tax collections have sustained the momentum along with indirect tax collections. She also emphasised how the faceless technology for tax collections has enhanced collection of taxes, despite initial apprehensions and suggested that greater exposure to technology is needed to maintain this tempo. Ahmedabad, Sep 27 : The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has arrested a person for providing access to new Indian cellular numbers to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which the Pakistani spy agency was using to fetch sensitive defence information from retired personnel. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Prem Vir Singh told media persons on Tuesday that Abdul Wahab Pathan of Ahmedabad is arrested for conspiring against the nation. Pathan used to get local sim cards activated in his or his relatives' names and share the cellular numbers with Shafqat Jatoi, a former officer of Pakistani High Commission to India. Jatoi was using these numbers to make fake profiles on Whatsapp and sharing them with ISI operartives. Singh further said that ISI operatives using the fake Whatsapp profile reach out to retired defence officers and jawans and seek information from them illegally. During primary investigation, police have found that ISI operatives have created fake websites in the name of www.ksboard.in, www.desw.in and www.kavach-apps.in, which was used to mislead retired officers and jawans to seek information from them. Police have registered case against Pathan and others under various sections of Information and Technology act. New Delhi, Sep 27 : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday called upon public sector banks to enhance coverage of Scheduled Castes (SCs) in all schemes and advised them to also look into their needs for capacity building and entrepreneurship development, as the community constitutes about 18 per cent of the total workforce of in banks and financial institutions. Sitharaman gave these directions during a review meeting of various Central financial schemes being implemented by state-owned banks and their coverage towards the SCs. During the meeting, which was attended by chiefs of all public sector banks and officials of the department of financial services as well as chairperson of the National Commission for SCs, the Finance Minister directed them to make proper digital records for jobs being outsourced, especially for posts like safai karamcharis, from October 1, 2022. She emphasised on redressal of all pending grievances pertaining to the SC community and asked them to take these up on priority through special drives from October 2 onwards. The minister also asked banks to fill up all backlog vacancies at the earliest and in a time-bound manner. Banks were also directed to ensure forward and backward linkages through convergence of various schemes of different government departments for SCs while giving them financial assistance. The Finance Minister said that the objective of the meeting was to bring all stakeholders on a common platform to work together in the fulfilment of the rights enshrined in the Constitution for the upliftment and betterment of the people belonging to Scheduled Castes. Stockholm, Sep 27 : Seismologists registered explosions near the Nord Stream pipelines in the last 36 hours, a media outlet reported, citing Swedish national broadcaster SVT. SVT can reveal that measuring stations in both Sweden and Denmark registered strong underwater explosions in the same area as the gas leaks on Monday, The Gurdian reported. "There is no doubt that these are explosions," Bjorn Lund, lecturer in seismology at the Swedish National Seismic Network (SNSN), was quoted as saying by SVT. The first explosion was recorded at 2.03 a.m. on the night of Monday and the second at 7.04 p.m. on Monday evening. The warnings about the gas leaks came from the maritime administration at 1.52 p.m. and 8.41 p.m. on Monday, respectively, after ships detected bubbles on the surface. SVT has obtained the coordinates of the measured explosions and they are in the same area where the gas leaks were registered, The Guardian reported. The apparent leaks in the Nord Stream pipeline are both near the island of Bornholm, which belongs to Denmark in the Baltic sea. Seismologist Bjorn Lund was quoted as saying that the area where they detected explosions is not an area usually used for military drills. He told SVT: "We usually get information about explosions that take place underwater, but sometimes we don't get it. In this case, we have not received any information." According to Lund, one of the explosions had a magnitude of 2.3 on the Richter scale, and was recorded at 30 measuring stations in southern Sweden. Prior to the reports from the seismologists, there had already been speculation about possible sabotage, as the pipeline operator had described three lines suffering significant damage within the space of a day as "unprecedented". Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, has described the major leaks in two Russian gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea as a "terrorist attack". Jammu, Sep 27 : The Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, Arun Kumar Mehta, on Tuesday held a meeting to take stock of traffic movement on NH-44 (Srinagar-Jammu National Highway). The meeting was attended by senior officials from the divisional and district administration, traffic department, police and those from National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Mehta directed that the traffic department shall issue daily information bulletin for the stakeholders mentioning travel time taken by HMVs from Qazigund to Jakhani, loss of time due to shooting stones at Cafteria Morh-Mehar and number of vehicles waiting to leave for Jammu. Mehta also stressed on putting in place the robust communication and information mechanism by the traffic police so as to regulate HMVs traffic at critical points like Qazigund-Banihal, Banihal market, Sherbibi, Panthayal, Mehar etc. The traffic management authorities were asked to augment manpower requirement from all sources to regulate traffic in optimal manner, besides enforcing lane discipline in the critical stretches between Ramban and Banihal. For seasonal migration, the tribal affairs department and deputy commissioners were directed to ensure that no "Dera" is allowed to move on NH-44, especially between Qazigund and Ramban, and they are provided with suitable conveyance to carry their cattle and family members. The concerned district administrations were asked to ensure that unattended cattle do not wander on the highway. In order to ensure hassle-free movement, it was decided that the down convoy of HMVs may be permitted from 11 am tp 9 pm from Qazigund on alternate days. Mumbai, Sep 27 : Deepika Padukone, who's in the news because of the speculation over being part of the cast of 'Brahmastra 2', was reportedly rushed to the Breach Candy Hospital here after she complained of uneasiness. According to Pinkvilla, the actress underwent a number of tests in the hospital on Monday evening. The report added that Deepika is feeling better now. No statement on her health condition has come from her team. Earlier, she had a health situation on the sets of the Nag Ashwin film 'Project K' with Telugu star Prabhas and Amitabh Bachchan. The actress had earlier battled depression and had been quite vocal about it. To put her thoughts into action, she also runs the Live, Love, Laugh Foundation to create awareness about mental health, reduce the stigma associated with mental illness, and provide access to credible resources for those suffering. On the work front, Deepika will be next seen in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Pathaan' along with her 'Desi Boyz' co-star John Abraham. Patna, Sep 27 : The Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, Vijay Kumar Sinha, claimed on Tuesday that JD-U will be wiped out from Bihar after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. "The countdown for the destruction of JD-U has started; the final nail in the coffin will be placed in 2024," Sinha said. "Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad had gone to Delhi to meet Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, but she did not meet them properly. Their body language after the meeting appeared to be dull," Sinha claimed. "In Bihar, criminals are ruling the state parallel to the state government. 'Daru' (liquor) and 'Balu' (sand) mafias are controlling a parallel economy in the state. The people sitting in the government are spreading anarchy in Bihar," Sinha said. Referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on Purnea airport, Sinha said the Centre has given money for land acquisition, but the state government is not acquiring the land. New Delhi, Sep 27 : Congress' Rajasthan in-charge Ajay Maken has recommended disciplinary action against three MLAs including Shanti Dhariwal, Mahesh Joshi and Dharmendra Rathore whom he blamed for holding a parallel meet. Maken, in his report to the party president Sonia Gandhi, has reported "grave indiscipline" on part of the three MLAs. The party on Tuesday also issued show cause notices to all the three legislators. Dhariwal, the Urban Development and Housing Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, had called a meeting of MLAs from the Ashok Gehlot camp at his residence and reportedly strategised ways to ensure that Gehlot stays the Chief Minister. The official meeting of the Congress Legislature Party was to be held at 7 p.m. on Sunday at the Chief Minister's residence in Jaipur, but before that Gehlot's loyalists gathered at Dhariwal's residence. From where, they went to Speaker C.P. Joshi's residence and collectively submitted their resignation to him. The show cause notice addressed to Dhariwal reads: "...you have committed grave indiscipline by hosting a parallel MLAs meeting at your residence pressuring them not to attend the official meeting. As Parliamentary Affairs Minister, hosting the unofficial meeting confused the Congress MLAs as to which one was convened officially." The notice that has sought response within 10 days also noted that Dhariwal's action came even when senior party leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Maken repeatedly clarify that they have come to speak to each MLA individually and impartially report to the Congress President. Srinagar, Sep 27 : One terrorist was killed in an ongoing encounter - the second in two days - between terrorists and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district on Tuesday, police said. "One terrorist killed. Operation in progress," police said. Earlier Jammu and Kashmir Police in a tweet, quoting Additional Director General Police Kashmir zone, Vijay Kumar, said that two local terrorists of proscribed terror outfit JeM were trapped in the ongoing encounter in Ahwatoo area of Kulgam. Both the trapped terrorists are involved in several terror crime cases. A Pakistani terrorist belonging to terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Muhammed was killed in an encounter between terrorists and security forces at Batpora area in Kulgam on Monday. Tuesday's firefight started after a joint team of police and security forces got an input about the presence of terrorists in that area, and cordoned it off. At this, terrorists hiding there started firing, and security forces retaliated. There have been a series of encounters between terrorists and security forces across Kashmir in the recent past in which many terrorists have been eliminated. New York, Sep 27 : The US emphasised with Pakistan the importance of having a "responsible relationship" with India, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said while Washington faces New Delhi's criticism of its proposal to give Pakistan F-16 spares and services worth $450 million. "We talked about the importance of managing a responsible relationship with India," Blinken said in Washington on Monday. After talks with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, he made the remark at an event commemorating 75 years of relations between the two countries that have ranged from Islamabad joining two military pacts, CENTO and SEATO to betraying Washington by harbouring Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden who waged war on the US. Bilawal Bhutto did not react to Blinken's statement or bring up Kashmir in his speech, which was unusual for him. On Sunday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar criticised the US-Pakistan F-16 deal. He said that "you're not fooling anybody" by claiming that the deal was for counter-terrorism given the F-16's capabilities and where it is deployed. "Forget about us. It's actually not good for you what you're doing; reflect on the history, look at the last 20 years." Asked at his briefing on Monday about the F-16 deal with Pakistan, State Department spokesperson Ned Price sidestepped the issue only repeating Washington's line about having delining its relations with the two neighbours. "We don't view our relationship with Pakistan, and on the other hand we don't view our relationship with India as in relation to one another," he said. "The relationship we have with India stands on its own; the relationship we have with Pakistan stands on its own," he added. He described the two countries as "partners" with "different points of emphasis in each, and we look to both as partners because we do have in many cases shared values, we do have in many cases shared interests". "We also want to do everything we can to see to it that these neighbours have relations with one another that are as constructive as can be possible. And so that's another point of emphasis," he added. Afghanistan continues to be a key factor in US-Pakistan relations, he acknowledged. "We recognise and one of the many reasons we're meeting with Pakistan is because of the shared security interests that we do have", he said. "It is neither in our interests nor in Pakistan's interest to see instability, to see violence in Afghanistan." "As the Secretary meets with Foreign Minister Zardari today, I would imagine that security and shared security interests will be high on the agenda, as will humanitarian concerns," he added. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been trying to reset Pakistan's relations with the US after the hostility shown by his predecessor Imran Khan. Before he met with Blinken for direct talks, Bilawal Bhutto said: "Whenever we've - there's developed a distance, we've faltered, and I think it's a great testament to our diplomatic relations that we've not only stood the tests of time, but we are now re-engaged in a broader framework." "Pakistan and the United States have shown over the last 75 years that we've been great powers - great partners, great partners, and we've achieved great things together." Economy and disaster are adding urgency to this reset. Pakistan needed US backing for the $1.1 billion loan approved by the International Monetary Fund to save it from the brink of economic collapse last month and now it needs US help to help deal with the catastrophic floods. Blinken said, "here is tremendous focus right now on the truly devastating floods that Pakistan has experienced, and we stand in strong solidarity with our friends in Pakistan". The US has announced additional aid of $10 million to the $56.1 million allotted earlier. (Arul Louis can be contacted at aru.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis) New Delhi, Sep 27 : A Delhi court has granted bail to a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) official, allegedly caught red-handed while taking a bribe. The accused Vinod Kumar was apprehended on August 24 and sent to judicial custody since then. Special Judge, Rouse Avenue Courts, Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra, on Monday, granted bail to the accused on furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs 25,000 with one surety of like amount. Noting that the applicant is in judicial custody since August 24 and the statement of complainant under Cr.P.C. Section 164 has already been recorded, the court said in the order that his custodial interrogation is not required. The 54-year-old MCD official was arrested by the anti-corruption branch while he was allegedly accepting a bribe amount of Rs 10,000 from the complainant. Lawyer Namit Saxena, appearing for the accused, argued that there was no evidence of any demand being made regarding the alleged bribe, and that the custody was unwarranted. According to the complaint filed by RK Puram resident Asif Khan, Kumar and another person were harassing him to pay a bribe of Rs 10,000 per month for running an automobile repair shop on the footpath in RK Puram Sector-7. Washington, Sep 27 : Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that Pakistan-US ties are no longer hyphenated with Afghanistan and India as Washington and Islamabad are discussing ways to enhance trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, media reports said. "Not only I am presently surprised, but I am absolutely impressed by the new foreign policy approach of the US towards Pakistan," said Bilawal while responding to a question related to Pakistan-US ties at the Wilson Centre in Washington, Express Tribune reported. "There is also an increased feeling in our [Pak-US] interaction that we are no longer hyphenated - Af-Pak or Pak-India. Only Pak-US that's a good thing," he said, as per the report. Bilawal said Pakistan and US have for a long time seen each other through the prism of Afghanistan. "It is heartening to know that [this time] during engagements with [US officials], we just didn't think and talk about Afghanistan. We talked about enhancing trade and economic cooperation," he said. Bilawal also cited a recent visit of US Special Representative on Business and Commercial Affairs Dilawar Syed to Pakistan, saying that bilateral ties between the two countries were improving. "We had an incredibly pleasant conversation not only recently but from the first day I took over as foreign minister," said Bilawal while responding to a question about his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Hyderabad, Sep 27 : Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) legislator K. Kavitha on Tuesday said that her father and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will play a key role in shaping the political course of the country. She said it was because of him that the BJP is celebrating Bathukamma, the state festival of Telangana, in New Delhi and asked the Centre why it took eight years for it to organise the celebrations in New Delhi. Kavitha was talking to reporters after participating in Bathukamma celebrations with TRS leaders and workers at Telangana Bhavan, the TRS headquarters in Hyderabad. She said that the BJP should thank CM KCR for upholding and celebrating the spirit of Telangana. "Due to KCR's entry into the national politics, more and more political parties are getting to know about the culture and practices of Telangana, and things will shape up and change for good as the Telangana Chief Minister would enter into the national arena, where he most certainly is going to play a key role in shaping the political course of the country," she said. "What took the ruling government 8 years to celebrate the spirit of Telangana," asked Kavitha referring to the Bathukamma event organised by the BJP-led government in Delhi on Tuesday. Bathukamma is a floral festival celebrated by women across Telangana. The nine day celebrations began on September 25. Kavitha, a former Member of Parliament from Nizamabad, played an instrumental role in making Bathukamma one of the most sought after festivals of India. She also slammed the BJP for celebrating September 17, which marks accession of erstwhile Hyderabad State with the Indian Union, as Hyderabad Liberation Day. Noting that the same party in Gujarat worships the ideals of Sardar Vallabhai Patel with the Statue of Unity, she asked: "When the BJP hails Sardar Patel in Gujarat with a statue of unity, why does it call our movement an act of liberation and not unity." The Telangana government celebrated September 17 as national integration day. Hyderabad, Sep 27 : The Union Home Ministry will take legal opinion on the recommendations of Sheela Bhide committee over division of institutions listed in the Schedule IX of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The ministry on Tuesday conducted a meeting of top officials of both the states in New Delhi to discuss pending bilateral issues. Chief Secretaries of both the Telugu states and other senior officials attended the meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla. Andhra Pradesh officials demanded that Sheela Bhide committee recommendations be accepted in full but Telangana brought to the notice of the ministry that there are court cases pending in High Court of Telangana with respect to certain institutions and till the matter is settled by the court, no further action can be taken. There are 91 institutions listed in Schedule IX which are to be divided. The committee has given its recommendations with respect to 90 institutions. The dispute resolution subcommittee constituted by the MHA has suggested the division in 3 phases - 53 PSUs where there is no difference of opinion, 15 PSUs which are agreeable to Telangana but not to Andhra Pradesh, and 22 institutions which are not agreeable to Telangana. The court cases are also with respect to the definition of headquarters. The MHA had clarified in May 2017 that where the principal office building is located would be considered as the headquarter. Telangana had requested the MHA to reconstitute a Board of the AP State Finance Corporation in May 2016 itself but this has not been done. The then Board of AP State Finance Corporation has prepared a bifurcation plan unilaterally and sent to the Centre for their approval. In this case also, Andhra Pradesh has approached the High Court against the resumption of 238 acres of land in Rangareddy district. The High Court issued a status quo order in November, 2015 and the matter is still pending. Andhra Pradesh wanted that keeping the land issue separate, and the balance of issues related to bifurcation can be taken up by the Centre, but Telangana has objected to this as the issue involved in this case is also definition of headquarters and whether the lands in dispute would be considered as a part of headquarter asset or not. There are 142 institutions which are listed under Schedule X of the Act. Based on the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of AP State Council of Higher Education, the Centre had issued a speaking order that the cash balances would be divided on population ratio and assets on location basis. Telangana is fully in agreement with this but Andhra Pradesh filed a writ petition in the High Court and the matter is still pending. Andhra Pradesh wants that the Schedule X institutions assets also to be divided in population ratio instead of location. Telangana has also filed a case in the matter of Telugu Academy bifurcation. While the cases are still pending, Telangana's view is that the MHA order is based on the Supreme Court directions and hence no further review of the matter is needed and any such review by the MHA was strongly protested by it. Andhra Pradesh raised the issue that Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) is to be bifurcated as they have assets in the successor state but Telangana has strongly objected and said that the question of division does not arise as there is a specific provision in the Act transferring the 51 per cent of equity to Telangana completely. Similarly, the Andhra Pradesh Heavy Machinery Engineering Ltd (APHMEL) is only a subsidiary company of SCCL and the only division which is to be done is that of equity of the then Andhra Pradesh. The Home Secretary gave directions to MHA to examine the matter. The dispute between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over electricity dues did not come up for discussion. The Centre recently wrote to Telangana government to clear electricity dues of Rs 6,000 crore to Andhra Pradesh before the end of September. However, Telangana claimed that it is Andhra Pradesh which owes it Rs 17,000 crore and has demanded the Centre to ask Andhra Pradesh to clear the dues after adjusting Rs 6,000 crore being claimed by the neighbouring state. Besides the inter-state issues, the meeting also discussed certain matters relating to Andhra Pradesh. The Andhra Pradesh government sought another Rs 1,000 crore for capital city development but the Centre asked it to submit details of how Rs 1,500 crore already provided for the purpose was used. The Ministry of Home Affairs also did not respond to Andhra Pradesh's request for Rs 29,000 crore for the capital city in accordance with the recommendation of the Sivaramakrishnan committee. The Andhra Pradesh government also sought funds for seven backward districts but the Centre informed it that the decision was taken to provide funds for five years. Guwahati, Sep 27 : Assam reported over 100 cases of hand-foot-and-mouth disease, also known as tomato flu, in the last one month, sounding an alarm for the state health department, an official said on Monday. The maximum number of cases were reported from two schools in Dibrugarh district. A senior official of the state health department informed that the two schools reported 24 and 22 cases each, which were clinically confirmed based on symptoms. The health department has already issued an advisory to the district authority to keep the infected children in isolation for seven days. The district health officials have been asked by the state administration to inspect the pediatric OPDs in the district hospitals for early detection of tomato flu cases. Though the tomato flu disease is not seen as life-threatening, healthcare experts have warned that any further spread of the disease may hit school attendance once again after the Covid-19 pandemic. Health officials also said that the chances of adults contracting the disease are feeble. Hemen Das, an epidemiologist with the National Health Mission, said that maintaining basic hygiene is the key to preventing the outbreak of tomato flu. "If an infected child is kept in isolation for a week, there is every chance that he or she will automatically recover," he added. Bhubaneswar, Sep 27 : The Odisha Vigilance has arrested five government officials, including an Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) official, on graft charges in the past couple of days, an official said on Tuesday. The vigilance sleuths arrested block development officer (BDO) Binod Kumar Naik and assistant engineer (AE) Bansidhar Parida on Monday, while junior engineer (JE) Ramakanta Behera, senior clerk Satyanarayan Dolei and gram rozgar sevak (GRS) Chandraiah were apprehended while accepting bribe on Tuesday, the official said. Naik, BDO, Gudvela block in Bolangir district, was trapped while accepting a bribe of Rs 1.80 lakh from a contractor for clearing his past bills for executed work and for awarding him a new contract. Similarly, Parida, AE of Ganjam block in Ganjam district, was arrested while accepting a bribe Rs 4,000 from a contractor. Behera, the junior engineer in the office of BDO, Bhubaneswar, was caught by the vigilance sleuths while accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a contractor for facilitating release of his pending bills. Chandraiah, GRS, Indrakhi panchayat under Rangeilunda block in Ganjam district, was arrested while accepting a bribe of Rs 27,000, while senior clerk Dolai was arrested while receiving a bribe of Rs 5,000, the vigilance official informed. Patna, Sep 27 : Maoist activities in Bihar's Munger region have mostly ended, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) said on Tuesday. CRPF's DIG, Munger, Sanjay Kumar said: "Maoist activities have not been seen for many months in Munger region. This district has many pockets where Maoist groups were active and involved in extortion in the past. Now, for a few months that no Maoist incidents have taken place here. "We have been intensifying operations in the jungles of Munger, adjoining Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura districts and asked the rebels to surrender before security forces. If they do not bring down their arms, our operations will continue in the region. They have only two options: either surrender before the security forces or they would be killed in encounters." In the recent past, the Bihar Police, in association with the CRPF's Cobra Battalion, managed to get top commanders of Maoist groups in Aurangabad and Rohtas districts to surrender. The official said that the backbones of Maoist groups has been broken by the security forces, and, hence, they are surrendering before the security forces. Washington, Sep 27 : US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent public rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine, saying the Indian leader spoke for the rest of world that this is not the "era for war". However, Blinken also defended the Joe Biden administration's proposal to provide Pakistan with $450 million worth of "sustainment" package for its fleet of F-16 aircraft, ignoring Indian protests that Islamabad does not use these planes only for counter-terrorism operations, as stated by the US, but also against India. Blinken also addressed the issue of long waiting period for visas and blamed it on Covid-related disruptions. He said the US has a plan for mitigating it for India and that it will be rolled out in a few months. Blinken spoke to reporters along with India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar after their bilateral meeting, and a working dinner the night before. The two officials had met last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings, most significantly for the first such meeting with counterparts from the Quad parter countries Australia and Japan -- the first Quad meeting at the UNGA, with plans to make it an annual affair deepening the institutionalisation of the platform that is witnessing a robust second-coming. "I really want to emphasise what Prime Minister Modi said because he captured as well as anyone I've heard fundamentally what this moment is about as he said, 'This is not an era, this is not a time for war'," Blinken said, referring to Modi's comments to Putin in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. "We could not agree more," Blinken said, adding, "We saw the aggression, the threat of the aggression mounting from Russia against Ukraine last year. We warned the world about it, and we tried everything possible to avert it through diplomacy. Unfortunately, President Putin pursued his aggression nonetheless." The Russian invasion of Ukraine had introduced a rare area of dissonance in the India-US relationship as New Delhi refused to condemn it as robustly as the US-led coalition of western nations wanted. India also stepped up its purchases of Russian oil, which, the west argued, mitigated the pain of western sanctions on Russia somewhat. Modi's remarks to Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) meeting in Samarkand not only erased all of the disquiet felt with the Indian position in Washington, but earned India a position potentially in a peace process; Mexico has also suggested Modi should be on a peace committee. Meanwhile, the top US diplomat seemed less impressed by India's objections to the proposed $450 million worth of spares for Pakistan's F-16 aircraft, something which Jaishankar hit out against soon after arriving in Washington for this visit. His criticism of the deal followed "concerns" conveyed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in a phone call earlier. "To be very clear, and it's important, this is a sustainment programme for F-16s that Pakistan has long had. These are not new planes, new systems, new weapons. It's sustaining what they have," Blinken said, adding, "We have a responsibility and an obligation to deliver, we provide military equipment to make sure that it's maintained and sustained. That's our obligation." He added that Pakistan's programme bolsters its capability to deal with terrorist threats emanating from Pakistan and the region. India has dismissed this claim, which was made on the grounds provided by the administration to the US Congress as justification. Jaishankar said on Sunday that no one is fooled by these claims as Pakistan has used these aircraft for purposes other than for fighting terrorists. It was used against Indians in February 2109, he said. The two officials were bullish about the relationship though. "Today, the United States is very international, very much more open to engage with a country like India, which is actually thinking beyond traditional alliances, which has been very effective at finding common ground with potential or actual partners," Jaishankar said in response to a question about the trajectory of the bilateral relationship. He added: "I think the more we work together, the more we engage each other. I think many more possibilities will emerge. So very frankly, that's a long way of saying that I'm very bullish." Echoing these sentiments, Blinken said, "No two countries have a greater ability, and I think, opportunity and responsibility to try to shape the future of the century than the United States and India as the world's two largest democracies." He added: "That doesn't mean that we don't have differences. We do and we will, but it also means that because of the depth and quality of the dialogues we have, we talk about everything." Jaishankar then pointed to one area of potential irritation. "We spoke over the last two days of our commitment to practising and furthering democracy, human rights and good governance," Jaishankar said, adding, "Each country approaches the set of issues from their history, tradition and societal context. Our yardstick for judgment are the integrity of the democratic processes, the respect and credibility to the command with the people and the non-discriminatory delivery of public goods and services. "India does not believe that the efficacy or indeed the quality of democracy should be decided by vote banks. This is an area where we look forward to a healthy exchange of views. There will be convergence and best practices that we can both profit by and perhaps even share with third countries." India bristles as being lectured by the US on human rights and democracy, something that Washington does through the various arms of the government and the legislature. Jaishankar has made his mind known on this issue before -- that India will not be lectured, and if it is, it reserves the right to point out the flaws of the other side as well. Bhopal, Sep 28 : The Madhya Pradesh Congress has come up with a women centric campaign for the state assembly polls under which the party will reach out to reach out to all the women voters across the state. To excute it's plan in an organised manner, the state committee has appointed a separate team for it on Tuesday. Vibha Vindu Dagor will lead the team. As per the information, the team would carry a door-to-door campaign in both rural and urban areas and their primary focus would to reach to women. They (team) have been tasked to held meeting with women associated with schemes such as Aganwadi, Asha and others. The party workers would share Congress' vision for women empowerment. Dagor, who is a vice-president of media department of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee told IANS that she had already worked on a similar concept during the last elections and a massive response was received. "I had put my proposal before the party leadership and I am happy that my proposal was accepted. Now, it's my turn to make the plan success for which the leadership has shown trust on me," Dagor, who is a native of Indore, said. Dagor further said that in the first step to excute the plan, she would need a team of active and determined youths in each and every block and district. "Last time, when I was assigned a similar kind of task in Gwalior-Chambal area, I used to visit villages and conduct meeting with people. Initially, it was tough task, as people hardly used to come out for meeting due to Covid pandemic, but we managed to conduct meetings maintaining the Covid protocols. The best part was that the team was very active and energetic." Dagor said that during the 15-month government, the Congress has increased monthly wages of Aganwadi and Asha workers. "We need to tell the women, especially housewives, that the Congress has launched several women centric schemes. I believe, a proper communication will peruse a positive results and I will go ahead with the same thought," she added. Bhopal, Sep 28 : To seek attention of the Centre and Madhya Pradesh government on development of Chitrakoot, BJP MLA from Maihar Assembly constituency Narayan Tripathi began a three-day 'dharma (religious) yatra' on the surrounding of 'Siddha Pahad'. Several saints and seers of temples in Chitrakoot also joined the 'padayatra' (foot march), which to be completed after ferrying 84 km surrounding the Siddha Pahad on September 30. The yatra will be followed by a 'dharma sabha' (religious meet) of Hindu priests and seers of all temples located in Chitrakoot on September 30. While starting dharma yatra, BJP MLA said this yatra should not be seen a political move but a religious one. He claimed this padayatra is beginning of a fight to push his demand to provide Chitrakoot importance like Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh). The Sidhha Pahad is no ordinary hillock, it has a mythological story behind it. It is believed that during his stay in the Chitrakoot forest during the 14 years of his exile, Lord Ram had pledged on the same hillock to eliminate the demons. Earlier in August, a controversy had erupted after Satna district administration (Chitrakoot falls under Madhya Pradesh's Satna district) proposed to legalise mining on the Siddha Pahad. Tripathi was the first who opposed the decision and wrote to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, which prompted the later to announce a ban on mining in Sidha Pahad. "We fought a legal battle for years for get back Lord Ram's birthplace -- Ayodhya and a huge temple is being constructed there. We are happy that the BJP-led Central government and Uttar Pradesh government made this possible. But, my question is that why Chitrakoot wasn't given so much importance despite being the 'Karmabhoomi' of Lord Ram. When Ram came to Chitrakoot during his 14 years of exile, he was a 'rajkumar' (prince) and here in Chitrakoot he became Lord Ram, therefore, Chitrakoot is his 'Karmabhoomi'. But, his Karmbhoomi wasn't given importance and which is why today we have started this padayatra," Tripathi told IANS. When asked why other BJP leaders are not supporting this padayatra, the BJP MLA said, "They have to run their business. I do not run any business, therefore am not worried of any action against me." Tripathi claimed the move is beyond politics, however, political observers were of the view that the yatra is preparation for his political strategy. He said that Chitrakoot has been deprived of development despite having a crucial connection with Lord Ram, adding that if a grand Ram temple is being constricted in Ayodhya, Chitrakoot should also be given equal importance. THe BJP MLA said that a large size statue of Lord Ram should also be established in Chitrakoot. Besides, the area should be provided with facilities so that more people can visit Chitrakoot. Few weeks back, in a exclusive interview with IANS, Tripathi had claimed that he would launch his own political party in the ucomming Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh. The BJP MLA had claimed he would fight elections in all 30 Assembly seats under the Vindhya region, which comprises districts such as Rewa, Sidhi, Satna, Umaria, Singrauli, Shahdol and Anuppur. Tripathi had also said that he would launch his own party by November-December this year. New Delhi, Sep 28 : An inmate lodged at the Mandoli jail in the national capital allegedly tried to rape a 31-year-old woman doctor employed there, a jail official said. The accused identified as Subrat Pillai (30) is already lodged in jail in two cases of crime against women and was convicted and sentenced for an imprisonment of 365 days and fined Rs 10,000. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (northeast), S.K. Sain said an information was received in Harsh Vihar police station from Deputy Superintendent of Mandoli jail regarding an incident of attempt to rape with a lady doctor of Mandoli jail. "The victim doctor was contacted, her counselling was done through a counsellor and a medical examination was conducted," the DCP added. The police have now registered another case against the accused under sections 376 (rape), 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment), 307 (attempt to murder), 35 (When such an act is criminal by reason of its being done with a criminal knowledge or intention) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and have begun probing the incident. New Delhi, Sep 28 : A couple, in which the husband was critically injured and wife dead, were found at their residence in northeast Delhi's New Mustafabad area, Police said on Wednesday. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (northeast Delhi), Sanjay Kumar Sain said a PCR call was received at Dayalpur police station at 12.30 p.m. on Tuesday regarding a fight between a husband and wife in a house located in New Mustafabad. "When the police team reached the spot, they found one woman, who was later identified as Neha, wife of Arman (daughter of Iqbal), lying dead in a room located on the second floor of the said house," the DCP added. The policy enquiry revealed that the family members, who are living at different floors of the said house and the neighbours had heard a boy crying. "The room was locked from the inside, they somehow opened the door and found that a woman was lying dead having sharp injuries on his neck," Sain said, adding that her husband, Arman, was also lying there in unconscious condition with sharp injuries. The husband was rushed to GTB hospital where his condition is said to be 'out of danger'. Meanwhile, a Delhi Police Crime branch team and Forensic Science Laboratory team thoroughly examined the area and after necessary formalities, the body of the woman was moved to GTB Hospital. The police have registered an FIR under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. The DCP said that prima-facie, it seems that husband and wife had some argument during which the husband may have attacked his wife with a sharp weapon, which resulted in her death, and then later might have inflicted injury upon himself. Further investigation is underway, the official added. Srinagar, Sep 28 : The government's current campaign to revolutionalise agriculture, horticulture, irrigation system and promote ancillary activities like mushroom, beekeeping, fisheries, dairy, small ruminants, poultry farming and forestry in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) promises to make it the land of milk and honey. This campaign was long needed to fully exploit the rich potential of this 'Paradise on earth' to keep unemployment and frustration out of it. Well, they say, it is better to be late than never. Agriculture, horticulture and their allied sectors deserved urgent attention because more than 70 per cent of the workforce is engaged in them and they contribute a great deal to the development of J&K. In an interview, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Agriculture Production Department, Atal Dulloo, said the government is aiming at completely transforming the lives and outlook of farmers in J&K from subsistence to modern agriculture by 2023. The most difficult but essential part of this campaign is to change the traditional outlook of the farmers about agriculture. The ACS said the Agriculture Extension Officers were trained to wean farmers from traditional practices in favour of, what he called, agri-preneurship that would ensure high returns and respectable employment. In J&K the government has been following a slogan "Per drop, more crop" and "Har khet ko paani" (water for each farm). That is to emphasise that the government is giving special attention to creating an irrigation infrastructure. The farming mechanisation policy of the government seeks among other things to promote hill agriculture and also to link farmers with National Farm Market. Efforts are also being taken to mobilise youth and women into Interest Groups (FIGs) and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in product-specific clusters to meet the objectives of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'. The government recently constituted an apex committee consisting of notable scientists under the chairmanship of Mangla Rai, the former Director General of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research, to transform the sustenance of agriculture into a sustainable agri-economy through the investment of knowledge, technology, and capital. The committee is drawing the strategic roadmap for the growth and development of J&K's agriculture landscape. The Union Territory's administration has implemented all the centrally-sponsored schemes on the ground in the agriculture sector. Higher-yielding variety seeds are periodically distributed to farmers at nominal costs, along with quality planting material by the Department of Agriculture. Through awareness programmes, soil health and integrated nutrient management are being given precedence over short-term farming gains like the quantity of crop production. use of soil health cards, promotion and diversification in cropping, farming systems and natural farming is being promoted. With the greenhouse and nethouse units set up by the government, a farmer now can grow off-season vegetables easily. Social schemes like PM-KISAN, PM Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana and crop insurance schemes are helping farmers to truly be self-reliant. When we talk of changing farmers' outlook we cannot ignore the pre-condition of school and adult education. What J&K require is a multi-purpose agriculture university -- perhaps affiliated with Pusa Institute in New Delhi or any known agriculture university in India. Multi-purpose means that the proposed university should also give hands-on training in marketing, accountancy, salesmanship and rudimentary knowledge of laws and packing. These subjects cannot be dismissed as irrelevant to an agriculture university because J&K has plenty of natural gifts. It produces 70 per cent of India's apples. It is virtually the only region that produces walnuts. 90 per cent of trout, a freshwater fish is a delicacy that comes from J&K. Jammu is famous for its rajma (kidney beans), basmati rice, Kala Zeera (black cumin), and apricots. J&K's sheep are the best in the country. ACS Dulloo talked about plans to import new breeds of sheep from New Zealand. The Union Territory's silk and wool have high quality. He said the government has fixed targets to double the contribution of Agri-GDP in the next five years from $4 billion to $8 billion. In Dulloo's view, horticulture can change the overall story of J&K. The latest efforts, among other things, include the establishment of walnut nurseries to strengthen the existing ones. The government has allocated Rs 646 crore for the horticulture sector in this year's budget. This is in addition to the Rs 2,835 crore allocated for agriculture. For the development of the dairy and sheep sector Rs 392 crore has been allocated, Dulloo said quoting Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. This means in this year's budget the government has allocated a total of Rs 3,873 crore for agriculture, horticulture, and dairy and sheep to effect a change for the better in the lives of farmers in J&K, the ACS added. Ankara, Sep 28 : Turkish prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 21 suspects over their alleged links to a network accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016, a local news agency reported. The public prosecutor in the western city of Izmir issued an arrest warrant for 16, while the capital Ankara's prosecutor five, all over their suspected membership of the Gulen movement accused by the Turkish government of infiltrating into the state bureaucracy and attempting the coup on July 15, 2016. The 16 suspects wanted by Izmir's prosecutor, 13 of them already detained in operations covering six provinces, were accused of infiltrating into the Turkish Armed Forces. They were four soldiers -- one from the Land Forces, two from the Air Force, one from the Gendarmerie General Command, and 12 military school students who were dismissed after the coup attempt. Meanwhile, the five suspects were wanted by Ankara's prosecutor for being part of the Gulen movement's "establishment" in the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Xinhua news agency reported. A statement from the prosecutor's office said they were two Ministry employees dismissed earlier, two on active duty and one who failed to pass the Ministry exam. The movement, which mainly runs schools worldwide, is a community of people named after Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen regarded by his followers as their spiritual leader. Turkey accuses US-based Gulen of masterminding the 2016 coup, in which at least 250 people were killed. Ankara requests the extradition of Gulen, but Washington declined, citing that Ankara has not presented sufficient evidence against the self-exiled Islamic cleric. Damascus, Sep 28 : Two people were killed and eight others wounded by Turkish shelling that targeted areas in Syria's northern province of Hasakah, a state news agency reported. The report on Tuesday said the shelling targeted homes and workshops in villages controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northern countryside of Hasakah, Xinhua news agency reported. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the SDF retaliated by shelling villages controlled by the Turkish forces and the Turkey-backed rebels in northern Hasakah, without providing information on casualties. The exchange of fire is part of the tension between the Turkish and Kurdish forces in northern Syria. Turkey has been recently threatening to launch an operation to establish a safe zone in northern Syria to draw a separating line between Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria and the Turkish border. Prayagraj, Sep 28 : The Allahabad high court (HC) has reserved its judgment on a petition seeking direction from the court for registering a complaint against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for an alleged "objectionable speech" delivered by him during an election campaign in Rajasthan's Alwar in 2018. Hearing a petition filed by one Naval Kishore Sharma of Mau, the order was passed by Justice Samit Gopal after hearing petitioner's counsel Mohammed Iftekhar Faroqui and on behalf of the state, Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal, Government Advocate S.K. Pal and Additional Government Advocate A.K. Sand. According to the petitioner, Adityanath had delivered a speech during an election campaign in Alwar district, which according to the petitioner had hurt the religious sentiments of the people. Earlier, the petitioner had filed a complaint case in this connection before the Mau district court, which was rejected. Therefore, he filed the present petition before the HC challenging the order of the lower court and requesting it to direct for the registration of a complaint case against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister for the speech. The agreement heralds an 810-room partnership with IHG Hotels & Resorts at five properties across Spain, France and Italy. . IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the worlds leading hospitality companies, today announces a multi-property development agreement with Grape Hospitality for five conversion properties in prime European destinations. The five properties include voco Madrid Centre Retiro a market debut for the voco brand in Spain; three Hotel Indigo properties in Florence, Italy; Bordeaux, France; and Barcelona, Spain, respectively, and Crowne Plaza Madrid Centre Retiro. All three brands are going from strength to strength; the Hotel Indigo brand now boasts 40 open hotels in Europe with a further 19 in the pipeline; voco has expanded to 15 open hotels in Europe, having recently opened voco Dusseldorf Seestern and voco Venice Mestre - The Quid, and Crowne Plaza currently has 88 open hotels across Europe, including the recently opened Crowne Plaza Budapest. Commenting on the partnership, (Mrs) Willemijn Geels, VP Development Europe at IHG Hotels & Resorts, said, We are delighted to be partnering with Grape Hospitality on such a strong collection of hotels across some of our key European markets of Spain, France and Italy. This partnership further highlights the strength of IHGs much-loved brands and reputation, our desire to expand into new locations and our ongoing initiatives to improve the customer journey such as the recently enhanced IHG One Rewards programme. Frederic Josenhans, Chairman of Grape Hospitality commented, Grape Hospitality continues its development in Europe with the acquisition of premium assets. We are delighted to work with IHG in addition to our brands, to create value and diversify our portfolio. With Indigo, voco hotels and Crowne Plaza, all strong brands in their segment, we will be able to develop our catering and MICE expertise and make each hotel a unique living space. The new hotel signings are as follows: voco Madrid Centre Retiro The new 193-room voco Madrid Centre Retiro will be the first voco hotel to open in Spain. The Latin name, voco, means to invite and call together, and the property will feature vocos unstuffy hallmark amenities from an arrival gift and simple check-in to lively social spaces, and guest rooms with thoughtful comforts like cosy bedding and luxury bathroom amenities. The hotel is due to open in April 2024. Hotel Indigo Florence Set in a prime location, Hotel Indigo Florence is two minutes walk from Santa Maria Novella, the citys main railway station, and close to Florences many attractions such as the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio bridge. With 160 bedrooms, conference facilities and a wellness centre, the hotel is set to open later this year. Hotel Indigo Bordeaux The 100-room Hotel Indigo Bordeaux will be the third Hotel Indigo-branded hotel to open in France. The property is based in Bordeaux Chartrons, a neighbourhood with bistros in Place du Marche Chartrons. The hotel is due to open in May 2023. Hotel Indigo Barcelona Gran Via Plaza Espana The 189-room Hotel Indigo Barcelona Gran Via Plaza Espana will be the second Hotel Indigo to open in Barcelona. Guests will be close to the Museum of Catalan Art (MNAC) and a short bus ride into the centre with its art galleries, parks and beaches. The hotel will open in April 2024. Crowne Plaza Madrid Centre Retiro Located in a prime part of Madrid, the 168-room Crowne Plaza Madrid Centre Retiro will be ideal for leisure and business travellers. This will be the second Crowne Plaza property to open in Madrid, the first being located close to the airport. The hotel is due to open in April 2024. Terah has elevated our entire sales team, our staff and even our ownership group to higher levels of performance. She has a never-say-die attitude and a sun-up to sun-down work ethic that is enviable, said Jay Ferguson, Co-Owner of Taylor-Made's sales division. Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales, a leading vacation rental and sales firm located in McHenry, Maryland, is excited to announce that Terah Crawford was named Garrett County Board of REALTORS (GCBR) 2022 REALTOR of the Year. The award honors and recognizes a REALTOR member for outstanding service to the real estate profession and community. Terah became Taylor-Mades Broker/Sales Manager in 2021, and she served as a sales agent in the Deep Creek Lake area for 6+ years. Her background in real estate, marketing, and graphic design is complemented by a passion for positive growth in Garrett County. Giving back to the community is at the core of Taylor-Made's culture. Terahs commitment to the area is perfectly aligned with that philosophy and is a primary reason she was awarded this honor. She serves on the board of directors of the Garrett County Board of REALTORS as the Immediate Past President/Incoming Treasurer. She served on the board of the Dove Center and Garrett County Celtic Festival and is a founding member of the Womens Association of Mountain Maryland. In the past, she volunteered time with the GEMS Program as a middle school mentor, the End of the Line Bookstore in Oakland, the Garrett County Gran Fondo, and numerous other local organizations. In her free time, Terah, her husband Eric, and their two sons enjoy all the fun activities available in Garrett County. She also leads The Terah Crawford Band, a group she founded in 2013. A fierce lover of music, she sings and plays guitar at venues throughout the area. As Garrett County REALTOR of the Year, Terah is invited to participate in the Maryland REALTORS Annual Inaugural Gala and Awards Ceremony, on September 30 at M&T Bank Stadium. She is also being considered for recognition as Maryland REALTOR of the Year. About Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales is a leader in Deep Creek Lake vacation rentals, real estate, and property services. Taylor-Made rental homes and sales listings are conveniently located within a few hours drive from Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. Canadas leading performance marketing agency has reached gold tier status in the HubSpot Solutions Partner Program. In a short period of time Goose Digital have differentiated themselves from many other agencies with their digital marketing expertise and strategy-lead approach to solving business challenges of HubSpot customers." - Rebecca Phillips, Channel Account Manager of HubSpot Goose Digital, Canadas leading performance marketing agency, is excited to announce that it has reached the gold tier in the HubSpot Solutions Partner Program. This news comes 18 months after joining the Partner Program and is a result of several new HubSpot customers and significant growth in HubSpot-related revenues year over year. Goose Digital is one of only 31 gold tier solutions partner organizations in Canada as currently listed in the Solutions Partner Directory. Goose Digitals emerging HubSpot practice has seen particular focus on Sales and Marketing Hubs respectively, helping SMB and Mid-Market organizations deploy HubSpot as a foundational technology pillar to drive greater efficiencies and revenue growth across technology, finance, insurance, and healthcare verticals. Separating Goose Digital from other agencies is the continued emphasis on strategy-lead approaches, connecting business objectives with core features of HubSpots powerful platform. In a short period of time Goose Digital has differentiated themselves from many other agencies with their digital marketing expertise and strategy-lead approach to solving business challenges of HubSpot customers, said Rebecca Phillips, Channel Account Manager at HubSpot. Gooses rapid rise in our partner program is a reflection of the marketing performance our customers are seeing from their investments in technology and expert partners. Were excited to continue working with Goose Digital and their talented team. Goose Digital is thrilled to be acknowledged as one of few HubSpot gold partners in Canada. Marketing continues to evolve and we take pride in developing tailored growth strategies that create high impact results said Michael Turcsanyi, CEO of Goose Digital. We look forward to growing our partnership with HubSpot and enjoying continued success with our shared customers, said Turcsanyi. Want to see the power of HubSpot in action? Visit our HubSpot Platform page to schedule a demo or learn more about driving marketing performance with a specialized digital agency focused on the highest outcomes for your business. # # # ABOUT GOOSE DIGITAL Goose Digital is Canadas leading marketing performance agency. We create marketing campaigns that align with business objectives to help organizations drive revenue growth and return on marketing investment. Our marketing services stretch across strategy, digital marketing and acquisition, and marketing operations/technology to deliver the cross-channel, cross-platform experiences modern audiences require. With over 100 certifications and counting, we work with leading marketing technologies and channels like HubSpot, Act-On, Salesforce (Marketing Cloud, Pardot), Marketo Engage (Adobe), Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more to bolster B2B and B2C organizations marketing presence. Goose Digital has offices in Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver. For more information, visit http://www.goosedigital.com. CONTACT Kevin Butler, VP Strategy kevin.butler@goosedigital.com (866) 644-6673 Ext. 103 I am grateful to Premier Pools & Spas for their continued support of and generosity to Step Into Swim, said Rowdy Gaines, three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and VP of Partnerships and Development for PHTA. Our donors and sponsors are the driving force behind the success of this program." Premier Pools & Spas, Sacramentos largest and most established swimming pool contactors, today announced its sponsorship of Step Into Swim, an initiative of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) dedicated to creating more swimmers through safer swim education. The Gold Level sponsorship from Premier Pools & Spas is part of its commitment to support the community and helps Step Into Swim invest in the next generation of swimmers through learn-to-swim programming. For 34 years, Premier Pools & Spas has been an industry leader in pool construction in the Sacramento area. While helping thousands of families to realize their dream of having their own backyard pool, Premier Pools & Spas understands the need for everyone, especially children, to have the training and knowledge to enjoy the water safely - whether it is at home, lakes, rivers, or community pools. Being in the water is fun, and we are strong believers in making it both safer and enjoyable. Its critical that todays youth have the life-saving skill of knowing how to swim safely and properly and feel confident in the water. Unfortunately, according to the CDC, drowning is a leading cause of death between children ages 1 to 4. We want to do our part to help make a difference and are committed to supporting the Step Into Swim water safety program, said Keith Harbeck, President and CEO of Premier Pools & Spas Sacramento. For every pool that we sell in the month of September, we will add to our regular support of Step Into Swim by sponsoring swimming lessons for two children in local underserved communities that may not have the means or resources to get them. For those ages 1 to 4, learning to swim from a qualified instructor drastically reduces the risk of drowning by 88 percent and is critical in keeping children safer in the water. Premier Pools & Spas shares in Step Into Swims mission of drowning prevention with access to free swimming lessons and educational resources that empower our children to be confident in and around water. I am grateful to Premier Pools & Spas for their continued support of and generosity to Step Into Swim, said Rowdy Gaines, three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and Vice President of Partnerships and Development for PHTA. Our donors and sponsors are the driving force behind the success of this program. Premier Pools commitment to Step Into Swim allows us to help save lives, promote the benefits of swimming, and serve as an educational resource for water safety in communities where it is needed most. [1] Association Between Swimming Lessons and Drowning in Childhood, A Case-Control Study: Ruth Brenner, et al. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4151293/ 301 North Lake will focus on premium, private offices for individuals and small teams Irvine, California based Premier Workspaces, one of the largest privately-owned coworking operators in the US, recently signed a 10-year lease with the Barker Pacific Group at 301 N. Lake Avenue in Pasadena. The 16,700 square foot space, located on the 6th floor features panoramic views, on-site hospitality team, 74 private offices, serviced meeting rooms and a masterfully designed common area. Premier designed this shared workspace to impress with open ceilings, contemporary furnishings, and captivating views of the San Gabriel Mountains. With a dedicated hospitality team on-site, it uniquely delivers a level of professionalism designed for entrepreneurs, remote workers, and other professionals. Clients have the added ability to choose from private offices, shared offices, team spaces, serviced meeting rooms, and virtual plans that offer a selection of services including highspeed internet, Wi-Fi, phone answering services, mail collection and more. In addition to in-suite amenities, 301 North Lake is immediately adjacent to METROs L (Gold) Line Lake Station. The property also offers: 24 Hour Full-time Office Space Access Banking Courtyard Energy Star Labeled On-site EV Car Charging Stations Pasadena Transit 20/Blue Line We are excited to add another Pasadena location to our portfolio of centers throughout Greater Los Angeles. 301 North Lake will focus on premium, private offices for individuals and small teams. The layout is also designed to accommodate larger teams looking for contiguous space. All the offices will feature the same high-end furniture used in our most recent build-outs clients love the clean aesthetic. said Michael Pollack, the VP, Director of Real Estate at Premier Workspaces. Part of the appeal of our company is that we provide such flexibility, said Amy Fuller, SVP of Sales & Marketing at Premier. Traditional space requires a build-out, furniture, staffing, and a multi-year agreement. Premier offers all the benefits of traditional space without the overhead on a flexible term. Businesses can rent a small office for three months or they can stay for 5 years. 301 North Lake is scheduled to open October 3rd, 2022. Barker Pacific was represented by Scott Unger with Kidder Mathews and Premier was represented by Robert Rush of U.S. Realty Group. Rates start at: $615 a month for a private office Address: 301 N. Lake Ave., Suite 600, Pasadena, CA 91101 Pre-Leasing now at: (626) 269-8900 Website: https://www.premierworkspaces.com/california/pasadena-301-north-lake About Premier Workspaces: Premier Workspaces (http://www.premierworkspaces.com) operates one of the largest privately owned executive suite, coworking and shared workspace companies in the United States with locations in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Washington, and the District of Columbia. Since 2002, Premier Workspaces has owned or operated 134 locations comprised of 2 million square feet of commercial office space. Arc 3 Communications, a public affairs agency that specializes in content, digital and advocacy, announced that they have hired new account executive, Gabrielle Deliz. With extensive government affairs experience in the private and public sectors, Deliz most recently served as a government consultant for the Thomas Howell Ferguson, P.A. CPAs firm in Tallahassee, where she consulted for the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM). With strong legislative and regulatory knowledge at the state and local government levels, Deliz will provide top-notch advocacy for clients to meet their public affairs needs. Prior to consulting on behalf of the FDEM, Deliz served in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. She also previously worked for the Republican Party of Florida as a part of the 2018 campaign team behind the election of Governor DeSantis and other officials. Deliz has also served in the legislative office of the former Florida Speaker of the House of Representatives, Jose R. Oliva. Deliz is a cum laude graduate of the Florida State University where she received a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and a Minor in Communications. During her undergraduate tenure, Deliz was deeply involved in the FSU Foundation, where she developed a passion for philanthropy and higher education. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration at FSU. Arc 3 Communications has achieved impactful results for clients in the area of local and state advocacy across the country, Deliz said. I am excited to join the agency and look forward to providing additional value for our clients in these areas. Gabrielle is a rising star in public affairs and will be a tremendous asset to our clients in the area of multi-state advocacy at the local and state levels, said Founder and President, Patrick Burns. PPE Supply Canada has donated 100,000 NIOSH-approved respirators since the spring of 2022. After working with non-profit clients throughout the pandemic, the company gained an understanding of how much demand there is for personal protective equipment among the vulnerable. They soon developed a monthly donation program, where they donate a range between 10,000 and 25,000 NIOSH-certified respirators, depending on how many the client is able to receive. Its been a tumultuous few years and weve seen how hard the pandemic has hit our vulnerable and compromised communities. Even though were stepping out of it now, there are many that are still recovering from the harsh effects, says Hussein Dhalla, founder and owner of PPE Supply Canada. Our mission has always been to help others and keep our country well protected. Everyone has the right to feel safe and we want to do our part in contributing to the stability of our communities. Our sincerest thanks go to frontline workers and those who represent these non-profit organizations, as theyre the ones making the most impact. We just want to provide them with even more flexibility to be there for those in need, he adds. PPE Supply Canada has aligned with a diverse range of organizations over the past few months, ranging from charities that assist those with immunodeficiencies to others that aid in global disaster relief, such as the crisis in Ukraine, and more. These include Canadian Immunodeficiencies Patient Organization, Sherbourne Health, Global Medic and LOFT Community Services. They will continue to partner with inspirational organizations that share the same values and will get their masks into the right hands, at the right time. If youre a charitable organization in need of N95 respirators, please connect with PPE Supply Canada at 647-577-2624 or contact@ppe-supply.com About PPE Supply Canada: PPE Supply Canada is a Toronto-based personal protective equipment retailer. Focusing on the needs of its communities, the company strives to provide exceptional experiences alongside high-quality personal protective equipment that has been trusted by its diverse customer base throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. All of their orders are shipped out the same business day they are placed and they provide priority shipping from coast to coast. Same-day delivery within the Greater Toronto Area is available if the order is submitted before 11:00 AM EST. The company has also partnered with Uber Eats Canada, making its items readily available to local consumers. PPE Supply Canada is equipped with a team that handles the needs and requests of all B2B clients, ensuring extraordinary customer service, fast shipping times and happy customers. PPE Supply Canada is Registered with Health Canada and holds its Health Canada Medical Device Establishment License (MDEL) which permits the company to manufacture, distribute and import medical devices in Canada. Visit their store at http://www.ppe-supply.com. Media Contact Company Name: PPE Supply Canada Contact Person: Mackenzie Smith Phone: 647-577-2624 Website: http://www.ppe-supply.com Great Place to Work Certification isnt something that comes easily it takes ongoing dedication to the employee experience. "We owe our continued success to our team of dedicated employees. We celebrate and thank them all for earning this incredible recognition through their daily dedication," said CEO Francisco Ramirez The ACE Group(TAG) is pleased to announce it has been certified as a 2022 Great Place to Work. The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at TAG in a global employee engagement study by the Great Places to Work Institute. The study reported that 100% of TAG employees say it is a great place to work compared to 57% of employees at a typical U.S.-based company. Great Place to Work is a global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention, and increased innovation. Great Place to Work Certification isnt something that comes easily it takes ongoing dedication to the employee experience, said Sarah Lewis-Kulin, vice president of global recognition at Great Place to Work. Its the only official recognition determined by employees real-time reports of their company culture. Earning this designation means that TAG is one of the countrys best companies to work for. Since we consider employee experience a top priority every day, we are thrilled and honored to be a Great Place to Work-Certified company, said Francisco Ramirez, CEO of TAG. We owe our continued success to our team of dedicated employees. We celebrate and thank them all for earning this incredible recognition through their daily dedication. This honor helps us stay true to our purpose to inspire the self-discovery of our potential daily. TAG considers its employees the core of the companys strength and prioritizes employee well-being. Benefits include: Free health insurance and pet insurance. Continuous training in outstanding customer service and emotional intelligence. Matching 401(k) contributions up to 3% of salary. Paying for Six Sigma training courses and certification. In addition, TAG celebrates birthdays with ice cream, cake, and a company group chorus of Happy Birthday. TAG addresses ergonomics with employees with stand-up desk workstations and warehouse operations safety training. It pays employees for two days of community service and a monetary contribution to the charity of their choice. When we hire a new team member, our goal is to break the ice by celebrating them from their first day, said Ramirez. We sponsor a lunch to celebrate our new team member. This fellowship allows them to be more at ease while at the same time creating a magical memory. According to Great Place to Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified great workplace. Additionally, employees at Certified workplaces are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work, and are twice as likely to be paid fairly, earn a fair share of the companys profits, and have a fair chance at promotion. Visit The ACE Group (TAG) Great Places to Work Certification information. For more information on the TAG global logistics company and its career opportunities, go to https://www.theacegroupinc.com About The ACE Group (TAG) The ACE Group (TAG) is a licensed customs broker and bonded warehouse operator with more than 50 years of combined industry experience as a U.S. Customs broker. It offers warehousing, freight-forwarding, and e-commerce fulfillment. The automated customs experts companys Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system increases its efficiency and that of its customers processes -- 365/24/7. TAG is a one-stop shop for its customers, consolidating accounting, operations, and brokerage data. Culture and environment are essential, and TAG works with employees to help them grow as people and employees. The ACE Group (TAG) is an Inc. Verified company, and its headquarters are in San Diego, just miles from the Mexican border. For more information, go to https://www.theacegroupinc.com About Great Place to Work Certification Great Place to Work Certification is the most definitive employer-of-choice recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. More than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply every year to get Great Place to Work-Certified. About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Their employee survey platform empowers leaders with the feedback, real-time reporting, and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All. ZenithJet, a leading aviation consulting firm, today announced its first sustainability clients. These companies represent a comprehensive cross-section of the business aviation industry, spanning brokerage, manufacturing and aircraft management/charter operations. New clients include: Jetcraft, a network of global aircraft brokers and advisors, offering unmatched international reach and unrivalled local knowledge. Axis Flight Training Systems, manufacturers of the most advanced flight simulators on the market today. ElitAvia, ZenithJets sister company, an integrated provider of business aircraft sales, leasing, charter, aircraft management and related services. These three companies contracted ZenithJet for greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement services, which enable organizations to understand their climate impact by measuring GHG emissions according to international standards the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064. GHG accounting precisely quantifies direct and indirect emissions across the entire supply chain and all corporate departments. We are analyzing ways to reduce our GHG emissions, says Peter Antonenko, President, Jetcraft. We operate a global network of more than 70 aviation professionals across 20 offices worldwide. In addition to our operations, our team travels extensively to meet the needs of our clients. Working with ZenithJet has allowed us to examine the totality of our operations and activities, providing us with a data-based understanding of our impact on the planet and a baseline for change. Thats good for the environment and its good for our business. As manufacturers of sophisticated flight simulators, we manage a complex global supply chain of components and materials, adds Niall Olver, CEO, Axis Flight Training Systems. Advancing sustainability is consistent with our role as a disruptor within the industry. We are designing and constructing innovative flight simulators and we wish to reduce our carbon footprint as we do it. For us, ZenithJet GHG accounting was an important first step in this direction. The shared ownership our companies made ElitAvia an obvious choice to roll-out ZenithJets sustainability services, continues Nick Houseman, President, ZenithJet and Co-Owner, ElitAvia. We found that 69% of our emissions came directly from operating our fleet and the remaining 31% came from related areas, including aircraft maintenance, electrical power and employee business travel. With these numbers as a baseline, it is possible to brake-down operations and seek reductions on a line-by-line basis. Since launching ZenithJets sustainability services, we have achieved significant traction and, as exemplified here, our services help companies in many areas of the industry. We are encouraged by this rapid adoption and look forward to working with business aviation companies representing all dimensions of the industry, concludes Nick Houseman. About ZenithJet Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Montreal, Canada with offices in Atlanta, Georgia, ZenithJet is a leading aviation consulting firm. Since foundation, the ZenithJet team has supported hundreds of clients operating Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault Falcon, Embraer, Textron Aviation, Boeing Business Jet and Airbus Corporate Jet aircraft. The end-to-end ZenithJet offering unifies sales and acquisitions, technical expertise, post-sales support and sustainability services. For more information, please visit http://www.zenithjet.com. About Jetcraft More than brokers, Jetcraft is a network of global aircraft advisors, offering unmatched international reach and unrivalled local knowledge. The companys market leading intelligence, strategic financing solutions and extensive inventory support even the most intricate of transactions. For 60 years Jetcraft has led the way, setting standards that continue to shape the industry. Today, a team of 70+ dedicated aviation specialists across 20+ offices deliver worldwide aircraft sales, acquisitions and trading at the speed of life. http://www.jetcraft.com About Axis Flight Training Systems Founded in 2004 by pilots and engineers, Austria-based AXIS Flight Training Systems GmbH designs and manufactures the most advanced full flight simulators on the market. The companys products are at the leading edge of the technology, and meet and exceed EASA, FAA, and ICAO requirements. Offering exceptional realism, availability and efficiency, AXIS flight simulators are in use at many sites throughout the world. http://www.axis-simulation.com Media Contact: Mark Lowe, PRagmatic Communications mark(dot)lowe(at)pragcom(dot)com / (514) 576-2519 LBX Food Robotics today announced that The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) Foundation has installed custom Bake Xpress hot food vending kiosks throughout Dubai, UAE, as a part of the MBRGI program to support citizens in need. The custom Bake Xpress machines provide a selection of free local breads as well as the ability to make monetary donations. They complement other unique initiatives of MBRGI, including machines that dispense fresh drinking water, resources to provide books and education, and efforts to provide medical services and stem the spread of disease. The first ten machines launched in Dubai this month are the result of a two-year collaboration between LBX Food Robotics and the MBRGI Foundation to develop and customize the machines, with additional machines targeted for installation in the first quarter of 2023. It was a privilege to partner with MBRGI to support their goals of providing a source of food to people who might otherwise go hungry, and we are delighted to see our technology leveraged in this unique way. This initial endowment effort is part of a larger-scale deployment of our technology in the Middle East, in support of the deeply-held cultural traditions of philanthropy and community service, said Benoit Herve, founder and CEO of LBX Food Robotics. We can envision many uses for Bake Xpress because it provides such a unique way to deliver food. With 24/7 availability and minimal requirements for staff and space, the possibilities are virtually unlimited. Mr. Herve noted that a program similar to the one launched in Dubai is under development in the United States, with the intention of opening machines in 2023. Bake Xpress is a unique robotic vending solution that freshly bakes foods on demand in its integrated smart oven. While the Bake Xpress menu can include a full menu ranging from pastries to meals, LBX customized the machines for MBRGI to dispense a selection of pita and local breads. Additionally, the Bake Xpress payment interface was adapted to the UAE banking system and all machine graphics, touchscreen content and instructions were translated into Arabic. With the addition of custom graphics to the machines exterior and photos of the available foods on the interactive touchscreen, the machines are an easily-recognizable part of the MBRGIs overall campaign to support citizens in need. More information on the joint effort is available at http://www.lebreadxpress.com/lbx-in-dubai. About LBX Food Robotics LBX Food Robotics is revolutionizing the food service industry with Bake Xpress, a ground-breaking robotic hot food vending kiosk. Bake Xpress is a compact vending unit that combines robotic, AI, sensor, wireless, and software technologies with infrared, convection, and microwave heating to custom bake a variety of meals and pastries on demand. With a customizable menu ranging from croissants and muffins to pasta, pizza, pastries, gourmet sandwiches and refrigerated foods like salads, Bake Xpress provides 24/7 access to the convenient, healthy food consumers demand and is a significant upgrade to traditional vending options. LBX was founded in 2015 as Le Bread Xpress and has installed Bake Xpress kiosks in universities, hotels, hospitals, retail centers, factories and office parks world-wide, with machines in continuous operation for more than three years. For more information, please visit http://www.lebreadxpress.com. Streamlining the equipment rental process with click-button insurance options By embedding our proven insurance solutions and excellent claims service in their technology, we are helping to reduce the friction that the coverage requirement can cause, allowing for fast and easy equipment rentals on the Eqpme marketplace. Eqpme, the online heavy equipment rental marketplace, announced the beta launch of an equipment damage protection program in April 2022 that was offered as an option to rental customers and equipment owners using its platform. The insurance program is being underwritten by Great American Spirit Insurance Company in the U.S., and by Great American Insurance Company Canadian Branch in Canada. With beta testing now complete, Eqpme is rolling out this unique program across North America as it scales quickly into new markets including Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas. Eqpme is a rental marketplace for construction equipment, facilitating the connections between owners and renters to transact online with the click of a button. According to Eqpme CEO Alex Mascarin, one of the biggest bottlenecks in the equipment rental industry is making sure equipment is properly insured when out on rental. By collaborating with Great American Insurance Group, we have eliminated that bottleneck and our marketplace participants can have peace of mind knowing the equipment is protected by an A+ rated insurance carrier when using the Eqpme platform. Eqpme has enabled equipment owners on the marketplace to seamlessly offer a loss damage waiver at checkout to their rental customers who want an easy and affordable way to meet the insurance requirements of their rental contract. Great American Insurance Group will provide insurance that protects the owner for covered damage or loss to their equipment. Claims can be reported directly to Great American by the owner or the renter of the equipment via the Eqpme marketplace. As a company focused on finding new ways to help our clients and their customers, we are delighted to work with Eqpme, said Bryan Inman, Business Development, Great American Specialty Equipment Division. By embedding our proven insurance solutions and excellent claims service in their technology, we are helping to reduce the friction that the coverage requirement can cause, allowing for fast and easy equipment rentals on the Eqpme marketplace. Dr. Heather Brown, Orthodontist [Dr. Heather Brown's] dedication to the profession, her service to the community, and her unwavering commitment to mentoring makes her the ideal person for this award. Meharry Medical College has named Dr. Heather Brown as the Fred C. Fielder D.D.S. Distinguished Dentist Award recipient. The Fielder award will be announced during the 147th annual Fall Convocation for Meharry Medical College on October 3, 2022. The Distinguished Dentist Award honors Dr. Fred C. Fielder, former Chair of the Department of Operative Dentistry, and Dean Emeritus of the School of Dentistry. It is the highest honor awarded to an alumnus of the School of Dentistry who has demonstrated leadership, dedication to the profession, and personal commitment to Meharrys service mission through the exemplary practice of dentistry. Dr. Heather Brown exemplifies this and so much more, said Dr. Cherae Farmer-Dixon, Dean of Meharrys School of Dentistry. Her dedication to the profession, her service to the community, and her unwavering commitment to mentoring makes her the ideal person for this award. I am completely honored and grateful to be selected as the recipient of this most prestigious award, says Brown. All that I have accomplished in life and in my professional career is because of God, my family, my professors, my mentors and the core values I learned at Meharry. My goal is to continue to share the life-long learning principles of Meharry Medical College to the community and the next generation of dentists. # # # ABOUT DR. HEATHER BROWN Dr. Heather Brown is an Orthodontist and owner of Dr. Heather Brown Orthodontics, a private Orthodontic practice located in Houston, TX. Dr. Brown has been in private practice for 19 years and has made a profound impact in the community through service and philanthropy. She is the Founder of the Houston Chapter of Smile For A Lifetime, a national charitable organization that provides free orthodontic services to underserved children. Dr. Brown continues to make her imprint on the next generation as the owner of The Academy of Orthodontic Assistants, a first-of-its-kind career school in Texas to offer students an opportunity to train to become a certified orthodontic assistant. To learn more, visit http://www.DrHeatherBrown.com and follow @drheatherbrownortho on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Maud Borup has always been a company with a conscience. We believe in using business as a force for good. Maud Borup is proud to announce recognition as a Certified B Corporation (B Corp), joining an exclusive group of about 5,000 companies worldwide holding such a distinction. This notable honor is awarded to companies that complete a comprehensive assessment of their impact on all stakeholders and pass verification audits that examine how the company meets governance, environment, workers, customers, and community requirements. B Corporations are part of a global movement to initiate change in the way companies operate. Certification recognizes businesses that balance people and purpose with profits. Maud Borup has always been a company with a conscience. Being certified as a B Corp reaffirms our commitment to meeting the highest social and environmental standards with the utmost transparency and accountability, said Christine Lantinen, president of Maud Borup. Maud Borup met the rigorous standards defined by B Corp, with only 22 companies in Minnesota achieving accreditation. Lantinen adds, Our business practices are built to respect the earth and celebrate diversity as we continue to build a more inclusive environment. The company joins other certified B Corp companies like Patagonia, Toms, and Ben & Jerrys, all working toward one unifying goal make business a force for good. About Maud Borup Maud Borup is a 115-year-old sustainable, woman- and veteran-owned wholesale confections company specializing in premium chocolate and candy manufacturing, organic and gluten-free treats, and seasonal food gifts. Maud Borup designs and manufactures licensed, branded, and private label products supported by an in-house design and merchandising team with over 80 years of experience. Maud Borup supplies mass and specialty retailers as well as online, grocery, and drug stores with every day and seasonal assortments designed to meet store needs and customer preferences. maudborup.com | Instagram.com/maudborup | LinkedIn.com/company/maud-borup/ #bcorp #wethechange #bcorpuscanada About B Lab B Lab is transforming the global economy to benefit people, communities, and the planet. Our global network creates standards, policies, tools, and programs for business, and we certify companies known as B Corps who are leading the way. About B Corp B Corporations are businesses that meet high standard of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability to balance people and purpose with profit. B Corps are accelerating a global shift to redefine business success and build a more inclusive, sustainable economy. Im with an incredible group of compassionate and caring people who are all unified in the singular purpose of making sure that no one goes through a cancer journey alone.Joseph J. DePalma The cancer journey is so different for so many people. But I think it all starts from the same place. When youre first diagnosed with cancer, there is this sense of fear, uncertainty, mystery. Joseph DePalma, 2022 Spirit of Hope Honoree, Support Volunteer, Trustee, General Counsel For nearly three decades, Joseph DePalma of Lite DePalma Greenberg & Afanador has been helping people facing cancer navigate that sense of fear and mystery to find hope and healing. He will be honored as the Cancer Hope Network 2022 Spirit of Hope winner at the organizations Chrysalis Gala on October 20. Mental Building Blocks Joe was a young lawyer with three small children (his youngest had just celebrated her first birthday) when he was diagnosed. He recognized immediately that cancer would be a physical and emotional battle. He focused on keeping his physical body and mental health in their best possible shape. When treatments and side effects made physical health impossible, he focused on creating mental building blocks that would bolster his mental health. I might not be able to control the outcome of the physical nature, the chemo, the radiation, the surgery, but I could work to put my mind in a better place. And thats what I tried to do. Those mental building blocks included thoughtful compartmentalization. Whenever I let my mind wander, it took me to a negative place, to a place I didnt want to be. I learned to take my battle for the day and come equipped in that day for that battle. I did my best not to worry about what if this happens or what if this doesnt happen. Helping Others Volunteer service through the years After treatment, Joe's desire to help and support others like he had been supported brought him to a startup called CHEMOcare, CHNs original name. He completed Support Volunteer training and was soon being matched with patients nearly two dozen to date. I always look forward to those matches because I come away with a sense that I touched someones life and made their journey a little easier and a little better. As treatments changed and matches came less frequently, Joe transitioned the focus of his volunteer efforts to leadership service. He joined the Board of Trustees in 2012 and has continued his service as Support Volunteer, Trustee, and now General Counsel for thirty years. Joe has found meaning in each of those volunteer roles, As General Counsel, I very much enjoy providing legal advice to the Board so they can continue to do the amazing things that they do. Sitting on the Board is remarkable because Im with an incredible group of compassionate and caring people who are all unified in the singular purpose of making sure that no one goes through a cancer journey alone. As a volunteer, being able to speak one on one with somebody going through what I went through, I think is the most rewarding. Theyre all rewarding but being a volunteer and giving somebody this sense of feeling a little bit better at the end of the conversation than when they started, I felt was not only good for them, but it was good for me, and it made me want to do it again and again. Benefits of Service Joes years of service have been marked by a throughline his dedication to making the world a better place and to leaving his community better than he found it. I think theres this sense of the interconnectivity we all have as a society. I received so much when I was going through my journey support from family, support from friends, from the medical community. And I wanted to give when I came out of that journey. And hopefully that circle continues so that when I give to somebody whos going through their journey, at some point down the road, theyre going to want to do the same. Cancer Hope is an organization that so perfectly facilitates that circlereceiving and giving. His commitment is recognized and appreciated by his colleagues and friends. The positivity that Joe has brought to his cancer journey and CHN patients has not stopped there. He is the true optimist of the firm that we all look to in times of need. ~ Tamara Crocker, Chief Operating Officer, Lite DePalma Greenberg & Afanador, LLC Cancer Hope Network is fortunate to have hundreds of outstanding volunteers. Joseph DePalma stands out even in that talented crowd. Joe shares kindness and brilliance in equal measure, putting people at ease. His thoughtful guidance and strategic leadership have helped CHN mature into the organization we are today. We are tremendously grateful for his service. ~Cynthia Gutierrez Bernstein, Executive Director & COO, Cancer Hope Network While Ive been lucky enough to know Joe since he joined the Board of Trustees, you cant truly appreciate anyones true essence until you play music with them. And in Joes case, our jam sessions over the past year tell you everything you need to know about him. First, how modest he is about his skills and talents. Joe approached my husband, Steve, and me about a year ago wanting to get back into guitar, saying he hadnt played in ages, wasnt sure if he was ready, and just wanted to ease in. But in true Joe fashion, he showed up and blew us away, never telling us how amazingly good he is and how well he can hold his own on a six string in any scenario. Second, what a team player he is. He always says hes just happy to keep rhythm, and will always be reluctant to take the solo. Third, what a fun, kind, and thoughtful person he is, and how important his friends and family are to him. Joe will always show up to practice with an amazing bottle of wine, great stories about concerts hes seen, travel plans, curiosity about what everyone else is up to, and most importantly, updates about his family all of which involve pure joy and excitement. Steve and I are so lucky to call Joe our friend, and cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award. ~Lindsay Tasher, Vice President, Cancer Hope Network Board of Trustees Cancer Hope through the years Cancer Hope Network was the first in the nation to provide 1:1 peer support for cancer patients and caregivers. As someone whos been a part of the organization for nearly three quarters of its existence, Joe has witnessed the organizations transformation from a regional Northern New Jersey startup to an organization serving from the Atlantic Ocean to Pacific Ocean. Hes seen the organizations scope grow to include support for caregivers and other loved ones. One of the things I learned on my journey is that in addition to all the emotions that the person who has cancer is going through, is that there are other very important emotions and concerns that the persons loved ones are going through. Its important for the patient to be mindful of that. In different ways, caregivers need support just as much as the person who is going through their cancer battle. Cancer Hope has really brought that to new heights over the years. He encourages others to support Cancer Hope as volunteers and donors as an opportunity to get to the end of their own end of the tunnel and turnaround to see others that need to get through that same tunnel. Its very enriching and rewarding experience to know that youve done your best to create a better life for somebody else by giving them a sense of hope. The Chrysalis Gala Saturday, October 20 at the Hyatt Regency of Morristown. For more information or to purchase tickets visit https://cancerhopenetwork.org/gala. To schedule an interview with Joseph J. DePalma, contact Sarah Miretti Cassidy, Director of External Affairs 908.879.4039. About Cancer Hope Network Cancer Hope Network provides free and confidential 1:1 peer support for cancer patients, survivors and the people who love them. Nearly 500 survivor and caregiver volunteer mentors provide support from (pre)diagnosis, through treatment and into survivorship and beyond. All volunteer and client matches are overseen and supported from beginning to end by a team of healthcare and social work professionals. AHN Wexford Hospital "One year open is a great milestone for our organization and for this community, but we are even more excited for the many years ahead." Allegheny Health Network (AHN) this week is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the opening of AHN Wexford Hospital, a full-service, state-of-the-art facility that has become a preferred health care resource for many families throughout the northern region of Allegheny County, as well as the adjacent communities of Butler, Beaver, Lawrence and Mercer counties. Located along U.S. Route 19 in Pine Township, the 160-bed hospital includes a 24-bed emergency department with pediatric-capable rooms; state-of-the-art operating rooms with minimally invasive robotic surgery capabilities; cardiac catheterization lab and hybrid OR for advanced surgical procedures; short-stay observation unit; adult intensive care unit (ICU); labor & delivery (L&D) unit; neonatal intensive care unit (NICU); advanced diagnostic imaging; and more. From the functional design of the hospital to the full range of services and amenities it offers, every decision was made in the best interests of our patients and visitors, said Allan Klapper, MD, president of AHN Wexford. Since opening our doors, patients and their loved ones have come to know and appreciate the unique experience and high-quality care this facility and its amazing team of caregivers provide. One year open is a great milestone for our organization and for this community, but we are even more excited for the many years ahead. The large, all-private inpatient rooms at AHN Wexford have ample space for patient visitors with recumbent sleeping options and plenty of natural light. When in need of fresh air and respite, patients and visitors have access to the Mario Lemieux Foundation Healing Terrace an outdoor greenspace on located adjacent to Austins Playroom and just outside the hospitals L&D unit. Among AHN Wexfords unique and convenient health care services is its comprehensive womens and infants care program, including the only L&D unit in northern Allegheny County, as well as high-risk obstetrical services and a Level II NICU. The hospital has proudly welcomed more than 1,000 babies into the world since last September. This Friday, hospital leaders and L&D caregivers will gather with some of AHN Wexfords first-born babies and their families to celebrate their first birthday. Since opening, AHN Wexford has continually expanded its clinical offerings to ensure access to the latest, cutting-edge health care services and technologies across a range of disciplines. Some examples include the opening of a cardiac catheterization laboratory for advanced cardiac procedures; a hybrid operating room that includes advanced imaging for complex, minimally invasive procedures; additional surgery services such as bariatric surgery, spinal surgery and same-day joint replacement; advanced cancer care therapies for the treatment of inoperable tumors; comprehensive breast services; and more. AHN Wexfords emergency department boasts some of the shortest wait times nationally with most patients seen by a clinician within 14 minutes of arriving at the hospital on average. Emergency care services are also provided to children, sparing parents from having to travel into the city when their child requires emergent medical care. AHN Wexfords emergency care is not limited to the confines of the hospital. Also serving as a valuable resource for the region is its community-based paramedic response unit which is frequently called upon by local EMS agencies for emergency response assistance. In total, the hospital employs more than 700 individuals. In addition to Dr. Klapper, the hospitals executive leaders include Katie Farah, MD, FASGE, CPE, chief medical officer; Lisa Graper, MSN, RN, NE-BC, chief nursing officer; Amy Cashdollar, DBA, MSN, RN, CMPE, chief operating officer; and Tom Hipkiss, chief financial officer. It has been a privilege and an honor to work alongside our newly assembled team of world-class caregivers all of whom share a passion for excellence across the care continuum, said Dr. Farah. We thank them for their commitment to the many patients who have turned to AHN Wexford over the course of the last year for their health care needs. The hospital has received numerous awards and accolades since opening, including the 2021 Building Excellence Award from the Master Builders Association of Western Pennsylvania, Best Project in Health Care award from Engineering News-Record MidAtlantic and a 2022 Pittsburgh North Regional Chamber Award. The hospitals onsite energy plant from Peoples Natural Gas was recognized with the 2021 Commercial Award by the Engineering Society of Western Pennsylvania. AHN Wexford is connected to the AHN Wexford Health + Wellness Pavilion which offers a wide array of outpatient health services, including primary care and multiple medical and surgical specialties. The pavilion hosts comprehensive centers for cancer treatment and womens health. It also includes an ambulatory surgery center, breast center, comprehensive cardiovascular services, advanced imaging and laboratory testing, walk-in express care and an onsite pharmacy. To learn more about AHN Wexford, visit http://www.ahn.org/wexford. ### About Allegheny Health Network Allegheny Health Network (AHN.org) is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving the greater Western Pennsylvania region. The Network is composed of 14 hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, Health + Wellness Pavilions, an employed physician organization, home and community-based health services, a research institute and a group purchasing organization. The Network provides patients with access to a complete spectrum of advanced medical services, including nationally recognized programs for primary and emergency care, cardiovascular disease, cancer care, orthopedic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, womens health, diabetes and more. AHN employs approximately 21,000 people, has more than 2,600 physicians on its medical staff and serves as a clinical campus for Drexel University College of Medicine and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. Arlington Central School District Joins the Empire State Purchasing Group The Arlington Central School District invites all potential vendors to register online. Today, the Arlington Central School District announces it has joined the Empire State Purchasing Group, a regional purchasing community by Bidnet Direct. Local government agencies throughout New York State utilize the purchasing group for bid and vendor management. The Arlington Central School District invites all potential vendors to register online with the Empire State Purchasing Group to access its upcoming solicitations by visiting http://www.bidnetdirect.com/new-york/arlingtonschools. The Arlington Central School District joins the Empire State Purchasing Group and the community of over 300 participating local government agencies located throughout New York. Along with a variety of bid and vendor management solutions, Arlington Central School District gains access to a bid library to help with bid creation, a shared pool of vendors, and association with like-minded purchasing professionals in the area. Collaboration is important to us, says Peter Kalogris, Purchasing Agent for the Arlington Central School District. We look forward to being able to improve our efficiency by using the Empire State Purchasing Group. In addition to our time savings, our valued vendors can now access not only our open bids, but those from other municipalities, counties and school districts throughout the state. We invite all of our current vendors to register. Vendors interested in doing business with the Arlington Central School District and other nearby government agencies are encouraged to register at http://www.bidnetdirect.com/new-york/arlingtonschools. Benefits of joining the Empire State Purchasing Group include: Centralized location for bids from over 300 participating agencies Bid alerts customized to the vendors products or services Reliable and timely delivery of notifications, addenda and documents Advanced notice of Term Contract expiration E-Bid and E-Quote Submission The Empire State Purchasing Group is one of Bidnet Directs regional purchasing groups throughout the country. It provides the Arlington Central School District a bid and vendor management solution, document and addendum distribution, and tracking of all activity throughout the procurement process. About the Arlington Central School District: The Arlington Central School District is located 75 miles north of New York City and is comprised of eight elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. Geographically, the district covers an area of 114 square miles and is situated to the east of both the Hudson River and the City of Poughkeepsie. There are approximately 8,200 students in the Arlington Schools. Student achievement is high. Approximately ninety percent of our graduates continue their education in college while ten percent enter military service or the work force. About Bidnet Direct: Bidnet Direct, powered by mdf commerce, is a sourcing solution of regional purchasing groups available at no cost to local government agencies throughout the country. Bidnet Direct runs regional purchasing groups, including the Empire State Purchasing Group, across all 50 states that are used by over 1,600 local governments. You may obtain further information by visiting https://www.bidnetdirect.com/buyers Aryaka Networks Partners with Jenne to Deliver SD-WAN & SASE to Enterprises "Were thrilled to partner with an industry-leader like Jenne... Enterprises being served by Jennes agents receive a one-stop shop for all their cloud services needs and can take advantage of next-generation cloud solutions like Aryakas cloud-first SD-WAN and SASE services." Aryaka, the leader in fully managed SD-WAN and Unified SASE solutions, announced today the addition of Jenne Inc., one of the nations premier value-added technology solutions distributors and cloud services brokerages, to its Aryaka Accelerate Partner Program. The partnership enables Jennes sales partners to offer Aryakas all-in-one SD-WAN and SASE solutions to their enterprise business customers. "Were thrilled to partner with an industry leader like Jenne," said Matt Thompson, Vice President of Channel Sales at Aryaka. "Our new relationship taps into the extensive Jenne partner network, increasing our reach and end-customer touch-points. Enterprises being served by Jennes agents receive a one-stop shop for all their cloud services needs and can take advantage of next-generation cloud solutions like Aryakas cloud-first SD-WAN and SASE services." Jenne Cloud Services Brokerage also offers agents access to the channels leading cloud solutions, including Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS), Cybersecurity, Disaster Recovery, Network Connectivity, SIP Trunking, Storage and Disaster Recovery, Security, UCaaS, and Video Conferencing. These solutions are all supported by Jennes knowledgeable team of custom-built technology solutions experts. Jenne is excited to be engaging with Aryaka and introducing their SD-WAN and SASE solutions to our sales partners, said Sal LoSchiavo, Vice President of Sales, Jenne, Inc. Our joint business customers will benefit from Aryakas tiered support model as they transition to hybrid work environments and switch from on-premises to cloud-focused networks. Aryakas new managed SD-WAN and SASE solutions offer Jenne sales partners these advantages: Increased Total Addressable Market (TAM) - Aryakas all-in-one SD-WAN and SASE services are based on the companys, industry-leading FlexCore technology that combines Layer 2 and 3 networking, enabling partners to deliver services optimized for performance or cost. This flexibility also expands the total addressable market for Aryakas services to include businesses of all sizes from global enterprises to regional small and medium businesses (SMBs). Simplified Packaging and Pricing Aryakas SmartConnect EZ + SmartConnect Pro and Prime EZ solutions are easy to quote, sell and consume with T-shirt sized pricing and standard service tiers, speeding time to revenue for partners. Co-managed Network Option Aryakas AppAssure application enables VAR, MSP and white-label partners with the network visibility required to co-manage their clients networks, increasing their value and wallet share. The Aryaka Accelerate Partner Program introduces innovations and resources with partners in mind, including: Enhanced Sales and Marketing Alignment As a channel-led company, Aryaka works in lockstep with partners to align and supercharge sales and marketing activities, such as strategic account mapping, marketing resources, investment in co-marketing and co-selling, and all-new account-based sales and marketing programs to generate leads for qualified partners. Lucrative Incentives Aryaka offers a range of enticing sales incentives tailored to all partner types, such as commission multipliers and increased margin opportunities 3-Fold Customer Success In addition to two levels of expert support, Aryaka provides customer success managers (CSMs) devoted to retaining and growing partners accounts. Training and Certification Aryakas new Aryaka Certified Partner (ACP) training and certification program enables Aryaka Accelerate Partners to gain a comprehensive understanding of Aryakas all-in-one SD-WAN and SASE solutions through easy-to-follow, self-paced online training. Last-Mile Services Revenue Uniquely, Aryaka can offer its network-as-a-service solution with the last-mile connections included, offering partners an additional revenue opportunity. For information about becoming an Aryaka Accelerate Partner, visit https://www.aryaka.com/aryaka-accelerate-global-partner-program/, contact Aryaka at channelpartners@aryaka.com, or call 1.888.692.7925. Additional Resources: For more on Aryaka, please visit: https://www.aryaka.com/ Visit the Aryaka blog: https://www.aryaka.com/blog/ Follow Aryaka on Twitter: @AryakaNetworks Visit Aryaka on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aryaka-networks/ About Aryaka Aryaka, the Cloud-First WAN and SASE company and a Gartner "Voice of the Customer" leader, makes it easy for enterprises to consume network and network security solutions delivered as-a-service for a variety of modern deployments. Aryaka uniquely combines innovative SD-WAN and security technology with a global network and a managed service approach to offer the industry's best customer and application experience. The company's customers include hundreds of global enterprises, including several in the Fortune 100. About Jenne, Inc. Jenne, Inc. is a leading cloud service brokerage and value-added distributor of technology solutions focusing on Unified Communications and collaboration, networking and infrastructure, video conferencing, physical security, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Founded in 1986, Jenne is committed to providing agents, resellers, integrators, and service providers with a broad product and solutions selection, competitive pricing, on-time accurate delivery, outstanding technical support, and ongoing sales and technical training through Jenne University. The company is headquartered in Avon, Ohio. Murphy Crossing site rendering. Credit: Culdesac. The revitalization of Murphy Crossing has long been a part of our vision and represents many of the aspirations we have for sustainable, equitable redevelopment along our 22-mile corridor.-Clyde Higgs, president and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI) has officially selected the finalist in its Request for Proposals (RFP) process for the much-anticipated redevelopment of the 20-acre Murphy Crossing site, located at 1050 Murphy Avenue in southwest Atlanta. The finalist is real estate development company Culdesac, Inc., who will partner with Urban Oasis Development, Kronberg Urbanists + Architects, LDG Consulting and T. Dallas Smith and Co. to realize the new mixed-used development at Murphy Crossing, which sits within the Oakland City neighborhood and is bordered by the neighborhoods of Adair Park and Capitol View. The plan has prioritized high density, transit-oriented development focused on preserving land for pedestrians and bicyclists in outdoor spaces protected from cars. The open layout will also include residential and commercial affordability in a mix of new and existing buildings to create connectivity with the surrounding neighborhood. Additional components will include a grocery store, retail and dining options, co-working spaces, arts and culture programming and a farmers market in tribute to the lands historic fabric and character. The investment at Murphy Crossing is part of an estimated $800 million of private investment underway within a mile of the site, including projects newly-constructed, in progress or in the pipeline. The site sits at the heart of the existing and expanding commercial nodes of Pittsburgh Yards, the MET, Lee + White, and West End Mall. The revitalization of Murphy Crossing has long been a part of the vision of Atlanta BeltLine and represents many of the aspirations we have for sustainable, equitable redevelopment along our 22-mile corridor, said Clyde Higgs, president and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. We believe the Culdesac team, which includes members of one of the very neighborhoods this project will impact, will be great stewards of the communitys desires and great partners to our Atlanta BeltLine team. Culdesac, Inc. designs welcoming and locally connected neighborhoods that offer a walkable lifestyle. We build mixed-use developments that embrace community, open space, and mobility, and were excited to have the opportunity to bring our next neighborhood to Murphy Crossing, said Jeff Berens, Culdesac Co-Founder and COO. We look forward to working with our partners in the development of a project that reflects the BeltLines commitment to tie the people of Atlanta together and create a more livable and geographically integrated city. Accessibility, Housing Affordability Remain Priority with Murphy Crossing Redevelopment The proposed development, to be known as Murphy Crossing by Culdesac, will support the BeltLine in its efforts to further its equity, affordability and inclusion goals through intentional development, employment and housing options, and transit connectivity. The site is adjacent to the BeltLines Westside Trail and in close proximity to the Oakland City and West End MARTA stations, providing a critical conduit for connectivity and development within southwest Atlanta. One of the key components of the project is its contribution to ABIs affordable housing goal. Twenty-five percent (25%) of the residential units will be designated permanently affordable with an additional five percent (5%) deemed affordable for at least the next 30 years. The target AMI is between 60 and 80 percent. Additionally, Culdesac intends to offer 30% of all retail and light industrial spaces at an affordable rate to small businesses in the area. Rich History, Community Engagement Inform Intentional Design The site, once home to the Georgia State Farmers Market, was first included in ABIs foundational Atlanta BeltLine Redevelopment Plan in 2005 as one of its key redevelopment centers. By 2014, ABI was able to acquire its first portion of the future Murphy Crossing site - 16 acres of the 20-acre property. In 2016, ABI initiated an extensive community engagement process and commissioned a study, supported by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, to determine best uses for the site based on the areas need for economic development, transportation accessibility, affordability and historic preservation. In 2018, ABI completed its purchase of Murphy Crossing and initiated a Request for Proposal (RFP) process for its sale and redevelopment, to be guided by the extensive community input. Due to COVID, the RFP was put on hold until 2021. When it was officially re-initiated, ABI directly engaged stakeholders and the broader community to help develop the scope of the RFP. The resulting RFP sought a developer with an innovative redevelopment plan that would include the creation of sustainable living-wage jobs, affordable housing, greenspace and other program elements that would enhance the surrounding community and catalyze inclusive economic development. In particular, ABI placed strong emphasis on proposals that included support for neighborhood-based minority entrepreneurs and businesses as well as the preservation of commercial affordability for qualifying area businesses. Murphy Crossing is important to my community as a model of economic inclusion, jobs, affordable housing, commercial spaces and walkable retail that has been absent for decades, said Joel Dixon, principal, Urban Oasis Development. Furthermore, this is a watershed moment to have a current Black resident as a joint venture developer for a publicly-owned redevelopment site. The fact that Im also a legacy resident, who was raised minutes from this site, is a first in the history of a public Atlanta RFP and speaks to the sincerity of ABI to listen to the neighborhoods voice. Its a legacy our team intends to honor and hope will extend as the new normal going forward. The project, which is located in the Atlanta BeltLine Tax Allocation District (TAD), is in the early stages of design and is being refined based on input from the local community. For additional information on the project and to sign-up for future updates and public meetings, visit http://www.culdesac.com/atlanta/murphy-crossing. "In everything we do, we strive to nurture our talent and provide them with every opportunity to grow in a culture that is inclusive and respectful. - Zeo Solomon Avenue Code has been selected as a Regional Timmy Award finalist in the Best Tech Work Culture category for the 2022 Timmy Awards. The Timmys, now in its 8th edition, is an award series presented by Motion Recruitments community platform, Tech in Motion, and is designed to celebrate the very best in tech across North America. Best Tech Work Culture finalists like Avenue Code offer employees more than great "perks"; they successfully unlock employee potential through a shared mission and sense of community, inspire performance, and reward contributions at every level of the tech team. In a time where fostering an environment of innovation and growth for a tech team is becoming more challenging than ever, finalists for Best Tech Work Culture have been proven to go above and beyond for their employees to create a place for workers to be their very best selves, said Lindsay Lewis, Director of Marketing at Tech in Motions founder Motion Recruitment. We are thrilled to be honoring these companies that strive for a work culture promoting technical creativity, inclusivity, learning and meaningful recognition. Since opening its doors to serve Fortune 100 companies and enterprise organizations in 2008, Avenue Code has earned a name for itself as a leading technology consultancy, and the same care and attention that is given to the consultancys clients is also applied internally to nurture talent at every level of the organization. Avenue Code has multiple initiatives to promote technical creativity and innovation, some of which have resulted in the launches of award-winning employee-built products. The consultancy also sponsors multiple programs for ongoing professional development, awards programs that recognize key talent, and several internal and external initiatives that support diversity and inclusion, including an upcoming global conference for Extraordinary Women in Tech. Zeo Solomon, Avenue Code Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, reflected, With operations in more than 20 countries and 200 cities across the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, Europe, and Asia, Avenue Code represents a large and diverse spectrum of backgrounds, all under the banner of one Avenue Code. In everything we do, we strive to nurture our talent and provide them with every opportunity to grow in a culture that is inclusive and respectful. With regional winners decided by popular vote here, San Franciscos tech community can decide if Avenue Code will represent them in the national round, where industry leaders from companies like Netflix and Oracle will select national winners. Regional voting closes on October 5th, with winners announced in early October. In addition to Best Tech Work Culture, the 2022 Timmys will also be handing out awards in: Best Tech for Good, Best Tech Enterprise Employer, Best Tech Startup, Best Tech Workplace for Diversity and Best Tech Manager. The 2022 Timmy Awards Ceremony on Thursday, November 10th will again be a digital experience, this time streaming on BrandLive, with words from this years host and expert judges, live announcement of the 2022 North American Timmy Award Winners, breakout rooms and so much more. RSVP at the Timmy Awards page. About Tech in Motion Events Tech in Motion is a North American events series and community platform that brings local tech professionals together to connect, learn and innovate. What started as a passion project in 2011, by IT staffing and recruiting firm Motion Recruitment, grew into an organization of over 300,000 members across 14 chapters throughout North America. Please visit http://www.techinmotion.com for more information about our notable speakers, sponsors and events. ABOUT AVENUE CODE Avenue Code is the leading software consultancy for full-service digital evolution solutions (http://www.avenuecode.com). Since 2008, the firm has partnered with Fortune 100 companies and enterprise organizations in every vertical to accelerate innovation. Headquartered in San Francisco, Avenue Code has offices in Brazil, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and Portugal. Because we sit at the intersection of digital banks, remittances and global P2P, Brightwell is uniquely positioned to support the global market via remittance, online payment fraud protection and cross-border payroll. Brightwell, a payments technology company that builds financial products to send money securely anywhere in the world, announced today that the company has achieved significant milestones in the first half of 2022 to accelerate growth for its customers. Specifically, in the last six months, Brightwell has made strides in eliminating payments fraud and handling a record volume of remittance transactions. From our inception, Brightwells goal was to deliver choice and control over how people send and spend their money, delivered in one unified platform, said Larry Hipp, CEO of Brightwell. Because we sit at the intersection of digital banks, remittances and global P2P, Brightwell is uniquely positioned to support the global market via remittance, online payment fraud protection and cross-border payroll. Securing The Payments Industry In 2021, the rate of payment fraud attacks across FinTech increased by 70%. To help payments platforms protect their bottom line, Brightwell launched Arden, an AI-powered risk-detection engine, helping FinTechs protect their cardholders from security fraud. Since its launch, Brightwell has successfully reduced fraudulent attacks down to near zero, saving nearly 2% of revenue year-over-year. Since Brightwell experienced a Bank Identity Number (BIN) attack firsthand, we immediately uncovered a need in the financial industry for a solution to prevent enumeration attempts, said Ernie Moran, general manager of Arden, Brightwell. Because fraud attacks are an increasing threat in the online payments industry, Arden is critical to protecting our customers, enabling workflow automation for our risk team and understanding the cards and balance at risk. Powering Payments around the Globe Along with Brightwell's momentum with Arden, its flagship product Navigator remains a vital source for businesses to pay their global workers. In fact, Brightwell managed a record number of remittances in June 2022, a 360% increase from the same period last year. In addition to its increased remittance volume, Brightwell renewed its partnership with one of the worlds largest cruise lines, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, and entered partnerships with notable cruise industry players, including The World and Selectum Blu. Empowering FinTech and sponsor banks to increase revenue With the revenue from international money transfers projected to reach $261 billion by 2025, Brightwell launched ReadyRemit, a comprehensive low to no code solution for FinTechs and sponsor banks that eliminates the complexity of cross-border remittance integration. By implementing Brightwells full service and fully compliance remittance platform, Fintechs and sponsor banks are able to expand their capabilities to meet the demands of their global user base while establishing a new stream of revenue. Accolades to Recognize Brightwells Innovation Over the years, Brightwell has been recognized for its thoughtful innovation to meet the needs of a quickly evolving payments industry. Most recently, Audrey Hall, chief product officer at Brightwell, was named one of the top 25 software product executives of 2022 because she has served, developed, and executed strategies to support business growth and brand awareness. Brightwell was awarded a 2022 Top Workplace by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution based on its employee feedback across 15 culture drivers, including alignment, execution and connection. To learn more about Brightwell, visit http://www.Brightwell.com. CIENCE is a data company that offers a unique blend of managed services and software to scale fast-growth sales organizations. We are dedicated to being a workplace where all of our employeesincluding our future women leaderscan reach their full potential. All team members are empowered to continuously improve their personal and professional growth, which is one of our core values at CIENCE. Great Place to Work and Fortune magazine have honored CIENCE as one of the 2022 Best Workplaces for Women. Making its debut on the list this year, CIENCE achieved a top ranking at #6 among one hundred other distinguished award recipients. We are dedicated to being a workplace where all of our employeesincluding our future women leaderscan reach their full potential. Our meritocratic work environment rewards those who drive outcomes for our customers and our employees; all team members are empowered to continuously improve their personal and professional growth, which is one of our core values at CIENCE, said August Keating, Interim CEO at CIENCE. To determine the Best Workplaces for Women, Great Place to Work analyzed the survey responses of over 640,000 women who work for Great Place to Work-Certified companies that employ at least fifty women. To qualify, companies must also have at least twenty percent of non-executive managers who are women and at least one female executive. Congratulations to the Best Workplaces for Women and their commitment to ensuring equity for women at every level of the organization, said Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. These companies showed up for women in new ways to help them cope with challenges they face wherever they areboth inside and outside of work. Women in these companies are seen, heard, and valued. Ive seen a commitment to the core value of respect in the CIENCE culture, said Keating. The bias-free care with which people are treated, the fairness of workplace decisions, and team camaraderie are all hallmarks of why its great to be a CIENtist. CIENCEs achievement on the Best Workplaces for Women list is the latest industry recognition for its exceptional workplace culture. CIENCE recently received Fortunes Great Workplaces in Technology and Great Workplaces for Millennials awards in 2022. Comparably, a leading culture and compensation monitoring website, also named CIENCE one of the Best Companies for Women and Best CEOs for Women in 2021. Recognizing these achievements for women in the workplace helps us continue to attract and retain the extraordinary people who make CIENCE a great place to work, said Cindy Sanborn, U.S. Human Resources Director. About Fortune Best Workplaces for Women The Fortune Best Workplaces for Women is the only company culture award in America that selects winners based on how fairly women say they are treated at the workplace. Great Place to Work measures the differences in womens survey responses with those of their peers and evaluates the impact of demographics and roles on the quality and consistency of womens experiences. Using rigorous analytics and confidential employee feedback, statements are weighted according to their relevance in describing the most important aspects of an equitable workplace for women. Methodology The rankings for this award are derived from sixty employee experience questions within the Great Place to Work Trust Index survey. Great Place to Work determines its lists using its proprietary For All methodology to evaluate and certify thousands of organizations in Americas largest ongoing annual workforce study, based on over 1.1 million survey responses and data from companies representing more than seven million employees. To qualify for the list, companies must be a Great Place Work-Certified organization. Companies with ten to 999 people are considered for the small and medium category while companies with 1,000 employees or more are considered for the large category. About Great Places to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, it has surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Its employee survey platform empowers leaders with the feedback, real-time reporting, and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All. About CIENCE CIENCE is a data company that offers a unique blend of managed services and software to scale fast-growth sales organizations. Through highly targeted sales research and multichannel orchestrated outbound campaigns, CIENCE delivers consistent results for over 2,000 companies across more than 200 B2B industries. CIENCE is a global organization with headquarters in Denver, CO (USA), and offices in San Diego, CA (USA), San Francisco, CA (USA), Lexington, KY (USA), Kyiv, Ukraine (Europe), Manila, Philippines (Asia), and Guadalajara, Mexico (Americas). Connect with us online at cience.com or LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) Partners with Digital Silk to Launch a New Digital Experience As weve seen from the research, one of the biggest bottlenecks prospective students face when researching universities is finding relevant information. To increase online applications, we focused on designing an intuitive user journey." - Digital Silk VP Keith Solomon According to a Nielsen study, 48% of prospective students cannot locate their preferred program on university websites, potentially lowering the universities application rates. American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) partnered with creative digital agency Digital Silk to create an immersive website experience that would grow the universitys visibility, brand recognition, and online applications. Guided by extensive industry research and best practices, the agency developed a strategic website plan to capitalize on SEO opportunities, as well as provide a streamlined user experience. According to Digital Silks Vice President Keith Solomon, creating an intuitive user experience for prospective students was one of the agencys top priorities. As weve seen from the research, one of the biggest bottlenecks prospective students face when researching universities is finding relevant information, said Solomon. To optimize conversion, i.e. application rates, we focused on designing an easy-to-use navigation, adding a search bar to the sticky menu, and optimizing landing pages for target keywords to facilitate both on-site searches and SEO. Sticky navigation with a search bar is a simple, yet highly effective design choice for universities, Solomon highlighted, as it allows prospective students to find and access relevant information at any point in their user journey. From UX to UI, the agency focused on crafting an immersive user experience that is reflective of the universitys distinctive brand identity. The website features rich media and strategically planned content to give prospective students a glimpse of the AUBG student life. According to AUBG President David Evans, the website has been well received among the universitys existing and prospective students alike. In the first week of launching our website, we have seen a sharp increase in organic website traffic that has surpassed our expectations, said David Evans, the President of AUBG. We look forward to our long-term collaboration with Digital Silk." About Digital Silk: Digital Silk is a creative digital agency focused on growing brands online. From custom websites to digital marketing, Digital Silk creates SUPERIOR digital experiences to drive higher conversions, greater brand engagement, and measurable results. About The American University in Bulgaria: The American University in Bulgaria is a premier university in Central and Eastern Europe offering outstanding American-style education recognized in both the U.S. and the EU. With its hands-on programs, students and faculty from 50+ countries, world-class campus, and 30 student clubs, AUBG empowers young people to become the leaders of tomorrow. The dual diploma guarantees great employment prospects proven by the #1 spot in career success according to the National Ranking System. "would expose their group even if she had to do so from beyond the grave" Cynthia Farahat is an Egyptian-American scholar and dissident who has dedicated her life to learning about Islamism and exposing the Muslim Brotherhood and the worlds jihadist incubator; her book The Secret Apparatus: The Muslim Brotherhoods Industry of Death is out today. This book fulfills two promises that Farahat made: the first, to her friend who was murdered during her own failed assassination attempt; and the second, to a Muslim Brotherhood military officer who threatened her life -- that she would expose their group even if she had to do so from beyond the grave. Writing the book almost did kill her. During this journey Farahat lost the ability to speak, walk, swallow, and at times breathe on her own during numerous hospitalizations while battling Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Her MS was violently aggressive while undergoing invasive treatment for stage three Inflammatory Breast Cancer during the four years it took to write the book, but she would not give up her fight to bring down the worlds most intricate jihadist enterprise. Farahat also suffers from transposition dyslexia. Farahat grew up in Egypt where she earned the ire of the Muslim Brotherhood by refusing to follow the status quo. Rather than fulfill the expectations of a young woman in a Muslim country, Farahat took to studying Islamic jurisprudence and history to better understand why there were limitations placed on her. She became politically active and co-founded the Liberal Egyptian Party which advocated for peace with Israel, capitalism, and secularism. She also co-authored the Arabic-language book Desecration of a Heavenly Religion which was banned by Egypts largest university for its criticism of Egypts blasphemy law. Farahat was then banned from Lebanon and landed on the hit list of an al-Qaeda-affiliated group in Egypt. After her brother was tortured and her friend, the late classic liberal human rights dissident Michael Mosaad, was murdered by Islamists in President Hosni Mubaraks regime, Farahat received a call from Muslim Brotherhood leader and former Member of Parliament, Subhy Saleh, threatening her life. Farahat fled Egypt and was granted political asylum and immigrated to the United States in 2011. She has since testified before the U.S. House of Representatives, briefed more than two hundred congressional offices, and advised several intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Her work has been published in numerous national and international publications and has been translated into more than fifteen languages. Farahat accessed thousands of Islamist texts to cull the relevant information needed to expose the Muslim Brotherhoods campaign of terror. She quotes Brotherhood leaders and relies on their own documents and memorandums to prove her case with the hope that the U.S. Congress will pass legislation to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. The Secret Apparatus: The Muslim Brotherhoods Industry of Death by Cynthia Farahat is published by Bombardier Books, an imprint of Post Hill Press, and available now online and in bookstores. To the Moon and back: a sweet tale for parents and young children to share together. To the Moon and back is the creation of published author Elizabeth Abshire, a loving wife, mother, and grandmother who lives in the redwoods of Northern California with her husband, Martin. Abshire shares, How do you tell your children that you love them? To the moon and back is a phrase that we have used since they were small and that you may have used yourself to tell your children how much you love them. It is my sincere hope that this book will help them understand just how amazingly infinite and eternal your love is for them. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Elizabeth Abshires new book is a vibrant and warmhearted work for young children. Abshire shares in hopes of bringing joy to young imaginations and to help parents express their unending love for their children. Consumers can purchase To the Moon and back at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about To the Moon and back, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. One of the interesting findings from third-party researchers as well as in our own studies with NWEA Math data is that fitting tutoring into the instructional day has much more impact on student learning than after-school or home tutoring does." At the end of the 2021-22 school year, K-12 students were at least seven to 10 weeks behind in their math learning. Institutions such as the Education Trust have found that tutoring programs produce positive and significant learning gains, particularly for students in need of the most academic supports. FEV Tutors new white paper, High Impact Math Tutoring as Intervention for Tier 2 and Tier 3 Students discusses the value of schools supplementing their core math curriculum with a rigorous tutoring program. The new white paper provides best practice recommendations for districts launching Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions. It also shares research that indicates the efficacy of conducting tutoring during school hours. For example, the white paper cites an Old Dominion University (ODU) study centered on a math intervention for 120 middle school math students who received below passing scores in pretests. The students were in two different schools. After the tutoring intervention, students in one school showed significant improvement in scores for the group of students with a mean improvement of 22.88 points while students in the second school showed significant improvement in achievement and gained 26.26 points. Those study findings exemplify how online math tutoring can effectively improve math achievement for underperforming middle school students, compared to their non-tutored peers, said Ryan Patenaude, Executive Vice President and Co-Founder of FEV Tutor. The tutors allowed the data to guide their instruction, and they provided multiple scaffolded opportunities so each student could engage with math at their particular ability level. The white paper also shares examples of academic gains for Ector County Independent School District and Tulsa Public Schools. NWEA MAP Growth data showed that students in both districts demonstrated accelerated growth in math after receiving high-dosage, personalized tutoring support aligned with each districts academic initiatives and curriculum. One of the interesting findings from third-party researchers as well as in our own studies with NWEA Math data is that fitting tutoring into the instructional day has much more impact on student learning than after-school or home tutoring does, said Patenaude. Schools are doing their best to accelerate learning and make up for lost instructional time during the global pandemic, so knowing that the timing around tutoring sessions matters will make a huge difference. Patenaude continued, FEV Tutor has significant experience helping educators with Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention. We have a proven record of helping those students achieve higher scores on national math assessments, so we have solid evidence that our tutoring works as part of Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention. FEV Tutor is a federal Department of Education Level Two Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) research- and evidence-based intervention. The white paper High Impact Math Tutoring as Intervention for Tier 2 and Tier 3 Students can be downloaded at: https://www.fevtutor.com/resources/intervention-white-paper/. About FEV Tutor Based in Boston, FEV Tutor is the leading Level 2 ESSA research and evidence-based online tutoring platform working nationally to effect change in K-12 education. Its intervention programs are strategically designed in close collaboration with each partner school, district, charter school, and other organizations to accelerate learning for every student. FEV Tutor leverages technology to deliver 1:1 high-impact and transformative personalized learning pathways through live, virtual tutoring sessions. For more information on FEV Tutor, visit fevtutor.com or follow on Twitter # # # COURAGE UNDER FIRE: UNDER SIEGE AND OUTNUMBERED 58 TO 1 ON JANUARY 6 By Former Capitol Police Chief Steven A. Sund "It's almost two years after January 6 and the American people still dont know the truth. It's time to break my silence and reveal everything that I know happened," said Former Capitol Police Chief Steven A. Sund. COURAGE UNDER FIRE: UNDER SIEGE AND OUTNUMBERED 58 TO 1 ON JANUARY 6 By Former Capitol Police Chief Steven A. Sund ON SALE: JANUARY 3, 2023 HES PROTECTED EVERY LIVING PRESIDENT BUT NOTHING COULD HAVE PREPARED HIM FOR JANUARY 6 An explosive new book by Steven A. Sund, Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police during the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, will be published by Blackstone Publishing on January 3, 2023: COURAGE UNDER FIRE: UNDER SIEGE AND OUTNUMBERED 58 TO 1 ON JANUARY 6. Courage Under Fire is former United States Capitol Police Chief Steven A. Sunds gripping personal account that takes readers inside the events leading up to January 6, and provides a detailed and harrowing minute-by-minute account of the attack on the US Capitol, which was valiantly defended in hand-to-hand combat by the US Capitol Police officers who found themselves outnumbered 58 to 1. Courage Under Fire contains never-before-seen photographs and draws upon audio recordings, key documents, and government records as it traces Sunds extraordinary journey from his command post on January 6 to his explosive behind-closed-doors testimony before the January 6 committee. "It's almost two years after January 6 and the American people still dont know the truth. It's time to break my silence and reveal everything that I know happened," said Sund. Courage Under Fire will be released in print and digital formats by Blackstone Publishing. An unabridged audio edition of the book, read by Chief Sund, will be simultaneously released in digital and physical formats. The book was acquired by Josh Stanton, CEO of Blackstone Publishing from Shane Salerno at The Story Factory representing Steven A. Sund. "Chief Sund has written a book that details the road to January 6, including never before revealed information, a harrowing account of the attack itself which reads like Black Hawk Down at the U.S. Capitol, and the cover-up that followed. The book contains shocking new information that the American public needs to know," said Josh Stanton, CEO of Blackstone Publishing. Steven A. Sund, one of only ten men in history to hold the title of Chief of the US Capitol Police, has coordinated dozens of National Special Security Events, responded to numerous critical incidents and active shooter events, and has protected every living US president. But nothing could have prepared him for the violent attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Three days before the attack, Chief Sund requested the assistance of the National Guard. This request was denied. In preparation for the Joint Session of Congress, Chief Sund directed every available sworn officer to be on duty to protect the Capitol and all of its members and staff. But it wasnt enough. The savage attack that followed was a well-planned and carefully coordinated armed assault on the United States Capitol, involving thousands. The shock and horror of this attack exploded on TV screens worldwide as US Capitol Police officers under Chief Sunds command found themselves facing a violent siege, hit with pipes, fire extinguishers, boards, and flag poles. Dedicated men and women were knocked unconscious and sprayed with mace and bear spray as live pipe bombs were discovered at the national headquarters of both major political parties. Finally, multiple police lines were breached. Then the building was breached. The National Guard didnt arrive until it was much too late. In the end, 150 officers were seriously injured, and nine Americans were dead. Now, for the first time, Chief Steven Sund has written the definitive inside story of the perfect storm of events that led up to the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, a day that rocked the nation and threatened our democracy. As the Capitol descended into chaos, insurrectionists infiltrated and stormed its hallowed halls and democracy was pushed to the brink. Few people realize just how close we came to seeing the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, and countless members of Congress beaten, maimed, or killed. Other explosive revelations in Courage Under Fire include: Never-before-detailed conversations between Chief Sund and Congressional leadership during the attack. Never-before-heard accounting of a call from the White House to Chief Sund during the attack. An expose of critical intelligence and military failures surrounding January 6 and the subsequent attempts to cover them up. Deeply personal conversations between the chief and officers who had just been through the attack. There have been many false reports and outright lies concerning the conduct of the US Capitol Police on January 6, and there has been no accountability for the individuals who bear most of the responsibility for the failures that left the USCP unprepared that dayfrom the shocking failures in intelligence to the outright stonewalling Chief Sund received from the Pentagon when he repeatedly called for the National Guards help, even as the attack on the Capitol was raging. Two years later, so many questions still remain unanswered: What did the intelligence community know about the plans of the insurrectionists before the attack? Why was the request for the National Guard continually denied and delayed? Why was the U.S. Capitol so vulnerable on January 6? And why does the U.S. Capitol remain vulnerable to future attacks? Forced to take the fall and resign, this is Chief Sunds chance to answer those questions and to tell the full truth about what really happened on January 6. ### ABOUT STEVEN A. SUND STEVEN A. SUND was the tenth Chief of Police for the United States Capitol Police from June 13, 2019, until January 8, 2021. Before joining the United States Capitol Police in 2017, Sund had a 25-year law enforcement career working for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington D.C., where he rose in the ranks from patrol officer to Commander of the elite Special Operations Division (SOD). As Commander, he led planning for numerous high-level security events including four Presidential Inaugurations, and oversaw a number of specialized units, including the Emergency Response Team (SWAT), Special Events/Dignitary Protection Branch, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit (Bomb Squad), and many others. Chief Sund is a recognized expert in critical incident management and active shooter preparedness and response. His experience includes being the on-scene incident commander on the 2009 shooting at the National Holocaust Museum, the 2012 shooting at the Family Research Council, and the 2013 active shooter incident at the Washington Navy Yard. In addition, he has handled dozens of criminal barricade and hostage situations. Due to his knowledge and experience, Sund served as an instructor with the United States Secret Service in the area of major events planning and has taught the Incident Command System (ICS) at the George Washington University. He received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Johns Hopkins University, and a Master of Arts in Homeland Security from the Naval Postgraduate School. He also completed the Police Executive Research Forums Senior Management Institute for Police and the FBIs National Executive Institute. Courage Under Fire is his first book. COURAGE UNDER FIRE: UNDER SIEGE AND OUTNUMBERED 58 TO 1 ON JANUARY 6 by Steven A. Sund Publisher: Blackstone Publishing On sale date: January 3, 2023 Hardcover U.S. Price: $27.99 E-Book U.S. Price: $9.99 #CourageUnderFire Book jacket design: Stephanie Stanton About Blackstone Publishing: Founded in 1987, Blackstone continues to pioneer new and creative ways to bring stories to life. With multiple New York Times Best Sellers, Grammy award-winning audio productions, and three books placed on the New York Times Best Books of the Year list, Blackstone has firmly positioned itself as one of America's fastest growing and respected publishing houses. A true independent, privately owned publisher, with offices on both coasts, Blackstone is home to a vibrant and eclectic community of storytellers and story lovers, offering hundreds of new titles each month to its catalog of 17,000+ books. The authors published are as varied as the books themselves, with works by some of the biggest names in literature including Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ayn Rand, Ian Fleming, George Orwell, Robert Heinlein, James Clavell, as well as more contemporary authors like Neil deGrasse Tyson, Karen Slaughter, Don Winslow, Robert Downey Jr., Jeneva Rose, Norman Reedus, and many more. For press inquiries contact: Lauren Maturo Blackstone Publishing lauren.maturo@blackstoneaudio.com Leading national car wash brand, GO Car Wash, announced today they will donate more than 63,000 trees to Whitewater Ranch in Leaburg, Oregon, in partnership with One Tree Planted. GO Car Wash and One Tree Planted have an ongoing partnership, with GO Car Wash pledging to plant one tree for every Unlimited Membership sold. GO Car Wash also recently acquired three locations in southern Oregon and have plans to build more. Were thrilled to continue working with One Tree Planted to help restore precious natural resources, said Brett Meinberg, GO Car Wash COO. We are grateful to our GO Members whose contributions make it possible for us to continue to give back to communities across the nation. The Whitewater Ranch was affected by a fire in 2020 that burned more than 1,500 acres of forest, and is now experiencing nearly total tree mortality. Reforestation is the most important aspect of recovery for this area, helping to restore its vibrant ecosystems including habitats for deer, elk, black bears and streams flowing into the McKenzie River and the primary water source for Eugene, Oregon, the states second largest city. Restoring the Whitewater Ranch to a forest is vital for protecting streams and promoting wildlife populations. GO Car Washs partnership with One Tree Planted is an aspect of the companys mission to not only be an eco-friendly car wash, but also give back to communities throughout the country. With each purchase of an Unlimited Membership, GO Car Wash donates one tree and allows customers to vote on the areas where theyd like to see trees planted. They work closely with One Tree Planted to identify specific sites in need. As a One Tree Planted partner, GO Car Wash has also donated more than 90,000 trees to affected areas near Susanville, California. Additionally, keeping sustainability at the forefront of their operations, GO Car Wash only uses environmentally friendly soaps and chemicals at each of their locations throughout the country. In addition to this environmental contribution, GO Car Wash acquired three locations in Central Point, Medford and White City, Oregon. They also have development plans for additional locations in Medford, Ashland, Grants Pass and Roseburg. To learn more about GO Car Wash, One Tree Planted or to find a location near you, visit gocarwash.com. About GO Car Wash: GO Car Was was founded in 2019 with the goal of building a multi-regional car wash company with clusters throughout secondary cities across North America. Headquartered in Denver, CO, GO Car Wash will focus on high-quality exterior express car washes, with a multi-pronged growth strategy of acquisitions, partnerships and new site build-outs. GridPoint, a leader in building energy management and optimization technology that decarbonizes commercial buildings and drives grid modernization, today announced a new partnership with Evergy, an electric utility serving more than 1.6 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in western Missouri and eastern Kansas, and global advisory and digital services provider ICF to launch a virtual energy management program for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The new program will provide Evergy Missouri business customers with energy advisory support and training, helping them decrease energy costs, reduce carbon emissions, and apply valuable data insights to their energy strategies all to accelerate sustainable building operations. Participants in the program can expect to reduce energy costs by 10%. The partnership program serves as a model for utilities in other U.S. regions seeking to accelerate the transition to a sustainable energy future. SMBs have great potential for contributing to sustainability goals in the energy and facility management space, which is why were thrilled to offer this program to our small business customers, said Natalie Gray, manager, energy efficiency products and services at Evergy. Our partnership with GridPoint and ICF creates a valuable opportunity for SMBs to implement energy efficiency technologies in buildings, set sustainability goals and achieve a smaller carbon footprint all while contributing to decarbonization across western Missouri. There is a clear opportunity to improve the energy efficiency and operations of commercial buildings, which have been historically under-represented in energy programming because the needs of each building site and portfolio vary widely. Buildings generate nearly 40% of global GHG emissions, and in the U.S., commercial buildings consume 35% of total electricity. This means a sustainable future is not possible without reducing energy consumption of the built environment. Participants in the program will employ the GridPoint energy management platform to automate efficiency in their building(s), using advanced controls and patented algorithms to identify savings opportunities, evaluate equipment performance and recognize the effects of building operations on energy costs. Evergy will help SMBs overcome financial barriers to enrolling in the sustainability program by covering 100% of the cost of a three-year subscription. To qualify, participants must operate within the Evergy Missouri service territory with five locations or less and attend at least one Evergy workshop focused on optimizing energy system performance for businesses. Providing support and training as the Evergy program implementer, ICF will work closely with each business to maximize benefits of the program, including gaining a deeper understanding of their buildings energy usage, utilizing GridPoints energy manager platform effectively and optimizing energy consumption based on data analysis. As we work to maximize benefits and value for Evergy customers, GridPoints technology and platform is a great fit with our efforts to help business owners identify, manage and achieve sustainable building energy practices, said Kyle Wiggins, ICF senior vice president and commercial energy lead. The Evergy program not only provides the energy efficiency technology, it also offers a deeper training component to improve customer engagement. This educational element will drive greater impact and the program has great potential to expand to include other utilities in other markets. Were constantly working toward a sustainable energy future, and were seeing an opportunity to grow an impactful network of energy-efficient buildings through utility programs, said Evan Conley, vice president of strategic partnerships at GridPoint, which participates in more than 20 utility program markets. This program will make it easier for Evergy customers to adopt sustainable building technology in a cost-effective way, accelerating the energy transition in the process. The benefits are clear and were excited to join ICF in this new partnership. To learn more about the Evergy program, click here. To read further about other utility programs led by GridPoint and ICF, click here. About GridPoint GridPoint is a leader in building energy management and optimization technology that decarbonizes commercial buildings and drives grid modernization. GridPoints data-driven platform connects energy grids with the built environment and behind-the-meter distributed energy resources, enabling the ability to optimize energy and sustainability goals for businesses and the grid at the same time. GridPoints technology platform is deployed in 16,000+ commercial buildings across multiple industries. Leveraging data analytics, intelligent automation and machine learning to deliver unprecedented visibility into complex building operations, GridPoint reduces energy costs, maximizes decarbonization, provides actionable facility insights and strengthens resiliency building by building. Networked together, buildings with GridPoint Intelligence aggregate the reliable, precise and instantaneous capacity that energy grids increasingly require. GridPoints intelligent energy network of buildings is driving grid modernization and accelerating the transition to a sustainable energy future. For more information, visit gridpoint.com. About Evergy, Inc. Evergy, Inc. (NYSE: EVRG) serves approximately 1.6 million customers in Kansas and Missouri. We were formed in 2018 when long-term local energy providers KCP&L and Westar Energy merged. We generate nearly half the power we provide to homes and businesses with emission-free sources. We support our local communities where we live and work and strive to meet the needs of customers through energy savings and innovative solutions. About ICF ICF is a global consulting services company with approximately 8,000 full- and part-time employees, but we are not your typical consultants. At ICF, business analysts and policy specialists work together with digital strategists, data scientists and creatives. We combine unmatched industry expertise with cutting-edge engagement capabilities to help organizations solve their most complex challenges. Since 1969, public and private sector clients have worked with ICF to navigate change and shape the future. Learn more at icf.com. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Award On September 20, 2022, The United States Department of Energy held their annual Zero Energy Ready Home Summit and Award Ceremony. This year Insight Homes celebrated being awarded an ZERH Innovation Award for their new Peterman II model as well as being recognized and awarded the Grand Award for having "The Most Certified Homes in the Nation". 2022, will be the 5th consecutive year winning an Innovation Award and the 3rd year winning the Grand Award for having the "Most Homes Certified in the Nation". At Insight Homes, we aren't just new home builders in Delaware, we've perfected a building process which according to the U.S. Department of Energy puts our homes at a level of performance that only 1% of all home builders in the country meet. Every aspect of an Insight Home from the windows, to the doors, to the conditioned crawl space are all designed to make your home healthier and more comfortable for years to come. It's Just a Better House isn't just our slogan, it's our culture. Morrison Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce the arrival of Michael Schulman as a partner in the firms Litigation Department and Employment & Labor Group, who will have a dual presence in Washington, D.C. and New York. Schulman brings over a decade of experience counseling employers on issues related to U.S. federal, state, and local employment and labor laws to Morrison Foerster. His presence in D.C. and New York strengthen the firms Employment and Labor offering on the East Coast. Schulman is the 10th partner to join the firms Litigation Department since the start of 2022. Schulman joins Morrison Foerster from another leading global firm where he led in D.C. and helped build the employment and labor group generally. He advises clients in the context of both transactions and litigation. Schulmans practice spans labor and employment matters that arise in the context of transactions (including M&A, bankruptcy and restructuring, and financing), as well as advice and counseling matters, general employment compliance matters, internal investigations, government audits and investigations, pre-litigation strategy, and administrative agency charges. He conducts acquisition-related due diligence and risk assessment and assists clients in resolving post- acquisition and restructuring-related labor and employment and workforce integration issues. Schulman has defended employers against actions brought by government agencies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Department of Labor, as well as actions initiated by current and former employees. He also has prosecuted suits against former employees and their new employers for breach of restrictive covenants. Schulman regularly represents clients in high-stakes employment matters, including senior executive investigations and separations, mass layoffs and reductions in force, retentions of senior executives and employees, contentious separation negotiations and related wrongful or unlawful termination claims, and union and collective bargaining issues. Michael has a proven track record of delivering exceptional advice to clients across geographies and practice groups on their most complex transactional and litigation matters, said Morrison Foersters Global Employment & Labor Group Co-Chair, Eric Akira Tate. His versatile skillset is a great match for our Employment & Labor Group and our firm at a time of increasing demand for specialized labor and employment advice in complex corporate transactions and litigation matters, in particular from clients in the M&A and Emerging Companies and Venture Capital space. Tritia Murata, the other Co-Chair of Morrison Foersters Global Employment & Labor Group, added, Michaels arrival is a milestone in the expansion of our Employment & Labor capabilities on the East Coast, and we will look to leverage his multiple bar admissions to serve our clients. Michael joins a terrific team on the ground in D.C., which includes partner Andrew Turnbull and a team of talented associates. With Schulmans arrival, Morrison Foerster has added 18 partners to its global Litigation Department since the start of 2021, including 10 since the start of 2022. This includes Deborah Connor, William (Wil) Frentzen, Edward Imperatore, Aaron Fountain, Nathaniel (Nate) Mendell, Brian Michael, Brian Nash, Peter Skinner, and Marie-Claire Strawbridge, in addition to Schulman. I am thrilled to join a firm of Morrison Foersters caliber. The firms exceptional culture and commitment to investing in its employment and labor offering made it a standout opportunity for me, said Schulman. I look forward to working closely with my new MoFo colleagues to further build up the firms counseling and transactional practice, working to help expand our advice to private equity clients and portfolio companies in particular, given my experience in this space. In addition to maintaining his employment and labor practice, Schulman also devoted significant time to mentoring and training associates within the employment and labor group at his previous firm and looks forward to continuing these efforts at Morrison Foerster. Schulman earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Delaware and his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School. He is admitted to practice in New York, the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. ABOUT MORRISON FOERSTER Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firms commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster was recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyers 2021 and 2022 A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia-Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment. A culture of open cooperation informs and influences every interaction between Coworkers, Customers, Shareholders, Suppliers as well as our Communities. Reell Precision Manufacturing, a world leader in small package position and motion control, has been awarded the 2022 Manufacturer of the Year in the mid-sized company category by the Manufacturers Alliance. This award recognizes a commitment to continuous improvement and an openness in sharing information and experience to strengthen the Minnesota manufacturing community. Each year, the award is presented in one of three categories companies with fewer than 100 employees; companies with 100 to 400 employees; and companies with more than 400 employees. This award is a great honor for Reell and recognizes our effort to do business in a way that strives for excellence while upholding our core values, said Kyle Smith, Reells CEO. A culture of open cooperation informs and influences every interaction between Coworkers, Customers, Shareholders, Suppliers as well as our Communities. The Manufacturers Alliance was founded in 1990 to provide manufacturers with practical peer-to-peer training, education and resources. Since its inception, the Alliance has trained and educated tens of thousands of people across hundreds of manufacturing companies through events held at the Manufacturers Alliance Training Center, on-site at manufacturing companies, and online. Reell Precision Manufacturing provides high-quality innovative solutions to transmit torque, control angular position and protect delicate components from excessive force. Combining the world's most precisely controlled torque technology with the industry's most experienced engineering team guarantees a perfect product fit for customer application. With facilities on three continents, Reell's responsive global customer service and world class manufacturing ensures exceptionally easy ordering and on-time delivery. At the conference in Nashville this week, McLeod Software announced a new web browser User Interface for their systems. McLeod Software Company Growth Continues After 2021, which was a double-digit growth year for McLeod Software, the companys 2022 top line revenue continues to grow at an annual rate exceeding 20%. Their customer base has grown by more than 10% in the last year. McLeods internal investment in product development has grown by more than 15% in the last year, and the companys employee base is on track for a 15% annual growth rate in 2022. McLeod Software surpassed 600 total full-time employees earlier this year. MPact PRO This summer McLeod Software introduced an advanced version of their MPact trucking lane and rate analysis tool, MPact PRO. The expanded capabilities in MPact PRO let the carrier or 3PL benchmark themselves against the rest of the market and gain a deeper understanding of market rate dynamics in any given origin, destination, or lane. Users can access MPact PRO directly from their LoadMaster or PowerBroker system to create a step-by-step picture of capacity and volume in markets and evaluate the ever-shifting rate landscape. This analysis becomes valuable when a user is trying to optimize both daily spot rates, or during bid season for contract rate decisions, by targeting where, when, and how to price freight based on the current dollar amount and profit potential. McLeods truckload market rate dataset, derived daily from over 1,000 companies contributing rates, includes trailer types, load length of haul, load commodity, origins, and destinations, giving users more ways to slice and dissect their markets. The rates are also differentiated between the spot and contract rate in every lane. MPact PRO offers a wide range of visualization tools to help users quickly and clearly understand the analysis and apply that understanding to their business decisions. Published Open API Almost two years ago, McLeod Software published an Open API for Digital Freight Matching (DFM) within the PowerBroker system. This allowed suppliers of digital freight matching products and services to develop their own integration solution with PowerBroker using a standard published web services API interface. So far at least six companies have certified their integration with the McLeod DFM API, enabling them to offer those solutions to McLeod PowerBroker customers as a fully integrated tool for PowerBroker users. This year McLeod introduced the same type of Open API integration point for mobile communications and ELD systems, as well as trailer monitoring and tracking solutions. At the companys annual User Conference this week in Nashville, they announced the first two deployments of this Open mobile communications API with the new LoadMaster Symphony Mobile Communications Service (SMCS). The SMCS API now supports ISAAC Instruments for tractor telematics, HOS information, driver dispatch workflow, and document image capture; and TGI Connect for their trailer telematics solution. In the future, all new integrations for LoadMaster with both ELD/mobile communications and trailer telematics will employ this new standard Open SMCS API. That means any qualified telematics provider who wants a supported integration solution with McLeod will be able to move forward at their own pace, and complete the necessary development, then arrange testing and certification with McLeod. Without a doubt, this will speed the pace of adding more supported telematics integration solutions for LoadMaster, just as the DFM API has so quickly opened the world of DFM solutions for PowerBroker. Web Service API Expanding McLeod first introduced web service APIs for LoadMaster and PowerBroker in 2010. Since that time, the functionality of the McLeod Web Services API has grown to include hundreds of available functions for those customers who choose to license them. This has allowed McLeod customers to extend the capabilities of their systems and create their own integration solutions without any modifications to their core McLeod system. An Architecture that Scales In late 2021, McLeod Software released a major overhaul for parts of the technical architecture of their systems, specifically the application servers and messaging systems that are the foundation for the functional software applications we deliver to customers. As they continue to build on this new server architecture, it is bringing their customers higher performance and the ability to scale their systems, while also providing a higher level of security and reliability. More Partners & Choices No TMS on the market offers the number or variety of fully supported and tested off-the-shelf integration solutions as McLeod Software. In the last year, McLeod has continued their fast pace of adding integration solutions with more products and services. In addition to the previously mentioned ISAAC Instruments and TGI Connect integrations being introduced this week, LB Technology and GPS Insights were added earlier this year, while their existing integration solutions with Descartes MacroPoint and Motive (formerly KeepTruckin) were expanded. Cloud Services At the User Conference this week in Nashville, McLeod Software re-branded their Hosted Solutions offering to Cloud Services. Currently over 300 of their customer companies with over 10,000 daily users have chosen to have McLeod Software deliver their applications via hosting service, which McLeod has offered for a decade now. The newly rebranded Cloud Services has more service options for customers to choose from when they elect to have McLeod host and deliver their applications from the cloud. Expanding Business Process Automation McLeod Software continues to expand their complete, out-of-the-box business process automation solutions, this time with Carrier Invoice Processing. The new module in McLeods Logix Solutions family of automation products helps 3PLs and brokers quickly and easily collect, identify, index, and match carrier documents electronically to speed the carrier payment process. Carrier Invoice Processing is innovative in that it makes extensive use of optical character recognition technology to mitigate the need for various images to be reviewed by people. The system also works to help back-office staff handle exceptions, such as multiple loads on a single invoice, or OS&D claims associated with a load. By accurately and automatically moving carrier invoices along through the process, carriers get paid faster and the 3PL spends far less time and work on the process. Role-Based Productivity and a Web User Experience Last but certainly not least, at the conference in Nashville this week, McLeod announced a new web browser User Interface for their systems. The first release of this Web User Interface is PowerBroker Web. PowerBroker Web has been developed in close collaboration with a number of the companys 3PL customers and is currently going into production at the initial sites, a group of customers who volunteered to be early adopters of the new product. Rather than just skin existing systems with a web browser interface, McLeod has worked to improve the role-based user experience for their customers at the same time they converted the user interface for web browsers. The design of these new working efficiencies and role-based workflows was completed in close collaboration with a group of existing customers. PowerBroker Web does not surrender the broad robust functionality and capability of the PowerBroker system. The same application layer processes, functions, data, and capabilities are still present, in fact customers can continue to run their existing PowerBroker user interface clients concurrently, and move their users to the new web user interface at their own pace. Upon conclusion of full implementations at the early adopter customer sites, sometime in early 2023, PowerBroker Web will be released for all McLeod customers who wish to upgrade their systems. In future releases of McLeods PowerBroker, LoadMaster, and LoadMaster LTL systems, this new web-based user interface will be extended across the entire McLeod product line. About McLeod Software McLeod Software is transforming the trucking and transportation industry with the leading software for trucking dispatch operations management and freight brokerage management. Our customers use business process automation and insight from business intelligence to improve their customer service and operating ratios, attract and retain the best drivers, and automate their crucial business processes. Visit us at http://www.McLeodSoftware.com. MDsave, the nations leading online medical service marketplace connecting providers, employers and consumers to affordable and accessible healthcare announces a new partnership with West Jefferson Medical Center. This partnership is part of the ongoing expansion of MDsaves efforts to bring affordable, quality healthcare to the communities of New Orleans. With a proven track record of more than 60 years of service to the Westbank of Jefferson Parish and the surrounding area, West Jefferson Medical Center (West Jefferson) is well respected regionally and nationally for excellence in patient care, distinguishing it from other hospitals in the greater New Orleans area. This partnership with MDsave opens the door to new patients by offering cash prices to those with high deductibles or who have no insurance. We are excited about this partnership in the greater New Orleans area knowing we share a similar mission of providing quality care in a comforting and cost-effective manner, says Paul Ketchel, chief executive officer of MDsave. We believe with each new partnership we help bridge the gap between patients who need specialized healthcare and those who deliver high quality care without the confusion and stress normally associated with procedures requiring multiple providers and facilities. The MDsave Marketplace allows hospitals to bundle medical services and offer them directly to patients as a single price paid pre-service. MDsave also connects employers to local hospitals and health systems building volume and loyalty in the local community through an innovative digital platform. We are proud to partner with MDSave to help simplify the healthcare billing process for our Westbank patients and providers, says Rob Calhoun, president and chief executive officer of West Jefferson Medical Center. As another important step to provide patient-centered care, were bringing a new a level of transparency and affordable pricing directly to the patients who need it most. About MDSave Headquartered in Nashville, TN, MDsave is the nations leading online medical service marketplace connecting providers, employers and consumers connecting to affordable, reliable high-quality healthcare at fair, transparent prices. Through innovative technology, MDsave simplifies the healthcare billing process for patients and providers through bundled pricing and upfront payment. MDsaves patented technology also supports employers and payers to deliver more value to employees and policyholders minimizing out-of-pocket deductible costs. For more information, visit http://www.mdsave.com. About West Jefferson Medical Center Founded in 1956, West Jefferson Medical Center (West Jefferson) is a 419-bed community hospital located in Marrero, La. As a full-service medical center, West Jefferson offers comprehensive programs for preventive, emergency, acute and rehabilitative care with a medical staff of more than 450 physicians and a complement of 1,700 employees and many volunteers. The medical center enjoys national awards for clinical excellence across many of its subspecialties. West Jefferson is a proud member of LCMC Health, a Louisiana-based, not-for-profit hospital system serving the healthcare needs of the Gulf Coast region. LCMC Health currently manages award-winning community hospitals including Childrens Hospital, Touro, New Orleans East Hospital, University Medical Center New Orleans, East Jefferson General Hospital and West Jefferson Medical Center. For more information, visit: https://www.lcmchealth.org/west-jefferson-medical-center/. Ramit Kapur. Managing Director, GSI India The GSI team is building consumer trust and confidence in our industry through its integrity and innovation. I look forward to creating new opportunities that will be beneficial for GSI and for the entire diamond and fine jewelry industry. Gemological Science International (GSI), one of the largest gemological organizations in the world and a global leader in diamond and jewelry certification, announced today that Mr. Ramit Kapur joined the organization as Managing Director of GSI India. "I welcome Ramit to GSI," says Debbie Azar, President, and Co-Founder of GSI. Our team is made up of leaders from the diamond and jewelry industry, and I am confident that Ramits enthusiasm, energy, and vast industry knowledge will help GSI achieve continued growth and success. Ramit Kapur has over 25 years of experience in the jewelry industry and almost two decades in the gemological laboratories sector specifically. Throughout his career, Ramit has successfully guided cross-functional teams while launching products into new markets, developing business strategies for multi-channel sales, and fostering lucrative partnerships. His professional drive and loyal relationships have brought him great success which he plans to continue at GSI. "I am delighted to join such an esteemed and prestigious global organization, says Ramit Kapur, Managing Director, GSI India. The GSI team is building consumer trust and confidence in our industry through its integrity and innovation. I look forward to creating new opportunities that will be beneficial for GSI and for the entire diamond and fine jewelry industry. GSI is a globally renowned gemological organization that offers a myriad of services to the diamond and jewelry industry including grading reports and services for diamonds (both natural and lab-grown), colored gemstones, and jewelry. GSI is the leader in the testing and detection of undisclosed lab-grown diamonds in finished jewelry. The company also offers a variety of educational programs to the trade and has a dedicated internationally recognized team of researchers, scientists, and professionals committed to advancing gemological research in the industry. For more information, please visit https://gemscience.net/ or to schedule an interview, please contact Olga Gonzalez at Pietra Communications at 212-913-9761, or email info@pietrapr.com. About GSI: Gemological Science International (GSI) is the only major gemological organization established in the 21st century. Founded in 2005 in New York City, it has grown to become one of the largest gemological entities in the world with laboratory facilities spanning four continents. Utilizing cutting-edge processes and proprietary technologies, along with a commitment to the highest ethical standards and practices, GSI provides manufacturers and retailers globally with a wide range of gemstone identification and grading services. The company is committed to advancing gemological research and offers gemological educational programs for trade professionals and the general public through its state-of-the-art research center. Ribbon cutting ceremony for The Broken Mug coffeehouse in Columbus, Nebraska "Crimson Cup is always there to help with all aspects of my business ... Im opening my third location in 2023, and I wont need a business loan to complete it." - Mandy Tuls, Owner, the Broken Mug coffee shop in Columbus, Nebraska Want to learn how to open a coffee shop in Nebraska? Get tips on starting a profitable business in The Cornhusker State from the coffee shop startup experts at Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea. Through its 7 Steps to Success coffee shop startup program, Roast magazines 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year has taught over 300 entrepreneurs in 30 states how to open a coffee shop. Now, the companys 7 Steps coffee shop startup consulting team has added to its series of state-level coffee shop startup guides with, How to Start a Coffee Shop in Nebraska. Nebraska is a terrific place to start a coffee shop! said Crimson Cup Founder and President Greg Ubert. In fact, Nebraska ranks 37th among the states in the number of coffee shops per capita, with fewer than one coffee shop for every 7,041 residents. That leaves a lot of Nebraskans without a local coffee shop. The program is based on Uberts book, Seven Steps to Success: A Common-sense Guide to Succeed in Specialty Coffee, which he wrote to help coffee entrepreneurs develop profitable businesses by mastering all aspects of successful coffee shop operations. We help entrepreneurs with little or no coffee experience become owners of thriving coffee shops serving their local communities, he said. From choosing a terrific location and writing a strong coffee shop business plan to buying and laying out equipment, hiring and training staff and more, our team is here to guide you. To hear about the book in Uberts own words, download a free recorded introduction on Soundcloud. A lifelong coffee lover, Mandy Tuls wanted to have a business with a great atmosphere and lots of customer interactions. In 2017, she and husband Todd Tuls opened The Broken Mug coffeehouse in Columbus, Nebraska. Since then, the coffee shop at 2800 22nd Avenue has become a gathering place for local coffee lovers. We are the only locally owned coffee shop in our town, said Mandy Tuls. We are also the only coffee shop that delivers drinks and food items. The shop serves a full menu of hot, iced and frozen espresso drinks including mochas, lattes and cappuccinos as well as iced coffee and tea, cold-brewed coffee, hot chocolate, fruit smoothies and other custom drinks. Ice cream, pastries and sandwiches round out the menu. The food menu has evolved to include a wider assortment of luncheon sandwiches. I really listened to 7 Steps Project Manager and Trainer Steve Bayless when he said start off simple, dont add food yet, Mandy said. You can have a couple of bakery items, but really concentrate on the drinks first and make sure you are consistent and comfortable before adding other items to your menu. With Crimson Cups guidance, Tuls has continually adapted her business to meet customer needs. Molding to what your community wants is key, she said. Two years ago, we added delivery. A year ago, we added a drive-thru because thats what our community needed during Covid. To keep up with customer demand, she added a coffee trolley called the Mini Mug across the parking lot from The Broken Mug. She plans to open a third location in 2023. After over five years, Tuls revels in the freedom of making decisions on her own and with her team. I love encouraging and lifting up each of my team members, she said. I also love letting my staff explore fun and new drink recipes and then featuring their drinks. Each team member is unique, and I love seeing what dynamics they add to our team. Asked for advice to other coffee entrepreneurs, she said: Dont Overthink it. Just do it! Crimson Cup is always there to help with all aspects of my business from start-up, hiring, adjusting my prices through the years, equipment and other questions I have. They start you on a path that will deliver success as long as you really follow what they say, she added. I did and look at me now! Im opening my third location in 2023, and I wont need a business loan to complete it. Mandy and Todd Tuls invite everyone in Columbus and Platte County to visit The Broken Mug and Mini Mug. For details on hours, events and the new Columbus Library location, visit the shop's Facebook page. You can also visit the Mini Mug Facebook page. Besides the Nebraska guide, Crimson Cup recently published guides on How to Start a Coffee Shop in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia, Missouri, Wisconsin, Connecticut, New Jersey, Iowa and Louisiana. Next up: a guide on how to start a coffee shop in Mississippi. Although the fundamentals of coffee shop operation remain the same from state to state, the economic opportunities, business formation and licensing requirements vary widely, Ubert said. Were excited to share information and resources to help entrepreneurs expedite their startup journey. He invited anyone who is thinking of opening a coffee shop in any state to call Crimson Cup for guidance. If you run into any roadblocks or just want to discuss your vision with a coffee expert, you can reach our startup team by calling 1-888-800-9224. About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea Founded in 1991, Crimson Cup is at the forefront of the coffee industry. Its attentive roasting, startup support and global partnerships are consciously designed for the greater good of communities around the world. Among other national recognitions, the company has earned 2020 and 2017 Good Food Awards, the 2019 Golden Bean Champion for Small Franchise/Chain Roaster and Roast magazines 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year. Crimson Cup travels the world searching for the perfect cup driven by meaningful relationships, honesty and a shared vision for the future. Its Friend2Farmer initiatives foster respect and decency through mutually beneficial collaboration across local and global communities. Through its 7 Steps to Success coffee shop startup program, the company teaches entrepreneurs how to open and run independent coffee houses in their local communities. By developing a coffee shop business plan, entrepreneurs gain insight into coffee shop startup costs. Crimson Cup coffee is available through over 350 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across 30 states, Guam and Bangladesh. The company also owns several Crimson Cup Coffee Shops and a new CRIMSON retail flagship store. To learn more, visit crimsoncup.com, or follow the company on Facebook and Instagram. Robert S. Fakhouri The Haute Lawyer Network, well known for its exclusive and luxurious lifestyle publication Haute Living, is privileged to present Mr. Robert Fakhouri as a member and expert in his field. Haute Lawyer offers a prominent collective of leading attorneys. The invitation-only network features only two lawyers per market. This partnership allows Haute Lawyer to connect its affluent readers with industry-leading attorneys in their area. ABOUT ROBERT FAKHOURI Robert S. Fakhouri is the founder and leading lawyer of The Fakhouri Firm. Licensed to practice law at 23, he started out with a big firm. Robert then founded The Fakhouri Firm at 25, a trial law firm that specializes in personal injury as well as wrongful convictions and sexual assault matters. He is the recipient of the 2021-2022 Top 40 Under 40 by the National Trial Lawyers and is the recipient of the 2019-2022 Illinois Super Lawyer Rising Star award, an honor awarded to only 2.5% of attorneys in Illinois. Outside of law, Robert is a dedicated member of his social community. He is a founding board member of the Hippocratic Cancer Research Foundation and a Director on the board of the Greek American Rehabilitation Center in Illinois. Robert recognizes the significance of his community and fights to advocate for others inside and outside of the court of law. The Fakhouri Firm is a personal injury law firm dedicated to protecting the legal rights of victims who have sustained catastrophic injuries or were killed because the wrongful conduct of others. Over the years, The Fakhouri Firm has recovered millions in settlements on behalf of their injured clients. The firm offers a free and confidential consultation and no fee is paid unless a case is successfully resolved. To learn more, call The Fakhouri Firm at (312) 999-9990. Kinetech recognized by Siemens Digital Industries as the 1st Mendix Smart Expert in the United States. The Expert Partner designation for the Mendix platform, demonstrates Kinetechs expertise in delivering best practices and proven solutions that drive customer business value. We are excited to recognize Kinetech as the first US partner to achieve Expert status said Craig Radomski, Siemens DSI Kinetech announced today that it has been recognized by Siemens Digital Industries Software for achieving Expert Partner status. The Siemens Digital Industries Software Expert Partner initiative recognizes Partners who successfully fulfill a comprehensive vetting and validation process that distinguishes them as market leaders with demonstrable business, product and industry competencies in specific Siemens Digital Industries Software technologies. Receiving the Expert Partner designation for the Mendix platform, demonstrates Kinetechs expertise in delivering best practices and proven solutions that drive customer business value. We are excited to recognize Kinetech as the first US partner to achieve Expert status and as a result will continue to strengthen our collaboration in solving customer challenges said Craig Radomski, Vice President of the Americas Channel for Siemens Digital Industries Software. Customers demand advanced levels of competency to understand and address the growing complexities of digital transformation. The Expert Partner designation differentiates Kinetech as a Siemens Digital Industries Software and customer-validated expert in the Mendix low-code platform. This recognition further bolsters Kinetechs low-code leadership globally and especially in the United States. Kinetech now has the highest concentration of Mendix Certified, Advanced and Expert Low-code Developers in the USA. Recognition from Siemens as the first and only SMART/Expert Certified Mendix Partner in the United States is an important milestone achievement for Kinetech as we continue to position the firm as the leading provider of Expert Mendix development and consulting services. said Ricky Volz, COO of Kinetech. This certification was achieved by the collective effort of our team of talented men and women who, day in and day out, work tirelessly to serve our clients. It's a testament to their skill and commitment to using the Mendix Platform to transform our clients ideas into reality. Digital transformation requires a different approach and competency level to understand and address customer needs, which is why Kinetech is committed to the Siemens Smart Expert partner initiative. The recognition distinguishes Kinetech as an industry- and customer-validated expert recognized by Siemens. As a Siemens Smart Expert Mendix partner, we have demonstrated advanced competencies by delivering best practices and proven solutions that drive customer business outcomes. With this designation, we are reinforcing our ongoing commitment to digitalization. By leveraging the end-to-end digital innovation platform from Siemens, we realize innovation and optimize performance for our customers. Customers can be confident that the expertise and guidance they receive from Kinetech align with full support from Siemens Digital Industries Software, ensuring the highest caliber partnership and, ultimately, a sustainable competitive advantage. To become SMART Certified, Siemens partners must prove that they are an expert in their discipline. In Kinetechs case, that discipline is Mendix, the category defining low-code solution for the enterprise. The SMART certification process takes place in clearly defined performance segments and is uniform worldwide. In order to remain up to date, this certification must be renewed at regular intervals. In this way Siemens ensures that their partners everywhere in the world possess state-of-the-art technical expertise and knowledge that clients may trust and benefit from. Kinetech demonstrated industry leading competency in the Mendix Platform. This was accomplished by completing several advanced sales training classes as well as demonstrating end-to-end product knowledge coupled with hundreds of successful Mendix deployments. Considering low-code / Mendix? Discover why clients and rating agencies continually recognize Kinetech as a low-code implementation leader. For more information about leveraging lowcode, Mendix, and Kinetech's Digital Execution Strategy for your organization, please contact Kinetech directly at: (844) 546-3832 or https://www.kinetechcloud.com/contact/ This release was also published at: https://www.kinetechcloud.com/kinetech/siemens-expert-partner-usa About Kinetech: Kinetech, a platform Mendix partner, is a provider of custom enterprise software, delivered through the cloud with a focus on improved business productivity. The company focuses on cloud, mobile, and integrated technologies that solve real client problems. Kinetechs service offerings are configured and integrated with other web services (APIs), platforms, and enterprise applications (CRM, ERP, HCM). The company delivers its offerings via internet browsers and on mobile devices. Kinetech designs, builds, and supports mission-critical applications, client/vendor portals, and modernizes legacy systems. Its cloud offerings include Digital Factory (Manufacturing), Kinetech PM (Construction / Project Management), GovTech (Government Technology) Cloud, and other bespoke solutions (Enterprise Cloud). Stertil-Koni DIAMONDLIFT, with a capacity of up to 35,000 lbs. per piston, at work in Culver City, CA Whats more, the Continuous Recess option in several of the Culver City DIAMONDLIFTs is specifically engineered for vehicles with low ground clearance, such as city transit and articulated buses." Culver City, California the historic epicenter of film and TV production dating back to the 1920s and famously the home of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios has recently updated the script on how it maintains its fleet of public vehicles with the modernization of its high-volume, vehicle maintenance facility. Explains Scott Newton, Fleet Services Supervisor for Culver City, We are one of the only cities in the U.S. with its own fleet that includes virtually every type of municipal vehicle, including police cars, fire trucks, refuse trucks, buses, and more. In fact, we have nearly 500 vehicles in the fleet -- and are always adding more. To keep that supersized fleet in top operating condition and ensure the highest level of technician safety and ergonomic comfort -- Culver City recently installed multiple Stertil-Koni telescopic piston DIAMONDLIFTs, several of which feature the companys innovative Continuous Recess option. The DIAMONDLIFT, which is certified by the industrys third party watchdog -- the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI), -- is a high-pressure, low-volume heavy duty inground vehicle lift that delivers a lifting capacity up to 35,000 lbs. per piston. It is also electronically synchronized for maximum safety and convenience, features a mechanical locking system for maximum protection as standard, and has a full-color, touch-screen control console that puts all lifting information directly at the fingertips of the busy tech on the shop floor. Whats more, added Stertil-Koni President, Dr. Jean Dellamore, the Continuous Recess option in several of the Culver City DIAMONDLIFTs is specifically engineered for vehicles with low ground clearance, such as city transit and articulated buses. What is particularly special with this option is that the movable piston can recess below floor level anywhere within the range of travel, thus preventing damage to the undercarriage of the vehicle. Culver City has already realized the benefits of its modernization program. As Newton stated, We had a lot of dated equipment, because our facility is 25 years old. But now we are in the process of modernizing the facility, so we are replacing a lot it. In fact, we purchased our first two DIAMONDLIFTS two years ago, and then added four more Diamonds with the Continuous Recess option, recently. They are working out great, because we have more than 50 low-floor and electric buses with more electric buses being added to the fleet. Helping to make it all possible was Southwest Lift & Equipment, the exclusive Stertil-Koni distributor headquartered in Southern California, which performed the installations and received high marks for service before and after the sale. They provided top-flight training to our technicians, Newton said, and if we ever have a question or an issue, they are on it right away. The new lifts are much better with far fewer issues than the ones we had before. We really like them, and they are working out well. Concluded DellAmore, Stertil-Koni is honored to be of service to Culver City and exceedingly pleased to see how our recent innovations in heavy duty vehicle lifting systems are supporting the vehicles of today and tomorrow. It also fulfills a core tenet of the Stertil-Koni mission -- to continuously raise the bar in terms of safety, performance, and durability in vehicle maintenance shops across North America. About Stertil-Koni Stertil-Koni - proud to be a Buy America company - is the market leader in heavy duty vehicle lifts, notably bus lifts and truck lifts, and proudly serves municipalities, state agencies, school bus fleets, major corporations, the U.S. Military and more. Stertil-Koni's breadth of products meets all ranges of lifting needs and includes portable lifts such as Mobile Column Lifts, 2-post, 4-post, inground piston lifts, platform lifts, and its axle-engaging, inground, scissor lift configuration, ECOLIFT. The companys innovative, inground telescopic piston DIAMONDLIFT is now available with an optional Continuous Recess system, ideal for low clearance vehicles. Stertil-Koni USA is headquartered in Stevensville, Maryland with production facilities in Europe, The Netherlands, and Streator, IL. The Charming Taste of Europe is pleased to announce a selected group of US and Canadian journalists and importers will travel to the Bordeaux region of France from October 3rd to October 7th. The initiative is organized by the The Union des Vins Doux de Bordeaux, as part of the Charming Taste of Europe campaign, which aims to increase awareness of some high-quality agricultural products in the American and Canadian markets. The Charming Taste of Europe is a three-year campaign promoted by the Vini dAbruzzo consortium from Italy and the Union of Sweet Bordeaux Wines, along with fruit producers in Greeces Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Kavala (Kavala COOP) and Agricultural Cooperative of Rachi Pieria (Agios Loukas), co-financed by the European Union. The Union des Vins Doux de Bordeaux ensures the promotion of origin and quality standard of the late harvest wines produced in 8 appellations of the Bordeaux region: Bordeaux Moelleux, Bordeaux Superieur, Cadillac, Cerons, Cotes de Bordeaux Saint-Macaire, Loupiac, Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, and Sainte-Croix-Du-Mont. During the trip, participants will get an introduction to the region and taste with 20 different winegrowers. They will also have the opportunity to harvest in the vineyards and explore traditional french cuisine as well as food & wine pairings. Next, participants will visit the Abbaye de la Sauve Majeure, an historical place and will explore the beauty of food & white wine with Japanese cuisine. The trip will conclude with a visit of different wineries. The late harvest in Bordeaux usually takes place around September, however the grapes used within wines with higher sugar content are left until they become concentrated enough to warrant production. The grapes are also introduced to what is called Botrytis cinerea, or rather noble rot. This type of fungus helps concentrate the sugar within the grapes and increases the intensity of flavors throughout the wines. To learn more about The Charming Taste of Europe Campaign, visit charmingtasteofeurope.eu, which highlights the characteristics of the selected European products. Pages dedicated to The Charming Taste of Europe'' can be found on all main social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The participating Consortia invites everyone to join the social media campaign using the hashtag #charmeu. About the Charming Taste of Europe: Europe, a place with timeless charm, is the birthplace of some of the highest-quality products in the world. The Charming Taste of Europe is a special project that introduces exquisite specialties to the United States and Canada, such as Italian and French wines, and fresh fruits from Greece, that showcase Europes charm, beauty, culture, history, art, heritage and unmistakable tastes. The mission of the Charming Taste of Europe, co-funded by the European Union, is to increase awareness of the merits and quality standards of select European wines and fresh fruits with promotional activities in the competitive markets of the U.S. and Canada. The Charming Taste of Europe is promoted by the Consortium for the Protection of Wines of Abruzzo, the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Kavala (Kavala COOP), the Agricultural Cooperative of Rachi Pieria Agios Loukas and the Union of Sweet Bordeaux Wines. These European agricultural products, famous around the world for their outstanding qualities, will continue to be promoted with initiatives and events for consumers, journalists and trade professionals. For more information visit charmingtasteofeurope.eu To Follow The Charming Taste of Europe Campaign: Website: charmingtasteofeurope.eu Facebook: @CharmingTasteofEU Instagram: @charmeu_usa YouTube: The Charming Taste of Europe Hashtags: #thecharmingtasteofeu and #charmeu The content of this promotion campaign represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission and the European Research Executive Agency (REA) do not accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the information it contains Taobao & TMALL Ecosystem Service Partner "Comprehensive Capabilities Certification" As a digital transformation partner for clients, transcosmos China has specialized teams designed for analytics that require professional expertise and experience, and for Uni Marketing, and then develops and carries out data-driven integrated marketing strategies and initiatives for brands. transcosmos inc. is proud to announce that Shanghai transcosmos Marketing Services Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shanghai, China; CEO: Eijiro Yamashita; transcosmos China), its wholly-owned subsidiary was once again awarded a five-star rating as TMALL Service Partner for the first half of 2022 by TMALL, the largest online marketplace in China, at the TMALL & Taobao Ecosystem Laboratory Opening and 2022 Ecosystem Service Partner Award Ceremony held on August 25, 2022. Taobao & TMALL Ecosystem Service Partner "Comprehensive Capabilities Certification" is a program designed to evaluate the comprehensive capabilities of TMALL ecosystem service partners operating on TMALL platforms. TMALL has been evaluating service partners based on their capabilities to increase gross merchandise value (GMV). This year, TMALL renovated the whole evaluation framework, pivoting the focus to each partner's comprehensive abilities for helping brands build their long-term value. With the aim of identifying service partners who have showcased outstanding comprehensive capabilities during the evaluation period, the screening process now includes experts' review, customer feedback, brand survey, and more, making the criteria more comprehensive and multi-dimensional than before. In addition, the evaluation system focuses on the five aspects "product management", "consumer management", "member management", "branding capability", and "content marketing capability" proposed in the Business Management Methodology presented by TMALL. With the new evaluation system, TMALL puts more weight on the progress and growth of service providers' digital operation capability. transcosmos China was awarded TMALL Service Provider 5-Star certification once again, winning the status for the 7th consecutive year since 2016. As a digital transformation partner for clients, transcosmos China has specialized teams designed for analytics that require professional expertise and experience, and for Uni Marketing. Powered by such teams, transcosmos China develops and carries out data-driven integrated marketing strategies and initiatives for brands. At the same time, given the rapid progress of the internet today, transcosmos China offers customer experience services that meet the needs of each market and client, including data visualization built on business intelligence (BI) and the 5A Loyalty Diagnosis. Always staying true to its customer-first principle, transcosmos China continues to offer a diverse range of solutions that help businesses achieve sustainable and healthy growth. About transcosmos China transcosmos entered the Chinese market and launched its offshore services business in 1995. Today, transcosmos has its bases and subsidiaries across 22 cities in China including Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Hefei, Xi'an, Changsha, Wuhan, Neijiang, Suzhou, Taipei and more. The company offers extensive services such as business outsourcing including contact centers, e-commerce one-stop, digital marketing and system development for both Chinese and global brands. transcosmos China was founded in Shanghai as a digital transformation partner for businesses in 2006 and launched its e-commerce business in 2009. Now, in partnership with platforms such as TMALL, JD, WeChat, and Douyin, transcosmos China offers a variety of services that include e-commerce store/website development & operations, sales channel development, online and offline data integration, system development, consumer operations, and integrated marketing services in the new retail industry (including cross-border e-commerce) to clients in diverse industries including the 3C Industry (Computer, Communications, and Consumer Electronics), apparel, baby care, toy, sports, beverage, musical instruments, homewares, home theater/audio equipment, and more. *transcosmos is a trademark or registered trademark of transcosmos inc. in Japan and other countries. *Other company names and product or service names used here are trademarks or registered trademarks of respective companies. About transcosmos inc. transcosmos launched its operations in 1966. Since then, we have combined superior "people" with up-to-date "technology" to enhance the competitive strength of our clients by providing them with superior and valuable services. transcosmos currently offers services that support clients' business processes focusing on both sales expansion and cost optimization through our 171 bases across 28 countries/regions with a focus on Asia, while continuously pursuing Operational Excellence. Furthermore, following the expansion of e-commerce market on the global scale, transcosmos provides a comprehensive One-Stop Global E-Commerce Services to deliver our clients' excellent products and services to consumers in 46 countries/regions around the globe. transcosmos aims to be the "Global Digital Transformation Partner" of our clients, supporting the clients' transformation by leveraging digital technology, responding to the ever-changing business environment. Visit us here https://www.trans-cosmos.co.jp/english/ Unitek Learning is the parent company of several distinguished learning institutions: Unitek College, Unitek EMT, Eagle Gate College, Provo College, and Brookline College. Like Futuro Health, we think that investing in education and skills training will result in better-paying jobs for workers, better care for patients, and better workers for employers to hire. Before COVID-19, California had a projected need of approximately 500,000 allied healthcare workers by 2024. The pandemic has only created a greater need throughout the state. To help address this critical demand, Unitek Learning partnered with Futuro Health starting in 2021. As of today, more than 507 Futuro Health students have enrolled or started the Medical Assisting program at Unitek. Through this partnership, both organizations seek to produce qualified healthcare workers. The state of the world has demonstrated an increased demand for a strong workforce, said Karilyn Van Oosten, VP of Strategic Business Development at Unitek Learning. Our partnership with Futuro Health has allowed Unitek Learning to become part of the solution. We want to help create the career-ready workforce that Californias healthcare providers need. By joining this partnership, Unitek Learning has provided Medical Assistant training to individuals sponsored by Futuro Health whose student demographics consist of 80% diversity, 51% bilingual, and an average age of 30. Futuro Health continues to gather public and private higher education institutions to respond to the call of healthcare sector for skilled workers, explained Van Ton-Quinlivan, CEO of Futuro Health. Together, our ecosystem of partners commit to growing a diverse, reliable, and trained workforce that meets the needs of healthcare employers across California and the nation. Employers are invited to seek out Futuro Health graduates by contacting Unitek at partnership@unitek.com or Futuro Health at partnership@futurohealth.org. In addition to Uniteks training, every student also completes Futuro Healths signature Human Touch Healthcare(tm) coursework that emphasizes six interpersonal skills essential to roles in care. Were honored to strengthen our partnership with Futuro Health, said Janis Paulson, Chief Executive Officer at Unitek Learning. Like Futuro Health, we think that investing in education and skills training will result in better-paying jobs for workers, better care for patients, and better workers for employers to hire. At Unitek Learning, we believe that an exceptional healthcare education will lead to healthier communities. About Unitek Learning: Unitek Learning is the parent company of several distinguished learning institutions: Unitek College, Unitek EMT, Eagle Gate College, Provo College, and Brookline College. Unitek programs teach the clinical practices and theory used in the field today. Equipped with a multitude of sought-after skills, Unitek graduates are prepared to excel in many of the fastest-growing careers in healthcare and nursing. About Futuro Health: Futuro Health is a non-profit organization focused on improving the health and wealth of communities by growing the largest network of allied healthcare workers in the nation. Futuro Health makes education journeys into allied health careers possible by growing the talent that employers need and creating a path to the opportunity that workers want. Mureen Allen With almost eight billion people on the planet, each unique, its not hard to fathom that finding a balance between standardized care and individuals needs is complicated and hard to achieve. --Mureen Allen, MD, MS, MA, FACP, Verinovums Chief Medical Information Officer. Verinovum a leading healthcare data curation and enrichment solution vendor is partnering with Lumeon, the leader in care orchestration, to present the webinar Moving Beyond One Size Fits All Care How to Successfully Leverage Data to Personalize Care on Thursday, October 13 from 1-1:45 pm EDT. The quality of health care delivered has long been debated. Many studies show that patients do not receive appropriate nor timely care, which has resulted in a shift to pay physicians based on quality. With almost eight billion people on the planet, each unique, its not hard to fathom that finding a balance between standardized care and individuals needs is complicated and hard to achieve. This imbalance can result in increased costs as well as reduced productivity, quality, and safety, says Mureen Allen, MD, MS, MA, FACP, Verinovums Chief Medical Information Officer. Dr. Allen and Lumeon's Chief Clinical Transformation Officer, Cindy Gaines, MSN, RN will focus on how healthcare delivery organizations can better orchestrate a patients care by leveraging high-quality clinical data and automation to: Operationalize best practice standards Address data gaps Adapt to the individual needs of every patient Ensure the right care is delivered to the right patient at the right time - every time Specifically, they will discuss: How care standards and patient expectations evolved in the last 20 years What organizations need to do today to deliver personalized care to individuals How organizations can turn insight into action What moving beyond one size fits all" care means for patients How individualized care powered by high-quality data improves a health plans star ratings, HEDIS, and CAHPS performance What direct impact can standard, individualized care have on costs and revenue REGISTER HERE for this free event. The webinar will also be available on demand shortly after the event. About the Speakers Verinovum's Chief Medical Information Officer Mureen Allen, MD, MS, MA, FACP knows clinical data challenges all too well from her extensive experience in health information technology and data analytics at renowned Fortune 500 payer organizations like Aetna and UnitedHealthcare. Throughout her career, Dr. Allen has demonstrated market-leading expertise in medical informatics, strategic planning, and analytics in executive roles with Fortune 500 payer organizations. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, and the American Medical Informatics Association. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Clinical Informatics. Lumeon's Chief Clinical Transformation Officer, Cindy Gaines, MSN, RN utilizes her vast experience as a chief nursing officer and background in health informatics to bring her unique clinical and analytic perspective to leverage data to personalize patient care. Recognized by Health Data Management as one of the USAs 50 Most Powerful Women in Health IT, Cindy brings 35 years of healthcare experience focused on nursing, quality, and clinical operations across the care continuum. Prior to Lumeon, Cindy served as chief nursing officer at Philips and as president of a large medical group with Ascension. As a practicing clinician and executive, Cindy uniquely has a deep understanding of clinical and administrative processes and how to leverage technology to reinvent how, where and when care is optimally delivered for each patient, so that optimal outcomes are achieved. Gaines holds a Bachelor of Nursing degree from the University of Michigan and a Master of Nursing degree from Wayne State University. About Verinovum Verinovum provides data curation and enrichment solutions that help organizations improve operating performance. Verinovum delivers clean, complete, and accurate data, supporting healthcare organizations in accessing the right information, in the right format, at the right time, to fulfill specific use cases and achieve clinical and business goals. Discover more at Verinovum.com. About Lumeon Lumeon believes that care better coordinated is care better delivered. Lumeon is a digital health company that provides a cloud-based care orchestration platform that automates the tasks, workflow, activities, and events that occur during the process of coordinating care. With real-time, bi-directional data/system integration and the dynamic application of clinical intelligence and automation, Lumeon ensures that each patient receives the right care at the right time every time. By automating care coordination, care teams deliver care faster, more efficiently, effectively, and consistently across the continuum of care, while also empowering clinicians and staff to work at the top of their licenses and spend time with patients that need it most. Wines of Chile USA heads back to Miami on November 17th for a one-of-a-kind event to spotlight the regions strive toward a greener future. Supported by ProChile, the event will highlight the regions sustainably-focused initiatives through a tourism seminar, exclusive Imagen de Chile documentary screening and grand reception that will showcase the best of Chile from sustainable wineries and eco-conscious businesses to premium wine and food products. Chile is the worlds fourth largest wine exporter and over 80% of said exports are certified sustainable, representing one of the most regionally diverse and eco-friendly wine selections on the planet. The country also has one of the worlds most extensive sustainability accreditation programs in the world with 80% of the exported wines certified by the Wines of Chile Sustainability Code, which launched in 2010. This code extends beyond the vineyards, protecting not only the vines but also the workers and guests who visit the region. Expanding on the Sustainability 365 Campaigninitiated in 2021Wines of Chile USA developed in tandem with Colangelo & Partners a new theme that sheds light on the entire regions initiatives to fight climate change, as it goes well beyond the code: Chiles Mosaic of Sustainability. Chile is a mosaic of surprises, and we are excited to come together and celebrate the regions commitment to sustainability, says Wines of Chile USAs North America Director Julio Alonso. Our wines are the reflection of the historical vocation and we look forward to sharing them with all attendees." Trade and media professionals are invited to join the celebration on Thursday, November 17th, 2022 at the Rubell Museum from 4:30PM - 10:00PM for the below schedule of events: (4:30 - 5:30PM) The night will begin with an educational seminar for trade, sponsored by Chiles Tourism Board Sernatur and LATAM, one of the largest airlines in Latin America. Titled Chile, Where the Impossible is Possible, the seminar aims to shed light on the regions tourism attractions, sustainable practices and top reasons to plan a trip to Chile. (5:30 - 6:30PM) A debut of Oscar Nominee Maite Alberdis documentary, Im the Earth. Stories from the Southern Edge of the World, will follow the seminar. This documentary tells the story of Chiles fight against climate change and the regions current and future plans. (6:30 - 10PM) The event will culminate with a grand reception that is supported by premium sponsors and wineries that will sample their foods and wines and shed more light on the relevant services they provide. During the grand reception, attendees will have the opportunity to taste over 40 premium and sustainable wines from Chile with a special highlight on the countrys largest wine region, Maule. The Maule Valley can claim some of the countrys oldest vines, planted over a century ago. Traditionally, Maule has been associated with easy drinking and great value wines, but there has been a recent surge toward making premium quality wines for export. The Maule Regional Government will host a dedicated table for the most versatile selections that exemplify the future of Maule. Additional wines from north to south of the country will highlight Chiles unique geographical situation and its assortment of micro-climates that make the region ideal for wine growing. Participating sustainable, organic and biodynamic wineries include: Balduzzi, Bodega y Vinedos Korta, Casa Silva, Concha y Toro, Emiliana, Garage, Haras de Pirque, J. Bouchon, Koyle, Lapostolle, Miguel Torres, Odjfell Vineyards, Santa Ema, Survalles, Terranoble, Ventisquero Wine Estates, VIA Wines, VIK, Vina Aromo, Vina Garces Silva, Vina Santa Carolina, Vina Los Vascos, Vinedos Veramonte, Vina Kunza, Vina Morande, Vina Santa Rita, VSPT Wine Group Eco-conscious sponsors and supporters include: BluGlacier: BluGlacier was founded in 2016 as a U.S. joint venture by two top sustainable salmon producers in Chile, Blumar and Ventisqueros. In 2020, BluGlacier launched Oshen by BluGlacier: salmon raised in the isolated, cold-water fjords of Chile. Today, the company remains dedicated to upgrading the lives of individuals and the general well-being of the planet through sustainable aquaculture. Bci: Banco de Credito e Inversiones is currently the largest bank in Chile by total assets, and its subsidiary, City National Bank (CNB), is the second-largest local bank in the state of Florida, United States. Bci promotes environmentally responsible investments with over $130 million USD in financing of green projects and issuing over $140 million USD in green bonds. ASOEX: The Association of Exporters of Chile strives to ensure the general interests of the export trade and defend basic economic and social principles that will benefit the country in general. 100% Cork: The mission of 100% CORK is to provide the wine industry and consumers with the latest information and research on the benefits of natural cork. Global Compact: United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Imagen de Chile: Imagen de Chile is a private institution based in Santiago to promote Chiles image abroad through nation branding to help develop opportunities for Chile and its people while bolstering its recognition and appreciation abroad. They are also the sponsors of the documentary screening. The mission of Wines of Chile is to promote the quality and image of Chilean wines throughout the world. For more information, please contact Amanda Torres, atorres@colangelopr.com. Trade and media professionals with accreditation can register here. **This event was originally planned for September 28th, but was postponed due to the hurricane.** # # # About Wines of Chile Wines of Chile (WOC) is a non-profit, private organization of 100+ Chilean wine producers dedicated to promoting the quality and image of Chilean wines. It is the oldest organization of its kind, formed in 1949 through the merger of two groups. With offices in the United States, Canada, China, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Chile, WOC develops and offers promotional and educational programs for its members. Activities include lobbying, research and development, worker assistance, and serving as a network hub for associates. WGIC is delighted to partner with Geo Week conference. Our ability to demonstrate the value of geospatial data and solutions to climate change and sustainable infrastructure and in other areas fits well into Geo Weeks program agenda. We are excited to be at Geo Week 2023. The World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC) is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Geo Week the leading event for the geospatial, 3D, and built world sectors. This partnership will enrich the Geo Week 2023 conference with insights from WGIC Members and Partners. As part of this collaboration, WGIC will actively participate in Geo Week 2023, scheduled for February 13-15, 2023, in Colorado, USA. As an Event Partner, WGIC will collaborate with its partners and Geo Week to contribute to the Geo Week conference program, exhibit at the event, and participate in additional Geo Week education and events. Additionally, Barbara Ryan, Executive Director of WGIC, is on the Geo Week Advisory Board. During Geo Week 2023, WGIC will organize a joint Plenary Session with the Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS), a WGIC Partner Organization. Further, WGIC will also deliver additional conference content aligned with their mission to strengthen the geospatial industrys contributions to society and the global economy in the geospatial and built world industries. Announcing the partnership, Ken Mooyman, President, WGIC, said, WGIC is delighted to partner with Geo Week conference. Our ability to demonstrate the value of geospatial data and solutions to climate change and sustainable infrastructure and in other areas fits well into Geo Weeks program agenda. We are excited to be at Geo Week 2023. Lee Corkhill, Group Director at Diversified Communications, organizer of the event, said, Geo Week is thrilled to announce this valuable strategic partnership with WGIC. The partnership will continue to strengthen and advance the global geospatial community and add additional expertise and industry advocacy to the event. Registration for Geo Week will open in October. Geospatial and built world professionals are encouraged to register early to secure discounted conference pricing, and to fill out the Attendee Inquiry form for event updates. About WGIC The World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC) is a global not-for-profit trade association of private sector companies working in the geospatial ecosystem. WGIC collaborates with multilateral organizations, public authorities, and user industry communities to strengthen the geospatial industrys contributions to society and the global economy. Through policy research, advocacy, and outreach programs, WGIC facilitates the exchange of knowledge and the co-creation of business opportunities for the geospatial industry. Through the WGIC Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), WGIC advocates and champions DEI best practices and guidelines for the geospatial ecosystem. For more information, contact us at https://wgicouncil.org/contact/ About Geo Week Geo Week is part of a network of events and media for the global geospatial and built markets organized by Diversified Communications, a leading organizer of conferences, trade shows, and online media with 16 years in the technology arena. Geo Week, taking place February 13-15, 2023, reflects the increased integration between the built environment, advanced airborne/terrestrial technologies, and commercial 3D technologies. Powerful partnership events will also take place at Geo Week, including ASPRS (American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing) Annual Conference, The World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC), Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS), and United States Institute for Building Documentation (USIBD). Diversified Communications also produces Lidar & Geospatial Newsletter, 3D Technology Newsletter, AEC Innovations Newsletter, Geo Business Show (UK), Digital Construction Week (UK), Commercial UAV Expo and Commercial UAV News. For more information, visit http://www.geo-week.com. YogaWorks President Maya Magennis YogaWorks 35th anniversary this fall well be launching a new and improved web experience. YogaWorks, the worlds premier provider of digital live and on-demand yoga instruction, has named Maya Magennis as President. The announcement was made by GoDigital Media Groups co-founder Logan Mulvey. Magennis, formerly General Manager, now leads the YogaWorks team towards the goal of making the health and wellness company the best destination for high quality yoga instruction online. Maya began with YogaWorks in 2011 and has gone from being one of our top yoga teachers to President of the company, says Mulvey. She possesses an extremely rare combination of business acumen, yoga industry knowledge and depth of yoga practice experience. Shes a great ambassador for the YogaWorks brand, using her passion to take our community of top-notch teachers global. "We have a lot of surprises planned for our members, adds Magennis. To mark YogaWorks 35th anniversary this fall well be launching a new and improved web experience. We also continue to refine and expand both our live instruction and on-demand content. My journey to YogaWorks is a personal one, says Magennis. My yoga practice was a lifesaver and ultimately completely changed the trajectory of my career and life. At YogaWorks, our mission is to empower people to show up as the best version of themselves, both on and off the mat. Moving your body is an essential component of wellness,, and I look forward to continuing to work with our team to inspire people to make yoga a part of their everyday lives." Magennis began her career in financeat Allen & Company, before working various roles at YogaWorks. She is also a yoga teacher and teacher trainer, having completed 1,000+ hours of yoga training with some of the world's most notable teachers. About YogaWorks: YogaWorks is a leading provider of progressive and quality yoga that promotes total physical and emotional well-being. For 35 years and counting, YogaWorks has catered to students of all levels and ages with both traditional and innovative programming, connecting them directly with the best teachers from across the globe. It is also an international teaching school, cultivating the richest yoga talent from around the globe and setting the standard for teaching. For more information on YogaWorks, visit yogaworks.com. Click here for old website Before Covid, the New England Independent Booksellers Associations fall conference was known for its strong opening panels and keynote speakers, and this years keynote at the first in-person NEIBA fall show since 2019 did not disappoint. It featured childrens author Kwame Alexander in conversation about The Door of No Return (Little, Brown), the first book in his new trilogy of the same name, with Diary of a Wimpy Kid series author Jeff Kinney, co-owner of An Unlikely Story bookstore and cafe in Plainville, Mass. As NEIBA executive director Beth Ineson noted in her introduction, Describing this as a blockbuster might be underselling it. The two writers, longtime friends, began by trading barbs over awardsKinney has six Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards winner to Alexanders Newbery Medaland other matters. Alexander, who had just returned from filming for The Crossover at Disney+, accusing Kinney of messing with the production. For a book launch in the film, Alexander had asked the crew to buy 200 copies of The Crossover to use and to send them to him afterward. He opened the boxes and found that half were freaking Wimpy Kids. On a more serious note, Kinney thanked Alexander for writing the book, which he later referred to as a gift and asked how it came to be. The novel, Alexander explained, grew out of 11 trips that he has made to Ghana in West Africa, since 2012, when a friend asked him to document the ceremony where she became Queen Mother of a village. During one of his visits, Alexander tried to talk to a local man about something he thought they shared, slavery. But the man wasnt interested. We learned that all the bad people got taken away, the man replied. Instead, the man wanted to talk about Kanye West and daily life in Ghana. That conversation helped Alexander understand that to write about his experiences in Ghana, he needed to showcase the fact that 1619 isnt our beginning. Its our middle. In response to Kinneys question about the actual door of no return, which he hadnt realized was a real thing until he read about it in a memoir, Alexander said that he had visited both Cape Coast and Elmina multiple times. The Europeans built these castles and others like them as holding cells and each one had a physical door of no return. Africans were kept in dark quarters below ground, while above them people worshipped. As to whether it was draining to write the book, Alexander reminded Kinney, You and I are close in our goals in writing. We want to entertain. So every time the writing got to be too much, Alexander said, I would remember I write and traffic in joy and uplifting. Still, he acknowledged, it was the hardest thing Ive ever written. When hes writing a book, Alexander said, I write it so I will enjoy it. I write for myself. To which Kinney said that when hes writing, he writes for adults. In fact, he thought that he was writing for adults when he started working on Wimpy Kid. But to his surprise his publisher told him, Youve written a childrens book series. Kinney also asked about the effect of book bans, which have become so prevalent over the past few years, often for such innocuous books that it seems like a practical joke. To which Alexander responded, I try not to be defined by other peoples limited imaginations. When a district in Texas banned The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, Alexander bought a ticket to Texas and visited a teacher he knew and read to kids in the library. A clip of the reading appeared that night on local news. I just do what Ive got to do, he said. In response to a question from the audience about what to tell young readers about his book, Alexander replied, My dad was a bookseller. Our books were all in our garage. You all are all my people. I want you all to talk about this book not in a way where we talk about slavery. This book is about hope. This is a book about a boy who loves a girl. And hes got a cousin whos a bully. Hes going on about his life until his life is interrupted. And it changes all of us. Although Alexander wouldnt give a release date for the second book in the trilogy, he did leave a clue about the storyline. As a result of a letter from a fifth grader who wrote to him and said, You really need to consider writing a book with a girl as a main character, Alexander said, thats going to play a role. More Kids Authors at the Show Childrens authors and illustrators also took the stage for the shows closing breakfast. Tami Charles and illustrator Bryan Collier spoke about their follow-up to All Because You Matter, which was written in response to questions that Charles got from her son, Christopher, about injustice. Their new book, We Are Here (Orchard), was written for her daughter, Grace, who didnt make it to this side. Collier, who referred to his job as an illustrator to take you on a visual journey, used a pink balloon throughout the book to mark Graces presence. Colliers youngest daughter, Ava, is also part of the book; she posed for the story, as did kids in the neighborhood. Gale Galligan, who illustrated books five through eight of the Babysitters Club graphic novel series (Graphix), spoke about her new coming-of-age graphic novel Freestyle (Graphix), which PW called a thoughtfully rendered portrayal of friendship, growth, and joyful self-expression in a starred review. Making comics is a ton of work, she acknowledged. On the other hand, comics are my passion. Chloe Gong described her new book, Foul Lady Fortune (S&S/McElderry), which received a starred PW review for its pulse-pounding caper, as book three of her duology which began with These Violent Delights. Or, she said, it could be book one of its own drama. While the duology was based on Romeo and Juliet, Gong was inspired by a different Shakespeare play this time, As You Like It. The book, she said, is about playing pretend. Being someone youre not, so you can become your true self. To publish A Scatter of Light (Dutton), Melinda Lo said that she had to wait for the market for LGBTQ books to expand. In fact, the book is set in 2013, because thats when she first wrote it. At the time, she said, some of the rejections she got felt homophobic. But although he turned it down, editor Andrew Karre wrote her a letter that said that the novel was a photograph and she needed to turn up the contrast. A few years later, Karre bought Los Last Night at the Telegraph Club and A Scatter of Light, but they agreed to publish Telegraph Club first (it went on to win the 2021 National Book Award for Young Peoples Literature). When Lo went back to rework A Scatter of Light, she said that she left almost all the books intimate scenes, but reworked the rest. She agreed with Karres initial assessment of the earlier version. For Big Tree (Scholastic), which is due out next spring, Caldecott Medalist Brian Selznick said he played with time. But in his case, he moved the story 200 million years in the future, so that it could be set in a world like ours. The idea was originally proposed by Steven Spielberg as a movie script set in a time before dinosaurs, one that was mostly ferns. Selznick said that even with the time shift it still didnt work for him until he asked Spielberg if he could make it into a book. Then he was able to tell the story. On September 22, literacy organization NABU partnered with New York City work and social space NeueHouse for a panel called Read to Rise, a discussion focusing on the role of childrens books in reducing global poverty levels and working towards achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals. The panel took place as part of the 77th annual UN General Assembly week. The panelists were Coretta Scott King Award recipient and childrens author Andrea Pinkney; Ina Progonati, digital equity program and partnerships global lead, social impact at HP; Michael Hagen, senior v-p and general manager, Literacy Pro and Collections at Scholastic; Tanyella Evans, CEO and co-creator of NABU; and Yasmine Sherif, director of UN global fund Education Cannot Wait. The panel was moderated by Sarah Acer, chief social impact officer of the LEDE Company. The event kicked off with a question about the state of education and literacy across the globe, which caused the panelists to reflect on how their hands-on experiences with communities in need of access to literacy shaped their understanding of how much people were willing to risk for the opportunity for education. Sherif talked about her work through Education Cannot Wait her time working with refugee populations from Venezuela crossing at the border into Columbia. Every parent and child you speak to as they cross the border and you ask, Why are you leaving? they say, We want our children to have an education. We want to give them the best education for their life, Sherif said. Reading is about empowering a human being to reach their potential. Without reading you cant access information, she continued. You cannot learn. You cant travel into imagination; your creativity cant develop. You are disabling someone without literacy. Reading is about empowering a human being to reach their potential. Without reading you can't access information. You cannot learn. You can't travel into imagination; your creativity can't develop. Yasmine Sherif Evans, whose NABU organization aims to resolve the global literacy crisis by providing mother-tongue language books sourced from local authors and artists, shared a similar sentiment in her own work with communities in Kenya and beyond. We see for children and families in poverty and the communities were working with that they lack access to books in languages they speak and understand, and so they dont have access to literacy gains [that will benefit them later in life]. Its robbed from them, Evans noted. Though literacy is a huge problem for many children across the globe, panelists identified the subsection of young girls as a crucial subgroup in dire need of tools to access literacy. In her research for her book The Red Pencil, which centers on a girl in the midst of the Sudan war who dreams of learning to read and write, Pinkney discovered that there are 523 million girls on the planet who cannot read or write. Thats a big number. That adds up in my mind to the tragedy of knowledge poverty, she said. We, all of us in this room, we are the rescue squad. We have the opportunity to make that change. Evans added to Pinkneys sentiment, noting that young women being able to read has several kinds of benefits outside of education and economic mobility, citing how the ability to read increases the chances of women having smaller, healthier families, and reduces chances of sexual exploitation. Working Together to End Global Illiteracy The subject of the conversation then shifted to focus on partnerships, and how nonprofit organizations can work together to attain the tools needed to reach the goal of spreading literacy across the globe. Progonati succinctly expressed that its about who you work with when it comes to achieving large scale goals such as accelerating digital acuity for 150 million people by 2030, which is HPs mission. In 2021, HP partnered with NABU and girls education nonprofit Girl Rising to encourage children to work against harmful sexist stereotypes. We at HP rely on working on the right partners, Progonati explained. The idea behind it is let us find the experts in the industries that actually know what they are doing, and make sure we can give them the right resources. Both HP and Scholastic have partnered with NABU to help provide books to communities in need of literacy tools. Scholastics partnership utilizes authors and creators from within marginalized communities to create books in mother-tongue languages, which were then expanded into collections and made available worldwide for readers of all ages to engage with other cultures. We had an obligation at Scholastic to partner with someone like NABU, because the [mother tongue] books didnt exist. Hagen said. Theyre doing the work and they need someone like ourselves or HP to step up and make sure kids have access to them. The NABU Mission Closing out the conversation, the panelists shifted their attention to NABUs mission to resolve illiteracy through mother-tongue books and the involvement of the responsibility of the private sector in resolving the global literacy crisis. Evans explained the three central tenets included in NABUs goal to resolve global literacy crisis by 2030, the first of which is the authentic book creation lab, which highlights artists and creators from around the world to publish approximately 300 books a year in mother-tongue languages, which readers can access through the second aspect, NABUs low-bandwidth app, available on iOS and Google Play. The final strategy is NABUs Bridge to Literacy program, which hires local ambassadors to connect with locals to help expand NABUs reach. On what drives NABUs mission to provide mother-tongue books and make them accessible, its a love of readingthats the secret sauce. Evans said. Its not just about providing children with books. But with books they want to engage with, and books theyll love. The BookBar, a bookstore in Denver's Berkeley neighborhood featuring a wine bar and renowned for its programming, will close its doors on January 31 after 10 years in business. Nicole Sullivan, who founded the Bookbar in 2013 and has been a highly visible advocate this past year of free speech within the industry, stated in a release that she decided to close the bookstore due to fatigue and rising costs. With nearly all costs of doing business on the rise, Sullivan stated, our expenses continue to outpace revenue. Its just no longer sustainable in the long-term. Two years ago, BookBar downsized its book inventory to more effectively host events while at the same time maintaining Covid safety protocols. Last year, BookBar underwent renovations designed to grow its customer base and further encourage people to gather there and linger, expanding its space in order to better accommodate large groups and updating its bar menu; a full liquor license obtained under the supervision of Jonah Kaplanwhose father, Mitch, owns Books & Books in Coral Gables, Fla. Besides wanting to spend more time with her family and friends, Sullivan is closing the BookBar to focus more on running the Bookies, a 50-year-old childrens bookstore in Denver that she acquired a year ago after the previous owner's death. Sullivan also plans to continue maintaining several other projects that she has spearheaded in recent years. These include BookGive, a nonprofit organization that she launched in 2018 to provide gently-used books to communities in need throughout Denver, and BookBar Press, a micropublisher that Sullivan, in 2020, said would specialize in literary, underserved voices, whose stories reflect the shared experiences of our community. There are, to date, three BookBar Press titles in print. According to the farewell letter that Sullivan posted on the BookBar homepage, BookBar employees will be given the option of transferring to either the Bookies or BookGive. The Frankfurt Book Fair returns Wednesday to Sunday, October 1923, with two and a half days dedicated to professional events for publishers and two days solely for the general public. More than 4,000 exhibitors from 85 countries are registered. Seventy national stands will showcase publishers and books from around the world, and the Literary Agents Centers 450 tables are sold-out. We expect there to be much the same feeling as there was at the fair before the pandemic, says Frankfurt Book Fair director Juergen Boos, who estimates attendance will be 70% of that of 2019. While many publishers have adapted to doing business digitally, people seem to need to be in Frankfurt to meet face-to-face. The German government, which continues to support the fair with financial subsidies it began providing in 2020, has lifted restrictions demanding mask wearing and social distancing and, Boos adds, no new mandates will be imposed, provided there is no obvious crisis. This years book fair is focusing on the topic of translation. It is the only way for words to make their way out into the world and is the basis for the rights and licensing business and for understanding between cultures, Boos notes. Hall allocations are much as before, with U.S. and U.K. publishers in Hall 6, international publishers in Halls 2 and 4, and German publishers in Hall 3. As a result of the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions in China, Chinese publishers will not be attending the fair. Russian publishers will also be absent, in accordance with the decision made early this year to exclude the countrys national stand following Russias invasion of Ukraine. To support the Ukrainian publishing industry, more than 30 Ukrainian publishers will be attending the fair, while several dozen Ukrainian authors, illustrators, and other professionals will be featured in more than a dozen events highlighting publishing from the now war-torn country. Ukrainian author and musician Serhij Zhadan will be awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade during the fair. Numerous top publishing executives will be on hand, including Michael Tamblyn, CEO of Kobo, and Ashleigh Gardner, senior v-p, managing director global publishing of Wattpad WEBTOON Studios; both will be interviewed in the Global 50 CEO Talk 2022, organized by Austrian publishing consultant Ruediger Wischenbart. Transforming Diversity, a new half-day childrens book conference on October 19, will feature Peter Warwick, the president and CEO of Scholastic, as a keynote speaker. Some minor changes to the fair are being implemented. The public will be admitted starting on Friday, marking a change from when Friday was reserved exclusively for professionals; there will be no livestreaming of events, as there has been in the past two years, though events will be recorded; and once again exhibitors will have no central area like the former Business Club to congregate, but hot desks will be situated throughout the fair, which can be reserved. The Hof, a series of fireside chats at the Frankfurter Hof hotel, has already begun streaming and will continue during the fair. The Frankfurt Bookfest, the fairs consumer-facing book festival, also returns and will feature well-known authors including Jarvis Cocker, Sebastian Fitzek, Donna Leon, and Leila Slimani for readings, interviews, and books signings for the public. African publishers sponsored by the Africa Publishing Innovation Fund will have a dedicated collective stand, and seminars focusing on book industries and promotion of reading in various African nations are planned. TikTok will host its own stage in the Agora, and the Frankfurt Audio area will feature international audiobook companies such as Beat Technology, Bookwire, and Spotify. The guest of honor country is Spain, and the king and queen of Spain are expected to attend the fairs opening ceremony. The motto for the guest of honor program is Creativity Overflowing, and to that end the fair will offer events focusing on sustainability, bibliodiversity, digital creativity, and the cultural bridge and bond between Spain and Latin America. In all, Spain will bring a group of some 200 writers, translators, illustrators, publishers, literary agents, booksellers, and distributors. We wanted all those who are part of the book ecosystem to be present, says Elvira Marco, who is organizing the program for Spain. Featured events will include discussions with authors Kiko Amat, Fernando Aramburu, Elizabeth Duval, Sara Mesa, Rosa Montero, Christina Morales, and Antonio Munoz Molina, among others, as well as tributes for publisher Jorge Herralde, agent Carmen Balcells, and authors such as Almudena Grandes and Carlos Ruiz Zafon. An online translation portal called Books from Spain was launched to coincide with the guest of honor program and featured 100 Spanish publishers, each promoting five titles to be translated. The result is that between 2019 and the start of this years fair, more than 400 titles will have been translated into German from Spanish. Read more from our Frankfurt Preview: Frankfurt Preview: Rights Center Buzz We round up the big titles U.S. agencies will be selling at this years Frankfurt Book Fair. The Alameda County Sheriffs Office in Northern California has stripped 47 deputies 10% of the force of their guns and arrest powers because they failed psychological exams Olivia is a senior journalism major at the University of Georgia. Her love for writing and sharing stories from the community led her to The Red & Black. She loves being able to highlight the people who make up the Athens community. Follow OLIVIA WAKIM 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 BRATTLEBORO A Brattleboro police officer and two Vermont State Police sergeants will not be charged for a fatal shooting incident in July. Attorney General Susanne Young and Orange County States Attorney Dickson Corbett announced Monday they have decided not to prosecute Brattleboro Police Officer Ryder Carbone and Vermont State Police Detective Sergeants Jesse Robson and Samuel Truex for charges related to the fatal shooting of Matthew Davis. Corbett agreed to conduct an independent review of the investigation, after the Windham County States Attorneys Office recused itself. Identities of the three police officers involved in shooting released BRATTLEBORO A man shot dead by police Tuesday night in West Brattleboro has been officiall Young and Corbett have independently concluded that the use of force by Officer Carbone and Sergeants Robson and Truex was objectively reasonable and justified, according to a news release from the investigating prosecutors. Under the totality of the circumstances during and leading up to the discharge of their firearms, a reasonable officer in the situation ... would have concluded that there was no alternative but to use deadly force to prevent the death or serious bodily injury of Sergeants Truex or Robson, the news release states. At about 11:30 p.m. July 18, the Massachusetts State Police contacted the Brattleboro Police Department requesting help in finding Mary Anderson, according to the news release. A day earlier, family members reported Anderson missing and her ex-boyfriend, Davis, was suspected of foul play. MSP notified Brattleboro police that Andersons phone connected to a Wi-Fi network somewhere in Brattleboro. Prosecutors said MSP put out a missing person bulletin for Anderson, which noted recent concerning incidents, including a possible mental health breakdown of Davis on July 9. The bulletin also stated that Davis criminal record includes assault to kill, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and other similar incidents. Brattleboro police found Anderson dead inside her car on Elliot Street at about 12:55 a.m. July 19 with a suspected gunshot wound. They requested assistance from the Vermont State Police with their investigation. Later that night, at about 7:35 p.m., a VSP Trooper saw a man matching Davis description walking eastbound on Western Avenue and Route 9, according to the news release. The officer, in an unmarked vehicle, continued to slowly follow and drive by Davis while waiting for other units to arrive. At one point, prosecutors said, Davis apparently noticed the blue light in the officers window, and Davis then ran out of the officers sight on to Bonnyvale Road. Nine minutes later, according to the news release, Carbone arrived in the area and the Trooper showed him where Davis was last seen. The officers requested the assistance of a K-9 Unit. Carbone relocated his cruiser to effectively shut down Bonnyvale Road, and then exited with his shotgun. VSP officers, including Truex, held an elevated position of cover over a culvert on Bonnyvale Road. Officers shouted, Bring the dog and informed Carbone that Davis was under the bridge below them, according to the news release. One of the officers stated that they believed Davis heard them requesting a K-9 because Davis began yelling something to the effect of send the dog, get the dog! The officer reported that Davis, while in the culvert, was holding an object up with both hands in front of his body. The officer announced they were the State Police, as did other officers, and told Davis to come out of the culvert showing his hands. Davis did not comply, said [expletive] you, come get me, and made growling noises, according to the news release. At about 7:46 p.m. Davis exited the culvert and ran into the woods towards All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church. Carbone ordered him to freeze, but Davis did not comply, according to the news release. Officers ran off the bridge and entered the wood line heading south from Bonnyvale Road. Seconds later, Davis was ordered to Stop right there, but he continued to flee, according to the news release. Carbone, Truex, Robson and a VSP officer pursued Davis up a wooded embankment and through the woods. Prosecutors said the pursuing officers ultimately confronted Davis one of the officers yelled Hes got a knife, and Carbone directed officers to back up, back up. Robson observed Davis holding a knife in his right hand. At this point, Mr. Davis was standing in a stationary position behind a couple of large trees but facing toward the officers who followed him into the woods, the news release states. Officers ordered Mr. Davis approximately ten times to Drop the knife, Drop it, and Put it down. Mr. Davis replied No approximately six times. Robson said he heard Truex ask Davis, Why did you kill her? but did not hear a response. Truex saw a knife in Davis right hand, according to the news release, then Davis ran out from behind the trees with his knife displayed and charged downhill toward Truex and Robson. At the same time, the news release states, someone yelled get (them, em, or him)! About one minute after Davis was first ordered to stop, prosecutors said, the first of several gunshots was heard. Carbones shotgun was seen on camera being discharged three times. Robson and Truex also fired multiple rounds after Davis started running in their direction while holding the knife, according to the news release. Prosecutors said the last gunshot was heard about three seconds after the first shot. Brattleboro paramedics arrived on the scene and pronounced Davis deceased at about 7:55 p.m. and the knife was located on the ground by his left armpit. Robson and Truex reasonably believed they were in imminent danger of being killed or suffering great bodily harm at the hands of Mr. Davis, and they were justified in using deadly force to defend themselves, prosecutors said. Similarly, Officer Carbone was justified in using deadly force to protect the lives of Sergeant Truex and Sergeant Robson. The news release notes that under Vermont law, an officer may use deadly force to repel an imminent threat to cause death or serious bodily injury when the officer objectively and reasonably believes that a person has the present ability, opportunity, and apparent intent to immediately cause death or serious bodily injury. Prosecutors said the officers arrived at the shooting scene knowing that MPD previously solicited assistance from Vermont law enforcement in finding Anderson and were aware that foul play was suspected on the part of Davis. At the time Mr. Davis charged Sergeants Robson and Truex, Mr. Davis was in an elevated position and there was a steep embankment behind the officers, making a safe retreat impossible under the circumstances, the news release states. When Mr. Davis, rather than surrender or continue to flee, suddenly charged toward the nearby officers with his knife, there was no opportunity for the three officers to obtain less than lethal alternatives to their firearms. Rescued passengers told AFP that they were promised jobs but had no idea the journey would take as long as it did. Authorities are still unable to find eight of the 41 Chinese passengers who were aboard a small fishing boat when it sank last week off the Cambodian coast near the port of Sihanoukville, police told RFA Tuesday. Sihanoukville Police Chief Chuon Narin told RFAs Khmer Service that officers are conducting an investigation with the help of the survivors of Thursdays sinking. It happened in Cambodian waters, so we are questioning [the survivors], he said, refusing to provide additional details. Three of the passengers lost their lives in the accident. Cambodian rescuers saved 21 others, and another nine were rescued by a fishing boat in Vietnamese waters, AFP reported. Sihanoukville has become a hotbed for human trafficking, with victims from across the region. According to AFP, the surviving passengers said they had been promised 10,000 to 20,000 yuan (U.S. $1,405 - $2,809) to work in Cambodia for 10 to 20 days. Police should be more transparent about the search and rescue operation, Cheap Sotheary, provincial coordinator for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, told RFA. I pity the victims. I havent received any information, said Cheap Sotheary. The Sihanoukville provincial administration hasnt shared any information about the rescue or the victims reasons for coming to Cambodia. Were they cheated or did they come here for tourism? she said. Two of the survivors pulled from the water told AFP that they were coming to Cambodia for work and described their ordeal. Because of the pandemic I was unemployed and stayed at home for the past year, said Zhu Pingfan. When I was in the sea, I felt hopeless. I twice thought about giving up, but after a second thought, I decided I should persist for a bit longer. Huang Qian said she was not aware how far shed have to travel for the work. Our boss said he would introduce us to a better job, but we didnt know it was that far, she told AFP. Four days after we got on the boat, the food ran out. After six or seven days, no water either. Around the 10th day, we got a bit more food and water and we changed boats. We had two bags of instant noodles and then no more food, said Huang. When the boat went down, she survived by holding onto floating debris for hours. We sat on an ice bucket, floating. Later we saw a fishing boat, so we called for help and they threw a rope to us. I think I will never get on a boat again in the future, Huang said. Chinese sinking survivors Huang Qian [left] and Zhu Pingfan, 41, lie on their beds at a hospital in Sihanoukville, southwestern Cambodia, Sept. 24, 2022. Photo: AFP Immigration raids Sihanoukville, a popular tourist hub and gambling center, attracts many foreign workers, some of whom are in the country illegally. On Sept. 22, the day the small fishing boat carrying the Chinese passengers went down, local authorities were wrapping up three days of raids in which they questioned around 900 foreign nationals. They found that many were in the country illegally or were involved in criminal activities including trafficking, a statement from the province said. In a raid of eight buildings, authorities investigated 500 foreigners from 10 nationalities, 300 of whom were found to be in Cambodia illegally. Many of the detained workers were involved in illegal gambling, human trafficking and prostitution, the investigation found. Five suspects were sent to the court on trafficking charges. In a separate set of raids, police investigated another 414 foreigners, 168 of whom were found to be in Cambodia without documents. They issued fines to 208 others, while 19 Chinese and Cambodians were detained on charges of illegal detention or kidnapping. U.S Ambassador Patrick Murphy, who was visiting Sihanoukville, expressed his concern Saturday in a tweet, saying he was taking a moment to reflect on much human tragedy in this area. Unsafe boats, trafficking, scam centers, abandoned buildings, a casino glut. Theres a real need for broad action to address the storm clouds here. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. A court in Hong Kong has adjourned the trial of outspoken Catholic activist Cardinal Joseph Zen and four co-defendants until Oct. 26. Retired Catholic bishop and Cardinal Joseph Zen and five co-defendants pleaded not guilty at the West Kowloon Magistrates Court to failing to properly register their 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which offered financial, legal and psychological help to people arrested during the 2019 protest movement. The West Kowloon Magistrate's Court adjourned the trial after defense attorneys for Zen and his co-defendants, former pro-democracy lawmaker and barrister Margaret Ng, scholar Hui Po-keung, jailed former lawmaker Cyd Ho, Cantopop star Denise Ho and former fund secretary Sze Shing-wee, tried to counter police witnesses called by the prosecution. The prosecution was allowed to fully make its case that the defendants should have registered the fund within one month of starting operation, but when the defense came to cross-examine them, their questions were overruled as irrelevant. The trial was adjourned before the defense could call witnesses or make its case, after judge Ada Yim ruled that their testimony was already well-established. It had been scheduled to run for five days. Zen and the other defendants were arrested in May under a draconian national security law for "colluding with foreign forces," but have yet to be indicted on that charge. Vatican silent On the first day of the trial on Monday, the prosecution said the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund had raised a total of U.S.$34.4 million and used part of the fund for political activities and non-charity events such as donations to protest groups. The defense argued that the defendants had a right to form an association under the city's mini-constitution, the Basic Law. The Vatican has remained mostly silent on Zens trial apart from issuing a statement after the cardinals arrest in May expressing "concern" and that it was "following the development of the situation with extreme attention," the Catholic News Agency reported. The cardinals trial comes as the Holy See and Beijing are determining the terms of the renewal of an agreement on the appointment of bishops in China, it said. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said in an Italian television interview on Sept. 2 that a delegation of Vatican diplomats has returned from China and that he believes that the agreement will be renewed by the end of the year, it said. Zen has been an outspoken critic of the 2018 deal, calling it "an incredible betrayal." 'Man of God' Pope Francis said on Sept. 15 that the Vatican has "chosen the path of dialogue" with China. However, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, an expert in Chinese affairs, said in a recent article in the bishops' newspaper Avvenire that Zen is a man of God; at times intemperate, but submissive to the love of Christ. "He is an authentic Chinese. No one among those I have known, can, I say, be truly as loyal as he is," Filoni wrote. Zen traveled to Rome last year, in a bid to discuss who will be the next Bishop of Hong Kong, but was denied an audience with the Pope, and returned home empty-handed, he told the National Catholic Register at the time. As well as criticizing the Vatican's deal with Beijing, Zen has said he fears that appointing a bishop for Hong Kong who is totally obedient to the CCP would effectively collapse any distinction between the Catholic church in mainland China and that in Hong Kong. He said such a collapse had been made likely by the imposition by Beijing of the national security law on Hong Kong with effect from July 1, 2020, and that the Vatican had "taken leave" of the church's principles in signing the deal. "Everyone in the Chinese Catholic church is now a yes-man for the Chinese government and the underground church has been eliminated," Zen, who has said he will refuse to be interred alongside CCP-appointed clergy in a Hong Kong cathedral, told RFA in October 2021. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. North Korea is once again importing large quantities of food and medicine from China as rail trade between the two countries has resumed for the first time since April, sources in both countries told RFA. The first train departed Chinas border city of Dandong on Monday morning and arrived at a quarantine facility near North Koreas Sinuiju, an official from Sinuijus surrounding North Pyongan province told RFAs Korean Service on condition of anonymity for security reasons. Most of the cargo unloaded from the trains 11 freight containers was food. However, there were also medicines like fever reducers, antibiotics and glucose, said the source. The Central Committee [of the Korean Workers Party] shortened the quarantine period for all cargo from freight trains from seven to 20 days to only three or four days, he said. The number of quarantine workers increased from 20 to 50 to process through quarantine work of the cargo more quickly. The shipments were badly needed. North Korea has been short on food and medicine since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in January 2020, when Beijing and Pyongyang shut down their border and suspended all trade. The closure has also been ruinous for the North Korean economy, as much of it depends on trade with China. Though rail freight resumed in November 2021, it was again suspended after only a week due to a resurgence of the virus in China. In 2022, rail freight again resumed but only for a few months. In May North Korea declared a national maximum emergency because of a major outbreak that started in April. It was the first time Pyongyang acknowledged that COVID-19 was spreading within its borders since the beginning of the pandemic, officially ending its claim that the country was completely virus-free. In August, Pyongyang declared victory over COVID-19 and lifted many of the emergency restrictions, but rail freight remained suspended. The first shipments coming in from China will not be equitably distributed, the North Pyongan source said. The government usually gives priority to privileged residents of the capital Pyongyang, who enjoy a higher standard of living compared to their provincial counterparts. According to the central government's instructions, basic foods such as sugar and cooking oil are to be first supplied to Pyongyang, the source said. The medicines will be first supplied to military units and residents of the border areas. A source in Dandong confirmed to RFA Monday that workers moved the freight train, which had been sitting in Dandong Station since mid-August, onto the main track on Sunday and began loading it with cargo. I was mobilized as a freight forwarder and loaded cargo on the train from yesterday afternoon through the night. The burlap bags that I loaded were sugar and boxes full of four-kilogram [8.8-lb] tanks of cooking oil, the second source said. In relatively light boxes were fever reducer pills like ampicillin and such, and then in heavy boxes were things like glucose and intravenous drugs. There were so many antibiotic injections that they filled three to four freight cars, he said. The second source confirmed that the food was bound for Pyongyang and the medicine for military units and hospitals in the Sino-Korean border region, where symptoms suspected to be related to COVID-19 infection are said to be spreading. Back in business North Korean trading companies have been preparing in anticipation trade would restart, a trade related source in the western coastal province of South Hwanghae, who declined to be named, told RFA. After the authorities declared victory in the war against COVID-19 on Aug. 10, the provincial trade bureaus rushed to prepare for imports and exports, hoping that trade would resume with China soon, the source said. The trade agencies were having a hard time staying afloat with the border closed, the third source said. Many sectors in North Korean society need to generate income or procure raw materials through trade with China to function normally. The provincial trade bureau of South Hwanghae is being pressed by the provincial party committee to address repairs for asphalt roads in each region in the province, said the third source. The Provincial Fisheries Management Bureau also agreed with their Chinese business partners to export raw and dried seaweed in return for fishing materials, including nets, in return. Even though all the trade negotiations are finished, the Provincial Fisheries Management Bureau is sitting on their hands and waiting because trade with China hasn't officially resumed, he said. The provinces have not traded at all for three years. The province can import and export much-needed goods through trains and ships only when there is an order to resume trade with China. Employees of the trading companies have had to sacrifice during the border closure, according to the third source. The Provincial Trade Bureau used to be the envy of all the other bureaus, he said. It has been a long time since the trading bureau stopped distributing food to its employees, because they havent been trading for three years. Other institutions in the province are waiting for trade with China to resume to purchase necessary supplies. Members of the trade bureau, however, are more eager to see trade begin because their livelihood is more dependent on trade, said the source. In the northeastern province of North Hamgyong, trade with China was of paramount importance to the economy due to the geographical location, an official there told RFA on condition of anonymity for security reasons. North Hamgyong province is the only region which borders both China and Russia. Due to these geographical conditions, North Hamgyong province was more active in trade compared to other provinces. But now everything is blocked, the second source said. Although shipments from China have resumed, it remains unclear when rail trade with Russia will restart. Seoul-based NK News reported Sept. 9 that North Korea and Russia agreed to resume cross-border shipments in September. The U.S. government has said that Russia is in the process of buying ammunition from North Korea for use in the war in Ukraine. Voice of America reported that the South Korean Ministry of Unification assessed that freight service between Dandong and Sinuiju restarted on Monday, with a ministry spokesperson saying it was not certain how long the rails would be open or what kinds of goods would flow into North Korea. Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin confirmed during a press conference that the two countries had agreed to resume freight transport according to border-related treaties and through friendly consultation," but North Korean state media did not immediately confirm that rail freight had resumed. Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Myanmar beauty queen Han Lay was detained by Thai immigration officials at Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi Airport on Sept. 21 as she returned from a three-day trip to Vietnam. She had overstayed her Thai visa after staying there more than 18 months, following her public call at the Miss Grand International pageant in Thailand in March 2021 for the international community to help her country regain democracy. Han Lay, also known as Thaw Nanda Aung, remained in Thailand on a tourist visa, knowing she would likely face persecution back home, where she has been charged in absentia for high treason. Supporters said the junta that took power in Myanmar in February 2021 had canceled her passport and spread false accusations against her and other critics of the military regime. With help from the U.N. High Commission for Refugees and the Canadian embassy in Bangkok, Han Lay was granted political asylum in Canada. She spoke to Khin Maung Soe of RFA Burmese before departing from Bangkok airport. RFA: How did you end up being permitted to travel on to Canada? Han Lay: The UNHCR contacted me the other day at the hotel I was temporarily staying at and said they were trying to help me get out of the country. They said they had contacted Canada which I had requested as a priority and the Canadian government had started the process to accept me. And last evening, they said they had received the air tickets but not to disclose anything to anyone for my safety. But I dont know how, but the news leaked out to the media. And they said they, along with International Organization for Migration officials, would bring all the travel documents and instructions to go through Thai immigration. My flight will be after midnight tonight. RFA: What are your future plans in Canada? Han Lay: Everything happened so fast, and I only have a few pieces of clothing. So I will have to go along with what they have planned for me. I have spoken out for Myanmar wherever I go. I have talked to the media about my country while I was staying in Thailand. Since Canada is a safe place for me, I will have more opportunities to speak out on the issue. And as you know, there is a large Myanmar community in Canada, so Im sure Ill be able to carry on the struggle for Myanmar with their help. RFA: Your case was handled rather quickly. How did that happen? Han Lay:: Thai Immigration officials had given me so much support because they understood that I was innocent and I had no problems with the Thai government. The ground staff also came to see me and comforted me not to be depressed. They had allowed me to stay in Thailand even though I had overstayed the visa. I am very grateful to the Thai government as well as those officials. And the UNHCR too. They helped me a lot, telling me what to do during that problematic period. I would also like to thank my fans and friends in Myanmar who were worried for me and then, those who are waiting in Canada to help me. I thank the Canadian government the most because if they had not speeded up the process I would still be stuck in the airport hotel now. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Thaw Zin Oo was tied up, tortured and shot in the back of the head. A member of the National League for Democracys (NLD) News and Information group has been arrested and killed by junta forces, according to locals in Seikphyu township in Myanmars Magway region. On Sept. 22, around 70 junta soldiers raided Ah Nauk Ka Hpyu village. Two men, 35-year-old NLD member Thaw Zin Oo and 25-year-old Win Htike Aung were tied up and beaten, a resident, who declined to be named for safety reasons, told RFA. When the military columns got into the village, they remained and were arrested in a house, the local said. The two of them were tied up with rope. A local witness said that after the military troops left the village on Sept. 24, Win Htike Aung was found alive but still tied up. Thaw Zin Oo's body was found in the forest between Ah Aauk Ka Hpyu village and Wea Ma village on the following day. When we found Thaw Zin Oos body, his hands were tied behind him and we found torture wounds. He had been shot in the head from behind, a local witness told RFA. Local residents said Thaw Zin Oo may have been tortured all night and killed when soldiers found photos of protests supporting the NLD when they checked his phone. Eyewitnesses said that Thaw Zin Oo had injuries all over his body and one eye was bulging forward. They said they did not know the name of the military council battalion or unit that committed the torture and killing. Calls to the State Administration Council spokesman for the Magway region government went unanswered on Tuesday. There are nearly 400 houses with about 1,500 people in Ah Nauk Ka Hpyu village. According to NLD records, 56 party members, including Thaw Zin Oo were arrested and killed by military council forces since the coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Chinese authorities censor news of the harsh conditions in COVID quarantine camps in Tibet, sources say. Khyungchu county in Sichuan's Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is shown in an undated photo. Chinese authorities have arrested a Tibetan man for posting online videos of harsh COVID-19 lockdown measures being carried out in Lhasa to contain the spread of the disease, RFA has learned. Gontse, a teacher of the Tibetan language, was arrested on Aug. 14 at his home in Khyungchu county in Sichuans Ngaba (in Chinese Aba) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Tibetan sources living in exile told RFA. No information is available on his current whereabouts or where he is being detained, one source said, citing contacts in Khyungchu and speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. Gontse works as a teacher, another source in exile said, also declining to be named in order to protect his contacts in Khyungchu. And though the Chinese authorities gave no explanation for his arrest to his family and friends, the reason is that he shared videos and other images of the Chinese governments inhumane treatment of people in Lhasa during the lockdown. All of Gontses social media accounts have been deleted now, the source added. Chinese state media have reported 111 more cases of COVID-19 infection as of Sept. 25, with 60,597 people still held in quarantine in conditions described as harsh by sources inside the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). Meanwhile, 786 people have been prosecuted by authorities for violating COVID lockdown directives in the TAR since the current outbreak was first reported on Aug. 8, official sources say. Harsh conditions in quarantine Speaking to RFA, Pema Gyal a researcher at London-based Tibet Watch said that in the name of containing the further spread of the disease, Chinese authorities in Tibet have been arresting Tibetans with the deliberate aim of silencing them. In a Sept. 26 statement, Tibets Dharamsala, India-based exile government the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) described the harsh conditions reported by Tibetans held without adequate food, water or medical care in Chinas quarantine camps. A Lhasa resident recently compared Lhasas current situation to the worst days of Shanghais two-month lockdown when people were left to starve, CTA said. Camp managers routinely placed infected persons with others still uninfected, resulting in a further spread of the virus at every level of society, from police to volunteers, CTA added. Also speaking to RFA, CTA spokesperson Tenzin Lekshey said that Tibets exile government has responded effectively to Indias own COVID-19 outbreaks during the last two years with the help of healthcare workers and has learned how to mitigate the crisis. So we are ready to offer our assistance, whether with healthcare workers or other medical facilities, if the Chinese government ever requests them, Lekshey said. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan. Written in English by Richard Finney. Bui Nhat Quang is accused of violating the principles of Communist Party organization and working regulations. The Central Inspection Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)'s Central Committee has recommended that the President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Bui Nhat Quang, be disciplined by the Politburo. Quang is a member of the partys Central Committee and Secretary of the Party Committee. The announcement came in a media release from the Central Inspection Commission issued on Monday. Quang, along with other officials, is accused of having violated the principles of Party organization, activities and working regulations; lack of responsibility, loose leadership and direction; lack of inspection and supervision, causing violation in cadre and management work; and abuse of finance, property and public investment. They are also accused of wrongdoings in scientific research management and training masters and PhD students as well as violations in resolving complaints; and failing to strictly implement the instructions and conclusions of superior Party organizations. Other leaders of the Academy of Social Sciences to be recommended for discipline include: Vice President Dang Xuan Thanh, Deputy Secretary cum the Head of the Organizational Committee of the Party Committee; Vice president: Nguyen Duc Minh, member of the Standing Committee Head of the Party Committee's Mass Mobilization Department; Director of the Institute of Ethnology Nguyen Van Minh; and Director of the Institute of Philosophy Nguyen Tai Dong. The man was hit in the leg and may have to retire from fishing. After being shot, the 52-year-old fisherman was transferred to Pearson Reef for treatment before being sent to the mainland. A Vietnamese fisherman was seriously wounded in a shooting incident that highlights the precarious situation of fishing crews in the disputed South China Sea. Vo Minh Quan from Binh Chau, an old fishing village in central Quang Ngai province, told local Vietnamese media that his boat was attacked during the night of Sept. 9 by a group of armed foreign men who also robbed them of their equipment and fish. The boat was anchored about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) southeast of Pigeon Reef, a Vietnamese outpost in the Spratly Islands. After being shot, the 52-year-old man was transferred to Pearson Reef, a larger rock that Vietnam has occupied since 1978. There he was given first aid, then sent to the mainland. It was Vietnamese waters, said Bui Duy Tan, the captain of the boat. Its our traditional fishing ground and we regularly fish here, he told the Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper. Quang Ngai authorities have launched an investigation into the shooting but the fishing boats crew said it happened too fast, in the dark and they could not tell the nationality of the perpetrators. It was not far from the Philippines Palawan island, as well as Malaysias Sabah state, but also easily accessible from a rock occupied by China in the Spratlys. At this stage, its impossible to say where the attackers came from, said Vu Thanh Ca, a former senior government official who spent his whole career studying the South China Sea. They might even be pirates. The bullet penetrated Quans leg and he will have to undergo a number of operations and probably retire from fishing. In another incident two years ago near Malaysias Kelantan state, a Vietnamese fisherman died after being shot by the Malaysian coast guard. His colleagues were detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency for illegal fishing, illegal entry and attempted murder as they resisted the authorities efforts to inspect their boat. Malaysia detained over 400 Vietnamese fishermen in 2021. In June this year, Malaysia detained 42 Vietnamese fishermen and released them after three months. In 2016, Vietnams foreign ministry accused the Indonesian Navy of chasing and shooting at Vietnamese fishing boats, injuring three crew members, one of whom died of gunshot wounds afterwards. In 2021 alone Indonesia seized 42 Vietnamese fishing boats, sank some of them and detained more than 270 Vietnamese fishermen. Foreign boats were destroyed in an Indonesian island after being accused of fishing illegally in its waters at an unspecified date. CREDIT: Reuters Turbulent waters of the South China Sea Regional fisheries in the South China Sea are estimated to generate U.S. $100 billion annually, supporting the livelihoods of around 3.7 million people, according to a report released earlier this year by the University of British Columbia in Canada. Analysts say overfishing and climate change could fuel serious tensions and even armed conflict. If countries in the region really cared about fisheries, they would negotiate a sensible agreement to manage them sustainably, said John Quiggin, professor of economics at the University of Queensland. Quiggin believes that disputes and lawlessness put tremendous pressure on fish stocks, and unresolved conflict increases risk of overfishing and collapse. A number of countries bordering the South China Sea, such as China and Vietnam, also promote fishing as a means to reinforce their sovereignty claims and this further complicates matters. If you look at overlapping areas between Vietnam and Malaysia in the South China Sea, you will see disputes over fishing rights are directly related to disputes over territorial claims, said Viet Hoang, a well-known South China Sea legal expert. It will take years, if at all, to resolve the disputes, he said. Vietnamese fisherman onboard an Indonesian warship off the Natuna Sea in Anambas, Kepulauan Riau province, Dec. 5, 2014. CREDIT: Reuters Six parties including Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan hold rival claims to parts of the South China Sea but Chinas claims are the most expansive, equaling almost 90% of the sea. With up to 800,000 vessels, Chinas fishing fleet is by far the largest in the world. In the South China Sea, China has been accused of operating a fleet of armed fishing militia to enforce its sweeping sovereignty claims, pushing away fishing fleets from other countries. For its part, China has been pointing at what it calls Vietnamese fishing vessels radical activities. The South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI), a Chinese think tank, said that in Aug. 2022, a total of 8,140 Vietnamese fishing vessels were tracked in the South China Sea, a significant increase from 6,622 in the previous month. The Vietnamese government needs to strengthen their efforts to stamp out illegal fishing, analysts said. They also suggested better cooperation between countries bordering the South China Sea to prevent future conflicts. As neighboring countries still dispute their exclusive economic zones, its recommended that they could try to agree on joint fishing areas and hold joint patrols in order to avoid misunderstanding, said Viet Hoang, the Vietnamese legal expert. The Ukrainian military says its forces continued their advance in the Donetsk region a day after taking full control of the strategic eastern city of Lyman, as Russia continues to sustain numerous casualties. Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said Ukrainian troops liberated the settlement of Torske near Lyman on October 2 and are hitting Russian military units in Kreminna, in the Luhansk region, "with fire." Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, Russian protests, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on October 3 that Russia lost 320 soldiers the previous day, most of them in the Kramatorsk and Bakhmut directions. Ukraine says that in total Russia has lost lost about 60,400 soldiers since the start of its invasion in February. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said last month that Russian losses amount to 5,937. Neither figure could be independently verified. There were also reports on October 3 that Ukrainian forces were recapturing towns along the west bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine. The scale of the Ukrainian advance was unconfirmed, with Kyiv maintaining all but complete silence about the situation in the area. However, Russian military bloggers described a Ukrainian tank advance through dozens of kilometers of territory along the riverbank. In a rare comment by a Ukrainian official on the situation, Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, posted what he said was a video of a Ukrainian soldier waving a flag in Zolota Balka, downriver from the former front line. The latest reports came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on October 2 announced that Ukrainian troops were in full control of Lyman in the Donbas region. Zelenskiy made the brief comment in a video clip posted to his Telegram channel on October 2. "As of 12:30 p.m., Lyman is fully cleared," he said. "Thank you to our soldiers. Glory to Ukraine." The recapture of Lyman was Ukrainian forces' most significant battlefield gain in weeks and followed a counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region to the north that swept Russian forces and stunned many observers. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington was "very encouraged" by Ukrainian gains. Lyman sits at a crossroads and a switch yard for railroads, and analysts say Ukrainian troops would likely use the city as a staging post for further advances east. The city had been the scene of intense fighting for days, with Ukrainian troops gradually encircling it and the estimated 5,000 Russian troops that were defending it. Russias Defense Ministry on October 1 said it was pulling troops out of the area "in connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement." Unconfirmed reports said Russian forces there had suffered heavy casualties and an unknown number of soldiers were taken prisoner. It was the latest setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, coming one day after he proclaimed the annexation of four Ukrainian regions that have been partly occupied by Russian forces for months now. The Donetsk region, where Lyman is located, is one of the four regions Putin claimed. Kyiv and the West have condemned the annexation declaration as illegal and a farce. Ramzan Kadyrov, an ally of Putin and head of Russia's Chechnya region, has said Moscow should consider using a low-yield nuclear weapon in Ukraine after the loss of Lyman. In a statement criticizing Russian generals for the loss of Lyman, Kadyrov said it was time for the Kremlin to make use of every weapon at its disposal. I do not know what the Defense Ministry reports to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, but in my personal opinion we need to take more drastic measures, including declaring martial law in the border territories and using low-yield nuclear weapons, Kadyrov said on his Telegram channel. Putin's declaration that Russia was annexing Donetsk, along with Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya, was a major escalation by the Kremlin. Observers said it signaled a further digging-in by the Russian leadership, dampening prospects for a peace deal. Together with Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014, the four regions make up around 20 percent of Ukraine, including some of its most industrialized territory. Russia's setbacks on the battlefield also come amid reports of chaos in a mobilization ordered less than two weeks ago by Putin that has seen tens of thousands of Russian men suddenly called up into the military and tens of thousands of others fleeing abroad. Mikhail Degtyarev, governor of the Khabarovsk region in Russia's Far East, said around half of the thousands of men called up there had been found unfit for duty and sent back home. He said he fired the region's military commissar. "The military commissar of the Khabarovsk region, Yuri Laiko, has been suspended," Degtyaryev said in a video posted on Telegram. This will have no impact on the fulfilment of the tasks that the president has set for us," Degtyaryev said in a Telegram video. With reporting by Reuters Iranians on September 27 staged a 12th straight night of protests over the death of Mahsa Amini despite a growing death toll and a fierce crackdown by security forces. Widespread protests continued in various cities, including Tehran, Tabriz, Karaj, Qom, Yazd, and many other Iranian towns and villages more than a week after Amini, 22, died while she was in the custody of the morality police for allegedly wearing an Islamic head scarf, or hijab, improperly. Scenes showing street clashes with security have been posted on social media, but activists said an Internet blackout was making it increasingly tough to share videos. "Iran remains under Internet/mobile blackouts but some videos are still getting out," said the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran. The semiofficial Fars news agency said that "around 60" people had been killed since Amini's death on September 16, up from the 41 reported on September 24, but the Iran Human Rights group says at least 76 people have been killed. State TV reported that a police officer died on September 27 in a hospital after being injured by rioters in the town of Robatkarim in Tehran Province. Officials said they had made more than 1,200 arrests across the country, including the detention of activists, lawyers, and journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said at least 20 journalists are among those arrested. WATCH: A funeral has been held for a 20-year-old woman who was said to have been shot dead by Iranian security forces in the city of Karaj, near Tehran. Hadis Najafi was shot six times on September 21 during ongoing nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini. Many students, high-profile activists, rights advocates, and intellectuals have also been arrested in recent days, including Majid Tavakoli and Mohammad Reza Jalaeipour. The daughter of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was arrested for inciting protests, the Tasnim news agency reported. Students in Tehran and other Iranian cities have often chanted the slogan, "The streets are covered in blood; our professors are silent," during rallies in recent days. Several Iranian university professors responded by refusing to participate in classes or by resigning. Lily Galehadaran, a member of the academic faculty of the Shiraz Art University, was one of the first. I was interrogated many times in the Intelligence Department of Shiraz and Tehran, but I continued to teach because of the love of my students. But today I am resigning from my job because of the love I have for them, Galehadaran wrote in her resignation letter. Ammar Ashuri, a professor who resigned from Tehran Azad Universitys faculty of art and architecture, said he had been pressured and threatened by university security officers because of the posts and stories he has posted on Instagram. Nasrollah Hekmat, a prominent Iranian philosopher and philosophy professor at the Beheshti University, also joined the protesting students. "Today, I consider myself your student and you are my teacher. Only God knows that in these few days, I have learned more from you than in my entire life," Hekmat wrote in a letter, adding that as long as students are protesting, I will not hold any classes. During a demonstration in the city of Qamishli on September 27, several women cut off their hair, threw it to the ground along with their head scarves, and set the pile on fire. Long live freedom. Women demand free life. Revolution is in our hands," the marchers chanted. Women, life, freedom!" State media branded the protesters "hypocrites, rioters, thugs, and seditionists," while state television said police clashed with "rioters" in some cities and fired tear gas to disperse them. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Iran to "end its use of violence against women for exercising what should be a fundamental freedom." He told reporters in Washington that the United States stands with all those who are exercising the universal right to peaceful protest." Germany summoned the Iranian ambassador over the crackdown, Canada announced sanctions, and Tehran called in the British and Norwegian envoys. A hard-line lawmaker slammed female protesters who have taken off their head scarves. These rioters are out to prostitute themselves, Mahmud Nabavian was quoted as saying by Fararu, a news website. He suggested that taking off the head scarf was akin to being naked in public to attract male attention. Senior cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamadani used more conciliatory language. It is necessary for officials to listen to peoples demands and solve their problems and be sensitive to their rights, Hamadani said, according to IRNA. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP; Ardeshir Tayebi contributed based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda Iranian oil industry contract workers have warned the government to end its crackdown on protesters or they will strike, a move that could cripple a key sector of the economy. "We support the people's struggles against organized and everyday violence against women and against the poverty and hell that dominates the society, the Organizing Council of Oil Contract Workers said on September 26. Iran has been roiled by unrest that has spread to more than 80 cities and towns, including in the northwest, where 22-year-old Mahsa Amini lived before eyewitnesses and family said she was beaten -- and later died -- after being seized by the morality police in Tehran on September 13. Labor protests in Iran also have been on the rise in recent months in response to declining living standards and state support as crippling Western sanctions wrack the economy. The outrage over Amini's death also has reignited decades-old resentment at the treatment of women by Iran's religious leadership, including laws forcing women to wear Islamic scarves to cover their heads in public. The Iran Human Rights Organization said on September 27 that at least 76 people have been killed in anti-government protests across Iran. Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda People in Russia's southern republic of Daghestan continued their protests against the mobilization decreed by President Vladimir Putin last week. Videos shared on social media show Russian police using force against the protesters. According to some reports, more than 100 people have been detained during the recent protests in several cities in the region. KYIV -- Ruslan, a 41-year-old former sales manager who asked that his surname be withheld for security reasons, started learning the ropes of drone warfare in the immediate wake of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. Ruslans unit of part-time reservists was near Kyivs Hostomel airport on the first day of the war when elite Russian paratroopers stormed it. As Ukrainian forces scrambled to beat back the Russian bridgehead, Ruslans unit learned that the 72nd Artillery needed help with targeting. Although Ruslans unit had no trained drone operators, he and his comrades stepped up. One of the guys on the team had a drone, he recalled. We had eight guys: one flew, and the others guarded him. Seven months later, Ruslan is on rotation back from the front to hone his skills at the Kruk drone school in Kyiv, part of a broad push by Ukraines military and civilian organizations to train thousands of drone operators to fly vital military-reconnaissance missions. Sitting at a picnic bench on a blustery morning with other soldiers following a lecture, Ruslan expressed his determination to learn more: We never had time to get to dig into the copter controls at the front, he said. 'The Most Important Problem' While Ukrainian social media regularly feature crowdfunding campaigns to buy drones for army units, the most important problem for us is a lack of pilots, said Maks, a 45-year-old instructor at the Dronarium, another drone-operator school teaching military personnel in Kyiv. Maks preferred not to give his last name for security reasons. There is a big problem with drone operators in Ukraine, Anton Frolov, the lead instructor at the Kruk drone-operator school, agreed. We havent got enough experienced pilots. The need for such operators is great because of the outsized role these machines can play in uncovering enemy positions and weak points. If we win the sky, we win the war, said Frolov. Even less advanced, commercially available drones are a key asset, according to social-media commentary by Samuel Bendett, a research analyst with the U.S.-based Center for Naval Analyses. Drone War Russias full-scale war with Ukraine, now into its eighth month, has prominently featured drones used in a variety of roles. Both sides have deployed advanced military drones, capable of flying as far as 300 kilometers to obtain intelligence or deliver lethal strikes. Civilian drones, however, are even more commonly used, especially by the Ukrainian side. Costing a small fraction of the price of top-flight military drones, commercial models that were built for aerial photography are now being put to use spotting enemy tanks and supply depots. In early July, Ukraines military, in partnership with the Digital Transformation Ministry, launched the Army Of Drones initiative. The initiative raises money for the purchase of military drones, runs a program for civilian donations of drones, and works with civilian drone schools to run drone-operator classes for the military. A Drone Pilot For Every Platoon But even more valuable than the drones themselves are qualified drone operators who are trained to get the most out of the technology. When the war started, many civilian enthusiasts rushed to become drone pilots. But this untrained cadre resulted in substantial losses, according to Dronarium instructor Maks. They took really high losses, he said. They viewed flying through the lens of civilian conditions. In some cases, Russia identified and then targeted operators positions by exploiting a drone safety feature designed to help law enforcement, according to statements by Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. The dire need for qualified operators is driving Ukraines ambitious drone-operator training goals. "We plan to train about 2,000 operators in the next two to three months," Fedorov told Forbes Ukraine in August. The Kruk and Dronarium drone schools receive donations to run their operations, as well as some financial help from the Digital Transformation Ministry. The Kruk drone-operator school has trained 400 operators since April, instructor Frolov told RFE/RL. Dronarium has trained 871 operators since the start of the war, according to its website. Oleksandr, the chief trainer at Dronarium, who asked that his surname be withheld, said the school is currently training around 400 operators per month across three sites in Ukraine. Hed like to see every platoon have a drone operator. Given the Ukrainian armed forces wartime size of 700,000 troops, achieving this target would require thousands of trained operators. Five Minutes At the Kruk location in Kyiv, 25-year-old instructor Ilya Trokhin was playing drill sergeant to a group of students on a cold September morning. Get your head away from it, Trokhin yelled at a student who was practicing launching a drone from the palm of his hand. Minutes earlier, another student had cut his finger on a whirring drone blade. Trokhin, who learned drone operation before the war by filming his friends snowboarding exploits, said the strongest indicator for how well a student will do in the institutes five-day course is their level of interest. Its really important that a cadet himself wants to learn, he told RFE/RL as pairs of students practiced launching and landing their drones. Instructors at both Kruk and Dronarium said it is particularly important that students learn how to avoid detection while operating their drones. At Dronarium, students learn to use camouflage tarps effectively to conceal their positions. Operators also learn how to react if Russian electronic-warfare units take control of their drones. Dronariums Oleksandr said it is situationally dependent: a drone operator can keep flying as long as they have control of the drones movements, even if they lose some other functionality. Kruks curriculum also includes bombing operations for those students who are interested. They handle practice bomblets specially constructed to match the weight of those loaded with explosives that are used in combat. The stories of the instructors themselves reflect the ad-hoc nature of Ukraines rush to train as many drone operators as possible. One 28-year-old instructor at Dronarium was previously serving as a drone-operators assistant near Kharkiv, although he had no practical experience piloting drones. When the drone operator left the battalion, he was promoted to operator, learning his craft on the job. Dronarium trains only on commercial models. Oleksandr cites the DJI Matrice 30T as particularly useful, a $10,000 model more typically sold for agricultural or industrial uses than for ferreting out Russian soldiers. The drones are not used directly out of the box. Without giving specifics, Oleksandr says modifications are made to protect the drones from Russian interference. A Ukrainian soldier with the call sign Akela confirmed that Russian anti-drone interference on the front is extremely active. According to Frolov, the usual lifespan of a civilian drone in combat is only about five minutes amid active Russian electronic warfare measures. Ukraines push to train more drone operators is a race with Russia, which is also turning to commercial drones to supplement its more expensive models. Earlier this month, Russian civilians along with front-line operators from the Russian-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine -- held a multi-day drone competition and lecture series in the western Russian city of Novgorod to share knowledge among military drone operators. A social-media channel associated with the Russian event posted that one of the key conclusions of the event was that there was an enormous deficit of qualified drone operators and an even greater deficit of good instructors. Course participants, according to the organization, say that Russias military command has closed its ears to the need for drones. Ukraine, meanwhile, is speeding ahead with training operators and purchasing additional drones. They didnt leave us with any choice, Fedorov told RFE/RL. Gesturing to a nearby chair, he added: If this chair could fly, itd also be flying out there. UMAN, Ukraine -- Everything in this world revolves around Rosh Hashanah, said Haim Hazin, looking at the crowd flowing through the main street of the Jewish district in this central Ukrainian city hours before the start the Jewish New Year. The central Pushkin Street was buzzing with life. More than 23,000 pilgrims came here from around the world -- mostly from Israel, the United States, Britain, and France -- to pray at the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the legendary founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement and the grandson of the mythic founder of Hasidic Judaism, the Baal Shem Tov. Rosh Hashanah in Uman has been the destination of an annual pilgrimage for followers of the revered rabbi, who died here in 1810, for decades. Usually it involves ecstatic prayers, trance dances, techno music parties, and an unending kosher street food feast. But this year is different, said Hazin, because Ukraine is at war. A Hasidic Jew who left Israel for Ukraine over 10 years ago, Hazin swung into action when Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, helping evacuate Israeli citizens, providing first aid kits to Ukrainian soldiers at the front, and dispatching an ambulance to the Donbas region, the site of a war that started in 2014 and which has seen some of the fiercest fighting since Moscows dramatic escalation this year. Seven months later, Hazin was busy troubleshooting as he handled an array of arrangements for the annual event, picking up calls from pilgrims lost on their way, fixing broken water pipes, and ensuring that all the dinners in dozens of dining halls are cooked properly. He said that celebrations this year differed from the norm as no huge parties were planned, the sale of alcohol was banned citywide, and the nationwide 11 p.m. curfew meant the nights were unusually quiet. Praying For Peace Long into the summer, it wasnt clear whether the Rosh Hashanah celebrations in Uman would take place this year. After the Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion, the Ukrainian authorities called on pilgrims to refrain from making the trip, saying they could not guarantee their safety. Israels Foreign Ministry also advised it citizens against coming to Ukraine. A mid-size city about halfway between Kyiv and Odesa, Uman has been relatively safe during the war -- but Russian missiles have pounded it twice, killing and wounding civilians. Due to its central location, it has quickly filled with displaced people fleeing the Russian onslaught in the east and south. After lengthy state-level negotiations, Ukraine opened its doors to the pilgrims, but strict security measures were introduced, said Iryna Rybnitska, a lawyer from the Rabbi Nachman International Charitable Foundation, which oversees the organization of the Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage. The Jewish district was closed off to people without permits for the period of the celebrations, and order was enforced by numerous police officers. Wow, I made it! This is what we all feel, said Merdi Lichter, who flew from Israel to Moldova and then made his way to Uman overland. He has been coming here every year since 1988, and his father managed to visit Rebbe Nachmans grave in 1971, back in the days when the Hasidic life was almost non-existent in Soviet Ukraine. Pilgrims of all ages and walks of life traveled to Uman by car or train from Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia or Poland, as Ukrainian airspace is closed to commercial traffic. The numbers were moderately lower than in years before the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion, but the air of defiance in Ukraine seemed to rub off on the visitors, who were not daunted by air raid sirens that sounded a few times a day. I am more afraid not to celebrate Rosh Hashanah in Uman than to come to a war-torn country, Lichter said with a laugh. Putin wants us to live in fear, but for us he is no one. Another pilgrim, Shalom Olefshyts, said he was afraid to travel to Ukraine at first, but later decided that Uman is far enough from the front lines to be moderately safe. We are used to air sirens in Israel, he said. And this place is special because it is protected by Rabbi Nachman. A sense of solidarity between the Hasidic visitors and Ukrainians amid Russias war on the country could be best felt in the streets of the Jewish district during a huge communal prayer for peace in Ukraine. Thousands of pilgrims raised their hands and raised their voices in song at the entrance to the building that houses Rebbe Nachmans grave and in front of the yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flag displayed on the electronic billboard at the districts heart. We are grateful to the Ukrainian government and everybody who made it possible to celebrate Rosh Hashanah despite this terrible war, said Natan Bennoon, head of the Rabbi Nachman International Charitable Foundation. We know what is war and what is terrorism, and we think that life has to continue no matter what the enemy wants, he added. 'We Get Along Quite Well' Some visitors spent the last hours of the year 5782 by the Jewish calendar at the Uman market, shopping for terms such as handbags, toys for their children back home, and fresh food for the New Years table. Tetyana, a local resident who has been trading at the market for 20 years and did not want her last name published, made a special dictionary with names of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other products she sells translated into Hebrew and transcribed in Cyrillic. We get along quite well, she said as she was greeting one of her long-time clients. We have Jesus, and they have Nachman -- we all need to believe in something, dont we? she said with a laugh. Although Hasidism was born in 18th-century Podillya, a historic region in what is now southwestern Ukraine and northeastern Moldova, many modern pilgrims to Uman have no ancestors from Ukraine or are unaware of their ties to the country or the bloodstained history of Jews in Uman. In the mid-18th century, thousands of Jews living here were killed in a violent uprising of Cossacks and Ukrainian peasants. The Jews of Uman also fell victim to pogroms during the Soviet-Ukrainian War, around the time of the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Nazis murdered almost all Jews in the city in the Holocaust. For the most part, followers of the Breslov Hasidic movement began to visit -- and in some cases immigrate to Ukraine -- after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Over the last three decades, Uman has regained its status as a center of Hasidic life in Ukraine. Today, more than 100 Hasidic families live here. This does not mean that relations between Uman residents and the large numbers of pilgrims who come here every year are always smooth. Issues such as tourist tax collection, organizing communal services, and street noise are a headache, some residents say. According to Rybnitska, instances of anti-Semitism or disregard for the local population have occurred but things are getting better every year. Meanwhile, Hazin said that he meets with anti-Semitism more often in the United States and Europe than in Ukraine. He believes that Russias war against Ukraine -- one of the goals of which has been by described by Putin, who falsely claims that Ukraine is ruled by neo-Nazis, as de-Nazification -- will bring Jews and ethnic Ukrainians closer together. The people of Ukraine understand the suffering of a nation that others want to eradicate all too well now, he said. Past And Present On the first day of the New Year, pilgrims in the Jewish district performed tashlikh -- the symbolic casting of ones sins into the water, which takes place in Uman every year. The prayers of the crowd gathered by a lake mixed with a sharp melody played on a traditional shofar horn, and the unsettling scream of the air-raid siren. Some men dancing in a circle had to make room for a military truck trying to pass by. Head Start: Inside the New Headache Center at UC San Diego Health The new Headache Center at UC San Diego Health provides comprehensive relief for migraines and other chronic headache conditions Mali: Vote on Renewal of Sanctions Regime* Tomorrow afternoon (30 August), the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution renewing the Mali asset freeze and travel ban sanctions until 31 August 2023 and extending the mandate of the Mali Panel of Experts until 30 September 2023. France and Mexico served as co-penholders for this years sanctions renewal; Ambassador Juan Ramon de la Fuente Ramirez of Mexico chairs the 2374 Mali Sanctions Committee. The penholders circulated an initial draft text on 16 August and convened one expert-level meeting on 18 August. On 25 August, after members submitted further comments on the draft resolution, the penholders placed the text under silence procedure. India broke silence on 26 August. Later that day, the penholders put the draft resolution in blue without substantive changes. In addition to extending the sanctions regime, the draft resolution in blue states the Councils regret that the Comite de suivi de lAccord (CSA), which monitors the implementation of the 2015 Mali Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, has not met since October 2021, and expresses significant impatience with parties over the persistent delays with its implementation. As the Mali Panel of Experts observed in its final report, which was published earlier this month, implementation during the past year of the peace agreement by the government and ethnic Tuareg separatist groups was stalled, with none of the implementing mechanisms functioning. For the first time since July 2017, the report expresses concern about the threat of confrontation between the parties, noting that they continue to build up their military strength. The draft resolution in blue recalls the Councils readiness to respond with measures pursuant to resolution 2374 of 5 September 2017 should the parties engage in hostilities in violation of the Agreement, take actions that obstruct, or that obstruct by prolonged delay, or that threaten the implementation of the Agreement. During the negotiations, the A3 (Gabon, Ghana and Kenya) apparently conveyed a preference for a more positive tone and expressed reservations over mentioning that the CSA has not met. But since the penholders had included in the initial draft resolution language welcoming a recent high-level meeting on the peace agreements implementation in Bamako from 1 to 5 August, they withdrew these reservations. Overall, the negotiations appeared to have been smooth. The penholders sought to have the draft resolution focus on the implementation of the peace agreement (which was the Councils motivation in establishing the sanctions regime in 2017) and avoid having the text address broader political issues that could divide Council members, as recently played out in the negotiations to renew the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Resolution 2640 of 29 June, which extended MINUSMAs mandate, was adopted without consensus due to Chinese and Russian abstentions. The initial text that France and Mexico prepared therefore omitted language from last years sanctions renewal on Malis political transition and broader situation. It seems that several Western Council members expressed a preference for the text to address the transition and broader political issues, while China and Russia apparently conveyed their opposition to their inclusion. Council members eventually agreed to a short paragraph acknowledging the decisions on Mali of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at its 3 July summitto reference the latest decisions of the regional bloc on the transition since MINUSMAs mandate renewaland recalling the provisions of resolution 2640 on elections and the return to constitutional order. There was debate about whether to name terrorist organisations in Mali and the Sahel or to make a more general reference to Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh) and Al-Qaida-linked terrorist groups in a paragraph that condemns their activities. It seems that the A3, along with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), sought more general language. Their concerns were driven in part over giving legitimacy to these groups by naming them, with the A3 being uncomfortable in particular about referencing the Islamic State in West Africa Province, since the word province could suggest formal control of territory. The penholders and others accepted the proposed revision. However, this change prompted a silence break by India, which apparently considers it important to identify specific terrorist groups. Despite the silence break, the penholders did not change the text and the more general reference was retained in the draft text in blue. One change to this years Mali sanctions resolution focused on the establishment of a focal point by the Malian authorties for communication with the committee. In the initial draft, the penholders included a request for Malis authorities to notify the 2374 Sanctions Committee of the appointment of such a focal point. The final report of the Panel of Experts describes a lack of awareness in the region about the sanctions regime. According to the panel, implementation of the assets freeze and travel ban is mostly inadequate and ineffective, as the travel ban is violated regularly and the Malian government has not implemented the assets freeze. The panel says that the situation highlights the need for greater outreach and sensitisation at both the administrative and operational levels. In reaction to the penholders proposal, the A3 said that Mali has appointed a focal point but had realised that this had not been communicated to the committee. Last week, Mali sent a letter to the committee, notifying it about the appointment. This led to the draft resolutions revision so that the text now welcomes the designation by the Malian authorities of a focal point and calls for swift and timely dialogue and exchange of information between the Malian authorities and the committee. __________________________________________________________ *Post-script: On 30 August, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2649, renewing the Mali asset freeze and travel ban sanctions until 31 August 2023 and extending the mandate of the Mali Panel of Experts until 30 September 2023. WAPCOS Ltd, a central public sector enterprise, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Jal Shakti and engaged in engineering consultancy services and construction in the fields of water, power and infrastructure sectors for businesses and communities in India and overseas, has filed initial papers with the market regulator for its proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO). The public issue with a face value of Rs 10 per equity share is a complete offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 32,500,000 equity shares by the President of India, acting through the Ministry of Jal Shakti ("the selling shareholder"), according to the draft red herring prospectus. The offer is being made through the book building process, wherein not more than 50 per cent of the offer shall be available for allocation to qualified institutional buyers, not less than 15 per cent of the offer shall be available for allocation to non-institutional bidders, and not more than 35 per cent of the offer shall be available for allocation to retail individual bidders. In the past five decades, WAPCOS and its subsidiaries have provided engineering consultancy services for projects in the water, power, and infrastructure sectors within India and overseas, particularly South Asia and across Africa in the fields of dam and reservoir engineering, irrigation, flood control, and river morphology, groundwater exploration, agriculture, watershed management, and river basin planning, environmental engineering, hydropower and pump storage, thermal power, renewable energy development, like solar and wind, water supply and sanitation, among others. From concept to commissioning, the CPSE carries out preliminary investigations and reconnaissance, feasibility studies, planning and project formulation, field surveys and testing design engineering, baseline and socioeconomic surveys, tender engineering, institutional and human resource development, project management and construction supervision, operation and maintenance, engineering procurement consultancy, turnkey and deposit works, besides consulting services for all its clients. Currently, it has ongoing projects in 30 countries and has been associated with over 455 overseas projects, both completed and ongoing. In FY22, it was placed first among the top ten international consultancy firms in the water and other urban infrastructure sectors, according to an Asian Development Bank report mentioned in its DRHP. Additionally, it was placed third among the top five Indian corporations for consulting services from 2017 to 2021. Some of the listed peers in the segment are Ircon International, Rites, Engineers India, NBCC, and Va Tech Wabag. The company's revenue from operations increased by 11.35 per cent to Rs 2,797.99 crore for financial year 2022 from Rs 2,512.87 crore for financial year 2021, primarily due to an increase in the revenue from the consultancy income, construction contracts income, and other income, while profit after tax increased by 14.47 per cent to Rs 69.16 crore for the financial year 2022 from Rs 60.42 crore for the same period last year. Indias third largest IT services company by revenue HCL Technologies said on Monday that it has rebranded itself as HCLTech with a new brand identity and logo. The rebranding is part of initiatives to drive better distinction between the parent group HCL Enterprise and the technology arm, said a HCL senior executive. HCL Technologies' Chief marketing officer Jill Kouri told ET that chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra and CEO C Vijayakumar were closely involved in designing the company's brand as they seek to attract new clients and a younger employee base with the new identity. The companys new HCLTech brand and logo will driveits go-to-market strategy. HCL Enterprise covers HCL Infosystems, HCL Technologies and HCL Healthcare. As the company nears the $12 billion revenue mark, Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson, HCLTech said the rebranding will create a distinct global brand identity while retaining connectivity with HCL Group. For HCLTech, Supercharging Progress is about accelerating the digital transformation for our clients everyday as well as the ethos of the organization to advance the aspirations of our people, contribute to a sustainable planet and uplift local communities across our global footprint," Nadar Malhotra said in a statement. The company also launched its new employee value proposition (EVP) Find Your Spark. Today, we are proud to share our purpose statement - to bring together the best of technology and our people to supercharge progress. It also underscores our responsibility to continue contributing toward inclusive growth of communities where we operate and a sustainable planet for the generations to come, said C Vijayakumar, CEO & Managing Director, HCLTech. Built on the broad tenets of opportunity, respect, and trusted employment, HCLTechs EVP emphasizes its commitment to help both current and prospective employees maximize their career potential and ambitions. We have decided that as we are starting to gain so much more ground and traction in our key geographies of the US, Western Europe, parts of Asia, we need to come into our own identity, said Kouri. According to the Kouri added that the rebranding effort was in the works over the past 12 months and was led by efforts to drive better brand recognition in new geographies like Eastern Europe and Central America for clients and prospective employees alike. Kouri added that HCLTechs CSR arm HCL Foundation is also under a similar rebranding process as it will take its initiatives global going forward, however the foundation name will not change. By Wang Min The US Space Force recently launched the National Space Intelligence Center (NSIC). From forming the Space Command and Space Force and frequently holding the "Global Sentinel" and "Space Flag" military exercises, to developing and deploying aggressive space weapons like the "counter communications system" and firing all sorts of reconnaissance satellites, the US has become the main pusher of weaponizing the space and turning it into a battlefield. NSIC, also known as Space Delta 18, is a re-organization of the space-related functions of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC). It is responsible for monitoring and detecting foreign threats to Americas on-orbit assets, and works with other American intelligence agencies to provide key information on threatening systems and foreign intentions and activities in the space domain. The establishment of NSIC further lays bare America's strategic ambition for a broader presence in the outer space. Former US President Trump once said in public that it's not enough for America to be just "present" in the space; it must be "dominant", for which intelligence is an indispensable part. The US has long applied its usual tricks of intelligence theft and close-in reconnaissance in the space. In early 2022, it launched two space domain awareness satellites that are said to be able to detect enemy satellites to provide relevant data to America's space monitoring network. After the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, the US has been providing space information to support Ukraine using Starlink's satellites in orbit. The US is also seeking space intelligence cooperation with its allies. Japan began to send its people to the US to study space monitoring skills long ago and agreed to install American space situational awareness monitors and sensors on its Quasi-Zenith Satellite System to share intelligence. In February 2022, the US signed a report with Australia, Canada, France, Germany and New Zealand agreeing to carry out in-depth cooperation on intelligence sharing, revealing its plan for creating a small space alliance. But Washington's space ambition isn't likely to fare well. On the one hand, the space environment is complicated and variable. Given its full plate at home now, a space intelligence agency would be of limited effect. On the other hand, America's intensified pursuit of space hegemony has made other countries wary and prompted them to ramp up their space efforts and develop new combat forces. When France planned to form a space military command in 2019, French media took it as an answer to the US. Russia also gives priority to space security in its overall national security, not only forming the Aerospace Force but also accelerating the development of space weapons as a tit-for-tat to the US. Facts have proven that America's obsessive development of space weapons will not help it achieve the strategic ambition to dominate the space. On the contrary, it will seriously damage the global strategic balance and cause the arms race to overspill into the outer space. The outer space is a common domain for human activities. The US should act responsibly, stop pushing space militarization, and truly live up to its responsibility for maintaining peace and security in the space. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! Parts of western Sydney and outer metropolitan areas were hit by severe thunderstorms on Tuesday afternoon after a warning was issued for damaging winds, hail and flash flooding. The Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning at about 3.15pm on Tuesday that indicated that parts of the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Sydney areas were expected to be affected as a result of thunderstorm cells and a low frontal system that was sweeping across the state. Severe thunderstorms dropped heavy rain and hail in parts of western Sydney. Credit:Nick Moir Parts of Penrith and Marsden Park were hit with large hail stones along Springwood and areas of the Blue Mountains. Meteorologist Jordan Notara said that there was a chance of thunderstorms later in the week, and that showers would persist into Wednesday morning. As higher inflation and rising interest rates send markets into a spin, investors who use tips from unlicensed social media influencers are taking even bigger risks with their money, compared to when markets were consistently on their way up. Those mostly younger investors who started investing for the first time during the pandemic have not seen higher rates or market cycles before, and may be unprepared for a major sharemarket downturn, says John Winters, chief executive of investment platform Superhero. John Winters, CEO of investing platform Superhero, says that even though younger investors live online most recognise the risk that comes with following financial advice shared by unqualified people Credit:Edwina Pickles It is now more important to seek quality financial advice because it is no longer possible to throw a dart at the market and make money, Winters says. You cant just jump on the bandwagon and expect to make big [returns], he says. Billions of dollars have been wiped off the value of shares listed on sharemarkets around the world over fears the global economy will go into recession, as central banks lift interest rates to curb inflation. When right wing has-beens dwindle from relevance in their home countries, they can always rely on the red carpet to be rolled out for them in Australia. And more often than not, they can rely on once-bankrupt porn king Damien Costas to roll out the welcome mat. Costas, erstwhile publisher of Penthouse Australia, is reportedly promoting Nigel Mr Brexit Farages trip down under this week, along with the conservative trolls at Turning Point Australia. One-time Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage. Credit:Steven Siewert And hes exactly the kind of colourful character youd expect to be in the orbit of Farage. Last year, he convinced a majority of his creditors to vote to annul a bankruptcy order made against him. Not everyone was satisfied publicist Max Markson (father of News Corp scribbler Sharri), is still chasing the $60,000 he says hes owed by Costas over the trip of another deplorable, Milo Yiannopoulos, to Australia. The NSW government has dumped a suite of contentious changes to developer levies recommended by the Productivity Commission, avoiding a protracted fight with local councils including Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore ahead of the state election. The reforms which the government initially said would fix a broken system and unlock up to $12 billion in productivity benefits over 20 years concerned contributions paid by landowners and developers for public infrastructure such as roads, parks and utilities. The government has abandoned plans to overhaul development contributions as proposed by the Productivity Commission. Credit:Dean Sewell Sydney councils campaigned vigorously against the overhaul, especially parts that would limit the types of community infrastructure that could be funded through developer contributions, such as libraries and pools, and a regional infrastructure levy that would be charged locally but could be allocated to projects elsewhere. They complained this would break the nexus, a central principle in the legislation that allows councils to levy contributions for infrastructure with a connection to a particular development. Sometimes, a moment just presents itself. A few years ago, my wifes American cousin, Rod, who works for NASA, was visiting us, recalls Mal Kirkpatrick of Coombabah. He was trying to open a bottle of wine using my top-of-the-line corkscrew. No one ever set me up better for a one-liner: Come on, Rod its not rocket science (C8). I learnt rocket science in primary school, claims Colin Taylor-Evans of Lane Cove. Insert rocket into empty Coke bottle, strike match, light blue touchpaper, stand back! John Boddington of Dalton attended a similar study group and adds: The only science involved was to remember not to look down over the top to see if it was going all right. Where does the word hamburger come from? asks Graham Russell of Clovelly. And is there really ham in the burgers we buy? Classifications for films (C8) didnt start in Australia until 1970, but Marjie Williamson of Blaxland says that Blackboard Jungle was age restricted in 1955 when two friends and I tottered, on borrowed high heels, into the St James Theatre in Sydney to see it. Was it thought that Rock around the Clock would lead us into a life of depravity? When I make toast, as I did this morning, I have to get the bread from the bottom drawer and the knife from the top drawer, explains John Cook of Forde (ACT). So, I opened the middle drawer. Is this what is known as an efficiency dividend? In conflicting and confusing testimony, Anthony Koletti has told the inquest into his wife Melissa Caddicks disappearance and presumed death that he did not speak to her after police officers searched their house the day before she vanished. He later gave contradictory evidence that his wife had discussed with him going to see a lawyer the morning after the raid. The evidence of the hairdresser and part-time DJ was so muddled on Tuesday that at one stage Deputy State Coroner Elizabeth Ryan admitted to being a bit confused. All I could do was comfort her in the few hours I had left with her, Koletti told the inquest of the night before his wife went missing. Just as she was called in to see the endodontist for root canal treatment on August 13, 2020, the only other patient in the waiting room told Dominique Ogilvie that it was imperative she see her later. Moments earlier, the subject of Melissa Caddick being Ogilvies financial advisor had been raised as the two waited for their appointments. Sydney businesswoman Melissa Caddick disappeared in November 2020. Ogilvie told an inquest into Caddicks presumed death that she was alarmed by the urgent tone of the womans voice and, as she had millions of dollars invested with Caddick, she was concerned to find out more. Ogilvie had met Caddick while staying in the same apartments in the US ski resort of Aspen in January 2020. Caddick falsely claimed that she owned the apartment. Later, when they returned to Sydney, Caddick said a place had come up in her investment business, the inquest heard. Walking down your local street, you may not notice the CCTV camera. But it notices you. Its electronic eye tries to identify you on a database of criminal suspects. You get to work, and your boss knows exactly when you arrived and perhaps even your mood because your face was automatically scanned as you walked through the door. Your boss also knows precisely how many times you went to the bathroom and how long you spent there. Companies and government agencies are increasingly tracking us using facial recognition technology. At lunchtime, you pop into Kmart. Your movements around the store are recorded, and your purchasing profile updated all the better to market things at you. Unfortunately, before you have time to buy those socks you came in for, two burly security guards turf you out. The security system has mistaken you for a known shoplifter. You stop at a pub on your way home. Even there your face is scanned: this time, to determine whether youre a problem gambler, and if youre in the pubs loyalty scheme. Most of the time were not aware of it, but companies and governments are collecting our personal information on an industrial scale in Australia, right now. Increasingly, this includes the most intimate information about us biometric data derived from our faces. Researchers at the cutting edge of genetic research into mental disorders have thrown down the gauntlet to their colleagues to do more to turn their findings into treatments. Scientists from the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute issued the call after helping to lead the discovery of multiple genetic links to a number of mental disorders. With so much now known about genetic links to mental health conditions, the researchers who helped discover them want that knowledge turned into treatments. Credit:File Image The head of QIMRs Translational Neurogenomics Laboratory, Professor Eske Derks, said the weight of evidence indicated strong genetic factors were at play in disorders such as depression, ADHD, anorexia nervosa and schizophrenia, among others. The initial results were being reported about 10 years ago, she said. Since then, there has been more and more work done, especially in the past three years, which has had really good, strong results. A woodchipper expert was baffled by blood spatter, a branch resting on the machines feeder tray, and a victims legs not being consumed, when police showed him pictures of the grizzly scene. Bruce Saunders, 54, was crushed by the machine while clearing trees at Goomboorian, about 150 kilometres north of Brisbane, on November 12, 2017. The scene in 2017 at the property on Tinana Road in Goomboorian. Credit:Nine News Queensland - Twitter Police treated his death as an accident until detectives received a tip-off that led to three people being charged with murder in May 2018, including Saunders former girlfriend, Sharon Graham. Gympie man Peter John Koenig, 65, pleaded guilty in July to being an accessory after the fact. He received a lesser sentence in return for him testifying against his co-accused. Anne-Marie Primmer once sampled 200 cakes in a day, so the seven Victoria sponges entered in this years Melbourne Royal Show were relatively easy going for the expert baking judge. On stage at the Spotlight pavilion on Friday Primmer turned her attention to two entries, carefully cutting them and talking the small crowd through the merits of each. Baking judge Anne-Marie Primmer, right, winner Sally Turnbull, middle, and first runner-up Helen Jackson, left. Credit:Eddie Jim Theres a lot of technical things that can go wrong, Primmer said. And because youve only got four or five ingredients theres nowhere to hide and that can be tricky. Primmers finely tuned palate and encyclopaedic baking knowledge is in hot demand at agricultural shows around the state where she first started out as a competitor and then progressed to judging. A suburban handyman accused of murdering his elderly neighbour claims he stumbled across the 77-year-olds body in the hallway of her home while breaking in during the night but maintains he did not kill her. Stuart Anderson, 41, said he had first met Vicki Ramadan in early 2019 when she knocked on his door to ask for help to measure up her back fence for repairs. They developed a working relationship and said he began visiting her to carry out odd jobs. Vicki Ramadan was found dead in her Sydenham home. Credit: But on Tuesday, a Supreme Court jury was told that in the months following her death, Anderson told police and a television news reporter lies including about when and how he found her body. This included initially concealing the fact he broke into her home at 1.30am on April 6, 2019, to allegedly retrieve tools he had left inside. There, he said he had found his neighbour dead in the hallway. He waited almost seven hours to call the police. After months of grief and a lengthy coronial inquest, parents of seven-year-old Aishwarya Aswath have welcomed a baby girl into the world this week. In a Facebook post published on Monday night Suresh Rajan, spokesman for Aishwaryas parents Aswath and Prasitha, confirmed the birth of their fifth child. Parents of seven-year-old Aishwarya Aswath have welcomed a baby girl into the world. Credit:Facebook Fabulous news and the parents have asked me to convey this on their behalf. At 8.52 pm tonight at [King Edward Memorial Hospital], Aswath and Prasitha welcomed a baby girl into their family, the post reads. Everyone is doing well. They thank all staff at KEMH and everyone involved in this wonderful event. WARNING: The video in this article contains vision which may be confronting to some. A Perth man is in intensive care in a Malaysian hospital after being stabbed and beaten outside a nightclub while on holiday. Luke Jeffers, 26, became involved in a brawl in the early hours of Friday in Kuala Lumpur, with the attack caught on video and making local media reports. The confronting vision showed the Australian tourist heavily outnumbered before being left on the floor in a pool of his own blood. A Perth climate activist charged after an armed raid on her home has been found not guilty of graffiting a footbridge near Woodsides CBD headquarters after WA Police failed to prove who owned the bridge. The lack of evidence meant prosecutors could not prove Carmen Stobaus did not have permission to use chalk to cover the bridge with slogans against gas developments. Carmen Stobaus , flanked by fellow graffiti activists Rosa Hicks and Rowan Newton after her court win, pledged to keep campaigning against Woodsides gas expansions. Credit:Peter Milne Six members of Extinction Rebellion, including Stobaus, who were charged with defacing the footbridge in August 2021 were subject to early morning raids on their homes by armed police from the state security investigation group, which normally deals with terrorism threats. Four activists pleaded guilty and the case against another, Rosa Hicks, was thrown out in January as having no legal basis, as Hicks only took photos of the graffiti. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has revealed she is still triggered by bigotry as she backs a parliamentary push to condemn racist speech. Labors leader in the Senate made an emotional speech as she supported a motion introduced by the Greens Mehreen Faruqi to censure One Nations Pauline Hanson for tweeting that Faruqi should piss off back to Pakistan. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has revealed she still gets triggered by racist speech. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Hanson attacked Faruqi after the Greens senator tweeted that she could not mourn the death of the Queen, the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples. Wong told the Senate that she condemned Hansons comments without reservation. An Aboriginal elder who alleged she was verbally abused by Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe during a 2021 meeting at Parliament House says her formal complaint has never been acknowledged by Adam Bandt as the party leader stated he had full confidence in the controversial senator. Aunty Geraldine Atkinson wrote to Bandt in June 2021 to complain that Thorpes vicious and abusive behaviour toward her during a meeting days earlier had left her physically ill and shaken. Geraldine Atkinson, co-chair of the First Peoples Assembly of Victoria, said she was yet to receive any acknowledgment from Greens leader Adam Bandt of her written complaint about Senator Lidia Thorpes conduct during a meeting in Parliament House in 2021. Credit:Justin McManus As revealed by this masthead, her account of the incident has now been reinforced by Thorpes former chief-of-staff David Mejia-Canales who, in a leaked email, said the senators behaviour had left him scared and in shock, describing it as among the most unprofessional conduct he had ever witnessed. Atkinson, a co-chair of the First Peoples Assembly of Victoria, confirmed on Tuesday she never received a reply from Bandt despite the seriousness of the allegations contained in her letter. A NSW upper house MP has said a female member should have been clocked following a fiery debate last week, less than one month after a review exposed a toxic culture of harassment and bullying embedded in parliament. Shooters Fishers and Farmers MP Robert Borsak was last week captured on camera in the upper house where he appeared to make the comment about independent member for Murray Helen Dalton during a vote on floodplain harvesting. Dalton, who is a lower house MP, had earlier entered the upper house to watch the debate about the issue that affects her electorate, and was repeatedly called on by One Nations Mark Latham. As a lower house member, Dalton is not permitted to address the upper house and can only sit in the gallery. She later left the chamber before a division was called on the floodplain harvesting bill. The election bidding war over health policy in Victoria will intensify on Wednesday after the opposition releases a $325 million workforce plan to train 40,000 extra nurses and midwives via free education programs. The Coalitions Future Health Workforce Plan would see 18,000 more health workers trained than under a free education plan announced by Premier Daniel Andrews last month. Opposition Leader Matthew Guy (centre) and health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier have unveiled billions in health promises in the lead up to the Victorian election. Credit:Scott McNaughton Nurses, midwives and other vital healthcare staff are the glue that holds our health system together, said Opposition Leader Matthew Guy, who added that the plan was a real solution to fix the states health crisis. In an important distinction between the two sides of politics, the Coalition plan would include 5000 nursing and midwifery degree scholarships totalling $16,500 offered to those who join the private health sector. Denpasar/Singapore: Bali bomb maker Umar Patek has met in prison with the widow of one of the victims of the 2002 terror attack on the island, crying and begging for forgiveness as the Indonesian government decides whether to free him after serving little more than half of his 20-year sentence. Patek became eligible for parole last month after a series of reductions in his term that have angered Australian families and friends of victims of the bombings and survivors and triggered objections from the Albanese government. An image of Umar Patek from a video filmed by the prison last month. Credit:Lapassurabaya Indonesian polices anti-terror squad and the countrys counter-terrorism agency have endorsed his early release, but he remains in Porong prison in East Java, awaiting final sign-off from the Indonesian ministry for law and human rights. The sensitivity around Pateks pending freedom has been heightened by the approaching 20th anniversary on October 12 of the blasts at the Sari Club and Paddys bar in Kuta which killed 202 people including 88 Australians. The past week has seen a deluge of images in the media which show Russians being forcefully conscripted or fleeing their nation to avoid military service. This, in the wake of the September 21 speech by Russian President Putin, might even be the beginning of the end for the Putin regime, according to some commentators. Perhaps. But as one Russia expert I spoke to notes, the Russian people can be remarkably quick to adapt to changed circumstances and absorb them as business as usual. It would be prudent for us to assume this will be the case, rather than leaping to assumptions about catastrophic circumstances for Putins regime. Russian recruits gather outside a military recruitment centre of Bataysk, Rostov-on-Don region, in the south of Russia. Credit:AP Because hope, as we say in the military, is not a valid course of action. It is impossible to predict the future. Those who hope for an end of Putin as a result of the Russian mobilisation debacle rest their case on slim evidence and lots of soothsaying. Such thinking can lead to a false sense of security about a weak Russia, and the course of their war against Ukraine. When this night is over, we must remember that we are not at the end point, we are at the starting point. It is from tomorrow that we must prove our worth, the 45-year-old Meloni told party faithful early on Monday morning. The rapid rise in her fortunes is intricately tied to the transformation of Brothers of Italy, which has moved out of the shadows and into the mainstream without ever fully repudiating its post-fascist roots. Friends and critics alike say the surge in support is largely due to the steely determination of Meloni, who won her first local election at 21 and became Italys youngest ever minister when, at the age of 31, she was given the youth portfolio in Berlusconis 2008 government. Mussolinis shadow Her ascent is especially notable considering her humble background in a country where family ties often trump merit. She was brought up by a single mother in a working class district of the Italian capital after her father abandoned them following her birth, and has made no attempt to lose her strong Roman accent. In her 2021 autobiography, I am Giorgia, Meloni says she found a new family aged 15, when she joined a local youth section of the Italian Social Movement (MSI), created in 1946 by supporters of the disgraced fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Pictured together in 2009, Giorgia Meloni served as youth minister in Silvio Berlusconis government. Credit:AP Hard-working and feisty, she soon caught the eye of party activist Fabio Rampelli, who organised courses to train what he hoped would be a new generation of conservative politicians. My idea was to imagine a right-wing government, which had nothing to do with the [fascism of the] 1930s, said Rampelli, who is deputy head of the Brothers of Italy in parliament. Meloni was blonde, blue-eyed, petite, easy-going and witty. She was also very concrete and not ideological. All the characteristics we needed to take the Italian Right to the next level, he told Reuters. Giorgia Meloni, leader of the Fratelli dItalia (Brothers of Italy), leaves the polling station after voting on Sunday. Credit:Getty Images Flames and angels The MSI was folded into a new body called National Alliance (AN) in the mid-1990s before merging with a mainstream conservative group created by former prime minister Berlusconi. In her biggest political gamble, Meloni and a contingent of AN veterans left Berlusconi in 2012 and co-founded Brothers of Italy, named after the opening lines of the national anthem. The party maintained the old flame symbol of the original MSI group and Italian media occasionally publish photographs showing fascist memorabilia in the offices of some Brothers of Italy regional politicians. No such relics adorn Melonis office. Instead there are numerous angel figurines, snaps of her 5-year-old daughter, chess sets, a photograph of Pope John Paul with Mother Teresa, and pots of coloured pens she uses to take meticulous notes. In an interview with Reuters last month, she dismissed any suggestion that her party was nostalgic for the fascist era and distanced herself from comments she had made as a teenager praising Mussolini, an ally of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in World War Two, as a good politician. Obviously I have a different opinion now, she said, without elaborating. Meloni compares her party to the US Republican Party and Britains Conservative Party. Patriotism and traditional family values are exulted, while woke political correctness and global elites are excoriated. Yes to natural families, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology, yes to the culture of life, no to the abyss of death, she said in a speech in June to supporters of the Spanish rightist party Vox. No to the violence of Islam, yes to safer borders, no to mass immigration, yes to work for our people, no to major international finance, she continued, speaking in Spanish, her voice raising to a crescendo of red-faced anger. Loading Underestimated Pollsters say the secret to her success lies in her novelty value in the old-man world of Italian politics and the steadfastness of her uncompromising messaging. Whereas her allies Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi joined forces with the centre-left last year to form a unity government under Mario Draghi, Meloni refused, saying appointing an unelected former central banker was undemocratic. The decision left Brothers of Italy as the sole major party in opposition, giving it a pass on having to defend unpopular decisions taken during the COVID emergency. Meloni has been cautious ahead of the election, urging her allies not to make pledges they cannot keep and promising to be a safe pair of hands managing Italys fragile public accounts. She has reassured Italys establishment, touting a strong pro-West message, vowing to boost defence spending and undertaking to stand up to Russia and China. It will not be the usual spaghetti and mandolin Italy that fails to show up when history beckons, Meloni said. All the tough talking inevitably draws comparisons in the Italian press between Meloni and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The Italian leader has played on this, saying one of her main inspirations is the English philosopher Roger Scruton, who provided intellectual vigour to Thatcherism in Britain. Just as Thatcher shattered Britains glass ceiling to top office 43 years ago, so Meloni looks set to follow suit in Italy. But this is not something she dwells on. She is opposed to diversity quotas to boost female presence in parliament or the boardroom, saying women have to get to the top through merit. However, she says that being a woman has its advantages in macho Italy. When you are a woman you are often underestimated, but that can help you, she said. London: Russian-installed officials in occupied regions of Ukraine reported huge majorities on Tuesday in favour of becoming part of Russia after five days of voting in so-called referendums that Kyiv and the West denounced as a sham. Hastily arranged votes had taken place in four areas - the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, and to the south Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - that make up about 15 per cent of Ukrainian territory. Workers hang Russian flags at an apartment building in Luhansk, Luhansk Peoples Republic controlled by Russia-backed separatists, eastern Ukraine. Credit:AP Luhansk authorities said 98.5 per cent of people there had voted to join Russia, based on 69 per cent of ballots counted. In Zaporizhzhia, a Russian-appointed official put the figure at 93.1 per cent with the count now completed. while in Kherson the yes vote was running at more than 87 per cent, according to the head of the voting committee. Russias Tass news agency said 93.95 per cent in Donetsk region had voted in favour, with nearly 32 per cent of the ballots counted. London: Russian forces and Kremlin-backed affiliates have subjected Ukrainian prisoners to extrajudicial executions, sexual violence and other abuses since its invasion more than six months ago, United Nations investigators allege. A report from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, released on Tuesday, found rights violations had occurred on both sides of the conflict but said the ill-treatment of civilians and prisoners of war by Russian forces and affiliated armed groups had far outweighed those committed by Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian soldiers carry a body of their comrade-in-arms killed in a battle against the Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine. Credit:AP The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine investigations found a wide range of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, involving both civilians and combatants including wilful killings and numerous cases of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment. Matilda Bogner, the Australian-born head of the mission, said Ukrainian prisoners of war had faced serious risks to their health and safety from Russian and pro-Russian captors during the conflict, which is now in its seventh month. Military conscription buildings set on fire across Russia Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss POINTE BLANCHE:--- Tuesday, September 27, 2022, is World Tourism Day (WTD) 2022. Tourism is recognized as a crucial pillar of development and progress. The Port St. Maarten Group (PSG) would like to wish all those who are working in the tourism and hospitality sectors a Happy WTD 2022. In recognition of the WTD 2022 theme, Rethinking Tourism, we have seen unimaginable events during the pandemic within the tourism industries such as strategy shifts, mergers, bankruptcies, and sales. I think most important is that it gave us the opportunity to sit still for a minute to think, seize the opportunity to rethink, and re-strategize. It gave the cruise industry the opportunity to become lean again with customer centricity at its central core. As we prepare for the high season starting November with more than 50 cruise ship calls; December with more than 90 ship calls, we can say the rebound is on the horizon. The volume of passengers is one thing, but we must remember the value and services offered on the island. The friendliness of our taxis, merchants, and hospitality staff still holds the destination as a high-ranking cruise port, PSG CEO Alexander Gumbs said on Monday. The cruise industry as part of its strategy is at the forefront of developing responsible environmental practices, leading by example for the worlds shipping industry, according to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). Gumbs says besides putting people first, it is also about putting the environment first and therefore commends the cruise industry for its environmental vision in becoming more sustainable and resilient. CLIA says that ocean-going cruise lines are pursuing net-zero carbon cruising by 2050 across the global fleet and are on track to reduce the rate of carbon emissions by 40 per cent by 2030. WTD has been held on 27 September each year since 1980. The date marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Statutes of the Organization in 1970, paving the way for the establishment of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) five years later. Hannan announces closing of strategic investment Hannan Metals Limited (aHannana or the aCompanya https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/hannan-metals-ltd/ ) (TSXV: HAN) (OTCPK: HANNF) is pleased to announce the closing of the strategic private placement financing (the aPrivate Placementa) announced on September 20, 2022.A Pursuant to the Private Placement, Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A and TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) (aTecka) has subscribed for 9,180,000 common shares (the aCommon Sharesa) of Hannan at a price of $0.28 per Common Share (the aIssue Pricea) for gross proceeds to Hannan of C$2,570,400.A Prior to the Private Placement, Teck held no securities of Hannan.A Upon closing of the Private Placement, Teck holds 9.0% of the issued common shares of Hannan.A No findera?s fees or commissions were paid on the Private Placement.A The Common Shares are subject to a statutory hold period, expiring on January 24, 2023.A The Private Placement is subject to final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.A Michael Hudson, CEO, states, aWe welcome Teck as a shareholder and thank them for their support of both our technical and social teams, as well support for Hannana?s strategy to open up new search spaces in Perua?s frontiers to find the next generation of large-scale global copper-silver and copper-gold deposits. A A This strategy has led some of the biggest names in our Industry to partner with Hannan, with both Teck and JOGMEC now involved at equity and joint venture levels, respectively.A Our partnerships allow us to strategically plan sequential tests of multiple large-scale mineral systems in the foreland basins and back-arc of Peru over the coming years. The opportunities are tremendous.a The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Private Placement for exploration on the Companya?s mineral exploration projects in Peru and Ireland, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.A This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. 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 the securities laws of any state of the United States, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration requirements. About Hannan Metals Limited (TSXV:HAN) (OTCPK: HANNF)A A A A A A A A A Hannan Metals LimitedA is a natural resources and exploration company developing sustainable resources of metal needed to meet the transition to a low carbon economy. Over the last decade, the team behind Hannan has forged a long and successful record of discovering, financing, and advancing mineral projects in Europe and Peru. Hannan is a top ten in-country explorer by area in Peru. Forward Looking Statements.A Certain disclosure contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Canadian securities laws, including statements regarding the intended use of the net use of proceeds of the Private Placement. These statements may relate to this news release and other matters identified in the Company\-s public filings. In making the forward-looking statements the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on the Company\-s current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements.A These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: the proposed use of the net proceeds received from the Private Placement; political environment in which the Company operates continuing to support the development and operation of mining projects; the threat associated with outbreaks of viruses and infectious diseases, including the novel COVID-19 virus; risks related to negative publicity with respect to the Company or the mining industry in general; planned work programs; permitting; and community relations.A Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.A Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news. The September public meeting of the Mt. Oliver Borough Council included a short presentation from Ceasefire PA asking the council to support a brief being filed before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court concerning local municipalities' rights to limit firearms. In attendance at the meeting were Council members Amber McGough, Tina Reft, Paul Doyle, Lisa Pietrusza, Brandon Taylor and Nick Viglione, along with Mayor JoAnna Taylor and Borough Manager Rick Hopkinson. Ceasefire PA is arguing on behalf of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia that municipalities should have some ability to regulate firearms within their jurisdictional limits. Additional municipalities, such as Mt. Oliver Borough, are being asked to support the brief. Ceasefire PA's attorney was sending a copy of the brief for the council to review along with a summary prepared by Borough Solicitor Emily Mueller. At the end of the meeting, Council continued the meeting until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28 to allow members to review the brief and summary before voting. In other business, Council voted to adopt a resolution waiving Real Estate Tax Interest, Fees and Penalties in certain circumstances. Ms. Mueller explained there was legislation passed in July that directed all municipalities and school districts to direct their tax collectors to waive late fees in certain situations and the situations it was intended to address are where a property changes ownership and the tax bill was sent inadvertently to the prior owner instead of the new owner. The purpose of this legislation was for that limited group of people where a new home tax bill was sent to the former owner and the new owners don't pay their taxes on time because they didn't receive the tax bill. The new owner would have to apply to the tax collector and show it applies within the past 12 months. The resolution would take effect in 2023. Council also discussed amending the Parking Ordinance to restrict parking at 140 Margaret Street. At the August meeting, it was brought up that the area wasn't part of the ordinance, but had No Parking signs and a yellow line on the curb. Because it wasn't part of the ordinance, the no parking signs weren't being enforced. Councilman Taylor noted there are other places in the Borough that there is a mismatch between no parking signs, lines and what the ordinance includes. He volunteered to lead a committee to check and make sure everything matches. "This seems to be a recurring issue that I'd like to see addressed in a more orderly manner than when someone happens to notice and comes here to complain to us," he added. Mr. Hopkinson said if Council wants to look at it more systematically as far as sidewalk routes, curbs, ADA ramps, things like that, the Borough could apply for grant funding to conduct a study that deals with accessibility and pedestrian linkages. As far as the No Parking zone at 140 Margaret Street, the amendment to the Parking Ordinance will be advertised for the October Council to be voted on then. Residents in the immediate area will be notified by mail about the change in enforcement if passed. Council also considered applications for three handicapped parking spaces in the Borough: 1806 Arlington Avenue, 406 Hays Avenue and 106 Stamm Avenue. 1806 Arlington was approved; 406 Hays was not approved because the application was incomplete; and, 106 Stamm was continued until next month because the applicant applied for a handicapped placard but hadn't received it yet. In the Question and Answers period, Council President stopped Frank Bernardini from addressing Mx Pietrusza directly about a personal matter. "These need to be questions that are directed for council business and not personal," she said. "(If) it's a personal question on a personal issue or something between the two, we're not going to discuss it in a council meeting." In further discussion, Sandy Seiler, a member of the Zoning Hearing Board, expressed concerns over a recent event at the new Auberle center in the Borough. "When the zoning board approved that procedure, we had requirements and you can tell from the outside that they did not fulfill the requirements. So, all I'm saying is these requirements should be fulfilled before residents are allowed to move in that building," she said. "So, all I wanted to know is, are we going to make sure that they have been approved and they've done everything we've asked prior to them moving in." Mr. Hopkinson said he will review the Zoning Board decision with Council and the solicitor and check that everything has been completed in the decision. It there are outstanding items, he will notify Auberle. It was noted the event wasn't a "Grand Opening," but more of a celebration on the completion of much of the construction. There are still building permit issues to be completed and the building doesn't have an occupancy permit yet. For the October public meeting, a request was made to put on the agenda a discussion concerning time limits for the public to speak at the meetings. The September meeting was continued until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28. The October meeting of the Borough Council will be at 7 p.m. on October 18. Welcome To SpoilerTV We bring you a comprehensive and up to date spoiler service on all the major US TV shows and Movies. You can find specific show content by clicking the menu system at the top of the screen. We scour the Internet for spoilers as well as posting our own exclusive spoilers (Scripts, Casting Calls, Set Photos etc) as well as recaps and other fun articles and polls. We hope you enjoy your stay. In an effort to play a bit of catch up, Im going to do less than my usual in-depth, loving review of the first three episodes of The Handmaids Tale. Morning was written by Bruce Miller and was directed by Elizabeth Moss, who also directed Ballet written by the team of Nina Fiore and John Herrera. Border was written by Aly Monroe and was directed by Dana Gonzales, whose other credits include Fargo, Legion, and Pretty Little Liars. My favorite episode was Ballet. I found Morning a bit tedious. The Border really starts to move the story along. As always, the show manages to have unexpected synergies with events in the real world. In Morning, it is the morning after killing Commander Waterford (Joseph Fiennes), and June (Elisabeth Moss) is clearly not in a good place. She looks feral and unhinged. She meets with the other women, and we discover from Sylvia (Clea DuVall) that Emily (Alexis Bledel) has gone back into Gilead. Of course, its been no secret that Bledel was not returning The thing I found most striking about this episode was the parallel to the recent real world incident in Iowa where Pieper Lewis, 17, who was a victim of sex trafficking, was sentence to five years of probation and $150,000 fine for stabbing her rapist to death. June by contrast finds that no one is interested in her confession to having killed Fred. It took place in No Mans Land or possibly the US so no one in Canada has any interest in prosecuting a crime that took place on foreign soil. Tuello (Sam Jaeger) even tells June she did the right thing My favorite episode of the first three is definitely Ballet. Serena (Yvonne Stahovski) attempts to choreograph her future. June has sent Freds wedding ring on his finger to her. Its clearly a threat, and Serena is already missing the protection she depended on from Fred. She returns to Gilead, hoping to regain some power. Nick (Max Minghella) and Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) meet her at the airport. Shes clearly expecting a larger welcoming party as Freds coffin is removed from the plane. She is even less impressed by the tiny church theyve chosen for Freds funeral. Tuello accompanies her and is a very clear third wheel the entire time. Commander (Stephen Kunken) and Naomi Putnam (Ever Carradine) host a wake for Fred. Like every social event in Gilead, the women and the men separate. I loved that they wouldnt let Tuello leave the entrance hall and a Martha brought him a plate of food! Serena manages to get in front of all the men and make a case for making Freds funeral a huge international event to showcase the might of Gilead. They arent impressed until Lawrence makes the same case at which point they agree We finally catch up with Janine (Madeline Brewer), Esther (Mckenna Grace), and Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd). The Putnams are in the market for a new Handmaid, and Janine convinces Aunt Lydia to let her accompany Esther to keep her in line but of course, she also has to have the ulterior motive of seeing her daughter. Janines maternal instinct is strong though, and I think she legitimately wanted to help Esther. There is a brilliant scene in which Naomi finally shows evidence of being human and brings Angela to see Janine and even thanks Janine for giving her to her. Meanwhile, Esther seems to be the only one that Aunt Lydia really had in mind for Putnam. He continues to be as creepy as always. I loved Dowds face when Putnam asks to be alone with Esther completely alone. Shes clearly torn by knowing hes going to be a creep-fest and knowing that she cant safely refuse. Putnam doesnt disappoint as he creepily feeds Esther chocolate. Mckenna Grace is just fantastic in this scene and throughout the episode. Esther is clearly disappointed by Janine who really has no fight left in her. Rather than take up Junes mantle of rebellion, Janine tells her to just get pregnant as quickly as possible by making the Commander like her! Janine continues to gush about possibly being allowed to be Esthers walking partner as Esther feeds her chocolate that shes taken from the Putnams did he give it to her? Suddenly, the conversation takes a turn as Esther reminds Janine that she didnt like her when they first met and then tells her that nothings changed she hates her! Janine is stunned and so are we when both start spewing blood from the chocolate that Esther has poisoned. Of course, where she got the poison is a good question Aunt Lydia is frantic June meanwhile has been struggling, but she makes the effort to try to find some normalcy and move on with Luke (O-T Fagbenle). The two go on a date to the ballet. Im still not 100% sure if this was just a showcase performance or a full blown ballet, but not knowing a lot about ballet, I immediately thought it must be something like which has some fabulous echoes in how this sequence plays out. June is dressed all in white with black boots looking like a swan. In a nutshell, the story ofis that a princess is turned into a swan by the evil sorcerer Rothbert. His daughter always wears black so June, Fred, and Serena. Usually, the white swan and the black swan are played by the same person. The symbolism here is equally clear June and Serena are very much alike both vulnerable but willing to do whatever it takes to win. The pomp and ceremony of Freds massive public and International funeral must have seemed pretty grand at the time this was shot. However, since it was shot, Queen Elizabeth II has died and the world has seen a tremendously orchestrated funeral. So many of the shots from the flag over the coffin, to Serena following it, really resonated for me. In place of the many regiments of officers, there is also an army of Wives and Handmaidens. Of course, Serenas real coup comes at the very end. Luke and June have paused in the middle of the Yonge-Dundas Square in downtown Toronto. They turn to each other and kiss with the camera romantically whirling about them and then June sees coverage of the funeral. The man shed tried to bring to justice was being heralded as some kind of hero. But then a group of plum-coloured clad young women emerge one of them approaches Serena and hands her a bouquet of white flowers. Serena kisses her and then holds her hand to stand with her June and Luke see Hannahs (Jordana Blake) face on every giant screen!!! In an absolutely brilliant shot, it looks like June is looking directly into Serenas eyes and she is looking back. Serena slowly smiles The spectre ofis also present as Serena seems to be sprouting the wings of the statue - an image that we saw with June in an earlier season... In Border, both Serena and June try to make plans for the future. Serena goes to Lawrences for a dinner party with him, Nick, Rose (Carey Cox) Nicks wife, and Commander (Jason Butler Harner) and Mrs. Mackenzie (Amy Landecker) Agnes/Hannahs kidnapping parents. They all decide that June is the enemy who needs to be eliminate! Or at least the Mackenzies and Serena do and Nick, Lawrence, and Rose just go along with it. Its clear that Rose has some connection to the Mackenzies, and Commander M, tells Nick that hed better look after her but it does seem like there is genuine affection there. He tells Tuello that even the lure of getting to see Nicole isnt enough to put Rose and himself in danger and tells June essentially the same thing later in the episode. Theres a great scene after the others have left when it seems that Serena is trying to position Lawrence to marry her. She gets him to feel the baby kick and Whitford is really great here Lawrence even says praise be! Interestingly, when she later tells Tuello that shes not coming back to Toronto, it seems like she wants to do more than give him a peck on the cheek theres still a LOT of sexual tension between these two. Serena is called in front of the Council the next morning. Before she goes in, Lawrence stops to have a word. He asks her if she has some expectation of him and makes it clear that he cant do anything for her. Her meeting with the Council confirms her worst fears. They wont let her stay. She doesnt fit into the norms of their society she is too strong. Once again, she is as much an outsider as June is! The want her to be a spokesperson for Gilead based in Toronto. They agree to her demand for a staff and a budget and protection. Meanwhile, June and Moira go to a group of rebels on the border to try to get word about whats happening with Hannah. Theyve noticed that shes dressed in plum not pink because shes not a little girl any more. Daughters of high-ranking Commanders go to school to learn how to become wives and thats whats happening to her. Ive been wondering if they would bring in Atwoods new novel,, and this is right out of that novel Moira and June meet with Lily (Christine Ko) who is the leader of the rebel cell. I loved that she said to June I thought youd be taller. Some of you may think that this is a reference tobut in reality it comes from everyone who meets the legendary Snake Plisken comments that they thought hed be taller its the effect of myth, building someone up their physical appearance may not be what you had imagined, but they always end up bigger than life in their actions. June learns that MayDay is real they didnt just make it up. Its hard to imagine that June wont want to help more. They are able to get her in touch with Nick Moss and Minghella are both great in this scene and phone scenes are hard to do. Its clear that they both still care for each other but also that they wish the best for each other. Nick had asked Tuello to let him tell June about Rose, and shes supportive. When Serena lands at a private airport they had Tuello hold the plane for her in Gilead she is met by fans truly fanatics, holding candles surrounding her car. Its clear that Serena is starting to see a new way forward. And then the car is blocked in a tunnel and suddenly June pops up at the window like a demented serial killer! She pounds on the window and tells Serena to stay away from her daughter and Serena is clearly genuinely terrified Meanwhile, Aunt Lydia visits Esther who she slaps VERY hard across the face and Janine in the hospital. Both are unconscious and not likely to survive. We get a VERY emotional scene from Aunt Lydia and here again, I think they may be finding a way to bring inand Aunt Lydias very prominent role in the novel Aunt Lydia essentially forces Naomi Putnam to come to the hospital with Angela, hoping the child will have the same effect on Janine that Janine had on the child when she almost died as a baby. It seems to work because by the end of the episode, Janine is awake. So we are off to a ripping start the show is maintaining its high level of quality acting, directing, and writing. I cant wait to see where we go from here! What did you think? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! The National Weather Administration (ANM) issued on Tuesday a Code Yellow warning for heavy downpours and temporarily atmospheric instability for 15 counties, valid until Wednesday morning. According to the specialist forecast, between 27 September, 11:00hrs and 28 September, 06:00hrs, in Banat, Oltenia, south of Crisana, west and south-west of Transylvania, west of Muntenia and in the mountains, downpours, locally accompanied by electrical discharges, intensification of the wind, storms and hail will be recorded, especially in the southwest of the country, told Agerpres. Moreover, in short periods of time, as well as through accumulation, water quantities will exceed 25 - 30 l/sq m. and 40 - 50 l/sq m. in isolated areas. The counties targeted by the Code Yellow warning are the following: Teleorman, Dolj, Olt, Arges, Valcea, Gorj, Mehedinti, Caras-Severin, Hunedoara, Alba, Sibiu, Cluj, Bihor, Arad and Timis. Meteorologists are mentioning that periods of atmospheric instability will be felt in the rest of the country. In Bucharest, the the analyzed forecast interval reports clouds and possibly rain, electrical discharges and short-term intensification of the wind, which will be higher in the evening and in the beginning of the night. The maximum temperature will be around 25 degrees, and the minimum will oscillate between 11 and 13 degrees. The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) parliamentary group will request, in the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies, the rejection of the Emergency Ordinance that increases the salaries of parliamentarians and mayors, "a shameful artifice by which the Senate, 10 minutes before the vote, introduced an amendment of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR)," AUR Chairman George Simion said on Tuesday, told Agerpres. "Today, the AUR parliamentary group will request the rejection of the emergency Ordinance that increases the salaries of parliamentarians and mayors. It is a shameful artifice by which an amendment of the UDMR was introduced in the Senate, 10 minutes before. The Chamber of Deputies is a decision-making chamber and we will ask today in the plenary sitting, and we are waiting for the reaction of the other parliamentary forces who said that they would not vote and would not support such a thing, to reject [the pay rise] both for the parliamentarians and for the mayors. It is important for the public to know that that shameful amendment, introduced by UDMR 10 minutes before the vote, is a mockery. Romanians are upset, especially in the current restrictions that are imposed, which are no longer for circulation, but are of a material nature," Simion told a press conference. The Babadag secondary combat training center will host the Marasesti - 22.2 military exercise between October 10-21, and in this context the 9th Mechanized Brigade Marasesti announces the deployment of forces to the training ground in eastern Tulcea county, informs the center, in a press release, told Agerpres. The deployment of forces and technical means from the deployment barracks to the range will take place starting on October 4. Marasesti 22.2 is a field command exercise with troops and combat firing in which approximately 800 soldiers will participate, who will perform training that includes firing with live ammunition, movements in the tactical field, providing first aid in the military operations area, as well as the command and control procedures at the subunit level. "The Marasesti exercise takes place annually on the territory of Romania and is aimed at improving the skills on the use of service weaponry and equipment, enhancing the resilience to effort and action capacity in a hostile operational environment, improving the reaction capacity in scenarios as close as possible to the reality of the battlefield, as well as increasing interoperability with the strategic partner deployed at the 57th Air Base in Mihail Kogalniceanu, maintaining the joint deployment and training capability by exercising related logistical support and developing a favorable regional environment for multinational military cooperation," says the press release of the 9th Mechanized Brigade Marasesti. The film "Babardeala cu bucluc sau porno balamuc" [Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn], directed by Radu Jude, won the Grand Prize and the Cinematographers' Union Trophy for the year 2021, at the 50th edition of the UCIN Awards Gala, which took place on Monday evening at the National Opera in Bucharest, told Agerpres. Filmmaker Radu Jude could not be present at the event, and the award, announced by Demeter Andras, secretary of state with the Ministry of Culture, was handed to producer Ada Solomon. "I am very, very, very emotional because for a long time I watched from afar, with respect and admiration towards the Cinematographers' Union, towards the world of filmmakers. I never dreamed of doing this job, somehow the job chose me and carried me this way. On the 50th anniversary of UCIN, to receive the Filmmakers' Union Trophy is very emotional and I thank once again those who made the nominations and to the jury that chose this film. Of course, I thank Radu Jude from the bottom of my heart for putting up with me and for being tolerable most of the time. I also thank all my collaborators, the teams, the extraordinary actors with whom we managed to make this film, I thank my colleagues in the film industry from the bottom of my heart, because without them the Romanian cinema wouldn't be where it is today, I think that each of us would be less visible than we are, as good as we all are. And I'm not ashamed to use these words, but I think we would still need support not only for galas, not only for what has already been done, not only for what was, and of course, we must remember and appreciate. I think we should have with us more often the Ministry of Culture, and the National Centre of Cinematography, and, I apologize for daring to say this, and the hosts tonight, and even the Union of Cinematographers, I think we need them more including when we think about what comes next, how do we continue to exist, how do we make Romanian film continue to exist, valued by the general public, not only at galas, festivals and by specialist people or veteran cinephiles. In this spirit, I am very happy that I received the trophy from the hand of the representative of the Ministry of Culture," said Ada Solomon upon receiving the award. Radu Jude's film was also rewarded with prizes for Image - Marius Panduru and for Editing - Catalin Cristutiu. The UCIN 2022 Gala was organised with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the National Cinematography Centre, the Romanian Cultural Institute, DACIN-SARA, UPFAR-ARGOA. The General Inspectorate of the Border Police informs that, on Monday, 74,363 people entered Romania through the border crossing points nationwide, of whom 8,744 were Ukrainian citizens, down 8.8% compared to the previous day. According to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday, approximately 156,000 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, with more than 40,000 means of transport, completed the control formalities at the border crossing points nationwide, both on the way in and on the way out, told Agerpres. As of February 10, 2022 (pre-conflict period), 2,426,493 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania. In terms of the specific activity at the border crossing points and the "green border," the border police discovered 51 illegalities (27 crimes and 24 contraventions) committed by both Romanian and foreign citizens, with the amount of fines applied exceeding 66,000 lei. On Monday, 28 foreign citizens who did not meet the requirements stipulated by law were not allowed to enter the country and 18 Romanian citizens were not allowed to leave for various legal reasons. Chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) Crin Bologa said on Tuesday that when DNA was established Romania "was captive to some networks that embezzled public resources, but now DNA is strong and "will not regress in its fight against corruption." "The establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office in 2002, then its transformation into the National Anti-Corruption Department and in 2005 into the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, was a necessity of the post-December 1989 Romanian society's history. Romanian citizens were disappointed because the country was captive to some networks that would embezzle public resources and also endanger the country's joining the EU. The anti-corruption fight was an essential condition for the completion of the accession process and is a determining factor for maintaining our European path and the development of Romanian society," said Bologa on DNA's 20th anniversary, told Agerpres. He added that the results of the institution he leads were important to Romania's accession to the European Union. "Throughout its existence, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate has had both better and harder times, but it has always been efficient, becoming a model of an organisation and operation for other anti-corruption bodies in various countries of the world. The obstacles encountered have not brought us down, but made us stronger. And, as a result of our activity, Romania has got access to European funds, billions of euros, and financial resources of similar proportions were saved for national budget. (.. .) Our activity is proof of our patriotism. We can assure the citizens of Romania that DNA is strong and will not take steps back its fight against corruption." Bucharesters are expected on Friday, between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., in Izvor Park, at Rondul Biciclistilor (the "Cyclists' Roundabout"), for astronomical observations, interactive workshops, robot shows, experiments with ferrofluids, contests, organized exhibitions as part of the European Researchers' Night event. "Between September 30 and October 1, researchers with the ReCoNnect consortium invite the general public to discover the extraordinary world of science through dozens of activities intended for curious minds of all ages, as part of the 2022 European Researchers' Night event," informs a press release of the University of Bucharest sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday. This year, the event takes place under the patronage of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization and presents the most diverse activities, all revolving around the general theme "New science, trends and results". In Magurele (town in Ilfov County), the event takes place on Saturday, October 1, between 2:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., in the city's Central Square. The research institutes on the Magurele platform are sending researchers to the square to present the most interesting trends in science. Contests, live experiments and many artistic moments will be organized. The activities of the ReCoNnect consortium will take place in Bucharest, Baia Mare, Bistrita, Braila, Buzau, Cluj-Napoca, Falticeni, Focsani, Galati, Magurele, Pitesti, Satu Mare, Suceava, Targu Neamt, Timisoara, as well as in the rural areas in the UNESCO Geoparks: Buzau Land, Hateg Country, Carpaterra, Oltenia under the Mountain. This year's event is organized by a national consortium that includes the National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering - Horia Hulubei, the National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics, the National Institute for Materials Physics, the National Research - Development Institute for Earth Physics, the Institute of Space Sciences, the Institute of Atomic Physics, University of Bucharest, Babes Bolyai University of Cluj, Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava and Dunarea de Jos University of Galati. The Save Romania Union (USR) deputies and those from Force of the Right (Forta Dreptei) consider that "every second spent with Sorin Cimpeanu at the head of the Ministry of Education is a condemnation of Romania to live on theft, lies and imposture", an opinion expressed in the text of the simple motion initiated against Cimpeanu. "Romania really deserves more, and we really have potential in education. Sorin Cimpeanu is holding it on its knees. As for Mr. Ciuca and for the gentlemen from PNL (National Liberal Party) and PSD (Social Democratic Party), a warning: we are losing money from the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) because the Minister of Education is not able to sign the contracts with the schools that will do projects to reduce school dropouts. Ladies and gentlemen from PSD and PNL, with such a minister at the helm of the Ministry of Education we risk destroying the future of children in Romania. If you don't vote for this motion, you will all be accomplices of a plagiarist who will definitively destroy the Education system in Romania," the motion states. The initiators say that only three months have passed since the last simple motion against the Minister of Education, "during which time Sorin Cimpeanu managed to bring despair to everyone who wants a normal education system in this country". "His arrogance shows not only that he does not want the good of the education system, not taking into account any opinion of those directly affected by the changes, but also that he acts to order. We were preparing for the debates on the Education laws, but in the meantime we all found out, from the latest investigation by the journalist Emilia Sercan, that Mr. Sorin Cimpeanu is a plagiarist. Yes, the Romanian Minister of Education is a plagiarist. The minister who must implement Educated Romania, the country project of President Klaus Iohannis, is a plagiarist. A thief. A man who stole ideas. The Minister of Education plagiarized, in a specialized work, 92 pages from the work of two fellow university professors. He does not have the courage to show the work publicly. We are not surprised," the text also says. According to USR and Forta Dreptei parliamentarians, Cimpeanu's doctoral thesis was analyzed by "three professors from his own university (a committee created especially for him) whose names he keeps secret". "Sorin Cimpeanu's academic life seems like a lie, an imposture mixed with a trick, head and tail. In an Educated Romania, the minister would have submitted his resignation immediately. In Klaus Iohannis' Romania, a plagiarizing minister is still something normal. The government in which Sorin Cimpeanu is Minister of Education is led by another plagiarist - Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca," the signatories of the simple motion say. They are also dissatisfied with the changes in the Education Law proposed by Sorin Cimpeanu, which the believe "aggravate everything that is already bad in Romanian education: the politicization of schools, the disfavouring of children who come from families with little money, the impoverishment of parents through private tutoring, the discouraging of children without the possibility to believe in their chance and the promotion of impostors". The USR and Forta Dreptei submitted, on Tuesday, to the Chamber of Deputies, a simple motion against the Minister of Education, Sorin Cimpeanu, dubbed "Romania educated to steal. Sorin Cimpeanu brings shame to the school". The motion will be debated and voted on next Tuesday.AGERPRES President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday that Romania's National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) has made great progress, becoming a model at the European level for a provider of expertise and best practices in the fight against corruption, although its journey was not free of obstacles, setbacks or specific failures that have to be assessed objectively. "With inherently timid beginnings and marked by status clarifications, organisational difficulties or sometimes difficulties related to the lack of political will to secure the operation of this institution, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate has made great progress, becoming a model at European level for a provider of expertise and best practices in the fight against corruption. However, DNA's journey was not without obstacles, setbacks or even occasional failures. They must be assessed honestly, objectively, because that is the only way to learn from the lessons of the past, always keeping in mind the objective of a constant improvements of activity, in the service of society and the common good," Iohannis told a "20 years of fight against corruption" event organised by DNA in Bucharest, told Agerpres. He added that a society in which corruption is rigorously fought against, which has checks and balance mechanisms, in which the responsibility of decision-makers towards citizens is real or in which the feeling that no one is above the law is widespread, represents a strong and stable society. "The fight against corruption is synonymous with the fight for the better society we want. It should not be the exclusive prerogative of an institution, but a joint commitment of all decision-makers. In this joint effort, the action of your institution is crucial for the modernisation of the state and for the prevention and removal of behaviours that risk slowing down or even blocking its development," said Iohannis. He added that by its results through the sustained effort of the prosecutors and the entire DNA staff, the institution has become a landmark in the region and in Europe. "The reports of the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism have always highlighted the gradual progress achieved in the field, but also the shortcomings or the objectives whose fulfillment stalled. I am convinced that without the decisive contribution of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate in combatting high-level corruption and systemic corruption, Romanian society would have looked completely different today. Romania is now a pole of stability in the region and a strategic partner for our partners inside NATO and the European Union." Iohannis said that the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, which later became the DNA, represented "a first signal of Romania taking up the fight against corruption at the highest level and in the long term." "During all these years, our country has changed radically, by developing its institutional capacity, by increasing the level of transparency and integrity in the public sector and by the economic and democratic transformation it has experienced. Mentalities have also changed, and the Romanian society no longer tolerates the lack of fairness in public life," said Iohannis. President Klaus Iohannis declared on Tuesday that a clear, coherent legislation is needed to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and to create the necessary mechanisms for the proper functioning of the prosecutor's offices. He also stated that the reform of justice laws must be completed in accordance with the recommendations of European bodies. "In order for your work to have the echo expected by society, a clear, coherent legislation is needed, which guarantees the independence of the judiciary and creates the necessary mechanisms for the proper functioning of the prosecutor's offices. Furthermore, the reform of the justice laws must be completed in accordance with the recommendations of the European bodies. The coincidence makes this anniversary moment of the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) take place during the period when Parliament debates the draft laws of justice, proposed by the Government in August, after a complex process of drawing up, based on public consultations, with the judicial system and with the European Commission. The result of the parliamentary debates must meet the desiderata I mentioned. At the same time, there is a need for sufficient, qualified human resources and budget allocations that allow the activity to be carried out under optimal conditions, these also constituting objectives assumed by Romania through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan," the head of state told the event "20 Years of Fight against Corruption," organized by DNA at the National Military Club, told Agerpres. President Iohannis specified that the restriction of DNA's competence by taking over some powers from the Section for the investigation of judicial crimes, the legislation lacking predictability, the absence of a "real dialogue" within the judicial system or decisions of the constitutional court with an impact on the instrumented files are some aspects that influenced the institution's activity and results. The head of state emphasized that, with each step taken in the fight against corruption at all levels, Romania is closer to concluding the CVM, joining the Schengen area and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The President reiterated that the fight against corruption was and remains an objective of his mandates. "In this complicated period, we need more than ever a functional state, where the authorities collaborate in the spirit of constitutional loyalty, honest politicians and civil servants, a solid culture of integrity, including in the private sector, and the promotion of European values," the head of state also said. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Targu Mures County Emergency Clinical Hospital (SCJU), where seriously ill newborns arrive from almost the whole country, has been connected to the national telemedicine network, the management of the medical unit announced on Tuesday. "The project is implemented by the Cristi Vasiliu Association (ACV) from Targu Mures, with funding from Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR). The department takes care of very complex cases, including newborns with cardiac malformations, who will be operated on at the Emergency Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases and Transplant Targu Mures. With the implementation of telemedicine, the neonatologists at Targu Mures can connect in real time with their colleagues from 9 other similar departments. While discussing via video conference, the doctors see both images of the patient and the data displayed by the devices the patient is connected to and can carry out remote investigations in real time, the system allowing the connection of the ultrasound or radiology machine," a press release sent by SCJU Targu Mures reads, told Agerpres. According to the source, in addition to easy access to a second medical opinion, the quick and accurate exchange of information between departments helps to shorten the decision times regarding the transfer of patients between departments in different cities, and thus the overcrowding of departments and the exposure of newborns can be avoided to unnecessary transfers. The telemedicine installation project in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Targu Mures Emergency County Clinical Hospital included both specialized equipment and software, cloud connection and Internet access, as well as training the medical team to use the system. The national telemedicine network for neonatal intensive care is now made up of 10 departments: Marie Curie Bucharest, Constanta, Iasi, Brasov, Cluj, Timisoara, Craiova, Pitesti, SCJ Mures and SCJU Targu Mures. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca conveyed the solidarity and compassion of the Romanian people to Mrs. Akie Abe, the wife of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu participated on Tuesday in the state funeral organized in honour of the former head of the Japanese Government, who was killed on July 8 by a former officer with a homemade weapon during a campaign speech in the Nara city. "Romania joined the democratic societies from all over the world gathered in Tokyo, these days, to pay tribute to the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. I was honoured to meet Mrs. Akie Abe. I conveyed to her the solidarity and compassion of the Romanian people for the tragic disappearance of the great statesman, a heavy loss for the Japanese people and for all supporters of democracy," Ciuca said, according to a statement sent by the Government. He reiterated his support for raising the level of relations between the two states to the dimension of strategic partnership. "We will carry forward the valuable legacy left by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the field of foreign policy. Raising the bilateral relations between Romania and Japan to the level of Strategic Partnership represents the materialization of his remarkable vision and our special relations," the Prime Minister added.AGERPRES Romania's accession to the Schengen Zone, the diversification of energy sources and continuous support for Ukraine were among the topics addressed, on Tuesday, at the meeting of Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, the Speaker of the Romania Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, and the Speaker of Parliament of the Kingdom of Denmark, Henrik Dam Kristensen. According to a press release of the Government, the meeting took place in the context of the participation in the state funeral organized in honour of the former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. "The Romanian Prime Minister appreciated the bilateral collaboration between Romania and Denmark and the convergence of the agenda at the level of the European Union on the specific files supporting the European resistance. In this context, the head of the Executive mentioned that Romania is taking all steps in coordination with the European Union to set up the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. Also, the PM underscored the importance of expanding the Schengen Zone through the accession of Romania, which acts as a de facto member of the zone," the same source states, told Agerpres. At the same time, Nicolae Ciuca pointed out "the need for a sustainable solution" to solve the energy crisis at the EU level. "In this context, he referred to the role of renewable energy and mentioned Romania's openness to benefit from Denmark's expertise in terms of the diversification of energy sources and production of renewable sources," reports the Government's Press Office. The two sides confirmed the "continuation of multidimensional support" for Ukraine and its citizens, refugees in EU member states. "An important point of the discussions concerned cooperation at the NATO level for strengthening regional security and strengthening the deterrence and defence position of the Alliance on the Eastern Flank," informs the abovementioned source. Prime Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca is visiting Tokyo from September 26-28 to participate in the state funeral organized in honour of the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Family Minister Gabriela Firea and MP Gratiela Gavrilescu will sign a political agreement between the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Social Liberal Humanist Party (PUSL) today on an economic and social analysis and developing public policies for families. PSD says that the agreement will be signed at noon at the PSD senatorial group. The agreement will be concluded "for an economic and social analysis of Romania and for developing public policies adjusted to the current situation of families", told Agerpres. "On the PSD side, the agreement will be signed by Mrs Senator Gabriela Firea, first deputy chair of the PSD, minister of family, youth and equal opportunities, and on the part of PUSL it will be signed by Mrs MP Gratiela Gavrilescu, chair of the PUSL Collegiate Leadership Forum. Also participating will be Mrs Doina Parcalabu, PUSL Bucharest chair, and several guests from the PSD parliamentary groups in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies," according to a PSD statement. On Monday at an Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting in Brussels, Romania advocated for the interests of cattle and dairy cow breeders, which he said have to be at the core of Romania's agricultural policies supported by European funds and public money. "The milk cow is our main source of milk. The road to the slaughterhouse is open and necessary for reforming herds that have used up their production and breeding, not for the animals in full swing of production. The support mechanisms and the amounts provided for in the national strategic plan moving forward support an increase in the number of dairy cows in order to keep the most valuable food on the market. Let's be confident in our possibilities and act together for the development of this sector!," Romania's Agriculture Minister Petre Daea told the Agriculture and Fishing Council meeting, told Agerpres. According to a press statement released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), the Romanian government allocated 185,483,810 euros in last week's meeting to animal breeders for the application year 2022 for coupled support schemes in the livestock sector, and about 114,129,810 euros will go to the bovine species (milk buffaloes, meat cattle and dairy cows). "And now, in order to meet the farmers in the livestock sector, at the request of MADR, the European Commission approved, for the first time, a 70% advance payment starting on October 16, so that animal breeders can face the dire conditions, as a result of the drought," according to the ministry. The difficult time facing animal husbandry can be overcome by supporting dairy cows, through coupled support (300 euros/head of animal), welfare measures (100 euros/head of animal), which will be granted under the national strategic plan. This subject came up on Monday at a meeting of Daea and European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski. "Many and important investment objectives have been achieved in this area in strict biosecurity compliance, and the improvement process has brought us to the highest level of performance comparable to the best existing results in the EU. (...) We should not deviate from the path of performance and efficiency that we must continue on for the good of Romanian farmers and consumers," said Daea. As many as 1,862 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 were recorded in the last 24 hours in Romania, up 1,006 from the previous day, with over 20,000 RT-PCR and rapid antigenic tests performed, the Health Ministry informed on Tuesday. Of the new cases, 419 were in re-infected patients, who tested positive more than 90 days after the first time they recovered from the disease. Most of the newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in Romania since the previous reporting were recorded in Bucharest City - 299, and in the counties of Timis - 144 and Cluj - 130, told Agerpres. The highest 14-day notification rate is in Cluj County - 1.82 and Bucharest City - 1.54. As of Tuesday, 3,264,771 cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus were confirmed in Romania. - Hospitalisations - As many as 1,366 people with COVID-19, down 60 from the previous reporting, including 113 minors, are hospitalised in Romania at specialist care facilities. Out of the total number of hospitalised patients, 121, down seven, are in intensive care. Of the 121 patients admitted to ICU, 110 are unvaccinated against COVID-19. - Deaths - According to the ministry, eleven Romanians, seven men and four women, are reported dead in the last 24 hours. Of the eleven deaths, two were recorded in the age group 50-59 years, one in the age group 60-69 years, three in the age group 70-79 years and five in the age group over 80 years. Nine deaths were in patients with comorbidities, and three deaths were in vaccinated patients. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 66,992 people diagnosed with the SARS-CoV-2 infection have died in Romania. Nuclearelectrica SA and Nova Power & Gas SRL launched on Tuesday RoPower Nuclear SA, the project company for the development of small modular reactors in Romania, on the site of the former coal-fired power plant in Doicesti, southern Dambovita County, according to a press release sent to AGERPRES. The new project company RoPower Nuclear SA will generate over 200 permanent jobs in the power plant, 1,500 jobs in construction, 2,300 jobs in production and will help Romania avoid over 4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, bringing, at the same time, many other socio-economic benefits to the local community. To begin with, the project company RoPower Nuclear SA will be based in Doicesti, following the commitment to contribute to the development of the local community. Jose W. Fernandez, Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment of the Department of State of the United States of America and the Minister of Energy of Romania, Virgil Popescu, attended the signing ceremony of the Shareholders' Declaration, at the Ministry of Energy, in Romania. The project company RoPower Nuclear SA, owned in equal parts by SC Nuclearelectrica SA and Nova Power & Gas SA, will take steps to implement the first NuScale VOYGR-6 power plant (462 MWe) in Romania this decade. The power plant will use NuScale Power Module technology from NuScale, the only SMR company that has obtained design approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The installed capacity can also be supplemented with renewable sources, with a capacity of approximately 80MWe, which would make the new energy complex exceed the capacity of the former Doicesti plant. The candidate site at Doicesti was selected following a study carried out on the basis of a USD 1.2 million grant obtained by Nuclearelectrica from the USTDA for the identification and evaluation of potential sites for small modular reactors. In addition, in August 2022, at the request of Nuclearelectrica, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) carried out a SEED (Site and External Events Design) mission to evaluate the process that was followed in choosing the first site for the development of a reactor plant small modular units (SMR) from Doicesti, Dambovita County, Romania. Following the allocation of a USD 14 million grant announced by US President Joe Biden in June 2022, the RoPower Nuclear project company will begin the Preliminary Stage of the Initial Engineering and Design Study (FEED Study) for small modular reactors (SMRs), consisting of a series of engineering and design activities and studies, in-depth technical analyses on site, as well as licensing and authorization activities, in compliance with all international and national standards. In addition, within the FEED Study, the IAEA recommendations will be applied, following the SEED mission carried out in August 2022. Nuclearelectrica S.A. is the Romanian national company producing electricity, heat and nuclear fuel, which operates under the authority of the Romanian Ministry of Energy, the state holding 82.49% of the shares and other shareholders, 17.50%, after the company's listing on the stock exchange in 2013. Nuclearelectrica has a major role at the national level, contributing over 18% of nuclear energy in the total energy production and 33% of the total CO2-free energy production in Romania. The culture and traditions of northwestern Salaj County will be promoted in the new season of the documentary series "Flavours of Romania", made by the British producer and director Charlie Ottley. For the first time in Salaj county, Charlie Ottley visited and filmed these days in Fagetu, Plopis commune, where the largest Slovak community in the county lives, at the Popular Art Museum in Iaz and he visited the Roman Castrum Porolissum on Tuesday, alongside the president of the Salaj County Council, Dinu Iancu-Salajanu. "I am very happy that the Land of Silvania [Tara Silvaniei, name of Salaj County - ed.n.] was included in Charley Ottley's itinerary and that some tourist attractions from our county will be promoted in the famous TV documentary dedicated to the culture, gastronomy and natural beauty of Romania. He tasted the palinka of Salaj, enjoyed the Slovak dishes from Fagetu, he discovered the traditions of the Romanian village at the Folk Art Museum 'Ligia Alexandra Bodea' in Iaz and was fascinated by the complexity and history of the Roman Castrum from Porolissum. Although he only visited a few sites, he realized the huge tourist potential of these places and of the valuable cultural and historical heritage of the county. At the same time, he promised us that he would return to our lands, so that together with other specialists in the field we can draw up a project to promote Salaj in the country and abroad," says Dinu Iancu-Salajanu in a post on Facebook. The second season of the documentary series "Flavours of Romania" will have nine episodes, in which the British journalist tries to capture the spirit of Romania, with new stories, aromas, sounds and adventures.AGERPRES The Chamber of Deputies adopted, on Tuesday, the approval project of the Government Emergency Ordinance (OUG) 115/2022, approving an amendment that provides for salary increases for mayors, vice-mayors, presidents and vice-presidents of county councils and the staff of the mayoralties' offices. 168 votes 'for', 79 'against' and 4 abstentions were recorded. The deputies introduced an amendment that provides for the increase of the indemnities of the persons who occupy positions of public dignity elected within the bodies of the local public authority. At the same time, the deputies removed from the version previously adopted by the Senate the text that provided for the increase in the salaries of parliamentarians and specialized staff involved in the legislative process within the General Secretariat of the Government, the services of the Parliament, the Legislative Council and the Presidential Administration. The opposition deputies, respectively Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) and Save Romania Union (USR), opposed this amendment, while the coalition deputies explained why it is necessary to increase the salaries of local elected officials. The Chamber of Deputies is a decision-making body for this kind of bill.AGERPRES Save Romania Union (USR) will again challenge to the Constitutional Court the emergency ordinance that provides for the increase of the mayors' salaries. USR Deputy Cristian Seidler declared on Tuesday that, although the ordinance was amended at the Labour Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, it is still unconstitutional. "Today's discussion in the Labour Commission took place because the USR challenged to the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) two draft laws that had previously been adopted by the majority coalition and which, through a correction of a so-called material error, would have increased the salaries of all dignitaries, parliamentarians, members of the Government, local elected officials, the CCR upheld the USR and declared those draft laws unconstitutional. On the same day, the coalition, in the Senate, adopted an amendment that did exactly what the CCR had declared to be unconstitutional. Basically, it's about increasing incomes for local elected officials, parliamentarians, members of the Government, as if the country could not live without. Now this fast-forward discussion took place in the Labour Committee. The draft law, even now, is as unconstitutional as it was before and the USR will challenge this draft law again at the CCR," Seidler said, at the Palace of the Parliament, told Agerpres. The deputies with the Labour and Budget-Finance select committees on Tuesday voted an amendment regarding the salary increase, at the level of 2021, for the local public administration, respectively for mayors, deputy-mayors, presidents and deputy-presidents of County Councils. The National Cultural Route of the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) and the National Cultural Route "Route of tourist destinations in Romania awarded by the International Federation of Journalists and Writers of Tourism (FIJET) are two cultural routes being launched in southwestern Targu Jiu, on Tuesday, on World Tourism Day, informs a press release of the National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT ). According to the cited source, the National Cultural Route "Route of tourist destinations in Romania awarded by the World Federation of Travel Journalists and Writers (FIJET) is rewarded with the Golden Apple Award for Excellence, for the development and promotion of tourism. According to a press release from the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism (MAT), a trip on the "National Cultural Route of the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN)" can be described as a real lesson in culture and involves a long itinerary through 20 counties in Romania, respectively Brasov, Vrancea, Neamt, Suceava, Buzau, Covasna, Sibiu, Mures, Harghita, Maramures, Bistrita, Alba, Cluj, Bihor, Hunedoara, Arad, Gorj, Valcea, Constanta and Tulcea. "The prestigious Golden Apple trophy is awarded annually by the World Federation of Travel Journalists and Writers (FIJET), which has over 800 members from all continents and is often compared to the famous Oscar award in cinematography. The award granted to the Bucovina Monasteries, the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, Marginimea Sibiului, the town of Targu Jiu and the town of Oradea once again attests to the international recognition of Romania's beauty and uniqueness, with its immortal landscapes that invite you to wandering through them," emphasizes MAT. The annual meeting of European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) is also taking place in Targu Jiu. According to ANAT, the motto of the event is "Together we discover and promote Romania with love!" and among the themes is the discovery of "little-known Romania". According to MAT, 39 destinations were designated as European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) for the 9 themes of the contest: tourism and intangible local heritage, tourism and protected areas, aquatic tourism, rural tourism, tourism and regeneration of physical sites, accessible tourism, tourism and local gastronomy, tangible cultural tourism, health and wellness tourism. When it comes to tourist destinations, tour operators are interested in UNESCO Word Heritage Sites, European heritage attractions, destinations rewarded with the Golden Apple Award, and as European Destination of Excellence (EDEN), etc. The Cultural Routes have also recently emerged, the approval of which is handled by the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism.AGERPRES US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez will be in Bucharest, from Tuesday to Thursday, as part of an official delegation of the United States of America at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-22) in Bucharest, according to the US Embassy in Bucharest, told Agerpres. The conference will bring together member states of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to chart the course of the ITU in the coming years and hold elections for leadership positions. The US strongly supports the candidacy of Doreen Bogdan-Martin for ITU secretary general. The US delegation is led by ambassador Erica Barks-Ruggles and includes Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy Nate Fick, as well as other representatives of the private sector. During his visit, Fernandez will also meet important Romanian leaders to discuss common regional objectives and deepen the partnership and co-operation between the two countries on a number of subjects including energy, food security, health and supply chains and a vibrant digital economy that allows all our citizens to benefit from the prospects offered by 5G and next-generation wireless networks. WASHINGTON After weeks of lobbying the White House on how gig workers should be treated, the rideshare, delivery and retail industries are bracing for a new rule that is likely to make it easier to classify them as employees, multiple sources say. A proposed rule from the Department of Labor, aimed at defining whether gig workers for companies including Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. are misidentified as independent contractors, is under review at the White Houses Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and is expected to be released in coming weeks. While the details of the new rule are not known, the department could model it on legal guidance that says people economically dependent on a company are employees, or go even further to expand the pool of workers who should receive benefits, legal experts said. Groups representing employers, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The National Association of Home Builders, The National Retail Federation and the Associated Builders and Contractors have met with officials at the White Houses Office of Management and Budget, according to White House records and sources. Some of the groups have been trying, and failing, to convince the White House that any broad rule would hurt workers who want to remain independent and have flexibility, people familiar with the discussion said. More than one-third of U.S. workers, or nearly 60 million people, performed some sort of freelance work in the past 12 months, a December 2021 survey by freelancing marketplace Upwork showed. Broadly defining independent contractors as employees would also force companies to pay benefits, such as overtime pay and health benefits, that would hurt their bottom line. Employers can save about 30 percent by skipping payroll taxes and unemployment and benefit costs, workers groups estimate. The meetings at the White House were one-sided, with officials at OIRA letting groups speak and not participating or asking follow-up questions, several employer sources said. They are interpreting that as a sign the Biden administrations mind is made up. Political Its all very political. The administration has been clear about the stakeholders they care about and how organized labor is something they care about, said a senior official at one of the employer groups, who met with the White House to discuss the proposed rulemaking. We expect it to be more antagonistic toward independent work, the official, who did not wish to be named said, and to hurt companies that rely on gig labor. A White House official said that listening without comment is part of the standard rulemaking process at OIRA. Representatives and lobbyists for employers argued against administrator interpretation and the economic realities test issued in 2015 under the Obama administration, which said most workers should be considered employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. They also presented their opposition to the ABC test which determines employee status. Im not optimistic that the concerns we raised is going to change the direction of the rulemaking, said another lobbyist for an employer group, who spoke to the White House. The White House and the Department of Labor declined comment. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment. A spokeswomen for the Flex Association, which represents Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, said any drastic change that will limit workers flexibility could have dire economic consequences as well as reduce income and limit options for workers. Workers warn of growing pain Gig Workers Rising, RideShare Workers United, Mobile Workers Alliance, We Drive Progress also met White House officials to broaden the definition of employee further, according to records and sources. A growing number of companies, including in health care, are misclassifying hundreds of thousands of workers across the United States, they argued. Workers in industries that rely on contractors, like food delivery services, say theyre left without social safety nets, accident coverage or paid sick leave, and squeezed by high gas prices. This is a model in which if we dont draw a line in this country, every job is at risk ... and so this rulemaking should be about ensuring people have basic protections, said Nicole Moore, a part-time Lyft driver and the president of the group Rideshare Drivers United. Moore said the rulemaking would help Democrats if it were to be released before the November midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress. The last thing Americans want is to hear promises on what the party stands for, what it will mean to have folks in the White House, Senate and House of Representatives and then to have nothing happen, she said. Leaving out misclassified workers would be a huge mistake. This is President Joe Bidens second stab at re-setting rules about how employees can be defined, and is expected to be quickly challenged in court by companies. Additional reporting by Daniel Weissner, Lisa Baertlein and Doyinsola Oladipo. A visitor takes picture of an AG600M firefighting aircraft in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 27, 2022. Codenamed Kunlong, the AG600 large amphibious aircraft family is seen as key aeronautical equipment for China's emergency-rescue system. It was developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading plane-maker, to meet the needs of firefighting and marine-rescue missions, as well as other critical emergency-rescue operations. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's independently-developed AG600 large amphibious aircraft has gained significant progress by completing critical flight tests and getting the first batch of purchase agreements, the developer announced on Tuesday. The AG600M aircraft, a full-configuration firefighting model belonging to the AG600 aircraft family, successfully conducted pivotal tests Tuesday morning, including scooping and dropping water, said the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading plane-maker. At 10:05 a.m., the AG600M aircraft carrying 12 tonnes of water took off from the ground runway at Zhanghe Airport in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province. It consecutively conducted the flight tests of aerial water dropping, landing on a nearby reservoir and taxiing scooping, taking off again and dropping water over the preset area, and then successfully landing at the reservoir at 10:16 a.m., said the AVIC. The very day, AVIC General Huanan Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd., signed the first batch of purchase agreements on four AG600M aircraft with Everbright Financial Leasing Co., Ltd., and signed an intent purchase agreement on two AG600M aircraft with the HNCA Aviation Equipment Leasing Co., Ltd., respectively. The successful completion of flight tests and obtaining purchase agreements marked that the AG600 amphibious aircraft's key mission capabilities have been verified, and could open the market, said He Shengqiang, AVIC deputy general manager. Both major moves highlighted that China's independently-developed aeronautical equipment could support the country's emergency rescue capabilities, said He. Codenamed Kunlong, or water dragon in Chinese, the AG600 is vital aeronautical equipment for China's emergency-rescue system. It plays roles in serving forest firefighting, maritime search and rescue, and other critical emergency rescue missions. The AG600M is specifically designed to combat forest fires. Its maximum take-off weight is 60 tonnes, with the water-carrying capacity up to 12 tonnes and the flight range reaching 4,500 km. It can conduct low-altitude flight at low speed, enabling it to drop water more precisely over the fire sites. Following up, the AG600M will enter the airworthiness phase. More variants of the AG600 aircraft family are under development, said the developer. The AVIC commits to sustaining the country's emergency rescue system and ensuring people's life and property by pushing forward the aircraft's progress and other vital aeronautical equipment. The following article is an associate of Okanjo, an affiliate marketing agency that helps us monetize our content. Products sold through the links in the article allow us to receive compensation and keep producing great content. Since its founding in 2004 by late Chef Dr. Bill Gallagher, Worldchefs has used International Chefs Day to pass their knowledge and culinary skills to the next generation of chefs. As part of the effort, Worldchefs has partnered with Nestle Professional to host workshops around the world to teach children the importance of eating healthy. This years International Chef Day campaign is Growing a Healthy Future. Any chef worldwide can host an in-person workshop. The 2022 focus is on teaching kids about healthy foods and the impact food production and consumption have on the planet. Home chefs everywhere can also honor International Chefs Day by whipping up some favorite international dishes for family and friends. Using these kitchen essentials will help. An apron and hat are chef staples. You can add your name, business logo, or a phrase to this Personalized Chef Name Embroidered Apron and Hat Set. Customizing the set makes it unique for yourself, your business, or as a gift all while protecting your clothes as you cook. Written for chefs everywhere, author and award-winning Certified Executive Chef Charles Carroll offers a keen guide for creating excellence in the kitchen. In Leadership Lessons From a Chef: Finding Time to Be Great, Carroll shares proven wisdom and tips for managing kitchen staff and building a motivated and efficient team. Cutting boards are essential for chopping, dicing, preparing, and serving food. They can also spice up kitchen decor. This Personalized Cutting Board from NakedWoodWorks is handmade from maple and walnut hardwoods in the USA. A special oil coating preserves and hardens the board. Personalizing the board to include a family last name or a couples names with an anniversary date is optional. NaturalWoodWorks uses a deep engraving process and wraps each board securely for shipping. In todays fast-paced world, finding time to cook a tasty, healthy meal is often challenging. Bestselling author Jennifer Segal offers multiple solutions in her new cookbook, Once Upon a Chef: Weeknight/Weekend: 70 Quick-Fix Weeknight Dinners + 30 Luscious Weekend Recipes. From Marvelous Meatballs to Chorizo-Style Burgers and Lasagna Soup, Segal serves up lots of easy, quick, and delicious choices for busy home chefs. The late renowned chef and TV personality Julia Child brought French cuisine to the United States via her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Due to the cookbooks success, PBS launched The French Chef with Julia Child as host and star. The show was one of the first cooking shows on American television. Fans and culinary enthusiasts of all skill levels can watch the beloved American chef prepare her famous French dishes in select episodes of the long-running series via this Julia Child The French Chef DVD Set. Eighteen episodes unfold across three discs, in which Child prepares dishes with her unique wit and presentation style. Using the right knife makes cooking prep easier and faster and sharpness is key to making the best cuts. The imarku Pro Kitchen eight-inch Japanese Chef Knife boasts a high-carbon stainless steel blade and an ultra-sharp edge that slices through the toughest jobs and doesnt dull. An ergonomic handle helps prevent hand fatigue. Slicing, dicing, and chopping are some of the most repetitive yet crucial cooking tasks. Thats why using a superior knife taht can manage any job is essential. The Misen eight-inch Chef Knife delivers a balance of durability and precision that makes every cut effortless. The blade is made of AICHI AUS-10 steel, with twice the amount of carbon as other professional knives which preserves sharpness and longevity. Different cooking tasks require specific knives. If youre looking for a quality, affordable knife set that bundles the most useful pieces of kitchen cutlery in one package, consider the eight-piece Japanese Kitchen Chef Knives Set from TUO. German high-carbon stainless steel knife blades offer durability and the patent-pending Pakkawood composite handles deliver optimal stability and sanitization. The versatile cooking knife set includes a four-inch paring knife, a seven-inch cleaver knife, a seven-inch santoku knife, an eight-inch chef knife, a nine-inch bread knife, honing steel, kitchen shears, and a wooden block. Every chef should have a jacket that blends professional style and comfort. TOPTIE meets that need with their Unisex Short Sleeve Chef Coat. The classic button-up short sleeve jacket features patch and sleeve pockets to hold pens, thermometers, or other essentials. TOPTIE offers a complete line of chef coats in assorted colors and styles. Wearing comfortable attire is a must when working in a commercial kitchen or behind a hot stove. These Mens Essential Baggy Chef Pants from Chef Works look professional and boast an adjustable elastic waistband to ensure easy movement and a proper fit. The polyester and cotton fabric also offers breathability in warm environments. Whether youre a novice home chef or a culinary professional, these items will make cooking easier and more enjoyable. PHOENIX (AP) When an Arizona judge ruled last week that prosecutors can resume enforcing a near-total ban on abortion that dates to the Civil War, it fell to the staff at Camelback Family Planning to break the news to the women scheduled for appointments in the coming weeks. The staff faced crying, a lot of very, very angry people, denial, nurse Ashleigh Feiring said Monday. One woman argued, But Im only five weeks (along). Women seeking abortions across Arizona were forced to find alternatives beyond the states borders after the ruling, which clears the way for prosecutors to charge doctors and others who help a woman end a pregnancy unless her life is in danger. The states major abortion providers immediately halted procedures and canceled appointments. Providers in neighboring states, already seeing an increase in traffic from other conservative states that have banned abortion, were preparing to treat some of the 13,000 Arizona patients who get an abortion each year. Planned Parenthood Arizona on Monday asked Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson to put her ruling on hold pending an appeal, saying it created confusion about the status of the law in Arizona. Lawyers cited conflicts created by the abortion ban dating to 1864, a more recent law banning abortions after 15 weeks, and a variety of other laws regulating the processes and paperwork when terminating pregnancies. Johnsons ruling lifted an injunction that was imposed after the U.S. Supreme Courts Roe v. Wade decision guaranteed a right to abortion in 1973. At the Camelback Family Planning clinic in central Phoenix, a young woman took off from work Monday afternoon for an appointment to get medicine to help with an abortion. The 20-year-old is afraid she is prone to miscarriage and already miscarried two years ago. I dont want to experience this. I dont have the time and energy to go through that again, said the woman, who declined to give her name. But she never made it past the check-in window. Instead, she got a slip of paper with a website to order medicine by mail and left visibly upset. She says she never got a call that the ruling by a Tucson judge last Friday effectively voided her ability to get an abortion in Arizona. I can guarantee I would not have wasted my time leaving work early and losing money to come here, the woman said. I need to get it done regardless if thats going to a different state or going across the border. It just sucks that this is the last resort for people. The doctors and nurses at Camelback Family Planning had an inkling last week that a court decision on abortion could come down. But they thought it would be a ban on abortions after 15 weeks into pregnancy. So, several of the abortions performed last week were for patients over 20 weeks along. We cleared our schedule to do as many of those later-term ones, said Feiring, the nurse. So they postponed some patients less farther along until this week. Feiring and other staff at the Phoenix clinic are letting patients know the clinic is still available to do follow-up abortion care. They refer them to websites and organizations that help with abortion access. Planned Parenthood has patient navigators who work with women seeking abortions to find an affiliate in a state where abortion is legal, and to help with money and logistics, said Brittany Fonteno, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Arizona. Many Arizona patients are getting abortions in California, Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado. This is really a traumatic experience, to be told that one day a basic health care procedure is available to you and then out of the blue the next day its been stripped away from you and has the potential to completely alter the course of your life, Fonteno said. In California, the second-largest Planned Parenthood affiliate in the country says it is considering opening a new health center in part because of an expected increase in patients from Arizona and other states. Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino counties operates nine health centers in Southern California that catered to 250,000 medical visits last year largely for services other than abortion, like cancer screenings and birth control, according to Nichole Ramirez, the groups senior vice president for communications. The group started preparing for an influx of patients from other states last year by hiring more providers, offering more abortion appointment slots and helping patients pay for things like gas, hotel rooms and plane tickets. We knew this was going to happen slowly, in a way, as state by state has been banning abortion, Ramirez said. The number is going to continue to increase. California is already seeing evidence of an increase in abortion patients coming from other states. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new website abortion.ca.gov that promotes all of the states abortion services, including a list of clinics and information about state laws. On Monday, the Governors Office said the website while not tracking and storing peoples personal information -- had seen an increase in out-of-state page views, with about 58% of traffic coming from people in other states. That increase comes after Newsom used some of his campaign money to pay for billboards in seven conservative states to promote the website. Meanwhile, a California Access Reproductive Justice a nonprofit that helps people pay for the logistics of getting an abortion said 10 of the 63 people it helped in August were from Arizona. Shannon Brewer, director of Las Cruces Womens Health Organization that operates an abortion clinic in southern New Mexico, says she anticipates a surge in inquiries about abortion services from residents of Arizona, a two-hour drive away at minimum. The clinic already received nearly a dozen queries Monday from people in Arizona. Brewer previously operated the abortion clinic in Jackson, Mississippi, that was at the center of the Dodds v Jackson Womens Health decision that took away womens constitutional protection for access to abortions nationwide. The Mississippi clinic has closed, while the like-named clinic in New Mexico has treated about 100 abortion patients during its first six weeks in operation. The majority of our calls are from out-of-state, mostly Texas. The majority of our patients are from Texas, Brewer said Monday. I expect the same thing from Arizona. Most abortion procedures remain legal in New Mexico, where state lawmakers in 2021 repealed a dormant 1969 statute that outlawed most abortion procedures as felonies to ensure access to abortion. Associated Press writer Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico, contributed. MONDAY, Sept. 26, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Both Pfizer and Moderna have asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve their updated coronavirus boosters for children. The "bivalent" shots, like those that adults were able to start receiving this month, target both the original coronavirus and the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. Pfizer has asked the FDA for approval of its updated booster for children aged 5 to 11. Eligibility for its booster shot is for ages 12 and up. The company said Monday that it has begun a trial to test the vaccine for safety, tolerability and effectiveness. That trial is in children aged 6 months to 11 years. Meanwhile, Moderna is seeking approval of its booster for children aged 6 to 11 and adolescents aged 12 to 17. Eligibility for its booster now starts at age 18. The company tweeted that it plans to ask for approval for a booster for children aged 6 months through 5 years later this year. People who have had their primary vaccine series and are at least age 12 are now eligible for updated boosters, though those who have had the virus recently may want to wait for at least two to three months. Children younger than 12 can still get the original booster shots now, but not the bivalent vaccines. About 4.4 million adults and adolescents have received the approved new COVID boosters as of last Thursday, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on COVID-19 vaccines. SOURCE: Pfizer Inc., news release, Sept. 26, 2022 ST. LOUIS I can forgive you. I do forgive you. Those were the last recorded words of Charles Lucas, 25, felled by a single pistol shot from rival lawyer Thomas Hart Benton. The duel took place Sept. 27, 1817, on Bloody Island in the Mississippi River across from St. Louis. Their meeting is the most infamous duel here because Benton later became a national figure, serving Missouri in the U.S. Senate for 30 years. Matters of petty ego led them to the island. But their rivalry was shaped by the opposite sides they took in St. Louis first major political schism the prolonged fight over land titles between the French-speaking founding families and the American newcomers. Lucas was a son of Judge Jean Baptiste Charles Lucas, a former congressman from Pittsburgh. In 1805, President Thomas Jefferson appointed the elder Lucas to the Board of Land Commissioners for the Territory of (upper) Louisiana. Despite Lucas French birth, he fiercely opposed many of the holdings of the Chouteau family and its allies, to whom the former Spanish colonial rulers had bestowed generous grants. Many newcomers thought the Louisiana Purchase made the land Americas to dispense. Further complicating things were the difficulties of making detailed surveys in a wilderness and the hurried nature of some Spanish grants, especially those written near the end of colonial days. Benton arrived here in 1815 from Tennessee after tangling with future president Andrew Jackson. Benton quickly made friends with Charles Gratiot, a brother-in-law of first citizen Auguste Chouteau. Benton took the founders side in the land fight. In a routine court case in 1816, Benton and Charles Lucas traded insults during closing arguments. On election day in August 1817, Lucas publicly questioned Bentons right to vote. Incensed, Benton said, I do not propose to answer charges made by any puppy who may happen to cross my path. Lucas challenged him to a duel. They met 12 days later on the island and wounded each other. Residual hard feelings led six weeks later to the fatal replay. Benton became a newspaper editor and added statehood for Missouri to his passions. Elected U.S. senator by the legislature, he began shifting his sympathies to the growing number of farmers and other small landholders. In 1824, he proposed less-desirable land be given free to poor families if they would work it. The larger land disputes lingered for decades in the courts, the last one settled by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1888. Resolutions defy easy summary. The commissioners generally upheld even shaky land claims if they were small and owner-occupied. The founding families survived well enough Auguste Chouteau still held more than 50,000 acres when he died in 1829. In the end, both sides could claim vindication. J.B.C. Lucas ended his days scorning Benton as an assassin and tending to extensive family land holdings, including a large tract northwest of St. Louis his late son called Normandy. The name endures as a suburb and school district. Other prominent duels at Bloody Island Here are two other duels that took place on Bloody Island between prominent St. Louisans: On June 30, 1823, Thomas Rector shot and killed Joshua Barton, who was U.S. attorney here and a U.S. senator's brother. Barton was the source of an anonymous newspaper article that accused Rector's brother, federal surveyor William Rector, of padding his payroll. William Rector was away from town, so his brother, Thomas, demanded the duel to protect family honor. The distance was 10 paces. Rector was unharmed. On Aug. 26, 1831, U.S. Rep. Spencer Pettis and retired army Maj. Thomas Biddle both died in a point-blank exchange of pistol shots. Pettis had criticized the Bank of the United States, which was run by Biddle's brother, Nicholas, and a major flashpoint in Jacksonian-era politics. After Thomas Biddle assaulted Pettis in a hotel, Pettis issued a challenge to duel. That meant Biddle could set the terms. He chose face-to-face because he was nearsighted. Despite laws against dueling, old-time honor sometimes still demanded gunfire. On Aug. 26, 1856, U.S. Attorney Thomas Reynolds wounded newspaper editor Gratz Brown on an island near Herculaneum, a secret location they chose because police were watching Bloody Island. Theirs was the last local duel to draw blood. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Saudi Arabia said Thursday it will launch a training program with the goal of sending its own astronauts, including a woman, into space next year. The kingdom is actively promoting science and technology as part of its wide-ranging Vision 2030 plan to overhaul its economy and reduce its dependency on oil. The plan, championed by Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also calls for greater integration of women into the workforce of the conservative Muslim country. Saudi Arabia lifted a long-standing ban on women driving in 2018. The Saudi Astronaut Program, which is an integral part of the Kingdoms ambitious Vision 2030, will send Saudi astronauts into space to help better serve humanity, the Saudi Space Commission said in a statement. One of the astronauts will be a Saudi woman, whose mission to space will represent a historical first for the Kingdom. The first Arab or Muslim to travel to space was Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan bin Salman, a half-brother of the crown prince and an air force pilot who was part of the seven-member crew of NASA's Discovery mission in 1985. He later served as head of the Saudi Space Commission from 2018 until last year, when he was appointed an adviser to King Salman. The neighboring United Arab Emirates has the Arab world's leading space program, having launched a probe into Mars' orbit in February 2021. The UAE plans to launch its first lunar rover in November. If the moon mission succeeds, the UAE and Japan, which is providing the lander, would join the ranks of only the U.S., Russia and China as nations that have put a spacecraft on the lunar surface. UPDATED with two more potential victims contacting police CLAYTON A former substitute teacher facing charges of statutory rape and sodomy has died after jailers found him unresponsive in his cell at the St. Louis County Justice Center, officials said Tuesday. Brandon Holbrook, 30, had been jailed there since Sept. 16. He was alone in a cell under quarantine when a corrections officer found him before 4 p.m. Monday, said Doug Moore, spokesman for County Executive Sam Page. Holbrook was pronounced dead at Barnes-Jewish Hospital about an hour later. The cause of death is under investigation. Moore said authorities found no signs of drug use or indications of suicide in Holbrooks cell. An autopsy is pending. Holbrook is the third inmate at the St. Louis County Jail to die this year. Holbrook, a former St. Louis-area substitute teacher, was charged this month in St. Louis County with raping one of his former students, a 14-year-old girl. She was a student at Bernard Middle School, 1054 Forder Road, in the Mehlville area, police said. Holbrook, of the 3100 block of Nebraska Avenue in St. Louis, was charged with three counts of second-degree statutory rape and six counts of second-degree statutory sodomy. Police said Holbrook apparently met the girl at the school in May and began grooming her via social media. Holbrook went to her home three times and raped her, charges said. St. Louis County police Sgt. Tracy Panus said two more potential victims had contacted police after prosecutors charged Holbrook. Panus said detectives were still investigating those allegations and hadnt turned over their findings to the county prosecutors office. Moore said corrections officers checked on Holbrook at 3:15 p.m. Monday and he was fine. They checked on him again about a half-hour later and saw him sitting upright on his bed and using earphones, and he didnt respond to their request that he stand up. A corrections officer went into the cell, tapped Holbrooks shoulder and found him unconscious. The corrections officer tried to revive Holbrook in the jail with CPR; Holbrook was given Narcan, a medication that can reverse the effects of opioid overdoses. Its normal practice for jailers to administer Narcan when an inmate is unresponsive since drug use is prevalent among those who come into our care, Moore told the Post-Dispatch. Medical staff at the jail also provided CPR, as did paramedics from Clayton, Moore said. Holbrook had been in quarantine in an eighth-floor cell, not because of a suicide watch but while waiting for a second negative COVID test, which is protocol before inmates are moved into jail spaces with other inmates, Moore said. Holbrook had met with a mental health case worker earlier that day, and he was fine, Moore said. About 1:30 p.m. Monday, the mental health case worker had cleared Holbrook to be moved into general population, the regular living quarters in the jail, though the move hadnt been made by the time he was found unresponsive. Scott Rosenblum, Holbrooks attorney, said he was looking forward to seeing an independent investigation into the death of Holbrook. It seems very unusual, Rosenblum said. I know for a fact he was not suicidal. Rosenblum said, We had been speaking with him and he was very logical and he was cogent, coherent and participating in his defense. Under the circumstances, he was optimistic and upbeat. He was still enjoying very close family ties. Rosenblum said Holbrook had no concerns about going into general population at the jail. Holbrook was jailed on a $500,000 cash bail and had a bond reduction hearing scheduled for Tuesday, the day after he died. His preliminary hearing in the case was more than two weeks away. Jeff Smith, chairman of the Justice Services Advisory Board, said he is awaiting a report from the jail and county health officials, but so far, he has been told there were no signs of trauma or foul play. Moore, spokesman for the county executive, said jail officials are checking the tablet computer that Holbrook was using to see what phone calls he had made and emails he had sent before his death. Inmates are given tablet computers to communicate electronically with relatives and case workers. There was nothing in his cell indicating he injured himself at all. In this case, Moore said, we just dont know what happened. Prior to the three deaths at the county jail this year, five inmates died there in 2019 and none the following two years. An audit, sought in part because of the rash of deaths in 2019, was unable to fully address the issue because reports on the deaths provided by the county were heavily redacted. Auditors from the Miami-based criminal justice consulting firm CGL found the negative perception of the jail was unjustified and driven by media reports on those 2019 deaths, which were all caused by medical conditions. ST. LOUIS Prosecutors on Friday charged a St. Louis County man with murder after police found a "badly decomposed" body near the city's riverfront. A witness told investigators last week that Kortlind N. Lewis, 34, fatally shot Darris Mooreland on Sept. 11 over a drug deal gone wrong, police wrote in charging documents. The witness in St. Louis County custody, also told officers where to find the body near Adelaide Avenue and Hall Street in the city's Near North Riverfront neighborhood. Surveillance video from the area also captured the shooting, charges say. It showed a silver Chevy Traverse driving near the intersection and coming to a stop, police said. The rear passenger window blasted out from what looked like a gunshot, then Mooreland starts running away. Police said the video shows Lewis getting out of the driver's seat and following Mooreland to the area where his body was later found. Lewis was eventually arrested during a traffic stop carrying a gun that was believed to have been the same one that shot Mooreland. He was charged Friday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Lewis was being held Monday in the St. Louis County jail on robbery and armed criminal action charges. An attorney for Lewis had not been listed in either case. ST. LOUIS A teenage boy was shot in the foot Monday evening in the city's St. Louis Place neighborhood. The teen was shot just before 4:30 p.m. at 15th and Mullanphy streets. He was taken to a hospital after 11 p.m. and told investigators the shooting had happened earlier in the day. A man was killed in a double shooting around the same time about two blocks away, but officers said the scenes were not related. KIRKWOOD About 15 parents and students spoke out Monday against the Kirkwood School Districts recent book bans, including a comic book adaptation of George Orwells 1984, the cautionary tale about government mind control. At least 114 book bans have been enacted in schools across St. Louis this fall in response to a new state law prohibiting explicit sexual material defined as any visual depiction of sex acts or genitalia, with exceptions for artistic or scientific significance provided to students in public or private schools. Kirkwood administrators banned 14 books in response to the law, the third-most of any school district in St. Louis County after Rockwood and Lindbergh. Eight school districts in the county did not change their library collections. Neighboring school district Webster Groves banned 11 books, including several crossovers on Kirkwoods list, such as the graphic novel version of The Handmaids Tale. Kirkwoods banned books list mainly includes graphic novels but also nonfiction such as Annie Leibovitz at Work about the celebrity photographer; The Human Body in Action, a 1999 anatomy textbook; and Gender Danger: Survivors of Rape, Human Trafficking, and Honor Killings. Several speakers at Mondays school board meeting said they do not want political pressure to dictate the materials available to students. There were no comments defending the bans. We as parents were shocked and disappointed to learn our school district is banning books in our school libraries, Meredith Byers wrote in a comment read to the board. Byers said as a medical professional she was particularly disappointed about the anatomy book, which she described as accurate and appropriate. Aside from the 14 banned books, Kirkwood parents are able to opt out of any titles they dont want their child to check out from school libraries. They also have online access to school library book lists and records of books their student has checked out, said Bryan Painter, Kirkwoods assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Two school board members said they disapproved of district leaders banning books and asked for further review of the titles. The most important thing is that kids feel seen and kids feel heard and kids feel safe, said member Judy Moticka. The thought that we would take away a kids ability to find themselves, to understand themselves, to feel safe, is wrong. As a district we have to do better. But board president Jean Marie Andrews said the discussion around banning books deals with sexually explicit content that represents pornography. Its not as simple as many would like to make this out to be, Andrews said. Stop making this about representation and book banning and address it for what it really is. We can represent all students without sexualizing them. The ACLU of Missouri issued a statement last month saying school library books fall under exemptions in the new state law because they have already been screened under nationally well-established standards for selecting material that take into account the entire piece. UNIVERSITY CITY Officials here are seeking $7 million to offer to buy out 24 houses and one apartment complex ravaged by flooding along the River Des Peres in late July. The city identified the properties in a news release Monday afternoon after sending letters to the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency over the weekend seeking federal and state grant funding for a voluntary buyout of flood-prone homes. The state agency administers flood buyouts funded by federal cash. City Manager Greg Rose had said the city was interested in an estimated $40 million to buy around 300 homes along the River Des Peres, which would have included all properties condemned as temporarily uninhabitable because of flood damage. But the state warned it wouldnt be realistic to fund a buyout that extensive, city planning director John Wagner said Monday. Based on their advice, we narrowed it down to an area most affected by flooding, he said. Neither Rose nor a spokesperson for the State Emergency Management Agency immediately responded to a request for comment. The proposed buyouts would include 12 houses each on Wilson Avenue and Burch Lane, just west of the river. The apartment complex, Hafner Court Apartments, sits right next to the river at the intersection of Hafner place and court. The complex includes three two-story buildings with a total of 81 apartment units. Those homes and apartments have flooded frequently and posed a challenge to first responders making rescues, Wagner said. If approved, University City would be required to put up a 25% match, or an estimated $1.75 million, of flood buyout funding for the homes on Wilson and Burch. JEFFERSON CITY Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine has released a pair of ads blasting Attorney General Eric Schmitt for his actions on abortion and Chinese-owned farmland. The first ad references Schmitts support for legislation in 2013 to allow foreign ownership of farmland. If Eric Schmitt wanted to sell farmland to communists in China, he shouldve become a broker in Beijing, a narrator in the ad says. The campaign claims 146,000 acres of Missouri land have been purchased by Chinese-controlled companies, citing an article last year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies that said Hong Kong-based WH Group, owner of Smithfield Foods, owned more than 146,000 acres in Missouri. I will never sell Missouri farms to China, Valentine says. In the second ad, Valentine criticizes Schmitts move as attorney general to trigger Missouris near-total abortion ban after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. A law Gov. Mike Parson signed in 2019 said the attorney general could issue an opinion to trigger the ban if the high court reversed Roe v. Wade. The law contains no exceptions for rape or incest. Government mandating womens health care decisions is un-American, Valentine says. Ill protect our freedoms. Rich Chrismer, spokesman for Schmitts campaign, said in an email that Valentine is so extreme on this issue that she supports abortion at every stage, including partial-birth abortion, taxpayer-funded abortion and even live-birth abortion policies. Chrismer also said Valentine supports the extreme job-destroying, energy-price increasing, inflation-creating policies of Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer, which are crushing our economy and driving up the price of everything for Missouri families. He said that doesnt mean much to an Heiress with access to millions, but means everything to families who are working and struggling in the Biden economy. Jacob Long, spokesman for Valentine, said, Eric Schmitt can try to distract from his extreme views all he wants, but Missouri voters know that his mandate re-victimizes women who have been raped or molested by taking away their freedom to make their own private medical decisions. Long said the campaign is airing the new ads on TV in the St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia media markets. Polls have shown Schmitt leading Valentine by a wide margin. The election is Nov. 8. MANCHESTER Manchesters historic City Hall building, The Lyceum, has been a town symbol for decades its even at the center of the city logo. But now, city officials say the 1894 building, on the National Register of Historic Places, is outdated as the center of government for this St. Louis suburb of 18,000. The Manchester Board of Aldermen is set to vote Oct. 3 on a $2.03 million contract with the Lawlor Corp. to renovate a former Commerce Bank building the city purchased in 2021 to become a newer, bigger Manchester City Hall. The Lyceum is a great building. Its beautiful. It has wonderful history, said Manchester City Administrator Justin Klocke. But it no longer works as City Hall. Most problems stem from The Lyceums age: The building lacks an elevator, making the second floor inaccessible to people with disabilities. The windows are more than 120 years old. Repairs are costly. And its size and layout are cramped, Klocke said. The city purchased the new property, 14317 Manchester Road, only a few buildings away from the current city hall, for about $1.7 million in 2021. Officials hope to move into the new city hall sometime next year, leaving the future of The Lyceum unclear. Manchester Mayor Mike Clement said hed love to see the building preserved either in its current location or by relocating it, but nothing has been decided yet on how that can happen. This building sits right next to an old spring that first attracted people to this area, Clement said on a recent afternoon in The Lyceums second-story auditorium that features a stage, piano and balcony seats. It is a piece of Manchester history. In a resolution passed last year, Manchester aldermen agreed: Due to its historical relevance, the Lyceum would need to be either moved or integrated into a commercial use where it stands. The Lyceum, praised on the National Register as a rare example of multiuse buildings once common in Missouri, has had many lives over the years. Tinsmith John Straszer built the structure in 1894 more than 50 years before Manchester incorporated to house Straszers tin shop on the first floor and an auditorium for dances, performers and speakers on the second. After the tin shop, the building went through a variety of uses: a soda fountain, movie house, grocery, ice cream parlor and hardware store, among others. By 1975, The Lyceum fell into disrepair and became vacant until 1979, when the city bought and transformed it into a city hall. Weve been especially encouraged by the many calls weve received by citizens, Manchesters city administrator at the time Clifford Earle said of the purchase. Manchester resident Lee Presser said hes often visited The Lyceum because of his role on his subdivisions board of trustees, but its parking and layout mean its not ideal as City Hall. He said he hopes they save the building, relocate from its current home on Manchester Road and redevelop the area for a better use. I dont know whats involved in moving a building of that size, Presser said. But that entire area needs to be redeveloped if theyre going to create more sales tax for the city. Annie Coleman, another Manchester resident, said she just hopes that The Lyceum can stay on Manchester Road. Its been here so long, its probably the most recognizable building, she said. As for the buildings prominent spot on the city logo it graces city polo shirts and police cars, among other things Manchester officials havent yet decided whether The Lyceum will remain the symbol of the city when its no longer City Hall. MIAMI (AP) Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank have voted to fire its president, Mauricio Claver-Carone, after an ethics probe found he likely carried on an intimate relationship with a subordinate. The governors from the IADB's 48 members had until Tuesday to vote electronically on whether to sack Claver-Carone following a unanimous recommendation last week by the bank's board to fire of the first American to lead the bank in its 63-year history. But enough ballots had been cast by Monday afternoon to meet the necessary quorum. The IDB in a statement said that in accordance with the bank's charter Executive Vice President Reina Mejia would take over as acting president until a new leader is chosen. An investigation conducted at the boards request determined that Claver-Carone violated ethics rules by giving a 40% salary increase to his chief of staff, with whom it said he likely had a romantic relationship from at least 2019, when both worked at the White House, according to a copy of the report obtained by the AP. Claver-Carone has denied ever having a relationship with his top aide and said that the investigation, conducted by New York law firm Davis Polk, was seriously flawed. In an interview Monday, Claver-Carone said he is considering legal action against the international financial institution for allegedly defaming his good name and violating provisions in his employment contract. He also lashed out at the Biden administration for not standing up for the due process rights of one of its citizens. The Bank has failed to meet the mark as a rules-based institution, he wrote in a parting letter to the governors, complaining that he was never formally notified of the anonymous complaint that triggered the probe or allowed to correct inaccuracies in the investigators' confidential report. The future of the Bank is at stake. Moving forward it will be essential to ensure that the ad hoc and arbitrary disregard for rules and procedures are never repeated." The banks executive board lost confidence in Claver-Carone's leadership as a result of evidence including a contract he and his aide purportedly drew up on the back of a place mat in the summer of 2019 while they dined at a steakhouse in Medellin, Colombia. Both were there attending the annual meeting of the Organization of American States. In it, they allegedly outline a timeline for divorcing their spouses and getting married. There is also a breach clause stating that any failure to fulfill the terms would bring sadness and heartbreak that could only be mitigated by candlewax and a naughty box from an oceanfront hotel in Claver-Carones native Miami. While investigators found no evidence that Claver-Carone broke the bank's travel policies to cover up the purported romance, it faulted him for not fully cooperating with their probe by refusing to hand over his work phone and providing access to communications from his personal phone and email. It also said he likely violated the bank's conflict of interest policy, which bars managers from employment decisions on behalf of individuals with whom they have an intimate relationship, when he unilaterally awarded his aide a 40% salary increase. The findings recall accusations of ethical lapses against another Republican atop a multilateral institution, former Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, who resigned as head of the World Bank in 2007 for arranging a generous pay raise for his girlfriend. The Inter-American Development Bank is the biggest multilateral lender to Latin America, disbursing last year a record $23 billion to alleviate poverty made worse by the coronavirus pandemic in the region. The U.S. is the largest shareholder, with 30% of voting rotes. Claver-Carone was elected president in the final months of the Trump administration despite grumblings from Democrats and some others in the region. While at the bank, he worked to curtail the influence of China, which joined the bank in 2009, and to boost engagement with Taiwan, which Beijing considers breakaway province. According to bank rules, Executive Vice President Reina Mejia, a Honduran national who spent most of her career at Citibank in Central America, will take over from Claver-Carone until a new president is elected. Follow Goodman on Twitter: @APJoshGoodman JACKSON, Miss (AP) The federal government wants to work with officials in Mississippi's capital city to reach a legal agreement that ensures Jackson can sustain its water system in the future, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan said Monday. Federal attorneys also sent a letter to city officials Monday threatening legal action against the city if it does not agree to negotiations related to its water system. Regan returned to Mississippis capital city Monday to meet with Jackson officials about the citys troubled water system. At the meeting with Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and U.S. Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim, Regan said the federal government would work with the city to "deliver long overdue relief for Jackson residents. The people of Jackson, Mississippi, have lacked access to safe and reliable water for decades. After years of neglect, Jacksons water system finally reached a breaking point this summer, leaving tens of thousands of people without any running water for weeks," Regan said. "These conditions are unacceptable in the United States of America. In a Monday letter sent to city officials and obtained by the news station WLBT-TV, Kim and attorneys for DOJ's Environmental Enforcement Section said they were prepared to file an action against the city under the Safe Drinking Water Act, but hoped the matter could be resolved through an enforceable agreement." The letter said that state and local officials had not acted to protect public health. Regan said in a separate statement that he wants to work with the city to reach a judicially enforceable agreement, which would avoid a legal dispute. A Department of Justice spokesperson declined to specify what such an agreement could entail. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how the federal government might protect public health in Jackson and address longstanding environmental justice issues facing the city, the spokesperson told The Associated Press. In a news release, Lumumba's office said city officials discussed plans of the federal agencies to immediately engage in negotiations with Jackson's leadership to address its water system needs. Most of Jacksons 150,000 residents lost running water for several days in late August and early September after heavy rainfall exacerbated problems in the citys main treatment plant. The EPA had already issued a notice in January that Jacksons system violates the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Lumumba said coordination with the federal government represents the best path forward for the city to fix its water system. We believe that it is imperative that we enter into agreements with a team that is solely and sincerely focused on an objective of ensuring safe and reliable drinking water to the residents of Jackson, Lumumba said in the news release. On Sept. 15, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves and the state health department told people in Jackson that they no longer had to boil water before drinking it or using it to brush their teeth. But disruptions to clean water in parts of the city continued. Lumumba's office announced new boil-water notices Monday affecting approximately 1,000 water connections in the city. A city spokesperson said a contractor inadvertently severed a water line. This came after multiple major water leaks occurred the previous weekend. Several areas were placed under a precautionary boil-water notice, including the neighborhood home to Millsaps College. The college has asked for donations to help build its own water source. The EPA said 300 boil water notices have been issued over the past two years in the city, most of which came before the most recent drinking water crisis. Its clear this community has suffered long enough, Regan said. In early September, Regan came to Jackson to meet with residents and elected officials about the water problems. He said the city needs to receive its fair share of federal money to repair the system. A stopgap funding package Congress is set to consider this week includes disaster assistance for Jackson, a person familiar with the legislation said Monday. Before the latest water crisis, Jackson had already been under a boil-water notice since late July because of cloudy water that could make people ill. Tests by the state health department in 2015 found higher-than-acceptable lead levels in some water samples. An independent watchdog in the Environmental Protection Agency said in September it was being brought in to investigate Jackson's troubled water system. In September, four Jackson residents filed a class-action lawsuit in federal district court against the city, Lumumba and his immediate predecessor, three former public works directors, an engineering firm and a business that had a city contract to replace water meters. The lawsuit seeks to force Jackson to make specific fixes, including the removal or repair of pipes and equipment contaminated with lead. Regan said the EPA has a responsibility to protect the health of Jackson residents. The people of Jackson, like all people in this country, deserve access to clean and safe water, Regan said. "They also deserve more than words they need action." Associated Press Writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report. Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mikergoldberg. Germany is under increasing pressure from its NATO allies to deliver Marder 1A3 IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles) Ukraine. The Marder manufacturer, Rheinmetall, stated back in March that it could upgrade 100 of the retired Marders to the 1A3 standard within weeks and send them off to Ukraine. Initially the German government agreed, but then, for reasons as yet unexplained, halted the shipment of Marders to Ukraine. The problem is German politics and most Germans are unsure of exactly what is going on here. This is nothing new. German defense policy since the end of the Cold War in 1991 has been an inexplicable mess. Before the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, West Germany (the Russians still occupied East Germany until 1990) was the largest, best equipped and formidable military force in NATO. In 1989 the West German military had half a million troops. Five years later a united Germany had a force of 250,000 and the reductions continued until 2014, when the German military had 179,000 troops. The situation changed in 2014 because Russia had violated its 1994 agreement with Ukraine, in which it pledged to never seize any part of Ukraine. In return, Ukraine gave up the nuclear weapons it inherited when the Soviet Union collapsed and half the population of the Soviet Union became independent states. Since 1991 a growing number of Russians have supported reforming the Russian empire, by force if necessary. In 2014 Russia acted against Ukraine. Ukraine mobilized forces faster than expected and halted the Russian operation in eastern Ukraine (Donbas). In 2022 Russia decided to finish the job and invaded all of Ukraine. That was a major disaster for Russia. After 2014 Ukraine sought to rearm and asked for support from NATO, which NATO provided. Many NATO members, especially the East European nations that joined after 1991, saw themselves as next on the target list if Russia succeeded in Ukraine. The Russian attacks on Ukraine were a major disappointment for Germany. With the largest economy in Europe, Germany took the lead in establishing economic links with Russia. This was seen as the best way to keep the peace, including Germany becoming dependent on Russia for most of its natural gas and oil needs. Meanwhile the German military never recovered from the huge personnel and budget cuts that occurred between 1991 and 2014. In 1990 Germany spent $40 billion (2.52 percent of GDP) on defense. By 2001 that was down to $26 billion (1.32 percent of GDP). By 2o14 defense spending was only 1.15 percent of GDP. By 2020 it was 1.4 percent and the German military was still lacking many basic weapons (armored vehicles, warplanes and warships) and the ability to keep them operational. Often less than 20 percent of these weapons were combat ready. It was an endless scandal that was made possible by the inability to expand the size of the military. By 2019 Germany had only been able to expand its military by 5,000 troops (to 184,000.) Ukraine went through similar reductions in defense spending and military personnel. But after 2014 rebuilt their military much more effectively than any one, especially the Russians expected. The Marder IFV was very effective, and probably the best IFV developed by any NATO nation. Between 1968 and 1975 Germany produced 2,103 Marders and only the Germans used them until the 1990s. By 1991 the Marder had been upgraded to the 1A3 standard and as the German army retired them, export customers could finally obtain them. A replacement for the Marder was not put into service until 2015, when the first Puma IFVs entered service. The 41-ton Puma was larger than the Marder but the 34-ton Marder 1A3 had most of the new tech the Puma used. Only 350 Pumas have been built so far, with another 210 on order. There are many more Marder 1A3s available and Ukraine saw this as an opportunity to equip their new offensive force with one of the best IFVs available. So far in September Ukrainian forces have destroyed about a quarter of the Russian forces in Ukraine and recovered much territory the Russians had occupied in 2022. The Ukrainians are still at it and point out that their efforts would be more effective if they had the hundred Marder 1A3s Germany had promised them back in March. That is being blocked by the dysfunctional and perplexing German defense decision making that has been the norm since the 1990s. The first of Pumas was delivered to the German Army in 2015 and all 350 were delivered by 2021. Puma replaces Cold War era (1970s) Marder IFVs. Puma contains lots of innovations, many of them suggested by Marder users. The basic model has a remote (from inside the vehicle) control turret equipped with a new 30mm automatic cannon. This type of system has worked well in Iraq, where it was widely used in American vehicles. The Puma armor protection comes in three levels. The basic level results in a 29.4-ton vehicle that protects against artillery, heavy machine guns (up to 14.5mm) and RPG rounds. There's a 31.5 ton and 43-ton version. The Germans have settled on the 31.5-ton version as the standard. This one gives all round protection from 14.5mm machine-guns, and some protection from 30mm rounds. The Puma's 30mm cannon can fire computer-controlled shells that will detonate inside of buildings or over troops taking cover behind a wall or in a trench. The 30mm cannon can fire up to 200 rounds a minute, and has a range of 3,000 meters. The vehicle carries 400 rounds of 30mm ammo, and over two thousand rounds for its 7.62mm machine-gun. Optional weapons include a guided missile launcher or automatic grenade launcher. The 30mm gun has an armor piercing round that is also effective against personnel (FAPIDS-T, or Frangible Armor Piercing Incendiary Discarding Sabot - Tracer). The Puma has a crew of three (commander, gunner and driver) and carries up to eight infantrymen (or cargo) in the rear troop compartment. The Puma is also "digital." Noting the success the U.S. Army has had with equipping their armored vehicles with "battlefield Internet" communications equipment, the Germans did the same with Puma. The Puma is 7.4 meters (24 feet) long and air conditioned. Top speed is 70 kilometers an hour. While the Puma was designed to accept additional armor protection, the Germans preferred to use the 32-ton version, which is about what the Marder 1A3 weighs. Rheinmetall has no problem designing and building these IFVs and most Germans support giving them to Ukraine. Whats missing is a government that can make a decision and carry it out. Israels population will reach ten million in the next year and 15 million by 2048. Currently 74 percent of the population is Jewish, 21 percent Arab and the rest various other minorities. Most Arab Israelis are descendants of Arabs who ignored Arab nations calls that they leave the new state of Israel in 1948 during the Israeli war of independence from attacks by Arab nations who did not want Israel to exist. The Arab Israelis prospered in Israel compared to Arabs in neighboring states but did not take advantage of educational opportunities to the extent that Jewish Israelis did. As a result, Arab Israeli income is now about 60 percent that of Jewish Israelis. Arab Israelis are still better off in terms of income and security compared to Arabs in Arab majority nations. Despite that, there has been a growing problem with the loyalty of Israeli Arabs since the 2006 war with Hezbollah. At least fifty Israeli Arabs are known to have joined ISIL and most appear to have died there or otherwise disappeared from view (or at least contact with their families back in Israel). A 2007 opinion survey of Arab Israelis revealed some scary attitudes. For example, 48 percent believed the Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel in 2006 were justified, even though Israeli Arabs suffered a disproportionate number of the Israeli casualties because most Israeli Arabs live in the north. Moreover, half saw the Hezbollah kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers, which triggered the 2006 war, as justified, and 89 percent considered the Israeli attack on Lebanon a war crime while 44 percent believed the Hezbollah rocket attack was a war crime. A third of Arab Israeli high school and college graduates don't believe that six million Jews were killed during World War II, compared to 28 percent of all Israeli Arabs. Arab Israelis also have fears, like the possibility of mass expulsions from Israel (60 percent), or transfer of their communities to a new Palestinian state (62 percent). In fact, 68 percent would prefer to live in Israel even if there were a peace deal that led to the creation of a Palestinian state. Meanwhile, 63 percent of Israel Jews avoid entering Arab towns or neighborhoods, and 68 percent fear civil unrest among Israeli Arabs. Since 2007 these anti-Israel attitudes among Arab Israelis has gotten worse and Hamas, Hezbollah and ISIL try to take advantage of it. ISIL has been the most successful, mainly because it is the most radical Islamic terrorist group and that appeals to the young (especially teenage) Moslem males who are most attracted to Islamic terrorism. In 2020 another Arab-Israeli was arrested and charged with working as a spy for Iran. Police have observed the suspect meeting with Iranian intel personnel and then seeking to recruit other Arab-Israelis to work for Iran and help destroy Israel. Since 2014, and the appearance of ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), there has been a sharp increase in Arab-Israelis actively working t0 destroy Israel. Police estimate that over 50 Arab-Israelis have actually made it to Syria and joined ISIL and about as many were detected in Israel or in Turkey before they got to Syria. Not many Palestinians (about a hundred) have actually gone to Syria. At least seven Israeli citizens (all Arabs) have died fighting for ISIL, which considers the destruction of Israel very important and called on Arab-Israelis to join the fight. Many of those who did not want to fight in Syria were receptive to Iranian efforts, via Hezbollah, to recruit Arab-Israelis to serve as spies. In most cases Iran simply wanted a reliable source of basic information any Israeli citizen could pick up by driving around the country or consulting local media. Iran also found that recruiting Arab-Israelis to assist in carrying out attacks inside Israel often worked. These attacks are carried out by Palestinians or Israeli Arabs but organized by Iranian agents in Gaza or Iranian-trained Palestinians in the West Bank. These Arab-Israeli terrorists are the great-grandchildren of the Arabs who decided to remain in Israel in 1948. Most Palestinians live in the West Bank, Gaza or other nations. Palestinians continue to call for the destruction of Israel. This attitude developed after the Palestinians realized that their call for a separate Palestinian state (the two-state solution) was impossible as long as they insisted that the right of return be observed. For at least five years now many Western and some Moslem countries have called on the Palestinians to get their own state by agreeing to cancel the unique status Palestinian refugees were granted by the UN after Israel was created that enables Palestinian refugees to pass their refugee status on to all their descendants. No other refugee group has ever been granted that status. As a result, the original 700,000 Palestinian refugees have grown to over four million. The UN established the UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) to provide for the support the original refugees and succeeding generations. The U.S. was long the largest contributor to the UNRWA effort that provides most of these refugees with benefits on other refugees get. In 2018 the U.S. announced it will stop paying $350 million a year for this. Western efforts to obtain a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians keep failing because of Palestinian refusal to give up demands that Israel cannot accept (if they want to continue to exist as a Jewish state). What caused this mess was a mistake made by the Arab world over sixty years ago when the UN was persuaded to grant Palestinian refugees hereditary status. Initially this was because the Arab nations were certain that they would eventually be able to crush Israel and allow Palestinians back to homes and property they had fled at the urging of other Arabs. As part of this policy no Arab nation would permit Palestinians to become citizens but instead always treated them as refugees and confined them to camps, which were usually special towns and neighborhoods just for Palestinians. But by the 1970s it was pretty clear that the Israelis had become too powerful militarily (and now had nukes) for the Arabs to defeat. Instead, the Arab nations got behind various proposals for a peace deal. Some progress was made by the 1990s but Palestinian radicals refused to allow any peace agreement and threatened civil war if Palestinian leaders did not renounce peace proposals and work towards the destruction of Israel. The major obstacle to any peace deal was Palestinians insisting on Israel recognizing "right of return without discrimination." That means that the Palestinians who fled the newly formed Israel in the late 1940s, and their millions of descendants, can return to Israel and get all their abandoned property back. Israel would also have to pay compensation. While most of those original refugees are now dead, many Palestinians would not return, but enough could do so and change the demographic composition of Israel, turning it into a country with an Arab majority. This, for both the Palestinians and Israel, is the equivalent of destroying Israel." This is something all Palestinian factions want to accomplish, and Israelis want to avoid. Getting around this obstacle would be very difficult, as the Palestinian public has endured decades of Palestinian (and Arab) media messages insisting that the right of return is an essential part of any peace deal. Westerners believe that money (a bribe) might make this problem go away. That could backfire, because the real problem is the Arab decision in the late 1940s to not offer citizenship to any Palestinian refugees. The other Arab states insisted that Palestinian refugees must remain stateless, preferably living in refugee camps (and receiving food and other aid from largely Western donors). At the time, an equal number of Jews were expelled from Arab countries. All these Jewish refugees found new homes, most of them in Israel. Just giving the Palestinian refugees a few hundred billion dollars would not be sufficient. They need citizenship somewhere, either in the country where they are currently refugees, or in the West. Undoing this old Arab error, which the Arab nations insisted on and Palestinians went along with, has not been easy. The Americans were willing to act, which is meaningful since the United States has always been the largest supplier of aid for the Palestinian refugees. The Americans thought they could make this work because now most Arab states are hostile to Palestinians who have regularly acted in a self-destructive manner and now refuse to even form a united government that someone could negotiate with. But the American approach also puts some responsibility on other Arab nations to change their citizenship policy (which is similar for all foreigners, not just the Palestinians) and make it easier for Palestinians who have been living among them for decades to become citizens. Of the original 700,000 Palestinian refugees, only about 50,000 are still alive. In 1967 there was another wave of Palestinian refugees as Israel took control of the West Bank and about 300,000 West Bank Arabs joined the Palestinian refugee community. Over 50,000 of these are still alive. Most of the original refugees would be willing to accept cash or property compensation and permission to settle in an area where they could be citizens, not refugees. Some 10 percent would even be willing to move to Israel, where the Arabs who did not flee became Israeli citizens and prospered. Many of the original refugees settled in the West, where they could become citizens. But that was complicated by the unrelenting Arab demands that Israel must be destroyed. For Arab nations that attitude has mellowed and most Arab nations see Israel as an actual or potential ally and economic partner. But the Palestinian refugee community still insists Israel be destroyed. Iran Betrays Women and Ukraine Since September 17th protests started in Tehran (the capital) and have not stopped, despite at least fifty protesters being killed and over 3,000 arrested. These protests are against the government, and have included chants of death to the dictator (the leader of the religious dictatorship). The religious dictatorship has been in power since 1979 and one of the first things they established was the Morality Police, to enforce the new dress and appearance restrictions. These dress codes were never very popular and most Iranians today were born after 1979 and never experienced life without these rules. But they see it on TV and in movies as well as visits to the West. Eleven days ago, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman from northern Iran, was in Tehran with her family. While with her brother, she was arrested by the Morality Police for not covering her hair properly with a hijab scarf. She was taken to a local police station. Her brother was told she would undergo a one-hour lecture on the importance of using the hijab properly and then released. Her brother waited at the police station for two hours before he was told his sister had suffered a heart attack and collapsed. She was taken to a hospital and died the next day. The cause was not a heart attack but a severe beating administered by police. The police tried to conceal this but too many people had seen her in the hospital, where her visible injuries were obviously from a beating, not from a heart attack. That was enough to trigger another round of nationwide protests against the government, the Morality Police and religious rule in general. This time the protestors were not intimidated by the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), which was organized in the 1980s to protect the religious dictatorship. That included the frequent use of lethal (gunfire) force which in the past managed to halt protests quickly. Not this time and the IRGC is more intimidated than the protestors. Increasingly the protestors include religious Iranians who are also fed up with the religious dictatorship and the IRGC. These protests have become more frequent and outspoken over the last two decades. In the last few years more protesters have called for an end to religious government as well Islam itself. The situation is worse than anyone realized after the results of a 2020 opinion poll were released by GAMAAN (Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran). This group made an effort to determine the true religious feelings of Iranians by using its experience with online anonymous surveys to determine just how religious Iranians are and how many still consider themselves Moslems. That has been something of a mystery because for years there have been larger and larger anti-government protests. One surprising feature of these protests is the growing number of Iranians hostile to Islam and willing to be public about. Iranians are reluctant to tell strangers how they feel about religion but the word on the street was that most Iranians had quietly abandoned Islam. The 2020 GAMAAN survey, supervised by expatriate Iranians, contacted a number of online groups inside Iran and convinced them to participate in an anonymous survey of religious beliefs. GAMAAN assembled 400,000 online participants, representing an accurate cross-section of Iranians in Iran, and conducted the survey. The results were a shock, at least to the government. While the government insists that 99 percent of Iranians are Moslem, the survey found that only 40 percent were. Breaking that down further 32 percent of Iranians are Shia, five percent Sunni and three percent Sufi (a more mellow Islam hated by Islamic extremists). Other religious preferences included 8.8 percent atheists, 5.8 percent agnostic 2.7 percent humanist and seven percent non-denominational spiritualists. Not surprisingly eight percent were Zoroastrian, a native Iranian religion older that Judaism and believed eliminated in the 7th century by invading Islamic armies. Since then, a small number of Iranians continued to practice Zoroastrianism in secret inside Iran and openly outside of Iran. Many Zoroastrianism customs are still practiced inside Iran, much to the dismay of some Islamic clerics. Efforts to suppress these ancient customs have failed for over a thousand years. Now Iranians are openly (in crowds) calling for the revival of this ancient monotheistic (one-God) religion as more Iranians seek a more humane alternative to Islam. Another 1.5 percent said they were Christian, 0.1 percent Jewish, 0.5 percent Bahai, 3.3 percent other and 22.2 percent declared they had no religious beliefs at all. Overall 78 percent of Iranians believed in God while 90 percent of Iranians admitted to growing up in or still practicing some religion. A third of Iranians admitted they regularly consume alcoholic beverages, something forbidden to Moslems. Less than 40 percent observed the daily schedule of Moslem prayers and about the same percentage observed the fast during the holy month of Ramadan. The rest would claim an illness and this was widely tolerated. Trying to enforce the fast on that many Iranians was seen as an impossible task. Even so 68 percent believed that religious practices should not have the rule of law and 72 percent opposed the law or custom mandating that women wear hijab (hair covering) outdoors. Despite all these changing attitudes, a recent international survey found that Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran were three most religious nations in the world. The United States ranks 66th while most of the least religious nations are in Europe. Despite its problems at home, Iran continues to seek cooperation from the Turks, Syrians and Russians in getting Iranian forces close enough to the Israeli border to make attacks possible. So far no one is interested. Iranian efforts in Syria and Lebanon are very low-budget and Iranian officers in charge of this have to make do with very little. This has changed recently as Iran has been supplying Russia with weapons, including dozens of Shahed 136 cruise missile UAVs, to be used in the Ukraine fighting. In return Iran is getting some modern (Su-35) jets and spare parts for some of their older Russian made warplanes. Some of the Shahed 136 UAVs were recently used against Ukrainian forces and despite Russian efforts to eliminate any Iranian identification markings on these UAVs, the Ukrainians analyzed all the remaining components of these UAVs that had been shot down or simply crashed. These UAVs were definitely Iranian Shahed 136 and could be effective, but not spectacularly so. The explosive warhead only weighs 36 kg (80 pounds), compared to 10 kg for a 155mm shell or 23 kg (51 pounds) of explosives for a 114 kg (250 pound) aircraft bomb. The Iranian UAV is expensive for a weapon that can only be used once and has reliability problems. A growing number of Shahed 136s are being used in Ukraine and most are detected by Ukrainian troops and shot down. This does not discourage the Russians, who have never been able to develop useful and effective UAVs themselves. Iran expects Russia to be more helpful in Syria, where Russia already has an understanding with Israel that involves Russia not interfering with Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets. In return Israel does not supply Ukraine with weapons. Most Israelis support the Ukrainians but they also recognize the threat from Iranians in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza. Russia and Iran are still negotiating on this issue because Russia does not want to lose all its economic, military and diplomatic links with Israel. In August Russia and Iran signed a new agreement that expanded economic and political cooperation between the two nations. This agreement ignores sanctions currently imposed on Russia and Iran and formalizes the cooperation between the two oil producers to evade Western efforts to prevent Iran and Russia from exporting its oil. The new agreement also confirms joint efforts to support each other militarily. Iran has supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine while Russia backs Iranian threats to other Middle Eastern oil producers. This does not include unofficial Russian agreements in Syria that keep Israel and Russia from going to war because of continued Israeli attacks on Iranian forces in Syria. Russia continues to support Iranian efforts to expand its influence over the Iraqi government. This new arrangement means problems with Israel-Russia understandings in Syria. Israel sometimes fires on Iranian forces operating near the Israeli border. Israel also shares intel with Russia and Syria about Syrian officers who are secretly working for Iran. The Iranians pay well, and in dollars. Israel occasionally releases evidence of this to the media so Iranians back home have another reason to oppose Iranian foreign wars. Negotiations have been underway between Iran and Russia/Syria since 2020 but have not made much progress. Continuing Iranian sponsored violence is just another incentive for Syria to get the Iranian agents away from the Israeli border area. Israel has not been providing any weapons to Ukraine because of Iranian activity near the Israeli border in Syria. Israel needs to maintain good relations with Russia to deal with the Iranian threat. Russia told Israel that sending weapons to Ukraine could reduce Russian cooperation in Syria against Iran. Most Israelis support Ukraine, but the Iranian threat is very real and next door, so Israeli politicians cannot ignore it unless they want to lose their next election. Russia does not want to lose its relationships with Israel but now Iran is in a position to force the matter. Russia appears to be seeking a compromise with Israel that will not offend Iran. That is proving difficult because Israels Arab allies in the Persian Gulf are angry at Russia for supplying Iran with Su-35 jet fighters. Russia and Saudi Arabia were once economic allies because before Russia got hit with stronger sanctions for invading Ukraine earlier this year, Russia and Saudi Arabia were both large petroleum producers and could control the price of oil to their mutual advantage. That ended when Russia lost its ability to export its oil legally and now Saudi Arabia sees Russia as an unreliable ally that turned on the Saudis by selling Iran the Su-35s. September 25, 2022: The fighting in Ukraine has led to an increase in the number of Jews moving from Russia and Ukraine to Israel. In the last year it was 40,000 people, 60 percent of them from Russia. The Russian and Ukrainian Jews accounted for two-thirds of the foreign Jews moving to Israel in the past year. Currently about 15 percent of the 9.6 million Israeli population are either those who migrated from Russia or their descendants. Many of these Russian Jews came from Ukraine, where the current leader is Jewish and since he was elected president in 2019, he backed more economic and security connections with NATO and the West. Israel has long been considered an unofficial NATO member and increasingly participates in joint training and other cooperation with NATO members. September 24, 2022: In the West Bank a Palestinian was shot and killed as he tried to use ram his car into a group of Israeli soldiers. Israel had sent a battalion of soldiers to the area and more battalions to other parts of the West Bank. Yesterday, for the second day in a row Palestinians had fired at an Israeli settlement. Israel is expecting an increase in Palestinian violence because the Jewish High Holy Days begin on the 25th. In Ukraine, the government expelled the Iranian ambassador and reduced the size of the Iranian embassy staff because Ukraine had recently shot down several Iranian Shahed-136 attack UAVs that were headed for Ukrainian targets. Examining the wreckage of the downed UAVs revealed that they had been modified to appear Russian. This consisted of replacing any Iranian language markings with one in Russian. Internally, the UAVs were identifiable as Iranian made Shahed-136s. There were media reports earlier in the year that Iran had sold many Shahed-136s to Russia in a barter deal that had Russia sending Iran Su-35 jet fighters. The Iranian embassy in Ukraine denied these reports but now Ukraine has evidence that the Iranians were lying. Saudi Arabia and the other Arab Gulf oil states were also angry about this because Su-35 jet fighters are superior to any other combat aircraft Iran has and could be used against the Arab nations, just as Iran has used Shahed-136s and similar UAVs against targets in the Gulf States and denied that they came from Iran. These UAVs fly low and use internal (GPS) navigation make these UAVs difficult to detect with radar, especially if they are used at night when even visual detection is difficult. Iran has used these UAVs against Israel, which has developed optical and radar sensors that can detect them quickly so they can be shot down at the border (usually of Lebanon). While Israel is criticized by Ukraine, and many Israelis, for not supplying Ukraine with weapons to fight the Russians, the two countries maintain diplomatic relations and Israel has quietly shared information with Ukraine about Russian weapons and cooperation with Iran in Syria. Ukraine apparently does the same for Israel about what Iran is up to in Ukraine. September 19, 2022: In the north (Golan Heights) four Syrian men approached the border and threw several objects towards a road along the border used by Israeli patrol. The objects turned out to be explosives, including a landmine. Israeli troops entered Syria and went after the four men. One was shot and captured. A helicopter evacuated him to an Israeli hospital. The other three Syrians got away. September 15, 2022: Hamas announced that it had resumed diplomatic relations with Syria. These diplomatic links had been severed in 2012, as the Syrian civil war got underway. Syria had long provided sanctuary for Hamas leaders but that ended when many of the Palestinian refugees living in Syria sided with the rebels trying to overthrow the Assad government. The rebels lost, in part because of massive aid from Iran. Hamas has also become a recipient of Iranian aid. September 6, 2022: In northern Syria (Aleppo) an Israeli airstrike hit the main airport outside the city. This is the second such Israeli attack in the last week. Israel has been intensifying its airstrikes on airports that Iran uses to fly in weapons. Israel has already disrupted road and sea movement of these weapons. Israel is deliberately damaging the runways of major airports and preventing repairs from being made. The airstrikes also target airport navigation equipment. Israel told Syria that these attacks are not directed at Syrian forces but just Iranian efforts to move modern weapons into Syria for use against Israel. September 4, 2022: In the West Bank, Israeli security forces arrested seven Palestinians who had been recruited by Hamas to carry out attacks in Israel. The seven men received weapons and training from Hamas and the operation was managed by a Hamas agent in Gaza. Israel detected the communications between Hamas in Gaza with the seven Palestinians. September 3, 2022: Iran announced that the Su-35 barter deal with Russia was agreed to and that Iran would receive at least 65 Su-35s. When Su-35s will be delivered to Iran was unclear. The Russians only have about a hundred Su-35s in their air force and production has been halted by the sanctions. Too many key Su-35 components come from Western suppliers. Russia is unlikely to ship most of its own Su-35s to Iran, especially now that it knows that the Iranian UAVs supplied were not as effective as expected. Russia is also still building Su-35s for Egypt. Apparently less than a third of the 26 Su-35s Egypt ordered in 2018 have been delivered by 2022. Then there is the problem that Egypt and Iran are enemies. Egypt belongs to an anti-Iran coalition that includes Israel and Saudi Arabia. This is a problem in other ways. Israel and Iran are at war with each other in Syria and Iran is losing. Israeli F-35I fighters have encountered Russian Su-35s in Syria and have a good idea of what the Su-35 can and cannot do. One thing the Su-35 cannot do is defeat the F-35I. The F-35I can detect the Su-35 first and shoot it down with missiles. This is not a major concern for Iran, which wants the Su-35 so that it can more effectively threaten its Arab neighbors. There is yet another complication. Egypt is buying Su-35s only because Saudi Arabia is providing the cash. China ordered 24 of them in 2015 and received all of them by 2018. Indonesia bought eleven in 2017 and began receiving them in 2019. The sale of Su-35s to China was special. Because of frequent illegal copying of Russian technology this was expected to be the last Russian warplane exported to China. Currently Russia has 103 Su-35s in service and 30 on order. Russia received its first Su-35s in 2013 and four were sent to Syria in early 2016 for some combat experience. These were apparently successful, especially when delivering Russian built smart bombs. Russia then increased its own orders from 50 to over a hundred. The Egyptian sale is more about diplomacy than air power. This purchase, financed by Saudi Arabia, increases diplomatic relations between Russia and the Middle Eastern Arab states. The two most important ones are Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Egyptian air force has nearly 400 combat aircraft in service (and a lot of older Russian stuff in storage). Most of the current combat aircraft are Western, including 210 F-16s, 40 Alpha Jets, 90 Mirages and 17 Rafales. There are 15 MiG-29s in service and another 32 on the way. When all the MiG-29s and Su-35s are delivered (by 2022) Egypt will have 66 modern Russian fighters, which will come to about 17 percent of the fighter force. Because of the Iran deal, the number of Russian aircraft in the Egyptian Air Force will be a lot less. August 27, 2022: In northwestern Syria (Hama province) an Israeli air-strike destroyed a group of warehouses where over a thousand Iranian rockets were stored. Some of these rockets had been assembled there while others were flown in. It had taken Iran over a year to amass this stockpile. The Israeli airstrike set off a series of explosions that lasted for over six hours. August 20, 2022: Israel completed testing of its Gabriel 5 anti-ship missile, which is used on many Israeli warships. Gabriel 5 to appear. It uses three guidance systems; fire and forget, or fire and update, via an encrypted data link, midway to the target. Finally, there was fire and onboard radar update as the target area was approached. The guidance system could detect the desired target and head for it. Gabriel 5 had more countermeasures for enemy electronic defenses. Max range is 400 kilometers. The first version of Gabriel entered service in 1973 and had a range of 20 kilometers and a much less capable guidance system. UBS analyst Robin Farley said the firm expects a "significantly more positive outlook" for Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) when it reports its third-quarter results. In addition, UBS, which has a Buy rating and a $12 price target on Carnival, believes the company's third-quarter results and its fiscal 2023 outlook will be "significantly more positive than Q2 given the ramp in occupancy we expect in Q3, lower fuel cost since last guidance and the removal of testing and vaccine requirements that should drive 2023 booking levels." "Fuel price is -26% lower since the company reported on June 24, which we estimate could add 57 cents to our '23 EPS estimate," wrote Farley. "We believe the demand unlock of lifting most testing and vaccine requirements in August will be incrementally positive to '23 bookings. Since the vaccine and testing requirements have been lifted, our channel checks indicate very strong demand for last-minute sailings." The analyst pointed to Royal Caribbean last week, stating that overall bookings for 2022 and 2023 sailings are significantly higher than the same period in 2019. "This color has positive read through for what CCL is likely seeing for bookings. And just today, Canada announced that all vaccine and testing requirements for travelers entering Canada have been lifted, so Alaska cruises will no longer have these restrictions," he added. By Sam Boughedda As retail media ad spend soars, move looks to honor power of small business store windows to provide impact and authenticity to advertisers NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- PMD Media, a hyper-local OOH advertising company, that provides street-level window billboards and digital integration to advertisers through its network of 45,000 small businesses, has rebranded as WNDW. The fifth largest U.S. OOH network operator by number of audited locations, WNDW is changing its brand in recognition of the role that small businesses play in their communities, as well as a nod towards new technology and a digital future. We are re-branding to WNDW to acknowledge that storefront advertising offers a higher degree of engagement and authenticity than most any other form of advertising, says Dean Stallone, Founder and CEO, WNDW. Much like storefront windows themselves, these street-level ads are an expression of the small business owner, who plays a critical role in defining the character of a neighborhood. Storefront advertising is an extension of those individuals a window into them as people and what they hope to communicate to their community. Our rebrand is a celebration of this and of the importance of small business retailers to the fabric of the neighborhoods they serve. WNDWs new name and logo are also a realization that the OOH industry is moving towards an exciting and new digital era: "As we were delving into new electronic storefront technology, we wanted to create a brand that boldly communicated our product. But the more we dug in, the more we realized that WNDW spoke not only to this new technology, but also to our core offerings." WNDW, launched as PMD Media 31 years ago from a dorm room at NYU where Stallone was a student, offers WindowPoster Display storefront billboards, Digital Integration that enable outdoor campaigns to be boosted through targeted mobile ads that appear on a user's device, and Small Business Direct, which offers brands a way to engage with the small businesses themselves. Recent advertisers participating in WNDW storefront advertising include Facebook, Brooklyn Museum, Amazon, Nike, Northwell Health, Google Fiber, MoMA, and Walmart, among others. The move comes as retail media ad spend for both digital and physical platforms - is increasing significantly. According to Group M, global advertising revenue for retail-based companies will grow from $88 billion in 2021 to $101 billion this year and will reach $160 billion by 2027. To support the re-brand, WNDW is launching a program to help small business owners communicate to their community, and convey to their customers why they have chosen to serve it. The company is soliciting responses from small businesses to this end and will send back a designed ad incorporating their statements into storefront window signage that store owners can display. The program is designed to help small businesses utilize their WNDW as a way to further humanize their business and communicate a message of connection to the community they serve, says Stallone. Small businesses interested in participating in the program can contact WNDW at [email protected]. About WNDW WNDW provides hyper-local out-of-home advertising on a national scale. We reach audiences everywhere with storefront billboards, on display in street-level windows, with a network of more than 45,000 U.S. locations. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927006107/en/ [email protected] Source: WNDW The teaming will help clients achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals, initially focusing on consulting services TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is collaborating with Toshiba (OTCMKTS: TOSYY) to provide consulting services to support green transformation (GX) efforts of the companies clients. The collaboration will target industries with high greenhouse gas emissions and other organizations with urgent needs to improve energy efficiency. Accenture will work with Toshiba to design and develop new sustainability services to drive emission reductions, in addition to strategies and solutions for carbon neutrality. Accenture will leverage its experience developing circular-economy business models and implementing sustainable supply chain processes, such as green procurement, as well as using cloud and other technology solutions from its partner ecosystem. Toshiba brings with it a robust stable of existing carbon-neutrality technologies and services to the collaboration, including renewable energy systems, digital energy management systems, renewable energy-derived hydrogen solutions, and carbon dioxide capture and recovery facilities. Toshiba is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality throughout its entire value chain by fiscal 2050. It has set a preliminary goal for fiscal 2030 of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 70% from fiscal 2019 levels. The combination of Toshibas methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and Accentures expertise and capabilities in sustainability will result in vendor-neutral offerings to support clients emission reduction priorities. Accenture and Toshiba will evolve and refine their green transformation business model based on market trends and client needs. Goro Yanase, representative executive officer, corporate senior executive vice president and COO at Toshiba said, We are pleased to launch GX consulting services with Accenture. Toshiba Group provides technologies and services that contribute to solving social issues through our wide range of businesses, guided by our basic commitment Committed to People, Committed to the Future. We are now building on this by developing capabilities and solutions that will contribute to the realization of carbon neutrality and a circular economy. Working with Accenture, we hope to further expand our business and contribute to the realization of a carbon neutral society by providing consulting services that support companies with proposals extending from planning through to the achievement of carbon neutrality goals. Shinji Igarashi, senior managing director at Accenture in Japan, said, Our work with Toshiba demonstrates our commitment to embed sustainability into everything we do. We are focused on helping companies create business value and also reduce their carbon footprint. About Accenture Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Technology and Operations services and Accenture Song all powered by the worlds largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 721,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com. Copyright 2022 Accenture. All rights reserved. Accenture and its logo are registered trademarks of Accenture. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220926005556/en/ Shigeo Masuda Accenture Japan +81 45 330 7157 [email protected] Source: Accenture LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Babylon (NYSE: BBLN) (Babylon or the Company) and Bupa have announced today that they have extended their partnership agreement for a further three years to deliver digital health services to 2.3 million Bupa UK health insurance customers. Bupa, a leading health insurer, and Babylon have been in partnership since 2015, when access to the Babylon app for Bupa UK customers was launched. Since launch, there have been over 360,000 Babylon app downloads by Bupa UK Insurance customers. Complementing Bupas capabilities and provider network offering, Babylon provides digital services within Bupa including Symptom Checker, 24/7 virtual consultations and My Health. These products help users to better understand their health symptoms, access relevant health information and gain insights into their current and future health risks. These products are available to all UK Bupa customers. James Sherwood, General Manager for Operations and Healthcare Management at Bupa UK Insurance said: Having fast access to GP care is increasingly important for our customers to support their everyday health and wellbeing. Weve seen growing use of the service over the past two years, with around 8,000 appointments a week. Were pleased to continue working with Babylon to enhance our digital services for our customers. Dr. Ali Parsa, Babylons Founder & CEO, said: Bupa is the UKs leading health insurance provider, where its brand is synonymous with trust. We are delighted that Bupa continues to put its trust in Babylon as its partner. We look forward to going further together to reimagine their customers experience of healthcare from a reactive, episodic clinic centric service for when they are sick or in crisis to a more proactive, continuous and person centric service designed to keep their customers at the peak of their health. About Babylon Babylon is one of the worlds fastest growing digital healthcare companies whose mission is to make high-quality healthcare accessible and affordable for every person on Earth. Babylon is re-engineering how people engage with their care at every step of the healthcare continuum. By flipping the model from reactive sick care to proactive healthcare through the devices people already own, it offers millions of people globally ongoing, always-on care. Babylon has already shown that in environments as diverse as the developed UK or developing Rwanda, urban New York, or rural Missouri, for people of all ages, it is possible to achieve its mission by leveraging its highly scalable, digital-first platform combined with high quality, virtual clinical operations to provide integrated, personalized healthcare. Founded in 2013, Babylons technology and clinical services is supporting a global patient network across 15 countries and is capable of operating in 16 languages. In 2021 alone, Babylon helped a patient every 6 seconds, with approximately 5.2 million consultations and AI interactions. Importantly, this was achieved with a 93% user retention rate in our NHS GP at Hand service and 4 or 5 star ratings from more than 90% of our users across all of our geographies. Babylon is also working with governments, health providers, employers and insurers across the globe to provide them with a new infrastructure that any partner can use to deliver high-quality healthcare with lower costs and better outcomes. For more information, please visit www.babylonhealth.com. About Bupa Bupas purpose is helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives and making a better world. Health insurance accounts for a large part of our business with Bupa UK Insurance, the UKs leading health insurer, providing health insurance to 2.3 million people. Bupa Global is the premium health insurance arm of Bupa, serving 490,000 customers around the world. Bupa Dental Care is the leading provider of private dentistry in the UK, providing dental services in over 480 centres across the UK and Ireland. Bupa Care Services has around 6,000 residents in 124 care homes, and 10 Richmond care villages. Bupa Health Services comprises 50 health clinics, and the Cromwell Hospital in London which provides care for insured, self-pay and international patients. Bupa directly employs around 23,000 people in the UK. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005169/en/ Media Stina Sanders [email protected] Source: Babylon TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Biomind Labs Inc. (Biomind Labs or the Company) (NEO: BMND) (OTC: BMNDF) (FSE: 3XI), a leading biotech company focused on developing the next generation of pharmaceuticals to treat patients suffering from neurological and psychiatric disorders by scientifically harnessing the medicinal power of psychedelic molecules, is pleased to announce the receipt of a Controlled Substances License and the commencement of an eight-month project to produce and evaluate novel rapidly-dissolving and sustained-release hydrogel-forming microneedle arrays designed for the transdermal delivery of Biominds key psychedelic compounds: N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 5-methoxyN,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) and mescaline. As we continue expanding our operations in the United Kingdom, partnering with Queens University of Belfast, a global leader in rapidly-dissolving and sustained-release hydrogel-forming microneedles, can provide us with a first mover advantage in offering a novel drug delivery system where the release can be controlled. Such a disruptive drug delivery approach can go beyond a full psychedelic experience, allowing us to broaden our total addressable market. We could potentially be talking about the next generation treatment for inflammation, pain and neurodegenerative disorders, by way of a comfortable drug delivery solution with a strong emphasis on improving therapeutic outcomes for patients. Our exclusive agreement with Queens University of Belfast can strengthen our intellectual property portfolio based on three of our key psychedelic compounds: DMT, 5-MeO-DMT and mescaline, commented Alejandro Antalich, CEO of Biomind Labs. The use of polymeric microneedle array patches (MAPs) is an attractive way of delivering drugs through the skin. Upon MAP application, microneedles painlessly penetrate the outer layer of the skin, creating temporary microchannels in this highly effective barrier to diffusion, through which enhanced transdermal drug delivery can be achieved. Given the presence of a dense network of blood vessels in the deeper layers of the skin, drugs can be absorbed into the plasmatic circulation and distributed to the entire body, producing a systemic effect. Additional advantages of this technology, such as the avoidance of first-pass metabolism and drug delivery in a rate-controlled or long-acting manner, can serve to reduce the incidence of side-effects and dosing frequency, which in turn may lead to increased treatment adherence. About Biomind Labs Inc. Biomind Labs is a biotech research and development company aimed at transforming biomedical sciences knowledge into novel pharmaceutical drugs and innovative nanotech delivery systems for a variety of psychiatric and neurological conditions. Through its acceleration platform, Biomind Labs is developing novel pharmaceutical formulations of the main psychedelic molecules, DMT, 5-MeO-DMT and mescaline for treating a wide range of therapeutic indications. Biomind Labs focus is to provide patients access to affordable and modern-day treatments. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking information (forward-looking information) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that discusses predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may or could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements in this document include, among others, statements relating to the Companys ability to scientifically harness the medicinal power of psychedelic molecules to treat patients suffering from neurological and psychiatric disorders, any timeframes and possible results of the Companys eight-month project to produce and evaluate novel rapidly-dissolving and sustained-release hydrogel-forming microneedle arrays designed for the transdermal delivery of Biominds key psychedelic compounds, the Companys expansion in the United Kingdom, the Companys ability to offer a novel drug delivery system where the release can be controlled and any possible results or expectations in relation to such delivery system, the Companys claim that its exclusive agreement with Queens University of Belfast can strengthen its intellectual property portfolio, the Companys ability to provide patients access to affordable and modern-day treatments, and other statements that are not historical facts. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, among others: (a) the Company may require additional financing from time to time in order to continue its operations which may not be available when needed or on acceptable terms and conditions acceptable; (b) compliance with extensive government regulation; (c) domestic and foreign laws and regulations could adversely affect the Companys business and results of operations; (d) the stock markets have experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the performance of companies and these fluctuations may adversely affect the price of the Companys securities, regardless of its operating peers; (e) adverse changes in the public perception of tryptamine-based treatments and psychedelic-based therapies; (f) the impact of COVID-19; and (g) general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information contained in this press release. The Company makes no medical, treatment or health benefit claims about the Companys proposed products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada or other similar regulatory authorities have not evaluated claims regarding tryptamine-based treatments, psychedelic-based therapies or other psychedelic compounds. The efficacy of such products has not been confirmed by approved research. There is no assurance that the use of psychedelic tryptamines, tryptamine derivatives or other psychedelic compounds can diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition. Vigorous scientific research and clinical trials are needed. The Company has not yet completed commercial clinical trials for the use of its proposed products. Any references to quality, consistency, efficacy and safety of potential products do not imply that the Company verified such in commercial clinical trials or that the Company will complete such trials. If the Company cannot obtain the approvals or research necessary to commercialize its business, it may have a material adverse effect on the Companys performance and operations. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that managements beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. The Neo Exchange Inc. has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release and is not responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the contents herein. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005232/en/ For more information, please contact: Biomind Labs Inc. Alejandro Antalich Chief Executive Officer Email: [email protected] Tel: + 598 97 702500 Source: Biomind Labs Inc. Head of Europe/Portfolio Optimization, Ben Tobin, joins panel to discuss impacts of uncleared margin rules, SA-CCR on FX trading desk and market structure Visit booth #5 to see what innovations Capitolis is bringing to the market around reduction of UMR margin and SA-CCR as well as Dealer to Client optimization NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Capitolis, the technology company reimagining financial markets, will join TradeTech FX, the largest buy side FX event in Europe. This is the first year Capitolis will have a presence on the ground at the event. Ben Tobin, Capitolis SVP, Head of Europe/Portfolio Optimization, will join a panel of FX industry leaders on Wednesday, 9/27, at 12:55 local time to discuss how uncleared margin rules (UMR) and the Standardized Approach for Counterparty Credit Risk (SA-CCR) have impacted the FX trading desk and market structure and share predictions for how it could influence other FX products in the future. Weve been a partner and provider of optimization services to banks, hedge funds, and real money managers over the past five years, said Ben Tobin, Capitolis SVP, Head of Europe/Portfolio Optimization. Weve already helped our customers reduce trillions of notional since the beginning of 2022, including optimization between the banks and their diverse client base. TradeTech FX attendees can visit booth #5 to discuss what innovations Capitolis is bringing to the market around UMR margin, SA-CCR, and Dealer to Client optimization; learn more through product demos; and speak to Capitolis leaders, including Ben Tobin and Evelina Rosenstein, on the ground in Amsterdam. Since the launch of Capitolis brand-new technology-powered multilateral SA-CCR optimization service in early 2022, the service has been adopted by 12 of the worlds largest banks and has been heralded as a leading source of SA-CCR-based capital requirement solutions. Capitolis focus for the remainder of the year is onboarding a broader range of banks, hedge funds, and asset managers to their planned optimization exercises and continuing to expand benefits to the broader network. Advances to algorithms will drive better results for existing and new clients. Earlier this year, Capitolis was named Best Compression/Optimization Service for FX at the June 2022 FX Markets e-FX Awards, which seeks to recognize firms that have set the bar in electronic foreign exchange trading with skill, dedication, and creativity. ABOUT CAPITOLIS We believe the financial markets can and should work for everyone. Capitolis is the technology company reimagining how capital markets operate by unlocking capital constraints and enabling greater access to more diversified capital and investment opportunities. Rooted in advanced technology and deep financial expertise, Capitolis powers groundbreaking financial solutions that drive growth for global and regional banks and institutional investors alike. Capitolis is backed by world class venture capital firms, including Canapi Ventures, 9Yards Capital, SVB Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Spark Capital, and S Capital, as well as leading global banks such as J.P. Morgan, Citi and State Street. Founded in 2017, our team brings decades of experience in launching successful startups, technology and financial services and is growing rapidly from our offices in New York, London and Tel Aviv. For more information, please visit our website at www.capitolis.com or follow us on LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927006034/en/ Edward Ruddy Sloane & Company [email protected] Brian Zilberfarb Capitolis [email protected] Source: Capitolis TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund (TSX: CHE.UN) will host an Investor Day on November 18, 2022, beginning at 9:00 am ET and concluding by 12:00 pm ET. The event will be held in person at the Exchange Tower (ground floor) in downtown Toronto, ON (120 Adelaide St. W., Toronto, ON, M5X 1J2). Following the Investor Day, a replay of Chemtrades presentation will be made available on the companys website (chemtradelogistics.com/investors). The event will include presentations by Chemtrades President and Chief Executive Officer, Scott Rook and Chief Financial Officer, Rohit Bhardwaj and will also feature other members of Chemtrades Senior Leadership Team. Chemtrade will provide an update on its Operational, Commercial and ESG initiatives, which will be followed by a Q&A session. To register for the event, please email [email protected]. About Chemtrade Chemtrade operates a diversified business providing industrial chemicals and services to customers in North America and around the world. Chemtrade is one of North Americas largest suppliers of sulphuric acid, spent acid processing services, inorganic coagulants for water treatment, sodium chlorate, sodium nitrite, sodium hydrosulphite and phosphorus pentasulphide. Chemtrade is also the largest supplier of high purity sulphuric acid for the semiconductor industry in North America. Chemtrade is a leading regional supplier of sulphur, chlor-alkali products, liquid sulphur dioxide, and zinc oxide. Additionally, Chemtrade provides industrial services such as processing by-products and waste streams. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927006040/en/ For further information: Rohit Bhardwaj Chief Financial Officer Tel: (416) 496-4177 Ryan Paull Business Development Manager Tel: (973) 515-1831 Source: Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund Companys proprietary products and services will deliver next-generation energy sustainability and encourage a new era of energy responsibility SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Dalrada Financial Corporation (OTCQB: DFCO, Dalrada) recently announced its breakthrough partnership with Averett University in Virginia in an effort to drive a significant reduction in carbon emissions while delivering major energy cost savings for the university. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927006002/en/ The partnership will accelerate the universitys efforts in reaching its Net Zero goals faster, providing true value in a variety of ways. Additionally, the services will incur no cost to the university. Dalradas specialized energy division, Dalrada Energy, plans on executing these sustainability initiatives by developing a holistic approach that helps achieve carbon neutrality through the use of innovative, modern technology on the Averett campus. An important highlight of the project will be the installation of the companys flagship heat pump, otherwise referred to as the LikidoONE commercial heat pump. Considered the worlds most efficient heat pump, Dalradas commercial version is produced by Dalrada Precision Manufacturing and is the only unit accepted in the coveted U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and Department of Energy (DOE) Green Proving Ground program. At Averett University, each heat pump will have a digital twin to monitor and maximize performance while effectively creating AAA-rated, transparent carbon credits that will help eliminate carbon credit fraud. The newly-installed heat pumps are expected to perform at a rate that eclipses the universitys current setup, reducing energy costs by over 70 percent and decreasing carbon emissions by up to 90 percent. Were thrilled to provide Averett University with next-generation technology to deliver real-world energy savings, said Dalrada Energy President, Tom Giles. Our team looks forward to installing five Dalrada LikidoONE high-efficiency, de-carbonizing heat pumps and delivering clean energy services worth millions of dollars all at no cost. The Averett-Dalrada partnership will create advanced educational opportunities focused on green energy solutions and technology. As a result, Averett students will gain firsthand knowledge and the necessary experience to compete for jobs that will drive the industries of the future. This partnership may also set the energy sustainability bar for colleges across the country while providing students with the tools they need to be successful after graduation. According to Averett University President, Dr. Tiffany Franks, Partnering with Dalrada will ensure that Averett demonstrates environmental and fiscal responsibility while fostering an educational learning lab designed to propel our students into the future, preparing them to not only find jobs after they graduate, but to help create them as well. Dalrada Energys innovative approach toward Averetts sustainability efforts leverages modern digital capabilities that will ultimately revolutionize the scale and speed at which additional sustainable practices can be adopted. For more information, visit www.dalradaenergy.com. About Dalrada Energy Dalrada Energy works with public and private sector organizations around the globe to make modern energy solutions more accessible. The specialized division achieves this by providing all services, infrastructure, and financial monitoring to measure carbon credits at little to no cost to clients. Dalrada Energy then shares the savings that these organizations achieve removing the previous barriers to implement ESG solutions due to the large capital investments required. To learn more, visit www.dalradaenergy.com. About Dalrada Financial Corporation Dalrada Financial Corporation drives innovation that positively impacts people, businesses, and the planet. With subsidiaries that are firmly positioned in the worlds fastest growing areas of healthcare, energy, precision manufacturing, and technology, Dalrada creates solutions that are sustainable, affordable, and accessible. The company works continually to produce disruptive products and services that accelerate positive change for current and future generations. Dalradas global solutions directly address climate change, post-pandemic gaps in the healthcare industry, and technology solutions for a new era of human behavior and interaction, ensuring a bright future for the world around us. Established in 1982, Dalrada has since grown its footprint to include the unique business divisions: Dalrada Health, Dalrada Precision Manufacturing, Dalrada Energy, and Dalrada Technologies. For more information, please visit www.dalrada.com, and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. About Averett University Since 1859, Averett University has grown and developed into a dynamic institution that serves students of all ages, offering more than 40 undergraduate majors with a number of concentrations and minors, along with 12 graduate programs in several concentrations. Dedicated to preparing students to serve and lead as catalysts for positive change, the Universitys historic main campus is embedded in the heart of Southern Virginia with regional learning centers throughout Virginia and online. Averett enrolls a diverse student body and boasts an alumni network that spans the globe. At Averett University, we are altogether different. We know that relationships fuel futures, which explains our unmistakable family atmosphere. On campus or online, Averett students feel a sense of true belonging. Through relentless support and unwavering dedication, we equip our students with the skills for a lifetime of success. Knowing that personal growth and community well-being go hand-in-hand, we serve others with confidence and distinction, and with a more than 160-year legacy, our influence is far-reaching in the world around us. This is Averett. Visit www.averett.edu for more info. Disclaimer Statements in this press release are not historical facts. The statements are forward-looking, including statements regarding future revenues and sales projections, plans for future financing, the ability to meet operational milestones, marketing arrangements and plans, and shipments to and regulatory approvals in international markets. Such statements reflect managements current views, are based on certain assumptions, and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results, events, or performance may differ materially from the above forward-looking statements due to a number of important factors and will be dependent upon a variety of factors including, but not limited to, our ability to obtain additional financing that will allow us to continue our current and future operations and whether demand for our products and services in domestic and international markets will continue to expand. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof or to reflect any change in the Companys expectations regarding these forward-looking statements or the occurrence of unanticipated events. Factors that may impact the Companys success are more fully disclosed in the Companys most recent public filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its annual report on Form 10-K. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927006002/en/ Jose Arrieta ([email protected]) Source: Dalrada Financial Corporation RUNGIS, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News: ESI Group, Rungis, France, (ISIN Code: FR0004110310, Symbol: ESI), will announce today during its investor conference that it maintains its long-term objectives for high single-digit growth and 20% Adjusted EBIT1 by 2024/2025, that it has made faster than expected progress on strategic focus including several divestitures, and consequently revises short-term targets. The Group also announces the implementation of a share buyback program. Strong execution during the first year of the plan ESI Group operates in a vibrant market and has made fast improvements in sales execution, and in focusing its R&D to provide an increasingly valuable and simplified offering. The macro-economic context is uncertain for its customers, and they rely on ESI, more than ever, as their trusted partner. In the last year ESI Group has made faster than expected progress on its strategic focus by: divesting non-core assets: including the sale of the CFD product line for 24M and the much smaller divestiture of the Scilab and Inendi products, and putting in End-of-Life non-core R&D programs. transitioning faster away from perpetual licenses to recurring business2; H1 22 Recurring business is 93.5% versus H1 21 92.2% transitioning faster away from non-core services to free up resources to drive recurring license business These are the result of deliberate strategic decisions. Driven by its core strategic vision, and its solid financial situation (Net financial Debt -0.6m as of the end of June 22, before the proceeds of the sale of the CFD product line in July), ESI Group has prioritized doing the right things for the long-term health of the business while managing the short term. Long-term growth target unchanged, short-term views slightly revised ESI Group reaffirms its commitment to improving growth and profitability year after year and continues to target high single-digit growth and 20% profitability within 2 to 3 years. Cristel de Rouvray, Chief Executive Officer of ESI Group, comments Our Guiding Principle is to always do what is right for the long-term health of the business and manage the short-term impact. I am very glad that we made the strategic choices we did this past year: we are in a much stronger position to navigate this amplified macroeconomic uncertainty. Namely, thanks to a bigger percentage of recurring revenue, significantly improved profitability, and a much stronger balance sheet. I have confidence that this transformation journey and its positive trajectory will gradually compound returns for all stakeholders: customers, shareholders, partners, and employees. Pro-forma3, and at current rate, the revenue4 growth plan for 2022 has been reduced by 2% to reflect the faster conversion of paid-up licenses to subscriptions and a faster decrease of non-core services. The profitability plan has decreased by only 1 point thanks to strict cost management. Proforma guidelines 2022 at current rate Revenue 2%-4% Adjusted EBIT5 9%-11% This minor reduction in growth for 2023, shows the strength and resilience of the ESI business. Proforma Goal 2023 2024 2025 Revenue 5%-7% 6%-9% 7% - 10% Adjusted EBIT 13%-15% 17%-20% >20% ESI Group continues to aim for high single-digit growth and 20% Adjusted EBIT by 2024/ 2025 and will continue to communicate transparently. Implementation of a share buyback program Continuing its initiatives to sustain, in the long run, its performance, ESI Group announces the entrustment of an investment services provider (ISP) with a mandate to acquire its shares as part of the share buyback program authorized by the Combined Annual General Meeting of June 28, 2022. Terms of the mandate According to the agreed terms, ESI Group has given a mandate to an ISP to acquire on its own behalf a maximum volume of 30,000 ESI GROUP shares (ISIN code FR0004110310) over a period starting on September 28, 2022, and possibly lasting until March 31, 2023. Reminder of treasury shares held as of August 31, 2022 As of August 31, 2022, the company held 336,576 treasury shares, representing 5.5% of the share capital. 2022 Investor Conference September 27, 2022, at 3 pm CET Information: here Registration and live Q&A: here Upcoming events Third quarter 2022 revenues October 24th, 2022 About ESI Group Founded in 1973, ESI Group envisions a world where Industry commits to bold outcomes, addressing high-stakes concerns - environmental impact, safety & comfort for consumers and workers, adaptable and sustainable business models. ESI provides reliable and customized solutions anchored on predictive physics modeling and virtual prototyping expertise to allow industries to make the right decisions at the right time while managing their complexity. Acting principally in automotive & land transportation, aerospace, defense & naval and heavy industry, ESI is present in more than 20 countries, employs 1,100 people around the world and reported 2021 sales of 136.6 million. ESI is headquartered in France and is listed on compartment B of Euronext Paris. For further information, go to www.esi-group.com. Follow ESI LinkedIn Facebook Twitter YouTube 1 Adjusted EBIT is a non-GAAP indicator based on EBIT (IFRS). Adjusted EBIT corresponds to EBIT before stock-based compensation expenses, restructuring charges, impairment and amortization of intangibles related to acquisitions, IFRS 16 standard on leases, and other non-recurring items 2 Recurring business rate as ESI total licenses booking number excluding its perpetual license revenue divided by its total licenses booking number. 3 Pro-forma estimates exclude the CFD activity that was divested in July (~ 4.6m in FY 21) & the Russia Business (~ 1.6m in FY 21) 4 Revenue Excluding Special projects (FY20 = 4m) 5 Adjusted EBIT is a non-GAAP indicator based on EBIT (IFRS). Adjusted EBIT corresponds to EBIT before stock-based compensation expenses, restructuring charges, impairment and amortization of intangibles related to acquisitions, IFRS 16 standard on leases, and other non-recurring items View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220926005827/en/ ESI Group Florence Barre [email protected] +33 1 49 78 28 28 Verbatee - Press & Shareholder Relations Jerome Goaer, [email protected], +33 6 61 61 79 34 Aline Besselievre, [email protected], +33 6 61 85 10 05 Source: ESI Group BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Guideway Care, an innovative healthcare company dedicated to advancing health equity, optimizing patient outcomes and lowering total costs in Value-Based Care, takes pleasure in announcing that its Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Edward Partridge, was selected as the Honoree for 2022 Beyond Blue Benefit to End Prostate Cancer sponsored by the Mike Slive Foundation, the first and only dedicated prostate cancer nonprofit organization in the Southeast. A ceremony was hosted by ESPNs Laura Rutledge on Thursday, September 22, 2022, at Protective Life Stadium Club, Birmingham, AL. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005161/en/ Guideway Care Chief Medical Officer Edward E. Partridge, MD (Photo: Business Wire) Dr. Partridge is the driving force behind Guideways mission to deliver solutions and services that resolve patient barriers to accessing quality care within oncology practices, health systems, risk-bearing entities, payers, bundle participants and behavioral health client partners populations. Having developed over 70 non-clinical and clinical assessments, covering social determinants of health and most disease states, the Guideway Service as a Solution drives health equity and financial performance by resolving patient barriers related to health-related social needs, practical concerns and other impediments to compliance with clinical instructions. I am truly blessed and honored to receive this distinctive tribute from an esteemed organization like the Mike Slive Foundation, says Dr. Partridge. Mike Slive was a friend of mine, and his foundation is leading the way in raising awareness and funding research which can end prostate cancer as a major public health threat in our lifetime. Ive spent my life dedicated to increasing awareness of cancer and access to screening and treatment. Now more than ever, it is imperative to make a difference in the lives of so many individuals who struggle to access care and avoid hospitalizations during these challenging times. In addition to his role as CMO of Guideway, Dr. Partridge is Director Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. Throughout his long career in medicine, Dr. Partridge has translated academic research into practical real-world applications, particularly in the areas of cancer prevention and the reduction of disparities in health care. Dr. Partridge served as President of the National Board of the American Cancer Society as well as Chairman of the Commission on Cancer for the American College of Surgeons. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Mid-South Division of the American Cancer Society. Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer affecting one in eight men in their lifetime. When detected early, many prostate cancers can be treated successfully. Craig Parker, CEO, Guideway Care says, We are incredibly proud of Dr. Partridge and the impact he has made through a lifetime of commitment to cancer patients and their treatment. This award from the Mike Slive Foundation is another testament to the difference he has made. About Guideway Care For more than 10 years Guideway Care has delivered a proven, scalable technology-enabled Service as a Solution for advancing health equity in Value-Based Care. Partnering with hospitals, health systems, payers and provider organizations, Guideway reduces health disparities, improves patient/member satisfaction and lowers total cost of care. Highly trained Care Guides, supported by a proprietary technology platform, build peer-to-patient relationships that allow for the identification and resolution of non-clinical and clinical barriers to accessing quality care. By maximizing the patient care experience and resolving barriers that lead to avoidable deterioration and acute care utilization, the Guideway Care approach to patient activation creates value for all stakeholders. www.guidewaycare.com About the Mike Slive Foundation The Mike Slive Foundation for Prostate Cancer Research endeavors to become a global leader in the fight to eradicate prostate cancer through public awareness and research funding in memory of Mike Slive, a transformative leader whose vision and direction revolutionized the business of collegiate sports. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, by attorney Ed Meyerson and former SEC and Conference USA Commissioner Mike Slive, the foundation comprises local business, medical and political leaders. https://mikeslivefoundation.org/beyond-blue/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005161/en/ Media Michael Berger CPR for Guideway Care [email protected] 201.641.1911 x 60 Source: Guideway Care IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Immunis, Inc., a private biotech company generating an innovative treatment for age and disease-related immune decline, announces that its Chairman, Dr. Hans Keirstead, delivered a keynote on behalf of the National Institute of Child Sexual Assault (NICSA) at the UN General Assembly in New York City. As part of Immunis ongoing Corporate Social Responsibility Program, Dr. Keirstead presented a keynote on child sexual assault (CSA), which aligns with the United Nations efforts to eradicate human trafficking and eliminate emotional, economical and physical violence against children and women. NICSA is the leading organization in the CSA field that provides governance and accountability to monetary distributions in the sector. NICSA is informed by third-party government and academic institutions to determine which aspects of CSA are most influential now. NICSA maximizes human impact by funding those CSA organizations that address priority targets, including 1) advertising of child trafficking, 2) explicit abuse of children, 3) sting operations to jail perpetrators, 4) child rehabilitation centers, 5) legislative changes to protect children, 6) education of first responders and parents, and 7) research on CSA. We are your intelligence agency, deploying your support in the most efficient way possible for the greatest impact in fighting child sexual assault, says Dr. Hans Keirstead. Dr. Keirsteads social responsibility efforts extend to other projects, including the Zero Abuse Project and Operation Underground Railroad, which have been successful in rescuing children from sex trafficking and exploitation, and effecting legislative changes to protect children and enable prosecution of perpetrators. His expertise in worldwide affairs was also highlighted in a recent keynote he presented to the United Nations to address artificial intelligence in healthcare. His international volunteerism demonstrates his dedication to providing solutions for global issues, including healthcare and violence against children. About National Institute of Child Sexual Assault NICSA carefully selects and empowers CSA organizations that will produce the greatest impact by providing them with funds, governance, cohesion and operational efficiencies. For additional information about the National Institute for Child Sexual Assault, please visit: https://www.nationalinstituteofcsa.org About Zero Abuse Project The Zero Abuse Projects mission is to eliminate all forms of child sexual abuse. It transforms institutions to effectively prevent, recognize, and respond to child sexual abuse. The programs provide cross-disciplinary education and training, advocacy for systemic legal change, guidance for survivor support, and leadership on emerging technologies. For additional information about the Zero Abuse Project, please visit: https://www.zeroabuseproject.org About Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) O.U.R.s priority is to rescue children from sexual trafficking and exploitation. The organization has been successful in supporting thousands of survivors in 30 countries because specific approaches are implemented based on geographical location, needs of the survivors, and best practices in the field. For additional information about O.U.R., please visit: https://www.ourrescue.org About Immunis Inc. Immunis is a private biotechnology company developing a novel immunomodulatory secretome product for the various manifestations of age and disease-related immune decline. The STEM product line leverages Immunis leading-edge capabilities in stem cell technologies to deliver a product of all natural, all human immune modulators in their natural relative physiological concentrations. For additional information about Immunis IMM01-STEM Phase 1/2a trial please visit: www.immunisbiomedical.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as applicable. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our plans, beliefs, expectations and assumptions, as well as other statements that are not necessarily historical facts. You are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve risks and uncertainties. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date as of which it is made, and we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements. This communication also contains market data related to our business and industry which includes projections that are based on several assumptions we believe are reasonable and most significant to the projections as of the date of this communication. If any of our assumptions prove to be incorrect, our actual results may significantly differ from our projections based on these assumptions. This communication is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927006030/en/ [email protected] Source: Immunis, Inc. Share Buyback Transaction Details September 19 September 23, 2022 LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News: MotorK Plc (AMS: MTRK) (MotorK or the Group") announces today that it has purchased the following number of ordinary shares in the Company. This is part of a repurchase program announced on July 18, 2022. MotorK intends to buy back its own ordinary shares by way of off-market purchases on Euronext Amsterdam and via block trades up to a maximum aggregate value of 3,000,000 (the Programme). The authorization will expire following the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2023. Aggregate Information Date Negotiation Number of Ordinary Shares Total Consideration () Average price ( per share) Minimum price ( per share) Maximum price ( per share) 19/09/2022 Stock Exchange 1,060 2,785 2,63 2,60 2,64 20/09/2022 Stock Exchange 730 1,862 2,55 2,55 2,55 21/09/2022 Stock Exchange 237 609 2,57 2,57 2,57 22/09/2022 Stock Exchange 226 588 2,60 2,60 2,60 23/09/2022 Stock Exchange 253 653 2,58 2,54 2,58 Total Weekly 2,506 6,496 2,59 2,54 2,64 Cumulated to date 59,750 171,030 The Programme is implemented within the limitations of the authority granted by the General Meeting on July 18, 2022. Any shares so repurchased shall be treated as cancelled pursuant to section 706(b) of the Companies Act 2006. The Group has entered into non-discretionary instructions with Kepler Cheuvreux SA (Kepler Cheuvreux) to conduct the Programme on its behalf and to make trading decisions under the Programme independently of MotorK. REGULATED INFORMATION This press release contains information that qualifies or may qualify as inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014/EU) ABOUT MOTORK PLC MotorK (AMS: MTRK) is a leading software as a service (SaaS) provider for the automotive retail industry in the EMEA region, with over 400 employees and eleven offices in eight countries (Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, the UK, Belgium and Israel). MotorK empowers car manufacturers and dealers to improve their customer experience through a broad suite of fully integrated digital products and services. MotorK provides its customers with an innovative combination of digital solutions, SaaS cloud products and the largest R&D department in the automotive digital sales and marketing industry in Europe. MotorK is a company registered in England and Wales. Registered office: 124 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX - Company Registration: 9259000. For more information: www.motork.io or www.investors.motork.io. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220926005632/en/ FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MotorK Investor Relations Etienne Jacquet [email protected] +33 6 22 18 39 09 MotorK Corporate Communications [email protected] Source: MotorK plc TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NamSys Inc. (CTZ TSX-V) is pleased to welcome Gabriel Bouchard-Phillips to our Board of Directors. Gabriel is a Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager of Van Berkom and Associates in Montreal Quebec specializing in Canadian Small Capital Equities. As NamSys continues to grow and thrive, weve kept our streak running for the third year in a row. Once again, we made the list of Canadas Top Growing Companies, an editorial ranking released annually by the Globe and Mail Canadas Report on Business. This year, a total of 430 companies made the cut based on their three-year revenue growth. We owe a great deal of our success to the amazing customers and partners who work with us. Thank you for your continued support. NamSys Inc. products are designed to bring efficiency to the processing of currency and other value instruments in financial institutions, large retailers, public transportation operations and the gaming industry. NamSys proprietary software products for this market are open-architectured and have been developed to interface with clients legacy systems. The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the information contained in this release. This Media Release may contain forward-looking statements, which reflect the Corporations current expectations regarding future events. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors including the success of the Corporations sales strategies. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927006014/en/ Mr. K. Barry Sparks, Executive Chairman (416) 369-6081;mailto:[email protected] Source: NamSys Inc. In a transformative deal for the industry, Nexo has acquired a stake in the bank holding company that owns Summit National Bank a US federally chartered bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Summit National Bank, a subsidiary of Hulett Bancorp (DBA Mode Eleven), is reinventing itself as a modern digital FinTech bank, and with Nexo as its preferred digital assets partner, the banks offering attunes to the needs of the 21st-century client. The deal further boosts Nexos US presence, enabling the digital asset specialist to open bank accounts with Summit National Bank, as well as enhanced lending and card products, utilizing the new bank's owners' decades-long track record of excellence in regulatory compliance and the existing infrastructure. LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nexo, the worlds leading regulated institution for digital assets with $4 billion in assets under management, announces the acquisition of a stake in Hulett Bancorp (DBA Mode Eleven) and its federally chartered Summit National Bank, in an industry-changing transaction that expands Nexos footprint in the US even further and will greatly enhance both institutions respective offerings. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005623/en/ Nexo has acquired a stake in Summit National Bank, which is reinventing itself as a modern digital FinTech. (Graphic: Business Wire) The deal will allow Nexo to offer its US retail and institutional clients services that include bank accounts, asset-backed loans, card programs, as well as escrow and custodial solutions through Summit National Bank. Nexo customers can expect the same uncompromising quality of service while retaining and enhancing appropriate legal safeguards utilizing Summit National Banks federal-level lending and payments infrastructure. As part of Mode Eleven, Summit National Bank is reimagining itself and its offering to serve customers needs as a modern digital FinTech bank. The bank will benefit from Nexos unrivaled expertise in FinTech and gain access to a sophisticated product suite for digital assets, creating a bridge between Web3 and traditional finance and boosting both companies capabilities and addressable markets. Nexo is also now Summit National Banks preferred digital asset partner for the push toward innovation. Founded as Hulett National Bank in 1984, the leadership of Mode Eleven and Summit National Bank bring a strong record of compliance with US regulatory requirements as the bank expands into new lines of business. This investment marks another landmark in Nexos relentless drive to better serve our US customers in compliance with the constantly evolving regulatory landscape, said Kalin Metodiev, CFA, co-founder and managing partner of Nexo and recently appointed as Summit National Bank board member. We care deeply about our customers and are thrilled that this development will grant them access to some of the most innovative products at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain technology. We are delighted to welcome Nexo aboard, said Forrest Gilman, Chairman of the Board, and President of the US bank. We are excited to be partnering with Nexo as we combine Summit National Bank's traditional strengths and values with our vision for the banks future. Kalins active engagement on the Board strengthens our work on the transformation of the bank into a fully-fledged cutting-edge FinTech bank with access to new clients. Gilmans more than 30 years of work in traditional financial services including positions at UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Citibank make him an ideal steward for Summit Banks next chapter. Having pioneered the concept of real-time attestation of reserves to show that assets exceed liabilities at all times, Nexo has maintained a growth course despite times of general contraction. Nexos long-term plans include the expansion of its global commercial banking capabilities, both through the partnership with Summit National Bank and by securing additional banking licenses on a global scale. With over 50 licenses and registrations across the globe, the firm serves more than 5 million customers in over 200 jurisdictions, having processed more than $100 billion since its inception. A partner of household names such as Mastercard and Fidelity, Nexo safeguards client assets with unequaled attention to security, including top-tier custodial insurance and military-grade protection through the Nexo Wallet and a professional trading platform, Nexo Pro, that recently brought aggregated liquidity and advanced trading capabilities to the retail for the first time. About Mode Eleven / Summit National Bank Hulett Bancorp (DBA Mode Eleven) combines the trust and reach of its nationally chartered bank subsidiary, Summit National Bank, and the power of a modern technology platform to support a wide array of financial services in the new Banking-as-a-Service paradigm. Visit us at modeeleven.com to learn more. bout Nexo Nexo is the worlds leading regulated digital assets institution with over $4 billion in assets under management. The companys mission is to maximize the value and utility of digital assets by offering a comprehensive suite of products that include advanced trading solutions for retail and institutional clients (Nexo Pro and Nexo Prime), aggregation of liquidity from leading venues, tax-efficient asset-backed credit lines, a high-yield Earn Interest product, all accompanied by top-tier custodial insurance and military-grade security of the Nexo Platform and Wallet. In early 2022, the enterprise launched its investment arm Nexo Ventures, which now boasts over 60 portfolio companies. Nexo has processed $100+ billion for 5,000,000+ users across more than 200 jurisdictions. Visit nexo.io to learn more. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005623/en/ Media Contact for Mode Eleven/Summit National Bank Alan Gross, GSM Marketing [email protected] Media Contact for Nexo The Nexo PR Team [email protected] Source: Nexo NANTES, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News: Pherecydes Pharma (FR0011651694 - ALPHE), a biotechnology company specializing in precision phage therapy to treat resistant and/or complicated bacterial infections, today announces that its management team participated or will participate in the following scientific and investor events: Scientific conferences World Antimicrobial Resistance Congress September 7-8, 2022 (Washington) Since 2015, the World AntiMicrobial Congress has been the global reference conference for all those invested in the AMR to meet, brainstorm on current issues, and develop initiatives that can effectively combat antimicrobial resistance. For more information, click here 17th National Congress of the French Society of Microbiology October 3 to 5, 2022 (Montpellier) Entitled "Microbiology in all its states", this summit, created in 2005, brings together players in the field (doctors, companies, researchers, academics, etc.) to promote exchanges and scientific collaboration. For more information, click here Phages in Paris October 11 to 13, 2022 (Paris) This conference aims to bring together the community of French and international scientists involved in research on bacteriophages to promote scientific interactions. For more information, click here Phages Future US 2022 / 7th Annual Microbiome Connect: US 2022 November 16-17, 2022 (Boston) The 7th edition of the conference is dedicated to showcasing leading drug development platforms for the development of microbial-based drugs to prevent or treat human disease or make a medical diagnosis. For more information, click here Investor conferences Portzamparc BNP Paribas Biotech & Health seminar October 4, 2022 (virtual event) This event, organized by Portzamparc, a subsidiary of the BNP Paribas Group, gives French and international investors the opportunity to interact with executives from listed healthcare companies. HealthTech Innovation Days October 13-14, 2022 (Paris) The HealthTech Innovation Days forum, organized for the 4th time by France Biotech, provides a platform for exchanges between investors and European companies to accelerate their growth and promote medical innovations. For more information, click here BIO-Europe 2022 October 24-26 2022 (Leipzig) As the industrys largest gathering of biopharma professionals in Europe, this event brings together nearly 4,000 global biopharma executives to engage in over 27,000 one-to-one meetings. For more information, click here Next financial publication: 2022 half-year results: Thursday, October 27, 2022, after market About Pherecydes Pharma Founded in 2006, Pherecydes Pharma is a biotechnology company that develops treatments against resistant bacterial infections, responsible for many serious infections. The Company has developed an innovative approach, precision phage therapy, based on the use of phages, natural bacteria-killing viruses. Pherecydes Pharma is developing a portfolio of phages targeting 3 of the most resistant and dangerous bacteria, which alone account for more than two thirds of hospital-acquired resistant infections: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The concept of precision phage therapy has been successfully applied in several dozen patients in the context of compassionate use, under the supervision of the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM). Headquartered in Nantes, Pherecydes Pharma has a team of around twenty experts from the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology sector and academic research. For more information, www.pherecydes-pharma.com Disclaimer This press release contains non-factual elements, including, but not limited to, certain statements regarding future results and other future events. These statements are based on the current vision and assumptions of the management of the Company. They incorporate known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could result in significant differences in results, profitability and expected events. In addition, Pherecydes Pharma, its shareholders and its affiliates, directors, officers, counsels and employees have not verified the accuracy of, and make no representations or warranties about, statistical information or forecast information contained within this news release and that originates or is derived from third party sources or industry publications; these statistical data and forecast information are only used in this press release for information purposes. Finally, this press release may be drafted in French and in English. In the event of differences between the two texts, the French version will prevail. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005884/en/ Pherecydes Pharma Thibaut du Fayet Deputy CEO [email protected] NewCap Dusan Oresansky / Nicolas Fossiez Investor Relations [email protected] T.: +33 1 44 71 94 92 NewCap Arthur Rouille Media Relations [email protected] T.: +33 1 44 71 00 15 Source: Pherecydes Pharma UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce is pleased to be back in person for the 2022 State of the Valley luncheon on Thursday, October 6, 2022. State of the Valley is the annual gathering and panel discussion by Los Angeles City Councilmembers covering the San Fernando Valley area. State of the Valley serves as an opportunity for the Valley business community to hear directly from leaders about issues that matter to us, said Chamber CEO Nancy Hoffman Vanyek. This event has always served as a platform for a frank discussion with our elected officials who can affect the change businesses need. Topics discussed will include water, business recovery, cost of living, and more. Alex Cohen, host of Inside the Issues on Spectrum News One, will return as the programs moderator. The six Los Angeles City Councilmembers are Paul Krekorian, Council District 2; Bob Blumenfield, Council District 3; Nithya Raman, Council District 4; Nury Martinez, Council District 6; Monica Rodriguez, Council District 7; and John Lee, Council District 12. The luncheon will be held at the Hilton Los Angeles/ Universal City located at 555 Universal Hollywood Drive in Universal City, with registration beginning at 11:30 a.m. and the luncheon following at noon. Tickets are $75 for members and $85 for non-members. Sponsorships are also available. Sponsors of State of the Valley as of press time include the following: Kaiser Permanente, SoCalGas, Learn4Life Assurance Learning Academy, Hilton Los Angeles / Universal City, Kush Alley, UCLA Health, NBC Universal, LADWP, CSUN, Dr. Barry Leonard & Associates, and Van Nuys Airport. For further information about State of the Valley, contact Nancy Hoffman Vanyek at (818) 989-0300. PRESS MUST PLEASE RSVP TO NANCY HOFFMAN VANYEK AT: [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927006066/en/ Fuyumi Hashimoto [email protected] Source: Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce - Store marks Starbucks 1,000th in Shanghai, the first city in the world to reach the milestone - Greener Store features leading sustainability solutions and digitalized operations - Pays tribute to Shanghai by innovating Starbucks first city themed handcrafted coffee creation in China SHANGHAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Starbucks today celebrated its 6,000th store in the Chinese mainland, which opens on September 30 at Shanghai Lippo Plaza, where the company opened its first store in Shanghai more than 20 years ago. The new store marks Starbucks 1,000th in Shanghai making it the first city in the world to pass the milestone. The latest addition to Starbucks growing portfolio of Greener Stores also features leading sustainability solutions and digitalized operations. To commemorate the milestone, Starbucks is launching Shanghai Coffee in Crema Ristretto style its first city-themed handcrafted coffee creation in China as a tribute to the city and its coffee lovers. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220926005852/en/ Starbucks celebrates its 6,000th store in the Chinese mainland, which opens on September 30 at Shanghai Lippo Plaza. (Photo: Starbucks) As Starbucks celebrates our 6,000th store in China, we are deeply humbled to return where we opened our first store in Shanghai, said Leo Tsoi, chief executive officer, Starbucks China. It has been a privilege to share our love for coffee with local customers, and contribute to the development of Chinas coffee culture and its specialty coffee industry over the past two decades. We treasure the strong connections we have built, and will never stop innovating new coffee products and experiences to delight our customers and earn their support every day. Since entering the Chinese mainland market, Starbucks has become known as a place for connection, familiarity and joy, interwoven into Chinese consumers daily lifestyles from social gatherings with friends and family, to casual business meetings and more. It continues to innovate and scale creative store concepts to serve customers and communities, such as Signing Stores that provide employment opportunities for Deaf and hard of hearing partners (employees), Heritage Culture Gallery Stores that bring heritage culture closer to Chinese consumers, and a co-working space concept store providing flexible, on-demand co-working spaces for mobile professionals. Shanghai Lippo Plaza Store The new Shanghai Lippo Plaza Store bears testament to the continuous evolution of Starbucks stores in Chinas dynamic consumer landscape. It features a clean and streamlined design, brought to life with minimalist style furniture and casework made using recycled straw material. Old green aprons donned by Starbucks partners were upcycled to create the stores signature artwork an iconic Starbucks siren with intricate design details that relay important milestones in Starbucks journey in China. From the stores mall entrance, customers are greeted by a mug wall made up of a vast collection of Starbucks signature city mugs launched over the years. Beyond its contemporary design, the evolution of Starbucks stores is also reflected in the Shanghai Lippo Plaza Stores back-of-house operations, where investments in digital technologies have enhanced the partner experience and elevated store efficiency to a whole new level. The use of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and automation tools have dramatically simplified routine stocktaking tasks, enabling partners to focus on coffee craft and customer connection. Big data and machine learning algorithms have also been deployed to optimize inventory ordering and labor scheduling. These technologies have been scaled to all stores in operation market-wide, as the company continues to advance its digital transformation agenda. The Shanghai Lippo Plaza Store is also the latest of Starbucks growing portfolio of Greener Stores in China. From design to construction and operations, it incorporates sustainability solutions to achieve reductions in carbon, water and waste. Among its features, the store uses smart, energy efficient solutions for air conditioning, lighting, water usage and daily energy consumption. Green aprons donned by store partners are made from recycled Starbucks cups using advanced plastic-to-textile technologies. Customers are invited to join Starbucks on its journey towards reusables by bringing their own cups or choosing a Grande-sized reusable cup when ordering beverages for on-the-go consumption. Shanghai Coffee in Crema Ristretto style Alongside the planned opening of the Shanghai Lippo Plaza Store, Starbucks has also specially created a signature handcrafted coffee beverage for coffee lovers in Shanghai Shanghai Coffee in Crema Ristretto style. As the official coffee industry partner for Shanghais city image promotion, and in partnership with IP SHANGHAI, Starbucks is launching the beverage on September 28 across all Starbucks stores in the city. Shanghai Coffee in Crema Ristretto style is inspired by nostalgic Shanghainese childhood flavors given a distinctive Starbucks spin. It is a delicious creation made with malt, cream and smoky Starbucks ristretto espresso, infused with butter scotch flavored syrup offering layers of flavors and aromas. The first sip offers the comforting taste of Shanghais very own beloved malt powder, followed by the smooth taste of cold foam infused with the sweet, delicate flavor of butterscotch - a western-style candy loved by Shanghainese. Finally, coffee lovers may immerse in the bright acidity and caramelly depth of the ristretto espresso, to enjoy the artful intertwining of robust coffee flavors with a light and sweet milky aroma. As Starbucks celebrates its latest milestone, the company is still in the early chapters of its China growth story. In this next era of accelerated growth at Starbucks, the company expects to operate 9,000 stores across 300 cities in China by 2025, opening one new store nearly every nine hours in China for the next three years. It will also accelerate the rollout of Starbucks Greener Stores framework in China with a plan to operate 2,500 Greener Stores by FY2025. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220926005852/en/ [email protected] 206-318-7100 Source: Starbucks New G1x2 Architecture Delivers Reliable Gigabit Service in 5 and 6 GHz Spectrum MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tarana announced today their upcoming releases in next-generation fixed wireless access (ngFWA), representing significant evolution of the companys heralded G1 broadband solution. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005107/en/ Tarana G1x2: Unbelievable wireless broadband, now twice as great. (Graphic: Business Wire) Taranas G1 ngFWA platform has been embraced by more than 190 ISPs in 8 countries in its first year of commercial shipments. G1 base nodes sold to date are expected to cover 20 million households and will have the capacity to serve as many as 1 million subscribers when fully deployed in the coming months an unprecedented inaugural achievement. Taranas next G1 releases will take two new directions. First is operation in the 6 GHz unlicensed channels being opened up in the US, Canada, and soon other countries around the world. Second is the introduction of G1x2 mode, a software update that doubles the current 80MHz bandwidth of the G1 platform to 160MHz, organized as four independent 40MHz carriers in either 5 or 6 GHz or both to deliver up to 1.6 Gbps in aggregate for each G1 link. The Tarana team showed compelling demonstrations of G1x2 mode at its Digital Multiply launch event held today. Operation in G1x2 mode will also be an option available for currently shipping 5 GHz G1 BNs and RNs, with accommodations required for the new rate/reach metrics involved. Sergiu Nedevschi, Taranas Chief Strategy Officer, said G1x2 reveals the power of a fundamentally different physical layer designed specifically for home broadband. It has been a massive decade-long undertaking and today we are demonstrating that our ngFWA foundation scales this is a huge step, and there are more to come. Jim Higgins, CEO of Digital Path, reported, Our team worked with Tarana to test G1x2 on our network this month, and the performance we saw in near- and non-line-of-sight conditions was just outstanding. We cant wait to put it to work for our subscribers with the higher-speed plans it will enable. Basil Alwan, Tarana CEO, added, The gap between fiber economics and wireless performance has led many to believe that the worlds digital divide problem is economically unsolvable. Today we further revealed the trajectory of ngFWA technology and it clearly shows non-line-of-sight wireless, in both licensed and unlicensed bands, can deliver high performance 'end-game' broadband to homes and businesses alike. Its another impressive case of technology and innovation creating all-new possibilities. G1 in 6 GHz and G1x2 mode for both 5 and 6 GHz are expected to be generally available in mid 2023. For more information, a recording of todays livestream launch event will be available at taranawireless.com/G1x2-video soon. About Tarana Tarana is on a mission to accelerate the deployment of fast, affordable internet access to the world. With a decade of research and more than $400M of investment, the Tarana engineering team has created a unique next-generation fixed wireless access (ngFWA) technology instantiated in its first commercial platform, Gigabit 1 (G1). G1 delivers a game-changing advance in broadband economics in both mainstream and underserved markets, using both licensed and unlicensed spectrum. G1 started production in mid-2021 and has been sold to more than 190 service providers globally. Tarana is headquartered in Milpitas, California, with additional research and development in Pune, India. Visit www.taranawireless.com for more on G1. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005107/en/ The Hoffman Agency [email protected] Source: Tarana WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- UBS today announced that ten advisors have joined the firm in Washington, D.C., managing $2.85 billion in client assets. Private Wealth Advisors William Slater, James (J.J.) King, Scott Fitzenreiter and Ryan Shuler have joined the firms Northeast Private Wealth market, managed by Julie Fox, reporting to Branch Manager Brendan Graham. William, J.J., Scott, Ryan will be joined by Carey Greenauer, Gigi Peterson, Gregory Porter, Amanda McKenna, Nancy Robinson and Jim Ball. Financial Advisors Kevin Murphy, Michael Brennan, George Seals, Daniel Shannahan, John Green and Elliott Warren have joined UBSs Mid-Atlantic Wealth Management market, managed by Ellen Pierce, reporting to Branch Manager Dan Egbert. These advisors bring an unwavering commitment to helping clients navigate complex financial needs and we are proud to welcome them to UBS, said Julie Fox, Northeast Market Head at UBS Private Wealth Management. UBS has a strong footprint in Washington, D.C. and is committed to growing its wealth management business in the region. The advisors joined UBS from Merrill, where they advised high and ultra high net worth families and institutions. Providing our high net worth and ultra high net worth clients with the highest levels of customized, tailored advice and services continues to be our top priority, said John Mathews, Head of UBS Private Wealth Management. The collective experience and expertise of these talented advisors greatly strengthens our local presence and will make an immediate impact with our clients. Notes to Editors About UBS UBS convenes the global ecosystem for investing, where people and ideas are connected and opportunities brought to life, and provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as to private clients in Switzerland. UBS offers investment solutions, products and impactful thought leadership, is the leading global wealth manager, provides large-scale and diversified asset management, focused investment banking capabilities, and personal and corporate banking services in Switzerland. The firm focuses on businesses that have a strong competitive position in their target markets, are capital efficient and have an attractive long-term structural growth or profitability outlook. UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in more than 50 regions and locations, with about 30% of its employees working in the Americas, 30% in Switzerland, 19% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 21% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs more than 72,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). https://www.ubs.com UBS 2022. All rights reserved. The key symbol and UBS are among the registered and unregistered trademarks of UBS. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005376/en/ Media: Scott Gamm Strategy Voice Associates [email protected] Source: UBS INTIMINA surveyed dads with teenage daughters to see how much they know about the menstrual cycle SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Being a dad has its challenges but being a single dad of a teenage daughter comes with its own set of challenges especially when it comes to coping with puberty and the topic of menstruation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005974/en/ The dad approach to having the period talk. (Photo: Business Wire) After receiving numerous questions from single dads about how to talk to their daughters about menstruation, INTIMINA, a brand dedicated to caring for womens intimate health and breaking taboos, went a step further and conducted a survey* of dads in the US, UK, France, Italy and Spain with daughters between the ages of 10 and 15. The goal of the survey was to determine how much dads know about the menstrual cycle and how comfortable they are talking to their daughters about it. The results are encouraging. According to INTIMINAs survey, 78% of dads have spoken to their daughters about the menstrual cycle. In comparison, 22% have had no conversations about it at all. While the majority of dads surveyed (80%) believe it is a mothers responsibility to teach their daughter about her menstrual cycle, 44% believe the responsibility is with the father. The remaining dads surveyed believe it is the responsibility of a doctor (25%), a teacher (19%) or their own daughter (13%) to learn about menstruation and the menstrual cycle When it comes to being educated about the menstrual cycle, 72% of dads feel it is their responsibility to know about the menstrual cycle for their daughter. Even more so, 70% feel they know enough about the menstrual cycle to explain it to their daughter if she asks, with 64% of dads claiming they can confidently explain the whole menstrual cycle and 58% agreeing they would like to be more educated on the topic. But not all dads are comfortable having the period talk. The survey shows that a large percentage of dads feel that the menstrual cycle is an awkward topic to discuss with their daughter: 63% in the US, 57% in the UK, 44% in France, 38% in Spain and 34% in Italy. Menstruation is a sensitive topic for both dads and daughters. As teenage girls go through various hormonal and physical changes, starting these conversations might seem everything but easy. When asked who is more likely to bring up the conversation around menstrual cycles, 43% of dads said it would be them, 39% said it would be their daughter and 17% said that neither of them is likely to bring this up. Most dads surveyed feel comfortable talking to their daughter about menstruation (64%). However, still, 14% feel uncomfortable and explain why: 53% find the conversation awkward, 39% find the conversation sensitive, 34% worry their daughter will ask a question they don't know the answer to, 32% worry they will say the wrong thing, 32% do not know enough about the subject and 21% cant relate. It is pretty common for dads to buy menstrual products for their daughters. While 60% buy pads, 30% tampons, 22% period panties and 15% menstrual cups, 16% of surveyed dads still do not buy these products for their daughters. When asked where they would go to get more information and learn about the menstrual cycle, most of the surveyed dads in each country said they would ask another female family member: 64% in the US, 61% in the UK, 55% in Italy, 52% in Spain and 40% in France. Other dads would look for information in educational articles (34%), ask their female friends (31%), read educational books (27%), watch educational YouTube videos (26%) or scroll through educational social media accounts (17%). A smaller, 7% would ask their male friends or male family members. The times are changing. INTIMINAs survey shows that menstruation is becoming less taboo. It is encouraging that most dads and single dads understand they need to know facts about the menstrual cycle to show support and love for their growing daughters. For anyone who needs a bit of reassurance and additional education when it comes to period talks, INTIMINAs The Wonder Girls Guide Book can come in handy when starting conversations with pubescent children. About INTIMINA Established in 2009, INTIMINA is Swedish brand complete line of products for womens intimate well-being. With three care ranges Menstrual Care, Pelvic Floor Strengthening, and Feminine Wellness INTIMINA has products for women of all ages. Every product is made from the highest quality body-safe materials, and has been designed and tested with the support of a worldwide group of medical consultants and gynecologists. *INTIMINAs survey of 1,258 dads with daughters aged 10-15 across the UK, USA, France, Italy and Spain was conducted by Censuswide in July 2022. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005974/en/ Lauren Jacobson [email protected] 213-479-4001 Source: INTIMINA BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The GEO Group (NYSE: GEO) (GEO) commented today on the favorable ruling by an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the En Banc Court) in relation to lawsuits filed by GEO and the United States for declaratory and injunctive relief challenging Californias enacted law, Assembly Bill 32 (AB32), which would have prohibited the operation of detention facilities in the state of California by private contractors, including contracted federal immigration processing centers. On September 26, 2022, in an 8-3 decision, the En Banc Court vacated a prior U.S. District Court decision denying the requests by GEO and the United States for declaratory and injunctive relief barring application of the California law to federal immigration processing centers. The En Banc Court ruled that AB32 would give California a virtual power of review over detention decisions made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in violation of the Supremacy Clause. The En Banc Court held that whether analyzed under intergovernmental immunity or preemption, California cannot exert such control over the federal governments detention operations. The case is remanded to the U.S. District Court for further proceedings, consistent with the En Banc Court ruling. Commenting on the ruling, GEOs Executive Chairman, George C. Zoley, said, We are pleased with this ruling by the en banc panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, allowing the continuation of our California civil detention support services contracts for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. About The GEO Group The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE: GEO) is a leading diversified government service provider, specializing in design, financing, development, and support services for secure facilities, processing centers, and community reentry centers in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. GEOs diversified services include enhanced in-custody rehabilitation and post-release support through the award-winning GEO Continuum of Care, secure transportation, electronic monitoring, community-based programs, and correctional health and mental health care. GEOs worldwide operations include the ownership and/or delivery of support services for 102 facilities totaling approximately 82,000 beds, including idle facilities and projects under development, with a workforce of up to approximately 18,000 employees. Use of forward-looking statements This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and any such forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the following cautionary statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release and are based on current expectations and involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the favorable ruling, on September 26, 2022, by the En Banc Court in relation to lawsuits filed by GEO and the United States for declaratory and injunctive relief challenging AB32. Risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary from current expectations and forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to any future judgments or orders that are adverse to the ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on AB32 and other risk factors contained in GEOs filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K reports. GEO disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220926005819/en/ Pablo E. Paez (866) 301 4436 Executive Vice President, Corporate Relations Source: The GEO Group, Inc. TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Unless Toronto area hospitals hire 15,000 staff annually, problems with spiking emergency room wait times and unprecedented staffing shortages will deepen as the citys population grows and ages, said the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) today at a media conference outside Torontos Scarborough General Hospital. CUPE based its call for the 15,000 new hospital staff hires at more than dozen a hospitals in Toronto, the majority with multiple hospital campus sites, on available government and hospital data. Over the past year, the average length of ER wait times at Toronto hospitals has increased considerably. At Toronto Western Hospital wait times crept up more than 80 per cent to 26.4 hours. At St. Josephs Hospital ER wait times went up 71 per cent to 37.9 hours. The Scarborough Health Network saw wait times at the Centenary campus increase by 62 per cent, up to 22.2 hours, while the Scarborough General Hospital ER wait times increased by 18.8 per cent to 21.5 hours. Across Ontario, the wait time to be seen in emergency has consistently spiked since the Doug Ford PCs have been in government with a 47 per cent increase in the last year alone. The provincial ER wait time average is now at 20.7 hours. This summer, Toronto hospitals experienced severe staffing shortages and high patient volumes. Several dozen hospitals across Ontario also closed emergency rooms and other units. These staff shortages and closures will only intensify under the current health human resource strategy of the PC provincial government, said Dave Verch, a registered practical nurse (RPN) and first vice-president of CUPEs Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE). Verch added that so far, the provincial government has not shown the urgency or commitment to public health care required to develop a hospital workforce retention plan to stabilize capacity in our public hospitals. That would require them to improve working conditions to stop the bleeding of staff. This includes increasing wages, full-time employment and lowering workloads. Then the number of resignations would go down and hospitals would not have to recruit so many new staff to deal with the unprecedented turnover rates and increased needs of an ageing and growing population. Long emergency room wait-times result in "offload delays" for paramedics, preventing them from safely transferring patients to the care of hospital staff. Offload delays combined with understaffing at paramedic services and rising call volumes are subsequently causing critical ambulances shortages. This is particularly pronounced in Toronto, where call volumes have increased by an average of 4.5 per cent over the last decade without a corresponding increase in staffing levels. "Toronto's paramedics have stepped up admirably to continue serving our city while being forced to do more with less, often risking injury and burnout. But even as paramedics are missing breaks and consistently working overtime to provide the best service possible, there are often critical ambulance shortages in Toronto as in other parts of the province. Our system is crumbling and its high time for the Ontario provincial government to work on a staffing strategy that ensures safe staffing levels and a high-quality paramedic service," says Mike Merriman, CUPE 416 - Toronto Paramedic Services - Unit Chair. To keep hospital emergency rooms and other units from closing and to decrease the time paramedics spend offloading patients at hospitals, overall, across Ontario, 46,000 more hospital staff must be hired just to deal with a 14.95 per cent hospital staff turnover rate, the very high number of hospital job vacancies, the impacts of COVID and long COVID, and the increased needs of an aging and growing population. In Ontario, CUPE represents 50,000 front-line hospital staff including RPNs, personal support workers, cleaners, porters, paramedical and administrative and other workers and more than 6000 paramedics and dispatchers. CUPE represents about 1200 paramedics working for the City of Toronto. SY:lf/cope491 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005919/en/ Stella Yeadon CUPE Communications 416-559-9300 [email protected] Zaid Noorsumar CUPE Communications 647-995-9859 [email protected] Source: Canadian Union of Public Employees NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), announced today that it has joined the United Nations Global Compact initiative a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practices. The UN Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption, as well as to support UN goals and issues embodied in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We continue to build upon Voyas environmental, social and governance strategy to achieve the best outcomes for our colleagues, clients and communities, said Rodney O. Martin, Jr., chairman and CEO, Voya Financial, Inc. As a UN Global Compact Participant, we will advance this work and learn with other like-minded companies as we continue to take responsible business actions that make meaningful and positive differences in the world. Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world, with more than 15,000 companies and 3,800 non-business signatories based in more than 160 countries, and 69 Local Networks. For more information, visit our profile on the UN Global Compact website. About Voya Financial Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), is a leading health, wealth and investment company that provides products, solutions and technologies that help Americans become well planned, well invested and well protected. Serving the needs of 14.3 million individual, workplace and institutional clients, Voya has approximately 6,000 employees and had $644 billion in total assets under management and administration as of June 30, 2022. Certified as a Great Place to Work by the Great Place to Work Institute, Voya is purpose-driven and is equally committed to conducting business in a way that is socially, environmentally, economically and ethically responsible. Voya has earned recognition as: one of the Worlds Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute; a member of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index; and a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion on the Disability Equality Index. For more information, visit voya.com. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @Voya. VOYA-IR VOYA-CR View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005839/en/ Media: Kathryn Emery Voya Financial Office: (860) 580-2981 [email protected] Source: Voya Financial, Inc. Discussion includes; -Ramping of 3D modeling for ecommerce -ARway Spin-Out - Toggle3D TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nextech AR Solutions Corp. (Nextech or the Company) (OTCQB: NEXCF) (CSE: NTAR) (FSE: N29), a Metaverse Company and leading provider of augmented reality (AR) experience technologies and 3D model services announces an exclusive fireside chat with Zacks Small Cap Research. Nextech AR Solutions CEO and Founder, Evan Gappelberg sat down with Lisa Thompson at Zacks Small Cap Research, for a fireside chat. Lisa Thompson is a Senior Analyst with over two decades of experience in the technology and TMT space, specializing in small cap technology research. Fire Side Chat To watch the in-depth fireside chat: click here Read the transcript: click here Research Report In August, Lisa Thompson released a research report about Nextech AR Solutions (OTCQB: NEXCF). Nextech AR is a technology start-up and a unique public company investment in Augmented Reality and the Metaverse. It does not produce hardware, but rather uses AR to improve eCommerce results for customers as well as its company-owned sites. It plans to spin out its ARway 3D mapping and Metaverse builder business to shareholders this fall. The company is landing new large customers for its modeling business and we expect that business to ramp rapidly. It is winding down its eCommerce business to become a pure play in 3D by year end. As one of the first movers in a multi-billion dollar market growing at almost 300% per year, Nextech should be able to grow rapidly as this nascent market explodes. Read the full Research Report: Q2 Shows More Progress in 3D Model Ramp and Cost Cutting Latest Nextech AR News To learn more about ARway, please follow on Social Media: Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook, and visit our website: www.arway.ai About Nextech AR Nextech AR Solutions is the engine accelerating the growth of the Metaverse. Using breakthrough AI, Nextech AR is able to quickly, easily and affordably ARitize (transform) vast quantities and varieties of existing assets at scale making products, people and places ready for interactive 3D use, giving creators at every level all the essential tools they need to build out their digital AR vision in the Metaverse. Our platform agnostic tools allow brands, educators, students, manufacturers, creators, and technologists to create immersive, interactive and the most photo-realistic 3D assets and digital environments, compose AR experiences, and publish them omnichannel. With a full suite of end-to-end AR solutions in 3D Commerce, Education, Events, and Industrial Manufacturing, Nextech AR is in a unique position to meet the needs of the worlds biggest brands and all Metaverse contributors. Nextech funds the development of its AR and Metaverse growth initiatives through its eCommerce platforms, which currently generate most of its revenue. Nextech's eCommerce platforms include: vacuumcleanermarket.com (VCM), infinitepetlife.com (IPL) and Trulyfesupplements.com (TruLyfe). VCM and product sales of residential vacuums, supplies and parts, and small home appliances sold on Amazon. These eCommerce platforms serve as an incubator for developing and testing Nextech's leading edge AR, AI and machine learning applications for powering next-generation eCommerce technology. To learn more, please follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook, or visit our website: https://www.Nextechar.com. Forward-looking Statements The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain information contained herein may constitute forward-looking information under Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as, will be or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results will occur. Forward-looking statements regarding the completion of the transaction are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Nextech will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005521/en/ For further information: Investor Relations Lindsay Betts [email protected] 866-ARitize (274-8493) Ext 7201 Nextech AR Solutions Corp. Evan Gappelberg CEO and Director 866-ARITIZE (274-8493) Source: Nextech AR Solutions Corp. COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Leaks detected in the Nord Stream gas pipelines clearly were caused by deliberate actions and could not have been a result of accidents, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday. "It is now the clear assessment by authorities that these are deliberate actions. It was not an accident," Mette Frederiksen said at a press briefing in Copenhagen. "There is no information yet to indicate who may be behind this action," she said, adding that authorities do not see the incidents as a direct military threat against Denmark. Europe was investigating major leaks from two Russian pipelines that spewed gas into the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark as Sweden launched a preliminary probe into possible sabotage. The leaks, first reported on Monday, were in international waters but inside Denmark's and Sweden's exclusive economic zone. Danish authorities assess that the damage was caused by blasts, Energy Minister Dan Jorgensen said at the briefing. He added that the size of the holes in the pipelines indicate that the leaks could not have been caused by an accident such as getting hit by an anchor. The damaged pipelines are at a depth of 70-90 meters below sea level, Jorgensen said. (Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Stine Jacobsen and Nikolaj Skydsgaard; editing by Niklas Pollard; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Marguerita Choy) Lyft logo is seen in this illustration taken June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Files (Reuters) -Lyft Inc is freezing all hiring in the United States through the end of the year, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday, making the ride-hailing firm the latest to pause recruitment as high inflation forces cost-cutting measures. The company, which in July cut nearly 60 jobs in its rental division, has been battling surging expenses as U.S. inflation reaches levels not seen in four decades. As of June 30, Lyft had nearly 5,000 employees, according to its latest quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. San Francisco, California-based Lyft said its costs jumped 36% in its most recent quarter. Several tech companies have been forced to slash headcount in recent months, with Lyft's larger rival Uber Technologies Inc also scaling back hiring and cutting marketing spend. Lyft posted a record quarter in August on the back of soaring demand for rides and gains from its cost-cutting efforts. However, the company warned challenges would persist in the third quarter due to high insurance costs, macroeconomic uncertainty and inflation. A broad sell-off in markets due to red-hot inflation and fears of a looming recession have crushed risky assets this year. As of Tuesday's close, Lyft's stock has dropped over 68% in 2022. The hiring freeze plans were first reported by the New York Post. (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri) FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell hosts an event on "Fed Listens: Transitioning to the Post-pandemic Economy" at the Federal Reserve in Washington, U.S., September 23, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo (Reuters) - Digital financial assets require appropriate regulations to ensure a level playing field and protect consumers, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday. "Within the decentralized finance ecosystem there are these very significant structural issues around the lack of transparency," Powell said during a panel discussion on digital finance organized by Banque de France. "We need to be very careful about how crypto activities are taken within the regulatory perimeter...there's a real need for more appropriate regulation so that as decentralized finance expands and starts to touch more and more retail customers, appropriate regulation is in place...they need 'same risk, same regulation' wherever they take place." He added that while stablecoins, a crypto asset that attempts to peg its value to a conventional currency such as the U.S. dollar, are quite different from unbacked crytpo assets, they too require careful monitoring. "If you're going to have private money creation across the country, really there needs to be a federal role...we think it really should be the Fed that does play that role. That's our principal focus right now," Powell said. (Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) FILE PHOTO: Local residents fill sandbags, as Hurricane Ian spun toward the state carrying high winds, torrential rains and a powerful storm surge, at Ben T. Davis Beach in Tampa, Florida, U.S., September 26, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo By David Shepardson and Kannaki Deka (Reuters) -Airlines canceled over 2,000 U.S. flights on Tuesday and Wednesday and some Florida airports halted operations as they braced for impact from Hurricane Ian, which was set to make landfall in the state. Airlines had scrapped 367 flights on Tuesday and 1,748 on Wednesday across the United States, according to flight-tracking website Flightaware.com. About 1,800 flights within, into or out of the United States were delayed on Tuesday, Flightaware.com data showed. Hurricane Ian entered the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and is forecast to become a dangerous category 4 storm over the warm waters of the Gulf, according to National Hurricane Center forecaster Eric Blake. It is expected to bring hurricane-force winds of up to 130 mph (209 kph) and as much as 2 feet (0.6 meter) of rain to the Tampa area starting early on Wednesday through Thursday evening. Both Tampa and St. Pete-Clearwater airports in southwest Florida halted operations on Tuesday, while the Sarasota Bradenton Airport will suspend operations at 8 p.m. (0000 GMT) and Orlando Airport will cease operations at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Walt Disney said on Tuesday it would close its Orlando theme parks on Wednesday and Thursday. Even Florida airports not closing were experiencing major impacts. Airlines canceled about 40% of flights at Miami International Airport on Wednesday. Florida is a major part of U.S. aviation and some airlines like JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines typically expect 40% or more of their daily flights touch a Florida airport. Through Tuesday afternoon, JetBlue has canceled 24% of its U.S. flights on Wednesday, while Southwest has canceled 9%. Southwest suspended operations on Tuesday in Havana, Cuba, and is suspending operations at some Florida airports. The Federal Aviation Administration said it was "closely monitoring" Hurricane Ian and its path. Major U.S. carriers also halted some operations. American Airlines issued a travel alert for 20 airports in the western Caribbean and Florida waiving change fees for ticket booked by Sept. 23. (Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Josie Kao) FILE PHOTO: Woman holds smartphone with Meta logo in front of a displayed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration By Katie Paul (Reuters) -Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it disrupted the first known China-based influence operation focused on targeting users in the United States with political content ahead of the midterm elections in November. The network maintained fake accounts across Meta's social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as competitor service Twitter, but was small and did not attract much of a following, Meta said in a report summarizing its findings. Still, the report noted, the discovery was significant because it suggested a shift toward more direct interference in U.S. domestic politics compared with previous known Chinese propaganda efforts. "The Chinese operations we've taken down before talked primarily about America to the world, primarily in South Asia, not to Americans about themselves," Meta global threat intelligence lead Ben Nimmo told a press briefing. "Essentially the message was 'America bad, China good,'" he said of those operations, while the new operation pushed messages aimed at Americans on both sides of divisive issues like abortion and gun rights. Another Meta executive at the briefing said the company did not have enough evidence to say who in China was behind the activity. Asked about Meta's findings at a news conference, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said his office was "very concerned" about intelligence reports of election interference by foreign governments "starting back some time ago and continuing all the way into the present." A Twitter spokesperson said the company was aware of the information in Meta's report and also took down the accounts. According to Meta's report, the Chinese fake accounts posed as liberal and conservative Americans in different states. They posted political memes and lurked in the comments of public figures' posts since November 2021. A sample screenshot showed one account commenting on a Facebook post by Republican Senator Marco Rubio, asking him to stop gun violence and using the hashtag #RubioChildrenKiller. The same network also set up fake accounts that posed as people in the Czech Republic criticizing the Czech government over its approach to China, according to the report. Meta also said it had intercepted the largest and most complex Russian-based operation since the war in Ukraine began, describing it as a sprawling network of more than 60 websites impersonating legitimate news organizations, along with about 4,000 social media accounts and petitions on sites like U.S.-based campaign group Avaaz. That operation primarily targeted users in Germany, as well as France, Italy, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, and spent more than $100,000 on ads promoting pro-Russian messages. On a few occasions, Russian embassies in Europe and Asia amplified the content. The Russian embassy in Washington said Meta's move follows "the instructions of the U.S. authorities" and is a violation of freedom of speech. "This suggests that American tech giants, who own the most popular Internet resources, have become servants of the U.S. administration's policy of suppressing dissent," the embassy said on its Telegram channel. (Reporting by Katie Paul; Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Richard Pullin) New York, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Almost two years after the 44-day war, the Armenians of Artsakh are trying to restore their lives, even as challenges persist. Despite bearing the heaviest burdens of war and insecurity, women are instrumental in caring and providing for their families and rehabilitating the post-war society. Two years later, the challenges people face in this little-known corner of the Caucasus are only multiplying. The November 2020 trilateral agreement to end the hostilities signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia redrew the map of the region, displacing thousands and making an uncertain future in the process. According to the Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh, Twenty thousand out of the 40,000 internally displaced persons are women, eight thousand are children. Six hundred women were widowed after the war, 12 out of 80 killed civilians were women. Gegham Stepanyan shared the official data on women affected by the recent conflict, adding that the fate of four missing women civilians is still unknown. At a first glance, these figures are a drop in the sea in light of the global picture of a staggering 100 million displaced persons worldwide. According to the UN refugee agencys most recent report, almost one in every 78 human beings on earth is now displaced: 80% are women and children. Yet unlike in other conflict zones, international organizations do not operate in Nagorno-Karabakh. To date the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has failed to live up to its commitment of addressing the problems of the internally displaced under the November 2020 Statement. Which is why local authorities have had to primarily rely on their own resources, and financial assistance coming from Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora. The Red Cross and the Russian peacekeeping contingent, deployed in the region just hours after the war, also extended a helping hand, providing humanitarian aid to local populations. A number of studies, including UN reports, prove that women and children are most affected by armed conflicts. Displaced women were disproportionately affected by the loss of livelihoods caused by the war. The overwhelming majority were not able to practice their livelihoods due to loss of land, housing and livestock. Two thousand women, mainly working in educational and cultural fields, lost their jobs. Women engaged in agricultural work lost both their income source and property, adds the Human Rights Ombudsman. Economic empowerment is critical for women to determine the course of their lives and to reach their full potential. Meanwhile, women capacity-building programs are mainly being implemented in Yerevan, while Stepanakert and rural areas are left out. The only program aimed at women empowerment in Artsakh has been implemented by AGBU Armenia for the past three years. Although there are no registrations of sexual violence due to conflict, the right to dignity is violated in many cases. For instance, a six-member family has to live in a single-room apartment, causing hygiene and privacy problems for women and young girls, says the 31-year-old Ombudsman. Displaced women seek jobs in Stepanakert to be able to improve their living conditions but the only option the labor market may offer them is work in the service sector, where a monthly salary is under 100 thousand AMD (~230 USD). Still, even with such a low income, women manage to live and raise their children in Artsakh. Ive become vulnerable after losing my husband, says Elina Hurumyan, 28, a housewife, left alone with her two little kids: Anush, a 4.5 years old girl, and Armen, a 2.5 years old boy. Her husband, Captain Arayik Hurumyan was killed in Hadrut in October 2020. The family lost their home and property as their village, Mets Tagher of the Hadrut region, came under the control of Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the 44-day war. Hurumyan is looking to the future. The Government has helped her family to solve the housing problem: she currently lives with her two children in a new condo in Stepanakert. The Armenian government supports the heirs of fallen servicemen, but legal issues and poverty sometimes translate to family feuds over resource competition. Due to the ambiguity of the law that doesnt make it clear who the primary beneficiary is, the mother of the killed serviceman or wife, Hurumyans mother-in-law received the financial assistance the Military Insurance Fund provided for the killed captain Hurumyan, leaving these three without any direct financial aid. I feel I want to realize any wish of kids also on the part of their father and raise them the way they are not affected by incomplete family problems, the 28-year-old widow shares. However, the gap between a young mothers wish and her real financial capabilities only increases as Hurumyan cannot work with little kids, meanwhile children are growing day by day and so are their needs. The only income of the three-member family consists of the social benefits for children that make 100 thousand AMD (~230 USD). Thats where the state social benefit policy towards families like Elinas ends. In Hadrut, the densely-forested mountainous terrain that Armenians called home for millennia, they owned a small business in the form of one self-service coffee making vending machine. She remembers with excitement the moments of collecting the coins with her husband. I know how to use it, if I could own one in Stepanakert I can provide some stable income even if its small in amount, the young mother concludes. The lack of economic opportunities is not the only challenge that women face in Artsakh. While many women are struggling against the odds to both care and provide for their families after the loss of husbands and male relatives, their peers are underrepresented in leadership positions due to male-dominated politics. As of today, only two out of the 11-member Government are women (which translates to 18%), and only seven out of the 33-seat Parliament (21%). The picture is much worse in regional administration or state bodies: the percentage of women executives there is 0%. Like anywhere else, working in the shadow of men is challenging for women in Artsakh, says Irina Mangasaryan, 48, the chief-of-staff at the office of the Security Council of Artsakh and one of the few women to hold a top bureaucratic position. Women in security, military, police and law enforcement, in particular, are traditionally underrepresented and underappreciated. Although many women are engaged in these state agencies, they are mainly entrusted with the work of middle and low ranks. Mangasaryan, a lawyer by profession with experience in government work, was appointed to this position after the war. Before the war, I could only see myself in education, culture, but not in security, explains the chief-of-staff, emphasizing that the most challenging part of her job is working with men subordinating her. Its not about womens leadership skills. We proved we can be multifunctional and deal with multitasking effectively. Its about the perception of the role of women in leadership positions by men, she states. War and conflict affect all women, irrespective of their profession, position and experience. Mangasaryan with her family, son and husband stayed in Artsakh during the 44-day war. When people were forced to flee to Armenia, I had the feeling I will not see them again, recollects 48-year-old Irina. However, Mangasaryan agrees with the general perception that women shook off the post-war paralysis more quickly than men, since women are more emotional, which enables them to deal with their trauma quicker and to adapt to new realities better than men, emphasizing that the soil, water and air in Artsakh, the land itself, are giving strength to move on. Dealing with post-war realities was also a tremendous challenge for Sirarpi Avagyan, a 33-year old musician, who teaches qanon (a traditional string instrument) at the Sayat Nova State Musical College in Stepanakert. It was a monumental task for a teacher to attract students back to the classroom for national music and culture lectures, given the trauma of war loss, explains Avagyan, adding that her students couldnt focus on education as many of them had lost relatives, their homes, all of their belongings. The musician helped her students to overcome the psychology of war loss, while dealing with the same pressure herself. As the armed hostilities began, she had to flee to Armenia, seeking a safer place for her three little kids: As we escaped, I could not imagine that I would ever take up my instrument again; I thought the world had ended, remembers Avagyan, explaining that qanon is about national music and culture. It took weeks for her to look at her instrument again. Now I value my instrument, my work and my attitude toward Armenian culture more than ever, says the qanon teacher with strong confidence. But not everyone shares her renewed appreciation. In the past months, numerous concerts, art exhibitions and other cultural events have been taking place in the capital Stepanakert and regional centers. After a long pause, cultural life is reviving in Artsakh and my students are less depressed, but the attitude toward traditional Armenian music is not growing. However, she is not giving up. She is leading by example to convince the younger generation of the beauty, relevance, and healing nature of Armenian national instruments and music. Art therapy is not about distraction: it can be a powerful way to express and work through pain. To relate to the trauma that her students have been undergoing, Avagyan decided to perform on stage for fallen heroes. Keeping Artsakh Armenian is the number one priority for Avagyan. We are always ready to die for our homeland, she says. But more important than that is to unite around our culture, our identity and to live for our homeland. For the people of Artsakh, that means living in the homeland, like they have for millennia. Despite all odds, women are leading that sacred mission. Originally published in the AGBU Magazine. To read the full article with photos, click here. By Anush Ghavalyan, Photos by Areg Balayan Attachments Nana Shakhnazaryan Armenian General Benevolent Union 2123196383 [email protected] Source: Armenian General Benevolent Union TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Axiom Real-Time Metrics ("Axiom"), a premier provider of unified eClinical solutions and services focused on small-to-medium life science organizations, will be exhibiting at Outsourcing in Clinical Trials Southern California 2022, September 28-29 in San Diego, CA. For this years program, delegates can attend two different streams: Clinical Operations & Outsourcing and Clinical Technology & Innovation. These streams will collectively aim to provide attendees with practical takeaways to enhance their clinical studies. The conference will bring together pharmaceutical and biotech experts to connect and explore solutions to current challenges associated with clinical trials. The ability to identify and react to trends in data is critical to successful conduct of clinical studies. The Single-Sign-On of Axiom Fusion eClinical Suites modules, like EDC, ePRO, eConsent, RTSM, Imaging etc., means access to those trends is immediate. And that results in informed and impactful decisions made much sooner than is the case when data has to be compared between disparate systems from multiple providers. At Axiom we are proud of our experience of using Fusions integrated platform to provide quality and value for our clients. And ultimately to help bring resulting therapies to patients much sooner, says Brian Dempster, VP Global Clinical Management. Andrew Schachter, Axioms Founder & CEO, commented that by the Sponsor owning the Data Relationship of the critical information needed to manage study decisions, key stakeholders can better manage the challenges and activities of simple to complex studies. Every time we are afforded the opportunity to show Sponsors a smarter and more informative approach to managing their studies, we are helping bring solutions to patients sooner. Axiom invites attendees to come visit the team at Booth 3 for a chat over coffee to discuss upcoming needs and how Axiom can help run your clinical trials easier, faster, and smarter. To register for this event, please visit: https://www.eventsonlineregister.com/tc-events/outsourcing-in-clinical-trials-southern-california-2022/ Learn more about Axioms Fusion eClinical Suite: https://www.axiommetrics.com/fusion-eclinical-suite/ About Axiom Real-Time MetricsAxiom is celebrating its 20th anniversary after delivering hundreds of studies in dozens of countries. Since its founding in 2001, Axiom has delivered data-driven, powerful, and cost-effective eClinical Solutions and Services dedicated to small-to-medium life science companies. Axiom Fusion eClinical Suite is the most adaptable, Unified Platform that serves as the Connected Hub for all your Clinical Trial and operational data and reporting. Choose from 15+ unified modules on a single platform: EDC, DM, RTSM/IRT, CTMS, Inventory Management, ePRO, eConsent, Patient Portal, AE/SAE Tracking, Safety Database, Central/Local Lab, Imaging Management, eTMF, and 24/7 Project and Clinical Data Reporting. We are an embedded partner dedicated to the success of your study, offering managed services such as: Data Management, On-Demand Data Analytics, Biostatistics, Clinical Management, eTMF Management and Pharmacovigilance.For more information, please visit https://www.axiommetrics.com PR Contact Nidhi Patel [email protected] +1 437.225.7676 Source: Axiom Real-Time Metrics Inc GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Appropos is excited to announce the launch of BrandKeep, a platform that allows retailers to organize all brand assets in one place, resulting in greater efficiency, clarity, and productivity. A recent survey asked retailers how they organize all of the assets they receive from brands. 60% of retailers said they used web browser bookmarks to organize their information. Over 20% of them said that they didn't have an organization method at all. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2020 there were 1,045,322 retail establishments in the United States. With many retailers working with 100+ brands, the issue of disorganization halts efficiency and makes it difficult for retailers to keep track of due dates, deadlines, and other brand resources. To help retailers solve this issue, BrandKeep enables store owners and buyers to stay organized across all of the brands they work with. The platform serves as a place where retailers can store each brand's workbooks, assets, contacts, links, forms, invoices, terms, and more in one central workspace. "I know I've got all my rep's information in [BrandKeep] from an email address, to a phone number, to the additional contacts at the brand, to the region, to the agency. Having a singular place for contact information or where my username and passwords are for a brand is powerful," explained BrandKeep beta user, Charlie Wise, Owner of The Mountaineer in Keene Valley, New York. "[With BrandKeep], everybody's going to store their brand-related information and assets in a consistent way, regardless of what they are buying or what their department encompasses," stated Wise. BrandKeep's features allow retailers to: Use Brand Cards to store every brand's workbooks, key assets, contacts, important links, terms, MAP policies, and more to store every brand's workbooks, key assets, contacts, important links, terms, MAP policies, and more Create Workspaces within Brand Cards to organize any way that works for you within Brand Cards to organize any way that works for you Automatically sort incoming assets into Brand Cards with KeepMail Easily import assets from Google Drive and Dropbox Invite employees into Teams and get more done with Tasks and get more done with Store brand assets with 1TB of storage "Everything we do revolves around ensuring retailer owners and buyers have a place to excel. That's why we designed BrandKeep to solve the real challenge of organization for real people," said BrandKeep's Founder and CEO, Jon Faber. "When talking with retailers, many of them are dealing with a large volume of information from brands and hundreds of brand assets given to them each season. This challenge is bringing the most friction to the buying process. Retailers need uniformity across all the brands they work with BrandKeep meets them there. We are excited for our launch and eager to continue enhancing the BrandKeep offering through working closely with retailers," explained Faber. To get organized and start boosting productivity for free, retailers can click here to get started. Contact Information: Jon Faber CEO, Appropos [email protected] 844-462-7776 Related Images Image 1: BrandKeep Where retail organizes This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment BrandKeep BrandKeep Source: BrandKeep TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xanadu Mines Ltd (ASX: XAM, TSX: XAM) (Xanadu or the Company) is pleased to announce initial trenching results from the 100% owned Red Mountain project located within the Dornogovi Province of southern Mongolia, approximately 420km southeast of Ulaanbaatar and 70km west of the provincial centre of Sainshand. Highlights Assays returned for 1,170m of the 6,500m trenching program at Red Mountain. Initial focus on Target 33 (T33) returned a broad zone of shallow gold mineralisation. Significant intercepts include OUTR109 with 66m @ 0.37g/t Au from 26m, including 18m @ 0.81g/t Au from 50m, including 10m @ 1.23g/t Au from 58m. OUTR109 results, combined with historic trenching results, define a 350m x 80m zone of highly anomalous gold, including a higher-grade core greater than 1g/t Au. Anomalous gold zone remains open to the west and a future drill program will test 50m below this zone in multiple sections. Trenching continues to test additional targets for surface gold and copper mineralisation across the 57m2 tenement. Xanadus Executive Chairman & Managing Director, Colin Moorhead said: We are encouraged by this solid start to the Red Mountain trenching program. Initial results from T33 outline a zone of strongly anomalous gold (greater than 0.2g/t Au) at surface that extends for 350m along strike and 80m wide, and within this zone is a higher-grade core (greater than 1g/t Au). We look forward to the remaining trenching assays, which will define our future drill program for Red Mountain. T33 Trenching Assays have been returned at T33 for approximately 1,170m of trenching over seven trenches, targeting an area of high-grade gold identified in previous trenching and drilling. Assay results returned broad zones of anomalous gold (Table 1 and Figure 1), associated with felsic intrusive and strong alteration. When combined with previous work at T33 1,2, these new results expand upon the previous broad, highly anomalous gold zone at surface to a current interpretation of approximately 350m long and 80m wide, including a higher-grade core greater than 1g/t Au. This anomalous gold zone remains open to the west and will be investigated through a drill program of stab holes designed to test approximately 50m below this zone in multiple sections. TABLE 1: Significant 2022 Trench Intercepts Red Mountain T33 (horizontal metres shown) Trench ID From (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) Cu (%) OUTR109 26 66 0.37 0.04 including 50 32 0.60 0.04 including 50 18 0.81 0.05 including 58 10 1.23 0.09 and 106 4 0.97 0.04 FIGURE 1: Red Mountain T33 trench locations and current & historical assay results.3, 4 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/18cdce5e-764f-43d3-b051-3fa6900cf471 2022 Red Mountain Exploration Program Xanadu is undertaking a disciplined and systematic exploration program, which includes: Detailed geological work, 3D geophysical and geochemical modelling; Trenching to test strike extent and develop drill targets; and Drill program focussed on shallow gold, silver and copper targets. This announcement reports trenching results from the initial 1,170 horizontal metres of a planned 6,500 metre program. The program is designed to test strike extent and develop targets for follow-up diamond drilling program. Surface trenching has proven to be a rapid and economic target definition approach prior to diamond drilling, and this program will include extensive trenching over several new, gold, silver and copper targets. About Red Mountain Xanadus Red Mountain porphyry copper-gold-silver project is located within the Dornogovi Province of southern Mongolia, approximately 420km southeast of Ulaanbaatar (Figure 2), and 70km west from the provincial centre of Sainshand. The project has a granted 30-year mining licence and comprises an underexplored porphyry district (covering approximately 57km). FIGURE 2: Location of Red Mountain in the South Gobi region of Mongolia https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/35b50d88-f2d8-4c95-9b45-d5330a557b60 Red Mountain mineralisation is associated with late-stage monzonite and quartz diorite porphyry dykes and stocks emplaced on the flanks of the Red Mountain Intrusive Complex (Figure 3). This consists of multiple co-genetic porphyry gold and copper centres, mineralised tourmaline breccia pipes, gold and copper base metal magnetite skarns and epithermal gold veins. Previous exploration at Red Mountain has defined several broad zones of strongly mineralised quartz stockwork veining associated with high-grade gold and increasing alteration strength, with the mineralisation style suggesting strong likelihood for depth extensions. FIGURE 3: Red Mountain Mining Licence, showing ground Landsat data, gold geochemistry and priority targets https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1f33fca2-afd0-4ee7-8bb3-b3f16e461982 Shallow gold-rich and silver-rich copper mineralisation has been identified in numerous zones, located within a 4.5km long and 300m wide prospective mineralisation zone. This mineralisation is primarily located in Bavuu, Stairy, Diorite, Target 33, Nowie and Stockwork (Figure 3). Broad spaced drilling has confirmed gold mineralisation is hosted by hematite-quartz veins with coarse visible gold, occurring as multiple stacked arrays. Veins are typically narrow, but very high-grade with gold assays ranging from 1 g/t to >30 g/t gold over widths of 0.5m to 1.5m. Mineralised veins are characterised by banded and crustiform quartz and abundant sulphides. All these features are commonly found in the lower boiling zone of epithermal system, where bonanza grades are expected. In addition to shallow, high-grade mineralisation, Red Mountain has potential for large-scale porphyry at depth. Highly anomalous geochemistry corresponds to broad zones of porphyry mineralisation from trenching, zoned porphyry alteration, overlapping with large-scale magnetic and gravity anomalies, representing a compelling string of very large porphyry targets over 6km strike (Figure 3). Initial deeper drilling in 2017 encountered 200-300m wide zones of porphyry style mineralisation at Target 10. About Xanadu Mines Xanadu is an ASX and TSX listed Exploration company operating in Mongolia. We give investors exposure to globally significant, large-scale copper-gold discoveries and low-cost inventory growth. Xanadu maintains a portfolio of exploration projects and remains one of the few junior explorers on the ASX or TSX who control a globally significant copper-gold deposit in our flagship project. For information on Xanadu visit: www.xanadumines.com Colin MoorheadExecutive Chairman & Managing DirectorXanadu Mines Ltd[email protected]+61 2 8280 7497This Announcement was authorised for release by Xanadus Executive Chairman & Managing Director. Appendix 1: Trenching Results Table 1: Trench Locations at T33 Trench ID Prospect East North RL Azimuth () Inc () Length (m) OUTR108 Target 33 373812 4938096 1068 175 -5 176.0 OUTR109 Target 33 373858 4938085 1063 173 -4 173.0 OUTR110 Target 33 374095 4938100 1050 178 -2 178.0 OUTR111 Target 33 374147 4938108 1067 179 -6 179.4 OUTR112 Target 33 374201 4938116 1063 180 -6 150.0 OUTR113 Target 33 374247 4938138 1060 179 -4 144.0 OUTR114 Target 33 374296 4938165 1054 179 -2 170.4 Table 2: Significant 2022 Trenching Intercepts from T33 Trench ID From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) Cu (%) OUTR108 10 36 26 0.20 0.06 including 16 30 14 0.32 0.05 and 46 62 16 0.20 0.21 and 72 116 44 0.16 0.07 OUTR109 26 92 66 0.37 0.04 including 50 82 32 0.60 0.04 including 50 68 18 0.81 0.05 including 58 68 10 1.23 0.09 and 106 110 4 0.97 0.04 OUTR110 10 18 8 0.13 0.06 and 80 86 6 0.12 0.03 and 100 116 16 0.10 0.08 and 130 140 10 0.16 0.01 and 156 160 4 0.15 0.04 OUTR111 54 72 18 0.17 0.07 OUTR113 110 126 16 0.11 0.02 OUTR114 10 16 6 0.12 0.06 Appendix 2: Statements and Disclaimers Competent Person Statements The information in this Announcement that relates to exploration results is based on information compiled by Dr Andrew Stewart, who is responsible for the exploration data, comments on exploration target sizes, QA/QC and geological interpretation and information. Dr Stewart, who is an employee of Xanadu and is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Geoscientists, has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity he is undertaking to qualify as the Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code, 2012) and the National Instrument 43-101. Dr Stewart consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on this information in the form and context in which it appears. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this Announcement, including information as to the future financial or operating performance of Xanadu and its projects may also include statements which are forwardlooking statements that may include, amongst other things, statements regarding targets, estimates and assumptions in respect of mineral reserves and mineral resources and anticipated grades and recovery rates, production and prices, recovery costs and results, capital expenditures and are or may be based on assumptions and estimates related to future technical, economic, market, political, social and other conditions. These forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Xanadu, are inherently subject to significant technical, business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results reflected in such forwardlooking statements. Xanadu disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly or release any revisions to any forwardlooking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, circumstances or results or otherwise after the date of this Announcement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, other than required by the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the Listing Rules of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The words believe, expect, anticipate, indicate, contemplate, target, plan, intends, continue, budget, estimate, may, will, schedule and similar expressions identify forwardlooking statements. All forwardlooking statements made in this Announcement are qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements. Investors are cautioned that forwardlooking statements are not guarantee of future performance and accordingly investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forwardlooking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. For further information please visit the Xanadu Mines Website at www.xanadumines.com. Appendix 3: Red Mountain Table 1 (JORC Code, 2012) Set out below is Section 1 and Section 2 of Table 1 under the JORC Code, 2012 for the Red Mountain project. Data provided by Xanadu. This Table 1 updates the JORC Table 1 disclosure dated 24 August 2022.5 1.1 JORC TABLE 1 - SECTION 1 - SAMPLING TECHNIQUES AND DATA Criteria Commentary Sampling techniques The exploration results are based on diamond drill core samples, reverse circulation ( RC ) chip samples and channel samples from surface trenches. ) chip samples and channel samples from surface trenches. Representative core samples were split from PQ, HQ & NQ diameter diamond drill core on site using rock saws, on a routine two metre sample interval that also honours lithological/intrusive contacts. The orientation of the cut line is controlled using the core orientation line ensuring uniformity of core splitting wherever the core has been successfully oriented. Sample intervals are defined and subsequently checked by geologists, and sample tags are attached (stapled) to the plastic core trays for every sample interval. RC chip samples are splits from 1m intervals using a 75%:25% riffle splitter to obtain a 3kg sample. RC samples are uniform 2m samples formed from the combination of two split 1m samples. Trench samples are collected as 2m composite from 30m above the trench toe. Sampling generally honours lithological contacts. Trench samples are continuous along the length of the trench Drilling techniques The exploration results are based upon diamond drilling of PQ, HQ and NQ diameters with both standard and triple tube core recovery configurations, RC drilling and surface trenching with channel sampling. All drill core drilled by Xanadu has been oriented using the Reflex Ace tool. Drill sample recovery Diamond drill core recoveries were assessed using the standard industry (best) practice which involves removing the core from core trays; reassembling multiple core runs in a v-rail; measuring core lengths with a tape measure, assessing recovery against core block depth measurements and recording any measured core loss for each core run. Diamond core recoveries average 97% through mineralisation. Overall, core quality is good, with minimal core loss. Where there is localised faulting and or fracturing core recoveries decrease, however, this is a very small percentage of the mineralised intersections. RC recoveries are measured using whole weight of each 1m intercept measured before splitting Analysis of recovery results vs grade shows no significant trends that might indicate sampling bias introduced by variable recovery in fault/fracture zones. Logging All drill core is geologically logged by well-trained geologists using a modified Anaconda-style logging system methodology. The Anaconda method of logging and mapping is specifically designed for porphyry Cu-Au mineral systems. Logging of lithology, alteration and mineralogy is intrinsically qualitative in nature. However, the logging is subsequently supported by 4 Acid ICP-MS (48 element) geochemistry and SWIR spectral mineralogy (facilitating semi-quantitative / calculated mineralogical, lithological and alteration classification) which is integrated with the logging to improve cross section interpretation and 3D geological model development. Drill core is also systematically logged for both geotechnical features and geological structures. Where drill core has been successfully oriented, the orientation of structures and geotechnical features are also routinely measured. Both wet and dry core photos are taken after core has been logged and marked-up but before drill core has been cut. Sub -sampling techniques and sample preparation All drill core samples are core splits from either PQ, HQ or NQ diameter cores. A routine 2m sample interval is used, but this is varied locally to honour lithological/intrusive contacts. The minimum allowed sample length is 30cm. Core is appropriately split (onsite) using diamond core saws with the cut line routinely located relative to the core orientation line (where present) to provide consistency of sample split selection. The diamond saws are regularly flushed with water to minimize potential contamination. A field duplicate core sample is collected every 30th sample to ensure the representivity of the in-situ material collected. The performance of these field duplicates is routinely analysed as part of Xanadus sample QC process. Routine sample preparation and analyses of DDH samples were carried out by ALS Mongolia LLC ( ALS Mongolia ), who operates an independent sample preparation and analytical laboratory in Ulaanbaatar. ), who operates an independent sample preparation and analytical laboratory in Ulaanbaatar. All samples were prepared to meet standard quality control procedures as follows: Crushed to 75% passing 2mm, split to 1kg, pulverised to 85% passing 200 mesh (75 microns) and split to 150g sample pulp. ALS Mongolia Geochemistry labs quality management system is certified to ISO 9001:2008. The sample support (sub-sample mass and comminution) is appropriate for the grainsize and Cu-Au distribution of the porphyry Cu-Au mineralization and associated host rocks. Trench samples by previous explorers between 2001 to 2007 were prepared and assayed by SGS Mongolia. Quality of assay data and laboratory tests All XAM samples were routinely assayed by ALS Mongolia for gold. Au is determined using a 25g fire assay fusion, cupelled to obtain a bead, and digested with Aqua Regia, followed by an atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) finish, with a lower detection limit ( LDL ) of 0.01 ppm. ) of 0.01 ppm. All samples were also submitted to ALS Mongolia for the 48-element package ME-ICP61 using a four-acid digest (considered to be an effective total digest for the elements relevant to the MRE). Where copper is over-range (>1% Cu), it is analysed by a second analytical technique (Cu-OG62), which has a higher upper detection limit ( UDL ) of 5% copper. ) of 5% copper. Quality assurance has been managed by insertion of appropriate Standards (1:30 samples - suitable Ore Research Pty Ltd certified standards), Blanks (1:30 samples), Duplicates (1:30 samples - core duplicate) by Xanadu. Assay results outside the optimal range for methods were re-analysed by appropriate methods. Ore Research Pty Ltd certified copper and gold standards have been implemented as a part of QC procedures, as well as coarse and pulp blanks, and certified matrix matched copper-gold standards. QC monitoring is an active and ongoing processes on batch-by-batch basis by which unacceptable results are re-assayed as soon as practicable. Prior to 2014: Cu, Ag, Pb, Zn, As and Mo were routinely determined using a three-acid-digestion of a 0.3g sub-sample followed by an AAS finish (AAS21R) at SGS Mongolia. Samples were digested with nitric, hydrochloric and perchloric acids to dryness before leaching with hydrochloric acid to dissolve soluble salts and made to 15ml volume with distilled water. The LDL for copper using this technique was 2ppm. Where copper was over-range (>1% Cu), it was analysed by a second analytical technique (AAS22S), which has a higher upper detection limit (UDL) of 5% copper. Gold analysis method was essentially unchanged. Trenching samples from 2001 to 2007 were analysed for 6 elements (Cu, Ag, Pb, Zn, As and Mo) by SGS Mongolia using a three-acid-digestion of a 0.3g sub-sample followed by an AAS finish (AAS21R). Samples were digested with nitric, hydrochloric and perchloric acids to dryness before leaching with hydrochloric acid to dissolve soluble salts and made to 15ml volume with distilled water. The LDL for copper using this technique was 2ppm. Where copper was over-range (>1% Cu), it was analysed by a second analytical technique (AAS22S), which has a higher upper detection limit (UDL) of 5% copper. Gold analysis method was essentially unchanged. Verification of sampling and assaying All assay data QA/QC is checked prior to loading into Xanadus Geobank data base. The data is managed by Xanadu geologists. The data base and geological interpretation is managed by Xanadu. Check assays are submitted to an umpire lab (SGS Mongolia) for duplicate analysis. No twinned drill holes exist. There have been no adjustments to any of the assay data. Location of data points Diamond drill holes have been surveyed with a differential global positioning system ( DGPS ) to within 10cm accuracy. ) to within 10cm accuracy. The grid system used for the project is UTM WGS-84 Zone 49N Historically, Eastman Kodak and Flexit electronic multi-shot downhole survey tools have been used at Red Mountain to collect down hole azimuth and inclination information for the majority of the diamond drill holes. Single shots were typically taken every 30m to 50m during the drilling process, and a multi-shot survey with readings every 3-5m are conducted at the completion of the drill hole. As these tools rely on the earths magnetic field to measure azimuth, there is some localised interference/inaccuracy introduced by the presence of magnetite in some parts of the Red Mountain mineral system. The extent of this interference cannot be quantified on a reading-by-reading basis. More recently (since September 2017), a north-seeking gyro has been employed by the drilling crews on site (rented and operated by the drilling contractor), providing accurate downhole orientation measurements unaffected by magnetic effects. Xanadu have a permanent calibration station setup for the gyro tool, which is routinely calibrated every 2 weeks (calibration records are maintained and were sighted). The project DTM is based on 1 m contours from satellite imagery with an accuracy of 0.1 m. Trenching locations for trenches between 2001 and 2007 were located using a handheld GPS. Data spacing and distribution Holes spacings range from Holes range from vertical to an inclination of -60 degrees depending on the attitude of the target and the drilling method. The data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish anomalism and targeting for porphyry Cu-Au, tourmaline breccia and epithermal target types. Holes have been drilled to a maximum of 1,300m vertical depth. The data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish geological and grade continuity. Orientation of data in relation to geological structure Drilling is conducted in a predominantly regular grid to allow unbiased interpretation and targeting. Scissor drilling, as well as some vertical and oblique drilling, has been used in key mineralised zones to achieve unbiased sampling of interpreted structures and mineralised zones, and in particular to assist in constraining the geometry of the mineralised hydrothermal tourmaline-sulphide breccia domains. Sample security Samples are delivered from the drill rig to the core shed twice daily and are never left unattended at the rig. Samples are dispatched from site in locked boxes transported on Xanadu company vehicles to ALS lab in Ulaanbaatar. Sample shipment receipt is signed off at the Laboratory with additional email confirmation of receipt. Samples are then stored at the lab and returned to a locked storage site. Audits or reviews Internal audits of sampling techniques and data management are undertaken on a regular basis, to ensure industry best practice is employed at all times. External reviews and audits have been conducted by the following groups: 2012: AMC Consultants Pty Ltd. was engaged to conduct an Independent Technical Report which reviewed drilling and sampling procedures. It was concluded that sampling and data record was to an appropriate standard. 2013: Mining Associates Ltd. was engaged to conduct an Independent Technical Report to review drilling, sampling techniques and QA/QC. Methods were found to conform to international best practice. 1.2 JORC TABLE 1 - SECTION 2 - REPORTING OF EXPLORATION RESULTS(Criteria in this section apply to all succeeding sections). Criteria Commentary Mineraltenementand landtenurestatus The Project comprises 1 Mining Licence (MV-17129A). Xanadu now owns 90% of Vantage LLC, the 100% owner of the Oyut Ulaan mining licence. The Mongolian Minerals Law (2006) and Mongolian Land Law (2002) govern exploration, mining and land use rights for the project. Explorationdone byother parties Previous exploration was conducted by Quincunx Ltd, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd and Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd including extensive drilling, surface geochemistry, geophysics, mapping. Geology The mineralisation is characterised as porphyry copper-gold type. Porphyry copper-gold deposits are formed from magmatic hydrothermal fluids typically associated with felsic intrusive stocks that have deposited metals as sulphides both within the intrusive and the intruded host rocks. Quartz stockwork veining is typically associated with sulphides occurring both within the quartz veinlets and disseminated thought out the wall rock. Porphyry deposits are typically large tonnage deposits ranging from low to high grade and are generally mined by large scale open pit or underground bulk mining methods. The deposits at Red Mountain are atypical in that they are associated with intermediate intrusions of diorite to quartz diorite composition; however, the deposits are in terms of contained gold significant, and similar gold-rich porphyry deposits. Drill holeInformation Diamond drill holes are the principal source of geological and grade data for the Project. See figures in this ASX/TSX Announcement. DataAggregation methods A nominal cut-off of 0.1% CuEq is used in copper dominant systems for identification of potentially significant intercepts for reporting purposes. Higher grade cut-offs are 0.3%, 0.6% and 1% CuEq. A nominal cut-off of 0.1g/t AuEq is used in gold dominant systems like for identification of potentially significant intercepts for reporting purposes. Higher grade cut-offs are 0.3g/t, 0.6g/t and 1g/t AuEq. Maximum contiguous dilution within each intercept is 9m for 0.1%, 0.3%, 0.6% and 1% CuEq. Most of the reported intercepts are shown in sufficient detail, including maxima and subintervals, to allow the reader to make an assessment of the balance of high and low grades in the intercept. Informing samples have been composited to two metre lengths honouring the geological domains and adjusted where necessary to ensure that no residual sample lengths have been excluded (best fit). The copper equivalent ( CuEq ) calculation represents the total metal value for each metal, multiplied by the conversion factor, summed and expressed in equivalent copper percentage with a metallurgical recovery factor applied. ) calculation represents the total metal value for each metal, multiplied by the conversion factor, summed and expressed in equivalent copper percentage with a metallurgical recovery factor applied. Copper equivalent (CuEq or eCu) grade values were calculated using the following formula: CuEq = Cu + Au * 0.62097 * 0.8235, Gold Equivalent (AuEq or eAu) grade values were calculated using the following formula: AuEq = Au + Cu / 0.62097 * 0.8235 Where: Cu = copper grade (%); Au = gold grade (g/t); 0.62097 = conversion factor (gold to copper); 0.8235 = relative recovery of gold to copper (82.35%) The copper equivalent formula was based on the following parameters (prices are in USD): Copper price = 3.1 $/lb (or 6834 $/t) Gold price = 1320 $/oz Copper recovery = 85% Gold recovery = 70% Relative recovery of gold to copper = 70% / 85% = 82.35%. Relationship between mineralisationon widthsand interceptlengths Mineralised structures are variable in orientation, and therefore drill orientations have been adjusted from place to place in order to allow intersection angles as close as possible to true widths. Exploration results have been reported as an interval with 'from' and 'to' stated in tables of significant economic intercepts. Tables clearly indicate that true widths will generally be narrower than those reported. Diagrams See figures in this ASX/TSX Announcement. BalancedReporting Exploration results have been reported at a range of cut-off grades, above a minimum suitable for open pit mining, and above a minimum suitable for underground mining. Othersubstantiveexplorationdata Extensive work in this area has been done and is reported separately. FurtherWork The mineralisation is open at depth and along strike. Current estimates are restricted to those expected to be reasonable for open pit mining. Limited drilling below this depth (-300m RL) shows widths and grades potentially suitable for underground extraction. Exploration ongoing. 1.3 JORC TABLE 1 - SECTION 3 ESTIMATION AND REPORTING OF MINERAL RESOURCES Mineral Resources are not reported so this is not applicable to this report. 1.4 JORC TABLE 1 - SECTION 4 ESTIMATION AND REPORTING OF ORE RESERVES Ore Reserves are not reported so this is not applicable to this report. 1 ASX Announcement 30 June 2016 - Further High-Grade Gold Intercepts at Oyut Ulaan2 ASX Announcement 28 June 2017 Oyut Ulaan Exploration Update: Strong Drill Results Across the District3 ASX Announcement 30 June 2016 - Further High-Grade Gold Intercepts at Oyut Ulaan4 ASX Announcement 28 June 2017 Oyut Ulaan Exploration Update: Strong Drill Results Across the District5 ASX/TSX Announcement 24 August 2022 Exploration Ramps Up at Red Mountain A PDF accompanying this announcement is available at: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/6825ff79-95de-4b6b-a4cd-e975c617cb60 Figure 1 Red Mountain T33 trench locations and current & historical assay results Figure 2 Location of Red Mountain in the South Gobi region of Mongolia Figure 3 Red Mountain Mining Licence, showing ground Landsat data, gold geochemistry and priority targets Source: Xanadu Mines Ltd. TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clear Blue Technologies International Inc. (Clear Blue and the Company) (TSXV: CBLU), the Smart Off-Grid Company, announces a $5 million grant from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). Clear Blue Technologies is part of a cohort of six innovative Canadian companies who were selected to receive a cumulative $18.7 million in funding today, following a process that began at the beginning of 2022. SDTC will release these funds to Clear Blue in equal installments over the next 3 years. This funding will allow Clear Blue to launch its recently announced Pico-Grid product line and accelerate the Companys market leadership in smart analytics via the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies. Pico-Grid, which was announced earlier in 2022, is expected to begin shipping in early 2023. This non-dilutive, non-interest-bearing funding grant from SDTC will drive Clear Blues research and development activities, especially as we incorporate our next level of smart analytics and machine learning features into our product suite, said Miriam Tuerk, co-founder and CEO of Clear Blue Technologies. We also plan to allocate some of the funding to launch our Smart Pico-Grid product, a revolutionary design for mission-critical Wi-Fi satellite and IoT applications. On behalf of Clear Blue, Id like to thank SDTC for their extensive analysis of our business and for selecting us for this generous funding, which will support us in bringing our innovative products to market. As many companies return to SDTC as they grow and scale, we are optimistic that this funding marks the beginning of a relationship, which could support our future growth projects. Companies have the ideas that will help solve some of our planets most pressing environmental problems, but they cannot do it alone. SDTC is proud to support innovative companies like Clear Blue Technologies on their journey towards commercializing their sustainable solution that global markets want and need. Leah Lawrence, President and CEO of SDTC Pico-Grid is a complete, smart off-grid power system that includes solar, batteries and smart controls that are fully managed remotely from Clear Blues operations centre. Integral to all Clear Blue products is enhancing power reliability by matching anticipated future energy generation to on-site loads. This is done through Clear Blues advanced data analytics and patented energy forecasting, which are provided to all customers as part of Clear Blues EaaS services. Its remote management and control technology allows Clear Blue to provide smaller, more cost-effective power systems while still meeting operators availability targets. In a recent collaboration with Meta, a study found that Smart Off-Grid lowers the upfront cost of telecom site power by 40%. This grant provided by the STDC will help Clear Blue accelerate its AI Machine Learning roadmap for this technology, which will help the Company to scale with continued market leadership. About Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) At SDTC, we support companies attempting to do extraordinary things. From initial funding to educational support and peer learning to market integration, we are invested in helping our small and medium-sized businesses grow into successful companies that employ Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We are relentlessly focused on supporting our companies to grow and scale in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The innovations we fund help solve some of the worlds most pressing environmental challenges: climate change, regeneration through the circular economy, and the well-being of humans in the communities they live in and the natural environment they interact with. For more information, visit https://www.sdtc.ca. About Clear Blue Technologies Clear Blue Technologies International, the Smart Off-Grid company, was founded on a vision of delivering clean, managed, wireless power to meet the global need for reliable, low-cost, solar and hybrid power for lighting, telecom, security, Internet of Things devices, and other mission-critical systems. Today, Clear Blue has thousands of systems under management across 37 countries, including the U.S. and Canada. (TSXV: CBLU) (FRA: 0YA) (OTCQB: CBUTF) Investor Relations:Miriam TuerkCo-Founder and CEO+1-416-433-3952[email protected]http://www.clearbluetechnologies.com/en/investors Nikhil ThadaniSophic Capital+1-437-836-9669[email protected] Legal Disclaimer Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statement This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" and/or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only Clear Blues beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Clear Blue'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 contained herein may include, but is not limited to, the future phases of funding or the future value of this funding for any mentioned parties. By identifying such information and statements in this manner, Clear Blue 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 Clear Blue to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements. An investment in securities of Clear Blue is speculative and subject to several risks including, without limitation, the risks discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Clear Blue's listing application dated July 12, 2018. Although Clear Blue has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. In connection with the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release, Clear Blue has made certain assumptions. Although Clear Blue 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. All subsequent written and oral forward- looking information and statements attributable to Clear Blue or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described in this news release. Such securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or any state securities laws, and, accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of persons in the United States or U.S. Persons, as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements. Source: Clear Blue Technologies International Inc. TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NetworkNewsWire -- DX3 is Canadas largest conference and trade show dedicated to retail, marketing and technology. After 11 highly successive years of events in Canada, DX3 and Web3Toronto are hosting the very first DX3 USA Retail, Marketing & Technology Summit in a virtual format on October 3-4, 2022. The one-of-a-kind event will focus on the relationship between marketing and technology to drive the success of retail businesses. The retail sector is undergoing a once-in-a-century transformation driven by the rising demand for tailored consumer experiences. As North Americas leading retail, marketing and tech event, DX3 offers a unique opportunity to attendees in the United States of America and beyond to unlock additional learning avenues, explore innovative strategies and discover the latest tools at the intersection of these three key areas. Post the pandemic, and following the seismic shift in consumer expectations, the evolution of the global retail sector has altered in a most unanticipated manner, resulting in fresh challenges and opportunities. No longer is retail strategy purely a function of the old adage, location, location, location, but it is instead tightly enmeshed with modern technological innovation. As a result, every aspect of the consumer chain, such as production, warehousing, distribution, payments, customer service and merchandising, is poised to be reinvented to drive growth, efficiency and transformation in the twenty-first century. The two-day event will focus on several key themes, including future trends in retail, the most promising sub-sectors, the changing role of marketing in building customer loyalty and consumer engagement, cultivating and optimizing a brand image, emerging technologies, the latest analytical methodologies and tools, and logistical challenges. The DX3 Retail Summit will focus on strategies deployed by top-tier retailers to succeed in todays rapidly changing environment and how they have adapted their approach to maximize reach and profitability. Attendees can engage with key speakers in various formats, including keynotes, fireside chats, panel discussions and innovation showcases. The insights-packed agenda will include a keynote by Paul Misener, VP, Global Innovation Policy and Communications at Amazon; Inside INDOCHINOs Omnichannel Growth Roadmap presented by Drew Green, CEO, President and Director at INDOCHINO; and Retail Global Growth Insights delivered by Jose Nino, VP, Global e-Commerce and Digital Strategy, U.S. Polo Assn among others. Panel Discussions will delve deeply into a variety of themes such as The Phygital World: Reinventing The In-Store Experience, Executive Excellence: Lessons from CEOs, Retail and the Metaverse, and Optimizing Growth in an Omnichannel Era. Sessions by senior leadership at DX3s elite partners at the DX3 Marketing and Innovation Summit will share their perspectives on the processes utilized by top marketers to cut through the noise and identify meaningful trends with a view to building highly successful brands and generating real impact through carefully designed campaigns. Among a roster of distinguished speakers and seasoned professionals, marquee names will include Robin Kovtiz, CEO, Baskitz; Mark Spencer, SVP, Commercial Operations, Jane; and Phillip Haid, Founder and CEO, Public Inc. Hosted panels will discuss wide-ranging issues, including Next-Gen Influencer Strategy; The Evolving Role of CMO; Focusing on Customer Retention and Loyalty; Agency 3.0; Fearless Female Entrepreneurs; Digital Marketing Trends: Experts Insights; and Experiential Marketing 101. Exciting technology companies will also pitch their latest solutions and share insights on future trends during dedicated Innovation Showcase sessions across both summits. DX3 alumni brands, including start-ups such as Shopify, have gone on to great success. As a platform for growth and new business generation, DX3 has catered to companies of all sizes, from fresh entrants to established players, and specializes in mid-sized retail businesses that earn $50 million - $500 million in revenue. The summit offers a unique opportunity to build a deeper understanding of the sectors, explore potential synergies, and discover the latest methodologies and futuristic technologies while cultivating a professional network of decision makers which is second to none. At DX3, 68% of registered attendees are above director level, representing the creme de la creme of decision-makers in these sectors. Past attendees have included senior officials from Adidas, Allstate, ALDO Group, Accenture, NFL, Best Buy, SONY, Chatime, Clorox, P&G and Coca Cola. DX3 offers a two-day, entirely virtual and thought-provoking event that will show attendees to survive and thrive in retail, marketing and tech in an increasingly competitive environment. Attendees will be able to listen to the invaluable knowledge of seasoned professionals and learn strategies that can be implemented rapidly in their organizations, along with tips to rethink their business models and offerings. To join in for this must-attend event, interested parties can register at https://www.dx3usa.com. Hurry and purchase your conference pass to enjoy full access to the virtual conference! Event Contact:Hifazat AhmadDX3 Canada(416) 597 5751[email protected] Corporate Communications: IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork)Los Angeles, Californiawww.InvestorBrandNetwork.com 310.299.1717 Office[email protected] Source: DX3 TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eagle Graphite Incorporated (TSXV: EGA) (the "Company", Eagle Graphite) has made an unsuccessful application to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) to approve a temporary management cease trade order ("MCTO") under National Policy 12-203 Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203"), which, if granted, would have prohibited trading in securities of the Company by its Chief Executive Officer and certain insiders of the Company so long as the Annual Filings (as defined below) remain outstanding. The issuance of an MCTO would generally not affect the ability of others to trade in the Company's securities. The Company made the application after determining that the Company is unlikely to meet the September 28, 2022 filing deadline (the "Filing Deadline") for its audited annual financial statements, the management's discussion and analysis and the related CEO and CFO certification relating to the May 31, 2022 financial statements (collectively, the "Annual Filings"). The Company anticipates that it will require no more than two additional months to complete the process and in any event will use its best efforts to complete the process as quickly as possible while upholding appropriate professional standards. While the Company remains confident in its ability to complete the Annual Filings, the OSC has rejected the MCTO application on the grounds that they are not of the view that there is an active, liquid market for the issuers securities. The Company was informed of the OSCs decision on September 27, 2022. As a consequence, the Company anticipates the imposition by the OSC of a Failure to File Cease Trade Order (FFCTO) at some point after the Filing Deadline has elapsed. Eagle Graphite announces the resignation of Directors Steven Brunelle, Robert Matter and Brian Bapty effective immediately. The Company thanks each of them for their years of loyal service. Jamie Deith remains as CEO and the sole Director. Jamie Deith comments, This is not the short-term outcome we were hoping for, and we are working to minimize the disruption for our shareholders. In the meantime, Eagle Graphite will continue pursuing our long term objectives as an key player in the graphite market. The world, and North America in particular, is potentially facing a serious shortage of graphite production capacity in the next few years. Eagle is one of the few companies with some prospect of addressing the shortfall. About Eagle Graphite Eagle Graphite owns the Black Crystal Graphite quarry, located 35 kilometres west of the city of Nelson in British Columbia, Canada, and 70 kilometres north of the state of Washington. Black Crystal is the only constructed graphite quarry with production history in Western North America. Eagle's shares are listed on the TSXV under the symbol "EGA". Cautionary Statements Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Such information is based on assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management in light of its experience, current conditions and its expectations of future developments as well as other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking information and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on such information. Although we believe, in light of the experience of our officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because we can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Readers should carefully consider various factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Statements in this release are made as of the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of the Company or its securities, its financial or operating results. 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. Jamie Deith, CEO 604-909-4247 Email: [email protected] Source: Eagle Graphite Incorporated The collaboration will utilize housing research and rent reporting data to address barriers to equitable housing and reduce the racial wealth gap HARLEM, N.Y., Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Esusu Financial Inc. today announced a new collaboration with Fannie Mae to help renters build credit by incorporating on-time rent payments into renter's credit scores as part of its strategy to advance equity in the housing market. Through this relationship, Fannie Mae will incentivize its borrowers to report on-time rental payments to the three major credit-reporting bureaus through Esusu's rent reporting platform. The platform will automatically unenroll renters when missed payments occur, preventing harm to those who struggle financially. Beginning today, Fannie Mae will cover the first full year of service fees for Esusus platform plus discounted fees thereafter for any borrower who enrolls. Together the program will help participating Multifamily property owners increase on-time rent collections, reduce evictions, and, most importantly, scale their Environmental Social Governance (ESG) efforts in a manner that is easily tracked and accretive. Fannie Mae is committed to implementing scalable solutions to help renters build their credit history and improve credit scores by providing access to its Multifamily Positive Rent Payment Reporting pilot program, said Michele Evans, Executive Vice President, Head of Multifamily, Fannie Mae. Working with Esusu, we hope to bolster equitable access to credit for individuals and families while adding value for owners and operators. Historically, rent doesn't support credit building in the same way a mortgage does, with fewer than 10% of renters seeing their on-time rental payment history reflected in their credit scores. This legacy model puts the approximately 44 million renting households in the United States at a significant disadvantage when building their credit profile, a major factor when seeking additional financing options. The reporting of a renters positive rent payments to credit bureaus has been shown to have a positive impact on credit scores, and for renters, with no established credit score, it could help them establish a credit history, said Jonathan Gross, Vice President Multifamily Strategy & Impact, Fannie Mae. Positive Rent Payment Reporting is available to Fannie Mae Multifamily property owners looking for ways to help their renters. Fannie Mae and Esusu share in their long-standing commitment to building a more equitable multifamily housing ecosystem and finding solutions to advance renter financial access and sustainable housing opportunities. Over the past year, we have seen what Esusus rent reporting platform can do for Related Affordable residents to help improve their financial health, said Jeffrey I. Brodsky, vice chairman of Related Companies. We are thrilled to have extended our partnership with this forward-thinking company to better serve all 50,000+ Related Affordable residents. Esusu and Fannie Mae share the common goal of bolstering diverse, successful, and equitable communities, said Samir Goel and Wemimo Abbey, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Esusu. Today, there are still systemic barriers to access for millions of people looking to create a pathway to financial stability. Working with Fannie Mae enables Esusu to create opportunity pathways for those who have historically been deemed credit invisible while also laying the foundation to access other financial instruments that contribute to generational wealth-building opportunities that come from good credit. Fannie Mae borrowers can learn more about enrolling with Esusu and how to gain closing cost benefits and discounts at Esusu Rent . About Esusu Esusu is the leading financial technology platform that leverages data solutions to empower residents and improve property performance. Esusu's rent reporting platform captures rental payment data and reports it to credit bureaus to boost credit scores. This allows renters to build and establish their credit scores while helping property owners mitigate against initiating evictions, powered by differentiated data and insights. Founded in 2018, Esusu reaches over 2.5 million rental units across all 50 states in the United States. Learn more at www.esusurent.com and follow us on Instagram @myesusu and on Twitter @getesusu. About Fannie Mae Fannie Mae advances equitable and sustainable access to homeownership and quality, affordable rental housing for millions of people across America. We enable the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and drive responsible innovation to make homebuying and renting easier, fairer, and more accessible. To learn more, visit: fanniemae.com . Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | Blog ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following a national search, the Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund (FEEA) has appointed Cynthia Robinson as its new executive director. Robinson joined FEEA on Sept. 12, 2022, bringing more than 20 years of organizational, program, and communications leadership experience in the nonprofit field. Most recently, for 3.5 years, she was president of the Robertson Foundation for Government, where she directed operations and business administration, strategic planning, grantmaking, communications, and stakeholder relations, focusing on public service leadership development and enhancing the federal workforce. Previously, for 13 years, Robinson was director of the Science & Technology Policy Fellowships at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, placing scientists and engineers in government to support evidence-informed policymaking across the executive, judicial, and legislative branches. There she oversaw federal contracting, budgeting and fiscal administration, program management, professional development training, marketing, and partnerships. "Ms. Robinson's broad range of expertise and success evolving and building organizational and program capacity, managing fellowships and scholarships, and partnering with federal agencies will benefit FEEA to expand our support for civil servants," said Robert Tobias, president of FEEA. "As she takes the helm, we set a course to increase opportunities for the federal employee community that we serve." "I am excited to continue my focus on support for public service and enriching the federal workforce," Robinson said. "It's an honor to lead an organization safeguarding the well-being of America's dedicated civil servants and their families, and assisting their educational advancement." Robinson also has volunteer leadership experience as a board member and advisor to numerous organizations, including the Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation, the Sea Education Association, and the Canadian Science Policy Fellowships. She holds a master's degree in urban and environmental policy from Tufts University, and a bachelor's degree in journalism from Boston University. FEEA is the only nonprofit organization devoted solely to providing federal employees and postal public servants with educational scholarships, disaster relief, and financial assistance in times of hardship. FEEA Child Care Services, Inc. (FCCS) is a small business subsidiary of FEEA that partners with federal agencies to administer Congressionally authorized childcare subsidy programs for civil servants. Robinson also now serves as the senior executive for FCCS. Contact Information: Robyn Kehoe Deputy Director [email protected] 202-554-0007 x104 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Source: Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund LAKEWOOD, Colo., Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FirstBank, one of the nations largest privately held banks with a focus on banking for good, announced that Chief Operating Officer (COO) of City Street Investors LLC and ChoLon Restaurant Concepts LLC has been appointed to its Board of Directors. Christopher Davis-Massey, who has an extensive financial and legal background, also serves on several boards, including: Craig Hospital Foundation, Colorado Restaurant Association and, formerly, Community First Foundation, the founding nonprofit behind Colorado Gives Day, a 24-hour online giving initiative sponsored by FirstBank. Were thrilled to welcome Christopher and his unparalleled experience to our Board of Directors, said FirstBank CEO Jim Reuter. Throughout his career, Christopher has made a sizable impression in Denver, and his business acumen will be invaluable in helping us continue to optimize our customer experience and provide impactful resources. His commitment to deserving causes also aligns deeply with FirstBanks mission, and were looking forward to his advisement. I really value how much FirstBank and its leadership has done to champion diversity, equity and inclusion over the years, said Davis-Massey. The notion of 'banking for good' resonates with me deeply, and I look forward to helping further enhance the companys strategic vision. As COO of City Street Investors LLC and ChoLon Restaurant Concepts, Davis-Massey helped grow ChoLons brands (LeRoux, YumCha, and ChoLon) throughout Denver. Hes also held several leadership positions in banking, finance, legal operations and accounting. Davis-Massey has a juris doctorate from the University of Denver as well as a Master of Laws (LL.M), and a bachelors degree in business and economics from Western Washington University. About FirstBank FirstBank began providing banking services in 1963. Today, its known as an industry leader in digital banking and has grown to be one of the largest privately held banks in the United States, maintaining more than $28 billion in assets and 100 branch locations across Colorado, Arizona and California. FirstBank offers a variety of consumer deposit accounts, home equity loans, mortgages, rental property loans and a full range of commercial banking services, including business financing, commercial real estate loans, treasury management and more. Since 2000, FirstBank has been recognized as a top corporate philanthropist, contributing nearly $80 million and thousands of volunteer hours to charitable organizations. The company is also unique in that a large portion of its stock is owned by management and employees, giving employees a financial stake in the banks success through its Employee Stock Ownership Program. For more information, visit www.efirstbank.com. MEMBER FDIC Media ContactChandra Brin303.235.1402[email protected] Source: FirstBank Holland, MI, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Oct. 4, 2022, Focus on the Family and the Colson Center will host a Lighthouse Voices event at Hope College, in Holland, MI, featuring keynote speaker Alexandra DeSanctis. DeSanctis, co-author of Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing, will discuss how legalized abortion has harmed women, torn families apart and threatened the building blocks of our culture. Colson Center President John Stonestreet will moderate a Q&A with DeSanctis following her remarks. For Christians, simply closing our eyes and plugging our ears is not an option, says Stonestreet. We need to discern between what is noisy and what ultimately matters. Lighthouse Voices is designed to encourage discussions about difficult and complex issues facing society today by hosting speakers who explore hot-button topics from a biblical perspective. Previous speakers have included Dr. Kathy Koch, Dr. Anthony Bradley, and Katy Faust who have touched on topics ranging from raising children with biblical character to what young men need to be successful in life. Together, Focus on the Family and the Colson Center offer attendees of Lighthouse Voices a deeper level of understanding about issues that matter most today, focusing on confusing and controversial intersections of family and culture in our society. Lighthouse Voices will take place at Dimnent Memorial Chapel at 7 p.m. ET on the campus of Hope College. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. ET. Focus on the Family will also host a book signing with DeSanctis at Family Central Bookstore in Holland from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. ET. More information can be found here. For additional information or questions, email [email protected]. ### Alyssa Shikles Focus on the Family [email protected] Source: Focus on the Family DENVER, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Health eCareers, North America's leading recruitment and career network serving healthcare professionals, employers, and associations, announced today it has partnered with TopResume, the world's premier resume and Curriculum Vitae (CV) writing service. Through this new partnership, job seekers will have access to complimentary resume reviews as well as professional writing packages for resumes, CVs, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles. And Health eCareers is the only career network dedicated to healthcare professionals to offer TopResume's expert CV writing services. "We are excited to partner with TopResume to provide job seekers access to the highest-quality resume- and CV-review and writing services," said Health eCareers managing director Greg Chang. "In addition to discovering the best career opportunities through Health eCareers extensive job network with the nation's top employers, healthcare professionals can now better position themselves for the best roles across the industry by tailoring their resume or CV with expertise from TopResume." TopResume has written and analyzed millions of resumes, CVs, and LinkedIn profiles leveraging their network of professional writers. Combined with feedback from resume-scanning software that analyzes keywords and formatting similar to employers' applicant tracking systems (ATS) TopResume helps job seekers to optimize their resumes and CVs for maximum effectiveness. "Landing your dream job comes down to uncovering the right opportunity and having an unparalleled resume or CV. On average, people who use TopResume's professional writing services greatly improve their chances of landing more interviews," said Todd Goldstein, executive vice president, global partnerships for Talent Inc., the parent company of TopResume. "We are excited to partner with Health eCareers to serve healthcare professionals in achieving their career goals." To learn more and take advantage of the new services, visit healthecareers.com/resumes. ### About Health eCareers Health eCareers brings together physicians, surgeons, nurses, nurse practitioners, PAs, and CRNAs with jobs and career resources in every medical specialty. With thousands of healthcare employers across the United States, and an exclusive network of premier healthcare associations and community partners, Health eCareers supports qualified healthcare providers in finding opportunities with employers that are looking for top talent. To learn more, visit healthecareers.com, or find them on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Health eCareers is part of the Everyday Health Group. About TopResume TopResume, a Talent Inc. company, is the world's premier resume-writing service, analyzing millions of resumes and LinkedIn profiles each year. Job seekers work directly with professional writers and industry experts to redefine their personal brand and stand out from the crowd during the job-search process. Follow TopResume on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram and visit TopResume to request a free confidential resume review. Contact Information: Christine Burke Marketing Director [email protected] This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Source: Health eCareers Board of Directors appoint Dan Smith, Chief Financial Officer as interim CEO Eugene, OR, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eugene, OR September 27, 2022 Holt International Childrens Services announced today the Board of Directors has accepted the resignation of Phil Littleton as President & CEO, effective September 30, 2022. The Board has appointed Dan Smith, Holts Chief Financial Officer, as interim CEO effective October 1, 2022. The board will begin a search for a permanent CEO shortly. It is with heavy hearts that we accept Phils resignation after 18 years of service, said Margaret Fitch-Hauser, Board Chair. Phil has dedicated many years of hard work to this organization, furthering the impact of our services to many across the globe we are thankful for our time with Phil and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors. During his tenure at Holt, Littleton successfully expanded international operations into 15 countries, including the U.S., and increased Holts global reach in recent years to impact the lives of more than one million children, family members and other individuals around the world. He led efforts to launch Holt sponsorship programs for children and families worldwide. For the most recent fiscal year ending 9/30/2021, Holts total revenues exceeded $32 million. In his role as CEO, he identified a clear vision, provided strong leadership, and modeled a commitment to those served by Holt International. In his time as CEO, Phil also led the organization in the acquisition and merger of several well-respected child welfare organizations, leading to the expansion of Holts social service work including domestic adoption in the U.S. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve Holt said Littleton. Im proud of how the organization has expanded its services well beyond adoption to keep families together and to care for children in their home countries through our sponsorship programs. I am grateful for all of the hard work and contributions of Holt's staff, partners and donors. I am also confident the organization will continue to grow and thrive well into the future. The organization will remain in familiar and steady hands under the stewardship of interim CEO, Dan Smith. Smith currently serves as the organizations Chief Financial Officer and is a seasoned executive known for successfully integrating people, processes, and technology for mission-service organizations. Before becoming the CFO and VP of finance and administration at Holt, Dan worked for 12 years in the corporate sector followed by four years in Tanzania serving as a missionary where he was finance director for the Lutheran Mission Cooperation. After returning to the U.S., Dan has served as VP of finance and administration and CFO of an adoption and international child welfare agency, as CAO of a behavioral health organization, and as CFO of a home care, public health and hospice agency. Dan and his wife have three adult children, the youngest of whom was adopted from China. For more information about Holt International programs and services, visit holtinternational.org. About Holt International Holt International is a Christian organization that provides care and support to many of the world's most vulnerable children those who are orphaned, abandoned or at serious risk of separation from their family. We work in local communities around the world and strive to keep children in their families of birth by providing the care and support they need to grow and thrive as a family. For children who do not remain with their birth families, we help find loving families through adoption, foster and kinship care. Attachment TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd. (TSX-V: MON) (Montero or the Company) has received a positive report from Fathom Geophysics (Fathom) from the analysis of geochemical data on the Avispa property. The report entitled 3D footprint Modelling at Avispa has generated a 3D conceptual target indicating the possible location of porphyry copper molybdenum mineralization at depth. Company geologists collected reverse circulation (RC) drill chip piles from drilling sites believed to have been completed by BHP and Quantum Pacific Exploration Chile (Quantum) on the Avispa property (Figure 1). Some samples returned anomalous copper (>100 ppm Cu) and molybdenum (> 10 ppm Mo) values as previously reported (PR138 August 23, 2022) (Figure 2). Avispa is located 40 km to the west of the Chuquicamata copper porphyry deposit and is situated within the defined north-south trending PalaeoceneEocene Cu-Mo porphyry belt and 40 km north of BHPs Spence Cu-Mo mine and KGHM/South32s Sierra Gorda Cu-Mo mine. The drilling chip geochemical dataset from an area of close spaced drill holes was analysed by Fathom using proprietary software comparing it to idealised models of mineralized porphyry systems. The results show a significant coincident target modelled under the central part of the area that was processed (Figure 3). The success of the targeting has encouraged the Company to use the Fathom analysis on other areas of the Avispa property. RC drill hole samples obtained from the rest of the property and lithological samples obtained from the San Salvador River valley provide an additional dataset for analysis by Fathom. Fathoms analysis has been successfully used to identify existing porphyry mineralization systems at depth such those explored by Solgold in Ecuador (Solgold,13 August, 2020). Dr. Tony Harwood, President and Chief Executive Officer of Montero commented: Independent modelling carried out using Fathoms proprietary processing technology on geochemical samples, taken from drill chip piles at surface, have generated a significant copper molybdenum drill target area at depth. Avispa is being investigated for its potential to host a significant copper molybdenum porphyry deposit at depth and near other near surface deposits. The Company continues to evaluate other areas on the Property. Figure 1: Location map of BHP (red) and Quantum (yellow) RC drill chip sampling sites is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ab52c621-d2c1-4b9f-bc62-dd07b071c1b7 Figure 2: Location map of anomalous Cu and Mo from RC drill chip sampling program is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5f181c40-fe39-40e4-af16-40553197bf6d The Fathom study was commissioned to take advantage of an independently produced, model driven approach to targeting porphyries and associated mineralization. The results of Fathoms modeling show a significant and coincident three-dimensional porphyry mineralization target as shown in Figure 3. The Fathom report states that this target scores high enough to merit follow-up work. Figure 3: Plan image of the iso-surface results of Cu Mo porphyry target generated by Fathom at Avispa is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/18806b0f-05de-4a20-98d5-836b0906673e The Company is evaluating other targets at Avispa with Fathom to define potential porphyry drill targets. The results of this work are expected in Quarter 4, 2022 and will be integrated into a drill targeting program. About Fathom Geophysics Fathom provides geophysical and geoscience data processing and targeting services to the minerals and petroleum exploration industries, from the regional scale through to the near-mine deposit scale. Fathom offers automated data processing, automated exploration targeting, and the ability to tailor-make data processing applications. Fathoms automated processing is augmented by expert geoscience knowledge drawn from in-house staff and from details relayed by project clients. Qualified Person's Statement This press release was reviewed and approved by Mr. Mike Evans, M.Sc. Pr.Sci.Nat. and Sr. Marcial Vergara B.Sc. Geology who are qualified persons for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101. Sr Vergara is based in Santiago and has more than 30 years experience in copper exploration experience in Chile. About MonteroMontero is a junior exploration company focused on finding, exploring, and advancing globally significant gold, silver, and base metal deposits in Chile. Monteros board of directors and management have an impressive track record of successfully discovering and advancing precious metal and copper projects. Montero trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol MON and has 38,647,485 shares outstanding. For more information, contact:Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd. Dr. Tony Harwood, President and Chief Executive OfficerE-mail: [email protected] Tel: +1 416 840 9197 | Fax: +1 866 688 4671www.monteromining.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements, projections and estimates with respect to the Share Consolidation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. Such information is based on information currently available to Montero and Montero provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking information by its very nature involves inherent risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of Montero to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Actual results relating to, among other things, completion of the agreement, results of exploration, project development, reclamation and capital costs of Monteros mineral properties, and financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: an inability to complete the agreement on the terms as announced or at all; changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for minerals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological and operational difficulties encountered in connection with Monteros activities; and other matters discussed in this news release and in filings made with securities regulators. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of Monteros forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Montero does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Figure 1 Location map of BHP (red) and Quantum (yellow) RC drill chip sampling sites. Figure 2 Location map of anomalous Cu and Mo from RC drill chip sampling program. Figure 3 Plan image of the iso-surface results of Cu Mo porphyry target generated by Fathom at Avispa. Source: Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd. MONTREAL, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MONARCH MINING CORPORATION (Monarch or the Corporation) (TSX: GBAR) (OTCQX: GBARF) reports today that it has suspended its operations at the Beaufor Mine due to financial and operational challenges. The mine will be put on care and maintenance for an undetermined period. As reported on August 31, the slower ramp-up of the Beacon mill following a number of mechanical and procurement issues, as well as problems with the grade reconciliation of the material stockpiled, caused cash restrictions and forced the Corporation to slow down its mining activities at Beaufor. Following a review of its operations, the Corporation received confirmation of continuing significant discrepancies between the reported grade of the material mined at Beaufor and the grade of material processed at the Beacon Mill, which is causing continued lower cash flow from operations than expected and generating insufficient funds for the Corporation to continue its operations. The Corporation intends to continue to process the estimated stockpile of 20,000 tonnes to generate funds prior to placing the Beacon Mill on care and maintenance. In addition, the Corporation is planning to start a complete review of identified issues, including stockpile management and its mining methods in finding solutions to resolve the dilution issues. The Corporation has started a strategic review of its assets and operations. Monarch is currently working closely with its lenders, suppliers, customers and potential investors to develop a strategy to fund its activities. The decision taken today by the Board and management was after careful consideration of all available information from the mine and mill operations, and the Corporation current and projected financial situation. We understand that this situation is difficult for our shareholders, employees and stakeholders, said Jean-Marc Lacoste, President and Chief Executive Officer of Monarch. We will continue to work towards resolving the present situation at the operations while seeking strategic and financial alternatives to maximize stakeholder value. About MonarchMonarch Mining Corporation (TSX: GBAR) (OTCQX: GBARF) is a fully integrated mining company that owns four projects, including the Beaufor Mine, which has produced more than 1 million ounces of gold over the last 30 years. Other assets include the Croinor Gold, McKenzie Break and Swanson properties, all located near Monarchs wholly owned 750 tpd Beacon Mill. Monarch owns 29,504 hectares (295 km2) of mining assets in the prolific Abitibi mining camp that host a combined measured and indicated gold resource of 666,882 ounces and a combined inferred resource of 423,193 ounces. Forward-looking statements Some of the statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking information" as defined under applicable securities laws. All information contained in this news release, other than statements of current and historical fact, is forward-looking information. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects, budget, guidance, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, strategy, target, intends, objective, goal, understands, anticipates and believes (and variations of these or similar words) and statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, should, might occur or be achieved or will be taken (and variations of these or similar expressions). All of the forward-looking information in this news release is qualified by this cautionary note. Forward-looking information is not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events. These statements reflect Monarchs current expectations of future revenues and business prospects and opportunities and are based on information currently available to Monarch. Monarch cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond its control, and that future events and results may vary substantially from what Monarch currently foresees. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties described in Monarchs annual information form filed with the Canadian Securities regulators on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) on December 1, 2021. Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted herein including but not limited to: timing and anticipated cost of care and maintenance activities at the Beaufor Mine, inherent hazards associated with the operation and closure of mining projects, volatility in financial markets or general economic conditions; capital requirements and the need for additional financing, unanticipated changes in production, mineral reserves and mineral resources and the related grades, metallurgical recoveries and loss of key personnel. Although Monarch has attempted to identify important factors that could cause its actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, there are other business risks and hazards associated with mineral exploration, development and mining that cause its results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Although Monarch believes that the forward-looking information contained herein is based on reasonable assumptions (including assumptions relating to economic, market and political conditions, requirements readers cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with such statements. Monarch expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information in this news release, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jean-Marc LacostePresident and Chief Executive Officer 1-888-994-4465 [email protected] Mathieu SeguinVice President, Corporate Development 1-888-994-4465 [email protected] www.monarchmining.com Table 1: Monarch combined gold resources Mineral resource estimates Tonnes(metric) Grade (g/t Au) Ounces Beaufor Mine1 Measured Resources 328,500 5.7 59,900 Indicated Resources 956,400 5.2 159,300 Total Measured and Indicated 1,284,900 5.3 219,200 Total Inferred 818,900 4.7 122,500 Croinor Gold2 Measured Resources 97,700 6.24 19,600 Indicated Resources 805,900 6.50 168,300 Total Measured and Indicated 903,600 6.47 187,900 Total Inferred 200,100 6.19 39,800 McKenzie Break3 In-pit Total Indicated 1,441,377 1.80 83,305 Total Inferred 2,243,562 1.44 104,038 Underground Total Indicated 387,720 5.03 62,677 Total Inferred 1,083,503 4.21 146,555 Swanson4 In-pit Total Indicated 1,864,000 1.76 105,400 Total Inferred 29,000 2.46 2,300 Underground Total Indicated 91,000 2.86 8,400 Total Inferred 87,000 2.87 8,000 TOTAL COMBINED5Measured and Indicated ResourcesInferred Resources 666,882423,193 1 Source: NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate for the Beaufor Mine Project, October 13, 2021, Val-dOr, Quebec, Canada, Charlotte Athurion, P. Geo., Pierre-Luc Richard, P. Geo., and Dario Evangelista, P. Eng., BBA Inc. 2 Source: NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate for the Croinor Gold Project, June 17, 2022, Val-dOr, Quebec, Canada, Olivier Vadnais-Leblanc, P.Geo., Carl Pelletier, P.Geo. and Eric Lecomte, P.Eng., InnovExplo Inc.3 Source: NI 43-101 Technical Evaluation Report on the McKenzie Break Property, October 14, 2021, Val-dOr, Quebec, Canada, Alain-Jean Beauregard, P.Geo., Daniel Gaudreault, P.Eng., of Geologica Groupe-Conseil Inc., and Merouane Rachidi, P.Geo., Claude Duplessis, P.Eng., of GoldMinds GeoServices Inc.4 Source: NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate for the Swanson Project, January 22, 2021, Val-dOr, Quebec, Canada, Christine Beausoleil, P. Geo. and Alain Carrier, P. Geo., InnovExplo Inc.5 Numbers may not add due to rounding. Source: Monarch Mining Corporation STERLING, Va., Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mvix, a leading provider of enterprise digital signage solutions, has established itself as the preferred provider of display and smart digital signage software for U.S. Courts with Courtroom Docket Displays. With the growing demand for automated, streamlined communication infrastructure, local, state, and federal government institutions continue to adopt the Mvix solution to minimize operational costs and confusion. State and local governments have acknowledged the need for forward-looking technologies to keep clerks safe and operational costs down with the influx of cases after the pandemic. According to the United States Courts' Court Operations and Pandemic Response Annual Report, "...assisting federal courts with the recovery from the many difficult months of pandemic-related constraints on operations was a major focus for the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts." With the expected uptick in traffic, digital signage has become the preferred solution for directing visitors throughout the courtroom process efficiently. Courtroom Docket Displays are offered through Mvix's digital signage software, Mvix CMS, and entail harmoniously-designed displays providing pertinent case information. Visitors can discover case numbers, proceeding judges, attorneys, and case details such as location and time on interactive and non-interactive displays. Speedy adoption of this solution is not only in part to the enhancement of overall navigation, but also to cost of implementation and management. "Mvix continues its track record of innovative solutions with our Court Docket displays concept," said Dan Mersberger, Manager of Client Relations at Mvix. "By providing a simple solution that automates docket information, courthouses can focus on time-sensitive tasks in order to keep our communities safe and organized." Courtroom Docket Displays offer more than guidance to visitors. Additionally, it provides peace of mind in finding their destination and allocates more thought to the purpose of their visit. With placement in easy-to-view locations, staff can focus on delicate and critical tasks while security can reduce check-in wait lines with minimal interruption. As Mvix continues to develop industry-leading products aimed at fueling client success, U.S. courts have chosen them as their preferred provider for digital signage and software needs. Courtroom Docket Displays are now available for new and existing clients. Additional premium content apps to enhance the courtroom experience are also available, including Audio Announcements and CAP Alerts. To learn more about premium content apps for government institutions, contact a Mvix Solutions Consultant at 866.310.4923. About Mvix Mvix is a leading digital signage provider specializing in full-service enterprise solutions backed by its award-winning digital signage software. Over 60,000 displays across 30 countries utilize Mvix solutions for their visual communication strategy. For more information, contact Mvix at 866.310.4923 or visit www.mvix.com. Contact Information: Necole Jackson Digital Content Strategist [email protected] 866.310.4923 Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Featured Image for Mvix Digital Signage Featured Image for Mvix Digital Signage Source: Mvix Digital Signage New hire brings extensive experience in modernizing sales organizations and developing digital sales channels 27 September 2022 Dallas, Texas - Nokia today announced that Shaun McCarthy has joined the company as President of North America Sales. Shaun will be responsible for leading all aspects of sales across the US and Canada, accelerating revenue growth, and helping customers to adopt transformative networking technologies that enable the next phase of digitization. Shaun will report directly to Chief Customer Experience Officer Ricky Corker. Shaun brings more than 20 years of experience leading sales teams and driving go-to-market strategies in the telecom, hyperscale, and technology industries. He joins Nokia from Cisco where he was vice president of worldwide sales for the Mass-Scale Infrastructure Group. At Cisco, he was instrumental in building a world-class sales team, leading multiple strategic M&A activities, and incubating new solutions with lighthouse customers. He has also served in several leadership roles at a number of Silicon Valley companies, including Palo Alto Networks, Brocade, and Vyatta. As President of North America Sales, Shauns mission will be to help Nokias customers build innovative new revenue generating services, grow existing revenue streams, and reduce their costs. Shauns sales team will lead customers through major architectural evolutions, including the transition to 5G, broadband modernization, and the deployment of private wireless solutions across industries. Ricky Corker, Chief Customer Experience Officer of Nokia, said: I am delighted to welcome Shaun to lead the North America sales team. Shaun has a proven track record of leading successful teams, building long-term relationships with customers, and helping customers in their digital transformation journeys. His extensive experience in modernizing sales organizations will ensure that we are engaging customers in new and interesting ways. Shaun McCarthy, President of North America Sales at Nokia, said: Its an incredibly exciting time to join Nokia. Nokias end-to-end networking portfolio is firing on all cyclinders, the opportunities to help customers modernize their operations and accelerate growth are plentiful, and the time to close the digital divide is now. In North America, we need to create ubiquitous access to todays digital world, and no company is better positioned than Nokia to enable innovative, high speed, reliable, and affordable broadband access across rural and urban communities. Nokia is supplying 5G technologies across its portfolio to the major service providers and leading operators, as well as hyperscalers, enterprises, and government organizations in the US. Nokia provides the critical networks the US counts on with decades of experience and investment in US infrastrucutre. The company has an unrivalled track record of innovation in the US, including Nokia Bell Labs, which pioneered many of the fundamental technologies that are being used to develop 5G and fiber broadband standards. Today, more than 90 percent of the US population is connected by Nokia network solutions while seven out of 10 fiber homes in the US are connected using Nokia fixed network equipment. 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. Media Inquiries: NokiaCommunicationsEmail: [email protected] Source: Nokia Oyj Nykodes vaccine candidate boosted Spike-specific T cell responses and induced de novo T cell responses to non-Spike antigens found across SARS-CoV-2 variants Nykodes Vaccibody technology combined with immunogenic T cell epitopes selected by Adaptive Biotechnologies generated broad and CD8 dominated T cell responses post-vaccination Nykodes vaccine candidate was safe and well-tolerated at all three dose levels OSLO, Norway, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nykode Therapeutics ASA (OSE: NYKD), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel immunotherapies, today announced positive clinical results from the Phase 1/2 open label, dose escalation trial of Nykodes T cell focused pan-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate (VB10.2210) in healthy individuals who were previously vaccinated with an approved mRNA vaccine. T cell responses were analyzed by ex vivo ELISpot up until day 35. VB10.2210 induced broad and strong T cell responses, dominated by killer CD8 T cells, against both Spike- and non-Spike antigens. It was safe and well-tolerated at all three dose levels. Approved vaccines are based on Spike, a protein subject to high immune selection pressure and mutation frequency. By contrast, VB10.2210 is designed to induce T cell responses against epitopes from seven additional antigens that are highly conserved across previous and existing SARS-CoV-2 variants. Nykodes candidate is therefore expected to retain efficacy independent of future Spike mutations and would not need to be updated for future variants of concern. The results successfully demonstrate proof of concept of Nykodes Vaccibody platforms ability to induce a powerful immune response by delivering selected antigens to Antigen Presenting Cells, stated Klaus Edvardsen, Chief Development Officer of Nykode Therapeutics. Importantly, our vaccine, which incorporates T cell epitopes selected by Adaptive Biotechnologies, induced killer CD8 T cell responses against non-Spike antigens conserved across all major variants of concern, in addition to generating a broad and strong T cell response to the Spike antigen in healthy individuals. Further, the trial supports the favorable safety profile of our Vaccibody technology as observed in previous trials. I am very excited with these results, which also demonstrate the value of our strategic partnership with Adaptive and the synergistic potential of our technologies in the clinic, said Michael Engsig, Chief Executive Officer of Nykode Therapeutics. We will further assess the evolution of the pandemic and the overall regulatory environment in order to determine the next steps for VB10.2210. Beyond COVID, and based on the successful proof of concept results, we are now exploring additional opportunities to encode Adaptive discovered T cell epitopes in Nykodes technology with the potential to treat other diseases with high unmet medical need. The open label Phase 1/2 trial, VB-D-01 (NCT05069623), is a two-arm trial to evaluate the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of VB10.2210 in healthy, previously vaccinated individuals. 34 participants were enrolled and received at least one dose of VB10.2210 and 24 participants across the three dose levels were evaluable for immunogenicity analysis. The vaccine candidate VB10.2210 encodes both Spike- and non-Spike T cell epitopes, identified and validated by Adaptive Biotechnologies. The immune response was assessed using five different peptide pools including the relevant epitopes from each of the following antigens: Spike, Membrane Glycoprotein (M), Nucleocapsid Protein (N), Orf1ab+Orf3+Orf10 and Orf7. Highlights The vaccine candidate VB10.2210 induced de novo T cell responses to all four non-Spike antigens conserved across SARS-CoV-2 variants The vaccine candidate boosted a strong Spike response The responses were dominated by killer CD8 T cells in all subjects The vaccine candidate was safe and well-tolerated at all three dose levels Additional informationFurther information will be available in a slide presentation in the Investors section of the Companys website at https://nykode.com/investors/financial-reports-and-presentations. About VB10.2210VB10.2210 is a T cell focused vaccine candidate, encoding 96 clinically validated T cell epitopes spanning a total of eight SARS-CoV-2 proteins, including Spike. These Spike- and non-Spike T cell epitopes have been identified and validated by Adaptive Biotechnologies using their immune medicine platform. VB10.2210 is designed to prime T cells, potentially generating a broad immune response against current and future variants. About Nykode TherapeuticsNykode Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Nykodes modular vaccine technology specifically targets antigens to Antigen Presenting Cells, which are essential for inducing rapid, strong and long-lasting antigen specific immune responses and eliciting efficacious clinical responses. Nykodes lead product candidates are VB10.16, a therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of human papilloma virus (HPV)-16 induced malignancies which demonstrated positive interim efficacy and safety results from its Phase 2 trial for the treatment of cervical cancer; and VB10.NEO, an individualized cancer neoantigen vaccine, which is exclusively out-licensed to Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, and is in Phase 1b for the treatment of locally advanced and metastatic tumors and Phase 1/2a for the treatment of melanoma, lung-, head and neck, renal-, and bladder cancer. Additionally, Nykode is conducting a Phase 1/2 trial with two next-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidates. The Companys partnerships include Genentech within oncology, a multi-target collaboration with Regeneron within oncology and infectious diseases and a collaboration with Adaptive Biotechnologies for COVID-19 T cell vaccine development. Nykode Therapeutics shares are traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: NYKD). Further information about Nykode Therapeutics may be found at http://www.nykode.com. Contact for Nykode Therapeutics ASA:Chief Business Officer, Agnete FredriksenNykode Therapeutics ASA[email protected] Nykode Therapeutics ASAOslo Science ParkGaustadalleen 21N-0349 Oslo, Norway Forward-looking statements for Nykode TherapeuticsThis announcement and any materials distributed in connection with this announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect the company's current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. A number of material factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Source: Nykode Therapeutics Durham, NC, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, ProcessMaker, a worldwide leader in digital business transformation and process management, announces the acquisition of the intelligent document processing specialist Doculayer, based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Doculayer is known for its powerful, next-generation intelligent document processing solution. With this acquisition, ProcessMaker expands on its comprehensive approach to process orchestration and automation. This ensures organizations focused on operational excellence, compliance, and digital transformation initiatives can improve processes, speed up automation decisions, and increase their bottom line. Through the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence, Doculayer can classify and extract meaning and data from documents. Doculayers unique intelligence can handle not only structured data that resides in known forms and tables, but also completely unstructured data from images, chats, emails, and much more. According to one industry analyst, the average 1,000-FTE company wastes $3.1M per year searching within its data sources. So many complex processes still involve lots of inefficiencies because data appears to be unstructured and trapped in difficult-to-use formats. Once this data can be unlocked and intelligently interpreted, we are able to add incredible efficiencies to existing processes, said Richard Smit, Founder and CTO of Doculayer. Intelligent Document Processing adds tremendous value to process improvement, but its only one piece of the puzzle. What ProcessMaker is doing with the acquisition of Doculayer is completing the picture by adding intelligence from documents alongside their proven modeling, orchestration, and automation. This provides a complete process improvement vision to tackle the toughest process challenges faced in the enterprise. Legacy OCR solutions are clunky and only work for simple, known processes like basic receipt and invoice processing. These fall short when it comes to the extraction and manipulation of unique data sets. Large cloud vendors provide many free algorithms, but these are also problematic. They require an organization to have greater technical skills to apply the different algorithms and how to manage and scale systems. At ProcessMaker, we build low-code tools and solutions so that our customers can automate complex processes that deliver true value to their businesses, said Brian Reale, CEO of ProcessMaker. A large portion of our customers are still plagued by inefficiencies around documents, images, and emails that prevent them from gaining efficiencies from automation. Doculayer has processed more than 500 million documents for some of the worlds leading brands across dozens of highly complex process use cases. We are thrilled to welcome the highly skilled Doculayer team and the opportunity to bring further innovation to the world of process automation. Business analysts will benefit from the ProcessMaker holistic approach to process automation. ProcessMakers award-winning low-code process orchestration solution, united with Doculayer, ensures data can be used without manual extraction and interpretation of key data and documents. Doculayer delivers the following advantages for Intelligent Document Processing (IDP): Low-Code Toolset for deploying IDP Out-of-the-box support for more than 20 languages Best-in-Class OCR Available both in the cloud and on premise ISO 27001 Certified 99% OCR accuracy Document Classification engine ProcessMaker will incorporate Doculayer into their business process management (BPM) platform and accelerate product enhancements to benefit the growing ProcessMaker global customer base. The acquisition is effective immediately. ProcessMaker delivers Low-Code Process Automation solutions to the largest companies in the world, particularly in Banking, Higher Education, and Manufacturing. More information about the Doculayer acquisition can be found at www.ProcessMaker.com Learn more about ProcessMaker IDP by registering for our launch webinar on November 3rd, 2022. About ProcessMaker ProcessMaker is a leading low-code process automation solution. ProcessMaker makes it easy for business analysts to collaborate with IT to automate complex business processes connecting people and existing company systems. Headquartered in Durham, North Carolina in the United States, ProcessMaker has a partner network spread across 35 countries on five continents. Hundreds of commercial customers, including many Fortune 100 companies, rely on ProcessMaker to digitally transform their core business processes enabling faster decision-making, improved compliance, and better performance. Learn more at ProcessMaker.com Learn more by visiting www.ProcessMaker.com. Matthieu McClintock ProcessMaker 561-914-6075 [email protected] Source: ProcessMaker CHICAGO, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RIPE Bar Juice, an award-winning leader in premium fresh mixers, has chosen BrandMuscle for their brand management and print POS needs. BrandMuscles trusted capabilities will get customizable point-of-sale marketing templates to RIPE Bar Juices distributor and sales representatives, providing a seamless, efficient way to customize, print, and manage brand-compliant marketing assets for on- and off-premise accounts. BrandMuscles brand management capabilities will save reps time and resources, increasing speed-to-market and brand awareness in the expanding premium craft drink space, while RIPE Bar Juice expands its presence in specialty grocery retailers, liquor stores, as well as restaurants, bars, and events venues. Founded in 2009, RIPE Bar Juice literally raised the bar for craft cocktails as the nations first cold-pressed bar juice. RIPE Bar Juice represents the evolution of the traditional mixer: a premium line of 100% natural, small batch, cold-pressed juice mixers made from 100% traceable fruits picked at their peak of freshness. This pure, natural line of mixers does not contain preservatives, additives, or GMOs, and it is sold and shipped refrigerated from its own custom juicery in Connecticut. Consumers are trading up across occasions and settings, opting for craft drinks made with higher-end spirits and premium mixers. By adding the spirit of their choice to any of RIPEs seven fresh, cold-pressed juice varieties, consumers can easily make and consistently serve high-quality, great-tasting cocktails and mocktails and skip the labor and mess of squeezing fruit. With 20 years of experience partnering with beverage alcohol distributors and suppliers, BrandMuscle understands the complexities of beverage alcohol marketing, and how to drive local awareness and sales. Rather than RIPE Bar Juice distributors continuing to create inventive point of sale assets on their own, BrandMuscles user-friendly, customizable templates and industry relationships will empower reps to take RIPE Bar Juice to customers and support seasonal initiatives and cocktail promotions to capture consumers attention. We are thrilled to get our fresh-squeezed bar juice mixers into the hands of craft cocktail lovers, says Adam Arpin, VP of Sales. Just as RIPE Bar Juice offers incredible quality, taste and convenience, making it easy to enjoy a fresh, delicious cocktail any time, BrandMuscle offers the same ease and convenience, saving our team time and effort, while producing high quality items that catch consumers attention. Connect With BrandMuscle: Follow @BrandMuscle on Twitter and LinkedIn Like BrandMuscle on Facebook Connect With Ripe: Follow @RIPEBarJuice on Instagram and Facebook About RIPE Bar Juice RIPE Bar Juice is a premium line of 100% all-natural, small batch, cold-pressed bar juice mixers for creating effortlessly elevated craft cocktails. Produced in Connecticut in a custom craft juicery, RIPE Bar Juice mixers are made from 100% traceable, carefully curated fruits that are gently cold-pressed in small batches. RIPE Bar Juice comes in seven varieties, including Agave Margarita, Classic Cosmopolitan, Agave Mojito, Classic Lemon Sour, Bajan Punch, San Marzano Bloody Mary, and Classic Cranberry. For more information, visit www.RIPEBarJuice.com and follow on Instagram and Facebook @RIPEBarJuice About BrandMuscle BrandMuscle is the leader in integrated local and channel marketing, serving over 175 of the worlds top brands, with 750 professionals in five offices globally. BrandMuscle provides marketers and their channel partners with the solutions, insights, and expertise to deliver an exceptional and consistent local brand experience. The BrandMuscle Intelligent Local Marketing Platform simplifies and scales digital and physical marketing execution, enabling brands to acquire and retain the best customers, build loyalty, grow revenue, and maximize ROI. For more information about BrandMuscle visit https://www.brandmuscle.com/ or call (866) 464-4342. Contact: Maggie Sullivan Senior Content Marketing Manager [email protected] 440-619-1770 Source: BrandMuscle SB15, a proposed biosimilar to EYLEA, showed equivalent efficacy and comparable safety, immunogenicity, and pharmacokinetics profile to reference aflibercept in the Phase 3 study interim analysis A post-hoc analysis based on the Phase 3 study of SB11 (BYOOVIZ, ranibizumab-nuna), a biosimilar to LUCENTIS, confirmed its low immunogenicity profile and no correlation was found between immunogenicity and clinical outcomes INCHEON, Korea, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. today announced that three scientific abstracts relating to its ophthalmology biosimilar portfolio will be presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) 2022 Annual Meeting being held from September 30 to October 3, 2022 in Chicago, United States. The Phase 3 study on SB15, a biosimilar candidate referencing EYLEA (aflibercept), compared the efficacy, safety, immunogenicity, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of SB15 to reference aflibercept in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). The primary endpoint was met in terms of change from baseline in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at week 8, and the 32-week interim analysis demonstrated comparability in other secondary efficacy endpoints, safety, immunogenicity, and PK between SB15 and reference aflibercept. A post-hoc analysis of the Phase 3 study on SB11, a biosimilar referencing LUCENTIS (ranibizumab), analyzed the association of immunogenicity with one-year results of SB11 in nAMD. The efficacy data were analyzed based on participants anti-drug antibodies (ADA) status through Week 52. Immunogenicity response (incidence of ADA) was low and not different between SB11 and reference ranibizumab. Immunogenicity did not seem to be associated with clinical outcomes in the study. Another post-hoc analysis of the Phase 3 study on SB11 determined baseline factors associated with one-year efficacy outcomes in nAMD. Associations between baseline factors and treatment responses of BCVA and central subfield thickness (CST) at Week 52 were assessed by linear regression analyses and multivariable analysis on baseline factors judged relevant. The study found that baseline age, BCVA, and CST were determined to be predictive of visual acuity and anatomical outcomes when treating nAMD with SB11 or reference ranibizumab. Similar results were shown from post-hoc analysis of multiple clinical trials in nAMD, such as CATT, MARINA, and VIEW studies.1,2,3 These similarities further support equivalent clinical efficacy between the products. We are delighted to share multiple data that demonstrate comparable clinical efficacy, safety, immunogenicity, and PK profile of our ophthalmology biosimilar portfolio at the AAO Annual Meeting. This is the first time to present a Phase 3 data for SB15, our aflibercept biosimilar candidate, said Jin Ah Jung, Director and Medical Affairs Group Leader, Samsung Bioepis. Along with SB15 data, it was important that we address immunogenicity profile of SB11, because as with any biologic therapies, immunogenicity is considered an important risk factor that can potentially affect clinical outcomes of treatment. We hope that our continued efforts for data generation help ophthalmologists have better understanding of biosimilars, and their comparable efficacy, safety, immunogenicity, and PK profile to reference products, she added. Details about Samsung Bioepiss presentations are as follows: Abstract Presentation Details SB15, a Proposed Biosimilar to Aflibercept, in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration (nAMD): 32-week ResultsAuthors: Se Joon Woo, Srinivas R Saddam et al Abstract ID: 30069930Session: Scientific poster session (on-demand) Correlation Analysis between Immunogenicity and Clinical Outcomes of an Approved Ranibizumab Biosimilar, Byooviz (SB11)Authors: Neil M Bressler, Taehyung Kim, Inkyung Oh, Mercy Yeeun Kim, Se Joon Woo Abstract ID: 30070323Session: Scientific poster session (on-demand) A Post Hoc Analysis of A Phase III Trial to Define Baseline Factors Associated with Treatment Outcomes of SB11 (Ranibizumab Biosimilar)Authors: Se Joon Woo, Taehyung Kim, Inkyung Oh, Mercy Yeeun Kim, Neil M Bressler Abstract ID: 30069476Session: Scientific poster session (on-demand) In the US, SB11 was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2021 under the brand name BYOOVIZ (ranibizumab-nuna) as the first ophthalmology biosimilar in the US.4 BYOOVIZ became commercially available in July 2022, marking the first biosimilar launch in the US under Samsung Bioepis and Biogens partnership. Samsung Bioepis and Biogen entered into a commercialization agreement for two ophthalmology biosimilars, SB11 (ranibizumab) and SB15 (aflibercept) in November 2019. In addition to the FDA approval, SB11 was also approved by the European Commission (EC) and by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in August 2021, by Health Canada in March 2022, and by the Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA) in August 2022 under the brand name BYOOVIZ. About BYOOVIZ (ranibizumab-nuna) BYOOVIZ (ranibizumab-nuna) injection, for intravitreal use. BYOOVIZ (ranibizumab-nuna) is biosimilar to LUCENTIS (ranibizumab injection). BYOOVIZ, a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor, is indicated for the treatment of patients with: Neovascular (Wet) Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Macular Edema Following Retinal Vein Occlusion (RVO) Myopic Choroidal Neovascularization (mCNV) Select Important Safety Information WARNING AND PRECAUTIONS Endophthalmitis and retinal detachments may occur following intravitreal injections. Patients should be monitored following the injection. Increases in intraocular pressure (IOP) have been noted both pre- and post-intravitreal injection. There is a potential risk of arterial thromboembolic events following intravitreal use of VEGF inhibitors. ADVERSE REACTIONS The most common adverse reactions (reported more frequently in ranibizumab treated subjects than control subjects) are conjunctival hemorrhage, eye pain, vitreous floaters, and increased IOP. For additional safety information, please see Prescribing Information for BYOOVIZ (ranibizumab-nuna) HERE. About Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. Established in 2012, Samsung Bioepis is a biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing healthcare that is accessible to everyone. Through innovations in product development and a firm commitment to quality, Samsung Bioepis aims to become the world's leading biopharmaceutical company. Samsung Bioepis continues to advance a broad pipeline of biologic candidates that cover a spectrum of therapeutic areas, including immunology, oncology, ophthalmology, hematology, endocrinology and gastroenterology. For more information, please visit: www.samsungbioepis.com and follow us on social media Twitter, LinkedIn. MEDIA CONTACT Anna Kim, [email protected] Yoon Kim, [email protected] ____________________1 Ying GS, Maguire MG, Daniel E, et al. Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trials (CATT) Research Group. Association of Baseline Characteristics and Early Vision Response with 2-Year Vision Outcomes in the Comparison of AMD Treatments Trials (CATT). Ophthalmology. 2015 Dec;122(12):2523-31.e1. doi: 10.1016 /j.ophtha.2015.08.015. Epub 2015 Sep 15. PMID: 26383996; PMCID: PMC4658285. 2 Boyer DS, Antoszyk AN, Awh CC, et al. MARINA Study Group. Subgroup analysis of the MARINA study of ranibizumab in neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Ophthalmology. 2007 Feb;114(2):246-52. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha. 2006.10.045. PMID: 17270674. 3 Steinle NC, Du W, Gibson A, et al. Outcomes by Baseline Choroidal Neovascularization Features in Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Post Hoc Analysis of the VIEW Studies. Ophthalmol Retina. 2021 Feb;5(2):141-150. doi: 10.1016/j.oret.2020.07.003. Epub 2020 Jul 9. PMID: 32652314. 4 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration News Release. FDA Approves First Biosimilar to Treat Macular Degeneration Disease and Other Eye Conditions. September 17, 2021. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-biosimilar-treat-macular-degeneration-disease-and-other-eye-conditions. Accessed August 2022. Source: Samsung Bioepis SEATTLE, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SEngine Precision Medicine Inc., a Seattle-based precision oncology company revolutionizing cancer therapies by pre-testing drugs on patient-derived 3D cultures, is conducting a Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) study at the esteemed Johns Hopkins University. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death accounting for almost one quarter of annual cancer deaths in the United States (US) and the rest of the world. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be ~236,000 new cases and ~130,000 deaths from lung cancer in the US in 2022. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase, often referred to as ALK, re-arrangements define a distinct molecular subset of NSCLC that pre-dominantly affects younger patients and those with sparse or no smoking exposure. Initial treatment with next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is exceptionally effective for most ALK+ patients1, but resistance to TKI therapy inevitably develops. Subsequent therapeutic options have relatively limited efficacy and these tumors have consistently shown poor response to current immunotherapies2. This study utilizes SEngine Precision Medicines high-throughput patient-derived organoid drug screening technology to identify novel therapeutic targets in progressive ALK+ NSCLC. This technology is currently used by SEngine Precision Medicine in other cancer studies, as well as their signature product, the PARIS Test. We at SEngine Precision Medicine are dedicated to improving outcomes for cancer patients, said SEngine CEO Dr. Carla Grandori. This new study will utilize the power of the PARIS platform to discover new and better drugs for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer patients. We are honored to be working at the world-renowned Johns-Hopkins University to continue our work in bringing hope to cancer patients. About SEngine Precision Medicine SEngine's mission is to deliver innovative precise targeted oncology drugs to individual patients by combining functional precision medicine and drug discovery. SEngine is engineering cancer treatment through a two-pronged strategy, using our PARIS Test platform to both develop novel therapeutics and identify the most effective existing therapy for individual patients. As a spin-out from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, SEngine is leveraging decades of R&D experience in drug discovery and diagnostics. SEngines PARIS Test platform underpins a unique functional technology approach to drug discovery driving our assets against novel synthetic lethal drug targets. SEngine is leveraging its 3D Tumorganoid platform to discover and develop novel inhibitor molecules that target the Achilles heel of cancer cells dependent on the major cancer drivers such as MYC, KRAS, and TP53. These drivers account for a majority of all cancers but have proven highly resistant to various therapeutic approaches. The synthetic lethal strategy overcomes these difficulties. SEngines platform supports drug discovery for our internal pipeline and for strategic collaborations with biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical companies to advance novel therapeutics. The PARIS Test platform is also revolutionizing the oncology industry by engineering personalized cancer treatments, allowing for the pre-testing of drugs on patient-derived 3D cultures utilizing patient-specific live tumor cells. SEngines CLIA3-certified PARIS Test employs robotics and proprietary computational tools to generate drug sensitivity reports for patients with solid tumors. This personalized approach has been able to match more than 75% of patients with effective treatment options, ranging from common chemotherapies to targeted drugs available through clinical trials. Over 30 different cancer types have been successfully tested on the platform. ____________________1 Camidge DR, Dziadziuszko R, Peters S, et al. Updated Efficacy and Safety Data and Impact of the EML4-ALK Fusion Variant on the Efficacy of Alectinib in Untreated ALK-Positive Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in the Global Phase III ALEX Study. J Thorac Oncol 2019;14:1233-432 Mazieres J, Drilon A, Lusque A, et al. Immune checkpoint inhibitors for patients with advanced lung cancer and oncogenic driver alterations: results from the IMMUNOTARGET registry. Ann Oncol 20193 Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments Media contact:Renee Volpini[email protected]917-923-8117 Source: SEngine Precision Medicine, Inc. San Francisco, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SINAI Technologies, the leading Decarbonization Intelligence platform for reducing carbon emissions, announces $22 million in Series A funding as it plans to build even more accurate, collaborative software and continue its international expansion. This round was led by Energize Ventures, a leading global investment manager accelerating digital innovation for energy and sustainability. Energize is joined by Stardust Equity, HighSage, and other confidential external investors, along with previous investors such as Obvious Ventures, Valo Ventures, Afore, and High Alpha. Two Japanese-owned investment firms Presidio Ventures (from Sumitomo Corporation) and NEC Translink Capital are also participating, along with Singtel Innov8, from Singtel Group, headquartered in Singapore. To date, SINAI has secured $37 million in total funding. This funding is announced after 80 percent of major companies have made net zero commitments, but few are making tangible progress toward their goals. SINAI is the only Decarbonization Intelligence platform that helps major emitters take action: the software accurately aggregates emissions data from an organizations operations, models the most cost-effective ways to reduce emissions, and aids collaboration across complex value chains. For example, SINAIs platform enables companies to understand the cost and benefit of actions like electrifying a vehicle fleet or switching to renewables and perform scenario analysis to understand their transition costs. As corporates race to meet net-zero goals, the complexities associated with building and implementing a decarbonization strategy from calculating emissions to deploying carbon reduction projects are coming to the forefront, said Energize Ventures Principal Eileen Waris, who joins SINAIs board of directors. This is especially true for emission-intensive industries like mining, manufacturing, and agriculture, where the financial and environmental data needed to inform decarbonization strategies is often highly complex and bespoke. SINAI provides the software platform that heavy emitters need to close the gap between measurement and management and bring their net-zero commitments to fruition. Last year, SINAIs Decarbonization Intelligence platform tracked over 35 million tons of carbon emissions for its customers. By connecting detailed carbon inventories to company-specific financial data, SINAI also helped those customers evaluate more than $5 billion of potential capital expenditures for carbon mitigation projects. SINAI, which is US based and launched in North America, now has customers from 20+ industries and users in 60+ countries spanning Europe, Asia and Latin America. As SINAI increases its international presence, it's attracting investors from Asia and engaging major new clients from Brazil to Japan. Every day, were seeing more companies commit to net-zero goals without a clear plan for getting there, says Maria Fujihara, Founder and CEO. SINAI is helping them with creating a plan. We believe that industry leaders with more reliable data and better collaboration can reach net zero by 2050 (or even before!) and prosper in a low-carbon economy. We are grateful for the support of our investors, but mostly for our customers who are interested in having clear and achievable pathways to reach their net-zero goals. In addition to international expansion, this funding will enable SINAI to accelerate the development of its Decarbonization Intelligence platform by adding to best-in-class analytical capabilities that make it easier for customers to manipulate data, share it, and take action. As a first step, SINAI is releasing an integration with Tableau that will give customers powerful new ways to visualize their data. SINAI also plans to add to its team of climate experts to meet the future needs of its customers. To learn more about SINAI Technologies, visit: www.sinaitechnologies.com, or watch a quick video that explains Decarbonization Intelligence. ### About SINAI TechnologiesSINAI Technologies Inc. is a Decarbonization Intelligence platform built to help organizations to build decarbonization strategies. Its decarbonization platform enables more intelligent carbon emission measurement, reporting, mitigation and scenario analysis for organizations using science-based methodologies. To learn more, visit: www.sinaitechnologies.com or follow us on Twitter @SINAICarbonTech or LinkedIn @SINAI Technologies Inc. About Energize VenturesEnergize Ventures is a leading global alternative investment manager focused on accelerating digital transformation in energy and sustainability. Founded in 2016, Energize has funded 22 companies to date and is backed by strategic and institutional LPs, including CDPQ, Invenergy, Schneider Electric, General Electric, Caterpillar, and more. With an unmatched depth and breadth of industry and operational expertise, Energize works in partnership with its portfolio companies to realize their full potential from early commercialization to growth scaling and into the public markets. For more information on Energize Ventures, please visit www.energize.vc. SINAI Technologies (Yulu PR) Zoe Ferry [email protected] +1.604.558.1656 Source: SINAI Technologies Stellantis Celebrates 7 Million Vehicles Built at Europes Largest Light Commercial Vehicles Plant Sevel (Italy) plant contributing to EU30 commercial vehicle market leadership, build ing FIAT Professional, Citroen, Peugeot, Opel and Vauxhall large van offers Stellantis plans to double revenues for Commercial Vehicle segment, as outlined under Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan ATESSA, ITALY, Sept. 27, 2022 - Stellantis N.V., after 40 years of activity, celebrates the seven millionth vehicle built today at the Sevel plant in Atessa, Italy, Europes largest light commercial vehicles (LCV) plant. Sevel is home to Fiat Professional Ducato, Citroen Jumper, Peugeot Boxer, and Opel/Vauxhall Movano vans and chassis. The team at Sevel is contributing daily to helping us achieve our target to be the undisputed commercial vehicles market leader, said Uwe Hochgeschurtz, Stellantis Chief Operating Officer, Enlarged Europe. The plant has a long history of building the products our professional customers want and need, and it will continue playing a critical role in achieving a 40% battery electric vehicle(1) sales mix for commercial vehicles by 2030. Congratulations to the entire team for todays achievement. As part of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, Stellantis aims to double its commercial vehicles revenues by 2030 versus 2021 supported by 26 new launches, including an electric offer in all segments. For the first half of 2022, Stellantis was the commercial vehicles market leader in the EU30(2) and South America, with 33.2% and 30.7% share, respectively. The Company was also the leader in EU30 battery electric commercial vehicle (BEV) sales, with nearly 50% BEV market share for the first half of 2022. Stellantis and Toyota Motor Europe (TME) recently announced that Stellantis will supply TME with a new large-size commercial van, including a battery electric version, for sale in Europe under the Toyota brand, which will be produced at Stellantis plants in Gliwice, Poland and Atessa, Italy. The Sevel (European Light Vehicle Company) production site was established as a joint venture partnership between FCA and PSA-Peugeot Citroen in 1978. Inaugurated in 1981, Sevel has a surface area of more than 1.2 million square meters and can manufacture up to 1,200 vehicles per day. It is the largest and most flexible light commercial vehicles plant in Europe capable of producing vehicles in a large array of configurations. ### 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. Attachment Source: STELLANTIS N.V NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation (RAHF) today announced the award of seven grants to support bold, early-stage interventions that seek to radically improve the provision of care for the seriously ill and those at the end of life. These Hillman Emergent Innovation: Serious Illness and End of Life (HSEI) grants will help to catalyze nursing-driven efforts to elevate care for communities that face discrimination and indifference. These include Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC), the economically disadvantaged, LGBTQ people, people experiencing homelessness, low-income rural populations, and other groups that encounter obstacles to quality healthcare. Inequity in the delivery of care is one of the glaring weaknesses in the American healthcare system, and the disparities in palliative and end-of-life care are especially stark, said Ahrin Mishan, Executive Director of The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation. We are committed to narrowing these gaps and advancing innovative, nursing-driven solutions. Philanthropic Partnership Drives Progress An innovative partnership between The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation and The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, started in 2021, has expanded the number of bold, new interventions that will be fast-tracked through the HSEI program. We are proud of our collaboration with The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation, said the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations President, Michael Murray. And we are confident the high-impact, innovative work thats being funded will improve care for the seriously ill and people at the end of their lives. A Focus on Breaking Down Barriers to Equitable Care Structural discrimination, geographic isolation, patient and provider mistrust, and racial and cultural marginalization are just some of the systemic problems being addressed by the newest Hillman Emergent Innovation: Serious Illness and End of Life grantees. The 2022 grants will support these projects: A Novel Poetic Dignity Therapy Application to Enhance Meaning and Purpose for Sexual and Gender Minority Patients at End of LifeSexual and gender minority (SGM) patients are at increased risk for discrimination, stigma, mistreatment, and low-quality care that compromises dignity at the end-of-life. This innovative, nurse-led adaptation of Dignity Therapy will utilize a poetic approach to enhance meaning and purpose among SGM-identified hospice patients.Principal Investigators: William Rosa, PhD, MBE, NP, FAANP, FAAN, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Rachel Hadler, MD, University of Iowa Project Sundays: Engaging Rural African American Religious and Spiritual Leaders on Advance Care PlanningAdvance Care Planning (ACP) is complex and challenging for older African Americans (AA) with serious illness in rural communities. This project will explore a new model for developing care conversations with seriously ill AA adults in South Carolina that utilizes trusted local clergy to provide elements of religion and spirituality in ACP.Principal Investigator: Tracy Fasolino, PhD, FNP-BC, ACHPN, Clemson University A Community-Based, Collaboratively Designed Communication Guide for Clinicians Working with Refugees with Serious IllnessSeriously ill refugees are at an especially high risk for negative health outcomes, in part because clinicians do not often share their cultures, languages or communication norms. In this project, clinicians and refugees will collaborate to develop a communication guide that will help assure that care delivery aligns with these patients goals and values.Principal Investigator: Katherine Doyon, PhD, MEd, RN, CHPN, Boise State University A Culturally Centered Complicated Grief Group Therapy Intervention for Black AmericansBereaving Black communities are at heightened risk of Complicated Grief because of historical trauma, systemic racism, mistrust in the healthcare system, and a frequent reluctance to seek mental health care. This project will investigate the experience of Black grievers and use those findings to modify an existing intervention, Complicated Grief Group Therapy, into a culturally centered psychotherapeutic intervention.Principal Investigator: Siobhan Aaron, PhD, MBA, RN, FNP-BC, Case Western Reserve University Motivational Advance Care Planning: End-of-Life Preparation for Severe Mental Illness and Life-Threatening Co-MorbiditiesLife-threatening co-morbidities correlate with serious mental illness (SMI), yet care planning is underutilized by individuals with SMI at the end of life. The goal of this project is to develop a motivational interviewing strategy that nurses can use to boost the completion of advance directives for the seriously mentally ill.Principal Investigator: Christina Steward-Tiesworth, BSN, RN, PMH-BC, CCM, Hope Network Adapting the Serious Illness Conversation Guide for Older Adults Experiencing HomelessnessThe population of homeless older people continues to grow rapidly, and their physical and mental burdens, combined with challenges in receiving adequate care, contribute to shorter life expectancies than their housing-secure peers. This study seeks to adapt the Serious Illness Conversation Guide, which is primarily used to drive values-based conversations between caregivers and oncology patients, for use with older adults experiencing homelessness to recognize and meet their serious illness needs.Principal Investigators: Abigail Latimer, MSW, PhD, LCSW and Debra Moser, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, University of Kentucky Research Foundation Investigating EMS as an Untapped Resource for Rural POLST EducationAdvance care planning lags in rural America, even though its population is sicker, more impoverished and has less access to healthcare than their urban counterparts. This project seeks to use emergency medical services personnel often trusted and familiar community members to educate rural Virginians and Hawaiians about the benefits of completing portable medical orders (POLST) forms, which clarify wishes about receiving life-sustaining treatment.Principal Investigator: Kim Callanan, MA, National POLST About The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation advances bold, nursing-driven innovations that promote equitable, person-centered, and trustworthy care. It is committed to improving the health and healthcare of all people, especially populations who experience inequity, discrimination, oppression, and indifference. Its goal is to help ignite and develop game-changing interventions and to cultivate a vibrant ecosystem of nurse innovators, grantees, and partners dedicated to building a healthier, more equitable future for all. For more information, please visit www.rahf.org. About The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations were organized in 1952 and are supported by two trusts established by Mr. Arthur Vining Davis. The Foundations aim to bear witness to Mr. Davis successful corporate leadership and his ambitious philanthropic vision. Since their inception, the Foundations have given over 3,800 grants totaling more than $300 million to colleges and universities, hospitals, medical schools, and divinity schools. For more information, please visit www.avdf.org. Media Contact Takouhi Mosoian, The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation ([email protected]) Source: Rita & Alex Hillman Foundation Vancouver, B.C. , Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Walker River Resources Corp. (Walker or the Company) (TSX-V: WRR) is pleased to announce that reverse circulation (RC) drilling has re-started at the Lapon Gold Project, located some 60 km SE of Yerington, Nevada. Drilling started at the Pikes Peak portion of the Lapon Project, a seven-to-ten-hole program is planned here. Significant historical mining activities are present at Pikes (shafts, adits, mill) in a copper and gold environment. A previous regional sampling and prospecting program by Walker returned values of 9 g/t Au and 2.2% Cu from bedrock. (see news release 9/04/2019) Geological mapping and surveying also revealed the presence of a quartz monozonite porphyry, very significant for the emplacement of copper and gold mineralization in Nevada. It is notable that no reported modern drilling or geological exploration activities exist on the Pikes Peak claims area. Following the Pikes Peak program, drilling will move to the Lapon Canyon portion of the Lapon Gold Project. Drilling will be centered on the Hotspot area, located 200 meters above and 250 meters on strike SE of the historic mine workings, and high-grade drilling intercepts from Walkers previous drilling from 2016 to 2021. (see Walkers previous news releases from 2016 to 2022). Significant drill results were encountered at the Hotspot Zone, including 7.62 g/t Au over 48.8 m in LC 21-80, 5.68 g/t Au over 60.9 m in LC 21-81 and 1.84 g/t Au over 122 m in LC 21-84, (see news release 03/31/2022) among other significant drill results from this area. The Hotspot Zone appears to be flat lying (sub horizontal to horizontal), analogous to Basin and Range thrust faulting. Therefore, drilling can be carried out if different directions (azimuth) from the same drill pad, up to five holes can be drilled from a single drill pad, often in a fan shaped pattern. The topography and steepness of the mountain is less severe here, allowing for simpler and faster drill access construction, set up and drilling. The mineralization is not visible at surface, as it is overlain by approximately 3 meters of loose colluvium, making drill road access and pad construction quicker at less cost. This combined with the geometry of the mineralized zone, will allow Walker to carry out systematic drilling on section with pads placed at every 30 meters or so, with up to five holes per pad. Additional drill access road and pad construction has been completed for this current and future drill programs. About the Lapon Gold Project The Lapon Gold Project consists of 147 claims (2940 acres) situated in the Wassuk Range, within the Walker Lane shear zone, a 100 km wide structural corridor extending in a southeast direction from Reno, Nevada. The Project is easily accessible by secondary state roads from the main highway (25 kilometres), and is located approximately 60 kilometres southeast of Yerington, Nevada. A state power grid transmission line passes within three kilometres of the Project. The Lapon Gold Project includes Lapon Canyon, the Pikes Peak claims located 4 kilometres to the north, and the Rattlesnake and Range Front claims 3 kilometres to the west and over 600 meters lower than the present drilling at Lapon Canyon. The Rattlesnake, Range Front, and Pikers Peak claims cover over 8 km of possible extensions of the range front zones to the west, north, and south of Lapon Canyon, adding several additional drill target areas to the project. Rattlesnake and Pikes Peak contain numerous historical mining and milling areas that consist of adits at different levels, shafts and underground workings, and a network of existing roads providing access throughout. Little or no exploration work has been carried out on these claims prior to Walkers arrival. It is notable that the Rattlesnake area and adits are on strike with the Lapon Canyon discoveries located 3 km on strike and 600 meters above. Lapon Canyon hosts historical high grade gold mining with approximately 2000 feet of undergoing workings in three adits. Historical underground work returned numerous assay values in the one ounce per ton range, with a sample at the end of the A adit returning 20.6 ounces per ton Au. (NI43-101, Montgomery and Barr, 2004). The scientific and technical content and interpretations contained in this news release have been reviewed, verified and approved by E. Gauthier, geol., Eng (OIQ) a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Michel David________________________Michel David,Chief Executive Officer and Director FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Walker River Resources Corp.Tel: 819 874-0030Fax: 819 825-1199Email: [email protected]Website: www.wrrgold.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange Nor Its Regulation Service Provider (As That Term Is Defined In The Policies Of The TSX Venture Exchange) Accepts Responsibility For The Adequacy Or Accuracy Of This News Release. Source: Walker River Resources Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2022) - Canuc Resources Corporation (TSXV: CDA) (OTCQB: CNUCF) ("Canuc" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the signing of agreements to acquire three additional claims at the San Javier Silver-Gold Project in Sonora State, Mexico. The newly acquired claims are contiguous with the Company's existing claims and cover a combined 104.5 hectares of prospective ground. The acquisition of these three additional claims at San Javier brings the Company's total contiguous claim position to 956.4 hectares. Canuc now has agreements for 100% ownership of 27 contiguous claims in the heart of the San Javier Silver-Gold mining camp. San Javier Area Interest The San Javier area first came back into focus during September of 2020 when Barksdale Resources Corp. announced an earn in on several claims covering a combined 1,184 hectares of ground in the San Javier mining and exploration camp. These exploration claims (previously held by Constellation Copper Corp.) are contiguous with Canuc claims to the south, west and east. Further interest in the San Javier area came during October 2020 when Osisko Development Corp. announced acquisition of the San Antonio claims group (previously held by Red Tiger Mining Inc.). The San Antonio claims acquired by Osisko Development Corp. are contiguous with Canuc claims to the north, south and east. The San Antonio claims cover an area of 11,338 hectares. "The detection of massive magnetite and magnetite veining on company claims which is found in combination with high to bonanza grades of silver that is manifest with a preponderance of silver halides, as well as the prevalence of copper and gold mineralization, have given us confidence in the IOCG thesis for ore genesis at San Javier." Stated Christopher Berlet, President and CEO of Canuc Resources Corp. "We have assembled an unencumbered ground position of 27 contiguous claims covering key geological features of the San Javier IOCG system. This progressive accumulation of claims in the San Javier mining camp is in keeping with our objectives for value development as a junior exploration and development company." About Canuc Canuc is a junior resource company focusing on its San Javier Silver-Gold Project in Sonora State, Mexico. The Company also generates cash flow from natural gas production at its MidTex Energy Project in Central West Texas, USA where Canuc has an interest in eight (8) producing natural gas wells and has rights for further in field developments. For further information please contact: Canuc Resources Corporation. (416) 525 - 6869 [email protected] Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information. All information, other than information of historical fact, constitute "forward-looking statements" and includes any information that addresses activities, events or developments that the Corporation believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including the Corporation's strategy, plans or future financial or operating performance. When used in this news release, the words "estimate", "project", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "believe", "hope", "may" and similar expressions, as well as "will", "shall" and other indications of future tense, are intended to identify forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is based on current expectations and applies only as of the date on which they were made. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Corporation to fund the exploration expenditures required under the Agreement. Other factors such as uncertainties regarding government regulations could also affect the results. Other risks may be set out in the Corporation's annual financial statements, MD&A and other publicly filed documents. The Corporation cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required by law, the Corporation does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138495 Inferred Mineral Resource of 321.7 million tonnes grading 0.32% copper, 0.03% molybdenum and 2.6 g/t silver with a low 0.74:1 strip ratio Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2022) - Element 29 Resources Inc. (TSXV: ECU) (OTCQB: EMTRF) ("Element 29" or the "Company") announces the completion of an initial independent Inferred Mineral Resource estimate ("Mineral Resource") at its Elida porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit ("Elida") in west-central Peru. This Mineral Resource was completed on just one of five porphyry centres at Elida and provides a solid foundation for future engineering studies as well enhancement and expansion through ongoing exploration. Elida Mineral Resource Highlights Pit-constrained, Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 321.7 million tonnes grading 0.32% copper (for a total of 2.24 billion pounds of contained copper) plus 0.029% molybdenum and 2.6 g/t silver, using a 0.20% copper cut-off grade and low modeled strip ratio of 0.74:1 (waste: mineralized material). A near surface, higher-grade subset of the Mineral Resource consisting of 34.1 million inferred tonnes at 0.55% copper, 0.037% molybdenum, and 4.4 g/t silver (at a cut-off grade of 0.45% copper) has potential to be mined with minimal stripping in the initial years of mining. Significant molybdenum and silver grades have the potential to enhance the economics of the deposit, subject to metallurgical test work. Steve Stakiw, Element 29's President and CEO comments, "We are very pleased with this significant initial Mineral Resource Estimate for our Elida porphyry copper deposit. It is an impressive accomplishment over the past year and a half and is a testament to the dedication of our team. This major milestone for Element 29 demonstrates Elida is a large copper mineralized system along with significant molybdenum and silver that has the potential to enhance the economics of the deposit. Our evaluation of the Elida deposit's potential is still at an early stage and we see strong resource growth potential given this initial mineral resource estimate covers only a portion of our Zone 1 porphyry, one of five porphyry centres we have identified on the project for testing." Click HERE to watch a short video presentation by Steve Stakiw, CEO, and Paul Johnston, Vice-President, Exploration, discussing the highlights of today's press release. Table 1. Pit-constrained Inferred Mineral Resources for the Elida deposit as at September 20, 2022. Cu Cut-Off (%) Tonnes (millions) Cu (%) Contained Cu (M lb) Contained Cu (tonnes) Mo (%) Contained Mo (M lb) Contained Mo (tonnes) Ag (g/t) Contained Ag (M oz) 0.10 520.8 0.255 2,927.9 1,328,057 0.026 298.5 135,410 2.15 36.0 0.15 439.4 0.278 2,692.9 1,221,456 0.028 271.2 123,024 2.31 32.7 0.20 321.7 0.316 2,241.2 1,016,568 0.029 205.7 93,293 2.61 27.0 0.25 214.9 0.363 1,719.4 779,926 0.031 146.8 66,605 2.97 20.5 0.30 143.0 0.407 1,283.4 582,150 0.033 104.1 47,201 3.31 15.2 0.35 94.7 0.449 937.9 425,415 0.034 71.0 32,214 3.65 11.1 0.40 59.7 0.493 649.1 294,423 0.036 47.4 21,499 3.99 7.7 0.45 34.1 0.547 411.7 186,736 0.037 27.8 12,631 4.40 4.8 0.50 20.1 0.599 265.4 120,396 0.038 16.8 7,638 4.76 3.1 Notes: The effective date for the Mineral Resource is September 20, 2022. Mineral Resources, which are not Mineral Reserves, do not have demonstrated economic viability. The CIM definitions were followed for the classification of Inferred Mineral Resources. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred Mineral Resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred Mineral Resources as an indicated Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource category. Mineral Resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.2 g/t Cu, using a US$/CAN$ exchange rate of 0.75 and constrained within an open pit shell optimized with the Lerchs-Grossman algorithm to constrain the Mineral Resources with the following estimated parameters: copper price of US$3.46/lb, US$2.00/t mining cost, US$5.00/t processing cost, US$1.40/t G+A, 87% copper recovery, and 45 pit slope. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by geology, environment, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, or other relevant issues. Exploration Potential The initial mineral resource estimate utilized widely spaced drill holes that tested a portion of the interpreted Zone 1 mineralization surrounding a low-grade porphyry core. More drilling will be required in the southwest and northwest sectors to completely evaluate mineral resource potential of Zone 1 (Figure 1). The Company elected to complete a mineral resource estimate at this stage to quantify the size of the drilled portion of Zone 1 and use the three-dimensional mineralization model for future drill hole planning to potentially expand the size of Zone 1 and upgrade Mineral Resources from Inferred to Indicated. Higher Grades Located Close to Surface Most of the higher-grade subset of the Mineral Resource noted in Table 1 with a 0.45% copper cut-off is centred on mineralization intersected in the upper parts of holes ELID012, ELID014, ELID019, and ELID025 (Figure 3). These holes demonstrate that stronger copper mineralization occurs from the bedrock surface where this tonnage has potential to be mined with minimal stripping in the initial years of mining. Mineral Resource Estimation Methodology The Mineral Resource Estimate was prepared by Mr. Marc Jutras, P.Eng., M.A.Sc., Principal, Mineral Resources at Ginto Consulting Inc. ("Ginto Consulting"). Mr. Jutras is an Independent Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101) in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, as adopted and amended by the CIM Council. Mineral Resources at Elida were estimated by: Developing a geologic interpretation of copper mineralization in collaboration with the Element 29 geology team based on geologic observations from surface exposure and drill core. Performing a statistical evaluation of the Elida drill hole database, which contained 25 diamond drill holes of HQ and NQ diameter. Three-dimensional modeling two mineralized domains represented by a higher copper grade domain and a lower copper grade domain. Integration of an accurate digital terrain model into the mineralization model. Compositing original samples to 2 metre (" m ") lengths. ") lengths. Exploratory data analysis to understand different geometric and statistical properties of copper, molybdenum, and silver grades. Applying capping of high-grade outliers based on the statistical properties of the grade populations. Variographic analysis to spatially establish the preferred directions of grade continuity. Grade estimation of copper, molybdenum, and silver with ordinary kriging using a strategy and parameters tailored to account for the various geometrical, geologic, and geostatistical characteristics identified in previous steps. Validation of grade estimates using a set of validation tests. Applying a pit constraint optimized using the Lerchs-Grossman algorithm. The copper grade populations within the mineralized domains were found to be well-behaved with low coefficients of variation (values of less than 0.6). The capping of the high-grade outliers has only had a minor effect on the average grades and the metal content. For such, the usage of the ordinary kriging technique with capped composited grades is believed to be an adequate strategy for the grade interpolation process. The validation of the copper grade estimates has shown good results from the various tests carried out. It can be concluded that the copper grade estimates are not biased and have an adequate amount of smoothing/variability. Therefore, it is believed that the copper grade estimates are an adequate representation of the Mineral Resource at Elida, based on the current geologic understanding and available data. There is good potential for additional mineral resources on the property with other untested targets. Future Work The Mineral Resource announced herein was useful for indicating areas for further drilling as shown in Figure 1. The objectives of future drilling are to resolve internal, near-surface higher grade zones and expand the size of Zone 1, especially on the northwest and southwest edges and at depth. Initial drill testing of the other zones will also be planned with the objective of further expanding mineral resources within the Elida porphyry cluster (Figure 2). The effective date of the Mineral Resource Estimate is September 20, 2022. A NI 43-101 technical report prepared by Ginto Consulting will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this news release and will be available at that time on the Company's website. For readers to fully understand the information in this news release they should read the technical report in its entirety when it is available, including all qualifications, assumptions, exclusions and risks. The technical report is intended to be read as a whole and sections should not be read or relied upon out of context. Analytical Quality Control & Quality Assurance Elida Resources S.A.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of Element 29 Resources Inc., supervises drilling and carries out sampling of HQ and NQ core. Logging and sampling are completed at a secured Company facility situated on the Flor de Cobre project site. Sample intervals are nominally 2 m long. Drill core is cut in half using a rotary diamond blade saw and samples are sealed on site before transportation to the ALS Peru S.A.C. sample preparation facility in Arequipa by Company vehicles and staff. Prepared samples are sent to Lima by ALS Peru S.A.C. for analysis. ALS Peru S.A.C. is an independent laboratory. Samples are analyzed for 35 elements using an Aqua Regia digestion and ICP-AES analysis (ME-ICP41). Samples reporting over limits are analyzed by Aqua Regia digestion with ICP-AES finish (ME-OG46). ALS meets all requirements of International Standards ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and ISO 9001:2015 for analytical procedures. Element 29 employs an independent, internal quality assurance/quality control program that includes insertion of duplicate, blank, and certified reference samples at the field site. The Company is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data reported. Qualified Persons The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Paul J. Johnston (PhD, P.Geo), Vice President of Exploration for Element 29, and is a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Mineral Resource estimate was prepared by Marc Jutras, P.Eng., M.A.Sc., of Ginto Consulting. Mr. Jutras is independent of Element 29, as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. About Elida Elida is a porphyry copper-molybdenum exploration project within a property composed of 28 mining concessions totaling 19,210 hectares that are 100% owned by Elida Resources S.A.C., a Peruvian subsidiary of Element 29. The property contains a large, 2.5 x 2.4 kilometre ("km") phyllic alteration system enclosing a cluster of porphyry centres that represent five distinct exploration targets. In 2021, Element 29 completed seven diamond drill holes totalling 4,481 m that intersected multiple, long intervals of Cu-Mo-Ag mineralization and traced mineralization to a depth greater than 900 m. Mineralization remains open at depth. The remaining four large targets are untested. Under the current drill permit, the Company can elect to drill-test all identified targets. Elida is in west-central Peru, approximately 85 km inland from the Pacific coast at moderate elevations between 1,500 m and 2,000 m, and close to transportation and power infrastructure, including a 45 mega-watt hydroelectric generation facility situated 15 km from the project. About Element 29 Resources Inc. Element 29 Resources Inc. is an emerging copper exploration and development company focused on advancing its portfolio of Peruvian projects towards development in one of the world's premier mining jurisdictions. Element 29's growth strategy is led by our strong board and management, who have a proven track record of discovery and delivering significant value to our shareholders. The Company's principal objective is to explore and develop its Elida porphyry copper deposit in west-central Peru and its Flor de Cobre porphyry copper project located in the Southern Peru Copper Belt, 26 km southeast from Freeport-McMoRan's Cerro Verde copper mine. Both projects are well located for potential mine development and will benefit from nearby infrastructure including roads, powerlines, ports, water, and a skilled workforce. More information is available at www.e29copper.com. For more information: Steve Stakiw, President & CEO 1-888-246-7881 [email protected] Forward Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "Forward-looking Statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute Forward-looking Statements. Words such as "will", "intends", "proposed" and "expects" or similar expressions are intended to identify Forward-looking Statements. Forward looking Statements in this press release include statements related the Company's resource properties, and the Company's plans, focus and objectives. Forward-looking Statements involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on certain factors and assumptions. 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. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include uncertainties related to fluctuations in copper and other commodity prices, uncertainties inherent in the exploration of mineral properties, the impact and progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and other risk factors set forth in the Company's prospectus under the heading "Risk Factors". The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any Forward-looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Element 29 to predict all of them or assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any Forward-looking Statement. Any Forward-looking Statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Figure 1. Details of Elida Zone 1, showing areas identified for follow-up drilling, which will be designed to better resolve copper and molybdenite grade distribution near surface and within the constraining pit shell and more accurately define limits of mineralization particularly on the northwest and southwest edges of Zone 1. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7414/138524_218b62aa9441e8d3_001full.jpg Figure 2. The Elida porphyry cluster showing five identified mineralized zones. Drilling to date has concentrated on Zone 1 and the other zones have not been drill-tested. The Company plans to test the remaining zones with future drilling programs. To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7414/138524_218b62aa9441e8d3_002full.jpg Figure 3. Section through 260050 E to illustrate the position of the constraining pit shell in relation to the original topographic surface and the block model used for the Mineral Resource estimate. The shaded area is the interpreted position of the low-grade quartz monzonite porphyry stock that occupies the core of Zone. Please refer to Figure 1 for the section location. To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7414/138524_218b62aa9441e8d3_003full.jpg To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138524 Bergamo, Italy--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2022) - HashBit BlockChain (HBIT) has announced the launch of its crypto wallet for more than 2 billion WhatsApp users. The innovative blockchain technology enables individuals to send and receive HBIT in seconds in WhatsApp groups or channels. It's available on Google Play. HBIT Mainnet Wallet Login To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8773/138609_e8b4408294520876_001full.jpg "We are happy to announce the integration of HashBit wallet with WhatsApp," said a HashBit spokesperson. "Now users can send HBIT to their friends on WhatsApp or request payment. If you want to send HBIT to all members of a group, just type '!rain' and it will be done." Launched in May 2021, HashBit is the new blockchain that can be used for digital assets, messenger, decentralized voting, and a variety of other secure applications. It's one of the fastest, safest and most decentralized blockchains currently in existence, providing fast, free and an unlimited number of transactions. Individuals can access their HBIT wallet directly from WhatsApp by entering a contact that enables them to interact on WhatsApp. An HBIT transaction takes place almost instantly, with a maximum time of 30 seconds. Individuals use simple commands on WhatsApp that makes interacting with HashBit easy. Entering '!h' or '!help' provides users with access to all the possible commands. Multilingual support is provided and additional languages will be added in the future for an inclusive experience anywhere in the world. "We created HashBit to give users plenty of popular features on a decentralized platform," said a HashBit spokesperson. "There are no limits to the number of applications you can create. Our scalable and secure layers do all the hard work in quick time." HashBit is structured with three layers for enhanced security, communication and infrastructure. HashBit users can utilize its DAO voting mechanism, create and issue digital assets, distribute dividends, upload content, and use the payment system. HashBit is unique in multiple ways. It wasn't funded by an ICO or with pre-mined coins and eliminates problems in current blockchains. It's fast, easy to use and can be accessed from a browser. It's the first to offer an asset exchange, encrypted messaging, cloud data upload to the blockchain and more. It's a truly decentralized blockchain and is managed by a team of volunteers. HashBit Whatsapp Wallet: https://wa.me/message/UEPCYJYR75P7G1 Buy HBIT here - https://investor.hashbit.org/public/login About HashBit BlockChain (HBIT) HashBit is a rapidly growing open source blockchain created in May 2021. It's become one of the safest, fastest, longest, and most decentralized blockchains in existence. HashBit is global, available in over 100 countries. Connect with HashBit on: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hashbitorg/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/HashBitorg Instagram: https://twitter.com/HashBitorg Medium: https://medium.com/@hashbitblockchain YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6s8POT8-n3-h9ebxH630cg GitHub: https://github.com/HashBitorg PlayStore: https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=4846917808643275474 BitcoinTalk: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5339187 Media Contact Company Name: HashBit Blockchain Contact Person: Giorgio S. Email: [email protected] City: Bergamo State: BG Country: Italy Website: https://hashbit.org To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138609 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2022) - INCA ONE GOLD CORP. (TSXV: INCA) (OTCQB: INCAF) (FSE: SU92) ("Inca One" or the "Company") a gold producer operating two mineral processing facilities in Peru, (the "Plants") reports consolidated sales for August and comparative year-over-year ("YoY") operational results. Coming off the strongest July sales ever reported, Inca One reports August sales of approximately US$3.5 million (unaudited), a slight 4% decrease YoY compared to August 2021 sales of US$3.6 million. The trailing twelve month trend from August, continues to reflect positive results, with sales reaching approximately US$50.4 million, a 57% increase YoY over the comparable 12 month period of US$32.2 million. Monthly Gold Sales (US$) To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2645/138503_graph.jpg Combined milling activities from both Plants reached 5,708 tonnes, averaging 184 tonnes per day ("TPD") throughput for the month. This total represents approximately 40% of our consolidated permitted capacity of 450 TPD. Deliveries for the month reached 6,046 tonnes to both plants. The Company also reports it has sourced a revolving US$2 million trade finance facility, that will increase near term working capital for ore supply. About Inca One Inca One Gold Corp is a gold producer operating two fully permitted, gold mineral processing facilities in Peru. The Company possesses a combined 450 tonnes per day permitted operating capacity at its two fully integrated plants, Chala One and Kori One and has produced more than 116,000 ounces of gold, generating over US$165 million in sales from its processing operations. Inca One is led by an experienced and capable management team that has established the Company as a trusted leader in servicing permitted, small-scale and artisanal miners (ASM) in Peru. Peru is one of the world's largest producers of gold, and its ASM sector is estimated by government officials to be valued in the billions of dollars annually. To learn more, visit www.incaone.com. Figure 1. Inca One's gold processing facilities in Peru (left: Chala One facility; right: Kori One facility) To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2645/138503_322a93a004c98b02_004full.jpg On behalf of the Board, Edward Kelly President and CEO Inca One Gold Corp. For More Information Contact: Konstantine Tsakumis [email protected] 604-568-4877 NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE. Statements regarding the Company which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties by their very nature. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements due to factors such as: (i) fluctuation of mineral prices; (ii) a change in market conditions; and (iii) the fact that future operating results may not be accurately predicted based on this limited information to date. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update any changes to such statements. Inca One believes the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included herein should not be unduly relied upon. 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 these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138503 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2022) - Westmount Minerals Corp. (CSE: WMC) ("Westmount" or the "Company")is pleased to announce having received the data and interpretation report from its Soil Gas Hydrocarbon ("SGH") survey completed on the Douay East property (the "Property") located in the Abitibi region of western Quebec. Highlights of the results include: Three target areas have been identified for follow-up gold exploration The target areas are coincident with regionally interpreted structures within the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone The target areas are coincident and spatially associated with gold mineralization intersected in historical drill holes. SGH Survey and Results The Douay East SGH survey included the collection, analyses, and interpretation of 1,016 soil samples collected over three target areas comprising a total area of approximately 297 hectares. (See Figure 1.) Very positive results were realized on all three target grids. Analysis of samples completed by Activation Laboratories Ltd. ("Actlabs") has resulted in prioritized gold target areas on all three area grids. The Company has interpreted lineaments on the SGH gold pathfinder class maps that are consistent with regional geological and structural interpretation and with structural patterns derived from interpretation of the Company's high resolution airborne magnetic survey flown in 2021 and which are assumed to be gold bearing based on historical drilling on the property. Samples were collected at 25 metre ("m") intervals along 100 m spaced lines. David Tafel, CEO of Westmount commented: "With the receipt of these positive results and the SGH interpretation now complete, the Company is proceeding with advanced interpretation of the 2021 high resolution magnetic survey data and of the historical drilling available in order to support the planning of a targeted diamond drill program on the property. The Company anticipates implementing a 2,000 m Phase 1 drill program to test the top priority targets once the final interpretation work is completed." Target 1: The priority gold target area interpreted by Actlabs on the target 1 grid in part forms a northwest-southeast trend which is similar to regional geological and geophysical trends and is spatially associated with a fault zone in the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone ("CBDZ") as interpreted by Qubec Ministere de l'Energie et des Ressources Naturelles ("MERN"). The Company interprets a northwest-southeast lineament from the grid 1 gold pathfinder class map that is similarly oriented northwest-southeast and is spatially associated with the regional fault interpreted by MERN. The priority target area encompasses historical drilling completed in 1986 which returned anomalous gold assay values including 0.58 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au") over an intersection length of 1 m. Target 2: The target 2 grid is located on the southern flank of a regional magnetic high and north of the regional scale fault interpreted by MERN. Actlabs has interpreted 2 priority gold target areas within grid 2 which are oriented northeast-southwest; discordant to the regional structural trend. The orientation of the gold target areas in grid 2 are consistent with the orientation of shorter-range structures inferred from interpretation of the 2021 high resolution airborne magnetic survey. The Company interprets this as a potentially favourable gold-host orientation within the CBDZ. The two priority gold targets are spatially associated with anomalous gold mineralization reported in historical drilling including 0.72 g/t Au over an intersection length of 0.60 m. Target 3: The target 3 SGH grid was centered on a rectangular magnetic high with an orientation discordant to the regional magnetic and structural trend and within a possible fold structure. Actlabs has reported a priority gold target on grid 3 located immediately east of the magnetic high and with its western limits coincident with the shape and location of the high magnetic feature. The Company is tentatively interpreting the location of the SGH priority gold target as a dilatational site related to folding of the volcanic stratigraphy which may include an intrusive body. Figure 1 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8671/138508_53ad3ccb34d338b8_003full.jpg About SGH SGH is a deep penetrating geochemical exploration method that involves the analysis of surficial samples from over potential (buried) mineral or petroleum targets. The analysis involves the testing for 162 hydrocarbon compounds in the C5-C17 carbon series range applicable to a wide variety of sample types. Samples are collected in the target area in a systematic manner generally at sample stations spaced at 25 m along 100 m spaced lines. Actlabs has developed an in-depth understanding of the unique SGH signatures associated with different commodity targets. Using a forensic approach based on scientific research, orientation surveys over known (buried) mineralization, and the results of exploration projects, Actlabs has developed commodity target signatures, or templates, for identification of the expected analytical results exhibited by each class of SGH compounds. About the Douay East Property The Property, acquired by Westmount in 2021, covers an area of 4,868 hectares and is located in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt ("AGB"), western Quebec. With over 100 years of mineral production, the AGB remains a very prolific gold mining district. The Property is located within the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone which hosts the currently producing Casa Berardi Gold Mine, past producing gold mines, and several active gold exploration projects. The Casa Berardi Gold Mine, located approximately 105 kilometres ("km") west of the Douay East property, has produced greater than 2 million ounces ("oz") Au, and has annual production of approximately 125,000 oz Au. The Property is contiguous to the west with Maple Gold Mines Ltd.'s property that hosts the Douay Project which contains an estimated 422,000 oz Au of Indicated Resources and 2,352,000 oz Au of Inferred Resources. The Vezza Gold Project, located approximately 1.5 km from the northern boundary of the Property, contains an estimated 327,000 oz Au in the Measured and Indicated categories and estimated Inferred Resources of 68,500 oz Au. About Westmount Minerals Corp. Westmount is focused on gold exploration in the America's. The Company is advancing the Douay East property to the drill stage and is evaluating other exploration opportunities. Qualified Person and NI 43-101 Jamie Lavigne, P. Geo, a Qualified Person as defined in NI43-101 has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release. On Behalf of the Board of Directors David Tafel Chief Executive Officer and Director For further information, please contact: David Tafel Chief Executive Officer and Director (604) 683-1991 Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding future capital expenditures, anticipated content, commencement, and cost of exploration programs in respect of the Company's projects and mineral properties, anticipated exploration program results from exploration activities, resources and/or reserves on the Company's projects and mineral properties, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often, but not always, forward looking information can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "will", "may", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that market fundamentals will result in sustained precious and base metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future exploration of the Company's properties, that the COVID-19 global pandemic will not affect the ability of the Company to conduct the exploration program on the Douay East Project, the availability of financing on suitable terms, and the Company's ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. 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 differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, statements as to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, including the Company's option to acquire the Douay East Project, the proposed expenditures for exploration work thereon, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activities and plans, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the Canadian Securities Exchange), permits or financing, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations, the Company's limited operating history, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims, environmental issues and liabilities, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's prospectus dated February 14, 2022, and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release except as otherwise required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138508 Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - September 26, 2022) - Zedcor Inc. (TSXV: ZDC) (the "Company" or "Zedcor") is pleased to announce it placed 162, which is in the top half of the 2022 Globe and Mail Report on Business ranking of Canada's Top Growing Companies. Canada's Top Growing Companies ranks Canadian companies on three-year revenue growth and the Company earned its spot with three-year growth of 278%. "I am extremely proud of our entire team that helped achieve these results. Without excellent service that our people provide everyday, we would be unable to achieve this revenue growth. I would also like to thank our customers who continue to trust us with their security needs. Our technology-based solutions continue to allow customers to secure their assets with higher reliability and lower cost than traditional means. We continue to execute on our growth strategy and expansion of our services across Canada which will allow us to serve more customers and continue these successes," said Todd Ziniuk, President & CEO. Canada's Top Growing Companies is an editorial ranking which aims to celebrate the boldest entrepreneurial achievement by identifying and bringing the accomplishments of innovative businesses in Canada to the forefront. In order to qualify companies had to complete an in-depth application process and fulfill requirements. In total, 430 companies earned a spot on this year's ranking. The full list of 2022 winners along with editorial coverage is published in the October issue of Report on Business magazine. "Canada's Top Growing Companies recognizes the tremendous ambition and innovation of entrepreneurs in Canada," says Dawn Calleja, Editor of Report on Business magazine. "The next generation of Canadian businesses can draw inspiration from this ranking." About Zedcor Inc. Zedcor Inc. is a Canadian public corporation and parent company to Zedcor Security Solutions Corp. Driven by our guiding principles of being pioneers, innovators and honest, Zedcor is engaged in providing technology based security & surveillance services across Canada. The Company is disrupting the security industry with its three main service offerings to customers across all market segments: 1) rental, service and remote monitoring of its proprietary MobileyeZ security towers; 2) live monitoring of fixed site locations; and 3) security personnel. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "ZDC". FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements included or incorporated by reference in this press release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including management's belief that streamlining rental assets with newer equipment will drive improvements in equipment rental rates and utilization, and that the expanded market reach and customer base will lead to more diversity in the Company's revenue stream and increase utilization. Forward-looking statements or information may contain statements with the words "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "propose", "budget", "should", "project", "would have realized', "may have been" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or expectations. Although the Company believes that the expectations implied in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements or information are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that involve a number of assumptions about the future and uncertainties. These assumptions include that the Company's new solar hybrid light tower and related security and surveillance service offerings will lead to more diversity in revenue streams and protect against future down swings in the economic environment. Although management believes these assumptions are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct, and actual results will differ materially from those anticipated. For this purpose, any statements herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this release are made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new contrary information, future events or any other reason, unless it is required by any applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. For further information contact: Todd Ziniuk Chief Executive Officer P: (403) 930-5430 E: [email protected] Amin Ladha Chief Financial Officer P: (403) 930-5430 E: [email protected] Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/138438 FILE PHOTO: Cans containing gasoline are kept for sale on a road in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ali Khara By Mohammad Yunus Yawar and Charlotte Greenfield KABUL (Reuters) -The Taliban have signed a provisional deal with Russia to supply gasoline, diesel, gas and wheat to Afghanistan, Acting Afghan Commerce and Industry Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters. Azizi said his ministry was working to diversify its trading partners and that Russia had offered the Taliban administration a discount to average global commodity prices. The move, the first known major international economic deal struck by the Taliban since they returned to power more than a year ago, could help to ease the Islamist movement's isolation that has effectively cut it off from the global banking system. No country formally recognises the group, which fought a 20-year insurgency against Western forces and their local Afghan allies before sweeping into Kabul as U.S. troops withdrew. Western diplomats have said the group needs to change its course on human rights, particularly those of women, and prove it has cut ties with international militant groups in order to gain formal recognition. Russia does not officially recognise the Taliban's government, but Moscow hosted leaders of the movement in the run-up to the fall of Kabul and its embassy is one of only a handful to remain open in the Afghan capital. Azizi said the deal would involve Russia supplying around one million tonnes of gasoline, one million tonnes of diesel, 500,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and two million tonnes of wheat annually. On Wednesday, Russia's state-owned TASS news agency quoted Moscow's special representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, as confirming that "preliminary agreements" had been reached on fuel and food supplies to Kabul. Russia's energy and agriculture ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the agreement. The office of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who is in charge of oil and gas, also did not immediately respond. Azizi said the agreement would run for an unspecified trial period, after which both sides were expected to sign a longer term deal if they were content with the arrangement. He declined to give details on pricing or payment methods, but said Russia had agreed to a discount to global markets on goods that would be delivered to Afghanistan by road and rail. The deal was finalised after an Afghan technical team spent several weeks in discussions in Moscow, having stayed on after Azizi visited there last month. ECONOMY IN CRISIS Since the Taliban regained power, Afghanistan has been plunged into economic crisis after development aid upon which the country relied was cut and amid sanctions that have largely frozen the banking sector. The trade deal is likely to be watched closely in the United States, whose officials have held regular talks with the Taliban on plans for the country's banking system. Washington has announced the creation of a Swiss trust fund for some of the Afghan central bank reserves held in the United States. The Taliban have demanded the release of the entire amount of around $7 billion and said the funds should be used for central bank operations. Azizi said international data showed most Afghans were living below the poverty line, and his office was working to support trade and the economy through international outreach. "Afghans are in great need," he said. "Whatever we do, we do it based on national interest and the people's benefit." He said Afghanistan also received some gas and oil from Iran and Turkmenistan and had strong trade ties with Pakistan, but also wanted to diversify. "A country ... shouldn't be dependent on just one country, we should have alternative ways," he said. The Group of Seven (G7) nations are trying to find ways to limit Russia's oil export earnings in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine in February. Moscow has managed to maintain revenues through increased crude sales to Asia, particularly China and India. The European Union will ban Russian crude imports by Dec. 5 and Russian oil products by Feb. 5. (Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Mohammad Yunus Yawar; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Jane Merriman) FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: The Goldman Sachs company logo is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo/File Photo By Saeed Azhar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) has closed a $9.7 billion private-equity fund, its largest since 2007, that seeks to invest in companies with an enterprise value of about $750 million to $2 billion, the bank said on Tuesday. The fund sits under the Wall Street giant's asset management arm and is known as "West Street Capital Partners VIII." It plans to invest an average of $300 million to take controlling stakes in companies in the financial and business services sectors, as well as healthcare, consumer, technology and climate change transition. "This fundraise builds on our 30-year history in private equity as we continue to scale the business and make our alternatives offerings available to a wider range of investors," Julian Salisbury, global co-head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said in a statement. GSAM, as the business is known, oversees $2.5 trillion in assets, with private equity (PE) accounting for $176 billion. Goldman's money managers are not alone in raising PE funds. BlackRock Inc has about $35 billion focused on PE strategies, and last year alone, it raised $3 billion to invest in PE secondary market deals. Morgan Stanley Investment Management has also closed several private equity funds this year with assets under management in excess of $3.25 billion, a spokesperson said. The firm's Private Credit & Equity platform has $40 billion in assets under management, including $25 billion in direct, secondaries and co-investment private equity funds. Investors in Goldman's latest venture include pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. The bank, as well as some of its employees, also invested. The fund has already backed Norgine, a European pharmaceutical company; Nippo Corp, a road pavement company in Japan; and Parexel, a clinical research organization, among others. "The fund is well positioned for the market environment and we see opportunities across multiple sectors and geographies," Salisbury said. New risks such as inflation, rising interest rates, geopolitical turmoil and increased government scrutiny have contributed to the surge in market volatility and a slowdown in private equity deals in 2022, PwC said in a recent report. (Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Lananh Nguyen, Stephen Coates and Mark Porter) Researchers created control group by comparing colleges that had access to the platform to colleges that did not during the first two years of its existence CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study led by researchers from Tel Aviv University, MIT Sloan School of Management and Bocconi University reveals new findings about the negative impact of Facebook on the mental health of American college students. The study focuses on Facebook's first two-and-a-half years (2004-2006), when the new social network was gradually spreading through academic institutions, and it was still possible to detect its impact by comparing colleges that had access to the platform to colleges that did not. The findings found a rise in the number of students who had access to Facebook reporting severe depression and anxiety (7% and 20% respectively). The study was led by Dr. Roee Levy of the School of Economics at Tel Aviv University, Prof. Alexey Makarin of MIT Sloan School of Management, and Prof. Luca Braghieri of Bocconi University. The paper is forthcoming in the academic journal American Economic Review. "Over the last fifteen years, the mental health trends of adolescents and young adults in the United States have worsened considerably," said Prof. Braghieri. "Since such worsening in trends coincided with the rise of social media, it seemed plausible to speculate that the two phenomena might be related." The study goes back to the advent of Facebook at Harvard University in 2004, when it was the world's first social network. Facebook was initially accessible only to Harvard students who had a Harvard email address. Quickly spreading to other colleges in and outside the US, the network was finally made available to the general public in the US and beyond in September 2006. The researchers studied Facebook's gradual expansion during those first two-and-a-half years to compare the mental health of students in colleges that had access to Facebook with that of students in colleges that did not have access to the platform at that time. Their methodology also took into account any differences in mental health over time or across colleges that were not related to Facebook. This approach enabled conditions similar to those of a 'natural experiment' - clearly impossible today now that billions of people use many different social networks. Prof. Makarin said, "Many studies have found a correlation between the use of social media and various symptoms related to mental health. However, so far, it has been challenging to ascertain whether social media was actually the cause of poor mental health. In this study, by applying a novel research method, we were able to establish this causality." The study combined information from two different datasets: the specific dates on which Facebook was introduced at 775 American colleges, and the National College Health Assessment (NCHA), a survey conducted periodically at American colleges. The researchers built an index based on 15 relevant questions in the NCHA, in which students were asked about their mental health in the past year. They found a statistically significant worsening in mental health symptoms, especially depression and anxiety, after the arrival of Facebook: a rise of 7% in the number of students who had suffered, at least once during the preceding year, from depression so severe that it was difficult for them to function; a rise of 20% in those who reported anxiety disorders; an increase in the percentage of students expected to experience moderate to severe depression - from 25% to 27%; a rise in the percentage of students who had experienced impairment to their academic performance due to depression or anxiety - from 13% to 16%. Moreover, the impact of Facebook on mental health was measured at 25% of the impact of losing a job, and 85% of the gap between the mental states of students with and without financial debt with loss of employment known of employment and debt known to strongly affect mental health. Dr. Levy said, "When studying the potential mechanisms, we hypothesized that unfavorable social comparisons could explain the effects we found, and that students more susceptible to such comparisons were more likely to suffer negative effects. To test this interpretation, we looked at more data from the NCHA. We found, for example, a greater negative impact on the mental health of students who lived off-campus and were consequently less involved in social activities, and a greater negative impact on students with credit card debts who saw their supposedly wealthier peers on the network." "We also found evidence that Facebook had changed students' beliefs about their peers: more students believed that others consumed more alcohol, even though alcohol consumption had not changed significantly. We conclude that even today, despite familiarity with the social networks and their impact, many users continue to envy their online friends and struggle to distinguish between the image on the screen and real life." For further information, contact: Casey Bayer or Patricia FavreauDirector of Media Relations Associate Director of Media Relations(617) 253-0576 617-253-3492 [email protected] [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/academic-study-reveals-new-evidence-of-facebooks-negative-impact-on-the-mental-health-of-college-students-301633723.html SOURCE MIT Sloan School of Management PADUCAH, Ky., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A2RGC, JV (A2RGC) will provide staff augmentation services to Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership (FRNP), in support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The three-year contract will assist the DOE's cleanup efforts at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) in Paducah, Kentucky, protecting public health and improving the local environment. Built in the 1950s to manufacture enriched uranium for military nuclear reactors and weapons development, PGDP ceased operation in 2013. The Paducah site is an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund Site. As such, the EPA works in conjunction with the DOE to maintain functionality and efficiency of its long-term response to cleanup of hazardous materials contaminations. A2RGC is a joint venture between ARS Aleut Remediation, LLC (Aleut) and Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. (Geosyntec), formed under their Small Business Administration (SBA) approved Mentor-Protege Agreement. A2RGC will provide professional and technical support staff for the Paducah site, addressing the project's evolving needs. Using internal recruitment capabilities, A2RGC will source niche skill sets ranging across a wide variety of tasks, such as Scientists, Nuclear Waste Management Specialists, Laboratory Technicians, Waste Shipping, Non-Destructive Assay Technicians and Engineers, and Human Resources. A2RGC will operate as a prime subcontractor to FRNP, a collaboration led by Jacobs and joint venture partners, Fluor and BWXT. FRNP was recently awarded a three-year extension to continue deactivation and environmental remediation work at the Paducah site. "We are proud to partner with FRNP, expanding our footprint in Paducah, as it begins an additional three-year partnership with the DOE," said Aleut's General Manager, Mark Gragg. "Our team's robust recruitment functionality for staff augmentation will help improve the future of the Paducah region and its residents." ABOUT A2RGC A2RGC, JV is a joint venture between ARS Aleut Remediation, LLC and Geosyntec Consultants, Inc., formed under their Small Business Administration (SBA) approved Mentor-Protege Agreement under NAICS code 562910 Remediation Services. A2RGC brings together the combined capabilities of two firms specializing in Environmental Compliance & Consulting, Environmental Cleanup & Closure, and other Specialty Services. ABOUT ALEUT An SBA certified 8(a) program participant and Small Disadvantaged Business, ARS Aleut Remediation, LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aleut Federal, LLC, a holding company for federal subsidiaries of The Aleut Corporation (TAC). TAC was one of 13 original Alaska Native Corporations established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), passed by the U.S. Congress in 1971. Aleut currently maintains a local office in McCracken County, Kentucky, with plans for expansion throughout the region. Aleut is ISO 9001:2015 certified through independent registrar, QAS International (Certificate No. US4620J). ABOUT GEOSYNTEC Geosyntec provides engineering, earth science, remediation, and environmental management consulting and design services to a variety of federal departments. In addition, Geosyntec seeks out applied research opportunities, from program such as Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) that enable them to bring field trials of innovative technologies to federal facilities. These programs allow federal sites first access to the latest technologies. Contact: Berlyn MartinAleut Federal, LLCPhone: 586-337-5828Email: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aleut-geosyntec-joint-venture-awarded-staff-augmentation-contract-in-support-of-the-us-department-of-energy-301634611.html SOURCE Aleut Federal, LLC FREMONT, Calif. , Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Amprius Technologies, Inc. ("Amprius") (NYSE: AMPX), the leader in lithium-ion batteries with its Silicon Nanowire Anode Platform, today announced that Chief Executive Officer Dr. Kang Sun and Chief Financial Officer Sandra Wallach will be participating at the UBS Future of Electric Mobility Virtual Conference on Monday, October 3, 2022. AMPRIUS TECHNOLOGIES TO PARTICIPATE AT UBS FUTURE OF MOBILITY VIRTUAL CONFERENCE The company will hold one-on-one investor meetings during the day. To schedule a one-on-one meeting, request a conference invitation or receive additional information, please contact your UBS salesperson or Amprius' investor relations team at (949) 574-3860 or [email protected]. About Amprius Technologies, Inc. Amprius Technologies, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of high-energy and high-power lithium-ion batteries producing the industry's highest energy density cells. The company's corporate headquarters is in Fremont, California where it maintains an R&D lab and a pilot manufacturing facility for the fabrication of silicon nanowire anodes and cells. For additional information, please visit amprius.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amprius-technologies-to-participate-at-ubs-future-of-mobility-virtual-conference-301633600.html SOURCE Amprius Technologies Bright Pattern's advanced omnichannel contact center platform and CX technology is recommended by Aragon Research for buyers looking for flexibility and to streamline their CX. SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bright Pattern, a leading provider of AI-powered cloud contact center software, was recently reviewed by Aragon Research. Aragon Research is an independent research and advisory company founded in 2011 by former Gartner analysts, and they provide business and IT executives with actionable insights to navigate the technology market as well as navigate technology's evolving impact on CX. Aragon Research recommends Bright Pattern for buyers looking for a highly streamlined and scalable solution. Aragon Research recommends Bright Pattern for its flexibility, scalability, and advanced CX technology. Aragon Research recommends Bright Pattern for its: Fully omnichannel platform with support for measuring call quality from a macro and micro level. Fast and simplified setup experience. Unified agent desktop client that makes gathering insights smooth and easy-to-learn Cloud-agnostic platform that can be hosted on a wide range of cloud solutions, like AWS and Microsoft Azure for data hosting. Real-time call quality management that allows for the re-route of calls flagged for quality in the moment. AI-assisted tools to promote quality assurance Ease-of-use for a comprehensive omnichannel platform Industry-leading time-to-set up for its platform, making the cost of transitioning lower than the industry average. "Bright Pattern continues to be one of the most innovative, yet easiest-to-use solutions on the market," said Michael McCloskey, CEO of Bright Pattern. "Bright Pattern makes it easy for businesses to gain access to powerful CX tools while maintaining flexibility and ease-of-use through its flexible cloud-agnostic platform, innovations in the use of the Unified Agent Desktop, and streamlining of the quality assurance for businesses." Companies of all sizes select Bright Pattern to support their customer care organizations because of its simplified yet robust omnichannel platform, offering traditional channels; emerging channels like Facebook Messenger; in-app customer support; enterprise functionality; cloud-first architecture; and the ability to modify without the time and cost of professional services. Bright Pattern was recently recognized by Ovum as a Market Challenger, by Omdia for best platform functionality, by Frost & Sullivan as a top-performing vendor, and by Gartner as a leader in the Call Center FrontRunners Quadrant. Bright Pattern provides a simple yet powerful omnichannel contact center software that is the fastest to deploy with the lowest total cost of ownership in the industry. Bright Pattern offers the most advanced omnichannel cloud platform across channels like voice, text, chat, email, video, messengers, AI and bots. Bright Pattern provides native omnichannel quality management allowing companies to measure every interaction on every channel. Bright Pattern also offers a mobile app allowing any employee in your company to communicate with your customers. With over 500 customers in 26 countries, Bright Pattern is the highest-rated omnichannel contact center solution based on analysts and customer reviews. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aragon-research-recommends-bright-pattern-contact-center-software-301634274.html SOURCE Bright Pattern AMSTERDAM, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Core Laboratories (NYSE: "CLB US" and Euronext Amsterdam: "CLB NA") will broadcast its third quarter 2022 conference call over the Internet at 7:30 a.m. CDT / 2:30 p.m. CEST on October 27, 2022. Larry Bruno, Chairman and CEO, Chris Hill, CFO, and Gwen Gresham, SVP Corporate Development and Investor Relations, will discuss financial and operational results. An earnings press release will be issued after market close on October 26th and may be accessed through the Company's website at www.corelab.com. To participate in the live webcast, simply log on to www.corelab.com at least fifteen minutes prior to the start of the call. For those who are not available to listen to the live webcast, a Podcast will be available immediately following the conference call and a replay will be available on Core's website shortly after the call which will remain on the site for 10 days. To listen to the conference call via telephone, please contact Lena Brennan at [email protected] for the dial-in number. Core Laboratories N.V. (www.corelab.com) is a leading provider of proprietary and patented reservoir description and production enhancement services and products used to optimize petroleum reservoir performance. The Company has over 70 offices in more than 50 countries and is located in every major oil-producing province in the world. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/core-laboratories-third-quarter-2022-webcast-at-730-am-cdt--230-pm-cest-on-october-27-2022-301634754.html SOURCE Core Laboratories N.V. WOONSOCKET, R.I., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) is actively preparing for Hurricane Ian's landfall in Florida this week. The company's priority is the health and safety of its colleagues, customers, and members, and it is committed to providing its communities access to the products and services they need to plan for the storm. In advance of Hurricane Ian, CVS Health is implementing proactive measures across its businesses to ensure continuity of care. CVS Pharmacy is reaching out to its patients by text message, email, and phone to remind them to refill and pick up prescriptions. Stores are also receiving additional supplies of emergency items such as water, batteries and first aid products. CVS Caremark, the company's pharmacy benefit manager, is providing one-time emergency refills of a 10-day supply of medication for plan members in impacted areas. CVS Specialty patients who are within the emergency area and are taking specialty medications will be contacted to discuss alternate delivery arrangements, if needed. Aetna's clinical response teams have expanded their engagement with Medicare and Commercial members in potentially impacted areas to ensure member safety and access to emergency services. Additionally, Aetna is liberalizing its Resources For Living (RFL) services to ensure individuals and organizations have access to care regardless of whether it is part of their existing benefits. Liberalized services include in-the-moment mental health phone support, a dedicated crisis support website, and community resource information. Individuals and organizations who do not have RFL can call 1-833-327-AETNA, and those with RFL should contact their designated RFL number. CVS Health is outreaching to its colleagues who are at risk from the storm to check that they are safe and offer crisis support. Information about community resources and emotional support services is available through the company's employee assistance program. CVS Pharmacy stores comply with all local evacuation orders. If there are any mandatory closures, impacted stores will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so. If a store is closed for more than one day, the pharmacy's phone lines will be rerouted to a nearby open CVS Pharmacy so patients may continue to access their prescriptions. Patients who have scheduled a COVID-19 or flu vaccination will be notified of any changes to their appointment by email or text message. CVS Health also recommends the following tips for ensuring prescription needs are met for those potentially impacted by Hurricane Ian: Follow local evacuation orders. Get to a safe location first and refill your medications at the nearest pharmacy. This allows you to avoid potentially long lines at your local pharmacy, and you won't need to needlessly delay your evacuation. Get to a safe location first and refill your medications at the nearest pharmacy. This allows you to avoid potentially long lines at your local pharmacy, and you won't need to needlessly delay your evacuation. Take a waterproof bag with your current medication even if the bottle is empty. The information on the prescription label will help pharmacy staff with refill requests. Heat, humidity, and sunlight can degrade the effectiveness of medicine, so try to protect it from extreme weather conditions. The information on the prescription label will help pharmacy staff with refill requests. Heat, humidity, and sunlight can degrade the effectiveness of medicine, so try to protect it from extreme weather conditions. Keep a written record of your current prescriptions on hand. If you are taking several prescription drugs, it's an especially good idea to keep a record of your current medications, dosage, and doctor's contact information. CVS Health remains dedicated to supporting its local communities and is in contact with disaster relief organizations to help communities respond to and recover from the storm. About CVS HealthCVS Health is the leading health solutions company, delivering care like no one else can. We reach more people and improve the health of communities across America through our local presence, digital channels and over 300,000 dedicated colleagues including more than 40,000 physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and nurse practitioners. Wherever and whenever people need us, we help them with their health whether that's managing chronic diseases, staying compliant with their medications, or accessing affordable health and wellness services in the most convenient ways. We help people navigate the health care system and their personal health care by improving access, lowering costs and being a trusted partner for every meaningful moment of health. And we do it all with heart, each and every day. Follow @CVSHealth on social media. Media contactKara Page401-302-9353[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cvs-health-supporting-customers-patients-members-and-colleagues-as-hurricane-ian-approaches-301634718.html SOURCE CVS Health Jeff Parks joins Meritize after a 22 year career at JP Morgan Chase; previously led financial aid offices at higher education institutions across the country FRISCO, Texas, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Meritize, developer of merit-based financing solutions and a technology platform that connects career starters and mid-career professionals with high-impact skills training, announced today that it has hired Jeff Parks as the firm's vice president of business development. Parks will bring to the company more than two decades of executive leadership at JPMorgan Chase leading growth and business development work across a variety of business lines including student and auto lending, credit cards and digital payments. "Jeff's background and expertise are an incredible asset as we continue to grow, helping Meritize to serve more students and put their educational goals within reach," said Beck Pryor, chief operating officer at Meritize. "We are thrilled to have him on board and we look forward to the impact he will have on expanding funding opportunities." An expert in education finance and commercial credit and banking, Parks specialized in structuring unique business-to-business offerings during his time at JPMC. In this new role with Meritize, Parks will be responsible for designing and executing the organization's B2B sales strategy, managing the company's growing sales team, and executing against team sales targets. Parks joins Meritize at a time when the company sees continued growth. Prior to his role at JPMorgan Chase, Parks served as a student finance professional at several institutions of higher education, including the University of Arizona and Metropolitan State University of Denver. In June, Meritize closed its latest funding round with new funding from Aegon Asset Management's impact investment arm. The organization has been using this latest funding to scale its operations and accelerate its momentum meeting the complex education and training needs of fast-growing industries, including information technology, health care, aviation, and industrials. "Too often, traditional models of education finance simply create new barriers and burdensome financial commitments for students and career seekers, instead of helping them achieve their education and career goals," said Jeff Parks, vice president of business development at Meritize. "Meritize has created a new way to help learners finance training and skills development, using a model that leads to stronger financial, career, and educational outcomes. I'm thrilled to join the team and look forward to the work ahead." Since launching in 2017, the company has helped nearly 20,000 students get access to training, through more than$250 million in financing. Meritize has since grown its workforce to more than 60 employees, including 23 new hires in the past year. Today, more than 600 high-quality training providers across the United States are using Meritize's unique approach to merit-based finance to help professionals access and pay for training for roles in high-growth industries such as aviation, health care, information technology and the skilled trades. About Meritize: Meritize is a leading provider of funding solutions for skills-based education and workforce development. The company's proprietary merit-based lending program goes beyond traditional underwriting and uses an individual's academic or military achievements to enhance credit evaluation and expand funding opportunities, resulting in increased access to educational funding and improved outcomes. Frisco, Texas-based Meritize is privately held. For more information visit www.meritize.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dallas-based-workforce-finance-startup-taps-jp-morgan-vet-as-business-development-vp-301634041.html SOURCE Meritize MIAMI, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- eMerge Americas, a venture-backed platform focused on transforming Miami into a global tech hub, has announced the kick-off of the annual 2023 Global Startup Showcase. For the second year in a row, the Global Startup Showcase will merge with Panoramic Ventures' Startup Showdown and partner with the most active venture capital firm in Florida - Florida Funders - for a mega-pitch competition. eMerge Americas partners with Florida Funders and Panoramic Ventures for the eMerge Americas 2023 Global Startup Showcase "Each year, the Startup Showcase cohort inspires us with revolutionary ideas. As the Miami movement grows, we're excited to provide a platform through eMerge Americas to celebrate the stories of innovative startups from around the globe," Melissa Medina, President of eMerge Americas said. "We're thrilled to strengthen our 2023 showcase by once again partnering with Panoramic Ventures and Florida Funders." Participants will have a chance to win over $400,000 in investments: $250,000 investment by Florida Funders, $120,000 investment by Panoramic Ventures, and $50,000 investment by eMerge Americas. In addition, startups will be eligible to win more in-kind prizes that will be announced soon. "We're excited to bring Startup Showdown back to Miami for the third year as we partner with eMerge Americas," said Paul Judge, Managing Partner of Panoramic Ventures. "This partnership speaks to the ongoing collaboration across the ecosystem to support extraordinary founders building category-leading companies in Miami and across the Southeast." eMerge Americas 2023 Global Startup Showcase selects 100 of the best startups globally through a competitive application process within three stages (University Stage, Early Stage and Later Stage) to participate in a robust multi-week, virtual program, which will culminate at an in-person, grand finale pitch competition. This competition will take place April 20-21, 2023 in Miami Beach at the eMerge Americas global tech conference in front of leading venture capitalists, corporate enterprises, government officials, global media outlets, and guest judges. All selected startups will be allocated prime exhibit space on the 2023 eMerge Expo Floor within "StartUp Alley" to showcase their company over the course of the two-day event. "Florida Funders is excited to once again be a part of this important global tech conference and startup pitch competition," said its Chief Investment Officer, Ryan Whittemore. "If the quality of companies applying are anything like this past year, it will be difficult to select just one for the $250,000 check from Florida Funders. But, we're up for the challenge!" eMerge Americas 2022 Startup Showcase winner, Togal.AI, received a $420,000 investment from Panoramic Ventures, Florida Funders and eMerge Americas. CEO & Founder Patrick Murphy pitched Togal's vision in front of celebrity judges, including Kevin O'Leary of Shark Tank. Togal.AI uses machine learning to automatically calculate the square footage of plans, labeling of rooms and walls, and track updates on construction blueprints. For larger projects, which can be hundreds of pages long, this compresses weeks of work into seconds. "We are honored to have won the eMerge 2022 Startup Showcase; the opportunities and connections this provided us have been priceless," Patrick Murphy, Togal.AI Founder and CEO said. "At eMerge, we were able to share our story in front of thousands of people of how Togal.AI is revolutionizing the construction industry, as well as making a huge impact by speeding up the building process." Applications are now open and the deadline for entry is December 20, 2022. Click here to apply. To date, more than 900 startups have participated in the eMerge Americas Startup Showcase since the program's 2014 inception, of which 70 startups have raised an aggregate of more than $1 billion in venture capital funding. To apply to eMerge Americas 2023 Global Startup Showcase, submit your application here. The deadline for applications is December 20, 2022. About eMerge Americas eMerge Americas is a venture-backed platform focused on transforming Miami into the tech hub of the Americas. The eMerge signature event, launched in 2014, is a global tech conference held annually at the Miami Beach Convention Center, attracting more than 20,000 attendees from 50 countries and over 4,000 unique participating organizations. In addition to the annual conference, eMerge organizes and hosts year-round executive summits, innovation challenges, startup pitch competitions, masterclasses, webinars, as well as publishes venture activity and investment insights reports. For the last decade, eMerge has served as a catalyst for innovation and investment across the Americas, working at the forefront of building the South Florida entrepreneurial and tech ecosystem. Visit www.emergeamericas.com for more information. About Florida Funders, LLC Recognized as the top VC in the Southeast region by Pitchbook, Florida Funders is a venture capital firm and angel network that invests in early stage technology companies in Florida and beyond. The Florida Funders platform creates a unique experience that educates our community of investors, provides transparency during the funding process, fosters communication across the ecosystem, and empowers the strategic relationships that drive investments. Our experienced team is composed of investors, entrepreneurs and advisors focused on being the most respected and impactful early stage tech investment firm in the U.S. To learn more, visit floridafunders.com. About Panoramic Ventures Panoramic Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Atlanta that partners with extraordinary founders to build category-leading companies. Panoramic invests in B2B software and tech-enabled service businesses at all stages of maturity, from pre-seed and seed to growth and scale, giving more entrepreneurs access to capital to build leading tech companies. For more information, visit www.panoramic.vc or follow Panoramic Ventures on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Twitter @panoramicvc. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/emerge-americas-partners-with-florida-funders-and-panoramic-ventures-for-the-emerge-americas-2023-global-startup-showcase-301632398.html SOURCE eMerge Americas Verizon Connect Fleet USA LLC violated state and federal wage laws when it failed to pay for overtime wage premiums for overtime hours worked by sales representatives working from 5 offices across the United States. TAMPA, Fla., Sept 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Feldman Legal Group, a Tampa-based employment law firm, obtained decisive victory for upwards of 158 present and former sales employees in a lawsuit involving Verizon Connect Fleet USA LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon Communications. The company violated overtime pay laws by failing to pay employees for all the overtime hours they worked, including working through one-hour meal breaks. In a court order, Judge Mary Scriven of the Middle District of Florida approved a $3.2 million settlement between the parties for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Verizon Connect Fleet USA must pay individual settlement payments to all workers involved in the collective action case, in addition to all attorney's fees. The original legal complaint identified many instances of employees' being denied overtime pay that they earned. Most employees affected were inside sales representatives, including business development representatives and sales partners. Overtime pay is required to be paid by employers (companies) under state law and the federal wage law, called the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for all non-exempt employees without the employees having to request or ask to be paid for all hours over 40 in each and every workweek. By law, all hourly paid employees are entitled to overtime pay at no less than time-and-a-half of the employee's regular rate of pay, and without delays. Attorney Mitchell L. Feldman secured the settlement in this case that involved over 158 plaintiffs and began with three workers: Lauren Garnick, Tshacha Romeo and Corey Hanvey. The lawsuit showed that Verizon Connect Fleet USA LLC had a de facto policy against employees' reporting all overtime hours they worked. The company also regularly denied the payment of overtime wages to employees who worked through some or all of their lunch hour. In 2016, Verizon Communications purchased Fleetmatics Group, absorbing its 1,200 employees as well as some of that company's illegal overtime pay practices. These were the subject of another lawsuit litigated by Attorney Feldman, in which Fleetmatics reached a $2.9 million settlement on behalf of business development sales employees. "It's a shame that Verizon Connect refused to pay these workers all of the overtime wages they earned. These employees dedicated themselves to the company by putting in hours above and beyond a usual workweek, and their extra time and effort goes unrecognized and unpaid," Feldman says. Feldman Legal Group has a history of winning settlements for thousands of clients who were not paid for the overtime hours they worked. Attorney Feldman says, "It's an unfortunate fact: too many employers break the law and refuse to pay overtime to dedicated, hard-working employees." About Feldman Legal Group With over two decades of experience in civil litigation, Feldman Legal Group has a proven record in obtaining significant settlements for clients. From their offices in Tampa and Atlanta, the law firm provides legal representation to people throughout Florida and Georgia. A staunch advocate of workers, their attorneys represent employees in cases involving wage and hour claims, whistleblowers, wrongful termination, workplace discrimination and other employment law matters. Feldman Legal Group has a long history of seeking justice for workers and protecting the rights of the injured. This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/feldman-legal-group-wins-settlement-of-3-2-million-in-collective-action-case-against-verizon-connect-fleet-usa-llc-301634517.html SOURCE Feldman Legal Group Emergency funds supplement over $22 million in funds to Puerto Rico over the last five years for the island's long-term recovery NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ford Foundation announced today it will provide $1.5 million in emergency funding to Puerto Rico to support recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Fiona. In partnership with local nonprofit and community organizations, the foundation is supporting philanthropic and advocacy efforts for those impacted by the storm. This contribution brings Ford's total commitment to long-term recovery in Puerto Rico to over $22 million since 2017. Hurricane Fiona's catastrophic flooding left 75 percent of the island's population without clean water and the entire island without powerand there is no clear timeline as to when utilities will be restored. The brunt of the storm's impact hit areas in the southwest where 3,600 homes are still covered by blue tarps from Hurricane Maria in 2017 and where a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck in December 2019. While the present crisis was created by Hurricane Fiona, the magnitude of the damage is directly linked to the slow and ineffective response to previous disasters. "We have seen in previous natural disasters that underlying structural inequalities have a direct impact on relief and recovery efforts, and the stark inequities become even more exacerbated without intentional and meaningful intervention," said Jose Garcia, program director for Future of Work(ers) at the Ford Foundation. "For over three million inhabitants of Puerto Rico to not only survive from this disaster but recover with dignity, we need coordinated leadership and rapid investments across all sectors, and to listen to the needs of the most acutely impacted communities. There is no time to waste." "Since Maria, Ford has promoted bolder funding initiatives to support immediate response after disasters and long-term advocacy and transformation processes. After 5 years of continuous support, and now in the face of the systemic challenges Fiona highlights for Puerto Rico, we feel accompanied by this Foundation," said Ariadna Michelle Godreau Aubert, Founder and Executive Director of Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico. "We encourage other foundations to look at this juncture as a chance to step up and reimagine how to support survivors. While basic needs are by definition crucial, we also need resources to think and implement a strategy that looks towards the future conditions and possibilities of communities eager to enjoy their right to stay and return to their homes and lands, while ensuring dignified living conditions." Relief efforts will focus on four areas of greatest need: A strong civic infrastructure will be critical to both short- and long-term equitable recovery for all people living in Puerto Rico. During the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the Ford Foundation and other funders supported key philanthropic, legal, policy, and organizing initiatives that have since jumped into action to support recovery from Hurricane Fiona. Long-term investments in advancing social justice in Puerto Rico will be essential to addressing the systemic disparities that threaten to undermine an equitable recovery for everyone on the island. Through this emergency funding, the foundation aims to spur additional investment toward a long-term, equitable recovery in Puerto Rico. "Without Ford's support La Liga, and our initiatives, would not exist, and the initiatives bridging municipalities and communities, as well as with other sectors, would not be as advanced. The research, training or advocacy that those initiatives have seeded would not have been possible with this support," said Cristina M. Miranda Palacios, Founding Executive Director of League of Puerto Rican Cities (La Liga). "Ford Foundation is a great example of how the philanthropic sector can support organizations focused on systemic change, in a direct and open way, recognizing the roles of each sector and helping us connect in a more transformative way. I urge other foundations and entities to look at Ford Foundation's investment model, which is not only catalytic, but respectful of the realities, needs and wants of the communities impacted." "Once again, Hurricane Fiona has brought systemic challenges to light. This reaffirms Filantropia Puerto Rico's purpose to coordinate, and strategically align the response within the sector, amplifying the voices of the people and communities most affected by the hurricane," said Glenisse Pagan Ortiz, Executive Director, Filantropia Puerto Rico. "As the convener of the philanthropic ecosystem, Filantropia Puerto Rico will continue to mobilize, serve and lead the growth of the social sector throughout the archipelago. We encourage other funders to join committed funders in Puerto Rico to support the critical efforts being made to address inequities and the impact of the recovery during this time." THE FORD FOUNDATION The Ford Foundation is an independent organization working to address inequality and build a future grounded in justice. For more than 85 years, it has supported visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. Today, with an endowment of $16 billion, the foundation has headquarters in New York and 10 regional offices across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ford-foundation-provides-1-5-million-in-emergency-funding-to-puerto-rico-301634204.html SOURCE Ford Foundation This news release constitutes a "designated news release" for the purposes of the Company's prospectus supplement dated October 15, 2021, to its short form base shelf prospectus dated September 10, 2021. VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Great Panther Mining Limited (TSX: GPR) (OTCPK: GPLDK) ("Great Panther" or the "Company"), announces that following a delisting review by the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX"), the Company's common shares (the "Shares") will be delisted from the TSX effective close of market on October 27, 2022. Trading of the Shares on the TSX has been suspended since September 6, 2022, as a result of the Company filing a notice of intention to make a proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada) (the "BIA"). This suspension will continue until the delisting takes effect. As previously announced, the Shares were delisted from the NYSE American LLC ("NYSE American") on September 14, 2022. The Shares are currently quoted on the OTC Pink operated by the OTC Markets Group Inc. (the "OTC Pink"). The Company expects that the OTC Pink will provide significantly less liquidity than the TSX and NYSE American, and can provide no assurances regarding trading volumes, trading prices or that the Shares will continue to be quoted on the OTC Pink. Due to the risks and uncertainties resulting from the BIA proceedings, trading in the Shares during the pendency of the BIA proceedings poses substantial risks. Shareholders retain their legal rights and equity interest and are advised to contact their brokerage where shares are held regarding retention policies for unlisted shareholdings and potential for shares to trade in over-the-counter markets. ABOUT GREAT PANTHER Great Panther Mining is a precious metals producer focused on the operation of the Tucano Gold Mine in Brazil where the Company controls a land package covering nearly 200,000 hectares in the prospective Vila Nova Greenstone belt. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (together, "forward-looking statements"). Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the Company's intention to make a proposal under the BIA, and potential for the Company's shares to trade in over-the-counter markets. These forward-looking statements and information reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant procedural, operational, business, economic and regulatory risks and uncertainties, including risks related to the restructuring process and its impact on the Company's operations and financial conditions, uncertainty regarding the ability to obtain protection against all collection and enforcement actions during the judicial reorganization proceedings, uncertainty regarding the Company's ability to identify and pursue strategic alternatives that will maximize stakeholder value, and the risks described in respect of Great Panther in its most recent annual information form and management's discussion and analysis filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available at www.sedar.com and its most recent annual report on Form 40-F and management's discussion and analysis on Form 6-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov. There is no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove accurate or that actual results will not vary materially from these forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described, or intended. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements and information are designed to help readers understand management's current views of our near- and longer-term prospects and may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not intend, nor does it assume any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, changes in assumptions, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/great-panther-mining-receives-delisting-notice-from-the-toronto-stock-exchange-301634855.html SOURCE Great Panther Mining Limited Global Networking and Edge/IOT experts to share insights across Industry 4.0, the future of 5G, security, cloud native, and more Initial Keynotes announced include AT&T, Telus, US Government, Top Analysts open source experts and many more Register today to join the diverse roster of in- person discussions in Seattle, November 15-16, 2022 with Speakers from 70+ Sessions, 50+ companies, 20+ end users, 16+ countries during ONE Summit SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LF Networking, the facilitator of collaboration and operational excellence across open source networking projects, announced the preliminary keynote line-up for ONE Summit North America 2022. Taking place in Seattle, WA November 15-16, ONE Summit is the one industry event that brings together decision makers and implementers for two days of in-depth presentations and interactive conversations around 5G, Access, Edge, Telco, Cloud, Enterprise Networking, and more open source technology developments. "We are honored to present an illuminating, initial list of industry thought leaders to grace this year's ONE Summit keynote stage," said Arpit Joshipura, general manager, Networking, Edge, and IoT, the Linux Foundation. "Experts from leading telecommunications groups, government agencies, system and solution vendors, industry analysts and more will cover the latest innovations focused on the power and impact of connectivity." Preliminary keynote speakers & moderators include: Igal Elbaz , Network CTO, AT&T , Network CTO, Ibrahim Gedeon, CTO, TELUS CTO, Tejas Pate l, Program Manager, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Information Innovation Office l, Program Manager, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Information Innovation Office Dr. Thomas Rondeau, Principal Director for FutureG & 5G, the United States Department of Defense Principal Director for FutureG & 5G, the Rob High, Fellow, Vice President and CTO , IBM Networking and Edge Computing Fellow, Vice President and CTO Alla Goldner , Director, Open Network Standardization Strategy, NEC , Director, Open Network Standardization Strategy, Heather Kirksey , Vice President, Community & Ecosystem, the Linux Foundation , Vice President, Community & Ecosystem, the Chetan Sharma , Chief Executive Officer, Chetan Sharma Consulting , Chief Executive Officer, Will Townsend , Vice President & Principal Analyst, Moor Insights & Strategy , Vice President & Principal Analyst, Roy Chua , Founder & Principal, AvidThink , Founder & Principal, Jill Lovato, Director, Linux Foundation In addition to a powerful line-up of thought-leading keynote speakers, the event features an extensive program of 70+ diverse business and technical sessions that cover cutting-edge topics across five presentation tracks: Industry 4.0; Security; The New Networking Stack; Operational Deployments (case studies, success & challenges); and Emerging Technologies and Business Models. Developer & Testing Forum ONE Summit is followed by a complimentary, two-day LF Networking Developer and Testing Forum (D&TF), a grassroots hands-on event organized by the LF Networking projects. ONE Summit attendees are encouraged to extend the experience, roll up sleeves, and join the incredible developer community to advance the open source networking and automation technologies of the future. Session videos from the Spring 2022 LFN Developer & Testing Forum, which took place June 13-16 in Porto, Portugal, are available here. Collocated Technology Events ONE Summit features a line-up of co-located technological events from across the ecosystem, including a Futurewei workshop; a Nephio Workshop; and the ONE SONiC Workshop. Details and registration information are available here. Registration ONE Summit attendees engage directly with thought leaders across 5G, Cloud Native and Network Edge and expand knowledge of open source networking technology progression. Register today to gain fresh insights on technical and business collaboration shaping the future of networking, edge, and cloud computing. Members of The Linux Foundation, LF Networking, and LF Edge receive a 20 percent discount off registration and can contact [email protected] to request a member discount code. Members of the press who would like to request a press pass to attend should contact [email protected]. To register, visit https://events.linuxfoundation.org/one-summit-north-america/register/. Sponsors ONE Summit is made possible thanks to generous sponsors, including: Diamond sponsor Dell Technologie and Gold sponsors Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), kyndryl, LF Edge, and ZEDEDA. For information on becoming an event sponsor, click here or email for more information and to speak to the team. About the Linux Foundation Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 2,000 members and is the world's leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation's projects are critical to the world's infrastructure including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, PyTorch, and more. Learn more at linuxfoundation.org. The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see its trademark usage page: www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Media ContactJill LovatoThe Linux Foundation[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/influential-thought-leaders-across-open-networking-edge-iot-ecosystem-to-keynote-one-summit-november-15-16-2022-301634494.html SOURCE LF Networking Jair Lynch's and Nuveen's acquisition of Carver Terrace with Amazon will preserve affordability in a rapidly gentrifying District neighborhood. WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners ("Jair Lynch"), a leading owner and developer of mixed-use properties and attainable housing, and Nuveen Real Estate ("Nuveen"), one of the largest real estate managers globally with $152 billion of assets under management, announced this week the preservation of 312 units of affordable housing in Northeast DC through the acquisition of Carver Terrace ("the Property"), located just outside the rapidly gentrifying H Street Corridor. The acquisition presents a rare opportunity for Jair Lynch and Nuveen to preserve the affordability of an important property nearing the end of its long-term Low Income Housing Tax Credit ("LIHTC") compliance period. The acquisition is supported in part by the Amazon Housing Equity Fund whose acquisition and gap financing commitment ensures the preservation of the Property's affordability with rents restricted to 80% Area Median Income ("AMI") for 99 years. As an additional level of affordability protection, Jair Lynch intends to do a LIHTC re-syndication next year which will extend the LIHTC compliance period and continue to restrict rents at the property to 60%AMI for 100% of the units. Jair Lynch has also partnered with Housing Up, a nonprofit founded in 1990 with the mission to provide homeless and at-risk families with opportunities to transform their lives, to support the substantial renovation plans for the Property and help to provide comprehensive support services for residents long-term. "We're grateful for the opportunity to partner with Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners on Carver Terrace, and to be a part of this effort to ensure the preservation of more than 300 affordable homes here in D.C." said Catherine Buell, director of Amazon's Housing Equity Fund. Carver Terrace was included in Amazon's recently announced $147 million commitment to help create and preserve 1,260 affordable homes across D.C. The Property's proximity to the bustling and rapidly gentrifying H Street Corridor a neighborhood which has experienced a swath of new large-scale residential, office, and retail developments in the last ten years placed Carver Terrace in a position of great risk to be redeveloped into market-rate housing. The acquisition by Jair Lynch and Nuveen, in partnership with the Amazon Housing Equity Fund and Housing Up, will preserve the Property's affordability for nearly a century and ensure that the families who have long called this neighborhood home can remain in place. "Many residents of Carver Terrace have lived in this neighborhood for over 20 years. Like us, they've witnessed the transformation of the area in recent years," said Phuc D. Tran, Vice President of Asset Management for Jair Lynch. "We're proud of our ability to ensure they can remain in place despite the area's rapid growth and of the opportunity to provide them with higher quality housing, amenities, and resident services." Jair Lynch and Nuveen intend to improve both building quality and quality of life for Carver Terrace residents by completing deferred maintenance, conducting capital improvements including the addition and enhancement of units and common amenities, the introduction of Winn Residential as the new property management company, and more robust resident services offerings. "We are committed to preserving affordable housing and creating a positive impact for our residents and the communities we serve through sustainable improvements and resident services," said Mike Gilmartin, Senior Director of Impact Investing for Nuveen Real Estate. "Carver Terrace represents a significant opportunity to do so in a high-demand area, and we are looking forward to executing the business plan with Jair Lynch." Berkadia served as the seller's broker in this transaction and Klein Hornig served as transaction counsel for the purchaser. About Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners is a leading real estate investment and development firm that specializes in the thoughtful transformation of walkable urban places. Founded in 1998, Jair Lynch has acquired, developed, and operated a portfolio of residential, commercial, and neighborhood assets that contribute to the company's mission of creating extraordinary places. The firm has developed nearly 6 million square feet of real estate projects, currently has $3.0 billion of assets under management and has a controlled pipeline of 2.3 million square feet valued at more than $1.4 billion. Visit www.jairlynch.com to learn more. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jair-lynch-nuveen-commit-to-preserving-affordability-of-over-300-apartments-in-northeast-dc-for-99-years-with-amazon-housing-equity-fund-301634513.html SOURCE Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners New research will build on findings of study recently published by npj Digital Medicine and policy insights on telehealth access resulting from the first round of funding COLUMBIA, Md., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MedStar Health has received a nearly $2 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to expand its research collaboration with Stanford Medicine and Intermountain Healthcare focused on telehealth access, safety, and equity. The grant will allow researchers to establish a patient safety learning laboratory over a four-year funding period to apply a cross-disciplinary, human factors and systems engineering approach to connected care enhancements, especially among patients with chronic conditions and other vulnerable populations. MedStar Health awarded new $2M grant from AHRQ to expand research focused on telehealth access, safety, and equity. This award comes after npj Digital Medicine's recent publication of the team's study, "The impact of expanded telehealth availability on primary care utilization," which resulted from research conducted under the initial grant award. The study found the unprecedented availability of telehealth during the pandemic did not lead to an increase in unnecessary primary care sessions. "Our initial research demonstrates that telehealth is delivering on its promise to provide accessible and effective care," said Raj Ratwani, PhD, co-principal investigator for both grants, vice president of scientific affairs for the MedStar Health Research Institute, and director of the MedStar Health National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare. "Thanks to the continued support of AHRQ, we will advance patient safety nationally by studying and scaling telehealth as a proactive safety tool while also enhancing its safe use within the diverse communities served by connected care." Recently published research on telehealth access provides policy insights For the team's new study in npj Digital Medicine, researchers analyzed more than 4.1 million completed in-person and telehealth (video or phone) adult primary care encounters for nearly 940,000 unique patients at MedStar Health, Stanford Health Care, and Intermountain Healthcare from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021, as well as each patient's payor type (commercial, Medicaid, Medicare, and other). They determined the mean number of encounters for all these patients, as well as the subset who had at least one encounter every year. For both groups, the mean number of encounters showed little change from year to year, and those patients who had more than one encounter per year tended to use telehealth more than those with only one encounter per year. "While we expected to see variability in telehealth use in primary care, we were interested to learn that those patients with chronic illness and frequent primary care needs consistently replaced one to two visits per year with a telehealth visit," said Ethan Booker, MD, study co-author, co-principal investigator for both grants, and chief medical officer of telehealth for MedStar Health. "This finding underscores our entry into a new era of chronic care, as telehealth helps providers increase access and care continuity for patients who need it most. Given the evidence that telehealth has expanded our care capabilities, we believe federal and state legislation and regulations should continue to protect telehealth access." Goals of new grant activity Through the new grant, the team will continue work under the name Connected CARECare Access, Research, Equity& Safety Consortium and expand beyond their initial focus on primary care. They will study the care continuum tied to outpatient settings more holistically, with special attention to chronic care and health equity. To consider safety solution design, development, and implementation, they will also collaborate with experts at Microsoft Research and virtual care platform-as-a-service provider Bluestream Health, and with health equity and patient and family advisors. Drawing upon their insights from the first grant and telehealth and human factors expertise, the co-principal investigators have identified four areas of possible impact to explore: Proactive opportunities to advance safety and health through telehealth are powerful. The team will study ways to reinforce/expand the safe use of telehealth, such as enhancing existing information transfer between standalone telehealth organizations and emergency departments. Importantly, they will also consider how to proactively use telehealth to improve safety, like when a provider may see and address a fall risk during a video visit. Process optimization remains as essential to safety as technology enhancements. The ability to communicate about and deliver on specialty care referrals following on-demand or scheduled telehealth visits, for example, is critical to the continuum of care and benefits from a human factors and systems engineering approach. Personalization of telehealth technology use serves as a key to both safety and health equity. Past research shows that the ability to safely deliver care via phone, video, and other unique telehealth technologies, like chatbots, is vital to serving vulnerable patients, people with disabilities, patients with diverse language needs, people with chronic conditions, and those who may need to use telehealth to evaluate if symptoms require care now or can wait. Provider wellbeing is an urgent priority for patient safety as care becomes more connected. Providers are reporting that patients' use of portal messages for clinical questions has increased exponentially, for example. It is important to identify staffing and technology solutions to reduce any related after-hours provider workload for safety and wellbeing. This AHRQ grant is a prestigious U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' R18 award and is the second such effort led by MedStar Health. For more information about these efforts, research partners, and principal investigators representing each organization, visit www.ConnectedCAREandSafety.org. About MedStar Health At MedStar Health, we use the best of our minds and the best of our hearts to serve our patients, those who care for them, and our communities. Our 30,000 associates and 4,700 affiliated physicians are committed to living this promise through our core SPIRIT valuesService, Patient first, Integrity, Respect, Innovation, and Teamworkacross our more than 300 locations including 10 hospitals, ambulatory, and urgent care centers. As the medical education and clinical partner of Georgetown University, MedStar Health is training future physician leaders to care for the whole person and is advancing care through the MedStar Health Research Institute. From our telemedicine and urgent care services to the region's largest home health agency, we're committed to providing high-quality health care that's also easy and convenient for our patients. At MedStar HealthIt's how we treat people. Learn more at MedStarHealth.org. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/medstar-health-awarded-additional-2-million-grant-to-expand-research-on-national-telehealth-access-safety-and-health-equity-301632285.html SOURCE MedStar Health 61% of those polled say patients and consumers are biggest advocates of diagnostic wearables while 47% report doctors and medical professionals tout increased use Regulatory approval for medical use tops list of adoption barriers, along with need for better data from existing fitness and wellness trackers Top five design challenges: cost, durability, power, miniaturization and data capture Energy harvesting poised to power wearables but will take time and innovation LISLE, Ill., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Molex, a global electronics leader and connectivity innovator, today announced the results of a global survey of design engineering stakeholders to identify market drivers impacting the development of diagnostic wearables that enable patients, caregivers and consumers to monitor and analyze data regarding health status. Survey respondents cited high expectations for consumer use and innovation in wearables for sport and fitness, wellness and medical-monitoring applications. Also identified were regulatory, technology and adoption barriers that must be cleared to fuel advancements of increasingly connected, smaller and more powerful health, fitness and medical-monitoring wearables. "There's an interesting convergence taking place across the diagnostic wearables landscape as medical device companies and tech innovators strive to bring game-changing products to market," said Tyson Masar, global director, Medical, Molex. "Emerging applications dictate new requirements, which is why design engineers must understand the needs of all stakeholders and how they affect decisions across the entire product lifecyclefrom early-stage device design concepts to commercialization at scale, and every step in between." Molex and Avnet commissioned Dimensional Research to conduct the Diagnostic Wearables: The Future of Medical Monitoring global survey in August 2022, polling 603 qualified individuals in design engineering roles with responsibility for diagnostic wearables. A variety of questions were asked to understand the pace of adoption and impact of a growing ecosystem of advocates while assessing the challenges and tradeoffs impeding product delivery. Advocacy and Acceptance on the Rise A growing roster of advocates are encouraging increased use of diagnostic wearables, led by patients and consumers (61%), doctors and other medical professionals (47%) along with in-home caregivers (44%). Unsurprisingly, insurance providers, some doctors and other medical professionals, as well as medical technicians, remain hesitant or object to increased use. Within the next five years, however, design engineers report high expectations for direct consumer adoption of devices to support obesity control (61%), posture sensing and correction (59%), breath-based disease detection (51%), reproductive health monitoring (50%) and infectious disease monitoring (49%). Examples of new medical wearables expected to be available within five years include devices for tracking diabetes, sleep monitoring, gait analysis, mobile CT scanning, genetic abnormalities and vision deterioration. Design Challenges Persist Despite optimism for the future, nearly all participants identified design challenges, such as consumer expectations for ease of use (42%), the need for simple user interfaces and complete documentation (41%), design difficulties in uncontrolled homecare settings (40%) and complexity of regulatory approval processes (34%). Areas that also impede design processes include cost (38%), durability (37%), power (35%), miniaturization (33%), data capture (30%) and connectivity (30%). In fact, three quarters of those polled report that connectivity constraints impact current abilities to collect relevant data for tracking and analyzing health. According to those polled, the top five impediments to designing smaller wearables range from miniaturizing the sensing elements (40%) and making hardware (e.g., connectors) smaller (39%) to power management (32%), signal quality (29%) and thermal management (22%). The top three most reported innovations in materials include biocompatibility, published functional and reliability data for emerging materials, as well as real-world "wear test" simulations. Energy Harvesting Ignites Interest Overall, respondents were bullish about the potential for harvesting patient energy (e.g., body heat, sweat, heartbeat, movement, etc.) to power wearable functionality. While acknowledging time and innovation are required to propel this area forward, respondents cited movement (49%), body heat (35%) and sweat (13%) as the most viable sources for energy harvesting. Collaboration Expected to Drive Innovation Worldwide According to 63% of those surveyed, strong collaboration among industry, government and academic groups is expected to drive the most innovations in diagnostic wearables. While nearly three quarters of respondents from China ranked group collaboration highest in importance, results from participants in the United Kingdom (52%), France (57%) and Germany (59%) were more closely aligned with participants from the U.S. (61%). About Molex Molex is a global electronics leader committed to making the world a better, more-connected place. With presence in more than 40 countries, Molex enables transformative technology innovation in the automotive, data center, industrial automation, healthcare, 5G, cloud and consumer device industries. Through trusted customer and industry relationships, unrivaled engineering expertise, and product quality and reliability, Molex realizes the infinite potential of Creating Connections for Life. For more information, visit www.molex.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/molex-releases-global-survey-results-on-state-of-diagnostic-wearables-and-the-future-of-medical-monitoring-301633790.html SOURCE Molex Incorporated NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Public parks play a vital role in fostering community engagement and supporting the well-being of nearby residents, but their impact depends not only on the physical but also the social dimensions, such as perceived safety and availability of community programming. The National Institutes of Health has awarded a team of researchers from the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH) a five-year, $6.7 million grant to design and implement programmatic strategies to enhance the social environment of neighborhoods by leveraging newly renovated public parks in low-income New York City neighborhoods. In New York City, as part of the equity-based Community Parks Initiative, 64 neighborhood parks in low-income communities with a high concentration of Black and Latino residents have been redesigned and renovated since 2017, providing a unique opportunity to work with neighborhood and city partners in a community-engaged, community-level intervention to leverage the new park facilities to enhance the social dimension of these neighborhoods, as a way to improve community-level health outcomes. The researchers, led by CUNY SPH Professor Terry T-K Huang, will conduct a hybrid effectiveness-implementation randomized stepped wedge trial in eight neighborhoods to determine the impact on community-level health-related quality of life and mental health of a community-engaged intervention that enables local stakeholders to design and implement programmatic strategies in the newly renovated parks. The team will employ human-centered design (HCD), a process methodology for problem-solving and innovation, in an asset-based approach to collaborating with local partners. Specifically, each community will design one primarily physical activity strategy that promotes reach and inclusive participation among adults and one primarily social strategysuch as music, outdoor market, park beautification groupsthat enhances social interaction and relationships. Unlike past research in public health, the research team will not prescribe the specific park-based activities; rather, the community will have the opportunity to design them based on what fits with the local context. The research team will provide each community financial resources and core services on formative research, design, and rapid prototyping and testing. Marrying HCD with community engagement will result in community-owned park strategies that align with true community-identified values, needs and assets and improve the social infrastructure of neighborhoods, the researchers say, leading to sustained health impact and reduce health disparities at the community level. "Parks are critical for neighborhood engagement and vibrancy, which in turn contribute to community well-being," says Dr. Huang. "This study is significant both conceptually and methodologically. It pushes health disparities research from being community-participatory to community-centered, where the solutions are community-driven and based on authentic community needs, values and culture. We will also be able to empirically test, for the first time, the impact of HCD as a process for community-driven innovation on community-level health outcomes." View the full release here. Media contact:Ariana CostakesCommunications Editorial Manager[email protected] View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nih-awards-cuny-sph-team-6-7-million-to-design-park-based-strategies-to-improve-mental-well-being-301634734.html SOURCE CUNY SPH 10-year-old branding and consulting firm tightens focus to tackle B2B revenue growth challenges. PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Muhlenhaupt and Company, a Philadelphia-based consulting firm that accelerates revenue growth for B2B clients, announced today that they are rebranding as The Moving Company. The organization has been fortunate to prosper during this time of global change, and now The Moving Company is doubling down on their core competency B2B growth strategy and execution. The Muhlenhaupt family has grown several businesses over time. First growing a moving and storage company to be Long Island's premier United Van Lines international provider, creating a division that became the largest records management firm in the region, as well as creating a marketing group that pioneered neighborhood-focused direct-mail marketing for the largest national real estate powerhouses. The Muhlenhaupt family took those three entities successfully to acquisition, and then built their next generation of fast-growing B2B companies: The Moving Company and MNYK Studios. Adam Muhlenhaupt said, "After successfully operating this agency for 10 years with my father, I am thrilled for the new direction of the business and the next phase of our growth and leadership alongside our longtime partner Ryan Draving." Adam will continue to lead the business as Managing Director. Ryan Draving, Head of Strategy at The Moving Company, said, "I'm excited to be part of the next generation of the business. I remember when I first met Adam and Rip, back in 2014, and saw the incredible work they were already creating. Since then, we have attracted some of the top creative and marketing talent in Philadelphia, and this rebrand represents the next evolution of our company." At its core, the rebrand combines a leading growth agency and a century-long legacy of success, with roots as an actual moving company in 1924. Throughout the years, the original business grew to sizable acquisitions and paved the way for the next stage of businessMuhlenhaupt + Company. Over the past 10 years, the branding and marketing agency grew clients from small players to multinational organizations. Since 2020, their video and audio production and broadcast studio, known as Manayunk "MNYK" Studios, has developed rapidly, serving multinational B2B, pharmaceutical, and education companies. The new brand name, refreshed business offerings, and newly positioned leadership all appear on The Moving Company's new website: MovingB2B.com. "The Moving Company solves complex growth challenges for B2B companies with long sales cycles and annual customer value in excess of $10,000/year. We understand the nuance of B2B branding, marketing, sales and retention, and that insight is a critical component of the success we build for B2B clients," says Draving. To learn more about The Moving Company or connect with its founders, visit MovingB2B.com To learn more about Manayunk Studios, visit MNYKStudios.com. About The Moving Company | B2B Growth Agency The Moving Company is a B2B growth agency of talented people who take bold action and move businesses forward. Our people solve complex B2B growth challenges. We build solid foundations, generate SQLs, create wins, and expand retention and market share. The Moving Company's tailor-made growth strategies create lasting impact for B2B companies of any size. To learn more, visit MovingB2B.com. PRESS CONTACT Becca Visco4127193763https://movingb2b.com/ View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/phillys-first-b2b-growth-agency-enters-the-arena-301634528.html SOURCE The Moving Company | B2B Growth Agency The New York City landmark restaurant is collaborating with Wandering Bear Coffee to create a limited time Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, the "Wandering Bear Frrrozen Mochaccino", for National Coffee Day kicking off this Thursday, September 29th. NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of National Coffee Day (Sept. 29), Serendipity3, home of the world-famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, is partnering with Wandering Bear Coffee, the makers of strong coffee with a smooth side, to create the ultimate coffee treat for coffee lovers in New York City. From Sept. 29 through Oct. 2, patrons for Serendipity3 can indulge in a "Wandering Bear Frrrozen Mochaccino," a spin on the iconic Frrrozen Hot Chocolate. The "Wandering Bear Frrrozen Mochaccino" features Serendipity3's iconic blend of 14 different cocoas infused with a big splash of Wandering Bear Cold Brew, a mocha fudge cookie crumb and frosting rimmed goblet, and is topped with a mountain of whipped cream, cookie crumbs, 3 mocha fudge cookies and a drizzle of chocolate. Priced at $19.95, this collaborative dessert is available beginning on National Coffee Day, Thursday, Sept. 29 at the Upper Eastside landmark. "We love Wandering Bear's coffee and are so excited to celebrate National Coffee Day with their brand and our customers," said Chef Joe Calderone, Creative Director at Serendipity3. "We look forward to providing New Yorkers with the ultimate caffeine treat this weekend - you won't want to miss out!" Serendipity3 has served nearly 30 million of its signature menu item over the past 68 years, the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, an iconic blend of 14 exotic cocoas. The restaurant is known for bringing extravagant menu items, such as the new Selena Sundae, inspired by part owner and investor in the restaurant and Serendipity Brands, Selena Gomez, while captivating their worldwide audience and additional celebrity following, including but not limited to Cher, Marilyn Monroe, Kim Kardashian, the Hilton family, Wendy Williams and Andy Warhol. Located at 225 E 60th Street, Serendipity3 is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. EST. For more information and to book a reservation, please visit: www.serendipity3.com. About Serendipity3:Serendipity3, the legendary New York City restaurant and general store, founded in 1954, as one of the city's truly unique dining experiences. The home of amazing food and decadent desserts, such as the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, Serendipity has been captivating millions of patrons since its inception. It's an enchanting place where artists got their inspiration and actors fulfilled their cravings. Beginning with Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol, Grace Kelly and Cary Grant in the 1950's, continuing with a celebrity following that includes Cher, Candice Bergen, Melanie Griffith and Ron Howard, the restaurant continues to attract celebrities such as Beyonce, Ryan Reynolds, Selena Gomez and Kim Kardashian. In addition, the restaurant has been the setting of three major Hollywood productions, One Fine Day (1996) with George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer, Serendipity (2001) with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, and Trust The Man (2005) with Julianne Moore and David Duchovny. About Wandering Bear Coffee: Wandering Bear co-founders Matt & Ben met in grad school in NYC, surviving off debt and caffeine. From their mutual obsession with coffee, Wandering Bear was born - a stronger, simpler, better alternative to ready-to-drink coffees on the market. What started as a friendly competition to perfect the humble DIY cold brew soon became a campus wide phenomenon, and from there, city-wide, and then nationwide. Since 2014, they've been doing things differently - from their packaging to their products. Wandering Bear cold brew has always been extra strong. It's always been smooth. And they were the first to put it on tap in a sustainable and convenient "on tap" box. Today, you can find Wandering Bear in homes and offices across the country. Shop all products online at wanderingbear.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/serendipity3-and-wandering-bear-coffee-team-up-to-create-ultimate-treat-for-national-coffee-day-301634278.html SOURCE Serendipity3 CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Susan G. Komen, the world's leading breast cancer organization, will hold an in-person MORE THAN PINK Walk to raise critical funds that support breast cancer patients and remove barriers to care to improve outcomes for everyone impacted by the disease. The Walk will be held on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, at North Point Park. "We look forward to creating a community for anyone impacted by breast cancer as we gather, in person, for this year's Walk. Funds raised from the MORE THAN PINK Walk help Komen provide direct support to patients through financial assistance and patient navigation programs so that everyone has access to the resources they need during a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment," said Melissa MacNeil, Development Manager for Massachusetts at Susan G. Komen. Komen is pleased to welcome this year's sponsors: Parexcel and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Watts Water Technologies, is serving as the Community sponsor, supporting Komen's work to provide information and guidance to survivors and caregivers as they navigate the breast cancer care journey. Additionally, Mike Wankum, WCVB's StormTeam 5's weeknight meteorologist, will serve as Emcee of the event. Participants can expect to enjoy the following at the Walk: Hope Village, a place for survivors and those living with metastatic breast cancer to gather We Remember Area where attendees can hang a photo or message about the person they're remembering Pillar Tents where attendees can learn more about Komen's four pillars Research, Care, Community and Action Moving program featuring the Pathway of Hope followed by a 2.2-mile Walk starting at North Point Park Komen MORE THAN PINK WalkNorth Point ParkCambridge, MA Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022 7:30 AM EVENT OPENS 9 AM OPENING CEREMONY9:30 AM WALK Register Onlinewww.komen.org/massachusettswalk About Susan G. Komen Susan G. Komen is the world's leading nonprofit breast cancer organization, working to save lives and end breast cancer forever. Komen has an unmatched, comprehensive 360-degree approach to fighting this disease across all fronts and supporting millions of people in the U.S. and in countries worldwide. We advocate for patients, drive research breakthroughs, improve access to high-quality care, offer direct patient support and empower people with trustworthy information. Founded by Nancy G. Brinker, who promised her sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would end the disease that claimed Suzy's life, Komen remains committed to supporting those affected by breast cancer today, while tirelessly searching for tomorrow's cures. Visit komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN. Connect with us on social at www.komen.org/contact-us/follow-us/. CONTACT: Amanda DeBard Susan G. Komen (972) 701-2131 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/susan-g-komen-more-than-pink-walk-raises-money-to-support-breast-cancer-patients-301634559.html SOURCE Susan G. Komen for the Cure DALLAS, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sutherland Furniture, the preeminent provider of luxury outdoor furniture, has announced Eugeni Quitllet as Creative Director. The Catalan designer and 2016 Maison & Objet Best Designer of the Year will oversee product development for Sutherland as of August 15, 2022. With an exceptional, visionary eye for furniture design, Quitllet is the creative force behind iconic pieces such as the Masters Chair for Kartell, in collaboration with Philippe Starck, and Vondom's Love Series. Philippe Starck's 2009 Robinwood collection for Sutherland was an inspiring effort, and Eugeni was integral to those designs and their success. Eugeni has also collaborated with Roche Bobois, Christofle, Foscarini Lighting, Driade and Dedon partnerships that are widely applauded and appreciated. Quitllet's industrial design background and keen eye for romantic lines are a great combination. He plays with form and void, resulting in gravity-free designs using thoughtful materials. His first chair (Monaco) for Sutherland, now in production, will be introduced in the summer of 2023. It is made from recycled ocean plastics in combination with Sutherland's acclaimed teakwood, complementing the sophisticated styling so expected from Sutherland. Designing with sustainability in mind will be an overriding approach as Eugeni crafts futuristic pieces for timeless beauty. "I have known Sutherland since 2006, and they have evolved through time exploring a very personal style that has identified the brand as a unique and iconic signature," says Quitllet. "2022 will be a continuity of this 're-evolution,' and will continue to exalt the exigence and performance of their products and collections. I hope that my vision and magic touch will complete this new dream and share it with the world in the most beautiful way! The great quality and variety of material, and the know-how that has been the signature for so many years, mixed with sparks of technology, will be applied to new territories - underlining Sutherland and Perennials as the outdoor and indoor reference in the world." "Eugeni Quitllet's design capabilities are across the board and while furniture is a focus, his industrial approach will take Sutherland to new heights of design," says Founder David Sutherland, Perennials and Sutherland, LLC. "His attention to detail and purposeful use of materials align with Sutherland Furniture's focus on unique product development. We look forward to sharing Eugeni's ingenuity with Sutherland clients." Quitllet's wife and creative partner, Maud Bury, and their daughter Ona, are joining him on this Sutherland adventure, and are looking forward to becoming United States Citizens. Sutherland Furniture is available to interior designers and architects through David Sutherland Showrooms and representatives throughout the US and abroad. To view collections, visit www.sutherlandfurniture.com. About Eugeni Quitllet Eugeni Quitllet is a Catalan designer. Born the 17th April 1972, he uses industrial design and creativity to shape new realities and an optimistic idea of future. He synthetizes form and function with an explosive elegance and sinuosity, to create best sellers. For Eugeni, future is the optimistic state of imagination from the object to space, he puts his eye on the world to make us rediscover it. His visionary idea of the future aim at bringing to life that which doesn't exist yet. His design practice is exceptionally diverse, making him a multifaceted creator: a renaissance man from the future. Previous awards include 2020 IF Design Award, 2020 Green Good Design Award, 2020 Red Dot Award, 2019 Archiproducts Design Award, and 2016 Maison & Objet Best Designer of the Year. About Perennials and Sutherland, LLC The Perennials and Sutherland, LLC companies are icons and acknowledged leaders in the international design industry. Founder David Sutherland and CEO Ann Sutherland share an ingenious talent for curating the finest interior and exterior collections of luxury furniture, fabrics, rugs and accessories. Based in Dallas, Texas, the company is comprised of Sutherland Furniture, Perennials Luxury Performance Fabrics and Rugs, and David Sutherland Showrooms. Perennials Fabrics is recognized by interior designers and high-end retail customers as the leader in luxury performance fabrics. Perennials Fabrics and Perennials Luxury Performance Rugs combine the look and feel of high quality, natural materials with the superior performance properties of their genuine 100% solution-dyed acrylic fiber technology. View the full collections at perennialsfabrics.com. Sutherland Furniture is a world leader in luxury outdoor furniture for modern lifestyles. The company has created the preeminent furniture brand through partnerships with the world's leading designers, along with utilizing the highest quality materials. View the full collections at sutherlandfurniture.com. David Sutherland Showrooms are full-service, multi-line showrooms which serve the professional design market in showrooms and studios across the United States. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sutherland-furniture-names-eugeni-quitllet-as-creative-director-301634826.html SOURCE Sutherland Furniture TRP, the trusted vertically integrated owner and operator for cannabis' leading legacy brands, opens the first cannabis retail store next to the iconic Brentwood Country Mart LOS ANGELES, Sept 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TRP (www.trp.co) continues their nationwide expansion on their home turf, as TRP announces Cookies Brentwood is now open and serving one of Los Angeles' most exclusive and picturesque neighborhoods on San Vicente Boulevard. In an industry with complex rules and regulations that vary from state to state, TRP has been the engine behind the successful rollout of Cookies dispensaries in 8 states (CA, CO, FL, MA, NV, OR, OK, WA) and counting, providing expertise and enterprise level infrastructure to exclusive partners including Cookies, Dr. Greenthumb's, and Insane. Regarded as one of the cannabis capitals of the world where hype and premium genetics reign supreme, it makes sense that TRP, is the chosen operator to spearhead opening the first Cookies dispensary in Brentwood. The TRP team excels at securing prime real estate to provide premium genetics to untapped markets, giving consumers the opportunity to experience Cookies' coveted products. Situated next to the iconic Brentwood Country Mart, opening the very first dispensary in the neighborhood was a huge milestone for TRP and the community. Westside cannabis consumers, from the 405 freeway, Santa Monica, to the Palisades now have access to a neighborhood dispensary that's within walking distance or a short car ride for the first time. Cookies Brentwood stands beside other high-profile retailers with the hopes to provide expanded access to consumers who reside in the high-traffic area. "Anyone familiar with Los Angeles knows traveling even 2 miles can take up to 30 minutes in peak traffic," says President and co-founder of TRP, Daniel Firtel. "Bringing a dispensary to Brentwood in the middle of what is considered by LA consumers as the largest cannabis desert in the city means easier access for cannabis consumers who live in between Malibu, Santa Monica, and the 405 freeway. They will now have a local shop where they can purchase their favorite brands without having it be a mission." Coming off of a record breaking Cookies launch in Miami Florida, TRP continues to elevate the customer experience that is expected from TRP owned and operated dispensaries. The newest Brentwood location has already gained local curiosity from loyalists in the area with their premium cannabis genetics. TRP hopes to capture a new and existing customer base with exclusive cannabis offerings as TRP continues to build strong relationships serving as an educational resource for the local community. Cookies BRENTWOOD is now open at 13030 San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049. ABOUT TRP: Founded in 2019, TRP is a retail, cultivation, and distribution platform purpose-built to solve the challenges of regulated cannabis. We combine decades of investment, legal, regulatory and real estate experience with know-how from long standing cannabis operators. Our footprint in 14 states and 2 countries exclusively produces and sells the most recognized brands including Cookies, Dr. Greenthumb's, Insane, and more. (www.trp.co) For more information, please contact Chapter 2:Kenneth Loo, [email protected] or Irene Ancheta, [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/trp-opens-the-first-dispensary-in-los-angeles-brentwood-area-with-cookies-brentwood-301634409.html SOURCE TRP Holdco, LLC 2023 Salary Guide From Robert Half reveals how employers are stepping up pay, perks and benefits to win over talent MENLO PARK, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to what workers want in today's job market, salary remains top of mind, research from talent solutions and business consulting firm Robert Half shows. According to the just-released 2023 Salary Guide, companies are under pressure to offer higher compensation to current and new staff for a number of reasons. But beyond adjusting pay, what else are employers doing to attract and retain top talent in a continued tight hiring market? Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8963851-robert-half-salary-guide-2023/ Following is a snapshot of salary-related numbers to know heading into 2023: Salaries are trending upward. To recruit skilled professionals, 46% of employers are offering higher starting salaries. In addition, 83% of managers who increased base compensation for new hires in the past year have also made pay adjustments for current staff. Perks are more plentiful. More than 8 in 10 companies (83%) have added new perks in response to the challenging hiring market, the most common being: Remote work opportunities (40%) Mental health resources (36%) Wellness programs (33%) Raise requests are coming and employers should prepare. Despite overall salary growth in the United States, more than half of professionals (55%) feel underpaid and 48% will ask for a raise if they don't get one or the amount is lower than expected by year-end. Further, 4 in 10 workers (41%) would consider changing employers for a 10% increase in pay. Professionals are showing their worth. To better position themselves for a raise, workers are: Taking on responsibilities outside their job description (50%) Acquiring new and relevant skills or certifications (33%) Researching salaries and sharing discrepancies with their manager (30%) Workers remain confident. Fifty-six percent of professionals are more likely to request a higher starting salary today compared to 12 months ago. An almost equal percentage (54%) feel they remain in control when it comes to negotiating pay, perks and benefits. "As long as job openings outnumber job seekers, workers will have more leverage to negotiate for what they want," said Robert Half senior executive director Paul McDonald. "Staying on top of compensation levels is a critical first step to recruiting and retaining top talent and preparing for potential market fluctuations." Visit the Robert Half salary calculator to view location-specific salary ranges and national data for hundreds of positions. McDonald added, "When weighing career options, workers often consider salary first and foremost. While it's important for professionals to know their worth, they should also think carefully about other make-or-break factors that contribute to job satisfaction, like a supportive manager and team and the ability to work remotely." About the Research Robert Half has reported on salaries for more than 70 years. The 2023 Salary Guide features employment trends and starting salaries for hundreds of positions across the finance and accounting, technology, administrative and customer support, marketing and creative, legal, healthcare, and human resources professions in the United States. Information in the guide is based on data from job placements managed by Robert Half teams throughout the United States, an analysis of the demand for each position, the supply of talent and other market conditions, as well as online surveys developed by Robert Half and conducted by independent research firms.* The company produces Salary Guides in 18 countries. * Including responses from more than 1,000 workers 18 years of age or older in the U.S. (collected August 19-23, 2022) and more than 1,500 hiring managers at companies with 20 or more employees in the U.S. (collected June 17 to July 14, 2022) About Robert Half Robert Half (NYSE: RHI) is the world's first and largest specialized talent solutions and business consulting firm that connects people with meaningful work and provides clients with the talent and subject matter expertise they need to confidently compete and grow. Visit roberthalf.com and download the company's award-winning mobile app. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-workers-share-salary-expectations-and-priorities-in-todays-job-market-301631597.html SOURCE Robert Half The family of a Fort Hood soldier is seeking $25 million in a wrongful death claim against the Army, claiming he did not receive adequate mental health care at the base hospital in the week before he died by suicide. Sgt. Elder Fernandes, 23, was found dead about 30 miles from the base in Temple, Texas, on Aug. 25, 2020. He had been released from Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood after admitting himself for suicidal ideations. He was released Aug. 17 with no meaningful plan for his support and he was left on a street in Killeen, Texas, to fend for himself, according to the letter written by Leonard Kesten, the attorney for Fernandes family. When he did not show up for duty the day after his release, no search was initiated and Darnall did little or nothing to search for him. It was not until his mother arrived in Texas and demanded action that a search was commenced, Kesten wrote. The letter is cosigned by fellow attorney Michael Stefanilo. The letter was sent last month to the Army with a wrongful death claim form, which is the first step in filing a medical malpractice lawsuit against the government. The claim is under investigation by the U.S. Army Claims Service, but Army policy does not allow for comment on the particulars of ongoing claims investigations, said Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Hewitt, an Army spokesman. "Every single suicide is one tragedy too many. We remain saddened by the loss of Sgt. Elder Fernandes and for his family, he said. Records from the Army Criminal Investigation Division showed Fernandes was picked up by a staff sergeant upon release from Darnall and dropped off at a home in Killeen, the city outside of Fort Hoods gates. He never went inside, according to the CID report. Though his unit the 553rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion in the 1st Cavalry Division Sustainment Brigade the Fort Hood military police, and the hospital knew he was missing, it was 48 hours before CID agents were contacted and began their efforts to find Fernandes. The Temple Police Department investigated Fernandes death and believed he was alive for at least three days before he hanged himself from a tree along railroad tracks. From the results of these inquiries, it is readily apparent to any reasonable person that the death of Sgt. Fernandes was preventable, if only Darnall had taken him at his word when he reported that he would, in fact, take his own life if he was forced to return to his unit. His death also could have been prevented had Darnall ensured that he received support from family after discharge, Kesten wrote. The letter states Fernandes began experiencing mental health symptoms and suicidal ideations after he was sexually assaulted and then, after reporting it, faced bullying and harassment by fellow soldiers in his unit. The family of Spc. Vanessa Guillen, who also died at Fort Hood in 2020, submitted the same form last month seeking $35 million in damages for wrongful death and personal injury. Guillen went missing in April 2020, and her body was found about two months later. Law enforcement officials believe she was killed by a fellow soldier who shot himself dead when confronted by police. It is with great sadness that we submit this demand. There is nothing that can bring Elder back to his loved ones. The hole that exists for all those who knew and loved him will always be there. We hope that Sergeant Fernandes death will not be in vain and that no other soldier will suffer as he did, Kesten wrote. The United States owes this much to his memory. This great country can and will do better. TOKYO Thousands of U.S. Marines armed with stealth fighters, attack helicopters and long-range missiles will train with Japanese, Filipino and South Korean troops in Japan and the Philippines during the first half of October. The Okinawa-based 3rd Marine Division will oversee Resolute Dragon 22 on Japans northern island of Hokkaido Oct. 1-14, and Kamandag 6 in the Philippines Oct. 3-14. A headquarters on Okinawa will provide simultaneous command and control for both exercises, division spokesman Lt. Col. Kurt Stahl told Stars and Stripes by phone Friday. Resolute Dragon and Kamandag are important opportunities to bolster the defensive capabilities of our alliances with Japan and the Philippines through realistic combined training, the divisions commander, Maj. Gen. Jay Bargeron, said in comments emailed by Stahl on Monday. Kamandag short for Kaagapay Ng Mga Mandirigma Ng Dagat, or Cooperation of Warriors of the Sea began in 2017 as a replacement for the large-scale PHIBLEX amphibious landing drill. It was initially focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Next months drill involving 1,900 U.S. Marines and 630 Philippine troops, in addition to naval forces, will be quite a bit more than a humanitarian assistance exercise, Stahl said. The training will include the USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship carrying F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, also known as the Green Knights, out of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. The USS Miguel Keith expeditionary mobile base will also participate, Stahl said. The Marines will also fly MV-22 Ospreys, CH-53 Sea Stallions, UH-1Y Venoms, AH-1Z Vipers and KC-130J Super Hercules during the drills, he said. The F-35B is the short-takeoff, vertical-landing version of the joint strike fighter, designed for air support of Marines on the ground. The Green Knights F-35Bs deployed aboard the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship during the annual Balikatan exercise in the Philippines in April 2019. The Marines are unable to provide the number of F-35Bs involved in this years Kamandag, Stahl said. The Green Knights deployed 14 jets aboard the Tripoli during a Pacific patrol this summer and sent more of the planes to Australia for the biennial Pitch Black exercise involving over 100 aircraft from 17 nations in August and September. On both missions, they practiced advanced basing operations that involved flying out of austere airstrips. Kamandag will involve Marines practicing coastal defense on the island of Palawan, which borders the South China Sea, Stahl said. Beijing has aggressively expanded its territory in the sea by occupying small islets, reclaiming land and building military facilities. Marines will conduct amphibious raids on smaller islands and there will be live-fire training with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, in central Luzon, Stahl said. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force will send 30 soldiers and South Korea will send 100 marines to Kamandag, he said. Meanwhile, 1,600 U.S. Marines will train with 1,400 Japanese troops from the 2nd Division, Northern Army on Hokkaido, Stahl said. Marines will airlift a HIMARS to an airfield on the island and there will be a bilateral live-fire event featuring the weapon, along with Javelin and AT-4 missiles and Japanese multiple launch rocket systems, Stahl said. The Marines and Japanese troops will do force-on-force training with personnel from both countries participating on both sides of the battle, he said. South Koreas debut at Kamandag is part of a series of overseas exercises the country has participated in alongside the U.S., Kim Hyun-wook, an American studies professor at Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul, said in an email Friday. The U.S. has failed to make the so-called Quad grouping, which includes Japan, Australia and India, into an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization but has continued to train with many Indo-Pacific states, he said. The U.S. is trying to improve coordination with and among its allies, according to Ian Chong, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. The exercises suggest that Korea, Japan, and the Philippines are more ready to begin looking at moving in this direction together with the U.S. and each other, he said in an email Tuesday. Including on broader regional coordination given the involvement of a [headquarters] in Okinawa. CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa The Navys amphibious force and the Marine Corps crisis response in the Indo-Pacific are about to get closer as they merge command staffs for a series of upcoming exercises. Task Force 76, also known as Expeditionary Strike Group 7, and the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade will meld into a unified structure called Task Force 76/3 during upcoming exercises Noble Fusion, which starts Saturday at undisclosed spots across the region, and Kamandag on Monday in the Philippines, according to a Navy statement Tuesday. The point of the 18-month experiment is to provide increased readiness to Navy and Marine Corps leaders by testing and evaluating naval integration concepts at-sea and on shore, the statement said. The new task force will be led by Navy Rear Adm. Derek Trinque with brigade commander Brig. Gen. Fridrik Fridriksson serving as his deputy. Planning began earlier this year, and joint operations are expected through next summer. Task Force 76/3 is what we believe naval integration should look like for our mission and our forces in the Indo-Pacific region, Fridriksson said in the statement. We are going to be real and honest with ourselves, so we can provide better prepared forces for the full range of operations, from humanitarian and disaster response to high intensity conflict. Task Force 76 the 7th Fleets amphibious force is composed of approximately 5,500 sailors, along with aircraft, landing craft and ships stationed across the region. It is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, but its ships are based mostly in Sasebo, on the Japanese island of Kyushu. They travel south to Okinawa to pick up the Marines before going out on patrol. The expeditionary brigade is based at Camp Courtney, Okinawa, and is often referred to as the Marine Corps middle-weight response force in the region. It was built to be more powerful than the smaller 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit yet more agile than the massive III Marine Expeditionary Force. The brigade features a standing headquarters element of between 100 and 150 Marines and sailors but can reach several thousand after receiving tasked units for operations, brigade spokesman Maj. George McArthur said by phone Tuesday. The brigade conducts everything from forcible entry amphibious assault to humanitarian assistance, according to the units website. The merging of the two staffs was ordered by Marine Corps commandant Gen. David Berger and the chief of naval operations Adm. Mike Gilday, task force spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Andrew DeGarmo said by email Tuesday. The changes will mostly be seen at the top, Trinque told Stars and Stripes during a phone interview Tuesday. Some staff members have been shuffled around Okinawa to the headquarters of their sister service, and communications have been consolidated. One example is that both units have their own intelligence officers, Trinque said. Under this new integrated structure, a Marine serves as the lead Task Force 76/3 intelligence officer. Very few changes will be felt in the lower ranks. The primary benefits come as we pool our talents, he said. The services will pause at certain points through the process, evaluate how things are going and make changes, Trinque said. They are being given enough leeway to try things and to fail, Fridriksson added during the phone interview. Lessons learned will be sent up the chain of command. Well probably change what were doing as were doing it along the way, but were going to improve and were going to be more ready in the end, Trinque said. (Tribune News Service) U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin this week will visit the Navys underground Red Hill fuel facility as the military prepares to defuel and shut down the World War II-era fuel farm, the Pentagon announced Monday. Austins trip is part of a tour of California and Hawaii. On Wednesday he will meet with service members at Naval Base Point Loma and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California. According to a news release, in Hawaii he will meet with some of our key allies in the Indo-Pacific and meet with Rear Adm. John Wade, who last week became commander of the newly formed Joint Task Force Red Hill that is responsible for defueling the Red Hill facility. Austin ordered the defueling and permanent shutdown of the facility in March after jet fuel contaminated the Navys drinking water system that serves 93, 000 people on Oahu in November. The contamination affected service members and civilians living in former military housing areas. The shutdown announcement came after Navy officials spent months fighting calls from state officials and lawmakers to shutter the facility, calling the aging fuel storage tanks critical to its operations in the Pacific. The military took the state to court and vowed to resist an emergency order from the state Department of Health to close the facility in the face of heavy public backlash. The massive, decades-old underground storage tanks, which are collectively capable of holding up to 250 million gallons of fuel, sit just 100 feet above an aquifer that provides the majority of Honolulus drinking water. The facilitys location has been particularly contentious since a 2014 incident in which 27, 000 gallons of fuel leaked from one of the tanks. The Navys Pacific Fleet internal investigation of the November fuel spill released in June found that the facility was in a state of profound disrepair, particularly its pipe system that transports fuel to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The militarys initial plan for the defueling calculated extensive repairs would be needed to safely remove fuel from the facility and would take until at least December 2024 to complete the process, but this month the Department of Defense sped up its timeline in an announcement that officials now believe the process will be complete by July 2024. Several military officials and lawmakers have toured the facility, but this will be Austins first visit. (c)2022 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser Visit The Honolulu Star-Advertiser at www.staradvertiser.com (Tribune News Service) Over a century and a half since a Boston abolitionist family used their South End home to shelter African Americans who escaped enslavement, modern-day archaeologists have begun to excavate the maintained home for evidence that supports the home was a part of the Underground Railroad. During the early and mid-19th century Worcester, Boston, Northampton Brookline and Springfield were all central locations in the Underground Railroad network. Bostons archeology team has begun a new historical excavation project at 558 Massachusetts Ave. in the citys South End neighborhood. In the present day, the home hosts the headquarters of the League of Women for Community Service one of the countrys oldest Black women-led civic and social activist groups. Decades before the League of Women for Community Service bought the Massachusetts Avenue property in 1920, the townhouse was built in 1858 for William and Martha Carnes and their three children. The Carnes family were dedicated abolitionists and oral history indicated that their home was a stop on the Underground Railroad, according to city officials. Although the Carnes were said to be adamant abolitionists, 10 years after the house was built, the family decided to sell their South End home to Nathaniel and Eliza Farwell. Nathaniel was the mayor of Lewiston, Maine, and a cotton mill owner. The Farwells daughter, Evelyn, married into the Ayer textile family. The Farwell family were complicit in the cotton industry and benefited greatly from enslaved and later indentured labor in southern cotton plantations. The League of Women for Community Service would go on to purchase the building in 1920. Founded in 1918, the organization was created in response to the lack of support for Black veterans returning from World War I. The League also supported Bostons Black artistic and intellectual community through concerts, lectures, and exhibits in the house, city officials stated. Bostons Black and immigrant communities moved into the South End neighborhood in the early 20th century, becoming the most densely populated neighborhood by the end of the 1940s, according to city officials. The League helped their South End neighbors in need through a soup kitchen, lunch program for children and clothing swaps. In the 1950s and 60s, the building provided housing for Black students who could not live in local college dorms due to segregation. Coretta Scott King rented a room in the building while she was studying at the New England Conservatory. She would go on to meet her future husband, Martin Luther King Jr., while staying in the South End neighborhood. The home still retains much of its wood interior element and original furniture to this day. Bostons Archaeology Program has teamed up with the League to explore the yard space behind the building. The buildings wealthy original owners were able to have four indoor flushing toilets and two showers in their homes decades before Boston received running water and sewers. Im really curious to see what may be in the yard at this home, given that they likely didnt have a privy, said City Archaeologist Joe Bagley. Its possible that the hired help in the house had an outdoor toilet, but there should be a large cistern and cesspool somewhere on the property. The excavation aims to find out more about the lives and activities of the two families who lived at the home and the early League History. The archaeologists will also be looking for any evidence in support of the Carnes familys Underground Railroad oral history. The City Archaeology team will begin their survey of the area on October 3rd and expect to be excavating through the end of the month. 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit masslive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan The Marine Corps has dismissed its case against a lance corporal who faced special court-martial charges stemming from her refusal to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Lance Cpl. Catherine Arnett, 24, of Fort Worth, Texas, was charged with two counts under article 87 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, missing troop movements on May 27 and May 14, and one count under article 92, disobeying a direct order on May 7. Arnett was not charged with refusing the vaccine, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing spokesman Maj. Rob Martins told Stars and Stripes in July. The court-martial came from her refusal to board multiple flights to complete the separation process which occurred after she refused the COVID-19-vaccine, he wrote. Arnett said she would not board those flights because the orders stemmed from the 2021 Defense Department mandate on COVID-19 vaccination, which she considers unlawful. Her court-martial was placed on an indefinite delay on Aug. 22 after her lawyer cited a federal judges Aug. 18 order that temporarily bars the Corps from punishing or discharging Marines who refused the vaccine on religious grounds. A status hearing for Arnetts case was scheduled for Tuesday, but the aircraft wings commander, Maj. Gen. Eric Austin, decided on Wednesday to dismiss it. In weighing the considerations for both the Marine Corps and the Marine, within the context of the most recent injunction for COVID-19 vaccine refusal cases, the commanding general has decided to dismiss [Arnetts] COVID-19 related charges, Martins, the wing spokesman, said in an email Monday. Arnett was unavailable to comment on the dismissal on Tuesday. The Marine said she refused the COVID-19 vaccines because they are tested or produced using stem cell lines that descend from fetuses aborted in the 1970s and 80s. Her request as a Catholic for a religious exemption, she said, was denied by the Marine Corps and again on appeal. Arnett said shes been at MCAS Iwakuni since May 2019, first with Marine Air Logistics Squadron 12, then with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 for 2 years. Shes back with the logistics squadron, but not in the job she trained for, aviation supply specialist, she told Stars and Stripes in late July. This gives Lance Cpl. Arnett the option to execute her contractual End of Active Service, if she desires, Martins said Monday. TOKYO Japan protested to Russia on Tuesday over the detention of a Japanese consulate official on espionage allegations, denying the allegations and accusing Russian authorities of abusive interrogation. The official was detained on Sept. 22 and interrogated with his eyes covered, his hands and head pressed and immobilized, Japan's Foreign Ministry said, prompting it to lodge a protest and to demand an apology. On Monday, Russia's Foreign Ministry notified Japan's Embassy in Moscow that the official had been declared "persona non grata," or an undesirable person, on grounds he conducted illegal espionage activity and it ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours. "The alleged illegal activity insisted by the Russian side is completely groundless," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. Matsuno said Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori summoned Russia's ambassador and strongly protested, demanding a formal apology from the Russian government and measures to prevent a recurrence. The Russian authorities' treatment of the consulate official was "intimidating" during the interrogation, adding that such handling of consular officials violates the Vienna convention and a Japan-Russo treaty over consular affairs, Matsuno said. "It is extremely regrettable and absolutely unacceptable," Matsuno said. The consular official has since been released with no health problems and is set to return to Japan on Wednesday. The dispute is the latest example of worsening ties between the two countries over Japan's sanctions against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Japan and Russia had expelled a number of diplomats, while Russia scrapped peace negotiations with Japan that includes talks on Russian-held disputed islands that Japan says the Soviets took at the end of the World War II. Russia said Monday that it had detained a Japanese consulate official based in the eastern city of Vladivostok for soliciting "restricted" information, according to Russian news agencies. "A Japanese diplomat was detained red-handed while receiving, in exchange for financial reward, restricted information about Russia's cooperation with another country in the Asia-Pacific region," the FSB, the KGB's successor agency, was cited as saying through its press service, without specifying the third country. The FSB identified the official as Tatsunori Motoki, accusing him of seeking out information on "the impact of Western sanctions" on the surrounding Primoriye region, according to news agencies. The Kremlin has repeatedly referred to Japan as a "hostile" country, a designation it shares with the U.S., EU countries and their Western allies, since Tokyo joined them in slapping sanctions on Moscow after Russian troops entered Ukraine on Feb. 24. In its latest sanctions, Japan's government on Monday banned the export of materials that may be used for chemical weapons to 21 Russian organizations, including science laboratories. The measure was approved by the Cabinet following a decision by Group of Seven foreign ministers last week. WARSAW, Poland Denmark said Tuesday it believed deliberate actions by unknown perpetrators were behind big leaks, which seismologists said followed powerful explosions, in two natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage amid the energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. Although filled with gas, neither pipeline is currently supplying it to Europe. It is the authorities clear assessment that these are deliberate actions not accidents, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said. But she added that there is no information indicating who could be behind it. Frederiksen also rejected the suggestion that the incident was an attack on Denmark, saying the leaks occurred in international waters. The incident overshadowed the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland to bolster the continents energy independence from Moscow. The first explosion was recorded early Monday southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm, said Bjorn Lund, director of the Swedish National Seismic Network. A second, stronger blast northeast of the island that night was equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake. Seismic stations in Denmark, Norway and Finland also registered the explosions. Theres no doubt, this is not an earthquake, Lund said. On Wednesday, Danish defense minister Morten Bdskov will travel to Brussels to discuss the leaks with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. Denmarks Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said nearby Sweden, Germany and Poland have been kept informed, and we will inform and reach out to Russia in this case. He said Denmarks foreign intelligence service didnt see any increased military threat against Denmark after the three leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. They created a foamy white area on the waters surface, images released by Denmarks military show. Danish Energy Minister Dan Jrgensen said that we cannot say how long the leak will go on for as the gas has not been turned off. There was no indication when the gas would be turned off. The German operator of the pipelines, Nord Stream AG, said its preparing a survey to assess the damage in cooperation with local authorities. Currently, it is not possible to estimate a timeframe for restoring the gas transport infrastructure, a company statement said. The causes of the incident will be clarified as a result of the investigation. In Sweden, acting Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said it is probably a case of sabotage, but not an attack on Sweden. Andersson added that neighboring oil-rich Norway has informed us about increased drone activity in the North Sea and the measures they have taken in connection with it. Foreign Minister Ann Linde said that Sweden (is) not ruling out any scenarios and we will not speculate about motive or actor. The escaped natural gas is made up almost entirely of methane. the second biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. David Hastings, a retired chemical oceanographer in Gainesville, Florida, said much of the gas would rise through the sea and enter the atmosphere. There is no question that the largest environmental impact of this is to the climate, because methane is a really potent greenhouse gas, he said. According to United Nations data, methane is 82.5 times worse for the climate than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame, because it so effectively absorbs the heat of the sun. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the events an act of sabotage. During a ceremony in northwestern Poland, Morawiecki, Denmarks Frederiksen and Polish President Andrzej Duda symbolically opened the valve of a yellow pipe belonging to the Baltic Pipe, a new system sending Norwegian gas across Denmark to Poland. The era of Russian domination in the gas sphere is coming to an end, Morawiecki declared. An era that was marked by blackmail, threats and extortion. No official presented evidence of what caused the leaks, but with distrust of Russia running high, some feared Moscow sabotaged its own infrastructure out of spite or to warn that pipelines are vulnerable to attack. The leaks raised the stakes on whether energy infrastructure was being targeted and led to a small bump in natural gas prices. We can clearly see that this is an act of sabotage, an act that probably means a next step of escalation in the situation that we are dealing with in Ukraine, Morawiecki said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that American officials have not confirmed sabotage or an attack. Anders Puck Nielsen, a researcher with the Center for Maritime Operations at the Royal Danish Defence College, said the timing of the leaks was conspicuous given the ceremony for the Baltic Pipe. He said perhaps someone sought to send a signal that something could happen to the Norwegian gas. The extent of the damage means the Nord Stream pipelines are unlikely to be able to carry any gas to Europe this winter even if there was political will to bring them online, analysts at the Eurasia Group said. Russia has halted flows on the 1,224-kilometer (760-mile) Nord Stream 1 pipeline during the war, while Germany prevented them from ever starting in the parallel Nord Stream 2. Depending on the scale of the damage, the leaks could even mean a permanent closure of both lines, analysts Henning Gloystein and Jason Bush wrote. Puck Nielsen said of possible sabotage that technically speaking, this is not difficult. It just requires a boat. It requires some divers that know how to handle explosive devices. But I think if we look at who would actually benefit from disturbances, more chaos on the gas market in Europe, I think theres basically only one actor right now that actually benefits from more uncertainty, and that is Russia, he said. Asked if the leaks may have been caused by sabotage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no version could be excluded. This is an unprecedented situation that requires an urgent investigation. We are extremely worried by this news, he said in a conference call with reporters. Danish and Swedish maritime authorities issued navigation warnings, and established a prohibited area for vessels. Ships may lose buoyancy, and there may also be a risk of ignition above the water and in the air. The Nord Stream pipelines have been at the center of an energy clash between Europe and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in late February. Plunging Russian gas supplies have caused prices to soar, pressuring governments to help ease the pain of sky-high energy bills for households and businesses as winter nears. The crisis also has raised fears of rationing and recession. The Baltic Pipe is a prominent element in the European Unions search for energy security and is to start bringing Norwegian gas through Denmark and along the Baltic Sea to Poland on Oct. 1. Simone Tagliapietra, an energy expert with the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, speculated that the leaks could have been caused by Russian sabotage or anti-Russian sabotage. One possibility is Russia signaling it is breaking forever with Western Europe and Germany as Poland inaugurates its pipeline with Norway, he said. In any case, this is a stark reminder of the exposure to risk of Europes gas infrastructure, Tagliapietra said. Olsen reported from Copenhagen, Denmark. Associated Press writers David Keyton in Stockholm, Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Adam Schreck in Kyiv, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed. STUTTGART, Germany NATO countries are crafting new operational plans to defend the alliances eastern flank, where more than 150,000 ground troops are on heightened alert, the top U.S. military officer in Europe said Tuesday. Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO supreme allied commander and head of U.S. European Command, said the region-specific plans are being devised to guarantee a rapid response to a crisis. This new family of plans represents an unprecedented level of alliance planning for defense against threats in the post-Cold War era, Cavoli said from his headquarters in Mons, Belgium. Allies have also committed to further develop the full range of ready forces and capabilities necessary to respond to multiple contingencies. Cavolis comments came at the start of a meeting hosted virtually by the Center for European Policy Analysis that involved military and political leaders considering the implications of Russias war on Ukraine. For U.S. and allied militaries, Russias full-scale invasion, which began in late February, has sparked an influx of troops to Poland, the Baltic states and elsewhere. Our forces are at a high level of readiness, and we have a strategically advantageous posture, Cavoli said. Retired Lt. Gen. Stephen Twitty, a former deputy commander at the Stuttgart-based EUCOM, said Russian President Vladimir Putins recent mobilization order shows that he is running out of options. In recent days, thousands of Russians have fled abroad to avoid being drafted into a war that hasnt gone according to Moscows plans. As Ukrainian forces have begun to reclaim territory, the rhetoric out of the Kremlin also has become increasingly alarming. Repeated nuclear saber-rattling from Moscow, while concerning, should not stop the West from providing the military support required by Ukrainian troops, Twitty said. We cannot be deterred by that, he said. The Ukrainians have to continue the momentum. Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, a former commander of the Army in Europe, said it appears that Ukraine has achieved irreversible momentum against forces that are exhausted and have lost the will to fight. If Ukrainian troops continue to gain ground, Russian-occupied Crimea and its military bases could soon be within range, he said, adding that then, its just a matter of time. Still, retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, also a former top Army commander in Europe, cautioned that any battle to retake Crimea will pose challenges for the Ukrainians, given how difficult the peninsula is to access by foot. So far, Putin also has largely refrained from significantly using his naval forces in the Black Sea, and Russia has not yet deployed its strategic bomber fleet, which could come into play in Crimea, Hertling said. Reclaiming that territory would entail a tough fight, he said. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates A hard-line Iranian lawmaker Tuesday slammed female protesters who have taken off mandatory headscarves as prostitutes, doubling down on the government stance amid the dramatic demonstrations following the death of a 22-year-old woman detained by the countrys morality police. The harsh language by Mahmoud Nabavian, a legislator from Tehran, was in sharp contrast to the appeal by a top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamadani, who on Sunday urged the government to listen to the people's demands. The fate of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody after being detained by the morality police because her headscarf was allegedly too loose has ignited unrest across Iran. Protests have have spread to at least 46 cities, including the capital of Tehran, towns and villages with scenes of violence and street clashes with security forces unseen for years in Iran. State TV reported that a police officer died Tuesday in a hospital after being injured by rioters in the town of Robatkarim in Tehran province. Solidarity protests have also erupted in Europe, the United States and in parts of the Middle East. In a predominantly Kurdish city in Syria, thousands of women took to the streets Monday, holding posters with Aminis photo. Across Iran, ordinary women and public figures, including Iranian actresses, have removed their headscarves in protest or cut their hair in public to show solidarity with the demonstrators. Irans semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that security forces arrested reformist activist Faezeh Hashemi, daughter of Irans late President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The Tuesday report said Hashemi, who has previously served time in prison for her comments and activism, was arrested for allegedly inciting rioters to street protests in the east of Tehran on Tuesday night. A lawyer for Hashemi could not be reached and it was unclear if she had legal representation. Iranian state TV has suggested that at least 41 protesters and police have been killed since demonstrations began Sept. 17. An Associated Press count of official statements by authorities tallied at least 14 dead, with more than 1,500 demonstrators arrested. The state-run IRNA news agency reported Tuesday that Hassan Bahramnia, governor of Ilam province in western Iran near the border with Iraq, said security forces have arrested 180 protesters since the unrest began. He said some have been released. These rioters are out to prostitute themselves, the lawmaker, Mahmoud Nabavian, was quoted as saying by Fararu, a news website. He suggested that taking off the hijab, or headscarf, was akin to being naked in public to attract male attention. Nabavian blamed both women and men taking part in the protests, saying they were guilty of impurities" that need to be washed away. Hamadani's tone was starkly different. It is necessary for officials to listen to peoples demands and solve their problems and be sensitive to their rights, said the senior cleric, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking to reporters Tuesday in Washington, said Irans government took Mahsas life because of decisions she should be making about what she would wear or not wear. Women in Iran have the right to wear what they want, he said. They have the right to be free from violence. Amnesty International in a statement said urgent international action was needed to ensure accountability for Amini's death in custody. The rights group said the case must be independently, impartially and effectively investigated and those suspected of responsibility brought to justice in fair trials. The U.N. Human Rights Council called for an independent investigation to address the prevailing crisis of impunity in Iran. Meanwhile, Irans judiciary chief, Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejehi, warned public and famous figures who have openly supported the demonstrators, that they must pay for damages to public property caused by the protests. Abbas Salehi, Irans minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, advised that actresses who removed their headscarves on social media posts should try to find other jobs, implying the ministry could ban them from working in their profession. Iran has arrested at least 20 journalists since the start of the unrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said late Monday, calling on Iran to release the reporters and halt its crackdown on the media. Iranian authorities should be ashamed of themselves for orchestrating this brutal crackdown, said Sherif Mansour, CPJs Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. They have proved their failure to grasp that suppressing dissenting voices only compounds dissent. The Syrian Kurdish-run Hawar News Agency reported on the protest in the northeastern, predominantly Kurdish region of Syria where thousands of women marched Monday in solidarity with Iranian women. In the city of Qamishli, they held up photos of Amini and toward the end of the march several women, including an elderly one, cut off their hair, threw it to the ground, along with headscarves, and set the pile on fire. Long live freedom, women demand free life, revolution is in our hands," the marchers chanted. Women, life, freedom!" LOS ANGELES A Southern California man who previously went to prison for selling bogus aircraft parts was sentenced Monday to nearly four years in federal prison for doing it again, prosecutors said. Aman Khan, 73, of Riverside was given a 46-month term by a judge in Los Angeles who also ordered him to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution, the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement. Prosecutors said Khan made various counterfeit aircraft parts at his Riverside-based company, including wheel assemblies and turbine gas nozzles that had been ordered for NATO jets. He then submitted phony certification paperwork, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office. Khan pleaded guilty in June to two counts of fraud involving aircraft parts in interstate and foreign commerce. In selling phony and unapproved aircraft parts, Khan "consciously and recklessly caused a risk of death or serious bodily injury to aircraft passengers and to the general public," according to his plea agreement. However, prosecutors didn't indicate whether any aircraft did have problems because of the bogus parts. Khan has previous convictions for aircraft parts fraud and export violations. In 1996, he was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for crimes that included selling phony aircraft parts. Prosecutors alleged he returned to the same business after being released from prison in 2000. In 2005, he was sentenced to more than 15 1/2 years in federal prison for fraudulently selling aircraft parts and agreeing to sell parts for military jet fighters to China. At the time, prosecutors said he sold refurbished parts as new or claimed parts made of weaker aluminum were made of steel. ATLANTA The Air Force and Navy on Tuesday evacuated planes and ships from military bases in Hurricane Ians path as the massive storm approached western Florida, where federal officials warned it could bring life-threatening flooding and damage. MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa evacuated its fleet of KC-135 refueling jets and other aircraft and closed the base to nonessential personal on Tuesday as the National Hurricane Center warned the extremely dangerous major hurricane was expected to strike near the metro area as soon as Wednesday. In Jacksonville, where the storm was projected to strike afterward, the Navy spent Tuesday sending several ships to sea and heavy-weather mooring others, the service said in a statement. The Navy also evacuated most of its P-8 and P-3 maritime surveillance planes from nearby Naval Station Jacksonville, the service said. Other aircraft were moved into hangars rated to withstand hurricane conditions, as leaders expected to close those northeast Florida bases to nonessential personnel on Wednesday. Eglin Air Force Base, located some 300 miles farther west of MacDill on the Florida Panhandle, also evacuated aircraft Tuesday, officials said. Base leaders sent F-35 stealth fighters out of the storm's path, but they did not close the installation Tuesday. Hurricane Ian, which is now a Category 3 storm, boasted sustained winds of some 120 mph Tuesday evening as it moved past western Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico, where it could strengthen into a Category 4 storm before making landfall on Floridas coast Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane conditions could reach west Florida by Wednesday morning, the center said in its 5 p.m. update Tuesday. It issued a hurricane warning for most of the western Florida peninsula, stretching from the Anclote River about 10 miles north of Tampa south to Chokoloskee, an island some 210 miles farther south. Meanwhile, the military was preparing for the storm. Florida activated some 5,000 National Guard troops who were staging in armories and bases across the state to respond quickly to the storm. Guard officials said another 2,000 National Guard troops from other southeastern states were also prepared to deploy to assist in recovery efforts. The Guard was poised to conduct route clearance, search and rescue, security and humanitarian assistance, said William Manley, a Florida Guard spokesman. The Florida Guard had staged aircraft, high-water vehicles and boats to respond to the storm, he said. The hurricane center warned Ian could dump 12 to 18 inches of rain across central and northeast Florida, with totals up to 24 inches in some areas. The storm was expected to drop 5 to 10 inches over other parts of Florida. The center also warned the storm could cause flooding in parts of southern Georgia and coastal South Carolina in the coming days, with rainfall totals up to 12 inches in some locations. Pentagon officials said Tuesday that active-duty troops could also be mobilized to respond if requested by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA was already using military bases in Alabama and Georgia as staging bases for its response, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagons top spokesman. Those bases included Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama and Moody Air Force Base, Robins Air Force Base and Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany in Georgia. Ryder also noted that despite the evacuations from key bases in Florida, the U.S. military would continue to operate as normal especially considering MacDill Air Force Base houses two of the Pentagons most critical commands in U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. The general said contingency plans had been put in place to ensure those commands could continue to oversee their operations. Hurricanes hitting the state of Florida are not new, he told reporters at the Pentagon. So, the bottom line is neither of those commands will miss a beat regardless of whether the storm hits in the Tampa area or not. TACOMA, Washington (Tribune News Service) A former Joint Base Lewis-McChord colonel has been found guilty by a Pierce County jury of assault and other charges for beating his wife and threatening to kill himself during a standoff with police in 2020. Col. Owen Ray, 48, was found guilty of three of the seven charges leveled against him, including second-degree assault while armed with a firearm, felony harassment and reckless endangerment. He was found not guilty of the most serious charge, first-degree kidnapping, as well as two other counts of felony harassment. A second count of second-degree assault was dismissed. Ray was taken into custody on a no-bail hold and was booked into Pierce County Jail. He had been out on $100,000 bail since January 2021. He is to be sentenced Oct 28. The maximum possible sentence he could receive is 10 years in prison. Ray was formerly the chief of staff of I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He was suspended shortly after the Dec. 27, 2020 standoff and was honorably discharged from the Army last year. According to court records, the defendant is a veteran of more than 25 years with combat experience from eight deployments to the Middle East and Asia. He also served as a military aide to President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2013. The standoff occurred at Ray's home. According to charging documents and statements in Pierce County Superior Court, what would become an hours-long standoff where Ray threatened to kill any police who tried to arrest him started with an argument with his wife, Kristin, after he had been drinking. Kidnapping charges alleged that Ray essentially held his wife hostage in front of their children after she called 911. According to court records, police arrived at the home shortly after midnight, and he allowed his wife and children to leave at about 12:30 a.m. The assault charge stemmed from allegations that Ray stomped on his wife's face and chest with his boots during the incident. At the end of the two-week trial Thursday, the defendant's attorneys argued that Ray's actions were the result of years of untreated post-traumatic stress disorder, and that the only person he wanted to hurt that night was himself. Prosecutors said that while PTSD could have been a factor, it was Ray's own anger that led to him terrorizing his wife and children. "He's not up there to say goodbye to his kids," deputy prosecutor Loren Halstrom told jurors during rebuttal argument. "He's not up there to explain why he's going away, he's up there because he wanted control. He wanted the power, and he had that power. He had the gun. He knows the power, the danger, the terror of having a gun." ___ (c)2022 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) Visit The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) at www.TheNewsTribune.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The defendant (30) was charged with murdering her baby boy and attempting to murder her daughter The hearing commenced last week at Belfast Crown Court, where three days of evidence was heard in front of a jury of six men and six women. The defendant a 30-year-old woman who cant be named for legal reasons was charged with murdering her baby boy and attempting to murder her daughter. She was arrested after police were called to her Belfast home on the evening of July 27 last year following reports that a woman was suicidal and had threatened to harm her two young children. Both youngsters were rushed to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and, whilst the baby boy died from two stab wounds to his chest, his older sister was successfully treated for a single knife wound. The defendant has accepted she stabbed the youngsters but denied the two charges; the jury has been asked to determine what her state of mind was when she attacked her children. The trial didnt sit for two days due to legal arguments and following further discussions regarding these issues, a decision was taken to halt the hearing and discharge the jury. Judge Donna McColgan KC addressed the 12 jurors and, after she thanked them for their service so far, she revealed they would no longer be needed. Despite the legal issues being discussed for two full days, the judge said: The problem is, ladies and gentlemen, that some of the legal issues that have arisen in this case and, as you know, its a very serious case with very serious issues at stake these legal issues are such that they cannot be resolved within your timeframe as jurors. Therefore it is with much regret that Im going to have to discharge you from reaching verdicts in this case. The case is going to have to be stopped while these legal issues and technical matters are determined and assessed, and the case will reconvene in front of a different jury whenever all of those matters have been attended to. Judge McColgan acknowledged that in the three days the case was sitting, the jurors were presented with difficult and harrowing evidence, which included footage from police body-worn cameras of the immediate aftermath of the fatal incident. The judge said that, as a consequence, she was prepared to exclude the jurors from ever having to sit on a jury again. She added that the Court Service could provide additional support for any jurors who have been traumatised by what they saw and heard during the hearing. After discharging the jury, Judge McColgan scheduled a new trial to take place in January 2023, while the defendant was remanded back into custody. Daniel Curran smiled as he walked free from court in 2018 after being handed community service for sexually abusing a boy Inside Curran's holiday home in Co Down where he abused children One of Irelands most notorious paedophile priests has admitted yet another breach of his life-long sexual offences prevention order. A court has been told the case of Daniel Gerard Curran is to proceed by way of a guilty plea to the single charge against him. In August this year, the creep breached his lifelong SOPO by loitering around Tollymore National Outdoor Centre in Newcastle. A prosecution lawyer said Curran had walked into the activity centre with a box of books for dissemination. But staff recognised him as the infamous child abuser he is and reported him to the cops. Daniel Curran At the hearing in Downpatrick on Thursday, the judge said she was familiar with this defendant and his lengthy record. He knew very well that he wasnt supposed to go near the centre, said Amanda Brady who added Im not dealing with this without a pre-sentence report. Curran, from Bryansford Avenue in Newcastle, didnt appear in court but by video link from his solicitors office. The case was adjourned until November with Curran told to co-operate fully with probation. The last time the disgraced priest was at court was back in September 2018. He smiled as he walked free after being handed a 200-hour community service order for sexually abusing a boy more than 20 years ago. Then, he was facing sex abuse charges for the sixth time, and the judge didnt hold back, saying his offending was a gross breach of position and trust. At an earlier hearing Curran pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a male child in January 1991. He was the parish priest for St Pauls in West Belfast at the time. Inside Curran's holiday home in Co Down where he abused children The court was told he followed a similar pattern to previous offending taking his victim who was then just 12 and two other boys to his family cottage in Tyrella, Co Down. There, Curran gave the victim a glass of whiskey and they all slept in one double bed with their clothes on. But when the 12-year-old boy got up to go to the toilet in the middle of the night and returned, a naked Curran was waiting for him. The victim recalled how he froze and that the abuse seemed to go on for ages. The assault was reported to police in 2015 and when questioned Curran told cops he was a hopeless alcoholic at the time and couldnt specifically remember the boy being at the cottage. However, the pervert did admit that he had the deepest regrets for the sexual activity that he indulged in at that time. The pervert also had convictions for his sick crimes in 77, 82, 86, 88, 90 and 91. Yousef Palani (22) is charged with the murders of Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee, and the attempted murder of Anthony Burke At Sligo District Court on Thursday, Judge Sandra Murphy agreed to extend the legal aid certificate in the case of Yousef Palani (22) of Markievicz Heights, Sligo so that a psychiatrists report can be carried out. He appeared via video-link from Castlerea Prison. He is charged with the murder of Aidan Moffitt (41) at his home in Cartron Heights on April 10, 2022 and the murder of Michael Snee (58) at City View Apartments on April 12, 2022. The accused is also charged with the attempted murder of Anthony Burke at Cleveragh Road in Sligo on April 9, 2022. His solicitor Mr Gerard McGovern told Judge Murphy that Mr Paul OConnell, a psychiatrist in Dublin was going to see his client on Friday in Castlerea Prison. He said he was asking for the legal aid certificate to be extended for that. He said they were trying to get an appointment with Mr OConnell for a number of months. He said it was important for their case going forward. Sergeant Derek Butler said there was no objection considering the charges. Mr McGovern said the psychiatrist report would take a month or two. Sgt Butler applied to adjourn to October 20th. Mr McGovern said he was anxious the Book of Evidence might be served on that date and he needs to have his Senior Counsel briefed. Sgt Butler said he had spoken to the State Solicitor and it is extensive and well on. Judge Murphy remanded the accused to October 20th for service of the Book of Evidence and for him to appear in person if the book was ready. The boy (17) faces charges for dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention and having a licence or insurance in Tallaght The youth, 17, faced charges for dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention and having a licence or insurance, in Tallaght on dates in November and June. He was warned he had risked a spell in custody over his post on Snapchat. He also skipped an earlier scheduled a court appearance which resulted in a bench warrant, arrest and bail hearing last week. He was released with conditions and appeared again today when Judge Paul Kelly told him and his father that the case was being adjourned until a date in October. He has not yet pleaded but has been granted legal aid. Gardai brought it to the the courts attention that they had learned about an issue of recording in court. Judge Kelly heard that a photo emerged of one of the garda witnesses in a courtroom and it was posted on Snapchat. He agreed with defence counsel that an image uploaded to Snapchat disappears, however he added that it was screenshot and shared again. The garda saw himself in a photograph. The courtroom and clerk were also visible in the background. The teen did not bring his phone to court and claimed it was at his west Dublin home. However, his father pleaded that my son will delete everything from his phone adding that he had not been aware it happened. Judge Kelly warned the teen if he did it again he would be held in custody for contempt of court. Audio and visual recordings or photography are restricted in Courts Service buildings. The Limerick man was 29 when he died following the assault last August. Five men have been arrested by gardai in connection with the assault of Dylan McCarthy in Monasterevin, Co. Kildare last month. The Limerick man was celebrating the birth of his sisters baby with family and friends at a pub on August 20. It is believed a fight broke out between groups leaving the pub shortly after midnight. It is alleged that Mr McCarthy was beaten to the ground and assaulted in what Garda sources said was a sustained attack by several men. Dylan (29) was found unresponsive at the scene and passed away at Tallaght Hospital on Monday August 22. His father, Eamonn, was also assaulted at the pub at Dublin Road and received significant facial injuries. Today, Garda arrested five men as part of the ongoing investigation into the incident of serious assault in Monasterevin, Co. Kildare on August 21. The men, all aged in their 20s are currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at multiple Garda Stations in Co. Kildare, Gardai said. Tributes poured in from Dylans local community following his death. An active member of Kilmallock GAA, the club announced his death with the heaviest of hearts, saying he was a huge addition to any team and a real team player always. Local priest Fr Chris ODonnell said the McCarthy family are the quietest, nicest people who are going through every familys nightmare. "They were just good, honest people in the wrong place at the wrong time and now we are left with this awful sense of the tragic nature of life and violence and repercussions. "It is a perpetual mystery that bad things can happen good people, Fr ODonnell said. The mourners who attended the funeral of the 29 year-old heard he was a treasure to his family, who had carried out his wishes by donating his organs after his death. The funeral heard the organs were received by four people in need of life-saving transplant surgeries. Gardai say the investigations into the serious assault are ongoing. Among the mourners were convicted drug dealer and mob boss Brian Collopy, who posed for a photo with Martin Shooter McDonagh Anthony Kelly Jr, who amassed several criminal convictions including threatening to have a garda detective shot by the IRA, had battled a serious drug addiction. Kelly Sr, who survived being shot by a Limerick gangland assassin in 2003, was once tried but acquitted of organising the murder of nightclub bouncer Brian Fitzgerald. Among the mourners last Sunday were convicted drug dealer and mob boss Brian Collopy from Limerick, who posed for a photo with Martin Shooter McDonagh. Martin Shooter McDonagh (left) and Brian Collopy attend pose for pictures at the funeral In 2017, Shooter acted as a fair play man as Kelly Jr took part in a bare-knuckle fight in Kilrush, Co Clare, to settle a dispute. Kelly Sr was also a wedding guest of Shooters family when his daughter was married in Galway a number of years ago. Floral tributes to Kelly Jr were placed on a flat-bed truck adorned with a tricolour, along with framed photos of him and with members of his family at the funeral last Sunday. A team of plumed black horses drew a glass-sided carriage with his coffin through Kilrush to his final resting place at New Shanakyle Cemetery. In 2019, Anthony Kelly Jr received a three-year sentence after telling a garda detective he would have the IRA shoot him in the head. Anthony Kelly Jr During his trial at Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Gerald Keys described Kelly Jr as a danger to society with an appalling record. Evidence was heard from a garda that a colleague was trying to arrest a man in Kilrush in July 2018 when Kelly Jr started shouting at the officers. He shouted: Yere all dead. Get out of Kilrush. The Kellys run the town. After Kelly Jr punched another man he was told to leave the area, but instead became aggressive and told an officer: Ill have the IRA shoot you in the head. You know I have guns, Ill shoot you myself. It was heard in court the garda believed the threats to be real and that Anthony Kelly had the capability of carrying them out. The officer was shocked and feared for his own safety. Family around Anthony Kelly Jrs coffin Kelly Jr pleaded guilty to threatening to kill or cause serious harm to the officer and to assault causing harm to the other man at the scene. His defence counsel explained that he was a chronic drug addict and very messy when under the influence. Kelly Jr had also faced charges over the bare-knuckle fight in which he knocked a man out in less than 30 seconds of the bout starting. Shooter McDonagh had warned onlookers to let the fair fight go ahead without anyone else trying to get involved. There would have been chaos, but Shooter laid down the law and everyone did what they were told, a source told the Sunday World at the time. Kelly Jr, who had two tattoos of guns emblazoned on his chest, was heard on a video of the fight posted online saying all over after delivering the knockout blow. A relative later posted: Anthony a man of nearly 40 years of age got challenged by... a young fella in his prime. Anthony left him drinking his own blood, his eyes rolling in his head... next time you send a challenge make sure youre able. Anthony Kelly Kellys father hit the headlines in 2007 after being tried and found not guilty of the murder of nightclub bouncer Brian Fitzgerald in Limerick. Gary Campion was convicted of the killing after evidence from James Martin Cahill, who confessed to being the gunman. He was also jailed for life. Cahill had made statements implicating Kelly Sr in the plan to kill the innocent bouncer, but he was acquitted by a jury after a lengthy trial. Cahill claimed he had been given the weapon used to kill Mr Fitzgerald by Anthony Kelly, who also showed him how to use it. He claimed Kelly Sr said to him when planning the murder: Dont mess around. Plumed black horses lead the way His solicitor said after the acquittal that Anthony Kelly Sr had been held in prison awaiting trial on the word of a self-professed perjuring, perverted killer. Kelly Sr has six criminal convictions, including two for larceny and another for living off the proceeds of prostitution. In August 2003, he survived an assassination attempt when a Limerick criminal John Creamer shot him four times at his Kilrush home. Kelly kept a low profile after his acquittal, but was photographed in 2008 at the funeral of James Cronin (20), who was shot dead in Limerick city. He is a former partner of Marie Cronin who was the mother of James Cronin. Kelly Sr was also one of the early targets of the newly formed Criminal Assets Bureau in the mid-1990s and is reported to have settled a six-figure tax demand. John Paul Brennan (42) died in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, on Wednesday evening A gangster who died in hospital after suffering a fatal cut to his arm after surviving at least six attempts on his life as part of a feud more than a decade ago will be buried on Saturday. John Paul Brennan (42) died in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, on Wednesday evening. It is understood Brennan was admitted to the hospital after suffering severe blood loss to his arm after he accidentally broke a window in the Cromcastle area of Coolock in the city. A notice on rip.ie states that the death occurred of John Paul (George) Brennan of Coolock, Dublin / Kilbarrack, Dublin on September 22 (unexpectedly). Sadly missed by his loving wife Orla, children John Paul, Aaron, Dayne and Jayden, grandson Brody, mother Mary, brothers James, Michael and Shane, sisters Karen, Suzanne and Tracey, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends, it adds. A wake will be held at the family home on Friday, September 30, from 6pm to 8pm. Mr Brennans Funeral Mass takes place on Saturday morning at 10am in St. Benedict's Church, Grange Park will be followed by burial in Fingal Cemetery. Pals of Mr Brennan and his family have offered their sympathies including one tribute that reads: To Orla, words cant even describe how heartbroken we are for you, John Paul, Aaron, Dayne and Jayden. JP was a true friend who we loved very much and he will be sadly missed. Another adds: Mary and family so sorry to hear your son John Paul passed away deepest condolences may he RIP. Brennan had recently been living in Greencastle Crescent, Coolock, and had not come to Garda attention recently. However, he was a major participant in a Coolock feud over the proceeds of a 300,000 robbery which was further complicated by the gangsters fighting over women. In more recent times, he was the chief suspect for shooting his younger criminal brother Michael Brennan (35) at their family home in Cromcastle Drive, Kilmore, on May 5, 2020, during the height of the first Covid lockdown. John Paul, or JP as he was known to friends, was never charged in relation to the incident in which his brother was shot in the leg. In perhaps the most high-profile attempt on the gangsters life, two innocent men were shot dead when the killers put a car tracker on the wrong vehicle in a planned assassination attempt on Brennan and his right-hand man at the time. Gardai believe they were followed by a gang who intended to murder JP Brennan using a tracking device which had mistakenly been put on the car the men were travelling in. Cousins Mark Noonan (23) from Rathbourne Drive, Cabra, and Glen Murphy (19) of Drumalee Drive, North Circular Road, both Dublin, were shot dead at a city petrol station in a case of mistaken identity after they had gone to the shop to buy snacks on the night of November 23, 2010. They had pulled into the Tesco Clearwater petrol station in Finglas when they were shot. Both suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died at the scene. Mr Noonans Toyota Avensis car was very similar to a car which was driven by the intended targets. In another attempted murder, a gunman forced his way into Brennans then girlfriends home, and kicked and fired his way through the house as a one-year-old baby lay sleeping, Brennan was at his girlfriends home at Drynam Drive in Kinsealy, Co Dublin, at 10pm on January 9, 2009, when a gunman kicked down the back door. The target was inside, along with his girlfriend, a second woman and a baby. The hitman kicked down a locked bathroom door but found an innocent woman inside before locating Brennan, who had barricaded himself into a locked bedroom. But the gunman fired shots at him through the door. Brennan was hit twice, in the neck and chest, by rounds that also passed through his forearm. The baby, who was in another room in the house at the time, was not injured. The two women were also unharmed. The gunman fled and the two women called the emergency services to help Brennan. Brennan was taken to hospital but made a full recovery. It is amazing to think that after all the attempts over the years on this individuals life that he would die from such an innocuous incident, a source said last week. The incident happened in an area policed by Santry gardai but it is understood they were not called as ambulance personnel attended scene and took Brennan to hospital. Towards the end of the video, Crumlin criminal Byrne offers to set up a dinner between the fan and Gerrard. In the video, former Liverpool captain Gerrard is seen inviting the man to watch a Reds match as Crumlin criminal Byrne also smiles and jokes with the fan. During the call, Gerrard kisses the screen as he speaks to the fan and next to him, a smiling Byrne holds his thumbs up. Towards the end of the video, Crumlin criminal Byrne offers to set up a dinner between the fan and Gerrard in his UK home. You pick a date you want and Ill get the lads in Dublin to bring you over come around my house and Stevie is going to come around and have some dinner with you, Byrne says. Video shows Steven Gerrard with Liam Byrne Steven Gerrard has no involvement whatsoever in criminality. He played for Liverpool from 1998 to 2015, during which he won nine trophies, including the UEFA Champions League, two FA Cups, and three League Cups. He also captained England, winning 114 caps for his country. In 2018, he managed Rangers to their first league title in 10 years in the Scottish Premiership and in November 2021, he was appointed the manager of Aston Villa. Steven Gerrard. Photo: Reuters Liam Byrne is a well-known criminal linked to the Kinahan cartel and is a close associate of boss Daniel Kinahan. His brother, drug dealer David Byrne, was shot dead during the Regency Hotel bloodbath in February 2016. Byrne fled Ireland after the Criminal Assets Bureau seized millions of euro of his wealth in 2019. CAB has also seized dozens of high-powered vehicles, jewellery, bank accounts and Byrne's Raleigh Square home in Crumlin. Liam Byrne Byrne became Daniel Kinahan's right-hand man in Britain after his brother-in-law Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh was jailed in 2019 for possession of a stun gun. Earlier this year we reported how Byrne fled his Birmingham bolthole after 'Bomber' received a 21-year jail term for his role at the top of the Kinahan mafia. Byrne moved to Birmingham and into the posh Tamworth neighbourhood after his brother David was shot dead at the Regency and the CAB targeted his wealth. When Kavanagh was arrested and placed in custody pending charges for wholesale drug importation, he placed Byrne in charge of his mob. CAB search Dublin car dealership whose owner is 'under pressure' from Kinahan boss Liam Byrne Crime Long Read: How Mafia godfather Thomas Bomber' Kavanaghs drugs empire was toppled Gang boss Liam Byrne's son Lee returns to Instagram with private profile But sources told the Sunday World how Byrne became increasingly reclusive and was terrified that he would suffer the same fate as his brother from rival gangs. Separately, Byrnes son Lee, who has no links whatsoever to organised crime, appeared in court in Liverpool earlier this year after crashing his 80k BMW car on the motorway. The Dubliner, who was uninjured in the crash was given an official warning from Merseyside Police. Merseyside Police confirmed Lee, who lives in Formby, was given a TOR for an incident of careless driving following a crash on the westbound carriage of the M62 between St Helens and Warrington early on the morning of January 31. Gardai believe the 28-year-old was killed by someone he knew and was left to rot in a city centre shooting gallery Tony Dempsey died in a flat in Dublin's city centre Murder victim Tony Dempseys end is as grim as a society could ever imagine. For 10 days his body lay decomposing in a Dublin flat while drug users came and went and neighbours complained about the smell. Gardai believe the 28-year-old was killed by someone he knew and was left to rot in a city centre drug den where addicts came for their fix and to shoot up. So who was Tony Dempsey and how did he come to such a tragic end, discarded like a bag of rubbish and covered by blankets as drug users partied nearby? Nicola Tallant talks with Irish Independent Crime Correspondent Ken Foy, who says that Dempsey was a classic example of a young man who fell through the cracks of society. He tells me of his chaotic background, the years in foster homes and his gruesome end in a flat described as a place of absolute horror. Crime Word Podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Soundcloud. MORE EPISODES injustice | Sinead OConnor says church abuse cover-up was revelation: Everything I was raised to believe was a lie It was relatively busy when we called but we did manage to get a table and seats across from the bar and the barman served us without delay. Matt Molloy's of Westport is a brilliant boozer Following our 500km round trip to Westport, home of the irrepressible Keegan, the Old Commando is even more dumbfounded. For all the jeering the Mayo fans get Ill tell you one thing, they must be the most loyal in the country. To travel from Westport or even further to Croke Park in such large numbers every time they play is incredible. I wont be the better of that journey for a week, he said as we arrived in the busy west Mayo town. We imagine the tourist season will be coming to end shortly or at least slowing down in these parts, but luckily enough, perhaps due to the good weather, the streets were still bustling when Pub Spy and the team arrived recently. While our troops were searching for somewhere to wet their beaks, the Old Commando had no such time to be wasting and waltzed straight in the front door of Matt Molloys pub on Bridge Street. Its a six-hour journey and over 500kms, Im not spending time walking up and down the street trying to decide which pub looks best, he joked with our Commandos. This lad has Guinness and I have a thirst on me, he added. It was relatively busy when we called but we did manage to get a table and seats across from the bar and the barman served us without delay. Much to our surprise there were no stag parties present but rather a mixture of families with small children, groups of lads in their thirties, the elderly couple perched at the counter together and not talking and the local barfly reading the evening paper. There are multiple sections in the pub, including a stage area, and there is also a small room which appears to be reserved for musicians who walk in off the street. We enjoyed our couple of pints and costing 4.70, the stout is a lot cheaper than most places these days. I wonder will the Government address the cost of a pint in Tuesdays budget, the Young Commando said. If they do it would only be to increase it, the Old Commando replied. Those boys dont live in the real world he said rather angrily. The old timber barstools, bench seating and timber flooring were all very clean and in keeping with their surroundings and the fridges and shelves were all fully stocked. We didnt get to engage with the barman at all during our stay as he was kept very busy but we did observe him and he was very capable at his job. There are numerous old photos hanging throughout the pub and a framed photo of Kevin McBride fighting the legendary Iron Mike Tyson is signed by the big Irishman himself. There are also photos of The Chieftains opening this pub in 1989 and of Planxty from around 1978. There was a very lively atmosphere but people tended to stick to the groups they were in rather than the usual cohort of locals bantering at the bar. We didnt notice any TVs in the pub and it seems to be geared more towards performers and live music. We sent the Young Commando to cast an eye over the toilets and he reported back that they were small with one cubicle and a small stainless steel urinal. Rating: Four pints out of Five One for the road The Old Grainstore Westport The young bearded barman on duty was very welcoming to our Commandos and engaged us all in conversation during our stay. He kept himself busy with a strong work ethic and was very mannerly. At 4.70 the pints of stout were cheaper than we expected in this busy tourist and stag haven and the Old Commando was more than happy to order a second. There was a decent atmosphere although it wasnt overly busy and it was nice and relaxing. The timber flooring looked newer than the barstools and timber bench seating, but they were all in good condition and well maintained. There are two TVs in the bar and a third TV in a secluded snug area towards the rear. The small toilets were very clean. Rating: Three pints out of Five "Its discrimination, basically, against our older generation and people in low income families. The Fianna Fail politician believes the move towards contactless payments is discrimination. Older people are dependent on cash, he said. The younger generation are not even tipping now with cards, theyre using their mobile phones. Cllr Naughton is worried that the elderly will be left behind by new changes in technology. "Its discrimination, basically, against our older generation and people in low income families. He added that the move towards tap payments basically gives all control to the bank. The Donegal politician worries that such a big reliance on online banking leaves society vulnerable to systems that can fail. "If the system goes down, what happens? he asked. "If youve no other option only to pay by card, they can cut you off at any time. Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, Councillor Naughton said the move towards a cashless society is also impacting how people are budgeting. "Years ago, you would always have a certain amount of money in your pocket when that was gone, it was gone. The changes mean you can spend anything up in a night. An average of 49 million of contactless payments were made every day in the three months between April and June 2022. It is a record high for the new banking technology. Over half of all card payments made in that time period were contactless according to the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland. Gardai found the man in his 50s and the stolen cash following a search of the area. The man in his 50s was found following searches of the area and he was arrested for the aggravated robbery of the shop on Rockville Road. The sum of cash was recovered in full. He is currently detained at Blackrock Garda station. Gardai were called to the Rockville Road shop following reports that a man armed with a knife had entered the premises and was threatening staff. Investigations are ongoing. Activist Matthew Collins also met loyalist Jim Dowson in a secret pub where he was warned guns were pointing at him throughout as a precaution Matthew Collins was written a book which will feature in a major five-part ITV drama series which starts next week where the 50-year-old is played by top movie and TV actor Stephen Graham. Matthew Collins was written a book which will feature in a major five-part ITV drama series which starts next week where the 50-year-old is played by top movie and TV actor Stephen Graham. An anti-fascist who helped save the life of a British MP has revealed how he had a cup of hot, sweet tea with UDA leader Jackie McDonald before helping rid Belfast of the BNP. Matthew Collins also reveals he met firebrand loyalist Jim Dowson in a secret Co Antrim pub where the hard-line Scotsman warned him guns were pointing at him throughout as a precaution. The details of the extraordinary meetings the two senior figures in loyalism are revealed in a new book which tells the incredible story of how Collins and a whistleblowing ex-Nazi prevented an MP and a female cop from being hacked to death by far-right terrorists. The new book, penned by Londoner Collins himself, was written to accompany a major five-part ITV drama series which starts next week where the 50-year-old is played by top movie and TV actor Stephen Graham, recently of Line of Duty fame. In an exclusive interview with the Sunday World, the Head-of-Intelligence at campaign group Hope Not Hate reveals how he was sent to live in Belfast in 2009 with the express aim of smashing the British National Partys secret fundraising base, which had set-up in a non-descript office in a non-descript industrial estate in Dundonald. Matthew Collins was written a book which will feature in a major five-part ITV drama series which starts next week where the 50-year-old is played by top movie and TV actor Stephen Graham. But given the nature of his business and the fact he was going to be dealing mainly in loyalist areas Collins, who describes himself to us as a fat James Bond, felt hed better get the OK from senior loyalists first. I wanted to meet with UDA leader Jackie McDonald to make sure there was no issue with me working there and doing what I was going to do, says Collins. It was exciting living in Belfast for three days of every week but I knew with the paramilitaries still very much in operation I thought Id better make sure I wasnt going to end up getting shot after all Jim Dowson was the man running the BNPs fundraising base and he had links with paramilitaries. My plan was to recruit someone working in Dowsons BNP office without getting taken down some dark alley. So I fixed up a meeting with Jackie McDonald where we had a chat over a cup of tea. In the book Collins describes the incredible meeting which took place in a UDA run advice centre in Sandy Row. Collins says, The internet threw up all kinds of interesting and horror stories about him, but for a Loyalist paramilitary leader, so I was told, he was reasonable. Hed even sent one of his men to drive me Rosie Cooper MP When he spoke, he spoke with enthusiasm and authority. He was imminently persuasive. There was actually so much more than just the poxy BNP I wanted to talk to McDonald about. Did he know or care the head of his English (UDA) gang believed Id betrayed them (I hadnt)? Did he know I had an Irish father? Did it matter?... Collins said having explained what he was going to do, McDonald gave him his blessing. He (McDonald) complained the BNP were taking advantage of Ulster and a low wage economy. He protested that he liked Indian food and that he was annoyed by allegations that unionism and loyalism were dominated by racists. Theres no longer work for our people, nothing for the young people, he moaned. Even on Sandy Row, where desperate looking people queued for an audience with him like something out of the Godfather, he quipped King Billy himself could be mugged riding down there on his horse. And as if things couldnt get more bizarre the leader of the UDA chased Collins to ask him if he wanted to have his photo taken with him. McDonald came bounding down the stairs from his office after me. Did you not want a photo? he asked squinting under the glare of the sun. Ah yes, I had. I fumbled for the camera and the next thing I knew, he and I were being photographed standing in front of a mural celebrating the murder gang. F**k me, this would be a story to tell the relatives in Cork! Collins, a former National Front member back in the day, set about infiltrating the BNP office in the Carrowreagh Industrial Estate and his undercover work was pivotal in the partys disastrous election result in Dagenham in 2010. Within a few months Collins had four BNP staff working in the Dundonald office passing him secret information and with a plethora of media exposure - often in this paper - Dowson soon gave-up and closed the office and moved it to Budapest where, the book explains, Collins turned up again to make life impossible for the far right fundraising operation. Matthew Collins was written a book which will feature in a major five-part ITV drama series which starts next week where the 50-year-old is played by top movie and TV actor Stephen Graham. Collins tells us he once received an out-of-the-blue phone-call one day from former loyalist paramilitary-turned-politician Ken Wilkinson. He explained, Id never spoken to him before in my life and dont know how he got my phone number, but he rang me up and said, Mr Collins I just wanted to let you know Nick Griffin was here with his Nazi friends giving out leaflets at a band parade but they were ordered to leave. It was like some bizarre courtesy this man was giving me. Id never spoken to him before and I never spoke to him again. Collins describes a meeting with Jim Dowson in a Co Antrim pub in 2014 as slightly less friendly which perhaps wasnt a surprise given the fact Collins had been instrumental in chasing Dowsons BNP cash machine out of Belfast a few years earlier. But by then Dowson had fallen out with his BNP pals and claimed he was fed up with the Jayda Fransen and Paul Golding Britain First circus and was seemingly ready to dish some dirt on his past comrades. An intermediary set-up the meeting in a pub in some picturesque town in Co Antrim which I cant remember, Collins told the Sunday World. Id brought my boss Nick Lowles from Hope Not Hate with me and Dowson told me later he had guns pointed at both of us throughout the meeting but Im pretty sure he was bulls****ing. He ranted at us for about ten minutes because wed cost him money back in Belfast. He called me a traitor but admitted we had balls. In the book Collins says Dowson shouted at them: Youve got some bollocks. The pair of you; you have some bollocks. Wee little bollocks, no doubt. But you have bollocks. But the main attraction in The Walk In and the central theme of the ITV drama due to start on October 3, is the foiling of the plot to kill an MP. The Walk In is the true story of how despite being threatened with prosecution themselves, Collins, whistle-blower Robbie Mullen and campaign group Hope Not Hate, not only literally saved the day but helped put 19 members of hate group National Action, behind bars. In 2017 Mullen had become disillusioned with the white supremacist terror cell and made contact with Collins to inform him about a meeting in a Warrington pub he had attended where National Action leader Jack Renshaw had plotted to kill Labour MP Rosie Cooper and a cop. He revealed how baby-faced Nazi Renshaw had even bought a special machete designed for cutting up pigs because he said pig flesh was the closest to human. Hope Not Hate refused to hand Mullen over to the police until he had been promised immunity and for around a week they had flown Mullen to Dublin to hideout from British Counter-terrorism police as a result the police, embarrassed by the fact they had absolutely no idea of the MP-murder plot, threatened to prosecute Collins. In 2017 counter-terrorism police told the Home Secretary that National Action were finished but I told them they were wrong, he told us. Three days later members of National Action met in a pub and plotted to kill Rosie Cooper MP with a particular machete knife designed for cutting pig flesh. We told them about our mole but because we refused to name him the police turned on us and threatened to charge me. They threatened to send me to jail. They targeted us because they were embarrassed, they had believed National Action were finished and they had no idea about the terror plot until we told them about it. Over two trials at the Old Bailey and subsequent prosecutions 19 members of National Action were jailed despite the attempts of the defence to discredit Collins. They tried to discredit me with my past in the far right but their problem was everything they tried to expose about me I had already gone public about, he says. It was my finest moment, it was the pinnacle, to see so many fascists put behind bars. I was getting called kinds of names afterwards but I think a fat James Bond is my favourite! But how did he get on with Liverpool actor Stephen Graham, the man tasked with playing him in the drama series. We have never met! reveals Collins. I wasnt allowed to meet him because he didnt want it to affect how he played me. The book The Walk-In Fascists, Spies and Lies is published by Partisan Books and is available from October 4 the morning after the TV drama airs for the first time on ITV 1 Steven.moore@sundayworld.com Repulsive abuser Marcus McMillan (27) jailed after animals believed to be used for fighting and baiting are found with horrendous wounds This is the repulsive animal abuser jailed last week for his shocking mistreatment of ten dogs some of who had parts of their face torn off. Marcus McMillan was jailed for five months at Lisburn Magistrates Court on Thursday claiming he used them to hunt and kill wild animals though the court heard the injuries were consistent with fighting and badger baiting. Cops discovered the animals in a horrific state by chance detectives were searching his house as part of a drug investigation when they came across the beleaguered animals. A disgusted judge described McMillans treatment of the poor animals as actually horrendous and banned him for life from keeping animals again. The 27-year-old, with an address of Benmore Drive in Finaghy, Belfast, was released on bail to appeal his sentence but he was also ordered to pay the 6,048 kennelling and court costs for the dogs to Lisburn and Castlereagh Council. Jailing McMillan, District Judge Rosie Watters said these are horrible cruelty offences and that the particularly shocking photographs of the dogs injuries were actually horrendous and left her in no doubt that these dogs were in an awful lot of suffering. Earlier this year McMillan entered guilty pleas to causing unnecessary suffering to the ten dogs and failing to take reasonable steps to ensure their welfare at a property on the Drumlogh Road in Hillsborough on April 13 last year. On a separate bill of indictment, McMillan had also confessed to possessing class C drugs temazepam and pregabalin at the same property on the same date. Opening the facts for the first time, a prosecuting lawyer outlined how it was the drugs search that lead to the shocking cruelty case in that cops uncovered more than 100 prescription tablets in a caravan at the Hillsborough property but when they checked other outbuildings, they discovered the injured dogs. Injuries and wounds to two of the seized dogs They also uncovered 4,390 in cash which McMillan accepted was the proceeds of crime. The police officers were so concerned they immediately alerted the dog warden and a vet who came to examine the animals. The vet found that all of the dogs, including five Patterdale terriers and a golden wheaten terrier, all had facial injuries, many had active infections with puss in their mouths and one dog in particular, a male Patterdale, had a jaw injury so severe there was a hole between the mouth and chin. Unable to eat or drink properly, that dog had to undergo several surgeries to repair its jaw while among the others: One dog has a tooth removed One dog still had a staple imbedded in its jaw from an old degloving injury One dog was missing its nose One dog had sustained 32 cuts One dog has part of its lip missing. A degloving injury is a traumatic wound that results in the top layers of skin and tissue being torn away from the underlying muscle, connective tissue or bone. They most commonly affect the legs and are frequently associated with underlying fractures. There was no evidence of pain relief and no evidence of vet treatment for any dog, said the lawyer, adding that the vet deemed they were suffering and with McMillan refusing to sign them over, the ten dogs were seized. He eventually did sign them over but not before vet and kennelling costs totalled 5,814 and although twice invited to attend for interviews, McMillan was a no-show. All of the dogs were rehomed apart from two which were stolen the night they were placed into the foster care of care providers, said the lawyer, with defence counsel Peter Coiley stressing there was no evidence or suggestion that McMillan had anything to do with that. While the PPS told DJ Watters the injuries would be consistent with fighting or badger baiting, Mr Coiley claimed that according to McMillan, the dogs were used to hunt foxes but conceded that no matter how the injuries occurred, these animals were not by any measure appropriately or humanely treated. The strongest mitigation that I have is that he pleaded guilty, said the barrister, adding: Thankfully, none of the dogs required to be euthanised. Thats no thanks to him, the judge told him, describing McMillans crimes as quite shocking offences as she jailed him. Ordering the forfeiture of the 4,039 seized, the judge also ordered McMillan to pay the 5,814 vet and kennelling costs and the 234 court costs. steven.moore@sundayworld.com New Zealand Chinese Language Week is being held again this year, for the lucky eighth time. A celebration of Chinese language and culture, New Zealand Chinese Language Week was originally set up to encourage New Zealanders to study Mandarin Chinese at school or university. "But over time, that has evolved to a wider celebration of Chinese language and culture," says New Zealand Chinese Language Week Charitable Trust chair Jo Coughlan. New Zealand has a diverse and vibrant society, and language weeks such as New Zealand Chinese Language Week help us express that." New Zealand Chinese Language Week 2022 is running from Sunday, September 25, to Saturday, October 1. Jo says this year's theme is 'Sharing our Stories'. "Its been 180 years since the first Chinese migrant to New Zealand was officially registered, and there are lots of stories to share in that time. The New Zealand Chinese Language Week website is live now, with lots of resources for people looking to take part in the week. "At www.nzclw.com you can find useful phrases to practise, a guide to events on around the country, and videos of support from leaders such as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and mayors around the country," says Jo. Also listed are this years 13 Mandarin Superstars people who are sharing their experiences with learning Chinese and encouraging other New Zealanders to have a go. Jo says other organisations, both private sector and public sector, are also marking the week. "Some have resources that are available all year round, such as the Department of Conservation, which has an app in Mandarin to help visitors to Auckland identify plants and animals there." Te Papa, the national museum based in Wellington, also has a great archive of stories about language and culture from Chinese migrants and their families: /www.tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watch-play/chinese-languages-aotearoa Jo says there are many languages within China, but New Zealand Chinese Language Week focuses on Mandarin. This is the language taught in New Zealand schools and universities, and our purpose is to encourage New Zealanders to learn Chinese, so we concentrate on the language taught in our education institutions. Its an impossible choice between life and death. To pay or not to pay for cancer treatment? Paul Cherry has lived in both Mount Maunganui and in Asia as an operations manager in the Kiwifruit industry, spending 12 years in Japan and a further five years in China training operations staff in fruit quality, storage, and shipping. It was in Japan that a prerequisite of the job was a yearly medical. It was quite the health MOT, says Paul. They scheduled us in for a full day of health testing, every year. It would be non-negotiable and believe me, no rock was left unturned. This changed when I went to China as the health testing was so laborious, I chose to do it when I was home for annual leave. After getting used to the yearly health checks through my employer, I continued to be relatively vigilant at going to the doctor for check-ups after retiring back to New Zealand. But at no point do I recall being offered a PSA blood test over those years. It wasnt until Paul retired in 2012, that he complained to his GP about getting up too much at night that he carried out a digital exam and discovered something was amiss. The resulting PSA testing by his urologist then showed some elevation which increased significantly over 2013 and ended with me undergoing a radical proctectomy and follow up radiation treatment in August of that year. The diagnosis was that the cancer was incurable. Whilst we now had our own health insurance by this time, replacing the company package, there were a number of exemptions, one of which was prostate cancer, says Paul. Toward the end of 2015, Paul started to experience symptoms again and his PSA levels began to elevate. Various treatment options were discussed whilst monitoring through his urologist. This continued until mid-2019 when his level rapidly rose to about 175 over a short period (normal results are <4 ng/ml) and subsequent scans detected significant metastases and a referral to an oncologist. At this point I was put on Zoladex, which bought my PSA back to undetectable levels. Subsequent conversations with my oncologist suggested that while the Zoladex was working for now, it wasnt an exact science for how long it would work for. I was given three drug options to consider adding into the mix, all of which were non-funded. Sitting down with Robyn, my wife, we looked at the survival, quality of life gains and the ability of the drug to halt the progression of the metastases and made the call to start enzalutamide at a cost of $5500 every 28 days. Its a heavy financial burden and Im very grateful for Robyns unwavering support throughout. To date, the Cherrys have spent $212,000 on enzalutamide. The biggest stress I have currently, is how can I keep funding it? Its keeping my cancer at bay but when I run out of money, the outlook is not good, says Paul. I understand the challenges Pharmac face with funding and making sure every New Zealander has access to the medications they need. Increasing medicines funding to Pharmac needs to be a much higher priority for Government. But if they cant deliver more funding then I believe they could help New Zealand men, like myself, with the costs we are paying. For example, they could make non-funded cancer medicines exempt from GST, part-fund treatments or offer other tax breaks to help ease the financial burden. Taking the GST off enzalutamide would give me another two months of treatment, part-funding of even $1000 would give me almost 2 months extra. It would make all the difference. Paul Cherry. According to Prostate Cancer Foundation CEO Peter Dickens, with limited funded treatment options available to New Zealand men suffering from prostate cancer, many are faced with the stark reality of finding money for treatment or face a significantly reduced survival rate. Without treatment the prognosis is likely to be poor, treatments that are readily available in Australia and other OECD countries, are simply not being subsidised here. The treatment recommended by Pauls oncologist, enzalutamide, is not even registered. This meant Paul and his urologist needed to obtain approval from Medsafe to allow him access to the lifesaving medication and at an unfunded cost to Paul of $5500 per month, says Peter. Enzalutamide has been proven to treat prostate disease earlier and provide significant survival and quality of life gains, it significantly extends metastasis-free survival and reduces the risk of developing distant metastases or death by 72 per cent. The fact that New Zealand men are being denied access to this life saving drug is a travesty. Paul is in the fortunate position of being able to fund his treatment for now, but many prostate cancer patients are not as fortunate and are dying earlier as a result. PCFNZ is committed to advocating for New Zealand men living with prostate cancer, to ensure they get better health outcomes. By supporting Blue September, PCFNZs primary fundraising event, you will be supporting the 1 in 8 Kiwi men affected by prostate cancer. Do Something Blue to help a mate through during the month of September and help give a voice to New Zealand men living with prostate cancer www.blueseptember.org.nz The Bay of Plenty's Pasifika Festival is back better than ever this year, after two years of cancellations from Covid-19. The event is a vibrant celebration through dance and food, showcasing the unique cultures of the Pacific Islands with a focus on the younger generation, according to event organisers. The event will be held at Jubilee Park, Te Puke on Saturday, October 29. Performances will take place between 9.30am and 4.30pm. This year, three Te Puke schools have combined forces to host about 30 performance groups at the towns Jubilee Park. Cultural performance groups from around the Bay will be practicing hard ahead of the big day that will see 30 groups take the outdoor stage in vibrant traditional costumes, says an event spokesperson. The performance groups will be representing nations from all over the Pacific including Tonga, Samoa, Niue, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Fiji and more. There will also be market style stalls at the event, packed with authentic foods from the islands to tempt the taste buds. Previous years crowds have reached the thousands and organisers believe that moving the festival to a Saturday will result in this year being bigger than ever. Support from Creative New Zealand has also contributed to the festivals ability to grow. Pasifika in the Bay began in 2016 when a small group of Pasifika teachers within the Bay of Plenty area connected with the vision to raise Pasifika achievement within the school system by giving students a platform to showcase their culture. Photo: Miki Nakagawa/Drops Photography. The chance for these students to stand on the big stage and represent their heritage in front of teachers, peers, family and the wider community is hugely valuable, says founding member Mike Douglas. Te Puke Primary, Intermediate and High School - lead by organisers, Pasifika in the Bay Trust -are all involved with hosting the event. This is a great way for the Pasifika students and families to strengthen relationships with the schools and their wider community. The committee behind the festival has grown over the years, along with the size of the event but the vision behind it to promote Pasifika culture within the Bay, remains the same. Convicted criminals are serving home detention, parole and community detention sentences in emergency accommodation places, but Corrections is unable to say how many, where or provide a nationwide total. But the numbers involved appear to be large, prompting concerns from community advocates worried about vulnerable people having little choice or knowledge about being shacked up next to convicts. However, it was able to say it is funding more than 1000 emergency accommodation places a year at a cost or more than $7m up from $3.8m a year in 2016. Stuff obtained the information after asking Corrections for details on the number of people it manages in emergency accommodation, including how many are on Home Detention, how many are in each region and what the nationwide total is. In a written response, Corrections said that information could not be supplied as it would involve individually assessing each persons file across the country and correlating it with emergency housing addresses. That response drew criticism from Rotorua councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait, who has raised concerns in the past about mothers living with children next to 501s. She said it was a concern Corrections was unable to provide numbers of how many convicted criminals are where across the emergency accommodation spaces. Particularly if there are women and children living there. They should know theres a former inmate there. Raukawa-Tait also said she believed Corrections would know who was where, citing release conditions that can accompany community-based sentences. I believe they know exactly how many former, recently released and community sentence criminals are in the motels, she said. It [MSD motel living] may not be conducive to the former prisoners welfare either. Rotorua councillor, and Chair of the Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency Merepeka Raukawa-Tait, said she was concerned mothers and children could be under the same roof as criminals. Since Rotorua has hit the headlines, Ministers in Wellington want to know too. The tourist town motel sectors transformation into emergency housing has become a case study in human misery and a political headache for the government in recent months. In an accompanying statement from Chief Probation Officer Darius Fagan in response to Stuffs queries, he said around 15,000 people are released from prison each year, and finding suitable accommodation for them is one of our most significant challenges. He said they contract almost 1000 emergency accommodation places to be used by people on a range of conditions, including home detention, parole, community detention and release on conditions. Fagan also said public safety was their top priority, and no person would be permitted to reside at an address if it was considered that the risk could not be safely managed and public safety upheld. Emergency accommodation is used as a last resort, he said. The alternative is that these people would otherwise be homeless, which would present an unacceptable safety risk to communities. Fagan said that at present, Corrections have 5700 people being electronically monitored, 1600 of these on home detention, and 1900 people on electronically monitored bail. He also said any address considered for home detention must be assessed as suitable before approval is given. Emergency accommodation at motels is used as a last option and is a temporary measure, he said. If this is required for a person subject to home detention, we work closely with MSD, who are responsible for sourcing and funding the emergency accommodation. We are responsible for providing information to MSD to ensure we can safely manage the person, approving the temporary alternative address, and maintaining a relationship with the accommodation provider as appropriate. If we do approve for a person to move to emergency accommodation, we then review and reassess what the persons longer-term options are. If we are unable to identify a suitable long-term address, we may consider returning the matter to the Court for an application to vary the sentence. Fagan also said that the provision of emergency housing is temporary, so it would be unlikely a person would begin their home detention sentence at emergency accommodation, or spend their whole sentence there. -Benn Bathgate/Stuff. The majority of Western Bay of Plenty mayoral candidates are in favour of Maori Wards, according to a first of its kind survey. Local Democracy Reportings 14 journalists canvassed the countrys 291 mayoral candidates on key issues to produce the 2022 Local Democracy Reporting mayoral candidate survey. The mayoral hopefuls were quizzed on Maori Wards, rates, Three Waters and climate change. LDR Alisha Evans looks at the Western Bay candidates thoughts on Maori wards compared to the rest of New Zealand. Western Bay of Plenty District Council does not have a Maori ward and establishing one will likely be a hot topic ahead of its representation review in the next triennium. The review will look at what form the wards and community boards should take and how many elected members there should be to best represent the districts population at the 2025 election. Maori wards will form part of this review, but are not mandatory and can be voted on by the council. Of the countrys 67 councils, 34 will have Maori wards or constituencies in the upcoming election on October 8. Tauranga City Council had its review this year and adopted a Maori Ward for the first time, but wont have an election until 2024 when the government appointed commissioners term ends. When Western Bay of Plenty mayoral candidates were asked if Maori wards were an effective way to increase Maori participation, both as candidates and as voters, five of the seven respondents (71 per cent) said yes. This compares to close to half (48.5 per cent) nationally saying yes, with a quarter unsure (26.2 per cent) and just 25.2 per cent rejected the proposition outright. Te Tiriti Close to half of the 291 candidates surveyed said Maori wards were effective in increasing Maori participation, both as candidates and voters. Graphic: LDR Unlike a large portion of candidates nationally, none of the Western Bay candidate mentioned Te Tiriti O Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi). Nationally, honouring Te Tiriti and the promise of partnership or patuitanga was one of the main reasons for supporting Maori Wards. The most definitive reason in support, comes from current deputy mayor John Scrimgeour: There would definitely be an increased interest and participation from voters registered on the Maori Roll and as a consequence more candidates of Maori descent. Don Thwaites and Rodney Joyce say they are working at a regional council and central government level so support them at a local level. Current Kaimai Ward councillor Thwaites says: A huge amount of those identifying as Maori are enrolled on the general roll and take an active part in nationwide and local politics. The absolute key is that each voter has one vote, and each ward established, is proportional to numbers enrolled. Joyces reason is: It is likely the government will mandate these everywhere so we need to stop fighting an unwinnable fight. Both parliament and regional council have Maori seats and the world has not fallen apart. WBOP has a good record of Maori councillors but less so in terms of local iwi representation, says the Katikati business owner. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council is the first local authority to establish Maori Wards back in 2004. Current Katikati-Waihi Beach Ward councillor James Denyer responded yes, but also wants to consider other solutions alongside the representation review. It would be important for me to hear the views of the community and iwi/Maori to understand their preferred solutions. Hori BOP Leaming agrees they are effective, but did not provide a reason why. Maketu local Paul Haimona (Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Makino, Ngati Pikiao) says no and his reason is: If they were effective, we would not be asking this question. The other Western Bay candidate to answer no is Te Puke business man Mark Boyle. He says: We must encourage all eligible voters to exercise their vote in local government elections. Maori participation through vote is democratic. Engagement with Maori can be improved through formal iwi, hapu, business and community forums. There are eight contenders in the Western Bay mayoral race, with Suaree Borrell not responding to the survey. It was sent out to all 291 mayoral candidates and garnered 202 responses, representing a 69 per cent response rate. Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. Between meteor showers and satellites, there's no shortage of bright spots in Aotearoa's night sky. But this morning there was an extra brilliant sparkle - Jupiter. The gas giant, the solar system's largest planet, is the closest it has been to Earth in 59 years - a mere 591 million km away. Stardome astronomer and Otago Museum director Dr Ian Griffin told Morning Report it was a cosmic sight anyone could easily see. "I'm down here in Otepoti Dunedin and looking across the harbour from my home, I can see Jupiter very nice in the sky. "It really is stonkingly bright at the moment. It's very, very impressive." The phenomenon will last just a few more days. "Over the next few nights, actually, it's not just today. "You go out tonight when the sun sets in the eastern sky you'll see it rising and at the moment it's setting in the west. You really can't miss it." While Jupiter is 996 million km away from us at its farthest, right now it is the closest it ever gets in its orbit. This means it can be seen with the naked eye. "It's just really bright because it's relatively close to us. "But if you got a pair of binoculars or even a small telescope you can see some really interesting detail on Jupiter. "With binoculars you can see its four major moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, which were discovered by Galileo in 1610. They're really easy to see and they can't be missed. "With a telescope, if you have one of those telescopes you might have got for Christmas a few years ago, if you get it out and point it at Jupiter, you can see its cloud belts and even its Great Red Spot, which is a storm that's been raging for about 400 years." "If you ever had an idea of maybe doing some astronomy, now's the time to go out and do it I think." Stargazers in Aotearoa and around the world picked up cameras to capture the moment. Jupiter low in the west. pic.twitter.com/Q4dcbrTRQ3 Ian Griffin (@iangriffin) September 27, 2022 After staying up all night shooting it, here's my shot of Jupiter at "Opposition". This is the closest its been to Earth in 59 years. pic.twitter.com/6K06whceEo Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) September 27, 2022 Jupiter and a few of it moons above eastern horizon just now. Tonight it's the closest the planet has been to Earth in decades. pic.twitter.com/BwVNC96k3z SeanDG (@SeanDG) September 27, 2022 Jupiter and five moons. Cool! pic.twitter.com/vJBmCiKrpr The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) September 27, 2022 Stargazers: Jupiter will make its closest approach to Earth in 59 years! Weather-permitting, expect excellent views on Sept. 26. A good pair of binoculars should be enough to catch some details; youll need a large telescope to see the Great Red Spot. https://t.co/qD5OiZX6ld pic.twitter.com/AMFYmC9NET NASA (@NASA) September 23, 2022 But if you miss the window to see it, you may have to wait a while - the next time Jupiter is this close is not until 2129. Thome Group publishes its second sustainability report The publication of Thome Groups second voluntary report covers 2021 and covers the significant progress in aligning itself with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Since the publication of its inaugural Sustainability Report in 2020, the Thome Group has made significant progress in aligning itself with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The publication of its second voluntary report covers 2021 and the fact that progress has been made against the backdrop of continuing disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges faced by the maritime industry, is testament to the dedication of its staff. The company has successfully embraced a hybrid working style across the group to improve its employees work/life balance and this has helped to reduce Thomes overall carbon footprint due to the reduction in the number of office commutes made by staff. Recent office moves in Mumbai and Singapore have also enabled Thomes staff to review their working practices and reduce the reliance on paper trails by switching to digital alternatives. Thomes overall health and safety record results have improved since 2020 which is encouraging as the company is focused on working towards zero injuries, incidents and accidents. The reduction has been due to various health and safety campaigns and initiatives throughout the year with consistent communications and messaging both onboard and ashore. The knock-on effect of fewer incidents means less resources being used which reduces Thomes requirements for fresh supplies. The Group has also made major strides with regards to reducing its reliance on plastics by almost half. Some of the initiatives which have been implemented to achieve this include issuing seafarers with refillable water bottles and also minimizing its general onboard waste generation. Thome specialist teams are also heavily invested in helping their customers and principals evaluate the switch to using cleaner fuels to work towards the IMOs target of reducing shippings GHG emissions by 50% by 2050. Commenting on the publication of Thomes second sustainability report, the groups CEO Olav Nortun said, Im really pleased at the progress weve made since 2020 and the path towards sustainability continues with many more initiatives being implemented this year, all championed by our dedicated teams who coordinate and actively manage these processes. We all have a part to play in realising this long-term vision. OffPoynt Newbie Join Date: Sep 2022 Location: Mysore Posts: 2 Thanked: 19 Times My First True Love | 2022 TVS Apache RTR 200 4V Review TeamBHP played a big part in my choosing this bike (thanks Hagaru and vijai!). And not many reviews of the 2022 bike, so I thought why not. Background: Car lover since as far as I can remember. I used to get my fix in my high school hostel days with an Evo magazine subscription (no mobiles allowed there). And watch TopGear whenever I went for outings. Many years later, I am now in a bachelor's course for Visual Media (after having quit engineering). I used to be in a hostel for my engineering, but now though, the college is close to my home, which meant taking my dad's nine-year-old Access 125 to college. This would create some scheduling conflicts with my dad (we did have a Figo, but he didn't like taking it for small runs like groceries, etc). This is where the thought of buying a vehicle entered my mind. I only experienced 3 bikes until now, and all thanks to my elder brother. He first borrowed a friend's Unicorn. Then, brother-in-laws' Pulsar 150. And he ended up buying an FZ, the first generation with the 164cc 14 hp engine. Which he ended up selling when he went abroad to fund his education. During all this, I was too small and young to even ride scooters, let alone bikes. So, no bike in the family to ride, so no bike experience and no passion to ride. I did ride a bike for my license tests, but that was just because adding on a geared motorcycle license to a DL later is very complicated, so why not get them all in one go? I did have respect for superbikes still. At this point (beginning of 2022), I seriously considered the TVS Ntorq and even pitched the idea to the family but it wasn't taken much seriously. I also didn't mind too much; the Access was doing well enough. Fast forward to March-April when my parents tell me that my sister's friend has an old Apache that he doesn't ride and would lend it to me for my college duration, a BS3 Yellow RTR 160. Having not much interest in bikes, I postponed getting it for so long. The day before somebody else was about to borrow the bike, I went and got it even then, my reason to get it was that it would be faster than the Access (and not totally because my buddy bought a Pulsar N250 which I could totally keep up with). Not even a month later. Just two weeks into riding the 160, it all sank in. Everything made sense. I immediately understood biking. I had found Pandora. The last service before returning the bike. Sorry for the bad angle By June - July, I started to feel bad for the 160. It was once a college student's bike, now in my hands. I am a safe rider, but I do like to live my life in the upper half of the tacho (this engine ). I felt bad, and not to mention, some of the problems on the bike (vibrations, rust in a few places, a cracked front cowl) which came with the bike, made me feel even more guilty about riding it and felt the need to return it. But not before I got one for myself... Enter the "I want a new bike" phase I was in love with the RTR 160's racy feel. Something about it really tickled my inner child when the bike was ridden hard. Naturally, that nominated the RTR 200 for me. Options I considered: 1. Yamaha MT-15/R15 Out of budget. My goal was under 2L. However, due to having had a Yamaha in our family before, I really did think about the R15. 2. FZ250 This one actually costs very similar to the bike I ended up buying. It makes similar power, but more torque and is a very easy city bike. However, I rejected this because of the dated features, and it didn't tug at my heartstrings quite enough. 3. Hero Xpulse 200 4V I'm not really into adventure bikes. I can see the appeal, though. My Neanderthal brain also went "200cc with 17bhp hmm not great" too. I am also a bit short for this. Good bike, just not my vibe. 4. RE Out of my budget, and too heavy for me. I am also not a cruiser kind of guy. 5. Honda CB series Hondas don't really draw me, except for the CB300R (which was out of my budget). 6. KTMs Already out of my budget. Also, it does seem like everyone has one. I know the RTR is popular, but I have seen more KTMs than the 4v RTRs, by many multiple times. 7. Pulsar F250/N250 twins This one was a very hard bike to reject for me. As I've said, my buddy bought an N250, and it was 187000 on-road, which is practically the same as what I paid for my RTR (186000 on-road, Mysuru). The bike is fantastic. It sounds absolutely incredible and is really performant. Since I didn't want to buy the N250 (totally not because a buddy has one) the F250 was also a choice for me. In the end, I decided that the Pulsar was a very good bike, but it was more a sporty bike, with all the hooliganism that the Pulsar name represents. Which I don't have a problem with, I just wanted a track feel and not a sporty feel out of my new bike. 8. Pulsar NS/RS Rejected for similar reasons as KTMs and the N/F250s. But, I do want to have a multi-bike garage one day and the RS is around the top of the list. 9. Suzuki Gixxer/V-Strom Out of my budget, again. I liked the 250 naked Gixxer. Aaaand out of all these options, I went with the Apache stable and chose an RTR 200 4V, 2022, dual-channel ABS with riding modes. My color of choice during the booking was white (quite a rare color here). I went with a small TVS dealer because my family actually had used their services during the 90s. There was a bigger showroom closer to my house but the salesperson just couldn't be bothered to explain about the bike. No drive/energy whatsoever, which turned me off. My first choice was actually the matte blue one. However, the showroom person told me it isn't made anymore (which may/may not be true, I didn't check) and went with white. This all happened before my year-end exams. I would ideally get the bike when the holidays started (win-win). A few days, I went to the dealer and asked him for an ETA. He said that due to low demand for the white, manufacturing is less and that it will take time. Welp. Went again after a week to check the progress. Same thing, except this time he mentions that two black RTR 200s in the variant I chose have just been delivered to a showroom by the factory and I could have one in a week. Call me fickle-minded, but this was my first bike and first vehicle. I was honestly giddy for the whole one or two months before and after I got the bike. I told the dealer yes, I will take the black one. Two days later, the bike made its way to the dealer. The bike stayed there as there were some things to be done (registration etc). I personally couldn't wait for the day I got my bike. And then the day came. Delivery It actually started drizzling during the delivery. Not to be stopped, I donned a raincoat and rode home in the rain. Delivery went well. The free TVS Xpod helmet would arrive a week later. I used my Vega until then. Everything went smoothly. No problems or issues on the bike. Number plate to arrive about 2 to 3 weeks later. At home. What a feeling! Since my holidays had started, it gave me ample time to know my bike better. Pros: 1. Very refined. This bike is the complete opposite of the old RTR 160 and 180s. It is now one of the segment benchmarks. Absolute zero-to-hero story, in this one. 2. Ergonomics. I am on the short side, which makes this bike suit me well. The upright seating, although a departure from the race-style posture of the old RTRs, is very welcome and some touring on this bike is no problem. 3. Exhaust note. Countless YouTube videos watched still didn't prepare me for how good this bike sounds. It sounds like a big bike and sounds incredible. It doesn't have the outright bassyness of the N250 but it still is one of the best sounding single cylinder bikes. Gotta love the turning of heads as people hear this coming. 4. Chassis, suspension, and handling. TVS has a factory race team and it shows in this bike. Fast corners and swooping curves really show how nimble and fleet-footed this bike is, despite using a traditional double-cradle chassis instead of the more modern perimeter/trellis frames. The suspension units are from Showa, which is a Japanese big-name brand that is found mostly on superbikes. Adjustable forks are a very good feature. The handling is really confidence-inspiring. 5. The looks. This bike looks really, really good. From the seat, it does really give you a "big bike" feeling. Don't be fooled by the tank size, it isn't actually that large of a capacity. More about this in Cons. 6. Adjustable brake and clutch levers. The adjustability I found not to have too much of an impact at first, but I ended up discovering that adjusting them changed how the levers feel. Brakes feel better set at level 3. Also, it is useful for the occasional time a trusted friend takes the bike for a spin. 7. Gearbox. It is very quick and allows for absolutely beautiful downshifting, especially if you know rev-matching. 8. Power. All the RTR 200's power is packed mostly into the mid-range, giving it one of the fastest 0-60 times in the segment. It doesn't make sense on normal roads or highways but on tight roads with turns, it does. 9. The console. Very useful and informative console, although I would have liked a bigger and more elaborate tachometer. Phone connection is a big plus (to see the name of the caller is a huge advantage while on the move, as I can pick calls with an intercom). Ride statistics are accurate. 10. GTT. Glide Through Technology, allows one to leave the clutch and throttle, and at low speeds, the FI system injects a bit of fuel to keep the bike moving at a set speed (7 in 1st, 14 in 2nd, 22 in 3rd, 29 in 4th and 34 in 5th). It is not advisable however to use GTT for the 4th and 5th gears. 11. ABS and riding modes. The ABS works well, and with the Rain mode, it makes it impossible to lock up the wheel in any scenario. Very useful. 12. As compared to the 2021 version (rode a friend's bike), the 2022 version gets a better side stand (his observation). The 2022 version also gets a switch to turn the headlamp on/off while the DRL remains on, and dims itself when the headlamp is on. Cons 1. Brakes. The no-name brand brakes have a very spongy feel and are very uncommunicative. Also, the stopping power is not enough (most, if not all rivals have better stopping power). The rotors are also small (personal opinion). Setting the lever to step 3 makes it feel better. I will start using LiquiMoly's brake fluid after the warranty on the bike is over. 2. Power. For the money, the RTR 200 is now rivaled by the NS200 and the N/F250 twins, both of which make more power. Not really a big point, but I've felt the need for more power for cruising at higher speeds on expressways. This bike loses most of its steam above 110. 3. Gearing. 5 gears is fine but above 110 the bike struggles to gain speed. The meat of the power starts at 5k RPM, I feel. 5k to 8k is the sweet spot. Could've been wider. Also, 6th gear. 4. Lack of aftermarket parts. I had such a hard time searching for some parts to improve my daily experience on the bike (like tank/thigh pads). Many websites have parts for KTMs, Bajajs, Yamaha, and the like but no Apache. 5. Slight struggle after cold starts. Sometimes, the engine cuts off in 10s after a cold start. It always starts correctly, however. The idling can sometimes dip below 1k RPM for a split second when idling after a cold start. 6. TVS' oils. Their brake and engine oils are not good. Despite what I said about the gearbox is good, it does occasionally throw up a missed shift. I suspect the oil. I will be changing this too after the warranty on the bike ends. Apparently, the brake fluid is DOT 3 from the factory, like what? 7. Riding modes. The bike produces 20.5 bhp on Sport mode and 17.1 on the others. Apart from the modes also changing the ABS intervention (which DO make a difference), this power difference doesn't make sense and is nearly imperceptible. It may be because the bike is new and I need time to tell, but that is the problem. It feels more like a gimmick at times. Personally, I leave it on Sport all the time. Might as well call it ABS modes 8. Halogen turn signals. Not a bother for some. To me, it feels outdated. Full LED headlamp but halogen signals? 9. Toolkit only contains a screwdriver and a 12/14mm (IIRC) spanner. Not much you can do with these (when it comes to adjusting clutch/throttle plays, installing radiator guards, etc). 10. TVS Connect app is sometimes finicky. Didn't expect much out of this, so not disappointed. Navigation can sometimes get stuck. Not fully reliable. Haven't used it much as the app can't take locations shared for example on Whatsapp. I only use it if I need to track performance and distance statistics. 11. Tyres are not confidence inspiring, especially when cold. Warmed up is when they have life. Switching these after they wear out. No Pirelli option too 12. TVS releasing a lot of OEM accessories for the Ronin has made me a bit salty. Where are OEM accessories for the RTR? For example, Ronin gets thigh pads and adjustable levers in two colors among other things. The Ronin also got USD forks and a USB port. I might be able to retrofit all these, but still. 13. Ergonomics are not good for tall riders. My tall friends do not like the ergos one bit. 14. Tank capacity is just 12L, despite how big the tank looks. Yes, given an ideal mileage of 40, it should do 480 km which is sufficient. The old RTRs however, came with a 16L tank and near-50kmpl mileage (a theoretical 800km!). The upshot to this is that the tank you see isn't a tank, it's a fiberglass panel covering the tank that can be replaced for cheaper than if something were to directly damage the tank. Some might feel like I've bashed the bike a lot, but I want to make sure I put out everything. The first service was done and dusted within a month's time of taking delivery of the bike. After that, I waited till the bike hit 1000kms to ride to Bangalore. From Bangalore, I went for a ride to Krishnagiri with 3 friends. Me on my bike. I was riding with a friend who rode a Duke 390. Can't expect this to keep up, but I tried my best. It was smooth throughout. I had no problems throughout. Mods done (can't really call what I've done as 'modifications' but here I go): 1. Screen scratch protector The screen getting scratched was a worry for me, who knows if I can get the glass replaced? So I bought this. Anyone wanting to do the same, be warned that the protectors are flat while the console screen has a slight curve to it. It applied fine, but the next day after college, I notice half the protector has unstuck itself from the screen. Took the protector off, cleaned the sticky side with a cleaning sticker from a phone tempered glass kit, and this time I used a hairdryer on the hot setting to get the protector to curve and attach properly. No problems so far except 2 edges where it won't sit properly (minuscule, not there in the picture). 2. Thigh / Tank pads from Autologue Design This is the thigh pad. And this is the tank pad. These were just about the only pads I found designed for this bike. It's made of rubber and provides a really good grip, enhancing handling and everyday usage. They come in a pack of 6. Two for the tank and 4 for both sides. I wished the rubber would be a completely jet black color to match the bike, instead of the dark gray it is, but beggars can't be choosers. 3. Radiator guard After seeing a few fins bent, I was pretty scared. The bike did not come with a radiator guard from the factory, and asking the salesperson came to nothing. So, I ordered one from Amazon. Again, this was the only good one I found. No variety. I attempted installing it at home and gave up. Got it done at the place I bought the bike. The radiator guard. After installing. Planned: 1. Air filter 2. Windshield/Visor 3. Painting the panel above the tail lamp and the one between the seats red and adding two black stripes (to continue and match the tank's design to the rear) along with the radiator guard painted red (this one was suggested by the salesperson after getting it fitted). Also want black levers all around (clutch, brake, gear, rear brake). 4. Brakes, either just the pads and fluid or the entire system. I don't know if this will be complicated due to the presence of dual-channel ABS. 5. LED Indicators from either a Ronin or RR310 (as told about by a fellow member). Service Pretty inexpensive, overall. The first service cost me around 650, with additional money for a wash and polish. Exceeded my expectations with respect to cost, I went to the center expecting a bill of 1k to 2k. I do not know if the center I chose can deal with major problems but since I don't have any, no issues at the moment. The second service is nearing soon at 2.5k to 3k km. The oil filter was not changed (due to it being in pretty good condition, as per the sales/service person). Overall I love this bike. It may not have the outright power of its rivals, but it handles so well and so sweetly. Actually, this bike was a bit of an impulse purchase. I have not test-ridden any bike, not even this one, before buying. Why? I do not know. All that I know is that I am satisfied and happy. More mentally stable, too. Riding has that effect. Compared to the old 2V RTRs, I feel that the 4V RTR (I don't know about the 160, which has slightly different ergonomics) has lost some of that unique RTR track feel. It is now an upright bike, and the tank shape along with the way it feels to grip, makes the ergonomics feel different from the 2V bikes. This isn't a knock, per se. It places the RTR firmly into the modern naked/street bike. The sound too leans towards the sporty side but this is a really good-sounding bike and is a proper corner rocket. Not knowing how to corner (and not being the type to corner at high speeds), I am not the person to tell you how the 2 generations of RTR differ in this aspect. Nevertheless, I like this evolution. Pictures The three types of Apache, hmm My RTR with my friend's N250. Eye candy, this bike. A Mustang of my own Hello everyone! I'm OffPoynt, and this is my first post here.TeamBHP played a big part in my choosing this bike (thanks Hagaru and vijai!). And not many reviews of the 2022 bike, so I thought why not.Car lover since as far as I can remember. I used to get my fix in my high school hostel days with an Evo magazine subscription (no mobiles allowed there). And watch TopGear whenever I went for outings., I am now in a bachelor's course for Visual Media (after having quit engineering). I used to be in a hostel for my engineering, but now though, the college is close to my home, which meant taking my dad's nine-year-old Access 125 to college. This would create some scheduling conflicts with my dad (we did have a Figo, but he didn't like taking it for small runs like groceries, etc). This is where the thought of buying a vehicle entered my mind.I only experienced 3 bikes until now, and all thanks to my elder brother. He first borrowed a friend's Unicorn. Then, brother-in-laws' Pulsar 150. And he ended up buying an FZ, the first generation with the 164cc 14 hp engine. Which he ended up selling when he went abroad to fund his education. During all this, I was too small and young to even ride scooters, let alone bikes.So, no bike in the family to ride, so no bike experience and no passion to ride. I did ride a bike for my license tests, but that was just because adding on a geared motorcycle license to a DL later is very complicated, so why not get them all in one go? I did have respect for superbikes still.At this point (beginning of 2022), I seriously considered the TVS Ntorq and even pitched the idea to the family but it wasn't taken much seriously. I also didn't mind too much; the Access was doing well enough.Fast forward to March-April when my parents tell me that my sister's friend has an old Apache that he doesn't ride and would lend it to me for my college duration, a BS3 Yellow RTR 160. Having not much interest in bikes, I postponed getting it for so long. The day before somebody else was about to borrow the bike, I went and got iteven then, my reason to get it was that it would be faster than the Access (and not totally because my buddy bought a Pulsar N250 which I could totally keep up with).Not even a month later. Just two weeks into riding the 160, it all sank in. Everything made sense. I immediately understood biking. I had found Pandora.By June - July, I started to feel bad for the 160. It was once a college student's bike, now in my hands. I am a safe rider, but I do like to live my life in the upper half of the tacho (this engine). I felt bad, and not to mention, some of the problems on the bike (vibrations, rust in a few places, a cracked front cowl) which came with the bike, made me feel even more guilty about riding it and felt the need to return it. But not before I got one for myself...I was in love with the RTR 160's racy feel. Something about it really tickled my inner child when the bike was ridden hard. Naturally, that nominated the RTR 200 for me.Options I considered:1. Yamaha MT-15/R15Out of budget. My goal was under 2L. However, due to having had a Yamaha in our family before, I really did think about the R15.2. FZ250This one actually costs very similar to the bike I ended up buying. It makes similar power, but more torque and is a very easy city bike. However, I rejected this because of the dated features, and it didn't tug at my heartstrings quite enough.3. Hero Xpulse 200 4VI'm not really into adventure bikes. I can see the appeal, though. My Neanderthal brain also went "200cc with 17bhp hmm not great" too. I am also a bit short for this. Good bike, just not my vibe.4. REOut of my budget, and too heavy for me. I am also not a cruiser kind of guy.5. Honda CB seriesHondas don't really draw me, except for the CB300R (which was out of my budget).6. KTMsAlready out of my budget. Also, it does seem like everyone has one. I know the RTR is popular, but I have seen more KTMs than the 4v RTRs,by many multiple times.7. Pulsar F250/N250 twinsThis one was a very hard bike to reject for me. As I've said, my buddy bought an N250, and it was 187000 on-road, which is practically the same as what I paid for my RTR (186000 on-road, Mysuru).The bike is fantastic. It sounds absolutely incredible and is really performant.Since I didn't want to buy the N250 (totally not because a buddy has one) the F250 was also a choice for me.In the end, I decided that the Pulsar was a very good bike, but it was more a sporty bike, with all the hooliganism that the Pulsar name represents. Which I don't have a problem with, I just wanted a track feel and not a sporty feel out of my new bike.8. Pulsar NS/RSRejected for similar reasons as KTMs and the N/F250s. But, I do want to have a multi-bike garage one day and the RS is around the top of the list.9. Suzuki Gixxer/V-StromOut of my budget, again. I liked the 250 naked Gixxer.Aaaand out of all these options, I went with the Apache stable and chose an RTR 200 4V, 2022, dual-channel ABS with riding modes. My color of choice during the booking was white (quite a rare color here). I went with a small TVS dealer because my family actually had used their services during the 90s. There was a bigger showroom closer to my house but the salesperson just couldn't be bothered to explain about the bike. No drive/energy whatsoever, which turned me off.My first choice was actually the matte blue one. However, the showroom person told me it isn't made anymore (which may/may not be true, I didn't check) and went with white. This all happened before my year-end exams. I would ideally get the bike when the holidays started (win-win).A few days, I went to the dealer and asked him for an ETA. He said that due to low demand for the white, manufacturing is less and that it will take time. Welp.Went again after a week to check the progress. Same thing, except this time he mentions thatCall me fickle-minded, but this was my first bike and first vehicle. I was honestly giddy for the whole one or two months before and after I got the bike. I told the dealer yes,The bike stayed there as there were some things to be done (registration etc). I personally couldn't wait for the day I got my bike.DeliveryIt actually started drizzling during the delivery. Not to be stopped, I donned a raincoat and rode home in the rain. Delivery went well. The free TVS Xpod helmet would arrive a week later. I used my Vega until then. Everything went smoothly. No problems or issues on the bike. Number plate to arrive about 2 to 3 weeks later.Since my holidays had started, it gave me ample time to know my bike better.Pros:1. Very refined. This bike is the complete opposite of the old RTR 160 and 180s. It is now one of the segment benchmarks. Absolute zero-to-hero story, in this one.2. Ergonomics. I am on the short side, which makes this bike suit me well. The upright seating, although a departure from the race-style posture of the old RTRs, is very welcome and some touring on this bike is no problem.3. Exhaust note. Countless YouTube videos watched still didn't prepare me for how good this bike sounds. It sounds like a big bike and sounds incredible. It doesn't have the outright bassyness of the N250 but it still is one of the best sounding single cylinder bikes. Gotta love the turning of heads as people hear this coming.4. Chassis, suspension, and handling. TVS has a factory race team and it shows in this bike. Fast corners and swooping curves really show how nimble and fleet-footed this bike is, despite using a traditional double-cradle chassis instead of the more modern perimeter/trellis frames. The suspension units are from Showa, which is a Japanese big-name brand that is found mostly on superbikes. Adjustable forks are a very good feature. The handling is really confidence-inspiring.5. The looks. This bike looks really, really good. From the seat, it does really give you a "big bike" feeling. Don't be fooled by the tank size, it isn't actually that large of a capacity. More about this in Cons.6. Adjustable brake and clutch levers. The adjustability I found not to have too much of an impact at first, but I ended up discovering that adjusting them changed how the levers feel. Brakes feel better set at level 3. Also, it is useful for the occasional time a trusted friend takes the bike for a spin.7. Gearbox. It is very quick and allows for absolutely beautiful downshifting, especially if you know rev-matching.8. Power. All the RTR 200's power is packed mostly into the mid-range, giving it one of the fastest 0-60 times in the segment. It doesn't make sense on normal roads or highways but on tight roads with turns, it does.9. The console. Very useful and informative console, although I would have liked a bigger and more elaborate tachometer. Phone connection is a big plus (to see the name of the caller is a huge advantage while on the move, as I can pick calls with an intercom). Ride statistics are accurate.10. GTT. Glide Through Technology, allows one to leave the clutch and throttle, and at low speeds, the FI system injects a bit of fuel to keep the bike moving at a set speed (7 in 1st, 14 in 2nd, 22 in 3rd, 29 in 4th and 34 in 5th). It is not advisable however to use GTT for the 4th and 5th gears.11. ABS and riding modes. The ABS works well, and with the Rain mode, it makes it impossible to lock up the wheel in any scenario. Very useful.12. As compared to the 2021 version (rode a friend's bike), the 2022 version gets a better side stand (his observation). The 2022 version also gets a switch to turn the headlamp on/off while the DRL remains on, and dims itself when the headlamp is on.Cons1. Brakes. The no-name brand brakes have a very spongy feel and are very uncommunicative. Also, the stopping power is not enough (most, if not all rivals have better stopping power). The rotors are also small (personal opinion). Setting the lever to step 3 makes it feel better. I will start using LiquiMoly's brake fluid after the warranty on the bike is over.2. Power. For the money, the RTR 200 is now rivaled by the NS200 and the N/F250 twins, both of which make more power. Not really a big point, but I've felt the need for more power for cruising at higher speeds on expressways. This bike loses most of its steam above 110.3. Gearing. 5 gears is fine but above 110 the bike struggles to gain speed. The meat of the power starts at 5k RPM, I feel. 5k to 8k is the sweet spot. Could've been wider. Also, 6th gear.4. Lack of aftermarket parts. I had such a hard time searching for some parts to improve my daily experience on the bike (like tank/thigh pads). Many websites have parts for KTMs, Bajajs, Yamaha, and the like but no Apache.5. Slight struggle after cold starts. Sometimes, the engine cuts off in 10s after a cold start. It always starts correctly, however. The idling can sometimes dip below 1k RPM for a split second when idling after a cold start.6. TVS' oils. Their brake and engine oils are not good. Despite what I said about the gearbox is good, it does occasionally throw up a missed shift.I suspect the oil. I will be changing this too after the warranty on the bike ends. Apparently, the brake fluid is DOT 3 from the factory, like what?7. Riding modes. The bike produces 20.5 bhp on Sport mode and 17.1 on the others. Apart from the modes also changing the ABS intervention (which DO make a difference), this power difference doesn't make sense and is nearly imperceptible. It may be because the bike is new and I need time to tell, but that is the problem. It feels more like a gimmick at times. Personally, I leave it on Sport all the time. Might as well call it ABS modes8. Halogen turn signals. Not a bother for some. To me, it feels outdated. Full LED headlamp but halogen signals?9. Toolkit only contains a screwdriver and a 12/14mm (IIRC) spanner. Not much you can do with these (when it comes to adjusting clutch/throttle plays, installing radiator guards, etc).10. TVS Connect app is sometimes finicky. Didn't expect much out of this, so not disappointed. Navigation can sometimes get stuck. Not fully reliable. Haven't used it much as the app can't take locations shared for example on Whatsapp. I only use it if I need to track performance and distance statistics.11. Tyres are not confidence inspiring, especially when cold. Warmed up is when they have life. Switching these after they wear out. No Pirelli option too12. TVS releasing a lot of OEM accessories for the Ronin has made me a bit salty. Where are OEM accessories for the RTR? For example, Ronin gets thigh pads and adjustable levers in two colors among other things. The Ronin also got USD forks and a USB port. I might be able to retrofit all these, but still.13. Ergonomics are not good for tall riders. My tall friends do not like the ergos one bit.14. Tank capacity is just 12L, despite how big the tank looks. Yes, given an ideal mileage of 40, it should do 480 km which is sufficient. The old RTRs however, came with a 16L tank and near-50kmpl mileage (a theoretical 800km!). The upshot to this is that, it's a fiberglass panel covering the tank that can be replaced for cheaper than if something were to directly damage the tank.Some might feel like I've bashed the bike a lot, but I want to make sure I put out everything.The first service was done and dusted within a month's time of taking delivery of the bike. After that, I waited till the bike hit 1000kms to ride to Bangalore. From Bangalore, I went for a ride to Krishnagiri with 3 friends.I was riding with a friend who rode a Duke 390. Can't expect this to keep up, but I tried my best. It was smooth throughout. I had no problems throughout.1. Screen scratch protectorThe screen getting scratched was a worry for me, who knows if I can get the glass replaced? So I bought this. Anyone wanting to do the same, be warned that the protectors are flat while the console screen has a slight curve to it. It applied fine, but the next day after college, I notice half the protector has unstuck itself from the screen. Took the protector off, cleaned the sticky side with a cleaning sticker from a phone tempered glass kit, and this time I used a hairdryer on the hot setting to get the protector to curve and attach properly. No problems so far except 2 edges where it won't sit properly (minuscule, not there in the picture).2. Thigh / Tank pads from Autologue DesignThese were just about the only pads I found designed for this bike. It's made of rubber and provides a really good grip, enhancing handling and everyday usage. They come in a pack of 6. Two for the tank and 4 for both sides. I wished the rubber would be a completely jet black color to match the bike, instead of the dark gray it is, but beggars can't be choosers.3. Radiator guardAfter seeing a few fins bent, I was pretty scared. The bike did not come with a radiator guard from the factory, and asking the salesperson came to nothing. So, I ordered one from Amazon. Again, this was the only good one I found. No variety. I attempted installing it at home and gave up. Got it done at the place I bought the bike.Planned:1. Air filter2. Windshield/Visor3. Painting the panel above the tail lamp and the one between the seats red and adding two black stripes (to continue and match the tank's design to the rear) along with the radiator guard painted red (this one was suggested by the salesperson after getting it fitted). Also want black levers all around (clutch, brake, gear, rear brake).4. Brakes, either just the pads and fluid or the entire system. I don't know if this will be complicated due to the presence of dual-channel ABS.5. LED Indicators from either a Ronin or RR310 (as told about by a fellow member).Pretty inexpensive, overall. The first service cost me around 650, with additional money for a wash and polish. Exceeded my expectations with respect to cost, I went to the center expecting a bill of 1k to 2k. I do not know if the center I chose can deal with major problems but since I don't have any, no issues at the moment. The second service is nearing soon at 2.5k to 3k km. The oil filter was not changed (due to it being in pretty good condition, as per the sales/service person).I love this bike. It may not have the outright power of its rivals, but it handles so well and so sweetly.Actually, this bike was a bit of an impulse purchase. I have not test-ridden any bike, not even this one, before buying. Why? I do not know. All that I know is that I am satisfied and happy. More mentally stable, too. Riding has that effect.Compared to the old 2V RTRs, I feel that the 4V RTR (I don't know about the 160, which has slightly different ergonomics) has lost some of that unique RTR track feel. It is now an upright bike, and the tank shape along with the way it feels to grip, makes the ergonomics feel different from the 2V bikes. This isn't a knock, per se. It places the RTR firmly into the modern naked/street bike. The sound too leans towards the sporty side but this is a really good-sounding bike and is a proper corner rocket. Not knowing how to corner (and not being the type to corner at high speeds), I am not the person to tell you how the 2 generations of RTR differ in this aspect. Nevertheless, I like this evolution. Jeroen Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Delhi Posts: 6,764 Thanked: 34,243 Times View My Garage re: England in a nutshell | Rolling hills, castles and helicopters! Warning!! If you are not interested in helicopters you need to scroll down quite a bit to pick up the rest of our travels. Boy, there were a lot of helicopters! It claims to be the largest dedicated helicopter museum in the world! http://www.helicoptermuseum.co.uk I have been raking my brain, but I dont think on all my travels around the world I have ever visited a dedicated helicopter museum. Loads of aviation museums around the world. And you will always find a couple of helicopters stashed away in some corner, hidden from the main attraction, planes! Even after reading the leaflet and visiting their website I was not expecting this many helicopters. I have flown quite a bit on helicopters during my offshore days. Also, when we lived in Brighton, UK in the early 80s I had a few hours of helicopter flying instruction. At the time there was a helicopter school in Shoreham. It was incredibly difficult. As a passenger on these choppers I have had the pleasure of riding up front next to the pilot several times. My most memorable ride was when I was picked up from a drilling vessel of the coast of Somalia. The helicopter was a Huey, very similar to the ones used in Vietnam. Just a slightly later version. The pilot was a Vietnam veteran. Cowboy boots, jeans, T-shirt, Stetson hat on his head and a cigar stomp in his mouth. But I watched him fly this thing for three hours. We had a very difficult approach into Mogadishu airport, with almost a mid air collision, due to ATC problems. I have my flying license and I would still like to learn to fly a helicopter, but it is unlikely to happen now. Flying helicopters is difficult at the best of times. They are inherently unstable and need constant correction, working the pedals, the stick and collective. Modern helicopters do have auto-pilots, but most helicopters are still flown by hand all the time. Once I trim my plane properly, I can let go of the stick and the throttle. It will just fly itself, it will stay on course and on altitude. The minute you let go of any of the controls of a helicopter the thing will just crash immediately. I took a lot of photographs and I will try to talk a bit about the various choppers. Mind you, I am not that knowledgable on them to start with. I have borrowed heavily from the various signs around the museum, the internet and Wikipedia. So bear with me, and please comment/correct if I get it wrong, or if there is more interesting stuff to be known about these fabulous machines! So here goes: The museum is equipped with a cafe and a well stocked shop. Once you walk pass all of that you enter the actual museum and this is the first chopper you will meet at your left. It is a Bristol type 192, Belvedere. The Bristol Type 192 Belvedere is a British twin-engine, tandem rotor military helicopter built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was designed by Raoul Hafner for a variety of transport roles including troop transport, supply dropping and casualty evacuation. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1961 to 1969. The Belvedere was Britain's only tandem rotor helicopter to enter production, and one of the few not built by Piasecki or Boeing. Then you turn towards the main entrance of the museum and you are beginning to feel you are in a pretty special place, helicopter wise that is! Apart from the many helicopters on display there were quite a few gyrocopters as well. Here we see a McCulloch J2. The McCulloch J-2 was a small, two-seat autogyro with an enclosed cabin, one of only three designs of this type of aircraft to receive a type certificate in the United States. It was built by McCulloch Aircraft Corporation. Design and development It was designed by Drago Jovanovich and first flew in June 1962. McCulloch acquired the design in 1969 and put it into production, building 83 aircraft over the next three years. They were reported to sell for US$15,900. The design featured a belt clutch and a transmission which could be engaged to spin the rotor blades to high speed before take-off to produce short takeoff runs. A lever on the rear cockpit wall would select the drive position for the transmission. A single "spin-up lever" on the cockpit left side would then be pressed downward, operating as a collective pitch control to put the blades into flat pitch while simultaneously tensioning the belt clutch. The rotor could be spun to over 500 rpm before takeoff, well above the normal flight range (typically 425 rpm). Release of the spin-up lever would disengage both the clutch and the transmission, while placing the blades into flight pitch. After a very brief takeoff run (typically 25 to 200 feet, depending upon load and winds) adequate flight airspeed would be attained, while the rotor speed decayed to the normal flight range. The rotor was not engine-driven in flight. A strong spring resisted accidental depressing of the spin-up lever while airborne. Dual controls were provided for all functions except the spin-up lever, which was accessible only from the left seat. The aircraft enjoyed nimble handling with light control forces, but suffered from a shallow climb gradient. McCulloch J-2 registered in the United Kingdom between 1972 and 1975 Early versions were equipped with a two-bladed wooden Sensenich propeller. A later "Super J-2" variant employed a three-bladed Hartzell controllable-pitch propeller, accompanied by an increase in allowable gross weight. Baggage of up to 95 pounds, to the extent permitted by gross weight considerations, could be carried in a large bay under the seat. Fuel was carried in tanks in the stub wings. A total of 24 U.S. gallons could be carried, 12 on each side, but only 20 were usable through normal flight attitudes. At a typical fuel burn rate of about eight gallons per hour and economy cruise at about 85 mph, with a need for a safety reserve, this limited the aircraft's range.[citation needed] The rotor system (hub and blades) is very similar to that found on the early versions of the Hughes 269 / Schweizer 300 series helicopters. The primary difference is in the twist of the blades (or lack thereof), optimized for autorotation in the case of the J-2. Most examples of the J-2 were sold to pilot owners in the United States but at least one example was exported to the United Kingdom. The next chopper is an Sur Aviation SA318 Alouette. I have fond memories of this little chopper. The Dutch airforce used these. When in my late teens I really wanted to become a pilot. As I had very poor eyesight, in those days, simply no chance! But the loophole was helicopters. For some strange reason the Airforce allowed helicopter pilots to wear spectacles. So I applied and was invited. But then turned down because of my height (1.93m). Very frustrating because I had filled out at least a dozen forms for my application and all of them mentioned my height, but apparently nobody ever reads those forms. The Aerospatiale Alouette III (French pronunciation: [aloo-wt], Lark; company designations SA 316 and SA 319) is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by French aircraft company Sud Aviation. During its production life, it proved to be a relatively popular rotorcraft; including multiple licensed manufacturers, more than 2,000 units were built. The Alouette III was developed as an enlarged derivative of the earlier and highly successful Alouette II. Sharing many elements with its predecessor while offering an extra pair of seats and other refinements, it quickly became a commercial success amongst both civil and military customers. Further variants were also developed; amongst these was a high-altitude derivative, designated as the SA 315B Lama, which entered operational service during July 1971. The Alouette III was principally manufactured by Aerospatiale; the type was also built under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in India as the HAL Chetak, by Industria Aeronautica Romana (IAR) in Romania as the IAR 316 and F+W Emmen in Switzerland. Similar to the Alouette II, in military service, it was used to perform missions such as aerial observation, photography, air-sea rescue, liaison, transport and training; it could also be armed with anti-tank missiles, anti-shipping torpedoes, and a fixed cannon. In a civilian capacity, the Alouette III was commonly used for casualty evacuation (often fitted with a pair of external stretcher panniers), crop-spraying, personnel transportation, and for carrying external loads. By the 2010s, many operators were in the process of drawing down their fleets and replacing them with more modern types; the French military intend to replace their Alouette IIIs with the newly developed Airbus Helicopters H160. Next I walked against this magnificent red helicopter. Actually, I did recognise the type, but not this particular one. I just thought it would make for a cool, frontal wide angle shot, which, you will admit it does!! It is a Wessex HCC mk4 and it was used extensively as the Queens flight!! It was retired in 1998, to be replaced by the far more economic and comfortable Sikorsky S-76. Here a peek into the Royal cabin; Sorry, lousy image, but my iPhone does not do better shooting through protective plexiglas. The RAF used this chopper in mk2 version from 1963 and it was decided that the last two choppers rolling of the production line were to be for the exclusive use of the Queen Flight under the designation HCC mk4. This particular chopper has been piloted by both the then Duke of Edinburg, prince of Wales and his son the Duke of York. It has carried HRH Princess Anne, Princess Diana, Princess Margaret, Queen mother, Prince William as well as many other heads of states and VIPs. This particular chopper was purchased by the museum with the aid of the National Lottery. (which funds a lot of these sort of heritage / cultural causes. Glad I bought so many lottery tickets over the years!! I will say this though; it might be Royal plush and posh, but flying any chopper is uncomfortable, no matter what. They rattle, they shake, the noise is deafening. Modern helicopters are a bit bette, but a far cry from the comfort of a modern jet. Of course, British Royalty, stiff upper lip and all of that, never complained. Just a few more image to get a sort of feeling of this place. It is not that big, but it is absolutely crammed with helicopters!! Its impossible to shoot one helicopter without getting at least the rotor of another chopper in your image. Here another one of my favourites, the Westland Whirlwind. The Westland Whirlwind helicopter was a British licence-built version of the U.S. Sikorsky S-55/H-19 Chickasaw. It primarily served with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm in anti-submarine and search and rescue roles. In 1950, Westland Aircraft, already building the American Sikorsky S-51 under licence as the Westland Dragonfly, purchased the rights to manufacture and sell Sikorsky's larger Sikorsky S-55 helicopter. While a Sikorsky-built pattern aircraft was flown by Westland in June 1951, converting the design to meet British standards (including the provision of a revised main-rotor gearbox), was time consuming,[1] and the first prototype British aircraft, registered G-AMJT, powered by the 600 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-40 Wasp did not fly until August 1953.[2] This was followed by ten Whirlwind HAR.1s, which entered service shortly afterwards. They served in non-combat roles, including search and rescue and communications functions. The HAR.3 had a larger 700 hp Wright R-1300-3 Cyclone 7 engine. The performance of early versions was limited by the power of the American Wasp or Cyclone engines, and in 1955, the HAR.5, powered by an uprated engine, the Alvis Leonides Major, flew for the first time.[3] This was followed by the similarly powered HAS.7, which became the first British helicopter designed for anti-submarine warfare in the front-line when it entered service in 1957. It could either be equipped with a dipping Sonar for submarine detection or carry a torpedo, but could not carry both simultaneously, so sonar equipped "Hunters" were used to direct torpedo armed "Killers".[4] The HAS.7 was powered by a 750 hp (560 kW) Alvis Leonides Major 755/1 radial engine. It had a hovering ceiling at 9,400 ft (2,900 m) and a range of 334 miles at 86 mph. In 1960 Westland introduced a Whirlwind powered by the 1,000 hp Bristol Siddeley Gnome turboshaft, the greater power giving much improved performance over the earlier piston-engined variants; helicopters receiving this modification were redesignated as the HAR.9. The Gnome featured an early computer controlled fuel system that removed variations in engine power and made for much easier handling by the pilot. More than 400 Whirlwinds were built, of which nearly 100 were exported to foreign customers Another fond memory of this little chopper, the Wasp. The Dutch navy operated a squadron of Wasps from our anti-submarine frigates. The Westland Wasp is a small 1960s British turbine powered, shipboard anti-submarine helicopter. Produced by Westland Helicopters, it came from the same P.531 programme as the British Army Westland Scout, and is based on the earlier piston-engined Saunders-Roe Skeeter. It fulfilled the requirement of the Royal Navy for a helicopter small enough to land on the deck of a frigate and carry a useful load of two homing torpedoes. The Wasp sank one ship in combat, seriously damaging the ARA Santa Fe submarine in 1982 during the Falklands war. Look at some of the engine details of this Wasp. Can you imagine, this thing shaking, rattling, everything in the open, being buffeted by downdraft from the rotor? It is just remarkable anything like this can not only fly, but can fly reasonably save! And drop a torpedo or two whilst doing so!! Another well known chopper for many, the Westland Dragonfly. It took to the air for the first time in 1948! Making the start of what would become one of the worlds leading helicopter manufacturers Westland. It was also licensed to the Americans. This particular aircraft is production number 50. First flight on 19th of September 1952! Even an old git such as me, was not even born!! More Westland choppers, the Wesses HAS mk1. In essence Westland took a piston engined Sikorsky S-58 and replaced the radial engine with a British Napier Gazelle Turboshaft. initially developed for a anti submarine role. One of the important advantages of the turbojet engine over the radial engine, was its use of proper kerosine. Which is far less flammable and therefor much safer onboard navy ships. For our comrades on the forum, I have taken some images of various Russian helicopters as well. Personally, I liked this one. If anything it was made famous because of a (Western) movie and not so much the Russian army. Which I consider a bonus, especially these days. This, apparently, is the actual helicopter seen in the movie Black Movie. I have not seen the movie, but I understand it starred Scarlett Johansson. A good enough reason to go and see this movie! There were a few more Russian choppers on display, Here the famous, if not infamous Hind. The Mil Mi-24 (Russian: -24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force and its successors, along with 48 other nations. In NATO circles, the export versions, Mi-25 and Mi-35, are denoted with a letter suffix as "Hind D" and "Hind E". Soviet pilots called the Mi-24 the "flying tank" (Russian: , romanized: letayushchiy tank), a term used historically with the famous World War II Soviet Il-2 Shturmovik armored ground attack aircraft. More common unofficial nicknames were "Galina" (or "Galya"), "Crocodile" (Russian: , romanized: Krokodil), due to the helicopter's camouflage scheme, and "Drinking Glass" (Russian: , romanized: Stakan), because of the flat glass plates that surround earlier Mi-24 variants' cockpits. This particular chopper is a MII MI 24D Hind. I think the Russian helicopters are designed to look particular menacing!! I took a few images of the forward and rear cockpits. The chopper is flown from the rear cockpit: From the forward cockpit the various guns/missiles etc are operated. I am not a huge fan (to put it mildly) of Russia, or the former Soviet Union, or anything they stood for. But they knew how to build some outstanding aircraft. This Hind being one of them. I did quite a bit of reading up on it. Very impressive. I came across this article about an American pilot who got to fly these machines. It is interesting to read how American and Russian design differs, right down to how these machines are operated. https://verticalmag.com/features/get...nt-mi-24-hind/ Trust me, you do not want to be on the receiving end of this, or anything a Hind can throw at you!! Moving on to some more modern choppers, the EH Industries EH101. This chopper was produced by a joint venture of Westland and Augusta to come up with a replacement of the ageing SeaKing and similar Sikorsky S62. This particular aircraft was the third prototype and flew first in September 1988. It is powered by three General Electric turbine jets. I was very pleased to stumble upon this piece of magnificent engineering. It is known as a deck lock. Landing a chopper on a rolling and pitching deck is one thing, but keeping it on a rolling and pitching deck is another! Leave it to the Brits to come up with a clever device. Essentially the idea was to shoot a barbed harpoon attached to the belly of the chopper into a grid built onto the flight deck of the ship. This basic idea evolved over the years. These days it is a hydraulically activated harpoon system. It is capable of locking choppers to the deck in very severe sea states. In fact, if the ship was to capsize, the harpoon would still hold the chopper in place. Have a look at this video of a modern variant, quite amazing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XvdXwgYN_s For the next chopper I need to revert back to the second image on this post. A very special helicopter. To this day it holds the world speed record for rotor aircrafts. You can see it in the second image, the on the immediate right with the word Lynx written on its nose. I spend quite a bit of time at this chopper, there was a lot to read up and take in. Quote: From Helihub: For all intents and purposes, this was a very heavily modified Lynx. It has nothing to do with a regular production version. Still, makes for quite the achievement. One of the main problems with a helicopter going fast is the speed of the rotor blade. Once they reach supersonic speed all sorts of problems occur. In laymans term, once the tip of your rotor breaks the sound barrier you will crash and you will die! It took a very specially designed rotor to solve this problem. Also, a different engine and even that could only be run at max power for a few minutes. It needed a stronger tail rotor to counter the forces of the now more powerful rotor and it needed quite a bit of strengthening along its main structural components as well. Everything not needed for maximum speed was ditched. Quite remarkable. Here some more information and some good images of the said Lynx chopper: At the very rear of the museum you will find their workshop. A lot of restoration work is carried out in house, mostly by volunteers. Here you see, amongst other a Piasecki H-21, commonly referred to as the flying banana! If you are not interested in helicopters you need to scroll down quite a bit to pick up the rest of our travels. Boy, there were a lot of helicopters! It claims to be the largest dedicated helicopter museum in the world!I have been raking my brain, but I dont think on all my travels around the world I have ever visited a dedicated helicopter museum. Loads of aviation museums around the world. And you will always find a couple of helicopters stashed away in some corner, hidden from the main attraction, planes!Even after reading the leaflet and visiting their website I was not expecting this many helicopters. I have flown quite a bit on helicopters during my offshore days.Also, when we lived in Brighton, UK in the early 80s I had a few hours of helicopter flying instruction. At the time there was a helicopter school in Shoreham. It was incredibly difficult. As a passenger on these choppers I have had the pleasure of riding up front next to the pilot several times. My most memorable ride was when I was picked up from a drilling vessel of the coast of Somalia. The helicopter was a Huey, very similar to the ones used in Vietnam. Just a slightly later version. The pilot was a Vietnam veteran. Cowboy boots, jeans, T-shirt, Stetson hat on his head and a cigar stomp in his mouth. But I watched him fly this thing for three hours. We had a very difficult approach into Mogadishu airport, with almost a mid air collision, due to ATC problems. I have my flying license and I would still like to learn to fly a helicopter, but it is unlikely to happen now.Flying helicopters is difficult at the best of times. They are inherently unstable and need constant correction, working the pedals, the stick and collective. Modern helicopters do have auto-pilots, but most helicopters are still flown by hand all the time. Once I trim my plane properly, I can let go of the stick and the throttle. It will just fly itself, it will stay on course and on altitude. The minute you let go of any of the controls of a helicopter the thing will just crash immediately.I took a lot of photographs and I will try to talk a bit about the various choppers. Mind you, I am not that knowledgable on them to start with. I have borrowed heavily from the various signs around the museum, the internet and Wikipedia. So bear with me, and please comment/correct if I get it wrong, or if there is more interesting stuff to be known about these fabulous machines!So here goes:The museum is equipped with a cafe and a well stocked shop. Once you walk pass all of that you enter the actual museum and this is the first chopper you will meet at your left.It is a Bristol type 192, Belvedere. The Bristol Type 192 Belvedere is a British twin-engine, tandem rotor military helicopter built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was designed by Raoul Hafner for a variety of transport roles including troop transport, supply dropping and casualty evacuation. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1961 to 1969. The Belvedere was Britain's only tandem rotor helicopter to enter production, and one of the few not built by Piasecki or Boeing.Then you turn towards the main entrance of the museum and you are beginning to feel you are in a pretty special place, helicopter wise that is!Apart from the many helicopters on display there were quite a few gyrocopters as well. Here we see a McCulloch J2.The McCulloch J-2 was a small, two-seat autogyro with an enclosed cabin, one of only three designs of this type of aircraft to receive a type certificate in the United States. It was built by McCulloch Aircraft Corporation.Design and developmentIt was designed by Drago Jovanovich and first flew in June 1962. McCulloch acquired the design in 1969 and put it into production, building 83 aircraft over the next three years. They were reported to sell for US$15,900.The design featured a belt clutch and a transmission which could be engaged to spin the rotor blades to high speed before take-off to produce short takeoff runs. A lever on the rear cockpit wall would select the drive position for the transmission. A single "spin-up lever" on the cockpit left side would then be pressed downward, operating as a collective pitch control to put the blades into flat pitch while simultaneously tensioning the belt clutch. The rotor could be spun to over 500 rpm before takeoff, well above the normal flight range (typically 425 rpm). Release of the spin-up lever would disengage both the clutch and the transmission, while placing the blades into flight pitch. After a very brief takeoff run (typically 25 to 200 feet, depending upon load and winds) adequate flight airspeed would be attained, while the rotor speed decayed to the normal flight range. The rotor was not engine-driven in flight. A strong spring resisted accidental depressing of the spin-up lever while airborne. Dual controls were provided for all functions except the spin-up lever, which was accessible only from the left seat. The aircraft enjoyed nimble handling with light control forces, but suffered from a shallow climb gradient.McCulloch J-2 registered in the United Kingdom between 1972 and 1975Early versions were equipped with a two-bladed wooden Sensenich propeller. A later "Super J-2" variant employed a three-bladed Hartzell controllable-pitch propeller, accompanied by an increase in allowable gross weight. Baggage of up to 95 pounds, to the extent permitted by gross weight considerations, could be carried in a large bay under the seat. Fuel was carried in tanks in the stub wings. A total of 24 U.S. gallons could be carried, 12 on each side, but only 20 were usable through normal flight attitudes. At a typical fuel burn rate of about eight gallons per hour and economy cruise at about 85 mph, with a need for a safety reserve, this limited the aircraft's range.[citation needed]The rotor system (hub and blades) is very similar to that found on the early versions of the Hughes 269 / Schweizer 300 series helicopters. The primary difference is in the twist of the blades (or lack thereof), optimized for autorotation in the case of the J-2.Most examples of the J-2 were sold to pilot owners in the United States but at least one example was exported to the United Kingdom.The next chopper is an Sur Aviation SA318 Alouette. I have fond memories of this little chopper. The Dutch airforce used these. When in my late teens I really wanted to become a pilot. As I had very poor eyesight, in those days, simply no chance! But the loophole was helicopters. For some strange reason the Airforce allowed helicopter pilots to wear spectacles. So I applied and was invited. But then turned down because of my height (1.93m). Very frustrating because I had filled out at least a dozen forms for my application and all of them mentioned my height, but apparently nobody ever reads those forms.The Aerospatiale Alouette III (French pronunciation: [aloo-wt], Lark; company designations SA 316 and SA 319) is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by French aircraft company Sud Aviation. During its production life, it proved to be a relatively popular rotorcraft; including multiple licensed manufacturers, more than 2,000 units were built.The Alouette III was developed as an enlarged derivative of the earlier and highly successful Alouette II. Sharing many elements with its predecessor while offering an extra pair of seats and other refinements, it quickly became a commercial success amongst both civil and military customers. Further variants were also developed; amongst these was a high-altitude derivative, designated as the SA 315B Lama, which entered operational service during July 1971. The Alouette III was principally manufactured by Aerospatiale; the type was also built under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in India as the HAL Chetak, by Industria Aeronautica Romana (IAR) in Romania as the IAR 316 and F+W Emmen in Switzerland.Similar to the Alouette II, in military service, it was used to perform missions such as aerial observation, photography, air-sea rescue, liaison, transport and training; it could also be armed with anti-tank missiles, anti-shipping torpedoes, and a fixed cannon. In a civilian capacity, the Alouette III was commonly used for casualty evacuation (often fitted with a pair of external stretcher panniers), crop-spraying, personnel transportation, and for carrying external loads. By the 2010s, many operators were in the process of drawing down their fleets and replacing them with more modern types; the French military intend to replace their Alouette IIIs with the newly developed Airbus Helicopters H160.Next I walked against this magnificent red helicopter. Actually, I did recognise the type, but not this particular one. I just thought it would make for a cool, frontal wide angle shot, which, you will admit it does!!It is a Wessex HCC mk4 and it was used extensively as the Queens flight!! It was retired in 1998, to be replaced by the far more economic and comfortable Sikorsky S-76.Here a peek into the Royal cabin; Sorry, lousy image, but my iPhone does not do better shooting through protective plexiglas.The RAF used this chopper in mk2 version from 1963 and it was decided that the last two choppers rolling of the production line were to be for the exclusive use of the Queen Flight under the designation HCC mk4.This particular chopper has been piloted by both the then Duke of Edinburg, prince of Wales and his son the Duke of York. It has carried HRH Princess Anne, Princess Diana, Princess Margaret, Queen mother, Prince William as well as many other heads of states and VIPs.This particular chopper was purchased by the museum with the aid of the National Lottery. (which funds a lot of these sort of heritage / cultural causes. Glad I bought so many lottery tickets over the years!!I will say this though; it might be Royal plush and posh, but flying any chopper is uncomfortable, no matter what. They rattle, they shake, the noise is deafening. Modern helicopters are a bit bette, but a far cry from the comfort of a modern jet.Of course, British Royalty, stiff upper lip and all of that, never complained.Just a few more image to get a sort of feeling of this place. It is not that big, but it is absolutely crammed with helicopters!!Its impossible to shoot one helicopter without getting at least the rotor of another chopper in your image.Here another one of my favourites, the Westland Whirlwind.The Westland Whirlwind helicopter was a British licence-built version of the U.S. Sikorsky S-55/H-19 Chickasaw. It primarily served with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm in anti-submarine and search and rescue roles.In 1950, Westland Aircraft, already building the American Sikorsky S-51 under licence as the Westland Dragonfly, purchased the rights to manufacture and sell Sikorsky's larger Sikorsky S-55 helicopter. While a Sikorsky-built pattern aircraft was flown by Westland in June 1951, converting the design to meet British standards (including the provision of a revised main-rotor gearbox), was time consuming,[1] and the first prototype British aircraft, registered G-AMJT, powered by the 600 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-40 Wasp did not fly until August 1953.[2] This was followed by ten Whirlwind HAR.1s, which entered service shortly afterwards. They served in non-combat roles, including search and rescue and communications functions. The HAR.3 had a larger 700 hp Wright R-1300-3 Cyclone 7 engine.The performance of early versions was limited by the power of the American Wasp or Cyclone engines, and in 1955, the HAR.5, powered by an uprated engine, the Alvis Leonides Major, flew for the first time.[3] This was followed by the similarly powered HAS.7, which became the first British helicopter designed for anti-submarine warfare in the front-line when it entered service in 1957. It could either be equipped with a dipping Sonar for submarine detection or carry a torpedo, but could not carry both simultaneously, so sonar equipped "Hunters" were used to direct torpedo armed "Killers".[4] The HAS.7 was powered by a 750 hp (560 kW) Alvis Leonides Major 755/1 radial engine. It had a hovering ceiling at 9,400 ft (2,900 m) and a range of 334 miles at 86 mph.In 1960 Westland introduced a Whirlwind powered by the 1,000 hp Bristol Siddeley Gnome turboshaft, the greater power giving much improved performance over the earlier piston-engined variants; helicopters receiving this modification were redesignated as the HAR.9. The Gnome featured an early computer controlled fuel system that removed variations in engine power and made for much easier handling by the pilot.More than 400 Whirlwinds were built, of which nearly 100 were exported to foreign customersAnother fond memory of this little chopper, the Wasp. The Dutch navy operated a squadron of Wasps from our anti-submarine frigates.The Westland Wasp is a small 1960s British turbine powered, shipboard anti-submarine helicopter. Produced by Westland Helicopters, it came from the same P.531 programme as the British Army Westland Scout, and is based on the earlier piston-engined Saunders-Roe Skeeter. It fulfilled the requirement of the Royal Navy for a helicopter small enough to land on the deck of a frigate and carry a useful load of two homing torpedoes.The Wasp sank one ship in combat, seriously damaging the ARA Santa Fe submarine in 1982 during the Falklands war.Look at some of the engine details of this Wasp. Can you imagine, this thing shaking, rattling, everything in the open, being buffeted by downdraft from the rotor? It is just remarkable anything like this can not only fly, but can fly reasonably save! And drop a torpedo or two whilst doing so!!Another well known chopper for many, the Westland Dragonfly. It took to the air for the first time in 1948! Making the start of what would become one of the worlds leading helicopter manufacturers Westland. It was also licensed to the Americans.This particular aircraft is production number 50. First flight on 19th of September 1952! Even an old git such as me, was not even born!!More Westland choppers, the Wesses HAS mk1. In essence Westland took a piston engined Sikorsky S-58 and replaced the radial engine with a British Napier Gazelle Turboshaft. initially developed for a anti submarine role.One of the important advantages of the turbojet engine over the radial engine, was its use of proper kerosine. Which is far less flammable and therefor much safer onboard navy ships.For our comrades on the forum, I have taken some images of various Russian helicopters as well.Personally, I liked this one. If anything it was made famous because of a (Western) movie and not so much the Russian army. Which I consider a bonus, especially these days.This, apparently, is the actual helicopter seen in the movie Black Movie. I have not seen the movie, but I understand it starred Scarlett Johansson. A good enough reason to go and see this movie!There were a few more Russian choppers on display, Here the famous, if not infamous Hind. The Mil Mi-24 (Russian: -24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force and its successors, along with 48 other nations.In NATO circles, the export versions, Mi-25 and Mi-35, are denoted with a letter suffix as "Hind D" and "Hind E". Soviet pilots called the Mi-24 the "flying tank" (Russian: , romanized: letayushchiy tank), a term used historically with the famous World War II Soviet Il-2 Shturmovik armored ground attack aircraft. More common unofficial nicknames were "Galina" (or "Galya"), "Crocodile" (Russian: , romanized: Krokodil), due to the helicopter's camouflage scheme, and "Drinking Glass" (Russian: , romanized: Stakan), because of the flat glass plates that surround earlier Mi-24 variants' cockpits.This particular chopper is a MII MI 24D Hind. I think the Russian helicopters are designed to look particular menacing!!I took a few images of the forward and rear cockpits.The chopper is flown from the rear cockpit:From the forward cockpit the various guns/missiles etc are operated.I am not a huge fan (to put it mildly) of Russia, or the former Soviet Union, or anything they stood for. But they knew how to build some outstanding aircraft. This Hind being one of them. I did quite a bit of reading up on it. Very impressive.I came across this article about an American pilot who got to fly these machines. It is interesting to read how American and Russian design differs, right down to how these machines are operated.Trust me, you do not want to be on the receiving end of this, or anything a Hind can throw at you!!Moving on to some more modern choppers, the EH Industries EH101. This chopper was produced by a joint venture of Westland and Augusta to come up with a replacement of the ageing SeaKing and similar Sikorsky S62.This particular aircraft was the third prototype and flew first in September 1988. It is powered by three General Electric turbine jets.I was very pleased to stumble upon this piece of magnificent engineering. It is known as a deck lock. Landing a chopper on a rolling and pitching deck is one thing, but keeping it on a rolling and pitching deck is another! Leave it to the Brits to come up with a clever device. Essentially the idea was to shoot a barbed harpoon attached to the belly of the chopper into a grid built onto the flight deck of the ship.This basic idea evolved over the years. These days it is a hydraulically activated harpoon system. It is capable of locking choppers to the deck in very severe sea states. In fact, if the ship was to capsize, the harpoon would still hold the chopper in place.Have a look at this video of a modern variant, quite amazing.For the next chopper I need to revert back to the second image on this post. A very special helicopter. To this day it holds the world speed record for rotor aircrafts. You can see it in the second image, the on the immediate right with the word Lynx written on its nose.I spend quite a bit of time at this chopper, there was a lot to read up and take in.On 11th August, Leonardo celebrates the 35th anniversary of the Lynx helicopters absolute world speed record over the Somerset skyline in England. In the evening of 11th August 1986, a Westland Lynx flew a 15 km course across the Somerset Levels. The aircraft achieved an average speed of 400.87 km/h (249.10 mph), which made it the worlds fastest helicopter. The crew comprised Trevor Egginton, the pilot, and Derek Clews, the Flight Test Engineer. This incredible feat set two Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI Worlds Air Sport Federation) official records. A non-governmental and non-profit making international organisation with the basic aim of furthering aeronautical and astronautical activities worldwide, ratifying world and continental records and coordinating the organisation of international competitions. The Lynx helicopter, which achieved the record, is commonly referred to as G-Lynx in relation to its civil registration. At the time, the aircraft underwent a short modification programme to make it capable of high speeds, yet it retained the basic airframe, rotor and transmission system of the standard Lynx. The Lynx featured new technologies, including the British Experimental Rotor Programme (BERP) blades, which made it possible to increase maximum speed and enhance lifting capabilities and the blades were later adopted for all Lynx and Super Lynx variants and for the AW101 helicopters. The new BERP blades were developed at the time by Westland, together with the UK Ministry of Defence, which thanks to their shape and geometry, allowed the G-Lynx to exceed the existing helicopter world speed record of 198 kt (367 km/h), proving once again the companys capabilities. The G-Lynx received the Heritage Engineering Award in 2014. The award was established in 1984 by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) 1984 to recognise pioneering engineering artefacts, locations, collections and landmarks. Among some of the most prestigious recipients are: the Tower Bridge in London, the Jaguar E-type and the Concorde. Read more at https://helihub.com/2021/08/12/g-lyn...-speed-record/ For all intents and purposes, this was a very heavily modified Lynx. It has nothing to do with a regular production version. Still, makes for quite the achievement.One of the main problems with a helicopter going fast is the speed of the rotor blade. Once they reach supersonic speed all sorts of problems occur. In laymans term, once the tip of your rotor breaks the sound barrier you will crash and you will die! It took a very specially designed rotor to solve this problem. Also, a different engine and even that could only be run at max power for a few minutes. It needed a stronger tail rotor to counter the forces of the now more powerful rotor and it needed quite a bit of strengthening along its main structural components as well. Everything not needed for maximum speed was ditched.Quite remarkable. Here some more information and some good images of the said Lynx chopper: https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/ta...1-lynx-g-lynx/ At the very rear of the museum you will find their workshop. A lot of restoration work is carried out in house, mostly by volunteers. Here you see, amongst other a Piasecki H-21, commonly referred to as the flying banana! Last edited by Jeroen : 27th September 2022 at 03:53 . The NASA Artemis 1 launch has been delayed because of the worsening Tropical Storm Ian. (Photo : Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images) In this handout image provided by NASA, NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen during sunrise atop a mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B as preparations for launch continue, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, August 31, 2022 in Florida. As of writing, this depression, which formed over the Caribbean Sea, has already reached 60 miles per hour. Various meteorologists expect the tropical storm to become a full-blown hurricane as early as Sept. 26. When it comes to affected places, the typhoon is expected to hit Florida, including the Kennedy Space Center. NASA Artemis 1 Launch Delayed According to Express UK's latest report, NASA's SLS (Space Launch System), the rocket for Artemis 1 mission, can withstand strong wind speeds (up to 80 miles per hour). (Photo : Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) NASA's Artemis I Moon rocket is rolled out to Launch Pad Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 16, 2022. - Artemis 1, an uncrewed test flight, will feature the first blastoff of the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will be the most powerful in the world when it goes into operation. Also Read: NASA's Earth Observatory Discovers a New Baby Island After an Underwater Volcanic Eruption Although Tropical Storm Ian hasn't reached the wind speed threshold for SLS, the international space union still postponed the Sept. 27 launch schedule. "NASA continues to closely monitor the weather forecast associated with Tropical Storm Ian," said a NASA spokesperson. As of press time, the NASA official confirmed that they are preparing if they need to roll back the SLS rocket, as well as the Orion spacecraft, to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The NASA spokesperson further shared that their top priority is still the safety of their employees and other people they are working with. But, they also ensure that the Artemis 1 rocket and spacecraft system is protected from tropical storms. New Artemis 1 Launch Schedule, Other Details As of writing, NASA still has no official launch schedule for its Artemis 1 mission. Previously, officials said they plan to retain the SLS rocket at Launch Complex 39B. If the spacecraft will not be rolled back to its assembly building, NASA said that they could continue the Artemis 1 launch as early as Oct. 2. But, if the SLS rocket is officially brought back to the VAB, the Artemis 1 mission could be delayed until the half of October, as reported by SpaceNews. In other stories, the NASA DART mission is confirmed to smash an asteroid. Meanwhile, a NASA astronaut flew on the Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station. For more news updates about NASA and its Artemis 1 mission delay, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: NASA's DART Mission Will Finally Smash an Asteroid Next Week This article is owned by TechTimes Written by Griffin Davis 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : John Schnobrich on Unsplash) CPQ refers to three elements: Configure, Price, Quote. Software which simplifies these elements is available on the market and is of rapidly increasing popularity. For those who are unsure, this article will provide points of consideration for undergoing the CPQ process. What are the benefits of CPQ software? CPQ software simplifies the quoting process. This is achieved by: monitoring product and service options, commission, automation, and controlling feature combinations. When CPQ software is adopted, pricing information is centralized and all data is streamlined. This has two outcomes: The number of sales increases as sales teams are ascribed more time to build customer relationships Quotes are generated at a faster rate and more effectively Other typical features of CPQ software include the ability to track quote activity and report on it, and the ability to configure products and pricing rules to adhere to customer needs. Additional benefits of CPQ software include: Automatic pricing which is changed in accordance to the buyer's location and currency The increase of a company's average deal size due to strategies surrounding bundling and automated discounts The reduction of human error regarding complex product configurations The simplification of product catalogs With these benefits being established, what are the key points of consideration when choosing a CPQ provider? Rules vs constraints based configuration engines With configuration engines, there are two types of architecture. Businesses which sell complex products are recommended to use a CPQ which uses a constraints based engine. Constrained engines simplify the configuration rules of products by grouping such rules into one instruction rather than multiple. In addition to this, constrained engines can also handle configurations for simple products. However, rules-based engines also effectively configure simple products. The opportunity of integration Many CPQ providers market their services as being integratable with Artificial Intelligence. However, an element to consider is whether or not this AI uses machine learning feedback. In this scenario, artificial intelligence will be able to adapt to market and customer changes. Additionally, CPQs which use artificial intelligence automatically update themselves. The architecture of your CPQ CPQs have two types of architecture, with these being native and hybrid. A hybrid architecture simply means that the CPQ is integratable with any CRM or ERP system. Natie architectures mean that the CPQ is solely integratable with a specific CRM solution. Hybrid architectures are most commonly recommended to users. This is because they lessen the likelihood of having to implement new platforms and having to reinvest. Quote capacity Although the generation of quotes is a key element of CPQ, the quoting capacity of some CPQ providers is very limited. For some, when quotes contain more than one hundred items, quote generation significantly slows down. Beyond this, some CPQs which are specifically designed for CRM merely process quotes with roughly two thousand line items. As you search for a CPQ provider, it is recommended that you run a demo of the services which appeal to you. Doing this means you can check the speed of quote generation as you add more lines. CPQ must haves Whichever CPQ you choose should be well equipped to grow alongside your company. A key indicator of this ability is when your chosen solution follows an SaaS cloud based model. This is because the software will be licenced on a subscription basis, with this model typically meaning that investments will be made into monthly or biweekly updates. These consistent improvements increase the scalability of the software. If you are new to the world of CPQ software, it is of great importance to select a provider who offers efficient customer support. This means you can receive recommendations on what the right package for you will be, alongside simple access to guidance when needed. If you work for a business which sells complex products or services, CPQ must be able to simplify this. A good quality CPQ will be able to support complexities such as varying business rules, languages, currencies, and discount options. A CPQ solution should enable individual configuration. This means that the products you offer will better adhere to customer requirements, increasing the number of secured deals. Finally, a good CPQ must be easy to use and maintain. The more simplistic the user interface is, the more time and resources are saved on customer service and support. Easy usage strengthens and encourages individual configuration and improves customer experiences. CPQ systems which follow SaaS are updated by the vendor, which means that less maintenance is required. Simple maintenance also means that departments will adopt the software more quickly, creating a higher return on investment. Conclusion To conclude, CPQ software offers a variety of benefits surrounding the generation of revenue and faster quotes. When you are in the process of selecting a CPQ provider, there are a variety of elements that should be considered. These are: types of configuration engines, the opportunity of integration, the architecture of your CPQ, and its quote capacity. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. New York City-owned electric vehicles are now more than its goal, which it initially set to be targeted by around 2025. Before three years ahead of its target timeline, NYC now has an impressive fleet of city-owned zero-emission cars, which replaced some of its fuel-powered vehicles. (Photo : Spencer Platt/Getty Images) NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 18: Rich Steinberg, BMW North America's Manager for Electric Vehicle Operations and Strategy, demonstrates how to charge the BMW ActiveE fully electric vehicle into a charging unit during the unveiling the ActiveE on April 18, 2011 in New York City. New York City-Owned EVs Are Now More Than 4,000 As per the latest news by Electrek, the city-owned EVs of NYC have already surpassed the 4,000 mark. As early as 2015, NYC was already gearing up to lower its greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, Electrek says in its report that New York City started plans to replace some of its gas-powered vehicles in favor of EVs during that year. The Clean Fleet Plan essentially seeks to cut down the greenhouse gas emissions of the fleet of NYC by a whopping 50% based on their emissions in 2005. And the target timeline to go about this ambitious goal is by 2025. Since then, city-owned vehicles have started to include various all-electric and hybrid cars. Electrek notes that it includes Nissan Leaf, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Chevy Bolt. Hundreds of Chevy Bolt EVs are now being used as administration vehicles, whereas more than 200 Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles are police patrol cars. But besides these automobiles, NYC has also electrified some garbage trucks and school buses. And as such, three years before the target year, the city-owned EVs are now roughly 4,050. Gas-Powered Cars Replacement Goal Given that NYC has reached its goal early on, it has already expanded its target number of EVs. NYC now increased its target by 2025 to 4,000 more EVs, which means it would account for around 8,000 by that year. NYC is looking to add more EVs to its fleet, which includes electric street sweepers and electric garbage trucks. Not to mention that the citywide services also plan to include more electric pickups and trucks. And what's more, the NYC Department of Corrections is set to replace all its buses with electric-powered ones. Read Also: New York Passes Bill That Will Provide Up to 50% Off on E-Bike and E-Scooter Sales New York City and EVs While the EV fleet of NYC is rapidly increasing, owning an electric car in the city still faces some problems. (Photo : Sean Gallup/Getty Images) A Volkswagen employee demonstrates the charging of a Volkswagen ID.3 electric car outside the "Glaserne Manufaktur" ("Glass Manufactory") production facility on June 08, 2021 in Dresden, Germany. According to Fox News New York, the senior director of e-mobility at the New York Power Authority, John Markowitz, says that owning an EV in NYC is still pretty challenging. He notes that finding a place to charge is still the problem. But Markowitz adds that looking for charging stations is getting easier year by year. Meanwhile, the Assistant Commissioner of Policy from the NYC Department of Transportation says they plan to install a thousand curbside stations by 2025. Related Article: New York City Unveils PSA Focused on Nuclear Preparedness | How to Stay Safe in Case of 'The Big One?' This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Teejay Boris 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Xiaomi 13 Pro is getting closer to launch since it has successfully secured 3C certification for its 120W fast charging. The 13 Pro is a successor to the previous Xiaomi 12 Pro, which launched back in April. Xiaomi 13 Pro Gets 3C Certification for Its 120W Fast Charging According to the story by Gizmo China, the listing actually revealed different specs regarding the smartphone, including the fact that it will be packed with 120W fast charging. Sometime earlier, other specs were also revealed regarding the Xiaomi 13 Pro. It was noted that the Xiaomi 13 Pro will be offering up to 12GB of RAM and powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. A report by MySmartPrice revealed that the Xiaomi 13 Pro has already received the 3C certification from China. Smartphone Used the 2210132C Model Number for the Certification Website A listing of the smartphone was spotted on the certification website bearing the 2210132C model number. To top everything off, the smartphone also reportedly came with 120W fast charging support. To be completely fair, the news is not that new, and the Xiaomi 12 Pro also launched with 120W fast charging tech right off the bat. The 13 Pro, however, could launch with a large battery capacity. Xiaomi Upcoming Smartphone Image Leaked Showing Certain Design Details As per the report, the upcoming Xiaomi 13 Pro is expected to debut either in November or in December, along with the more basic vanilla version, the Xiaomi 13. A leaked image of the upcoming device reportedly started making rounds on the internet. The image showed that it will feature a punch-hole display along with classically curved edges, just like the smartphone's predecessor. The smartphone is also expected to come with a 6.7-inch Samsung E6 AMOLED display. Xiaomi 13 Pro Specs Revealed, Including 12GB of RAM and More Other specs expected from the upcoming smartphone are that it will offer 2K resolution and run on a 120Hz refresh rate. When it comes to its processor, the Xiaomi 13 Pro will likely be packing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The smartphone is expected to come with 12GB of RAM and up to 3GB of virtual RAM for extra performance. When it comes to the software, the smartphone will be sporting both Android 13 OS as well as MIUI 14. Read Also: iPhone 14 Pro Models Remain in Higher Demand Compared to its Predecessors So Far the Biggest Confirmation is the 3C Approval Of course, the Xiaomi 13 Pro will also pack a decent set of cameras at the back. The expected cameras to be added are three 50MP cameras, while other details are still expected to launch in the next couple of days. As per Notebook Check, Xiaomi is "allegedly racing" to be able to sync the announcement of its Android smartphones along with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, its alleged new processor. For now, what's really confirmed is that the smartphone has already gotten 3C approval. Related Article: iOS 16: Delete Duplicate Photos, Merge Images, Free Up Storage on Your iPhone This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Urian B. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Nexo is a well-known cryptocurrency lender in the market now and it is facing eight lawsuits from different states, with New York's Attorney General speaking up against the company's services. Allegedly, the company is not registered to sell securities on its offers, but it claimed that it is eligible to do it with many already availing of the service. Nexo Lawsuit from Eight States, New York AG (Photo : JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images) An illustration picture taken in London on May 8, 2022, shows a gold plated souvenir cryptocurrency Tether (USDT) coin arranged beside a screen displaying a trading chart. New York Attorney General Letitia James released a statement on her Twitter page that the Nexo crypto lending company is facing a lawsuit from her office on illegal ventures it presented to the public. The company is known for crypto lending, but not as an investment company that sells securities and a guarantee to grow one's money with them. The company claimed that it is registered and has all the necessary requirements to push with services like its "Earn Interest Product," but AG James said that they are not eligible to offer it. New York's Office of the Attorney General also released a statement, further saying that the company is defrauding investors and misleading the public into thinking that they are set to offer this service. The statement also said that seven other states are also pushing for administrative action including California, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington, and Vermont. Read Also: CryptoWatch: China is World's Blockchain Leader and NFTs on the Rise with Apple, Melania Trump Nexo's Securities and Misleading Marketing Nexo allegedly misled the public and its investors that it is registered and duly compliant with the country's investment business, hence its services regarding securities and growing one's portfolio. However, the recent lawsuit from eight states in the country are suggesting otherwise. Cryptocurrency Lawsuits Now Cryptocurrency is a known digital currency that exists in the blockchain, and essentially, it is money for many people used for different transactions and trading in the current market. Its success also brings massive lawsuits for its many transactions as some are fraudulent or misleading to the public, and many scams are already caught by law enforcement. However, some lawsuits and cases present in the crypto world now include legitimate companies which operate with shady deals and undertakings with different entities present. One example would be the Tornado Cash company which are allegedly assisting criminals in laundering money through their platform and helps keep their transaction secret and unknown to many. The Dutch government already seized the company earlier this year to prevent further alleged criminal activities from happening, as well as launching an investigation into its transactions. Nexo's lawsuit is fraudulent and misleading in nature, with the New York attorney general already releasing a statement that shares the information for all to know and be aware of the company. Seven other states are also launching lawsuits against Nexo for its misleading marketing of its securities. Related Article: Crypto.com Accidentally Transfers $7.2 Million to A Customer Instead of a $68 Refund Due to Typo This article is owned by TechTimes Written by Isaiah Richard 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. According to a Chinese pet cloning company, the first cloned Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) in the world was born and was carried by an unusual surrogate mother: a beagle. As reported first by the Chinese news outlet Global Times, the cloned female wolf pup named Maya and her beagle mother were revealed to the world in a brief video during a press conference conducted on September 19 by the Sinogene Biotechnology Company in Beijing. The Story of Maya Sinogene representatives said the video was first shown on June 10 in a Beijing lab, about 100 days after Maya was born. Sinogene is typically focused on cloning deceased animals, such as dogs, cats, and horses, for private clients. However, according to Global Times, the corporation now intends to employ its knowledge to assist in the conservation effort by cloning endangered animals. A fully grown Arctic wolf named Maya that perished in captivity at Harbin Polarland, a wildlife park in northeast China, served as the DNA source for the creation of the cloned wolf. In early 2021, the original Maya, born in Canada before being transported to China in 2006, passed away from old age. But after two years of laborious efforts, Sinogene's general manager Mi Jidong announced at the company's press conference that the cloning of Maya was successful. Researchers from Sinogene used the somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technique to combine immature dog egg cells with Maya skin cells and produce 137 Arctic wolf embryos. 85 of those embryos were successfully implanted into seven surrogate beagle dogs-only one of those transplanted embryos developed to term during pregnancy. Because there weren't enough female wolves in captivity for the scientists' studies, the researchers utilized beagle surrogates. Fortunately, dogs and wolves share enough genetic material for the hybrid pregnancy to develop successfully. The wolf pup will eventually be moved to Harbin Polarland to live with other Arctic wolves, but for the time being, Maya is living with her surrogate mother at a Sinogene facility in Xuzhou, eastern China. Nevertheless, the park's keepers think she will need to be gradually brought to the rest of the pack due to her isolated upbringing, as per Global Times. Read also: 'CRISPR Babies:' Chinese Researchers Want a Facility for Gene-Edited Children Second Arctic Wolf Clone Additionally, Sinogene disclosed that a second Arctic wolf clone, made with DNA from an unidentified male, was going to give birth on Sept. 22. But there have been no verified reports of the pup's birth up to this point. Although no specific projects have been revealed yet, the company also unveiled new cooperation with the Beijing Wildlife Park to clone more captive species in the future. According to CBS News, Sinogene also worked on a project in 2019 that resulted in the creation of six identical German shepherd clones that were later recruited into the Beijing police force. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified Arctic Wolves as the least concern, but according to WWF, climate change is projected to significantly affect their ability to find food in the wild in the next decades. Related Article: Human Protein Delivers mRNA to Body, CRISPR Pioneer Develops SEND to Treat Several Diseases This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA's highly anticipated planetary defense test was a heavy-hitting success! The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) successfully impacted an asteroid from 7 million miles away to change its orbit and finish a historic test of humanity's capacity to stop a celestial object from destroying life on Earth. The DART impactor was able to smash its target, the space rock Dimorphos, around 7:14 pm Eastern Time (2314 GMT). NASA released a video depicting the approaching point of view from the spacecraft's Draco camera towards Dimorphos, and the space agency reported that it was an impact success. As the spacecraft approached Dimorphos, it became clear that it was a direct collision, and the mission's success in its test was already established. Let's take a look at the last images captured by DART before smashing into the asteroid. DART's Final Images Dimorphos is a 530-foot (160-meter) asteroid that is nearly the same size as an Egyptian pyramid. It also orbits its half-mile-long larger brother Didymos. The "moonlet," which had never been seen before, first appeared as a speck of light around one hour before the collision. The asteroid's egg-like shape and rough, boulder-dotted surface eventually came into full vision in the final five minutes as DART sped toward it at around 14,500 miles (23,500 kilometers) per hour. The team behind the NASA mission cheered as the screen stopped at a final image, indicating that the signal had been lost and the impact had occurred. In the upcoming days and weeks, a precise orbital period should be available from ground telescopes, which can detect changes in the patterns of light coming from the asteroid system even if they cannot directly observe it, according to ScienceAlert. Read also: NASA's DART Mission May Deform a Mini-Moon Replay Movie As it got closer to the asteroid, the DART spacecraft beamed these pictures from its DRACO camera back to Earth. Except for the last six shots, which are shown at the same speed as the spacecraft returned them. Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos can be seen at the start of the movie. Dimorphos fills the entire frame in the end, and the last image shows a wide section of the asteroid that is 51 feet (16 meters) across. The impact of DART occurred during the final image's transmission to Earth, leaving only a portion of the final image visible, according to NASA. You can watch the replay movie below: Related Article: NASA's James Webb and Hubble Will Keep An Eye on DART Mission's Asteroid Impact With Dimorphos This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. One of the primary causes of death for endangered whales is collisions with ships since they migrate, breed, and travel through deep passages in the same congested waters that cargo ships use. Whales that live close to the surface, like humpbacks and right whales, are particularly vulnerable. According to a 2019 study, their condition is comparable to land animals driven to traverse the roads that pass through their ecosystems. They claim that whales are turning into ocean roadkill. But with artificial intelligence, the 2020-launched Whale Safe project, funded by Salesforce co-founder and tech billionaire Marc Benioff, seeks to solve this problem, as reported first by The Guardian. AI for Whales The AI system gives close to real-time information on the number of whales in the vicinity and informs shipping operators to slow down their vessels when whales are nearby. Jeff Boehm, chief external relations officer of the Marine Mammal Center, said in a news release last week that this project is a good example of how tech connects with mother nature for the "benefit of marine life." The Whale Safe system employs buoys mounted with microphones to hear whales and provide a "whale presence rating" ranging from low to high. Additionally, it will produce shipping companies' performance evaluations based on their voluntary speed decreases in whale-active areas. According to the project's team, slowing down is the most important thing ships can do to prevent deadly crashes. The system has been in use in the Santa Barbara area, which has one of the shipping channels serving the largest ports on the west coast and is currently extending northward into the San Francisco Bay area, which is also a significant port region for international cargo ships, according to The Guardian. The project claimed that there were no observed whale-ship contacts in the area during the system's first full year of operation close to Santa Barbara. Read also: Germany Employs AI to Prevent Endangered Eagles From Flying to Wind Turbines Not a Panacea According to marine biologists, the project is a positive move, but it is not a panacea for solving the fundamental problem of whales and ships. Senior research biologist and Cascadia Research Collective founder John Calambokidis told The Guardian that he supports the Whale Safe initiative because it draws attention to this significant threat to whales. Calambokidis doesn't believe it will amount to a solution until more steps are taken, like requiring speed limits for ships and relocating shipping channels away from whale migration routes. While the technology can detect the existence of whales, Calambokidis claimed that it is unable to provide specifics like their location, direction of travel, or number. The Guardian noted that blue whale cries can be heard for tens of kilometers and males call more frequently when they are moving. It would be challenging to detect some whales because they generate very little or no noise at all. According to Calambokidis, the absence of sound does not necessarily indicate the absence of whales. Instead, it requires acoustic interpretation. Additionally, the models that Calambokidis helped develop over decades of research and that artificial intelligence is taught said that they are not very effective at predicting whale occurrence at the scale of shipping routes. Related Article: 'AI Fish-Identifying Gate:' This AI-Powered System Prevents The Rise of Invasive Fish Species In Waterways This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that women are important in the rise of the tech industry. (Photo : Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Apple CEO Tim Cook attends the grand opening event of the new Apple store at The Grove on November 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The original Apple store in The Grove was opened in 2002 but was redesigned in a new location with twice the space and opened today in time for the holiday shopping season. In a recent interview, the billionaire explained that female employees are insufficient. He added that there's no good excuse for women not to be in the technology sector. "I think the essence of technology and its effect on humanity depends upon women being at the table," said Cook via BBC News. The billionaire further explained that if people want to have great technological solutions, then having diverse views in the tech industry is a must. Apple CEO Tim Cook Says Tech Industry Lacks Women Via 9To5Mac's latest report, Cook explained that if there's no diverse workforce, then the tech sector won't be able to achieve the things it has today. (Photo : Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images) Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, visits an Apple store where third grade children from PS 57 James Weldon Johnson Leadership Academy are learning how to code through Apple's "Hour of Code" workshop program on December 9, 2015 in New York City. Cook said he hoped that teaching coding to children would become standard in education throughout the United States. Also Read: Apple's CEO Tim Cook Rides Rivian's EV Pick Up at Conference in Colorado This just shows that the billionaire really values women working in the technology industry. Because of this, Tim wanted to diversify Apple's workforce. In 2021, 35% of the iPhone maker's employees were comprised of females. As of writing, the tech giant manufacturer already has five female executives among its 22 leadership roles. Cook decided to launch the new all-female Foundations program in the United Kingdom to show their appreciation of women's efforts in the tech sector. Great to meet with our class of all-female founders at our first Foundations program in the UK. These developers are on their way to making and achieving extraordinary things. pic.twitter.com/nkXZ9TOLzv Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 27, 2022 He confirmed this latest initiative on Sept. 26, via his official Twitter account. Cook Meets Female App Founders When the new Apple Foundations program was launched, Cook met some female app founders. Three of these tech developers decided to join the initiative. Alexia de Broglie (created the personal finance education app "Your Juno") Ariana Alexander-Sefre (runs the wellness app called "Spoke") If you want to learn more about the things Cook and these women discussed, you can visit this link. Recently, Tim Cook pledged to support local humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Apple CEO challenged innovators to change the world using technology. For more news updates about Tim Cook and his other activities, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Tim Cook Says Green Bubbles Issue's Solution is Buying iPhone! Will Apple Really Disregard RCS? This article is owned by TechTimes Written by Griffin Davis 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Dating apps flourishing in China is quite surprising as the Chinese government is well-known for its strict laws to control online goods and services. (Photo : Photo illustration by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) In this photo illustration, the dating app Tinder is seen on the screen of an iPhone on August 14, 2018 in Miami, Florida. The co-founders of Tinder and eight other former and current executives of the dating app are suing the service's current owners for at least $2 billion. However, there's a good reason why the Asian country's government officials allow these dating applications to grow in China. Many Chinese residents shared their great experiences when they used dating apps. One of these is Qu Tongzhou. Now, here's how these social applications helped the Shanghai-based photography assistant during her western China trip. Dating Apps Flourish in China Despite Restrictions Ms. Tongzhuo shared that there were some cities in western China that are quite unwelcoming. she said that some hotels refused her since locals were cautious with travelers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo : Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) The "Grindr" app logo is seen amongst other dating apps on a mobile phone screen on November 24, 2016 in London, England. Following a number of deaths linked to the use of anonymous online dating apps. Also Read: Top 7 Online Dating Apps Matching Seniors Around the Globe in 2022 Since she felt lonely in unfamiliar places, Qu decided to use the popular Chinese dating apps; Jimu and Tantan. The woman said that she knew the risks since dating applications are about meeting strangers. But, all things worked pretty well for her since she met new friends, including a Tibetan doctor and a biotech entrepreneur. Some of her matches even helped her find lodgings. "If I didn't use these apps, I wouldn't have met many people. No one would have taken me out on the town," said Tongzhuo via The New York Times. This just shows that dating apps in China can actually help visitors and residents create non-romantic connections with other individuals. Chinese Government Allowing Dating Apps Analytics firm data.ai said that datings apps in China are now more than 270. This is quite the increase compared to the 81 Chinese dating applications back in 2017. The tech firm added that downloads and in-app purchases involving dating apps also increased throughout the years. These social applications have already helped China in different ways. For example, dating apps encouraged people to get married during a time when China's marriage and fertility rates were at their lowest. On the other hand, they also helped residents find connections during COVID-19 lockdowns. These events show that dating apps are not just for romance. But, you still need to be careful when using these dating apps when visiting China and other countries. RAINN.Org provided some tips you can follow to ensure your safety: Block and report suspicious users. Wait to Share Personal Information. Use different photos for your dating profile. Avoid connecting with suspicious profiles. Check out your potential date on social media. In other stories, the U.K. data regulator accused TikTok of violating child data privacy. Meanwhile, the new Instagram 60-second Stories feature has been released. For more news updates about dating apps and other kinds of applications, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Dating App Guide: How to Change Your Location in Tinder, Bumble, and Hinger [2022] This article is owned by TechTimes Written by Griffin Davis 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Meta shuts down Facebook accounts impersonating legitimate European news outlets. (Photo : Photo credit should read JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images) This photograph taken on May 16, 2018, shows a figurine carrying the logo of social network Facebook in Paris. (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP) The tech giant firm said that these fake FB profiles are part of a large Russian-backed network. Facebook's parent company added that the fake Facebook accounts were created so that a pro-Kremlin view of the Russia-Ukraine conflict could be spread across the platform. "You can actually sum up everything it was saying in ten words: 'Ukraine's bad. Russia's good. Stop the sanctions. Stop supplying weapons,'" said Ben Nimmo, Meta's global threat intelligence leader, via NPR. Meta Shuts Down Facebook Accounts Copying European News Outlets Meta considers the latest Russian-backed Facebook network as the largest and most complex FB operation it handled. (Photo : Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images) In this photo illustration ABC News reports on Facebook's news ban on Australian and International content on February 18, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Facebook has banned publishers an users in Australia from posting it sharing news content as the Australian government prepares to pass laws. Also Read: Facebook Finally Explains The Weird Glitch That Spammed Celebrity Pages - Is It Resolved Now? The giant tech firm even claimed that it is larger than the one linked to the Russian government back in February, the period when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine was starting. Nimmo said that the latest Kremlin-linked Facebook network has more than 60 fake websites impersonating high-profile European news organizations. Among the news outlets they copied are the Daily Mail, The Guardian, and ANSA (an Italian news agency). Meta's global threat intelligence official added that the fake FB accounts imitated the news companies' web addresses, layouts, and even their bylines. Giant Chinese Network on FB Also Taken Down Aside from the newest Russian Facebook operation, USA Today reported that Meta also took down a Chinese network that is impersonating Americans. The tech manufacturer stated that this Chinese operation is copying American Facebook accounts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Meta added that these fake Chinese-backed FB profiles were created to inflame gun rights, abortion, and other similar political issues. Just like the Russian-backed network, Nimmo said that this Chinese network also aims to push pro-China propaganda to attack the United States. You can visit this link to know more about the latest Facebook takedowns of Meta. Previously, a strange Facebook glitch confused users as the issue spammed celebrity accounts. Previously, Meta settled a million-dollar fine on Facebook's location tracking feud. For more news updates about Facebook and other giant social media platforms, keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Facebook is Shutting Down 'Neighborhoods' One Year After Its Release This article is owned by TechTimes Written by Griffin Davis 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. UN chief calls for all-out efforts to eliminate nuclear threat CGTN Share UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the 46th Annual Meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77 and China at the UN headquarters in New York, U.S., September 23, 2022. /Xinhua UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for the use of every means to eliminate the nuclear threat. Guterres made the appeal at a UN General Assembly high-level meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which falls on September 26. "We come together on this international day to speak with one voice. To stand in defense of our world and our future. And to reject the claim that nuclear disarmament is some impossible utopian dream," he said. He noted that the elimination of nuclear weapons would be the greatest gift "we could bestow on future generations." In late August, the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons failed to result in the adoption of an outcome document. Expressing disappointment about the conference's failure to reach a substantive outcome, Guterres vowed that "we will not give up." "I urge all states to use every avenue of dialogue, diplomacy and negotiation to ease tensions, reduce risk and eliminate the nuclear threat," he said. Guterres also called for a new vision for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. He highlighted the need to take into account the evolving nuclear order, including all types of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, as well as the need to address the blurring lines between strategic and conventional weapons, and the nexus with new domains of cyber and outer space. He urged UN General Assembly delegates to seize the opportunity and make new commitment to work toward a peaceful future. "Without eliminating nuclear weapons, there can be no peace. There can be no trust. And there can be no sustainable future," Guterres said. Second-generation Covid vaccines: "The more adapted and up-to-date it is, it will include parts of the virus against which we have not been immunized" A migrant waits on the Mexican side of the border after United States Customs and Border Protection officers detained a couple of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border on the beach, in Tijuana, Mexico, Jan. 26, 2022. A federal judge in Louisiana has on Wednesday, April, 27, 2022, ordered the Biden administration to stop phasing out a public health rule that allows the expulsion of migrants without an opportunity to seek asylum. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File) The Sydney Festival board has suspended funding from international governments and their cultural agencies following an independent review conducted in response to a damaging boycott by artists earlier this year. The boycott, which disrupted almost 30 shows and events in January, was sparked by the festivals decision to accept $20,000 from the Embassy of Israel to stage Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharins work Decadance. Ahead of the program launch for next year, festival chair David Kirk apologised to everyone affected by the controversy that dogged director Olivia Ansells debut event and conceded it had dented the reputation of one of Sydneys iconic cultural festivals. The board announced what it described as a range of measures to improve the decision-making process around partnerships and sponsorships. As well as immediately suspending all international government funding, these measures include developing a funding and sponsorship charter, strengthening its sources of advice on social and cultural issues and contributing to a wider conversation about the sources of financial support for the arts. Breast-obsessed woman turns down Botched doctors Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss Loading Fifteen years later, a report by the National Academies of Sciences revealed NASA was nowhere near that goal and could not possibly accomplish it using current telescopes. After that and the kick in the pants from 2019 OK NASA has now committed $600 million to build a space telescope specifically designed to pick up many of the asteroids it is missing. That mission, called the NEO Surveyor, is due to launch in 2026. Until then, there are still quite a few ways an asteroid could sneak up on us. Artists rendering of NASAs DART probe, foreground right, and Italian Space Agencys LICIACube, bottom right, at the Didymos system before impact with the asteroid Dimorphos, left. Credit:AP Some asteroids come towards Earth from the direction of the sun, and telescopes work at night, says Brown. The Chelyabinsk meteor, a 20-metre rock that exploded over Russia with the force of about 500 kilotons of TNT in 2019, performed that trick. Alternatively, an asteroid might have a very elliptical orbit that takes it a long way from Earth, so we wouldnt see until it was too late, says Brown. Theres always going to be a small chance. But astronomers have an increasing number of tools to spot asteroids. Space-based telescopes can spot them in visible or infrared light, as can visible-light telescopes on Earth. And scientists have become very good at using big dishes such as those at Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex to hit asteroids with radio waves; other dishes can then pick up the radio reflections, allowing them to work out the shape and trajectory of the rock. The Deep Space Communication Complex in Canberra. Credit:NASA / Supplied Until recently, most of the operations were done in the US. But four or five years ago, we developed a lot of these techniques here in Australia and were now one of the best in the world at doing planetary defence, says Guifre Molera Calves, who works on planetary defence observations at the University of Tasmania. This mornings DART collision will give us even more useful data. We should soon know how far it managed to budge the asteroid off its orbit. If its a lot, that will give us confidence we can successfully push away asteroids when they are quite close to Earth. If DART barely budged it, well know we need to intercept rocks much further away, says Australian National University astronomer Dr Brad Tucker. That data can then inform our asteroid surveys. Billionaires and bulldust SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk has long been warning about the civilisation-scale risk humanity faces from killer asteroids. Thats part of the reason he thinks we should colonise Mars. What surprised me, though, when speaking with scientists charged with actually doing the work of spotting these killer asteroids is they are universally a lot less concerned than Musk. Brad Tucker: We dont have to worry unnecessarily about it not as much as one would think. Michael Brown: Short term, planetary defence is way cheaper and more doable with existing technology than setting up a plan B on Mars. Professor Phil Bland, founder of the meteorite-tracking Desert Fireball Network: We know theres a very good chance we wont get hit by something thats going to do a lot of harm over the next century. Scientists who study a risk tend to be the most worried about that risk so this level of optimism is interesting. Where does it come from? Bland says that since the mid-90s, weve become very good at tracking the largest objects those more than a kilometre wide. And we can be pretty sure that theres nothing big breathing down our necks. But looked at over a long enough time scale, isnt it inevitable that a killer asteroid will hit Earth? Statistically, yes if your statistics are flawed, says Tucker. But when your timeframes are thousands to tens of thousands of years, its not quite the same argument. Loading If such an object does cross our path, well have a lot of advance notice in the order of decades. That should (surely?) be long enough for us to get our act together. Compare the risk of an asteroid to, say, the risk of a pandemic. Before the mid-90s, we did not know how big a risk we faced from an asteroid strike and we did not have a tool to deal with it. Now we do. Yet we still lack the tools to know where the next pandemic is coming from or to stop it when it emerges. Sydney has failed to produce enough affordable housing for its people but a renewed focus on its peripheral cities in Newcastle, the Central Coast and Wollongong, as well as western Sydney will provide a crucial opportunity to fix its inbuilt inequalities, according to the man charged with guiding the regions future. Geoff Roberts, chief commissioner of the recently renamed Greater Cities Commission, said the pandemic had fundamentally changed Sydneys future by normalising hybrid work. We dont see the CBD model, with everybody schlepping long distances to get to the CBD, as the way that Sydney, Newcastle, the Central Coast and Wollongong will develop, Roberts said. An aerial overhead view from Parramatta to Sydney. Credit:Sydney Images/ Mark Merton Instead, he said the next stages of planning must deliver affordable housing around public transport, jobs and universities, green space and cycleways in all six city centres if the Sydney region was to move on from being one where peoples opportunities are based on what your postcode is. Our job [is] to create spatial equity so that it doesnt matter what postcode you live in, you have an equal opportunity of the good things that are part of living in metropolitan Sydney, or in the six cities region. We simply have not done that well enough, he said. One of Brisbanes major streets will be transformed to connect South Banks new Neville Bonner Bridge and the new Kangaroo Point green bridge near the Botanic Gardens to a subtropical commuter and tourism link. Brisbane City Council has released its Mary Street Vision, planned to reshape Gardens Point as 67,000 commuters begin to use the citys newest train station at Albert Street by 2024. Brisbane City Councils Mary Street Vision. The council plans to create a pedestrian corridor through the heart of the city. Credit:Brisbane City Council During the 2032 Olympic Games it will be a major link for tourists between Howard Smith Wharves, the Brisbane CBD, Queens Wharf casino and resort and South Bank Parklands, deputy mayor Krista Adams said. Mary Street will also be used by tens of thousands of visitors during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032, so its important that it leaves a positive impression. The husband of missing fraudster Melissa Caddick has described himself as an isolated, unemployable outcast and says that the general perception of him is that he was involved in his wifes Ponzi scheme, helped her disappear or, worse still, that he harmed her. I have been described as an arsehole, a creep, a f---wit, a toyboy, a handbag and even as stupid by my father, said Anthony Koletti in a 110-page affidavit tendered at the inquest into his wifes disappearance and presumed death. The affidavit also says that after his wifes disappearance, Koletti left a note and a pair of earrings on top of his wifes phone that he had bought her as a gift for Christmas and which hadnt been seized during a raid by Australian Federal Police officers acting on behalf of the corporate regulator, ASIC. The Post-It note he attached to the gift read: Melissa, I no [sic] our love is deeper than pocessions [sic]. Thought you might like one of your Christmas [sic] early. But the hairdresser is adamant he had no knowledge of his wifes frauds and said he was not involved in her disappearance or in harming her in any way. His only reason for continuing my life is to see his stepson go to university. Loading Her studies have been affected by the incident, and her injuries will affect her ability to find gainful employment, such that her capacity to earn in the future will be affected, the claim filed by Slater and Gordon reads. The childs mother, who was 28 at the time, suffered a loss of earnings and earning capacity because of the incident, according to the documents. The child and her mother are seeking damages from the Show and ride operator Hi-Lite Entertainment Pty Ltd. They claim the Show and the ride operators were negligent and in breach of contract because they failed to ensure the ride was safe and failed to carry out testing or oversee operators. They also allege they failed in their duties by having a ride capable of having its metal plate strike the child. The Show spokesperson said the Fury ride and its operator are no longer at the Show, adding that, as the case was still before the courts, the Show could not comment further. Shylah Rodden was the victim of a rollercoaster incident at the Melbourne Royal Show on Sunday. The Age attempted to contact Hi-Lite Entertainment about the incident. In a separate statement on Tuesday, the Show said WorkSafe Victoria had completed its inspection of the Rebel Coaster ride that injured Rodden. WorkSafe finalised an inspection report advising the ride is safe and may be reopened from today, it said. Safety was the number one priority and safety protocols had been upheld in line with Victorian WorkSafe regulations, the Show added. The line to the Rebel Coaster was relatively quiet after it reopened on Tuesday, but the rain shortened many lines across the showgrounds. Credit:Paul Jeffers All rides on site have undergone stringent compliance inspections and have passed all the required safety documentation, it said. Graphic footage of Sundays incident appears to be circulating on TikTok. Loading Melbourne Royal Show chief executive Brad Jenkins told Nines Today Show on Tuesday the organisation had offered counselling to bystanders who saw the incident unfold. It would be a tragic thing to be there witnessing, Jenkins said. He said he hadnt spoken to Roddens family directly but said everyone in the show community was devastated. I have a young daughter myself and I totally understand how they would be feeling. It would be totally devastating he said. The line to the Rebel Coaster was relatively short after it reopened on Tuesday, but a downpour of afternoon rain had dispersed crowds across the showgrounds. It appeared attendees were still regularly using the rollercoaster. Megan Timms from Mount Eliza, who took to the ride with her 12-year-old daughter, Ruby, said she wasnt worried about their safety because she trusted the inspectors. Megan Timms and her 12-year-old daughter Ruby Timms rode the Rebel Coaster after it reopened on Tuesday. Credit:Paul Jeffers Ive ridden these rides so many times in my life, you know what youre risking when you get on them. But we werent being stupid. We were doing what we were supposed to do, Timms said. Kelly Bell, Leah Thorburn and Ellie Thorburn also took a trip on the Rebel Coaster on Tuesday afternoon. Bell, 22, said the incident on Sunday was in the back of her mind when she went on the ride. Theyve done everything to try and, I guess, prevent it from happening. So they were trying to do the right thing. But accidents happen I guess, she said. Ellie Thorburn (left), Leah Thorburn (centre) and Kelly Bell (right) after riding the Rebel Coaster. Credit:Paul Jeffers Twenty-two-year-old Leah Thorburn said she believed authorities had adequately inspected the ride before it reopened. Im sure there were measures in place before it could open again, Thorburn said. Loading A spokeswoman for WorkSafe Victoria said the safety watchdog was investigating what took place at the ride. Vision from the scene of the latest incident showed staff carrying out works on the rollercoaster, which appeared to stop after the incident. The Show issued a statement on Sunday confirming the woman was injured on the Rebel Coaster ride. At the time, it said that no one had fallen from the rollercoaster. Try a panel of awarded and admirable elders While we may be ready for an end to an overseas monarch as our head of state, the replacement option is a real sticking point. A politician or not, an Indigenous person or not, popularly elected or not, legal background or not? Who could we all agree on as a person to exemplify our nation? One option is to have a panel of elders, maybe eight, each serving a short term (and each eschewing political commentary while appointed) and drawn from those who have been awarded Australian of the Year, and top Order of Australia gongs. These elders could run awards ceremonies, attend important functions, welcome overseas heads of state and attend overseas events in a ceremonial capacity. Perhaps one of many Indigenous languages could give us the right word for such an elder. Our Constitution could be tidied up to show no residual powers for a replacement for the monarch. Over time, many great Australians could reflect our diversity and sense of inclusion, add gravitas and a sense of us and our nation. This would be wonderfully democratic, and reflect our Parliament House, where the the grass roof allows the people on top. Janet Wickerson, Thornbury The system is damaged and needs to be repaired Your correspondent argues that we should defer talk of a republic because if it aint broke, dont fix it (Letters, 24/9). Over the last 50 years, there have been some events which suggest the opposite. Currently our head of state is not a citizen of Australia. However, in 1975, the unelected representative of this head of state sacked a democratically elected government. Recently the unelected representative secretly appointed the prime minister to several cabinet positions. Both actions were legal. If that does not demonstrate that the system is broken, I dont know what will. James Proctor, Maiden Gully THE FORUM Lets be truly radical Well, there we have it. The essence of the Australian Republic Movements case is that we dont want a foreigner. Lets develop the inward looking, self-deluded, perspective best seen in Russia. Yes, make Australia great again. Sorry, Peter FitzSimons, but it is a long time since I cared who wins the Ashes. I do care that Australians remember we are part of the world and put that first. If we want to be radical, let the role of the head of state be open to anyone from anywhere in the world, and be selected by the Australian, not the UK, parliament. Conor King, Pascoe Vale In the path of Landy John Landy set a precedent of a sporting figure nominated for governor of Victoria. The selfless, decent Geelong captain, Joel Selwood, would be an admirable choice to continue this tradition. Moray Byrne, Edithvale Impact on the vulnerable Consider the effect of the Optus data leak on vulnerable people. My son gets the disability support pension. He has multiple physical health problems. His mental health and crippling anxiety have gone further off the scale at feeling so unsafe in the world. Being a victim of sexual assault exacerbates this. He has frozen his bank accounts and until he can open a new one with secure ID, cannot receive his allowance. His phone number is sacrosanct. We have had to work fast to churn his number to a new provider in our name so that he is not cut off from support services, doctors, family and all the things that keep him as stable as possible. He will need a new driver licence number, possibly Medicare number, passport number, disability support pension number and we dont really know what. My son is becoming severe in his reaction to this shocking breach of his safety. He is lucky to have a supportive family, but we, too, are stressed. Cant Centrelink help him? Allowing his pension to go temporarily into a parents account, with his permission, would help. Setting up a taskforce to help vulnerable Centrelink clients be guided into the correct action to take is also necessary. My son, and others like him, needs information, informed guidance and a sense of safety, now. Name withheld, Monbulk Get tough on all telcos In her excellent article, Rachael Falk asks why Optus was holding such sensitive customer data beyond the initial point-in-time use (Comment, 27/9). Questions need to be asked not only of Optus but of all the telcos which may also retain sensitive data, potentially endangering their customers. Identity theft has far-reaching ramifications for those who are affected. Immediate action needs to be taken. Dianne Lewis, Mount Martha Mandate higher standards I have experienced years of poor service from Optus with regard to technical support and customer assistance, arising from inadequate training of staff and indifference to customers. I am not surprised it finds itself in this situation As usual, its response to customers has been inadequate. At the very least, Optus should be compelled to pay for the reissuing of passports, driver licences or any other ID affected by the cyberhacking. Also the government needs to mandate customer service standards and enforce them. Charlotte Brewer, Shepparton Optus must pay penalty Optus should have to reimburse the fees of affected customers who choose to get a new passport and/or driver licence, thereby giving customers back some security and imposing a hefty penalty on the company. Rob Morton, Bonbeach The Afghans we betrayed Re all that money saved from going nowhere in the former governments pork-barrelling exercise prior to the election (The Age, 27/9). Perhaps it could be used to rescue Afghans who supported our troops but who have been so dreadfully harmed by our failure to bring them to Australia. Peta Colebatch, Hawthorn Who will dare to vote no? What an international farce. The Russian invaders holding a referendum in occupied parts of eastern Ukraine. The result has been predetermined. It could not be otherwise. I also cannot imagine too many people being prepared to vote against a proposition to become part of the invaders motherland while under occupation. Vladimir Putin continues to act as a pariah and mock world opinion. And, seemingly, getting away with it. To date. Michael Gamble, Belmont A monster of a man Vladimir Putin is a thug in a tailored suit, brimming with hubris, narcissism and ambition. Not a learned or especially accomplished man, his inadequacies have been well-exposed for the world to see. A catalogue of disasters in Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere shows his scant regard for others as long as his place in history is secured. Manoeuvring himself into a corner in Ukraine with little room to move, his strategy is to menace the world in order to teach it a lesson. It all fits with his modus operandi by his own reckoning of control, intimidation and vengeance. Helena Kilingerova, Vermont Russian revolution II Will that despot Vladimir Putin follow Stalins tactics in World War II by forcing his conscripts into battle with machineguns at their backs? The Russian people need another revolution to rid the world of this ruthless maniac. Ben Blair, Point Lonsdale Our foolhardy venture We apparently thought we could please the US by joining in their Ukraine escapade as an arms supplier, without any real cost to us. Your article Higher rates and Ukraine war force downgrade to Australian economy (The Age, 27/9), shows otherwise. A war must not be fought at the expense of recovery from the epidemic and all its ravages merely to further ingratiate ourselves with our great and powerful friend Tony Haydon, Springvale The facts on the elderly How clever for Geelong players to dress as the elderly, with walking frames and wheelchairs, to highlight that they are collectively the oldest team. Did anyone realise that next Sunday is the beginning of Seniors Week and being elderly is often no laughing matter? COVID-19 exposed serious nursing home and home care problems. Try using a walking frame in neighbourhoods without footpaths, or ones that are too narrow for a carer to walk beside you, or cracked at best. Has any player used a wheelchair in the real world for any length of time, especially on public transport? I recently took my 86-year-old husband to Echuca where he wanted to travel on a paddle steamer. The new, multimillion-dollar port refurbishment using government funds forgot to factor in wheelchair access. These oversights are not uncommon. If Geelong is providing perfect care of the elderly and all can laugh together, they are lucky. Elsewhere in regional Victoria, there are major unfunded problems that begin with lack of trained or available staff and extend to questionably qualified people in positions of responsibility who do not exercise due diligence. These problems rest with the state government. Suzie Pearce, Benalla It was just a bit of fun Geelong players dressed up as old folk for their Mad Monday celebrations. Very amusing, but they risked the wrath of the po-faced PC brigade. You are not allowed to laugh at anyone these days. (Tory males like me excepted.) Kevin Rugg, Sandringham Dignity and respect From a Cats fan. Much respect to the Swans people at the grand final. They were supportive of their team in a dignified manner. They stuck around for the presentations to the victorious team when many other club supporters would not have. Thank you for your part in the day. Greg Stark, Newtown You think you had it hard Sean Kellys troublesome record with handwriting A good word for the write stuff (Comment, 26/9) could have been much worse. He does not look old enough to have ever had to struggle with ink wells and blotting paper. John Rawson, Mernda Paying for their own trips Anthony Albanese attending the funeral of Shinzo Abe, the assassinated former prime minister of Japan, is certainly appropriate. I hope the bevy of former Australian prime ministers who are also paying their respects are paying their own expenses from their generous parliamentary superannuation and perks, rather than milking the public purse even further. Manfred Frese, Heathmont Underpaid, exploited In a submission to the federal governments new national cultural policy, the co-owner of The Tote warns of the death of live music if there is a minimum rate for each gig (The Age, 27/9). If you ask venue owners to pass comment on whether musicians should be paid fairly, they will always find a way to justify their own position. Ask a musician instead. Venue owners pays their staff, the beer suppliers, cleaners etc at the required rates. The only people in the mix who are not paid fairly are the people who get the punters in the door the musicians. I am sure venue owners would be outraged if they were not allowed to charge for beer. Andrew McGee, Nagambie Putting their brains ... Now that NASA can protect the earth from asteroids in space Australias crucial role in asteroid strike (The Age, 27/9) perhaps those clever people could come up with a solution to protect children from shootings in schools in the United States. Matthew Hamilton, Kew ... to much better use Congratulations, NASA, on impacting an asteroid. Now can we impact some existential threats down here at home? Climate change? Nuclear weapons? David Marshall, West Brunswick AND ANOTHER THING Optus In the name of protecting customers security, Optus should advise them to change their passport and driver licence numbers immediately. Jeff Langdon, Smythesdale Optus held true to its slogan and certainly gave the hackers more. Mark Kennedy, Sebastopol Optus should organise and pay for a new driver licence for every customer whose data was stolen. Breda Hertaeg, Beaumaris Optus? No. Robyn Westwood, Heidelberg Heights Lets hope Optus develops better biometics than the bad guys or were buggered big time. Terry Kelly, Coburg Politics Hey, Peter FitzSimons (26/9), the republican cause wont succeed when old, white guys are its proponents. Get out of the way. Geoff Hall, Mentone Less emotion and more practical democratic safeguards, please, Mr FitzSimons. Hans Paas, Castlemaine Waleed Aly (24/9), an audacious suggestion for an Australian head of state. May I nominate Stan Grant. Graeme Brown, Blairgowrie Furthermore It is jarring that Iran, despite its history of misogyny and femicide, was elected to the UNs Commission on the Status of Women. Joel Feren, Caulfield Now that Putin has granted Russian citizenship to Edward Snowden, will he be drafted to fight against Ukraine? And will he comply or join the protests? Rosie Elsass, Brighton The deputy mayor of Wyndham City Council, who has been accused of serious misconduct and barred from communicating with council staff as a result of a bullying probe, has extraordinarily enabled a push to have herself hauled before a conduct review panel. In an unusual turn of events at a council meeting on Tuesday night, Jasmine Hill put forward a motion to have a confidential report, detailing allegations against her, given to her fellow councillors, enabling them to refer her to an independent conduct panel. Its pretty clear. I dont believe I [did] anything wrong. But if I do (sic), I am very willing to make changes and to improve myself, the independent councillor told the chamber. Wyndham City Council Deputy Mayor Jasmine Hill has been accused of bullying. Credit:Wyndham City Council Josh Gilligan, a former mayor of Wyndham and the Labor-aligned councillor behind an original motion that brought the matter to a head, had also claimed that Hill previously threatened to hurt him if he ever named her publicly over the allegations. A West Australian GP accused of making regular secret payments to a 15-year-old and her friends in exchange for sex has been granted bail as detectives continue to build a case against him. WA Police allege Douglas McCarthy, 60, a doctor who works in the Halls Head and Donnybrook areas, began communicating with the teen through Snapchat chat and offered her $1300 to sexually abuse her. Prosecutors claimed he continued to exploit the girl, and some of her underage friends, paying them between $100 and $150 for sexual services over a period of nine months until he was arrested on Monday. Another teenage girl, not linked to the friendship group, has also accused McCarthy of raping her multiple times, with police allegedly finding nude photos of the child on the doctors phone during a search warrant executed at his home two weeks ago. You may have heard the term API being used in relation to Optus breach. It stands for application programming interface, but you can think of it as a way for websites or programs to talk to each other and exchange data. So in this case, an API could have been designed to provide customer data to internal Optus systems. Loading Reports have suggested that the person who stole the Optus data merely exploited a poorly designed Optus API that handed over the details, a claim which Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin has rejected. How do I know if my datas been caught up in this breach? As of Monday morning, Optus said it had sent out emails or text messages to all customers and former customers whose ID document numbers such as passport or drivers license numbers were compromised. It then moved on to customers whose other details, such as email addresses, were compromised. So if you havent heard from Optus, its likely the telco doesnt believe youve been affected. What should I do if I get an email from Optus? As ever, criminals are looking to take advantage of any widespread panic or concern, so you should be vigilant to make sure any communication claiming to come from Optus, actually is from Optus. Check the from address ends in optus.com.au, and remember, there should be no links or requests for information in any Optus emails. The email will let you know what kind of data is affected. Importantly, it will indicate whether ID document numbers such as passports were affected, but it will not explicitly say which documents. Obviously, theres nothing you can do to remedy your name, date of birth, or residential address being distributed, and it can be very difficult to proactively change your drivers licence or passport number before fraudulent activity occurs. So the best course of action may be to secure your accounts and identity as best you can and keep an eye on your credit. How do I secure my accounts? Optus says no passwords were compromised in the breach, but if you use the same password across multiple sites that may not matter. Criminals for example could match their set of data from the Optus breach with a password from a previous breach, and have enough to do a lot of damage. The best practice is to use a password manager like BitWarden, LastPass or 1Password, which generates strong passwords automatically for each of your accounts. Any service that has payment information saved, like bank apps, Amazon or eBay, will be prime targets. Change your passwords, and while youre there check to see what happens if you try to log in without knowing the password. If all it does is send you an email, make sure that email account is also locked down and investigate whether the account offers more secure protection. Many accounts allow two-factor authentication, so if you log on from a new device you have to prove your identity with a code. Doing this by SMS is somewhat secure, but as explained above is vulnerable to SIM jacking, so using an app like Authy or Google Authenticator is better. Just be sure to keep any provided backup codes in a safe place so you dont get locked out in the event you forget your password and lose your phone. As for your phone account, your telco should allow you to add extra security with a password you have to give verbally, although Optus phone lines are reportedly quite busy at the moment. Criminals with enough personal information can also potentially bluff their way around these requirements. What about my credit? Loading Credit reporting companies like Equifax, Experian and Illion can put a freeze on your credit if youre worried about criminals taking out money in your name. But this will, of course, make it difficult to take out credit yourself, and its only temporary so wont stop attacks far down the track. For Optus customers whose identity documents were accessed, Optus has promised to provide a 12-month subscription to Equifaxs paid credit alert service, which will notify you of any credit checks that may be suspicious. Its currently unclear how to redeem this service. Is there anything else I can do? The Australian high commission in Kuala Lumpur will this week begin evacuating diplomats families and sending non-essential staff on temporary leave to Australia. Hundreds of Australian diplomats, business people and their families are fleeing Malaysia as pollution from Indonesian forest fires claims a growing human and environmental toll. First published in The Age on September 29, 1997 BHP and other Australian companies with operations there are also sending home many employees and their families. Choking smog has blanketed the Malaysian capital for two months. A planned visit by the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Tim Fischer, to the RAAFs Butterworth airbase in Malaysia in mid-October is in doubt. The Defence Department is paying for flights to bring home the families of 50 permanent RAAF personnel stationed there, but service personnel will stay. Many of the high commissions 120 staff and dependants have sought medical treatment for respiratory and eye problems. Four people have already returned to Australia. London: It is the fate of all Italian politicians of the Right to be compared with Benito Mussolini. Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the Fratelli dItalia (Brothers of Italy), is no exception. Her rapid rise, at the head of a right-wing coalition that triumphed in this weekends elections, has appalled the European political establishment. The open accusations of fascism levelled at her, however, failed to deter over a quarter of the electorate from voting for this fresh-faced single mother with a Roman accent. Meloni is hated by Eurocrats, such as Ursula von der Leyen, because - despite her partys somewhat dubious past - a great many Italians see her as the acceptable face of the Right. Her appeal to faith, flag and family encapsulates everything that the EU sees as reactionary, backward and plebeian. Wants to bring back the pride: Giorgia Meloni. Credit:AP Its hardly surprising that the likes of Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz would prefer to do business with fellow elitists such as the outgoing Italian PM, Mario Draghi - a former head of the European Central Bank, who was never elected to office. This election is the first since 2008 where the voters have actually chosen who will lead their government. All of Italys six most recent prime ministers emerged via back-room deals. As far as harrowing television shows go, Apple TV Plus's Five Days at Memorial is among the most difficult to watch. The series follows the days before and after Hurricane Katrina at one hospital in New Orleans, as the waters rise, the power goes, and doctors are forced to make potentially lethal decisions on behalf of their patients during the evacuation process. It is based on a true story. Actor Monica Wyche plays Sandra LeBlanc, one of the real-life figures depicted in the series, who struggles to rescue a family member stranded at the hospital. Wyche has her own memories of Katrina and stranded family members, so that made this role all the more real. Here, she tells us about putting together her performance. Monica Wyche (image provided by LSG Public Relations) Five Days at Memorial is a very heavy show, and it's based on a true story. I know you're a performer and you have to compartmentalize that sort of thing, but how do you get through it, especially with your own familial experiences during Katrina (and can you talk a little bit about that, too)? We shot Five Days at Memorial in Toronto and New Orleans. The flooding scenes were all shot in a giant tank, surrounded by blue screens. One day we'd go to work, and there would be a dilapidated house in the tank; another day, it'd be full of submerged cars. All of the crew was in waders, and it was very "movie magic." It wasn't until the background actors were added in, as people who had lost everything, that it started to feel real. Seeing people wading through waist-deep water, holding their children on their shoulders, carrying their clothes in garbage bags, that really was moving to see. Those were the moments when it felt very real. My aunt, uncle, and great-grandmother all lived in New Orleans together during Katrina, and lost everything in the storm. I was living in South Carolina at the time, trying to locate them and make sure they'd survived the flooding. They were among the folks stranded in their attics, the ones rescued by boats from their roof. For several days, we heard nothing. We couldn't find them, call them, nothing. Playing Sandra LeBlanc, a real person who orchestrated a rescue of her family member stranded at Memorial hospital, was a remarkable opportunity to pay respect to not only my family, but to the people of New Orleans. Being entrusted to help tell that story was an honor, and I felt a strong connection to the project. You were a drama teacher before you started acting full time? Why did you make the decision to give up teaching to become a performer? I'd always done theater, and have an MFA in acting. In my younger days, I did some regional theater, toured a bit, taught at the college level before moving on to middle and high school drama in my home town of Columbia, South Carolina. I wasn't getting any younger, and my husband and I both wondered, "What if?" He's a playwright/screenwriter, Dean Poyner. He'd gone back to school to get an MFA in dramatic writing at Carnegie Mellon, and my school year teaching was wrapping up, so we thought, why not now? We'd just gotten married, it seemed like a time of big change was already happening, so we added to it and moved to New York City. Monica Wyche (center) in the series Five Days at Memorial ( Apple TV Plus) What do you look for in a play, and how does something like Scab, which just closed, fit that bill? I've embraced my "type" these past few years, and have found myself playing women who are a bit hardened, who have been through a lot, who are strivers. When this script came along, I was intrigued by the chance to embrace a character with views that are different from my own. Also, I have found that the less makeup I wear, the happier I am. Gilda, my character in Scab, has worked hard her whole life and still can't catch a break. I found that appealing. As someone who goes back and forth between mediums, do you have a preference? Does acting for the stage require a different skill set than doing TV or a movie? I'd been mainly focusing on TV work since my son was born in 2012. Theater hours and parenting didn't work with our family schedule until recently, and TV was quicker and more financially lucrative. I'd not done a play since before the pandemic Together We Are Making a Poem in Honor of Life, by the talented Dean Poyner and diving right back in with a two-hander has been thrilling. I've had to dust off my memorization skills, time management, and frankly, my stamina. Two show days are a real workout. Performing multiple shows a week gives an actor the opportunity to deeply explore a character over time, to get to know them. Television, at least the roles I've played so far, has a shorter preparation period. With TV, I get to make strong choices and go with it in that moment. It's thrilling in a different way. I like the accessibility, and permanence, of television, but the rehearsal process and continued discovery of theater. In an ideal world, I can keep doing both. This illustration photo taken in Los Angeles, California, shows a person checking information online for the now permanently closed Paulsboro, New Jersey's Hometown Deli in front of a screen displaying the facade of the restaurant on Sept. 26, 2022. (Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images) 3 Men Charged in $100 Million New Jersey Deli Fraud Scheme U.S. authorities on Monday filed civil and criminal charges against three men for allegedly orchestrating a large-scale market manipulation scheme that briefly pushed the valuation of a New Jersey deli to more than $100 million. Prosecutors charged the menPeter Coker Sr., 80, Peter Coker Jr., 53, both of North Carolina, and James Patten, 63, of Hong Kongwith 12 counts, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to manipulate securities prices. Patten was also charged with wire fraud, money laundering, and securities manipulation. Coker Sr. and Patten were taken into custody on Sept. 26 and have since appeared in a North Carolina court. They are expected to appear in New Jersey federal court at a later date. Coker Jr. is still at large. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also filed a separate civil action, accusing the men of underlying the market manipulation scheme. The agencys investigation is ongoing. If found guilty, the criminal securities fraud charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine, while the conspiracy counts carry a five-year prison term and a $250,000 fine, authorities said. The wire fraud and money laundering charges are punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Since 2014, the father-and-son duo and their associate conspired to enrich themselves through a scheme to manipulate securities prices via a pattern of coordinated trading, which injected inaccurate information into the marketplace, creating false impressions of supply and demand for these securities, the Department of Justice said in a statement. As part of the scheme, the men allegedly targeted two publicly traded companiesHometown International Inc. and E-Waste Corp.through manipulative trading, and used them to generate illegal profits by acquiring private companies in so-called reverse mergers, a transaction through which an existing public company merges with a private operating company. These alleged manipulation tactics artificially inflated the stock price of Hometown by 939 percent and E-Waste by approximately 19,900 percent, prosecutors said. Hometowns market value swelled as high as $123 million in April 2021 even though its sole asset, a Paulsboro, New Jersey-based business called Your Hometown Deli, generated just $13,976 of sales in 2020 and $25,004 in 2021. The company merged this year into Makamer Holdings Inc., a Los Angeles bioplastics startup. It closed the deli, which was located in a Philadelphia suburb, in June, and later sold the business for $15,000 and its inventory for $700, according to a regulatory filing. The $100 million rural deli became a subject of attention in April 2021 after short-seller David Einhorn mentioned it in a letter (pdf) to shareholders, where he warned of the dangers of risky stocks and the need for more regulatory oversight. Einhorn noted that the deli had earned $21,772 in sales in 2019 and only $13,976 in 2020, but had reached a market cap of $113 million in early February. The pastrami must be amazing, Einhorn wrote jokingly. Small investors who get sucked into these situations are likely to be harmed eventually, yet the regulatorswho are supposed to be protecting investorsappear to be neither present nor curious. Reuters contributed to this report. From NTD News An empty road is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, as the provincial capital city is under COVID-19 lockdown on Sept. 2, 2022. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images) 89-Year-Old Chinese Writer Condemns the CCP for Zero-COVID Policies in Open Letter to Prime Minister The mass mandatory PCR testing and random locking down of cities have stirred up much outcry among Chinese people. Protests erupted in the past months across the country, including in Beijing, Tianjin, Guiyang, Chongqing, and Wuhan. During this time, Chinese people have openly expressed their discontent online, opposing the regimes harsh zero-COVID policies. The party [the Chinese Communist Party] should govern the party affairs, and the government should govern governmental affairs. But now that the party governs everything, what does the government do? During the pandemic, [the party] locks down cities and closes streets and roads. Daily PCR tests, yellow codes and red codes, taking people away and isolating themeverything is so chaotic and messy. There is widespread discontent among ordinary people, who have nowhere to complain. These words are part of an open letter to the Chinese regimes Prime Minister Li Keqiang, published online on Sept. 22 by Tie Liu, an 89-year-old Chinese writer and former journalist, condemning the CCPs draconian zero-COVID policies and demanding an explanation of any legal basis for such policies. Tie Liu, meaning iron torrent in Chinese, is the pen name of Huang Zerong, a former journalist of Chengdu Daily. The outspoken octogenarian is a native of Chengdu city in Chinas southwestern Sichuan Province and has been an active critic of the CCP. Condemns the CCP for Zero-COVID Policies Tie Liu was angry with the zero-COVID policies. During the lockdown of cities and the closure of roads and streets, some people committed suicide by jumping off the building; some people had mental problems; some people were acutely ill but died because they could not enter the hospital without nucleic acid testing, reads Tie Lius open letter. Tie Liu compared the Kuomintang, also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party, which was the ruling party in China before 1949, with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in his letter. He recalled that there was an outbreak of cholera in Chengdu in 1943 when Kuomintang was in power. He said the cholera was very infectious and severe, with symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting, and that two residents living on the same street with him died within two weeks. But the Kuomintang never locked down the city or the street, nor did it mess the ordinary people around. Now there is no death [caused by COVID-19 in Chengdu], but [the CCP doesnt allow] the ordinary people to live a peaceful life, Tie Lius letter reads. He also wrote about the Guizhou quarantine bus crash that killed 27 people on Sept.18. A health worker wearing a personal protection suit stands next to buses at a cordoned-off section at the international arrivals area, where arriving travelers are to be taken into quarantine, at the international airport in Wuhan, China, on Jan. 14, 2021. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images) He condemned the secretary of the Guiyang municipal party committee for ignoring peoples lives. The maker of the tragedy, the municipal party secretary, only bowed! Can people be convinced? In my opinion, he should be arrested and sent to jail, and the national flag should be flown at half-staff in mourning [of the victims of the bus accident], wrote Tie Liu. Tie Liu asked Li Keqiang if the PCR mandates come from the State Council and, if yes, what was the legal basis for such a regulation. Our country has a constitution and various laws. Anyway, I have not found a clause that prohibits entering the hospital without nucleic acid testing. Therefore, Im writing to the State Council for your explicit explanation, the critic wrote. Rejected by Hospital for Refusing to Take PCR Tests Tie Liu had personally suffered as a result of mandatory PCR testing requirements. Without PCR tests, youre not allowed to enter a hospital, or a supermarket, or a village, or a town. What rule is this? Theres no legal basis! Tie Liu said in an interview with the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times on Sept. 25. He went to see the doctor at the Special Outpatient Department of Chengdu Western Hospital for some medication on Sept. 22, he said, but the hospital didnt admit him as he didnt have any PCR test certificate. I am almost 90 and in poor health. I am a patient of terminal lung cancer, Tie Liu said. As he lives in a small town about 40 miles away from Chengdu for rest and recuperation, spending most of his time inside the house and seldom going out for large gatherings, he doesnt want to take either PCR tests or COVID jabs. So he asked the hospital authorities if they had government regulations that require mandatory PCR tests to enter a hospital. The hospital authorities couldnt show him such regulations, but they wouldnt allow him in, either, he said. They even pushed me out, Tie Liu added, They even threatened to turn my green health code red if I refused to take the PCR test that day. Staff wait to check peoples entry permit, screen body temperature, and scan their health codes at the entrance of a residential compound in Jilin city, China on May 25, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) In China, people with a red health code are strictly confined to their homes or quarantine centers. That prompted Tie Lius decision to write an open letter to the prime minister. At my age, I do not have anything to fear. I just want to make it clear that if it is stipulated by the State Council. If not, why dont hospitals allow people to enter? Tie Liu said many people expressed support after he published his open letter online. The letter was later removed and is now not available online in China. Gao Yu, a Chinese freelance journalist and dissident, posted the letter on Sept. 24 in a Tweet. She was repeatedly persecuted for her covering the peaceful students protest on Tiananmen Square in 1989, and later for her independent reports on the Chinese economy and politics, according to IFEX, an international network of over 100 non-governmental organizations that advocates for the free expression and access to information rights of all. Many people reposted my open letter and praised me for speaking up for the ordinary people, Tie Liu told the publication. Chengdu maintained its stringent lockdown measures despite a magnitude 6.8 earthquake on Sept. 5, the epicenter of which was only 125 miles from the city. An Outspoken Critic of the CCP Tie Liu encouraged Chinese people to be brave and speak up. There are too few Chinese people who tell the truth and speak honestly, he sighed. Everyone is afraid. But the more afraid you are, the more [the authorities] bully people. The more afraid you are, the more they will bring you down. They [the communist regime] just act recklessly and mess around. The country has no rule of law at all. Tie Liu has been an outspoken critic of the CCP. His experience was reported in 2015 by China Affair Research Institute, a non-profit organization based in Alhambra, California. In the 1950s, Tie Liu was a journalist with Chengdu Daily. In 1957, he was labeled an anti-revolutionary for his criticism of the CCP in the newspaper and was sent to labor camps. He spent 23 years there until he was released in 1980. In 2010, he set up the Tie Liu Press Fund with a contribution of 1 million yuan ($140,000) to provide assistance to journalists and writers who were persecuted over freedom of the press. In October 2010, a group of Chinese journalists, including Tie Liu, sent a joint letter to the communist regimes rubberstamp legislature calling for freedom of the press and the removal of media censorship. In 2014, he was arrested and charged with causing a disturbance and illegal business activity for publishing the memoirs of people persecuted under former CCP leader Mao Zedong and posting online criticism of Liu Yunshan, a CCP propaganda chief. Role Model for Young People: Rights Activist Gao Fei, a human rights activist in Huanggang city of Chinas Hubei Province, spoke highly of Tie Lius brave action in an interview with the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times on Sept. 25. Tie Liu came forward to speak the truth, which is really admirable, said Gao Fei. He is a role model for us young people, worthy of praise. Gao said that it is very common for many patients in China to die because they didnt have PCR tests and thus didnt receive timely medical treatment during the pandemic. More and more people are complaining about zero-COVID policies, Gao said, People are disgusted with the unreasonable and inhumane epidemic prevention and control measures. The overall social hostility is very severe, and various conflicts are on the verge of erupting, turning the whole society into a tinderbox, added Gao. Lin Cenxin and Yi Ru contributed to the article. This is a city of pilots, and I was riding with one of the best. In Americas last frontier, a state that you could fit Texas into twice and still have plenty of room left over, things arent often close at hand. So here in Anchorage, the easiest solution is often this: just fly. A Rusts Flying Service float plane departs Lake Hood in Anchorage, Alaska. (Roy Neese/Visit Anchorage) Alaska has the largest per capita number of pilots in the United States (six times more than the national average), and this little lake alone is home to 1,100 planes, 1,000 of them privately owned. Brian Carlins regular gig is flying a medivac helicopter, which can be a bit stressful, although you wouldnt know it when you chat with him. Its rooftop to rooftop stuff, he said, rather nonchalantly, in that trademark, super-calm pilots drawl. But lately, hes also been flying visitors around in a float plane, and, today, Carlin was ready to show me everything thats so remarkably close to the glassy skyline downtown. Pilot Brian Carlin standing on his float plane. (Tim Johnson) Home to just under 300,000 residents, Anchorage is a curious and fascinating place. In the city center, you could squint your eyes and believe youre in a medium-sized Midwest city with streets lined with shops and a multi-story downtown mall with a JCPenney. But theres perhaps no urban center that provides such easy access to super-wild places. And riding today with Carlin on a little Cessna 206, I was about to swoop high above so much of it. The view from the plane is exhilarating. (Tim Johnson) Pilots have been navigating Alaskas tricky terrain and tempestuous weather for more than a century. Some became legends, including Joe Crosson, a bush pilot who was the first to land a plane on the glaciers of Denali, North Americas highest mountain. Another named Carl Ben Eielson was the first person to airmail envelopes and packages in Alaska in the 1920scrashes ended his contract, and the mail returned to its previous mode of transportation, dogsled. The Alaska Railroad runs along Turnagain Arm on its way south from Anchorage, Alaska to Girdwood, Whittier, Portage, and Seward. (Nicole Geils/Visit Anchorage) With these daredevils in the back of my mind, I walked out on a dock jutting into Lake Hood, lined with the distinctive red planes employed by Rusts Flying Service, the largest seaplane operator here, a family-owned business that started up in 1963. I squeezed into the rear seat of the very small plane and donned my headphones to chat with the pilot and my fellow passengers. An aerial view of downtown Anchorage with the Alaska Range in the background. Denali is on the right. (Ken Graham Photography/Visit Anchorage) Taxiing out, Carlin says that this is the worlds busiest seaplane base, with almost 200 flights every day. They even have a special machine just to cut the weeds on the bottom of the lake, he says. It feels like a busy hub airport, but with the docks where float planes are tied replacing the concourses and jetways and the runways filled with water rather than paved in asphalt. It even has its own control tower and airport code: LHD. Glaciers including Knik and Colony glaciers are popular destinations for sightseeing flights out of Anchorage. (Juno Kim/Visit Anchorage) Taking off in a float plane is a strange experience, in all the best ways. One moment youre floating, bobbing across the waves like in a boat. The next, youre zooming, skimming along the surface, feeling that first sensation of lift as youre just about to leave the watery runway. And then, finally, the plane is airborne, the whirring propeller in front somehow powering you up and away from the lake or pond or river or sea where you started. Boarding a bush plane at Lake Hood for a sightseeing flight. (Nicole Geils/Visit Anchorage) Moments later, we were high over the city, the towers of downtown off to our left, snow-capped mountains and deep green valleys straight ahead. As we continued out toward the suburbs, we buzz over a series of big houses, some like humongous, luxurious log cabins, then climb the rises and lined ridge lines. Seconds after that, we enter a big, green valley and spotted the white forms of Dall sheep, somewhat impossibly just hanging out, right up near a mountain top. Setting up headphones and mic before takeoff on a flightseeing tour. (Mikhail Siskoff/Visit Anchorage) Viewing Alaska mountains during a flightseeing tour from Anchorage with Rusts Flying Service. (Savanah Evans/Visit Anchorage) And then, after what feels like two minutes, we were in a land of glaciers, the sun flashing off the Knik Glacier below, huge snow-capped mountains behind it. Running 25 miles long and five miles across, the glacier had small pools of shockingly blue water pooling on top and rivers rolling off its toe. See those crevasses down there?, Carlin said, pointing to ripples that look tiny from up here. Those are big enough to swallow this whole plane. Filming Knik Glacier after a helicopter dropoff. (Ashley Heimbigner/Visit Anchorage) We zoomed across other glaciers, then made a turn, away from this land of snow and ice. Well make our way toward 20 Mile Creek, and, youll see, the whole ecosystem changes, said Carlin. Moments later, we landed on Carmen Lake with its surrounding lush, green slopes. The pilot angled us to a small beach and we climbed out, hopping onto the planes pontoon and then the shore. Its a world away from both Anchorage and the glaciers, calm and quiet; an oasis in the mountains. Planes takeoff and taxi at Lake Hood Seaplane Base in Anchorage. (Juno Kim/Visit Anchorage) After a few photos, its time to squeeze back into the 206 and take off again. We flew along the edges of Turnagain Arm, named by William Bligh, sailing master for Captain James Cook, because it had no outlet and they were forced to turn again. Just ahead, Lake Hood and Anchorage awaited. But for the moment, I was happy to relish being high above it all, with views to beauty in every direction, close to the city but still in the heart of the last frontier. Viewing a Glacier in Prince William Sound from a day cruise boat. (Nicole Geils/Visit Anchorage) If You Go Fly: Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport connects Alaska with the Lower 48. From there, all major United States carriers fly to various major hubs across the country, including Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Denver. Getting Around: While the city does have a serviceable public transit system, it is a huge place, covering more than 1,700 square miles. To truly explore Anchorage and its surroundings, you should probably have a car. Or, even better, take a plane tour with a company like Rusts Flying Service. Stay: Located in the heart of the city, the Hotel Captain Cook is Anchorages landmark property, and just steps from shops and restaurants. A king room in the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, Alaska. (Courtesy of Hotel Captain Cook) Take Note: Some amazing wildlife can be spotted right in the middle of the cityeagles soaring in municipal parks, salmon fishers casting their lines along Ship Creek, and, if youre lucky, you can spot belugas frolicking off the nearby boat launch. Alberta to Change Licences in Spring, Reduce Second Road Tests for New Drivers A graduated drivers licence program in Alberta that has been ineffect for the past 19 years is getting an overhaul. The Graduated Driver Licensing program was introduced in Alberta in2003. New drivers with a learners, or Class 7, licence must have a fully licensed person seated next to them while driving, cant drive between midnight and 5 a.m. and have no drugs or alcohol in their system while driving. To get a probationary Class 5 licence, drivers must have had their learners licence for a year, pass a basic road test and meet a number of other conditions. To get a full licence, drivers must wait at least two years before passing an advanced road test. That is to change next spring. Alberta says it will no longer require the advanced road test for Class 5 (passenger vehicles) and Class 6 (motorcycle) drivers licences, saving those drivers $150. The objective of the changes are meant to reduce red tape and also cut costs for Albertans and businesses without cutting the safety aspects of the program, said Alberta Transportation Minister Prasad Panda in an interview. Since the program began, drivers who made it past their two-year probation and didnt take a second test have been allowed to continue driving with their graduated licences, and many do. Panda said an estimated 700,000 Albertans are driving with graduated licences. And in the past five years, 65 percent of those with graduated licences did not take the second advanced road test. Some of them are not that young anymore. They are in their 40s, but they are simply not taking the test because theyre already driving with the (Graduated Driver Licence), he added. Many of them probably thought spending that extra $150 for the advanced test is not giving them any extra benefit or comfort other than getting a full licence. An additional road test will also no longer be mandatory to obtain a Class 4 drivers licence, which is required to transport passengers intaxis, ride-share vehicles, limousines, small buses and ambulances. Eliminating the road test was suggested by many Albertans in a 2019 government survey on red-tape reduction. Panda said about 500,000 graduated licence holders are likely eligible to move to full Class 5 licences. It is common sense. It reduces costs for drivers and also, in a way, for businesses, without compromising safety in any way, Panda said. Its not reducing safety. They have to be on probation for two years, so those two years should sort out if there are any issues with those drivers, whether its traffic violations or drug and alcohol. Under the change, drivers who show poor driving behaviour and get demerits or are ticketed for other unsafe driving offences during the last year of their probation would have their probationary period extended for an additional year. By Bill Graveland Alberta Wont Participate in Federal Governments Gun Confiscation Program EDMONTONThe Alberta government says it will not aid in implementing federal legislation to confiscate about 30,000 legally purchased but now-banned firearms, and will also not allow the provinces RCMP to take part in the effort. In an announcement on Sept. 26, Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro said federal Public Safety Minister Marco Medicino requested the province provide resources to help collect the prohibited firearms this fall, but said his province rejected this request for assistance and sent notice to the Alberta RCMP demanding it do the same. Alberta has been told that the federal government will use the RCMP to confiscate firearmsas they did during the 2013 floodswhen the RCMP seized over 600 firearms during the notorious High River gun grab, Shandro said. Actions taken today will seek to prevent history from repeating itself. Further options are being explored and all options are on the table. In May 2020, the federal government said it is banning more than 1,500 models of what it termed as assault-style firearms, including AR-15s. Owners of these guns would have a two-year amnesty period to come into compliance with the prohibition, he said at the time. That amnesty period has been extended to October 2023 as Ottawa seeks to implement and enforce a mandatory buyback program. Shandro says Ottawas move to label firearms as assault weapons is a label designed to scare Canadians who are unfamiliar with firearms. Ottawa says banning the targeted weapons is necessary to fight violent crimes involving firearms. Because of gun violence, people are dying, families are grieving, and communities are suffering. It must end, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in May 2020 when announcing the legislation. Assault-style firearms designed for military use have no place in Canada. By removing them from our streets, we will limit the devastating effects of gun-related violence and help make our country safer. Shandro said he wrote to the RCMP that the confiscation program is not a priority for the province and as such, RCMP deployment to aid the program is not appropriate. Alberta taxpayers pay more than $750 million annually to fund the RCMP as the provinces police service. The province will also formally dispute any attempt of the federal government to use the RCMP as confiscation agents by invoking the dispute resolution clause, Article 23 of the Provincial Police Service Agreement, Shandro said. Alberta chief firearms officer Teri Bryant said the firearm confiscation program is another misguided step in the federal governments efforts around the criminal misuse of firearms. I do not believe that law-abiding Canadian firearms owners support these bungled efforts and have no confidence in the capabilities of the federal government to administer such a massive seizure of personal property securely and effectively, Bryant said. The Alberta government will also intervene in six ongoing judicial review applications challenging the constitutionality of the federal firearm prohibition legislation, Shandro said. As intervenors, we would be able to offer the court arguments based on the specific challenges that the federal legislation has created for Albertas law-abiding firearms community and advanced legal arguments that the federal government has overreached with its plan to ban 1,500 models of firearms, he said. Attorney General Merrick Garland looks on as President Joe Biden speaks about crime prevention at the White House in Washington, on June 23, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) FBI Raid of Catholic Pro-Life Speaker a New Low for Justice Department: Attorney The lead attorney in the case involving pro-life speaker Mark Houck said that sending a team of heavily armed federal agents to his clients home to arrest him in front of his wife and children on Sept. 23 represents a new low for the U.S. Department of Justice. Regular law-abiding citizens should not fear 20 heavily armed agents at their door to drag them out while trying to enjoy their morning coffee. This is outrageous, said Peter Breen, vice president and senior attorney at the Thomas More Society, a national non-profit law firm. Breen said that federal law enforcement usually reserves such shows of force for a drug lord or a mafia bossthats how they came out to the Houck family home. Houck, 48, a Catholic pro-life speaker, author, and father of seven from Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, faces two counts of violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act). San Mateo County SWAT team officers near Youtube headquarters following an active shooter situation in San Bruno, California, U.S., April 3, 2018. (Reuters/Elijah Nouvelage) Both charges stemmed from an altercation with a patient escort outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in October 2021. Heres what we know, Breen told The Epoch Times in a phone interview. We know this [raid] was done at main justice out of Washington, D.C., and someone had to approve that size of a raid to execute an arrest warrant when the defendants attorney had offered to bring him in. So that has to be approved at a high level within the Department Of Justicepossibly from the attorney general himself. But, certainly, one of his top people. Houck was scheduled to be in federal court in Philadelphia today, Sept. 27, at 1:30 p.m. for his arraignment. If convicted, he faces up to 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines up to $350,000. Political Prosecution As we go into the arraignment today, we are confident in our legal defenses, Breen said. We know this is a political prosecution intended to intimidate pro-life people and people of faith. This prosecution is being run at the highest levels of the Biden Department of Justice to make a point to people of faith and pro-life people [to scare them] away from advocating for rights and advocating against abortion. Houcks indictment alleges that he twice assaulted a volunteer patient escort outside the Planned Parenthood Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center in Philadelphia on Oct. 13, 2021. According to a DOJ press release announcing Houcks arrest, the clinic volunteer attempted to escort two patients leaving the clinic when Houck forcefully shoved the man to the ground. In the second alleged assault, Houck confronted the escort and shoved him to the ground in front of the clinic. Assault is always a serious offense, and under the FACE Act, if the victim is targeted because of their association with a reproductive health care clinic, it is a federal crime, said U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero in the Sept. 23 press release. Our office and the Department of Justice are committed to prosecuting crimes which threaten the safety and rights of all individuals. Victim The Aggressor Breen, during the phone interview, identified the alleged victim as Bruce Love, 72, saying the evidence shows Houck was defending his son from Loves alleged verbal attacks outside the clinic. In this case, Bruce Love was the aggressor all the way through. The facts will bear that out. We will make that case in court, Breen said. Breen said that federal prosecutors using the FACE Act rests on the false presumption that Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land and that abortion is constitutionally protected. On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 legislation that made abortion a federal right in the United States, turning the matter back to individual states. The very basis for the FACE Act has been seriously undermined. Even more so, this case involves state-level issues, not federal issues, Breen said. The allegations of the Biden Department of Justice are about an altercation between two people on a public sidewalk. That is not a federal issue, and Mark Houck did nothing wrong in defending his son. And he certainly did not violate federal law. While Love claimed to be the victim, Breen said, the Philadelphia district attorney did not move forward with prosecuting the case. Even after Mr. Love filed a private criminal complaint, the state court threw that complaint out, Breen added, partly because he stopped showing up for hearings. He certainly did not act like someone who was the victim of a supposed crime. Breen said his organization remained in contact with DOJ officials, advising they had no good legal theory to indict Houck for violation of the FACE Act. If the DOJ chose to indict, Breen added, Thomas More Society attorneys were ready to present Houck whenever and wherever they wanted. Unnecessary Show of Force Even if they were going to go and serve an arrest warrant on Mr. Houck, they could have sent a single car with a couple of agents. They could have given him enough time to get dressed and go. They did not need guns drawn and pointed at him and then to have him shackled and taken away. It was 7 a.m. The family had just woken up. This is an outrageous abuse of American citizens. It violated the sanctity of their family home. It traumatized those poor children. How much did the taxpayers waste sending 20 heavily armed agents to this family home? Breen said the next thing he knew, Houck was in custody. He said he is also confident that Houck will prevail in court, having defended clients in other FACE Act cases during the Obama administration. We fully expect to prevail in the end. However, you can never predict. We have strong defenses. Our client is innocent. We are going to fight this very robustly. Saying Houcks heavy-handed arrest demonstrates a new low on the part of the DOJ, it also signifies the agency is thoroughly corrupted and abusing power entrusted to it by the people of this country. I would say to the Biden Department Of Justice that your message is received. We will strongly and vigorously respond in courtand the court of public opinionthat what you are doing is wrong and its illegal. We are going to put a stop to it, Breen said. Xi Jinping and other Communist Party of China and state leaders Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng visit the exhibition -- "Forging Ahead in the New Era" -- at the Beijing Exhibition Hall in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed concerted efforts to forge ahead determinedly toward a new victory of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when visiting an exhibition on the great achievements of the Party and the country over the past decade. Xi stressed that since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has united and led the whole Party, the country, and the people in solving many challenging problems that were long on the agenda but never resolved, making many achievements that concerned the nation's future, and overcoming many political, economic, ideological, and natural risks, challenges, and trials. Historic achievements and shifts have taken place in the cause of the Party and the country, equipping the country with better institutions, firmer material foundations, and a more proactive mindset for realizing national rejuvenation, Xi added. He called for more efforts in raising public awareness of strategic measures, transformative practices, breakthroughs, and landmark accomplishments over the past decade. He also urged a better understanding of the significance of the profound changes during this period in the history of the CPC, of New China, of the reform and opening-up, of the development of socialism, and of the development of the Chinese nation, so that the whole Party, the country, and the people will maintain historical confidence and enhance the historical initiative. Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, and Han Zheng also visited the exhibition. Xi and other leaders arrived at the Beijing Exhibition Hall at 3:45 p.m. for the exhibition. Under the theme of "Forging Ahead in the New Era," the exhibition focuses on the many accomplishments and shifts in the cause of the Party and the country over the past 10 years in the new era. It spans six exhibit areas and covers more than 30,000 square meters in total. It features more than 6,000 exhibits, including pictures, material objects, and models. Among them are objects and models showcasing China's significant improvements in science and technology and manufacturing, the state-level key publication project "Revitalization Library," and exhibits presenting China's campaigns of eradicating extreme poverty and fighting COVID-19. Texas parents showed up to speak against changes in social studies curriculum at a State Board of Education meeting in Austin, Texas, on Aug. 30, 2022. (Darlene McCormick Sanchez/The Epoch Times) Attempt to Add Climate Change and Oppression Into Texas Social Studies Fails Last minute meeting opened door to push from progressive left Democrats on the Texas State Board of Education were blocked from adding climate change and painting Texas Rangers as oppressors in social studies lessons during a Sept. 26 meeting. The special meeting held in Austin was billed as a public hearing on proposed social studies learning standards to meet SB3 requirements. The bill, which became law in 2021, prohibits teaching Critical Race Theory, a Marxist-based ideology, that labels people as oppressors or victims depending on their skin color or sexual identity. Mondays public hearing came on the heels of a Sept. 23 letter from the Texas Anti-definition League and Texas Freedom Network, organizations aligned with the ideology of the progressive left, chastising the board for delaying a progressive overhaul of the the states social studies standards. Other groups backing the letter included: the American Civil Liberties Union, the Childrens Defense Fund, Equality Texas, Every Texas, Intercultural Development Research Association, and the Texas state Teachers Association. Flooded with misinformation, overwhelmed by public testimony from a small, extremist group of individuals who opposed the inclusive and honest recommendations, this board bowed to pressure from a minority and ultimately failed to do its job, to the detriment of Texans across the state, the letter stated, clearly frustrated by the pushback from parents. Hundreds of climate protesters walk from Times Square to New York Governor Kathy Hochuls office to demand more action against climate change in New York City on Nov. 13, 2021. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Democrat Georgina Perez used the special meeting to suggest amendments to current learning standards. She sought to add Democrat Jose Tomas Canels into 7th grade Texas history requirements, saying it would do no harm. Canels was a prominent Democrat and lawyer in the early 1900s who accused the Texas Rangers of racial violence against Mexican-Americans in the lower Rio Grande Valley. Perezs suggestion appeared to revive an effort to portray the Texas Rangers as oppressors, as had been written into the proposed social studies standards before the board voted to halt the revision process. Perez also proposed adding climate change as a subject within world geography. Democratic board member Aicha Davis offered an amendment for first graders to learn about Deloris Huerta, co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association. The board voted along party lines to reject the amendments. However, they passed the first reading of additions to the social studies to comply with SB 3. Julie Pickren, a conservative candidate for SBOE, told The Epoch Times the special meeting announcement last Thursday gave parents little time to react. She came to the meeting, fearing it might rekindle the social studies debate. Why did Chairman Ellis call a special meeting? she asked, adding that the board was granted an extension on complying with SB3 so she didnt see the need. Speakers on Monday included parents and groups from both sides of the political aisle. Evelyn Brooks favored using the words parents and police officers in social studies standards when describing authority figures. Emerald Belmarez spoke at the hearing on behalf of the Texas Freedom Network, which co-wrote the letter claiming the board gave in to the radical right. She criticized the board for insensitivity to social justice issues, pointing out that the Monday meeting occurred on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The board voted in August to shelve plans to revise standards until 2025. Parents showed up in force after they got wind that the overhaul included elements of globalism, LGBT activism, and Critical Race Theory. Pickren noted that 7,000 concerned parents emailed board members, and 4,000 signed a petition urging them to leave the standards alone, leading to the halt of additions from the progressive left. A test tube in front of displayed Biogen logo in this illustration taken on Dec. 1, 2021. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters) Biogen Agrees to Pay $900 Million in Drug Kickbacks Settlement, Denies Wrongdoing Pharmaceutical giant Biogen has agreed to pay $900 million to settle claims that it paid kickbacks to physicians to encourage them to prescribe its multiple sclerosis drugs, the Department of Justice announced on Monday. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based companys settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in 2012 by former Biogen employee turned whistleblower, Michael Bawduniak. Bawduniak sued Biogen under the False Claims Act, which allows whistleblowers to sue companies that they allege defrauded the federal government, on behalf of the government. Such lawsuits, if successful, allow the private party to receive a portion of any recovery. The DOJ said the former employee will receive approximately 29.6 percent of the federal proceeds from the settlement, amounting to $266.4 million. The former employee alleged in a lawsuit filed in the District of Massachusetts that the pharmaceutical giant had paid kickbacks to doctors from 2009 through 2014 to encourage them to prescribe its multiple sclerosis drugs. Such kickbacks included speaker honoraria, speaker training fees, consulting fees and meals, which were allegedly granted to health care professionals who spoke at or attended Biogens speaker programs, speaker training meetings or consultant programs to induce them to prescribe the drugs Avonex, Tysabri and Tecfidera, prosecutors said. The kickbacks resulted in false claims for payment being submitted to the government health care programs Medicare and Medicaid, the lawsuit alleged. The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits companies from exchanging or offering to exchange anything of value in order to induce referrals of items or services that are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally-funded programs. Under the settlement, Biogen will pay approximately $843,805,187 to the United States and $56,194,813 to 15 states in the case. Biogen Denies All Allegations Biogen announced in July in its second quarter report that it had reached a potential settlement that was subject to government approval. The relator diligently pursued this matter on behalf of the United States for over seven years, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the DOJs Civil Division. The settlement announced today underscores the critical role that whistleblowers play in complementing the United States use of the False Claims Act to combat fraud affecting federal health care programs. U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Rachael S. Rollins thanked Bawduniak for coming forward and revealing Biogens alleged behavior. This matter is an important example of the vital role that whistleblowers and their attorneys can play in protecting our nations public health care programs, Rollins said. In a statement published on Sept. 26, Biogen said it believes that its intent and conduct was at all times lawful and appropriate and Biogen denies all allegations raised in this case. The company did not admit wrongdoing as part of the accord. The U.S. and the states did not intervene in the case and the settlement does not include any admission of liability by Biogen. Biogen determined that now was the right time to resolve the litigation and allow the Company to remain focused on our patients and strategic priorities. Biogen continues to believe that it is important to equip physicians and patients with the information needed to make the best decisions for their care, the statement continued. Elsewhere, Biogens Alzheimers drug Aducanumab, which is marketed as Aduhelm, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in June 2021, despite there being uncertainties regarding its clinical benefit. General view of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) building in Beijing, China, on Jan. 13, 2016. (VCG via Getty Images) Cabinet Unsure If Canadas $510 Million Investment in Chinese Infrastructure Bank Created Jobs Cabinet says its unclear if any jobs were created after Canada made a $510 million investment in Beijings Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), documents show. The Government of Canada is aware of five Canadian firms having signed contracts as part of the Banks corporate procurement, cabinet wrote in a report introduced in the Senate at the request of Senator Leo Housakos, according to Blacklocks Reporter. As these are private contracts with private companies the Canadian government cannot estimate how many jobs have been created. The companies that received AIIB contracts were LEA Consulting Ltd. of Markham, Ontario; Hatch Consultings subsidiary in Mississauga, Ontario; Insignia Software Corp. of Edmonton, Alberta; EQ Consulting Inc. of Toronto; and a joint venture involving the Canadian subsidiary of ISW Consulting. In 2018, Hatch provided consulting services on an AIIB-financed project in Uzbekistan. In 2019, Insignia Software Corporation provided library management system services to the institution, and in 2020, EQ Consulting Inc. was awarded two separate contracts by the AIIB for the implementation of market risk tools and order management systems support, according to a Sept. 22, 2022, Senate Notice Paper. The Notice Paper didnt provide details about LEA or ISW Consulting. In 2017, Parliament passed the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Agreement Act, committing to buy up to US$375 million worth of bank sharesthen the equivalent of roughly CAD$510 million. In testimony at the Senate finance committee, then-Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the spending was worth thousands of jobs, according to Blacklocks Reporter. Thousands upon thousands of Canadian jobs are reliant on our current trading relationship with China, Morneau said. In a news release on Morneaus meeting with AIIB President Jin Liqun in April 2018, the Government of Canada said it has purchased 0.995 percent of total AIIB shares, worth USD$199 million (roughly CAD$256 million), over five years, starting in 201718. This amount of shares translates to a voting power of 1.07 percent, it said. Many Concerns Proposed by China, the AIIB was established on Christmas Day in 2015, with an initial 57 member states. The bank was billed as the first global multilateral financial institution spearheaded by China and has grown to have over 100 members. Critics of the multilateral project, however, warned of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) scheme to project its power globally through the AIIB. In a Nov. 23, 2020, Canada-China Committee meeting, then Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Chinas banks at the time had already loaned $461 billion to member states to build infrastructure, which he said had raised many concerns over debt sustainability, transparency and international standards on labour and the environment. Chinas ambition even reaches the Arctic region, where it aims to develop shipping lanes, calling it the polar silk road. This is a new reality that we need to take into account and thus engage with China with eyes wide open, the minister said. In response, former Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong said many have described this as CCPs debt diplomacy. Part of the debt instruments that China is using to project its power strategically through the Asia-Indo-Pacific is the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Its an instrumental part of their strategy in the region. Its something that the Government of Canada has joined and contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to, Chong said as he called on the government to withdraw membership from the institution. Conservative legislators have proposed cabinet pull its financing from the Chinese bank. The Party in 2020 said it would repeal the Investment Bank Agreement Act, according to Blacklocks Reporter. I dont believe Canadian taxpayers should be sending any money to China, former Tory Leader Andrew Scheer told reporters at a press conference. Were talking about a Communist dictatorial government that abuses human rights, quashes freedoms, violates rights of its citizens, and has a very aggressive foreign policy all throughout the region. We dont believe the government should have ever put money into the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, he said. Ive never understood why Canadian tax dollars have to go help build roads and bridges in other countries. California Seeks to Become Mecca of Abortion Tourism: Pro-Life Attorney Following the Supreme Courts overturn of Roe v. Wade, many states have moved to either further restrict or expand abortion access, with California chief among the latter. Having recently passed a spate of laws to cement abortion protections for residents and so-called abortion tourists, the state has positioned itself as a sanctuary for abortion seekers nationwide. However, according to one pro-life attorney, the true motive behind the legislation was more commercial than compassionate. Building an Industry Its horrific what the California Legislature has done, said Susan Swift, vice president of legal affairs for the Right to Life League. What they are doing its like, Detroit used to be known for producing cars, right? Well, California is building an abortion industry. They are funding it actively. Founded in 1967, the Right to Life League provides support to a network of pro-life clinics, pregnancy centers and maternity homes. Noting that another aspect of the nonprofits mission is lobbying against pro-abortion legislation, Swift described one recently passed bill, SB 1142, as Californias master plan for becoming a hub of abortion tourism, or travel to obtain an abortion. [The bill] funds travel to the state, it funds lodging in the state, lost wages and it even funds child care for anyone who wants to come to California for a free abortion, she said. The billwhich declares Californias commitment to reproductive freedomasserts the necessity of an increase in state funding for abortion providers, organizations that fund abortions, and those that offer practical support to assist residents and nonresidents seeking abortions in the state. Additionally, the bill calls for the creation of a website that features information about available abortion services across the state. Although abortion tourism is not a new concept, following the Supreme Courts 1973 Roe decision, the number of women traveling for an abortion trended downward. However, abortion travel has increased in recent years as certain states began tightening restrictions in anticipation of a possible reversal of the landmark ruling. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the percentage of women nationwide who crossed state lines to obtain an abortion rose from 6 percent in 2011 to 9 percent in 2020, with the largest percentage recorded among states with the strictest abortion laws. However, according to Swift, pro-life legislators were not the only ones making moves in preparation for the courts monumental decision. Forty abortion companies got together and said, What do we need to do to centralize our business model in California? she said. And thats what this is. SB 1142 creates a one-stop-shop website that lists all abortion providers. Legal Skirmishes Ahead Although the bill has yet to be signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, the website is already up and running. On Sept. 13, Newsom announced the launch with a video message on Twitter, touting the site as a resource for abortion seekers nationwide. The site features informationinformation on how, where and when to access abortion and reproductive health in California, he said. It includes information on your right to an abortion and information if youre traveling to California from another state that has restricted your reproductive care. Swift, however, said the website could face legal challenges if it promotes pro-abortion centers over those that are pro-life. The website excludes information for pro-life clinics and pregnancy centers, cautioning users that such organizations may share fake abortion information. Search results online may include clinics that do not perform abortions, the website warns. These clinics may provide false, medically inaccurate information online or in person about abortion to convince you not to have an abortion. They are sometimes called crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). For more information, the website links to a Planned Parenthood webpage that, among other assertions, states that a clinic that does not perform abortions or offer effective birth control methods like condoms or the pillthings that, for instance, a Catholic organization would not provideis probably not a real health center. Swift said the bill will essentially make abortion a state-sponsored business, adding that the website could constitute a violation of section 17200 of the California Businesses and Professions Code, which prohibits unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business practices and unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising. Further, the states decision to financially favor abortion clinics over pro-life facilities could also violate the states constitution, according to the attorney. In 1981, the California Supreme Court held in Committee to Defend Reproductive Rights v. Myers that when the state finances the costs of childbirth, but will not finance the termination of pregnancy, it realistically forces an indigent pregnant woman to choose childbirth even though she has the constitutional right to refuse to do so, ruling that such unequal funding was unconstitutional. Referencing this ruling, The Right to Life League in a statement argues that to fend off any constitutional challenge, Newsom should provide an equal amount of funding to childbirth and post-natal maternal support. Another legal concern Swift raised was that several of the states other recent abortion bills seek to hinder other states law enforcement investigations concerning abortion. AB 1666, AB 2091, AB 1242all of them forbid California from complying with other states valid court decisions, the attorney said, adding that those laws were likely to be struck down as a violation of the U.S. Constitutions Full Faith and Credit Clause. Moral Questions Abound In addition to the legal conflicts, Swift said that Californias recent abortion legislationwhich she called the states abortion apocalypsealso poses important moral questions. One of those questions, she said, was, Why are we spending taxpayer dollars to kill people? Particularly, Swift decried AB 2223, which some pro-life organizations have referred to as the states infanticide bill. Among other changes, AB 2223 eliminates the coroners duty to investigate perinatal deaths related to or following known or suspected self-induced or criminal abortion. The bill also authorizes a woman who had an abortionlegal or otherwiseand anyone who assisted her to bring a civil lawsuit against any state actor who attempts to investigate. The League has fought this thing every which way because it removes all civil and criminal liability for abortions, miscarriages, stillbirths and, most importantly, any perinatal death due to causes that occur in utero, she said, adding that those causes could include a botched abortion. The bill does not define what is meant by perinatal death, but according to Californias Health and Safety Code, perinatal care includes care received from conception through one-year post-birth. Nobodys going to want to risk the lawsuit of investigating [a death], Swift said. And its going to cover up all the data of all of the babies that survive abortions. However, as challenges to these bills will need to wait until they are signed, Swift said her organizations current focus is Proposition 1. The proposed amendment, which will appear on Californians ballots this November, states, The state shall not deny or interfere with an individuals reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives. Noting that criminal acts like rape, incest, or child abuse could fall into the category of reproductive freedom, Swift said, I think Proposition 1 has the potential of being very dangerous to public health and encouraging the exploitation and manipulation of young women and children, especially. Also pointing out that under California law, abortion is already considered a constitutional right, Swift added that the amendment would not provide any new protections for women but could create many loopholes for those seeking to abuse them. At best, it is virtue signaling, she said. And at worst, it is very, very dangerous because it undoes so many laws that are designed to protect public health. Newsoms office did not return an inquiry from The Epoch Times. Members of the Iranian community and their supporters rally in solidarity with protesters in Iran, after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody for allegedly improperly wearing a hijab, in Ottawa on Sept. 25, 2022. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press) Canada to Impose Sanctions on Irans Morality Police Amid Protest Clampdown Canada will impose sanctions on those involved in the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, including Irans so-called morality police, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says. Trudeau announced on Sept. 26 that his government will levy new sanctions on Iran following the death of 22-year-old Amini, and the states violent clampdown on protesters enraged by her demise. Weve seen Iran disregarding human rights time and time again. Now we see it with the death of Mahsa Amini and the crackdown on protests, he said. Today, Im announcing that we will implement sanctions on dozens of individuals and entities, including Irans so-called morality police. Trudeau didnt specify who would be sanctioned, but Global Affairs in an email statement said they will be able to provide more details on these sanctions in due course. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is joined by Minister of National Defence Anita Anand and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure, and Communities Dominic LeBlanc as they hold a press conference in Ottawa on Sept. 26, 2022. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press) Amini died on Sept. 16 while in police custody in Tehran. She was arrested by the Guidance Patrol, the morality squad of the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran, allegedly for not wearing her hijab properly. Soon after news of Aminis death was broadcast and a photograph emerged on social media of her lying in a Tehran hospital in a coma, people throughout the country became enraged, demanding accountability for her death by Iranian security forces. Iranian authorities had said Amini died of a heart attack, but according to the United Nations, the Kurdish woman collapsed after spending three days in custody, and died after being transferred to the hospital. Some reports suggested that Aminis death was a result of alleged torture and ill-treatment, the U.N. said in a press release on Sept. 22. Protests in Iran have spread to at least 46 cities, towns, and villages to date, with protesters shouting slogans against compulsory hijab and denouncing the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. The clashes between protesters and the police have resulted in the deaths of at least 41 people since the demonstrations started on Sept. 17, Iranian state TV suggested. An Associated Press count of official statements by authorities tallied at least 13 dead, with more than 1,400 demonstrators arrested. U.N. experts said the peaceful protests have been met with excessive use of force, including birdshot and other metal pellets by Iranian security forces. Security forces have reportedly responded with live ammunition, pellet guns, and teargas, Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, told reporters on Sept. 20. Solidarity protests have also erupted across the world, including Europe, the United States, Canada, and parts of the Middle East, with some women cutting their hair and burning their hijabs. Trudeau said Canada will stand in solidarity with the protesters. We join our voices, the voices of all Canadians, to the millions of people around the world, demanding that the Iranian government listen to their people, end their repression of freedoms and rights, and let women and all Iranians live their lives and express themselves peacefully. To date, Canada has imposed a range of sanctions on Iran, including arms embargo, asset freeze, export and import restrictions, and financial prohibitions. The Associated Press and The Canadian Press contributed to this report. Minister of National Defence Anita Anand speaks at a press conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities Dominic LeBlanc in Ottawa on Sept. 26, 2022. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) Canadian Armed Forces Spearheads Ottawas Post-Fiona Response to Atlantic Canada The Canadian military is spearheading federal efforts to support post-Fiona recovery efforts across Atlantic Canada. Here is a look at what Ottawa is doing to help those affected by the hurricane. Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian military is deploying troops and equipment to the region after the federal government approved requests for assistance from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador over the weekend. Approximately 50 Armed Forces members are currently operating out of Victoria Park Armouries in Sydney, N.S. Their primary mission will be to restore transportation links where needed and support line crews in removing trees and debris. About 100 military members are expected to provide similar assistance after arriving in P.E.I. from Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick. Twenty-five service members have also started working in Stephenville, N.L., where they will assess damage and support local authorities in ensuring the safety and welfare of residents. HMCS Margaret Brooke, one of the navys new Arctic patrol ships, was set to return to Halifax following a two-month deployment to the Far North. But it is now en route to the southern coast of Newfoundland to perform wellness checks in four communities. The government says the military also has Canadian Rangers on standby on the Magdalen Islands in case Quebec asks for support, and that it is prepared to provide aerial imagery and additional troops if requested by provinces. Matching Fund The federal government is matching donations made to the Canadian Red Cross in support of the Hurricane Fiona appeal for the next 30 days. Canadians wishing to make a donation can do so online at www.redcross.ca, by calling 1-800-418-1111 or by texting FIONA to 20222 to make a $10 donation. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying gestures during the daily Press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Feb. 24, 2022. (Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images) CCPs Official Diplomatic Statement Translation Can Be Misleading: Study A new study shows that the official translation of communist Chinas diplomatic statements may be sub-optimal and create misunderstandings, potentially leading to poor or even calamitous foreign policy responses. According to Corey Lee Bell, a project and research officer at the University of Technology Sydneys Australia-China Relations Institute, the Peoples Republic of Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) translations are of inconsistent quality, and may inadvertentlysometimes perhaps intentionallyconvey different messages from the Chinese source. Bell, in his research entitled Translators and Traitors: What to be wary of when reading translations of PRC diplomatic/foreign affairs statements, also argued that all translations from the MFA should ideally be substituted by professional translations where possible. One often cited source of English translations of the PRCs MFA statements is the MFAs official website. While it has become relatively comprehensive and prompt in its production of translations, its work is often described among professional translators in the PRC through the idiom creating a cart behind closed doors i.e., a translation divorced from proper scrutiny or a translation that did not undergo a thorough quality review by a qualified first language speaker, Bell said. English Translation Can be Stronger or Less Assertive than Chinese Source Bell argues that there are often times when the MFAs English translation is less strong in tone than the Chinese source, with a recent example being a response from the MFA spokesperson related to the United Nations Human Rights Offices reportpublished on Aug. 31on the Chinese regimes treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region. He argues that this may reflect the strategic use of discrepancies between a Chinese source and an official MFA English translation. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin takes a question during a daily Foreign Ministry briefing in Beijing on July 24, 2020. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images) On Aug. 11, right before the release of the report, an MFA spokesperson was asked by a China News Service representative for his opinion on a report compiled by the China Society for Human Rights Studies. Wangs reply included three serious crimes the United States has committed in the Middle East and surrounding areas. The first crime/violation, according to the MFAs translation of the spokespersons remarks, was that the U.S. has launched wars that damaged peoples right to life and survival. The original Chinese, however, was stronger in tone, stating that America had wantonly launched ( )these wars, Bell said. The English translation also said that America just cannot deflect responsibility for starting wars. This is a polite translation of the archaic/formal Chinese phrase (), which generally conveys the indefensibility of past actions, akin to the phrase can hardly absolve oneself of blame/responsibility. There are also cases in which English MFA translation is stronger in tone than the Chinese original, many involving the translation of Chinese idioms, which are often in the form of archaic four-letter word phrases, conveying abstract ideas through depictions of events and concrete objects. The most recent example is the widely cited official translation of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinpings Those who play with fire will perish by it when attempting to warn U.S. President Joe Biden about Taiwan on a phone call in July, which was translated from a common Chinese idiom (). While perish can be justified in the English translation, it is not necessary to capture the figurative sense of the idiom, which could simply be translated as those who play with fire will get burned, Bell argued. (L) President Joe Biden speaks during the annual St. Patricks Day luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, on March 17, 2022. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images); (R) Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, on March 4, 2021. (Leo Ramirez/AFP via Getty Images) Another famous example is a translation of a phrase from Xi Jinpings speech marking the centenary anniversary of the CCP in mid-2021, where he declared that the Chinese people would not allow any foreign forces to bully, oppress or enslave the country and any who dared would have their heads bashed bloody against a Great Wall of steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people. The phrase heads bashed bloody sparked controversy outside China and was featured in the headline of an article by The Washington Post. Bell gave his own translation for reference: Anyone that vainly attempts to do so will smash against the great steel wall forged by the flesh and blood of over 1.4 billion Chinese people49 and will fail dismally/have their noses bloodied (lit., smash against the great steel wall [so hard] that their heads will be cut open and bloodied). MFA Translation Can Be Supplementary Source The Great Translation Movement account translates Chinese pro-Russia messages into English. (Screenshots from The Great Translation Movement Twitter) The author also noted the Great Translation Movement, which is an online translation campaign by anti-communist activists to expose the hidden and less savoury elements of PRC political commentary. Despite the inadvertent or intentional discrepancies, Bell believes that MFA translations can sometimes be an important supplementary source to accurate translations of Chinese source texts. Since they are less directed at domestic image management, they may better reflect the tenor/substance of official diplomatic representations, he said. A Coast Guard crew member observes a vessel in the Bering Sea on Sept. 19. (US Coast Guard ) Chinese Guided Missile Cruiser, Russian Warships Spotted Near Alaska U.S. military officials said Monday that a Chinese missile cruiser, two other Chinese navy ships, and four Russian naval vessels were spotted near the coast of Alaska. The Chinese missile cruiser was seen about 85 miles north of Alaskas Kiska Island on Sept. 19, according to the U.S. Coast Guard in a statement. While the formation has operated in accordance with international rules and norms, we will meet presence-with-presence to ensure there are no disruptions to U.S. interests in the maritime environment around Alaska, Rear Admiral Nathan Moore, the Seventeenth Coast Guard District commander, said in a news release. The Coast Guard release said that the Coast Guard Cutter Kimball crew was on a routine patrol in the Bering Sea and spotted a Chinese Renhai CG 101 missile cruiser near Kiska Island. Later, the crew saw two other Chinese vessels, a Russian navy destroyer, and three other Russian vessels all in a single formation with the Renhai and were operating in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, according to the press release. After the Russian and Chinese ships were detected, the Coast Guard said the Kimball crew is operating under a new directiveOperation Frontier Sentinelwhich it says is designed to meet presence with presence when strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters. NATO Warning The Chinese and Russian formation came a month after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned about Chinas interest in the Arctic and Russias military buildup there. Stoltenberg said Russia has set up a new Arctic Command and has opened hundreds of new and former Soviet-era Arctic military sites, including deep-water ports and airfields. Beijing and Moscow have also pledged to intensify practical cooperation in the Arctic. This forms part of a deepening strategic partnership that challenges our values and interests, Stoltenberg said during a visit to Canadas north. The Chinese Communist Party, he added, has declared itself a near-Arctic state and is plotting to build the worlds largest icebreaking ship. This wasnt the first time Chinese naval ships have sailed near Alaska waters. In September 2021, Coast Guard cutters in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean encountered Chinese ships, some about 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the Aleutian Islands. The Coast Guard noted that a U.S. C-130 Hercules aircraft provided air support for the Kimball from a Coast Guard station based in Kodiak, Alaska. Meanwhile, the first recorded encounter with Chinese navy vessels near the Bering Seaa body of water located in the Pacific Oceanwas in 2015 when several ships were spotted in the area. That coincided with former President Barack Obamas trip to Alaska, reports said at the time. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A model of the house where a precision counterterrorism operation killed al-Qaeda's leader Ayman al-Zawahri is displayed below a rifle used by Michael Spann, the first American killed in Afghanistan, in the refurbished museum at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters building in Langley, Va., on Sept. 24, 2022. (Kevin Wolf/AP Photo) CIA Unveils Model of al-Qaeda Leader al-Zawahris Hideout McLEAN, VirginiaThe CIA has revealed a model of Ayman al-Zawahris safe house, used to brief President Joe Biden about the al-Qaeda leaders whereabouts before the agency killed him in a drone strike in Afghanistan. Shortly after al-Zawahris death, White House officials released a photo showing Biden talking to CIA Director William Burns with a closed wooden box on the table in front of them. Now, the contents of the boxa model depicting a white-walled home with at least five stories and three partially obscured balconiesare on display at the CIA Museum inside the agencys Virginia headquarters. The museum is closed to the public and access is generally limited to the agencys employees and guests. The CIA allowed journalists to tour the museum, newly refurbished in time for the agencys 75th anniversary, as part of a broader effort to showcase its history and achievements. Most of the exhibits took years or decades to declassify. The al-Zawahri model home is the rare artifact that had been used by intelligence officers just weeks beforehand. A model of the house where a precision counterterrorism operation killed al-Qaedas leader Ayman al-Zawahri is displayed in the refurbished museum at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters building in Langley, Va., on Sept. 24, 2022. Kevin Wolf/AP Photo) Al-Zawahri was killed in late July, nearly a year after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan ending a two-decade war in which the CIA had a central role. The agency sent the first American forces two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Two decades later, it pulled out intelligence assets and assisted in the chaotic evacuation of thousands of Americans and Afghan allies. The Biden administration has said the strike shows it retains what it calls an over-the-horizon counterterrorism capacity in Afghanistan. Opponents of the administration and some analysts question whether al-Zawahris presence in a Kabul neighborhood suggests terrorist groups like al-Qaeda or ISIS are growing stronger under the Taliban terrorist group, who now rules the country. The strike was particularly meaningful for the CIA, which lost seven employees in trying to find al-Zawahri, a key plotter of the Sept. 11 attacks who was then al-Qaedas second-in-command. They were killed when a Jordanian doctor who pretended to have information about al-Zawahri carried out a 2009 suicide bombing at a base in Khost, Afghanistan. The doctor was working for al-Qaeda. On display near the model of al-Zawahris home are seven stars honoring the CIA employees slain at Khost. The stars were previously part of a memorial in Afghanistan that was taken down as the United States withdrew. A display for the Central Intelligence Agencys work in Afghanistan shows the seven stars that were part of a larger memorial to the seven CIA officers killed in the line of duty on Dec. 30, 2009, at Forward Operation Base Chapman is seen in the newly refurbished museum in the CIAs headquarters building in Langley, Va., on Sept. 24, 2022. (Kevin Wolf/AP Photo) Other newly revealed artifacts include concept drawings for the fake film created as part of a 1980 operation to rescue American diplomats from Iran, the subject of the 2012 movie Argo starring Ben Affleck. There are also crew uniforms and other items from the Glomar Explorer, the Howard Hughes-built ship that served as cover for a 1970s mission to surface a sunken Soviet submarine carrying nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. (The story on the front page of the Los Angeles Times exposing the operation is reproduced on a nearby museum wall.) The museum also includes some information on the agencys darker moments, including its role in the ultimately false assertions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction prior to the 2003 U.S. invasion, as well as the exposure and execution of several key spies the United States had in the Soviet Union. Janelle Neises, the museums deputy director, says a running agency joke about the collection is that for most people, its the greatest museum youll never see. Deputy Director for the Museum in the Central Intelligence Agency Janelle Neises gives a group of journalists a tour of the refurbished museum in the CIA headquarters building in Langley, Va., on Sept. 24, 2022. (Kevin Wolf/AP Photo) The CIA wants to use its history to engage more with the public, albeit on the narrow terms one might expect of an intelligence service. The number of annual visitors to the museum, for example, is classified. Among the known guests are U.S. lawmakers, officers from other law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and foreign officials. But CIA employees post about some of the museums roughly 600 exhibits on social media. The agency also recently started a podcast with Burns, the CIA director, as its first guest. A primary goal of the museum is to reinforce lessons from the agencys successes and failures for the current workforce, Neises said. Some CIA veterans who served in the missions depicted in the museum donated artifacts to the collection. But the agency is now hiring officers in their twenties who are too young to remember the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The idea here is as youre going to lunch or as youre going to a meeting, leave 10 minutes early, leave 20 minutes early, and just take the time to look at one section and really learn about your history, Neises said. By Nomaan Merchant Co-Founder of Irvine Watchdog Is Running for Mayor Branda Linco-founder of the nonprofit Irvine Watchdog, a local news source established in 2019is running to be elected Irvines mayor in the Nov. 8 election. For the past four years I have dedicated myself to local municipal issues and led a group of dedicated volunteers through Irvine Watchdog because I believe in a strong local government that values transparency, honesty, and accountability, for the betterment of our community, Lin posted to social media as part of her campaign announcement in August. Im passionate about informing residents to empower residents. If elected, Lin said she will advocate for change across the city, including replacing Irvines two representatives on the board of the Orange County Power Authority, which manages energy distribution in the city. Lin wants to hire a different CEO to lead with better transparency. She said shes also concerned about a special tax that homeowners in the Great Park neighborhoods pay and wants more transparency on how those funds are being used. She also said she believes Great Park needs better plans for existing retail and local amenities, before its residential community is enlarged. Lin did not respond to a request for an interview. But according to her campaign website she additionally wants to relocate the All-American Asphalt Plantwhich has received numerous complaints from nearby residents about odors for the past three years and possibly other pollutants emanating from its location. Shes also interested in securing Irvine as a cultural hub. Its time we bring back a focus on promoting the arts through outdoor exhibitions, community, performance groups, and festivals, her campaign website reads. Additionally, Lin is advocating $28 million in city funds allocated for library construction and improvements to go towards a new library in the Great Park and to update Heritage Park Library in Irvine if she is elected. Lin was born and raised in Irvine and continues to live in the city now with her husband and two children. She received two bachelors degrees in 2001 from the University of California Irvine, for Music Performance and Political Science and Government. As an Irvine Community Services commissioner appointed by Mayor Farrah Khan, she helped develop community service programs and facilities from 2018 to 2020. She has also worked as a litigation paralegal for over 15 years. She resigned as co-chair of the board of Irvine Watchdog in 2022 to concentrate on running for office. Lins endorsements include: Former Irvine City Councilwoman and former president of the Irvine Community Land Trust, MaryAnn Gaido; as well as Diana Jing who is the former co-chair of the Irvine Children Youth and Family Advisory Committee; Sharon Toji, a previous Irvine Community Services Commissioner; and Gene Bedley, an Irvine teacher. Her opponents are Khan, Tom Chomyn, Katherine Daigle, and Simon Moon. Cory Morgan: Albertas Refusal to Participate in Gun Confiscation Program Puts Feds in a Tough Spot Commentary It appears firearm rights will cause the latest battle between Alberta and Ottawa, and it may spell the end of the RCMP as the primary police force in Alberta. It really was only a matter of time before this issue came to a head. The Trudeau governments blanket ban of 1,500 types of assault-style firearms in response to the mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020 was arbitrary and not well received in Alberta. The clock began ticking with a two-year amnesty period for firearm owners, and time has run out. The government wants those firearms, and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has requested that the Alberta government support efforts to locate and seize the remaining weapons. Albertas Justice Minister Tyler Shandro pretty much told Mendicino that wasnt going to happen, and the standoff begins. Alberta had already been preparing for this fight by creating the position of a provincial chief firearms officer and appointing Teri Bryant to head it. The province has staked ground as the authority on firearms and has increased the 2023 budget for Bryants office to more than $7 million per year in anticipation of an expanding role in local firearm regulation. Shandro has sent instructions to the RCMP to dismiss the direct orders from the federal government to enforce the firearms ban. This will put to the test who really oversees provincial policing. While the RCMP is a federal force, they operate under a lease with the provincial government. Alberta taxpayers pay the bill for the RCMP, and Shandro feels Article 23 of the Provincial Police Service Agreement gives him the authority to instruct the RCMP not to participate in the firearms ban and buyback program. This puts the federal government in a tough spot. If the Trudeau Liberals accede to Albertas demands, they may as well toss their proposed gun ban into the trash. The law would be unenforceable in any province. Not only that, but they would lose face in a jurisdictional battle. If the federal government somehow compels the RCMP to start enforcing the ban within Alberta, the provincial government will launch court challenges and move swiftly to end the contract with the force and form a provincial police force. Alberta has been studying the formation of a provincial force for some time now. Alberta will have a new premier in early October when the United Conservative Party leadership race to replace Jason Kenney ends. The new premier will be facing a general election in the spring of 2023 and polls indicate it will be a tight one. Getting into a fight with Ottawa is always a sure way for a premier to bolster support within Alberta, and the scrap over the firearms ban will be a political boon for the UCP. Citizens who dont want to part with their firearms will be very unlikely to volunteer to give them up, especially if it appears the federal government wont be able to take them. Albertans already have an established mistrust of the RCMP when it comes to firearms rights due to the botched gun grab the force inexplicably pulled off during the 2013 floods in the town of High River. Firearm owners in Alberta arent eager to cooperate with a force that appears so determined to seize their property at the drop of a hat. If Alberta stops paying for the RCMP, will the federal government continue to pay the force and direct them to act within the province to enforce the firearms ban? Support for independence in Alberta recently dropped to a low of 23 percent, but that number can and would explode if the province saw dueling police forces acting on the orders of two different governments having it out. Rural crime has been a growing problem in Alberta, with RCMP response times in farm communities being as high as 40 minutes on average. Rural citizens wont respond well to a force that is dedicating time to disarming law-abiding firearm owners while crime continues unabated. Its hard to see how this conflict will be resolved, and the skirmish could ignite a conflagration of secessionism if Ottawa insists on using a federal force in defiance of the will of the Alberta government. One of the prime factors in Premier Kenneys ouster was a perception among UCP members that he was too weak in standing up to Ottawa. Whoever replaces Kenney will know all too well that capitulation to the government on the firearms ban isnt an option. This battle is just beginning, and it could impact unity across the entire nation. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Costa Mesa City Councilman Manuel Chavez Runs Unopposed for Re-election Manuel Chavez, reportedly the first Latino to serve on Costa Mesas City Council, was elected in 2018 and is now running as the sole candidate for District 4 in the Nov. 8 election. I am driven by the belief that everyone in our city deserves a good quality of life, Chavez said in his candidate statement. Im ready to listen to residents old and new so that together, we continue to improve our city for future generations. As a councilman, Chavez has been an advocate for affordable housing and fought for repaving roads and alleyways and adding new bike lanes throughout the city. Costa Mesa City Councilman Manuel Chavez. (Courtesy of the City of Costa Mesa) He has championed millions in infrastructure improvements for Westside, a neighborhood and retail area of Costa Mesa, including new parks, and facilities, according to his campaign site. Chavez became the first representative in District 4 after the city moved from voting as a whole to voting by district elections. Since then, he has served as council liaison to the Housing and Public Service Grant Committee, as well as on the Fairview Park Steering Committee, and Historical Preservation Committee. Chavez did not respond to a request to be interviewed for this story. But according to his campaign site, he is a strong supporter of the citys police and firefighters and wants to improve trust and relationships between residents and first responders, as well as restore depleted department staffing to ensure the citys safety. According to Chavezs campaign, his love for Westside Costa Mesa stems from being a lifelong resident and attending the areas public schools. He double majored in political science and religious studies at the University of California, Irvine, where he also served as president of the College Democrats. Chavez currently works as a Constituent Services Manager for Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley. He is endorsed by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine), Supervisor Foley, Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens, and Costa Mesa Sanitary District Director Art Perry. The Orange County Labor Federation and Democratic Party of Orange County are two of the many organizations to endorse Chavez as well. Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Andrea Marr Is Campaigning for Re-election Navy veteran, engineer, and mayor pro tem, Andrea Marr is running for re-election to Costa Mesa City Councils District 3 Nov. 8 against John Thomas Patton, a financial advisor, and Jorge Miron, a patient care advocate. Im excited to be back on the ballot in November! Marr wrote on her campaigns Facebook page. While weve accomplished so much in 4 years theres so much work still to do. Marr was elected in 2018 in the citys first district elections. Previously, she served on the citys Cultural Art and Bikeway and Walkability committees. (Courtesy of the City of Costa Mesa) Marr said she is dedicated to making neighborhoods safer and improving parks and quality of life for residents. During her time in office, the city approved a bridge homeless shelter, in operation since March 2021, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, Marr said her focus was supporting the survival of small businesses while maintaining a city budget surplus. Marr, 39, was born and lived in Northern California until her family moved to Rome, Italy for a decade when she was 7. She later moved back to the United States and attended the Naval Academy. Her passion for public service, she said, led her to apply for admission to the academy, which she was nominated for by Vice President Al Gore in 2001. She earned her degree in Aerospace Engineering and completed qualifications as a nuclear reactor operator during her service in the Navy. She served as the Gunnery and Ordinance Officer for two deployments, then led a division of 20 nuclear-trained machinists for two years, including a 10-month deployment in the Persian Gulf. She then worked for an energy efficiency company in Seattle until she transferred to its regional office in Irvine in 2012 and moved to Costa Mesa. She started her own energy management consulting firm in 2014 aiming to support small organizations, until it was acquired by Regatta Solutions in 2015. She is currently the vice president at Willdan, a consulting company, where she manages utility energy efficiency programs. Marr is endorsed by the Costa Mesa Firefighters and Police associations, and the Orange County Labor Federation as well as Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie Norris (D-Irvine), Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens, and city councilmembers Manual Chavez, Arlis Reynolds, Jeff Harlan, and Loren Gameros. Campaign finance records show she has raised nearly $18,000 this year through the end of June. Marr did not respond to a request for an interview for this story. A health worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to a pregnant woman at Clalit Health Services, in Israel's Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv on Jan. 23, 2021. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images) COVID Vaccines Contaminate Breastmilk With mRNA: Study A new study published on the JAMA network concludes that mRNA from COVID vaccines can be transmitted in small amounts through breast milk. The authors of the study examined 11 lactating individuals, after getting either the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA shots. Nine of them were white, one black, and one Asian. Five of the participants had detectable vaccine mRNA in their breast milk. Three of them took the Pfizer shots and two of them took Modernas. The mothers, aged between 22 and 37, got vaccinated between 4 to 25 weeks after delivery. The authors used a technique called 2-step quantitative reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction. The publication came as a surprise to Dr. Christiane Northrup, a former fellow in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. When a group of us began seeing unusual and sometimes severe bleeding problems in women and children just from being around those who had been injected with COVID shots, we launched an endeavor called My Cycle Storya database to collect the stories and data from the women who were being adversely affected, Northrup told The Epoch Times. Despite the fact that we have world-class researchers and scientists involved in our group, the results of our research have repeatedly been turned down by mainstream journals such as the British Medical Journal. So we were very surprised that this study urging caution about the effects of COVID shots on breast milk managed to get published in such a mainstream medical journal, Northrup added. In the 3 years prior to March, JAMA had the most cited article and was the host of 20 of the top 50 articles in the domain of open access general medical journals. Is It Safe or Not? The results of the study showed between 1.3 picograms per milliliter (pg/mL) to 16.78 pg/mL of vaccine mRNA was detected. The detection limit was 1 pg/mL. A picogram is one-trillionth of a gram, and a gram is about 1/30 of an ounce. Dr. Nazeeh Hanna, the lead author of the study, told The Epoch Times via email that It is most likely safe after maternal vaccination. However, to be cautious, dont breastfeed for two days after the vaccine and then go back to normal. Viki Male, an immunologist, wrote on Twitter regarding the study that maximum concentration 0.1 parts per billion, and This is roughly equivalent to a single tear in an Olympic pool. I wouldnt be worried by this myself, but the authors note that anyone who is might prefer to be cautious (I guess pump and dump?) for 48h after vaccination, she says on another social media post. Dr. James Thorp, a maternal-fetal medicine expert commented extensively on the study. Even small quantities of messenger RNA could potentially have significant ramifications on the newborn and could potentially be amplified by the immune system. This is an extremely poor excuse and they are attempting to minimize the implications of this concerning finding. Coming out with such a study 20 months after theyve been pushing the vaccine on pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers is unacceptable and is a major breach of science, Thorp told The Epoch Times. The Real Impact Hanna pointed out that the real impact is what was stated in the discussion, referring to the following paragraph: These data demonstrate for the first time to our knowledge the biodistribution of COVID-19 vaccine mRNA to mammary cells and the potential ability of tissue EVs (extracellular vesicles) to package the vaccine mRNA that can be transported to distant cells. Little has been reported on lipid nanoparticle biodistribution and localization in human tissues after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. In rats, up to 3 days following intramuscular administration, low vaccine mRNA levels were detected in the heart, lung, testis, and brain tissues, indicating tissue biodistribution. We speculate that, following the vaccine administration, lipid nanoparticles containing the vaccine mRNA are carried to mammary glands via hematogenous and/or lymphatic routes, the study reads. Thorp commented further: The study reported in JAMA network is concerning and a blatant admission of the complete abject failure and guilt of the corrupt CDC & FDA. One needs only to follow the money trail (pdf) to expose the corruption of the CDC / FDA, other governmental agencies, the specialty boards and the entire medical industrial complex. I suspect history will reflect that many of the 21 FDA advisors voting to push COVID-19 injections in children failed to disclose major conflicts of interest, Thorp said. Earlier in September, The Epoch Times asked the FDA to provide studies/data that the FDA cites to recommend the COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters, for women who are breastfeeding. The FDA replied with a link to a CDC page that recommends the shots for pregnant women. The Epoch Times then sent a follow-up email asking why they havent updated their fact sheet for health care providers if they are claiming that it is safe for breastfeeding women to get the vaccine. The fact sheet still states that data is not available to determine the effects of the COVID vaccines on breastfed infants or on milk production/excretion. The FDA did not respond to the follow-up email. The CDC told The Epoch Times via email on Aug. 30 that: COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future. In addition, everyone who is eligible, including those who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future, should get a booster shot and stay up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines. If you have questions about getting vaccinated, talking with your healthcare professional might help, but is not required. The UK government stated in August that COVID-19 vaccines should not be used in pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. The World Council for Health has called for a ban and worldwide moratorium on the COVID-19 vaccine in all patients, especially during pregnancy and in breastfeeding mothers. It is an axiom of medicine that one never gives pregnant or lactating women any new drug or therapy that has not been thoroughly tested over many years. Giving pregnant or lactating women a fast-tracked injection for an infection with a survival rate of 99 percent goes against common sense, Northrup further noted. The Epoch Times reached out to Pfizer, Moderna, the FDA, and CDC for comment. With reporting from Meiling Lee. Crossbenchers Look to Remove Cashless Welfare Cards A key senator has sounded the death knell for the cashless debit card by supporting the governments push to scrap it. The cashless debit card quarantines up to 80 percent of a welfare recipients income which cannot be withdrawn in cash or spent on gambling or alcohol. Independent senator David Pocock says he has listened to the stories and evidence from communities affected by the card. He then came to the conclusion compulsory income management in any form had to be scrapped. But voluntary income management still needs to be made available for those who want it, he said. Senator Pocock called the bill a first step and acknowledged it did not scrap all compulsory measures. We need to push the government to end all forms of compulsory income management, he said. This bill is far from perfect but is clearly needed, and any significant delay in its passage will subject people to further distress. Labors bill will be able to pass the Senate with the support of the Greens and Senator Pocock. Labor has argued the card is punitive and has failed those who were forced onto it. Senator Marielle Smith said she travelled to Ceduna in South Australia and heard stories about how the cashless debit card was stigmatising individuals and leaving the most vulnerable worse off. It has made things worse for far too many Australians, the Labor senator told the Senate. She acknowledged the card had a positive impact for some, but forcing people onto it had a punitive effect. Senator Smith also said some of the positive impacts wasnt the card per se, but the wraparound support services. The coalition has argued that drug use, violence and anti-social behaviour will spike if the card is scrapped. Indigenous coalition senator Jacinta Price said the government was ignoring the suffering of vulnerable children. Instead, favouring the rights of abusers, perpetrators and adults controlled by addiction, she told the Senate. The Northern Territory senator said those wanting to abolish the card couldnt comprehend what it was like to constantly have your income demanded from you by addicted relatives. Senator Price said denying these demands would breach cultural protocols and could lead to violence. This is fact. I live this culture, she said. Senator Price also questioned why the government would retain the cashless debit card on a voluntary basis if the card wasnt working. Nationals senator Perin Davey accused the government of pandering to progressives in the cities who think they are doing the right thing by our vulnerable communities, but they really arent. Labor has flagged a range of amendments, including providing access to more businesses and enabling online shopping. Almost $50 million (US$32 million) has also been put aside for extra alcohol and drug services, as well as more money for employment programs. Welfare recipients will be able to move off the card by October 4 if the legislation passes this week. A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. (Kacper Pempel/Illustration/Reuters) CyberHacker Releases 10,000 Optus Customer Details, Demands $1 Million Cyber Ransom The hacker claiming to be behind the cyber attack against Optus has released 10,000 customer records and threatened to leak more if the Australian telecommunication giant refuses to pay them US$1 million in cryptocurrency. The user known as OptusData has stolen the personal records of 9.8 million Australians including details such as driver licence, passport numbers, home and email addresses, phone numbers, date of birth and Medicare numbers. They claimed Optus only has four days until they sell the data to other cyber criminals. Only contact onsite! Optus if you wish to contact message onsite! We are businessmen 1.000.000$US is lot of money and will keep too our word. If you care about customer you will pay! Revenue 9B$ dollar, 1M$US small price to pay! the user warned in a ransom note posted on an online data breach forum. The #Optus hacker has released 10k records, and claims that another 10k will be released each day for the next 4 days. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Nm07oQhMZl Brett Callow (@BrettCallow) September 26, 2022 If 1.000.000$US pay then data will be deleted from drive. Only 1 copy exist. Will not sale data too. Completely gone! Since they not payed yet here is 10.000 record from address file. Will release 10.000 record every day for 3 day when they not pay. The suspected hacker also claimed to have obtained over 3.9 million forms of identity document number and 3.2 millions of driver licence number. Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin on Tuesday morning said the data breach is not what its made out to be because the data was encrypted and Optus has multiple layers of protections. Were not allowed to say much because the police has asked us not to, she told ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio. So, it is not the case of having some soft of completely exposed API sitting out there. We invest heavily in our cyber defences, and we really are doing everything we can to ensure that our environment is secure. The comment comes after Cyber Security Minister Clare ONeil said responsibility for the data breach laid squarely at the foot of Optus and that the company should offer free credit monitoring to customers impacted. The breach is of a nature that we should not expect to see in a large telecommunications provider in this country, the minister told parliament on Monday. Meanwhile, Optus will also potentially face a class action filed by law firm Slater and Gordon on behalf of customers affected by the cyber attack. This is potentially the most serious privacy breach in Australian history, both in terms of the number of people affected and the nature of the information disclosed, class action senior associate Ben Zocco said. We consider that the consequences could be particularly serious for vulnerable members of society, such as domestic violence survivors, victims of stalking and other threatening behaviour, and people who are seeking or have previously sought asylum in Australia. A ship works offshore in the Baltic Sea on the natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 from Russia to Germany on Nov. 11, 2018. (Bernd Wuestneck/dpa via AP) Denmark Reports Leak in Gas Pipeline in Baltic Sea BERLINDenmarks maritime authority said Monday that a gas leak had been observed in a pipeline leading from Russia to Europe underneath the Baltic Sea and that there is a danger to ship traffic. The operator of Nord Stream 2 confirmed that a leak in the pipeline had been detected southeast of the Danish island Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. The pipeline runs 1,230 kilometers (764 miles) from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. It is completed and filled with gas, but gas has never been imported through it, dpa reported. The cause of the detected leak wasnt immediately clear. The Danish energy agency said in a statement that the countrys maritime authority has issued a navigation warning and established a five-nautical mile prohibition zone around the pipeline as it is dangerous for ship traffic. The relevant authorities are currently coordinating the effort, and the Danish energy agency added that outside the exclusion zone, there are no security risks associated with the leak. The incident is not expected to have consequences for the security of the supply of Danish gas, the countrys energy agency said. A spokesman for the operator of Nord Stream 2 said a loss of pressure was detected in a tube early Monday, and the responsible marine authorities in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Russia were immediately informed, dpa reported. While the pressure inside the pipeline is normally 105 bar, it is now only 7 bar on the German side, spokesman Ulrich Lissek said. He fears that the pipeline, filled with 177 million cubic meters of gas, could run dry in the coming days, dpa reported. It wasnt immediately clear what consequences would follow from that, but a German environmental group said that the leaking gas isnt toxic. Deutsche Umwelthilfe pointed out that natural gas is methane, which partially dissolves in water and is not toxic. The deeper the gas is released in the sea, the higher the proportion that dissolves in the water, the group said, according to dpa. Even in the event of an underwater explosion, there would only be local effects, Deutsche Umwelthilfe said. The German economy ministry said it had been informed about the suspected site in Danish territorial waters and was in touch with the authorities in Germany and Denmark. The pipeline was already complete when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suspended the certification of Nord Stream 2 on the eve of Russias invasion of Ukraine in February, after Russia formally recognized two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. Germany has been heavily reliant on natural gas supplies from Russia, but since Moscow launched its war in Ukraine on Feb. 24, Berlin has been trying to look for other sources of energy. The leak comes a day before the inauguration of a new pipeline, Baltic Pipe, which will bring Norwegian gas through Denmark to Poland. The Norwegian gas is meant to have an important role in replacing Russian gas. Workers in protective suits keep watch on a street during a lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai, China, on April 16, 2022. (Aly Song/Reuters) Did Beijing Plan to Use the Pandemic to Steal Data on a Global Scale? Chinas near total access to Americans personal data poses a clear and present national security risk Commentary Could the CCP virus and its impact on Western economies and societies have actually been planned to facilitate Chinas ongoing bid to rule the world through the capture and manipulation of billions of peoples individual data? If that sounds like an exaggeration, thats understandable. Unfortunately, to deny the reality of whats truly going on is wishful thinking. The reality is that the Chinese regimes data theft operations have put U.S. national security and position of global leadership at risk. The CCP Has Deep Data on Every Adult American To accomplish such a feat, China has been incredibly forward-looking in its data theft operations, which it has been perpetrating against its trading partners for decades. Americans remain their top target, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been successful in its efforts. It is estimated that 80 percent of American adults have had all of their personal data stolen by the CCP, and the other 20 percent most of their personal data, said Bill Evanina, former director of the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center. That data would potentially include financial information, medical records, political preferences, buying habits, passwords to various accounts, and much more. Let that sink in for a moment. Seeing the Pandemic in a Darker Light It should put the last three years in a new and quite disturbing lightor darkness, if you will. When one accounts for how much the world has changedand continues to changein the wake of the CCP virus and the COVID-19 pandemic, its impossible to ignore just how much Beijing has leveraged those events to its strategic advantage. A man takes a COVID-19 test at a pop-up testing site in New York on July 11, 2022. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters) COVID Testing Is a Trojan Horse Since the very beginning, its apparent that Beijing has been accessing and harvesting personal data by processing COVID tests in a Google-like fashion on a global scale. As I mentioned in a previous post, China is the main source of viral tests and analysis. Its offer to provide testing labs and facilities seems to have been nothing less than a massive operation to gather Americans data in order to mine it and gain strategically important information on as many of us as possible. In a 60 Minutes interview, Evanina said the labs were modern-day Trojan horses. Their true purpose was to help the Chinese regime gain a foothold to bring in equipment, collect DNA, and start mining your data. Thats quite a statement. In essence, no such testing equipment and subsequent data mining would be possible on such a scale without a pandemic to justify it. The CCPs Long History of Data Theft But, of course, the CCPs data theft efforts didnt begin or end with harvesting data from COVID tests. The regime has been using networking equipment and social media technology to spy and steal data for decades. Huawei and TikTok are just two of many examples of that practice. The net result is a tremendous strategic advantage for China. The CCP knows much more about Americans and the United Stateswhich the CCP considers its adversary in every sense of the wordthan Americans know about the Chinese. Again, this isnt hyperbole. Its not just personal data but critical technological information that China is capturing at an unprecedented rate. The U.S. National Counterintelligence fears that China is vacuuming up data about the U.S. and its citizens not just to steal secrets from U.S. companies or to influence citizens but also to build the foundation of technological hegemony in the not-too-distant future. Weaponizing Artificial Intelligence But the CCP isnt just capturing massive amounts of data on and from Western nations, which is bad enough. With no legal, moral, or ethical restraints, Beijing has likely weaponized artificial intelligence (AI) to gain strategic advantages from its data theft operations. According to Stephen Yates, chief executive of consultancy firm DC International Advisory, with regard to the CCPs abuse of the rest of the worlds data, China has weaponized artificial intelligence and a lot of other studies of the human process in ways that civilized countries wouldnt even allow, so we dont have any way to really know what this dark window of the future might be. As noted in my Dec. 21, 2021, post, Just as AI and genomics enable DNA manipulation to help the human body fight all kinds of diseases, this same technology can also be used to create unique pathogens that only impact specific people. DNA-specific weapons can target a race, a gender, or even a family or individual with a specific DNA structure. This isnt just a possibilityits a probability, if not already a reality. In recent months, some national security authorities have also warned of the increasing likelihood of just such a reality coming to the fore. They point to the escalation by the CCP in its efforts to capture and control every bit of data that enters the country, no matter the source. The CCP is deadly serious in those efforts, particularly regarding data from American and other Western firms that have a presence in China. Thinking otherwise is simply not justified. The CCPs pandemic behavior showed the world just what kind of inhumanity its capable of in incontrovertible terms. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. White House Trade and Manufacturing Policy Director Peter Navarro speaks during a briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic in the press briefing room of the White House in Washington on March 27, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) DOJ Asks Judge to Order Ex-Trump Adviser Peter Navarro to Return Private White House Emails The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday asked a judge to order former White House adviser Peter Navarro to return private email communications that he sent while working for the Trump administration, claiming that he has refused to do so in violation of a record-keeping law. In a motion filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the DOJ noted that while working as a senior White House advisor from January 2017 until January 2021, Navarro was subject to the terms of the Presidential Records Act (PRA). Under that act, Presidential records are the property of the federal government and once that president leaves office, [t]he United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The PRA describes Presidential records as documentary materials, or any reasonably segregable portion thereof, created or received by the President, the Presidents immediate staff, or a unit or individual of the Executive Office of the President whose function is to advise or assist the President, in the course of conducting activities which relate to or have an effect upon the carrying out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President. E-mail and other electronic messages, including those sent and received on nonofficial electronic message accounts are included in the act, to which certain conditions and exceptions also apply. U.S. President Donald Trump signs the executive order for the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Jan. 23, 2017. With Trump (L-R) are then White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and head of the White House Trade Council Peter Navarro. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque/Files) Communications About COVID Response The DOJ alleges that Navarro used at least one non-official email account while working in the White House to send and receive messages but that he failed to copy those emails or messages to his government email account within 20 days as required by the PRA. The emails addressed topics such as the need for ventilators, the creation and deployment of National-Guard-based rapid response teams, and the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. Witch hunt Subcommittee on CCP Virus says me and Doc Hatfill pressured the FDA. We say the FDA murdered over half a million Americans. Read this and YOU decide. https://t.co/gCFclYppIG Peter Navarro (@RealPNavarro) September 5, 2022 There is no genuine dispute of fact that Dr. Navarro used at least one unofficial email account to conduct official business, that those records are the property of the United States, and that Dr. Navarro has refused to return the records to the United States, the department wrote. Indeed, his counsel has expressly admitted as much, they said. Because Dr. Navarro remains in possession of property that belongs to the United States, this Court should issue a writ of replevin requiring Dr. Navarro to return what he wrongfully continues to possess, the lawyers added. As the foregoing discussion makes clear, there is no genuine dispute of material fact (i) that Dr. Navarro was subject to the PRA; (ii) that PRA records are the property of the United States; and (iii) that Dr. Navarro has refused to return those records to the United States, the DOJ continued. Under D.C. law, the United States is entitled to recovery of its property. Alternatively, to the extent that federal law controls, the United States is entitled to recover its property as a matter of federal common law. The lawsuit states that the National Archive Records Administration (NARA) became aware that it was not in possession of the emails following an investigation by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. President Donald Trump leads a meeting with travel and tourism industry executives to discuss economic response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, on March 17, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Never Refused to Provide Records to the Government NARA then contacted Navarro in December 2021 asking that he hand over the records, according to the motion. The DOJ followed up with its own letter to Navarro in June 2022. NARA also provided Navarros lawyers with a list of search terms. Navarros attorneys complied and told the DOJ that as many as 1,700 emails fit the description NARA provided; later estimating that between 200 and 250 of the 1,700 documents were PRA records. The DOJ initially sued Navarro for allegedly violating the record-keeping law back in August. At the time, Navarros lawyers argued that he has never refused to provide records to the government. As detailed in our recent letter to the Archives, Mr. Navarro instructed his lawyers to preserve all such records, and he expects the government to follow standard processes in good faith to allow him to produce records. Instead, the government chose to file its lawsuit today, his attorneys told The Hill in a statement. The Epoch Times has contacted representatives for Navarro for comment. Meanwhile, there is an ongoing investigation into former President Donald Trumps own handing of presidential records, which saw the FBI raid his Mar-a-Lago home last month while he was in New York City. Visitors wait in line to view the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Dont Know Much About History Commentary In 1960, the late Sam Cooke released the song Wonderful World, which contains the lyrics, Dont know much about history. Sadly, seven decades later, his lament about his lack of historical (or any other educational) knowledge from his school days (as he was focused on a young lady instead) has become a sort of anthem for the state of U.S. civic knowledge. And that lack of knowledge has real-life implications for us all. A few weeks back, on Constitution Day, the Annenberg Public Policy Center released a new survey documenting our nations historical and civic ignorance. The survey found that less than half (47 percent) of respondents could name the three branches of government, and one-fourth couldnt even name one. Asked to name the five rights protected by the First Amendment, fewer Americans could name any of the five than in 2021. For instance, fewer than one in four people (24 percent) could name freedom of religion, down from 56 percent the prior year. This woeful decline isnt new; its just getting worse. It has sadly become evident over the past seven decades that Americans have become increasingly ignorant of our nations founding principles. In my new book, Toward a More Perfect Union, to be released early next year, I document some of the most distressing findings and how theyre negatively affecting our nation. Across our nation, theres a fundamental misunderstanding of how government works, what powers it rightly has, and how it can justly use those powers. Whole generations have grown up without understanding basic economics, mistrusting the motives of our nations Founding Fathers, and spurning and vilifying those who made immense sacrifices to create and then preserve our constitutional republic. Theres also a direct tie between our civic and historical ignorance and how we treat each other as human beings. It isnt a coincidence that the coarsening of our national discourse began when we removed civics, religion, and history from our education system. Soon after, we began to teach distorted forms of each, and the sickness in our discourse metastasized. A vast number of our fellow Americans not only despise the foundational values of our culture, but they even despise the idea of extending basic civility toward others, regardless of their views. This ignorance and disdain play themselves out in all aspects of our culturewhether it be mob attacks on statues and monuments; younger generations embrace of socialism; widespread disrespect of parents by both children and the government; disparagement of religion, law enforcement, and the military; or venomous rhetoric spewed at our fellow citizens as is often seen in social media comments when people mock the beliefs, heritage, and ideas of others in the most disparaging terms. Its also demonstrated daily on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and other media outlets. It isnt just conservatives who are raising the alarm. William Galston, a former domestic policy adviser to President Bill Clinton, wrote in the Wall Street Journal: Consider the formative experiences of adults 30 and younger. For them, the Cold War exists only in history bookswhich they didnt necessarily read. High schools in only 31 states require a yearlong U.S. history course. Against this backdrop, it isnt hard to understand why only 15% of those under 30 think the U.S. is the greatest nation on earth, why nearly half believe hard work is no guarantor of success, or why so many of them support a single national health care program. While one may ask, Does it really affect someones day-to-day life if he or she knows whether Thomas Edison or Benjamin Franklin invented the light bulb? the truth is, ignorance of historyincluding historical detailsis isolating. When we dont know the stories behind the things that make up our daily livesthings as disparate and dear to our society as light bulbs, the American flag, the interstate highway system, and freedom of speech and associationwe forget what labor and effort those things cost our forebears. We dont value them. And when we cease to value things, we stand to lose them. As President Dwight Eisenhower said in his 1953 inaugural address, A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. Thats exactly whats happening in the United States; were in danger of losing our privileges because weve become ignorant of, or in some cases, disdainful of our principles. Its my hope and prayer that we stem this tidethrough returning to not only teaching history and civics in our public and private schools but also history and civics that accurately portray our story, both the good and the badso our children will once again know not only our history but also how our government works. That will enable them to make good decisions rather than bad ones, which will affect our nations future. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Pro-life signs are seen outside the All Womens Health Center of Clearwater on May 3. The Supreme Court has struck down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that recognized a Constitutional right to an abortion. States can now ban the procedure. (TNS) Elderly Michigan Woman Shot While Campaigning Against Pro-Abortion Ballot Proposal An 84-year-old volunteer canvasser in Michigan was shot following an argument while distributing pro-life pamphlets door-to-door in her community about a state abortion ballot proposal. According to a Sept. 24 statement from Right to Life of Michigan, a heated conversation took place on Sept. 20 between one of its local volunteers and an occupant of a home in Odessa, a small community near Grand Rapids. As the volunteer was leaving the residence, she was allegedly shot in the rear part of her shoulder by a man who hadnt been a part of the discussion. Grand Rapids TV 8 reported on Sept. 23 that the wounded woman drove herself to the Lake Odessa Police Department to report the shooting. Abortion-rights activists chant while marching from City Hall to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Santa Monica, Calif., on July 16, 2022. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) She was taken to the hospital for treatment and later released. The woman is recovering from her wound and is in good spirits and will be going out campaigning again, Right to Life of Michigan communications and education director Anna Visser told The Epoch Times on Sept. 26. She is a strong, dedicated, longtime, pro-life volunteer who is not easily intimidated. We are happy she is OK. No one deserves to be shot for their beliefs, whatever they may be, Visser said. Visser said the shooting is being investigated by the Michigan State Police and that Right to Life is eagerly awaiting the police report. Whatever happens, we will continue to have volunteers go door-to-door. To our people, the cause of saving innocent lives is so important that it warrants the risk. We will not be intimidated. She told The Epoch Times, Our volunteer that was shot went visiting all by herself. We strongly encourage all volunteers to be cautious and go out in pairs or in small groups. And they should watch for No Soliciting signs. The victim, who wants to remain anonymous, doesnt know the identity of the man who allegedly shot her or his motive, according to the Right to Life statement. TV 8 reported that law enforcement sources described the prelude to the shooting as an alleged verbal altercation while she [the volunteer] passed out pamphlets. The literature the volunteer was distributing explained why Proposal 3, a citizen-initiated ballot proposal that seeks to enshrine abortion access in the states constitution, is so misleading and dangerous. Proposal 3, also known as the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative (RRFI), is supported by Reproductive Freedom for All, a coalition of groups including the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood. An activist holds a sign supporting Planned Parenthood, in Los Angeles, on May 21, 2019. (Ronen Tivony/Getty Images) The majority of Michiganders know that abortion is health care, Loren Khogali, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan, wrote on the organizations website. Michigan is on the right side of history as we lead the way with Reproductive Freedom for All. The Supreme Courts overturn of Roe v. Wade will not take away the rights and freedoms of people in Michigan to determine if and when they become a parent. We will not allow forced pregnancy in our state, nor will we stand by as the devastating impacts of a post-Roe world disproportionately impact people of color [and] LGBT communities. The Great Lakes Justice Center (GLJC), an opponent of the RRFI, recently posted online an issues brief detailing what it calls the perils of Proposal 3. The brief says in part: If passed, the RRFI will enshrine in Michigans Constitution the most extreme abortion law in the country. It creates a new, unlimited, and unregulated right to abortion and an additional, undefined right to reproductive freedom. According to the GLJC analysis, the proposed amendment gives the new right of reproductive freedom to all individuals, including children. It would allow a minor child to have an abortion without the knowledge or consent of the childs parents and gives the child the right to procure a sex change without the parents knowledge or consent. GLJC also contends that sex between an adult and a minor child will be protected by the amendment, as long as the child consents. The GLJC analysis concludes by stating that new reproductive freedom rights would invalidate numerous existing laws protecting women, children, and parents. Electric Vehicles Laughable Proposition for at Least a Decade: Expert Geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan has dismissed the possibility of electric vehicles (EVs) going mainstream in the next 10 years owing to limitations on materials and unresolved supply chain issues. The lithium comes from one place, and its all processed in China. So, just building the alternate processing infrastructure and by the way, we have to invade Russia too just to get the materials to do EVs at scale is just laughable for the next decade. We need a new technological series of breakthroughs in material sciences before that is possible, Zeihan said on Sept. 8 at the 54th Annual ECC PerspECCtive Conference in San Antonio, Texas. In a post on his personal website, Zeihan points out that electrifying everything will require more copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, zinc, chromium, graphite, silicon, rare earths, and other materials. A single electric car needs 200 kilograms (441 pounds) of such materials, whereas a conventional car only demands less than 50 kilograms (110 pounds). Moving away from oil involves walking away from complex, often violent, and always critical supply and transport systems, only to replace it with at least 10 more, he said. The United States will not just have to deal with Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, but also with countries like Chile, Bolivia, South Africa, Peru, Mexico, Germany, Indonesia, and China, where such materials needed for electric vehicles are concentrated. In May, Carlos Tavares, CEO of automotive manufacturing company Stellantis, warned that the world could experience a shortage of EV batteries by 202425, and then a shortage of materials for producing the EVs. This will slow down the adoption of electric vehicles by 202728, he stated, according to CNBC. US Adoption Zeihans observations about EVs come as some U.S. states are aggressively pushing forward the adoption of electric vehicles despite lacking the infrastructure to support them. California is trying to ban the sale of diesel commercial trucks by 2040 and gas-powered cars by 2035. However, the state advised electric car owners not to charge vehicles in early September owing to a shortage of electricity. The shift to renewable energy sources does not come cheap. The United States will have to spend trillions of dollars to upgrade power grids to accommodate renewable energy demands, according to research firm Wood Mackenzie. We estimate the cost of full decarbonization of the US power grid at US$4.5 trillion, given the current state of technology From a budgetary perspective, the cost is staggering at US$35,000 per householdnearly US$2,000 per year if assuming a 20-year plan, Wood Mackenzie said in a post. Globally, the International Energy Agency has set a target of 47 million EV sales by 2030. Speaking to the Financial Times, Daniel Morgan, a mining analyst at investment bank Barrenjoey, cited 28 million as a realistic target. But even this would require lithium production to rise by six times by 2030. EV production targets being made by governments or carmakers are impossible to meet, Morgan said. Theres a great love of throwing out lofty targets, but where the rubber hits the road its not going to happen. Environmental Activist Freed From Charges Due To Climate Change Trauma An Australian woman who blocked a central Sydney route to protest against climate change had all charges dismissed after the court was told about her climate anxiety. Mali Cooper, 22, was charged with disrupting traffic and obstructing drivers or pedestrians for locking her neck to her car on the Sydney Harbour Tunnel during peak hour traffic in June. She faced up to two years in prison and $22,000 in fines under the New South Wales new laws designed in to punish protesters who disrupt roads, public transport and infrastructure facilities. But Magistrate Jeff Linden in Lismore Local Court on Tuesday dropped all the charges against Cooper under the Mental Health Act, section 14. The law allows a defendant with mental health or cognitive impairment to avoid a criminal record. Climate Change-Induced Mental Health Problem The climate activists lawyer, Mark Davis, told The Daily Telegraph that he had provided medical evidence to the court to prove that Cooper suffered from the psychological impact of predictions about climate change. The concerns developed into PTSD after Coopers hometown Lismore was ravaged by flooding earlier this year. The 22-year-old, who won the title of Young Environmentalist of the Year by the Bob Brown Foundation in September, will receive mental health treatment from a psychologist for six months. We are very relieved that the court calmly considered all of the facts in this case, including the psychological impact of climate change upon young people like Mali, Davis said in a statement. Seeing [Coopers] hometown of Lismore destroyed twice in the months preceding [Coopers] action induced a trauma in [her] that was a decisive factor in todays decision. Radical climate activist group Blockade Australia, the group behind the 22-year-old, shared Coopers statement on Twitter on Tuesday. I have watched the town I love be decimated by a climate disaster. I have witnessed community step up and take care of each other in place of our Gov, the statement read. If we stand together and resist through direct action, we have the best chance of turning this destruction around. While some scientists and voices in the media have blamed the floods on climate change, the extent to which climate change causes variations in La Nina climate conditions that caused the record flooding is still being observed by researchers. According to NOAA, scientists currently have low confidence in their ability to predict exactly how a warmer world affect the ENSO [El Nino Southern Oscillation]. Many do agree with the prediction that, Global warming is likely to affect the impacts related to El Nino and La Nina, including extreme weather events. Marxist Tactics Deployed Blockade Australia has been under fire for its protesters actions, such as putting their own bodies on the line by hanging from cranes in front of freight trains. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the group demanded to change the name of Australia, saying Australia represents a colonial and extractive system designed to oppress and exploit. On its website, Blockade Australia also called for centralised, sustained and disruptive action to force the urgent broad-scale change necessary for survival. Eric Louw, a former professor in political communication, said the group deployed a combination of terrorist strategies, classic Marxist speak, Green eco-warrior activism and political messaging of Indigenous anti-colonial struggle. All Blockade Australia communications makes it clear that they are aligned to an Aboriginal struggle against settler Australia, he argued on an op-ed on The Epoch Times on March. 29. The newly added bits of Woke narrative say that having stolen the land, the villainous Aussie colonials built an exploitative capitalist state, carried out ecological vandalism, and so created climate change. In this regard, the group repeats the usual noble savage mythology about Aboriginals looking after the land, while Aussie settlers apparently ruined everything. AAP contributed to this article Members of the Oath Keepers move up the east steps of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, flanked by unidentified "suspicious actors." (Attorney Brad Geyer/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) EXCLUSIVE: Running Their Mouth or Seditious Conspiracy? FBI Transcript Shows What Oath Keeper on Trial Told Agents When he surrendered his phone to FBI agents in May 2021, Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes III warned them they would see instances of guys running their mouth in chat groups and a group of Oath Keepers who went rogue on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a transcript of Rhodess FBI interview obtained by The Epoch Times. Two FBI agents interviewed Rhodes and Oath Keepers general counsel Kellye SoRelle in Texas on May 3, 2021. In the wide-ranging discussion obtained by The Epoch Times (read Part 1 here), Rhodes cautioned the agents not to read too much into bluster by some of his members that would be evident in phone content. I mean, people run their mouth, Rhodes said. Oh yeah, and theyll say stupid [expletive] they shouldnt say. Like, oh, you know, [expletive] is a friggin commie, and someone ought to go and blah, blah, blah. But theyre not going to do anything. Theyre just running their mouth. When they had access to Rhodess phone, agents asked about the many chat sessions hosted by Rhodes and various Oath Keepers on the encrypted phone application called Signal. Rhodes said, I dont give a [expletive] what you see in my phone, I just dont want it getting out in the media. While looking through the Signal chats, one of the FBI agents remarked, I was going to say, theres a billion threads in here. Rhodes said he and the Oath Keepers used the Signal app to keep Antifa out of their communications, not to hide something nefarious from the government. I always told my guys, were not hiding [expletive] from the government. Dont even worry about that. Prosecutors combed through thousands of chat messages during the investigation that led to the indictment of Rhodes and 10 other defendants on Jan. 12, 2022. They were charged with seditious conspiracy to prevent or hamperby forcethe counting of Electoral College votes and the peaceful transfer of power between President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden. Rhodes and four co-defendants will stand trial in the U.S. District Court in Washington starting Sept. 27. Other charges leveled in the 48-page, 17-count indictment (pdf) include conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstructing an official proceeding, destruction of government property, civil disorder, and other counts. The bottom line, Rhodes told agents, is the Oath Keepers had no plan to go into or attack the Capitol. But, no, weve got no [expletive]we had no plans. Weve got no plans now, Rhodes said. My only plan right now is my main push is to get people to take care of the local communities, get strong locally, and then purge out the weenies in the Republican Party. Thats our focus. The GOP is full of RINOs. No Zello on Jan. 6 Rhodes said he and his top staff did not use the push-to-talk application Zello on Jan. 6, although he said they used it as a backup communications medium on other operations. He said he had no contact or coordination with co-defendant Jessica Watkins, whom prosecutors contend is heard on a recording of a public Zello broadcast detailing her plans to enter the Capitol. Sections of that Zello broadcast were ruled inadmissible by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta. Those included comments by a user nicknamed 1% Watchdog, whose profanity-laced narrative encouraged protesters to enter the Capitol and make citizen arrests of allegedly treasonous politicians. Oath Keepers defendant Jessica Watkins (front left) moves down the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Prosecutors allege Watkins used a phone app called Zello to discuss her plans to go into the Capitol. (The Real Story of Jan. 6/Epoch TV) Rhodes said he was told about the Zello broadcast from an Illinois Oath Keepers member. One of the FBI agents said a number of people were convinced 1% Watchdog was actually Rhodes. You dont know how many people have come and told me, that was Stewart that was telling them to do all that, the agent said. And I was like, I talked to Stewart (indiscernible) times. I dont think so. Rhodes replied: Well, its not me, a conclusion prosecutors also reached. What got them in trouble was their mouth, he said. You know, making stupid, boisterous statements. Carolina Going Rogue Rhodes disavowed anything done or said that day by Oath Keepers from North Carolina, who announced on Dec. 31, 2020, that they were separating from the national Oath Keepers. He stressed the North Carolina contingent was not aware of his security plans for Jan. 6. When we go to D.C., we want nothing to do with national, but were doing our own [expletive] thing,' Rhodes quoted the announcement as saying. They went rogue, he said. So they did their own [expletive]. Rhodes traced the trouble back to a November protest in Washington, when a North Carolina leader didnt feel comfortable being unarmed in D.C. going up against Antifa. The man pulled his Oath Keepers and withdrew from the security operation escorting people from the rallies, Rhodes said. The decision left the man with egg on his face in front of his men, he said. Well, the guys were upset. They were going there to protect people, Rhodes said. They wanna work the mission. And he got embarrassed and lost face. And after that, he turned on me. Several Oath Keepers listen to a speech prior to President Donald Trumps presentation at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. District Court/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Rhodes partly blamed the breakdown in Oath Keepers communication on the North Carolina group, which caused confusion by running its own operation. Now I got this [expletive] inserting himself in my chain of command, talking to my guys and doing side chats without my knowledge, Rhodes said. But you go find the side chat they had. Theyre in there texting each other back and forth, he said. They had an intel team and everything else, you know, sending information to them. They had their ownlike theyre running their own (indiscernible) without us being involved at all. They cut us out. North Carolina Oath Keepers leader Doug Smith ripped the Oath Keepers national organization shortly after Jan. 6. We had not been happy with nationals and the way they were going since November, Smith told a local newspaper in Whiteville, N.C. In fact, we had stopped communicating with national and [began] calling ourselves North Carolina Oath Keepers. 5 Informants Used by Prosecution In a recent court filing, federal prosecutors revealed for the first time that they used five confidential informants before, during, and after January 6 to gather evidence for the case. They sought a protective order to prevent defense attorneys from learning too much about the informants. Defense attorneys strongly objected, telling Judge Mehta they have a right to full information about the prosecutions use of informants, especially if they want to impeach the quality of the investigation during cross-examination, or when the defense cases are tried. The identities of the informants have not been disclosed. Only one is expected to testify during the trial. Defense attorneys said prosecutors failed to disclose that the informants supplied no evidence of guilt against the five defendants, a fact that itself is exculpatory evidence. Rhodes cited two incidents on Jan. 6 where Oath Keepers provided timely and valuable help to police in the Capitol. The first was in the Small House Rotunda, where furious protesters had squared off against a U.S. Capitol Police officer in a heated shouting match. You could tell he was extremely, you know, alarmed, Rhodes said. And he was basically saying, Im going to take as many of you [expletives] with me if you come for my rifle, which I can understand, you know. An Oath Keepers member gets in between a protester and a Capitol Police officer during a tense exchange in the Small House Rotunda on Jan. 6, 2021. (Stephen Horn/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) So they got in between that cop and the Trump supporters and calmed things down and de-escalated the situation, he said. And protected him. SoRelle described another situation where police asked the Oath Keepers to guard a broken window to prevent more protesters from entering the Capitol. That kind of cuts against, you know, they were there to harm anybody (indiscernible) our guys, Rhodes said. If anybody would beif I ever caught an Oath Keeper attacking a law enforcement officer, theyd be gone. I would disavow them in a heartbeat. Rhodes also spoke about the so-called military stack formation, which prosecutors later said was used by Oath Keepers to reach the Columbus Doors on the east side of the Capitol. Rhodes said putting a hand on the shoulder of the man in front of you is not a military formation. The Oath Keepers used the maneuver at a rally in Atlanta where Stop the Steal founder Ali Alexander was speaking. When Alexander waded out into the crowd, the Oath Keepers used the hand-on-shoulder arrangement in order to stay together in the crowd. Everyone focused on that, like, Oh, look at this. Its a military formation and, you know, spearhead, Rhodes said. Its just bunk. Thats what happens when [expletive] reporters startand lawyers that dont know what theyre talking about just startOh, its a military formation. Its [expletive] retarded. Roving Packs of Police, Video Crews SoRelle said she and Rhodes met a photojournalist who described groups of riot police trailed by video crews and photographers. The pack would come and go from the Capitol almost on cue, she said. Then you will have this pack that comes in and theyll just start firing off everything, SoRelle said. So youve got a peaceful crowd that they walk in. Cops will kind of just stand there and these guys go to town on the crowd. So when you see the explosion between the Trump supporters and that group, its because there was a set-off, like there was a tip-off to kind of create a scene and then everything goes back to normal when they leave, SoRelle said. Police attack two protesters on the west side of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in this scene from the EpochTV documentary, The Real Story of Jan. 6. (Steve Baker/EpochTV) She said FBI agents in El Paso, Texas, interviewed the photographer. Go to El Paso, she said. Ask for the videos. He starts following them around and they seem to be, like, roving, SoRelle said. And then the riot cops will come out of a door somewhere and do a staged, like, showdown, and then theyll take off to go to another location. Then the cops will come in from the side and theyll start getting their shots. Theyre called the money shots. Theyre literally that orchestrated. Rhodes said he believes the media might have done such a thing. He didnt seem as sure about the police. Shes more conspiratorial than I, Rhodes said. I mean theyre never going to show old ladies, you know, singing the National Anthem. Theyre going to show guys (indiscernible) with the cops. Theyre biased as [expletive]. No Pact with Proud Boys Rhodes said the Oath Keepers have never had any pact or working relationship with the Proud Boys, another group targeted by federal prosecutors for allegedly conspiring to attack the Capitol. We dont do that, he said. We dont do alliances with other groups. A Jan. 5 late-afternoon meeting with former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio in a D.C. parking garage was blown totally out of proportion, Rhodes said. Yeah, it wasnt like I was meeting him for any, you know, clandestine meeting, Rhodes said. I said, Hello. I said, Hey, man, Im glad you got out, because he had gotten arrested the night before. Thats all I said, is, How you doing?' Enrique Tarrio, Chairman of the Proud Boys, and Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, in a garage in Washington, in a still image taken from a Jan. 5, 2021, video. (Saboteur Media/Handout via Reuters) Prosecutors described the event as a 30-minute meeting during which the word Capitol was heard on video. The January 6 Select Committee used a still image from the parking garage in one of its public hearings. Rhodes has said he went to the parking garage as part of SoRelles three-man security detail. SoRelle had received death threats due to her work to expose vote fraud in Michigan during and after the 2020 presidential election. SoRelle was asked to meet with Tarrio by the leader of Latinos for Trump, to make sure Tarrio had legal representation in his D.C. criminal case for burning a Black Lives Matter banner on Dec. 12, 2020. Video of the meeting showed Rhodes and Tarrio shaking hands and nodding, then Rhodes stepped back from the group. The encounter took less than 10 seconds. Rhodes told the agents that the brief handshake was the extent of his entire relationship with the Proud Boys. And we did not work with them in any of the things weve done in D.C., Rhodes said. Experts Call for Australia-Wide Polio Testing There is a fresh call for Australia to create a national polio surveillance network as Victoria increases its wastewater testing. UNICEF Australias senior vaccine advisor Chris Maher says the building blocks for a national program are already in place. Victorias Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said on Tuesday the state has stepped up wastewater testing for the virus, while NSW will roll out a program as soon as possible. It would be great to see this sort of surveillance expanded to every state and territory, Maher told AAP. The network in Australia is not very extensive, but it would be great to see it become more extensive. The risk of polio cases in Australia is very real, but its unlikely the country would experience a big outbreak due to very high vaccine coverage, Maher said. He previously worked as the senior advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organisation and is on Australias national certification committee for polio eradication. Victorian authorities have increased testing after a man aged in his 20s was paralysed by the virus in New York earlier this year. Prof. Sutton said the risk of an outbreak in the state remains low but is not out of the question. Weve got alternating sampling from the eastern and western wastewater treatment plants, he told ABC radio. We need to make sure that were looking very closely because we want to detect this at the earliest possible time if it does come here. He said the sensitive surveillance system is capable of detecting tiny amounts of the virus from one individual. If its detected in wastewater, we would try and work out who its circulating in and hit (it) very hard with supplementary vaccination. The New York case and traces of the virus detected in London should be a reminder to every parent to make sure their child is vaccinated, Sutton added. If youve got unvaccinated kids its a risk, and its a serious illness; it does cause paralysis in about one in 200. Former President Donald Trump speaks at a "Save America" rally to support Republican candidates running for state and federal offices in the state at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio, on Sept. 17, 2022. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images) FBI Changes Total Number of Documents Seized From Trumps Estate The FBI on Sept. 26 changed the total number of documents it said it seized from former President Donald Trumps estate. Sixty-three additional documents or photographs without classification markings were taken from Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort than previously listed by the FBI, according to an updated inventory list. The revised inventory was submitted to the federal court in southern Florida on orders from U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie, a Reagan appointee who was inserted into the case as a special master, or an independent third party to handle disputes and other matters. Dearie ordered a government official with sufficient knowledge of the matter to submit a declaration or affidavit stating whether the detailed property inventory released on Sept. 2 represents the full and accurate extent of the property seized from Trumps home in August when FBI agents executed a search warrant there. An FBI supervisory special agent, whose name was redacted, fulfilled the order. The agent, based in Washington, said he or she leads a squad of special agents, intelligence analysts, and other personnel in carrying out counterintelligence and espionage investigations, and that their team executed the warrant. The earlier inventory was performed by the agent and workers under their direction but, wanting to make sure the inventory was accurate, I and FBI personnel working under my direction conducted an additional review and recount of the Seized materials in order to make this declaration, the agent told Dearie. That resulted in some minor revisions, the agent acknowledged. An Epoch Times review of the earlier and current inventory lists showed the differences included 63 non-classified documents or photographs being added to the total the FBI said it seized. Additionally, the new list contains two fewer magazines/newspapers/press articles and two fewer empty folders with CLASSIFIED banners. The FBI still says it took 33 boxes from Mar-a-Lago. The update, if accurate, means the government seized over 11,200 non-classified materials from the Florida residence. The agent who filed the updated list said he or she declared, under the penalty of perjury, that they were not aware of any documents or other materials seized from Trumps home that are not listed in the updated inventory, with the exception of materials taken by the governments filter team. That team was focused on identifying and segregating materials they thought could fall under attorney-client privilege. A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The updated inventory list does not include documents marked classified, based on a recent appeals court order that blocked Dearie and Trumps lawyers from reviewing those documents. The earlier inventory listed 103 documents with classification markings. Judge Jacqueline Nguyen was part of the the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that ruled Immigration and Customs Enforcement relies almost exclusively on privately operated detention facilities in California to maintain flexibility. File photo from 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (John Moore/Getty Images) Federal Appeals Court Overturns Californias Ban on Private Immigration Detention Centers Californias ban on privately owned and operated immigration detention facilities is unconstitutional because it interferes with and gives the state a veto over federal government operations, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled on Sept. 26. In an 83 vote, an 11-member en banc panel of the court declared that California law AB 32, which states that a person shall not operate a private detention facility within the state, violates the Supremacy Clause in Article VI of the U.S. Constitution. Judge Jacqueline Nguyen, an Obama appointee, wrote in the majority opinion in The Geo Group v. Newsom that California cannot exert this level of control over the federal governments detention operations. The Geo Group, a plaintiff in the case, is a security company headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. The other plaintiff is the United States. Due to significant fluctuations in the population of noncitizens who are detained, and other challenges unique to California, ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] relies almost exclusively on privately operated detention facilities in the state to maintain flexibility, Nguyen wrote. Virtually all of ICEs detention capacity in California is in privately owned and operated facilities. The United States represents that ICE intends to continue to rely on private detention facilities. AB 32 would prevent ICEs contractors from continuing to run detention facilities, requiring ICE to entirely transform its approach to detention in the state or else abandon its California facilities. AB 32 was spearheaded by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, when he was a member of the California State Assembly. Bontas office defended the law in court. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed it in 2019. Among other things, the law prevented the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from entering into or renewing contracts with a private prison company after Jan. 1, 2020, and prohibited the state from holding inmates in for-profit prison facilities beginning in 2028. During my inaugural address, I vowed to end private prisons because they contribute to over-incarceration, including those that incarcerate California inmates and those that detain immigrants and asylum seekers, Newsom said when he signed the law. These for-profit prisons do not reflect our values. The left has long opposed private prisons, claiming that theyre part of a prison-industrial complex that artificially boosts incarceration rates for poor people and minorities for profit. Bontas office reacted to the court decision, saying in a statement, Assembly Bill 32 was enacted to protect the health and welfare of Californians and recognized the federal governments own documented concerns with for-profit, private prisons and detention facilities. Its unclear if hell appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. Chief Judge Mary Murguia, an Obama appointee, authored a dissenting opinion that two other circuit judges joined. AB 32 is valid because it neither directly regulates nor discriminates against the federal government, she wrote. The state law isnt preempted by federal law, she wrote. AB 32 is entitled to a presumption against preemption, and Congress has not expressed clear and manifest intent to overcome that presumption, [so] the law is not preempted. The majority errs by failing to apply the presumption against preemption. Murguias twin sister, Janet Murguia, is president of left-wing open-borders group UnidosUS, formerly known as the National Council of La Raza. She was also previously a senior adviser in the Clinton White House. A cellphone and a computer screen display the logo of the social networking site Facebook in a file photograph. (Norberto Duarte/AFP via Getty Images) US Federal Court Refuses Request to Dig into Jurors Cellphone Decision considered 'precedent' in four US states The cellphone and other electronic devices of Juror X, whose social-media posts during a high-profile federal case created controversy, will not be subjected to forensic examination, a federal appeals court ruled. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, refused to issue an order allowing a probe of the jurors devices in the case of Alexander P.G. Sittenfeld, a former Cincinnati city councilman who was convicted of two federal corruption-related charges in July. However, one of the judges opined that the Sept. 23 ruling goes too far, opining that the decision should have been tailored more narrowly to Sittenfelds case. Instead, the 25-page document (pdf) was issued as a sweeping opinion affecting cases throughout the four-state region that the court covers: Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Michigan. Such controversies over alleged juror misconduct are expected to surface more frequently, experts said, given the near-universal use of electronic devices and difficulty in policing jurors use of them during trials. The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, has ruled on a case of alleged juror misconduct involving cellphone use during the trial of a former Cincinnati city councilman. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals) Courts Authority Over Jurors is Limited While courts possess inherent authority to question jurors about possible misconduct, that authority is limited, wrote Alice Batchelder, a senior U.S. circuit judge. Courts cannot search jurors personal devices and steamroll their Fourth Amendment rights in the process, Batchelder wrote. That amendment protects U.S. citizens against the governments unreasonable searches and seizures. Batchelder noted that she and her colleagues, as well as lawyers in the case, were unable to locate any legal case that analyzed any authority that would empower a court to order a juror to preserve her electronic communications, surrender her electronic devices or submit to forensic examination. Therefore, she wrote, the judges were left in search of some legal authority that would so empower a court. Ultimately, the court concluded that a courts power to examine juror misconduct does not include an unlimited, inquisitorial power to order jurors to surrender their personal possessions, such as their electronic devices, or to divulge their passwords, nor can the court conduct a criminal inquisition. Lower Court Judge Decided Correctly, Court Rules All three circuit judges agreed that U.S. District Judge Douglas Cole, the trial judge, was correct when he denied Sittenfelds request for examination of Juror Xs cellphone. Toward the end of Sittenfelds nine-day trial on July 8, a court employee raised concerns that Juror X had repeatedly posted about her jury service on Facebook during the trial, despite Coles repeated admonishments that jurors were forbidden from communicating about the case to anyone by any means while the proceedings were ongoing. However, previous court rulings have shown that the mere occurrence of juror misconduct, extraneous information, or improper contact is insufficient to warrant a new trial, the appeals court noted. After learning about alleged juror misconduct, a defendant is entitled to a hearing to explore whether a jurors contact with outside influences affected the outcome of the trial. When such a hearing occurred in Sittenfelds case, Cole found no evidence that Juror Xs conduct robbed Sittenfeld of a fair trial. This cellphone screenshot is among the exhibits that lawyers submitted in the case of Alexander P.G. Sittenfeld, an ex-Cincinnati city councilman who was convicted of bribery and attempted extortion. His lawyers say a juror violated court rules by repeatedly making posts such as this one about her jury service, from June 21, 2022. (Janice Hisle/The Epoch Times) Juror Xs Actions Caused Reactions In one Facebook post, Juror X opined that a fellow juror, identified as Juror Y, seemed biased against all politicians. Both jurors were questioned behind closed doors. Juror Y denied any alleged bias, and Juror X said she didnt think her posts violated the judges no-communication orders because she didnt divulge specifics. Juror X also allowed lawyers in the case to look at posts on her cellphone. Sittenfelds lawyers argued for a deeper examination of Juror Xs social media activity, but Cole saw no reason to allow that. Thats why Sittenfelds lawyers directed their request to the U.S. Circuit Court in early August. The lawyers had also sought, under a sealed request, to subpoena Facebook for the records, court records show. Instead, Cole allowed the questioning of two additional jurors. Lawyers interviewed Juror A and Juror B on Aug. 17. Both denied that any extraneous influence affected the verdict. Jurors are considered officers of the court, the appeals courts ruling said. Thus, jurors are entitled to a level of respect or deference beyond that of an ordinary witness. We doubt that other officers of the court would submit meekly to a court-ordered search of their cellphones. The appeals court expressed concern over the fact that jurors are pressed into service as part of their civic duty, yet Juror X was treated as a suspect while Juror Y, Juror A, and Juror B were treated like witnessesreluctant, confused, and offended witnesses. Third Judge Concurs But Raises Concerns U.S. Circuit Judge Julia Smith Gibbons agreed with her colleagues, Batchelder and Circuit Judge Amul Thapar in declining Sittenfelds requested probe of Juror Xs devices. But Gibbons wrote a separate opinion that raises interesting legal issues, said Ken Katkin, a Northern Kentucky University law professor who has followed the Sittenfeld case closely. In her separate opinion, Gibbons said Cole did have the authority to order the cellphone examination if he thought it was warranted. Katkin agrees. Such an order would be justified only if the judge had a very strong idea that the jurors alleged misconduct could have affected the outcome of the case, Katkin said in a Sept. 26 interview with The Epoch Times. But Gibbons two colleagues said Cole lacked that authority in the first place. I think I think thats not right, Katkin said; he thinks Gibbons correctly stated that Cole did have the authority to order the cellphone probe, if the situation met a stringent test for use of that authority. Gibbons also noted that her fellow judges strayed from their usual pattern of hearing oral arguments and allowing extensive legal briefings when we set precedent of the type included in this opinion. Its debatable whether the appellate courts ruling could be classified as a precedent, Katkin said. The majority opinion interpreted Sittenfelds request as an appeal of Coles denial of the cellphone-probe request. However, Sittenfelds action could actually be considered a separate request for emergency intervention in the middle of the case, Katkin said, which would not be binding on other courts throughout the 6th Circuit. More Legal Battles May Follow A lot depends on what Sittenfelds lawyers do in response to the ruling, Katkin said. Sittenfeld was acquitted of four charges but was convicted of one count each of bribery and attempted extortion in an alleged pay-to-play political fundraising scheme. He is still awaiting sentencing. His lawyer, Charlie M. Rittgers of Lebanon, Ohio, declined to comment about the circuit courts ruling. Federal prosecutors assigned to the case did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Sept. 26. Katkin predicted that similar disputes over jurors use of electronic devices are likely to recur. Although the issue of what to do about improper juror communications with third parties has been around for a while, the ubiquity of social media and mobile phones today means that this issue is going to arise much more than it used to, he wrote in an email. In that sense, although these types of cases are not new, their number and the variety of situations in which they arise is new. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. and senatorial candidate John Fetterman speaks at a Labor Day visit to United Steelworkers of America Local Union 2227 in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 5, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) Fetterman Under Fire Over Progressive Stance on Crime, Connections to Crips Gang Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman, who is under attack from Republican opponent Mehmet Oz over his progressive views on criminal justice reform, attracted criticism from recent a TV ad that chronicled a 2013 incident when he chased down an unarmed black jogger and detained him until police arrived. Now, Pennsylvanias lieutenant governor is answering questions about a Washington Free Beacon article that reported how he touted connections in Braddock, Pennsylvania, to the Crips street gang when he was running for mayor of the borough in 2005. According to the article, Fetterman used the slogan Vote John Mayor of Braddocc, which reflected how local Crips gang members spelled the name of the town. Fetterman was elected mayor, and a 2006 story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote about how he claimed there were two Braddocksone with the original spelling used by older residents who remember when the borough flourished, and the other B-R-A-D-D-O-C-C, which he said acknowledges an allegiance that many of the younger residents there have with the Crips gang. Using his own money, Fetterman created websites with the domain names http://www.braddocc.com or http://www.15104.cc to promote the borough. The second domain name showcased Braddocks zip code, which is tattoed on Fettermans forearm. The websites are no longer active, but they described how Braddocc was unofficially renamed by the young and disenfranchised for its Crip allegiance, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Braddock, the site explained, was a flourishing city of 20,000 residents. Home to Andrew Carnegies first steel mill and free library. Wealth, amenities, expansive shopping district, dozens of churches, movie theaters, furniture stores, breweries, schools. Braddocc, the site reported at the time, was a malignantly beautiful town of 2,500 residents. Unofficially renamed by dropping the k for a c by young and disenfranchised for its Crip allegiance. Still home to Carnegies first steel mill and free library. No movie theaters. No furniture stores. No breweries. No schools. No hope? The New York Times photographed Fetterman in front of a sign at his Braddock loft that hangs on a kitchen wall. In 2020, Fettermans wife Gisele posted a photo on Twitter with the sign in the background. In a 2020 Twitter post, Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fettermans wife posted a photo that included a sign reflecting Fettermans support from the Crips during his 2005 mayoral campaign. (Photo from Gisele Fettermans Twitter page) Fetterman has denied he holds an affinity for the Crips. Public Safety Republicans, and Oz and his campaign team, have portrayed Fetterman as being soft on crime. Fetterman is chairman of Pennsylvanias Board of Pardons and has cast the only vote to free multiple prisoners convicted of first-degree murder. Pardons and commutations have increased since Fetterman became lieutenant governor and took over as chairman. In January, he appointed Celeste Trusty to serve as secretary of the board. Trusty, who is Fettermans former campaign director, is a prison reform activist who has called to disarm the police and referred to Mumia Abu-Jamal as a friend and my buddy, according to the Washington Free Beacon. Abu-Jamal was sentenced to life for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. In June 2021, Fetterman was the only Board of Pardons member who voted to commute the life sentence of Wayne Covington, who was convicted for shooting and killing 18-year-old George Rudnycky for money to buy heroin in 1970. Dennis and Lee Horton are brothers who were serving life sentences for second-degree murder in a 1993 armed robbery. The Hortons maintained their innocence, and last year, they left prison after their sentences were commuted by Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. The states Board of Pardons recommended that the Hortons be freed. The Hortons now work for Fettermans campaign as field organizers. Oz has called for Fetterman to fire the brothers. The Hortons were active in anti-violence programs and mentoring when they were in prison. They told The Washington Post they offered a ride to a friend and did not know he was leaving a crime scene. John believes there are people who deserve to spend the rest of their life behind bars in prison, but he also supports common sense bipartisan policies to free the wrongly convicted and provide second chances for deserving and nonviolent offenders, Fetterman spokesperson Joe Calvello told NBC News. Johns work on the Board of Pardons was widely praised, including by elected Republican officials. All Dr. Oz and his team are engaging in is gross fear-mongering. Though Fetterman is facing backlash over agreeing to just one pre-election debate and for refusing to release his medical records as he continues to recover from a stroke he suffered before the May primary, crime is emerging as a significant issue in the Senate race. Republicans have outspent Democrats $24.5 million to $21.9 million on advertising in the Oz-Fetterman race, ad-tracking firm AdImpact reports. Multiple spots from the Oz campaign, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the GOP-friendly Senate Leadership Fund have emphasized Fettermans progressive stance on crime. Funded by the Oz campaign, an Inmates for Fetterman website showcases mugshots of criminals whose commutations Fetterman has encouraged. Earlier this month, a pro-Oz Republican super PAC released a television ad reminding viewers of a 2013 incident when Fetterman chased a man and detained him until police arrived. The police report indicated that the jogger was wearing running clothes and was unarmed. The sound of gunfire was fireworks. Two witnesses did say they thought they heard shots. The jogger was black, though Fetterman told police he had no idea of the mans race because of how he was dressed in the cold weather. At the time, he was mayor of Braddock. The 30-second TV spot, intended for black voters in the Philadelphia media market, was written and funded by the American Leadership Action PAC. In the opening of the ad, news clips of the event accompany a voice-over that says, As mayor of Braddock, John Fetterman chased down an innocent, unarmed black man. Fetterman falsely accused the man, triggering a confrontation with police. The ad then moves to an interview with the jogger, Cristopher Miyares, who details Fetterman pulling a gun and aiming it at his chest. I mean, theres a mayor with a shotgun and six other cops surrounding me. What else could I do but this? Miyares says in the ad, holding his hands up in surrender. Near the end of the ad, a clip is aired of Fetterman saying, I believe I did the right thing, but I may have broken the law. The ad closes with a voice describing Fetterman as reckless, risky and wrong for Pennsylvania. Fetterman was not charged by police, and the event did little during the Democratic primary in May, which he won decisively. Miyares is serving time in a Pennsylvania state prison for an unrelated crime. He says that Fetterman has lied about everything that happened that day, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Miyares did write a message to the Inquirer saying that I hope he gets to be a Senator. Even with everything I said, it is inhumane to believe one mistake should define a mans life. Police Endorse Oz Mehmet Oz speaks at a Sept. 27 press conference announcing the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Polices endorsement of his Senate campaign. (Courtesy of Dr. Oz U.S. Senate) On Sept. 27, the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police announced it has endorsed Oz. John McNesby, President of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5, said at a press conference, Dr. Ozs history as a police surgeon and his demonstrated outreach to listen to police is a stark contrast to his opponent, who has a long history of anti-police rhetoric and advocacy for policies that make communities less safe. Oz delivered another jab at Fettermans record on crime when he stood at the podium. The brave men and women of the Philadelphia Police risk their lives day in and day out to protect and serve our communities. They deserve a U.S. Senator who will also work with communities to make our streets safer and better places to live and work, Oz said. But my opponent, John Fetterman, would rather be the advocate for convicted murderers and violent criminals over our police officers and crime victims. Recent polls show that the Oz-Fetterman race is tightening. Fetterman held a double-digit lead most of the summer. A mid-September survey from The Trafalgar Group indicated that Fetterman was ahead 48 percent to 46 percent. Last week, a Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll had Fetterman with a 49 percent to 44 percent edge. Hurricane Ian hit Cuba on Sept. 27 as a Category 3 hurricane and is expected to make landfall in Florida as early as tomorrow. The Senate is considering a short-term funding bill as a potential Oct. 1 government shutdown looms. * Click the Save button below the video to access it later on My List. Follow EpochTV on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/EpochTVus Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/EpochTV Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@EpochTV Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/epochtv Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EpochTVus Gab: https://gab.com/EpochTV Telegram: https://t.me/EpochTV Florida residents are battening down the hatches. Forecasters say Hurricane Ian could intensify into a Category 4 storm as it approaches the coast. A SWAT training exercise in Chicago turns into a live-fire scenario as an uninvited suspect enters the police facility by a fire escape. Russian President Vladimir Putin grants citizenship to Edward Snowdena man U.S. authorities would like to put on trial for espionage. Topics in this episode include: 1. Floridians Hunker Down Ahead of Hurricane Ian 2. Police Shoot Man Who Infiltrated SWAT Training 3. Japan Holds State Funeral for Shinzo Abe 4. Putin Grants Citizenship to Edward Snowden 5. Long Lines at Russia-Georgia Border 6. Biden Seeks to Crack Down on Hidden Junk Fees 7. Fedex Pilots Picket Wall Street 8. NYC Illegal Immigrant Tent City 9. Biogen Inc Settles $900M Lawsuit 10. Cartels Driving Addiction for Profit 11. NASA Crashes Dart Spacecraft 12. Tech-Based Marine System to Keep Whales Safe 13. Grey Seal Surrenders to Police * Click the Save button below the video to access it later on My List. Follow EpochTV on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/EpochTVus Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/EpochTV Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@EpochTV Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/epochtv Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EpochTVus Gab: https://gab.com/EpochTV Telegram: https://t.me/EpochTV Former Governor of New Jersey, Jim Florio, stands in the Assembly chamber of the Statehouse during an event in Trenton, N.J., on March 13, 2018. (Mel Evans/AP Photo) Former New Jersey Governor, US Representitive James Florio Dies at 85 TRENTON, N.J.Former New Jersey Gov. James Florio, who championed a plan that substantially raised the states sales and income taxes leading to his reelection defeat in 1993, died Sunday. He was 85. His law partner Doug Steinhardt and current New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed Florio died in statements on Monday. Florio was a longtime public servant who held numerous posts on the local, county, state, and federal levels. A Democrat, he made three unsuccessful runs for the governor before finally succeeding in 1989, when he defeated Republican Jim Courter and became the first Italian-American to serve as the states chief executive. Florio drew sharp criticism in 1990 when he pushed a $2.8 billion tax increase through the state Legislature that extended a sales tax to, among other things, toilet paper. It spawned massive voter resentment and spurred the formation of Hands Across New Jersey, an anti-tax grass roots group that used rolls of toilet paper as its symbol. Florio was ousted after one term by Republican Christie Whitman, who tapped into voter anger over the tax hike and won the race by about 26,000 votes. Before becoming governor, Florio served four years in the state Assembly and 15 years in the House of Representatives. In 2000, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, losing to investment banker Jon Corzine in one of the most expensive Senate primaries in history. Corzine went on to win the Senate seat that year and held it until he won the governors office in 2005. Long after he left office, Florio continued to be an active voice and weighed in on several issues. He was a regular in the halls of the statehouse during legislative sessions. In February 2015, Florio and three other former New Jersey governors urged the state senate to delay a vote on Gov. Chris Christies nominee for a southern New Jersey panel that oversees a million-acre pine reserve. The ex-governors claimed the nomination would undermine the independence of the commission, but the senate eventually approved the nominee for the job. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Florio attended Trenton State College (now known as The College of New Jersey) and graduated from the Rutgers School of Law in 1967. He also served as an officer in the Navy from 19551958 and continued as a reservist until 1975, eventually achieving the rank of lieutenant commander. Clerk of the Privy Council Ian Shugart waits to appear before the House of Commons Ethics committee in Ottawa, Aug. 11, 2020. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Former Top Civil Servant, Medical Association President Appointed as Senators Ian Shugart, a longtime bureaucrat and the countrys top civil servant during the first part of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been tapped for a seat in the Senate. Dr. Gigi Osler, a Winnipeg surgeon, University of Manitoba professor and president of the Federation of Medical Women in Canada, is also set to become a senator. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the picks today after the two were recommended to him by the independent advisory board for appointments to the upper chamber. Shugart, who will represent Ontario, stepped down as the clerk of the Privy Council in early 2021 to undergo cancer treatments and formally retired in May after a long public service career. Trudeau also appointed him to the Kings Privy Council today, adding his name to a list that includes past and present cabinet ministers and people honoured for their contributions to Canada, according to the Prime Ministers Office. Osler, who will represent Manitoba, became the first female surgeon and the first racialized woman to hold the presidency at the Canadian Medical Association in 2018. Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo concludes a speech during the American Freedom Tour at a convention center in Austin, Texas on May 14, 2022. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Pompeo Explains CCPs Race-Based Tactics to Divide America Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has explained the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) tactics to divide America using race in the second episode of his new online series. The series, Evening Chats with Mike Pompeo: A Message to the Chinese People, by the Hudson Institutes China Center, went online with episode one on Sept. 14. Episode two, The CCP Lies About Race in America, was aired Sept. 26. I want to talk about how the CCP tries to divide Americans based on race and how it lies to the world about the United States of America, Pompeo said. The worst lie they tell is that America is somehow a racist country. [But] that is the exact opposite of the truth, he said. America is the only country in the world founded on the idea that all humans are treated and created equally. America is not perfect, he said adding how South Carolina Senator Tim Scott stated, Original sin is never the end of the story. Not in our souls and not for our nation. The real story is always redemption. We fought a Civil War over slavery. Through abolition, Civil Rights, and womens suffrage, weve become better and stronger, he added. However, Chinese state media only report events in the opposite tone. The CCP has manipulated a broad range of topics to highlight that the United States has permeated with deep-rooted racism and issues of discrimination. CCPs Propaganda Machines A recent example, on Sept. 17, the Oscars apologized to native American actor Sacheen Littlefeather as she was booed off the stage of the 1973 ceremony after a 60-second speech about an Indigenous peoples protest at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Littlefeather was then excluded from the film industry for decades. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences read an apology letter to Littlefeather at an event held in her honor at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles on Sept. 17. Although Littlefeather kindly accepted the apology, the Chinese state-run CCTV reported that racism is an unhealable wound in the United States. The lies of the CCP have also made their way to Americans through Twitter. Twitter is not allowed in China, but CCP propagandists use it, Pompeo said in the episode. Most Sought After Country However, despite the CCPs long-term brainwashing and propaganda, an overwhelming amount of people in mainland China still seek to come to the United States. Some of the longest waiting lines for visas anywhere in the world to come to the United States were at our consulates in China, Pompeo said. Countless Chinese people want to visit, want to study, or even immigrate here. The screenshot of episode two of An Evening Chat with Mike Pompeo: a message to the Chinese People. (Video Screenshot) Pompeo also highlighted that America attract more immigrants than any other country in the world [including] victims of the CCPs genocide in China, [like] Uyghurs and Tibetans. We need to teach our children that America is great, that we are not racist, and we should never give an inch, he emphasized. The undeniable truth, the one that CCP doesnt want you to know, is that the most anti-Chinese force in history is the CCP. Toward the end of the episode, Pompeo said he hopes the Chinese people will [one day] be able to participate in those same kinds of debates and fights for freedom that Americans have had since 1776. The Chinese people deserve far better, he added, ending the episode. In the new series by the Hudson Institutes China Center, Pompeo aims to speak directly to the people of China about the CCP and U.S.-China relations. The first episode is titled The Chinese Communist Party Does Not Represent the Chinese People, in which Pompeo explains how the CCP is a totalitarian regime that only serves its own interests. Pompeo now serves as a distinguished fellow at the Hudson Institute, focusing on promoting U.S. national security, technological leadership, and global engagement. He is also the chairman of the advisory board for Hudson Institutes China Center. The China Center is now under the leadership of Miles Yu, who previously served as the senior Chinese policy and planning advisor at the U.S. State Department. Yu specializes in Chinese military and strategic culture, the U.S. and Chinese military and diplomatic history, and U.S. policy toward China. Miles Yu, former senior China policy adviser to former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Annapolis, Md. (Tal Atzmon/The Epoch Times) Gates or Germany? Who Owns the WHOs COVID-19 Response? Commentary The idea that Bill Gates is somehow the driving force behind the WHOs vaccine-centric COVID-19 response is very widespreadat least on Twitter. But this notion recently received some unexpected support from a mainstream media source: Politico, the online news service that was started in D.C. in the naughts, launched a Brussels-based European edition in partnership with the German media giant Springer in 2015, and was fully acquired by the German firm last year. Citing anonymous sources and tossing out astronomic, but largely undocumented, funding figures, a massive, meandering investigation by Politico and Springers flagship German broadsheet, Die Welt, claimed to show that, just as Twitterers have suspected, it is Bill Gates and his network of organizations that have controlled the worlds COVID-19 response, after all. The Springer/Politico investigation focuses, in particular, on the alleged influence of Gates and his network over the WHOas well it should, since the WHO has, of course, been the main vector of the coordinated, global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the problem is that an abundance of publicly available information makes unmistakably clear that the driving force behind the WHOs COVID-19 response is in fact none other than Germany and thatsurprisingly in light of the furor over GatesGates has in fact played only a very minor role. This should not in fact be surprising, since the WHO itself has long acknowledged that Germany is the top supporter of WHOs COVID-19 response (see here). But since it appears to have largely escaped notice, let us have a look at the details, starting with the below graph. The graph shows the leading contributors to the WHOs COVID-19 response budget in the first year of the pandemic, 2020. The official name of the program is the (C19) Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP). The graph was generated directly from the WHOs own SPRP funding database. As can be seen, Germany was far and away the top contributor. Its $425 million contribution represented more than 30 percent of the total $1.34 billion effective budget. To put this in perspective, Germanys 80 million inhabitants represent around 1 percent of the worlds total population. The European Commission, under the leadership of former German Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen, was the 3rd largest contributor, providing $81 million. Germany and the German-dominated EU together thus provided $506 million or over 36 percent of the C-19 response budget in 2020. And where was Bill Gates? Or, more exactly, where was the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is indeed a major contributor to the WHO in other areas? The below graph shows us: in 18th place in the funding hierarchy, two places behind Yemen. The Gates Foundations effective contribution of $14.5 million represented around 1 percent of the total budget. Germany provided around 30 times more funding. The GAVI alliance, to which we will come momentarily, is even further down the list (30th place at just over $7 million). The next graph shows the leading contributors to the WHOs COVID-19 response budget in 2021, the second year of the pandemic and the first of mass vaccination. The story is much the same. Germany is still far and away the top contributor, and its percentage share of the total budget is now even greater. Germanys $386 million contribution represents nearly 40 percent of the effective budget. If we add together the German and EU contributions, we arrive at nearly $497 million, representing almost half of the total budget. And where is the Gates Foundation? Still at 18th place, now three places behind Guinea-Bissau! See below. The Gates Foundations effective contribution of $6 million represents barely 0.5 percent of the total budget! Germanys contribution$386 million to $6 millionis now no less than 64 times greater! The above funding figures can be consulted on the WHO website here. Note that the link lands on the current funding year (2022). You need to select the desired SPRP year in the upper left to see previous years. From the current years graph, you will see that Germany is on track to continue being the top funder of the COVID response budget, although the United States, whose contributions were previously relatively meager, has now risen to 2nd place. The Gates Foundation has pledged a grand total of $250,000. The German pledge of $352 million is literally over 100 times greater! But wait a moment. Careful observers will have noted the relatively prominent presence of GAVI, now in 5th place with an effective contribution of $67 million, among the leading contributors in 2021, and GAVI continues to be a major contributor in 2022. So, even if Germany is by far the top contributor and even if the Gates Foundations contribution is paltry, Gates involvement is still substantial: namely, via GAVI. The Springer/Politico investigation includes GAVI among Gatess network of organizations, after all, and for all intents and purposes, Gates is GAVI. Right? Well, wrong. This is another widespread misconception, and its frequent repetition on Twitter does not make it any more true. Whatever role Gates played in the founding of the organization, nowadays GAVI receives the bulk of its funding from national governments, not private sources. In particular, as the below funding chart from GAVIs own website shows, GAVI is in fact receiving more funding from Germany than from the Gates Foundation in the current period. So, it is obviously bogus to add together Gates Foundation funding and GAVI funding and treat the sum as Gatess overall contribution, as many proponents of the Gates-owns-the-WHO theory tend to do. Indeed, the Springer/Politico investigation pulls the same trick, including $6 billion of GAVI funding in the $10 billion that its network of four NGOs allegedly devoted to COVID-19 efforts overall. More specifically, the article claims that: Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the Gates Foundation, GAVI, and the Wellcome Trust have donated collectively more than $1.4 billion to the WHOa significantly greater amount than most other official member states, including the United States and the European Commission, according to data provided by the WHO. This may well be true if we include the current funding year. But how is it relevant given that the main funders of GAVI are precisely those same WHO member states? (I will leave aside the fact that the European Commission is not, of course, a WHO member state. Its contributions, like those of the Gates Foundation, are entirely voluntary.) Moreover, the Springer/Politico article discreetly refrains from mentioning that Germanys contribution to the WHOGermany which, as just noted, is also a major contributor to GAVIis certainly comparable to and probably indeed exceeds the cited figure. The WHOs public funding database gives Germanys overall contribution to the WHO for the 202021 funding period as nearly $1.15 billion. (See here.) Even supposing the aggregate Gates + GAVI + Wellcome figure is somehow relevant, it is less than that at approximately $1.01 billion. (The individual funding figures can be consulted on the WHO website here. The contributions of the Wellcome Trust are relatively insignificant.) Here, in case it is of interest, are the WHOs top 5 funders for the 202021 period as presented on the WHO website. But these overall funding figures are not in fact relevant here. What is relevant are the dedicated contributions to the COVID-19 response budget. Since the Springer/Politico article brings up the former in this context, not the latter, one has to wonder if the authors have not in fact attributed the overall Gates Foundation funding to its supposed $1.1 billion contribution to COVID-19 efforts. If so, this is a monumental error. As documented above, the Gates Foundations actual contributions to the WHOs COVID-19 response budget are relatively minor. Including this years pledge, they come to a total of around $21 million. Not $1.1 billion! The great bulk of the Gates Foundations contribution to the WHO budget has nothing whatsoever to do with COVID-19. This can be easily verified by consulting the detailed flow chart available on the WHO website here. As can be seen in the below detail from the chart, in the 202021 period, nearly 65 percent of the Gates Foundation funding went rather to polio eradication. By contrast, over 70 percent of Germanys $1.15 billion contribution went to the COVID-19 response (namely, $811 million, as documented above). And if we subtract Germanys $58 million in assessed contributions from its total contribution, this figure rises to nearly 75 percent. Politicos would-be expose of Gates funding cites one Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University, who notes, I think we should be deeply concerned. Putting it in a very crass way, money buys influence. Perhaps so. But why should this be any less the case of German money? Of course, if the money consisted only of assessed contributions, which the country pays as a condition of membership in the organization, then it would indeed be less the case or even not at all. But the German funding obviously did not only consist of assessed contributions. As just noted, Germanys assessed contributions for the 202021 funding period merely came to $58 million. This is to say that 95 percent of the German funding was every bit as voluntary as the Gates funding. The below pie chart is taken directly from the WHO website (here). The small greenish-yellow slice represents Germanys assessed contributions. All the rest is voluntary. It is also notable that none of Germanys voluntary contributions are core contributions: i.e., contributions to the WHOs general budget, which the organization can use as it sees fit. They are all earmarked. Discussion of WHO funding on Twitter and even in more sophisticated venues suffers from a systematic confusion between voluntary contributions and private contributions. As the German example makes clear, voluntary contributions to the WHO do not necessarily come from private sources. Indeed, the great bulk of them come precisely from public sources: i.e., national governments or intergovernmental organizations like the EU. Knowing this, why should it be assumed that voluntary contributions from private sources, even private charitable sources, are somehow interested, whereas contributions from governments are disinterested? In light of the funding figures cited above, the obvious question is: Why in fact did Germany suddenly become the top contributor to the WHO with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and why has it been by far the top contributor to the organizations COVID-19 response budget? Was it merely to save the world? What interest could Germany possibly have had in the COVID-19 response? Well, once we realize that the so-called Pfizer vaccine that has been at the center of this response is in fact owned by the German company BioNTech and that, as documented in my recent Brownstone article here, BioNTech earns far more on global sales of the vaccine than Pfizer, then the interest becomes obvious. In 2021, BioNTechs revenues went from roughly zero to $19 billion, making the company a major driver of German growth. BioNTech earned over $15 billion in profits on those $19 billion in revenues, giving the company a whopping pre-tax profit margin of nearly 80 percent! BioNTech paid nearly one third of those profits in corporate tax, thus, in effect, making the German federal government and the city of Mainz (where the company pays local taxes) the main stakeholders in the company. Test tubes are seen in front of a BioNTech logo in a May 21, 2021 illustration image. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters) Moreover, Germany did not merely, so to say, get lucky with BioNTech. As detailed in my earlier Brownstone article on the history of BioNTech and the BioNTech-Pfizer partnership here, the German government has been heavily involved in subsidizing and promoting the company right from the start. Indeed, even from before the start! The German government sponsored the very founding of BioNTech (in 2009) as part of a Go-Bio funding program whose express purpose was to make Germany a leader in biotechnologies. Germany also provided the equivalent of $375 million in subsidies to BioNTech specifically to support its COVID-19 vaccine. These are the kinds of conflicts of interest that would make a private contributor blush. But as a WHO member state, Germany continued to play a leading role in shaping the WHOs COVID response in venues from which private contributors, like the Gates Foundation, are excluded. Thus, the committee that was set up already in mid-2020 to evaluate the organizations ongoing pandemic responseofficially known as the Review Committee on the Functioning of the International Health Regulations during COVID-19is chaired by none other than Lothar Wieler. Wieler is at the same time the sitting president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI): the German public health authority that plays roughly the same role as the American CDC. See, for instance, Wielers statement in this odd dual capacity of WHO committee chair and RKI president here. Robert Koch Institute President Lothar Wieler speaks to the media with other health leaders during the coronavirus crisis, in Berlin, Germany, on April 17, 2020. (Sean Gallup/Pool/Getty Images) Lothar Wieler is undoubtedly the single German official most closely connected to Germanys own COVID-19 response. To get an idea of the significance of Wieler chairing this key WHO committeewhile still very much occupying his key position in the German government!one need only imagine, say, Anthony Fauci chairing the same committee while still serving as director of NIAID. Germanys massively preponderant role in funding the WHOs COVID-19 response might also help to explain some major, and often otherwise puzzling, decisions of the organization: like, for instance, the decision, in January 2020, to quickly adopt the notoriously oversensitive PCR protocol devised by German virologist Christian Drosten as the gold standard for detecting COVID-19 infectionthus, in effect, ensuring that the illness would obtain pandemic status. Charite Hospital Institute for Virology Director Christian Drosten speaks with other leading German health authorities to the media over the situation regarding the coronavirus pandemic, in Berlin, Germany, on Jan. 22, 2021. (Andreas Gora/Pool/Getty Images) Drosten, who is a member of the Expert Council that advises the German government on COVID-19, would subsequently, in September of the same year, be awarded the countrys highest honor: the Order of Merit or Bundesverdienstkreuz. He is chair of the virology department and coordinator of global health at Berlins Charite teaching and research hospital. Charite is currently home to the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, which was recently launched with $100 million of funding from the German government. Coda: The image above shows RKI president Wieler and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus elbow-bumping at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin after signing the Memorandum of Understanding that gave rise to the Pandemic Hub. From the Brownstone Institute Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Three weeks before his 18th birthday, in August 2021, Jaydon and two friends were tinkering on a car before taking it out for a test spin. Two miles north of Sweetser, in rural Indiana, the rambunctious teens were speeding on a bumpy country road when the driver, Jaydons best friend, went over a bump and lost control of the vehicle. They went careening off the road, struck a pole, before tumbling into a yard. The vehicle flipped some five times before finally coming to rest on the grass. The car was totaled. Conscious but badly shaken, Jaydon was able to free himself from the passengers seat. He kicked out the window and, in a daze, fading in and out of consciousness, he managed to pull his cousin from the back seat. Unable to free his best friend, trapped in the drivers seat, Jaydon lay down on the embankment, in shock. I thought I was dead, he later told The Epoch Times. He believes God somehow played a role in resurrecting him. Luckily, some family members drove by and saw the wreck. They called the fire department and called Jaydons mom, Amber Lavengood, from Marion, who recollected going into freakout mode. A trained nurse, Amber anticipated the worst, knowing blunt force trauma often occurs in such accidents. I expected broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, a lacerated liver internal bleeding, she said. A woman of faith, Amber called family members asking for prayers. Mom, please pray, not my baby, she said. And with that she rushed to the scene. Upon arriving, she saw her son laid out; the fire department had arrived and it took over an hour to cut his best friend from the car using the jaws of life. He had suffered a broken pelvis, while Jaydons cousin had a broken back. Thankfully, all have survived. Jaydon, still in shock, began rambling on and on to his mom, saying God had saved him. Amber looked down at his right arm, which appeared deformed from the accident. His back and his neck hurt, he told her. But he insisted that he was okay. Im okay, Jesus saved me, he kept telling her. The Christian in Amber went along with it, of course, but the nurse in her was dubious. EMS brought Jaydon to the hospital, where staff conducted ECG and CAT scans. Lacerations across his chest attested to his wearing his seatbelt. His mom told The Epoch Times she believed there was no way her son would come away from this unharmed. But thats exactly what happened: The scans all came back negativeall were clear. Even his arm had only abrasions caused by broken glass. The doctors were as shocked as Amber was. It was unbelievable, Amber said. He was fine. Although his neck hurt pretty bad and he felt terribly weak, Jaydon was sent home from the hospital at around 10 p.m. that same day, he recalled. He and his friends made a full recovery. Amber called it miraculous. He experienced mild headaches at home, but within two weeks, Jaydon was back in class. The accident, which might easily have claimed Jaydons life, has changed his outlook on life. He had always believed in God, but he now thinks theres more to faith than he did before. To this day, he swears God saved him and he is thankful. Today, he lives life a little differently. I pray a lot more, he said. Because you dont know what will happen. And he looks forward to continuing in his career working on cars. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter An RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft sits outside the Northrop Grumman hangar at Grand Sky on Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, on June 6, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ashley Richards) GOP Lawmakers Sound Alarm Over Chinese Purchase of US Farmland Near Air Force Base Fifty-one House Republicans are expressing their concern to the Biden administration about a Chinese entitys purchase of farmland near a U.S. Air Force base in North Dakota. Such an acquisition is an alarming development for our national security, the lawmakers, led by Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), wrote in a letter dated Sept. 26 to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, according to a copy obtained by The Epoch Times. The transaction in question concerns Fufeng Group, a major producer of food additives in China with links to the Chinese Communist Party. Fufeng recently purchased 370 acres of land in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where it plans to build a corn mill. The site is roughly 12 miles from the Grand Forks Air Force Base, which is home to sensitive U.S. drone, satellite, and surveillance technology. The land acquired by Fufeng would become the ideal location to closely monitor and intercept the military bases exceptional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, they wrote. This CCP-tied entity will have potential advantageous opportunities to perpetrate espionage, including actions and activities carried out under commercial cover or auspices. Rep. Scott Franklin (R-Fla.) speaks at a press conference on vaccine mandates for businesses with House Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 18, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Rep. Scott Franklin (R-Fla.), a signer of the letter, said hes troubled that the sale could have happened in the first place. Its absurd that a Chinese Communist Party-affiliated company would be allowed to purchase farmland near a sensitive military base, he told The Epoch Times in an email. Besides potential national security risks, the lawmakers also see the sale as problematic from a food security perspective. As of December 2020, 37.6 million acres of U.S. agricultural lands were foreign-owned, a trend that is set to grow in the next half-decade, the letter noted, citing a 2021 report (pdf) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That the USDA isnt a permanent member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)a panel that reviews foreign investments for national security concernshas limited its say on such matters despite its agricultural expertise, the letter stated. Our over-reliance on Chinese supply chains proved disastrous during the COVID-19 pandemic. We cannot allow the CCP to have control over our food supply, Franklin said. The Biden administration must explain what it is doing to prevent our primary adversary from gaining control over our most basic resources. The lawmakers also questioned what kind of precedent the Fufeng project would set. Foreign adversaries could use that as a model to encroach on U.S. security by purchasing farmland in congressional districts that are home to military installations, they said. For example, in Floridas Miami-Dade County, the Homestead Air Reserve Base is home to the Air Force Reserve Commands combat-ready 482nd Fighter Wing and supports operations for the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team, as well as the U.S. Customs and Border Protections air and maritime branch. At a time when the United States is engaged in great power competition with China, we must utilize every tool at our disposal to protect and defend the integrity of our military and national security, maintain military dominance, and maximize our global military readiness, the letter states. The corn mill project is currently on hold pending a national security review by CFIUS, which Grand Forks officials said on Sept. 1 might take 45 to 90 days. Despite support from city officials over the economic opportunities the proposed plant could bring, theres considerable pushback from local residents who say the city hasnt been transparent enough about the project and worry that it hasnt been vetted properly. I dont want them in our country. For one, I do not want a Chinese communist company here. Youve got to be smart enough to know that. Water pollutionyou name it. There are tons of reasons, Sheila Spicer, a member of the Concerned Citizens of Fufeng Project in Grand Forks, previously told The Epoch Times. The group currently has about 2,600 members on Facebook. The Pentagon, the USDA, and the Treasury Department didnt respond by press time to requests from The Epoch Times for comment. The Epoch Times also has reached out to CFIUS about the reviews progress. Independent member of Parliament Derek Sloan rises during question period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Feb. 5, 2021. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) COVID-Related Charges Against Derek Sloan, Randy Hillier, Other Protesters Dropped Charges have been dropped against several notable individuals, including former MP Derek Sloan, Ontario MPP Randy Hillier, and pastor Heinrich Hildebrandt, who protested COVID-19 health measures during the pandemic, according to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF). The protesters, including private citizen Dan Stasko, took part in a peaceful protest against government health measures in Norfolk, Ontario, in June 2021 and were subsequently charged with violating public health orders that had come into effect through the Reopening Ontario Act. The charges were stayed because the crown prosecutor agreed that it was not in the public interest to proceed because the government no longer has these restrictions in place, said Henna Parmar, a Justice Centre lawyer, in an email to The Epoch Times. Last year, the Ontario government implemented strict capacity and attendance limits on certain public spaces, ranging from small businesses to churches. The Norfolk protest that the four men attended drew a crowd of approximately 200300 demonstrators, according to the Justice Centre, and the charges levied against Sloan, Hillier, Hildebrandt, and Stasko on account of it carried potential $100,000 fines for each individual along with up to one year in prison each. For Sloan, Hillier, and Hildebrandt, the protest was not the only occasion for which the Crown pressed charges against them. The three men were also charged for allegedly violating provisions under the same Reopening act in April 2021 when they attended and spoke at a service at the Church of God Restoration in Aylmer, Ontario, CTV News reported. Hildebrandt posted a video of the service on his YouTube page. Usually I stick to political things, but on this morning I would also like to say that I feel blessed and honoured to be here, Sloan said during the service. There is silver linings in every darkness, Hillier said, referring to the pandemic. For me, one of those silver linings was just understanding how much, how important, and coming to a recognition that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour. In her email to The Epoch Times, Parmar said, Its a sad day for our democracy when even members of parliament are being prosecuted for peacefully protesting and raising the concerns of their constituents. We believe that all protests should be allowed, no matter the cause, as long as its peaceful. We have a voice, and our voice is incredibly powerful. Limiting our right to protest can cause our voice to fall silent. In separate charges laid against Hillier, the Crown alleged that the independent MPP assaulted a public officer at the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa, as well as obstructed or resisted a public officer and someone aiding the officer, counselled an uncommitted indictable offence three times, and twice committed mischief or property obstruction with damages over $5,000, according to the CBC. Hillier turned himself in to Ottawa police after being made aware of the charges and was granted bail with the condition that he remain out of downtown Ottawa and not contact any Freedom Convoy organizers. Location of the Falcon Field Airport in Mesa, Ariz., in 2022. (Google Maps/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Helicopter Crashes in Arizona Desert; 2 Aboard Not Injured MESA, Ariz.A helicopter crash-landed in the Arizona desert Monday morning but authorities said the two people aboard walked away with no injuries. Federal Aviation Administration officials said the Robinson R22 helicopter went down 4.5 miles north of the Mesas Falcon Field Airport and on the Salt River PimaMaricopa Indian Community. The airport is about 25 miles east of Phoenix. Aerial video of the crash site showed a smoldering wreckage with scattered debris. Tribal police said they responded to the scene around 8:30 a.m. and the pilot and passenger both avoided injury. Authorities have not released their names or the helicopters flight plan. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident. Thomas Jefferson's design for the Great Seal of the United States of America. One side depicts a biblical scene: the drowning of the Egyptian Pharaoh in the Red Sea with the motto "Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God." On the other side, Liberty and Justice support a coat of arms surrounded by the initials of the 13 colonies. (MPI/Getty Images) How Biblical Teaching Shaped the American Mind Commentary There are many myths in our culture regarding the beliefs of early America and Christianity. I highly recommend the EpochTV series entitled The American Story to learn the inspiring and true story of Americas early years, often in contrast to the narratives we hear today. In episode five, The Development of the American Mind, host Timothy Barton, president of WallBuilders, and Jonathan Richie, former assistant director of the American Journey Experience, use historical documents and artifacts to tell the story of how biblical teaching shaped ideas on government and liberty which were eventually expressed in the American Revolution. The Great Awakening John Adams, one of the most notable of Americas Founding Fathers and eventually the second president of the United States, wrote that the American Revolution was not simply the war that liberated the colonies from England, but rather, it happened before the war ever took place. The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people. A change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations. Barton and Richie explain how the Great Awakening impacted the hearts and minds of Americans. Through the preaching of influential pastors such as George Whitefield, the seeds of the American Revolution were planted through the shaping of the American mind on topics of liberty and social issues. Benjamin Franklin, one of the least religious Founding Fathers but very close friends with Whitefield, said the religious fervor was incredible to see among the people during the Great Awakening. Franklin wrote that there was a fundamental change in the thoughts and habits of the people due to Whitefields ministry. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if all the world were growing religious. Franklin wrote that one could not walk through town in the evening without hearing families singing Psalms in their homes. Whitefield had many influential thoughts that challenged the colonists. One of his most influential sermons was what has since been labeled the Father Abraham Sermon. In this sermon, he told of his dream of arriving in heaven to find that there were no Methodists or Wesleyans, or other groups there, simply those that love and obey God. The application of this sermon was the idea that titles and groups should not divide people, but instead, all should be united together as humans. Without this notion of standing united, the 13 colonies would not have been able to unite against and defeat Great Britain years later in the American Revolution. Local Pastors But it was not just big-name pastors such as George Whitefield who shaped the minds and hearts of the people. Local pastors from the colonies rose in their communities to teach biblical principles and apply them to relevant social issues of the day. One such pastor was John Wise. Wise was a pastor in the Massachusetts area in the late 1600s and early 1700s. His sermons contributed significantly to laying the foundations for the Declaration of Independence. In addition to being an impressive athlete and strong spiritual leader, Wise was a very politically engaged pastor. When a British governor of the area began enacting tyrannical policies, Wise led the opposition and ended up in prison. He wrote a book of printed sermons, where many concepts of the American Revolution were first put to words. These concepts included taxation without representation is tyranny or Gods preferred form of government is the consent of the governed and that all are equal under God. Wises words were to reappear later in the Declaration of Independence. Although Wises ministry was decades before the American Revolution, his sermons no doubt shaped and influenced the Founding Fathers. A collection of his sermons were reprinted by a group called The Sons of Liberty in 1776, influencing the minds of the Founding Fathers and other colonists on the eve of the American Revolution. Barton notes that there are thousands of historically printed sermons from this period. Since it was not an easy thing to print back then, if material went to print, it was because there was a demand for it. This indicates the level of influence these sermons had at that time. The Development of the American Mind| The American Story Episode 5 Pastors Preaching About Relevant Social Issues The EpochTV episode highlights one of the significant attributes of the Church during this time in history, which is that pastors were not afraid to speak from the pulpit about relevant cultural issues. They preached about what was happening in society, what the king was saying or doing, and what the Bible had to say about it. These sermons formed the understanding of political oppression and how Christians should respond. They talked about tyranny, slavery, equality of rights, and how religious freedom was the foundation of civil liberty. Many of these concepts oversaw the abolition movement as well. Simply because these sermons were well known does not mean everyone agreed with them at the time. There were significant disparities in thought on a range of topics. Still, pastors were addressing relevant cultural issues and teaching basic applications from the word of God. Had these pastors not spoken about political and social issues, the mindset on these issues may not have changed, and the American Revolution, the abolition of slavery, and so many other world events may never have happened. It Started in the Pulpit Barton and Richie say that nearly every idea expressed in the American Revolution was first preached from the pulpit. Most were taught over a decade before the American Revolution, when families were taking their children to church, learning biblical application to political issues, and shaping the thinking of the next generation The EpochTV episode also shows how biblical principles did not just shape religion but also political philosophy, law, and culture. An example is when political philosopher John Locke wrote a rebuttal to an English leaders defense of the divine right of kings. The leader tried to use the Bible to prove that people had to obey everything the king said because he was Gods king. Lockes response quoted the Bible thousands of times as he argued for a government formed of the people and by the people. Barton says when it comes to influencing the American mind and thought, the original historical documents show the Bible played that role unquestionably over anything else. Christians and pastors in America today would do well to follow the example of the early colonies by approaching the issues in our nation through a biblical lens. Over time, perhaps we would see the same positive effects and build up our institutions, families, and society. Watch The American Story Episode 5 on Epoch Cinema here. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A house with "Go Away Ian" painted on the boarded up windows is seen ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ian in Indian Shores, 25 miles west of Tampa, Fla., on Sept. 26, 2022. (Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images) Hurricane Ian Forces Mandatory Evacuation of 300,000 in Tampa Bay As Hurricane Ian strengthened into a Category 2 over the Caribbean, authorities in Florida on Monday ordered the evacuation of around 300,000 people at risk of potentially deadly storm surges in the Tampa Bay region. Ian is currently expected to make landfall over the Florida Panhandle on the states west coast on Thursday. Its intensity and trajectory are uncertain, but there are predictions it could become a Category 4. With storm surges forecast for Tampa Bay, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor instituted a mandatory evacuation for Zone A effective 2 p.m. on Monday. Basically, thats everybody who lives along the water, she said in a video message. So if you have a place to go right now, just do it early so you dont have to worry about anything else, she added. Hillsborough County released a zoned map (pdf) that shows which neighborhoods are expected to be most impacted by high winds, up to 156 miles per hour, and storm surges, reaching 38 feet. For more detailed information on evacuation zones, including free buses to shelters, visit Hillsborough Countys emergency management website. Barbara Schueler fills sandbags in a vacant lot in preparation for Hurricane Ian in St. Pete Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26, 2022. (Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images) Heavy Rain Due Tuesday, Hurricane Winds Wednesday The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in an advisory at 5 p.m. Monday EDT that Fort Myres and the Tampa Bay region were most at-risk of life-threatening storm surges expected along much of Floridas west coast. Residents in these areas should listen to advice given by local officials, the NHC said. Hurricane-force winds are expected in the hurricane warning area in west-central Florida beginning Wednesday morning with tropical storm conditions expected by late Tuesday, the NHC said. Storm surges, which are domes of water pushed ashore by powerful winds, are the greatest killer of people during hurricanes, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Storm surges have been known to move entire buildings and cause more damage than winds. Floridas coastal and low-lying geography make it vulnerable to surge flooding. Tuesday will see heavy rainfall increase across the Florida Keys and south Florida, spreading to central and northern Florida on Wednesday and Thursday. Sandbags are set up in front of a garage door as a flood precaution for Hurricane Ian in St. Pete Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26, 2022. (Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images) This may cause flash, urban, and small stream flooding, along with significant prolonged river flooding across central Florida, the NHC warned. A video on social media claims to show the impact of the weather system putting pressure on Miamis storm drains. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 24 counties last Friday in preparation for Ian, then referred to as Tropical Depression 9. He warned the storm had the potential to strengthen into a major hurricane and urged Floridians to prepare accordingly. Shelters Hillsborough County operates three kinds of shelters intended to provide immediate, life-saving protection for those in the path of a catastrophic and deadly storm. The county warns residents never to go to a shelter unless a local official has declared its open. The county has shelters for the general population, that are pet-friendly, and for special needs, which are listed on its website. People who require medical equipment are eligible for special needs shelters. Residents are advised to plan ahead and bring their own food, water, and bedding, as the shelters are not resorts. Shelters generally dont have cots, blankets, or food. People are advised to bring at least one gallon of water per person, per day, as well as non-perishable, easy-to-prepare foodincluding baby formula. It is also advised to bring your own medication, medical items, and supplies, such as extra batteries. Alcohol, drugs, and weapons are not permitted at shelters. At pet-friendly shelters, cats and dogs must be vaccinated for rabies and be licensed and kept on a leash or in a cage. Life-Threatening Impacts Expected in Western Cuba The NHC said in an update at 8 p.m. Monday EDT that conditions in western Cuba on Monday night were beginning to deteriorate, with significant wind and storm surge impact expected. Earlier, at 5 p.m., the agency said in an advisory that life-threatening storm surges, powerful winds, flash floods, and possible mudslides are expected in portions of western Cuba starting Monday night and continuing into Tuesday. Devastating wind damage is possible where the core of Ian moves across western Cuba. Efforts to protect life and property should be rushed to completion, the NHC said. A family carries a dog to a safe place in Batabano, Mayabeque province, ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ian, on Sept. 26, 2022. (Adalberto Roque/AFP via Getty Images) Storm clouds are seen as Hurricane Ian approaches in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Sept. 26, 2022. (Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images) Hurricane Ian to Make Landfall Earlier Than Expected as 2.5 Million Evacuate in Florida Federal officials said in a recent update on Tuesday that Hurricane Ian is expected to make landfall earlier than previously expected. The Category 3 storm is forecast to pick up in intensity on Tuesday and Wednesday before making landfall on Wednesday evening, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in a 2 p.m. update on Tuesday. Ian is moving toward the north near 10 mph, and this motion is expected to continue today, the update said. A turn toward the north-northeast with a reduction in forward speed is forecast tonight and Wednesday. The center of the storm is slated to move over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico today before going west of the Florida Keys on Tuesday night. Then, it will approach Floridas western coast on Wednesday and Wednesday night, the agency said. Storm Surge Landfall is expected late afternoon on Wednesday between the Tampa and Fort Myers areas, according to an NHC model. The timing, track, and intensity of the storm could change. The NHC model shows that the hurricane is tracking slightly to the south of what was previously forecast. Storm surge for Venice, Punta Gorda, and Fort Myers will be 8 to 12 feet, and Tampa will see 5 to 8 feet. Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator (FEMA) Deanne Criswell warned on Tuesday that Floridians are going to experience the impacts from the storm for a very long time. (National Hurricane Center) Our biggest concern as we wait for this storm to make landfall is storm surge, Criswell said. In 2018, when Hurricane Michael impacted the Florida Panhandle, there were five recorded fatalities as a result of storm surge. So therefore, if people are told to evacuate by their local officials, please listen to them. The decision you choose to make may mean the difference between life and death. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said an estimated 2.5 million people were under evacuation orders. He urged people to prepare for power outages, and to get out of the storms path. When you have five to 10 feet of storm surge, that is not something you want to be a part of, DeSantis said Tuesday. And Mother Nature is a very fearsome adversary. The hurricane center expanded its hurricane warning to include Bonita Beach north through Tampa Bay to the Anclote River. Fort Myers is in the hurricane zone, and Tampa and St. Petersburg could get their first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921. President Joe Biden also declared an emergency, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief and provide assistance to protect lives and property. FEMA has strategically positioned generators, millions of meals and millions of liters of water, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Irvine Journalist Runs for Mayor, Seeks More Transparency and Constituent Input Irvine was a top choice for one California mother when deciding where to raise her daughter, thanks to the citys top-notch public schooling, safety, and great communities for living. Katherine Daigle, a journalist, legal and political consultant, and former VP of a healthcare data company now seeks election as Irvines mayor in the upcoming Nov. 8 election. The reason I moved here is for the education, Daigle told The Epoch Times. Irvine mayoral candidate Katherine Daigle. (Courtesy of Katherine Daigle) But now, she said, she has concerns that the schools are taking a turn for worse. Irvine was at one point the best education you could buy with your tax dollars. It was lauded as the best school district other than private schooling, she said. Daigle said last year she requested all education materials surrounding critical race theory from Irvine Unified School District, which were provided. Im a huge advocate for kids. Ive written many stories on critical race theory and the corruption of our children is high on my list of issues that parents arent aware of, she said. She said one way she could help advocate for children is through simply getting parents more involved. She said, if elected, she will initiate groups where parents can learn what their kids are being taught in the classroom. I just want to make sure all parents are aware of what the schools are trying to teach their kids, she said. She also said she will fight for the concerns of her constituents, as she has done while serving on her homeowners association for eight years. While serving on the board of the association, she said, there were times when companies wanted to build large structures in the area. Daigle said she helped organize several meetings in the span of over a week where residents were able to discuss their concerns over such development. Im tired of politicians making the decisions for the people, she said. We are hired by the people to do the peoples work. Transparency is a key component Daigle said she plans to bring to the council if elected. She said her first target would be the green energy provider Orange County Power Authority (OCPA). In October residents will be auto-enrolled, with the option to opt-out, into paying OCPA for their energy instead of Southern California Edison. Businesses in the city have already been receiving energy from OCPA since last year. Daigle said as mayor she will seek to help provide transparency and taxpayer accountability of the OCPA. She said the rates theyre offering are higher than Edisons and dont provide any cleaner energy than the green plans Edison offers. Transparency is needed for other companies in the city as well, she said, including All American Asphalt, which has received numerous complaints regarding the foul odors and potentially harmful chemicals emitting from the plant. Daigle said if elected she would like to see the plant shut down until more studies are conducted. Its been a problem for a few years, she said. District elections are another item she said she thinks would be a good choice. With a population of over 300,000, Irvine is one of the largest cities that vote for members of its city council with an at large vote rather than by district. She said that district elections would allow for fairer representation and that many residents have recently advocated for its implementation. If you want district elections, I will make sure it gets done, she said. When not working or campaigning, Daigle says she enjoys spending her free time with her family as well as their dogs, and that she enjoys being in nature and around wildlife. She is running against incumbent Farrah Khan, Tom Chomyn, Brand Lin, and Simon Moon. Irvine Unified Candidate Debra Kamm Demands Transparency Irvine Unified Education Board candidate Debra Kamm is a longtime education and health advocate and a champion of informed consent for parents. When her son was born with a rare heart condition, the mother of twowho has one child in the districtco-founded California Heart Connection, a nonprofit that provides support for parents whose children have such conditions. Through her nonprofit, Kamm said she became a strong supporter of informed consent for parents, conducted nationwide research on miscommunications between physicians and parents, and authored articles for medical research journals and textbooks. Debra Kamm, Irvine Unified School District Area 2 candidate in Irvine, Calif., on Sept. 21, 2022. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times) Ive advocated for parents and kids for the last 20 yearsso to me, this is really the same thing, just rather than in the medical community, its in education, Kamm told The Epoch Times. Kamm said she decided to run for the board because she thought the district lacked transparency when it came to public records on financials and litigation. According to Kamm, she filed a discrimination complaint in February and experienced retaliation from the staff. Soon after, she went to a school board meeting for the first time to alert the board about the retaliation. About a week later, she received notice from a district official that her emails were blocked to the board and staff. She said she returned to the board again in May to address an issue related Irvine employee set to testify in a case for a school district in Temecula, but the president of the board threatened to ban her from speaking at future meetings, referencing a decades-old board policy that prohibited criticism of employees. The board eventually removed that policy in June after the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the boardon Kamms behalfclaiming the policy was unconstitutional. [My candidacy] is the only opportunity for parental rights and transparency, Kamm said, adding that she has also filed several public records requests for legal documents the district has filed against families of children with disabilities. Irvine has not been transparent, Kamm said. Ive been trying to get their settlement agreements for a long time through public records. They are the only district that I know of that will not provide them as public records. According to Kamm, school districts like Irvine can sue parents if there is a dispute over what type of services a child with disabilities needs or they can just not provide the requested assistance, which can force a family to file suit. Parents are scared to death to speak up. At the very least, I can keep exposing some of the things that Ive uncovered in Irvine while Im a candidate, because this gives me a bigger platform, and hopefully other people will see that and will want change, Kamm said. If elected, Kamm said she would work to allow the public to speak remotely to the board during the public comment portion of its meetings, which the district currently does not allow. She said allowing for remote or virtual comments would increase public participation and is inexpensive. Not everyone can drop everything to go to a meeting, she said. Not allowing remote participation shuts out the voices of many residents including parents with young children who dont have child care, those who work in the evenings, the elderly, and those who are worried about exposure to illnesses. They are being excluded from giving public comments to their elected representatives. Kamm is running to represent Area 2which covers the south side of Woodbridge, Westpark, and University Park. Her opponents are Irvine Unified parents Marlene Bronson and Katie McEwen. A portrait of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hangs on the stage during his state funeral in Tokyo on Sept. 27, 2022. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP) Japanese Former Prime Minister Abe Honored at State Funeral With flowers, prayers, and a 19-gun salute, Japan honored slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday at the first state funeral for a former premier in 55 years. Thousands of mourners flooded to designated spots near the venue from early morning to pay their last respects. Within hours, about 10,000 people had laid flowers, television showed, with more waiting in three-hour long queues. About 4,300 people attended the funeral ceremony itself, including Japanese Crown Prince Akishino and at least 48 current or former government figures, such as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Russias ambassador to Japan, Mikhail Galuzin, also attended. The ceremony began with Abes widow, Akie Abe, in a black formal kimono, carrying an urn in a wooden box wrapped in a purple cloth with gold stripes, into the Nippon Budokan Hall in central Tokyo, to music from a military band and the booms of the honor-guard salute. Soldiers in white uniforms took Abes ashes and placed them on a pedestal filled with white and yellow chrysanthemums and decorations. Akie Abe, wife of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, carries a cinerary urn containing his ashes at his state funeral in Tokyo on Sept. 27, 2022. (Franck Robichon/Pool photo via AP) Attendants stood while a military band played the Kimigayo national anthem, then observed a moment of silence before a video was shown praising Abes life in politics. It included his 2006 parliamentary speech vowing to build a beautiful Japan, his visits to disaster-hit northern Japan after the March 2011 tsunami, and his 2016 Super Mario impersonation in Rio de Janeiro to promote the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in a 12-minute eulogy, praised Abe as a politician with a clear vision for post-World War II economic growth who promoted national security, the development of Japan and the world and a free and open Indo-Pacific as a counter to the threats from the Chinese regime. You were a person who should have lived much longer, Kishida said as he looked up at a massive photo of Abe. I had a firm belief that you would contribute as a compass showing the future direction of Japan and the rest of the world for 10 or 20 more years. Kishida said Abe will be remembered not just as the nations longest-serving leader but for what he achieved, and he pledged to carry on Abes policies for Japan and the region. Yoshihide Suga, Abes successor and Kishidas predecessor as prime minister, noted that many people in their 20s and 30s had showed up to offer flowers. You always said you wanted to make Japan better, that you wanted young people to have hope and pride, Suga said, his voice trembling. Abes widow wiped away tears as Suga spoke. During the ceremony, Harris sat in the third row next to Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, and they later joined others by placing a branch of chrysanthemums on a table near Abes photo. The ceremony ended after the last mourner placed flowers on the stage, after which Kishida and Akie Abe carried the ashes out of the hall. Abe was cremated in July following a private funeral at a Tokyo temple days after he was assassinated while giving a campaign speech on a street in Nara in western Japan. On the day of the state funeral, some 20,000 police were deployed, nearby roads were closed and even some schools shut as Japan sought to avoid the security blunders that led to Abes shooting with a homemade gun by a suspect who, police say, accused the Unification Church of impoverishing his family. At a protest in downtown Tokyo, thousands of people marched toward the hall, some banging drums and many shouting or holding banners and signs stating their opposition. Shinzo Abe has not done a single thing for regular people, participant Kaoru Mano said. A street near the parliament is packed with protesters against a state funeral for Japans former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in Tokyo on Sept. 27, 2022. (Kyodo News via AP) The state funeral for Abe, who received a private funeral days after his assassination, was the first for an ex-premier since one in 1967 for former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. Kishida has explained the decision as a way of honoring Abes achievements, as well as standing up for democracy, but ordinary Japanese remain divided. Only 30 percent of respondents in a recent poll by TV Asahi agreed with hosting the funeral, against 54 percent opposed. Following the funeral service Tuesday, Kishida greeted each of the foreign leaders at a reception at the Akasaka state guest house. Harris, who had a tour of Zojoji temple, where Abes family funeral was held in July, credited Abe with coming up with a term for regional cooperation. There has been much that has been said in honor of his long leadership to Japan but also to the United States. It was he who coined the term free and open Indo-Pacific, and as a member of the Indo-Pacific region, as America, we cherish those principles, and we stand by it, she said. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. Copies of the Los Angeles Times are seen at a news stand in Los Angeles on Feb. 24, 2022. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images) Los Angeles Times Prints Unedited CCP Propaganda Commentary The Sept. 25 Los Angeles Times included a special, four-page section headlined in black called CHINA WATCH. Above that in smaller, orange print is, ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW. And below the headline, in much smaller print, is CHINA DAILY. . Wikipedia identifies the China Daily newspaper as an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party Scholars have described China Daily as effectively controlled by the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Speaking of corruption, below the above quoted headline section are these words, in much darker print against a dark blue background: This supplement is printed and distributed in select areas by the Los Angeles Times Media Group. It does not involve the editorial staff of the Los Angeles Times. Yet in the far upper-left corner are the words Los Angeles Times, as with any other page in the paper. Newspapers sometimes run these inserts, for a local university or amusement park, to make some extra advertising dollars. They feature stories seemingly the same as the those in the reset of the paper. But youll never see something in them that reports on scandals involving the environmental justice movement, for example. Likewise, China Watch wont be including stories on suppressing freedom in Hong Kong, Uyghur slave labor camps, or what exactly happened in that virus lab in Wuhan just as COVID-19 broke out. None of this China World-L.A. Times insert is anywhere online. Except for this article, all of the content is down Orwells Memory Hole once the paper decomposes. However, the bottom right of the front page of China World includes the China Dailys addresses, phone numbers and emails in Beijing and New York. Plus its website and Facebook page. The China Watch section of the Los Angeles Times newspaper. (Courtesy of John Seiler) Soviet Life Example This actually is high-level propaganda. Its modeled on the old Soviet Life I used to read back during the Cold War, and modeled against American magazines. The site Marxists.org describes it (yes, Marxists still love the Soviet Union), and provides links to some of the full issues: In 1956, the Soviet and US Governments agreed to allow each other to publish a magazine in their own nation, but limited circulation to 30,000 copies per issue. The Soviet Government published a magazine entitled The USSR, while the US Government published Amerika. A few years later The USSR changed its title to Soviet Life. Soviet Life was generally not a political magazine, in the sense that it rarely delved into the political issues of the day, nor did it talk about political theory, etc. Instead it focused on Soviet culture (including national minorities), science, education and health care. The last issue of Soviet Life was published on December, 1991. Heres the issue from October 1984. The front-page articles are on the people of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, featuring a picture of modern, progressive youngsters there riding a motorcycle; the great writer Mihkail Lermontov; and a description of Free Health Carewhich, wouldnt you like to have in the nasty, unhealthy, capitalist United States? No mention, of course, of declining Soviet longevity. Soviet Life ended on that happy Christmas Day Dec. 25, 1991, when the Soviet Union ended and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union dissolved itselfgiving hope for a similar event in China. China Watch Stories Back to the China Watch insert, the first story features a picture of an astronaut outside a space station. Caption: Heavenly Activities. Story: Chen Dong (right), an astronaut of Chinas Shenzhou XIV space station, works outside the Wentian space laboratory module on Sept 1 as his fellow astronaut Liu Yang exits the module. They used the robotic arm to install new instruments outside the module, parts of the Tiangong space station. Credit: Xu Bu for China Daily. Theres a subliminal message here few people will get: Space walks require large, powerful rockets to loft space stations and astronauts into spacethe same technology used to make ICBMs to carry hydrogen bombs to American cities. The next story on the China Watchs front page: New overseas listing rules being prepared. The story: China will step up efforts to unveil new rules to establish a unified registration for overseas listings, a key step to help domestic firms enter global capital markets in a well-regulated manner, officials and experts say. Experts said the new rules, likely to take effect this year, will help China build a cleaner and streamlined regulatory framework for overseas listings and pave the way for smoother audit supervision collaboration between China and the United States. Another story at the bottom of the page is, Doors for foreign companies continue to open. The story: Chinas unwavering efforts to expand high-level opening-up in the digital economy and green development will create more growth opportunities for foreign companies, government officials and business leaders say. Windmills, Not Dirty Coal Opening-up means making it easier for China to spy on the world. Green development Ive covered several times in my Epoch Times articles, on how China continues to build numerous coal plants, even as Europe and the United States, especially California, are seeking to shut down such plantsa program delayed in Europe by the energy crisis from the Ukraine War. On page 3, China Watch also features a story, Carbon trading has wind in its sails, over a picture of wind turbines. Well, well. Recharge News reported in April, Chinese wind turbine makers in a better place than ever to start displacing Western OEMs. The story: Rising costs in Europe and the US are not being seen in China, meaning that locally made machines are now almost half the price of Western ones. These pro-business, pro-environmental cooperation stories come in the midst of increased tensions between the United States and the Peoples Republic of China over Taiwan, the Ukraine War, Chinese-made fentanyl killing more than 100,000 Americans a year, and the buildup of the Chinese nuclear arsenal. Just a few days before this China Watch insert came out in the L.A. Times, on Sept. 23 the Republican Leaders in the House of Representatives released their Commitment to America pledge. Theyre hoping to repeat the success of the 1994 Contract with America that brought their party to majority status, making Newt Gingrich House speaker. Under Defend Americas National Security, the Commitment charges: President Biden has managed Americas security from a position of weakness and incompetence. He failed to stand up to the brutal Chinese Communist Party, etc. Do They Need the Ad Money? Ive also seen these China World/China Daily inserts in Time magazine, currently owned by Marc Benioff, founder of Salesforce, with a personal wealth of $6.3 billion. The L.A. Times now is owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong, net worth $8.7 billion. Do these multi-billionaires really need the ad revenues from selling out to the Communist Party of China? If so, then they should change their respective names to Time CCP and the CCP Times. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Madrid regional president Isabel Diaz Ayuso waves before delivering a speech during the 20th National Congress of the Popular Party (PP) at the Fibes conference and exhibition centre in Seville on April 1, 2022. (Cristina Quicler/AFP via Getty Images) Madrids Iron Lady Shows American Leaders True Leadership Commentary When Isabel Diaz Ayuso recently spoke out against high taxation, it came as no shock to those who have followed her for years. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the president of the Community of Madrid has championed liberty to empower her fellow Spaniards. Back in 2020, the Iron Lady of Madrid refused to lock down her city and impose excessive COVID-19 mandates, stemming the tide of government overreach that had overtaken other European countries. At first, Diaz Ayuso took action against the coronavirus, closing shops and non-essential businesses to stop the spread of the first viral wave. But, as the second and third waves came, she resisted the urge to impose unnecessary stay-at-home orders. By the end of 2020, Madrid was buzzing. Bars, cafes, and restaurants filled up, while offices and schools opened. The regional economy hummed, and it remains healthy today. In August 2022, the Community of Madrid reported a more than 25 percent decline in unemployment since 2021the largest year-over-year drop in history. Over the last 12 months, joblessness has dropped across all age brackets and productive sectors. And thats not all. As of September 2022, the Community of Madrid has recovered nearly 99 percent of the economic output lost during the pandemicwell above the national average. Last year, Madrids gross domestic output rebounded by 6.5 percent, outperforming the 5.1 percent for Spain writ large. The recovery continues now, with annual economic growth still exceeding 5 percent heading into 2023. In Madrid, entrepreneurship and private-sector innovation are alive. Businesses are opening and staying open, while consumers are contributing to the market economy. Its a model not only for the rest of Spain, but also for cities around the world. Before enacting new taxes and regulations, policymakers in the likes of New York or San Francisco can learn a thing or two from the pro-market policies of Diaz Ayuso and Javier Fernandez-Lasquetty, her Cabinet Minister of Finance and Civil Service. Despite pushback from Prime Minister Pedro Sanchezs socialist government, Diaz Ayusos leadership has shown that freedom and liberty are the safest and surest bets for sustained economic prosperity. So, when Diaz Ayuso speaks out against government mandates today, people need to listen. As she recently put it, Madrid is recognition of a job well done and respect for work and encouragement. It is a matter of political will, respect for the efforts of the taxpayer and effective management of public resources. Collecting is not governing. To govern is to manage. That is the role of governmentto oversee, not to exploit. The proper place for political leadership is in enabling the free market to work its wonders, fostering an environment where employers and employees can truly thrive. Political leaders should incentivize entrepreneurs to innovate, rather than erect barriers in their way via mandates. One example is high taxation, which Diaz Ayuso has consistently rolled back since coming to power in 2019. Under her leadership, Madrid citizens have saved an average of nearly $6,500 in taxes per person. That money can now be spent, saved, or invested. Judging by Madrids growth rate, the money is already going to work and strengthening the private sector. From lower taxes to other policies, Diaz Ayuso is leading by empowering her fellow citizens, trusting the people of Madrid to bounce back from COVID-19 and fuel an economic recovery that lasts long after the pandemic. Looking across the pond, Americans can only hope that U.S. policymakers take a page or two from the Iron Ladys playbook. The power of freedom and liberty is universalfrom the Plaza Mayor to New York, San Francisco, and beyond. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Planting These Seeds Can Change All of Us for the Better The logo of Meta Platforms is seen in Davos, Switzerland, on May 22, 2022. (File Photo) Meta Dismantles China-Based Covert Influence Operation Ahead of Midterm Elections The parent company of Facebook and Instagram said on Sept. 27 that it disrupted a Chinese influence operation seeking to interfere in the upcoming U.S. midterm elections. Meta Platforms said that it had dismantled the China-based campaign, which targeted users in the United States with political content in an apparent effort to polarize voters. The China-based network maintained fake accounts across Metas social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as its competitor Twitter. The covert influence operation began in November of 2021, Meta said, but failed to garner substantial engagement. A report (pdf) released by Meta said that the discovery was significant because it suggests a shift toward more direct interference in U.S. domestic politics from China, whereas previous known Chinese propaganda efforts focused on audiences external to the United States. The Chinese operations weve taken down before talked primarily about America to the world, primarily in South Asia, not to Americans about themselves, said Meta global threat intelligence lead Ben Nimmo during a press briefing. Essentially the message was America bad, China good, he said. The new operation, however, pushed messages aimed at Americans on both the left and right of the political spectrum and apparently sought to inflame tensions over controversial issues like abortion, gun control, and the war in Ukraine. Out of four separate clusters of fake accounts, two were particularly focused on targeting Americans on key issues, the report said. One such cluster posed as conservative Americans and posted memes in English that accused President Biden and other politicians of corruption. This network called for protecting gun rights, restricting abortion access, and posted accusations that the U.S. government was running bioweapon labs in Ukraine. Another cluster posted criticism of the Republican Party for its stance on these issues, posing as liberal Americans from California, Florida, and Texas. Other posts from this second group focused on individual politicians including Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), as well as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Most of the accounts were anonymous. One, however, impersonated a real American, using photos from a student protest in California. Some of the less sophisticated accounts included postings in Chinese, using female English names, while profile pictures were of men in formal attire. Meta said that the posts were too sporadic in nature and improperly timed to garner a substantial following, and thus failed to earn engagement from authentic communities. Another Meta executive at the briefing said the company did not have enough evidence to say who in China was behind the activity, but that it had shared information with other tech companies, security researchers, governments, and law enforcement agencies. A Meta employee confirmed to The Epoch Times in an email that the company had not seen evidence to link the activity to any known entity in China The report also uncovered a substantial Russian influence operation aimed at undermining western support for Ukraine, which spanned more than 60 websites and impersonated legitimate news organizations including Spiegel, The Guardian, Bild, and ANSA. Reuters contributed to this report. Members of the public mourned the passing of Queen Elizabeth II with flowers and candles outside the British Consulate General in Hong Kong on Sept. 19, 2022. (Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch Times) Misplaced Hope for Hong Kongs Future Commentary By the time this article is published, the last quarter countdown is on: we have less than 100 days before 2022 comes to an end. In todays article, I try to recap important news in Hong Kong that has recently caught peoples attention. The Hong Kong government just announced the relaxation of COVID-19 quarantine restrictions for all arrivals. Effective Sept. 26, all international inbound travelers can enter the city without an initial quarantine hotel stay, the so-called 0+3 arrangement, but airline passengers will need to do a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) test 24 hours before boarding their flight. Upon arrival at the Hong Kong airport, passengers still have to have a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test before they can leave the airport. The first day of arrival is considered to be Day 0. Travelers will also need to do a daily RAT for 7 consecutive days, plus a PCR test on days 2, 4, and 6. So, a total of 11 tests up to Day 7, which is just surreal. Two issues have paralyzed Hong Kong over the last three years: the enactment of the National Security Law (NSL) and the strict COVID-19 pandemic policy. NSL has wiped out the civil society of Hong Kong and the city has become more repressive. In the name of tackling COVID, more restrictions were placed on Hong Kong residents, thereby suppressing freedom of movement. Police abuse has been common, and members of the pan-democratic camp are either locked up or in exile. The formation of independent human rights and political groups is almost non-existent. The world stage is tense right now. Vladimir Putin is warning about the possibility of using nuclear weapons to protect his countrys sovereignty while jailing civilians who protest his invasion of Ukraine in Moscow or St. Petersburgh. Communist Party leader Xi Jinpings support for Russia with regards to Ukraine has been worded carefully. All eyes are on Xis bid for a third term as the party chief during the CCP meeting in mid-October. Thousands of Hong Kong people paid their last respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II of England at the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong non-stop for almost two weeks. The building complex is located at 1 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong Island, which intersects with Justice Drive. It is one of the largest British consulates-general in the world and is bigger than many British embassies and high commissions. It is responsible for maintaining British ties with Hong Kong and Macau. In the UK, Sept. 19 was a day of national mourning for the late Queen. Billions of people in the UK and worldwide watched the Queens funeral ceremony on all networks imaginable. At 7 p.m. in Hong Kong (Hong Kong is seven hours ahead of London) when the state funeral ceremony was in progress, a flood of people in Hong Kong gathered at the British Consulate-General to lay flowers, take pictures outside the compound, and leave personal notes to the Queen to pay their last respects. Many who went to the consulate said they felt a sense of belonging when mourning her death. A middle-aged person played the harmonica at the British Consulate-General compound area, including the national anthem of England God Save The Queen, and Glory to Hong Kong, which is considered to be the unofficial national anthem of the city. The large crowd at the site joined in and sang Glory to Hong Kong in Cantonese. The harmonica player, subsequently identified by the Hong Kong police as Mr. Pang, was held inside a cordoned-off area, arrested, and charged with suspicion of acting with seditious intent. After the National Security Law was enacted in the middle of 2020, it is rare for a big group to come out in Hong Kong. The huge turnout for the Queens vigil also signified a silent protest against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). China wants to completely rewrite Hong Kongs history. Right now, the authoritys narrative is saying the 150+ years of colonial rule do not exist. With the NSL evil tool being imposed on Hong Kong for over two years now, the deterioration of human rights in the once famed international city is beyond imagination. The very pragmatic Hong Kong people have sped up their emigration plans, as there are concerns that the new Hong Kong Chief Executives administration under John Lee Ka-chiu will be worse than it was under his predecessor Carrie Lam. Those who are jailed, like media tycoon Jimmy Lai, young activist Joshua Wong, or legal scholar Benny Taiwhether they plead guilty or notwill be tried under the NSL without a jury. While the West is acutely aware of the torturing and ethnic genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China, the cultural genocide in Hong Kong, is reshaping Hong Kongs DNA by brute force. If Beijing is smart, the authorities would set Jimmy Lai free. Amnesty should be given to all NSL detainees. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong has the power to provide amnesty. But in reality, it is not up to John Lee Ka-chiu. Hong Kong will not be Hong Kong unless there is genuine reconciliation with the people. In Hong Kong, we used to have a free society, an independent judiciary, and an open mediabut no more. Suppression is never a solution, and now with the political purge in Hong Kong, this barbaric form of controlling all aspects of society is true evidence that one country, two systems is gone. The citywide political crackdown is still going on deep and wide. I expect to see more turmoil in Hong Kong in the coming days, weeks, months, and years. Lets defend Hong Kong the best we can. Misplaced hope for Hong Kongs future is demoralizing. A Free Hong Kong is absolutely far-fetched as long as the CCP is ruling the island. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A large disturbance in the sea can be observed off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm on Sept. 27, 2022, following a series of unusual leaks on two natural gas pipelines running from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany. (Danish Defence Command) Mystery Leaks Hit Nord Stream Gas Pipelines in Europe, Raising Suspicions of Sabotage European officials are investigating ruptures to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, which run through the bed of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, as apparent sabotage is feared. The two offshore lines of the natural gas pipeline network were reported to have sustained unprecedented damage within 24 hours, according to Nord Stream AG, which operates the system. Pressure in the undersea Nord Stream 2 pipeline immediately dropped on the morning of Sept. 26, as gas bubbles started to churn on the surface, off the southern tip of the Danish island of Bornholm. The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten reported that Danish F-16 fighter jets discovered the leaks while on patrol. However, within hours of the discovery of the first week, a sudden collapse in pressure at the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline was reported with two leaks being discovered northeast of Bornholm. Although neither pipeline was in operation, they still contained gas. Seismologists detected three separate explosions on the Baltic Sea before unusual leaks were discovered on the two pipelines. Swedish state media reported that Danish and Swedish monitoring stations recorded two substantial undersea explosions at the sites of the gas leaks, one at 2:03 a.m., the other at 7:04 p.m., on Sept. 26. The German geological research center GFZ also witnessed the explosions. The first explosion was recorded southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm, said Bjorn Lund, director of the Swedish National Seismic Network, in an interview with state broadcaster SVT. The second, more powerful blast detected northeast of the island was the equivalent to a magnitude 2.3 earthquake. Seismic stations in Norway and Finland also recorded the explosions. Theres no doubt this is not an earthquake, Lund told The Associated Press. The End of Nord Stream Gas Supplies Russia had slashed gas deliveries to Europe after the West imposed sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, making the two pipelines flashpoints in an escalating energy conflict. The loss of Russian gas has roiled Western economies, causing gas prices to skyrocket and shutting down major industries, as the European Union searches for alternative energy supplies. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline was the main source of Russian gas to Europe until late August, when Gazprom shut off the gas. The other pipeline, Nord Stream 2, never came into operation due to the Ukraine crisis, when Germany pulled out of the energy project. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz refused to certify Nord Stream 2 in retaliation for the invasion. Gas deliveries from Russia to Germany and central Europe are now only possible via the Yamal pipeline running through Poland or through the Ukrainian pipeline network. The Baltic Pipe, a new undersea pipeline that will deliver Norwegian gas to Poland with an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters per day, was inaugurated during a symbolic valve opening on Sept. 27. Accusations of Sabotage Leaders and officials from Berlin to Moscow are beginning to suspect infrastructural sabotage, while the EU and Russia continue their energy standoff over the invasion of Ukraine. At the ceremony to open the new Baltic Pipe, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said it was possible the leaks at the Nord Stream pipelines were caused by sabotage. It is hard to imagine that it is accidental. We cannot rule out sabotage, but it is too early to conclude, Frederiksen told Danish news agency Politiken. We are talking about three leaks with some distance between them, and thats why it is hard to imagine that it is a coincidence, she said. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also suspected subversion. Today we faced an act of sabotage, we dont know all the details of what happened, but we see clearly that its an act of sabotage, related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine, Morawiecki said at the pipeline ceremony. The gas lines in the area near Bornholm sit at a depth of about 70 meters (230 feet) below the water surface, a Nord Stream AG spokesperson told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. It is still unclear who might be behind these acts, but a few state actors are suspected. Russian officials said that sabotage was a possibility and that the incident undermined the continents energy security. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the incidents were very concerning news. Indeed, we are talking about some damage of an unclear nature to the pipeline in Denmarks economic zone. No option can be ruled out right now, Peskov said regarding the suspicions of who was responsible. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that American officials have yet to confirm if the explosions were deliberate. The Danish military released a statement regarding the gas leaks, together with some images of the damage, which showed bubbling methane at the surface. The gas leak at Nord Stream 1 caused a surface disturbance wider than 1 kilometer (0.6 miles). The Swedish Maritime Authority (SMA) issued a warning about the leaks after Denmark restricted shipping in the area, as ships could lose buoyancy if they sailed past it. We are keeping extra watch to make sure no ship comes too close to the site, an SMA spokesperson told Reuters. The massive leaks at the Nord Stream 2 pipeline could take perhaps a week to contain, according to the head of Denmarks Energy Agency, Kristoffer Bottzauw. The sea surface is full of methane, which means there is an increased risk of explosions in the area, said Bottzauw. Security Increased Over Energy Supplies Norways Petroleum Safety Authority told oil companies to be observant of any unidentified drones seen near Norwegian offshore energy platforms, due to fears of potential attacks. Danish authorities also raised security precautions over Denmarks power and gas sector after the leaks. This is due to an earlier failed attack on Nord Stream 2 via an underwater drone armed with explosives, which was discovered near the pipeline construction site off of Gotland in 2015. Russian security services announced last week that it thwarted an attack on infrastructure delivering energy to Turkey and Europe, accusing Ukraine of attempting to damage the network. The loss of gas from the Nord Stream network will likely dampen any remaining expectations that Europe could receive gas via the pipeline before winter. Several German politicians had suggested negotiations with the Kremlin regarding reopening the pipelines due to fears of massive unrest and an economic collapse this winter. European gas prices rose on news of the explosions, with the European Dutch benchmark climbing almost 10 percent on Sept. 27. Gas prices in Europe are over 200 percent higher from the same time in 2021. Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Peter Navarro, who was then-director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, speaks during a briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic in the press briefing room of the White House in Washington, on March 27, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Navarros Account Explains How to Fight the Chinese Regime Commentary Peter Navarros exceptional new book, Taking Back Trumps America: Why We Lost the White House and How Well Win It Back, is a major contribution to understanding what went right during the Trump administrationand what went wrong. The work is an essential read for anyone who seeks to understand the essence of Trumpism, the Make America Great Again movement, populist economic nationalism, and the failures that led to Donald Trumps defeat in 2020. The book is also valuable due to its clear explication of the threat posed by the Chinese regime and how the Trump administrationthe first administration to understand the threat from the regimelabored to counter it. In this regard, Navarros rightful focus is on the mistakes made by the administration in its efforts to fight China. The books deep contribution is Navarros argument that most of the errors made by Trump resulted from bad personnel choices. Navarro is frank: bad personnel choices make bad policy, which makes bad politics. The work is not shy concerning who the bad personnel choices were and the mistakes that were made. Navarro points out five strategic failures. First, and most significantly, was to make China the most important issue of the 2020 campaign. Second, Trumps failure to govern as a populist economic nationalist and run on this in 2020, which would have likely allowed him to win once again Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Third, the failure of the Trump campaign itself, which was, in his assessment, the most mismanaged in modern history. Fourth, the incompetence of two key advisersTreasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadowsto bring the phase four stimulus and relief bill, which would have provided payments to tens of millions of Americans before election day. Finally, the inability of the White House communications team to fight back against the Never Trump and Orange Man Bad media. The great value of the work regarding the threat from China is that the administration was hamstrung in the fight against the Chinese regime, often by its own members. Senior adviser Jared Kushner, Secretary Mnuchin, and National Economic Policy Director Gary Cohn sought to sustain a globalist agenda that would, in essence, sustain the status quo on China, permitting trade and access to capital markets and so foster Chinas growth as had occurred under each president since Bill Clinton. Time and again, Navarro recounts how Kushner, Mnuchin, Meadows, and others were able to negate or weaken Navarros efforts to hold the Chinese regime accountable over many issues. This included the Muslim genocide in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses. In one example of many, Navarro discusses how his administration opponents attempted to limit the Department of Homeland Securitys U.S. Customs and Border Protection Work Release Orders (WROs) on products made by forced labor in Xinjiang. A Chinese farmer is picking cotton in the fields during the harvest season in Hami, in northwest Chinas Xinjiang region, on Sept. 20, 2015. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) This account enriches the publics understanding of the battle between the strategists, those who understand the gravity of the China threat to the American people, economy, and national security interests, and the financiers, those who want to have business as usual with China, investing in it, transferring American jobs and industry to it, and permitting it to fund its growth through access to U.S. capital. For the first time since the Cold Wars end, the strategists were able to act to weaken the Chinese regime, protect the American people, and advance U.S. national security. But they did not get the full loaf. The financiers within the administration were able to serve as a powerful and consistent break on these efforts to Wall Streets and Chinas benefit. Thus, there is a fundamental problem for U.S. national security: the strategists cannot win the day because the financiers choose not to understand the China threatand the balance of power in determining China policy still favors finance over strategy. Until this lamentable situation changes, the United States will continue to conduct its exercise in strategy lunacy by supporting the rise of its enemy and concomitantly hurting the American people, industry, and national security. Navarros solution to changing the balance of power is spot on: good personnel will cause good policy. This book well serves its role in calling out the financiers. Finally, were Trump to return to office, Navarros account is useful for illuminating what must be accomplished. Just as good personnel are essential, so is time. Time to sustain the policies and promote individuals and the worldview that is not defined by the old regime evinced by Kushner and Mnuchinthat is, cooperation and accommodation with the Chinese regimebut opposition, resistance, and the employment of a strategy for victory over the regime. Also, time to repair the U.S. economy, rebuild its industry so that the West is no longer hostage to Chinese manufacturing, protect the U.S. economy from intellectual theft and counterfeit goods, protect the American people from fentanyl, and promote employment for American workers. Precious time has been lost while the Biden administration has reversed the key Trump policies, at times offering a faint echo of Trump but substantively only defined by a return to the failed and dangerous engagement policy. The Chinese regime has used its time to continue the attack against the United States and labored to insulate itself from U.S. countermeasures should Trump return to office. Navarros book illuminates the path ahead for action to weaken the Chinese regime and protect U.S. interests. It is a testament to his abilities that he accomplished so much, given the opposition he faced. Should there be a second Trump term, it will have learned Navarros lessons to ensure that the United States utilizes all its tools, including financedenying U.S. capital to Chinese entities would be a good place to startto defeat communist China. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. New York AGs New Lawsuit Against Trump Part of Effort to Boost Her Prospects, Experts Say News Analysis New York Attorney General Letitia James carries significant political liability from her abortive run for governor last year and has targeted former President Donald Trump and his relatives with a slew of fresh civil charges in an effort to bolster her reelection prospects in a deep-blue state, legal experts and political strategists say. Frustration with crime in New York City runs high, as it does in many other parts of the country, and capitalizing on liberal Democrats dislike of the former president is, in part, a diversionary tactic and a ploy to recoup some popularity and prestige, the experts argue. On Sept. 21, James filed a lawsuit against Trump and three of his adult children, alleging that they had engaged in financial fraud by exaggerating the value of certain of their assets over the course of more than 10 years. The alleged motive for the fraud was to get on better terms with banks and insurance providers. Besides barring Donald, Ivanka, and Eric Trump from serving as directors of companies registered in New York state or doing real estate deals, the suit aims to recover $250 million that James contends Trump and his relatives made illicitly. The latest legal moves against the former president and his family, following closely on the heels of the FBIs Aug. 8 raid on Trumps Mar-a-Lago home, quickly prompted a number of hyperbolic statements from pundits hostile to Trump and the brand of Republicanism that they believe he represents. On Sept. 26, Michael Tomasky, a commentator and author who serves as editor of The New Republic and editor-in-chief of Democracy, published a lengthy opinion piece in The New Republic in which he repeatedly used expletives in reference to the former president and relished what Tomasky sees as the likely consequences of Trumps latest legal woes. Tomasky elaborated on the scenarios he believes might result from Jamess charges against Trump and family as well as the Mar-a-Lago raid. In the first scenario, Tomasky suggested, Trump might sell or give away to a hostile foreign power some or all of the top-secret documents that he had allegedly brought from the White House to Mar-a-Lago upon leaving office. The second scenario Tomasky envisioned is one in which Trump will incite his supporters to stir up mass civil unrest. Weighing the Charges Appropriateness While Tomaskys comments on the investigation and its potential consequences may be emblematic of some pundits tendency to rejoice over Trumps troubles, commentators with a more explicit focus on law and legal precedent have raised concerns. As attorney general, James has a legal and moral responsibility to enforce the law in a politically neutral manner and to avoid the temptation to settle scores with former officials with whom she has longstanding political differences. On Sept. 22, legal expert Alan Dershowitz told Newsmax that he saw a marked conflict of interest in the desire of James, who had campaigned for office in 2018 on a promise to prosecute then-President Trump, to try now to make good on that unfulfilled pledge. You cant have prosecutors even civilly prosecuting a defendant if they made a campaign promise that they have to fulfill. They are not neutral and objective, Dershowitz said. Mark Graber, a law professor at the University of Maryland, believes that the evidence does suggest that there may be irregularities in the financial reporting of the former president and the others charged in Jamess lawsuit. In the current highly politicized climate, Graber sees it as virtually inevitable that some will perceive a conflict of interest in such a situation. I think that in this day and age, any time the indictments were brought down would have some people thinking, This is suspicious. For better or worse, the indictment of a person like Trump will always appear to many to be political, and to many others, getting his just desserts, Graber told The Epoch Times. After New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in the course of a sensational sexual harassment scandal, largely as a consequence of an investigation and detailed indictment that James herself oversaw, the attorney general announced in October 2021 that she would run for the governorship. But James announced on Dec. 9, 2021, that she was dropping out of the race, amid polls showing her lagging by a double-digit margin behind then-Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who went on to win the race. Graber doesnt think that, as James seeks another term as attorney general, shes now seeking to recoup lost political capital with a high-profile prosecution of the former president. Any prosecutor might be concerned about their reelection prospects. It has been known to happen. No reason for thinking James is more or less concerned than any other prosecutor, Graber said. But Michael Alcazar, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and former New York City detective, believes that James harbors ambitions that may extend far beyond winning another term as attorney general, and sees a strong political motive at work. Letitia Jamess lawsuit against Trump seems like a smear campaign. I believe the New York Attorney General loves the attention that shes getting from this lawsuit. All eyes on her! If successful, it could propel her career or potential run for other offices (such as governor), Alcazar told The Epoch Times. A Partisan Motive? James may also have an interest in promoting the perception that the former president is too burdened with legal and financial woes to make an effective candidate in 2024, Alcazar suggested. This civil lawsuit, and other lawsuits levied against Trump, will keep him in the headlines during his probable second presidential run. It would seem this is her goal, to cast Trump in an unfavorable light, Alcazar said. But Alcazar is skeptical about the wisdom and likely success of this tactic. I dont think this will affect Trumps potential run. Conversely, I believe his supporters will come together and support Trump because they view this as a political attack, and a speed bump on the way to the presidency, Alcazar said. Some Trump supporters view this as a bullying technique. They see her as the bad guy grasping at straws to forward her agenda. In agreement with this analysis is John Feehery, a strategist, commentator, and former press secretary to Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). James is facing a tough reelectionand rightly so, she is a political hackand she is misusing the legal powers of her office to further her political career, Feehery told The Epoch Times. Feehery doesnt believe that the latest round of legal complications facing Trump will have the effect of pushing him to the sidelines to the benefit of other possible contenders for the GOP nomination in 2024, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Im not sure how this helps DeSantis, other than further creating bad noise about Trump. I think this attack is so nakedly partisan, it might help Trump, Feehery said. The Epoch Times has reached out to Jamess office for comment. Nikki Haley: Dragon Slayer Commentary SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, PennsylvaniaFormer U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is in the process of filing a lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James for allegedly leaking to the press a list of donors to her nonprofit Stand for America. Last week Haley released the findings of the New York Freedom of Information Act request she filed late last month with Jamess office. Haleys team requested records of all Freedom of Information Act requests about Stand for America from Jan. 1, 2019, to the present. James office responded, Please be advised that the Office of the Attorney General has conducted a diligent search and has located no records that respond to your request. The attorney generals answer raises more questions than answers and leaves open the possibility that the attorney generals office illegally sent donor data or emailed it via unofficial emails, then leaked it to Documented, the watchdog group that gave Haleys donor list to Politico. Last Tuesday, Haley sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding that the Department of Justice investigate the illegal delivery, receipt, and public disclosure of a list of the identities of donors to Stand for America. These illicit acts are subject to criminal penalties, and it is your duty to launch an inquiry, follow the facts wherever they lead, and prosecute, she wrote. Haley added that once Garlands office has concluded its investigation, it should prosecute all those responsible to the fullest extent permitted by law. The materials, which contained donor namesall influential men and women in the conservative movementwere leaked in August to Politico in a chilling act of intimidation against conservative political speech. Haley, a Republican, has been an outspoken critic of New Yorks no-bail laws and believes this is an instance of retaliation. Haley launched Stand for America after leaving the Trump administration in 2019. In an interview with the Washington Examiner while she was campaigning with Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz in Delaware County, Haley said that when she was first contacted by Politico about the donor list, she was stunned by the outlets access to something that was supposed to remain private. They say they have it, she said. We say, Show it to us. They send it to us and, look at the back page, its stamped by the New York State Attorney Generals Office. This is how liberals behave, she added. Once again, they were upset that I was calling out what was going on in New York state, and they are upset that Im calling out Biden for his failings, and they are trying to intimidate conservatives to be silent or hide in the shadows. Were not going to let it happen. Were suing the New York state attorney general, and I am going to Merrick Garland and saying, You need to investigate what happened, and you owe us an answer on this, and were going to keep on fighting through this. Republicans have been too nice for too long, she said. At the end of the day, theres no time to whine and complain about this. This is time to fight, and we go back, and were going to hold her accountable. Haley has been all over the country with conservative candidates running for office, as was the case with Oz here in suburban Philadelphia. The audience here gave her a warm welcome: After the event, several attendees said they were impressed with her delivery, her willingness to take the fight to the Left, and her grace. Some said they would love to see her run for president in 2024. The first female governor of the Palmetto State has a formidable record of helping candidates in Republican primaries this cycle: Her endorsement record shows she went six for six in GOP primaries in Iowa. She was also successful in her home states most competitive Republican congressional primaries in June, when U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) defeated challenger Katie Arrington. In that race, she went head-to-head with former President Donald Trump and won. Haleys fall schedule, which included this crowded event with Oz, is packed with travel plans that will take her across the country to headline events with various candidates. Her efforts to stump for candidates around the country could prove to be a wise investment of time and effort if she chooses to run in the Republican primary for president in 2024. Haley said that when she talks to voters at events such as this one, she finds that it is the media and the Democrats who are myopically focused on Trump. They are missing what is really motivating voters to the polls. Frankly, Im not hearing voters talk about Trump or Biden, she said. What theyre talking about is that gas prices are high, and thats how they get to work. Grocery prices are high, and thats how they feed their family. And they are frustrated and scared of the very idea that theyre having to dip into their savings accounts to pay for both. The idea that utility bills are going through the roof, or they cant get basic supplies for their homes or businesses; thats what theyre talking about. And theyre talking about crime on the streets and border. Theyre talking about education for their kids. They dont feel like they have the luxury of politics. They just want someone to hear them and fight for them because they feel like we got to get things back on track. After her event with Oz, Haley left Pennsylvania for Georgia, where she was doing an event with Herschel Walker in his quest to unseat incumbent Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock. I feel like were in a different state all the time, she said, laughing. What I can tell you is weve endorsed over 50 candidates. We raised over four and a half million dollars. Were not going to stop until we get to Election Day. As for the release of her documents, Haley said she is not going to back down in demanding answers for that as wellnot just for herself, but for all the conservative groups and conservatives whose private information has been illegally leaked by government officials as a form of political punishment. These disclosures arent just meant to intimidate people, she said. They are a violation of federal and state law, and I am not just going to stand aside any longer as liberals use government power as a weapon against conservatives. Haley is a true dragon slayer. When she was wrongly accused by The View host Sunny Hostin for being a chameleon for not using her Indian first name, Haley shot back, saying, Nikki is my name. It is on my birth certificate. It is an Indian name, and I embrace my Indian heritage. I have written two books that describe the struggles that my family had, what it was like growing up. Its not the first time, and it wont be the last time that the hosts of The View come after me or that liberals come after me in whatever way, Haley said. They cant stand the fact that a minority female would be a conservative Republican. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. State Department spokesman Ned Price speaks on the situation in Afghanistan at the State Department in Washington on Aug. 18, 2021. (Andrew Harnik/Reuters) North Korea Not Cooperating in Efforts to Negotiate for Denuclearization: US Official The United States has attempted to engage North Korea in dialogue for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but the Kim Jong Un regime has responded only with provocations, a U.S. official said Monday. This offer of dialogue and diplomacy has, at least so far, been met only with additional provocations, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at a press briefing. North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile off its east coast on Sept. 25, officials in South Korea and Japan said, just two days after U.S. aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan arrived in South Korea for naval drills. Japans Defense Ministry said the details of the missile launch were being investigated but that the missile would have flown about 400 kilometers (249 miles) at an altitude of 50 kilometers (31 miles) on a regular trajectory. North Korea has conducted a series of missile launches this year, including one involving its largest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17, all of which are banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions. The DPRK tends to go through periods of provocation, periods of engagement. Its very clear that were in a period of provocation now, he said, referring to North Koreas official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. Price said Washington remains open to negotiation and would continue to work with treaty allies to enhance their defense. Denuclearization Requires a Willing Partner Special envoy Sung Kim said recently that Washington had offered to negotiate with North Korea via a communication channel in New York but received no response from the Kim regime. I believe our last communication with the DPRK was during the summer. We sent the message reiterating in reengagement and also reoffering our assistance in COVID-related items, he told reporters in Seoul, The Korea Times reported. Sung Kim said South Korea and Washington have many creative ideas for reengagement with North Korea to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but they need cooperation on the other side to do this. The problem is that in order for us to try these ideas, we need a partner. But the one thing we want to avoid is just negotiating by ourselves, he said. We need a willing partner on the other side of the table, who will engage us in a serious discussion about all of these ideas that we have many creative ideas, including ideas to address their concerns, the envoy added. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol had offered to provide North Korea with an economic plan to help improve North Koreans livelihoods in stages in exchange for complete denuclearization. But North Korea rejected Yoons offer. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said that there will be no denuclearization talks, negotiations, or bargaining chips in that process. The country adopted a first-use nuclear doctrine on Sept. 8, which Kim stated would make North Koreas status as a nuclear weapons state irreversible. NSW Refusing to Play Ball on Queenslands Contentious Extra-Territorial Land Tax New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet has ruled out cooperating with Queensland state authorities to help roll out its contentious extra-territorial land tax. In a nation first, the Queensland Labor governments proposal will calculate the amount of land tax owed by an investor based on their total property holdings across the country, instead of what they own in the state. For example, if an individual owned 10 properties around Australia and they were to buy just one in Queensland, the government would charge land tax based on an aggregated valuation of all the properties added together. The move has drawn a sharp response from property groups who warn it could drive away investors from the state, particularly as Queensland undergoes a severe rental crisisproperties provided by investors are a major pool of housing for renters. On Sept. 26, Premier Perrottet said he would block attempts from Queensland to access housing ownership data in New South Wales (NSW)the countrys most populous state. This is a tax implemented by a state that impacts the residents of NSW, he said, in comments obtained by AAP. It is wrong and we are not going to comply with it, so we are not going to provide that information. The premier said his Liberal government would test the constitutional validity of the new land tax. This is a retrospective tax, he said. Some of those investors would not have been paying any tax at all because of the way they structured those investments. Plenty of Groundwork Left to Be Done One of the key challenges for the Queensland governments new scheme is compiling and identifying what properties individuals may own across the countryeach jurisdiction runs its own land registry with little crossover. Currently, the government will rely on an honesty system where individuals complete a declaration of their landholdings, while an additional nine employees will be hired to implement the scheme. Queenslands deputy under treasurer, Leon Allen, has previously conceded that no existing arrangements on sharing data existed and the success of the policy would be highly dependent on what information could be obtained. Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick meanwhile has responded to Perrottets comments saying it was motivated by the upcoming state election. Dominic Perrottet is making these statements today because hes six months out from an election, hes tanking in the polls and its an election that hes likely to lose, he told reporters in Brisbane on Sept. 27. No Solution in Sight for Housing Crisis The treasurer has framed the policy as closing a supposed loophole in the tax system and that it would stop competition with local buyers. His government claims the move will generate an additional $20 million a year and impact only 10,000 landholders. The government has recently hosted a Housing Summit to drum up ideas to deal with the rental crisiscurrent vacancies have dropped to under one percent. Most recently, it has lifted restrictions around renting out granny flats to non-relatives. State opposition leader David Crisafulli has responded to the new land tax saying it will hamper the appetite for investors to look towards Queensland. Think about what this does to the psyche of somebody wanting to invest, he told 2GB radio on Aug. 30. The last thing we want is for the people who have already invested in Queensland to sell. It is estimated around 36 percent of Queenslanders rent. Economist Robert Carling of the Centre for Independent Studies said it has taken the Queensland government 70 years to close the so-called loophole. State land taxes have never, in the more than 100 years they have existed, taken into account anything other than land values within each state. So if there was a loophole, Queensland was pretty slow to do anything about it, he wrote in The Epoch Times. Queenslands land tax increase is imaginative. Its just a pity they are not as imaginative in finding ways to control state government spending. A Google Maps image shows the storm surge before Hurricane Ian on the morning of Sept. 27, 2022. (Google Maps screenshot via The Epoch Times) Officials Issue Mandatory Evacuation Orders Ahead of Hurricane Ian Hurricane Ian is now a major Category 3 hurricane as it lashes the western portion of Cuba, although the storm is still forecast to strengthen further before hitting western Florida as officials have implemented mandatory evacuation orders. This is a much different storm. [Hurricane] Charley was a lot smaller, it was powerful, it was a Category 4. Most of the damage from Charley was from wind and wind destruction, DeSantis said on Tuesday morning, referring to a 2004 Category 4 storm that hit western Floridas coast. Hurricane warnings are in effect for Bonita Beach to the Anclote River, including Tampa Bay, in Florida, officials said. With Ian, what we have here is really historic storm surge and flooding potential, the governor added. If youre looking at those places in Fort Myers, Charlotte County, Sarasotathe storm surge that youre going to see generated from this is going to far eclipse what we saw in 2004, he said. Hurricane Ians sustained winds intensified to about 125 mph on Tuesday morning as it made landfall in western Cuba, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Its expected to hit near the Tampa area around 2 a.m. on Thursday morning, NHC modeling shows. When it makes landfall, Ian will be at least a Category 3 with 111 mph winds at the minimum, according to the model. I know theres folks in southwest Florida who remember Hurricane Charley was projected to make a direct impact into Tampa Bay, and then it turned and went into southwest Florida. I would just say the track may end up doing something similar, but this is a much different storm, DeSantis also said. A satellite image shows Hurricane Ian growing stronger as it barreled toward Cuba on Sept. 26, 2022. (NASA Worldview/Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) via AP) The governor and other Florida officials warned that people around Tampa should heed evacuation orders due to the significant flooding that Ian is expected to bring. Storm surge of between 5 to 10 feet is anticipated for Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, said the NHC in its update Tuesday. Five to 8 feet of storm surge is also expected between the Suwannee River to Anclote River areas. There is a danger of life-threatening storm surge along much of the Florida west coast where a storm surge warning has been issued, with the highest risk from Fort Myers to the Tampa Bay region, the NHC warned. Evacuations Evacuation orders have already been issued for areas along the western Florida coastline. Mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders are in effect in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Charlotte, Collier, Hernando, Sarasota, Pasco, and Manatee counties. Authorities in Florida created an interactive map to show locals if their county or locality is under an evacuation order ahead of Ian. We expect to have to evacuate 300,000 people, and that will take some time, Hillsborough County Administrator Bonnie Wise told reporters. Thats why we are starting today. This is a worst-case scenario with a very strong, slow-moving storm just to the west of us, noted Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes, as reported by Fox Weather. On Tuesday morning, Lee Countys top official issued a mandatory evacuation order. The evacuation this morning is a mandatory evacuation order, and that is as mandatory as can be, Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais said in a press conference on Tuesday. We will not be going house to house enforcing people to leave, but we are stressing the importance of people getting out of harms way. Hurricane Ian is forecast to intensify to a Category 4 storm with winds of around 140 mph by Wednesday, according to the agency in a forecast discussion. A group of more than 350 illegal immigrants wait for Border Patrol after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into Del Rio, Texas, on July 25, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) 1 in 4 Illegal Aliens Released Into US Without Registration Number: IG Report Border Patrol agents failed to assign an official alien registration number to up to one-fourth of illegal immigrants released into the United States between April and September last year, according to a new report issued by the Department of Homeland Security inspector general (IG). An alien registration number, or A-number, is meant to be provided to every illegal alien being released into the United States, as well as all legal immigrants. Its a unique number assigned to each individual that allows immigration authorities and law enforcement to track that persons case and status. The IGs office selected 384 illegal aliens for its report, from a total number of 384,938 potentially released into the United States during the six-month period. We found that Border Patrol did not issue A-numbers for 107 of 384 migrants, most of whom were paroled into the country or issued Notices to Report, the Sept. 21 report states. The IGs office noted that it was unable to extrapolate the results to the whole population as the missing A-numbers applied to members of a family. The agency didnt respond to a request asking for more clarification as to why the results couldnt be extrapolated. As border regions became overcrowded and overwhelmed last year, Washington leadership instructed Border Patrol agents to release entire families with just the head of household given an A-number. When agents apprehend illegal aliens, they usually take biographical information such as fingerprints and photographs to attach to each persons file that has its own unique A-number. However, no biographical information is taken for children under the age of 14. The IGs office said it conducted its report to determine to what extent CBP [Customs and Border Protection] screened migrants to prevent criminals, drug traffickers, and terrorist watch list individuals from entering the United States along the Southwest Border. In total, during fiscal year 2021, Border Patrol apprehended more than 1.6 million illegal aliens at the southern border. This fiscal year it will reach more than 2 million. Missing Files In addition to the failure to provide A-numbers, Border Patrol destroyed files relating to illegal aliens that the IG report said the agency should have retained. Border Patrol and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services could not provide 80 of the requested 384 migrant files because they were either lost, disposed of, or in transit, the report stated. Border Patrol disposed of the files because they did not have A-numbers and were unaware of record retention requirements. Aside from the above issues, the IGs office found that Border Patrol agents followed the requisite screening procedures to prevent illegal aliens with serious criminal backgrounds or individuals on the terrorist watch list from entering the United States. During fiscal year 2021, Border Patrol agents apprehended 15 illegal aliens who were on the terrorist watchlist, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics. So far in fiscal 2022, agents have apprehended 78 individuals on the watchlist between ports of entry. Border Patrol agents have apprehended nearly 11,000 convicted criminals at the border and a further 836 with warrants for arrest so far this fiscal year. An additional 697 gang members have been arrested at the border. The IG report doesnt mention the number of illegal aliens Border Patrol detects but doesnt apprehend. That number is estimated to be approximately 800,000 for fiscal year 2022 so far. Of the 617,600 illegal immigrants Border Patrol released into the United States in fiscal year 2021, the Inspector Generals office determined that more than 353,500 were issued an A-number and an immigration court date to start removal proceedings. An additional 103,900 were released with a notice to report, which was a request to check in with a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement office within 60 days, which would then issue an A-number. Further, 35,200 were released with an A-number only issued to the head of the household, but with a tracking mechanism such as an ankle bracelet or smartphone. The remainder, more than 125,000 individuals, were released through other processing pathways not specified in the report. The IG report recommended that all illegal aliens released into the United States be issued an A-number, records be retained, and processing pathways comply with existing law and policy. People hold up signs during a rally against "critical race theory" (CRT) being taught in schools at the Loudoun County Government center in Leesburg, Virginia, on June 12, 2021. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) Opponents of Arizonas Universal School Choice Law May Have Inflated Petition Numbers, Says Sponsor A group of residents opposing Arizonas new universal school choice law failed to gather the required minimum number of voter signatures to bring the legislation to a ballot vote in 2024, according to the laws primary sponsor. Arizona State House Majority Leader Ben Toma, a Republican, said an independent review of every sheet of collected signatures submitted by Save Our Schools Arizona (SOS Arizona) found the actual number of signatures to be well below the legally required 118,000 to move forward with the referendum proposal. The school choice law would have gone into effect on Sept. 24, but remains on hold pending signature count and verification by the office of Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. At a rally in Phoenix on Sept. 23, SOS Arizona members cheered and clapped as they declared their 80-day petition drive a complete success, claiming volunteers garnered 141,474 voter signatures. These voters have repudiated the schemes of Gov. [Doug] Ducey and the Republican-led legislature that continually work to defund our public schools in service to special interests, an SOS Arizona spokeswoman said during the rally. However, Toma said the actual number of signatures is less than 90,000, with little margin for error, as revealed in scanned documents by the Goldwater Institute and associated organizations over the weekend. Nowhere Near Minimum By our count, there are just over 88,000 signatures. So they do not have anywhere near the minimum. And thats before we even try to determine if [the signatures] are valid. Toma said he expects quite a few signatures to be declared invalid by the office of Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat candidate for governor. Having said that, it doesnt matter because they dont have the minimum [number], to begin with, Toma told The Epoch Times. Toma said that when he confronted SOS Arizona executive director Beth Lewis with his findings, she told him the 141,474 figure was only an estimate. They did not mention it was an estimate until we pointed out you are nowhere near the number, Toma said. Bottom line is, thats their defenseit was only an estimate. It is not a game changer by any means. SOS Arizona described itself on Facebook as a grassroots, non-partisan group of volunteers that rejects an expanded ESA funding program. The group did not respond to an email from The Epoch Times seeking comment. For now, it appears SOS Arizona has failed to stop ESA expansionand that means [the new law] could be going into effect, said Jenny Clark, an Arizona parent and founder of Love Your School in Arizona, who supports universal school choice. Referendum Built On Fallacy In a Sept. 26 press release, Toma said that proponents of the universal school choice referendum built their effort on the fallacy that Arizonas ESA program harms public schools. That, of course, is untrue. In Arizona, we have seen that when funding follows the students, the performance of schools and students has improved. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed HB2853 into law in August, saying an expanded ESA program would broaden educational opportunities for students. The expanded program will provide $6,500 for each child yearly for a private school, homeschool, micro-school, tutoring, or any other service outside the public education system. An estimated 1 million students are in 691 school districts in Arizona, 238 of which are traditional districts, 429 charter districts, and 24 other education educational organizations. However, SOS Arizona believes that an expanded ESA program takes money away from public schools and puts it in the hands of private interests. But according to the American Federal for Childrens Arizona chapter, state law allows parents to use their education tax dollars in whatever way is best for their child. They [SOS Arizona] are trying to collect signatures [to] strip away power from parents over their childrens education, the organization wrote on Facebook. The Arizona Secretary of States Office in Phoenix did not return a call seeking comment from The Epoch Times. Parents Awarded Legal Costs After Taking UK Government to Court Over School Transgender Guidance The UK government has settled with a Christian family over a legal case in which they were labeled transphobic for refusing to follow a primary schools transgender-affirming policies. The case goes back to 2017 when Nigel Rowe, 49, and his wife Sally, 47, questioned the policy of their two sons Church of England primary school in the Isle of Wight that allowed transgender pupils to attend as their chosen sex. We were focused on the trans ideology pushed on children. It seemed to me that schools were just accepting, including the church. When we raised it, the backlash was unbelievable, Nigel Rowe told The Epoch Times. The parents took legal action against the Department for Education (DfE) after they and their 6-year-old son were labelled transphobic in a letter, after raising concerns a boy in their sons class, also aged 6, was allowed to come to school identifying as girl. Labelled Transphobic The Rowes first publicly objected to the schools transgender guidance in 2017 when they removed their second son from the school. The parents took their first son out of school in 2016 after he came home confused over a similar experience. According to the Christian Legal Centre, which supported the Rowes, the parents were given an accept it or leave ultimatum by the school in 2017, which told them that their second son would be demonstrating transphobic behaviour if he showed an inability to believe a transgender person is actually a real female or male, or refused to acknowledge a transgendered persons true gender e.g. by failing to use their adopted name or using gender inappropriate pronouns. In response, the Rowes wrote to the DfE calling on the secretary of state for education to intervene. They also called on the DfE to scrap the Cornwall Schools Transgender Guidelines, guidance that covers chest binding, gender neutral bathrooms, and puberty blockers, and was written in collaboration with LGBT resource The Intercom Trust, Devon and Cornwall Police, and Cornwall Council. They also presented expert advice, though the DfE found no grounds to intervene regarding the schools actions, making the claim that the matter was unrelated to education. A London bus passes the Department of Education building in London on Dec. 28, 2020. (Hollie Adams/Getty Images) In February, the Rowes then won permission at the High Court for a judicial review of the DfEs decision, with Lord Justice Lane arguing that the case was reviewable because it deals with matters of education, which is a responsibility of the state. On Saturday, the Christian Legal Centre announced that instead of a full judicial review hearing, in July, the DfE settled the case and awarded the Rowes 22,000 ($23,500) in costs, which they intend to donate to the organisation. A DfE spokesperson told The Epoch Times by email that, independently of the Rowes claim, it is working with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to develop guidance for schools on transgender matters following feedback from the sector earlier this year. Public consultation on the draft guidance will take place in the autumn and the Rowes will have the opportunity to respond to it. Valuing All Gods Children At the time, the local Church of England diocese backed the schools position based on its Valuing All Gods Children guidance on challenging homophobic, bi-phobic, and transphobic bullying. The guidance covers the Church of Englands 4,700 schools (pdf). In its section on primary schools it says: In creating a school environment that promotes dignity for all and a call to live fulfilled lives as uniquely gifted individuals, pupils will be equipped to accept difference of all varieties and be supported to accept their own gender identity or sexual orientation and that of others. When the parents first shared their story in 2017, they said they were widely labelled as bigots and ostracised. On ITVs This Morning, presenter Phillip Schofield told the Rowes that they were the ones with the problem. The couple, who are now homeschooling their two children, said they received no support or contact from the Church of England. Nigel Rowe added that he believes that the church has become apostate in the sense that it no longer stands on Judeo-Biblical values, which specifies what a man is and what a woman is. The church is more worried about upsetting people. Ive always believed that the truly loving thing is to tell people the truth, he said. Sally Rowe told The Epoch Times that the culture is moulding them more than the other way around, instead of standing on Biblical truth. She added that when they first spoke out there was such hostility, but now they feel vindicated. First to Expose In a statement, Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said that Nigel and Sally Rowe were the first parents to expose transgender ideology in our primary schools five years ago. The government and wider public are only now beginning to see the evidence that backs the arguments and concerns the Rowes made from the beginning on transgender ideology, said Williams. We will continue to hold local authorities, schools, and the government to account if these commitments and promises are not adequately met, she added. The Church of England did not respond to a request for comment. Former Green Beret and Colorado Republican Congressional candidate Tyler Allcorn speaks with voters at a March forum during his winning primary campaign to become one of 180 veterans running for the House and the Senate. (Courtesy of Allcorn For Colorado) Parties Turn to Military Veterans as Voters See Them as Trustworthy, Problem-Solving Team Players Since the end of the U.S. military draft in 1973, the number of former service members elected to Congress has been steadily dwindling. Before the mid-70s, one out of every four senators and congressional representatives had served in the military. With 93 veterans17 in the Senate, 76 in the Houseseated with the 117th Congress in 2020, that ratio is now less than 1 in 6, the lowest percentage since at least before World War II. The trend appears to be reversing, albeit slowly. In 2018, more than 350 veterans ran in party primaries, with 173 winning. In 2020, about 400 ran, with 182 winning preliminary contests, according to With Honor Action, a cross-partisan organization that supports veterans. Aggressive Recruiting More than 400 military veterans also ran for Congress in House and Senate primaries during the 2022 midterm cycle, with 180 winning to earn berths on November ballots for 162 races, With Honor Action reports. The National Republican Congressional Committee reported this spring that it had recruited 251 veterans to run for federal office during the 2022 midterms, with about half that number running as Democrats. Both parties aggressively recruit veterans to run because, as surveys and studies such as a 2016 analysis by Pew Research Center show, Americans believe military veterans are more likely to work together as elected officials to solve problems even when they disagree. Having more veterans run and hold office at every level of government is, we believe, the key to getting this country back on track and increasing faith and respect in our political system, Al Quaye, president of American Veterans Honor Fund, told The Epoch Times. The Alexandria, Virginia-based American Veterans Honor Fund, not to be confused with North Carolina-based With Honor Action, provides training and resources for veterans who want to run for office and resources for citizens to better understand the benefits of electing veterans in all levels of government, he said. Unlike the 2-million-member American Legion and 1.6-million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars, which dont endorse individual congressional candidates, Quayes organization endorses candidates and campaigns. American Veterans Honor Fund, SEALS PAC, and Green Beret PAC are among veteran groups that support conservative candidates, while VoteVets is among those that back progressive veteran candidates. Veteran Groups According to an October 2020 Military Times poll, 52.4 percent of veteran respondents intended to vote for President Donald Trump, compared to 42.3 percent for President Joe Biden. As of Sept. 16, American Veterans Honor Fund had raised $3.5 million and spent $3.24 million on campaign contributions and advertising during the midterm election cycle, according to OpenSecrets. It has also staged Get Out the Vote drives that activated 30,000 voters in North Carolina and 60,000 in California. American Veterans Honor Fund backed three Republican Senate candidatesSam Brown in Nevada, Eli Bremer in Colorado, and Marjorie Eastman in North Carolinawho all lost. Two of its three House endorsements were also defeated by party rivals. Results were very mixed for veteran candidates overall in the primaries, Quaye said, but he noted that hes encouraged to see more veterans running as first-time candidates and more of the nations 18 million veterans becoming actively engaged as leaders in their communities. The primaries have shown us that veterans are being more accepted as candidates at the state and federal levels, especially in the South, the former U.S. Army officer said. We believe military experience lends itself well to serving as an elected officialproven loyalty to this country, responsibility, and tested leadership skills. Military veterans, especially those with overseas, expeditionary, and combat experience, are the ideal leaders our country needs to repair its reputation and regain the trust of its citizens. Campaign Contributions Green Beret PAC, founded in May by former Green Beret and CIA analyst Jason Bacon, endorsed 11 candidates during the primary, including eight former Green Berets. Nine advanced, including seven former Green Berets. Among them is Republican New Hampshire Senate candidate Don Bolduc, Washington congressional hopeful Joe Kent, and incumbent Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.). SEAL PAC, which reports that it has spent $900,000 since August in campaign contributions and ads, endorsed 26 House and three Senate candidates, including Bolduc, with the bulk of its efforts dedicated to helping six former SEALS and three accomplished veterans win in November. The six include former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Marcus Luttrell running for seats in Montana and Texas, respectively; Ed Thelander in Maine; Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin; Conrad Kress in Hawaii; and Eli Crane in Arizona. Former Green Beret Tyler Allcorn secured endorsements from both the Green Beret and SEAL PACs in defeating a state senator, a mayor, and a county commissioner in Colorados June 28 Republican primary in the states newly created 8th Congressional District. Hell face state Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a Democrat, in the Nov. 8 election in a race that FiveThirtyEight and The Cook Partisan Voting Index rate as a toss-up. Partisan Paralysis Allcorn said his background in the oil and gas industry was an asset during his primary campaign, but when he discussed his experiences as a veteran, thats when people really responded to him. I let people know I am a veteran, he told The Epoch Times. People dont want to see the same people do the same things that got us into the situation we are in today. Allcorn said voters are tired of professional politicians and partisan paralysis. Theyre eager to elect people who will do the peoples business without the rancor that has become standard, he said, and thats something veterans have the proven capacity to do. Were mission-oriented, and we have a mission in front of usgetting this country back on track, he said. I see a lot of veterans are running now because we have been at war for 20 years. Youll be hearing from a lot of us. Quaye said he, too, expects to see more veterans running and winning elections in the coming years. We do expect to see an increase of veterans elected to Congress, particularly if they are already well-known, but as an organization, we believe that more veterans need to start running in local elections: school boards, city councils, and county levels, he said. We need to build from the ground up, and that is a great way to build understanding of running for elected office, building confidence in the political sphere, and building support. A crest of the Federal Bureau of Investigation inside the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington on Aug. 3, 2007. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) Pennsylvania Pro-Life Advocate to Appear in Federal Court Following Dawn SWAT Raid A pro-life advocate and father of seven will appear in federal court in Philadelphia on Sept. 27 to face charges that he violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act) outside a Pennsylvania abortion clinic nearly a year ago. Mark Houck, a Catholic pro-life speaker and author from Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, is accused of twice physically assaulting a patient escort at a Planned Parenthood clinic during an altercation in October 2021. On Sept. 23, a heavily armed Justice Department SWAT team arrested the 48-year-old Houck at his home at gunpoint, placing him in handcuffs while his terrified wife and children looked on. Houck became the latest target of President Joe Bidens Department of Justice solely to intimidate people of faith and pro-life Americans, said Peter Breen, an attorney at the Thomas Moore Society, a national non-profit law firm representing Houck in the case. Mark Houck is innocent of these lawless charges, and we intend to prove that in court, Breen said in a Sept. 26 statement. About 20 heavily armed FBI agents stormed Houcks home at daybreak on Sept. 23, pointing guns at his head and then arresting him in front of his wife Ryan-Marie and their young children. He faces two counts of physically assaulting the patient escort. In June, Thomas Moore Society attorneys notified the DOJ that the FACE Act does not cover one-on-one altercations like the one involving Houck, which they claimed was initiated by an abortion supporter harassing Houcks son. The attorneys also advised that Houck would appear in court voluntarily to face any charges against him. Rather than accepting Mark Houcks offer to appear voluntarily, the Biden Department of Justice chose to make an unnecessary show of potentially deadly force, sending 20 heavily armed federal agents to the Houck residence at dawn this past Friday, Breen said in the statement. In threatening form, after nearly breaking down the familys front door, at least five agents pointed guns at Marks head and arrested him in front of his wife and seven young children, who were terrified that their husband and father would be shot dead before their eyes. Donations continued to pour in for the Houck family via the Christian crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo, which totaled $137,000 as of Sept. 25. Mark Houck faces up to 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines of up to $350,000 if convicted. In June 2019, Thomas Moore Society attorneys won a similar case in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, establishing that a one-off altercation cannot form the basis for a FACE Act complaint. Philippines to Shut 175 Offshore Gambling Firms, Deport 40,000 Chinese Workers MANILAThe Philippines will stop operations of 175 offshore gambling firms and deport about 40,000 Chinese workers, a justice ministry official said on Monday, part of a crackdown on the notoriously opaque online gaming industry. The sector emerged in the Philippines in 2016 and grew exponentially, as operators capitalized on the countrys liberal gaming laws to target customers in China, where gambling is banned. At their peak, Philippine offshore gambling operators, or POGOs, employed more than 300,000 Chinese workers, but the pandemic and higher taxes have forced many to operate elsewhere. The crackdown was triggered by reports of murder, kidnapping, and other crimes committed by Chinese nationals against fellow Chinese nationals, justice ministry spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano said. The POGOs targeted for closure had licenses that either expired or were revoked, for violations like non-payment of government fees, Clavano said, adding the deportation of the Chinese workers would start next month. The government generated 7.2 billion pesos ($122.21 million) in 2020 and 3.9 billion last year in POGO fees alone, according to the finance ministry. Economists estimate considerably larger amounts are being spent on taxes, workers spending, and office rental. The Chinese embassy in Manila in a statement said Beijing supports the deportation and crackdown on POGO-related crimes. The Philippines regulator, which recently said there were 30 licensed POGO firms versus 60 before the pandemic, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Real estate consultancy Leechiu Property Consultants estimates that a complete exit of the POGO industry would leave vacant 1.05 million square meters (259 acres) of office spacea third of the size of New Yorks Central Parkand 8.9 billion pesos ($151 million) in foregone annual rent. The sector employs 201,000 Chinese and 111,000 Filipinos, according to Leechius data, which estimates POGOs deliver 190 billion pesos ($3.22 billion) to the economy each year, a boon to the property and retail sectors. ($1 = 59.01 Philippine pesos) Mark Houck and his family as seen in a file photo. (GiveSendGo screenshot via The Epoch Times) Pro-Life Activist Mark Houck Pleads Not Guilty After Widely Criticized FBI Arrest Pro-life activist Mark Houck pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to federal charges after he was arrested by FBI agents in an early morning raid last week that was decried by his wife. Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors accused Houck of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and said he forcefully shoved an abortion clinic escort to the ground two times in an incident in Philadelphia last October. A spokesperson for Houck, however, disputed those allegations over the weekend and noted that at the local level, the case was thrown out. He pleaded not guilty to the two counts in connection to the incident inside a Philadelphia federal court on Tuesday, according to Fox News. Houcks attorney, Peter Breen, said Tuesday that the case was already tossed in Pennsylvania state courts. If he was truly a danger to the community, they wouldnt have waited a year to prosecute, Breen, with the Thomas Moore Society, said outside the Philadelphia courthouse, according to Fox News. Serious questions need to be asked of the Attorney General. What was he thinking? Why did they do this obscene show of force against a peaceful pillar of the community? The FBI raid and indictment is politically motivated, said Breen, who asserted that the DOJ and FBI are trying to send a message to pro-life and people of faith to not mess with us. They want to intimidate they want to cause good people like Mark to stop praying and counseling at the abortion clinics of our country, he continued. And thats not going to happen. In a news release, the DOJ alleged Houck assaulted and shoved a 72-year-old man, B.L., to the ground as he was escorting people at a Planned Parenthood location in Philadelphia. Breen disputed those claims and said B.L. was extremely aggressive and harassing Houcks 12-year-old son before an altercation ensued. In June, Houck offered to voluntarily surrender to the DOJ on the charges, Breen told media outlets on Monday. FBI Raid Houcks wife, Ryan-Marie Houck, alleged to several news websites over the past weekend that dozens of FBI agents showed up at their home, with guns drawn, and threatened to break down their door if they didnt open. Then, the agents went inside and pointed their firearms at Houck, his wife, and possibly their children, she said. When reached for comment, an FBI spokesperson told The Epoch Times that some allegations about the raid were inaccurate. There are inaccurate claims being made regarding the arrest of Mark Houck. No SWAT Team or SWAT operators were involved, the FBI Philadelphia office told The Epoch Times on Monday. FBI agents knocked on Mr. Houcks front door, identified themselves as FBI agents, and asked him to exit the residence. He did so and was taken into custody without incident pursuant to an indictment. The FBI didnt directly address claims made by Ryan-Marie Houck that agents had their guns drawn and pointed them at her and Mark Houck. While its the FBIs standard practice not to discuss such operational specifics, we can say that the number of personnel and vehicles widely reported as being on scene Friday is an overstatement, and the tactics used by FBI personnel were professional, in line with standard practices, and intended to ensure the safety of everyone present in and outside the residence, it said. Republicans and conservatives have condemned the FBI and DOJ over his arrest, accusing the Biden administration of targeting law-abiding citizens for political gain. A GiveSendGo fundraiser has raised more than $262,000 for Houcks family as of Tuesday afternoon. People line up to get tested for COVID-19 at a nucleic acid testing site on a street in Shanghai on Sept. 21, 2022. (Aly Song/Reuters) Prominent Chinese Commentator Urges COVID-19 Experts to Speak Out BEIJINGProminent Chinese commentator Hu Xijin said on Sunday that as China ponders its COVID-19 policies, epidemic experts need to speak out and China ought to conduct comprehensive research and make any studies transparent to the public. Hus unusual call on Chinese social media for candor and transparency earned him 34,000 likes on the popular Twitter-like microblog Weibo, as well as frank responses from netizens in a normally tightly policed internet quick to censor voices deemed a risk to social stability. The Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) top leaders warned in May amid the COVID-19 lockdown of Shanghai and widespread restrictions in the Chinese capital Beijing that they would fight any comment or action that distorted, doubted or repudiated the the CCPs COVID policies. About the future, China needs very rational research and calculations, said Hu, former editor-in-chief of nationalist state tabloid Global Times. Experts must speak out, and the country should organize comprehensive studies and make them transparent to the public: what are the pros and cons for our common people, and what are the overall pros and cons for the country? The Chinese regime has significantly tightened its COVID-19 policies this year to contain the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant even as its official death toll since the pandemic began remains lowaround 5,226 as of Saturdayand as many other countries let go of tough restrictions and learn to live with the coronavirus. The actual number of COVID-19 deaths may be much higher. Chinas COVID-19 data is difficult to verify, as the Chinese regime routinely suppresses or alters information. Oppose excessive epidemic prevention, one Weibo user wrote in response to Hus post. In the name of putting the lives of people first, entire cities have been subjected to varying degrees of lockdown, while the infected or suspected cases are confined in facilities or at home, and local populations are required to take a PCR test every two to three days or be barred from public amenities and spaces. I dont mind being infected, but I fear you cant help but stop me from moving freely, another Weibo user said. Even Chinese-controlled Hong Kong is moving to scrap its controversial COVID-19 hotel quarantine policy for all arrivals, more than 2.5 years after it was first implemented, and just weeks ahead of a major CCP congress in Beijing next month when Xi Jinping is expected to secure a precedent-breaking third term as the CCP leader. Macau is also planning to reopen its borders to mainland tour groups in November, the city surprised with an announcement on Saturday. Providence to Invest $712 Million in Expanding Hospital Facilities in South Orange County A multistage plan is set to expand Providences medical facilities in south Orange County, California, officials announced last week. Providencea nonprofit, Catholic health care system operating dozens of hospitals in seven stateswill fund the $712 million of projects to meet the ongoing development and ever-growing demand for high-quality health care in [the region], according to a Sept. 19 statement. The projects include a patient care tower for Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, which will add around 100 beds and private patient rooms, and two new specialty health centers in Rancho Mission Viejo and San Clemente. The funding will come from Providences capital funds, as well as some local philanthropists, according to the health care systems Chief Executive Seth Teigen. Seth Teigen, chief executive of Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, Calif. (Courtesy of Providence Mission Hospital) The new patient care tower is scheduled to open in 2028, with updated operating suites and cardiac labs to improve the neuroscience center, cardiovascular programs, and maternity services. The San Clemente and Rancho Mission Viejo health centers are expected to open in the next few years, each with a full-service imaging center and a multi-purpose clinic with primary, urgent, and specialty care providers, such as OB/GYNs. The Rancho Mission Viejo center will be bigger since Providence has considered its growing community. A rendered image of Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, Calif. (Courtesy of Providence Mission Hospital) Operating for 50 years, the Providence Mission Hospital is the only trauma center in south Orange County accredited by the American College of Surgeons. Providence began in 1856 with members of the Catholic church establishing hospitals, schools, and orphanages across the Northwest. As we walk in the footsteps of our founding Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange and Sisters of Providence, the legacy of Mission Hospital is rich and our future is very bright, Teigen said in the statement. We are so grateful to have wonderful community partners who share our commitment to enhance the health and well-being of South Orange County. The role of public health officials is to ensure the health and safety of the public. When large numbers of people are not healthy, public health has failed. The Hillsdale Initiative On Aug. 23, 2022, the newly established Academy for Science and Freedom at the Hillsdale College published a statement on the ethical principles of public health. The 13 co-authors explained that during the SARS2 coronavirus pandemic, fundamental principles of public health were ignored, and trust in public health has been damaged. As experts in public health, medical science, ethics, and health policy, we propose the following ten principles to guide public health officials and scientists, in order to ensure the credibility of public health recommendations and to help restore public trust. A Brief History of Public Health Ancient Romans were the first people we know of to recognize the importance of sanitation for public health. Even before the first century B.C., the Romans had sanitary sewers that took human waste water through underground pipes out to marshes outside town. These marshes then acted as bioswales to process the human waste. In the Ancient World, the Romans decided that infrastructure was important: sanitary sewers, running water, flat roads, and public baths for hygiene. Roman citizens paid taxes to the state and the state, in return, helped create a clean and healthy environment for the people. In stark contrast, Early America had no clean running water, no sanitary sewers, and no public baths for hygiene. Throughways were rutted cart tracks, more akin to deer paths than paved highways, primitive in comparison to what had been invented millennia earlier by Ancient Romans. Though it happened slowly, as thought leaders in various states in the United States began to better understand that contagious diseases, like tuberculosis, could be controlled by better hygiene, government officials started to build infrastructure to protect the public, making clean running water available and constructing sanitary sewers for human waste. Incidents of cholera, scarlet fever, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, and other contagious diseases like measles and rubella, were vastly reduced by these public health initiatives. In the early 1950s, peopleand public health officialsrealized polio could be curtailed by chlorinating public swimming pools. While the polio vaccine is usually credited with curtailing the spread of polio, others argue that it was polio becoming endemic along with better sanitation, as well as a change in how we defined paralytic polio, that caused polio rates to plummet. Eroding Trust In the past two and a half years, public health authorities have failed the public, ignoring fundamental principles of public health. This has led to regular peoplethose who have always had the utmost respect for doctors and public health authoritiesto feel distrustful of the government and suspicious of public healths motives. I think COVID has given us the greatest decline in confidence in our trust in our public health officials in history, said James Neuenschwander, an integrative physician based in Ann Arbor, Michigan with over 30 years of experience. Instead of safeguarding the public during a time of uncertainty about the transmission, virulence, and treatment of coronavirus, Americas public health authorities have given inconsistent advice, mandated interventions that were scientifically shown not to work, and misled the public about everything from the safety and efficacy of the mRNA vaccines to mask-wearing and lockdowns. Neuenschwander said that he has seen peoples physical and mental health suffer as a result of both masking and lockdowns. Even non-medical people have seen that the governments recommendations have failed to follow the science that has been publicly available, Neuenschwander said. Fundamental Principles of Public Health The Statement on the Ethical Principles of Public Health lists 10 fundamental ethical principles. Among the signatories are Scott W. Atlas, a medical doctor at Stanford University who was an early voice of dissent against draconian government policies; Martin Kulldorf, a professor of medicine at Harvard University; and Ellen Townsend, a professor of psychology at the University of Nottingham. These principles stipulate that public health advice must: Consider the Impact on Overall Health Myopic advice from a public health authority that is solely concerned with a single diseaseas was the case with COVID-19leads to causing the public more harm than good overall. [A]lways consider both benefits and harms from public health measures and weigh short-term gains against long-term harms, the statement advised. Protect Everyone Public health policy is about protecting everyone, not just a privileged few, which means that public health policies must consider the most vulnerable members of society: children, economically disadvantaged people, those with disabilities, and the elderly. A failure to help minorities has been especially pronounced in the past two years. For example, people with hearing impairments, breathing difficulties, and sensory processing disorders were barred from entering public spaces because they could not safely wear masks. Parents of black and brown children who have chosen not to vaccinate continue to be discriminated against in some states. Religious minorities have had their rights taken away as well. Promote Facts, Not Fear The fifth principle on the declaration reads: Public health requires public trust. Public health recommendations should present facts as the basis for guidance, and never employ fear or shame to sway or manipulate the public. America continues to sensationalize the COVID-19 pandemic, and to fuel new fears of other contagions, like monkeypox, snail fever, and tomato flu. Keeping people in a constant state of fear is unhealthy in and of itself, as we know from recent research on how stress negatively impacts the immune system. Educate the Public, Not Force or Coerce Ethical public health officials share information with the public about any given intervention or recommendation. They openly and honestly explain the benefits, the disadvantages, and other options. This is the principle of informed consent, whereby medical doctors speak to their patients about treatment options. Those who practice ethical medicine based on informed consent tell their patients that one option is always to do nothing. Medical interventions should be voluntary and based on informed consent, the authors of this initiative wrote. Public health officials are advisors, not rule setters Avoid Conflicts of Interest For years, vaccine safety advocates have been pointing out that people working for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have a profound conflict of interest in that the CDC takes large amounts of money from vaccine manufactures and other stakeholders. During 2021 alone, nearly 500 billionaires were minteda new billionaire every 17 hours, according to Forbes. Many of these are now multi-billionaires and many owe their new wealth to capitalizing off the publics fear of coronavirus. These include an Italian whose family manufactures glass vials for the vaccines; an Indian physician whose hospital chain changed its focus to coronavirus; the co-founder of BioNTech, and the CEO of Moderna. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, these new millionaires and billionaires appear to be more concerned about buying luxury real estate, not ensuring the publics health. A Revolving Door Between Industry and Government Public health officials and government employees in America and other countries have a practice of leaving their public service jobs for more lucrative positions in the pharmaceutical industry. This revolving door between the government and the vaccine manufacturers is explored in the new documentary film, Under the Skin, as well as in the new book, Turtles All the Way Down. When those tasked with vaccine safety oversight become insiders in the pharmaceutical industry, the public finds it very difficult to trust public health officials. Which is why in their declaration the Hillsdale thought leaders insisted that conflicts of interest must be avoided and those that cannot be avoided must be honestly and openly disclosed. The government has been so perverse, hasnt it? said Dr. Stephanie Seneff, a senior scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, getting Pharma to produce expensive drugs, untested, and then throwing them out to the public with the false promise that theyre safe, when theyre not. Seneff, who was not one of the authors of the Hillsdale initiative, insisted that it was wrong of public health officials to impede the ability of doctors to use safe and established natural methods and repurposed drugs to treat COVID and alleviate symptoms early on. It is morally reprehensible what the government is doing, Seneff said. They should have been promoting safe methods as they discovered them and instead, they just blocked everything. May the Force Be With Brave Scientists The publics trust will not be restored overnight. In order for health authorities to regain the publics trust, they must prove to us that they actually have our best interests in mind. In the meantime, these 13 scientists have risked their careers by insisting on ethical public health principles and speaking out against misguided COVID-19 policies. Given how dangerous some of the current public health recommendations are, especially to young people, we are heartened to see that other medical doctors and scientific researchers are also voicing their disapprobation, as we have written about before. Speaking out against the medical establishment puts them at risk of retaliation. Indeed, doctors who have criticized COVID-19 protocols have lost their medical licenses, been de-platformed, and also been insulted and vilified by their colleagues. May the force be with them all. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here. Queenslands New Extra-Territorial Land Tax May Be Unconstitutional Commentary From July 1, 2023, the method of calculating land tax in the state of Queensland will change. It will be calculated not only based on freehold land owned by investors in Queensland but also on land owned by them in other Australian states. For example, currently land valued at under $600,000 (around US$400,000) or an individuals main place of residence is land tax-exempt. But if the person owns land valued at $599,999 in Queensland and also land to the same value in New South Wales (NSW). The value of both will be added together, making it around $1.2 million, and, hence, the combined value will wipe out the states tax-free threshold. Although conceding the tax would affect some Queenslanders who own land in other states, proponents of the changes nevertheless anticipate that the tax will mainly hit interstate investors who own land in the state. There is disagreement about whether the scheme will result in double-dipping. In some ways it is true that interstate land is not taxed directly because the interstate landholdings of a Queensland taxpayer will only be used to calculate the rate of Queensland land tax that will be applied to the Queensland proportion. Discrimination Against Interstate Investors? Of course, the effectiveness of the Queensland scheme depends on the willingness of the relevant interstate revenue offices to share their information about land ownership with state authorities. This first multi-jurisdictional land tax in Australia might, however, be challenged in the High Court. Specifically, the validity of the Queensland scheme could come under question under Section 117 of the Constitution, which states that a resident of a state shall not be subject in any other state to any disability or discrimination which would not be equally applicable to him if he were a subject of the Queen resident in such other state. The application of Section 117 requires a comparison to be made between the circumstances of residents in different states, and whether an out-of-state resident is worse offvia some sort of discriminationcompared to residents within the state. In this case, Section 117 could protect an interstate resident if the Queensland law is found to work to their detriment. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk speaks at a press conference at Parliament House in Brisbane, Australia, on Apr. 1, 2021. (Jono Searle/Getty Images) On the other hand, Section 117 could also be interpreted to mean that since residents in both NSW and Queensland are treated the same by the new land tax laws, there would be no discrimination. Yet, based on Queenslands initial indication that law is targeting those deemed to be taking advantageor closing a loopholeof land tax-free thresholds that exist across the country, then Section 117 could become a formidable obstacle. Based on its practical effects and impact, it becomes clear that the law disproportionally affects interstate investors. Legislative Overreach It is also necessary to consider the federal compact to determine the constitutionality of the Queensland scheme. Specifically, the High Court might consider whether state legislative powers that encroach on the sovereigntyand revenue raising powersof other states is constitutional. The tax law also interferes with the functions of state governments that are expected to co-operate with Queensland to ensure the effectiveness of the states calculation of land tax. Such interference might infringe the federal compact as it is presently understoodthe existence of sovereign states that are part of a federation. By requiring the cooperation of interstate agencies it may also affect the legislative powers of state parliaments to adopt land tax legislation in their own jurisdiction. The scheme may constitute an extra-territorial invasion of other states by the Queensland legislature. The changes to the calculation of land tax in Queensland have generated numerous other problems of an economic and social nature. But it suffices for the purposes of this commentary to speculate that interstate investors might sell their investments in Queensland and will instead invest in states that are more tax-friendly. Further, the new calculation is an example of legislative overreach and an egregious money-grabbing exercise, which will hurt interstate investment in Queensland, and may also be unconstitutional. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. China's DF-41 nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles are seen during a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2019. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images) Reagan-Era Official Reveals US Opened Door for Chinas Exploitation The shift in American technology development strategy paved the way for the rise of China in this area, according to Michael Sekora, founding director of the Socrates Project in the Reagan White House. China has risen to a superpower faster than any country in the history of mankind. And it wasnt that the U.S. conscientiously assisted. But the United States shifted from technology-based planning to finance-based planning. And that shift is what opened the door for China to just accelerate tremendously, Sekora told the China in Focus program on NTD News, The Epoch Times sister media. China realized that [and] took advantage of that, in order to lull America into a false sense of security. And basically, China had an open door in terms of technology exploitation in the United States and around the world, he added. He went on to draw the differences between the two types of planning. What the difference is, [that] in finance-based planning, the whole foundation of decision making, is optimizing the funds maximizing profit, Sekora said in an interview that aired on Sept. 17. And technology-based planning foundation is exploiting the technology more effectively than the competition in order to generate a true competitive advantage, which then dictates the funds, the manpower, the natural resource, he explained. Sekora further pointed out the disadvantage of finance-based planning, So .. were just optimizing the money, which actually decreases your competitive advantage. But if you measure it from a financial perspective, it looks like youre increasing your competitive advantage. Meanwhile, those countries going with technology-based planning, including Russia and Japan, in his words, were sitting there, adroitly maneuvering the technology. So when we looked at Russia, we looked to Japan, how theyre doing their technology-based planning, and we saw that they had become significantly more refined. They had advanced the whole process significantly, Project Socrates He pointed to Project Socratesa classified U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency program that he established in 1983 within the Reagan administration. According to Sekora, the project aimed at a two-tier mission. The first one encompassed using all-source intelligence and other data to determine the true underlying cause of U.S. economic and military decline, which the intelligence officer attributed to the deployment of finance-based planning. The second part of our mission was to determine how to reverse the U.S. economic and military decline, he said. His team finally decided that the only way to get the country back on track was to shift it back to technology-based planning. So what we built in the Socrates program was the ability to exploit technology with unprecedented speed, efficiency, and agility. And then it goes to acquisition development and utilization. So sort of long-winded, but that was the Socrates project. And were pushing right now to get it reestablished in the country, Sekora said. So we knew if we were going to totally rebuild the U.S. economic health and military mind that would ensure superpower status for generations, we needed to go far beyond what the Soviets were doing. The success of the project later served as one of the bargaining chips used with the Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev, according to Sekora. Because the Soviets had already seen what we did in Star Wars, [and] in some other areas, and then theyre looking at that being deployed across the entire country, economically, militarily. That meant we could fully decimate the Soviet economy at will, he said. Pushing Back Threat From China The only way to address Chinas threat of acquisition of U.S. technology is by addressing their technology strategy, Sekora contended. Through that, America can identify where theyre going to generate competitive advantage, how theyre going to generate the competitive edge of technology realization, maneuvers. It would help us to know the criticality of that acquisition, he said, and unveil exactly where the targets are, and roughly when theyre going to go after it. [Then] we can actually take the initiative to outmaneuver them in the technology very effectively adroitly, Sekora said. Hannah Ng Reporter Follow Hannah Ng is a reporter covering U.S. and China news. She holds a master's degree in international and development economics from the University of Applied Science Berlin. Rex Murphy: Controversy Over Ontario Teacher With Large Fake Breasts May Challenge the Dominance of Woke Ideology Commentary It was encouraging to see some parentsand studentscome out in protest Sept. 23 against the patent lunacy going on in the Oakville Trafalgar High School in Ontario. Some schools, and especially some school boards all over the continent, are increasingly becoming highlighted for their furious embrace of diversity, identity, and so-called inclusionan embrace that in the more ideologically driven arenas has assumed a dangerous priority over the process of education itself. It is very difficult, in fact impossible from a common-sense angle, to disagree with the sentiments voiced by the protesting parents: Its just wrong. Its gone too far. Students have a dress code to abide by. Why should the teachers not? As it is equally impossible to refute the claim made by one student who spoke at the protest as reported by the Burlington Post: I thought teachers were supposed to set the example for the students, not the other way around. Good for him for saying the inescapably obvious. While it is not surprising the administration of Trafalgar High School have been solemnly reticent (apart from the usual soft woke pieties about inclusion and diversity and safe spaces) on the huge controversy over the shop teacher with the massive prosthetic breasts, it is or rather should be surprising that as far as I can tell, no teachers, either in the Trafalgar school or across the whole Halton board, have deemed it worth their time to say something. I have been given to believe that teachers regard what they do as something more than a mere job, something close to a vocation. The voices of practising teachers would add a most needed dimension to this uproar, but I suppose in an era of political correctness teachers, in the main, sadly like to stay firmly behind the scenes when a storm breaks. It would be quite wonderful to hear, even second-hand, what the staff of Trafalgar had to say in the teachers common room when their colleague first appeared in the school geared up in gigantic artificial breasts and bicycle shorts. Did they all rush to congratulate him on his new identity? Or was there a collective staring-down at their shoes and embarrassed silence? Not incidentally Id like to hear the reasoning behind conceding feminine pronouns to an obvious male when he, on some given day, merely declares he is a woman. I dont mean from friends and acquaintances who can do what they like as a courtesy or a kindness. I mean officialdom, school offices, and in particular the media. What logical, biological, or philosophical justification can there be to accept a self-declaration as constituting a right? Is there any other identity one may assume by the simple act of saying: From today on Im a doctor, or a pilot, or a you choose. Added to that consideration is another: On what grounds does anyone know the self-declarer is actually telling the truth, that he, or she as the case may be, is having you on or simply lying to get attention? Heres a shocker: Sometimes people lie to get attention. Only latterly have parents become alert to this mutation, alert to the more activist school boards and teachers who have assumed the right to indoctrinate their young charges in the latest obsessions and causes of the over-woke educationists. A quick run through the stories on the internetmainstream publications shy away from this topiceasily reveals how these same teachers and boards arrogate to themselves the right to counsel kids on sexual behaviour, identity, bias and whiteness, and privilege. In some cases the practice goes so far as urging or ordering their students to keep parents uninformed, to maintain a silence on what goes on in school. It is absolutely outside the aims of education to politicize the classroom to preach the highly insalubrious doctrines of critical race theory and gender identification. The Oakville affair as I prefer to call it had some virtue in that the teacher who comes to school in outrageously oversized (and overweightthe prosthetic according to some accounts is 35 pounds!) synthetic mammaries is now a feature on news sites all over the world. This is all to the good, because finally there is a real challenge emerging to the dominance of woke ideology and its most fervent evangelists in schools, governments, corporations, and politics. This saga provides such an extravagant illustration how common sense is throttled when these policies are allowed full play that nowmaybetheir arrogant and righteous proponents may have to argue for them in the public eye. This would be a very good thing. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. When Netty the pit bull mix left the animal shelter for her new home 12 years ago, she could not have known shed one day return. But sadly, return she did. Her owners brought her back in June, and once again, she was left without a loving family to take care of her. But this time, she was a senior, at 15 years old. Her condition wasnt poor, she is simply old, Gillian Kocher of Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) told The Epoch Times. Her owner mentioned that she was incontinent. Seemingly uninterested in considering medication or other options that might help, the family requested that Netty be euthanized. Understandably, the dog appeared bereft at having been abandoned. Her personality was quite sad, Kocher said, and she mostly slept in her kennel in the hospital. Shed go for walks, but she was mostly depressed. Resolving to do their utmost to find Netty a safe home where she could live out her last days, the PSPCA team launched an appeal. It was not going to be easy; older dogs are much less likely to attract potential adopters. Describing Netty as a very low maintenance dog that can live with other dogs, cats, and also respectful kids, the shelter shared her story via social media. Fortunately, the response was overwhelming. The post read: We hate to break your hearts, again, but here we are this old gal is sitting in a shelter in what could be her final days. We dont want that for her. So, we are looking for a home where she can spend whatever time she has left. It didnt take long before the kindest of families heard Nettys plight and came forward. Among them was 48-year-old veterinarian Amy Kidd and her husband, from West Chester, Pennsylvania. The couplewhove pledged to only welcome older dogs, and those with problems, into their homealready had six senior dogs, ranging in age from 12 to 16. When they saw Nettys face, they just knew they could give her a nurturing environment. Netty was adopted in August, and the couples daughter and two sons went to collect her. The adorable Netty is now doing great in her forever new home. Pennsylvania SPCA works 365 days a year throughout the state, rescuing animals from cruelty and neglect and helping rehabilitate those with medical and behavioral needs. We are dedicated to our animals for life, Kocher said. When [Netty] returned, all we dreamed of was finding her a loving home where she could spend the rest of her days. And so, we went to finding it. Kocher said that the Kidd family understands that Netty may have accidents. They have begun swim therapy with her, and she is doing so wonderfully, Kocher added. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Inspired newsletter at: https://www.theepochtimes.com/newsletter Samsung to Lure 175 Million Existing India Customers With Cashback Card NEW DELHISamsung Electronics is targeting repeat purchases from its 175 million customers in India through a new cashback credit card, a senior executive said, a move to boost sales in the critical market where it was once the top smartphone seller. With Indias festive season underway, the South Korean electronics giant on Monday launched a new credit card with Indias Axis Bank to offer 10 percent cashback all year round to customers buying Samsung products. Typically, such discount offers are available on e-commerce websites such as Amazon.com Inc and other brick-and-mortar stores only during the festive season or during sales. We are talking about 175 million existing consumers, which is our current installed base for Samsung in India. This entire base is a potential, Raju Pullan, Samsungs senior vice-president for its India mobile business, told Reuters. Samsung, which says it is Indias largest consumer electronics firm, sells everything from smartphones to washing machines in the country. But nearly 72 percent of its total India revenue of $9.3 billion in 202021 came from smartphones. Samsungs move to offer cashbacks to customers through its new card partnership comes after it lost smartphone market share over time to Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, who offer many budget smartphones in the worlds second largest mobile market. In the second quarter of 2020, Samsung had a 26 percent share of Indias smartphone market, which is currently at 19 percent, data from Counterpoint Research shows. Samsung is going aggressive on the financing side of things. Financial support plays an important role in helping people make smartphone purchase decisions, Counterpoint analyst Tarun Pathak said. By Munsif Vengattil A satellite image of the underwater volcanic eruption in Tonga reaching into the stratosphere on Jan. 15, 2022. (AAP Image/Tonga Meteorological Services, Government of Tonga) Tonga Volcano Ejected Record Amount of Water Into Stratosphere, Could Have Warming Effect The violent eruption of an underwater volcano near Tonga in January blasted a record amount of water vapor into the atmosphere, but not all scientists agree about the exact amount and its possible effects. Tonga was hit by an underwater eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai volcano and subsequent tsunami on Jan. 15, which wiped out an entire village on one of Tongas small outer islands and killed at least three people. Holger Vomel, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, was the lead author of a study on the Tonga volcanic eruption published on Sept. 22 in the academic journal Science. According to that study, the volcanic eruption was so violent that its plume penetrated into the stratosphere, blasting at least 50 teragrams (50 billion kilograms) of water vapor. The stratosphere is the layer of atmosphere between 8 and 33 miles above the earths surface. This event raised the amount of water vapor in the developing stratospheric plume by several orders of magnitude and possibly increased the amount of global stratospheric water vapor by more than 5 percent, the paper reads. A satellite image shows the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai volcano after its main eruption, in Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Haapai, Tonga, on Jan. 18, 2022. (Satellite Image 2022 Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters) In a NASA study conducted at the agencys Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, researchers claim the amount of water vapor released was about 146 teragrams, nearly three times more than the amount cited in the Science study. NASA said the enormous plume of water vapor is the equivalent of more than 58,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. No Comparison, Says NASA Scientist Weve never seen anything like it, Luis Millan, an atmospheric scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in the NASA report. He led the study of the water vapor brought on by the Tonga volcanic eruption. In the past 18 years, only two other volcanic eruptions sent appreciable amounts of water vapor to such high altitudesthe 2008 Kasatochi event in Alaska and the 2015 Calbuco eruption in Chileaccording to NASA. Both eruptions were mere blips compared to the Tonga volcanic eruption, and the water vapor produced dissipated quickly. Water vapor from the Tonga volcano could remain in the stratosphere for several years, NASA said. This extra water vapor could influence atmospheric chemistry, boosting certain chemical reactions that could temporarily worsen depletion of the ozone layer. It could also influence surface temperatures, the agency stated. NASA said that the Tonga volcano did not inject large amounts of aerosols into the stratosphere. The massive amounts of water vapor from the eruption could have a small, temporary warming effect, the agency said, but the effect will dissipate when the extra water vapor cycles out of the stratosphere. The Tonga volcano was the largest atmospheric explosion documented since the 1883 Krakatoa eruption in Indonesia, which generated long-range audible sound that could be heard 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) away in Alaska. NASA said in April that the Tonga volcano eruption was hundreds of times stronger than the Hiroshima nuclear explosion. Sen. Hawley Presses AG Garland Over FBI Raid at Pro-Life Activists Home Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) pressed Attorney General Merrick Garland over what he called especially shocking reports of the FBIs raiding the Kintnersville, Pennsylvania home of Catholic pro-life activist Mark Houck, according to a Sept. 26 open letter (pdf). The Missouri senator wrote to Garland on Monday, accusing the attorney general of allegedly weaponizing federal agents against political opponents. It came after reports saying the FBI sent up to two dozen armed agents to arrest Houck in front of his family in the early morning last Friday, due to a local dispute a year prior. Houcks wife Ryan-Marie told the online news portal LifeSite News that the kids were all just screaming as the agents arrested their father at gunpoint. Using this kind of force to make an arrest for a single charge of simple assault is unprecedented, Hawley said in the letter. Not only did your office turn a local dispute into a national case, but the FBI reportedly executed the search warrant in as extreme a manner as one can imagine. The reports are especially shocking given that your office has so far turned a blind eye to the epidemic of violence across the country by pro-abortion extremists against pregnancy resource centers, houses of worship, and pro-life Americansviolent acts that are prohibited by the very same law under which you are charging Mark Houck, the senator continued in his two-page letter. The Justice Department alleges that Houck twice assaulted an abortion clinic escort in violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, commonly known as the FACE Act. Houck said it was to protect his 12-year-old son against the man, who had verbally insulted the Houcks, both of whom were then praying outside the Philadelphia clinic. The incident took place in October of last year. Attorneys for Houck said the man filed a private criminal complaint after both city police and the district attorney declined to file charges. The case was ultimately dismissed. In May, a letter from the U.S. Attorneys Office informed Houck that he was the focus of a federal criminal probe into the incident. The corruption & abuse of law is out of control. Come January, the new Republican Congress must launch a thorough, public investigation of DOJ & the FBI from their targeting of parents to religious protestors to political opponents. What Biden is doing is wrong. And dangerous. Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 26, 2022 Hawley cited data collected by the Family Research Council, an American evangelical activist group and think-tank, detailing a total of 104 incidents of extremist violence against pregnancy resource centers, churches, and pro-life Americans, including fire-bombings and arsons. All attacks followed the leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion on May 3 to overturn a landmark decision legalizing the right to an abortion. Last Tuesday, an 83-year-old Michigan woman was shot in the shoulder while going door-to-door to canvass her community to discuss an abortion ballot proposal, according to the Right to Life of Michigan. Corruption Despite Hawleys repeated requests, according to the lawmaker, Garland has not identified a single prosecution the Department of Justice (DOJ) has made in response to the violence against pro-life Americans. I want to know from Merrick Garland directly why Bidens DOJ is arresting Catholic protestors like terroristscomplete with SWAT-style tacticswhile letting actual terrorist acts like firebombings go unpunished, Hawley said upon releasing the letter. The corruption & abuse of law is out of control, Hawley said. Come January, the new Republican Congress must launch a thorough, public investigation of [the] DOJ & the FBI, he added. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, after speaking about the FBIs search warrant served at former President Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, during a statement at the U.S. Justice Department in Washington, on Aug. 11, 2022. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) The FBI has disputed the Houck familys account of the raid, saying No SWAT Team or SWAT operators were involved. FBI agents knocked on Mr. Houcks front door, identified themselves as FBI agents, and asked him to exit the residence, the agencys Philadelphia office told The Epoch Times. While its the FBIs standard practice not to discuss such operational specifics, we can say that the number of personnel and vehicles widely reported as being on scene Friday is an overstatement, and the tactics used by FBI personnel were professional, in line with standard practices, and intended to ensure the safety of everyone present in and outside the residence, its statement reads. Houck faces the possibility of 11 years in prison if convicted. The Epoch Times has reached out to the Justice Department for comment. A sign is posted in front of PayPal headquarters in San Jose, Calif., on Feb. 2, 2022. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Senior British MPs Urge Government to Hold PayPal to Account Over Free Speech Row Leading figures in the Conservative Party like Michael Gove, Iain Duncan Smith, and Sir Graham Brady are considering new laws after PayPal recently closed the accounts of several British campaign and journalist groups. PayPal has faced a backlash since it last week shut down the account of the Free Speech Union (FSU), an organisation that defends people who have lost work or been cancelled for expressing opinions. Around the same time, the online payment system also shut down the account for UsForThem, a campaigning group that advocated for children to be prioritised during the COVID-19 pandemic. PayPal has so far refused to clarify which rules the accounts of the FSU and UsForThem had broken. Legislative Safeguards Calling for potential legislative safeguards, the letter, signed by 42 MPs and peers, said that PayPal is using its dominant position in the market to impose private economic sanctions on organisations and individuals of whose views it disapproves and thus to restrict their ability to engage in political debate in the public square. The letter sent on Saturday to Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy Jacob Rees-Mogg, expressed serious concerns over free speech and that PayPal Europe had given no meaningful explanation for these closures and has declined requests to discuss its actions. The cancellation of the FSUs account presented a challenge for the organisation as about a third of the FSUs 9,500 members use PayPal to process their membership fees. PayPal has since restored UsForThems access, though in a recent statement its founder Molly Kingsley said that she remains deeply concerned by the events of the last week. File photo shows Britains Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove arriving for a Cabinet meeting, in London on Oct. 13, 2020. (Simon Dawson/Reuters) A New Low Free Speech Union General Secretary Toby Young, whose news website The Daily Sceptic also had its PayPal account closed, told The Epoch Times that this feels like an escalation in the ongoing war against free speech by Big Tech. Its one thing to shut down and demonetise accounts for expressing nonconformist views; thats nothing new unfortunately. But in this case, PayPal has shut down the account of an organisation that defends people who express non-conformist views. Thats a new low, he said. The MPs stated that its hard to avoid construing PayPals actions as an orchestrated, politically-motivated move to silence critical or dissenting views on these topics within the UK, as well as those who defend peoples right to express those views, and PayPals decision has been condemned by the UKs leading free speech advocacy groups, Big Brother Watch, Article 19, Index on Censorship and the Open Rights Group. There is no transparency as to by whom, or under whose influence, this decision has been taken, they added. The MPs said that they believe the protection of free speech remains a central pillar of the UKs open democracy and urged the government to demand that PayPal explains its actions, and releases any remaining donations and subscription payments which it has confiscated unfairly and without justification. The MPs also said to consider in parallel whether legislative safeguards are needed in the current Financial Services and Markets Bill or other relevant legislation. Toby Young attends the Love At First Sight reception and auction at Bonhams in London on Jan. 23, 2006. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) Purely Political Reasons Last week, Young told The Epoch Times that the FSU will be campaigning for a new law in the UK to make it illegal for financial companies to withdraw services from customers for purely political reasons. Provided you havent said anything unlawful, your political views should be a matter of complete indifference to financial services companies, he added. The Epoch Times has contacted PayPal for comment. In the wake of a recent government study attributing the sharpest two-year decline in the average life expectancy of Americans in 2020 and 2021 mainly to COVID deaths, some analysts are pointing to emerging statistics showing more people died after the rollout of the vaccine than did during the height of the pandemic. Thats while theyre also ascribing the historic decline to broader factors including the negative effects from the lockdowns, deferred medical care, and the vaccines themselves. This approach is whats referred to as all-cause mortality, which epidemiologists use to refer to the number of deaths from all causes above what would be expected under normal circumstances. The study titled Provisional Life Expectancy Estimates 2021 (pdf) was conducted by The National Center for Health Statistics, a unit of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was carried out to assess the effects of excess mortality related to COVID-19 and mainly showed that in 2021, the average American could expect to live until the age of 76, a figure that represents a loss of almost three years since 2019 (pdf). This is the sharpest two-year decline in nearly 100 years. Shifting Fatality Numbers After Vaccines and Mandates One former Wall Street figure and author of the upcoming Cause Unknown: The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 & 2022 has discovered some particularly concerning statistics. Ed Dowd told The Epoch Times that in 2021 after the vaccine was released, excess deaths for millennials age 2544 climbed to 84 percent above the trend line (actuary baseline) above the normal death rate (based on 201519), and the rate far exceeded that in 2020. Specifically, in the second half of 2021, Dowd found that an excessive number of 61,000 millennials died. Thats the number that died in Vietnam War in one year, said Dowd, who as a previous equity portfolio manager for Blackrock investment management company is no stranger to analyzing data. Excessive death above and beyond normal death in one yearthats shocking, he said. Why in year two of a pandemic, was there such a rise to a new high with two vaccines? he continued. Why would that age group experience a new high in excess mortality with variants becoming less deadly and virulent? Additionally, Dowd along with his insurance analyst partner Josh Stirling found a mix shiftor a change in a mix over timein terms of age of death from old to young. Did the virus suddenly decide to mutate and infect younger people? asked Dowd. Whats more, Dowd pointed to a Society of Actuaries COVID survey (pdf) presented in August of 2022 confirming a study done by he and Stirling that showed there was an 84 percent excess mortality with those people with a group life policy through work. On Sept. 14, Dowd shared on his Gettr account a report that the group life insured population experienced in ages 2564 a 140 percent (40 percent really where 100 percent is baseline) excess mortality rate in 2021. Thats while the general U.S. population experienced in ages 1564 a 131.7 percent excess mortality rate in 2021. Dowds question is this: What happened to the group life insured/employed population to cause the notable outsized 8 percent mortality impact where usually their mortality rate is 30 to 40 percent of the general U.S. population? He theorized that those employed (and insured) were forced to take the vaccine to maintain their employment while those unemployed had a choice. He pointed to the vaccine as the culprit affecting an otherwise healthy population. If you were working, you had no choice, said Dowd. Most people took the jab. There were massive mandates resulting in the numbers of Americans getting vaccinated, which Dowd concluded caused the spike in deaths and disability compared to what a normal vaccine would. He cited a federal document that showed from the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine through the March 13, 2021 data cutoff date, there were a total of 38 deaths, 21 of which were in the vaccinated group and 17 in the placebo group. In the report, none of the deaths were considered to be related to the vaccination. Dowds bottom line is as he expressed on his Getty page on September 13: We had two pandemics. The first was COVID, the second was the Vaccine. Beyond COVID, Isolation and Postponed Medical Care to Blame Acknowledging Dowds findings is well-known physician and biochemist Dr. Robert Malone whose work has focused on mRNA technology, pharmaceuticals, and drug re-purposing research. He has previously been criticized in articles by The New York Times and The Washington Post for spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines and has since revealed on his Substack newsletter that he has sued The New York Times for defamation. It was also reported in August by The Epoch Times that he sued the Washington Post, alleging statements in an article about him were defamatory. What data clearly supports is whats concurrent with surge with vaccination campaigning is an odd paradoxical increase with both all-cause mortality and disability claims, Malone told The Epoch Times. In general, he encourages looking at the fall in life expectancy through an all-cause mortality lens. All-cause mortality all over the world is incontrovertible, said Malone, noting the multiple factors involved. It [the historic decline] could well be part of the surge in all-cause mortality due to a cluster of factors that relate to the impact of the very social policiesthe lockdowns, possible deferred standard and diagnostic medical care etc.that probably set people up for disease and death that would have been avoidable, he continued. One of those, said Malone, involves the variety of psychological factors that came into play during the pandemic including lockdowns, people being estranged from families and kids not being able to socialize at school and with friends because of COVID protocols. That all equates to stress, suicide, and the big kahunadrug abuse, said Malone, noting the psychological and social complications and deferred or longer-term consequences of the virus itself. The danger of lockdowns in particular was noted in The Great Barrington Declaration where a group of respected infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists addressed their grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies, recommending an approach called Focused Protection. The viewpoint balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity while allowing those at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build immunity through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk, like the elderly. When it comes to the life expectancy study released last month and its findings, Malone recommends an intellectually rigorous approach. He noted the need to capture the natural data that exists from a variety of different databases to sort out different factors. Life Expectancy Measured by Year, Demographic As one of the most common measurements of the overall health of a population, life expectancy is conveyed as the number of years either a newborn baby is expected to live or the expected years remaining for a person at a given age to live. Its estimated from the death rates in a population. As shown in the NCHS-CDC study, Native Americans and Alaska Natives were particularly impacted, their average life expectancy shortened by four years in 2020 and the cumulative decline since the beginning of the pandemic was more than six and half years. While the analysis concluded that COVID-19 drove the majority of the decline, it also noted that a rise in drug overdoses, accidental deaths, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, and heart disease contributed. Its not that we say we can expect a baby born in 2020 to live this many yearsits if mortality continues to look like 2020, then it would have that life expectancy, said Theresa Andrasfay, a postdoctoral scholar at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology who was the lead author of another study published in January of 2021 in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences co-authored by Noreen Goldman. While Andrasfays study found that 2020 presented the largest single-year decline in life expectancy in at least 40 years and that there were extensive racial/ethnic disparities in the mortality impact of COVID-19 (particularly in black and Latino populations), her updated analysis examining both 2020 and 2021 highlighted a continued decline in overall life expectancy. More importantly, more deaths occurred in 2021. Of note, her research looked at all causes together. Even though people may have the conception that after the vaccination was widely available mortality decreased, 2021 was overall much worse, said Andrasfay. A lot occurred even after the vaccine was widely available so that speaks to a real mortality impact on the U.S. She attributed the statistic partly to deaths that occurred before the vaccine was widely available and said her findings showed COVID deaths were the majority of the reason life expectancy was reduced. Her research also showed drug overdose mortality increased a lot in 2020 and 2021. On one hand it could be attributed to the pandemicpeople using substances more or not able to get treatment like in the past, said Andrasfay. At the same time, some experts say its really a continuation of trends happening prior to the pandemic. While she hasnt personally studied fentanyl and its use, she did note that a lot of researchers are noting the increased use of the highly powerful synthetic opioid being particularly deadly. She also noted conditions like heart disease and disruptions to the healthcare system as related to COVID and the sinking mortality rates. People were afraid to go to the hospital and didnt survive things like a heart attack, said Andrasfay. Malone also emphasized the pandemic protocols on mental health and deferred medical treatment. Part of that drop in life expectancy is due to substance-abuse related events and theres a suicide component, he said, noting the stunning surge in suicide among young people as reported by pediatricians. Substance abuse, mental illness, all of the barrierspeople dont want to go to the doctor any more. Who wants to go to the hospital? For his part, Malone also cited the work done by virologist, immunologist, and vaccine expert Theo Schetters in the Netherlands, which backs up the importance of doing analysis on all-cause mortality. According to Schetters in an interview with Malone and Marlies Dekkers of the De Nieuwe Wereld Podcast, symptoms from the mRNA COVID vaccine, which has been found to travel through the body (rather than staying in one part) can potentially have negative effects on different organs in the body. Thats why we do analysis on all-cause mortality if we do not know what is exactly related to vaccination, of course, the coagulation problems, myocarditis, we know that, but there are many more things happening at the moment, said Schetters. In the Netherlands, its very clear that there is a good correlation between the number of vaccinations that are given to people and the number of people that die within a week after that. Using data from the Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics and the National Institute of Health, Schetters noted the more times people are jabbed, the higher chance of death. So all-cause mortality is the ultimate indicator for things that we didnt expect. And thats why we always have to have it in clinical research, said Malone. We know that its not like everybody is dying within a year after youve been vaccinated, but a certain percentage of the people have big problems with this, said Schetters. The point is that this technology is being sort of introduced as: Now weve used it in Corona, its accepted. Thats what we are fighting against, because we say this technology is not mature and maybe it can do something in the future, but we are certainly not at the point now to develop all these other vaccines or variants, like an Omicron variant Corona vaccine with the same technology known, because you didnt solve that problem, he continued. For her part, Andrasfay said she predicts 2022 wont be as bad as 2021 in terms of life expectancy numbers, but wont return to 2019 numbers just yet. Weve still seen COVID deaths so thats already done damage to the 2022 life expectancy measurement, she said. Employees work on the production line of the CX-5 model car at the Mazda Sollers Manufacturing Rus joint venture plant of Sollers and Japanese Mazda in Vladivostok, Russia September 10, 2018. (Valery Sharifulin/TASS Host Photo Agency/Pool via REUTERS) Sollers in Talks to Buy Mazda out of Russian Joint Venture MOSCOWRussian automaker Sollers is in talks with Mazda Motor Corp. about buying the Japanese companys stake in their Russian joint venture, Sollers said on Monday, as Mazda prepares to wind down operations in Russia. Mazda, which sold 30,000 cars in Russia last year, said in March that exports of parts to the ventures Vladivostok plant were going to end and production would cease when stocks ran out. The Nikkei newspaper on Saturday first reported the talks with Sollers. Sollers said it was in talks with Mazda over stopping car production in Vladivostok and on buying out Mazdas stake in the venture. At the same time, Sollers Auto has already developed a plan to relaunch the factory for production of other automobile brands and negotiations on this issue are currently being finalized, Sollers said in a statement. It did not give a timeframe for stopping production at the Vladivostok plant. A Mazda spokesperson said the company was discussing ending vehicle production in Vladivostok, without giving details. Mazdas Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp. said on Friday it had decided to end vehicle production in Russia due to the interruption in supplies of key materials and parts. Many factories in Russia have suspended production and furloughed workers due to shortages of high-tech equipment because of sanctions and an exodus of Western manufacturers since Moscow sent armed forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24. By Satoshi Sugiyama A source used a British government website to identify a suspected former Hong Kong police superintendent and an agent of the CCP who recently established a Hong Kong student and family organization in Britain. Their purpose is suspected to be to influence and control people from Hong Kong, a report revealed. (William Luke/The Epoch Times) Suspected CCP-Linked Organization Set up in UK to Influence People From Hong Kong Two people, one suspected of working for the CCP and one suspected of being a former police superintendent in Hong Kong, have registered two companies in the United Kingdom, allegedly to engage Hong Kong students and their parents living in the UK. Hong Kong organizations in the UK are set up under the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as part of its United Front that uses geographically separate groups to advance its interests and neutralize opposition to its policies and authority. The White Horses Facebook page quoted anonymous sources who identified the two companies as Hong Kong Overseas Students Association Limited (company number: 14285011) and Students Parents Association Limited (company number: 14285006). The two organizations were established on Aug. 9, and the Directors are Xiaoyi Li and Hang Mo Wai. Xiaoyi Li The Epoch Times checked a British government website, showing that Xiaoyi Li was born in Sept. 1975, and the address of the Hong Kong Overseas Students Association, registered on Aug. 9, 2022, is Unit 39 St Olavs Court Business Centre, Lower Road, London, England, SE16 2XB. Li also established and served as director of two companies: World Muslim Cup International Regatta Limited (company number: 14284838) and Asean Cup International Regatta Limited (company number: 14284861). According to the website, a person named Xiaoyi Li and who has the same date of birth, also serves as chairman of other companies that are still in operation, such as the UK Chinese Students Association (company number: 09871458), Euro Asia Youth Association (company number: 09840704), Xin Jiang Association of United Kingdom (company number: 10462780) and Panda New Media Limited (company number: 09156354). Li also served as the chairman of many registered companies or organizations, including The Europe Xinjiang Business Association (company number: 10522261), UK New Chinatown Holding Ltd (company number: 10430404), and UK-China Friendship Promotion Limited (company number: 11906770). According to The White Horses, Xiaoyi Li has been setting up different types of student organizations since 2008 and attracts students through cultural and recreational activities. One of the organizations uses soft power to control Uyghurs outside mainland China. The source said that all of Xiaoyi Lis companies and organizations are related to Muslims and Xinjiang. It is believed that he used the companies to control Uyghurs living abroad, and now to control expat from Hong Kong. Li is suspected of being the white gloves of the CCP, that is, the facilitator of a shell company that looks legitimate on the surface but is controlled by the CCP and promotes its agenda. The organization Li recently set up in the name of Hong Kong students, may have a similar purpose. The anonymous source said that he hoped to disclose relevant information to alert Hong Kong immigrants in the UK to beware of the ultimate purpose of these organizations. Hang Mo Wai According to the British government, Hang Mo Wai was born in January 1959. Wong Shiu Chi Secondary School in Hong Kong indicates there is an alumnus with the same name who completed Form 5 in 1977 and joined the Royal Hong Kong Police in 1979 as Superintendent of Operations for the New Territories South Region. The source also searched for the above-mentioned series of suspected China-related organizations, and in order to protect the safety and ensure that Hong Kongers understand the background of the organizations, the information was released on the Telegram group Britons In Hong Kong. CCP Infiltration in UK With the increasing number of people from Hong Kong living in the UK, many organizations have been established to involve them; but their actual purpose is questionable. Another British association, Hong Kong People Association, was founded by William Je, who has close ties with the CCP, who is a former Hong Kong member of the Committee of Chongqing Municipal of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a political advisory body in China and a central part of the United Front system. He is the executive chairman of the Hong Kong Youth Association, which is also a pro-CCP organization. The organization joined the Alliance for Peace and Democracy launched by Robert Chow Rong and other pro-communist figures to oppose the Occupy Central and Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong that fought for true universal suffrage in 2014. Simon Cheng Man-kit, the founder of Hongkongers in Britain, a Hong Kong expatriates association based in the UK, said that the incident certainly raises some Hongkongers doubts. Cheng said that the CCP may use food, [and] activities that are not related with politics to influence Hong Kong immigrants in the UK, play down their dissatisfaction with the CCP, and then win them over. It is very common for the CCP to unite students from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan through various organizations. In addition, the Hong Kong CPPCC Youth Association has targeted Hong Kong students studying in the UK in recent years. The mentorship program organized by the Association matches people from different professional industries with Hong Kong students of the UK tertiary institutions, and is promoted by a number of Hong Kong student groups in the UK. Many Hong Kong organizations in Britain criticized the scheme this year, saying that the plan is part of the CCPs brainwashing and United Front efforts, and calling on the student unions that joined the scheme to withdraw from the plan and distance themselves from the CPPCC Youth Association. In Jan. 2021, the CCP updated the Regulations of United Front Work, which clearly stated that the main task of united front work abroad is to strengthen ideological and political guidance for Chinese and those studying abroad to love Communist China and the CCP and agree with the Socialism with Chinese characteristics saying. Syrians take part in a Cholera prevention and awareness campaign, held by a non-profit organization, at a camp for internally displaced people in the town of Sarmada in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on Sept. 25, 2022. (Aaref Watad/AFP via Getty Images) Syrian Health Ministry Says Cholera Death Toll Rises to 29 AMMANSyria said on Monday that 29 people had died of cholera in what the United Nations has called the worst outbreak of the disease in the war-torn country for years. Rapid assessment testing has confirmed 338 cases since the outbreak was first recorded last month, Syrias health ministry said in a statement, with the bulk of the deaths and cases in the northern Aleppo province. It said 230 cases were in Aleppo province, where 25 people were confirmed dead. The rest were spread across Syria. The U.N. said this month the outbreak was believed to be linked to irrigation of crops using contaminated water and people drinking unsafe water from the Euphrates river which bisects Syria from the north to the east. The highly contagious disease has also spread to the countrys Kurdish-held and opposition areas in north and northwestern Syria, where millions have been displaced by the decade-long conflict, medical officials said. Suspected cholera cases have risen to 2,092 in the northeast of Syria, the U.S.-based International Rescue Committee (IRC) which operates in the northern region, said, adding that there were fears of significant under-reporting of cases. Western NGOs say access to safe drinking water is a huge challenge in Syria, which has 40 percent less drinking water than before the conflict began after widespread destruction of national water infrastructure. Water scarcity is further compounded by climate change. The Syrian Civil Defence, rescue workers operating in opposition territory, said on Monday that medics reported the first three cases of cholera in the sprawling overcrowded Kafr Lusin camps near the border with Turkey. This is a dangerous development for civilian lives with the start of the spread of the disease quickly under bad health conditions and especially in the camps, the Western-backed group said in a statement. The U.N. has warned of high mortalities if cholera spreads in the densely populated strip, where tens of thousands of displaced Syrians live in dire conditions with limited supplies of safe water and sanitation. The World Health Organization (WHO) had already begun sending urgent shipments of medical supplies and chlorine tablets for water purification, officials said. Before the recent cholera outbreak, the water crisis had caused an increase in problems such as diarrhoea, malnutrition, and skin conditions, the WHO has said. By Suleiman Al-Khalidi Tesla Uses Company Guilty of Oil Price Manipulation, Bribery, and Corruption for EV Batteries Glencore, a commodities trader and mining firm that is a supplier to Tesla, pleaded guilty on May 24 in connection with a decades-long bribery and corruption scheme stretching across Africa and South America. Separately, the company also admitted to manipulating oil prices. To settle the charges, Glencore agreed to pay the U.S. government $1.1 billion in fines and forfeitures. The guilty pleas were part of a coordinated resolution with criminal and civil authorities in the United Kingdom, Brazil, and the United States. Still, the judgment didnt go far enough for the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable. The coalition stated that the investigation and ruling stopped short of holding Glencore accountable for its most heinous crimesGlencore stands accused of the worse human rights record among companies working in metals extraction for green technologies. Glencores operations supply Tesla as well as several other U.S. companies with cobalt, an essential component in batteries used in electric vehicles (EV). Protesters display a banner and posters in front of the venue of commodities trader Glencores annual shareholder meeting in Zug, Switzerland, on May 2, 2018. (Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters) Tesla assured the public via its 2021 Impact Report, while acknowledging the abuses that might accompany mining, that it goes above and beyond not to use companies engaged in shady business dealings. Mining has an important role to play in the transition to sustainable energy and we engage with suppliers to ensure mining is done in a responsible way. Tesla joined the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) and uses the IRMA Standard as well as other internationally recognized responsible mining standards in our due diligence. In its 2019 Impact Report, Tesla publicly stated that Tesla recognizes the higher risks of human rights issues within cobalt supply chains and had put in place policies to remove these risks from our supply chain. Despite the assurances, Glencore is one of Teslas primary cobalt suppliers, supplying up to 6,000 tons per year for Teslas EV batteries. Glencore and Tesla didnt respond by press time to requests from The Epoch Times for comment. Teslas Words In its 2021 Impact Report, Tesla went into impressive detail when discussing its approach to ensuring its suppliers act conscientiously. Tesla is committed to ensuring that our suppliers operate responsibly. We do this by proactively identifying and addressing potential risks in our supply chains. The Tesla Supplier Code of Conduct, Human Rights Policy, and Responsible Materials Policy outline Teslas expectations for suppliers. Specifically, the report states that Tesla collects data on the companies supplying minerals such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium and engages with suppliers to ensure upstanding mining practices among its suppliers. Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks before unveiling the Model Y at Teslas design studio in Hawthorne, Calif., on March 14, 2019. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo) Tesla also acknowledged that raw materials are often concentrated in countries that face socio-economic issues, so where possible, Tesla uses direct source mining, which helps to ensure responsible and humane mining conditions. As part of their agreement with Tesla, the mines agree to binding contracts with environmental and social requirements. Not happy with stopping there, Tesla also stated that 83 percent of its refiners and mine sites, plus 100 percent of refiners from whom Tesla sources directly, undergo or are in the process of independent external sustainability audits. These audits confirm that each company meets good practice initiatives set by organizations such as the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance. According to its 2021 Impact Report, Glencore has completed all required audits and assessments. Corruption and Human Rights Abuse Glencores May 24 entanglement with the law is but an instance in a long list of purported double-dealings and corruption allegations dating back 20 years. For example, in 2012, environmental justice and human rights organization Global Witness began examining the links between Glencore and corruption in Congo mining deals. It found that Glencore used Israeli billionaire Dan Gertlers relationship with then-Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila for favorable mining deals. Glencore pumped cash, loans, and shares worth over half a billion dollars into offshore companies owned by Gertler, which allowed him to make at least $67 million in risk-free profit. In 2017, the offshore law firm Appleby found itself in the news after hackers leaked to reporters more than 13.4 million confidential electronic documents related to offshore investments. Artisanal miners collect gravel from the Lukushi river searching for cassiterite in Manono in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 17, 2022. (Junior Kannah/AFP via Getty Images) Among other things, the Paradise Papers, similar to Global Witness, asserted that Glencore used Gertler to negotiate mining rights deals in the DRC. Later in 2017, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Gertler over allegations of using his relationship with Kabila for favorable DRC mining asset sales. In 2018, IndustriALL, a global union representing 50 million mining and energy workers in 140 countries, launched an investigation into widespread human rights abuses at Glencores mining operations. When officials tried to meet with local unions at Glencore mines, the company denied them access and threatened arrest. In 2019, a case study by Environmental Justice Atlas alleged that Glencore engaged in forced child labor, tax evasion, and water pollution via its subsidiaries in the DRC. The case is still in operation. A child walks past a truck carrying rocks extracted from a cobalt mine at a copper quarry and cobalt pit in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on May 23, 2016. (Junior Kannah/AFP via Getty Images) In its 2021 Transition Minerals Tracker analysis, the human rights organization Business and Human Rights Resource Centre stated regarding companies involved in the transition to net zero via mineral extraction, Globally, Glencore has the worst record. It was the company linked to the highest number of [human rights abuse] allegations in Africa, the second-highest in Asia-Pacific, and third-highest in South America. Perhaps most condemningly, however, is what the U.S. Justice Department said after Glencore pleaded guilty to the corruption, bribery, and market manipulation charges. In the foreign bribery case, Glencore International A.G. and its subsidiaries bribed corrupt intermediaries and foreign officials in seven countries for over a decade. In the commodity price manipulation scheme, Glencore Ltd. undermined public confidence by creating the false appearance of supply and demand to manipulate oil prices. Teslas Model Y line during the start of the production at the companys Gigafactory, on March 22, 2022. (Patrick Pleul/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York added: The scope of this criminal bribery scheme is staggering. Glencore paid bribes to secure oil contracts. Glencore paid bribes to avoid government audits. Glencore bribed judges to make lawsuits disappear. At bottom, Glencore paid bribes to make moneyhundreds of millions of dollars. And it did so with the approval, and even encouragement, of its top executives. The allegations, admissions of guilt, and the fact that agencies have pointed to Glencores corruption and human rights abuses for 20 years conflict with Teslas statement that it goes to great lengths to ensure responsibly sourced minerals. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Fled While Being Served With Subpoena, Affidavit Claims Paxton said he was concerned for his safety Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appears to have fled his home to avoid being served with a subpoena on Sept. 26, according to an affidavit filed in federal court, but the attorney general says he left his home to avoid a stranger loitering outside. The affidavit, obtained by The Texas Tribune, was filed by Ernesto Martin Herrera, a process server, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. According to the affidavit (pdf), Herrera was attempting to serve Paxton with a subpoena to appear before a federal court hearing on Tuesday in a lawsuit from a number of nonprofit organizations trying to block potential criminal charges for those who help Texan women access abortions out of state. The nonprofits listed as plaintiffs in that lawsuit (pdf) are: Fund Texas Choice, The North Texas Equal Access Fund, The Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity, Frontera Fund, The Afiya Center, West Fund, Janes Due Process, Clinic Access Support Network, and Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi. Herrera states in the affidavit that he arrived at Paxtons home at 8:28 a.m. and parked his vehicle on the street in front of the residence where he could see a silhouette of a man walking in the living room area. He then exited his vehicle and went to knock on Paxtons front door. The door had clear glass in it and I could clearly see inside the house. A female got up from the couch and started walking to the door, Herrera said, referring to Paxtons wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton. Herrera said he then saw Paxton enter the room behind his wife. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at a border town hall in Brackettville, Texas, on Oct. 11, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Paxton Ignored Me When he saw me, he turned around and went back to where he came from. I recognized him as Ken Paxton from the many pictures available on the internet. The female opened the door and I explained to her that I was trying to deliver important legal documents to Mr. Paxton, Herrera continued. She went back towards the area where Mr. Paxton had gone and she came back telling me that he was on the phone. I offered to wait for him to be off the phone. She said that he was in a hurry to leave. I left my business card with her. She identified herself as Angela. Herrera states that he went back to his vehicle to wait and that at approximately 9:20 a.m., he saw a black Chevrolet Tahoe pull into the driveway at the home and that the driver stayed inside the car. At approximately 9:40 a.m. the garage door opened up and I saw Mr. Paxton exiting the garage, he states. I walked up the driveway approaching Mr. Paxton and called him by his name. As soon as he saw me and heard me call his name out, he turned around and RAN back inside the house through the same door in the garage, Herrera wrote in the sworn affidavit. Herrera states that at approximately 9:47 a.m., Angela Paxton came out of the house, got inside the Chevrolet truck in the driveway, started it, and opened the rear door behind the drivers side. A few minutes later I saw Mr. Paxton RAN from the door inside the garage towards the rear door behind the drivers side. I approached the truck, and loudly called him by his name, and stated that I had court documents for him. Mr. Paxton ignored me and kept heading for the truck, Herrera stated. After determining that Paxton was not going to take the documents from his hand, Herrera states that he told the attorney general he was being served with legal documents and that he would leave them on the ground where Paxton could pick them up. I then placed the documents on the ground beside the truck. Service was completed at 9:50 a.m., he wrote, adding that Paxton then got in the truck, leaving the documents on the ground, and left. Pro-life demonstrators march during a Right to Life rally in Dallas on Jan. 15, 2022. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Paxton Responds Responding to the reports of the affidavit, Paxton said in a Sept. 27 statement on Twitter that he had left his home to avoid a stranger who was outside his house, and that conservatives have faced threats to their safety that have not been covered in the media. Its clear that the media wants to drum up another controversy involving my work as Attorney General, so theyre attacking me for having the audacity to avoid a stranger lingering outside my home and showing concern about the safety and well-being of my family, he wrote. The Epoch Times has contacted Ken Paxtons and Angela Paxtons offices for comment. Texas passed a law in 2021 that outlawed abortions in the state, with few exceptions, and made it a second-degree felony to knowingly perform, induce, or attempt an abortion, according to the bill (pdf). If the child dies as a result of the abortion attempt, the charge becomes a first-degree felony. The law went into effect on Aug. 25, following the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. However, an exception is made if the person who is pregnant has a life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy that places them at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at CPAC at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas, on July 11, 2021. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Texas Joins Coalition Demanding Senate Reject Energy Bill They Say Undermines States Rights Texas has joined a Louisiana-led coalition of 17 state attorneys general opposing a rushed U.S. Senate bill they say would let the Biden administration run roughshod over states rights by advancing a radically impractical energy agenda. Meanwhile, the White House sees the legislation as enabling and connecting clean energy into the countrys electricity grid. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday co-signed a letter to Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) opposing the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022, saying it is effectively a back door to the failed Obama-era Clean Power Plan. According to the letter, the bill contains three interrelated provisions that, when taken together, allow private companies and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to eviscerate states ability to chart their own land-use and energy policies. First, it would authorize private companies to use eminent domain against state land. Second, it would authorize FERC to command utilities to construct entirely new transmission facilities whenever and wherever FERC deems necessary, the letter states (pdf). And third, it would authorize companies to spread costs of constructing new transmission facilities onto residents of other states, requiring citizens of one state to subsidize the agenda of politicians and bureaucrats in other states. Under eminent domain, a governmental authority can seize property from a private or public owner for public purposes. Paxtons office said in a statement that this would allow the Biden administration, largely through the FERC, to run roughshod over states rights by advancing a radically impractical energy agenda, all while forcing taxpayers to foot the bill. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Sept. 21 that the legislation, which she said will boost Americas ability to get clean energy built and connected to the grid, has the support of President Joe Biden. Today, far too many energy projects face delayskeeping us from generating and shipping critical, cost-saving clean energy to families and businesses across America, Jean-Pierre said in a statement. This is an important step forward to further unlock the potential of these projects and the good-paying jobs they support. The bill itself states that it directs the president to develop a plan for the United States to achieve energy independence by 2024. It also approves the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline in Phillips County, Montanaone of the state signatories to Mondays letter. Getting Around States Rights, Undermining Voters The attorneys general expressed concern that the bill will empower certain states and companies favored by the Biden administration and the current FERC majority to distort states energy policies, take state and private land, and force everyone to pay for it even if they didnt vote for it. So long as the Biden administration deems certain energy projects to be in the national interest, Paxtons office said the FERC would likely have the ability to command private companies to construct new and extremely expensive transmission facilities wherever and whenever FERC determines. Under the bill, a simple three-vote majority of the FERC commissioners is all thats needed to commandeer companies, which the attorneys general said effectively eviscerates state sovereign authority. They said this would undermine the power of each citizens vote to decide policies at the state level. Further, the citizens of their states would be forced to subsidize the costs of the expensive and unreliable energy policy preferences of California and New York. Taxpayers would be forced to pay for the transmission facilities even if they dont live in that state and have no access to the energy they may create, according to Paxtons office, which noted that this would advance the Biden administrations radical climate agenda. Even worse, these drastic and draconian changes are being rushed through without committee hearings, markups, and the full debate expected of the worlds greatest deliberative body, the letter states. This utter lack of transparency is a manifestation of Congress new normal, under which laws are passed before the several States and their citizens can find out what is in them. Even Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson never sought to disrupt this federalist system. And worse, it is being proposed with little to no time for the American people to be informed about the costs that will be imposed upon them when these misguided policies are implemented, the letter states. The Epoch Times asked Schumers office for comment. The Dystopian Vision of the Health-Information Police Commentary When Assemblymember Evan Low, the principal author of California Assembly Bill 2098, told the California Senate Committee that his bill was really straightforward, very straightforward, many of us in the gallery failed to restrain ourselves from expressing our incredulity. He delivered this statement at the conclusion of a hearing that had lasted over an hour, during which it seemed no two Senators on the committee had the same idea of how the law would operate. Assemblymember Low had struggled to respond to questions from the committee and had often resorted to simply reading the text of the bill. That June 26 hearing presented the only time any legislators questioned the bill during its entire passage through the legislative process. Assembly Bill 2098 would empower the Medical Board of California to go after the licenses of physicians who disseminate misinformation or disinformation regarding COVID-19. The bill in its latest iteration defines misinformation as false information that is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus contrary to the standard of care. The inscrutability of this definition lies at the core of the bills opponents concerns. No clear scientific consensus exists with respect to this novel virus, and even if it did, it may be proven incorrect later. Without clear guidance regarding what would constitute misinformation, physicians can only guess if they risk losing their licenses for expressing their good-faith disagreements with positions of public health officials. Even if in practice, the Medical Board only applied the law to speech that the First Amendment does not protect, the laws vagueness would render it unconstitutional, because it would tend to cause doctors to censor themselves. The million-dollar question remains unanswered: Who would be targeted by Assembly Bill 2098? On one hand, the California Medical Association, the bills sponsor, cites the example of doctors who call into question public health efforts such as masking as creating the need for this bill. Likewise, the taxpayer-funded lobbying group County Health Executives Association of California decries a small minority of medical professionals who have led some Californians to reject public health measures such as masking and physical distancing. The analysis of the bill from the Senate committee, in discussing the need for this bill, cited the example of the state of Florida refusing to take action against the license of Florida Surgeon General for, among other things, question[ing] the value of face masks in preventing the spread of the pandemic. The idea that the effectiveness of masks in preventing the spread of COVID is part of the contemporary scientific consensus confirms physicians fears that they would risk discipline for questioning any edict from public health on COVID. On the other hand, when critics of Assembly Bill 2098 argue that questioning the effectiveness of masks falls well within the bounds of legitimate difference of opinions, proponents poo-poo their concerns about the law being applied in an overly broad way and insist that the law would only be used against truly bad doctors. But imbuing bureaucrats with power while trusting they will not exercise it would be incredibly foolish. Some, such as Assemblymember Low, bill co-author Assemblymember Akilah Weber, and a representative of the California Medical Association, imply that this bill would only apply in cases of intentional harm. There is nothing in the letter of the law that limits the bills reach to situations where someone was harmed or where the information was disseminated knowing it was false. (Intentionally misleading would fall under the definition of disinformation as opposed to misinformation. An earlier draft of the bill mentioned harm to a patient as a factor for the Medical Board to consider.) Members of the Medical Board of California itself have expressed confusion about how the law would be applied and withheld its support initially. MBC President Kristina Lawson, an attorney who has been a driving force behind this bill, claims to have clarity about how it would be applied but apparently is only willing to discuss the matter in private. While most proponents say as little as possible regarding Assembly Bill 2098s implications, one group is more vocal and less guarded in its statements. Two self-described frontline California doctors, Nick Sawyer and Taylor Nichols, formed No License for Disinformation (NLFD) in September 2021. As its name suggests, the organizations purpose is to promote policies that use the threat of medical license revocation to discourage doctors from spreading information it believes to be false. Sawyer has twice testified before legislative committees in favor of Assembly Bill 2098. NLFDs prolific tweets and other public statements paint a dystopian picture that reflects opponents worst fears of the type of authoritarian regime proponents wish to impose. NLFD pushes the idea that there is, as Sawyer described it his testimony before the Assembly committee on April 19, a well-coordinated and well-funded network of doctors who promote anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, sow distrust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the federal government, and ultimately the COVID-19 vaccines. At the outset, note the irony that NLFD frequently criticizes conspiracy theorists while promoting its own conspiracy theories. And NLFD not only wants to silence those who undermine faith in public health measures, but anyone who sows distrust in the government. Let that sink in. NLFDs tweets elaborate on its conspiracy theories, which are, like most conspiracy theories, built on weak evidence that magnify tenuous connections. A recent tweet shared a long thread posted by one of its founders that purports to uncover a web of right-wing disinformation purveyors funded by oil money. It implicates, among others, anyone associated with the Great Barrington Declaration or Brownstone Institute and specifically names UCSF professor and doctor Vinay Prasad, journalist and author David Zweig, and Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Stefan Baral as part of this cabal. An Aug. 13, 2022 tweet promotes a Substack article, written by NLFD Research Consultant Allison Neitzel, which calls Americas Frontline Physicians, Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, and The Unity Project the Big 4 responsible for a physician-led attack on public health. NLFD has often identified these four as its primary targets, sometimes adding the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons and Urgency of Normal to its hit list. NLFD asserts, without any basis, that these groups work together. Some of NLFDs targets, such as the Urgency of Normals leadership, are mainstream physicians. NLFD dismisses them as ranging from formerly well respected immunologists to outright frauds. It links to a long thread from one of its founders that accuses Urgency of Normal of being part of a right-wing operation to promote an anti-mask narrative. It complains that CNN gave Dr. Jeanne Noble, associate professor at UCSF, a platform. It retweeted a tweet calling for Dr. Lucy McBride to be reported to the medical board for opposing mask mandates in schools and responded with a link directing the public on how to do so. It dismissed every doctor who participated in a roundtable hosted by Florida Governor DeSantis, which included Dr. Tracy Heg, as COVID deniers and disinformation doctors and warned that no one should accept medical advice from any of them. These attacks contradict any claim that NLFD claims only wants to silence doctors who peddle dangerously false medical advice rather than those who have good-faith disagreements with official COVID policy. The inclusion of the authors of the Great Barrington DeclarationSunetra Gupta, Martin Kulldorff, and Jay Bhattacharyaat the top of NLFDs hit list is puzzling. Not only does the declaration espouse a conventional viewpoint, none of the Great Barrington Declarations authors is a practicing physician and therefore law like Assembly Bill 2098 would not affect them. NLFD has called out the Great Barrington Declaration around a dozen times and frequently targets Stanford professor Bhattacharya in particular (he earned a medical degree but does not practice medicine or hold a medical license). NLFD doesnt just accuse Bhattacharya of being wrong, it accuses him of intentionally lying, calling him a disinformation doctor and a prominent purveyor of COVID-19 disinformation, accusing him of telling lies that have killed people (along with Vinay Prasad), and insinuating he should be reported for perjury. In addition to its direct attacks, NLFD has retweeted dozens of criticisms of Bhattacharya and seemed to delight in a journalist getting Twitter to temporarily suspend his account for a minor oversight. NLFDs messaging has an unquestionably partisan slant, despite claiming to be nonpartisan. It has posted dozens of tweets critical of the Republican Party. Some of these criticisms do not clearly relate to the organizations mission of combating misinformation. For example, this Aug. 8, 2022 thread attacks Republican lawmakers for opposing a drug pricing control provision in a bill. The same day, another tweet alleges that the GOP Doctors Caucus is allied with Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli. They attempt to tie this issue in with their mission by asserting that Republicans in general are affiliated with licensed physicians spreading COVID misinformation. In another recent example, NLFD posted a clip from 2017 accusing Rand Paul of being in cahoots with Putin. It had previously suggested that Paul should be reported to the medical board for reasons it doesnt identify. NLFD has even branched out to opine on political issues totally unrelated to the practice of medicine, encouraging the public to report harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school board members or staff to the FBI. NLFD has numerous posts elaborating on its idea of a right-wing, Republican-led conspiracy to spread disinformation. It uses the phrase disinformation pipeline to describe an alleged process by which Republicans in state legislatures deliberately harm public health by institutionalizing disinformation through, for example, passing laws that shield doctors from discipline for controversial COVID treatments. It claims that the overall Republican agenda is to create fear/animosity/victimhood amongst supporters, whipping up anti-science/anti-government sentiment making them more likely to take up arms against the government. It has asserted that [a]ll COVID disinformation doctors are inextricably tied to Trump. Many of NLFDs conspiracy theories are quite dark and disturbing. It recently retweeted a thread from its own Nick Sawyer, which argues that the United States is currently in the midst of a civil war, which goes unrecognized because it is an information war. Another recent tweet exhorts: This is an information war, a battle for the truth, and [every] American is a soldier. Get up to speed and start fighting for evidence based reality. No one is going to do this for us. NLFDs primary weapon in this imagined information war is censorship, but it also advocates for criminal prosecution for expressing the wrong ideas. It frequently encourages its followers to report physicians to their medical boards, even if they have no relationship with them. It also frequently calls on Twitter to deplatform accounts it feels say things that are untrue. But it goes even further, tagging the FBI and posting a link to the FBI tip line, asking its followers to report people for alleged misinformation. It tags the U.S. Department of Justices Criminal Division in its tweets. It calls its targets a threat to national security. NLFD erroneously claims that under current California law, a physician can be criminally prosecuted for any untrue statement. NLFD wants to go far beyond having medical boards discipline licensed physiciansthey want to see their enemies in jail. Against this backdrop of NLFDs other public statements, its hard to imagine how Sawyer managed to sound sincere when he told the Senate committee: This bill is not supposed to cause problems with physicians free speech around academic discussion. This bill will allow the medical board to discipline doctors who say things like the vaccines cause AIDS or that the vaccines are killing more patients than COVID, using manipulated data or that the vaccines are implanting microchips so the government can track you. Im all for academic debatein fact, we wouldnt be where we are today without robust academic debate, but thats not what this is about. Make no mistakeAssembly Bill 2098 is not just about protecting patient safety. That is why one member of the Medical Board of California warned that the bill would be counterproductive to the Boards mission. Assembly Bill 2098 was not the brainchild of Assemblymember Low or any other California lawmakers. Its part of an effort to enact similar policies around the country, sparked in large part by a declaration from the Federation of State Medical Boards in July 2021. California is often described as a bellwether: As California goes, so goes the nation. That saying rings especially true with respect to Assembly Bill 2098, given that this is a test case for a national movement and that Governor Gavin Newsom has obvious presidential aspirations. The bill will become law on Jan. 1 unless the governor vetoes by Sept. 30, and even then, the Democrats who voted for the bill have sufficient numbers to override a veto. Then we will discover whether our high courts still uphold the principle of free speech or whether they will allow themselves to be co-opted by the soldiers fighting to be the arbiters of Truth. From the Brownstone Institute Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The Establishments Response to Trumps Threat to Political Corruption (Part II) Commentary The reality is that the intelligence community, the Obama administration, and the political establishment never expected Trump to win in 2016. And when he did win, the intelligence community was suddenly faced with a very real problem. How do they cover up their actions? Their answer was to set out to destroy Trumps presidency. Or at least fatally hobble, even cripple, the new Trump administration. As I wrote in the first part of this article, the timeline of the establishments actions in the first few months of 2017 tells the story of an establishment response to the very real threat that the young Trump administration presented to the long-standing, and corrupt, political structure of our nation. By way of a quick recap, events were set in motion during a Jan. 5, 2017, meeting in President Barack Obamas office that included FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, Vice President Joe Biden, and Susan Rice. Comeys first action was to tell Congress on Jan. 10 that he could neither confirm nor deny an investigation into Trumpdespite privately telling Trump that he was not under investigation. But it was Jan. 12 that marked some of the most crucial events that would shape things to come. On that day, Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced his initiation of a review of actions taken by the FBI in the leadup to the 2016 presidential election. This announcement was not publicized and only became public knowledge almost a year later. It now appears that his investigation was intended to tie up or prevent any real investigation of the actions taken by the DOJ and the intelligence community for years. Jan. 12 also marked the date of the first renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. And on this same day, Washington Post reporter David Ignatius reported on Trump campaign national security adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynns calls with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Although Flynn would later be found to have engaged in nothing improper, Flynn resigned the very next day. By late January, following the FBIs two-day interview of Steeles primary source, Igor Danchenko, the FBI knew that the dossiers major allegations were fabrications. But rather than shutting down its investigation and withdrawing its FISA warrant on Pagea warrant that had been obtained on the basis of the dossierthe FBI escalated its investigation. Put simply, by Jan. 25, 2017, the FBI knew that the dossiers major allegations were fabrications. To make matters even worse, sometime in March 2017 the FBI provided Danchenko with Confidential Human Source status, which would successfully keep Danchenko under full protective coverkeeping him away from congressional and public view. We dont know the date with certainty but I suspect Danchenko was given CHS status in early March. On Feb. 27, 2017, despite incredible and mounting pressure from the Intelligence Community, Congress, and the media, House Intelligence Chair Devin Nunes publicly stated that he had seen absolutely no evidence of Russia-Trump collusion. Nunes also dismissed concerns that Flynn had violated the obscure, centuries-old, Logan Act as ridiculous and said that the House Intelligence Committee would not subpoena Trumps tax returns. This stance, along with some future and crucial disclosures he would make, placed Nunes on a collision course with the weight of the establishment. So much so, that he would be forced to temporarily remove himself from the Russia investigation, though he continued his efforts behind the scenes. March 1, 2017, marks another very important date, but one that most people are unaware of. It was on this date that The New York Times inadvertently reported on why the Obama administration suddenly issued a last-minute Jan. 3, 2017, rule change that allowed for intra-agency sharing of globally intercepted personal communications. In a piece titled Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Hacking, it was made clear that the Obama administration was sharing information broadly and at low levels of security classification. According to the NY Times, In the Obama administrations last days, some White House officials scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election and about possible contacts between associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump and Russians. This new order, originally scheduled for early 2016, allowed for the other intelligence agencies to ask the National Security Agency (NSA) for access to specific surveillance simply by claiming the intercepts contained relevant information that would be useful to a particular mission. Crucially, privacy protection of the underlying raw data was specifically bypassed by the order. On its face, the rule was supposedly put in place in order to reduce the risk that the NSA will fail to recognize that a piece of information would be valuable to another agency, but in reality, it dramatically expanded government officials access to the private information of American citizens. However, with the Jan. 3, 2017, approval of Section 2.3, and the associated expansion of sharing globally intercepted communications, other intelligence agencies would be able to search directly through raw repositories of communications intercepted by the N.S.A. and then apply such rules for minimizing privacy intrusions. When the order was signed, many wondered at the timing and questioned why there was a pressing need to rush an order that allowed for significant expansion in the sharing of raw intelligence among agencies during the final days of the Obama administration. Without going into too much detail, if the language had been implemented in early 2016 as originally scheduled, dissemination of any raw intelligence on or relating to the Trump campaign to officials within the Obama White House would likely have been made more difficult or prohibited. In other words, prior to the signing of Section 2.3, it appears that greater latitude existed for officials in the Obama administration to gain access to information. But once the order was signed into effect, Section 2.3 granted greater latitude to interagency sharing of that information. On March 2, 2017, during an MSNBC interview with Obamas Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Evelyn Farkas, she inadvertently detailed how intelligence on the Trump campaign team was being gathered and disseminated by the Obama administration and intelligence agencies. As she noted: The Trump folks, if they found out how we knew what we knew about the Trump staff dealing with Russians, that they would try to compromise those sources and methods, meaning we would no longer have access to that intelligence. Another occurrence that took place on March 1 was reporting by The Washington Post that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had contact twice with the Russian ambassador during the campaignonce at a Heritage Foundation event and once at a meeting in Sessionss Senate office. The article left out some very important context, but the damage was done. On March 2 Sessions recused himself from the Russia inquiry. From here, events moved fairly swiftly. On March 3, radio host Mark Levin claimed on his radio show that the Obama administration had obtained FISA warrants on members of the Trump campaign. The following day, President Donald Trump sent his infamous tweet that he had been wiretapped by Obama. These two events appeared to trigger a very real panic at the FBI. Agent Peter Strzok, FBI lawyer Lisa Page and head of the FBIs Counterintelligence Division Bill Priestap all went into FBI headquarters on March 5, 2017, a Sunday. On that same day, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper stated that he knew of no FISA warrant approval for the Trump campaign. Clapper would repeat this claim in September of that year. The next day, March 6, 2017, leaders of the FBI and DOJ held an emergency meeting that appeared to focus primarily on Trumps tweet. They were obviously very concerned about how much Trump actually knew. Included in the meeting were several officials from the incoming Trump administration, including acting attorney general Dana Boente, to whom the Obama-era officials told a number of lies regarding the basis for their investigation and the FISA warrant on Page. The FBI referred to Steeles dossier as Crown reporting suggesting the dossier represented official UK government intelligence. Strzok lied to his DOJ superiors about what triggered Alexander Downer, the Australian ambassador in London to come forward to the FBI. The FBI also lied to the DOJ about the Page FISA warrant, which they claimed was fruitful, when in fact it had revealed nothing of notesomething that the FBI was perfectly aware of by this time. Finally, the FBI tried to misrepresent and escalate the Alfa Bank allegations by claiming that Trump had sent a solicitation to Alfa Bank. Again, this was completely false. The FBI knew within days of Michael Sussmann, an attorney representing the Democratic National Committee, giving them the Alfa Bank data in 2016 that it was useless and probably fake. Comey continued to maneuver quickly in order to firmly establish the Russia-Collusion narrative. Somewhere around March 6, 2017, Comey finally notified the congressional Gang of Eight of the FBIs Crossfire Hurricane investigation. Keep in mind that this investigation formally began on July 31, 2016, which is when the Gang of Eight should have been notified. Then, on March 15, 2017, Comey briefed Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Carter Page FISA application. Two days later, Comey provided them with a physical copy of the FISA, knowing full well the information would make its way to the media. A few days later, on March 20, Comey testified to Congress. It was during this testimony that Comey confirmed before the House Intelligence Committee that the FBI was investigating whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia during the election. Under reluctant testimony, Comey admitted that he had notified some members of the Obama White House and Clapper in July 2016, but did not notify Congressincluding the Gang of Eightuntil sometime in March 2017. Tellingly, Comey noted the DOJ had been aware of it all along. But Comey refused to make a simple public statement noting that the FBI was not investigating Trump, despite having told Trump exactly that on three different occasions. FBI Director James Comey arrives at the U.S. Capitol for a classified briefing on Russia for all members of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 13, 2017. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) The next day, March 21, 2107, Devin Nunes met with a classified source. The New York Times described the meeting. On March 22, Nunes informed Trump that he believed Trump and his Staff were illegally surveilled and unmasked, a process of revealing the names of Americans who appear in gathered foreign intelligence. Nunes Publicly announced that hed seen evidence of Trump associates being incidentally surveilled by Obama intel officials; and their names being unmasked and illegally leaked. Nunes also demanded that the CIA, FBI, and NSA disclose the nature of the unlawful surveillance he had uncovered. For his efforts, an ethics investigation was launched into Nunes. On April 6, Nunes was forced to recuse himself from the Russia collusion investigation. The next day, April 7, the second Carter Page renewal took place. Watch the full episode of Truth Over News on Thursday, Sept. 29. Top Senators Press Wray, Garland on FBI Paying Primary Source for Anti-Trump Dossier Top U.S. senators are pressing the FBIs director and the attorney general for answers on how the government paid the primary source for the anti-Donald Trump dossier, which has been proven to be full of baseless information. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the top Republican on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said they want more information following the recent disclosure that the FBI paid Igor Danchenko. Special counsel John Durham first revealed in early September that the FBI paid Danchenko, the primary source for dossier author Christopher Steele, from March 2017 to October 2020. Danchenko later confirmed the payments. The FBI has declined to comment, and the Department of Justice has not responded to inquiries. The senators noted in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Merrick Garland made public on Sept. 26 that the bureau investigated Danchenko in 2008, after the then-Brookings Institution analyst approached co-workers and said he could connect them to people for payments for handing over classified information. According to a summary of the investigation, agents found Danchenko had contacts with the Russian Embassy and known Russian intelligence officers. An associate of Danchenko said that he had persistently asked about a particular military vessel. Another associate said Danchenko wanted to live in Russia again in the future. The FBI closed the investigation in 2010 after investigators learned he left the United States in 2010. Russian analyst Igor Danchenko arrives at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse before being arraigned in Alexandria, Va., on Nov. 10, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) In 2016, the FBIs Crossfire Hurricane team, investigating alleged links between Trump and his campaign and Russian actors, learned that Danchenko was Steeles primary source and became familiar with the earlier investigation. But the bureau still decided to pay him as a confidential human source. Therefore, while we were investigating the Justice Departments and FBIs misconduct with respect to Crossfire Hurricane, you maintained him on the governments payroll, Grassley and Johnson wrote to Wray, a Trump appointee, and Garland, a Biden appointee. This extraordinary fact pattern requires additional information from the Justice Department and FBI relating to why Danchenko was placed on the payroll and paid by the taxpayer to assist in the federal governments flawed investigation into President Trump, they added, referring to how Crossfire Hurricane investigators misled the secretive court that approved spy warrants on Trump associate Carter Page. The senators asked for all records relating to payments made to Danchenko, the counterintelligence investigation into him, and his later hiring. The Epoch Times has already submitted Freedom of Information Act requests for the information, but it has not yet been provided. Danchenko was charged in 2021 with five counts of lying to the FBI. He is due to go on trial in October. Election commission members count votes of refugees from Russian-held regions of Ukraine for a referendum at a polling station in Simferopol, Crimea, on Sept. 27, 2022. (Stringer/AFP via Getty Images) Ukraine Polls Wrap Up Amid Widening Policy Fissures in Europe Referendums in four Russia-held regions of Ukraine wrapped up on Sept. 27 amid warnings from Kyiv that Ukrainian citizens who took part in organizing the polling could expect to face jail time. We are talking about hundreds of collaborators, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak said. They will be prosecuted for treason. The vote, which began on Sept. 23, will decide whether residents of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia want to remain in Ukraine or join the Russian Federation. According to Russian sources, voter turnout as of Sept. 26 stood at 87 percent in Donetsk; 84 percent in Luhansk; 64 percent in Kherson; and 66 percent in Zaporizhzhia. On Sept. 27, Russias Tass news agency quoted Donetsks pro-Russian mayor as saying that, during the polling, Donetsk city had come under heavy Ukrainian shellfire. Kyiv and its Western supporters, for their part, say the polls represent the de facto annexation of the territories by Russia and have vowed not to recognize the results. Russian forces and their local allies currently hold about 60 percent of Donetsk and almost all of Luhansk. Moscow already recognizes both territories, which together comprise Ukraines Russian-speaking Donbas region, as independent republics. Russian forces also currently control broad swathes of the southern Zaporizhzhia region and almost all of neighboring Kherson. Polling ended at 4 p.m. local time on Sept. 27, after which votes will be counted and preliminary results announced later the same day, according to Russian election officials. Most observers predict a wide margin of victory for the pro-Russia camp. Russian media has reported that 93 percent of ballots cast on the first day of polling in Zaporizhzhia favored the regions integration with Russia. In 2014, Ukraines Black Sea region of Crimea voted overwhelmingly to join Russia in a similar referendum. The results of that poll remain unrecognized by all but a handful of countries. Russian officials have said that the four regions integration into the Russia Federationshould they vote in favor of itcould be officially ratified by the Russian state as early as Sept. 30. Ukrainian officials say residents of the four Russia-held regions are being strong-armed into taking part in an illegitimate vote. Moscow and its allies in Ukraine, for their part, deny Kyivs claims of coercion. EU Policy Fissures Ukraines Western allies, meanwhile, have responded to what they describe as sham referendums by redoubling their support for Kyiv. On Sept. 26, the U.S. Congress approved an additional $12 billion in aid to Ukraine. On the same day, the UK unveiled a raft of new sanctions, the targets of which reportedly include Russian officials involved in staging the polls. The same day also saw renewed shows of support for Ukraine by The Netherlands, with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte tweeting: More weapons [for Ukraine], more sanctions, more isolation of Russia. Not all European leaders, however, appear to support such a hardline approach to the conflict, which recently entered its eighth month. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that EU sanctions on Russia had backfired by driving up energy pricesto the detriment of Europes economy. Orban also repeated calls for a ceasefire between the warring sides. In a related development, a decision by Serbia to hold foreign policy consultations with Moscow has reportedly drawn the ire of Brussels, which expects EU aspirants to limit their contacts with Russia. Serbia, along with Ukraine and Turkey, is currently on the EUs shortlist of candidate countries. Field Developments After retaking several positions in the northeastern Kharkiv region earlier this month, Ukrainian forces appear to have run up against much stiffer Russian resistance near the Oskil River. Whats more, seasonal rains expected next month are likely to significantly hinder Ukraines counter-offensive operationsat least in the short term. Nevertheless, intermittent skirmishes and artillery exchanges persist along the 1,000-kilometer-long frontline, along with reports of fighting near the strategic towns of Bakhmut and Krasny Liman in Donetsk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has described the military situation in Donetsk as particularly severe. We are doing everything to contain enemy activity, Zelenskiy said in a Sept. 26 video address. This is our No. 1 goal right now, because Donbas is still the No. 1 goal for the occupiers. On Sept. 27, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the situation in Donbasthe primary focus of Russias special military operationwas expected to change radically after the polling. The situation will change radically from a legal perspective and from the perspective of international law, with all the relevant consequences for the purposes of protecting these regions, Peskov told reporters. A day earlier, Anatoly Vyborny, chairman of the Russian State Dumas security committee, said that a counter-terrorist operation could be activated in regions that opt to join Russia. A counter-terrorist operation may be required in new regions of Russia to counter terrorist attacks from the Kiev authorities and the Ukrainian armed forces, Vyborny was quoted as saying by TASS. Whether or not the proposed counter-terrorist operation would supersede Moscows ongoing special military operationand its rules of engagementremains unclear. Reuters contributed to this report. Undermining US Citizenship at K-12 Schools on American Military Bases Commentary Schools on American military bases, educating almost 70,000 children of service personnel, push the same anti-racism curriculum found in Americas most liberal school districts, with the goal of preparing these students for lives dedicated to a global citizenship meant to displace American citizenship and the American way of life. The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) employs thousands of teachers, and its budget exceeds $3.2 billion. Reflecting Department-wide priorities, the 2022 DoDEA Blueprint for Continuous Improvement strategic plan was recently updated to emphasize diversity, equity, and inclusion as Core Values for the system. As part of delivering on the Defense Departments diversity agenda, the Pentagon sponsored an Equity and Access conference in 2021, where teachers from around the military system delivered talks about promoting queer theory, antiracism, global citizenship, and left-wing activism generally. Antiracism was the dominant topic of discussion, but we must understand that antiracism does not mean, not being racist. On the contrary, the new working definition of antiracismgiven to us by Boston Universitys Ibram X. Kendimeans assuming that all American society is shot through with racism, that every white person is racist, and that denial of racism is evidence of racism. Thanks to a whistleblower, the Claremont Institute received more than fifty presentations from the 2021 DoDEA conference. The content was, to put it gently, enlightening. Military base teachers instructed their colleagues how to insert antiracist ideology into their classrooms through a simple, two-step process. First, cultivate a sense of guilt and discomfort in students through subtle accusations. Second, replace the previous complacency and comfort with a commitment to activism and a sense of mission about restructuring society and the world. Trainers emphasized the first step of cultivating critical conversations and discomfort in more than a dozen presentations. They hued closely to the Southern Poverty Law Centers Lets Talk handbook, which describes critical conversations as discussions about the ways that injustice affects our lives and our society and explorations about the relationship between identity and power, that traces the structures that privilege some at the expense of others, that helps students think through the actions they can take to create a more just, more equitable, world. Such conversations can begin in countless ways, but they must always take place within the antiracism framework. Injustice means disparities between group outcomesdisparities to the disadvantage of favored minorities. Blacks suffer from some health problems at rates higher than whitesso DoDEA has a presentation on health equityWe All Have Shoes: But Do They Fit? Health Education Equity. In Be Well Do Well, a presenter emphasizes questions like what aspect of your racial or ethnic identity makes you the proudest? and Have you ever experienced a situation where your racial or ethnic identity seemed to contribute to a problem or an uncomfortable situation? Once students are saddled with white guilt, teachers must give them their marching orders. In Combating 1-Sided Narratives (Decolonize the Curriculum), AP language teacher Gregory DeJardin insists that teachers must become activists themselves, since nothing naturally bends toward justice without us bending it. Decolonizing the curriculum involves expunging old books like Dr. Seuss or Shakespeare from the curriculum and replacing them with antiracist childrens books. Equitable bookshelves must be created, including texts from DisruptTexts.org and SocialJusticeBooks.org, which feature books such as Rise Up: The Art of Protest and What We Believe: A Black Lives Matter Principles Activity Book. The REDI for Change: Antiracism in Action talk emphasized urging white people to confess their crimes of privilege and silence. I was reading Me and White Supremacy, said one teacher, and what it teaches about white silence, and I realized the damage I was doing by my white silence. Decolonizing the curriculum could involve changing what history class is about. A focus on inventors or discoverers, for instance, leaves students with only a white-American view of the world, according to one student, since so many of the greatest American inventors have been white men. Decolonization of the classroom should emphasize all the great black inventors or stop focusing on inventors altogether. Bending the arc of justice requires a definite change in emphasis, if not a series of lies, noble or otherwise. When schools do not allow such books to be taught, trainers encouraged teachers to use their academic freedom to integrate radical readings. Teachers do have some influence, one trainer said, over the books they choose for read-aloud independent reading, book clubs, literature circles. All of this is done not simply for the good of equity, but to cultivate a new kind of student. Global citizenship education is a means to combat these ideas and practices, one teacher maintains. Children will think their own country is fundamentally racist and in need of systemic change, but those kids can become attached to a higher ideal than the nationan understanding of humanity as such. It is unwise to undermine the attachment military children feel toward their country. It is unjust to put lies at the heart of their education. Yet our military educators are doing both. The country will soon reap the sad harvest of this planting season. [This article was adapted from sections of a new Claremont Institute investigative report, Grooming Future Revolutionaries: Woke Indoctrination at K-12 Schools on Americas Military Bases.] From RealClearWire Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Ryan P. Williams Follow Ryan P. Williams is president of the Claremont Institute. Unilever logo on Dove soap boxes in this illustration taken on Jan. 17, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters) Unilever CEO Set to Leave After GSK Debacle, Arrival of Activist Investor Unilever said CEO Alan Jope would retire at the end of 2023, announcing the move less than a year after a bungled attempt to buy GSKs consumer healthcare business, and two months after activist investor Nelson Peltz joined the board. The British consumer products maker said its board would start a formal search for a successor to Jope, a Unilever veteran who took up his role at the start of 2019, considering both internal and external candidates. The companys search begins at a time of soaring food and energy prices which are hitting household budgets and hurting consumer confidence. The company will be looking for a new CEO at the same time as rival Reckitt, the maker of Dettol products and Finish dish soap. Unilever has had a rocky start to the year after mounting three bids for the consumer health arm of GlaxoSmithKline,one for as much as 50 billion pounds ($53.14 billion). The move was met with disapproval from shareholders, some of whom also criticized Unilever for prioritizing sustainability over core growth. This may signal more welcome future change at Unilever, Tineke Frikee, fund manager at Unilever investor Waverton Asset Management, said. The unappealing plan to buy consumer healthcare from GlaxoSmithKline has tainted Mr Jopes track record somewhat so a fresh start from a new CEO could convince investors Unilevers momentum is trending upwards again. The company in January also announced plans to cut about 1,500 management jobs and reshape its business to focus on five main product areas, days after it was revealed that Peltz, via his Trian Partners vehicle, had built a stake in Unilever. Trian told Reuters in a statement that it was sorry to learn of Jopes decision to retire. As a board member, Trians CEO Nelson Peltz looks forward to continuing to work closely with Alan until his departure and to being part of the process of choosing a new leader for the company, it added. A Unilever spokesperson said the company is fully committed to the organizational changes and that Jope is completely committed to delivering against that strategy. A Mixed Bag Jope has worked at Unilever for more than 35 years, holding various senior leadership positions, including being head of the personal care division from 2014. I think Jopes tenure as CEO was a bit of a mixed bag, Jack Martin, fund manager at Unilever shareholder Oberon Investments, said. It has been a very impressive career nonetheless, joining as a trainee in the 80s and ending up as CEO of one of the UKs largest listed companies, Unilevers shares have underperformed European consumer staples and discretionary indices, as well as most rivals since Jope became CEO. Our immediate concern is that this leaves 15 months until his retirement with a CEO who might be seen to have lost credibility with employees and other stakeholders, RBC analyst James Edwardes Jones said. This at a time when Unilever will be implementing and bedding down a fundamental reorganization, not to mention dealing with a challenging macro-economic environment. ($1 = 0.9410 pounds) Former President Donald Trump (L) listens as J.D. Vance, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio, speaks during a rally hosted by the former president at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Ohio on April 23, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Vance, Ryan Campaigns Continue to Debate About Debates The great Ohio U.S. Senate debate over debates continues between Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan and Republican nominee J.D. Vance. The candidates agreed to take the stage on Oct. 10 in Cleveland in a forum hosted by WJW Channel 8 and on Oct. 17 in Youngstown coordinated by WFMJ-TV. Ryans campaign said he committed to another debate, planned for Oct. 4 in Hamilton, not far from Middletown, where Vance grew up. Vance campaign spokesman Luke Schroeder told reporters that Vance has not agreed to the Oct. 4 forum, which would be hosted by Cincinnatis WLWT-TV. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) speaks during an event at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Oct. 13, 2019. (Duane Prokop/Getty Images for Wellness Your Way Festival) We have reiterated in multiple conversations with WLWT that an Oct. 4 debate in Hamilton is not logistically possible, Schroeder said. Earlier this month, Ryan released a statement last week saying that he will participate in debates on Sept. 26 in Youngstown at Stambaugh Auditorium, on Oct. 4 at Parrish Auditorium on Miami Universitys Hamilton Campus, and on Oct. 12 at the Akron-Summit County Public Library. Vance said in a statement the same week that he would participate in the event hosted by WJW-TV in Cleveland on Oct. 4 and a debate coordinated in Hamilton at a date to be determined. It is not clear whether the date for a debate in Hamilton will be changed to accommodate the campaigns. The Ohio Debate Commission proposed the Oct. 12 forum. Vances campaign declined, citing partisanship concerns. After learning that Vance would not appear at the Ohio Debate Commission event, Ohio Debate Commission (ODC) executive director Jill Miller Zimon said in a statement that, In an election cycle where voters have indicated how concerned they are about threats to democracy. Candidates participation in high-quality debatesand providing that content to as many Ohioans as possibleis more critical than ever. Our record shows our capacity to reach millions of Ohio voters with this important content. The nonpartisan ODC was created in 2018 to ensure fair and substantive debates between candidates in the state, according to the organizations website. Zimon, however, is a Democrat who has a lengthy record of anti-Republican rhetoric and activism, according to Fox News. She was a Democratic U.S. House candidate in 2006 and 2014, and lost those races. Records show that she contributed more than $13,000 to Democratic causes and candidates between 2006 and 2018, the Ohio Press Network reported. Zimon donated $250 to Ryans campaign in 2014. Ryan is in his 10th term as a congressman in northeast Ohio. Between 2015 and 2016, she also contributed $1,700 to Hillary Clintons presidential campaign and associated PACs. Before her unsuccessful House campaigns, Zimon drew attention as a blogger who criticized talk show host Rush Limbaugh for what she called his record of saying sexist, misogynistic things about women. Rewire News Group reported that Zimon is a Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio board member. Zimon said in a statement earlier this month that she has not participated in partisan activities since joining the ODC in 2018 and added that the organizations debates are professional and impartial. Responding to criticism about Zimon, ODC Board of Directors president Dan Moulthrop told reporters that, This is a specious attempt to smear an organization that has done nothing other than insist on fair debates where facts and the truth are respected. In April, the ODC hosted a debate between Republican Senate candidates, including Vance. The event was moderated by Ohio Public Radios Karen Kasler, who frequently interjected her opinion that claims of 2020 election fraud were fact checked and found to be inaccurate. Kasler did not disclose the sources that conducted the fact-checking, nor did she reveal what they specifically found. Her interruptions elicited jeers from the audience. The whole Ryan posture that were avoiding the debates, weve tried to deal with them directly from the very beginning, Vance told Cleveland.com. And its only now that they realize were not going to play ball with the Ohio Debate Commission that theyve finally come to the table. But I think well get it figured out. Jordan Wiggins, Vances campaign manager, told Fox News that We have accepted two non-partisan debates and have been bewildered as to why Tim Ryan has held those debates hostage, unless we first accepted the debate being hosted by the Ohio Debate Commission. Well, now it all makes sense. Tim Ryan and his team are only interested in debating if theyre confident they can rig the system with partisan Democrat activists setting the rules, Wiggins added. We have zero interest in joining a debate overseen by a former Democrat candidate for office and board member of Planned Parenthood, who has repeatedly smeared Republicans on her social media. Both campaigns have not ruled out additional debates. As of Sept. 27, the Cook Political Report and Sabatos Crystal Ball call the race lean Republican while Inside Elections rates it as Likely Republican. When factoring in all polling data through Sept. 22, the RealClearPolitics average has Vance holding a 1.2-point lead over Ryan. Oil painting "First Snow of 2018" by Penny Zhou, an instructor at Fei Tian College Middletown, among the works in exhibition at Wallkill River School gallery.(Artsy.net/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Wallkill River School Gallery Exhibition Nurtures A Revival of Realism Local Artists, College Students Recognized in 'Realism: An Academic Approach' MONTGOMERY, N.Y.The Wallkill River School gallery is currently running an exhibit entitled Realism: An Academic Approach, featuring works by local artists and students. Exhibition pieces were selected by Tony Conner, an award-winning watercolor artist from Vermont, said Walkill River School executive director Sarah Fortner Pierson. We put out a call to the public to submit works, he [Conner] reviewed all of them anonymously and made a selection. Pierson said, Our organization was founded on plein air painting, with a realist emphasis. So, this is a nice revival of the realism. Best of Show oil painting In Transition by Melissa Small Cooper (Artsy.net/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) For the Best of Show title, Conner selected the oil painting In Transition by Hudson Valley painter Melissa Small Cooper. He wrote, exquisite composition! Softly balanced over the center line with a delicate curve. Excellent technical handling of the medium. Bright color in just the right places. Two out of the three Honorable Mentions went to Lixuan Ding, a third-year art student at Fei Tian College Middletown. Still Life Combination by Lixuan Ding, art student at Fei Tian College Middletown, received an honorable mention. (Artsy.net/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Dings Still Life Combination impressed Connor with its superior drawing, and well-balanced composition. Oil painting Memory of Rome by Lixuan Ding, art student at Fei Tian College Middletown, received honorable mention. (Artsy.net/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Of Dings oil painting Memory of Rome, Conner said I was enamored with the combination of high key values and low-intensity color. The limited palette speaks to the idea of memories. Good composition. Honorable mention also went to New York-based artist Judith Greengus for her watercolor, Cityscape. Excited to See New Artists Pierson said she was delighted that the competition drew works from new artists, especially students at nearby Fei Tian College. She said she got to know about the college through Penny Zhou, who is a teacher at the Middletown campuss Department of Fine Arts. Sarah Fortner Pierson, Executive Director of the Wallkill River School. (New Tang Dynasty Television) Penny took part in the plein air festival last year. That was the first time I had contact with her and knew about the Fei Tian College. Its exciting to get some submissions that were from new people, always exciting to see new artists. Pierson said. Zhous oil painting First Snow of 2018 was also selected as an exhibition piece. Its a depiction of the street scene I pass by almost every day going to work. It was the first snow of 2018, so I decided to paint it. Zhou said. Traditional Art Skills Training Emphasized Ding studies under Zhou, who said she is proud of her student. Zhou said that the art department at Fei Tian College emphasizes building a solid foundation in traditional painting skills. We have two majors, oil painting and graphic design. Our first-year students receive standardized and formal training in basic art skills, including basic drawing, color, anatomy, perspective, composition theory, and art history. Students will master the basic skills and theories of the art profession, regardless of their major. Upon completion of the basic training, the students and teachers work together to choose between the oil painting major and the graphics design major according to their skill mastery and future development potential. While the small college has been recognized for its outstanding fine arts program, it emphasizes the development of the whole person. Ding said, as a student at Fei Tian, painting is a process of personal growth. To produce good painting, ones personality, characteristics, and inner moral standards all need to mature. A poster of the exhibition at the Wallkill River School gallery (Wallkill River School/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) The exhibition runs from Sept. 2 to Oct. 9 at the art gallery of Wallkill River School, Montgomery, New York. A perimeter fence is constructed around what is officially known as a vocational skills education center in Dabancheng in Xinjiang, China, on Sept. 4, 2018. (Thomas Peter/Reuters) Western Countries Call for UN Rights Council Debate Over Atrocities in Chinas Xinjiang Several Western countries have joined forces to call for a debate at the United Nations Human Rights Council over Chinas crimes against humanity in the Xinjiang region. The United States, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden presented a draft proposal on Monday calling for a debate on the situation in Xinjiang during the councils next session in early 2023. The draft proposal will require a majority vote in the U.N. council to be approved. If passed, it would be the first time that Chinas human rights violations were formally put on the councils agenda. The move follows the release of a U.N. report last month detailing abuses committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, which it said amount to crimes against humanity. A child rests near the entrance to the mosque where a banner in red reads Love the Party, Love the country in the old city district of Kashgar in western Chinas Xinjiang region, Nov. 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) The council currently counts both China and the United States as members. The draft comes two days before the deadline for submitting such documents, allowing diplomats to discuss and even vote on it before the end of the session. John Fisher, deputy director of global advocacy at Human Rights Watch, said the push by Western nations for a U.N. debate will help bring much-needed scrutiny to the CCPs sweeping human rights violations in Xinjiang. Long-Delayed UN Report The U.N. report, published by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), found that the scale and brutality of the detentions, framed by CCP as vocational skills education centers, likely qualified as a crime against humanity. A CCP white paper quoted in the report said that the regime had arrested nearly 13,000 people and punished more than 30,000 others for religious extremism between 2014 and 2019. The report said, however, that the real number of detainees could be more than a million and that the so-called education centers that were created for non-violent offenders were often used to detain people based on their ethnic, religious, or cultural background. This, the report said, was likely a direct violation of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which bars arbitrary detention. Agnes Callamard, the secretary-general of Amnesty International, criticized the inexcusable delay in the reports release but emphasized that it should not deflect from the documents significance. Now that the OHCHR has finally made its findings public, it is time for the UN Human Rights Council to set up an independent international mechanism to investigate these crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations in Xinjiang, she said in a statement on Sept. 1. All member states have a moral obligation to support proposals to discuss the report and establish an investigatory mechanism, or else be left on the wrong side of history, Callamard added. Andrew Thornebrooke and The Associated Press contributed to this report. President Joe Biden speaks alongside Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (R) and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (L) about the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, during a briefing in Miami Beach, Fla., on July 1, 2021. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) White House Dismisses Concerns on Biden, DeSantis Not Speaking Before Hurricane Ian The White House dismissed concerns in response to questions about President Joe Biden not speaking with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ahead of Hurricane Ians impending landfall. In the past, President Biden has made calls to [Republican] governors in situations like natural disasters, [such as] Kay Ivey in Alabama, Asa Hutchinson in Arkansas or the governor in Texas, a reporter asked FEMA chief Deanne Criswell on Tuesday who was standing alongside White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Can you articulate how these determinations are made and why it hasnt been made in this case to have the president call the governor? In response, Criswell did not say whether Biden, a Democrat, has spoken with DeSantis, a Republican ahead of Ians landfall. The FEMA head said that she has spoken with DeSantis and her team is in contact constantly with the governor. The president is very focused on making sure the federal family has the right resources to support this, Criswell told reporters. That is why I contacted the governor right away, and we have a team of my senior leadership embedded with the governor to make sure that were supporting that. Criswell said the focus today will be making sure that we have the right measures in place to support the lifesaving activities that need to happen. Again, we have a strong team thats in place supporting the governor right now, Criswell also said in response to another question about whether Biden has spoken to DeSantis. The revelation that Biden has not yet spoken to DeSantis was made by Jean-Pierre during a press briefing on Monday. When pressed by a reporter, the press secretary said there were no planned calls between the president and governor. Its about the people of Florida. Its not about public officials, especially in this time. And so again, the president, as president of the United States, as president forfor folks in red states and blue states, hes going to keep that commitment. And you have seen him do that over the course of the 19 months when there has been extreme extreme events, extreme weather that has happened again in blue states and red states, she remarked. Talking to Mayors During another event Tuesday, Biden told reporters that he spoke with the mayors of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, to contact him directly for aid. Those cities are in the path of Hurricane Ian. Forecast can change, but for now the experts say this could be a very severe hurricane, life-threatening and a devastating impact, Biden said at the White House. The administration is on alert and in action to help the people of Florida, he added. Biden added he told each one of them in my conversations separately, whatever they needI mean it sincerely whatever they need contact me directly. They know how [to] do that. Ian is expected to strengthen further on Tuesday after cutting a swath through Cubas farm country west of the capital Havana and emerging over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, reaching Category 4 strength before it approaches the west coast of Florida, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. The storm surge could cause devastating to catastrophic damage with some locations potentially uninhabitable for weeks or months, the service warned, urging residents to move to safe shelter before the storms arrival. The Epoch Times has contacted DeSantiss office for comment. Reuters contributed to this report. Brochures with the logo of Deutsche Telekom AG at the shop in the headquarters of German telecommunications giant in Bonn, Germany, on Feb. 19, 2019. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters) With Eye on Big Tech, Energy Crisis, EU Telcos Call for Shared Network Costs BRUSSELSDeutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica and 13 other European telecoms providers on Monday made their strongest push for Big Tech to share network costs. The call comes as the European Commission prepares to seek feedback from both sides before making a legislative proposal that could force tech companies to help pay for the roll-out of 5G and fiber cables across the 27-country European Union. The sector which invests some 50 billion euros ($48.5 billion) annually in infrastructure, needs more funding and urgently, the chief executives of the companies said in a statement. Costs of planning and construction works are increasing. Prices for fibre optic cables, for example, have almost doubled in the first semester 2022. Similarly, the hikes in energy prices and in the prices of other inputs are also hitting the connectivity sector, they said. Timely action is a must: Europe missed out on many of the opportunities offered by the consumer internet. It must now swiftly build strength for the age of the metaverses, the CEOs said. For this to happen, and to be sustainable over time, we believe that the largest traffic generators should make a fair contribution to the sizeable costs they currently impose on European networks, they said. Other signatories to the statement include Vodafone, Bouygues Telecom, KPN, BT Group, TIM Group, Telia Company, Fastweb and Altice Portugal. Europes telecoms operators argue that U.S. tech firms such as Alphabets Google, Meta and Netflix account for more than half of internet traffic and should bear some of the cost of upgrading infrastructure. Big Tech has rebuffed such requests, saying they are already investing in equipment and technologies to deliver content more efficiently. ($1 = 1.0301 euros) By Foo Yun Chee Chinese leader Xi Jinping (C) visits an exhibit at the Beijing Exhibition Hall on Sept. 27, 2022, in this image taken from video footage. (CCTV via AP) Xi Appears in Public, Dispelling Rumors of Unrest and Coup in China Chinese communist leader Xi Jinping made his first public appearance in nearly two weeks, terminating an absence that fueled a storm of unsubstantiated rumors regarding his whereabouts. Xi, who leads China as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), visited an exhibition in Beijing on Sept. 27, according to Chinese state-owned media. The event was Xis first public appearance since returning to China from a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan earlier in the month. Xi had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, an unofficial ally, during that summit. The two leaders reaffirmed their nations support for one another in the face of mounting resistance from the West regarding Chinas plans for Taiwan and Russias war in Ukraine. The Chinese side is willing to work with the Russian side to continuously implement high-level strategic cooperation between the two countries, safeguard common interests, and promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction, said CCP Politburo member Yang Jiechi in the lead-up to the meeting. The trip was also Xis first excursion out of China since the COVID-19 pandemic began two years ago, and his subsequent disappearance upon returning to China spurred a maelstrom of rumors online. Numerous Indian news outlets and pundits published unsubstantiated claims that Xi had been deposed by the Chinese military and placed under house arrest over the weekend. By Sept. 24, Xi was a top-trending topic on Twitter. His name appeared on hashtags more than 42,000 times, and the term China coup circulated more than 9,300 times. Author and China expert Gordon Chang said that, despite the unsubstantiated nature of the claims, the unusual nature of Xis disappearance and continued irregularities in travel schedules within China pointed to some sort of intrigue within the upper echelons of CCP leadership. The lack of news from China over the last few hours suggests coup rumors are untrue, but whatever happened inside the Chinese military during the last three daysevidently something unusual occurredtells us there is turbulence inside the senior CCP leadership, Chang said in a tweet. However, veteran journalist and China watcher Bill Gertz suggested that the misinformation could be a ploy designed to be used by intelligence agencies in China or elsewhere to monitor nations crisis response protocols. Setting off rumors of a coup against Xi Jinping in China would be an excellent way for an electronic spy service, E[ast] or W[est], to collect valuable intel on various governments crisis communications, Gertz said in a tweet. I bet watch teams are lit up tonight. Xi is expected to secure an unprecedented third term as CCP leader during the Partys five-year congress in October. That release could not be found. The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, has taken a lead among other contestants in a new opinion poll released on Monday. Mr Obi was said to be ahead of other contestants by garnering a total of 51 per cent of registered voters support. The poll which was conducted on registered voters by the a non-governmental organization, We2Geda Foundation, is said to deepen the conversation about the countrys 2023 elections and to help political analysts address critical issues such as candidate preferences and key socioeconomic dynamics at play in the upcoming elections. According to Daily Trust, We2Geda randomly surveyed a total of 15,438 registered voters in 36 states and the FCT. The foundation said the exercise was done entirely through fully randomised direct phone calls in local languages, to achieve real representation of registered voters across Nigeria. Respondents came from across local governments and were stratified proportionally by key demographics, e.g. rural versus urban, gender and age. In a statement issued by foundation and signed by Ibrahim Abdulkareem and Muna Obioha, it explained that the proportion of Nigerians polled from each state was equal to the states contribution to the national voters register, as published by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. For instance, as Abia contributes 2.3 per cent of the national voters register, Abia also made up 2.3 per cent of respondents in the randomised poll. The same process applied in every state, and polls within each state were 100 per cent randomised. Respondents were asked structured questions to assess their opinion and preparation for the 2023 general elections. Questions include: Are you planning to vote? Have you picked up your PVC? What do you think are the top three issues/challenges you face in Nigeria? How important are the 2023 elections to you? Who and which party will you vote for in 2023? among other things. In addition, the survey uncovered the top issues deciding voters choices in the upcoming election, including the need to tackle insecurity (42 per cent), corruption (18 per cent), jobs (9 per cent) and education (8 per cent) likely related to the ASUU strike. Nigerians aged between 26 and 40 years of age, and those between 41 and 50, constituted the highest number of respondents, with the latter higher by a slim margin. The statement said, The result of the WE2Geda poll showed a clear lead for the Labour Party (LP) presidential flag-bearer, Mr Peter Obi, with 51 per cent of respondents suggesting voting for him as their preferred candidate if the presidential election were held today. Twenty-five per cent suggested voting for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ranked third in the voter preference poll with 19 per cent. Further analysis also shows that Peter Obi remained a consistent favourite in the four major geopolitical zones, including North-Central, South-South, South-West and South-East, while Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was the poll leader in the North-East and North-West zones. While these poll results show some significant trends, it is important to note that they do not include respondents who were undecided or did not reveal their preferred candidate. Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has denied supporting calls from some quarters demanding for the resignation of the People's Democratic Party Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu. The Nigerian Voice understands that the camp of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers including some governors has been calling for the resignation of chairman in order to balance power within party leadership. However, Governor Ortom of Benue, who has been a senior member of that camp, in a statement, denied backing calls for the removal of Ayu. In a statement issued on Monday by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur, the governor dismissed insinuations that he was in support of the removal of Ayu. While stating that he cant advocate the removal of someone he helped to appoint, Ortom reaffirmed his confidence in Ayus ability to lead the party to victory in next years general election. This is coming as a surprise to many based on the position of his close ally, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike. Ortom said it was an open secret that he worked tirelessly, alongside other prominent Benue citizens, to ensure that Ayu was elected as the national chairman of our great party even against all odds. He described as mischievous allegations by an amorphous, little known group parading itself as Jemgbagh Development Association, Abuja chapter, that he has a hand in Ayus current travails. Parts of the statement read, Governor Ortom vouched for the integrity and capacity of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu to lead and rebuild the PDP to victory and rescue Nigeria from the misrule of the APC maladministration. That is why Ayu was returned unopposed by the northern caucus of the party and got elected as the national chairman of the PDP at the partys convention. Where was Jemgbagh Development Association, when Governor Ortom galvanized support from across the leaders of the party to make Dr. Ayu PDPs National Chairman? What was their contribution to that project that they now want to use clannish stance to blackmail the governor? He further described as laughable how this amorphous and emergency Jemgbagh Development Association, Abuja, which has never been heard of before, is now masquerading as the voice of Jemgbagh to embark on a campaign of calumny against Governor Ortom, who has worked selflessly for the people of Benue State. Governor Ortom is more Jemgbagh than most of the people claiming it now. This is a fact because he has done more for Jemgbagh, both in terms of appointments and projects executed as well as patronage in the area, than even one of the Jemgbagh sons, who was governor. Besides, Governor Ortom has consistently worked for the unity of Benue State and will never stand in the way of any of her citizens, either here in the state or in the diaspora For those, who claimed to be leaders of this Jemgbagh Development Association, Abuja, we urge them to be truly developmental in their drive to build cohesion among the people and attract real development to their area rather than engaging in mischief or blackmail. The Executive Director of a private owned broadcasting company, DAAR Communications Plc, Mac Imoni Amarere, has reportedly been attacked by some miscreants in Asokoro area of Abuja on Monday evening. Amarere, DAAR Media Academy and Anchor of Peoples-Politics-Power on Africa Independent Television, was said to have been attacked and robbed while observing traffic rules not far from the Community Staff School, Asokoro. The DAAR Communications Plc chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists confirmed the incident in a statement titled, Abuja increasing insecurity: Amarere attacked, robbed at traffic light stop. which was issued on Tuesday. The statement read, The attention of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, DAAR Chapel, has been drawn to an unfortunate incident of the attack on Our Executive Director, DAAR Media Academy and Anchor, Peoples-Politics-Power on AIT, Mac Imoni Amarere. Amarere was attacked, robbed while observing traffic rules not far from the Community Staff School, Asokoro, a facility owned and managed by the DSS in Asokoro, on Monday evening, September 26. Fortunately, theres no bodily injury but he lost some valuables to the miscreants, his driver sustained minor injuries. Colleagues are encouraged to be more vigilant as we obey traffic lights in the City Centre, especially at night. The police is called to increase check points and surveillance, especially at roads ongoing construction and by strategic traffic lights. We call on colleagues to keep looking out for yourself and others. CALLING ALL VETERANS AND FORMER EMERGENCY SERVICE PERSONNEL Tuesday 27 September 2022, 10:53AM Did you know that we have an active social networking group on Phuket specifically for veterans of military service and the emergency services? Phuket Veterans provide a social networking opportunity, as well as further support when things go wrong. Along with this, Phuket Veterans train often to support the local emergency services and the Department for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) in preparation for the next crisis to hit this island. The qualifications that were achieved during service may have expired, but the skill sets are still there. Dont worry, the training is light and generally takes place near a pub. As well as full (free) membership, families of members are offered associate membership too. Commitment and participation is entirely up to the individual members. If you are a military veteran or were a member of the emergency services, and you are interested in meeting some likeminded people here on Phuket, Phuket Veterans are keen to hear from you. Contact Steve on 089 5870819 or see www.phuketveterans.com for more information. Power outage to affect Dowroong area PHUKET: The main Phuket branch of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced a power outage tomorrow (Sept 28) that will affect several housing estates in the Dowroong area. Tuesday 27 September 2022, 07:16PM A map showing the areas to be affected by the power outage tomorrow (Sept 28). Image: PEA The power outage, from 9am to 4:30pm, will allow work and repairs to be conducted on high-voltage lines in the area. The areas to be affected include the southern side of the Chaofa-Suan Luang Rd, which extends west from the Dowroong Intersection. Moo Baan Chaofa Dowroong, Phuket Villa Dowroong and Arrive at Ava Town housing estates will all be affected. Chaofa Dowroong Rd, which extends east of the Dowroong Intersection, will also be affected, with all homes and businesses on the southern side of the road from the Dowroong Intersection to front of Chang Thai Natural Latex Co Ltd left temporarily without power. In its announcement, the Phuket PEA office apologised for any inconvenience caused by the power outage. People with queries about the power outage were advised to call the main Phuket PEA branch at 076-354379 (24 hours) or the PEA national hotline 1129. Putin grants Edward Snowden Russian citizenship MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin yesterday (Sept 26) granted Russian citizenship to US whistleblower Edward Snowden, who exposed massive surveillance by the US National Security Agency (NSA) on Americans and then sought refuge in Russia. Russian By AFP Tuesday 27 September 2022, 09:26AM US whistleblower Edward Snowden during an interview with The Guardian newspaper at an undisclosed location in Hong Kong in 2013. Photo: AFP A presidential decree published yesterday included Snowden on a list of newly-minted Russian citizens, at a time when relations between Washington and Moscow are at historic lows over the conflict in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told news agencies that Snowden had received Russian citizenship as a result of his own request, made in 2020 to make it easier for his American wife Lindsay Mills to travel back and forth. After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our SONS, Snowden wrote on Twitter. After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference for my family, he said. The former American intelligence contractor, 39, leaked secret documents to media outlets in 2013 revealing that the NSA was collecting massive amounts of communications metadata and other information on US citizens, in violation of their constitutional right to privacy. The expose of the NSAs secret spying program led to laws and regulations forbidding that activity. After revealing those secrets, Snowden sought refuge in Russia. He married longtime girlfriend Mills in Moscow in 2017. Three years later they had a son, and Snowden said he would seek Russian citizenship to make it easier for his family to be together, especially given the travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. But he said he wanted to keep his US nationality. Lindsay and I will remain Americans, raising our son with all the values of the America we love - including the freedom to speak his mind. And I look forward to the day I can return to the States, so the whole family can be reunited, he said at the time. The couple had a second son earlier this year. Snowdens lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that Mills would also now apply for Russian citizenship. Dual US-Russian citizen US State Department spokesman Ned Price said yesterday that Snowden, who has been charged with multiple felonies in US court, retains his American citizenship. Im not aware of any change in his citizenship status, Price said. The only thing that has changed is that as a result of his Russian citizenship, apparently now he may well be conscripted to fight in the reckless war in Ukraine, he said. Putin last week announced a mobilisation of 300,000 Russian reservists to contribute to the Russian armys fight in Ukraine. However, Kucherena said that Snowden would not be called up to serve given he had no prior experience in the Russian army. The White House did not comment directly on Snowdens Russian citizenship. Since I believe there have been criminal charges brought against him, we would point you to the Department of Justice for any specifics on this, said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. After he sought refuge in Russia, the US Justice Department filed a criminal complaint with three felony charges against Snowden: theft of government property, disclosing crucial US defense information, and providing classified materials to unauthorized persons. Mr Snowden should return to the United States where he should face justice as any other American citizen would, said Price. Russian business couple say they were extorted by foreigners KOH SAMUI: A Russian couple who deal in real estate have sought help from police, saying a gang of foreign men confronted them in a coffee bar on Koh Samui and threatened and extorted them out of B1.8 million in cryptocurrency. crimeRussian By Bangkok Post Tuesday 27 September 2022, 03:20PM The Russian couple tell police about being intimidated and extorted by a group of foreign men at a coffee shop on Koh Samui in Surat Thani. Photo: Supapong Chaolan Evgenii Abdullin, 31, and his wife Ekaterna Abdullin, 31, filed their complaint with Pol Lt Col Udomsak Thappa, investigation chief at Koh Samui station, yesterday (Sept 26), reports the Bangkok Post. They said they were seated in the Boys Organic Coffee shop in tambon Taling-ngam, Koh Samui district, on Sept 15. Six foreign men approached their table and threatened them, demanding money, Pol Col Phongsak Sukkasang, police chief of Koh Samui, said today. According to their complaint, four of the men arrived in a black van and the two others on a motorcycle. The men intimidated them and demanded they transfer US$3mn in cryptocurrency to them, about B113mn. Mr Abdullion said he told them he had only $58,000, or about B2.28mn, at the time. Fearing for their lives he transferred $50,000 worth of cryptocurrency, equivalent to B1.8mn, to the six men. Before leaving, the gang gave him a phone number. On Sept 16, he noticed that the same men were following him and his wife. On Sept 18, he received a message from the gang via the Telegram app asking whether he had the rest of the money. If so, he should send it, or the equivalent in crypto, to them via Bybit, Mr Abullion said. He decided to go to the police instead. Provincial Police Region 8 has assigned Pol Lt Col Kittisak Daengchai, deputy investigation chief at region 8, and a team of investigators to work on the case with Samui police. They started by examining security camera recordings from the coffee shop and nearby. They saw the black van and two other men on a red motorcycle, as told by the couple. Police said the van with the four men might have come from the eastern province of Chon Buri. The red motorcycle had an M sticker on it and was rented on the island. The van was believed to have since left the island, police said. A source at an immigration checkpoint said the Russian couple had been staying on Koh Samui for five years and ran a real estate business. They had travelled in and out of Thailand many times. Their latest arrival was early this year. The accused foreigners were identified as two Kazakhstani men, one German and one Russian, with the nationalities of the two others still being verified. They had stayed in Pattaya and later at a hotel on Koh Samui before the reported incident occurred. Investigators said two of them had since departed the country, the German on Sept 17 and one of the Kazakhstan men on Sept 20. The four other men were being tracked down. Police did not say why the Russian couple were approached so openly in a coffee bar, threatened and extorted. War room to monitor typhoon BANGKOK: The government has set up a war room to closely monitor the impact of Typhoon Noru, which is expected to hit the northeastern provinces as a tropical storm on Thursday (Sept 29). weather By Bangkok Post Tuesday 27 September 2022, 09:15AM An aerial view of a flooded area in Central Luzon, Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Noru. Photo: Handout / Presidential Photographers Division / AFP Noru is forecast to bring heavy rain to Thailand, similar to Dianmu which struck in September last year, reports the Bangkok Post. Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said the war room, chaired by Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, will gather information about the storm, assess its severity and take actions to mitigate its impact. According to the Meteorological Department, the typhoon will make landfall in central Vietnam tomorrow before hitting Thailand early on Thursday morning. It battered the island of Luzon in the Philippines yesterday, killing six people, toppling trees, knocking out power and flooding low-lying communities. Those residing in low-lying areas should watch out for flash flooding and run-off from higher ground. Local agencies have been ordered to mobilise their resources to ensure they can provide timely assistance to those affected, the spokesman said. Chomparee Chompurat, director-general of the Meteorological Department, said Noru would have become a tropical storm by the time it reaches Thailand. Together with the strengthening southwesterly monsoon in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, the storm will bring heavy rain to most parts of the country, including Bangkok and its surrounding provinces between Sept 28-Oct 1. According to Ms Chomparee, the department has detected a new tropical storm forming in the Pacific Ocean, but as the system is moving north towards Taiwan and Japan, it is unlikely to affect Thailand. Another storm system is expected to form in the middle of October, but it is still too early to forecast its path, he said. Mr Chaiwut, in his capacity as the war rooms chairman, said the government is concerned about the approaching storm because several provinces, including some in the northeast, are still inundated. The minister warned of possible floods and landslides as the storm is expected to bring around 100 millimetres of rain in several areas. He urged local authorities to provide constant updates on the flood situation so local residents can prepare. He said companies should consider allowing their employees to take a couple of days off to help alleviate traffic congestion caused by flooding across the city. Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said while City Hall is prepared for the coming storm, there are still concerns about possible floods caused by water discharges from Pasak Jolasid Dam in Lop Buri and the rising water level along the Chao Phraya River. He said City Halls Drainage and Sewerage Department is to boost the citys flood defences, especially in the citys east and along the Chao Phraya River. The governor said City Hall is diverting water away from the citys canals to ensure they are capable of receiving the additional rainfall. It is also reinforcing several areas along the Chao Phraya River and other major waterways in Bangkok with around 2.5 million sandbags. Mr Chadchart said Bangkok residents are also being urged to protect themselves against floods by installing water pumps and placing sandbags around their property. City Hall is ready to provide assistance and equipment, he said. Thaweesak Thanadechopol, deputy director-general of the Royal Irrigation Department, said the countrys large and medium-sized reservoirs are currently at 72% capacity. Together, the nations four major dams - Bhumibol in Tak, Sirikit in Uttaradit, Kwae Noi Bamrung Dan in Phitsanulok and Pasak Jolasid in Lop Buri - hold about 16 billion cubic metres of water. They can store an additional 8.904bn cubic metres of water. Mr Thaweesak said the department is closely monitoring reservoirs which have reached 80% capacity, to ensure authorities can release the water in a timely manner. Meanwhile, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported that 37 districts in 18 provinces have been hit by flooding between Sept 22-26. They are Chiang Mai, Lampang, Lamphun, Sukhothai, Tak, Phetchabun, Kamphaeng Phet, Loei, Khon Kaen, Chaiyaphum, Amnat Charoen, Si Sa Ket, Nakhon Ratchasima, Mukdahan, Yasothon, Rayong, Prachin Buri and Samut Prakan. Donna Lamontagne receives Bishop Feehans Distinguished Service Award from school president Tim Sullivan (right) and board of trustees Chair Joe Kurtze at Feehans Presidents Leadership Society reception. Jo Becker is the childrens rights advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. Callie King-Guffey , a 2022 graduate from the Harvard Kennedy School, assessed state laws for Human Rights Watchs new U.S. child rights scorecard. This column was produced by Progressive Perspectives. This page requires Javascript. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. ABBY BUTREMOVIC, Wheeler Volleyball, Sophomore; Butremovic had 23 digs as Wheeler beat Montville in three sets for its second victory of the season. KATIE ANBARI, Stonington, Field Hockey, Sophomore; Anbari scored with 57 seconds remaining for the games only goal, lifting the Bears past East Lyme. Anbari leads the team in goals with four this season. RACHEL FEDERICO, Westerly, Volleyball, Senior; Federico had nine kills, six digs and served for two aces in a win over Mt. Hope. Westerly was unbeaten in Division II through Sept. 24. MYLES PRICE, Chariho Football, Senior, Price returned a lateral from teammate Collin Fitts on a punt return for the winning touchdown on the games final play to lift the Chargers over Coventry. Price ran about 25 yards across the width of the field after receiving the ball from Fitts. Vote View Results Soft drinks group AG Barr boosted dividends after reporting surging profits as sales rose despite passing higher costs onto customers. The maker of Irn Bru and Rubicon drinks raised prices of its products in February and chief executive Roger White said the group will continue to monitor its costs through the year. Pre-tax profit rose 23 per cent to 25.3million in the first half to the end of July, with revenues 17 per cent higher at 158million. Growing sales: Irn Bru maker AG Barr still expects full-year profit to grow this year In light or rising profits, it rewarded shareholders by raising its interim dividend by 25 per cent to 2.5p. But the group warned that increasing costs and customers cutting back would impact margins in the coming months. Operating margins were flat at 16.2 per cent in the first half, but the group expects them to be around 14 per cent in the full year. AG Barr has seen costs for raw materials it uses, such carbon-dioxide to fizz its drinks, increase over the past year. It also faces falling consumer confidence amid the cost of living crisis, with the wider soft drinks market witnessing falling sales volumes as customers rein in non-essential spending. However, the company still expects full-year profit to rise as it controls costs and sales grow. White said: 'We anticipate in the coming months that the current economic environment will impact consumer purchasing behaviour, however we currently remain confident that our strategy and actions will allow us to deliver a full-year profit performance ahead of the prior year.' AG Barr shares rose 1.1 per cent to 502.85p in afternoon trade on Tuesday. They are down 3 per cent compared to last year. 'AG Barr has outperformed the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 so far this year,' said Victoria Scholar, head of investments at interactive investor. 'But shares have had a rough ride since the peak in 2019 when it began to lose its fizz following a major profit warning before the onset of the pandemic.' Best known for the bright orange Scottish soft drink, Barr has a number of other well-known brands to its name, including Snapple tea, Strathmore water as well as pre-mixed cocktails Funkin. Sales of its soft drinks rose 12.3 per cent in the first half, while Funkin sales rose 21 per cent. Cubans approved gay marriage and adoption overwhelmingly in a Sunday referendum backed by the government that also boosted rights for women, the national election commission said on Monday. More than 3.9 million voters voted to ratify the code (66.9%), while 1.95 million opposed ratification (33%), Alina Balseiro Gutierrez, president of the commission, said on state-run television on Monday. Justice has been done, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote in a tweet. It is paying off a debt with several generations of Cuban men and women, whose family projects have been waiting for this law for years, he said. The 100-page family code legalizes same-sex marriage and civil unions, allows same-sex couples to adopt children, and promotes equal sharing of domestic rights and responsibilities between men and women. Preliminary results from the electoral commission showed 74% of 8.4 million Cubans eligible to vote participated in the Sunday referendum. There are no independent observers of Cuban elections, although citizens may observe the count at their precincts. Scattered local reports of district counts on social media appeared to tally with the official results. The announcement of the results came as Diaz-Canel presided over an emergency meeting as the Caribbean island prepared for Hurricane Ian to pass over its western tip early on Tuesday. Official Twitter accounts showed the room erupting in applause and the president leaning back and smiling at the news. The Cuban president led the campaign for the adoption of the code. By Cuban standards Sundays turnout was relatively modest, and a 33% no vote relatively large in the communist-run country, where previous referendums have seen the government position receiving near unanimous approval. The dissent is an indication of both how Cuba is changing and the current dire economic circumstances, which have seen long power outages and lines for food, medicine and fuel. Sundays vote was also the first of its kind since most residents have had access to the internet, which has let dissenting views spread more widely. SOURCE: REUTERS With flowers, prayers and a 19-gun salute, Japan honoured slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday at the first state funeral for a former premier in 55 years a ceremony that has become as controversial as he was in life. The ceremony started at 2:00 p.m. (0500 GMT), with Abes ashes carried into the Nippon Budokan Hall in central Tokyo by his widow, Akie, to music from a military band and the booms of the honour-guard salute, which echoed inside the hall. Thousands of mourners flooded to designated spots near the venue from early morning to pay their last respects. Within hours, about 10,000 people had laid flowers, television showed, with more waiting in three-hour long queues. I know its divisive and there are a lot of people against this, but there were so many people lined up to offer flowers, said Yoshiko Kojima, a 63-year-old Tokyo housewife. I felt that now the funeral is actually taking place, many people have come out to pray for him. Abes killing at a July 8 campaign rally set off a flood of revelations about ties between lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) he once ran and the Unification Church, which critics call a cult, sparking a backlash against current premier Fumio Kishida. With his support ratings dragged to their lowest ever by the controversy, Kishida has apologised and vowed to cut party ties to the church. But opposition to honouring Abe with a state funeral, the first such event since 1967, has persisted, fed by an $11.5-million price tag to be borne by the state at a time of economic pain for ordinary citizens. In one part of downtown Tokyo, protesters waved signs and chanted No state funeral to the tune of a guitar. Inside the Budokan, better known as a concert venue, a large portrait of Abe draped with black ribbon hung over a bank of green, white and yellow flowers. In the centre was a Japanese flag made of flowers. Nearby, a wall of photos showed Abe strolling with G7 leaders, holding hands with children and visiting disaster areas. A moment of silence was followed by a retrospective of Abes political life and speeches by leading ruling party figures, including Kishida and Yoshihide Suga, Abes successor and Kishidas predecessor as prime minister. In remarks representing Abes friends, Suga noted that many people in their 20s and 30s had showed up to offer flowers. You always said you wanted to make Japan better, that you wanted young people to have hope and pride, Suga said, his voice trembling. DIVISIVE FIGURE Japans longest-serving prime minister was a divisive figure who was dogged by scandals. An unapologetic nationalist, Abe pushed the country toward a muscular defence posture that many now see as prescient amid growing concern about China, but others criticised as too hawkish. About 4,300 people were expected at the funeral ceremony itself along with at least 48 current or former government figures, including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Some 20,000 police were deployed, nearby roads were closed and even some schools shut as Japan sought to avoid the security blunders that led to Abes shooting with a homemade gun by a suspect who, police say, accused the Unification Church of impoverishing his family. The state funeral for Abe, who received a private funeral days after his assassination, was the first for an ex-premier since one in 1967 for former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. Kishida has explained the decision as a way of honouring Abes achievements, as well as standing up for democracy, but ordinary Japanese remain divided. Only 30% of respondents in a recent poll by TV Asahi agreed with hosting the funeral, against 54% opposed. Kishida also cited the chance to conduct diplomacy as a reason for the funeral, and spent Monday night and Tuesday morning in meetings with leaders. Even without the recent revelations about the Unification Church, it would be hard to imagine any circumstances where a majority of Japanese would favour honouring Abe with a state funeral, said Tobias Harris, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and the author of a biography of the former premier. He was someone who almost welcomed and invited controversy and saw his mission as overturning a longstanding consensus or set of consensuses about how Japan was run, Harris said. Many Japanese were attached to the postwar regime that he wanted to overturn, Harris said. SOURCE: REUTERS Russian-organized referendums that could lead to annexing 15% of Ukraines territory were due to end on Tuesday as the Kremlin said it made no decisions on closing its borders as the first mobilisation since World War Two prompted some to flee. Voting in the Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the east and southeast began on Friday and have been dismissed as a sham by Western nations, which have pledged not to recognise the results. In Russia, the call-up of some 300,000 reservists has led to the first sustained protests since the invasion began, with one monitoring group estimating at least 2,000 people have been arrested so far. All public criticism of Russias special military operation is banned. Flights out of Russia have sold out and cars have clogged border checkpoints, with reports of a 48-hour queue at the sole road border to Georgia, the rare pro-Western neighbour that allows Russian citizens to enter without a visa. Asked about the prospect of the border being shut, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday: I dont know anything about this. At the moment, no decisions have been taken on this. Russia counts millions of former conscripts as official reservists. The authorities have not spelled out precisely who is due to be called up, as that part of President Vladimir Putins order is classified. The mobilisation has also seen the first sustained criticism of the authorities within state-controlled media since the war began. But Sergei Tsekov, a senior lawmaker who represents Russian-annexed Crimea in Russias upper house of parliament, told RIA news agency: Everyone who is of conscription age should be banned from travelling abroad in the current situation. Two exiled news sites Meduza and Novaya Gazeta Europe both reported that the authorities were planning to ban men from leaving, citing unidentified officials. Moscow says it wants to rid Ukraine of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities. Kyiv and the West describe Russias actions as an unprovoked war of aggression. ANNEXATION Late on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the military situation in Donetsk one of the four areas where votes are taking place as difficult. The situation is particularly severe, he said. We are doing everything to contain enemy activity. This is our No. 1 goal right now because Donbas is still the No. 1 goal for the occupiers, referring to the wider region that encompasses Donetsk and Luhansk. Last week, in what appeared to be choreographed requests, Russian-backed officials there and in other areas that together equal roughly the size of Portugal lined up to request referendums on joining Russia. The self-styled Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples Republics, which Putin recognised as independent just before the invasion, and Russian-installed officials in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions asked for votes. Over the weekend, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would defend any territory it annexes using any weapons in its arsenal. U.S. national Security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday the United States would respond decisively to any Russian use of nuclear weapons, and had privately told Moscow exactly what that would mean. Asked about Sullivans comments, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said on Monday: There are channels for dialogue at the proper level, but they are of a very sporadic nature. At least they allow for the exchange of some emergency messages about each others positions. Moves to annex Ukrainian regions could happen quickly. TASS news agency last week quoted an unnamed Duma source as saying the chamber could debate a bill on incorporating parts of Ukraine as soon as Thursday, while RIA Novosti has previously said Putin could be preparing to make a formal address to an extraordinary joint session of both houses on Friday. None of the provinces in question is fully under Moscows control and fighting has been under way along the entire front line, with Ukrainian forces reporting more advances since they routed Russian troops in a fifth province, Kharkiv, earlier this month. The exiled mayor of Russian-controlled Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region accused Russia of forcibly enlisting Ukrainian men in occupied areas into its armed forces and denounced the referendum as a fake and a farce. The Ukrainian governor of Luhansk Serhiy Gaidai said Russian-backed officials were carrying ballot boxes door to door, accompanied by security officials, and that residents names were taken down if they failed to vote as demanded. Even traditional Russian allies such as Serbia and Kazakhstan have said they will not recognise the annexation votes. Moscow says voting is voluntary and turnout is high. When it held a referendum in Crimea after seizing that peninsula in 2014, it declared 97% of people had voted for annexation. SOURCE: REUTERS LGBTQ-friendly church OK with getting Southern Baptist boot Leaders of College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, thought it was odd when the Southern Baptist Convention recently sent queries about the congregation's LGBTQ-affirming ministry With a Labour government looking increasingly likely after last week's 'fiscal event', the policy announcements at this week's party conference have taken on a new significance. Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Kyle didn't disappoint in that respect, stating that he would set out the criteria for a referendum on Irish Unity if Labour were to come to power. That drew sharp criticism from some unionists, who called for him to retain an element of ambiguity. The Good Friday Agreement is notably vague, stating only that the Northern Ireland Secretary shall call a poll 'if at any time it appears likely to him that a majority of those voting would express a wish that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and form part of a united Ireland.' The Belfast Newsletter argues that 'this gives wide discretion to the incumbent secretary of state. It is essential that this discretion is kept wide. Every other aspect of the process favours separatists.' However, ambiguity has it risks for unionists as well as nationalists. For one thing, it leaves open the possibility that the tests have already been met. The Belfast Telegraph reports that former Northern Ireland Secretary Sean Woodward 'claimed there is a nationalist majority in the Stormont Assembly, a majority of Catholics in the population and opinion polls suggesting people want to have their say.' It is arguably the most British of constitutional criteria that favour nationalists most. At the last Westminster election they won nine seats to unionism's seven. With one seat going to Alliance this was a plurality rather than an absolute majority. Nevertheless, the current ambiguity might give an incoming Secretary of State scope to call a referendum on their first day in office, as well as to delay one indefinitely. That is surely untenable. Some party members would like Labour to go further and campaign for Irish unity. I don't believe I am alone, even among Labour supporters of Irish unity, in thinking this would be a step too far. There is dubious benefit in a British party being drawn into boosterism on an issue the Good Friday Agreement remits to the 'people of the island of Ireland alone, by agreement between the two parts respectively and without external impediment.' The turbulent relationship between unionism and the Conservative Party is sufficient illustration of the dangers. The right role for Labour is to defend the Good Friday Agreement, and facilitate the dialogue it allows for. For Northern Ireland's immediate future, Kyle's most important comment was that 'a Labour government would deliver rapid deals with the EU on the flow of goods, the sharing of data, and making it easier for agricultural products to move around the UK and the island of Ireland.' That implies a degree of UK-EU alignment that the current government would not countenance, bypassing the zero-sum impasse between unionism and nationalism over the Northern Ireland protocol, and potentially restoring devolution. In the short term, the interesting question is whether this incentivises the Truss government to pre-empt Labour with their own solution. This time he might do it without shouting "no justice, no peace" at police during a riot. For the record . . . This plan is more than a twenty years old and it's actually not a bad idea. Something that old school transit activists considered back when former Mayor Kay was in office . . . "In terms of next steps, certainly would be something working with the owners to do it," Lucas said. "In terms of government and being able to do so, we can get it done in a second." Lucas said he'd like to see Nichols Road on the Plaza pedestrianized, meaning cars would not be allowed, but foot traffic is welcome. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Scarboroughs Rouge Beach has been closed for repairs three times in six years, and Parks Canada has started a "stabilization strategy" which could involve hardening parts of the shoreline around the mouth of the Rouge River. As part of the ongoing dialogue with Ukraine's partners and allies, Head of the Presidents Office Andriy Yermak had a telephone conversation with US President's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Jake Sullivan expressed gratitude to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the head of his Office and the entire team for the successful operation to release foreign citizens, including two Americans, from Russian captivity, the press service of the Head of State informs. Yermak informed Sullivan of the operational situation at the front and the successes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The parties discussed further security assistance to the Ukrainian army. The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine thanked the American party for the unwavering support of the Ukrainian people in the struggle for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their country, reads the statement. ol The United States is currently observing no signs of preparations for the use of nuclear weapons by Russian forces while taking Vladimir Putins latest threats very seriously. Thats according to the White House spokesperson Karin Jean-Pierre, who spoke at a briefing, commenting on the latest developments in this regard, Ukrinform's own correspondent reports. "As far as any evidence or the chances look, we havent seen that at this time, the official said. At the same time, she emphasized that Washington takes this threat very seriously. "But we have not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture at this time, said the spokesperson. As Ukrinform reported, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with CBS News that the U.S. administration had warned the Kremlin in private communications about the grave consequences that the Russian Federation would face should it employ nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Russia must immediately withdraw its forces from the territory of Ukraine, while fake referendum held in the temporarily captured areas are illegal. The Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ann Linde, spoke on the issue in an address to the UN General Assembly, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "The war in Ukraine must stop, and Russias troops withdraw. The fake referendum on Ukrainian territory would be illegal and will have no effect," the foreign minister said. She also emphasized that neither partial mobilization, nor "nuclear sabre rattling, nor any other escalation will deter us from supporting Ukraine." The chief of Swedens diplomacy emphasized that Ukraine's nuclear power plants must be protected from Russias illegal and reckless attacks. Accountability for the heinous crimes committed must be ensured, the minister stressed, adding that it is necessary that international law be upheld. According to her, Russia's aggression against Ukraine has caused the greatest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War, aggravating the already serious refugee situation globally. Because of the actions of one country, many people suffer from hunger and poverty, she noted. Linde also emphasized the fact that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a violation of international law that is to protect us all from aggression. Sweden followed Finland in applying to join NATO - the decision anchored in a firm belief that security is best built together with others. As reported, on February 24, Russia kicked off a new stage of its war against Ukraine a full-scale invasion. Russian troops have been shelling and bombing peaceful cities and villages, killing the civilian population and destroying infrastructure. Ukraines defense forces have stood up to repel the Russian onslaught. Japan has decided to ban exports of chemical weapons-related goods to Russia in a latest sanction move against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Tokyo is "deeply concerned" about the possible use of nuclear weapons, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said, according to Reuters, Ukrinform reports. Japan added 21 Russian organizations, including research labs, to the list of those targeted by export bans, according to the government statement. The new package of sanctions was approved at Monday's cabinet meeting after they were announced by the foreign minister at a Group of Seven meeting last week. Matsuno said Japan is deeply concerned about the Russian nuclear threats voiced amid Russia's ongoing aggression toward Ukraine. The official reiterated Japan's readiness to keep undertaking efforts alongside the international community to provide assistance to Ukraine and impose restrictions on the Russian Federation. The decision of the Government and President of Ukraine to send 50,000 tonnes of grain to Somalia and Ethiopia as humanitarian aid is a timely move, while Ukraine itself currently has enough grain to meet its own needs and help others. Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solskyi addressed the issue while speaking at a press conference in Brussels following the meeting of the Council of EU Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "There is enough wheat in Ukraine to meet domestic needs. Its now the cheapest in the world here, in the country. We have more than 20 million tonnes in stock, of which more than 70 percent is to be exported. Indeed, for a week or two there were rumors that Ukraine itself was in a difficult situation. Indeed, but these countries are also in a difficult situation. The value of such a step is all the greater," said the Ukrainian minister. Read also: Another caravan of grain ships leaves Ukrainian ports He recalled that, in line with the decision of the Government and the Decree of the President of Ukraine, 50,000 tonnes of food wheat will be delivered to Somalia and Ethiopia, 25,000 tonnes each, as humanitarian aid from Ukraine. Transportation of grain will be organized from the Black Sea ports of Ukraine with the assistance of the World Food Programme. Answering Ukrinform's clarifying question of how exactly the Russian war affects the forecast harvest volume this year, Mykola Solskyi said that it stands at approximately 65-67 million tonnes, including grain and oil crops. Last year, it was 108 million tonnes. But then it was a record harvest in the entire history of Ukraine, and it was harvested in peacetime. "Last year's 108 million tonnes was a record for the entire history of Ukraine and agriculture. In addition, this harvest was collected from the entire territory of Ukraine, including those areas that are currently under temporary occupation, and which we did not include in this years calculation. Therefore, if you compare the 65-67 million tonnes of grain from the territory that we now control with the harvest from the same territory last year, this is not such a significant drop, within the framework of the average yield in Ukraine for the past five to seven years," noted the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food. As reported, after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia blocked Ukrainian Black Sea ports, as a result of which more than 20 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain failed to be exported. This has triggered an increase in global food prices, leading to the threat of famine in the most vulnerable countries across Africa and Asia. Thanks to the "grain" initiative of the UN and the agreements signed in Istanbul, the international community managed to resume the export of Ukrainian grain to international consumers via the Black Sea transport routes. At the same time, the European Union organized the so-called "solidarity corridors" on the borders between the EU and Ukraine, for the export of Ukrainian grain by land, using rail, road, and river transport, to ensure its delivery to the consumer countries. Minister for Europe and European Affairs of France Catherine Colonna has arrived in Kyiv. According to Ukrinform, she reported this on Twitter. "Good morning Ukraine, it's good to be back," Colonna wrote. Bonjour l'Ukraine , la France est a vos cotes. #Kiev Good morning #Ukraine, it's good to be back. #Kyiv #, #. , . pic.twitter.com/PoNlKfqqqN Catherine Colonna (@MinColonna) September 27, 2022 She earlier said that France emphasizes the need to ensure justice for war crimes committed in Ukraine. The U.S. Department of State said they have not seen any indication that China is preparing to assist Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine or assist Russia in evading sanctions. That's according to U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price, Ukrinform reports, citing CNN. "We are looking at every single bit of information we have. We have seen nothing as of yet at least to indicate that the PRC is taking a different approach when it comes to security assistance, when it comes to efforts to systematically help Russia evade sanctions," Price said. He added that the U.S. is "continuing to watch" what China does on Ukraine, and said that remarks by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi indicate that China has "a degree of unease with what Russia is doing in Ukraine." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last Friday confirmed Washington's position on condemning Russian aggression and warned China against any support for Russia in this matter. South Africa: Over 1 000 competitors to participate in global skills competition The WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition (WSC2022SE) will see over 1 100 competitors from 57 countries and regions participate in 61 skill competitions to be held between October and November 2022. The World Skills competition provides an opportunity to exchange skills, experience and technological innovations. The Department of Higher Education and Training said the WorldSkills South Africa (WSZA) team will compete in 29 different skills, which will be hosted in nine different countries. The Department of Higher Education and Trainings championing of the WorldSkills South Africa initiative is in celebration of the talent of young artisans and technicians in the country, but also importantly to serve as an advocacy programme to highlight the importance of the artisan sector in the countrys economy, a sector whose success the department is entrusted with, said Higher Education Deputy Director, William Somo. WorldSkills South Africa will on Wednesday host a send-off ceremony, where a number of stakeholders, including the department senior management, will bid farewell to the competitors who will be travelling to nine different countries for the WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition. Somo said the send-off ceremony is precede by a Team Building Capacity Workshop, which is currently underway until the evening of 27 September 2022. The competitors have already gone through rigorous training in their various trades. The capacity building workshop will develop, strengthen and prepare them mentally, in particular, for the environment in which they will be competing. This will help boost their already high morale as they travel and go into the competition, Somo said. The nine countries to which team South Africa will travel for participation at the WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition include Germany, Denmark, France, Korea, United States of America, United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland and Finland. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-09-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 An international tribunal is needed to punish Russia's top military and political leadership for war crimes in Ukraine. Andriy Smyrnov, the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, wrote this in an article for the Time magazine, Ukrinform reports. "We ask for this international special tribunal to be created. We want to create it by signing an open international treaty with the entire civilized world, with all those countries that are ready to give a legal assessment of the barbaric and cruel military policy of Putin and his ruling clique," the article said. Smyrnov called on the world to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of the Russian Security Council. "This is a question for the whole world. If we don't follow through on these principles, are we ready for the fact that on any given day, a dictator mad with power will declare new territorial claims to some country? Are we ready for new hybrid wars waged by rulers cut off from reality? Will we acquiesce to international blackmail and terror, to a truth mutilated by propaganda? Are we ready to accept the death of tens of thousands of dead innocent people, including many women and children?" Smyrnov wrote. He noted that there is a lot of skepticism about the creation of the tribunal. "I know there is a lot skepticism about this issue. I have heard that this tribunal will have rather a symbolic meaning for Ukraine, since no one will actually force Putin to appear before it. Yes, we soberly understand that the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression will be held 'in absentia.' But is it symbolism if the tribunal can call an international criminal a criminal? Is it symbolic that the geography of Putin's international travel will be limited to countries as removed from democracy as from the stars? Is it symbolic that an international criminal recognized by the Tribunal will find his place in world history precisely as a criminal who cannot enter any country that has acceded to the international agreement on the establishment of the tribunal, where he will be arrested?" he wrote. According to Smyrnov, skeptics also like to repeat the thesis: Vladimir Putin won't go to jail anyway and will die peacefully in his bed. This argument is empty and absurd, he said. "Nobody knows how, where, and when Putin will die. But did the bosses of Nazi Germany even think in May 1945 that they would be hanged or go to jail? Did Slobodan Milosevic believe in 1999 that he would die in a cell in The Hague in just five years? Did Saddam Hussein have thoughts about his imminent death? The mere fact that the International Special Tribunal is preparing indictments and issuing arrest warrants will be an important step towards recognizing global justice. The strategic need to prosecute the leadership of Russia is to prevent future wars unleashed by crazed dictators. Any evil must be punished and the function of international law, among other things, has a preventive function as warning and demonstration of unacceptable behavior and actions," he said. Smyrnov also noted that there is no doubt that the creation of the International Special Tribunal will also affect the speed of ending the war. In his opinion, the very fact of the creation of the tribunal will demonstrate even to skeptics that it is no longer possible to shake the hand of Putin and Russia's leaders. This will finally send them into international isolation and, perhaps, begin to change the attitude towards the war against Ukraine within Russia itself. "Our goal is a fair trial and legal retribution. Even if Putin and the entire elite of the Russian Federation do not physically go to prison, until the end of their days they will be locked up in Russia and a small number of countries that still support the Putin regime. Therefore, we must create an International Special Tribunal that will indict Putin and Russian leaders, issue warrants for their detention, and pronounce legal sentences," he said. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has met with Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Catherine Colonna. "What is important right now is a very strong signal from France as one of the EU leaders regarding the sham referenda held by the Russian Federation at gunpoint, and the reaction to this should not be in words. We expect clear sanctions, both in the eighth package of sanctions against the Russian Federation, as well as separate signals about what will happen if the Russian Federation recognizes these sham referenda. NATO countries should show the whole world that they guarantee the security of any state on the European continent," Zelensky said, the Presidents Office informs. As the Head of State stressed, restoring Ukraines territorial integrity is impossible without modern weapons, noting that he appreciates the defense aid France has been providing all these months. Im grateful to Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Catherine Colonna for the visit to Ukraine! Its important for us to know that France is willing to stand with Ukraine for as long as it is needed, the President added. As reported, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Catherine Colonna is visiting Kyiv on Tuesday, September 27. Photo: Catherine Colonna, Twitter ol Mamie holds a document that will help her son enrol in primary school, which she received at the transit Center in Pweto, Haut Katanga Province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. UNHCR/Aline Irakarama UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, with the governments of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has helped nearly 6,000 Congolese refugees to return home since December 2021. The refugees fled political and inter-ethnic clashes in the DRC's southeast region in 2017 and found safety in Zambia. They have expressed excitement and joy at returning home and looking forward to reuniting with family and friends and starting their lives anew. Refugees have been issued voluntary repatriation documents and have received expedited immigration clearance, health screening, security, food and water prior to returning. Children account for nearly 60 per cent of the refugees. Children born in Zambia were issued birth certificates as proof of their identity. The Ministry of Education issued transfer documents to schoolchildren, enabling them to continue their education in the DRC. Those with special needs are being supported by caregivers from Zambias Ministry of Community Development and Social Services to ensure they travel in safety and dignity. Voluntary repatriation of refugees from Mantapala settlement in Luapula province to Pweto in Haut-Katanga province in DRC began in December 2021. The refugees have been transported on buses in weekly convoys of approximately 600 people to the Lunkinda border post. While parts of the country remain highly insecure, other regions like Haut-Katanga have been stable, allowing for the returns. More than 11,000 Congolese refugees are registered to go back to DRC by the end of 2022 following the declaration of improved security in some areas of Haut-Katanga province. At a UNHCR transit centre in Pweto (DRC), where the returnees are accommodated for two days, Congolese authorities issue documentation, including birth certificates for newborn babies and school certificates, to allow them to quickly integrate and access services. UNHCR's health partner also conducts medical screening, and cases with special needs receive basic treatment. Returnees also receive cash assistance to help cover basic expenses upon arrival home. This covers transportation to their destination, hygiene and household items, and initial rent assistance. Based on family size, a months supply of pulses, maize meal, oil and salt is also given to returnees. Additional reintegration assistance, such as helping children in enrolling in school, is also provided. UNHCR will continue to advocate with the Government of the DRC and traditional authorities, who are critical partners in their reintegration, for the enrollment of children in schools, security, access to employment and provision of key civil documentation. The voluntary repatriation of Congolese refugees is conducted on the basis of the tripartite agreement signed in 2006 by UNHCR and the Governments of Zambia and the DRC. Over 18,000 Congolese have lived in Mantapala settlement, where they acquired livelihood skills, including farming, carpentry and artisan crafts. According to a country-wide verification exercise, Zambia hosts 95,677 refugees, asylum-seekers and former refugees. These include 60,236 from DRC. Nearly a million Congolese refugees are still hosted in neighbouring countries. Millions of refugees dream of going home in safety and dignity. Voluntary repatriation requires a full commitment by the country of origin to help reintegrate its own people and the continuing support of the international community. UNHCRs financial requirement for Zambia this year is US$24.4 million and US$225.4 million for the DRC. As of 20 September, however, the operations have been only 23 per cent and 35 per cent funded respectively. For more information on this topic, please contact: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi presents birth certificates to babies during an award ceremony at Nyarugusu refugee camp in Tanzania in August this year. UNHCR/Anthony Karumba GENEVA The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has welcomed the renewal of his mandate by the UN General Assembly, saying he was humbled by the decision. On Monday, the UN General Assembly renewed the mandate for a further two and a half years. Grandi said he was honoured to have the trust of all UN Member States and the Secretary-General. I am humbled by this decision. I sincerely thank Member States and our Secretary-General for their trust and support, Grandi said. He pledged to keep working tirelessly for the worlds forcibly displaced and expressed gratitude to his colleagues at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. We are facing huge challenges but I cannot think of a better organization to be part of, he said. I look forward to continuing to work with all partners towards solutions for the worlds refugees, displaced, and stateless people, and the communities hosting them. Grandi, an Italian national, is the 11th United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He was first elected by the UN General Assembly and took office on 1 January 2016 after a 30-year career working in refugee and humanitarian affairs for the United Nations and non-governmental organisations. Grandi will complete his term on 31 December 2025. Established in 1950, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is mandated by the United Nations to lead and coordinate international action for the worldwide protection of refugees and the resolution of their plight. UNHCR has been twice awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its humanitarian work in 1954 and in 1981. For more information on this topic, please contact: BEIJING, Sept 27 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Sep, 2022 ) ::Chinese developer and provider of hybrid seeds based in Wuhan, China will donate hybrid rice seeds to support Pakistan in its relief efforts in flood-stricken areas. "To support Pakistan in its fight against the floods, we will donate some seeds of hybrid rice to Pakistani farmers. We will also send more technicians to the country to support post-flood reconstruction," said Zhou Xusheng, Director of Pakistan business Department, Wuhan Qingfa Hesheng Seed Co., Ltd. The company has been providing hybrid seeds of rice, canola and vegetables to Pakistan for nearly twenty years. In particular, it registered the first hybrid rice variety -QY0413 in the history of Pakistan. Zhou told China Economic Net (CEN) that North Sindh, home to 60% of the hybrid rice in Pakistan, is one of the worst-hit areas in the floods. It is expected that the export of rice, which is an important means for Pakistan to earn foreign exchange, will suffer greatly. "It may take three years for the rice production and export in Pakistan to recover", Zhou informed. "By sending more technicians to the rural areas, we aim to improve the effective use of fertilizers and pesticides to achieve maximize production with minimum cost", he said. "As extreme weather conditions have become more frequent, the company has laid out a blueprint to minimize losses from natural disasters." "First of all, the resistance of crop varieties should be improved. For example, in China, our rice varieties have performed well in the usual heat wave this year. For floods, too, the varieties can be improved", he said. "Second, the production of seeds can be carried out both in Pakistan and China so that they can complement each other in case of extreme weather. Test stations can also be more scattered in different cities in to spread the risk. "Zhou also mentioned the importance of the repair of irrigation canals and ditches and road infrastructure. It would be devastating for farmers if they could not sow normally in the coming months.""Efforts are also required in the maintenance of soil fertility, land levelling, and prevention of diseases," he added. Havana, Sept 27 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Sep, 2022 ) :The powerful Category 3 Hurricane Ian battered western Cuba on Tuesday causing significant damage and prompting mass evacuations, with the storm expected to strengthen as it heads north towards the US state of Florida. With maximum sustained winds of 125 miles (205 kilometers) per hour, Ian pummeled the island nation's western regions for more than five hours before its eye moved out over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Authorities have not yet been able to assess the damage, but residents described "destruction" and posted images on social media of flooded streets and felled trees. No deaths or injuries have yet been reported. "Desolation and destruction. These are terrifying hours. Nothing is left here," said a 70-year-old resident of the western city of Pinar del Rio in a message to his journalist son that was shared on social media. Ian is expected to "keep heading northwards, gradually moving over the southeast of the Gulf of Mexico, moving its center away from Cuban territory," said the Cuba's Insmet meteorological institute. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Ian, classified as a major hurricane, made landfall just southwest of the town of La Coloma in Pinar del Rio province at about 4:30 am local time (0830 GMT). About 40,000 people had been evacuated from their homes in the western province, which was bearing the brunt of the storm, local authorities said. In the town of Consolacion del Sur, images captured by AFP showed downed power lines, flooded streets and a scattering of damaged rooftops. An official at the state electricity company said power was out in the provinces of Pinar del Rio and Artemisa. Those were two of the three provinces put on maximum alert Monday night. - 'Storm surge' - With the hurricane moving north, Florida's western coast from Fort Myers to Tampa Bay was at greatest risk of "life-threatening" storm surges, the NHC said. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said 2.5 million people were under evacuation orders as officials scrambled to prepare for the storm's forecast landing on Wednesday. "In some areas there will be catastrophic flooding and life threatening storm surge," DeSantis said at a press conference on Tuesday. He urged residents to follow evacuation orders and warned that though Ian's exact path was still uncertain "the impacts will be far far broader." "When you have five to ten feet (1.5 to 3 meters) of storm surge that is not something that you want to be a part of. Mother Nature is a very fearsome adversary." DeSantis said. The governor on Monday urged residents to stock up on food, water, medicine and fuel, and he called up 7,000 National Guard members to help with the effort. Authorities in several Florida municipalities, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, have been distributing free sandbags to residents to help protect their homes from the risk of flooding. Tampa International Airport said it would suspend operations on Tuesday at 5:00 pm local time (2100 GMT). US President Joe Biden has approved emergency aid in Florida through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), while even NASA on the state's east coast took precautions, rolling back its massive Moon rocket into its storage hanger for protection. Like DeSantis, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell highlighted the danger of storm surge, saying it was the agency's "biggest concern." "If people are told to evacuate by their local officials, please listen to them. The decision you choose to make may be the difference between life and death," she said. - Fiona's wake - The Caribbean and parts of eastern Canada are still counting the cost of powerful storm Fiona, which tore through last week, claiming several lives. Half a million residents in the US territory of Puerto Rico were still without power, according to a tracking website, as the island's governor called on the federal government to waive a policy limiting which ships are able to dock there. When Fiona arrived as a post-tropical cyclone in Canada on Saturday, it was still packing intense winds of 80 miles per hour, bringing torrential rain and waves of up to 40 feet (12 meters). Storm surge swept at least 20 homes into the sea in the town of Channel-Port aux Basques, on the southwestern tip of Newfoundland, while three people are believed to have died. (@FahadShabbir) ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Sep, 2022 ) :Pakistan on Tuesday urged India to refrain from commenting on the bilateral ties between the United States, stressing to respect basic norms of inter-state relations. "India needs serious introspection of its diplomatic conduct," Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said in response to media queries about unwarranted remarks by the Indian Minister for External Affairs. Indian Minister for External Affairs S.Jaishankat had raised questions over the "merits" of the US-Pakistan relationship, saying that Washington's ties with Islamabad had not served the "American interest". The FO Spokesperson said Pakistan had longstanding and broad-based relationship with the United States, which had been vital in promoting peace, security and stability in the region. "In recent months Pakistan-U.S. relations have become robust and multidimensional, further deepening people-to-people and bilateral ties," he said. He said both countries were constructively engaged to maintain regional peace and security. (@FahadShabbir) ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Sep, 2022 ) :Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday thanked the leadership and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for their strong expression of support for the flood victims in Pakistan, including provision of relief assistance through establishing an air bridge between the Kingdom and Pakistan. The prime minister expressed these views during a meeting with Ambassador of the KSA to Pakistan Nawaf Saeed Al Malkiy who called on him. To sustain the upward trajectory in bilateral relations, the prime minister underscored the importance of regular bilateral exchanges at various levels. He also conveyed his cordial greetings for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman. The prime minister recalled his recent telephonic conversation with the crown prince and said that there was a shared desire to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. The prime minister also appreciated the important contribution of the ambassador of Saudi Arabia in relief efforts, who personally visited flood-affected areas. (@ChaudhryMAli88) MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2022) The European Commission has been informed about the three emergency situations at the Nord Stream gas pipelines and is assessing potential ecological, logistical and energy implications, Tim McPhie, the commission's spokesman for climate action and energy, said on Tuesday. On Monday, the pipelines' operator, Nord Stream AG, told Sputnik that a landfall dispatcher had registered a rapid drop of pressure on one of the segments of Nord Stream 2. The incident occurred in the Danish waters near the island of Bornholm. Later in the day, the operator said that the pressure drop had also been registered on both strings of Nord Stream 1. "The Commission was informed about three leaks which have been identified on Nord Stream 1 and Nord stream 2 there are two on (Nord Stream) 1 and one on (Nord Stream) 2. We are following developments very closely with the member states concerned. This hasn't affected security of supply as yet. Deliveries has been zero in Nord stream 1 anyway and Nord stream 2 is not yet authorized to operate," McPhie said during a briefing. According to the spokesman, the commission is analyzing possible consequences of the incidents for the climate and maritime navigation in the region. "We also analyzing the potential impact of these leaks of methane, which is a gas which has a considerable effect on climate change, and we are in touch with the member states about any potential on maritime navigation, and we have information that an exclusion zone has been set up around the leaks by the national authorizers concerned," McPhie added. Earlier in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was extremely concerned about the emergencies at the Nord Stream gas pipelines, calling for a prompt investigation and not ruling out the possibility of sabotage at the pipelines. Iranians on Tuesday staged a 12th straight night of protests over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, in defiance of a crackdown that a rights group says has killed more than 75 people Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Sep, 2022 ) :Iranians on Tuesday staged a 12th straight night of protests over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, in defiance of a crackdown that a rights group says has killed more than 75 people. The women-led demonstrations flared after the 22-year-old Kurdish woman died in the custody of the notorious morality police for reportedly not observing the country's dress code. "Iran remains under internet/mobile blackouts but some videos (of protests) are still getting out," the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said "around 60" people had been killed since Amini's death on September 16, up from the official death toll of 41 authorities reported on Saturday. But the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said at least 76 people have been killed in the crackdown. Officials said Monday they had made more than 1,200 arrests. Those taken into custody have included activists, lawyers and journalists as well as protesters. Health Minister Bahram Einollahi, quoted by the official news agency IRNA, accused the protesters of destroying 72 ambulances, while activists based abroad say the authorities have been using ambulances to transport security forces. (@ChaudhryMAli88) The security situation in Iraq is okay following a short period of unrest in the country that sparked over Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's retirement, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Sputnik UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2022) The security situation in Iraq is okay following a short period of unrest in the country that sparked over Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's retirement, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Sputnik. "Security wise, it is okay," Hussein said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. In late August, Sadr's announcement of his final retirement from politics led to violent clashes between followers of al-Sadr and Iraqi security forces, leaving at least 20 people dead and over 700, including 110 security officers, injured, according to media reports. Hussein said Iraqi officials were worried that the unrest would lead to a prolonged conflict inside the country. Moreover, Hussein said terrorism has not been a major issue in Iraq, adding that terrorist organizations have become small with only a few sporadic attacks in the country. TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2022) Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin was summoned to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, where a resolute protest was expressed to him and an official apology was demanded after reports of detention of Japanese consul Motoki Tatsunori in Vladivostok for collecting classified information, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said, Japanese media reported. The day before, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had detained Tatsunori who was obtaining, for a monetary reward, classified information about Russia's cooperation with an Asia-Pacific regional country, the impact of Western sanctions on the economic situation in Primorsky Territory. In an FSB video, the diplomat pleaded guilty to violating Russian law. A protest was expressed to the Japanese side through diplomatic channels, and the consul was declared persona non grata and must leave Russia within 48 hours. Georgia and Kazakhstan said Tuesday that tens of thousands of Russians had flooded into their countries from neighbouring Russia since the announcement of partial mobilisation to fight in Ukraine Tbilisi, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Sep, 2022 ) :Georgia and Kazakhstan said Tuesday that tens of thousands of Russians had flooded into their countries from neighbouring Russia since the announcement of partial mobilisation to fight in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week announced the call-up of thousands of reservists, sparking protests across the country and a rush among Russian men for the borders. Fyodor said he had fled to Russia's border with Kazakhstan spooked by reports that even the infirm and elderly were being called up to fight. Like other people AFP spoke to, he asked not to provide his full name. "There is full chaos (in Russia)," the 24-year-old said. "We don't understand what will happen." He decided to leave for Kazakhstan on Saturday morning "as a precautionary measure" to "take a head start, just in case." On Tuesday Kazakhstan said around 98,000 Russians had entered the country since mobilisation was announced. It took Fyodor about 48 hours, including a five-kilometre (three-mile) walk to the border and a six-hour queue, before he reached the northern Kazakh city of Oral. "It was raining, it was cold, but six hours of wait... well, that was still reasonable given the circumstances," he said. Vladislav, a 25-year-old bartender, found shelter in the Kazakh capital of Astana on Monday evening. In Russia, he said, "I could go to work or to do the groceries and never come back... I don't want to die." "A week ago, I could not imagine I'd be in Kazakhstan," he told AFP, adding that he "wanted to thank the Kazakh people for welcoming him so nicely. " Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Tuesday his country would ensure the safety of Russians fleeing "a hopeless situation". "This is a political and humanitarian issue," Tokayev added. "The territorial integrity of states must be unshakeable," Tokayev said. Kazakhstan has condemned Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and called for respect of territorial integrity, as Russia held annexation referendums in four Ukrainian regions. "In our immediate vicinity a major war is underway. We must remember this, thinking above all about our security," he added. Russians also flocked to the Black Sea nation of Georgia. On Tuesday, Georgia said the number of Russians arriving each day has nearly doubled since the draft was announced. "Four to five days ago 5,000-6,000 (Russians) were arriving in Georgia daily. The number has grown to some 10,000 per day," Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri told journalists. Georgia and its neighbour Armenia, which do not require visas for Russians, have been major destinations for Russians fleeing since the war began on February 24. Over the first four months of the war, nearly 50,000 Russians fled to Georgia and another 40,000 to Armenia. On Tuesday, the local interior ministry in a Russian region that borders Georgia said there was a tailback of around 5,500 cars waiting to cross the Georgian border, calling the situation "extremely tense". The ministry added that a mobile draft office will be set up at the border in the "near future". TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2022) Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin confirmed on Tuesday that he was "invited" to the Japanese foreign ministry in connection with the detention of Motoki Tatsunori, a consul of the Japanese Consulate-General in Vladivostok. "This morning, I was invited to the Japanese foreign ministry to talk on this issue with Japanese First Deputy Foreign Minister Takeo Mori. He briefed me on the position of the Japanese side in connection with the detention of the Japanese diplomat in Vladivostok, and I responded with our position," Galuzin told reporters. The ambassador slammed the actions of the Japanese diplomat as violating the convention on consular relations, adding that the Russian side should demand an apology. On Monday, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had detained Tatsunori who was obtaining, for a monetary reward, classified information about Russia's cooperation with an Asia-Pacific regional country, the impact of Western sanctions on the economic situation in the Primorsky region. In an FSB video, the diplomat admitted his guilt of violating Russian law. Moscow expressed a protest to Japan through diplomatic channels, and the consul was declared persona non grata. In response, Tokyo summoned the Russian ambassador, according to media reports. (@ChaudhryMAli88) BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th September, 2022) Serbia is in line to buy Bayraktar drones from Turkey, expects to receive it next year and is ready to pay hundreds of millions of euros, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday. Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting Belgrade, where he held talks with the Serbian president on Wednesday. After that, members of government delegations signed a number of documents. "We want to purchase the Bayraktar UAVs, but I see what the whole world wants, so we stand in line, we wait and hope that next year we will be able to implement it. I think that our ministers had good conversations, and that Serbia will be able to get them next year. We are ready to increase our demand for Bayraktars and pay much more than the originally agreed tens of millions of Euros several hundred million euros," Vucic said at a joint press conference. (@ChaudhryMAli88) ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th September, 2022) Turkey is working together with the United Nations to remove all obstacles to the export of Russian fertilizers, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu declared on Monday. "Together with the UN, we are making intense efforts to get Russian fertilizers to market," the diplomat said during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club, while in the country to attend former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's state funeral the following day. On Saturday, Cavusoglu stated that Turkey and the UN had found various options for exporting Russian produce, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow expected Ankara and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to persuade the United States and Europe to remove all obstacles to the export of grain and fertilizers from Russia onto world markets. On July 22, two separate but interrelated documents were signed in Istanbul. They were intended to remove obstacles to the export of Ukrainian and Russian agricultural produce and fertilizers linked to the military operation in Ukraine, staving off a food crisis in the world's poorest countries. One memorandum obliges the UN to remove any restrictions to the export of Russian food and fertilizer exports, while the other enables the shipping of Ukrainian agricultural exports through the country's Black Sea ports. However, Russia has stated that the first memorandum is not yet being implemented. The University of South Florida is partnering with Hillsborough County and the Florida Department of Health to help with community emergency preparations ahead of Hurricane Ian. The Hillsborough County Office of Emergency Management deployed USFs Community Emergency Response Team to prepare emergency shelters throughout the county. On Sunday, the team, which includes about 50 students, helped prepare four special needs shelters for residents who need assistance with daily functions and medical monitoring. Each space was cleared, cleaned and prepped to include medical cots and medical supplies, such as bandages and gauze. More than 200 volunteers on the Community Emergency Response Team deployed during Hurricane Irma, providing approximately 5,000 hours of service in a weeks time. They assisted with shelter preparations, call centers, staffing shelters, food and water distributions and damage assessments post-storm. Elizabeth Dunn, USF instructor and director of the USF Community Emergency Response Team, says this week will likely look the same. During the storm, the team will be on site across the county at general population shelters, special needs shelters and emergency pet shelters serving as shelter managers and staff. USFs Medical Response Units Specialized Disaster Response Team is also on standby to assist at the special needs shelters. Just as we did in 2017 for Hurricane Irma, we are providing our licensed medical volunteers to maintain the level of care that these patients deserve at no cost to them, said Austin Jared, the Medical Response Unit operations coordinator. We will be working in partnership with other local agencies and community partners to ensure our patients have minimal impact to their medical care due to the storm." The Medical Response Unit is made up of students who are nationally certified paramedics, EMTs and emergency medical responders. The unit is in the process of finalizing its Disaster Response Team roster, preparing equipment and readying for deployment. Dunn is encouraging those who havent done so already, to make a plan and prepare an emergency kit. The complexity of hurricane preparedness is increased for those with limited resources, temporary housing and language barriers. Obstacles like these are the focus of Dunns summer course in the College of Public Health, where students work one-on-one with refugee women from Refugee & Migrant Womens Initiative, Inc. to prepare for natural disasters in the Tampa Bay area. For the refugee women who were unable to participate over the summer, Dunn is actively working with them throughout the week to determine their evacuation zones and emergency shelters nearest to them. Engaging our students throughout the year with service-learning and research opportunities allows us as an academic institution to establish and strengthen partnerships in the community, Dunn said. It is through these built relationships that we are in a perfect position to build resilience and support some of our most vulnerable populations that may be affected by a disaster event. USM Taking Applications for Accelerated BSN Degree Pathway Tue, 09/27/2022 - 09:25am | By: Van Arnold The College of Nursing and Health Professions at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) is accepting applications for a unique, accelerated pathway to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree that will be offered on the Universitys Gulf Park campus in Long Beach, Miss. The pathway will help eligible students earn a BSN degree in a shorter time and decrease barriers to admission, while providing benefits to those who have already earned a higher education degree. The initial cohort is expected to start coursework in January 2023. Plans call for two admission cycles per year. Significant components of the accelerated plan include: Can be finished in 12 months Scholarships are available Same degree as traditional BSN has same clinical experiences Able to bypass some typical requirements, having already earned a degree CCNE accredited It is very exciting to be able to offer students with existing bachelors degrees a new pathway to become a nurse, said Dr. Elizabeth Tinnon, Associate Professor and Director of USMs School of Professional Nursing Practice. It is a significant milestone for our nursing program and demonstrates USMs continued commitment to providing innovative ways for students to achieve their goal of becoming a nurse. Students expected to enroll in this degree option will be eligible to bypass some typical BSN requirements because they have already earned a degree. Prospective applicants must have completed a bachelors degree from an accredited college or university. Earlier this year, online resource guide Nursingprocess.org, ranked USM as No. 1 for best accredited nursing schools in Mississippi. Housed within the College of Nursing and Health Professions, the nursing program has continued to raise the bar for excellence in education and clinical preparation. Southern Miss nursing students put classroom theory into action at the state-of-the-art facilities and simulation labs, where students can focus on learning essential nursing competencies such as assessment, skills, and patient care. Clinical rotations are scheduled at a range of local health care facilities throughout Central and South Mississippi. Through the accelerated pathway, those rotations will include facilities along the Gulf Coast. One major objective of the accelerated pathway is to combat the nations nursing shortage by putting more nurses in the workforce in a shorter amount of time. As the accelerated BSN pathway is being offered at the Gulf Park campus, we believe this will increase the number of nurses working in the coastal communities, said Tinnon. Students will complete clinicals located within the coastal area. When students have positive clinical experiences, they are more likely to choose that particular health care facility at the time of graduation. USM also offers a BSN program for those who do not already have a bachelors degree on Hattiesburg campus, as well as a fully online RN-BSN program. To learn more about USMs nursing program, call 601.266.5445 or visit: https://www.usm.edu/nursing-health-professions/index.php About The University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) is a comprehensive public research institution delivering transformative programs on campuses in Hattiesburg and Long Beach, at teaching and research sites across the Mississippi Gulf Coast, as well as online. Founded in 1910, USM is one of only 146 universities in the nation to earn the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Educations "R1: Doctoral Universities Very high research activity designation, and its robust research enterprise includes experts in ocean science and engineering, polymer science and engineering, and large event venue safety and security, among others. USM is also one of only 39 institutions in the nation accredited in theatre, art and design, dance and music. As an economic driver, USM generates an annual economic impact of more than $663 million across the state. USM welcomes a diverse student body of more than 14,000, representing more than 70 countries, all 50 states, and every county in Mississippi. USM students have collected four Truman Scholarships and 37 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, while also leading Mississippi with 27 Goldwater Scholarships, an honor that recognizes the next generation of great research scientists. Home to the Golden Eagles, USM competes in 17 Division I sports sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). For more information, visit usm.edu. USM School of Music to Present Three Band Concerts Tue, 09/27/2022 - 11:43am | By: Mike Lopinto USM Symphonic Winds in concert The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) presents a serious of performances by the School of Musics band area, beginning with the Symphonic Winds on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 3:30 p.m. The Concert Band will perform on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m., with the Wind Ensemble performing on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m. All performances are in the Mannoni Performing Arts Center auditorium on the Hattiesburg campus. Including wind band fare from across the spectrum of literature, all concerts are free and open to the public. Dr. Tavis Higa conducts the Symphonic Winds with Dr. Colin McKenzie and graduate student Robert Pico Guzman. All are excited to share the stage with their students. They encourage audiences to come hear the band perform to support students at the first band concert of the semester. The band will be performing standard band works and new compositions, with music by John Williams, Gustav Holst, Percy Grainger, Cait Nishimura, and Malcolm Arnold, Higa noted. Our program highlights cornerstone masterworks from our band repertoire, as well as newly composed pieces. The Concert Band, led by its conductor, Professor Eric J. Scott, will present a varied program of music covering a wide range of American works in a program called American Tapestries. Highlights include film music by Aaron Copland, our Dean of American music, a jazz prelude by George Gershwin, a march to honor Theodore Roosevelt titled, Rough Riders, a collection of drum and fife tunes from the American Revolution, and a lyrical work titled, Autumn Soliloquy, which will feature Dr. Galit Kaunitz, School of Music oboe professor. They will conclude with John Zdechliks beautiful setting of Simple Gifts in Chorale and Shaker Dance. Also taking the stage will be graduate conductors Robert Picco Guzman and Steven Cooler. Our students have made incredible progress this semester, said Scott. Im proud of their work and I know our audience will be in for a treat! The final program of the series will be presented by the USM Wind Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Catherine Rand. Entitled, "Passages," the concert will take the listener on a musical journey from Panama to Paris, through your Dreams, and finally ending in the Pines of Rome. Also taking the stage is graduate conductor Kyle Aufderhar. Its been a wonderful journey for our students musically, added Rand. They have had the opportunity to work on such incredible pieces as Paris Sketches by Martin Ellerby and Respighi's Pines of Rome. Im extremely proud of their dedication to the music and overall work for this concert series! For more information, please visit usm.edu/bands Opening its annual plenary Assembly in Cornwall on Monday, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) releases a letter by the Bishops thanking Pope Francis for his recent Penitential Pilgrimage to Canada. By Lisa Zengarini The Bishops of Canada gatherered in Cornwall, Ontario, for their Plenary Assembly this week, have written a letter to Pope Francis to heartfully thank him for his recent Apostolic visit to their country. The Pope travelled to Canada on a "Penitential Pilgrimage" of healing and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, from 24 to 30 July. The visit followed meetings he held in the Vatican at the end of March this year with representatives of the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples sharing the stories of pain and trauma experienced by both former students of Residential Schools and their descendants. During his visit, Pope Francis met First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities and several residential schools survivors and profusely apologized for the 'catastrophic' policies of forced assimilation carried out by the Canadian Government through the Indian residential school system, resulting in the oppression of generations of Indigenous children. A profound and lasting mark on Canada In their letter released on Monday at the opening of the Assembly, the Canadian Bishops remarked that the Popes Penitential Pilgrimage has left a profound and lasting mark on Canada, Indigenous Peoples, and the local and universal Church. As the Successor of Peter and Vicar of Christ your presence among us, as well as your words of healing, reconciliation, and humanity, have helped all of us to take significant steps forward as we walk together toward a more hopeful future. They further point out that the Apostolic visit has reinforced their common resolve "to spare no effort" to strengthen their relationship with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada through mutual respect, greater trust, and sincere friendship. Discerning steps forward in the path of healing and reconciliation The General Assembly of the Canadian Bishops Conference (CCCB), which runs from 26 to 29 September, and is held for the first time in-person since 2019, will focus primarily on discussing and discerning the next steps forward in the path of healing and reconciliation, inspired both by the Popes Apostolic Visit, as well as by the earnest dialogue which they have endeavoured to build with Indigenous Peoples in the past years. The CCCB has strenghtened this dialogue thanks to the work of the expanded Canadian Catholic Indigenous Council and the Bishops Working Group on Coordinating Pastoral Initiatives for Indigenous Peoples, as well as through the CCCBs membership in Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle. The latter is a Catholic coalition of Indigenous people, bishops, lay movements, clergy, and institutes of consecrated life, engaged in renewing and fostering relationships between the Catholic Church and Indigenous Peoples of Canada. A milestone of this reconciliation process was the formal statement of apology to Indigenous communities, issued in Septemper 2021, for the Catholic Church's role in operating many residential schools, following the national outcry sparked by the discovery of 215 children's mass graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, in British Columbia, in May last year. The bishops subsequently pledged $30 million to support healing and reconciliation initiatives. Other topics on the Assembly's agenda Besides indigenous healing and reconciliation, the Canadian Bishops will discuss the 2021-2023 Synod on Synodality. Earlier this month, the CCCB released a national synthesis summarizing key themes brought forward by Catholics in Western Canada, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic regions. This work will help inform a continental report and subsequent discussions at the Vatican in 2023. Other topics on the agenda include measures adopted against clergy sexual abuse and for child protection, liturgy, catechesis and evangelization. German charitable outfits are providing financial support for a new rehabilitation project in Riga to help women in prison, through which volunteers offer training and creative arts courses, as witnessed by our correspondent in Latvia hosted by Bonifatiuswerk. By Mario Galgano Riga, Latvia Baiba (not her real name) has been in prison in Riga for six years. Three months from now, she will be free again. "I look forward to the day when I can leave prison," she says in an interview with Vatican News. Baiba is in the women's prison because of economic crimes. "At first, it was very difficult for me to be behind bars, and above all I could not make peace with myself, because I did not want to admit even to myself my mistakes, she says. The mother of two children and grandmother of three grandchildren has her husband waiting for her release, and he too is happy that she will soon be able to return home. Making peace with ones conscience She enthusiastically enrolled in a welfare project run by the Ilguciema sievietes association, and earned three diplomas. A key event for her was also a pilgrimage to Aglona, as the welfare group also offers spiritual programs. Through prayer I was finally able to make peace with myself. The project includes lectures and practice concerning daily life in freedom. Due to space constraints, a maximum of 15 women can take part. Another 15 female inmates can participate in creative art classes. "The pedagogical-creative encounter opens the mind and heart," says Daina Strelevica, director of the project sponsored and funded by the Germany-based Catholic charity Bonifatiuswerk. Not forgetting women in prison On average, sentences for those in the programme range from five to six years. The women belong to all levels of society and all age groups. It's easy to send people to prison and then forget about them there. Ms. Strelevica says the goal of the project is to help female inmates prepare for life after prison. It also intends to help female inmates recognize their talents. Finally, it wants to help them develop critical thinking and an understanding of society's problems. One volunteer with the programme, Ilze Vilka, a Latvian lawyer, helps women in prison understand the importance of the law and their rights and duties. Another volunteer, Zane Karele, is a psychologist, and her courses shows how former inmates can be reintegrated into society with the assistance of some behavioral and communicative programmes. An artist, Magone Boleiko, offers participants useful tips on how to improve the environment in which they and their family live with small means and the use of readily available materials. Ecumenical programme The support of Catholic welfare organizations is offered in line with Catholic doctrine, and especially corresponds to the solicitude of Pope Francis. At Ilguciems State Women's Prison, the care of souls comes first, which is carried out in an ecumenical key since it is carried out by Latvias three main denominations. Catholic pastoral agents also work alongside those of Evangelical Lutherans and Orthodox ministers. As Nigeria continues to suffer unrest and extremism, the International Catholic Migration Commission appeals to the UN's human rights council to work towards preserving the rights of all Nigerians. By Francesca Merlo There is grave concern surrounding the human rights situation in Nigeria. Addressing the 51st meeting of the UN Human Right Council, on 26 September, the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) stressed that the global community can no longer stand as disinterested bystanders while Nigerians tragically lose their lives and property and are displaced by violence in many areas of the country. The Commission highlighted that the dimensions of this crisis have been reported by our member organizations and partners on the ground and by the international multilateral agencies, such as the Office of the UN Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Many organisations Joining other faith-based and other civil society organizations, the ICMC's statement was co-signed by Caritas Internationalis, Caritas Nigeria, Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII, VIDES, IIMA, New Humanity and World Evangelical Alliance. The organizations echoed "the recent appeal of the Catholic bishops of Nigeria, decrying ' the worsening state of insecurity in our nation as well as activities of terrorists and insurgents, kidnappers and bandits Attacks on travelers and worshippers in Churches and other places of worship have become too frequent we continue to call on civil authorities to stand up to their constitutional responsibility of safeguarding the lives and property of Nigerians '" The statement concluded by recalling the root causes of violence and appealing for the Nigerian government to protect all people in the country. "We also encourage the government of Nigeria to strengthen its collaboration with the OHCHR and the HRCs Special procedures, especially with the mandates on freedom of religion and belief, and on IDPs to effectively protect human rights and prevent further displacement and loss of lives." Msgr. Robert Vitillo Speaking to Vatican News about the statement, Msgr. Bob Vitillo, Secretary General of the ICMC, noted that in Northeast Nigeria, as well as other parts of the country, there exists religious extremist violence. However, he said, "a lot of it is not really religious, because it is false manipulation of religion that these extremists bring." Msgr. Vitillo added that he has been in contact with many of the bishops and other diocesan officials in Nigeria in areas affected by violence. Church officials in those places are also in contact with Caritas and ICMC, which "will help the affected diocese with first response aid, because more than a million people in Nigeria have been internally displaced." Students walk down to a bomb shelter in their school in Odessa (AFP or licensors) Inna Sovsun, a member of Ukraine's parliament, speaks about her country's education crisis on the sidelines of an international conference on educating refugees, hosted in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University. By Svitlana Dukhovych and Deborah Castellano Lubov The degradation of education and a 'brain drain' are the latest tragedies in Ukraine, as the country continues to be battered by war as Russias invasion continues. However, these issues can be mitigated if forces join together to guarantee safety and adequate bomb shelters in the war-torn country. This was the message expressed by a member of the Ukrainian Parliament and Former First Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Inna Sovsun, in an interview with Vatican News Svitlana Dukhovych. Ms. Sovsun is participating in the international conference Initiatives in Refugee & Migrant Education. Moving forward Diving deeper Together taking place on 26-28 September, at Romes Pontifical Gregorian University, and gave a discourse remotely on the Ukrainian refugee education crisis. "Ukrainian education is suffering" and facing a crisis, Ms. Sovsun told Vatican News. Since the start of the war, Russia, she explained, has destroyed or damaged 2,528 educational institutions. Among them, 285 have been completely destroyed. She also noted that Russian attacks have destroyed or damaged 147 colleges and universities. Inna Sovsun Preventing further brain drain During the phone interview with the parliamentarian, one could hear the air raid sirens. She said her son had to go down to the schools bomb shelter in the basement, but that he is used to it, and compared to many others, his school's bomb shelter is in good condition. Education in Ukraine has suffered because of the direct damage to the buildings. But what is even more important, it has suffered a lot because of the brain drain of kids leaving the country and potentially not coming back, and because of teachers and university professors are leaving and finding jobs abroad. Basic requirement is safety Ms. Soivsun believes "it is crucially important right now to join forces to make sure that all those kids, all those students, all those teachers, professors, come back." In order for that to happen, she insisted, the basic requirement is safety for those who are in schools, colleges and universities. Help Ukraine build bomb shelters My primary direct message, even a request, if I may, to our international audience would be this: please help Ukraine build shelters, bomb shelters, in our schools. The former education minister admitted that this is "a huge undertaking," too immense for the Ukrainian economy to support. "We have 13,000 schools, and only half of them have some very basic shelters as of right now," she lamented. Proper education essential for rebuilding Ukraine "It's crucially important to have those bomb shelters, because if there are bomb shelters," she observed, "parents would be willing to come back." "This is a very primary and basic requirement," she said, "if we wish to help Ukrainian education to overcome this extremely difficult period." School operations in Ukraine In Ukraine, the local governments of the territories on the frontlines have decided to not open schools, and to keep all learning remote. In other areas far from the frontlines, such as in Kyiv, the regions can decide whether or not to open educational institutions. The condition, however, is that the schools have bomb shelters. A commissioner comes to check the schools. Risk of sending children to school The former education minister told Vatican News that she prefers to send her son to school despite a risk, because, to some extent, doing so is a little safer, because the teachers will bring the students down into the bomb shelter, something that wouldn't be happening if he were studying from home, or if she and her son were at their home together. In addition, she observed that he is now in fourth-grade, and thus far, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he has never been able to have a normal school experience. But my heart just breaks up thinking of kids, thousands of kids all over the country who, hearing this air raid siren, have to go to cold, damp, basically basements, which are not in very good condition, and most likely don't have very basic things, like toilets. This, she said, is something we need to fix all together, "in order to have less children refugees, in order for the Ukrainian children to come back." "I want our kids to get an education that will help them rebuild Ukraine, make it stronger, make it better," said Ms. Sovsun. "That is why proper education is key." Gregorian Conference examines educating refugees and IDPs The conference held at the Gregorian University seeks to examine the need and means to educate refugees and internally-displaced people (IDPs). It has brought together an international panel of university administrators, faculty, and education practitioners, as well as leaders of NGOs, international agencies, and humanitarian organizations. The encounter was organized by the Refugee & Migrant Education Network (RME), Being the Blessing Foundation, and the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Pontifical Gregorian University. Others participating in the conference include the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi; Thomas Smolich, S.J., Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service International; Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Anthony J. Cernera, Ph.D., Founder of RME Network; as well as numerous experts, international education workers and education officers from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The conference was designed to leave plenty of room for networking and collaboration to explore initiatives, opportunities and ideas for collaboration, and to find strategies to respond to todays crises. A primary focus has been given to the Ukrianian Refugee education crisis, but many other topics are being explored. Participants will have a private audience with Pope Francis on 29 September. The papal plane touches down in Nur-Sultan as Pope Francis arrives for his 38th Apostolic Journey abroad. By Devin Watkins Pope Francis kicked off his Apostolic Visit to Kazakhstan on Tuesday, as the papal plane landed at the Nur-Sultan Nazarbayev International Airport at 1:27 PM local time (GMT +6). He was welcomed to the Central Asian nation by a delegation of civil and religious leaders, including President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The Popes first official visit is a courtesy visit to the presidential palace, where he meets with the countrys authorities, civil servants, and diplomatic corps. Interreligious dialogue at forefront of visit Pope Francis visits the Central Asian nation mainly to attend the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. He takes part in the opening session of the Congress on Tuesday morning, and will greet its participants who hail from around 100 nations. The Popes presence will lift the profile of this 7th interreligious congress, according to Prof. Azza Karam, Secretary General of Religions for Peace. He is seen as a religious leader who articulates the moral responsibilities and even clarifies what needs to be done in order to heal communities and to prevent conflict, says Prof. Karam. So, his role will continue to be to map out the how and why of resolving and avoiding conflicts, including of living more peacefully with ourselves as people of faith. The Pope closes the two-day Congress on Wednesday afternoon with a speech following the reading of the final declaration. Encouraging Catholic community Yet, the Holy Father will not fail to offer his closeness and encouragement to the Catholics of Kazakhstan. He celebrates Holy Mass on Wednesday at the Expo Grounds in Nur-Sultan for the small Catholic community. Catholics make up around 1 percent of Kazakhstans population of 19 million, 70 percent of which is Muslim, and 25 percent Christian, mostly Russian Orthodox. Pope Francis also meets with the Bishops, clergy, seminarians, and men and women religious of the country on Thursday morning at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Fr. Ruslan Rakhimberlinov, the rector of the Catholic seminary in Karaganda, says the local community feels blessed to host the Pope in their homeland. For us, the visit of Pope Francis to Kazakhstan is an opportunity for our small Catholic community here, our 'small flock' in Kazakhstan, to gain some momentum, he says. Pope Francis will return to Rome on Thursday evening at around 8:00 PM Rome time. The United Nations' envoy to Haiti warns the Security Council that the Caribbean nation faces a humanitarian catastrophe brought on by economic woes, gang violence, and political gridlock. By James Blears Calls are increasing for the resignation of Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henri, as the country descends into law and disorder chaos. The true depth of Haiti's disaster has been starkly brought into focus by UN Envoy to Haiti, Helen La Lime. Things went from bad to worse after the Haitian government ended fuel subsidies on 11 September. This was the last straw for the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Gasoline and diesel prices rocketed and produced a collapsing domino effect for the rest of the economy. Food shortages, shops and businesses closed and public transportation no longer exists in towns and cities which are plagued by organized crime. Gangs and starvation Helen La Lime advised the UN Security Council that gangs warring amongst themselves have attacked and looted warehouses stealing food intended for almost a quarter of a million of Haiti's most vulnerable population, which faces starvation. As things stand right now, almost 40 percent of Haitians depend upon food donated by the international community. Gang violence is endemic, especially in the Capital Port Au Prince and major cities. But Haitian Authorities are somehow claiming law and order is under control, while appealing for substantial funding to combat crime. In reality, the precarious balance was shattered by the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021. The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, is building a border wall to isolate itself from a nation in anguish, which is crying out for help from the rest of the world. US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry made a visit to Vietnam and met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to hold talks about Vietnam-US cooperation in combating climate change and scaling up the transition to a clean energy economy in Vietnam. Vietnam Briefing summarizes key highlights of the visit and explores the opportunities for US businesses in Vietnam. US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry visited Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi from September 2nd to 6th to hold bilateral climate discussions with Vietnamese government officials, civil society representatives, and prominent entrepreneurs to address climate change. Vietnams Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh warmly welcomed Kerry, emphasizing appreciation for the US support in Vietnams green economy transition and the COP26 goal of achieving net zero emission by 2050. Key outcomes Kerry identified many challenges that Vietnam is facing during the transition to a green energy economy. First, Kerry stressed a lack of synchronization among localities in the transmission system between renewable energy plants and the national grid. As a result, renewable energy in Vietnam is being utilized far below capacity, at only four percent when it can satisfy up to 25 percent of the national demand. Second, regarding the draft Power Development Plan 8 (PDP 8), Kerry emphasized the importance of minimizing the role of coal in electricity generation. In fact, as stated in the draft PDP 8 goals, Vietnam eyes 19-20 GW of solar and 18-19 GW of wind but still aims to source up to 37 GW from coal and 22 GW from gas. As such, Kerry advised the Vietnamese government to leave out coal in the countrys long-term strategy if Vietnam wants to achieve net zero emission status. Third, according to Kerry, the US can be Vietnams trusted partner in the green energy sector through financial aid, technology transfer, and expertise in management models. US businesses in the renewable energy sector consider Vietnam to be a budding destination and are ready to invest in the country. However, one factor that is still preoccupying many US investors is the lack of guarantees. Kerry stated that US investors are willing to make major investments only when they foresee high returns in the market. Although Vietnam holds immense potential for green energy exploitation, the market is rather young which may cause investors to be undecided. To address this issue, Kerry hopes to see more attractive incentive policies from the Vietnamese government to promote a welcoming and world-class playground for foreign renewable energy businesses. One point to note is that Kerry highly appraised the efforts of Vinfast to introduce electric vehicles (EV) in the US market as the country moves towards sustainable transportation. Jake Levine, Chief Climate Officer at the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), stressed that DFC is willing to support Vinfast to build a domestic EV manufacturing chain in Vietnam. PM Chinh, also proposed different approaches to combat the climate crisis. Regarding technology, the PM hoped partners in the US would carry out renewable-energy technology transfers to Vietnamese firms to assist in manufacturing renewable energy equipment. Vietnam eyes the technological expertise of US firms, which can help Vietnam to establish an assessment map of onshore and offshore sources of solar and wind power. The PM also proposed lower loan credit for Vietnamese firms from US partners to cushion the financial burdens. In fact, many businesses in Vietnam still hesitate to penetrate into the green energy market due to limited access to capital sources and high credit rates. Vietnam also called for financial aid in building a synchronous electricity transmission system so that average people can afford renewable energy. Foundation for Vietnam-US climate cooperation It is worth noting that Vietnam is still discussing the possibility of becoming a member country of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) launched by the US to promote sustainable development. Kerrys visit to Vietnam may have positive implications for discussions regarding the participation of Vietnam in the IPEF. The US has shown support for the renewable energy sector in Vietnam in previous projects. During US-Vietnam Energy Security Dialogue in July 2022, the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) offered a grant to Vietnams state-owned National Power Transmission Corporation of Vietnam (EVNNPT) which entailed technical support to scale up the utilization of smart grid technology. In addition, in June 2022, US President Joe Biden also brought the tariff imposed on Vietnams solar panels to zero for 24 months. This move further stressed tighter cooperation between the two countries in pursuing a green economy transition. Takeaways Kerrys visit to Vietnam amid the global energy crisis and alarming climate change indicates strong commitment of the US to being a trusted partner of Vietnam in a bilateral climate context. Kerry further reiterated even further opportunities for US businesses if Vietnam focuses on clean power and renewable energy While for many Californians pink donut boxes signal little more than the arrival of a favorite snack, for Cambodian refugees and their children, the ubiquitous, cheerful-looking packaging is often deeply intertwined with their family history of resettling in the United States. So too, for Los Angeles-based artist Phung Huynh, whose parents were among the thousands of refugees who set up donut stores in California State since the early 1980s. They worked day and night to make a living in their new country, while struggling to overcome the memories of the war they fled. Several years ago, Phung Huynh realized the bright pink packaging offered a highly symbolic and visually striking canvas for her drawings. The portraits depict her family and other members of Cambodian and Vietnamese communities in an effort to highlight their stories of hardship, trauma and resilience. The pink donut boxes seem to show sweetness and happiness. However, people who make those donuts are Cambodian refugees and immigrants who survived the [Khmer Rouge] genocide regime in their country. They went through suffering, pain, and family separation, and struggled to build a new life in America, she told VOA Khmer in an interview. Donut Kids Her art, she said, shows the travails of the Cambodian community in recent decades and brings their experiences to the attention of wider American society. I would like to make these pink donut boxes to represent so many stories. I dont want people to forget all those stories, Phung Huynh said. Her most recent solo exhibition, called the Donut (W)hole, ran from March 12 to May 27 at Self Help Graphics & Art in East Lost Angeles. It featured seven hand-drawn portraits of Cambodian-Americans printed onto pink donut boxes, with their old family photos faded in the background. They are second-generation Donut Kids, who grew up in their family's donut shop. These donut shops represent a cultural space where refugees and immigrants reshape their lives in the process of negotiating, assimilating, and becoming American, according to Phung Huynhs personal website. An earlier exhibit, from 2021, also featured a number of portraits of Cambodian- and Vietnamese-Americans drawn on plain pink donut boxes. These include drawings based on late-1970s photos of Phung Huynh as a toddler and her parents, as well as a contemporary portrait of acclaimed Vietnamese-American writer Viet Thanh Nguyen. Promoting discussion and healing In the late 1970s and 1980s, some 150,00 Cambodian refugees came to the U.S. to flee the Khmer Rouge regime and protracted civil war. They were dispersed by the government across the country, often in housing projects, and eventually formed sizable communities in places such as Chicago, Illinois, Long Beach, California, and Lowell, Massachusetts, and Seattle, Washington. Equipped with limited formal education, many refugees struggled to overcome the traumas of war and to find a way to make a living. Opening up a donut store offered a stable, though demanding livelihood for many newly arrived Cambodians, who eventually came to dominate the donut business in California. Phung Huynhs father is from southern Cambodias Kampot Province and fled across the nearby border to Vietnam after Pol Pots forces took over the country around 1975. There, he met her mother and Phung Huynh was born in 1977. Soon after, her parents decided to flee by boat to the Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand, from where they were resettled to the U.S. Art, she said, can help foster discussion of the difficult past and healing within Cambodian communities, as trauma is often not discussed by parents in order to avoid reliving past suffering or burdening the younger generation. I think such silence is detrimental for their children. What I can do is to help encourage those parents to explain their children about that, she said. It is sometimes difficult to tell people about your feelings or reveal your own account, especially your miserable time, to others. Thus, art is one of the ways to reveal suffering and narrate many stories. Phung Huynh is a professor of Art at Los Angeles Valley College and her work includes drawing, painting, public art, and community engagement. Some of her other work challenges beauty standards by constructing images of the Asian female body vis-a-vis plastic surgery to unpack how contemporary cosmetic surgery can whitewash cultural and racial identity, according to her website. Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard on Monday unleashed a wave of drone and artillery strikes targeting what Tehran says are bases of Iranian Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq, a semiofficial news agency reported. It was the second such cross-border assault since Saturday, at a time when Iran is convulsing with protests over the death of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who was detained by the nation's morality police. A representative of one of the separatist groups in Iraq targeted in the attack which struck the Sidikan area in the northern Kurdish-run region said there were no casualties. "Today three times, the Islamic Republic (of Iran) bombed the Halgurd Mountain side where our forces are based," said Atta Nasir, a member of the central committee for Komala, a Kurdish opposition party that is exiled from Iran. He spoke to The Associated Press from the party's headquarters near the Iran-Iraq border. Each attack lasted two to three hours, he said, with artillery fire and Katyusha rockets. "Thankfully we don't have any human losses until now," he said. On Saturday, the Guard said it targeted bases and training camps of Kurdish separatist groups in northern Iraq, claiming it inflicted serious damage. Protests over the death of Mahsa Amini have spread across at least 46 cities, towns and villages. Iranian state TV has suggested that at least 41 protesters and police have been killed since the protests began Sept. 17. An Associated Press count of official statements by authorities tallied at least 13 dead, with more than 1,400 demonstrators arrested. Col. Ali Mirahmadi, deputy chief of police in Semnan province, said 155 protesters have been arrested since the crisis began, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported Monday. It said the detained people were rioters or active on social media. In Monday's report, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency said the Guard's attacks were in response to the support that the separatists have allegedly provided for the unrest inside Iran, as well as their attempts to smuggle in weapons. Responding to the Iranian claims, Nasir said: "We ... have shown our full support for the people's demands. We supported these protests and will continue supporting them in every possible way." He said Komala's members did not participate directly in the protests but showed support through the participation of their followers and relatives in Iran. Last year, the Guard similarly attacked what it called bases of "terrorist groups" in northern Iraq. There was no immediate comment from the Iraqi government. The two neighboring countries have close political and military ties, and Tehran had provided extensive military support for Baghdad, during its yearslong war against the extremist Islamic State group. Germany's Foreign Ministry said Monday it summoned Iran's ambassador following the protests and especially regarding the brutal actions of police there. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for new sanctions against Iran following the violent crackdown. "We will now have to talk very quickly in the EU about further consequences, which for me also includes sanctions against those responsible," she told German news agency dpa in Berlin. "The attempt to now suppress peaceful protests with even more deadly force must not go unanswered," she added. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, meanwhile, said it documented the arrests of at least 20 journalists as the clashes between security forces and protesters heated up. CPJ in a Monday statement called on Iranian authorities to end its crackdown on journalists and release all arrested since the start of anti-government protests last week. "Iranian authorities should be ashamed of themselves for orchestrating this brutal crackdown, said CPJ's Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. As Uganda reports more deaths from the latest Ebola outbreak in the country, medical interns at the hospital handling most of the cases have gone on strike. The interns say they are not being provided with adequate personal protective equipment against the deadly virus, which causes a hemorrhagic fever. Uganda's health ministry has so far confirmed five deaths and 18 probable fatalities out of 36 cases. Ugandan Health officials say they are holding talks with striking interns at central Mubende districts hospital, which is handling most of the countrys spreading Ebola outbreak. President for the Federation for Uganda Medical Interns, Dr. Musa Lumumba, says there is not enough personal protective gear for the interns at the hospital. Speaking to VOA by phone, he called on Ugandas Ministry of Health to urgently address the issue to protect doctors-in-training. The issue of not having accommodation, so they stay in communities, which communities have got cases of Ebola, Lumumba said. Protection of those at the frontline. And those at the frontline are the health care workers. Uganda Medical Association President, Dr. Samuel Oledo, told VOA one intern, three staff, and a medical student have been confirmed for exposure to the virus and at least three senior health officers (SHO) are showing symptoms. "We have 34 interns in Mubende. And we have less than 12 doctors employed on the ground, Oledo said. If you have interns and they are pulling out at once, it's catastrophic. And the justifications are clear, honestly. Results have come out today and one of the SHOs who actually performed surgeries with one of the interns on one case has become positive of Ebola." Oledo said they suspect as many as 104 medical students in Mubende hospital have been exposed to the virus. Ugandas Ministry of Health has yet to confirm the exposures and infections of students and staff at the hospital. Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Ainebyoona denied there is a lack of protective equipment there to guard against Ebola. All the protective gear to safeguard their life is available, Ainebyoona said. But like [with] any other infectious disease, fear will be expected. But we are working to ensure that we engage and counsel. And ensure that there are teams to respond. Despite the spreading virus, Ugandas Health Ministry said the situation is under control but acknowledged that three people suspected of being infected with the virus fled Mubendes isolation unit on Monday. Officials say security has been beefed up since to avoid a repeat. Ugandas Ebola outbreak was first detected last week in Mubende, a central district, but has since spread to neighboring districts Kyegegwa and Kasanda. Some schools in Kyegegwa have shut down for two weeks to protect students. First reports of a possible Ebola outbreak came from Kyegegwas Kyaka 11 refugee camp, raising alarm bells of a possible quick spread in the packed camp. But testing ruled out an outbreak in the camp. After Mubendes cases were confirmed, the U.N.s Refugee Agency UNHCR said it added controlled entry measures at refugee settlements. We are stepping up some assistance programs that had been curtailed due to lack of funding since July, said Matthew Crentsil, the UNHCR Uganda representative. That is procurement of soap. You would agree with me, this is fundamental in curbing the spread of Ebola. Uganda has yet to identify the source of the Ebola outbreak, which is the Sudan strain of the virus. The Sudan strain is less common than the Zaire strain and has no current, effective vaccine. Ugandas last Ebola outbreak in 2019 was the Zaire strain. It last reported a Sudan strain outbreak in 2012. NASA successfully crashed its DART spacecraft into a faraway asteroid Monday, in a test of the worlds first planetary defense system. The experiment, designed to avert a potentially catastrophic meteorite collision with Earth, was supported by Australia's national science agency. The aim was to crash the spacecraft directly into the moonlet hard enough to shift its orbital track around a second, larger asteroid. It will, however, take days or even weeks to establish how much the smaller asteroids path has changed. Rebecca Allen, from Australias Swinburne Universitys Center for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the mission was a great success. "It was incredible just because it was, you know, a full bullseye, if we can call it that," she said. "You know, we were expecting maybe it could glance off the side. Is it going to hit exactly where they wanted to and once again NASA does not disappoint with the precision of the impact of the DART spacecraft." The DART mission has been supported by Australias national science agency, CSIRO. It manages the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, one of three stations around the world that make up NASAs Deep Space Network and was to receive the final signals from the spacecraft as it approached and hit the asteroid known as Dimorphos. Planetary defense experts have said that altering the course of a menacing asteroid or comet is preferable to blowing it up and creating multiple pieces that could rain down on Earth. Australian astrophysicist Kirsten Banks said NASAs DART mission will test our planetary defenses. "It is going to change the orbit of that asteroid a little bit around the bigger one," she said. "We will be able to see a slight change in the periods, how it takes that little moonlet to orbit around the asteroid and quantitatively measure the effectiveness of this particular method of planetary defense." The two asteroids that were part of NASAs DART mission are both very small compared with the asteroid that hit Earth about 66 million years ago, wiping out about 75% of the world's plant and animal species, including the dinosaurs. Separatists in Cameroon have abducted five hospital staffers in the western town of Kumbo. The rebels say they were retaliating after Cameroons military entered the hospital and arrested or killed some of their fighters. Hospital workers tell VOA both military troops and rebels abused them. Cameroons Bui Unity Warriors separatists say they abducted five health workers from Banso Baptist Hospital, BBH, Sunday. Bui is an administrative unit in Cameroons English speaking Northwest region. In videos circulating on social media, including WhatsApp and Facebook, the separatists say hospital workers were abducted in retaliation after the military entered the hospital, killing one fighter and arresting three other fighters. The fighters were hospital patients who had been wounded in battles with the military last week. In another video circulating online, fighters claiming to be members of the Bui Unity Warriors present a man they say collaborated with government troops, who attacked fighters inside BBH. The Roman Catholic Church in Cameroon identifies the man as Shiyntum Sergius, a priest at the parish in Vekovi, an English-speaking village in Bui, who had also been abducted. The Roman Catholic Church in Cameroon, The Cameroon Baptist Convention that owns BBH, and the Presbyterian Church all confirm that troops attacked BBH, killed a fighter and arrested three other fighters. The churches say in retaliation, armed separatists abducted five medical staff members from the hospital and the priest, who is accused of collaborating with the rebels. Joseph Sahfe is a patient who says other patients are scared that the hospital may stop rendering services to the sick. He spoke via the messaging app WhatsApp from the town of Kumbo, where BBH is located. What will become of the patients who depend on this lone institution for survival? To the best of my knowledge, a hospital treats patients without inquiring who you are," said Sahfe. "It is a neutral ground in the midst of a crisis like the one we are experiencing. Where will the patients go if she [Baptist Hospital] has to close her doors as Doctors Without Borders did? In a release Monday, the hospital dismissed rumors that disgruntled staff are planning to stop working. The hospital management said it will continue saving lives despite the challenges. The military says its troops organized raids on separatist camps in Bui last week and killed at least 7 fighters, including two self-proclaimed generals. The military said troops were searching for wounded fighters hiding in the community but did not comment on if government troops invaded the hospital. Nick Ngwanyam is a member of the Cameroon medical council, an association of Cameroon medical doctors. Ngwanyam says it is unfortunate that both government troops and rebels are invading hospitals, which are out to save lives and reduce suffering. We are pushing those institutions to shut down because hospital staff [workers] feel unsafe working under those conditions and therefore, we are putting the lives of the communities in danger and peril, and we are doing ourselves a lot of harm," said Ngwanyam. "It doesn't matter what the reasons are, be it by the military or the boys who are fighting, we are hurting ourselves, we are shooting ourselves in the foot and the government needs to take its responsibility and stop this war [crisis]." The Banso Baptist Hospital says it receives several hundred patients each day. Most are victims of the separatist crisis in Cameroons English-speaking western regions. Cameroonian authorities have always accused aid groups of helping separatists in the countrys English-speaking western regions, a charge the hospital has strongly denied, saying its mission is only to save lives. In August 2021, the international aid group Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF, announced that it had withdrawn emergency health care services amid the separatist crisis. The military accused MSF of, among other charges, aiding separatist fighters in the medical aid groups hospitals. MSF denied the accusation and said its only goal is to save lives irrespective of whose life it is. A judge sentenced a Capitol rioter to seven years in prison Tuesday, calling the Iowa man a "one man wrecking ball" who helped in a sustained assault on a police officer. Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Kyle Young in U.S. District Court in Washington to the long term, noting he had admitted to helping in the assault of a police officer during the January 6, 2021, riot. She gave him credit for the 17 months he's been held since his arrest, meaning he likely will serve nearly six years in prison. "You were a one-man wrecking ball that day," Berman Jackson told Young. The sentence is among the longest handed down so far in the riot, which halted the certification of President Joe Biden's electoral victory and sent lawmakers running for their lives. The harshest sentence of 10 years behind bars was given to a former New York City police officer who assaulted an officer at the Capitol with a metal flagpole. About 900 people have been charged in the Capitol attack and more than 400 have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial. Young cried as he apologized to former D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone and said he wished he could take back his actions of that day. "I hope someday you forgive me," he said. Fanone told the court of the near-death experience he endured at the hands of the rioters in which he was beaten and repeatedly shocked with a stun gun. Young admitted to handing a stun gun to another rioter who used it on Fanone, and of grabbing the officer's hand as he struggled to protect himself from the attacking mob. Fanone said the attack ended his career as an officer. He told Jackson that Young should get 10 years in prison. "What I hope you do with that time is, I hope you suffer," Fanone told Young during his own emotional recount of the day's events. Fanone embraced a fellow officer outside the courthouse after the sentencing. He did not speak with media when asked for his reaction to the sentence. Fanone was among the officers who testified before the U.S. House Committee that's investigating the insurrection about the violence experienced that day. Fanone told House investigators that he was "grabbed, beaten, tased, all while being called a traitor to my country." That assault on him, which stopped only when he said he had children, caused him to have a heart attack. Young, 38, of Redfield, Iowa, originally faced more than a dozen charges but entered a plea to the single charge of assault of an officer. He went to the Capitol with his 16-year-old son, and video played by federal prosecutors indicated Young took part during fighting on the Capitol's lower west terrace, including at one point throwing a heavy speaker that hit another rioter, drawing blood. He used a strobe light to blind fighting officers and at one point gave it to his son, allowing him to directly participate in the fighting, a point the judge used to illustrate her disgust at his actions that day. Young's attorney Samuel Moore argued his engagement with the officer was two to three seconds of holding Fanone's wrist. He tried to convince the judge that the government's request of seven years was excessive and "outside his specific criminal conduct. Young also will serve three years under supervision once released. A hearing will be held later to determine his restitution. He also was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service. "You are one of the most serious January 6 offenders in my caseload and you were personally involved in and instrumental to one of the most horrific attacks on officers encased in this building," the judge told Young. "I have seldom in my years on the bench been presented with anything like this." Democratic lawmakers have unveiled a stopgap spending measure to finance the federal government through December 16, provide additional support to Ukraine and help communities respond to recent natural disasters. Both chambers of Congress must approve legislation by Friday, which is the end of the fiscal year, to prevent a partial government shutdown. It represents the last bit of unfinished business for lawmakers before the midterm elections in November. Both sides are eager to wrap up and spend time on the campaign trail, lowering the risk of a federal stoppage. The first test vote of the measure's popularity will take place Tuesday evening in the Senate, where 60 votes will be needed to proceed to a short-term spending measure. It's going to be hard to reach that threshold with lawmakers from both parties opposing provisions in the measure aimed at speeding up the permitting process for energy projects. The bill provides about $12.3 billion in assistance related to Ukraine, including training, equipment, weapons, and direct financial support for the Ukraine government. The assistance would be on top of some $53 billion Congress has already approved through two previous bills. The measure excludes the White House call for spending $22 billion to respond to COVID-19, and $3.9 billion to fight against an outbreak of the monkeypox virus. Republican lawmakers were overwhelmingly opposed to the health funding. At least 10 Republican senators would have to support the measure to overcome procedural hurdles and advance in that chamber. The most contentious piece of the legislation is Senator Joe Manchin's plan to streamline the permitting process for energy projects and make it easier for a pipeline project in his home state and Virginia to proceed. Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Energy Committee, secured a commitment from President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders to have a vote on the permitting package in return for his support of a landmark law to curb climate change. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York made it clear he intended to include it in the must-pass continuing resolution. While Republicans have voiced support for streamlining the permitting process for energy projects, some, including Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, are panning the effort. "What our Democratic colleagues have produced is a phony fig leaf that would actually set back the cause of real permitting reform," McConnell said on the Senate floor Tuesday. McConnell said he would vote against proceeding to the short-term spending bill if it included Manchin's legislation and encouraged others to vote no, too, a powerful signal to GOP lawmakers. Senator Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, also said he would vote against the continuing resolution if its included. "We have made significant progress toward a Continuing Resolution that is as clean as possible. But, if the Democrats insist on including permitting reform, I will oppose it," Shelby said. Top Democratic appropriators also said they were unhappy with the inclusion of Manchin's proposal, but said keeping the government running took priority. "I am disappointed that unrelated permitting reform was attached to this bill. This is a controversial matter that should be debated on its own merits," said Senator Patrick Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "However, with four days left in the fiscal year, we cannot risk a government shutdown; we must work to advance this bill." The Mountain Valley Pipeline sought by Manchin would run through Virginia for about 100 miles. Manchins plan would expedite the pipeline and steer legal challenges to a different federal court. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia said he opposes an expedited review for the pipeline and will vote against taking up the package, another sign that lawmakers won't have the 60 votes needed to move forward. "We should pass a continuing resolution that is free of the unprecedented and dangerous" pipeline deal, Kaine said. The disaster assistance in the bill includes $2.5 billion to help New Mexico communities recover from the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, the largest wildfire in the states history; $2 billion for a block grant program that aids the economic recovery of communities impacted by recent disasters and $20 million for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements previously authorized for Jackson, Mississippi. The bill would also provide an additional $1 billion for a program that helps low income households afford to heat their homes. There has been wide, bipartisan support for boosting support for Ukraine. The bill includes $4.5 billion to help Ukraine's government provide basic citizen services and authorizes the president to drawdown $3.7 billion worth of equipment from U.S. stocks to support Ukraine's armed forces. There's also money to replenish U.S. stocks of equipment and munitions sent to Ukraine and to provide Ukraine with intelligence support and training. "With Russia holding fake elections to annex parts of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people urgently need our support to continue protecting their families and defending global democracy," said Representative Rosa DeLauro, the Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Ukrainian female fighters who recently met with U.S. State Department officials and members of Congress said they witnessed war crimes committed by Russia during its war on Ukraine. During an interview with VOA, two Ukrainian warriors detailed personal stories and firsthand information on atrocities committed by Russian troops. United Nations investigators have said there is evidence that Russian forces who invaded Ukraine in February 2022 committed war crimes. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine presented its findings on Friday, September 23, to the U.N. Human Rights Council. "They [Russian troops] use forbidden ammunitions like cluster munitions and phosphorus bombs that burn everything to the ground. It's prohibited by all the civilized world," Daria Zubenko, a senior sergeant in the Ukrainian armed forces, told VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching on Friday. "We know the facts of women being raped and even children." Russia has repeatedly dismissed accusations of abuses during its war on Ukraine. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilization to boost troop levels, recruiting civilians of fighting age into the military at a time when Russian armed forces are suffering significant losses. Despite the buildup, "we don't fear," Yaryna Chornoguz, a Ukrainian combat medic and drone operator, told VOA. She added that Ukraine's counteroffensive, with the new security assistance from the United States, has been making progress. "We believe we win them because of our new weaponry." Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced an additional $457.5 million in civilian security assistance to boost capacity of Ukrainian law enforcement and criminal justice agencies. A portion of this new assistance will continue U.S. support for the Ukrainian government's efforts to "document, investigate and prosecute atrocities perpetrated by Russia's forces," according to the State Department. The following includes excerpts from the interviews, which have been edited for brevity and clarity. Interview with Daria Zubenko VOA: Can you please tell our audience your name? Daria Zubenko: My name is Daria Zubenko. I'm a a senior sergeant of Ukrainian armed forces. VOA: Which area in Ukraine are you from? Zubenko: I was born in Chernihiv. It's the north part of Ukraine. Mostly I lived in Kyiv, studied there and worked there. VOA: What have you seen during the war? Zubenko: I was in the armed forces officially since 2018. Before, I was a volunteer paramedic in 2015. I spent some time on the front line in 2015 around Mariupol region near Donetsk. I gave first aid. And then, after a break, I joined the official armed forces and became an instructor of sniper school. With the full-scale invasion in the end of February, I took part in operations around Kyiv when there was war and combat battles around Kyiv region and also in Chernihiv region. I was in Irpin, I was in the village Moshchun that is north from Kyiv, where Russians were stopped. And then we had operations in Chernihiv region, going into the villages that have just been left by Russians. I saw people coming out of their houses. When they saw Ukrainian troops and Ukrainian flags, they started crying and saying, 'Thank you, boys and girls, finally you came.' Most of them asked 'Please make sure that Russians never come back.' What those people have experienced is really horrible. We saw pictures of Bucha, Irpin and recently liberated cities like Izium, Kupyansk, and all these mass graves, all this evidence of people being tortured, captured and killed. In [a] small village of Yahidne near Chernihiv, people spent about a month locked in the basement. Russian troops didn't let them go out there were about 200 people there in one place, with small children. The youngest child was 3 months old. And there were some older people none of them unfortunately could survive all of this. Some men were taken out of this basement and convoyed by Russians to the forest and shot. I saw women who just received the news about their husbands being killed I felt ashamed that we just let this happen. Russian (troops) don't have any principles or any rules of war when dealing with civilians. That's why we hope to liberate our cities and towns as soon as possible. VOA: Today, the U.N. investigators said they found evidence of war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. Do you think it's a valid finding? Zubenko: It's good that these crimes are being investigated. The evidence is found, gathered, and we can finally get some punishment to those who are doing that. For Russia, no international law ever worked. We know the facts of women being raped and even children. We know evidence of people being killed (while) trying to evacuate. They (Russian troops) were shooting civilian cars. We know people have been captured and held somewhere in the basement and tortured. VOA: Do you agree with the finding that Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine? Zubenko: Absolutely. We know, for example, they use forbidden ammunitions like cluster munitions and phosphorus bombs that burn everything to the ground. It's prohibited by all the civilized world. But for Russia, it's OK. We saw it with our own eyes. We just need the world to react properly and for Russia to be completely isolated. Interview with Yaryna Chornoguz VOA: Can you please tell our audience your name, and where on the front line you were fighting? Yaryna Chornoguz: My name is Yaryna Chornoguz. I'm a soldier of Reconnaissance Battalion of Ukraine Marine Corps which belongs to Ukraine Defense Forces. I'm here right from the front line from the Donetsk Region. My battalion has been on the front lines during 13 months. We have seen plenty of towns, Donetsk region, Mariupol, Bakhmut, Sloviansk, and the others. VOA: What have you seen during the war? Chornoguz: First, when the war started, our battalion had been eight months on the rotation in [the] Luhansk region. And then at the end of February we were relocated to the Mariupol direction in order to reinforce our embattled forces there. But when we came to the outskirts of Mariupol, it was already in battle. We tried to restrain the breakthrough in the Mariupol city to the north of Ukraine. And there, my battalion, we had really hard battles. I was on the observation post on the fuel road when we see a big long Russian tank column that moved on us and on the Ukrainian village and we had hard battles. My commander was killed. I saw with my own eyes how Russian tanks destroyed and ruined villages of Ukrainians. During the first month of [Russia's] full-scale invasion, I had a quite hard experience to help not only wounded soldiers because I'm a combat medic, but also a civilian. I already told that story to the American news [outlets] about rescuing the boy age 10 from the basement and his mother with a 10-month [old] child in her hands. I just had this picture before my eyes when we took the boy in a blanket to our military car and evacuated that village. Every day, it was bombed by cluster munitions by Russians. What I can say now is that [the] HIMARS system, and the Howitzers that we got from the U.S. changed everything. They [Russian troops] came with such big forces, with such long tank columns and we managed to stop them. And I believe that we've made counteroffensive. VOA: Thousands of Russians, men of fighting age, are fleeing the country after the partial mobilization [of civilians into the military] order from the government. What does that tell you? Chornoguz: I can tell you that Ukrainians are joking about this conscription of Russians that Putin has announced. Because you know, for artillery that we got from our allies, and with our experience it doesn't matter whether it's 10 occupants per square meters or whether it's 100. It doesn't matter. We believe we win them because of our new weaponry. We don't fear. Hurricane Ian has made landfall over western Cuba just hours after evolving as a major hurricane. Forecasters at the Miami-based National Hurricane Center say Ian is carrying maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometers an hour, making it a Category 3 storm on the centers five-level scale that measures a storms maximum sustained wind speed and destructive potential. The storm is just 10 kilometers south of the province of Pinar del Rio, traveling at a speed of 19 kilometers an hour. Officials in Pinar del Rio evacuated tens of thousands of residents ahead of Ians arrival and took steps to protect its vital tobacco crops and its related infrastructure. The NHC says Ian will remain a major hurricane as it travels over the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday. It is expected to reach the western Gulf Coast of the southern U.S. state of Florida as early as Wednesday and take a direct path towards the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg. The area has not sustained a direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921. Forecasters have issued hurricane, tropical storm and storm surge warnings and watches for parts of western Cuba and Florida that are in the current path of Hurricane Ian. The storm is expected to produce between 15 to 25 centimeters of rainfall in western Cuba, with the Florida Keys expected to receive 10 to 15 centimeters and central west Florida to get between 15 to 30 centimeters of rainfall. Parts of western Cuba are also expected to experience life-threatening storm surges, flash flooding and possible mudslides Tuesday, as well as devastating wind damage. The NHC says parts of Floridas western coast could see storm surges between 60 to 304 centimeters thanks to Hurricane Ian. U.S. President Joe Biden has issued an emergency declaration for Florida, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster-relief efforts and provide more federal funding. Authorities have issued evacuation orders for hundreds of thousands of residents along Floridas Gulf Coast. The potential devastation from Ian has even prompted officials with the U.S. space agency NASA to roll its massive Artemis 1 moon rocket and Orion space capsule from its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center located on Floridas eastern coast back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, further delaying its planned test flight. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. Japan bid an emotional farewell Tuesday for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, one of modern Japans most influential leaders, who was assassinated in July. The state funeral, held at central Tokyos Nippon Budokan arena, drew thousands of Japanese citizens and foreign dignitaries, despite a domestic backlash against the ceremony. Abes remains were carried into the auditorium by his widow, Akie, and placed at an ornate, flower-decked display featuring a Japanese flag. Facing Abes remains, with his back to the crowd, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered a highly personal memorial speech to Abe, his friend and mentor. Abe-san, you were someone we needed to stay with us for much, much longer, Kishida said. Hours ahead of the ceremony, a long procession of Japanese citizens lined up outside the arena to leave flowers and pay respects. Hundreds of foreign leaders also attended the ceremony, a reflection of Abes broad popularity overseas. Abe won praise for his cooperation and friendship, especially with democratic countries, which he said should work together on common challenges. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is leading the U.S. funeral delegation, said Monday that Abe had left a legacy of enduring friendship with the United States. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also attending the ceremony, said on Twitter that Abe was a dear friend and a great champion of India-Japan friendship. Domestic criticism At home, the conservative Abes legacy is more complicated. Since his death, his state funeral, an honor usually reserved for the emperor and his family, has drawn public backlash. Polls suggest most Japanese oppose the state funeral. Many complain the event is too expensive. The government projects it will cost $12 million, much higher than an earlier estimate. Thousands have attended recent rallies against the ceremony. Last week, a man set himself on fire near the prime ministers office, apparently in protest of the plans. I really admire his legacy, but I dont think theres a need to spend this much money to hold a huge state funeral, said Mrs. Sasaki, a Tokyo resident who provided only her surname. It doesnt matter whether he served a long time or not, said Mario Ito, walking outside the central Shibuya train station. Seventy percent of Japanese people are opposed to doing this. The fact theyre going ahead with it shows the government isnt working properly. A stronger, more stable Japan Abe led Japan at a complicated historical moment, with North Korea making significant advances in acquiring nuclear weapons and China emerging as a clearer threat to the U.S.-led global order. Abe was adamant that Japan should become stronger to deal with those and other threats. He was a major proponent of amending the countrys constitution, which was written by the United States following Japans defeat in World War II. Abe also boosted Japans defense spending, widened the role of its armed forces, and expanded his countrys alliance with the United States. But many of Abes critics say he brought Japan closer to war something unimaginable for a country with a technically pacifist defense architecture. They also opposed the way he often pushed ahead with his legislative priorities despite significant opposition. He had attributes that many of us find repellant, from his neutering of the adversarial press to his historical revisionism, but we cant really separate that from his successful institution-building to combat even greater threats to liberal norms and values, said Rob York, director for regional affairs at the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum. Had he not been working at that kind of coordination several years before Washington was on board, regional cooperation to secure a free and open Indo-Pacific would look far less developed than it is now, York added. When Abe became prime minister for a second time in 2012, he brought relative stability, ending a six-year period where Japan averaged a new prime minister every year. Although Abes rule was long lasting, his popularity had declined by the time he left office, pointed out Jeffrey J. Hall, a Japanese politics expert at the Kanda University of International Studies. As a prime minister, he was successful in winning elections with his party again and again. But those elections had quite a low turnout. So even though he was winning, elections didnt mean that he was a very, very popular politician or loved by the people, Hall said. Part of the current backlash against Abe has to do with the ruling partys ties to the controversial South Korea-based Unification Church. Abes suspected killer said the group took excessive donations from his mother, leaving her impoverished. He accused Abe of supporting the church. Abes party, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, earlier this month revealed that at least 179 of its lawmakers had connections to the Unification Church, which some of its former members see as a cult. You cant really separate this funeral and Abes legacy from the Unification Church scandal, because as the party is revealed to have more and more ties to this church, most of these people were close associates of Abe, many of them within his own faction of the party, Hall said. Domestic politics The backlash has created a tricky situation for Prime Minister Kishida. Amid the public backlash over the state funeral, Kishidas approval rating has sunk to new lows. Kishida has defended his decision to hold the state funeral, saying it is an opportunity for Japan to have important discussions with other world leaders. Japanese officials say Kishida will hold meetings with senior officials from about 30 countries this week, with some Japanese media dubbing the meetings funeral diplomacy. Asked about Japanese criticism of Abes funeral, a senior U.S. official said he is not going to comment on any internal Japanese attitudes. All I can say from our point of view is that Prime Minister Abe was a great friend of the United States, the U.S. official said. He was a great leader for Japan. A Kenyan lawyer charged with bribing and threatening witnesses and expected to testify against the countrys current president, William Ruto, has been found dead, according to police. It was not immediately clear what caused the death of 50-year-old Paul Gicheru death; a police spokesman did not respond to VOAs calls. The Kenyan Human Rights Commission described the death of Gicheru, who faced a trial before the International Criminal Court for alleged witness tampering, as a "shock" and unfortunate. "We received this news in shock yesterday because the way it was reported, you know, he was found dead at his house with foam coming out of his mouth," said Martin Mavenjina, a senior program advisor for the commission. Its unfortunate that he has passed on under mysterious circumstances, Mavenjina said. At no point in time have we been informed that Paul Gicheru had any health conditions or underlying health conditions or was sick at any point in time. Gicheru was facing charges of bribing and threatening witnesses in a case against Kenyas newly-elected president, William Ruto, and broadcaster Joshua Sang. Ruto and Sang were among several Kenyans, including former president Uhuru Kenyatta, who were charged with prompting violence in the 2007 disputed election. Street clashes over the election left more than 1,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. The ICC declared a mistrial in 2016, citing witness tampering, and a trial against Gicheru and Sang began in February with Gicheru pleading not guilty. ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah told VOA he could not comment on Gicheru's case until the confirmation of Gicherus death was submitted by Kenyan authorities to the trial chamber. The Law Society of Kenya issued a statement urging the inspector general of the National Police Service to ensure that thorough investigations are conducted. The society said there is significant public interest knowing what caused Gicherus death, as several witnesses in the ICC cases have either disappeared or died. The group also wished a speedy recovery to Gicherus son, who was reportedly in the same house as his father at the time of his death and who has been admitted to the hospital in critical condition. For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in Russias war on Ukraine. All times EDT. 11 p.m.: Russian-installed officials in four occupied regions of Ukraine reported huge majorities of votes in favor of joining Russia as the United States planned a U.N. resolution condemning the referendums as shams and Russia remained defiant, Reuters reported. The United States was also preparing a new round of sanctions against Russia should it annex Ukrainian territory and a $1.1 billion arms package for Ukraine that will be announced soon, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the United States and its allies remained committed to European energy security, after Germany, Sweden and Denmark said attacks caused major leaks from two Russian energy pipelines. It remained far from clear who might be behind the leaks. 10:15 p.m.: A total of 231 ships with 5.3 million tons of agricultural products on board have left Ukraine so far under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to unblock Ukrainian sea ports, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday, according to Reuters. Ukraine's grain exports slumped after Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24 and blockaded its Black Sea ports, driving up global food prices and prompting fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East. Ukraine, a major global grain producer and exporter, shipped up to 6 million tons of grain per month before the war. 9:05 p.m.: Despite Russian threats to Ukraine and NATO about the use of nuclear weapons, the Pentagon has not seen any changes that would lead it to alter the posture of American nuclear forces, a spokesman said on Tuesday, according to Reuters. "We obviously take these threats seriously. But at this stage, we've not seen anything that would cause us to adjust our own nuclear posture at this time," Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told a news briefing. Pressed on whether there had been any new Russian movements of its nuclear forces, Ryder declined to elaborate beyond saying the United States did not "have any reason to adjust our posture at this stage." 8:10 p.m. 6:55 p.m.: Slovakia's parliament on Tuesday ratified the entry of Finland and Sweden to NATO, becoming one of the last countries to back the military alliance's expansion. Finland and Sweden sought to join NATO this year in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. NATO's 30 members have been ratifying their entry since accession protocols were signed in July. With Slovakia's vote, only Hungary and Turkey remain to approve the expansion. Turkey had been opposed, accusing the Nordic countries of imposing arms embargoes on Ankara and supporting groups it deems terrorists. But the three signed an accord to lift Ankara's veto in exchange for counterterrorism promises. Turkey has said it will block the membership bids if pledges are not kept. 6:05 p.m.: Russian poet and activist Artyom Kamardin, who was reportedly beaten and raped during his arrest, has been charged with inciting hatred over the presentation of his verses critical of the Kremlin's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. 5:16 p.m.: The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be staged in either Glasgow or Liverpool, the BBC said Tuesday, after Britain was asked to hold the event on behalf of designated host country Ukraine, The Associated Press reported. Scotlands biggest city and the birthplace of The Beatles were named the two finalists from seven U.K. cities that applied. The BBC, which will broadcast the contest, said a final decision will be made within weeks. Ukraine won the right to host the glitzy pan-continental music competition when its entry, folk-rap ensemble Kalush Orchestra, won this years contest in May. Britains Sam Ryder was second. Organizers concluded it was too risky to stage the event in Ukraine, so the 2023 contest went to Britain, which says the event will be a celebration of Ukrainian culture and creativity. 4:20 p.m.: The separatist leader of one of the occupied regions of Ukraine that held controversial referendums on joining Russia has announced his intention to go to Moscow as soon as possible with a formal plea for annexation, The Associated Press has reported. Leonid Pasechnik, the head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk Peoples Republic, said on social media that he intended to visit the Russian capital to ask President Vladimir Putin to consider folding Ukraine's Luhansk province into Russia. Pro-Russia separatists in Luhansk and neighboring Donetsk province declared independence from Ukraine more than eight years ago. Kremlin-orchestrated referendums to make the provinces and the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine part of Russia ended Tuesday. Western and Ukrainian officials have condemned the votes as illegitimate. 3:54 p.m.: 3:50 p.m.: 3:05 p.m.: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that it would be "in no-one's interest" if attacks or acts of sabotage caused gas leaks detected in the Nord Stream gas pipelines amid an energy standoff between Europe and Russia over gas supplies, Reuters reported. Both Moscow and Western European capitals have expressed concern over the multiple leaks spewing gas into the sea, which occurred as Russia has slashed gas deliveries to Europe after the West imposed sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. There are initial reports indicating that this may be the result of an attack or some kind of sabotage, but these are initial reports and we havent confirmed that yet," Blinken said at a press conference alongside India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. "But if it is confirmed, thats clearly in no ones interest." The White House said the United States was ready to provide support to European partners conducting an investigation. 2:30 p.m.: 2:05 p.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had discussed further support of Ukraine's armed forces by NATO member states, in a call with the bloc's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The phone call came in the wake of votes staged in four occupied regions of Ukraine on annexation by Russia. Zelenskyy thanked Stoltenberg for his condemnation of the votes, which Ukraine and its western allies call illegal shams. "We discussed current battlefield developments and further support of the Alliances member states to the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Zelenskyy wrote. 1:40 p.m.: 1:10 p.m.: The number of Russians entering the European Union has jumped following a partial mobilization ordered by Moscow, and illegal crossings are likely to increase if Russia closes its border for potential conscripts, EU border agency Frontex said on Tuesday, according to Reuters. Following setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization on Sept 21, a move that sent thousands of Russians rushing to cross borders into neighboring countries. "Over the past week, nearly 66,000 Russian citizens entered the EU, more than 30% compared to the preceding week. Most of them arrived in Finland and Estonia," Frontex said in a statement, referring to the week from Sept 19 to Sept 25. Frontex said that over the last four days alone, 30,000 Russian citizens had arrived in Finland. The majority of Russians crossing into the EU hold residence permits, visas or have dual citizenship, it said. 12:45 p.m.: 12:15 p.m.: About 98,000 Russians have crossed into Kazakhstan in the week since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of reservists to fight in Ukraine, Kazakh officials said Tuesday, as men seeking to avoid the call-up continued to flee by land and air into neighboring countries, The Associated Press reported. Kazakhstan and Georgia, both part of the former Soviet Union, appeared to be the most popular destinations for those crossing by car, bicycle or on foot. Those with visas for Finland or Norway also have been coming in by land. Plane tickets abroad had sold out quickly despite steep prices. In announcing the number of Russians crossing the border, Kazakhstan Interior Minister Marat Akhmetzhanov said authorities will not send those who are avoiding the call-up back home, unless they are on an international wanted list for criminal charges. 11:55 a.m.: 11:40 a.m.: U.N. human rights investigators say Ukrainian prisoners of war appear to be facing systematic mistreatment including torture both when they are captured and when they are transferred into areas controlled by Russian forces or Russia itself, The Associated Press reported. The head of a monitoring mission set up by the U.N. human rights office said Tuesday that Russia must address such mistreatment, which amounts a grave violation of international law. The team hopes to chronicle rights abuses and violations in detail, in hopes that perpetrators can be held to account one day. In the cases it documented, the mission found that the vast majority of Ukrainian prisoners of war were subjected to torture or cruel and degrading treatment by the detaining power, a statement from the mission said. Matilda Bogner, the missions chief, said such mistreatment of Ukrainian POWs appears to be systematic, not only upon their capture, but also following their transfer to places of internment both in areas of Russian-controlled Ukraine and Russia itself. The team also found that some Russian POWs had been subjected to torture and ill-treatment, mostly during capture or during transit to places of internment. 11:15 a.m.: The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Tuesday said it is working with partners to determine priorities and to step up humanitarian response in the Kharkiv region. Aid workers began accessing the local population soon after Russian forces were defeated in mid-September, OCHA said. 10:50 a.m.: The head of the upper house of the Russian parliament said on Tuesday that it could consider the incorporation of Russia-controlled parts of four Ukrainian regions into Russia on October 4, the RIA news agency reported, according to Reuters. 10:35 a.m.: The Asian Development Bank said Tuesday it will devote at least $14 billion through 2025 to help ease a worsening food crisis in the Asia-Pacific, The Associated Press reported. The development lender said it plans a comprehensive program of support to help the 1.1 billion people in the region who lack healthy diets due to poverty and soaring food prices. The Manila, Philippines-based ADB made the announcement during its annual meeting. This is a timely and urgently needed response to a crisis that is leaving too many poor families in Asia hungry and in deeper poverty, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said. In opening the ADB meeting, Asakawa noted that the economic outlook has worsened with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, soaring prices for many commodities and a harsher economic environment thanks to rising interest rates and weakening currencies for many developing economies. 10:15 a.m.: Farmers are among the Russians being drafted into the military, President Vladimir Putin told a meeting with officials on Tuesday, signaling potential further risks for the 2023 crop, Reuters reported. Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter. Autumn is a busy season for farmers as they sow winter wheat for the next year's crop and harvest soybeans and sunflower seeds. Winter grain sowing has already been significantly delayed by rains. "I would also like to address regional heads and the heads of agricultural enterprises. As part of the partial mobilization, agricultural workers are also being drafted. Their families must be supported. I ask you to pay special attention to this issue," Putin told the televised meeting. Wednesday's announcement of Russia's first public mobilization since World War Two, amid what Moscow calls its special military operation in Ukraine, has triggered a rush for the border by eligible men and unease in the wider population. 9:50 a.m.: 9:40 a.m.: Democratic lawmakers have unveiled a stopgap spending measure to finance the federal government through December 16, provide additional support to Ukraine and help communities respond to recent natural disasters, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. Both chambers of Congress must approve legislation by the end of Friday, which is the end of the fiscal year, to prevent a partial government shutdown. It represents the last bit of unfinished business for lawmakers before the midterm elections in November. Both sides are eager to wrap up and spend time on the campaign trail, lowering the risk of a federal stoppage. The bill provides about $12.3 billion in assistance related to Ukraine, including training, equipment, weapons, and direct financial support for the Ukraine government. The assistance would be on top of some $53 billion Congress has already approved through two previous bills. 9:25 a.m.: 9:10 a.m.: The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it did not rule out sabotage as a reason behind damage to the Russia-built network of Nord Stream pipelines which sprung unexplained leaks in the Baltic Sea, Reuters reported. The pipelines, designed to bring gas from Western Siberia's Yamal Peninsula directly to Germany, Europe's biggest economy, have been the focus of an energy war between Russia and its traditional European clients over the conflict in Ukraine. Nord Stream AG, the operator of the network, said earlier on Tuesday that three offshore lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system sustained "unprecedented" damage in one day. Asked if sabotage was the reason for the damage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "No option can be ruled out right now." The Kremlin, Peskov said, was very concerned by the situation, which required prompt investigation as it was an issue affecting the energy security of the "entire continent." Nord Stream AG said it was impossible to estimate when the gas network system's working capability would be restored. 8:55 a.m.: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday his country expected a record-high grain harvest in 2022 as Moscow blames Western sanctions over Ukraine for preventing its exports, especially to poor countries, Agence France-Presse reported. "The preliminary estimate (for 2022) already stands at 150 million (metric tons), including around 100 million (metric tons) of wheat. This will be a record in the history of Russia," Putin said in televised meeting on agriculture. 8:25 a.m.: 8:10 a.m.: Heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces is under way in parts of eastern Ukraine and the northeast Kharkiv region as Moscow continues a crackdown on protests against a partial mobilization decreed by President Vladimir Putin last week, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported Tuesday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the eastern Donetsk region remained Ukraine's and Russia's top strategic priority, with fighting under way in several towns as Russian troops try to advance to the south and west. Fighting was raging in the Kharkiv region in the northeast, which has been the target of a Ukrainian counteroffensive this month. In the south, Ukrainian forces pressed on with a campaign to render four bridges and other river crossings inoperable to disrupt supply lines to Russian forces. The Ukrainian armed forces' southern command said on Tuesday that its counteroffensive in the southeastern Kherson region had resulted in enemy losses of 77 servicemen, six tanks, five howitzers, three anti-aircraft installations and 14 armored vehicles. The claim could not be independently verified. 7:50 a.m.: 7:35 a.m.: The European Commission on Tuesday said it was premature to speculate on the cause of leaks in the two Nord Stream pipelines designed to bring gas from Russia to Europe. At this stage, its very premature to speculate on what the causes are... The member states are looking into this issue, we will remain in close contact with them, but it's really not the moment to speculate, a Commission spokesman told a regular EU news conference. The Commission is following developments on the leaks closely, and so far does not see any impact on Europes security of supply, the spokesman said. Although neither were in operation, both pipelines still contained gas under pressure. 7:15 a.m.: The Ukrainian infrastructure ministry said on Tuesday a total of 231 ships with 5.3 million tons of agricultural products on board have left Ukraine so far under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to unblock Ukrainian sea ports, Reuters reported. The ministry said nine ships with 345,300 tons of agricultural products had left Ukrainian Black Sea ports on Tuesday, including capsize ship MARAN EXCELLENCE loaded with 115,000 tons of food. Ukraines grain exports slumped after Russia invaded the country on February 24 and blockaded its Black Sea ports, driving up global food prices and prompting fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East. Ukraine, a major global grain producer and exporter, shipped up to 6 million tons of grain per month before the war. Three Black Sea ports were reopened under a deal signed on July 22 by Moscow and Kyiv and the ministry has said these ports are able to load and send abroad 100-150 cargo ships per month. 6:45 a.m.: 6:30 a.m.: The state prosecutors office in Frankfurt said on Tuesday police have searched a motor yacht in northern Germany as part of an investigation into a Russian businessman over alleged money-laundering, Reuters reported. According to the Spiegel news website, the vessel belongs to Alisher Usmanov, an oligarch on the European Union sanctions list who faced raids at his properties in Germany last week. 6 a.m.: The head of the World Trade Organization told Reuters on Tuesday that she expects that global trade forecasts will be revised lower from the current 3% for 2022, citing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and related food and energy crises. We are in the middle of revising our forecasts now but it's not looking very promising. All the indicators are pointing to downside numbers, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters in an interview. Grosso modo the outlook is looking gloomy, she said, without giving exact estimates. The WTO already revised down its forecast for global trade growth this year to 3% from 4.7% in April. It projected 3.4% growth in 2023. 5:30 a.m.: The United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday Russias invasion of Ukraine had caused a dire human rights situation and led to a wide range of rights violations, including extrajudicial killings and torture, that could amount to war crimes. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, said in a report that it was particularly concerned about torture and ill treatment of detainees by Russian forces and affiliated armed groups, but said there had been rights violations by both sides, Reuters reported. The OHCHR also said it was highly concerned about the enormous risks posed by hostilities near or in nuclear power plants, and called for immediate steps to demilitarize the Zaporizhzia nuclear power station occupied by Russian forces. Kyiv and Moscow did not immediately comment on the report, carried out between February 1 and July 31 and based on work of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Both sides have denied allegations of human rights abuses. The ongoing armed attack by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and associated hostilities have resulted in a dire human rights situation across the country. The armed conflict has led to a wide range of human rights violations affecting both civilians and combatants, it said. The OHCHR said it was continuing to document and verify allegations of unlawful killings of hundreds of civilians by Russian armed forces in the Kyiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions. It said it had also documented at least six killings of civilians perceived as traitors for alleged collaboration with Russia in occupied areas. The OHCHR said it had documented violations by both sides of human rights laws and international law on the treatment of prisoners of war and non-combatants. It said the alleged violations included extrajudicial executions, torture and ill-treatment, sexual violence, ignoring fair trial guarantees, denial of medical assistance, lack of food and water, and poor sanitation. Some of these violations may amount to war crimes, it said. 5 a.m.: French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna was in Kyiv on Tuesday on an unannounced visit to Ukraine in a show of support for the country invaded by Russia. Good morning Ukraine, its good to be back, she wrote on Twitter, posting a picture of herself walking in Kyiv with the French ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins. 4:30 a.m.: Refugees arriving from Ukraine have helped drive Germanys population to its highest level, the Federal Statistical Office said, with more than 84 million people now living in the European Unions most populous country, Reuters reported. Germany has one of the worlds lowest fertility rates and by some measures its most aged population, but its wealth, demand for labor and relatively open immigration policy made it an attractive target for migrants even before the EU opened its doors to Ukrainians fleeing their country after Russia's invasion in February. In a report issued on Tuesday, the Federal Statistics Office said that the population had grown by 1%, or 843,000 people, in the first half of 2022. The population grew just 0.1% over the whole of 2021. Germany recorded net immigration of 750,000 people from Ukraine over the same period. Growth on a comparable scale has been seen only three times since German reunification in 1990, and each time was linked to a wave of refugees. In 1992, refugees from the war in former Yugoslavia helped swell the population by 700,000. In 2015, Germany let in almost a million refugees from war in the Middle East. Germanys female population grew by 1.2%, significantly more than its male population, which increased by 0.8%, reflecting the fact that mainly women and children fled the war in Ukraine. Men of fighting age are forbidden from leaving the country. 4:20 a.m.: 4 a.m.: Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that Moscow has the right to defend itself with nuclear weapons if it is pushed beyond its limits and that this is certainly not a bluff, Reuters reported. Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russias Security Council, also warned that Moscow has the right to respond without much consultation, as tensions rise with the West over referendums held in large swathes of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. Medvedev has regularly issued aggressive statements on the West and Ukraine in recent months, underlining his transformation from an apparently Western-minded liberalizer as president from 2008-2012 to strident geopolitical hawk. 3:15 a.m.: Two leaks have been identified on the Nord Stream 1 Russia-Europe gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, hours after a similar incident on its twin pipeline, Scandinavian authorities said Tuesday. Authorities have now been informed that there have been another two leaks on Nord Stream 1, which likewise is not in operation but contains gas, the Danish climate and energy minister told Agence France-Presse in a statement, adding that they had called for higher levels of preparedness in the electricity and gas sector in the country. 3 a.m.: Kazakhstans president said Tuesday that the country will ensure the safety of Russians fleeing mobilization, Agence France-Presse reported, citing Russian news agencies. Most of them are forced to leave because of the hopeless situation. We must take care of them, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said. A close ally of Russia, Kazakhstan said earlier that it will not recognize the results of so-called referendums organized by Moscow on Ukraines territories occupied by Russian troops. The countrys foreign ministry spokesman said that decision was based on the principle of countries territorial integrity. 2:55 a.m.: 2:30 a.m.: Swedens Maritime Authority said on Tuesday it had issued a warning of two leaks on the Russian-owned Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters, shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 project was discovered. There are two leaks on Nord Stream 1 one in Swedish economic zone and one in Danish economic zone. They are very near each other, a Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) spokesperson told Reuters. The leaks were located northeast of the Danish island Bornholm, the spokesperson said. It was not immediately clear what had caused the leaks. We are keeping extra watch to make sure no ship comes too close to the site, a second SMA spokesperson said. On Monday, Danish authorities asked ships to steer clear of a five nautical mile radius southeast off Bornholm after a gas leak from the defunct Nord Stream 2 pipeline drained into the Baltic Sea. Later the same day, the operator of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which ran at reduced capacity from mid-June before shutting down completely in August, also disclosed a pressure drop on both lines of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. The Baltic Pipe, a new subsea pipeline delivering Norwegian gas to Poland with an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters per day, is due to be inaugurated later on Tuesday. 2:15 a.m.: Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to announce the accession of occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation during his address to parliament on September 30, the British Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday. The referendums currently underway within these territories are scheduled to conclude on September 27, the Defense Ministry said in its daily briefing on Twitter. Russias leaders almost certainly hope that any accession announcement will be seen as a vindication of the special military operation and will consolidate patriotic support for the conflict, it said. Kyiv and the West have dismissed the referendums as a sham and pledged not to recognize the results. 1:30 a.m.: VOA United Nations correspondent Margaret Besheer confirms the United Nations Security Council is convening a session on Ukraine at 3 p.m. EDT on Tuesday. Ukraine requested the session, according to a letter from Ukraines Permanent Representative to the U.N. Sergey Kislitsa. Among topics to be discussed are the referendums in the Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics as well as in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. Ukraine also asked U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to address the session. 1 a.m.: In a bomb shelter in western Ukraine, a young woman holds her phone in the air, trying to get a Wi-Fi signal, while another sips a matcha latte. Long silences hang between sentences as the small collection of strangers tossed together after the latest air-raid siren start to make small talk. While it is a real bomb shelter, this is far from a real air-raid alert: Shmata (Rag) is a play, and one of an increasing number of performances being put on underground in Ukrainian bomb shelters since Russia launched a large-scale invasion eight months ago. And its one that, despite the dramaticism, removes itself somewhat from the war's intensity. Someone changes their socks, someone cleans with disinfectant, and someone even brought a window with them to wash, director Yana Tytarenko said. Theaters and cultural institutions have been targeted by Russia especially in the weeks after the invasion was launched on February 24. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in early August that some 530 Ukrainian institutions of culture and art, including theaters and religious and cultural centers, had been destroyed in Russian strikes. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has the story. 12:30 a.m.: EU and U.S. envoys have expressed dismay at Serbias decision to sign a two-year pledge to consult with Moscow as much of the West seeks to isolate Russia over its escalating war on Ukraine, RFE/RLs Balkan service reported. Moscows closest ally in the Balkans even as it pursues EU membership, Belgrade has condemned Russias unprovoked invasion but staunchly resisted joining unprecedented Western sanctions that would curb trade, energy shipments, direct flights, and other links. Alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on September 23, Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic announced his signing of a Plan of Consultations through 2024 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill said at a conference at Belgrade's Metropol Hotel on Monday that the United States would like to hear some clarification of what this agreement or what this protocol really was. 12:05 a.m.: Voting in annexation polls organized by Russia-installed authorities in four parts of Ukraine is set to close Tuesday as the Ukrainian government and its western allies reject the polls as a sham. We stand with our partners around the world in rejecting whatever fabricated outcomes Russia announces, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday. As far as what we are doing, we are prepared to impose additional swift and severe economic costs on Russia, along with our allies and partners, in response to these actions that were seeing currently if they move forward with annexation, Jean-Pierre said. Weve been very clear about that. The voting began Friday in the Russian-controlled Luhansk and Kherson regions, and in occupied areas of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. In some instances, Russian soldiers have been going door to door to order Ukrainians to vote at gunpoint. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported heavy fighting in several areas of Ukraine as he gave his nightly address Monday. The situation is particularly intense in the Donetsk region, he said. We are doing everything to curb the enemy activity. That is where our number one goal is right now, as Donbas is still the number one goal for the occupiers. Zelenskyy called Russias mobilization of 300,000 reservists a sincere attempt to give commanders on the ground a constant stream of cannon fodder. Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Muslim Volunteers For New York, a nonprofit organization based in New York City, hosts a news conference to raise awareness about floods in Pakistan and the devastation it has caused. VOAs Aunshuman Apte reports. The family of a former Afghan official who was allegedly detained by the Taliban in Kabul last month says that they have no information on his whereabouts. Ahmad Shah Habibi accused the Taliban of detaining his brother Mahmood Shah Habibi, former deputy chief of Afghanistans Aviation Authority, in the Shash Darak area of Kabul on August 10. The Taliban, who were wearing civilian clothes, detained Mohammad Shah Habibi in front of his house in the Shash Darak area. ... Later, they broke the gate, forced their way into the house, and took some documents, books and a laptop computer. The Taliban's representative did not respond to VOA's request for comment about the alleged disappearance and whether Habibi had been detained. No [Taliban government] agency has given us any information on his whereabouts. They have not let us meet him. And they have not told us why he was taken into custody, said Ahmad Shah Habibi, who lives in the U.S. He added that the armed men who detained Habibi introduced themselves to the family as Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate, a name used by the Taliban for their forces. Habibi, a U.S. citizen, was working as a consultant for the Asia Consultancy Group (ACG), a Kabul-based telecommunication company. A spokesperson for the State Department told VOA that they are monitoring the situation but have no further comment at this time. U.S. citizens should not travel to Afghanistan due to civil unrest, armed conflict, crime, terrorism, and kidnapping, said the spokesperson in an email Monday. In August 2021, the United States and its NATO allies completely withdrew from the country after almost two decades of war with the Taliban, paving the way for the resurgent Islamist group to seize power. Last week, the Taliban released Mark Frerichs, a U.S. citizen, in exchange for a Taliban drug lord, Bashir Noorzai, who was serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison. In a statement, U.S. President Joe Biden said that after being in captivity for 31 months in Afghanistan, Frerichs release was the culmination of years of tireless work by dedicated public servants across our government and other partner governments. He added that his government continues to prioritize the safe return of all Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, and we will not stop until they are reunited with their families. The U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett expressed his concerns earlier this month about the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. He added that the U.N. received numerous reports of civilians being subjected to house-to-house searches and what appeared to be collective punishment. I am particularly concerned that former Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and other officials of the former government remain subject to ongoing arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances, despite the amnesty declared by the Taliban, Bennett said. Bennett said those committing these crimes appear to be acting with impunity and are creating an atmosphere of terror. A senior Taliban official Tuesday called on his men-only government in Afghanistan to reopen all secondary schools to girls without further delay, saying there is no Islamic restriction on female education. Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban deputy foreign minister, made the rare appeal in a televised speech to a gathering of top Taliban officials and leaders in the capital, Kabul. Since seizing power more than a year ago, the former Islamist insurgent group stopped girls beyond the sixth grade from returning to classrooms, portraying the move as based on religious principles. Education is obligatory on both men and women, without any discrimination. None of the religious scholars present here can deny this obligation. No one can offer a justification based on [Islamic] Sharia for opposing [womens right to education], Stanikzai said. It is the duty of the Islamic Emirate to set the stage for reopening doors of education to all Afghans as soon as possible because the delay is increasing gap between us [the government] and the nation on this particular issue, he warned. The Taliban call their government the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The United Nations estimates the education ban has barred nearly one million girls from attending secondary in Afghanistan. If [the] Taliban continue failing to uphold the rights of all Afghans and to engage constructively with [the] international community, Afghanistans future is uncertain: fragmentation, isolation, poverty and internal conflict are likely scenarios, Potzel Markus, the head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan told a U.N. Security Council meeting Tuesday. In the run-up to the session, 10 elected and five incoming UNSC members urged the Taliban to allow girls to return to secondary schools, noting that September 18 marked one year since the radical group banned girls education. We are calling on the Taliban to immediately reverse this decision, Norway's ambassador, Mona Juul, read in a joint statement to reporters in New York. "The Taliban have made Afghanistan the only country in the entire world where girls are banned from attending secondary school, she added. The increased risks associated with disruption of education, particularly for girls, makes them more vulnerable to child labor and forced marriages. It impacts their future economic opportunities and results in long-term obstacles for durable peace, security and development, Juul said. The Taliban have also instructed women to cover their faces in public and told many female public sector employees to stay home since returning to power in August 2021, when the United States and NATO troops withdrew from the country. Stanikzai, a rare moderate voice among senior Taliban figures, led the Talibans team in months of negotiations with the United States that resulted in the February 2020 agreement between the two rivals and set the stage for all foreign troops to leave the country after almost two decades. Other Taliban officials have privately also advocated for reopening the schools to teenage girls, but critics say none of them can dare challenge the groups supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, and a couple of his associates who are apparently behind the school closure and curbs on women. Veil restrictions on women and banning them from long road travel without a male relative as well as other curbs on civil liberties are among key concerns deterring foreign governments from recognizing the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan prompted Western countries to stop their financial assistance, worsening an already bad humanitarian crisis and pushing the national economy to the brink of collapse, with millions of Afghans facing acute hunger. Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. The United Nations warned Tuesday that de facto Taliban authorities are failing in their claims of security and good governance in Afghanistan as terrorist groups like Islamic State are increasingly conducting attacks across the country. "Some of the Taliban's claimed and acknowledged achievements are eroding," Potzel Markus, deputy head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, told the Security Council on Tuesday. "In the past months, there has been a steady rise in security incidents monitored by UNAMA, both armed clashes and criminality, as well as high profile, deadly terrorist attacks." Claiming victory over foreign occupation, the Taliban say they have restored peace and tranquility in war-torn Afghanistan by reestablishing a purely Islamic emirate. The U.N. has now challenged such Taliban claims by warning the security situation in the country is actually deteriorating. "Our earlier warnings by the capabilities of the Islamic State Khorasan Province ISKP were dismissed by the Taliban, but ISKP has demonstrated in the last few months alone that it can carry out assassinations of figures close to the Taliban, attacks against foreign embassies, as well as fire rockets across Afghanistan's border to attack its neighbors, all while maintaining its long-standing sectarian campaign against Shia Muslims and ethnic minorities," said Markus. Earlier, UNAMA had reported a significant reduction in Afghan civilian casualties of war since the Taliban seized power. From mid-August 2021 to mid-June 2022, at least 700 civilians were killed and more than 1,400 were wounded in the country, mostly in attacks perpetuated by the ISKP a marked reduction from 2020, when UNAMA reported 3,035 deaths and 5,785 injuries. No Taliban representative was present at the Security Council's meeting, but a diplomat from the former Afghan government and a Taliban opposition activist were invited. The U.N. has refused repeated calls from the Taliban to accredit their diplomats at the world body. Undemocratic governance Members of the Security Council also have condemned the Taliban for the group's undemocratic and often repressive governance style. "On a daily basis, we hear reports from Afghanistan of Taliban repression, of night raids, extrajudicial killings and torture. Human rights defenders, journalists and media workers are being deliberately targeted," said Fergal Mythen, Ireland's representative to the U.N. Since seizing power, the Taliban have dissolved Afghanistan's parliament and election bodies, and they have appointed a male-only cabinet made of Islamic clerics. "Most Afghans do not see themselves represented at all levels of governance. There are no consistent mechanisms for citizens to provide feedback to the authorities and little indication that the Taliban wish to even hear," said Markus. The U.N. has warned that the Taliban would push Afghanistan further into international isolation, poverty and internal strife unless the group fundamentally changes its governance. "Leaders who oppose half of the country's population [women] will not gain legitimacy, not from the Afghan people and not from the international community," said Mona Juul, Norway's representative at the U.N. Taliban leaders have defended their governance, asserting the U.N. and other rights groups often present inaccurate and biased statements about the situation in Afghanistan. U.N. human rights officials have condemned the violent crackdown by Iranian security forces against protesters angered by the death of a young woman accused of failing to comply with Iran's strict dress code. Protests across 15 Iranian provinces erupted following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody. She was arrested September 13 by the so-called morality police for allegedly not wearing the hijab properly. The U.N. Human Rights Office says it is difficult to get a precise number of protesters who have been killed, wounded and arrested by Iran's security force. This is because of restrictions on telecommunications. State media put the number of deaths at 41. However, U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said nongovernmental organizations monitoring the situation have reported higher numbers of deaths. She said one credible source reports 76 people have been killed, including women and children. She noted that hundreds of others have been injured across at least 11 provinces. "We are extremely concerned by comments by some leaders vilifying protesters, and by the apparent unnecessary and disproportionate use of force against protesters," Shamdasani said. "Firearms must never be used simply to disperse an assembly. In the context of assemblies, they should only be used in case of an imminent threat to life or of serious injury." Hundreds of people reportedly have been arrested, including human rights defenders, lawyers, civil society activists and at least 18 journalists. Shamdasani said women have been protesting the wearing of the hijab for four decades, but the alleged police beating of Amini and her subsequent death apparently was the last straw. Shamdasani said this time around, there has been an outpouring of support from all walks of life and from many provinces across Iran. "Women human rights defenders who have protested the use of the hijab or who have taken steps to remove it, they have for many years been targeted, intimidated, harassed, arrested, beaten up. There are several pending cases of women who have been detained and charged in relation to the hijab," she said. Iranian police have denied that Amini was beaten while in custody. Shamdasani said the lack of an adequate response to the death of Amini and the outpouring of anger on the streets, as well as the shutdown of communications, has had a serious impact on Iranian society. The U.N. Human Rights Office is urging Iranian authorities to address the situation. Shamdasani is pushing for an investigation and respect for freedom of assembly and of expression. She said the government should stop vilifying the protesters and instead listen to them. Sabotage is suspected in multiple ruptures of the two Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. "The leaks are under investigation. There are initial reports indicating that this may be the result of an attack or some kind of sabotage," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Tuesday. "But if it is confirmed, that's clearly in no one's interest." "I'm not going to speculate on the cause" of the leaks, replied White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to questions about the incident, adding that she had nothing to report on whether the United States had been requested by European officials to help determine the cause of the ruptures. The 1,222 kilometer-long Nord Stream 1 pipeline has been, until recently, a major source of gas for Germany. Nord Stream 2, which is 1,234 kilometers in length, has yet to go into commercial operation. "We have established a report and the crime classification is gross sabotage," the Swedish national police said Tuesday, announcing a preliminary investigation into possible sabotage of Nord Stream 1. "There are three leaks, and therefore it is difficult to imagine that it could be accidental," said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen Tuesday. "We see clearly that this is an act of sabotage an act which likely means a further step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine," concurred Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Frederkisen and Morawiecki spoke in Gloeniow in Poland at the opening ceremony for Baltic Pipe, part of a Polish plan to reduce its energy dependence on Russia. The line will connect Poland to Norwegian gas fields through Denmark. "No option can be ruled out right now," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, regarding the possibility of sabotage, adding that the leaks are a cause for concern. Russia closed Nord Stream 1 earlier this month, ostensibly for maintenance work. The majority owner of the network's operator, Nord Stream AG, is Gazprom, a Russian state-owned energy company. "The destruction that occurred on the same day simultaneously on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system is unprecedented," said NordStream AG in a statement. "It is not yet possible to estimate the timing of the restoration of the gas transport infrastructure." "The biggest leak is spreading bubbles a good kilometer in diameter. The smallest is creating a circle about 200 meters" in diameter, according to a statement from the Danish armed services, which included photographs of the leaks off the island of Bornholm. Scientists in Europe say seismographs on Monday recorded powerful blasts in the Baltic Sea, the same day the two gas pipelines dropped pressure. "There was a spike and then regular noise," said Josef Zens, a spokesman for the German geological research center GFZ. "We cannot say if that could be gas streaming out." "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action," wrote Bloomberg Opinion columnist Javier Blas, quoting the late British author Ian Fleming. "The leaks are more likely a message: Russia is opening a new front on its energy war against Europe. First, it weaponized gas supply, halting shipments, including via the Nord Stream pipeline. Now, it may be attacking the energy infrastructure it once used to ship its energy," said Blas, author of The World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources. Amid much speculation on social media about who might have sabotaged Nord Stream, there is no credible evidence of a likely culprit or motive. Analysts and amateurs on Twitter contend the Russians may have deployed divers or unmanned submersible vehicles to poke holes in the pipelines. The leaks are a result of a "terrorist attack" and "an act of aggression" against the European Union, declared Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office. Some anonymous accounts on Twitter declared the U.S. president had ordered an attack, circulating a video clip of Joe Biden from early February vowing to "bring an end" to the Nord Stream 2 project if Russia invaded Ukraine. The Kremlin has stated that if Western Europe wants Russian gas it should end sanctions against Moscow imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine seven months ago. "My understanding is the leaks will not have a significant impact on Europe's energy resilience," Blinken said in Washington. "This just drives home the importance of our efforts to work together to get alternative gas supplies to Europe and to support efforts to reduce gas consumption and accelerate true energy independence by moving to a clean energy economy," a White House National Security Council spokesperson told VOA. While the impact to Europe ahead of the winter as a result of the loss of the pipelines remains to be seen, the trio of leaks poses an immediate hazard to wildlife and maritime navigation. The gas could suffocate animals and is an explosion threat to passing ships, according to environmental groups. Patsy Widakuswara at the White House and Nike Ching at the State Department contributed to this report. Some information for this report was provided by Reuters. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pledged more funds to help flood-ravaged Pakistan and pressed the South Asian nation to seek debt relief and restructuring from its largest creditor, China, to deal with the catastrophic flooding. Blinken spoke late on Monday after wide-ranging bilateral talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Washington, saying he also discussed with his counterpart a shared stake in Afghanistan, counterterrorism cooperation and Islamabads strained ties with India. "Weve marshaled over $56 million in immediate humanitarian assistance. Weve been able to send about 17 planes full of supplies like food and materials to build shelters, tents, tarps. And today Im pleased to announce another $10 million in food security assistance, Blinken told an event at the State Department marking the 75th anniversary of relations between the United States and Pakistan. Erratic seasonal rainfall, made worse by global climate change, has triggered the floods across Pakistan, killing more than 1,600 people, including nearly 600 children, affecting 33 million others and drenching large parts of the country, especially the southern Sindh province, since mid-June. The flooding has destroyed more than 1.4 million hectares of arable land, raising fears it will exacerbate food insecurity issues across the country of about 220 million people. Pakistani officials estimate the deluge has inflicted more than $30 billion in damages on national infrastructure, washing away roads, bridges and more than 800,000 houses. The disaster has hit as Pakistan struggles to address deeply rooted economic challenges and meet external debt repayment commitments amid dwindling foreign exchange cash reserves. China debt We talked about the importance of managing a responsible relationship with India, and I also urged our colleagues to engage China on some of the important issues of debt relief and restructure so that Pakistan can more quickly recover from the floods, Blinken said. Pakistani officials say they have already spoken to the Paris Club of wealthy nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank about immediate debt relief in the wake of the devastating floods. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif told New York-based Bloomberg news in an interview last week he plans to take up the debt relief matter with China. We have experienced a climate catastrophe of biblical, apocalyptic proportionsAnd when the rain finally stopped, a hundred-kilometer lake formed in the middle of my country thats slowly descending to the sea, to the ocean, Zardari said while speaking alongside Blinken at the event in Washington. "The irony of this is that Pakistan has contributed 0.8% to the global carbon output, but we are amongst the 10 most climate-stressed countries on the planet. And thats why we look to you for assistance and support so we can get our people climate justice, he said. Dozens of countries have over the past month sent cargo flights, trucks and trains, carrying urgent relief goods, food and medicines for flood victims in Pakistan. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday that his government had provided nearly $59 million worth of humanitarian aid to Pakistan since the country was hit by the floods. He told a regular news conference in Beijing that the civil society in China has also raised about $17 million worth of donations and flood-relief supplies. China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and ironclad brothers that have always stood with each other in trying timesWe believe that our brotherly Pakistan will surely prevail over the disaster and rebuild their homes at an early date, Wang said. The loan Pakistan owes to China, includes $6 billion in balance of payments support. It stems from the bilateral China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship program of Beijings Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The massive project has built Pakistani roads, power plants and a strategic deep-water port at an overall cost of more than $25 billion in direct Chinese investment and soft long-term loans over the past seven years. Pakistani officials maintain, however, that the Chinese loan is around 10% of the countrys 130 billion external debt, the bulk of which it owes to Western nations and international finance institutions Afghanistan Blinken said while speaking on Monday that the United States and Pakistan continue to work closely on counterterrorism challenges and the two sides also discussed a shared stake in the future of Afghanistan after two decades of war there. Weve had our differences; thats no secret. But we share a common objective: a more stable, a more peaceful, and free future for all of Afghanistan and for those across the broader region. Well continue to work together toward that end as well as support the basic human rights of the Afghan people, especially women and girls, stated the chief U.S. diplomat. A foreign ministry statement issued in Islamabad quoted Zardari as telling Blinken that Afghanistan needed assistance to avert its ongoing humanitarian crisis and underlined Pakistans resolve to work with the international community to achieve peace, development, and stability in the war-torn neighboring country. Rights groups urge other countries to follow the lead of the U.S. and several other Western countries that are asking the United Nations Human Rights Council to hold a debate in its next session in 2023 on China's human rights record in the Xinjiang region. "The international community must remember its obligation to end atrocity crimes like genocide and crimes against humanity," said Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress. The draft resolution presented Monday included the backing of Britain, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway. More than 60 Uyghur organizations from 20 countries welcomed the draft resolution. In a joint statement, the groups said they will continue to push for further action following last month's U.N. assessment on China's treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. The report concluded that Beijing may have committed "crimes against humanity" against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim populations. "Governments must seize this opportunity to finally respond to the abuses," said Omer Kanat, executive director of the Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project. While Uyghur rights groups are encouraged by some of the Western governments' action, "the response from governments needs to be commensurate with the gravity of the abuses Uyghurs have faced, and are still facing, on the ground," Peter Irwin, senior program officer at the Uyghur Human Rights Project, told VOA. "When negotiations get underway, governments need to keep in mind the legitimacy of the U.N. human rights system itself a system they may need to rely on one day for support," Irwin said. Beijing's response On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told the press in Beijing that the Western countries that signed the draft resolution are using the U.N. Human Rights Council to interfere with Beijing's domestic affairs. He added that some countries are trying to discredit and contain China's development. "They blatantly apply double standard and have gone so far as to name and shame some developing countries and openly pressure them. This has poisoned the atmosphere and led to aggravated confrontation at the Human Rights Council, which is detrimental to international human rights cooperation. The international community firmly rejects such practice," Wang said. Chinese officials have repeatedly said accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang are lies and that Beijing's policies are aimed at fighting terrorism, separatism, radicalization and violence. The Chinese embassy's spokesperson, Liu Pengyu, told VOA that Beijing has addressed "both the symptoms and root causes" of terrorism and has made it safe for the residents of Xinjiang. "We hope that the United States and the West will stop using the Human Rights Council as a tool for political manipulation, view Xinjiang's anti-terrorism and radicalization efforts in a fair, objective and responsible manner, Liu wrote in an email response to VOA. Last week, 27 nations supported Beijing on this issue in a statement to the council. UN Xinjiang assessment Just before Michelle Bachelet's term ended as U.N. high commissioner for human rights, she released a much-anticipated report on China's human rights violations in Xinjiang, including arbitrary detention of Muslim groups including Uyghurs in so-called vocational education training centers, forced sterilization, coerced labor, family separation and religious repression. The recommendations in the assessment included asking for the Chinese government to release individuals who have been arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang and conduct "a full review of the legal framework governing national security, counterterrorism and minority rights" in the Xinjiang region. Commission of inquiry The U.N. General Assembly has become a platform for rights organizations to ask the international community to take further action toward China following the U.N. assessment. On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York last week, some rights groups and diplomats met and pushed for a U.N. investigative and accountability tool called a commission of inquiry, which would further look into allegations of China's human rights violations. Survivors of China's so-called reeducation camps went on a hunger strike last week outside the White House and accused Beijing of causing "ongoing forced starvation" of Uyghurs and other minorities under COVID-19 lockdown measures in Xinjiang. Two U.S. lawmakers, Republican Congressman Chris Smith and Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi, introduced legislation Friday urging the U.S. government to sponsor a resolution that would establish a U.N. commission to investigate the rights violations in Xinjiang. "The first concrete step done immediately is to file a resolution. We have only a few days to get that done at the U.N.," Smith told VOA. "And even that's not enough." On Saturday, dozens of Uyghurs protested outside the U.N. building in New York, calling for an investigation into the alleged abuses in Xinjiang. This week's draft resolution presented to the U.N. generated more response from rights organizations. "A modest and yet unprecedented step at the UN Human Rights Council's 51st session towards accountability for Chinese government," tweeted Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. The 51st session of the U.N. Human Rights Council convened September 12 and ends October 7. The council is expected to vote on the draft resolution next week. It is the first time a draft resolution to the council is focused on China. Voting is set to close Tuesday in annexation polls organized by Russia-installed authorities in four parts of Ukraine as the Ukrainian government and its western allies reject the polls as a sham. We stand with our partners around the world in rejecting whatever fabricated outcomes Russia announces, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday. As far as what we are doing, we are prepared to impose additional swift and severe economic costs on Russia, along with our allies and partners, in response to these actions that were seeing currently if they move forward with annexation, Jean-Pierre said. Weve been very clear about that. The voting began Friday in the Russian-controlled Luhansk and Kherson regions, and in occupied areas of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. In some instances, Russian soldiers have been going door to door to order Ukrainians at gunpoint to vote. Nuclear saber-rattling Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russias Security Council and the countrys former president, said Tuesday that if Russia is threatened above a certain limit, it has the right to respond without asking anyones consent and holding long consultations. Lets imagine that Russia is forced to use the most powerful weapon against the Ukrainian regime that has committed a large-scale act of aggression, which is dangerous for the very existence of our state, Medvedev wrote on his messaging app channel. I believe that NATO will steer clear from direct meddling in the conflict in that case. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS Newss 60 Minutes show in an interview broadcast late Sunday that the United States has made it clear publicly and privately to Russia to stop the loose talk about nuclear weapons. Its very important that Moscow hear from us, and know from us that the consequences would be horrific, and weve made that very clear, Blinken said. A U.S. State Department official said Putin gave the United States and its allies a gift last week by engaging in nuclear saber-rattling, calling for the troop mobilization and announcing the referenda while the U.S. was at the United Nations talking about sovereignty and international peace and security. The official said Russia couldnt have timed it better to put a spotlight on the grave offenses that Russia is committing to Ukraine and the international order. At a commemoration of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons in New York, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday that nuclear weapons do not offer security, just carnage and chaos and said eliminating them would be the greatest gift humanity could offer future generations. Let me be clear: the era of nuclear blackmail must end, Guterres said. The idea that any country could fight and win a nuclear war is deranged. Any use of a nuclear weapon would incite a humanitarian Armageddon. We need to step back. Protests against mobilization Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported heavy fighting in several areas of Ukraine as he gave his nightly address Monday. The situation is particularly intense in the Donetsk region, he said. We are doing everything to curb the enemy activity. That is where our number one goal is right now, as Donbas is still the number one goal for the occupiers. Zelenskyy called Russias mobilization of 300,000 reservists a sincere attempt to give commanders on the ground a constant stream of cannon fodder. Widespread protests against Putins troop call-up have erupted in Russia, with police arresting hundreds of demonstrators participating in street protests in Moscow and elsewhere. In Russias Siberia region Monday, a 25-year-old man shot a military commandant at an enlistment center, the local governor said. Many men opposed to Putins war or fearful of being killed on the battlefield have abruptly fled Russia on flights to other countries, while others have joined long queues of cars on land routes headed to the Russian borders with Finland, Georgia and other countries. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. Wine flows freely in Marino near Rome. The 98th edition of the popular Sagra dell'Uva wine festival takes place in the mediaeval town of Marino in the Castelli Romani, about 20km south-east of Rome, from 30 September until 3 October. This lively festival dedicated to grapes and wine began in 1925 and each year draws large crowds eager to see the "miracle" of wine flowing freely from the town's central Fountain of the Four Moors. The 2022 festival includes markets, fairs, exhibitions and live music, with the town festooned with grapes for the duration of the four-day event. The festival also traditionally includes a religious procession and historical re-enactment of the victorious return to Marino of Prince Marcantonio Colonna after the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. For full programme details see website. Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share There are two ways to fix Credit Suisse Group AG: quickly and expensively, or slowly and expensively. Its leaders know the Swiss banks problems and they have a good idea of what they want the bank to become. The puzzle that Chairman Axel Lehmann and the rest of the board are struggling to solve is how to get from here to there and how to pay for the journey. Rumors are flying: It could quit the US entirely (that one at least was swiftly denied); it will split into two, or maybe three, pieces; outside investors will fund part of its investment bank; or maybe it will spin that business off to fend for itself. All this is unsettling for the banks most valuable clients and most successful remaining bankers. Investors, lenders, staff and customers need to see a detailed and plausible roadmap quickly, otherwise Credit Suisses fate will be years of struggle to cut costs as quickly as it loses revenue. To quell the chatter, the bank put out a statement Monday to say its comprehensive review was on track, including potential sales of assets or whole businesses. The bank needs funding up front to restructure quickly: One long-shot option could be to look for a white knight like Warren Buffett, who invested in some institutions during the 2008 financial crisis. Advertisement To recap briefly: Credit Suisse has not earned its cost of capital in more than a decade, with the investment bank largely to blame. Its average annual return on equity from 2011 to last year was barely 1.5%. An expected loss this year of nearly $2 billion will bring its cumulative result for the past eight years to a net loss of almost $500 million. Not to rub it in, but Credit Suisse shares have been a bad investment for a long time. Parts of the investment bank are always profitable, but unexpected losses, restructurings, fines and other issues have regularly undermined the bits that performed. The answer is to shrink it dramatically, focus on activities most relevant for its private-banking and wealth businesses, and make sure that it pays its own way by earning its own cost of capital. This is the vision Lehmann outlined at the banks results in July. Credit Suisses investment bank should end up with teams of bankers to advise entrepreneurs and some companies on dealmaking and raising funds in debt and stock markets. Itll also need traders focused on equities and foreign exchange, which are favorite areas of investment and speculation for wealth clients. But these operations will need to be slimmed down and made much more efficient than today. Advertisement What it wont need is ranks of bond and interest-rate traders, a large business focused on financing private equity buyouts with leveraged loans, and (least of all) its securitized-products division, which buys things like mortgages and leveraged loans and packages them into bonds. How to shed this second set of activities is the hard question, and the clock is ticking. The collapse in its share price and the rising yields on its own debt make the bank more costly to fund and less attractive as a trading counterparty that could lead to lost business as it did for Deutsche Bank AG. The quick solution is to ask shareholders to pay for the restructuring up front. Analysts at Deutsche Bank think about $4 billion would cover it; analysts at RBC Capital Markets say up to $6 billion would be needed. With the stock hitting a record low last week and trading at a valuation of less than one-quarter of forecast book value, Credit Suisses board wont want to go there. Advertisement It would be extremely costly: $4 billion is more than one-third of the banks market value today compared with less than one-sixth a year ago and one-ninth before Credit Suisse lost more than $5 billion on the collapse of Archegos Capital Management. The slow way would be to split the part of the investment bank that it doesnt want into a non-core division. This is a familiar playbook in Europe meant to get investors focused on the better businesses that will be kept and ignore those that are eventually going to go away. The hope is that investors value the banks shares based on the former and not worry too much about how long it will take to get rid of the latter. It tends not to work very well because the non-core businesses lose revenue quickly but their costs and assets take longer than advertised to shift. A cleaner, quicker break is always going to be better. Investors are more likely to bid up the value of the core Credit Suisse if its promised returns are much closer to the returns they actually receive. There are other ways Credit Suisse could find funds to buy its way out of trouble. Advertisement First, its own suggestion is to get an outside investor to put capital into its securitized-products division and maybe eventually buy it outright. However, potential partners like Frances BNP Paribas SA, or US private equity firm Apollo Global Management are more likely to bid for specific assets rather than enter a tie-up, according to analysts at Citigroup Inc. Credit Suisse could pursue an earlier idea to list a minority stake in its domestic Swiss bank, which would likely be valued more highly than the rest of the group and easily raise $4 billion. But that would cut out a big chunk of Credit Suisses most reliable earnings and leave investors even less interested in the rest of it. A third route that would still be costly, but potentially less immediately damaging to shareholders, would be to look for the kind of investment that Buffett made in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Swiss Re AG during the 2008 financial crisis. Credit Suisse could seek a deep-pocketed, patient investor and sell them instruments with more debt-like fixed returns and perhaps an option to convert to stock at a price that would represent a big recovery at the bank. Advertisement It would be costly financing possibly more than than the roughly 10% yield paid by Goldman and Swiss Re and the bank would likely need to negotiate with regulators exactly where it fits into its regulated capital base. But Credit Suisse has already been a pioneer in paying bankers in hybrid forms of capital. And this option could be much cheaper than a straight share sale. It would also let everyone see a light at the end of the tunnel much sooner. More From Bloomberg Opinion: Credit Suisse and the Hotel California Effect: Marc Rubinstein Change at Credit Suisse? Dont Hold Your Breath: Paul J. Davies Greensills Ghost Will Haunt the Finance World: Lionel Laurent This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Paul J. Davies is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering banking and finance. Previously, he was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share As Ian Fleming, the British author who created James Bond, wrote: Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time its enemy action. One does not need to be an avid reader of Cold War novels to see echoes of the adventures of 007 in the real-life events around the Nord Stream gas twin pipelines this week. In a single day, the conduits, which link Russia with Germany under the Baltic Sea, have suffered not one, not two, but three separate major leaks. The word sabotage springs to mind. Like Flemings fictional spook, real Western spies in the Soviet Union operated under a set of principles known as Moscow Rules to stay alive under constant harassment from the Kremlin and the KGB. A key one was that if it feels wrong, it is wrong. Three leaks in one day feels very, very wrong. Advertisement Put aside the fact that neither the Nord Stream 1 nor the Nord Stream 2 pipelines is operational right now. The leaks are more likely a message: Russia is opening a new front on its energy war against Europe. First, it weaponized gas supply, halting shipments, including via the Nord Stream pipeline. Now, it may be attacking the energy infrastructure it once used to ship its energy. The first step in the militarization of power supplies could have been easily reversed; it just needs a political decision to re-start the flow of gas. The second stage, though, is longer-term and, perhaps, even permanent. If anyone in Europe was expecting Germany would get any gas via the Nord Stream pipelines in 2023, this apparent attack ends those hopes. The destruction that happened within one day at three lines of the Nord Stream pipeline system is unprecedented, the operator of the pipeline said Tuesday in a statement. Its impossible now to estimate the timeframe for restoring operations. Can it be an accident? Maybe. An under-water mudslide could explain the breakage. Yet, geological institutes havent detected any earthquakes nearby recently, suggesting the problem is man-made. In the past, fishing nets from trawlers have damaged submarine cables, disrupting phone and internet services. But the depth of Nord Stream pipelines and their size compared to telecom cables make that possibility remote. A submarine could have collided with the sea-bottom, hitting the pipeline. But collide three times, in three different places? Unlikely, unless done on purpose. Foul play is the most likely explanation. Advertisement Who benefits? On social media, many quickly pointed out that US President Joe Biden had promised to bring an end to the pipeline. I promise you, we will be able to do that, he said earlier this year in a clip widely shared on Tuesday. Conspiracy theorists always see the hand of the CIA in everything. But thats nonsense. The clear beneficiary of shutting down the Nord Stream pipelines for good is Russian President Vladimir Putin. The pipeline leaks happened in Danish waters, and the countrys energy authority quickly grasped the truth: Accidents like this simply dont happen. Breakage of gas pipelines is extremely rare, and therefore we see reason to raise the preparedness level, Kristoffer Botzauw, the head of the Danish Energy Agency, said Tuesday in a statement. We want to ensure thorough monitoring of Denmarks critical infrastructure in order to strengthen security of supply going forward. Denmarks European neighbors should follow suit, and put their energy infrastructure on high alert. Inside the energy industry, policy makers and executives privately whisper that their concerns about the coming winter arent restricted to just gas supplies, but also encompass cyberattacks and sabotage against the energy distribution network. For months, officials and executives have discussed the risk in private. Now, the nightmare appears to be coming true. Advertisement Europe is crisscrossed by a web of thousands of miles of gas and oil pipelines, and even longer overhead electricity lines, linking hundreds of pumping stations, storage sites and power transformers. Hit one, either via cyberattack or physical sabotage, and the impact would reverberate across the continent. History suggests the risk of disruption from cyberattacks is real and previous incidents suggests the energy network is far more vulnerable than governments acknowledge. In May 2021, a cyberattack forced the Colonial pipeline, the most important conduit to ship gasoline, diesel and jet-fuel in the US, to shut down, severely disrupting supply to the American East Coast. At the time, the White House said the attack was carried out by a group working from Russia, which sought and obtained a monetary ransom. Earlier this year, a cyberattack against loading facilities in the key European oil hub of Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp caused chaos in the refined products market. More than a dozen oil terminals were affected, and local shortages emerged. Advertisement This likely new chapter in the energy war may signal growing desperation in the Kremlin, given how badly its war against Ukraine is going. But its also very effective. European gas prices immediately jumped, with the market adjusting its forward gas prices for the summer of 2023, and the 2023-24 winter. Traders whod been betting that Nord Stream might reopen in a few months, resulting in lower gas prices, have closed those positions. The lesson is clear: the energy war is ongoing, winter is about to start, and Putin will continue to play dirty. More From Bloomberg Opinion: Commodity Markets Brace for a Rampant Dollar: Elements by David Fickling The UKs Cryptic 40 Billion Energy-Trader Bailout: Javier Blas Were Drawing the Wrong Lessons From the Third Energy Crisis: David Fickling Advertisement 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. A former reporter for Bloomberg News and commodities editor at the Financial Times, he is coauthor of The World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earths Resources. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share We hit the asteroid. We really hit it. Watching the live feed of the impact, I admit that I tingled. But does the success of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test DART, for short mean that the planet is safe from major asteroid strikes? Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Not by a long shot. (Sorry.) Yes, a spacecraft that lifted off 11 months ago to find out whether we could strike and potentially divert an asteroid in outer space performed as designed. It struck Dimorphos, a 170-meter asteroid thats in a binary orbit with the larger Didymos. But as one Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer said on the live feed immediately after impact, Now is when the science starts. In particular, researchers will need time to measure the changes in Dimorphoss orbit, and to correlate them with the extensive theories about the utility of kinetic impactors in protecting the planet against asteroid strikes. Advertisement Planetary defense, as its come to be called, has received increasing attention in recent years. Advocates for interception technology tell us that asteroid strikes are the only disaster that we possess the technology to both predict and avoid. Economists argue that its a public good. Legal scholars suggest that governments possessing the capacity to shoot down asteroids might have a duty under international law to target those headed toward nations unable to protect themselves. Maybe so. But first we have to prove that the capacity exists. Which is why the success of the DART mission matters. That we hit the target is a reason to celebrate. But will it work when space debris is actually headed our way? Well never know for sure until were forced to try. NASA leads a biennial Planetary Defense Conference Exercise, which brings agencies from around the world together to prevent a simulated asteroid strike. In the 2019 version, scientists were tasked with deflecting an asteroid heading for Denver. They succeeded, by hitting it with six kinetic impactors (like DART) only to discover, to their dismay, that the impact sheared off a large chunk that would strike Manhattan with 1,000 times the energy of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Advertisement The simulated disaster was hardly a first. In past exercises, weve lost Dhaka and the French Riviera. In 2019, wed have lost Tokyo too, but the participants used simulated nuclear weapons to destroy the simulated threat. (In the 2021 version, politics got in the way of this solution.) Hollywood loves hurtling extinction-level objects toward earth, and the results can be great popcorn movies. But the risk far more likely to materialize involves smaller asteroids like the one that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013 with a force of over 400 kilotons more than 20 times the yield of the Hiroshima bomb. The Chelyabinsk asteroid was only about 20 meters in diameter, and its impact wasnt predicted. Whats the annual probability that an object this size will intercept the Earth? Most calculations suggest that the likelihood is small, but nobody really knows. Advertisement For one thing, predicting the long-term paths of less-than-moon-sized bodies presents enormous difficulty. (We didnt even have high-resolution images of Dimorphos until minutes before impact.) For another, though only 500 or so small asteroids in orbits near ours have been catalogued, researchers estimate that the true number is well up in the millions. On the plus side, this is precisely the range where we can expect kinetic impacts to do the most good, even with short warning. If we can hit them. Which it now seems we can but! The DART mission cost over $300 million, and involved sending a spacecraft 34 million miles to strike an asteroid whose motion is well understood. We had, in effect, all the time in the world to plan the experiment and carry it out. When the real-life threat arises and it will we dont know how much time well have. Although wed likely to have years of warning for larger asteroids, with the smaller ones the time involved might be weeks or days. If were serious about planetary defense, well need interceptors, plural, ready to go. Advertisement And eventually well face a large asteroid. Maybe not as big as the meteor (possibly a comet) estimated at 50 meters that exploded over Tunguska, Russia, in 1908, with a force of 10 megatons; but a 20-meter asteroid would destroy most of a fair-sized city. Thats why we have to learn how to nudge. NASAs biennial simulations remind us that no matter how easily a rogue asteroid is blown to pieces in the nick of time in the movies, in the real universe the threatening asteroid often must be met early or not at all. The earlier the kinetic impact, the more easily the object can be deflected. The 2019 simulation posited an asteroid that began with a 1% chance of striking the earth in eight years. As fictional years passed, the probability grew. Eventually it reached 100%. If the worlds (simulated) space agencies had waited to act until the threat was certain, they would have acted too late. Supporters of space exploration like to argue that everyone benefits. At times, theyre expressing the techno-optimism that supplies the premise for the Apple+ hit For All Mankind a show bold enough to suggest that if humans had been wise enough to keep going to the moon, wed have had both cell phones and a female president by the 1990s. Advertisement But forget optimism. We can also support space exploration for entirely reasons related to the survival of the species: Were going to need the technical knowledge that the space program generates. Because the day will come, in a century or three, when a huge celestial object will hurtle our way. If the human race hopes to survive when that happens, now is the time to be practicing. More From Bloomberg Opinion: A US-China Battle on the Moon Is Possible, and Avoidable: Adam Minter Behind the Amazing Photo of the Milky Ways Very Own Black Hole: Faye Flam Space Junk Is Our New Tragedy of the Commons: Andreas Kluth This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Stephen L. Carter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Yale University, he is author, most recently, of Invisible: The Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down Americas Most Powerful Mobster. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share Four years after being elected on a promise to fight organized crime with hugs, not bullets, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is now taking steps to increase the militarys role in public security. In doing so, he hopes to contain a renewed surge in gang-related violence. But degrading the power of Mexicos drug cartels will require more than just sending the army onto the streets. Last month, clashes between armed gangs left more than 200 people dead and dozens of businesses destroyed, underscoring the deterioration in security under Lopez Obrador. Although homicide rates have dipped since the start of the pandemic, much of Mexico remains extraordinarily violent. The country is home to the worlds eight most dangerous cities, according to one research group. Disappearances have skyrocketed over the last decade. In 2021, close to 45,000 Mexicans fled their homes out of fear of violence, five times as many as in the previous year. One US military estimate says that up to a third of Mexico is ungoverned space, largely controlled by criminal organizations. Lopez Obrador disputes that figure and yet by most every measure, drug cartels have grown in number, potency and riches, buoyed by demand for illegal drugs in the US. Mexico is the dominant source of illegal fentanyl transported to the US, with cartels increasingly manufacturing and distributing their own versions of the drug. Advertisement Although Lopez Obrador has long criticized the perceived excesses of Mexicos drug war, his policies have proved no more effective. To fight corruption, in 2019 he replaced the federal police with a new, 115,000-person national guard, made up largely of former soldiers who lack experience in investigating crimes and enforcing the law. Even worse, he has scaled back counter-narcotics cooperation with the US, in retaliation for Washingtons efforts to prosecute high-ranking Mexican officials suspected of colluding with the cartels. Among other things, the government has placed limits on the operations of US drug-enforcement agents and disbanded an elite intelligence unit that worked closely with the US to apprehend prominent kingpins. Mexicos inability to quell surging drug violence threatens civilians on both sides of the border. In recent weeks, Mexican legislators have approved a request from Lopez Obrador to put the army in charge of the national guard and authorized the military to handle public safety duties through 2028. While these moves aim to reassure the public, they wont be enough to break the power of the cartels. The government needs to devote more intelligence resources and personnel to identifying and dismantling opioid-production labs and strengthen the ability of customs and port-security officials to interdict precursor materials used to make synthetic drugs. Mexico also should address the weakness of its criminal-justice system, which by some accounts lets more than 90% of crimes go unpunished. That will require funding to recruit and equip police, increased pay for prosecutors and judges, and building out the capacity of law-enforcement bodies to investigate and prosecute complex criminal cases. Most important, Mexico should reinvigorate security cooperation with the US and ease restrictions on American anti-drug operations. The two countries should work together to root out any current and former officials whove abetted the drug trade and hold them accountable. For its part, President Joe Bidens administration should take more aggressive action to stop the flow of guns from the US into Mexico by intensifying anti-trafficking operations and requiring that law-enforcement agencies improve their collection of data on the sources of firearms seized in Mexico. It should work with Congress to increase funding for border security, essential to curbing the smuggling of fentanyl into the US much of which is carried by vehicles traveling through legal ports of entry. Curbing demand for drugs in the US through education and addiction-treatment programs an admittedly long and costly endeavor is also essential to saving lives in both countries. Advertisement The US and Mexico have a shared interest in combating drug trafficking and removing the impunity that criminal networks enjoy. A planned security dialogue in Washington next month would be a good place to start. Renewed commitment by both governments is a necessary step toward breaking the grip of drug cartels and the suffering they inflict on innocent people. More From Bloomberg Opinion: More Soldiers Wont Solve Mexicos Crime Problem: Shannon ONeil AMLOs Oil Politics Reveal His Obsession with the Past: Eduardo Porter Why Mexico Could Be the Next Denmark: Tyler Cowen The Editors are members of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share The so-called partial mobilization announced by Vladimir Putin last week has changed the character of the Ukraine war for Russians in a matter of days. And for all the ensuing scenes of disarray and unrest within Russia, the mobilizations impact will soon change the character of the war for Ukrainians, too. Less than a week into the mobilization, whether its really partial or general is hard to tell. Putins decree has a conspicuously missing paragraph Item 6 is immediately followed by Item 8. According to Putins press secretary Dmitry Peskov, the classified Item 7 deals with the number of people to be mobilized. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu put that at 300,000 people, and Peskov has denied media reports that the actual number in the decree is 1 million or 1.2 million people but the absence of a precise number fits the situation on the ground best. Putin said in his address to the nation on Sept. 21 that only people who had done mandatory service in the military, had a skill that was in short supply (such as artillery or tank training) and, preferably, combat experience would be called up. It soon transpired, however, that quotas had been handed down to local draft offices, and many of them rushed to grab every man they could get lest they be accused of insufficient zeal. That has meant calling up people with disqualifying health conditions, those who never served, those who are too old over 40 to be privates. In some areas, draft notices have been delivered in the dead of night, their recipients required to show up at the recruitment center the following morning. In the republic of Dagestan in the Northern Caucasus, the indiscriminate mobilization has sparked riots and clashes with police. And in Eastern Siberia, a local man shot and badly wounded the official in charge of the local draft office apparently for calling up a friend of the shooter who had not even done the mandatory service. Advertisement Far-right activists and Kremlin propagandists are campaigning against such excesses. RT propaganda channel chief Margarita Simonyan and prime-time show host Vladimir Solovyov have offered their Telegram channels to those wishing to report mobilization irregularities, and theyve published summaries of some egregious cases. The idea is to create a semblance of a civil society response in the absence of an actual civil society to keep the mobilization from turning into a chaotic round-up of all men with two hands, two feet and enough strength to lift a Kalashnikov. And yet, even if this effort means that some inexperienced or sick men arent called up, it wont change the Kremlins motives for mobilizing or fix the Russian militarys inefficiencies both factors that require the mobilization to be partial on paper only. The motives go beyond the replenishment of army units decimated by attrition. Almost inevitably, the mobilization signifies a transition from what Putin has termed a special military operation to a full-on war, and perhaps in the near future an officially declared one. Calling the war by its true name gives the Kremlin some advantages that its far-right critics have been pointing out for months. The biggest of these is the Russian populations engagement and investment in the outcome of the Ukraine adventure. Putin has lost his early bet on his professional military, and on pretending, for the sake of a majority of Russians, that nothing extraordinary was going on. Now, he needs to generate mass engagement fast and, for all the fear and dismay the mobilization has caused, he will likely achieve that goal, inasmuch as it is feasible at all. Advertisement True, because Putin did not close the borders as he announced the mobilization, men unwilling to be sent to Ukraine flooded border crossings with Kazakhstan and Georgia, countries that allow Russians to enter visa-free. Indeed, Putin appears to have decided not to hold back those most unwilling to serve. The idea would be to only keep those men who either dont mind being called up to defend the Motherland a previously passive but essentially patriotic group or who fear the uncertainties of emigration more than they fear being killed or maimed in the war. Some of these men may be unfit for service or initially reluctant to fight, but they can be counted on to achieve a certain cohesion of purpose and a kind of Stockholm syndrome. Even those who never dreamed of volunteering for the campaign soon will blame Ukrainians, rather than their own country or Putin personally, for their predicament and theyll do what they must to survive.Moreover, since the mobilization was announced, Russia has unmistakably become a country at war. Not fighting for ones country even when it is as deeply in the wrong as Russia is today is, to many Russian men, ultimate cowardice. As David Nuriev, a rapper known as Ptakha, explained when asked if he would fight if called up, I will not be the weak link. Hed be fighting for his family and his home, he said, not for any of this crap meaning, obviously, not for Putins convoluted explanation of why Russia invaded Ukraine. The Kremlin hopes to capitalize on that kind of sentiment, tapping an attachment to Russia, a sense that if it loses, the loss will be personal, too. And if that attachment, not so much skills or professionalism, is the main selection criterion, the mobilization is only partial until the pool of people who meet it is exhausted. Advertisement Even if the Kremlin actually sought the best-trained reservists, however, the mobilization machine would have been unable to deliver. Right-wing Telegram channels carry reports of reservists being driven aimlessly between military units after being mobilized, attempts by military commanders to confiscate gear the recruits bring with them, rusty Kalashnikovs being handed out, a lack of actual training on training grounds. Some people appear to have been deployed close to the front lines days after being called up. The draft offices record-keeping has deteriorated since the end of the Cold War; no one has believed for decades that Russia would actually need to mobilize. Since Russia moved toward a professional army in the mid-2000s and mandatory service was cut from two years to one, the militarys ability to train large numbers of recruits has declined, and Ukrainian campaign losses have cut into the cadre of officers and sergeants capable of passing on important skills. The initial chaos will, of course, eventually subside but by then, many men who barely remember what they learned years ago will have been sent into battle. Having launched the Ukraine invasion for emotional reasons and suffered predictable failures, Putin is compelled to take greater and greater risks. When these men start getting killed and coffins flow to parts of Russia that havent known much grief so far, including the big cities, Russian women, always a reliable support base for Putin, may respond with an unexpected vehemence. Desertion and draft-dodging will be widespread. The proliferation of firearms is especially dangerous in Russia, one of the global leaders in violent crime. The economy will suffer from the loss of millions of men both those called up and those hiding from the draft. According to economist Vladislav Inozemtsev, if before the mobilization Russia could hope to lose only 4% to 5% of GDP, a 10% drop is more likely now. The engagement generated by the mobilization is far from certain to offset these inevitable consequences. Nor are the new recruits guaranteed to reverse the course of the fighting, smothering Ukraines initiative and depriving it of the current numerical advantage. Ukraine may yet gain more ground before Russia can field the bulk of the newly mobilized troops. Advertisement And yet, their impending arrival at the front cannot but change the course of the conflict. Of course its bad news for us, Financial Times quoted a Ukrainian fighter as saying. Even if they dont have motivation, theyll have a gun. In the view of Igor Girkin (Strelkov), the far-right veteran of the 2014 Ukraine war who correctly predicted Russias military setbacks and who has called for a mobilization since the invasion began, the influx of fresh troops can help Russia keep the conquered territory through October and November, giving it a chance to continue the war and perhaps eventually go back on the attack. The alternative would have been certain defeat and humiliation. Strelkov and other Russian nationalists know, however and Putin knows, too that mobilization will hardly eliminate that dismal prospect. Too much life, time and materiel have been gambled away in Putins vanity-fueled special operation for the grim reality of war to turn out inevitably in the Russian imperialists favor. More From Bloomberg Opinion: Advertisement A Decision Tree for Biden If Putin Goes Nuclear: Andreas Kluth Take Putins Nuclear Threat Seriously, But Not Too Seriously: Hal Brands An Off-Ramp for Putin Is Repugnant But Necessary: Clive Crook This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Leonid Bershidsky, formerly Bloomberg Opinions Europe columnist, is a member of the Bloomberg News Automation Team. He recently published Russian translations of George Orwells 1984 and Franz Kafkas The Trial. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share Perhaps youve heard of quiet quitting. Its telling that the phrase has taken off on social media but this is the fakest of fake workplace trends. Think of it as the third iteration of dubious pandemic work-related fads. After the original Covid-19 variant, we heard about the Great Resignation, but the data didnt support it beyond a few sectors hit hard by lockdowns such as hospitality. Then came the delta wave and the lie flat movement, another trend based largely on anecdata and a catchy phrase. In the aftermath of omicron, weve got quiet quitting. The reason for bosses to concern themselves with these trends isnt that theyre describing real behavior, but that so many people find them appealing. They speak to employees fantasies, not their actual career plans. As with all spurious trends, the definition is impossibly broad. Some describe quiet quitting as doing the bare minimum, while others say theyre meeting all their obligations. Some are coasting, while others are leaving work at 5 p.m. Some are just hoping for better work-life balance. Advertisement But these are pretty different from each other. Consider someone who routinely works from 9 to 5, but typically avoids putting in overtime. Is that person doing the bare minimum or are they just incredibly efficient? Should someone who is meeting all their obligations really be considered a slacker? Is it fair to call any of these a form of quitting? Quiet quitting is also something were probably talking about more than were actually carrying out. A recent Axios poll of younger workers found that 15% were doing the minimum at work, despite large majorities admitting that it sounded appealing. Even if its true that some segment of the workforce is mailing it in, this isnt new. Workplace engagement has been pretty stable for years. Polling organization Gallup has been tracking it for over two decades, during which time the percentage of actively disengaged employees has held largely steady, at between 13% and 20% of employees. The percentage of engaged employees has also been stable for decades, at around 30% of employees. Advertisement While Gallup recently rebranded the middle the people who are neither engaged nor disengaged as quiet quitters, that seems like a leap. Lots of people neither love nor hate their jobs, and theyre not quitters. Every company needs some people who are content to do their jobs reasonably well and who dont badger management for bonuses or accolades, people who accept a slower career path as an acceptable price for a lower-stress life. Teams also benefit from long-tenured members who know how things work. If everyone is hustling to move up and out as fast as possible, who is the custodian of the teams collective knowledge? Who transmits team culture? Perhaps the TikTok-ers in Generation Z who coined quiet quitting have simply discovered what their elders eventually learned: that for a sizable number of people, work can be work. A job is sometimes just a source of income, not deeper meaning. And to get fired, some people have to be actively bad at their jobs not just quietly coasting. (Although as my colleague Kami Rieck points out, this is a privilege not everyone gets to enjoy.) Advertisement Few of us keep our foot on the gas 100% of the time. Those who do may find themselves at a higher risk of burnout or workaholism and its attendant health risks. Theres an assumption that the most engaged employees are the least burned out, but thats not always true sometimes, a high degree of engagement is what makes disconnecting from work so tough. A study at Yale found that one in five employees reported high levels of simultaneous engagement and exhaustion. Lots of engagement can push you into overdrive for too long. Its also normal for workloads and motivation to ebb and flow. Sometimes, the cause is random, but often its seasonal. A tax accountant is going to be busier in March than he is in July, for instance we dont accuse him of quiet quitting just because he has less to do. I used to feel anxious earlier in my career when Id have a slow day. (What if someone found out and I got fired!) Now Im wise enough to know that a fallow period never lasts long. Instead of managers worrying about quiet quitting, I think they should take away one lesson: Dont rely so heavily on employees going above and beyond their job description. Advertisement Its common for companies to expect employees to take on work outside their normal jobs. But that assumption hurts people who havent gotten the unwritten memo. And it leads to the same people always getting saddled with thankless tasks like taking notes and scheduling meetings. Seen from that perspective, quiet quitting is an understandable response to a workplace in which much is silently expected. Then there are the disgruntled employees taking a much louder route. Cornells Labor Action Tracker found roughly 265 major work strikes in 2021. There have been 273 already in 2022. Among the major complaints weve seen recently from workers are 24-hour shifts (where workers are only paid for 13 hours); overwork caused by persistent staff shortages; and having to remain on-call for days or weeks at a time, and called to work at a moments notice. Those are legitimate grievances and failures of management. Advertisement Maybe bosses should worry a little less about quiet quitters and a little more about that. Ideas such as lying flat and quiet quitting will keep taking off online, even if theyre not widespread trends in real life. Perhaps just talking about them is a necessary corrective to an era in which work has often taken on outsized importance shaping our identities, providing a source of meaning, even reassuring us that we are, in fact, good and virtuous people. In previous eras, it was often religion or family that offered these things. But your family unlike your job probably loved you back. More From Sarah Green Carmichael at Bloomberg Opinion: Stop Trying to Be Indispensable at Work CEOs Cant Fix Our Biggest Problem With RTO Women Shouldnt Do Any More Housework This Year This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Sarah Green Carmichael is a Bloomberg Opinion editor. Previously, she was managing editor of ideas and commentary at Barrons and an executive editor at Harvard Business Review, where she hosted HBR IdeaCast. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share Conventional wisdom may differ from reality, although the difference need not be great. Perhaps this was one of the messages conveyed in Washington on Monday by the times of sunrise and sunset, which were exactly 12 hours apart. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Thursday was the day of the equinox, and on such a day, we often expect that the Latin derivation of the word would prevail and that day and night would be equal, as the construction of the word implies. In fact, equality in the length of night and day did almost occur on Thursday. But not quite. On Monday, however, we could say with greater assurance, and on the basis of authoritative sources, that we had finally arrived at the day of equality, a day that satisfied the desire to see planetary law obeyed and Earths order upheld. On Thursday in Washington, the specialists say, the deviation from expectation involved in part the laws of refraction, the bending of light rays by the atmosphere. That lets us see the sun just before it actually rises, and just after it sets. Advertisement Also involved are the diameter of the sun and the definitions of sunrise and sunset. Sunrise is considered the first glimpse of the upper part of the sun; sunset is our last glimpse of the lower edge, as it sinks below the horizon. Such a definition is skewed slightly against darkness. As a result of the tilt of Earths axis, for about half the year we enjoy more daylight than darkness; and for the other half, we spend more time in darkness. So if it is not on the day of the equinox, a day must nevertheless arive when the light and the dark are equal. This year, that day appeared to be Monday. In its preliminary climate summary for Washington, the National Weather Service gave the time of Mondays sunrise as 6:59 a.m. It gave the time of Mondays sunset as 12 hours later: 6:59 p.m. But days grow steadily shorter. On Tuesday, the Weather Service said, the sun will rise a little later and set a little earlier. And on Tuesday, and for months to come, we will have less daylight than darkness. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share LITTLE ROCK, Ark. An Arkansas state senator wont have access to Senate offices and cant participate in legislative meetings after the Senate on Tuesday ruled he made a frivolous ethics complaint against a fellow lawmaker in retaliation for sanctions he received earlier this year. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight By a 26-4 vote, the majority-Republican Senate approved its ethics committees recommendation to suspend GOP Sen. Alan Clark for the rest of the 93rd General Assembly, which ends on Jan. 8. The Senate earlier this month rejected a complaint Clark had filed against Democratic Sen. Stephanie Flowers accusing her of improperly receiving per diem payments for legislative meetings she attended via Zoom. The ethics panel ruled that Clark had filed the complaint as retaliation after the Senate stripped him and another lawmaker of their leadership posts after Clark sought reimbursement for a meeting he didnt attend. Advertisement The committee felt that the comments and actions of Senator Clark, including bringing these ethics petitions for the purpose of retaliation, were bringing dishonor and disruption to the institution of the Senate, Republican Sen. Kim Hammer, who chairs the ethics committee, told senators before the vote. Clark didnt attend Tuesdays proceedings, citing a long-planned trip with his family and said his attorneys would not have been able to attend. The lawmaker accused the Senate of punishing a whistleblower with its vote. How can we be expected to fight corruption and wrongdoing in government if we cant reveal and stand against our own questionable behavior? Clark said in a statement via text message. I am saddened for this body that I love, more than anything else. Rules the Senate adopted during the coronavirus pandemic allowed members to participate remotely, but not receive per diem funds. Flowers had not requested the payments and repaid the money in August after she realized she had received them because of a clerical error, the ethics committee found. Advertisement The ethics committee cited comments Clark made before filing the complaint on social media and a picture that circulated of him wearing a scarlet E similar to the scarlet A worn as punishment for adultery in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter at a Republican Party event after he was sanctioned by the Senate. The vote came after nearly three hours of contentious debate, with defenders of Clark criticizing the Senate for taking up the ethics charges without him present. Legislative leaders noted that other lawmakers had made time for the Senates proceedings, despite work and other obligations. Republican Sen. David Wallace, who voted to suspend Clark, at one point complained about the drawn-out debate over the Senates ethics procedures. Were tripping over mouse turds right now, Wallace said. Advertisement The suspension means Clark loses access to Senate offices and resources, including his email account, and wont be able to participate in legislative meetings except for organizational meetings for the next General Assembly. The Senate also voted to recommend to the next General Assembly that Clark lose his seniority. The vote marks the first time a senator has been suspended under a 2018 overhaul of the Senates ethics rules that were enacted after several lawmakers were implicated in a federal corruption probe. After suspending Clark, the Senate also voted to change its rules to require that an ethics complaint be filed by at least three senators, rather than just one. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share SALVADOR, Brazil Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro has been waging an all-out campaign to shore up the crucial evangelical vote ahead of Oct. 2 elections. Evangelicals helped carry him to power in 2018, and he proceeded to tap members of their churches for important ministries and for a Supreme Court nomination. But in this electoral cycle, Bolsonaro initially found more difficulty winning their favor. The campaign involves the first lady and keyboard crusaders. Influential pastors and politicians are also warning their followers, on Facebook and in pulpits, that the races front-runner, leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, would close Christian churches which he vehemently denies. Users are liking, sharing and commenting in what appears a concerted tactic to distance evangelicals from da Silva, according to Marie Santini, the coordinator of NetLab, a research group at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro that monitors social media and has focused on evangelicals. Advertisement They want to make this election a religious war, Santini said. Self-declared evangelicals make up almost a third of Brazils population, more than double two decades ago, according to demographer Jose Eustaquio Diniz Alves, a former researcher at the national school of statistical sciences. He projects they will approach 40% by 2032, surpassing Catholics. Many poor evangelicals fondly remembered da Silvas 2003-2010 tenure as time when they could afford to buy meat and pay their bills, according to Esther Solano, a sociologist at the Federal University of Sao Paulo who conducts polling of Bolsonaro voters and evangelicals. Some moderate evangelicals felt Bolsonaro used them politically and isnt a real Christian. Since May, however, various polls have found that many evangelicals migrated from da Silva to Bolsonaro, a shift attributed to the incumbents campaign to portray Brazil as spiritually ill and argue only he can safeguard Christian faith. Overall, d a Silva still leads all polls against the incumbent. Advertisement Santini said religious and political disinformation websites have been generating content that candidates, pastors and politicians redistribute via social media. It set the news cycle for weeks, with TV pundits calling the race a holy war. Brazils presidential palace and campaign declined to comment on strategy. ___ Michelle Bolsonaro avoided the spotlight during most of her husbands presidency, though there were glimpses of her faith. One video showed her repeating glory to God, speaking in tongues and hopping joyfully after the Senate approved his evangelical Supreme Court appointee. Over the past two months, however, she has become the leading evangelical voice from Bolsonaros camp. She has said she prays at Bolsonaros chair and that, before his presidency, the palace had been consecrated to demons. Advertisement At a recent March for Jesus in Rio, she pumped up a crowd that buzzed with energy. Belting out gospel songs, she made heart signs and blew kisses. We will bring the presence of the Lord Jesus to the government and declare that this nation belongs to the Lord, she declared. The doors of hell will not prevail against our family, the Brazilian church or our Brazil. That sort of fervent display of faith resonates with many evangelicals. Political scientist Bruno Carazza likens Michelle Bolsonaros deployment in the home stretch to a secret weapon. She communicates very well with that public because she is authentically evangelical, unlike Bolsonaro who says he is Catholic and embraces evangelicalism because of political opportunism, Carazza said. She literally speaks the tongue of evangelicals. Advertisement ___ The digital campaign also entails associating da Silva with Afro Brazilian religions. One video shared in evangelical circles this year was edited so he appeared to say the devil was speaking to him and taking control. The video influenced evangelicals perceptions at the time, according to Solano, who interviewed dozens of them. In a campaign appearance Sept. 7, Bolsonaro told the crowd they should compare da Silvas wife with his own a woman of God, family and active in my life. Days earlier, a photo circulating in pro-Bolsonaro social media showed da Silvas wife standing before figures of Afro Brazilian religious deities. Brazil has seen efforts to promote interfaith respect. In 2007 da Silva signed into law a national day for combating religious intolerance, in memory of a priestess who was denounced as a charlatan by a prominent evangelical churchs newspaper. Advertisement Government data show there have been more reports of religious intolerance this year. There has been a particular surge in the digital realm: 2,918 reports of online incidents in the first eight months of 2022, up from 516 in in the same months in 2021, according to the Salvador-based nonprofit SaferNet, which fields complaints via a hotline it runs with the prosecutor-generals office. The content is being more widely shared and reaching a far greater audience, therefore garnering more reports, according to SaferNets director, Juliana Cunha. Debate is polarized, the mood is tense, Cunha said. Theres a trigger. Something reinforces your perception, you pass it along. ___ Bolsonaros support among evangelicals has climbed to 50% from 39% in May, while da Silvas tumbled, according to a survey pollster Datafolha conducted Sept. 20-22. Advertisement The former presidents camp has recognized he has lost ground; earlier this month da Silva held a much-heralded meeting with evangelicals in a stuffy gymnasium on Rios outskirts. Da Silva told the crowd his rise from poverty to the presidency is testament to Gods existence, but did not expand upon his spirituality. He has said he wishes to treat all religions with respect, including Afro Brazilian faiths, and repudiates religious rivalries or anything resembling holy war. I learned that the state shouldnt have religion, the state shouldnt have church. It should guarantee the operation and freedom of however many churches people want to create, he said. Conservative evangelicals took to social media to portray his remarks as an attack on Christian churches. ___ One of Bolsonaros most fervent backers is Silas Malafaia, a popular pastor who presided over the presidents wedding to the first lady, his third wife. Malafaia boasts millions of social media followers and regularly blasts da Silva, known universally as Lula, and his party. Advertisement At one service this month, Malafaia spent 15 minutes discussing the election. He expressed astonishment that believers might rip up the Bible in their heart by voting for a candidate who, he argued, hates their principles, is indifferent to defending traditional families and supports leftist leaders who persecute churches. Im not going to go easy on them, Malafaia said in an interview afterward. It is a brand of lying, of cynicism to deceive the people. Its Lula, peace and love on the outside and the devil on the inside. We are not fools. That time is over, Malafaia continued. Social networks ended the monopoly of information. ___ 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. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share JERUSALEM Israels prime minister said Tuesday that two Ukrainians wounded in the war with Russia will receive specialized medical care in a new program in Israel, which has stayed neutral during the conflict. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russias war in Ukraine. ArrowRight Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that up to 20 patients would get treatment in Israel, which has extensive experience in rehabilitating injured and amputated people, referring to medical expertise developed over decades of conflict. Depending on their injuries, the patients will be sent to various facilities across Israel. We have excellent medical teams and hospitals that have opened their doors and hearts to Ukraines injured, Lapid said. Israel is one of only a few countries that has good relations with both Russia and Ukraine. Lapid and his recent predecessor, Naftali Bennet, have met with both Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish. Israel has delivered tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine. However, it has also balanced fears of provoking Moscow in Syria or endangering Jews inside Russia against direct calls from Zelenskyy for military aid and international pressure to impose sanctions on Russia or its oligarchs, some of whom are Jewish and have strong ties to Israel. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share ISLAMABAD The United States has boosted assistance to Pakistans flood relief efforts, announcing $10 million in aid, in addition to Washingtons already announced financial assistance of $56.1 million, Pakistans Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russias war in Ukraine. ArrowRight Washington is the biggest contributor of aid to cash-strapped Pakistan, which has struggled to provide tents, food and other supplies for hundreds of thousands of people living in makeshift camps after being displaced by record-breaking floods that have killed 1,638 people since mid-June. The latest announcement came weeks after the U.S. set up a humanitarian air bridge to help the impoverished South Asian nation. Once the scale of the devastation became clear, the United Nations appealed for $160 million in emergency funding to help over 33 million people affected by the floods. Advertisement The ministry statement followed a meeting on Monday between Pakistans Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. It said the two discussed the unprecedented floods, caused in part by climate-change and that Bhutto-Zardari thanked the U.S. government for its assistance. No country could deal with a crisis of this proportion on its own, the ministry quoted Bhutto-Zardari as telling Blinken. The foreign minister also said that Pakistan is one of the lowest emitters and is ironically one of the most severely impacted by climate change. Pakistan is seeking climate justice and looking toward its partners for assistance in recovering from this calamity, Bhutto-Zardari added. According to the statement, Blinken expressed his condolences over the loss of precious lives and monumental economic losses and reaffirmed U.S. commitment to help Pakistan in the wake of the floods. Advertisement We will continue to stand by Pakistan, to stand by its people, today and in the days to come, Blinken said Monday at an event in Washington marking 75 years of U.S.-Pakistan relations, according to the State Department. The devastation wreaked by the floods this summer in Pakistan has also highlighted the disproportionate effect of climate change on impoverished nations. Experts say Pakistan is responsible for only 0.4% of the worlds historic emissions blamed for climate change. Last week, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in an interview with The Associated Press detailed the scope of the disaster and exhorted world leaders gathered for their annual meeting at the United Nations General Assembly to stand together and raise resources to build resilient infrastructure, to build adaptation, so that our future generations are saved. Advertisement Sharif also sought more help for relief and rehabilitation operations for Pakistans flood victims, especially in the southern Sindh province the worst-hit of all the countrys provinces, where many districts are still under water. After returning home from New York, Sharif on Tuesday again visited some of the flood-hit areas in Sindh. Pakistan says the disaster has caused damages in the amount of $30 billion. U.N. agencies and several countries, including the U.S., have so far sent 129 planeloads of aid. Even as they contend with the unprecedented flooding, Pakistani authorities are also struggling with outbreaks of disease among survivors, especially in Sindh, where waterborne infections, malaria and dengue fever have caused more than 300 deaths since July, according to health officials. GiftOutline Gift Article An anonymous letter exposing an alleged fraud at the National Australia Bank came as a shock to a senior bank investigator in the days before Christmas 2017, a Sydney court has heard. Michael Griffiths, then manager of major crime investigations at NAB, told Sydneys Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday the letter was extremely unwelcome ... from my point of view when it was forwarded to him on December 6, 2017, by a member of the banks whistleblower program. Helen Rosamond arriving at the NSW District Court in Sydney last month. Credit:Oscar Colman This sounds very selfish, but it was leading up to Christmas; I was extremely busy anyway, Griffiths said. His initial reaction was one of shock, he said, but he gave the letter my top priority attention. Griffiths was called to give evidence in the trial of Sydney businesswoman Helen Rosamond, who is standing trial on charges relating to her alleged role in defrauding NAB of $15 million between 2013 and 2017. Today Mostly cloudy, still cool, and breezy. We can't entirely rule out a stray shower, but pretty much all of that rain should remain south of the area. Tonight Cloudy. We can't entirely rule out a stray shower late. There will likely be a little bit more rain, certainly late, to the south. Tomorrow Mostly cloudy and still quite cool with the occasional shower possible. Heavier rain may very well be seen south and east of the Lehigh Valley. Scientists engineer mosquitoes that can't transmit malaria The fight against malaria could hinge on genetically engineered mosquitoes that have something called "gene drive." Researchers from the Transmission: Zero team at Imperial College London report that they have engineered mosquitoes that slow the growth in their gut of the parasites that cause malaria. This delay would mean the mosquito would reach its natural life span before the parasite would reach the mosquitoes' salivary glands. So a bite wouldn't spread the disease. In the lab, this dramatically reduced the spread of malaria. Last year, malaria infected 241 million people, killing 627,000 of them, mostly children younger than age 5 in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more here: Losing weight may help slow arthritis Losing excess weight may not only help prevent knee arthritis, but also slow its progression in people who already have the condition, a recent study suggests. Researchers found that among over 9,000 middle-aged and older adults, those who managed to shed some extra weight benefited their knees in two ways: They were less likely to develop knee arthritis over the next several years; and if they already had knee arthritis, the joint damage progressed more slowly. It has long been known that excess pounds are a risk factor for developing knee arthritis. And when people with the condition are overweight or obese, they are encouraged to lose weight to help ease their pain. Read more here: Reusing contact lenses raises odds for rare eye infection Although wearing reusable contact lenses is generally safe, it can be associated with a greater risk of a rare eye infection, new British research shows. In the study, people who wore reusable contact lenses were nearly four times more likely to develop the infection called Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) than those who wore daily disposable lenses. Risks increased for those wearing them overnight or leaving them in while in the shower. "In recent years, we have seen an increase of Acanthamoeba keratitis in the [United Kingdom] and Europe, and while the infection is still rare, it is preventable and warrants a public health response," said lead author Dr. John Dart, of University College London's (UCL) Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Read more here: Traffic-related air pollution may impact women more The impact of breathing diesel exhaust fumes may be more severe among women than men, according to a study presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress 2022, held from Sept. 4 to 6 in Barcelona, Spain. Hemshekhar Mahadevappa, Ph.D., from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, and colleagues examined sex-related differences in plasma profile in response to low, real-world concentrations of diesel exhaust. Analysis included data from five male and five female healthy, never-smokers who were exposed to either filtered air or diesel exhaust (20, 50, 150 g PM./m) for four hours, with a four-week washout period between each exposure. The researchers found that the abundance of 52 proteins in men and 153 proteins in women were significantly altered in plasma following exhaust exposure versus filtered air. Read more here: Late bedtimes could raise your odds for diabetes, heart trouble If youre constantly burning the midnight oil, you may be setting yourself up for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. When compared with folks who go to bed early and wake with the sun, night owls are more likely to be insulin-resistant, a new study finds. When the body doesnt respond well to the hormone insulin, blood sugar can build up in your bloodstream, eventually leading to type 2 diabetes. Whats more, "night owls" get less exercise and burn less fat than "early birds," allowing fat to build up in the bloodstream, which can set the stage for heart disease. The study demonstrates the importance of the timing of sleep in addition to duration and quality of sleep, said Dr. Seema Khosla. Read more here: New drug eases severe eczema in young kids Sonia Dhaliwal knows exactly how bad childhood eczema can get. Thats because her young daughter, Ariah Nihal Khan, has struggled with a severe case of the skin condition ever since she was a baby. Ariah's symptoms were relentless and debilitating until the age of 3. They included rashes, skin discolorations all across her face, eyelids, hands and knees, and itching so bad that "she would literally wake up screaming and crying with blood spots from scratching," Dhaliwal said. Finally, Ariah found relief in a monoclonal antibody medication that a new study has found both effective and safe for children as young as 6 months. Read more here: What draws mosquitoes to people's skin? Just as a person might be drawn to a particular scent, so, too, are mosquitoes. The pesky insects may be attracted to a chemical cocktail of odors emanating from the skin, according to a new study. The draw is a combination of carbon dioxide plus two chemicals, 2-ketoglutaric and lactic acid, researchers said. The chemical cocktail not only causes a mosquito to locate and land on its victim, but it encourages probing to find blood. The mixture appears to specifically attract female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which can be vectors of Zika, chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever viruses. Read more here: *** Read more recent news from HealthDay here: ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Allentown School District says it plans to hold a community forum on school safety. This comes after a William Allen High School sophomore was shot and killed Sunday afternoon. The murder happened less than two weeks after another gun-related incident at Allen High School. The weekend shooting took the life of 15-year-old Trashawn Tracy. Investigators say he was shot multiple times near 6th and Tilghman Streets at Stevens Park just before 3 p.m. "When is it going to end? It's just so sad," mother Crystal Cruz said. "It's just sad to say that a kid lost their life at this park," another mother, Nina Singleton, said. Both of the women live near the scene and say they can't wrap their minds around the tragedy. "It's so sad, as a parent, to have to bury my own child," Cruz said. "They're supposed to bury us, we're not supposed to bury them." Candles were left at the spot where family and friends of the teen held a vigil Monday night. "I mean, how does something like this happen in broad daylight in the middle of a park," Jeani Garcia asked. Garcia is part of anti-gun violence organization Promise Neighborhoods Leigh Valley. She is calling for action from the top down. "Who's accountable? He's the child," Garcia said. "We're the adults. We're the leaders in the community." Parents such as Singleton say they're already taking their own action by keeping their kids out of what she calls a crime-ridden area. "There's people sitting here day in and day out and getting high, drinking, dancing and listen to music," Singleton said. "You don't see any kids interacting at all." Allentown Police haven't released any information on the killer. Investigators are still working to figure out what led to the murder. The Allentown School District hasn't announced a day for the community forum. The district says once it does, parents and students are invited to discuss creating a safer environment both in and out of school. A plate full of food to fill an empty belly is what every child needs to power through the school day. But, for some families, paying for that food can be difficult, as Melissa Fillman's daughter witnessed first hand when she was only six years old. She watched as her friend was forced to give back her lunch when she didn't have the funds to pay for it. "It was heartbreaking to find out at that time that if you couldn't afford a lunch you had to put your lunch back," Fillman said. The experience moved them to create the organization Kindness is Magic. The organization is partnering with four local districts to help pay down student lunch debt. Recently the organization partnered with the East Penn School District, which does not make children return lunches if they do not have the funds. However, the district has accumulated a large lunch debt. East Penn is over $10,000 in the negative, and Wescosville Elementary School, where the latest fundraiser was held, had over $500 in lunch debt. "We designed a T-shirt with our service dog Mario on it and we sold the T-shirt to raise funds," said Marissa Quinn, community service advisor at Wescosville Elementary School. Partnering with the Community Service Club at the school, the team of 25 fourth-graders was able to raise enough money to eliminate the current debt. "Right now it's another bill for them to have to pay, so if we can help with that and we know, it's less for the parents to have to worry about," Quinn said. Organizers say the community came together to take something off parent's plates to help fill students' plates, and taught everyone the importance of looking out for one another. "It's fantastic that the children themselves are the ones that really are empowering each other to give back to each other and just making the world a better place," Fillman said. U. SAUCON TWP., Pa. - Police in Upper Saucon Township said a serious hit-and-run crash led to a lockdown of all Southern Lehigh School District schools Tuesday morning. The lockdown was lifted Tuesday afternoon. Police were sent to the crash involving injuries on Route 378 in the area of Preston Lane shortly after 8:30 a.m., according to a news release from township police. The person suspected in the crash fled the scene in the vehicle, abandoning it at the Southern Lehigh Intermediate School, according to police. Police say the person then ran away. "In an abundance of caution" police requested that the district lock down school buildings while officers searched the area, according to the news release. After becoming confident that the person left the area, police recommended that normal activities resume Tuesday afternoon. Police will continue to remain present at school district buildings. The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call township police at 610-282-3064. 10:10 | Lima, Sep. 26. He remarked that the country's basic approaches regarding international relations, principles of peace, security, development and well-being have led the country to assume the Pro-Tempore Presidency of the Andean Community (CAN) The government official mentioned that Peru will also assume the Presidency of the Pacific Alliance in November this year and in the coming days will host the 52nd OAS General Assembly , which will be attended by representatives from 25 countries. "There is only one foreign policy, and it has historically been put in place by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with a fully consolidated and internationally recognized diplomatic service. In addition, at an international level, Peru's position generates trust," Minister Landa said in statements to RPP. According to the Cabinet member, this confirms that Peru is not indifferent to international events, and that is why foreign ministers or heads of state come to our country and President Pedro Castillo is invited to participate in international meetings or forums. On the other hand, he denied that President Castillo's speech at the UN General Assembly sought to refer to Congress or internal issues, noting that his statement against coups d'etat indicates a position of principles. In this regard, the high-ranking official underscored that Mr. Castillo's message is related to the principles contained in the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which rejects such attempts. "The President has not referred to impeachments, interpellations, or censures in his speech before the United Nations," he pointed out. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) A hard-line Iranian lawmaker Tuesday slammed female protesters who have taken off mandatory headscarves as prostitutes, doubling down on the government stance amid the dramatic demonstrations following the death of a 22-year-old woman detained by the countrys morality police. The harsh language by Mahmoud Nabavian, a legislator from Tehran, was in sharp contrast to the appeal by a top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamadani, who on Sunday urged the government to listen to the people's demands. The fate of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody after being detained by the morality police because her headscarf was allegedly too loose has ignited unrest across Iran. Protests have have spread to at least 46 cities, including the capital of Tehran, towns and villages with scenes of violence and street clashes with security forces unseen for years in Iran. State TV reported that a police officer died Tuesday in a hospital after being injured by rioters in the town of Robatkarim in Tehran province. Solidarity protests have also erupted in Europe, the United States and in parts of the Middle East. In a predominantly Kurdish city in Syria, thousands of women took to the streets Monday, holding posters with Aminis photo. Across Iran, ordinary women and public figures, including Iranian actresses, have removed their headscarves in protest or cut their hair in public to show solidarity with the demonstrators. Irans semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that security forces arrested reformist activist Faezeh Hashemi, daughter of Irans late President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The Tuesday report said Hashemi, who has previously served time in prison for her comments and activism, was arrested for allegedly inciting rioters to street protests in the east of Tehran on Tuesday night. A lawyer for Hashemi could not be reached and it was unclear if she had legal representation. Iranian state TV has suggested that at least 41 protesters and police have been killed since demonstrations began Sept. 17. An Associated Press count of official statements by authorities tallied at least 14 dead, with more than 1,500 demonstrators arrested. The state-run IRNA news agency reported Tuesday that Hassan Bahramnia, governor of Ilam province in western Iran near the border with Iraq, said security forces have arrested 180 protesters since the unrest began. He said some have been released. These rioters are out to prostitute themselves, the lawmaker, Mahmoud Nabavian, was quoted as saying by Fararu, a news website. He suggested that taking off the hijab, or headscarf, was akin to being naked in public to attract male attention. Nabavian blamed both women and men taking part in the protests, saying they were guilty of impurities" that need to be washed away. Hamadani's tone was starkly different. It is necessary for officials to listen to peoples demands and solve their problems and be sensitive to their rights, said the senior cleric, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking to reporters Tuesday in Washington, said Irans government took Mahsas life because of decisions she should be making about what she would wear or not wear. Women in Iran have the right to wear what they want, he said. They have the right to be free from violence. Amnesty International in a statement said urgent international action was needed to ensure accountability for Amini's death in custody. The rights group said the case must be independently, impartially and effectively investigated and those suspected of responsibility brought to justice in fair trials. The U.N. Human Rights Council called for an independent investigation to address the prevailing crisis of impunity in Iran. Meanwhile, Irans judiciary chief, Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejehi, warned public and famous figures who have openly supported the demonstrators, that they must pay for damages to public property caused by the protests. Abbas Salehi, Irans minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, advised that actresses who removed their headscarves on social media posts should try to find other jobs, implying the ministry could ban them from working in their profession. Iran has arrested at least 20 journalists since the start of the unrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said late Monday, calling on Iran to release the reporters and halt its crackdown on the media. Iranian authorities should be ashamed of themselves for orchestrating this brutal crackdown, said Sherif Mansour, CPJs Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. They have proved their failure to grasp that suppressing dissenting voices only compounds dissent. The Syrian Kurdish-run Hawar News Agency reported on the protest in the northeastern, predominantly Kurdish region of Syria where thousands of women marched Monday in solidarity with Iranian women. In the city of Qamishli, they held up photos of Amini and toward the end of the march several women, including an elderly one, cut off their hair, threw it to the ground, along with headscarves, and set the pile on fire. Long live freedom, women demand free life, revolution is in our hands," the marchers chanted. Women, life, freedom!" Allentown, PA (18103) Today Cloudy, breezy, and cool with a bit of rain or some times of drizzle, especially in the afternoon.. Tonight Cloudy and brisk with a few showers remaining or a touch of drizzle. A new version of Disney's Frozen the Musical has been released for schools and youth groups in the UK and Ireland. According to press material, "Frozen Jr brings Elsa, Anna, and the magical land of Arendelle to life in a version specially adapted for youth performers between ages 8 and 18. "In its compact, 60-minute running time, Disney's Frozen Jr features the hits and highlights from the iconic animated film classic, as well as songs written for the current West End production, now running at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane." The release, by Music Theatre International and Disney Theatrical Group, is being celebrated with a competition that will give one lucky school or youth group the chance to perform an excerpt from Frozen Jr at MTI's Junior Theatre Festival (JTF). The successful group will receive free access to the Festival, on 29 April 2023, a travel and accommodation bursary of 1500 and be invited to perform "Fixer Upper" from the show on the main stage during the Festival's awards ceremony. Ryan Macaulay, director of operations, education and development for MTI's London office, said: "We can't wait to share the magic of Disney's Frozen Jr with young performers all over the UK and Ireland." The new production opens in 2024 Ivo van Hove ( Dan Wooller) A new version of Jesus Christ Superstar is being helmed by award-winning director Ivo van Hove (Network). The new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's seminal musical, first released as a concept album, will open in early 2024 in the Netherlands. Van Hove explained today: "Jesus Christ Superstar is a beautiful - purely song-driven - musical about a socially inspired group of friends in which someone, Jesus develops into a leader with innovative ideas to stand up for people who have no voice in society...It leads to a new movement, a popular uprising. Anger takes over. A story of and for our time. I am extremely happy that Albert Verlinde is now making my dream of directing this production come true." Featuring songs including "Heaven on Their Minds" and "Gethsemane", the musical is considered one of Lloyd Webber and Rice's finest, with the pair also collaborating on Joseph, Evita and more. Producer Albert Verlinde, who has worked on a variety of projects across the world said: During the preparations for Lazarus (the hit musical featuring the tunes of David Bowie) in Amsterdam, I asked Ivo which musical he wanted to direct in the future. In that, he was very clear: Jesus Christ Superstar. I am happy that Ivo is now shining his artistic light on this beloved musical together with designer Jan Versweyveld and his team. The premiere of Jesus Christ Superstar will take place on 21 January 2024 at the DeLaMar Theatre in Amsterdam. After that, the show will travel to twenty Dutch theatres. Who knows where it may go beyond that... The National Theatre has extended its Theatre Nation Partnerships (TNP) network of venues and community organisations to include "every region in England". The NT has also announced today that a new production of Roy Williams' play Sucker Punch will tour to ten venues from March next year. New partner organisations joining the network are: Restoke, Regent Theatre & Victoria Hall (Ambassador Theatre Group) in Stoke-on-Trent, Peterborough New Theatre with Selladoor Venues, Queen's Theatre Barnstaple and The Landmark in Ilfracombe, North Devon with Selladoor Venues, Curve in Leicester, and Trowbridge Town Hall. The NT says the 14 partner organisations will "engage over half a million people over three years, more than doubling the existing reach of the network." As part of this work the NT will take three productions directly into schools, starting with Shut Up, I'm Dreaming, a new play that will visit 55 secondary schools from January. Devised by The PappyShow, it "explores the ambitions, hopes and feelings of the next generation in an uncertain world." Roy Williams' award-winning play Sucker Punch, produced by Queen's Theatre Hornchurch, will be touring nationally to nine TNP organisations as well as New Wolsey Theatre from March 2023. Directed by Nathan Powell, it explores being young and black in the 80s. The acclaimed NT production of The Ocean at the End of the Lane will also visit five TNP venues, opening at The Lowry in Salford in December 2022 and visiting Leicester Curve, Sunderland Empire, Regent Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent and Wolverhampton Grand Theatre in 2023. Further tours of "landmark productions" will take place in 2024 and 2025. As already announced, an epic multi-version production of The Odyssey will be created and performed by artists and communities in Stoke-on-Trent, Doncaster, Trowbridge, Sunderland and at the National as part of its 60th anniversary season next year. Speak Up, which sees young people working in collaboration with local artists and teachers to lead creative projects, will also extend to 55 schools including new areas of Leicester, Stoke-on-Trent and North Devon in January 2023. TNP is supported by a 1.25million award from Arts Council England, made possible by National Lottery players. The NT says it will triple this investment through further fundraising and commercial activity, and "almost 90% of the total will be spent directly in partner areas". Rufus Norris, director of the NT, said: "TNP has shown how effectively a network of theatres can work together to inspire new audiences for theatre, deepen roots within communities and create more opportunities for the next generation to engage in the arts." In the first couple of rows at For A Palestinian, you might catch the slight scent of oranges. It's a painting featuring oranges which draws Wa'el Zuaiter to its artist, Janet, in Rome in the 1960s. Oranges remind him of the sea, he tells her: the sea of his home, of Palestine. If Wa'el Zuaiter's known to the audience at all, it's for being the first assassination in Israel's Operation Wrath of God, in response to the Munich Massacre in 1972, rather than for his hopes of translating the One Thousand and One Nights. It's this Wa'el, a poet and lover of art opposed to harming anything, who's the subject of this play. The Mossad files on Zuaiter linking him to the terrorist group Black September have never been released: it's presented as fact in Steven Spielberg's Munich (2005), written by Tony Kushner, while two years after that, Emily Jacir's art installation Material for a film which memorialises him was awarded the Venice Biennale's Golden Lion. Many remain resolute that his death was a mistake. This dispute isn't the subject of For A Palestinian. Performer Bilal Hasna and director Aaron Kilercioglu named their play after the book of essays, published by Wa'el Zuaiter's partner Janet Venn-Brown, after his death. Accordingly, the play is for and about the man himself, and about love: primarily, the dramatised relationship between Janet and Wa'el in Rome, and Wa'el and Hasna's own longing for a homeland changed, and out of reach. Hasna has the physicality of an animated film, all on his own: larger than life, the characters seem to step on each others' toes ceding the space to one other, as he flows between accents, ages and body types. He has broad fun with the national stereotypes of Wa'el's European friends at his pensione and his wizened old landlady Mariuccia, in an closed-eye grimace. He gives you goosebumps just by hugging himself. Rarely, Hasna stills, and we hear recordings of him with his dad, with a tracked down friend of Wa'el's, or other members of the team, discussing Wa'el or making the play itself. A calm, sad, and sometimes mischievous score by Holly Khan accompanies him throughout, its moments of harp and flute most memorable. Hasna's own background, as a young Palestinian of the diaspora who has never lived there, is an enlivening strand of the play running alongside, coming to the forefront at its close: he's eager to find similarities between himself and Zuaiter, and notes the deferential treatment he and his family receive travelling to Palestine for a family wedding. The writing is compassionate and forceful throughout, though its end is perhaps slightly extended and over-emphatic. We understand so clearly where Hasna and Kilercioglu are coming from already. The set design by Jida Akil is like an abstracted sketch of Wa'el's story - piles and mobiles of orange slices, an orange frame, blue fabric - and contains little secrets. Ros Chase's lighting is a masterclass in how to light a small space, utterly responsive and choosing colours wisely from a wide palette, not just orange. When she drains that colour away for what feels like the first time, as the Palestine cause loses public sympathy in Italy at the Munich Massacre, the black walls of the Camden People's Theatre reassert themselves around Hasna hopelessly. Hasna and Kilercioglu don't let it end there in that darkness, pulling Wa'el and Hasna's threads together to make a stab at hope for the future, partially through the telling this story. Clutching the book with the voices of those who made the show around him, Hasna barely seems alone onstage at all. In a tweet on Monday evening, Minsa stated that cases were reported in Metropolitan Lima (1,890), Lima Provinces (29), Callao (169), La Libertad (117), Arequipa (100), Ucayali (17), Lambayeque (16), Piura (17), Ica (15), Cusco (13), Tacna (10), Loreto (10), Ancash (6), San Martin (9), Madre de Dios (6), Junin (4), Huanuco (3), Cajamarca (2), Moquegua (2), and Puno (1). Minsa reported 1,939 hospital discharges. Besides, all patients received medical care and are being monitored, as contacts are identified. The ministry encouraged the population to call line 113, extension 6, or go to the nearest health facility in case they have symptoms like rashes or skin lesions. What is monkeypox? Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans from animals. Monkeypox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms, but milder. Transmission Animal-to-person transmission occurs through direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids, or cutaneous or mucosal lesions of infected wild animals such as rodents and primates from Africa. Human-to-human transmission can result from close contact with respiratory secretions, skin lesions of an infected person or recently contaminated objects. How to avoid infection - Avoid contact. - Wash your hands. - Wear a facemask. - Isolate yourself if you have symptoms. ?? El Ministerio de Salud informa que 1939 personas han sido dadas de alta por #ViruelaDelMono y se han detectado 13 casos nuevos. Todos vienen recibiendo asistencia medica y se viene realizando seguimiento a sus contactos. pic.twitter.com/jarm8dJl30 A 57-year-old Winona man is in critical condition after his motorcycle collided with a vehicle Saturday in Winona. According to the Winona Police Department, Lavern Feuling was transported to Winona Health and then airlifted to Rochester after the westbound motorcycle he was driving was struck by a vehicle operated by Timothy Chiglo, 65, Winona. Chiglo was driving on a private road near Target while headed toward Farm & Fleet. Chiglo reportedly told police he didnt see Feulings motorcycle. Police were unable to say whether Feuling was wearing a helmet. No citations had been issued as of Monday morning, but police say an investigation is continuing. Police were called Saturday just after 8 p.m. to the 400 block of North Thompson Drive where a 27-year-old woman said she had been working nearby and while in the parking lot was approached by an unknown male who asked for money. After the suspect took the victim's money, he inappropriately touched the victim while still in the lot, police said. The woman was able to escape the suspect and then called police to report the incident. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. On the occasion of the 2nd anniversary of the 44-Day Artsakh War, the United States Embassy in Armenia extended its condolences to the families of all those who were killed and injured during the war. On September 27, we remember those who lost their lives in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and extend our deepest condolences to the families of those killed and injured. The United States remains committed to working towards peace for the South Caucasus region, the Embassy said in a statement. The Embassy also attached a photo to the statement, showing Ambassador Lynne Tracy lighting a candle at Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church in Goris. Two years ago, on September 27th, Armenians woke up to news that Azerbaijan is attacking Artsakh. Although it was momentarily clear that this attack wasnt the usual border skirmish, no one wouldve thought that it was the beginning of an all-out war that would last six weeks. With overt Turkish support and involvement of foreign mercenaries, the Azerbaijani military launched a war of conquest, with indiscriminate bombardments of towns and cities of Artsakh, including the capital city of Stepanakert. Village homes, apartments, churches and even the maternity hospital of Stepanakert were hit by Azeri strikes. The Armenian and Artsakhi governments declared martial law and mobilization of reservists, while many people were voluntarily signing up to the military to be deployed to the frontline and defend the nation. After 44 days, on the night of November 9-10, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a Russia-backed ceasefire agreement ending the war. To this day, Azerbaijan refuses to implement the agreements of the ceasefire and hasnt returned all Armenian captives. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development MONDIACULT 2022 will take place from 28 to 30 September in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico. Armenias delegation led by Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Vahram Dumanyan departed for Mexico for the participation in the Conference, the ministry said. Minister Dumanyan will deliver a report during the session Heritage and Cultural Diversity in Crisis. He is also scheduled to meet with a number of UNESCO and foreign officials to discuss the implementation of the preliminary agreements reached in the field of culture and education, as well as the mutual cooperation directions. The Armenian delegation also includes deputy minister of education, science, culture and sport Alfred Kocharyan and head of the department of Cultural Heritage and Folk Crafts Astghik Marabyan. Case of man charged with threatening Hickman County High School to go to grand jury YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Just a week after her participation in a historic Congressional delegation visit to Armenia, led by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Jackie Speier (D-CA) has introduced legislation condemning Azerbaijans war crimes against Armenia and Artsakh, calling on the U.S. to explore sanctions and petition international tribunals to carry out appropriate investigations and sanctions, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). Rep. Speier shared her intention to introduce the legislation during Washington DC meetings last week with Artsakh Foreign Minister David Babayan and Deputy Minister of Culture Lernik Hovanessian, following the ANCAs Federal Policy Seminar. In addition to pursuing sanctions for war crimes, the resolution calls for an investigation into Azerbaijans ongoing illegal imprisonment of Armenian POWs, condemns the destruction of Armenian churches and historic sites, and reaffirms the territorial integrity of Armenia and Artsakh. Rep. Speier is joined by Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Vice-Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA), and fellow Armenian American Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) in spearheading the measure. We welcome todays introduction of Congresswoman Speiers war-crimes resolution alongside Congressman Schiffs measure condemning Azerbaijans attacks, said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. Both are powerful, bipartisan expressions of Congressional support for the statutory measures required to enforce Section 907 and cut-off all U.S. military aid to an oil-rich Azerbaijani government that is attacking Armenia and ethnically-cleansing Artsakh. Congresswoman Speier is ending her service in the U.S. Congress in the same spirit she entered this great house of democracy as a courageous and caring voice for the Armenian people in her House district, across America, living in our homeland, and throughout the world, said ANCA San Francisco Bay Area Chair Matt Senekeremian, who resides in Rep. Speiers district. We stand shoulder to shoulder with her in seeking to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its war-crimes. Rep. Speiers measure follows the introduction earlier this month of H.Res.1351, spearheaded by Rep. Adam Schiff and Congressional Armenian Caucus leaders, calling for an immediate end to U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, and condemning President Aliyevs unprovoked attack against Armenia and Artsakh. The measure currently has 44 cosponsors. Hurricane Ian strengthens to Category 2 storm and could be 'something that we haven't seen in our lifetime,' Tampa forecaster says Calls for more households to come forward and offer their homes to Ukrainians fleeing the war More households across Wales are being urged to come forward to offer their homes for Ukrainians fleeing the war. So far more than 5,650 people from Ukraine, sponsored by the Welsh Government and Welsh households, have already arrived in the UK. Over 8,200 visas have now been issued to people from the Ukraine who have sponsors in Wales, and the number of arrivals is expected to grow in the coming weeks. However with the initial six month host period about to come to an end, there is a call from the Welsh Government for more households across Wales to come forward to house those who cannot continue living where they are. The Welsh Government has also partnered with Airbnb to ensure very short-term emergency placements can be provided to prevent homelessness. Minister for Social Justice Jane Hutt, said: Thousands of Welsh households sponsored Ukrainians to arrive in Wales and they gave a commitment to host for at least 6 months. As we move into the autumn, we approach the end of that initial period. We hope hosts and Ukrainians will agree to extend many of those placements, but we need additional hosts to support those who cannot continue living where they are. In order to ensure a warm welcome to Wales, Im issuing an invitation to households across Wales, to come forward an open their homes to welcome those seeking sanctuary. Were immensely thankful to all those across Wales who are acting as hosts to Ukrainians, but its vital that more households to come forward. I completely understand that there are those who want to help but may not have the resources to do so, given the circumstances were all facing with the cost-of-living crisis. But what we all know, and has been proven countless times, is that the people of Wales are one of the most generous across the globe and Im sure we will step up to the plate once again. The idea of hosting can be daunting. Thats why we have funded Housing Justice Cymru, to provide a Host Support service which includes expert and reliable information, training, advice and guidance for people hosting, or those considering hosting, Ukrainians in Wales. We still need many more households to consider whether they could provide a home for those in need. This would normally be a commitment to hosting for six to 12 months. If anyone is considering this we encourage them to register their interest at gov.wales/offerhome, and to attend one of the Introduction to Hosting sessions, facilitated by Housing Justice Cymru. There will be no obligation to continue with the process if you decide it is not for you. The Minister added: We will continue to communicate with those who host Ukrainians, with updated guidance and information to support the valuable role you are undertaking. To all those that are already hosting and to those that are considering hosting, thank you, we owe you all a huge debt of gratitude. More information on sessions and training can be found on the Housing Justice Cymru website. The Welsh Government also releases updated guidance for hosts and sponsors at gov.wales/ukraine. If you cannot host for more than six months but you could offer your property for up to 30 days at a time, you may also be able to contribute. Visit gov.wales/offerhome and follow the link to the Airbnb.org platform. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The United States calls on Azerbaijan to return troops to their initial positions, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said at a press briefing. When asked to comment on the meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan and Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov last week, the Spokesperson said: It was important for us and for the Secretary in particular to bring the two sides together. Of course, the Secretary had had conversations with the two leaders, but this was the first face-to-face meeting that the two foreign ministers had since the latest outbreak of violence. The Secretary noted to both leaders the importance of maintaining the ceasefire, of maintaining the calm, said noted that were dedicated to a sustainable ceasefire and to a peaceful resolution, he said. Ned Price added that they made clear to both foreign ministers that the United States stands ready to support to support this bilaterally, multilaterally, together with partners. This includes our support for efforts by EU Council President Charles Michel bring the leaders together, he said. He said that during the course of that meeting they discussed the best path forward, and the Secretary suggested the sides share ideas for how to meaningfully advance the peace process before the end of the month. Our message has been consistent for some time. We call on Azerbaijan to return troops to their initial positions. We urge disengagement of military forces and work to resolve all outstanding issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan through peaceful negotiations. The use of force is not an acceptable path. Weve made that clear privately. Weve also made that clear publicly, and were glad that our continued engagement, including at high levels, including last week in New York, with both countries has helped to halt the hostilities, and well continue to engage and encourage the work needed to reach a lasting peace because there can be and there is no military solution to this conflict, the State Department Spokesperson said. Commenting on the Secretarys call to meet again by the end of this month, Ned Price said this will be up to the two countries to decide. But we do think that continued engagement directly between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not only in their interests, its in the interests of the region and beyond. We are in regular contact with both Armenian and Azeri officials. That will continue, he said. Alabama prison officials abandoned efforts to execute Alan Eugene Miller on Thursday after the execution team failed to successfully access his veins. The lethal injection came two months after the state spent three hours executing another death row prisoner, Joe Nathan James, mangling his body in the process. Officials escort Alan Eugene Miller away from the Pelham City Jail in Ala., on Aug. 5, 1999 [AP Photo/Dave Martin] Such executions are frequently referred to as botched, which is defined as a task that is carried out badly or carelessly. This seems an inadequate choice of term for a procedure that subjects a human being to cruel and unusual punishmentwhich is banned by the Eighth Amendmentin the course of putting him or her to death. Miller was convicted and sentenced to death in 2002 for the killing of three peopleMichael Holdbrooks, Terry Lee Jarvis and Christopher Scott Yanceyin a 1999 workplace rampage. Prison authorities called off his execution after the process had begun, as it became clear that they would not be able to carry out the state killing before his death warrant expired at midnight. Miller had requested that he be executed by nitrogen hypoxia instead of lethal injection. Alabama has approved the method but has yet to develop a protocol for its use. Four years ago, the state opened a 30-day window for condemned inmates to select nitrogen hypoxia for their executions. Miller claimed he left the form indicating his preference in a slot between the bars in his prison cell during the allotted time, but state authorities contend they did not receive it. Miller went to federal court to block the lethal injection, and on September 19, US District Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. granted his request, barring the state from using any method of execution except nitrogen hypoxia. The judge said it was substantially likely that Miller submitted the paperwork on time. On Wednesday, September 21, the state of Alabama went to the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, asking that court to lift Huffakers order. The Court of Appeals turned down the states plea. Alabama then turned to the US Supreme Court. In an unsigned 5-4 ruling, the countrys highest court lifted the federal judges order, allowing the execution to proceed by lethal injection. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, indicating that they would have kept the lower courts order in place, requiring the state to use nitrogen hypoxia. John Hamm, Alabama corrections commissioner, told reporters that accessing the veins was taking a little bit longer than we anticipated. Commenting on the called-off execution, Hamm said, Due to time constraints resulting from the lateness of the court proceedings, the execution was called off once it was determined the condemned inmates veins could not be accessed in accordance with our protocol before the expiration of the death warrant. At the request of Millers attorneys, a federal judge on Friday ordered Alabama state prison officials to preserve records and medical supplies associated with the attempted execution of their client. An independent autopsy, commissioned and funded by Reprieve US, of Joe Nathan James, the Alabama prisoner executed on July 28, revealed patches of mottled, discolored skin on his hands, wrists and feet. It also found a deep, jagged vertical incision intersected in an obtuse angle with a diagonal incision on the inside of his elbow. Dr. Joel Zivot, an Emory University anesthesiology instructor who conducted the autopsy, said the incision was likely the result of an attempted cutdown, an outdated procedure where a deep cut is made to access a vein. The doctor also found puncture wounds in James muscles that suggested either incompetence or an attempt to sedate the prisoner before his execution. Witnesses reported that the only response from James was his eyelids fluttering soon after the lethal injections began. Jim Ransom, James last defense attorney, told the Atlantic that this lack of response and his clients failure to make a final statement didnt ring true. Joe always had something to say, Ransom said, describing James as a self-advocate who wanted to fight em to the very last minute. Alabama abandoned another execution in February 2018. Prisoner Doyle Lee Hamm lay for two hours as corrections staff punctured his hands, arms, feet and groin in an effort to find a usable vein for lethal injection before giving up. Hamms attorneys had argued that their clients lymphatic cancer and venous access issues would make for a torturous execution, and they were not mistaken. Hamm died in prison of cancer-related complications in November 2021 at age 64. Nitrogen hypoxia is now authorized for use in executions in Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma, but has yet to be utilized. This is not due to any concern by state authorities over finding a more humane method of execution. Rather, it is because numerous problems have arisen using lethal injection over the past decade, resulting in extreme suffering and torture of death row prisoners condemned to death. The public outrage over repeated gruesome executions has prompted authorities to look for alternative methods to keep their state killing machines in operation. Lethal injection has been the method of choice for executions in the US since the 1990s. The original three-drug protocol developed by an Oklahoma state medical examiner included the anesthetic sodium thiopental, the paralytic drug pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride to induce cardiac arrest. The sole US manufacturer of sodium thiopental stopped producing it in 2011. In 2012, a ruling by the US District Court for the District of Columbia essentially barred the US Food and Drug Administration from allowing the drug to be imported for use in executions. States responded by scrambling for alternative drugs. Some began using a single drug, the barbiturate pentobarbital, which is commonly used in veterinary and human euthanasia. Other states replaced sodium thiopental with midazolam, a benzodiazepine. Neither pentobarbital nor midazolam are anesthetics or pain relievers. There is strong evidence that the use of pancuronium bromide is not used to limit suffering during a lethal injection, but to conceal from witnesses any appearance of suffering by the prisoner during an execution. The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) says that of the 1,054 lethal injection procedures carried out since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, 75 of themmore than 7 percenthave been botched. DPIC lists them here. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, lamented the failure to succeed in putting Miller to death. In Alabama, we are committed to law and order and upholding justice, she said in an official press release. Despite the circumstances that led to the cancellation of this execution, nothing will change the fact that a jury heard the evidence of this case and made a decision. Cynically referencing Millers preferred method of execution, Ivey said of murder victims, We all know full well that Michael Holdbrooks, Terry Lee Jarvis and Christopher Scott Yancey did not choose to die by bullets to the chest. Alabama has yet to schedule a new execution date for Miller but has indicated that it will seek to make another attempt to put him to death, again using lethal injection, as upheld by the US Supreme Courts ruling. The following letter was sent by United Auto Worker presidential candidate Will Lehman to Steven Greenhouse, the former New York Times reporter who moderated the presidential candidates debate on Thursday, September 22. Lehman sent an earlier letter to Greenhouse protesting the falsification of his positions during the debate. Greenhouses reply to this letter is included below Lehmans response. The full video of the debate can be viewed at willforuawpresident.org/debate. Dear Mr. Greenhouse, Your reply to my email raises more concerns than it answers. First, you suggest that the quote you used may have in fact been accurate, despite my objections, and that I might have misspoken in the meeting. To dispel all doubt on this, I was able to locate the audio recording of the meeting, which was not public. The relevant portion is here. Second, you write that when you read the article, it appeared to me that it was written by a supporter of yours and that the author would take pains to make sure that the quotations from your remarks were accurate. To be frank, this is not believable. The article includes supposed quotations from me such as: I am running for the presidency of the United Auto Workers party (?); I would like to warn the staff (?) that the Union of International Employee Implementation Committees (?) can develop greater capacity (?); and I want to show workers the way forward by sending (?) a global fight. The article is littered with such nonsensical statements. How could you, with thirty years of experience as a journalist for the New York Times, read this article and think it was produced by someone who was taking pains to make sure anything was accurate? Third, you do not answer any of the points I made about the obvious lack of credibility of the Sasa Times. From your reply, you make clear that you sought out this source, rather than it being submitted by someone else. Did you make no effort to determine its legitimacy? Did you look at the about page or investigate who is behind the publication? Why did you choose a clearly non-credible source rather than my own statements, my website, or the World Socialist Web Site, which has been covering my campaign? You seem to have searched out a quote from the depths of the internet specifically designed to discredit my campaign and present my call for the abolition of the UAW bureaucracy in a negative light. It is also evident that one of your main criteria for selecting the Sasa Times is that you wanted to avoid any mention of the World Socialist Web Site, which is followed widely by autoworkers for exposing the betrayals of the UAW. If you were searching for articles about my campaign, including my meeting with German and Indian workers, you would certainly have first come across reports from the WSWS, which accurately quoted my remarks. You would have quickly been able to determine that the Sasa Times article is a mangled reproduction, to the point of being semi-coherent, of the WSWS article. Fourth, you state that I had two full minutes to respond to the question and that you are therefore baffled that I would demand that you issue a correction. Excuse me, Mr. Greenhouse, but you attributed an exact quote to me in the first question directed toward me. This exact quote turned out to be false, taken from an illegitimate source. I therefore had to spend the limited time I had clarifying this error. My ability to respond, moreover, does not change the fact that you read a quote attributed to me that I never said, which opponents of my campaign will and already are using to attempt to discredit me. The only way to stop this is by making a formal statement correcting the record. There is no question that if you had made a similar mistake in posing a question to Ray Curry or Shawn Fain, you would not hesitate to make such a correction, and, moreover, you would have exercised greater responsibility in selecting the question in the first place. However, since I am a rank-and-file worker and opponent of the apparatus, you feel you have no such obligation. Finally, you say that as a journalist and a writer, you are unaccustomed toand very uncomfortable withpeople issuing formal demands to me. People, you write, should not make stern demands to fellow human beings. I am sorry, Mr. Greenhouse, but you are not the wounded party here, and you are not just a journalist and a writer. You were chosen as the moderator of the official debates for the executive offices of the United Auto Workers, debates that could be decisive in the outcome of the elections and indeed the future of the labor movement in the United States. You and you alone, as you stressed, were responsible for selecting questions and being scrupulously neutral in these debates. You misquoted me in a manner that falsified my position. You made a serious error. And you are uncomfortable with my insistence that you issue a statement acknowledging this fact? Frankly, you seem to be placing more importance on your own offended feelings than the clarification of this issue for the hundreds of thousands of workers who will be voting in this election. Sincerely, Will Lehman *** Greenhouses letter to Will Lehman: Mr. Lehman, I am sorry that you are upset about the quotation I used from an article in the Sasa Times. When I read the Sasa Times article, it appeared to me that it was written by a supporter of yours, someone knowledgeable, someone who was eager to promote your point of view to the worldand to UAW members who might look at the Sasa Times. And that made me think in turn that the articles pro-Lehman author would take pains to make sure that the quotations from your remarks were accurate. I very much thought that the articles lengthy quotations of your remarks were taken from an audio recording. Indeed, when I read that article, it read like one of many articles I have read over the years that relied heavily on audio recordings. You write that the Sasa Times article misquoted you. As I said, I believe the Sasa Times article relied on an audio recording, and it is certainly possible that in your remarks, you unintentionally called for the complete abolition of unions, when you had instead intended to call for the complete abolition of the union bureaucracy. All of us are human, all of us err, and many of us have at times mistakenly omitted words while giving speeches, and that might have happened in your case here. Second, you had two full minutes to respond to that question, and in those two minutes, you vigorously made the case that what you had said in those remarks was My campaign advances the call for the complete abolition of the union bureaucracy, and not, as my question stated, My campaign supports the call for a complete abolition of trade unions. Im sure that your response to that question was heard loud and clear by everyone who watched the debate live or watched a recording of it. In truth, because you gave such an emphatic and detailed response to my question, I am somewhat baffled why you are demanding such an extraordinary type of correction. I am a journalist and a writer. Like other journalists and writers, I am unaccustomed toand very uncomfortable withpeople issuing formal demands to me, as you did in your letter to me. I am not General Motors, Ford, Mack Trucks or a powerful CEO. If you want to make demands to them, fine. In the world I live in, one doesnt speak that wayone doesnt issue stern demandsto fellow human beings. Sincerely, Steven Greenhouse In a revealing interview that aired Sunday night on the CBS News 60 Minutes program, former January 6 House Select Committee investigator Denver Riggleman revealed the leading role Trump, his family and the wider Republican Party played in facilitating the attack on the Capitol with on-the ground fascist paramilitary elements. Denver Riggleman on CBS News' 60 Minutes [Photo by CBS News] In a widely circulated clip used to promote the interview, Riggleman, the first former committee investigator to go public with an insiders account, recounted a real A-ha moment when you see that the White House Switchboard had connected to a rioters phone while its happening. Thats a big, pretty big A-ha moment. Riggleman said he did not know exactly who inside the White House placed the call, but that he did know who was on the receiving end. CBS interviewer Bill Whitaker failed to ask the obvious follow-up questions: Who was the rioter who received the call? And was he/she summoned by the House Select Committee to identify the White House caller? Riggleman gave the interview to coincide with the release of his new book this Tuesday titled The Breach. In a report on the book, the Guardians Hugo Lowell, who obtained an advance copy, revealed that the January 6 call from the White House to the on-the-ground foot-soldier occurred at 4:34 p.m. Lowell writes that the call was answered by someone who has since been charged by the Justice Department with a role in the storming of the Capitol. In the book, Riggleman reports that while he was working for the January 6 committee, his team was able to analyze the call records of leading Trump co-conspirators, such as fascists Roger Stone, Alex Jones and Bianca Gracia. Gracia is the president of Latinos for Trump, which is closely connected to the former Proud Boys chairman Henry Enrique Tarrio. In his book, Riggleman claims that there were at least five calls placed between the White House switchboard and Gracia in the lead-up to January 6. On January 5, 2021, Gracia was videotaped meeting with Tarrio and Oath Keeper founder Stewart Rhodes in a Washington D.C. parking garage. Riggleman also writes in the book that after the committee confirmed Roger Stones phone number, his team was able to determine that Stone was in contact with Tarrio before and after January 6. Stone also placed a phone call to Rhodes nine days after the failed coup. Both Rhodes and Tarrio are facing seditious conspiracy charges along with over a dozen members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Lowell writes: The number for Stone also connected to a number of prominent Republicans who each played different roles in Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, including the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, and Arthur Schwartz, an aide to Donald Trump Jr., Trumps eldest son. A former one-term Republican congressman from Virginia, defeated for renomination in 2020 by a Christian fundamentalist, Riggleman was recommended as an advisor to the House Select Committee by Vice Chair Liz Cheney, the senior Republican on the panel, because of his expertise in data analysis. He is a 20-year veteran of the Air Force where he was an intelligence officer. After leaving the military he founded his own data company and now works as a contractor for the National Security Agency. Using his background in counterterrorism and data analysis, Riggleman was able to take, per the CBS report, 20 million lines of data: emails, social media posts, phone records, texts, and create a visual graph showing the lines of communication between six centers of gravity that were involved in the coup. Riggleman identified these six major groups as: Trump Team Trump Family Rally goers Unaffiliated Department of Justice (DoJ) charged defendants Proud Boys and Oath Keepers State Legislators and Alternate (Fraudulent) Electors/Others Once Rigglemans team mapped the connections between the groups he was able to create a graphic which he called The Monster. Riggleman explained: We dont have text content. What we do have is how long they talked, when they talked. That is very important. And really does suggest that there was much more coordination than the American public can even imagine when it came to January 6th. Denver Riggleman graphic dubbed "The Monster." It is a visual representation of the communications between the "Six Centers of Gravity" that orchestrated and carried out the January 6 coup. Without naming any names, the graph shows the direct links between the six major groups, revealing the leadership structure and the fact that the coup was a vast conspiracy hatched from the White House itself by the Trump Team and Trump Family delivering orders to state legislators, alternate electors and others, who relayed the messages to rally goers, unaffiliated DoJ charged defendants and fascist militia groups. Graph by Riggleman showing the communications of one "Person of Interest." Long-time readers of the World Socialist Web Site are well aware that the coup on January 6 was not a spontaneous riot, but a pre-planned attack on Congress which had the support of virtually the entire Republican Party, including elements of the police-military-intelligence apparatus and the Supreme Court. But Rigglemans declaration and graphic demonstrate the false character of the narrative by the House Select Committee that Trump and few crazies perpetrated the attack through speeches on January 6 that drove their crowd of supporters into a frenzy. This narrative is meant to preserve the Republican Party as an instrument of class rule and chloroform the working class as to the true extent of the fascist danger which has deepened during the more than 20 months since Trumps coup. The election of Biden and the Democrats to Congress has not stopped this process. Biden, by his endless pleas for bipartisan unity with a Republican Party that is increasingly dominated by fascist elements, only further fuels the rise of the ultra-right. The Democratic Party cannot put an end to the fascist threat, because, like the Republicans, it is an instrument of the financial oligarchy and the capitalist system, which is the source of fascism. Riggleman explained the intense support for the coup within the Republican Party and the Trump inner circle, and the leading role played by Meadows and Virginia Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, came into focus for his team after Meadows gave the committee over 2,000 of his text messages which he had sent between November 2020 and January 2021. He described these texts as a roadmap that showed the evolution of the beginning arguments from alternate electors all the way through rally planning, all the way to day of. It showed conspiracy theories. It showed the saturation of QAnon. In his book and in his 60 Minutes appearance, Riggleman said the Meadows texts provide irrefutable, time-stamped proof of a comprehensive plot at all levels of government to overturn the election, and that there were text messages discussing the alternate elector scheme as early as November 5th or November 6th, that is, even before the election was publicly called for Biden, but after Trumps inner circle knew that he had been soundly defeated. While he never said the word fascism, the texts show that large, leading sections of the Republican Party are completely detached from reality and have embraced Christian fascism in its peculiar QAnon form. Riggleman said that the texts showed the Trump administration was completely eaten up with a digital virus called QAnon. In North Carolina, as he did in Youngstown, Ohio, this past Friday, Trump ended his fascist rally by playing a QAnon song to which some in the crowd responded with a one-finger fascist salute. As his team combed through the Meadows texts, Riggleman was able to identify Virginia Ginni Thomas phone number. In one of her first texts to Meadows after Bidens election victory was announced by the television and cable networks, Thomas sent Meadows a QAnon meme which called for the Biden crime family to be arrested & detained and sent to live on barges off Guantanamo bay to face military tribunals for sedition. Thomas added, I hope this is true. Riggleman said Thomas texts to Meadows were hellaciously insightful in showing that the fascist QAnon infection had really metastasized in the GOP. Riggleman said that the fact that Thomas, who has that type of access to the president and married to a Supreme Court justice, was advancing QAnon conspiracy theories should be an eye opener for everybody. Riggleman told CBS he left the committee this past April because members of the committee refused to subpoena Thomas. Last week, lawyers for Thomas said she had agreed to speak to the committee, which is set to hold its final public hearing on Wednesday. On Monday, the Washington Post reported that the committee plans to air footage of Stone gloating about Trumps dictatorial scheme. In one clip, taken the day before the 2020 election, Stone is filmed telling Trump ally and Georgia Rep. Douglas Collins, F*ck the voting, lets get right to the violence. Shoot to kill, see an antifa, shoot to kill. F*ck em. Done with this bullsh*t. The Post notes Stone quickly followed up with: I am of course only kidding [wink-wink]. We renounce violence completely. We totally renounce violence. The left is the only ones who engage in violence. Neither Stone, Thomas or Trump have been charged for their role in fomenting a fascist coup more than 20 months after the fact. Supporters of United Auto Workers presidential candidate Will Lehman visited auto factories in Indiana last week in the days leading up to the first-ever UAW presidential debate to win support for the Mack Trucks worker who is calling for the abolition of the UAW bureaucracy and placing power in the hands of the rank and file. Will Lehman campaign team member speaks to a worker at Fort Wayne Assembly (WSWS media) The team handed out leaflets advertising the September 22 debate pitting Lehman, a tiered worker at the Mack Trucks plant in Macungie, Pennsylvania, against incumbent UAW President Ray Curry and other candidates representing various wings of the UAW apparatus. Lehman is stressing the need for workers to establish their own authority in the factories by organizing rank-and-file committees independent from the pro-company UAW bureaucracy. In the first stop on their campaign swing, supporters of Will Lehman visited the Stellantis transmission complex in Kokomo, Indiana. Many workers said they had not heard anything about the national union elections, which were mandated in a referendum voted on last year. At a plant gate distribution last Tuesday, for example, one worker, Charles, asked members of the campaign team, Is this for casting? referring to the huge foundry immediately adjacent to the Stellantis transmission plant where he worked. Strikers at Stellantis' Kokomo, Indiana foundry [Photo by UAW Local 1166] Workers at Kokomo Casting had carried out a brief three-day strike the previous weekend over local issues. The walkout was conducted by the UAW in a completely unserious manner, with workers called to the picket line on a weekend where no production was scheduled, and the strike ended that very Monday. The UAW even told workers at the Kokomo transmission plants not to join the picket line, claiming this would be a contract violation. When Wills campaign team explained that because of the years-long corruption scandal, rank-and-file workers would be voting to select the top leadership of the union for the first time and that Will Lehman was contesting the presidency to abolish the parasitic union apparatus altogether and return power to the shop floor, Charles responded, How come Ive never heard anything about this until now? When asked what the central issues were, Charles responded without hesitation. They gave away COLA, and weve been going backwards ever since. There was a stretch of seven years where we had no raises whatsoever. Then we got 3 percent. What is that? A dollar an hour. $40 a week is nothing. We need to open the contract. Right here in Kokomo, Frito Lay is offering $42 an hour for starting pay for a maintenance worker. Can you imagine what COLA would be right now? It would be at least five or six dollars an hour. The union said the company had us over a barrel. But the truth is we had scoundrels in the International that were taking kickbacks. That is so disgusting still!! Then they came for an extra half-hour in dues money every month. That was supposed to be a temporary levy to build up the strike fund. But that never went away. Especially in the last two contracts, it took forever for us to see any raise. Other workers singled out the multiple tiers as the most damaging concession the UAW gave away over the last three decades. That is causing a lot of turmoil in the plant, said Sherry, who has more than 20 years at the company and has been forced to move from plant to plant on multiple occasions. That and the widespread destruction of jobs were two major sore points. In 08 they laid off 235 skilled tradesmen, she continued. They came to my husband and said, Youve got to either take the buyout or move to a different plant. So he asked, Would you move my wife? But their answer was, Why would we do that? And the union did nothing. We had no choice but to take the buyout. Why cant we get a pension and COLA? asked Monik as she was leaving the transmission plant. The economy is changing. Everything has gone up. Im a single parent. Even two-parent homes cant make it. A lot of workers were impatient with the union for failing to inform them about the election and how the voting would take place. The UAW doesnt fight for us, commented Nicole. The last time we voted somebody new in, he said he was going to be different. But in the end, it was the same thing over again. Sheila has 38 years with the company and has been forced to move several times since starting in the van plant in St. Louis. She studies the news about the company and described the massive destruction of jobs that has gone unanswered by the union. When the four-speed and the six-speed [transmissions] went, they eliminated 1,000 jobs. In return the company brought the spray bore process which uses five people on two shifts. Thats all you can give us is 10 jobs? She talked about the new engine plant nearby which may have as many as 500 jobs. But those are not new jobs, she said. They took one full shift and moved everybody to the engine plant. Right now, the department producing the nine-speed transmission has been laid off for two weeks, and the eight-speed has been cut back to two shifts. It is crazy! she exclaimed. The call by Will Lehmans campaign for workers to join forces with workers in Europe and other countries to build the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees and return power to the shop floor in a common struggle to defend all jobs resonated with Sheila. Stellantis has partnered with a company called Pause to build an electric transmission which is designed to make the battery last longer, she said. That company is in Italy. We have got to build up something more reliable than what we are working with. All that corruption. That was a nightmare! Next, supporters of Will Lehman visited the GM assembly plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The plant builds the top-selling Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra light trucks. At the plant the company has turned increasingly to the use of temp workers to keep the plant operating at full production levels during the pandemic. GM workers at Ft. Wayne Assembly Plat about to leave work [Photo: WSWS] Many workers were sharply critical of the local union. When they heard that the federal monitor was putting on the first-ever one-man, one-vote election in an attempt to give the union a facelift following the corruption scandal, they remarked that the head of their local union had been exposed for corruption elsewhere and moved over to the Fort Wayne plant. Among other complaints, the company was systematically abusing the contractual requirement to provide a break after 2.5 hours of work and the local union did nothing. In the last contract we went on strike and fought to have an extra break because we would be working over 2.5 hours without a break, a young worker reported to the campaign team. I talked to my committeeman about this already, and they say they cant do anything about it. While supporters of Will Lehman were speaking to workers, a representative of the local UAW apparently called GM plant security to escort the Will Lehman campaign team off the premises in violation of the federal monitors rules that govern the conduct of the election and protect the right of each candidate to speak to all members of the union. When the Lehman team explained the situation and the rights of the candidate under the monitors rules, the head of plant security informed the team that the top plant management had placed a call to General Motors headquarters in Detroit and was waiting for instructions. Plant security decided not to prevent the distribution of election materials. At that point, workers who were waiting behind the turnstiles before leaving for the day asked to have some of the Lehman campaign statements entitled Return Power to the Rank and File so that they could read them and distribute them to their coworkers who were lining up. When the first batch was exhausted, they asked for more statements and palm cards advertising the debate that was being held the next evening so that everyone would have a copy. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Two years after the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno Karabakh, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict remains unresolved as the issues on the basis of the conflict have not been settled. The Armenian side reaffirms its commitment to establish peace and stability in the region through peaceful negotiations, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said during a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias in Yerevan. During their meeting in Yerevan the Armenian and Greek Foreign Ministers discussed, among many other issues, the peaceful settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. FM Mirzoyan reminded that two years ago on this day Azerbaijan launched a large-scale aggression against Nagorno Karabakh and its people. Today, after two years, the issue still remains unresolved as the issues on the basis on the conflict have not been settled. I want to emphasize once again that we, as a responsible member of the international community, reject the approach of solving issues with the use of force or the threat of using force and reaffirm our commitment to establish peace and stability in the region through peaceful negotiations, the FM stated. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The Delegation of the European Union in Armenia released a statement on the second anniversary of the 44-Day War. Today we join Armenians in mourning for those who died on 27 September 2020 and on the following days and years. The loss of so many young lives has caused deep sorrow and bereavement. We pray for them and hope that this will never be repeated, the EU delegation tweeted. he international community must express a clear stance over the war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during the 2020 Artsakh War, and the return of captives is not a humanitarian gesture by Azerbaijan, but an obligation assumed by the international law. September 27, 2022, 15:58 Int'l communitys non-addressed statements give green light to next aggressions of Azerbaijan Artsakh Ombudsman STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 27, ARTSAKHPRESS: Ombudsman of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan said in an interview to ARMENPRESS. Two years have passed since the war. This was the war that was accompanied by the use of almost all types of war crimes, in other words, during the 44-Day War Azerbaijan has done what is banned by the international humanitarian law. Unfortunately, even two years after the war we do not yet see clear legal and political assessments of the crimes committed by Azerbaijan. Yes, there are legal processes in international courts, but the process lasts a little bit long, and only after the complete investigation the criminals will be punished and held accountable. But at least we had to expect and today as well we should continue to expect that the international community must express a clear position that that war was an aggressive war run by Azerbaijan which was accompanied by numerous crimes, he said. Moreover, he said that Azerbaijan is showing disrespect to the international judiciary bodies, it ignores the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights relating to the 44-Day War. Gegham Stepanyan said that there is the decision of the International Court of Justice of the UN on applying interim measures, but it has not changed Azerbaijans behavior. Moreover, if a legal decision has been made, the international community must first of all respect itself and its bodies and then hold accountable those who do not implement that decisions, he stated. To this day, Azerbaijan has not yet returned all Armenian captives. Here the talk was also about making the topic of captives a subject of political trade, which is both impermissible and unacceptable. Its sometimes surprising to me when representatives of international organizations are trying to welcome when Azerbaijan is returning a new group of captives, the Artsakh Ombudsman said. The return of captives cannot be a humanitarian gesture. It is an obligation set by the international law, which must be implemented, it must not be welcome or encouraged. Its an obligation that must be fulfilled. And our direction should be that these mandatory points and demands must be fulfilled and not become a topic of political trade, he said. The Ombudsman sees necessity for joint work both from legal and political responsibility perspectives. As for the legal processes, he is optimistic and believes that there will be success in both courts ECHR and ICJ, but states that in line with this there should also be the issue of the political responsibility. He highlights raising this issue in different structures as much as possible. We need to draw the attention of representatives of various states and demand that if in other countries sanctions or other methods are imposed on the aggressor, the same should be done here because the international law must operate for all, he said. Commenting on Azerbaijans aggression against Armenias sovereign territory on this September 13th, Gegham Stepanyan said that the non-addressed statements of the international community sometimes with no content are just a green light for next Azerbaijani aggressions. If the international community with its indifference should allow, should create impunity for Azerbaijan, then everyone should understand that the international law is put under danger. This is not the issue of Armenia and the Armenian people only, its also the issue of the overall world order and the set rules, he said. The Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Kristinne Grigoryan, on Tuesday met with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE), Marija Pejcinovic Buric, Defenders office informs. September 27, 2022, 17:24 Armenian Ombudswoman briefs CoE Secretary General on Azerbaijan crimes against Armenian POWs, fallen soldiers STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 27, ARTSAKHPRESS: During the meeting, the Human Rights Defender presented the recorded information regarding the damages caused to the Armenian civilian population and infrastructure, the environment, and other acts prohibited by International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law as a result of the Azerbaijani military attack on Armenia that was launched on September 13. Grigoryan discussed the crimes committed by Azerbaijani servicemen against Armenian prisoners of war and the bodies of killed servicemen and referred to the cause of these crimes: the systematic policy of Armenophobia and of ethnic hatred of Armenians conducted by the Azerbaijani state. The mentioned facts are summarized in the Ad hoc report of the Human Rights Defender published on September 16, and which was personally presented to the Secretary General. The Defender presented the priorities of the activities of the Human Rights Defenders Office, within which she highly appreciated the cooperation with the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, as well as specialized structures of the Council of Europe, and the Office of the Secretary General. The Secretary General highly valued the work of the Defender, and thanked her for the effective collaboration and the ad hoc report. The Secretary General mentioned the necessity of the return of Armenian Prisoners of War and civilian captives who are still held in Azerbaijan, and reiterated her commitment to continue efforts in this direction. The Secretary General referred to the program directions being implemented with Armenia and emphasized the readiness of the Council of Europe to provide continuous support, including within the framework of Armenia-CoE Action Plan. Ms. Marija Pejcinovic Buric underlined her support to the implementation of mandate of the Human Rights Defender, and the sides of the meeting agreed to continue the effective and reliable cooperation. Say the name Boston to a rock fan and, once youve established that youre not talking about the city in Massachusetts, chances are that theyll think of the rock anthem More Than A Feeling. But while that 1976 hit by the band Boston has a deserving place in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, its far from their highest-charting pop single. That honor goes to Bostons only No.1 on the Hot 100, Amanda, which entered the Billboard Hot 100 on September 27, 1986. The band became well-known not just for their multi-million-selling albums, but the long gaps between them. After their 1976 self-titled debut album became a sales phenomenon, certified 17 times platinum in the US alone, it was only two years before they followed it up with the mere seven-times platinum Dont Look Back. But then came a hiatus of eight years before Third Stage appeared, selling four million in the US and following Dont Look Back to No.1. Another eight years elapsed before Walk On became the groups fourth album in 1994. International recognition Nevertheless Amanda, the lead single from Third Stage, was written by the bands guitarist and keyboard player Tom Scholz as early as 1980. He produced the finished version and the entire album, and the single went on to top the chart not only in the States but Canada. It was a Top 30 record in Australia, New Zealand and Holland, but its biggest European success came in Norway, at No.10, and Switzerland, at No.12. In one of the many examples of how American rock didnt always cross the Atlantic and in a mid-1980s period when UK artists were all over the US charts mounting the so-called Second British Invasion Amanda just never really got to meet her transatlantic cousins, and the single failed to chart there at all. Listen to the 80s Classic Hits playlist for more great songs from the full decade. The modern-day Boston have continued to thrive. In 2016, they completed a 40th anniversary tour of which Scholz said: In 40 years of playing Boston music for our fans, this was the most amazing live experience Ive ever had. In 2017, the band were out again for the Hyperspace tour, which included a homecoming show at the Boston Garden. Story continues Buy or stream Amanda on the album Third Stage. 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. Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty With the election of Italys most right-wing government since World War II, diplomats are increasingly concerned by the Biden administrations decision not to fill the U.S. ambassador post in the countrya move that they feel leaves it without the influence necessary to keep a vital European partner in the fold. The victory of a right-wing coalition led by Giorgia Meloniwho once described the European Union as rotten to its core and has praised Italys fascist leadership under Benito Mussoliniposes a material threat to the alliance that has successfully united the West, four current and former diplomats told The Daily Beast. Without a permanent presence in Rome, one former ambassador said, the Biden administration risks losing the voice in the room best equipped to represent President Joe Biden during a critical moment in European politics. One of the most dangerous parts of Trumps legacy is the way he shredded and deconstructed, and otherwise impaired, not only our reputation and standing abroad, but actual diplomatic infrastructure, including in embassies and multilateral organizations, the former ambassador said. So there is added need for a crop of ambassadors who can repair those relationshipsparticularly in places like Italy, like Belarus, which have seen a sort of democratic backsliding. Italy is the last major European country, and one of only three on the entire continent, without a confirmed U.S. ambassador or a formally announced nominee to serve as the top American official in the country. In February, Axios reported that financier Stephen Robert was under consideration for the post, but seven months later, no nomination has materialized. Many aspiring ambassadorial nominees have been entangled in difficulties over personal and financial disclosure requirements, particularly wealthy political appointees with complex financial holdings. Biden Communion Fight Raises Stakes for Vatican Ambassador Pick Story continues Multiple diplomats speculated that the post is being held for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), echoing a rumor that has circulated on Capitol Hill for months. Pelosi is still running for re-election to her San Francisco-based congressional seat, but is likely to lose the speakership in the aftermath of the midterm electionsa potential opportunity for the 82-year-old to enjoy a state of semi-retirement in one of the most coveted posts in Europe, as one former career Foreign Service official put it. She would be a perfect candidate, honestly, if she could be confirmed, they said, in a rare show of support for so-called politicals by a career officer. But waiting two years to name a nominee to a country thats backsliding into fascism is borderline malpractice. After this story published, a Pelosi spokesman told The Daily Beast that Pelosi has no interest in this position and has not had any conversations with the White House about it. Historically, the U.S. ambassador post in Rome is considered a plum position for wealthy or influential allies of the presidentsthe villa that serves as the ambassadors residence is an object of particular envyand longtime warm relations between the U.S. and Italy have typically ensured few diplomatic hiccups. Alumni include investor Lewis Eisenberg under President Donald Trump, litigator John R. Phillips under President Barack Obama, and private equity tycoon Ronald Spogli, who was President George W. Bushs roommate at Harvard Business School. But the election of the far-right coalition in Sundays snap parliamentary elections could upset the status quo in international relations between Italy and the United States, not to mention the rest of Europe. Meloni, who began her political career as the vice president of a now-outlawed neo-fascist political party, campaigned to become Italys first female prime minister on a populist and traditionalist platform of God, country, familya slogan with deep fascist connotations in Italywith a particular hostility to immigrants and LGBTQ people. Last month, Meloni tweeted a video of a Ukrainian woman being sexually assaulted by a male asylum-seeker, a video she said was intended to emphasize her pledge to secure the cities but which ended up identifying the rape victim. The victory of Melonis coalition is only the highest-profile success of far-right movements in Europe, but comes at a time when the integrity of the pro-West, pro-European alliance is of particular strategic importance to the United States. Though Meloni has vowed to continue Italys support of Ukraine as it seeks to expel Russian forces that invaded last winter, her coalition partners have expressed support for Putin and the invasion. Putin was pushed by the Russian population, by his party and by his ministers to invent this special operation, said Silvio Berlusconi, the infamous former prime minister and tax fraudster who is now one of Melonis coalition partners. Berlusconi, one of Putins oldest allies in Europe, blamed military support for Ukrainian forces by the West for preventing the Russian military from replacing the government of Volodymyr Zelensky with decent people and finishing the invasion a week later. Matteo Salvini, another coalition partner who has been photographed wearing a screen T-shirt emblazoned with Putins image and the motto ARMY OF RUSSIA, has called for rolling back sanctions on the Kremlin and accepted a trip to Moscow funded by the Russian government last May until the peace mission, as he called it, was canceled after a public outcry. With Meloni and these allies soon to be at the helm, one former diplomat told The Daily Beast, the United States needs an authoritative advocate for American and Western interests in Rome on Day One. Rahm Emanuel Covered Up the Murder of My Son: Chicagoans Seethe Over Looming Biden Ambassador Pick When youre the ambassador, youre not representing yourself, youre not representing the State Department, youre representing the president of the United States of America, they said. Your counterparts in your host country, no matter how oppositional or hostile they are to the position of the United States government, are not going to walk away from the table when the president of the United Statesor their chosen representativeis seated across from you. When asked, every diplomat who spoke with The Daily Beast said that they were confident that Bidens eventual nominee would be more than qualified to navigate a now-tricky relationship with the Italian government. Biden, a former chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, has stated that qualifications Whatever political appointee he chooses is likely to be very carefully considered in terms of, whats the case that could be made with their existing skills and experience, the former ambassador said. Every president appoints a few of these people who have bundled $50 million, but I dont think hes going to put himself in that position, given the challenge that this ambassador is going to face. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on what has caused the delay in naming a nominee, but has emphasized in the past that the career Foreign Service officials who man the ship in between ambassadorial confirmations are more than capable of keeping things afloat. Speaking with reporters on Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that she would not engage in any hypotheticals about Italys future cooperation with the United States, but promised that the Biden administration will work with the new Italian government on the full range of shared global challenges. But the direct relationship between president and ambassador can be enormously helpful in navigating high-stakes diplomatic relationships, one former senior diplomat said, particularly when a message needs to be conveyed that is seen as being directly from the president. While career Foreign Service staff can keep an embassy working for an entire term, they said, the relationship between a president and an ambassadorwho outranks every official in the federal government in-country except the presidentis a critical line of communication. A charge [daffaires] answers to a deputy undersecretary. An ambassador answers to the president. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 18: Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns runs onto the field at halftime against the New York Jets at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 18, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and one passenger were hospitalized Monday after the two were involved in a rollover car accident in Sharon Township, the Ohio State Highway Patrol confirmed, according to CNN. Ohio State Highway Patrol Sergeant Ray Santiago told the outlet Garrett, 26, and the passenger suffered from "non-life-threatening injuries." The authorities rushed to the scene, which was located approximately 40 miles south of Cleveland, just before 3 p.m. after receiving a report about a crash. Statement regarding Myles Garrett: pic.twitter.com/XzkZW9f86s Nicole Lynn (@AgentNicoleLynn) September 27, 2022 RELATED: NFL's Myles Garrett & Mason Rudolph Shake Hands 1 Year After Dramatic, Helmet-Swinging Brawl "When troopers arrived on [the] scene, they discovered a gray Porsche 911 Turbo S off the right side of the roadway with rollover damage," Santiago told CNN, adding that Garrett and the passenger were transported to a local hospital where they received treatment. Both he and the passenger were wearing seat belts during the crash, and there was no impairment from drugs or alcohol suspected, Santiago shared, per the outlet. The Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Cleveland Browns did not immediately return PEOPLE's requests for comment. CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 11: Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns reacts after a sack of Baker Mayfield #6 of the Carolina Panthers during their game at Bank of America Stadium on September 11, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Cleveland won 26-24. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) Grant Halverson/Getty Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Following the incident, Garrett's agent, Nicole Lynn, tweeted an update on his condition after confirming he "was involved in a one-car accident." "While we are waiting to learn the extent of his injuries, he has been alert and responsive," she wrote in a statement. "The Garrett family would like to thank the medical personnel that got Myles and his passenger out of the vehicle and safely transported to the hospital." ESPN reported the accident happened after the athlete left his practice at the Browns' training facility in Berea, Ohio, and he is expected to be released from the hospital Monday night. Lynn also told the outlet that he did not break any bones. The crash remains under investigation. Evacuation orders are in place in several locations along the west coast of Florida as Hurricane Ian nears via the Gulf of Mexico. Maximum sustained winds are 155 mph, making it a very powerful Category 4 storm. Ian is expected to make landfall in southwestern Florida in the next few hours. The hurricane is expected to cause "catastrophic storm surge, winds and flooding" in Florida soon. FIND YOUR EVACUATION ZONE HERE Cone of uncertainty: See the latest update from the NHC Satellite images: See the latest satellite images from NOAA for a clearer picture of the storm's size Ian 5 a.m. update: Hurricane Ian strengthens into powerful Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds as it nears Florida 'Impacts are going to be far and wide': DeSantis urges entire Gulf Coast to prepare for Ia Here's the list of evacuations currently in place in Florida: In Collier County, a mandatory evacuation was issued for those living in immediate coastal areas, west and south of US 41/Tamiami Trail and in low-lying, flood-prone areas or mobile homes. Lee County has issued a mandatory evacuation for Zone A, which generally includes barrier islands and Zone B, while Cape Coral (a majority of which is within Zone B) has issued a state of local emergency. That city's mayor, John Gunter, has said residents should start evacuating. Charlotte County has issued evacuation orders for Zone A - Red and Zone B - Orange. Zone A is mostly barrier islands. Sarasota County has issued mandatory evacuations for Level A, which are homes near the shore and waterways, and Level B, homes slightly more inland. Manatee County has issued mandatory evacuations for Levels A and B, and recommended evacuation for Level C. Hillsborough County has issued mandatory evacuation orders for Zones A and B, including all low-lying areas, mobile and manufactured homes. Evacuations should be completed by tonight at 9 p.m. In Pinellas County, all residents in Evacuation Zone A, including mobile home residents, will be under mandatory evacuation orders by 6 p.m. Mandatory orders for evacuation zones B and C will be effective tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. Story continues Pasco County has issued a mandatory evacuation for Zone A, manufactured homes, mobile homes and RVs, along with low-lying and flood-prone areas. In addition, a voluntary evacuation has been advised for Zones B and C, or for special-needs residents or would be vulnerable due to a loss of power. Hernando County has ordered mandatory evacuations for all areas west of US 19, which includes evacuation zones A, B, and C. All residents living in coastal and low-lying areas, as well as manufactured homes county-wide, are included. According to floridadisaster.org, Levy County has ordered evacuations for coastal communities, RV parks, mobile homes and low-lying areas, while Citrus County has ordered a mandatory evacuation. Putnam County is recommending those in Zones A and F, low-lying areas and areas with a history of flooding, and those in mobile or manufactured homes to evacuate beginning Tuesday evening. In Orange County, Fire Rescue crews are heading out to all mobile home parks, encouraging residents to stay with family or friends. St. Johns County Emergency management officials have announced an evacuation for coastal areas of St. Johns County. This includes Zone A, Zone B and Zone F. In Duval County, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry has urged those in Zones A and B to prepare for Hurricane Ian by considering leaving their homes if they think their property is at risk of flooding. The following counties have suggested voluntary evacuations at this time: Glades County, Highlands County, Taylor County, Clay County, Gilchrist County, What should you take with you if you have to evacuate due to Hurricane Ian? According to Charlotte County's Emergency Management, the following is suggested should you need to evacuate: Secure your home before you leave. Be sure to take essential items for all family members: Medicine Important Papers Personal Items Clothing Baby supplies Pet Supplies Cash Hurricane Ian latest update As of 2 p.m. Wednesday Location: 55 miles south-southwest of Punta Gorda Movement: North-northeast at 9 mph Maximum sustained winds: 155 mph Track Hurricane Ian here This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Hurricane Ian evacuation orders: See Florida list Story at a glance Close to one-in-five respondents said they will only live in a place where it is legal. The percentage of sellers and buyers who would live exclusively in a place with legal abortion rose by 7 percent from last year. Yet 11 percent of those surveyed said they would not live in a place where abortion is legal. Half of homebuyers and sellers in the U.S. want to live in a place where abortion is legal following the Supreme Courts decision in June, giving the power to ban the procedure to the states. A new survey conducted by the real estate firm Redfin found that 52 percent of both sellers and buyers prefer to live in a state with legal abortion, and close to one-in-five respondents said they will only live in a place where it is legal. Both measures increased from the previous years survey. The percentage of sellers and buyers who would live exclusively in a place with legal abortion rose by 7 percent from last year, while those who prefer to live in this type of place increased by 5 percent. A lot of homebuyers are moving to Arizona because they like the politics here and/or dont like the politics where theyre coming from, Heather Mahmood-Corley, a Redfin agent in Phoenix, Arizona, said in a media release. Still, 11 percent of those surveyed said they would not live in a place where abortion is legal, down 4 percent from last year. The percentage of respondents who prefer not to live in such a place is also down from a year earlier at 12 percent. America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. Since the Supreme Courts decision, at least 12 states, including Tennessee, Texas and Idaho, have implemented abortion restrictions and bans via trigger laws. Texas previously passed a law in 2021, banning the procedure after six weeks. But the new law, which went into effect in August, increases the penalty for anyone who provides or attempts an abortion. Story continues The Redfin-commissioned survey measured the responses of close to 1,000 U.S. residents who recently bought a home or plan to buy or sell a home in the coming year. Other popular issues for prospective homebuyers and sellers surveyed were cost of living, crime and safety and home affordability. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Production is underway in Romania and Hungary on the new HBO Max Original Spy/Master, a spy drama series set during the height of the Cold War that will star British Independent Film Award-nominated actor Alec Secareanu (Gods Own Country, RUXX). The 6 x 50 series, which was the winner of HBOs national screenwriting competition in Romania, marks one of the streaming services final productions from Central and Eastern Europe. More from Variety As Variety first reported in July, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery will no longer produce originals for HBO Max in the Nordics (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland), Central Europe, the Netherlands and Turkey, and will also remove some content from its platform in order to free up licensing deals elsewhere. An HBO Max spokesperson confirmed to Variety that the streamer still has several CEE productions in the pipeline that were commissioned before Warner Bros. Discovery announced the shift in its programming strategy for Europe. As with other local HBO Max originals, Spy/Master will be available for licensing in territories where the streaming service is yet to roll out. Spy/Master covers a week in the life of fictional character Victor Godeanu (Secareanu), the right-hand man and closest advisor to Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. However, Godeanu has a secret: He is also a double agent and must escape Romania and Ceausescu before his cover is exposed. With only one shot at staying alive, he uses a diplomatic trip to Germany as a springboard to the States. Helped by an undercover Stasi agent and former flame, played by Deutschland89s Svenja Jung, and an up-and-coming CIA agent, played by Parker Sawyers (Southside With You), Godeanu must elude the KGB and his own countrys spooks (Ana Ularu and Laurentiu Banescu), fully aware that his defection is putting his family back home in mortal danger. Story continues The series is produced by Proton Cinema and Mobra Films. HBO Max producer Ioanina Pavel said in a statement: We couldnt be more excited to tell this story of defection limbo, that spans both sides of the Iron Curtain and has drawn exceptional talent both internationally and from Romania. Although set in the past, were hoping this show will ring true to viewers today whether theyre interested in politics or just fancy a smart, sleek, entertaining ride. Johnathan Young, the streamers VP of original programming and commissioning editor for CEE, added: Spy/Master represents our most international series to date. With predominantly English dialogue this is a proper East meets West production from the content to the talent to the setting. While the genre is familiar, the personalities and dilemmas are unexpected and new. We have an amazing team attracted to the project by the way the story sheds light on a subject that feels as fresh today as it ever has been. Spy/Master is written by Adina Sadeanu and Kirsten Peters and directed by Christopher Smith (Temple, Alex Rider), with cinematography by Ben Wheeler BSC (The Tourist, The Baby) and Adam Fillenz HCA (Hier, Battle: Freestyle). Antony Root and Johnathan Young are executive producers for HBO Max. Ioanina Pavel is the creative producer for HBO Max. Viktoria Petranyi and Judit Sos are producers for Proton Cinema and Tudor Reu is the producer for Mobra Films. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Finnish director Katja Gauriloff won the top prize this week at the Finnish Film Affairs showcase of fiction works in progress for Jevida, an intimate historical drama that is the first film ever shot in the Skolt Sami language. The film centers on Iida, an elderly Skolt Sami woman who finds herself in the process of selling her familys old house and land while keeping her cultural heritage secret from her niece. Its the story of a woman who has abandoned her past under the pressures of assimilation, weaving across three different historical eras to examine the fate of Finlands Indigenous peoples in the post-war period. More from Variety Jevida is a deeply personal journey for Gauriloff, a Skolt Sami filmmaker who has spent her life reckoning with the groups struggle for survival since World War II, when most of their ancestral homeland was lost to Russia. All the people were evacuated to [modern-day] Finland, said the director, whose mother was born in Skolt Sami native territory in 1942. We lost our lands. We lost our identity. So I wanted to make a film about that. Accomplishing that was something she long believed to be an impossible task. The Skolt Sami are part of the larger Sami Indigenous group found across Norway, Sweden and Finland. Their language is believed to be spoken by only around 300 people in Finland. Gauriloff did not learn her native tongue as a child, when she was growing up in a small Finnish town. I thought it was only my problem, because I didnt have this Sami community close to me at that time, she said. But then, when I started to really research my background and my roots, I realized that its not only my problem: Its a whole generation. Story continues Using a cast largely made up of non-professional Indigenous actors, Jevida was inspired by Gauriloffs travels around the Samiland region, as well as the stories the director heard from the women in her household as a child. Speaking to Variety this week in Helsinki, Gauriloff recalled a particular story from her childhood. When my mom was 8 or 9 years old, she was practically living with her grandparents and helping them a lot. Her grandpa didnt let her go to residential school; he didnt want her to go anywhere to be ruined. But then grandpa suddenly died, and she was heartbroken, said the director. It was winter as the family prepared the body for burial. One night, Gauriloffs mother snuck from her room to see his corpse before it was interred. Years later, the director imagined what would have happened if she had discovered him still alive. This was the main idea of the film: a small girl having peculiar discussions with her late grandpa, said Gauriloff. This is where it all started. Jevida is not the filmmakers first attempt to wrestle with the intersection of personal history and her peoples past: Her last documentary feature, Kaisas Enchanted Forest, told the story of a foreign writers lifelong fascination with an isolated Laplander race and their mythologies, centering on Gauriloffs great-grandmother, a venerable storyteller in her remote Arctic village. The film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2016 and was described by Variety as easily delightful and distinctive enough to attract specialized exposure beyond the fest circuit. Jevida was one of seven fiction feature works in progress that were pitched to an audience of industry guests in Helsinki on Sept. 22, during the Finnish Film Affairs showcase of local and regional projects. Currently in post-production, the film is produced by Joonas Berghall (Oktober), who has worked with Gauriloff for more than 20 years and described her as an amazing example for the young Sami inspired by her career path. I have seen how young Sami who want to be filmmakers, how they look at Katja, he said. Gauriloff is, in turn, inspired by them. She is studying Skolt Sami in part so she can pass something on to my son, whose generation has benefited from efforts to revive Sami culture. It is nevertheless a struggle to preserve a dying way of life. Things are getting better, she said. But we lost so much. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. When it was time for Kara Swisher to make a career pivot, the veteran digital journalist and prolific podcast host had one priority. I just felt like I wanted the last part of my career to be owned by me, Swisher told TheWrap. I wanted control and I wanted to own the IP two things that Im able to do with Vox and share in the risk and reward. I think everybody wants control over the things they make. Swishers latest thing is On With Kara Swisher, a new podcast she launched Monday in partnership with Vox Media. With new episodes Mondays and Thursdays, On will be the fifth podcast Swisher has brought to life, after Sway (for the New York Times), Pivot (Vox), Recode Decode (Recode, under Vox), and of course the official podcast of Succession (HBO). Also Read: CNNs The Murdochs: Empire of Influence Paints a Media Mogul Whod Say Then Betray Anything to Get His Way The difference this time: Swisher is completely in control editorially, and owns the IP: I dont like consulting with everybody on what Im going to do, she said. Swisher has certainly manifested her share of media startups and navigated plenty of corporate partners along the way. All Things Digital, co-founded by Swisher and Walt Mossberg, was owned by The Wall Street Journal, which declined to renew their contract in 2013. Next she and Mossberg launched Recode, which Vox acquired in 2015. Her most recent gig was at The New York Times, where she joined as an opinion writer in 2018. She later hosted the Times Sway podcast, which premiered in 2020. I wasnt ever an employee of the New York Times, so that was good, she said. But I also wanted to adhere to their standards noting that while their format is a little more formal, she learned during her time there that she is not. But the a-ha moment about owning IP came when the Wall Street Journal recently lost a large batch of data from its site, including work by Swisher and her colleagues. She called the loss irritating. Story continues With seven years of work by these amazing reporters, all of whom are now pretty well-known, and then its gone, she said, noting that the archive had early videos of Mark Zuckerberg. All our stories, we speak to everybody, and its gone. It just underscores to me ownership, of me, of everything. I just thought, [in the] last part of my career, I really just dont give away all this good stuff. The Wall Street Journal and its parent company Dow Jones didnt respond to a request for comment. Kara Swisher interviews Gavin Newsom at Vox Medias 2022 Code Conference (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Vox Media) The new podcast, which Swisher says is looser, emerges out of a new three-year deal between Swisher and Vox Media, separate from her other Vox contract for Pivot, which she co-hosts with NYU Professor Scott Galloway. Its super wide ranging and its a slightly different format, Swisher said, noting that the podcast is similar to the tone of Pivot, but not quite as kooky. Then therell be a big interview on every one of them a big, long interview. With On, Swisher plans to tap into a number of modern media platforms, including video and social media as well as live shows. She says the podcast will incorporate formalized Twitter Spaces a format the reporter experimented with while at The Times. Also Read: Bob Iger Explains Why Disney Didnt Buy Twitter in 2015: It Wouldve Been Irresponsible Though admitting she would enjoy hosting former CODE conference speakers like Elon Musk and Susan Wojcicki, Swisher underlined that she values substance over celebrity. I dont want to interview anybody just for name. I want to have great discussion, she said. Were not averse to well-known people, its just that we want to have substantive discussion with whoever were talking to, and we consider them smart. As for Swishers dream guest, the title goes to Dolly Parton, who she says shes been trying to interview forever, alongside Taylor Swift, noting that she would focus on the stars entrepreneurship. She also expressed that she intends to lean in to emotion in her new endeavor, similar to one of the last CODE panels in which Apple CEO Tim Cook, former Apple design chief Jony Ive, and Emerson Collective founder Laurene Powell Jobs reflected on Steve Jobs legacy. At the end of the Sept. 7 panel, Swisher nearly broke into tears when she recalled a conversation when Jobs shared his story of being adopted. He said, Just remember it doesnt matter where you came from; its who you are, and the people who love you,' she said. I was surprised. JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2022 Indonesian Blockchain Conference (IBC) became part of the agenda of the G20 Indonesia Presidency sponsored by Reku , Gudang Kripto , Upbit , and Indodax successfully held again this year by the Indonesian Blockchain Association (A-B-I) on Thursday (15/09) which discussed 5 main topics, including Blockchain and Business Sustainability, Boosting ASEAN's Digital Economy with Blockchain, Adoption, and Optimization of CBDC, Metaverse & Web 3.0, and The Cusp of Crypto Innovation by presenting local and international experts in their fields, government institutions, industry leaders, and various supporting associations, including Ministry of Trade, Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Blockchain Australia, Blockchain Association Singapore (BAS), ACCESS Blockchain Association Malaysia, Digital Pilipinas, and various global blockchain companies with a total of 1,227 participants. "IBC 2022 is a form of A-B-I's contribution to blockchain technology education and literacy as well as a showcase of use-cases that are already running in Indonesia, as well as a facility for the community, business actors, government, and academics to collaborate in developing a better and healthier blockchain ecosystem," said Asih Karnengsih as Chairwoman A-B-I. IBC 2022 Speakers Jivan Tulsani, Head of Marketing at Tezos APAC said: "IBC 2022 can be the first step for non-blockchain users in adopting Web 3.0 but, for blockchain users, IBC 2022 is a comprehensive experience because of the discussion about innovation around blockchain". Jivan emphasized how IBC 2022 can be a "great way to share knowledge. Where leaders from various organizations in the blockchain world gather, many ideas also emerge and it is the participants who will get a lot of insights, which is very good for the community that the Indonesian Blockchain Association wants to build." Story continues IBC 2022 is different from previous years because this is the first time A-B-I has partnered with Reality Chain to showcase IBC 2022 live on the metaverse platform to provide a special and unique experience for participants. Reality Chain is one of the metaverse platforms that offer not only digital space, but also offer land ownership, buildings, tickets, and fashion, even avatars that can create exchange value. Asih said that the reason for IBC 2022 to do this is "a form of relevance to the topics discussed in one of the panels, namely, Metaverse and Web 3.0, where IBC 2022 participants can experience firsthand the world of metaverse made by the nation's generation which is already based on Web 3.0 and is very necessary appreciated". Pandu Sastrowardoyo, Founder of Reality Chain as well as Supervisory Board A-B-I said: "the current trend and development of the metaverse is very exciting because actually, this metaverse has been around for a very long time but only now has it become viral again. In particular, the issue of ownership of digital objects and it is estimated that the development of the metaverse will continue to skyrocket in the future so that Indonesia should not be left behind in the development of this metaverse". IBC 2022 is a good opportunity for Pandu to "highlight that our metaverse is the first metaverse made by the Indonesian young generation that has been established since early 2021 and we are also the only one that has crypto, blockchain, and Web 3.0 technology support which is also interesting. Not only as an ordinary metaverse but also as a metaverse as a service". The IBC 2022 event is also in line with the government's program in providing public education about renewable technology, especially in the field of blockchain. According to Edi Prio Pambudi as Deputy for Coordination of International Economic Cooperation at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, "blockchain as a relatively new technology, requires a driver to make it more efficient. Therefore, public education is important to foster creativity and the government is always ready to support the adoption of technology so that it is of value to the wider community." Yos Adiguna Ginting as Chairman of the Standing Committee for International Trade at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry also gave his opinion on the IBC 2022 event. According to Yos, "the IBC 2022 event presents panelists who are not only complete in scope but also individuals who are very competent in their field. Coupled with the selection of topics that are the most up-to-date and of the most concerning to the blockchain community. The discussion at IBC 2022 can add insight to the participants." Yos also hopes "for IBC 2023 will be able to increase the caliber of the panelists and complete the representation from the Government, Academics, and Business Actors so that the number of participants and the benefits can be even greater". SOURCE Asosiasi Blockchain Indonesia An artists conception of an asteroid passing close to Earth (Getty Images/iStockphoto) Nasas Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or Dart mission, witnessed a spacecraft slam into an asteroid on Monday evening in a bid to prove its possible to change the space rocks trajectory in space. Its a first of its kind proof of concept test of a technology that could one day save Earth from a civilization-ending asteroid strike, or even a minor infrastructure damaging one. The key will be ensuring Dart succeeds in striking its target, an asteroid called Dimorphos some 68 million miles from Earth, and then carefully measuring the results. Dart is demonstrating what we call the kinetic impact technique for changing the speed of the asteroid in space and therefore changing its orbit, Nasa planetary defense officer Lindley Johnson told reporters at a Thursday press conference about the mission. This demonstration is extremely important to our future here on the earth, and life on earth. At 7.14pm EDT on Monday, the Dart spacecraft will slam into Dimorphos at around 14,000 miles per hour. Nasa and other space agencies will be watching in the aftermath using ground and space based telescopes in order to see if the impact changes the speed at which Dimorphos orbits its larger asteroid companion, Didymos. Neither Dimorphos or Didymos pose a threat to Earth, so the test provides a safe means to the principle of kinetic impact as a means to alter an asteroid's course. This is the perfect natural laboratory, Nasas Dart program scientist, Tom Statler, told reporters on Thursday. We're doing this test when we don't need to on an asteroid that isn't a danger, just in case we ever do need to and we discover an asteroid that is a danger. Scientists will consider the Dart impact successful if it changes Dimorphisms orbit around Didymos anywhere from 73 seconds to 10 minutes. That may seem modest, University of North Dakota assistant professor of Space Studies Sherry Fieber-Beyer told The Independent in an interview, but if a hazardous asteroid is detected far enough in advance, a velocity change as small as a few centimetres per second implemented several years ahead of time could provide the change in the arrival time to convert a potential impact into a clear miss. Story continues The Earth travels along its orbit around the Sun at 29.79 kilometres per second, which means it crosses its own diameter of about 12,724 kilometres in just more than seven minutes. So if a [near Earth object] initially on a trajectory to impact dead centre on the face of the Earth, arrives as little as five minutes early or late a potential disaster would be changed into a near miss, Dr Fieber-Beyer said. While Dart will help Nasa better understand how a kinetic impact mission would work, that doesnt mean an actual mission would look exactly like Dart does. Dart is specifically sized to have the desired effect on Dimorphos, Dr Johnson said. If faced with a real asteroid threat, It would depend on the size of the asteroid how much we would need to hit it. In the case of the kinetic impactor, it probably need to be larger than Dart, and we also might hit it with several kinetic impactors. There are lots of mission options, but many depend on just what type of asteroid youre dealing with and how it will react to an impact, according to Dr Statler. The reality is that while Nasa has tracked asteroids and observed them and modeled them, we do not know exactly how these how these asteroids will behave, because we don't have samples of real asteroids on the earth, he said As a scientist, I fully hope to be surprised by the results of the experiment. Although as a planetary defender, I don't want to be too surprised. Dart will help ground truth scientists understanding of asteroids and the materials they are made of. It could turn out that kinetic impact strategies are not appropriate for some of them, according to Dr Fieber-Beyer, particularly metallic iron-nickel asteroids. A kinetic impactor will definitely work on a rocky body [asteroid], or a large comet, she said. If you have an iron-nickel asteroid, it's not going to happen. Nasas Psyche mission will be the first to visit what scientists think is just such a solid metal bodied asteroid in 2026, providing the first direct assessment of such an asteroid. There may be alternatives to kinetic impactors for deflecting such a body, if it ever threatened Earth. Some of the other things that have been studied are what we call a gravity tractor, Dr Johnson said, which is just taking a spacecraft keeping with the asteroid and using nature's tug rope, gravity; the mutual attraction between the spacecraft and the asteroid will slowly tug that asteroid out of its impacting trajectory into a more benign one. Another alternative would be to use ion beam deflection, essentially strapping a thrust like that which powered Dart to Dimorphos to an asteroid to change its course. Thrusters use electrical energy to accelerate charged propellant particles out of a nozzle, generating weak, but very efficient thrust that can build up to a large velocity change over time. Of course, a technique like that takes longer to implement, Dr Johnson said. We would have to have more warning time to be able to implement it. And thats the main mission of Nasas Planetary Defense Coordination Office anyway, he added. While Dart marks the first test of a method to deflect an asteroid, the key thing is making sure we know where all the potentially threatening asteroids are, long before they could pose a threat to Earth. Hollywood and movies, they have to make it exciting. You know, we find the asteroid only 18 days before it's going to impact and everybody runs around as if they're on fire, Dr Johnson said. Thats not the way to do planetary defence. There are just more than 2,250 known potentially hazardous near Earth asteroids, and Nasa hopes its upcoming Near Earth Object Surveyor mission, a space telescope currently in its preliminary design review phase, will help scientists locate any asteroids that could be hiding in the glare of the Sun. Neo Surveyor will be able to find the population of asteroids 140 meters and larger within about a 10 year period, Dr Johnson said. Our strategy is to find that population out there with a mission like Neo Surveyor and know where all the potential hazards are, and then have sufficient time to then build the right campaign of missions to go out there. Cordon tape seals off an active crime scene. Getty Police tape The mayor of a Georgia town has died in a motocross accident just months after being elected. Perry Bell, who won the mayoral race for White, Georgia, in a special election this June, died while participating in the Lazy River Motocross event near Dalton, according to multiple outlets. He was 54. His cause of death is blunt force trauma to the chest, Murray County Deputy Coroner Jonathan Sosebee told The Daily Tribune News. Sosebee added that the "unavoidable accident" happened after Bell crashed. RELATED: Colo. Authorities Release Video of the Moment a Train Hits Patrol Car with Handcuffed Woman Inside "From what I understand, he was on a jump and then he crashed on top of a jump. There was another rider right behind him and he was unable to do anything he wasn't able to see him to avoid it," he continued. Interim mayor Gary Crisp told WSB Radio, "They brought a helicopter in... Flew him to a trauma center but he didn't make it. He passed away. He added, "He was just a caring person for the community and just wanted to help the people who lived here." The other rider suffered minor injuries and was released from the hospital after a few hours, NBC News reports. RELATED: Former Mayor Susan Menard Is 1 of 2 Bodies Found Inside Her Woonsocket, R.I., Home No criminal charges have been filed, however, authorities are still investigating the crash, per the outlet. The Murray County Coroner's Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. On social media, Bell was praised as a "true friend and much more" by a friend who added photos of them over the years. RELATED VIDEO: Student Dies, 6 Others Injured in Bus Crash During Field Trip: 'This Is a Very Sad Day,' School Says Adding that "emotions are raw," Bell's friend said the late mayor was a "legend." He shared that Bell loved to skydive as well as drive race cars and motorcycles. He described Bell as an entrepreneur who also loved to play the piano and guitar before he saluted his latest "accomplishment" of becoming mayor of White. Story continues Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "I know if given the chance he would've made the town he fell in love with a better place to live for all the residents," he added. "Everybody is hit hard from it," resident Anthony Morris, who also worked in City Hall, told WSB. "He's always got a smile on his face." Officials said it's possible another special election will be held to determine Bell's replacement, per WSB. North Korea on Thursday denied a U.S. intelligence report that it exported rockets and artillery shells to Russia, claiming the assessment was intended to tarnish North Koreas image. We have never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia before and we will not plan to export them, the statement by an unnamed North Korean official read. It is not sure from where the rumor originated which the U.S. is spreading, but it is aimed at tarnishing the DPRKs image. The statement identified the official as a vice director general of North Koreas General Bureau of Equipment within the countrys defense ministry and was published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency. The U.S. intelligence assessment, which was revealed earlier this month, indicated Russias defense ministry was in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea. We condemn the U.S. for thoughtlessly circulating the rumor against the DPRK to pursue its base political and military aim, and we warn the U.S. to stop making reckless remarks pulling up the DPRK and to keep its mouth shut, the North Korean official said. The potential purchases come as Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches the end of its seventh month. The invasion was met with heavy sanctions from the United States and much of Europe, hindering Moscows ability to obtain military supplies and other key exports. We dont have any indication that the purchase has actually occurred yet so its difficult to say what its actually going to end up looking like, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters earlier this month. North Korea has strengthened its relationship with Moscow since Russias invasion in February, and the official on Thursday reiterated Pyongyangs belief that the United States and its Western allies are cooking up the crisis. North Korea has also hinted interest in sending construction workers to Ukraines Donbas region in the countrys east to help rebuild Russian-occupied territories. A Ukrainian counteroffensive in recent days has claimed back some of that territory, pushing back Russian forces to the border in some areas. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The post Russia to Boycott 2023 Oscars, Members of Russias Oscar Committee Resign in Protest appeared first on Consequence. The Russian film academy has announced that they wont be submitting any official candidates for the international feature film category at the upcoming Oscars, marking the first time the country hasnt participated in the awards show since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. In response to the boycott, several members of Russias Oscar committee, including its president Pavel Tchoukhrai, have resigned (via Variety). Though the Russian film academy didnt offer an explicit reason for their boycott, their decision arrives as tensions between them and the US rise amid Russias war on Ukraine. Filmmaker Nikita Mikhailkov, chair of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia and a vocal supporter of Vladimir Putin, said it didnt make sense for the Oscars to select a film from Russia while the US currently denies its existence. Another Russian filmmaker, Karen Shakhnazarov, told local news outlets that sending a film to the US would be like sending a film to Germany during the Second World War to get the prize of the Third Reich. Meanwhile, Tchoukhrai issued a letter condemning the Russian film academy for taking an unilateral decision over the head of the committee and said it was both unfair and illegal. Several members of the committee, including Nikolai Dostal, Sergey Selyanov, Vladimir Kott, and Andrey Zvyagintsev, followed Tchoukhrai in resigning. Some committee members left earlier this year following Russias initial invasion of Ukraine. We cant do business as usual when were at war, member Evgeniy Gindilis told Variety. I left the committee on February 27th after Russia invaded Ukraine While its wrong that film festivals or awards ceremony are boycotting Russian films, I dont feel that its right to participate in promoting Russian films at this time. The Guardian points out that Russia has also put Vitaly Mansky, one of the countrys most renowned documentary filmmakers and a critic of its war on Ukraine, on a wanted list. Story continues The 95th Academy Awards are scheduled for March 12th, 2023. Russia to Boycott 2023 Oscars, Members of Russias Oscar Committee Resign in Protest Abby Jones Popular Posts Subscribe to Consequences email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox. UPDATED Russia will not be sending an official Oscar candidate for the upcoming international feature film race, Variety has confirmed. The news, which was reported by the news outlet AFP, was announced by the Russian film academy on Monday evening (Sept. 27). Several members of Russias Oscar committee, including its president Pavel Tchoukhrai, have resigned to protest the decision of the Russian film academy. More from Variety Tchoukhrai issued a letter, unveiled by veteran journalist Larisa Malyukova, in which he blamed the Russian film academy for taking an unilateral decision over the head of the committee and said it was both unfair and illegal. Joel Chapron, an expert on the Russian film industry who is based in Paris, said Tchoukhrai had been followed by several other member of the committee who have now resigned, including Nikolai Dostal, Sergey Selyanov, Vladimir Kott and Andrey Zvyagintsev, who is currently living in Paris. The decision of the Russian film academy to boycott the Oscars reflects the rising tensions between the U.S. and Russia which has been at war with Ukraine since Feb. 24. Russia recently accused the U.S. administration of having a direct role in the war in Ukraine and has threatened to cut ties with the country. Nikita Mikhalkov, a filmmaker who is a strong supporter of Russia president Vladimir Putin and chairs the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, said it didnt make sense to select a film that will represent Russia in a country which, in reality, currently denies its existence, according to the local news outlet TASS. Mikhalkov, who resigned from the Oscar committee in August, has said he wanted to organize an equivalent to the Oscars for Europe and Asia. Story continues Some members of Russias Oscar committee support the decision to forgo the Oscars, notably Karen Shakhnazarov, a Russian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter, who compared the U.S. with Nazi Germany. Sending a film to the U.S. would be like sending a film to Germany during the Second World War to get the prize of the Third Reich, Shakhnazarov told the local outlet Krasnaya Vesna. Other members, such as Evgeniy Gindilis (Mukha), resigned from Russias Oscar committee months ago when the war started. We cant do business as usual when were at war. I left the committee on Feb. 27 after Russia invaded Ukraine, said Gindilis. While its wrong that film festivals or awards ceremony are boycotting Russian films, I dont feel that its right to participate in promoting Russian films at this time, added the helmer-producer, who is still living in Moscow. Russia had been consistently submitting films for the Oscars for years. Underscoring the countrys vibrant film culture and industry, Russia was nominated in 2017 for Andrey Zvyagintsevs Loveless (pictured above) which won the jury prize at Cannes; and was shortlisted twice since then, in 2019 with Kantemir Balagovs Beanpole which had won a prize at Un Certain Regard at Cannes, and Andrei Konchalovskys Dear Comrades, winner of the Special Jury Prize at Venice. A number of dissident directors have fled Russia since the beginning of the war, including Kirill Serebrennikov who delivered this years most prominent Russian film, Tchaikovskys Wife, which competed at the Cannes Film Festival. Serebrennikov, who left Russia after the end of a three-year travel ban, is currently living in Europe. Variety reached out to the Academy for comment. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Oscar statuettes It appears that Ben Stiller and Sean Penn are not the only Hollywood staples that Russia has had enough of this year. The nation has moved to boycott the 2023 Academy Awards amid tensions with the United States over Russias February 24 invasion of Ukraine, per The Hollywood Reporter. The countrys academy does not plan to submit a film for competition in the International Feature category. The decision to forgo the Oscars reportedly came as a surprise to Pavl Tchoukhrai, the head of Russias Oscar committee. He told AFP (per THR) that the move to boycott was made behind his back Tchoukhrai has since resigned from his position. Read more Passing up competition at this years Oscars is a break in tradition for Russia, a country with a strong (and relatively successful) history at the Academy Awards. In 2017, Andrey Zvyagintsevs Loveless was nominated for best foreign language film, and Kantemir Balagovs 2019 feature Beanpole was shortlisted for the honor. In 2020, Andrei Konchalovskys Dear Comrades was also shortlisted for the best international feature prize. Russia has been distancing itself from the U.S. for months now. The country has accused the Biden administration of directly intervening in their violent and pervasive attacks on Ukraine, and has threatened to cut good-faith ties with the West altogether. Russia most recently drew lines with Washington in a September 5 memo detailing a stop list of American individuals forbidden from entering the Russian border on the principle of reciprocity. Stiller and Penn were both included on the list, along with multiple government representatives like Senators Krysten Sinema, Patrick Toomey Jr., and Richard Scott. The hostile actions of the American authorities, which continue to follow a Russophobic course, destroying bilateral ties and escalating confrontation between Russia and the United States, will continue to be resolutely rebuffed, the statement concluded. JBLacroix Actor Caleb McLaughlin is speaking out about the racism hes experienced as the only core cast member of color on Stranger Things. During Heroes Comic Con in Belgium over the weekend, McLaughlin detailed his portrayal of the character Lucas and how being Black impacted the way hes been treated by fans since the shows runaway success. My very first comic con, some people didnt stand in my line because I was Black, he said during a panel in a clip shared to Twitter. here's caleb talking about how he had to deal with racism just because he was "the black kid who was mean to eleven in season 1" and felt like it was important to share his thoughts on that :) #StrangerThings #TUDUM #CalebMcLaughlin @HComicConBE pic.twitter.com/JZoXS9aaBW L met timothee (@spideychaIamet) September 25, 2022 Stranger Things centers around a telekinetic girl, Eleven, who fights monsters from another dimension alongside a group of friends. The sci-fi series mostly takes place in a 1980s Indiana town, following the group of friends as they grow up. In the first season, McLaughlins character didnt trust Elevens abilities, but he grew to accept herafter she defended the pals from a bunch of bad guysand welcomed her into the group. Some people told me, Oh, I didnt want to be in your line because you were mean to Eleven, McLaughlin said during the panel. There were moments in the show that touched on racial discrimination. In an earlier season, his character, Lucas, dealt with white bullies calling him midnight. Another episode made light of McLaughlins character being compared to Winston, the only Black ghostbuster in the iconic 80s film. An older white character taunted Lucas for an entire season because of his race, though it was never explicitly addressed in the series. Story continues Even now, some people dont follow me or dont support me because Im Black, McLaughlin continued. Sometimes overseas, youll feel the racism. Youll feel the bigotry. Sometimes, its hard to talk about and for people to understand. Obi-Wan Kenobi Star Moses Ingram Reveals Racist Threats as Star Wars Fans Slam the Studio The actor, who began working on the show at just 14 years old, went on to explain that the discrimination really took a toll on him when he was younger. He said he noticed that he didnt have as many social media followers as his castmates, despite being one of the original, central actors on the show. When I was younger, it definitely affected me a lot. My parents had to be like, Its the sad truth, but its because youre the Black child on the show, McLaughlin said. Because I was born with this beautiful chocolate skin, Im not loved, he continued, as applause grew from the audience. But thats why, with this platform, Im going to spread positivity and love because I do not give hate back to people who gave hate to me. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Craft Recordings proudly celebrates the 60th anniversary of Vince Guaraldis breakthrough album, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, with a variety of reissues. A deluxe, expanded edition of the 1962 albumfeaturing the Grammy Award-winning instrumental hit Cast Your Fate to the Windoffers 16 bonus tracks, including 12 previously unreleased selections, with outtakes and alternate takes of nearly every track on the album. This definitive edition will be released as a 3-LP, 2-CD, or 24-track digital collection, with newly remastered audio by engineer Paul Blakemore. Produced by Nick Phillips, the original album is cut from the original master, while the bonus material was transferred from the original analog tapes by Plangent Processes. Lacquers for the 3-LP edition were cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed at RTI on 180-gram vinyl. Both physical formats also include new, in-depth liner notes by jazz writer Andrew Gilbert (San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, KQED Arts). The digital offering comes in standard and Hi-Res options. The CD and Digital formats will release on November 18 with the LP set due to follow on February 24. Additionally, Craft will offer a limited and numbered pressing of the original, eight-track album as part of their acclaimed Small Batch series, which offers discerning listeners the highest-quality, authentic sounddistilled to its purest form. As with previous Small Batch pressings, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus was cut from its original analog tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI using Neotechs VR900 compound and a one-step lacquer processas opposed to the standard three-step processallowing for the utmost level of musical detail, clarity, and dynamics while reducing the amount of surface noise on the record. The limited nature of these pressings guarantees that each record is a true representation of the original lacquer and is as close as the listener can get to the original recording. Crafts all-analog, one-step series has drawn praise from critics far and wide, with Hi-Fi Choice describing the audio quality as Extraordinary, while Stereophile commented that the series is beautifully done, and Record Collector described the sound as flawless. Story continues The vinyl discextractable through a unique, frictionless ribbon pull-tabis housed in a reproduction of the albums original, tip-on jacket and protected by an archival-quality, anti-static, non-scratching inner sleeve. Rounding out the package are new liner notes by Derrick Bang, the foremost Guaraldi historian and author of Vince Guaraldi at the Piano (McFarland & Company). Long before Vince Guaraldis name was synonymous with the beloved PEANUTS animated specials, he was a rising star in the West Coast jazz scene. The San Francisco-born pianist began his career in the early 50s, playing alongside the Latin-influenced vibraphonist, Cal Tjader. By 1954, Guaraldi established his own trio and, within a year, his first recordings as a bandleader were released by Fantasy Records as part of their multi-artist collection, Modern Music from San Francisco. Shortly thereafter, the Bay Area label signed Guaraldi to an exclusive deal, releasing his self-titled debut album in 1956, followed by A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing in 1957. But it was the pianists third album, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, that found him settling into his own as a leader and establishing his signature style. The 1962 LP would also serve as his commercial and creative breakthrough, opening new avenues that even Guaraldi couldnt have imagined. The albums origins began several years earlier, with the release of the 1959 film, Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus). Based on Orfeu da Conceicao, a 1956 Brazilian stage production by Vinicius de Moraes, the Marcel Camus-directed film reimagined the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, placing it instead in Rio De Janeiro, amid the annual Carnival celebrations. Rising Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim was tasked with scoring the film, alongside Moraes, while guitarist Luiz Bonfa also penned two selections (Samba de Orfeu and Manha de Carnaval). Orfeu Negro not only won the Palme dOr at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but it also introduced much of the world to the music of Brazilparticularly the captivating sounds of bossa nova. The musicians behind the soundtrack, meanwhile, became international sensations. Guaraldiwho was no stranger to Latin rhythms, given his tenure with Tjaderwas immediately taken with the score and conceived of a concept album based on the film. The pianist began recording in November 1961 at San Franciscos KQED studio with his new trio, featuring bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey. During these initial sessions, the three musicians recorded several standards for the album, including the Buddy Johnson-penned blues ballad, Since I Fell for You, and Henry Mancinis soon-to-be-classic, Moon River, which had just debuted in the Audrey Hepburn film, Breakfast at Tiffanys. As the long-shelved session tapes revealed, the trio also recorded Fats Wallers Jitterbug Waltz at this time. While the song was not part of the original album, three never-before-heard, high-energy takes are included as bonus tracks in this latest edition of Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus. The trio returned to the studio in February 1962, where they tackled two new compositions by Guaraldi: Cast Your Fate to the Wind and Alma-Villeboth of which offered hallmarks of the pianists musical panache. AllMusic notes, For the first time a recognizable Guaraldi piano style emerges, with whimsical phrasing all his own, a madly swinging right hand and occasional boogie-influenced left hand, and a distinctive, throat-catching, melodic improvisational gift. The February date, which took place over a mere four hours, also found the trio interpreting four selections from the Black Samba soundtrack: Jobims O Nosso Amor and Felicidade (mistitled as Generique on the original LP release), as well as Bonfas Manha de Carnaval and Samba de Orfeu. In his liner notes, Gilbert praises, Guaraldi, Budwig, and Bailey interpreted the Black Orpheus material with impressive care and feeling, adding that the rhythm sections work stands the test of time, effectively articulating a North American impression of the bossa nova pulse. The alternate takes further showcase the musicians talentsas well as their ease with the genre. An unreleased version of O Nosso Amor, for instance, features a Guaraldi solo that embodies everything that made him such a charismatic presence at the keyboard, with his bright touch and irresistible bounce, marvels Gilbert. Guaraldi would continue to delve deeper into the sounds of Brazil and famously paired up with guitarist Bola Sete later in the decade. But it was Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus that changed the course of the pianists career. Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus was a landmark achievement that introduced a trio with a singularly alluring sound, writes Gilbert. The combination of burnished lyricism, rhythmic subtly, and exquisite dynamic calibration set it apart, but the groups impact flowed equally from its repertoire. Recorded monthsif not yearsbefore other American jazz artists embraced the popular sounds of Brazil, the album also placed Guaraldi at the forefront of the bossa nova movement. Released in April 1962, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus made Guaraldi a household namethanks, in large part, to the irresistible sounds of Cast Your Fate to the Wind. Released as the B-side to Samba de Orpheus, the instrumental track was embraced by DJs across the country, eventually landing at No.22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No.9 on the Easy Listening chart. In 1963, Cast Your Fate to the Wind earned Guaraldi a Grammy for Best Original Jazz Composition. Over the years, the track would be covered by a range of artists, including Quincy Jones, George Benson, Allen Toussaint, the James Gang, and Mel Torme (who added lyrics). Perhaps most famously, however, the tune caught the ear of television producer Lee Mendelson, who was searching for a musician to score a documentary about PEANUTS creator, Charles M. Schulz, and his popular comic strip. While the film was never released, Guaraldi recorded the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas the following yearcreating one of the best-selling jazz and holiday albums of all time in the process. Before his sudden death in 1976, Guaraldi would score more than a dozen PEANUTS animated specials. Yet, the pianists musical legacy extends far beyond those enduring soundtracks, and Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus is a prime example of that. Pre-order Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus. Jazz Impressions Of Black Orpheus: CD tracklist: Disc 1: Samba de Orfeu Manha de Carnaval Nosso Amor Felicidade Cast Your Fate to the Wind Moon River Alma-Ville Since I Fell for You Samba de Orfeu (Short Version: Take 1, Set 3, Previously Unreleased) Samba de Orfeu (Long Version: Take 1, Set 3, Previously Unreleased) Manha de Carnaval (Take 1, Set 3, Previously Unreleased) Manha de Carnaval (Take 2, Set 3) Disc 2: Nosso Amor (Take 1, Set 3, Previously Unreleased) Nosso Amor (Take 2, Set 4, Previously Unreleased) Felicidade (Take 2, Set 2) Felicidade (Take 4, Set 3 Previously Unreleased) Cast Your Fate to the Wind (Take 2, Previously Unreleased) Cast Your Fate to the Wind (Take 3) Cast Your Fate to the Wind (Take 5, Previously Unreleased) Alma-Ville (Take 2, Previously Unreleased) Since I Fell for You (Take 3, Previously Unreleased) Jitterbug Waltz (Take 1, Previously Unreleased) Jitterbug Waltz (Take 1A, Previously Unreleased) Jitterbug Waltz (Take 2A, Previously Unreleased) 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. As Hurricane Ian rockets toward Florida, the Tampa Bay area prepares for catastrophic storm surge threats. NASA tried to move an asteroid in space and it worked. Members of the Oath Keepers will stand trial for a rare Civil War-era offense. I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. If you read this newsletter every day, you've probably heard me say this by now but I want to hear from you! Please share your thoughts and feedback on this column here. It's Tuesday. Here's the news. Up first: What is the most-searched dog breed in the U.S.? Click here to find out. Hurricane Ian aims at Florida A strengthening Hurricane Ians rain and winds are lashing Cubas western tip as it roared on a path that could see it hit Floridas west coast as a Category 4 hurricane. Officials in Cubas Pinar del Rio province evacuated 50,000 people ahead of Ians expected landfall early Tuesday as a major hurricane. Hurricane Ians forecast path northward near the Florida coast threatens millions, especially a potentially deadly and devastating storm surge that could push into bays and streams, flooding homes and businesses miles inland. Read more One thing to know: Ian poses a nightmare weather scenario officials have feared for years for Tampa Bay, one of the nations fastest-growing metropolitan areas. "Our worst-case scenario": Storm surge is historically the deadliest aspect of a hurricane. Experts say the geological makeup of Tampa Bay makes it especially vulnerable to that rapid increase in water levels that push inland. Where is Ian now? Ian's center is expected to pass Cuba before entering the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. Follow USA TODAY's hurricane tracker to keep up to date. Cruises disrupted. Football postponed. Ian has gripped everyday life across Florida. The state is working to load 360 trailers with more than 2 million meals and more than 1 million gallons of water to prepare for distribution. Story continues A boarded up house with "Go Away Ian" painted on the boarded up windows, is seen ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ian in Indian Shores, 25 miles West of Tampa, Florida on September 26, 2022. The first-ever planetary defense test After 10 months flying in space, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) the world's first planetary defense technology demonstration successfully impacted its asteroid target on Monday, the agency's first attempt to move an asteroid in space. As a part of NASA's overall planetary defense strategy, DART's impact with the asteroid Dimorphos demonstrates a viable mitigation technique for protecting the planet from an Earth-bound asteroid or comet, if one were discovered. Read more NASA successfully crashes 'DART' into asteroid Dimorphos to test planetary defense More news to know now What's the weather up to in your neck of the woods? Check your local forecast here. Biden to spotlight Medicare and Social Security President Joe Biden on Tuesday will speak on two hot button issues that could pack a political punch six weeks before the midterm elections. His remarks at the White House will be delivered days after Medicare and Social Security got little attention in House Republicans rollout of the agenda they promise to pursue if voters give them control in November. The Commitment to America House Republicans announced last week promises to save and strengthen Social Security and Medicare without specifying how. House Democrats have proposed a bill that would increase Social Security benefits in various, mostly temporary ways and apply the payroll tax for the first time on wages above $400,000. Read more "Food as medicine": White House pilot program would bring medically tailored meals under Medicare. President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting of the White House Competition Council in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. Japan's former leader Abe honored at divisive state funeral Japans hawkish former leader Shinzo Abe was honored by a rare state funeral that was full of militaristic presentation and praise of his nine-year premiership. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said the publicly financed ceremony was a deserved honor for Japans longest-serving modern political leader, but it has deeply split public opinion. The event was attended by Vice President Kamala Harris, Japans Crown Prince Akishino and other foreign and Japanese dignitaries. Kishida eulogized Abe as having a clear vision for economic growth and development and promoting the concept of a free and open Indo-Pacific as a counter to Chinas rise. Read more People gather outside the National Diet building to protest against the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on September 27, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. Just for subscribers: These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. Already a subscriber and want premium content texted to you every day? We can do that! Sign up for our subscriber-only texting campaign. Jury selection begins for Oath Keepers sedition case Jury selection is expected to get underway Tuesday in one of the most significant cases to emerge from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates have been charged with seditious conspiracy. Prosecutors in the case will try to show that the Oath Keepers' plot to stop Joe Biden from becoming president started before all the votes in the 2020 race had even been counted. Seditious conspiracy can be difficult to prove and the last guilty verdict was nearly 30 years ago. Read more The next Jan. 6 hearing is Wednesday: A breakdown of the committee's first 8 hearings. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, said weeks before the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, that his group was armed, prepared to go in if the president calls us up. Former student kills 17 at school in Russia A gunman opened fire in a school in central Russia on Monday, killing 17 people and wounding 24 others before shooting himself, authorities said. Russias Investigative Committee identified the gunman as 34-year-old Artyom Kazantsev, a graduate of the same school, School No. 88 in Izhevsk, and said he was wearing a black t-shirt bearing Nazi symbols. No details about his motives have been released. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the shooting as "a terrorist act." Read more Click here to see more photos from the scene in Izhevsk, Russia. A little less heavy Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge crosses the line to win the Berlin Marathon in Berlin, Germany. Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge has bettered his own world record in the Berlin Marathon on September 25, 2022. Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note, shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this subscribe to USA TODAY here. Associated Press contributed reporting. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Ian, NASA, Oath Keepers, Shinzo Abe: Daily Briefing When trying to plan the perfect hiking trip, it can be easy for your mind to immediately jump to one of the many national parks that dot the U.S. But while the federally administered sites are certainly worth a visit, they're far from the only option for getting outdoors. There are also more than 10,000 state parks that provide over 40,000 miles of trails nationwide, according to the National Association of State Park Directors. And in many cases, it can make it much easier to visit and access the nature you're looking to experience. Read on to see which U.S. state parks experts say are the best for hiking. READ THIS NEXT: 8 State Parks That Are Even Better Than National Parks, Experts Say. 1 Snow Canyon State Park (Utah) Petrified mudflows and sandstone escarpment, Snow Canyon State Park, Utah. It's no secret that Utah is packed with plenty of natural beauty. But experts say one lesser-known spot makes for a great place to hit the trail. "Hidden in the shadow of the immensely popular Zion National Park is one of the best, most hikeable state parks in the entire U.S. and most drive right past it!" Sophie Clapton, a travel expert and writer for We Dream of Travel, tells Best Life. "Snow Canyon State Park is a wonderland of historical and geological marvels." "The park offers dozens of hiking trails of all distances, which lead to everything from lava tubes to slot canyons to petroglyphs and pictographs. Most notable, however, is a vast area of petrified sand dunes that can be explored by foot," she says. "This swirling, textured landscape of petrified sand is unlike any other you will find in the U.S." 2 Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park (California) The awe-inspiring redwood forests of California attract crowds of eager visitors annually, but Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park provides a unique way to experience them while hiking. "The park is more than 10,000 acres of incredible beauty, and the best way to explore it is through one of the 17 hiking trails located there," Rae Miller, co-owner of Getaway Couple, tells Best Life. "You'll find everything from short, easy trails like Stout Memorial Grove Trail or Simpson-Reed Trail that are less than a mile to the challenging 17-mile out-and-back trail from Hatton to Hiouchi to Mill Creek Trail." Story continues She adds that the park's namesake trees must be seen in person to be believed, many of which are thousands of years old and as much as 350 feet tall. "You'll feel incredibly tiny hiking through the massive redwood groves. Hop on the Boy Scout Tree Trail if you want to experience some of the oldest and largest trees. It truly showcases what makes this place one of the best U.S. state parks for hiking," she says. READ THIS NEXT: The 5 Newest National Parks You Need to Add to Your Bucket List. 3 Kodachrome Basin State Park (Utah) The natural beauty of any place can be enhanced by how its colors enhance and play off one another. One location out west provides plenty of opportunities to take it all in from the trail. "Kodachrome Basin State Park in southern Utah is one of the best state parks you've never heard of. Its 2,240 acres are filled with canyons, ridges, and reddish stone spires framed by vivid blue skies," Steve Prohaska, travel expert and founder of See the Best Places, tells Best Life. There are also plenty of options that are suitable for all ability levels and durations. "Hike the 1.7-mile Sentinel Trail to see the giant natural Shakespeare Arch and panoramic views of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Make your way down the 1.5-mile Grand Parade Trail on the basin's floor to see box canyons and plant and animal life. The 6-mile Panorama Trail will take you to the tall Ballerina Spire, the strange hoodoos of The Hat Shop, and the cliff-lined Cool Cave. At Kodachrome, you'll have hiking trails and stunning views on a par with those at some of the national parks, but without the national park tourist crowds," Prohaska says. 4 Silver Falls State Park (Oregon) National parks are often famous for their natural landmarks, like Old Faithful or El Capitan. But experts point out that some state-administered parks have unsung wonders of their own. "I'd recommend checking out Silver Falls State Park, east of Salem, Oregon, which is known as the 'crown jewel' of the Oregon State Park System," says Jessica Schmit, owner of Uprooted Traveler. "It's most famous for its Trail of Ten Falls, where you can hike along an 8.5-mile trail and see 10 incredibly unique waterfalls, ranging up to 170 feet tall." "What makes this park truly special is that, due to the geological composition in the area, four of the waterfalls have large caverns behind them, allowing you to actually hike behind the curtains of the falls!" she adds. "If you're not up to hiking 8.5 miles, this loop trail can also be done as a 'choose your own adventure,' hiking to as many or as few of the falls as you want." For more travel advice delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. 5 Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park (California) Big Sur's jaw-dropping natural beauty has made it a bucket list destination for anyone traveling along the California coast. Of course, experts say the area's state park provides one of the best hiking opportunities you can find in the state. "I love visiting Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park because to get there, you have to drive the iconic Highway 1 with stunning coastal views on one side and mountainous views on the other," Brittanie Harbick, co-host of Travel Squad Podcast, tells Best Life. "It's a great place for hiking, and depending on the path you choose, you may get both coastal and forest views." "One of my favorite trails within the park is the Pfeiffer Falls Trail because the hike tucks into the redwood forest. Leading up to the waterfall, there is a pedestrian expansion bridge to cross over, above the canyon, providing breathtaking views of the gigantic trees before approaching the 60-foot Pfeiffer Falls," she says. 6 Waimea Canyon State Park (Hawaii) From its pristine beaches to its glowing volcanoes, it's impossible not to experience natural beauty when visiting Hawaii. But besides the well-known national parks there, those looking to get the most out of their time on the trail might also want to consider adding one state park to their list. "Nicknamed the 'Grand Canyon of the Pacific,' Waimea Canyon is one of Hawaii's most popular hiking destinations," says Trysta Barwig, travel expert and the founder of This Travel Dream. "This 10-mile long and 3,600-foot-deep canyon is a hiker's paradise, offering miles of trails with breathtaking views of its red and orange cliffs and the verdant rainforest that covers its slopes." She explains that there's no shortage of trails to choose from, ranging from easy and approachable to more challenging. "One of the most popular trails is the Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls, a moderate 4-mile round trip hike leading to a stunning 800-foot waterfall overlooking the canyon. It takes about two to three hours to complete." "For an easy hike, try Cliff Trail, a 1.8-mile loop that offers views of the canyon and its cliffs that you can complete in about an hour. And if you're looking for a more challenging hike, the Kukui Trail is a 5-mile round-trip hike that takes about 3.5-4 hours to complete. This trail is steep, with a 2,000-foot elevation drop to the canyon floor," Barwig suggests. READ THIS NEXT: The 10 Least Crowded U.S. National Parks to Visit in 2022. 7 Valley of Fire State Park (Nevada) Some destinations are simply so visually stunning they have to be seen to be believed. And for anyone looking to take a nature break during a visit to Sin City, experts say there's one local option that's not to be missed. "Valley of Fire State Park, just 45 minutes from Las Vegas, is incredible for hiking, with more than a dozen trails leading you to the park's incredible orange and red rock formations," says Schmit. "Be sure to hit the Fire Wave Trail, where you'll cross the desert floor to an eye-popping sandstone formation of pink, white, and orange swirls. The White Domes Trail is also stunning, where you can make your way through a narrow slot canyon and climb up the two rock domes for sweeping vistas of the park below." 8 Dead Horse Point State Park (Utah) While size has nothing to do with what's designated a state park, some truly magnificent sites are among the smallest. One Utah park makes it very manageable to get in a plenty of sightseeing from the trail without overwhelming visitors. "Fans of the cult classic movie Thelma&Louise might know Dead Horse Point State Park more from the movie's famous final scene. But the park has around seven miles of relatively easy trails providing spectacular views of the canyon floor below where the Colorado River flows," Ashley Tepen, co-founder of outdoor adventure website HelloTrail, tells Best Life. "There's also one daily occurrence you might not want to miss. "If you plan your day just right, you can witness one of the most picturesque sunsets. Just make sure to arrive at the park an hour beforehand, hike to one of the western facing overlooks, grab a seat, and let nature do the rest," she says. 9 Ka'ena Point State Park (Hawaii) Heading to the Aloha State with your trail boots in tow? Experts say there's one destination you shouldn't pass up. "Ka'ena Point State Park is one of the best hiking spots in Hawaii," says Barwig. "The secluded park is located at the northwestern tip of Oahu and provides stunning views of the ocean and nearby islands. The park is also home to various native plants and animals, making it an excellent place for nature lovers. The incredible contrast between the lush greenery, lava rocks, and the deep blue ocean is something you won't want to miss." And there's more than just the incredible views and scenery. "While not always guaranteed, hiking the Ka'ena Point Trail gives you a chance to spot spectacular wildlife. Keep your eyes peeled, and you might get lucky enough to see some! The endangered Hawaiian monk seal, albatross, and green sea turtle are just a few of the creatures that call this place home. And if visiting in the winter months, you might even catch a glimpse of humpback whales frolicking in the distance," she says. READ THIS NEXT: 7 State Parks That Have Even More to Do Than National Parks, Experts Say. 10 Golden Gate Canyon State Park (Colorado) Even though it might not be as well known as its national park neighbors, Golden Gate Canyon State park offers some of the best trails in a place synonymous with hiking. And according to Dan Meyer, founder and director of the travel planning company Back&Pack, its 42 miles of paths make it very much worth a visit. "You can really get lost in the tranquility of the wilderness there, spot some incredible wildlife, or simply enjoy a picnic at one of the many beautiful roadside spots," he tells Best Life. "The forest is very pristine, and you can get sweeping views of the Colorado Rockiesincluding many of the same mountains you see in Rocky Mountain National Park. I especially recommend the Raccoon Trail, a 2.5-mile moderate hike with panoramic views of the Continental Divide. It's absolutely stunning in the fall." Meyer explains that the park has plenty of advantages over other local options. "Golden Gate offers all the great activities you'd expect from a well-known national parkhiking, fishing, climbing, campingbut I think it has a leg up due to its accessibility. The park is only 45 minutes from Denver, and fewer people know about itespecially out-of-staters!so the crowds tend to be lighter. In sum, Golden Gate offers a similar mountain experience to the better-known Rocky Mountain National Park nearby, but it doesn't require as much advanced planning, nor does it come with some of the headaches of the larger crowds," he says. 11 Tallulah Gorge State Park (Georgia) Anyone based on the East Coast knows they have no shortage of options when it comes to hiking. But one state park provides a wide range of trail options amidst stunning scenery. "Tallulah Gorge is a 2-mile-long, 1,000-feet deep canyon in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia," Erin Moreland, travel blogger and owner of Super Simple Salty Life, tells Best Life. "Tallulah Gorge State Park has more than 20 miles of trails that are perfect for hikers who want to view the six different waterfalls cascading throughout the park. The trails are well-marked and have differing difficulty levels from easy to strenuous, depending on the hiker's age and skill level." The Auburn YMCA-WEIU will host a series of health and wellness workshops in October: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5: Dr. William Shang, author and creator of the Fighting Insulin Resistance with Strength Training program. (The Y will launch the program on Oct. 17, taking place from 6 to 7 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays through Dec. 7. It costs $75 for Y members and $150 for the public. To register, call (315) 251-5709.) 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12: Dr. Chad Pens, owner and president of COAST Physical Therapy, covering the topics of sprains, strains and stress fractures, and how to treat them. 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17: Certified nurse midwife Marge Tracy will talk menopause, the years before and after, and common concerns about the transition. 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19: Sarah Lynn Olszewski, president of Sarah Lynn Nutrition, will discuss basic nutrition and common misconceptions about it. All workshops are free and open to the public, and take place at the Y at 27 William St., Auburn. No registration is required. For more information, call (315) 253-5304 or visit auburnymca.net. Green Point Courtesy of Tripadvisor The Tripadvisor community has spoken, and it's really, really into hidden gems. On Tuesday, Tripadvisor, the travel guidance platform, announced the results of its user-powered Travelers' Choice Awards series, including 2022's Best of the Best Restaurants. The awards include six different subcategories of restaurant types, including fine dining, everyday eats, quick bites, date night, picture-perfect restaurants, and a brand-new category: Hidden Gems. "Although the Travelers' Choice Awards typically represent the top-rated, most popular restaurants, Tripadvisor sought to showcase lesser-known spots and places locals love; hence, a brand-new subcategory revealing the best Hidden Gems," a spokesperson for Tripadvisor shared. The team at Tripadvisor created its lists by calculating the quality and quantity of reviews and ratings for restaurants on the website collected from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022. The calculations are specific to each award subcategory, and some decisions are made with an additional editorial vetting process, which you can read more about here. So, where should you go to discover what's new and next? According to Tripadvisor's rankings, the number one hidden gem (though maybe not for long) on the planet is Green Point in Cusco, Peru, the No. 1 Hidden Gem on the planet in this inaugural award category. This plant-based restaurant has more than 2,000 "excellent" reviews on Tripadvisor, touting its stunning platting, gorgeous scenery, and even its tasty homemade beers. "Dining out is an internationally beloved pastime: for many restaurant-goers, it's frequenting their favorite neighborhood eatery, and for others, it's snagging a table at a top-rated restaurant on vacation," Lauren Murphy, vice president, GM of hospitality solutions at Tripadvisor, shared in a statement provided to Food & Wine. "Tripadvisor's Best of the Best Awards, decided by people who visited and reviewed these places in the past year, offers authentic recommendations for the best places to eat no matter the occasion!" Story continues Other global Hidden Gems to make the list include IX CAT IK Mayan Cuisine in Valladolid, Mexico, Taberna el Sur in Madrid, Spain, La Locanda Gesu Vecchio in Naples, Italy, La Fiesta Restaurant in Doncaster, United Kingdom, Mivan Restaurant Cafe in Istanbul, Turkey, Indian Palace in Florence, Italy, La, Dolce Vita, Pipa in Praia da Pipa, Brazil, Tierra Roja Restaurant in Chia, Colombia, and Little India in Los Cristianos, Spain. Joe's At The Jepson Courtesy of Tripadvisor But you don't have to traverse the globe to find a good hidden gem. Tripadvisor also calculated the top ten in the U.S. Coming in at number one in the U.S. is Joe's At The Jepson, a cafe located inside the Telfair Museums' Jepson Center in Savannah, Georgia. Tripadvisor reviewers fawn over its casual atmosphere and call it a stellar lunch spot, particularly for its paninis (the Silly Goose with pimento cheese, bacon, and turkey breast is a clear favorite), and its sweet cakes for an afternoon delight. Others to make the U.S. list include Mersea Restaurant & Bar in San Francisco, California, Seaside Cafe at the Mansion in Key West, Florida, Chubby's Deli in Sevierville, Tennessee, Roadhouse Diner in Great Falls, Montana, Finelli's Italian Villa in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Pickin Porch Grill in Branson, Missouri, Rocco's N.Y. Style Pizza by Mama D's House in Branson, Missouri, Buxton Munch Company in Buxton, North Carolina, and Bakery Restaurant and Lounge in Niagara Falls, New York. Want to eat at all the award-winning destinations? See all the winners, including the best in the world, here. King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, have a love story that spans decades and many headlines. Rob Jefferies/Getty Images King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, have known each other since 1970. There was an "instant attraction," but they didn't get married until 2005. There were secret affairs, love letters, and a famous princess in between. King Charles III and Camilla first met in 1970, when he was 22 and she was 24. Charles and Camilla at the 2004 Mey Games in Caithness, Scotland. Christopher Furlong / Staff / Getty images Charles and Camilla were introduced by Lucia Santa Cruz, a mutual friend who had been one of his first love interests after they met at Cambridge University, Evening Standard reported. The pair hit it off immediately. According to The Washington Post, Camilla introduced herself to the future king with the line: "My great-grandmother was the mistress of your great-great-grandfather. I feel we have something in common." Charles and Camilla's friendship turned romantic over the course of 18 months. Charles, Lady Sarah Keswick, and Camilla in 1979. Tim Graham / Contributor / Getty Images Royal expert Marlene Koening, who wrote about Charles and Camilla's relationship for BBC's History Extra, told Insider that the pair were instantly attracted to each other. She said the young prince pursued Camilla with "elaborately-worded love notes and late-night telephone chats," and he loved that she enjoyed life in the country "with horses and hunting." But their love story wasn't easy even in the very beginning. Charles and Camilla were photographed at a polo match in 1972. Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images As Koenig reported, Camilla had been dating Andrew Parker Bowles (who also briefly dated Charles' sister, Princess Anne) on and off since she was 17. And there was no chance a senior royal, much less the future king, could marry a woman who wasn't a virgin. "The number one rule, before the looks or the breeding of a potential royal spouse, was that she be a virgin first and foremost," royal historian Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills told Refinery29. "This rule has always been strictly observed for women marrying senior royals it was a condition of marriage." Charles' godmother later told royal biographer Gyles Brandreth, who wrote the 2007 book "Charles & Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair," that a marriage between the pair wouldn't have been possible in the '70s because "Camilla had a history, and you didn't want a past that hung about." Story continues When Charles left England to serve in the Royal Navy, Camilla didn't wait for him. Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles on July 4, 1973. Frank Barratt/Keystone/Getty Images The young couple had one last weekend together in December 1972. Charles wrote to his great-uncle Louis Mountbatten (lovingly referred to as "Uncle Dickie" by the royal family), that it would be "the last time I shall see her for eight months," according to Koenig. Months later, Camilla and Andrew were engaged. When Charles heard the news, the "broken-hearted Prince of Wales locked himself in his cabin for two days and nights and refused to emerge for meals," Susanna de Vries wrote in her 2018 book "Royal Marriages." Charles and Camilla stayed friends as she became a mother and he searched for his future queen. Charles and Camilla in 1979. TIM GRAHAM/Getty Images According to Koenig, Charles was linked to several women before Princess Diana, including her sister Lady Sarah Spencer. But that relationship went south in 1978 when, during a ski trip with Charles in Switzerland, Sarah had lunch with two British journalists and told them she didn't love the prince "and wouldn't marry anyone I didn't love whether he were a dustman or the King of England." Charles and Diana's courtship was as quick as their engagement. Charles and Princess Diana in 1980. Pool Photograph/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images Charles was introduced to Diana in 1977, while he was still dating Sarah and had come to stay at her family's estate. The prince would later say during his and Diana's engagement interview that he remembered thinking Diana was a "very jolly and amusing and attractive 16-year-old" when they first met. In 1978, Charles invited her to his 30th birthday party. A tragedy in 1979 brought Charles and Camilla closer than ever. Charles (left) and Prince Philip attending the funeral of Earl Louis Mountbatten in London on September 9, 1979. Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images In August 1979, Uncle Dickie was assassinated by the Irish Republican Army. According to Koenig, Charles turned to Camilla for comfort after he learned the news. "Camilla was the only person to whom he could talk about anything," Koenig wrote in the History Extra article. "She was his best friend, his soulmate, and, after the death of his great-uncle, lover." Koenig said this second affair with Camilla lasted until Charles and Diana became engaged in 1981. It was Camilla who encouraged Charles to propose to Diana. Prince Charles and Princess Diana's official engagement portrait. Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images Charles and Diana reconnected at a mutual friend's barbecue in 1980, according to Koenig. "It was Diana's innocence and her sympathetic nature that first caught Charles' attention," Koenig wrote in History Extra. "They saw each other, on and off, for the next few months." In September 1980, the Queen at Charles' request invited Diana to stay at Balmoral, her beloved summer home in Scotland (and where she spent her final days). Camilla was also at Balmoral and Charles sought her advice "as he weighed the pros and cons of a marriage with Diana," Koenig said. Charles and Diana's July 1981 nuptials became known as the "wedding of the century." But trouble was already brewing on their honeymoon. Princess Diana and Prince Charles on their wedding day at St. Paul's Cathedral on July 29, 1981, in London, England. Anwar Hussein/Getty Images Diana discovered love letters between Charles and Camilla, according to Evening Standard, as well as cuff links with two intertwined C's that Camilla had given the prince. When Diana confronted Charles, he said they were a gift from a friend. It was a moment that Diana would later recall in the tapes she sent to Andrew Morton for his biography, "Diana: Her True Story In Her Own Words." "Boy, did we have a row," Diana said in the tapes. "Jealousy, total jealousy and it's such a good idea the two C's, but it wasn't that clever in some ways." By 1986, Charles and Diana's marriage had collapsed. It wasn't long before he reconnected with Camilla. Princess Diana and Camilla Parker Bowles at Ludlow Races to see Prince Charles compete in 1980. Express Newspapers/Archive Photos Diana knew of the affair and later told Morton that she confronted Camilla about it, saying she was "terrified" of her husband's lover. "I said, 'I know what's going on between you and Charles and I just want you to know that,'" Diana said in an excerpt that was published in People. "She said to me: 'You've got everything you ever wanted. You've got all the men in the world fall in love with you and you've got two beautiful children, what more do you want?' So I said, 'I want my husband.'" Andrew Morton's biography of Princess Diana was published in 1992, making it clear her royal marriage was hardly a fairy tale. Then, "Camillagate" happened. Princess Diana and Charles in 1992. GARCIA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images In January 1993, not long after Charles and Diana separated, conversations between him and Camilla that had been taped in 1986 were leaked to the press including the infamous moment when the prince told his mistress that he wanted to be her tampon. "The trouble is I need you several times a week," Charles told Camilla. "I'll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier." "What are you going to turn into, a pair of knickers?" she replied. "Oh, you're going to come back as a pair of knickers." "Or, God forbid, a Tampax," Charles quipped. "Just my luck!" Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles got a divorce in 1995. Charles and Diana followed a year later. Camilla attends a party at the Ritz in London in 1995. Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images Royal expert Kristen Meinzer told Insider that much of Charles and Diana's misery through the '80s and '90s could've been prevented if he had been "a little bit more like his mother." "You know who married who they loved? The Queen," Meinzer said. "There was some pushback on her marrying Philip, but she did it anyway. She married who she wanted, even though there was some resistance." "If Charles would've married Camilla from the start, everyone would've been happier in the long run," she said. Charles threw Camilla a lavish 50th birthday party in July 1997. A month later, Princess Diana died in a tragic car accident. A sea of flowers outside the gates of Kensington Palace before Princess Diana's funeral. David Giles - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images Charles had hoped to slowly bring Camilla into the royal fold after his divorce was finalized with Diana. But after Diana's death in August 1997 and the outpouring of grief that followed from fans all over the world things had to change. Koenig told Insider that the royal family knew it would be bad optics for Charles to be seen with Camilla. Charles and Camilla didn't make another public appearance together until 1999. Camilla and Charles at The Ritz Hotel In London in 1999. Tim Graham / Contributor / Getty Images The couple were photographed leaving Camilla's sister's birthday party at the Ritz Hotel. A year later, Camilla joined Charles on a trip to Greece with Prince William and Prince Harry. The couple moved in together in 2003. Two years later, Charles and Camilla finally got married. The then-Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall on their wedding day on April 9, 2005. Hugo Burnand/Pool/Getty Images According to Koenig, the Queen gave a toast at the couple's reception at Windsor Castle. In front of 800 guests, she spoke of the "terrible obstacles" the couple had overcome. "They have come through and I'm very proud and wish them well," she said. "My son is home and dry, with the woman he loves." Read the original article on Insider A mom and dad whose son was killed in a 2012 school shooting testified they were harassed for years, including being sent photos of dead children, in a trial that will determine how much conspiracist Alex Jones must pay to the families of Sandy Hook for spreading lies about the shooting. Parents Ian and Nicole Hockley gave separate testimonies in a Connecticut courtroom Tuesday to talk about the onslaught of abuse and threats they received in the days, weeks and years following the death of their 6-year-old son Dylan. I got sent pictures of dead kids because [harassers said] as a crisis actor I didnt know what dead kids looked like, Nicole testified. Dylan was among 20 children and six adults who were killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting. In the years following, Infowars host Alex Jones spread the vicious lie that the parents were all crisis actors who didnt suffer any tragedy. A jury will now determine how much hell have to pay to several Sandy Hook families after he lost his case to default judgement. In August, Jones was ordered to pay $45 million in punitive damages to another pair of Sandy Hook parents for his lies. A photo of Ian and Nicole Hockley, and their sons Dylan (left) and Jake, is displayed for the jury panel during the Hockley's testimony in the Alex Jones defamation trial at Superior Court in Waterbury, Connecticut, on Tuesday. (Photo: Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media via Associated Press) A photo of Ian and Nicole Hockley, and their sons Dylan (left) and Jake, is displayed for the jury panel during the Hockley's testimony in the Alex Jones defamation trial at Superior Court in Waterbury, Connecticut, on Tuesday. (Photo: Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media via Associated Press) Just days after posting a video of his sons memorial service online, Ian Hockley was harassed and called a party boy for smiling during a particularly uplifting moment of the service. It was a name that would stick to him for years. In 2013, Ian started Dylans Wings Of Change, a nonprofit that helps children with emotional and social learning inspired by Dylan, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 3. In 2018, Ian began making more appearances at schools to talk about the program. The harassment was renewed. Story continues Pictures from the memorial were sent to me again: Hey its party boy Hockley, the fake parent of Sandy Hook, great photoshop dude, Ian testified. In an exhibit shown to the court, one harasser commented on a Facebook page for Dylans Wings Of Change: Be warned, Sandyhook-Traitor, Ian Party Boy Hockley comes here...Hes a douche that laughed and smile thru his sons funeral which was scripted... It was of course not scripted, and Dylan was real. Parents Ian and Nicole talked lovingly of Dylan, who liked listening to the cover of Leonard Cohens Hallelujah off the Shrek soundtrack and would jump up and down and flap his hands when he got really excited. Nicole Hockley answers questions from lawyer Chris Mattei during her testimony on Tuesday. (Photo: Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media via Associated Press) Nicole Hockley answers questions from lawyer Chris Mattei during her testimony on Tuesday. (Photo: Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media via Associated Press) You couldnt help but laugh, it was really cute, Ian testified. Nicole described Dylan as a sweet boy who loved cuddles. He really loved cuddles. Really deep, deep cuddles, she testified. He liked to cling on to me like a koala bear. I loved that. In her own testimony, Nicole detailed the threats she faced, including being sent a photo of other dead children. I hid a lot of this from Ian, Nicole said of the threats sent to their home. It was very targeted comments, there were direct messages, emails, phone calls to my friends looking for me. I received mail at the house which I would tend to get to before Ian would get home from work. Nicole said she now worries for their 18-year-old son, Jake, and what might happen if Jones fanatics try confronting him. I am terrified that someone will hurt my son, she said. Infowars has no less than five stories on the trial which all paint Jones as a hero standing up to the elites. He continues to profit off the suffering of families whose lives he further ruined. pic.twitter.com/1ZtxiSSeYC Sebastian Murdock (@SebastianMurdoc) September 23, 2022 As testimony continues in week three of the trial, Alex Jones has been on Infowars in Texas to sell supplements in videos about the trial titled kangaroo court. Other Infowars stories about the trial included talking about the tyrant judge overseeing the trial and the elite media covering it. How often is the harassment that parents Ian and Nicole face? Plaintiffs attorney Chris Mattei brought up an exhibit in court Tuesday that showed a comment sent to Nicole on Sep. 6, just a week before the trial began. How do you sleep at night? one harasser asked. As Nicole testified, she now sleeps with a bat, knives and a can of Mace by her bed. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... LONDON Its a moment of metamorphosis for Victoria Beckham and shes marking it by staging her first runway show in Paris, at the 17th-century church and monastery of Val-de-Grace in the 5th arrondissement, where her old friend Kim Jones set the Dior mens spring 2023 show earlier this year. The changes have been coming at full speed. Earlier this year Beckham hired a new design director, Lara Barrio, and launched accessories and body lines. More from WWD Last summer, along with the companys chief executive officer Marie Leblanc, she rejigged her commercial strategy, combining the Victoria Victoria Beckham and main line collections and slashing the average price point of the collection. Its always been a dream of mine to show in Paris, said Beckham during a preview of her spring 2023 collection here. And its the right time. Its a strong brand moment, and Im very, very excited. The Paris show venue is spectacular. For the show in June, Dior created a real lawn, with thousands of plants, inside the venue and added smaller-scale reproductions of Christian Diors childhood home in Granville, France, and Charleston, the countryside property in England that is synonymous with the Bloomsbury Group. Although Beckham didnt go into detail about her set, its bound to be special. It feels like a real moment where were going to be giving our existing customer what she wants. But I think were reaching out to a younger audience as well, she said. A mood board. Shes upping those hemlines and going short again, with lots of ruffled minis and knits with skirts covered in long bright tassels, the latter of which also appear on shoulder bags. Ive got a lot of younger members on the design team whove influenced the collection and were still respecting the design codes and offbeat color mixes, said Beckham. I havent worn short for a long time and I want to wear it in a new, fresh way. Story continues The collection is lighter, and younger, compared with past seasons. Its also a little sexier. Under the new designer the focus has shifted away from all the tailoring, and generous proportions, to skinnier, more bodycon silhouettes, although theres a real ease about the collection, said Beckham. Theres a sheer story going on, too, and the team has gone big on layering, with latex pieces and lacy underpinnings. Beckham has created VB logo tights, bras, underpants or knickers, as the Brits say to layer under dresses and transparent pieces. The logo underwear, she said, is different from the VB Body collection, a permanent capsule she launched earlier this year that offers leggings, curvy dresses and bodysuits. For spring 2023, shes using those lacy pieces and latex for long gloves or for layering under romantic dresses with ruffles or ruching at the front. Its very sheer, and theres a real nod to the 1990s with the styling, said Beckham. Tailoring, always a pillar of the Beckham brand, also gets the sheer treatment this season. On one transparent red suit, the seaming, shoulder pads and pocket linings are in full view. Beckham has had fun with trompe loeil, too, such as a leather jacket with flat lapels bonded to the front, or a pair of black jeans covered with a contrasting x-ray-like print. Shes shaken up her runway squad, tapping the makeup artist Diane Kendal and Duffy for hair. Kendal will be using Victoria Beckham beauty products, so the look will be 100 percent on brand. Beckham is making changes on other fronts, too. Shes set to launch her seventh, and final, collection with Reebok and is looking for a new partner in activewear. Its sad this is the last collection, but I think weve proven there is space for us. I think that Reebok has been a big success. I work out every day and want to look good in the gym. I test-wear everything, and I know whats missing in the market, said Beckham. So were onto the next chapter, and Im excited. Although I dont know who Ill be [partnering] with, Im looking forward to what is next, she added. Shes also savoring the current moment. Beckham said that, in the middle of the pandemic, she was sitting in Miami and wishing shed enjoyed the process of putting on big shows. You can get so caught up in this pressure. But I said that if I am lucky enough to do another show, I would really enjoy it. And I have really enjoyed working with my team. Of course theres a lot of pressure, but I feel so lucky, not only to be showing in Paris but to be doing a show as an independent brand with all of the obstacles of the pandemic, she said. Shes not the only Beckham feeling that sense of gratitude, and community. Earlier this month David Beckham made headlines when he joined the long line of people hoping to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II during the five days she lay in state at Westminster Hall. He waited 14 hours in the line, and was one of an estimated 250,000 people who paid their respects. He refused to jump the line, said Victoria, who watched the funeral on TV with her husband last week. We were all so proud of him and there was no doubt in his mind about doing it. He was invited to jump to the front but he said it just didnt feel right. He said it was a shared experience, the experience of mourning. And he met some really amazing people, too. Best of WWD Click here to read the full article. Police officers work the scene of a double homicide at a home on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, in Dublin, Calif. Devin Williams Jr., an Alameda County Deputy Sheriff, is accused in the double-slaying. OAKLAND The Alameda County Sheriffs Office has stripped 47 deputies 10% of the force of their guns and arrest powers because they failed psychological exams in the wake of a fatal double shooting allegedly committed by a former Stockton cop. It was horrible to have to relieve the deputies of their duties, sheriffs spokesman Lt. Ray Kelly told KTVU-TV. The station obtained a copy of a letter notifying the deputies of their change of status last Friday. The deputies will still receive their pay and benefits. The move came after the Sheriffs Office conducted an internal audit of deputies psychological examinations from January 2016 to the present. Previous coverage: Couple allegedly slain by deputy, ex-Stockton cop IDd as retired civil engineer, nurse The letter from Sheriff Gregory Ahern notified a deputy whose name was blacked out in the copy that the deputy had been graded D. Not Suited in a psychological evaluation and under state law couldnt serve as a peace officer. The letter said the Sheriffs Office had previously been operating under incorrect advice received several years ago from the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, which said it could hire candidates who received such a rating. Ahern said the deputy can be hired if a second examination declares him or her suitable and the office intends to schedule an appointment for such an exam. Our intention is to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, Ahern wrote. We also intend to have you return to full duty status once you obtain a Suitable finding. Kelly said he hoped that the retests would occur in the next two months. The tests will be conducted by a psychologist who doesnt work for the sheriff, he said. The audit followed the arrest earlier this month of former Deputy Devin Williams Jr., 24, who previously served with the Stockton Police Department. He is charged with shooting and killing a couple in their Dublin, Calif., home on Sept. 7. Story continues His mother, Anitra Williams, told KTVU-TV that her son had been in a romantic relationship with Maria Tran, one of the shooting victims, and he believed she was unmarried. The station said four sources said Williams had failed his psychological exam, although Kelly previously said Williams, who was hired in September 2021, had passed all psychological tests. Williams, 24, who formerly worked at the Stockton Police Department, turned himself in to law enforcement hours after he was accused in the fatal slayings. Williams mother spoke with The Record in 2020 about her fears for her son while he worked as a new police officer in Stockton. She said at the time that never dissuaded Devin to enter law enforcement, but she couldnt help but be concerned. Im happy that hes living his lifelong dream, she said, but Im worried because as an off-duty serviceman, he has to carry his service weapon. I worry that what if he gets pulled over and he mentions the weapon and then that moment he takes his last breath, Williams said. Its the reality of having a black son. The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, an Oakland nonprofit that deals with race and criminal justice issues, accused the Sheriffs Office of previously turning a blind eye to the problem of unsuited deputies. This further highlights the egregious levels of dysfunction and corruption that have plagued the sheriffs office for years, the centers organizing director Jose Bernal, said in a statement. Kelly said the department has been under enormous pressure to hire more deputies and it was hard to find people for the tough job. I know that people are going to assume that all these deputies are killers, Kelly said. But thats not true. This test tries to find out if you are psychologically suitable for the job, to handle all the horrible things we see. At the age of 22, sometimes youre not. I know this isnt good. But its not as bad as it sounds. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on The Record: 47 California deputies stripped of guns after failing psych tests UNITED NATIONS (AP) This week, the United Nations is the world's premier venue for current events which, one could say, is the forte of the U.S. Coast Guard. So naturally the military branch's boats are a familiar presence during the U.N. General Assembly, guarding the aquatic border of the United Nations alongside New York City police boats. While three sides of the perimeter around the U.N. headquarters are lined with barricades, the United Nations' adjacency to the East River requires a different security arrangement. The U.N. General Assembly makes for the largest maritime security operation in the nation, said U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Kyle Weist, the emergency management chief for the New York sector. In addition to patrolling the stretch between the United Nations and the Long Island City section of Queens, the Coast Guard also has teams boarding ships that arrive in the ports of New York and New Jersey. The entire operation lasts two weeks and consists of 20 small boats and crews, four Coast Guard ships, two helicopters and 12 law enforcement boarding teams. Weist said via email. These assets and crews are mobilized from units throughout the nation and deploy to NYC to support this critical maritime safety and security mission. While it's mostly a sheer drop from the U.N. grounds to the water, there's a Coast Guard cutter capable of breaking ice that's moored at a makeshift dock. That cutter, the Penobscot Bay, serves as a platform from which to oversee the Coast Guard operations on the East River. The land barriers are notoriously disruptive to New Yorkers, and the summit similarly rocks the boat on water. Several NYC Ferry routes were delayed or suspended altogether Wednesday, with a service advisory in place for the duration of the General Assembly. ___ Mallika Sen is on assignment at the United Nations, covering the U.N. General Assembly. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mallikavsen, and for more on the U.N. General Assembly visit https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations-general-assembly City Shawn David Denman, 27, 55 Chedell Place, Auburn, was charged Sept. 24 with aggravated family offense, second-degree criminal contempt and resisting arrest. Michael Edward Young, 60, 241 S. Seward Ave., Auburn, was charged Sept. 24 with driving while intoxicated-first offense and aggravated driving while intoxicated. Michael John Tarry, 37, 242 Hardenbergh Ave., Auburn, was charged Sept. 24 with third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of an incompetent person. Vicki L. Telvock, 23, 2 Mahaney Ave., Auburn, was charged Sept. 26 with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. James B. Yon, 53, 6 Seymour St., Auburn, was charged Sept. 26 with aggravated family offense, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree menacing. Alex R. Kahler, 22, 10 Goodman St., Apt. 101, Geneva, was charged Sept. 26 with second-degree rape and two counts of first-degree disseminating indecent material to minors. Keri Ann Ruth Miller, 28, transient, Auburn, was charged Sept. 26 with second-degree trespass. Michelle N. Depew, 54, 82 N. Lewis St., Auburn, was charged Sept. 26 with second-degree trespass. Lawrence A. Atkins, 45, 44 Wallace Ave., Apt. 44, Auburn, was charged Sept. 26 with second-degree criminal trespass. Zachary C. Trufant, 33, 4 Van Patten St., Auburn, was charged Sept. 26 with second-degree criminal trespass. County Clifford G. Savery, 54, 14565 Cayuga St., Fair Haven, was charged Sept. 23 with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. State Alex M. Somerville, 40, Elbridge, was charged Sept. 26 with driving while intoxicated-first offense and operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of at least 0.08%. Major cruise lines have adjusted plans due to Hurricane Ian, in some cases changing nearly entire itineraries or canceling sailings altogether. Norwegian Cruise Line rerouted a Sept. 25 round-trip cruise from Miami with scheduled stops in George Town, Grand Cayman, Roatan, Honduras, and Harvest Caye, Belize, and Cozumel, Mexico, a spokesperson told USA TODAY in an email. The Norwegian Sky will instead visit San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands and Nassau in the Bahamas. "The safety and security of our guests and crew is always our number one priority," the spokesperson said, adding that passengers with shore excursions booked through Norwegian at impacted ports would be refunded via their onboard accounts. The cruise line also canceled a 10-day Caribbean sailing on Norwegian Getaway scheduled to leave on Thursday from Orlando, Florida, according to a statement on its website. MSC Cruises also made major changes to MSC Seashore's Sept. 24 sailing from Miami, swapping its Western Caribbean itinerary for Eastern Caribbean stops, including the line's private island, Ocean Cay, Nassau in the Bahamas and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. 'We are not OK': In Comerio, Puerto Rico, Hurricane Fiona has left people without water, food and medicine See the scope: Hurricane Fiona's damage in Puerto Rico in charts and graphics "Guests received a full refund of any shore excursion booked for destinations the ship will no longer be calling at, and shore excursions booked for Ocean Cay were automatically rescheduled for the new call date there," MSC spokesperson Field Sutton said in an email. MSC Divina also skipped a stop at Ocean Cay Tuesday, making its way to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, instead, and "tentatively plans" to head back to Florida's Port Canaveral on Friday, a day later than planned, Sutton said. A three-night sailing on the ship scheduled for Thursday has been canceled as well. Story continues The changes come after Hurricane Fiona disrupted cruise schedules, forcing Norwegian to reroute a cruise bound for Bermuda to Canada last week. Other major lines such as Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International have similarly altered itineraries as a result of Hurricane Ian. What other cruise lines have made changes? Carnival canceled three sailings due to port closures in Jacksonville, Tampa, and Port Canaveral in Florida. The cruise line called off four-day sailings on Carnival Elation and Carnival Paradise from Jacksonville and Tampa, respectively, and a three-day trip on Carnival Liberty from Port Canaveral, spokesperson Matt Lupoli said in an email. Carnival Elation and Carnival Paradise were scheduled to leave Thursday, with Carnival Liberty departing on Friday, and all passengers will get full refunds and 25% future cruise credits. The line delayed a Saturday sailing on Carnival Sunshine as well. The ship will now leave on Sunday, due to a port closure in Charleston, South Carolina, that has delayed its return. Passengers will "receive a one-day pro-rated refund of our cruise fare and a $50 onboard credit," and those who decide not to sail will get a full refund, according to Lupoli. Carnival Elation also swapped its scheduled visit to Princess Cays for a day at sea Tuesday and visited Freeport in the Bahamas Wednesday in place of a planned sea day, during a sailing from Jacksonville. The ship, which had been scheduled to come back on Thursday, is set to dock in Jacksonville when the port reopens, which Lupoli said is expected to take place Saturday. Carnival Liberty did not stop at Princess Cays Wednesday during a sailing from Port Canaveral, and Carnival Horizon did not stop at Grand Cayman on its sailing from Miami, opting for a sea day instead. The ship is expected to get back to Port Canaveral Saturday, one day later than scheduled. Carnival Paradise, which is on a sailing from Tampa, extended its Tuesday stop in Cozumel through Wednesday. The vessel is set to dock in Tampa when the port reopens. That is expected to take place Saturday, though the ship had been scheduled to return Thursday. Carnival Sunrise also skipped a stop in Bimini in the Bahamas Wednesday during a sailing from Miami, spending a day at sea instead. Lupoli said Carnival Ecstasy, which left from Mobile, Alabama, Monday, would reorder its visits to Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico, stopping in Progreso first. Another ship, Carnival Glory, departed New Orleans on Sept. 25 and was set to stop in Mahogany Bay and Roatan, Honduras, as well as Belize and Cozumel, rather than its previously planned stops, which included Key West, Florida, and Nassau. Royal Caribbean International has adjusted plans and its ships have skipped several ports as a result of the storm. Mariner of the Seas' Thursday sailing from Port Canaveral which is currently closed will now depart on Saturday, the cruise line said on its website. The ship will not visit Nassau, but will visit Perfect Day at CocoCay on Sunday. Independence of the Seas' Friday voyage will now leave on Saturday, as well, and will not visit Perfect Day at CocoCay, but will stop in Nassau on Sunday as scheduled. Those who sail will be compensated in on board credits, while passengers who decide to cancel can get a full refund. Mariner of the Seas also skipped a visit to Labadee, Haiti, Monday on a sailing from Florida's Port Canaveral, a Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson said in an email. The spokesperson said Allure of the Seas would skip its scheduled visit to Roatan Tuesday during its sailing from Fort Lauderdale, and Liberty of the Seas would not stop in Cozumel as planned Tuesday. Celebrity Cruises replaced stops in Belize and Cozumel on a Celebrity Infinity sailing from Fort Lauderdale Sept. 24 with visits to Nassau and Labadee, the Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson said. Disney Cruise Line canceled a Friday sailing on its Disney Wish ship, according to its website. Passengers booked on the cruise, which was scheduled to leave from Port Canaveral, "will automatically receive a full refund back to their original form of payment," a Disney Cruise Line spokesperson said in an email. "Additionally, were providing each guest with a 20% future cruise discount." Hurricane Fiona hurtles through Bermuda; Atlantic Canada braces for 'historic storm' Where is Hurricane Ian headed? The coasts of North and South Carolina could see "life-threatening storm-surge" Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The center also said hurricane-force winds "are expected along the coasts of South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina within the Hurricane Warning area soon," among other impacts. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Ian forces cruise lines to change itineraries An American Airlines plane takes off near a parked JetBlue plane at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 16, 2020. DALLAS The government's antitrust lawsuit against American Airlines and JetBlue begins Tuesday and the outcome could determine how closely the Biden administration examines other airline deals, including JetBlue's pending attempt to buy Spirit Airlines. The Justice Department and six states are suing American and JetBlue to break up their partnership in the Northeast, namely New York and Boston. It is a significant test of the administrations opposition to mergers even though the American-JetBlue partnership is not a full merger. The government argues that the alliance will reduce competition and lead to higher fares. The Trump administration approved the alliance, but the Justice Department began taking a closer look shortly after President Joe Biden took office. Hidden airline fees: Biden administration proposes rule requiring greater transparency from airlines Flight canceled or delayed?: How to find out exactly what you're owed American and JetBlue will argue that the partnership has already been in effect for about 18 months and has allowed each airline to offer new routes that would not be economical for either on its own. They say there is no evidence that the deal is hurting consumers. The current and former CEOs of American and JetBlue's CEO, along with senior officials from other airlines, are among potential witnesses identified by the two sides. Delta Air Lines tried to prevent two executives from testifying, saying they are too busy in Atlanta, where the airline is based, to attend the trial in federal court in Boston. The judge ruled Monday that one of them, a senior vice president, must be available to testify. U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin has set aside nearly three weeks for the trial. There will be no jury. Sorokin could take weeks or even months to issue a decision, which is likely to be appealed by the losing side. When the Justice Department filed the lawsuit a year ago, Attorney General Merrick Garland called the American-JetBlue alliance an unprecedented maneuver that would lead to higher fares, fewer choices, and poor service for travelers. Story continues The Justice Department's top antitrust official, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, echoed those arguments during a hearing last week before a Senate subcommittee. He said that while new airlines have entered the business over the years, leading to lower fares and better service, too many of them have been swallowed up by mergers and acquisitions. We remain committed to fighting airline concentration when it breaks the law," Kanter told the senators. "We are looking very carefully at our approach to airline consolidation ... we have numerous other matters under review. Kanter didn't say what those other matters are, but one likely could be JetBlue's proposal to buy Spirit for $3.8 billion. Spirit CEO Ted Christie, who preferred a merger with Frontier Airlines, fought JetBlue for months by arguing that antitrust regulators would never allow his low-fare airline to be swallowed up by JetBlue, a more conventional and higher-priced carrier. Under the alliance, American and JetBlue sell seats on each other's flights and share the revenue. They say they coordinate on schedules but not prices. And they give customers reciprocal benefits in the frequent-flyer programs. Don't wait: Why you should book your holiday travel this month American and JetBlue argue that their alliance is not a merger and helps them compete against United and Delta in the Northeast. They say the alliance has let them add 50 new routes, add flights on previous routes, and increase their share of the Northeast market from 16% to 24%. The carriers profess to be confounded by the Justice Department's claims that the deal is anti-competitive. They are wrong, and we'll prove it, Doug Parker, then American's CEO, said around the time that the lawsuit was filed. He said blocking the deal would take away consumer choice and inhibit competition, not encourage it." The government argues that the alliance will further reduce competition among airlines and cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars a year. JetBlue was once a scrappy opponent and American's most nettlesome competitor in New York. But now, JetBlue has sold out and cashed in, government lawyers say in one filing. The government says that together, American and JetBlue will control more than 50% of the market sometimes more than 80% on routes from New York and Boston where they previously competed head-to-head. Exclusive: American Airlines reveals new business class and premium economy seats The Justice Department seems to be expressing buyer's remorse about many previous airline mergers that went largely unchallenged. Those deals eliminated Continental, Northwest, US Airways, AirTran, TWA and other airlines, and they led to the downgrading of once-bustling hub airports including St. Louis, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Consumer advocates say those mergers have led to higher prices and lower service, particularly from the four biggest airlines: American, Delta, United and Southwest. They have gotten too big to fail and too big to care, said Bill McGee, an aviation expert at the American Economic Liberties Project, a group that opposes concentrated power within industries. We feel that there should be a moratorium on all mergers in the airline industry until (federal regulators) go back and look at all the negative effects of all the consolidation." Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said last week that a lack of competition caused the widespread flight problems that aggravated travelers this summer. "Americans are beyond furious about cancellations and delays by airlines, and they are beginning to understand that the reason why airlines mistreat them and why they are mismanaged is because of consolidation, he said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US takes JetBlue, American airlines to court over alliance A reservist shot a military commissar The incident was caught on video by one of the eyewitnesses. It shows Zinin, on the stage of the assembly hall at the military registration and enlistment office, shoots at a military commissar on the stage, after which other mobilized people flee the premises in panic. According to witnesses, before opening fire, the shooter promised that "We all will head home now." Zinin has since been detained. There is no reliable information about the state of the military commissar at this time. According to some reports, he survived, but is in serious condition. This is the most serious, but by no means an isolated case of violence provoked by the Kremlins mobilization of Russian men for its failing war on Ukraine. Since the beginning of mobilization, there has been a series of arsons attack on military registration and enlistment offices in several towns in Russia. To date, at least 20 such cases have been recorded in a number of Russian regions. Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin announced a "partial mobilization" in the country on Sept. 21, According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, he plans to send another 300,000 reservists to the front. However, sources said to be from the Kremlin have told Russian journalists that this refers only to the first wave of mobilization, and that three or four such waves may be planned, which would imply Russia will mobilize a million or more men. Read also: Ukraine advances on Lyman while discontent with mobilization rises in Russia, says ISW Following the announcement of the mobilization, Russian men began to buy plan tickets to other countries en masse in order to avoid being sent to the war in Ukraine. Russian citizens fleeing the country have also created many kilometers of queues at its borders. Sources in the FSB, the Kremlins successor to the notorious KGB secret service, say up to 261,000 Russian men may have fled the country, independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported. Meanwhile, the Kremlin's puppet leader in Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, said that he didnt intend to mobilize the residents of his republic. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine STANISLAV POHORILOV MONDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2022, 12:30 Aleksandr Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, has said at a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin that Russia and Belarus would not tolerate humiliation from Europe, although the future lies with cooperation; meanwhile, Putin has called on the West to respect Russia. Source: Belarusian pro-government information agency Belta; Russian state-owned news outlet RIA Novosti Quote from Lukashenko: "Europe, if it has hushed (I am not talking about those across the ocean [i.e., Americans - ed.]), let them think. I have already told them three times that their future was with us. Together with Russia, where there is everything they need. And they have stuff we can buy from them. What else do they need? You just need to make responsible decisions. If they don't want to, let them not bother, then." Details: In turn, Putin, commenting on Lukashenko's words, called on the West to respect Russia. "Treat us (the Russian Federation) with respect," Putin said. Previously: Aleksandr Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, flew to Vladimir Putin, the leader of the Russian Federation, the aggressor country; they are discussing a "difficult period" and thanking people "for their understanding." Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Odesa was again attacked by kamikaze drones Read also: Iran regrets diplomatic row with Ukraine According to Suspilne, a series of explosions rocked Odesa at about 6 a.m. during an air raid alert. People could see the drone and hear the sounds of their engines in the sky. A pillar of smoke rose into the sky after that, as evidenced by the photo published by the local news outlet Dumskaya. Read also: Iran says it refused to supply drones to Russia Later the South Operational Command officially confirmed that Odesa had been attacked by enemy kamikaze drones. It is noted the Russians hit an administrative building in the city center three times. One drone was shot down by Ukrainian air defenses. Read also: The growing circle of Putins friends in the West Fire and rescue teams are working at the scene to extinguish the fire. Fortunately, there were no casualties as a result of the incident. The speaker of Odesa Regional Military Administration, Serhiy Bratchuk, said the attack could have been launched by Iranian-made Shahed drones, which Russia had recently purchased from Iran. Later the speaker of the South Operational Command, Vladyslav Nazarov, posted photos of the wreckage of the Iranian drones. This is not the first attack of kamikaze drones on Odesa. The Russians attacked Odesa with kamikaze drones from the sea on Sept. 23, resulting in one civilian was killed. One enemy drone was shot down by air defense forces over the sea. Shahed drones are in service with the Russians: what is known about Russias purchase of Iranian drones The media reported in late August, citing representatives of Western intelligence, that Russia had obtained hundreds of Iranian combat drones. According to CNN, Russia has officially purchased and transferred the Mohajer-6 and Shahed-series drones the Shahed-129 and Shahed-191. Read also: What Russia and Putin's power are built on NV interview with UK writer Peter Pomerantsev On Aug. 31, the White House officially confirmed the information about Russias purchase of Iranian drones. In early September, the United States imposed sanctions on an Iranian company it accused of coordinating military flights to transport Iranian drones to Russia and three other companies it said were involved in the production of Iranian drones. Story continues Tehran has vigorously denied it was providing Moscow with any kind of military assistance. Ukrainian forces first shot down an Iranian Shahed-136 loitering munition in the town of Kupyansk, Kharkiv Oblast, on Sept. 13. Shared-136 drones were later used to attack Odesa and Dnipro, with six of them getting shot down on Sept. 23. Read also: Top Ukrainian official accuses Iran of terrorist act in downing UIA Flight PS752 Ukraine has recently withdrawn the accreditation of the Iranian ambassador and imposed a significant reduction on the staff of the Iranian embassy in Kyiv, over Iran supplying Russia with drones to use in the war in Ukraine. The first reports that Iran might supply Russia with kamikaze drones appeared over a month ago. Ukraine has since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion over seven months ago been pleading with its allies to provide it with adequate numbers of modern air defense systems. However, only a small number of such systems have as yet been provided. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Gabrielius Landsbergis Lithuanians overthrew the Soviet regime, Ukrainians overthrew (former Ukrainian President Viktor) Yanukovych, Iranian women have risen up against the brutality of the Iranian regime and Russians can overthrow Putin, he tweeted. Lets not underestimate the power of freedom. Large-scale protests against mobilization in Russia and the war with Ukraine continue in the Republic of Dagestan, part of the Russian Federation. On Sept. 22, the federal highway in Dagestans Babayurtovsky District was blocked in protest against the mobilization. On the same day, a video of a riot near a military registration and enlistment office in Dagestan appeared on social networks. Read also: Military commissar shot in Russia during mobilization meeting video At the same time, residents of the village of Endirey in the Khasavyurt district of Dagestan blocked the Khasavyurt-Makhachkala federal highway on Sept. 25. The police tried to disperse protesters by firing into the air. Earlier on Sept. 21, Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization in Russia. According to official data from the Russian Defense Ministry, the plan is to draft about 300,000 reservists. However, the part of the published decree ordering the mobilization dealing with the number of draftees is marked only for official use. According to Russian opposition media, the secret paragraph of the plan details the mobilization of around one million Russians for the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin is also mainly mobilizing people from national minorities, which has led to accusations that Russia is using the war call-up to conduct ethnic cleansing. Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Geneva, Switzerland. Boxun Liu / EyeEm / Getty Images Switzerland is the best country in the world, according to a US News & World Report analysis. The analysis was created in partnership with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. More than 17,000 people around the world took part in the project. Switzerland has been named the best country in the world, according to a US News & World Report analysis. The nation was ranked highly for its quality of life and voted the most business-friendly country in the world. The US made the list as the fourth-best country overall, up from sixth in 2021. The country ranked highly for cultural influence and entrepreneurship and was voted the most powerful country in the world. However, it didn't make the top 20 for quality of life. To create the rankings, US News partnered with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Countries were scored on 73 pre-agreed attributes, such as quality of life or social purpose, by more than 17,000 people from around the world between April 30 and July 13. Carlo Bastasin, a nonresident senior fellow in The Brookings Institution's Foreign Policy program, told US News: "From a financial or industrial point of view, some of the major companies intermediating raw materials oil, for instance are based in Switzerland." He added the country may also benefit from its traditional perception of neutrality during international conflicts, despite Switzerland recently breaking its neutral stance to sanction Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The top 10 countries are as follows: Switzerland Germany Canada United States Sweden Japan Australia United Kingdom France Denmark Read the original article on Business Insider A tour bus bringing senior citizens to their East Falmouth hotel on Sept. 19 was aggressively pursued by a National Guard officer from Joint Base Cape Cod who thought the bus was carrying migrants because of a Tallahassee, Florida, sign on the side of the bus. The off-duty officer, Lt. Col. Christopher Hoffman, 51, of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, who recorded his pursuit of the bus on Facebook Live, thought the bus was part of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' effort to bring migrants who crossed the southern U.S. border to Cape Cod. He can be heard praising DeSantis on the live stream video. The nighttime pursuit, mainly along Route 28 south, continued for 10 or more miles from the vicinity of the Bourne Rotary to the Admiralty Inn & Suites, 51 Teaticket Highway in East Falmouth, terrifying the passengers. Lt. Col, Christopher Hoffman of the Massachusetts Army National Guard at Joint Base Cape Cod holds uses his phone to video his exchanges with the driver of a tour bus and passengers on Sept. 19 in the parking lot of the Admiralty Inn & Suites in East Falmouth. He suspected the bus was carrying migrants who crossed the southern border of the U.S. When the bus reached the hotel, a verbal altercation occurred between Hoffman and the passengers on the bus, said Michael Vaughn, driver of the bus and owner of Mikes Limousine, a Tallahassee-based transportation company that provides buses for tour groups. "He thought there were immigrants on the bus," Vaughn said. "He was totally wrong." Hoffman's pursuit of the bus comes after DeSantis sent about 50 South American migrants to Martha's Vineyard unannounced on Sept. 14. The migrants were moved to Joint Base Cape Cod a few days later where the state set up a temporary shelter at the direction of Gov. Charlie Baker. More news: Lawyers for Civil Rights explain lawsuit filed on behalf of Martha's Vineyard migrants The Times attempted to contact Hoffman on his work cellphone. His voice mailbox was full and could not accept a phone message. He did not reply to a text sent to his work cellphone number. Hoffman 'wouldn't leave me' Vaughn said the truck had its high beams on during the pursuit. "He was literally five feet off my bumper," said Vaughn, "He wouldn't leave me." Story continues Vaughn tried slowing down and changing lanes on Route 28 to let the pickup truck pass to no avail. "He harassed us to death," said Vaughn. "Everybody was scared to death." The Facebook video, which was shared with the Times, shows Hoffman driving at times and the bus ahead of him at other points. The bus can be seen switching lanes but when the bus switched lanes Hoffman did as well, according to the video. Hoffman has since removed the video from his Facebook page, according to police. What does being a sanctuary city mean?: What does Cape Cod offer? Here's information Vaughn was driving 37 senior citizens from Memphis, Tennessee, who were touring Cape Cod. Once the bus pulled into the parking lot at the Admiralty Inn & Suites, Vaughn said Hoffman got out of his truck and was filming the bus with his phone. Falmouth police called to scene of the altercation between Hoffman, tourists Falmouth police were called to the hotel parking lot by someone associated with the bus tour. Falmouth public information officer Lt. Michael Simoneau identified the pickup truck driver as Hoffman and said no charges have been filed against him as of Tuesday morning. According to information from the Massachusetts National Guard, Hoffman, who works full-time for the Guard, served in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2011. He is stationed at Joint Base Cape Cod. His LinkedIn profile lists his job title as administrative officer. Lt. Col. Christopher Hoffman boarded a tour bus with tourists from Memphis, Tennessee, uninvited and got into a heated exchange with the passengers on Sept. 19. Hoffman eventually apologized and left the bus. The Massachusetts National Guard considers the conduct of this soldier to be inappropriate and inconsistent with our military values," Col. Mark Kalin, Commander, Massachusetts Army National Guard, said in a statement to the Times. "We are currently working to ensure our service member is evaluated and receives any services he may need, while also reviewing appropriate disciplinary actions. The incident is currently under investigation and no further information is available at this time. In a video recording from Hoffman's Facebook live, Hoffman films himself following the bus on Route 28, south of the Bourne Bridge. "Look at this," he said. "Tallahassee, Florida. A busload. Look at this. I'm following it all the way to the end. DeSantis bringing the border to your place." In the video, Hoffman seemed to indicate that he saw the bus by chance. Related: Migrants staying at Joint Base Cape Cod settle in as they determine where to go from here "I saw it coming over the bridge, I'm going to follow it," he said. "I was supposed to turn it off and go home, but here we go." In the Facebook Live video, Hoffman seems agitated about the current immigrant situation and expresses frustration about trying to bring someone from Afghanistan to the United States. "I have an Afghan I can't even get into the country," said Hoffman. "He helped us in 2005 and 2010." 'These are senior citizens on the bus After both vehicles arrived at the parking lot of the Admiralty Inn & Suites, Vaughn said he got out of the bus and confronted Hoffman, who appeared to be filming the bus using his phone. He said he told, Hoffman, "these are old senior citizens. You're going to give them a heart attack." A video that was made in the parking lot captured Hoffman's encounter with Vaughn and passengers on the bus. The video was shared with the Times on the conditions that it not be published and that the name of the person who shared it not be published. A long journey: Venezuelan migrants share their stories before leaving Martha's Vineyard. What they said "You're interfering with my tour," Vaughn can be heard saying. "I want to see what's going on," Hoffman, who was not in a uniform, said. "It's none of your business what's going on," Vaughn said. "I have every right as a U.S citizen to see what's going on," Hoffman said. "You know what I'm talking about." Vaughn tried to explain that it was a tour bus full of older people. "If it's 80-year-old people, I will walk away," Hoffman said. "Do you not see what's gone on on Martha's Vineyard?" At one point, Hoffman boarded the tour bus. "He was walking right up on the bus uninvited," said Vaughn. At that point, the passengers began yelling at Hoffman. "These older Black women were on his a--," Vaughn said. 'I served in Afghanistan' In a video from the bus, Hoffman tells the passengers, "I served in Afghanistan, and I'm trying to get an Afghan, and I can't get him into the country. So don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about." As an angry response from passengers continued, Hoffman appeared to realize that the bus didn't contain migrants. "I am sorry," said Hoffman. "I didn't respect you guys. I am sorry." 'People need to feel safe': Support team to help resettle Afghan evacuees in Falmouth Shortly thereafter, Hoffman left the bus and encountered Falmouth police. In the video filmed in the inn parking lot, Hoffman is asked if he had been drinking by a police officer. "No," replied Hoffman. The Falmouth Police Department report about the incident, written by Det. Christopher Bartolomei, said Hoffman may have been impaired and perhaps was suffering from some sort of mental health situation. "When he looked at me, he looked through me not at me," the report says. "He was not making sense and he attempted to control the conversation and talked about him trying to get someone from Afghanistan to the United States. The way he talked it made it sound like he was connected somehow with the migrants on the base," the report says, later adding, "Something seemed very off with him." After calming down a bit, Hoffman told police what had happened. "He stated he was driving and saw the bus go around the rotary on the highway. He stated he got upset because the bus had Tallahassee on it, and he thought it was more migrants coming from Florida and began following it. He stated he got upset and followed the bus. He spoke about a friend that he could not get over from Afghanistan and he got emotional about this and was mad that the migrants were here and not his friend. He seemed passionate about this." Why they come: Venezuelans migrating to the U.S. and now to Martha's Vineyard: 'Out of desperation' The police report also mentions Hoffman's Facebook Live video. "I informed Hoffman he was on Facebook Live, and he wanted help taking it down. I informed him I did not know how to do that and would not do that. He eventually figured it out and took it off." The video from the live stream that was shared with the Times was copied prior to Hoffman removing the video from his Facebook page. According to Vaughn, Hoffman was taken away by ambulance and his truck was towed. Vaughn was incredulous at the turn of events. "This is crazy," he said. "2.3 million miles of driving a bus and I've never been stalked." Contact Eric Williams at ewilliams@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @CapeCast. This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: MA National Guard officer chased bus believing it was migrants from FL ARLINGTON, Va. More than 1,000 students walked out of Virginia middle and high schools Tuesday, organizers said, leaving class in protest of the state's reversal of transgender protections that put decisions on students' identities and preferred names at school exclusively in the hands of their parents. What's in the policy: The guidelines, released Sept. 16 by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's administration, require students to use restrooms, pronouns and names based on their official school records. It limits sports teams to gender assigned at birth, and it tightens parental notification requirements. What students are saying: "Revoking (transgender protections) now would be like dialing back the clock. It'd be like telling students, 'we don't really care, you're not really who you believe yourself to be,'" Andrea-Grace Mukuna, 16, told USA TODAY on Tuesday at John R. Lewis High School in Springfield, where more than 100 of her peers walked out for a protest on the football field. The big picture: The walkouts are part of greater nationwide youth pushback to an uptick in anti-LGBTQ policies in schools, including what critics call Floridas Dont Say Gay law and bans in 18 states against transgender athletes participating in sports that match their gender identity. More coverage on LGBTQ youth: Over 1,000 students walk out Pride Liberation Project, a youth-led LGBTQ advocacy nonprofit, helped organize the walkouts throughout the day at more than 100 schools and said over 1,000 students participated Tuesday. At some high schools in Northern Virginia, hundreds of students poured out of buildings in the morning, spending roughly half an hour chanting their opposition to the new guidance and listening to speakers. Story continues One of Mukuna's main objectives was to raise awareness among her peers about their ability to have a say in what happens next by submitting comments during the policy's public comment period over the next month. She and her co-organizers handed out flyers at the walkout with QR codes that students can scan to go to the website for submitting comments. "We're really having our own agency and taking control of our own lives in a way that many youths feel they can't at this age," she said, noting that Fairfax County schools have been "progressive in allowing students to go by the name and pronouns of their choosing." "Teachers have been really accommodating of that, and now a lot of students feel confident in their gender expression," she said. Student activists at McLean High School encouraged the 100-plus teens who walked out at 10:30 a.m. to attend the district's next school board meeting. "Trans rights are human rights," the organizers chanted into megaphones. "D.O.E., leave us be!" Some speakers recalled their own mental health struggles and how the new guidelines would cause more pain for already-vulnerable youth. "I was just completely terrified I cried," said Casey Calabia, a 17-year-old senior at McLean High School, when they heard about the new policy last week. "It was a huge blow to myself and so many other students. The personal toll of these things it's just monumental." What does Youngkin's education policy reverse? Last year, Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's administration instituted model policies that protected transgender and other LGBTQ students at school. The guidelines released this month, The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students in Virginia's Public School, revises those Department of Education guidelines. Under the new policy: Students should be referred to by the name and pronouns in their official records unless a parent approves the use of an alternative. Schools may separate sports teams on the basis of sex assigned at birth and are not required to allow students of one sex to participate in sports teams reserved for members of another sex. Students must now file legal documents if they wish to be called by different pronouns. Schools may not encourage teachers to conceal information about a student's gender from their parents. The policy acknowledges that "every effort should be made to ensure that a transgender student wishing to change his or her means of address is treated with respect, compassion and dignity," but ultimately requires a guardian to sign off on the change, presenting challenges for students with non-LGBTQ-affirming parents. Impact on transgender students Students and parents who've spoken out against the guidelines say the changes put LGBTQ youth in danger because it bans they/them pronouns and allows students to be deadnamed or misgendered. Calabia, the McLean High student, said their biggest concern was a change permitting schools to out students as transgender to their parents without their permission. Calabia is an organizer with Pride Liberation Project. "I know people personally who are out at school but not out at home," Calabia told USA TODAY. "If they got outed through this transgender model policy, it would absolutely ruin their lives. They do not have supportive households." Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks with reporters after touring a Loudoun County elections facility at the County Office of Elections, in Leesburg, Va., on Sept. 20. What's next? A 30-day public comment period opened Monday and has already collected more than 16,000 responses. The state school board will not vote on the model policy but the Superintendent of Public Instruction may amend the final draft based on comments, state Department of Education spokesman Charles Pyle told Education Week. Legal precedent: Gavin Grimm A spokesperson for the U.S. Education Department pointed to the model policy's fine print, which stipulates compliance with federal law. The federal courts have thus far ruled that the United States Constitution and Title IX "protect transgender students from school bathroom policies that prohibit them from affirming their gender identity," the spokesperson said. A key case involved a transgender student in Virginia named Gavin Grimm who was denied access to the boy's restroom and forced to use a separate facility. Just last year, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, allowing lower courts' rulings in favor of Grimm to stand. "Virginias proposed policy does not, as it legally could not, direct Virginia schools to discriminate against transgender students where prohibited by federal law," the department spokesperson said. "Virginias new proposed policy is designed to confuse and its most likely outcome will be to undermine (schools') focus on schooling." How have people reacted? School response: Multiple school boards have suggested they may resist and push back on the policies, including Alexandria City Public Schools and Falls Church City Public Schools, The Washington Post reported. What Youngkin says: Youngkin spokesman Macaulay Porter said in a statement that the updated policy delivers on the governors commitment to preserving parental rights and upholding the dignity and respect of all public school students. Youngkin also joined several states in suing the Biden administration for requiring schools to update policies and signage as well as investigate discrimination allegations involving sexual orientation and gender identity in order to qualify for federal school lunch funding. Nationwide: A look at other efforts The Biden administration is currently reviewing comments to its proposed revisions to Title IX regulations, which include codifying protections for transgender and nonbinary students under nondiscrimination categories. But LGBTQ and survivor advocate groups have also pushed back on the Department of Education for neglecting to address guidelines on transgender and nonbinary student participation in gender-specific sports teams in the revised regulations. Federal Education Department officials have said they plan to propose separate rules on the topic but have not yet released a timeline for doing so. Florida's so-called Don't Say Gay bill, officially name the Parental Rights in Education Act, that passed in March was the most high-profile example of legislation restricting LGBTQ youth in the United States. It limited speech on sexual orientation and gender identity in public school classrooms. Bills in other states also restrict transgender student participation in gender-specific sports teams and require parental permission for student participation in LGBTQ extracurriculars activities. This story was updated with comment from the U.S. Education Department. Contributing: Kayla Jimenez and Chris Quintana, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Virginia students stage walkout over Youngkin transgender policy Voters in the 24th Congressional District have two candidates to choose from, and neither lived in the sprawling 12-county district at the time they launched their campaigns. Before the 24th district was redrawn in May, U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, a Republican, lived in Oneida County, which is now part of the 22nd Congressional District. She moved into the 24th district she lives in Canandaigua before the Republican primary election in August. Democratic challenger Steven Holden hasn't gone as far as Tenney. He still lives outside of the district in Camillus, Onondaga County. There were political reasons for both candidates to run in the new 24th district. For Holden, his decision was made before a court-appointed special master redrew the maps. He was running in a crowded Democratic primary in the previous iteration of the 22nd district. He was unlikely to prevail in that contest, so he decided to take the Democratic line in the neighboring 24th district. He remained the party's candidate when the map was redrawn for a final time. Like Holden, Tenney planned to run in a different district before changing course. She was going to run for reelection in the 23rd district, which was comprised of the Southern Tier and a portion of her current congressional district. But when the final map was released, the Southern Tier district stretched further into Erie County and Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Jacobs' territory. Tenney opted to run in the new 24th district, which extends from eastern Niagara County in western New York to part of Jefferson County in the North Country. In between is the Finger Lakes region, including all of Cayuga County. "It looks like a district not only can I win but I can really be a strong voice in and an advocate to build on the things that I'm working on, like attaining a slot on the (House Ways and Means Committee)," Tenney told The Citizen. Tenney believes the 24th district is similar to the one she currently represents that contains parts of central New York, the Mohawk Valley and Southern Tier. She is also familiar with the Finger Lakes region. After she graduated from law school and got engaged, she and her now ex-husband moved to Canandaigua, which is now in the 24th district. They lived there while he worked at Mobil Chemical, first in Canandaigua and then in Macedon, Wayne County. Her marriage license, she says, is from Canandaigua. "We chose it because we loved the area," Tenney said. Holden doesn't have those same ties to the district. He's an Oklahoma native who served in the U.S. Army. He moved to central New York when he married his wife, who is a Syracuse-area native. But Holden told The Citizen that he thinks he has a better connection to what he calls "the lake district" because western Onondaga County, where he lives, has more in common with Auburn and other communities in the 24th. "I have more of a tie to Auburn than I do downtown Syracuse," he said. "That's just the way it is. It fits in better here." He added that if elected, he and his wife are looking to move to the Auburn area. He also pledged to have one of his district offices in Auburn. Holden also noted that when he first launched his campaign for Congress, three counties that were in the previous district Cayuga, Oswego and Wayne are now in the 24th district. That allowed him to build relationships with Democratic leaders in the district, such as Cayuga County Democratic Chairwoman Dia Carabajal. Both candidates don't view their past or present residency as an issue members of Congress are not required to live in the districts they represent. They are focused on highlighting their skillsets and why they think they can best represent the new district. Holden touts his rural background and military experience, both of which could win over voters in a largely rural district that's home to Fort Drum, a major Army base. "I want to bring an actual voice and tell other people in my party, while still getting the same policies done, that's not going to work up here, so here's what we need to take into consideration," he said. Tenney's main selling point is her experience as an elected official and a small business owner. She served in the state Assembly before being elected to Congress. "I put my heart and soul into this and I want to make sure I understand every corner of this district like I have with the current district that I have," she said. "I've been welcomed incredibly by people across the entire district." Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky implored the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to completely isolate Russia from the global peacekeeping body, as the majority of council members condemned Moscow for land-grabs of Ukrainian territory. Zelensky addressed the council as Russia carries out referendums in occupied Ukrainian territory, which the U.S. and U.K. have warned are a pretext to Moscow annexing the land and escalating its military offensive in the country. No one will be surprised if this room of the U.N. Security Council will be turned into a zone of violence by representatives of Russia, Zelensky said in video remarks delivered to the council. There is only one way to stop this all. First, the complete isolation of Russia in response to everything it does. The state cannot remain a permanent member to the U.N. Security Council with the right of veto, if such a state is waging a genocidal policy right now, keeping the world one step away from a radiation disaster and at the same time keep on threatening with nuclear strikes. Russia should be excluded from all international organizations. Rosemary DiCarlo, the U.N.s under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, told the Security Council that the referendum votes being carried out by Russian officials in Ukraines territory cannot be regarded as legal under international law. Russias ambassador to the U.N., Vasily Nebenzya said the results from the referenda will be published over the next few days and sought to portray them as upholding of all electoral norms. Aware that our former Western partners are not listening to us or will rather pretend not to listen to us, the Referendum were conducted exclusively transparently with upholding of all electoral norms, this is an undisputed fact, Nebenzya said. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the U.S. and Albania have authored a resolution to reject Russias referendum votes in Ukraine and is calling on member states not to recognize any altered status of Ukraine and obligating Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Story continues The U.S. and allies are mobilizing allies to reject Russias attempts at annexing territory in Ukraine, and Kyiv is pushing for supporters to double down on military assistance to deliver Moscow a decisive battlefield defeat. The Security Council meeting was scheduled in response to Russias referendum efforts and followed a meeting earlier in the week on the sidelines of the U.N.s General Assembly, where the U.S. and other partner countries condemned Russian President Vladimir Putins plans to call up 300,000 Russians to military service in Ukraine. Putin, in announcing the military call-up, also warned the West that he was not bluffing in threatening the use of nuclear weapons to protect Russia and its people. Zelensky on Tuesday said Putins threat proves that Russia has no right to possess nuclear weapons as it is unable to guarantee the safety of the world, even against the threats of using nuclear weapons. The U.S. has said it is taking Putins threats seriously, even as officials say they have not seen a change in Russias nuclear posturing. But a mysterious gas leak that occurred Tuesday on the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline that runs from Russia to Europe is raising concern about how the Kremlin will lash out as it falters in Ukraine. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, called the gas leak sabotage. Paramount to now investigate the incidents, get full clarity on events and why, she tweeted. Any deliberate disruption of active European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible response. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking during a press conference earlier on Tuesday, said the U.S. had not yet confirmed initial reports of an attack or sabotage. Now, my understanding is the leaks will not have a significant impact on Europes energy resilience, and whats critical is that we are working day in, day out both on a short-term basis and a long-term basis to address energy security for Europe and, for that matter, around the world, he said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. How Artsakh's women are coping two years after tragedy and loss Elina Hurumyan walks her two children Anush and Armen to kindergarten. Credit: Areg Balayan Elina Hurumyan walks her two children Anush and Armen to kindergarten. Credit: Areg Balayan Irina Mangasaryan is the chief-of-staff at the office of the Security Council of Artsakh and one of the few women to hold a top bureaucratic position. Credit: Areg Balayan Irina Mangasaryan is the chief-of-staff at the office of the Security Council of Artsakh and one of the few women to hold a top bureaucratic position. Credit: Areg Balayan New York, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Almost two years after the 44-day war, the Armenians of Artsakh are trying to restore their lives, even as challenges persist. Despite bearing the heaviest burdens of war and insecurity, women are instrumental in caring and providing for their families and rehabilitating the post-war society. Two years later, the challenges people face in this little-known corner of the Caucasus are only multiplying. The November 2020 trilateral agreement to end the hostilities signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia redrew the map of the region, displacing thousands and making an uncertain future in the process. According to the Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh, Twenty thousand out of the 40,000 internally displaced persons are women, eight thousand are children. Six hundred women were widowed after the war, 12 out of 80 killed civilians were women. Gegham Stepanyan shared the official data on women affected by the recent conflict, adding that the fate of four missing women civilians is still unknown. At a first glance, these figures are a drop in the sea in light of the global picture of a staggering 100 million displaced persons worldwide. According to the UN refugee agencys most recent report, almost one in every 78 human beings on earth is now displaced: 80% are women and children. Yet unlike in other conflict zones, international organizations do not operate in Nagorno-Karabakh. To date the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has failed to live up to its commitment of addressing the problems of the internally displaced under the November 2020 Statement. Story continues Which is why local authorities have had to primarily rely on their own resources, and financial assistance coming from Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora. The Red Cross and the Russian peacekeeping contingent, deployed in the region just hours after the war, also extended a helping hand, providing humanitarian aid to local populations. A number of studies, including UN reports, prove that women and children are most affected by armed conflicts. Displaced women were disproportionately affected by the loss of livelihoods caused by the war. The overwhelming majority were not able to practice their livelihoods due to loss of land, housing and livestock. Two thousand women, mainly working in educational and cultural fields, lost their jobs. Women engaged in agricultural work lost both their income source and property, adds the Human Rights Ombudsman. Economic empowerment is critical for women to determine the course of their lives and to reach their full potential. Meanwhile, women capacity-building programs are mainly being implemented in Yerevan, while Stepanakert and rural areas are left out. The only program aimed at women empowerment in Artsakh has been implemented by AGBU Armenia for the past three years. Although there are no registrations of sexual violence due to conflict, the right to dignity is violated in many cases. For instance, a six-member family has to live in a single-room apartment, causing hygiene and privacy problems for women and young girls, says the 31-year-old Ombudsman. Displaced women seek jobs in Stepanakert to be able to improve their living conditions but the only option the labor market may offer them is work in the service sector, where a monthly salary is under 100 thousand AMD (~230 USD). Still, even with such a low income, women manage to live and raise their children in Artsakh. Ive become vulnerable after losing my husband, says Elina Hurumyan, 28, a housewife, left alone with her two little kids: Anush, a 4.5 years old girl, and Armen, a 2.5 years old boy. Her husband, Captain Arayik Hurumyan was killed in Hadrut in October 2020. The family lost their home and property as their village, Mets Tagher of the Hadrut region, came under the control of Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the 44-day war. Hurumyan is looking to the future. The Government has helped her family to solve the housing problem: she currently lives with her two children in a new condo in Stepanakert. The Armenian government supports the heirs of fallen servicemen, but legal issues and poverty sometimes translate to family feuds over resource competition. Due to the ambiguity of the law that doesnt make it clear who the primary beneficiary is, the mother of the killed serviceman or wife, Hurumyans mother-in-law received the financial assistance the Military Insurance Fund provided for the killed captain Hurumyan, leaving these three without any direct financial aid. I feel I want to realize any wish of kids also on the part of their father and raise them the way they are not affected by incomplete family problems, the 28-year-old widow shares. However, the gap between a young mothers wish and her real financial capabilities only increases as Hurumyan cannot work with little kids, meanwhile children are growing day by day and so are their needs. The only income of the three-member family consists of the social benefits for children that make 100 thousand AMD (~230 USD). Thats where the state social benefit policy towards families like Elinas ends. In Hadrut, the densely-forested mountainous terrain that Armenians called home for millennia, they owned a small business in the form of one self-service coffee making vending machine. She remembers with excitement the moments of collecting the coins with her husband. I know how to use it, if I could own one in Stepanakert I can provide some stable income even if its small in amount, the young mother concludes. The lack of economic opportunities is not the only challenge that women face in Artsakh. While many women are struggling against the odds to both care and provide for their families after the loss of husbands and male relatives, their peers are underrepresented in leadership positions due to male-dominated politics. As of today, only two out of the 11-member Government are women (which translates to 18%), and only seven out of the 33-seat Parliament (21%). The picture is much worse in regional administration or state bodies: the percentage of women executives there is 0%. Like anywhere else, working in the shadow of men is challenging for women in Artsakh, says Irina Mangasaryan, 48, the chief-of-staff at the office of the Security Council of Artsakh and one of the few women to hold a top bureaucratic position. Women in security, military, police and law enforcement, in particular, are traditionally underrepresented and underappreciated. Although many women are engaged in these state agencies, they are mainly entrusted with the work of middle and low ranks. Mangasaryan, a lawyer by profession with experience in government work, was appointed to this position after the war. Before the war, I could only see myself in education, culture, but not in security, explains the chief-of-staff, emphasizing that the most challenging part of her job is working with men subordinating her. Its not about womens leadership skills. We proved we can be multifunctional and deal with multitasking effectively. Its about the perception of the role of women in leadership positions by men, she states. War and conflict affect all women, irrespective of their profession, position and experience. Mangasaryan with her family, son and husband stayed in Artsakh during the 44-day war. When people were forced to flee to Armenia, I had the feeling I will not see them again, recollects 48-year-old Irina. However, Mangasaryan agrees with the general perception that women shook off the post-war paralysis more quickly than men, since women are more emotional, which enables them to deal with their trauma quicker and to adapt to new realities better than men, emphasizing that the soil, water and air in Artsakh, the land itself, are giving strength to move on. Dealing with post-war realities was also a tremendous challenge for Sirarpi Avagyan, a 33-year old musician, who teaches qanon (a traditional string instrument) at the Sayat Nova State Musical College in Stepanakert. It was a monumental task for a teacher to attract students back to the classroom for national music and culture lectures, given the trauma of war loss, explains Avagyan, adding that her students couldnt focus on education as many of them had lost relatives, their homes, all of their belongings. The musician helped her students to overcome the psychology of war loss, while dealing with the same pressure herself. As the armed hostilities began, she had to flee to Armenia, seeking a safer place for her three little kids: As we escaped, I could not imagine that I would ever take up my instrument again; I thought the world had ended, remembers Avagyan, explaining that qanon is about national music and culture. It took weeks for her to look at her instrument again. Now I value my instrument, my work and my attitude toward Armenian culture more than ever, says the qanon teacher with strong confidence. But not everyone shares her renewed appreciation. In the past months, numerous concerts, art exhibitions and other cultural events have been taking place in the capital Stepanakert and regional centers. After a long pause, cultural life is reviving in Artsakh and my students are less depressed, but the attitude toward traditional Armenian music is not growing. However, she is not giving up. She is leading by example to convince the younger generation of the beauty, relevance, and healing nature of Armenian national instruments and music. Art therapy is not about distraction: it can be a powerful way to express and work through pain. To relate to the trauma that her students have been undergoing, Avagyan decided to perform on stage for fallen heroes. Keeping Artsakh Armenian is the number one priority for Avagyan. We are always ready to die for our homeland, she says. But more important than that is to unite around our culture, our identity and to live for our homeland. For the people of Artsakh, that means living in the homeland, like they have for millennia. Despite all odds, women are leading that sacred mission. Originally published in the AGBU Magazine. To read the full article with photos, click here. By Anush Ghavalyan, Photos by Areg Balayan Attachments CONTACT: Nana Shakhnazaryan Armenian General Benevolent Union 2123196383 nshakhnazaryan@agbu.org The Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District on Monday reported 29 new cases of COVID-19, six of which were confirmed via polymerase chain reaction tests. Active cases Monday totaled 787 (202 PCR cases and 585 based on antigen tests), down from 879 a week ago. The number of new COVID-19 cases in Texas continues to decline, with 1,179 reported Monday by state health officials, compared to about 10,600 daily cases at the mid-July peak of a surge that started in mid-April. The latest surge had a more gradual increase than the previous surge that started in mid-December and peaked a month later at more than 61,000 new daily cases. The percentage of COVID-19 inpatients in the 16-county Abilene trauma service area was 1.54% Sunday, compared to 1.87% a week ago, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services COVID-19 database. The Abilene trauma service area Sunday had 13 COVID-19 inpatients, three fewer than reported a week earlier. In the previous 24 hours, there were two COVID-19 admissions in the area, according to the state database. State officials are releasing county and trauma service area data on Mondays only. Coronavirus by the numbers Abilene/Taylor County (Monday data): New cases, 29; PCR cases, 14,454; active PCR cases, 202; total antigen probable cases, 25,883; total active antigen cases, 585; total PCR recoveries, 14,061; total antigen recoveries, 24,866; Total deaths, 654. Texas (updated Monday): Total cases, 6,344,258; New cases, 1,179; Hospitalized, 1,766; Fatalities, 89,123; New fatalities, 2; Total tests, 71,864,217. Big Country estimated new daily confirmed cases (Monday, as tracked by the state): Brown, 0; Callahan, 1; Coke, 0; Coleman, 0; Comanche, 0; Eastland, 0; Erath, 2; Fisher, 0; Haskell, 0; Howard, 0; Jones, 1; Kent, 0; Knox, 0; Mitchell, 0; Nolan, 0; Runnels, 0; Scurry, 1; Shackelford, 0; Stephens, 0; Stonewall, 0; and Throckmorton, 0. Sources: City of Abilene and Texas Department of State Health Services (counts PCR cases only) Story continues SELECT PRISONS (Friday update) Daniel (Snyder): Staff cases active, 0; Inmate cases active, 0, medical isolation, 0. Havins (Brownwood): Staff cases active, 0; Inmate cases active, 0, medical isolation, 0. Middleton (Abilene): Staff cases active, 0; Inmate cases active, 2, medical isolation, 2. Robertson (Abilene): Staff cases active, 1; Inmate cases active, 0, medical isolation, 0. Sayle (Breckenridge): Staff cases active, 0; Inmate cases active, 5, medical isolation, 5. Wallace (Colorado City): Staff cases active, 0; Inmate cases active, 0, medical isolation, 0. Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice COVID-19 website. More:COVID-19: Cases for week decline for Taylor, Brown counties SCHOOLS Abilene ISD: Reported Monday zero new cases, for a total of 17 active cases (13 student cases and four staff cases). The total number of active cases is nine fewer than reported Friday. Wylie ISD: The district is reporting COVID-19 data directly to the health department only. This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: COVID-19: New cases continue to decline across Texas (Bloomberg Markets) -- In late June, the coldest part of the Southern Hemisphere winter, the power went out in South Africa. For as many as eight hours a day, right into early July, traffic lights went dark, factories and offices shut down, and meals had to be served cold. Most Read from Bloomberg These werent the first power outages, but they were the worst yet. Intermittent supply cuts over the past 14 years had already sapped business confidence and limited private investment in South Africa. In 2017, when he was leading Goldman Sachs Group Inc.s business in sub-Saharan Africa, Colin Coleman described the struggles of state power company Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. as the biggest threat to the South African economy. The power cuts this winter finally spurred the countrys government to take action. The National Treasury has pledged to absorb part of the utilitys 413 billion rand ($23.5 billion) of debt. President Cyril Ramaphosa has changed regulations to allow private companies to generate more powera plan that, while welcomed by business, will take years to have an impact. Fixing South Africas broken utility and its rickety power system is proving a crucial test for the ruling African National Congress party ahead of elections in 2024. ANC Chairman Gwede Mantashe has described Eskom as the partys biggest opposition. Eskom is a litmus test of the ANCs ability to deliver basic services, says Shridaran Pillay, Africa director for Eurasia Group. You cant grow an economy without power and without being able to spend on infrastructure. It wasnt always like this. Founded in 1923, Eskom rapidly built hydro and coal-fired power plants, spurred by the needs of a gold mining industry that was the worlds largest. In the 1970s the company began building a fleet of coal-fired plants that operate to this day. The apartheid state invested in infrastructure and industrial capacity as a bulwark against international sanctions. Eskom even built Africas only nuclear power plant. Story continues In the early 80s the company ran into financial trouble after committing to build plants that werent needed. The government appointed a commission to reorganize Eskoms management. After the countrys apartheid regime fell in 1994, the company rapidly rolled out electrical connections to millions of Black South Africans. In 2001 the Financial Times named Eskom the worlds best power company. QuickTake: Why Blackouts Are Still Crippling South Africa But in the next two decades, Eskoms fortunes suffered from erratic government decision-making and political interference. Around 2001, then-President Thabo Mbeki decided that power plants would be built by private investors and called a halt to Eskoms expansion plans. A few years later he reversed that decision, but by then the company had lost many of its skilled technicians. A lack of generating capacity led to regular power supply disruptions that started in 2008. A near collapse of the national grid closed gold and platinum mines for five days in January of that year, and in July the government appointed Bobby Godsell, the former chief executive officer of a gold mining company, as chairman to help stabilize Eskom. When I exited in November 2009, the debt was dramatically less, remembers Godsell. For a long time, Eskom bonds had achieved a lower risk [premium] than sovereign bonds. But the companys financial situation has deteriorated dramatically. Today those bonds have a risk premium of about 4 percentage points above government bonds. After Godsell left, Eskom accelerated the building of Kusile and Medupi, two of the worlds biggest coal-fired power plants. They were initially supposed to be completed in 2014. Instead, both projects have run years behind schedule, and their estimated total cost of 464 billion rand is almost triple their initial budget. To help fund the building program, South Africa lifted the amount of total outstanding Eskom debt it would guarantee to 350 billion rand in October 2010, from 176 billion rand a year earlier. In the decade to the end of Eskoms fiscal year in March 2022, the utility boosted the amount of money it had borrowed that was guaranteed by the government by 324%, to 328 billion rand. The projects were mired in allegations of corruption, which in some cases boosted costs. Hitachi Ltd. paid $19 million to settle US Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it made improper payments of $6 million to Chancellor House, the investment arm of the ANC, with whom Hitachi had formed a partnership to win contracts to install boilers at the plants. In a separate agreement with South African investigative authorities, ABB Ltd. agreed to return 1.56 billion rand it was paid for control and instrumentation work on the plants. ABBs contracts were among a number Eskom reached with international and local companies, the terms of which were repeatedly modified. In some cases the new terms cost Eskom a multiple of the original amount. Neither Hitachi nor ABB admitted wrongdoing. Government policies that sought to boost the participation of Black South Africans in the economy, designed to address the inequities of apartheid, led Eskom to favor contractors and suppliers that were less experienced and often less efficient. Local companies were hired to maintain Eskoms plants instead of the equipment manufacturers that had helped build them. Coal supply contracts once held by mining giants such as Anglo American Plc and Glencore Plc, which often moved coal to the power plants on giant conveyor belts from adjacent pits, were granted to smaller companies that trucked it, at a higher cost, from small mines. These mining companies were often paid higher prices for their coal, says Lumkile Mondi, a senior economics lecturer at Johannesburgs University of the Witwatersrand whos written extensively about Eskom. Local companies got access, and in the process they were treated differently by Eskom under political pressure, Mondi says. You got the beginning of Eskoms balance sheet being eroded. Some of those arrangements led to alleged corruption. In 2015, Eskom and then-Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane allegedly pressured Glencore to sell mines supplying the utility to a company owned by the Gupta family, who were friends with former President Jacob Zuma. Zumas son Duduzane had a stake in the company. Two of the three Gupta brothers were arrested in Dubai this year and are awaiting extradition proceedings on separate corruption charges. Ramaphosas administration has said at least 500 billion rand was looted during Zumas nine-year rule. Zuma and the Guptas have denied wrongdoing. Meanwhile, municipalities have fallen behind on paying 49 billion rand in power bills as of the end of July. The national government has done little to encourage them to pay even after Eskom threatened to disconnect the capital, Pretoria, in August. The utility, in a response to questions about the crisis it faces, blamed the national regulator. The company says its not allowed to charge adequate power prices to meet its costs and finance new plant construction, forcing it to take on debt. The regulator counters that Eskoms revenue climbed 320% over a decade, even as its electricity sales declined. Pravin Gordhan, who oversees Eskom as minister of public enterprises, blames the crisis on corruption and management instability. Eskom, whose CEOs are appointed by the utilitys board in consultation with the government, has had 14 leaders since 2007. On Tuesday, after the latest power outages sparked renewed criticism of the government, Gordhan said he would reconstitute Eskoms board, which has a number of vacancies. As Goldman Sachss Coleman warned, Eskoms woes are damaging the countrys economy. South Africas original industrial model was founded on cheap labor and cheap electricity, says Peter Worthington, a senior economist at Absa Bank Ltd. Were no longer a very cheap electricity country. Eskoms desire to raise prices, known as tariffs, has little support. To pass that inefficiency onto the broader economy through increasingly higher tariffs as the only lever is wrong, says Olga Constantatos, head of credit at Cape Town-based Futuregrowth Asset Management, a 193 billion rand money manager that holds Eskom bonds. ANC Chairman Mantashe, whos also South Africas energy minister, has been particularly critical of the companys explanations. Let Eskom blame everybody and anybody, Mantashe says. Let them hide behind everybody. He has suggested starting a second state-owned power company to rival Eskom. Ramaphosa has promised to fix Eskom in every State of the Nation Address hes given since taking power in 2018. A number of plans have been floated, but little has happened. The Public Investment Corp., which manages pensions for South African government workers, proposed converting its Eskom bonds, worth about 90 billion rand, into an equity stake in the company. The government considered listing Eskom on the stock exchange or moving a portion of its debt into a special-purpose vehicle. Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo suggested that some of the debt might be forgiven, and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana advocated selling the companys coal-fired power plants. All of those proposals, which could have caused some of Eskoms creditors to be treated worse than others, raised concerns with credit rating companies. The companies told the government that if the plans were implemented, Eskom could be classified as in default, according to people familiar with the situation who arent authorized to talk to the media. Moodys Investors Service rates the companys long-term debt Caa1, hovering just above default. By contrast, South African government debt is rated Ba2, two notches below investment grade, and the outlook was changed to stable from negative in April. The string of proposals was madness that was allowed to fester. It would also have led to default, says Peter Attard Montalto, head of capital markets research at Johannesburg-based Intellidex. The thing is a mess. There is no simple answer. But inaction has also had consequences. It clearly has had a bearing on South Africas credit rating, says Razia Khan, chief economist for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered Bank. It has come at enormous cost to the South African economy, the investment forgone, the employment that could have been created. In July, Duncan Pieterse, head of assets and liability management at the National Treasury, said the broad brushstrokes of a debt transfer to government will be announced in the October budget update. In the end, only one option appears feasible: that the government absorb the debt that its decisions engendered. Resolving the unsustainable debt problem has been spoken about for a few years now with very little forward momentum and action, Constantatos says. As much as some decisions may be hard and have consequences, in not making a decision there are consequences to that as well. Sguazzin is a senior reporter and Naidoo is an economics reporter for Bloomberg News. They are both in Johannesburg. Burkhardt is an energy reporter in Cape Town. (Updates with decision to reconstitute Eskoms board in 24th paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. The Wisconsin Badgers (2-2) enter Saturdays contest against the Illinois Fighting Illini as seven-point favorites and are looking to rebound after last weeks debacle in Columbus. The Badgers, coming off a 52-21 loss to Ohio State, looked disjointed on both sides of the ball; it is, however, worth noting that Ohio State is on a short-list of the nations top programs and is infinitely more talented than UW. Ahead of Saturdays matchup, ESPNs FPI model gives Wisconsin an 74.2% chance of winning at home against the Illini. This projection seems about right, considering Bret Bielemas program hasnt been to a bowl game since 2019 and doesnt appear to be a viable threat to win the Big Ten West. They have, however, noticeably improved in 2022. For Wisconsin, Id love to see the Badgers come out swinging against Illinois and dominate in the trenches. Sophomore running back Braelon Allen will be on a mission after last weeks loss Im expecting him to be the clear focal point as this offense continues its search for an identity. If everything goes the way it should, I think Wisconsin wins the game and also covers the spread. Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion, and analysis. You can also follow Dillon Graff on Twitter @DillonGraff. Story originally appeared on Badgers Wire The leaves are officially turning in Mammoth Lakes, California. Here's how to visit this fall. Courtesy of Mammoth Lakes Tourism The arrival of fall always incites a flurry of excitement summer is over, winter is on its way, and in the span of a precious few weeks, the greens of summer turn vibrant shades of gold, orange, and red. Mountain towns like Mammoth Lakes in California are often the first to welcome fall colors thanks to cooler weather and higher elevations. In fact, the tourism team in Mammoth Lakes is so excited about the onset of fall that they just released a batch of recent photos showcasing the early colors of fall which are enhanced by a light blanket of snow. And while the fall foliage season has begun in Mammoth Lakes, its far from over. Visit Mammoth estimates that only about 10% of the leaves have changed so far, leaving plenty of time to plan a fall trip. What to Do Courtesy of Mammoth Lakes Tourism Leaf peeping can take on many forms in Mammoth Lakes. The town is situated at the foot of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, which evolves into a hiking and biking destination in the summer and fall. Bikers can check out Mammoth Mountain Bike Park, or take the trolley up to Horseshoe Lake and ride the Horseshoe Lake Loop trail, which traverses seven bridges before hitting the Lakes Basin Path, a paved trail leading back to town. Hikers will find some of the best fall colors along one of the many trails criss-crossing Mammoth Lakes Basin. From the Lake George Trailhead, hikers can access the higher alpine lakes of Crystal Lake (2.7 miles round trip), Barrett Lake, and TJ Lake (both 1.5 miles round trip). If youre interested in checking out the leaves from the comfort of your car, head to the June Lake Loop (Route 158). The 15-mile route passes by dramatic Sierra peaks, a chain of gorgeous lakes, and some of the best fall colors in California. Highlights include a stop at the Oh! Ridge Campground, where you can look out over high alpine lakes surrounded by colorful trees and gaze up toward Carson Peak. Story continues If the fall foliage season is just getting started when you arrive in Mammoth Lakes, head north to Conway Summit or make your way south to Rock Creek Canyon. Both sites have some of the area's earliest fall colors. Where to Stay The all-suite Westin Monache Resort has airy one- and two-bedroom accommodations, the latter with full kitchens. You can catch the fall colors from your private balcony or hit the heated outdoor pool. Nearby, the Mammoth Mountain Inn keeps things simple with standard hotel rooms and great fall savings you can save 25% by booking a stay for three or more nights. Where to Dine For the tempting pairing of views and high-end cuisine, head to Skadi, which seamlessly masters the elevated ski lodge feel. Toomeys is noticeably more casual but is just as well-loved plus its Mammoths go-to place for Southern food staples like jambalaya. For a post-leaf-peeping cocktail, head to Shelter Distilling, which makes a stellar gin using Mammoths mountain-fresh water (they say its their secret ingredient). How to Get There Mammoth Lakes is surprisingly accessible for a destination that can feel so remote. From Southern California, take Route 395, which passes by Mt. Whitney, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, and Death Valley. Visitors from the north can make their way to Mammoth Lakes on Routes 120 or 108, which are stunning in the fall. The highways traverse mountain passes and make their way past sights like Yosemite National Park and Mono Lake. Those flying in can take United Airlines' flights to Eastern Sierra Regional Airport (45 minutes from Mammoth Lakes). The smaller Mammoth Yosemite Airport (10 minutes from town) is serviced by Advanced Air, a scheduled commuter and private charter airline with flights from Southern California. Global Market Insights Inc. Top green data center industry players include Eaton Corporation, General Electric, HCL Technologies Limited, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Lenovo, IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Siemens AG, and Schneider Electric SE Selbyville, Delaware, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The green data center market is expected to cross a valuation of over USD 175 billion by 2030, according to latest research study by Global Market Insights Inc. The growth of mega data centers and the trend of collocation are some of the prominent factors fostering the green data center industry development The technology giants including Amazon and Google have been expanding their hyperscale and large data center networks in Asia Pacific. The deployment of big data, cloud computing, IoT technologies, and the awareness about eco-friendlier solutions has also surged across the region. These factors, alongside the high consumption of online video and audio content, will drive the need for green data center solutions, and strengthen the market outlook. Request a sample of this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2420 Rapid digitalization to augment the demand for green data center services The service segment is projected to account for a considerable green data center market share by 2030. This is attributed to the rapid introduction of novel cloud solutions to support the digital transformation journey of customers. Several IT firms in emerging economies, such as Infosys, have also been making a shift to the green data center as a service to become carbon neutral. Regional support for data center solution providers will encourage the deployment of environmentally friendly infrastructure. Acceptance of modern digital technology in the BFSI sector The green data center market revenue from the BFSI sector is estimated to register nearly USD 30 billion by 2030, due to the rapid shift from traditional data handling techniques to modern digital technologies. The adoption of advanced technologies in this sector is geared toward faster computation, lower redundancies, and higher efficiency. The prolific growth of online banking platforms will generate further prospects for the business expansion. Story continues Growing data traffic to define the LATAM green data center business scenario The Latin America green data center market is slated value for about USD 5 billion by 2030. This can be credited to the increasing digitalization of industry verticals and the potential rise in demand for green cloud data centers for efficient data management. The report further reveals that the requirement for robust data centers has increased, mainly due to the growing data traffic. Digitalization trends such as these will create a strong growth environment for green data center service providers in the region. The green data center industry is expected to witness a range of business and service expansion strategies adopted by industry players. Citing an instance, in March 2022, Microsoft announced its plan to build its fourth data center in India, which is expected to be operational by 2025. The new data center was intended to meet the demand for cloud services from both private and government sectors and enable the company to reinforce its market presence. Some of the key players profiled in the report include Asetek, Cisco, Airedale Air Conditioning, Eaton Corporation, EcoDataCenter, General Electric, HCL Technologies Limited, Hitachi, Ltd., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Lenovo, IBM Corporation, Siemens AG, Vertiv Co., Schneider Electric SE, and ZutaCore, among others. Request for customization of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/roc/2420 Partial Table of Contents (ToC) of the report: Chapter 2 Executive Summary 2.1 Green data center industry 360 synopsis, 2018 2030 2.1.1 Business trends 2.1.1.1 TAM trends 2.1.2 Regional trends 2.1.3 Component trends 2.1.3.1 Solution trends 2.1.3.2 Service trends 2.1.4 Application trends Chapter 3 Green Data Center Industry Insights 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Impact analysis of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic 3.3 Industry ecosystem analysis 3.4 Impact of Russia Ukraine war on the industry 3.5 Technological & innovation landscape 3.6 Patent Analysis 3.7 Regulatory landscape 3.8 Investment portfolio 3.9 Industry impact forces 3.9.1 Growth drivers 3.9.1.1 Rapid shift towards renewable power sources in the U.S. and Europe 3.9.1.2 Transition to cloud-based solutions in the U.S. 3.9.1.3 Post pandemic increase in organizational data traffic and big data analytics 3.9.1.4 Government initiatives to lower PUE in the Europe and Asia Pacific 3.9.1.5 Growth of mega data centers and trend of collocation in China, India, and Mexico 3.9.1.6 Increase in construction of data centers and rise in SME demand in South-East Asian countries 3.9.1.7 Decline in costs of semiconductor components in Asia Pacific 3.9.1.8 Regional governments aim to lower data centres carbon footprint 3.9.1.9 Rising electricity prices across Europe 3.9.1.10 Growing focus of players to establish data centers in South America due to abundant resources and high-cost benefits 3.9.1.11 Rising urbanization in the MEA 3.9.2 Industry pitfalls & challenges 3.9.2.1 High cost of equipment over traditional technologies 3.9.2.2 Security issues in green storage technologies 3.9.2.3 Incompatibility of green solutions with existing data centers 3.10 Growth potential analysis 3.11 Porters analysis 3.12 PESTEL analysis Browse Complete Table of Contents (ToC) @ https://www.gminsights.com/toc/detail/green-data-center-market About Global Market Insights Inc. Global Market Insights Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology. CONTACT: Contact Us: Aashit Tiwari Corporate Sales, USA Global Market Insights Inc. Toll Free: +1-888-689-0688 USA: +1-302-846-7766 Europe: +44-742-759-8484 APAC: +65-3129-7718 Email: sales@gminsights.com Hurricane Ian remains a Category 3 hurricane with the same speed as earlier today, according to the 11 p.m. National Hurricane Centers latest advisory. Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba early Tuesday as a powerful Category 3 storm. Ian's maximum sustained winds are 120 mph and is expected to strengthen through Wednesday. The center of Ian is expected to pass west of the Florida Keys within the next few hours. It is expected to move over central Florida Wednesday night and Thursday morning and emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday. Cone of uncertainty: See the latest graphic from the NHC And: See latest satellite image from NOAA, for a clearer picture of the storm's size According to the NHC, hurricane conditions are expected along the west coast of Florida within the hurricane warning area on Wednesday morning, with tropical storm conditions possible Tuesday night. Ian is forecast to approach the west coast of Florida as an extremely dangerous major hurricane. Heavy rainfall is expected to bring 6 to 8 inches of rain to the Florida Keys and South Florida, with isolated totals up to 12 inches. For Central West Florida, 12 to 18 inches of rain, with isolated totals up to 24 inches. For Northeast Florida and the remainder of the Central Florida Peninsula, 5 to 10 inches of rain, with isolated totals up to 12 inches, is in the forecast. 'Widespread catastrophic' flash, urban and river flooding are expected midweek across central and west Florida. Widespread considerable flash, urban, and river flooding is expected across northern Florida, southeastern Georgia, and coastal South Carolina from the end of the week through the weekend. Limited river flooding is expected over portions of the southeastern United States into the Mid-Atlantic mid-to-late week. Tornadoes are possible through Wednesday across central and south Florida. Projected path of Hurricane Ian as of 11 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. A hurricane warning is in effect for: Chokoloskee to Anclote River, including Tampa Bay Dry Tortugas Story continues A storm surge warning is in effect for: Suwannee River southward to Flamingo Tampa Bay Dry Tortugas Flagler/Volusia Line to the mouth of the St. Mary's River St. Johns River A tropical storm warning is in effect for: Cuban provinces of La Habana, Mayabeque, and Matanzas Suwannee River to the Anclote River All of the Florida Keys Flamingo to South Santee River Flamingo to Chokoloskee Lake Okeechobee Florida Bay Bimini and Grand Bahama Islands A storm surge watch is in effect for: Florida Keys from the Card Sound Bridge westward to Key West Florida Bay Mouth of St. Mary's River to South Santee River #Ian continues to intensify and is now a major, Cat. 3, #hurricane with max sustained winds of 115 mph. Ian is the 2nd Atlantic major hurricane of the 2022 season (Fiona). Its the 1st time since 1941 that Atlantic has had 2 major hurricane formations between September 20-27. pic.twitter.com/PZdPhu4lH1 Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) September 27, 2022 Where is Hurricane Ian now? Here is the latest data on Hurricane Ian pulled from the National Hurricane Center's 11 p.m. advisory. Location : 110 miles southwest of Naples Maximum sustained winds : 120 mph Movement : north-northeast at 10 mph Pressure : 952 MB (millibars) When next advisory will be released: 2 a.m. Spaghetti models: Track Hurricane Ian Watches and warnings issued ahead of Hurricane Ian If you can't see any local weather warnings here, you'll need to open this story in a web browser. Helpful hurricane resources and links Officials encourage residents to assemble a hurricane kit early, storing enough supplies to last at least three days. Doing so ensures there are adequate supplies available on store shelves and prevents a rush and shortages that regularly occur when a storm is imminent. USAT-Florida Network has removed the paywall for hurricane-related content for residents within the path of Ian to help keep everyone safe and informed during this emergency. Please consider subscribing. This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Ian could become Category 4 storm off Naples, west coast of Florida A Republican super PAC has released a new ad in the 22nd Congressional District race, while a statewide elected official endorsed Democratic candidate Francis Conole for the House seat. GOP super PAC unveils new ad The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Republicans, has released a new ad targeting Francis Conole in the 22nd Congressional District race. The ad highlights Gov. Kathy Hochul's support for Conole's candidacy and claims that Conole, D-Syracuse, "would make Washington worse by making it just like Albany." It also repeats a criticism of Conole mentioned in other GOP ads that he supported the COVID-19 relief package passed by the Democratic-led Congress in 2021. The Congressional Leadership Fund has aired two general election ads in the 22nd district. It has reserved $1.7 million worth of air time in the district to boost Brandon Williams, the Republican nominee. The 22nd district includes all of Onondaga, Madison and Oneida counties, plus a portion of Oswego County. DiNapoli endorses Conole State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is supporting Conole in the 22nd district race. DiNapoli, who endorsed other Democratic candidates last week, praised Conole for his U.S. Navy service. "Throughout his career, he has always led with conviction and stood up for what's right," DiNapoli said. "I know he will be a strong advocate for us in Congress and fight for the families of central New York." Conole releases second TV ad Conole's military service is the focus of his second TV ad of the general election campaign in the 22nd district. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and deployed during the Iraq War. Before returning to central New York, he was a defense policy adviser at the Pentagon. "From my time serving leading sailors aboard a 40,000-ton warship and on the ground in Iraq to serving secretaries of defense in both parties, I've always taken on tough fights," Conole said. "But our toughest fight is right here, to deliver for the people of central New York." The ad is airing in central New York media markets. EASTLEIGH, UK / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / i3 Energy plc ("i3", "i3 Energy", or the "Company") (AIM:I3E)(TSX:ITE), an independent oil and gas company with assets and operations in the UK and Canada, is pleased to announce the following production update. i3 recently reached a production rate of 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day ("boepd"), comprised of field estimate sales equalling 69 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, 6,470 barrels per day of natural gas liquids and 4,030 barrels per day of oil & condensate, inclusive of royalty production. The Company has drilled 20 gross wells as part of its expanded 2022 drilling programme. Of these wells 13 are on production, 5 are being cleaned up following tie in and 2 await completion. The latter 7 wells are expected to be fully cleaned up and on production in late October. With continued performance of the Company's low-decline base production and success achieved through its initial capital budget, i3 is positioned to execute on the balance of its 2022 drilling programme and remains on track to reach 24,000 boepd by year end. END Qualified Person's Statement In accordance with the AIM Note for Mining and Oil and Gas Companies, i3 discloses that Majid Shafiq is the qualified person who has reviewed the technical information contained in this document. He has a Masters Degree in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Majid Shafiq consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which it appears. Enquiries: i3 Energy plc Majid Shafiq (CEO) / Graham Heath (CFO) c/o Camarco Tel: +44 (0) 203 781 8331 WH Ireland Limited (Nomad and Joint Broker) James Joyce, Darshan Patel Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666 Tennyson Securities (Joint Broker) Peter Krens Tel: +44 (0) 207 186 9030 Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) Ashton Clanfield, Callum Stewart Tel: +44 (0) 20 7710 7600 Camarco Georgia Edmonds, James Crothers, Violet Wilson Tel: +44 (0) 203 781 8331 Notes to Editors: Story continues i3 Energy is an oil and gas Company with a low cost, diversified, growing production base in Canada's most prolific hydrocarbon region, the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and appraisal assets in the North Sea with significant upside. The Company is well positioned to deliver future growth through the optimisation of its existing 100% owned asset base and the acquisition of long life, low decline conventional production assets. i3 is dedicated to responsible corporate practices and the environment, and places high value on adhering to strong Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") practices. i3 is proud of its performance to date as a responsible steward of the environment, people, and capital management. The Company is committed to maintaining an ESG strategy, which has broader implications to long-term value creation, as these benefits extend beyond regulatory requirements. i3 Energy is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol I3E and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ITE. For further information on i3 Energy please visit https://i3.energy This announcement contains inside information. This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com. SOURCE: i3 Energy PLC View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/717553/i3-Energy-PLC-Announces-September-2022-Production-Update Jay Wasson is suing Noble Health Audrain for the return of half a million dollars he lent them in February 2022. Wasson, of Nixa, previously served in the state legislature and recently headed an unsuccessful campaign for a seat in Congress. Both Noble Health Audrain, Inc., and William A. Solomon of Overland Park, Kansas, are listed as defendants in the court documents. From Kaiser Health News:Mismanaged hospitals in rural Missouri abandoned their own employees' health insurance plans The petition says that on or around Feb. 17, 2022, Noble Health received a demand promissory note for $500,000. A demand promissory note is a legal agreement where the borrower promises to repay money when the lender demands, as opposed to on a specific date. According to the petition, Solomon guaranteed full and timely payment, but Noble Health defaulted in payment. The petition asks for the amount owed plus "pre-judgement interest, post-judgement interest, attorney fees and collection costs, and for such other relief as the Court deems proper." Wasson did not return a request for comment on Tuesday. Noble Health Audrain, Inc. is one of the rural Missouri hospitals bought by the startup Noble Health, which is run by private equity and venture capital group Nuterra Capital. Both the Audrain hospital and the hospital in Callaway closed in March due to IT issues and, later, restructuring to keep the hospitals financially viable, according to social media posts. This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Jay Wasson sues Noble Health Audrain for $500K The U.S. Department of Justice has threatened legal action against city officials in Jackson, Mississippi, if they dont comply with the departments recommendations on fixing the citys ailing water system. DOJ sent a letter to the citys mayor on Monday addressing years worth of issues with the water supply that it said violate the Safe Drinking Water Act. The letter cited the roughly 300 boil water notices that have been issued over the past two years, the multiple line breaks during that same time, and the recent drinking water crisis where most City residents did not have access to running water for many days, according to a copy of the letter obtained by local station WAPT. We are prepared to file an action... but would hope this matter could be resolved with an enforceable agreement that is in the best interest of both the city and the United States, wrote Todd Kim, an assistant attorney general with DOJs Environmental and Natural Resources Division. The O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant, seen in August, has been struggling to provide residents with safe drinking water. (Photo: Brad Vest via Getty Images) The O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant, seen in August, has been struggling to provide residents with safe drinking water. (Photo: Brad Vest via Getty Images) A representative with the Environmental Protection Agency met with Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba on Monday to discuss the ongoing water crisis and potential solutions, including the citys water system being taken over by a third party. There is a real sense of urgency, said EPA Administrator Michael Regan during a press conference with Lumumba. I dont believe there are any options that are off the table. Regan said the DOJs letter warning of potential legal action is a formality. Jackson residents were recently forced to go without running water for several days, and endured a boil-water notice for a month due to longstanding problems at a water treatment plant. As of Tuesday, residents at a number of locations were still being advised to boil water as a precaution. The lack of clean water led the White House and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) to declare a state of emergency for Jackson late last month, opening the door for federal and state resources to help distribute water and oversee repairs to the citys water treatment facility. Story continues Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is seen during a news briefing earlier this month with EPA Administrator Michael Regan, left, and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R), right. Lumumba said he's open to receiving federal assistance. (Photo: via Associated Press) Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is seen during a news briefing earlier this month with EPA Administrator Michael Regan, left, and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R), right. Lumumba said he's open to receiving federal assistance. (Photo: via Associated Press) The people of Jackson, Mississippi, have lacked access to safe and reliable water for decades, Regan said in a statement Monday. After years of neglect, Jacksons water system finally reached a breaking point this summer, leaving tens of thousands of people without any running water for weeks. These conditions are unacceptable in the United States of America. Lumumba said Monday that the city hasnt rejected the idea of federal assistance or a third party stepping in to help with operations and maintenance. The mayor has previously expressed trepidation at the idea of privatizing the citys water system, telling NPR earlier this month that he worried it could raise rates. Private companies are not coming to be benevolent. Theyre coming to make a profit, he said. And so when there are extensive and critical repairs that need to be made, then theyre making that investment on the front end, looking to have a serious return on the back end. And the way that they do that is to raise the rates on the residents. The DOJ did not immediately respond to HuffPosts requests for comment Tuesday. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... I read of how conservative Christian groups are targeting local libraries and demanding the removal of an expanding list of books from them. In Louisiana, conservatives took over a library board and then rejected a proposal to fund a program on voting rights, events involving LGBTQ issues, and even something about Cajuns, an ethnic group prominent in that state. Here in West Michigan, with the Jamestown Township library, a small group of people started protesting outside of the librarys doors and during board meetings regarding books that cover LGBTQ issues. The recent millage for the library failed, thereby placing the existence of the library in question. The library board was forthcoming in stating that, out of a total of 67,000 items, they have only 90 pieces of material that could relate to LGBTQ. One person who voted against the millage said it was the LGBTQ content that bothered him and it did not matter if the library segregated those books into an adult section. Since November, these people have pushed their demands such that the library director quit after experiencing what he said was hate speech. All in the name of Christianity. Marcia Meoli What makes a Christian? Am I, a person who votes Democratic, excluded from that definition? I know that a good number of people around here think that. I heard it explicitly stated. I see the way some people treat those who vote or think differently on these issues. As Catholic child, I was told that I should not even go into a Protestant Church. I was taught that my ticket to salvation was to confess my sins to a priest and say some prayers afterward. When I moved to West Michigan, I saw an entry in a CRC Psalter Hymnal stating that the Catholic Mass is an abomination. I attended a large evangelical church in Holland and was told that Catholics have it all wrong because they believe in a works form of salvation, meaning that one needs to act to earn their salvation. This is wrong because Jesus paid the price for our sins and that our salvation is through his grace, his sacrifice at the cross. (So, the Catholics, who held down Christianity until the 16th century, had it all wrong?) Story continues All of my life, I have always believed that Jesus was and is God. Even as a young adult, when questions abounded, I never thought otherwise. At each step of my journey to try to understand God and my role in loving God, I have focused on Jesus as best as I can. As a Catholic, I was struck by Jesus care for the least of us the widows mite, the prodigal son, the woman at the well, countless others for whom Jesus defended and showed grace. Moving to the evangelical influence, I understood the personal relationship with Jesus and how he loves me no matter what I am or do and how he is present at all times, not just during the high or low times. As I honor my late husband, I see a man who knew about that throughout his life. He embodied the essence of a life devoted to Jesus, always leaving everything better than how he found it (including me) and bearing the fruits of his relationship with God without forcing it on others or making them feel less than, just by being in his presence. At the evangelical church, I saw a lot of politics, focused mainly on abortion, sexual issues, all the hot topics that dominate our political culture today. Many of the sources for these discussions came from the Old Testament or a letter from Paul or another human writer of the various letters in the New Testament. I am no Bible scholar, and I am not going to challenge the work of someone who spends hours studying these things. But, it seems to me that the words and acts of Jesus, while he was on earth, are at least worthy of our attention. Jesus did not talk about LGBTQ or similar issue. He did not talk about abortion. He did talk about greed and hypocrisy, however, and a number of other issues. Mark 11:15-19, Matthew 6:5, Matthew 23, Matthew 25: 31-46, Mark 7 and Luke 12. I think that we all need to step back, take responsibility for what is our opinion about political issues, and not claim that we know what Jesus would do or say about them. Matthew 7:1 and Matthew 22:21. Community Columnist Marcia Meoli is a Holland attorney and resident. Contact her at Meolimarcia@gmail.com. This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Marcia Meoli: Take responsibility for your own opinion. Don't put it on Jesus. Family talking over Thanksgiving table shironosov/Getty Even with the best intentions, a Thanksgiving conversation with a loved one can quickly go downhill. We're not even talking about when that cousin inevitably brings up politics over turkey dinner. We're talking about those well-meaning questions that just don't sit right. For many, this Thanksgiving will be a big year for catching up with family and friends. The last two Thanksgivings likely looked a little different, often missing some loved ones from the once-crowded feasts or even having taken place over Zoom. Needless to say, we're more than ready to see some familiar faces this Thanksgiving. Even with social media as a helpful tool, we're long overdue to catch up on what's been going on in the lives of friends and family since the last gathering of the sort oh-so long ago. In the restlessness to get all the details about what's been happening, sometimes we're faced with questions that are just a touch insensitive or can make us uncomfortable. This party faux pas is all too common. We've all heard (or overheard) some variation of "when are you going to give me a grandchild?" Odds are the asker has only the best intentions and means it in a loving way, but that doesn't mean that it's always received as such. Or perhaps a family member is going through a time of transition. Maybe they're going through a divorce, moving, or changing careers. It's perfectly reasonable for those that care about them to ask "what's next?" When the answer is still uncertain though, this question can be stressful, exacerbated because you just know it'll be repeated multiple times by each person you catch up with throughout the day. How can you politely navigate these situations? No matter how many times it happens, these conversations will always be tricky. As a senior in college staring down the barrel end of my school days, I resorted to outrageous fibs when my family asked me what I would be doing after graduation. It led to a laugh and diffused the situation, unmistakably pointing out that I had absolutely no idea what the future held, but probably wasn't the best course of action. To help guide us through this year's tough questions, we sought help from the etiquette experts. Story continues "Honesty is always best," advises Diane Gottsman, National Etiquette Expert at The Protocol School of Texas, immediately disqualifying my strategy. "You may not feel great and it doesn't mean that you have to mask your feelings, but try and focus on answering the question and not just monopolizing that question with all of your woes for the next hour." Or adversely avoid the question all together. "We give people graceit is Thanksgiving, and we do give them grace with what they're asking," Gottsman says, "but we also have to set our boundaries. In a very courteous, polite way, we can opt out of that conversation. We don't have to say it, but we can just change the subject ourselves or talk to somebody on the left or the right. As good table mates, all we have to do is read the room and read the table" When asked the unavoidable "why aren't you married yet," Gottsman recommends a combination of these two strategies. "I am very happy with my life and marriage is not on my radar as of today. I will make sure and let you know if that changes but in the meantime, tell me how your Tai Chi classes are coming along." With those questions suitably subverted, we also have the responsibility to ask thoughtful questions. Sure, we may now be equipped to face these lines of questioning, but we still shouldn't inflict the same pressure on others when we know first hand how uncomfortable it can be. That doesn't mean we have to walk on eggshells while catching up. "The holidays are for celebrations, but let's be real," says Jacqueline Whitmore, founder of the Protocol School of Palm Beach. "We've all had our trials and tribulations these last couple yearseverything from money challenges to illnesses to possibly even some deaths and loss of jobs. So I would just recommend that when at all possible you keep the conversation light and try to stay away from controversial topics." Body language and how you say things, not just what you say, can be a big help in conveying good intentions, both Gottsman and Whitmore explained. So this Thanksgiving, handle catch-ups like an expert. Keep it light and keep it friendly to keep the peace. It has been months since the last Jan. 6 congressional committee hearing grabbed headlines in July, capping off a summer run of proceedings that revealed how far former President Donald Trump went to hold onto power. On Wednesday at 1 p.m. EDT after an eventful break those hearings return with a ninth public accounting of details around the attack on the Capitol and efforts by Trump to overturn his 2020 election loss. The hearing is set just about six weeks before crucial midterm elections and after a summer of building legal problems for Trump. Once these hearings wrap, the committee is expected to release a report outlining its findings. Here's a refresher on some key points from earlier hearings. Story continues Georgia election worker Shaye Moss is sworn in on June 21, 2022, to testify to the House Jan. 6 committee. "Its affected my life in a major way. Every way. All because of lies." State officials faced heat from Trump and his supporters to help overturn the election results in their states to favor the former president. Officials in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania recounted the pressure campaign that included calls from thousands of supporters at their homes, a break-in to the home of a family member, social media attacks and death threats. "Not only was there the big lie, there was the big rip-off." Trump knew he lost the election but used the opportunity to raise money from campaign donors to fight the results, according to testimony. He and his allies raked in millions for an Official Election Defense Fund that the committee said didnt exist. About a week after the election, Trump created the Save America PAC, which would become a key spender of some of this money and would rake in more than $100 million. The PAC gave more than $200,000 to the Trump Hotel Collection. Mick Mulvaney: Recess is over. Now the Jan. 6 committee has a glaring credibility problem. A busy summer since the last hearing The hearings took place amid somewhat less complex legal terrain for Trump, whose Mar-a-Lago home was searched by FBI agents Aug. 8. The court-approved search warrant found a set of about 100 documents or roughly 700 pages of classified material the Justice Department said was improperly stored and kept despite repeated efforts to return the material. Trump, his company and three of his adult children, among others, were named in a civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James last week accusing them of widespread fraud, including falsifying financial statements and inflating Trump's net worth. Meanwhile, an investigation into election interference continued in Georgia, where prosecutors are pushing for Trump allies like his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, to testify. Cheney will help head up Wednesday's congressional hearing alongside the committee's chair Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., but her efforts to win a tough Republican primary battle in her home state of Wyoming fell short. Her pro-Trump rival bested her by more than 30 percentage points. With Cheney's loss, Trump's efforts to defeat the 10 House Republicans who voted for his impeachment in January 2021 reaped another reward. Contributing: Erin Mansfield This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When is the next Jan. 6 committee hearing? Here's everything to know Sep. 26Forty-seven members of Ohio Task Force 1 left their Vandalia warehouse Saturday ahead of the incoming Hurricane Ian. The search and rescue team left by 3:30 p.m. in a convoy of 14 semis, trucks, buses, boats and trailers, according to a press release from OH-TF1s Facebook page. OH-TF1 arrived in Athens, Tennessee and by 8 a.m. Sunday, the team was back on the road with a new destination in Alabama, according to their press release update. "The situation remains fluid and the team remains flexible," the Facebook post read. Hurricane Ian is predicted to hit the Tampa Bay and possibly Miami and the southern tip of Florida Wednesday, according to a report from the Associated Press. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Friday for the Florida Keys and other counties on the peninsula. On Saturday, he updated it to include the entire state. President Joe Biden also declared an emergency in the state and authorized the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts. A surge of up to 8 feet of ocean water and 10 inches of rain is predicted to hit the Tampa area, AP reported. Ohio Task Force 1 was activated Saturday as a Type III team with Virginia Task Force 1 and Virginia Task Force 2 for the incoming storm that increased in strength. "Everyone is healthy, in good spirits, and ready to do good work for the impacted area," Task Force Leader Jack Reall said. A national figure came to Jackson on Monday to hold the first rally of what he hopes will be a growing movement that pushes elected officials to address the various water problems that have plagued residents of Jackson for generations. William Barber, a pastor and co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign, spoke on a stage set up on the street outside the governor's mansion, voicing his support for Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and his opposition to privatizing the city's water system, which the Gov. Tate Reeves has said is a possibility. Shannon Easter of Ridgeland, Miss., joins a crowd marching east along Capitol Street in Jackson Monday, en route to a rally in front of the Governors Mansion to bring attention to the citys ongoing water crisis. Easter says she operates a business in Jackson and has a number of family members who live in the capital city. The rally, which at its largest size reached over 100 people, was modeled on a "Moral Monday" blueprint that Barber was instrumental in creating. In 2013, Barber called on people in North Carolina, where he was then-president of the state's NAACP chapter, to protest a number of state government policies that he saw as immoral based on how they impacted low-income people, including voting rights and healthcare policies. Barber said that on the first Moral Monday in April of 2013, 17 people showed up and all of them were arrested. By the end of the summer, more than 15,000 were marching alongside him, Barber said. He foresees similar growth in the Moral Mondays to be held in Jackson, the next of which will be in two weeks on Oct. 10. "It happened in North Carolina, it can happen right here in Jackson, Mississippi," Barber said. "Right here in Jackson there will probably be a time when there's crowds as far as the eye can see, people from all over, because somebody's been poisoning the water." While the mayor was in attendance, he did not address the crowd. Barber explained why. "Why we say no to politicians? Because we want politicians to come here and listen to what the people have to say and then go and do what the people want them to do," Barber said. That said, Barber was clear in his support for Lumumba, calling him "a great mayor," and telling the crowd "you can trust him." "Mayor, who is here, Mayor Lumumba, we thank God for him," Barber said. Story continues Barber also addressed a critique that the city, and the mayor, have repeatedly received from Reeves and other elected officials that the city has never presented an actionable and comprehensive plan to fix its water system. "Jackson has had a plan, you just haven't had the damn consciousness to make that plan happen," Barber said, as the mayor clapped. A number of the Jackson residents who spoke addressed Reeves directly, many of them referencing comments he made 10 days earlier at an event in Hattiesburg, where he said it was a great day to not be in Jackson, "as always." "It is a great day, as it is every day, in Jackson, Mississippi," said Brooke Floyd, who later spoke live from the stage on MSNBC, standing beside Barber. Chris Ellis said he and his wife moved to Jackson about five years ago, and live in the Fondren area. Friends from other places have asked why they still live there. "I get a lot of folks asking me, 'Chris, there's a lot going on in the city of Jackson, why don't y'all leave?' Because it's my community. Because these are my neighbors. Because I look at this house over here, and this dude ain't home today," Ellis said while gesturing towards the mansion. "He'd rather be anywhere else, he said it himself." Reeves did not appear at the event. Rukia Lumumba, one of the organizers of the event and sister of the mayor, often addressed the crowd between speakers. At one point she gestured towards the governor's mansions as well. "Who built that mansion? We built that mansion," Lumumba led the crowd in call-and-response. One of the key criticisms voiced by speakers against Reeves was over his comments that he would be open to privatization of the plant. Signs at the event read, "FREE THE LAND! CLEAN THE WATER! KEEP IT PUBLIC!" Barber and residents who spoke painted privatization as sinful and a theft of the city's resources and ability to bring in revenue. "Right now there are closed-door conversations that are going on with the guy that lives in this house right here, with a bunch of people with a vested interest outside of the city, who are looking to privatize our system, to take over our system, to deprive our city of the revenues of the future of the water system of Jackson, Mississippi," Ellis said. "Now I don't know about you, I don't think Jackson can afford to lose those revenues. I don't want Jackson to lose those revenues, and it's not right for somebody to come in and steal those revenues." Barber said the movement he hopes will lead Jackson to a safe drinking water system will not be driven by him, or by other national activists, but by Jackson residents. "We're not coming here to help y'all do nothing, we're here to stand with y'all," Barber said, then speaking about the upcoming MSNBC interview. "When they said we'd like to do an interview with you I said nope, we're going to do an interview with somebody that is from here." At the end of the rally, Barber gave Mayor Lumumba his stole, which featured the words "Jesus Was A Poor Man," before the crowd sang a special version of "We Shall Overcome," which changed "shall" to "can" and then "have" in the second and third verses. "Some things we shall overcome. Some things we can overcome. And some things we have overcome," Barber said. Then Barber instructed the DJ to play a song he said should be a "mantra" and "the anthem" of Jackson: "Give the People What They Want," by The O'Jays. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Prominent pastor leads Jackson water rally outside of governor's mansion Editor's note: This page recaps the news of Tuesday, Sept. 27. For the latest coverage of Hurricane Ian from Wednesday, Sept. 28, see our live updates here. Hurricane Ian strengthened into an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds at 140 mph, and is expected to cause life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds and flooding in the Florida Peninsula, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday. Tornadoes also are a risk and several warnings and watches have been issued around the state into Wednesday morning as rain bands move across Florida. Ian slammed into Cuba on Tuesday, a Category 3 monster pounding the island with 125 mph winds. High winds and storm surge are still expected farther north into the Tampa Bay region, state Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said. Hundreds of thousands of Floridians faced mandatory evacuation orders as the National Hurricane Center expanded its hurricane warning along more than 150 miles of the state's Gulf Coast. Power outages can be expected statewide, Florida Power & Light warned. LATEST NEWS: Hurricane Ian nears historic Category 5 status, closes in on Florida As of Tuesday night, power outages were already occurring in the Florida Keys and South Florida, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. On the forecast track, the center of Ian is expected to approach the west coast of Florida within the hurricane warning area Wednesday morning, and make landfall later. At 5 a.m., the center of Hurricane Ian was located 75 miles west-southwest of Naples. The center of Ian is forecast to move over central Florida Wednesday night and Thursday morning and emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday. Along with the howling winds, parts of Central Florida could see 12 to 16 inches of rain, and 2 feet is possible in isolated areas, the hurricane center said. DeSantis said there was potential for "historic" storm surge and flooding. Story continues "In some areas, there will be catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge," DeSantis said Tuesday. "Because of the size of the storm, it's kicking up a lot of surge. The Gulf is going to be very angry as this comes in." The Florida Keys saw hurricane-force winds and heavy rain late Tuesday as Ian advanced toward the state, DeSantis said during a news conference Tuesday night. A storm surge warning remains in effect along the state's west coast with the highest risk in the Naples to Sarasota region. DeSantis warned that flooding was likely across much of west Florida. He also raised the possibility that after landfall, a weakening Ian would continue to march across Central Florida before exiting the state Friday near Volusia County on the Atlantic coast. This is a lot of nasty weather that were in store for over the next few days, DeSantis said. WHAT IS STORM SURGE? Explaining a hurricane's deadliest and most destructive threat Other developments: 8,000 customers were without power in southeastern Florida and 30,000 utility workers are standing by to help respond to power outages, DeSantis said. In preparation for flooding and damages, 176 disaster shelters have opened and more shelters are expected to open, according to DeSantis. DeSantis authorization, a total of 5,000 Florida Guardsmen are being activated to State Active Duty and pre-positioned at armories across the state for Ian response operations. 2,000 Guardsmen from Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina are also being activated to assist. Orlando International Airport will shut down Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Over 1,200 flights slated for Tuesday and Wednesday have been canceled due to the anticipated hurricane, according to flight-tracking site Flightaware.com. The hurricane center expanded its hurricane warning to include Bonita Beach north through Tampa Bay to the Anclote River. Fort Myers is in the hurricane zone, and Tampa and St. Petersburg could still get a direct hit by a major hurricane for the first time in a century. Tampa may not see landfall, but big hit likely Tampa was no longer the most likely place for landfall, but the local forecast still calls for massive amounts of rain. AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said Tampa will still get a storm surge, but nothing like anticipated in earlier forecasts. And "it's very possible this thing could kind of wobble" further north than what computer models are suggesting. The Tampa area sits at sea level, which makes it especially vulnerable to storm surge, weather service meteorologist Christianne Pearce said. Any amount of storm surge could be significant in those areas, especially with as much it's been built up, and storm surge and any kind of inland flooding could be significant, Pearce said. Storm will slow, linger over Florida 'for a long time' FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell, speaking at a White House briefing, said the storm will make landfall somewhere between Tampa and Fort Myers. The entire state will be affected, and "everyone needs to stay focused," she said. By the time Ian reaches Florida, the storm will slow to about 5 mph, which means storm surge is the biggest concern, she said. "This is significant because what his means is that Floridians are going to experience the impacts of this storm for a very long time," she said. Florida theme parks preparing to close Florida's theme parks are hurriedly preparing for its arrival. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, just miles from where the hurricane was previously expected to make landfall, was the first park to shutter ahead of the storm. Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando and LEGOLAND Florida will follow suit on Wednesday. "Everything revolves around the safety of our guests and team members," Universal Orlando Resort said in a statement to USA TODAY. Evacuees need not go too far Guthrie said those looking to leave the storm's path may not have to go far. "Many people in the Southwest Florida area, your best bet is going to be evacuate across the state," Guthrie said. "Just go straight across the state to Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach." DeSantis said that for some evacuees, moving to a nearby building on higher ground might be sufficient. "This is not necessarily saying you have to evacuate to another state," DeSantis said. "When we say evacuate, we don't mean keep traveling until you have no chance of getting rained on." Waiting for the storm on Sarasota County's Siesta Key Andrew and Pam Trapani were resigned to riding out Hurricane Ian in their Siesta Key home Tuesday. They thought about leaving as the forecast worsened, but by the time the Trapanis considered evacuating, they couldn't find a hotel. They decided their house built in 2017 at 17 feet of elevation with hurricane-resistant windows and a whole-house generator was safe enough. It sits on 55 pilings driven 35 feet into the ground and has a bottom floor designed for floodwater to wash through. Andrew Trapani said it always felt as if the region was protected from big storms. But he isn't overconfident. "I'm not much of a drinker, but I'll probably have a few Scotches the next few days," he said. Sanibel businesses board up; shops prep for Ian Nick Ticich and his family have owned the T-Shirt Hut in Sanibel, about 50 miles south of Venice, since the 1950s. Over the past 50 years, the family has battled a handful of hurricanes and won nearly every time. Yet after his family almost lost the store when Hurricane Charley ripped through the tiny town in 2004, he said he still feels the need to board up for each oncoming disaster. "It could come at us," Ticich said as he boarded up his shop. "We can lose the building. We can lose everything." Cuba without electricity after Ian slams power grid Ian made landfall on Cuba's western tip, where officials set up shelters, rushed in emergency personnel and worked to protect crops in Cubas tobacco-growing region. "Significant wind and storm surge impacts (are) occurring over Cuba," said Daniel Brown, senior hurricane specialist and the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Cubas Electric Union said in a statement that work was underway to gradually restore service to the countrys 11 million people during the night. Power was initially knocked out to about 1 million people in Cubas western provinces, but later the entire grid collapsed. The storm was forecast to roll off Cuba and strengthen to a Category 4 storm over warm Gulf of Mexico waters. The storm's winds could reach 140 mph before reaching Florida as soon as Wednesday. Hurricane Ian tracker Ian will slow over the Gulf, growing wider and stronger, which will have the potential to produce significant wind and storm surge impacts along the west coast of Florida, the hurricane center said. Ian was forecast to emerge over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and approach the west coast of Florida on Wednesday and Wednesday night. The storm is predicted to slow during this period, the National Hurricane Center warned in an advisory. "This would likely prolong the storm surge, wind and rainfall impacts along the affected portions of the west coast of Florida," the advisory says. RAPID INTENSIFICATION: What does that mean? LANDFALL IN CUBA: Hurricane Ian grows stronger Heavy rain, flooding forecast for Southeast Heavy rainfall is expected to affect the Southeast on Friday and Saturday, the weather service said. "Widespread, considerable" flash and urban flooding are expected mid- to late week across central and northern Florida, southern Georgia and coastal South Carolina. Significant, prolonged river flooding is expected across central to northern Florida. Limited flash and river flooding is expected over portions of the Southeast into the mid-Atlantic mid- to late week. WHAT IS STORM SURGE?: It's often a hurricane's deadliest and most destructive threat Florida National Guard called into duty Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has issued a statewide state of emergency, said 5,000 Florida National Guard members were being called into duty, and 2,000 more are being sent to Florida from nearby states. The state is working to load 360 trailers with more than 2 million meals and more than 1 million gallons of water to prepare for distribution. Urban Search and Rescue Teams are ready to mobilize where needed, DeSantis said. There is going to be an interruption of power, so just plan on that," DeSantis said. The impacts are going to be far and wide." HURRICANE CATEGORIES EXPLAINED: Breaking down the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind speed scale What is 'rapid intensification'? "Rapid intensification" is a process in which a storm undergoes accelerated growth: The phenomenon is typically defined to be a tropical cyclone (whether a tropical storm or hurricane) intensifying by at least 35 mph within 24 hours. Ian is predicted to fit this definition. The storm's winds were forecast to approach 140 mph by late Tuesday. Rapid intensification occurs when a tropical storm or hurricane encounters an "extremely conducive environment," Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said. That typically includes very warm water, low vertical wind shear and high levels of midlevel moisture. Out of the nine hurricanes with winds of 150 mph or greater that struck the U.S. mainland over 103 years, all but one saw the explosion of force and power known as rapid intensification. Category 4 storms can cause 'catastrophic' damage If the storm struck as a Category 4 hurricane, it could cause "catastrophic" damage, and power outages could last weeks or months, according to the National Weather Service's description of storms that strong. Areas can be uninhabitable for weeks or months, the weather service says. Even if youre not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, theres going to be pretty broad impacts throughout the state," DeSantis warned. Contributing: Ashley Williams; Celina Tebor, Doyle Rice, Eve Chen and Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA TODAY; Zac Anderson and Steven Walker, Sarasota Herald-Tribune; Samantha Neely, Cheryl McCloud and Diane Pantaleo of Fort Myers News-Press; John Kennedy, Hannah Morse, and Sergio Bustos, USA TODAY Network; The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida Gulf Coast faces a catastrophic threat as Hurricane Ian nears Russia will reportedly boycott the 2023 Oscars by not submitting one of 122 potentially eligible domestic films for the Academy's Best International Feature Film category, amid its ongoing military assault on Ukraine and subsequent tensions with the United States government. The Russian Film Academy told national news agency TASS Monday that it has "decided not to nominate any Russian films for the 2022 Academy Awards." Pavel Chukhrai, chairman of Russia's nominations commission and director of the Oscar-nominated 1997 film The Thief, resigned over the issue, per per Reuters. On Tuesday, director Alexei Uchitel told TASS that he, too, was opposed to the move. "It's not clear to me yet what's going on. All committee members received a list of movies eligible for nomination and meeting dates were being discussed. But all of a sudden, the news broke. I think that they did an unethical thing, to put it mildly," he said. "In the current situation, we should show that Russia's film industry still exists, and we should nominate a movie." EW has reached out to the Academy for comment. Vladimir Putin; Academy Awards SERGEI GUNEYEV/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images; Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images Russia reportedly boycotts the Oscars amid Ukraine conflict. Historically, Russia has a golden track record when it comes to the category, with multiple titles recently including Andrey Zvyagintsev's 2014 film Leviathan and 2017 submission Loveless earning nominations over the years, despite the titles ruffling feathers among the Russian government for the projects' perceived criticisms of national leadership. Russia last won the category in 1994 with Nikita Mikhalkov's Burnt by the Sun, with preceding victories for Soviet Union-submitted titles like 1980's Vladimir Menshov-directed Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears and Sergei Bondarchuk's multi-part drama War and Peace, which was released between 1966 and 1967. ABC will broadcast the 2023 Oscars on Sunday, March 12. Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. Related content: Sept. 27, 1992 The intense glare of the media spotlight, coupled with community hostility, is beginning to take its toll on the neo-Nazis who came to Auburn two weeks ago. After Thursday's City Council meeting, attended by more than 100 outraged city residents, local and national Nazi leaders began bickering over their party's agenda and its plans for a commune in Cayuga County. The neo-Nazis holed up in local white supremacist Thomas Cool's 3 Barber St. house appear to be backing down. They are no longer seeking publicity for their ideology and insist they have only peaceful intentions. Two local leaders began denying any comment during the weekend and failed to appear at a meeting yesterday between reporters and city officials. Their national leader Ryan Wilson, the commander-in-chief of the United States of America Nationalist Party and a former Ku Klux Klan member acknowledged Friday that "our plans have been disrupted." But Wilson nevertheless threatened to bring the Ku Klux Klan to Auburn to buck up the cause. "The mayor had better warm up his reception or we'll hold a Klan rally there every year for the next 10 years," Wilson said from his Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, headquarters. "We'll make Auburn a central meeting point, and we'll march right down Main Street. And there's not a damn thing the mayor can do about it." In a phone call from New York City Saturday, Mayor Guy Cosentino responded, "If that group wants to channel all their anger toward me, that's fine. Just leave my community out of it." Thomas McGinn, 49, pleaded guilty on Sept. 27 to setting an apartment house on fire in Sanford, Maine, in May of 2021. SANFORD, Maine A local man has pleaded guilty to setting an apartment building on fire on Spruce Street last year. According to U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee, Thomas McGinn, 49, of Sanford, pleaded guilty to arson in U.S. District Court in Portland on Tuesday. According to court records, Sanford firefighters responded to a blaze at 38 Spruce Street at approximately 3:30 a.m. on May 5, 2021. Tenants were home inside the structure when the fire was set, Maine State Police spokesperson Shannon Moss said at the time. Nobody was hurt in the incident. Trial: Maine man convicted of 11 charges stemming from Capitol riot Despite extensive damage, the firefighters were able to save the building from collapse. An apartment occupied by McGinn at the time experienced the most significant damage. Police arrested McGinn the next day. When interviewed by investigators, McGinn confessed to intentionally starting the fire using gasoline and lighter fluid as accelerants, McElwee stated in a news release. Unsolved mystery: Group close to identifying bones of girl found at Sanford, Maine site McGinn explained that he had intended to burn the building down, according to the news release. McGinn is facing between 5 and 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. The top floor of an apartment house on Spruce Street in Sanford, Maine, shows damage following a fire Wednesday, May 5, 2021. McGinn will be sentenced after the U.S. Probation Office completes a presentence investigation report. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The Sanford Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Maine State Fire Marshals Office worked together to investigate the case. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Sanford, Maine, man pleads guilty to setting apartment building on fire. Linda Fisher is a resident of Prattville I have two theories about saints: that they are so rare as to be invisible, and that even if they were as common as Lincoln pennies, no one would notice them. Whens the last time you bent down to pick up a penny? Saints are so rare, in fact, we might not realize weve seen one until years later, too late to face the man or woman or child and mumble our thanks or admiration. This was my experience. I once knew a saint, but at the time I had no clue, so I never stopped to thank her. If youre of a certain age and you grew up in Montgomery in the '50s and '60s, you might have known her, too. Martha Crystal Myers was a friend of mine in junior high and high school, and then I lost touch with her for nearly 40 years. On the last day of 2002, I woke up to the news that she had been murdered martyred, really in Yemen where she had been an obstetrician-gynecologist for more than 25 years. As I watched television news, I learned that the day before, Dec. 30, a local man had walked into Yemens Jibla Baptist Hospital cradling a handgun wrapped in a shawl as if it were a baby. This was the man who killed Martha, along with two other hospital administrators, and wounded another. He was angry. His wife had told him that she preferred the compassionate care of Dr. Myers to her native doctors. During the time I knew Martha, at Dalraida Baptist Church, at Goodwyn Junior High, and at Robert E. Lee High where she and I were members of the Class of 1963, she was just a slim, brown-haired girl of medium height. As for her eyes, Id have to plead the fifth like Elton John when he sang, Ive forgotten if theyre green or theyre blue. They might even have been brown. Unlike me, the mothers of Yemen seemed to have recognized Marthas saintly qualities very quickly. They loved her for examining them and providing medical treatment when male doctors could not or would not. They told of the times she slept under the bed of an ill child rather than leave the child without medical care. Dr. Martha treated young girls whose families had shunned them after they were bought as brides. Once when she stopped to buy gas for the Land Cruiser that took her out to the rural poor to whom she dispensed medications and gave immunizations, she was kidnapped. She managed to escape and later visited her kidnappers in prison, telling them God loved them. Not long before her death, Martha asked her father to send her the last money from her savings account because she knew a young man in need of funds for a kidney transplant. Story continues Martha did not give me lifesaving medical care or deliver my babies, but she was one of the strongest influences in my life. When I first met Martha at church, she and I were around 10 years old, and I would bet she made the introductions because I was a shy mouse of a girl then. Maybe she noticed my childish soprano when we sang hymns or that I had a knack for memorization. She was the one who encouraged me to join the choir and Girls Auxiliary, or GAs, as the Southern Baptist Convention called their Bible-study club for middle school and high school girls. One day at Goodwyn Junior High when we were all passing around report cards, Martha studied mine and said, You know, Linda, with just a little more work, you could make the Honor Roll. Id never thought of trying for honor roll before, and no one else had ever told me that I could do it, but I decided to try. Before too long, I did make Honor Roll, and I went on to college. If saints excel in giving encouragement, then Martha was a saint. Martha influenced my behavior toward others, too. In the late 1950s in my group of friends in east Montgomery, cutting each other was in vogue, but not with knives or razors. This kind of cutting used words. Sarcasm has probably always been the first resort of the marginalized and who feels more unfairly left out in the margins than teenagers? I remember the rush that came with hurling the perfect barb at someone, and the sting when barbs came back at me. I was in the early stages of wondering if the rush was worth the sting when Martha approached me and said something like, Isnt it better to be kind to someone than to tear them down? I took her words to heart. Over the years, Marthas call for me to react with kindness has helped save and even improved many of my personal relationships. I wish oh, Lord, I wish I could say that I reached out to Martha at some point since high school by phone, by mail, by email to thank her for caring enough to influence me. If this were a movie script, the confession would make a good ending. But it didnt happen that way. Yet hardly a week goes by that Martha doesnt come to my mind. If Martha had lived past the age of 57, who knows how many more babies she could have delivered or how many more lives she could have saved? I cant deliver babies or save anyones life, but I can offer encouragement and kindness and love. Martha showed me how. Linda Fisher, a resident of Prattville, is a novelist, a retired public-school teacher, and the former owner of a small business, Chocodelphia. This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Seen any saints lately? You'll know them by their deeds Sep. 27A Lower Kalskag man faces murder charges in the fatal stabbing of his adult son on Friday. Moses Levi, 56, told Alaska State Troopers during an interview that he had been cutting moose and drinking with his 32-year-old son Peter Levi when they took a break, according to an affidavit filed with criminal charges. Peter Levi threatened his father while they were on the porch, Moses Levi told investigators. Moses Levi said he grabbed a knife because he was afraid of his son, but told troopers he did not intend to stab him, the affidavit said. After the stabbing, Moses Levi went to a church, which is where troopers located him, it said. Moses Levi's wife reported the stabbing at the community clinic and a clinic employee went to the home and found Peter Levi dead, the affidavit said. Moses Levi was arrested Friday on charges of first- and second-degree murder. He is being held at the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center. Lower Kalskag is a community of just under 300 people located about 26 miles west of Aniak on the Kuskokwim River. Sep. 27Golovin Storm GOLOVIN Nothing looks quite right in the low part of Golovin. Not the homes, not the land or roads, and not the water still pooled up like brackish ponds in people's yards. When the floodwaters finally receded from last weekend's powerful storm, it left this village of 150 choked by debris: mud and muck mixed with spilled diesel and sewage, driftwood and stumps, building material stripped off homes by the wind or dashed to pieces by days of pounding waves. And sand. Sand is now everywhere. Sand shorn from the coastline and redeposited in the worst of places: inside houses, burying outbuildings, choking the engines of idled snowmachines and four-wheelers buried to their handlebars. Sand drifted everywhere like blizzard snow that will never in a million years melt. Golovin Storm Even in the best of cases, things won't be fixed back up for a long time. Golovin was hurt more than any other place in the region by the remnants of typhoon Merbok as it swirled up through Bering Sea. Houses moved hundreds of feet from their perches. Subsistence equipment disappeared or was destroyed. Shipping containers, boats and old fuel tanks were jostled around and remain stuck where they shouldn't be, tipped at odd angles. Family camps and cabins were obliterated. [Biden approves Western Alaska disaster request as FEMA arrives to assess storm damage] Of Golovin's 64 homes, 22 were badly damaged, seven of them likely not salvageable, according to a local damage assessment last week. Others that endured structurally are ruined on the inside, with every meaningful possession contaminated by floodwater. Golovin Storm "It's not livable right now," said Celeste Menadelook, describing her family's home. A new mother, Menadelook and her husband are sleeping in her small office at the town's tribal building with their 4-month-old daughter while their house is torn down to the studs, its flooring, insulation and drywall ripped out and hauled to the dump. Gone too are items that can't be replaced, from a laptop full of family photos to handmade fur hats and mitts for winter. Story continues "My parki that my aana made. Things that were passed down. Our appliances. Everything has to go. Our washer, dryer, refrigerator, our bedding, our cabinets, our couches. Everything has to go because it smells like sewer in the house," Menadelook said. Golovin Storm Supplies are flowing to Golovin in an effort to help. Charity is pouring in. Menadelook soothed her infant Wednesday beside folding tables laden with donations that kept arriving throughout the day. In the days and weeks ahead, charity and relief will keep arriving to Golovin and other Western Alaska communities contending with widespread wreckage. While that aid blunts some of the immediate hardship, it is no replacement for all that is lost, residents say. Especially with the clock ticking on winter's arrival. 'Other people care' Donny Olson, state senator for the region and Golovin resident, looked like he'd been on the losing end of a bar fight, sporting a gnarly black eye as he rushed around repairing electrical wiring in the airplane hangar attached to his house. "What happened was this," Olson said, standing by a doorway in his home, the first floor of which had been thoroughly buried under sand. Golovin Storm As he raced to protect the house from the storm surge's rising water, he darted outside, timing his sprint to evade the rolling waves. "I withstood the wave, but I wasn't ready for the back," Olson said. "When it hit the wall it came right back on me and threw me into one of these four-by-fours." [Hooper Bay families displaced by flooding search for a permanent solution] Somehow, he still managed to get four young children evacuated from the property and up the hill to the tribal building as the storm water rose. It was one of several dramatic rescues, including an elder who was moved out of his home to safety in the bucket of a front-end loader. The cleanup work at the Olson house, like many, is immense. Eight volunteers came by to help shovel out all the sand. With the school closed for a week during recovery, local teachers were chipping in like a roving labor corps, with work crews sent in by the school district to repair teacher housing, which was also damaged. Olson and his wife, Willow, got a hand piling up all the saturated possessions from their first floor out in the airplane hangar, and were waiting to see what could maybe be saved. Golovin Storm "The city has opened the washeteria for use, so I'm gonna start hauling stuff over there," Willow said. She estimated they had about 50 loads worth, though most of it is probably a lost cause. Willow Olson was one of the many Bush residents who shared dramatic photos of the storm and its havoc to social media in real time when there was power and network coverage to do so. The images helped draw attention from all over the state and beyond to just how intense the storm was. And in its aftermath that awareness, according to Olson, has helped conjure an array of support, from messages of solidarity to tangibles like food, supplies, labor. "That has helped because it lets me know that other people care. They're listening and they're trying to respond in whatever way possible," she said. Golovin Storm By midweek, those contributions were accumulating and more manpower was materializing. Inside the tribal hall was a running list on a whiteboard of who had sent food and goods, organizations like the Bering Strait School District and Ryan Air, alongside the partial names of charitable individuals: "Anahma," "Barb A," "Delaney J," "Kenai Guy." There were big boxes full of pre-assembled sandwiches sent by the World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit that decamped to Nome after the storm subsided. Cases of shelf-stable staples like breakfast cereal, cans of tuna, mac and cheese, granola bars, and canned soup were piled beside lumpy sacks of oranges, apples, and several cantaloupes donated by a mining company in the region. An unknown donor had left two jars of silver salmon and a can of seal oil by the back door. Hot bowls of spaghetti and moose soup were consumed, the coffee pot never empty. Community members were breaking down the piles and reassembling them into boxes for families to take home. More supplies like bottled water and clothing were accumulating in the sanctuary of the Covenant Church in the lower part of town. [Here are some ways to help communities ravaged by storms in Western Alaska] 'This house don't belong here' The state sent 130 personnel out to Nome and Bethel to assist with recovery, members of the Alaska National Guard and other quasi-military units working as a joint task force under the banner of Operation Merbok Response would disperse from the hubs to impacted villages. Three members of the Alaska State Defense Force were camped out in the tribal hall asking Golovin Mayor Charlie Brown what kinds of supplies and manpower would be the biggest help, and promising to send out good workers with "strong backs, weak minds" who could take orders on the grunt work ahead without giving sass or unwanted creative input. By Thursday, a crew of 12 guardsman was on the ground, helping with debris removal, mucking out homes and buildings. Brown was highly sought after Wednesday, peppered with questions and requests by visitors. Members of the Red Cross asked him to show them damaged homes so they could begin making assessments. A man from Bering Straits Native Corp. requested a tour of town to find out what building materials people most need. By Thursday, the corporation had managed to ship out a whole box truck filled with 10,000 pounds of essential supplies: generators, shop vacs, Tyvek suits and gloves. A small team from Norton Sound Health Corp. came in on a chartered plane from Nome with 40 pizzas, and listened to residents describe the conditions of their property before dispensing advice for disinfecting what might be saved. "I'm at a loss for words," said Norton Sound Health Corp. head Angie Gorn. "It's hard to know what to say." A sturdily built man with a calm demeanor, Brown showed the Red Cross team a dilapidated home that a young man had recently begun trying to fix up and make habitable. It had floated 200 feet from its parcel. "This house don't belong here," Brown said. Another small house was unmoored and came to rest in the middle of an intersection, prompting four-wheelers and trucks to circumvent it like a poorly planned roundabout. Golovin Storm The day was chilly, and Brown told the visitors most of the heaters used to warm homes are completely shot. "There's a lotta those that need to be replaced," he said. Down by the shore, the storm waves tore deep gashes into the land, chewing open the protective banks that buffer homes from the sea. Shreds of fishing nets tangled up in tree stumps like seaweed. All along the coastline were big smooth stones churned out of the seafloor and sprinkled on a beach that now extends much farther into town than it used to. In spite of all that's happened, no one in Golovin mentioned leaving. There was no talk of pulling up stakes and moving to Nome or Anchorage. Everyone talked about what will come next as a process of restoration, not departure or abandon. 'It came in pretty fast' Jack Brown is the oldest man in Golovin. He's seen the country change in his nearly 80 years, remembers that in 1955 "the first moose was caught. Now they're everywhere." Golovin Storm But the storm that slammed into the west coast of Alaska last week was without an equal at least not in living memory here. "They were never this bad. We never had storms here in the '50s," Brown said, stroking his white billy-goat's beard and glancing out the window toward the surf. Brown lives in a condemned house with a faulty foundation that shudders in the wind, but is thankfully well enough up the town's main hill he was spared the worst of the storm's wrath. It's the old side of the village that suffered, the low part of town that rambles down into a pointy spit poking into Golovin Bay like a finger jabbing at a balloon. Brown didn't leave his quaking home during the storm, because the danger wasn't from the wind but the water. "Didn't wanna go. Didn't see a need to, since I wasn't gonna be run over by water," he said. "It came in pretty fast." Golovin Storm At some point as Golovin was flooding, utility workers cut the power to prevent further damage to the electrical system. A few homes and buildings ran generators to keep lights on, but between the power loss and floodwaters seeping into buildings, many if not most of the town's refrigerators and freezers failed. Beside the small store was a cockeyed shipping container meant for cold storage. Inside, mounds of wetted cardboard boxes were gradually collapsing in on themselves as frozen food thawed and spoiled, the whole container smelling like open-air fish market. The scale of food lost is enormous. And not just any food. Though its population is small, Golovin is a strong subsistence community, accounting for roughly 55 tons of wild food harvested from the land annually, according to Sean McKnight, transportation director for Kawerak, the regional nonprofit covering this part of the state. Golovin Storm And the timing of the storm couldn't be worse for food security. Families had just wrapped up the most productive periods for putting up food, filling caches, freezers, and pantries to get through the lean winter months. "There was three freezers out in the shop that were damaged, tipped over," said Ruth Peterson, an elder born and raised in Golovin. Her multi-generational family lost almost all of the year's subsistence take: "Moose, beluga, fish, dried fish, berries." "It takes a lot to process all that," she added. Most Americans and disaster-relief organizations view a fridge failure as an unfortunate inconvenience that amounts to a few hundred dollars of wasted groceries. In the Bush, this is not the case. Rural subsistence freezers are not analogues to an ice chest packed with bulk beef and chicken thighs from Costco. Instead, they are a cross between a larder and a checking account, an assurance you can eat well and not go broke trying to buy protein at the store. Relief money can purchase frozen steaks or boxes of fish sticks, but gone is the connection with the animal and the land that was built hunting, harvesting, butchering, drying, storing, sharing, planning for holiday feasts and wintertime soups, gone is the empowerment and pride of providing. "That's what our ancestors taught us: to gather and subsist, put away food," Peterson said. "That's what we grew up on." To lose whole freezers is to lose all the work that went into filling them, the friendships nurtured by bored chit chat in a bird blind, the lessons imparted to youngsters learning to pick fish from a salmon net. Families in Golovin and all over the recovering coast are grappling with what they'll eat and feed to their children now that spoilage has purged their pantries. "We threw it to the dump before it got stink," Peterson said. 'Devastating' Food insecurity extends beyond just this looming winter. The storm flooded, flattened, and carried off most people in Golovin's subsistence camps, and with them went much of the means for self-sufficiently getting food from the land. "One thing that's affected just about everybody in the village is camps being destroyed. Fish racks, cabins, their subsistence equipment if it wasn't in town, it was out there," said Sierra Smyth, who lives in Golovin and works as an aid to Sen. Olson. "It's devastating. People work for years. Those camps are generation-to-generation between families," Smyth said. Golovin Storm That was where Donna Katchatag's mind went when she awoke to no power in her home Saturday morning. "Our first thought was our cabin," said the mother of four. Hers was one of 10 family camps obliterated in an area called Kitchaviq, about a 30-minute four-wheeler ride outside of town. There was a dilapidated old cabin on her family's land that in recent years she and her husband, a skilled carpenter, gradually replaced with a new structure, raised 6 feet off the ground on posts and big enough to sleep up to 12 when friends from Unalakleet or Elim came to visit. On the second day after the storm, when it was finally clear enough to see into the distance they spotted the building, still intact, but carried far away from where it was built. "It took the posts with it," Katchatag said. "We're kinda relieved it's not smashed." They could even make out some building scraps and a chainsaw they'd left on the porch still sitting there, but had not yet made it out to inspect the inside. Katchatag was a frenetic flurry of activity Wednesday, moving supplies around the tribal hall, tidying up the kitchen, getting food ready, whatever task there was that might need doing. "It's like a distraction," she said, pausing briefly. "I had a good cry about our camp. ... It was like a release." On her phone she had pictures of the cabin in various states of construction and the family life that took place there. Collecting greens by the beach. A log food cache for storing dried salmon that's now gone. In one video her husband stands in hip waders casting for silvers in a steam while her kids play on the bank, a faint rainbow behind them all. "What we lose up there, that's our source, where we go to produce, to gather. (It has) a lot of value. Not only sentimental, but where we go to thrive," Katchatag said. Golovin Storm The donated pizzas, cantaloupes, bottled water and baby formula pouring in to Golovin and comparably wracked towns are helping alleviate immediate needs. But cleanup and rebuilding will take sustained support, some of it monetary, and not all of it glamorous, if communities are ever going to approach recovery. "Brooms and mops, vacuums for those homes, because what they're using is gonna need to be thrown away," Katchatag said of what would help residents muck out the spilled fuel, silt, sewage, sand and trash from their properties. Soon they'll need plywood, lumber, insulation, and some understanding from the government aid apparatus that a second freezer isn't a luxury in a place like Golovin, and a new boat motor not a recreational toy, but a piece of critical equipment for providing for one's self and community. "It feels really good to receive that," Katchatag said of the donations filling up the tribal hall and church. "But where we go to gather, we're wondering what to do. What we should do? Try to build it back stronger? Or relocate? Those are tough questions." Gia Chodzen, left, and Kirin OBrien cuddle underneath an umbrella as it begins to rain at Gas Works Park in December 2020. Both were visiting from out of town and stopped by to see the view. (Amanda Snyder / The Seattle Times) If you are sending a Letter To the Editor, please be sure to follow these rules: Letters have a firm 200-word limit and will be edited for grammar, clarity and accuracy. The person who signs the letter must be the author. Anonymous letters will not be considered. Letters must address the editor, not a third party. We will not print form letters, libelous letters, business promotions or personal disputes, poetry, open letters, letters espousing religious views without reference to a current issue, or letters considered in poor taste. Letters reflect the opinion of the writer. The Yakima Herald-Republic cannot verify the accuracy of all statements made in letters. Writers are limited to one published letter per calendar month. A group of mostly Cuban migrants are handed bags for their belongings by Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande River from Mexico into the U.S. on May 24 along the border wall in Eagle Pass, Texas. Beijing (Gasgoo)- On September 26, VOYAH, the premium new energy vehicle brand under Dongfeng Motor Group, saw the first batch of 500 VOYAH FREE SUVs leave from Wuhan for Norway. Photo credit: VOYAH As the first VOYAH model disembarking in Europe, the FREE has kicked off preorder in Norway in June this year. Compared with the domestic version, in addition to the hardware and software adaptation according to the European and Norwegian markets, the international version of the FREE features a redesigned body, providing up to 2 tonnes of towing capacity with an add-on selection of a towing hook, to better meet the travel needs of local users. Torje Aleksander Sulland, CEO of Electric Way, VOYAHs Norwegian car dealer partner, said that upon the arrival of the 500 FREEs in Norway, delivery will kick off in November. Norway marked the VOYAHs first attempt to branch out to the global market. From 2023, the automaker plans to foray into Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Israel to further expand its overseas layout. Besides more overseas stores, VOYAH will continue to step up its global product portfolio. The government can guarantee Hungarys energy supply and it has sufficient supplies of natural gas, electricity and oil, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, addressing MPs. The countrys gas reserves cover 41% of annual consumption, and the government has agreed with Russia on further deliveries, he added. As Hungary covers 85% of its gas consumption from imports, and the government is not in a position to influence prices, consumption must be reduced, the prime minister, calling on government agencies, state-owned companies, institutions, families and businesses to use less natural gas, which makes up 35% in Hungarys energy consumption; to be reduced to 31% by late 2023 and to below 30% by 2025. He noted that the government has taken measures to boost domestic gas extraction, restart the lignite-based Matrai power plant, extend the lifespan of the Paks nuclear power plant and start the construction of a further two blocks there. Hungarys household energy subsidies are the most generous in Europe, the prime minister said. The government has capped household energy bills and firewood and lignite prices, as well as basic food prices, he said. The cap on household energy bills up to average consumption saves the average family 181,000 forints (EUR 445) each month, he said. Energy subsidies in Hungary will come to 30% of a households average monthly income, as against 20% in Germany and 6% in Austria, the prime minister said. Hungarys government has also launched a 200 billion forint programme to support small and medium-sized businesses with high energy needs, and it is drafting a factory-saving scheme and a new action plan to prevent job losses, he said. Ongoing investments in Hungary are worth 9,400 billion forints, Orban said. While these will be concluded, the government will not launch further investments because there is no guarantee they would be completed, he added. Hungary is stronger today than at any time since the collapse of the communist regime, Orban declared. While sanctions have damaged the country, the government may succeed in ensuring that Hungary emerges from the crisis even stronger, he added. The government will set a quick pace in the months to come, the prime minister said. Not even in the forthcoming two-year period of crisis management will the government relinquish its national strategy objectives, Orban said. It will continue to develop the transport network, maintain family support schemes, establish an innovation-based economy, develop universities, upgrade the armed forces and carry out its programme of national unification, he added. Orban also pledged to further develop the family support system, adding that 2023 state budget to be finalised by early December would contain the relevant measures. Orban emphasised that despite ongoing disputes with Brussels, Hungary still saw its future in the European Union. MTI Photo: Zoltan Mathe YORK Gildardo Garcia, 31, of Sutton, has pleaded not guilty to felony flight to avoid arrest and willful reckless driving after allegedly running from a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol in York. Garcia appeared for arraignment this week in York County District Court, before Judge James Stecker. Garcia was charged after the trooper saw him allegedly driving by the York Country Club with an expired tag on his vehicle. The trooper says in court documents as he turned around to follow Garcia, the defendant started to speed away, eventually going down Nobes Road and then turning south of Road K. It is alleged Garcia was driving at an extreme rate of speed and at some point passed a tractor, causing a hazard for the tractor driver. Court documents indicate Garcia eventually stopped on his own and as he was being arrested, the trooper alleges Garcia said he ran because his drivers license was expired. A NSP canine alerted to the presence of drugs in the vehicle and they found 13 grams of marijuana, THC wax and a pipe. The trooper noted Garcias criminal history showed this was his fourth offense on marijuana charges. These charges in York County are a Class 4 felony and a Class 3 misdemeanor. A jury trial has been scheduled in the matter, for January 24, 2023. The much-awaited Navratri is back after a two-year halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Today marks the second day of Navratri and Delhi Traffic police have anticipated jam-packed traffic on several routes. The Navratras will be celebrated all over Delhi from September 26 to October 5 during which the main temples may attract large gatherings and in parallel, Ram Lila will be organised at several venues that may affect the movement of traffic around those areas. Delhi Traffic Police has hence issued an advisory for the people travelling in the city during the 10-day Navratri festivities, listing areas that are likely to see heavy traffic. Traffic Alert In view of #Navratri celebrations in Delhi from September 26 to October 05, 2022, some roads/stretches would be affected. Commuters are advised carefully plan their travel and follow the guidelines for their convenience.#DPTrafficCheck pic.twitter.com/GwOHxTxI7K Delhi Traffic Police (@dtptraffic) September 26, 2022 The police shared the list of some major temples which may attract a heavy rush of devotees -- the Jhandewalan Mandir may affect traffic at Rani Jhansi Roads (both carriageways), and similarly Durga Mandir Kailash Colony at Lala Lajpat Rai Marg, Pahari Wala Mandir or Mahavir Mandir GK-1 would affect traffic at Inder Chandra Sen Marg, Adhakatyani Shakti Peeth Mandir at Chattarpur may affect traffic at Chattarpur Mandir Road, CDR Chowk, Mandi cut, Mandi Road, and Andheriya Mor - all on MG Road, as well as Anuvrat Marg, 100 Foot Road, 60 Foot Road, Main Chattarpur Road, and Y-Point The rush of people at Kalkaji Mandir would affect traffic at Outer Ring Road from Nehru Place to Modi Mill (both carriageways) and Kali Bari Mandir at Mandir Marg. "People are advised to carefully plan their travel on these above-mentioned roads//stretches with sufficient time at hand," the traffic police said. Similarly, Ramlilas would be organised at 46 main places in the city including Ramlila Ground and Red Fort. In addition to the above main venues, small Ramlilas may also be organised by residents, RWAs, MWAs, etc. in various colonies, market areas, and open grounds. Some Ramlila committees may also take out processions in their localities, the police said. "Traffic movement may be affected at and around the venues where Ramlila due to the huge gathering of devotees and spectators," the police said. Also read: 2022 Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara launched: Mild vs Strong Hybrid: Which one to BUY? It also said that there may be restrictions on the movement of general traffic on the Netaji Subhash Marg, Nishad Raj Marg (New Darya Ganj Road), Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg, and Turkman Gate depending on the crowd situation after 5 pm during the aforementioned period as major Ramlila will be staged at Ramlila Ground and Red Fort and important dignitaries are expected to be present there. The police advised the commuters going to IGI Airport, New Delhi Railway Station, Old Delhi Railway, Nizamuddin Railway Station, and ISBT to leave with sufficient time at hand to accommodate possible delays on the route. "Avail public transport to help decongest roads. Park your vehicles only at designated parking lots," said the police in its advisory. It asked the people to avoid roadside parking as it causes hindrance to the normal flow of traffic and follows the instructions of Delhi Traffic Police officials on duty. "In case any unusual/unidentified object or person is noticed in suspicious circumstances, information should be given to the nearby Police Post, PCR Van, or staff deployed on duty," the advisory read. (With inputs from IANS) With festivals like Dussehra, and Diwali just around the corner, there is a high possibility of an increase in air pollution levels. In no time, the national capital will experience deterioration in air quality which can lead to breathing issues. Hence, to at least control pollution levels from vehicles, Delhi traffic police have urged drivers to get the pollution levels of their vehicles checked. The Delhi Traffic police hence took to social media to ask netizens to cooperate to curb air pollution in the national capital, but with a twist. The traffic police shared a price list which states that it takes Rs 60-100 to get the pollution level of vehicles checked, while the challan for not having a Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) costs Rs 10,000. Check the price list! Pollution Check: Rs. 60 to 100. PUCC Challan: Rs. 10000 Lungs disease How do you want to pay?#DilliMaangePure pic.twitter.com/ek9GlzX9DK September 26, 2022 The traffic police further added lung disease to the list as another way to pay as increased pollution levels will negatively impact the health of citizens. "Check the price list! Pollution Check: Rs. 60 to 100. PUCC Challan: Rs. 10000 Lungs disease How do you want to pay?" read the tweet of Delhi traffic police. Further, it shared a meme where it states how people talk about environmental concerns and how they pretend to be unaware when it comes to showing the PUC certificate. Netizens soon took over the comments sections and filled them with quirky replies in support of the Delhi Traffic Police's initiative. Also read: Navratri 2022: Delhi Traffic police advises commuters to avoid THESE routes during 10-day festivities This is not the first time Delhi traffic police has adopted a 'meme way' to spread awareness about road safety. The traffic police department recently addressed drunk driving in a 'poetic way' and appealed to avoid violations of rules. The issue was addressed with graphics posted on Twitter via the official social media handle of the Delhi Traffic Police department. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Blue Northstar Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NIO Inc., plans to invest in Greenwing Resources ("Greenwing"), an Australia-based minerals exploration company, according to a press release issued by Greenwing on Sept. 26. The transaction will enable Greenwing to speed up its exploration program at San Jorge Lithium Project in Catamarca province, Argentina and align NIO as the company's potential joint venture and offtake partner. Photo credit: NIO Under the agreement, NIO should pay A$12 million (US$7.773 million) to subscribe for 21,818,182 Greenwing shares at a deemed issue price of A$0.55 per share (US$0.36) (called Placement for short). Upon completion of the Placement, NIO will hold a roughly 12.16% stake in Greenwing, on a fully-diluted basis as of the data of issuance, and will gain a seat on the board of the Australian company. At least 80% of the proceeds from the Placement will be used for the San Jorge Lithium Project, with the remaining amounts to be used for general working capital purposes and other businesses. Meanwhile, the transaction will give NIO a call option to acquire between 20% and 40% of the issued capital of Andes Litio SA ("Andes Lithio"), which holds option rights over the San Jorge Lithium Project (called "Call Option" for short). The call option is likely to result in an exercise price of around US$40 million to US$80 million. If the Call Option is exercised by NIO, the proceeds will be mainly used to accelerate outstanding option payments over the San Jorge Lithium Project, with 80% of the remaining proceeds to contribute to funding for Greenwing's pro rata share of the development expenses and working capital requirements. After being reached for a comment, NIO said it would continue to work on the evaluation and deployment of the upstream supply chain related to core parts of intelligent electric vehicles, so as to maintain a long-term competitiveness. Patna: The Bihar cabinet on Tuesday approved proposals for creating around 7,800 new posts in different departments of the state government, officials said. The cabinet meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during which the proposals were cleared, they added. Among these are 7,595 additional posts of 'surveyors' and 'amins' in the Revenue and Land Reforms Department. Besides, 200 additional posts for two prisons in Arwal district, and Paliganj sub-division in Patna district, and 27 posts in the Art and Culture Department will be created, they said. Last week, the state cabinet approved proposals for creating around 8,000 new posts in different government medical colleges and hospitals in the state. In his Independence Day speech, the Chief Minister announced that his government would provide jobs to 20 lakhs youths, and half of them will get jobs in the government sector. Nitish Kumars Deputy Tejashwi Yadav has earlier faced flak for promising 10 lakh jobs in Bihar if his party comes to power in the state. After becoming the Deputy Chief Minister, he later twisted his statement saying that he would fulfil his promise on job creation but he was not the chief minister yet. What gives the impression that Durga Puja is taking place in the city is the perfume of dhanuchi in the air, people dancing around in brightly coloured clothing, and the joyful commotion in the air. With a slight chill in the wind mixed with the fragrance of burning dhanuchi, people dancing in colourful outfits and there seems to be a very jolly atmosphere which makes you feel that it is finally time to welcome Maa Durga and celebrate Durgotsava while hopping from one Durga Puja pandal to another. If you are wondering where to go for the best experiences of Navratri and Durga Puja in Delhi-NCR, add these spots to your pandal hopping list right away! CR Park, Delhi In the suburbs of Delhi is Chittaranjan Park, one of the most happening places to go to for Pujo. CR park is a place populated by the Bengali community in a fully metropolitan Delhi. With great themes, live music, delicious food stalls and a very colourful and iconic dhunuchi naach- Chittaranjan park is the most happening place to be to really celebrate Durga Pujo. How to reach: Avoid the festive traffic and take the metro from your locality to Nehru Enclave metro station beyond which it is a 12-minute walk to the CR park pandals. Kashmiri Gate, Delhi One of the oldest and most exquisite Durga Puja pandals in Delhi is that of Kashmiri Gate. It started around 1910 as a community puja which makes it about 112 years old. Even after being a century old, there is no compromise with traditions, celebrations and delicious bhog at all! How to reach: Get down at Kashmiri Gate metro station and walk through the festivities to reach these pandals. Sector 26, Noida In Noida, Durga Puja will be celebrated for the 40th time in 2022. Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the festival has had low-key arrangements for the past two years. However, this year it is going to be spectacular. There are many Durga Puja pandals across the city but the one in Sector-26 is a treat to the eyes. It is said that this year's theme is the Belur Math temple, the famous temple on the banks of Hooghly river, West Bengal. With amazing lip-smacking food stalls and so much to explore this Puja pandal makes for an unmissable destination. How to reach: Simply get down at sector 18 metro station and take an e-rickshaw to sector 26 for only 20 rupees. Sector 15, Gurugram It is one of the largest and most established Durga Puja pandals ever set up in the city, taking place in Sector 15, Gurugram. At this pandal, you can experience all the regional specialities from the states of Odisha and West Bengal, including sacred bhog and maachh bhaat (rice and fish curry) which makes it a definite addition to your pandal hopping list. How to reach: Reach Huda City Center and take an e-rickshaw to sector 15 Gurugram. Charwood village, Faridabad Eros Charwood village Durga Puja, the country club is one of the hidden gems of pandals to go around in Delhi-NCR. Here on this side of the city, people enjoy the away from the hassles of the city traffic and skyscrapers. This pandal will have a different vibe to it because of the distance it has from the usual Delhi-Noida-Gurugram traffic. With beautifully dolled-up Durga Maa idols, you will leave this place mesmerized. How to reach: It is advised to take your vehicle for convenience or else travel by metro and get down at Tughlakabad metro station after which you can take an auto for a 25-minute distance. SPECIAL MENTION Greater Kailash, Delhi- Here the most elite crowd comes together to celebrate the festival with prasad made of only organic ingredients. Minto Road, Delhi- Although not particularly innovative, the straightforward and conventional decorative pandals continue to win over people's hearts year after year. Numerous cultural events also draw large crowds of people to Minto Road for the Durga Puja celebration. Also Read: Durga Puja 2022: Important dates and significance of her 10 weapons This is the first proper Durga Puja celebration after COVID and so it is going to be a grand spectacle. Get ready to have an Instagram outfit post every day, so make space for the festive content on your smartphones as it is going to be a colourful, delicious and memorable Durga Puja and Navratri this year. (Disclaimer: The information in this article is based on general information, kindly use an expert's discretion while visiting these locations. Zee News does not confirm this.) New Delhi: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, one of the most celebrated series, is set to take you on a laughter riot with its Indian Television rerun on Comedy Central. The cast and crew of this marvellous show are some of the finest comic actors in the industry. Terry Crews who plays the role of Terry Jeffords, an affable and warm sergeant, has been one of the most adored characters on the show. As he looks back on his journey, Crews shares his experience and the best moments from the sets of Brooklyn 99,The fans are the part of Brooklyn Nine-Nine fandom. We all are one family. Crews further adds that the wedding of Amy and Jake was one of the best moments for him on the show. He has been super happy to be a part of the Nine-Nine cast that has become like his second family. I love being part of a group, I love being part of a team. I always looked at the whole cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine as sort of the Avengers. Everyone had their superpower of comedy. I am going to miss each and every one of these characters and these cast mates. Tune in to Comedy Central and relive your favorite moments of this show by watching the re-run of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, every Monday to Friday at 9 pm! The Congress party is facing difficulties ahead of the elections for the post of Party President. After the rebellion of MLAs supporting CM Ashok Gehlot in the Rajasthan Congress, a new crisis arose in front of the party. In this difficult time, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi has remembered troubleshooter AK Antony. AK Antony, who has retired from politics, was summoned by the high command on Tuesday. People aware of the development said the senior leader would leave for Delhi from Kerala this evening. He will meet party president Sonia Gandhi tonight. Antony, the 81-year-old former Defense Minister and Chief Minister, returned to the state in March this year after saying goodbye to electoral politics and Parliament. Antony is one of the tallest leaders of the party. Due to his clean image, other party leaders also respect him a lot. Also Read: Is Sonia Gandhi Miles away from REALITY? Congress desperately MISSES persons like Makhanlal Fotedar and Ahmed Patel amid Rajasthan crisis MLAs supporting Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had threatened to collectively resign if Sachin Pilot was made the Chief Minister. Both party observers, Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken, will submit their written reports to party president Sonia Gandhi regarding the crisis in the Rajasthan unit of the Congress. Sources say that on the basis of this report, action can be taken against some leaders believed to be loyal to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for 'indiscipline'. This entire development in Rajasthan has put a question mark on Gehlot contesting for the post of Congress President. Now there is speculation about Kamal Nath, Digvijay Singh, Mukul Wasnik, Kharge, Kumari Selja and a few other names. However, Kamal Nath said that he is not interested in the post of president. New Delhi: After the Rajasthan political crisis and rebellion by CM Ashok Gehlot's MLAs, the Congress top leadership including Sonia Gandhi is reportedly 'not happy' with the internal conflict in the state government. Earlier, Gehlot was the chief candidate for the party president position, his chances seem low. Who are the likely candidates for Congress party president? As per Congress sources, Ashok Gehlot is being ruled out from the Congress' president post and it is likely that Kumari Selja could be considered for the top post while Rahul Gandhi's choice is said to be K.C. Venugopal. Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath refuses party president post However, no final decision has been made yet and Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath who met Sonia Gandhi on Monday said that he doesn`t want to become the party president and wants to continue to work for the party in Madhya Pradesh. Also Read: 'I would be on posts for 40 years if....': Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot's BIG statement ahead of key meeting "I want to remain in MP," Kamal Nath, a former Chief Minister of the state, told IANS. Escalating drama in Rajasthan made Congress turn to 'Plan B' The escalating drama in Rajasthan has made the Congress leadership think about a plan B for the top party post, for which Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was being seen as a contender. Kamal Nath, who was one of the probables, has ruled out himself and now the party has limited options with Mukul Wasnik and Mallikarjun Kharge, but the time is running out as the election process has started and September 30 is the last day of nomination. The party was left red-faced as the Congress Legislature Party in Jaipur on Sunday to decide Gehlot`s successor had to be called off after his supporting MLAs came out strongly against Sachin Pilot succeeding him. Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi has sought a detailed report from state in-charge Ajay Maken, following a meeting held at her residence on Monday with Maken, senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal. Sonia Gandhi demands report on Rajasthan crisis AICC observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken are set to submit a written report to Congress President Sonia Gandhi on the revolt in Rajasthan. Kharge and Maken, who were sent as observers to Jaipur for a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, briefed Gandhi after their return to Delhi and termed the parallel meet held by Gehlot loyalists as "indiscipline". Tharoor says Gandhi family has no issues with him contesting party polls Congress MP Shashi Tharoor who is also eyeing the party president post earlier defended himself against claims that he wasn't receiving support from the top leadership. Speaking about the same, he had said that the Gandhi family has no issues with him contesting for the party president's post. (With agency inputs) New Delhi: Amid the ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday reached Delhi from Jaipur, but the reason for his arrival has not yet been disclosed. Earlier, Pilot denied media reports stating that he told the party high command that Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot should not remain in office if he decides to contest the party presidential poll. It was earlier reported quoting the sources that Pilot had told the high command that it was his responsibility to bring the MLAs together. Refuting the reports, the Congress leader said that he had spoken neither with the party`s high command nor with Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot. "Am afraid this is false news being reported"," he tweeted. Notably, Pilot is being seen as the successor of Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan which is engulfed by a political crisis triggered apparently by Gehlot agreeing to file his nomination in the Congress presidential polls and wanting a successor of his choice as CM in Rajasthan. Also Read: As Gehlot vs Pilot's tug of war continues, here's a look at key actors in Rajasthan's political drama With party observers slamming some actions of loyalists of Chief Minister Gehlot, sources said the decision on issuing show cause notices to miffed MLAs, who have been vocal in public, will be taken after interim party Chief Sonia Gandhi looks into the report by the observers sent to the state. However, nominations for the post of Congress president poll have been collected by Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and AICC treasurer Pawan Bansal, but Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has not done so yet, said the party`s central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry on Tuesday. Gehlot is likely to file his nominations for the polls on September 28, while Tharoor is expected to file his nomination on September 30. The election will be held on October 17, the result will be declared on October 19. Meerut: Amid the ongoing investigation into the alleged murder of a 19-year-old girl Ankita Bhandari, a former employee of the Vanantara resort in Rishikesh, which is owned by Pulkit Arya, has made explosive revelations that the place was notorious for prostitution and drugs abuse. According to news agency ANI, the unidentified former staff at also revealed that Pulkit Arya, who is the son of BJP leader Vinod Arya, used to misbehave with women. 'Drugs and prostitution at the resort' "I joined Vanantara resort in Rishikesh this May but left my job there in July. Ankit Gupta (accused) and Pulkit Arya (the main accused) misbehaved and verbally abused girls. They used to bring girls and many VIPs also used to come there," the former employee disclosed. Another former staffer of the resort has told the police that "Pulkit Arya used to bring girls here from outside to 'please' the guests.'' She and her husband used to work at the resort but later fled the place to save their lives after being tortured like Ankita. She further claimed that Pulkit Arya used to keep the staff trapped in his clutches, due to which it was very difficult to get out. They also claimed that Pulkit Arya had good relations with a local Patwari who used to visit the resort very often. They also informed that Pulkit`s wife was fully aware of his wrongdoings and she constantly opposed them. Ankita Bhandari murder Pulkit Arya is among the prime accused arrested by the police for the teen`s murder. The matter came to light after the body of Ankita Bhandari was recovered from a canal in Uttrakhand. She was a former employee at the resort in Rishikesh. Ankita Bhandaris body was recovered from the Chilla Canal in Rishikesh on September 24. Three persons, including Pulkit Arya, the son of expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya and his friends identified as Ankit and Saurabh Bhaskar- manager at Pulkit`s resort, were arrested on September 23 after they confessed to having pushed Ankita into the canal following an altercation. DGP Ashok Kumar and DIG P Renuka Devi said the property (Vanantara resort), owned by Pulkit Arya was sealed after conducting a detailed videography on Thursday. "We have secured all the evidence," said the police officers. Uttarakhand| We're analysing all the evidence. Postmortem report has been received.We'll record the statements of women who worked at the resort.2 cars used in crime recovered.We'll apply for PC of accused for interrogation:DIG PR Devi,SIT In-charge of Ankita Bhandari murder case pic.twitter.com/eNJTuTOATl September 27, 2022 Ankita Bhandari's post-mortem report The post-mortem report of Ankita Bhandari, who was allegedly killed by Pulkit Arya, suggested that she died because of suffocation and drowning in water. The post-mortem of Ankita`s body has been done by a panel of four doctors of AIIMS Rishikesh. The detailed post-mortem report was received by the SIT on Monday evening. Last rites amid protests in Rishikesh The last rites of Ankita Bhandari were performed at the NIT ghat in Srinagar at Pauri Garwhal on September 25. Protestors blocked for over seven hours the Badrinath-Rishikesh highway outside the mortuary where Ankita Bhandari`s father arrived to take her body for last rites. Previously angry locals even set on fire the resort where Ankita worked. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had earlier said, "We took immediate action, culprits are behind the bars. Their illegal properties were demolished too. We`ll ensure SIT probe is done from every angle. We`ll also try that case is expedited in a fast-track court." Dehradun: Kerala Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday lashed out at the BJP government in Uttarakhand citing the murder of 19-year-old girl Ankita Bhandari at a resort in Rishikesh owned by expelled BJP leader Vinod Aryas son Pulkit Arya, who is also a prime suspect in the case. "Imagine this - a leader of the BJP owns a hotel and his son is forcing a girl to become a prostitute... and when she refused to become a prostitute, she was found dead in a lake," Rahul Gandhi said. #WATCH | The only reason she is dead is, that she refused to become a prostitute, says Congress MP Rahul Gandhi speaks on Ankita Bhandari murder case, slams BJP govt in Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/at6F37kGNm ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2022 "That is the way the BJP treats women in India. And what did the Chief Minister do? They destroyed the hotel so nothing can be found. This is the ideology of the BJP. Women are second-class citizens to them. And India can never succeed with this ideology," he said during a press conference. 'Drugs and prostitution at the resort' Earlier this morning, two former employees of the Vanantara Resort, made explosive revelations that the place was notorious for prostitution and drugs abuse. According to news agency ANI, the unidentified former staff also revealed that Pulkit Arya, who is the son of BJP leader Vinod Arya, used to misbehave with women. "I joined Vanantara resort in Rishikesh this May but left my job there in July. Ankit Gupta (accused) and Pulkit Arya (the main accused) misbehaved and verbally abused girls. They used to bring girls and many VIPs also used to come there," the former employee disclosed. Another former staffer of the resort told the police that "Pulkit Arya used to bring girls here from outside to 'please' the guests.'' She and her husband used to work at the resort but later fled the place to save their lives after being tortured like Ankita. She further claimed that Pulkit Arya used to keep the staff trapped in his clutches, due to which it was very difficult to get out. They also claimed that Pulkit Arya had good relations with a local Patwari who used to visit the resort very often. They also informed that Pulkit`s wife was fully aware of his wrongdoings and she constantly opposed them. The body of Ankita Bhandari (19), who worked at the Vanantara resort in Uttarakhand's Pauri district, was found in the Cheela canal close to Rishikesh on Saturday, six days after her parents reported her missing. She was allegedly killed by Pulkit Arya, resort owner and former BJP leader and state minister Vinod Arya's son, and two other employees when she resisted their attempts to offer "special services" to customers. Congress questions PM Modi's silence Meanwhile, Congress also questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all BJP leaders on the murder of the 19-year-old receptionist at the resort in Uttarakhand. Addressing a press conference, state Congress president Karan Mahara questioned the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the case and said the party does not have faith in the police investigation. "It is very shameful. Today, the prime minister, women leaders of the BJP and the entire BJP organisation have been exposed. While the Congress and other parties are protesting against the incident across the state, the BJP, its allies and women leaders are nowhere to be found," he said. On the SIT set up by the state government to probe the case, the Congress leader said police officials are shaking hands with the father of the main accused in the case and talking to him. It can be understood from this how much pressure must be there on the SIT. He said the delay on the part of the police in registering a missing complaint and in seeking remand of the accused even after arresting them raises doubts. Mahara alleged that the resort owned by Pulkit Arya was bulldozed to destroy evidence. Which VIP is the government trying to save, he asked. Ankita Bhandari's post-mortem report The post-mortem report of Ankita Bhandari, who was allegedly killed by Pulkit Arya, suggested that she died because of suffocation and drowning in water. The post-mortem of Ankita`s body was done by a panel of four doctors of AIIMS Rishikesh. The detailed post-mortem report was received by the SIT on Monday evening. Last rites amid protests in Rishikesh The last rites of Ankita Bhandari were performed at the NIT ghat in Srinagar at Pauri Garwhal on September 25. Protestors blocked for over seven hours the Badrinath-Rishikesh highway outside the mortuary where Ankita Bhandari`s father arrived to take her body for last rites. Previously angry locals even set on fire the resort where Ankita worked. New Delhi: Amid the Rajasthan crisis, interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi has decided to maintain the status quo in the state till the nomination process for party chief polls is over. The political drama in Rajasthan has made the Congress leadership think about a plan B for the top party post, for which Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was being seen as a contender. Since Kamal Nath has ruled out opting for the top post, the party has now options like Mukul Wasnik, Mallikarjun Kharge or Kumari Selja, etc. The election process has started and September 30 is the last day of nomination. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, a frontrunner for the party's top post just days ago, is now out of the race. Congress sources told IANS that Gehlot was being ruled out from the Congress` president and it is likely that Kumari Selja from Haryana could be considered for the top post. Rahul Gandhi`s choice, however, is said to be KC Venugopal. Earlier, Gehlot loyalist Shanti Kumar Dhariwal accused Ajay Maken, AICC in-charge for Rajasthan, of being involved in a conspiracy to remove Ashok Gehlot as chief minister and alleged he was canvassing for Pilot. The MLAs favouring Gehlot indicated that they were against the appointment of Sachin Pilot, who led a rebellion against Gehlot in 2020, to the CM post. Notably, Kharge and Maken are likely to submit their report to Sonia Gandhi about the crisis in the party's state unit by Wednesday. Amid the ongoing political drama in Rajasthan, here are the top developments. 1- Amid open rebellion by MLAs close to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress President Sonia Gandhi had on Monday sought a written report on the revolt in Rajasthan from party observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken as the chances of Ashok Gehlot becoming the party chief receded and other names cropped up for the post. 2- Kharge and Maken, who were sent as observers to Jaipur for a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, briefed Gandhi after their return to Delhi and termed the parallel meet held by Gehlot loyalists as "indiscipline". These two leaders are expected to recommend disciplinary action against those behind the move, including minister Shanti Dhariwal and Rajasthan Congress chief whip Mahesh Joshi. 3- In an apparent bid to put pressure on the central leadership to pick someone from the Gehlot camp as CM if the veteran leader is elected the party president, Ashok Gehlot loyalists submitted resignation letters to Assembly Speaker C P Joshi on Sunday evening. They indicated that they were against the appointment of Sachin Pilot, who led a rebellion against Gehlot in 2020, to the post. 4- Gehlot loyalist Dhariwal on Monday accused Ajay Maken, AICC in-charge for Rajasthan, of being involved in a conspiracy to remove Gehlot as chief minister and alleged he was canvassing for Pilot. 5- After a nearly one and a half hour-long meeting with Gandhi, Maken told reporters on Monday that it was "unfortunate" that the CLP meet could not be held. AICC General Secretary-Organisation K C Venugopal was also present during the meeting with Gandhi. Accusing the MLAs in the Gehlot camp of "indiscipline", Maken said their demand for setting conditions for a resolution authorising the party president to pick the next chief minister was a "conflict of interest". 6- Adding to the turmoil, Congress chief whip in Rajasthan Assembly Mahesh Joshi said the party MLAs have no objection to whoever is made the chief minister, but the final decision of the high command should be agreeable to them, adding "The doubts of the MLAs should be cleared by the high command and then whatever decision is taken will be accepted. We do not have any objection if anyone is made the chief minister but the final decision should have consensus." 7- Congress sources said 82 MLAs loyal to Gehlot are likely to hold another meeting to decide their next course of action. They say they want someone who stood with the Congress government during the political crisis in Rajasthan in 2020 to be the next CM. In July 2020, Sachin Pilot and 18 other party MLAs had rebelled against Gehlot's leadership. The Congress has 108 MLAs in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly. 8- In the latest developments, Congress treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal has taken a nomination form from the party`s Central Election Authority, sources told IANS on Tuesday. It was, however, not clear whether he will file the nomination or not. Madhusudan Mistry, Chairman of the CEA said, "Till now Tharoor and Pawan Bansal have taken the nomination forms from CEA." 9- In the current scenario, Ashok Gehlot now has a few options before him. Firstly, he can officially withdraw from the Congress presidential race and stay on as the chief minister of Rajasthan. Secondly, he can contest the election to choose the Congress chief after getting a consensus candidate of his choice in Rajasthan to take over if he does become the party chief. 10- Amid the crisis in the Congress camp in Rajasthan, BJP has adopted the wait and watch policy while underlining the doors of the party are open for former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot. Both the state`s BJP unit president and Deputy Leader of Opposition submitted that the Speaker should have accepted the resignations being given by several MLAs loyal to Ashok Gehlot over a possible move to appoint Sachin Pilot as the next CM. (With PTI/IANS Inputs) New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday (September 27, 2022) moved a confidence motion in the state assembly and slammed Opposition Congress for supporting Bharatiya Janata Party's "Operation Lotus". "Three crore people of Punjab have faith in us," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said after moving a confidence motion in the state Assembly. "I have full faith in my 91 soldiers (AAP MLAs)," he added. The CM tabled the motion of confidence, but two BJP MLAs -- Ashwani Sharma and Jangi Lal Mahajan -- had earlier walked out of the House after Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan announced that Mann would move the confidence motion. "Congress supporting "Operation Lotus", its MLAs ran away from discussion," the Punjab CM alleged. He added that the grand old party is in such a situation that nobody wants to take over as its president. Mann also hit out at the saffron party and said that it feels only they should be in power everywhere. Arvind Kejriwal's AAP had recently claimed that at least 10 of its MLAs were approached by the BJP with an offer of Rs 25 crore to each of them in a bid to topple the six-month-old government under its "Operation Lotus". The AAP government in Punjab had earlier sought the special session on September 22 to bring a confidence motion, days after it accused the BJP of trying to topple its government. Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, however, withdrew the permission to hold a special session on September 22 when the AAP government wanted to bring "only a confidence motion". On Sunday, Purohit then approved the state government's request to convene the House on September 27 after it informed him that issues like stubble burning, Goods and Services Tax and power supply will be taken up during the one-day session of the assembly. (With agency inputs) Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll can remember a time when new peace officers could receive their basic training in Flagstaff. He attended the Flagstaff Police Academy in 1974 when it was located at the National Guard Armory. Years later, the Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training Board (AZ Post) would move to the Valley, and a lot of the remote academies including the one in Flagstaff, went away for a time. Most sworn officers since have been trained in other parts of the state, with the nearest academy located in Prescott. Now, thanks to a partnership between Coconino Community College, the Sheriffs Office, Northern Arizona Universitys Police Department and Flagstaff Police Department, things are about to change. There are 13 students enrolled in High Country Training Academy -- Flagstaffs first local police academy in decades. Classes start in less than a week, and law enforcement leadership is hopeful this will be a major turning point for the future of policing in the area. For one thing, keeping recruits in Flagstaff for their 20+ week training will save local police and sheriffs departments a pretty significant chunk of money. Flagstaff Police Chief Dan Musselman estimated it costs roughly $10,000 to send an officer-to-be to academy in other parts of the state. Its a better financial deal for our department and it keeps our people here. Right now we send our new deputies to Yuma, to Lake Havasu, to Prescott for their training, and thats 21 or 22 weeks. Now were able to keep them here and provide that same level of professional training that they need to become police officers, Driscoll said. Its going to save us money. Its going to save the taxpayers money by providing that training here locally. Recruited officers dont pay for academy themselves; the agency that hires them does. Every recruit hired by Flagstaff Police Department, for instance, has their tuition paid by FPD. The department also pays the officer a per diem, and, according to Musselman, covers the cost of their lodging. That can mean recruits living in a VRBO or vacation rental, and spending weeks away from support systems. In addition to cost savings, the local academy will keep students close to their families, and officers say that is a priceless benefit. They can still go home and help make dinner, help with the kids," Musselman said. "Weve all been struggling with recruiting. Maybe theres people who have discounted opportunities here because they cant go away for 20 weeks. Proximity is key. Instructors at CCCs new Police Academy will take time off their beats at the Sheriffs Office, NAUPD and FPD to share their skills and provide training to recruits. Officials say that means theres potential for officers-in-training to connect with local mentors, and make connections during their coursework that theyll use when theyre out on patrol. When things happen that are of a critical size, some of the partnerships that help our agencies work smoothly together, begin at academy, Musselman said. As an academy instructor, Sgt. Nick Jacobellis with the Flagstaff Police Department hopes to instill in each recruit levels of respect, professionalism and an understanding of the value of teamwork. On top of that, Musselman emphasized that students will be taught stress management techniques as they learn to respond with professionalism under pressure. Local instructors have the ability to tailor the instruction a bit, helping students understand some of the situations theyll likely face on the force in northern Arizona specifically. Thats a good thing because Flagstaff is unique in many ways around Arizona. Because of the wide variety of communities that we have the Navajo Nation, along with several other tribal reservations around, and Flagstaff too with the university and the amount of tourism we have, Driscoll said. We can tailor the training of our officers more to meet those needs than we would if we send them 200 miles away to some other community for training. The curriculum is approved and accredited by AZ Post, which requires that each recruit receive 663 hours of training before graduation. In Flagstaff, recruits will receive 832 hours of training over the course of 21 weeks. We want this academy to be exceptional, not minimal, Jacobellis said. Some of those additional training hours will be focused on cultural sensitivity, and other topics that are relevant to policing in Flagstaff and northern Arizona. County Manager Steve Peru said he hopes the police academy will be able "to create a culture of the profession thats unique to the region. There will be room for 24 recruits in each graduating class, with instruction cycles starting in October and April. The schedule is intentionally set up so that it wont overlap with other AZ Post Academies in places like Yavapai or Pima County. Class will start at 7 a.m. on Monday, and let out at 5 p.m. four days a week. In a few days, recruits will pour into two main classrooms on Coconino Community Colleges Lone Tree Campus. The first is a grey-carpeted lecture hall, with bright orange-gold paint on the walls, long tables, and all the trappings youd expect in a classroom devoted to higher education. In the next room over, youve got to watch your step. The floor is higher, padded by a forest green shock-absorbing training mat. There are red lockers in one corner, and a line of punching bags and dummies against the wall. Here, recruits will receive more hands-on, practical training. The forested trails around the campus will also be utilized CCCs squirrel population will soon grow accustomed to classes of officers-in-training jogging or running under the trees in the afternoons. The two classrooms, officials hope, are just a launch pad -- not just for the careers of up-and-coming officers, but for a long-planned comprehensive law enforcement academy. CCC has worked with the Sheriffs Office to train detention officers since 2005. Now, theyre expanding to train police and deputies to AZ Post Standards. Eventually, there are plans to launch a Joint Training Facility an all-in-one peace officer and first responder academy. In the future, CCC also hopes to make academy coursework fully accredited, providing 24 credits toward a degree program. CCC interim president Christal Albrecht said shes hoping to approach the state legislature to move forward with funding for fire, police, and other academies, and invited officials at northern Arizonas law enforcement agencies to provide input on the development process. New Delhi: In a surprise move, Bhopal Collector Avinash Lavania ordered that people would require to show ID proof before entering any Garba events in the city. According to reports, this is the first time the administration has made proof of identity mandatory before Garba events. Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh Narottam Mishra said, "It has been made necessary to show identity card on admission so that there is no untoward situation in garba events." Earlier, MP minister for Tourism and Culture Usha Thakur had stated that no one must be permitted into Garba pandals without ID cards. Thakur alleged that Garba events had become a hub of love jihad and that people must show their ID cards so they won't be able to conceal their identity. Also Read: Here are the day-wise 9 colours and foods for Navratri 2022 Commenting on this statement, the Congress social media media department chairman K K Mishra said, "With elections approaching, these kinds of statements are being given intentionally. The love jihad allegation levelled by minister is humiliation of Hindus and Hindu religion. Be it Usha Thakur or any other BJP leader, such statements are coldly calculated and purposeful defamation of Hindus and Hindutva.. This is a way of creating unrest and fear between communities." However, the BJP had defended the idea citing the security threats from the 'Popular Front of India'. Jaipur: Amid an ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan, state minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas alleged on Tuesday that the BJP has again started hatching a conspiracy to topple the Congress government. On the other hand, another minister, Rajendra Singh Gudha, once again endorsed senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot's name for the chief minister's post. "ED, income tax department, CBI officials are sitting in Rajasthan. BJP's game has started. BJP is again engaged in a conspiracy to topple the Rajasthan government," Khachariyawas told reporters in Jaipur. He said whatever decision the Congress high-command takes as regards the latest political developments in the state will be acceptable to all. The Congress in Rajasthan plunged into a crisis on Sunday as several MLAs loyal to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot resigned over a possible move to appoint Pilot as Gehlot's successor, their rebellion erupting just ahead of a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting. Upset over the open rebellion, Congress president Sonia Gandhi sought a written report on it from party observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken on Monday as the chances of Gehlot becoming the party chief receded and other names cropped up for the post. Khachariyawas said the views of the MLAs should be heard. Also Read: Amid crisis in Rajasthan Congress, Sachin Pilot arrives in Delhi "We have faith in the party leadership. Every Congress worker in the country considers Sonia Gandhi like his mother. A mother always does justice," he added. Replying to a question on why the Gehlot loyalists held a parallel meeting instead of attending the CLP meet, Khachariyawas said they were not happy when they came to know that someone from the 19 people who had rebelled against Gehlot in 2020 was going to be the chief minister and they submitted their resignation to Assembly Speaker CP Joshi. "Still, whatever our in-charge, leadership, Ashok Gehlotji will decide, we will accept," he added. The CLP meeting was to be held at the chief minister's residence on Sunday night but the MLAs loyal to Gehlot did not attend it. They held a parallel meeting at Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal's bungalow here and then went to meet the speaker to submit their resignation letters to him. New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi along with party leaders and workers resume the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' on Day 20 from Kerala's Malappuram district. The yatra commenced from Pulamanthole junction in this northern district of Kerala on Tuesday morning after it had ended for the day on Monday at Koppam in Palakkad district. The Wayanad MP is likely to interact with farmers later in the day, said a PTI report. AICC general secretary in charge communications Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "Day 20 sees entry of #BharatJodoYatra into Malappuram district over a beautifully decorated bridge. It'll be a 14km walk this morning and in the afternoon @RahulGandhi will interact with farmers from adjoining areas. The weather is cool so far and the surroundings are picturesque." Day 20 sees entry of #BharatJodoYatra into Malappuram district over a beautifully decorated bridge. Itll be a 14km walk this morning and in the afternoon @RahulGandhi will interact with farmers from adjoining areas. The weather is cool so far and the surroundings are picturesque pic.twitter.com/JE7g8isNs8 Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 27, 2022 In Palakkad district on Monday evening, the Bharat Jodo Yatra completed 19 days and 419 kilometres. Rahul Gandhi said the foot march is against injustices like waiving off debts running into billions owed by rich businessmen while farmers or small traders are punished for loan defaults. BJP govt favouring a few rich businessmen: Rahul Gandhi In his speech at the end of the day's yatra in Koppam here, Gandhi said the BJP government at the Centre was favouring a few rich businessmen by waiving off their debts, while the same consideration was not being shown to the farmers, small traders and other businessmen. The MP from Wayanad also tweeted about it in Hindi, saying: "Today billions of loans of big industrialists are being waived. But, if a farmer or small trader is unable to repay even a small loan, then he is put in jail by calling a 'defaulter'. Bharat Jodo Yatra is against every injustice. The country will not accept this 'two Hindustan' version of the king." Addressing a huge crowd of people who had turned up to see him at Koppam, Gandhi said that while buying LPG cylinders or filling fuel in their vehicles, people should question where the extra amount they are being charged was going, adding "Money does not disappear... It is going into the pockets of five or six of the richest businessmen in the country. We will not accept this unfairness." Earlier in the day, AICC general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "Day 19 of #BharatJodoYatra ends at Koppam. Fantastic response! Yatris walked 22 kms today. Container site is compact but lovely. 419 kms completed. 2.5 days more in Kerala, which has been electrified by @RahulGandhi. Whatever the news elsewhere, only #BharatJodoYatra matters!" Day 19 of #BharatJodoYatra ends at Koppam. Fantastic response! Yatris walked 22 kms today. Container site is compact but lovely. 419 kms completed. 2.5 days more in Kerala, which has been electrified by @RahulGandhi. Whatever the news elsewhere, only #BharatJodoYatra matters! pic.twitter.com/U5hOjRtEmW Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 26, 2022 During the morning session of the yatra, hundreds of people waited on both sides of the road to meet Gandhi. A group of young girls presented the Congress leader with a framed drawing of himself. "Couldn't have asked for a better start to the Padyatra. The young minds are coming out in large numbers to bless @RahulGandhi Ji and all the Padyatris. We owe them a brighter future. Towards achieving our goal. #BharatJodoYatra," the party said in a tweet along with a photo of the young girls holding Gandhi's drawing. India will see Congress Mukt Bharat when Rahul Gandhi reaches Kashmir: BJP leader BJP leader and Assam Minister Pijush Hazarika took a dig at Rahul Gandhi`s Bharat Jodo Yatra, saying that by the time the Congress leader will reach Kashmir, India will see a Congress Mukt Bharat. Hazarika`s remark came on Monday while he was responding to the clash between two groups of Congress workers during a meeting held at Rajiv Bhawan in Assam`s Dhubri district. "Looks like by the time he (Rahul Gandhi) reaches Kashmir, India will see a Congress Mukt Bharat," Hazarika said in a tweet while sharing a news clip of the clash. A clash between two groups of Congress workers broke out on Monday during a meeting to discuss the Bharat Jodo Yatra at Rajiv Bhawan in Assam`s Dhubri district. The incident happened in the presence of some leaders of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee. A meeting was organized at Rajiv Bhawan, Dhubri to discuss the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Assam slated for November 1. The local leaders dismissed the claims of any division within the party and said that some misconceptions prevailed. "The Dhubri District Congress is not divided, we are united. But there are some misconceptions. We don`t have any division over Bharat Jodo Yatra. During the discussion on Bharat Jodo Yatra, Assam, a group raised their allegations against the district president. Today`s meeting is not the right place to raise such things. When they raised their issues some of our party workers opposed it and some untoward situations happened," said Congress MLA, Wazed Ali Choudhury. It may be noted that the Congress' 3,570 km and 150-day long foot march started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 and will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir. The yatra, which entered Kerala on September 10, will go through the state covering 450 km, touching seven districts in 19 days before entering Karnataka on October 1. Notably, the open rebellion by MLAs close to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has put a question mark on whether he would still run for the Congress president's post or someone else will replace him as a candidate supported by the current leadership. On Monday, Congress President Sonia Gandhi had sought a written report on the revolt in Rajasthan from party observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken. Kharge and Maken, who were sent as observers to Jaipur for a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, briefed Sonia Gandhi after their return to Delhi and termed the parallel meet held by Gehlot loyalists as "indiscipline." (With PTI/ANI Inputs) History has been made today at Assam's Tezpur Forward Airbase, where a female fighter pilot flew a Sukhoi 30 fighter aircraft for the first time. Flight Lieutenant Tejaswi is India's only woman Weapon System Operator(WSO) on Sukhoi 30 fighter aircraft. The WSOs or wizzos are specialist officers required to fly in the rear cockpit of multirole Su-30 fighter aircraft and handle the sensors and weapons to be fired by the aircraft at enemy targets. Ani Awasthi and A Nain are the pilots of the ALH Mark 3 helicopters. These two women pilots have also carried out many important operations by flying many flights in difficult areas of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. In today's DNA, Zee News' Rohit Ranjan will talk about IAF's first female pilot to fly Sukhoi 30 fighter plane and the growing power of women pilots in Indian Air Force. - .. ... DNA LIVE + ' ' ' DNA + LCH + DART Decoded@irohitr https://t.co/2UJwXw9bjq Zee News (@ZeeNews) September 27, 2022 Similarly, some time ago, Squadron Leaders Parul Bhardwaj and Swati Rathore created history by flying chinook helicopters for the first time. Now women pilots are flying these Chinook helicopters and it is a matter of pride for every Indian. Female pilots have served in the Indian Air Force since the 1990s but then there were allowed to fly only helicopters or transport aircraft. But for the first time in the year 2015, the Air Force planned to train women as fighter pilots, after which in the year 2016, Avani Chaturvedi, Mohana Singh and Bhawana Kanth started training to become fighter pilots. In 2018, Avani Chaturvedi created history by flying a MiG 21 Bison aircraft alone. She also has the distinction of becoming India's first woman fighter pilot. The Indian Air Force has more than 1300 female officers working in ground and air duties. Today, women pilots in India are giving a message to the whole world that the women of India not only can touch the sky but also dare to wreak havoc on the enemy from the sky if needed. Please watch tonight's special edition of DNA for more in-depth information and other details. New Delhi: In a huge setback to the Uddhav Thackeray camp, the Supreme Court after a day-long hearing on Tuesday declined to stop the Election Commission from deciding the legitimacy of the Eknath Shinde factions claim to be the real Shiv Sena. A five-judge constitution bench, headed by Justice DY Chandrachud, said there will be no stay on proceedings before the EC to decide the intra-party dispute in Shiv Sena between Uddhav Thackeray and the faction led by chief minister Eknath Shinde, on which one is the original party and also on getting the party symbol. Supreme Court declines to stay the proceedings before the Election Commission of India on Shinde group's claim for recognition as 'real' Shiv Sena. Court rejects plea of Uddhav Thackeray group seeking stay on proceedings before the Election Commission. ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2022 The bench - also comprising Justices M R Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli, and P S Narasimha -- declined to entertain a plea by the Thackeray faction that EC should not be allowed to proceed in the matter till the apex court decides the plea pertaining to disqualification of Shiv Sena MLAs. "We direct that there would be no stay of the proceedings before the Election Commission of India," the five-judge constitution bench said. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Thackeray faction, submitted before the bench that Shinde cannot move the EC, once he has incurred disqualification. Justice Chandrachud noted that the mere fact a reference has been made does not stall a constitutional body from deciding if it has the power to decide under the law. We respect the Supreme Court's decision. It has said EC can give its decision...It's not a question of setback: Arvind Sawant, Shiv Sena MP (Thackeray faction) As for disqualification, the case will continue in Supreme Court, he adds. pic.twitter.com/MSoUnoeSDP ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2022 The bench noted that Thackeray`s faction contended that the proceedings before the EC is the offshoot of the petitions before it and so it should not go on. Sibal argued that Shinde wants to go to the EC and say that his faction is the political party, but much before that his membership to the party is in question in these proceedings, which have to be decided first. The Thackeray faction moved the apex court seeking a stay on EC`s proceedings on Eknath Shinde-faction`s plea for recognition as areal` Shiv Sena. During the hearing, the bench noted that the political party is a much wider configuration than the legislative unit of that party which consists of the elected members. It further queried if the dispute in relation to the former in the legislative unit affects the authority of the EC. The apex court heard arguments from the lawyers of both factions, and also the submission of counsel of the EC. (With Agency Inputs) New Delhi: Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday (September 26, 2022) visited Zunheboto, a small district town in Nagaland, becoming the first Union Minister to do so in a span of four decades. Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, is on a three-day tour of Nagaland and reached the hilly town after a nine-hour journey by road from Dimapur. He met Zunheboto district administration officials and asked them to develop a district skill development plan that maps local aspirations and creates opportunities for jobs and entrepreneurships. Visited #Zunheboto,a small town in #Nagaland Was told that I am the 1st Union Minister in 4 decades to be here Had a review meet with Dist officials n discussed imp of making a Dist Skill Dvpmnt plan that maps local aspirations & creates opportunities for jobs n entrepreneurship pic.twitter.com/wvDlNO8xHo September 26, 2022 "The Minister also reviewed the implementation of Central government schemes and urged the functionaries to work zealously until the last mile is covered, every voice is heard and every grievance is addressed as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said in a statement. "On such occasions, I feel truly proud and privileged to be a minister in the Modi government - playing a small role in his vision of transforming lives - Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas," he said in a tweet. Addressed the members of Lotha community at Longsa village, Dist #Wokha , #Nagaland Spoke about how PM @narendramodi ji is building #NewIndia with reimagined ambitions - driven by the vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas #RCInNagaland pic.twitter.com/k6XM5omy72 Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@Rajeev_GoI) September 26, 2022 Chandrasekhar also offered his prayers at the Sumi Baptist Church in Zunheboto, which is known as the largest Baptist church in Asia. Congress is badly caught in the political storm of Rajasthan. The party high command's attempt to change the Chief Minister in the state before the Assembly elections slated for next year hangs in the balance. Speculations are that Sonia Gandhi wants Sachin Pilot to be the chief minister but resignations of more than 90 MLAs of the Ashok Gehlot faction to Assembly Speaker CP Joshi scuttled her move. The MLAs who submitted their resignation neither want Sachin Pilot in the CM's nor ready to accept any leader of his faction at the helm of the affair. Congress High Command in Action The Congress high command sent Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge from Delhi to Jaipur with an offer to authorize Sonia Gandhi to decide the CM of Rajasthan, but they could not even hold a meeting of the legislature party there. Failing to persuade the MLAs, Maken and Kharge return to Delhi and hold discussions with Sonia Gandhi, who has asked them to submit a written report. But it is being said that the Gehlot episode is causing a lot of disgrace to the Congress high command. One Person One Post It was believed that in the Udaipur session of the Congress, Ashok Gehlot would be made the party president while implementing the proposal of 'one person one post' in the party and the chief minister's chair would be given to Sachin Pilot. But due to the attitude of the pro-Gehlot MLAs, this change does not seem easy at the moment. In fact, in Rajasthan, there has been a tug of war between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot over the chief minister's chair. Ashok Gehlot does not want to see Pilot occupying his chair at any cost. Rahul Accepts Sachin Pilot's Demand In the year 2020, Sachin Pilot camped in Haryana along with his supporting MLAs to emphasize the demand for being CM. Then Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi accepted many of his conditions and got him back into his party. Now, amidst the news of Gehlot contesting the election for the post of Congress President, there was a discussion once again about the power of Rajasthan going into the hands of Pilot, and the Congress had once again come into a state of confusion. The Big Question The big question is, has the Congress high command not been able to sense this situation? Did they lack experience or was the homework not done properly? After analyzing the situation, the following points come to mind. The Congress high command has been proving to be a novice in many matters. There is no person like Ahmed Patel in the party at this time. Congress is desperately missing a political crisis manager. The party needs such a person who has understanding as well as the ability to handle internal threats. The inexperience of the Congress leadership is creating major problems. The situation in Congress that was 20 years ago is no longer here now. Congress needs a leadership that is experienced, is aware of the ground realities, can instill the confidence of the workers to win. Miles Away From Reality The top leadership must have been aware of the conflict between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot. So why didn't he do his homework? Why did they allow this situation to happen? They should have called both of them to Delhi earlier. Should have talked to MLAs from both sides. Instead of this, they send Kharge and Maken to Jaipur. Like once Indira Gandhi used to send Makhanlal Fotedar. Congress should understand that the days are gone when it used to have a thumping majority. Today this party has 53 MPs left. Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot have an old rivalry in Rajasthan. Why didn't the party try to solve it? Had the matter been resolved, then today such a situation would not have arisen. Position of High Command The person about whom the Congress high command thinks that he is fit to be the president of the party is not listening to the top leadership. What would be a bigger tragedy for the Congress than this? This also raises questions about the supremacy of Sonia Gandhi in the party. Gehlot did not even allow Ajay Maken and Kharge to meet Congress MLAs one by one. He was told that the MLAs would meet in groups. Maken may have termed it indiscipline. But this proves what the position of the high command is at present. Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir police in a joing operation with Indian Army and CRPF have killed one terrorist affiliated with Jaish-e-Muhammad in an encounter in Awhatto village of Kulgam district of South Kashmir. The operation is still going on. An encounter broke out between security forces and two Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorists in Awhatto village of Kulgam district of South Kashmir. A police officer said "On a specific input about the presence of terrorists in the area, a joint team of Police, Indian Army and CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in Awhatto village. "As the joint team of forces approached the suspected spot, the hiding terrorists fired upon the forces, which was retaliated, and an encounter broke out," Officer added. Kashmir zone police also tweeted about the encounter, "01 #terrorist killed. Operation in progress. Further details shall follow". "#Encounter has started at Ahwatoo area of #Kulgam. Police and security forces are on the job. Further details shall follow." Also Read: Pak terrorist with JeM links gunned down by security forces in Kashmir's Kulgam district Earlier on Monday, Abu-Huraira, a Pakistani terrorist affiliated with Jaish-e-Muhammad was killed in Batpora village of Kulgam district in South Kashmir. Meanwhile, one army soldier and two civilians were also injured in the encounter. Security forces have killed 154 terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir this year, including 41 from Pakistan. 20 security personnel and 21 civilians, too have lost their lives. New Delhi: In a shocking case, four people including three women were tortured with hot iron rods and forced to consume excreta and urine by people from Aswari village as they were accused of practicing 'witchcraft' in Jharkhand's Dumka district. Despite being treated in such an inhumane manner, the victims were hesitant to come forward to the police about the torture faced due to embarrassment. The police, after receiving information about the heinous incident, reached the village and took the victims to a hospital for treatment. Also Read: DNA Exclusive: Analysis of superstitions against women in villages According to information, a person named Jyotin Murmu called a meeting of the people of the village on Saturday night. In the meeting, one of the three women - Srilal Murmu`s family was accused of being witches. It was claimed that the animals and children of the village were getting sick due to their witchcraft. After this, about a dozen people armed with sticks and other weapons attacked the victims' house. Three women of the family, Sonamani Tudu, Rasi Murmu, Kosa Tudu as well as Srilal Murmu were brutally thrashed. After this, all four were caught and excreta and urine were forcibly put in their mouths. They were also thrashed with hot iron rods. The victims were reportedly threatened that the entire family would be killed if they reported the incident to the police. On Sunday morning, the victims were thrashed again. Meanwhile, Saraiyahat police station in-charge Vinay Kumar got information about the incident, and a police team was sent to the village. The four people were first admitted to the Saraiyahat Community Health Centre. However, considering their critical condition, they were shifted to Deoghar for further treatment. Raids are being conducted to arrest the attackers, the police said. (With IANS inputs) Donald Wayne Henry, a 51-year old Missouri man, was killed in an officer-involved shooting in Flagstaff on Wednesday, September 7. The investigation into the incident is still ongoing, but it took police less than 24 hours to release body camera footage and a press release about what happened. The footage takes viewers to the corner of North Cummings Street and Highway 89, where a Verizon store sits across the street from a gas station. The clips show Flagstaff police officers and Coconino County Sheriffs Office deputies interacting with Henry near the gas station, giving verbal commands. The footage captures the moment when Henry appears to run directly at a deputy, and the officer uses deadly force. Flagstaff Police Chief Dan Musselman explained the decision to release video captured by officers body cameras. On matters like this, where the public is interested in what happened, I think its good to release it as quickly as possible, he said. Describing what happened in a statement doesnt always fully capture the circumstances. The public can view the body camera footage and make their own judgments, but the officials conducting the internal investigation are focused on a few specific things, Musselman said. Theyll be examining whether or not the officer followed department policy, and whether or not that policy is appropriate. Even if there werent policy violations at the end of the day, is there something we could have done better or different that may have affected the outcome?" Musselman said. "In addition to the internal investigation, usually theres a criminal investigation or an overall review investigation. Thats in this case, thats what the police department is doing, well forward that to the county attorney." After an incident like this one, which the chief calls high liability, low frequency, officers are typically placed on administrative leave for the duration of the internal investigation. During that time, they might need to lean on support systems. It used to be taboo, reaching out for help, but not so much anymore. We understand that officers are people too, with dads, brothers, sisters, moms, and we need help as well when we see bad things, Musselman said. Family support is huge after an officer has been involved in a critical incident, as well as peer support. Usually, theyll get checked on quite a bit by their supervisors their coworkers. Flagstaff Police Department has chaplains available to officers seeking spiritual guidance, all of whom have been on ridealongs with officers, but there is also a psychologist available to them, as well as a critical incident stress management team. The Daily Sun will continue to follow this investigation as more information comes available. Thiruvananthapuram: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda attacked the CPI-M-led Left government in Kerala, saying the state is "becoming a hotspot of terrorism and fringe elements" and "communal tensions are increasing" while inaugurating the BJP district office in Thycaud here on Monday. The BJP chief alleged that the Pinarayi Vijayan government was involved in corruption, adding "The Kerala government is neck deep in corruption. When even the CM office of a state ends up under the ambit of corruption, what else could be more unfortunate about the governance therein? This is how the LDF government is ruining and destroying the state of Kerala." Addressing booth presidents and booth Incharges district level meeting in Kowdiar, Nadda is quoted by ANI as saying, "Kerala is becoming a hotspot of terrorism and fringe elements. Life is not safe, and ordinary citizens not finding themselves to be safe. Communal tensions are mounting. The tacit support to culprits by the left govt is nothing but state-sponsored lawlessness." Nadda further said that the BJP is a structured, cadre-based party that is consistent in its ideology and has a mass following, adding that PM Modi is leaving no stone unturned to uplift each section of society. "We are lucky to be a part of the BJP as we are the only political party with an ideology which started with Jana Sangh in 1950. The implementation of our ideology is reflected by the fact of our stance on Article 370. Our national commitments are undeterred but the aspiration of regional people are never ignored. We are not just a political party, but a party living on the principles of humanity and social service," Nadda said. Stating that the BJP government has always been pro-poor, taking care of the marginalized in every way possible, the BJP chief said, "To save people from hunger during the pandemic, PM Modi started PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana under which 5 kg of wheat/rice and 1 kg of pulses were provided to every eligible person." "It is a proactive and pro-responsive government and an example of the same is the rescue during the Ukraine war. Thousands of Indian students were trapped in the conflict zone and were brought back safely to their homes," he said, adding that the new party office is an infrastructure and in this hardware, "you need to put software". According to Nadda, "Our Karyakartas are software. You need to use this office as Sanskar Kendra. Through this office, you need to give Sanskar to the Karyakartas," alleging that Kerala is entering into a debt trap. "The financial discipline isn`t being maintained due to the policies of the LDF government. This government is synonymous with corruption, and I am sorry to say that the CM office is also involved in it. Not only corruption but there is nepotism in university appointments as people close to CM are being placed. The powers of Lokayukta are being diluted for protecting the CM office which is involved in corruption." In order to give a boost to connectivity in the state, a significant amount of finance is being infused for strengthening the network of National Highways in Kerala, Nadda said, adding "As BJP is the largest political party, we think on all parameters- the Size, Scale and Skill of the party. We have to be well-equipped and enlightened about what can be done in the best of our capacities- for humanity, for the society, and for the people of Kerala." It's 'dynastic policy' in Kerala too, says Nadda The BJP chief tore into CM Pinarayi Vijayan and said the state is looking at a `dynastic policy` and the CM is fully engaged in corruption, adding "The role of the son-in-law, daughter is being seen in Kerala now. Pinarayi Vijayan`s office is fully involved in corruption and what we have heard is the chief minister and his family are involved in gold smuggling too." Nadda, who arrived on a two-day visit to the state, spoke to his party workers at Kottayam on Sunday. Notably, PWD Minister PA Mohammed Riyas is a first-time legislator and the son-in-law of Vijayan. It was in 2020 that Riyas married Vijayan`s daughter Veena Vijayan. It was the second marriage for both, said an IANS report. Riyas was fielded from his home district Kozhikode`s Beypore assembly constituency in the April 2021 assembly polls. He won easily and was made a minister. This had reportedly surprised many and he was given the prime public works department portfolio and also tourism. Since then he has been getting good traction with many saying that he is being groomed for higher things. (With ANI/IANS Inputs) Even MP Navneet Rana could not resist the temptation to perform Garba! Navratri festival has started and Raas Garba has been organized in many places. On the first day, Dandiya was organized by young people. In a video, Navneet Rana is seen dancing on Gujarati songs with young people. Amravati MP Navneet Rana attended the Garba festival in the city. On this occasion, Rana was seen performing garba with the youth. MP Navneet Rana took everyone by surprise with her dance moves. Navneet Rana at Garba Festival Bamboo sticks decorated in colorful patterns are known as dandiyas. The dance performed with these sticks is called Dandiya Dance or Dandiya Raas. Men and women perform this dance in a circle. Women participate in this dance wearing colorful dresses and ornaments. Whereas men wear traditional attire like a turban and dhoti. These dresses are embellished with embroidery using glass pieces, pendants or pearls etc. Dandiya or Dandiya Raas is a folk dance from Gujarat. This group dance is performed during Navratri. Many types of Dandiya are played. Nowadays, Dandiya is played in a simple way by making fusion steps. Navratri festival has started. This year there is going to be a lot of excitement at the nine-day festival. After two years of Corona, this year's Navratri festival is being celebrated without any restrictions. The nine-day Navratri festival begins on Monday. Pandals can already be seen at several places in the city, where idols of Goddess Durga will be installed. After a gap of two years, the festival is likely to be celebrated with Pre-Covid gaiety and enthusiasm.Dandiya- Colourful Bamboo Sticks New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is conducting a second round of raids on Popular Front of India (PFI) outfits across 8 states in the country and around 50 members are reportedly detained by the agency. The investigative agency is raiding PFI premises in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Assam. As per reports, overnight raids were also conducted in Aurangabad and Solapur in Maharashtra. Subsequently, Maharashtra police arrested 13 people in Aurangabad, nabbed 1 suspect from Solapur, and took them to Delhi. Joint raids by a Central agency and Delhi Police are underway at places related to PFI in different parts of the national capital including Nizamuddin, Shaheen Bagh area. More than 4 people detained: Police Sources ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2022 Meanwhile, 18 more PFI's active workers have been arrested by Assam police from Kamrup & Darang districts. Assam | 4 persons linked with PFI detained from the Nagarbera area today. Our operation against PFI is on in many parts of the district: Hiren Nath, ADGP (Special Branch) Assam pic.twitter.com/qTUIEz8PSk ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2022 The NIA raids along with the help of state police & its ATS units are still ongoing in areas in Uttar Pradesh such as Bulandshahr and Meerut. The raids started early Tuesday morning and are currently underway. In Delhi, raids were on in Nizamuddin, Rohini, Jamia, and Shahin Bagh. NIA sources said that a number of people have already been detained in connection. "We are grilling them. As of now no arrest memos have been filed against any of them. They are PFI members. We received fresh inputs after questioning PFI members who were arrested following the September 22 pan-India raids," the sources said. On September 22, more than 105 PFI members were arrested by the NIA and the ED, while some 200 others were detained. Look Out Circulars were also issued against two members of the organisation on Monday. As of now, the NIA is investigating a total of 19 PFI-related cases. The probe agency has said that 46 accused who were earlier arrested were convicted in 2010-11 cases. Around 355 PFI members have already been charge-sheeted by the agency. (With agency inputs) Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) on Tuesday took out processions across the state, urging people to be on guard against the BJP's alleged politics of communalism. In the state capital, JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan and parliamentary board chief Upendra Kushwaha were among those who took part in the 'Satarkata Evam Jagarukta March'. "Ours is a movement aimed at cautioning people against the conspiracy of the BJP. "The BJP has devised a plan to sharpen communal divides so that a sizeable section of population gets galvanized in its favour and help it hold on to power without having accomplished anything while ruling the Centre," Kushwaha told reporters on the occasion. The march commenced by paying tributes to Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar at his statue installed close to Patna High Court premises, from where thousands of JD(U) workers walked to the historic Gandhi Maidan, about a couple of kilometres away. "There is no alternative to Nitish Kumar. He is the very axis of the entire opposition," said JD(U) workers here, who openly pitched for their leader as the next PM though the septuagenarian has asserted many times that he was "not in the race". Also Read: Mission Opposition unity: Nitish Kumar, Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah among key leaders to attend INLD rally Notably, Kumar had pulled the plug on the alliance with the BJP less than two months ago following apprehensions that the saffron party was trying to split the JD(U). The BJP has been crying foul and accusing Kumar of "betrayal" of the mandate of 2020 assembly polls to realise his ambitions. Despite ruling himself out of the race for prime ministership, Kumar has been trying to forge opposition unity which, he believes, can defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. According to the JD(U) state headquarters, processions were taken out in all 38 districts of Bihar. New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath on Monday (September 26, 2022) said that he is "not interested" in contesting the party's presidential poll even as he stepped in to defuse the ongoing crisis in the party's Rajasthan unit. "I have no interest, I have come to Delhi for Navratri," he told reporters when asked if he was not interested in the post of Congress president. The former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, who met Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence in Delhi, is now speculated to play the role of a mediator and try to broker a truce in Rajasthan, which is reeling under a factional feud after a possible leadership change move turned into a full-blown crisis for the grand old party. Sonia Gandhi seeks report on Rajasthan rebellion Upset over an open rebellion in Rajasthan, Sonia Gandhi has reportedly sought a written report on it from party observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken. Kharge and Maken, who were sent as observers to Jaipur for a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Sunday, briefed Gandhi in the evening after their return to Delhi and termed the parallel meet held by Gehlot loyalists as "indiscipline". They are likely to recommend disciplinary action against those behind the move, including minister Shanti Dhariwal and Rajasthan Congress chief whip Mahesh Joshi. Gehlot loyalists had submitted resignation letters to Assembly Speaker CP Joshi on Sunday evening, in an apparent bid to put pressure on the central leadership to pick someone from the Gehlot camp as CM if the veteran leader is elected the new party president. They indicated that they were against the appointment of Sachin Pilot, who led a rebellion against Gehlot in 2020, to the post. Ashok Gehlot to not contest Congress president poll? The political drama in Rajasthan has now put a question mark on whether Ashok Gehlot would still run for the Congress president's post or if someone else would replace him as a candidate supported by the current leadership. Names of senior party leaders Kharge, Digvijaya Singh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Mukul Wasnik and Kumari Selja are now also doing the rounds for the post. So far, Shashi Tharoor and Ashok Gehlot are among the known faces who have indicated fighting the Congress president poll. According to a notification issued by the party on Thursday, the process for filing nominations for the election will be held from September 24 to 30. The date for scrutiny of the nomination papers is October 1, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 8. The final list of candidates will be published at 5 pm on October 8. The polling, if needed, will be held on October 17. The counting of votes will be taken up on October 19 and the results will be declared the same day. (With agency inputs) Srinagar: Abu-Huraira, a Pakistani terrorist affiliated with Jaish-e-Muhammad was killed in Batpora village of Kulgam district in South Kashmir claimed security forces. ADGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar through his official Twitter handle for Kashmir Police Zone said, "Killed terrorists has been identified as Abu Hurarah, a foreign Pakistani terrorist linked with proscribed terror outfit JeM. Incriminating materials, arms & ammunition including AK rifle recovered." Earlier two civilians and an army soldier were also injured during a gunfight. All of them were shifted to a hospital, where their condition is said to be stable. Also: Read: Stop Bhajans, Surya Namaskar in Schools, Muslim body seeks BAN over students made to 'sing Hindu religious songs' in Kashmir Giving details of the operation Srinagar-based defense PRO Lt.Col Emran Moosavi said, "On receipt of specific information regarding the presence of unidentified terrorists in Welsbatapura village, Kulgam District, a joint cordon, and search operation was launched in the area by Indian Army along with JKP and CRPF at about 01:45 PM on 26 Sep 22." A quick cordon around the suspected cluster of houses in the village was established by the security forces. On suspecting the presence of one to two terrorists in one of the houses, the Security Forces started evacuating the civilians in the vicinity to a safe location. As has been observed in earlier operations as well, the terrorist opened indiscriminate fire, in hope of exploiting an opportunity to escape. "Sensing the danger to civilian lives and disregarding personal safety, the troops speeded up the evacuation process, simultaneously pinning down the terrorist with accurate fire," the PRO said While attempting to rescue civilians and moving them out of the firefight zone, one officer sustained a gunshot wound and was evacuated to a hospital in Srinagar. Two civilians also sustained splinter injuries. Emran added, "On positive confirmation of no civilian presence around the target house, Army conducted a deliberate operation to neutralize the terrorist. The terrorist was subsequently neutralized and has been identified by JKP as Abu Hurrarah, a resident of Pakistan and a hardcore member of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist organization. One AK series rifle, one pistol, grenades, and other warlike stores have been recovered from the spot" The security force has managed to kill 154 terrorists till now in Jammu and Kashmir. Out of those terrorists, 41 were Pakistani. During these encounters, 20 security personnel and 21 civilians too have lost their lives. Jammu Kashmir with other security forces has also managed to arrest 74 active terrorists this year since January, 208 terrorist supporters have also been arrested. Tokyo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday attended the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo. PM Modi was seen along with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the funeral. Leaders from around the world have also arrived in Tokyo for the event. More than 700 foreign guests have flown in for the event, including about 50 current or former state leaders. Dignitaries include US Vice President Kamala Harris, Singapore`s PM Lee Hsien Loong, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, Indonesia Vice President Ma`ruf Amin, and European Council President Charles Michel. The state funeral began with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida receiving the ashes, which appear to be contained in a ceremonial box.He then formally handed it to military officers who placed the box in the centre of the altar, set up at the front of the room. The Nippon Budokan Hall also played the videos of Abe featuring his key moments in a tribute to the assassinated leader. PM Modi pays respect to former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe-- Watch #WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays respect to former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe at the latter's State funeral in Tokyo "India is missing former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe," said PM Modi earlier today (Source: DD) pic.twitter.com/8psvtnEUiA ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2022 It also included the time when Abe met Prime Minister Modi among many pictures of Abe with other world leaders at global summits and addressing the United Nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays respect to former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe at the latter's State funeral in Tokyo "India is missing former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe," said PM Modi earlier today (Source: DD) pic.twitter.com/cO5SnswgGQ ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2022 The video tribute focused on Abe`s standing as a world leader and his concerted efforts to maintain good relationships with foreign countries. Also read: PM Modi meets Japanese counterpart, says 'India is missing Shinzo Abe' Shinzo Abe is credited with revitalising the key Trans-Pacific Partnership after the US withdrew. Notably, Shinzo Abe has been considered as one of the most important forces behind the "Quad" strategic partnership - an alliance between India, Japan, the US and Australia. Meanwhile, up to 1,000 soldiers will perform ceremonial duties, with a military honour guard firing 19 blank rounds from a cannon to salute the former PM.A massive security cordon has been thrown around the Budokan arena - as dozens of VIPs and dignitaries in long motorcades arrive for the ceremony. The 67-year-old politician, Japan`s longest-serving PM, was gunned down at an election rally on July 8th during a speech in Japan`s Nara city. Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, approached the politician from behind and fired two shots from a distance of about 10 meters (33 feet). The attacker reportedly plotted the assassination of the 67-year-old former head of government for nearly a year.Abe, Japan`s longest-serving Prime Minister, stepped down in 2020 citing health reasons. He was Prime Minister of Japan twice, from 2006-07 and again from 2012-20. He was succeeded by Yoshihide Suga and later by Fumio Kishida. PM Modi lauds Shinzo Abe's legacy in meeting with PM Kishida Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on Tuesday and conveyed his deepest condolences on the demise of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Prime Minister Modi, who landed in Japan on Tuesday morning to attend Abe`s state funeral, noted the contributions of the late Japanese PM in strengthening the India-Japan partnership and conceptualizing the vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. "The two leaders had a productive exchange of views on further deepening bilateral relations. They also discussed a number of regional and global issues," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. Both leaders renewed their commitment to further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership, and working together in the region and other international groupings. PM Modi arrived in Japan today amid heightened security measures in the country as dozens of foreign dignitaries are slated to attend the state funeral of former PM Abe who was assassinated in July. This visit of PM Modi to Japan comes after Kishida`s visit to India for the India-Japan Summit meeting in March, and PM Modi`s visit to Japan for the Quad Leaders` Summit in May this year. These meetings underscored the two leaders` commitment to deepening India-Japan ties, particularly in shaping a post-pandemic regional and global order. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the India-Japan diplomatic relationship. New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the Agra Development Authority to remove all business activities within 500 metres from the boundary/peripheral wall of the Taj Mahal. Senior advocate A.D.N. Rao, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae, submitted before a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S. Oka that directions should be issued for barring all commercial activities near the Taj Mahal. The mausoleum is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The top court was informed that a similar order was issued in May 2000, but it is appropriate to reiterate the direction, agreed with the submissions, and directed the Agra Development Authority to immediately clear the 500-metre radius of the Taj Mahal of all commercial activities. "We allow the prayer and thus prayer `A` of IA... reads as under: direct the Agra Development Authority to remove all business activities within 500 metres from the boundary/peripheral wall of the monument Taj Mahal which shall be in tune with Article 14 of the Constitution of India," it said in its order which was uploaded on Monday. The top court passed the order on an application by a group of shop owners, who have been allotted space outside the 500-metre radius. Counsel, representing the shop owners, submitted that at the western gate of the monument, illegal business activities are thriving, which is a violation of the court`s order. SBI Recruitment 2022: The State Bank of India will conclude the application process for Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales) posts in the clerical cadre today, September 27, 2022. Candidates who have not applied for Junior Associate posts in SBI can apply for over 5000 posts by visiting the official website- sbi.co.in. Check the eligibility criteria, application fee and other important details below. SBI Recruitment 2022: Important dates Starting date of SBI Junior Associate application process 2022: September 7, 2022 Last date to fill the SBI Clerk application form: September 27, 2022 SBI Recruitment 2022: Vacancy details The recruitment drive is being conducted to fill up 5008 vacancies of Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales) in SBI across the country. ALSO READ- SSC CGL 2022 notification out! Check vacancy details, direct link here SBI Recruitment 2022: Eligibility Criteria Age limit Candidates applying for the posts must be between 20 to 28 years of age as on August 1, 2022 Educational Qualification Graduation in any discipline from a recognised University or any equivalent qualification recognised as such by Central Government. Candidates having integrated dual degree (IDD) certificate should ensure that the date of passing the IDD is on or before 30.11.2022. Those who are in the final year/ semester of their graduation may also apply provisionally subject to the condition that, if provisionally selected, they will have to produce proof of having passed the graduation examination on or before 30.11.2022. SBI Official Notification SBI Recruitment 2022: Application fee Candidates belonging to the General and OBC categories are required to pay Rs 750 application fee while SC/ ST/ PWD/ XS categories are exempted from paying the application fees. ALSO READ- FCI Recruitment 2022: Government Job Alert! Over 5000 vacancies at fci.gov.in, direct link here SBI Recruitment 2022: Selection Procedure Candidates will be selected through online tests consisting of Preliminary and Main exams and tests of specified opted local languages. The Supreme Court will hold a hearing on the Shiv Sena tussle between Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday. A Constitution Bench will give a decisive judgment on who is the real Shiv Sena, the fate of the Shinde-faction 16 MLAs who revolted against Thackeray, and whether Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be disqualified from the party. If this were to happen, the BJP-Shiv Sena-led government in the state would likely collapse calling for Presidents rule or mid-term elections. Also Read: BIG Blow to Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's two close aides join Eknath Shinde camp For the unversed, when the 16 MLAs rebelled against Sena chief Uddhavs faction, a disqualification action was taken against them. Subsequently, a petition was filed against this and will be heard today. Earlier, the Shinde faction had put forward their request to the Election Commission (EC) to recognize them as the real Shiv Sena and grant them the party poll symbol. However, the SC August told the EC to not take a decision until the hearing. Meanwhile, Congress and NCP leaders expressed that justice would be served only if those rebel MLAs who voted against the party whip be disqualified from the party. NCP State President Jayant Patil at a press conference in Pune spoke about the case on Monday. As quoted by Loksatta, he said, If there is justice in the country, we will win. If there is any judicial system left in the country, those who have voted against the party whip will be disqualified under the Tenth Schedule rules. It is natural that they will be disqualified. Washington: India, which has a USD 2,000 per capita economy, is concerned over the spike in the price of oil due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and it is "breaking our back," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday. Addressing a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after holding bilateral talks, Jaishankar said there is a very deep concern among developing countries about how their energy needs are addressed. Speaking about the Ukraine war, he said, "We have taken the position privately, publicly, confidentially and consistently that this conflict is not in anybody's interest." The best way forward is to return to dialogue and diplomacy, he said. "Look, we have concerns about the price of oil but we are a USD 2,000 per capita economy. When the price of oil is breaking our back and it's our big concern," he said. US | We've concerns about the price of oil. The price of oil is breaking our back. This is our big concern: EAM Dr S Jaishankar pic.twitter.com/X6Di94KxmX ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2022 Jaishankar was responding to a question on a cap on Russian oil. "In the past whenever we have been able to contribute something, we have been open to it," he said. "Right now there are some issues," he said. #WATCH | EAM Dr S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken respond to ANI questions on the discussion held on Ukraine conflict & Taiwan situation during UNGA and US discussion with Pakistan on ways to improve ties with India & F16s to Pak pic.twitter.com/b7VUzb1d6q ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2022 With sanctions imposed by western nations making a scant impact on Russia, the G-7 countries and the European Union have mooted an oil price cap on Russian crude and refined products to limit Kremlin's revenues. Earlier this month, a statement issued by G-7 Finance Ministers said the price cap was specifically designed to reduce Russian revenues and its ability to fund the Ukraine war. The US has asked India to join the coalition to cap the prices of Russian oil, but New Delhi has said it would "carefully examine" the proposal before taking any decision. WBBSE Madhyamik Pariksha Date 2023: West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, WBBSE Madhyamik Pariksha 2023 date sheet is released! West Bengal board has released the Class 10th Board exam date sheet on the official website-- wbbse.wb.gov.in. The WB Madhyamik Pariksha schedule states that the exam will start on February 23, 2023. Students may see the WB Class 10th Exam Schedule 2023 by going to the website. The schedule is made public for both internal and external exams. The exam will be held from 11:45 am to 3 pm, and candidates will have 15 minutes to peruse the question paper, per the BBSE Madhyamik Pariksha 2023 timetable. As stated, the exam for one subject will take place in a single shift. Eight topics, comprising First Languages, Second Languages, Geography, History, Life Sciences, and Mathematics, will be covered in the West Bengal Class 10th Board Exam of 2023. the 2023 WB Class 10th Exam Timetable. The schedule is made public for both internal and external exams. WBBSE Madhyamik Pariksha Date 2023: Schedule Subject Date First Languages February 23, 2023 Second Languages February 24, 2023 Geography February 25, 2023 History February 27, 2023 Life Science February 28, 2023 Mathematics February 3, 2023 Physical Science March 3, 2023 Optional Elective Subjects April 3, 2023 First Languages include Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Modern Tibetan, Nepali, Odia, Gurmukhi (Punjabi), Telugu, Tamil, Urdu, and Santali, according to the official announcement. If any language other than English is given as the First Language, English is one of the Second languages provided. 2) If English is the First Language, Bengali or Nepali. STOCKHOLM/COPENHAGEN: European countries on Tuesday raced to investigate unexplained leaks in two Russian gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark, infrastructure at the heart of an energy crisis since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. ALSO READ | GOOD NEWS for Pensioners! Get personal loan upto Rs 10 lakh from THIS bank Experts and also Russia, which built the network, said the possibility of sabotage could not be ruled out. Sweden's Maritime Authority issued a warning about two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 pipeline was discovered that had prompted Denmark to restrict shipping in a five nautical mile radius. ALSO READ | Croma Diwali Sale 2022: Check Amazing deals on iPhone 13, Apple Watch SE, more Both pipelines have been flashpoints in an escalating energy war between European capitals and Moscow that has pummelled major Western economies, sent gas prices soaring and sparked a hunt for alternative energy supplies. "There are some indications that it is deliberate damage," said a European security source, while adding it was still too early to draw conclusions. "You have to ask: Who would profit?" Russia also said the leak in the Russian network was cause for concern and sabotage was one possible cause. "No option can be ruled out right now," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Neither pipeline was pumping gas to Europe at the time the leaks were found amid the dispute over the war in Ukraine, but the incidents will scupper any remaining expectations that Europe could receive gas via Nord Stream 1 before winter. "The destruction that occurred on the same day simultaneously on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system is unprecedented," said network operator Nord Stream AG. "It is not yet possible to estimate the timing of the restoration of the gas transport infrastructure." Although neither were in operation, both pipelines still contained gas under pressure. Denmark's energy minister Dan Jorgensen said in a written comment leaking gas had been detected in Nord Stream 2 on Monday between Russia and Denmark. Gazprom (GAZP.MM), the Kremlin-controlled company with a monopoly on Russian gas exports by pipeline, declined comment. Russia slashed gas supplies to Europe via Nord Stream 1 before suspending flows altogether in August, blaming Western sanctions for causing technical difficulties. European politicians say that was a pretext to stop supplying gas. The new Nord Stream 2 pipeline had yet to enter commercial operations. The plan to use to supply gas was scrapped by Germany days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February. MALFUNCTION OR SABOTAGE? Jakub Godzimirski, a research professor at the Norwegian Institute of Foreign Affairs who specialists in Russian energy policy, said the leaks could have been technical malfunctions but said sabotage was a possibility. The leaks happened just before the ceremonial launch on Tuesday of the Baltic Pipe carrying gas from Norway to Poland, a centrepiece of Warsaw's efforts to diversify from Russian supplies. Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) had urged oil companies on Monday to be vigilant about unidentified drones seen flying near Norwegian offshore oil and gas platforms, warning of possible attacks. read more A spokesperson for the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) said there were two leaks on Nord Stream 1, one in the Swedish economic zone and another in the Danish zone, adding that both leaks were in an area northeast of the Danish island Bornholm. "We are keeping extra watch to make sure no ship comes too close to the site," a second SMA spokesperson said. Vessels could lose buoyancy if they enter the area, and there might be a risk of leaked gas igniting over the water and in the air, the Danish energy agency said, adding there were no security risks associated with the leak outside the exclusion zone. The leak would only affect the environment locally, which means that only the area where the gas plume in the water column is located would be affected, it said, adding that escaping greenhouse gas methane would have a damaging impact on the climate. The Danish authorities asked that Denmark's level of preparedness for the power and gas sector be raised after the leaks, a step that would require heightened safety procedures for power installations and facilities. "Breaches of gas pipelines happen extremely rarely ... We want to ensure thorough monitoring of Denmark's critical infrastructure in order to strengthen security of supply in the future," said the head of the Danish energy agency, Kristoffer Bottzauw. New Delhi: The nation was shocked over the recent murder case of Uttarakhand teen Ankita Bhandari, who worked as a receptionist in a resort. The body of a 19-year-old was recovered on Saturday from the Chilla canal in Rishikesh. Three persons, including Pulkit Arya, were arrested on Friday after they confessed to having pushed Ankita into the canal after an altercation as per the ANI report. Actress Urvashi Rautela, who hails from Uttarakhand, has expressed her anguish over the murder. Urvashi reacted to the innocent girl Ankita's murder and took to her social media, demanding justice for her. Taking to her social media, Urvashi shared a story by sharing a powerful quote from JD Anderson. Mentioning #JusticeForAnikta, she further added, "Feminism isn't about making women stronger. Women are already strong, it's about changing the way the world perceives that strength" Ankita Bhandari's body was found in the Cheela canal close to Rishikesh on September 24, six days after her parents found her missing from her room. She was killed allegedly by her employer. The victim worked at the Vanantara resort in Pauri district's Yamkeshwar block owned by Haridwar BJP leader Vinod Arya's son Pulkit Arya. Pulkit and two other employees have been arrested in the case. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed the concerned officials to investigate the case on a pronto basis and bring justice to the girl. Three people have been arrested in the case linked to Bhandaris murder. Ankita Bhandari, who worked as a receptionist at a resort in Rishikesh was reportedly disturbed mentally because of a man trying to make sexual advances toward her. The SIT on Sunday told ANI that her Whatsapp chats were also being probed. As per reports a WhatsApp chat has come to the fore in the investigation. According to police sources, in this chat, Ankita is telling her friend that the resort's owner is pressuring her to provide `extra service` to the guests. (With agency inputs) New Delhi: There have been reports which suggest that Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone was admitted to the hospital last night. According to paparazzi account Viral Bhayani, the actress had to undergo multiple tests, but till now no official statement has come from Deepika's side. The caption on Viral Bhayani's Instagram post read, "According to multiple news reports, # DeepikaPadukone was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital last night. She had to undergo multiple tests and as per some media houses she is feeling alright. Awaiting an official statement to know the actual truth. We for a speedy recovery. Avoid stress". Here is the post: On the work front, the actress who was last seen in the film 'Gehrayiaan' has number of projects in hand. It includes names such as 'Pathaan' a action drama which will see her reunite with the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, 'Fighter', an action thriller which is being helmed by filmmaker Siddharth Anand and stars Hrithik Roshan in the lead role. Apart from this, she will also star in the film titled 'Project K' which is being helmed by Nag Ashwin, and 'The Intern'. New Delhi: In order to get a better understanding of how Sukesh Chandrashekhar ran his extortion racket from jail, the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police resorted in a unique way. On Saturday, the EOW recreated the meetings that took place between Sukesh and actresses Nikki Tamboli and Sofia Singh within the premises of Tihar Jail (where Sukesh was lodged earlier). Speaking with ANI, special CP EOW Ravindra Yadav revealed that the two actresses had gone to meet Sukesh while he was in jail and that he offered them good roles in films during their interaction. Ravindra Yadav further told ANI that they recreated the meeting in the jail premises to get a better picture of how he operated from prison. "It was very important for us to find out, how exactly was Sukesh able to run his syndicate within the cell. That`s why we recreated the whole scene in Tihar Jail. The crime scene was recreated with two actresses, Nikita Tamboli and Sophia Singh. They had met Sukesh inside the Number 1 Jail. They were introduced to Sukesh by Pinky Irani," the officer said. "Sukesh had arranged the whole setup inside the jail. We tried to recreate every detail of the modus operandi. From which gate did they enter? and where exactly did they meet Sukesh? We tried to recreate every detail. It will help us very much in court. We have also done videography and created the draft of the case," the officer added. Ravindra Yadav further said that Sukesh is an expert in decoying people with his confidence and money. "Both actors said that they felt suspicious but still Sukesh was able to decoy them. Sukesh Chandrashekhar is an expert in decoying people with the level of confidence he speaks with, it can even completely convince people who doubt him. He conned the actresses on the behest of offering roles to them," the officer said. "Sukesh used to say big things about himself. To someone he said that he is a big producer, to someone else he said that he is the head of a South Indian channel. He had even called the jail cell his office. He had a good amount of money, that he used to lure people with and they ended up believing him. He told the two heroines that he is making films from inside the cell only," the officer added. The Special CP also revealed the involvement of some more actresses in the case and said that no one has been given a clean chit. He added that the names of a few jail officials who were helping him have also come to the fore. "All this was running inside the jail and some jail officials too were involved in this. There are some more heroines involved in the case. We haven`t given clean chit to anyone, and these actresses might be called again if needed," the officer told ANI. Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez on Monday got interim bail from the Patiala House Court in the Rs 200 crore money laundering case. On September 15, actress Nora Fatehi and Pinky Irani, who had apparently introduced her to Sukesh were questioned by the EOW of the Delhi Police. Sukesh Chandrashekhar has been accused of running an extortion racket worth Rs 200 crore when he was lodged in Rohini jail, as he tried to extort money from Aditi Singh, the wife of jailed former Ranbaxy owner Shivinder Singh, posing as an official from the union law ministry and the PMO, on the pretext of getting her husband out on bail. Sukesh Chandrashekhar, a native of Bengaluru in Karnataka, is currently lodged in a Delhi jail and faces over 10 criminal cases registered against him. New Delhi: Katrina Kaif is one such actor who never fails to win the hearts of her audience. Recently, the actress went to the Mountain View School in Madurai, Tamil Nadu where she celebrated the founders day of the school along with her mother and brother. The actress took to Instagram to praise the efforts of her mother and brother Sebastein in providing education to underprivileged kids. In a long post, Katrina wrote, Celebrating Founders Day. On Saturday, we at Mountain View School held a celebration of life for our founder who passed away last year. The Performances by teachers and children, along with some special guests made this such a special time. We also inaugurated three new classrooms, thanks to donations from benefactors, Following out 2021 fundraiser. Am always so proud to see the amazing work by my mom here at the school, along with my brother sebastein who has spent the last year helping alongside my mom, its a truly beautiful school. See the post Several celebrities from the industry including Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma and Tahira Kashyap Khurrana showed their support for the cause by dropping heart emojis. Amazing, Hrithik Roshan commented on the post. Earlier, her dance video with school kids on Arabic Kuthu had gone viral on social media. Meanwhile, on the work front, Katrina will be next seen in the upcoming horror comedy film `Phone Bhoot` alongside Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ishaan Khatter in lead roles, which is slated to release on November 4, 2022. Apart from this she also has an action thriller film `Tiger 3` alongside Salman Khan, which is all set to hit the theatres on April 23, 2023. Apart from these, she will also be starring in Farhan Akhtar directorial Jee Le Zaraa alongside Alia Bhatt and Priyanka Chopra. New Delhi: After making a global impression with her second film at the TIFF, Radhika Madan dives straight into her upcoming project as the actress visited Maddock Films' office instantly after arriving from Canada. Representing India with her film 'Kacchey Limbu', Radhika Madan earned praises and appreciation for her remarkable performance in the film. Leaving no time for a break, the actress landed in Mumbai and drove straight to Maddock Films for her recently announced film. Adding to the long and exciting list of her projects, Radhika Madan announced her upcoming film with Maddock Films' titled 'Happy Teacher's Day', earlier this month. Been around the clock for a while, Radhika Madan has a promising line up varied genres and diverse characters. In addition to the Indian theatrical release of Kachhey Limbu, Radhika will also soon be seen in Asmaan Bharadwaj's Kuttey with Arjun Kapoor, Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah, Konkana Sen Sharma, amongst others. Reuniting with Maddock, Radhika Madan will be also seen in the upcoming Homi Adajania directorial that was wrapped earlier this year. Leading the daring story by Sudhanshu Saria in Sanaa, Radhika Madan will put forth yet another aspect of her versatility. Creating a huge noise, Radhika also announced Soorarai Pottru's remake co-starring Akshay Kumar, which has got the audience extremely excited. With the recent announcement of Happy Teacher's Day, Radhika is soon expected to begin shoot for the film, marking her fourth association with Maddock. With multiple projects in her kitty, Radhika Madan is undoubtedly one of the busiest and most bankable actors in Bollywood today! New Delhi: Rashmika Mandanna is an actress who enjoys a massive fan following on social media. The actress took the audience by storm with her dance moves on Sami Sami from Pushpa: The Rise co-starring Allu Arjun. Now a video of the actress is going viral on social media in which she can be seen signing an autograph on a fans chest. The video was shared by the paparazzi account Viral Bhayani and has taken the internet by storm since it came out. In the video, the fan can be seen requesting Rashmika to give an autograph on his shirt. The actress smiles and signs an autograph for him. The fan was overjoyed with her sweet gesture and thanked her for signing the autograph. See the video here Fans of the actress praised her gesture and took to the comments section to share their love. She is ever smiling, wrote one fan. I really adore her she is soooo beautiful, wrote another fan with heart emojis. On the work front, Rashmika was last seen in Telugu romance Sita Ramam alongside Dulquer Salmaan and Mrunal Thakur. She played the role of a Pakistani student harbouring anti-India sentiments who is sent on a mission to deliver Rams letter to Sita. The film received immense love from the audience. Currently, she is busy promoting her upcoming film Goodbye alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Neena Gupta. It also marks her debut in Bollywood. She will also start shooting for the second installment of Pushpa franchise titled Pushpa: The Rule. Apart from this, she also has Sidharth Malhotras Mission Majnu and Ranbir Kapoors Animal in the pipeline. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Gujarat High Court's decision to quash a criminal case filed against Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, filed for allegedly causing a stampede in 2017, while promoting his film "Raees", at the Vadodara Railway Station. A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and C.T. Ravikumar dismissed the appeal filed by the original complainant against the Gujarat High Court's April 2022 judgment. The complainant, Jitendra Madhubhai Solanki had filed a private complaint against Shah Rukh Khan before the judicial magistrate, first class, Vadodara, alleging that his presence at the Vadodara Railway Station coupled with him throwing T-shirts and smiley balls at the crowd assembled at the station led to the stampede. After the local court in Vadodara issued summons, asking him to remain present, Shah Rukh Khan moved the high court against the summons and for quashing the complaint. After the high court on April 27, 2022, quashed the complaint filed against the actor, holding that it has been filed by a person who has no direct connection with the incident in question, Solanki filed a special leave petition challenging the order. The top court dismissed it and has finally afforded a quietus to the said issue. The petitioner was represented by senior advocate Vijay Kumar, and Khan was represented by senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, briefed by a team from Karanjawala & Co advocates led by Ruby Singh Ahuja. In January 2017, the actor and the production team were traveling from Mumbai to Delhi by train to promote the film. When the train reached Vadodara, a huge crowd gathered at the railway station. New Delhi: On the occasion of her husband Bharat Sahni`s birthday, jewellery designer Riddhima Kapoor Sahni penned a cute birthday wish for him. Taking to Instagram Story, Riddhima, who is Ranbir Kapoor`s sister, dropped a string of images with Bharat. In the first image, the husband-wife duo is seen twinning in blue ethnic attires. "Happy happiest birthday to the most incredible human being," Riddhima captioned the post, adding pink heart emojis. In another post, she wrote, "My best friend forever." The third image features Riddhima and Bharat posing with their daughter Samara. "We love you so much. Thank you for being you," Riddhima wrote alongside the picture. Veteran actress Neetu Kapoor, too, dropped a sweet birthday wish for her son-in-law Bharat. Taking to Instagram Story, Neetu dropped a video in which she along with Bharat is seen grooving to a Rajasthani folk song in a restaurant. Both of them look quite happy while vibing on the song. Sharing the video, Neetu wrote, "Happy birthday @brat.man to more fun times together #son #myvibemytribe #blessings." Reacting to the post, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni rushed to the comment section and wrote, "Cutest (with several red heart emojis)." Riddhima met Bharat while studying in London. They got married in 2006, after four years of being together. New Delhi: Urfi Javed has come a long way from being a fashion disaster to getting the tag of a fashion 'Diva'. She has been continuously stunning her fans with unique outfit ideas for the past year. Her wardrobe is nothing like ours; clothes made of jute, glass, stones, safety pins, electric wires, photographs, flowers and even flower petals, and is criticized for it too. The 'Bigg Boss OTT' fame never shies away from replying back to trolls or negativity on social media. Recently, an NGO offered to send her clothes and she gave them a savage reply which is now taking over the internet. A woman tagged Urfi on Twitter and wrote, "Do you need clothes? We can send you as we run an NGO n would love to assist you. We help people who cannot afford clothes. N I hope media should stop giving so much weightage to her." Sure I would love that , now that were helping each other let me give you your nose back , i found it in my business ! Uorfi (@uorfi_) September 25, 2022 To this, Urfi replied, "Sure I would love that, now that were helping each other let me give you your nose back, I found it in my business!" This is not the first time that Urfi has dealt with her troll. Earlier this year, she took to her Instagram stories and shared a screenshot of hate comments she gets. In the caption, the actress mentioned that people wishing death for her is 'scary.' "Just posting a few of the comments which Ive received in the past few days! People wishing I died, get shot by. We live in a cruel world but let me tell you guys something, you guys need to pray harder for my death coz guess what this b*tchs here to stay!" she wrote. Urfi Javed is one of the most active social media celebs today. She became a household name after she participated in Bigg Boss OTT last year. Now, with her unique wardrobe choices, she often makes the headlines. New Delhi: There is no need to be concerned about security if you withdraw money using your fingerprints via Aadhaar. Another feature has been added by India's Unique Identification Authority. The point of sale (PoS) will be able to determine whether or not the person whose fingerprint was used is still alive, according to a report. Over 1,507 crore banking transactions have been completed using the Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AEPS). 7.54 lakh of these transactions were discovered to be fraudulent. This new feature will quickly identify misuse of the Aadhaar-enabled payment system. According to the report, the fraudsters make a clone of the actual user's fingerprint on a silicon pad. This fake fingerprint is made from the authentic ones on the land purchase documents, which are available on the land revenue department's websites. The UIDAI has now decided to link birth and death records to Aadhaar. The newborns will be given a temporary identification number that will be upgraded using biometric data. To prevent such misuse, death registration records will be linked to Aadhaar. The users' mobile numbers, bank accounts, and financial plans are connected to their Aadhaar. Every ten years, the UIDAI will encourage people to voluntarily update their biometric information, according to a report from PTI. Children are currently required to update their Aadhaar biometric information between the ages of five and fifteen. People will be urged to update their biometrics, demographics, and other data once every ten years, according to a UIDAI official. It is not necessary once a person reaches a certain age, let's say 70. Except for a small number of people in Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Ladakh, almost all adults in India have been registered with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The UIDAI has more than 50,000 enrollment centres and is currently training 1.5 lakh postmen who will initially update Aadhaar holders' mobile numbers and addresses. How many times have you looked out for and used chargers provided at public places like railway stations, airports, hospitals and shopping malls? Do you know that charging your phone using chargers/cables provided in public places may lead to financial cybercrime? You may be thinking that I am joking but it's not a joke. With a rise in cybercrime as well as awareness against cybercrime, scammers have been using innovative ways to trick people into fraud and 'juice jacking' is their new tool. What is 'Juice Jacking'? It's a technique using which cybercriminals load malware into devices being charged using public USB ports. Once the malware loads, the fraudsters access the devices - be it smartphones or laptops to access sensitive information like contacts, photos, videos, credit card details, bank account data and UPI details. They then siphon off funds from bank accounts or use credit card details for payments and it only comes to the light when victims check their bank accounts or get a message on their phones. ALSO READ: Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm asking you to save credit, debit card details? What should you do? Another technique that criminals deploy is that while you charge your device, they download critical data through the port you may be using for charging the device. You may be aware that USB ports can be used for transferring data and we sometimes also transfer data between smartphones and laptops using USB cables. Police and Banks have been warning people against 'Juice Jacking' time and again. Recently, Odisha Police warned people against charging their phones using USB ports/cables provided in public places. "Don't charge your mobiles at public places like a mobile charging station, USB power station etc. Cyber fraudsters are trying to steal your personal information from mobile and installing the malware inside your phone," it said. Don't charge your mobiles at public places like mobile charging station, USB power station etc. Cyber fraudsters are trying to steal your personal information from mobile and installing the malware inside your phone. #StayCyberSafe pic.twitter.com/CubCnYlJn7 Odisha Police (@odisha_police) September 15, 2022 The State Bank of India has also cautioned people against the trick. "Think twice before you plug in your phone at charging stations. Malware could find a way in and infect your phone, giving hackers a way to steal your passwords and export your data," it had said. ALSO READ: Did your SIM stop working? Know how your simple mistake helps scammers siphon off money from your bank account It further added, "Beware of charging your phone at charging stations. Hackers could be waiting! Juice Jacking, a USB charger scam could end up draining your bank account." Think twice before you plug in your phone at charging stations. Malware could find a way in and infect your phone, giving hackers a way to steal your passwords and export your data.#SBI #Malware #CyberAttack #CustomerAwareness #Cybercrime #SafeBanking #JuiceJacking pic.twitter.com/xzSMNNNv4U State Bank of India (@TheOfficialSBI) December 7, 2019 How to be safe from Juice Jacking or USB Charger Scam? The first and foremost step to be safe from juice jacking is that you should avoid charging your phone using public USB ports. Here are some tips to be safe from juice jacking: * Look for an electrical socket behind the charging station. * Carry your own charging cables * Only charge directly from an electrical outlet * Carry portable batteries known as power banks * If there is no electrical socket and only USB ports, then try charging your power bank using that and charge your phone from the power bank later. * Use a data blocker. It's a USB device similar to a pen drive and can be connected to your USB cable. You can then plug the cable into the USB charging ports available. New Delhi: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has lately made several changes in the NPS rules. While some rule changes by regulatory body supervising and regulating pensions in India could be a setback for investors, some are for the benefit of subscribers. Check these latest rules before investing in National pension scheme PFRDA intermediaries this month decided to reduce the timelines of various transactions under NPS by half. The withdrawal requests of Subscribers at the time of exit were hitherto executed on T+4 working/settlement days (T being the day of authorization of withdrawal request by Nodal office/PoP/Subscriber) and the timeline has been reduced to T+2. PFRDA had last month said that the PoP players in the NPS scheme would get a commission of Rs 15-10,000 if subscribers route their voluntary contributions through the Direct Remit (D-Remit) facility under the all citizen model. The move aims to compensate the Point of Presence (PoPs) players who were losing fees. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the regulatory body supervising and regulating pensions in India, has changed a rule related to contribution to the funds via credit cards. In what could be a setback for many investors, tier-2 accounts will now not be able to contribute to NPS via credit card. In an official notification dated August 3, 2022, PFRDA came up with the announcement related to the change in the rule of contribution to the NPS. New Delhi: The beneficiaries of PM-KISAN scheme, who have eagerly been waiting for the PM Kisan 12th installment money might hear some great news in the next couple of days. As per latest media reports, the Modi government might transfer the PM Kisan 12th installment of Rs 2,000 in the bank accounts of eligible farmers on Friday (30 September 2022). These are however just initial reports, while the government has not officially confirmed anything regarding the transfer of Rs 2,000 to beneficiary accounts of PM-KISAN scheme. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released 11th instalment of financial benefit under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme on May 31. PM Modi transferred an amount of around Rs 21,000 crore to more than 10 crore beneficiary farmer families. The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme was launched by PM Modi in 2019. The Scheme aims to provide income support to all landholder farmer families across the country with cultivable land, subject to certain exclusions. Under the Scheme, an amount of Rs 6000 per year is released in three 4-monthly instalments of Rs 2000 each directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. In a financial year, PM Kisan installment is credited thrice through --Period 1 from April-July; Period 2 from August to November; and Period 3 from December to March. Today is World Tourism Day. World Tourism Day has been celebrated on September 27 each year since 1980. September 27 marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Statutes of the Organization in 1970 which paved a way for the establishment of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in 1975. The UNWTO) is responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. This year, the official World Tourism Day 2022 celebration will be held in Bali, Indonesia highlighting the shift towards tourism being recognized as a crucial pillar of development. According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourist arrivals almost tripled from January to July 2022, registering a growth of around 172% compared to the same period of 2021. The indicators showed that the tourism sector has recovered almost 60% of pre-pandemic levels. ALSO READ: Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm asking you to save credit, debit card details? What should you do? This year, the theme of World Tourism Day or 'Vishva Paryatan Divas' or 'Vishwa Paryatan Diwas' is 'Rethinking Tourism'. So, let's rethink tourism as not only a method of recharging ourselves but also make it a part of our financial planning. Experts suggest that investment for a holiday allows taking some risk and thus there are multiple investment avenues that can give good returns. "If you are planning an investment for one year, then the Recurring Deposit is one of the options. However, it offers a low rate of interest. Since saving for a holiday is a financial goal that allows taking a bit of risk as a change in the budget is permitted, one can also do a SIP in conservative hybrid funds. Then there is a category in mutual funds called Equity Savings Fund (ESF). In the ESF, the allocation to the equity remains low and thus it comes with low risk. Investing in the ESF for conservative hybrid funds can give better returns when compared to an RD," said Pankaj Mathpal, Founder and Managing Director, Optima Money Managers. ALSO READ: Did your SIM stop working? Know how your simple mistake helps scammers siphon off money from your bank account However, this is the short-term investment goal. Mathpal said that an investment of up to five years from now can help plan a good holiday every year from the fifth year onwards. "Say if you start investing per month now for the next five years, then you can invest in Flexi Cap and Multi Cap funds that give better returns in a long period. These are diversified mutual funds and give better returns. So, if you continue investing, you can use your first year investment for a holiday trip in the fifth year and can plan a trip every year if you continue your investment as you will keep getting good returns," said Mathpal. New Delhi: Tatas Croma has announced a Diwali sale for its customers called 'Festival of Dreams'. The sale has started and customers can buy products from a range of options at discounted price including iPhone 13, Apple SE, OnePlus, and many more. Besides, HDFC Bank credit card holders can get additional discount up to 10% in the Diwali sale. This offer is also available on ICICI Bank credit cards but on selected products. ALSO READ | Charging phone from public USB? BEWARE! It may wipe off your hard-earned money Customers can check Tata Neu app to check offers on iPhone 13, Apple Watch SE, etc. Moreover, they can earn Neucoins that can be redeemed later on. iPhone 13 is coming at a high discounted price Apple iPhone 13s price has come down after the launch of Apples latest device iPhone 14. The previous version is starting at Rs 51,990. iPhone 13s base variant of 128GB storage is available at Rs 61,990. It is coming in many colours including Blue, Midnight Black, Starlight White & Alpine Green. A higher variant of 256GB Storage is coming at a price of Rs 76,990 in Alpine Green. ALSO READ | WhatsApp to make joining group call easier; check THIS upcoming feature Apple Watch SE Smart Watch For those who want to purchase Apple older watches like Watch SE, Croma is offering good discounts. It is coming at Rs 19,990 by 33% off. The Watch SE has GPS, GLOSNASS, and many more. You can also purchase watchs straps in different colours like blue, green, white, etc. in a reasonable price. Good Discounts in Gaming Laptops, Samsung smartphones, more Huge discount is available on Lenovo IdeaPad which is coming at Rs 45,990 with 54% off. The laptop has Intel Core i5 10th Gen, NVIDIA Ge Force GTX Graphics, 8GB RAM, and 512 GB SSD. The Samsung Galaxy FE 5G smartphone will be able to purchase it for less than 30,000.The premium device will be listed at an effective price of 26,999. The 43-inch Full HD Smart TV from OnePlus will be priced effectively at 19,999. New Delhi: Are you waiting to buy that cool smartwatch, Bluetooth speaker, or ethnic wear which would be a perfect fit for your festive celebrations? Your wait is finally over as the Amazon Great Indian Festival started September 23 onwards. During this festive bonanza, Amazon Pay will roll out many rewards, cashback, and easy credit access to make your shopping experience convenient and affordable. So, heres why you should #PayAmazonSe to save big and buy more on and off Amazon. in during this festive season. Instant rewards: Cruise through a vast range of products and brands during the Amazon Great Indian Festival to shop for groceries, electronics, apparel, and much more. Whats more, pay using Amazon Pay to maximize your savings with exciting reward coupons available on every transaction. Customers have a chance to win up to INR 7,500 in rewards. To add on to your festivities, Amazon Pay offers you flat XX% cashback on movie tickets. In addition, Amazon Pay is here to make your travel plans convenient with a flat 15% off up to INR 2000 while booking flight tickets. Also, customers new to Amazon Pay stand a chance to win exciting cashback on their first transaction for bill payments, recharges, and much more. Win a Super Offer with Pay Experience the customizable reward propositions to make your festive season exciting and, and Win a Super Offer with Amazon Pay. All you have to do is pay bills, recharge your phone, add, or send money using Amazon Pay and select the shopping coupon of your choice from your selected product category. This Amazon Great Indian Festival, #PayAmazonSe and open the world of exciting cashback to make your festive shopping fun and affordable. Easy gifting with Amazon Pay Gift Cards: Are you fed up with giving the same lifafas, mithai boxes, or out-of-fashion home-decor items as gifts? Amazon Pay e-Gift Cards are here to the rescue. The ensemble of e-Gift Cards provides an option to shop from more than 17 crore products available on Amazon.in. It is the perfect gifting choice for every occasion. Apart from gifting happiness, enjoy up to 10% cashback on the purchase of Amazon Pay Gift Cards. Enjoy easy credit access: It is time to buy more and save big with Amazon Pay Later during this festive season. Experience a convenient way to get instant credit up to INR 60,000 with Amazon Pay Later. A true genie for all your big-ticket spending. Amazon Pay Later allows you to pay your dues next month or in easy EMI options of up to 12 months. Moreover, you can get flat INR 150 cashback while signing up for Amazon Pay Later during the Great Indian Festival. Not sure? Opt for Amazon Pay ICICI Bank co-branded credit card instead for an unmatched shopping and rewards experience. This card offers unlimited rewards and No Cost EMI feature with zero annual or joining fees. Customers who apply for the Amazon Pay ICICI Bank credit card during the Amazon Great Indian Festival can enjoy rewards up to INR 2,500 as a welcome offer. #PayAmazonSe and maximize your savings this festive season. Pay from anywhere with UPI: With Amazon Pay UPI, pay instantly for anything, to anyone, and from anywhere. Take your loved ones on a shopping spree this festive season and make your everyday payments aasan. To add to the festive flair, you can earn rewards on your transactions using Amazon Pay UPI. Hurry and sign up for Amazon Pay UPI to earn 10% cashback up to INR 50. New Delhi: Apple Inc has begun manufacturing its marquee new iPhone 14 in India as the global tech giant taps into production prowess outside of China. The US firm has started manufacturing of iPhone 14 in the world's second-biggest smartphone market within weeks of the September 7 unveiling of the device. "We are excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India," Apple said in a statement. "The new iPhone 14 lineup introduces groundbreaking new technologies and important safety capabilities," the company said. Cupertino, California-headquartered Apple started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017 with iPhone SE. Today, Apple manufactures some of its most advanced iPhones in the country including iPhone SE, iPhone 12, iPhone 13 and, now iPhone 14. Sources said the Made-in-India iPhone 14 will begin to reach local customers in the next few days. Phones manufactured in India will be both for the Indian market and exports. The iPhone 14 will be shipped from Foxconn's Sriperumbudur facility on the outskirts of Chennai. Foxconn is the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer and major iPhone assembler. Apple, which long made most of its iPhones in China, could make one out of four iPhones in India by 2025, JP Morgan analysts said in a note last week. IPhone devices in the past were assembled in India about six to nine months after production started in Chinese factories. This time the duration has been cut short to just a couple of weeks. The iPhone 14 was launched on September 7, 2022, and is available to customers in India simultaneously with the US, among other markets, since September 16, 2022. The iconic brand has a long-standing history in India that started more than 20 years ago. Apple launched its online store in the country in September 2020 and is set to deepen its commitment with the upcoming launch of the Apple retail store. The recent manufacturing expansion builds on several Apple initiatives in the country, including App Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru and programmes with local organisations to support renewable energy training and development for communities. India's vibrant market is turning out to be the sweetspot for the US tech giant, as the company reported a "near doubling" of revenue in the country in the quarter ended June 2022. Apple CEO Tim Cook, during earnings call in July, had said: "We set June quarter records in the Americas, in Europe and the rest of the Asia Pacific region. We also saw June quarter revenue records in both developed and emerging markets, with very strong double-digit growth in Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam and a near doubling of revenue in India." The recent report by JP Morgan on 'Apple Supply Chain relocation' predicted that Apple "is likely to move about 5 per cent of iPhone 14 production to India from late 2022 and reach 25 per cent by 2025". It is also forecast that nearly 25 per cent of all Apple products, will be manufactured outside China by 2025 as compared to five per cent at present. "US-China trade tensions kicked off the production relocation cycle and the search for a `China+1' manufacturing approach for the Apple supply chain from late 2018," the report said. COVID-19 put the brakes on this over the last two years, but with pandemic concerns easing, "we have seen more companies in the Apple supply chain re-accelerating supply chain relocation efforts", the brokerage said in its report. "Supply chain risks (such as COVID-19-related lockdowns in Shanghai/Shenzhen) are likely to be a primary driving force for these moves in the next two to three years," it added. Southeast and South Asian countries (like India, Vietnam, Thailand) have become preferable locations for geopolitical diversification away from China for Apple food chain vendors, given their lower labour costs, sufficient skilled manpower support and appealing policies and government support, according to JP Morgan analysts. While a booming market for smartphones has added to India's sheen, New Delhi's policy push in the electronics sector has nudged large global suppliers to expand in India, and driven new players to set up base. After tasting success in local smartphone manufacturing, India is moving swiftly to replicate the success with other parts of electronics ecosystem, as it makes solid efforts to cut reliance on imports. The government has unveiled attractive incentives to spur local production and export of telecom and networking equipment as well as IT products, and a Rs 76,000 crore semiconductor scheme was announced late last year to boost local manufacturing of chips and display panels. To attract global giants such as Intel and TSMC, the Centre, last week, sweetened the semiconductor package further by increasing the fiscal support for new facilities (across technology nodes) to cover 50 per cent of project cost. Autumn arrives in Xiamen, Fujian province, with bald cypresses turning red and yellow near Dongshan mountain. [Photo by Chen Bo/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn] In Xiamen, Fujian province, bald cypresses are turning red and yellow along the walking trails near Dongshan mountain, attracting both visitors and white cranes. Autumn arrives in Xiamen, Fujian province, with bald cypresses turning red and yellow near Dongshan mountain. [Photo by Lin Minghong/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn] BEIJING: Despite widespread speculations of a coup in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping is all set to be re-elected as the head of the Communist Party of China. The 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will begin on October 16, a five-yearly exercise and, during this time, it is expected to approve Jinping as the countrys paramount leader for the third unprecedented time. State-run Chinese media has categorically dismissed the recent rumours of a military or a political coup in China which they said appear to be largely unsubstantiated and unreliable. They can be dismissed based on the fact that the current leadership has in the past week acted harshly against what it called a "political clique" against the CCP, and this is not a new phenomenon and more or less, happens before every major party conference. Last week, former Deputy Public Security Minister Sun Lijun, former Justice Minister Fu Zhenghua and three former police chiefs of Shanghai, Chongqing and Shanxi provinces were jailed for life, after being denounced for "seriously damaging the unity of the party". This was also intended as a message to anti-Xi forces to fall in line and support the current leader. Though there is little doubt that Xi is poised to win five more years as China`s paramount leader, extending a tenure that began in late 2012, there is still uncertainty about how much influence he will wield over the formation of a new power structure. But the Congress will also end speculations about China`s rising stars on the horizon. 20th CCP Congress Xi, 69, is widely expected to be exempt from the party`s informal "seven up, eight down" rule that ordinarily requires senior officials who are 68 or older to step down. The rule will also not be applicable to everyone in the party`s inner circles, meaning at least two of the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee and half of the 25-strong Politburo will probably retire. But the new structure could be even more innovative, as there have been suggestions that Xi may shrink the CCP standing committee to five members, giving him more freedom, and replace some of those members who have yet to reach 68 by having them retire to make way for his supporters. CCP over the years Mao Zedong overshadowed the Chinese political system for the first 27 years of the CCP rule. Until his death in 1976, Mao had the final word on every state and party matter including deciding the leadership`s formation, enlarging or shrinking the size of the Politburo and the standing committee at will. In 1978, Deng Xiaoping became the paramount leader. Though considered very powerful, he also had to consult with seven other senior party members, a group known collectively as the "Eight Elders" or the "Eight Immortals". By 1989 with Jiang Zemin`s rise to power and after Deng Xiaoping`s death in 1997, consensus politics had started to take hold in the CCP. The top party leadership introduced channels to balance and institutionalise power and to improve accountability and governance. Jiang, for instance, introduced the "seven up, eight down" practice. Jiang`s successor Hu Jintao, from 2002 to 2012 further institutionalised Consensus rule, through intra-party democracy, straw polls and competitive elections for the members of the party`s Central Committee. Xi`s tenure This led to June 2007, about four months before the party`s 17th Congress at which Xi was inducted into the Politburo Standing Committee when a straw poll was held for the first time among all Central Committee members and other leading officials to recommend provisional candidates for the new 25-member Politburo. Five years later in May 2012, the party`s elite officials again met in Beijing to make recommendations on candidates not only for the 25-member Politburo but more importantly the Standing Committee, also. This poll was then used as a benchmark to shape the new leadership line-up for the 18th Congress, at which Xi emerged as party supremo. However, Xi did not like the previous electoral methods. Before the party`s 19th Congress in October 2017, from which he emerged as a stronger leader having secured a second term, the party leadership found serious faults with the straw poll method. Ahead of the 19th Congress, Xi opted instead for face-to-face meetings to select the new leadership. The most obvious prerequisite for being elected to the new party structure is to be seen as being loyal to the current leader and party leadership besides possessing experience in key areas like the ability to handle crises, a proven track record of competency, the ability to earn Xi`s trust, a highly educated background and strong regional leadership experience. In the forthcoming Congress, many contenders for top posts also share close connections to Xi and his trusted aides and have professional expertise in areas such as technology and business. Several of Xi`s former associates in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces are expected to be promoted to even higher positions. One such high-flyer is Shanghai party chief Li Qiang, and the other one is He Lifeng, who is in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission. Other stong contenders Some other regional chiefs are also seen as strong candidates for advancement, even though they have not been associated directly with Xi before he became president. This includes Guangdong party boss Li Xi; Fujian party secretary Yin Li and Shanghai mayor Gong Zheng; Liu Haixing, a seasoned diplomat; Liu Jieyi, currently Head of the State Council`s Taiwan Affairs Office, and might be the next Chinese foreign minister; Liu Zhenli, commander of the PLA`s ground forces and Shen Yiqin, one of the few women in a provincial party leadership role or on the Central Committee, Shen is a front runner to succeed Sun Chunlan as a Politburo member when she retires. Vice-Premier Sun is currently the only woman in the Politburo. A confident Xi looking set to secure his third term as the party chief at the Congress has plans to achieve the target of creating a more modern socialist China by 2049 -- the centenary of the founding of the People`s Republic of China, and to accomplish this dream he needs a new leadership line-up which will help him take forward and deliver that promise or a legacy which we would want to leave behind. The entire world is looking at Beijing and asking one question - is everything 'OKAY' in China? The 2nd question being asked is - where is President Xi Jinping? And the third - Is there any truth in the military coup rumours and house arrested of the President? Purges of senior officials and unfounded rumours of military coups in Beijing have fed into feverish speculation ahead of a key meeting of China's ruling party next month, when President Xi Jinping is expected to be granted an unprecedented third term. What are the rumours and why they are SHOCKING The rumours, in a nutshell, make three MASSIVE CLAIMS: 1) Chinese Military has started began a coup at the Communist Party government and President Xi Jinping is set to be thrown out of power. 2) There was a huge, unexpected and rare military movement near Chinese President Xi Jinping's resident, and that was aimed at the President's house arrest. 3) A powerful military leader, Li Qiaoming, is set to replace Xi Jinping as the Chinese President. The interesting TIMING: Controversial jailing of senior leaders ------- ------- Xi Jinping's scheduled re-appointment as CPC leader While there is nothing to corroborate the rumours, their interesting timing, between two internationally talked about events in China is what has boggled some heads across the globe. The jailing of a clique of senior security officials for corruption, followed by days of strange of Xi being under house arrest, have fuelled what one analyst called a "hothouse" environment mired in secrecy and suspicion, The Guardian reported. Last week, a Chinese court jailed the former vice-minister of public security Sun Lijun, the former justice minister Fu Zhenghua, and former police chiefs of Shanghai, Chongqing and Shanxi on corruption charges. Fu and the police chiefs had been accused of being part of a political clique surrounding Sun, and being disloyal to Xi. Xi Jinping's targetting political apponent and key meet ahead Xi is expected to be re-appointed as leader of the party and military commission at the meeting, after he abolished the two-term limit in 2018 and waged a years-long anti-corruption campaign that also targeted many political opponents. On Sunday, the state media announced the list of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) central committee delegates, numbering almost 2,300, had been finalised. Xi`s inclusion on the list further refuted social media rumours that had been swirling since September 24 of a military coup. Rumours were debunked, but they still matter to many The unfounded claims, accompanied by unsourced videos of military vehicles and based mostly on mass flight cancellations, were debunked, but not before it began trending on Twitter, The Guardian reported. There was no specific mention of the coup rumours on China`s social media, but a Weibo hashtag related to "airports across the country cancel flights" was viewed by more than 200,000 people over the weekend. Some made fun of the rumours, noting the lack of evidence of a political takeover on the ground in Beijing, The Guardian reported. What experts say about the coup rumours Drew Thompson, a scholar with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said a coup in China wasn`t entirely implausible, and Xi had reportedly shown concern about the prospect in the past, but the weekend`s rumours looked more like "wishful thinking". They appeared to originate in accounts associated with the Falun Gong movement, which Thompson said was "essentially not credible". "The rumour that Xi Jinping has been arrested has legs because it is such a sensitive political moment in China, and the recent trials (and convictions) of long-serving senior officials creates a hothouse atmosphere," he said on Twitter. Other analysts like Sinocism author, Bill Bishop, said he thought the rumours were "BS" but the "inherent opacity" of the CCP mechanisms easily fuelled their spread. The party congress is a secretive process of power distribution, with the most senior positions not announced until the final day. Government control of the domestic narrative and crushing of dissent has intensified in recent weeks as the meeting approaches. Xi has been absent from the public eye since he returned to China from the SCO Summit in Uzbekistan last weekend. Observers said he is likely to be quarantining, The Guardian reported. "I think the fact this rumour spread so far, and was considered plausible enough to analyse is really a reflection of an underlying shortcoming of Chinese governance," said Thompson. China`s government has not responded to the rumours, but public security authorities were among those posting under the hashtag "the truth about large-scale cancellation of flights across the country", disputing the significance of the cancellations which they said was normal for the pandemic. The party congress begins on October 16, The Guardian reported. The event, in Beijing`s Great Hall of the People, is closed to the public but is the most important date on the CCP`s five-year political cycle. There is speculation that Xi could further consolidate power with the promotion of stronger allies to senior positions, and that the party will resurrect the `people`s leader` title not used since Mao Zedong. Lahore: Pakistan's ousted premier Imran Khan on Monday demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after a slew of audio clips related to informal conversations between the premier and Cabinet officials surfaced. Pakistan's Intelligence Bureau has been ordered to investigate the security breach resulting from it. "PM Shehbaz Sharif should resign after the audio leaks involving him, some Cabinet members and government officials have surfaced," Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party chairman, said. "In the audio leaks, Shehbaz is talking about bringing machinery from India for his niece Maryam Nawaz's son-in-law (Raheel Munir). If Shehbaz has any shame left in him, he should resign forthwith otherwise we will make him go home," Khan said while addressing the Government College University (GCU) here. Khan further said another audio related to Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of former premier Nawaz Sharif, will soon be leaked in which she could be heard telling her father (Nawaz Sharif) that Imran is going to be disqualified by the Election Commission in the Toshakhana case for not disclosing the information regarding the gifts received from the state depository in his assets declaration. The leaked conversations have put a question mark on the flaws in the cyber security of the highest office (Prime Minister's Office) of Pakistan. In the over two-minute-long audio clip, Prime Minister Shehbaz can be heard saying that Maryam Nawaz had asked him to facilitate her son-in-law Raheel with the import of machinery for a power plant from India. Maryam's daughter Mehrunnisa married industrialist Chaudhry Munir's son Raheel in December 2015. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party's senior leader Fawad Chaudhry said in a tweet: "In a major cyber-attack on the PM Office 100 hours of conversations of PM and cabinet members have been leaked to an international hacker website. "The hacker has asked for USD 345,000 for a detailed record, that is about 8 GB. The conversations include political, economic and security related issues," he said. New Delhi: A day after India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar questioned the rationale behind the latest American F-16 security assistance to Pakistan, the United States on Monday (September 26, 2022) said that New Delhi and Islamabad are "both partners of the US" with different points of emphasis. Referring to the argument made by the US that the USD 450-million sustenance package for the F-16 fleet is to fight terrorism, Jaishankar on Sunday had said that "everybody knows" where and against whom F-16 fighter jets are used. "You're not fooling anybody by saying these things," he had said while answering a question during an interaction with Indian-Americans. On US Pak F16 announcement, EAM Jaishankar says,"everybody knows wr F16s are deployed, you not fooling anybody'. Add,it is upto US to "reflect what are the merits of this relationship....Its not good for you, reflect on the history" pic.twitter.com/7akHa7GiIg Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) September 26, 2022 To this, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said, "We don't view our relationship with Pakistan, and on the other hand, we don't view our relationship with India as in relation to one another. These are both partners of ours with different points of emphasis in each, and we look to both as partners because we do have in many cases shared values, we do have in many cases shared interests." "The relationship we have with India stands on its own. The relationship we have with Pakistan stands on its own," he told reporters at his daily news conference. "We also want to do everything we can to see to it that these neighbors have relations with one another that are as constructive as can be possible," Price added. US de links India Pak hyphenation in response Question on EAM Jaishankar expressing worries over Pak F16 announcement. State department says, "the relationship we have with India stands on its own" pic.twitter.com/ttLk7q2a9z September 27, 2022 His remarks came in the backdrop of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meeting Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Welcomed Pakistani Foreign Minister @BBhuttoZardari to the @StateDept to reaffirm our close partnership for economic prosperity, regional stability, and food security. I also emphasized our continued support for flood relief, including nearly $56.5 million in aid. #PakUSAt75 pic.twitter.com/TAZdFjh5zI Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 27, 2022 Spoke with Pakistani FM @BBhuttoZardari at the @NMADmuseum about the $10 million in additional U.S. aid towards food security in Pakistan. We are proud to build on other efforts as well, including womens empowerment via @USPWC. We are stronger when we work together. #PakUSAt75 pic.twitter.com/5PQx87E3iU Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 27, 2022 Early this month, the Biden administration approved a USD 450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan, reversing the decision of the previous Trump administration to suspend military aid to Islamabad for providing safe havens for the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network. Recently, in a call with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had also expressed India's concerns about the F-16 package to Pakistan. (With agency inputs) New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (September 27, 2022) met his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida and conveyed his deepest condolences for the demise of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. He said that Abe, who was assassinated in July, had taken India and Japan relations to new heights and expanded them into many other areas. "Our friendship played a key role in the growth of the global perspective. The people of India remember Abe San for all the good works he has done. They are missing Abe San," Prime Minister Modi said. "But, I do believe that under your leadership (Kishida), India-Japan relations will grow strong and will attain new heights, and will play a major role in solving the problems of the world," he added. He also noted the contributions of Abe in conceptualizing the vision of a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. Indian PM Modi extends condolences on demise of Shinzo Abe to Japanese PM Kishida; says, "India remember Abe San". PM Modi recalls his last meet with Abe in Tokyo. pic.twitter.com/nJvbcxHPFR Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) September 27, 2022 During the bilateral meeting, Modi and Kishida had a "productive exchange" of views on further deepening bilateral relations, India's Ministry of External Affairs said. "They also discussed a number of regional and global issues. The leaders renewed their commitment towards further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership, and in working together in the region and in various international groupings and institutions," an official statement read. PM @narendramodi met Japanese PM @kishida230 & extended his deepest condolences on the untimely demise of former PM Shinzo Abe. Also had a useful exchange on further enhancing bilateral relations and working together towards realization of a free, open & inclusive IndoPacific. pic.twitter.com/BMsTYnQLW6 Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) September 27, 2022 PM Modi is in Tokyo to attend the state funeral of Abe, who was attacked on July 8 in the city of Nara during a campaign speech and died later that day. PM @narendramodi arrives in Tokyo. Will participate in the State Funeral of former PM Shinzo Abe later today. Will also hold a bilateral meeting with PM @kishida230, reaffirming commitment to further strengthening of India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership. pic.twitter.com/LeUstT3aIN September 26, 2022 Abe's funeral will reportedly be the second state funeral for a former Japanese prime minister since World War II. The first one was held in 1967 for Shigeru Yoshida. Other deceased prime ministers received a joint Cabinet Office and Liberal Democratic Party service. (With agency inputs) New Delhi: President Vladimir Putin on Monday granted Russian citizenship to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, nine years after he exposed the scale of secret surveillance operations by the National Security Agency (NSA). Snowden, 39, fled the United States and was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret files in 2013 that revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the NSA, where he worked. U.S. authorities have for years wanted him returned to the United States to face a criminal trial on espionage charges. Snowden's name appeared without Kremlin comment in a Putin decree conferring citizenship on 72 foreign-born individuals. Snowden later issued a message, essentially an updated version of a November 2020 tweet, saying he wanted his family to remain together and asking for privacy. "After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our SONS," the tweet read. "After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference for my family. I pray for privacy for them - and for us all." After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our SONS. After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference for my family. I pray for privacy for themand for us all. https://t.co/24NUK21TAo pic.twitter.com/qLfp47uzZ4 Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 26, 2022 The new tweet made no reference to the Kremlin leader's decree, but it was attached to a 2020 Twitter thread in which Snowden said he and his family were applying for dual U.S.-Russian citizenship. The news prompted some Russians to jokingly ask whether Snowden would be called up for military service, five days after Putin announced Russia's first public mobilization since World War Two to shore up its faltering invasion of Ukraine. "Will Snowden be drafted?" Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the state media outlet RT and a vocal Putin supporter, wrote with dark humour on her Telegram channel. Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told RIA news agency that his client could not be called up because he had not previously served in the Russian army. He said that Snowden's wife Lindsay Mills, who gave birth to a son in 2020, would also apply for citizenship. U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said he was unaware of any change to Snowden's status as a U.S. citizen. "I am familiar with the fact that he has in some ways denounced his American citizenship. I don't know that he's renounced it," Price said in a press briefing. Russia granted Snowden permanent residency rights in 2020, paving the way for him to obtain Russian citizenship. That year a U.S. appeals court found the program Snowden had exposed was unlawful and that the U.S. intelligence leaders who publicly defended it were not telling the truth. Putin, a former Russian spy chief, said in 2017 that Snowden, who keeps a low profile while living in Russia, was wrong to leak U.S. secrets but was not a traitor. The State Funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took place in Tokyo today. Delegates from 217 countries from around the world reached Tokyo to attend it and pay their last respects to the departed Japanese leader. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, also reached Tokyo and bid a final farewell to Abe. This is said to be the most expensive funeral in the world. Shinzo Abe was shot and killed on July 8. The accused was apprehended on the spot. In such a situation, you must be thinking that when Abe died on July 8, why his funeral was held now - after two and a half months? How is the funeral done in Japan? Tribute to Shinzo In fact, on July 8, Shinzo Abe was assassinated. After that, the family cremated him on 15 July as per Buddhist tradition. The State Funeral that has taken place today is symbolic. Abe's ashes were placed in it as a tribute. Delegates from 217 countries around the world have arrived for Abe's final farewell. During this time, people shared their old memories related to Abe. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also reached Japan for this. Shinzo Abe has been one of PM Modi's "good friends." Buddhist Tradition Most people in Japan cremate dead bodies according to Buddhist tradition. According to this tradition, after death, the relatives apply water to the lips of the deceased. Which is called the water of the last time. There is a tradition of 'Wake' on the next day of death, in which acquaintances gather to get the last glimpse of the dead body. During this time, memories were shared. Men come wearing black suits, white shirts and black ties. At the same time, women come wearing black clothes. Many times, people also give money to the relatives of the deceased in black or silver-colored envelopes. Mantras are also recited according to Buddhist tradition. Like Hinduism After this, the dead bodies are handed over to the fire like in Hinduism. Meaning there is a tradition associated with burning a dead body. The coffin is slowly moved into a chamber of the electric crematorium. During this, the family members are present there. After the coffin is completed in the chamber, the relatives go back home. After two to three hours, the relatives are called again and the remains of the deceased are given to them. The relatives collect the bones with chopsticks and keep them in the Kalash. First, the bones of the feet and then the head is kept in the Kalash. According to Hindu tradition, the ashes of the deceased are immersed in rivers. At the same time, there is a slightly different tradition in Japan. The people there bury the remains kept in the urn in the family grave. Many people directly take the remains for burial, while many people keep them at their homes for a few days. Sometimes they are also divided separately. Ashes in A Vase There is also a tradition in Japan to keep the ashes in a vase. For this, a tomb-shaped almirah is made. Small tomb-sized almirahs are made where people keep ashes. From time to time, family members also pay homage by coming here. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead on the morning of July 8. Abe was taken to a hospital after the attack, where he died. Former PM Shinzo Abe was delivering a speech for the elections in Nara city at the time of the incident. The rally was held near Yamatosaidaiji Station in Nara City. Meanwhile, a former Japanese Navy officer shoots Abe from behind. The former PM was shot in the back. He was treated in the hospital for three hours, but his life could not be saved. The accused's name is Tetsuya Yamagami. He is 41 years old. He is a resident of Nara city. A six-day visit to the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region which ended on Sept 20 was an eye-opener for 11 journalists from Macao's Portuguese and English-language media. The trip was also the Macao-based journalists' expression of solidarity with the people of Xinjiang whose region has been maligned by exiled separatists and anti-China politicians in the West for far too long. The anti-China forces' allegations of genocide are preposterous judging by what the Macao journalists, most of whom had not visited the region before, saw and heard in Xinjiang. The extraordinarily well-organized tour took place at the invitation of the Office of the Commissioner of the Foreign Ministry of the People's Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region. Liu Xianfa, chief of the Commission of the Foreign Ministry of the PRC in Macao, quoting an old adage, told us a few days before we set off for the trip that anyone who hasn't been to Xinjiang doesn't know how large China is, and anyone who hasn't been to the region doesn't know how beautiful China is. Liu's remarks were spot-on. He knew what he was talking about as he has visited Xinjiang half a dozen times when working as an executive in a petroleum enterprise. Xinjiang, meaning "new frontier", is both huge (1.66 million square kilometers or one-sixth of the total size of China) and stunningly beautiful. It is larger than Western Europe's three biggest countries (France, Spain and Germany) put together. And its population is about 26 million, about the same as Australia. The visit took us to the regional capital of Urumqi, the prefecture-level city of Karamay in the north, and county-level city of Tacheng abutting Kazakhstan. En route by bus from Urumqi to Karamay, we visited a cotton field where we talked with representatives of the cooperative that runs the farm's operations. It was the first cotton plantation I visited in my life. It was also the first time I touched raw cotton bolls and climbed on top a combine harvester. Politically, the cotton field visit was important because some Western politicians and media have accused Xinjiang's cotton producers of using "forced labor" to pick cotton. The cooperative representative at the farm, however, told us that hand-harvesting was replaced by machines in Xinjiang a number of years ago. The region produces one-fifth of the world's cotton, arguably the world's oldest cash crop, and one can only hope that Western importers' ill-advised boycott of Xinjiang's high-quality cotton will soon be a thing of the past. Not least because, as has been all-too-often the case, the West's boycotts and sanctions hurt hardworking people the most. In Karamay, one of China's most important oil-producing and refining hubs, we visited Black Oil Mountain, a natural asphalt mound formed by the overflow of crude oil millions of years ago. The scenery in Karamay (which means "black oil" in the region's Uygur language) resembles a Martian landscape ideal for film productions such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I saw oil seeping out of the soil for the first time in my life in Karamay. And Karamay's thoroughly digitalized city administration and beautifully built village resorts showed us that development has reached even the country's remotest areas. In Tacheng, an agricultural hub, we visited a Tatar household, a family comprising six ethnicities, as well as an accordion museum where both adults and kids performed for us with gusto. At a lunch hosted by the Tacheng local officials, I took the liberty to suggest that Tacheng and Macao should become sister cities. They have a lot in common they are multi-ethnic and multi-cuisine destinations for example and both are part of the Belt and Road Initiative-Tacheng as an ancient Silk Road trading post between Asia and Europe, Macao as China's oldest entrepot for trade with Asia, Europe and even the Americas. Xinjiang has three main tourist attractions: beautiful sceneries, delicious food and, last but not least, its people's warm-hearted hospitality (as far as the latter is concerned, people in Macao could learn from their counterparts in Tacheng). On the other hand, the renowned Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) could assist Xinjiang in training its tourism and travel sector professionals including those working in the hotel and restaurant industry. Xinjiang is a culinary paradise, and I guess we all gained a few kilos during the trip. But what is still missing is a direct airlink between Macao and Xinjiang. During our almost weeklong stay in Xinjiang, we were able to meet people from different ethnicities, including Uygur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Tatar, admire their cultures and savor their cuisines. In our meetings with members of the region's different communities living and working side by side, as well as the offspring of intermarriages, ethnic unity was not just visible but could be felt too. In Urumqi, we visited an exhibition on the evil acts of terrorism that beset the region until about six years ago. While I knew about the incidents, I wasn't fully aware of the extent of brutality the religious extremists and separatists resorted to, and the fact that their heinous crimes go back decades. The imam of Yanghang Mosque and vice-rector of the Xinjiang Islamic Institute in Urumqi briefed us about the region's religious practices and studies on Sept 19. The exhibition, the imam's remarks and our conversations with the local people reaffirmed my view that terrorism is not related to ethnic or religious groups per se; instead, an "unholy" mix of politics and religion breeds extremism ultimately ending up in terrorism. And civic education and job training are the right way to pre-empt the emergence of politico-religious extremism and terrorism. We also visited a raft of museums in Xinjiang, and I think those tasked with running Macao's museums could take a leaf out of the book of their counterparts in Xinjiang. The museums are a treasure trove of Xinjiang's relics, multi-ethnic culture and the arts. The author is director of the Macau Post Daily. The CEO of a Lincoln company says its recent acquisition is likely to grow its workforce by 30% or more right now, with more growth likely in the future. PenLink, which makes communications, surveillance and other software for law enforcement and military clients, announced earlier this month that it acquired the GeoTime product line from Uncharted Software Inc. based in Toronto. GeoTime is a visual analysis and mapping software that allows law enforcement investigators to combine call detail records, mobile forensic data, location-tracking data and social media data. "The purchase will allow us to enhance our offerings by leveraging GeoTimes geo-temporal visualization and analysis tools," said Kevin Pope, PenLink CEO. "GeoTime is unrivaled in its ability to show movement and patterns over time, which is vital to our customers' success. Pope said the acquisition will lead to an immediate need to expand the workforce in Lincoln, with additional future growth likely. "Today PenLink has well over 100 employees. The acquisition of GeoTime will immediately expand our workforce by 30%," he said. "Current demand, coupled with further expansion, is expected to result in rapid increase of our workforce across the business, but most specifically in the areas of software development, engineering and business development." The company, which recently celebrated its 35th birthday, is in a position to expand thanks to an undisclosed infusion of capital earlier this year from Spire Capital, a New York-based private equity firm. When the investment was announced in April, Sean White, managing partner at Spire Capital, called PenLink "a national leader" in the U.S. law enforcement software market. "We are proud to partner with an existing team of highly capable and motivated executives, who are focused on the next phase of the companys growth, he said in a news release. Pope said the partnership with Spire is likely to mean PenLink will seek to grow further through acquisitions. We are certainly excited for the opportunity to partner with Spire Capital to accelerate our growth through strategic investments into public safety," he said. "We are and will continue to be very aggressive in business development through additional acquisitions." Twenty years after five people were slain in a Norfolk bank in one of the deadliest bank killings in U.S. history, the three men who shot them remain on death row with open appeals and no execution date in sight. In just 40 seconds on the morning of Sept. 26, 2002, Lola Elwood, Lisa Bryant, Jo Mausbach and Samuel Sun, employees at the US Bank branch in the northeast Nebraska town, and a customer at the counter, Evonne Tuttle, had been gunned down, the terrible crime captured on video and in the accounts of two employees who survived the nightmare. Jose Sandoval walked to the front, quickly shooting Sun, Tuttle and Mausbach. Erick Vela and Jorge Galindo went to offices on either side, Vela shooting Bryant and Galindo shooting Elwood, then firing at a customer who started to walk in. The three left empty-handed as the five died. Police later would describe the acrid smell of spent gunpowder and blood heavy in the air when they arrived. Within hours, Sandoval, Galindo and Vela would be locked up for it after stopping at a McDonald's in O'Neill, 75 miles away. But nothing else in the cases has happened quickly. The three ultimately landed on death row, Sandoval and Galindo after being found guilty at trial and Vela after pleading guilty. Separate three-judge panels found their crimes warranted death sentences. Then came automatic appeals, all rejected. But in the years since, legal twists complicated matters. First, a U.S. Supreme Court decision over how it's determined who gets life versus death. Then, Nebraska lawmakers' repeal of the death penalty in 2015, which voters reinstated the next year. Attorneys argued the sentences for everyone on the state's death row had been commuted to life in prison. And they've raised dozens of other issues that they say should lead to a new trial or a life sentence rather than death for them. In March 2019, the state filed a response in Sandoval's case arguing the district judge should deny his motion for post-conviction relief without a hearing. "The case files and records affirmatively show that the defendant is entitled to no relief," Solicitor General James Smith wrote. But court records indicate in the three and a half years since the filing, District Judge Geoffrey C. Hall of Fremont has yet to rule either way. In Vela's case, his attorney, Jerry Hug, told a federal court judge this May that he anticipated progression of the state court proceedings "with the understanding that the state court records of the petitioners capital case are voluminous and have necessarily involved considerable time to gather, review and organize. Additional time will be required for briefing, submission, and a state court decision." And Hug referenced a number of postconviction cases pending resolution in the Nebraska Supreme Court, including Galindo's. At oral arguments Sept. 1, Adam Sipple, Galindo's attorney, tried to convince the justices that a district court judge was wrong to deny a hearing on a motion for post-conviction relief. In a 138-page motion filed in 2019, he detailed a laundry list of issues, including the state's last-minute disclosure it was going to present evidence of Galindo's alleged involvement in the death of Travis Lundell, a 21-year-old who had gone missing a month before the bank robbery, in pursuit of a death sentence. "When Mr. Galindo's sentencing case is assessed and evaluated consistent with the law and consistent with the Constitution, his youth, his confession, his cooperation and his demonstrated remorse provide a strong case to spare him from execution," Sipple said. He said there were two huge issues that could have led to a life sentence if the sentencing panel had known. One, his trial counsel's failure to introduce the evidence of remorse. And two, his failure to argue Galindo's youth as a mitigating factor. Sipple said defense counsel at sentencing left sworn deposition testimony in his file from, among others, a captain at the jail who told a defense investigator that Galindo expressed remorse to him and another jail deputy, and testimony from a teacher who said he was immature and easily influenced by others. He also raised issues over a criminal investigation by the Nebraska State Patrol of the lead prosecutor, Madison County Attorney Joe Smith, "including his associations with drug-dealing suspects he called as jailhouse informants against Galindo." But Justice Jonathan Papik said, even if they found that trial counsel had been deficient and that the panel shouldn't have considered Lundell as an aggravator, "Wouldn't we then have to ask 'Well, is there prejudice?'" Is there a reasonable probability that the outcome would be different, he asked. Sipple agreed, but said the allegations created legitimate issues warranting an evidentiary hearing, which would lead to findings. On the other side, James Smith, the solicitor general, said even if the sentencing panel didn't consider the Lundell evidence and did consider Galindo's youth and remorse, it wasn't sufficient to outweigh all the aggravating circumstances. "In short, if you go in and murder five innocent people saying that 'Gee, I shouldn't get the death sentence because I really didn't kill the sixth,' that doesn't really indicate a prejudicial error in the sentencing that would justify having a futile evidentiary hearing," he argued. The Supreme Court hasn't yet ruled. Norfolk Mayor Josh Moenning wasnt living there on Sept. 25, 2002. But as a native of the area, I precisely recall the shock and bewilderment I experienced upon hearing the news, he told the Journal Star on Friday. Moenning called it an unthinkable horror that sent shockwaves throughout the community and entire state. Norfolks response, though, was telling, he said. Immediately the community embraced the victims families, supported their needs, and recognized the importance of honoring their loved ones legacies. "Ultimately created in the place of these heinous crimes was a place of solace and peace a natural landmark that to this day welcomes travelers on U.S. Highway 81 with a profound message: love and community always outlasts hate and violence. Editor's note: The 16th annual High Plains Book Awards recognizes regional literary works which examine and reflect life on the High Plains, including the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. highplainsbookawards.org The Creative Nonfiction Award recognizes books that present factual information on people, places or events using experiential techniques often associated with fiction, such as personal observation, narrative forms, and dramatic renderings of events. Subtitled as A Journey of Survival from Russia to East Asia and the American West, David Horgans book Helmis Shadow is a Creative Nonfiction finalist in the High Plains Book Awards. This may well have won an award for Most Sweeping Saga as well if there were such a category. The book compels one to read nonstop. Helmi and her mother Rachel Koskin lived their formative years escaping both Hitler and Stalin in Russia by escaping into Japan and China during the years when Russian Jews were continually hunted down and persecuted in the 1930s and 1940s. What does it take to survive what so many others could not survive? David Horgan, Helmis son, searched for this answer as he retraced the steps Helmi and Rachel took to eventually find security and a small sense of peace in Reno, Nevada. While this book serves as a haunting memoir, it also quickly becomes a fascinating history of the conflicts between China and Japan, of life in Russia, and, of course, events in the Second World War. Horgans research is meticulous and enticing, with detailed maps and rare photos which deliver rich substance to his warm, inviting narrative. Horgan is admirable in how quickly (and simply) he braids both personal and historical context to the challenges his mother and grandmother were forced to confront. While this memoir builds upon Helmis childhood in East Asia, it finds answers there as well for how Helmi was able to create a new life in the United States after the war. Her mother was a firm believer in books and language, and this serves Helmi well as fluency in other languages help her reach past what might have otherwise remained a confining life in East Asia. While we learn the practical details of her survival, the ability (or lack thereof) to overcome the shadows of ones past remains the compelling theme of this narrative. As Horgan discovers in his own journey tracing Helmis past, long-term trauma is not easily cancelled by a newfound sense of security. Sherry OKeefe, a great-granddaughter of a Montana pioneer, is the author of two books of poetry and three YA biographies. You are Invited October 8! Book Sale and Author Panels 11 AM 5 PM Billings Public Library Award Presentations MSU Billings Petro Theatre 7:30 PM no charge Editor's note: The 16th annual High Plains Book Awards recognizes regional literary works which examine and reflect life on the High Plains, including the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. highplainsbookawards.org The First Book Award honors a writers first published book in any category. Miraculous Sickness by Ky Perraun is a finalist in the First Book category of the 2022 High Plains Book Awards. In the epigraph, Perraun quotes Dr. Mark Vonnegut, who assumed his bipolar disorder to have poetic (rather than biochemical) causes and that he would never be able to find a poet skilled enough to express what was happening to him. Perraun, herself a schizophrenic, hopes that in this collection, she is poet / enough to give voice to those whose silence / screams to be acknowledged. Thus, her purpose. Perrauns poems trace the history of the disease back to the Egyptians, how King David required music to exile the demon/ inhabiting his soul through Galen, Nebuchadnezzar, Christ, Avicenna, Hippocrates, Freud, and the inhuman treatments foisted on the mentally ill throughout the ages. The speaker of these poems measures herself in the context of the inhuman treatments of history and finds that nobody knows for certain the cause of the disease, but. Only the suffering is indisputable. In the third section, Perraun shows how those with schizophrenia can progress. The meds provide calm and normality on one hand, but they also desensitize and desexualize. Cursed and blessed, I accept the risk of living with a disease of the mind. I clutch the hand that is offered me, though no cure comes. Finally, the poet realizes that she can help herself and give voice to others too. Her tool is. . . The pen, the instrument with which you navigate the chaos, you journal and compose with[, p]rogress evident in the paragraph, the line. So as she sharpens the writing, in a cool cast of reflection, she retains the flames of inspiration of the painful experiences. The poems and journal entries give her distance and objectivity while giving birth to a renewed, transformed experience, and as a result, [r]ecovery begins. By objectifying her experiences as a person with schizophrenia, the poet transcends the experiences of those whose screaming silence she seeks to acknowledge, and in doing so, she legitimizes their experiences and shows that she has made of her illness something miraculous. JP Mandler is a retired teacher who lives in Connecticut. You are Invited October 8! Book Sale and Author Panels 11 AM 5 PM Billings Public Library Award Presentations MSU Billings Petro Theatre 7:30 PM no charge Editor's note: The 16th annual High Plains Book Awards recognizes regional literary works which examine and reflect life on the High Plains, including the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. highplainsbookawards.org The Woman Writer Award honors the best book by a woman writer in any category. The Call of the Last Frontier: The True Story of a Womans Twenty-Year Alaska Adventure by Melissa L. Cook is a finalist in the High Plains Book Awards Woman Writer category. In 1995, Melissa Cook, originally from Detroit, and Elgin, her Wyoming husband, moved with their three young boys to the tiny native village of Nelson Lagoon on the Bering Sea coast, population 30. They came to Alaska in search of the pension to be earned if they would teach for 20 years. The Cooks went into the wilderness before there was Google to tell them what to expect. Native villages on the Bering Sea have unforgiveable, unforgettable weather. Seventy mile an hour winds strong enough to down a plane and collapse a building commonly occur. Imagine checking the front yard for bear every day. At their job interview, the school administrator asked if they had a 44-magnum as one of the students was eaten by a bear on his way home. Travel is by sea plane which is its own terror journey. The Alaskan bush has some of the boldest pilots in the world, but the odds catch up. Flying over water, under cloud cover, if a wave swipes a wing tip, it is going down. A passenger has 15 minutes to be rescued before hypothermia. Initially, with no internet, she and her husband are soul lonely with a bad case of cabin fever. When you live in a city like Detroit, it is hard to believe there is a place like this. When you live in this place, its hard to believe there is a city like Detroit. Going back to Wyoming every summer is both a relief and a reminder of what they are missing. Year three, the family moved to Prince of Wales Island in the Tongass National Forest where rain is measured in feet. Melissa develops a caring for the land though photography. The book is entertaining with anecdotes gleaned from personal experience, many terrifying. Having spent a few years myself on Kodiak Island with its 3,500 bears as well as Anchorage and Ketchikan, her stories provoked memories of how raw Alaska is. While I love my home state of Montana, Alaska has a vigor, a feeling of fresh possibility that I have never felt since. Shari Nault, High Plains Book Awards Chair, is the author of Buffalo Tango. You are Invited October 8! Book Sale and Author Panels 11 AM 5 PM Billings Public Library Award Presentations MSU Billings Petro Theatre 7:30 PM no charge Debate over how to direct funding for a possible low-barrier shelter in downtown Billings continued late into City Council's Monday night meeting. Their decision likely came well after press time. Council members have been debating for months how to use and even if they should use funds from last year's public safety mill levy and revenue from recreational marijuana sales for a shelter that would house some of the city's most vulnerable residents. So far, representatives from Substance Abuse Connect, the various local agencies represented by the Continuum of Care, the Montana Rescue Mission and RiverStone Health have all offered proposals to council for different programs. On Monday night, City Council was weighing specifically whether to fund a low-barrier shelter and whether that shelter funding would go to Continuum of Care or the Montana Rescue Mission. Continuum of Care, which organized and operated the low-barrier Off The Streets shelter that closed earlier this year, is looking for funding from the city to help operate a new shelter this fall and winter. Yellowstone County Continuum of Care is a coalition of local organizations and government entities that assist, manage or treat members of Billings' vulnerable and transient populations. It operates under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Housing Development. Those partnerships allow a low-barrier shelter operated by Continuum of Care to provide case management and "wrap-around care" monitoring those who use the shelter as they advance through the various mental health and addiction programs available. That specific case management is vital to reducing the number of transient and homeless city residents who repeatedly end up in emergency rooms, police patrol cars and the county jail, said Terri Todd, who runs a network of sober living houses in Billings. She told council members a low-barrier shelter operated by Continuum of Care was the best way to reduce the number of those repeat users. A properly run low-barrier shelter can also reduce the number of service calls to Billings police. While Off The Streets was operating from fall 2020 to earlier this year, Billings Police saw a significant drop in service calls in the area where the shelter was located. Matt Lundgren, executive director of the Montana Rescue Mission, presented a petition to council showing the support it had from its users and other community members for its operations. MRM, which has run its homeless shelter for more than 70 years, recently opened an emergency shelter serving much the same population as Off The Streets served last year. "We've been doing it for decades," Lundgren told council members. "We're asking if you can help us." The various agencies making up the Continuum of Care including Riverstone Health and the two hospitals, law enforcement and the Billings Crisis Center use a coordinated entry system to log who uses the various services and track their progress through the different programs offered in the region. The only group that hasn't used the system is the Montana Rescue Mission, a source of frustration for some of the other agencies in town. The data used by the federal government to track homelessness and to allocate funding to those agencies addressing it is pulled from the coordinated entry system. Without MRM's data, homelessness in Billings is undercounted and the agencies in town serving those populations receive less federal funding. Mayor Bill Cole asked Lundgren directly if MRM would switch to the coordinated entry system should the city allocate some of its funding to the Mission's emergency shelter. Lundgren said it would. Between funds from the public safety mill levy passed by voters last year and tax revenue from recreational marijuana sales, Billings has $864,952 for use specifically on substance abuse, mental and behavioral health and housing essential to public safety. So far, Billings City Council has spent much of the summer debating whether it should draw the public safety mill levy dollars or wait until next year to cash it out. As part of the mill levy, voters approved two mills worth $432,000 to be used for mental health and addiction recovery services as a way to address crime prevention. The University of Montana saw a slight dip in overall enrollment this fall despite welcoming its largest freshman class in six years. Decreased enrollment at Missoula College and online partnership programs for physical therapy largely drove the 1.5% reduction in overall enrollment compared to last fall. Last year, UM enrollment grew for the first time in nearly a decade, bringing it to 10,106 total students. This year, there are 9,955 total students enrolled at the University of Montana, which includes undergraduates, graduate students, the law school and students at Missoula College. UM continues to show a strong enrollment trajectory, said UM President Seth Bodnar. With the number of first-year students increasing, the improved retention rate among our students since 2018 and continued growth on our main campus, UM is now firmly in a cycle of growth. This years freshman class consists of 1,351 people, a 6% increase from fall 2021. Additionally, there are 74 first-year students who enrolled at the university with fewer than 30 college credits they earned through dual-enrollment courses in high school, bringing the total number of first-year students on campus to 1,425. Within the large freshman class, the main campus saw an 8.4% increase of resident students compared to last fall, and a slight boost of students attending from out of state. Despite the overall drop in enrollment, there are 8,094 students enrolled at the main campus slightly more than last falls 8,074. The main campus saw growth among veteran students, students with disabilities and Native Americans. However, there were decreases among first-generation students and students who receive federal student aid, or Pell Grants. There was a decline of 2.3% of students enrolled at Missoula College from last fall, bringing its enrollment to 1,215. However, there are 192 students participating in dual-enrollment credit opportunities, which is up 35% from the previous year. Students participating in short-term academic programs through Missoula College are not currently reflected in the universitys census. This year, there are 758 students enrolled in classes through AccelerateMT, which provides training for the highest-demand skills through a variety of partnerships with local businesses in Montana. AccelerateMT's proven track record of providing rapid training to meet key workforce needs made them an ideal partner as we seek to strengthen Montanas pipeline of skilled workers, said Laurie Esau, commissioner of the Montana Department of Labor & Industry. The success we see today will help ensure a robust Montana workforce for years to come. Though the program has course offerings online and at various campuses across the state, AccelerateMT is housed within Missoula College. If those students were reflected in both the university and Missoula Colleges enrollment it would bring their respective total enrollments to 10,713 and 1,973. An 18% decrease in participation in the Rehab Essentials online physical therapy partnership program also pushed down the universitys overall enrollment. Since 2008, the university has partnered with Rehab Essentials for physical therapists across the world who seek a mid-career graduate degree. As the pool of physical therapists wishing to bridge to a doctoral degree naturally declines, the number of enrolled students in this program was expected to decrease, said Reed Humphrey, dean of the UM College of Health. A similar academic partnership is expected to launch soon for occupational therapists, which Humphrey anticipates will increase enrollment in the future. Retention at the university held steady at 74%. Since Bodnar started as UMs president in 2018, student retention has risen 6%. Additionally, the universitys fall tuition revenue is up nearly $40 million and is 12.4% higher than the same period in 2021. UM is on sound financial footing, said Paul Lasiter, the universitys vice president for operations and finance. We are well positioned to continue making critical investments in our students and our campus infrastructure for years to come. Montana's other flagship university also reported a slight dip in its overall enrollment from last fall and also has a sizable freshman class, according to reporting from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Montana State University's total enrollment is at 16,688 this fall, with 3,752 first-time college students. Bird flu continues a resurgence in North Dakota, with another case documented in the eastern part of the state. The confirmation in a turkey and chicken flock in Ransom County is the first detection in a commercial flock in North Dakota in five months. Fourteen of the state's 19 cases since spring have been in small backyard flocks, though the bulk of the birds destroyed in the state have been in the commercial flocks. It's standard practice to destroy infected flocks so the birds don't enter the food chain. Federal data shows that 167,096 birds in North Dakota have been destroyed, with 166,500 of them in commercial flocks, though the data wasn't immediately updated Tuesday with the Ransom County case. Nearly 46.5 million birds have been destroyed nationwide amid the avian influenza outbreak. North Dakota has nine turkey farms that produce about 1 million birds annually. The State Board of Animal Health last month changed its strategy for protecting them and backyard flocks from bird flu, going from a statewide to a regional approach. All shows, public sales, swaps and exhibitions of poultry and other birds are banned in counties with confirmed cases, along with adjoining counties. Producers in those counties also are barred from taking birds to or from poultry events in nonrestricted counties. Violations are punishable by a fine of up to $5,000. Restrictions are lifted if no new bird flu cases emerge within 30 days of the implementation of the bans. The documentation in Ransom County extends a ban on poultry events there and in the adjoining counties of Barnes, Cass and Richland. Events in those counties had already been under suspension because of an Aug. 31 bird flu detection in a Cass County backyard flock. That case also impacted Traill and Steele counties. The Ransom County case also adds restrictions to three additional counties that don't border Cass: LaMoure, Dickey and Sargent. A Sept. 21 confirmation in a backyard flock in Ward County in north central North Dakota triggered a ban on events in that county and five others: Renville, McHenry, McLean, Mountrail and Burke. A map of the 15 North Dakota counties with restrictions as of Tuesday is at https://bit.ly/3RhaGbk. The three confirmations in North Dakota in the past month are the first since a summer lull that began in early June. The state's first two cases were in March, with 12 more occurring in April at the height of the outbreak. There also have been 279 confirmed cases of avian influenza in numerous types of wild birds throughout the state, including in Burleigh and Morton counties, according to federal data. That's most in the nation. Bird flu infection in people is rare, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More information about bird flu and biosecurity is available at www.nd.gov/ndda/disease/avian-influenza, https://bit.ly/3L7FzMV and usgs.gov/centers/nwhc. Sick or dead wild birds can be reported at https://gf.nd.gov/wildlife/diseases/mortality-report. Preliminary autopsy results indicate a homeless man found slain near the Fort Lincoln Trolley bridge in Mandan late last week was stabbed to death, police said Tuesday. Kevin Greybull "died of stabbing and cutting injuries caused by a sharp implement," Deputy Chief Lori Flaten said in a statement. The body of Greybull, 65, who had no permanent address but spent time in Bismarck and Mandan, was found about 7 p.m. Friday by officers who responded to a call of an unresponsive man in the 1900 block of Third Street Southeast near the trolley bridge, which spans the Heart River in a heavily wooded area. Authorities are treating the death as a homicide but haven't commented on whether they have identified any possible suspects. "That is something we are not discussing at this time," Flaten told the Tribune on Tuesday. She did not immediately elaborate. She has previously said that authorities don't believe there is any danger to the public. Police have asked for the public's help in tracking Greybull's whereabouts in the days before he was killed. Flaten on Tuesday thanked members of the public and local businesses for "providing valuable information." Greybull was last seen around 7:15 p.m. Thursday in the area of the 700 block of Third Street Southeast in Mandan. He was wearing an orange Philadelphia Flyers shirt, khaki pants and gray shoes. People with information about Greybull or his movements can contact Mandan police at 701-667-3250. The Mandan Police Department, Morton County Sheriff's Office and state Bureau of Criminal Investigation are conducting the probe into Greybull's death. The Mandan homicide was the second reported in the metro area on Friday. A 16-year-old Bismarck boy is accused of fatally shooting a man from McLaughlin, South Dakota, that day at Motel 6 in the capital city. The teenager was arrested in Warren, Minnesota, later in the day, and authorities are bringing him back to Bismarck to face prosecution in the death of Maurice Thunder Shield, 28. Officials have not released the boy's name because he's a juvenile. Police have said he and Thunder Shield knew one another, and that the shooting was a targeted attack. Authorities have not released information related to the circumstances that led to the shooting, a possible motive or specific evidence, citing potential hindrance of prosecution. Jurors hearing the case of a Bismarck woman accused in the 2019 death of her husband will be able to piece together physical and technical evidence that shows she conspired with a lover to plot and cover up the killing, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday. Evidence will show Nikki Sue Entzel and Earl Howard agreed to kill Chad Entzel, agreed to set the house on fire to collect the insurance benefits and to cover up the murder, and agreed to tamper with evidence by destroying or disposing of (a) second shotgun shell and setting a fire to cover up the evidence of the murder, Burleigh County States Attorney Julie Lawyer said. Defense attorney Thomas Glass reserved his opening statement for later in the trial, which is scheduled for two weeks. Nikki Entzel, 41, and Howard, 43, were accused in early 2020 of plotting the death of Chad Entzel, 42, and attempting to cover it up. They were charged with three conspiracy felonies -- murder, arson, and evidence tampering. Howard about a year ago pleaded guilty to four felonies under a deal with prosecutors. South Central District Judge Douglas Bahr, who is overseeing Entzels trial, in February sentenced him to 50 years in prison with 25 years suspended on the most serious charge of murder conspiracy. Howard will have to serve about 21 years before he's eligible for parole. He is on the prosecutions witness list for Nikki Entzels trial. She has pleaded not guilty. She could face life in prison if convicted. Emergency workers found Chad Entzel's body when they responded to a call of a house fire in northeast Bismarck on Jan. 2, 2020. Emergency responders to the home thought at first that his death might have been by suicide. Further investigation showed several factors the distance of the shotgun from his body, and simultaneous fires in the bedroom and furnace room were too much of a coincidence for that to be true, Lawyer told jurors. An autopsy later showed Chad Entzel had been shot twice. You cant commit suicide shooting yourself twice with a shotgun, Lawyer said. The prosecution will present evidence showing Nikki Entzel and Howard plotted Chad Entzels death and that they returned to the home after their initial attempt at starting a fire was unsuccessful, according to the prosecutor. The two took one of the empty shotgun shells and left an unfired round in the gun, Lawyer said, adding that the two placed liquor bottles and other items in the room to make it look like Chad Entzels death was not a murder. Nikki Entzel called her husbands workplace to say he was sick, and told officials she had moved out of the home she shared with him and into a motel. That room was registered in Howards name, Lawyer said. What you will ultimately hear is that Nikki Entzel was having an affair with Earl Howard, Lawyer said. Chad Entzel was shot twice with a shotgun, left dead and a fire was started. Nikki Entzel in the days after Chad Entzels death inquired with an insurance company about widow benefits and claims to renter and life insurance policies, Lawyer said. The renter policy was only a few days old and worth up to $31,000; the life insurance policy was worth $600,000 and was two years old, the prosecutor said. Nikki Entzel called her insurance company on Jan. 3, 2020 the day after her husbands body was found to start the claims process. The rental insurance policy went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 27, 2019, after she called a salesman on Dec. 26. seven days before Chad Entzels body was found. His name was not on any of the insurance documents obtained by investigators, according to Derek Hill, a special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who testified Tuesday. Hill also testified that several items in the room where Chad Entzels body was found led officials to believe his death wasnt suicide. The body was on the floor and the shotgun was on the bed. Both left an outline in the soot from the fires, indicating they were there before the fire started, according to Hill. The fire on the bed was spotty in nature, which the agent said indicated an ignitable liquid was used to accelerate the blaze. The amount of soot in the house is evidence of a fire thats starving for oxygen, Hill said, adding that the door to the bedroom where Entzel died was closed or only partially open. The only signs of fires originating were in the bedroom and the furnace, and evidence of an accelerant was found at both locations, the agent said. There were two areas of trauma on Chad Entzels body, according to Hill, which from his experience as an investigator didnt fit the pattern of a suicide, he said. People in seats reserved for family cried and comforted each other as autopsy photos were displayed on courtroom monitors. Dr. William Massello, who was the state medical examiner in 2020, explained that Chad Entzel died of gunshot wounds that were devastating. One entered below and behind his left ear and caused multiple fractures of the skull and severely injured the brain, the doctor said. Another entered Entzels left tricep, exited through his shoulder and entered his head. It likely would have been lethal, and if not would have left Chad Entzel neurologically disabled, Massello said, adding that the shots were fired from a maximum of 3 feet away. Massello said if Chad Entzel had died while the fire was burning the same soot present on his body would have been present in his windpipe and lungs. Glass, the defense attorney, objected to some of the autopsy photos being shown to the jury, saying they were unnecessary and that diagrams shown by Massello would have served the same purpose. Bahr overruled the objection and allowed the photos into evidence. The discussion took place after jurors had been excused for the day. Prosecutors earlier said Nikki Entzel told law officers that Howard shot her husband, but that an evaluation of the gun didnt conclude who pulled the trigger. Bahr last May dismissed a murder charge against Howard at the request of Lawyer. Attorneys on Monday chose a jury of 12 women and four men in Entzels trial. Four of them will serve as alternates. Dont forget to subscribe to our free email newsletter today! The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Lawyers on Tuesday are to make opening statements in the murder, arson and evidence tampering conspiracy trial of a Bismarck woman accused in the 2019 death of her husband in a case authorities allege involves a love triangle and an insurance policy. Attorneys on Monday narrowed a pool of potential jurors. Twelve jurors will decide the fate of Nikki Entzel, 41. Opening statements are to follow jury instructions on Tuesday. Nikki Entzel and a Canadian man, Earl Howard, 43, were accused in early 2020 of plotting the death of Chad Entzel, 42, and attempting to cover it up. Emergency workers found Chad Entzel's body when they responded to a call of a house fire in northeast Bismarck on Jan. 2, 2020. He died of gunshot wounds, an autopsy showed. Authorities have alleged that Nikki Entzel and Howard were in a romantic relationship, and that Nikki Entzel took out a $26,000 renter's insurance policy in the days before Chad Entzel's death and tried to collect on it after he died. Howard about a year ago pleaded guilty to four felonies under a deal with prosecutors. South Central District Judge Douglas Bahr sentenced him to 50 years in prison with 25 years suspended on the most serious charge of murder conspiracy. Howard will have to serve about 21 years before he's eligible for parole. He is on the prosecutions witness list for Nikki Entzels trial. Nikki Entzel has pleaded not guilty. She faces a possible life sentence if convicted. Two weeks have been set aside for her trial, which Bahr is overseeing. Its not known if she will testify in her own defense. Prosecutors earlier said Nikki Entzel told law officers that Howard shot her husband, but that an evaluation of the gun didnt conclude who pulled the trigger. Bahr last May dismissed a murder charge against Howard at the request of Burleigh County States Attorney Julie Lawyer. One of two brothers arrested after an August incident in which police say shots were fired on a Bismarck college campus has pleaded not guilty to damaging school property and firing a handgun into a residence. Damion Proffit, 32, of Fargo, entered pleas to six felonies at a Monday arraignment. He is charged with two counts of terrorizing, reckless endangerment, two counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle, and fleeing police. He also faces misdemeanor charges of unauthorized use of a vehicle, wearing a mask during the commission of a crime, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. Proffit and his brother, Devin Proffit, 29, of Staples, Minnesota, were arrested after calls led police to a mobile home park adjacent to University Drive about 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 25. Authorities took a report about 1:30 a.m. that day of a hit-and-run on the south side of the United Tribes Technical College campus. Police allege Damion Proffit drove a college utility truck through a fence, and that the men threatened a man they saw shooting video of them. The man told police one of the men tried to kick in his door before they left. Police responded to a report of shots fired at the campus and near the same residence about 5:45 a.m., according to an affidavit. Officers found spent shell casings near the house, a bullet hole in an exterior wall of an entryway, and a bullet lodged in the water heater, the document states. No injuries were reported. Authorities allege video footage from Devin Proffits phone shows Damion Proffit firing the gun toward the campus while wearing a mask to cover his mouth and nose. Police said they found the two about an hour later in a car that had been reported stolen. Devin Proffit allegedly told police he threw a gun and magazine out the window of the car after the shooting to protect his brother, who he said is a convicted felon. The two sped off after police initiated a stop, then ran away from the car when they stopped, police said. Officers caught up with them a short time later in the mobile home park. Devin Proffit is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday. He is charged with felony tampering with evidence. Federal, state and local investigators in northwest North Dakota are looking into the cause of an oil rig explosion and fire that sent three workers to the hospital. The crew members were taken to a burn center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The well site in Mountrail County is owned by Chord Energy, which said the three contract workers are in stable condition. The blast and fire happened Friday night near Stanley. According to authorities, the fire was contained to the site location. Emergency crews from Stanley and New Town were among those responding to the scene. A North Dakota man who prosecutors say intentionally ran over an 18-year-old at a street dance has been charged with murder. Shannon Brandt was initially charged with criminal vehicular homicide in the Sept. 18 killing of Cayler Ellingson. But that charge has been dropped and prosecutors announced the upgraded charge against the 41-year-old on Friday. Brandt is also charged with leaving the scene of a crash. Brandt initially told authorities that there had been a political argument and that Ellingson was part of a Republican extremist group. But investigators say the case is not political. A man who knows the family has said Ellingson was not a political person. Complete visibility of data enables financial institutions to make faster, more informed decisions. To provide financial institutions with this ability, Elastic developed Elastic on Microsoft Azure, a tool that absorbs data and creates real-time, AI-powered insights. Read this product overview to explore 3 ways that Elastic empowers financial services: Delivers rapid insights Protects against cybercrime And 1 more. You can create personalized omnichannel experiences for customers and protect your environment. To enable businesses to do both, Elastic developed Elastic on Microsoft Azure, which includes a search-based platform that enhances search experiences and protects against cyberthreats. Read this product overview to learn how Elastic on Microsoft Azure can drive brand loyalty. I have a reasonably high tolerance for uncomfortable television and movies, maybe a higher tolerance than I should, but the first thing I would say about the HBO Max series The Anarchists is that it is not for the faint of heart. In this case, though, the tough stomach required is not due to excessive violence, cringey sexual content, or other common factors in objectionable material. The series is tough to watch because it directly touches on elements of human depravity that are unpleasant to engage. It shines a light on a certain darkness that can creep over the human soul that is more than I bargained for when deciding to watch the documentary. And yet, out of the very depressing reality that the series covers, a lesson is to be discovered of profound importance for the intellectually curious and morally rooted. The Anarchists is a look behind the scenes at a group of American-born anarchists who took refuge together in Acapulco, Mexico, leaving behind their careers and domestic roots for a life committed to autonomy. Eventually, select members of these anarchistic refugees start an annual conference called Anarchapulco. The documentary covers the rise and fall of the conference, dovetailed with the rise and fall of this community. The gripping drama that is both tangential to and at the root of this groups implosion is the murder of a drug-dealing fugitive member of their community, and the eventual suicide of the PTSD-suffering veteran widely believed to have been complicit in the murder. The tensions are heightened by the sensational real-life drama that defined this communitymurder, drugs, inordinate alcohol consumption, scandal, fraud, corruption, violence, lawbreaking, and all the rest. Yet the filmmakers include some modest level of the philosophy of anarchism to seep through as well, allowing the leaders of the movement to state their case for a society disconnected from rules, norms, and institutions. The filming of this sect could ideally have led to a provocative documentary on an iconoclastic group of intellectually eccentric adults. Perhaps the filmmakers (and the subjects of the documentary themselves) could have crafted a series that evaluated the pros and cons of anarcho-capitalistic thinking, countercultural philosophy, and the capacity for human autonomy unhindered by the laws of nature and the laws of men. But alas, like the philosophy of anarchism itself, such a documentary was doomed from the beginning, assured only of ending in the chaos and despair this series had to highlight. Missing from the Acapulco anarchy movement was a framework for liberty rooted in morality and ordered love. Ultimately, what was palpably present in the Acapulco anarchy movement was the fate of all human autonomy untethered from the law of God and awareness of the basic human condition. Those of us who value the concept of liberty are wise to consider the bondage that futile human efforts at liberty paradoxically create when said liberty is uprooted from the soil of morality, love, character, and biblical wisdom that must sustain it. And that is what The Anarchists is really aboutbondage, not liberty. The bondage of an intelligent young woman destined to a life as a fugitive, all because of her pursuit of what she foolishly called liberty. The bondage of a well-intentioned mother who, along with her three children, watched her husband drink himself to death (literally), only to become abandoned to economic despair and isolation in the aftermath of broken dreams and misguided aspirations. The bondage of a virtual cult leaderfor the record, entrepreneur Jeff Berwickdriving the whole operation, corrupted by his own greed and substance abuse, functioning with no moral compass or regard for neighbor. Every single character in this series becomes a tragic figure, and essentially all for the exact same reasons. One of the communitys members states with deep regret near the end of the final episode: When we give into negative urges, when we act like wild and crazy people, were putting up this persona that were a bunch of high school kids with no consequences. When I see these people fail, they make statism look like a better alternative. This ought to be the takeaway of the series for those of us who loathe statism yet find anarchy a godless non sequitur to the problem of excessive government. Our cause can never be a free society for the mere sake of a free society, but rather a free society for the enlightened cause of human flourishing. The anarchy movement, covered fairly and thoroughly in this series, is a case study in our God-created need for authority, cooperation, community, freedom, and responsibility. The grift, abuse, violence, and darkness that took root in this community came about for the simple reason that their freedom tree was planted in that very depleted soil. Another despondent anarchist notes at the series conclusion: If you take away our comfort, our food, all that kind of stuff, were animals. Well do the worst things to each other. We have to see the animal side of ourselves before we advocate for the responsibility of freedom. The responsibility of freedom is a glorious thing, and it is fundamentally irreconcilable with some romantic notion of autonomy. Freedom can never flourish as every man doing what is right in his own eyesand in fairness to the community at the heart of this series, murder, drugs, and debauchery should be the expected result in any forum celebrating autonomy. Man was created with dignity to be free, but with a nod to his eternal destiny. Our freedom and eternal destiny are inseparable from law, from order, from community, and from civility. It is easy to watch a series like this and suspect the modern anarchy movement guilty of a flawed or miscalculated sociology. But I am sad to say, sadder after watching this series, that it is not a particular sociology that is at the root of this tragedy. That could conceivably be re-engineered. Rather, it is a moral pathology that hated a loving Lawgiver who alone holds the key to our escape from bondage. Mattel offers a second signature Barbie for Dia de Muertos. Javier Meabe is again behind the designs, the same creator behind the recently released Gloria Estefan Barbie. "I'm excited that we get to expand the world of Dia De Muertos in the Barbie portfolio. We also get to see it come to life through the vision of Benito Santos, who also loves and celebrates the holiday," says Barbie Signature designer Javier Meabe. Three models were released, including an already sold-out Benito Santos x Barbie Doll available only to the Barbie Signature Members. Benito Santos is a world-renowned Mexican designer. You can check out his fall collection in Vogue Magazine. As Meabe told the New York Times on the 2019 occasion of the release of the first Dia de Muertos Barbie, "'I grew up going to Mexico and I pulled a lot of that inspiration and things that I remember growing up,' he said, adding that he fashioned the doll's dress after ones he saw his mother wear. 'That is something that is very dear to my heart,' Mr. Meabe said of the holiday. 'I know how important it is to honor and respect family and friends that are no longer with us.'" How to reconcile creative expression within a political climate that targets migrants -particularly from Latin America, but not exclusively for incarceration and deportation? As was the case in 2019, the discussion of cultural appropriation in a capitalist society must be addressed. "I don't think Mattel has a genuine interest in Mexican culture," Gloria Gonzalez-Lopez, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin and a Mexican immigrant, told CNN, summing up much of the criticism against the company. "It's more an interest in making money. Who is this doll going to? Is it the Mexican worker who cleans homes? Are they identifying themselves with Barbie? It's fascinating to see how these standards of beauty are placed on girls, and now we have another layer on top." Mariluz Gonzalez, a co-host of the public radio program on KPFK in Los Angeles called "Travel Tips for Aztlan" similarly comments, "' It's obviously cultural appropriation, but como te digo?' Ms. Gonzalez said. 'It's what our country loves to do. It's all about marketing. Is our culture benefiting economically because of that?' she continued. 'Is our government doing anything for us? And the raids, and all that, and we should be happy about a doll?'" In some sense, capitalism itself is an extractive logic of organizing society. Capitalist culture, not simply organizing a capitalist economy, encourages the monetization of life, and deference to privatization and "the market", while instrumentalizing social relations as a means to an end. Consider that capitalism is the appropriation of culture, minerals, or ideas for profit and power. Capitalism is legalized theft. This is not a new story. That Mattel is making money off of another culture is simply the American way of life, unfortunately. Think of the electronics companies that make tens of millions of dollars in profits off of the technology created by artists in the Bronx that invented "two turntables and a microphone." The invention of a new sound system with re-wired technologies transformed music on the planet. Did the inventors get any flow? Where is the intellectual property protection for these creative geniuses? Welcome to the Terrordome, only now the dome is adorned with cultural artifact to make you feel less terror? Forced sterilization. Racial discrimination. Coercion. Deception. Abuse. Violence. Bullying. Disdain. Gaslighting. Eugenics. These are just some of the words describing the experiences of women of color, particularly Spanish-speaking women, at the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center. Women seeking medical treatment were coerced into caesarean sections, sterilized and released. Medical forms were not translated, and procedures and options were not explained. There was neither information nor consent. In 1975, ten Mexican American women who had been sterilized against their will organized the federal class-action lawsuit with the support of lawyer Antonia Hernandez and Bernard L. Rosenfeld, a young resident at the hospital who decided to copy the medical records and report what was happening, in the case known as Madrigal v. Quilligan. Dr. E. James Quilligan was the lead county obstetrician at the time. The plaintiffs included Dolores Madrigal, Consuelo Hermosillo, Melvina Hernandez, Maria Figueroa, Jovita Rivera, Helena Orozco, Maria Hurtado, Guadalupe Acosta, Estella Benavides, and Georgia Hernandez. A PBS Independent Lens production, "No Mas Bebes, tells the story of a little-known but landmark event in reproductive justice, when a small group of Mexican immigrant women sued county doctors, the state, and the U.S. government after they were sterilized while giving birth at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Marginalized and fearful, many of these mothers spoke no English, and charged that they had been coerced by doctors into tubal ligationhaving their tubes tiedduring the late stages of labor. Often the procedure was performed after asking the mothers under duress." The Library of Congress webpage explains that Antonia Hernandez worked with Charles Navarette at the "Model Cities Center for Law and Justice. These activist lawyers "collaborated with Comision Feminil, a feminist organization led by Gloria Molina, and argued their case on the basis of Roe v. Wade, claiming that women possessed the reproductive rights to procreate and to an abortion." First released in 2016, and produced by historian Virginia Espino and Academy-Award-nominated filmmaker Renee Tajima-Pena, "The film not only brings to light an embarrassing era for the United States but it also raises questions that are fitting for today, such as immigration policies and their effects on families, women's rights at the hands of politicians, access to health care and reproductive care, and the practice of sterilization without patient consent. The definition of reproductive justice is further examined and clarified in the film as the concept continues to evolve." This New York Times review explains, "Ms. Tajima-Pena and her subjects wrestle with the question of how and why it happened. Dr. Rosenfeld makes the obvious, and irrefutable, comparison to Nazi eugenics. No overarching conspiracy comes into sight, thoughjust a confluence of panic about overpopulation, a gusher of federal funds for population-control studies, and age-old prejudices about ethnicity, class, and poverty." Espino explains how it felt to become aware of these events: "I was appalled that it happened. It was something that was so shocking," said Espino. "And then I became angry that it was something I'd never learned about." For an interview with the director, Renee Tajima-Pena, click here. In 1976, Antonia Hernandez wrote, "Chicanas and the Issue of Involuntary Sterilizations: Reforms Needed to Protect Informed Consent." Questions of informed consent, coercion, and intent were at the heart of the lawsuit. As reported in the New York Times, "When the suit came to trial in 1978, Judge Jesse W. Curtis ruled that 'This case is essentially the result of a breakdown in communications between the patients and the doctors.' 'Misunderstandings' occurred because the women were, primarily, Spanish-speakersTheir emotional distress at being sterilized, Curtis wrote, was caused by their 'cultural background' as immigrants from rural Mexico who believed that a woman's worth is tied to her ability to raise a large familynot by their sterilizations. Dr. E.J. Quilligan told a reporter, 'We were practicing good medicine.'" The class action lawsuit was lost. In 2018, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors offered a formal apology. But there has been no talk of restoration, reparations, or justice for that matter. This is a devastating and sad film, revealing how doctors and health institutions treated people deemed less worthy. These decisions impacted thousands of women's lives, and the lives of their families and communities. This is also a film about brave people, and the community organizations and activists that supported them, taking on the Medical Industrial Complex in its early years of formation. For a history of race science, public policy, culture and social norms, see Alexandra Stern's, Eugenic Nation : Faults and Frontiers of Better Breeding in Modern America from University of California Press. For a bibliography on the forced sterilization of Puerto Rican women, click here. For history of Puerto Rican Women's struggle for reproductive rights, click here. See Jane Lawrence's, "The Little Known History of the Forced Sterilization of Native American Women here. For a thorough discussion of the forced sterilization of Black women, see Shatema Threadcraft, Intimate Justice : The Black Female Body and Body Politic. As The Smithsonian Magazine reports, "The legacy of these infringements on reproductive rights is still visible today. Recent incidents in Tennessee, California, and Oklahoma echo this past. In each case, people in contact with the criminal justice systemoften people of colorwere sterilized under coercive pressure from the state." Quentin Tarantino's greatest strength as a filmmaker is also the basis of the criticism that hounds him most persistently: his reverence for classic films. Fans of Tarantino love how frequently and lovingly he homages great directors and their movies. At the same time, his detractors believe that Tarantino is nothing more than a petty cinema thief that swipes impressive sequences to bolster his profile as a visionary auteur. Even if you fall into the latter's camp, it's impossible to deny that Tarantino still adds his own twist to whatever scene he replicates. Post Jackie Brown, most cinephiles began to notice how much the work of famed Italian director Sergio Corbucci influenced Tarantino. From swiping the score from Navajo Joe for Kill Bill to the title and structure of Django Unchained, it's clear that Tarantino knows his way around Corbucci's catalog of films. In the video linked above, Tarantino offers his fan-fiction backstory for Corbucci's bloody revenge flick Django. In the great American tapestry of seasonal expectations and experiences, perhaps no other state conjures as strong of an association with any season than that of Vermont in fall. With her rolling hills and small towns illuminated with endless hues of red, orange and yellow, Vermont is the belle of the Fall Ball. But in my travels through Western New York, Ive discovered an area that equals the Vermont in Fall experience. It's not our traditional favorite fall spots like Ellicottville, East Aurora or the mighty Letchworth, but a still-percolating group of towns and villages tucked within Allegany County that, from above, roughly forms the shape of a diamond. And thats as it should be, as the area is a hidden gem that can steal your breath away with her enchanted (as its tourism slogan says) and brilliantly colored rolling hills and valleys. Nearby Angelica, Cuba, Wellsville and Alfred are four spots where you can get your Vermont in Fall experience with foliage-rich drives and picturesque small towns. Angelica is perhaps the most quaint New England-style town of this group and the perfect place to start your daytrip. With its simple, sweet goodness, Angelica will sneak up on you as you drive along its main street lined with a stately, tall-pillared library and period-style homes toward its most unique feature, the Park Circle Historic District. Grab a hot coffee at the Country Sweets Cafe and a warm, freshly baked treat at Angelica Bakery and browse the antique shops while taking a contemplative walk through Park Circle which features an old-style post office, multiple churches, the county courthouse and a B&B for an inspiring warmup to the adventure ahead. From Angelica, you can head east to Alfred, west to Cuba or south to Wellsville. The Cuba Cheese Shoppe has always been one of the main draws in Cuba with its wonderful variety of cheeses and gifts. But over the last few years, the village has quietly had a bit of a renaissance and now offers a lot more than cheese. Cuba is now on point with its Main Street USA Genesee Park that effortlessly welcomes visitors into the village and transports you back in time with its perfectly appointed gazebo and beautiful period-style homes lining the perimeter on the small parkway. You also can take a relaxing drive around Cuba Lake and a slight detour a few miles up on Mount Monroe Road for a view that will blow you away. You can rent a kayak or make an entire day of it and rent a pontoon boat from Cuba Lake Marina. From Cuba, head southeast to take in more vibrant fall foliage cascading along the enchanted hills into Wellsville, a busy little hub of commerce and industry in this gem of a region. Park in the free public lot just off of Madison behind Main Street where youll discover one-of-a-kind boutiques, shops, restaurants, a classic movie theater and even a new brewery and creative arts center. Picture a small-town Elmwood strip and youll be right on the money. Add in the surrounding hills full of brilliant fall color and the clean, crisp country air and you cant go wrong. Main Street features two regionally famous restaurants, The Beef Haus and The Texas Hot, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. Youll also find an Italian restaurant called L'Italia that people have just been raving about. Be sure to visit the David A. Howe Library, which has become the center of cultural activities in Wellsville. It has a 100,000-item catalog, a 300-seat theater, the Howe Gallery, Tuesday lunches on the Terrace and many programs and events. To get to Alfred from Wellsville, head north on Route 19 and take Vandermark Road into Scio, which takes you through the Vandermark State Forest up to Belmony Road just Northwest of town for a fall-worthy drive. On top of being a beautiful village tucked in the nape of an equally beautiful, scenic valley, Alfred sits between three colleges: Alfred University, Alfred State College and the NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred University. For such a small, bustling town, parking is easy and everything is within a few minutes walk. It is rich with art with galleries like Gallery 2 that offers work by local artisans, the Cohen Gallery of Alfred University, the Alfred Ceramics Art Museum and the storybook-like Celadon Terra Cotta Building that was built in 1892 and is on the Register of Historic Places. In the heart of the village, youll find the Terra Cotta Coffee House, the Collegiate Diner, Rosebush restaurant and a super-cool natural grocery store called the Rogue Carrot. Its a college town so theres pizza of course, with a high recommendation going to Little Sicily Pizza & Restaurant which has fantastic dinners, too. A little further up the road youll find the Canacadea Country Store that rivals any store of its type in Vermont with penny candy, local artisans' products, gourmet foods, soaps, lotions and specialty items. If youre in the village around sunset, head up to the Pine Hill Drive Extension at Alfred University and follow the road north until you come to the switchback and the large field that sits right off the road for a fall sunset you wont soon forget. Not a bad way to end your fall adventure. Tyler Westcott, 29, threw himself a birthday party about six years ago. He invited all of the musicians he could to come camp in his mom's backyard. They made food and played for one another the entire weekend. Little did Westcott know that it was the start of what has become the annual Folkfaces Fest, named after the band he founded. It returns Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 at the Cherry Hill Campground in Darien Center, where it has been based since its second year. This year's lineup features bands from around the world. Archer, the "Old Time Sing Song Man," is coming all the way from Australia. The Resonant Rogues from North Carolina will add some old-time traveling folk music. Several local bands such as the festival's namesake Folkfaces and 12/8 Path Band will also perform. And there's more than music. There's a tent for kids, plus common camping activities such as volleyball, horseshoes, tetherball and hiking. Morning yoga starts at 11 a.m. in the Sly Boots Tent from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. Workshops include songwriting hosted by Westcott, African drumming with Griffin Brady, plus singing, banjo and fiddle. Swing dance and zydeco dance lessons are offered throughout the weekend. A square dance will be held with the Buffalo Bluegrass Allstars. This session will be suitable for festival attendees of all ages and skill levels, from beginner up no prior dance experience or dance partner necessary, said fiddle and mandolin player, Sally Schaefer. Rick Schaefer will call the square dance and walk everyone through a handful of basic steps and then move into more traditional dances throughout the evening. This is a great way to get a taste for traditional square dancing, meet and greet other festival attendees, boost your daily step count while listening to a spirited mix of traditional tunes, and have fun, Sally Schaefer added. A film fest will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Sept. 30, followed by a midnight movie on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. There will be a hot dog eating contest to match the theme of Denim and Dogs along with other glizzy games. Westcott will be collecting clothing (gently used winter coats, unopened bags of socks, hats and gloves) and non-perishable food donations for the Friends of Night People, a local homeless shelter and soup kitchen. You may not know most of the acts, Wescott said, but youll walk away with ten new favorite bands I promise. PREVIEW Starts at noon Sept. 29 and continues through Oct. 2 at Cherry Hill Campground, 1516 Sumner Road, Darien Center. Single-day tickets at the gate are $30 for Sept. 29, $50 for Sept. 30 or Oct. 1, $45 for Oct. 2; there is a $5 discount if you order in advance (eventbrite.com). A weekend pass is $110 to Sept. 28; $130 art the gate. There are limited campsite spots available with a three-night minimum stay. Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick has spent two months demanding answers about how money is being spent by the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., which runs the Batavia Downs racetrack and casino, and off-track betting sites in 17 counties in western and upstate New York. It now looks like the Western Regional OTB board agrees that he and other county fiscal officers deserve some answers. Following the board's meetings last week, WROTB President Henry Wojtaszek is inviting each of the comptrollers or fiscal officers from the OTB's 17 member counties to the OTB's corporate offices at Batavia Downs on Oct. 5. Comptroller Kevin Hardwick targets OTB over transparency concerns Hardwick is demanding answers for everything from a hotel buyback deal at Batavia Downs to the number of outside lawyers and lobbyists hired by the OTB, and how much they were paid. "While regulatory oversight rests with the New York State Comptroller and Gaming Commission, we do appreciate the need to be transparent and accountable," Wojtaszek said in his letter of invitation. Wojtaszek told The Buffalo News that board member Francis Warthling, Erie County's appointee, made a strong case to the rest of the board that the Western Regional OTB has nothing to hide and shouldn't put up needless barriers to information. "That is the message that came through loud and clear, from Fran and from the rest of the board," Wojtaszek said. "Well address some of the concerns that weve already heard." Warthling is sponsoring a board resolution that would require Wojtaszek to answer Hardwick's inquiries regarding health insurance benefits for board members; a controversial hotel development and buyback deal; a heavily criticized marketing program; and spending on lobbyists and outside lawyers. To address some of these questions, Wojtaszek said presentations will be made by: OTB compliance consultant and former Buffalo FBI Agent Paul Moskal, who can speak to the WROTB's marketing program and operations compliance. Chief Financial Officer Jackie Leach. David Hart, president of Hart Hotels, which operates the Batavia Downs hotel operation. Time will be left for questions from county representatives, Wojtaszek said. State comptroller criticizes OTB over perks for board members, executives Revenues from the OTB are supposed to go to participating municipalities, Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said, not to give board members and employees generous perks and other benefits. Hardwick welcomed the letter and the invitation. "Of course, Im going to do everything I can to attend," he said Monday. Wojtaszek had previously invited Hardwick to visit with him and personally tour the Batavia Downs and OTB operation, but Hardwick said he was reluctant to accept what could be viewed by outsiders as a junket a lavish excursion for a public official paid for by taxpayers. But if all county fiscal leaders are invited with the clear intention of answering questions, he's happy to participate. If he can't make it, he said, he will send Deputy Comptroller Timothy Callan, who drafted many of the letters from Hardwick to Wojtaszek. The Oct. 5 meeting will be private, Wojtaszek said, but attendees are free to share whatever they like from the meeting. Hardwick said he will decide whether he still wants answers in writing after next week's meeting. "It depends on what the answers are," he said. The Buffalo Board of Education approved the resignation of the school district's chief financial officer at a special meeting Monday, but arranged to keep him available temporarily as a consultant. Geoffrey Pritchard had served with the district for 12 years. School Board President Louis Petrucci said after the brief executive session that the separation agreement between Pritchard and the district was a mutual one. He added that Pritchard left to pursue an opportunity with a local nonprofit entity but for the current school year at least would continue to serve the district in an advisory role. "So one of the terms and conditions of the agreement is that he's going to act as a consultant for the next school year while we go through this cycle of filings with the state Education Department to make sure that all of our forms are filled out properly and, more importantly for me as the board president, that we receive our payments from the state in a timely manner, as well," said Petrucci. That continuity of performance is critical for the district, he said. "It's a very limited, niche market," said Petrucci. "There isn't a very deep pool of people that have this skill set." The fight over a contract for Buffalo teachers is heating up For more than three years, the union that represents Buffalo public school teachers and the Buffalo School Board have been unable to agree on the terms of a new contract. The stress is beginning to show. Petrucci said that, in addition to Pritchard's resignation, two other financial executives who might have been qualified to move into the CFO position the finance controller and director of purchasing also recently resigned their positions. "So we lost three high level people all at once within a period of a month," Petrucci said. The board president did not say how much Pritchard would receive as a consultant. According to information from the Board of Education obtained from the district's website, Pritchard was paid $171,200 annually as CFO. The board on Monday also approved a separation agreement between the district and Cassandra Wright, who served as associate superintendent for school leadership in the district. "We wish her well in her new endeavors," Petrucci said. Meanwhile, Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent Tonja Williams said Monday that the board would continue its discussion of the Parent Transportation Reimbursement Pilot Program with a presentation at another School Board meeting that will be held later this week. The board at its Sept. 21 meeting approved a key step in the program that would allow 1,500 parents to be paid for the mileage required to drive their children to school. It is part of strategy aimed at overcoming a nationwide bus driver shortage that is also being acutely felt on the local level. Plan to pay parents to drive kids to school in Buffalo wins key approval All but one School Board member approved the motion, with an overwhelming sentiment that an outside-the-box solution must be attempted with some urgency. Petrucci said the plan still needs to be refined and the parents who might be eligible to participate in the program have not yet been selected. "They're still refining the data," Petrucci said. He added that the board also has to determine whether or not the state Education Department, which reimburses the district for transportation costs, will also reimburse the district for the payments it makes to parents. Elizabeth "Lizz" Switzer and Paul Polak glanced around the cavernous, wood-grained second-floor bar at Lakewood Spirits in South Buffalo on March 8, 2020, and knew they had found the perfect place for the wedding they wanted. There, family and friends from both sides of the border could sip Manhattans and chat and then hit the dance floor. They never envisioned the sign they eventually felt compelled to place at the entrance on their wedding night. "We waited 949 days for this PARTY ACCORDINGLY!" the sign said. About 80 people did just that at Lakewood Spirits on Friday night, 949 days after Lizz and Paul got engaged. That's how long it took them to pull off a binational wedding that united an American and a Canadian amid a global pandemic that's only recently loosened its grip on the border between the two nations. Not surprisingly, then, Lizz and Paul entered their wedding reception beaming. Yet beneath their smiles, a sadness lingered: the sadness that so many have felt as we recall all that's been lost to the Covid-19 pandemic. "It's stripped a lot of things from us, and they're not coming back," Paul, 48, said. But Lizz Switzer and Paul Polak weren't going to let the virus strip the most important things from them. "A lot of different couples broke up. A lot of people died," Lizz, 43, said. "But we were just determined that we were not going to let anything happen to us." A long courtship Lizz and Paul met on OK Cupid back in 2013 and had their first date at Allentown Hardware. Lizz ordered a Manhattan and the two of them began with the smallest of small talk. "Which side of Allentown do you live on?" Paul asked. "I live here on the west side," Lizz replied. "I live on the east side" of the neighborhood, Paul said. "It will never work out." Lizz laughed, and that was just the start. They bonded over their love of the outdoors and food, and before long, east Allentown and west Allentown didn't seem so far apart anymore. One thing complicated matters in 2016, though. Paul, a biomedical engineer, lost his research job in Buffalo when funding dried up. So he returned to his hometown of Hamilton, Ont., to finish his Ph.D. at McMaster University. "I figured it's no big deal. It's only an hour away," Paul thought to himself at the time. "What could possibly go wrong?" The border closes The couple saw each other on weekends as Paul wrapped up his doctorate. By Feb. 17, 2020, he knew a new chapter would open for him soon and he wanted Lizz to be part of every chapter. So he proposed, and she quickly said yes. They figured they would relocate wherever Paul found work, and Lizz, a special education teacher at the time, didn't mind. They didn't think anything could get in their way. A deadly respiratory virus was spreading in China, but Paul figured: "It will be like SARS. It won't amount to anything." But the weekend after Lizz and Paul booked their wedding for September 2020, the world started shutting down. That weekend, for safety's sake, Lizz skipped her planned trip to Hamilton. And the week after that, in an effort to control Covid-19, the U.S. and Canada jointly announced that the border would be closed to unnecessary travel. Lizz recalled that shortly before that, I was, like, 'I don't want to pack my suitcase anymore." As soon as the pandemic ended her weekly visits with Paul, she thought: "Wow, I'd do anything to be able to pack my suitcase." Going virtual Lizz and Paul did what the world did in March 2020: They went virtual. Saturday was date night, when they'd each cook the same thing in kitchens 60 miles apart and then enjoy dinner online. And every Sunday they would each make a Manhattan and talk, really talk, as best they could on Viber, an app thats popular for international video calls. "For a few weeks, it was kind of OK," Lizz said. "But that dried up pretty fast." They tired not only of the routine, but also of the government decisions that kept them physically separated. Paul couldn't drive the 60 miles to see Lizz but, under government rules, he could drive to Toronto and then fly to Buffalo via Chicago if he were willing to pass through three airports and spend $600 for a plane ticket. "It's safer for him to get in his car and drive to my door and stay there and then go back, which is what would have happened," Lizz noted. Instead, the increasingly repetitive virtual date nights continued. Lizz fought the monotony with long runs, while Paul worked out in a park near his home and enjoyed virtual Scotch nights with friends. Still, the summer was basically lost," Paul said. But they thought they had one thing to look forward to: their wedding, which they rescheduled for the fall of 2021. Depression and tragedy Canada modestly loosened its border restrictions in late 2020, which allowed Lizz to visit Paul from Christmas through early January 2021. The visit didn't end well. On Jan. 6, as she watched television coverage of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Lizz got a text from the school where she was teaching. The school announced it would soon open for in-person classes. Lizz had to return to America immediately. "That was awful," she said. Back home, Lizz found herself sinking into depression, missing Paul every minute and worrying every minute about her father, who lived in Rochester and whose Alzheimer's symptoms were only getting worse. "It was as if nothing was ever going to change," she said. "We just felt so defeated." Then in late January, Paul got a call from his sister with devastating news. His brother David, who lived in Connecticut, had died unexpectedly, apparently from sudden complications of diabetes. "It was horrific," Paul said. "I was already kind of low because Lizz had just left, and then this happened." Worse yet, the Covid border restrictions made travel so difficult that neither Paul nor his parents could travel to Connecticut after David's death. Instead, like so many who lost loved ones amid the pandemic, they held a remembrance service months later. They discovered they were not really alone. Lizz and Paul began telling their story in The Buffalo News on Valentine's Day 2021, prompting couples from all along the border to reach out via social media. The video that accompanied the story went viral. It was everywhere, Lizz said. A ticket out The pandemic lingered. With the border still closed in mid-2021, Lizz and Paul felt they had no choice. They postponed their wedding for another year, to September 2022. But late in the summer of 2021, they finally got some good news. Paul, who had flooded universities on both sides of the border with job applications, was offered a spot at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus near Denver. "That was like our ticket out of this," Lizz said. So, once Paul landed the work visa that allowed him to move to the U.S., they both pulled up stakes and moved to Colorado last October. Lizz found a job as a donor experience specialist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and the two of them started mapping out a wedding that would take place 1,500 miles to the east. It wasnt quite the wedding they planned. They wanted a fall wedding and settled on a Friday night because other couples who had also delayed their nuptials had booked up so many other nights. And they trimmed the guest list from 100 to 80 because costs had skyrocketed. "The cost of getting my dress altered? Even that went up ridiculously," Lizz noted. The big night Lizz and Paul finally wed in a small private ceremony Friday afternoon. Shortly afterward, they joined hands while entering their wedding reception as the sound system played "West End Girls by the Pet Shop Boys, echoing the joke Paul made when they met about the two ends of Allentown. Manhattans were served. Liz danced with Paul, and then with her father. And then the couple's loved ones paid tribute to a love that stood the test of a pandemic. "If your relationship can successfully navigate that, I have no doubt in my mind that your relationship can navigate anything," Lizz's brother, John K. Switzer, said during his toast. "These people have been through one of the most horrible times in our history," said Eric Henry, Paul's close friend and best man. "They have managed to get through it. And they've actually become stronger, and their relationship has gotten stronger. I think that says it all." They are not the only ones who have grown stronger. Lizz's 9-year-old niece Olivia survived three open heart surgeries before the pandemic, and Paul's 16-year-old nephew Dylan had to cope with the loss of his father. But on Friday, they were on the dance floor with Lizz, brandishing light sabers and dancing to the tune of "Come On Eileen." And at that moment, for Lizz and Paul, the pandemic finally seemed over, and the best yet to come. "I'm overwhelmed," she said as the party wound down. "I've been crying most of the day." A new study lends heft to the notion that Buffalo's historic preservation efforts offer more benefits than just nostalgia. The most striking discovery is that the city's 17 neighborhood historic districts, as a group, are "more fully integrated and less segregated than neighborhoods in the rest of Buffalo," said Donovan Rypkema, principal and CEO of PlaceEconomics, the Washington, D.C., firm that prepared the study. Preservation Buffalo Niagara scales back Eliza Quirk Boarding House project Instead, the preservation group is putting a planned addition on hold and focusing on the existing building, where it will consolidate the nonprofits. "It's personally fine to love gargoyles and cornices, but you could be for historic preservation and not give a dang about those things because of the other impacts on the city," Rypkema said. "Historic preservation in Buffalo means growth both in economics and in population. It means equity, it means opportunity and it means visitation." The report, "Everyone's Heritage: The Impacts of Historic Preservation in Buffalo," was released today and prepared for Preservation Buffalo Niagara and Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo. The report found historic preservation in Buffalo has been a catalyst for economic, racial and housing gains and it noted the importance of historic districts, of which Larkin, Hamlin Park, Allentown and Linwood are examples. Three Buffalo structures among recommendations for state, national historic registers "New York is defined by its diverse culture and history, and we will continue efforts to keep our state's inspiring story alive," Gov. Kathy Hochul said. "Local historic districts are the one place in the city where white people and Black people are living right next to each other," Rypkema said. "Buffalo, as a whole, is a segregated city, but not the local historic districts. They are a mirror of the city, as a whole, economically and racially, and it's really a wonderful story to see. We haven't seen that pattern that distinct anywhere else." Rypkema said Buffalo is proof that historic districts can defy stereotypes. "Too often, historic preservation is pictured as, 'Well, those are pretty nice neighborhoods, but those are for rich white folks.' But there is so much exception to that in Buffalo, where historic neighborhoods are meeting the needs of every economic and racial level," he said. Among the study's other conclusions: Commercial strips in historic districts are responsible for nearly half of the city's job growth in the last decade. Properties in historic districts constitute 14% of the city's parcels, but account for 28% of total property value, contributing a disproportionate share of the city's property tax revenue. Property owners in historic districts invested an average of $54 million each year over the last decade. Federal and state historic tax credits in the past 15 years attracted more than $1 billion in investments in Buffalo's historic buildings. Heritage tourism brings an average of $658 million into the local economy annually, with heritage tourists staying longer than those who don't visit historic attractions. Historic commercial districts are where jobs in the knowledge and creative class categories from the arts and sciences to information and finance grew fastest from 2010 to 2019. Colored Musicians Club begins renovations aimed at attracting tourists to African American Heritage Corridor Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado joined Mayor Byron W. Brown and other local officials to break ground Wednesday afternoon for a $2.95 million expansion of the Colored Musicians Club aimed at increasing tourism in Buffalo's African American Heritage Corridor. "This report quantifies what many of us have felt was true but couldn't prove: that historic preservation is an important component of a more vibrant, equitable and sustainable Buffalo," said Jessie Fisher, Preservation Buffalo Niagara's executive director. The study makes a distinction between local historic districts, which also come with some preservation protections, and National Register of Historic Places districts, which don't have them. The local historic districts, established by the Common Council, have 40% white residents, 2% higher than the rest of the city. The percentage of Black residents is 45 percent, 6% more than the city's average. That contrasts with federal historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places, which have 64% white residents and 22% Black residents. "Unlike new subdivisions, where the price spread from the most expensive to the least expensive might be 15%, in historic districts there is a great variety of housing opportunities in terms of size, condition and style," Rypkema said. "The architectural quality of these neighborhoods, but also their walkability, their proximity and traditions, have a wide appeal across racial and economic lines. People like them." Historic districts are also magnets for young workers, he said. 'Great energy and enthusiasm' evident at Central Terminal developer tour "I'd just really like something to happen because it is just a magnificent in the true sense of the word building," said architect Neil Meyer of Foit-Albert Associates. "Leisure tourists" found Buffalo's architecture a major reason for visiting, with visits to historic sites and museums given as the third reason they come to Buffalo. That generates considerable revenue for local businesses and for the city's coffers in the form of tax revenue, the study found. The study recognizes historic tax credits for their pivotal role in jump-starting once-moribund projects in downtown and elsewhere, including projects that create jobs, Rypkema said. "The work using historic preservation tax credits has averaged over 300 direct jobs a year," he said. "If you had an economic development director that said I'm going to bring in a business that brings in 300 direct jobs every year, you'd get a parade down Main Street." Developer Rocco Termini, a pioneer in the use of historic tax credits in Buffalo, said the report confirms much of what he's seen. "Ninety percent of the buildings that have been rehabilitated in the city are historic buildings, and they would not have been done if not for the federal and state historic tax credits," Termini said. Demolition of Great Northern proceeds slowly as court appeal still sought "They've taken down less than 5% of the building, so that's on our side," said Paul McDonnell, president of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo History, Architecture & Culture. With most downtown buildings already rehabilitated, Termini said redoing historic properties on the East Side is now happening, with many more projects to come. "They are the only ones really left to be developed," Termini said. Visit Buffalo Niagara, the city's visitor's bureau, has emphasized historic preservation's importance in marketing Buffalo since the National Trust for Historic Preservation held a nearly week-long National Preservation Conference in the city in 2011. "There is a segment of the traveling public that views architecture as a motivator for travel," said Ed Healy, vice president of marketing. "We have certainly seen that in Buffalo. While it's a niche market, it's a passionate market that's highly motivated to have those in-person experiences." Healy said Buffalo's architectural appeal is evident, even with people who didn't seek it out. "Historic architecture creates a sense of place, conveys pride of place and creates an ambiance that a lot of people find very appealing, even for people for whom architecture is not their primary motivation for traveling to a destination," Healy said. "Many, many people who visit here comment on Buffalo's historic architecture whether architecture buffs or not," he added. "It's something they notice, and it appeals to them and sets Buffalo apart from more homogenous destinations." TOKYO (AP) U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shortly after arriving in Tokyo for the state funeral of assassinated former leader Shinzo Abe. Abe, a former prime minister who was assassinated in July, will be honored on Tuesday, and Harris is leading a U.S. delegation to pay its respects. The alliance between Japan and the United States is a cornerstone of what we believe is integral to peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, she said Monday at the Akasaka Palace. Kishida said Abe "poured his heart and soul into strengthening ties between their two countries. I feel it is my duty to carry on his aspirations, Kishida said. Abe forged closer ties with the United States at a time of increased concern about China's ambitions, and Kishida is continuing his push for a stronger national defense. The potential for war over Taiwan, a self-governed island that China claims as part of its own territory, has troubled Japan, which would likely be pulled into such a conflict. President Joe Biden said recently that the U.S. would send its own troops to defend Taiwan if China attacked. The president has addressed that issue. And if it comes up, the vice president will align with the president, said a senior administration official, who requested anonymity to discuss a private meeting. The official also said Harris would make clear our ironclad commitment to Japans security. More than 50,000 U.S. troops are based there. Harris on Thursday will visit South Korea and its Prime Minister Han Duck-soo during a meeting early Tuesday said Harris will make a trip to the Demilitarized Zone, the border area with North Korea that is jointly controlled by the American-led United Nations Command and North Korea. A White House official, speaking on the condition on anonymity, confirmed that Harris will tour sites at the DMZ and visit with troops there to demonstrate that the U.S. commitment to South Koreas defense is ironclad. Her visit, the first by a ranking U.S. official since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went to the DMZ in August, will come the same week North Korea test-fired a short-range ballistic missile in apparent response to joint military exercises between the U.S. and Korea. Harris will be the highest-level American to go to the DMZ since former President Donald Trump visited in 2019 for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Harris, who is scheduled to spend three nights in Tokyo, is visiting Japan at a politically fraught moment. Kishidas decision to hold a state funeral for Abe, a conservative nationalist, has been controversial in a country where such memorials are uncommon, and some oppose honoring him in this way. Kishida is also pushing for a dramatic expansion of defense spending that would give Japan the worlds third-largest military budget in the coming years, after the United States and China. A new national security strategy, the first in almost a decade, is in the works as well. The debate is playing out as Japan reevaluates the risk of war after the shock of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, said Christopher Johnstone, senior adviser and Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The fighting in Europe is a reminder that conflict really is possible, he said, and Japan lives in a pretty difficult neighborhood. Japan is upgrading missiles and considering using them for preemptive strikes a move critics say would fundamentally change the countrys defense policy and breach the postwar pacifist constitution that limits use of force to self-defense. It has also shifted its defense from the northeast to southwestern Japan, including Okinawa and other remote islands. FONTANA, Calif. (AP) A Southern California woman was shot to death Monday in a domestic violence incident and police believe the suspect is on the run with his 15-year-old daughter. "This was a domestic violence incident. The suspect, 45-year-old Anthony John Graziano, is considered armed and dangerous," the Fontana Police Department said in a statement. Photos released by the police showed Graziano has tattoos on his neck and arms. Investigators believe Graziano is with his daughter, Savannah Graziano, in a white 2017 Nissan Frontier with California plates. The pickup truck has distinctive stickers on the rear quarter panel that say Pro-4X and animal. An Amber Alert was issued for the teen. Officers responded at around 7:30 a.m. to reports of gunfire, and found the victim with multiple gunshot wounds at a home in Fontana, police said in a statement. The woman was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. During the investigation at the home, nearby Cypress Elementary School was temporarily locked down as a precaution, police said. Best College Backpacks Campus-Ready Backpacks for Storing *All* the Books The AskMen editorial team thoroughly researches & reviews the best gear, services and staples for life. AskMen may get paid if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service. Shopping for a backpack for college is like shopping for a new best friend (Just a very functional best friend whose sole purpose is to help you keep your life together.) Because of those specific needs, you cant just grab any old bag this thing is going to be with you 24/7 and therefore needs to have the strength to hold one too many heavy, overpriced textbooks and keep your prized possessions safe AKA your laptop and loyalty card to the local late-night cafe. RELATED: How to Dress Comfortably and Stylishly When Traveling Since you need to be able to count on this backpack to get you through incredibly long days on campus, study sessions, trips to the gym and anywhere else life takes you, you need to make sure you have a handful of trustworthy options that are in line with your needs. But before you start shopping, keep these areas in mind: Is It Comfortable? Just because a backpack looks great doesnt mean its going to feel great. You dont want to end up with a bag that digs into your shoulders and strains your back as youre toting around your gear. Pick a bag thats not only the right size, but features padded shoulder straps or an ergonomic design. This will take some trial and error. Just because a backpack looks great doesnt mean its going to feel great. You dont want to end up with a bag that digs into your shoulders and strains your back as youre toting around your gear. Pick a bag thats not only the right size, but features padded shoulder straps or an ergonomic design. This will take some trial and error. Does It Suit Your Personality? Its easy to grab the first bag you see, but since your backpack is the ultimate sidekick, you might as well get something that feels more like an extension of yourself. Whether youre going for a sporty look or something minimalist and classic, pay close attention to all the details from colors and material to size and shape to get something that suits your personal style. Its easy to grab the first bag you see, but since your backpack is the ultimate sidekick, you might as well get something that feels more like an extension of yourself. Whether youre going for a sporty look or something minimalist and classic, pay close attention to all the details from colors and material to size and shape to get something that suits your personal style. Will It Survive Different Weather Conditions? If you live in an area where rain or unpredictable winter storms are the norm, youll want to invest in a backpack thats not going to get damaged the first time the weather acts up. Zone in on the materials and durability of the backpack to ensure it will hold up. If you live in an area where rain or unpredictable winter storms are the norm, youll want to invest in a backpack thats not going to get damaged the first time the weather acts up. Zone in on the materials and durability of the backpack to ensure it will hold up. Will It Be Able to Hold Everything You Need? If youre a bio major who has a hefty load of books, lab gear and a laptop to carry around on, youre going to want to purchase something that can handle the heft. It can be tempting to grab a random backpack and figure out if it will actually work for you later, but dont waste your time: Figure out if its big enough and durable enough to make it through the school year and beyond. If youre a bio major who has a hefty load of books, lab gear and a laptop to carry around on, youre going to want to purchase something that can handle the heft. It can be tempting to grab a random backpack and figure out if it will actually work for you later, but dont waste your time: Figure out if its big enough and durable enough to make it through the school year and beyond. Does It Have Good Features? Lets be honest the best thing about backpacks is their features. While some minimalist backpacks have a zipper opening and nothing inside, others are filled with different compartments for everything you need throughout the day. If youre someone who likes staying organized, look for something that has lots of pockets, a laptop sleeve, a tablet sleeve, and a mesh drink holder on the side for your water bottle or coffee. Because #hydration. Best Minimalist College Backpack Troubadour Apex If your campus is in the middle of a big city, youre going to need something that looks a little less Urbana-Champaign and a little more Chicago. Enter this option from Troubadour, which has a slimmer profile, easy access zippering and is wrapped in waterproof fabric with fewer seams for more of that necessary weather protection. $230 at TroubadourGoods.com Best College Backpack Made From Recycled Materials Truce Designs Drop Liner This one-man, Portland-based operation is churning out some impressive bags made mostly from recycled sails and other waterborne materials that would otherwise end up at the landfill. With that, the bags are incredibly durable and based on what comes in that day, each bag may look slightly different. Its a statement piece to show you mean business on campus. From $295 at TruceDesigns.com Best Travel College Backpack Eagle Creek Explore Transit Bag 23L It is a shame that storied travel brand Eagle Creek is shutting down at the end of the year. This is a brand literally rooted in exploration, and now is your chance to snap up some of the best-performing gear on the market before its confined to secondhand internet stables. These are bags with tons of storage and functionality that will easily withstand the rigors of daily campus life. $179 at EagleCreek.com Best Classic College Backpack Jansport Big Campus Backpack You know it, you love it - theres a reason why this classic design is still around. It simply works. The venerable Jansport bag is like that old pair of sneakers you love: you can toss it around, put it through the ringer and itll still be there, ready to perform with no fuss. $79.79 at Amazon.com Best Leather Strap College Backpack Herschel Supply Co. Little America Laptop Backpack At 25 liters, this bag is built more for a full day on campus when you wont have time to run back home to drop things off. The double straps add a nice touch of style, securing everything that the drawstring enclosure wont. Inside, multiple pockets and a padded laptop sleeve keep everything neat and organized. $98.97 at Amazon.com Best College Biking Backpack Chrome Industries BLCKCHRM 22X Bravo 3.0 Biking around campus towns is one of lifes simplest pleasures and, of course, you need the right bag to take with you for the ride. This newer option from Chrome comes in an all-black finish with plenty of storage solutions for all of your gear - velo and non-velo. It has a removable waterproof liner for drier days and looks pretty slick off-bike as well. $200 at ChromeIndustries.com Most Durable College Backpack Granite Gear Two Harbors Granite Gear If you just need a basic backpack to haul everything, opt for something from Granite Gears durable lineup. These are more casual bags inspired by their hard-working outdoor carriers, so you get all of that performance with less of the outdoor vibe. These are well-balanced bags built to support heavy loads. $109.95 at GraniteGear.com Most Colorful College Backpack Cotopaxi Tasra 16L Backpack Cotopaxi Surely for those who want to stand out, Cotopaxis basic 15-liter bag still packs quite a punch (and with plenty of social good to boot). The Tasra is super light at under 2 lbs., has tuckaway straps and plenty of front-facing pockets for smaller items. The full-zip butterfly opening is unique among bags in its class, too. $90 at Cotopaxi.com Best Packable College Backpack Dakine 22L Packable Backpack Dakines new backpack collection includes this versatile option centered around one large pocket with a side water bottle holder. If you tend to simply throw everything for class into one spot and go, youll be served well by this simple bag that folds into a nifty triangular shape when not needed. Sub-$60, it also happens to be a great value. $65 at Dakine.com Best Outdoor-Inspired Bag Osprey Heritage Simplex 20 Outdoor brands far and wide are diving into their archives and resurrecting old styles that were not completely sure why they ever went out of style to begin with. Case in point - Ospreys brand new Heritage Series, which includes the Simplex seen here. Its 22 liters of pure GORP-y goodness that will double as a legit hiking daypack for extracurriculars. $180 at Osprey.com Your backpack shouldnt weigh you down (physically or mentally) as you prepare to return to campus. Any of our picks will suit you well for another year in academia en route to that hard-earned degree. You Might Also Dig: AskMen may get paid if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service. To find out more, please read our complete terms of use. A new unauthorized biography of Anthony Bourdain, which includes for the first time the celebrity chefs text messages from the days leading up to his death by suicide in 2018, reveals Bourdains anguish over his career, his estranged marriage and his troubled romantic relationship with actor Asia Argento. Selections from the book Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain, written by journalist Charles Leerhsen, were published in todays The New York Times. The Simon & Schuster book will be released on Oct. 11. More from Deadline I hate my fans, too. I hate being famous. I hate my job, Bourdain wrote to his estranged wife Ottavia Busia-Bourdain, with whom he remained a close confidant even after their separation in 2016. I am lonely and living in constant uncertainty. Although the article doesnt specifically say that Busia-Bourdain provided the texts, Bourdains widow controls his estate, which includes the messages. Perhaps most indicative of Bourdains troubled state of mind when he took his life at a French hotel were the exchanges with Argento. Leerhsens book chronicles the couples turbulent relationship, with both sides expressing displeasure at social media photos that depicted each with another partner: Bourdain spending time with his estranged wife and daughter, and Argento dancing with a French reporter in the lobby of Romes Hotel de Russie. I am okay, Bourdain texted Argento after seeing the photo. I am not spiteful. I am not jealous that you have been with another man. I do not own you. You are free. As I said. As I promised. As I truly meant. But you were careless. You were reckless with my heart. My life. According to the Times description of the books content, Bourdain then wrote that he was hurt that the tryst took place in a hotel they had previously enjoyed together. Argento responded, I cant take this, and said she could no longer stay in the relationship due to his possessiveness. Story continues In his final exchange with Argento, Bourdain wrote, Is there anything I can do?, to which the actor replied, Stop busting my balls. The celebrity food writer responded with a simple, OK, and hanged himself later that day. As the Times writes, the book has already drawn fire from Mr. Bourdains family, former co-workers and closest friends, with brother Christopher Bourdain sending Simon & Schuster two emails in August calling the book hurtful and defamatory fiction. The publisher responded, With all due respect, we disagree that the material in the Book contains defamatory information, and we stand by our forthcoming publication. In an email to the Times, Argento wrote that she had not read the book, adding I wrote clearly to [Leerhsen] that he could not publish anything I said to him. The book also reports that Bourdain paid $380,000 to musician-actor Jimmy Bennett, who claimed that hed had a sexual relationship with Argento when she was 37 and he was still a minor at 17. Bennett, according to the book, had sought $3.5 million. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. (Bloomberg) -- Japanese political leaders remembered former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a state funeral as a statesman who steadily led the country during his record run as premier, amid domestic opposition to the event that has undermined support for the current prime minister. Most Read from Bloomberg About 4,300 people including US Vice President Kamala Harris, world leaders, dignitaries and members of Abes ruling Liberal Democratic Party attended the event Tuesday at the Budokan arena in central Tokyo under tight security. The somber ceremony, watched over by a phalanx of police and a military honor guard, was Japans first state funeral for a former prime minister since 1967 and came more than two months after the countrys longest-serving premier was assassinated on the campaign trail by a man with a homemade gun. Abe, who died at the age of 67, was a defining and sometimes divisive figure as the country navigated economic stagnation and Chinas rise during his two terms, from 2006-2007 and 2012-2020. He was a security hawk, a fiscal dove, a defender of Japans alliance with the US and an advocate for maintaining the postwar global order. Legacy of Abenomics to Live Beyond Its Tragically Shot Architect Abes wife Akie carried the cremated remains of the former prime minister into the venue, bowing to the current leader Fumio Kishida as cannons fired off military salutes outside. Who could ever have imagined that such a day would come, Kishida said at the funeral. Prime Minister Abe, you were a person who we needed to live much longer. Outside the venue, thousands of people -- many who broke down in tears -- placed flowers at a memorial set up nearby for the public to honor Abe. The line at one point stretched about 1.7 kilometers (1 mile), the Yomiuri newspaper reported. Story continues There were also scattered protests around Tokyo, including one a few kilometers away from the Budokan, where scores of people held placards declaring their opposition to the state funeral and admonished the government for dispensing the honor upon the former premier. Kishida, whose decision to spend 1.7 billion yen ($12 million) on the service for his former boss has met with growing anger as households grapple with ballooning food and fuel prices. Investigations linking Abe and his LDP to a religious sect whose founder was convicted in the US of tax fraud further fueled opposition. These factors have contributed to a tumble in voter support for Kishidas cabinet to its lowest levels since he took office a year ago, and risk distracting from his policy objectives of reducing economic disparities and bolstering Japans defenses. Abes suspected killer told police he was motivated by a grudge over his association with the group commonly known as the Unification Church. The gunman blamed the church for taking massive donations from his widowed mother decades ago and driving his family into poverty. Surveys show about three in five respondents overall were opposed to the state funeral, though those in their teens and twenties tend to support it. The South Korean-based church has a long list of court judgments against it in Japan over its fundraising methods. For its part, the church has said it took steps more than a decade ago to curb excessive actions by its members. Kishida has sought to portray the funeral as an opportunity for diplomacy, planning talks with 30 top officials including the US vice president, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was to have been the only Group of Seven leader to make the trip, canceled his visit to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona. Attendance was lower than the 6,000 initially estimated by the government, with many opposition politicians opting to stay away. The Emperor did not attend, though his brother, Crown Prince Akishino and six other members of the Imperial household took part, in line with tradition. Members of the imperial family led the way in placing white flowers at a long table on a stage beneath a portrait of Abe. Abes family, Japanese political leaders and representatives from abroad, including Harris, then followed. Surrounding roads were closed to regular traffic and guests driven in buses to the venue amid the heightened security following criticism of the failure to prevent Abes murder, which last month prompted the head of the police agency to resign. Tens of thousands of police, many of them dispatched from other areas of the country, were on patrol in the capital, according to the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper. Prime Minister Abe, you spoke every day of your strong will to create a Japan where tomorrow is better than today and where young people can have hope, former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who served as Abes right-hand man for nearly eight years, said at the funeral. Suga recalled how the two of them went to a grilled chicken restaurant in Tokyo and he tried to persuade Abe to make another run at leadership after his first term came to an end in 2007, as his chronic ulcerative colitis worsened. It was an affliction that Abe again blamed when he ended his second term as leader in 2020, to be replaced by Suga. Persuading Abe to return to the leadership was the greatest achievement of my life, Suga said. I will always remember it with pride. (Updates with quotes.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Power cuts are still a regular occurrence in Sri Lanka A senior Sri Lankan official has blamed poor quality crude oil imports for the shutdown of a power plant, leading to extended blackouts. Utilities regulator chief Janaka Ratnayake said the oil burnt in the furnaces had too much sulphur in it. But the country's energy minister has disputed the allegation. Last week, Sri Lanka increased its daily power outage from 80 minutes to 140 minutes because of a drop in power generating capacity. "Sulphur content is too high in the furnace oil [fuel oil] which is not suitable for the current power plants and it's also not conforming with environmental standards," Mr Ratnayake, the head of the Public Utilities Commission, told the BBC. "If you buy good quality crude oil for refineries, then this problem will not happen." Mr Ratnayake said about 10% of the country's electricity came from diesel and fuel oil power plants. The rest of the electricity is generated from hydro, renewable and coal-powered plants. But Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara defended the crude oil import policy. In a tweet, he said Sri Lanka's state-run fuel retailer, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, would respond legally to Mr Ratnayake's allegation. According to Mr Wijesekara, the power cut was extended because of a breakdown at one of the hydro-power stations and insufficient funds for diesel and fuel oil. CPC will respond legally to Chairman, PUCSL on the accusations on the quality of Crude Oil. CPC has adequate stocks of Diesel & Fuel Oil. Extended Power Cuts was requested by CEB due to breakdown at Lakshapana, insufficient funds at CEB for diesel & fuel oil & Hydro management. Kanchana Wijesekera (@kanchana_wij) September 26, 2022 The South Asian nation has been facing its worst financial crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948. It is struggling to find enough dollars to import fuel and food. Story continues The shortages led to months of anti-government protests and long queues outside petrol stations. In July, the unrest came to a head when President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to flee the country and then resign after thousands of protesters stormed his official residence. Veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe was subsequently elected by MPs as president. Since then, the government has introduced a ration system for fuel using a QR code that has reduced the queues outside petrol stations. Sri Lanka has reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund for an emergency loan of $2.9bn (2.7bn) and it expects the deal to be approved by the IMF board by the end of this year. But the conditions include Colombo reaching an agreement with its creditors on debt restructuring. Sri Lanka has about $50bn of external debt. The British crime drama Suspect sends a detective on a dark night of the soul as he seeks his daughters killer, with familiar TV faces among the suspect list. The NBC fantasy La Brea scatters its cast among several eras from 10,000 B.C. to the 1980s in its second season. Niecy Nash-Betts headlines The Rookie: Feds, a spinoff about the FBIs oldest rookie. Hulu launches Reasonable Doubt, an overheated legal drama about a Black female defense lawyer with high-profile clients in L.A. Big Mouths Nick Kroll performs his first solo stand-up special for Netflix. A curated critical checklist of notable Tuesday TV: Series Premiere James Nesbitt (The Missing), one of the more intense fixtures in British crime drama, keeps you glued to the bitter, berserk end of an eight-part crime drama thats tightly constructed as a series of escalating confrontations in brisk half-hour episodes. (This is becoming my new favorite format; see also FX/Hulus The Patient.) Nesbitt is detective Danny Frater, who goes rogue in a dark night of the soul as he tries to prove that the daughter he barely knew didnt commit suicide. Episode by episode, he follows one lead to the next, starting in the morgue, where hes shattered to discover the Jane Doe on the slab is his once-beloved Christina. Nothing about this is routine, he snarls at the chilly pathologist (Joely Richardson) as he breaks protocol and goes to extremes to get to the truth. The nifty suspect list includes The Good Doctors Antonia Thomas, Outlanders Sam Heughan, and Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant. Season Premiere 9/8c If theres a sillier drama anywhere on TV, I think Id prefer not to know. Kudos to this cast for keeping a straight face as the time-travel sinkhole fantasy (possibly a first?) piles up the complications in Season 2. New to prehistoric times, sinkhole jumpers Gavin (Eoin Macken), daughter Izzy (Zyra Gorecki) and Ella (Michelle Vergara Moore) the grown-up version of Lilly (Chloe De Los Santos), dont ask try to find their way to the other survivors, only to realize theyre being hunted by a woolly rhino. Its funnier than it sounds. Meanwhile, Eve (Natalie Zea, who deserves better) is distraught that her son Josh (Jack Martin) has been sucked into 1988, but hes kind of cool with it after he discovers ALF on TV. (I understand.) Eves team stumbles upon another scary troop of warriors, reminiscent of how The Walking Dead had to keep finding new sets of antagonists. And so it goes in 10,000 B.C. Series Premiere 10/9c Niecy Nash-Betts puts away her Claws to prove her mettle as the ripest graduate to emerge from the FBI Academy in Quantico, joining a special L.A. unit in a spinoff introduced during two late-season episodes of The Rookie. The series opener introduces her team as they look into the murder of a federal engineer, while at home she clashes with her father (Frankie Faison) over their differing views of law enforcement. Series Premiere Imagine HBOs Insecure as a legal drama to capture the tone of this overheated potboiler from Onyx Collective. Emayatzy Corinealdi rocks the glam fashion and a variety of hairstyles as powerful Black L.A. defense attorney Jax Stewart, who lives large but oh-so-messy. Her clients are A-list, but shes a train wreck on the home front, where her husband (McKinley Freeman) has moved out because of her devotion to work though he keeps a close eye on her amorous extracurricular pursuits through home surveillance cameras (creepy). The tangled plot involves an almost-billionaire Black client caught up in sexual assault and murder, and the release on parole of a client from her past (Michael Ealy) when she was a public defender. Youre built to win, Jax, the latter tells her. If you sense some Olivia Pope in Jaxs DNA, it wont surprise you that Scandals Kerry Washington, who directed the first episode, is an executive producer. Special Nick Kroll, whose animated comedy Big Mouth releases its sixth season in late October, takes to the stand-up stage in his first solo special for Netflix. Filmed during his U.S. and world tour at Washington, D.C.s Warner Theatre, Kroll riffs on heartbreak and fatherhood in his 30s, along with a few raunchier topics. 9/8c The true-crime network updates its 2016 special about Syed, whose murder conviction was vacated last week after he spent more than 20 years in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. The subject of the influential podcast Serial, Syad was released from prison after a judge ruled prosecutors had withheld evidence during the trial that could have exonerated him. (HBO is also producing a follow-up to its docuseries The Case Against Adnan Syed, expected in 2023.) Inside Tuesday TV: At its peak in 1922 the British Empire was the largest empire the world had ever seen, covering about a quarter of the worlds surface and ruling over 458 million people. Queen Elizabeth II was the last link to a truly GREAT Britain. On her 21st Birthday in an address to the Empire at the time from South Africa said: I declare before you that all my life whether it would be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and to the service to the Imperial family, to which we all belong, The Empire while far from perfect while no doubt having atrocities that we have seen in every empire in history, had largely a well-intentioned decency if you look at the legacy that it has left to the world which is symbolic of that quote from Elizabeth II about being devoted to service and service to the Imperial family: it was shaped by a 21-year-old woman showing extraordinary humility and wisdom for a woman her age. In an ideal world we would have no Empires, only sovereign nations but we are not in an ideal world and we never have had an ideal world. Strong countries dominate weaker countries it is just the way it is. Jesus said my kingdom is not of this world. (John 18:36) because he knew the heart of man that is the will to dominate over the weak. However, we have seen that through history and no Empire being larger than Britains, that no doubt Britain was a Great Empire. Sadly, its only a shadow of its former self, but its legacy of decency remains. The British Empire did not just take they added. They added When the British withdrew from Africa and India, they left behind a just legal system, churches, the expansion of the protestant faith, roads, language, schools, order and an incredible railway system that is still in use throughout India and Africa. We saw the Magna Carta which influenced the creation of the US Constitution which protects the rights of ordinary people, and has formed the basis of constitutions that have been signed all over the world, protecting the rights of its citizens against the Government. It all started when an unpopular King wanted to make peace with a group of rebel barons who promised church rights, protection from illegal imprisonment and access to swift justice. Our own constitution was based on that similar document, you could argue that Australia has had generations of stable governments and a just society due to the legacy of the Magna Carta. It has given us free speech. We saw the British Empire create Habeas Corpus that protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment which has been used throughout the world. Through William Wilberforce they helped end the transatlantic slave trade and the ritual murders in India and through Elizabeth IIs legacy through the Commonwealth of Nations, an end to Apartheid in South Africa. It also produced some of the finest literature ever written and some of the finest manufactured goods ever made anywhere, there is no doubt it was a fine Empire run by fine people. Through my experience in ministry, I can tell you that you would not have a hope of running an operation this size without a lot of fine people. What have we seen since? Was Idi Amin in Uganda, Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa an improvement on the British Empire? We saw the partition of India since the British Empire withdrew in 1947. Has that been a good thing? While atrocities have no doubt occurred in the Empire, we can definitely conclude that at its heart it had a well-intentioned decency which Queen Elizabeth II as its head modelled. Nigeria Should Be On Countries of Particular Concern List, ERLC and Others... WASHINGTON (BP) Nigeria should be restored to the list of the worlds worst violators of religious freedom, a coalition that includes a Southern Baptist Convention entity has told Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) joined more than 30 other organizations, as well as 35 individuals, in a Sept. 19 letter that asked Blinken to re-designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern. They also asked him to name a special envoy to investigate violence that has targeted Christians in particular in Africas most populous country. Blinken is expected to announce before the end of the year the State Departments latest countries of particular concern (CPCs), a list reserved for the worlds most severe violators of freedom of religion and belief. He removed Nigeria from the CPC list in November of last year in a move that shocked religious freedom advocates. RELATED: Over 50 Feared Dead in Nigeria Church Attack, Officials Say Violence in general and against Christians specifically has increased since that decision, the letter signers said. More than 2,500 Christians were killed in the first six months of 2022 in attacks by Islamic terrorist groups in Nigeria, according to a report by an international civil liberties organization cited in the letter. More than 4,300 Christians and 2,200 Muslims were killed in jihadist-related contexts from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, according to the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa. Open Doors reported more Christians were slain in Nigeria in 2021 4,650 than in all other countries put together. From January to June of this year, no less than 2,543 Christians died at the hands of Islamic terrorists, the International Society of Civil Liberties and Rule of Law reported. It is difficult to imagine the hardships that persecuted Christians in northern Nigeria face, said Todd Nettleton, spokesperson for The Voice of the Martyrs and host of VOM Radio. Voice of the Martyrs has designated Nigeria as a hostile nation. Attacks on Christians in Northern Nigeria have become so common they are rarely mentioned by global news outlets, Nettleton said. Yet every attack means members of our spiritual family are being beaten, maimed or killed; losing all their possessions, and being forced to flee for their lives. The media may ignore their suffering, but as fellow members of the Body of Christ we cannot. While non-government actors have carried out the violence against religious adherents, Nigerias government has not demonstrated the capacity and determination to provide adequate protection for Christians and Muslims, the letter signers said. The re-designation of Nigeria as a CPC and appointment of a special envoy are vital to recognizing the gravity of the religious freedom violations occurring in the country and the governments unwillingness to control the problems, as well as its contributions to the problems, according to the letter. RELATED: At Least 48 Christians Killed in Extremist Attacks in Nigeria Hannah Daniel, the ERLCs policy manager, told Baptist Press, As religious minorities face increasingly intense persecution for their faith in Nigeria, it is imperative that Secretary Blinken re-designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern. Over the past year, weve continued to see deteriorating conditions in Nigeria as thousands of Christians have been martyred for their faith. WILDWOOD, N.J. Authorities announced charges Tuesday against two men in a pair of vehicle crashes one of which killed two people during a pop-up car rally in southern New Jersey over the weekend. Police across multiple communities struggled to control the chaotic situation. Videos on social media showed modified vehicles revving engines and speeding off to cheers from crowds gathered on the streets, NJ.com reported. WCAU-TV said social media posts showed people hanging out of cars as drivers spun in circles, and also showed burnouts, drifting and crashes. Cape May prosecutors and Wildwood police earlier said Gerald White, 37, of Pittsburgh, was charged with two counts of death by auto, assault by auto and other counts. They allege his car hit another car Saturday, killing a passenger in the other vehicle, Timothy Ogden, 34, then struck two pedestrians, killing Lindsay Weakland, 18, of Carlisle. On Tuesday, authorities announced aggravated assault and assault by auto charges against Eryk Wnek, 31, of Linden. They allege that he did a burnout with his car Saturday, collided with another vehicle and then struck a low-speed vehicle, critically injuring the driver and also injuring a woman and four juvenile passengers. Both defendants were assigned public defenders but were retaining private counsel; a message seeking comment was left for Wneks attorney Tuesday and officials said no paperwork had been received for an attorney for White. A listed number for White could not be found Tuesday. Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland linked both crashes to an unsanctioned car rally separate from the Fall Classic Car Show in Wildwood. Make no mistake that the tragic and dangerous events over the last several days in Wildwood, Rio Grande, Seaville and surrounding communities are a direct result of the organizers of a pop-up car rally self-identified as H2Oi or H2O22, Sutherland said after Whites arrest. Participants say the event gives enthusiasts a chance to gather and check out cars, but officials in other areas such as Ocean City, Maryland, have reported problems stemming from the event in previous years. Directing hundreds if not thousands of people driving high performance vehicles to an area without any planning, staging or permitting created the chaos that led to these deaths and injuries, Sutherland said, vowing swift and appropriate law enforcement and legal response against anyone organizing such an event. The Press of Atlantic City reported that police in Wildwood Crest made 102 motor vehicle stops and issued 61 summonses, far more than on a typical September weekend. In North Wildwood, police wrote 120 tickets, Mayor Pat Rosenello said. Middle Township police stopped 80 cars and issued 40 summonses, but Police Chief Christopher Leusner said they gathered information for what will likely be far more summonses and charges. Funeral arrangements have been established and GoFundMe is in place for a Carlisle girl who died in Wildwood, New Jersey, Saturday. Lindsay Weakland, 18 and a 2022 Cumberland Valley High School grad, died when a driver struck another car and then hit two pedestrians in Wildwood around 9:35 p.m. Saturday. Weakland was one of the pedestrians. Police did not say what happened to the other pedestrian, but said a passenger in the struck vehicle, Timothy Ogden, 34, of Clayton, New Jersey, died at a hospital from injuries suffered in the crash. Weakland is the daughter of Mark and Sharon Weakland of Carlisle. Her funeral is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Monday at Buhrig Funeral Home & Crematory in Mechanicsburg. Viewings will be held at Buhrig from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday and from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Monday. A GoFundMe page has been established on behalf of the family to raise money to help with funeral costs. While this family is going through this unexpected tragedy I am hoping to relieve some of the burden for them, the GoFundMe post reads. This fund is to help with any unexpected funeral expenses. A Pittsburgh man, Gerald J. White, 37, faces multiple charges in connection with the crash, including two counts of death by auto and a charge of leaving the scene of an accident. Officials connected the crash with a car rally, which local officials say took place without any municipal approvals and despite concerns expressed by police and the Wildwood government. On Monday, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland said he is weighing filing charges against the event organizers, and other local officials are calling for state or even national action to make sure nothing similar happens again. PHILADELPHIA Workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art began a strike Monday citing wage and health care issues as the institution said it would remain open during the walkout. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the union representing about 180 of the museums approximately 350 workers set up picket lines Monday at entrances to the main building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and at the nearby Perelman Building and the Rodin Museum on the parkway. The museum posted a notice on social media saying it was open as usual Monday, with officials saying managers and nonunion employees would run the operation. We are committed to serving our community as we continue to negotiate in good faith toward a fair and appropriate new labor agreement, the museum said. Museum workers voted to unionize in July 2020, and leaders of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 47, Local 397, said Friday that they had been in talks with the museum on a new contract for two years without success. Union officials said higher wages and reducing health care costs are among the important issues outstanding. Our members will not accept a contract that does not bring wages and benefits at the museum up to an acceptable standard, DC47 President Cathy Scott said in a statement. Museum officials said they had offered significant wage increases totaling 8.5% over the next 10 months and 11% by July 1, 2024 as well as a minimum annual salary for exempt employees that is more than 10% higher than the current lowest annual salary for these employees. Officials said they also offered four weeks of paid parental leave and accelerated eligibility for health benefits and vacation accrual for new hourly employees, the Inquirer reported. Museum workers called a one-day warning strike on Sept. 16, during which the museum also remained open. The two sides are to meet again later in the week. A St. Louis area man is in custody in St. Francois County this week after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman at an area substance abuse rehab facility last week. Taran Barker, 35, of St. Louis, was charged in St. Francois County Monday with one count of second-degree sodomy. According to a probable cause statement from the St. Francois County Sheriffs Department, on Sept. 25, a deputy was dispatched to Southeast Missouri Behavioral Health Aquinas Center on Highway 32 outside Farmington in reference to a sexual assault. The report states a woman at the facility told police that Barker came into her room through her window at approximately 8:15 p.m. The woman reportedly said Barker shoved her, took off her pajama clothing, and engaged in a sex act. The woman said she told Barker to stop and get out of her room multiple times, but he did not listen, according to the statement. The report states a GPS tracking report for Barker showed him to be in the womans room at the time of the reported assault. In an interview with investigators, the report states Barker admitted to performing the reported sex act on the woman. The man also allegedly admitted to hearing the woman saying no and stop. Barker was booked at the St. Francois County Detention Center on Sunday, and a $250,000 bond has been set in the case. If released on bail, Barker is ordered to comply with GPS and pre-trial monitoring and prohibited from having contact with the alleged victim in this case. A judge further ordered the man to be confined to a residence if freed on bond, except for work, medical treatment/appointments, visits with his attorney, court appearances, and meeting with a bond supervisor. A search of Barkers criminal history showed previous convictions for felony offenses. In 2014, records indicate Barker pleaded guilty to felony theft (stealing $500 or more) in St. Louis. He was given a suspended four-years prison sentence and placed on four years of supervised probation. The man entered a guilty plea to one count of receiving stolen property in 2008 and was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail, according to court filings. Later, in 2008, documents show Barker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine base, for which he received a five-year prison sentence, followed by four years of supervised probation. An informal open house held last week at US Tool Group in Farmington to kick off the Mineral Area College Foundations Centennial Campaign for the Park Hills-based community college ended with a big surprise for the schools president, Dr. Joe Gilgour, courtesy of US Tool CEO Bruce Williams. The centennial campaign is raising funds for programming and other needs for the schools new Industry and Technology Center, softball fields, renovation of the Arts and Sciences Building, construction of a FEMA storm shelter, an Associate of Fine Arts endowed chair, and student scholarships. Following a time set aside for socializing and employee-led tours of the companys massive headquarters in the Farmington Industrial Park, the crowd made up of US Tool and MAC employees, as well as local political and community leaders gathered to hear from Gilgour, CEO Williams and US Tool President Brent Williams. Gilgour welcomed the approximately 60 to 70 people attending the event as the school is still in the midst of celebrating its 100th anniversary. This is a really neat event that were doing kicking off this capital campaign, especially in our 100th year, he said. I think that whats so exciting about that is weve spent a lot of time already in this 100th year talking about the past and the great things that have happened at Mineral Area College and Flat River Community College over 100 years. The nice thing about the 100th anniversary is that we also talk about the future and what the next 100 years are going to bring. Gilgour noted that, throughout its 100-year history, the school has always been responsive to the community. The health community we have one of the best nursing programs youre going to find in the state, he said. Our law enforcement program we have law enforcement all over the place who have been through our Law Enforcement Academy. Every highway patrol state trooper in the state anyone who has gotten a criminal justice degree it goes through Mineral Area College. Thats just an example of the quality of programs that we have where students can stay here and get that training and go work in their local communities. You cant go to a hospital and not see a MAC nurse. You cant get pulled over on 67 without a MAC employee or MAC student pulling you over. Thirty-five years ago, MAC students that wanted to get their bachelors degree or masters degree had to leave town to do that. Theyd get an associates degree at MAC and then theyd transfer elsewhere. A lot of people who got associates degrees are in this room and you came back or you stayed here. But what about those students who left and never came back? Gilgour went on to say that some communities in the region ended up dying because students didnt have the opportunity for training and education that would keep them local. Were covering all the bases here, so thats really great, he said. But back then we didnt do that, so we started a partnership with Central Methodist University, so students could stay and get their bachelors and masters right here in this community. Gilgour shared a story about his first meeting with CEO Williams soon after coming to MAC as president. Kevin Thurman and I brought a drawing of a tech building that MAC had had for a long time I dont know when that drawing was done. He said, Youve got to meet Bruce Williams. So, we came out here to US Tool and we showed Bruce this drawing and Bruce almost threw that drawing in the trash. He said, This is not a technical training facility. What you need is this. What you need is what you who took tours saw today. What you need is when students walk into a place like this they arent overwhelmed, theyre not blown away. Its familiar to them. You need a training facility that shows that dirty jobs like machine tools, for instance, that they can see its not a dirty job. Williams told Gilgour he wanted a training facility on the MAC campus that would prepare students to work in an environment like US Tools. Because of Williams critique of the original building plan, the school decided to receive input from regional businesses and industries on what kind of facility would best train potential workers, leading to the final design for the schools 80,500-square-foot Industry and Technology Center that is now under construction. Addressing the crowd, Bruce Williams expressed his excitement, and that of his son Brent, about the new centers potential to train students for the workplace. We have students coming from MAC, and they have skills already, he said. They know Excel, they know manufacturing technology and thats what helps make us successful in serving our customers. "MAC tech is going to take that to another level. Well have UniTec. Well have MAC tech. This is super exciting for our community, and its going to put us ahead of other communities. Everybody is struggling to get skilled employees and people that can provide prosperity to the community. We can bring jobs into the area, but we have to have trained, fantastic employees and we do now because of UniTec and because of MAC. Turning to Gilgour, Williams said, Joe, weve got a number of other industries, and we have a lot of people here today." Then turning to the crowd, Williams continued, "Not only is this an announcement of the project, but just so you know, this is a fundraiser, so Im glad all of you brought your checkbooks and wallets. Im going to kick this off and make the announcement that we are going to be donating $50,000 to the project. Handing the check to Gilgour, Williams said, This one you can cash immediately. Handing a second check to Gilgour, Williams said, Now, Ive got another check for $50,000. Please dont cash that until next September. Handing a third check to Gilgour, Williams said, This is for $50,000, and please dont cash that until 2024. Handing a fourth check to Gilgour, Williams said, We have another $50,000 check for 2025 and heres another [$50,000 for 2026] $250,000 for the centennial campaign. Looking out at the crowd, Williams said, And we would like to challenge all of you to give your own donations. Something similar, OK? So, the challenge has been set. We want you to come and support this program. The days are getting shorter, the average temperatures are getting colder, and East Missouri Action Agency is looking ahead to winter months when homeless people are apt to stop camping and look for stable, indoor lodging. The Uplift Center, a homeless shelter run by EMAA and located near the Farmington OAKS Senior Nutrition Center, is intended to address the many challenges faced by those without a home, and its holding an evening of barbecue and fun. The RSVP date for the Uplift Center Journey of Hope gala is Thursday for the Oct. 15 evening of barbecue and auction fun that starts with cocktails at 5 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Schools gymnasium. People can support Uplifts gala and its mission by buying tickets, purchasing sponsorships in the evenings program, and donating auction items. The evening promises to be one of fabulous music, great food, wonderful friends but most importantly stories told depicting the journey of hope made by those who have benefited from the work being done at the Uplift Overnight Shelter, said Nicolle Hahn, EMAA community services program director. Since opening, more than 480 people have been able to be served at the shelter. Community partnership and support is crucial to continue to be successful. Tickets are $60 each, but a table of 8 is $440. Dinner will be catered by Baylee Jo's BBQ of Iron County and will feature their award-winning brisket at a carving station, alongside smoked turkey, baby red potatoes, green beans, cheddar biscuits and dinner salad. EMAA is asking for RSVPs to be made to Jessie Drum, jdrum@eastmoaa.org or 573-431-5191 ext. 1117, by Sept. 29 so they can get an accurate headcount . Were hoping to sell 250 tickets, said Heather Garner, coordinator for the Southeast Economic Development Fund program at EMAA. Garner has quite a bit of experience with benefit auctions, having volunteered for the better part of two decades for one of the biggest annual auction event in the county, for St. Paul Lutheran School. So grab your friends and bring them out. We want to see you there. More than 200 employees work for EMAA, providing services to more than 18,000 low-income individuals every year in St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Washington, Madison, Iron, Perry, Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties. The agency has operated the shelter since June 2020, when it began offering daytime relief to homeless who needed a place to do their laundry, check messages and mail, take showers, look for jobs and apartments, and enjoy a microwaveable meal. In July 2021, the shelter expanded its services to include 10 beds for overnight stays. In January 2022, they expanded the Uplift Center to 62 more beds. Nye County, a rural enclave in Nevada, has positioned itself as the epicenter of a Donald Trump-fueled conspiracy about the security of electronic vote tabulators. The Nye County Commission voted in March to make the county one of the first to act on the false narratives that machines that count votes are rigged. County Clerk Mark Kampf, who has falsely claimed that Trump won the 2020 election, has said that volunteer voters there will hand count the roughly 30,000 ballots expected in the November election. Across the country, Republicans aligned with Trump have directed ire at electronic voting machines, with Republicans in at least six states introducing legislation this year to ban the use of ballot tabulators (Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, New Hampshire, Washington and West Virginia). Over 90% of U.S. election jurisdictions currently use electronic tabulators, with only the smallest counties opting to count votes by hand. Many of the conspiracies around voting machines after the 2020 election centered on technology from Dominion Voting Systems. Lawyers for Trump claimed with no basis that Dominion employees worked with outside groups, liberal donor George Soros, and Venezuela to steal the presidential contest from Trump. Dominion has filed several defamation lawsuits against those who peddled the conspiracies. Voting experts say that using hand counting as the default method to count ballots, which requires that all voters cast paper ballots, is incredibly expensive, burdensome, and time-consuming. This is totally unnecessary, said Jonathan Diaz, senior legal counsel with the Campaign Legal Center. There is no evidence or reason to suggest that ballot tabulators dont work. In fact, research shows that vote tabulators are more accurate than hand counts, which allow for a vast amount of human error, especially when the people counting ballots are overworked and tired around an election. Tabulators are typically certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and jurisdictions almost always test them before an election to ensure their functionality and accuracy. Jurisdictions often hand count smaller groups of ballots after a tabulator is used to verify the accuracy of results. Tabulators also allow for accessibility features to assist voters with disabilities who cannot hand mark a paper ballot. The Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank that uses ideas from both parties, recommends pairing machine tabulators with an audit of paper ballots. This balance minimizes the potential for human error during vote counting while maintaining a strong system of manual error-checking to unearth discrepancies that may arise during tabulation, they write in an explainer. Diaz said he suspects that those pushing for hand counting arent actually concerned with the security of tabulators. I dont think that the push for hand counting paper ballots is really motivated by concerns about accuracy or technology, he said. I think its actually just an attempt to slow down the process and inject more confusion and make things more difficult for election workers. Nye County To hand count all of its ballots, Nye County plans to have teams of three people look at batches of 50 ballots. Kampf said he has already enlisted 57 volunteers to help with the process, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Kampf did not respond to a request for an interview. While Nye County will hand count its ballots this year, itll also tabulate its votes with electronic machines. Officials have said the goal is to eliminate the use of machines for future elections, but using both methods this year allows the county to avoid new state regulations for counties that only conduct hand counts. In late August, Nevadas secretary of states office announced temporary regulations to take effect Oct. 1 for the general election, including a requirement for bipartisan counters. Nevada law doesnt outlaw hand counting and the office wanted to be prepared if more counties decide to switch. Voting experts said hand counting shouldnt be permitted, and therefore does not need to be regulated. In testimony submitted to Mark Wlaschin, deputy secretary for elections, the Campaign Legal Center explained why hand counting ballots would help neither accuracy nor speed. A hand counting requirement would not only delay the reporting of results, but would also be severely disruptive to county officials ability to fulfill their critical responsibility to conduct the election securely and accurately, attorney Julie Hochsztein wrote. The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada filed a lawsuit against the state after the regulations were announced, alleging that they deprive Nevadans of their rights to a uniform, statewide standard for counting votes. The group declined to comment on the pending litigation. The temporary regulation threatens to unleash electoral chaos, the complaint says, noting that votes cast in different counties, different precincts, or different contests may be counted very differently. Current Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske is term-limited. Jim Marchant, an election denier who is the Republican nominee to replace her, has been one of the most vocal forces behind the states push to institute hand counting. He has said that if elected, he would ditch electronic vote machines. Democrat Cisco Aguilar, who is facing Marchant in November, told States Newsroom that he worries about the future of elections in Nevada if Marchant wins. What hes doing is irresponsible and dangerous, Aguilar said. Hes not a serious leader but the threat he represents is extremely serious. Esmeralda County in Nevada has also switched to hand counting, but the county is the least populous in the state with just 1,030 residents in 2020, according to U.S. Census data. Still, it took the county more than seven hours in the June primary to count 317 ballots. At that rate, it would have taken Clark County, Nevadas most populous county, 6,375 hours, or more than 265 days, to hand count the 288,683 ballots cast in its June primary. Larger counties could no doubt devote more staff, volunteers, and resources to counting, but the process would undoubtedly require the county to miss the vote certification deadline. The longer the public has to wait for election results, the more time candidates have to sow distrust in the results and for false theories and information to spread. Outside Nevada In Arizona, Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem, both of whom have said that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, filed a lawsuit with unfounded allegations about the security of electronic vote tabulators and seeking the hand counting of ballots. They claimed that the lawsuit wasnt aimed at invalidating the 2020 election resultsCyber Ninjas, which conducted an audit of the vote in Maricopa County, conducted a hand count and found that Joe Biden actually won by more votes than the official marginbut instead about future elections. In response to the lawsuit, election administrators testified that hand counting would be extremely expensive and require immense manpower. They also said that electronic voting machines arent connected to the internet, and cant be hacked. A judge dismissed the suit in August, and Lake and Finchem have appealed that ruling. If Lake and Finchem win in November, theyll be in a position to change how the state counts its ballots. Arizona law does not require the use of electronic vote counting machines. The secretary of state also has the power to decertify machines, so Finchem could do that and refuse to certify new ones. In New Hampshire, groups opposed to electronic tabulators figured out a way to force election officials in large counties to hand count some ballots in Sept. 13s primary, despite the widespread use of AccuVote optical scan machines in the state which are not connected to the internet and cannot be hacked. Conservative-leaning groups shared posts online urging voters to write in candidate names, even if the candidate was already printed on the ballot. Ballots with write-in candidates are separated for hand counting. Secretary of State David Scanlan said the effort slowed down the release of results by hours in some counties. It really stresses the system when you have poll workers who have been at it for 12 to 16 hours now having to count all these ballots at the end of the night, Scanlan told a local reporter with the Keene Sentinel. It probably increases the chances for errors. The Missouri Governor's Mansion lit in orange to celebrate Hunger Action Month in September 2022 (photo courtesy of Missouri Governor's Office). Hoping to bring awareness to the need to combat hunger, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson officially declared September Hunger Action Month lighting the state Capitol and governors mansion in orange to encourage involvement in efforts to end hunger in local communities. When people think of hunger and food insecurity, they may often think of people in other cities, other states, or other nations, Parson said in his announcement, but the reality is these issues exist right here in our local communities The lighting coincided with a food drive Monday on the mansion lawn. Democratic lawmakers werent so sanguine about the governors pronouncement. They pointed to the fact that Missouri is the only state that chose not to participate in a federal program allowing parents and kids in low-income areas to pick up free meals and take them home a pandemic-era benefit that was hailed by supporters as greatly expanding access for children facing food insecurity. Instead, children were required to eat the meals on site at set times. According to NBC News, which first reported on the states decision last month, the result was a dramatic drop in the number of meals distributed to low-income children. Changing lightbulbs does nothing to solve hunger, said state Sen. Lauren Arthur, D-Kansas City. Feeding children does, and when given the opportunity to help Missouri kids, this administration chose cruelty for the purpose of making a foolish political statement. House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, called the states decision shameful. Light shows are great, she said, but taking care of our kids is more important. Parson, who did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning, previously defended his administrations decision in a series of tweets arguing that children should be required to eat free meals on site in order to ensure they are the only ones getting access to the food. By requiring kids to eat meals on-site, the governor tweeted, we can be confident that the kids who need the meals are getting the meals. Prior to the pandemic, the Summer Food Service Program allowed for meal sites in areas where 50% or more of children qualified for free or reduced lunch. It also required meals be eaten at the meal sites. A waiver was issued in March 2020 by the USDA permitting food to be taken home, allowing families to pick up multiple days worth of food at one time. The waiver was set to expire in June before Congress passed legislation giving states the option of extending it. According to NBC News, Missouri was the only state not to take advantage of the waiver. Parson argued that because the state moved away from emergency COVID response and to an endemic recovery phase, Missouri decided not to opt in to the grab-and-go option because our state was returning to normal operations. TRUSSVILLE A high school principal failed to tell police about a students death notebook that was found last year and disclosed earlier this month only after the same student threatened to shoot a classmate, the mayor said Tuesday. While prosecutors declined to file any charges, Trussville Mayor Buddy Choat told a news conference a total lack of communication had led to a situation that rattled some parents. There is no reason for this not to have been reported other than a mistake in judgment, he said. Police began an investigation earlier this month after a student at Hewitt-Trussville High School threatened to shoot someone with a bow and arrow, officials said. During the probe, police learned the same student had compiled a death notebook that was based on a television show and contained the names of about three dozen students to harm. Rather than reporting the list to police or school superiors when it was found last October, the principal placed the notebook in a drawer and kept it, Choat said, providing it to police after the alleged threat this month. Police went to the students home and found a gun that belonged to the youths father, the mayor said, but the youth wasnt found with any weapons. While Choat said the city, located in suburban Birmingham, dodged a bullet, Superintendent Pattie Neill said the notebook with the list was a fantasy that didnt warrant prosecution under state law. No disciplinary action was announced against the principal, who Neill said handled the threat this month correctly. The city council was expected to hear from parents at a council meeting Tuesday night. Back in January, the Alabama Legislature and Gov. Kay Ivey approved a plan to spend $276 million of the states American Rescue Plan Act federal funds on the expansion of access to high-speed internet. On Tuesday, Ivey and legislative leaders announced that $82 million of that would be used to fund a middle-mile broadband network that officials said would have statewide impact. Fiber Utility Network, a corporation formed by eight rural electric cooperatives, will create the network to connect more than 3,000 miles of new and existing fiber infrastructure over the next three years, officials said. Leaders of the Republican and Democratic caucuses in the Alabama Senate and other legislators joined the governor for the announcement at 11 a.m. at Central Alabama Electric Cooperative in Prattville, one of the cooperatives that formed the new corporation. The other cooperatives are Coosa Valley, Covington, Cullman, Joe Wheeler, North Alabama, PowerSouth, and Tombigbee. The middle-mile network will be the next step in an initiative Ivey and lawmakers have said is a priority for several years. The effort got a major boost when Congress approved the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a pandemic relief package that has sent billions of federal dollars to Alabama, including $2 billion for lawmakers to appropriate for state government purposes. The $276 billion for broadband comes from the states first $1 billion portion of ARPA funds. Legislators approved it in a special session in January. Legislators are expected to consider how to use the second $1 billion portion next year. Last year, Ivey signed into law the Connect Alabama Act to set up a state government framework for making broadband available statewide. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, the agency spearheading the effort, released the Alabama Broadband Map and the Alabama Connectivity Plan in January. The map showed that about 13 percent of 1.65 million addresses in Alabama do not have access to broadband service as defined by the Federal Communications Commission. About 19 percent do not have access to the higher speed that the state uses to define broadband. The states five-year goal is to reduce the number of unserved addresses by half. The 10-year goal is for 98% of households and businesses to have access to broadband. The Connectivity Plan said costs estimates to make broadband available statewide is $4 billion to $6 billion. Officials say the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the importance of broadband because of the need for people to be able to work and receive classroom instruction from home, as well as the potential of telehealth appointments for medical care. Grant programs funded by taxpayer dollars like the ARPA funds can provide an incentive for the companies to install the cable and other infrastructure that would not otherwise be feasible in remote or sparsely populated areas. Storm Noru was 88 km from Da Nang at midnight of Tuesday, carrying maximum winds of 149 kph. It weakened to 133 kph more than an hour later as it hit the coast. Earlier, heavy winds triggered by the storm had caused around 300 houses in the central province of Quang Tri to collapse, injuring eight people. Torrential rains were recorded from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday in Thua Thien Hue (280 mm), Da Nang (230 mm) and Ly Son Island off Quang Ngai Province (240 mm). Storm Noru devolves into tropical depression Bao vao a Nang Storm Noru hit Da Nang at 1 a.m. on September 28, 2022. Video by Nguyen Dong At 2 a.m. Wednesday, residents in Da Nang and Quang Nam reported "terrifying" winds as metal roofs were blown off despite being secured earlier. Power cut was recorded on large scale in Da Nang and Thua Thien Hue. It also affected 210,000 families in Quang Ngai, more than 345,000 families in Quang Nam, including parts of tourist town Hoi An, which was deserted on Wednesday morning. Strong waves and high tides flooded several coastal roads in Da Nang. By 7 a.m. Wednesday, the storm has weakened to 74 kph. It is expected to descend into a tropical depression and a low pressure zone over Thailand. Residents and the authorities have started to clean up the damage left by the storm. They are bracing for heavy rains forecast on Wednesday and Thursday. Hong Kong: 9th foreign affairs talk held The Civil Service College today held the ninth talk of the series on the countrys foreign affairs jointly with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The talk was delivered via video-conferencing by the Director-General of the ministrys Department of African Affairs Wu Peng with China-Africa relations as its topic. About 200 civil servants in the directorate and senior ranks took part through online access. Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung addressed the talk. Mrs Yeung said the important speech of President Xi Jinping at the meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kongs return to the motherland highlights Hong Kongs close connection with the world market and strong support from the motherland as its distinctive advantages. She pointed out that, as a key link and the prime platform for the Belt & Road Initiative, and with the central governments support, Hong Kong should capitalise on its unique advantages to connect the Mainland with other Belt-Road regions. Hong Kong SAR civil servants should play an active role in strengthening the connection and act in better concert with the countrys development strategies, she added. This story has been published on: 2022-09-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Months of the heaviest monsoon rainfall in living memory have caused a disaster in Pakistan. Several provinces have seen rainfall as much as 500 percent above average, causing severe flooding and landslides. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids. Indeed, since mid-June, some 33 million people, about 15 percent of Pakistans population, have been affected by the disaster. Nearly 1,400 people have died, nearly 13,000 have been injured. Entire towns and villages have been razed by mudslides or swamped by raging waters. The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, estimates that more than one and a half million homes have been damaged or destroyed, and approximately 753,000 livestock a major source of livelihoods and food have been lost. The flooding has damaged roads and well over 800,000 hectares [two million acres] of agricultural land. Balochistan, Khyber, Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh provinces have been particularly hard hit. In Sindh province, the flooding Indus River has overflowed its banks and spread widely across the land, drowning fields, killing livestock, and creating a 100 kilometer [62 mile] lake. The flooding is expected to continue in the near future. According to the World Health Organization, this means that the crisis will get worse as hunger sets in and diseases such as cholera, malaria, dengue, and diarrheal illnesses begin to infect people in the flood zones. More than three million children and thousands of pregnant women are particularly at risk. In a meeting with Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Secretary of State Blinken announced an additional $10 million in food security assistance. This funding will provide urgent supplies, like seeds and fertilizer, to help farmers recover, and provide assistance repairing critical irrigation infrastructure damaged by the floods. The United States, through USAID, has already provided more than $56 million in humanitarian assistance to help the people of Pakistan. USAID has also deployed a Disaster Assistance Response, or DART Team, which is assessing the damage, identifying priority needs, and coordinating with the Government of Pakistan and humanitarian partners. The United States is deeply saddened by the devastating loss of life and livelihoods throughout Pakistan. We stand with Pakistan during this difficult time. We urge our friends and allies, and the entire international community, to open their hearts and wallets and help Pakistan recover from this disaster. The United States and Jordan recently signed their fourth Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Partnership. Under its terms, the United States will provide $1.45 billion per year in foreign assistance to Jordan for the next seven years. The MOU will support key reforms led by King Abdullahs government, including tackling the water crisis and expanding economic opportunities. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the memorandum One of the most significant bilateral instruments of its kind, demonstrating the United States commitment to Jordans stability. He added that this MOU comes at a critical juncture, as the government of Jordan is implementing key reforms to strengthen its economy and enhance services to its people: So, this memorandum of understanding that weve just signed is a testament to the strength of the relationship between Jordan and the United States. It reflects a shared interest in a more stable, safe, and prosperous Middle East, and our commitment to deepen the partnership between our governments and between our peoples to help achieve that goal. Jordan has demonstrated exceptional leadership on regional and global challenges, said Secretary Blinken, by offering refuge to people displaced by regional conflicts and other crises, most recently to those fleeing the war in Syria. In addition to humanitarian support and access to health care, Syrian refugees in Jordan also have opportunities to work and to study. As the Jordanian government continues providing this vital support, so will the United States as reflected in our announcement. . .of an additional $756 million in humanitarian assistance for Syrians in need, including those in Jordan, said Secretary Blinken. Jordans armed forces have long been a key ally in the fight against terrorism, including as a member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. And its military is stepping up to counter new threats like combating narcotics trafficking across the countrys northern border. To meet these challenges, the MOU provides funding to modernize Jordans military. This MOU reflects the United States and Jordans shared interest in a more stable, safe, and prosperous Middle East, and a commitment to deepen the partnership between both governments and peoples to help achieve that goal. ELKO The Elko Police Department is seeking public assistance in identifying the suspect(s) who discharged a firearm into at least three Elko businesses. The crimes occurred the evening of Monday, Sept. 26, between the hours of approximately 7:30 and 11 p.m. Surveillance video from two of the incidents shows a dark colored medium to small sedan speeding past two of the businesses around the time the shots were fired. Two of the businesses were in the area of Idaho Street and Mountain City Highway. The third business was near the intersection of Chris Avenue and North Fifth Street. Anyone with information on these crimes is encouraged to contact Elko Central Dispatch at 775-777-7300 or the Elko PD Detective Unit at 775-777-7310. The attacks come as the Elko Police Department has about 12 staff vacancies, according to Mayor Reece Keener. Discharging a firearm into an occupied building is a felony crime in Nevada. In addition, the risk of serious injury or death is very high when a firearm is indiscriminately discharged in a populated area. LAMOILLE What can communities do to address the mental health crisis in rural Nevada? That was the topic of discussion at the Ruby Mountain Health Summit hosted by MedX AirOne at Ruby 360 Lodge. The six-member panel, community leaders, and behavioral health workers discussed the need for front- and back-end services for individuals facing a mental health crisis. Led by Robin Reedy, National Alliance on Mental Health executive director, the panel and audience members were asked what they would do if they had a blank check to solve the problem. What would you do to help fix this in Nevada, because were number 51? Dead last, she said. Suggestions included increasing the behavioral health workforce and expanding transportation to and from mental health clinics. Dr. Rob Bryant, medical director for MedX Air One, said an in-patient behavioral health facility was optimal for the rural area to continue managed care. It would help stop them bouncing back quite as quickly as they do to the emergency departments. Fergus Laughridge, Regional Behavioral Heath Board Chair, agreed with Bryant, explaining that a behavioral health workforce center that pulls together resources from every part of the state was one solution. However, it would need funding. Mental health is multi-faceted, and what I hear commonly across our rural area are resources how do we fix that? Laughridge said. Thats our legislative approach this year, and I hope that funding, that blank check, comes in because it is going to cost. Carrie Hintz Nurse and University of Nevada, Reno professor Carrie Hintz discusses her research about mental health and the effects on law enforcement duri Involving the Legislature to help with the crisis was discussed by Valarie Cauhape Haskin, Regional Behavioral Health Coordinator. She said one bill targeted for the upcoming session would create mental health education for all ages and institutions.K-12, all the way through high school, college, graduate school, internships, clinical experience and licensure, helping get peoples businesses up and running or connecting with other sites where they can practice in rural communities. Haskin also suggested using Nevadas higher education system to develop research and evaluation, reaching individuals on the front end of the bell curve before they reach a crisis point and focusing on the step-down side of mental health services. Reedy asked the panelists and the audience to consider creating a crisis care center at Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital. Laughridge said any development must come from the ground level, the community, to achieve that goal. It has to be embraced by the community to the leadership of the facility and all the way up through our state government, legislative and the executive branch of our state government. Haskin pointed to stringent licensing requirements by state boards that needed to be expanded into interstate compacts so more behavioral health providers could practice in multiple states and not go through quite so much paperwork from one state to another. The Board of Psychological Examiners that licenses psychologists in Nevada participate in one inter-state compact including six or seven states, Haskin said. However, she added that Nevada ranks 51st nationwide for residents to access mental health services. Our licensing boards for behavioral health providers here in Nevada like to think they are so much better. Were number one because we have much more restrictive requirements, but were still 51, Haskin said. Progress has been made through two Legislative actions. Haskin cited the passage of Senate Bill 44 that created a fourth licensure type for the social work board that may open the door for that board to enter into its own interstate compact. Thats not to say more work doesnt need to be done, she continued. Weve had presentations from the licensing boards. I think some are doing better with moving towards the law that we passed than others. But we need teeth. If theyre not following up, there has to be some sort of action because right now, we dont have that. Another legislative action created the 988 crisis care hotline. Rachelle Pellissier, executive director of Crisis Support Services in Nevada, said the call center was one of 12 nationwide. Pellissier explained that revising the response time to an individual during a crisis was something that needed to be fixed. A provider may not reach out for five, six, seven or 30 days. That is the problem, she said. Were not training providers on the importance of when someone is in crisis. They cant wait a week to be reached out to. We need to give them that appointment in the moment, so they know where they are going. The need to connect all agencies and clinics statewide with all available resources was another issue raised by panelists and audience members. NNRH nurse Norah Lusk said she sees patients at different crisis levels in the emergency room. She said there needed to be more efforts put into networking, marketing and involving everyone at the front line. Elko County Commissioner Delmo Andreozzi agreed, suggesting that we need to step back, and we need a good inventory of what we have. Then we have to understand what our gaps are and start filling those gaps. Mayor Reece Keener said $26.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding was given to the City of Elko, with $4 million to be used for establishing in-patient services at NNRH. Theyll be establishing a facility there so we wont have to outsource that to Salt Lake or the Reno area, and also Vitality Unlimited received funding as well as Nevada Health Center, Keener said. It will help get things started. Law enforcement and mental health Nurse and University of Nevada, Reno professor Carrie Hintz presented her research into law enforcement officers and mental health. She described the occupational stress of first responders. Its associated with increased risk for mental health issues: hopelessness, anxiety, depression and suicide, Hintz said. In fact, suicide in 2021 for law enforcement officers was the second leading cause of death, second only to Covid-19. She said that stress is magnified through emergencies, disasters, pandemics and other crises. About 42% of relationship issues are linked to suicide attempts. First responders are living in two environments due to challenging work schedules and extreme family demands. Due to the lack of a central repository for data collecting, Hintz said the number of suicides among first responders could be underreported. We dont know where the problem is or where it stems from. We have some ideas, but we cant quantify it, she explained. Its also really important to know that officers consider stress to be part of the job. These stressors and these stigmas can keep us from talking about the problem or acting on the solutions. Hintz added that the effects of Covid-19 had caused a broken health care system to become even more broken. This magnified every problem we had. I think its important that we acknowledge and respect the impact that Covid has had on our work occupations, she said. We have to acknowledge how that has impacted officer health and wellness and how that impacts their ability to do their job. She cited literature that states that about 30% of our workforce intends to leave the occupation or their job within the next 6 to 12 months. Hintz said in the last two decades there have been efforts to improve mental health care, but challenges remained in rural communities. These include accessibility, availability of resources, counseling and mental health support. Although health care is in a great state of flux in Nevada and rural communities, Hintz said the issue was international, and we have to understand better the challenges we face. Prevention is worth every pound of response, and its going to need to be the cornerstone in whatever we do. We have to stop thinking about where we are and start thinking about where we want to be, she continued. Because those things have varying priorities and expectations, we have to figure out a way to marry them. Some low-cost solutions are critical stress debriefers and peer-to-peer counseling that have already been implemented among several fire departments throughout the state. We have to have these conversations, come to the table, and have that inter-professional perspective that only a rural community can provide. That person is your neighbor. That person is your dentist. Were closely connected, and its important that we look at it that way, Hintz said. Hintzs research platform was recently approved at Duquesne University. She said she will use an ethnography to allow officers to tell their story and look at the implications of law enforcement officers in Nevada on health and wellness so we can better understand from their perspective what it is they need. Research is a key component in moving the needle, and we need to understand better how these issues affect our officers long-term, so we dont see them as a statistic but as a person with a need, Hintz said. ELKO Elko County School Districts overall test scores for reading and math proficiency in the 2021-2022 school year show a narrow improvement from the 2020-2021 school year, although individual schools in the district show a wide range of rates, new figures released by the Nevada Department of Education show. Overall, ECSD test scores ran 5.5 to 6 percentage points lower than the state average in English Language Arts (ELA) and 3.4 to 7.4 points lower in math. The Elko County School Districts ELA proficiency rate is 38.6% for the elementary level, 37.2% for the middle school level and 39.7% for high schools, compared with a rate of 37.3% for elementary students in the prior year, 39.6% for middle school students and 38.3% for high schools. The mathematics proficiency rate in the scorecard for the district shows a score of 32.6% for elementary schools, 18.2% for middle schools and 17.3% for high schools for the 2021-2022 school year, compared with 25.6% for elementary schools, 16.8% for middle schools and 20.6% for high schools. Ruby Valley School, with 22 students, had the highest ELA rate in the district at 63.6% and the highest math rating of 72.7% for the 2021-2022 school year, according to the Nevada Report Card, and the scores for the other 35 schools in the district varied, including a couple schools with no scores available. The district expects significant improvements for this upcoming school year after implementing initiatives with the goal to make up for learning loss brought on by the circumstances of the pandemic, said Kayla Church, communications specialist for ECSD. One of these initiatives is the districts recent partnerships with research-based organizations that provide professional development solutions to school districts impacted by school closures during Nevadas COVID-19 restrictions. Other strategies implemented this school year include hiring for new positions dedicated to helping special student populations, instructional intervention personnel, expanding summer school and the purchase of Paper, the 24/7 online tutoring program, Church said. An ECSD statement says it is optimistic that new leadership roles filled in recent months will move the district forward, and that new administrators in the central office have started a strategic plan to provide a vision and goals focused on quality instruction and student performance. To better prepare long-term substitutes and student teachers finishing their college program while teaching, the district also has begun conversations with Great Basin College to provide training for these staff members, according to the statement. The district, in collaboration with the Northeastern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program, has also revisited and made changes to its RISE program this year, taking into account the amount of teachers who come from alternative teacher training programs and long-term substitutes, the district said. RISE provides new teachers training prior to the school year and guidance and mentorship for the duration of their first year in the classroom. Statewide tests The Nevada Department of Education reported that the Smarter Balanced assessments in ELA and mathematics administered to third through eighth graders are now part of the Nevada Report Card for each school district and each school within the districts. One part of the card is for chronic absenteeism, and ECSDs rate is 42% for the 2021-2022 school year, but Church explained that that figure for ECSD includes absences recorded as medical doctor provided excuses (MDP), which is the code used by schools when recording an absence due to COVID-19. The state announcement on new scores also singled out the Eureka County School District for making the most dramatic gains in ELA and math, increasing proficiency in both areas by more than 7 percentage points from the 2020-2021 school year to 61.3% in ELA and 47.1% in match. As a district, we are pleased to see our school improvement efforts having a positive impact on instruction and learning outcomes. Staff and students put out great efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and increased their efforts since returning to the classroom, in order to mitigate learning loss and achieve outstanding academic growth, said Tate Else, superintendent of the Eureka County School District. These positive academic outcomes demonstrate that our methods are working, and we will stay focused on our goal to create better learning environments for all students in the face of new and evolving challenges, Else said. The statewide proficiency rate for ELA is 43.7% for the 2021-2022 school year, up 2.3 percentage points from the prior year, and the math rate is 29.8%, up 3.5 percentage points from the 2020-2021 year. We are pleased to see that Nevadas statewide proficiency rate in both ELA and math have shown an increase from the 2020-21 school year. This demonstrates that the tremendous efforts made by our educators are having a positive impact on student outcomes, said Jhone Ebert, state superintendent of public instruction. These results are moving in the right direction, and we need to invest and accelerate what is working. The Nevada Department of Education continues to support our students, families and educators, as we work together to address the academic and social-emotional needs of our students resulting from the challenges of the last two years, Ebert said in the Sept. 19 state announcement on test scores. The Nevada Science Assessment also was administered to students in grades 5, 8 and high school, and the states overall proficiency rate was 19.96% in grade 5, up by 1.06% percentage points from the prior year, 34% for grade 8, down by 0.39 percentage points, and 20.7% for high school students, down 9 percentage points. ELKO Ryndon volunteer firefighters on Monday extinguished a vehicle fire off Interstate 80 that started to spread to wildlands. Elko County Fire Protection District said the quick actions of Ryndon VFD and Station 21 prevented the vehicle fire from extending into the wildland and threatening homes. Great job on the quick attack, stated the department. Ryndon VFD/ Elko County Fire is always looking for dedicated volunteers that want to be active in the community. Information on applying is available on the departments website. On Friday, the ECFPD sent a crew of three and a type 5 engine on a two-week fire assignment for support on the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho. While on their deployment, they were initially tasked with structure protection on the Ross Fork Fire where they continued to provide suppression support, stated the department. About 200 firefighters are working on the blaze north of Ketchum, according to KLIX radio. The fire has burned roughly 37,836 acres of forest timber and short grass near Smiley Creek. It was listed Monday at 64% contained. Republican Secretary of State candidate and 2020 election denier Jim Marchant in March urging Nye County to switch to hand-counted paper ballots. (Screengrab of Nye County Commission meeting) Policy, politics and progressive commentary Nye County has positioned itself as the epicenter of a Donald Trump-fueled conspiracy about the security of electronic vote tabulators. The Nye County Commission voted in March to make the county one of the first to act on the false narrative that machines that count votes are rigged, and recommended long-time elections clerk Sandra Merlina switch to hand-counting paper ballots. Merlino, who retired in August months before her term was slated to end after working 20 years in the elections office, warned commissioners at the time that hand-counts were prone to a lot of error. Newly appointed County Clerk Mark Kampf, who has falsely claimed that Trump won the 2020 election, plans to incorporate a hand-counting method. He told commissioners in September that volunteer voters there will hand count the roughly 30,000 ballots expected in the November election. Across the country, Republicans aligned with Trump have directed ire at electronic voting machines, with Republicans in at least six states introducing legislation this year to ban the use of ballot tabulators (Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, New Hampshire, Washington and West Virginia). Over 90 percent of U.S. election jurisdictions currently use electronic tabulators, with only the smallest counties opting to count votes by hand. Many of the conspiracies around voting machines after the 2020 election centered on technology from Dominion Voting Systems. Lawyers for Trump claimed with no basis that Dominion employees worked with outside groups, liberal donor George Soros, and Venezuela to steal the presidential contest from Trump. Dominion has filed several defamation lawsuits against those who peddled the conspiracies. Voting experts say that using hand counting as the default method to count ballots, which requires that all voters cast paper ballots, is incredibly expensive, burdensome, and time-consuming. This is totally unnecessary, said Jonathan Diaz, senior legal counsel with the Campaign Legal Center. There is no evidence or reason to suggest that ballot tabulators dont work. In fact, research shows that vote tabulators are more accurate than hand counts, which allow for a vast amount of human error, especially when the people counting ballots are overworked and tired around an election. Tabulators are typically certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and jurisdictions almost always test them before an election to ensure their functionality and accuracy. Jurisdictions often hand count smaller groups of ballots after a tabulator is used to verify the accuracy of results. Tabulators also allow for accessibility features to assist voters with disabilities who cannot hand mark a paper ballot. The Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank that uses ideas from both parties, recommends pairing machine tabulators with an audit of paper ballots. This balance minimizes the potential for human error during vote counting while maintaining a strong system of manual error-checking to unearth discrepancies that may arise during tabulation, they write in an explainer. Diaz said he suspects that those pushing for hand counting arent actually concerned with the security of tabulators. I dont think that the push for hand counting paper ballots is really motivated by concerns about accuracy or technology, he said. I think its actually just an attempt to slow down the process and inject more confusion and make things more difficult for election workers. Severely disruptive To hand count all of its ballots, Nye County plans to have teams of three people look at batches of 50 ballots. Kampf said he has already enlisted 57 volunteers to help with the process. Kampf did not respond to a request for an interview. While Nye County will hand count its ballots this year, itll also tabulate its votes with electronic machines. Officials have said the goal is to eliminate the use of machines for future elections, but using both methods this year allows the county to avoid new state regulations for counties that only conduct hand counts. In late August, Nevadas secretary of states office announced temporary regulations to take effect Oct. 1 for the general election, including a requirement for bipartisan counters. Nevada law doesnt outlaw hand counting and the office wanted to be prepared if more counties decide to switch. The proposed language for the regulation originally featured stronger restrictions but was amended after getting feedback from Kampf. Voting experts said hand counting shouldnt be permitted, and therefore does not need to be regulated. In testimony submitted to Mark Wlaschin, deputy secretary for elections, the Campaign Legal Center explained why hand counting ballots would help neither accuracy nor speed. A hand counting requirement would not only delay the reporting of results, but would also be severely disruptive to county officials ability to fulfill their critical responsibility to conduct the election securely and accurately, attorney Julie Hochsztein wrote. The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada filed a lawsuit against the state after the regulations were announced, alleging that they deprive Nevadans of their rights to a uniform, statewide standard for counting votes. The group declined to comment on the pending litigation. The temporary regulation threatens to unleash electoral chaos, the complaint says, noting that votes cast in different counties, different precincts, or different contests may be counted very differently. Current Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske is term-limited. Jim Marchant, an election denier who is the Republican nominee to replace her, has been one of the most vocal forces behind the states push to institute hand counting. He has said that if elected, he would ditch electronic vote machines. Democrat Cisco Aguilar, who is facing Marchant in November, has singled out Marchants role in Nye County as reason for worry about the future of elections in Nevada if Marchant wins. What Jim Marchant is doing in Nye County is irresponsible and dangerous, Aguilar said during a campaign event in August. Hes not a serious leader, but the threat he represents is very serious. Esmeralda County in Nevada has also switched to hand counting, but the county is the least populous in the state with just 1,030 residents in 2020, according to U.S. Census data. Still, it took the county more than seven hours in the June primary to count 317 ballots. At that rate, it would have taken Clark County, Nevadas most populous county, 6,375 hours, or more than 265 days, to hand count the 288,683 ballots cast in its June primary. Larger counties could no doubt devote more staff, volunteers, and resources to counting, but the process would undoubtedly require the county to miss the vote certification deadline. The longer the public has to wait for election results, the more time candidates have to sow distrust in the results and for false theories and information to spread. Outside Nevada In Arizona, Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem, both of whom have said that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, filed a lawsuit with unfounded allegations about the security of electronic vote tabulators and seeking the hand counting of ballots. They claimed that the lawsuit wasnt aimed at invalidating the 2020 election resultsCyber Ninjas, which conducted an audit of the vote in Maricopa County, conducted a hand count and found that Joe Biden actually won by more votes than the official marginbut instead about future elections. In response to the lawsuit, election administrators testified that hand counting would be extremely expensive and require immense manpower. They also said that electronic voting machines arent connected to the internet, and cant be hacked. A judge dismissed the suit in August, and Lake and Finchem have appealed that ruling. If Lake and Finchem win in November, theyll be in a position to change how the state counts its ballots. Arizona law does not require the use of electronic vote counting machines. The secretary of state also has the power to decertify machines, so Finchem could do that and refuse to certify new ones. In New Hampshire, groups opposed to electronic tabulators figured out a way to force election officials in large counties to hand count some ballots in Sept. 13s primary, despite the widespread use of AccuVote optical scan machines in the state which are not connected to the internet and cannot be hacked. Conservative-leaning groups shared posts online urging voters to write in candidate names, even if the candidate was already printed on the ballot. Ballots with write-in candidates are separated for hand counting. Secretary of State David Scanlan said the effort slowed down the release of results by hours in some counties. It really stresses the system when you have poll workers who have been at it for 12 to 16 hours now having to count all these ballots at the end of the night, Scanlan told a local reporter with the Keene Sentinel. It probably increases the chances for errors. Nevada Current reporter Michael Lyle contributed to this story. Authorities say they are investigating how a convicted bombmaker was able to easily escape from a Nevada prison without anyone noticing for four days. A tip led to his capture at a transit center in Las Vegas Wednesday night. State corrections officials didnt realize until Tuesday that Porfirio Duarte-Herrera had escaped last Friday from the prison where he was serving a life sentence for a deadly 2007 explosion outside a Las Vegas resort. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo joined federal authorities at a news conference Thursday to confirm the arrest. Lombardo is a Republican who is trying to unseat Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak. Lombardo implored Sisolak to make good on his pledge to conduct a thorough investigation. Within Montanas complicated and controversial stew of disagreements over elk management and hunting access, a few areas of commonality have recently emerged from separate groups contemplating the issues. Some of the areas where there is overlap include: investing in improvements to wildlife habitat on public lands; boosting payments to landowners who provide public hunting access; and increasing education for hunters. The three groups who recently released suggested remedies include two Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks working groups the Private Land/Public Wildlife Advisory Committee and the Elk Management Citizen Advisory Group and the Montana Citizens Elk Management Coalition, which is independent of FWP. There is no single silver-bullet fix, the Coalition wrote in its 16-page report released last week. Rather, a wide-ranging toolbox of programs and options are needed to encourage solution-oriented groups and individuals to work at the local level. Many of the proposals from the groups require legislative approval. Hot topics Finding consensus on elk management and hunting issues in Montana has hit a fevered pitch since Gov. Greg Gianfortes appointment of FWP chief Hank Worsech and all but one Fish and Wildlife Commission member. The changes have left some state hunters concerned their voices are being ignored, while others are worried about a fundamental shift in the ideology guiding wildlife management in Montana that favors private landowners. Adding to the anxiety is a lawsuit filed by United Property Owners of Montana that seeks to have wildlife policy directed by the Legislature, not the commission. The group has also asked the judge in Fergus County to order FWP to reduce elk populations by 50,000 in areas where they are over state management objectives. The objectives were set by landowner tolerance. The lawsuit was followed by the formation of yet another group, the Montana Public Trust Coalition, which is seeking to have legislative candidates sign a pledge to protect and defend Montanas Constitution, particularly our right to hunt and fish and our right to a clean and healthful environment. The pledge goes on to ask candidates to reject any effort to reduce (in terms of value) public lands or turn our public waters, fish and wildlife into private property. Members of the coalition include former governors Steve Bullock and Marc Racicot, along with 11 former Fish and Wildlife Commissioners and 10 Montana Outdoor Hall of Fame members. Education Out of the strident calls for wildlife management changes, only a few areas of agreement have emerged, one of which is hunter education. PL/PW is proposing to update the Hunter-Landowner Stewardship Course to improve training for hunters wanting to access private lands. The Elk Management group suggested a master hunter program to improve hunter quality and with certification possibilities (as) a potential way for program graduates to access private land to hunt. Craig Jourdonnais, a former FWP wildlife biologist and current big game researcher for the MPG Ranch in the Bitterroot Valley, was a panelist at the Citizens Elk Coalition gathering. The ranch allows free public hunting chaperoned by ranch employees. Craig has noticed that hunters are needing a significant amount of help, the coalitions report noted, prompting him to recommended advanced courses for hunters. Habitat Jourdonnais was also one of the presenters to call for landscape scale habitat improvement on public land. FWPs elk advisory group worded its recommendation as managing elk where they are not. The group specifically called for habitat improvement projects in northwest Montana to restore elk populations where theyve declined. However, the group also goes on to advocate for increased predator hunting and trapping, including aerial shooting of wolves. Montana loosened restrictions on wolf hunting and trapping last year, igniting a public outcry from some wildlife groups and calls for relisting the animals as an endangered species to halt state wildlife management. The calls gained national attention because a large portion of the wolves killed were part-time residents of Yellowstone National Park. Payments Lastly, the citizens' coalition and PL/PW proposed increasing payments to landowners who allow public hunters access through FWPs Block Management Program. PL/PW suggested the annual payment cap for participants be raised from $25,000 per landowner each year along with the daily payment, which is currently $13 each hunter day. Since 1996 the number of Block Management participants has grown from 882 landowners enrolling more than 5.82 million private acres to 1,308 people enrolling 5.93 million acres. In that time span, the cost of the payments to landowners has risen from $2.75 million to $7.6 million. Also over that period, hunter use of the program has climbed from around 400,000 hunter days to about 600,000. The elk advisory group and PL/PW also called for more people to help landowners with the Block Management Program. The elk advisory group suggested the creation of a liaison to help improve relationships between the department, hunters and traditional and nontraditional landowners. PL/PW proposed additions to FWP access and enforcement staff to compensate for the increased number of recreationists. Interest The discord between hunters and landowners may ring hollow to some Montanans. Only about 23% of state residents purchased a hunting license four years ago. In comparison, its estimated only about 4% of state residents are involved in agriculture. Yet a 2022 Voter Survey on Public Lands, commissioned by the University of Montanas Crown of the Continent and Greater Yellowstone Initiative, is the latest to report residents high interest in Montanas wildlife and lands. Montanans have always self-identified as conservationists, but now they are experiencing a risk they haven't seen before in the form of growth and development, said Dave Metz, president of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3), one of the pollsters. The data shows this is contributing to remarkable consensus, in both rural and urban areas, around proposals to protect the states water, wildlife and land. State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) holds talks with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, Tokyo, September 26, 2022 - Photo: VNA On behalf of the Party, State, and people of Viet Nam, President Nguyen conveyed his deepest condolences to the Liberal Democratic Party, Parliament, Government, and people of Japan, along with the family of Abe, who he described as a "close friend" of the Vietnamese leaders and people. Vietnamese leaders and people cherish the former Prime Minister's sentiment towards and significant contributions to the two countries' friendship and cooperation, he added. Viet Nam said the President always treasures the extensive strategic partnership with Japan, regarding Japan as an important and long-term strategic partner, and supports the Northeast Asian country in actively contributing to regional and global peace and development. The two leaders expressed their pleasure at the strong, comprehensive and substantive development of the two countries' relations. The pair agreed on orientations for their extensive strategic partnership as the two sides celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2023. They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in post-COVID economic recovery, boost connectivity and spur strategic cooperation in priority areas namely new-generation ODA provision, high-quality human resource development, and industrialization development. In reply, the Prime Minister said the Japanese Government will continue easing post-entry quarantine measures for Vietnamese citizens and resume visa exemptions for diplomatic and official passport holders. Japan will continue reforming regulations and policies related to foreign workers, including those of Vietnamese nationality, and creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese people to live, study, and work in the country, he affirmed. On this occasion, the two leaders also discussed international and regional issues of common concern./. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China has made remarkable achievements, becoming the world's second largest economy, the largest trading nation, as well as a major trading partner for over 120 countries and regions. It is an important engine driving global growth. Its success is inspiring many developing countries. Over the recent years, Chinese President Xi Jinping has made important remarks on common prosperity for multiple times, stressing common prosperity is an essential requirement for socialism with Chinese characteristics. Since the country began the reform and opening-up in 1978, it has maintained long-term economic growth. It has won the battle against extreme poverty and built a moderately prosperous society in all respects as scheduled the last year. These achievements all laid a solid foundation for the country to realize common prosperity for all. In a 2019 visit to southwest China's Yunnan province, I saw how the people there were living and working in peace and contentment. I was deeply impressed by the paired assistance mechanism adopted by primary-level CPC members there, which connected impoverished families to better educational, employment and medical resources. They were making concrete efforts to improve the wellbeing of the people. China's endeavors to promote common prosperity are shedding light on every country. At present, the world is seeing huge income gaps. Polarization between the rich and the poor has triggered social divide, economic polarization and rising populism in some countries. What's more, low-income groups have been seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under such a background, every country needs to work for common prosperity and realize social harmony. In the global context, we must narrow the development gap between developed countries and developing countries and strive for fairer and more sustainable development. China is playing a prominent role in coping with global challenges. The country has lifted more than 700 million impoverished rural people out of poverty, setting a good example for many developing countries in terms of fighting poverty. Through technology transfer to other developing countries, China is actively contributing to common development, which fully demonstrates the country's sense of responsibility. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by President Xi has built a platform of win-win cooperation and common development for all participating countries. By building modern railways, ports, airports and other infrastructure facilities, China has significantly facilitated the flow of commodities and personnel, and enhanced its economic competitiveness. Every country should learn from this experience. Many developing countries see an urgent need to upgrade infrastructure. They enjoy huge a potential in cooperating with China. So far, China has signed over 200 Belt and Road cooperation documents with more than 140 countries and 30 international organizations, which fully mirrors the attraction of the BRI. Peru and China signed a memorandum of understanding on Belt and Road cooperation in April 2019. The two countries enjoy economic complementarity and a huge potential in connectivity cooperation. They have constantly enhanced cooperation under the BRI framework. Peru is the second largest investment destination of China in Latin America. China's investment has forcefully driven Peru's economic and social development, bringing tangible benefits to Peruvians. At present, Chinese companies such as COSCO Shipping Ports are constructing the Chancay terminal to the north of Peru's capital Lima. This major terminal is expected to become an important transport and logistics hub on the coast of the South Pacific and largely facilitate Peru's foreign trade. China not only drives global growth, but also promotes global governance. It is playing an increasingly important role in international affairs. Under the current international circumstances, the world needs China to keep reviving the global economy and play the role of a major country in maintaining multilateralism, as well as opposing unilateralism and hegemonism. (Carlos Aquino is the director of the Center for Asian Studies, National University of San Marcos, Peru.) Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Anh Tuan receives delegation led by Singaporean Ambassador Jaya Ratnam. (Photo: bacninh.gov.vn) He made the statement during a reception for Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam on September 23. During the reception, the Singaporean Ambassador affirmed that Singapore and Vietnam have maintained a good, close and reliable relationship for many years; saying he hoped that in his new position, the Secretary of the Bac Ninh Provincial Party Committee would continue to contribute to the relationship between the two countries in general, as well as Bac Ninh province in particular, to make it become more and more stable. He informed the leaders of Bac Ninh province about the plan of the state visit of the President of Singapore to Vietnam in October, including an expected visit to Bac Ninh Province to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park No. 2 (VSIP 2). The Ambassador affirmed that this is a solid foundation to tighten the relationship between the two countries, and that Vietnam is the first state-level destination of the President since more than 2 years of being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Anh Tuan thanked the leaders of Singapore and the Ambassador for always being interested in supporting and promoting investment in Bac Ninh. He added that VSIP is a typical model for industrial and urban development in Vietnam; affirming the appearance and success of VSIP in Bac Ninh contributes to making the province more successful in attracting foreign investment; and the province always considers the development of VSIP as the success of Bac Ninh, committing to accompanying businesses. He informed that VSIP 2 was fully qualified to start construction and asked the Ambassador to support and put this content on the agenda of the President of Singapore in Vietnam. Bac Ninh Province is committed to coordinating and preparing all the most thoughtful conditions to welcome the President of Singapore to visit, he said. This is a meaningful activity that enriches the year of the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Singapore diplomatic relations, 10 years of strategic partnership and 15 years of VSIP presence in Bac Ninh."/. Great potential for Vietnam's pomelo export (Photo: tintucnongnghiep.com) Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Deputy Director of the Export Promotion Centre, said that Vietnamese pomelo is considered to have superior quality to other countries thanks to its moderate sweetness and suitability to consumers of many regions and markets together with a low pest risk, said the Vietnam News. As pomelo has thick skin, it is easy to preserve for a long time after harvest, which makes it possible to transport by sea, according to the official. Besides, agricultural products and pomelo in particular are subject to preferential tariffs under free trade agreements to which Vietnam is a member, hence the large potential for pomelo export to many markets. Thuy pointed out that currently, Vietnamese pomelo is mainly exported in the form of fresh fruit with low added value. Pomelo can be processed into many different products such as fruit juice, essential oil and jam while the essence in pomelo peel could be used to produce many types of pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs. The trade official said the US has allowed the official import of green-skinned pomelo from Vietnam, which is the seventh fresh fruit of Vietnam to receive permission to enter this market, after mango, longan, lychee, dragon fruit, rambutan and star apple. Other goods such as coconut and durian have already been exported to the US but in frozen form. After pomelo, the US is considering procedures to allow the import of Vietnamese coconuts. Thuy cited statistics from the US Department of Agriculture that the US has huge demand for fruits, estimated at around 12 million tonnes per year while the US domestic production of fresh fruit met only about 70% of the demand. This is a big opportunity for Vietnamese fruits, including pomelo, she said. According to Nguyen Manh Quyen, head of the Vietnam Trade Offices branch in Houston, Texas, Vietnams export of fresh pomelo to the US remains modest. Statistics showed that the US imported around 17 billion USD worth of pomelo in 2020 and 20 billion USD in 2021. In the first seven months of this year, the US pomelo import reached 14 billion USD, of which Vietnam accounted for around 1 billion USD. Great potential for Vietnam's pomelo export (Photo: moit.gov.vn) Quyen urged enterprises to pay attention to strictly comply with the guidance of the US Department of Agriculture and the US Food and Drug Administration when exporting fruit to the US. Vietnamese pomelo also has the opportunity to expand in Indonesia and Hong Kong. Vu Thi Thuy, from the trade office in Hong Kong, said that Hong Kong has high demand for fresh pomelo, spending 36.4 million USD to import pomelo last year, an year-on-year increase of 28.2%. Vietnam ranked second in exporting pomelo to Hong Kong with export revenue of 2.5 million USD, after Thailand with 7.8 million USD in 2021. However, in the first seven months of this year, Vietnams export of pomelo to Hong Kong increased 133% against the same period last year to reach 2.53 million USD, becoming the largest pomelo exporter to Hong Kong./. Yen Bai launches tours to conquer two of highest mountains in Vietnam Tours to conquer Ta Xua and Ta Chi Nhu, two of the 15 highest mounts in Vietnam, have been were launched in Tram Tau district of northwestern Yen Bai province. The activity was held on the occasion of Yen Bais receiving UNESCO certificate recognising the art of Xoe dance of Thai ethnic minority group as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and Muong Lo Culture-Tourism Festival, according to the Vietnam News Agency. The trekking tour on the 2,979m Ta Chi Nhu, the sixth highest mountain of Vietnam in Hoang Lien Son Range, lasts two days and one night. The first tour has drawn more than 20 climbers. Ta Chi Nhu, one of the 15 highest mounts in Vietnam (Photo: vnexpress.net) Along the 10-km path to the top of the mountain, tourists will have a chance to enjoy the spectacular beauty of cloud and mountains blending with the wind and sunlight, as well as a sea of purple Chi pau flower, a typical flower in the area that blossoms in mid-September. Meanwhile, the journey to the top of the 2,875m Ta Xua will lead tourists to heaven of cloud. The best time to watch the sea of cloud around Ta Xua is from October to April of the following year. 300 pharmacists to be trained in first aid to help traffic accident victims The Vietnam Red Cross and the Urgo Foundation of France on September 26 launched the program "First Aid Next Door" to provide first aid training for pharmacists at Pharmacity drugstores across the country. In the first phase of the program, the Red Cross will provide intensive first aid training for 300 Vietnamese pharmacists at Pharmacity drugstores by the end of 2022, said the SGGP newspaper. Upon completion, pharmacists will be issued a certificate of identification by the Red Cross to be able to apply first aid knowledge and expertise to serve people right at pharmacies. The Urgo Foundation will sponsor first aid kits for the program. According to Tran Van Tuan, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Red Cross Society, improving the quality of first aid and first aid is identified as an important solution, contributing to reducing human losses in traffic accidents. First aid training provided for pharmacists (Photo: suckhoedoisong.vn) Currently, roughly 170,000 to 200,000 people receive first aid training by the Red Cross each year to give medical aid to injuries in the country. Vietnam's population has reached 99 million. Continued training should be made to increase the number of people with medical first aid skills and opening more rescue sites across the country is necessary as this will contribute to healthcare coverage for the health of people in the country. According to Mr. Pascal B. Auziere, representative of Urgo Foundation, pharmacists are experts who have specialized knowledge in medical and public health to serve treatment. Pharmacists are trained in first aid skills to bring first aid services closer to everyone. Mr. Pascal B. Auziere emphasized that the success of the First Aid Next Door program is directly measured by the number of people who will access first aid in 63 provinces and cities of Vietnam, so providing training to shop assistants who work for more than 1,000 Pharmacity pharmacies across the country will make it easier for the program to achieve its goals. It is expected that the program will combine with more drugstore systems in Vietnam in the future. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, Vietnam is considered one of the countries with a high rate of death from injury in the world. In 2018, there were 1,226,704 accidents and injuries, including 9,745 deaths. Death from traffic accidents is the leading cause, accounting for 47.91 percent, followed by drowning 12.31 percent and other accidents. Central localities take urgent measures to prepare for arrival of typhoon Noru Amid threats of super storm Noru, the Central localities urgently mobilize officers, soldiers and means of rescuing, call for ships still operating at sea to promptly move to the shore and give temporary instructions for ship owners and fishermen to take shelter now, review unsafe places in the border areas to grasp the current situation to help residents strengthen their houses against possible damage and powerful winds and proactively evacuate residents in dangerous areas. As for the people evacuation in the affected areas, Thua Thien - Hue Province planned to take 74,816 households with a total of 276,113 people living in areas with huge natural hazards such as storm, flooding, erosion and landslide to safe shelters, reported by the SGGP newspaper. The Police of Thua Thien- Hue Province also proactively propagandized local people to prepare foods and medicines, and performed a priority evacuation plan for the elderly and children. This morning, the Office of Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Search and Rescue of Thua Thien- Hue Province provided 300 plastic storage tanks with 220 litters for each one to the localities of Quang Thai, Quang Phu of Quang Dien District and Huong Xuan District of Huong Tra town to store water. Border guards in Quang Nam help local people reinforce their house On Monday morning, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and Deputy Standing Head of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control Le Minh Hoan led a working delegation to pay a visit to check works dealing with storm Noru in the province of Quang Ngai. The minister came to the boat anchorage ports of Tinh Hoa, Ly Son, My A, Sa Huynh and Tinh Ky for checking before the arrival of typhoon Noru. As of 8 a.m. on September 26, Quang Ngai Province reported that 511 ships along with 5,319 workers have been operating in the seas. All of the above vessels received information about the intensity and path of the supper storm as well as detailed instructions to move out of the dangerous zones. As for 87 ships along with 684 laborers working in the Paracel Islands, they are currently moving to shore and to the south to avoid the storm. Around 5,133 ships reportedly anchored at the wharves. This morning, at a conference on typhoon Noru, the Peoples Committee of Da Nang City directed the Education and Training Department to allow students, and pupils a half-day absence from schools, starting this afternoon, to ensure safety for life. Additionally, the Peoples Committee of Da Nang City also directed the operation suspension of traditional markets, and required factories in Da Nang City to allow their employees to take a half- day off from noon of September 27./. Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Anh Tuan presents a souvenir to Ambassador Jaya Ratnam. (Photo: baobacninh. vn) He made the statement during a reception for Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam on September 23. During the reception, the Singaporean Ambassador affirmed that Singapore and Vietnam have maintained a good, close and reliable relationship for many years; saying he hoped that in his new position, the Secretary of the Bac Ninh Provincial Party Committee would continue to contribute to the relationship between the two countries in general, as well as Bac Ninh province in particular, to make it become more and more stable. He informed the leaders of Bac Ninh province about the plan of the state visit of the President of Singapore to Vietnam in October, including an expected visit to Bac Ninh Province to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park No. 2 (VSIP 2). The Ambassador affirmed that this is a solid foundation to tighten the relationship between the two countries, and that Vietnam is the first state-level destination of the President since more than 2 years of being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Anh Tuan thanked the leaders of Singapore and the Ambassador for always being interested in supporting and promoting investment in Bac Ninh. He added that VSIP is a typical model for industrial and urban development in Vietnam; affirming the appearance and success of VSIP in Bac Ninh contributes to making the province more successful in attracting foreign investment; and the province always considers the development of VSIP as the success of Bac Ninh, committing to accompanying businesses. He informed that VSIP 2 was fully qualified to start construction and asked the Ambassador to support and put this content on the agenda of the President of Singapore in Vietnam. Bac Ninh Province is committed to coordinating and preparing all the most thoughtful conditions to welcome the President of Singapore to visit, he said. This is a meaningful activity that enriches the year of the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Singapore diplomatic relations, 10 years of strategic partnership and 15 years of VSIP presence in Bac Ninh."/. Visitors try their hand at Chinese calligraphy during a Confucius Day event hosted by the Confucius Institute at the Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 24, 2022. The Confucius Institute at ELTE of the Hungarian capital celebrated the birthday of Confucius with rich cultural programs here on Saturday. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua) BUDAPEST, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Confucius Institute at the Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) of the Hungarian capital celebrated the birthday of Confucius with rich cultural programs here on Saturday. About 100 audiences from Hungary and China enjoyed concerts, Kongfu performances and lion dances at the Confucius Day event. The audience also had the chance to try Chinese calligraphy, Chinese paper cut, chopsticks usage, Perking Opera Mask coloring, Chinese chess and learn the basics of China's beloved Jianzi(Chinese foot badminton). Eniko Gajasz, cultural program organizer of ELTE's Confucius Institute said the institute wants to give a broader presentation of Chinese culture on this special occasion. There were also two cultural lectures after the opening ceremony, one focusing on fine arts in China, the other on the Temple of Confucius in Beijing. The Confucius Institute at ELTE in Hungary celebrated its 15th founding anniversary in June. Confucius (551-479 B.C.), an educator and thinker who has influenced countless generations of Chinese society, was believed to be born on Sept. 28, 551 B.C. Children color Peking Opera facial makeup patterns during a Confucius Day event hosted by the Confucius Institute at the Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 24, 2022. The Confucius Institute at ELTE of the Hungarian capital celebrated the birthday of Confucius with rich cultural programs here on Saturday. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua) Editor: JYZ BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has written a foreword, titled "Forging Ahead on the Journey to National Rejuvenation," for works of literature collected in the Revitalization Library, which will soon be published. In the foreword, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, emphasized the necessity to draw on the lessons of history, reflect on the past, look to the future, and press forward on the journey to national rejuvenation. The compilation of the Revitalization Library is a major cultural project approved by the CPC Central Committee, noted Xi. Its publication is significant for the Chinese people to firm up confidence in history, grasp the trend of the times, follow the Chinese way, and promote the great national rejuvenation through the Chinese path to modernization. The Chinese nation, as a great nation in the world, has made indelible contributions to the progress of human civilization, Xi said. After the advent of modern times, it suffered greater ravages than ever before. Since the CPC was founded, the Party has united and led the people to fight tough struggles and find the correct path to realize the great national rejuvenation, he added. Prospects for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation have been brighter than ever before, Xi said. Under the strong leadership of the CPC, Xi said, the Chinese people are able to secure the future of China's development and progress firmly in their own hands. The Revitalization Library is compiled and published to tell and record the exploration of the forefathers and inspire future generations via the collection of vital ideological works since modern times, Xi said. Noting that momentous changes not seen in a century are gripping the world at an accelerating pace, and China has come to a pivotal moment for realizing the great national rejuvenation, Xi stressed the need to draw on the lessons of history, reflect on the past and look to the future. Xi stressed the need to have a clear grasp of why we were successful in the past and how we can continue to succeed in the future. He underscored the importance of standing firm in ideals and convictions and pooling great strength to contribute the wisdom and strength of our generation to the realization of the Chinese Dream of great national rejuvenation. The Revitalization Library focuses on the theme of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It features a collection of significant literature related to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation since the Opium War in 1840. It gives a panoramic view of the historical course of perseverant exploration of the outstanding sons and daughters of the Chinese nation represented by Chinese Communists in making the country prosperous and strong, achieving national revitalization, and bringing happiness to the people. Boasting five volumes in total, the Revitalization Library will see the publication of its first three volumes in the coming days. Editor: WXL Aerial photo taken on July 29, 2022 shows Train No. X9015, a China-Europe freight train, leaving for Kazakhstan from Xi'an International Port in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Photo/Xinhua) The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will be held in Beijing on Oct. 16, 2022. This will mark the first national congress of the CPC after its centenary, and its importance cannot be overstated. It is necessary now to review Chinas development and remarkable achievements in the past decade. In 2012, General Secretary Xi put forward the important concept of the Chinese Dream. In order to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the CPC has set the ambitious two centenary goals, namely, to build a moderately prosperous society by 2021, the centennial year of the founding of the CPC; and to build China into a modern socialist country that is rich, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful by 2049, the centennial year of the founding of the PRC. For the first goal, China has formulated a series of people-oriented policies, fought poverty and addressed unbalanced development. The plain slogan of leave no one behind demonstrates the Partys original intention of putting the people first and its determination to work for their well-being. Ten years ago, there might have been people who questioned whether the Chinese dream was merely a dream. Now it has become apparent to all that under the leadership of the CPC, the first centenary goal has been achieved. At the event celebrating the centenary of the CPC on July 1, 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping solemnly declared that China had built a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Over the past decade, the Chinese Dream has been increasingly concretized, astonishing the world with the speed and successful practice of Chinese-style modernization. The Chinese Communist Party upholds the principle of seeking truth from fact and has formulated national plans according to their own realities. I believe the next goal of the Chinese Dream will also be achieved on schedule, if not ahead of it. Since the reform and opening up, China has achieved world-renowned achievements. But the Communist Party of China has never slackened its efforts in policy adjustment despite rapid economic growth. Over the past decade, China has proposed an innovation-driven strategy to create a new engine for sustained economic growth. The strategy represented a continuation and evolution of Deng Xiaopings theory that science and technology are the first productive force. In recent years, centering on sci-tech and business model innovation, China has built a new economic model. At the same time, through the Five-sphere Integrated Plan of economic, political, cultural, social and ecological civilization construction, the Chinese society has seen steady development. The 14th Five-Year Plan reflects the importance that the Chinese government attaches to the environment, society and governance. At the United Nations General Assembly, General Secretary Xi made a solemn commitment that China would strive to peak its carbon emission by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Since then, China has further refined its carbon reduction targets. In the past decade, Chinas economy has entered a new stage of high-quality development, and Chinas image as a major country committed to global sustainable development and with international responsibility has become more concrete and tangible. The world today is characterized by multiple crises and a surge in uncertainty. It is therefore urgent to reshape and reform global governance so that it can effectively respond to new and evolving demands. Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and escalating regional conflicts, there are growing voices that question multilateralism. In view of this, Chinas importance as a rising global power is further accentuated. China plays a pivotal role in the BRICS cooperation mechanism. Created in 2009 between emerging markets and developing countries, BRICS now covers 42% of the worlds population, 25% of global GDP, and contributes more than 15% to world trade. BRICS advocates cooperation and solidarity by maintaining world peace and stability, promoting sustainable development, incentivizing innovation, promoting win-win cooperation, and strengthening partnerships among developing countries. Through this international mechanism, China seeks to promote greater solidarity and deeper cooperation among member countries and safeguard the common and long-term interests of humanity. In a changing world where people yearn for better global governance and shared progress, China has enabled BRICS countries to play a greater role in international affairs. China has actively created a series of regional or global mechanisms of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, and called for all countries to work closely together for a brighter future. The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013 not only involves economic and trade cooperation, but people-to-people exchanges as well. The CPC has created a new model of win-win cooperation following the spirit of peace, cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, joint construction, and mutual consultation, which has not only promoted the infrastructure and economic growth of the Belt and Road countries, but also deepened cultural exchanges and mutual understanding. Over the past ten years, the Belt and Road Initiative has become an important action guide for China to better interact with the world, it interpreted Chinas diplomatic philosophy in the new era as one that upholds multilateralism, maintains world peace, advocates win-win cooperation and seeks shared development. Chinese diplomacy aims at establishing a new global partnership that facilitates equal and balanced growth; and building a community of shared future for mankind. Guided by these great ideals, China had actively engaged in global governance and contributed significantly to world peace and development. The United States, however, has spared no effort to suppress and contain Chinas development. The Communist Party of China is consciously aware of the global challenges it faces; and is calmly and rationally responding to external risks. The complex international environment has not undermined CPCs ability to make the right decisions. While advocating innovation-driven development and deepening domestic reforms, China has consistently explored new initiatives for win-win cooperation with the outside world, actively shared new ideas of common development, and emphasized the bright vision that transcends ideologies, respects different social systems, explores common values for all mankind, and builds a community of shared future for humanity. The past decade has seen dramatic and profound global changes. Emergencies such as the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have confronted the world with exceptionally severe and complex challenges. It is in this context that Chinas role has become even more prominent. In the new era, China has always adhered to coexistence among countries in peace and development, it strives for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and a brighter common future of humanity. The community of shared future proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping has gone from an ideal to a practice that is widely praised and participated by the world. (Contributed by Jose Ricardo dos Santos, the Co-Chair and CEO of the Brazilian Business Leaders Organization in China and member of the Brazilian-Chinese Relations Coordination Committee of the Brazilian Bar Association) Editor: ZAD The launch of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline connecting Norwegian gas fields through Denmark with Poland allows the latter to diversify natural gas supplies and strengthen its energy security, and Ukraine to increase the reliability of gas supply, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko has said. "At the same time, the launch of Baltic Pipe is an opportunity for Ukraine to improve the reliability of gas supply. This year we have increased the guaranteed capacity for gas imports from Poland and we continue to work on it," he wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. The minister drew attention to the fact that from next year the gas pipeline, officially launched on September 27, will be able to operate at full capacity 10 billion cubic meters per year. In addition, Polish and Norwegian companies have already signed a 10-year contract for the supply of 2.4 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Poland. "So we see that Gazprom's monopoly is not a sentence. Europe, not in words, but in deeds, is making great strides in the fight against gas dependence on Russia," Haluschenko emphasized, pointing out that more than 15 years of work on the construction of the gas pipeline were years of "Russia's hard blackmailing, manipulation, bribery, sabotage and all the means that our northern neighbor knows how to use." As reported, the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline connected the gas transmission systems of Poland and Denmark for gas supplies from Norway. The gas pipeline will be able to transport 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to Poland and 3 billion cubic meters from Poland to Denmark. Its commissioning was expected on October 1. The Bureau of Economic Security (BES) of Ukraine has identified and agreed with the relevant state authorities 23 legal entities associated with Russia and Belarus (including through offshore companies), which it recommends to include in the sanctions list, the press service of the department reports. "The predetermined value of the assets of the companies included in the BES list exceeds UAH 1 billion, including more than UAH 90 million in cash in bank accounts and 160 cars worth UAH 220 million," the BES said in a press release on Tuesday. According to the report, the list includes companies importing automotive products, glass, pharmaceutical products, a wholesale supplier of fuel, a road construction company, and a manufacturer of household chemicals. BES employees have already sent for consideration to the Interdepartmental Working Group on the Implementation of the State Sanctions Policy the relevant draft order of the Cabinet of Ministers on making proposals for the application of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions) in relation to these 23 legal entities. "BES analysts have examined the ownership structure and financial and economic activities of these companies and found that they are under the control of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, and also come to the conclusion that their activities provide funding for the aggressor states through the payment of taxes to the budgets of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. This creates real and potential threats to national interests, national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," the report notes. After the list is agreed by the Interdepartmental Working Group, the list will be submitted to the government of Ukraine for submission to the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) for the application of sanctions. "The competent authorities of the European Union, the United States, Canada and other states will be informed about the entry into force of the decision of the National Security and Defense Council for their consideration of the issue of introducing similar restrictive measures [sanctions]," the press release says. The legal entities included in the list are proposed to be deprived of the right to use and dispose of assets, they will also be blocked from withdrawing capital outside of Ukraine and the fulfillment of their economic and financial obligations to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus will be stopped. "This is only the first list of such companies. Now two more lists with 25 and 54 business entities that BES recommends including in the sanctions lists are being coordinated with the relevant authorities," the press service quotes BES director Vadym Melnyk. Mykolaiv was shelled on Tuesday night, a number of civilian objects were damaged, mayor Oleksandr Senkevych reported. "We have a number of hits in different areas of the city. It is now known about the damage to a number of civilian objects, in particular, residential buildings and shops, as well as the water supply network," he wrote on the Telegram channel on Tuesday night. The attempts of the Russian offensive in Donetsk region will go down in the history of wars as one of the most cynical murders of their own soldiers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message on Monday evening. Despite the obvious senselessness of the war for Russia and the occupiers' loss of initiative, the command of the Russian military still drives them to their death. Constant attempts of the Russian offensive in the Donetsk region will surely go down in the history of wars as one of the most cynical murders of ones own soldiers, he said. According to him, when we see these offensives, we are once again convinced that the Russian mobilization is a frank attempt to give commanders on the ground a constant stream of cannon fodder. There is simply no other point in the Russian mobilization. They felt that they will lose, and they are simply trying to delay this moment, to ensure at least some activity at the front, to replace the dead with at least someone with weapons in their hands, he also aid. Unfortunately, he said, Russian society is not yet aware of all the brutality of the Russian government towards its own people. But we must do everything so that every citizen of Russia recognizes that his own state is depriving him of the most important thing - the right to life. The air defense of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed on September 27 at about 08:00 three of the three kamikaze drones Shahed-136 that attacked Odesa region. "The servicemen of all the Defense Forces of Ukraine are looking for effective methods of countering barging ammunition and are gaining more and more experience in destroying kamikaze drones," the telegram channel of the AFU Air Forces reports. The planned annexation of the occupied territories of Ukraine by the Russian authorities may occur before or shortly after October 1, the beginning of the usual autumn draft in Russia, in order to ensure the forced conscription of Ukrainian civilians to fight against Ukraine, according to a report by analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The Kremlin will likely order the Russian Ministry of Defense to include Ukrainian civilians in occupied and newly annexed Ukrainian territory in the Russian conscription cycle, broadening the forced mobilization of Ukrainian civilians to fight against Ukraine, the analysts said. The ISW also notes that one motivation for Putin to order mobilization and annexation in concert with one another is to broaden the forced mobilization of Ukrainian civilians, but those civilians do not meet the legal criteria for the Kremlins current partial mobilization orderalmost none of them in the mobilizable age categories are likely to have experience in the Russian military. As Russian citizens under Russian law, however, all Ukrainian men between 18 and 27 years old in annexed territories would become eligible for conscription. At the same time, the Russian authorities are trying to cope with the public discontent that has arisen around the mobilization in the Russian Federation itself, but the ISW believes that the Kremlin narratives are unlikely to calm the Russians. The Kremlin is deflecting blame for the Russian governments failure to abide by its own stated criteria for mobilization and exemptions onto the failing bureaucratic institutions responsible for the mobilization. The Kremlin is downplaying the widespread violations of the mobilization law as individual errors of local authorities, claiming to correct these errors as citizens call attention to them. The violations are clearly too common to be merely the result of individual errors, however, and Russian citizens can see them all too clearly. Unlike Russian failures in Ukraine, which the Kremlin has been able to minimize or deflect because its citizens cannot see them directly, violations of the mobilization decree are evident to many Russians, the analysts stress. The Kremlin has most likely set quotas for local officials to fill and emphasized meeting those quotas over abiding by the legal guidelines for mobilization eligibility, leading to the prioritization of numbers over adherence to the law and thus to the forced mobilization of men with no military experience or with other disqualifying health conditions. Attempts to reduce public tension by punishing bureaucratic institutions for widespread "mistakes" in the mobilization campaign, and at the same time to force the mobilization bureaucracy to fulfill the quotas set to support military operations, are most likely mutually exclusive, according to the ISW. The Kremlin also risks further undermining this critical bureaucratic institution during an important period by continuously blaming it for failures that are likely not entirely of its making, the report says. At the same time, analysts are convinced that even a well-conducted call-up of Russian reserves is unlikely to create significant combat power in the near future. Financially motivated reforms of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which reduced the service life of conscripts from two years to one in 2008, mean that those who were drafted since 2008 were not trained to a level of competence that would make them useful for strengthening the Russian army without significant additional training. At the same time, the Russian authorities may be considering officially closing the borders or more formally restricting the movement of men of combat-ready age inside the country in order to better conduct partial mobilization. Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs Inna Drahanchuk says that about 14% of veterans and their families will need psychosocial support, and 3% - professional psychological assistance. "The principle of voluntariness of services in the field of mental health is basic. No one can be obliged. However, the maximum availability of psychological rehabilitation must be ensured. The declarative requirement for mandatory psychological rehabilitation of military personnel was already spelled out in the previous version of Article 11 of the law on social and legal protection of military personnel and members of their families. In fact, it was never implemented. That's why in March the law was amended to provide that the state guarantees the defenders free psychological assistance," Drahanchuk said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine. The deputy minister noted that the responsibility of the ministry in this matter is persons who are dismissed from military service or have already been dismissed, and during military service, the responsibility for providing such assistance lies with the psychological and medical services of the security and defense sector. Drahanchuk also said that according to the estimates of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, after the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war, there may be more than 4 million veterans and their family members in the country, 70-80% of whom survived crisis situations. "However, according to experts, about 80% will be able to overcome them on their own, subject to social support, 14% will need psychosocial support (support from the environment and psychologists), and 3% will need professional psychological help. Accordingly, the majority will need psychosocial support at the community level and 4 times less psychological and comprehensive rehabilitation," the official said. The expert also called the solution of the issue of the lack of professional personnel in the field of psychological rehabilitation of veterans critical. At the same time, according to her, there is a significant number of powerful professional associations in Ukraine that can take on issues of professional development and ethics in the work of psychologists and psychotherapists. In Presidents Office, ambassadors of 30 states presented with project to create special tribunal on crime of aggression against Ukraine Deputy Head of the Presidents Office of Ukraine Andriy Smirnov and Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anton Korynevych held a meeting with the ambassadors of 30 countries, during which a draft for the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine was presented. The Special Tribunal should have jurisdiction to investigate and bring to justice for the crime of aggression against Ukraine by the highest political and military leadership of Russia. At a meeting with the ambassadors, Smirnov, who is the coordinator of the working group on the development of the creation of a special international tribunal, stressed that Russia and its leadership are responsible for the war in Ukraine that began in 2014. "Its specifically about the president and other top officials of the Russian Federation, including members of the National Security Council, who authorized military aggression against Ukraine," said the deputy head of the Presidents Office. In the last six months, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and international partners have registered and are investigating tens of thousands of criminal cases related to Russia's war against Ukraine. Among them are hundreds of criminal proceedings in partner countries, but none for the crime of aggression, the main crime from which the commission of other war crimes and crimes against humanity follows. However, as Smirnov noted, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, investigating the crimes of the Russian military in Ukraine, can be held accountable for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. But it is quite difficult to establish a legal link between specific crimes and the instructions of the Russian authorities, so it is important to prove the direct guilt of the President of the Russian Federation and other political leaders. "We have weighed all the existing mechanisms, including UN resolutions, consulted with the most famous international lawyers from around the world and came to the conclusion that in order to bring to justice for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, a special international tribunal should be created, whose mandate will be limited exclusively to the investigation of the crime of aggression against Ukraine," said the deputy head of the President's Office. He called on international partners to support Ukraine in creating a special international tribunal. "We want to create it with all countries that are ready to give a legal assessment of the barbaric and brutal military policy of the Russian president and his regime," said Korynevych. As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed Decree No. 661/2022, which created a working group to develop the creation of a special international tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. The head of the working group is head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, and the coordinator is his deputy Andriy Smirnov. Over the past day on Monday, September 26, the AFU repelled an attack in the area of seven settlements and destroyed five control points, 12 enemy manpower and equipment concentration areas, two SAM positions, three ammunition depots and more than 10 separate important targets, the General Staff reported. "During the day, units of the Defense Forces repelled enemy attacks in the areas of the settlements of Soledar, Kurdiumivka, Zaitseve, Mayorske, Bakhmut, Kamyanka, Pervomaiske," the General Staff reported on Facebook. The aviation of the Defense Forces carried out 28 strikes. The defeat of more than 20 areas of concentration of enemy manpower and military equipment and seven positions of anti-aircraft missile systems has been confirmed. Enemy losses are being clarified. "Rocket troops and artillery hit five control points, 12 areas of concentration of enemy manpower and equipment, two positions of anti-aircraft missile systems, three ammunition depots, as well as more than 10 separate important targets," the General Staff reported. It is also noted that the situation at the Zaporizhia NPP remains tense. The employees of the station do not want to cooperate with the enemy and are trying to leave the territories temporarily occupied by the occupiers. The occupied part of Kherson region is completely closed for entry and exit. The successful defeat of enemy personnel and equipment in the previous days has been confirmed. Thus, seven Ural trucks were destroyed and disabled in Kherson, up to 10 units of weapons and military equipment and more than 20 occupiers were killed in Melitopol. In the areas of the settlements of Tokmak and Chernihiv of Zaporizhia region, an enemy S-300 complex, five units of military equipment were destroyed and more than 50 invaders were wounded. The Ukrainian defense forces on Tuesday eliminated a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft in Kherson region and downed three drones of operational and tactical level, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has said. "On September 27, in Kherson region, at around 13:00, Odesa anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Pivden (South) Air Command downed an enemy Su-25 attack aircraft. In addition, the anti-aircraft defense units of the AFU Air Forces eliminated three drones of operational and tactical level, possibly attack drones (the information is being specified), since the beginning of the day," it said on the Telegram channel. Advisor to the head of the President's Office of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak is convinced that an accident at the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was man-made and that the Russian Federation intends to cause panic in the EU in anticipation of winter. "'Gas leak' from NS-1 is nothing more than a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards EU. Russia wants to destabilize economic situation in Europe and cause pre-winter panic," Podoliak said on Twitter on Tuesday. In this regard, he appealed to European partners, in particular to Germany, with a call to strengthen military support for Ukraine. "The best response and security investment tanks for Ukraine. Especially German ones," Podoliak said. As reported, on the night of September 26, a leak occurred on one of the lines of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. This happened in the Danish EEZ southeast of Bornholm. Also, gas leaks were recorded from both lines of the first Nord Stream 1 - in the Danish exclusive economic zone northeast of the island of Bornholm. There are 5-mile no-go zones for shipping around the leak areas. Nord Stream 1 with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year is currently stopped. Nord Stream 2, a gas pipeline of similar capacity, has been built and is ready for operation, but has not been operational due to sanctions restrictions. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen does not exclude that the damage to the Nord Stream could be the result of sabotage. Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin has noted the importance of the participation of French experts in the documenting of war crimes committed by the Russian forces in the territories of Kharkiv region, which have been liberated by the Ukrainian defense forces in early September. He welcomed Foreign Minister of France Catherine Colonna and the expert mission from the French National Gendarmerie in Ukraine, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO) said on the Telegram channel on Tuesday. "We highly appreciate the assistance of French experts, who arrived in Ukraine as soon as possible in order to document war crimes in Kharkiv region. This assistance is very necessary for the proper registration, preservation of evidence and further bringing to justice of everyone who committed them," Kostin said. The PGO said that the group of French criminologists, ballistics, genetics and forensic experts was heading for Kharkiv region for joint work with their Ukrainian colleagues there. "Catherine Colonna assured that she fully shares the position of the President of France and believes that peace is impossible without fair justice and punishment for the committed crimes. The minister emphasized that the French experts are ready to continue cooperation in order to bring the joint work on the investigation into criminal cases to the end," the PGO said. During the meeting, the parties also discussed possible delivery of another French mobile DNA-analysis laboratory to Ukraine. The laboratory, which has already been provided to Ukraine by France, is being successfully used by Ukrainian specialists for recording the war crimes in the de-occupied territories of Kharkiv region. The parties also discussed a possibility of creating a special international tribunal, the PGO said. "The crimes of aggression must not be left unpunished. Bringing the Russian top leadership to justice will help to prevent similar crimes in the future. This is my own position, as well as the position of the Ukrainian government and all Ukrainian people," the prosecutor general said. Zelensky to French FM: We expect clear reaction in 8th package of sanctions to Russia's sham referenda in occupied territories of Ukraine President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, during a meeting with Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Catherine Colonna, said that he expects clear sanctions in the eights package of sanctions against Russia's aggression for the sham referenda organized by it in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. "As for the pseudo-referenda, which Russia is holding at gunpoint, reaction should be not only in words. We are expecting clear sanctions in the eights package of sanctions against Russia's aggression and specific signals what will happen if Russia recognized these pseudo-referenda. And NATO Member States should do and show the whole world that they guarantee security to any state on the European continent," he said. Zelensky thanked Colonna for her visit to Ukraine. "I am grateful to Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Catherine Colonna for the visit to Ukraine! And a separate thank you for your assistance to our army. And a separate thanks you to [first lady of France] Brigitte Macron for humanitarian aid. She met with the first lady of Ukraine on the sidelines of the [UN] General Assembly," the president said. Egypts Public Prosecution has launched a probe into the death of student Malak Mohamed and the injury of 15 other girls when a concrete stair fence collapsed at a preparatory school in Giza governorate on Sunday, the prosecution said in a statement. Italy is ready to enhance bilateral cooperation with Egypt in energy security, Mediterranean and Middle East stability, human rights, and religious freedom, new Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stressed on Sunday. Iran is awaiting the release of about $7 billion in funds frozen abroad, state media said Sunday, after it allowed an Iranian-American to leave the country and released his son from detention. UK Ambassador in Cairo Gareth Bailey expects the number of British tourists visiting Egypt this winter to reach or surpass 500,000. In an interview aired on ON E channel on Saturday, Bailey said between 3,000 to 5,000 British tourists visit Egypt monthly, taking more than 45 flights per week. Bailey added that the number of British tourists visiting Egypt had reached nearly half a million before being interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. More than ten years ago, almost a million British tourists visited Egypt annually, he said, in an apparent reference to the time that preceded politically turbulent years in Egypt between 2011 and 2013. The UK is one of the largest tourist markets for Egypt. From 2010 to 2015, It was ranked as between the second and fourth largest source of tourists headed to Egypt. In October, Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport received its first tourist flight from London following the resumption of direct air travel between the UK and Red Sea resorts after more than a year's suspension due to the pandemic. Two weeks earlier, the UK announced the removal of Egypt from its "red list" for travelers to the Kingdom from countries deemed a coronavirus risk. The UK also halted direct flights to Sharm El-Sheikh in the wake of the downing of a Russian passenger jet in October 2015 over Sinai, which killed all 224 people on board, but lifted the ban late in 2019. Economic cooperation During the interview, the UK ambassador said his country and Egypt also closely cooperate economically, pointing out the British investments in Egypt are estimated at 50 billion, with over 2,000 British companies investing in the Egyptian market. Bailey said he looks forward to fostering investments in Egypt, noting the agricultural sector is the top priority for bilateral cooperation given that Egypt seeks to increase its agricultural exports to Britain. The ambassador underlined that his country seeks to invest in technology in Egypt, as well as renewable energy sources. London and Cairo are cooperating in the transport sector, especially on the monorail, the ambassador noted, adding the production line of the monorail's cars is in Derby. The monorail is being built to connect Cairo with the New Administrative Capital and 6 October City, and will be a symbol of Egypt's future as a great power in renewable energy. He added that his role as an ambassador is to invite British and European investors to think about the available opportunities in Egypt. The ambassador hailed the Egyptian government's recent measures to promote investment, saying Egypt has succeeded in improving its business climate. Egypts success is visible to all foreign ambassadors, and they are conveying that image abroad, he added, clarifying the Egyptian market is open for all. Search Keywords: Short link: About 125,000 Russian tourists visited Egypt during the first two weeks of 2022, Russian Ambassador to Egypt Georgy Borisenko said in an interview with Sputnik news agency on Tuesday. Borisenko further stated that 700,000 Russian tourists visited Egypt in 2021, adding that about 20 to 25 flights land at Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh airports per day. The ambassador noted that Egypt was one of the three most popular destinations for Russian tourists before the Russian plane crash in Sinai in October 2015. Some 3.3 million Russians visited Red Sea Resorts in 2014. Moscow decided in 2015 to suspend flights to Egypt, after the deadly Russian plane crash in Sinai in the same year that led to the death of 217 people. Egypt has since upgraded its safety and security measures at all airports nationwide. In 2018, Russia which used to provide Egypt with the largest number of tourists annually resumed flights to the Egyptian capital Cairo and later in July 2021 lifted the flight ban to Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh, ending a near six-year flight suspension. Egypt has won AdColonys Campaign of the Month award for October's best promotional campaign, which aimed to promote the Egyptian tourism in the Russian market. Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Anany has said that Egypt received about 3.5 million tourists in the first six months of 2021, with total revenues was estimated between $3.5 and $4 billion. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, El-Anany said that about 3.5 million tourists visited Egypt in 2020 compared to 13.1 million in 2019, leading tourism revenues to fall to $4 billion in 2020 compared to $13.03 billion the previous year. Search Keywords: Short link: An overnight drone strike near the Ukrainian port of Odesa sparked a massive fire and explosion, the military said Monday, hours after the United States vowed to take decisive action and promised ``catastrophic consequences`` if Russia uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The airstrike was the latest in a series of drone attacks on the key southern city in recent days. This one hit a military installation and detonated ammunition when it struck. Firefighters were struggling to contain the blaze, the Ukrainian military's southern command said. Concerns are growing that Russia may seek to escalate the conflict once it completes what Ukraine and the West see as illegal referendums in parts of Ukraine under its control. The voting, which ends Tuesday, happened after thousands of residents had fled and has included images of armed Russian troops going door-to-door to pressure Ukrainians into voting. Russia is widely expected to declare the results in its favor, a step that could see Moscow annex the territory and give it the pretext to seek to defend it as its own territory under the Russian nuclear umbrella. Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, made clear that Russia would pay a high price if it made good on veiled threats to use nuclear weapons in the conflict. ``If Russia crosses this line there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia. The United States will respond decisively,'' he told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. Washington's message has been more detailed in private conversations with their Russian counterparts, he said, without elaborating. ``So, the Russians understand where we are. We understand where we are. We are planning for every contingency'' he said in separate comments to ABC's This Week. ``And we will do what is necessary to deter Russia from taking this step.'' Elsewhere, a Russian rocket attack targeted a village in southeastern Ukraine. The attack struck an unnamed village and the regional center of Zaporizhzhia, regional military official Oleksandr Starukh said online. He posted pictures of damaged buildings and said unspecified infrastructure also had been damaged and fires were sparked by the attack. Meanwhile, the first batches of Russian troops mobilized by Moscow have begun to arrive at military bases, the British military said Monday. In an online intelligence briefing, the British Defense Ministry said ``many tens of thousands'' had been called up. However, the Russians face challenges ahead. ``Unlike most Western armies, the Russian military provides low-level, initial training to soldiers within their designated operational units, rather than in dedicated training establishments,'' the British said. Under normal circumstances, two battalions deploy while a third remains behind to train. But in the Ukraine war, even the third battalion is deploying, weakening that training, the British said. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt plans to establish its first green yacht marina powered by renewable energy and extended over an area of 25,000 square metres to accommodate 65 yachts, a cabinet statement read on Sunday. The marina, to be built in Ismailia on the Suez Canal, will include a hotel and trading zone, said Osama Rabie, the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), reviewing the SCA's efforts to enhance yacht tourism in a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. The planned marina is the latest in a series of steps the country has taken to reduce carbon emissions, promote the use of renewable energy sources, and use alternative energy forms, including green hydrogen. The steps, which are part of its National Climate Strategy 2050 announced by the government in May, include plans to establish an integrated national network in Egypt to produce and distribute green energy and clean fuels for ships based on new and renewable energy sources. The SCA uses automated procedures for the entry and exit of tourist yachts to marinas along the course of the canal in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, Rabie added. He said that efforts are underway to set up an 850-metre-long tourist walkway and a yacht marina for 75 yachts in Port Said, according to the statement. The SCA also plans to expand the capacity of the existing Ismailia marina to 60 yachts instead of 12, he pointed out. Earlier this month, Egypt launched its first online platform to maximise yacht tourism in Egypt by facilitating the regulation of the entry of yacht trips. The new online platform acts as a one-stop shop for yacht owners who can now submit the necessary data and documents to apply for entry, pay fixed fees on all state-owned berths, passenger terminals and tourist ports, and receive invoices within three days of application. The platform also allows yacht owners to choose between mooring at public commercial ports or at private marinas. These efforts are part of a revcently developed plan to leverage the countrys unique strategic location and long coastal lines. A national scheme has been implemented since August 2021 to raise the efficiency of existing ports and marinas and to construct new ones in areas important to tourism. Egypts unique position, with waterways linking three continents -- Asia and Africa to Europe -- provides the country with a great potential to boost yacht tourism. The country enjoys 995 kilometres of coastline on the Mediterranean Sea south of Europe, 1,941 kilometres on the Red Sea opposite Saudi Arabia; 72 kilometres on the international waterway of the Suez Canal; in addition to the Nile River that passes across ancient Egypt's landmarks and monuments in Upper Egypt. Madoulby said during the meeting that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi directed the government to work for maximizing yacht tourism in Egypt and implement an integrated strategy for building international marinas and berths along the country's coastal line. The prime minister stressed that the government is ready to provide support, including introducing more facilities, in order to promote yacht tourism and increase the incoming tourism, the statement pointed out. Search Keywords: Short link: Kazakhstan will ensure the care and safety of Russians fleeing a "hopeless situation," the president of the Central Asian country said on Tuesday, as Russian men fled the Ukraine military call-up. "Recently we've had many people from Russia coming here," Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was quoted as saying by his press service. "Most of them are forced to leave because of the hopeless situation. We must take care of them and ensure their safety," he added. "This is a political and humanitarian issue," he said. The Kazakh leader also condemned Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and called for respect of territorial integrity, as Russia held annexation referendums in four Ukrainian regions. "The territorial integrity of states must be unshakeable. This is a key principle," he said. "In our immediate vicinity a major war is underway. We must remember this, thinking above all about our security," Tokayev added. President Vladimir Putin last week announced the call-up of thousands of reservists for the conflict in Ukraine, sparking protests across the country and a rush among Russian men for the borders. According to Kazakhstan's interior ministry, around 98,000 Russians entered the country since the mobilisation was announced on September 21, while just over 64,000 left, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. Meanwhile, long queues to leave the country formed at Russia's border with the Caucasus nation of Georgia, with officials admitting an "extremely tense" situation at the border checkpoint, the regional interior ministry said. The ministry added that a mobile mobilisation office will be set up at the border checkpoint in the "near future". Search Keywords: Short link: The final day of voting was taken place in Russian-held regions of Ukraine Tuesday, a referendum that is expected to serve as a pretext for their annexation by Moscow but that is rejected as a sham by Kyiv and its Western allies. The five-day voting, in which residents are asked whether they want their regions to become part of Russia, has been anything but free or fair. Tens of thousands of residents had already fled the regions amid the war, and images shared by those who remained showed armed Russian troops going door-to-door to pressure Ukrainians into voting. The balloting on Tuesday was held at polling stations. The Kremlin is expected to move immediately to absorb the regions once the voting is over, with President Vlaidmir Putin expected to declare their incorporation into Russia later this week. Russian media also speculated that Putin may follow up on last week's order of partial mobilization by declaring martial law and shutting the nation's borders for all men of fighting age. The mobilization has triggered a massive exodus of men from the country, fueled protests in many regions across Russia and sparked occasional acts of violence. On Monday, a gunman opened fire in an enlistment office in a Siberian city and gravely wounded the local chief military recruitment officer. The shooting came after scattered arson attacks on enlistment offices. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday once again decried the Russian mobilization as nothing more than ``an attempt to provide commanders on the ground with a constant stream of cannon fodder.'' Zelenskyy vowed that the Ukrainian military will push efforts to take back ``the entire territory of Ukraine,'' and has drawn up plans to counter ``new types of weapons'' used by Russia. Putin has warned that once the Russia-held regions are absorbed, Moscow will defend its territory with ``all available means,`` including nuclear weapons, raising fears of a sharp escalation of the seven-month conflict. Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, said Russia would pay a high, if unspecified, price if it made good on veiled threats to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine. ``If Russia crosses this line, there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia. The United States will respond decisively,'' he told NBC. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday that Putin had told Turkey's president last week that Moscow was ready to resume negotiations with Ukraine but had ``new conditions'' for a cease-fire. Even as the voting has continued in Russia-held areas, Russian forces have kept up their strikes across Ukraine. Overnight, Russian missile attacks targeted the southern areas of Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv, damaging residential buildings and other sites, officials said. Search Keywords: Short link: Press Release September 27, 2022 Manifestation of Senator Pia Cayetano on the case of OFW Jovelyn Tang Andres Mr President, this is just a brief manifestation in response to the request of our colleague, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, for assistance for the family of our Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), Jovelyn Andres, of Sarangani province. You will recall, I delivered a privilege speech on the PPEs. But Sen. Risa brought to our attention a matter, which was very painful to hear. And we committed, along with the Majority Floor Leader, that we would look into it immediately. So, that same day, your honor, we got in touch with the relatives of Jovelyn Tang Andres, and we were informed that they found out that Jovelyn died through a Facebook post on March 27 pa, your honor, like 6 months ago. And then they went to DFA GenSan on March 29, so a day and a half perhaps, after they found out, to inquire about this because they just saw it on Facebook, and then they were informed that they could have an autopsy done but it would take 6 months for the body to return. They opted to have the autopsy done in Saudi Arabia. They were told that if there was no autopsy to be done, the body could be brought back to the Philippines within 2 days, but they opted for an autopsy to be done. However, they never got the autopsy report. So eventually, they decided to bring the body of Jovelyn - the remains of Jovelyn - home and she was transported back home on September 18, which was soon after the delivery of the information by our colleague, Sen. Risa, to us. They called OWWA on Sept. 18 to ask for help, OWWA provided P125,000 as insurance, that Jovelyn is entitled to, and OWWA would shoulder the cost of repatriation. They have shouldered. We then intervened and called the Sarangani Provincial Police asking for an autopsy to be conducted. We were informed that there is only one medico legal per province, who was on study leave. But we were able to connect with Police Major Norman Castro, OIC RFU-12 Sarangani Provincial Forensic Unit and he was the one who arranged for the autopsy and provided the necessary assistance. So on Friday, the family confirmed that they will push through with this autopsy initiated by Police Major Castro. I am not sure if I mentioned that OWWA would shoulder the cost of the autopsy. I want to take this opportunity, your honor, to thank, on behalf of the Senate, Mayor Salway Sumbo, who provided the car and gasoline for the travel of the doctor who conducted the autopsy, Police Major Norman Castro, OIC RFU-12 Sarangani Provincial Forensic Unit, Police Major Sergeant Richard Tindaan, Police Staff Sergeant Abdul Ampac, Police Corporal Jai Candelon, Patrol Jona Liedo, and Patrol Ramil Gomez. Sila po ang mga tumulong, and Police Lieutenant Colonel Maria Analiza Dela Cruz, the medico legal officer of regional forensic unit of Region 11. Thank you, Sen Risa for bringing this matter to our attention. I felt it... The Senate, and there were quite a few senators who were very concerned about this. I am happy to report that kahit paano, in our own small way, nakatulong po tayo. I've also brought this to the attention of Sec. Ople and actually, she had coordinated earlier with OWWA so I suppose some of this information had already been shared by the government offices. Yun lang po, Mr. President, maraming salamat. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Union, the Embassy of Denmark, the Embassy of Switzerland, and the African Climate Foundation (ACF) have signed a $6.2 million agreement on a project to support Egypts presidency of the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), a statement by the UN said on Tuesday. The project, the UN statement said, will bring together partners from the public and private sectors, civil society, and academia to strengthen climate action in support of Egypts COP27 Presidency Team. The signing of the project comes nearly 40 days before Egypt on behalf of Africa hosts COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh from 7 to 18 November. The project will support the COP27 presidency in its efforts to ensure the implementation of the Paris Agreement through initiatives in several priority areas, including renewable energy, climate change adaptation, and climate security, the UN said. Technical expertise and knowledge will be provided through the project to assist Egypt in delivering on its commitments as the host of this years conference, the statement read. This will include expert support for consultations on regional and thematic groupings for inclusive negotiations, the advancement of multidisciplinary initiatives for climate action, and the showcasing of best practices from Africa and other regions. Today's signing ceremony is a real manifestation of commitment towards the success of COP27, which aims to pave the way for a new era of implementation and mobilise available resources to combat climate change and ensure a just transition, Ambassador Ayman Tharwat, Deputy Director for the Department of Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, said on behalf of the COP27 Presidency. Ambassador Christian Berger, the head of EU Delegation to Egypt, said that "the agreements signed today are a tangible expression of the European Union's support for Egypt in making COP27 a success. Together with our Egyptian partners, Berger said, we are committed to lead global action to fight climate change. COP27 will be an important milestone in advancing our common climate agenda. UNDP Resident Representative in Egypt Alessandro Fracassetti highlighted the urgency regarding climate action by saying: With just 40 days to go till COP27, this is a proud moment for UNDP as we join our valued partners and the Government of Egypt in supporting the countrys presidency of this important conference. We recognise the importance of climate change: it is real, urgent, and affecting us all, Fracassetti said, adding that the UNDP is committed to supporting the COP27 Presidency Team in reaching ambitious but realistic and attainable goals. Ambassador of Denmark to Egypt Svend Olling said that Denmark is proud to support the Government of Egypts COP presidency and furthering the precedent Cairo is setting in the region around climate issues. Denmark has been committed to walking the talk on fighting climate change; from pushing for ambitious emission-reduction targets to ensuring more climate financing and coming together with our partners on climate action, the Danish ambassador said. Our partnership with Egypt is a long-standing example, and so we are glad to witness COP27 in Egypt working to accelerate climate action, ensuring inclusive, sustainable and ambitious results, Olling said. Ambassador of Switzerland to Egypt Yvonne Baumann said that Switzerland is pleased to contribute to Egypts Climate Change Strategy through its Cooperation Programme. It does so mainly by engaging on green finance, sustainable infrastructure and capacity building for green growth, Baumann said. This is complemented by the current partnership with UNDP and the government of Egypt, supporting the preparation of COP27. We are excited to be part of it, Baumann said during the ceremony. As an African-based and African-led foundation, representative of the ACF Faten Aggad said that the foundation could not miss the opportunity of joining hands with the COP27 Presidency on this important event on the continent. Climate change is a reality for the African continent, and we are committed to playing our role as philanthropy by supporting African actors to help advance solutions that are fit-for-purpose and relevant to our context," Aggad said. Search Keywords: Short link: The Egyptian embassy in Switzerland has recovered a smuggled ancient Egyptian statue, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday. The bronze statue is a representation of the goddess Isis carrying Horus the Child, and it has been dated to the late period of ancient Egypt. In June, the Egyptian embassy in Switzerland announced that it was arranging the repatriation of a collection of ancient artefacts after receiving them from the Swiss Federal Cultural Office in August 2021. The collection includes a segment of an alabaster statue of a woman, a stone carving representing a part of the deity Bes, a human head-shaped lid for a canopic vase made of stone, a stone sphinx statue, a stone panel with ancient Egyptian inscriptions, and a cylindrical alabaster vase. The repatriation is in line with an agreement Egypt and Switzerland signed in 2010 on the return of illegally acquired artefacts to their original homeland. From 29 May to 2 June, a technical delegation comprised of officials from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities visited Switzerland and discussed with their Swiss counterparts the recovery of smuggled Egyptian antiquities and ways to enhance cooperation between the two sides in that regard, the foreign ministry previously announced. Search Keywords: Short link: Perhaps predictably, the escalating war between Russia and Ukraine overwhelmed the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meetings, the 77th session of which opened last week. Adding to the urgency was the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin chose the General Debate opening day to announce partial mobilisation following reports of setbacks in Ukraine. He reiterated that he would use all means (code word for nuclear weapons) to protect his countrys security. Confrontations and accusation exchanges between Russia and the US-European alliance over Ukraine meant that issues of prime concern to developing nations were simply sidelined at the first in-person UNGA meeting in three years. Tight restrictions due to the spread of Covid-19 had forced the UN to hold its annual meeting online over the past two years. Even the devastating effects of the war in Ukraine on world economies, particularly those of the poorer countries now facing an acute food crisis, were not properly addressed. In the speech he delivered on behalf of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi at UNGA, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri noted that the Covid-19 pandemics devastating impact, coupled with the war in Ukraine, have battered the economies of developing countries as evidenced by the sovereign debt crisis. Many countries in the Middle East and Africa lack the resources required to confront that crisis, he added, calling on developed countries to launch a global debt swap initiative between creditor and debtor nations to transform the bulk of debt into joint investment projects. Such an initiative would combat unemployment, create jobs, and contribute to growth. Turning to the current food crisis, Shoukri pointed out that in Africa alone one in five people are at risk of hunger, and the continent remains a net food importer at an annual cost of $43 billion. An integrated strategy is needed and must address, among others, the root causes of the crisis, the negative impact of climate change, and developing countries access to global markets. Given its location, Shoukri said Egypt was ready to cooperate with all parties to establish an international hub for storing, supplying, and trading grains in Egypt, in the interest of collective food security. Speaking for the president of COP27, which will be held in the resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh this November, Shoukri urged all members of the international community to put their pledges and commitments into action and support developing countries in their efforts to confront the devastating impact of climate change. They are the most deserving of our support, he said. He also expressed the hope that COP27 will reach outcomes that can contribute to a reduction in emissions, and enhanced mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage commitments. He reminded the audience that funds for adaptation need to be doubled, that the $100 billion promised for climate finance annually must be duly delivered, and that there must be a just transition to renewable energy. Many experts fear that the shortage and near total halt of Russian gas and oil exports to Europe after the outbreak of war in Ukraine seven months ago will lead to a restoration of large-scale digging for fossil fuels, ignoring earlier pledges to expand the use of alternative clean energy. Egypts foreign minister also said that water security remains one of the most important challenges facing the world today, especially in the Middle East and Africa, which includes some of the driest and most arid countries in the world. Mincing no words on Egypts disagreement with Ethiopia over its unilateral decisions on building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Shoukri pointed out that threats to water security are not always due to lack of resources or declining rainfall, but often result from the actions of upstream riparian states that assert their absolute control over a trans-boundary water resource, disregarding for principles of humanity, good-neighbourliness and international law. Even after a decade of futile negotiations, the foreign minister affirmed that Egypt remains committed to self-restraint, respecting the Ethiopian peoples right to development. However, this cannot be at the expense of the Egyptian peoples right to life and survival, he said, stressing the need to reach a comprehensive, legally binding agreement regarding the filling and operation of the GERD, in accordance with the Agreement on Declaration of Principles concluded by Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in March 2015 in Khartoum. Agreeing with the leaders of other developing nations in Africa and Asia who addressed the 77th UNGA session, Shoukri warned that the world was at a delicate juncture where increased polarisation makes serious action and a commitment to multilateralism more imperative than ever. He called on world countries to reinvigorate and reform the UN, starting with the reform of the UN Security Council by allowing a permanent seat for the African continent. Regarding the Palestinian issue, Shoukri, along with the Jordanian King Abdullah, who delivered his own speech a few days earlier, reiterated their support for the two-state solution involving the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. While the news remains dominated by military action in Ukraine, Shoukri said the ongoing, explosive situations in several Arab countries should not be ignored. He pledged that Egypt would continue working with its neighbours to resolve the crises in Libya, Syria, Yemen and Iraq in a way that safeguards those countries sovereignty, unity and the interests of their peoples. *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Just weeks before the next Arab summit in Algeria to discuss the Palestinian cause among other urgent issues, British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced that her government would study moving the British Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem. Truss had only moved into 10 Downing Street earlier this month after Queen Elizabeth II had officially mandated her to form a government. The queen passed away 48 hours later, after 70 years on the British throne. No sooner had the new prime minister finished with the funeral ceremonies than she dashed off to New York to attend the inaugural session of the UN General Assembly. While there, she met with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Subsequently her office confirmed what had already been published in the Israeli press, namely that she had told him dear friend Lapid that she was thinking of moving the British Embassy to Jerusalem. In so doing she would follow in the footsteps of former US president Donald Trump who, in 2017, recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and decided to move the US embassy to that portion of the occupied territories. At the time, then prime minister Theresa May criticised Trumps action, saying he should have waited until the establishment of a Palestinian state. That was the position of the EU on the matter. As we know, the UK has since exited the EU, freeing itself from EU policies, such as the collective commitment to UN principles and resolutions that oppose the forced annexation of other peoples land and regard Arab Jerusalem as occupied territory. So Truss had no problem promising British Jewish groups in August that she would study the matter of moving the embassy if she became prime minister. Perhaps Lapid had asked her to act on that promise in his meeting with her in New York. In all events, how is Britain to preserve its credibility as it fights Russian plans to annex Ukrainian land while recognising Israels annexation of another peoples land? How will the Arabs respond to the British decision which flies in the face of international principles and resolutions? Will they let it pass, as occurred with decisions of the US, Honduras, Guatemala and Kosovo before? *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: A new round of public protests that has rocked Iran signals a growing sense of struggle against the countrys Islamic regime. Defying reports that he is seriously ill, Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared in public twice last week and delivered speeches to condemn the enemies of the Islamic Republic, which is facing multiple challenges in managing domestic and external crises. Irans success in safeguarding the country is realised through resistance not yielding, Khamenei declared in his address to the nation marking the 42nd anniversary of the beginning of the eight-year Iraq-Iran War. It was resistance that built Irans self-confidence and taught its enemies to include Irans domestic power and resistance in their calculations, Khamenei said, surfacing a day after the New York Times reported he was recovering from surgery for a bowel obstruction a few days earlier. Khamenei might not be seriously ill, but Iran is certainly suffering under his creaky regime. His remarks came as the Islamic Republic faced a new wave of popular protests that are being widely seen as the worst unrest in more than a decade. Thousands of people flooded the streets of the capital Tehran and several other Iranian cities to protest against the death of a young woman while in police custody. The 22-year-old Kurdish woman was reported dead hours after the countrys morality police held her for allegedly breaking its headscarf rules. In his speech, Khamenei ignored the tragic death that had led to the protests, a display that was nothing short of remarkable in a country whose iron-fisted regime has brutally smashed all forms of dissent. The protesters said the woman, Mahsa Amini, had been brutally murdered while in the custody of the dreaded religious morality police who enforce the clerical states dress code on women. She apparently received fatal brain injuries while she was investigated for her insufficient hijab or headscarf. The police have maintained that Amini died of natural causes after falling into a coma, but her family suspect that she was subjected to beating and torture. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said the death needed to be investigated, though he accused the Western powers of hypocrisy for raising their concerns. The protests soon struck a national nerve, and the upheaval spread to dozens of cities amid mounting anger over religious rules and a rock-bottom economy. The protesters torched police stations and vehicles in several cities, and the security forces opened fire on them, triggering violent clashes. As the authorities imposed harsh censorship on reporting from inside Iran, the demonstrations soon spilled over into cyberspace, with videos of Iranian women burning their hijabs soon going viral. Other women have been posting emotional videos in which they have cut their hair or burned their hijabs in protest. In some videos, the protesters can be heard chanting various slogans including death to the dictator, a reference to Khamenei. Other videos show demonstrators setting fire to portraits of regime figures including that of Qassem Suleimani, the Revolutionary Guards commander who was killed in a 2020 US strike in Iraq. A version of Italys famous resistance anthem Bella Ciao has also appeared in Farsi to be sung in online versions. It was last sung by Ukrainians after their countrys invasion by Russia in February. The authorities soon resorted to the familiar tactic of shutting down the Internet in Iran in a bid to prevent images of the protests from being shared. Networks monitoring the Internet in the country have reported that the mobile Internet was disrupted and online platforms have remained restricted for many users. The government also deployed the security forces in many cities, and these violently quashed the protests using birdshot and other metal pellets, teargas, water cannons, and beatings with batons to disperse the protesters. Videos posted on social media showed fierce clashes between the protesters and the security forces, with sounds of live gunfire. Irans military, which is under the command of Khamenei, vowed to step in to confront the enemies plots in order to ensure security and peace for the people. Pro-government rallies were staged in Tehran and elsewhere in a show of support for the authorities. The latter said that at least 40 people, including two security officers, had been killed since the unrest began last weekend. Rights groups say the toll is likely to be higher. Thousands are believed to have been arrested since the protests started. The Iranian dress codes imposed after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 require all Iranian women, visitors and tourists alike, to wear the hijab, or scarf, in public areas. They are also obliged to cover their legs down to the ankles and wear loose tunics or coats that cover their lower waist. In recent months, hardline Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has imposed new measures designed to tighten up controls by issuing a hijab and chastity decree that has emboldened the countrys morality squads. Among the measures they apply is to put women who violate the code in morality centres for re-education. The sudden and unprecedented unrest has raised questions about why people in Iran are putting their lives on the line to protest against religious strictures that have fallen most heavily on women. While the protests were aimed at the morality police cracking down on women wearing a loose hijab, the larger issue seems to be grievances and discontents that have been building up over four decades of economic hardship and political repression. The protests have been building on more than a decade of dissent and recall the large-scale demonstrations that erupted following the presidential elections in 2009 when supporters of the defeated candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, accused the hardline incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, of stealing the vote. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in protests on a scale unknown since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In addition to installing the reformist Mousavi as president, the protesters demanded greater social freedoms and an end to the security forces tight repression. In 2018, massive crowds marched through the streets of Irans capital and other cities sparked by anger over a faltering economy, unemployment, and corruption. The protests were triggered by a rise in food and fuel prices and later turned to demands for regime change. But there have been cautions too. While the protests are the biggest challenge to the Islamic regime for years, there are increasing fears that the anti-government demonstrations will lose momentum due to the lack of enough public support for a general uprising and the higher risk of a crackdown. Though the government has pledged to probe the cause of Aminis death with urgency and special attention, it has showed no sign of backing down. On Saturday, Raisi vowed to deal decisively with the protests, which by then had spread to most of Irans 31 provinces. The authorities have already moved to contain the protests by resorting to the heavy-handed tactics it has used in the past. There are mounting signs that a harsher crackdown is coming. But even if the demonstrations come to an end as a result of the brutal actions, they are another major episode that could shake the rule of the hardline clerics that have been ruling over Iran since 1979. Though they are largely spontaneous and in response to the killing of the Kurdish woman, the protests are rooted in anger over the poor economy, mismanagement, and endemic corruption of the Islamic Republic itself. Putting them into a historical framework, that of the regimes legitimacy coming to a close, they are not just a call for reform, but also an open and outright rejection of the ruling system in Iran. Their main catalyst will remain to bring down the system itself. Irans new wave of protests, like many of the recent uprisings that have captured the worlds imagination, may be characterised by its decentralised nature, but its future will be decided by how much the regime can succeed in bringing economic reform and political moderation in its wake. The protests were not expected to loosen the regimes authoritarian grip over the country in a short space of time. But they have illustrated how tight and cruel that grip can be. The events of the last few days have left the Islamic Republic exposed to the political forces that have been buffeting other failing regimes whose corruption has drawn them into deepening dysfunction. They have not only exposed the regimes weakness, but have also shredded the image of power and prestige that the regime has built for itself and broken down the wall of fear that it has built to safeguard itself from the wrath of its people. The regime may finally be able to put down the uprising, but this new version of protests in Iran has showed that the problem is not one womans hijab but rather the right to choose for all Iranians. The regime is mired not only in the battle over the forced wearing of the hijab, but also by political stagnation, economic dysfunction, and communal divisions. Unless it makes needed changes, the protesters will remain on the moral high ground and may make a more powerful comeback in the future. *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Egyptian authorities will release a new group of 39 pretrial detainees on Monday morning, said lawyer Tarek El-Awady, a member of the Presidential Pardon Committee. MP Tarek El-Khouly, another committee member, said cooperation and coordination is underway with state authorities and the Public Prosecution to release the new group of detainees tomorrow. Commenting on the decision, MP Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, a member of the pardon committee and deputy head of the parliament's human rights committee, thanked President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, Prosecutor-General Hamada El-Sawy, and relevant authorities for their continuous coordination with the committee. Since May, the Public Prosecution has ordered the release of hundreds of pretrial detainees in groups, as the government and various political forces prepare for the extensive National Political Dialogue that will discuss pressing political, economic and social issues. During this month, Egypt has already released over 100 pretrial detainees, including Ahmed El-Nagdy, a journalist at the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera TV channel, and prominent leftist activist and lawyer Haitham Mohamadein. Also, President El-Sisi has pardoned many high-profile political activists who had received final sentences, including Hossam Mones, Yahia Abdel-Hady, Hisham Fouad and others, since the re-activation of the Presidential Pardon Committee in April. The committee, which was first formed in 2016, receives the names of prisoners for presidential pardon consideration from various parties and political forces, including the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), parliaments Human Rights Committee, as well as directly through its own official website. The scope of the work of the reactivated committee has been expanded to include imprisoned debtors. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypts Foreign Minister and President Designate of the 27th session of the United Nations Conference (COP27) Sameh Shoukry called on Saturday for the launch of a comprehensive global strategy to face the current global food crisis. In a speech at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Shoukry said that this food crisis is the result of the failure of the international community to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The Egyptian FM said that due to its geographical location, Egypt is ready to be a hub for storing grains for the world, while stressing that one out of five citizens in Africa suffer from hunger. Shoukry said that Ukrainian-Russian war has exacerbated the global economic crisis, and that developing countries are facing a huge debt burden. The FM called for a global initiative between creditor and debtor countries in which debt is replaced with investments to help developing countries. Egypt is seeking a stable world away from tensions, Shoukry said. He also criticised the double standards the UN displays in dealing with crises, while asserting that Egypt completely supports efforts to reform the UN. I call those gathered to respect the UN system and to reform it so it can be better, he said, adding that Egypt fully supports African countries' demand to reform the Security Council. Shoukry also addressed the issue of water scarcity, especially in the Middle East and Africa. There is unfortunately grave danger as a result of upstream countries ignoring downstream countries, Shoukry said, referring to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which Addis Ababa is building on the Blue Nile, the main tributary to the River Nile in Egypt and Sudan. Anyone who thinks that adhering to peaceful means of settling water disputes is a weakness is completely mistaken. We have committed to restraint, but that does not mean complacency, Shoukry said. The Egyptian FM reiterated Egypt and Sudans longstanding demand that Ethiopia sign a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation policies of the dam in accordance with the Declaration of principles on the GERD signed in Khartoum in 2015, and the UN Security Councils presidential statement issued in September 2021. Shoukry called on the international community, including the UN and the Security Council, to uphold international law and support the Egyptian and Sudanese people in the GERD issue. Regarding the Palestinian issue, the Egyptian FM reiterated Egypts total support for the two-state solution involving the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem at its capital. Shoukry also said that Egypt is working with its neighbours to resolve the crises in Syria, Yemen and Iraq in a way that safeguards their sovereignty and unity. Concerning Libya, Shoukry affirmed Cairos support for efforts by Libyan officials to hold presidential and parliamentarian elections at the nearest possible time. He also stressed the need for the departure of foreign forces and mercenaries and the disbanding of militias in Libya. On the upcoming COP27, which Egypt is hosting in Sharm El-Sheikh in November, Shoukry said that Egypt aims to ensure that climate pledges are fulfilled, as well as reach outcomes concerning reducing emissions and raising climate finance. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt has detected its second monkeypox case in a citizen from an Arab country who came from abroad to the country, the Ministry of Health and Population announced on Tuesday, adding that the patient has been quarantined in an isolation hospital. According to the short statement released by the health ministry, the male patient was detected during epidemiological monitoring procedures upon his arrival in Egypt on 25 September. The current condition of the patient is stable, the statement said, adding that all required health and preventive measures have been taken with the patient's contacts in accordance with the treatment and follow-up procedures approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The health ministry has not revealed the nationality of the patient or where he came from. Egypt officially declared its first monkeypox case in early September in a 42-year-old Egyptian who has residency in a European country and frequently visited it, according to the health ministry. Later, the ministry declared in mid-September that he arrived from Spain and the people who came in contact with the carrier have been put under observation for 21 days, but none have shown symptoms so far. In remarks to Ahram Online, health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar said the patient was not suffering from any severe symptoms and is in stable condition. Monkeypox has made headlines globally since 23 July when the WHO director-general declared the escalating global outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), with more than 16,000 reported cases in 75 countries and territories and five deaths at the time. The monkeypox virus was discovered in 1958 when it was first identified as a distinct illness. For the WHO, monkeypox primarily occurs in central and west Africa, often in proximity to tropical rainforests, and has been increasingly appearing in urban areas. It is a viral zoonotic infection, meaning that it can spread from animals to humans and can also spread from person to person through close contact with a patient who has a monkeypox rash, including face-to-face, skin-to-skin, mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-skin contact, including sexual contact. Several Arab countries reported cases of monkeypox in the past months, including UAE, Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Morocco. Search Keywords: Short link: Some 4.9 million tourists visited Egypt in the first half of 2022 (from January to June), an 85.4 percent increase compared to the first half of 2021, where 2.6 million tourists visited the country, Egypts Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced on Tuesday. In a statement issued on World Tourism Day on 27 September, CAPMAS said that 8 million tourists visited Egypt in 2021, a 117.5 percent increase compared to 3.7 million tourists in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. Eastern Europe topped the areas exporting tourists to Egypt in 2021 at 50.6 percent, followed by the Middle East at 18.9 percent, Western Europe at 16.4 percent, and Africa at 7.1 percent. The total number of tourists coming from Arab countries in 2021 reached 2 million, a 114.9 percent increase compared to 900,000 tourists in 2020. CAPMAS also revealed that the total number of nights spent by tourists in Egypt during the first half of 2022 was 52.6 million nights, a 63.6 percent increase compared to 32.2 million nights in the first half of 2021. The total number of nights spent by tourists in 2021 was 93.8 million nights, a 118.3 percent increase compared to 43 million nights in 2020, the CAPMAS statement said. The total number of nights spent by Arab tourists in 2021 was 33.2 million, a 121.6 percent increase compared to 15 million in 2020. CAPMAS added that the average number of nights spent by tourists during their visits to Egypt was 12.4 in 2021 compared to 11.4 nights in 2020. Search Keywords: Short link: President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed the state's interest in eliminating impediments to industrial development, affirming that obstacles to investment will be removed within a month or two. El-Sisis remarks came while he was inaugurating a number of national projects affiliated to the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) in a ceremony that was attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and a number of ministers and senior officials. The president also highlighted the state's seriousness in addressing problems that impede investment, pointing out that each implemented project represents additional income not only for the company executing the project, but also for every citizen who works in it. President El-Sisi emphasised the role of research and development centres, whether in universities or elsewhere, in order to find solutions to problems that need development. If coordination is established between research centres and industry, we will be able to solve the existing problems in Egypt, and the next period will witness an expansion in [constructing] factories and many projects for business and industry, El-Sisi said. Moreover, he expressed the government's readiness to encourage businessmen to expand the number of vocational schools to provide skilled and trained workers with real job opportunities. Private sector El-Sisi stated on Tuesday that the coming economic conference will be a great opportunity to present all the obstacles facing investors. In early September, El-Sisi called on the government to organise an economic conference, initially planned for the end of the month, to discuss the latest developments and future of Egyptian economy. The conference, whose final date has not been announced, is expected to explore a set of visions and proposals for shoring up all sectors of the national economy and dealing with current challenges. Madbouly and Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Hassan Abdallah met in mid-September to review a raft of economic files, chief among which was the themes and topics to be discussed at the conference. We will present the problems that exist and that meet the investor. It is not a defect in the government or the state that we will present. We will confront and solve it so that there are no problems that hinder investment," El-Sisi stated during Tuesday's event. He added that the state "is targetting $100 billion in exports, and this figure is not great for a country the size of Egypt with 104 million people, stressing that Egyptian labour wages are not high compared to other countries in the world. Egypts exports increased by 20 percent in the first quarter (1Q) of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, despite the global crises, according to Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea. Egypts non-oil exports reached an all-time high of $32.1 billion in 2021, up from the $25.4 billion recorded in 2020 an increase of 26 percent according to figures released by the trade ministry. Egypt has been working to grant the private sector a greater role in the countrys economic activities. In June, Egypt launched the State Ownership Policy Document that charts a roadmap for expanding the private sectors role in a number of economic activities in the Egyptian market. The policy sets a number of paths to expand the role of the private sector across the country, including through offering state-owned companies on the EGX whether through a private offering or under the IPO programme. Egypt plans to raise the private sectors share in the countrys economic activity to 65 percent over three years, up from the current 30 percent. The president has in more than occasion has reiterated his call for the participation of the private sector in new projects with the public sector. The private sector is welcome to contribute in new projects and factories. I repeat [my invitation] for the fourth time, he said in December 2021. In the same month, he again stressed the importance of the private sector's role in development projects, saying that some 4,475 private companies have participated in national development projects nationwide with investments ranging from EGP 1 billion to EGP 75 billion. The state is implementing in partnership with private sector development projects worth EGP 1.1 trillion, El-Sisi said, adding that these projects have created jobs for more than three million families. GAFI projects During the ceremony, El-Sisi inaugurated via video conference two investment zones in Banha of Qalyubia governorate and Meit Ghamr of Gharbia Governorate. A documentary film titled "Promising Track" was screened during the event, highlighting the national projects carried out by GAFI and the track of economic reform introduced by Egypt recently. It also shed light on the importance of investment as a main engine for upping the economic growth rate through the implementation of Egypts Vision 2030, which opened the doors for local and foreign investments in Egypt and helped in the establishment of more free zones, logistics, industrial and technological areas. The GAFI film also underlined the state's efforts to increase investment in the nine public free zones and 204 private free zones in a number of governorates. Such free zones have contributed to the launch of 1,095 projects and provided around 200,000 direct job opportunities. Search Keywords: Short link: Press Release September 27, 2022 Dela Rosa seeks to honor Bulacan Rescue Team's 'magnificent 5' SENATOR Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa finds it fitting for the Senate to honor the five members of the Bulacan Rescue Team who died in the line of duty at the height of the onslaught of Super Typhoon Karding. This developed as Dela Rosa on Tuesday filed Proposed Senate Resolution No. 239 honoring the life of service of killed Bulacan Rescue Team members George E. Agustin, Troy Justin P. Agustin, Marby A. Bartolome, Jerson L. Resurreccion, and Narciso Calayag Jr., as well as expressing the profound sympathy and sincere condolences of the Senate on their unfortunate passing. "I take this chance to express my condolences and sympathy towards the bereaved families of these noble men. At the same time, we know that condolences and sympathies are hardly enough," Dela Rosa said in a speech. Last September 22, typhoon Karding, with Noru as its international name, entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility and intensified the following days, which raised its category to a super typhoon as early as the morning of September 25. The five rescuers perished in the middle of their rescue operation in San Miguel, Bulacan when a wall collapsed on their boat. They were swept away by the strong current of the ensuing flood. "The Bulacan Rescue Team must be flooded with high praises. As fellow Filipinos, we must face, with a stubborn refusal, the tendency to forget them. We refuse to let their memories be washed away from our minds and hearts. The memory of who they were and of this noble, final act, must live on. Imbes na si Karding lamang ang ating maaalala, nawa'y mas maaalala natin ang kabayanihan nina George, Troy, Marby, Jerson, at Narciso Jr.," Dela Rosa said. Super Typhoon Karding was estimated to have a maximum sustained wind of 195 kilometers per hour and is considered the strongest cyclone to hit Luzon. "While Karding was busy destroying whatever blocked its way, Filipinos all over the affected areas were busy, too - helping each other, responding to those who might need rescue. Through it all, the Filipino spirit of selflessness also intensified rapidly, from mere individuals to households and families, to communities, and the entire country," Dela Rosa said. The Mindanaoan senator said while disasters always bring fear and despair to people, they also bring out the best in the Filipino people. "Time and again, Filipinos have shown their willingness to risk their own safety so that others may live. The Bulacan Rescue Team was, certainly, among the notable Filipinos whose deeds were above and beyond the call of duty,' Dela Rosa said. More than 75 people have died in Iran's crackdown on 11 nights of unrest sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a rights group says, as Western nations pile pressure on the Islamic republic to end the violence. The Iranian authorities' official death toll has remained at 41 since Saturday, including several members of the security forces, as the country is rocked by its biggest wave of protests in almost three years. Demonstrators took to the streets again on Monday night -- as they have every night since Amini's death on September 16 following her arrest for allegedly breaching the country's strict rules on hijab headscarves and modest clothing -- witnesses told AFP. In Sanandaj, the capital of Amini's western home province of Kurdistan, women climbed onto the roofs of cars to tear off their headscarves in front of cheering crowds, images published by Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) showed, with police nowhere to be seen. Tehran crowds have shouted "death to the dictator", calling for the end of the more than three-decade rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 83. Video shot from several floors above street level, purportedly in the city of Tabriz, showed people protesting to the sound of tear gas canisters being fired by security forces. IHR said at least 76 people have been killed in the crackdown that has seen sweeping restrictions imposed on the internet, including blocks on Instagram and WhatsApp. Officials said Monday they had made more than 1,200 arrests. Those taken into custody have included activists, lawyers and journalists as well as protesters. Tensions with West Tensions with Western powers grew as France on Monday issued its "strongest condemnation" over the "violent repression" by security forces, Germany summoned the Iranian ambassador and Canada announced sanctions. A day earlier, the European Union had deplored the crackdown and Tehran said it had called in the British and Norwegian envoys. "We call on the international community to decisively and unitedly take practical steps to stop the killing and torture of protesters," said IHR's director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. Video footage and death certificates obtained by IHR showed that "live ammunition is being directly fired at protesters," he charged. Riot police in black body armour have beaten protesters with truncheons in running street battles, and students have torn down large pictures of the supreme leader and his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in recent video footage published by AFP. Protesters have hurled rocks, torched police cars and set public buildings ablaze. At least 20 journalists have been arrested, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. 'Demands of the people' The Iranian judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, has stressed "the need for decisive action without leniency" against the protest instigators. But a powerful Shiite cleric long aligned with the country's ultra-conservative establishment has urged authorities to take a softer line. "The leaders must listen to the demands of the people, resolve their problems and show sensitivity to their rights," said Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani. The bloody crackdown has drawn condemnation from Western government, clouding diplomatic efforts to revive a nuclear deal between Iran and major powers that was abandoned by then US president Donald Trump in 2018. The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who has led those efforts, on Sunday slammed Iran for its "widespread and disproportionate use of force against nonviolent protesters". The United States last week imposed sanctions against the Iranian morality police, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that his own country would follow suit as part of a sanctions package "on dozens of individuals and entities". Search Keywords: Short link: After Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukris withdrawal from the Arab League Foreign Ministers Council on 6 September raised concerns over the state of Egyptian-Libyan relations, Cairo has been keen to stress that channels of communication with Tripoli, the seat of the interim Government of National Unity (GNU) headed by Abdul-Hamid Dbeibeh, remain open. Dbeibeh still refuses to hand over power to the Fathi Bashagha government that was formed in February. Egypt, however, has shown flexibility in the face of the rapid twists and turns in the Libyan situation, a quality that has strengthened Cairos role as a mediator. It is among the reasons why the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) and Tripoli-based High Council of State (HCS) regularly turn to Cairo to host meetings and discuss their outstanding differences over the legal framework needed to hold legislative and presidential elections. Ahead of the 158th Arab League Foreign Ministers Council Cairo and Tripoli had disagreed over who should represent Libya, this years president. When the outgoing GNU appointed its foreign minister, Najla Al-Mangoush, to chair the meeting, Egypt objected on the grounds that the HoR had withdrawn its confidence from the Dbeibeh government in September 2021 and appointed the Bashagha government to replace it in February 2022. The HoR is the sole legislature in Libya, Cairo argued, and had formed the new government in collaboration with the Tripoli-based HCS. Egypt remains committed to empowering Libyans and reducing foreign intervention in the Libyan conflict. Cairos longstanding position is to support the preservation of Libyan national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, oppose foreign intervention in Libyan affairs, support Libyas executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, and press for the dismantling of the militias and other armed groups that perpetuate instability. Reiterating Cairos position in his speech at the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Shoukri said Egypt will continue its efforts to support its Libyan brothers and help them reach a comprehensive settlement without outside intervention. The regular visits of officials from the Libyan capital to Cairo underline the fact that the relationship between Cairo and Tripoli remains unaffected by the diplomatic disagreement at the Arab League. In addition to taking part in regional conferences held in Egypt, Libyan officials continue to discuss consular affairs with their Egyptian counterparts, including the condition of Libyans who reside in Egypt and those who visit for business, education, medical treatment, and tourism. On 18 September, GNU Minister of Labour and Training Ali Al-Abed visited Cairo at the head of the Libyan delegation to the Arab Labour Organisation conference sponsored by the Arab League. The conference was attended by labour ministers, the heads and members of labour unions and business organisations, business leaders from 21 Arab states, and representatives of the Arab League secretariat, Arab and international organisations and embassies. On 21 September the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Tripoli announced that Murad Hemaima, the Libyan Under Secretary for Consular Affairs, and General Youssef Murad, director of the Department of Nationality and Passports, had met with Salah Abdel-Sadek, Egypts assistant foreign minister for consular affairs and Egyptians abroad, and officials from the Egyptian ministries of interior and foreign affairs, in Cairo. Participants in the meeting discussed establishing a communication mechanism to resolve all obstacles between the two sides on matters related to consular affairs, according to a Libyan Foreign Ministry statement. The statement added that Egypts assistant foreign minister for consular affairs had accepted the Libyan undersecretary for consular affairs invitation to visit Libya to continue discussions on the communication mechanism and other matters of mutual concern. A day later Awatef Al-Tashani, the director-general of the Libyan state-run National Channel, represented Libya at the 52nd ordinary session of the Council of Arab Information Ministers. Libyan participation in regional and international meetings in Cairo and ongoing discussions between Libyan officials and their Egyptian counterparts reflect the consistency of Cairos approach and its willingness to meet with all Libyan stakeholders and support their efforts to reach a political consensus that can end the deep political divides that have plagued Libya for nearly a decade. Egypt will continue to promote such efforts despite ongoing differences between international powers over political and security arrangements in Libya. Although these differences have aggravated the deadlock over the executive authority and hampered the realisation of a comprehensive settlement to the Libyan crisis, Egypt remains determined to urge Libyan stakeholders and institutions to avoid military escalation and any other actions that jeopardise social and national unity and cohesion. Simultaneously, Cairo is encouraging Libyan stakeholders to pursue all peaceful means to reach a comprehensive settlement capable of pushing the political process forward and end the succession of interim phases which threaten Libyas national unity. *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the title: Pushing for agreement Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt launched its National Strategy for Intellectual Property on 21 September in a ceremony attended by the World Intellectual Property Organisations (WIPO) Director-General Daren Tang. The strategy, launched under the patronage of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, fully aligns with the WIPO Development Agenda, the UNs Sustainable Development Goals, and Egypts Vision 2030. In his speech at the ceremony Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli said the launch reflected Egypts interest in the role intellectual property (IP) protection can play in advancing the Egyptian economy and achieving the goals of Egypts Vision 2030. The strategy establishes a national apparatus for IP and is expected to boost Egypts digital transformation. It aims to stimulate innovation and creativity and enhance technology across the economic, social, scientific, and cultural fields. Work on the strategy began in December 2020 and continued until June 2022 and involved 17 ministries, 18 authorities, eight IP experts and Synerjies Centre for International and Strategic Studies, a Middle East-based think tank specialising in macroeconomic, geopolitical, developmental, and other policy-related research. The strategy is a key achievement that will have far-reaching implications for many vital sectors and is a critical milestone towards Egypts aspirations to augment its turn to a knowledge-based economy, Synerjies said. The Forum for Development and Human Rights Dialogue says the strategy will maximise the benefits of scientific research, support the national economy and encourage researchers to innovate and present new ideas for development. In a phone-in with Al-Hayat TV channel, Mahmoud Sakr, president of the Academy of Scientific Research, said the strategy will reassure technology companies that Egypt respects intellectual property rights. It [the strategy] will have a direct economic return, said Sakr, and underlines that Egypt is a safe destination for technological investment and innovation. Yasser Gadallah, dean of the National Institute for Intellectual Property at Helwan University, hailed the strategy as a sign that the state is embracing a long-term strategy to enhance innovation by coordinating the work of all involved ministries. The Geneva-based WIPO was created in 1970 to promote and protect IP by cooperating with countries and international organisations. Egypt has been a member of WIPO since 1975 and is signatory to 14 WIPO agreements. They include the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Property, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the Madrid Agreement on the International Registration of Marks and the Hague Agreement on the International Deposit of Industrial Designs. *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: The domestic fallout is continuing after Russia declared a partial mobilisation of reservists in the wake of its military setbacks in Ukraine. The Kremlin has been unable to cover up the domestic fallout from the partial mobilisation that Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed on 21 September in the hope of reversing the recent setbacks Russia has encountered on various fronts in Ukraine, most notably in Kharkiv. Media reports and videos circulating over social media tell of the great escape of thousands of Russian reservists to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Finland and other neighbouring countries. The phenomenon exposes cracks in the image the Russian leadership has marketed for months of overwhelming public support for its special operation in Ukraine. In March 2022, at the end of the first month of the war, an opinion poll conducted by the Levada Centre for Public Opinion Research in Russia found that 83 per cent of respondents supported Putin and 81 per cent supported the military operation. More than 46 per cent of those polled supported their armys military operations in general but not necessarily the one in Ukraine. Another survey conducted by the same centre in August found that support for the operation had declined to 76 per cent. The decline may seem minor until two other significant results are added. First, 48 per cent of those polled favoured continuing with the war, while 44 per cent called for peace talks, indicating a split in public opinion on the war. Second, 30 per cent of the respondents said that they did not support the military, the majority of them young people in the 18-24 age bracket. At another level, judging by the scale of the protests in Dagestan and Siberia, there appears to be mounting discontent at regional disparities in the distribution of the burden of the call-up. Until recently at least, the Caucasus where Dagestan is situated has long been the most pro-Putin region of the Russian Federation. According to press reports, the anti-draft protests have now spread to 38 other areas after Russian Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu announced that the conscription would be done gradually in terms of numbers of recruits and areas covered. Russian security forces have dispersed the anti-conscription demonstrators, arresting hundreds in accordance with recently amended laws stiffening the penalties for disobeying military related regulations such as complying with the mobilisation of reserves. These actions have failed to halt the protests, which are likely to increase in tandem with the growing tide of potential conscripts across the borders, which Russian authorities say they have not closed. Most analysts agree that the Russians confidence in Putin and Russian military leaders has been deeply shaken by the partial mobilisation, which has confirmed suspicions that their governments intervention in Ukraine is not a special operation but a war. The defence ministers remarks about all-out war with Europe if it does not cease its support for Ukraine and hints at nuclear warfare, augmented by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenkos announcement that his countrys warplanes have been modified to carry nuclear weapons, have increased the alarm and fuelled the current great escape from Russian territory. The Russian Federation has never called a military mobilisation before. The last one was in the former Soviet Union during World War II, or more than seven decades ago. Putins decree is, therefore, nothing less than historic. It would have to have been preceded by preparations for the logistics and phasing of the call-up, training or re-training programmes, and deployment. In an attempt to allay concerns, Shoigu said that the reserves would not be deployed on the front lines. However, two factors call this into doubt. First, the mobilisation decree states that it is limited to reserves, or individuals who have already served in the military. Yet, news of this decree coincided with the enlistment of a new cohort of recruits. The Russian media broadcast footage from inside recruiting stations of new soldiers, some being emotionally seen off by their parents to unknown destinations. There was nothing to rule out the idea that Ukraine might be unified in the light of the mobilisation decree plus the fact that depending on the results of the referendums in eastern Ukraine those territories could become parts of Russia and require the further deployment of defence forces. Second, although Shoigu said that the reserves would be stationed away from the front lines in accordance with their previous military qualifications and expertise, if Russia is to reverse its losses it will need large numbers of troops for precisely the fronts from which it has withdrawn, such as Kharkiv. The Russian mobilisation will also have to overcome another complication, which is how to equip all the new troops with arms, a daunting task even if the recruitment is done in stages and the recruits are stationed away from the front lines. Up until this point, Russia has deployed around 100,000 troops in Ukraine. Quadrupling this number necessitates mobilising major resources to make much more equipment available and, even before then, to train very large numbers. Not only will this take time, it will also require the type of training that can make even previously trained reserves combat-ready for the conditions of the war in Ukraine. Otherwise, they will become easy prey for Ukrainian forces fortified by growing influxes of sophisticated Western weapons. In response to Putins mobilisation decree, Washington announced another large package of both defensive and offensive arms for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed for more tanks and other weapons to help Ukrainian forces hold on to recently regained territories. Given such challenges, Moscow may resort to alternatives. One has been suggested by the recent admission of the founder of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that he originally created this private military company to fight alongside ethnic Russians and native Russian speakers in the Donbas after the Civil War broke out in Ukraine in 2014. Another alternative would be to hire mercenaries from other conflict zones that Russia has been engaged in, especially in the Middle East. That said, it is unclear how Russia would fund any such militias in the light of the economic straits it faces due to international sanctions. There is no doubt that the Kremlin has taken its gamble on the war in Ukraine to another level. Not only is it now girding up for the battle to regain the initiative on the ground in Ukraine, it also has to grapple with major challenges on the home front, a battle that is no less dangerous. The scope and magnitude of the risks could expand should Moscow opt to resort to the nuclear threat as a means of extricating itself from its current predicament and turning the tables against Kyiv. The latter scenario has been looming more likely following Putins meeting with Lukashenko, who has previously asked Moscow to reopen its nuclear bases in Belarus. The more any belligerent brandishes the nuclear option, the greater the risk a war could spiral out of control in incalculable and unimaginable ways. *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Four eastern provinces of Ukraine could be formally annexed to Russia at the end of this month following this weeks referendums. Russian President Vladimir Putin has played the last card in his hand. Within days, the eastern Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia will likely be formally annexed to the Russian Federation after referendums that the West considers to be illegal asking their residents to decide on joining Russia. The referendums, which started on Friday and ended on Tuesday, could lead to Moscow annexing 15 per cent of Ukraines territory. Amid world condemnation, the Russian media have announced that the referendums in the four territories of Ukraine are valid, claiming the turnout has already passed 50 per cent. According to the British Ministry of Defence, Putin, who is scheduled to address both houses of the Russian parliament on 30 September, may use the address to formally announce the annexation of the territories by Russia. By annexing large parts of eastern Ukraine, Putin wants to discourage Kyiv and its Western allies from attacking what the Kremlin now considers to be Russian territory, laying the groundwork for full mobilisation or even nuclear conflict if they persist in doing so. When Putin addressed the Russian people last week to announce a partial mobilisation of 300,000 reservists, he framed the war in Ukraine in existential terms. The nation was defending itself against a West that wanted to weaken, divide and destroy Russia, he said, and thus the Kremlin could be prepared to use nuclear weapons in response. The ominous threats are intended to force Ukraine and its Western allies to accept Russias gains in the war. The whole world should be praying for Russias victory because there are only two ways this can end: either Russia wins, or a nuclear apocalypse, Konstantin Malofeyev, a nationalist Russian tycoon, told local media. If we dont win, we will have to use nuclear weapons, because we cant lose... Does anyone really think Russia will accept defeat and not use its nuclear arsenal, Malofeyev asked. On Tuesday, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, threatened the West again with the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Imagine that Russia is forced to use the most formidable weapons against the Ukrainian regime, which has committed a large-scale act of aggression, which is dangerous for the very existence of our state. I believe that NATO will not directly intervene in the conflict even in this situation, he said. After all, the security of Washington, London, and Brussels is much more important for the North Atlantic Alliance than the fate of Ukraine, which no one needs, even if it is abundantly supplied with various weapons. After a very costly Russian military campaign in which Moscow has changed its strategic goals from regime change in Kyiv to protecting the Russian population in eastern and southern Ukraine, the annexation of these four regions seems the minimum that Putin would accept to save face internally after Russian forces have suffered heavy casualties. Washington estimates that Russia has lost about 70,000 soldiers, either dead or wounded. The fundamental question now before the West is what it will do about Putins threats to launch a nuclear attack if Ukrainian forces try to liberate the provinces that Moscow considers to be part of Russian soil. Some in Europe say that the West should continue its military and economic support to Ukraine in order to inflict a crushing defeat on the Russian army and expel it from all Ukrainian territory, even Crimea, which Russia formally annexed in 2014. NATO, Britain, and the Baltic states tend to minimise the nuclear threat by Russia, emphasising the need to continue support for Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the US channel CNN that the likelihood of any use of nuclear weapons is still low, but the potential consequences are so big. British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Prime Minister Liz Truss also argue that Putin is not serious about using nuclear weapons and claim that Russias defeat is attainable because the Russian military is now at its weakest and the Russian economy is reeling under international sanctions. In their view, the West has a short window to inflict the greatest damage on the Russian forces in Ukraine before they call in reserves. The 300,000 soldiers that Putin wants to train and bring to the battlefield will not be ready for several months, they say. These views are encouraged by the serious setbacks that the Russian military has faced in recent weeks as Ukrainian forces have mounted a counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region. But putting the Russian president in a corner and testing his true intentions regarding the use of nuclear weapons is not something many Western capitals will want to do. The US and EU believe that Ukraine, Europe, and the world should take Putins threats seriously. Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Bidens national security adviser, reiterated that the Kremlins nuclear warnings were a matter that we have to take deadly seriously. EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell also warned that Putins threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine were serious. In an interview with the BBC on Saturday, Borrell said the Russian war in Ukraine had reached a dangerous moment as the Russian army was struggling in the seventh month of the invasion. Certainly, it is a dangerous moment because the Russian army has been pushed into a corner, and Putins reaction, threatening to use nuclear arms, is very bad, Borrell said. When people say it is not a bluff, you have to take them seriously, he added. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also does not think Putin is bluffing when he says Moscow would be ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia. Look, maybe yesterday it was a bluff. Now, it could be a reality, Zelensky, who had previously played down such warnings, told the US CBS News on Sunday. I dont think hes bluffing. But the possible use of nuclear weapons, which complicates the calculations of the West, also does not make the calculations of the Russian president easier. The use of nuclear weapons on European soil from a geostrategic point of view, let alone the moral argument, could have more destructive consequences than any benefits. Nuclear radiation could kill millions of people, including Russians, because of the geographical proximity. The catastrophic environmental impacts will not spare many of the neighbouring countries, including Russia itself. It is certain that the West would respond with an unprecedented escalation, both militarily and economically, including by imposing a comprehensive economic blockade on Russia and possibly expelling it from international institutions, including the UN Security Council. These consequences would be so dire that Putin himself might never resort to them, even if his forces incur heavy losses on the ground. This is what London, the Baltic states, and the NATO secretary-general are betting on. But the bet is too dangerous for Washington, Paris, Berlin, and Brussels to put the Russian president to the test. When Putin throws the dice, he knows he is putting the West between a rock and a hard place. If there is any benefit from the developments of the past few days, it is that the Russian calculations have become clearer for the West. Since the Russian offensive against Ukraine began last February, Moscows goals have not been as clear as they are today. Now Russia has put all its cards on the table. It implicitly admits that because of the defeats it has suffered it will focus its military efforts in the Donbas region. By annexing regions in eastern Ukraine, Moscow has made it clear that this is the minimum it will accept in the conflict. It has threatened the use of nuclear weapons if Ukraine forces, with the help of the West, tries to liberate those territories. *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Sex today has turned into profitable commerce. But this is not a new story. For a long time, some women have chosen or been forced to sell their bodies for money. In the current globalised world, this trade has developed and bypassed its simple manifestation in adultery. Legitimate sex, or halal sex, has become a growing target for commercial initiatives in the Arab world. In the Muslim-majority countries, free sexual relations are legally forbidden and culturally rebuffed. Accordingly, marriage for men and women is the only religiously accepted avenue to have sexual encounters. However, making marriage the only legal form for halal sex does not mean that people have no other options, nor does it mean that they stop talking about sex because of prohibiting religious values and traditions. Real life shows that the more we silence talk over sex, the more societies may indulge in all kinds of immorality behind the scenes. Egyptian society is one example. Although people publicly declare their commitment to religious and ethical values, reality sometimes tells us a different story. When we look into discussions on social media about sex and the family, we may come to a conclusion similar to what the famous Egyptian actor Adel Imam said in his unforgettable movie Birds of Darkness that the country from above is different from the country from below. Indeed, stories on social media remind us of how generational preferences and interactions between men and women have drastically changed in our country. Over the last few weeks, I have come across plenty of YouTube channels owned and operated by women focusing on ways to upgrade the sex lives of husbands and wives. It is an appealing idea that society should be able to get embroiled in serious and objective discussions of sexuality, while stopping up its ears to the apparently unstoppable vulgar sex chat that takes place on the streets, in some TV drama, and in some social interactions. Radwa Galal is a famous Youtuber. She talks to, advises, and helps young women satisfy their sexual needs through the only permissible legitimate way of marriage. She helps women to be sexually attractive to their husbands and enjoy sex in a halal way through her videos that discuss sensitive issues that generally remain unspoken within many middle-class families. Galal is originally from the Delta city of Mansoura. She graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacology at the German University in Cairo (GUC) and later married a young engineer who was an Islamic preacher at the same time. His tragic death after one year of their marriage earned her wide sympathy and support that enabled her to start her own business in Maleka, a chain of fashion stores for veiled women. A few years later, Galal faced troubles with her business partners, who accused her of embezzlement. She denied all the accusations on social media but then left Egypt before any legal action was taken against her. She is now believed to be living between Qatar and Turkey. In recent years, she has appeared again as the owner of a fashion store and has started to make videos on halal sex. Her style is unprecedented in the way she talks about life and sex. She is veiled, well-dressed, and uses make-up in a proper way, and she talks to a wide range of conservative middle-class young women on YouTube. Her discourse is simple. Romantic life is not only about feelings, she says, but is also at the root of the market for lingerie, make-up, and fashion. She makes a correlation between enjoyable bodily contact between husbands and wives and sexy womens wear. In her videos on social media, she propagates love, passion, and pleasurable sex, while marketing lingerie, body lotions, and perfumes. She aims to convince conservative young Muslim women that their long dreamt of marriage can only endure if they become a subject of pleasure for their husbands. She also advises wives to accept a second marriage for their husbands, if they request it, in order to immunise them against simply sliding into polygamy. Although sex and love are a matter of concern for every woman, Galal has never spoken to non-Muslim women because her project only targets veiled, conservative, middle and upper-class Muslim women. She has also never looked into the concerns of the vast majority of marginalised and poorer husbands and wives across the Arab world who may also want to have a more pleasurable sexual life. Galal is also a model of the social aspects of Political Islam. Based on the experience of the Islamic resurgence that has taken place across the Arab world, Political Islam always focuses on social outreach, because this can generate adherents who apply the ideology in the daily lives. Departing from what we know about how the Islamists think of women, throughout her videos Galal diverts womens attention away from rights-based thinking to a body-focused life. The spillover effects of her approach are significant. Her audience now most probably believe that the basic duty for a woman is to please a man in bed and that sex is not delightful without attractive lingerie, body lotion, candles, and a romantic dinner. I do not want to go further in making an ideological assessment of Galals videos. But for me, their message at best is about increasing womens expectations about the impact of consumption on their sexual lives, while at worse it drives them back to archaic beliefs about women as a source of temptation to men rather than as being equal citizens. In sum, her approach has nothing to do with womens struggle for equality, rights, and freedoms. She puts religion, commerce, and sex into one bottle and then asks husbands and wives to drink its contents to the full. * The writer is a senior researcher at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Climate action has been high on the international communitys agenda for years, as can be seen from the meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COPs) concerned with climate change that have been taking place since 1995. But the fact that the next COP meeting, the 27th, will be held outside of Europe for the first time in Egypt and in the worlds poorest continent, Africa, will add a new and crucial dimension to this action. The COP process, long dominated by Western outlooks, now has the chance to reflect the needs and preferences of African and other developing nations. Egypt and other African countries have long held a clear and publicly stated position on international climate action. This says that while the African nations have contributed the least to greenhouse-gas emissions, which cause global warming, they suffer the most from the damage done to the climate and environment. It also says that the industrialised nations, the US and China above all, are the largest source of harmful emissions and that therefore they have a special obligation to provide the necessary funding for climate mitigation and adaptation efforts in order to enable the developing nations to shift to more environmentally sound technologies and practices and to adapt to the detrimental impacts of climate change in a way that does not detract from their ability to achieve sustainable growth. Things have begun to move more quickly in this direction since the beginning of this year and since Egypt was chosen to host the COP27 Climate Change Conference. Climate change is no longer just an issue that the leaders of the developing nations raise from time to time in UN discussions. It has now become a domestic concern in these nations and one that is being discussed in various public opinion forums. NGOs and community organisations have begun to organise volunteer activities related to environmental conservation and climate protection, including projects to clean up beaches and coastal areas and campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers of the unregulated disposal of plastic waste and old electronic equipment. Following the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, growing attention has also focused on the linkage between climate change and the food crisis suffered by the North African countries in particular and on how the African nations have to find new methods of agriculture adapted to the effects of climate change that will enable them to achieve food security. As environmental awareness grows, the domestic and foreign private sectors in these countries have come to include environmentally friendly components in their activities. Many so-called green companies have emerged in the continent, especially in South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya, to sponsor projects aimed at fostering environmentally conscious behaviour. Egypts assumption of the presidency of the COP27 Climate Conference has also ushered in climate diplomacy in Africa and the Middle East. This is not just the domain of governments, as the private sectors of the countries concerned have also played a major role in, for example, the workshops organised by Egyptian embassies across the continent to formulate unified demands expressing the priorities of the African nations on the implementation of international pledges on climate action. This increasingly active climate diplomacy in Africa could alter the international agenda for climate action in a way that reflects the needs and priorities of the African countries. As these are the countries most adversely affected by climate change, they are particularly determined to ensure that the forthcoming conference leads to effective measures to activate and implement the pledges that were made at the COP26 in Glasgow last year. If the COP27 succeeds in this, it will have given the African nations a more prominent place on the map of international climate action. However, these positive developments coincide with less-heartening ones that could undermine the political significance of the COP27 Conference and what it can achieve. Last week, several US banks that are members of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero threatened to leave the alliance formed at the COP26 meeting, in order to mobilise financing for climate action aimed at reducing harmful emissions to zero by 2050. This could reduce the alliances financial contributions to climate action of critical importance to African and other developing nations. In addition, some voices in the US are now campaigning to void the forthcoming COP27 Conference of its substance, arguing that its success will translate into a success for Egypt and for its political and economic model of which they disapprove. It goes without saying that this is a shortsighted position that turns a blind eye to the fact that the conference is not about Egypt but is about discussing and stimulating action for crucial international climate work. The international community has a golden opportunity at hand to build on the substantial developments in the African and other developing nations outlooks on the question of climate change. As the various activities in preparation for the COP27 Conference indicate, these countries now have hopes of making the agenda for climate action more inclusive of their priorities and more responsive to their needs, enabling them to continue to work towards sustainable development under the conditions of global climate change. * The writer is head of the security research department at the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies and a visiting professor of political science at Cairo University. *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt has a spell or perhaps Egypt is a spell. For its lovers, and for those attempting to decipher the secrets of its immensely rich experience over millennia, Egypts geography and history form meanings that have been unfolding over successive epochs. Inherent in the land, along the flow of the Nile on this spot of earth, in the narrow Valley and its Delta, and on the countrys shore on the Mediterranean, there has grown and flourished a multifaceted idea of what Egypt is in a slow process of unfoldment. For the learned groups of ancient Egypt, the country was a symbolic reflection of the sky on the earth, a sacred land upon which one of the most important phases in the evolution of human understanding of itself and the world around it took place. For some neighbouring cultures, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean, Egypt was the embodiment of wealth and plenty, a symbol of stability and sustenance in a region populated by struggling nomads and entrepreneurial seamen leading precarious lives. For the ancient Greeks, Egypt was a foundational school. It was not a coincidence that several pillars of Hellenic civilisation from Pythagoras to Plato received their formative education in Egypt. Some think that Egypt matured at the height of her ancient civilisation and that it has since trod an often-declining trajectory. Egypt indeed glowed in ancient times, but the meanings that were born thousands of years ago out of the greatness of its civilisation continued to blossom throughout the ages. But this blossoming was often veiled, and it often appeared in works inspired by Egypt but produced in distant lands. It was also not a coincidence that many learned leaders of different countries and throughout different ages chose to put symbols of Egypt on the landmarks of power in the most notable parts of their capitals. These symbols were hardly decorative and were mostly deferential. From Rome to Washington DC, Egyptian symbols have carried and denoted a form of knowledge of immense sophistication in the inner sanctums of power. For Egypt, however, looking within was the countrys normal state of being. Rich and self-contained, its Valley of life, the Valley of the Nile, separated from its neighbours by vast deserts, Egypt was absorbed in itself. Distant countries came to Egypt for trade, knowledge, and support, and on several occasions to raid its riches. At the height of the Hellenistic period and at the beginning of the Roman ascendancy over the Mediterranean, Egypt was a key trading destination for both the Greeks and the Romans. Egyptian centres of knowledge, particularly Thebes in Upper Egypt and later Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast, were leading cities of learning for the entire ancient world. Christianity deepened Egypts look within. The first four centuries CE witnessed immense theological debates about the meaning of Christianity, the nature of Christ, and consequently the essence of religion. Egypt contributed to this foundational period through the intellectual work of its theologians who later became the founding fathers of the Egyptian Church and luminaries of early Christian thought. Egypts contributions, however, transcended narrow theology and extended to wider philosophy. Deep thinkers during this period, including ones whose ideas were formative of different schools of Christianity, whether in the religions mainstream, or in schools of thought that have survived at the margins, borrowed heavily from ancient Egyptian philosophy. This was a continuation of Mediterranean and later Western delving into Egyptian ideas to form new understandings of the divine, humanity, and the interactions between them. The look within ceased with the arrival of Islam in the 7th century CE. This shifted Egypts scope and attention eastwards. For the first time in its history, Egypt began to take inspiration and be on the receiving end of cultural influences from abroad. This led it slowly but steadily to absorb from the culture that had begun to appear and develop within the then expanding Islamic world. Over time, Egypt also began to contribute to this world. But by and large Egypts entry into the Islamic world resulted in influences from without much more than expressions from within. Expressions of Egyptian thought underwent a low period during the long six centuries of Mameluke and then Ottoman rule. During this period, Egypt became simply a province to be exploited and one of less and less importance rather than a seat of power and let alone a commanding presence or inspiring idea. The period witnessed the first time in recorded Egyptian history when leading Egyptian thinkers and artists began to emigrate, often to Turkey, often because of incentives, and often as a result of force. However, the situation changed in the early 19th century. The birth of modern Egypt after the shockingly easy fall of the country to the forces of French general Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 triggered a painful but healthy questioning of the self and of why the defeat had taken place. Egypts new ruler Mohamed Ali put in place a new project to create a strong modern state in Egypt in the first half of the 19th century. This was fates marvelous and compelling response to these painful questions. Gone was the lethargy and in was fresh momentum for rebirth. With the rebirth of a new state in Egypt there quickly emerged questions about the identity of the country, the frames of reference of its society, the role of religion in society, the basis of legitimacy of the new era, and the relationship between the new rulers, the House of Mohamed Ali, and the people of the country, since the Mohamed Ali family had had no prior relationship with the Egyptian people. There were questions about how Egypt was to look within again, as well as about how it would look to the West and to the northern shores of the Mediterranean after many long centuries of looking elsewhere. This series will trace the different answers that thinkers and movements in Egypt have given to such questions over the past 200 years. * The writer is the author of Islamism: A History of Political Islam (2017) and Egypt on the Brink (2010). *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: On 20 September, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres inaugurated the high-level debate in the framework of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. The leaders of nearly 150 countries descended on the Big Apple for their first fully in-person gathering since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. US President Joe Biden addressed the General Assembly on 21 September, and as expected he launched an attack on Russia for its role in going to war against Ukraine. His remarks, as well as those of the other Western leaders who followed him, among them French President Emmanuel Macron and newly elected British Prime Minister Liz Truss turned this years UN General Assembly into something akin to a battle cry against Moscow. To the credit of the French president, he stressed that his country though he used the word we it was not clear whether he was speaking about the West, the European Union, or NATO was not at war against Russia even as he affirmed that assisting Ukraine in protecting its territory would continue. On his way back to Paris on 22 September, Macron told a pool of French reporters travelling with him that he was looking forward to the de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine through dialogue and that he would not be making any remarks that could be interpreted as an escalation in this regard. He expressed the hope that the Russians and Ukrainians would return to the negotiating table when the latter were in a position to do so, and he proposed working towards what he termed a collective dialogue to achieve peace. Shortly before the start of the high-level UN debate, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilisation of 300,000 soldiers in addition to the holding of referendums in four provinces of Ukraine Luhansk and Donetsk, both separatist republics, and Kherson and Zaporijjia from 21 to 27 September. Most observers expect a yes vote in these referendums, after which these provinces will be annexed to Russia. Undoubtedly, the two Russian decisions, accompanied by an implicit hint that Russia will not hesitate to use all its weapons systems, conventional and otherwise, to defend itself if its territorial integrity is threatened, have alarmingly raised the stakes in Ukraine and those between Moscow and Washington and other Western capitals with the exception of Budapest. The 77th Session of the UN General Assembly thus turned into a battleground of words and declarations instead of a forum on how to ensure international peace and security. However, as Guterres emphasised in his inaugural remarks last Tuesday, multilateralism, as embodied by the UN and its Charter, provides a divided and polarised world with the only promising way forward and the only way of dealing with the existential questions confronting the international community in these challenging times. These include questions of peace and security and the war in Ukraine and other no less grave crises like climate change, food security, and the Covid-19 pandemic or future pandemics. Guterres made a point of reminding leaders around the world that while the international community is fixated on the destabilising situation in Ukraine, and the terrifying prospects that the world could witness as a result of miscalculation, desperation, or the absence of statesmanship in the resort to nuclear weapons, whether these are tactical or strategic, there were also other crises around the globe that are a threat to regional and international peace and security. He called for a world coalition to tackle three challenges, namely the maintenance of international peace, the creation of mechanisms for a dialogue that can contribute to the de-escalation of present tensions, and the prioritisation of conflict prevention. He rightly stressed that the climate crisis is the defining issue of our time and that dealing with it should be the first priority of all governments around the world as well as of multilateral organisations. The overriding question now is whether a politicised world can still work through multilateral organisations to find solutions to the various crises of an ailing international system. *The writer is former assistant foreign minister. *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: For the past few decades it was the talk of the town the principal talk of every town around the globe. Now there is hardly a peep about global warming. Could it be that we no longer regard it as an urgent threat that sometime later in this century or the next our planet will be a bit warmer? In fact, that is all that has been left of the global warming emergency that the UN declared in its first report on the subject in 1990. Global warming has been conveniently renamed climate change, after all, whats in a name? They both mean the same thing, the increase in Earths surface temperature due to the use of greenhouse gases. Not only does it sound better, more serious, more heavyweight, climate change is a long-term, future change in the climate, which includes global warming. It matters little, the result is the same. Bad humans are ruining our dear planet and we have to stop it. The fact is, nobody cares. After three years of Covid-19, followed by a severe economic crisis, a war between Russia and Ukraine, and a shortage of fuel for the upcoming cold winter, our plates are lavishly overloaded and global warming is a distant noise that is hard to hear. Yet the US Congress is set on their green deal, a bold plan to eliminate carbon emissions. That is impossible. What is possible is that it can eliminate our present lifestyle. With food, fuel, and commodity prices going through the roof, it has already started. The Keystone pipeline under construction was shut down as soon as Joe Biden took office. It was to transport fuel from Alberta, Canada, to the US. At present, the US as well as Europe have a shortage of fuel and the US president had to go and beg the presidents of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, despite unfriendly terms, to increase oil production. Will that not affect global warming? Does it make any difference to Earth who or where oil is explored and extracted? Ah, the pity of it. Millions of jobs lost, businesses folded, restaurants closed and a mammoth recession looming ahead. Worse still are the billions of dollars spent daily by the US to defend Ukraine from the Russian invasion. Anyone ready to bet that Russia will lose this war? War is the talk of the town. Disregarding coronavirus, JLO and Ben Affleck, the funeral procession of the beloved queen Elisabeth II, the whining of Meghan Markle, and the future of the British Empire, war is always bad news. So is the United Nations. It was the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UNIPCC) that loudly warned the world of the ominous global warming. The temperature will rise from 0.1 to 0.5 degrees Celsius in 30 years. Woe is me. Yet, without fanfare, it later downgraded it to 0.3 degrees Celsius, but the harm was done and the trust was gone. Sceptics came out of the woodworks disclaiming the UNIPCC findings and the danger of fossil fuels. Following a long period of panic, cries were heard that there was no solid evidence of global warming, or climate change, if you like. Judith Curry, head of the Climate Science Department at Georgia Institute of Technology, admits that Climate Change is very, very complicated. Burning fossil fuels are a minor factor compared to others, such as ocean temperatures, soot, clouds, and solar radiation. Im also sceptical about our ability to do something about it. A sorry history of bio-fuels, which was supposed to green up the earth by substituting for fossil fuels, caused deforestation. Extravagant subsidies are being paid by consumers for uneconomic solar, wind, and even carrot power sources. Enthusiasts say the risk is so great that we need to act now, because doing something is better than doing nothing. No, it is not. Our primary source of energy is oil, gas, and coal. The worlds energy consumption is 84.3 per cent fossil fuels. Serious scientists had serious questions. Even Kevin Trenberth, lead climatologist for IPCCC, expressed his concerns in his 2009 book Climategate. The fact is we cannot account for the level of warming at the moment. An admission from an honest scientist and they are becoming fewer by the second. Scientists observe and report accurately; they pass no judgement except for climatologists. The issue has become politicised and that is a dangerous threshold. Why should a political body like the IPCCC tell scientists what to do and when did scientists belief translate into proof? It was one Albert Arnold Gore who rang a bell that was heard around the world. While a student at Harvard in 1970, he attended a lecture by an outstanding oceanographer, Roger Revelle in which he considered the possibility that human causes might effect climate change, but did not express any particular concern about possible negative impact of global warming. Al Gore did. He flew with the idea, enforced it globally as a senator and a vice president. Two decades later, in 1990, Robert Revelle presented a paper on ocean farming to lower CO2 from the atmosphere to the ocean. Gore had become godlike. He went from $1.7 million as VP to $330 million as author, filmmaker, Nobel Laureate, divorcee, above all questioning his mentors mental capacity. One fact all scientists acknowledge: now, not centuries from now, we cannot live without fossil fuels, confound global warming. Unfortunately, the global warming hysteria as I see it is driven by politics, not science. Freeman Dyson (1923-2020) *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Press Release September 27, 2022 Co-sponsorship Speech (PSR 233, 238, 239, 240 - Bulacan Rescue Team) September 27, 2022 Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, it is my profound honor to stand as co-sponsor of Senate Resolution Numbers 233, 238, 239, and 240, honoring the life of service of Bulacan Rescue Team Members, namely George E. Agustin, Troy Justin P. Agustin, Marby A. Bartolome, Jerson L. Resurreccion, and Narciso Calayag, Jr., expressing the profound sympathy and sincere condolences of the Senate on their unfortunate passing. Today, I am sure that the sponsorship and co-sponsorship speeches of my colleagues will not be remiss in relating to this body the story of Typhoon Karding. Every painful detail will perhaps be shared with all of us. How, in a matter of 24 hours, it managed to intensify into a Severe Tropical Storm. How, in the following morning, it reached the Super Typhoon Category. And indeed, with the damage that Karding has done to both life and property, no one could deny its strength. No one could deny its power. And yet, Mr. President, neither could we ever deny the strength and power of the Filipino. While Karding was busy destroying whatever blocked its way, Filipinos all over the affected areas were busy, too - helping each other, responding to those who might need rescue. Through it all, the Filipino spirit of selflessness also intensified rapidly, from mere individuals, to households and families, to communities, and the entire country. This is exactly why the example of George Agustin, Troy Justin Agustin, Marby Bartolome, Jerson Resurreccion, and Narciso Calayag Jr. is worth admiring and emulating. Sa panahong may malakas na bagyo, pinili ng limang ito na harapin ang nasabing bagyo, dala ang lakas ng kanilang loob, at tibay ng kanilang pagmamahal sa kapwa. Sa labanang ito, iniisip marahil ng iba na si Karding ang nagwagi. I daresay, however, Mr. President, that while Karding may have won the battle, it was these five members of the Bulacan Rescue Team, the PDRRMC, who won the war. Dahil ang sinumang lumalaban sa ngalan ng kanilang kapwa ay hinding hindi matatalo, Mr. President. I take this chance to express my condolences and sympathy towards the bereaved families of these noble men. At the same time, we know that condolences and sympathies are hardly enough. The Bulacan Rescue Team must be flooded with high praises. As fellow Filipinos, we must face, with a stubborn refusal, the tendency to forget them. We refuse to let their memories be washed away from our minds and hearts. The memory of who they were and of this noble, final act, must live on. Imbes na si Karding lamang ang ating maaalala, nawa'y mas maaalala natin ang kabayanihan nina George, Troy, Marby, Jerson, at Narciso Jr. Thank you, Mr. President. Related The looters and the museum As I was sitting in front of the Egyptian Museum in a simple chair, the phone of one of the young men around me rang. It was his mother, and he told her what had happened and how he had protected the museum. He handed me his phone, asking me to tell his mother that he was a really brave man. I did as he asked and told her that I was very proud of her son. I said that he protected his heritage. Any mother should be proud of such a thing. Another youth told me a story to show how stupid the museum looters really were. He said that the looters had entered the museum shop and were busy stealing the replica silver and gold pieces, but the funny thing was that they never looked at the books, even though some of these were more expensive than the gold pieces they made off with. But their ignorance made them not even touch the books. The other funny thing was that some of them had seen a fire department vehicle parked in front of the museums northern gate. Some people, ignorant about how to drive this kind of vehicle, were able to move it anyway. The youths said that they did not understood why the thieves had taken this vehicle away. Some believed that they didnt want anyone to use it to help put out the fire at the National Democratic Party building. But the looters didnt only loot the museum shop. Some got into the museum cafe beside it and raided the kitchen. They broke open the refrigerator and stole meat, chicken, hamburgers, and everything else they could grab, even salt, ketchup, knives, and forks. As the thieves left the museum, the young people searched them. When they found they had no antiquities, only stuff from the kitchen, they let them go. However, the youths guarding the museum did not know that another group of criminals had entered the museum itself and tried to break open the padlocks. But the buildings century-old doors were made so that virtually no one could open them by force. Even so, the museums luck ran out during the night, because the rear wall of the museum has an iron ladder against it leading up to the roof. This ladder had been there for a very long time, and the section that reached the ground had earlier been taken out for security reasons. But it had recently been restored to be used by workmen and engineers working to improve the roof and ceiling in order to protect the museum from rain and wind. A security guard was stationed near the ladder after hours. But nobody had believed that the Egyptian Museum would be looted and that this ladder would be the way in. I told army commando Major Hatem that I needed to meet the criminals face to face. He told me that they had 11 of them tied up outside and one still inside the museum. I left my chair and went to see the first 10. They were sitting on the ground, each looking ugly and stupid. None seemed to have had any education. I approached them and asked, why did you enter the museum? I got no answer except stupid looks. How many people entered the museum? No answer at all. They stared at me, and I could not see any sign that they felt any guilt. They did not understand that this museum held the evidence of their great history. When I realised that talking to them was useless, I walked off and then saw two skulls that had been in the hands of these ignorant thugs. A great fear seized me. Had these men entered the Mummy Rooms of the museum or damaged the three mummies that we had determined to belong to the family of king Tutankhamun? Using DNA and CT scans, we had identified one of these mummies as being that of Akhenaten and discovered that he had been Tutankhamuns father. Another mummy was that of queen Tie, Tutankhamuns grandmother, and the third was of an unknown woman who was his mother. Because there was no room to exhibit these important mummies inside the Second Mummy Room, I had decided that they should be displayed outside it. But after a moment of fear, I began to look at the skulls more carefully. None of these could belong to Tutankhamuns family. But still some doubt lingered. Other artefacts were kept in the office of the chief of the museums security department. Three of his staff, who did not wear uniform, had not left the museum. I found that they had retained many Late Period artefacts and a gilded statue of Isis. Then I entered the bookstore. As the young men had told me outside, the books were fine. It was the areas housing the gold and the replicas that had been disturbed. The youths had even brought back some gold jewellery that had been stolen from the museum shop. Tourists today exit the museum through the shop door. As I left it, I saw one of the strangest scenes that I will ever see in my life. A man was handcuffed to the door, another ugly man wearing a galabiya. Scars covered his face, and his eyes were almost closed. He had been inside the museum when he had seen a police officer in civilian clothes outside the museum. The thief was crying and asking for water. The officer came with his handcuffs and fastened him to the iron door handle. I asked the thief if he had any antiquities and how many other people were there. He only cried and said, I did not do anything. But he was lying. We didnt learn how any people had actually entered the museum and how many objects were stolen. But Museum Director Tarek Al-Awadi and the army commandos had made all the necessary arrangements to enter the museum on 29 January to determine if the masterpieces were still there and report the situation to me. The keys to the padlocks had been stolen, so they had to break open some of the doors, including the main museum door. Al-Awadi called me to say that they had found about 13 showcases on the second floor that had been opened and all the artefacts thrown on the floor. A case that contained a beautiful coffin that dated to the 19th Dynasty was also broken. I asked Al-Awadi about the Mask Room, which contains all Tutankhamuns jewellery, most of the objects found inside and outside the mummy, and the young kings two spectacular golden coffins. I also asked about the rooms of Middle Kingdom jewellery and the gold collection from Tanis. Al-Awadi and the curators said that the museum was safe. Feeling relieved, I went to speak to the foreign and Egyptian media in order to convince them, too, that the Egyptian Museum was safe. THE MUSEUM IS SAFE The media began asking for interviews CNN, the BBC, Good Morning America, the Today Show, and many other programmes from US, European, and Japanese TV. What had happened in Egypt had affected these other countries, too. The one million foreign tourists who were in Egypt during the revolution had left safely. The Egyptians in the tourist industry had done their part in order to be sure that no foreigner was hurt. The tourist hotels had been spared from destruction. And so had the masterpieces of the museum. When I looked at the security monitor and saw that all the masterpieces were where they should be, just as Al-Awadi had said, it was a great relief. Now I had to speak to the media. I will tell you what I said and why. I announced that the masterpieces were there, safe in the museum. The Egyptian Museum was safe, and that meant that Egypt was also safe. I also said that I was appointing a committee to inventory the museum to see what was missing. With the vast number of objects on display, this would take time. We could not announce that the museum had been robbed without knowing what artefacts had been stolen. It would have been irresponsible. This is why I did not announce the thefts. But there was also another reason. If I had said that the museum had been robbed, the revolution would have been held responsible and the world might not have supported the young people behind it. The world at large cares more about the museum and its treasures than it does about the revolution and Egyptian democracy. While it is true that the effects of the revolution allowed the looting, the youths who made the revolution also protected the museum, which contains artefacts that record the history of the Pharaohs and thus the history of the world. It was the young people who put their bodies together to stand in front of the south side of the museum. It was a message to the world that they would put their lives on the line to save the history of Egypt. If the police abandon any city in the world for a few hours, gangs will likely emerge to rob and pillage. This is true anywhere in the world. Moreover, there are always people waiting in the shadows to catch mistakes. They are people who do not like to see the success of others and who pounce on any error they think they see. One of them was an archaeologist who had served as secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). He began claiming that the museum had been robbed of thousands of artefacts. He claimed that I had lied when I had said that the museum was safe. But I have told the true story, and I leave it to the reader to judge. The night of 2 February was another remarkable one for me. It saw another thing that nobody would ever imagine happening, even in a film. Nobody would even have gone to see such a film because it was too much to believe. It would have seemed no more real than people who predict the future. Cairo was still under curfew, and I was sitting at home watching events on TV. Everything looked normal in Tahrir Square. The demonstrators were sitting in their spots. They had all sworn that they would not leave the Square until their demands were met. Then before the sun set, and from beyond the Square, horses and camels appeared. They transformed modern Tahrir Square into a scene from a mediaeval battle, like something out of the Arabian Desert, when horses were the heroes of war. It was as if the television had begun to show an epic film, but this was not a film. It was not an event from the historical past. Before our very eyes, the Revolution had turned a dangerous corner and entered the kind of scene that could not bring anything good to Egypt. DEFENCE The youths began to defend themselves against the mounted attackers in the square who were beating them with sticks. They threw stones at them, but before midnight the battle took on another face. We watched in horror as the youths endured showers of Molotov cocktails. Bottles rained down from the tops of the buildings on Tahrir Square at Mariette Pasha Street near the museum. Petrol-fueled flames spread across the street as the bottles burst. A TV station planted its cameras on the balcony of a hotel on the north side of the museum and broadcast what it called the burning of the museum. It claimed that the smoke was rising from inside the museum. The news crawl of many TV stations began to read that the Egyptian Museum was burning. My home phone was ringing everyone was trying to contact me to ask me to save the museum. There was one lady in particular who was crying, saying please in the name of God, I ask you to save the museum. The museum is burning, our heritage is finished. Do something. How will we face the world when they ask us why we did not save our heritage? She asked me to turn on the TV and see with my own eyes the burning of the museum. It did indeed look as if smoke was rising from the museum in the TV pictures. I had also heard an official at the SCA, though one with a reputation for dishonesty, screaming that the museum was finished. I was able to convince the lady that I would call her back in two minutes after I had found out the truth. I was trembling as I called the head of the control room at the museum. Is it true that the museum is burning, I asked. Sir, this is not true, he said. We have cameras monitoring everything inside and outside the museum. I can tell you that the smoke is from a car burning outside the museum. It cannot affect the museum. I called the lady back and told her that the news story was wrong. The museum was safe. Believe me, I said. Then call the Al-Arabiya TV channel and tell them the news is not true, she replied. But when I began to call the TV stations, another call came to me. This time it was Mahmoud Mabrouk, who works on the interior design of many museums. He said that from the bridge on the northern side of the museum he could see the museum burning. Mahmoud, listen to me please, I said, explaining about the museums security cameras. I insisted that the smoke was coming from a car on the street. The smoke might get into the museum, but the museum itself was not on fire. Finally, I called the TV station. I was very firm, saying please, all of you listen to me. The museum is safe, and any archaeologist who says otherwise is a liar. I explained the truth that the museum was safe and was not burning. Afterwards, people forgot about the car and the fire but remembered what I had said that the Egyptian Museum is safe, and the youths saved the museum. The fire was a secondary thing compared to the Battle of the Camel when more than 900 people died. The attorney-general investigated the incident and determined that many of the people involved in the Battle of the Camel had been members of the former ruling National Democratic Party. There were no tourists at the Pyramids, so they had found another job. These men were sent to jail. A curious thing happened during the investigation. When the horse and camel riders arrived at Tahrir Square, they began attacking and killing the young people of the revolution, as they clearly had been hired to do. But they later claimed that they had come to Tahrir Square to make a demonstration against me. The SCA today receives many complaints about some of the owners of the horses and camels who work at Giza, one of the worlds most important archaeological sites. They abuse their jobs and concern themselves only with making money. They used to spread out all over the Plateau whenever they pleased. There was no control, and some unfairly stole business from their competitors. Not only that, but they also damaged tombs on the plateau in what I call site pollution. I worked to change all this. In the project I undertook, all tourists enter the Giza Plateau from the Fayoum Road. In further plans, south of the first pyramid, a parking lot would be prepared for cars. There would be a visitor centre to teach visitors about the site they were about to visit with films and other media. An electric car would then bring them to the second pyramid, and here they would be able to walk and enjoy. If any tourist wanted to ride a camel or a horse, they would be able to hire one from the new stables near the parking lot. The Pyramids would still be looking their best against their scenic backdrop. In this more organised way, everyone would have fair work and could be supervised by the tourist police. If a tourist had a complaint against one of the horse-owners, site security would know about it and could take appropriate action against the offender. This is what had made the riders of the horses and camels so unhappy that they had come to Tahrir Square. Or thats what they said, as if that could cover up the fact that they had killed all those people. I am glad that they were later proved guilty and punished by the law. *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: More and more Egyptian women are joining the labour market according to statistics, but are there enough to bring about equality? Egypts Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) issued its quarterly report last month about the work force in Egypt. According to the report, Egypt now has some 20,475 million salaried employees (17,520 million men and 2,955 million women), representing 73.6 per cent of the total and up from 72.4 per cent in the previous quarter. This means women now represent 15 per cent of salaried employees, compared to 14.5 per cent in the same quarter of last year. Government initiatives to help find more jobs for women include the Tahya Misr (Long Live Egypt) Fund, the Mastoura (Shelter) programme that aims at empowering women through providing them with equipment to start their own projects, the Adaha wa Edoud (You Are Up To It), an initiative from the National Council for Womens Skills Development that trains women in traditional handicrafts and helps them to market their products, and Al-Sayedat Yamdeyan Kedaman (Women Get Ahead), which works in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and helps women, especially women in Upper Egypt, to start their own projects. There is also Al-Mashghal (Sewing Factory), which aims to train women in sewing and provide job opportunities in handicrafts, cooking, and chocolate making. However, despite these initiatives and the rising figures, equality with men may be some way away. There are a lot of variables to consider, like do these women have decent salaries. According to the last CAPMAS statistics, women are still underpaid compared to men, commented Doaa Ahmed, a Cairo employee who has been working in the private sector for more than 10 years. Another question to ask is are women really empowered. There is still a low ceiling for them when it comes to getting top jobs in some companies. The question is are these numbers increasing because they represent more people taking lower salaries? Empowerment should be translated into a good salary and a good position for working women. According to statistics issued by the Egyptian Centre for Public Opinion Research (Baseera) an independent NGO working on evidence-based research, 44 per cent of working women who graduated in the years 2016 to 2018 are paid salaries of less than LE2,000, compared to only 23 per cent of similar men. Some 67 per cent of men and 75 per cent of women who graduated in the same year also think they are not paid enough. The unemployment rate is three times higher for women in the same sample of the population. I think there is equality between men and women, but it depends on how hard a man or woman works, commented Sayeda Ali, a factory worker in Cairo. For example, women are now given the holidays that men are given, which did not happen in the past, she said, adding that women are also more ready to take all available jobs in the labour market. I think that because men can work more hours than women and they are physically stronger they get more wages than women, Ali said. Women have equal rights in the workplace today. For instance, there are women who have the position of general manager in the ministry of education where I work, said Hala Mohamed, a teacher. Women are also given their financial rights. They can choose the job they want to do, just like men do. I think they do not need to struggle anymore, she said. However, Habiba Hussein, a womens rights campaigner, disagrees. While the increasing number of women in the labour market is a blessing, there are still some forms of discrimination against women, like the fact that they are often unable to work in the fields they want. There are jobs for men, or mens jobs, and then there are jobs for women, or girls jobs. The latter are in fields like sales, communications, and front-desk jobs for which employees sometimes require unrealistic qualifications. There is also discrimination in choosing female employees, as veiled women rarely get such jobs. Some companies or factories refuse to hire women and prefer to hire men instead even though women may also specialise in fields like mechanical engineering just like men, she said. Some factory owners think women will not understand the work like men do. But there is no such thing as a female job or a male job. They are all just jobs. These concepts should change, Hussein said. Hussein has worked on campaigns calling for equality between men and women, such as one she did last year with the aim of putting an end to toxic masculinity through her initiative Ragel Sah (A Real Man). This promoted the concepts and values a real man should have, not the ones that are still sometimes prevalent in Egyptian society that are also unjust to women. While there is some way to go on womens employment and other matters, there is hope for female entrepreneurs, Hussein said. If we look on the bright side, we find that there are many women who have their own successful private businesses, especially on Facebook, she said. The I make this group boasts a majority of female entrepreneurs who advertise their products. There are also many institutions that support womens businesses as well as government organisations that help to fund them. EMPLOY ME Shaghalni (Employ Me) is an Egyptian online platform that helps job-seekers, whether men or women, find jobs. It links blue and white-collar job-seekers to available job opportunities. There has been a noticeable increase in the participation of women in the work market due to the increasing prices and the fact that women see that it is alright for them today to help their husbands, especially as there are millions of families supported by female breadwinners, commented Omar Khalifa, founder and CEO of Shaghalni. Even so, many female employees can have problems in the workplace, he said. There are two main problems a woman may face when applying for a job. If she is applying for the same job as a male counterpart, the job will be given to the man even if she has the same academic and practical qualifications. A human resources manager will not have to give a man maternity leave for three to six months like he would a woman. Secondly, there are some companies that require night shifts that are usually not suitable for women, but that would be alright for a man. Many companies think a man would be more suitable for such jobs. Khalifa said Shaghalni was designed to help promote womens economic and social empowerment and that there should be other steps to provide more job opportunities for women. There needs to be more awareness of the importance of womens work, he said. Last year, Shaghalni organised a job fair for women only, the first of its kind in Egypt. The event was organised in Cairo in cooperation with a large number of prominent companies and public institutions. Job opportunities in various fields were available, including medicine, pharmaceuticals, sales, marketing, tourism, hotels, engineering and accounting. Around 3,000 women showed up at the fair, where approximately 1,500 jobs were on offer, whether full-time, part-time, or remote, and suiting women regardless of marital status, Khalifa said. There were also jobs featured in the fair that might have appeared to be more male-oriented like truck-drivers. Shaghalni also supports employment initiatives for marginalised groups, and it previously cooperated with the ministry of social solidarity and the Helm Foundation, a NGO, to set up the Azm Forum for Inclusive Employment that aims to provide job opportunities for people with special needs. It has cooperated with the Misr Al-Kheir Foundation, a charity, to found the Al-Gharemeen (loan) programme that helps people back into the labour market. We now have an electronic employment booth at Shaghalni that women can use to apply for jobs in two minutes after we have updated it. We are trying to be inclusive, and we not only intend to provide women with jobs because they dont have as many opportunities as men at the moment, but also men and people with special needs, he concluded. *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: American University in Cairo AUC New Cairo Moataz Al Alfi Hall and Livestream Thurs 29, 2-4pm: The Road to COP27: Shifting Behaviors to Address Climate Change in Egypt, join this session of the Global Evidence for Egypt Spotlight seminar series. The session will focus on how evidence from global, randomized evaluations can inform efforts to tackle climate change in Egypt. The event will be hosted both virtually and physically on campus. The panel discussion will foster a conversation between Egypts climate priorities and the relevant, rigorous global evidence, ultimately providing insights into how we can incorporate evidence-based solutions in combating climate change to ensure that climate financing and resources are effectively allocated in the Egyptian context. Speakers: H.E. Minister Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change high-level champion for Egypt and executive director at the International Monetary Fund, Kyle Emerick, J-PAL affiliate and associate professor of economics at Tufts University, AUC President Ahmad Dallal, with Jeremy Hopkins, UNICEF representative in Egypt, Ayman Hegazy, chairman and chief executive officer, Allianz Egypt, and Alison Fahey, executive director, J-PAL MENA at AUC. It will be moderated by Luigi Peter Ragno, social policy chief at UNICEF Egypt. Mon 3 Oct, 7-8pm: The John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy, Civic Engagement and Responsible Business launched its webinar series The Aftermath of the COVID 19: The New Social Impact Ecosystem to discuss concepts that are currently not mainstream and may (or perhaps should) become mainstream in the aftermath of the COVID 19. The session will feature Campbell R. Harvey, professor of finance at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The link is https://e.cglink.me/2kZ/r300074197 Tues 4, 1-2.30pm (GMT+2) (Online Event): Emotional Eating, Do you find comfort in food? Do you find yourself eating more when youre stressed, sad, or even angry? Do you usually feel guilty afterward? If you do, join the webinar on emotional eating to learn how to break the cycle by understanding why you seek food as a coping mechanism and learning how to better cope with negative emotions. The link is https://e.cglink.me/2kZ/r300076639 Amir Taz Palace 27 Al-Syoufiya St, off Al-Saliba St, Al-Khalifa District, Tel 02 2514 2581 Every Saturday and Tuesday, 1pm: Enshad Dini (religious chanting) workshop by Munshid Mahmoud Al-Tohamy. Every Sunday and Thursday, 4pm: The singing workshop of Amir Taz Palace Choir. Beit Al-Harrawi (The Arab Oud House) Mohamed Abdu St, behind Al-Azhar Mosque, Tel 02 2510 4174 Every Saturday, 3pm: Teaching music theories to students applying to professor Marwa Abdel-Moneim. Teaching reading musical notes for beginners, by Professor Elham El-Hajj, 4pm. Saturday and Wednesday of every week, 4pm - 8pm: Teaching the sections of the Arab Oud House (the oud, and the mandolin). The Child Creativity Centre (Beit Al-Aini) Al-Azhar district, behind Al-Azhar Mosque, Tel 02 2514 2990 Every Saturday, 10am: Chess tournament for kids with Hoda Salah. A workshop for the childrens choir of Beit Al-Aini, supervised by Iman Suleiman, 11am. Yalla Music workshop for teaching musical instruments by Hebat Allah Bahaa, 1.30pm. Workshops for auditions and theatrical acting supervised by Mohamed Ezzat, 4.30pm. Sunday of every week, 12pm: Art and etiquette workshop by Rahma Mohsen. Every Monday, 10am: Glove puppets making workshop by artist Rahma Mahgoub. Wednesday of every week, 2pm: Decorations, visual art workshops. Diwan Bookstore 159, 26th of July St, Zamalek, Tel 01222 40 7084 Sat 1 Oct, 6pm: Novelist Reem Bassiouny will sign her new book Alhalawany Trilogy of the Fatimids. Talaat Harb Cultural Centre Al-Sayyeda Nafissa St, Zeinhom area, Tel 02 2362 2647/ 2362 8174 Every Monday, 1pm: Art workshop, teaching drawing supervised by Rahma Mohsen. Every Saturday, 12pm: Artistic skills development workshop with Sarah El-Guindy. Embroidery art workshop with Amany Reda, 2pm. Every Sunday, 12pm: Wax making workshop with professor Dalia El-Sherbiny. Every Wednesday, 2pm: Arabic calligraphy workshop with Mohamed Fawzy. Every Friday, 2pm: Doll making workshop with Rahma Mahgoub. Saturday and Wednesday of every week: a workshop (integration) for Talaat Harb choir team and people with special abilities, 1pm. Every Thursday, 1pm: Reading and narration workshop. Every Saturday, 12pm: Artistic workshops and skills development for people with special abilities, supervised by professor Dalia El-Sherbiny. Every Sunday, 8pm: Information and Question an online workshop and Book of Delivery, a book summary on the centers Facebook and WhatsApp pages. ALEXANDRIA Bibliotheca Alexandrina Chatby, Alexandria 21526, Tel (03) 4839999 Main Hall Thurs 29, 8pm: Poetry recital by Hisham Elgakh. *A version of this article appears in print in the 29 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: According to the Egyptian Armed Forces, the evacuation of Somali army recruits who were wounded in a terrorist attack Sunday came following following the directives of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi The Medical Services Department immediately elevated readiness condition in the Armed Forces hospitals, to which the injured were transferred through a number of medically equipped ambulances and provided them with all aspects of medical care, the Egyptian Armed Forces said. This comes as an affirmation of the strength of the historical ties that unite Egypt and Somalia and rising from Egypt's leading role towards the countries of the African continent in various circumstances and providing them with full support and solidarity, the Egyptian Armed Forces added. On Sunday, at least 15 people were killed, and others were injured in a suicide attack by the Somali Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab targetting a group of new recruits who were enrolling at the Nacnac military base in the Somali capital Mogadishu. Six workers were missing and another injured after the facade of a high-rise apartment building under construction collapsed in Gwangju on Tuesday. Around 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, Gwangju fire services received an emergency call of the accident at the construction site of a Hyundai I-Park apartment complex. A worker in his 20s was injured and taken to a nearby hospital. Two, who were in a makeshift container office on the ground, were rescued and three others took shelter on their own. About a dozen vehicles parked nearby were damaged by falling masonry. Residents in some 100 houses nearby were evacuated immediately for fear of the a tower crane falling on them and further collapse of the building. A fire officer said, "Six of the 394 workers from a total of 22 subcontractors are still unaccounted for." The accident was attributed to the frame and formwork failing to withstand the weight of the tower crane in strong winds before the concrete had fully set in the freezing weather, according to police. That puts the future of Daewoo Shipbuilding, which has been managed by main creditor Korea Development Bank, on the line again after the EU antitrust watchdog cited concerns that the merger could threaten competition in the global market for large liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. The EU has blocked a mega-merger between Korean shipbuilders Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering. Hyundai Heavy had been seeking to absorb Daewoo Shipbuilding for the past three years. Hyundai Heavy needs approval from all the countries where it operates, and even one veto could jeopardize the deal. China and Korea have already given the go-ahead since Hyundai Heavy signed a contract with KDB back in 2019 to acquire and absorb Daewoo Shipbuilding. The two Korean shipbuilders would account for a 60-percent share of the global market for LNG carriers. If Hyundai Heavy and Daewoo Shipbuiling jack up LNG vessel prices, the EU fears shipping companies like Maersk of Denmark and CMA CGM of France could suffer damage. Among six countries Hyundai Heavy sought approval from, China, Singapore and Kazakhstan have given their unconditional approval. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Daewoo must find a new owner and pledged to come up with a new plan to strengthen the shipbuilder's competitiveness. Amini's family allege she was beaten in the police van after her arrest, suffering several blows to the head. Police reject the allegations, saying Amini died after being taken to a hospital because she had suffered a heart attack. Iran's state television says 41 people have been killed during protests. Demonstrations first erupted Sept. 17, at the funeral of Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died a day earlier while in detention of police enforcing the Islamic Republic's strict restrictions on women's dress. She was arrested Sept. 13 for allegedly breaking Iran's strict hijab rules. Other protests, being held in solidarity with Iranian women, have taken place around the globe, in such cities as Athens, Berlin, Brussels, Istanbul, Madrid, New York and Paris, among others. Iranians took to the streets for a ninth consecutive night Sunday to protest the death earlier this month of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Tehran's morality police. Iran Late Sunday, Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) was circulating images showing protesters on the streets of Tehran, shouting "death to the dictator," purportedly after nightfall Sunday, according to Agence France-Presse. IHR said Iran's rolling internet blackouts were making it difficult to verify fatalities and protests, AFP reported. Witnesses told AFP that protests were ongoing in several locations. Video footage showed demonstrations in Tabriz and Shiraz, among other places, with women removing their headscarves and protesters shouting against the authorities. IHR also reported Sunday, according to AFP, that an umbrella of the main Iranian teachers unions were calling for teachers and students to stage the first national strike since the unrest began, boycotting classes Monday and Wednesday in support of the protests. Pro-government rallies were also held Sunday in several cities across Iran, with the main event taking place in Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran, where demonstrators voiced support for mandatory hijab laws, AFP reported. The semi-official Fars news agency reported Sunday that a member of the Basij, a volunteer force with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was killed by protesters late Saturday in Tehran. While the state-run IRNA news agency said another Basij member, who had been in a coma since Thursday after street clashes, died in Urmia, West Azerbaijan province Sunday. Greece A Molotov cocktail bomb was thrown against the Iranian embassy in Athens, Greek police said Sunday. Police said there was no damage caused, the Athens News Agency reported. A day earlier, about 200 people gathered at Syntagma Square in downtown Athens to denounce Iran's crackdown on protests, AFP reported. England In London on Sunday, violent street demonstrations erupted outside the Iranian embassy. Protesters, trying to break through barriers protecting Iran's U.K. embassy, threw rocks at police, authorities said, according to The Associated Press. Five protesters were arrested, police said. France Police in Paris used tear gas and employed anti-riot tactics Sunday to prevent hundreds of people from marching on Tehran's embassy, AFP reporters and eyewitnesses said. About 4,000 protesters had gathered for a second day in Paris to protest the death of Amini. The demonstration began peacefully at Trocadero Square in the center of the capital, Paris. Some demonstrators chanted "Death to the Islamic Republic" and slogans against the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. One woman in the crowd also held up a sign reading in French, "I am Mahsa Amini." However, as protesters neared the Iranian embassy, police in full anti-riot armor, backed by a line of vans, blocked their path. Police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters. At least seven people died and one was injured when a fire broke out in the underground parking lot of shopping mall in Daejeon before it opened on Monday morning. According to emergency services in the central city, the fire erupted in the basement of the Hyundai Premium Outlet at around 7:45 a.m. and it took firefighters until around 3 p.m. to put it out. Three mall workers were rescued from the parking lot, but two died and one is in intensive care. Rescue workers later discovered five more bodies. Investigators believe the conflagration started in the underground loading area. "When we checked CCTV footage, we saw dark smoke and sparks erupt near a one-ton truck after a man unloaded cargo from it," a police officer said. Debt-ridden Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering will be sold to Hanwha Group for W2 trillion (US$1=W1,431). State-run Korea Development Bank, DSME's main creditor, said Monday that Hanwha has been chosen as the preferred bidder for the shipbuilder. DSME entered a debt-restructuring program in 1999 after the spectacular implosion of parent Daewoo Group during the Asian financial crisis. KDB became DSME's biggest shareholder when its loans were converted into equity in 2000. Earlier, Hanwha failed in an attempt to acquire DSME for around W6 trillion back in 2009. Under the new deal, Hanwha will participate in a W2 trillion capital increase of DSME to acquire a 49.3 percent stake, while KDB's 55.7 percent stake will fall to 28.2 percent. North Korea has squandered somewhere between US$1.1 and $1.6 billion developing nuclear weapons over the past 50 years, according to recent calculations. It will likely cost the regime another $160 million to conduct another nuclear test. According to data from the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, the North has spent up to $1.6 billion developing nuclear weapons, including six nuclear tests since the 1970s. It spent $600 to $700 million building a uranium refinery in Pyongsan, nuclear fuel manufacturing and fuel rod reprocessing facilities, a nuclear reactor and a light-water reactor at Yongbyon, and $200 to $400 million making centrifuges and building a uranium enrichment facility. Press Release September 27, 2022 Senate honors Bulacan rescuers The Senate on Tuesday, September 27, 2022, honored the lives of five rescuers who perished while responding to flood-hit villages in San Miguel, Bulacan at the height of super typhoon "Karding" (international name "Noru"). The Senate adopted Senate Resolution No. (SRN) 233, filed by Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., in consideration of SRNs 234, 235, 238, 240 and 241 filed by Sen. Robinhood "Robin" C. Padilla, Sen. Lito Lapid, Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" F. Zubiri, Majority Leader Joel Villanueva and Sen. Imee Marcos, respectively. The resolutions honored the "exemplary heroism and bravery" of five members of Bulacan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) who died in the line of duty during the onslaught of "Karding" on September 25, 2022. At the height of the super typhoon, the PDRRMO conducted a rescue mission in Barangay Camias, San Miguel, Bulacan, which led to the tragic death of Narciso Calayag Jr., Jerson Resurreccion, Marby Bartolome, George Agustin and Troy Justin Agustin. The five were helping residents of Sitio Galas evacuate their homes amid flooding caused by the typhoon. Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando, in a television interview, said that the five rescuers were forced to take lifeboats after their rescue truck stalled. Reports indicated the five died after a surge of floodwater caused a concrete wall to collapse and brought strong water current that swept away the team aboard a lifeboat. The remains of the five were retrieved at Sitio Banga-Banga in Barangay Camias. "Whereas, the Senate of the Philippines express its profound condolences to the bereaved families and loved ones of the five Bulacan PDRRMO rescuers," SRN 233 stated. "We continue to recognize and acknowledge the extraordinary bravery and commitment of those in the frontlines of rescue missions during calamities as they continue to fulfill their duties in the face of death," Revilla said. The senator said one of his priority measures is to strengthen the institutional capability of local government units (LGUs) in times of emergency situations and rescue operations. "I filed Senate Bill No. 686, that seeks to assign a permanent Disaster Risk Officer, with corresponding benefits and allowances, in each LGU to complement the mandate of Republic Act No. 10121, or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010. Through this measure, we can expect that our LGUs will be more proactive, dynamic and efficient, given the institutionalized mechanisms that this bill aims to achieve," the Revilla said. Padilla, in his resolution, said the heroism and bravery shown by the rescuers, "who sacrificed their lives to save their people, is an exemplary act worthy of praise and emulation and more importantly, an embodiment of dedication, courage, devotion to duty and commitment to public service." Villanueva said the five rescuers "acted with incredible bravery and self-sacrifice and went above and beyond the call of duty to save the lives of others at the cost of their own." "They were veteran rescuers who have also helped other local governments throughout the country in previous calamities and disasters," Villanueva added. Zubiri, for his part, said the Senate of the Philippines is one with the families and loved ones of the rescuers "in commemorating their heroism and selfless sacrifice of putting their lives on the line in ensuring the safety of the greater good." Lapid, meanwhile, said the courage, bravery, humanitarian spirit and selflessness of the five "should be held in the highest regard, paying the ultimate sacrifice in the name of duty." "Together with the other members of our rescue forces who have perished or survived, but who all risk their lives to save their fellow men deserve all the accolades the Filipino nation can offer," he said in his resolution. "Their heroism embodies their love of country and love of their people, and their noble expression of valor and gallantry serve as an inspiration to their comrades not only in the field of rescue, but also in the field of service to the people," the senator also said. All senators were made co-authors of the resolution. South Korea and the U.S. kicked off a four-day joint maritime exercise in the East Sea on Monday, mobilizing some 20 warships including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and about 110 warplanes. This is the first time the drill has been conducted since November 2017. North Korea fired a new ballistic missile into the East Sea the previous day. The two countries are staging the drill from Monday until Thursday in a show of force against North Korean provocations and improve their combat readiness. The U.S. mobilized the 6,000-ton submarine USS Annapolis for training in preparation for North Korean attacks with submarine-launched ballistic missiles. By Satoshi Iizuka, KYODO NEWS - Sep 27, 2022 - 11:45 | All, Feature, Japan Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to struggle to secure a stable political base after holding a controversial state funeral for former leader Shinzo Abe on Tuesday despite strong opposition from the public. Several other issues, including suspicious relations between ruling lawmakers and a notorious religious group, the Unification Church, as well as price hikes that have been weighing on consumer and business confidence, have also hurt the popularity of Kishida's government. Kishida, who took office in October 2021, managed to maintain relatively high approval ratings for his administration. However, his political maneuvering has been under fire since the death of Abe, who was fatally shot during an election campaign speech in July. Criticism of Kishida's hasty decision to host Abe's state funeral grew as the current premier failed to explain on what legal grounds the Cabinet can decide to hold the ceremony at its discretion and how much taxpayer money would be used for the event. Kishida's apparent attempt to avoid a full debate on the matter with the opposition bloc at parliament also increased public distrust of him. Recently, the support rating for the government has been nearing what is widely seen as the "danger level" of 30 percent. If he cannot take adequate steps to tackle rising prices and end ties between lawmakers of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church, often labeled as a cult, Kishida is set to become more unpopular, political experts said. The LDP's major victory in the July 10 House of Councillors election seemed to have promised Kishida a firm government for what has been dubbed his "golden three years" free of national elections unless he dissolves the House of Representatives. But such a rosy future is unlikely, and Kishida may be compelled to dissolve the lower house for an election in a desperate bid to restore his political strength, although it is uncertain whether the gamble would bear fruit, the experts said. Abe was well known for his conservative and hawkish security views, while Kishida is one of the more liberal-leaning politicians in the LDP. Kishida is believed to have swiftly decided to host Abe's state funeral to garner support from conservative lawmakers. Hiroshi Shiratori, a political science professor at Hosei University, said Kishida, who heads the ruling party's fourth-largest faction, strived to consolidate a power base within the LDP by pleasing members of its biggest faction, which Abe led. Kishida "tried to show his leadership by holding the state funeral, but his attempt turned out to be a failure as criticism emerged not only from many opposition parties but also among the LDP," Shiratori said. Abe's state-sponsored ceremony is only the second for a former prime minister in the postwar period following one for Shigeru Yoshida, who in 1951 signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty, allowing Japan to regain its sovereignty. Still, holding a state funeral for a former premier in Japan has no legal basis. The government, meanwhile, has estimated allocating over 1.6 billion yen ($11 million) of taxpayer money for Abe's state funeral, but the total cost could balloon in the end. Kishida claimed Abe's ceremony could serve as an important opportunity for "funeral diplomacy," bringing international dignitaries together in Tokyo. Abe's event, however, did not play such a role as only a limited number of incumbent foreign leaders traveled to Japan, in contrast to Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral in Britain earlier this month, which some 500 world figures attended. In addition to the state funeral, the Unification Church issue has dealt a heavy blow to the Kishida administration since Abe was killed. Abe was targeted due to his perceived links to the religious group founded in South Korea in 1954 by a staunch anti-communist. The assailant, Tetsuya Yamagami, reportedly said his mother's substantial donations to the church ruined his family's finances. In 2021, Abe appeared in a video message aired at an event held by an affiliated organization of the Unification Church, now formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. Around half of the LDP's lawmakers have been connected with the Unification Church, including having received support in past election campaigns, sparking fears that the contentious group may have exerted some influence in the political arena. Recent opinion polls conducted by Kyodo News showed the support rating for Kishida's Cabinet tumbled to about 40 percent, the lowest since he became prime minister. The plunge in the popularity of Kishida is also attributed to mounting public frustration stemming from price hikes without wage growth. Global food and energy prices have spiked in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, dragging down Japan's resource-poor economy, while the yen's rapid depreciation has been driving up import costs. All eyes are on whether Kishida can hammer out measures to ease the negative impact of rising prices at home, as many Japanese companies are planning to raise prices to offset their costs in October, immediately after Abe's state funeral. Hidenori Suezawa, financial market and fiscal analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., said price hikes are "expected to continue" for the time being against a backdrop of the weaker yen, which could darken the prospects for Kishida's government. Hosei's Shiratori said Kishida "may be forced to dissolve the lower house sometime after his support rate falls below the 30 percent level," adding his administration cannot survive. Related coverage: Japanese ex-PM Abe's state funeral to begin despite public opposition KYODO NEWS - Sep 27, 2022 - 12:31 | World, All U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to the Demilitarized Zone on the border of the two Koreas on Thursday to showcase her nation's commitment to the defense of Seoul, a White House official said, an announcement that comes as Pyongyang continues provocative actions. Harris is currently in Japan, leading a presidential delegation to Tuesday's state funeral for slain former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. She is scheduled to travel to South Korea on Thursday. The envisioned trip to the DMZ was welcomed by South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck Soo, who met Harris in Tokyo. The U.S. official said the visit will "underscore the strength of the U.S.-ROK alliance, and the United States' commitment to stand beside the ROK in the face of any threats" posed by North Korea, referring to the acronym of South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. Harris will tour sites at the DMZ, meet with service members and receive an operational briefing from U.S. commanders, the official added. The United States and North Korea remain technically in a state of war as the 1950-1953 Korean War, in which U.S.-led U.N. forces fought alongside the South against the North supported by China and the Soviet Union, ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. Tensions linger on the Korean Peninsula, with the United States and its two close Asian allies -- Japan and South Korea -- concerned that North Korea could carry out its seventh nuclear test and first since September 2017. Pyongyang has repeatedly test-fired ballistic missiles this year. On Sunday, it fired a short-range ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan, two days after a U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea for joint drills. KYODO NEWS - Sep 27, 2022 - 20:10 | World, All Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday urged Washington and Taipei to boost security and economic ties amid China's increasing aggression that has been the key driver to bringing Taiwan closer to the United States. Pompeo said at a global business forum in the southern port city of Kaohsiung that it is undeniable that "China's aggressive conduct, diplomatically, militarily, economically...have changed this region. And it brought those who prefer peace and commerce even more closely together." Pompeo's visit is his second to Taiwan for the year, following one in March, and comes ahead of next month's once-in-five-years congress of the ruling Communist Party, where Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to secure his third five-year term. Facing the risks posed by China, Pompeo said Taiwan's neighbors have begun to rethink their relationships and practices. "If we want a free 21st century, and not the Chinese century, the century which Xi Jinping dreams of, the old paradigm of blind engagement must end," said Pompeo, who advocated a tougher stance against China when he was in office. The United States must instead engage with China "realistically and on our terms," which would include a "far more enthusiastic relationship with Taiwan," he said. Pompeo also called on Washington to take steps to do what is right, namely to officially recognize Taiwan as a free and sovereign country. He said the reality is that Taiwan "does not need to declare its independence" as it is already an independent nation. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin took a swipe at Pompeo's latest remarks, describing him as "a former politician with failed credibility," and saying he "did such despicable moves only to exploit personal political gains." Wang added that Pompeo "will not succeed at all." Not long after the former secretary of state left office at the end of the Donald Trump presidency in January last year, Beijing placed sanctions on him and other former U.S. officials for their "anti-China" remarks. His Taiwan trip in March this year came amid mounting fears that China might attempt to seize Taiwan, the self-ruled, democratic island, following the lead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Pompeo's visit this time came in the wake of heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait, with China conducting large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan in response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's high-profile trip in early August. Taiwan and China have been governed separately since they split in 1949 due to a civil war. Beijing regards the island as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Related coverage: Peace over Taiwan "critical," Blinken tells China's Wang amid tension China's Xi to make Taiwan reunification long-term goal at party congress KYODO NEWS - Sep 27, 2022 - 19:13 | All, Japan, World Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed with his Australian and Indian counterparts on Tuesday to cooperate in achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific, a vision that slain former leader Shinzo Abe advocated, on the second day of Japan's "condolence diplomacy." Kishida reached the agreements during separate meetings with Anthony Albanese and Narendra Modi ahead of the state funeral in Tokyo for Japan's longest-serving prime minister, who was shot dead by a gunman while making an election speech in July. Japan, India and Australia compose the Quad, a four-way grouping involving the United States. They have been stepping up cooperation in various fields such as defense and energy amid China's increasing military and economic clout in the region. In his meeting with Modi, part of which was open to the media, Kishida said Japan will build on the diplomatic achievements of Abe and continue cooperating with India to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific. Modi said ties between Tokyo and New Delhi have reached a "new height" after expanding in many areas under the administration of Abe, with whom India's premier built a personal relationship. He expressed his heartfelt condolences over Abe's death. Kishida and Modi exchanged views on Russia's war on Ukraine and affirmed the necessity of peacefully resolving conflicts across the globe, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. The two leaders also attached importance to "transparent and fair" finance for the sustainable development of poorer countries, in an apparent reference to China's alleged "debt-trap diplomacy" using loans as leverage to gain concessions from borrowing nations. In a separate meeting, the Japanese and Australian leaders pledged to deepen the countries' security relations, according to the ministry. Albanese, who is on his second visit to Japan since taking office in May, said Abe's death was a "tragic loss" for Australia as well. Three former Australian prime ministers -- John Howard, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull -- also joined the talks later. Kishida and the Australian incumbent and previous leaders looked back on Abe's accomplishments and agreed to further promote bilateral relations in line with his wishes, the ministry said. From the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris attended the funeral, following her meeting with Kishida on Monday. The two leaders discussed China's "aggressive and irresponsible provocations" in the Taiwan Strait and reaffirmed the significance of maintaining peace and stability there, the White House said. Communist-led China and democratic Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 due to a civil war. Beijing regards the self-ruled island as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Japan cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan and established them with mainland China in 1972, recognizing Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China. Japan-Taiwan relations have been maintained on a nongovernmental basis. In a symbolic move showing the sensitivity over Japan's position, the name of "Taiwan" was announced when Su Jia-chyuan, who heads an association in charge of bilateral affairs, and other Taiwanese people offered flowers during Abe's state funeral. The dignitaries from Taiwan were treated almost equally with the other delegates, but Japan avoided calling the island "Republic of China," Taiwan's official name as a country, in apparent consideration of Beijing. China, however, reacted sharply, as Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters that Japan "should heed relevant issues in accordance with the one-China principle and not provide any stage or opportunity for Taiwan independence separatist forces." From China, Wan Gang, vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, attended the state funeral for Abe, instead of Vice President Wang Qishan, who it was widely predicted would be sent for the event. Wang was present at Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral in Britain earlier this month. He is a higher-ranking official than Wan. On Tuesday, prior to Abe's state funeral, Kishida also met separately with European Council President Charles Michel and leaders of countries including Singapore, Jordan and Papua New Guinea. Kishida decided to host a state funeral for Abe soon after he was killed, touting his political achievements. But opposition to the ceremony mounted at home amid its ballooning costs, among other complaints. The Japanese premier has claimed that the state-sponsored funeral for Abe would serve as an important opportunity to communicate with other nations. He was scheduled to hold talks with about 40 foreign dignitaries over the three days through Wednesday. Related coverage: Japan PM Kishida hails Biden's call for U.N. reform during brief talks Japan PM Kishida urges world to reaffirm rules-based order, reform U.N. Japan, Britain vow to sign defense cooperation pact at early date Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the United States, Sept. 24, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) NEW YORK, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met here on Saturday with Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly. Wang congratulated Shahid on his successful performance of his duties as the president of the UN General Assembly, as he made positive contributions to the development of the UN cause and tackling global challenges, which helped the Maldives improve its international status and influence. Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the Maldives, Wang said that over the past half century, the two sides have upheld the spirit of good-neighborliness, treated each other as equals, developed through cooperation, reached out to each other, and tided over difficulties together. He also said that China highly appreciates the Maldives for understanding and supporting China's just propositions on issues concerning China's core interests and major concerns. China also supports the Maldives in safeguarding sovereignty, independence and national dignity, and will continue to uphold justice for the Maldives in the international arena, Wang added. For his part, Shahid expressed his gratitude to China for giving his country precious support in infrastructure, education, energy and other fields for a long time. The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge co-built by the two sides has brought a sea change to the Maldives, greatly accelerating the country's economic development and bringing benefits to its people, he said. Shahid stressed that the one-China principle is a firm consensus of the Maldivian government, and the Maldives will always firmly abide by it. The one-China principle is also the international consensus confirmed by the UN General Assembly resolution, he added. As the president of the UN General Assembly, Shahid said he has made a special press statement to express his position. He also thanked China for the strong support during his presidency of the UN General Assembly, looks forward to continuing strengthening coordination with China on multilateral affairs. Wang said that China and the Maldives have enjoyed the tradition of mutual understanding and support, and China appreciates the Maldives' adherence to the one-China principle, adding that on issues concerning sovereignty, no double standard can be tolerated. He mentioned now that some countries flaunt respect for national sovereignty, they should match their words with their deeds, stressing that on the Taiwan question, China's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be equally respected, "Taiwan independence" separatist activities must be clearly opposed and any form of official exchanges with Taiwan must be cut off. The two sides also vowed to continue to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and accelerate the ratification of a free trade agreement, so as to inject more stable and positive expectations into bilateral cooperation. HAIRATAN, Afghanistan, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The land corridor through railroad has linked landlocked Afghanistan to China as the first freight train arrived in the border town of Hairatan in Afghanistan's northern Balkh province on Thursday. "It is a milestone and a positive step towards boosting trade and economic relations between Afghanistan and the neighboring countries," Qudratullah Abu Hamza, governor of Balkh province said after receiving the freight in Hairatan. Welcoming the opening of the land corridor as a significant step towards enhancing economic relations in the region, Hamza said Afghanistan is determined to develop economic relations with all countries in the region. Carrying 12 containers, the freight train started its journey from the Kashgar city of China 12 days ago and crossed Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan before arriving in Afghanistan on Thursday morning. Produced by Xinhua Global Service * More than two years into the COVID-19 epidemic, China has achieved the best results among major countries in coordinating epidemic control and keeping the economy steady and sound. * The key to China's leading performance in both economic development and COVID-19 containment lies in the institutional strengths of the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country's socialist system. * From newborns to centenarians, people's lives and health have been protected with every possible effort. It was an unswerving choice of China in the face of the epidemic. BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- More than two years into the COVID-19 epidemic, China has achieved the best results among major countries in coordinating epidemic control and keeping the economy steady and sound. China was the only major country whose economy grew in 2020. This year, braving a series of challenges posed by the Omicron outbreak and a worsening global environment, China posted a 2.5 percent year-on-year growth in the first half and is on track for further recovery. Meanwhile, the incidence rate and the death toll of COVID-19 in China have been the lowest among major countries. Aerial photo taken on April 12, 2022 shows a closed makeshift hospital in Jilin City, northeast China's Jilin Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Nan) CREATING SYNERGY The key to China's leading performance in both economic development and COVID-19 containment lies in the institutional strengths of the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country's socialist system. After the outbreak of COVID-19, China mobilized the public to engage in epidemic prevention, allocated resources with high efficiency across the country, and secured much-needed logistics support. Medical workers rose to the challenge. For instance, more than 10,000 medical workers from 19 provincial-level regions rushed to Hainan Province this summer to aid the island's fight against the virus. Thanks to joint efforts, the number of new infections in Hainan has declined since September. Medical workers from south China's Guangdong Province, aiding fight against the COVID-19 for Hainan, test nucleic acid samples in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Aug. 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng) In addition, more than 4 million community workers have worked in 650,000 urban and rural communities across the country since the onset of the epidemic. Millions of ordinary people have volunteered their services, including cleaning and disinfecting public spaces, buying medicines, and delivering groceries. By mobilizing the people extensively, China has built a strong line of defense against the virus. Late at night on Aug. 25, six sets of nucleic acid sampling workstations arrived in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, from east China's Shandong Province. They were immediately put into use in key areas. During the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Xinjiang, many provinces and cities that have pair-up assistance programs with the region have rushed emergency supplies as the country has long been upholding the traditional values of "helping each other" and "helping those in need." PEOPLE-CENTERED PHILOSOPHY On April 30, a 106-year-old patient surnamed Li was cured of COVID-19 and discharged from the hospital after treatment. She was the oldest COVID-19 patient admitted to the hospital in northeast China's Jilin Province. An elderly resident receives a shot of COVID-19 vaccine at home during a medical service for the elder in Dongcheng District of Beijing, capital of China, May 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Chen Zhonghao) From newborns to centenarians, people's lives and health have been protected with every possible effort. It was an unswerving choice of China in the face of the epidemic. Over the past two years, China has constantly adjusted its COVID-19 responses to new situations. Makeshift hospitals were built fast, treatment costs were fully covered by the government, and food supply and prices were stabilized. About 61.8 billion yuan (about 8.8 billion U.S. dollars) from the central government budget has been allocated to support employment and pay endowment insurance for over 16 million urban and rural residents this year. While balancing COVID-19 control and economic growth, China has sought to boost people's sense of gain in the long run. Official data showed that the average life expectancy in the country rose to 78.2 years in 2021, with over 1.36 billion people covered by the basic medical insurance system. Its per capita share of grain, which reached 483 kg last year and remained well above the internationally recognized security line of 400 kg, has provided a solid underpinning for the grain security of the world's most populous country. On the environmental front, it is now the fastest country globally in tackling air pollution, with the number of days with heavy pollution significantly reduced in recent years. The Chinese economy has achieved positive growth in the second quarter, with its major economic indicators firming up across the board since June, demonstrating the resilience of the world's second-largest economy. Visitors tour at the second China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu) In times full of uncertainties and volatilities, the institutional strengths of the leadership of the CPC and the socialist system remain a fundamental and powerful guarantee in steering the country's development. China must contain the epidemic, stabilize the economy, and keep development secure, according to a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in April. (Video reporters: Zhao Xu, Wang Huan, Jiang Chao, Sun Lei and Jiang Xuelan; Video editors: Chen Sihong.) Photo taken on Sept. 2, 2022 shows an industrial area in Cheshire, Britain. (Photo by Jon Super/Xinhua) "This has really been a crisis in the UK that's been constructed over 20 years. And so what we're experiencing right now is acute price crisis, where prices have gone up, what you're potentially facing in the winter is a supply crisis," British scholar Sean Field said. LONDON, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- As many people in Europe turn to primitive ways to keep warm, an academic has said that Britain's energy crisis was 20 years in the making. "This has really been a crisis in the UK that's been constructed over 20 years. And so what we're experiencing right now is acute price crisis, where prices have gone up, what you're potentially facing in the winter is a supply crisis," Sean Field, a research fellow with the Center for Energy Ethics in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, said in a recent interview with Xinhua. "The energy price cap basically (has been) tripling in the last six or so months, so for the most vulnerable people here in the UK are those on benefits and fixed incomes. But we're also seeing the middle and working classes being squeezed," Field said. He described the current situation in Europe and Britain as delicate, because Europe is dependent on Russian natural gas flowing from the east to the west, and Britain is not immune to that. The reasons for the deep energy crisis in Europe, he said, stem back to the infrastructure on which their energy is situated. "Basically when you look at all the maps of the gas supply lines, they run from east to west. And when we have a whole region that's dependent on natural gas, it makes it very acutely vulnerable to supply crises as well as geopolitical risk, which is exactly what we're seeing right now," said Field. In face of an energy crisis, people began to resort to "some very primitive measures" to keep them warm, which he described as somewhat "ironic." "We've seen news reports about people in Germany hoarding firewood and Danes are camping out in primitive ways to cope with the energy crisis in 2022, things like this seem ironic. And even in Britain, we've got local city halls, town halls, planning to organise facilities in libraries and community centers so that people can actually go in there to keep warm during the cold days." A burning ring on a gas cooker is seen in Manchester, Britain, March 17, 2022. (Photo by Jon Super/Xinhua) "The UK is dependent on a steady flow of natural gas from continental Europe...to supply our domestic needs for both residential and commercial (needs)," Field said. But he said Britain had for years given up a large part of its storage facilities, making the country dependent on a steady flow of imported gas. "This has put us in a slightly vulnerable position" because with the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian gas is being embargoed, he said. "One of the main sources, not just for the UK, but for the entire globe, has now been essentially cut off, which has driven up prices dramatically," added Field. Regarding who is responsible or to blame for the present crisis, he didn't think there's any one person, one agency or one company, but attributed it to "a combination of things." "In terms of the price problem, what we're facing right now, this acute price spike, this really comes down to a lack of planning and vision and imagination in the last 20 years to really make our energy supply mix." Right now the majority of houses in Britain depend on natural gas for heating. "So we don't have the most resilient and most flexible energy supply mix. There's no short-term solution to that. To change that is going to take years and years. But this is a combination of both corporate responsibility and policy planning at the highest levels," said Field. Field said nobody could have anticipated the crisis in Ukraine, but Britain could have imagined and planned for an acute price spike, and the kind of supply crisis now potentially being faced. "It was possible to plan for that. And what's evident is that we haven't. So, without pointing any fingers, this is attributable to policy makers at the highest levels," said Field. In terms of learning lessons from this, he perceived the lessons "as both short term, medium term and long term." "The short-term lessons would be that we need supports and planning in place. If we were to have an acute price spike or a supply crisis, how are we going to support the most vulnerable people," he said. In the medium to long term, Field suggested that Britain should "really think carefully about our energy supply mix or to make a diverse, sustainable and flexible energy mix." This crisis, he said has really taken people by surprise. "It's a very strange time," Field said, "when people are turning to firewood, and planning to get warm and community centers because they can't heat their homes in one of the richest countries, one of the richest regions in the world." As to whether he could see an end to the crisis, Field said: "There seems to be consensus that by the spring or early summer we should start to see energy prices come down. So my hope is that...this will come to an end sometime in the future, perhaps next year, but nobody really knows when. The real unpredictable part is how long the geopolitical turmoil that we're seeing right now in Europe goes on." General Secretary of the Congolese Labor Party (PCT) Pierre Moussa speaks in an interview with Xinhua in Brazzaville, the Republic of the Congo, Aug. 30, 2022. (Photo by Guy-Gervais Kitina/Xinhua) BRAZZAVILLE, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The governance of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has made "uplifting" achievements, and is beneficial to the people of the whole world, said General Secretary of the Congolese Labor Party (PCT) Pierre Moussa in an interview with Xinhua. The CPC's governance has ensured "progress and success" in many aspects of Chinese people's lives, and it is "positive" not only for the Chinese people but also for the people of the world, he said. The fact that China has eradicated extreme poverty under the leadership of the CPC is a "major and uplifting" achievement, said the PCT's general-secretary, noting that the CPC has honored its commitments to the Chinese people and the people of the world. Moussa also spoke highly of the CPC's efforts to establish socialism with Chinese characteristics and practice democracy that suits its own culture, which has enabled it to achieve "so much success" for its own people. "Each people establish democracy by its own means, in accordance with its culture, past, and the objectives it aspires," he said. "In general, copying and pasting does not work. The fundamental reference must be the culture of its people and the objectives that the people expect," said Moussa. Speaking of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) proposed by China, Moussa said the GDI will enable countries around the world to overcome common challenges, including food insecurity and climate change. According to Moussa, cooperation between the Republic of the Congo and China has borne fruits in various fields, and flagship projects in bilateral cooperation have improved his country's social and economic development. The Belt and Road Initiative has erected a new platform for international cooperation and injects great impetus into global development, including the Republic of the Congo, he said. Moussa sees the upcoming 20th National Congress of the CPC as an "event of global significance" and wished it a "full success." Tolentino to Tourism Sec. Garcia-Frasco: focus also on domestic tourism to uplift economy MANILA - On Tuesday, 27 September 2022, the Commission on Appointments held its confirmation hearing on the ad interim appointment of the Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Maria Esperanza Christina Garcia-Frasco. The former Liloan Mayor, Garcia-Frasco, expounded on her vision to revitalize tourism in the Philippines in the hopes of propelling the country's post-pandemic economic growth. During the confirmation hearing, Sen. Francis Tolentino said to Garcia-Frasco that the DOT should also focus on the promotion of domestic tourism in order to uplift the Philippine economy. "What I've heard a lot is about foreign tourists coming to the Philippines. My idea here coming from a tourist city myself", said Tolentino who was formerly the Mayor of Tagaytay City, one of the Philippines' most popular tourist destinations, for three consecutive terms from 1995 to 2004. Tolentino said that the biggest job of the DOT Secretary would be the consolidation of a single sustainable tourism program that would uplift the economy as we move out of the pandemic. "Sa dami po ng festival natin, ang dapat po sigurong bigyang din ng pansin is domestic tourism. Gustong gusto na po ng mga kababayan nating mamasyal sa iba't ibang lugar. Consolidate this into a single sustainable program that would uplift the economy as we move out of the pandemic, probably, will be your biggest job", Tolentino stated. Garcia-Frasco then said that the DOT, with her at its helm, would promote domestic tourism. She said that the DOT is planning to launch a national tourism heritage culture and arts caravan to empower local government units to continually develop their respective local destinations. "[This] is something that we will spearhead strongly under this Department", Garcia-Frasco said. Tolentino then stated his full support for the appointment of Garcia-Frasco as Secretary of the Department of Tourism. BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Authorities provided more details on the election of delegates to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) after it was announced on Sunday that all 2,296 delegates had been elected. The electoral work, running from November 2021 through July 2022, has successfully concluded, said an official of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, adding that all the delegates are outstanding CPC members. The delegates are broadly representative. A total of 771 delegates, or 33.6 percent of the total, are from the frontline. Among them, 192 are workers or migrant workers, 85 are farmers, and 266 are professionals and technicians. The number of female delegates reached 619, or 27 percent of the total, an increase of 2.8 percentage points compared with the 19th CPC National Congress five years ago, the official said. There are 264 ethnic minority delegates, who are from 40 ethnic minority groups. The delegates come from various sectors of society, various administrative levels, and various institutions including Party and government departments, enterprises, public institutions and people's organizations. The average age of the delegates is 52.2, and about 59.7 percent of them are under 55. About 95.4 percent of them have a diploma from junior college or above. More than half of the delegates own a master's degree. The official said 2,224 delegates, or 96.9 percent of the total, joined the CPC after the reform and opening-up started in 1978. Strict procedures were observed throughout the electoral process, from the nomination and candidate selection to the organizational review and election. All grassroots Party organizations were mobilized, with an average participation rate of 99.5 percent of Party members. Various measures, including the establishment of tip-off platforms and the mobilization of supervision taskforces, were adopted to ensure a clean election, the official said. UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council should consider imposing sanctions on those responsible for gang violence in Haiti, said a Chinese envoy on Monday. Security Council Resolution 2645 expresses the council's readiness to take appropriate measures that could include an asset freeze and travel ban against those engaged in or supporting gang violence. With the situation in Haiti as it is, it is necessary for the council to translate this readiness into action, said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations. China hopes that the United States and Mexico, as penholders on Haiti, will submit a draft resolution as soon as possible and convene consultations so that the Security Council can make a decision on this issue, he told a Security Council meeting on Haiti. The UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) should submit a list of criminal gangs and their leaders to the Security Council for sanctions designation, he added. Resolution 2645 calls on UN member states to prohibit the transfer of arms to non-state actors engaged in or supporting gang violence in Haiti, he said, adding that this will help cut off the supply of weapons and ammunition to gangs without prejudice to the security cooperation between member states and the Haitian police force. China hopes that the penholders will include this element in the draft resolution, he said. Security Council Resolution 2645 supports Haitian authorities in combating illicit financial flows as well as trafficking and diversion of arms and in enhancing management and control of borders and ports. With the situation in Haiti as it is, the council should support Haiti in giving priority to port management and customs reform. China hopes that the new draft resolution will also address this point, Geng said. The UN work in Haiti in the past three decades has proved that international assistance can only play a catalytic and facilitating role, and that the issue of Haiti can only be resolved by the Haitian people themselves, he noted. The political stalemate in Haiti has been ongoing for years, and there is a strong desire for the restoration of constitutional order. China hopes that all parties in Haiti will have a stronger sense of urgency, actively carry out political consultations, and establish as soon as possible national institutions that enjoy the real support of the Haitian people and represent their interests. The United Nations and other regional organizations must continue to play an active role in this regard, he said. Geng stressed that neither the United Nations nor any organization, any country can go beyond their duties, let alone take sides. The United Nations is in Haiti to offer help. However, for some time, negative public opinion in Haiti about the United Nations has been on the rise. China hopes that BINUH will do more to engage with Haitians, strive to eliminate misunderstanding, and win their trust and support. BINUH and other UN offices in Haiti should strengthen resource-sharing and operational synergy, he said. High school students seeking career guidance arrive to attend a job fair in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Aug. 2, 2022. (Xinhua/Tafara Mugwara) The Chamber of Chinese Enterprises in Zimbabwe in partnership with Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe will host a job fair next month to give local youth the opportunity to find jobs within Chinese firms. HARARE, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chamber of Chinese Enterprises in Zimbabwe in partnership with Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe will host a job fair next month to give local youth the opportunity to find jobs within Chinese firms. Dubbed the China-Stanbic Job Fair, the event will run on Oct. 14-15 at Stanbic Park in the leafy Borrowdale suburb of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. "The China-Stanbic job fair is about giving our youth opportunities to find employment within Chinese-owned companies," Stanbic Bank said in a notice. "The job fair will also allow the showcasing of different Chinese and Zimbabwean companies and what they have to offer." The Chamber of Chinese Enterprises in Zimbabwe is a grouping of Chinese-owned businesses operating in the country. Job seekers communicate with potential employers at a job fair in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Aug. 2, 2022. (Xinhua/Tafara Mugwara) Last month, the China Africa Economic and Culture Exchange Research Center in Harare and Victory Milestone Recruitment also hosted an inaugural two-day Zimbabwe Job Fair to facilitate face-to-face interaction between local job seekers and potential employers. Fifty companies, including 25 Chinese-run enterprises, attended the fair which also attracted high school students seeking career guidance ahead of tertiary education. Victory Milestone Recruitment marketing director Donald Rushambwa said the fair presented employers with a platform through which they could tap into the vast human resources that the country offered. Chinese investment in Zimbabwe has been growing over the years, underpinned by the cordial relations that exist between the two countries. UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- This year's general debate of the UN General Assembly concluded on Monday, after representatives of 190 member states spoke around the theme of "A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges." Csaba Korosi, president of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, said in his closing remarks that 126 heads of state and government took part in this year's general debate. "The sheer number of you who took part in this debate points to the importance that the general debate holds in international affairs," said Korosi. Korosi said he got five messages from the member states during the general debate. The first is the growing awareness that humanity has entered a new era, he said. "Facing complex challenges and multi-layer crises, we reached a time of paradigm shift, because the movements, the adjustments that we see around us cannot be called mere modifications any longer: they are significant transformations in the making," he said. "The basic conditions of our global cooperation have changed. We live now in a different world -- a world of new challenges, changing priorities, changing roles, and changing ways. Fresh pages of history are being written, with new divisions and new alliances, new grievances, and new successes on them," he said. The second message is that the conflict in Ukraine should end; the third is that climate change is gradually destroying humanity; and the fourth is calls for improving the state of human rights and meeting the needs of those most vulnerable to exploitation. The fifth key issue, for which there is strong support, is the need to modernize the United Nations, revitalize the General Assembly and reform the Security Council, said Korosi. Photo taken on Oct. 21, 2021 shows bags of coffee beans to be exported to China at a warehouse of Kerchanshe Trading Private Limited Company (PLC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde) The increasing number of consumers and growing popularity of Ethiopia's coffee among the Chinese people is propelling Ethiopia's coffee export market, officials and coffee exporters said. ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The increasing number of consumers and growing popularity of Ethiopia's coffee among the Chinese people is propelling Ethiopia's coffee export market, officials and coffee exporters said. "Currently, the youth in China are really fond of Ethiopian coffee and we are witnessing growing coffee market share in China and other parts of Asia," Adugna Debela, director general of the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA), said in a recent interview with Xinhua. Figures from ECTA showed that Ethiopia exported 11,935.65 metric tons of coffee to China during the last Ethiopian fiscal year which ended on July 7, earning 65.31 million U.S. dollars, up by 84 percent year on year. The increase has made China the seventh major importer of Ethiopian coffee last fiscal year (July 8, 2021-July 7, 2022), up from 33rd in the previous fiscal year (July 8, 2020-July 7, 2021) A senior coffee quality controller checks the quality of coffee at a coffee processing plant of the company in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Oct. 21, 2021. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde) Ethiopia obtained a record 1.4 billion U.S. dollars from exporting over 300,000 metric tons of coffee last Ethiopian fiscal year. The top five export destinations were Germany, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Belgium and Japan. Debela argued that China would be one of the main destinations for Ethiopian coffee due to its population size and the growing coffee drinking habits among the people. "Very recently, countries like China, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates are coming to the front line, after consumers in those countries tested and proved that Ethiopian coffee is an organic one," Debela said. Amid the growing demand for Ethiopian coffee in the Chinese coffee market, a growing number of Ethiopian coffee growers and exporters are vying to penetrate the emerging Chinese coffee market. Israel Degefa, Chief Executive Officer of Kerchanshe Trading, the largest producer and exporter of coffee in Ethiopia, shares the idea of the director general and anticipates "China would be one of the main destinations for Ethiopian coffee in the near future." "In general, the Chinese market is growing every year and we are tripling our export to China both in volume of coffee and value. The demand is high and we are preparing to grow more coffee to feed the Chinese market," Degefa said. Photo taken on Oct. 26, 2021 shows a display of traditional Ethiopian coffee pot and cups at the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority headquarters in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde) Ethiopia, which is known as the origin of Arabica coffee, is recognized worldwide for its rich coffee quality, variety of flavors and aroma, making the demand for the commodity increase globally. For Degefa, the rising demand for Ethiopian coffee in China has to do with a cultural shift. "I think there is a cultural shift among the Chinese people. The Chinese new generation is adapting to drink tea and coffee concurrently," Degefa said. Temesgen Cherkos, export manager of Hadeed Trading Private Limited Company, said his company is making increasing shipments of coffee to China, attributing the rise in the volume of coffee export to growing coffee drinking habits in China. "We have been sending coffee to China for two years now. We exported a small volume of coffee the previous year but this year, after we got registered in China, we are exporting an increasing volume of coffee to China. At least we make shipments of 10 containers of coffee to China every month," he said. There are about 5 million coffee growers in Ethiopia and more than 25 million people in the country depend on coffee production and processing for their livelihood. Also coffee accounts for up to 30 percent of Ethiopia's export revenue, according to ECTA. However, figures from the ECTA show that only 12 percent of Ethiopian coffee export commands the highest price in the international coffee market due to lack of using modern technology and the best variety of species in the production and processing of coffee. According to ECTA, coffee Arabica is highly vulnerable to changing climatic conditions, especially the desert weather which is posing a potential threat to coffee production. A U.S. military vehicle runs past the Tal Tamr area in the countryside of Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, Nov. 14, 2019. (Str/Xinhua) "The U.S. role in Syria has been destructive, to say the least." DAMASCUS, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. plundering of Syrian oil resources, together with the suffocating unilateral sanctions imposed by Washington, has caused most Syrians to fall under the poverty line, experts have said. Syrians have realized that the real purpose of U.S. presence here has never been about fighting terrorism, but stealing resources and imposing its own vision of the future on the Arab country. "The U.S. role in Syria has been destructive, to say the least," political expert Osama Danura has said. A Syrian soldier is seen in an oil field in the countryside of Qamishli, northeastern Hasakah province, Syria, on Nov. 5, 2019. (Str/Xinhua) SYSTEMATIC STEALING OF SYRIAN OIL Syria's state news agency SANA reported on Sunday that over the past week alone, U.S. forces stole a total of 79 tankers of oil from Syrian oil fields in the northeastern province of Hasakah to U.S. bases in neighboring Iraq. "The United States of America is literally stealing Syrian oil," Danura said to Xinhua. "One of the ugliest images of the U.S. violations of human rights in Syria was stealing oil derivatives from the national resources in Syria," said Muhammad al-Omari, another political expert. After entering Syria in 2014, U.S. forces, under the pretext of fighting terrorist groups, were quick to seize oil-rich areas in northern and northeastern parts of the country, experts said. They and their "mercenaries" were stealing an average of 66,000 barrels of oil per day in Syria whose average daily oil production is estimated to have reached 80,000 barrels in the first half of 2022, Syria's oil ministry said in a statement last month. According to the ministry, U.S. practices in Syria have so far cost Syria's oil and gas sectors about 107.1 billion U.S. dollars in direct and indirect losses. A destroyed building is seen at the Al-Qatirji industrial city in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on March 7, 2022. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) UNILATERAL SANCTIONS AGGRAVATE CRISIS Apart from the loss of oil resources, the suffocating economic sanctions are an extra burden Syrians have to endure and live with amid a lack of most basic necessities. In Danura's view, the U.S. sanctions are the main drive behind Syrians' falling into poverty. "The unilateral sanctions are a U.S. practice that largely damaged the Syrian state. The Syrian people were deprived of their oil and food resources and in turn, the economic circle in Syria has been damaged by such unilateral measures," the analyst said. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said earlier this month that his country deserves international support and the removal of U.S. economic sanctions. Mekdad told a UN meeting via a video conference call from Damascus that the Syrian people are subject to an economic siege imposed by the United States and its Western allies. The foreign minister urged the international community to help end the coercive economic sanctions and expel the illegal foreign forces in Syria. A Syrian boy eats food in a refugee camp in the countryside of Hasakah City, Syria, Nov. 21, 2019. (Str/Xinhua) SYRIANS LACK FOOD, FUEL The United Nations said in March that 90 percent of Syrians lived below the poverty line and more than 80 percent were food insecure. Syrian families say they are eating less, cutting meals and going into debt to meet their basic needs. According to Muhammad al-Omari, the U.S. forces "use the starvation tactic through stealing agricultural harvest or even burning the harvests or preventing the farmers from having access to their lands and thus this had posed a violation of human rights." "The United States of America wanted to use the starvation tactic and to steal the Syrian resources, thus starving the Syrian people," he said. Fuel is also in shortage, at a time when most Syrians are preparing for winter. They would have to live without enough heating and even with long hours of power cuts in the winter as a result of a scarcity of fuel. Industrialists also don't have enough fuel to run their factories, which is causing a steep decline in their production. A student awaits her certificate after vaccination against COVID-19 in a school in Maputo, Mozambique, Sept. 27, 2022. (Photo by Israel Zefanias/Xinhua) MAPUTO, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Mozambican Health Ministry launched Tuesday the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 among adolescents aged 12 to 17 nationwide. First dose vaccination will last until October 11 and take place in schools, markets, and bus terminals, among other places with a dense population through mobile brigades, according to a statement released by the ministry. This is the country's fourth phase of mass vaccination against COVID-19 since the priority groups started to receive the jabs as early as March last year. The ministry encouraged all eligible adolescents in the country to take the vaccine, so as "to be better protected from the infections, hospitalizations, and deaths caused by the COVID-19 pandemic." The health minister is expected to make an official statement on more details of the campaign in the coming days. Mozambique has reportedly vaccinated 15.4 million people against the coronavirus disease, which equals 96.6 percent of the target population. The country currently has 85 active COVID-19 cases, and one patient hospitalized, according to the ministry's latest update. A student receives a jab of vaccination against COVID-19 in a school in Maputo, Mozambique, Sept. 27, 2022. (Photo by Israel Zefanias/Xinhua) A staff works in "Let's go China" exhibition hall at Kigali City Tower in Kigali, Rwanda, on Sept. 9, 2021. (Photo by Huang Wanqing/Xinhua) The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would spur trade and investment cooperation between Africa and China after easing connectivity and transportation challenges, a Rwandan legislator said. KIGALI, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would spur trade and investment cooperation between Africa and China after easing connectivity and transportation challenges, a Rwandan legislator said. In a recent interview in the capital city Kigali, Emmanuel Bugingo, the chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security in the Chamber of Deputies, said the BRI will bridge the infrastructure gap in Rwanda, thereby connecting the country to Africa and the rest of the world. "For a country like Rwanda, which joined the Belt and Road Initiative in 2018, and (for) Africa in general, the BRI is a welcome initiative and opportunity that will boost access to the coast by landlocked countries while catalyzing economic development, regional integration and connecting the entire continent," he told Xinhua. China and Africa's economic and trade cooperation over the past decades is well reflected in the agriculture sector. Last year, African agricultural exports to China increased by 18.2 percent year-on-year, according to data revealed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Traffics are seen on a road upgraded by a Chinese company in Kigali, Rwanda, Sept. 16, 2022. (Photo by Huang Wanqing/Xinhua) Bugingo said the BRI would increase connectivity, whereby transportation will be more convenient, "resulting in the growth of trade and investment between Africa and China." Rwanda appreciates China's contribution to building infrastructure in Rwanda and Africa in general, he said. On the cooperation between Rwanda and China, Bugingo said it is based on shared values, mutual respect and common interests, adding that the bilateral ties are likely to flourish further, allowing both countries to "realize common development through win-win cooperation." Responding to the question of how future relations between the two countries could play out, Bugingo said, "the Sino-Rwanda relationship is built on a solid foundation of mutual trust." "The cooperation between Rwanda and China has great potential and vast prospects. I am confident to assert that the relationship between Rwanda and China will remain steady in the foreseeable future," he said. He expressed his hopes for more products from Rwanda entering the Chinese market and collaborative engagement with Chinese enterprises, in the form of direct investment in infrastructure, ICT, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, energy and export-oriented sectors. Citing roads, hospitals, and hydropower stations constructed in Rwanda with China's support, Bugingo noted that such infrastructure development has yielded great benefits to the people of Rwanda. China has become Rwanda's biggest trading partner and project contractor, and one of the major sources of foreign investments. "Chinese companies have been investing in Rwanda in different sectors. Through different exchanges and areas of cooperation, Rwanda looks forward to building more partnerships and gaining from China's enormous experience and expertise in many fields," said Bugingo. Staff members unload a batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Chinese government at Kigali International Airport in Kigali, Rwanda, Nov. 7, 2021. (Xinhua/Ji Li) Bugingo also noted that the cooperation between Rwanda and China in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic made bilateral ties even closer and stronger. He also commended China's approach to partnering with different African countries which he said is "based on mutual respect." "This is very interesting because they respond to the expectations of the people rather than imposing something the way some partners may want to do," he said. A participant takes part in a tray race marking the World Tourism Day in Macao, south China, Sept. 27, 2022. A tray race was held in Macao to mark the World Tourism Day on Tuesday. About 130 participants from the local catering and tourism industries took part in the race covering a distance from the Ruins of St. Paul's to the Senado Square . (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka) Participants take part in a tray race marking the World Tourism Day in Macao, south China, Sept. 27, 2022. A tray race was held in Macao to mark the World Tourism Day on Tuesday. About 130 participants from the local catering and tourism industries took part in the race covering a distance from the Ruins of St. Paul's to the Senado Square . (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka) Participants take part in a tray race marking the World Tourism Day in Macao, south China, Sept. 27, 2022. A tray race was held in Macao to mark the World Tourism Day on Tuesday. About 130 participants from the local catering and tourism industries took part in the race covering a distance from the Ruins of St. Paul's to the Senado Square . (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka) DHAKA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- At least 51 people have died after a boat capsized in a northern Bangladesh district on Sunday, a senior police officer said Monday. SM Sirajul Huda, superintendent of Panchagarh District Police, told Xinhua that 26 more bodies were retrieved from the Karatoya river in Bangladesh's northern Panchagarh district, 468 km away from the capital Dhaka, on Monday. According to the officer, the jam-packed boat, carrying some 100 passengers, sank on Sunday afternoon. Another 26 bodies were recovered Monday, bringing the total death toll to 51 from 25, the officer told Xinhua over phone Monday night. "The boat overturned and sank due to overloading," said the officer. TV images from the scene showed dozens of bodies in white bags which were retrieved from the river Monday. The boat has already been dragged to the river bank, where many were waiting for the bodies of their loved ones to be retrieved from the water. The police officer said rescuers had been working against a strong current and choppy river waters, adding that a search was underway as several passengers were still believed to be missing. Press Release September 27, 2022 Aim for a proactive government, not a reactive government - Tolentino MANILA - Monday, September 26, the Adaptive Governance and Innovation for Local Executives Program, otherwise known as "AGILE", introduced its Indicative Course Program to the local chief executives of the Philippines. Senator Francis Tolentino spearheaded the program early this year in partnership with the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy - National University of Singapore (LKYSPP-NUS). AGILE aims to enhance the skills of our leaders in order to cope with the demand and challenges of constant progressive change. This would aid the leaders of various local government units (LGUs) "to recalibrate their knowledge, leadership, and governance approach in these trying times." At the start of the program, Tolentino delivered his opening remarks, stating his prayers for the nation as Typhoon Karding hits the country. According to Tolentino, AGILE leadership is very timely as it teaches leaders the importance preparation. "My message today is simple, short in the hopes that it would reverberate during the course of this week's program - our goals, as leaders, should be to aim for a proactive government, not a reactive government," said Tolentino. He stressed the importance of "giving and providing before it is requested [and] prepositioning resources before there is a need." President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., during a briefing with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on the same day, stated that after an assessment of the damage of the typhoon, it is clear that preparation is very important. The Chief Executive found that some areas in the provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac are still inundated. In general, however, damage to public and private infrastructure was said to be manageable, with government services almost at full function. For areas where the typhoon was expected to hit, thousands of Filipinos were evacuated to avoid loss of lives. "I think this is a good illustration of how that (preparation) can really help. So, that's the approach we will take always," President Marcos said. Tolentino noted the President's coordinated response and monitoring with the LGUs following the onslaught of the typhoon. "The more unified we are in this (preparation) approach, the more aligned we are in our priorities, projects, and actions," Tolentino said. In San Miguel, Bulacan, however, five responders were reportedly killed due to Typhoon Karding. Tolentino, in a statement, offered his deepest condolences to the families of the rescuers who sacrificed their lives in service of their countrymen. Vice President Sara Duterte likewise offered her condolences and stated that "The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is on top of the situation - with coordination between concerned national agencies and local government units done to ensure immediate response and efficient delivery of relief services to the people affected by Karding." A student learns Chinese calligraphy as a Chinese instructor helps at a community library in Wellington, New Zealand, Sept. 27, 2022. The opening reception of New Zealand Chinese Language Week 2022 was held on Monday evening at the Grand Hall of Parliament Buildings in Wellington. During this week, New Zealand will host a series of traditional Chinese cultural activities. (Photo by Meng Tao/Xinhua) WELLINGTON, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The opening reception of New Zealand Chinese Language Week 2022 was held on Monday evening at the Grand Hall of Parliament Buildings in Wellington. During this week, New Zealand will host a series of traditional Chinese cultural activities. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern extended her congratulations to the event in a video speech starting with greetings in Chinese. "Since 2014, New Zealand Chinese language week has helped promote and encourage Chinese language learning here in New Zealand," she said. Ardern encouraged more New Zealanders to learn the Chinese language. "Our country is home to more than 240,000 Chinese New Zealanders who all play a significant role in contributing to our diverse culture. Communicating with someone in their language let you see things from a different perspective. So even if it is as simple as learning a new greeting, I encourage you to give Chinese a go this week." Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong said that the rising popularity of the Chinese language in the wider New Zealand society is a reflection of the ever closer relations between the two countries. "This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations," Wang said, noting that over the past 50 years, both sides have been open and inclusive enough to appreciate and learn from each other, in that process promoting practical cooperation for mutual benefits and win-win outcomes. "From what we have seen today eight years after its inauguration, New Zealand Chinese Language Week has grown into a signature brand of the multi-layered and multi-faceted people-to-people links between our two countries, which have underpinned the growth of our overall friendship, culminating in the evolving comprehensive strategic partnership between our two countries," Wang said. Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Adrian Rurawhe, Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities Priyanca Radhakrishnan and Ambassador Wang presented the 2022 Youth Ambassadors and Mandarin Superstars with honorary certificates together. The New Zealand Chinese Language Week was first held in 2014. It is another language week held in New Zealand after the Maori Language Week and the Pacific Island Language Week. Photo taken on Sept. 27, 2022 shows a scene of a Chinese calligraphy experience activity at a community library in Wellington, New Zealand. The opening reception of New Zealand Chinese Language Week 2022 was held on Monday evening at the Grand Hall of Parliament Buildings in Wellington. During this week, New Zealand will host a series of traditional Chinese cultural activities. (Photo by Meng Tao/Xinhua) A student practices Chinese calligraphy at a community library in Wellington, New Zealand, Sept. 27, 2022. The opening reception of New Zealand Chinese Language Week 2022 was held on Monday evening at the Grand Hall of Parliament Buildings in Wellington. During this week, New Zealand will host a series of traditional Chinese cultural activities. (Photo by Meng Tao/Xinhua) A woman displays her Chinese name in Chinese calligraphy at a community library in Wellington, New Zealand, Sept. 27, 2022. The opening reception of New Zealand Chinese Language Week 2022 was held on Monday evening at the Grand Hall of Parliament Buildings in Wellington. During this week, New Zealand will host a series of traditional Chinese cultural activities. (Photo by Meng Tao/Xinhua) A villager carries harvested quinoa at a field in Nanshe Village in Jingle County, north China's Shanxi Province, Sept. 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Chenguang) TAIYUAN, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- On the Yellow River tidal flat, 20 combine harvesters shuttled across 10,000 mu (about 666.67 hectares) of maize fields as September draws to a close. Unlike in the past, harvested corn is now sent to a yellow tower-shaped dryer before being transported to the granary. The newly purchased dryer has helped reduce losses of harvested corn, said Chen Yifan, the person in charge of the farmlands in Hejin City, north China's Shanxi Province. He added that due to the introduction of water-saving and drought-resistant varieties and the utilization of water-saving technology to adapt to the tidal flat's sandy soil, corn yield per mu increased by 120 kg this year. Technology has played an increasingly prominent role in China's agricultural development. Official data show that the country's mechanization rate of crop cultivation and harvest has exceeded 72 percent. A bumper autumn harvest is already in sight. According to the latest survey by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, this year's autumn grain area is expected to keep increasing, with good growth in most parts of China. Farmers around the country are utilizing intelligent tractors, smart combines, and drones in the farmlands to effectively reap the crops. In the villages under the administration of Gaoping City in Shanxi, more than 500 sets of agricultural machinery have been used during this year's autumn sowing, tillage and harvest of 450,000 mu of corn. "The harvesting efficiency of modern agricultural machinery is more than 20 times that of manual harvesting," said Wang Peiwen, a local farmer. Technology has given birth to modernized planting methods. In an unmanned farm in Zibo City, Shandong Province, a soil moisture sensor installed 30 cm underground collects information 24 hours a day. "Plot No.1 is short of water, please water it," the sensor sent an alert to a cloud-based smart platform at the farm, and after automatic assessment, a sprinkler immediately started precise watering at the targeted plot. Prolonged heat and drought swept many parts of China this summer, and technology has proved to be a powerful tool to ensure stable autumn grain production. Central China's Hubei Province has reaped benefits from accelerating the popularization of new locally-developed hybrid rice varieties which produce high yields and are resistant to diseases, lodging and high temperature, while in the southwestern province of Guizhou, a combination of drought resistance agents and foliar fertilizer have helped crops endure extreme weather. Despite the impact of sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks and drought, a variety of technologies have provided a solid foundation for autumn grain harvest along with policy support from the government, said Zhang Zhongdong, director of the corn research institute of Shanxi Agricultural University. AMMAN, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese ambassador to Jordan hailed on Monday China-Jordan coordination in regional and international affairs and their joint efforts to preserve a fair and just world. Making the remarks at an online reception celebrating the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chen Chuandong underscored the consolidated mutual political trust and support between China and Jordan on matters concerning their respective core interests. He noted that the economic and trade cooperation between China and Jordan showed much resilience and vitality in 2022, which marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. "The bilateral trade volume reached 3.2 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of this year, up by 60 percent year on year. Bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy, infrastructure building and ICT is steadily advancing," Chen said. The project of upgrading and rebuilding the Al Salt/Al Ardah Road, which is supported by the Chinese government, is to break ground shortly, he added. Cultural exchanges between China and Jordan have also gradually revived this year with more and more Jordanian students having started to return to resume their study in China, said the Chinese ambassador, adding Chinese education is becoming more and more popular in Jordan. For her part, Jordanian Minister of Culture Haifa Najjar highlighted the deep-rooted relations between Jordan and China in various fields, and expressed expectations of enhancing bilateral cultural communication. Secretary-General of Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Hazem Al-Khatib praised the distinguished bilateral relations, expressing appreciation for China's support for Jordan's efforts to realize regional peace and stability. TEHRAN, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A high-ranking Iranian military commander said a homegrown over-the-horizon (OTH) radar with a range of 3,000 km will soon become operational in the country, semi-official Mehr news agency reported Tuesday. Dubbed Sepehr (Sky), the radar is capable of monitoring all kinds of commercial, fighter and command and control military aircraft as well as airplanes fitted with radio relay stations and unmanned aerial vehicles, Deputy Commander of the Iranian Army's Air Defense Force Alireza Elhami was quoted as saying. The radar also enables the Iranian armed forces to detect all aerial threats and transmits the required data for decision-making and countermeasures, he added. In addition, a domestically-developed surface-to-air missile system dubbed Bavar-373 (Belief-373) with a range of more than 300 km will come into operation in Iranian Air Defense Force soon, he said. Iranian experts are also working to increase the range of the Sayyad (Hunter) tactical surface-to-air missile system to 120 km, the Iranian deputy commander added. Wu Weihua, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, addresses and declares open the 2022 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival and the Eighth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations in Qufu, east China's Shandong Province, Sept. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng) JINAN, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese official has called for boosting exchanges, dialogue, and mutual learning between cultures and upholding the shared values of humanity at a forum on Confucian culture that opened Tuesday. The Confucian thoughts of harmony, including exchanges and dialogue, inclusiveness, and mutual learning, have played an active role in the continuity and inheritance of the Chinese civilization for over 5,000 years, said Wu Weihua, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. Wu declared open the 2022 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival and the Eighth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations. Wu said these thoughts also inspired cooperation among different peoples and mutual learning among civilizations. Exchanges, dialogue, inclusiveness, and mutual learning are the most fundamental way to handle relations among countries, peoples, and civilizations, Wu said. Wu added peace and development should come first, and humanity's shared values should be promoted to build a community with a shared future for mankind. The Eighth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations is themed "Diversity of Human Civilizations and Common Values of Mankind." More than 200 experts and scholars from home and abroad attended the opening ceremony of the events which will last two days. Confucius (551-479 B.C.), a Chinese educator and thinker, influenced countless generations of Chinese society. Photo taken on Sept. 27, 2022 shows the opening ceremony of 2022 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival and the Eighth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations in Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius, in east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng) Aerial photo taken on Sept. 27, 2022 shows the site of 2022 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival and the Eighth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations in Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius, in east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng) Photo taken on Sept. 27, 2022 shows guests attending the opening ceremony of 2022 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival and the Eighth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations in Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius, in east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng) Photo taken on Sept. 27, 2022 shows the opening ceremony of 2022 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival and the Eighth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations in Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius, in east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng) Aerial photo taken on Sept. 27, 2022 shows the site of 2022 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival and the Eighth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations in Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius, in east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng) Visitors view an ancient bronze ware at the exhibition "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" in east China's Shanghai, Sept. 26, 2022. "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" was launched Monday at the Minhang Museum in east China's Shanghai. The exhibition features China's cultural relics retrieved from overseas and now kept by the Poly Art Museum and the administration office of the Yuanmingyuan. Among the exhibits are bronze Chinese zodiac animal heads that belonged to the Yuanmingyuan Park, as well as bronze national treasures from ancient times. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) Visitors view a bronze tiger head at the exhibition "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" in east China's Shanghai, Sept. 26, 2022. "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" was launched Monday at the Minhang Museum in east China's Shanghai. The exhibition features China's cultural relics retrieved from overseas and now kept by the Poly Art Museum and the administration office of the Yuanmingyuan. Among the exhibits are bronze Chinese zodiac animal heads that belonged to the Yuanmingyuan Park, as well as bronze national treasures from ancient times. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) A visitor takes photos of a bronze monkey head at the exhibition "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" in east China's Shanghai, Sept. 26, 2022. "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" was launched Monday at the Minhang Museum in east China's Shanghai. The exhibition features China's cultural relics retrieved from overseas and now kept by the Poly Art Museum and the administration office of the Yuanmingyuan. Among the exhibits are bronze Chinese zodiac animal heads that belonged to the Yuanmingyuan Park, as well as bronze national treasures from ancient times. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) Photo taken on Sept. 26, 2022 shows exhibits on display at the exhibition "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" in east China's Shanghai. "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" was launched Monday at the Minhang Museum in east China's Shanghai. The exhibition features China's cultural relics retrieved from overseas and now kept by the Poly Art Museum and the administration office of the Yuanmingyuan. Among the exhibits are bronze Chinese zodiac animal heads that belonged to the Yuanmingyuan Park, as well as bronze national treasures from ancient times. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) A visitor visits the exhibition "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" in east China's Shanghai, Sept. 26, 2022. "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" was launched Monday at the Minhang Museum in east China's Shanghai. The exhibition features China's cultural relics retrieved from overseas and now kept by the Poly Art Museum and the administration office of the Yuanmingyuan. Among the exhibits are bronze Chinese zodiac animal heads that belonged to the Yuanmingyuan Park, as well as bronze national treasures from ancient times. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) A visitor views a bronze tiger head at the exhibition "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" in east China's Shanghai, Sept. 26, 2022. "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" was launched Monday at the Minhang Museum in east China's Shanghai. The exhibition features China's cultural relics retrieved from overseas and now kept by the Poly Art Museum and the administration office of the Yuanmingyuan. Among the exhibits are bronze Chinese zodiac animal heads that belonged to the Yuanmingyuan Park, as well as bronze national treasures from ancient times. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) Visitors view a bronze ox head at the exhibition "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" in east China's Shanghai, Sept. 26, 2022. "Return in Golden Age: China's Retrieved Cultural Relics Exhibition" was launched Monday at the Minhang Museum in east China's Shanghai. The exhibition features China's cultural relics retrieved from overseas and now kept by the Poly Art Museum and the administration office of the Yuanmingyuan. Among the exhibits are bronze Chinese zodiac animal heads that belonged to the Yuanmingyuan Park, as well as bronze national treasures from ancient times. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The following is the full text of the foreword written by Xi Jinping, titled "Forging Ahead on the Journey to National Rejuvenation," to the Revitalization Library: Forging Ahead on the Journey to National Rejuvenation-Foreword to the Revitalization Library September 20, 2022 Xi Jinping For thousands of years, the Chinese nation has the tradition to document historical records and compile classic works, so as to draw on the lessons of history and civilize the people through cultural development. It is a major cultural project approved by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee to compile this series of books. As our Party leads the people setting off on the new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects, the publication of this classic is of great significance for us to boost confidence in our history, grasp the trend of the times, follow the Chinese path, and promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization. The Chinese nation is a great nation, and has made indelible contributions to the progress of human civilization. Since the start of modern times, however, the Chinese nation suffered unprecedented disasters. It has become the greatest aspiration of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation ever since to realize the national rejuvenation. Countless noble-minded patriots never changed their minds to seek a way out for the country, and they explored and continued their struggles with strong will. After its founding, the CPC, pressing ahead against all odds, has united and led the Chinese people through arduous struggles. Staying committed to the guidance of Marxism, the Party has found the right path to realizing the national rejuvenation. Through tireless efforts in different historical periods of revolution, socialist construction, reform and opening up, the Chinese nation has achieved the transformation from standing up to growing rich and becoming strong, writing the most magnificent chapter in the development of the Chinese nation. The prospects of the national rejuvenation have never been so bright. What has been achieved has proved and will continue to prove that, under the strong leadership of the CPC, the Chinese people will be able to keep firmly in our own hands the destiny of the country's development and progress as long as we stay committed to the scientific theoretical guide and the right path and rally the strength of all the Chinese people. In the historical process of realizing the great national rejuvenation, the explorations, struggles, sacrifices and creations by generations of progressives and outstanding descendants of the Chinese nation have left behind a large number of precious documents of historical value and epochal significance. By compiling and publishing the Revitalization Library, which collects documents on important thoughts since the modern times, the pioneering endeavors of our ancestors will be recorded, so as to inspire the Chinese people for future pursuits. History is the best textbook. We will move forward, but we shall never forget what we have experienced. No matter how far we will have gone towards a bright future, we should not forget the past. As the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century and China's journey to its national rejuvenation enters a critical period, it is all the more important for us to draw on the lessons of history, reflect on the past, look to the future and press forward. Based on the foundation of a sound understanding of the Party's history, we should learn the history of modern China and the history of China, to gain a clear grasp of where we come from and where we are going, get a clear understanding of what we Chinese communists are for, what we have done and what we are going to do, and clearly see why we were successful in the past and how we can continue to succeed in the future. We should bolster confidence in and raise awareness of our own culture, pass on the revolutionary culture, develop the advanced socialist culture, and promote the creative transformation and development of the fine traditional Chinese culture, so as to build a shared spiritual home for the Chinese nation. We need to digest the essence of the history, promote theoretical innovation, and better advance academic studies. We should develop theories of our own, communicate our thoughts and continue to adapt Marxism to the Chinese context and our times. We should be firm in our ideals and convictions, consolidate our inner strengths, and more effectively uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, so that we can contribute our wisdom and efforts to the great national rejuvenation and make achievements and create glories of our own generation. Lilian Uwintwali, the chief executive of Mahwi Tech, receives an award for her innovation at the Women Agripreneur of the Year Awards 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda, Sept. 7, 2022. (Ministry of Agriculture Rwanda/Handout via Xinhua) A Rwandan woman entrepreneur and her Agritech firm has helped address demand and supply chain gaps of agriculture commodities in Rwanda using digital technologies to contribute to food systems security. KIGALI, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda's Lilian Uwintwali, the brain behind Mahwi Tech, an Agritech firm, is aspiring to digitize agriculture in Africa. Through a platform dubbed MLIMA digital marketplace, the firm has helped address demand and supply chain gaps of agriculture commodities in Rwanda using digital technologies to contribute to food systems security. "The firm currently serves 20,000 small holder farmers, providing access to high end markets and financing via MLIMA digital marketplace and the plan is to expand to other countries on the continent," Uwintwali, the chief executive of Mahwi Tech firm, told Xinhua. More than 60 farmers' cooperatives work with the MLIMA cooperative management system to digitize their operations and keep digital records of their finances, production, sales, stock and a database of all their member profiles and farm records. "When farmers have access to market information, they are able to access high end markets where they are not taken advantage of by middlemen who give them low prices for their products. So, they get big buyers who offer good prices," Uwintwali said. "Consequently, farmers' lives improve in terms of income generation, they are able to pay school fees for their children and enjoy improved welfare." The technology rolled out in 2013, according to Uwintwali, has undergone upgrades over the years. It was developed after conducting research on cooperatives in about 15 districts of the country on the kind of problems farmers faced and what the role of technology would play in addressing the issue. The research revealed that farmers were selling their produce to middlemen who were cheating them in the process. "So, in essence the cooperatives were not getting value from their production, but they could persist despite working in losses just for the sake of survival. At the moment things are improving, when you talk to famers you can notice the difference after farmers' incomes and sales increased," she said, adding that the technology they built was informed by research. The work model involved working hand in hand with farmers so that they provide input onto the features that were upgraded in the system. The developers also ensured it is really technology that is friendly to farmers. Uwintwali was among the four African women agripreneurs who emerged as the winners of 85,000 U.S. dollars grant during the Women Agripreneur of the Year Awards 2022 in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda earlier this month. The annual grants from Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) recognize women agripreneurs from across the continent who have excelled in different segments of the agricultural value chain and shown remarkable innovation in their businesses. Agnes Kalibata, president of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), delivers remarks at an event to launch the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) 2020 Summit in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda, Nov. 26, 2019. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran) Responding to the question about her motivation, Uwintwali said she always had a passion to develop the rural community as the heart of the country's development. "I have always been passionate about development, especially of the rural community. As a young child growing up, I always thought that Africa deserves better, Africa can feed itself but you always find that to date we are dependent on the western world, yet they have limited resources compared to Africa," she said. "If the rural community is empowered, and you build their capacity and develop them, these are the people who can do wonders. I have always aspired to do something not only different but something big to change the community, especially the rural community." The Agritech firm has a team of 10 employees five of whom are permanent staff. It aims to expand across the continent, especially in countries which have shown interest. "In terms of market we are planning to expand to other countries after seeing the success of the technology in Rwanda. I felt very excited about the award, and I hope it will open our doors to expand easily to other markets with the partnership we have," said Uwintwali. The platform currently focuses on maize and beans, but the plan is to expand to vegetables. In terms of products rather than just providing market information, the company wants farmers to be able to trade and receive money at the convenience of their mobile phones through mobile payment. The uniqueness of the technology is that it is customized for small holder farmers unlike any other marketplace, taking into consideration the needs of the farmers and with simple technology to understand. Uwintwali noted that youth engagement in agriculture is a challenge, but the company is working with other partners to address the issue. Noting that the agriculture sector has a lot of opportunities, she thinks that in order to advance agriculture in a digital way there is a need to engage young people who are tech savvy, that have the skills to use the technology. Educating older farmers from scratch, to make them understand is quite a challenge because of their age and their interest level, she said. Uwintwali stressed that there is a lot one can do in agriculture such as branding, production, value addition, processing, logistics or technology. "It is amazing. Getting involved in agriculture does not mean going to the farm," she said. She advised young women to dare taking up tech courses and other careers which have always been dominated by men. "The future belongs to those who are tech savvy," she said. BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent a message of condolence to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, over a school shooting incident in the country. In his message, Xi said he was shocked to learn of the shooting in the Russian city of Izhevsk. On behalf of the Chinese government and people and in his own name, Xi expressed deep condolences for those killed in the incident and sincere sympathies to the bereaved families. RAMALLAH, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye on Monday urged his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid to prove his support for the two-state solution by stopping settlement building and ending the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip. "Whoever claims to believe in the two-state solution must stop settlements, lift the siege on Gaza, open Jerusalem and stop the settlers' repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, which have reached their climax today," Ishtaye said during the weekly cabinet meeting, according to an official statement. In his address to the UN General Assembly last week, Lapid said a large majority of Israelis, including him, "support the vision of the two-state solution" despite all obstacles. Earlier on Monday, the Israeli police broke into the holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem to remove Muslim worshippers and provide a safe ground for ultranationalist Jews marking the Jewish New Year (from Sept. 25 to 27 this year), the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. Ishtaye called for an international movement to protect the Palestinian people, hold Israel accountable for its actions and practices, and end the occupation. The last direct peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, sponsored by the United States, broke down in 2014 over their deep differences on the issues of borders, security, and settlement. Hong Kong: Govt pragmatic in COVID-19 fight (To watch the full media session with sign language interpretation, click here.) Chief Executive John Lee today said that the Government will monitor the situation following the implementation of the 0+3 arrangement for inbound travellers, and reminded the public to continue to abide by anti-epidemic rules. Under the 0+3 measure which came into effect yesterday, people arriving in Hong Kong from overseas places or Taiwan will be required to undergo a three-day medical surveillance plus regular virus tests. Meeting the media ahead of the Executive Council meeting this morning, Mr Lee said the 0+3 arrangement, which involves airport and public transport operations, started off smoothly. He was pleased to note that people are generally supportive of the relaxed rules and called on citizens to pay attention to any violation of COVID-19 measures. So far, more than 40 people have breached the Vaccine Pass red code for failing to stay at the isolation locations. Meanwhile, those who did not comply with the compulsory testing requirement accounted for roughly 8% of the people subject to the test each month. Mr Lee stressed: This affects the effectiveness of the 0+3 arrangement, because in the 0+3 arrangement, we are requiring people to do (nucleic acid) tests on Day 2, Day 4 and Day 6, and also to do daily RATs (rapid antigen tests) continuously for seven days. If they do not do this, the success of the 0+3 arrangement will not be as effective because there may be a rebound of (COVID-19) cases. Separately, the Chief Executive reiterated the Government's call for citizens to get the COVID-19 jab in time. It is important that we will also advocate for people to go for (their COVID-19) inoculation, particularly the elderly and young people because the inoculation rate (for these age groups) is very low. Looking forward, Mr Lee said: We have to monitor the situation, be pragmatic and be careful, so that there will not be a rebound of (COVID-19) cases which will destroy all the pathways to maximising activities in society. This story has been published on: 2022-09-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (C, front) speaks at the 46th Annual Meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77 and China at the UN headquarters in New York on Sept. 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) "Without eliminating nuclear weapons, there can be no peace. There can be no trust. And there can be no sustainable future," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for the use of every means to eliminate the nuclear threat. Guterres made the appeal at a UN General Assembly high-level meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which falls on Sept. 26. "We come together on this international day to speak with one voice. To stand in defense of our world -- and our future. And to reject the claim that nuclear disarmament is some impossible utopian dream," he said. He noted that the elimination of nuclear weapons would be the greatest gift "we could bestow on future generations." In late August, the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons failed to result in the adoption of an outcome document. Expressing disappointment about the conference's failure to reach a substantive outcome, Guterres vowed that "we will not give up." "I urge all states to use every avenue of dialogue, diplomacy and negotiation to ease tensions, reduce risk and eliminate the nuclear threat," he said. Guterres also called for a new vision for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. He highlighted the need to take into account the evolving nuclear order, including all types of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, as well as the need to address the blurring lines between strategic and conventional weapons, and the nexus with new domains of cyber and outer space. The UN chief urged General Assembly delegates to seize the opportunity and make new commitment to work toward a peaceful future. "Without eliminating nuclear weapons, there can be no peace. There can be no trust. And there can be no sustainable future," he said. Xi Jinping and other Communist Party of China and state leaders Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng visit the exhibition -- "Forging Ahead in the New Era" -- at the Beijing Exhibition Hall in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed concerted efforts to forge ahead determinedly toward a new victory of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when visiting an exhibition on the great achievements of the Party and the country over the past decade. Xi stressed that since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has united and led the whole Party, the country, and the people in solving many challenging problems that were long on the agenda but never resolved, making many achievements that concerned the nation's future, and overcoming many political, economic, ideological, and natural risks, challenges, and trials. Historic achievements and shifts have taken place in the cause of the Party and the country, equipping the country with better institutions, firmer material foundations, and a more proactive mindset for realizing national rejuvenation, Xi added. He called for more efforts in raising public awareness of strategic measures, transformative practices, breakthroughs, and landmark accomplishments over the past decade. He also urged a better understanding of the significance of the profound changes during this period in the history of the CPC, of New China, of the reform and opening-up, of the development of socialism, and of the development of the Chinese nation, so that the whole Party, the country, and the people will maintain historical confidence and enhance the historical initiative. Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, and Han Zheng also visited the exhibition. Xi and other leaders arrived at the Beijing Exhibition Hall at 3:45 p.m. for the exhibition. Under the theme of "Forging Ahead in the New Era," the exhibition focuses on the many accomplishments and shifts in the cause of the Party and the country over the past 10 years in the new era. It spans six exhibit areas and covers more than 30,000 square meters in total. It features more than 6,000 exhibits, including pictures, material objects, and models. Among them are objects and models showcasing China's significant improvements in science and technology and manufacturing, the state-level key publication project "Revitalization Library," and exhibits presenting China's campaigns of eradicating extreme poverty and fighting COVID-19. Xi Jinping and other Communist Party of China and state leaders Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng visit the exhibition -- "Forging Ahead in the New Era" -- at the Beijing Exhibition Hall in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have unveiled a plan to improve the harmless disposal of sludge to reduce pollution and improve resource utilization. By 2025, the daily capacity of new harmless sludge disposal facilities in China will be at or above 20,000 tonnes, according to a plan released by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. The rate at which urban sludge is disposed of harmlessly will top 90 percent by 2025. By that time, a sludge treatment system with complete facilities, safe operations, green and low-carbon models, and effective supervision will be generally in place. By the end of 2021, nearly 4,600 sewage treatment plants had been built in cities and counties across the country, with an annual sewage treatment capacity of approximately 70 billion cubic meters. However, there remains significant room for improvement in terms of harmless treatment and resource utilization. The plan outlines a string of policy steps, including promoting the utilization of certain materials in sludge, improving disposal facilities, and enhancing whole-process management. PHNOM PENH, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's three-day Pchum Ben public holiday ended with 1.25 million people traveling to various tourist attractions across the kingdom, Tourism Minister Thong Khon said on Tuesday. The Pchum Ben festival, which honors the dead and ran from Saturday to Monday this year, was one of the largest religious festivals in the Southeast Asian nation. "A total of 1.25 million tourists, including 14,479 foreigners, had traveled to different tourist attractions across Cambodia during the festival from Sept. 24-26," Khon said in a news release. The most popular destinations were Battambang, Siem Reap, Kep, Pursat, and Preah Sihanouk provinces, he added. Travelers with face masks walk past a sign showing the location for COVID-19 testing at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, Canada, on Sept. 26, 2022. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) OTTAWA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian federal government announced Monday the removal of all COVID-19 entry restrictions, as well as testing, quarantine, and isolation requirements for anyone entering Canada, effective Oct. 1. Public Health Agency of Canada said in a press release that the removal of border measures has been facilitated by a number of factors, including modelling that indicates that Canada has largely passed the peak of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 fuelled wave, high vaccination rates, lower hospitalization and death rates, as well as the availability and use of vaccine boosters, rapid tests, and treatments for COVID-19. According to the press release, all travellers will no longer have to submit public health information through the ArriveCAN app or website; provide proof of vaccination; undergo pre- or on-arrival testing; carry out COVID-19-related quarantine or isolation; and report if they develop signs or symptoms of COVID-19 upon arriving to Canada. Transport Canada is also removing existing travel requirements. As of Oct. 1, travellers will no longer be required to undergo health checks for travel on air and rail; or wear masks on planes and trains. Cruise measures are also being lifted. "We expect COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses will continue to circulate over the cold months, so I encourage everyone to stay up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccination, including booster doses and exercise individual public health measures," said Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos. Although the masking requirement is being lifted, all travellers are strongly recommended to wear high quality and well-fitted masks during their journeys, the release said. Travelers and flight crews with face masks arrive at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, Canada, on Sept. 26, 2022. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) Travelers with face masks are seen at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, Canada, on Sept. 26, 2022. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) Travelers with face masks arrive at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, Canada, on Sept. 26, 2022. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) Photo taken on Sept. 27, 2022 shows a Starbucks store in downtown Shanghai, east China. Starbucks Tuesday celebrated its 6,000th store in the Chinese mainland, located in downtown Shanghai. Shanghai thus became the first city in the world to have 1,000 Starbucks stores, Starbucks China said. (Xinhua/Liu Ying) SHANGHAI, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Starbucks Tuesday celebrated its 6,000th store in the Chinese mainland, located in downtown Shanghai. Shanghai thus became the first city in the world to have 1,000 Starbucks stores, Starbucks China said. In 2018, Starbucks announced it would have 6,000 stores on the Chinese mainland by the end of its fiscal year in September 2022. The company achieved that as scheduled despite challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Starbucks opened its first store on the Chinese mainland in January 1999 in Beijing. The number of Starbucks stores on the Chinese mainland has grown dramatically over the past decade and is expected to grow to 9,000 by 2025, creating 35,000 new jobs, according to the company's strategic plan released recently. Starbucks China also revealed a plan to set up its first digital technology innovation center on the Chinese mainland over the coming three years. A Starbucks coffee creative park in Kunshan, east China's Jiangsu Province, is expected to be completed and start operating in the summer of 2023. Mugs are on display at a Starbucks store in downtown Shanghai, east China, Sept. 27, 2022. Starbucks Tuesday celebrated its 6,000th store in the Chinese mainland, located in downtown Shanghai. Shanghai thus became the first city in the world to have 1,000 Starbucks stores, Starbucks China said. (Xinhua/Liu Ying) Staff members work at a Starbucks store in downtown Shanghai, east China, Sept. 27, 2022. Starbucks Tuesday celebrated its 6,000th store in the Chinese mainland, located in downtown Shanghai. Shanghai thus became the first city in the world to have 1,000 Starbucks stores, Starbucks China said. (Xinhua/Liu Ying) A visitor takes picture of an AG600M firefighting aircraft in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 27, 2022. Codenamed Kunlong, the AG600 large amphibious aircraft family is seen as key aeronautical equipment for China's emergency-rescue system. It was developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading plane-maker, to meet the needs of firefighting and marine-rescue missions, as well as other critical emergency-rescue operations. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's independently-developed AG600 large amphibious aircraft has gained significant progress by completing critical flight tests and getting the first batch of purchase agreements, the developer announced on Tuesday. The AG600M aircraft, a full-configuration firefighting model belonging to the AG600 aircraft family, successfully conducted pivotal tests Tuesday morning, including scooping and dropping water, said the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading plane-maker. At 10:05 a.m., the AG600M aircraft carrying 12 tonnes of water took off from the ground runway at Zhanghe Airport in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province. It consecutively conducted the flight tests of aerial water dropping, landing on a nearby reservoir and taxiing scooping, taking off again and dropping water over the preset area, and then successfully landing at the reservoir at 10:16 a.m., said the AVIC. The very day, AVIC General Huanan Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd., signed the first batch of purchase agreements on four AG600M aircraft with Everbright Financial Leasing Co., Ltd., and signed an intent purchase agreement on two AG600M aircraft with the HNCA Aviation Equipment Leasing Co., Ltd., respectively. The successful completion of flight tests and obtaining purchase agreements marked that the AG600 amphibious aircraft's key mission capabilities have been verified, and could open the market, said He Shengqiang, AVIC deputy general manager. Both major moves highlighted that China's independently-developed aeronautical equipment could support the country's emergency rescue capabilities, said He. Codenamed Kunlong, or water dragon in Chinese, the AG600 is vital aeronautical equipment for China's emergency-rescue system. It plays roles in serving forest firefighting, maritime search and rescue, and other critical emergency rescue missions. The AG600M is specifically designed to combat forest fires. Its maximum take-off weight is 60 tonnes, with the water-carrying capacity up to 12 tonnes and the flight range reaching 4,500 km. It can conduct low-altitude flight at low speed, enabling it to drop water more precisely over the fire sites. Following up, the AG600M will enter the airworthiness phase. More variants of the AG600 aircraft family are under development, said the developer. The AVIC commits to sustaining the country's emergency rescue system and ensuring people's life and property by pushing forward the aircraft's progress and other vital aeronautical equipment. An AG600M firefighting aircraft takes off from water during a gathering and dropping water test in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 27, 2022. Codenamed Kunlong, the AG600 large amphibious aircraft family is seen as key aeronautical equipment for China's emergency-rescue system. It was developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading plane-maker, to meet the needs of firefighting and marine-rescue missions, as well as other critical emergency-rescue operations. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) Crew members of an AG600M firefighting aircraft disembark from the plane after a gathering and dropping water test in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 27, 2022. Codenamed Kunlong, the AG600 large amphibious aircraft family is seen as key aeronautical equipment for China's emergency-rescue system. It was developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading plane-maker, to meet the needs of firefighting and marine-rescue missions, as well as other critical emergency-rescue operations. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) An AG600M firefighting aircraft lands at Zhanghe Airport during a gathering and dropping water test in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 27, 2022. Codenamed Kunlong, the AG600 large amphibious aircraft family is seen as key aeronautical equipment for China's emergency-rescue system. It was developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading plane-maker, to meet the needs of firefighting and marine-rescue missions, as well as other critical emergency-rescue operations. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) An AG600M firefighting aircraft takes off from Zhanghe Airport during a gathering and dropping water test in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 27, 2022. Codenamed Kunlong, the AG600 large amphibious aircraft family is seen as key aeronautical equipment for China's emergency-rescue system. It was developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading plane-maker, to meet the needs of firefighting and marine-rescue missions, as well as other critical emergency-rescue operations. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) An AG600M firefighting aircraft drops water during a gathering and dropping water test in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 27, 2022. Codenamed Kunlong, the AG600 large amphibious aircraft family is seen as key aeronautical equipment for China's emergency-rescue system. It was developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading plane-maker, to meet the needs of firefighting and marine-rescue missions, as well as other critical emergency-rescue operations. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) An AG600M firefighting aircraft flies in the sky during a gathering and dropping water test in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 27, 2022. Codenamed Kunlong, the AG600 large amphibious aircraft family is seen as key aeronautical equipment for China's emergency-rescue system. It was developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading plane-maker, to meet the needs of firefighting and marine-rescue missions, as well as other critical emergency-rescue operations. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) An AG600M firefighting aircraft flies in the sky during a gathering and dropping water test in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 27, 2022. Codenamed Kunlong, the AG600 large amphibious aircraft family is seen as key aeronautical equipment for China's emergency-rescue system. It was developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading plane-maker, to meet the needs of firefighting and marine-rescue missions, as well as other critical emergency-rescue operations. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) An AG600M firefighting aircraft gathers water during a gathering and dropping water test in Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 27, 2022. Codenamed Kunlong, the AG600 large amphibious aircraft family is seen as key aeronautical equipment for China's emergency-rescue system. It was developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading plane-maker, to meet the needs of firefighting and marine-rescue missions, as well as other critical emergency-rescue operations. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) DAMASCUS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. plundering of Syrian oil resources, together with the suffocating unilateral sanctions imposed by Washington, has caused most Syrians to fall under the poverty line, experts have said. Syrians have realized that the real purpose of U.S. presence here has never been about fighting terrorism, but stealing resources and imposing its own vision of the future on the Arab country. "The U.S. role in Syria has been destructive, to say the least," political expert Osama Danura has said. SYSTEMATIC STEALING OF SYRIAN OIL Syria's state news agency SANA reported on Sunday that over the past week alone, U.S. forces stole a total of 79 tankers of oil from Syrian oil fields in the northeastern province of Hasakah to U.S. bases in neighboring Iraq. "The United States of America is literally stealing Syrian oil," Danura said to Xinhua. "One of the ugliest images of the U.S. violations of human rights in Syria was stealing oil derivatives from the national resources in Syria," said Muhammad al-Omari, another political expert. After entering Syria in 2014, U.S. forces, under the pretext of fighting terrorist groups, were quick to seize oil-rich areas in northern and northeastern parts of the country, experts said. They and their "mercenaries" were stealing an average of 66,000 barrels of oil per day in Syria whose average daily oil production is estimated to have reached 80,000 barrels in the first half of 2022, Syria's oil ministry said in a statement last month. According to the ministry, U.S. practices in Syria have so far cost Syria's oil and gas sectors about 107.1 billion U.S. dollars in direct and indirect losses. UNILATERAL SANCTIONS AGGRAVATE CRISIS Apart from the loss of oil resources, the suffocating economic sanctions are an extra burden Syrians have to endure and live with amid a lack of most basic necessities. In Danura's view, the U.S. sanctions are the main drive behind Syrians' falling into poverty. "The unilateral sanctions are a U.S. practice that largely damaged the Syrian state. The Syrian people were deprived of their oil and food resources and in turn, the economic circle in Syria has been damaged by such unilateral measures," the analyst said. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said earlier this month that his country deserves international support and the removal of U.S. economic sanctions. Mekdad told a UN meeting via a video conference call from Damascus that the Syrian people are subject to an economic siege imposed by the United States and its Western allies. The foreign minister urged the international community to help end the coercive economic sanctions and expel the illegal foreign forces in Syria. SYRIANS LACK FOOD, FUEL The United Nations said in March that 90 percent of Syrians lived below the poverty line and more than 80 percent were food insecure. Syrian families say they are eating less, cutting meals and going into debt to meet their basic needs. According to Muhammad al-Omari, the U.S. forces "use the starvation tactic through stealing agricultural harvest or even burning the harvests or preventing the farmers from having access to their lands and thus this had posed a violation of human rights." "The United States of America wanted to use the starvation tactic and to steal the Syrian resources, thus starving the Syrian people," he said. Fuel is also in shortage, at a time when most Syrians are preparing for winter. They would have to live without enough heating and even with long hours of power cuts in the winter as a result of a scarcity of fuel. Industrialists also don't have enough fuel to run their factories, which is causing a steep decline in their production. Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, addresses the opening ceremony of the exhibition -- "Forging Ahead in the New Era" -- and declares the exhibition open at the Beijing Exhibition Hall in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The exhibition -- "Forging Ahead in the New Era" -- opened Tuesday morning at the Beijing Exhibition Hall. Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, addressed the opening ceremony and declared the exhibition open. Wang hailed the decade since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012 as a truly extraordinary and remarkable decade in the course of the development of the Party and the country. The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has united and led the entire Party, the military, and all Chinese people in advancing a host of transformative practices, making many new breakthroughs and achieving a number of landmark accomplishments, Wang said. With great success achieved for socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, the last 10 years are a milestone in the history of the Party, the People's Republic of China, reform and opening up, the development of socialism, and the development of the Chinese nation, he said. The fundamental reason why historic achievements and historic shifts have been made in the cause of the Party and the country is the helmsmanship and leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the sound guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Wang said. Wang stressed the need to maintain a high degree of unity with the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. As an important part of the publicity work in preparation for the 20th CPC National Congress, the exhibition is being held to guide all officials and the public to continue to forge ahead under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, remain committed to the leadership of the CPC and China's socialist system, and resolutely follow the CPC in sticking to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and promoting national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization, Wang said. About 350 people attended the opening ceremony. ANKARA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- One police officer was killed and another injured late on Monday when a bomb exploded near a hotel in Turkiye's southern province of Mersin, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Tuesday. Soylu told reporters that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was responsible for the attack, adding two women carried out attacks and died in the suicide bombing. The two women, affiliated with the PKK group, opened fire on the police who were guarding a hotel for security officers in the Mezitli district of Mersin, Soylu said. "The female terrorists were injured during the clashes. They understood they would not be able to escape, and detonated themselves," he added. In a separate statement, the Turkish Interior Ministry said one of the two PKK members who carried out the attack was identified as Dilsah Ercan. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the EU, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades. This is how the US Ambassador to the OSCE, Michael Carpenter, talked to Georgian media agency "Interpressnews" regarding the mass inflow of Russian citizens into Georgia."I appreciate the concern Georgians have about the mass inflow of Russian citizens into the country. Ultimately, each country must make a decision based on what is best for national security,"Carpenter believes that Georgia is facing a uniquely unprecedented situation, where not only are two regions illegally occupied by Russia, but there is also a large inflow of mostly young men coming from Russia due to mobilization orders."Of course, Russia continues to occupy 20% of the sovereign territory of Georgia today, and this is a matter of great concern. Russia has never implemented the terms of the 6-point ceasefire agreement since August 2008 and maintains military forces in the Tskhinvali region and Abkhazia in violation of the said agreement and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia.I appreciate the concern Georgians have about the mass inflow of Russian citizens into the country. I can only say that this is a sovereign decision of the Georgian government regarding who will receive it and in what quantity. But Georgia is facing a uniquely unprecedented situation where not only are there two regions illegally occupied by Russia, but you have a large inflow of mostly young men coming from Russia as a result of mobilization orders. Each country will be different in how it responds to the desire of Russian citizens to flee their country and seek refuge elsewhere. "Each country should make a decision based on what is best for the protection of national security," Carpenter said.The Minister of Finance Lasha Khutsishvili, after the end of the government session, responded to the journalist's question about whether all Russian citizens are allowed to enter Georgia and whether threats from the state are taken into account and said that they are following established rules:"Customs and border control is carried out according to established rules - information is collected at checkpoints, analysis is carried out, and only after that a decision is made regarding this or that person."According to Khutsishvili, due to the increased flow of people coming to Georgia from Russia, the relevant state agencies are working actively and with more workload.The Revenue Service and Customs Department work under special workload conditions. In this situation, we all see that the flows have increased both in terms of the direction of cargo and the number of incoming physical persons. In this regard, the situation is under control. There is no dramatic situation at the border crossing. The number of people entering and leaving the country has increased, therefore, this issue is being strictly monitored," Khutsishvili said. BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) announced its decision to arrest Li Jiexiang, former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of Qinghai Provincial People's Congress, for suspected bribe-taking. The National Commission of Supervision has completed an investigation into Li's case and handed it over to prosecutors, the SPP said. Further handling of the case is underway. RIYADH, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Tuesday appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the kingdom's prime minister, Saudi Press Agency reported, citing a royal decree. The king meanwhile issued a decree ordering a cabinet reshuffle, appointing Saudi Prince Khalid bin Salman as the minister of defense. Heads of ministries that were kept unchanged include the minister of energy, the minister of foreign affairs, the minister of investment, the minister of interior, and the minister of finance. UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A UN envoy on Tuesday stressed the need for the international community to engage with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Markus Potzel, the UN secretary-general's deputy special representative for Afghanistan, saw international engagement as the most realistic approach. If the Taliban do not respond to the needs of all elements of Afghan society and constructively engage within the very limited window of opportunity with the international community, it is unclear what would come next, he told the Security Council in a briefing. Further fragmentation, isolation, poverty, and internal conflict are among the likely scenarios, leading to potential mass migration and a domestic environment conducive to terrorist organizations, as well as greater misery for the Afghan population, he warned. "That's why we have to engage. The objective of our engagement is to promote governance in Afghanistan that works to the benefit of the Afghan people and respects the norms of the global community, he said. "While success is not certain, continued qualified engagement remains the most realistic chance of achieving these objectives." Since taking over Kabul, the Taliban's self-identified emirate has not been recognized by any state. At the same time, the international community also did not want to see the country collapse, he said. Afghanistan's neighbors, in particular, adopted a pragmatic approach and sought to deepen economic and trade ties and build stability, he added. The July 26 Tashkent conference, which for the first time brought together representatives of the Taliban, members of the region, and traditional donors, provided a platform for engagement and an opportunity for the international community to express its united position on what it expects from the de facto authorities. It was regrettable that the Taliban delegation did not take the opportunity to constructively address these expectations, noted Potzel. "Nonetheless, we believe that the Tashkent format is useful and should be continued," he said. Initially, the de facto authorities made commitments regarding the security and independence of humanitarian assistance. These commitments have also gradually been eroded, he said. "We viewed with great concern the detaining by the de facto Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and the General Directorate of Intelligence of three women working for UN agencies in Kandahar three weeks ago, as well as increasing pressures on our staff and premises and those of other agencies." In general, the de facto authorities are creating operational obstacles that make the work of the United Nations and its humanitarian partners increasingly difficult, and in some cases contravene global and well-established humanitarian principles, he said. "I am afraid that patience is running out by many in the international community regarding a strategy of engagement with Afghanistan's Taliban authorities," he warned. There have been some positive developments in the past few months. But they have been too few and too slow and are outweighed by the negatives. In particular, the ongoing ban on secondary education for girls -- unique in the world -- and growing restrictions on women's rights are signals that the Taliban are indifferent to more than 50 percent of the population and are willing to risk international isolation, he said. The relegation of women and girls to the home not only deprives them of their rights, but also denies Afghanistan as a whole the benefit of the significant contributions that women and girls have to offer, he said. Markus Potzel (Front), the UN secretary-general's deputy special representative for Afghanistan, speaks at a Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 27, 2022. Potzel on Tuesday stressed the need for the international community to engage with the Taliban in Afghanistan. (Rick Bajornas/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A UN envoy on Tuesday stressed the need for the international community to engage with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Markus Potzel, the UN secretary-general's deputy special representative for Afghanistan, saw international engagement as the most realistic approach. If the Taliban do not respond to the needs of all elements of Afghan society and constructively engage within the very limited window of opportunity with the international community, it is unclear what would come next, he told the Security Council in a briefing. Further fragmentation, isolation, poverty, and internal conflict are among the likely scenarios, leading to potential mass migration and a domestic environment conducive to terrorist organizations, as well as greater misery for the Afghan population, he warned. "That's why we have to engage. The objective of our engagement is to promote governance in Afghanistan that works to the benefit of the Afghan people and respects the norms of the global community, he said. "While success is not certain, continued qualified engagement remains the most realistic chance of achieving these objectives." Since taking over Kabul, the Taliban's self-identified emirate has not been recognized by any state. At the same time, the international community also did not want to see the country collapse, he said. Afghanistan's neighbors, in particular, adopted a pragmatic approach and sought to deepen economic and trade ties and build stability, he added. The July 26 Tashkent conference, which for the first time brought together representatives of the Taliban, members of the region, and traditional donors, provided a platform for engagement and an opportunity for the international community to express its united position on what it expects from the de facto authorities. It was regrettable that the Taliban delegation did not take the opportunity to constructively address these expectations, noted Potzel. "Nonetheless, we believe that the Tashkent format is useful and should be continued," he said. Initially, the de facto authorities made commitments regarding the security and independence of humanitarian assistance. These commitments have also gradually been eroded, he said. "We viewed with great concern the detaining by the de facto Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and the General Directorate of Intelligence of three women working for UN agencies in Kandahar three weeks ago, as well as increasing pressures on our staff and premises and those of other agencies." In general, the de facto authorities are creating operational obstacles that make the work of the United Nations and its humanitarian partners increasingly difficult, and in some cases contravene global and well-established humanitarian principles, he said. "I am afraid that patience is running out by many in the international community regarding a strategy of engagement with Afghanistan's Taliban authorities," he warned. There have been some positive developments in the past few months. But they have been too few and too slow and are outweighed by the negatives. In particular, the ongoing ban on secondary education for girls -- unique in the world -- and growing restrictions on women's rights are signals that the Taliban are indifferent to more than 50 percent of the population and are willing to risk international isolation, he said. The relegation of women and girls to the home not only deprives them of their rights, but also denies Afghanistan as a whole the benefit of the significant contributions that women and girls have to offer, he said. Some of the Taliban's claimed and acknowledged achievements are also eroding, said Potzel. In the past months there has been a steady rise in security incidents monitored by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) -- both armed clashes and criminality, as well as high-profile deadly terrorist attacks, he said. "Our earlier warnings about the capabilities of Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) were dismissed by the Taliban. But ISKP has demonstrated in the last few months alone that it can carry out assassinations of figures close to the Taliban, attacks against foreign embassies, as well as fire rockets across Afghanistan's border to attack its neighbors, all while maintaining its long-standing sectarian campaign against Shia Muslims and ethnic minorities," said Potzel. "We are particularly concerned about the recent attack at the Russian Embassy in Kabul that killed 10 people, among them a Russian diplomat. In addition to attacks carried out by ISKP, a number of unclaimed incidents killed and wounded Afghans going about their daily lives, in particular, while attending places of worship," he said. The reported presence of al-Qaida leader al Zawahiri in the heart of Kabul and the strike against him, as well as the continued presence of other terrorist groups, have forced a questioning of the Taliban's counter-terrorism commitments, further deepening the trust gap with the international community, he warned. These questions are still unanswered, noted Potzel. Armed clashes persist between the de facto security forces and armed opposition groups in the Panjshir, Baghlan, Kapisa, Takhar, and Badakhshan provinces. There are disturbing reports, as well as videos and photos, indicating possible serious human rights violations committed in Panjshir, he said. The economic situation remains tenuous, said Potzel. While the Taliban claim they have increased exports, maintained the value of the country's currency, and generated solid revenue collection, per capita income has collapsed to 2007 levels, erasing 15 years of economic growth, he said. However, like many aspects of Taliban governance, the details behind their claims remain opaque. Part of the enduring economic downturn is due to liquidity problems that are related to Afghanistan's isolation from the international banking system. Liquidity remains heavily dependent on the cash that the UN continues to bring in for humanitarian operations -- cash that supports the needs of the Afghan people and does not directly reach the de facto authorities, he said. Even this funding is uncertain. To date, the 2022 humanitarian response plan for Afghanistan has only received 1.9 billion U.S. dollars out of a 4.4-billion-dollar requirement. Amid growing needs and a worsening food security situation, such a funding gap is all the more alarming given that winter is coming, he said. In the immediate term, humanitarian partners require 614 million dollars to support priority winter preparedness in addition to the 154 million dollars required to pre-position essential supplies before areas get cut off by the weather, he said. But these humanitarian and temporary economic measures will not meet the Afghan people's longer-term requirements. Humanitarian assistance alone cannot replace essential service delivery systems, such as health and water, nor prevent an economic collapse, he warned. UNAMA has been urging donors to take a complementary approach to meet people's needs by supporting, in addition to humanitarian action, some basic human needs projects that leverage the capacity of local communities, address underlying structural issues, promote economic growth, and seek to minimize the effects of climate change, which are particularly severe in Afghanistan, he said. In the meantime, the Taliban state they are committed to private-sector-led growth that will prevent aid dependency and conditionality. But this will require practical steps that, so far, have not been taken, including a clear legal framework, public investments, a functioning banking system, reliable energy and communication services, and an educated workforce that includes women, said Potzel. There is also a continued lack of political inclusivity and transparency in decision-making. Most Afghans do not see themselves represented at all levels of governance. There are no consistent mechanisms for citizens to provide feedback to the authorities and little indication that the Taliban wish to even hear any, he said. UNAMA, through its field offices, consistently works to bring together de facto local authorities and representatives of Afghan communities, including women, to improve the level of consultation, he said. MONTREAL, Canada, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) called on aviation regulators to operate in creative ways to productively engage with innovators, according to a press release issued by the UN agency on Tuesday. Demonstrating how emerging technologies can deliver a sustainable and resilient recovery for the international air transport system, the 2022 ICAO Innovation Fair was held in Sept. 24-26, helping set the stage for the opening of the ICAO 41st Assembly on Tuesday. Closing the fair, ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar said this year's fair highlighted an array of challenges in bringing aviation innovations from concept to reality, both for innovators and for regulators. "Many of these factors are common across jurisdictions," Salazar said. "This highlights the need for regulators to operate in new and creative ways to productively engage with innovators, and new ways to communicate with a broader range of stakeholders." Taking place in Montreal, this special three-day event attracted over 1,400 attendees, and featured traditional and new players who are delivering a technological revolution in aviation worldwide. An exhibition included prototypes of cutting-edge aircraft types and other latest air transport technologies and solutions, the release said. The panels focused on different facets of innovation and their deployment for international civil aviation, addressing regulatory challenges, urban air mobility integration, aviation sustainability, incubator programs, artificial intelligence, behavioural science, implementation support and capacity building, according to the release. The ICAO is a United Nations specialized agency that works with its 193 member states to set and audit safety, security, emissions, navigation, and facilitation standards to shape and improve international air operations. The ICAO Assembly, meeting once every three years, will hold its 41st session from Sept. 27 to Oct. 7, during which member states and representatives from international organizations will establish the ICAO's priorities, supporting the increased sustainability and digitalization of 21st century air transport. LUSAKA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A high-level meeting of experts from African countries opened Monday, with participants discussing the need for the establishment of mortality surveillance programs. The four-day meeting was expected to review and finalize a draft framework for mortality surveillance as well as launch the continental framework in this regard. Zambia's Health Minister Sylvia Masebo said at the start of the meeting that the framework will help member states of the African Union (AU) in the planning and implementation of their mortality surveillance programs, especially in view of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. "It will help to fast track the availability of good quality and timely mortality data for public health decision-making as well as strengthen death registration across Africa," she said, noting the meeting has provided an opportunity for member states to exchange ideas and experiences to adopt new strategies to address mortality surveillance data needs as well as prepare for better future health security. Lul Riek, the regional director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said it was important for African countries to unite and support each other in addressing health security issues instead of depending on outsiders. He said it was vital to ensure that every death on the continent was recorded and that the dead deserves to be known and remembered. He said the Africa CDC developed the continental framework to guide member states in the planning and implementation of their mortality surveillance programs in order to fast-track the availability of quality and timely mortality data for public health decisions. CAIRO, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Sunday discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. In a phone conversation, the two leaders also discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations, particularly in the economic, investment, and trade sectors, it reads. Sisi confirmed Egypt's willingness to promote bilateral cooperation at all levels. The Bulgarian president stressed the importance of continued coordination and consultation between the two countries in various fields. While praising "Egypt's pivotal role in laying the foundations for stability and security in the Middle East," Radev commended Egypt's success in deterring illegal immigration through its territories to the European Union member states. Photo taken on Sept. 18, 2022 shows a displaced child cooking on a makeshift stove at a temporary shelter in Rumangabo, a town of the North Kivu province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). (Xinhua/Alain Uaykani) KINSHASA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Since the beginning of the new school year, schools in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are marred by ongoing rebel conflicts, with classrooms squatted by displaced refugees to flee war and seek sanctuary. In Rumangabo, a town of the North Kivu province, currently the epicenter of violent armed conflicts between the government army and rebels of the March 23 Mouvement (M23), around 4,000 displaced people are scattered across different schools, making classrooms and resources more scarce than before. Marie Simire and her six children, who fled the city of Bunagana which was taken control by the rebels, now live in a small makeshift house in a school. Her husband was killed by a stray bullet on his way home while he was working the fields when the government army and the M23 crossed fires. Like most of her fellows in the village, she and her children fled for days on foot and finally settled down in the school during the summer vacation. As the new school year started on Sept. 5, life has become more harsh and difficult. "I arrived here with my children for a few months without taking anything from our abandoned house in Bunagana. Now the studies have resumed but I do not have the capacity to send my children to class due to the lack of means and difficult conditions in which we currently live at this site," she explained. Jean-Baptiste Habyarimana, the head of the Rumangabo center primary school, pointed out the cruel fact that the school is at capacity and the massive displacement have become a huge conundrum for both the displaced refugees and the school kids. "The schools are almost totally occupied by displaced people from villages far from this city. A situation that makes it difficult for us to function as a school," said Habyarimana. Schools are jam-packed with people seeking refuge, some displaced children spend their day chopping wood and selling it at the makeshift market as the only way to survive. "The majority of the children at this site do not go to school. This is how they prefer to resort to these jobs of cutting just to survive. We deplore this situation, which risks affecting the future of these children in the long term," insisted Katitima Justin, head of a make-shift refugee site in Rumangabo. Asked by Xinhua about the current school situation in areas troubled by clashes between the army and the M23 rebels, the military governor of North Kivu Constant Ndima acknowledged that about 70 percent of the schools are being affected. "This situation which has affected the school sector since the start of the school year is more than dramatic and it goes beyond our jurisdiction at the provincial level," said Constant Ndima, promising "quick solutions" for the affected children. For the military authorities of North Kivu, the effective solution remains that of restoring peace in this part of the country as soon as possible in order to allow the displaced population to return to their homes. For Simire, however, going home seems like a sheer delusion as her hometown is still in the hands of the rebels who are deemed as "terrorists" by the Congolese government. Since the end of March 2022, the M23 has been on the offensive in DRC's northeastern province of North Kivu, where several townships fell into the hands of the rebels for months. Photo taken on Sept. 18, 2022 shows displaced people at a temporary shelter in Rumangabo, a town of the North Kivu province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). (Xinhua/Alain Uaykani) MOGADISHU, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Somali National Army (SNA) said Tuesday its elite forces Danab killed 11 al-Shabab terrorists during an operation in the Hiran region, central Somalia, Monday night. Hassan Mohamed Osman, deputy head of the 16th Battalion of Danab Commandos, told the SNA Radio that the elite forces also burnt down a vehicle al-Shabab militants were traveling near Buq-Aqable Village. "The armed forces have officially taken over Buq Aqable district in Hiran region after killing 11 terrorists who were roaming in the area," the military radio said. It said the loss of the Buq Aqable district is crucial in the fight against counterterrorism in the central region and across the country. The militant group has lost ground to the Somali government and African Union troops in recent months but still controls considerable territory in southern and central Somalia. ISLAMABAD, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Two military personnel were killed when terrorists targeted security forces' check post in South Waziristan district of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a military statement said on Monday. The statement from the military media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said that the troops responded promptly following the attack, adding that during an exchange of fire, two soldiers of the Pakistani army lost lives. The statement said that one terrorist was also killed in retaliatory fire. Area clearance was being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area, said the statement. China News Service: State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently held meetings with more than ten European leaders and foreign ministers on the sidelines of the General Debate of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: During the UNGA high-level week, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with leaders, political dignitaries and foreign ministers of European countries including Serbia, France, Malta, the UK, Portugal, Norway, Poland, Hungary and Germany, and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. They had extensive, in-depth and candid talks on enhancing mutual understanding, advancing practical cooperation and jointly responding to challenges, which fully shows the importance China attaches to China-EU relations. State Councilor Wang underscored the need for China and the EU, two major forces in a multi-polar world, to stick to the characterization of the two sides as each others strategic partners, and maintain the sound momentum of dialogue and communication. He expressed Chinas confidence that the EU will uphold strategic autonomy and work with China to promote the steady and sustained growth of bilateral relations. His European counterparts said they value relations with China, reiterated commitment to the one-China policy and expressed the hope of having candid exchanges and deeper cooperation in relevant fields. Dialogue and cooperation remains the mainstream of China-EU relations. Mutual benefit is the underlying tone of Chinas cooperation with Europe. For the first eight months of this year, China-EU trade increased by 8.8% year-on-year and EU investment in China went up by 123.7%. The China-Europe Railway Express made its 10,000th trip of this year 10 days sooner than last year. The two sides made good progress or reached agreements on macroeconomic policy coordination, supply and industrial chain cooperation, WTO reform, greater market access, implementation of the China-EU agreement on geographical indications, animal and plant inspection and quarantine, and two-way opening-up of the financial sector and regulatory cooperation. All these speak to the vibrancy and resilience of China-EU cooperation. China hopes to work with the EU to be two major forces for world peace, two big markets for common development and two great civilizations for human progress and together pursue mutual benefit, uphold multilateralism and seek common ground while reserving differences. By working together, we can bring about the sound and steady growth of China-EU relations, contribute to the sustained recovery of the world economy and bring certainty and hope to a turbulent and volatile world. China Daily: US Vice President Kamala Harris met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo. They discussed Chinas recent aggressive and irresponsible provocations in the Taiwan Strait, and reaffirmed the importance of preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Do you have any comment on this? Wang Wenbin: The US House Speaker, in disregard of Chinas four-month-long dissuasion, made a provocative visit to Chinas Taiwan region and referred to Taiwan as a country. What the US side has done seriously violates Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity, hurts China-US relations and undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. As a response, China took countermeasures that are legitimate, lawful, proportionate and necessary. What constitute the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait at the moment are the DPP authorities provocations aimed at Taiwan independence and the connivance and support they have received from external forces. The one-China principle is what underpins peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The clearer and stronger the commitment of the international community is to the one-China principle, the more likely peace across the Taiwan Strait will be ensured. We urge the US side to return to the three China-US Joint Communiques and the one-China principle in their true and original form, reaffirm its commitment to the one-China policy in the simple and straightforward way, and state its opposition to all Taiwan independence separatist activities with absolute clarity. AFP: Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Taiwan today. Do you have a comment on this? Wang Wenbin: You mentioned a former politician of diminished credibility who staged these stunts for personal political gains. His calculations will not materialize. Dragon TV: According to reports, the temporary ceasefire agreement between warring parties in Yemen is set to expire on October 2. Recently, members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) reaffirmed their support for the resolution of the Yemen issue through political means and for the UN-led peace efforts. They also called on the Houthis to cooperate with the UNs mediation efforts and reach an agreement on renewing the ceasefire deal at an early date. Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: China takes seriously and fully understands the legitimate and reasonable concerns of the GCC countries over the Yemen issue. We support the GCC countries effort in safeguarding their security and support their initiatives and propositions on resolving the Yemen issue. We oppose all attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure in the GCC countries and actions that violate the temporary ceasefire agreement. China hopes that parties concerned will actively assist the UNs mediation efforts, reach an agreement on the renewal of the deal as soon as possible, help turn the temporary ceasefire into a permanent one and toward a sustainable political solution, and work for the early return of peace, stability and order to Yemen. Beijing Youth Daily: It is reported that at least 17 people, including 11 students, were killed in a shooting at a school in Izhevsk, the capital city of Russias Udmurt Republic on September 26. Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: We noted relevant reports. We express our condolences for the victims and sympathies to the bereaved families and the wounded. AFP: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Pakistan to seek debt relief from China so that Pakistan can more quickly recover from the floods. Is China planning any debt relief for Pakistan? Wang Wenbin: Since the floods hit the country, China has rushed to Pakistans aid as its genuine friend and brother in times of need. The Chinese government has provided 400 million RMB worth of humanitarian assistance and Chinas civil society has also lent a helping hand. We will continue to do our utmost to help the Pakistani people overcome the floods and rebuild their homes at an early date. China and Pakistan have had fruitful economic and financial cooperation. The Pakistani people know it best. Instead of passing unwarranted criticism against China-Pakistan cooperation, the US side might as well do something real and beneficial for the people of Pakistan. NHK: The UN Security Council held an urgent meeting on the referendums on joining Russia in eastern and southern Ukraine. What is Chinas position on this? Wang Wenbin: Let me first reiterate Chinas long-standing position that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected, that the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be observed, that the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously, and that all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises must be supported. On the Ukraine issue, China always stands on the side of peace and has been committed to promoting peace talks. We are ready to work with the international community and continue to play a constructive part in deescalating the situation. The Security Council, as the core of the international collective security mechanism, needs to make full use of the mediation tools provided for in the UN Charter and steer the situation in the right direction of ending the fighting and promoting dialogue. The Council needs to take constructive and responsible actions in particular to accumulate conditions and open up space for a political resolution. AFP: A question on the United Nations. The US and some Western countries presented a proposal on Monday asking the UN human rights body to hold a special debate over the situation in Xinjiang. What do you think about this proposal? Wang Wenbin: The Xinjiang-related issues are not about ethnicity, religion or human rights. They are about countering violent terrorism, radicalization and separatism and have everything to do with protecting Chinas sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security. A handful of countries have tried to use Xinjiang-related issues to interfere in Chinas internal affairs, discredit China and contain and hinder Chinas development. Their political calculations will not succeed. Certain Western countries use the Human Rights Council as a tool for political manipulation. They blatantly apply double standard and have gone so far as to name and shame some developing countries and openly pressure them. This has poisoned the atmosphere and led to aggravated confrontation at the Human Rights Council, which is detrimental to international human rights cooperation. The international community firmly rejects such practices. The US and a few others, oblivious to their own serious human rights violations, are obsessed with lecturing and criticizing other countries, which has become a source of ridicule in the eyes of the world. We urge these few Western countries to take a hard look at themselves, reflect on and address their serious human rights issues including racial discrimination, gun violence, infringement on indigenous peoples rights and abuse of unilateral sanctions, and fulfill their human rights obligations with concrete actions. CCTV: On September 26, Pakistan delivered a joint statement on behalf of nearly 70 countries at the 51st session of the Human Rights Council, expressing support for Chinas position on issues related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet and opposition to interference in Chinas internal affairs under the pretext of human rights. Whats Chinas comment? Wang Wenbin: Yesterday, Pakistan delivered a joint statement on behalf of nearly 70 countries at the 51st session of the Human Rights Council. The statement pointed out that Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet related issues are Chinas internal affairs and expressed opposition to politicization of human rights and double standard, or interference in Chinas internal affairs under the pretext of human rights. It called on all parties to abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and respect the right of the people of each state to choose independently the path for development in accordance with their national conditions. It also stressed that the international community should uphold multilateralism, strengthen solidarity and coordination, and respond jointly to global challenges, advance world peace and development, and promote and protect human rights. More than 20 countries voiced support for China by making their separate statements or other means. Nearly 100 countries have expressed their understanding and support for Chinas legitimate position in various ways at the Human Rights Council. The attempts of a handful of Western countries to use so-called human rights issues to attack and smear China have failed time and again. This speaks volumes about who enjoys broad support and who doesnt. A handful of Western countries have blatantly interfered in the internal affairs of other countries in the name of human rights and repeatedly applied double standard on the issue of human rights. The overwhelming majority of the international community have long been clear-eyed about this. There are serious human rights problems within the US and a handful of other Western countries - gun violence that deprives people of the right to life, botched COVID response that denies people their right to health, human trafficking and ensuing forced labor that breach labor rights, forcible separation of migrant families against their human rights, systemic racial discrimination that infringes upon the human rights of minorities like Asian Americans, African Americans and Muslims, a persistent remnant of genocide policy that violates the human rights of the indigenous people and overseas military operations and illegal unilateral sanctions that infringe upon the human rights of other countries. We urge these countries to stop lecturing other countries on human rights and stop applying double standard and seeking political manipulation. They need to be held accountable for the human cost and catch up on their human rights record. China is unwavering in its resolve to uphold its national sovereignty, security and development interests. Whatever political theatrics these small number of Western countries perform, they will not stop the Chinese peoples journey toward greater development and progress and their calculations will all end in failure. Kyodo News: The state funeral for Japans former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was held today in Japan. Besides the representative of the Chinese side, the representative of the Taiwan region was also invited to lay flowers at the funeral. Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The one-China principle is a widely accepted norm governing international relations and a prevailing consensus of the international community. Japan needs to observe the principles set out in the four China-Japan political documents and the solemn commitments it has made, handle the relevant matters in strict accordance with the one-Chine principle and refrain from providing any platform or opportunity for Taiwan independence separatist forces to engage in political manipulation. YANGON, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The National University of Arts and Culture (NUAC) in Yangon on Monday hosted the China-Myanmar friendship award ceremony for 55 outstanding Myanmar students of arts and culture. Ei Kywal Kywal Bo, a second-year student who majors in cinematography and drama at NUAC in Yangon, was one of the recipients of the award. "I envy the Chinese for their historical dramas," which feature amazing costumes, she said, adding that she hopes Myanmar's film industry will improve through the exchange between the two countries' film communities. Aung Ko Naing, a third-year student of dramatic arts at the university, said he has a dream of studying arts and culture in China in the future. "If opportunities arise, I want to participate in the activities of China-Myanmar arts cooperation, cultural cooperation and bilateral friendship," he said. He said that he hopes the culture and arts communities of the two countries will get closer because culture and arts show the image of a nation. On behalf of the students who received the award, a fourth-year student, Htein Lin Oo, thanked China for the presentation of the award. "The award is encouraging our generation of youths to try harder in the future," he said. "I'm very grateful to China." The award winners included 25 students from the National University of Arts and Culture in Yangon, 15 students from the National University of Arts and Culture in Mandalay, 10 students from the State High School of Arts in Yangon, and five from the State High School of Arts in Mandalay, respectively. Addressing the award ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai said he hopes the students will serve as a backbone for promoting Myanmar's cultural development and carrying forward China-Myanmar "Paukphaw" friendship. Myanmar's Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Ko Ko expressed gratitude to China for supporting the development of Myanmar's culture and arts sector. Kay Thi Htwe, rector of NUAC in Yangon, said the award winners were carefully selected by the heads of their related departments. ISLAMABAD, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The number of dengue fever cases is continuing to rise in Pakistan amid an outbreak blamed largely on floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains in the South Asian country. In the last 24 hours, 398 new infections were reported across the southern Sindh province, said the provincial health department on Monday evening. The worst-hit area was Karachi, the provincial capital, which reported 330 new cases. With the newly reported dengue cases, the September figure to date for the province has risen to 5,780, bringing the local total tally to 8,349 this year. In the last 24 hours, 333 more people were diagnosed with the disease in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the provincial health department reported on Monday night. The number of active cases in the province stands currently at 1,438 and the total number of cases this year has reached 6,958. The eastern Punjab province reported 128 new cases in the last 24 hours, the provincial health authorities said on Monday morning. Punjab's Rawalpindi city reported 45 new cases, followed by its capital Lahore with 33 cases. The total number of dengue cases in Punjab this year has now gone up to 5,049. The national capital Islamabad reported 81 new dengue cases in the last 24 hours, the health authorities said on Monday night. The city's total tally has risen to 2,072 this year. YANGON, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The handover ceremony of China-aided installation of security glass doors and polycarbonate on the walls around the repository of sacred Buddha's hair relics of Myanmar's Botataung Pagoda was held here on Monday. After the installation of security equipment, the pagoda, one of the most famous ones in Myanmar with a history of more than 2,500 years, also opens to the public. Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Ko Ko and Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai are both present at the ceremony to celebrate the completion of the security project and reopening of the pagoda. Speaking at the ceremony, Chen said that he was greatly delighted to see the friendly exchange of Buddhist communities of the two countries. Beijing Lingguang Temple made donations and deployed a task force for the pagoda's security project. Expressed gratitude to the donor and the Chinese embassy for their support, U Ko Ko said that the security project is another important outcome of Myanmar-China cultural cooperation. CANBERRA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has flagged new cyber security measures in response to a major hack of one of the nation's top telecommunications providers. On Thursday, Optus, Australia's second-largest mobile network operator, announced a cyber attack has exposed the data of up to 10 million current and former customers, with 2.8 million people significantly affected. Addressing the breach, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil refuted Optus' claim that the attack was a sophisticated operation, describing it as "basic." "We should not have a telecommunications provider in this country which has effectively left the window open for data of this nature to be stolen," she told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television in an explosive interview. On Monday night the hacker released records of 10,000 customers and threatened to continue doing so until Optus pays a ransom. O'Neil on Monday flagged "very substantial" reforms to prevent further attacks and increase the penalties for companies with poor security. According to a Guardian report, under the current Privacy Act fines are capped at 2.2 million Australian dollars (1.4 million U.S. dollars), a figure O'Neil said was "totally inappropriate", noting that in other jurisdictions such a breach would "result in fines amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars." "Responsibility for the security breach rests with Optus and I want to note that the breach is of a nature that we should not expect to see in a large telecommunications provider in this country," she said in the parliament. "I really hope this reform task is something we can work on collaboratively across the parliament." ROME, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A right-wing coalition scored a broad victory in Italy's general election to form a new parliament on Sunday, official results showed Monday evening. As vote counting concluded in 99 percent of polling stations across the country, nationalist Brothers of Italy was put at 26 percent of the vote, according to data provided by the Interior Ministry. As such, its leader Giorgia Meloni would most likely become the country's next prime minister. If so, she would be the first woman ever to serve in this role, and would lead the most right-wing government in Italy's post-war history. The Brothers of Italy campaigned in coalition with two allies, the League party and center-right Forza Italia party, which gained some 8.7 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively. Therefore, their weight in the next government was expected to be less pivotal than that of Meloni's party. "Italians have entrusted us with a relevant responsibility, and it will be our task to not let them down and to make our best to restore the nation's dignity and pride," Meloni commented on her official Facebook page on Monday. "We will aim at unifying and at highlighting what can bring us close, not what divides us," she added. Her main contender, the center-left Democratic Party (PD) led by Enrico Letta got 19 percent of the votes and conceded defeat. "We are going to make the necessary assessment in the next days, since it is clear mistakes (in their campaign) have been made," Letta said. Letta also announced that he would lead the party until its next congress, which will be held "as soon as possible," and step down after a new leader is chosen. While the right-wing coalition all together gained between 43.7 percent and 44 percent of seats, the center-left alliance -- made of PD and three minor allies -- won some 26 percent. This means the next right-wing government will be able to control a broad majority of seats in both Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Populist Five Star Movement won over 15 percent, and its leader Giuseppe Conte said they would serve as opposition party in the next parliament. A fourth contender -- a centrist alliance made of two small forces forged shortly before the campaign began -- reached 7.7 percent overall. Its leader Carlo Calenda announced that it would not side either with the right-wing coalition or with the center-left, and "will be opposition in parliament, but constructively." Over 50 million citizens, including some 4.7 million living abroad, were eligible to choose the 400 deputies and 200 senators that will form the next parliament. Voter turnout was the lowest ever registered in the country's post-war history, the Interior Ministry said. The new parliament is scheduled to gather for the first time on Oct. 13, and lawmakers will elect the two houses' speakers in the first meeting. After that, political consultations would begin between President Sergio Mattarella and all parties' leaders in order to form the next government. PARIS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for the resumption of dialogues between Armenia and Azerbaijan to solve their ongoing border conflict. Speaking at a press conference with visiting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Macron urged the two countries to reestablish talks "immediately" in order to achieve "enduring peace." "The use of force cannot be the solution for Armenia, nor for Azerbaijan, and dialogue must be restored immediately," he said, adding that all issues must be tackled "exclusively" through talks. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994, when a ceasefire was agreed, but there have been sporadic minor clashes since then. A new round of armed conflict broke out along the contact line on Sept. 27, 2020, before Russia brokered a ceasefire on Nov. 9, 2020. KIEV, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's Black Sea ports shipped 5.29 million tons of foodstuffs under a key grain deal signed in July, the country's Infrastructure Ministry said Tuesday. A total of 231 vessels have left the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdenny since Aug. 1, the ministry said on Facebook. On Tuesday alone, nine ships carrying 345,000 tons of foodstuffs departed from the ports in Ukraine to countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, it said. Separately, Taras Kachka, Ukraine's trade representative and deputy minister of economic development, trade and agriculture, wrote on Facebook that the country's exports via the seaports surpassed 4 million tons in September, its highest level since March. On July 22, Ukraine and Russia separately signed a deal with Turkiye and the United Nations in Istanbul to resume food and fertilizer shipments from Ukrainian ports to international markets via the Black Sea. MOSCOW, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia could harvest a record 150 million tons of grain this year. "To date, 138.7 million tons of grain have already been threshed. This is approximately a third more than (that) during the same period last year," the Kremlin reported on Tuesday, citing the Russian leader at a meeting on the progress of seasonal field work. "According to experts, the total grain harvest may reach 150 million tons," Putin said, noting that the harvest would fully cover domestic demand and increase exports. Putin warned that Western sanctions imposed on Russia's grain and fertilizers pose a growing threat to global food security, adding that the West should be held accountable for the deteriorating situation. MOSCOW, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. delegation in Geneva has admitted that Washington had been conducting biological research on low-income citizens from Ukraine at a meeting of the states parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, Russia's Sputnik news agency has reported. "U.S. and Ukrainian explanations regarding the export of strains and biomaterial belongings to Ukrainian citizens, and their adherence to ethical standards when conducting research on military personnel, low-income citizens, as well as ... patients in psychiatric hospitals, looked extremely unconvincing," Igor Kirillov, chief of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces of the Russian Armed Forces, was quoted by the media as saying. Kirillov said Washington admitted to carrying out the research, noting that the transfer of pathogenic biomaterials to the United States was not done frequently. Damascus: Syrian authorities have recovered 100 bodies from a Lebanese migrant boat that sank off the Syrian coast last week, according to state media, in one of the deadliest recent ships in the eastern Mediterranean. The first bodies were discovered last Thursday, and only 20 of the 150 passengers were rescued. "The number of Lebanese boat victims has so far reached 100 after another body was found at sea," Syria's state-run news agency SANA quoted Syrian ports chief Samar Kabrasli as saying on Monday. Russia's border crossings with Finland are at record highs According to Sana, all the survivors have been discharged from the hospital. After nearly three years of deep economic crisis, Lebanon has become a transit point for migrants, with its own citizens joining Syrian and Palestinian refugees desperate to escape rising poverty through dangerous sea voyages. Members of Syrian Red Crescent work at a shoreline following a migrant boat, which according to Lebanese and Syrian officials, sank off the Syrian coast after sailing from Lebanon, in Tartous, Syri After Masha Amini here comes the new face of Iran's protest According to the United Nations, the ship, which departed from the poor northern city of Tripoli in Lebanon, was mostly Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian, and included children and the elderly. Lebanon is home to more than one million Syrian refugees and has been mired in a financial and economic crisis called "the worst in modern times" by the World Bank. Five Syrian troops were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Damascus airport The shipwreck was described as a "heartbreaking tragedy" by Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Since 2020, Lebanon has seen an increase in the number of migrants attempting to cross Europe dangerously in overcrowded boats. According to UNICEF, ten children appear to be "among the dead", and "years of political instability and economic crisis in Lebanon have pushed many children and families into poverty." Femicides Surge in Turkiye, 158 Domestic Murders So Far This Year U.S. organization SAT-7 uses power of media to encourage, support at-risk women living in terror FEMICIDES SURGE IN TURKIYE: Turkiye (formerly Turkey) has seen 158 femicides in the first seven months of 2022. As this surge in domestic gender-based murders rocks the nation, multimedia ministry SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org) is reaching thousands of at-risk Turkish women via its live You Are Not Alone program, hosted by Turkish-speaking presenters. NEWS PROVIDED BY SAT-7 Sept. 27, 2022 EASTON, Md., Sept. 27, 2022 /Standard Newswire/ -- Femicides are on the rise in Turkiye (formerly Turkey) as domestic violence against women soars to epidemic levels. A report in the Daily Sabah last month said Turkiye has seen 158 femicides -- gender-related murders -- in the first seven months of 2022. Last year, 166 Turkish women were murdered in acts of domestic violence during the same period. Domestic violence and femicides are "plaguing the country," says the report, and perpetrators often literally get away with murder if they show "good conduct" by claiming remorse and "behaving well" during court hearings. According to Human Rights Watch, Turkish authorities are failing to enforce restraining orders against violent husbands and ex-partners, resulting in the murders of defenseless women. One woman was murdered by her former husband, using a meat cleaver, despite previously lodging 23 complaints against him with the police, the group said. Last year, Turkiye withdrew from the Istanbul Convention, an international agreement that aims to combat domestic violence against women. But a Middle East multimedia organization is taking action. "Women in Turkiye are controlled, they're manipulated, they're viewed as property, they're sex objects, they're financially dependent, they're trapped, they're isolated, they cannot defend themselves," said Rex Rogers, president of SAT-7 USA (www.sat7usa.org), a Christian media ministry broadcasting 24/7 in Turkiye and across the Middle East and North Africa. "We're here to show them they're valued because they're made in the image of God." Showing Women Their True Worth As the surge in femicides rocks Turkiye, SAT-7 is reaching thousands of at-risk women via satellite television and its online streaming service, SAT-7 PLUS. Its live You Are Not Alone program -- hosted by Turkish-speaking presenters -- provides crucial support, encouragement and advice to women. Women are able to chat with the program's team via social media. More than 36,000 watched a recent episode on social media, with thousands more tuning in on satellite. Some Turkish women suffering domestic violence, or the threat of violence, are Christians living in a non-Christian culture that treats women as lower-class citizens. They're especially vulnerable as "isolated believers," Rogers said. "SAT-7 seeks to offer women hope through the message of the Bible, and show them they can trust in the unfailing love of God, even in the midst of despair," said Rogers. Program host Hale Gencel says pandemic lockdowns and stress accelerated the domestic violence crisis. "Gender-based violence increased, and household conflicts became more frequent," she said. "Women felt less safe at home." Femicide 'Not Just Turkiye's Problem' Femicide is not unique to Turkiye -- it's also rampant in Iran. According to one study, Iran holds the "world record" for domestic violence against women. A staggering two out of every three Iranian women suffer domestic violence in their lifetime, double the global average, says the Research Center on Women and Family in Tehran, Iran's capital. More than one in every 20 married women in Iran has experienced "near death" domestic violence or feared for her life, and the country's police estimate half of all murders of women in Iran are at the hands of husbands or immediate relatives. Launched in 1996, SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org) -- with its international headquarters in Cyprus -- broadcasts Christian and educational satellite television and online programs in the Middle East and North Africa. Its mission is to make the gospel available to everyone, and support the church in its life, work and witness for Jesus Christ. SAT-7 broadcasts 24/7 in Arabic, Farsi (Persian), Dari, and Turkish, using multiple satellite channels and online services. SOURCE SAT-7 CONTACT: Matti Stevenson, 719-360-0586, mstevenson@inchristcommunications.com New Delhi: India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has taken up with the Pakistan government the issue of the forced conversion of a Sikh woman into Islam in Pakistan and demanded strict action against the culprits. S Jaishankar has also informed the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) in this regard. Jaishankar further said that the Indian government has also expressed hope that the Government of Pakistan will investigate it honestly and take strict action against those responsible for this incident. Also Read: Love Jihad: Wasim framed Hindu girl citing himself as Arjun and then... It has also asked Pakistan to ensure the safety and welfare of members of minority communities in the country, including their places of worship. According to the information, a woman Sikh teacher was kidnapped at gunpoint in Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and forcibly married to the kidnapper by making her a Muslim. The NCM said in a statement that it had taken note of media reports about the abduction and forced conversion of a Sikh girl from Pakistan. NCM President Iqbal Singh Lalpura, through a letter on August 22, had urged the External Affairs Minister to take up the matter with his counterpart in Pakistan so that such incidents do not recur and ensure the safety of Sikhs in the neighbouring country and take appropriate steps to prevent and combat hatred against them. Man arrested for raping woman in south Delhi's Mehrauli 3 women forced to drink excreta, shocking reason Eight arrested in attack on Karnataka Police by ganja mafia Boda: Ten bodies recovered by rescue team and Navy divers. A boat carrying religious pilgrims capsized in Bangladesh, raising the death toll to 61, police said on Tuesday, as worried relatives waited for information about several missing people. Sunday's incident near the northern city of Boda was the deadliest in years in the South Asian country, which is bordered by rivers and notorious for overcrowding old ships. According to officials, seventeen children were among those killed, with video footage indicating that some were as young as four years old. Is it a crime to be a Hindu? Cricketer Litton Das now targeted by Islamic fundamentalists In horrific scenes captured on cellphones, a small ship capsized in a river on its way to a popular temple, as onlookers shouted from the shore. Police chief Sujay Kumar Roy in Boda said rescue teams, including firefighters, navy divers and villagers, were searching miles downstream on the Karotoa river, where the tragedy occurred. According to the police, there were around 90 people in the boat, 50 of whom were pilgrims, who were on their way to a centuries-old Hindu temple for a major festival. "This morning, we resumed the search, and the rescue team found a few more bodies at the bottom and under water... "A few more people are still missing," Roy said. At least 30 women were among those killed, according to Abdur Razzaq, a police inspector. "A committee has been constituted to probe the incident," he said. Dozens of relatives of the missing remained on the banks of the river on Tuesday, though most of them had left after authorities handed over the bodies of their loved ones. 20 Bangladeshi nationals arrested from Goa, living with fake documents "Three women from my family have gone missing after the boat sank," said a troubled relative, Bikash Chandra, late on Monday night. "We discovered one around 10:00 a.m., which had been rescued earlier." But I could not locate the other two." According to district police chief Sirajul Hooda, the boat was carrying three times its permitted capacity on Monday. "The sailor requested that some passengers disembark to lighten the load." "However, no one listened," he lamented. Channel 24 broadcast cellphone footage of a crowded boat capsizing, causing passengers to fall into the muddy brown river. Dozens of people on the shore started screaming. The weather was calm at that time. Every year thousands of Hindus from Muslim-majority Bangladesh come to visit the famous Bodeshwari temple. Durga Puja, a major Hindu festival that draws large crowds to the temple, began on Sunday. Bangladesh's textile manufacturers prepare to enter the Gulf market Last December, around 40 people were killed when a congested three-storey boat caught fire in southern Bangladesh. After colliding with another ship, a yacht sank in Dhaka in June 2020, killing at least 32 people. In 2015, an overcrowded ship collided with a cargo ship in a river west of the capital, killing at least 78 people. Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatts movie Brahmastra is already hit the theatre. Brahmastra Part One: Shiva. The big-budget fantasy adventure epic was released on September 9 and has so far raised over 400 crore globally. Ranbir Kapoor in a recent interview opens up on his married life with Alia and said, "What happens with her when she sleeps is that she starts moving diagonally and eventually your bed space becomes smaller and smaller. Her head is somewhere, her legs are somewhere, and eventually, I'm on the corner of the bed, really struggling with that. Alia said, "One thing I like about Ranbir is his silence. He is a very good listener. And one thing I tolerate is also his silence. Like sometimes I (hitting Ranbir) need him to respond and he doesn't respond because is he like this zen." Ranbir Kapoor said, "Aapne jo prashna pucha ki maine kuch charge kiya ya nhi kiya, actually maine kiya (You asked if I charged anything or not, actually I did). This is an equity I have for life, I'm also part producer of the film. Meri nazariya aur soch long run hai (I am thinking more long term). Maine part one me paese nhi liye (I didn't charge for part 1) but eventually jo faith aur belief hai ki 3 parts m jo yeh film bana sakti hai (but the faith that I have about the amount that the film will make over three parts), that is beyond anything I'd get as an actor, price as an actor. Brahmastra, which stars Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in the lead role, released in theatres on September 9. Brahmastra follows the story of Shiva (Ranbir), a DJ, who sets out on a journey with his love interest Isha (Alia) to unearth the origins of his special powers and discovers his connection to a secret community called Brahmansh, led by Guruji (Amitabh Bachchan). Hrithik Roshan spills the beans on his appearance in Brahmastra Part 2 Dhanashree Verma said Neha Kakkars song is better than Falguni Pathak Supreme Court rejects the appeal against Shah Rukh Khan, In the case of death of a person Copenhagen: Danish authorities asked ships to avoid a five-nautical-mile radius off the island of Bornholm on Monday after a gas leak from the defunct Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 pipeline drained into the Baltic Sea overnight. The German government said it was in contact with Danish authorities and working with local law enforcement to determine what caused the pipeline pressure to suddenly drop. The Danish Ministry of Energy declined to comment. The operator of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which had been running at reduced capacity since mid-June before shutting down completely in August, also disclosed a pressure drop on both lines of the gas pipeline on Monday evening. "The reasons are being investigated," Nord Stream AG stated on its website, without providing any further details. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, which has pummelling major Western economies and sent gas prices soaring, the pipeline has been one of the flashpoints in an escalating energy war between Europe and Moscow. Compulsory e-Invoicing for firms above Rs.10 cr turnover deadline Oct 1 "A leak on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Danish area occurred today," Denmark's energy agency said in a statement. The pressure drop in both pipelines "underscores the German network regulator's assessment that the situation is tense," said Klaus Mueller, president of the German network regulator, on Twitter. The regulator stated that it is currently unknown what caused the pressure drop, but that the event had no impact on German supply security and that the country's gas storage levels were around 91 percent. Danish maritime authorities issued a navigation warning and established a zone around the Nord Stream 2 pipeline "because it is dangerous for ship traffic," according to the statement. The operator of Nord Stream 2 reported that pressure in the pipeline, which had some gas sealed inside despite never becoming operational, dropped from 105 to 7 bars overnight. The pipeline, which was to double the volume of gas flowing from St. Petersburg to Germany through the Baltic Sea, had just been completed and filled with 300 million cubic metres of gas when Germany cancelled it days before the invasion. 'Economic activity stopped under Congress rule..,' Infosys' Narayana Murthy praises Modi govt THERE IS NO CLARITY The operator of Nord Stream 2 said in a statement, "Overnight, the Nord Stream 2 landfall dispatcher registered a rapid gas pressure drop on Line A of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline." "The investigation is still ongoing." European countries have resisted Russian pressure to open the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, accusing Moscow of using energy as a weapon. Russia denies this and blames the West for the current gas shortage. We are currently in contact with the relevant authorities to clarify the situation. "We still don't know what caused it or what the exact facts are," said the German economy ministry in a statement. The Swiss-based operator, which has been legally dissolved, stated that it had notified all relevant authorities about the leak. The Russian gas exporter Gazprom referred questions about the incident to the operator of Nord Stream 2. OECD: Ukraine conflict will continue to weigh on the global economy until 2023 Russia has cut off gas supplies to a number of countries and also halted flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, blaming Western sanctions for the disruption. President Vladimir Putin chastised the West in September for keeping Nord Stream 2 closed. The gas leak occurred a day before the ceremonial opening of the Baltic Pipe, which transports gas from Norway to Poland. The project is a focal point in Warsaw's efforts to diversify away from Russian gas. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is scheduled to visit Poland on Tuesday to commemorate the occasion. Nord Stream 2 was widely opposed by Danish lawmakers, and the country passed legislation in 2017 that allowed it to prohibit the project from passing through its territorial waters on security grounds. However, Nord Stream 2 later changed its original route to avoid Denmark's exclusive economic zone, where this veto could not be used. Jeddah: Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the extremist Muslim cleric labelled a "Preacher of Hate" by Arab News, died on Monday at the age of 96. Al-Qaradawi, who was born in Egypt, was the spiritual leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, which he joined as a young man and rose to prominence through a series of incendiary sermons broadcast on television. 5 people are killed in renewed militia clashes in western Libya In 2019, he was one of the first subjects of "Preachers of Hate," a weekly print and online series in which Arab News profiled, contextualised, and analysed extremist preachers of all religions, backgrounds, and nationalities. The profile of Al-Qaradawi detailed how he justified suicide bombings, particularly in Palestine, spoke out against Jews as a community on numerous occasions, and issued fatwas that denigrated women. Community of Adidas Runners is attempting to empower women in Riyadh He described martyrdom as a higher form of jihad in a fatwa on his website, and in a 2005 TV interview, he praised suicide bombings in Israeli-occupied Palestine as martyrdom in the name of God. "I was not the only one who supported martyrdom operations," he said. Al-Qaradawi also issued fatwas authorising all Jewish attacks. "Oh, take the treacherous Jewish aggressors..." "Oh God, count their numbers, slay them one by one, and spare no one," he commanded. Al-Qaradawi slammed Muslim countries as weak and urged citizens to overthrow their governments and wage war on all opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood. Radical cleric arrested at Shopian, Jammu Kashmir Al-Qaradawi was a Muslim supremacist who despised Europe and its culture. In a television lecture in 2007, he stated, "I believe that Islam will conquer Europe without the use of the sword or fighting." Europe is unhappy because of materialism, the philosophy of promiscuity, and the world's immoral considerations considerations of self-interest and self-indulgence. It's past time for Europe to wake up and find a way out of this, and the only lifesaver or lifeboat available is Islam." Al-Qaradawi was accused of sowing discord among Gulf Arab states, and he targeted Egypt and President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in particular. In 2015, an Egyptian court sentenced him to death in absentia, along with other Muslim Brotherhood leaders. WASHINGTON: America's commitment on Monday to strengthen defense ties with India, a key ally in its Indo-Pacific security strategy to counter China's growing power, was hit by New Delhi's criticism of Washington over its support for Pakistan. Was. The Biden administration's approval of this month's US$450 million package to maintain and upgrade Pakistan's F-16 fighter jets angered Indian Secretary of State Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the same day that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin promised to increase US-Indian cooperation. Discussing the F-16 capability, where everyone knows where they are deployed and how they are used, Jaishankar said, "For someone to say, 'I'm doing this because it's all Anti-terrorism material is, 'You are not fooling anyone. By saying these things'." US issues dire warnings about the use of nuclear weapons by Russia in Ukraine Jaishankar made this statement during the release of a book in Washington. According to the US, maintaining Pakistan's F-16 fleet will improve Islamabad's ability to deal with current and potential counter-terrorism threats. Austin and Jaishankar met later that day at the Pentagon, where, according to a press release, they "discussed new opportunities for bilateral defense industrial cooperation in support of India's contribution as a regional security provider." To advance security, prosperity and transparency in the Indo-Pacific, the US "looks forward to working with India and like-minded partners," the statement continued. It's possible that the right wing will turn against Ukraine soon As a participant in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, India is regarded as an important US ally in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China's growing influence in the region. Last week, a Pentagon representative stressed India's importance to the US vision of a "free and open" Indo-Pacific. In contrast, India and Pakistan have strained relations at the best of times because of mutual doubts born out of the 1947 establishment. Three wars have been fought between its South Asian neighbours, and New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of harboring and sending terrorists. The United States' US$450 million security aid deal with Pakistan is the first of its kind since Biden's predecessor Donald Trump stopped providing aid to Islamabad in 2018. Trump claimed that Pakistan was funding insurgent groups fighting the US-backed government of Ashraf Ghani. In Afghanistan. And while the US was once Pakistan's largest arms supplier, China now holds that title. Beijing satisfied 72% of Islamabad's major arms demand between 2017 and 2021, according to data released in March by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. There are concerns about whether the effectiveness of the Quad could be compromised in light of India's displeasure over the latest F-16 deal. However, Elizabeth Threlkeld, director of the Stimson Center's South Asia program, believes the Biden administration's engagement with both India and Pakistan, as it manages the inevitable challenges, makes sense in the grand scheme. According to Threlkeld, the US and India disagree on Pakistani policy, but Washington feels the differences can be resolved. The US places a high priority on working with India in the Indo-Pacific, and the increased cooperation between the two countries helps shield their relationship from the occasional rift over Pakistan. After US sanctions Leading memory chip manufacturer in China carefully navigates the path to semiconductor self-sufficiency Washington's twin interests were reflected in US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's Monday program: Hours after meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, America's top diplomat hosted a working dinner with Jaishankar on Monday. Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, on Monday described Pakistan and India as "partners with different points of view". Price said, "In many respects, our interests are congruent, and our relationship with India is a self-sustaining entity. Our relationship with Pakistan is self-sustaining." Head of German energy company who observed sham referendum in Ukraine is suspended 27 September, 11:10 AM Stefan Schaller (far left) pretended to be an "observer" at a fake referendum in the captured territories of the Zaporizhzhia oblast (Photo:ewf.de) Stefan Schaller, manager of state-owned energy company Energie Waldeck-Frankenberg in Hessen, Germany, has been suspended after he illegally entered Ukraine to observe a sham referendum, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Sept. 26. The federal state of Hessen said that the removal of Schaller was a reaction "to his work as an observer at illegal fictitious Russian referendums in Ukraine." The decision was made unanimously, after which the issue of Schaller's dismissal will be discussed, Hessen officials said. Earlier, former Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk called for the dismissal of Schaller for helping Russia in its invasion and seizure of Ukrainian territory. Video of day The former ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Andriy Melnyk called for the release of Stefan Scheller for helping Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine https://twitter.com/MelnykAndrij/status/1573703518367715329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1573703518367715329%7Ctwgr%5E01cec24744b0f020ad88ee2840a4e2e614e9420e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnv.ua%2Fukr%2Fworld%2Fcountries%2Fpsevdoreferendum-u-zaporizkiy-oblasti-u-nimechchini-za-uchast-usunuli-menedzhera-50272631.html Commenting on the suspension, chairman of Energie Waldeck-Frankenbergs supervisory board Jurgen van der Horst said Schallers behaviour clearly violates the worldview, moral values and philosophy of the company, which strongly rejects violations of international law and any form of violence. This decision to suspend Schaller should not just send a clear signal, but also prevent (reputational) damage to the company, van der Horst said. Schaller had previously stated that he had gone to the Russian-occupied part of Zaporizhzhya Oblast as an observer at a sham referendum organized by invading Russian forces. He repeated Kremlin propaganda tropes on camera for the Russian media, and claimed that everything is very well organized and the people are delighted. Earlier, Ukraines Ministry of Reintegration reported that the sham referendums arranged by the invaders had been observed by people from eight countries apart from Russia: Belarus, Syria, Egypt, Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay, Togo, and South Africa. Russia announced that so-called referendums would be held across the occupied parts of Ukraines Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson oblasts on Sept. 23-27, in an attempt to legitimize its seizure of more parts of Ukraine. Russia exerts control only over parts of these regions, while the provincial capital of Zaporizhzhya Oblast remains in Ukrainian hands. Read also: Ukraine requests urgent UN Security Council meeting over sham referendums Ukraine and the vast majority of Western countries have declared that the results of Russias sham referendums will not be recognized. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy also stressed that Russia holding a fake vote and attempting to annex Ukrainian territories would not stop the Armed Forces of Ukraines efforts to liberate them. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News Poland will not admit pro-Putin Russian citizens fleeing from mobilization 27 September, 06:09 PM Michal Dvorczyk (Photo:Kancelaria Premiera/www.flickr.com) Poland will not let in citizens of Russia who supported the regime of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, but are now are fleeing from mobilization, Michal Dvorczyk, the head of the office of the Polish prime minister, has said, Polskie Radio reported on Sept. 27. We dont allow the admission of Russian citizens who have so far supported the regime of Vladimir Putin, and when the prospect of being at the front appeared, became big democrats and planned to leave Russia, Dvorczyk said. He said Poland would not close its borders to people who were repressed for their political beliefs or who were fighting for human rights in Russia. Video of day Meanwhile, the authorities of Kazakhstan announced on Sept. 27 that they would send back to Russia people evading mobilization if they were on the wanted list. Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization in the Russian Federation on Spet. 21. Later, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that 300,000 reservists would be called up during a partial mobilization. He estimated Russias mobilization resource at almost 25 million people. Russia earlier announced that so-called referendums would be held across the occupied parts of Ukraines Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson oblasts on Sept. 23-27, in an attempt to legitimize its seizure of more parts of Ukraine. Russia exerts control only over parts of these regions, while the provincial capital of Zaporizhzhya Oblast remains in Ukrainian hands. The statements were made shortly after a rapid counter-offensive by the defenders of Ukraine: on Sept. 14, the Ministry of Defense reported that since Sept. 6 (in the space of one week), the Armed Forces of Ukraine had liberated 388 settlements and about 8,500 square kilometers of territory in Kharkiv Oblast alone. Andriy Yermak, the chief-of-staff of the Presidents Office of Ukraine, said Russias blackmail regarding the holding of referendums in the temporarily occupied territories was due to its fear of defeat. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba emphasized that sham referendums that Russia is trying to organize in the occupied territories were irrelevant to the situation. Meanwhile, the Russian State Duma the Kremlins rubber-stamp parliament on Sept. 20 rushed through votes introducing the concepts of mobilization, martial law, and armed conflict into Russias Criminal Code. Now in Russia, desertion, absence from service, and voluntary surrender will be punished more severely. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News Russia to deploy mobilization point on the Russian-Georgian border 27 September, 03:25 PM Mobilization point to be deployed at the Verkhny Lars border point (Photo:ekhokavkaza.com) Russian men trying to flee to Georgia to evade mobilization for the Kremlins war in Ukraine will soon have a new obstacle in their way to safety a military mobilization point right on the border. Read also: Mobilization protestors again clash with police in Dagestan Russias Interior Ministry has decided to set up a mobilization office exactly where Russians of conscription age are fleeing en masse following dictator Vladimir Putins announcement of a "partial" mobilization for his war against Ukraine, Russian media outlet RBC reported on Sept. 27. Read also: Mobilization protestors again clash with police in Dagestan RBC, citing the ministry, said a mobilization point was to be deployed at the Verkhny Lars border point, the border crossing closest to the Georgian capital Tbilisi, where thousands of Russian men have already sought refuge. Video of day A mobilization point of the military registration and enlistment office will be deployed at the Verkhniy Lars border checkpoint on the border with Georgia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said. However, the message didnt say when the mobilization point would open. The ministry also said that at the moment there are about 5,500 cars at Russias border waiting to cross into Georgia. Read also: Zelenskyy adviser comments on Russia mobilization process Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin announced a "partial mobilization" in Russia on Sept. 21. The call-up came after the Russian army suffered a heavy defeat in Ukraine, losing swathes of formerly occupied territory in Ukraines Kharkiv Oblast. According to official data from the Russian Defense Ministry, the plan is to draft about 300,000 reservists. However, the part of the published decree ordering the mobilization dealing with the number of draftees is marked only for official use. According to Russian opposition media, the secret paragraph of the plan details the mobilization of around one million Russians for the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin is also mainly mobilizing people from national minorities, which has led to Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News Ukraine gets NASAMS, Putins partial mobilization goes poorly, and global economy falls more than expected 27 September, 03:14 PM Newsletter by Romeo Kokriatski, Managing Editor, New Voice of Ukraine Friday, September 27th, 2022. In an interview with CBS News, the President thanked Joe Biden for the decision. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, NASAMS arent expected in Ukraine for another few months. The NASAMS battery usually includes three fire platoons (54 missiles), united in an information network. Due to the fact that all 54 missiles of the battery can be fired at various targets within 12 seconds, it can be used to protect air bases, sea ports, settlements, and military forces. The system is effective against UAVs, helicopters, cruise missiles, and aircraft. Video of day UN humanitarian coordinator Denise Brown stated that the UN and other organizations aid workers had no access to the territories of Kharkiv Oblast during the Russian occupation. Only in mid-September did the aid workers started delivering life-saving items, just days after the Ukrainian government announced it had regained control of the oblast in the middle of this month. For two days in a row, these drones have been attacking targets in Odesa Oblast, damaging infrastructure and causing casualties. According to CNN, Russia has officially purchased and transferred the Mohajer-6 and Shahed-series drones the Shahed-129 and Shahed-191 to Russia, despite Iranian insistence that it had not sold weapons to Russia. The victims include nine children, with another twenty wounded. According to Russian media outlets, during the school day, a man in black clothes broke into the classroom and opened fire at the children. Russias Investigative Committee said the criminal, born in 1988, was a graduate of this school. He is said to have committed suicide after the shooting. Several videos have emerged that apparently show the dreadful conditions in which the Kremlin regime is keeping Russian citizens mobilized for the war against Ukraine. As seen in the released footage, reservists are placed in old premises, where they have to sleep on spring mattress, or even on the bare concrete floor. At the same time, many Russians were even less lucky, since the military leadership left them to spend the night outside. They had to warm themselves by the fire so as not to freeze. Meanwhile, Russians are going to extreme lengths to avoid being drafted one man set himself on fire , while another shot a military commissar at a recruiting station. According to Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Aibek Smadiyarov, Kazakhstan adheres to the principle of territorial integrity of the states, their sovereign equality and peaceful coexistence. According to U.S. television news channel CNN, Smadiyarov also reaffirmed the governments readiness to provide assistance to the promotion of political dialogue, adding that Kazakhstan believes that maintaining stability at the regional and global levels is of paramount importance. In the second quarter of 2022, Ukrainians borrowed UAH 1.3 billion from microfinance organizations, while last year this amount was UAH 16.2 billion. For the 2nd quarter of 2022, a little more than 355,000 contracts were signed. This is half the average number of contracts per month in the first quarter of 2022 and 3.3 times less than the average number of contracts per month last year. While global growth this year was still expected at 3%, it is now projected to slow to 2.2% in 2023, revised down from a forecast in June of 2.8%, the OECD said. The global economy has lost momentum in the wake of Russias unprovoked, unjustifiable and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. GDP growth has stalled in many economies and economic indicators point to an extended slowdown, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said in a statement. The days long-read: Activist says how Ukrainians should prepare for hostilities after mobilization in Russia The consequences of mobilization in Russia will be felt by the entire people of Ukraine, not only the military, military and public activist Maria Berlinska said on Radio NV on Sept 25. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News How a Mormon Unexpectedly was Led to the Catholic Church Faithful Mormon divulges intimate details of growing up Mormon and discovering the truth NEWS PROVIDED BY Carmel Communications Sept. 27, 2022 SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 27, 2022 /Standard Newswire/ -- Raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, popularly known as the Mormon church, Jeremy Christiansen did almost everything that was expected of him, including going on a two-year mission trip to Argentina. But when he started having doubts about the church of Joseph Smith and took an intimate look at the true story of the church's founding, the floodgates opened and his search for truth took on an exceptional intensity, ultimately leading to the Catholic Church. FROM THE SUSQUEHANNA TO THE TIBER: A MEMOIR OF CONVERSION FROM MORMONISM TO THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (Ignatius Press) is a riveting story of growing up in the Mormon church and how one man's quest for what is true led him unexpectedly to the Catholic Church. Christiansen was born and raised in the small Mormon town of Blanding, Utah, and lived his life as an active Mormon. He is a lawyer who lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife and six children. He converted to Roman Catholicism in 2018. In FROM THE SUSQUEHANNA TO THE TIBER, readers will learn about intimate details of the Mormon faith, their rarely discussed rituals and practices, how they conduct mission outreach in foreign countries, the expectations of men and women and, through Christiansen's extensive research, the true origins of the faith involving folk magic, seeing stones and the sexual escapades of Smith. To say Christiansen's world came crashing down after he discovered the truth about Mormonism would be an understatement. FROM THE SUSQUEHANNA TO THE TIBER is not an expose about Mormonism but rather one man's journey of searching for the truth and finding it within the Roman Catholic Church. "A compelling testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit in the search for truth, Christiansen provides fascinating insights into Mormon beliefs, culture and practices," said Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, author of Behold the Man: A Catholic View of Male Spirituality. "A beautiful reminder of Christ's teaching that the truth will set you free to become the person who God created you to be." For more information, to request a review copy, or to schedule an interview with Jeremy Christiansen, please contact Kevin Wandra (404-788-1276 or KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com) of Carmel Communications. SOURCE Carmel Communications CONTACT: Kevin Wandra, 866-777-2313, ext. 701, KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com Will Ukraine invasion condemn Putin to place among Russias worst rulers? 27 September, 01:05 PM Vladimir Putin refuses to admit defeat in Ukraine. On September 21, he announced plans for a partial mobilization while also vowing to annex large swathes of Ukraine and threatening to defend his gains with nuclear weapons. This latest show of strength cannot disguise the grim realities of Putins rapidly unraveling invasion. Seven months after Russian tanks first crossed the border, his depleted and deeply demoralized army has ground to a halt and the military initiative has passed decisively to the advancing Ukrainians. While it remains unclear exactly how the war will end, it is already painfully apparent that the invasion of Ukraine has been a disaster for Russia in general and for Putin personally. It has undone the progress achieved during Putins first decade in power and has ruthlessly exposed the many failures of his 22-year reign. Putin has long dreamed of securing his place among the titans of Russian history. Instead, he now looks destined to be remembered as one of the countrys worst rulers. Video of day It is hard to overestimate the negative impact Putin has had on Russia and the wider international community. He has unleashed a series of unjustified wars and suppressed personal freedoms inside Russia itself; he has fostered a culture of xenophobia and cut Russians off from the developed world; he has stalled the Russian economy and ended the countrys modernization; and he has spread an information epidemic of fakes and falsehoods around the globe. For Russians who dream of a return to imperial greatness, Putins biggest crime is his inept invasion of Ukraine. Russia is no stranger to humiliating military losses. In the past two centuries, four defeats stand out as particularly significant: the Crimean War (1853-56), the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), World War I (1914-17), and the Afghanistan War (1979-88). Encouragingly, all four defeats were followed by periods of liberalization. In the aftermath of the Crimean War, Czar Alexander II abolished serfdom throughout the Russian Empire. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War led to the creation of the Duma, while Russias premature exit from World War I heralded the countrys first reasonably democratic elections. Meanwhile, the failure in Afghanistan was a significant factor in the collapse of the USSR. While pessimists predict that Putin will be followed by an even worse tyrant, the historical record suggests that military defeat is likely to lead to a relaxation of Russias authoritarian instincts. It is difficult to see Putin surviving the war in Ukraine. The invasion he so recklessly ordered has devastated the Russian military and made his country a global pariah without achieving anything in return. The war has also led to a sharp deterioration on the domestic front. Echoing the worst excesses of Stalin and Hitler, Putin has normalized the genocide of Ukrainians and made it an everyday topic of discussion on Russian television. Meanwhile, as the excellent investigative journalists Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan have pointed out, his FSB security service has increasingly come to resemble the dreaded Soviet era NKVD. Putin has had a highly negative impact on Russias international relations that goes far beyond the fallout from the invasion of Ukraine. His long record of broken promises and shameless dishonesty has made other world leaders increasingly wary of engaging. Some have persevered longer than others, but even the patient leaders of France and Germany appear to have now reached the conclusion that Putins words carry little weight. The Russian rulers diminished status on the international stage was on display in Uzbekistan at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Putin was once notorious for keeping many of the worlds most prominent statesmen waiting. However, in Tashkent he was made to wait by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan. The only politicians who appear genuinely comfortable in his company are representatives of fellow pariah regimes such as Iran and North Korea. Putins reign has also been bad for the Russian economy. During his first two presidential terms, lingering Gaidar-Yeltsin reforms and high energy prices created the false impression of sound economic management. This was an illusion. The Russian economy has stagnated since 2014 and is now sinking, with optimistic official forecasts predicting a six percent decline in 2022 and no recovery for a decade. Russias unrivaled resource base is enough to make it the richest country on the planet. Instead, Putin has blocked modernization and left Russia completely dependent on the export of its natural resources. Even based on official figures, Russian real disposal income fell by ten percent between 2014 and 2020. Rather than opening up the country and diversifying the economy, Putin has isolated Russia and scared away foreign businesses with his wars and his repressive domestic policies. This has led to a brain drain of Russias best minds, with official figures showing over 400,000 people leaving the country in the first half of 2022 alone. Many of those who vote with their feet are from the well-educated and entrepreneurial segments of society. The only economic issue that seems to genuinely interest Putin is the wealth of his cronies and his family. He has made no effort to curb massive capital outflows from Russia, possibly because much of this outflow is linked to him or his allies. While salaries for ordinary Russians stagnate, members of Putins inner circle have acquired immense wealth. Although no official records exist, it has long been speculated that Putin himself is one of the worlds richest men. The catastrophic consequences of Putins decision to invade Ukraine have helped cast an unforgiving light on the rest of his reign. He has caused enormous damage to the Russia while drastically undermining the countrys credibility in international affairs. Russia today is noticeably more isolated and less free than at the beginning of his rule over twenty years ago. It is a society trapped in a toxic vision of the past and openly hostile to much of the modern world. This is Putins legacy. The one area where Putin has genuinely excelled is in the creation of a world-class propaganda machine. However, even this cannot disguise his shortcomings forever. If the war in Ukraine is indeed lost, it will only be a matter of time before the Russian public demands an end to the discredited Putin era. Anders Aslund is the author of Russias Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy. This story was originally published by the Atlantic Council. NV is republishing it with permission. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News File: Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease. Kathmandu, September 26 International human rights NGO, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), has urged Nepal to urgently address the nationwide dengue outbreak saying the outbreak has deprived the public of their right to health. The ICJ also deplores the lack of public health preparedness in Nepal necessary to address the latest surge of transmission of the harmful, sometimes even fatal, dengue virus. During the Covid pandemic, the Supreme Court ordered the authorities to plan and prepare for waves of transmission of infectious diseases, yet this went unheeded, says Karuna Parajuli, ICJs legal adviser in Nepal in a recent statement. The Supreme Court also ordered the government in no uncertain terms to coordinate health responses at provincial and local levels and make special arrangements for the immediate and easy distribution of medicines, also to no avail. The dengue outbreak has already reached 75 of the 77 districts, according to government officials. Unfortunately, the governments responses and preparations to combat dengue fever remain wholly inadequate, says Parajuli. Mayank Baldi from Tata Motors India. Photo: Aryan Dhimal Ever since Sipradi Trading, the sole distributor of Tata Motors in Nepal, launched Tata Nexon EV in Nepal, it has been working towards building an EV ecosystem. To ensure that the consumers do not face issues, the company has set up over 100 charging centres across the country and has also built an app that facilitates locating EV charging stations in the Tata Power EV charging network, charging electric vehicles smoothly and making online payments for the charging sessions. Now, Sipradi Trading along with TATA Motors India has recently launched an EV learning centre at its Naikap office, through which it wants to develop the EV ecosystem even more by creating skilled workers and technicians that will be needed in the country in the coming future. Launching the centre was Mayank Baldi, the head of Passenger Vehicles International Business, Tata Motors Limited. On the occasion, Onlinekhabar spoke to him about the importance of such a learning centre, the EV market in Nepal, Tata Motors learning from the Nepal market and its future plans for Nepal. Excerpts: A team from Sipradi Trading showing Mayank Baldi from Tata Motors the workings of a EV in their newly launched EV learning centre. Photo: Aryan Dhimal Tata Motors and Sipradi Trading have been doing a lot to build an EV ecosystem in Nepal. Youve been setting up charging stations in different parts of the country and now youve officially launched an EV learning centre. Why do you think its important to establish a centre like this? One of the fundamental aspects of the EV ecosystem is developing skills, training and developing the human resource needed. Because this is a new technology, everybody is learning how to develop it. Weve been looking at what has happened in Europe and Japan and how they are doing it and we are trying to set up something similar. An Indian brand doing it in Nepal, I feel, is a big statement. Tata Motors wants a place where people can get in-depth knowledge about our cars. Im not just talking about people in sales or distributors; we even want customers to come in and see what parts are in our cars and understand and learn about how this technology works. There are enthusiasts who want to know how the battery gets charged and other things about an EV. So, through this state-of-the-art centre, we want to educate people about EVs. We dont just want technicians or sales teams here; we want to invite prospective customers and dealer partners to come and engage with the EV because this is the future. If you prepare for it now, you are sorted for the next decade. More products are going to come, technology is going to change and this centre will become a learning hub for all that. When did Tata Motors and Sipradi Trading come up with the idea to start this EV learning centre? The idea started nearly a year ago when we saw how the EV market was growing in Nepal. When we saw that, we wanted to give back to customers and invest in building the ecosystem. We wanted to do that because we know returns will come later if we built a strong foundation for EVs in the country. So even before Tata Motors launched Nexon EV in Nepal, we had all the infrastructure enablers in place. We had service centres, a charging network and fast chargers already in place. We wanted to make sure that wherever a customer went they knew, they needed not to worry about issues with their EV. This centre is another feather on Tata Motors cap because, with a learning centre, all our people are much more skilled and confident. Im sure they will handle an issue well and also train others if need be. We also want this learning centre to give training to others outside Nepal too. We could call our teams from other countries to come to Nepal and learn the workings of Tata Evs. Baldi says the EV centre will produce skilled EV professional in the future for Nepal. Photo: Aryan Dhimal Are there other centres like this? We believe this is the first in the sub-continent. I havent seen one in India too. This is not just a learning centre, its a view of the future on how the market is shaping up and what all enablers we need to put in place for the future. So you want to create more skilled human resources for the future? Is there any number youre looking at? Yes, that is one goal. Tata Motors wants to grow the EV team not just in terms of number but also in terms of developing skills and becoming more competent. We dont have a set number for now. We want to launch a certificate programme in the future and create specialists. We want specialists in batteries, motors and other aspects of the EV who can go to places around Nepal and solve peoples issues. We want to create a trainer programme and teach people on the job. Weve displayed parts in the centre so that people can see them firsthand. This could have been done online, but we want a physical place for people to come and learn. We want to create specialists so that we have all the answers right now so that in the future we can solve peoples issues swiftly. What other future plans does Tata Motors have for the Nepal market? What can the country expect? We know that our customers are satisfied, and we know our numbers are going to grow. The last thing we want is customers queuing up for say a charging station or at the service centre. If we dont prepare for the future now, we will have issues. For that, weve sown the seeds and know which places are the hotspots where customers will drive for a long distance away from cities and earmark these places to initiate new charging stations. We also have an easy charge app which can book your slot in advance at the service centre and a fast charger. So weve thought about how to make things easier for people driving our vehicles. So this is our advantage and Tata Motors wants to continue building on it. We dont want to get complacent and that is what our strategy is for the long run. The EV learning centre has all the latest EV technology Tata Motors has. Photo: Aryan Dhimal Youve been operating for years now and have launched two EVs in the past year. What have you learnt about Nepals market when it comes to EVs? Weve learnt a lot. The response when it comes to EVs has been tremendous. Its exceeded our imaginations. And, we continue to learn from this market. Its important for us in India to take notes from a market like Nepal and see what the demand is like and who are the customers buying EVs and how many of them are buying an EV for the first time. We are also keenly looking at the profile of the customers and the products that we should launch in this market. So, for Tata Motors, strategies for Nepal and India go hand in hand. This learning centre is the output of that. Whatever we do in India comes here and our learnings here go back. The charging app is a good example. This is great learning for us in India because we have developed the app in-house. You can pre-pay and book a spot at a charging station in advance. Weve also been analysing data and creating strategies according to the data we have. What I noticed when I went to NADA EV Expo this year was how knowledgeable the crowd here was when it comes to EVs. I was impressed by the questions they asked. They asked us about the connected application app and why we havent launched it in Nepal. But, there is a plan we will launch it here too because the customer wants it here too. EV Learning Centre Any plans on Tata Motors launching new cars, especially in the budget range? I wouldnt say budget, but we do want to bring the right aspirational cars into Nepal. The market is changing, and we feel no one wants to associate themselves with a cheap car. We have been trying in India and want to do that in Nepal too. Our focus is on selling the vehicle on value and on brand and not on discount anymore. Weve not sold EVs at discounts and still, people are buying them so this is where we want to take the market. When Tata Motors launched Nexon EV last year, did you think it would blow up the way it did? We had an expectation, but, to be honest, we were a bit overwhelmed. We were short on supplies and we acknowledge the fact. That is why we want to help develop the market more and create more infrastructure because we see things are moving forward here. And, if our plans work here, we can even take them to other markets in Asia. Weve seen how the impression of the brand is changing because if someone wants to buy an EV today, Tata is the first choice and we want to leverage that. Transparency Market Research The immense potential for Aluminum-ion batteries in the transportation and automotive industries is projected to stimulate expansion of the global aluminum-ion market Wilmington, Delaware, United States, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transparency Market Research Inc. - In 2021, the value of global aluminum-ion battery market was worth US$ 4.2 Bn. The global market is projected to expand at 6.6% CAGR during the forecast period, from 2022 to 2031. The global aluminum-ion battery market is anticipated to touch value of US$ 8 Bn by 2031. Due to the absence of dense lithium cobalt oxide, the new aluminum-ion battery is capable of charging 60 times faster than a traditional lithium-ion battery pack. Since the battery swaps three electrons per ion during recharging and then returns to the negative electrode in the battery, which is expected to drive future of aluminum-ion battery market throughout the projected timeframe. The durability of aluminum-ion batteries is improved further compared to lithium-ion cells by the fact that aluminum is also among the most recyclable elements on the planet. This factor is expected to fuel market demand for aluminum-ion battery in the near future. The rising demand for portable electronics has caused manufacturers to concentrate increasingly on industries including transportation, automobile, and defense. As such, it is anticipated that key vendors in aluminum-ion battery market involved in the production of aluminum-ion batteries will concentrate more on the production of a graphene-based battery that is more effective and long-lasting. Graphene-based battery is one of the important trends in aluminum-ion battery market. Request Sample Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=84906 In 2021, Asia Pacific maintained a commanding share of 76.2% of the global market for aluminum-ion battery, based on an assessment of the regional industry trends. The growing modernization of the region and rising demand for aluminum-ion batteries in the transportation and automotive industries are likely to keep the region's economic prospects bright during the forecast timeline. Story continues Key Findings of Market Report The metal that is found in the world's crust most frequently is aluminium. In light of this, the Aluminum-ion battery is expected to play a significant role in the global energy transformation that has already begun. The expansion of the global market for Aluminum-ion battery is anticipated to be fueled by Aluminums relatively low cost over the forecast timeline. Make an Enquiry Before Buying: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=EB&rep_id=84906 Global Aluminum-ion Battery Market: Key Players Some of the key market players are Albufera Energy Storage S.L. Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd. Robert Bosch GmbH Phinergy Ltd Ionix Technology, Inc. TasmanIon Ask References: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=ARF&rep_id=84906 Global Aluminum-ion Battery Market: Segmentation Capacity 0-200 mAh 200-600 mAh 600-1000 mAh 1000 mAh and Above Application Electric Vehicle Portable Devices Grid Storage Medical Equipment Others End Use Automotive and Transportation Consumer Electronics Energy Storage System Healthcare Industrial Others Regions Covered North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa Latin America Browse More Energy and Natural Resources by TMR: Bioplastic Textiles Market - Bioplastic Textiles Market to Advance at CAGR of 11.9% During 2022-2031 Alternate Marine Power Market - Alternate Marine Power Market to Advance at CAGR of 11.2% During 2022-2031 Breathing Battery Market - Breathing Battery Market to Register CAGR of 8.5% from 2022 to 2031 High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission System Market - High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission System Market to Register CAGR of 7.1% from 2022 to 2031 Forklift Battery Market - Forklift Battery Market to Register CAGR of 6.8% from 2022 to 2031 Wire and Cable Recycling Market - Wire and Cable Recycling Market to Register CAGR of 6.2% from 2022 to 2031 Hydro Turbine Market - Hydro Turbine Market to Register CAGR of 5.0% from 2022 to 2031 About Transparency Market Research Transparency Market Research, a global market research company registered at Wilmington, Delaware, United States, provides custom research and consulting services. The firm scrutinizes factors shaping the dynamics of demand in various markets. The insights and perspectives on the markets evaluate opportunities in various segments. The opportunities in the segments based on source, application, demographics, sales channel, and end-use are analysed, which will determine growth in the markets over the next decade. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insights for thousands of decision-makers, made possible by experienced teams of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants. The proprietary data sources and various tools & techniques we use always reflect the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in all of its business reports. For More Research Insights on Leading Industries, Visit our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8e-z-g23-TdDMuODiL8BKQ Contact Us: Rohit Bhisey Transparency Market Research Inc. CORPORATE HEADQUARTER DOWNTOWN, 1000 N. West Street, Suite 1200, Wilmington, Delaware 19801 USA Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Website: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Blog: https://tmrblog.com Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Attributes success to navigating new challenges and opportunities while remaining focused on APC family members, customers and communities. COLUMBUS, Wis., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- American Packaging Corporation (APC) announced today that it ranked No. 44 on Deloitte's Wisconsin 75, a ranking of the 75 largest private companies in Wisconsin, based on sales revenue. APC also received the Wisconsin 75 award in 2021 as its initial entry onto this esteemed list of successful companies who lead the state forward into the future. American Packaging Corporation "We're truly honored to be recognized for the second year in a row as a Wisconsin 75 company," APC CEO and owner Peter Schottland said. "APC's performance is a credit to the incredible team here in Wisconsin and at our other facilities across the country who have worked strategically and with great passion for what they do, all at an unrelenting pace through new challenges and opportunities." About Deloitte's 2022 Wisconsin 75 Deloitte's annual Wisconsin 75 list salutes the largest privately held Wisconsin-based companies. These companies play a key role in the state's economy. Wisconsin 75 award winners are selected based on annual sales revenue. To be eligible for Deloitte's Wisconsin 75 recognition, companies must have a majority ownership by an individual(s), family, employee stock ownership plan, or private equity firm. Public companies are eligible when greater than 50 percent of the value or vote of the shares are owned by individuals, family, an employee stock ownership plan, or private equity. Additionally, companies must have annual sales revenue of at least USD 50,000. The Wisconsin 75 excludes cooperatives and accounting, tax, legal, and consulting service companies. About American Packaging Corporation Founded in 1902, American Packaging Corporation is a recognized leader in the flexible packaging industry. Independently owned, APC is committed to innovation, sustainability and customer delight from a talented family of packaging professionals. Today, APC operates five Centers of Excellence in the United States and employs approximately 1,200 talented, motivated professionals, including nationwide sales reps and field technical support. For more information, please visit americanpackaging.com. Story continues Media Contacts Dixon Schwabl + Company Carly Morabito carly_morabito@dixonschwabl.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-packaging-corporation-ranked-44th-most-successful-private-company-on-deloittes-2022-wisconsin-75-301634810.html SOURCE American Packaging Corporation Animal rights group seeks release of 185 pictures related to the autopsies of animals that died during experiments for Elon Musk's Neuralink Neuralink used rhesus macaque monkeys (not pictured). EAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP/Getty Images An animal-rights group says UC Davis has 371 photos showing Neuralink's experiments on monkeys. The organization sued the university and filed a complaint with the USDA in February. UC Davis and Neuralink have refuted the claims its test animals experienced "extreme suffering." An animal-rights group that is suing the University of California, Davis over experiments conducted for Neuralink says the university has 371 photos related to experiments on monkeys that were performed for Elon Musk's biotech company. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said UC Davis has 185 pictures related to the autopsies of animals that died during Neuralink experiments and another 186 photos of the experiments that were performed on the monkeys, which included cutting holes into the monkeys' skulls to implant electrodes into their brains. The group said they learned of the photos through a legal document from UC Davis dated September 7, 2022. Between 2017 and 2020, Neuralink paid the university $1.4 million to use UC Davis' facilities and animals for testing, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said. "UC Davis thinks the public is too stupid to know what they're looking at," Ryan Merkley, director of research advocacy with the Physicians Committee, said in a press release. "But it's clear the university is simply trying to hide from taxpayers the fact that it partnered with Elon Musk to conduct experiments in which animals suffered and died." A spokesperson from Neuralink did not respond to a request for comment and a UC Davis spokesperson referred Insider to a previous statement. In February, the institution said "research protocols were thoroughly reviewed and approved by the campus's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee" during the institutions work with Neuralink. "Animal research is strictly regulated and UC Davis follows all applicable laws and regulations including those of the US Department of Agriculture," the statement said. Story continues UC Davis issued the statement after the animal-rights group sued the university for not releasing photos and videos of the experiments it has performed for Neuralink from 2017 to 2020. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine also filed a complaint with the US Department of Agriculture, alleging the institution had violated the federal Animal Welfare Act. Insider's Isobel Asher Hamilton previously reported that the group said it had obtained records showing the monkeys experienced "extreme suffering as a result of inadequate animal care and the highly invasive experimental head implants during the experiments." At the time, Neuralink responded to the accusations, denying several of the injuries that the animal rights group reported and saying the company is "absolutely committed to working with animals in the most humane and ethical way possible." The company said it has since transitioned to using its own in-house facilities. Ultimately, Neuralink is working to develop a computer brain interface system that would be able to read and write brain activity. In the past, Musk has claimed the AI brain chips would one day be able to do anything from cure paralysis to give people telepathic powers, referring to the device as "a Fitbit in your skull." Last year, the billionaire said the company plans to transition from implanting the chips in monkeys to humans by the end of the year, but the device has yet to receive approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to begin human trials. Read the original article on Business Insider BEIJING, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- China is still lagging behind competitors in building up cutting-edge research capacity in higher education institutions, according to Shi Yigong, a renowned scientist and the president of a private Chinese university often dubbed "the Caltech of China.". More effort is needed to turn the country's college education system into a truly global hub of leading talent, Shi added as part of a speech at the BEYOND Expo 2022. On Wednesday, the BEYOND Expo 2022 opened online at BEYOND Metaverse. The tech event will have more than 40 talks and panel discussions where leaders and experts across sectors dive deep into the topics of consumer tech, health tech, global investments, sustainability, and Web3. Shi Yigong, president of Westlake University and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is on talk at BEYOND Expo 2022 Please find below the transcript of the opening day speech from Shi Yigong, president of Westlake University and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The following transcript has been edited for clarity: Hello, everyone. I'm Shi Yigong. It's such a pleasure for me to have the opportunity to share my views on the future development of China's technology at the International Technology Innovation Expo. Today, I'd like to share my views on the theme of "Exploring China's Future Innovation-driven Development Model." Since we are talking about technology innovation it's related to our education, technology, and talent. These three elements technology, education, and talent ultimately constitute the main axis of innovation-driven development. First of all, let's talk about education, especially higher education. It's safe to say that China is the world's leading country in terms of scale and is on its way to becoming a world power in higher education. By the end of 2020, China had more than 40 million students enrolled in all 2,000 institutions of higher learning. The quantity is surely the largest in the world, and the quality is also steadily improving. For example, by 2021, both in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS World University Rankings, Chinese universities had been advancing up the list in the world, with six to seven Chinese universities making the top 100. Story continues But there are some problems with higher education in our country. We have a high educational attainment rate, but we lack cutting-edge researchers. We generally pursue a general and comprehensive education but have no significant advantages or distinctive features. We emphasize knowledge and practicality, but there's still a gap between us and other countries regarding innovation. We've developed far more general talents than the most outstanding and innovative ones. There have been numerous academic achievements but relatively few breakthroughs. Second, let's briefly talk about the current situation of China's technology. Over the past 20 years, thanks to the long-term steady investment in technology, China is now among the top three countries in the world regarding technology indicators. Whether it's the number of articles, times cited, or the number of patents applied for, approved, granted, etc., all our technology indicators have steadily entered the top three in the world. Third, let's briefly talk about China's talent. In 1978, the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC ushered in the Reform and Opening-up era of China and opened the door for Chinese students to study abroad. On December 26 of the same year, 52 scholars from mainland China departed for the United States. It was the first group of students to study abroad after the reform and opening-up started, with an average age of over 42. By the end of 2019, more than 6 million Chinese students had traveled abroad to study in other countries in the world, and more than 4 million of them had returned home after their studies, bringing great impact and changes to all aspects of Chinese society. It's safe to say that China has the largest talent team in the world. Of course, although we have a wealth of talent, when it comes to being No. 1 in the world, there's still a problem with our talent team. That is, the cream of the crop; the top talent is relatively scarce. To sum up, in terms of higher education, technology, and technological talent, China is one of the top countries in the world and is on its way to becoming a world power. However, there's an innovation index that reflects the innovation ability of a country, and so far, China is still ranked outside the top 10 in the global technology innovation index. In other words, although China has become a big power in technology, higher education, and talent cultivation, and is on the way to becoming a world power, we haven't become a big power or a world power worthy of the name in terms of innovation ability. We still have a long way to go. Therefore, judging from such an analysis, China's future development can only rely on high-end leadership and innovation-driven development strategy. And the core of this strategy is the top talent. The top talent we're talking about isn't only the core talent in basic research, applied research, core technology, and cutting-edge research, but also the top talent in all fields, in all aspects, from the law, to finance, to social governance, to national management. I think the top talent will be the most crucial factor in a country's high-end leadership and innovation-driven development strategy. I'd like to give you an example, which is Westlake University. The founding of Westlake University was designed with the high-end leadership and innovation-driven development strategy as the premise and goal. As early as 11 years ago, a group of returned scholars in the Western Returned Scholars Association were discussing the future of technology and education in China. They reached a consensus to establish a new type of university which would be small but exquisite and research-oriented, gathering first-class teachers, creating a first-class curriculum, educating first-class talent, and producing first-class results. They would adopt a new model to create a new type of world-class university. Such a university has been successfully established in Hangzhou, and is called Westlake University. It was officially approved by the Ministry of Education in February 2018 and was officially established in Hangzhou in October of the same year. Westlake University is a new type of university. What's new about it is that it received great support from the country and was established by social forces. Westlake University was founded to help technology grow, implement innovation-driven development, develop talent, and make some exploratory reforms in science education. Such a positioning of the university was strongly supported by the country in all aspects, as well as by all walks of life, including individuals, enterprises, and local governments. After four years of hard work, Westlake University now has 201 PhD supervisors. Most of them are world-leading scientists in their respective fields of research. The purpose of having a top-notch faculty is to develop top-notch students. With the active support of the Ministry of Education, Westlake University has been actively reforming and innovating in all aspects of admissions and ability training. After years of hard work, there are now more than 1,200 PhD students at Westlake University. With the support of their PhD supervisors, these students are conducting innovative scientific research on major research topics and core technologies, striving for breakthroughs. Today, as a brand-new concept, the new research university has been gradually incorporated into the top-level design of the country and is increasingly accepted and recognized by the whole of society. In the future, there's no doubt that Westlake University will become a first-class university that reflects Chinese wisdom and is held in high esteem worldwide. This university will have the most outstanding scientists in the world, be able to develop the best young talent to undertake the most advanced basic and applied research, explore the mechanism and system of scientific research and education that fits China's national conditions, and provide a model that can be used for the sustainable development of high tech in China, and make a contribution to the human civilization that makes the Chinese nation proud. I think maybe 10 to 15 years later, Westlake University will fully represent the wisdom and competence of Chinese people and rank among the best universities in the world. Thank you. SOURCE BEYOND Expo Fortune Business Insights Key companies covered in cannabis beverages market are Aurora Cannabis Inc. (Edmonton, Canada), Aphria Inc. (Leamington, Canada), Canopy Growth Corporation (Canada), MedReleaf Corp. (Edmonton, Canada), Cronos Group Inc. (Toronto, Canada), GW Pharmaceuticals, plc. (Cambridge, U.K.), CannTrust Holdings Inc. (Vaughan, Canada), VIVO Cannabis Inc. (Ontario, Canada), Tilray (Nanaimo, Canada), OrganiGram Holdings (Moncton, Canada) Pune, India, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global cannabis beverages market size was USD 574.90 million in 2020. The market is slated to grow from USD 915.06 million in 2021 to USD 19,063.58 million in 2028 at a CAGR of 54.31% in the 2021-2028 period. This information is provided by our researchers at Fortune Business Insights, in the report, titled, Cannabis Beverages Market, 2021-2028. According to our expert analysts, the market is projected to attain traction from the rising penetration of cannabis in the unexploited consumer markets, such as Thailand and Australia, among others. Additionally, the surging consumers predisposition towards experimenting with novel and groundbreaking food and beverages has also improved the market performance. Get a Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/cannabis-beverages-market-100738 List of Key Players Mentioned in the Market Report: Aurora Cannabis Inc. (Edmonton, Canada) Aphria Inc. (Leamington, Canada) Canopy Growth Corporation (Canada) MedReleaf Corp. (Edmonton, Canada) Cronos Group Inc. (Toronto, Canada) GW Pharmaceuticals, plc. (Cambridge, U.K.) CannTrust Holdings Inc. (Vaughan, Canada) VIVO Cannabis Inc. (Ontario, Canada) Tilray (Nanaimo, Canada) OrganiGram Holdings (Moncton, Canada) Report Scope & Segmentation: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2021-2028 Forecast CAGR 54.31% 2028 Value Projection USD 19,063.58 Million Base Year 2020 Cannabis Beverages Market Size in 2020 USD 574.90 Million Historical Data 2017-2019 No. of Pages 130 Segments Covered By Type, By Geography, By Distribution Channel Cannabis Beverages Market Growth Drivers Fundamental Transformation in Beverage Industry to Support Growth Growing HoReCa Sector and Modern Trade Practices to Proliferate Revenue COVID-19 Impacts: Amplified Demand for Flavorful Drinks amid COVID-19 Pandemic to Promote Growth The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak resulted in various governments to execute stringent lockdown norms and social distancing guidelines, across the world. Market terminations, weakened eating-out trends, and constraints in public mobility resulted in the people being confined to their houses. This also instigated risen stress, panic-buying and stockpiling among the consumers during the primary stages of lockdown, which triggered the cannabis and cannabis-imparted product sales. Story continues Browse Summary of this Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/cannabis-beverages-market-100738 Report Coverage: The report presents a holistic study of the market along with current trends and upcoming estimations to institute approximate investment gains. An in-depth analysis of any forthcoming prospects, threats, competitions or driving factors are also declared in the report. Furthermore, methodical regional analysis of the market is offered. Moreover, COVID-19 impacts have been added to the report to help investors and business owners to comprehend the jeopardies better. The top-tiered players in the market are recognized, and their tactics to reinforce the market growth are shared in the report. Segmentation: By type, the market is divided into: Alcoholic Non-alcoholic Based on the distribution channel, the market is segregated into: Mass Merchandisers Specialty Stores Online Retail Others On the basis of geography, the global market is separated into: North America Europe Rest of the World Drivers and Restraints: Transformation of Beverages Sector to Create New Growth Opportunities Cannabis consumers are no longer restricted to smoking flowers with joints, bongs, or pipes but have an option from a surging assortment of products, involving concentrated as well as infused products. The beverages industry in itself is experiencing an indispensable change in terms of all the ingredients and additives. Consumers, particularly in the advanced markets of North America and Europe are persistently forming the category amidst organic and chemicals-free, and with detectible and herbal formulations trends and developments. This is anticipated to bolster the cannabis beverages market growth during the upcoming period. Inquire Before Buying This Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/queries/cannabis-beverages-market-100738 Regional Insights: North America is at the front position of the cannabis-infused beverages sector and holds the maximum cannabis beverages market share. This region registered for USD 527.83 million in 2020. The sector was commanded by the U.S. where the functional beverage market is unveiling a sudden growth graph. Cannabis-based beverages have exhibited comparatively lower growth in developing regions such as Asia, Oceania, and Latin America owing to the ban of THC products in the market. Competitive Landscape: Radical Product Presentation by Vital Players Set to Navigate Market Growth The prominent players in the market apply abundant tactics to fortify their position in the market as leading companies. One such considerable tactic is acquiring companies to boost the brand value among users. Another essential strategy is intermittently launching pioneering products with thorough review of the market and its target audience. For example, in April 2021, Molecule Holdings Inc. inaugurated Molecule Crafted, which is a cannabis-infused craft beverage assortment in Canada. These cannabis beverages are low in calories and accessible in various exotic as well as bold flavors. Industry Developments: August 2021 Cann, who is a THC beverage manufacturer based in California, stated the launch of Passion Peach Mate, an exclusive and novel caffeinated cannabis beverage. The manufacturer presented this product series to provide all-natural caffeine with a micro dose of THC to the users as they hunt for substitutions to alcoholic beverages. Detailed Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market SegHouseholdtation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Emerging Trends Key Insights Overview on Global Cannabis Market Supply Chain & Regulatory Analysis Global Cannabis Beverages Regulatory Analysis Recent Industry DevelopHouseholdts - Policies, Partnerships, New Product Launches, and Mergers & Acquisitions Qualitative Analysis (in Relation with COVID-19) Impact of COVID-19 Challenges in Supply Chain Efforts to Mitigate the Challenges Global Cannabis Beverages Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2017-2028 Key Findings / Summary Market Size Estimates and Forecast By Type (Value) Alcoholic Non-alcoholic By Distribution Channel (Value) Mass Merchandisers Specialty Stores Online Store Others By Region (Value) North America Europe Rest of the World North America Cannabis Beverages Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2017-2028 Key Findings / Summary Market Size Estimates and Forecast By Type (Value) Alcoholic Non-alcoholic By Distribution Channel (Value) Mass Merchandisers Specialty Stores Online Store Others By Country (Value) U.S By Type (Value) Alcoholic Non-alcoholic Canada By Type (Value) Alcoholic Non-alcoholic TOC Continued! Speak to Our Expert: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/cannabis-beverages-market-100738 Read Related Insights: Cannabis Market to Hit $197.74 Billion by (2021-2028) | Marijuana Industry CAGR of 32.04% CBD Hemp Oil Market to Worth $55,791.3 Million [2021-2028] | Cannabidiol Industry Share, Revenue, and Forecast Report by Fortune Business Insights Hops Market Share, Size, Growth, Regional Insights by 2029 | Increasing Demand for Different Variety of Flowers by Cosmetic Industry Will Aid Growth About Us: Fortune Business Insights delivers accurate data and innovative corporate analysis, helping organizations of all sizes make appropriate decisions. We tailor novel solutions for our clients, assisting them to address various challenges distinct to their businesses. Our aim is to empower them with holistic market intelligence, providing a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 9th Floor, Icon Tower, Baner - Mahalunge Road, Baner, Pune-411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US: +1 424 253 0390 UK: +44 2071 939123 APAC: +91 744 740 1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Connect us via Social Media Channels: LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Blogs ReportLinker It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6. 3% from 2022 to 2028. The report highlights trends prevailing in the market along with factors driving its growth. The growth of the cerebral aneurysm clips market is attributed to the increasing prevalence of brain aneurysm and associated risk factors and rise in research and development activities for treating cerebral aneurysms. New York, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Cerebral Aneurysm Clips Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Material Type, Indication, Condition, and End User" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321022/?utm_source=GNW However, the high cost of procedures hinders the overall market growth. A brain aneurysm or cerebral aneurysm is the development of a bulge in the brains blood vessels.The bulge puts pressure on the nerves or brain tissues, and rupture or burst can cause brain bleeding, which can be fatal to a patient. Factors such as genetic conditions, arteriovenous malformations, untreated high blood pressure, and smoking cause brain aneurysms. The more established method of treating aneurysms is microsurgical clipping.The first aneurysm ever treated by surgical clipping was performed at Johns Hopkins Hospital by Dr Walter Dandy on March 23, 1937. During microsurgical clipping, a small metal clip is used to stop blood flow into the aneurysm.A craniotomy is performed to create an opening in the skull to reach the aneurysm in the brain. The clip is placed on the neck (opening) of the aneurysm to obstruct the flow of blood and remains inside the brain. The growth of the cerebral aneurysm clips market is prominently attributed to the increasing prevalence of brain aneurysm cases worldwide. According to data published by the Brain Aneurysm Foundation in 2020, ~6.5 million people in the US, i.e., 1 in 50 persons, suffer from an unruptured brain aneurysm every year. Moreover, ~30,000 suffer a cerebral aneurysm rupture yearly, indicating that a cerebral aneurysm ruptures every 18 minutes. According to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation data, ~40.0% of ruptures are fatal and need intensive care and attention. According to studies conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), ~35% of Americans might have an aneurysm in their lifetime. Per the National Library of Medicine information, 2022, the global prevalence of cerebral aneurysms is ~3.2%, with a mean age of 50 and an overall 1:1 gender ratio; this ratio changes significantly among the people of age 50 and above to reach 2:0, with the predominance of females. The rate of rupture causing subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is ~10 per 100,000, which may be greater in Finnish and Japanese populations, among others. Further, an increasing commonness of risk factors associated with cerebral aneurysmssmoking, insomnia, and high blood pressureare anticipated to drive the market growth. According to a 2021 research study funded by the British Heart Foundation UK, smoking, insomnia, and high blood pressure are major risk factors for cranial aneurysm and aneurysmal SAH. According to the data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2018, ~14 of 100 people in the US smoke cigarettes. Apart from smoking and tobacco consumption, hypertension is another prominent factor raising the prevalence of cerebral aneurysms. According to World Health Organization (WHO), in 2019, ~1.13 billion people worldwide suffered from hypertension. According to the research study titled "Estimating the Global Incidence of Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Systematic Review for Central Nervous System Vascular Lesions and Meta-Analysis of Ruptured Aneurysms," 2018, ~500,000 individuals in the world are likely to suffer from SAH each year, with almost two-thirds in low- and middle-income countries. Thus, rising prevalence of brain aneurysm cases and their associated risk factors are responsible for the growth of the cerebral aneurysm clips market. Based on material type, the cerebral aneurysm clips market is categorized into pure titanium and titanium-based alloys, cobaltchromium-based alloys, phynox, and others.In 2021, the pure titanium and titanium-based alloys segment held the largest market share; however, the phynox segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR from 2022 to 2028. The cerebral aneurysm clips market, by indication, is segmented into saccular aneurysm, fusiform aneurysm, and mycotic aneurysm.The saccular aneurysm segment accounted for the largest market share in 2021; however, the mycotic aneurysm segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR in the market from 2022 to 2028. Based on condition, the cerebral aneurysm clips market is segmented into unruptured aneurysm and ruptured aneurysm.The unruptured aneurysm segment held a larger market share in 2021; however, the market for the ruptured aneurysm segment is anticipated to grow at a higher CAGR in the market from 2022 to 2028. Based on end user, the cerebral aneurysm clips market is segmented into hospitals, neurology centers, ambulatory surgical centers, and others. The hospitals segment accounted for the largest market share in 2021; however, the neurology center segment is estimated to register the highest CAGR in the market during 20222028. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cerebral Aneurysm Clips Market The global outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 had a slight negative impact on the growth of the cerebral aneurysm clips market due to delays in production and supply, and the increased focus of research institutes on the management of the disease.In March 2020, Medtronic, one of the key players in the brain aneurysm treatment market, launched a new ventilator platform for COVID-19 patients. To cope with the increasing number of COVID patients, several elective brain surgeries have been postponed in the US.For example, in 2021, Memorial Hospital at Gulfsport canceled several brain surgeries as the hospital was overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. The production of medical supplies is highly concentrated in Mexico which plays a critical role in ensuring the availability of supplies across developing countries, which have huge demands but do not have their own production capabilities.Since March 2020, there have been restrictions on the export of medical supplies. However, many companies are redirecting their focus to research and development activities related to measuring the impact of COVID-19 on neurological patients. For instance, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is engaged in guiding the care of neurology patients affected by COVID-19. The organization is also developing a platform to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the field of neurology. Various organic and inorganic strategies are adopted by companies operating in the cerebral aneurysm clips market.The organic strategies mainly include product launches and approvals. Further, inorganic growth strategies witnessed in the market are acquisitions, collaborations, and partnerships.These growth strategies allow the market players to expand their businesses and enhance their geographic presence, thereby contributing to the overall market growth. Further, acquisition and partnership strategies help them strengthen their customer base and expand their product portfolios. A few significant developments by key players in the cerebral aneurysm clips market are listed below. In August 2021, Biomedica Italia extended its partnership with Peter Lazic GmbH for the distribution and manufacturing of L-Aneurysm Clip and microsurgery instruments for neurosurgery. The contract was signed for the next 5 years. The American Medical Association, British Journal of Surgery, and National Library of Medicine are a few of the major secondary sources referred to while preparing the report on the global cerebral aneurysm clips market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321022/?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. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 Cryptocurrency lender Nexo has acquired a minority stake in Summit National Bank, a financial institution regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The deal will enable Nexo to open bank accounts with Summit National Bank as well as enhancing its lending and card products, according to an announcement on Tuesday. Nexo can now expand its presence in the U.S. while building out its crypto products within a federally regulated environment. The news comes a day after seven U.S. states, including New York and California, brought legal action against Nexo for offering unregistered securities in the form of its yield-bearing account which pays interest for crypto deposits. Monday, September 26, 2022 at 7:41PM by Claudio Alves Apologies for my absence in the past few weeks, dear readers. Two back-to-back festival makes up a daunting task, when it involves over fifty write-ups. Anyway, eager to jump back into The Film Experience. To ease the way a curious trifle. As I was browsing through Twitter, I came across a curious conundrum in the form of a new French poster for this year's Palme d'Or winner, and the title splashed across its badly Photoshopped self. While Ruben Ostlund's latest is called Triangle of Sadness or a direct translation in nearly every territory, those French distributors had another idea. In the land where it won the Croisette's highest honor, the film is known as Sans Filtre Wacky French titles for imports are nothing new if you've ever perused the darkest recessed of IMDB Silver Linings Playbook was rebaptized as Happiness Therapy, for example. Still, considering its premiere at France's most prestigious celebration of cinema, wouldn't it be logical to have its naturalized title be as close to the original as possible? Apparently not. Indeed, going down the list of Palme d'Or winners, one finds a few other quirky variations. Here are some examples: img src Triangle of Sadness - Sans filtre (Without Filter) Shoplifters - Une affaire de famille (A Family Story) The Piano La lecon de piano (The Piano Lesson) Wild at Heart Sailor & Lula Kagemusha L'ombre du Guerrier (The Shadow of the Warrior) All That Jazz Que le spectacle commence... (Let the Show Begin) The Hireling La meprise (The Misunderstanding) Friendly Persuasion La loi du Seigneur (The Lord's Law) The Lost Weekend Le poison (The Poison) Union Pacific Pacific Express Because I'm Portuguese and couldn't diminish my curiosity, I also decided to look at what titles those honored films have worn when screening at Portugal's finest cinemas. Some of these are even weirder than the French ones. Take a look: Shoplifters Uma Familia de Pequenos Ladroes (A Family of Little Thieves) The Wind That Shakes the Barley Brisa de Mudanca (Breese of Change) All That Jazz O Espetaculo Vai Comecar (The Show is About to Start) The Conversation O Vigilante (The Vigilante) The Hireling A Lady e o Motorista (The Lady and the Driver) Blow Up Historia de um Fotografo (Story of a Photographer) The Knackand How to Get It Licoes de Seducao (Seduction Lessons) Friendly Persuasion Sublime Tentacao (Sublime Temptation) Miss Julie Vertigem (Vertigo) The Lost Weekend Farrapo Humano (Human Rag) Union Pacific Alianca de Aco (Steel Alliance) For those whose curiosity has been piqued by Miss Julie's Hitchcockian new title, you'll be glad to know that Vertigo also suffered a substantial transformation as it arrived in Portuguese theaters. Here, the film was called A Mulher Que Viveu Duas Vezes, meaning 'The Woman Who Lived Twice'. It's a spoilery alternative, but one wouldn't want it to be confused with that Scandinavian Palme d'Or winner. What do you think of these alternative titles? Do you prefer any of them to the original? ReportLinker The Directed Energy Weapons market is expected to grow from US$ 1,780. 61 Million in 2022 to US$ 5,737. 45 Million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 21. 5% from 2022 to 2028. Modern directed-energy weapons with exceptional precision have made it necessary for nations with border disputes and regional threats to rely on such cutting-edge weapons for their border safety. New York, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Directed Energy Weapons Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Technology, Range, Application, and Platform" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321031/?utm_source=GNW For instance, Missile Defense Agencys (MDA) directed energy demonstrator development program targets technical risk reduction and maturation for high-powered strategic lasers, beam control, lethality, and associated technologies. In FY2021, the MDAs directed energy demonstrator development program received US$ 42 million in funding from the department of defense.Future DEW systems are most certainly to be developed more powerful than current systems using realistic klystron amplifier technology, as reported by the Chinese researchers. For instance, in Shanghai, researchers are developing a DEW system to enable a firing range of 100-petawatt laser shots by 2023. These parameters are catalyzing the growth of directed energy weapons market. Europe is expected to account for second largest directed energy weapons market share in 2022 and is also expected to grow at a healthy rate in the forecast period.Directed energy weapons capabilities are now being developed and implemented by several European organizations. The increasing threat of rockets, missiles, unmanned air vehicles, etc., is accelerating the development and deployment of directed energy weapons in Europe. Currently, the majority of the countries in Europe are working on the integration of counter-UAV laser systems into their armed forces, which can be later scaled into complete air defense systems. Therefore, the conflict between various countries across the region, which would lead to geopolitical war, is expected to boost the directed energy weapons market growth in the coming years. Further, European arms manufacturer MBDA is developing a laser weapon system called Dragonfire that could be deployed on the warships owned by UKs Royal Navy. This new laser-directed energy weapon system can shoot several thousand-kilowatt powered lasers and defend against drones and other airborne enemy units. In September 2021, the British government made a military contract worth US$ 100 million to companies such as Raytheon and Thales for the development of directed energy weapon systems. Thus, the development of the new Dragonfire weapon system will create an opportunity for a directed energy weapons market in the region. Further, Germanys Federal for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology, and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) awarded a contract to MBDA Deutschland GmbH and Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH. This is the contract to fabricate, integrate and support the testing of a laser weapon demonstrator in the maritime environment. The laser weapon demonstrator was fabricated, tested, and integrated at the end of 2021. The trials onboard the German Navy frigate F-124 Sachsen is expected to occur in 2022. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Directed Energy Weapons Market The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected several Asia Pacific countries, including China, South Korea, and India.China, India, South Korea, Japan, and many countries in the region are increasingly moving toward the advancement of the military and defense. The COVID-19 outbreak crisis had a minimal impact on the Asia Pacific directed energy weapons market than other regional markets, as the defense contractors in the countries continued to operate.However, the year-on-year development growth rate of products and technologies declined due to the workforce shortage. China is the largest military spending country in the region, and it experienced the adverse effects of the pandemic during Q1 of 2020, which led the government to shut down the country, thereby disrupting the entire supply chain.Thus, Chinese defense electronics and defense equipment manufacturers reported annual sales losses. Also, China is the largest DEW systems (including LaWS) developer and manufacturer in Asia Pacific. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has reflected limited developments in the directed energy weapons industry across the region. In North America, the US is the most developed country.As the country is an early adopter of technologies, the adoption of directed energy weapons is high. More advancement in directed energy weapons is witnessed in the US compared to other countries in the market. An increasing number of collaborations and partnerships of the US government with leading companies such as Lockheed Martin Corporation, Raytheon Technologies Corporation, Boeing, etc., is accelerating the directed energy weapons market growth. Acceptance of advanced weapon systems by the US government encourages laser weapon systems manufacturers to provide more innovative laser solutions. North America is estimated to account for largest directed energy weapons market share during the forecast period due to the strong presence of directed energy weapons players and significantly higher military spending year on year. These parameters are expected to continuously boost the directed energy weapons market growth during the forecast period. Lockheed Martin Corporation, Thales Group, L3Harris Technologies, Elbit Systems, Raytheon Technologies Inc, BAE Systems Plc, Moog Inc, Honeywell Aerospace Inc, Boeing, and Rheinmetall AG are a few of the major players operating in the directed energy weapons market. Several other directed energy market players such as MBDA, Kratos Defense, Aselsan, Leonardo SpA, Cilas (Ariane Group), General Atomics, Vision4CE, IPG Photonics, Epirus, EDGE Group, etc. have also been analyzed during the study to get a better and holistic view of the directed energy weapons market. Organic and inorganic growth strategies adopted by these companies to expand their product portfolio and global presence are expected to contribute to the directed energy weapons market growth. The overall directed energy weapons market size has been derived using both primary and secondary sources.To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the directed energy weapons market size. The process also serves the purpose of obtaining an overview and forecast of the market growth with respect to all market segments.Also, multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate the data and gain more analytical insights into the topic. Participants of this process include VPs, business development managers, intelligence managers, and national sales managersalong with external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leadersspecializing in the global directed energy weapons market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321031/?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. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 Leading waveguide designer and manufacturer add talent to R&D, product, and manufacturing development teams in support of growth ESPOO, Finland, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dispelix Oy, an advanced waveguide designer and manufacturer, today announced that Saara Airas has joined the company as Head of HR. As the Augmented Reality and smart glasses markets heat up, Saara is joining the company to help support its tremendous growth. Since January 2022, more than 50 people have been hired to fill positions in R&D, product, manufacturing development, and other teams across Finland, China, and the US. Additionally, twenty plus positions will be filled by the end of the year with more openings to be announced in 2023. Leading waveguide designer and manufacturer add talent to R&D, product, and manufacturing development teams in support of growth. "We are proud of how much we've grown since our founding in 2015," said Antti Sunnari, CEO & Co-Founder. "In addition to being headquartered in what many refer to as the happiest place in the world, Dispelix is on the forefront of waveguide design. Our team continues to push boundaries and move at the fast pace of innovation. Saara's leadership and experience will play an integral role as the company continues to grow." Prior to joining Dispelix Saara worked for Smartly.io where she served as Head of HR with a focus on EMEA and APAC. She has also worked in HR positions at some of the world's leading consultancies including KPMG, Deloitte, and EY. She holds a masters degree from the University of Helsinki and speaks English, Finnish, German, and Swedish. "I am proud to be joining such an amazing company on the forefront of innovation in the AR space," said Saara. "It will be exciting to work with such a fascinating and diverse team of people. More than 50% of our staff holds PhDs and many have been researching and working in this space for years. Dispelix is well-poised for continued market leadership and ongoing innovation." Experienced professionals interested in joining the most sought-after experts in optics, photonics, and manufacturing can visit https://careers.dispelix.com . For more details on open positions. For any non-residents moving to Finland, Dispelix supports new employees with relocation efforts and assists with the residence permit application. Story continues About Dispelix Oy is an advanced waveguide designer and manufacturer delivering next-generation visual solutions for consumer as well as enterprise AR and MR wearables. The company's patented single layer DPX waveguides are the thinnest on the market and do not compromise full color, image quality, clear eye contact, and field of view. They bring unmatched image quality, performance and visual fidelity combined with mass manufacturability to scale for even the largest vendors. Led by the world's most sought-after experts in optics, photonics and manufacturing, Dispelix is headquartered in the technology hub of Espoo, Finland with field offices throughout the United States and China. Learn more at dispelix.com. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dispelix-hires-saara-airas-as-head-of-hr-to-support-tremendous-growth-301634747.html SOURCE Dispelix ReportLinker The fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rebars market is expected to grow from US$ 215. 88 million in 2021 and is projected to reach US$ 421. 02 million by 2028; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10. 2% from 2022 to 2028. New York, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Fiber Reinforced Polymer Rebars Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Resin Type, Fiber Type, and Application" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321039/?utm_source=GNW Reinforced concrete is a composite material that can perform its designated functions only if an adequate bond exists between the reinforcement and concrete.Generally, a steel reinforcing bar is used as reinforcement in concrete structures. FRP rebars have great potential to overcome challenges such as structural and durability deficiencies.FRP rebars have several advantages over conventional steel; it has higher tensile strength and fatigue resistance and lower creep deformation and unit weight. FRP rebars have been used as internal reinforcements for concrete structures.Their primary advantages over common reinforcing steel rebars rely on their lightness, durability, mechanical properties, and electromagnetic neutrality. For this application, interfacial properties between the rebars and surrounding concrete play a significant role in the mechanical performance of the reinforced concrete structure. Based on application, the market is segmented into highway bridge and construction, marine structures and waterfronts, water treatment plants, and others.In 2021, the highway bridge and construction segment held the largest share in the market. Increased government spending on infrastructure development projects such as highways has led to the dominance of the highway bridge and construction segment. Based on geography, the fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rebars market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), South & Central America (SAM), and the Middle East and Africa (MEA).In 2021, North America dominated the market. Growing construction activities with increased government spending on infrastructure development led to the dominance of North America in the fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rebars market. The chemicals & materials industry faced unprecedented challenges upon the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.The shortage of raw materials and manpower, the shutdown of factories, and other operational difficulties associated with COVID-19 safety protocols adversely affected the fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rebars market. The lockdown measures heavily impacted the supply and production of FRP rebars.As the construction industry is susceptible to economic cycles, construction companies and workers were particularly exposed to the consequences of a sharp decline in economic activity amid the pandemic. Operational shutdown in the construction industry varied by location and project type, depending on the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the timing and stringency of containment measures. According to European Commission, construction output in the European Union grew by 3.9% in January 2022 compared to December 2021; construction production in Europe similarly increased by 3.9%. Nevertheless, the successful implementation of mass vaccination drives in 2021 resulted in a rise in business activities. With economies reviving their operations, the demand for FRP rebars is expected to rise globally in the coming years as key FRP rebars manufacturers have started resuming their operations, along with restoring their normal production capacities. Owens Corning; KODIAC Fiberglass Rebar; Marshall Composite Technologies, LLC; TUF-BAR; Armastek USA; Pultron Composites; FiRep Inc.; Pultrall, Inc.; Schock Bauteile GmbH; and Dextra Group are among the leading players operating in the fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rebars market. These companies are adopting strategies such as mergers and acquisitions and product launches to expand their geographic presence and clientele. The overall fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rebars market size has been derived using both primary and secondary sources.To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market. Also, multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants to validate the data and gain more analytical insights. Participants of this process include VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, national sales managers, and external consultantssuch as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leadersspecializing in the fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) rebars market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321039/?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. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 ReportLinker It is expected to grow with a CAGR of 16. 1% from 2022 to 2028. The rising incidence of leukemia and the significant growth in the pharmaceutical and food industry are the major factors boosting the market. New York, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Asparaginase Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Type, Application, End-Use Industry, and Geography" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321015/?utm_source=GNW Asparaginase is a naturally occurring substance that is present in mammals, birds, yeast, plants, and different types of bacteria but Enterobacteriaceae family microorganisms are one of the primary sources of L-asparaginase production.Additionally, there is various research going on for the expansion of its application area in different industries, such as nanomedicine, biomedical engineering, and many more, which is contributing to the market growth. Furthermore, increasing allergic reactions from E. coli, derived L-asparaginase has increased the use of E. chrysanthemi derived L-Asparaginase. Furthermore, the rising demand for better stability in the pharmaceutical industry to ensure efficient storage and transportation of drugs has further increased the R&D activities in the industry. There has been a rising inclination toward lyophilized drugs due to various advantages associated with lyophilized drugs. Thus, all the factors mentioned above are expected to drive the asparaginase market growth in the near future. Moreover, the increase in population worldwide has further contributed to the growth of the pharmaceutical and food industries.The rising population is fueling the demand for food products and pharmaceuticals. As per the world bank data, the total population was estimated to be 7.84 billion globally in 2021, growing at the rate of 1.05% per year. Thus, an increasing population is contributing to the expansion in the food and pharmaceutical industries, driving the global asparaginase market. Global Asparaginase Market: Key Insights Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic offered lucrative opportunities to players operating in the global asparaginase market.The US emerged as one of the most affected countries in North America due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The infection severely affected the countrys geriatric population, leading to various health complications among them, followed by the death of a large population. During COVID-19 has Spain, Italy, UK, France, and Germany were the worst affected European countries.According to Spanish Ministry of Healths report, 2020, about 1,773,000 cases and 48,000 deaths of COVID-19 were reported in Spain. About 20% of cases were registered in the Community of Madrid, accounting for 11,000 deaths and makes it severely affected areas in Europe.Cancer patients are at high risk of contracting COVID-19 and severe complications. Due to sudden lockdown and movement restriction, only emergency procedures were allowed.Asia Pacific was the first region to face an outbreak, the region has quickly changed how they manage trials, and most are able to deliver the clinical trial services their clients need. Biotech companies are currently initiating more clinical trials in the region. For Instance: since the initial outbreak, the situation in Asia Pacific has improved. As of May 2020, 97% of the sites re-opened for patient visits and 83% of the sites are open for on-site CRA visits. While in MEA and SCAM region COVID-19 pandemic had slight negative impact on the asparaginase market growth. Type Insights Based on the type, the global asparaginase market is segmented into Escherichia coli (E. coli), Erwina Chrysanthemi, Pegylated, and others. The E. coli segment held the largest market share in 2021. It is anticipated to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The increasing demand for E. coli asparaginase in the cancer treatment and food processing industry promotes the growth of the global asparaginase market. Asparaginase-derived E. coli is used for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemias. Asparaginase E. coli is an enzyme that catalyzes L-asparagine into L-aspartic acid and ammonia. It helps in the production of oxaloacetate needed for cellular metabolism. Asparaginase from E. coli has an antitumor property that is used for the treatment of leukemias. Application Insights Based on application, the global asparaginase market is bifurcated into therapeutic, food processing, and others.The therapeutic segment held a larger market share in 2021. Furthermore, the same segment is expected to record a faster CAGR from 2022 to 2028.The increasing use of asparaginase enzyme in treating lymphoproliferative disorders and lymphomas is expected to drive the growth of this segment during the forecasted period. The asparaginase enzyme is also used as an antimicrobial agent to treat infectious and autoimmune diseases, among others. It is administrated by injection into a vein, muscle, or under the skin. The demand for asparaginase enzyme is growing in the food processing industry as it reduces the acrylamide formation in the food under specific cooking conditions.Continuous innovations and increased demand for processed food are driving the growth of the global asparaginase market. According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA 2015), use of L-asparaginase presents a high potential to reduce the acrylamide content in thermally treated food without compromising their sensorial or nutritional aspects. End-use Industry Insights Based on end-use industry, the global asparaginase market is segmented into healthcare and food manufacturing.In 2021, the healthcare segment held the largest share in the market. Furthermore, the same segment is expected to register the highest CAGR from 2022 to 2028. The growth of the healthcare segment is attributed to factors such as growing acute lymphocytic leukemia, lymphoblastic lymphoma, and growing research activities. The rapidly growing healthcare industry is expected to increase the demand for asparaginase during the forecast period.Due to the increasing demand for asparaginase, there is a rising investment by the market players in R&D and the production of asparaginase. For instance, In 2019, researchers at the University of Illinois, Chicago, secured about US$ 1 million in funding for developing a less toxic version of chemotherapy using asparaginase to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Thus, the rise in research activities is anticipated to boost the growth of the global asparaginase market during the forecast period. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321015/?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. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SPHERICAL INSIGHTS LLP The Global Nano Biosensors Market Size is categorized into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. The major player in the nano biosensors market holds highest share include Abbott, Roche, Medtronic, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., DuPont, Biosensors International Group, Ltd., Cytiva (UK), Dexcom, Inc., Lifescan IP Holdings, LLC, Masimo, Nova Biomedical, Universal Biosensors, and among others. New York, USA, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global Nano Biosensors Market Size Was Valued At USD 11.6 Billion In 2021, The Market Is Projected To Grow USD 23.4 Billion In 2030, At A CAGR Of 7.90%. As Per the Latest Research Report by Spherical Insights & Consulting. Get a Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.sphericalinsights.com/request-sample/1156 The market for nano-biosensors is expected to grow profitably due to technical advances, advancements, and low cost. Additionally, the availability of point-of-care testing techniques contributes to the rise in demand for biosensors as most POC tests are conducted close to patient care locations and require little in the way of complicated infrastructure or special training. The increased demand is also being influenced by people's awareness of simple and practical solutions to obtain test results more quickly. However, the market for nano biosensors is now constrained by the maturity of a crucial end-user group. Other difficulties this market faces include a delayed rate of commercialization, high research and development expenses, and resistance to the adoption of novel treatment methods. The developing world's rising markets have some of this industry's most attractive potential. Nano biosensors are being used increasingly in environmental applications, including as the detection of pollution and toxicity in the environment, agricultural monitoring, groundwater screening, and ocean monitoring. Additional untapped markets with considerable development potential include the food industry, biodefense, and environmental monitoring. Story continues Nano biosensors are gaining popularity as potential tools for use in agricultural and food production. Compared to conventional chemical and biological techniques, they offer considerable gains in selectivity, speed, and sensitivity. Microbes, toxins, pollutants, and food freshness can all be detected with nano biosensors. The nano biosensors used in food analysis are also known as nano biosensors and incorporate knowledge of biology, chemistry, and nanotechnology. Several factors influence the growth of the global Nano biosensors market, shaping the market dynamics in both negative and positive ways. According to a global market study on Nano biosensors, the increasing demand for point-of-care testing methods is driving the need for effective biosensors. Furthermore, the prevalence of chronic and lifestyle-related diseases is encouraging consumers to use biosensors to detect pathogenic activities in the body on a regular basis. A noticeable increase in global geriatric demographics, as well as the proliferation of nanotechnology, are expanding the applications of nano biosensors, increasing their availability and affordability. Nano biosensors that incorporate nanotechnology are expected to find profitable applications in other industrial activities such as food analysis, imaging operations, and microbial activity monitoring. Inquire Before Buying This Research Report: https://www.sphericalinsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/1156 The growing popularity of personalized drugs and medical equipment, as well as a preference for non-invasive nano biosensors, is driving the global biosensors market forward. Despite these factors, the global market for nano biosensors is expected to face significant constraints due to strict regulatory requirements and complicated reimbursement policies implemented in the global healthcare sector. Furthermore, the rate at which these regulations adapt to newer technologies is slow, impeding biosensor acceptance and slowing global market expansion. Due to the growing need for testing, tracing, and tracking the virus, the nanosensors industry will experience a considerable increase in demand as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic. The diagnostic lab's requirement for several capabilities to test thousands of samples per day. For instance, MIT engineers created a nanoparticle sensor device in July 2020 that uses substances released in breath to diagnose and monitor lung ailments. The primary drivers of the biosensors market growth are the significant increase in chronic diseases like diabetes around the world, surge in biotechnology R&D, and rising demand for home care equipment. The market is growing as a result of a significant rise in the preference for biosensors in glucose monitoring devices. However, the main factors projected to restrain the market growth are the high cost of these devices and the lack of interest in adopting new treatment devices. Contrarily, it is projected those profitable opportunities will arise as biosensor technology advances to make them portable and simple to manage. Along with the rapidly diminishing amount of land and rising production costs, the growing global population and the depletion of natural resources are among the main obstacles to the sustainability of the agricultural and food industries. Natural resources can be used more effectively based on the use of nanobiosensors. In particular, nanobiosensors can be used in a variety of applications throughout the agri-food chain, from the detection of soil condition to the management of severe infections and diagnostic tools for the detection of pests during storage to ensure final quality assurance. Crop diseases caused by pests and pathogens can also be detected. Buy Now Full Report: https://www.sphericalinsights.com/checkout/1156 While medicine continues to improve and target more specific diagnostic and treatment methodologies, the route of diagnosis using common forms of medical technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electromagnetic radiation, computed tomography (CT) scans, and ultrasounds continues to pose challenges in terms of detail and accuracy. Because treatment plans and diagnoses are important factors in disease prognosis, it is critical for the field of medicine to develop innovative strategies to target areas and issues that these traditional methods cannot address. This requirement paved the way for the advancement of nanoelectronics. Nanoelectronic biosensors are a subset of nanotechnology known as nanotherapeutic solutions. These electronic solutions are created by highly integrated multidisciplinary teams of mechanical and electrical engineers, physicians, scientists, bioengineers, biochemists, and physicists. Browse key industry insights spread across 197 pages with 94 market data tables and figures & charts from the report Global Nano Biosensors Market Size, Share & Trends, COVID-19 Impact Analysis Report, By Type (Nanoparticle-Based Sensors, Nanotube-Based Sensors, And Nanowire Based Sensors), By Product (Wearable Biosensors, And Non-Wearable Biosensors), By Industry Vertical (Healthcare, Consumer Electronics, Food & Beverage, Aerospace & Defense, And Others), And By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, And Africa), Analysis And Forecast 2021 2030 in detail along with the table of contents https://www.sphericalinsights.com/reports/nano-biosensors-market Nano Biosensors Market: Competitive Landscape Over time, the appropriate formulation and strategies for ensuring the efficient roll-out and long-term efficacy of biosensing mechanisms have been developed. Nanoelectronic biosensors are now used to treat and diagnose a wide range of human medical conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and brain disease. Key Players The major player in the market holds highest share include Abbott, Roche, Medtronic, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., DuPont, Biosensors International Group, Ltd., Cytiva (UK), Dexcom, Inc., Lifescan IP Holdings, LLC, Masimo, Nova Biomedical, Universal Biosensors, and among others. Browse Related Reports Global Nurse Calling Systems Market Size, Share & Trends, COVID-19 Impact Analysis Report, By Type (Wired Systems, and Wireless Systems), By Application (Hospital, Nursing Home, Clinic, and Outpatient Surgery), and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa), Analysis and Forecast 2021 2030 https://www.sphericalinsights.com/reports/nurse-calling-systems-market Global Infusion Pharmacy Management Market Size, Share & Trends, COVID-19 Impact Analysis Report, By Type (Antibiotics, Antimicrobial, Pain Management, Enteral Nutrition, and Others), By Diseases (Diabetes, Cancer, Pain Related Diseases, and Others), By Application (Hospital and Clinic, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, and Home Care), and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa), Analysis and Forecast 2021 2030 https://www.sphericalinsights.com/reports/infusion-pharmacy-management-market Global Electronic Gastroscope Market Size, Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, by Product (Endoscope, Visualization Systems, Accessories, Others), by Application (GI Endoscopy, Laparoscopy, Obstetrics/ Gynecology Endoscopy, Arthroscopy, Urology Endoscopy (Cystoscopy), Bronchoscopy, Ent Endoscopy, Mediastinoscopy, Others), by End User (Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgery centers/Clinics, Others), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa) Analysis and Forecast 2021 2030 https://www.sphericalinsights.com/reports/electronic-gastroscope-market Global Fungal Keratitis Treatment Market Size, Share & Trends, COVID-19 Impact Analysis Report, By Route of Administration (Oral, Injection, and Topical), By Distribution Channel (Hospitals, Drug Stores and Others), and By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and South America) Market Size Statistics & Forecasting To 2030 https://www.sphericalinsights.com/reports/fungal-keratitis-treatment-market For more information on your target market, please contact us below: Phone: +1 303 800 4326 (the U.S.) Phone: +91 90289 24100 (APAC) Email: inquiry@sphericalinsights.com , sales@sphericalinsights.com Contact Us: https://www.sphericalinsights.com/contact-us Follow Us: LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter CAMBRIDGE, ON, Sept. 27, 2022 /CNW/ - Following the extreme weather caused by Hurricane Fiona, Gore Mutual Insurance Company (Gore Mutual) is donating $50,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to aid in their disaster relief efforts in Atlantic Canada. We're supporting those impacted by Hurricane Fiona with a $50K donation to Canadian Red Cross. (CNW Group/Gore Mutual Insurance Company) "As a modern mutual, we have a long-standing history of supporting communities in their time of need," says Andy Taylor, chief executive officer. "Hurricane Fiona has had a catastrophic impact on those in Atlantic Canada and we hope this donation will aid residents as they begin to rebuild." If customers need to make a claim, we encourage them to call us directly, including after-hours, at 1-800- 265-8600, or to connect with their broker to determine the next steps. Canadians who wish to support the Canadian Red Cross may do so by visiting www.redcross.ca, or by calling 1-800-418-1111. ABOUT GORE MUTUAL Built on a foundation of financial strength for more than 180 years, Gore Mutual Insurance Company is one of Canada's first property and casualty insurers. With offices in Cambridge, Toronto and Vancouver - a Canadian mutual company, offering competitive insurance products through trusted broker partners. Every decision and investment made is anchored in the long-term benefits to customers, members and communities. Insurance that does good this is our Purpose. Grounded in our purpose and guided by our core values, at Gore Mutual, we believe that being good and doing good by our employees, customers and broker partners will benefit not only them, but also uswhich in turn allows us to spread good in our communities and reward the good we see in others. This is what is driving our work to become a purpose-driven, digitally led national insurer. For more information, visit goremutual.ca or Gore Mutual's Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages. SOURCE Gore Mutual Insurance Company Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2022/27/c1256.html Indu 4.0 indu4.0 proudly unveiled its plans to enter the global economy and provide solutions to simplify the lives of its clients. Lucerne, Switzerland, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The company will use its filter function and blockchain-based payment options to enhance the average user experience in the manufacturing industry. indu4.0 will take on the challenges of the global economy and help the industrial sector enter the digital era. Using New Technology to Solve Long-Lived Issues indu4.0 offers innovative approaches to the world economy's persistent issues. The company has developed a new technology that allows for transparency and efficiencies in searching for new customers and suppliers. This technology will help solve long-standing issues in the manufacturing sector. indu4.0 plans to propose multiple solutions to the problems just mentioned: By joining the platform economy, indu4.0 will provide purchasers and suppliers with quick and precise results based on a sophisticated filtering system to find qualified partners. The use of blockchain technology will help to make payments more secure. This will be possible through INDU, the project's native cryptocurrency. The introduction of NFT security (non-fungible token) will allow safer and more secure transmission of documents. This technology has clear benefits on the IP (intellectual property) matter thanks to the NFT proof of ownership system. Virtual trade fairs in the metaverse will help clients to access events from anywhere. Moreover, it will be possible to participate in the presentation of new machines and products in a 3D exhibition space. These events will improve the efficiency of participants through travel and transportation independencies. Striving to Achieve a Sustainable Competitive Advantage As it prepares to enter a crowded market, indu4.0 plans to build a sustainable and solid competitive advantage. Tech-savvy users are always looking for new and improved ways to do things and are willing to pay for convenience. Story continues The company plans to use this to its advantage by offering a better user experience than its competitors. In addition, it intends to offer competitive prices and loyalty programs to keep users returning. indu4.0 can potentially disrupt the global economy by providing a more efficient way for buyers and suppliers to connect. The team has extensive experience in the industrial sector, which is evident by the combination of features in high demand in the industry. The projects innovative marketplace and enhanced filter function, combined with the application of new technology, allow the manufacturing industry to enjoy new opportunities. The projects ultimate purpose is to provide an efficient and convenient way for buyers and suppliers to connect. Putting the Team's Experience to Good Use indu4.0 is entering the market with a new approach derived from its founders' experience. The team comprises individuals with vast knowledge of the manufacturing industry. This priceless aspect provides them with a unique insight into clients' needs. Christian Dillier and Andreas Ott, two co-founders of the project, are industrial veterans. They are experienced entrepreneurs with an extensive network within the manufacturing industry. Additionally, Kay Baur is a highly experienced IT professional responsible for developing the Indu4.0 platform. The team also employs Max Schaumburg, a crypto expert who worked in creating and marketing cryptocurrencies. Moreover, Jan Baur acts as a business innovation consultant with experience in technology consulting and content creation. Last but not least, Rui Meireles serves as a financial advisor with extensive experience in the banking sector. With this team of specialists, indu4.0 is ready to tackle global economic issues and simplify clients' lives. About indu4.0 indu4.0, the first digital platform for the industrial business, plans to change everything in the sector. Specifically, it aims to solve some of the most pressing problems plaguing the industry for years. With a new approach, indu4.0 promises to bring the manufacturing industry into the digital world. The manufacturing industry is vital to the global economy, but digitalization has lagged. This has resulted in inefficiencies and a lack of transparency, costing the industry billions of dollars. In this context, indu4.0 expects to unleash the market's true potential through blockchain technology. indu4.0 shared detailed information about its plan to succeed on its website. Furthermore, the project's social media pages below are a good way to keep in touch with the team's latest updates. Twitter | Medium | Instagram | Telegram CONTACT: Christian Dillier CEO token (at) indu40.io The largest Iranian women's nonprofit in the United States, IAWF, will hold a candlelight vigil on Thursday, Sept. 29th to honor the brave women of Iran risking their lives for women's rights and freedom. LOS ANGELES, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In solidarity with women in Iran who are fighting for their basic human rights, the Iranian American Women Foundation (IAWF) is holding a candlelight vigil at West Hollywood Park on Thursday, Sept. 29th at 5:30 pm. PST. The vigil, which will be held both in-person and virtually, honors Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman who died in police custody, as well the countless brave Iranian women risking their lives in the movement for women's rights and freedom. The Mayor Pro Tempore of West Hollywood, Sepi Shyne, will be in attendance, along with Councilmember Sharona Nazarian, of the Beverly Hills City Council, and other community leaders. Iranian American Women Foundation (IAWF) Announces Candlelight Vigil for Mahsa Amini. The largest Iranian womens nonprofit in the United States, IAWF, will hold a candlelight vigil on Thursday, Sept. 29th at 5:30pm in West Hollywood Park, Los Angeles, to honor the brave women of Iran risking their lives for womens rights and freedom. "We invite all people, from all nationalities, to join us in support of our sisters in Iran," says Mariam Khosravani, the founder of Iranian American Women Foundation "We invite all people, from all nationalities, to join us in support of our sisters in Iran," says Mariam Khosravani, the founder of Iranian American Women Foundation and a philanthropist with years of experience in humanitarian aid. The IAWF is an educational nonprofit organization based in Irvine, Cali. with chapters in Northern California, New York, Los Angeles, and Orange County. "We are the largest women's organization within the Iranian community outside of Iran. We want to support and help represent the voices of women fighting for their rights in Iran," says Khosravani, who will also be in attendance at the vigil. "We envision a world where every woman gets to realize her full potential and can positively impact her community." West Hollywood Park is located at 647 N. San Vicente Blvd., in West Hollywood, California. The vigil will also be streamed live on Instagram @iawfoundation for those who would like to support and join virtually. Further details of this peaceful vigil will be announced here: https://www.iawfoundation.org/candlelight-vigil/. Story continues About Iranian American Women Foundation (IAWF): The mission of the Iranian American Women Foundation is to provide a platform for empowerment and networking among Iranian American women and to provide mentorship to younger generations of Iranians locally and globally. Since its inception in Orange County, CA in 2012, the organization has empowered, inspired and connected thousands of women nationwide and globally. It has served as a home away from home; a community that celebrates creative, innovative, tenacious, and competitive women who are problem solvers and a force for the greater good. With more than 6,000 members nationwide, the organization showcases the diversity of America, celebrates the confluence of the American fabric and Iranian heritage, and propels women forward into new, dynamic professional leadership arenas. Website:https://www.iawfoundation.org Instagram: @iawfoundation Media Contact: Roxie Sarhangi roxie@roxiepr.com 310-663-5229 Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iranian-american-women-foundation-iawf-announces-candlelight-vigil-for-mahsa-amini-301634791.html SOURCE Iranian American Women Foundation Lytho Seasoned Executive Brings a Mix of General Management and Sales Leadership as the Company Expands Reach in Europe for its Creative Workflow and Digital Asset Management (DAM) Software Geert Bruinink joins Lytho as its Country Manager in The Netherlands Geert Bruinink joins Lytho as its Country Manager in The Netherlands; he will report to Lytho CEO Douglas Thede and have overall responsibility for the companys European sales and operations. AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands and RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lytho, a creative operations platform providing creative workflow and digital asset management (DAM) tools to brand and creative teams, today announced it has hired Geert Bruinink as its Country Manager based in The Netherlands. He will report to Lytho CEO Douglas Thede and have overall responsibility for the companys European sales and operations. Geert brings a proven track record of general management and sales leadership skills to Lytho as we extend our presence in Europe, said Thede. Weve seen strong demand for our software because in-house creative teams have grown, and our tools reduce the natural complexity that comes with that growth. Were thrilled to welcome Geert as a Lythonian and look forward to his contribution as we scale up to meet demand. Geert brings more than 25 years of leadership experience and has held positions at brands including Cisco, Ricoh, and Samsung, among others. He graduated from Utrecht University (Hogeschool Utrecht) with a degree in Commercial Economics. There isnt another company in the world that addresses the unique needs of creative and brand teams with the same depth of expertise and passion as Lytho, said Bruinink. Im excited to join the company and see the potential for rapid growth. Im very much looking forward to working with our European team in solving the top challenges facing creatives today. Lytho is a unique software solution that focuses specifically on the needs of in-house brand and creative teams. The company's creative operations platform works across the Creative Lifecycle to bring order, improve collaboration, reduce unnecessary rework, and drive efficiency through its robust modules built for creatives, including: Story continues Streamlining creative briefs and project requests; Improving collaboration within the creative team and with stakeholders; Managing creative projects, resources and staff; Facilitating the review and approval process; Providing access to approved assets to distributed global teams; and Automating measurement and reporting to help creative leaders articulate value. The appointment of new leadership follows a steady stream of milestones the company has achieved recently. For example, it just recently launched expanded functionality to bring the full Creative Operations Platform to Europe. Similarly, the company announced an innovative collection of new features earlier this year to help customers better manage work across complex teams. Those capabilities have been recognized in three different analyst reports since. One such report was the Vendor Selection Matrix Marketing Resource Management by the European technology analyst firm Research in Action GmbH . That report analyzed the strategy and execution of the top 15 global brands that compete in the space and named Lytho as a leader. About Lytho Lytho, a creative operations platform, is uniquely focused to address the needs of brand and creative teams. The platform combines the benefits of many disparate tools (such as creative workflow and digital asset management) into a single software solution. Creatives no longer need to be limited by tools that are neither fully interoperable nor suited to their specific needs. Todays brand and creative teams need a solution that will help them fight the complexity that comes from managing the growing volume of requests, stakeholders, digital assets and brands. More than 600 enterprise customers worldwide use Lythos software. Media Contact: Frank Strong for Lytho 202-352-5920 frank@swordandthescript.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5ee601d8-d251-458e-ae7b-6aeca7112ba7 CARMEL, Ind., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Merchants Bancorp ("Merchants") (NASDAQ: MBIN), parent company of Merchants Bank of Indiana, today announced the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 5,200,000 depositary shares, each representing a 1/40th interest in a share of its 8.25% Fixed Rate Reset Series D Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock (the "Series D preferred stock"), with a liquidation preference of $25.00 per depositary share. In addition, the underwriters were granted, but have not yet exercised, a 30-day option to purchase 780,000 additional depositary shares of the Series D preferred stock, solely to cover over-allotments, if any. As a result of the public offering, Merchants received proceeds of approximately $125.3 million, net of estimated expenses and underwriting discounts and commissions. Piper Sandler & Co., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and UBS Securities LLC acted as joint book runners. A shelf registration statement, including a prospectus, with respect to the offering was previously filed by Merchants with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and was declared effective by the SEC on August 17, 2022. A prospectus supplement relating to the offering has been filed with the SEC. The offering has been made by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to these securities may be obtained free of charge by visiting the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, or may be obtained from Piper Sandler & Co., 1251 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10020, Attn: Syndicate Operations, Telephone: 1-866-805-4128, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, 180 Varick Street, Second Floor, New York, NY 10014, Attn: Prospectus Delivery, Telephone: 1-866-718-1649, or UBS Securities LLC, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019, Attn: Prospectus Department, Telephone number: 1-888-827-7275. About Merchants Bancorp Ranked as a top performing U.S. public bank by S&P Global Market Intelligence, Merchants Bancorp is a diversified bank holding company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana operating multiple lines of business, including multi-family housing and healthcare facility financing and servicing; mortgage warehouse financing; retail and correspondent residential mortgage banking; agricultural lending; and traditional community banking. Merchants Bancorp, with $11.1 billion in assets and $8.3 billion in deposits as of June 30, 2022, conducts its business primarily through its direct and indirect subsidiaries, Merchants Bank of Indiana, Merchants Capital Corp., Merchants Asset Management, LLC, Merchants Capital Investments, LLC, Farmers-Merchants Bank of Illinois, Merchants Capital Servicing, LLC, and Merchants Mortgage, a division of Merchants Bank of Indiana. For more information and financial data, please visit Merchants' Investor Relations page at investors.merchantsbancorp.com. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/merchants-bancorp-closes-depositary-share-offering-301634703.html SOURCE Merchants Bancorp Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 5:21PM by Nathaniel R "Holy Spider" will be released in the US, dates TBA Lots to tell you about today in the Best International Feature Film race. We are just six days away from the deadline for countries to submit their representative film for consideration at the upcoming Oscars but we know one country that won't be submitting and that's Russia since they're boycotting us given which side we fall on in their war on Ukraine. We generally know most of the list before that deadline due to press releases from all around the world. But not all. There are usually about 90ish entries and we have 70 announced thus far. You might remember that last year the Academy chucked their (very good and transparent) tradition of releasing the full official list of submissions in early October. If they continue that this year we won't have exact counts for awhile which is quite sad since those films need all the attention they can get and they only have a short window to get that since the all but 10 of them will be culled on December 21st when the shortlist is announced. What's more we thrive on statistics and factoids when getting obsessed with this niche window into global cinema and you cant do that without the exact list. ANYWAY, sorry about all the minutae. There are quite a few interesting new submissions / factoids to share with you after the jump... Boy From Heaven HOLY SPIDER (Ali Abassi) / BOY FROM HEAVEN (Tarik Saleh) Denmark (14 nominations, 4 wins, and 2 additional finalists from 59 submissions) Sweden (16 nominations, 3 wins, and 3 additional finalists from 62 submissions) Both Denmark and Sweden chose films set in the Middle East. Holy Spider (reviewed at Cannes) is about a female journalist and a serial killer who is preying on sex workers in Iran. Boy From Heaven (reviewed at Cannes) is about a power struggle at an Islamic school. Ali Abassi, who was previously submitted by Sweden for 2018 film Border, was born in Iran but moved to Sweden in 2002. He's now being submitted by Denmark for reasons we can only assume are financing and team related? Tarik Saleh is a Swedish native but his father is Egyptian. Both submissions are reminders of how Sweden and Denmark have changed culturally with their relatively welcoming borders over the decades. Before anyone gets mad, please note the word "relatively". It's all relative of course and as with all countries everywhere, there are divisive politics around immigration everywere as well as pendulum swings in public opinion about these matters. Utopia will release Holy Spider in the US but Boy From Heaven does not yet have US distribution. Lots more info on Denmark & Oscar here (Statistically speaking, they're Oscar's favourite country at the moment.) ARGENTINA, 1985 Argentina (7 nominations and 2 wins from 49 submissions) We once did a list that we're now trying to find in the archives about which actors have been in the most films submitted to this category from their home countries. Surely Ricardo Darin would place by now! This is the 8th submission from Argentina that he's starred in including nominees Wild Tales (2014), Son of the Bride (2001) and winner The Secret in Their Eyes (2009). Elisa reviewed this out of Venice and thinks it's a crowd-pleaser but wasn't personally impressed. This film comes to Amazon Prime soon. SAINT OMER (Alice Diop) France (38 nominations, 9 wins, and 3 additional finalists from 68 submissions) With this submission Alice Diop becomes the first black female director submitted by France. On an entirely different note, it's interesting that shortly after France changed their submission committee to avoid Cannes having too much pull (after the committee chose challenging Palme winner Titane over the accessible but also brilliant Happening) they went with a Venice hit that is shaping up to be a critical darling but might not be accessible enough for voters (just like last year). We don't yet know how the Academy will react to this slow academic feeling courtroom drama about an upsetting infanticide case. But if Oscar doesn't embrace it, you'll surely hear griping that France should have chosen the more accessible critical hit One Fine Morning, which they were also considering, instead. Still, having too many worthy films to choose from each year is a good problem to have and France almost always has it. Reviewed at TIFF by Abe and at Venice by Elisa. Saint Omer will be released by Super in the US, though no date has been announced yet. FEMALE DIRECTORS AND FRANCE. This is the second consecutive year they've chosen a female director to represent the country. What's more in the past two years both of the likely runner-ups were by women, too. Despite never sending their most famous female auteurs Claire Denis and Agnes Varda, they've done a better job than many countries at honoring women behind the camera. France first sent a female director back in 1975 with Marguerite Duras' India Song, and got their first female directed nomination with Diane Kurys' Entre Nous in 1983. Their other submissions in this regard were Josiane Balasko's funny and sexy French Twist (1995), Agnes Jaoui's The Taste of Others (2000, nominee), Daniele Thompson's Avenue Montagne (2006, finalist), Marjane Satrapi's wonderful animated adaptation Persepolis (2007), Valerie Donzelli's restless inventive memoir Declaration of War (2011), Denis Gamze Erguven's excellent Mustang (2015, nominee), and Julia Ducournau's bizarre and gripping Titane (2021) WHERE THE WIND BLOWS (Philip Yung) Hong Kong (3 nominations and 1 additional finalist from 41 submissions) Aaron Kwok and TFE's all time favourite Asian (male) movie star Tony Leung Chiu-Wai headline this true story crime drama about two corrupt cops in the 1960s. The amount of worthy films that Oscar has ignored from Hong Kong is alarming like the hugely influential Come Drink With Me, the masterpiece In the Mood for Love, and Infernal Affairs a mainstream hit so thrillingly plotted that it inspired a Best Picture winning remake, The Departed and won Best Picture. We haven't seen this one yet but hopefully it's a worthy submission. ICARUS Luxembourg (no results yet from 19 submissions) Here's a very interesting statistic to close with. 2022 has obliterated a record in terms of the number of animated films submitted. Usually there's one ... there might have been 2 one year (it's possible I forgot). This year there are already four! Two animated documentaries (Armenia's Aurora Sunrise and Canada's Eternal Spring) and two narrative animated features with Kenya's superhero picture TeraStorm and this Greek mythology based film from Luxembourg. Updated Predictions Here. In addition to the six films listed above the following countries have also announced in the past few days: Bangladesh, Bulgaria (they switched horses), Estonia, Kenya, Kyrgysztan, Italy, North Macedonia, Norway, and Peru. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 27, 2022 / NY Cannabis Insider Live events bring together entrepreneurs and industry experts to discuss topics essential to the New York State cannabis industry. Presented by Cannaspire, the Tarrytown conference will be held Friday, November 4 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Westchester Marriott. Space is limited and tickets are expected to sell out. General admission tickets are $265 (an early bird rate of $215 will be applied if purchased before 10/1). Purchase tickets here. Advance Media New York, Monday, September 26, 2022, Press release picture The event will showcase industry thought leaders sharing their knowledge and expertise on topics critical for those looking to start cannabis ventures in NYS, along with an abundance of networking time to connect with others in the industry. Attendees will have access to panel conversations and speakers and the ability to visit sponsors and vendors on site. During Q&A and networking sessions throughout the day, attendees can interact directly with industry thought leaders. Image Courtesy of Married Iguana Media from NY Cannabis Insider's September Half-Day Conference in Syracuse. Information on panel topics and featured speakers coming soon. NY Cannabis Insider Live events are attended by industry professionals, lobbyists and entrepreneurs looking to start their own cannabis business, as well as those from cannabis-adjacent businesses such as legal, security, retail, banking, finance, construction, engineering, business consultation and medical expertise. New York Cannabis Insider Live: Event Sponsors: Sponsors and partners for NY Cannabis Insider Live events are the businesses shaping the industry locally and regionally. Look for them at the event for advice and help with your cannabis business. Cannaspire provides the products, services, and consulting that business owners need to succeed in the cannabis industry, from application to expansion. Syracuse University College of Professional Studies is a global, inclusive and future-facing college, providing access to diverse students and learners seeking a Syracuse University degree, credential, certificate or education experience from anywhere in the world. Brown & Weinraub, PLLC is a leading-edge Government Relations & Strategic Consulting law firm representing a broad spectrum of business interests established and/or seeking to expand in New York. Cannabis Workforce Initiative is a collaboration between the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University and the Workforce Development Institute. Its mission is to promote and support social equity in the adult-use cannabis market by providing quality workforce development and legal education. Dutchie powers the world's best cannabis retailers from multi-state operators to locally owned dispensaries. NYSIF has a mission is to guarantee the availability of workers' compensation and disability insurance with the lowest possible cost to New York employers while maintaining a solvent fund. Tri-State Carbonation provides reliable quality-driven CO2 solutions for your grow house operations. Grow Controlled: creating the most sanitary, energy efficient, innovative, and environmentally friendly facilities in the industry. Cannabis360 generates awareness, engagement, and leads for your canna-business. Story continues We are still seeking sponsors for the event. Contact Lindsay Wickham, events specialist, for more information. As entrepreneurs and cannabis professionals are preparing to move forward in the billion-dollar legal weed industry, NY Cannabis Insider Live events allow participants to learn about regulations, make connections, establish teams and foundations, and prepare business plans. SOURCE: NY Cannabis Insider Live Conference View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/717488/Network-With-Cannabis-Industry-Professionals-at-the-November-4-Full-Day-Conference Internal combustion engines still rule the roost when it comes to powering automobiles, but there are signs that they're trundling into oblivion, at least in some markets. The likes of Sweden, Denmark and the U.K. are planning to ban sales of diesel and petrol cars by the end of the decade, while markets such as Australia and California are also making moves in that direction, albeit at a slower pace. Part of this process will have to involve making it easier for consumers and businesses alike to transition to electrification, for example through extending access to electric vehicle (EV) charging stations as the U.S. recently announced as part of its $1 trillion infrastructure bill. But companies will also need help acquiring and operating their EV fleets -- and this is where a new startup called Papaya is setting out to play its part. Soft-launched back in February, Papaya's software is designed to help fleet operators source and manage electric or light-electric vehicles (LEVs), solving something that co-founder and CEO Santi Ureta says is usually "highly fragmented and opaque." And to help take things to the next level, the London-based company today announced that it has raised $3.5 million from a slew of institutional and angel investors. For context, there are no shortage of vehicle management systems out there already, from Automile and FleetCheck to Webfleet, but Papaya is hoping to set itself apart with its specific industry focus on smaller EVs that are likely to be used by last-mile delivery companies. It's about solving very specific pain points, reducing fragmentation and serving as a single platform for everyone to connect and communicate. "No one is really connecting all sides of the market as we are doing, and also building the tools they need to manage the relationship better," Ureta told TechCrunch. Ureta and Papaya's CTO co-founder Renato Serra both have experience working at companies where transport and logistics are pivotal to their bottom line, including European food delivery juggernaut Deliveroo and quick-commerce unicorn Gopuff. And this experience was what proved the genesis for Papaya. Story continues "We realised firsthand that sourcing an electric fleet is hard, and managing one efficiently is even harder," Ureta said. "Managing a hybrid electric fleet with current software tools is impossible to do in one place." Moving parts Among the problems that Papaya is looking to solve is the complexity of multimodality -- electric fleets require different kinds of vehicles for different use cases. For example, an e-van may be more suitable for larger scale grocery deliveries, while a cargo bike or e-bike might suffice for food delivery. And for each kind of vehicle, there is a whole host of different suppliers, maintenance firms and other service providers to keep everything functioning and in order. Papaya essentially joins the dots between the fleet operators (e.g. Gopuff or Deliveroo) and service providers, which may include vehicle suppliers (e.g. Hop or Otto), maintenance providers (e.g. Fettle or Cycledelik), insurance providers (e.g. Laka or Zego), or even storage spaces designed for housing and charging EVs (such as Reef or Infinium Logistics). "Every single provider has their outdated systems -- Google Forms, spreadsheets, emails or clunky fleet management tools -- and the fleet needs to interact with all these tools to report incidents and maintain their availability, which makes it really difficult and inefficient," Ureta said. "Papaya is centralising all these different processes and tools into one single operating system, allowing the fleet to have full visibility, accountability and transparency about the status of their vehicles, and manage all their relationships in the same place." Papaya dashboard. Image Credits: Papaya In its original guise, Papaya was mostly about enabling the management of existing EV and LEVs, but its overarching objective is to help companies transition from traditional fossil-fuel burning vehicles to emission-free alternatives. And that is why the company is gearing up to launch its vehicle marketplace, serving as a single conduit for fleet operators to procure EVs and LEVs and all the related services. "One could see it [the marketplace] as a way for vehicle suppliers and service providers to showcase their products and services to fleets, in the geographies they operate within," Ureta explained, adding that he expects the marketplace to launch by the end of the year. "Papaya will make it far easier for companies to source EVs, and manage them -- this will accelerate the transition from combustion engine fleets to EV fleets." Papaya is already live in five markets, including the U.K. Spain, France, Germany and Estonia. And in its short lifespan so far, the company has already amassed an impressive roster of customers that include the aforementioned Gopuff (currently valued at $15 billion) and parcel delivery giant Evri. Gopuff, according to Ureta, uses Papaya to interact with all the vehicles in their fleet, track availability and cost, and manage incidents as they come up. "Gopuff uses Papaya as its main vehicle management system -- they have all their vehicles on the platform and their main service providers onboarded on the other side," Ureta said. "The platform is used by multiple actors, from riders to hub operators, fleet managers and heads of operations." On top of sourcing and managing EVs, much like other vehicle management systems, Papaya is also substantively about generating data and garnering insights into everything that's happening in a fleet at any given point in time. Image Credits: Papaya Bringing down emissions A quick look at the data reveals that Papaya is onto something. The European Commission (EC) has targeted a 90% reduction in transport emissions by 2050, while last-mile logistics are currently responsible for around 5% of a company's supply chain emissions -- but with e-commerce only going on an upwards trajectory, this figure is likely to increase. Indeed, the World Economic Forum suggests that the number of delivery vehicles in the top 100 cities will increase 36% by 2030, with emissions from the traffic growing in tandem. In short, if the world has any hope of meeting lofty climate goals, it needs to address the emissions problem. And this is what lies at the heart of Papaya's growth plans -- the company's new $3.5 million investment ushered in a host of backers including Giant Ventures, Seedcamp, 20VC, FJ Labs, Flexport, Cocoa, Sir Richard Branson's family (specifically: Freddie Andrewes and Holly Branson, who manage the family fund), Glovo co-founder Oscar Pierre, and former TechCrunch journalist Steve O'Hear. The company said that it plans to use its cash injection to "build Europes largest electric vehicle ecosystem and decarbonise European fleets." The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against two former MoviePass executives. In a federal complaint seen by Bloomberg, the agency accused Theodore Farnsworth and Mitch Lowe on Monday of misleading investors about the viability of the companys $9.95 per month business model. Farnsworth was the chief executive officer of Helios and Matheson Analytics, the parent company of MoviePass between 2017 and 2020. Lowe led MoviePass between 2016 and its collapse in 2020. The SEC alleges Farnsworth and Lowe intentionally and repeatedly shared false information. Faced with debilitating negative cash flows rather than tell the public the truth Farnsworth and Lowe devised fraudulent tactics to prevent MoviePasss heavy users from using the service, and falsely and misleadingly informed the public that usage had declined naturally or due to measures the company had employed to combat subscribers purported violations of MoviePasss terms and conditions of service, the complaint states. In addition to financial penalties, the SEC is seeking to prevent both Farnsworth and Lowe from serving in director or officer positions in any company thats required to register securities with the agency. The SECs lawsuit also names former MoviePass business development executive Khalid Itum as a defendant. Itum allegedly pocketed $310,000 by submitting false invoices to the company. Last year, Helios and Matheson, Farnsworth and Lowe settled a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission related to allegations they mislead customers and failed to protect user personal information. The complaint concerns matters subject to an investigation that the company and other news outlets publicly disclosed nearly three years ago, and Mr. Farnsworths legal team will maintain the challenge to this complaint, Chris Bond, a spokesperson for Ted Farnsworth told Bloomberg. Mr. Farnsworth continues to maintain that he has always acted in good faith in the best interests of his companies and shareholders. Story continues The suit comes as a new version of MoviePass attempts to reestablish itself under the leadership of cofounder Stacy Spikes. The company recently launched a beta service in Chicago, Dallas and Kansas City, offering packages that start at $10 per month. "Today the SEC filed a civil complaint against our client, Mitch Lowe, in the U.S. District Court. The allegations in the complaint relate to Mitchs time at MoviePass, particularly 2017-2018," Kobre & Kim, the firm representing Lowe, said in a statement to Engadget. "We disagree with the SECs characterization of Mitchs conduct, including allegations about statements made about the progress in building MoviePass. Bringing new commercial concepts to the market can be disruptive and uneven. Mitch remains proud of what was accomplished at MoviePass and intends to work within the legal process to resolve these allegations." Update 9/30/22 11:10AM ET: This post was updated with a statement from Mitch Lowe's legal representatives. With Hurricane Ian bearing down on the Gulf Coast, Skanska representatives told the News Journal they are taking every precaution they can ahead of the storm. Skanska's failure to secure barges led to the partial destruction of the Pensacola Bay Bridge during Hurricane Sally in 2020, leading to a nine-month closure of the bridge and numerous lawsuits from area governments, business owners and residents who suffered financial losses during the bridge outage. A statement from Skanska officials indicates they have no intention of repeating that scenario. Hurricane Sally failure: Skanska didn't implement its hurricane plan when Sally hit. Here's their explanation of why: Three-Mile Bridge shutdown: A portion of Pensacola's Three Mile Bridge is missing after Hurricane Sally. Here's what we know After loose barges damaged the Pensacola Bay Bridge during Hurricane Sally in September 2020, Skanska officials say the construction company is "implementing its storm preparations and is currently in the process of securing barges and cranes and mobilizing equipment into safe harbor" ahead of Hurricane Ian. "As the Gulf Coast prepares for the approaching storm, we are closely monitoring Hurricane Ian's projected path," Maritza Ferreira, Skanska's communications director for the southeast region, told the News Journal in an email Monday. "Skanska is implementing its storm preparations and is currently in the process of securing barges and cranes and mobilizing equipment into safe harbor." As Pensacola learned with Hurricane Sally, forecasts can always change As of Monday afternoon, Hurricane Ian was moving northwest across the western Caribbean and was forecast to turn north and move into the eastern Gulf of Mexico sometime Tuesday into Wednesday. The current forecast calls for Ian to approach the west coast of the Florida peninsula Wednesday into Thursday in the Tampa area. Still, forecasts can and do change, as was the case with Hurricane Sally. Models and forecast for that hurricane "suffered from a noticeable left-of-track (west) bias near the northern Gulf coast" and "many of (the National Hurricane Center's) track forecasts depicted a potential landfall in southeastern Louisiana or Mississippi, even as late as 36 (hours) before the eventual landfall in Alabama," according to a 2021 National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Report on Hurricane Sally. " Story continues Hurricane Ian prep: Where to get sand bags in Escambia, Santa Rosa counties After loose barges damaged the Pensacola Bay Bridge during Hurricane Sally in September 2020, Skanska officials say the construction company is "implementing its storm preparations and is currently in the process of securing barges and cranes and mobilizing equipment into safe harbor" ahead of Hurricane Ian. The storm ultimately made landfall in near Gulf Shores, Alabama, on Sept. 16, 2020, with Pensacola taking the brunt of Sally's impact. During the hurricane, 27 of 55 the Skanska barges being used to construct the Pensacola Bay Bridge broke loose, causing significant damage to the bridge, as well as some property along the shore. Lawsuits against Skanska after Hurricane Sally still pending Skanska has attempted to exonerate itself from any financial liability for the destruction caused by the barges, or to limit its responsibility to the value of the barges at about $1.2 million. Skanska officials claimed the impact of the storm was stronger than predicted and they did as much as possible to prepare, so they should not be held financially liable for the damage the loose barges caused. Skanska Vice President of Operations Tom Fulton said during a federal trial that the company did not follow its own hurricane preparedness plan in the lead-up to Sally because the National Weather Service's updates on the storm all referenced a "tropical depression" or "Tropical Storm Sally" and didn't explicitly use the word hurricane. After loose barges damaged the Pensacola Bay Bridge during Hurricane Sally in September 2020, Skanska officials say the construction company is "implementing its storm preparations and is currently in the process of securing barges and cranes and mobilizing equipment into safe harbor" ahead of Hurricane Ian. U.S. District Court Judge Lacey Collier ruled in December 2021 that Skanska should have done more to prepare for the storm than to tie its barges to pilings in the Pensacola Bay, and that its executives should have known based on weather reports that there was a chance the storm would directly impact Pensacola. Skanska has appealed that ruling and the case remains pending. More than 1,000 plaintiffs have filed suit against Skanska in state court for damages related to the loose barges and the bridge outage, and a federal appellate court's ruling on Skanska's appeal is expected to have a significant impact on if and how those cases proceed. Benjamin Johnson can be reached at bjohnson@pnj.com or 850-435-8578 This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Skanska secures barges for Hurricane Ian after Hurricane Sally debacle ReportLinker growing at a CAGR of 21. 5% from 2022 to 2028. Businesses are rapidly embracing advanced predictive maintenance solutions and services to reduce unforeseen production delays and gain a competitive advantage. New York, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Social Media Analytics Market Forecast to 2028 COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Component [Solutions and Services ], Application, Deployment, Organization Size, and Vertical" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321074/?utm_source=GNW Several macroeconomic factors globally created a severely hostile environment for businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruptions, which led to huge losses for several industry verticals.Political factors in Europe, the Middle East, and South America negatively affected different industry verticals in various ways. Severe economic downturns in several countries decreased consumer spending on discretionary or optional goods. Concerning such factors, enterprises are taking up different measures to remain competitive by reducing capital expenditure.Hence, enterprises are adopting technologies that can reduce production downtime and support continuous manufacturing activities. Availing predictive maintenance can aid organizations in reducing costs while maintaining a competitive edge.Studies claim that an offshore oil and gas company can use predictive maintenance solutions to reduce downtime by 20%, leading to a production increase of more than 500,000 oil barrels annually. Such advantages are expected to boost the social media analytics market growth during the forecast period. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Social Media Analytics Market Growth The limitations imposed by governments to control the spread of COVID-19 during the initial time frame of the outbreak in most countries affected the day-to-day functioning of most enterprises.Stringent restrictions and supply chain disruptions put most companies in jeopardy. Similar situations were witnessed across most countries across all regions.The COVID-19 pandemic affected the economy, transportation, infrastructure, and electronics & semiconductor industries. Due to travel restrictions and business shutdowns, it disrupted the operations of electronics & semiconductor firms, clients, and partners for an indefinite period, severely influencing revenue generation and reducing technological spending.There is speculation that the work-at-home modality is expected to become the new normal for many people in the near future. Such factors strongly promoted the usage of social media platforms, as people used the same to spend additional time on hand. This led to a sudden spike in social media users and increased data generation. Such factors provided great opportunities for businesses to leverage such data for gathering business intelligence, gaining competitive edge and enhancing customer experience. Thus, there was a sudden rise in demand for social media analytics market players worldwide. Large enterprises and SMEs alike utilized social media analytic solutions and services. The outlook post-COVID 19 for the social media analytics market growth, thus, seems favorable for most market players. China accounts for the largest share in the social media analytics market in Asia Pacific, followed by India and Japan.Chinas social media analytics market is growing at one of the fastest globally. The key factors expected to drive the growth of Chinese social media analytics market during the forecast period are the rising number of social media users and the increasing importance of social media platforms.Furthermore, the growing competitiveness amongst businesses is expected to drive the growth of the social media analytics market in the region. There has been an increase in the big data and AI ecosystem, with many large and small players entering the region in the past few years.As a result, India is expected to become one of the worlds largest social media analytics markets with better use cases and significant opportunities for data scientists in the future. The countrys rising social media user base is anticipated to further positively impact the market growth. The social media analytics market revenue was predominantly generated through the solutions segment.Modern-day social media analytic solutions easily gather data from various sources, analyze the same and provide actionable insights. Integration of AI, ML, and NLP has further increased the demand for these solutions.Another reason for market expansion is the enterprises demand for solutions that measure, monitor and analyze social media data to understand customer attitudes without requiring a heavy IT setup. Further, small and medium businesses increasing usage of social media analytic solutions has been driving the markets expansion. The services are a mix of professional and managed support services vendors provide to businesses to implement and maintain social media analytics solutions.Services segment revenue is expected to register a steady growth rate during the forecast period. With social medias growing popularity, businesses would inevitably incorporate social media analytics into their marketing strategies.Networking, content promotion, search engine optimization (SEO), research, and recruitment are five key functions social media can serve in modern organizations. Service providers can aid businesses in devising a social media advertising plan, a record describing how social media will be used for business growth.It may also include logo promotion, lead generation, or skills acquisition. Professional and managed services are projected to rise in popularity as social media analytics becomes more widely used. Such factors promote the growth of both the segments and the social media analytics market size. Cision Ltd.; Hootsuite Inc.; IBM Corporation; Meltwater NV; Oracle Corporation; Qualtrics International Inc.; Salesforce.com, Inc.; Sprout Social, Inc.; Talkwalker S.a.r.l.; and Zoho Corporation Pvt. Ltd. are a few key social media analytics market players. The overall growth size has been derived using both primary and secondary sources.To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market. The process also serves the purpose of obtaining an overview and forecast of the social media analytics market size with respect to all market segments.Also, industry participants and commentators have conducted multiple primary interviews to validate the data and gain more analytical insights. Participants in this process include VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, national sales managers, external consultants, such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders, specializing in the social media analytics market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06321074/?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. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 Sosei Group Corporation TOKYO and CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sosei Group Corporation (the Company; TSE: 4565) will hold an R&D Day on Thursday, 13 October 2022, at 3:30 pm JST. The meeting will be held in person in Tokyo for institutional investors, securities analysts and the press and will also be available via a live webcast. Please click here to register for the event. Date: Thursday, 13 October 2022 Time: 3:30 pm 5:30 pm JST (7:30 am 9:30 am BST) Presenters: Chris Cargill, President and CEO Corporate presentation, vision, strategy and progress Matt Barnes, Head of UK R&D Focusing on out-licensed and partnered programs Rie Suzuki, Senior Director, Translational Biology Focused on wholly owned, in-house programs About Sosei Heptares We are an international biopharmaceutical group focused on the discovery and early development of new medicines originating from our proprietary GPCR-targeted StaR technology and structure-based drug design platform capabilities. We are advancing a broad and deep pipeline of novel medicines across multiple therapeutic areas, including neurology, immunology, gastroenterology and inflammatory diseases. We have established partnerships with some of the worlds leading pharmaceutical companies and multiple emerging technology companies, including AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Genentech (Roche), GSK, Kallyope, Neurocrine Biosciences, Novartis, Pfizer, Takeda and Verily. Sosei Heptares is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan with corporate and R&D facilities in Cambridge, UK. Sosei Heptares is the corporate brand and trademark of Sosei Group Corporation, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker: 4565). Sosei, Heptares, the logo and StaR are trademarks of Sosei Group companies. For more information, please visit https://www.soseiheptares.com/ LinkedIn: @soseiheptaresco | Twitter: @soseiheptaresco | YouTube: @soseiheptaresco Story continues Enquiries: Sosei Heptares Media and Investor Relations Hironoshin Nomura, Chief Financial Officer Shinichiro Nishishita, VP Investor Relations, Head of Regulatory Disclosures Candelle Chong, SVP Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy Japan: +81 (0)3 5210 3399 | United Kingdom: +44 (0)1223 949390 | IR@SoseiHeptares.com MEDiSTRAVA Consulting (for International Media) Mark Swallow, Frazer Hall, Eleanor Perkin +44 (0)203 928 6900 | SoseiHeptares@medistrava.com BALTIMORE, Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ-GS: TROW), a global investment management firm, has published its 2021 ESG Corporate Annual Report. The report details how the firm is advancing its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy. Highlights of T. Rowe Price's 2021 ESG activities and progress include: Environmental Met our goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 13% in advance of the 2025 deadline, compared with a 2010 baseline. Remained on track to reduce the waste sent to landfills and incinerators by 92% by 2025, compared with a 2010 baseline. Began offsetting GHG emissions generated from employee business travel via a collaboration with Climate Vault, a nonprofit that, on T. Rowe Price's behalf, will purchase and "vault" carbon allowances on government-regulated "cap and trade" compliance markets. Social Sixty-six percent of new hires were either female or ethnically diverse. Total firm giving to communities was US$35.2 million. Announced the recipients of US$2 million in commitments to nonprofits fighting racial injustice. Eighty-three percent of associates reported feeling a sense of belonging at T. Rowe Price. Governance Joined the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative to support the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner. Engaged with investee companies on 788 separate occasions on ESG topics. Became signatories to the United Nations Global Compact, further strengthening alignment with international sustainability frameworks, which also includes the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. Looking ahead, the report also shares plans and goals regarding: Environmental targets and commitments, including achieving zero waste at a real estate portfolio level by year-end 2025 and phasing out all single-use plastics, as well as evaluating a feasible time frame to achieve net zero in scopes 1 and 2 GHG emissions. 1 Advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives with respect to both workforce and supplier diversity. Story continues "We remain focused on our ESG evolution through a sound long-term strategy and transparent reporting and recognize a global urgency to accelerate progress," says Rob Sharps, T. Rowe Price chief executive officer and president. "Embedding and extending ESG practices in our business has become an increasingly important priority for our firm. As part of this journey, we are resolved to reduce our environmental impact and work toward a world where there is opportunity for all, within both our workforce and the world around us." ABOUT T. ROWE PRICE Founded in 1937, Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price (troweprice.com) is a global investment management organization with US$1.34 trillion in assets under management as of August 31, 2022. The organization provides a broad array of mutual funds, subadvisory services, and separate account management for individual and institutional investors, retirement plans, and financial intermediaries. The company also offers a variety of sophisticated investment planning and guidance tools. T. Rowe Price's disciplined, risk-aware investment approach focuses on diversification, style consistency, and fundamental research. 1 Scope 1 is direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Scope 2 is indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, or cooling. Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/t-rowe-price-releases-2021-esg-corporate-annual-report-highlighting-progress-and-commitments-for-the-future-301634190.html SOURCE T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. Company continues its rapid expansion across Asia Pacific to meet customer demand DENVER & SINGAPORE, September 27, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data center campuses, today announced the on-schedule delivery of a second data center (KUL12) on its Cyberjaya campus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In addition, the company is constructing a third facility (KUL13) on the growing campus to meet customer demand in the region. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005178/en/ Vantage Data Centers KUL12 and KUL13 facilities at its Cyberjaya campus. (Photo: Business Wire) Located on a four-acre campus in the Malaysia Digital Districts, KUL12 is a four-story data center with a variety of sustainability features, including the use of a closed-loop chilling system that requires virtually no water for cooling. The project was completed in approximately 1 million working hours without any lost-time injuries since breaking ground in May 2021. KUL12 and the flagship KUL11 facility provide a combined 10MW of IT capacity across 194,000 square feet of space. Vantage is also constructing KUL13, a third facility on the Cyberjaya campus. KUL13 will offer an additional 5MW of capacity to hyperscale customers and local enterprises and will open its doors to customers in the first half of 2023. "Vantage is actively investing in new developments in Malaysia to serve growing customer demand and support the countrys aspiration to become a digital economic hub," said Brian Groen, president of Vantages APAC business. "We are excited to open the doors to this additional data center while continuing our expansion and investment in greater Kuala Lumpur." "We are thrilled to have Vantage Data Centers be part of our thriving digital economy. Their presence here is a sign of continued confidence towards Malaysias robust and enabling data center ecosystem, digitally skilled talent, and world-class infrastructure," said Mahadhir Aziz, CEO of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Story continues "Vantages new data center will also strengthen Malaysias digital infrastructure and accelerate the nations ongoing digital transformation. Moving forward, MDEC is committed to supporting Vantages presence here, as well as the growth and development of the nations data center industry via the Malaysia Digital (MD) national strategic initiative," Aziz added. Vantage Data Centers announced its entrance into the Asia-Pacific region in September 2021 through two strategic acquisitions. For more information on the companys campuses in the Asia-Pacific region, please visit https://vantage-dc.com/data-center-locations/apac/. About Vantage Data Centers Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the worlds well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across five continents in North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands. For more information, visit www.vantage-dc.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220927005178/en/ Contacts Press Mark Freeman Vantage Data Centers mfreeman@vantage-dc.com +1-202-680-4243 Robin Bectel REQ for Vantage Data Centers vdc@req.co +1-703-287-7827 Brenda Fong Vantage Data Centers, APAC brenda.fong@vantage-dc.com +852-9466-4788 Jesa Amparo Creative Consulting Group for Vantage Data Centers, APAC jesa.amparo@creativegp.com +852-5999-7771 Businesses seeking exceptional growth are encouraged to register for this large-scale event CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BNI (Business Network International), the world's leading referral networking organization, welcomes Victor Antonio, author, motivational speaker & international sales expert, to headline as a keynote speaker during BNI's 2022 Global Convention in Singapore in November 2022. Antonio will be one of several world-class keynote speakers, including customer experience guru, Ron Kaufman, and BNI's Founder & Chief Visionary Officer, Dr. Ivan Misner, making this the most anticipated business learning and development event of the year. During BNI's 2022 Global Convention in Singapore, Victor Antonio will present an impactful presentation on the main stage on The Sales Influence. BNI's 2022 Global Convention is all about empowering business leaders to achieve extraordinary growth. To learn more about BNI's Global Convention happening November 16 19, 2022 in Singapore, click here. During BNI's 2022 Global Convention, Antonio will present an impactful presentation on the main stage on The Sales Influence. Antonio will use his strong sales background and management knowledge to motivate, train, and inspire a crowd of global business leaders. BNI's Chairman & CEO Graham Weihmiller says, "BNI's 2022 Global Convention is all about empowering business leaders to achieve extraordinary growth in any business environment. I am thrilled to welcome Victor Antonio to the event as he is a remarkable speaker who wants to see business leaders achieve more than they ever thought possible through value-centric sales training." Business leaders worldwide are invited to register for BNI's 2022 Global Convention, happening November 16 -19, 2022, to experience the valuable connections and business learning that stimulates revenue growth, presents new opportunities, and creates a positive ripple effect for businesses around the world. The theme for this year's Global Convention is Bigger Networks, Better Knowledge, and Stronger Businesses. In-person and virtual ticket opportuntities are available and can be purchased for as low as $69 at www.BNIGlobalEvents.com. Story continues About Victor Antonio A poor upbringing from one of the roughest areas of Chicago didn't stop Victor from earning a B.S. Electrical Engineering, an MBA and building a 20 year career as a top sales executive and becoming President of Global Sales and Marketing for a $420M company. As Vice President of International Sales in a Fortune 500 $3B corporation at the time, he was selected from over 500 sales managers to join the President's Advisory Council for excellence in sales and management. Learn more at https://victorantonio.com/. About BNI BNI (Business Network International) is the world's largest and most successful business networking organization. Today, BNI has over 290,000 Member-businesses participating in 10,800 BNI Chapters that meet in-person, online, or in a hybrid format each week in 70+ countries around the globe. Since 1985, BNI has created over $146,000,000,000 USD in revenue for BNI Members via over 143 million valuable new client referrals.* To learn more about BNI and how you can visit a chapter, go to www.bni.com. BNI's philosophy is centered on Givers Gain and BNI's motto is Changing the Way the World Does Business. To connect with the support team, please reach out to (800)-825-8286 or support@bni.com. To learn more about BNI's Global Convention happening November 16 19, 2022 in Singapore, click here. *This information is based on historical BNI Member self-reported data and represents collective results from BNI Members worldwide from 1985 to August 15th, 2022. BNI New Logo (PRNewsfoto/BNI) Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/victor-antonio-to-headline-bnis-2022-global-convention-301634333.html SOURCE BNI Evermade Foods will invest $110,000 and create 46 jobs in an expansion of its Warrenton factory to keep up with increased customer demand for easy meal options, according to a release on Monday from Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The co-manufacturer of prepared meals sold under private label at grocery stores and via meal subscription services will increase manufacturing capacity at its relatively new facility at 6775 Kennedy Road, near Vint Hill. In doing so, the company will introduce a new product line of shelf-stable, grab-and-go products, the release stated. Virginia competed with North Carolina and Texas for the project. Evermade Foods is a Virginia start-up that is making a name for itself in the Commonwealths thriving food and beverage processing industry, Youngkin said in a statement. Since opening its doors in April in Fauquier County, Evermade Foods has invested $1.7 million in building upgrades and machinery and tools to its USDA-and FDA-compliant 12,000-square-foot commercial kitchen, packaging line, and warehouse. The company has also produced 4 million meals, according to evermadefoods.com. Our large and diverse ecosystem in this sector ensures partners and suppliers, warehousing, and a sophisticated transportation infrastructure to move products to market quickly, the governor said in the statement Monday. We look forward to supporting the companys continued success. When investors decided to expand their footprint with a new company, Virginia was a logical choice since they already had experience dealing with local and state entities, said Evermade Foods CEO and founder Rachelle Slotnick. We chose Fauquier County due to development opportunities and availability of new commercial space. "Virginia has provided us with a stable workforce, excellent transportation for receiving and distribution of products throughout the mid-Atlantic, and a great relationship with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and Fauquier County. "We look forward to a long and productive relationship with the community at large as we continue to grow and expand, she said. Slotnick is an entrepreneur, business owner, and mother with more than a dozen years experience in food production, operations, and contract manufacturing, according to evermadefoods.com. She is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. Slotnick has used her education and expertise in the food service industry to grow Northwest Fresh Chantilly and her newest ventures, Evermade Foods and RS Management, the company web site said. "Were here to be your partner. To make things as easy as possible. Most importantly, we are excited to get your idea into the hands of consumers," according to a July post at Evermade Foods Facebook. The Fauquier County Board of Supervisors is grateful for the investment Evermade Foods is making in the community, said Chairman Rick Gerhardt. Food production is one of our target business sectors, as we recognize the importance of the agricultural community and the jobs and tax revenue that companies like Evermade create for our citizens. Evermade helps food-based entrepreneurs grow their business to the next level by providing packaging services and technical expertise to help them get their products to larger markets. "We also appreciate the collaboration with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership on this Virginia Jobs Investment Program grant to assist Evermade with workforce recruiting and training, the chairman of the board said. State Sen. Jill Vogel, RUpperville, said she was delighted by the Evermade Foods expansion in Fauquier and that she also appreciates their local investment. This expansion made by Evermade Foods is a testament to the enterprising spirit that Virginia has become known for throughout the country, said Del. Elizabeth Guzman, D-Woodbridge, in a statement. Fauquier County has been a beneficiary of steady statewide leadership in economic development, and I am happy that our ability to attract and retain businesses continues to stay strong. We are proud of Evermade Foods' decision to expand and invest in new jobs for our growing local economy. Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Fauquier to secure the project and will support the companys job creation through Virginia Jobs Investment Program. The state assistance provides consultative services and funding to companies creating new jobs to support employee recruitment and training activities, reducing human resources and expansion costs, the governor's release stated. By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad Azerbaijan and Singapore have discussed a draft agreement on avoiding double taxation and preventing tax evasion with regard to income and property taxes, Azernews reports. The discussion took place between experts from Azerbaijan's State Tax Service and Finance Ministry, and experts from Singapore's Inland Revenue Authority, during the meeting held in Singapore. During the meeting, it was stressed that the signing of the agreement will create favorable conditions for investors in both countries and form effective ties for the exchange of information. The sides agreed to make an effort to reach an agreement on the remaining provisions as soon as possible. Diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Singapore were established on August 15, 1994. The embassy of Azerbaijan in Singapore has been operating since 2012. The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $19 million in 2021. On Sept. 11, six days before the nation celebrated Constitution Day, a woman stepped up to the visitor centers front desk at James Madisons Montpelier to buy tickets for a guided tour, an everyday occurrence. But as she and her husband began strolling the grounds of the fourth U.S. presidents home in Orange County, a few staff members realized these were no ordinary guests. Former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, had come to see where James and Dolley Madison lived. Zeb Dillon Gray, one of the interpreters who manage the Madisons house, quickly rose to the occasion and gave the Pences a private, room-to-room tour of the familys stately brick mansion. Upstairs, they stood in James Madisons study overlooking the Blue Ridge, where he studied scores of books his friend Thomas Jefferson shipped from France. There, the 36-year-old planter and Princeton graduate drew upon the Enlightenments ideas and created the Virginia Plan that formed the foundation of the U.S. Constitution during the constitutional convention of 1787 in Philadelphia. We were excited that former Vice President and Mrs. Pence took time to visit Montpelier when they were in the area on 9/11, during Constitution Month, Elizabeth Chew, The Montpelier Foundations interim president and CEO, said Saturday. We appreciate Mr. Pences recognition of the important work we are doing at Montpelier to honor Madisons gift to our nation. The Pences enjoyed their tour, then paid their respects to President Madison in the brick-walled Madison Family Cemetery, a short walk across the estates green fields from the big house, staff members said. There, they were joined by Montpelier Foundation Chairman James French and Chew, with whom they discussed a shared passion for Madisonian principles and the Constitution, Dr. Chew said in a statement Saturday. The vice president said he came to Montpelier to pay homage to James Madison because he was inspired by him to support the peaceful transfer of power, Chew said. Montpeliers leadership and staff were impressed by the vice presidents reverence for the place and the legacy of James Madison, which so many work daily to preserve. The Pences described the profound impact that Montpelierthe house and the groundshad on them, Chew said. During their visit, the Pences told the staff they had long sought to visit Montpelier. They asked a guide to snap a photo of them in front of the Madisons home. The next day, Pence tweeted several photos from their visit, writing, Inspiring stop last weekend at Montpelier the Home of President James Madison, the Father of the Constitution! Thanks again to the Great Staff for the Warm Welcome & all you do to Preserve the Legacy of our 4th President! In the days afterward, Pence expressed on social media and again in a personal letter to the foundation how inspiring he found his time with us, Chew said. ... We greatly appreciate his kind words. After a two-year-plus absence during the COVID-19 pandemic, Montpelier has brought back tours focusing in depth on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, Madisons two signal accomplishments. The historic site is offering those tours regularly. Montpelier was once a place where James and Dolley Madison invited people of all political perspectives to sit down at their dinner table and talk, James French said in an interview Saturday. What were hoping to do here is re-establish that national dinner table where the American people can come and have conversations. The Pences visit is a perfect example of how were doing that. Last November, addressing a Young Americas Foundation event at the University of Iowa, Pence told the young conservatives he looked to the teachings of James Madison and the Bible to help him hold steady at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A questioner in the audience, Jared, asked him, Who told you to buck President Trumps plan and certify the votes? Pence responded, James Madisonknown as the Father of the Constitution, The Washington Post reported. The Hill headlined its story, Pence took inspiration from Madison, Bible on Jan. 6. Referring to the oath he swore to uphold the Constitution, Pence also cited a Bible verse he said he leaned on: Psalm 15 says he who keeps his oath even when it hurts. A believer in the peaceful transfer of power, when Congress met on Jan. 6, Pence refused to help overturn the 2020 presidential elections outcome. As rioters chanted Hang Mike Pence, he escaped the mob sacking the Capitol, then returned hours later to preside over lawmakers certification of the Electoral College countas the Constitution requires. I understand the disappointment in the election. You might remember I was on the ballot, Pence told the 500 or so people at the YAF event in Iowa. But youve got to be willing to do your duty. And the time may come that some of you are in that position, or one like it. And I just have a feeling, based on the shining faces Im seeing around here, youre going to be men and women who do your duty in that time as well. September has been busy at Montpelier. For the first time, the presidential site has expanded its annual celebration of the U.S. Constitution from its traditional Constitution Day, on Sept. 17, to the entire month. Large numbers of visitors, both on site and online, have attended special eventsincluding the opening of a new tour in the East Woods and a series of educational panels focused on the world-changing ideals of the Constitution and the Madison legacy, as seen from various historical perspectives. The months high-profile speakers have included Charlottesville-based New York Times opinion writer Jamelle Bouie, presidential scholar Lindsay Chervinsky and prominent Montpelier Foundation board members. THE IDEA that America is sharply divided, perhaps irreparably so, is a dangerous one because it builds on false narratives that undermine faith in democracy itself. From the ill-phrased defund the police movement that erupted following the death of George Floyd, to the relentless false claims of election fraud that persist despite any evidence, trust in Americas democracy is waning. The Pew Research Centers report on how Americans feel about Democracy, conducted last summer, reflects that distrust. Some 58% of Americans say they are not happy with the way democracy is working. Ironically, however, 68% say they have confidence in the future of the country, and these majorities hold whether voters are Democrats or Republicans. In other words, we trust the system, but were gravely concerned about the people running it. The challenge we face is distinguishing between the individuals and movements that present a threat to the future of democracy, and those with whom we share a common belief in democracy but disagreesometimes profoundlyabout how we handle the pressing problems before us. A recent event in our area brought together two leaders who know what it means to stand for American democracy, even at great risk to themselves. Both have also been assailed as corrupters of our nation. Former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife visited Montpelier, the home of the Constitutions architect, to celebrate James Madison. Via Twitter, he wrote, Inspiring stop last weekend at Montpelier the Home of President James Madison, the Father of the Constitution!, Pence wrote. Thanks again to the Great Staff for the Warm Welcome & all you do to Preserve the Legacy of our 4th President! Elizabeth Chew, The Montpelier Foundations interim president and CEO, said that Pence: expressed in a personal letter to the foundation how inspiring he found his time with us. ... We greatly appreciate his kind words. Both Pence and Chew have a special tie to Madison. Pence attributes Madison for his standing firm on Jan. 6, when Trump, in an act of contempt for the U.S. Constitution that he took an oath to protect, insisted Pence act to overturn a fairly run and duly certified election so that Trump could remain president. Chew faced her own challenges recently when she was fired by the former president and CEO of the foundation for standing firm in her support of the organizations work on slavery at Montpelier. When those two leaders were eventually dismissed, Chew was invited back to lead the organization she has spent much of her career protecting. That Pence and Chew showed respect for one another is noteworthy. In September, Pence spoke at Liberty University and warned listeners of a woke-left assault on freedom and cultural values, according to the Richmond TimesDispatch. Freedom-loving Americans are fighting back, he continued. In fact American families are taking back our schools and our communities and our classroomsstarting right here in Virginia. Chew, who has led the effort for whole-truth history at Montpelier, has often been assailed by right-leaning publications like the Washington Examiner as one of the woke. We are reasonably sure that Chew and Pence disagreeprofoundlyon any number of policy issues. Possibly even on how Madison is presented at Montpelier. But a strong democracy respects those differences, encourages a robust public debate, and trusts that the better ideas will arise. At least for now, both Pence and Chew reflect democracy at its best. Two individuals who respect the work and roles of the other, even if they represent movements that disagree bitterly with one another. We would hope that the two could develop a deep conversation about Madison at Montpelier, and help stem the distrust of democracy. That Pence (a politician with feet squarely in the party with a potent extremist faction that favors autocracy over democracy) and Chew (who leads an organization at the forefront of challenging our perceptions of race and history) can talk and respect one another is encouraging. Pences continued flirtation with language such as woke, however, is worrying. The term is used for derision, and lacks clear definition. Its a term that is tearing at our trust in democracy. As long as Pence and Chew can continue to talk, however, there is hope for democracy. We Americans still believe that. Americas military academies have a longstanding history of training our nations top military leaders, said Congressman Flood. For candidates who are nominated and admitted, this program will allow them to serve the United States while attending a tuition-free education at a distinguished academy. I take the privilege of nominating people to the military academies very seriously and look forward to announcing nominees in the coming months. EducationQuest Foundation is encouraging Nebraskans who plan to attend college during the 2023-2024 academic year to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), which opens Saturday, Oct. 1, at studentaid.gov. The FAFSA is the application for federal, state and college-based financial aid. Colleges use information contained in the FAFSA to determine eligibility for financial aid, which can be a combination of scholarships, grants, work-study funds and student loans. EducationQuest Foundation President and CEO Liz Koop said, EducationQuests mission is to improve access to higher education for every Nebraskan, which is why we stress FAFSA completion. The form is key to determining students eligibility for financial aid. Last year, only 52 percent of Nebraskas high school seniors completed the FAFSA, which means millions of dollars in free federal money to attend college went unclaimed. A study by NerdWallet showed that about 4,100 Pell Grant-eligible Nebraska high school students from Prior to starting the FAFSA, applicants must create a Federal Student Aid Account at studentaid.gov. The parent or guardian of a dependent student must also create an account. User names and passwords should be stored in a safe location as they are required to access and sign the FAFSA. Income tax return information from 2021 will be required to complete the application. More information about the FAFSA and free tools to help with the filing process are available at EducationQuest.org. As a senior at Fremont High School, Harley Boutard can get nervous about tests or homework. But in October, Boutard will be nervous for another reason: Hes portraying the very anxious Mr. Green in the high schools new production of Clue. Performances for the crazy murder comedy start at 7:30 a.m. Oct. 7-8 in the high school. Tickets, available at the door and online, are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Based on the 1985 movie with Tim Curry and Lesley Ann Warren and the popular game, Clue is set in the 1950s. It begins when six strangers receive a gloomy invitation to a mansion. Each person is given a fictitious, color-based name Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mrs. Peacock, Mr. Green, Professor Plum and Miss Scarlet. In reality, all have been living colorful lives with shady secrets. And all are being blackmailed. Chaos ensues after the strangers arrive at the mansion. Murders begin to occur with those left behind trying to determine the killer. The FHS show features eight main characters, plus the ensemble cast. I picked the show, because Ive been a fan of the movie since I was a little kid, said FHS Theater Director Caitie Hays. Ive watched it way too many times. Hays noted the play has a new and different spin than the movie. If youre a fan of the movie like me, youll still be surprised, but will also love the story, Hays said. Now in her fourth year at FHS, Hays also said the theater department hasnt staged a farce since her first year. We all really wanted to do a comedy this year, she said. Students, like Boutard, have enjoyed portraying the over-the-top comedic characters. Boutard relishes the role of Mr. Green. Playing him is super fun, because I get to act anxious and a lot of stuff falls on me throughout the show, Boutard said. Josie Bell, a senior, portrays the flirtatious Miss Scarlet. She likes to flirt with people and lead them on and then brush them off, Bell said. She thinks its fun. Miss Scarlet is also very confident, sarcastic, and uses humor as a coping mechanism and a weapon. Bell can relate a little bit to her character. Ive been told Im a very confident person, Bell said. That confidence can be seen in another reason why Bell likes her role: I look good in red, Bell said, smiling. Like her fellow actors, senior Jacilyn Foster is having fun in her role, too. Foster plays Mrs. Peacock. Shes neurotic and batty and out-of-this-world crazy, Foster said. Shes also kind of anxious. Not as much as Mr. Green, but very jumpy. Foster said Mrs. Peacock is unpredictable. At the same time, if anybody is going to scream, its going to be Mrs. Peacock. Shes so fun to play, Foster said. Shes all over the place. Foster can relate a little to Mrs. Peacock, who keeps folks on their toes. I like to keep people on their toes, Foster said, smiling. I like to think Im unpredictable. All three students said they watched or re-watched the movie to prepare for the play. Boutard said he loved the movie before he knew FHS was ever going to stage the production. Hes appreciated seeing the movie again. It gave me a rough character to build upon, so that was nice, Boutard said. Bell and Foster downloaded the Clue game on their phones and have played it. Foster has played the Clue board game at home. Cast members said they laugh a lot on stage during rehearsals. I love working with the cast and crew, Foster said. Its such a fun environment to be in and Im so grateful to be able to play such a big character and be surrounded by supportive people. Actors and their director hope the public will attend the show, which Boutard describes as hilarious. Bell added that Clue is a more well-known show. Foster pointed out the time and effort students have put into the play. I think that weve put a lot of work in the show and I think that its really going to be polished by the time we get to show night, Foster said. I believe it will be one of the best shows weve had and I hope people enjoy it. Hays commended the student actors and crew. I can easily say in the four years Ive been here, this is the best show Ive directed and my students know I dont say things like that if I dont mean it, she said. This is really an outstanding group of students. Theyre incredibly talented, very hard working. Hays said the FHS theater program has continued to grow. When she started four years ago, 37 students were involved. We now have over 90 involved in this show, Hays said. Hays hopes the community will come to the show and support the students. If nothing else, youre going to have 90 minutes of nonstop laughter, Hays said. And who doesnt want that? Hays expects seats will go quickly. While tickets will be available at the door, people can buy them online at fremont.booktix.com. Hays said a fundraising raffle, associated with the show, is taking place until Oct. 7. Winners are announced on different weekdays on FHS Tiger Drama social media. Raffle tickets are $50 each. Prizes range from $100 to $1,000 and theres a limited number of tickets available for each drawing. Funds raised will help pay down the cost of students traveling to New York City in the spring. Those wanting raffle tickets may contact Hays at caitie.hays@fpsmail.org or by calling the school office at 402-727-3050. Grief support group to be offered in October A Grief Support Group is scheduled for Thursdays, Oct. 6, 13 and 20, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., on the third floor of Methodist Fremont Healths Health Park Plaza. The group is open to anyone dealing with the loss of a loved one whether that is a spouse, parent, child, or friend. Participants are asked to wear a mask and appropriately distance themselves while in the building. There is no charge to attend and refreshments will be provided. For more information or to register, call 402-727-3663. Warren Buffett will help light up Mahoney State Park next month. So will Oprah, Drake, JLo and 4,000 other glowing pumpkins fake and faux that will make up the parks first Jack O' Lantern World Halloween display. Traditional jack-o-lanterns. Influential women jack-o-lanterns. Famous figures jack-o-lanterns. A 45-foot dragon, a 15-foot unicorn, a U.S. flag all made from jack-o-lanterns. Youre going to see things that you would have thought people would have never put together using pumpkins, said Peter Starykowicz, whose company is staging the monthlong event. Its something that is really unique. His Illinois-based business, All Community Events, hosts races and runs and other holiday displays, like Santas Rock N Lights exhibit in Papillion. But it jumped into the jack-o-lantern business last year, hosting a show in Lake Zurich, Illinois. It was a hit. People just came out and they saw something they never expected, something like theyve never seen before. And it was an incredible experience. This year, the company expanded to four displays in four states. And that takes an army of more than 50 artisan carvers, carpenters, architects, designers and event planners who have been working for months. Some of the jack-o-lanterns are so intricate they took 20 hours to carve, Starykowicz said. For someone who's never been to something like this, its almost hard to explain, because they've never seen anything like this. At Mahoney State Park, off Interstate 80 near Ashland, guests will see 17 separate displays along a three-quarter-mile paved walking path. From one point, theyll be able to see 1,000 jack-o-lanterns at once, he said. The show runs from Sept. 30 to Oct. 30. Tickets are required and range in price from $14 to $16 for children 3 to 12, and $20 to $24 for those 13 or older. To buy tickets, and for more information, go to: thejackolanternworld.com/Omaha. But Mahoney isnt the only state park or recreation area celebrating Halloween this year: Indian Cave: Haunted Hollow, Oct. 7-8, 14-15 and 21-22 Haunted hayrack rides, trick-or-treating, outdoor movies, scavenger hunt, pumpkin rolling, craft market and campsite-decorating contest. Ponca: Hallowfest, Oct. 8, 15 Activities include crafts, a pumpkin-rolling contest, pumpkin-carving contest, haunted drive and campground-decorating contest. Details: Call the park at 402-755-2284. Johnson Lake: Halloween Haunt, Oct. 8 Pumpkin painting from 1-3 p.m. at Area C Campsite; decoration judging will begin at 6 p.m. at the main campground, with prizes going to the top three finishers. Trunk or treating will take place from 3-5 p.m. in the boat parking area. Calamus: Pumpkin Carvers Event, Oct. 15 9:30 a.m.-10 p.m. event will include pumpkin carving, games with prizes, a downhill pumpkin-rolling derby, food, campsite decorating, trick-or-treating and lighted pumpkin displays. Branched Oak: Spooktacular, Oct. 15 Middle Oak Creek Campground will host a pumpkin-rolling contest, pumpkin carving, costume contest, campsite decorating, trick-or-treating, haunted trail and haunted hayrack ride. Fremont Lakes: Oct. 15 Campers decorate campsites in a Halloween theme; children trick-or-treat from 5-7 p.m. during decoration judging. Details: 402-727-2922. Ash Hollow: Halloween in the Hollow, Oct. 22 2-6 p.m. (mountain time) event includes games, smores, pumpkin picking and decorating, a scavenger hunt, hayrack rides and a costume contest, which begins at 4:30 p.m. 5 p.m., Trunk or Treat sponsored by conservation officers, area emergency medical services and law enforcement, with their vehicles available to view. Wildcat Hills: Howl in the Hills hike, Oct. 22 This half-mile nighttime hike begins at 7 p.m. (mountain time). Hikers should bring a flashlight and hiking shoes. Register by Oct. 6 by calling 308-436-3777. Red Willow: Camp and Treat, Oct. 28-30 Campsite decorating, kids pumpkin-carving contest and trick-or-treating. Campers who bring treats for kids get reduced camping rates. Within hours, Jose Sandoval, Jorge Galindo and Erick Vela would be locked up for the murder of five people in Norfolk. But nothing else in the cases has happened quickly. Nebraska officials announced Friday that they have chosen three health plans to manage the bulk of the states $1.8 billion Medicaid program. The three are Molina Healthcare of Nebraska, Nebraska Total Care and UnitedHealth Care of the Midlands. Two, Nebraska Total Care and UnitedHealth Care, have current contracts with the state. Molina HealthCare is new to Nebraska but provides Medicaid, Medicare and Affordable Care Act marketplace plans in several other states. Were excited to work with these three health plans to ensure Medicaid members in Nebraska continue to receive the health care that they need, said Dannette R. Smith, CEO of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. HHS plans to contract with the three companies to manage physical and behavioral health care, pharmacy services and dental benefits for almost all Medicaid patients in a program called Heritage Health. Together, they will oversee the care of some 347,000 Nebraskans. The winning bidders were selected from among five contenders. Not chosen were Community Care Plan of Nebraska, doing business as Healthy Blue, which currently contracts with the state, and Medica Community Health Plan, which currently offers health coverage to Nebraskans through the ACA marketplace. It remains to be seen whether either of the losing bidders will appeal the state's decision, as occurred when the current contracts were awarded. State lawmakers have criticized Nebraska's procurement process after at least three cases in which the process led to the selection of a low-cost bidder that ended up failing to do the job. State Medicaid Director Kevin Bagley said he was "extremely pleased" with all five bids. He said they were scored based on quality, appropriateness and thoroughness, and officials did an optional interview with each bidder to find out more about their plans and priorities. Bagley said key issues during the interviews included incorporating dental services within the health plans, actively using voluntary care and case management to improve members lives, standardizing certain requirements for providers, providing innovations to add value to members health care experiences and improving access to providers across Nebraska. The new contracts are slated to start Jan. 1, 2024, six months later than previously planned. Bagley said officials will be working with the three plans during that time to provide for an orderly transition from the current contracts. In addition, he said, Medicaid officials will be meeting with people across Nebraska, both in person and online, to talk about the changes, answer questions and adjust plans as needed. A listening tour will be held in mid-to-late October, with more details to come. The current Heritage Health contracts date to 2017, when the state signed with three private companies to administer what was then $1.2 billion worth of Medicaid services. Since then, two of the original three companies merged, which led to the state signing a contract with Healthy Blue. Heritage Health does not cover nursing home care and other long-term support and services for the elderly and people with disabilities. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said $500 million of new federal grants will support domestic fertilizer production. (Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch) The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest $500 million to increase domestic fertilizer production, doubling its previous commitment, the agency has announced. The federal dollars would boost long-term projects and ready-to-go proposals that might have an effect as early as next year. Some of the first projects to get funding from the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program are likely to include fertilizer plants that are already under construction and could be completed more quickly with an infusion of cash, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said Tuesday. There are facilities that have been underway, are in construction, where opportunities may be accelerated to be able to deal with more product in 2023 or 2024, he told reporters. Vilsack mentioned an unspecified Michigan facility that might be a candidate for the funding. The Michigan Potash & Salt Company was expected to start construction this year on a $1.1 billion facility to process potash that is mined in the state, and one of the companys executives has said the new federal funding would help the long-awaited project advance. Potash a potassium compound is one of the most widely used fertilizers in agriculture. The United States is not a major global producer of it, according to USDA data. Canada, Russia and Belarus have accounted for about two-thirds of global production. Michigan Potash has said its facility will have the capacity to fully supplant Russian imports of the fertilizer, but full production isnt expected for three years. The company did not immediately respond to a request to comment for this article. The federal funding for fertilizer production is a result of costs that spiked in late 2021 and early 2022. Those prices have subsided somewhat but are still about double what they were at the start of 2021, according to a Green Markets fertilizer price index. The price increases were driven by a number of factors, including shortages of natural gas used to make nitrogen fertilizers, limited fertilizer stockpiles and production disruptions caused by an August 2021 hurricane that struck Louisiana. Russias invasion of Ukraine exacerbated the problem. So in March, the USDA announced a new grant program to increase domestic production with an eye toward supporting new, independent operations. The Biden administration has sought to reduce consolidation in agriculture-related industries. The USDA is expected to start soliciting grant applications soon for awards ranging from $1 million to $100 million, Vilsack said. A first group of applications due within 45 days will be geared toward projects that might increase fertilizer supplies in 2023 and 2024. A second round of applications due within 90 days will be for longer-term projects. The grants will be paid through the Commodity Credit Corporation, which has traditionally funded loans and payments to farmers and conservations programs of the farm bill. Earlier this month, the USDA announced CCC money would be used to support a more than $3 billion climate smart program. At the time, Vilsack said the CCC has sufficient funds to support the new programs and fulfill its farm bill obligations. The fertilizer grant program is part of a longer-term strategy to reduce prices and the countrys reliance on foreign products. The Biden administration has resisted calls to cut tariffs on certain fertilizers to help alleviate the recent high costs, saying the short-term benefits do not outweigh long-term trade goals. Vilsack said increased domestic fertilizer production combined with better techniques to avoid the excessive use of fertilizers will help stabilize supplies and farmers costs. Were excited about this, he said of the new grant program. We think its going to help reduce the cost, increase the supply, maybe generate opportunities for farmer-owned cooperatives as well. The USDA is set to hold two online seminars to explain the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program on Oct. 4 and how to apply on Oct. 6. This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch, a sister site of the Nebraska Examiner in the States Newsroom Network. By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad Baku and Ankara have discussed chances of investments in the metallurgical industry of Azerbaijan, Azernews reports. The discussion took place during a meeting between Azerbaijan's Small and Medium Business Development Agency (SMBDA) Board Chairman Orkhan Mammadov and Turkish Bermmak company Director General Hidir Akyurek. During the meeting, Orkhan Mammadov briefed the participants about SMBDA's support services. "I was pleased to meet with Hidir Akyurek, Director General of Bermmak Turkiye at SMBDA. During the meeting, the company's investment opportunities in the metallurgical industry in Azerbaijan were discussed and I informed the delegation about our support services," Orkhan Mammadov twitted. SMBDA continues to hold meetings with local and foreign businessmen to expand ties and implement new business initiatives. Azerbaijan and Turkiye collaborate in a variety of economic sectors and have completed major energy and infrastructure projects, such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, and TANAP. In 2021, Azerbaijan and Turkiye signed the Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations, which focuses on defense cooperation, promoting regional stability, prosperity, and establishing new transport routes. The two countries set up a goal to bring the mutual trade turnover to $15 billion in 2023. As of 2021, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $4.6 billion. So far, Turkiye is Azerbaijans second-largest investor followed by the UK. Additionally, Turkiye was one of the first countries that expressed its interest and readiness to participate in the restoration of Azerbaijans liberated territories. The UN General Assembly's leaders' meeting has concluded for a second year in a row without addresses from Afghanistan or Burma, both of whose representation is stuck in limbo after the toppling of UN-recognized governments in the past two years. The United Nations has delayed actions on both the Afghan and Burmese leaderships' bids for seats since December, with diplomats citing objectionable actions by those rulers. The hard-line fundamentalist Taliban group has controlled most of Afghanistan since U.S.-led international troops and an elected government fled in August 2021, but remains unrecognized amid accusations of widespread rights abuses against women and minorities. The Taliban-led government in Kabul has not been recognized by any country, which has complicated humanitarian efforts to help a desperately poor population of around 39 million hard-hit by decades of war. The war in Ukraine, climate change, and food and fuel crises were some of the most frequent topics of speeches by leaders and other envoys to the 77th UN General Assembly's General Debate on September 20-26. Its declared theme under UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges." Based on reporting by AP BANNU, Pakistan -- Eight Pakistani soldiers have been injured in a suicide attack in northwestern Pakistan, officials told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal. The attack on September 27 was carried out in the Mirali subdivision of the North Waziristan tribal district on a military convoy, security officials said. The injured soldiers were transported to the nearby Mirali hospital, while the security forces launched a search operation in the area. No group so far claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, which according to a Radio Mashaal correspondent was the third this year. North Waziristan was once the stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban. However, the Pakistani military conducted a massive operation in mid-2014 to expel the militants. The attack on September 27 comes at a time when the government is reportedly holding peace talks with the Afghanistan-based leadership of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Locals say TTP militants have started returning into the area, sparking protests in several tribal districts. It can take up to two years for women who actively use drugs or alcohol while pregnant to prove they're safe, stable and fit to regain custody of their babies after a child-welfare agency steps in following the birth. But a new project that began in 2019 and is opening in a few weeks will provide a way for addicted expectant women or moms of newborns to remain with their child while they receive intensive, free treatment and counseling for substance use. Renovations are nearly finished at a large home east of downtown Colorado Springs, which is being reborn as the Bloom House Residential Treatment Center. Its the only residential treatment program in El Paso County that keeps a baby with a mom while she works on moving from using to recovery, said Beth Roalstad, executive director of Homeward Pikes Peak, a housing nonprofit thats behind the project. Its a huge difference were getting up stream, so moms dont lose their children, she said. While Denver and Pueblo have similar programs and local women have been referred to those if there was space, the need for such a service here is high, she said. Childrens Hospital Colorado in Colorado Springs reports seeing more than 100 babies a year who are born with negative effects of a mothers drug or alcohol use, Roalstad said. And on average, six to eight pregnant women are in the county jail on any given day, many facing drug charges. Homeward Pikes Peak operates five other supportive housing programs, and adding the Bloom House means the organization will help women on every level of addiction, Roalstad said, from outpatient services to residential treatment at the Bloom House and its Project Detour transitional sober-living house for 10 women, which opened in 2017. Eight women will reside at the Bloom House for 90 days or until theyre ready to transition to the recovery phase. Medicaid, private donations and grants are funding the program, Roalstad said. Idala Espinoza, 38, graduated last month from Homeward Pikes Peaks sober-living setup called Project Detour. She was arrested on recurring drug charges when she was one month pregnant and released at seven months of gestation to Project Detour, instead of serving more jail time. Espinoza said she hadnt used methamphetamine or weed during pregnancy and wanted to stay clean. It was heaven-sent, she said. If it wasnt for Project Detour, Id be sitting in jail wondering where my baby was. Instead, she said she received non-judgmental support from people who understood her situation. I know a lot of people are going to be comfortable here with their children," she said Monday, while visiting the Bloom House. Theyll get the support they need they're not going to feel lost. The Bloom House is thought to have accommodated tuberculosis patients in the late 1800s and most recently served as a visitation center for mothers to meet with their children whom the county Department of Human Services had placed in foster care. Drug and alcohol clients will be supervised 24/7, receive case management, undergo addiction treatment for 10 hours a week and take classes on breastfeeding, parenting, nutrition and do activities such as yoga for another 10 hours a week. Theyll cook and eat together to support each other on their journeys, Roalstad said, under a model that includes structured time and giving back to the community. "We're not just helping someone stop using alcohol or drugs, it's really preparing the whole person to be a mother and be successful," she said. Referrals for clients will come from hospitals, jails and human services, she said. The organization also bought a house next door to use as offices for staff, including seven new employees, and meeting rooms. Purchasing and upgrading both homes cost a total of $1.45 million, Roalstad said. Remodeling began in February to convert what had been an office environment into a home setting, with a refurbished kitchen, dining area, living room and bedrooms, each with a crib or bassinet and a flower theme. The Rose Room, for example, has rose-patterned pictures on the walls and soft pink and white accents. Maybe a woman would think of a rose as her special symbol of recovery, Roalstad said. Make it A Home donated all the furniture and decor and created an atmosphere emitting a cheeriness that speaks of new beginnings. The all-volunteer nonprofit opened in 2019 in Colorado Springs and provides free furniture, interior decorating and household items to single mothers and women exiting homelessness, domestic violence and other tough situations. Members of a Schriever Space Force Base squadron and from Academy Christian Church were part of a volunteer force that set up furniture, sewed curtains and decorated, said Amy Silvas, founder and president of Make it A Home. Its the organizations 51st project, with everything funded by donations, she said. When we knew the Bloom House was for moms and babies, we were really glad to be a part of it, Silvas said. We loved the theme of flowers and growth; we think itll be a great thing for our community. Colorado Springs police on Monday arrested two juvenile males suspected of stealing a car at gunpoint, according to a news release from the department. Officers responded to a 5:40 p.m. call about a reported carjacking at the Arroyo Apartments at 1400 Potter Dr. on the east side of the city, police said. The victims told police that two males pointed a gun at them and took their Dodge pickup truck. Police later found the truck in a parking area in Palmer Park, officials said. The suspects, who were inside the truck, were arrested without incident. In accordance with police policy, the names of the juvenile suspects were not released. The Colorado Springs City Council discussed challenges facing the Police Department Monday after hearing recommendations for change within the department from an advisory commission. The Law Enforcement Transparency and Advisory Commission formally recommended the council support the Colorado Springs Police Department in its efforts to adopt all eight reforms recommended by a third-party review of the department's use of force policies. Some of those reforms included improved training, better transparency and reducing the racial and ethic disparities around police use of force. The commission expects implementing changes in the use of force study will take several years and major investments. The Police Department hired a consultant to evaluate use of force policy following the Black Lives Matter protests after a police officer murdered George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, in Minnesota in 2020. The City Council does not oversee the Police Department directly, but it does approve the annual budgets for the department and that's one of the most direct ways the council can spur change. Councilman Wayne Williams said he looked forward to a proposed budget in the coming months that would address some of the recommendations from the report completed in April. "These are issues about which people are passionate about," he said. Councilman Bill Murray asked commission representatives about ongoing issues within the department, such as staffing shortfalls, the need for more patrol officers and the number of lawsuits against the department, among other issues. He also asked about their confidence in current leaders and citizens' assessment of the department. "We are falling further and further behind, if I understand the attrition rate," Murray said of staffing levels. The report found that officers would prioritize higher staff over higher wages. The department has 737 sworn officers and it is authorized for 803, Lt. Pamela Castro, a spokeswoman for the department, said Monday. Former Chairwoman Janice "JJ" Frazier said the commission is so far pleased with Chief Adrian Vasquez, who started in April. She noted that fully understanding how citizens feel about the police has been an ongoing challenge. The third-party report did not include a scientific survey of residents' perceptions or experiences. The commission recently elected new leadership, so Frazier was recently replaced in her leadership role, but will remain on the board. Former Vice Chairman Steve Kern noted the recent study did not address all the issues Murray raised, but the commission would be willing to take on new issues at the request of the council. "You should always be asking those questions," said Kern, who is leaving the board. A brief update released online in June said the department has taken initial steps in all the areas covered by the report, including pursuing an audit of its external use of force training and researching best practices around de-escalation techniques. The department has also revised its hiring process, so it is constantly recruiting officers for academies, Councilwoman Nancy Henjum said. By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli The importance of the East-West transport corridor has increased, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. He made the remark in Tokyo, where he arrived to attend the state funeral of the late Japanese premier Shinzo Abe. The Turkish minister noted that Azerbaijan and Georgia are also located in the region, in which the corridor goes through. "I hope that an agreement will be reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Armenia will also join this process," he opined. Speaking about the Organization of Turkic States, Cavusoglu noted that it was created to deepen the integration of the Turkic states. He added that this organization is self-sufficient and doesn't compete with anyone. Azerbaijan and Turkiye collaborate in a variety of economic sectors and have completed major energy and infrastructure projects, such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, and TANAP. In 2021, Azerbaijan and Turkiye signed the Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations, which focuses on defense cooperation, promoting regional stability, and prosperity by establishing new transport routes. The two countries set up a goal to bring the mutual trade turnover to $15 billion in 2023. As of 2021, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $4.6 billion. So far, Turkiye is Azerbaijans second-largest investor followed by the UK. Additionally, Turkiye was one of the first countries that expressed its interest and readiness to participate in the restoration of Azerbaijans liberated territories. Abandoned vehicles are a growing issue in Colorado Springs, leaving the city to find new homes for cars, trucks and RVs that often have very little value. The city disposes of about 250 vehicles a month with the vast majority getting sold for scrap and about 15 going to online public auctions, said Jennifer Underwood, evidence and impound manager for the Colorado Springs Police Department. Population growth could be contributing to the growing numbers. The city tries to notify vehicle owners that their cars will be sold through public notices in The Gazette and by sending letters to addresses associated with the cars' registrations. The Police Department would like to improve the process by no longer publishing public auction notices in the newspaper because the department said notices are not published online and reach a limited audience. The city would also save $5,000 by not publishing notices in The Gazette, Cmdr. John Koch told the Colorado Springs City Council Monday. The council discussed possible changes to the city's notification process, but did not take a vote during the work session. In fact, public notices of abandoned cars going to auction are published online by The Gazette. The notices are also placed in a searchable database published online by the Colorado Press Association. If the council approved the change, the city would only publish notices of auctions on its website, broadening the reach of the postings and allowing auctions to happen more continuously, Koch said. The proceeds from the auctions go into the city's general fund. In 2019, sales of abandoned cars averaged $2,180 a month, he said. Councilman Dave Donelson said he would like to see public notices of auctions continue to be published in The Gazette to help reach those who do not have internet in their homes, such as older adults. "I would hate to see them excluded from knowledge of these auctions," he said. Councilman Wayne Williams supported eliminating notices in The Gazette. Those without internet in their homes can access online information at the library, he said. "I think its relatively easy to find access to the site," he said. Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country Sign Up View all of our newsletters. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks after his meeting with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari at the State Department in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Pool South Africa: Infrastructure projects to benefit communities The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has asserted that it strives to remain at the forefront of infrastructure development by implementing projects that facilitate economic growth, socio-economic development, and employment opportunities within communities. This as the CDC has been appointed by the National Department of Health (NDoH) to act as an implementing agent for the carrying out of the departments infrastructure projects under the in-kind grant funding. At the request of the provincial Health Departments, the NDoH allocated budgets for the infrastructural upgrades towards the provincial attainment of National Health Insurance (NHI) compliant health facilities, the CDC said on Tuesday. This is key as the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan identifies aggressive infrastructure investment and delivery as key priorities to enable an economic rebound and to build the economy of the future. Currently, two critical Eastern Cape health infrastructure projects are led by the CDC, with monitoring by the NDoH Project Management Office, with several projects planned for implementation during the 2022/23 financial year. These projects are Zithulele and Bambisana District Hospitals, where construction activities are currently underway. These public facilities are critical to the delivery of essential health services across their deeply rural districts, with infrastructure upgrades responsive to the clinical, social, and economic needs of the surrounding communities, the CDC said. Located in the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality, the Zithulele District Hospital is expected to create a total of 2 000 construction jobs, ensuring 1 000 employment opportunities for young people, 11 graduate internships, and 115 technical training opportunities. These opportunities include set targets for youth, women and people living with disabilities. Furthermore, 805 people will be given opportunities for life skills training, with 70% of beneficiaries being from local communities and 30% of the construction award earmarked for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs). With a total construction award value of R515 million for Bambisana District Hospital Phase 1 in the OR Tambo District Municipality, the project anticipates the creation of 500 construction jobs, with a focus on generating at least 250 opportunities for young people, 50 women, 10 people living with disabilities as well as 11 internships, the CDC said. Furthermore, 233 people will receive life skills training. The Dihlabeng Regional Hospital in the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality in the Free State has recently completed the enabling works phase of the overall revitalisation of the regional facility at a development cost of R31 million. The procurement of a contractor for the second phase is currently underway, with an estimated construction cost in excess of R700 million. The project is expected to generate a total of 1 042 construction jobs, with a particular emphasis of creating 521 jobs for young people, 104 for women, 10 employment opportunities for people living with physical disabilities, internship opportunities, 150 people given opportunities for technical training of labour and 205 people offered life skills training. CDC Programme Director for the DoH portfolio, Gugulethu Moyo, said infrastructure enhancements are crucial to achieving improved health outcomes for communities; the overall improvement of the healthcare delivery system is central to the departments NHI agenda. The staff assigned to this portfolio of projects have honed pertinent skills and experience that they utilize in delivering outstanding, modern healthcare facilities to meet service delivery needs. The CDC DoH Infrastructure Programme is highly competent and fully resourced, which through project management services, facilitates the implementation of infrastructure projects for the benefit of its clients and recipient communities, Moyo said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-09-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Trend French Musulmans en France news portal (www.musulmansenfrance.fr) published an article about the organization of attacks by Armenian radicals on the diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan located in foreign countries after the defeat of Armenia in the 2020 Second Karabakh War and its fiasco in the latest clashes on the border with Azerbaijan by Chief Executive Director of the Lagazetteaz.fr online newspaper founded by Trend News Agency in France, Jean-Michel Brun, Trend reports. According to the article, the Azerbaijani embassies in a number of countries have become the target of Armenian radicals. "After the attack organized on September 15 by the Armenian National Committee of America on the Azerbaijani embassy in Washington, this time in France, the FRA Nor Seround (New Generation of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation) group attempted to infiltrate the Azerbaijani embassy in Paris, and on September 23, attacked the Azerbaijani Cultural Center in Paris to interfere with the work of the UNESCO conference dedicated to the destruction of the Azerbaijani heritage by Armenians," the article author said. The author noted with regret that the Charjoum extremist movement shouts slogans against Turkiye and Azerbaijan every night. "The reason for this is that after the end of the Karabakh war, the Armenians began to present themselves as victims of Azerbaijan. Behind all this, as everyone knows, is the media policy of Armenia, which relies on the very strong support from nearly 700,000 members of the diaspora in France, and fills the editorial offices with press releases, monopolizes the publication of Wikipedia content related to the region, and involves political leaders in their dirty deeds. Namely so this country managed to make the nationalist views of the Armenian extremists be accepted as the truth," the author pointed out. The French journalist also added that the Armenian activists came together after the first terrorist attacks organized by the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) in Paris 40 years ago. Even ASALA spokesperson Jean-Marc Ara Toranyan established close relations with many French MPs during the past period and became quite close to the Elysee Palace. They dont even hesitate to represent some participants of the Nazi movement which existed during the Second World War as the heroes of Armenia," the author noted. The article also reminded that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the 1990s led to the occupation of almost 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territories. "Every tenth Azerbaijani was forced to leave their native territories, and the number of refugees and internally displaced persons exceeded one million people. Over 750,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from Karabakh and surrounding areas, and 250,000 Azerbaijanis - from Armenia. In general, the economic damage to Azerbaijan exceeds $60 billion, the article further said. Besides, according to the article, 7093 state institutions, 927 libraries, 4.6 million volumes of books and manuscripts, six theaters, 85 music schools, thousands of industrial and agricultural enterprises, including 706 monuments of history and architecture, 22 museums, 26 fortresses and fortress walls, 57 mosques, 125 temples and churches, 58 monuments archaeology, 215 natural monuments, 260,311 hectares of forest land, and 163 mineral deposits were destroyed. At the same time, Islamic worship places were turned into stables or pigsties, the article noted. As a good servant of the state, between the need not to alienate his Armenian electorate and the economic need to maintain good relations with Azerbaijan, especially in the energy sector, French Ambassador to Azerbaijan Zacharie Gross strictly follows the instructions of the Elysee Palace, the article said. The French ambassador is known in the Foreign Ministry for his mastery of corridor diplomacy, the ability to convince the parties that the Paris embassy can do too much and that its better to calm down. This type of behavior can also be called cunning management, but in such a war there is only one winner: the silent one, concluded the article. FILE A group of young Russians walk along the border crossing Verkhny Lars between Georgia and Russia on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Long lines of vehicles have formed at a border crossing between Russia's North Ossetia region and Georgia after Moscow announced a partial military mobilization. A day after President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization to bolster his troops in Ukraine, many Russians are leaving their homes. A state audit concluded Robin Nicetas child-protective work for the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services failed to follow state regulations and had deficient investigative practices. The audit recommended further investigation into the countys oversight and supervision of its child-protective staff. Seven complaints about Nicetas performance and conduct have been referred for additional criminal investigation, according to the audit summary, which was detailed by the states executive director of human services, Michelle Barnes, in a letter to Cheryl Ternes, director of the Arapahoe County Human Services Department. In addition, the state auditors found Niceta made minimal or no recorded efforts to contact non-custodial parents or those alleged to have abused or neglected a child. Nicetas child-protective recommendations also lacked clear reasoning and is not necessarily supported by documentation, according to the audit. The audit did not identify any additional unresolved child safety concerns as a result of the review, according to a summary of the findings provided Monday afternoon to Ternes. Barnes agency conducted the audit. Barnes released the audits findings to the public days after parents filed an amended class-action federal lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages for alleged constitutional violations by the countys child-protective staff. County officials said they will add additional oversight measures to address supervision failures the state audit identified. In light of these findings, and consistent with statewide recommendations to all counties, we will add measures that help mitigate the likelihood of bad actors infiltrating our systems in the future, said Luc Hatlestad, a spokesman for Arapahoe County. We will also add new quality assurance professionals to help guide these practice improvements. The Colorado Department of Human Services launched the audit into Nicetas child-protective work after police arrested Niceta for allegedly falsely reporting that an Aurora councilwoman had sexually abused her child. Prosecutors say Niceta made the anonymous hotline complaint as revenge for Councilwoman Danielle Jurinskys outspoken criticism of the Aurora police chief at the time, Vanessa Wilson, who then was Nicetas romantic partner. Niceta and Wilson, who was fired as police chief in April, have since broken up. The audit determined that Niceta had conducted 196 intake assessments or investigations and 73 child permanency cases during her five-year tenure with the county. Of those, 13 had to be sent to another county for re-assessment because it could not be determined if the original safety concerns identified by Niceta had been mitigated, according to Barnes letter detailing the auditing findings. At least 26 individuals have come forward seeking class-action designation for a federal lawsuit filed by Jurinsky against the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services. They contend they were harmed through false testimony and fraudulent evidence from Niceta and other Arapahoe County child-protective workers. Arapahoe County officials say they believe the lawsuit is without merit. Fortunately, no additional instances of false reporting against a third party by this former employee have been found, said Hatlestad, the county spokesperson. Nor has anything been found that would support the allegations of widespread overzealous and false pursuance of child abuse allegations contained in the recently filed class action lawsuit. Jurinsky, in an interview, said the auditors with the Colorado Department of Human Services failed to adequately investigate the allegations in the lawsuit. She said she and other plaintiffs seeking designation as class-action status had not been contacted by those conducting the probe for the state. A separate lawsuit has been filed by a couple who contend Nicetas false fabrication of evidence resulted in the removal of their 14-year-old daughter, who is Muslim. They contend the girl, who is deaf, was wrongfully removed due to cultural assumptions. Jurinsky is separately suing Niceta for defamation. The audit found concerns related to the conduct performed by the social caseworker, as well as the supervision and oversight of the social caseworkers performance, Barnes informed Ternes in her letter detailing the findings. CDHS found an inadequacy of effort and thoroughness in assessments to which the social caseworker and the supervisor were assigned. CDHS also had concerns with social caseworkers failure to perform work in accordance with the Colorado Code of Regulations. Problems the auditors found included minimal or no documented efforts to contact additional family members or additional witnesses while conducting child-protective investigations. The auditors also identified failures in record-keeping and deficiencies in cross-reporting to law enforcement. Barnes told Ternes that state officials will meet with her to discuss next steps and discuss the recommendation for an additional layer of review or audit to more broadly and deeply assess case practice and supervision. Pigs really do fly when they are supporting a community organization. The North Iowa Children's Museum held its inaugural "When Pigs Fly" fundraiser at Plain Ol' Pumpkins on Saturday. The main feature of the event was seeing more than 180 foam pigs soar. "It is just something different. Fundraising is hard, so to make it exciting and interesting for people this is a fun thing," said North Iowa Children's Museum director Rachel Wumkes. Participants bought tickets for entries that corresponded with a numbered foam pig. At 10 a.m., 184 foam swine were dropped from a plane. The three foam toys that landed closest to the center of a target received prizes. "We are really pleased with how many pigs we sold, and Plain Ol' Pumpkins is a great spot to be, and kids can just be kids," North Iowa Children's Museum President Lorena Malecha. Malecha, who organized a similar event in her hometown, presented the idea of dropping foam pigs as a fundraiser to other directors. Wumkes said at first it seemed like there were too many what-ifs. "It was kind of a magical thing that just fell into place with being able to get a pilot and then having it out here at Plain Ol' Pumpkins. It just worked out really well," Wumkes said. When Pigs Fly is the second fundraiser the museum has hosted, with the first being an interactive station set up at the Color the Wind Festival in Clear Lake earlier this year. Alongside "When Pigs Fly," both will be annual fundraising events, according to Wumkes. Funds are being put toward building a home for the museum. "We love the community support, and Clear Lake and the surrounding area is so family-oriented," said Malecha. "We would love to build a children's museum for them." The nonprofit launched its capital campaign in early September. Wumkes and Malecha said the organization is hoping to raise $5 million dollars to make the museum a reality. To get the museum up and running will take an estimated $2 million, with $3 million placed in an endowment to provide a steady stream of income. North Iowa Children's Museum is working with the city of Clear Lake to see what sites are available for the building. "The interest from that can just keep the museum alive and sustainable for years to come," said Wumkes. Attendees at the event could look at renderings and floor plans of the future museum. Wumkes said it really "brought it to life" for people. "It is more of a regional thing than just in one community," said Wumkes. "I'm hoping we can pull from Algona, Britt, Forest City, Osage, Nora Springs, and Northwood. Just all around." Families enjoyed other fall activities at the event, such as a piglet petting zoo, tractor pedal cars, and a pumpkin ring toss. In addition, all of Plain Ol' Pumpkins' fun was available for the kids. "We're just really excited to get this up and running. It became more of a reality just in the last couple weeks getting corporate donations in and really kicking off the capital campaign," said Wumkes. For more information about the North Iowa Children's Museum, go to www.northiowachildrensmuseum.com or Facebook page. It was standing room only as the Worth County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing regarding the application from Summit Ag LLP to put a 4,990-head concentrated animal feeding operation within the county. After 19 speakers discussed their reasons for opposing a large hog confinement in their neighborhood for nearly an hour, supervisors AJ Stone and Mark Smeby reopened the regular meeting to accept the Iowa Department of Natural Resource's report that the LLP met the basic requirement of having a manure management plan. However, the two supervisors were of split mind when it came to approving Summit Pork IV LLPs application to build. Smeby was in favor while Stone was opposed. Since Supervisor Enos Loberg was absent, there was no quorum, the decision was split and the motion to accept the application did not pass. But the application does not require approval from the board. They can have three nays and the application can still go to the DNR, Worth County resident Russ Johnson said. County control is gone. Even state control is gone. They (the state) would have to make legislation to actually stop them (industrial ag companies.) Johnson said neighboring property owners had barely any notification of the proposed CAFO, prompting him to ask for the matter to be added to the board's agenda. Residents Cindy Mueller, Heather Butler, and Aaron Thomas spoke in opposition. The three each own businesses, boarding and training horses with a therapeutic riding program, providing day care, and raising and selling organic pork and chickens, respectively. Each said they fear the CAFO will be a huge detriment to their businesses. In addition, comments were made about the smell of manure and rotting carcasses, increased traffic on roads bringing hogs in and out, and the sound of thousands of squealing hogs. Several residents said they chose to live in the area specifically because there were no local hog confinements. Large hog confinement operations often see a lower property tax rate as well. Worth County Assessor Cindy Thompson explained that ag land is assessed at up to $2,000 an acre, while commercial property is assessed at upwards of $20,000 an acre. Suzie Quam, another concerned Worth County resident, joined the public meeting via Zoom. She said she has lived in the area close to 30 years and she monitors the DNR vs CAFOs very closely. As of mid-September, she said the Iowa DNR maps shows there are 42 million swine in Iowa, and that doesnt count the operations below 1,800 head per building. Bruce Rastatter and Jeff Brakke have formed a partnership and they plan to infiltrate Worth County, plus the surrounding counties, Quam said. Just because something isnt illegal doesnt make it right, Johnson said. Johnson invited Rep. Jane Bloomingdale, to the meeting. I want her to see firsthand how they operate, Johnson said. Bloomingdale declined to comment other than to say she was only at the meeting to listen. Even though opposition cant stop the proposed CAFO on a county level, Were still looking for a show of force. We want more people to be aware of it and to get the word out, Johnson said. Johnson said installation of the operation could still stop, should Summit Farms or Jeff Brakke decide to pull the application. "But the problem is these people live in a world where there is opposition all the time. They take it as just business as usual. They dont care about the communities and that was our biggest point to bring up at the Board of Supervisors, Johnson said. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov Baku has urged Yerevan to honor its international obligations for the sake of regional peace, security and prosperity, Azernews reports, citing the Foreign Ministry. In a statement on the second anniversary of September 27 Remembrance Day, the ministry emphasized that Azerbaijan is the initiator of normalizing ties with Armenia on the basis of rigorous adherence to international legal norms, particularly sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of international borders. We call on Armenia to respect these fundamental principles to ensure peace, security, and prosperity in the region and comply with its international obligations. Armenia should finally put an end to imitation in the negotiations and take genuine, constructive steps. There is no other alternative for the peaceful development of the region, the statement stresses. It recalls that two years have passed since the Azerbaijani armed forces' retaliatory steps in 2020 to confront another military provocation by the Armenian armed forces, which marked the start of the 44-day Patriotic War. Azerbaijan's counter-measures were taken within the scope of the right to self-defense and in line with international humanitarian law to halt Armenia's recurring military aggression and ensure the civilian population's safety, the ministry underlined. The Patriotic War put an end to Armenias nearly 30-year-long military aggression against the sovereign lands of Azerbaijan, ensured the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and restored the fundamental rights of nearly one million Azerbaijanis. Azerbaijan fought alone to ensure the implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions of 1993, it added. Azerbaijan's triumph ushered in a new chapter in the country's history and established international justice. Azerbaijan's liberation of its territory from Armenian occupation laid bare the large-scale illegal activities that the aggressor country carried out in these lands during the previous three decades. Clear evidence was presented to the international community of widespread mining of Azerbaijani lands, deliberate destruction and misappropriation of its historical, cultural, and religious heritage, plundering of natural resources, infrastructure destruction, and other violations of international laws. Azerbaijan filed inter-state petitions against Armenia at the European Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hold Armenia accountable for violations of its international responsibilities, as well as international humanitarian and human rights law. On December 7, 2021, the ICJ unanimously imposed temporary sanctions against Armenia based on Azerbaijan's plea. Right after the liberation of its territories, Azerbaijan has undertaken large-scale restoration and reconstruction efforts, including the implementation of critical infrastructure projects, for ensuring the safe repatriation of one million displaced Azerbaijanis to their homes and the revival of life in these lands. Azerbaijan is implementing proactive efforts to establish long-term peace and stability in the area, in line with the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020. On the contrary, Armenia fails to meet its duties by taking a revanchist stance, posing a major threat to security by keeping part of its military units in the region and planting additional landmines. Furthermore, Armenia makes practically no real moves to open communications in the area and maintains military provocations, hampering post-conflict normalization efforts, the ministry said. September 27 is celebrated as Remembrance Day in our country by the order of the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan and today we remember with deep respect and cherish the memory of all our Martyrs who gave their lives for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, it stressed. "September 27 - on Remembrance Day, we honor with deep respect and pride the blessed memory of our martyrs, who died for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," the ministry also wrote on its Twitter account. BLACKSBURG Grain farmers work hard to combat crop diseases, spending valuable time, money and other resources in those efforts. One Pittsylvania County young farmers innovative project has garnered Virginia wheat growers attention. Megan Pollok, a junior in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is researching disease resistance in winter wheat. Fusarium head blight, a fungal disease, impacts a variety of plants. If left untreated, the disease affects the head of the plant with what is called head scab, rendering seeds unusable as it spreads throughout the field and infects the entire crop. Bacterial endophytes are organisms such as bacteria or fungi naturally occurring within a plant. My research centers on establishing relationships between bacterial endophytes and resistant wheat varieties in order to minimize fusarium blight impacts, Pollok said. A major outbreak could reduce the crop to being used as animal feed. Everyones goal is growing milling-quality wheat and not feed wheat the price is so dramatically different, said Robert Harper, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation grain marketing specialist. This research is very important, very applicable. It will impact every wheat grower in Virginia as they breed disease resistance into varieties, so we can maintain these phenomenal no-till systems that protect soil health, prevent erosion and save farmers money on diesel fuel and time. Continual plant treatment with crop protectants also has environmental impacts. These kinds of biological controls can take away the need for chemical inputs, Harper said. Pollok was the 2020 Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers Outstanding Young Agriculturalist. The award honors high school juniors and seniors for academic, community and agribusiness achievement. She is involved with operations at Hill View Farms Inc., where her family produces beef cattle and certified seed. Its inspiring to work with such a bright and talented young mind, said Nicholas Santantonio, an assistant professor in the Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. Megan is developing and testing new innovative solutions to problems that weve been working on for a long time. We need innovators like Megan to develop the solutions we would never think to try. WENTWORTH Rockingham County has been chosen to serve as a host county for a statewide program that teaches recent college graduates about government with hands-on experience. The county is one of 23 such host sites statewide for the Lead for North Carolina (LFNC) program, part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government. Olivia Leggett, a recent graduate of Elon University, began her one-year paid local government fellowship here in August and works in the office of Rockingham County Manager Lance Metzler. I became a LFNC fellow to combine my interest in local government with my love for North Carolina, said Leggett, a native of McLean, Va. I hope to serve Rockingham County by applying the skills and knowledge I gained in economics and public policy during my undergraduate experience at Elon. I am excited to serve in the county managers office and become a part of the community. LFNC is designed to serve as a bridge between N.C. communities and committed young leaders, according to UNC. With the launch of its fourth cohort this year, the program has placed 74 fellows in positions with municipal governments, county governments and regional councils across the state. By recruiting, training and placing these fellows, it seeks to strengthen public institutions, support local communities and cultivate a new generation of public service leaders, organizers said in a recent news release. We are very fortunate to have this opportunity in Rockingham County for recent college graduates, Metzler said. This fellowship allows young people to gain real-world experience by serving our community. They are introduced to the different facets local government provides for its residents. The 23 fellowship placements span levels of local government: 10 will serve in municipalities, eight in county offices, and six in regional councils of government. In total, fellows assignments cover 37 counties. Fellows will work in areas including budgeting, management, opioid response, planning, housing and economic development. Lead for North Carolina is made possible through funding from the State Employees Credit Union Foundation, AmeriCorps, The Anonymous Trust, Golden LEAF Foundation, The Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the North Carolina League of Municipalities, State Farm, Wells Fargo and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. Lead for North Carolina is joined by the following founding partners: the North Carolina League of Municipalities, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, the North Carolina City/County Management Association and Lead for America. GREENSBORO Authorities have charged a Greensboro man with felony hit-and-run in a fatal crash involving a pedestrian, according to a release from Greensboro police. Pernell Winston Fulton, 60, was charged Monday in connection with the death of John Wayne Rankin, 71, of Greensboro, the release said. At about 6 a.m. Sept. 15, Rankin was attempting to cross South Elm-Eugene Street near West Meadowview Road from east to west, outside of a marked crosswalk, police said. A 2022 Ram 1500 pickup driven by Johnny Lee Cook, 63, of Greensboro, was southbound on South Elm-Eugene in the left travel lane. The front of the Ram pickup struck Rankin, who then came to rest in the roadway, police said. A 2019 Ford Ranger, owned by the City of Greensboro and operated by Fulton, also was southbound in the left travel lane. The Ranger pickup ran over Rankin, who was in the roadway after initially being struck. Fulton failed to remain at the scene following the collision, police said. Rankin died at the scene from his injuries, according to the release. Fulton, who worked as a field water account representative for the city, was terminated from his job the day after the crash, a city spokesman said in an email. GREENSBORO Health officials are continuing efforts to educate and vaccinate individuals at risk of contracting monkeypox as case numbers increase locally and statewide. In Guilford County, a total of 50 monkeypox cases have been reported as of Monday, according to a spokeswoman for the Guilford County Health Department. Across North Carolina, at least 510 residents have contracted the disease, according to the states latest published data. We need people to help get the word out. Its a public safety issue, Adriana Adams, executive director of Triad Health Project, said Monday. Monkeypox has come with its own stigma, and yet we know that anyone can get monkeypox. The first case of monkeypox in North Carolina was identified on June 23. While Guilford County residents initially had to travel to another county to receive the vaccinations, they are now available locally, Adams said. Demand for them remains high, she added. Cone Health offered monkeypox vaccinations at the Greensboro Pride Festival on Sept. 18 in downtown Greensboro. During the Greensboro Pride Festival, Cone Health staff administered 86 doses of the monkeypox vaccine, said Shaquenia Staley, LPN clinic lead, Cone Health Regional Center for Infectious Disease. Those who took advantage of the clinic were very thankful and appreciative that staff were on site at the festival and offering vaccines. Another vaccination clinic scheduled Oct. 21 in Greensboro is completely booked with plans to vaccinate 55 people, a Cone Health spokesman said Monday. Monkeypox symptoms are similar to that of smallpox but milder, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms can include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion and a rash that can look like pimples or blisters. Of North Carolinas cases, 53% of those who contracted monkeypox are also known to be living with HIV, according to state health officials. Dr. David Priest, Novant Healths chief safety, quality and epidemiology officer, said Monday that the health system is among the medical facilities in the Triad offering the monkeypox vaccine to those living with HIV/AIDS. Were in contact with those patients and are expanding the number of sites that currently offer the vaccine to ensure the community has sufficient access, Priest said. Priest recently said that the primary way monkeypox is spread is through prolonged skin-to-skin contact, or prolonged face-to-face contact during which it can be spread through respiratory droplets. The JYNNEOS vaccine, which is approved for monkeypox, is administered in two doses about 28 days apart. If someone suspects they have monkeypox or have been exposed, they should call their doctor immediately, describe their symptoms and request to be tested, according to local health department officials. Adams said more work needs to be done to help educate residents, which can be difficult with limited resources. Many nonprofits like Triad Health Project are in need of funding for public health initiatives such as this, she said. We need to learn from other infectious diseases that weve seen, Adams said. If its a public health risk and it can spread, it can affect anybody. Federal officials declared in August that the ongoing spread of monkeypox in the United States is a public health emergency. As long as people still need to be vaccinated, we should continue to offer them and continue to have conversations about it, Adams said. We want to do what we can now to avoid it becoming a crisis. To contact the Guilford County Health Department with questions about the disease, call 336-641-3245. Triad Health Project can be reached at 336-275-1654 (Greensboro office), or 336-884-4116 (High Point). PITTSBORO Chatham County is confronting horrific acts in its history with a new marker memorializing local victims of lynching. On Saturday, community members and officials gathered at the Chatham County government annex in Pittsboro to unveil a marker remembering several Black people who were lynched in Chatham County between 1885 and 1921. During this time, county officials said, white mobs terrorized and lynched at least six people in the county. Their names Jerry and Harriet Finch, John Pattishall, Lee Tyson, Henry Jones and Eugene Daniel are all on the plaque, preserving their memory and acknowledging their brutal murders. No mob participants were held accountable for lynching these individuals, the county stated in a new release Monday. With the help of the Community Remembrance Coalition Chatham, the NAACP, the Equal Justice Initiative and other community groups, this marker symbolizes a renewed commitment to racial justice. The Equal Justice Initiative has helped place markers across North Carolina, while earlier this month, Orange County apologized for its past elected leaders role in perpetrating or condoning criminal acts of racial terror lynching. The families whose loved ones were murdered and the extended community that continued to live in the shadow of the terror of lynchings now have a remembrance of those lives and a public acknowledgment of the many failures of the system and the injustice that took them away, said Karen Howard, the chair of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners. At the end of Saturdays dedication ceremony, attendees placed their hands on one another, joining in a communal prayer as a sign of healing and hope, the news release stated. It is our duty to remember these lives and commit to never letting this aspect of our collective history repeat itself, Howard said. RALEIGH The head of a national political action committee working to elect women who support abortion rights visited North Carolina on Tuesday, joining candidates she says must win this fall to block Republican attempts to enact more restrictions. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper also stood beside EMILYs List President Laphonza Butler while warning the ability of women to control reproductive health choices at current standards will depend on General Assembly races. I have seen in states across this country abortion under attack, Butler said at a news conference outside state Democratic Party headquarters. Thats why here in North Carolina, we know that these legislative races ... are all difference makers in protecting abortion rights and protecting essential health care options for all women in this great state. Republicans could earn veto-proof majorities if they win two more Senate seats and three more House seats, making it difficult for Cooper to derail abortion legislation with his veto stamp. The GOP-controlled legislature hasnt overridden any of Coopers nearly 50 vetoes since Democrats gained crucial seats during the 2018 election. In North Carolina, women still have reproductive freedom, Cooper said. And as governor, I aim to keep it that way. But I cannot do it alone. EMILYs List endorses federal, state and local candidates. Its Women Vote! super PAC just wrapped up airing $2.7 million in commercials supporting Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cheri Beasley, citing her abortion-rights stance. Butler and Beasley visited N.C. Central University and N.C. State later Tuesday to discuss the issue with students. Republican legislative leaders have expressed interest in passing further abortion restrictions next year in light of Junes U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down Roe v. Wade. In light of that decision, a federal judge last month reinstated a 1973 North Carolina law prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks that had been blocked in 2019. State law does allow some exceptions, such as during medical emergencies that threaten the mothers life. While no consensus has been reached among Republicans about what additional restrictions they would consider, Senate leader Phil Berger of Eden has said he would prefer restrictions on abortion after roughly the first three months of pregnancy. House Speaker Tim Moore would personally prefer banning abortions once an ultrasound first detects cardiac activity typically around six weeks after fertilization. We believe that medical decisions and bodily autonomy of every woman in North Carolina should be in their hands not Phil Bergers and not Tim Moores, said Democratic state Sen. Sydney Batch of Wake County, who is seeking victory in a swing district. State Republicans have downplayed abortion in the fall campaign, seeking instead to emphasize issues such as the economy, taxes and law enforcement. Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the socially conservative North Carolina Values Coalition, accused the legislative candidates at Tuesdays event of extreme views, particularly when it comes to permitting late-term abortions. The candidates are desperate to get their voters motivated about something else when voters are concerned about the broader economy, Fitzgerald added. By Trend September 27 is marked as the Day of Remembrance in Azerbaijan in accordance with the decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports. Soldiers and officers who showed heroism, peaceful inhabitants who worked in the rear - all the Azerbaijani people, having manifested determination and will, unity and solidarity, united in one fist, inflicted devastating blows on Armenia during the 44-day Second Karabakh War [from late Sept. to early Nov.2020], which became for Azerbaijan a matter of honor in the struggle for sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. Azerbaijan highly appreciates the heroism of its brave sons and daughters and gives tribute to the memory of its martyrs. September 27 is marked as the Day of Remembrance in Azerbaijan as a sign of deep respect to the memory of Azerbaijani soldiers and officers, all Azerbaijani martyrs who fought heroically in the second Armenia-Azerbaijan Karabakh war, and sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity of the country and raised the Azerbaijani flag in the ancestral lands of Azerbaijan. During the 44 days of military operations, the Azerbaijani army had defeated the Armenian armed forces and liberated Jabrayil, Gubadly, Zangilan, Fuzuli districts, a large part of Khojavand district, a number of villages in Lachin district from the Armenian occupation. At the same time, they liberated five cities, four settlements, 286 villages, and numerous strategic heights. On November 8, after 28 years of the Armenian occupation, there was liberated the city of Shusha, which has a great spiritual and symbolic meaning for the Azerbaijani people. As a result, Armenia had no choice but to sign the act of capitulation. Gov. Greg Gianforte stood in the shadow of Mount Helena on Monday, praising wildfire fuel mitigation efforts by all levels of government and interagency cooperation for halting two recent fires in the Helena area. He said such efforts improve habitat, increase resiliency, expand recreational opportunities and create jobs. Everyone benefits when we have healthier forests, Gianforte said. When we manage our forests our communities are safer, we have more recreation Mondays event included an announcement by Amanda Kaster, Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) director, of an expansion to the Good Neighbor Authority agreement between DNRC, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Under the expansion, $238,000 in funding will treat up to 1,270 acres of Forest Service ownership in the Ten Mile-South Helena and Middleman areas, Kaster said. Additionally, $15,000 is provided for weed treatment on 250-plus acres on the Helena Ranger District. The funding is administered through the U.S. Forest Service with money from the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Kaster thanked all the partners who continue to make this work possible. The Grizzly Gulch fire started Aug. 26 and was kept to about 25 acres, and the Mount Helena fire started Aug. 28 and was kept to about 18 acres. Helena officials said recently the city has been focused the last 15-20 years to reduce forest field in the citys open space system and has made progress in meeting that goal. Gianforte said at the news conference that of the 267 fires this year under DNRCs direct protection, 525 acres have been burned, for an average of less than two acres per fire. He said small fires are easier to put out than big fires, which is why we adopted a policy of aggressive attack on all fires and asked our federal partners to do the same. Im so proud of our firefighters this year they did heroic work, getting out there and getting the job done, he said. Gianforte said Montana faces a forest health crisis, with forests that are tinderboxes ready to ignite and put firefighters at risk. We need to get into the woods and manage these, Gianforte said. He said Montana needs to bring more state, private and federal acres under forest management. Gianforte said Montana has made funds available for active forest management, noting there is a $500,000 grant program open until Nov. 9 and available for tribal land and private land. Proactive management protects Montana, he said. He said in a news release that working with partners to increase the number of forested acres treated in Montana is a top priority for his administration. In 2021, DNRC more than doubled the number of acres treated in Montana, placing a collective 25,000 acres under management. Helena City Commissioner Andy Shirtilff said the partnerships are vital for protecting natural resources. These partnerships did not happen overnight, he said. These partnerships take years to develop. He said the Helena Fire Department was on the scene within four minutes. He also praised the volunteer fire departments that responded. Brad Langsather, open lands manager for the city of Helena, said Helena has worked aggressively for 15 years to manage the forests. The positive outcome we saw a few weeks ago is proof that this type of work has its merits, he said. The Good Neighbor Authority is a provision within the Farm Bill, Gianforte said, that gives the state the ability for forest management on federal land. Additionally, the Montana Forest Action Plan and Forest Service 10-Year Fire Reduction Strategy are both aimed at working across jurisdictional lines and increasing the pace and scale of fuels and forest health treatments to address the severity of wildfires, according to the news release from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC). This is one way the state can be a good partner with the (U.S.) forest service, Gianforte said. The Helena City Commission Monday evening voted to deny a request to demolish a historic building in the city's oldest neighborhood. The two-story, Italianate style house, located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Rodney and Broadway streets, was built in 1878 for Cornelius Hedges and his family. Helena/Lewis and Clark County Heritage Preservation Officer Pam Attardo said Hedges is a figure of "local, state and national significance." Attardo said Hedges arrived in Helena in 1865. Hedges practiced law, one of the first in Helena to do so, and served as a U.S. Attorney. Additionally, he was the editor of the Helena Daily Herald, chairman of the committee that formed the Helena Library, superintendent of public schools for eight years, the first superintendent of public instruction and a co-founder of the Montana Historical Society. Arguably his biggest claim to fame is his involvement in the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition. The group explored northwestern Wyoming, making maps, noting landmarks and observing wildlife. When the group came across that famous geyser in the area, they timed its eruptions and gave it the name Old Faithful. Hedges wrote articles about the expedition in the local paper and used the platform to advocate for the establishment of Yellowstone National Park, which happened two years later. Nathaniel P. Langford, a fellow member of the expedition and later the first superintendent of Yellowstone, credited Hedges with having the idea to set aside the Yellowstone area as a national park. "He's the most famous person you've probably never heard of," Attardo told the city commissioners. "He didn't amass a fortune, but rather lent his talents to causes that uplifted fellow citizens." The home on Rodney Street was converted to a fourplex by Hedges' son in 1922, later became a funeral home, then was converted back into a fourplex in the early 1990s. A space heater in the unit on the north side of the building caught fire in December 2018 and spread to the attic. The building has remained vacant since. Attardo said the first floor has no fire or smoke damage. The southern second floor unit has water damage caused by the fire hoses, but no smoke or fire damage. The fire marshal did not condemn the structure, and a Heritage Tourism Council-provided professional engineer stated "access to the main floor should pose no risk to people" and that "most of the second floor is safe." The owner of the building is listed in the demolition permit application as Bent Tree Enterprises, a Helena-based roofing and construction company owned by David Blackman. Attardo said the owner purchased the building the summer of 2019 and neglected to put tarps over the roof to prevent further water damage and "the current pigeon infestation." "The applicants attended a pre-application meeting in June 2019 and submitted a signed (a historic building demolition) application in June 2022. That building has remained open to the elements during that three-year period," Attardo said. The owner proposed constructing an eight-unit apartment building. The units would be rented at market rate, well above the affordable rents charged in the neighborhood. "Demolishing the Hedges house ... would erode the historic fabric and sense of place and have significant adverse impacts on the historic district," Attardo said. Helena's Historic District, on the National Register of Historic Places, is made up of the many "contributing structures" in the city's urban core. Should a significant amount of those historic structures be removed from the district, the National Parks Service could remove its historic designation. Attardo also noted that Hedges' house is the only remaining structure associated with the pioneer and the only National Register listed house of a nationally significant person in Helena. The houses of Charlie Pride, Myrna Loy, L. Ron Hubbard and Gary Cooper are not listed. Two hearings on the proposed demolition were held before the Heritage Tourism Council on July 12 and Aug. 16, following which the council voted unanimously to recommend denial, citing the historic significance and "the fact that the applicant presented no documentation of structure as structurally unsound despite repeated requests," Attardo said. A conditional approval with nine stipulations, including the owner obtain a building permit within one year of demolition and fully document the building with photographs and descriptions, was presented as an alternative recommendation. However, City Attorney Rebecca Dockter said such a permit cannot be issued with conditions. Charlie Carson, de-facto mayor of Rodney Street, reminded the commissioners during public comment that he "own(s) a lot of Rodney Street" and said he is opposed to the demolition. Carson said he would like to see the building rehabilitated and that he made a "very fair" offer to purchase the property and was turned down. "We feel we have gone above and beyond in following the historic guidelines," Blackman said during public comment. He stated the roof would likely have to be replaced and the building would need to be completely rewired as a result of the water used to fight the fire. Blackman also cited the numerous upgrades that would need to be made to bring the structure up to modern codes. Additionally, asbestos and lead paint mitigation work would need to be done. "This is expensive and a time-hungry endeavor," he said. Blackman also stated he was not aware of the historic district restrictions when he purchased the property. "For three years we have tried to find the combination to the ever-changing riddle of an approved rendering," he said, referencing the Heritage Tourism Council's required documentation of what would replace the structure. "What is disconcerting is the building has undergone so many changes with no regard to historic importance that it is unrecognizable to its predecessor," he said. "So now somehow we are at fault for not being willing to overhaul this eyesore to the original glory." Ten people stated they opposed the demolition during the public comment period; no one supported it. City Commissioner Melinda Reed moved to deny the demolition permit request. In a roll call vote, City Commissioners Andy Shirtliff and Reed voted in favor of the motion. City Commissioner Sean Logan voted against the motion. "The historical sentiments that have been expressed here tonight are certainly not lost on me, but on the flip side of that, I am sympathetic to some investor who has taken a risk on a building that sustained a lot of damage, not only fire, but water," Logan said. Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins, after asking the city attorney what happens in a tie and being informed the motion would fail, voted to deny the demolition permit request. Blackman said the denial is "not a good scenario," but declined to offer what his next steps will be for the building. Bent Tree Enterprises can reapply for a historic building demolition permit in six months. The massive Moose fire near Salmon, Idaho, was caused by an unattended campfire that escaped a rock fire ring. The megafire has scorched more than 130,000 acres so far and three people have died during firefighting efforts. An announcement of the cause Monday from the Salmon-Challis National Forest confirmed what area residents had been saying since the fire ignited July 17: the blaze was caused by an unattended campfire near the confluence of Moose Creek and the main Salmon River, west of North Fork. Forest Service officials had announced on July 30 that the fire was human-caused, but said at the time that the specific cause remained under investigation. That specific cause, according to Monday's announcement, was "an unextinguished and unattended campfire, which spread to adjacent vegetation." That occurred "on a small flat commonly used as a dispersed camping area, across from the Moose Creek drainage, between Salmon River Road and the Main Salmon River, approximately 5.6 miles west of North Fork." The fire started around 4 p.m. and rapidly exploded across hundreds of acres in the first few hours, and tens of thousands of acres in a matter of days. Investigators believe that the fire may have been left over from the previous night, July 16, and are seeking information from the public to help identify people who were present at the site during that time. Tips can be emailed to SM.FS.2022MooseTip@usda.gov. Officials urged tipsters to "please include detailed information and contact details if youre willing to speak with an investigator." U.S. Forest Service special agents, USFS law enforcement officers and local law enforcement are continuing their joint investigation. Two pilots and one firefighter have died during firefighting efforts on the Moose fire. On July 21, two pilots of a twin-rotor CH-47D "Chinook" helicopter operated by Alaska-basked ROTAK Helicopter Services died when the helicopter crashed into the Salmon River adjacent to the Indianola Guard Station. Thomas Hayes, 41, of Post Falls, Idaho, and Jared Bird, 36, of Anchorage, Alaska, were extricated from the wreckage and transported to medical facilities, but both pilots the sole occupants of the aircraft died from injuries sustained in the crash. Video posted to social media on Aug. 12 showed the helicopter hovering above the river carrying a "bambi bucket" used to scoop and drop water on fires. The helicopter abruptly began spinning out of control and plunged into the river near the southern bank, across from Salmon River Road. The video was removed hours later. On Sept. 20, a contracted firefighter with North Reforestation Inc. "suffered a medical emergency" in the early morning and died. Forest Service officials announced the death on Sept. 22. The veteran firefighter, Gerardo Rincon, 48, of Independence, Oregon, was the crew boss of a Type-II crew assigned to the Moose fire. He had worked as a wildland firefighter for 28 years. As of Monday morning, the Moose fire had burned 130,110 acres substantially beyond the National Interagency Fire Center's 100,000-acre threshold for being classified as a "megafire." The fire was 51% contained with 569 personnel assigned, down from a peak of more than 1,000 personnel. It was the second-largest active fire in the U.S. on Monday, behind the 157,717-acre Double Creek fire in Oregon. The Moose fire was the largest active fire in the Lower 48 for a time in early August and was at one point the number-one priority for air resources in the nation. Fire growth earlier this month led to the evacuation of outlying areas of Salmon, as well as settlements and mines in the mountains west of the town. Those evacuations have since been lifted. Over 5,100 comments have been submitted about a large expansion project proposed at Holland Lake Lodge, including letters from a U.S. Senator and a congressional candidate. Christian Wohlfeil, the owner of the lodge, has partnered on a joint business venture for the project with POWDR, one of the largest ski resort operators in North America. Together, they have submitted a proposal to remove 10 aging structures at Holland Lake Lodge and add 32 new buildings, including a new 28-room lodge, a new restaurant and 26 new cabins near the lake. Holland Lake is in the Swan Valley about 90 minutes northeast of Missoula. Based on a preliminary assessment conducted by the Flathead National Forest, as of right now the intention of the Forest Service is to categorically exclude the proposed project from documentation in an environmental impact statement or an environmental assessment. However a spokesperson for the Flathead National Forest, Tami MacKenzie, said that nothing has been decided yet. Documents submitted with the project include a graphic showing what the developers say is the current view of the lodge from the water compared to what it would look like after the expansion. Current view vs. proposed view at Holland Lake Lodge A graphic submitted by the developers showing the current view versus what they say the view would look like after the expansion. Last week, Sen. Jon Tester wrote to Flathead National Forest supervisor Kurt Steele to express his concerns about the project. Tester noted that the Forest Service's initial scoping letter received over 2,500 comments in a few days, "illustrating the weight Montanans are giving to their consideration of this project." Tester didn't say whether he was opposed to the project or not, but called for careful analysis. "While your decision to briefly extend the comment period is a step in the right direction, an additional extension and further analysis may be necessary to ensure that the public has the opportunity to give due consideration to this project," Tester wrote. "The relatively short timeline on the initial scoping letter and public comment period may be inadvertently limiting further input from local stakeholders, including Missoula County." He said many community councils meet monthly and need time to solicit and get input. "This is especially relevant as Missoula County will need to grant additional permits for the site development beyond the Forest Service process," Tester explained. "In addition to county-level input, the high volume of comments submitted so far strongly indicate that the public is extremely interested in providing input on this project." Extending the comment period further will allow both local government and the general public the opportunity to provide informed input on this project, Tester concluded. The week before Tester sent his letter, the Forest Service had extended the comment period from Sept. 21 to Oct. 7. Steele said that he realized there was a lot of interest in the project and many people believed that a decision about what type of environmental review would be conducted had already been made. "The comments so far have made it clear to me that there is a lot of confusion surrounding the process and potential use of a categorical exclusion," Steele said in a press release. "I would like to make it clear that the use of a categorical exclusion does not mean there will not be an environmental analysis." A group called Save Holland Lake has formed social media accounts and printed out flyers and stickers opposing the expansion. The Forest Service's website for taking public comments has received 5,116 of them as of Tuesday afternoon. It's difficult to find many that favor the expansion. "My vote is NO," wrote Erin Wright. "The last thing this beautiful place needs is to be a recreation zoo. These are the woods and it's okay to treat them as such. I've been coming here for years and would hate to see it turn into something very un-Montana, which is what everyone who comes here aims to do. I guarantee no Montanan wants this." By comparison, a project to add a new chairlift and new runs at Whitefish Mountain Resort in 2020 got a total of three comments submitted to the Flathead National Forest. The ski area also leases land from the Forest Service and has implemented several renovations, expansions and upgrades in the last two decades. Wohlfeil, who has owned Holland Lake Lodge for 20 years, sent letters to newspapers in the region last week explaining his position. "Like many similar recreational facilities on federal land in the United States, the Lodge operates under a United States Forest Service special use permit," he explained. "This permit allows a privately owned, for-profit business, whose purpose is to sell recreation-style products to the public, to operate on federal land," Wohlfeil wrote. "It has allowed me to make a living, just as similar permits have enabled thousands of small recreational businesses to do the same. We preserve the natural environment for public benefit rather than a multimillionaire seeking to use it as a second home and exclude it from others." But, he said, the lodge is in need of improvements so that future generations can enjoy it. "I have long considered making improvements to this business, as I currently utilize only a fraction of what my permit allows," he explained. "However, I decided the lodge and its legacy are best served with investments beyond my capacity by someone who shares my Montana values and vision. POWDR is a company that was familiar with and embraced the process of making necessary improvements to the Lodge to protect the environment." More public meetings about the project are scheduled for early October. For more information visit online at bit.ly/3LKWMNv. DECATUR The activity of packing rice and soy powder into the small bag can be fun, according to Elliott Brammer. You dont even realize youre working for a great cause, he said. Brammer brought his employees from the animal nutrition division of Archer Daniels Midland Co. to Mondays packing session for the international organization Feed My Starving Children. But were all working as one, he said. It took no coercion. Andrea Gerhard, Decaturs coordinator for Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack, organized the volunteer groups that are assisting during this years event. Weve had several different organizations and church youth groups, she said. Weve had lots of families and small groups, friend groups, businesses. The work included labeling, providing supplies and packing the meals. This year, the groups goal is to pack and provide over 248,000 meals. More than 1,200 volunteers are required with an average of five, two-hour packing sessions, and fundraising of more than $60,000 to cover the cost of the meals. The manna pack meals have four products soy, dried vegetables, vitamins and rice which are ingredients used in several countries and cultures. Were hoping that were going to be really close to, or right at the goal, of 248,000 meals for this year, Gerhard said. The meals are distributed to approximately 70 countries, such as Nicaragua, Guatemala and Haiti. The volunteers from ADM Cares and a few church groups were the fifth group to gather in the St. Pauls Lutheran Church warehouse to pack the small bags. Jennifer Ballinger, ADM Cares director, didnt have to encourage the more than 200 employees who volunteered on Monday. We had to shut volunteer registration off about two weeks into it, we had met our quota, she said. The employees have opportunities to volunteer at other community events and projects; however, the mobile packing day is important to the ADM Cares organization. The soy product used in the meals was provided by ADM. This speaks to our people with such a close connection to our business, Ballinger said. It connects so much to our purpose. Feed My Starving Childrens Vice President of Supply Change, Joel Howells, has often been to Decatur to pack manna packs. They are long-time supporters, he said. The agency became a Christian organization in 2003. By the end of the year, their goal is to fill more than 400 million meals. Packing the meals is a benefit for the volunteers as well as the children they feed, Howells said. It brings communities together to pack and to serve together, he said. The hope would be that as they provide meals, then the partners can do other things in these communities. They can run their education program, but if they dont have food, that base, they cant really do that. The first Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack in Decatur began in 2011. Two years later, the operation expanded to a large facility. Weve got amazing warehouse space, Gerhard said about the St. Pauls Lutheran Church location. It presents us an opportunity to be a blessing to the community. Our lives can touch other lives in other places around the world. DECATUR A family dog was rescued from a fire Monday that did extensive damage to Decatur mobile home. Decatur firefighters were alerted to the fire by a Decatur police officer who was in the area. According to a Decatur Fire Department news release, an engine company that was already in the area when the call came in at 6:17 p.m. was on the scene immediately. It arrived at 2528 Hedrick Court to find heavy fire and smoke coming from the home. Firefighters made an aggressive attack and were able to bring the fire under control by 6:30 p.m., the release stated. The occupant that was home at the time the fire broke out told firefighters that the family dog was still inside. Crews conducted a search and successfully rescued the dog. An investigation of the fire, which officials said started in a bedroom, determined it was the result of improperly discarded smoking material. ASSUMPTION Three people are dead and another seriously injured following a two-vehicle crash Monday afternoon in Christian County. Illinois State Police said in a news release that the crash occurred around 1:16 p.m. when a grain truck and a Buick LeSabre collided at the intersection of County Road 1400N and County Road 2500E north of Assumption. The impact caused the grain truck to overturn. Both occupants were ejected from the vehicle and died as a result of their injuries. Christian County Coroner Amy Calvert Winans identified them as 34-year-old Brian C. Callan of Blue Mound and Keirsty M. Hughes, 29, of Blue Mound. Winans said Callan, who was driving the truck, died at Pana Community Hospital. Hughes died at the scene of the crash. The driver of the car, a 42-year-old male who has not been identified by officials, was transported by helicopter to a regional hospital with serious injuries. A passenger in the car, 36-year-old Sarah A. Myers of Bethany, died at the scene, Winans said. The crash remains under investigation by the State Police. LOVINGTON A Lovington man has been stabbed to death in what the coroner described as a neighborhood dispute. Michael A. Peck, 54, was pronounced dead in the emergency room of Decatur Memorial Hospital at 4:28 a.m. Monday, according to a news release from Macon County Coroner Michael E. Day. Dr. Scott Denton, forensic pathologist for Macon County, states in his preliminary autopsy report that the cause of death was due to multiple stab wounds to the torso which resulted in severe internal injury, Day said. The coroner said the Moultrie County Sheriff and the Illinois State Police are investigating the homicide. State Police spokeswoman Trooper Jayme Bufford told the Herald & Review on Tuesday afternoon that "the investigation remains active and ongoing." She added: "In order to protect the integrity of the investigation, no information is available at this time." New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Mostly sunny. High 88F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 58F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. A practice begun in Virginia during the height of the pandemic has become a convenient way for voters to cast ballots on a day convenient for them. Early voting began across the state Friday Sept. 23. Virginia voters have until Saturday, Nov. 5 to take advantage of early voting before the Tuesday, Nov. 8 Election Day. Derek Lyall, the Washington County, Virginia director of elections, explained early voting is one of the options that Virginia voters, who might miss out on Election Day, have at their disposal to cast their vote. If voters prefer to wait till Election Day, theyll have that opportunity they can go to their normal polling place and vote on Election Day. If voters would prefer to visit our office before Election Day and cast an early ballot, they certainly have that opportunity as well, Lyall said. One benefit is that, you know, if they may be out of town on Election Day, this gives them the opportunity to come in and cast their ballot early. Blakely A. Morris, the director of elections and general registrar for the city of Bristol, Virginia, highlighted that early voters will be voting on candidates to fill three City Council seats and three School Board seats, one of which is a special election due to the vacancy left on behind on the School Board by now Bristol, Virginia Sheriff Tyrone Foster. Weve never had a city council and school board race on a November ballot, Morris said. They used to be in May. The Virginia legislature changes the timing for municipal election from May to November in 2021. Washington County, Virginia ballots include three mayoral races for residents of the towns of Saltville, Glade Spring, and Damascus. However, only Saltvilles mayoral race is being contested, with incumbent Mayor Todd Young facing off against Stephen A. Henneger for the position. Washington County municipal residents will also be voting on candidates to fill five town council seats. One in Damascus, one in Glade Spring, and two in Abingdon, one of which has an unexpired term set for December of 2024. Both Washington County and Bristol voters will be casting votes in the race for the 9th District House of Representatives seat, which is being contested between longtime incumbent Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith and Democrat challenger Taysha Lee DeVaughan. Morris pointed out that so far, early voter turnout among Bristol, Virginia voters, who can turn in their ballots via a drive-thru, has been slow, but that he has a feeling it will pick up over the coming month. The drive-through has been great for us, Morris said. Its a little slow right now, but I have a feeling it will pick up next month. The last two weeks are usually crazy. Washington County, Virginia early voting polls are located at 1 Government Center Pl, Suite A, Abingdon, Virginia and are open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Bristol, Virginia election office drive-thru is adjacent to the Bristol, Virginia City Hall, which is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For those looking to vote on Election Day, the deadline to register in Virginia is October 17. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan has released a video dedicated to September 27 - Remembrance Day, Azernews reports, citing the ministry. On September 27, 2020, in response to a large-scale provocation of the Armenian armed forces along the frontline, the Azerbaijani army launched a counter-offensive operation. The 44-day war put an end to nearly 30 years of occupation, ensured the liberation of Azerbaijan's lands and the restoration of the country's territorial integrity. 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 urged Armenia to 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. A mother and her boyfriend have been charged in the accidental death of an 11-month-old baby in their Newport News home earlier this month. Court documents say Porshea Tanika Evans walked into Riverside Regional Medical Center on the morning of Sept. 4 holding her unconscious and unresponsive child. Emergency room doctors couldnt revive the boy, and he was pronounced dead 35 minutes later. Evans, 33, and her boyfriend, Dequan Foreman, 31, are now charged with felony child neglect in the death of the child who would have had his first birthday Friday. Police investigators say the baby identified in court documents by his initials Z.E.H. fell off a bed and hit his head on the floor. The accident took place, police say, when the couple left the boy and his 4-year-old sister unattended for about an hour. The couple apparently didnt initially realize the extent of the childs injury, and more than 14 hours passed before he was taken to the hospital. The arrest warrant affidavits, filed in Newport News Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, outline the events of that day. The documents say Evans, Foreman and the two children went to a friends house on the afternoon of Sept. 3, a Saturday, to celebrate the weekend. The couple drank heavily while at the party, the warrants say. Foreman told detectives he drank too much, and Evans said she drank a lot. Evans also told police that she and Foreman had smoked marijuana earlier that day. They left the party before 7 p.m., returning to their apartment on Brighton Lane, off Harpersville Road. Evans brought the children inside and put them down in a bedroom. The couple then left and went to Hoss Deli an eatery just around the corner to pick up food. But Evans got into a minor car accident on the way home, delaying the couples return. While police were at the couples home investigating the accident, Foreman said he went inside to check on the kids. (He later estimated that was just under an hour after they had left the home). Foreman, who was not the babys father, said he found the 11-month-old on the floor and took him outside while Evans spoke with police about the accident. He said he noticed the boy snoring at the time. At about 9:30 p.m., Foreman said, he put the boy down for the night in a portable crib. When he woke up between 4 to 6 a.m., he noticed the baby was in the exact same position hed been placed in earlier, the warrants say. He woke Evans, who checked on the boy and noticed his skin was cold to the touch. The warrants dont say if the couple checked on the babys breathing at that time. But Evans placed a blanket on the boy and both she and Foreman went back to bed. Foreman woke up after 9 a.m. and he again found the baby in the same position. This time, however, he said the boy wasnt breathing and had no discernible pulse. Foreman woke up Evans, who took the baby to the emergency room at about 9:45 a.m. Doctors told police the baby had significant swelling to the left side of his head, but no other injuries consistent with abuse. The boy was pronounced dead at 10:22 a.m. Foreman and Evans told detectives the boys 4-year-old sister had told them her brother had fallen from the bed. It appears the only time (the baby) was able to fall off the bed was when he and (the sister) were left in the residence unattended, said a criminal complaint by Detective C.A. Ruhlen. Evans and Foreman were charged with felony child neglect in the boys death. Theyre accused of allowing serious injury to the life or health of a child by a willful act, omission or refusal to provide the necessary care. They also face a second child neglect charge for leaving the sister home alone. They face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of both counts. Evans is out on a $7,000 bond pending trial, records show. Foreman, who has a past criminal record, is being held without bond but has appealed that decision, with a new bond hearing slated for Thursday in Circuit Court. Attorneys for Evans and Foreman Timothy Clancy and Paul Hubert respectively both declined to comment on the pending case. In the meantime, the father of both children asked for custody of the 4-year-old girl and that Evans have no contact with her. He asserted in protective order paperwork that Evans and Foreman came home intoxicated and fell asleep before the boys fall from the bed. A hearing on the protective order is slated for Nov. 9. A 154-apartment complex is planned for 12th Avenue, SE, in Hickory. Construction is expected to start late this year or in early 2023, the developer said. Redwood Apartment Neighborhoods plans to build a development of single-story apartment homes on about 47 acres across from Greater Faith Missionary Baptist Church, Director of Acquisitions Rad Schneider said. The location was chosen for its proximity to the interstate and a hospital, as well as the job outlook of the area, he said. We are excited about the Trivium Corporate Center and the jobs its bringing in, Schneider said. The plans for the development lay out a network of 23 buildings. There are about four to eight apartments in each building, Schneider said. A standard apartment is about 1,300 square feet, not including a two-car garage that comes with every apartment. The apartments will be priced similar to other new apartments in the area, he said. A standard size apartment will likely be about $1,800 to $1,900 per month, Schneider said. It is common for us to be higher on the monthly rate due to the larger units and a garage, but were competitive on a rent per square foot, he said. The rent will be subject to the market at the time the apartments are open to lease. Construction is expected to begin late this year or in early 2023, he said. It will likely take 12-18 months to get the first build complete and open for people to move in, Schneider said. Redwood Apartment Neighborhoods has developments across the country, including three in North Carolina. It has also applied for a rezoning to allow for a development in Conover. A Lenoir man died in a two-car crash in Caldwell County on Monday. Harold Lee Mann Jr., 53, of Lenoir, died at the scene. A front-seat passenger, Alton Philyaw, 72, of Lenoir, received serious injuries and was transported by medical helicopter to Johnson City Medical Center in Tennessee, according to a news release from the N.C. Highway Patrol. Neither was restrained by a seat belt, and both were ejected from the 2002 Toyota Tacoma truck, the release said. The fatal wreck took place when the Toyota truck was struck by a 2009 Honda Civic on Monday afternoon on Adako Road near Brown Mountain Beach Road. The Honda crossed the centerline and collided with the Toyota, the release said. The 16-year-old driver of the Honda and a passenger, 18, both received minor injuries and were taken by EMS to Caldwell Memorial Hospital in Lenoir, the release said. No charges have been filed in the crash. The investigation is ongoing and troopers are expected to consult with the district attorneys office on potential charges. The Catawba County Sheriffs Office is looking for a suspect connected to a shooting in Claremont. Charles Donte Farley is wanted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and shooting into an occupied dwelling, Capt. Aaron Turk with the sheriffs office said. The charges are connected to a shooting that occurred at a residence on Sherlock Street around 8 p.m. on Sunday, Turk said. Farley is to be considered armed and dangerous, Turk said. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the sheriffs office at 828-464-5241. Orlando Rhinehardt, 54, of Claremont, lives at the home where he said the shooting took place. Rhinehardt said he heard someone banging on his sliding glass door Sunday night. When he went to answer the door he saw Farley, he said. Rhinehardt said Farley is his neighbor. He said I cussed out his kids, but I never seen them, all day long, Rhinehardt said. It was just uncalled for. Were supposed to be friends. Rhinehardt accused Farley of pulling a gun and firing approximately six shots at the house. The home had holes in two windows, which Rhinehardt said were from the bullets. Glass from the sliding door was shattered and scattered along the front porch and on the floor inside the home. Turk said several shots were reported to investigators. The sheriffs office was able to confirm one shot during the crime scene investigation, Turk said. No one was injured. " " The Dahomey warriors, or Agojie, were a frontline military unit who were fierce and valiant. However, their ties to the trans-Atlantic slave trade are difficult to dispute. Public Domain From the 1600s through the 19th century, West Africa was home to a succession of sophisticated and powerful kingdoms. As in Europe, Asia and the Americas during this time, rival powers in West Africa waged bloody wars for economic, political and cultural dominance. For centuries, the Kingdom of Dahomey was the wealthiest and most feared of these West African powers, and Dahomey became famous for its elite army of women warriors called the Agojie, whom wide-eyed European observers dubbed the "Dahomey Amazons" after their fictional counterparts in Greek myth. Advertisement The hit 2022 film "The Woman King" stars Oscar-winner Viola Davis as Nanisca, an Agojie general bravely defending her kingdom, led by King Ghezo, against an unholy alliance between Dahomey's archrival, the Oyo Kingdom and European slave traders. But while the real-life Agojie, the world's only all-female army, were immensely brave and skilled warriors, the film has been criticized for misrepresenting Dahomey and King Ghezo's true role in the Atlantic slave trade. The truth is that from 1640 to 1860, much of Dahomey's wealth came from raiding rival kingdoms and selling millions of captives to Portuguese slave traders. And as Dahomey's finest and fiercest warriors, the Agojie were critical to the success of those slave-capturing raids. After the slave trade ended in the mid-19th century, Dahomey's storyline changed and the Agojie were indeed able play the role of freedom fighters, as the filmmakers would like us to see them. The enemies at that time were French colonizers who wanted to seize control of West Africa. As always, the Agojie fought valiantly for their king, but their story didn't have a happy ending. The author is a professor and extension dairy specialist at the University of Idaho Appropriate semen storage and handling is critical to the success of A.I. The liquid nitrogen semen storage tank actually consists of two tanks, with a smaller tank housed inside a larger tank. In between the two tanks is insulation material that is under vacuum in order to help maintain the extreme temperature of liquid nitrogen (-320F). Store liquid nitrogen semen tanks in a well-ventilated, clean, dry, and secure area to ensure personnel safety, promote long tank life, and deter theft. Securely fasten the tank during transportation to avoid tipping or damaging the tank, both of which will result in the premature loss of liquid nitrogen and sacrifice semen storage ability. Keep a detailed inventory of semen that is easily accessible without looking into the storage tank, regardless of whether the tank is housed in an office or transported in a vehicle to a location closer to the cows to be serviced. This is so straws can be located and removed from the tank quickly to avoid exposure of semen to ambient temperature and to minimize loss of liquid nitrogen. Mind the neck When removing a straw from a liquid nitrogen semen storage tank, keep the canister, cane, and unused semen straws as low as possible in the neck of the tank. Keep in mind that although the temperature of liquid nitrogen is -320F, there is a temperature gradient in the neck of the tank. For example, a tank with a neck tube that measures 6 inches long may have a temperature of -103F in the middle of the neck (3 inches below the top), while the temperature at 1 inch below the top may be +5F. A best management practice is to keep all unused straws below the frost-line in the neck of the tank. A recent study at the University of Idaho provides evidence the temperature in the neck of a semen storage tank, especially in the area below the frost-line, exhibits wide variation and is influenced by liquid nitrogen level. Colorado State University researchers first reported the liquid nitrogen level in a tank can dramatically affect the temperature of straws repeatedly raised and lowered in the tank. When a tank was full of liquid nitrogen, elevation of a cane, containing a goblet with five semen straws, into the neck of the tank for one minute resulted in straw temperature climbing 28 degrees (from -320F to -292F). However, it is important to recognize the increase in straw temperature was minimized as the goblet contained liquid nitrogen at the start of the exposure. The straw temperature returned to -320F within 1 minute, even after five repetitions. When the liquid nitrogen level in the tank was low (around 7 inches), the Colorado State University researchers reported the temperature of straws rose 131F (from -320F to -189F) during the first minute, and straw temperatures cooled only 86F to 104F two minutes after returning to the tank. Consequently, higher temperatures were reached during the second, third, fourth, and fifth repetitions. Greater than 10 minutes were required for the straw temperature to reach -320F upon return after the fifth repetition. The ice pattern within bovine semen extender may change considerably (a process termed recrystallization) as it is warmed. Larger, extracellular ice crystals are associated with damage to sperm cell membranes and organelles, and previous reports have shown that sperm injury (as judged by sperm motility) occurs at temperatures as low as -110F. When Colorado State University researchers raised a 0.5-mL straw of semen into the neck of a tank using tweezers, the time necessary for the temperature to change from -320F to -148F was only 10 to 15 seconds. Therefore, to provide a margin of safety and avoid recrystallization injury to sperm in straws not removed from the same goblet or canister, the recommendation is for a cane (or canister containing canes) of frozen semen to be limited to eight seconds in the neck of a tank (below the frost-line) when retrieving straws. Depending on the time required to remove a straw, other straws on the cane may be exposed to injurious high temperatures. Carelessly working above the frost line will likely be particularly damaging to sperm even when applying the eight second rule, as straw temperatures will rapidly enter the danger zone. Injury to sperm cannot be corrected by returning semen to the liquid nitrogen (-320F); therefore, damage to sperm in straws not removed during improper retrieval of other straws is additive. A simple measurement In order to realize the return on your semen investment, the storage tank must be managed properly. Monitor the liquid nitrogen level regularly by placing a measuring stick in the tank. After reaching the bottom of the tank, wait four to five seconds, remove the stick, and allow frost to form on the measuring stick. The frost-line on the measuring stick represents the approximate level of liquid nitrogen in the tank. A best practice is to never let the level of liquid nitrogen go below 10 inches. Failure to monitor the liquid nitrogen level in semen storage tanks, resulting in loss of semen, occurs too frequently. Replacement measuring sticks are available from a variety of suppliers. For more information on tank management, contact your A.I. stud representative or local university extension. Happy A.I. breeding! KANNAPOLIS The GlaxoSmithKline Child Health Recognition Awards Program recognizes public health workers and programs that improve the health status of children. At this months North Carolina Public Health Associations Fall Educational Conference, Cabarrus Health Alliance dentist, Dr. Eleanor Elly Steel was honored with the Individual Recognition Award. The Individual Recognition Award is given to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to improving childrens health services through a single effort. Steel was nominated by fellow North Carolina dentist, Dr. Natasha Mofrad. It is an honor to be recognized by my peers who know that oral health is an important part of health in general, said Steel. Im always shocked to be singled out when I know that all the accomplishments are a team effort. The program honors North Carolina public health professionals and departments for innovative, creative and successful approaches to improving the lives of our younger generations. The award really shows that CHAs Dental Clinic is dedicated to improving childrens oral health in our community with innovative strategies, said Steel. Our staff is continually trying new ideas that are supported by research to improve not just one patients mouth, but their entire family and community. CHAs Dental Clinic provides preventative and restorative care to both children and adults, as well as emergency appointments daily. The clinic also operates a Community Dental Program which visits all schools within Cabarrus County and Kannapolis City Schools at least one time per year, seeing patients with signed parent consent. Dimon Kendrick-Holmes has been named executive editor of the Greensboro News & Record and North Carolina state editor for Lee Enterprises. He begins his new role on Oct. 10. Kendrick-Holmes has been editor of the Opelika-Auburn News in Alabama since December 2020. His previous journalism leadership roles include executive editor, metro editor, features editor and senior editor of projects and planning for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Ga., where he worked for 16 years. As part of his new role in North Carolina, he will oversee daily news operations in Greensboro, as well as coordination of coverage from Lees newsrooms throughout the state. His primary focus will be growing digital audience in the Triad region, which includes Greensboro and Winston-Salem and is home to 1.6 million people and includes more than 20 colleges and universities. Im really looking forward to getting to know the community here. We have incredible opportunity to grow our audience with the best local content and give our readers stories they cant find anywhere else, he said. Kendrick-Holmes, 54, grew up in LaFayette, Ala. He attended Vanderbilt University on an Army ROTC scholarship, then served as an intelligence officer in Germany for four years. He and his wife, Bess, will relocate to Greensboro this fall. They have four adult children. Jennifer Fernandez will continue to serve as the News & Records managing editor. A second lot of data claimed to be from Optus has been advertised for sale on a Web forum, with 100 sample records being linked to as proof that it is genuine. Emsisoft security researcher Brett Callow pointed out in a tweet that the account stated, "No sale will be made for 1 week until Optus reply". He said this implied it could be a case of attempted extortion. iTWire has sought a reaction from Optus about this. The Optus breach was made public on Thursday. A second account is now selling what's claimed to be #Optus data, and has linked to a paste with 100 sample records. The account states, "No sale will be made for 1 week until Optus reply" implying that this a case of attempted extortion. pic.twitter.com/pU2iUiSQ5b Brett Callow (@BrettCallow) September 23, 2022 The post claims this data is from 11.2 million users and is demanding a million dollars from the company for the sale to be cancelled. On Friday, Optus was asked about another lot of data that was claimed to be from its innards. More than 24 hours later, there has been no response from its media unit. A media conference by Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin on Friday did not offer any new information about the data breach. Bayer Rosmarin claimed the attack was "sophisticated", but that is a claim made by every company that suffers a data breach. In a post dated the 17th, names and email addresses allegedly associated with 1.1 million #Optus mobile numbers were put up for sale. pic.twitter.com/AkUgrFCFes Brett Callow (@BrettCallow) September 22, 2022 The first lot of data was advertised in a post dated 17 September and offered 1.1 million Optus mobile numbers and asked those interested to contact a given Telegram account. Meanwhile, encryption software firm Senetas has questioned whether the data that was pilfered was encrypted or not. Senetas chief executive Andrew Wilson said: "The critical question that must be answered by Optus [is] - was the data encrypted? If not, why not? "If this is strongly encrypted sensitive data, as it should be, then Optus customers do not need to be alarmed. They likely have years to change their passports and other identity documents before the attackers can read and use what theyve stolen. If it isn't, customers need to get onto that process today. That's quite a difference! "Further statements from Optus that this was a very 'sophisticated' attack are unsatisfactory. Very sophisticated and increasingly malicious attacks are common. That's why 'data protection' is essential today - and that's encryption. It is the last line of defence. Whether the stolen data is encrypted or not should be in the first communication about a successful breach. It is concerning that this vital bit of information is missing so far. "Many have questioned whether the prevention systems like those used by Optus are sufficient, or if the company under-invested in its cyber security and this is the inevitable result. This is unlikely. No cyber-attack prevention system is bullet-proof. "The focus should instead be on regulation - we need comprehensive federal cyber security legislation that punishes companies and government agencies that fail to encrypt sensitive data. Not every company can afford the type of prevention systems Optus has, but the lesson must not be that they shouldn't try or have a last line of defence in place should a breach occur." Update: Later in the afternoon, Optus advised: "Apologies for the delay. We are co-ordinating with the AFP [Australian Federal Police] because this is now a criminal investigation. On their advice, we can't comment on this." Telecommunications company Optus contacted its customers over the weekend that it notified them of the impact of the previous cyberattack last week that may have compromised their personal details. "We will begin with customers whose ID document number may have been compromised, all of whom will be notified by today. We will notify customers who have had no impacts last," Optus said in a statement. "No passwords or financial details have been compromised." iTWire previously reported that a data breach occurred last week which affected nine million customers at risk. Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin issued a statement last week and apologised to customers about the security incident. She assured the public that the company is engaging with all relevant authorities and organisations to safeguard customer data as much as possible. In another update, Optus said the Australian Cyber Security Centre has provided advice to former and current customers who may have been impacted by the incident. Customers are advised to to contact reputable sources of information such as Moneysmart, ID Care, and Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Optus also warned that its email and SMS notifications do not have hyperlinks. Optus data being advertised? iTWire reported that a second lot of data claimed to be from Optus has been advertised for sale on a web forum. One hundred sample records were linked as proof that the data is genuine. Emsisoft security researcher Brett Callow pointed out in a tweet that account will not sell any data for one week until Optus replies. The post claimed that the data is from 11.2 million customers. It is demanding millions of dollars to terminate the sale. iTWire reported that on Friday, Rosmarin did not offer new any information about the data breach, claiming it was "sophisticated." The second largest telco is coordinating with the Australian Federal Police as the data breach is now treated as a "criminal investigation." This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 26 September 2022. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov Azerbaijani Defense Minister, Col-Gen Zakir Hasanov, along with military leadership visited the Alley of Honor and the Alley of Shehids (martyrs) on the occasion of the second anniversary of the 44-day Patriotic War, Azernews reports. Initially, flowers were laid at the memorial of Heydar Aliyev, the national leader of the Azerbaijani people, and homage was paid to his memory. Then the top brass paid a visit to the Second Alley of Shehids. The Azerbaijani National Anthem was performed, accompanied by a military orchestra. A minute of silence was observed, prayers were offered, and flowers were placed at the graves of martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for Azerbaijan's independence and territorial integrity. Hasanov and the Ministry's leadership met with martyrs' families and relatives to offer condolences, as well as to address their concerns. "September 27 is celebrated as Remembrance Day in Azerbaijan. May Allah rest the souls of Azerbaijani martyrs and give patience to their loved ones," Hasanov said. Furthermore, Azerbaijan remains the dominant military power in the South Caucasus, Azernews reports, citing the Global Firepower assessment. Azerbaijan has ranked 63rd out of 142 nations in terms of military power for the second year in a row. Georgia ranked 88th, while Armenia ranked 98th in terms of combat capabilities. The final ranking takes into account factors ranging from military force and financial resources to logistical competence and location. MATTOON New and current Lake Land College students can now take advantage of flexible educational opportunities with an eight-week Mod II class this fall. Each semester, Lake Land offers two sessions of eight-week courses known as Mod I and II. Mod II classes begin Oct. 17 and finish Dec. 9 with finals held Dec. 12 through Dec. 16. Mod II courses are great for both new and current students, said Emily Hartke, chair of counseling and judicial affairs advisement/director of counseling. If someone is looking to ease into college, these courses are a way to do just that. The Mod II courses are also a good way for current students to pick up needed credits before the end of the semester. Mod II classes allow students to complete coursework in less time than a full-semester class. Seats in these classes often fill quickly for this reason, so those interested are urged to sign up as early as possible. To view available courses, visit lakelandcollege.edu/schedules. Select the Fall 2022 term and select M2 under Schedule Types. Counselors are available to assist students with Mod II registration. For registration information, contact Counseling Services at counsel@lakelandcollege.edu or 217-234-5232. A leading tobacco-industry analyst is forecasting that a majority of Californians will vote in favor of a proposition to ban menthol and other flavored tobacco products during the Nov. 8 general election in the state. Barclays analyst Jain Gaurav projects that if the ban is approved, it could go into effect as early as Dec. 21. Gaurav said non-combustible products, such as Swedish Match Inc.s Zyn and R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.s Vuse electronic cigarette, could be the main beneficiaries of the flavored tobacco ban. Gaurav predicts the success of Proposition 31 even though pro-tobacco groups have raised at least $22 million for marketing efforts during the campaign. That includes, according to Gauravs report, about $10.6 million in cash and in-kind contributions from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., along with $10.2 million in similar contributions from Philip Morris USA Inc., and $500,000 each from Swedish Match North America LLC and ITG Brands LLC. Those totals were as of December 2021. The potential statewide ban is especially noteworthy because California smokers represent 7% to 8% of U.S. tobacco volumes. We believe this ban would serve as the perfect case study on flavor bans, Gaurav wrote. The proposition is an attempt to uphold a California law passed in August 2020 that prohibited the sale of most flavored tobacco products. Gov. Gavin Newson signed the bill on Aug. 28, 2020. The law was focused primarily on concerns that flavored tobacco products, in particular e-cigarettes, would contribute to another generation of new users becoming addicted to nicotine. The proposition represents the tobacco industrys attempt to overturn the law. Gaurav questioned the potential impact of a potential California flavored tobacco ban, citing similar initiatives in 2017 in Canada and 2020 in the United Kingdom and Europe to ban menthol cigarettes. Menthol cigarettes constituted a mid-to-high single-digit share of European and Canadian cigarette volumes, but constituted (up to a) 25% market share in the U.K. and Poland, Gaurav wrote. In neither Europe nor Canada did cigarette volumes see an accelerated decline post-menthol cigarette bans as 99% of smokers migrated from menthol cigarettes to regular cigarettes. Swedish Match made industry history in October 2019 when eight General Snus styles made it through the Food and Drug Administrations lengthy gauntlet for gaining authorization as a modified-risk product. Its Zyn oral nicotine product holds the top U.S. market share, with about 85% of current sales being menthol. Meanwhile, Vuse has climbed in recent months to become the top-selling e-cigarette in the U.S. We think the ban could accelerate Zyns growth in California ... based on precedent in Massachusetts where flavored tobacco was banned in the second quarter of 2020, Gaurav wrote. Vuses tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes could gain from traditional cigarette smokers making a switch because of the ban. Gaurav said that as of Sept. 10, about 24% of Vuses sales volume comes from tobacco flavored products, while 76% has some form of menthol flavoring. For No. 2 e-cigarette Juul, the mix is 58% menthol and 42% tobacco. We believe this would create an easy opportunity for Vuse to recruit new consumers, Gaurav said. Earlier this month, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim ONeill called on the city of Winston-Salem to impose a curfew on young people to tamp down on what he claimed was a dramatic surge in violent crime being committed by juveniles. But statistics from the Winston-Salem Police Department show that juvenile crime has dropped more than 50% over the past five years. Statewide, arrests for violent juvenile crime have declined about 57% over the past 10 years. ONeill, a Republican who is currently running for re-election as Forsyth Countys district attorney, has not come before the Winston-Salem City Council to push for a curfew and has not yet talked to Winston-Salem Police Chief Catrina Thompson, who has declined to comment on the curfew. Mayor Allen Joines and Council Members Annette Scippio and Robert Clark said the city does not need a curfew on young people. ONeill has said he plans to talk to Council Member James Taylor, who is the chairman of the citys public safety committee. Taylor has not returned several calls seeking comment. In an interview on Sept. 7, ONeill said he is simply floating the idea as a possible way to ease the burden on a short-staffed police department and to deal with what he said was an increase in juvenile crime. He said he is open to talking to local officials about the curfew but had no immediate plans to go before the city council. We need to think of an alternative solution to try and stop these crimes ... before they are being committed, he said. ONeill has not responded to messages seeking comment about the statistics. Overall, juvenile crime in the city has declined 53.46% from 2017 to 2021. Its dropped 67% between Jan. 1, 2017 and Sept. 15 of this year, according to the statistics provided by the police department. Simple assaults have dropped 65.08% over the same time period, with a 24% spike between 2018 and 2019. Aggravated assaults committed by juveniles remained the same in 2017 and 2018 before dramatically increasing, reaching a high of 112 incidents in 2020. Last year, aggravated assaults dropped back down to 83 incidents, and there have only so far been 51 incidents of aggravated assault as of Sept. 15. The most serious crimes homicide and rapes have been up and down, reaching a peak in 2021: six homicides and 10 rapes. But as of Sept. 15 this year, there have been two homicides and one rape committed by juveniles. ONeill said in the Sept. 7 interview that he has heard from business owners and residents who have complained about cars being stolen from car dealerships or residents cars being broken into and stolen. Those crimes, he said, mushroom into more serious crimes. But according to the Winston-Salem Police Department, motor vehicle thefts committed by juveniles have decreased steadily since 2017 a 31.85% drop between Jan. 1, 2017 and Sept. 15. Denise Hartsfield, a retired district court judge who is running as a Democrat against ONeill, said Monday that she continues to be opposed to the curfew and that the statistics dont change her mind. She said she already knew that the juvenile crime rate had declined. She said she is also worried that a curfew will disproportionately affect Black and brown children. Hartsfield said there already are efforts in the community to deal with juvenile crime, such as the School-Justice Partnership. The School-Justice Partnership is an effort to reduce the number of young people referred to the juvenile justice system. Hartsfield said proposing a curfew without talking to parents and other stakeholders is insulting. I think we need to talk collaborations and talk with stakeholders before these ideas are just floated into the community, she said. The engagement is missing. Winston-Salem numbers track with state and national trends on juvenile crime. According to statistics compiled by the State Bureau of Investigation, juvenile arrests statewide have dropped 64% between 2017 and 2021. Arrests for violent crime have decreased 44% over that same period. Property crimes dropped 68%. North Carolina juveniles arrested for murder increased 7% while arrests for rape went up 25%, but juvenile arrests for robberies and aggravated assault both declined by more than 45%, according to the statistics. From 2012 to 2021, arrests of North Carolina juveniles under 18 for violent crime decreased 57.8%. Those arrests decreased by nearly 56% between 2017 and 2021. Juveniles made up 5.8% of all arrests for violent crime in 2021. According to a national report by the Sentencing Project, the total number of arrests for young people under 18 fell by half from 2017 to 2020. Arrests of juveniles for rape, robbery and aggravated assault all went down by 38% over that same period, the report, which was released in June, said. And, according to the report, while the number of homicides committed by juveniles increased, only 7.5% of homicide arrests involved young people under 18. Arrests involving young people declined 84% between 1996 and 2020, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. ONeill has said exceptions would be carved out for young people who work at night or who participate in extracurricular activities, such as sports. He also said he would have consideration for parents who work more than one job or who work a night-shift job. But he also said it is ultimately parents responsibility to enforce any curfew the city might impose, and if they dont, they could face criminal charges. Though Joines expressed concern that a curfew would add burdens to a police department with 100 vacancies, ONeill insisted on Sept. 7 that a curfew would make officers jobs easier, not harder, and that it would be up to parents to enforce the curfew or face possible criminal charges if they failed to do so. ONeills proposal comes at a time when other cities are considering imposing curfews on young people. Police in Washington, D.C., recently started enforcing that citys juvenile curfew last month after a spike in crime, and Prince Georges County announced a 30-day curfew that began Sept. 9, according to the Washington Post. According to The Washington Post, curfews took off in the 1990s when politicians took a tough-on-crime approach to increasing violence but they have fallen out of favor in the midst of protests calling attention to the police killings of Black people. Experts also have said curfews risk exacerbating the tension between police and communities and rarely are effective at reducing violence, the Washington Post reported. The former president and treasurer of a homeowners association for a Winston-Salem 162-unit condominium has been charged with embezzling more than $13,000 in 2017, according to arrest warrants. Lori Deane Phillips, 57, of Cedar Place Court in Winston-Salem, was charged with two counts of felony obtaining property by false pretenses, according to court documents. Arrest warrants allege that she illegally obtained a total of $13,295 on Jan. 31, 2017. The warrants allege that falsified documents showed a payment was being made to a specific person or company in the homeowners association when the money was actually being deposited in her account. At the time, Phillips was president and treasurer of South Wind Villas Homeowners Association. The 162-unit condominium is located at 965 Teague Road in the southeastern part of Winston-Salem. According to Rebecca Aldridge, the associations current president and treasurer, Phillips was president and treasurer from 2009 to 2020. Phillips, who was released Friday on a $10,000 bond and appeared in Forsyth District Court on Monday, denied the allegations in a phone interview with the Journal. Her next court date is Oct. 20. This is a private HOA matter, and Im in touch with an attorney because this is a false claim, she said. It (the money) was not embezzled. It was earned by doing three peoples jobs. Phillips said only two people, including herself, out of seven board members did any work, which included trimming trees, pressure-washing buildings and completing secretarial work. She said the board did not approve the payments but that the board was aware that Phillips was doing extra work for which she should have been compensated. It was just done, Phillips said. I was the president, treasurer and vice president, and other board members were fully aware of the work that was being done. Aldridge said Monday that the association board voted in July 2020 to remove Phillips as president and treasurer after the boards vice president alleged that there were some financial issues. Aldridge said the association contacted the Winston-Salem Police Department and made a report. Aldridge said Phillips is alleged to have stolen substantially more money than she has been charged with. Aldridge declined to state how much, saying she did not want to hurt the criminal investigation. Phillips said she has waived court-appointed counsel and has hired her own attorney. She declined to identify that attorney. Phillips said the criminal charges against her should not be publicized and should stay within the associations board. None of this needs to be public record, she said. All of this is supposed to be within the board. Its supposed to be private. Arrest warrants, by state law, are public records, and anything that happens in court hearings is supposed to be open to the public. Phillips said that if anything she said ends up in the paper, I am notifying my attorney. She then hung up. The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust used Tuesdays 75th anniversary celebration event to announce a clean break from tobacco-related investments. The Winston-Salem trust touted the transition as part of a Looking Back, Working Forward initiative that emphasizes a socially responsible investment strategy to support community-led businesses and economic opportunities in North Carolina. The decision may be shocking to Winston-Salem sensibilities, considering the trust was founded in 1947 after R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. heiress Kate Bitting Reynolds left the nonprofit $5 million in company stock. That $5 million would be worth $66.41 million in 2022 dollars. The trusts asset manager, Wells Fargo & Co., has been instructed to take steps toward excluding tobacco producers from the range of companies that the trust invests in, and will work to eliminate direct exposure to tobacco companies by the end of this year, the trust said. It is not an anti-tobacco effort, said Dr. Laura Gerald, the trusts president since 2017. We recognize the incredible wealth accumulation that occurred as a result of initial investments and continued investments in tobacco. We recognize that many people in this community have had tremendous economic opportunity afforded to them by tobacco, she said. Gerald counts herself and her family among those who benefited from the tobacco industry, considering previous generations involvement in tobacco farming. Yet, were also a community that produced Maya Angelou, Gerald said. What she told us very clearly is that when you know better, you do better. The reality is that when Mrs. Reynolds left this money to the trust ... they did not know nearly what we know now about the chronic health effects of tobacco ... There is no way to reconcile our mission to improve health and for people who live in poverty, with the sale and promotion of tobacco products, she said. We cant, as a health organization, continue in that hypocrisy. Stunning decision Kate Reynolds had two primary instructions attached to the gift: Improve the quality of life for people with low incomes in Forsyth County, as well as health care around the state, and that tobacco represent a significant portion of the trusts assets. At the trusts founding, the instructions were perceived as symbiotic considering the financial strength and investment predictability of Reynolds Tobacco and the tobacco industry in general. In recent years, the trusts advisory councils have wrestled with how to honor Kate Reynolds wishes while recognizing the public-health harms and concerns that come with tobacco use, particularly among low-income residents and tobacco consumers. A significant portion of our assets has been traditionally invested in tobacco, per Mrs. Reynolds will, Gerald said. While we cannot change where our funds originated, we are responsible for using them wisely, addressing any past harms, and eradicating the roots of the problems that face our state. The potential pushback on the trusts decision may be lessened considering Reynolds American Inc. and parent company British American Tobacco Plc have expressed similar public-health concerns in recent years. The manufacturers are shifting toward non-combustible tobacco and nicotine products as part of their initiatives aimed at reducing the health impact of our business. Gerald understands the trusts decision may rankle some local residents and that we may get some blowback. Ill accept the blowback as I stand behind the decision we have made. We recognize this is the right thing to do, and is certainly in keeping with the mission that we have been given. Details The trust currently holds about $575 million in assets, from which it provides grant awards of about $20 million annually. The grants are provided to groups and toward initiatives that further the contemporary version of (Kate Reynolds) vision, according to the trust. The remaining assets are invested in a portfolio of stocks and other financial instruments to ensure its ability to continue giving grants in perpetuity. Gerald said it is critical for the trust investments align with how and where the annual grants are distributed. A major part of the trusts shift in investment strategy involves allocating $100 million in a dedicated strategy designed to invest more heavily in companies that are economically important in North Carolina. Tom Weizenegger, portfolio manager for Wells Fargo Institutional OCIO, said the trust has made an imperative of taking responsibility by having a greater impact on the people Mrs. Reynolds asked us to serve. One of the ways to do so is by collaborating to align investments with the trusts values. These are two significant steps in that direction. Gerald said Wells Fargo is recommending investments that fulfill the trusts mission, particularly in parts of North Carolina that are under served and under invested in. Thats as exciting an announcement as our decision to divest from tobacco. Socially responsible investing Gerald said Wells Fargo appears to be on a self-evaluation path in terms of how its investments measure up to its corporate environmental, social and guidance values. She said the trust and Wells Fargo will review other investments that may not uphold the trusts overall mission. Were certainly not the first foundation to want to invest in a socially responsible manner, Gerald said. Were finding that there are ways to invest in socially responsible sectors and industries that are also really quite lucrative. Gerald said the trust is aiding Wells Fargo in helping to identify investment sectors that have the greatest negative impact on health that we need to steer clear of, and what areas of rural North Carolina are under resourced. I just felt it was important, for our mission, that we start with tobacco, Gerald said. Focus on equity, change The trust also used the 75th anniversary celebration to announce a revised approach following an honest look back at its history. The trust highlighted the many accomplishments of its grantees, such as access to care, mental health, and child and family wellbeing over the past 75 years. The trust also said it took a critical look at the source of the money that funded those achievements. Gerald said that Kate Reynolds initial bequest came from tobacco and the sale and labor of enslaved Black people who worked in the tobacco fields. With that complicated history in mind, she said, the trust will continue to focus its grantmaking on strategies and initiatives that center on racial equity, and focus on changing inequitable systems and building the power of people who have been marginalized and oppressed. I never met Mrs. Reynolds, but based on her legacy, Id like to think that is exactly what she would want us to do, Gerald said. COVID-19 levels in both Nebraska and the United States continue to fall to their lowest levels in months, enough to prompt President Joe Biden to suggest the pandemic is over. But health officials say the current trends should not cause people to let down their guard on vaccinations. In fact, they say getting the latest vaccination booster between now and Halloween could be the best way for people to protect themselves and their families over the upcoming holidays. We want people to get together with Grandma and do it safely, said Dr. Bob Rauner, president of Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln. Sufficient vaccination is our biggest challenge right now. Nebraska posted 1,424 new COVID cases last week, down from 1,772 the previous week, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New cases are down by more than half over the past three weeks, falling to their lowest level since the first week of May. Hospitalizations also are falling, with last weeks daily average of 172 down from 183 the previous week. The state added 17 deaths last week, putting the total number of confirmed or probable deaths for the pandemic at 4,507. Nationally, COVID still is claiming 400 lives a day. Its still difficult to say where the unpredictable pandemic will go next as cases surged during the winter months in both 2020 and 2021. Some experts are projecting it will happen again. We are not (yet) in a stable pattern, Rauner said. I dont think you can act as if COVID doesnt exist. Rauner said Bidens statement last week about the pandemic being over has caused a lot of confusion and raised questions about what, if anything, people should be doing to protect their health. Rauner said the advice he has been giving people is simple and twofold. First, he said, stay current on your vaccination boosters. Vaccines have proven highly effective at reducing the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19, often turning the infection into little more than a mild cold. More than three-quarters of the deaths being seen would have been prevented with vaccinations, Rauner said. Second, Rauner said, if you are feeling sick, wear a mask. Whether it turns out that you have COVID or just a common cold bug, either way you will be protecting the health of others around you. By taking those two steps, Rauner thinks most people can get back to normal lives. Unfortunately, vaccination levels both in Nebraska and nationally remain relatively low. Lancaster and Douglas Counties are the only counties in Nebraska where more than 50% of the 65-and-over population the most vulnerable to COVID has received the recommended two booster shots. With the new updated bivalent shot, which targets both the dominant omicron variants as well as the original COVID-19 strain, theres another chance for people to get current on shots. The FDA authorization states that individuals are eligible for a bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since they completed primary vaccination or received the most recent booster. Rauner said he likes the recent advice of Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, who suggested that people get the latest shot no later than Halloween. That would give them several weeks for immunity to build up and assure that they have maximum protection in time for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Get your bivalent booster by late October and wear a mask when youre sick and we shouldnt have to worry much this holiday, Rauner said. It would be nice if our hospitals werent swamped this winter for a change. The two years since Nebraska expanded Medicaid to cover more low-income people have changed life in the state. Emerging data shows that the number of state residents without health coverage has plunged, hospitals are feeling less stress on their bottom lines and fewer people are filing for bankruptcy. Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln said those results bear out what advocates argued during six years of failed efforts to win legislative approval of expansion and, later, during the successful campaign to pass a Medicaid expansion ballot initative. The data only affirms what we promised Nebraskans: that our family members, neighbors and friends would be more healthy, financially secure and lead longer and happier lives, he said. This also reduces the burdens on rural hospitals that often struggle to stay open and increases access and reduces health care costs for all Nebraskans. Morfeld led the petition drive that put the Medicaid expansion measure on the 2018 general election ballot. Advocates took the issue to voters after two governors, Dave Heineman and Pete Ricketts, along with state lawmakers, repeatedly blocked legislation. Even after the ballot measure passed, the Ricketts administration took nearly two years to implement the program, the longest delay of any state. Coverage began Oct. 1, 2020, although it took another year for all enrollees to get the full array of Medicaid benefits. Since the expansion began: * The number of Nebraskans without health insurance has dropped 14.5%. * Nebraska hospitals saw a $20 million reduction in the amount of charity or unpaid care they had to write off. * Bankruptcy filings in the state fell by 23.5%. Sarah Maresh, health care access program director for Nebraska Appleseed, a key group pushing for expansion, said the Nebraska numbers are similar to those seen in previous expansion states. To date, 38 states plus the District of Columbia have expanded their Medicaid programs as allowed under the federal Affordable Care Act. Were just really excited to see this come to fruition, she said. The health of our state depends on the health of individuals. The governor did not respond to a question about whether Nebraska was better for having expanded Medicaid. His staff offered the following statement: Gov. Ricketts team at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services has worked hard to effectively roll out Medicaid expansion to Nebraska, per the will of the people. The states battle over Medicaid expansion played out over a decade and has been highly contentious and partisan, largely driven by disagreements over former President Barack Obamas controversial 2010 health care law. That law, the Affordable Care Act, was intended to reduce the ranks of the uninsured, particularly by helping the millions of Americans who work in jobs that neither provide health insurance nor offer wages high enough for them to afford insurance on their own. For people above poverty level who lacked coverage, the ACA offered subsidies to help them buy private insurance through health care exchanges. For lower-income people, the law called for expanding Medicaid, the joint state-federal health care program for the poor. But a U.S. Supreme Court case made Medicaid expansion voluntary for states. That sparked the years of struggle in Nebraska and many other Republican-dominated states. Through the expansion program, Nebraska has extended coverage to single adults and couples without minor children neither of whom could qualify for Medicaid previously, no matter their incomes. Also included are parents and disabled people with incomes higher than the previous Medicaid cutoff for those groups. The income cutoff for Medicaid expansion is 138% of the federal poverty level, currently $18,754 annually for a single person or $38,295 for a family of four. New U.S. Census Bureau data show one key result of expansion: The percentage of Nebraskans who lacked health insurance dropped from 8.3% in 2019, before expansion, to 7.1% in 2021. That 14.5% reduction represented the most significant drop in more than a decade in the proportion of Nebraskans without health coverage. The only similar figure was the 14.2% drop between 2013 and 2014, when the ACA health insurance marketplace was launched. Combined, the insurance marketplace and Medicaid expansion account for most of the 37% drop in uninsured Nebraskans between 2013 and 2021. Nebraskas reduction following Medicaid expansion was the eighth-biggest drop among all states for 2021. Maine, which approved Medicaid expansion at the ballot box a year before Nebraska did, saw the biggest reduction at 29%. The latest uninsured figures, based on monthly census household surveys, likely do not capture the full impact Medicaid expansion will ultimately have on Nebraskas uninsured population. Reports from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services show that the number of people enrolled for expansion continues to grow each month. At the end of 2021, the total was 60,720. As of July this year, 71,060 people had signed up for expansion coverage. Care for those enrollees cost nearly $1 billion from October 2020 through July this year. The federal government covered 90% of the cost, or $868 million, with $106 million coming from state coffers. Estimates initially said that 90,000 or more Nebraskans could enroll in expanded Medicaid. Maresh said she expects the state will get closer to that level as more people learn about the program. States like Iowa that implemented expansion when the federal government first made funding available in 2014 tend to have much lower uninsured rates. Iowas 2021 uninsured rate of 4.8% was nearly one-third below Nebraskas. Nebraskas expansion also affected two economic health measures, one for hospitals and one for families and individuals. The Nebraska Hospital Association collected information showing that hospitals across the state wrote off $737 million in charity and unpaid care during 2020, the latest year available. That was down from the $757 million total in 2019 and the $749 million total in 2018. Jeremy Nordquist, the association president, said the reduction occurred even though hospitals typically lose money caring for Medicaid patients because of low payment rates. It was good to get people the ability to access care, he said. On the whole, its a small net positive right now. Nebraskans personal economic health appears to have improved as well following Medicaid expansion. Records maintained by federal bankruptcy courts show that bankruptcy filings in Nebraska dropped faster than filings nationally after expansion began. The number of Nebraska filings fell 23.5% during the year ending June 2022, compared with the previous 12 months. Nationally, there were 17.7% fewer filings in that period. The Nebraska reduction was the largest in a decade and one of only three times since 2013 that state filings declined by a greater percentage than the national ones. Now that the state has implemented Medicaid expansion, the state ranks 24th-lowest, or best, for its rate of uninsured people. In 2013, the state ranked 18th-best. But at the time of the Medicaid expansion vote in 2018, as other states adopted Medicaid expansion and Nebraska resisted, the state had fallen to 29th-best. In the 12 states that still have not expanded Medicaid, the uninsured rate of 12.8% is almost double the 6.8% rate in expansion states. Excluding states like Nebraska that only recently adopted Medicaid expansion, the expansion state average is 6.5%. Nebraska isnt the only state where voters stepped in to expand Medicaid when lawmakers declined to act. Maine was the first to do so in 2017, followed by Nebraska, Idaho and Utah in 2018 and Oklahoma and Missouri in 2020. In November, South Dakota voters will decide whether to become the 39th state to adopt expansion. A 22-year-old Lincoln man has been arrested and charged for his alleged involvement in the shooting death of a 33-year-old man outside a strip club in the downtown area early Sunday morning, according to Lincoln Police. Jahhrasta S. Fletcher was captured on surveillance video in close proximity to the victim, Robert Brannon, in an alley near The Foxy Gentlemen's Club and a nearby liquor store just after midnight Sunday, Lincoln Police Sgt. Kenneth Koziol said in the affidavit for Fletcher's arrest. The video, depicting the alley near 1801 O St., shows Brannon lunging at Fletcher before Fletcher pulled a gun and shot several rounds toward Brannon, who returned fire as he fell to the ground, Koziol said in the affidavit. In a news conference announcing Fletcher's arrest Monday afternoon, Lincoln Police Chief Teresa Ewins said he stood over Brannon and fired another round into the Omaha man before fleeing. Dispatched to the scene at 12:06 a.m., police found Brannon had been shot at least five times, with gunshot wounds to his left eye, chest, left arm and hip, according to the affidavit. He died at the scene. By the time police arrived, Fletcher had fled south from the area on foot, Ewins said. Police found him at about 10:45 a.m. Monday near 35th and Van Dorn streets, where they arrested Fletcher and took him to the Lancaster County Jail, the police chief said. Prosecutors have charged Fletcher with first-degree murder. Deputy County Attorney Bruce Prenda said Fletcher will make his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon. In the alley where Brannon was killed, investigators found a semiautomatic handgun beneath Brannon's body and shell casings from two different handguns, according to the affidavit. Fletcher was not armed when he was arrested, Ewins said, and investigators have not found the second handgun thought to have been used in the shootout. The police chief said investigators aren't yet sure what led to the altercation between the two men outside the strip club. And it's unclear if Brannon had ever been inside the establishment, she said. Surveillance video from the strip club showed Fletcher, who is dating one of the club's performers, had been inside just moments before the shooting, according to the affidavit for his arrest. At Monday's news conference, police officials called for members of the public who witnessed the shooting and the lead-up to the violence to come forward as the department grapples with unanswered questions. "Based on video, we know that people witnessed the shooting," Assistant Police Chief Jason Stille said. "And they need to come forward and give us the information that they have." Fletcher is set to appear in court Wednesday on four separate felony charges stemming from August 2021, when investigators serving a warrant on his apartment found two guns, cash and prescription pills, police alleged in the affidavit for that case. Judge Thomas Zimmerman initially set Fletchers percentage bond in that case at $150,000 but later lowered it to $50,000. Fletcher paid $5,000 to be released Aug. 15, 2021, according to court filings. And Friday two days before the shooting Zimmerman in a written order sentenced Fletcher to seven days in jail for driving under the influence in October 2021, but the sentence was suspended until Oct. 7 of this year, according to the order. Brannon's death marks the 10th killing in Lancaster County this year and the eighth to occur within city limits. There were eight killings in the county in all of 2021 all of which occurred in Lincoln. Austin Gress, 26, was stabbed to death July 1 amid what police said was "somewhat of a mutual fight" at a gas station near 27th and Dudley streets. Police later arrested and charged Steven A. Alexander with manslaughter, first-degree assault and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony after a three-day manhunt in Lincoln. City officials have found a new use for an old portable classroom: a place for intoxicated people picked up by police to wait for someone to come get them. The portable classroom moved from Scott Middle School to the old police garage at 635 J St. will be a temporary space for a civil protection unit beginning Friday when the four decades-long contract with a nonprofit called The Bridge ends. The city and Lancaster County entered into an interlocal agreement in July allowing them to seek bids to renovate a portion of the Lincoln Police Departments old fleet garage to use as a protective custody unit once referred to as a detoxification center. Theyre now seeking requests for proposals for design of the new space, said Assistant Police Chief Brian Jackson, and it will likely be a year and a half before the space is completed. As part of the interlocal agreement, city and county officials can use up to $2 million of the countys federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the renovation. But the contract with The Bridge ends Friday and so, until the permanent space is ready, what was once a middle school portable classroom will be divided into two sections one for police to test folks suspected of driving under the influence and the other a safe space for people to wait for a responsible person to pick them up. On Monday, the City Council passed a resolution allowing the interlocal agency to use up to $100,000 in keno funds to get the portable set up as a temporary space. Lincoln Public Schools Operations Director Scott Wieskamp said the district sold the portable one of three located at Scott Middle School to the police department for $1 because a classroom addition to the school means the portables were no longer necessary. LPS moved the other two portables to other schools but let LPD have the third one because it was about 20 years old and the cost to move it for either the city or school district is at least $12,000, Wieskamp said. In May, The Bridge announced that it would not renew contracts with law enforcement agencies to offer the services it provided for the past 40 years, a decision driven largely by staffing issues caused by a nursing shortage. LPD is by far the biggest user of the services. The Bridge operated the protective custody unit, as well as a voluntary detoxification program, and last fall, when the nursing shortage problems came to a head, the agencys board voted to temporarily close the protective custody unit. The agency ended up pulling staff from its voluntary program instead after the director said she got a call from county officials saying shed be in breach of contract if she temporarily closed the protective custody unit. But the situation highlighted concerns the nonprofits leaders had with the protective custody portion of its services, including bare, locked cells to hold people taken there a practice the nonprofit said did not follow best practices, as its voluntary program does. The agency had a long-term goal of transitioning away from operating the protective custody unit. Once The Bridge announced it wouldnt renew its contract with LPD or other area law enforcement agencies, a group of city, county, hospital and nonprofit officials began looking at updated solutions that offered more targeted help. For one thing, there will be no locked cells. CenterPointe signed a contract Monday to staff the protective custody unit, and Bryan Health donated eight hospital recliners to use in the temporary space, said Sara Hoyle, Lancaster County human services director. City and county officials hope to reach an agreement by the end of the week with the Lincoln City Mission to use 10 beds in its Curtis Center for people taken into custody that don't have a place to go, Hoyle said. The missions Curtis Center has 60 one-room apartments for men waiting for federal housing vouchers but is also used by the state and county for people on parole or probation. Hoyle said a contract with Cedars Youth Services will also allow police to take people younger than 19 to its shelter. In the last year, 40 young people ended up in the protective custody unit, Hoyle said. Officially known as civil protective custody, the unit is a place police can take people ticketed for DUI, as well as others who are intoxicated they think are a danger to themselves but dont need to be in jail. If people are disruptive or become violent, they could be taken to jail, but Hoyle said she hopes the new system will have little impact on county corrections. The need for protective custody services often increases during Husker games, especially night games, Jackson said, so this weekend, when the Husker game starts at 6:30 p.m., will be a good test to see how things work. Twin brothers from Lincoln have made it their goal to revitalize downtown Lincoln through renovating dilapidated residential and commercial properties. Apartment buildings, houses and even commercial spaces have been given new life thanks to the work of Luke and Seth Flowerday, brothers with a passion for historical restoration and carpentry. "A lot of the properties were working on have been neglected for 10 years, sometimes longer," Seth Flowerday said. "By the time we get our hands on them they're on their last breath. We come in and hopefully save them from that." The Flowerday twins have been compared to the Scott twins from HGTV's "Property Brothers" series, where Jonathan and Drew Scott help couples buy and remodel fixer-uppers into their dream homes. The brothers say the Scotts helped lay the groundwork for what they do, helping erase the negative connotation that their work sometimes received. "They helped clean up the image of real estate, and we dont mind being compared to them," Luke said. "Seth is more of the contracts and finance side, and I am way more of the construction side, just like those two guys." "We joke that I get us into trouble and he gets us out," Seth added. The Flowerdays have always been interested in construction. Growing up, it was natural for them to have a hammer and bag of nails in their hands, and they followed that passion throughout school. "(We) took wood shop in high school (at Lincoln East), and we had a very talented teacher, Jeff McCabe," Luke said. "He taught us how to build high-quality furniture. Not just cabinet making, not just birdhouses, but heirloom-grade furniture." After graduating, the pair took classes at Southeast Community College for a year before attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, from which they graduated in 2012. The brothers then started a woodworking business, fixing trim and building windows for restoration projects. They quickly realized they wanted to expand, and in 2015 they started their own business, All In Acquisitions, LLC. The brothers now could make entire properties into their own masterpieces. "The company name is All In Acquisitions because that's what we were we burned the ships and there was no going back," Luke said, laughing. The brothers are independent contractors with Arrow Capital, which they also have their realtor's licenses through. Arrow helps the Flowerdays buy properties, list them and sell them. The brothers started small, buying houses and flipping them. Eventually, they decided to take more of a buy-and-hold strategy, and it led them to the acquisition of the former Yakel Grocery Store, a 4,000-square-foot property at 1845 S. 11th St. built in 1912. The Yakel building had been vacant for at least six years before the brothers renovated it. The inside was virtually unrecognizable, with plaster coming off the walls, holes everywhere, and outdated plumbing and electrical utilities. "When we bought the Yakel building, I said to him, Youre going to have to convince me why in the world we need these problems in our life.' Luke said. "He must have done it, because a month later we bought it." Two years later, the building has been converted into affordable apartments. Their most recent undertaking is much bigger: the Blackstone apartment building at 300 S. 16th St., a 13,000-square-foot property that is vacant. The Flowerdays said it will be a big jump in terms of work and scale of the renovation. "We're definitely a little scared, but definitely very excited. It's a cool opportunity to bring 22 housing units back to downtown Lincoln," Seth said. Both brothers say their main goal is to serve the community. Growing up in Lincoln, Luke said they have a personal connection to many of the properties that come into their possession. "It's where we grew up, so we understand the challenges these neighborhoods face," Seth said. "That's why we've taken a personal interest in helping to elevate the condition of these neighborhoods, one property at a time." A property they restored on 11th Street became the home of Roots Collective, a hair salon, and LNK Nutrition, which are both locally owned businesses. The brothers say they're proud to have created a venue for young entrepreneurs. "As we ourselves are young entrepreneurs, it was cool to work with other young folks that are like us and like-minded, and have a vision not just for the property but for the whole downtown area," Seth said. Their residential work has also brought a positive environment to neighborhoods. Luke said some of the properties they find are the worst houses in a 10-15-block radius, but the work is rewarding. "When you buy something like that and you fix it up and you hear from the neighbors, its really cool," he said. They've received all forms of praise for their work, from cookies to standing ovations, and neighbors even telling them they see angel wings attached to the brothers. The apartments the brothers create also serve the community and the demographic of their location: college students and working people. "Its not going to be a high-end condo that only the wealthy can afford, its going to be quality apartments that you and I could afford," Luke said. "Thats also something thats important to us; affordability is such a big issue in this country right now, it's something that needs to be grappled with and this is how to deal with it." President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyev? paid a visit to Fuzuli District. The head of state and the First Lady laid flowers at a memorial plaque to 27 September-Remembrance Day in Garakhanbayli village, Fuzuli district. The President of Azerbaijan made a speech here. Speech by President Ilham Aliyev - It is Remembrance Day in Azerbaijan today. All Azerbaijani people commemorate the dear memory of our martyrs. May Allah rest the souls of all our martyrs in peace. Our martyrs sacrificed their lives for the Motherland. We are proud of our martyrs. We are proud of our heroic soldiers and officers. The blood of our martyrs did not remain unavenged. We have avenged the blood of our martyrs. We took our revenge on the battlefield. We freed our native lands from the enemy and restored the territorial integrity of our country. The 44-day Patriotic War is our glorious history. The people of Azerbaijan mobilized all their strength, united like a fist and expelled the enemy from our native land. All Azerbaijani people have shown unity and resolve. Thanks to the sacrifice and heroism of our heroic soldiers and officers, we are building and creating in the liberated lands, restoring our cities and villages. And we are proud of our glorious Victory. At the same time, we are proud that we, the owners of these lands, are bringing life back to these lands. In honor of our martyrs, this monument, this piece of rock has been erected here near the village of Garakhanbayli. Garakhanbayli village and five other villages were liberated on the first day of the second Karabakh war. Garakhanbayli, Garvand, Horadiz village, Yukhari Abdurrahmanli the villages of Fuzuli district, and villages of Jabrayil district Boyuk Marjanli and Nuzgar were liberated on the first day of the war. We gave the first martyrs exactly here, in this place. The enemy's trench was located next to this monument. There were five or six lines of defense in this direction. Azerbaijani soldiers, Azerbaijani officers were facing death to break through this and subsequent defense lines. They were literally facing death, sacrificing their lives so that our tricolor flag could fly in Shusha and all other lands that were occupied at the time. They sacrificed their lives so that the people of Azerbaijan could restore their dignity, restore justice and return our people to these lands. Our Victory march started from this direction, as we broke through the enemy's first line of defense. For 44 days, the Azerbaijan Army moved forward every single day. Every day, without stopping, without pausing, without getting tired, we went forward, shedding blood and giving martyrs, but advancing towards Victory. We didn't stop even for a day, we didn't step back even for a day, but went forward, chasing the enemy on the battlefield and winning the historic Victory. About 300 towns and villages were liberated from the enemy in a matter of 44 days. The enemy was forced to sign an act of capitulation and accepted their defeat. They were forced to withdraw from the lands that were still under occupation at the time. We are a happy generation that this glorious mission has fallen upon us. We are a happy generation that we are both witnesses and participants of this historical event. The next generations will always be proud of this glorious history. We are proud that we are children of this land. We are proud that we have restored our rights on the battlefield, defeated the enemy, and from now on, we will live forever as a victorious nation, as a victorious country. Today, remembering the dear memory of our martyrs, we must make a promise to ourselves, we must make an oath that we will forever stand guard over our independence, we will forever stand guard over our territorial integrity. We will not let the enemy raise its head again, we will not let them create a threat for us again. If we see it, we will act immediately. I am sure it won't be necessary because the increasing power of our country, including military power, is the guarantor of our independence and comfortable life. Once again, praying for peace for our martyrs, I must state that their dear memory will forever live in the hearts of the Azerbaijani people. *** President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva then observed a moment of silence at 12.00 to honor the memory of the Patriotic War martyrs on the occasion of Remembrance Day. PHILADELPHIA (AP) A former congressman from Philadelphia who went to prison over the 1970s-era Abscam scandal was sent back to prison Tuesday at age 79 in a ballot stuffing case. Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Michael J. Ozzie Myers was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison by a judge who questioned whether he had learned any lessons over the years. Myers admitted he had worked with election officials to pad the vote tallies of his political consulting clients. Some were running for city judgeships. Myers would solicit payments from his clients in the form of cash or checks as consulting fees, and then use portions of these funds to pay election officials to tamper with election results, U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero said in a statement after the hearing. Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. If even one vote has been illegally cast or if the integrity of just one election official is compromised, it diminishes faith in process, she said. Myers pleaded guilty in June to violations of election law, conspiracy, bribery and obstruction for his work on behalf of Democratic candidates from 2014 and 2018. There was no evidence the crimes changed the outcome of any election, his lawyer said. The people of Philadelphia should feel secure that the elections are run fair and free, and when it is that these occurrences happen ... they are found out, said defense lawyer Noah Gorson, who called the instances of election fraud in the city rare. Myers's family, including his elderly wife, became upset when U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond revoked his bail Tuesday and ordered him to prison straightaway. They were unprepared for that, because the government had agreed that they had no objection to his self-surrendering, and he is an elderly man, Gorson said. That wasnt needed. In the Abscam sting, Myers was convicted of bribery and conspiracy for taking money from FBI agents who posed as Arab sheiks. He served more than a year in prison and was expelled from Congress in 1980. Myers also served six years in the Pennsylvania House before his 1976 election to Congress. Follow AP Legal Affairs Writer Maryclaire Dale on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Maryclairedale OMAHA -- After a 26-year-old woman was fatally shot in the forehead, someone moved her body several feet and attempted to make her death appear to be a suicide, an Omaha police detective said in court Monday. Davon Brown, 20, appeared in court in connection with the Aug. 12 fatal shooting of ShaLonna Houston in an Omaha apartment at 5100 Florence Blvd. Brown has been charged with second-degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony. Omaha Police Detective Michael Young said police officers found Houston dead in a bedroom of the apartment. A neighbor told them he had heard two or three people arguing, although he couldn't make out what was said or whether it was hostile. Young said it appeared Houston had been moved several feet from where she was shot in the living room. A rifle was placed on the bed next to a fanny pack containing ammunition. Live rounds were scattered on the floor. Young said investigators think the gun was placed there in an attempt to make the scene look like a suicide. The man who lives in the apartment told officers that Houston and Brown had stayed the night. When he woke up, he found the couple "play fighting" and arguing. Brown was holding a rifle. The witness said he keeps the rifle in a closet and stores ammunition in a fanny pack on a bedside table. The man said he and Houston told Brown to stop messing around with the gun. While it was unclear whether the gun's safety was on or off, the man told Brown it wasn't safe to mess with the weapon. Brown pointed the gun at Houston several times, the man said, adding that as she attempted to grab the gun, Brown fired, striking Houston in the center of her forehead. The witness told officers he couldn't be sure whether the shooting was done by accident or on purpose, Young said. The witness went across the hall to his father's apartment to tell him what happened. Brown then came over and asked the witness to help get rid of Houston's body. That man declined to help. Surveillance video shows Brown going back into the apartment a couple more times, Young said. He then ran from the building, stopping once at Houston's car before running from the property. Brown was apprehended by police days later and told them the shooting was accidental. After hearing testimony, Douglas County Judge Grant Forsberg decided the case against Brown could proceed to district court. Tamiko Jones, Houston's mother, spoke to Brown's family ahead of the hearing. She told them she wasn't upset. Jones and other family members filled the courtroom. Most of them sported pink shirts in honor of Houston. After the hearing, Jones said her daughter was a bright light who always managed to find a way to pick others up in times of need. Jones noted that Brown's family had lost a child, too. YORKVILLE Rosh Hashanah is a great day for apple picking. Thats why Steve Marcus took his family out to Apple Holler Monday morning. Its a Jewish holiday today, so youre gonna see a lot of Jewish people out here apple picking, Lily Marcus, Steves daughter, told a reporter Monday morning. Wisconsin is having one of its best years for apples in recent memory. Weve probably got the largest crop of apples and pears that we have ever had, said David Flannery, owner of Apple Holler, 5006 S. Sylvania Ave. Flannery attributes the strong crop this year, from each of the 40 or so varieties of apples growing at the orchard, to a few factors. Among them: having a smaller crop last year, a milder than usual winter and record rainfall near the end of summer. The 25,000 trees at the orchard might produce twice as many apples this year as they do in an average year. Every one of our trees out there seems to be loaded. There are no varieties that got hit by a frost or were killed by the bugs in the winter. We didnt have any of that this year, Flannery said. There has been a fantastic crop of pears and peaches this year as well, Flannery said. Throughout the state It only took a few steps into the apple orchard at Sutters Ridge Farm to understand the health of this years crop. Off Highway 92 between Mount Horeb and Mount Vernon, the trees are encircled with a towering fence to ward off the deer and separated into 56 rows that hold varieties such as Honeycrisp, Cameo, Courtland and Nova Spy. Among the first varieties encountered Saturday by the growing number of guests, who pulled wagons and carried empty bags, was a row of Jonagold. Each piece of fruit was covered in droplets of freshly fallen mist, and many were the size of small grapefruit. In short, the nearly 2,000 trees here are loaded with plump apples, thanks to cooperative weather. Its a record-breaking crop, said Matt Sutter, who established the first of his trees in 2004. Right when they were sizing up (in August) we got this perfect rain. Orchards like Sutters and others around Wisconsin are prime destinations each fall and have expanded into corn mazes, activity areas with games, gift shops, hay rides, petting zoos and pumpkin patches all of which have contributed to the states more than $104 billion agricultural economy. Unlike cranberry production in Wisconsin, which accounts for about 60% of the crop nationally, apples are a relatively small player, although critical to many individual businesses, whether they be near Richland Center, on the Ridge near Gays Mills or at the Elegant Farmer near Mukwonago, known for its apple pies baked in a paper bag. Nationally, according to the U.S. Apple Association, production this fall will be more than 10.7 billion pounds or 255 million bushels, a 2.7% increase compared to 2021 production. The increase comes despite what is expected to be an 11% drop in apple production in the state of Washington, which accounts for about 60% of the production from the countrys top seven apple producing states, none of which is Wisconsin. In Bayfield County, where orchards take advantage of a microclimate created by the lands relationship with Lake Superior, prime harvest time has yet to arrive, said Laura Gervasi, a manager at Bayfield Apple Company, just north of its namesake city and home to more than 30 varieties of apples on 40 acres. Theyre doing great, and well be at peak in another two weeks, just in time for apple fest, Gervasi said Saturday by phone. We had a cold spring, so theyre a little bit slower (to ripen) this year. At the other end of the state, its already a bumper crop for Henry Morren, who for the past 23 years has owned and operated Morren Orchard & Nursery near Orfordville, about 16 miles west of Janesville. On Saturday, Morren was set up at the Dane County Farmers Market at the corner of West Washington Avenue and Carrol Street. Despite the cool, damp conditions, his stand was bustling with customers, some who sipped $2 cups of fresh apple cider while others chose 3-pound bags of apples for $8 each with names like Mother, Liberty, Brown and King of Tompkins County, an apple thought to have originated in New York. By gradually planting smaller and shorter trees that can be planted closer together, Morren has been able to increase his tree count from about 200 trees per acre to 1,000 trees per acre. The smaller trees, supported by trellises, make for easier pruning, picking and spraying. Youre much more efficient, said Morren, who has a 10-acre orchard. His apples largely avoided major hail storms, while robust pollination required more thinning than usual. He expects to harvest about 3,000 boxes of apples this season. For me, its one of the better years, Morren said. Its a pretty nice crop. Much better than last year. On the other side of Capitol Square was Rob Ten Eyck, a fifth-generation owner of his family orchard that was established in 1839 near Brodhead. Ten Eyck, who has been coming to the market every Saturday since the late 1970s, has about 20 acres of orchard, which is down from the 50 acres his company used to farm. Most of his apples are sold at the orchard to customers who drive north from Illinois. Ten Eycks 2021 crop was impacted by cold temperatures that killed some buds during the 2020-21 winter and a spring frost. This seasons crop comes after near-perfect conditions that featured the right amount of rain, stable temperatures, only a small amount of frost damage and no hail. This is a very risky business. Ten seconds of hail can ruin us for the year, Ten Eyck said. Our crop, it could be 50% bigger than last year. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi is proposing to spend $3 million to study the feasibility of a digester that can turn manure into renewable fuel and keep it out of lakes. There are two commercial digesters in Dane County that process manure from about 10,000 cows, capturing methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, and extracting fertilizer that can be returned to farmers in concentrated form. But the county has about 155,000 cows that produce almost as much waste as the population of Chicago. Spread on fields, particularly in the winter, much of that waste gets washed into lakes, where it can trigger algae blooms, which Parisi said are responsible for most of the challenges facing our lakes. Parisi announced the proposal at a news conference Tuesday outside the countys $28 million renewable gas pipeline injection facility at the Rodefeld Landfill, saying a digester would be a game changer for water quality while also eliminating a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Parisi is expected to release his full budget proposal on Monday. Parisi said the feasibility study will look at options for manure transportation and handling, possible pipeline needs and what components would be needed to process large volumes of waste in the smartest way possible. The goal, Parisi said, is a digester that could process manure from about 30,000 more cows, reducing manure spreading while protecting the countys legacy as a top dairy producer and achieving greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to taking more than 21,000 cars off the road. We can create a one-stop service for farmers manure and help transport it to one central location, giving both large and small farms an opportunity to access technology to treat rather than spread it on fields, Parisi said. This project is the path to a future where we see fewer wintertime pictures of manure-coated snowy farm fields. The proposal is the latest in a series of initiatives the county has undertaken to reduce agricultural runoff and the subsequent algae blooms. The county has removed 180,000 pounds of phosphorus as part of a four-year, $12 million stream-dredging initiative. Parisi is requesting another $2 million in the 2023 budget for the suck the muck campaign. Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the number of cows in Dane County. 155,000 MADISON, Wis. (AP) Wisconsins Republican Assembly leader is suing to block a subpoena that orders him to testify before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection about a conversation he had with Donald Trump about overturning the 2020 election. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos filed the lawsuit on Sunday in federal court in Wisconsin arguing that the subpoena falls outside the scope of the committees investigation into last year's Capitol attack and infringes on his legislative immunity from civil process. Vos, who had a falling out with Trump this summer, also alleged that the short notice of the subpoena placed an undue burden on him. Rep. Bennie Thompson, committee chair, issued the subpoena Friday ordering Vos to appear on Monday morning either in person or via videoconference. He did not testify. The deposition was postponed. In his lawsuit, Vos said the only explanation for the extreme deadline" was to conduct the interview before the committee's next televised hearing on Wednesday so that clips can be edited out to be used in a multimedia show." Others who have been subpoenaed by the committee have also sued to avoid giving testimony. Vos, in a statement Monday, said he was surprised to be subpoenaed because he has no information about the events surrounding the Jan. 6 attacks. Given how close we are to the midterms, this subpoena seems to be more about partisan politics than actual fact-finding, he said. A letter from Thompson that accompanied the subpoena said lawmakers want to talk with Vos about a July call with Trump in which the former president asked Vos about steps he was taking to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The call was in response to a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that absentee ballot drop boxes, which were used in the 2020 election and others before it, would be illegal going forward. After Vos took no action to overturn the election, Trump endorsed his primary challenger. Vos narrowly won his primary, and three days later fired Michael Gableman, the former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice he had hired, under pressure from Trump, to investigate the 2020 election. Vos called Gableman, who also endorsed his primary opponent, an embarrassment." Gablemans inquiry turned up no evidence of widespread fraud, but the investigator joined Trump in calling for lawmakers to consider decertifying the 2020 election. The new lawsuit was assigned to U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama. Venhuizen is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. More on Donald Trump-related investigations: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump Follow the APs coverage of Jan. 6 at: https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege 1. Yes. All council members should get a good idea of whats at stake for Fort Hoods future. 2. Yes. Sending a large delegation shows the citys commitment to the Army post. 3. No. Its a waste of taxpayer money. Sending a smaller group would be more efficient. 4. No. Harker Heights and Copperas Cove arent sending anyone. The trip is unnecessary. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the value is, before knowing how the conference turns out. Vote View Results The Rush Creek Watershed Council will hold an open meeting on Thursday, Sept. 29, beginning at 7 p.m., at the Retreat Sportsmans Club, E3460 County N, De Soto. The featured guest speaker will be program director Craig Ficenec from Sand County Foundation. His topic will be about the funding opportunities from the Driftless Region Conservation Partnership, a combined effort of he USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Sand County Foundation, and other partners. Ficenec joined Sand County Foundation in 2013 as a soil and water program director. He worked for seven years with the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, first in California as an agricultural engineer, then in Wisconsin as coordinator of a multi-county resource conservation and development council and as statewide manager of easement and financial assistance pro-grams. The USDA-NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) awarded $1.5 million for the project to Sand County Foundation. Over the five-year project, we will improve resiliency and ecosystem services on at least 1,000 acres of existing degraded prairie and savanna habitat. We will also convert 1,000 acres of vulnerable cropland to permanent vegetative cover as agroforestry, prairie buffers, field borders, and well-managed pastures, Foundation vice president of agricultural conservation and research Dr. Heidi Peterson said. Key partners in the project include: Valley Stewardship Network, Driftless Area Land Conservancy, Southern Driftless Grass-lands, Savanna Institute, Applied Ecological Services, The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Southern Wisconsin Land Conservancy. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov A total of 47 Azerbaijani State Border Service personnel were killed, while 197 got bodily injuries of varying severity during the 2020 Second Karabakh War, Azernews reports, citing Col-Gen Elchin Guliyev, the chief of the service. In an interview with Azerbaijan newspaper, Guliyev underlined that 12 Azerbaijani border guards were awarded the title of Hero of the Second Karabakh War (four posthumously), 176 persons received orders, and 5,203 received medals for their heroism in the battles. Guliyev stressed that officers of the State Border Service visit martyrs' families, as well as the graves of martyrs on public holidays, birthdays, and martyrs' memorial days. Besides, special attention is paid to the treatment of veterans, processing documents for awarding them the title of war veterans, and ensuring insurance and other payments. All conditions were created for conscripting martyr family members for military service and for work in the State Border Service, for admitting martyr children to a special school of the State Border Guard Service, he added. So far 12 members of martyr families have been accepted into the State Border Service for active military service or work, or to an educational institution of the Service, Guliyev underlined. On September 27, 2020, in response to a large-scale provocation of the Armenian armed forces along the frontline, the Azerbaijani army launched a counter-offensive operation. The 44-day war put an end to nearly 30 years of occupation, ensured the liberation of Azerbaijan's lands and the restoration of the country's territorial integrity. 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 urged Armenia to 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. WINONA Taylor Hammel lost his lifelong battle with mental health on Sept. 20, 2022. He was born on Oct. 11, 2001. He came to be a part of our forever family on Aug. 11, 2007, where he joined his brothers, Riley and Ethan, followed soon thereafter by Emmett and Logan. He started school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and when the family moved to Trempealeau, Wisconsin, he became a terror at Trempealeau Elementary. Teachers would always say that he was conscientious (staying in at recess to finish his work particularly his drawings as he didnt want to rush to get it done in class time); despite excelling in school, it wasnt his thing. He cared about his friends, his music, skateboarding and driving. No one who knew him could forget his love for the most unpredictable cars. He loved fast things and blew them up just as quickly! He named his very old, very large Crown Victoria Queen Victoria. He put so much time and effort into fixing up his 1996 Ford Ranger that still doesnt run (he loved working on cars but never said he was good at it!). And finally, his love for his Honda motorcycle. Taylor was not perfect in life and he wouldnt want us to remember him as a perfect person now but he was fierce. He knew what he wanted, when he wanted it, and part of the problem was that no rules were going to keep him from it. He was a rule breaker and damn proud of it (much to his mothers and fathers dismay time and again). His smile could brighten an entire room and he could make people laugh. He hated to be alone, and we all hope that he has found his place among the stars and is at peace. He leaves behind his devastated family (Joe, Katrina, Riley, Ethan, Emmett, and Logan); biological mother, Jessica Trujillo; maternal grandparents, Donald and Natalia Fishler; paternal grandparents, Roger Hammel and Kathy Schwartzhoff; aunts Nicole Schmitz, Laura (Andy) Durbin, Rose (Sean) Onsgard, Linda (Ricky) Wagner; uncle Jimmy Hammel; numerous cousins, and so many friends even if he didnt realize it. We would particularly like to thank Jayden Miller, for loving him to his fullest in his last year of life; Austin King for being his friend through thick and thin; and Brian Kromke and Drew Fuglestad, who only knew him a short time but could see how special he was. He was preceded in death by his maternal grandmother, Mary Fishler; a maternal cousin, Merrylin Schmitz; and a paternal aunt, Carla Hammel. There will be a private family burial. We will have a celebration of life open house from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 9, 2022, at Elmaro Vineyard, N14756 Delaney Rd, Trempealeau. Please come share a memory with others who loved him. If his death teaches us anything, it should be that time is precious and tomorrow or next week isnt promised. Mental health resources are scarce, but they are out there please reach out for help if you are struggling. To express condolences online to Taylors family, please visit www.wozneykillianfh.com. The following article is an associate of Okanjo, an affiliate marketing agency that helps us monetize our content. Products sold through the links in the article allow us to receive compensation and keep producing great content. National Taco Day is Oct. 4. Though its not guaranteed to happen every year, in 2022, it aptly falls on a Tuesday. Taco lovers everywhere dont need a national holiday to eat more of the food they crave. Thanks to Taco Tuesday, an entire day of every week is dedicated to devouring the spicy, stuffed tortillas and shells. Eating tacos never gets boring with various meat, filling, and shell choices. From soft tacos filled with chicken, ground beef, or steak to crunchy veggie tacos packed with black beans, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and guacamole, the palate-pleasing taco possibilities are endless. Top everything, of course, with sour cream, chunky salsa, and guacamole, and its a taco lovers dream. If youre not already feeding your taco frenzy, these items will enhance your taco-eating experience any day of the year. This Heated Lazy Susan Topping Bar with a Removable Warming Pot is a genius taco serving solution. It streamlines the taco building process by having the toppings, meat, or queso all in one space. Six individual compartments hold your favorite toppings like shredded cheddar, diced tomatoes, pico, guacamole, lettuce, and sour cream. The warming pot in the middle keeps the taco filling hot whether its meat, beans, queso, or rice. Four taco holders complete the set so you can build the ultimate taco and keep it upright. If you want to put a creative twist on the popular Mexican dish, over 100 recipes are at your disposal in Taco! Taco! Taco! The Ultimate Taco Cookbook. The creations in this taco cookbook are crazy fun and include an Italian meatball taco, a grilled coriander shrimp taco, a sesame Bok choy taco, a cinnamon French toast taco, and more. Taco bowls are such a fun and cleaner variation on a classic soft taco. You can make your own at home in a snap with this Baked Tortilla Bowl Maker. Just plug it in and wait for it to preheat. Then put up to an eight-inch, store-bought tortilla in it and close the lid. It takes one-to-three minutes for each tortilla bowl to bake. Superstar chef and owner of Empellon Taqueria in New York City, Alex Stupak takes taco lovers and chefs of all skill levels on a deep dive into the art and craft of one of Mexicos greatest culinary exports in his cookbook, Tacos: Recipes and Provocations. He starts with making fresh tortillas, moves to creating salsa, and then covers traditional and creative fillings like pineapple topped pork and pastrami with mustard. What is it about that combination of crunchy or soft tortillas filled with spicy meat or veggies that drives our tastebuds wild? Youll likely find the answer to that scintillating question among the inventive taco variations that Chef Mark Miller explores in his cookbook,Tacos: 75 Authentic and Inspired Recipes. Recipes include staples like carnitas, and rajas and cheese, and new fillings like Baja-style tempura fish. Miller also provides thorough instructions for making fresh tortillas, salsa, guacamole, and more in this indispensable guide. When youre out at 2 a.m. and the taco craving hits, many Taco Bell locations are open and there to answer that urgent call. Taco lovers everywhere can show the leading national taco franchise some love this National Taco Day when they wear this Taco Bell Vintage Logo T-Shirt. The retro logo recalls earlier years in the taco chains days, with vintage 70s colors. Its also perfect Taco Tuesday attire. Bring a smile to fellow taco lovers faces when you put on this funny Im Into Fitness Taco In My Mouth T-Shirt. A graphic image of a taco is surrounded by the captions Im Into Fitness on the top, followed by FitNess Taco in My Mouth on the bottom. Taco enthusiasts at large will undoubtedly smile and agree. If youve never made authentic Mexican tacos, youll get your chance with this Amazon Explore Experience, Mexican Food Tours: Learn How to Make Mexican Tacos and Tortillas with a Professional Chef. In the 60-minute online group session, a local Mexican chef will teach you how to make a tortilla from scratch. Next, youll make a Campechano with cheese filling, white mushrooms and spinach. You can purchase ingredients and gather kitchen tools from a list ahead of the session and then prepare your tacos along with the chef. Building tacos can get messy! This Set of Six Taco Stands makes everything so much easier. Load shells into the stand and they stay upright while you add filling, toppings, and salsa. These handy taco holders help reduce spills and theyre stainless steel so theyre oven safe. Any day is a wonderful day to eat tacos and these items will make you love them even more. A convicted felon was sentenced Monday to 24 months in federal prison after law enforcement reportedly found him with multiple firearms at his La Crosse residence. Shoua Lee, 41, La Crosse, pleaded guilty July 5 to felon in possession of a firearm. His sentence, imposed by U.S. District Court Judge William Conley, also includes 36 month of supervised release. Lee was arrested July 15, 2020, during a drug trafficking investigation in La Crosse that involved co-defendants Kong Vang and Pader Yang. Prosecutors say La Crosse police searched Lees residence and found multiple firearms, including a Hi-Point .40 caliber handgun and a large quantity of methamphetamine. Police also discovered a surveillance video from the same residence from two weeks earlier which shows Vang and Lee possessing the same Hi-Point .40 caliber handgun seized by police officers. Lee was prohibited from possessing firearms due to multiple prior felony convictions. He was on state supervision at the time of the offense for possession of a firearm by a felon and marijuana trafficking. Lees state supervision has since been revoked, and he is serving three years in state prison with an anticipated release date of Aug. 13, 2023. Vang pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. He was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison in 2021. Yang pleaded guilty methamphetamine distribution and was sentenced to six years in federal prison in 2021. The charge against Lee was the result of an investigation conducted by the La Crosse Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven P. Anderson prosecuted the case. Records compiled as part of Michael Gablemans now-closed review of the 2020 election will soon be posted online for all to see, an attorney representing the office once headed by the former state Supreme Court justice told a Dane County judge Tuesday. Attorney James Bopp, who is representing the Office of Special Counsel in an open records lawsuit related to the GOP-ordered probe, told Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost that all records including emails and text messages and assets once handled by the office have been handed over to the state Assembly. There are no documents whatsoever in the possession of the Office of Special Counsel, Bopp said, adding that those records will be posted online for all to see. He did not say when the records will be made public. Last month, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, fired Gableman and closed the Office of Special Counsel that was initially budgeted to spend $676,000, though legal fees and other court costs have pushed the price tag to more than $1.1 million all of which will ultimately fall on taxpayers. Gableman was paid more than $100,000 to lead the review. The review has failed to provide any evidence to support some Republicans claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Whats more, Gableman and his attorneys have said the Office of Special Counsel regularly deleted emails and documents deemed irrelevant to the taxpayer-funded review. State lawmakers are exempt from Wisconsins record retention law, allowing them to regularly delete records, though requested documents must be retained if they exist at the time of a formal request. An October memo prepared by the Wisconsin Legislative Council indicated that the records retention exemption enjoyed by legislators did not apply to Gableman. Liberal watchdog group American Oversight has filed four lawsuits seeking to halt the deletion of records related to the probe. Bopp has moved to dismiss the lawsuit before Frost, arguing that the matter is now moot since those records will soon be posted online. Frost did not indicate when he may rule on the matter. Both American Oversight and the Office of Special Counsel have posted hundreds of pages of documents related to the probe online. Gableman was hired in the summer of 2021 by Vos after pressure from Trump, who continues to promote the lie of a stolen 2020 presidential election. A recount, court decisions and multiple reviews have affirmed that President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes. Gableman in March proposed that the Legislature consider decertifying the results of the election but later backed off that suggestion in a private memo to Vos, in which the former justice acknowledged the idea is a practical impossibility. Decertification cannot happen under state law or the U.S. Constitution. In his first report, he said we could not decertify, then later wrote that it should be considered, Vos told the Wisconsin State Journal earlier this month. This flip-flop was a critical error. The 2020 election cannot be overturned. Vos fired Gableman three days after the longtime GOP lawmaker narrowly avoided being unseated in a primary election by longshot candidate Adam Steen, who was endorsed by both Trump and Gableman. Steen plans to run against Vos as a write-in candidate in the Nov. 8 election. The relationship between the caucus and Gableman was ultimately damaged when he was asked by the leadership team to stop engaging in partisan politics and he didnt comply, Vos said. He was acting as an attorney for the Legislature and we all found it to be an inappropriate use of his time. The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed a bill to reform how Congress certifies electors after a presidential election. That bill (or a similar but slightly weaker Senate one) needs to pass the Senate now. After the November general election, Congress' focus will turn to the 2024 presidential race. Good luck getting any meaningful election reforms passed then. Ostensibly, the Presidential Election Reform Act is a response to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and its aftermath. When Congress reconvened, 147 Republican representatives and senators voted against certifying that President Joe Biden had won. There also were desperate machinations to convince then-Vice President Mike Pence to throw out the election result. Jan. 6 is only the impetus of the hour, though. The need for reform has been clear for decades. It just took a near-complete collapse of the process and democratic-norms to prompt action. The problem goes back to the 1887 law known as the Electoral Count Act. Historians, lawyers and constitutional law scholars for decades have argued that it was so poorly written, vague and ambiguous that it was only a matter of time until some lawmakers tried to abuse it. Carl P. Leubsdorf: The 10 most important things from the Jan. 6 hearings When President Donald Trumps supporters assaulted the U.S. Capitol, it was evident they were trying with his encouragement to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Bidens victory in the 2020 election. Indeed, Republicans in 2021 weren't the first to object to certifying presidential electors, though they took it further than anyone before. Some Democrats objected to certifying electors in 2001, 2005 and 2017 when Republicans won the White House. The difference was that those were just protests after a candidate had already conceded, not an outright attempt to overturn a fair election. The House bill would clean up the Electoral Count Act. It would raise the bar for members of Congress to object to certification and would make it explicit that the vice president's role is strictly ceremonial. It also would establish clear rules for who in the states certifies electors. None of this should be controversial. Establishing well-defined ground rules for elections and the transfer of presidential power benefits everyone. Yet only nine Republicans in the House joined Democrats in passing the bill. Most of the nine also had voted to impeach Trump after Jan. 6 and won't return to Congress after this year's election. They include Washington's Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who lost to a Democrat and a Trump-backed challenger in the top-two primary. Disappointingly, Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse, who often portrays himself as a moderate and supported impeachment, voted against the reform bill. The Senate should act without delay, though whether it can overcome a Republican filibuster is uncertain. If it cannot, senators should vote on a similar Senate bill that does have bipartisan support. That one doesn't go quite as far, but something is better than nothing. The alternative is heading into 2024 with the same broken law that led to a riot and members of Congress trading their honor for fealty to a losing presidential candidate. The first ever storytelling festival in Minnesota will kick off on Oct. 14-15. The inaugural Sandbar Storytelling Festival will be presented on the Winona Campus of Saint Marys University. Five national and international storytellers will be presenting. At the Friday night Ghost Stories Concert, be prepared to be totally spooked, and at the Saturday night concert Fun Night, the five tellers will make you roll in your seats with laughter. Beginning at 2:30 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday, storytelling events will run throughout the day. Festival activities also include a storytelling competition for college students, workshops by Bil Lepp and Alton Takiyama-Chung, and a storytelling session for kids (ages 9 to 14) with Regi Carpenter. Also featured are local musicians and food trucks. The purpose of SSF is to present storytelling performances that celebrate and preserve the power and pleasure of our varied cultural traditions and human experiences, and to promote the art of storytelling for all ages. This years five tellers include Bil Lepp (from West Virginia), Carolina Quiroga-Stoltz (from Tennessee via Colombia), the Rev. Robert Jones Sr. (from Detroit), Alton Takiyama-Chung (from Vancouver, Washington, via Hawaii), and Regi Carpenter (of Ithaca, New York). These five tellers are also presenting at area schools on Thursday and Friday morning. Festival events include: Friday, Oct.14: 2:30 p.m. Storytellers: Bil Lepp and Carolina Quiroga-Stultz, Page Theatre 4 p.m. Storytellers: the Rev. Robert Jones Sr., Regi Carpenter, and Alton Takiyama-Chung, Page Theatre 5 p.m. Little Warriors Drumline, Gazebo (free event) 5:30 p.m. Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting, Page Theatre (free event) 6 p.m. Mettalarks (Mariah Ciangiola and Noah Short) perform Halloween music, Page Theatre 7 p.m. Ghost Night (all five storytellers), Page Theatre Saturday, Oct. 15: 9 a.m. Creating Tall-Tales, workshop by Bil Lepp, Blue Heron Coffeehouse (free, but limited seating) 9 a.m. A Story Walks into a Cafe: Sparking Creativity workshop by Alton Takiyama-Chung, Blooming Grounds Coffee House (free but limited seating) 10 a.m. Storytellers: Regi Carpenter and Carolina Quiroga-Stultz, Page Theatre 11 a.m. Storytellers: Bil Lepp and Alton Takiyama-Chung, Page Theatre 1 p.m. Storyteller: the Rev. Robert Jones Sr., Page Theatre 1 p.m. Regi Carpenter, Kids Session (9 14 years old), Figliulo Recital Hall (free event) 2:30 p.m. Storytellers: Alton Takiyama-Chung and Carolina Quiroga-Stultz, Page Theatre 4 p.m. Storytellers: Bil Lepp and Regi Carpenter, Page Theatre 5 p.m. Bell House Band, Gazebo (free event) 5:30 p.m. Koo Koo Kanga Roo (kids party band), Winona Middle School Auditorium (separate fee) 5:45 p.m. Wing Dam Jammers, Gazebo (free event) 7 p.m. Fun Night (winner of the college competition and all five storytellers), Page Theatre Individual tickets go on sale Oct. 1. Each event in the Page Theatre is $15 for any age and can be purchased at the door or from the website at www.sandbarstorytellingfestival.org. Also available for purchase is the Friday Pass (four events) for $50, the Saturday Pass (six events) for $80, and the Two Day pass (all 10 events) for $120. Koo Koo Kanga Roo tickets (performing at the Winona Middle School) are still available as well (adults, $15; kids ages 5-16, $5; and children younger than 5, free). And courtesy of WNB Financial, pay-as-you-can tickets will be available at the door 20 minutes prior to each event. For more information, email info@sandbarstorytellingfestival.org, sandbarwinona@gmail.com, or call 507- 703-6001. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov Turkiye will continue providing full support to fraternal Azerbaijan, Azernews reports, citing the Turkish presidential office. The starting date of the second Karabakh war is a proud moment not only for Azerbaijan but also for Turkiye. The country will further provide full support to fraternal Azerbaijan. The reconstruction activities in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan once again testify to the country's commitment to regional stability, the administration said. The office stressed that September 27, 2020, became the path to triumph in the second Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan made every diplomatic effort to liberate its territory from Armenian occupation, but the latters disregard for diplomacy precipitated the outbreak of the second Karabakh war, it added. It was also emphasized that Azerbaijan has always supported peace and stability. In the same vein, the Turkish embassy in Azerbaijan has paid a tribute to the memories of martyrs on the occasion of September 27 - Remembrance Day. "On Remembrance Day, celebrated on September 27, we honor the memory of our Azerbaijani brothers who heroically fought in the Second Karabakh War for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. We wish for Azerbaijans flag to fly forever in Karabakh. Karabakh is Azerbaijan!" the embassy tweeted. Furthermore, Rtd Turkish general Yucel Karauz has described Azerbaijans victory in the Second Karabakh war as one of Turkic history's most significant wins. "With the use of the most modern weapons, the enemy was defeated, and this is one of the most significant victories not only in the history of Azerbaijan but also in Turkic history," he said. He said that Azerbaijan observes Remembrance Day on September 27, which symbolizes the Azerbaijani people's battle against injustice. Karauz remarked that the deaths of civilians as a consequence of enemy strikes during the war once again demonstrated Armenia's occupation policy, terrorist nature, and war crimes to the world. "The Second Karabakh War is also the period when the Turkish-Azerbaijani brotherhood reached its highest level. May Allah rest the souls of martyrs, I wish health to the veterans," he said. Likewise, the history created by the victorious Azerbaijani Army is a key component in securing long-term peace and stability in the region, Baghdad Amreyev, Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), said in his statement commemorating the start of the Second Karabakh War, Azernews reports. 27 September is the Remembrance Day in our founding Member State Azerbaijan for honoring and mourning the military personnel and martyrs, who fought heroically in the Second Karabakh War and sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Amreyev said. He added that the victory gained by the Azerbaijani army in the 44-day war also laid a solid foundation for the further development and prosperity of the country. The OTS and all the Turkic peoples with deep reverence commemorate the memory of the martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity of brotherly Azerbaijan, he stressed. Azerbaijan commemorates Remembrance Day on September 27 as a mark of heartfelt respect for the troops and officers, who valiantly fought in the 44-day war in 2020 and offered their lives for the country's territorial integrity. EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 Zepp-LaRouche: Wake Up Now, or You May Not Exist by This Time Next Week Sept. 26, 2022 (EIRNS)An exaggeration? Unfortunately not. The world is barreling towards a nuclear showdown between the U.S.-NATO and Russia, with far too few voices in the West raised in protest and demanding alternatives, Helga Zepp-LaRouche warned in a policy discussion with LaRouche movement organizers on Monday afternoon. This current crisis around Ukraine is far, far more dangerous than the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. It poses an existential threat to all of civilization. Its almost as if the world were existing in two parallel universes, Zepp-LaRouche stated. On the one side, Russias leading circles are fully convinced that the Wests NATO structure is out to destroy Russia in its entirety, to rip it to pieces and decolonize it, as various think tanks are openly calling for. President Putin said as much in his Sept. 21 speech to the Russian nation. Foreign Minister Lavrov and Ambassador Antonov has stated the same at home and abroad. And a pronouncement issued by the influential Izborsk Club also on Sept. 21 spoke for many in Russia when it warned that this is a fateful moment in history. The violent confrontation between Russia and the West poses the ultimate question: Will Russia survive in this struggle or will it finally and irreversibly disappear. A great war is on the doorstep. In the other universe, NATO and the West are hell-bent on using the Ukraine war to push through their decades-old agenda of decolonizing or fully dismembering Russia into powerless stateletsa policy which Zbigniew Brzezinski and other London assets long championed. They have repeatedly stated over the last year, louder and louder by the day, that they are fully prepared to use nuclear weapons to force Russia to back down and capitulate. Things are about to go awfully wrong, Zepp-LaRouche warned. We have two high-speed trainsnuclear trainsbarreling towards each other, and there will be a train wreck unless this is stopped in the next days. Events of the last 24 hours have only confirmed this evaluation. The referenda are underway in the four regions of Ukraine, and everything indicates that there is both a very large voter turnout and that there will be an overwhelming vote in favor of joining Russiaas occurred with Crimea back in 2014. The voting will end on Sept. 27, and Russian parliamentarians believe the final steps for the regions accession will be completed by Sept. 30. At that point, they will be considered part of Russiaand defended as such by Moscow. Yesterday, Secretary of State Tony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan were sent out to tell national TV audiences that We will not recognize the sham referenda, as Sullivan stated on CBS, and we will treat this territory for what it isUkrainian territory, not Russian territory. And we will continue to support the Ukrainians as they seek to de-occupy this territory. And then for good measure: Any use of nuclear weapons will be met with catastrophic consequences for Russia. Blinken preferred to threaten that Russia would suffer horrific consequences. Zepp-LaRouche concluded her remarks with a stark warning: We have to go into a full Red Alert mobilization. If there are no significant voices of dissent coming from the United States, this itself becomes a factor in Moscows strategic assessment. We must change the perception abroad that there are almost no voices of sanity in the United States, or at least not sufficiently influential voices to change the current course to nuclear annihilation. Those voices must be raised now, and loudlyvoices that understand that there is a basis for a negotiated solution to the Ukrainian crisis, built around a new international security and development architecture, that takes into consideration the needs of all nations. Prominent Russians realize, and have said so publicly, that the voice of Lyndon LaRouche has been essential as the needed idea-giver for such a mutually beneficial policy, and that is why their enemies want to shut down the speakers of the Schiller Institute conferences. Iraqi artist Khaled Al-Abadi's dream is to recreate historical objects that were damaged during years of war. Al-Abadi is a sculptor. In his Mosul workshop, he carefully shapes objects into pieces of art -- lions, chariots, birds, and more. Al-Abadi told the Reuters news agency, "During the Islamic State period, when my colleague and I were walking around, we would see the statues that were removed, and the gates that were being demolished, we were really troubled by this. Demolished is a term that means destroyed. Al-Abadi's clay-based artworks show the country's long history from the Assyrian period through the Islamic State occupation. "We want to remind the coming generations that this is the history of Nineveh," he said, talking about the ancient Assyrian city located close to modern Mosul. "This is the history of Mosul. This is the history of Iraq." The area where about 20 murals are displayed is located in old Mosul, a part of the city that suffered heavy damage during the war to take back the city from Islamic State militants. These militants destroyed many of its ancient sites. The country's rich cultural history has long suffered during its conflicts. Last year, ancient objects stolen and taken out of Iraq after the U.S. invasion in 2003 were put on display in Baghdad. One of the objects on display included a 3,500-year-old clay tablet with part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the ancient Sumerian story believed to be one of the world's first written works. Im John Russell. Charlotte Bruneau reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. ________________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story chariot n. a carriage with two wheels that was pulled by horses and was raced and used in battle in ancient times colleague n. a person who works with you : a fellow worker mural n. a usually large painting that is done directly on the surface of a wall tablet n. a flat piece of stone, clay, or wood that has writing on it Results from elections Sunday suggest that Giorgia Meloni will likely become Italys first woman prime minister. Meloni, age 45, is the leader of Brothers of Italy, a conservative political party. An alliance of conservative political parties won the most votes in the election. Brothers of Italy is a member of the alliance. It won the most votes -- almost 26 percent -- of any party in the election. Meloni grew up in a working-class area of Rome. Her father left the family when she was born, and she was raised by her mother. She won her first local election at age 21 and, in 2008, became the youngest-ever minister in Italy at age 31. She was a member of a conservative group created by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi before she left it and co-founded Brothers of Italy in 2012. Meloni compares Brothers of Italy to the Conservative Party in Britain and the Republican Party in the U.S. The Italian press has compared Meloni to Margaret Thatcher, who was the first woman prime minister of Britain. Meloni supports supplying Ukraine with weapons to defend against Russias invasion. On migration, she said she wants a naval blockade to stop migrant boats from leaving North Africa. She has said she might place same-sex marriage under review. Meloni says women have to get to the top by merit, and she is against rules that would say how many women should be in parliament. Italys election system rewards alliances. Votes for each member of the alliance are added together, while parties who are not in an alliance have their votes counted individually. At age 15, Meloni joined a local section of the Italian Socialist Movement, or MSI for short. MSI was created in 1946 by supporters of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. In the 1990s, MSI joined a more central conservative group under Berlusconi. Meloni said the conservative Italian Right has clearly condemned the anti-Jewish laws and suppression of democracy that were part of fascism. Supporters in Spain, France, and Hungary all praised Melonis election. Enrico Letta, leader of Italys Democratic Party, said, today is a sad day for Italy and Europe, tough days are ahead of us." In a victory speech Monday, Meloni said, If we are called to govern this nation, we will do it for everyone, we will do it for all Italians and we will do it with the aim of uniting the people. Meloni is not expected to become prime minister until the end of October. Im Andrew Smith. Andrew Smith adapted this story for VOA Learning English from reporting by the Associated Press and Reuters. ________________________________________________________ Words in This Story co-found -v. to create or form an organization with one other person migration n. moving from one country to another usually in search of work merit n. a quality that is considered good or valuable reward n. money, or some other thing that is offered and give to someone who has done something that is generally considered good condemn n. to denounce; to say in a clear way that something is bad or wrong _________________________________________________________ We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: Write your comment in the box. Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with D on it. It is free. Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here. Fans will have a chance to say goodbye to Naomi Judd, the late matriarch of the Grammy-winning country duo The Judds, on a tour starting Friday. The Judd family continues to grieve her sudden death on April 30 only weeks after the tour was announced. Wynonna Judd, who will helm the 11-city tour starting Friday, called it "devastatingly beautiful" to relive her memories of her mom during the tour. Daughter Ashley Judd recalled her mother's compassion and desire to learn, as well as her efforts to reduce the stigma of mental health. The family hopes that fans will be uplifted by her legacy of music and advocacy. By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli Despite the fact that in the post-conflict period Azerbaijan made a number of efforts in connection with the process of normalizing relations between the two states, Armenia continues to commit provocations, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said. The remarks were made at an event dedicated to September 27 - Remembrance Day held in the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. The leadership of the Foreign Ministry, participants of the second Karabakh war, and families of martyrs participated in the event. The ministry first made a statement in connection with September 27 - Remembrance Day. Then a video dedicated to the second Karabakh war was shown. Speaking at the event, Bayramov noted that two years ago, Azerbaijani Armed Forces took retaliatory measures to prevent another military provocation from Armenia, which marked the beginning of the second Karabakh war. He noted that as the result of the war, the heroic Azerbaijani army under the leadership of the victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief President Ilham Aliyev ensured both international law and historical justice. Additionally, the minister empathized that large-scale provocations committed by Armenia on September 12-14 damaged the process of normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as impeded peace efforts in the region. He stressed that families have already been resettled in Zangilan's Aghali village, noting that the large-scale restoration work carried out on the lands liberated from occupation serve to create safe conditions for the return of internally displaced persons who were forcibly expelled from their homes several decades ago. Addressed the children of martyrs, who took part in the event, the minister said that Azerbaijan is proud of their fathers. He respectfully honored the memory of the martyrs who gave their lives for their country. Further, a representative of the Defense Ministry, war veteran, and Chief of Staff of the Rocket and Artillery Troops, Colonel Gulmammad Rzayev shared his memories of participating in operations during the war. The blessed memory of the martyrs was honored with a moment of silence. After dropping each day for over three straight months, gas prices are back on the rise with Wisconsin motorists feeling the increase more than other parts of the country. AAA reported Monday that the national average pump price has increased by five cents to $3.72 per gallon when compared to the price a week ago. In Wisconsin, however, the average price has jumped by 35 cents to $3.76 per gallon, which puts Wisconsin among 10 states to see the largest weekly increases in the country. Nick Jarmusz, director of public affairs for AAA, said the increases are primarily the result of a deadly fire that killed two people on Sept. 20 at a BP refinery near Toledo, Ohio. The facility remains offline but when its operational it has the ability to process about 150,000 barrels of crude oil a day. Jarmusz said the facility could be back in operation in a week or two, which means the price hikes could be temporary. With that refinery taken offline gas retailers in Wisconsin have to source their gas elsewhere, including at refineries that are farther away, Jarmusz said. The increased distribution costs are being passed on to the consumer. But low domestic demand as fewer drivers fuel up and much lower oil prices have helped to blunt some of the impact. On Friday, the price of oil slipped below $80 a barrel for the first time since January, primarily due to fears of a recession-led global economic slowdown. Meanwhile, Hurricane Ian, which is moving toward the Gulf of Mexico, could also disrupt oil production and large coastal refineries. According to data from the Energy Information Administration, gas demand decreased from 8.49 million barrels per day to 8.32 million barrels per day last week. The EIA also reported that total domestic gasoline stocks increased by 1.6 million barrels to 214.6 million barrels. Although gasoline demand has decreased, tight supply and fluctuating oil prices have increased the national average price, Jarmusz said. Around Wisconsin, the average price per gallon in Appleton on Monday was $3.76 per gallon compared to $3.25 per gallon a week earlier. In Eau Claire, the price jumped to $3.75 from $3.40; to $3.81 from $3.35 in Green Bay and to $3.69 from $3.28 in Janesville and Beloit. In Madison, where the average price rose to $3.75 from $3.31 per gallon, the Capitol Petro on Mineral Point Road on Monday was selling regular for $3.78 per gallon. The BP on South Fish Hatchery Road was at $3.89 per gallon and, a few blocks away, the two Kwik Trips near the Beltline and the Kellys Market on South Gammon Road were all at $3.99 per gallon. At the West Side Woodmans Market, regular gas was being sold for $3.89 per gallon, an increase of 70 cents compared to Sept. 16, when it was being sold for $3.19 per gallon. Its been a significant jump and its startling, especially after that unprecedented run of decreases, Jarmusz said. But this should be temporary. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The Kremlin paved the way Tuesday to annex part of Ukraine and escalate the war by claiming that residents of a large swath overwhelmingly supported joining with Russia in stage-managed referendums that the U.S. and its Western allies have dismissed as illegitimate. Pro-Moscow officials said all four occupied regions of Ukraine voted to join Russia. According to Russia-installed election officials, 93% of the ballots cast in the Zaporizhzhia region supported annexation, as did 87% in the Kherson region, 98% in the Luhansk region and 99% in Donetsk. In a remark that appeared to rule out negotiations, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy told the U.N. Security Council by video from Kyiv that Russias attempts to annex Ukrainian territory will mean there is nothing to talk about with this president of Russia. The preordained outcome sets the stage for a dangerous new phase in Russias seven-month war, with the Kremlin threatening to throw more troops into the battle and potentially use nuclear weapons. The referendums began Sept. 23, often with armed officials going door-to-door collecting votes. The ballots asked residents whether they wanted the areas to be incorporated into Russia. Moscow-backed officials in the four occupied regions in southern and eastern Ukraine said polls closed Tuesday afternoon after five days of voting. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to address Russia's parliament about the referendums on Friday, and Valentina Matviyenko, who chairs the body's upper house, said lawmakers could consider annexation legislation on Oct. 4. Meanwhile, Russia ramped up warnings that it could deploy nuclear weapons to defend its territory, including newly acquired lands, and continued mobilizing more than a quarter-million more troops to deploy to a front line of more than 1,000 kms (more than 620 miles). After the balloting, the situation will radically change from the legal viewpoint, from the point of view of international law, with all the corresponding consequences for protection of those areas and ensuring their security, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. Many Western leaders have called the referendum a sham, and the U.N. Security Council was scheduled to meet later Tuesday in New York to discuss a resolution that says the voting results will never be accepted and that the four regions remain part of Ukraine. Russia is certain to veto the resolution. The balloting and a call-up of Russian military reservists that Putin ordered last Wednesday are aimed at buttressing Moscows exposed military and political positions. The referendums follow a familiar Kremlin playbook for territorial expansion and more aggressive military action. In 2014, Russian authorities held a similar referendum on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, under the close watch of Russian troops. Based on the voting, Russia annexed Crimea. Putin cited the defense of Russians living in Ukraine's eastern regions, their supposed desires to join with Russia, and an existential security threat to Russia as a pretext for his Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Putin has been talking up Moscow's nuclear option since Ukrainians launched a counteroffensive that reclaimed territory and has increasingly cornered his forces. A top Putin aide ratcheted up the nuclear rhetoric Tuesday. Lets imagine that Russia is forced to use the most powerful weapon against the Ukrainian regime that has committed a large-scale act of aggression, which is dangerous for the very existence of our state, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the Russian Security Council that Putin chairs, wrote on his messaging app channel. I believe that NATO will steer clear from direct meddling in the conflict. The United States has dismissed the Kremlin's nuclear talk as a scare tactic. The referendums asked residents whether they want the areas to be incorporated into Russia, and the Kremlin has portrayed them as free and fair, reflective of the people's desire for self-determination. Tens of thousands of residents had already fled the regions because of the war, and images shared by those who remained showed armed Russian troops going door-to-door to pressure Ukrainians into voting. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko, who left the port city after the Russians seized it after a months-long siege, said only about 20% of the 100,000 estimated remaining residents cast ballots in the Donetsk referendum. Mariupol's pre-war population was 541,000. A man toting an assault rifle comes to your home and asks you to vote, so what can people do? Boychenko asked during a news conference, explaining how people were coerced into voting. Western allies sided firmly with Ukraine, dismissing the referendum votes as a meaningless sham. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the ballots were a desperate move by Putin. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said while visiting Kyiv on Tuesday that France was determined to support Ukraine and its sovereignty and territorial integrity and described the ballots as mock referendums. Elsewhere, trouble emerged for Putin in the mass call-up he ordered of Russians to active military duty. The order has triggered an exodus of nearly 200,000 men from Russia, fueled anti-war protests and sparked violence. On Monday, a gunman opened fire in an enlistment office in a Siberian city and gravely wounded the local chief military recruitment officer. Scattered arson attacks had been reported earlier on other enlistment offices. One destination of fleeing Russian men is Kazakhstan, which reported Tuesday that about 98,000 Russians have crossed into Kazakhstan over the past week. The European Unions border and coast guard agency says 66,000 Russian citizens entered the 27-nation bloc from Sept. 19 to 25, a 30% increase over the preceding week. Russian officials tried to intercept some of the fleeing reservists on one of the main exodus routes, issuing conscription notices on the Georgian border. According to the state-run Tass agency, an enlistment task force was handing out notices at the Verkhnii Lars checkpoint, where an estimated 5,500 cars were lining up to cross. Independent Russian news sources have reported unconfirmed claims that draft-age men will be banned from leaving after the referendum. As Moscow worked to build up its troops in Ukraine, potentially sending them to supplement its proxies who have been fighting in the separatist regions for the past eight years, Russian shelling continued to claim lives. Russian barrages killed at least 11 civilians and wounded 18 in 24 hours, Ukraines presidential office said Tuesday. In other developments, Ukrainian authorities reported more success in their counteroffensive to reclaim territory in some of the very regions where Russia is staging the referendums to consolidate its grip. Ukrainian troops claimed to continue their push beyond the Oskil River in the countrys east, pressing further into the Donbas. A video on social media Tuesday showed Ukrainian soldiers entering the village of Koroviy Yar, 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) from the river. Ukraines military intelligence said that the countrys forces continued to force Russian troops out of the northeastern Kharkiv region and claimed to recapture the major railway junction of Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi. The war's human toll was also reflected in a U.N. human rights monitoring mission's first comprehensive look at violations and abuses Russia and Ukraine committed between Feb. 1 and July 31, the first five months of Russia's invasion. Matilda Bogner, the missions chief, said Ukrainian prisoners of war appeared to have faced systematic mistreatment, "not only upon their capture, but also following their transfer to places of internment in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine and Russia itself. The war has brought an energy crunch for much of Western Europe, with German officials seeing the disruption of Russian supplies as a Kremlin power play to pressure Europe over its support for Ukraine. The danger to energy supplies grew when seismologists reported Tuesday that explosions rattled the Baltic Sea before unusual leaks were discovered on two underwater natural gas pipelines running from Russia to Germany. Some European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage during an energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. The three leaks were reported on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which are filled with natural gas but not delivering the fuel to Europe. The damage means that the pipelines are unlikely to be able to carry any gas to Europe this winter even if the political will to bring them online emerged, analysts at the Eurasia Group said. By Trend Turkiye Foreign Ministry extended condolences to Somalia over the recent terrorist attack in Mogadishu on Sunday, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah. In a statement, the ministry condemned the terrorist attack, which targeted the Dhagabadan military facility in the capital, in which scores of people lost their lives and were injured. The statement also said Turkiye will continue to support Somalias counterterrorism fight. At least 15 people lost their lives after a suicide bomber targeted the military facility in Mogadishu. Al-Shabab terrorist group claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack. Turkish-Somali relations have experienced great success over the years and as part of their strategy of cooperation, Turkiye has trained nearly one-third of the Somali military forces. In addition to military cooperation, the two countries also partner on health, education and other initiatives. Turkiye's vast aid effort at the height of the 2011 famine endeared it to many Somali people, and it has continued to pour in aid, much of it from private companies. Turkiye has built schools, hospitals and infrastructure and has provided Somalis with scholarships to study in Turkiye. Somalia was also the first country where the Maarif Foundation successfully made its foray, in a bid to replace schools once operated by the Gulenist Terror Group (FETO). A 25-year-old Middleton man originally charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl from Milwaukee last year pleaded guilty Monday to felony sexual assault and victim intimidation as part of a plea agreement under which prosecutors will seek no more than 15 years in prison. Andrew M. Stoltz also pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual assault in a separate case involving a different victim. Under the agreement, charges of causing a child to view explicit material and criminal damage to property were dismissed, although Dane County Circuit Judge David Conway can consider them during sentencing on Jan. 6. According to the criminal complaint in what had been the kidnapping case, the girl told a forensic interviewer that she met Stoltz online on July 4, 2021, and after about a week or two of contact, he said he wanted to meet her. When she told him no, he began berating her until she agreed and the two talked at a park in Whitefish Bay on July 28, she said. She said she later went to stay with him after he threatened to cut off her familys fingertips as she watched. During the more than two weeks that he used threats and intimidation to keep her at his Middleton home, Stoltz raped her repeatedly, the girl told investigators. Police in Milwaukee eventually used location data from Snapchat to narrow down the girls location to an area in the 3300 block of High Road in Middleton. In the case involving the other victim, prosecutors said that on Feb. 12, 2021, Stoltz sexually assaulted a woman while she was drunk and passed out at her Madison apartment. With his guilty pleas, Stoltz faces up to 70 years of combined prison and extended supervision, but Assistant District Attorney Colleen Lennon on Monday said the state would ask that he be sentenced to no more than 15 years in prison. Stoltz has a criminal record in Wisconsin that goes back to 2017 and includes felony convictions for throwing a bodily fluid at a public safety worker or prosecutor and injuring someone or damaging property while fleeing police. He said in court Monday that he was being treated for mental health problems but did not specify them. Two Iranians living in Madison are cautious but hopeful that demonstrations now roiling Iran over the death of a woman in police custody will lead to changes in the Islamic country known for its strict limits on womens freedom and antipathy toward America. Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman from northwest Iran, died Sept. 16, three days after being taken into custody in Tehran for violating Irans strict dress code. The morality police arrested her for alleged improper wearing of her hijab, which was a sort of nonsense accusation, said Soroush Aslani, one of the organizers of a gathering Sunday in Madison to honor Amini. But also even by Iran standards, her hijab was pretty mainstream; she had just a small piece of her hair out. That Amini was arrested and beaten while in custody rightly outraged people throughout Iran, Aslani said. This was something that resonated with many people across the country from different ages, generations, socioeconomic backgrounds, religious or nonreligious, he said. He said people in Iran are asking for the prosecution of the officers who killed Amini, but the reaction of the Iranian government was to use more violence to stop the protests. As a result, he said, at least 55 people have been killed in the streets, with a lot more injured. The government has also limited internet access so activists cant share news about the protests. Shiva Bidar, a native of Iran who stepped down in 2021 after serving for 12 years on Madisons City Council, said the demonstrations in Iran over Aminis death feel different from past protests. People all over Iran have related to the murder of Mahsa Amini because everyone has a sister, a daughter, a niece, a cousin and what happened to Mahsa could happen to anyone. Mahsa is every Iranians sister or daughter. Aslani similarly saw some reason to be hopeful about change. We cannot evaluate the outcome of a protest just based on what happens five days or one month after that, he said. This is a series of struggles and efforts to pursue human rights but definitely we are making progress. Aslani said that those calling for womens rights and freedoms in the streets of Iran today are different from the people who showed up 20 years ago, 10 years ago, or even two years ago. Gradually people are pushing the boundaries and trying to pursue their legitimate liberties, he said. Added Bidar, People wouldnt be putting their lives at risk if they didnt have hope that it will make a difference. Bidar, who held a sign during Sundays event that said Women Life Freedom, a slogan of the movement that is being used at rallies in Iran and on social media, said that Aminis brother pleaded with police not to take her because they were from out of town, but police didnt care. That feeling of helplessness is what Iranians have felt for 40-plus years, she said. That feeling he had is what the people of Iran have been feeling for 40-plus years. Every time a person has been murdered by the regime and every time a wrong was done by the regime and we couldnt do anything. People have had enough of feeling helpless. In her speech Sunday at the event that drew about 120 people, Bidar said, In Iran, every social media post, every hashtag, every government site is being controlled, blocked by the regime. In the face of a brutal regime, every person supporting this fight for freedom, every news coverage, every march outside of Iran, is hope for the people marching and fighting in Iran. Aslani, who was born in Iran and lived there until he came to the United States for graduate school, said the gathering in Madison was to show solidarity with the Iranian people and let them know that Americans care about womens rights and human rights. And we wanted to be the voice of people who didnt have sufficient voice on this matter to the world, he said. A man who was found dead in Lake Monona last week has been identified. The Dane County Medical Examiners Office reported Monday that Brian A. Noll, 49, of Milwaukee, was found just before 6 p.m. on Tuesday in the water near the intersection of North Shore and John Nolen drives, just south of Monona Terrace. Noll was pronounced dead at the scene and an autopsy was completed on Thursday but a cause of death has not yet been determined, said Cristina Figueroa Soto, director of operations for the Medical Examiner's Office. "We're still trying to figure it out," Figueroa Soto said Monday. "There's a lot of testing that needs to get done." Authorities said it's unclear how Noll wound up in the lake and why he was in Madison. Dane County Sheriffs Office investigators believe Noll drowned after Sept. 16 and ask anyone who may have had contact with Noll in the days or weeks before his death to call the Dane County tip line at 608-284-6900. The death remains under investigation by the Sheriffs Office and the Medical Examiners Office. UNITED NATIONS (AP) The barricades are down, the world leaders have left and New Yorkers are complaining slightly less about traffic. The gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly is over. Here, we break down the stats for you: U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSIONS: 77 The first U.N. General Assembly was convened in 1946. This month the 77th session opened. DAYS OF GENERAL DEBATE: 6 The stately fireworks that mark the so-called General Debate where presidents, prime ministers and kings take the stage began on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Speeches continued through Monday, Sept. 26, with Sunday off. SPEAKERS: 195 The 195 includes speeches from three permanent observers Palestine, the Holy See and the European Union as well as opening speeches from U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the president of the 77th General Assembly, Csaba Korosi of Hungary, who also delivered a closing speech. FIRST SPEECH: Brazil LAST SPEECH: Nauru Brazil is historically the first member to speak, as their decision to volunteer amid others' reluctance in the early days of the General Assembly set a precedent. Nauru is by no means obligated to go last in 2021, the final speaker was Timor-Leste but the order of speakers is generally determined by factors including geography and what position the speaker holds. TITLE OF SPEAKERS: Presidents: 73 Kings: 2 Princes: 2 Emirs: 1 Prime ministers: 49 Transitional or acting leaders: 2 Secretaries of state: 1 Vice presidents: 4 Ministers: 52 Permanent representatives to the United Nations: 7 The most common types of speakers are heads of state, heads of government and ministers. This year saw four royals at the rostrum including the kings of Jordan and Eswatini and the emir of Qatar. There were two speakers with the title of prince: Prince Albert II is Monaco's head of state, while Prince Farhan bin Faisal is Saudi Arabia's foreign minister (though the tally above counts him only in the prince column). Pietro Parolin, the delegate from the Holy See, has the title of secretary of state. The position is held by a cardinal who acts as the pope's deputy and handles the Vatican's political and diplomatic affairs. Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan is Sudans transitional leader. He led a coup against a transitional government charged with shepherding the country to democracy last year. Mali's acting prime minister, Abdoulaye Maiga, is also a spokesperson for the government of the country's coup leader, Assimi Goita. GENDER OF SPEAKERS: Male: 173 Female: 22 Women's voices at the U.N. General Assembly typically number few. Even among this year's speakers, fewer than half nine, to be precise were heads of state or government. The paltry total still represented an improvement from last year, when only 18 women spoke. The president of last year's General Assembly, Abdullah Shahid of the Maldives, convened the first-ever UNGA Platform of Women Leaders to try to address the gap. During the meeting last week, participants said it could take anywhere between 130 and 300 years to achieve gender parity. ABSENCES: 3 Afghanistan, Myanmar and Sao Tome and Principe are all U.N. member-states, but none took the microphone this year. The status of Afghanistan and Myanmar's representation remains in dispute the same issue precluded the two Asian countries from speaking last year, following the military junta's toppling of Myanmar's civilian government and the resurrection of the Taliban's control over Afghanistan. The reason for the small African island nations absence was less clear; an email seeking comment from its U.N. mission was not returned and the phone numbers for the mission were not operational. LANGUAGES USED TO DELIVER SPEECHES: 22 English: 105 French: 23 Spanish: 20 Arabic: 19 Portuguese: 6 Russian: 3 Korean: 2 Belgium and Canada do not factor into the breakdown above, as their representatives each delivered significant portions of their speeches in both English and French. Of the six official U.N. languages Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish Chinese was the lone in which only a single speech (China's) was delivered. The other languages with one-speech-only appearances: Bengali, Bosnian, Catalan, Farsi, German, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Malay, Mongolian, Polish and Turkish. Regardless of the language, the United Nations has its own argot, too. VIDEO SPEECHES: 1 Because of the ongoing war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was granted special dispensation by a vote to address the General Assembly via a prerecorded video. His speech aired Wednesday, running a little under a half-hour, and was delivered in English. RIGHT OF REPLY Usages: 21 Country that made the most use of the exercise: Iran, at 4 The right of reply is the closest the General Debate gets to a, well, debate. Countries are allotted time after the day's speeches to respond to claims made by others. In addition to Iran, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Armenia and Azerbaijan all made multiple uses of this feature. SHORTEST SPEECH: Guinea-Bissau's, given by President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, at 7 minutes, 30 seconds Embalo's speedy speech, delivered in Portuguese, still managed to touch on a range of topics including climate change, regional security, infectious diseases and the U.S. embargo of Cuba. LONGEST SPEECH: Palestine's, delivered by President Mahmoud Abbas, at 47 minutes, 23 seconds Palestine is not a member of the United Nations, but regularly speaks at the U.N. General Assembly's high-level meeting because of its status as a permanent observer. Abbas even brought props. The runner-up was Congo, a U.N. member-state represented this year by President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, whose French speech clocked in about 10 minutes shorter than Abbas'. AVERAGE LENGTH OF SPEECHES: Around 19 minutes Delegates are kindly requested" to keep speeches to 15 minutes, as the president of the General Assembly reminded the hall multiple times as the first day of the General Debate wore on. Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova ended her speech (under 12 minutes!) with a bit of a mic drop: And since obeying even the smallest of rules matters, let me finish here to respect the agreed time limit. REFERENCES TO AUGUST BODY, ASSEMBLY, HALL OR HOUSE: At least 24 REFERENCES TO SEPTEMBER BODY, ASSEMBLY, HALL OR HOUSE: 0 Yes, we know what august means but when listening to more than 10 hours of oration on the dire state of the world, one looks for moments of levity. Associated Press journalists Jennifer Peltz, Sarah DiLorenzo and Ted Anthony contributed to this report. Follow Mallika Sen on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mallikavsen. For more AP coverage of the U.N. General Assembly, visit https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations-general-assembly LOS ANGELES (AP) Maitreyi Ramakrishnan's childhood devotion to My Little Pony turned out to be homework for her latest TV project. Ramakrishnan stars in the voice cast of Netflix's new animated children's series My Little Pony: Make Your Mark, a sharp contrast to her breakout role in the acclaimed coming-of-age comedy Never Have I Ever. The Canadian actor, 20, recalls growing up with the fourth iteration of the toy line that included what she wryly calls the O.G.'s of Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, my personal favorite. Playing the next-gen character of Pegasus pony Zipp, short for Princess Zephyrina Storm, was a chance to fulfill those childhood kind of dreams, Ramakrishnan said. If I told my younger, child-self, Hey, youre going to be a Little Pony," the obvious answer would be 'No way.' Zipp stands out among her equine pals and not only because of her bold, two-tone hair style. Ramakrishnan describes her as smart, curious and determined to be herself. A bonus: The actor calls it very cool that she got to sing on the companion album for the series, which debuted this week on Netflix. Ramakrishnan, whose Tamil parents emigrated from Sri Lanka, spoke to The Associated Press about what her new series offers children; her take on the Team Paxton-Team Ben debate on Never Have I Ever, which wrapped filming on its fourth and final season (the release date yet to be announced), and the ongoing struggle for inclusivity in Hollywood. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity. AP: You've described Zipp in positive terms. Is there something else compelling about the series, something you believe children may get from watching it? RAMAKRISHNAN: Its really great because it's showing kids that theres a place for everyone. All of the main characters are very different and unique personalities, and have different interests and likes. I hope kids just take away that they can be themselves and people will love them for that. AP: You've talked before about growing up without seeing a TV or film character who looks like you ethnically and who you could relate to. RAMAKRISHNAN: I think I only got to unpack this once I started Never Have I Ever, and was asked in many interviews, Who was your representation (on screen)? I didnt really have that. And I realized maybe this is why I always had such an affinity to animation as a child. You're able to relate to a cartoon totally, more than you're able to relate to teenagers who are your beauty expectation of how you're supposed to grow up. AP: Your role as teenager Devi on the Mindy Kaling-co-created Never Have I Ever is a rarity, a lead Southeast Asian character. How have viewers responded? RAMAKRISHNAN: Positive reaction to seeing my character, or mixed emotions in the sense of people feeling so uncomfortable with how much they see themselves in the characters. Devi is a hot mess. But its not just from the young brown girls that see Devi and think, Yeah, I can relate. Theres the brown guys. Or any girl whos experiencing life struggles, or just any guy whos experienced that feeling of wanting to be a part of something. That's representation to me, when you're writing those characters that have a diverse face but are written so well and so realistically that it's not tokenism. It's so important, and I'm honestly not satisfied with how much representation there is. AP: Studies have shown that TV and movies are recognizing the value of hiring people of color as actors and creators. You're just starting your career, but do you see a role for yourself in fostering more diversity? RAMAKRISHNAN: With the Never Have I Ever and the Squid Games of the world, it's like, Oh, we made a step in the right direction. And then very quickly, those steps can be forgotten because we tend to not give them enough credit, and its really hard to keep that momentum going. But you have to do the work. It gets frustrating at times, because you can wonder if youre on top of the world and youre like, 'Yeah, I made it. I'm being respected. But hang on, I'm still being treated like Im just this little tokenized brown girl.' And that sucks. But because I love acting so much, I'm not going to give it up. And I know that if I continue to pave this way, as Mindy Kaling did for girls like me, Ill make it a little bit easier for the next, and then it will keep going. AP: Some Never Have I Ever fans divide themselves into Team Paxton or Team Ben on the question of which partner Devi should end up with. Youve said your pick is Team Devi. Why is that? RAMAKRISHNAN: I get concerned sometimes when an interviewer is shocked that I say Team Devi. Im like, You looked at me, heard everything I preached about self-love and seeing yourself and respecting yourself, embracing who you are. And you thought I was going to say anything but Team Devi? Devi is growing, she doesnt know who she is yet, and the guys dont know who they are yet. Also giving credit to them too its not like theyre just choices. They also have their own lives, they have to live and grow and figure out what they want. And Devi has to do that too. The conservative effort to negatively target the Wisconsin Parole Commission under Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has been ramping up over the last week. Republican state Sens. Julian Bradley, of Franklin, and Van Wanggaard, of Racine, in a release Thursday accused the commission of sitting on public records requests they filed which they say have gone unfulfilled. With the typical open records request remaining unfulfilled months after Wanggaard said it was filed, he accused the Parole Commission of "stonewalling" Republicans. He also threatened "to invoke chairman powers" in order to acquire a listing of all people paroled since 2014. Wanggaard, a retired Racine Police officer, is now the chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections, under which the Parole Commission is organized, now says that it plans to fulfill Wanggaard's request by the end of this week. In a tweet Monday, Wanggaard said "the Department of Corrections has responded for the first time in 4 months, and expects to turn over the records by Friday. If not, expect me to take legal action to force their hand!" In addition to a list of those paroled during Republican Gov. Scott Walker's second term and Evers' first, including "a breakdown of the underlying conviction(s)" for each person paroled, Wanggaard also requested: All records related to a single prisoner Douglas Balsewicz, whose parole was approved in spring but then revoked weeks later since Jan. 1, 2019. "The history of DOC policy changes on revocation; including old versions of DOC revocation handbooks." Asked for comment on the alleged "stonewalling" in fulfilling the request from Wanggaard and Bradley, DOC Communications Director John Beard said in an email to a reporter: "The Department of Corrections responds to 3,500-4,000 record requests each year, which it responds to as soon as practicable. Requests for very large number of records spanning multiple years, such as 'the history of DOC policy changes on revocation' and 'old versions of DOC revocation handbooks' can take longer to fulfill.'" Parole numbers under Evers not abnormal In recent weeks, Republicans, fueled by WisconsinRightNow.com's reporting, have been on an election year attack criticizing the Parole Commission under Evers for paroling convicted murderers and rapists who had already spent decades in prison for their crimes. After GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels last week called on Evers to cease paroles until the end of the year, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported: "Since Evers took office in 2019, the commission has approved 461 discretionary parole grants ... Between 2011 and 2018, when former Republican Gov. Walker was in office, the commission granted 663 discretionary releases, or 47.5% of the total. Of those who received a discretionary parole since Evers took office, 78 offenders or 16% of the total paroled have absconded, been accused of new crimes, or were sent back to prison, according to commission data. During Walker's administration, 81% of those who received discretionary parole reoffended or absconded." There have been far fewer paroles under Walker and Evers than under previous governors, in part because of the "Truth In Sentencing" laws the state Legislature put in place in 2000, effectively making it impossible for anyone imprisoned after 2000 to get early release from prison. More than 5,000 paroles were granted when Jim Doyle, a Democrat, was governor from 2003-2011, according to Journal Sentinel reporting. When Republican Tommy Thompson was governor from 1987-2001, the commission OK'd more than 23,000 discretionary paroles. Reporting from the Associated Press is included in this article. Q: I am very in favor for renewable energy and wind turbines being greener than fossil fuels and saving our planet; but at what expense to Idahoans? If everything I have read about Lava Ridge is even remotely accurate, then we will lose federal lands costing Idahoans money to sell to California all for a non-Idahoans profit and benefit? Isnt there a better location where there isnt Idaho residents, homes, cattle grazing, wildlife: deer, elk, the endangered grouse, and a clear skyline? There are thousands of acres of desert in Nevada in between the northern Nevada cattle country and south Nevada-Las Vegas which is closer to southern California than Idaho. Am I missing something? A: Unfortunately, this curious mind is missing the whole story, said Luke Papez, senior director of project development for Magic Valley Energy. Rumors spread quicker than facts, and the desire for quick answers does not align with the lengthy, detailed analyses required to evaluate these projects. Lava Ridge will not cause Idaho to lose federal lands or cost Idahoans any money. The Bureau of Land Management manages the lands that encompass the project for multiple use on behalf of all Americans. Multiple-use lands support many public interests, both casual and commercial. These can include private citizen activities such as hunting, wildlife viewing, ATV riding, and camping, as well as business activities such as livestock grazing, mineral extraction, and the production and transmission of energy. Lava Ridge aligns with and will maintain this multiple use of the federal lands while generating substantial tax revenue and well-paid jobs for Idaho. Energy from the project can serve customers in Idaho and across the West, Papez said. Creating additional sources of domestic, clean, affordable energy has never been more important to giving America control of our power supply a win for consumers power bills and local economies. Federal and state agencies are still analyzing the projects potential impacts on the environment, said Papez. These potential impacts will be disclosed in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which is still months away. It is premature to judge the possible effects before the analyses are complete. The project area is surrounded on three sides by private development, bisected by multiple high-voltage transmission lines, dominated by non-native vegetation, and allows for continued multiple uses of the land while bringing an incredible economic opportunity to Idaho. For a more detailed response to these questions, please visit magicvalleyenergy.com/blog. Regarding the proposed Lava Ridge Wind project, the Bureau of Land Management Shoshone Field Office is currently analyzing potential effects to resources, including the Minidoka National Historic Site, other cultural resources of importance, wildlife, recreation, livestock grazing and visual aspects through the EIS process, said Heather Tiel-Nelson, spokesperson for BLM. This process was initiated when Magic Valley Energy submitted their application to the BLM for a right-of-way grant to build and operate the Lava Ridge Wind Project on public lands, Tiel-Nelson said. There are a number of variables that companies like Magic Valley Energy consider while determining if an area is suitable for wind energy development. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently gave a presentation to the BLM Idaho Resource Advisory Council Subcommittee for the proposed Lava Ridge Wind Project. They discussed some of the necessary elements for a project to be viable including wind resource, land for siting the infrastructure, available transmission and interconnection to the energy grid, a market willing to purchase the energy, and a supply of turbines. Additionally, the BLMs land use plans designate available/unavailable lands for potential renewable energy development projects. The available areas may not exhibit the desirable wind for an energy project, which further reduces available public lands for a renewable energy project. These plans also consider things such as critical habitat for wildlife and plants, wilderness study areas, wild horse and burro herd management areas, wilderness areas, areas of critical environmental concern, and visual resources. Other factors also play into availability of lands for renewable energy projects including military operations areas, military training ranges and subsurface ownership of mineral rights, Tiel-Nelson said. The BLM will use the information in the EIS to make an informed decision about the project. See A Citizens Guide to NEPA, Having Your Voice Heard, at https://ceq.doe.gov/docs/get-involved/citizens-guide-to-nepa-2021.pdf for more information on the EIS process. To find additional information on the Lava Ridge Wind Project or to sign up to be on the project mailing list please visit the project website at https://go.usa.gov/xFKxg. You may submit a comment at any time about the Lava Ridge Wind Project in the following ways: By email to: BLM_ID_LavaRidge@blm.gov By mail to: Kasey Prestwich, Project Manager, BLM Shoshone Field Office, 400 West F Street, Shoshone, ID 83352 TWIN FALLS Sixteen applicants for the Twin Falls Police Department will be put to the test Thursday and Friday. Sweat will be involved. First, theyll perform push-ups and sit-ups, jump, run 300 meters and have their endurance tested on a 1.5-mile run/walk. Applicants will need to meet a minimum standard on each task if they are to move forward in the hiring process, and those who do succeed will still have a long way to go before putting on a uniform and becoming certified police officers for the department. There are rigorous requirements, but it can be well worth pursuing the job, Lt. Craig Stotts said. Becoming a police officer appeals to people who have a genuine interest in service and teamwork and doing something that they can be proud of, Stotts said. He is hoping the hiring event yields good results as the department seeks to get fully staffed. Two new officers started their jobs Monday, and two more candidates have gone through the hiring process but need to attend the 12-week Idaho Peace Officer Standard & Training (POST) Academy. Assuming they are successful, the department will still be looking to hire eight more officers, bringing the total to 81. Having to cope with a department that isnt fully staffed is difficult, Stotts said. Manpower is always an issue when you are down positions, he said. Officers have worked extra shifts to make sure patrol numbers are adequate. Well do whatever is necessary, he said. Many of the positions that are now open are due to retirements, Stotts said. In addition, four of the spots are newly created, made possible by a grant by the Department of Justice. Applicants who pass the physical fitness test can look forward to an oral board interview, polygraph examination, psychological testing, background investigation, command staff interview, medical exam and drug screening. The Thursday and Friday hiring event (individuals wanting to apply can still sign up) is one of several the department has held. Hiring is probably the most important decision we make, Stotts said. We want to make sure candidates are not only a good fit for us but that we are a good fit for them. The police departments Facebook page emphasizes the seriousness of the job. (A candidate) must be a problem solver, work effectively under stress and be able to successfully communicate to people with a wide variety of perspectives and backgrounds, it reads. Police officers often enjoy their jobs because of the chance to serve the community, and they have the chance to do something new every day, Stotts said. New officers start out on patrol but can eventually transition to other assignments, including school resource officer, working in the canine program, becoming a detective, or becoming part of the motorcycle team. South Africa: Eskom board to be restructured The board of power utility Eskom is expected to be "reconstituted and restructured" following a meeting with Department of Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan. The State-owned electricity company has been facing serious and recurring challenges since June this year - reaching a nadir of Stage 6 load shedding twice over the past four months. The department explained that the term of the board had expired in 2021 and that a review of its work has been underway. "The Minister has been in constant engagement with the board on various matters such as procurement, recruitment of former and experienced Eskom employees, and combating fraud and corruption. "On Tuesday, the Minister informed the board that a review has been finalised and that the board will soon be reconstituted and restructured. The board members will be informed of the outcome of the process," the department said. The DPE said a new board for the entity will be revealed soon. "Government will soon deliberate on the reconstitution of a new and restructured Eskom board and an announcement will be made in due course. "Minister Gordhan thanked the current board for their service during the most challenging period of the entity," the department said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-09-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Trend Armenia won't take part in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) military drills in Kazakhstan, the country's Defense Ministry said, Trend reports referring to the Armenian media. "Given the current situation on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border, Armenia's Ministry of Defense decided to refrain from participating in the CSTO military drills in Kazakhstan," the ministry said. The exercises of the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (CRRF) are being held in Kazakhstan from September 26 through October 8. The Patrick County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a Solar Facilities Ordinance at a regular meeting on Monday. No one had signed up for a scheduled public hearing on the matter and when Board of Supervisors Chair Clyde DeLoach asked if anyone from the floor wished to speak, the room was silent. At the last meeting, on Sept. 12, Larry Cowley with the Patrick County Planning Commission presented the ordinance to the board and offered to answer any questions. Board members praises on Cowleys efforts and scheduled the public hearing. Lawmakers have set 2050 as the date when the power grid must be 100% renewable and electricity providers have been contracting with companies who have been gobbling up land in longterm lease agreements by the thousands of acres in order to construct solar farms. Eight projects covering about 5,500 acres are already approved in Halifax County and the Amazon Arlington Solar Farm Virginia project in Chatham is roughly 1,200 acres. Henry and Pittsylvania counties share just under 200 acres of land that is home to the Axton Solar Project. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) list Axton Solar and Sol Leatherwood Solar as having two facilities that have met all the requirements for a permit in Henry County and six projects are in various stages of the process. In Patrick County, the VDEQ lists Fairy Stone Solar, a 169-acre project in Patrick Springs and Orchard Solar. A 96-acre project in Cana along the western boundary of Flint Hill Road and Caution Tape Road is just across the Patrick County line in neighboring Carroll County. The number of solar farms is growing in Virginia and we have to have this in place to properly address it, said DeLoach. The approved ordinance is 23 pages long and does not apply to residential solar installations or solar projects deemed to be of a small scale. Projects falling in the category of large scale solar energy facilities will be required to submit a $2,000 fee along with an application. Building officials have 45 days to review the application and, if complete, the application will be forwarded to the Planning Commission for consideration. Another 45 days may pass before an advertised meeting must be scheduled and once the project is approved for consideration, another 45 days may pass before a public hearing must be held. Once the public hearing is finished, the Planning Commission would vote on the proposal, and if it passes, the project will pass to the Board of Supervisors within another 45-day period. A public hearing and vote with the Board of Supervisors must take place before approval and should the matter fail, the applicant would have 16 days to appeal. The ordinance contains details regarding requirements of a site plan that includes fencing, vegetation buffering, lighting and a limitation of 20 feet in height for solar panels that may be installed. Included in the details is a requirement of decommissioning of the facility once operations have ceased, returning the property to its natural state. A $2,000 permit fee will be charged to all approved projects and the applicant then has 180 days to acquire the permit after approval and another 180 days to start the project. If the project isnt finished in 2 years, then the permit would become void. In other matters: The board approved an amendment to the Patrick County Public Schools Budget. DeLoach described it as housecleaning that had already been agreed upon. Agreed to have an ordinance drafted that will give Patrick County authority to proffer tax refunds to corporations without having to obtain express approval from the board. The board had been made aware that the existing process had, on some occasions, caused the county to become liable for interest in addition to the refund. Approved a request to close the transfer station at 171 Transfer Station Lane in Stuart on holidays beginning with Columbus Day on Oct. 10. Rep. Liz Cheney says she thinks Glenn Youngkin is doing a good job as governor of Virginia, but faults his plan to campaign next month with election denier Kari Lake, the GOP candidate for governor of Arizona. Cheney, a Republican and a member of the House January 6 committee, lost her congressional seat in an August Wyoming primary. She now says she will fight to keep Republicans who deny the 2020 election results from winning governorshipseven if it means campaigning for their opponents. This is a much bigger issue for us than the 22 cycle and the 24 cycle, Cheney said Saturday at the Texas Tribunes TribFest in Austin. Its about whether were going to demand of our elected officials that they fulfill their oaths of office and whether were going to recognize that partisanship has to have a limit. Cheney cited Youngkin as an example. I think, for example that Governor Youngkin in Virginia is doing a good job. I think hes demonstrated that hes somebody that has not bought into the toxin of Donald Trump. But Cheney faulted Youngkins decision to campaign with Lake, who has said that Joe Biden lost a corrupt, stolen election and should not be in the White House. Cheney said Saturday that Lake is dangerous. And thats the kind of thing we cannot see in our party, Cheney said of Youngkin campaigning for Lake. We cannot see an accommodation like that. And I think its very important that we be clear about that. Asked if she plans to campaign for Democrat Katie Hobbs, the secretary of state and the Democratic candidate in Arizona, Cheney said: I am going to do everything I can to make sure Kari Lake is not elected. Asked for comment, Macaulay Porter, a spokesperson for Youngkin, referred to his comments at TribFest the day before. Youngkin said he wants to make the case that Republican governors have successfully led states through the pandemic, in areas such as job recovery and mitigating learning loss. What I firmly believe is that all states deserve a Republican governor, Youngkin said. I am comfortable supporting Republican candidates and we dont agree on everything, he added. I have said that I firmly believe that Joe Biden was elected president. I have to say in all candor I wish he wasnt, because I dont think hes done a good job for America. On Tuesday, Youngkin campaigns in Alpharetta, Ga., north of Atlanta, with Gov. Brian Kemp, who did not support Trumps effort to overturn Georgias 2020 election results. Kemp defeated a Trump-backed rival in a May primary. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who also spoke at TribFest, said all of the GOPs other potential presidential hopefuls are waiting on Trump to decide about a 2024 bid. Everybodys waiting to see what Trump decides and the reality is hes going to do what he wants to do, Cruz said. There are some Republicans who are beating their chest and running around saying Im running no matter what. It doesnt matter what Trump does. Thats utter garbage, Cruz said. Theyre all lying. It does matter. Youre not tethered to reality if you think it doesnt make a difference whether he chooses to run or not. Cruz added: Ill tell you this: If he doesnt run, everybody runs. He predicted that a contest without Trump could draw 20 GOP candidates or more. As Hurricane Ian threatens Florida, officials in McDowell County are preparing for what it could do here this weekend. The McDowell High homecoming game originally scheduled for Friday has been moved up to Thursday evening. A lot of events are scheduled for this weekend and they might be affected as well due to the predicted heavy rain that will result from Hurricane Ian. Dan Crawley is a weather forecaster with the Foothills Action Network for McDowell County. He said Tuesday morning that Hurricane Ian, in combination will high pressure to the north, will create a battleground across the Southeast U.S. Ian will move north slowly after landfall on Thursday, Crawley told The McDowell News. Surface winds will start to increase into the 15 mph range by then, and then by Friday we are looking at some wind gusts over 20 mph. Moisture will be surging north on Friday and will begin to impact the foothills especially by Friday night. Significant rainfall is expected as the steering currents aloft are weak. Ian will meander around the Southeast all weekend. Crawley added he is anticipating precipitation amounts to be in the 3- to 5-inch range countywide from Friday to Sunday. Areas in McDowell County with higher elevation like Crooked Creek, Little Switzerland and Ashford/North Cove could have amounts in the 4- to 8-inch range. Given how dry its been the past two weeks, local river basins will be able to handle the water as long as rainfall rates are not excessive such as 1.5 to 2 inches per hour, Crawley said. The further we get into the event, the more our flood threats rises, he added. In the meantime, McDowell County Emergency Services continues to monitor the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center regarding Hurricane Ian. On Monday, Emergency Management began morning and afternoon briefings to EOC partner agencies. Public messaging also began across county emergencys social media platforms on Monday. Residents are urged to monitor the local forecast closely. As of Tuesday afternoon, the current forecast has heavy rain impacting McDowell late Friday through the weekend, according to a news release. Early preparation is key in advance of severe weather, said Emergency Services Director Will Kehler. Emergency Services has been performing additional checks on disaster equipment, communicating with partner agencies, and will continue to implement internal protocols for hazardous weather based upon updates from the National Weather Service. Now is a great time for citizens and business owners to prepare their property for heavy rain. Cleaning gutters, ditches and storm drains can go a long way in protecting your property during a heavy rain event. Having a personal emergency kit year-round is always a good idea to ensure you are prepared for any type of hazardous weather. Residents and businesses can sign up for emergency alerts from McDowell County Emergency Management by texting MCDOWELL911 to 888-777 on your phone and follow the prompts. For emergency preparedness tips, visit readync.gov. The race for Nigerias presidential election will start on Wednesday. Eighteen candidates are on the starting line, hoping to take the helm of Africas most populous country after five months of campaigning at a time when it is going through a serious economic and security crisis. Two main candidates are vying for the position to replace President Muhammadu Buhari, 79, who is not standing for re-election after two terms in office. They are Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). But with five months to go before the election, no favorite has emerged and, in a rare development in the West African giant that returned to democracy in 1999, the candidates of the two main parties do not seem certain to win in the first round. Unlike the last six elections, the 2023 vote will not be a two-candidate race, says Professor Dapo Thomas of the University of Lagos. Mr. Tinubu and Mr. Abubakar, both in their 70s, are wealthy and controversial. They will have to convince voters in a country where 60 percent of the population is under 25 years old and where exasperation with the old political class accused of corruption and poor governance is growing. Also, an outsider candidate has emerged in recent months. He is Peter Obi of the Labour Party, a former governor who is very popular with the youth and has a lot of support on social networks. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Scientists at the Krembil Brain Institute, part of the University Health Network, have proposed a new mechanistic model (AD2) for Alzheimer's, looking at it not as a brain disease, but as a chronic autoimmune condition that attacks the brain. This novel research is published today, in Alzheimer's & Dementia. "We don't think of Alzheimer's as fundamentally a disease of the brain. We think of it as a disease of the immune system within the brain," says Dr. Donald Weaver, co-Director of the Krembil Brain Institute and author of the paper. Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, impacts more than 50 million people around the world, with a new person being diagnosed every three seconds. Yet, despite more than 200 clinical trials in the past 30 years, there are no disease modifying therapeutics to prevent, halt or treat Alzheimer's. "We need new ways of thinking about this disease, and we need them now," says Dr. Weaver. "To date, most of the approaches in Alzheimer's research have been based upon the theory that a protein called beta-amyloid, which is supposedly abnormal in the brain, clumps up. And when it clumps up, it kills brain cells." "But we believe beta-amyloid is right where it should be. It acts as an immunopeptidea messenger within our immune systemso that, if we have head trauma, beta-amyloid repairs it. If a virus or a bacteria comes along, beta-amyloid is there to fight it." That's where the problem occurs, says Dr. Weaver. "Beta-amyloid gets confused and can't tell the difference between a bacteria and a brain cell and so it inadvertently attacks our own brain cells. This, then, becomes what we call an autoimmune disease. The immune system is actually attacking the host, our brain." Noted in the team's findings: The research team conducted a comprehensive search, looking at a wide-ranging review of both journal and patient literatures combined with their own studies, to develop a thorough mechanistic model of Alzheimer's. The AD2 model endeavors to harmonize other mechanistic propositions (including proteopathy, synaptotoxicity and mitochondriopathy), while recognizing beta-amyloid as a physiologically oligomerizing immunopeptide and part of a much larger and broad, highly-interconnected immunopathic process. Within the AD2 model, amino acid metabolism of L-tryptophan and L-arginine emerge as innate immunity regulators, thus pointing to new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Tangible rethinking about Alzheimer's disease as an autoimmune disease, and beta-amyloid as a normal part of our immune system, opens the door to new avenues and approaches to develop innovative new therapies, says Dr. Weaver. "We are very excited in our lab. We think that this autoimmune theory is sound and represents a significant conceptual step forward." More information: Krembil Brain Institute researchers identify new model of Alzheimer's as an autoimmune disease, Alzheimer s & Dementia (2022). Krembil Brain Institute researchers identify new model of Alzheimer's as an autoimmune disease,(2022). DOI: 10.1002/alz.12789 Chronic meyloid leukemia under a microscope. Credit: Baylor College of Medicine Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions have engineered immune cells to control two major life-threatening complications, namely graft-vs-host disease (GvHD) and cancer relapse, which typically emerge after treating leukemia with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Published in the journal Blood, the findings in animal models support further studies to determine the feasibility of using this approach to reduce mortality and improve outcomes in patients. "In general, allo-HSCT is used to treat patients with aggressive disease that does not respond well to conventional treatment, and it can potentially cure several types of blood cancer," said corresponding author Dr. Maksim Mamonkin, assistant professor of pathology and immunology and the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor. The patient first receives intensive chemotherapy, which eliminates the majority of the cancer, but also severely harms the immune system and blood-making cells. To rescue these vital functions, the patient receives an infusion of stem cells from a healthy donor, which repopulate the patient and restore the normal blood-making process. The transplanted stem cells usually contain a small amount of donor immune cells called T cells, which can recognize normal organs and tissues as foreign and mount an immune rejection-like process called graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). "This is a very serious condition that requires aggressive immunosuppression to stop these T cells on their tracks, to prevent them from causing organ failure and death," Mamonkin said. However, the immunosuppressive drugs also hamper the patient's ability to fight infections and cancer and sometimes do not stop GvHD. "As a result, cancer relapse and GvHD account for the majority of patients' deaths after HSCT," said Mamonkin, who also is a member of Baylor's Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. "This drove our interest in finding alternatives to treat GVHD and tumor relapse," Mamonkin said. The team wanted to protect patients from both GVHD and cancer resurgence without eliminating their normal immunity that helps fight leukemia but also protects against serious disease-causing viruses, such as cytomegalovirus, EpsteinBarr virus and adenovirus, which frequently emerge post-transplant in these fragile patients. The team has accumulated extensive experience developing engineered T cell therapies against malignant T cells, such as T cell leukemia and lymphoma, and testing these approaches in the clinic. Utilizing a similar strategy against T cells that drive GvHD seemed a logical extension of their prior work. "Our goal was to selectively take down only the T cells that cause the GvHD, while preserving the body's ability to fight other diseases," Mamonkin explained. "For this, we needed to find a way to identify these cellsa marker that was mostly expressed on the cells mediating GvHD and not in other cells. After an extensive search we identified protein OX40 as a promising candidate." To validate this target, the team reached out to their collaborators at Boston Children's Hospital who study GvHD in non-human primate models. They confirmed OX40 was abundant on the surface of T cells that infiltrate target organs in macaques during acute GvHD. The researchers then engineered a receptor named alloimmune defense receptor (ADR), a molecule they expressed on therapeutic T cells and enables them to recognize and kill cells that express OX40 protein. Dr. Feiyan Mo, who during the study was a graduate student in the Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine program at Baylor, led these studies in the Mamonkin lab. Tests with cells in the lab and in animal models showed that ADR-armed T cells very effectively suppressed T cells mediating GvHD and protected animals from the fatal condition. At the same time, ADR T cells did not produce much damage to "good" T cells that control viral infections, "giving us confidence that this therapy would not be generally immunosuppressive," Mamonkin said. Inspired by these findings, the team has combined ADR and a leukemia-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) in T cells to test if these double-armed cells can fight both GvHD and cancer relapse after HSCT. Indeed, T cells outfitted with both ADR and CAR protected the animals from both GvHD and leukemia relapse thus paving the way to test this approach in patients who are at high risk of either condition. "We have successfully engineered immune cells from a healthy donor that can protect against two major causes of death after bone marrow transplant," Mamonkin said. "We are excited to pursue this approach further assessing its value to treat aggressive blood cancers and ultimately improve outcomes in patients after stem cell transplantation." Explore further Cell therapy could improve bone marrow transplant safety More information: Feiyan Mo et al, Engineering T cells to suppress acute GvHD and leukemia relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, Blood (2022). Journal information: Blood Feiyan Mo et al, Engineering T cells to suppress acute GvHD and leukemia relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation,(2022). DOI: 10.1182/blood.2022016052 Credit: CC0 Public Domain While gun violence in the United States continues to claim lives at an alarming rate, it is also taking a quiet toll on the U.S. economy, according to new research by Zirui Song, associate professor of health care policy in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School and associate professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2020, according to a PEW Research Center analysis of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries in the United Statesmore than any other year on record. Another study found that the United States accounted for 73 percent of mass shootings and 62 percent of related fatalities in developed countries between 1998 and 2019. Song's work has focused on the somewhat hidden aspects of firearm injuries, revealing that the cost of gun violence is far greater than the loss of human life alone. Earlier this year, he and colleagues delved into the long-term repercussions of firearm injuries for those who survive them. In his newest paper, published Sept. 27 in JAMA, Song reports that the overall economic cost of firearm injuries in the United States is some $557 billion annually, or 2.6 percent of gross domestic product. Eighty-eight percent of this cost is attributed to quality-of-life losses among those injured by firearms and their families. Yet, Song said, the business case for reducing firearm injuries has remained largely unaddressed. Findings from Song's latest analysis include: Among U.S. companies with employer-sponsored health insurance, the rate of total firearm injuries in employees and dependents increased more than fourfold from 2007 to 2020from 2.6 to 11.7 per 100,000 insurance enrollees. Each nonfatal firearm injury leads to roughly $30,000 in direct health care spending per survivor in the first year alone. That is a more than 400 percent increase in health care spending from the pre-injury baseline, relative to peer workers who did not sustain firearm injuries. The direct first-year medical spending for treating a firearm injury likely already exceeds the average first-year spending on other common conditions that employers have long aimed to prevent, such as nonfatal myocardial infarction and heart failure. Aside from added spending, losses in revenue and productivity are estimated to cost private employers $535 million per year nationwide. Employers also face the physical and mental consequences. Workers who survive firearm injuries experience a 40 percent increase in pain disorders, a 51 percent increase in psychiatric disorders, and an 85 percent increase in substance use disorders. "This evidence suggests that employers and their health insurers sustain a substantial financial burden from firearm injuries and have a financial incentive to prevent them," Song wrote. "To date, however, U.S. businesses have by and large not engaged publicly on the subject of firearms, despite spending large sums on other efforts to promote employee health." While this business case may resonate with some employers, it may not with others, Song added. The prevalence of firearm injuries among workers remains far lower than the prevalence of common workplace injuries such as musculoskeletal pain. Nevertheless, firearm injuries among workers are increasing, he said. "For a large, self-insured employer with 100,000 workers, 12 firearm injuries that collectively cost $360,000 in direct medical spending in the first year, not including indirect costs, may not be significant enough to change corporate strategy. However, for businesses that encounter higher or growing rates of firearm injuries in their workforce, the economic rationale for reducing firearm injuries in their workers may be more difficult to ignore," Song said. Harvard Medicine News spoke with Song about this latest work and his research interests in general. HMNews: You are a practicing physician and researcher in health policy and economics. How do the two areas intersect? Song: I practice primary care and attend on the inpatient medicine teaching service, which are areas of the delivery system that interface frequently with health policy. My clinical practice helps me understand what patients and clinicians go through on the ground. That informs my research questions. Trained as a health economist, I study health care spending and the impact of payment and social policies on health and economic outcomes. This work has helped me understand the insurance obstacles that patients face and payment incentives that clinicians face, allowing me to better guide patients or be more useful to my colleagues. HMNews: As an academic, you have studied issues such as payment reform, health care outcomes, and the value of medical services, but some of your recent research has focused on the myriad less obvious harms of gun violence. Why? Song: A fundamental scientific question behind studying payment, quality, and value is what causes people's health and health care use to change. Policies can certainly do soand we focus a lot on thembut an underappreciated cause is health shocks: something unexpected that happens to a person's health. These shocks, like heart attack, stroke, and infectious disease alter not only a person's health care consumption and other dimensions of their health, but those of their family members. Firearm injuries are a salient example of that. As we found out, gunshots substantially increase health care spending and the mental health and substance use burden of survivors, as well as mental illness among family members. Firearm injuries are also deeply tragic and thus meaningful to study, as they claim so many innocent victims and are often preventable. HMNews: Why and how did you decide to look into the cost of gun violence for private insurers and employers? Song: Employers and private insurers bear the cost of health care for over half of the U.S. population. As more and more people experience firearm injury, the private sector is increasingly affected. Particularly for large employers, who usually function as their employees' insurer, every preventable dollar of health care spending offsets a dollar of their revenue or margin. An employee who survives a firearm injury costs the employer $30,000 more from health care received in the first year alone. Despite that, a business case for reducing firearm injuries seemed to be missing. The health case was cleargunshots kill. The moral case was clearmore kids die from gunshots now than from anything else. Even the legal case was mostly familiar, albeit contentious. But the business case was largely ignored, even though it seemed readily apparent. HMNews: Were there any surprises emerging from your analysis? Song: The main finding was that a business case exists, though it may be more appealing to some employers or insurers than others. It was perhaps not surprising, but certainly striking, to learn that the rate of firearm injuries among employees of U.S. companies has more than quadrupled from 2007 to 2020. It was also striking to learn that 550 CEOs and executives have signed a letter to the U.S. Senate urging for action to reduce gun violence, in which they emphasized both the health and economic motivations. HMNews: What are some of the take-home messages from all of this work for policymakers and for businesses? Song: The obvious take-home message is that firearm injuries are costly for the private sector, which faces an increasingly meaningful financial incentive to prevent them. A less obvious take-home message is that the business case for reducing firearm injuries may ultimately rest not on saving the preventable dollars spent on gunshot wounds, but rather on a deeper societal alignment between companies and their consumer bases. Like companies going green in the face of climate change, which Wall Street has rewarded, corporate leaders in firearm injury prevention may also appeal to the growing numbers of people affected by firearm injuries. Since consumers, particularly younger generations, are increasingly buying from companies that not only make what they like, but demonstrate values they resonate with, addressing firearm injuries could become a long-term strategy in the private sector. Explore further Rethinking criminalizing language in firearm research and intervention Geometrical characteristics (in meters) of: (a) bicycle overtake driving situation; (b) freeway exit driving situation. Credit: iScience (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104666 Researchers found that, after Daylight Saving Time (DST) is introduced, drivers' behaviors are riskier, and their reaction time and ability to read situations are compromised. Sara Montagnese, Professor of Chronobiology at the University of Surrey, says that "the disruption to our sleep and circadian rhythms caused by daylight saving time is known to increase health risks such as heart attacks, but what is not known is the danger it can cause on our roads due to its impact on driver behavior. Findings from our study will show there is no place for daylight saving time in today's world, as the negatives strongly outweigh the positives." Publishing their findings in the journal iScience, researchers from the University of Surrey and the University of Padova in Italy investigated if disruption to circadian rhythms (the internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and other rhythmic functions) and sleep deprivation caused by the spring transition to DST had an impact on driving performance. The driving performance of 23 males (the experimental group) was assessed before and after the introduction of springtime DST. A control group of 22 males also undertook two assessments, both prior to DST. In each experiment, participants were asked to drive an 11.5 km route on a driving simulator, which included both rural and urban roads, and were faced with different driving scenarios. To test if drivers would take unnecessary risks, participants found themselves behind a vehicle on a long straight road with a continuous centerline to see if any of them would try to overtake. Following the first assessment, which took place before DST, it was found that the behavior of drivers in both groups was similar, with only 9% opting to overtake. During assessment two, which took place after DST was introduced, 39% of people in the experimental group overtook the leading vehicle. In contrast, those in the control group maintained safer behaviors. This indicates that those in the experimental group were more likely to engage in risky behavior as they were more prone to commit overtaking violations in the post-DST trial than in their first assessment. When encountering a cyclist, most experimental and control participants overtook in both simulations; however, noticeable differences were identified in the second assessment. Those in the control group increased the distance between themselves and the cyclist when passing. In contrast, the experimental group shortened the distance, compromising the cyclist's safety. The behaviors of those in the experimental group when exiting a motorway raised safety concerns. For example, researchers noted those in this group tended to be more abrupt when changing direction and when decelerating to exit, increasing the likelihood of causing an accident. Professor Montagnese added that "it is clear from our findings that the disruption to the circadian rhythms and sleep deprivation caused by daylight saving time led drivers to take more risks and not judge situations properly, making accidents more likely." "Furthermore, the presence of a control group, whose behaviors remained similar across both assessments, showed that daylight saving time affected those in the experimental group and impacted them for several days after the time change. Such an impact cannot be ignored, and it is important to reconsider our daylight-saving time policy as our safety is at risk." Explore further As clocks spring forward, keep sleep on track More information: Federico Orsini et al, Driving simulator performance worsens after the Spring transition to Daylight Saving Time, iScience (2022). Journal information: iScience Federico Orsini et al, Driving simulator performance worsens after the Spring transition to Daylight Saving Time,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104666 Predicted probability for intrusive interruption according to speaker role and speaker gender. Credit: The Annals of Family Medicine (2022). DOI: 10.1370/afm.2846 During a patient's consultation with a general practitioner (GP), physicians and patients can interrupt each other. Those interruptions are often considered as pushy actions of (male) doctors that hinder patients. Linguist Ilona Plug discovered that interruptions can actually benefit the course of the consultation. In the medical world a doctor's interruptions during a consultation are often considered as pushy actions that hinder patients; the patient has less opportunity to share relevant concerns and complaints. In addition, interruptions are associated with male dominance: a male doctor would tend to interrupt female patients more often than male patients. Up to now these assumptions had not been supported by any systematic, scientific analysis of interactions in clinical practice. In cooperation with Radboud University Medical Center, Linguist Ilona Plug and her colleagues took a close look at interruptions during consultations between GPs and patients. The results of their study are published in The Annals of Family Medicine. Type of interruption In Plug's study she distinguishes between two types of interruptions: supportive and non-supportive interruptions. "Non-supportive or pushy interruptions are interruptions that cut into your turn," the linguist explained. "Someone can change the subject or disagree with the other and start to refute that person. That type of interruption damages the content and the course of the discussion. Supportive interruptions, on the other hand, do justice to the discussion, for example when more clarity is requested or agreement is expressed; this shows that both discussion partners are talking about the same thing." For the study, Plug analyzed 84 videos of consultations between GPs and patients. She coded the type of interruption, the gender identity of the physicians and the patients and the phase in the discussion when the interruption occurred: the phase of presenting the problem or of discussing the diagnosis or the plan of treatment. Results The study by Plug and her colleagues showed that 83% of the interruptions were supportive. Non-supportive interruptions were most frequently made by patients and especially in the phase of presenting the problem. "We considered this as the patients' phase in which they describe their complaints. The physicians supportively interrupted patients in order to express their understanding and support or to ask them to be more specific. The physicians' supportive interruptions in the beginning phase of the consultation can help to improve the quality of communication rather than hinder it." The results also showed that male physicians made more non-supportive interruptions with their patients than did female physicians; however, in the group of patients the women more frequently made non-supportive interruptions, for example to express their disagreement or to change the subject. "This could imply that female patients feel stronger during a medical consultation or rather that they feel less heard or understood than male patients," the researcher said. Plug says, "With this data we can't rule out the possibility that other factors also play a role in medical interactions, factors such as level of education, status, the seriousness of the complaints or the physician's experience. We also don't know how the interruptions are experienced by the physicians and the patients. Future research could reveal this." Explore further Practice interruptions were more likely for physicians in 2020 than in 2019, says study More information: Ilona Plug et al, Physicians' and Patients' Interruptions in Clinical Practice: A Quantitative Analysis, The Annals of Family Medicine (2022). Journal information: Annals of Family Medicine Ilona Plug et al, Physicians' and Patients' Interruptions in Clinical Practice: A Quantitative Analysis,(2022). DOI: 10.1370/afm.2846 Transitions in smoking status from pre-menthol ban (wave 1) to post-menthol ban (wave 3) by pre-ban usual menthol use, among respondents who participated in waves 13 of the 20202021 International Tobacco Control Netherlands Surveys, weighted unadjusted (N=1322). Credit: Tobacco Control (2022). DOI: 10.1136/tc-2022-057428 A new study concludes that the 2020 European ban on menthol cigarettes made it more likely that menthol smokers would quit smoking, supporting previous Canadian research on the positive public health impact of banning menthol cigarettes. Christina Kyriakos from Imperial College London led the study in collaboration with researchers from Maastricht University and the Trimbos Institute in the Netherlands and the International Tobacco Policy Evaluation Project (ITC Project) at the University of Waterloo in Canada. "This Dutch study is our second major national study to provide evidence of the powerful impact of banning menthol cigarettes on quitting, which supports proposed menthol bans in the U.S. and other countries," said Geoffrey T. Fong, professor of psychology and public health sciences at Waterloo, and the principal investigator of the ITC Project. The research team surveyed a national sample of adult smokers of menthol and non-menthol cigarettes in the Netherlands before and after the EU menthol ban. Of the menthol smokers surveyed before and after the ban, 26.1 percent had quit smoking. This quit rate was higher than the control group of non-menthol smokers, of whom only 14.1 percent had quit. In fact, the increased quit rate of 12 percent of menthol smokers after the European ban is greater than the increased quit rate of 7.3 percent found in an ITC study of the menthol ban that was in effect across Canada in 2018. For decades, tobacco companies have added menthol to cigarettes because it creates a cooling sensation that reduces the harshness of smoke. It makes it easier to start smoking, causing non-smoking youth to be more likely to progress to regular smoking and become addicted to nicotine. For more than a decade, the World Health Organization and many other public health authorities have called on governments to ban menthol in cigarettes to reduce smoking, which kills 7.1 million smokers and 1.2 million non-smokers from second-hand smoke per year worldwide. The global tobacco control treaty, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, calls upon countries to prohibit or restrict menthol and other additives that make smoking easier. To date, 35 countries have banned menthol cigarettes. On April 28, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a proposed rule to ban menthol in cigarettes and cigars. An ITC study published that day on the impact of the Canadian ban projected that a ban on menthol cigarettes in the U.S. would lead more than 1.3 million smokers to quit. The Dutch study also found that one-third of menthol smokers reported continuing to smoke menthol cigarettes even after the ban. The tobacco industry markets a wide range of accessories to enable people to add menthol flavoring to tobacco products themselves. "These tobacco industry actions undermine the effectiveness of the menthol ban. By tightening the regulations to include these menthol add-ons, the impact of the menthol ban on quitting could be even greater," said Marc Willemsen, co-author of the Dutch study and professor in tobacco control research at Maastricht University and scientific director of tobacco control at the Trimbos Institute. The study appears in the journal Tobacco Control. Explore further More than a million smokers likely to quit after US bans menthol cigarettes More information: Christina N Kyriakos et al, Impact of the European Union's menthol cigarette ban on smoking cessation outcomes: longitudinal findings from the 20202021 ITC Netherlands Surveys, Tobacco Control (2022). Journal information: Tobacco Control Christina N Kyriakos et al, Impact of the European Union's menthol cigarette ban on smoking cessation outcomes: longitudinal findings from the 20202021 ITC Netherlands Surveys,(2022). DOI: 10.1136/tc-2022-057428 By Trend The European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will expand cooperation on nuclear safety, Trend reports with reference to the European Commission. EURATOM and IAEA have signed a memorandum of understanding updating the previous agreement from 2013. Building on the extensive scientific and technological co-operation developed over the past years, the two parties have agreed to update the content of the MoU, extending activities to include emerging areas of common interest, such as education and training, small modular reactors and the safety of fusion installations. The MoU also looks to further strengthen cooperation in the areas of radiation safety, waste safety and emergency preparedness and response. The IAEA and EURATOM have developed extensive scientific and technological co-operation over many years. A co-operation agreement between the IAEA and EURATOM has been in force since 1 January 1976, providing a formal basis for collaboration between the two organizations. This was extended in May 2008 with a Joint Statement where both organizations agreed to examine concrete steps to significantly reinforce the quality and intensity of their cooperation. On 17 September 2013, the two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which was renewed twice. Credit: CC0 Public Domain As fall arrives, cooler temperatures encourage people to spend more time outdoors. An expert at Baylor College of Medicine reminds allergy sufferers to be conscious of what is in the air and offers tips on how to protect yourself to enjoy the new season. "People frequently experience allergy symptoms in the fall even if they are mainly allergic to pollens in the spring and summer," said Dr. David Corry, professor of medicine in the section of immunology, allergy and rheumatology at Baylor. What to expect this season This year, the world saw several natural events that could impact the severity of the upcoming allergy seasons. The eruption of a Tonga volcano in January launched a large number of particulates and aerosols into the air, Corry said, which may translate into a global weather event that could lengthen or shorten the pollen seasons in fall, winter or spring. He also said that due to the northern hemisphere experiencing hotter and drier weather this year, some regions may experience a different season than they are used to. "We're currently in peak ragweed season and we're also seeing a lot of mold spores in the air," Corry said. "But these unusually high temperatures earlier this year could mean potentially less cedar pollen this winter." A final and perennial consideration is hurricanes, and we are currently in peak hurricane season. Hurricanes, and also tropical storms, are cause for serious concern for allergy and asthma sufferers. The immense amount of rain they produce, combined with the destruction of property and vegetation, invariably leads to fungal "blooms" and massive increases in fungal spores in the air. The spores in turn substantially worsen allergy and asthma symptoms for the time they are excessively present in the air, which can be weeks or even months after the storms have passed through. A perfect storm for allergies Many regions will begin experiencing cold fronts, which can often mean thunderstorms and more wind. Corry said these weather events can stir up a lot of allergens, such as ragweed, and can unearth pollens from earlier seasons that have dried out and stuck in the ground. These fronts also carry pollen from other parts of the country, such as pollen from Ashe Juniper trees in west Texas, that people are not used to. Additionally, Corry warns about thunderstorm asthma, a phenomenon that can have drastic effects on certain populations. "If you are mold-allergic or you have mold-related asthma, those can get dramatically worse very quickly and that is a real threat to health," Corry said. "Remain indoors shortly after thunderstorms and if your house has been flooded, or has water damage of any kind, repair it immediately to avoid mold growth." Keeping allergens outside One of the best ways to protect against allergies is to keep them outside of your home. Small particles stick to hair, skin and clothes, and Corry recommends simple strategies like showering after being outdoors and washing clothes worn outdoors to prevent from bringing allergens inside. Allergy sufferers also should consider removing fixed carpeting from their homes, which can trap pollen and dust mites. Those unable to do so can use a quality vacuum system to clean carpets on a regular basis. Portable HEPA filters should be placed in bedrooms or living rooms to help purify the air. According to Corry, allergens from pets and dust mites are not in the air, but can be dispersed back into the air when people walk across floors or carpets. Allergy relief and treatments Allergy sufferers usually experience symptoms ranging from mild to severe. Depending on severity, there are a few options for treatment. Mild to moderate symptoms can be treated with over-the-counter, non-drowsiness-causing antihistamines, like cetirizine, loratadine or fexofenadine, in combination with nasal steroids. Nose rinses, which can be done with a Neti pot, use a saline solution to drain nasal passageways, which is where pollen tends to collect. If these readily available regimens are not enough to provide relief, Corry recommends visiting a physician who can prescribe inhaled steroids or other types of medications to treat symptoms. For those suffering from severe symptoms, Corry recommends allergen immunotherapya process in which a patient receives weekly injections of low-dose allergens to which the patient has sensitivity to build up an immune response to that allergen, so that over time, they stop reacting to it. Explore further Can severe weather changes make allergies worse? Tissue biopsied with a novel imaging system based on 2-photon fluorescence microscopy (TPFM) is showing promising results. The system, described in the journal JAMA Dermatology, was developed by University of Rochester biomedical engineer Michael Giacomelli. Credit: the Giacomelli lab Medicine has advanced dramatically during the last century. But when it comes to getting biopsy results, very little has changed. Consider, for example, what happens when a patient comes in to have a skin lesion biopsied for nonmelanoma skin cancer. "The surgeon will take a little piece of the skin out," says Michael Giacomelli, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and of optics at the University of Rochester. Next, "someone in pathology will look at it under a microscope. And then, depending on what they find, the patient is notified that everything's fine, don't worry about it, or we need you to come back for a second appointment so we can treat you." Giacomelli, who is also on the research faculty at the University's Wilmot Cancer Institute is developing a novel imaging system, contained on a portable cart, to shorten this process to two minutes. This would enable a surgeon to immediately determine whether the lesion is cancerous and, if so, to "treat the patient during the same visit instead of stretching it out over the next month and multiple visits." The systemusing two-photon fluorescence microscopy (TPFM)demonstrated remarkable accuracy in a pilot study summarized recently in JAMA Dermatology. When tested on 15 biopsies of known nonmelanoma skin cancer, the technology was able to detect basal cell carcinoma with perfect accuracy (100% sensitivity and specificity) and squamous cell carcinoma with high accuracy (89% sensitivity and 100% specificity). Nonmelanoma skin cancer is the most common type of human cancer, with more cases annually than all other types of cancer combined in the United States. Eighty percent of nonmelanoma skin cancers are basal cell carcinoma. Applications in 'all sorts of scenarios' Typically biopsied tissue is excised, fixed, paraffinized (preserved), stained, and mounted on slides before being evaluated by a dermatopathologist. "This is how it has been done since the late 19th century," Giacomelli says. "Billions and billions of biopsies have been done this way. Everybody is on the same page; it works great. The problem is that it is very slow." Even when tissue is quickly frozen for quicker analysis, surgeons can wait an hour or more for the biopsy results to be sure they have completely removed a malignant tumor from a patient still on the operating table. This ties up the surgeon's time and the operating room, while interrupting the workflow in busy pathology departments. Giacomelli sees potential applications for his system in quickly providing biopsy results for all kinds of diseases. "There are all sorts of scenarios," he says. For example, "in prostate cases, surgeons often have a very poor idea what they're getting into based on just an X-ray or MRI image beforehand," Giacomelli says. "You see random cases where they take out the prostate, and sometimes there's an obvious tumor that has spread beyond the prostate, or other times it is very localized. This technology offers a possibility to adjust the patient's therapy on the fly." The advantage of using TPFM is that it not only generates high-resolution images but it also uses near-infrared light that penetrates deeper through tissue, making it "advantageous for rapid imaging of fresh, irregularly shaped biopsies with minimal preparation," the paper notes. Giacomelli is now working closely with Sherrif Ibrahim, an associate professor of dermatology at the University's Medical Center, on a larger, 200-patient follow up study, using biopsy samples taken at random at Ibrahim's Rochester Dermatological Surgery in nearby Victor, New York. "The goal is to analyze how well the technique works in a real-world scenario, where you have a lot people coming in and all kinds of things can show up," Giacomelli says. "We really want to make sure that there isn't some bizarre thing that normally has nothing to do with cancer that we somehow confuse with canceror something that does have something to do with cancer but we can't image. You never know what you're going to find once you start taking random biopsies of people." Using TPFM imaging to guide surgeries? Giacomelli has also embarked on a parallel study to see if a novel system he has developed incorporating TPFM and video can be used to guide surgeries. The system overlays TPFM images of the site where tissue is being removed on a webcam image, co-registering what it looks like to the eye with what it would look like processed on a slide. "You can show what the excised tissue looks like, and how much of the tumor is located on the excision," Giacomelli says. "They can then map that back into the wound that they are creating in order to decide which side to cut." In addition to Ibrahim, other coauthors of the JAMA Dermatology study include Vincent Ching-Roa and Chi Huang, graduate students in Giacomelli's lab, and Bruce Smoller, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine. Explore further Laser light offers new tool for treating bone cancer More information: Vincent D. Ching-Roa et al, Real-time Analysis of Skin Biopsy Specimens With 2-Photon Fluorescence Microscopy, JAMA Dermatology (2022). Journal information: JAMA Dermatology Vincent D. Ching-Roa et al, Real-time Analysis of Skin Biopsy Specimens With 2-Photon Fluorescence Microscopy,(2022). DOI: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2022.3628 Key challenges for the field of psychiatric genetics. Credit: Nature Genetics (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41588-022-01174-0 QIMR Berghofer scientists are challenging the research and funding community to develop better treatments for debilitating mental health conditions by tapping the many extraordinary genetic discoveries made over the last decade to deliver a new era of precision psychiatry. Scientists have discovered hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of genes linked to the full range of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, anorexia nervosa, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and ADHD. This has been made possible thanks to new genetic data sets of DNA donated by millions of people, and advancements in supercomputing technology. The head of QIMR Berghofer's Translational Neurogenomics Laboratory, Professor Eske Derks, said it is now time to progress this research to the next stage. She has co-led a new study, published in Nature Genetics, identifying 10 key challenges that need to be overcome before these genetic discoveries will lead to improved care of patients in the clinic. "We've had an era of genetic discovery and now we're on the threshold of a new era of precision psychiatry which could offer more effective drugs for patients, and could help clinicians to better diagnose and treat these complex conditions. "The challenges we've identified are not simple to solve but with a creative, collaborative, and coordinated research approach, and investment that supports scientists to do this work, we could make this new era a reality. We owe it to the people who have generously donated their DNA and to those living with a mental illness," Professor Derks said. Two in five Australians have experienced mental illness at some point in their life. Anxiety and depression are the most common, with the COVID-19 pandemic triggering a 25% increase in cases according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Mental illnesses can significantly impact patients' quality of life, and cost the Australian economy around $70 billion every year. Dr. Zachary Gerring, who co-led the study, said there is a tremendous opportunity to use genetic data to find more effective treatments. "For decades, there has been little progress in developing new drugs for mental health conditions. It can be a long process of trial and error for patients to find a treatment. "We can integrate the genetic data with drug databases to identify potential new drug candidates that can be repurposed to treat mental health conditions. Repurposing approved drugs means we could get them to patients more quickly and cheaply than developing a completely new drug," Dr. Gerring said. QIMR Berghofer Ph.D. candidate and co-lead author, Jackson Thorp, said there is huge potential to use genetic discoveries to work out the biological mechanisms of mental illnesses. "Our studies show there is a large genetic component which points to an underlying biological basis. Mental health conditions are diseases with a biological foundation, just like other diseases such as diabetes," Mr. Thorp said. "By better understanding the biological processes, we could find the causes of mental health diseases which could lead to identification of high risk groups of people, more tailored interventions, and more accurate tools for diagnosis. "I'm extremely hopeful that we can use this genetic information to improve the lives of people living with mental illness, but we really need funding to do this work," Mr. Thorp said. Explore further We found a genetic link between routine blood test results and mental health disorders More information: Eske M. Derks et al, Ten challenges for clinical translation in psychiatric genetics, Nature Genetics (2022). Journal information: Nature Genetics Eske M. Derks et al, Ten challenges for clinical translation in psychiatric genetics,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41588-022-01174-0 Provided by QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute Number of family physicians per 1,000 who were actively practicing from January to March in a given year but who had 0 primary care visits between April and September of that year, 2010-2020. Observed numbers and fitted regression line with 95% CIs. Credit: The Annals of Family Medicine (2022). DOI: 10.1370/afm.2865 Family physicians in Ontario, Canada, faced significant challenges in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, including reduced revenue, decreased retention of office staff, difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment, and decreased morale. Researchers conducted two analyses using billing claims data to better understand the number and characteristics of physicians who stopped work in the first six months of the pandemic and whether more family physicians in Ontario stopped working during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-pandemic years. The researchers found that 3.1% of physicians working in 2019 (385 out of 12,247 doctors) reported no billings in the first six months of the pandemic. Compared with other family physicians, a higher portion were aged 75 or older; had fee-for-service reimbursement; had a patient panel size of under 500; and worked less than other physicians in the previous year. The rate at which family physicians stopped working rose from an average of 1.6% for the years between 2010 and 2019 to 3% who stopped working in 2020. Although the absolute number of physicians stopping work was small, the impact on patients and communities is substantial considering Canada, like the U.S., is experiencing a primary care physician shortage. If this trend holds true in other communities, the COVID-19 pandemic may have further exacerbated the primary care physician shortage. The research was published in The Annals of Family Medicine. Explore further Researchers describe novel way to identify primary care workforce to help prepare for future workforce needs More information: Tara Kiran et al, Family Physicians Stopping Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ontario, Canada, The Annals of Family Medicine (2022). Journal information: Annals of Family Medicine Tara Kiran et al, Family Physicians Stopping Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ontario, Canada,(2022). DOI: 10.1370/afm.2865 A montage of three images of single striatal neurons transfected with a disease-associated version of huntingtin, the protein that causes Huntington's disease. Nuclei of untransfected neurons are seen in the background (blue). The neuron in the center (yellow) contains an abnormal intracellular accumulation of huntingtin called an inclusion body (orange). Credit: Wikipedia/ Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license In a new University at Buffalo-led study, scientists propose a new role for the huntingtin protein (HTT), which causes Huntington's disease when mutated. A team led by UB biologist Shermali Gunawardena has been investigating HTT and its basic functions in cells called neurons for a long time. The scientists previously found that in its unmutated form, HTT regularly travels along neuronal highways called axons, both toward and away from the cell's nucleus. A new study builds on this past work, detailing a previously unknown role for HTT in cellular compartments that move in one direction, toward the nucleus. The research suggests that HTT is involved in neuronal injury and regenerationa novel discovery, says Gunawardena, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences in the UB College of Arts and Sciences. "We are finding that HTT is packaged in different types of moving cargo within cells, and that it's involved in so many processes. This suggests that it's really a key protein in controlling a lot of cellular pathways that are important in cell survival. It doesn't have just a single role, so it's a very complex protein to understand," Gunawardena says. Credit: University at Buffalo In the new paper, "We show that the huntingtin protein is involved during neuronal injury," Gunawardena says. "When neurons in fruit fly larvae were injured, we see that HTT moves from the injury site to the cell body. It likely carries components that are necessary for survival of the neuron toward the cell body, where the nucleus is and where proteins are made." Experiments suggest that this HTT package may carry signaling molecules that "are essential for activating the production of proteins needed for neuron regeneration," Gunawardena says. She adds that, "future studies will be needed to determine the identity of the molecules involved in the regeneration." The study was published in Autophagy. "While many studies investigate disease mechanisms of HTT in Huntington's disease, here we focused on investigating basic roles of HTT in neurons. By combining a variety of laboratory techniques, we were able to model a novel mechanism in which HTT helps injury signals transport back to the cell body after axonal injury," says first author TJ Krzystek, Ph.D., who worked on the study as a Ph.D. student in biological sciences at UB and is now a postdoctoral research fellow at Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the National Institutes of Health. "We have known for decades that neurons of the central nervous system exhibit poor regeneration following axonal injury," Krzystek says. "By investigating more unconventional proteins and pathways in the context of axonal regeneration, we can learn more about the potential causes of this problem with the goal of eventually opening up possibilities for finding and validating future candidates to target new therapies." Explore further Study reveals intricate details about Huntington's disease protein More information: Thomas J. Krzystek et al, HTT (huntingtin) and RAB7 co-migrate retrogradely on a signaling LAMP1-containing late endosome during axonal injury, Autophagy (2022). Thomas J. Krzystek et al, HTT (huntingtin) and RAB7 co-migrate retrogradely on a signaling LAMP1-containing late endosome during axonal injury,(2022). DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2022.2119351 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain J.R. Chester got pregnant the summer before her senior year of high school. A bright student with good grades, she gave birth, graduated, and was pregnant again when she arrived at college that fall. She was a teen momlike her mother, her grandmother, and her great-grandmother. Her school did not teach sexual health education, and preventing pregnancy was a foreign concept. Her sons are now teenagers. "If you don't know your options, you don't have any," said Chester, now a program director for Healthy Futures of Texas, a nonprofit sexual health advocacy and education organization. "Everyone was pregnant. And it just felt like: When it happens, it happens." While teen pregnancies have declined in the state and across the country in recent decades, Texas continues to have one of the highest state rates of teens giving birth at 22.4 births per 1,000 girls and women ages 15-19the lowest, in Massachusetts, is 6.1. Along with Alabama, Texas has the nation's highest rate of repeat teen pregnancies. This fall, school districts across Texas are marking a shift to what educators call an "abstinence-plus" curriculumthe first time the state has revised its standards for sexual health education in more than 20 years. Although districts may choose their own curriculum and teach more than the state requires, the state's minimum health standards now go beyond focusing on abstinence to stop pregnancies and include teaching middle schoolers about contraceptives and giving additional information about preventing sexually transmitted infections, such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) that has been linked to several cancers. Previously, a 2017 report showed 58% of Texas school districts offered "abstinence-only" sexual health education, while only 17% offered curriculums that expanded beyond that. A quarter of schools offered no sex ed. Research shows that sex education programs that teach about contraception are effective at increasing contraceptive use and even delaying sexual activity among young people. Abstinence-focused education programs, on the other hand, have not been shown to be particularly effective at curbing sexual activity among teens. Whether Texas teens receive any sex ed at all, though, depends on whether their parents sign them up. While parents previously had to "opt out" of sex ed portions of their kids' health classes, they now have to "opt in" for their children to receive those lessons. That means parents must sign and return a permission slipa change some fear could lead to kids missing out not so much due to parental objections but because of lost forms and language barriers. These changes in sex education come as the state ratchets down abortion access following the Supreme Court decision in June overturning Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. Texas has one of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws. The question of how schools educate young people about their sexual health and development has taken on new urgency now that many state governments have enacted abortion bans. Health advocates say many women may have no choice but to carry a pregnancy to term and that has created a new class of haves and have-nots: those who have the knowledge, resources, and agency to protect themselves from getting pregnant, and those who do not. Texas is big and diverse enough to need education policies that can be adapted for remote border towns and sprawling metropolitan areasboth of which have high rates of unintended teen pregnancy. In 2019, the Texas Board of Education began rewriting the health education standards that had been in place since the 1990s. It kept in place the standards stating "that there are risks associated with sexual activity and that abstinence from sexual activity is the only 100% effective method to avoid risks." According to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research organization, 39 states, plus the District of Columbia, mandate that sex ed classes provide information about abstinence, with 29 of them requiring that it must be "stressed." Just 20 states and D.C. require that the classes provide information about contraception. Under Texas law, sex ed must still present abstinence as "the preferred choice." When schools teach about condoms and other forms of contraception, they must provide what Texas calls "human use reality rates"or, as it is described in medical literature, "typical use"that detail the effectiveness of those methods outside laboratory settings. The changes taking effect this year primarily address if and when a Texas student learns about certain sexual health subjects. Under the state's previous standards, Texas schools could teach about birth control methods beyond abstinence, but only in high school health classes, which are optional. Now, information about contraceptives, as well as more about STIs, is taught in middle school health classes, which are required. In May, the Dallas Independent School District, one of the nation's largest, approved lesson materials to meet the state's new requirements. But school officials here wanted to do more given the scope of the problem. Advocates say Dallas County has the highest rate of repeat teen pregnancies in the nation. The district curriculum goes beyond the state minimum and includes gender identity and extra information about contraceptives, as well as a contract with Healthy Futures of Texas to teach an optional after-school program for high school students. The previous curriculum was "very scientific" and "very dry," said Dustin Marshall, a member of the school district's board of trustees, and left out basic information about contraceptives, like how to put on a condom. "One of the primary ways to reduce teen pregnancy and relieve generational poverty from teen pregnancy is to teach contraception," he said. "Not to just assume that if you teach abstinence, every kid will obey. That's a little too head-in-the-sand, from my perspective." Some critics say the state's standards, while an improvement, are inadequate when it comes to consent and LGBTQ+ issues, including gender identity. The state board does require that schools teach about healthy relationships and setting personal boundaries for sexual activity. Under Texas law, parents have the ultimate say over not only whether their child receives sexual health education, but also what is covered in those lessons. For nearly 30 years, school districts have been required to create and appoint school health advisory councils, tasked with reviewing and recommending health curriculums, including on sexual health. Most members must be parents and not district employees, so the content of sex ed classes can still vary widely by district. Jen Biundo, senior director of policy and research at Healthy Futures of Texas, described a study she helped conduct asking parents and teenagers who they would prefer to teach teens about sex. While parents and teens ranked them differently, she said their choices were the same: schools, doctors, and parents. Health advocates point out that not all parents can or do educate their children about sexand that many teens live in unstable situations like foster care. Biundo said that when they asked teens where they learn about sex, the top answers were "my friends and the internet." Indeed, some parents, especially those who were teen mothers themselves, may not know about birth control or how to access it. "Where are the parents supposed to get the knowledge from?" Chester said. "Because they came through the same school system that didn't teach sex ed, and all of a sudden they're supposed to know what to teach their kids." "We are trying to end that generational curse of being uneducated," she said. 2022 Kaiser Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Diane Rodriguez and her husband, Zack Elias, are a trans couple in Ecuador. Credit: Chichicko/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA When I talk about our research team's work on pregnancy in transgender people, people often recall Thomas Beatie, a pregnant man who appeared on "Oprah" and in People magazine in 2008. The media focus on Beatie and his pregnancy provoked public fascination that tended to overshadow the everyday lived realities of being pregnant as a trans person. Transgender people, as opposed to cisgender people, have a gender identity that is different from the gender they were assigned at birth. Some may go on hormone therapy to help align their body with their gender identity. Like most trans men, Beatie went off testosterone during his pregnancy because it was medically advised as standard practice. But testosterone therapy is often essential to the mental and physical health of many trans men as well as some nonbinary people whose genders don't fit within the categories of man or woman. What is the experience of pausing treatment like for them? Why do medical guidelines recommend going off testosterone? As a sociologist who studies sex, gender and sexuality, and trans experiences of family, health and well-being, these questions piqued my interest. I work with an international team of researchers on a project about trans men and nonbinary people's experiences of pregnancy. We interviewed 70 trans and nonbinary people who were either currently or intending to become pregnant, as well as 22 health care providers specializing in working with these communities, across seven countries. Testosterone therapy While testosterone is widely considered a "male hormone," all people produce testosterone. Physicians consider a wide range of testosterone levels to be "normal." Many transgender and nonbinary people take testosterone as part of their mental and physical health care. Testosterone therapy often results in a more masculine appearance through facial hair and muscle growth, fat redistribution and lowered vocal pitch. In addition to physical changes, many of our study participants spoke of positive mental health improvements while on testosterone therapy, including feeling calmer, balanced and more fully themselvessometimes for the first times in their lives. This is a common finding across research on hormone therapy and trans and nonbinary people. While there's no universal dosing protocol for trans or nonbinary people undergoing testosterone therapy, the Endocrine Society's treatment guidelines recommend supplementing testosterone until blood ranges fall within those for cisgender men. By basing clinical standards on cisgender men, these guidelines can reproduce sex and gender binaries that may not fit with actual desires of many trans and nonbinary people. Some resist this prescriptive medical model by microdosing testosterone, with or without health care provider support. Trans artist Chella Man weighed the decision of stopping testosterone therapy during pregnancy in a 2022 performance piece. Testosterone and pregnancy When my team and I analyzed our research interviews, we learned that the health care providers in our study typically told their trans patients to stop testosterone therapy either six months before trying to get pregnant or immediately upon becoming aware of pregnancy. They also advised continuing to withhold testosterone therapy until either after birth or stopping chestfeeding (nursing their babies). This could mean a pause in testosterone therapy for up to two years. Why do doctors tell trans and nonbinary patients to stop testosterone therapy during pregnancy? The health care providers we interviewed expressed concerns about patients continuing testosterone while pregnant or chestfeeding. When we asked them what risks they were most concerned about, they often noted that there is either not enough or inconclusive research on using supplemental testosterone during pregnancy. Despite this, nearly all of the providers we interviewed routinely advised patients to pause testosterone therapy without reservation. Some providers compared continuing testosterone therapy during pregnancy to illicit drug use during pregnancy, perceiving it as a future risk to the child. Others suggested that testosterone use during pregnancy is selfish because it prioritizes the parent's own health and well-being in the present over the potential health and well-being of their child in the future. Some providers even suggested that trans and nonbinary patients shouldn't have children if they are unwilling or unable to pause testosterone therapy during pregnancy. In contrast, the trans men and nonbinary people we interviewed described grappling with difficult and weighty decisions around pausing testosterone during pregnancy. These decisions often involved choosing between their own mental health and well-being against the potential health and well-being of their child. As one participant described their experience going off testosterone during pregnancy: "My lows were miserable, depressed, to the point of suicidal. I knew that going back on testosterone would help. I didn't really know whether [my doctor] would be happy to re-prescribe me testosterone and there was a fear there that it would be withheld from me that they were going to say, "Well, sorry, you came off it, you're not getting it back.'" PCOS and producing 'normal' children Despite it being fairly standard medical advice, there remains relatively scant empirical evidence guiding the practice of pausing testosterone therapy for trans men and nonbinary people during pregnancy and chestfeeding. There is also currently no published work on microdosing testosterone during pregnancy. Pursuing parenthood as a trans person in an anti-LGBTQ environment comes with many challenges. Instead, much of the medical literature on the potential developmental effects of "excess androgen" exposure in the womb focuses on pregnant people with polycystic ovary syndrome who have testosterone levels that generally fall between those for cisgender women and men. These studies center on the likelihood of the baby later developing intersex conditions, or having biological traits that do not fit binary definitions of male or female characteristics; later self-identification as lesbian or trans; metabolic and cardiovascular dysfunction, such as obesity; and neuropsychiatric disorders, such as autism and attention-deficit disorder. Most of these concerns have involved children categorized as female at birth. People with polycystic ovary syndrome, however, are not routinely placed on testosterone blockers during pregnancy or discouraged from feeding their infants milk they produce. In my review of our interviews and the medical literature, I became increasingly concerned that this focus on producing "normal" children fails to attend to both natural human diversity in cognitive processing, bodies and identities, and the mental health of trans and nonbinary parents. It may also echo eugenicist policies that attempt to eliminate human characteristics and communities that society deems inferior or bad. But people from these communities have done a great deal of work over the past several decades to ensure they are granted equal rights and protections. Paradoxically, the desire to protect offspring from testosterone exposure during pregnancy and chestfeeding may become a method to prevent the reproduction of some of the very same characteristics held by trans and nonbinary parents themselves. As one participant noted: "There's a bunch of research around androgen exposure in utero and intersex conditions. I did have complex feelings around working hard to not have an intersex child. As someone who is a gender 'other,' to work hard to not create a different body that is a gender 'other' feels weird. It feels hypocritical." Moving beyond one-size-fits-all While concerns about "androgen excess" during pregnancy for trans men and nonbinary people parallel those for people with polycystic ovary syndrome, doctors treat these cases differently. This discrepancy in clinical approach indicates that there may be other pathways forward that don't require stopping testosterone therapy completely. I believe that careful attention to the physical and mental health and well-being of trans and nonbinary people before, during and after pregnancy is long overdue in medicine. Instead of approaching testosterone therapy during pregnancy as a binary yes/no question or a one-size-fits-all standard, investigating how various dosages of testosterone may affect all stages of pregnancy and chestfeeding could lead to better outcomes for both trans parents and their children. Explore further How low testosterone can affect men's health This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Recent media releases/statements on new prescription-only medicines (POMs), issued by the UK Department of Health and Social Care and its executive NHS agencies, risks spurning the strict regulations on the promotion of these drugs, warns Dr. James Cave, editor in chief of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB), now in its 60th year, in this month's edition. The language is often overtly promotional and sensationalized, while the content omits key information for patients, he suggests. "In [DTB's] opinion, several of the announcements have not provided a balanced discussion of the potential harms and benefits of treatment, with some using language that might be more at home in an advertising agency," he writes. So alarmed have the editors and the editorial board of DTB become by this trend that they have written today to the heads of NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), voicing serious concerns about the apparent loss of objectivity in external communications. In the editorial, Dr. Cave sets out the framework for the promotion and advertising of POMs, which in the UK is tightly regulated by law, with detailed guidance published in the MHRA's Blue Guide. This stipulates that POMs can be promoted to healthcare professionals, but mustn't be advertised to the general public. Any advertisement must present the medicine objectively "and without exaggerating its qualities" and comply with the details listed in the summary of product characteristics, it says. To avoid being considered an advert, other factual statements and reference material must avoid product claims, while press releases should deploy language that is "factual and not sensationalized," it states. "The guidance also makes it clear that anyone could be viewed as promoting a medicine irrespective of a commercial link to the sale of the product," Dr. Cave points out. The MHRA advises organizations involved in the prescription and supply of POMs that information "should be presented in the context of a balanced overview of all treatment options and relevant disease information," he adds. The Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority also notes that information, claims, and comparisons "must not mislead either directly or by implication, by distortion, exaggeration or undue emphasis," he highlights. Yet several recent examples of media releases issued by the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, NICE, and the MHRA would appear to contravene these strict regulations, he says. These include those for inclisiran (Leqvio), an injectable cholesterol-lowering drug, initially described by several government departments as a "cutting-edge new cholesterol treatment" and subsequently by NICE as "groundbreaking" and "a potential game-changer," despite there being no evidence of an effect on cardiovascular outcomes, notes Dr. Cave. Neither announcement included any information on possible harms associated with the drug. A recent NICE press release for romosozumab (Evenity) mistakenly claimed that it "is the only drug available that can help to form bone as well as increase existing bone strength" and included relative rather than absolute reductions in fracture risk. The wording was amended after DTB intervened. The cancer drug larotrectinib (Vitrakvi) was also described by NICE as "game-changing" and "cutting-edge" even though the clinical evidence didn't support those claims and again there was no detail of its possible harms, points out Dr. Cave. The MHRA's press release on the antiviral molnupiravir (Lagevrio) described it as a "game-changer" and "ground-breaking treatment" and included only the relative reduction in risk of hospital admission or death; didn't mention possible harms; and did not make it clear that the drug had only been tested in people who hadn't been vaccinated against COVID-19 infection. The letter reiterates DTB's concerns about these particular examples, stating, "We consider that various press releases are at risk of promoting POMs to the public as well as doing the promotional work of pharmaceutical companies." The degree of hyperbole and omission of important information "leaves patients and healthcare professionals with a limited and unbalanced view of a medicine," it says. "Your organizations are vital to the maintenance of a safe health system, and objectivity regarding the development, licensing and description of all POMs is essential," the letter emphasizes. But it warns, "The absence of balanced and contextualized information on the potential harms and benefits of each drug is a serious omission that risks undermining confidence in the objectivity of your organizations." "We suggest that NICE, MHRA and NHS England should present information about new medicines objectively, include information on harms and benefits, and leave expressions such as 'cutting-edge,' 'game changing' and 'ground-breaking' to the advertising agencies," it concludes. Explore further UK approves Pfizer bivalent COVID vaccine ahead of booster drive ZAMBOANGA CITY Four people were killed and three others wounded in separate gun attacks in the restive Muslim province of Basilan in south... TUESDAY, Sept. 27, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Children who fall ill with COVID-19 may have a slightly increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes, a new study suggests. Researchers found that of more than 285,000 children with COVID, 0.04% were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes over the next six months. While that's a small percentage, it was 72% higher than the rate in a comparison group of kids with no history of COVID. Experts said the findings do not prove that COVID is to blame. But the study adds to a body of evidence linking the infection to heightened risks of various long-term health conditions. Type 1 diabetes is far less common than type 2 diabetes, which typically arises in adulthood and is often associated with obesity. In contrast, type 1 is an autoimmune disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks cells in the pancreas that produce insulin -- a hormone that helps move sugars from food into body cells to be used for fuel. People can develop type 1 diabetes at any age, but it usually strikes in childhood. A number of studies have tied COVID to an increased risk of adults developing type 2 diabetes, but less has been known about whether kids with the infection might have a heightened risk of type 1. "It's a tiny portion of children with COVID who get type 1 diabetes," said Rong Xu, one of the researchers on the new study. So for any one child, the risk would be quite small, according to Xu, a professor at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland. But, she added, since a huge swath of the world's population has been or will be exposed to COVID, even a small increase in the risk of type 1 diabetes could translate into a large number of cases. There is no cure for type 1 diabetes, and people with the disease need to take synthetic insulin every day for life. An infectious disease expert stressed, however, that the findings do not prove that COVID directly raises the risk of type 1. The autoimmune reaction that leads to the disease develops over time. And one possibility is that kids with such autoimmunity were more likely to contract COVID, said Dr. Aaron Glatt, chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, N.Y. Still, the notion that a viral infection could trigger type 1 diabetes is not new, said Glatt, who is also a spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. He was not involved with the study. Glatt noted that researchers have long theorized that certain viruses might set off the autoimmune reaction that causes type 1 diabetes -- in people with a genetic susceptibility, for example. "But that's not proven," Glatt stressed. There is other evidence, from lab research, supporting the idea that COVID infection can lead to diabetes, including type 1. Shuibing Chen, an associate professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, is among the researchers doing that work. She said that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, has been detected in pancreatic beta cells from patients who died of the infection; beta cells are responsible for producing insulin. And in the lab, Chen's team has found that SARS-CoV-2 infection seems to change beta cells in a way that decreases insulin expression and boosts expression of glucagon -- a hormone that raises blood sugar. It's possible, Chen said, that SARS-CoV-2 could lead to diabetes by directly damaging pancreatic cells, and -- particularly in the case of type 1 -- by spurring an immune response in the pancreas that furthers the damage. The new findings -- recently published in JAMA Network Open -- are based on health records from more than 570,000 pediatric patients from 15 countries. Half had been diagnosed with COVID at some point between March 2020 and December 2021. The other half had contracted a different type of respiratory infection during the same period. In the COVID group, just over 0.04% were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes within six months of infection. That rate was 72% higher versus the comparison group, where 0.025% of kids developed diabetes. After researchers weighed certain other factors, including family history of diabetes, COVID infection was still linked to an 83% higher risk of diabetes at the six-month mark. Clearly, the experts said, the vast majority of kids with COVID do not develop type 1 diabetes. So if the virus does trigger the disease in some, other factors -- like genetic susceptibility -- would have to be at play, too. At this point, Xu said, it's unclear how long the diabetes risk remains elevated post-COVID, or how COVID severity fits in. While questions remain, Glatt said the message for parents is straightforward: "This is yet another reason to protect your kids from COVID." More information The American Academy of Pediatrics has more on post-COVID conditions. SOURCES: Rong Xu, PhD, professor, biomedical informatics, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Cleveland; Aaron Glatt, MD, chief, infectious diseases and hospital epidemiologist, Mount Sinai South Nassau, Oceanside, N.Y., and professor, medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City; Shuibing Chen, PhD, associate professor, chemical biology in surgery, and chemical biology in biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City; JAMA Network Open, Sept. 23, 2022, online By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad Forests cover one-third of the planets land surface. Scientists consider forests one of the most important ecosystems on the planet. It is trees that make the Earth habitable. Forest watersheds contain up to 70 percent of the freshwater supply and at the same time, forests are home to 75 percent of terrestrial animal and bird species. Forests and trees give people clean air. It is not a coincidence that they are called the lungs of the planet. At the same time, they protect the Earth from global warming. Forests, which are located on the territory of nearly any state, are almost always complicated complex ecosystems, and it is impossible not to assess the importance of these systems in terms of their impact on the surrounding space, its restoration, and preservation. Forests in Azerbaijan Azerbaijan has become popular all over the world for its captivating beauty, abundant natural resources, and diverse flora and fauna. Forests occupy 11.8 percent of the entire territory of Azerbaijan and are unevenly distributed. Nearly 85 percent of the forests are in mountainous areas and only 15 percent are in the lowlands. The total forest fund of the country is 1.2m hectares. Process of forests restoration Each resident of Azerbaijan accounts for 0.2 hectares of green space. To note, this figure is 0.48 hectares for other countries. The countrys Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry has set a goal of achieving world standards for the area of forest per capita. In this regard, during the current year, the ministry intends to reforest an area of 1,050 hectares. In Azerbaijan, during reforestation, attention is paid to mixed-type forest plantations. Terraced planting is also carried out to maximize water retention in the soil. Moreover, tree planting actions are taking place on a regular basis in different parts of the country. The forests in Azerbaijan are managed on the basis of the Forest Code and the law On Environmental Protection. National forest program Azerbaijans Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry has prepared a national forest program, with the technical support of the representation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The program, covering the years 2022-2030, has been already submitted for consideration to the relevant bodies. Liberated territories The program also provides for large-scale reforestation in Azerbaijans liberated territories. The forest belts, especially the mountain forests in the liberated territories, have been severely damaged. Armenians damaged Azerbaijans nature, biodiversity, and the whole ecosystem, deliberately setting fire to 100 hectares of land. Azerbaijans natural monuments destroyed by Armenia in the previously occupied territories cannot be restored. Out of 230,000 hectares of forest that existed in East Zangazur and Karabakh before the occupation, 54,000 hectares, that is 25 percent, had been destroyed. Mass deforestation has led to desertification and the destruction of forest ecosystems, flora, and fauna species. Due to the removal of felled valuable tree species growing in these territories, the protection of biodiversity has reached its critical limit. The forest must be protected not only by the state but also by every inhabitant of the Earth. People are part of nature and cannot exist separately. Mankind is not fully aware of the seriousness of the problem of coexistence in peace with the surrounding world. Without making an effort, the ecological problems of forest areas will occupy one of the main niches in the world order. Six Republican-led states are suing the Biden administration to try and halt its plan to forgive student loan debt for millions of Americans. They're accusing it of overstepping its executive powers. Its at least the second legal challenge this week to the sweeping proposal laid out by President Joe Biden in late August, when he said his administration would cancel up to $20,000 in education debt for millions of borrowers. As the lawsuit was being filed, the administration quietly scaled back eligibility rules for the debt relief, eliminating a relatively small group of borrowers who are the subject of legal debate in the suit. If you want to tour Glacier National Park by air, you'll need to set plans in the next couple years: The park will end commercial air tours at the close of the decade in 2029. Until then, the National Park Service will regulate tour routes and altitudes for existing tour operators. The one allowed tour route is a significant reduction from routes previously flown in Glacier. Before tours are phased out entirely, the plan allows air tour operators to conduct a total 144 tours annually. That's the average number of yearly tours over three years, 201719, before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted travel and tourism. The annual number of commercial air tours over the park has fluctuated wildly in recent years. The park saw 767 tours in 2016; there were 109 tours the next year. Decades in the making, the decision to regulate and phase out air tours was laid out in a congressionally mandated Air Tour Management Plan for the National Park Service released Friday. The plan stems from legislation, litigation and a park management plan stretching back to the 1990s. The plan was released 22 years after the passage of a law that requires the National Park Service and Federal Aviation Administration to regulate air tours over parks. But Glacier Park's is one of the first to be released after a 2020 court order instructing the agencies to enact the law. Regulations on flights Rather than allowing operators to fly over the park at will, the plan sets a single route for all tours that only one aircraft can fly at a time. The route is a clockwise loop beginning and ending where aircraft enter and exit the park above its West Glacier entrance. The loop proceeds northeast into the park over Lake McDonald, over Glacier Headwall, does a large 180-degree turn to the right over The Loop switchback and Road Camp on Going-to-the-Sun Road, and then proceeds back toward West Glacier along the eastern shore of Lake McDonald. Existing tours traveled well beyond that route, reaching as far as Upper Waterton Lake and the U.S.-Canada border, and flying over Logan Pass. Under the plan, helicopters must fly more than 2,600 feet above the ground surface and fixed-wing aircraft must fly more than 3,100 feet above the ground. Those limits include exceptions for "takeoff, landing and emergency situations." Previously, air tours had at times flown within 500 feet of the ground, according to the 263-page Record of Decision for the plan, issued jointly by the National Park Service and the Federal Aviation Administration. The plan also prohibits hovering or circling, limits tour operators to no more than three daily tours each, limits tour operations to between one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset, and allows for no-fly periods for park management and park or tribal events. The plan requires operators to equip aircraft with monitoring equipment and submit flight monitoring data to the National Park Service and Federal Aviation Administration twice yearly. The plan applies to the full area of the park and all lands outside the park within 0.5 miles of the park boundary. The Record of Decision and the plan were signed Sept. 19 and will take effect 90 days from that date, on Dec. 18. Two air tour operators, Red Eagle Aviation and Minuteman Aviation, account for nearly all commercial air tours over the park in recent years. Red Eagle Aviation conducted 158 tours in 2020, the most recent year tabulated in the Record of Decision. That was up slightly from 153 in 2019 and 150 in 2018, and drastically up from as few as 19 tours in 2015. Minuteman Aviation, under the name Montana Air Adventures, reported only five tours in 2020, eight in 2019, six in 2018 and none in 2017. But the company logged 640 tours in 2016, 582 in 2015, 715 in 2014 and 106 in 2013. Homestead Helicopters operated between zero and nine tours annually between 2013 and 2020. Kruger Helicopter Service, which logged 187 flights in 2019 but none in 2020, surrendered its authorization to fly in the park in 2021, as did Montana By Air LLC, which recorded an annual high of four tours in 2019. Under the plan, Homestead Helicopters is allocated three annual flights, Minuteman Aviation gets five flights a year, and Red Eagle Aviation is allowed 136 flights a year. Until air tours cease completely on Dec. 31, 2029, "commercial air tours will be phased out through attrition and, during that period, if an operator ceases operations the total number of commercial air tours authorized per year over the park will automatically be reduced by the number of operations allocated to that operator." Court-ordered action The plan to phase out commercial air tours over the park traces its origin back to at least the late 1990s, when a years-long public process culminated in Glacier Park's current General Management Plan and its supporting Environmental Impact Statement, issued in 1999. The plan called for the cessation of air tours over the park. "Though the GMP acknowledged that commercial air tours could provide some park visitors with a way to experience the grandeur of the parks interior," officials stated in the Record of Decision for the air tour plan, "it explained that '(t)he Going-to-the-Sun Road offers a singular experience, comparable to seeing the park by air' and that 'many other roads in and around the park also provide magnificent views' that are available to everyone." Citing the park's General Management Plan, the Air Tour Management Plan Record of Decision noted that "the negative impacts to visitor experience, potential effects to wildlife, and overwhelming public support for banning commercial air tours were cited as justifications for the preferred alternative" of ending the tours. A year later, in 2000, Congress passed the National Park Air Tour Management Act. The law required the National Park Service and Federal Aviation Administration to jointly develop an Air Tour Management Plan for any park where commercial air operators were conducting, or were intending to conduct, air tours. The law gave the agencies authority to prohibit air tours over a park. And then, nothing happened: Neither agency actually developed any plans. In 2019, the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for an order forcing the National Park Service and Federal Aviation Administration to actually enact the law and develop long overdue plans. On May 1, 2020, the court ordered that all 23 eligible parks submit a plan by Aug. 31, 2022. Only two of the 23 parks met the deadline. Olympic and Mount Rainier national parks, which according to PEER have minimal air tour traffic, submitted plans in mid-July this year, one day before the court asked the agencies to file a brief explaining delays in plan development across the National Park System. Glacier's plan, finalized 19 days after the court's deadline and more than 20 years after the passage of the law mandating it, was developed under a Categorical Exclusion in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a law that prescribes how federal agencies analyze proposed actions, their impacts and how to mitigate impacts. A Categorical Exclusion is the least rigorous level of analysis, reserved for proposed actions with no significant impacts. In its Record of Decision for the air tour plan, the agencies concluded that the plan did not require further analysis because it is implementing a goal laid out in the 1999 General Management Plan, which itself was developed via the most rigorous level of analysis provided by NEPA, an Environmental Impact Statement. Essentially, the agencies concluded that the air tour plan didn't require an Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement because the ultimate effect of the plan ending air tours in Glacier was already approved in a prior Environmental Impact Statement. "For the purpose of the categorical exclusion, the 1999 ROD selecting the preferred alternative in the parks GMP (to request that the FAA prohibit commercial air tours over the park) is an approved action," the Record of Decision stated, "though not one that the NPS has the authority to implement on its own." PEER, in a July statement on nationwide plan development delays, took issue with the lack of new NEPA analysis specifically for air tour plans at Glacier and eight other parks with plans expected this winter, stating that "none of those will have undergone the NEPA-required, publicly accessible environmental assessments." The Missoula City Council recommended all six Ward 2 applicants for interviews Wednesday to fill a vacant seat on council, with three councilmembers absent. Mayor Jordan Hess appointment to serve as mayor created the opening in Ward 2, which encompasses the Mullan, Grant Creek and Westside neighborhoods. In order, the interviewees Wednesday will be Sierra Farmer, Teigan Avery, Derek Hitt, Charles Shane, Jack Rowan and Rebecca Dawson. Interviews will be 35 minutes long with eight questions asked round-robin style by councilmembers. The questions concern property taxes, public participation, time commitments and other issues. Selection of the new councilor will take place Oct. 3. The six candidates who applied for the opening bring a diversity of backgrounds to the application process. Sierra Farmer works for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Her application focuses on sustainability at the city level, as well as encouraging public participation in local government. Beyond the city level, Farmer is also interested in tax reform by the state Legislature. Teigan Avery, a University of Montana researcher, was also selected for an interview for mayor during that appointment process. Her priorities include affordable housing, transportation, the possibility of a carbon tax and a progressive property tax. Carpenter Derek Hitt brings a blue-collar perspective to the application process. His application stresses examining impacts of city policies on working class families. His carpentry background also influences his ideas for sustainable building practices in the city. Charles Shane, meanwhile, would focus on securing local control at the city level if selected to serve Ward 2. Shane works as an environmental health specialist with Missoula County and also served in the Air Force. Shared equity housing in which a one-time investment to buy a home using public funds ensures the home is maintained as affordable in perpetuity is another idea Shane would like to explore. Jack Rowan, a chaplain, has lived in the city longer than any of the other applicants. He has worked with various nonprofits in Missoula, and one of his focus areas as a councilor would be balancing affordable housing with preserving agricultural land. Finally, Rebecca Dawson wants to see a more fiscally conservative approach from the city. Dawson is a sales manager at an automotive business. She wants measured and methodical code reform and climate solutions that dont overburden economically disadvantaged families. All populations have a level of vulnerability, Dawson wrote in response to a question about serving Missoulas most vulnerable populations. Two of the candidates Teigan Avery and Jack Rowan showed up to Mondays meeting to advocate for themselves in the selection process. Public commenter Kevin Hunt supported both Avery and Rowan, as well as Hitt. Theres a very heavy representation of capital, both on the council and on its committees and in government in general, Hunt said. Its about time that labor was represented, that workers were represented, not just capital. The people that make the capital for the capitalists need to be represented. In October, the Montana Public Service Commission will decide on NorthWestern Energys requested interim energy rates, prices to pay during the months of the Rate Case, to be decided Spring 2023. PSC will review plenty material per the utilitys request 2,000-odd pages of nuanced rate design, which grasps at the complexity of global energy markets, Montanas grid, and customer behaviors around energy-use. Rate designs aim to maintain reliable power, fairly compensate the utility, and keep power prices reasonable. The work ahead of PSC is impressive, but the scope of their deliberation still needs to account for Montanas housing situation. The housing crisis continues to affect more households, and especially those that are low-income, BIPOC, and multi-generational. This summer, Gov. Gianforte recognized attainable housing to be an enormous challenge. The problem of too little affordable housing remains urgent, and yet it overshadows another deep disparity: quality of housing. Quality of housing affects both energy-use and human health. Pathways between the three create interplay, cause mutual influence, and can soar or spiral depending on household wealth. Their dynamics, which culminate to either preserve or unfasten health, have even greater importance as climate change impacts the ways we need energy. Age of the home, its residents occupation, rural or urban location, insulation, tightness of construction, caliber ventilation, windows, heating/cooling apparatuses and things like refrigerators all comprise housing quality. Often, home retrofits or efficient equipment are expenses left to the household. For example, Dan Rogers from the Missoula Electric Cooperative explained that on average, of ten houses built, nine will be under-insulated. As ability to afford improvements varies unequally, so would NWEs prices disproportionately fall on Montanans. If a house is 100% efficient, every $1 spent on energy to heat the home, cool it, or cook, etc., is exactly equal to $1 of energy (its true, yet fleeting rate). Low-quality and aging structures waste energy, so when their households pay NWE a dollar, they receive a smaller fraction of its value in energy in heat or cooled air, for instance. The price of a dollar of energy amounts to a higher cost and creates a heavy energy burden. A high energy burden cuts into household means for necessities like food and healthcare and contributes to hardship, risks to health, and precarity. A 2020 study found 21% of Montana households to already be energy burdened. Since the study, impacts from COVID-19, housing market consolidation, and radical market fluctuations, all continue to pressure Montana households. A 2021 assessment offered Montanans the chance to describe where they were feeling the pressure most. Even prior to Ukraines cascading effects on the economy, over 40% of people said their greatest need was assistance making housing-related payments. Lacking quantity is not the only driver of housing affordability. Low-quality housing, which impact housing related costs like energy, also fuels the crisis. One presses from the top, the other from the bottom. This pinching together squeezes Montanans household security. The inefficiencies also strain NWEs grid. If extreme, peak times of energy demand can jeopardize the poles and wires that stitch it together. Utilities use rate designs, with pricing incentives or disincentives, to attempt to influence demand via customer behavior. However, these rate designs are failing to influence customers whose energy consumption matters most. Rate designs fail with unique groups for different reasons. Often, customers able to afford efficiency retrofits or things like rebates arent troubled by cost disincentives. High-income households still consume exorbitant energy compared to median income. After the median-income dip, energy consumption spikes again in low-income households, making a U-shaped curve across income-stratified users. However, where lower-income households face barriers to home improvements and live in disinvested neighborhoods, drivers of consumption for high-income households are their members' behaviors. Rather than relying on an undemonstrated rate design to manage peak demand and prices, the PSC should encourage NWE to pursue programming tagged for households with barriers to energy efficiency, which would dually protect NWEs grid and Montanans housing affordability. Home improvements to increase energy performance provide opportunity to invest in a customer group who make up already modest energy users and to secure Montanas energy future. While signs of a recession and Fed rate hikes remain top stories for investors, this week's political headlines are also worth paying attention to as Congress faces a government funding deadline, unrest grows in Iran, and Vice President Kamala Harris lands in Japan. Here are three key stories to watch this week at the intersection of business and politics: Government funding Lawmakers must reach an agreement by Friday in order to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1. A procedural vote in the Senate on Tuesday will test support for the funding bill. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has been pushing to include permitting reforms for energy projects as part of the negotiations, which he argues would loosen red tape to help the economy. Manchin is hoping to win some Republican support, but it's unclear whether he will as many Democrats are advocating to separate the permitting reforms from the continuing resolution. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Part of the continuing resolution will also likely include an additional $13 billion to aid Ukraine against Russia's invasion, as the New York Times reported earlier this month. But a deal reached this week is not likely to last long. Any vote ahead of Oct. 1 will likely just punt the government funding fight until after the midterm elections and ahead of the New Year. Lawmakers in both parties are hoping to avoid any political drama and get back to the campaign trail. Iran sanctions The U.S. Treasury Department relaxed some of its internet sanctions against Iran on Friday to counter some measures taken by Tehran to stifle ongoing protests in the country stemming from the death of a 22-year-old woman in the custody of Iran's morality police. As courageous Iranians take to the streets to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, the United States is redoubling its support for the free flow of information to the Iranian people," Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement last week. "With these changes, we are helping the Iranian people be better equipped to counter the governments efforts to surveil and censor them." Story continues A woman shouts slogans next to an Iranian flag during a protest against the death of Iranian Mahsa Amini, outside Iran's general consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) The move comes as the Biden administration has been exploring a new Iran nuclear disarmament deal after the Trump administration withdrew from the previous agreement. President Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS that the administration will continue the negotiations while speaking out against the repression of women. The Treasury's decision to ease sanctions shows how tech diplomacy has evolved in the geopolitical sphere over the last several years. As the unrest plays out in Iran, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plays a key role in deploying and lifting sanctions. Vice President Kamala Harris travels to Asia Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Japan to attend the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Reuters reported Friday that Harris will discuss Taiwan's security during her meetings with South Korea and Japanese officials. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at the Yokota Air Base on 26 September 2022, in Fussa, Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images) The discussion over Taiwan has escalated recently after President Biden told CBS News's 60 Minutes that U.S. forces would defend Taiwan "if, in fact, there was an unprecedented attack." It was the most precise statement the president has made as it relates to potential U.S. military action in Taiwan. Meanwhile, China has continued to conduct military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, generating uncertainty over how it intends to handle the island. Kevin Cirilli is a visiting media at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub and the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue. Follow him on LinkedIn here. Click here for politics news related to business and money Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube Burke County Public Schools started the fourth season of its podcast last week hosting a conversation with Superintendent Mike Swan about the districts new five-year strategic plan. Learn in Burke: A Burke County Public School Podcast dropped its first episode in September 2019. According to Jonelle Sigmon, marketing and communications specialist for BCPS, the idea was to use a growing medium as a new way to highlight the good things happening in Burke County schools. Podcasts were just becoming a popular thing and me and Cheryl (Shuffler) thought it would be something neat to pursue, Sigmon said. Its just another way that we can highlight the awesome things our students and staff are doing. Since that first episode, the podcast has explored topics from career and technical education and raising grandchildren to vaping, COVID and mental health. In April, season three culminated with a Kindergarten Takeover in which kindergarten students from Hildebran Elementary School answered questions, shared advice and even led a singalong. It was fantastic, Sigmon said. We try to think of ways to get the kids involved as well as some of our staff, so we thought what better grade to get on a podcast than Kindergarten students. She said they gathered a small group of students and began asking them questions about school. We just rolled with it, and it was hilarious, it was inspiring, it was just great, Sigmon said. Sigmon said The Kindergarten Takeover episode was one of the most successful to date. Since 2019, the podcast has tallied more than 4,600 downloads and has been heard from as far away as Australia. In 2019, the podcast was presented with a gold award for excellence in electronic media by the North Carolina School Public Relations Association. As far as Sigmon is aware, Burke County is the only district in the area with a podcast. Sigmon and Shuffler do not have specific episodes planned out in advance, but they have a list of topics they would like to explore this season. Sigmon said they are always on the lookout for good news they can share with the community through the show. We do have a list of things that are possibilities, she said. Things that will highlight are teachers, our students, just anything we even want to highlight our custodians. To find Learn in Burke, visit the podcast website at https://learninburke.blubrry.net/ or find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. You can also subscribe by email or find other subscription options on the podcast website. UPDATE: Due to the forecasted inclement weather, the SAR memorial marker dedication has been cancelled. A local organization is making sure the historical record of the part Morganton played in the Revolutionary War is set in stone. Members of the Col. Alexander Erwin chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution have long desired to place a permanent marker at Greenlee Ford, where patriot militia known as Overmountain Men crossed the Catawba River on their way to a key Revolutionary War battle on Oct. 1, 1780, according to Robert Patton, SAR chapter president. The patriots, who had traveled east from over the mountain, had stopped at Charles McDowells house at the Quaker Meadows plantation in Morganton before making the crossing at the ford, located along what is now the Morganton greenway near where Judges restaurant once was. The patriot militia then made their way to Kings Mountain, where they prevailed against British forces under the command of Maj. Patrick Ferguson in a fight that is believed to have turned the tide of the war in Americas favor. Local history groups present an annual commemoration of the crossing each year. Patton said members of his SAR chapter donated money and raised funds for a memorial monument to be placed on the Morganton greenway near the site of the crossing. They raised about $6,500. The chapter also received a $500 contribution from the state SAR organization and a $4,000 grant from the George Washington Endowment Fund of the national SAR organization, which is specifically earmarked for funding Revolutionary War memorials and monuments. Chapter members used the funds to purchase a 5-ton stone from Quality Stone in Marion. The stone will eventually have a bronze plaque mounted on it that provides information about the crossing and lists the names of militia members who perished at the Battle of Kings Mountain. The group contracted with Roy Mueller of Crane and Rigging of Swannanoa and Carl Harrell of Quality Stone to have the stone placed on the greenway Aug. 17, in partnership with the city of Morganton. Michael Berley, project manager with the city, was onsite to supervise the installation. Several smaller stones have been placed around the larger memorial marker stone. Patton said all of the stones came from a tributary of the Catawba River. The SAR chapter will officially unveil the memorial marker at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, on the Morganton greenway as part of the 242nd anniversary celebration of the crossing. The dedication, which is open to the community, will include presentations, the placing of memorial wreaths and a Mourning at Arms ceremony conducted by the Sons of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Overmountain Victory Trail Association. Speakers will include: Diana Bramble, superintendent of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail and the Kings Mountain and Cowpens National Military Battlefields David Doan, president of the Overmountain Victory Trail Association William Brown, former Morganton SAR chapter president Ed Phillips, CEO of the Burke County Tourism Development Authority Morganton Mayor Ronnie Thompson Linda Lindsey, president of the Historic Burke Foundation Janie Matthews, regent of the Quaker Meadows chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution Patton noted that Thompson has invited N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper to attend the dedication, but the governors office had not confirmed his appearance by press time. Normally, a celebration of this historical event would include a recreation of the river crossing by the OVTA reenactors, but a safety issue with the flow of the river this year will prevent them from entering the water. They plan to fire a ceremonial volley with their muskets from the bank of the river. This is part of the legacy we have in Morganton with Charles McDowell at his house, where all those men gathered, Patton said. One thousand, three hundred and ninety of them crossed here. This history is one of the most important facets of what occurred here before Morganton really, completely existed. Following the monument dedication, the Historic Burke Foundation will continue to celebrate the anniversary of the crossing with a Life on the Homefront living history event from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at the historic Capt. Charles McDowell house at 119 St. Marys Church Road in Morganton, according to Linda Lindsey, HBF president. The free event is open to the public. The historic home, built in 1812, is near the site where the patriots gathered in 1780 on their way to Kings Mountain. The afternoon will offer more than 20 interactive stations for adults and children in the house, the restoration kitchen and on the grounds, Lindsey said. The focus will be on life on the Burke County frontier in the days leading up to the battle at Kings Mountain. The event will include demonstrations of green woodworking, fire-starting with steel and flint, dyeing cloth, spinning, knitting and lacemaking. There will be discussions about animals used for food, meal preparation, wearing and tending clothes without zippers or Velcro and housekeeping without plastics. Reenactors will share information about powder horns, long rifles, haversacks packed for a weeks travel on horseback, and musket firing. HBF will offer Colonial-era games and music for kids, as well as a scavenger hunt. Local resident Rebecca Heacock will present a first-person dramatization of her ancestor, Grace Greenlee McDowell, wife of Col. Charles McDowell and mother of the Charles McDowell who lived in the house where the event is taking place. Heacock is a fifth great-granddaughter of Grace and Charles and an HBF board member. Bramble and members of the OVTA will be special guests at the event. The OVTA members will be on their annual march Sept. 23 to Oct. 7 from Abingdon, Virginia, to Kings Mountain to celebrate the long shot victory of the Overmountain Men in the Battle of Kings Mountain. Some of these annual marchers will tell the story of the Overmountain Men throughout the afternoon, Lindsey said. In addition, HBF members will share information about plans for the log structure behind the visitors center. Select items from the Historic Burke Foundation gift shop will be available for purchase. The entire afternoon will be interactive, so questions and conversation will be welcome, Lindsey said. To learn more about the celebration, visit historicburke.org or the Historic Burke Foundation Facebook page. DEER LODGE Montana voters opted nearly two years ago by ballot initiative to legalize marijuana use by adults 21 and older and to legalize certain marijuana businesses. The pro-legalization ranks included voters in Powell County and Deer Lodge. Yet there are no marijuana businesses inside the city limits of Deer Lodge and none, yet, in Powell County. On Nov. 8, Deer Lodge voters will find that their ballot includes questions about marijuana businesses and their potential presence in the city. The questions reflect Legislative action that tweaked the 2020 initiative. House Bill 701, passed in 2021, provided an option for voters to prohibit marijuana businesses of a certain type. The seven types include: cultivators, manufacturers, medical marijuana dispensaries, testing labs, marijuana transport facilities or combination use. Voters will be able to indicate a for or against for each type. If they vote against all seven there will be no marijuana-related businesses in the city. Their votes in November will have no impact on the legal use and possession of marijuana by adults in Deer Lodge. Jordan Green, the citys chief administrative officer, said Deer Lodge isnt taking a position about the presence of marijuana related businesses in the city. He said opponents who attended a City Council meeting earlier this year raised issues about potential impacts on young people in the city and the proximity of such businesses to churches and schools. He acknowledged that the city could benefit from tax revenue from the sale of marijuana. Deer Lodge City Council passed a resolution in March to bring the marijuana question to voters. We want everyone to be as informed as possible about this ballot issue, so people arent surprised when it hits the ballot box, Green said. A majority of states in the U.S. allow use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. A lesser number, including Montana, has sanctioned recreational use, with conditions. Meanwhile, an interim zoning ordinance would restrict marijuana-related businesses to Deer Lodges B-2 Highway Business District, more than 1,000 feet from churches, schools and playgrounds and would require a potential business of this type to get a conditional use permit. The interim ordinance was designed to provide oversight of any potential marijuana-related business until the November vote. We havent had any potential businesses try in the meantime, Green said. In January, Powell County approved a conditional use permit for a retail medical and recreational marijuana business that planned to locate on Vigilante Drive, but that project has not moved forward. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy Taiwan, Germany and Italy all rank high on the list of countries where Montana imports the most goods from, according to data from the U.S. Ce By Trend Today marks two years since the beginning of the Second Karabakh War, Trend reports. Azerbaijani citizens, state officials and other persons have been visiting the Second Alley of Martyrs in Baku since the morning. The memory of the heroes who gave their lives for the sake of liberation from the occupation of their native lands is being honored and flowers are laid at their graves In Baku and the regions of Azerbaijan. Recently, a guest view by Tammi Fisher posted in the Montana Standard on Sept. 15, expressed the authors disdain of comments made by a former Montana legislator and current developer of a scorecard that the Montana GOP adopted to rank and comment on Montana legislators. Such scorecards are not for the purpose of determining best representation for Montana constituents, but to advance the agenda of the GOP machine. We thank Miss Fisher for bringing to light the latest racist comments and views which continue to plague our country. Mr. Butchers comments are a reflection upon himself, his family, his community and the GOP. I am still trying to figure out how he can determine the intelligence of Native Americans? He surely cannot use himself as a frame of reference. His comments do bring up assessments such as not being the brightest bulb in the pack or being one sandwich short of a picnic or not having both oars in the water. Something tells me that he has heard these assessments during his lifetime. If the GOP has removed their acknowledgement of Native American constitutional rights, as Miss Fisher stated in her Sept. 15, guest view, for an indigenous group that were here before Montana statehood and even before this new era of out-of-state migrants who feel they know what is best for the people of Montana, then it is their loss. And a loss for the people of Montana. For Native Americans have been teachers in American political ways, in farming, in sustaining the land, in war strategy and in living respectfully on this Earth. It comes as no surprise that there are still basic racists within Montana, as in any state in the union. What is always surprising and disappointing is when certain ill-advised and ill-spoken individuals display their miscreant behavior focused on an individual group of people, most of whom he has never met. Most of whom he will never meet. And we are better off for that. Mr. Butchers having to create a platform because he is no longer in the Montana legislature, shows his frustration and need for attention. Bullying propensities show when the individual is feeling out of control or a need to put someone down to feel better about themselves. There is an old adage better to be silent and be thought a fool, then to speak and remove all doubt. If someone can find a third-grader to explain that to Ed Butcher, maybe he will understand that running down someone or a group of people does not make him a better or more knowledgeable person. Instead, it continues to highlight his ignorance, fear and hatred. The Montana Office of Public Instruction (MOPI) recently released Montana School rankings. Data on Butte schools was shockingly bad. Butte schools are not doing very well. The causes are unclear but the data-based results are undeniable. All must be concerned because almost every problem in our community is linked to poor educational performance. We also have a moral debt to our students to provide a quality educational experience. We are all concerned about Buttes illegal drug use epidemic. According to JAMA, there is a direct correlation between low educational achievement and teen drug use. According to the CDC, higher educational achievement leads to less drug use. Overall, poor educational performance leads to bad health, poverty, unemployment/underemployment, increased depression and psychological problems. Poor educational performance afflicts the local economy and increases community inequality. Politically, poor educational levels lead to an inability to make smart political decisions, greater tendency to support authoritarian leaders, radicalization, intolerance/bigotry and embracing absurd conspiracy theories, all of which are abundantly evident today. Well, how problematic are Butte schools? The latest numbers from the MOPI ESSA report indicate that 76% of Butte High students are below proficient in math; 50% below proficient in reading and 72% below proficient in science. Butte elementary students are 69% below proficient in math; 57% below proficiency in reading and science is unreported. According to U.S. News and World Report, Butte High School is in the bottom 25% in science, and below 50% in math and reading. According to the AP Index and 1B Exams, Buttes pass rate for advanced placement is 38%. Butte High has a college readiness index of 38%. Only 26% of Butte High seniors are deemed college ready. Reading is the bottom 29% of Montana. Science is the bottom 32% while only 22% are science proficient. According to the Public-School Reviews (2018 and 2019before the pandemic), citing statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics and MOPI, Butte High School is in the bottom 50% overall in testing, the bottom 31% in math proficiency and the bottom 50% in reading proficiency. In 2022, Butte High School was in the bottom 31% in math and bottom 50% overall as well as in reading. Butte High ranked #523 out of 715 Montana High Schools. Schools like Kennedy and Emerson are below the state average for math and English. Kennedys test scores overall are below the state average. (Great Schools. Org) East Middle School is in the bottom 50% overall for Montana and the bottom 34% in Math. At West Elementary, students were in the bottom 34% in math and in the bottom 50% overall. Information on Butte Catholic Schools is hard to obtain but Butte Centrals ACT average is 21.6% which is below the average of 24 for Butte High School. Although there is some statistical variation between studies, the picture is clear. Butte has a major educational problem. What are the causes of this situation? Certainly, Butte has dedicated administrators and teachers. The teachers union is committed to academic excellence and the preponderance of studies indicate that unions either have no negative effect on student performance or actually enhance student performance. We need to determine the causes of Buttes poor performance. We need to collectively, as a community, address these causes. I am not attributing blame. Poverty plays a major roleschools in poorer parts of Butte perform worse than schools in the more affluent areas. Home life dysfunctionality is a critical educational obstruction. Lack of funding is a major factor. School bullying continues. The pressure to inflate graduation numbers contributes. Substance abuse is both a cause and effect of poor educational performance. Poor physical and mental health harms educational outcomes. Clearly, we have a major problem which should not be ignored and which creates and exacerbates a myriad of other social and economic problems. These are our schools. We must not succumb to the societal problem today of denying facts and attacking the messenger and not the message. Not in an accusatory spirit but in a spirit of mutual respect and shared problem solving, we all need to get involved to find a solution. Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much. Helen Keller ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Republicans attacked Democratic Gov. Tim Walz on Monday after a judge took the rare step of disputing the administration's claim that the judge prevented it from cutting off payments to Feeding Our Future, which is the target of a $250 million federal fraud case. The GOP candidates for governor, attorney general and state auditor Scott Jensen, Jim Schultz and Ryan Wilson said Walz and other top Democrats should have done more to stop the alleged fraud before it became what federal prosecutors last week called the largest pandemic-related fraud in the country. But the warring political sides disagree on how far Ramsey County District Judge John Guthmann went toward compelling the Minnesota Department of Education to resume payments to Feeding Our Future. A court statement issued late Friday said the judge never issued an order for the state to resume payments, but the department produced a hearing transcript showing the judge threatened to hold one attorney in contempt if the state failed to restore the flow of funds. The Republican candidates largely accepted the judge's version of events. Jensen called for an independent investigation to report back before he and Walz hold their next debate Oct. 18. What did Governor Walz know? When did he learn what he knew? When did he decide to use a district court judge as a scapegoat for his administration and the Department of Education? ... Who is he trying to protect? Jensen asked at a news conference. The Walz administration defended itself against the GOP allegations, which raise a new issue in a campaign that has been dominated by abortion, crime and the economy. MDE blew the whistle on this fraud scheme. They detected it early and worked diligently to stop it, the governors office said in a statement. MDE repeatedly urged the federal government to investigate and they partnered with the FBI to ensure accountability even as they fought Feeding Our Futures sham lawsuit in court. Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison's office issued a statement saying it had been deeply involved for two years in holding Feeding Our Future accountable. It said the attorney general's office worked closely with the education department as it shared its suspicions and evidence with the FBI. "Without the Attorney Generals involvement alongside MDE in flagging that fraud and turning it over to the criminal investigative power of the federal government, there would likely have been no federal investigation or indictments, the statement said. The FBI has praised this cooperation. Forty-nine people have been charged in the alleged scheme to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic and steal $250 million from federal programs designed to provide low-income children with nutritious meals. The newest defendant was scheduled to leave the U.S. for Turkey but was arrested Monday by the FBI at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Many of the defendants are accused of creating companies that falsely claimed to be offering food to tens of thousands of children across Minnesota, then seeking reimbursement for those meals through the U.S. Department of Agricultures nutrition programs, which are administered in Minnesota by the state Department of Education. Prosecutors said the defendants used the money to buy luxury cars, property and jewelry. Walz said Thursday that the Minnesota Department of Educations hands were tied by a court order for it to resume food program payments, despite concerns the state had raised. And he said the FBI asked the state to continue the reimbursements while its investigation continued. Jensen expressed skepticism that the FBI would have instructed the state to continue to make millions of dollars in fraudulent payments, and called on the agency to clarify. Cyndi Barrington, a spokeswoman for the FBIs Minneapolis field office, said the bureau does not comment on ongoing investigations. Guthmann took the unusual step of pushing back late Friday. The state court system issued a statement with his authorization that said he never ordered the education department to resume payments to Feeding Our Future. But the Minnesota Department of Education insisted late Friday that the judge left it no choice. The court made it clear that if MDE were to continue the legal fight to withhold payments, MDE would incur sanctions and legal penalties, the department said in a statement. The department also circulated a transcript of a hearing before Guthmann last year in which he said the department had failed to meet the legal tests necessary to halt the payments. The leader of the Republican majority in the Minnesota Senate, Jeremy Miller, of Winona, on Monday echoed Jensen's call for Education Commissioner Heather Mueller to resign. Based on Judge Guthmanns statement, Governor Walz and Commissioner Mueller have been dishonest with the public about the legal proceedings and failed to protect taxpayer dollars from the biggest instance of COVID-related fraud in the country," Miller said in a statement. Associated Press writer Amy Forliti contributed to this story. Any tidbit related to Muscatines equal-rights pioneer Alexander Clark gets my attention, so one phrase was all it took to start me researching George Jones, who cultivates A. Clarks farm on the Island (Muscatine Journal, Aug. 22, 1879). Dec. 3, 1863: George Jones exhibited a commendable degree of patience and excellent horsemanship, finally inducing the refractory animal to go off in a horsemanlike manner. Ive learned more, but not very much more, about George Jones, 1828-1888, variously classified by census-takers as Black, White, and Mulatto (mixed). My previous column introduced two of his descendants, Frank Best and Lynn Bartenhagen. I asked them: How long have you been searching/researching your ancestries? What's been most surprising or memorable about the experience? How has all this affected your views on race? Frank: It was opening an entirely different story in American History that I never knew. Its really hard to put into words how much this has affected me. To understand that parts of my family were enslaving people and parts of my family were the enslaved. It has given me a completely new perspective on what it means to be African-American in this country. Lynn said shes been researching family history since she was 16. DNA testing confirmed Black ancestry on both sides of her family. When Ancestry [dot-com] offered DNA tests I was excited to do mine and see if that helped me find new relatives. It has, but it has also been overwhelming. My DNA did not help enough. I now have nine family members who have taken the tests, and this has helped confirm our ancestors on both sides. I have also been contacted on Ancestry by a gentleman working on the other side of the family trying to find our connection. He was excited when I said I would work with him. He had been turned down by others as he was Black. We are still trying to find that ancestor. She and Frank compare notes on their finds. They explore different family trees, of course, with 3rd great-grandparents George and his French-born wife, Victoria Knapp, as their common ancestors. Lynn: I lose track of time working in the past all the time. I was surprised by how long Ive been searching for certain ancestors. Keeping that in mind I do work on both sides of my family and when I find information I follow the lead until I hit a roadblock. Frank said he is still trying to figure out if George was free before he came to Muscatine, a question hes pursued for the past decade. Frank, describing another of his ancestral lines: My great grandmother if I do the DNA additions correct was around 28 percent Sub-Saharan African. So, whoever my great grandmothers father was, he was more than likely over 50 percent Sub-Saharan African. Another question for you both: How do your relatives feel about your discoveries? Frank: Some have been very excited to know more family history. Some dont want to know any more. Lynn: None of my living relatives were surprised or bothered by my ancestry revelations. I mean, how can you have family in America since the beginning and not think that finding other nationalities and ethnicities is not going to happen? Frank: This entire search has opened up a world of African American history in the Midwest I never knew. You hear about Reconstruction and the Great Migration, but never history of what was happening right here in places like Des Moines and even Ottumwa, Iowa. There was such a boom within the Black communities at the time. There was a clear economic boom happening from the 1890s until the 1930s in these communities. Folks receiving not only high school diplomas but receiving college educations. I cant even express what an incredible eye-opening experience this has been. Just the meeting of family members with shared ancestors but a very different history, all because someone in my line passed. Anyway, I just wanted to share the incredible journey I have been on. I can put you in touch with my cousins as well if you would like their perspective on this journey. I am sure it was a bit strange for them to have some white guy from Iowa contacting them with the news that we were sharing parts of the same African, and probably white, ancestry. I am working with another cousin who feels the stories I have uncovered are a book waiting to happen. A funny side story, when [he] and I first talked on the phone he asked gently, So, looking at your photo I assume you identify as a white guy? I guess I never knew I had a choice. From all the tales and details Frank has told me, it will take him at least one book. Next time: John Brown was here. We would like to hear from the candidates. For many years the League of Women Voters of Muscatine County has held candidate forums to inform and educate voters. These meetings not only provide an opportunity for every candidates to introduce themselves to the public in addition to discussing voter concerns. Elected officials represent the people. Those who run may have different reasons to take on this role, but to represent the people in their district is certainly one of them. Candidates who bypass opportunities to meet the people in their districts forums, debates, and other events, minimize the voters vital information about what the candidate would like to accomplish. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization with a reputation for providing candidate forums for all candidates. In this election, we canceled the forum we anticipated holding! We are disappointed that some candidates in contested races chose not to discuss the issues nor share their opinions with Muscatine County voters. The LWV of Muscatine County invited all candidates in contested races to a candidates forum. Not all accepted. That is unfortunate. Voters deserve better. League of Women Voters of Muscatine County Holly Oppelt, President A three-day hearing regarding the merger of Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern is being held in Washington, D.C. by the federal Surface Transportation Board. The hearing began Wednesday, Sept. 28 and will close Friday, Sept. 30. The hearings will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. Eastern Time each day. The registration deadline to testify at the hearing has already passed. The hearing is being live-streamed on the Boards YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgd2FPpKSpQZ57p771aafNg/live. The formal hearing comes after seven in-person and virtual hearings to gather information on the merger. The board is expected to reach a decision on the merger early next year. The cities of Muscatine and Bettendorf have each accepted an offer of $3 million not to challenge the merger, while the City of Davenport has received a total of $10 million. The merger is expected to triple the amount of rail traffic in the area. MUSCATINE Last week, Muscatine saw another successful turn-out with its annual Walk to End Alzheimers event. Through this event, participants were able to raise over $23,000 for Alzheimers awareness and research. The event also saw around 150 walkers participate in the Walk itself. The walk this year went really well. The Muscatine community is always really supportive of the walk. Weve held it at the Pearl City Station for a number of years now, Lauren Livingston, Director of Communications for the Alzheimers Association Iowa Chapter said. At just over $23,000 so far, were 80 percent of the way to overall goal, which doesn't include the funds that came in the day of the Walk yet. We will also continue fundraising through the end of the year, so theres plenty of time to still raise that final amount in order to hit our $30,000 goal, but were really pleased with where we are now. Livingston continued. For this years Walk, the fundraisers Top Team was Team Impact Fitness and Nutrition, which was led by local couple and Impact Fitness owners Scott and Autumn Schultz, who were able to raise $3,700, going well beyond their goal of $3,000. This is our third year being a part of the Walk, Autumn said, We start fundraising in March using different events and different ways throughout the entire year, and so weve already started planning on what we want to do here at Impact and in Muscatine to continue raising awareness year-round. Autumn added that the event was especially personal to her husband, who lost his mother to Alzheimers in 2007 and father to dementia this year. Although they werent able to attend the Walk personally because of a funeral, she said that both she and Scott were overjoyed to see photos of all the walkers who did participate. So many people are coming back now that (the pandemic) has thankfully settled down, and weve loved seeing the increase in numbers of how many people got involved with the walk this year. The Walk is truly something that means so much to us, and we are so thankful for not only everyone in Muscatine but our athletes here at the gym who raise awareness and funds, Autumn continued. One of the supporters who helped Impact Fitness in its fundraising was Megan Jones, who was named a Top Walker for raising over $1,500. Other top supporters for this years walk were Team United Way of Muscatine, which raised $2,100, and Addington Attacking Alz, which raised over $1,000. Across the country, the Walk to End Alzheimers is seen as the largest fundraiser for Alzheimers and dementia care support and research. Livingston noted that the funds raised through the Walk also provides services locally in the Muscatine area, such as education programs and support groups for caregivers. Another purpose of the Walk, Livingston emphasized, was its focus on raising awareness for what Alzheimers is, the warning signs of the disease and why its so important to one day find a cure, in addition to providing visible support. Everyone who is at the Walk has been touched by this disease in some way, and they can meet with and see other people who have been through that fight as well, Livingston said. It just means so much when we see everyone in Muscatine helping us raise funds and awareness for something that can take someones mental and physical health away from them, Autumn added, sharing similar sentiments. To donate to Muscatine's 2022 campaign, residents can go to alz.org/walk. South African motorists would shave hundreds or thousands of rands per month from car running costs if they could switch to an electric vehicle (EV) under Eskoms proposed new power tariff plan. That is according to an analysis of the costs to charge various EVs with the new tariffs compared to filling up the most fuel-efficient petrol, diesel, and hybrid cars in South Africa. South Africans tend to be highly sceptical of EVs, which is no surprise given the frequency of load-shedding that could make it difficult to charge your car as and when you please. But EVs can add relatively large amounts of range every hour they are charged. In stage 4 load-shedding, you stand to be without power for up to six hours per 24-hour cycle, with a maximum of four falling within the 12-hour period that you might be home. That would leave you with at least eight hours to charge your car at home, which is plenty of time to top up most EV batteries for a typical commute. Rapid public chargers also allow for charging at much faster speeds if you need a quick refill provided you are willing to pay a premium over your home electricity charges. Another feature to consider is that some electric cars can provide backup power to your home during load-shedding. That includes Kias EV6 electric crossover, which is confirmed to be coming to South Africa. Its vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability gives you a power output of up to 3.6kW and either 58kWh or 77.4kWh of capacity, equal to multiple Tesla Powerwalls. Other electric vehicles that support this feature include Fords F-150 Lightning and the Fisker Ocean. Many have also raised concerns over the potential impact of EV charging on Eskoms grid. Eskom told MyBroadband it had factored EV adoption into its future projections for growth in demand. The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019 projected the influence of EVs to be minimal in the IRP window up to 2030 and indicated that future IRP will include a scenario to test the penetration of EVs, the utility said. Although EV sales might increase, there are a number of sectors aiming for higher electrification applications, and therefore EVs will form part of the forecast and not be treated in isolation. Eskom has also recently submitted a new tariff plan to Nersa seeking to revamp how South Africas electricity tariffs are calculated. While it introduces additional fixed capacity costs, it also does away with the Incline Block Tariff (IBT). The result is the price per kWh of electricity gets cheaper for the average and above-average consumer. Naturally, people who acquire electric cars will use more electricity than before to charge them, so the tariff change will likely benefit them. Time-of-use tariff Furthermore, Eskom is proposing a residential time-of-use tariff called Homeflex, which will be optional for all Eskom-connected customers and could bring additional benefits if you time your car charging well. Eskom said this tariff would provide the correct pricing signal for EV charging and usage depending on the hour that batteries are charged. So if charged in off-peak hours, these charging costs will be at a much lower rate than the tariff rate in a peak hour, Eskom said. This also greatly incentivises the use of alternative energy sources to also charge EV batteries. One of Eskoms proposed time-of-use tariffs, dubbed Homeflex 4, is detailed in the table below. Eskom proposed Homeflex 4 tariffs September to May (low demand) Times June to August (high demand) Times Standard tariff R1.04 Weekdays: 08:0017:00 and 20:0022:00 Saturdays: 07:0011:00 and 18:00 to 20:00 Sundays: 18:00 to 20:00 R1.10 Weekdays: 08:0017:00 and 20:0022:00 Saturdays: 07:0011:00 and 18:00 to 20:00 Sundays: 18:00 to 20:00 Peak tariff R1.77 Weekdays: 07:0009:00 and 17:0020:00 R4.11 Weekdays: 06:0008:00 and 17:0020:00 Off-peak tariff R0.77 Weekdays: 00:0006:00 and 22:00 to 00:00 Saturdays: 00:0007:00, 12:0017:00 and 20:0000:00 Sundays: 00:0018:00 and 20:0000:00 R0.77 Weekdays: 17:0020:00 Saturdays: 00:0007:00, 12:0017:00 and 20:0000:00 Sundays: 00:0017:00 and 19:0000:00 We calculated how much it would cost to recharge an EV under Eskoms Homeflex 4 and fixed Homepower 4 tariffs. We then compared the cost per kilometre for a fully-charged electric vehicle to that of various fuel-efficient petrol, diesel, and hybrid cars. In most scenarios, whether with Homeflex 4 or the non-time-of-use Homepower 4 tariff, electric vehicles were much more cost-effective than fossil-fuel-based cars. The only exception was the e-Tron which cost slightly more per kilometre to fill during the winter peak than the most fuel-efficient car the Toyota Corolla Hybrid. For example, filling up the EV6s larger 77.4kWh battery from 0-100% would cost just R59.92 if you only charge it overnight on the off-peak tariff during the winter and summer. With the EV6 with this battery offering a WLTP range of 528km, it works out to roughly 11 cents per kilometre when only using off-peak electricity. If you charge only with the standard tariff during the summer, a complete refill will cost R80.60, while doing the same during the winter will cost R85.77, working out to 15 cents and 16 cents, respectively. Even when charging during the most expensive peak hours of winter, the cost per kilometre worked out to 60 cents cheaper than the 82 cents to R1.28 the petrol, diesel, and hybrid cars would cost. Refuelling and refilling cost comparison Model Full tank/charge cost Maximum range Cost per kilometre Unleaded 95 Petrol for R23.38 per litre / 50ppm diesel for R24.15 Fiat 500 Dolcevita (best petrol) R818.30 875km R0.93 Mahindra KUV 100 (best diesel) R845.25 795km R1.06 Toyota Corolla Hybrid XS (best non-plug-in hybrid) R1,005.34 1,229km R0.82 Kia Sonet Turbo 1.0 (comparable Kia crossover) R1,052.10 819km R1.28 Summer and Winter Off-peak R0.77 per kWh Audi e-tron Quattro Advanced (95kWh) R73.54 441km R0.17 BMW iX xDrive50 (111.5kWh) R86.32 630km R0.14 Kia EV6 (77.4kWh) R59.92 528km R0.11 Summer Standard R1.04 per kWh Audi e-tron Quattro Advanced (111.5kWh) R98.93 441km R0.22 BMW iX xDrive50 (111.5kWh) R116.10 630km R0.18 Kia EV6 (77.4kWh) R80.60 528km R0.15 Winter Standard R1.10 per kWh Audi e-tron Quattro Advanced (111.5kWh) R105.27 441km R0.24 BMW iX xDrive50 (111.5kWh) R123.56 630km R0.20 Kia EV6 (77.4kWh) R85.77 528km R0.16 Summer Peak R1.77 per kWh Audi e-tron Quattro Advanced (111.5kWh) R168.10 441km R0.38 BMW iX xDrive50 (111.5kWh) R197.30 630km R0.31 Kia EV6 (77.4kWh) R136.96 528km R0.26 Winter Peak R4.11 per kWh Audi e-tron Quattro Advanced (111.5kWh) R390.85 441km R0.88 BMW iX xDrive50 (111.5kWh) R458.74 630km R0.73 Kia EV6 (77.4kWh) R318.44 528km R0.60 Homepower 4 (no time-of-use) R1.56 per kWh Audi e-tron Quattro Advanced (111.5kWh) R148.09 441km R0.35 BMW iX xDrive50 (111.5kWh) R173.81 630km R0.27 Kia EV6 (77.4kWh) R120.65 528km R0.23 Another part of Eskoms power tariff plan could see EVs help their owners reduce their electricity bill. Eskom has proposed introducing a net-billing mechanism, which will credit customers the electricity they feed back into the grid at the same rate they are charged. While ideal for those with solar-power systems, it is also possible to install vehicle-to-grid equipment to feed electricity from your cars battery into Eskoms network. If you still have some charge to spare when you arrive home from work, you can feed power back into the grid during peak hours for a net-billing gain. Daily Investor is South Africas premier investment news and analysis platform. Following its launch in August 2022, it has quickly grown to be the site of choice for over 320,000 South African fund managers, analysts, and investors. Its impressive audience includes: 324,000 South African fund managers, analysts, and retail investors. South African fund managers, analysts, and retail investors. 15,000 of these investors have signed up for the Daily Investor newsletter. of these investors have signed up for the Daily Investor newsletter. 10,900 South African investors have created personal accounts on Daily Investor. These readers receive the latest news, investing insights, and financial data from Daily Investor along with fresh perspectives on large, medium, and small-cap companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). This is complemented by coverage of international stocks, insights into macroeconomic events, and regular features including stock picks from experts and performance tracking of these picks. Reach Daily Investor readers As the site of choice for fund managers, analysts, and investors, Daily Investor is well placed to reach South Africas investment community. This makes it the perfect partner for companies looking to target this influential audience. To find out more about partnering with Daily Investor click here. Most of South Africas provinces still dont offer motorists the ability to book and pay for drivers licence card renewals online, more than seven months after the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) launched the capability. Since the RTMC introduced online driving licence renewals on eNatis in February 2022, only motorists in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape have been able to use the feature. The system was initially supposed to go live in October 2021 but was delayed due to various legal and technical requirements. The online renewal system lets motorists schedule an appointment, pay online using a bank card, and have their licence card delivered to their preferred address instead of collecting it at a Drivers Licence Testing Centre (DLTC). The only part of the process that still requires a visit to a DLTC are eye tests and capturing fingerprint biometrics. The transport department has plans in the pipeline to allow recognised optometrists to submit applicants eye tests to its system, which will eliminate that part of the process. However, motorists in the other seven provinces including the highly-populated Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal must still do most of the renewal at a DLTC. MyBroadband asked the RTMC why no additional provinces have been added to the online renewal system in the past seven months. RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane said the lack of support in other provinces was not the corporations doing. The RTMC has made the service available to all provinces and will be able to roll it out as soon as the provincial authorities indicate their readiness to have the services, Zwane said. He explained that the decision to introduce the online booking service was the prerogative of the MEC for transport in each province. So far, the Gauteng and Eastern Cape provincial departments of transports are the only ones that have taken the decision to introduce the services in their province, Zwane stated. Western Cape responds MyBroadband asked all the MECs, spokespersons, and heads of provincial departments for transport why they had not yet adopted the system. Only one provinces department that of the Western Cape responded by the time of publication. The departments head of communication, Jandre Bakker, said although the RTMCs statement was true, it did not provide full context. The statement creates the impression that two entire provinces have phased in the service when, to our knowledge, the Eastern Cape only introduced it at two municipalities and not the entire province, Bakker said. He explained the Western Cape had not implemented the system due to the many challenges experienced with it in Gauteng, where many people complained about the systems issues online. The department is not averse to implementing new ways of doing things, but is not prepared to implement it in a way that will hamper the service and cause frustration to the public, he said. Bakker said the department was studying a recently-received report on the experience using the system in Gauteng to help decide if it should adopt it. He further contends that the Western Capes walk-in approach to dealing with the renewal backlogs was much faster than the other provinces. The Covid-19 pandemic and the breakdown of the sole card production machine between November and February 2022 caused severe backlogs in processing driving licence cards. Bakker also said that online bookings could not be dealt with in isolation, with resources at the DLTCs also needing to be addressed in parallel. The Western Cape would, therefore, not commit to an implementation date until such issues with the system had been resolved. Bakker added that the department had previously implemented an electronic method for renewals at a single DLTC as a pilot project, which led to applicants moving away from that DLTC and flooding others. By Trend Restoration work will start in the Khojavand district in the next few days, Special Representative of the Azerbaijani President in the liberated territories (except Shusha) of the Karabakh Economic Region Emin Huseynov told Trend. He noted that a number of projects are already at the final stage. "After that, the work will accelerate even more. I believe that Azerbaijan will already begin reconstruction work in the center of Aghdam city. In addition, the restoration of villages is starting both in Aghdam and Fuzuli districts. These works have already begun in the village of Talysh. Restoration work will also begin in the Khojavand district in the next few days. All these activities are being carried out consistently, in accordance with the schedule," Huseynov said. Zodiac Killer suspects are a dime a dozen, but author Jarett Kobek may have stumbled onto one of the more substantive cases in decades. The October cover story for LA Mag details Kobek's investigation or descent down a rabbit hole, depending on how you view it into Paul Alfred Doerr. In the process, it lays out a fascinating circumstantial case. When it comes to the Zodiac Killer, there is no shortage of crackpot theories and "my dead dad did it" books. It's a case that, despite having far fewer victims than other notorious American serial killers, refuses to leave the public consciousness. That's exactly the way the Zodiac Killer wanted it: He thrived off the publicity he generated by sending cryptic notes and ciphers throughout his killing spree. Five people in the Bay Area were confirmed to have been murdered by the Zodiac between December 1968 and October 1969, although many Zodiac sleuths believe his body count may be higher. It's a case that feels remarkably solvable. The Zodiac Killer left behind two survivors who both shared extensive memories of the attacks. There's a DNA sample (although it's of dubious usefulness), bloody fingerprints found at a San Francisco crime scene and the many letters sent by the killer himself. It's that paper trail that has led to feverish speculation as amateur detectives puzzle over obscure pop culture references and linguistic ticks. Those hints led Kobek to Doerr, a Bay Area man who was a member of both Mensa and the militant conservative group the Minutemen. LA Mag details Kobek's investigation, which found: Doerr was an active zine writer, and some of his work touched on themes echoed in the Zodiac letters. Most interestingly, Doerr once wrote about how to make a bomb out of ammonium nitrate and fertilizer. So did Zodiac, and both instances contained the same error. According to Doerr's daughter Gloria, her father had a history of violent behavior and physically abused family members. The article claims three Zodiac Killer attacks on Lake Herman Road, at Blue Rock Springs Park and at Lake Berryessa took place at "teen hangouts" that "Gloria herself frequented." Kobek links the crosshair-like symbol that Zodiac used to sign his letters to the target symbol sometimes used by the Minutemen. Doerr worked at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo and served in World War II and the Korean War. It's long been speculated the Zodiac Killer was affiliated with the military. The details were convincing enough that Gloria Doerr was apparently swayed; the article says she begrudgingly agreed with Kobek that signs pointed to her father being a candidate for the Zodiac Killer. Paul Doerr died in 2007 at the age of 80. The case is, of course, only circumstantial. No hard evidence links Doerr or any other person to the Zodiac Killer murders. Several previous suspects have been compared to the fingerprints on file, but no matches have been made. The San Francisco Police Department maintains an open case on the Zodiac Killer. ### The union representing Kaiser Permanente mental health therapists on their seventh week of striking said members "resoundingly rejected a contract offer" from Kaiser over the weekend. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Workers in Northern California and the Central Valley went on strike Aug. 15. Leaders of the National Union of Healthcare Workers said Sunday the final tally was 1,349 to 222 to reject the latest contract offer. "We presented Kaiser officials detailed proposals to increase staffing and improve access to care in the first negotiating session 14 months ago, and we won't accept a contract that ignores those issues," said Ilana Marcucci-Morris, a Kaiser therapist and a member of the union's bargaining team. "At this point, Kaiser executives can't have any misconceptions about what it will take to secure a contract. We're ready to negotiate around the clock to get an agreement signed as quickly as possible. It's time for Kaiser to return to the bargaining table and end this strike." A Kaiser spokesperson said 60% of the company's therapists have chosen to work through the strike. "It is unfortunate that union leadership pressed members for a no vote, with assurances they would get more from continued contract bargaining. The 'more' that union leaders have identified will reduce access to mental health care for our members, and we have been clear we are not willing to do that," Kaiser officials said. Workers want increased staffing and improved access to care for patients who sometimes must wait months for therapy appointments. Both sides have agreed to a wage increase, but the union also wants therapists to have more time to see returning patients and perform all of their patient care duties. California will ban the testing of pesticides, chemical substances and other products on cats and dogs, under a bill signed into law Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. For many families, including my own, pets are beloved companions that enrich our lives every day, Newsom said in a statement on the signing of Senate Bill 879. Im proud to sign this legislation to advance our states leadership on animal welfare by ending cruel and unnecessary testing on dogs and cats, among other measures to protect the health and safety of pets in California. The law, which exempts medical and federally required testing from the ban, goes into effect Jan. 1. The bill was authored by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States. In a tweet, Wiener said that Newsom called such testing barbaric, and he thanked the governor for his signature. This isnt Newsoms first pro-animal act. In 2020, he included $50 million in the state budget to fund research at UC Davis on how the state can effectively end animal euthanasia in its shelters. According to information published by Bloomberg on September 24, 2022, the US is considering accelerating the production of nuclear attack submarines to bolster Australias defense capabilities to counter Chinas growing military influence in the Indo-Pacific. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link Flag of the three countries (Australia, UK, and US) making up the AUKUS pact. (Picture source: Australian government) In 2016, Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull signed a A$50 billion (31 billion) deal with the partly French government-owned company Naval Group (known as DCNS until 2017) to design a new generation of submarines, known as the Attack class, under the "Future Submarine Program", scheduled to replace the Collins class. The design was based on the latest French nuclear-powered attack submarine, the Barracuda class, which required converting the nuclear propulsion to conventional propulsion. On 15 September 2021, Australia decided to cancel the contract with Naval Group for the Attack-class submarines despite having already spent about $2.4 billion on the French project. It was expected that Australia would have to pay hundreds of millions of Euros in penalties for cancelling the contract. French former MFA, Le Drian, further stated in a radio interview that the contract termination was a "stab in the back". On 17 September, France recalled its ambassadors from Australia and the US, Jean-Pierre Thebault and Philippe Etienne respectively. Despite tension in the past, France had never before withdrawn its ambassador to the United States. Under the pact, the US will share nuclear propulsion technology with Australia the same as it has with the UK since 1958 under the USUK Mutual Defence Agreement as will the UK. The Royal Australian Navy will acquire at least eight nuclear-powered submarines armed with conventional weapons to be built in Australia. Australia will extend the life of its Collins-class submarines that the Attack class was due to replace and may consider leasing or buying nuclear-powered submarines from the US or the UK in the interim until the delivery of its future nuclear-powered submarines. On 31 August 2022, the UK announced that Australian submariners would receive training aboard HMS Anson, an Astute-class submarine that was commissioned on that same day. Global financial companies, still suffering multibillion-dollar losses in Russia, are now reassessing the risks of doing business in Greater China after escalating tensions over Taiwan, Bloomberg wrote. Lenders, including Societe Generale SA, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UBS Group AG, have asked their employees to review contingency plans to manage risks in the past few months. Meanwhile, global insurers are refusing to write new policies to protect firms investing in China and Taiwan, and political risk coverage costs have risen more than 60 percent since the war in Ukraine. The political risk associated with potential U.S. sanctions and the likelihood that China will respond by restricting capital flows have become a headache for risk managers, said Mark Williams, a professor at Boston University. The sanctions war will significantly increase the cost of doing business and push U.S. banks to rethink their strategy toward China. The heated rhetoric between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan has alarmed firms, just months after the war in Russia unexpectedly forced the world's biggest lenders to go out of business and stop serving super-rich clients. Last week, U.S. lawmakers stepped up pressure on banks, forcing them to answer whether they would withdraw from China if it invaded Taiwan. While financial executives said they considered the risk of armed conflict in North Asia low, they noted that tit-for-tat sanctions between the U.S. and China that disrupt the flow of finance and trade are more likely than ever. Leaving would mean a dramatic change of course for Wall Street firms that have invested billions in China after it opened up its financial sector in recent years. Lenders ranging from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Morgan Stanley have taken control of joint ventures and requested additional banking licenses. The combined disclosed exposure of Wall Street's largest banks to Chinese banks at the end of 2021 was about $57 billion. Those ambitions are now threatened by rising tensions between the U.S. and China. Last week, the chief executive of Citigroup Inc. Jane Fraser faced questioning from lawmakers about whether the lender would give up China if it invaded Taiwan. She responded in the same way as other banks, she would seek advice from the U.S. government before making a move. As China's Global Times reported last week, that an exit from China would only hurt these firms. U.S. politicians want to increase pressure to force leading U.S. financial institutions to push back on the Chinese market, the Communist Party newspaper said. There is no denying that China's financial markets could lose some capital, but U.S. banks could also face worsening economic problems as a result of Washington's poisonous decision. Sources said firms have been stress-testing over the past few months to see if they can handle the risk of a sudden market decline by examining their exposure to currency, bond and stock trading. While banks often make contingency plans without putting them into action, escalating tensions add urgency. According to two bank executives, who asked not to be named when discussing the sensitive issue, the most important thing is to ensure staff safety, identify customers who could be sanctioned, and examine plans to mitigate counterparty risk and potential trading losses. Meanwhile, according to Willis Towers Watson Plc, insurers have raised prices by an average of 67% to cover political risks related to China. According to Laura Burns, senior vice president of political risk at Willis Towers Watson of London, companies that can insure face a dramatic redistribution of pricing that has been very acute for China. Armenia's first president, Levon Ter-Petrosian, said that hard, painful decisions await Armenia. Agreements must be signed with Azerbaijan and Turkey, which no one will like, but there is one moment when there is no alternative. His remarks came on the air of the Public Television Company. "If a document is not signed, if peace is not made with these two neighbors, we can no longer restore the 70-year-old realities of the Soviet Union. We have to build a state again," he said. He also commented on the anchor's remark that according to a media publication, one of the participants in His Holiness' meeting with the former presidents of Armenia and Artsakh offered to sign a surrender paper. "Congratulations, I don't know who wrote that. I don't interpret other people's words. Let them say what they want," the first president of Armenia said. Commenting on his version of the statement on the meeting, which said they considered the issue of the day to be "establishing national unity and starting a constructive dialogue between the government and the opposition," the first president said that if they were sitting down for dialogue, they should understand what they were sitting down for. "My proposal was a dialogue with the authorities, I mean Nikol Pashinyan. Our whole society has no information about what is going on. Only one person, Nikol Pashinyan, has this information. Maybe he shares it with his inner circle. There may be two or three people who know the whole truth. They know what Russia, Turkey and the United States are offering. Whether it's me, Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan or His Holiness, none of us has that information," he said. Red Cross representatives visit Armenian POWs captured by Azerbaijan after September 13 Pashinyan: Already 2nd time when Azerbaijan refuses to fulfill promise to release Armenian POWs Spain lawmaker: Savage images of Azerbaijani soldiers shooting Armenian POWs to death are unacceptable Security Council chief: Azerbaijan did not fulfill commitment to release 17 Armenian POWs by Sept. 30 Armenia PM: Germany is reliable partner for us World oil prices going up considerably Armenia ambassador-at-large to Klaar: We will not allow putting equality sign between war crimes victim and perpetrator Azerbaijan proposes to Armenia to reschedule border delimitation commission meeting to October Brazil to have presidential runoff Bosnia and Herzegovina presidential candidate announces his victory US National Archives says it still didnt get all documents from Trump administration Donald Trump-Kim Jong-un personal letters published Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs underscore introduction of international mechanisms for border situation control RBC: Number of cases for evading army in Russia from spring to announcement of mobilization reaches maximum in 10 years Minister: Italy will be able to survive winter with current level of gas flow, if 'catastrophic events' do not occur Russia extradites Norwegian accused of major fraud to Norway German power producer RWE to buy clean energy company for $6.8 billion Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs start meeting in Geneva Eslami: Iran's nuclear power generation capacity is scheduled to reach 10,000 megawatts Spanish MP to Ursula von der Leyen about murder of Armenian POWs: And this is your reliable partner? Armenian FM discusses video of execution of Armenian POWs with Philip Reeker Bloomberg: OPEC+ group to consider cutting oil production by more than 1 million barrels per day Delegation from Bundestag arrives in Taiwan: China protests Secretary of Armenian Security Council to go on working visit to Brussels Afghan authorities disperse women's rally in Herat Pope appeals to Vladimir Putin to 'stop this spiral of violence and death' Crown Prince of Kuwait accepts resignation of government after parliamentary elections in country Armenian FM meets with EU Special Representative Toivo Klaar in Geneva Former Ombudsman: Armenia must immediately apply to International Criminal Court Address by Alen Simonyan to National Minorities: You have been and continue to be members of our extended family Denmark declares gas leakage in damaged Nord Stream 1 pipeline stopped Ombudsman's Office about video of Armenian soldiers' shooting: We have identified the authenticity of the video Liz Truss says she should have done more to set stage for her economic plan Foreign Ministry: Armenia demands clear evaluation of blatant war crimes by Azerbaijani Armed Forces Pashinyan: Armenia will use all available international mechanisms to bring Azerbaijan to justice Latvian Prime Minister's Party wins parliamentary elections Marukyan: Azerbaijani political and military authorities must be hold accountable for this and other atrocities Armenian PM sends congratulatory message on National Minorities Day Applications to international courts will be filed tomorrow in connection with shooting of Armenian POWs Bosnia holds presidential and parliamentary elections Armenian Defense Ministry on video of execution of Armenian POWs: No doubts about authenticity Le Figaro: International media and authorities verify gruesome video of execution of Armenian POWs by Azerbaijanis Brazil's presidential and parliamentary elections begin Toivo Klaar: Another horrible video has emerged of Armenian prisoners of war apparently being executed Blinken says U.S. will help Ukraine on issue of territories Defense Ministry: As of 10 am, situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border remains unchanged At least 129 killed in stampede at football match in Indonesia EU leaders to discuss security of their critical infrastructure Lebanon says it received proposal from US for maritime border agreement with Israel Italy's Eni works with Gazprom to solve the problem of Russian gas supplies stoppage Prime Minister: There are problems in relations between OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs France can supply Ukraine with up to twelve new Caesar howitzers Over half of Britons think Liz Truss should step down as PM Kyiv's bid for accelerated NATO membership comes as surprise to Biden administration Baykar plant in Ukraine to start assembling high-altitude UAV model Bayraktar Akinci Erdogan sues German MP for calling him cesspool rat OSCE may send mission to Armenian-Azerbaijani border Erdogan doesn't rule out meeting with Pashinyan Armenian Defense Ministry urges to stop collecting food, clothing, money for servicemen Kuwait government tenders resignation following parliamentary elections Joint command and staff exercise held during CSTO military exercises in Kazakhstan Over 30 killed in Iran terrorist attack Aliyev announces plans to double Azerbaijan natural gas supply to Europe by 2027 Pashinyan: I am confident that Armenia-Cyprus cooperation will continue to be strengthened, expanded Finland, Sweden, Turkey may discuss NATO membership process this month Artsakh security council meeting to be held at parliamentary forces proposal US court orders Iran to pay $34.8M in compensation to late journalists family Armenian parliament speaker to leave for Moscow Hurricane Ian death toll exceeds 40 in Florida Armenian community stages protest ahead of Azerbaijan presidents Bulgaria visit (PHOTOS) California Governor signs bill declaring April 24 state holiday in remembrance of Armenian Genocide 2 Azerbaijanis severely injured after stepping on landmine in Karabakh FM: Artsakh will never be part of Azerbaijan Turkey does not recognize joining of 4 regions to Russia South Korea leader threatens with crushing response to North if it uses nuclear weapons Group of soldiers stage coup in Burkina Faso Biden signs law providing $12.4bn in additional aid to Ukraine Japan envoy to Armenia expresses concern about current situation after recent Azerbaijan military aggression Nicaragua severs diplomatic ties with Netherlands Armenia PM congratulates on 73rd anniversary of People's Republic of China The Iranian Student Association A.S.B.L has organised a protest and vigil on Thursday September 29 at Place Clairefontaine in Luxembourg City at 6pm. In a press release sent to RTL Today, the student association wants to invite people to join Iranian people protesting around the world against the mandatory hijab (headscarf), in a symbolic memorial event for Mahsa Amini, who died 10 days ago at the hands of Irans Morality Police. Years ago there were already protests After the revolution, it was not mandatory [to wear the hijab] for the first years. Then they changed it and made it law says Soheil Banejshafie, one of the organisers of Thursdays protest. She was arrested [on Friday] and her dead body was returned to her family on the following day says the press release of the student association. Meanwhile, the official death toll in the unrest in Iran is 41, while human rights groups say the true number is more than 75. On Thursday, we want to express our condolences through memorial gifts and a candlelight vigil, mostly in silence says the association. The young generation doesnt care at all about his law in Iran says Soheil, the government can't control the young people anymorethey have increased the number of the morality police. After the protest, the Iranian Student Association will read a statement condemning this crime and showing support to the Iranian people Soheil expects hundreds of people to show up to the protest and vigil to show support for what is happening in Iran. He says the Iranian government wants to hide what is happening in Iran from the rest of the world as he tells us Mahsas name will be our Victory Word. Luxembourg City has confirmed that this protest may take place on Thursday September 29. Experts expect protests to escalate in Iran. On Sunday one of Irans main teachers unions called for a nationwide strike. Such strikes have been sensitive in Iran since the 1979 revolution, when collective labour action acted as a useful tactic that helped bring down the Shah. Irans government blames Western media for fuelling conspiracies and instigating the protests. The protest in Luxembourg City is expected to take place between 6 and 8 pm on September 29 and the organisers ask for media attention to increase their visibility and support for their cause. The rapprochement of the positions of Armenia and Azerbaijan is especially important for the US. State Department spokesman Ned Price noted about this at Mondays Department press briefingand commenting on the meeting between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, within the framework of the UN General Assembly in New York. Price recalled that this was the first face-to-face meeting that the two foreign ministers had since the latest outbreak of violence. The Secretary noted to both leaders the importance of maintaining the ceasefire, of maintaining the calm, said noted that were dedicated to a sustainable ceasefire and to a peaceful resolution. We made clear to both foreign ministers that the United States stands ready to support to support this bilaterally, multilaterally, together with partners. This includes our support for efforts by EU Council President Charles Michel bring the leaders together. They, during the course of that meeting, discussed the best path forward, and the Secretary suggested the sides share ideas for how to meaningfully advance the peace process before the end of the month. Our message has been consistent for some time. We call on Azerbaijan to return troops to their initial positions. We urge disengagement of military forces and work to resolve all outstanding issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan through peaceful negotiations. The use of force is not an acceptable path. Weve made that clear privately. Weve also made that clear publicly, and were glad that our continued engagement, including at high levels, including last week in New York, with both countries has helped to halt the hostilities, and well continue to engage and encourage the work needed to reach a lasting peace because there can be and there is no military solution to this conflict, added the US State Department spokesman. When asked where and when the next meeting of the FM of Armenia and Azerbaijan might take place, Price responded that this will be up to the two countries to decide. But we do think that continued engagement directly between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not only in their interests, its in the interests of the region and beyond. We have offered to be of assistance, again, bilaterally, trilaterally, multilaterally, and of course the EU is playing an important role as well, added the US State Department spokesman. And to the remark that experts say that the US suggestsurging or encouraging the sides meeting again suggests that US now has no plan to move the process forward, and asked whether the US does have a plan, Ned Price responded: The United States is not and cannot be in a position to submit a plan as a fait accompli. Our task is to bring the sides together, to facilitate dialogue, to help the sides together work through differences, to work through disagreements peacefully and diplomatically. Thats what last week was about. Thats what our continued engagement is about. The State Department has managed to link the tension between Greece and Turkey to Russia. State Department spokesman Ned Price dodged a question about Ankara's accusations against Greece of militarization of Greek islands, referring to 'Russian aggression'. Asked if the U.S. was concerned about tension or escalation instigated by Greece, Price replied, 'Our basic premise is that at a time when Russia has once again invaded a sovereign state and the transatlantic community and the international community is standing with the people of Ukraine and against Russian aggression, now is not the time for statements or any actions that could raise tensions between NATO Allies. We continue to encourage our NATO Allies to work together to maintain peace and security in the region and to resolve any differences they may have diplomatically.' Asked about the U.S. position on ownership of the Greek islands, he reiterated that the U.S. encourages 'Again, it is we are encouraging our NATO Allies to resolve any disagreements they may have diplomatically.' Turkey has stepped up provocative rhetoric against Greece to the point of threatening invasion. Ankara and Athens have disagreed on a number of issues, including maritime borders, for decades. The latest spike in tensions between Turkey and Greece was triggered by Ankara's accusation of Athens' militarization of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea with demilitarized status, which Athens rejects. Having demilitarized status, which Athens rejects. Over the weekend, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that "the situation gives [Turkey] the right to self-defense and calls into question the sovereignty of the islands." A group of parents of the fallen soldiers have spent the night at Yerablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan. "As we had announced, we have been at Yerablur since 23:00 yesterday. Thousands of citizens have responded to our call. Ara Rostomyan, the father of fallen soldier Hakob Rostomyan, told this to reporters Tuesday at Yerablur. The relatives of these fallen servicemen had decided to spend the night at Yerablur in order not to allow the incumbent Armenian authorities to enter the pantheon in the morning. "We have repeatedly said that our [fallen] boys were killed by [PM] Nikol [Pashinyan] with his today's pack, and we will not want them to visit our boys," emphasized the aforesaid parent of the fallen soldier. Today marks the second anniversary of the beginning of the 44-day Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war. Exactly two years ago, on September 27, 2020, at 7:10am, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military aggression against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). At the same time, in virtually all directions of the line of contact, the adversary launched an attack using air force, artillery, and dronesincluding shelling peaceful settlements. Military actions took place along the entire length of the Artsakh-Azerbaijani line of contact, as well as in some parts of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, and lasted 44 days. On the first day of this war unleashed by the Turkish and Azerbaijani forces, martial law and general military mobilization were declared in Armenia and Artsakh. During the 44 days of this war, Azerbaijan used weapons prohibited by international law: cluster rockets, phosphorous ammunition and Turkish-made Bayraktar combat UAVs, targeting the civilian population and infrastructure of Artsakh and Armenia. With the help of Turkey, before and during the war, thousands of Syrian mercenary-terrorists were transferred to Azerbaijan and then sent to the Artsakh front. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the total number of Syrian militants engaged in the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh reached at least 2,350, of which 320 returned to Syria, refusing to be paid and participating in the fighting. International media also reported on the participation of mercenary terrorists, and the Armenian side captured two of them, but after the end of the war, they handed them over in exchange for Armenian detainees. On November 9, 2020, the leaders of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan signed a trilateral statement, according to which most of the territory of Artsakh was handed over to the control of Azerbaijan, and the security of the rest of the territory of Artsakh is now ensured by Russian peacekeepers. During the entire war, Turkey openly provided military support to Azerbaijan. As a result of this disastrous war, the Armenian side hadaccording to official dataat least 4,000 casualties, and there are hundreds of missing persons and detainees. The US Embassy in Armenia on Tuesday issued a statement on the second anniversary of the start of the 44-day Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war. On September 27, we remember those who lost their lives in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and extend our deepest condolences to the families of those killed and injured. The United States remains committed to working towards peace for the South Caucasus region, reads the aforesaid statement. And in the attached photo, US Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy lights a candle at Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church in Goris city. YEREVAN. The secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, on Monday met with current and former American officials, ambassadors, members of the Carnegie Foundation and other analytical centers, within the framework of his working visit to Washington, Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned from the Office of the Security Council. At the meeting, Grigoryan presented the recent large-scale military aggression by Azerbaijan against the sovereign territory of Armenia and its consequences, pointing out that with such a move, Baku invaded Armenia's sovereign territory and threatened Armenian democracy. The secretary of the Security Council emphasized Yerevan's determination to move on the path of democracy. Grigoryan reflected also on Azerbaijans gross violations of international humanitarian law and targeting the Armenian civilian population and infrastructure. A wide range of matters of bilateral interest in Armenian-American cooperation, such as democracy and economic cooperation, also were discussed at the meeting. From October onward, English-speaking individuals will be able to receive support from the confidential and anonymous helpline. For 45 years, SOS Detresse has been a valuable resource for individuals in need of support. Whether you are in crisis, struggling through a difficult period, or simply need someone to talk with, a team of caring volunteers is there to listen via telephone or online chat. Support is currently available in the 3 national languages (Luxembourgish, French and German). In order to offer more support, SOS Detresse has decided to expand their list of languages. Beginning in October 2022, additional telephone support will be offered in English every Wednesday between 11am and 11pm. Individuals can call the helpline and seek support in whichever language they are most comfortable with. If you are looking for support or simply want to know more about SOS Detresse, you can visit their website here in Luxembourgish, French, German, English, Portugese and Spanish. Additionally, if you're ready to talk, you can always call their helpline at 45 45 45, currently available in Luxembourgish, French and German. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Azerbaijan on Tuesday issued a statement on the second anniversary of its military aggression unleashed against Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), and accused Armenia of aggression. Despite the many calls of the international community to withdraw its troops from the occupied territory of Armenia, the MFA of Azerbaijan calls on Yerevan to "to respect these fundamental principles to ensure peace, security, and prosperity in the region and comply with its international obligations. "Armenia should finally put an end to imitation in the negotiations and take genuine, constructive steps. There is no other alternative for the peaceful development of the region," the Azerbaijani MFA statement added. It is obvious that in Baku they mean the unconditional agreement of Armenia to all the demands of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan believes that Armenia "takes almost no practical steps" to open communications in the region and continues military provocations. By doing so, Armenia is seriously undermining post-conflict normalization efforts, the Azerbaijani MFA noted. At the moment we have about 156 POWs who have been repatriated thanks to legal and political efforts, but along with that there are many people who are still held in Azerbaijan. This was stated during the discussion on "The Second Anniversary of the War: What Instruments of International Law Are Implemented, What Can Be Done?" on Tuesday, a representative of the interests of Armenian POWs at the ECHR, Siranush Sahakyan. "Of course, an extremely important problem is that we have about 80 POWs, officially unaccepted by the Azerbaijani authorities, who have been forcibly disappeared during this time. Officially, the number of POWs held in Azerbaijan before the September 13 hostilities was 33, but in the post-war period there are already about 20 new cases of captivity. The vast majority has already been confirmed at the official level, but we are expecting answers through the ECHR in the near future, and then we will be able to more clearly confirm the information on the persons taken POWs during the latest incidents," Sahakyan said. She said they are acting on individual complaints, representing POWs and their families. "In addition, these efforts are complemented by other lawyers. At the same time, there is an interstate process going on in the ECHR itself, which also includes the issue of POWs, the treatment of POWs, as well as repatriation. The issue of POWs is also indirectly discussed at the International Court of Justice, in the context of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. From this point of view, I think the legal efforts have been quite intensive, in a certain sense also unprecedented, because previously Armenia refrained from presenting interstate cases against any state on human rights issues. This is the first time a state is so active in international legal instances," said a representative of the interests of Armenian prisoners at the ECHR. As Sahakyan noted, perhaps the only gap that can be filled in the legal process is the initiation of a process under the Convention against Hostage-taking before the UN Court, as the processes showed that the captives are no longer just captives, they are being held as hostages and used as a means to increase pressure on the RA authorities. "Their repatriation is directly related to resolving issues of a political nature. There are enough facts to argue that they are hostages. Legal processes must be combined with political and diplomatic work. Official, diplomatic efforts as well as the activities of human rights structures should be of great importance here," Sahakyan concluded. The Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Kristinne Grigoryan, on Tuesday met with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE), Marija Pejcinovic Buric, the Defenders office informs Armenian News-NEWS.am. During the meeting, the Human Rights Defender presented the recorded information regarding the damages caused to the Armenian civilian population and infrastructure, the environment, and other acts prohibited by International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law as a result of the Azerbaijani military attack on Armenia that was launched on September 13. Also, Grigoryan discussed the crimes committed by Azerbaijani servicemen against Armenian prisoners of war and the bodies of killed servicemen, and referred to the cause of these crimes: the systematic policy of Armenophobia and of ethnic hatred of Armenians conducted by the Azerbaijani state. The aforementioned facts are summarized in the ad hoc report of the Human Rights Defender published on September 16, and which was personally presented to the CoE Secretary General. The CoE Secretary General, for her part, highly valued the work of the Defender, and thanked her for the effective collaboration and the ad hoc report. Also, Pejcinovic Buric pointed to the necessity of the return of Armenian POWs and civilians who are still detained in Azerbaijan, and reiterated her commitment to continue efforts in this regard. The CoE Secretary General reflected also on their programs being implemented with Armenia, and emphasized the readiness of the Council of Europe to provide continuous support, including within the framework of Armenia-CoE Action Plan. In addition, Marija Pejcinovic Buric underlined her support to the implementation of the mandate of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, and the interlocutors agreed to continue the effective and reliable cooperation. Washington supports the efforts of European Council President Charles Michel aimed at improving relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, U.S. Permanent Representative to the OSCE Michael Carpenter said, Interfax-Azerbaijan reported. A peace process led by European Council President Charles Michel is underway and the United States is actively supporting it, Carpenter said in an online briefing, adding that Washington is in constant contact with Armenia, Azerbaijan and the European Union on the issue. He said the U.S. supports improving relations between Baku and Yerevan, opening up transportation corridors in the region, building good neighborly relations and protecting the rights of all people in the region. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pointed to Turkey's growing isolation and urged it to return to the path of "basic dialogue." "The other side may monotonously continue its lies and threats, but it is alone in this game ... They are not just going against Greece, they are the whole of Europe and our allies in NATO who must be fought," Mitsotakis said at a cabinet meeting in Athens following the latest escalation of tension from Ankara, Kathimerini reported. "Instead of inflammatory rhetoric, they should finally choose peaceful action and the path of substantial dialogue," he said, adding that Greece "remains calm and confident in its clear positions, with the force of international law, armed forces on alert and the support of allies." Earlier, Erdogan stated that "terrorists are protected in almost all European countries, especially in the Greek camp of Lavrio." Apparently referring to the increased U.S. military presence in the northeastern Greek port of Alexandroupolis, Erdogan expressed his frustration with "those who provoke Greece," saying that "the weapons accumulated in Western Thrace mean nothing to us." "You think America and Europe's support will save you? It will not save you," the Turkish daily newspaper Sozcu quoted Erdogan as saying. Greece's position on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is unchanged. It contributes to the peaceful achievement of mutually acceptable solutions within the framework of international law. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias stated about this in Yerevan Tuesday. Emphasizing the need to respect international law, Dendias noted the courage of Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan, who proposed a new approach for the future of the region. Peace cant be established under conditions of use of force; it concerns the Caucasus and the whole world, the Greek FM noted. Dendias stated that the contribution of the US and the EU is significant, and together with other European partners, Greece is ready to help as mediators to continue the negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. The Greek FM noted that they cannot change the geography, but people should be able to live peacefully side by side. UAE-based Ducab Group, a leading cable manufacturer in the region, has been awarded the full EPC (engineering, procurement and contracting) contract to supply and install 400 kV cables and accessories to link Al Dhafra, the worlds largest solar plant in Abu Dhabi, with the emirate's main Transco transmission grid (Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company) through its specialised division, Ducab HV. This collaborative project partnership also covers testing and commissioning to ensure the highest levels of excellence in electric transmission, the company said. Making the announcement during Ducabs 14th participation in the Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (Wetex), Mohammad Almutawa, CEO of Ducab Group, said: "We are proud that Ducab is assisting the nation in achieving its 'Energy Strategy 2050'. "Al Dhafra project further demonstrates the companys engineering and technology capabilities in delivering the highest standards in cabling solutions. Ducab now supplies cables for the three largest solar projects in the UAE. And, through our ongoing collaborations with different solar power projects, we continue to reflect Ducabs key role in supporting the UAE to overcome climate change and reduce carbon emissions, in line with the country's 'Energy Strategy 2050' that aims to increase the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix from 25% to 50% by 2050." Al Dhafra project is the latest major renewable power project awarded to the UAE-headquartered cabling company. Ducabs custom-made SolarBICC cables have been supplied to Abu Dhabi's Shams 1 project and Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai, two of the largest solar projects in the world. As a champion of the 'Made in the UAE' initiative, Ducab not only supplies solutions to leading power projects in the UAE but also supports products and counterparts in auxiliary industries to deepen the country's industrial capabilities. Ducab works with partners across the entire UAE industrial value chain, such as EGA, Kizad, and Borouge, while acquiring many of its requirements from UAE-based organisations. The Al Dhafra facility will deploy technologically advanced bifacial solar panels that deliver electricity at the highest efficiency levels by using both the front and back of panels. The facility will have a capacity of two gigawatts and supply power to Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC). When fully operational Al Dhafra will be the world's largest single-site solar power plant, mitigating 2.4 million tonnes of CO2 annually, and using 3.5 million solar panels to generate enough electricity for approximately 160,000 homes across the UAE. -TradeArabia News Service The international community must stop the adventurous actions and aggression of Azerbaijan, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated at a briefing after his meeting with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias. The minister reminded that the visit takes place on the second anniversary of Azerbaijan's large-scale aggression against Artsakh and Armenia and a few days after the encroachment on Armenia's sovereign territory. Two years ago, Dendias also paid a visit to Armenia. The Ministers discussed the development of relations in bilateral and multilateral format, with the participation of Cyprus. FM is sure that the format can be developed for the benefit of the three countries. The sides had a thorough talk on regional developments. The Armenian Foreign Minister presented to his counterpart the consequences of Azerbaijan's aggression. "We attach importance to a targeted response. Non-targeted statements equating the aggressor and the victim lead to new crimes. It is unequivocal that the consequences must be eliminated. First and foremost is the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from Armenian territory. Prisoners of war must be released. The ceasefire regime must be fully respected. At the same time, the international community should stop adventurous actions and aggression of Azerbaijan," Mirzoyan stated. He stated that two years ago this very day Azerbaijan initiated a large-scale aggression. Today, two years later, the conflict has not been solved, as the reasons for it have not been solved. The minister reiterated that the Armenian side rejects the approach of solving the issue by force and confirms its intention to normalize the situation in the region through peaceful negotiations. German opposition leader Friedrich Merz accused Ukrainian refugees of taking advantage of Germany's welfare system. "What we are seeing is charitable tourism by these refugees to Germany, and then back to Ukraine," Merz, leader of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), told Bild TV, adding that "most" of the more than 1.1 million Ukrainian refugees registered in Germany are milking the state. "We have a problem that is getting worse." The German government has no statistics on whether and to what extent the abuses Mertz speaks of actually take place, Politico reported. Merz said it is "unfair" of the state to pay for heating the homes of refugees and German welfare recipients at a time when many working-class Germans cannot afford their energy bills. "It's unfair, and the population has a right to consider it unfair," he said. The European Commission has approved Italy's next tranche of 21 billion euros from a pandemic recovery fund, the AP reports. The outgoing government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, received the funds after reaching the 45 milestones required by Brussels to get the money. These included public administration, education and health reforms, as well as investments in technology, research, tourism and culture. The first sum of 21 billion euros, also linked to reforms and investments, was transferred to Italy in April. Italy received the largest share of the European Union's recovery fund, about 191.5 billion euros, since it was the country that suffered most financially from the first wave of the pandemic. Former Armenian Prime Minister Vazgen Manukyan commented on the interview given by the first RA President Levon Ter-Petrosyan to the Public Television of Armenia on Monday, Ankakh writes. "Levon Ter-Petrosyan is very far from contemporary world politics. As for his defeatist "pragmatism," this is nothing new. During the first Artsakh war, he was sure and "proved" with paper and pencil that we would lose. And it is no coincidence that during the war he proposed me, his opponent, to become Minister of Defense, so that all the blame for his impending defeat would fall on me. But the opposite happened. As for the meeting of the presidents with the Catholicos of All Armenians, I was convinced from the very beginning that it would not yield any results. It was the most fruitless format one could think of in that situation, and by the way, I have already given my opinion about some of the participants. In spite of everything, I think that even in this complicated and seemingly hopeless situation there are possibilities for solving our national and state problems," writes Ankakh. The Armenian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Azerbaijan's aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh. "Two years ago, on September 27, Azerbaijan, in open defiance of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, unleashed a large-scale war against Nagorno-Karabakh and its people. Today we once again bow our heads and commemorate the warriors who fell in the 44-day war and fought to stop the existential danger facing our compatriots. The war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh is a criminal manifestation of Azerbaijan's state policy of ethnic cleansing of Armenians of Artsakh, deprivation of the right to freely and safely live and create in their historic homeland and, accordingly, the forceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This is evidenced by the continuous bellicose, maximalist and anti-Armenian statements of the Azerbaijani leadership both before and during the war and in the post-war period. Throughout the 44-day war, the Azerbaijani armed forces committed grave breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law, war crimes and other massive crimes by launching rocket, artillery and air strikes, including with prohibited weapons, deliberately bombarding civilians, civilian infrastructure, settlements and cultural monuments. Armenian soldiers and civilians who were taken prisoner were subjected to inhuman treatment and torture, extrajudicial killings. Many humanitarian problems are still unresolved: Azerbaijan continues to hold Armenian prisoners of war and civilians hostage, the fate of hundreds of missing and disappeared people from the First and 44 day wars remains unresolved. The policy of destroying and distorting the identity of the Armenian spiritual, historical and cultural heritage in the territories that were passed under Azerbaijani control continues to this day. The International Court of Justice has made its clear assessment of these crimes, finding that there is a direct risk of irreversible damage to the rights of ethnic Armenians under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. In this case, it is more than relevant to ensure unhindered access and activities of relevant international humanitarian structures in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. Encouraged by the undue response of the international community to the aggression unleashed against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and the crimes committed, on 21 May 2021, 16 November 2021 and 13 September 2022 the Azerbaijani armed forces resorted to a large-scale military aggression against the sovereign territory and internationally recognized borders of the Republic of Armenia. The realities created by the use of aggression and massive violations of human rights, as well as the continuous military aggression of Azerbaijan against Armenia and Artsakh in the post-war period undermine the efforts to establish regional stability and security. Even today, using force and the threat of force, Azerbaijan is trying to realize its maximalist aspirations, rejecting even the existence of Nagorno-Karabakh as a territorial unit and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Republic of Armenia categorically rejects the approach to solving problems through the use of force and the threat of force, and reaffirms its commitment to establishing long-term and comprehensive peace and stability in the region through peaceful negotiations," the statement says. Sevak Alexanyan, an enlisted soldier who died during the 44-day war, would have turned 22 on September 27. Sevak was drafted into the army on January 31, 2019, he served in the village of Ivanyan of Askeran district. The enlisted soldier died on October 9 in Jrakan. "Sevak was a driver. During the war he used his car to take the wounded to hospitals, and carried them out of the line of fire. On that ill-fated day he was helping the soldiers again, he was killed by a UAV. He was last spoken to on Oct. 7. He insisted he was in a quiet spot, far away from hot spots," Arpine Alexanyan, a cousin of the deceased soldier, told NEWS.am. Sevak Alexanyan was from the village of Aragats of Aragatsotn province. "Sevak's family owns a grocery store. He himself was going to expand the family business upon his return from the army," Arpine Alexanyan concluded. A Swedish delegation will visit Turkey next week for talks on the extradition of people labelled as "terrorists" by Ankara, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Monday, Ahval reported. Members of the Swedish Justice Ministry will be in Turkey from October 5 to 6 for technical talks with their Turkish counterparts on the issue, news website T24 quoted Bozdag as saying after a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara. NATO member Turkey in June lifted its veto of Sweden and Finland's applications to join NATO after weeks of tense negotiations, during which Ankara accused the Nordic countries of harboring Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgents. As part of the deal, Ankara provided a list of people it wanted the countries to extradite, but has since expressed frustration over the lack of progress on the issue. Bozdag said another delegation from Turkey's Foreign Ministry is to travel to Finland to negotiate with Finnish officials about Turkey's extradition requests. According to Turkey's justice minister, the individuals Turkey is seeking extradition from Sweden and Finland are linked to the PKK as well as the cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of organizing the July 2016 coup attempt. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and French President Emmanuel Macron have discussed in a telephone conversation the earliest possible start of peace talks between Baku and Yerevan, Azerbaijani media reported. "At the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron, a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Aliyev was held on Tuesday, the press service of the Azerbaijani head of state reported. The French President informed Aliyev of his September 26 meeting with the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The Azerbaijani President expressed gratitude for the information provided. The conversation also included a discussion of the clash that took place on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border. The heads of states discussed the earliest possible start of peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia," the report says. YEREVAN. Hraparak daily of Armenia writes: On September 20, the delegation led by CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas arrived in Yerevan; it was planned that they will stay for 5 daysuntil September 25. The objective: "to study the situation on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, to submit proposals to ease the existing tension." It was assumed that the head of state will receive the CSTO Secretary General. After all, reducing border tension is a priority issue today, but [PM Nikol] Pashinyan did not receive the CSTO Secretary General. And 2 days after his arrival in Yerevan, he left for New York, where he had a meeting with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of NATO, the number one enemy of the CSTO and Russia, within the framework of the session of the UN General Assembly. And in the meantime in Armenia Zas was having meetings with second-echelon bureaucrats (...). Yesterday, information was being circulated that upon learning about Pashinyan's meeting in New York, Zas left Armenia a few days ahead of planned. It was not possible to find out from the MFA on which day exactly he left. It is a fact that after September 22, Zas did not participate in any meeting, no statement was disseminated about any event with his participation. Bangladesh pilgrim boat tragedy death toll hits 68 In this image from video footage, another body is recovered from the Karotoa River. Photo: AP Rescuers recovered 17 more bodies on Tuesday after a boat overloaded with religious pilgrims capsized in Bangladesh, taking the death toll to 68 as anxious relatives waited for news of several passengers still missing. Sunday's incident near the northern town of Boda was the deadliest maritime incident in years in the South Asian country, which is crisscrossed by rivers where overcrowding on aged vessels is common. Twenty-two of those killed were children, authorities said, with video footage suggesting some were as young as around four years old. The small vessel was on its way to a popular temple when it flipped over in a river as onlookers screamed from the shore, in horrific scenes captured on cellphones. Boda police chief Sujay Kumar Roy said rescue workers including firefighters, navy divers and villagers were searching for miles downstream on the Karotoa River, where the tragedy occurred. The boat was carrying around 90 people, of whom around 50 were pilgrims on their way to the centuries-old Hindu temple for a major festival, according to police. "The rescuers found more than a dozen bodies downstream and also under the water. Still a few more people are missing," Roy said. Abdur Razzaque, a police inspector, said at least 30 of the dead were women. "Among the fatalities, 67 people were Hindus and one was Muslim. We have handed over the bodies. The search has been suspended today and will resume tomorrow," he said "A committee has been formed to probe the incident," he said, adding the country's railway minister had visited the scene to oversee rescue efforts. Dozens of relatives of those missing were still crowding the river bank on Tuesday, although most had left after authorities handed over their family members' bodies. "Three women of my family were missing since the boat capsized," said one distraught relative, Bikash Chandra, late on Monday. "We found one in the morning around 10:00 am, who was rescued earlier. But I couldn't find the other two yet." Police on Tuesday said that around 10 survivors were treated at the hospital before being sent home, police said. District police chief Sirajul Huda said Monday the boat was carrying three times its permitted capacity. "The boatman asked some people to disembark in an effort to ease the weight-load. But no one listened," he said. Mobile phone footage aired by TV station Channel 24 showed the overcrowded boat suddenly flipping over, spilling the passengers into the muddy brown river. Dozens of people watching from the shore started shouting and screaming. The weather was calm at the time. Thousands of Hindus in Muslim-majority Bangladesh visit the famous Bodeshwari Temple every year. Sunday marked the start of Durga Puja, a major Hindu festival drawing large crowds at the temple. (AFP) Blasts recorded before Russia-Europe pipeline leaks A large disturbance in the sea can be observed off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm after the leaks. Photo: AP Explosions were recorded before mysterious leaks in two Baltic Sea gas pipelines linking Russia and Europe, seismologists said on Tuesday, raising suspicions of sabotage amid tensions over Moscow's war in Ukraine. Photos taken by the Danish military showed large masses of bubbles on the surface of the water emanating from the three leaks located in Sweden's and Denmark's economic zones, spreading from 200 to 1,000 metres in diameter. "It's hard to imagine that it's accidental," said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, noting that it was "unusual" for the leaks to happen at such a distance from each other. The Swedish National Seismic Network recorded two "massive releases of energy" shortly prior to the gas leaks and near their locations off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm, said Peter Schmidt, an Uppsala University seismologist. "With energy releases this big there isn't much else than a blast that could cause it," he added. "You can see that they are quite sudden. It is a very sudden energy release. It's not a slow collapse of something." Russia said earlier that it was "extremely concerned" about the leaks. Asked by reporters whether it could be an act of sabotage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that at the moment "it is impossible to exclude any options". Ukraine, however, pointed the finger directly at Moscow, saying the incident was "nothing more than a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards the EU." A White House official said the United States would not speculate on the cause but was ready to support European efforts to investigate the leaks. The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines have been at the centre of geopolitical tensions in recent months as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions following its attack on Ukraine. While the pipelines, which are operated by a consortium majority-owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom, are not currently in operation, they both still contain gas. One of the leaks on Nord Stream 1 occurred in the Danish economic zone and the other in the Swedish economic zone, while the Nord Stream 2 leak was in the Danish economic zone. A leak was first reported on Nord Stream 2 on Monday. Danish climate and energy minister Dan Jorgensen confirmed the two Nord Stream 1 leaks in a statement on Tuesday. "It is too early to say anything about the causes of the incidents," the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities said in a statement. Two Danish military vessels have been dispatched to the area, while Sweden called an emergency cabinet meeting to be held on Tuesday evening. Navigational warnings have been issued for a distance of five nautical miles and a flight height of 1,000 metres. "Gas pipeline leaks are extremely rare and we therefore see a reason to increase the level of preparedness following the incidents we have witnessed over the past 24 hours," Danish Energy Agency director Kristoffer Bottzauw said in a statement. The European Commission said it was too early to speculate on the causes of the leaks. "We believe we do not have the elements in order to determine what is the reason for the leak. And obviously any act of sabotage on any infrastructure is something that we would condemn," commission spokesman Eric Mamer told reporters. A Nord Stream spokesperson said that they had not been able to assess the damage but conceded that "an incident where three pipes experience difficulties at the same time on the same day is not common." The Danish energy agency told the Ritzau news agency that only the area where the gas plume is located will be affected by the leak, but methane escaping into the atmosphere has a "climate-damaging effect". Built in parallel to the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, Nord Stream 2 was intended to double the capacity for Russian gas imports to Germany. But Berlin blocked the newly-completed Nord Stream 2 in the days before the war. Germany, which has been highly dependent on imports of fossil fuels from Russia to meet its energy needs, has since come under acute stress as Moscow has dwindled supplies. Russian energy giant Gazprom progressively reduced the volumes of gas being delivered via Nord Stream 1 until it shut the pipeline completely at the end of August, blaming Western sanctions for the delay of necessary repairs to the pipeline. Germany has rebuffed Gazprom's technical explanation for the cut, instead accusing Moscow of wielding energy as a weapon amid tensions over the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, German daily Tagesspiegel reported that the leaks might be the result of "targeted attacks". "We cannot imagine a scenario that is not a targeted attack," a source close to the government and relevant authorities, was quoted as saying in the newspaper. (AFP) Russian men fleeing draft en masse Russian men fleeing draft en masse Georgia and Kazakhstan said on Tuesday that tens of thousands of Russians had flooded into their countries from neighbouring Russia since the announcement of partial mobilisation to fight in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week announced the call-up of thousands of reservists, sparking protests across the country and a rush among Russian men for the borders. Fyodor said he had fled to Russia's border with Kazakhstan spooked by reports that even the infirm and elderly were being called up to fight. "There is full chaos (in Russia)," the 24-year-old said. "We don't understand what will happen." He decided to leave for Kazakhstan on Saturday morning "as a precautionary measure" to "take a head start, just in case." On Tuesday Kazakhstan said around 98,000 Russians had entered the country since mobilisation was announced. It took Fyodor about 48 hours, including a five-kilometre walk to the border and a six-hour queue, before he reached the northern Kazakh city of Oral. "It was raining, it was cold, but six hours of wait... well, that was still reasonable given the circumstances," he said. Vladislav, a 25-year-old bartender, found shelter in the Kazakh capital of Astana on Monday evening. In Russia, he said, "I could go to work or to do the groceries and never come back... I don't want to die." "A week ago, I could not imagine I'd be in Kazakhstan," he said, adding that he "wanted to thank the Kazakh people for welcoming him so nicely." Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Tuesday his country would ensure the safety of Russians fleeing "a hopeless situation". "This is a political and humanitarian issue," Tokayev added. "The territorial integrity of states must be unshakeable," Tokayev said. Kazakhstan has condemned Moscow's assault on Ukraine and called for respect of territorial integrity, as Russia held annexation referendums in four Ukrainian regions. "In our immediate vicinity a major war is underway. We must remember this, thinking above all about our security," he added. Russians also flocked to the Black Sea nation of Georgia. On Tuesday, Georgia said the number of Russians arriving each day has nearly doubled since the draft was announced. "Four to five days ago 5,000-6,000 (Russians) were arriving in Georgia daily. The number has grown to some 10,000 per day," Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri told journalists. Georgia and its neighbour Armenia, which do not require visas for Russians, have been major destinations for Russians fleeing since the war began on February 24. Over the first four months of the war, nearly 50,000 Russians fled to Georgia and another 40,000 to Armenia. On Tuesday, the local interior ministry in a Russian region that borders Georgia said there was a tailback of around 5,500 cars waiting to cross the Georgian border, calling the situation "extremely tense". The ministry added that a mobile draft office will be set up at the border in the "near future." Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday demanded that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should resign over the audio leaks, media reports said. He warned that more leaks were coming, which would prove collusion between the government and the Election Commission to disqualify him, Samaa TV reported. Addressing a ceremony at GC College in Lahore on Monday afternoon, he said that the audio leaks showed how the Prime Ninister was crafting a means to circumvent the ban on trade with India, which his administration had imposed to import machinery from India for his niece Maryam Nawaz's son-in-law, Samaa TV reported. Moreover, he said that the ruling government was planning to set up a grid station for a housing society by Maryam's son-in-law and use taxpayer money to pay for the Rs 700 million station. The PTI claimed that the government was trying to purchase the (stolen) data from a hacker to secure it, Geo News reported. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said earlier that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an investigation into the audio leaks allegedly from PM House that features government officials. Security at PM House was called into question by the PTI the biggest opposition party after purported audio clips featuring government officials surfaced last week. In a press conference, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry, quoting the alleged hacker, said that they have not yet leaked an "explosive" audio. "To date, the PM Office has not released a statement on the audio leaks. There are reports that the government is in talks with the hacker to secure the data," the PTI leader said, Geo News reported. The former federal minister claimed that audio of 340 hours was leaked and no one batted an eye despite the PTI government equipping relevant authorities with the latest technology. "Pakistan's Prime Minister's Office is not safe when it comes to cybersecurity and we condemn this. An investigation should be launched into the matter," he demanded. --IANS san/ ( 344 Words) 2022-09-26-22:22:03 (IANS) Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday criticised states seeking greater funds from the Central government on the basis of the fact that they generated more revenue. Addressing a CNN-News18 Town Hall event here, she made the comment while responding to Tamil Nadu's demand for more funds. "You can't expect more money just because you generate more money than other states. 'You, me' narrative won't work. A country cannot prosper like that. Revenues earned by states are for India," she said. Sitharaman also described the "revadi" culture (populist measures offered by states) as "bogus". She said such measures are meant for misleading the common man. "Do understand the finances of your state and account for it in your budget. Pay your own subsidies. Do not expect from us," she said. On the issue of releasing funds for states, she said: "The population is coming down. Many states have valid questions to be asked... reproductive rate is almost going to be negative. The Finance Commission took the route to make up for it on some level proves that there is a recognition of the problem. The Commission is addressing it, not to the proportion of expectation, but somewhat." She also said that welfare is equivalent to public good, adding that it undoubtedly means hospitals, public schools, infrastructure and good roads. Sitharaman also called out the opposition parties that have been criticising the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. "Institution building takes time... to trash it is very easy. "Some of us probably will have a greater level of patience, some may not, but institutions need patience," she said. She pointed out that the GST was constituted by a panel of state ministers which was led by West Bengal's Asim Dasgupta, who came from an opposition party. Asked whether southern states were being discriminated against in the devolution of funds as defined by successive Finance Commissions, she said that the issue had been addressed to an extent. --IANS ans/vd ( 342 Words) 2022-09-26-22:30:02 (IANS) Larsen & Toubro (L&T), an Indian multinational, is showcasing its decisive EPC edge on power transmission, water and renewable energy projects at the Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (Wetex) and Dubai Solar Show 2022. L&T is a platinum sponsor of this three-day event from September 27, which opened at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. As one of the major players in the EPC space, L&T is proud to have been associated with Wetex since 2016 as it brings together important developers from across the globe and also provides a perfect platform to interact and exchange ideas, said T Madhava Das, whole time director and senior executive vice-president (Utilities), Larsen & Toubro. Track record This international event also presents us an opportunity to showcase our track record and capabilities, reaffirm our commitment towards the UAE region and reinforce ties with our major stakeholders, he added. L&T Constructions Power Transmission & Distribution (PT&D) business vertical is a leading global EPC player in India, Africa, Asean and the Middle East in the realms of power transmission and distribution, renewables, integrated solutions and end-to-end services ranging from design, manufacture, supply, installation and commissioning of transmission lines, substations, underground cable networks, distribution networks, power quality improvement projects, infrastructure electrification, solar PV plants, battery energy storage systems and mini/micro grid projects. Renewables business In the GCC region, the renewable arm of the business currently executes close to 2GWp capacity of Solar plants in Saudi Arabia. Possessing experience in niche floating solar PV technology, the business already has an enviable track record in India: 5GWp+ solar portfolio, 150 MWhr energy storage projects with over 500 micro grids. It is a single-stop solution for renewable generation, pooling & evacuation, substations and transmission lines. L&T Renewables offer flexible solutions from monocrystalline to bifacial PV module technologies, central or string inverters and fixed or tracking solutions to suit the extreme desert conditions. Biggest STP in the UAE L&T has also successfully commissioned 10+ water infrastructure projects in the GCC region till date worth $1 billion+ and has significant presence in the UAE, Oman, and Qatar. In 2019, the business had commissioned the 375-million-litres-per-day sewage treatment plant in Jebel Ali, on a turnkey basis, a signature and key project in the region.-- TradeArabia News Service The central government has said that it has held a meeting with mobile manufacturers to discuss the compatibility of the home-grown global positioning system - NavIC -- in smartphones, but no timeline was fixed for its implementation. This clarification by the government came on Monday after media reports suggested India was looking to mandate its indigenous navigation system "within months". The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said the meeting was "consultative". "A media report has claimed citing a meeting that mobile cos were asked to make smartphones compatible with NavIC within months. This is to clarify: (1) No timeline has been fixed. (2) The cited meeting was consultative; and (3) the issue is under discussion with all stakeholders," the Ministry of Electronics and IT said in a tweet late on Monday night. What is NavIC? How is it different from its previous version IRNSS? * NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) is the name of the independent stand-alone navigation satellite system of India. * This system was earlier known as IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System). * The name NavIC was coined by the Prime Minister of India on the occasion of the completion of the constellation in April 2016. Which are the navigation satellite systems operational currrently in the world? * Presently, there are four global systems viz., GPS from the US, GLONASS from Russia, Galileo from European Union and BeiDou from China. * In addition, there are two regional systems viz., NavIC from India and QZSS from Japan. What is the need for NavIC when already GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou are operating? * GPS and GLONASS are operated by defence agencies of the respective nations. It is possible that the civilian service can be degraded or denied. * NavIC is an independent regional system over the Indian region and does not depend on other systems for providing position service within the service region. * It is fully under the control of the Government of India. (ANI) Extending the losses to the fifth consecutive session, the Indian stock market's benchmark Sensex closed 38 points down in a volatile session on Tuesday. The 30 stock S&P BSE Sensex closed 37.70 points or 0.07 per cent down at 57,107.52 points against its previous day's close at 57,145.22 points. The Sensex started the day in the positive at 57,376.52 points and jumped to a high of 57,704.57 points in the early morning session. The markets witnessed selling pressure in the late morning session slipping below the 57,000 points mark. The index hit a low of 56,950.52 points. This is the fifth consecutive session of loss in the benchmark index. The Sensex had lost 953.70 points or 1.64 per cent on Monday. The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange closed 8.90 points or 0.05 per cent down at 17,007.40 points against its previous day's close at 17,016.30 points. The Nifty started the day in the positive at 17,110.90 points and surged to a high of 17,176.45 points in the intra-day. The Nifty slipped to a low of 16,942.35 points in the intra-day. This is the fifth consecutive day of loss in the Nifty. The Nifty had slumped by 311.05 points or 1.8 per cent on Monday. Tata Steel slumped 2.25 per cent to Rs 97.60. The scrip has fallen sharply after the announcement of the amalgamation plan with the group firms. The Board of Directors of Tata Steel at its meeting held on September 22, 2022 approved amalgamation of seven business units. The units that will be merged with Tata Steel include Tata Steel Long Products Limited, Tinplate Company of India Limited, Tata Metaliks Limited, TRF Limited, The Indian Steel & Wire Products Limited, Tata Steel Mining Limited, and S & T Mining Company Limited. Amalgamation of seven business units of Tata Group with Tata Steel will help reduce costs and won't have any material impact on the company's credit profile, CreditSights, part of rating agency Fitch, said in a report on Tuesday. Titan slumped 1.79 per cent to Rs 2606.95. State Bank of India dipped 1.39 per cent to Rs 536.25. Kotak Bank, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank and Maruti Suzuki were among the major Sensex losers. Power Grid Corporation jumped 1.81 per cent to Rs 204.90. IndusInd Bank rose 1.32 per cent to Rs 1164.40. Dr Reddy's Laboratories rose 1.29 per cent to Rs 4185.70. The index heavyweight Reliance Industries Limited closed 0.75 per cent higher at Rs 2395.40. HCL Technologies, Nestle India, Asian Paints, Infosys and Wipro were among the major Sensex gainers. (ANI) European countries are investigating three mystery leaks in two major gas pipelines between Russia and Europe, a media report said. The cause of the damage to Nord Stream 1 and 2 is unclear, but authorities have not ruled out sabotage. The operator of Nord Stream 1 said the undersea lines had simultaneously sustained "unprecedented" damage in one day, the BBC reported. Both pipelines have been flashpoints in the energy tussle between Moscow and Europe. Whatever the cause of the damage, it won't immediately affect the supply of gas to Europe as neither pipeline was operational. The European Union has previously accused Russia of using a reduction in gas supplies to blackmail Europe, but Moscow denies this. It says sanctions against Russia make it impossible to properly maintain the gas infrastructure. Unconfirmed reports in German media said authorities are not ruling out an attack on the undersea gas network, the British broadcaster reported. Denmark's Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, said it was too early to come to conclusions, but that it was hard to imagine the multiple leaks could be a coincidence. A Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said he was "extremely concerned" about the incident, and the possibility of a deliberate attack could not be ruled out. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline - which consists of two parallel branches - has not transported any gas since August when Russia closed it down for maintenance. It stretches 1,200 km under the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast near St Petersburg to north-eastern Germany. Its twin Russian-owned pipeline, Nord Stream 2, was halted after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Although neither pipelines are in operation, they both still contain gas. German, Danish and Swedish authorities are all investigating the incidents. The operators of Nord Stream 2 warned of a loss of pressure in the pipeline on Monday afternoon. That led to a warning from Danish authorities that ships should avoid the area near the island of Bornholm. --IANS san/shs ( 336 Words) 2022-09-27-19:30:04 (IANS) The temple officials honoured the couple with silk cloth and presented the Swami's tirdha prasadam. The 'Singham' actor was seen dressed in a dark green kurta pyjama that she paired with an orange dupatta. Kajal looked radiant as she opted for a subtle makeup look and kept her hair tied in a sleek ponytail. On the other hand, her husband Gautam was seen wearing a white kurta pyjama and covered up with red silk dupatta offered by the temple officials. Speaking to the media, Kajal said, she is very happy to visit Sri Venkateswara Swami and it is the first time she is visiting Tirumala temple along with her husband Gautam Kajal and Gautam got married in Mumbai in October 2020. Kajal Aggarwal and Gautam Kitchlu welcomed their baby on April 19, 2022. Announcing the birth of their baby, Gautam shared a post on his Instagram handle and captioned it as, "Our hearts are full and we are full of gratitude. Thank you, everyone, for your love and blessings". Meanwhile, on the work front, Kajal was last seen in the romantic tale 'Hey Sinamika'. (ANI) Taking to Instagram Story, Riddhima, who is Ranbir Kapoor's sister, dropped a string of images with Bharat. In the first image, the husband-wife duo is seen twinning in blue ethnic attires. "Happy happiest birthday to the most incredible human being," Riddhima captioned the post, adding pink heart emojis. In another post, she wrote, "My best friend forever." The third image features Riddhima and Bharat posing with their daughter Samara. "We love you so much. Thank you for being you," Riddhima wrote alongside the picture. Veteran actress Neetu Kapoor, too, dropped a sweet birthday wish for her son-in-law Bharat. Taking to Instagram Story, Neetu dropped a video in which she along with Bharat is seen grooving to a Rajasthani folk song in a restaurant. Both of them look quite happy while vibing on the song. Sharing the video, Neetu wrote, "Happy birthday @brat.man to more fun times together #son #myvibemytribe #blessings." Reacting to the post, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni rushed to the comment section and wrote, "Cutest (with several red heart emojis)." Riddhima met Bharat while studying in London. They got married in 2006, after four years of being together. (ANI) Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday awarded the top performing states, districts, integrators and health facilities on the closing day of the two-day Arogya Manthan 2022, celebrating completion of 4 years of Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, and one year of Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission. The Union Health Minister awarded the Ayushman Utkrishtata Puraskaar (Ayushman Excellence Awards) 2022 to felicitate the Top Performing State -- Andhra Pradesh, the Top Performing District to Parvathipuram Manyam in Andhra Pradesh, the Top Performing Government Facility to District Hospital Dharwad, Karnataka, the Best Performing States to Kerala, Meghalaya, Gujarat, Manipur, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, the Best Performing UTs to Chandigarh, J&K, and the PMAMs (Pradhan Mantri Arogya Mitras) under the AB PM-JAY and ABDM. "There should be no space for fraud in AB-PMJAY which aims for healthcare of the poorest from the society. We need to use all available technology tools to remove even the smallest scope for any fraud," Mandaviya said here while awarding the top health facilities. Speaking on the occasion, Mandaviya said that the two days' brainstorming session would contribute to giving additional boost for rethinking and improving PM-JAY and ABDM. "Even a small suggestion has the power for bringing big change," he stated. Health Minister also urged states who are still to cover eligible beneficiaries to accelerate their efforts to provide Ayushman Bharat cards to all of them. He also encouraged stakeholders to bring innovative solutions for integrating technology in digital health. The second day of Arogya Manthan 2022 had panel discussions with eminent leaders from relevant public and private sector organisations. Veena George, Minister of Health, Kerala; V.K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog; Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary and R.S. Sharma, CEO, National Health Authority were also present on the occasion. --IANS avr/pgh ( 310 Words) 2022-09-26-21:34:02 (IANS) The Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) will go on making special contributions to the future of the country, said President Draupadi Murmu on Monday in Dharwad city of Karnataka. Giving her speech after inaugurating IIIT campus, President Murmu stated that she can proudly vouch for it. "PM Modi Ji laid the foundation stone in 2019 and today the permanent campus is ready. It is being named as 'Jnana Vikasa' campus. There is vikas (development) within 'Jnan' (knowledge). India should be made a vishwa guru for which knowledge has to be developed. IIIT has a conducive atmosphere for that. Let the students of this campus progress and reach heights by working for the country," she explained. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated that IIIT-Dharwad should become the number one institute in the country and students should study hard. Union Minister for Coal, Mining Pralhad Joshi explained that PM Modi was taking updates on the progress of IIIT regularly. The aim was to complete the work in five years, but it's being inaugurated in three years. --IANS mka/uk ( 191 Words) 2022-09-26-21:02:03 (IANS) This flight will operate with a brand new ATR 42-600. Initially, this flight of Alliance Air was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017. After operating for more than 2 years under UDAN, this flight was discontinued due to the renovation of the airport and the unavailability of suitable aircraft. Meanwhile, AAI has renovated Shimla airport and Alliance Air has inducted ATR-42 aircraft exclusively to connect airports of Himachal Pradesh. In his address on the occasion of the inauguration of the flight, MoS V.K. Singh said that this flight will provide convenience for the people of Shimla and Delhi-NCR. The ministry is working to further increase this ATR connectivity from Shimla to Kullu and Shimla to Dharamshala. He congratulated the state government and thanked them for their support and cooperation. Jairam Thakur, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, said that the state government is working towards creating more air connectivity in the state in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The introductory all-inclusive Fares for Delhi-Shimla and Shimla-Delhi will be Rs 2,141. --IANS kvm/pgh ( 233 Words) 2022-09-26-21:08:04 (IANS) On Sunday, Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district police along with the crime branch team of Noida police arrested accused Pallavi Sonwal from Tower 19 of Jaypee Aman Society at Sector 151 in Noida. The accused has been taken to Madhya Pradesh. Sonwal and her husband John Julius are both accused of interacting with people using fake profiles on matrimonial websites and presenting themselves as someone who live abroad. Later, the accused used to cheat people by saying that he or she has been stopped by the customs at the airport while returning from abroad and need to deposit a refundable penalty amounting to lakhs of rupees. Families, under the greed of a relationship, used to arrange the money and transfer it. Once the accused received the money, he or she changed their mobile number and vanished. Both of them have defrauded many victims of crores. As per information, Julius is already in jail while the Madhya Pradesh police have now arrested his wife Sonwal on the basis of a complaint registered in Bhind district . --IANS pkt/shs ( 217 Words) 2022-09-26-21:32:03 (IANS) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar returned here on Monday evening after meeting Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi. There was expectation among media persons that he would reveal details of the meeting but he straightaway went to his official residence from the airport. Sources have said that Nitish Kumar had a formal meeting with Sonia Gandhi for a brief period of 20 minutes and that was possible only due to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav who called her and took appointment for the meeting. He was also present at the meeting. Following the meeting, the BJP leaders slammed Nitish Kumar and said that he has lost his credibility. Union Minister Giriraj Singh said: "Generally, after every such meeting, the photograph is generally shared by leaders on public platforms. Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav's meeting with Sonia Gandhi gave an impression that she did not meet them properly." Former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi claimed that Nitish Kumar's mission to unite opposition parties has taken a big jolt as opposition leaders had not assembled at the INLD rally in Haryana. "There was only one Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar present in the rally in Fatehabad. There was no representative of Trinamool Congress, the party of KCR, AAP etc. Besides, there was no photograph of Nitish Kumar with Sonia Gandhi which indicates that she was not interested in meeting Nitish Kumar," he alleged. Nitish Kumar has already said that his meeting with Sonia Gandhi was positive but as the internal election in her party are currently underway, she is busy. He further said that he does not take notice of BJP leaders who reach a conclusion without knowing the facts, and generally mislead the people. --IANS ajk/vd ( 301 Words) 2022-09-26-21:40:02 (IANS)